Free For Nicky by A. D. Ellis Page A

I’ve always loved that nickname but never felt I could ask people to call me a certain nickname.  When I mentioned I liked Libby as a derivative of Elizabeth, Audrey had snorted and said it reminded her of a Barbie doll and since I obviously didn’t look like a Barbie doll it would be a stupid nickname.
    But Nate called me Libby!  Right before I boldly ran down a list of why I couldn’t like him.  Not to mention I threw in there that my sister had to set up my first kiss and then spent the next year screwing my boyfriend and then I told him I thought he was extremely attractive.  Awesome!  Where’s my shyness when it comes to Nate? It obviously took a flying leap because I spoke to him very freely, not once worrying about what he may think of me.
    I was in the community center, walking into my office to collect myself, when a firm hand grabbed my elbow and shut my office door quietly.  Nate faced me and lifted my chin with his finger so I could look into his eyes.  His eyes were hard yet sad.  “Libby, I am so very sorry about hurting your feelings and we will work through that total misunderstanding and asshole move on my part in just a bit.  But, first, we need to talk about your other reasons.  Number one, I had one disastrous night with Audrey and I see ZERO dates in our future.  I’m sure your sister is a nice girl, but she’s not the girl for me.  And, before you say anything, I told her that exact thing not even an hour ago.”
    Ah, so that’s why Audrey had stomped away looking totally peeved. She doesn’t do rejection well.  Before I could say anything, Nate went to his next point.
    “And, two, I can’t believe you’d ever think of yourself as the not pretty sister.  Sure, Audrey’s nice to look at, but she’s just too much and not real. You have genuine beauty from your hair to your lips to your body to those eyes of yours…..plus, you’re a beautiful person on the inside too.  You’re real and honest. I have seen you interact with Nicky; if he likes you then you’re perfect in my book. I know I was rude to you in the beginning, I’ve just always been so used to protecting Nicky, and I automatically jumped to the wrong assumption that you might hurt him. Watching you with him while he read his book proved to me that you truly care about Nick, as well as your other students. I can’t believe I’m going to say this because it’s 100% NOT my usual conversation with a girl. But……you are seriously, without a doubt, the prettiest girl I’ve ever laid eyes on. And, I want to kiss that sweet pink mouth of yours right now. God, I want to so badly, but we need to straighten out a serious misunderstanding first because it’s killing me that I hurt your feelings. I’ve spent my life threatening people and punching people. Hurting them was always the goal if I found out they had hurt Nick. But, with you, I can’t stand the thought that I hurt you.” Nate paused, but kept looking in my eyes.  “Will you let me fix this, Libby?”

Chapter 27
     

Nate
     
    Please, please, please let her allow me to fix this.  I hate that I opened my big fat mouth and hurt this gorgeous girl.  I’ve never felt bad about physically hurting anyone, it was usually my goal. I’ve never worried about hurting my family because I’m always kind and honest with them. I’ve never worried about hurting friends or girls I dated because they all always knew the score before anything ever started. But, this innocent girl was hurt by my dickhead comment and I seriously worried that she would walk away and not let me fix this.
    Imagine my surprise and delight when the next words I heard coming from Libby’s beautiful mouth were, “How about you kiss me first so I can decide if there’s anything even worth fixing?” Libby has a look of total disbelief on her face, like she can’t even believe the words that are coming from her own mouth.  It’s almost comical to watch the look of horror on her face as