Life slips through our hands

Chapter 28

During lunch, they talked a bit about school and Charles got to talk about his family too. His parents seemed to be a lovely couple.

Charles' father was the owner of LT Company. Nina knew it was one of the biggest companies in the IA field since she was interested in the topic. His mother spent her time working with different foundations that worked for women's and children's rights. His grandparents passed away a few years ago, and that was the only thing he said about them. On the other hand, he couldn't stop talking about Lucy, his niece.

Emily had her baby at the end of August. She was lovely. Charles spent almost a whole week in New York when she was born.

When they finished lunch, Nona asked them if they wanted something to drink. Nina didn't want to be much of a burden so she declined politely.

"Let's go upstairs", said Charles. "I found the book by Emily Brontë that you mentioned the other day".

"But I haven't thanked Matthew. The beef was awesome".

"I'll tell him later. He must be eating by now". He took Nina's hand and walked her upstairs.

Charles was actually excited to have Nina in his house. It was the first time that he invited a girl to come over because his house and family were a private matter so he would not get his partner in turn with them.

It was hard for him to admit at the beginning but he was in love with Nina! He wouldn't say it out loud, but it was a fact. So he wanted her to be more involved in every aspect of his life. But he was scared though; they met four months ago and felt that his feelings were too strong for that period of time.

"You alright there?", asked Charles when they were halfway to the fourth floor.

"My legs are jelly today. I had PE class yesterday", said Nina taking the last steps.

"Seems like someone needs to train more", said Charles giving her a suggestive glance making Nina giggle.

"You're impossible", she said rolling her eyes with a silly smile on her face.

Charles' room was how Nina had imagined. Cool, a bit messy, and cozy. It was decorated in black and beige colors. The king-sized bed was near a big window that took almost all the wall. There was a wooden desk with papers all over and a large bookshelf next to it; in one corner of the room was a huge smart TV, a PlayStation, a shelf with video games, and a huge couch.

After closing the door, Charles made his way to his desk, and Nina followed him. He took a book that was on it and handed it to her.

"Here it is. It took me a while to find it but I knew I had it somewhere".

"Thank you! I'll return it to you next week".

"There's no rush. Keep it all you want". She nodded. Her gaze fixed on the photos on the top of the shelf.

"Is it you?", asked Nina.

"Yeah, those are from some competitions", he turned to see the pictures too.

"You were so cute! What happened to you?", she joked.

"I became a handsome guy", Nina laughed at him.

They spent some time playing video games. Nina was not good at it so Charles helped her a bit but there was no use; she sucked.

"It's not fun winning like this", said Charles throwing the joystick on the coffee table after winning another round at Mario Kart.

"Just one more, I almost get the trick", said Nina pressing the bottoms to start another round.

"No, you're getting something else". He laughed lowly.

Charles tilted his head towards her catching her mouth in a relentless kiss. Nina forgot about the game immediately under his touch.

"Nap time?", asked Charles caressing the bare skin of her shoulder. They were lying in bed half-dressed.

"I'd love to", she was resting her head on Charles's chest. "But we're supposed to spend time together today".

"It does count". He raised his hand to her head and started running his fingers through her hair. His voice was a bit hoarse.

Nina took his words. She prepared to sleep linking their legs and let the sweet fatigue that comes after making love take over.

To tell the truth, she wanted to sleep like that with him again since that weekend at the lake. Sleep hugging each other after doing it without worrying about her mother, was the thing she wanted the most; they usually were against the clock so even if they cuddled the two hours and a half that they had to see each other after school, it was not enough.

When they woke up, it was almost 5 p.m. They got dressed and decided to go for a walk at the Frog Pond.

The park had a beautiful view. The trees were dressed in yellow, orange, and brown and the ground was covered with fallen leaves. The air was fresh but it wasn't too cold. Nina was full of herself, it was her favorite season and she was with her favorite person.

Little did she know that that was the last autumn she was going to enjoy like that.