Our Pointless Fights

Chapter 9: Dinner

-Nathan-

Megan was walking in front of me, those shorts proving to be quite the tease. I could almost discern the curve of her behind, and it was challenging not to succumb to the temptation of pulling her close, pressing her against the wall, and sliding my hand between her legs, arousing her to a state of readiness. I reminded myself to maintain focus, although it was incredibly difficult with such a stunning wife who had explicitly forbidden me from such touches. Did she realize the effect those words had on me?

“Why are you walking behind me?” she suddenly stopped and inquired.

“Just giving you your space,” I replied.

She regarded me with a hint of suspicion, but ultimately accepted my explanation and proceeded ahead. I followed, relishing the view, until we reached the dining room. Maya and another girl had prepared everything for us. I pulled out a chair for Megan, and she responded with one of her charming smiles before I took my seat opposite her.

“So, do you still work for your grandfather even though you refused his offer?” she inquired, as she began to fill her plate with food.

“Well, he has retired now, but I still remain employed in the company,” I replied. “However, I haven’t been very active in my duties lately because I’ve been focused on finding you.”

Her cheeks seemed to flush slightly, indicating that my words held significance for her. Megan’s need for reassurance didn’t bother me.

“How’s he?” she asked.

“Good. I think he’s bored though,” I told her.

“No surprise there,” she said, smiling.

I nodded. “Not really. My mother tries to keep him entertained, but...”

“She’s driving him crazy?”

I chuckled. “She is. He would call me sometimes, hoping I had a ‘problem’ I needed help solving, just so he could escape her. I think my mother needs a hobby too,” I said.

“Or a partner.”

I looked at her, surprised, and she smiled cheekily while taking a bite of the meat in front of her.

“No!” I protested.

“Why not? You heard your mother when she found us in the kitchen. She divorced your father a year ago. Maybe she’s ready to move on,” Megan suggested.

I shook my head. “No. No. No,” I reiterated.

“Aren’t you being a little bit overprotective of her?” she asked.

“Listen, my father isn’t a bad person,” I said. “He made some bad choices, definitely. But when I look back at my mother and him together, he didn’t treat her right. I want someone for her who will always put her first.”

“And how can she find such a man if you won’t even let her look?” she asked, smiling.

“Because such a man doesn’t exist,” I said. “No one is good enough for her.”

Megan sighed and shook her head. “Shouldn’t she be the one deciding that?”

I leaned back in my seat and shook my head. “When I said hobby, I didn’t mean some boy toy. I meant like charity, or I don’t know, knitting,” I said.

“Is she 80 in your mind?” Megan chuckled.

“What? It’s a nice distraction for her.”

“Have you ever knitted?” she questioned.

I shook my head as we both laughed.

“And isn’t your mother already involved in a lot of charity? I feel like that is something your family has always had a passion for,” she remarked.

I shrugged a little. She was right. My mother already had that hobby.

“Then something else,” I said.

“Like finding herself another man.” I shook my head again. “Nathan! She is an older woman, not an old woman. She must want someone to share her life with. Her bed.”

“No! No men in her bed,” I stated, shaking my head vigorously. “If I find someone, he will get his ass kicked.”

“Because you have hit someone before,” she chuckled.

“I have.”

She looked shocked.

“Long story.”

“One I want to hear!” she insisted, reaching for some wine.

I got there before her and poured some into her glass.

“Well, you might have been a little bit right that Naomi and I do share some things,” I admitted.

“Oh, is this from your wild phase?” she asked, intrigued.

I chuckled a little and nodded. It felt almost like we were back to “normal” or whatever you could call it. Us sitting here and talking so casually, it was exactly what I had hoped would happen by getting her back here. This would remind her of what we had and see there was nothing fake behind it.

“You know Brooke drove me a little insane,” I said.

She nodded, yet an uncomfortable look took over her face.

“I punched a guy I found her sleeping with. He punched me back and before I knew it, we were in a fight.”

“That is not a long story,” she said.

“Well, I could go into details about how I found them.”

Megan quickly shook her head, and I laughed a little.

“No, I didn’t think you wanted the details about that.”

“Not really,” she agreed, smiling a little. “But um, what does this have to do with my sister?”

“Well, have you never seen your sister fight?”

“Naomi doesn’t fight people.”

I raised an eyebrow.

“Naomi fights people?” she asked.

“You never knew this?”

She shook her head vigorously.

“Interesting,” I mused.

“Who?”

“Lots of people,” I said.

“Lots of people?”

“Okay, I may be exaggerating,” I admitted, but I wasn’t sure I was.

I just didn’t want to worry Megan too much or make her think differently about her sister.

“She has changed now though, and so have I,” I asserted.

Megan nodded a little, but I couldn’t quite say if she believed my words.