Chapter 29 You Can't Always Pamper Your Girlfriend
Hearing that exact, furious ultimatum barked through the phone receiver, Nathan couldn't help but laugh. The sound was rough and genuine, pulling him straight back to a memory from two decades ago.
When they had first started dating in college, they argued constantly.
Usually, the fights were over trivial things—disagreements about where to eat, or because he had spent five minutes too long explaining a lab concept to a female classmate, or simply because he, being an oblivious teenage boy, hadn’t noticed she was wearing a new dress.
After every minor spat, Nathan’s analytical brain would tell him to just give her space. He would carry on with his studies and meals as if nothing had happened.
Chloe, however, would return to her dorm room and absolutely stew. She would pace the floor, growing angrier by the minute at his apparent indifference, until she inevitably called him in a fit of rage, demanding that he drop everything and show up at her door immediately.
Deep down, Nathan always knew the truth: even when Chloe screamed that she never wanted to see him again, she was secretly just waiting for him to rush over and coax her out of her bad mood.
But one night, during a particularly fiery argument over the phone, she yelled her ten-minute ultimatum so loudly that the entire dorm room heard it through the receiver.
The moment Nathan hung up and reached for his jacket, his three older medical school roommates swarmed him like a tactical intervention unit.
"Archer, no! This won't do!" the dorm leader declared, snatching Nathan’s coat out of his hands. "You are completely controlled by this girl!"
"Exactly! You spoil her way too much. That’s why she thinks she can talk to you like that," another roommate chimed in.
"Nathan, you can't just drop everything and run like a dog every time she snaps her fingers. You pamper her too much. If you give up all your power now, you’ll have absolutely no standing in the relationship later."
"Don't go. Let her wait. Call her bluff. Is she really going to break up with you over this?"
Nathan looked at the three older guys, genuinely conflicted. They usually treated him like a naive younger brother, and right now, they were dead set on protecting his "manhood." To them, he was too whipped. It was embarrassing.
They stood in front of the door, blocking his exit. "Make her wait! See what happens when you don't show up!"
Nathan wavered. Maybe they had a point. Maybe he should try asserting some dominance and see how she reacted.
He sat back down at his desk, opened his textbook, and tried to read.
He didn't absorb a single word. He kept aggressively checking his Nokia. The ten minutes Chloe had promised passed in an agonizing flash. The screen remained completely dark.
Nathan grew increasingly restless. His leg bounced. His mind raced with a hundred catastrophic scenarios.
Another ten minutes ticked by. Total radio silence.
He couldn't take it anymore. He stood up and made a grab for his jacket.
"Archer, what are you doing?" his roommate warned.
Nathan gave a strained, awkward chuckle. "Nothing. Just getting some air."
Another ten minutes passed. Still no call.
He shoved his arms into his coat sleeves and sighed in defeat. "Forget it. A man shouldn't sweat the small stuff. If she wants me to come over, I'll go. It's not that far a walk anyway."
"Nathan, if you keep this up, you are going to be entirely at her mercy for the rest of your life," the dorm leader groaned, looking utterly disappointed in his protege.
"So what if I am?" Nathan muttered sheepishly, running a hand through his hair. "If I'm going to be completely at her mercy, I might as well enjoy the physical perks of the job."
The dorm erupted into a chorus of shocked laughter and catcalls.
"Whoa! Our little genius has evolved!"
"That's not what I meant," Nathan protested, his ears instantly burning red.
"We get it, we totally get it," one of the guys chuckled, slinging an arm around Nathan's rigid shoulders. "But listen up. You can be submissive about the schedule, but when it comes to the actual physical stuff, you have to take the initiative! You won't hit your KPIs just by lying on your back, man!"
Nathan's face was practically on fire as he violently shrugged the guy off and scurried toward the door.
He grabbed the handle and yanked it open—only to be violently shoved backward.
Chloe burst into the room, slammed the heavy wooden door shut behind her, locked the deadbolt, and leaned against the wood, panting heavily. "I almost got caught by the RA on the stairs," she gasped.
Total chaos erupted behind Nathan.
Three half-naked medical students scrambled frantically in every direction. One dived under a blanket, another desperately tried to hop into his sweatpants, and the third aggressively kicked a pile of questionable magazines under his desk.
"How did you get into the boys' dorm?" Nathan asked, staring at her in shock.
"Why didn't you come find me?" Chloe retorted, her chin tilted up, looking perfectly justified in her break-in.
Hearing the frantic scrambling behind him, Nathan suddenly realized she was staring directly at three guys wearing nothing but their boxer shorts.
He lunged forward and firmly clamped his large, cool hands over her eyes.
She was wearing a thin, sleeveless dress that clung dangerously well to her figure. He pulled her flush against his chest, his jaw tightening immediately as he glared around the room.
"Don't look," Nathan ordered in a low, tight voice.
"Okay," Chloe murmured into his neck. She stretched up onto her tiptoes, a tiny, self-satisfied smile playing on her lips. "They're not as fair-skinned or well-built as you anyway."
Nathan was momentarily speechless, caught violently between raging annoyance and deep, helpless affection. He couldn't help but raise his hand and gently rap his knuckles against the top of her head. "I told you not to look."
The moment the boys were finally fully dressed, they all stopped and actually looked at Chloe. She was incredibly, undeniably beautiful.
Cuddled so easily into Nathan’s chest, her golden-brown hair tumbled down her back, catching the harsh dorm lighting and making her skin look luminous. Her clear, mischievous eyes darted around the messy room—looking absolutely nothing like the ferocious woman who had roared through the phone line twenty minutes earlier.
No wonder Nathan was so hopelessly whipped.
The dorm leader, suddenly very eager to abandon ship, cleared his throat. "Here, Chloe, sit on my desk chair. This is definitely the first time a woman’s ever been in this room."
Chloe smiled brightly. "Thanks!"
"You guys catch up," another roommate said, shoving his wallet in his pocket. "We’re going to hit the cafeteria. Nathan, don't be mad at her! She walked all the way here!"
"Exactly! You have to be nice to your girlfriend!"
"With a girlfriend this pretty, you better cherish her, Archer!"
Nathan stood by the door, watching his roommates pat him on the shoulder and practically run out of the room, leaving him utterly speechless.
Traitorous cowards.
Just moments ago, they had been loudly egging him on to assert his dominance and ignore her. Now, they had all instantly folded and betrayed him the moment they saw her.
As the heavy wooden door slammed shut, Nathan and Chloe were finally alone. He pressed his lips into a hard line, completely devoid of backup.
Chloe tilted her head, giving him a knowing, triumphant look that clearly said, You're done for. Now you're in my hands.
He silently took two cautious steps backward. "How about we go get some dinner?" he asked tentatively.
"No."
"Want some yogurt?" Nathan opened the mini-fridge, pulled out a carton, and held it out to her like a peace offering.
"No."
Nathan finally felt a spark of genuine annoyance. He slammed the yogurt down on his desk. "Then what do you want?"
Suddenly, Chloe lunged forward. She threw her arms around him, pinching and digging her fingers into his ribs, tickling him relentlessly. "Getting bold, huh? I gave you ten minutes to come find me, and you didn't even show up? You ignored me!"
"Stop it, stop it!" Nathan gasped, trying to pry her hands away. He was incredibly ticklish, dodging left and right, but her grip was tight. She pressed her advantage, shoving him backward until the back of his knees hit the edge of a mattress, sending them both tumbling violently onto a narrow dorm bed.
She landed squarely on top of him, her hair falling around his face like a curtain.
Nathan froze. The sudden, heavy heat of her body pressing completely against his chest made his brain short-circuit.
He quickly grabbed her wrists, his heart hammering against his ribs in sheer panic. "Get up."
"No," she teased, leaning closer.
"Get up, Chloe!" Nathan practically yelled, his voice turning dangerously sharp.
Seeing the stern, almost angry look on his face, Chloe stopped instantly. The playfulness vanished from her eyes. She climbed off the bed and stood against the wall, her chest tight with sudden hurt. She had swallowed her pride, broken into a boys' dorm, and taken the physical initiative, yet he had yelled at her and shoved her off like he was completely repulsed.
The thought made her eyes well with sudden, hot tears. She turned her head furiously to the side and refused to look at him.
Nathan sat up, immediately regretting his tone. He reached out to take her hand, but she violently yanked it away, scrubbing a tear from her cheek with the back of her wrist.
Nathan’s jaw clenched. He firmly grabbed her hand again, refusing to let go, and forcefully pulled her a few steps across the narrow room. He cleared his throat, pointing down at the other bed. "Come over here."
"Why?" Chloe sniffled, still upset and incredibly confused.
"Because that was Greg's bed. It’s filthy. He hasn't washed those sheets since midterms," Nathan said rigidly, pointing toward his own pristine, tightly-made mattress. He swallowed hard, his dark eyes fixed on hers. "If you're going to climb on top of me... do it on my bed."
The moment the incredibly suggestive words left his mouth, he watched the color rush directly into Chloe's cheeks. His own face burned so hot he thought he might combust. Awkwardly, he tried to backtrack. "I didn't mean it like—"
Chloe couldn't help the brilliant, sudden smile that broke across her face.
Before he could finish the sentence, she grabbed the collar of his shirt and shoved him down. She practically tackled him onto his clean mattress, immediately straddling his hips and pressing her full weight against his chest.
"You totally meant it," she whispered.
"No, I didn't."
"Yes, you did."
"Fine," Nathan breathed out, completely defeated, his hands tentatively settling on her waist.
Satisfied and utterly victorious, Chloe lowered her mouth so it hovered a millimeter above his. "Then kiss me."
"Hurry up," Nathan murmured.
He closed his eyes, a helpless flush creeping all the way up his neck, and finally pulled her down to kiss her properly.