Page 144 of The Risk Taker

He sighs, but lets me lead him out of the kitchen, his fingers threading through mine as we walk.

The living room’s quiet when we walk in. Austin and Maisie are practically folded into one on the couch, because the guy can’t spend a single second away from her.

Ryan glances up when we walk in, eyes landing on Nathan, not saying anything, but I know that look. It’s the same one I’ve had all night.

Nathan just shakes his head. Ryan exhales, dragging a hand through his hair, and tugs Isabella back against his chest.

They all know Nathan applied to the mentorship and is waiting to hear back.

But even though we’re all holding our breaths, I know he’ll get that email. There’s no world where he doesn’t get in. No chance they look at what he’s drawn, and don’t want him. He’s too good. Too passionate. Too damn talented not to be seen.

Still, every second that ticks by without a ping from his phone feels like fucking torture.

I slide onto the couch and Nathan settles next to me, his thigh brushing mine and his phone still gripped in his hand. He hasn't checked it in the last thirty seconds, which I’m counting as a win.

Across from us, Aurora’s the only one sitting solo. She’s stretched out on the far end of the couch, one leg crossed high over the other, a half-eaten bag of chips balanced on her lap that she’s clearly not touching. Her phone lights up beside her. She reaches for it, quickly types something out, and stares ahead at the TV.

I lean my head against Nathan’s shoulder, exhaling slowly through my nose. He shifts like he’s been waiting for me to do that, then dips his head and presses a soft kiss to my forehead.

And just like that, I’m useless.

Completely undone.

I used to give guys shit for this kind of thing. Kissing in public, cuddling during movies, skipping parties to stay in with their partner. I thought it was clingy. Embarrassing. I thought they were losing themselves.

But now I get it.

There’s nothing embarrassing about being with someone who makes you feel this safe. This wanted. This full.

I used to chase noise because silence meant being alone with myself. Parties, drinks, hookups—they were distractions. Temporary fixes for something I didn’t know how to name.

But now I have him. And suddenly, quiet isn’t scary anymore.

I smile against his shoulder, my fingers grazing his under the blanket between us.

Aurora sighs and tips her head back. “Being single is so fucking annoying.”

Isabella glances over from her blanket cocoon. “I thought you were seeing someone?”

Aurora straightens a little, grabs a chip and flicks it into her mouth with a shrug. “Yeah, well. He’s a dick.”

Nathan’s arm tenses slightly beneath my head and I glance up at him, watching as he checks his phone again.

“Nothing?” I ask, low enough for just him.

He shakes his head and puts his phone down, trying to stop himself from obsessively refreshing.

I thread my fingers through his, my thumb brushing over his hand. “It’ll come through,” I say quietly. “You’re just last ‘cause they had to save the best for the end.”

His hand runs over his face like he’s trying to scrub away the restlessness that’s been clinging to him since dinner. “Maybe I should just go to sleep,” he mumbles, not looking at me. “Check tomorrow.”

I swallow, hard, because I know what it’s taken to let himself want this, to believe he might actually be good enough to get it. And now that he’s finally admitted it, the wait is clawing at him from the inside out.

I shift closer, about to say something else, when his phone lights up and he glances down at the screen.

Nathan doesn’t say anything right away. He just stares at the screen for a second, blinking like he’s making sure it’s real, and then he slowly looks up at me.

And I know.