Getting Under Nathan

28: "I fell for him far too quickly."

Chapter 28 - "I fell for him far too quickly."

**This chaper is dedicated to mleitx because their comment really touched me and hearing about the role a book of mine plays in someone's life is a feeling I never thought I'd experience.**

I stood in front of the mirror, examining every inch of my body. My black skinny jeans were tight and hugged me nicely, topped off by some wedges to smarten up the outfit for the bar. In order to have a contrast with the tight jeans, I was wearing a flowing, strappy cami top. My outfit was simple and understated, yet flaunted my better features and was appropriate for the bar environment in which I'd be drinking with Louisa.  

The evening filled me with mixed feelings. I was looking forward to meeting her properly in a way, hoping that it would eliminate any remaining insecurities. That didn't stop me from wanting to look my best though, wanting to look worthy of being Nathan's girlfriend.  

Fluffing up my hair so that it was more voluminous, I twisted in front of the mirror to examine all angles of my body. Then I added another coat of mascara to try to make my eyes stand out more. My eyes were my favourite part of my body and so I had decided to pay them more attention. In the depths of my make-up bag I'd found an eyelash curler. I'd never used one before but how difficult could it be? After lining it up with my lashes to the right angle successfully, I pressed it together and then double-checked I'd packed my bag sufficiently whilst I waited. Unfortunately, my lack of experience with eyelash curling meant that I hadn't realised you were supposed to do it before applying mascara, or at least after your mascara had dried. The damn plates became glued to my lashes and pulling the curler away was a painful process that resulted in the loss of a few precious eyelashes. I scowled at myself in the mirror, one perfectly curled set of eyelashes, and one normal set. Such a lot of effort considering I was meeting up with a girl! I couldn't go out like that though so I bit the bullet and repeated the painful process.  

I took that as a sign that trying to make myself look better was a bad idea, and so I grabbed my bag and headed out to the bus stop. For all the butterflies in my stomach, I might as well have been going on a date. Why was I nervous? Louisa seemed keen to make things right between us and so that should be a good thing. I was so mistrusting of people, though, that I couldn't help but worry she had an ulterior motive.  

The bar was conveniently located on my usual route to Nathan's flat, which meant I wouldn't be going out of my way when it came to heading over to his place afterwards. I didn't really fancy traipsing across London by myself late on a Friday night. Even better was the fact that the bar was right opposite the exit to the Tube station, so I barely had to walk anywhere.  

Would she be here? I hated waiting around by myself, and I was still a few minutes early. As I pushed open the doors, I noticed her straight away. She was hard to miss, radiating beauty that was capturing the attention of several onlookers, both male and female. Like me, her hair was straight but voluminous, a shade of blonde that would make non-naturals jealous.  

She was tapping away at her phone as I approached her, but she must have sensed me since she looked up as I got nearer and shot me a friendly smile, getting to her feet.  

"Hi!" she grinned, putting her phone down on the table and leaning to give me a half-hug as she kissed my cheek in greeting. I automatically returned it. "How are you?" 

"I'm fine thanks," I replied. "I hope you haven't been waiting long." 

"Not at all. I was just replying to some final emails whilst I was waiting. You look great!" 

"Thanks," I smiled, happy that she'd acknowledged it, whether she was just being polite or not. "So do you." 

And she did. Looking slightly more casual than her work attire, yet still stylish, Louisa was wearing a crop top with some high-waisted dark jeans, meaning that her stomach wasn't actually on show. I appreciated how she managed to pull off classy in something that a lot of girls wouldn't.