*unedited*
I watched as Nate grabbed onto Dennis's collar and made an attempt to get between them. But when I heard Nate's words, I couldn't find the will to move.
"I'm her friend."
I couldn't contain the slight shock I felt as his words tore through the air. And although it was something he had already told me, hearing him say it to another person made it feel more real.
Dennis pushed Nate off of him and fixed his shirt, obviously no longer caring about the bouquet which was now on the floor. I noticed a smirk on his face before he spoke.
"Friends? What kind of joke is that?"
I looked over at Nate to find him smiling as he looked at me for a brief moment. As I looked back, I couldn't keep myself from smiling too. He broke our momentary eye contact to look back at Dennis before his smile faded.
"I don't care if you believe me or not, that's not going to change anything."
* * *
The next day, as I sat behind my desk with my head resting on my intertwined hands, I couldn't stop myself from smiling as I remembered what had happened the day before. Even though I was supposed to be working on an assignment which I had due in a few days, I couldn't stop remembering how Nate had stood up to Dennis for me.
I had been so caught up in my thoughts that I didn't realize when Eliza walked into my office until she spoke.
"Someone looks awfully happy," she said as she sat down across from me. Immediately, the smile on my face disappeared and I pretended to be organizing the papers on my desk.
"What were you thinking about?" she asked, her tone showing how curious she was to know.
"Nothing," I replied almost immediately. She lifted her eyebrow.
"Then why were you smiling?"
"Smiling? Was I smiling?" I asked. She smiled slightly as she chuckled and leaned closer to me.
"You don't have to tell me now if you don't want to, I'll find out eventually." She winked after she said that, causing me to roll my eyes at her.
"Why are you here anyway? Do I need to do something again?" I asked. But she shook her head.
"No, I was wondering if you could go out with me and the girls tonight," Eliza said. As soon as I heard that, I began to feel bad. It had been a few weeks since Lexxie had gotten engaged and I hadn't been able to properly congratulate her.
"I can't tonight, I already have plans," I said, immediately feeling guilty.
"Oh, what are you going to do?" Eliza asked.
"Just something," I replied vaguely, hoping that she wouldn't pry any further.
"Something like what?"
"I'm going for dinner with someone," I said. And as soon as she heard that, she looked shocked.
"Are you going on a date with Nate?" she asked. I immediately shook my head at her words, knowing how she would react if I told her the truth.
"Did your mom set you up with someone again?" I couldn't help but to laugh at that. She didn't say anything for a few moments, causing me to wonder if she had figured out that I was actually going to be with Nate. But thankfully she didn't figure it out.
"You're not going to tell me anyway, so I won't bother anymore-"
"I'm going with a friend," I decided to say, hoping that she wouldn't ask any further questions. One of her eyebrows lifted as she continued to look at me.
"Do you have a friend that we don't know about?"
"Yeah," I said, trying to think of what to say, "it's a family friend."
Eliza nodded her head at those words, looking as if she had believed what I said.
"Okay, enjoy your dinner. Just don't forget that you owe Lexxie a congratulatory dinner for her engagement." I smiled as I nodded.
"Of course not."
And with that, she turned around to walk out of my office, giving me a wave before her figure disappeared. And as soon as she was gone, I released a breath which I didn't know I had been holding. Even though it wasn't something that I should have kept a secret, since Nate and I were just friends, I just couldn't get myself to tell her the truth. Not yet at least.
* * *
A few hours later, I was standing in front of Nate's apartment. After waiting for a few moments, the door opened to reveal Nate wearing casual clothes. I smiled as I looked at him.
"You made it," he said jokingly. I chuckled slightly, handing him a bottle of wine that I had brought for him.
"Come in," he said as he invited me inside. I nodded my head before entering his apartment and removing my shoes.
"Do you like pasta?" Nate asked a few moments later as I followed him into the kitchen.
"It's not my favorite but I don't hate it," I told him. He chuckled as the kitchen came into view before he turned to face me.
"That's good, maybe tonight I can make it your new favorite," he replied, winking in the process. I shook my head slightly as a smile took over my face. I sat down on one of the stools behind an island and folded my arms across it as he put on his apron.
"Are you just starting to cook?" I asked as he turned on the stove, placing a frying pan on the element.
"No, I already cooked the pasta, I just need to mix it with the rest of the ingredients," he told me as he reached for olive oil.
"Don't worry, it won't take long."
"Do you need any help?"
He turned around with a small smile as he shook his head.
"No I got it, Cadence." 502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDstSs87pCw
He walked towards me and reached for a remote at the edge of the island and asked, "Do you mind if I put on some music?" I shook my head to answer his question, to which his smile widened. He pointed the remote behind me and pressed the power button. Immediately, Spanish music filled the kitchen.
Subconsciously, I began to tap my fingers to the beat of the song as I continued to watch him cook.
"So you like Spanish music?" I asked after a few moments of silence, as the smell of cooked onions filled the air.
"I do."
"Do you understand the language?"
He turned around then with a smile full of pride as he nodded his head.
"I'm half Spanish on my dad's side. And because of that, I spent many summers learning from my grandmother," he informed me, a reminiscent look in his eyes. I couldn't keep myself from smiling as I learned something new about him.
"Do you understand any Spanish?" he asked me as he added a few more ingredients. I shook my head even though I knew that he couldn't see me.
"I don't but I really wish I did," was my reply. And as soon as I finished speaking, he turned to me.
"I can teach a few things if you want," he offered. I laughed slightly before nodding my head in acceptance of his offer.
"That would be great but I have to warn you, I'm not a very good student." He laughed as a sizzle filled the room.
"That's okay, I can be a strict teacher to set you straight."
A smile remained on my lips as I continued to watch him cook. 502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhvzYFnIu1h
* * *
After several minutes, the food was finally ready as Nate told me to sit at the dining table. I followed his direction and he joined me a few moments later, placing a plate in front of me and another on the other side of the table. He returned to the kitchen and returned with the bottle of wine I had brought and two glasses.
"How did you know this is my favorite wine?" he asked as he sat across from me.
"Just a lucky guess?" I replied, smiling slightly. I noticed his lips turning into a smile as well as he opened the bottle and poured some into the two glasses before handing one of them to me.
He held his glass up and I clinked mine against his before we both took a sip.
"Can I ask you a question?" I asked, placing my glass on the table.
"That's already a question but go on," he replied, picking up his fork and taking a piece of food.
"Why are you so strict at work?" I asked him. He took another sip of his wine before looking at me with a questionable look.
"I didn't think I was being strict," he replied, his lips tugging on the side slightly.
"Maybe not strict but you're so different outside of work."
"How so?" he asked.
"You're more approachable," I replied after thinking of the correct word.
"Approachable?" he repeated what I had said, causing me to nod my head.
"Yeah, at work I feel like I can't really talk to you about anything but work. But outside of work, you just seem so open." He nodded his head as he heard my words.
"I guess it's just how I was trained, to stay professional at work and keep personal feelings aside. If I was strict, I didn't mean to be. But I feel like that's also why our department has achieved what we have since I took over, don't you think?"
And I couldn't argue with that. It hadn't been long since he had replaced my old boss but we had already accomplished more than ever before.
"Why don't you eat before the food gets cold?" Nate said, causing me to nod before eating.
For most of the dinner, we both remained silent, focusing on the food before us. As I continued to eat, I couldn't believe that the same person who was my strict boss had made such an amazing plate of food.
"I can tell that you're enjoying the food," Nate said, breaking me out of my thoughts.
"It's delicious," I replied. A bright smile appeared on his face.
"Where did you learn to cook so well?" I asked, genuinely curious.
"Once again, I have to thank my grandmother. After my grandfather passed away, she decided to start hosting international students so that she didn't have to live alone. And through the process, she learned how to cook food from different countries so that her students felt more at home," he explained.
"Wow, that's amazing."
As I watched him with a small smile on his face, I could tell that he had a lot of respect for his grandmother. And that realization made him a warmer person than the Nate I had began to learn about.
The music in the background changed then, causing me to remember the main reason why I had agreed to this dinner.
"I have another question for you Nate."
"Shoot," he said as he finished the last of his wine.502Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOLaNqWnq32
"Would you like to be my partner for the salsa competition?" I asked with bated breath. There was silence around us for several moments, causing me to regret asking him.
Of course he would say no─
"Sure."
"What?" I said immediately, not completely registering what he had said. He chuckled before saying,
"Of course I'll be your partner for the competition."
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