His Reverie (Reverie #1)(6)

“As in Nicholas?”

“Just Nick.”

“As in a cut or a dent?” She’s smiling again, her voice light. She’s teasing me about my name like I teased her.

This girl is definitely flirting. And I’m flirting right back.

“I guess so, Daydream,” I drawl, making her blush.

“I’d rather call you Nicholas,” she says, taking yet another step toward me. I catch her scent, light and sweet and I inhale as discreetly as I can. Like I’m trying to imprint her smell on me.

“Only my mom called me that. And only when I was in trouble.” Which was a lot of the time.

It hurts. How much I disappointed her. Right till the very end.

“Really? It’s such a nice name.” She pauses, sinks her teeth into her plump lower lip. I don’t think she’s wearing gloss or lipstick or anything so that deep, pink color is all natural. Damn. She’s not even trying to be sexy but she just…is. “Nicholas.”

I like the way it sounds when she says it. “Well, you’re definitely not a Rev to me. So I think I’m gonna call you Daydream every time I see you.” Which probably won’t be often because come on. She’s the owner’s daughter, a rich girl who probably has a packed summer schedule and a hundred guys chasing after her and I’m the hired hand.

Yet she beams at me like I said something amazing. “I like it.”

From far away I hear someone call her name. It’s a guy. He sounds younger but maybe it’s her dad? A rush of panic steals through me and I back away, glance over my shoulder quick so I don’t fall on my ass. “I gotta go finish cleaning the stables. Nice meeting you Daydream.”

I turn and practically run through the stable doorway, my heart racing. I hear her voice, rising above the roar in my ears.

“Bye Nicholas.”

The door slams as I pull it shut, cutting off whatever else she might’ve said to me.

3

Dear Diary,

(June 23rd, 10:17 p.m.) I met a boy today. Well, I shouldn’t call him a boy since he was tall and broad and had a man’s body. He wasn’t wearing a shirt. I didn’t mean to look. It felt wrong to look and I should probably say some extra prayers tonight but…

I looked. A lot. And he was all muscle and skin, covered in little droplets of water that ran down his bare chest. I scared him. He was drinking out of the hose in front of the stables, his sun-kissed hair kind of stuck up all over his head like he’d run his hands through it a lot and his jeans riding low on his hips. All I saw at first was the muscles of his back and the width of his shoulders before I said something to him. I can’t even remember what I said.

Okay I’m lying. I totally remember what I said. I asked if he was thirsty.

He literally jumped when I spoke, the water from the hose going everywhere. He didn’t know I was standing there. He turned to face me and it was like I swallowed my tongue. I couldn't speak. He was just so…beautiful.

Can a boy be beautiful? I never thought so before. I mean, I’ve seen handsome men but I try not to pay attention because Daddy says vanity is a sin. And he’s right. Focusing too much on your looks, worrying about brand names and stuff…it all gets you in trouble. I’m not allowed to wear makeup. I’m not allowed to wear cute bras or panties or low-cut shirts or too-short skirts, dresses, shorts. I’m modest. I have to be.

I have an image to uphold. And I don’t want to disappoint my parents.

But the boy…Nicholas…he stared at me like he thought I was beautiful too. I tried to flirt with him. I have never flirted with a boy in my life so I didn’t know what I was doing, not really. The things I said, my voice, all of it changed. I sounded like a different person. I acted different too.

I liked it. So did he. I think.

He teased me and called me Daydream. I’m usually so self-conscious of my stupid name. I hate it. He didn’t seem to mind though. Oh, he stumbled over it and I could tell he thought it was a little odd but then he made me feel special.

Boys don’t really talk to me and I can never work up the nerve to talk to them. I go to an all-girls’ school and never get a chance to talk to boys anyway so I have zero experience. I wish I did talk to them more so I could’ve sounded confident. I wanted to say more but then Evan called me and Nicholas seemed to get a little panicked. Like we were about to get caught or something. He took off so fast but I know it wasn’t because he didn’t like me. He just didn’t want us to be seen together since he works for Daddy.

So he’s my little secret. Nicholas. I’m going to the stables to see him again soon. Or maybe…he’ll be around the pool or on the yard or something. He might work with Michael and that would be perfect because I always see Michael every summer. He ignores me though. He always has which is fine with me. I usually don’t want to be noticed.

I liked it when Nicholas noticed me. When he called me Daydream. That was sweet. He seemed sweet. And he wore no shirt.

I kind of can’t get over the fact that I stood there talking to a guy like no big deal and he wasn’t wearing a shirt. Can your fingers itch? Because mine felt like they wanted to reach out and touch him. Just…stroke my hands and fingers all over his firm, naked skin…

It’s nice, having a secret. I’ve never really had one before beyond intangible ones. Bad thoughts or secret desires. Desires are bad. It means we want something we’re not supposed to have. Daddy says that all the time. I try to keep my thoughts as pure and clean as possible. I swear Daddy can read my mind. It’s best to keep it blank…or full of God.