That night, Nate called Natalie to ask her to come to his house. He said Danny wanted to see her so bad. Natalie agreed to go to his house and Nate picked her up a few minutes later. Nate knew he wanted to be with her; he wanted to see her so bad. Good thing Danny was around so that he could manipulate the child to call her.

"Is he still awake at this time?" Natalie asked when she realized it was already 9 in the evening.

"Yeah, he usually sleeps late every Friday." They went outside the car when they arrived. 

As they went inside the house, Danny ran towards them and hugged Natalie. "You came. I missed you so much. Let's play tomorrow. Okay?" Nate looked at the boy and asked him to go sleep, now that he saw Natalie.

"I thought he wanted to see me?" Natalie asked.

"He did, but it is really late now and he has to go to sleep."

"Yes. Nate told me that if I go to sleep early tonight, I can play with you tomorrow."

Natalie looked at Nate. "Nate also said that he wanted time with you."  The boy added.

The kid smiled big and Nate flashed a strict look at the child. Natalie giggled.

"You should have just told me you wanted to see me instead of using the child as an excuse."

He just blushed and took the child to his room. After putting Danny to bed, they went to the patio. They sat by the pool and dangled their feet on the water. Nate looked up at the sky. "You know what; I think I want things to be different this time."

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing really, if I want you to stay, I must be honest with you. There are things you don't know about me Natalie. Things that might make you hate me."

Natalie laughed. "I already hate you Mr. Walters. You should know that already."

He stared at the water and he was quiet. He wasn't sure how to tell her what he wanted to say. She patted him on the back. 

"You shouldn't worry about that Nate. I accept you for who you are." She smiled.

He wasn't smiling back. He was too preoccupied with his problems.

“This is really hard Nat. I’m falling for you.”

Natalie stared at him. She was shocked of what he just said. She couldn’t believe that a guy like him would suddenly say such a thing. She was quite happy though. After spending time with him for the past few weeks, she couldn’t help but see the good side in him. As she stared at his face, she couldn’t believe what she was feeling deep inside. She was also falling for him.  She wasn’t sure when it started but for some reason, she wanted to be loved and cared for. She missed being happy with someone she liked and for the past weeks Nate was doing it quite well. Nate was still so serious Natalie wanted to show him that it was okay; that she was willing to fall in love again with someone who is also willing to love her back. He continued staring at the water as if it had the answers to his problems. Suddenly, Natalie splashed water on his face. She laughed so hard. Instead of being angry he laughed at how her face looked like. He held her waist and tried throwing her to the water.

"Don't Nate. I don't know how to swim." Nate stopped and pulled her back. Suddenly, Natalie pushed him instead and he fell on the water. She laughed so hard while Nate tried not to smile, but he couldn't help it.

"Actually, I know how to swim. I'm even better than you." She smirked.

He splashed some water at her and she got wet. "Since you're already soaked, why don't you come here and let's have race." 

She took the offer and jumped at the water. As soon as she was at the water, Nate pulled her toward him. She pulled herself away from him and said, "Let's race. The loser gets to do whatever the winner asks." 

Nate was in for it. As soon as they positioned themselves, Natalie exclaimed, "Go!" Nate swam first and Natalie tried to catch up. As soon as she was near his feet, she grabbed it and he stopped. She swam as hard as she could. He followed her while he thought of the consequences if he won. Natalie thought she was going to win; besides, he's still very far behind, but as she tried to look at her back, no one was there. When she stopped to look for Nate, she realized he was already at the end. She hit the water with her hands and swam towards Nate. "Okay. You win. Grrr, I should have won!!!! This is not fair!" 

Nate just smiled and pulled her again towards him. His hands were around her waist and he looked at her in the eyes. "Now, you should do what I say right?" He said as Natalie looked at him. She thought of the consequence she could be doing for him. She might have to wash the toilet, or clean his room. She hesitantly asked, "Okay, fine, what do you want me to do?"

"Kiss me."

Her eyes widened as his words lingered in her ear. He grinned and she blushed. She couldn't say a word. His hands pulled her tighter towards his body and she could feel his hard chest. She gulped. She didn't know what to do. As soon as she tried to close her eyes, Nate kissed her. She couldn't believe she actually loved it. They kissed again as her hands started moving up and down his back. His lips touched hers softly as he held her in his arms. She opened her eyes and looked at him. They stared at each other for a long time and realized how deep their feelings for each other were. Suddenly, the rain started falling. Both of them went out of the pool and they ran towards the chairs, took the towels with them and dried themselves. They kept laughing as they went inside the house. Nate took his shirt off as if to tease Natalie. It worked. They went to Nate's room to get more towels. When they were inside, Natalie started feeling very uneasy. Nate went to the bathroom and took two more towels. He gave one to Natalie and tried to dry themselves up with it. As Natalie wiped herself dry, Nate couldn't help but stare at her. While he continued staring at her, she knew she was being watched. Natalie raised her head to look at him. As soon as their eyes met, Nate walked towards her and grabbed her hand. Nate her hair while she placed her arms around him. He looked into her dark brown eyes and he kissed her again. She rested her hands on his chest and she could feel her heart racing. He took her shirt off and carried her towards the bed. He looked at her and realized right then and there how lucky of a man he was. He wanted her so bad he was afraid he’d hurt her. He wanted to stop what they were doing since at the back of his head, he was afraid of breaking her heart, but as he stared at her beautiful face he couldn’t help but kiss her again. She rested her hands on his chest as Nate kissed her neck. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him closer. He pulled the covers on top of them. She grabbed his neck and played with his hair. Her desire for him overwhelmed her and for her it was worth it. He made love to her and for her, his love felt so real. It was wonderful. What made it wonderful was not because she wanted to experience it as it is, but because it was with a man who made her feel very special. She was happy to have given it to him despite a long term longing for someone like Jake.

Jake. Where could he be at this moment? She thought to herself.

She thought about Jake and felt no pain. She has finally given her heart to someone who deserved it. She has finally let go of everything she thought would make her happy. She has Nate and for her, having him was the only thing that could complete her.

Nate breathed out a sigh of relief. He relaxed and laid on top of her. His weight was heavy but Natalie didn't mind. Nate realized that he was pushing his weight on her that he laid on the side and looked at her. She smiled. Nate pulled her towards him and hugged her. He kissed her hair and said, "Please stay with me." He closed his eyes while she stared at his perfect face. She traced the contours of his lips and leaned forward to kiss it. She laid down on his chest and listened to his heartbeat. As she listened to its every thump, she whispered to herself, "I will, as long as you love me, I will."

They fell asleep awhile later. They dreamed of the night they just had. Nate finally knew that Natalie had feelings for him. He wished that night never ended. As she laid there next to him, he wondered if it would ever end. He didn't want it to end. He wanted her more than anything else. Natalie on the other hand thought the night ended perfectly. She waited for the day when she would find a man who would treat her like a queen, and finally that dream came into reality. 

Sometimes the last thing you want comes in first, the first thing you want never comes, but in the end, you realize that after everything, waiting is all you can do.