Set Free

Set Free Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen

  I could feel my heart beating faster and faster, the adrenaline pumping through my veins. And then I heard a familiar voice say, "She's with me guys. Back off."  Immediately my body relaxed in   immediate recognition of the voice.

  I turned my head in the direction of the voice and opened my eyes to see Nick sitting beside me.

  Then I had a sudden and pressing thought.

I do like him.....but I'll never admit it to him. I could never do that to Justin. I could never be happy with another guy.....I think. But if I could, is it even the right choice to make? I was confused again.

  "Hey," Sam said. "We didn't know."

  "Yeah," Nick replied, his deep voice sounding annoyed. "Well now you do."

  "Okay, well, we'll leave you two alone now. Sorry." said Joe. If you asked me, he didn't sound sorry that they had been messing with me at all. He did, however, sound sorry that they got caught.

  But fortunately, with that, they left without another word. I breathed out a sigh of relief as the doors to the cafe swung shut after them.

  Nick turned to me and asked, "Are you okay?"

  I hadn't even realized it, but tears had been welling up in my eyes and I was shaking a little.

  "I think so," I replied, but then the tears began overflowing, and I covered my face with my hands. I didn't want Nick to see me this way. I just wanted to hide and cry.

  Nick lightly touched my arm, as if asking my permission to pull me close and have me cry into his chest.

  I leaned into him without a second thought, and he wrapped his arms around my shaking body, I felt bad that I was letting my tears soak into his shirt, but he didn't seem to care.

  "I'm sorry about all this." I whispered into his chest. "You're always saving me."

  "It's alright. I'm just glad I was around.  Who knows what could've happened to you if I wasn't?  You really need to be more careful." Nick said. "But you don't have to worry any time I'm around. So, if you're gonna walk around alone, I'd much rather you call me and let me know so I can go with you. I'd hate it if something happened to you."

  "Thanks." I managed to get out between my sobs.

  "C'mon, I'm gonna walk you home." Nick told me and gently pulled me out of the booth with him. He walked me home with his arm around my shoulders, and I was too weak to resist it. For once, I let myself enjoy my deep connection through touch to him. I wanted so badly now to give in to my heart's pleas, its deepest longings. But I thought I couldn't do it.

  We didn't talk the whole way home, and we just settled into a comfortable silence. I was fine with that, since I really didn't feel like talking.

  When we finally reached my house, I immediately told him, "Thanks for saving me and walking me home and everything." Then I shyly looked down at my feet.

This is so embarrassing!...Wow, I have tiny feet... I thought to myself.

  Nick smiled at me. "No problem, anytime. And you know I mean that." He lowered his voice to an almost-whisper as he said the last sentence.

  I decided to take a chance,  and I dared to look up into his brown eyes, thinking about how they were so different than Justin's green ones had been. In fact, secretly I'd always liked brown eyes over green. And I thought about this without even a pinch of pain inside my heart. Even a month ago, a thought like that would've made me cry in agony. Now it seemed it was just another thought.

  Then, without thinking it through first, I made a split-second decision, stretched my five-foot, six-inch frame up to reach his face, and kissed his cheek softly. He was taller than I'd thought, I realized. He had to be over six foot tall. I decided I liked that about him, too.

  After I slowly pulled back, I could see he was completely surprised by my display of affection. But I didn't dare wait for his reaction. I smiled at him, and quickly opened my front door,  jumping inside. Thank goodness it was unlocked, because I'd forgotten my key. My heart was beating a hundred times faster than even when those guys had freaked me out earlier that day. And all I'd done was kiss his cheek. I peered out the little hole in the door at him, planning on watching him as he left. It took him awhile, though, and it seemed as though he was going to stand there staring at the front door forever. But then he smiled so brightly that I thought I'd die smiling, and turned to leavet. I watched him until he was completely out of sight before leaning back against the door and sighing.

  "Wherever Justin hid my heart, I think he found it." I admitted aloud to myself.