Getting Under Nathan

32: "Everybody has a selfish streak."

Chapter 32 - "Everybody has a selfish streak."

[[Contains sexual content]]

**Dedicated to TaraNeveah for her lovely, long comment on the last chapter because supportive comments like that are what motivate me to write more.**

"I think we need to talk," Nathan said.  

After I'd witnessed Hayley and Jack, the night had been ruined for me. Nathan didn't even have to ask why I wanted to go home early, so I could only assume he'd seen Hayley and Jack sneak off, and then put the pieces together himself. I hadn't said much in the taxi back; alcohol plus the sight of them kissing meant that my head was so fuzzy that I could barely think straight. We'd come straight to my room and sat down on my bed.  

"About what?" I mumbled in response to Nathan's question.  

"Are you upset about Hayley and Jack?" he asked me.  

"Yes of course I'm upset! Jack and I are supposed to be close. He said it was a mistake, promised he'd never do it again...I went out of my way to make things up to him...and then he goes and gets with her again at the next possible opportunity!" 

Nathan sighed. "Okay, Bella...I'm going to give you some harsh truths now and you're probably not going to like it, but you need to hear it." 

"Are you going to give me a guy's point of view?" I guessed.  

He nodded. "Yeah. Right, listen. Jack's a good guy. I pride myself on being a good judge of character and I know he's a decent lad. He's a good friend to you and I can tell he does care about you." 

"It just doesn't feel that way," I murmured.  

"I know. Just listen. Everybody has a selfish streak. Even the best people, every now and then, do something selfish, because it makes them feel good. Some people do it a lot, and some people only crack every so often." 

He let me digest that. Had I done selfish things in the past? Of course I had. Nathan was right.  

"It's human nature," he continued. "Evolution, survival of the fittest, et cetera...it's programmed into us that every now and then, we do something just for ourselves, something that pleases us, without having to worry about other people. Now, with guys, this is usually sex-related. Unlike girls, guys have a very strong primal instinct that leads them to desire sex at a much higher level. It goes back years and years, where males would compete to impregnate as many females as possible to spread their genes, whereas females are more selective." 

"Nathan-" 

"Just listen to me," he said firmly. "There's a point to this story, I promise. Although barely any of this is relevant nowadays - you're at uni, getting girls pregnant is a guy's worst nightmare - the basic instincts are still there. Jack's confided in you so many times about his insecurities with girls. He clearly lacks self-esteem and doesn't want to get hurt, so that discourages him from pursuing girls on a night out. But then there's Hayley. She's an easy target, and he clearly hates her guts, so he doesn't need to worry about getting rejected nor falling for someone who'll end up hurting him." 

I took in all of what he was saying. It did make sense, but of course it did. Nathan was a guy, and he knew how this stuff worked. I, on the other hand, just saw the betrayal side of it.  

"I understand," I said quietly. "All that stuff makes sense, it really does. But it still hurts, Nathan." 

"I know, Bella," he murmured, winding his arm around my waist. I sighed and rested my head against his shoulder, closing my eyes. "But you can't interfere. You have to let him get on with it and get it out of his system. It's Hayley, so it's bound to crash and burn at some point. If you interfere then you'll just drive a bigger wedge between you and Jack. You have to let him be the one to make the decisions."