Tamed [BOOK ONE]

Chapter 31

Natalie's Point of View

The time had come sooner than I had expected and I could no longer avoid my meeting with Toby. I was nervous, angry, sad, and hungry all at once. I wasn't exactly sure what this meeting would hold, I was naturally expecting the worse but knowing Toby and the behavior he had been showing, I had a feeling he was going to try and reprehend things. The meeting with Toby was all I could think about on the bus ride home, after I got home, and even as I prepared to myself for our meeting. My dad wasn't home so I had no option but to walk myself to the restaurant and it was thundering, threatening rain. I tucked my coat close to my body and pushed myself through the wind and thunder until I got to the front doors of the diner. The handle felt extremely cold as I wrapped my hands around the metal and pushed it open. Welcome by a gust of cold wind and the smell of grilling burgers. I searched the diner looking for Toby, but I spotted nothing. I took a few steps to my right standing on the top of my toes to get a good luck of the place.

"Nat," I turned around to be met with Toby's hazel eyes. The green flecks seemed to glimmer as he stared down with me. He looked the same from the last time I had saw him which was a few weeks ago.

"Toby," I responded quietly. There was only one thing that had changed about him, his hair that was once slightly long was now shaved to a buzz. I wanted to touch it but I held back. There was a slight awkwardness as we stood in front of the door staring at each other. Toby rubbed the back is his neck and I took the initiative to walk to a booth all the way in the back. Toby followed, sitting across from me and not next to me as he usually did.

The silence lasted for a while before the waiter broke it asking for our order.

"I'll have a cheeseburger and a coke," Toby ordered handing me a menu. I pushed it away and told the man I would have what he was having. The silence sunk in again and the tension made the air dense. Toby tapped his fingers across the table humming some song I had never heard before. He was smiling to himself, obviously caught in his own thoughts, and it was slightly adorable. I let out a chuckle, Toby's eyes quickly met mine.

"What?"

"You're adorable."

He smiled, "I've been told, but it means more coming from you."

We both chuckled lightly, but then there was silence again. Toby reached over and placed his hand carefully on top of mine. We stared at each other for a few seconds, but it felt like hours. His eyes was sparkling and I was sure mind held the same glimmer.

"I don't remember you being this quiet," Toby whispered.

"I didn't know I was expected to talk when I got the meeting text," I countered with a smile. Toby smiled, gently rubbing his palm back and forth over my hand. He closed his eyes for a few second, took a deep breath, and leaned back in his seat. Placing his hand carefully in fringe of him.

"I owe you an apology Natalie."

"You kinda do, I mean I wasn't right in being "all up in your grill" but really Toby? What happened Nyla anyways?"

"Nyla ... Nyla is with child," my jaw dropped a little , "not by me! No way, I'm not that dumb Nat. She's pregnant by one of my best friends."

I took a deep breath , " I would say I told you so, but I have a feeling you already know that."

"Yep, I let a hoe ruin our relationship and now you've probably got some boyfriend," Toby looked up at me, " please tell me you don't have a boyfriend. I know that I'm a complete jerk and I don't deserve to even know, but please tell me you haven't move on-"

"I don't have a boyfriend Toby," he let a deep breath go, " but don't get comfortable, I can have another you in a minute."

"I know, I know. Natalie, I love you so much, it took me a while to realize it, but I know for sure now. Love is what stopped me from having sex with Nyla, love for you is why I'm doing this."

"Doing what Toby?"

He sighed," I'm getting shipped out a couple of weeks after graduation. I've taken the test and everything. It's final now."

"You're leaving? For how long?"

"A year or two," tears threatened my eyes as I bit my bottom lip, " my mom is marrying him. They have this huge wedding planned, I hate it Nat. I can't stand to see this man with my mom. I can hear her screaming from my room when he gets drunk. He does everything imaginable to her Nat and she stands it. She allows it, she's marrying it."

"Toby,"

"Let me finish Nat, you are the woman I love. The woman I want to spend my life with, call me young and in love but I know this is the real deal Nat. And I'm afraid that if I go off to war, you'll forget about me. So I needed to ask you a question," Toby fished around in his pocket before pulling out an object and balling up his fist, " will you marry me?"

Author's Note
So this chapter is 932 words (I don't know if that's the exact amount) I do have a problem with short chapters since I have the attention span of a fly and another cliff-hanger. But this cliff-hanger is really serious, because she may lose Toby forever in war and if she marries him she'll have a piece of him with her and she'll have his last name and possibly his kids (but she's still a virgin) but if she doesn't marry him she doesn't really have a commitment to him. But let's go back a few steps, they aren't even dating! And was anyone really shocked about Nyla? It was bound to happen at some point. Vote, follow, and comment on what you think. (The next chapter will be at least a thousand words)