Things with Natalie were going well. At least, as far as Nate could tell, they seemed to be going well. It was hard to get a read on the woman. Over the past months, Nate was spending even more time with Norah, which had the fortunate benefit of more time with Natalie. Even when their daughter went to sleep, Nate had a habit of hanging around Natalie’s apartment. When things were going smoothly, she was fun, engaging, and downright affectionate. The night of Norah’s sleepover was the first time he stayed the night, but it was not the last.

That night also set a less than stellar precedent. Mentioning the other people in Nate’s life with any significant romantic connection, past or present, was usually met with sarcasm and the air in the room suddenly going cold. It confused Nate because, from the first time they slept together, they were making the clear choice to keep things from getting serious. They knew the risks a decision like that would have, not just for them, but for Norah. Even without their daughter, Nate could not tell half the time if Natalie liked him or hated him, which made it hard to believe she wanted anything more from him than good company and casual sex.

For the time being, the family was having a good evening. They were going to enjoy a family dinner cooked by all three of them, so the choice had to be delicious, with steps a six-year-old could still take part in. They settled on chicken parmigiana with noodles—however, with Natalie’s commitment to healthy eating, they were opting for a bed of zucchini noodles, or as Norah was fascinated with calling them…

”Zooooooodles!”

Nate chuckled, watching Norah stare in fascination as her mother used a spiralizer to turn a zucchini into thin, curly noodles. He loved how a child could look at the world and find interest in small little things like zoodles.

While Natalie took care of the zoodles, Nate was filling two glass bowls, one with beaten eggs and one with breadcrumbs, or something comparable to them. ”I still can’t believe you’re making me do this with gluten-free breadcrumbs,” he teased, grabbing a package of chicken and tearing it open so he could prepare everything. He would not be the one dipping, of course; that honor would go to Norah.

As a family, Natalie, Norah, and Nate had fallen into a good rhythm. Every once and awhile, they would make a big deal of having a family dinner - very different from the one that they’d first had - and make a show of having Norah involved in the prep. They would make dinner together and then eat together formally. Best of all, Nate and Natalie would be able to ignore any awkward feelings between them for a little while.

Things were so convoluted. Nate had stayed the night after Norah went to her sleepover, but there was nothing sexual involved for those eight hours. Instead, they’d fallen asleep in an affection position and woken up together. To her surprise, Natalie’s first reaction wasn’t to cut out the danger in her life. Instead, she wanted more of Nate. She always wanted more. It scared her, but each time she tried to just cut her losses, she remembered why he was even in her life in the first place.

They couldn’t possibly be anything more than co-parents. It would make things too complicated, and clearly Nate had other people in his life that were of higher priority than the high-maintenance mother of his child. She understood it all; she had no claim over him. And yet, each time he stayed the night with her, some sort of strange hope grew within, and it was getting harder to push it down all the time. She was fooling herself and she couldn’t stop.

For that evening, though, she didn’t have to think of all that. She only had to think of the zoodles that she was making for the chicken parmigiana that would be in the oven soon enough. A healthy yet tasty meal option that all three could enjoy. Especially Norah. Natalie smiled and shook her head when she called out her affectionate term for the zucchini noodles.

”Do you want to take a turn with this?” Natalie asked her, kicking the little stool that Norah used to stand on so she could reach the counter. With an enthusiastic nod, the little girl agreed to using the device for a while. She took over for a few turns of the vegetable under her mother’s watchful eye before stepping back down.

”I’m going to help daddy now!”

Natalie smiled and watched her scoot over to the other side of the kitchen with her stool in tow. She was very excited to be able to help out. The novelty was still fresh enough for it to work.

>>”I still can’t believe you’re making me do this with gluten-free breadcrumbs,”

”Believe it,” the brunette told him quickly. ”One day, you and your gut will thank me.” She was just doing what she thought was best for her daughter and her health. Eating right would take her far.

Family time was the best part of Nate’s day. Any time he could spend with Norah was important, but there was something special about nights where Nate and Nat were both taking care of their daughter. Norah seemed happier to have them both around, and they seemed happier with each other when they were parenting together. It was not a “simple situation,” but it felt less complicated than spending time together alone.

Nate could not get a handle on where things stood with Natalie. At some point, he thought they were looking to be amicable co-parents who occasionally had sex. Emotionless, string-free sex. Except the night of the sleepover, there was no sex. Nate stayed the night and they shared the bed and they cuddled up together and Nate was just there for Nat on a challenging night. It was undeniably emotional.

They knew exactly why not being together was the smart, safe decision for Norah, but neither of them seemed entirely committed to the plan. Nat seemed content with how things were going, but then she would take icy turns and put distance between them. Nate claimed to know better and tried committing to playing the field, but if he was really buying into that plan, how did he keep putting himself in the position to get close to Natalie again?

Nate would push those complex feelings aside until Norah’s bedtime. As a family, they could just enjoy cooking together. Nate was a good cook, and he even enjoyed it when it had a purpose, but nothing was more fun than watching a six-year-old feel proud of her contributions to the meal. As she worked the spiralizer, producing curly noodles, her eyes lit up, all under Natalie’s watchful eye. It was a relatively safe piece of kitchen equipment, but it did have blades internally shredding the vegetable.

With a turn of creating zoodles under her belt, Norah was ready to assist with the chicken preparation. Between Nate and Natalie, their daughter would likely be a tall young woman one day, but until then, Nate loved watching Norah bring her stepping stool around the kitchen to reach the counter. Nate helped her up on her stool and kept a hand at her back to make sure she did not accidentally slip. With his free hand, he took one piece of chicken and demonstrated how to bread it. ”Okay, so you dip the chicken into the eggs, then put it into breadcrumbs. Your mommy got you the best breadcrumbs because she loves you,” he made sure to add with a wink in Natalie’s direction, ”so make sure they chicken is really covered. Then daddy can put the chicken in the oven.”

Norah followed her father’s example, dipping the chicken so it was coated completely by the egg mixture. Her (recently-washed) fingers also touched the yolky substance, to a giggly response. ”Eeeew, it’s slimy!” She had a point, but the ear-to-ear smile she was sporting suggested she did not mind the sliminess.

With each turn of the zucchini, more spirals of noodles came out of the little device. Natalie had already blown through several of the long vegetables, but she had only just decided that they had enough. They were much smaller than they looked, especially when she wanted to have leftovers for the next night, when she had to work late and leave Norah with a meal.

The brunette dropped the zoodles into a frying pan on the stove with the smallest bit of sunflower oil and turned the heat up. As she watched Norah and her father bread the chicken, she worked on giving the noodles a crispy texture. Once they were a little more cooked, she sprinkled a little parmesan cheese on top, giving the healthy meal the tiniest bit of unhealthy kick.

”Can we do this every night?” Norah asked gleefully as she dropped a piece of chicken into the egg wash, spraying the counter in her excitement.

Natalie paused and remembered that she hadn’t quite let her daughter know that she would be spending the next night with the nanny. She hated having to do that, but she had chosen a busy career. If she took an early night to do things like they were doing there, she had to make up for it somehow. Plus, Natalie and Nate might have been fooling themselves, thinking that they could go on like that forever, but deep down, she knew that they wouldn’t be able to keep it up forever. Eventually, one of them would realize how unfulfilling it was, and then things would get strange.

Instead of actually explaining anything or getting into her feelings, Natalie merely shook her head. ”If we did it every night, then it would get old, right?” she tried to suggest, as if they didn’t all love the family time that they were getting. ”We want you to look forward to this when it does happen.”

She averted her eyes slightly as she turned the noodles onto a low heat to simmer for a while. They would sit like that with an occasional stir until the chicken was done. ”How’s the chicken going?” she asked. While her hands were free and available, she began to take cutlery and dishes from cabinets and set them out on the table for them to sit at when the food was done. ”Would you mind giving the zoodles a stir, Nate?”

Nate took each piece of chicken, carefully coated by his daughter, and he laid them out on a sheet pan, preparing them for the oven. Normally, he would have tossed them on a pan, but baking them would be almost as good and significantly healthier. He might give her grief, but Nate was on board with taking care of Norah’s health with a proper diet.

It was sweet that the little girl wanted family dinners to be a nightly event, but it was disappointingly unfeasible. Both parents kept a lot on their plate, and while Norah was their top priority, she was not their only priority. They did their best to be available, but it was still hard for both of them to be available at the same time. Family nights were nice, but Nate lived in a different apartment with a different life, making them an event that had to be coordinated.

Natalie handled the request with tact, pointing out that doing family dinners every night could make them less special. ”Like your mommy says, these are special nights. I know when I’m having a long week, I’m looking forward to making dinner with you again.” Nate carefully slid the chicken into the preheated oven and closed the door.

In the interest of getting the table set, Nat asked Nate to stir their substitute pasta in her place. ”I’ve got this. And the chicken’s already looking great, thanks to Norah.” As he passed by Natalie, he snuck the opportunity to kiss her on the cheek. It felt like a natural thing to do, and it was hardly the first time he gave an innocent peck on the cheek to her in front of Norah.

As Nate stirred the zoodles, Norah looked on, but she was clearly pondering something else. ”Do you make dinner at home when you aren’t here, daddy?”

”Well, of course, sugar. Not always, but sometimes.” Nate could grab dinner or order in when he was too busy or too lazy, but he always enjoyed cooking when he had the opportunity.

Of course, that was not the end of the curious little girl’s questions. ”Do you and Miss Quin make food together?”

Nate tried to wear his best poker face, but Quin was the last name he expected Norah to drop in conversation. He did not want to look over at Natalie to see if she heard, so he just focused on stirring the zoodles and chuckling nervously. ”Nah, Miss Quin isn’t as good a cook as you are.” It was totally possible Nat would let that slide, right?

Things were going so well. They’d fallen into a good cooking rhythm, with Nate handling the chicken and stirring the noodles while Natalie got the rest of the dishes and the extras. Within a few minutes, plates, cups, a butter dish, salt, and pepper were all set out on the very expensive dining table. It really did look good when it was set - it was just too bad that there weren’t more occasions to use it for.

It felt good and natural when he kissed her on the cheek. It was such a simple gesture, but it meant that they were comfortable together. It wasn’t as if they had never touched before, or as if they had never been intimate, but this was different. This was something that two lovers did. It was an unspoken rule that was broken with a simple movement.

She was almost too distracted to listen to the conversation that was happening between Nate and Norah. Almost. She tuned in as she filled a jug with water, not really listening closely. It was only when she heard one certain word that she actually started to pay attention.

>>”Do you and Miss Quin make food together?”

>>”Nah, Miss Quin isn’t as good a cook as you are.”

Natalie stood up with her back very straight, her knuckles white as she gripped the water jug with intense strength. Miss Quin? She thought that Nate was done with Miss Quin. In fact, she’d been under the impression that Nate was slowing down with all those other people. It only made sense, from the amount of time that he spent with her.

Was she just one of them, though? Did he go straight from her bed to another? How could she have been so foolish to think that he would actually want anything with her? Or that he could actually keep it in his pants for one godDAMNED MINUTE?

Natalie ground her teeth as she put the water jug down on the table with more force than she’d intended. Water sloshed up the sides and spilled onto the table, destroying the image that she’d just worked to create. Fitting. She wasn’t even in the mood to clean it up.

”I’m sure you know exactly what Miss Quin is good at,” Natalie said bitterly. There was no use trying to hold anything back by that point.

Natalie’s body language was immediate proof that Norah’s comment did not go unnoticed. Norah met Quin a week or two earlier, and Natalie never made any comments or chastised him for letting one of his “female friends” meet their daughter, so Nate assumed he was in the clear.

Nate was, of course, an idiot. Norah was a curious child; she was going to have a question about Quin eventually. It was unfortunate that she chose to ask her question in front of Natalie.

A slammed water jug and a scathing comment reaffirmed that Nate was in a bad position. Nate was usually good at finding the right thing to say, but that talent often fell flat with Natalie, and once again, he was struggling for words. ”Nat…”

Nate was unsure of what would follow Natalie’s name, but he would not get the chance to fill that space. Norah had more questions she clearly believed were innocent. ”Daddy, are you and Miss Quin friends like you and mommy are friends?”

Well, that was a loaded question! How the hell was he supposed to answer that? Norah did not see Nate kiss Quin; he was pretty sure of that fact. She did witness them sitting close together on the couch, though. Norah understood that mommy and daddy were friends, but she was an observant little girl, and as time went on, little moments of affection were just becoming part of their “friendship.” Nate and Quin had been slowing things down, but in many ways, the natures of those relationships were similar but backward. Nate and Quin were enjoying small glimpses of a life they once had, and Nate and Natalie were… what? Catching a glimpse of what life could be? ”I…” There was no way to explain all that in any way that would make sense to a child. There was no way to answer Norah that would not make things worse with Natalie.

And so, Nate Holloway, former quick-witted, silver-tongued conman Stephen Graves, stood there speechless. Mouth ajar, he had been bested by a six-year-old.

It was absurd. It was absurd to think that for once in her life, something could just fall into place. Nothing had ever fallen into place for Natalie. Everything she had, she’d had to work for and manipulate to have. There was nothing that would actually work for her, and she had to come to terms with that fact. Maybe that was why no romantic relationship had ever worked for her; she couldn’t make someone love her.

She couldn’t make Nate love her. She couldn’t make him want her, or want to spend time with just her without having someone else on the side. Of course it had come to this, her six year old declaring just where her father stood. It was so painfully obvious. Why couldn’t she have seen it before? It was always about him. What he could get out of the situation, wasn’t it? He was there for Norah, and he’d been using Natalie to get a little something on the side. God, he was just like every other man in the world.

There was nothing good about what they had. It was clearly toxic and she was deluding herself into thinking that there was something between them. She was deluding herself into thinking that he might want her; they might have been able to build something together. How could she have ever thought that? She prided herself on being strong and self-sufficient, and yet she had just let herself be played.

Sure, they weren’t exclusive. Technically, they weren’t anything. And yet, they were acting like they were. They would spend nights together and talk to each other like they were something more. She had opened up to him and treated him as if he would stay, and yet now she knew exactly what he was doing. To him, she was just another lay in an easier situation than most. Did she really look that lonely? Was she such an easy target?

”Norah, can you go to your room, please? Your father and I need to have a chat,” she told the little girl, having cleared her throat before talking. Her voice was at an even pace, letting nothing through.

”But I want to stay!”

”Norah.” Shuffling of feet sounded through the apartment told them that the little girl had listened to the instructions. Following a door slam, Natalie turned around in a flash of anger. Her eyes locked on Nate’s and narrowed as she bore him down. She was f***ing done with being played.

”Would it f***ing kill you to keep it in your pants?” she hissed, her voice finally displaying something. It was very unlike Natalie to lose her temper in that manner. She very nearly didn’t look like herself, and her powers were doing strange things. Normally, she was able to keep a lid on all of it - her emotions, her powers, all of it. Not in that moment, though. The ground around Nate appeared to shift and move, as if she wanted the earth to swallow him whole.

Nate knew Natalie’s tone meant they were destined for an argument, but he assumed they would put the conversation on the backburner until Norah went to bed. He realized how serious Natalie was about fighting when she very sternly sent Norah to her room.

Norah did not want to go to her room, but her mother made it clear she did not have a choice. Nate was almost going to tell Norah to listen to her mother, but if he chimed in, things would only get worse. She did not need to go off on him for stepping on her toes and undermining her authority as a parent. She had enough bullets loaded in the proverbial gun without his help.

The look Natalie shot Nate was scathing and it took all his resolve not to physically back away. He did nothing wrong, and he had to remember that in the face of an intimidating woman who he was pretty sure was distorting his perception of reality. He instinctively leapt back when the ground seemed to open up at his feet before he realized Natalie’s powers were just a sensory illusion. ”Nat, the hell!”

Nate wanted to keep his voice down, but it was hard to keep himself in check when Natalie was using her powers against him. ”I’m sorry Norah met Quin, but she was dropping by unexpectedly because she lost her damn job,” Nate defended aggressively, not liking the possible implication that Nate just invited women over when Norah was around.

”And more importantly, if I am sleeping with Quin, how is that your concern? We laid out rules, Nat. Hell, half the time I think you can’t stand me!” He cringed when he realized his voice was growing louder, so he made a conscious effort to drop it lower. ”I just don’t get it, Nat. The hell am I missing here?”

Natalie had been hiding her dislike of Nate seeing other women under the guise that she didn’t want Norah to meet them. That was partially true; she didn’t want the little girl to get attached to someone that could fill her mother’s place only to have them ripped away when Nate decided that he was done with them. Natalie would have to be the one to pick of the pieces as always. Yes, that was an important thing to keep in mind.

That wasn’t really what got her so angry, though. Anyone with half a brain and a step away from the situation could see exactly what she was feeling. Somewhere along the line, she’d fooled herself into thinking that they could actually be something, and maybe he could love her. Now, her stupidity was coming crashing down around her, and she wasn’t going to go down with at least a little bit of a fight.

”Oh, right, we laid out the rules, didn’t we? Yes, how could I possibly forget?” she spat, managing to keep her voice low despite her rage. ”That’s right, the rules that we set up so that you could have your fun and still see whoever you wanted as well. Men will be men, right?”

She turned and ran her hands through her dark hair, her hands falling to her sides as she let out a noise of frustration. She was just taking shots at that point. He was completely in the right; she had no claim, and they had set up the rules together. They had agreed that it was for the best at the time, but she had really thought that they were getting somewhere. Sure, she hadn’t been celibate, but nothing she had done had involved the ex that she had considered marrying or introducing Norah to someone else. He was on a completely different level.

He essentially confirmed that they were sleeping together, too. There was no sense of shame in his voice. No understanding toward her or her feelings. Who else was he sleeping with as well? How many others filled his quota? Was he ever sated?

She spun around suddenly, her eyes a little more sad than before. Her finger was pointed at the man that was driving her absolutely insane. ”I swear to god, I’ll never understand how you can’t see it, Nate. Do you really think that I don’t like you?” Her tone was simply sad by that point. She didn’t fill in the rest of the details. If he cared at all, he could figure that out on his own. If not, then they would just go back to being coparents. She couldn’t deal with anything else.

”I think you should go,” she stated before he could say anything else.

The inability to read Natalie was hitting a peak. She had him questioning the conversations they initially had about why they were better off not pursuing anything serious. The way she was cutting him down with such conviction made it hard to argue with her.

And yet, Nate was going to have to make the attempt. ”The rules that we set up so things didn’t get complicated and messy. The rules to keep Norah out of the crossfire if things turned sour. Unless that whole conversation was an illusion, too.”

Nate had feelings for Natalie; he could deny it, but he did. He was also smart enough to know the risks and remember why those feelings should be kept at bay. He thought he was on the same page as Natalie, but the way she was talking, he was in a different book. She had a finger pointed at him, asking how he could think she did not like him. It was her tone that surprised Nate more than her words. Natalie did not sound angry or sarcastic; she sounded upset.

How was he supposed to answer that? ”I… don’t know? I thought maybe, but then you pull away and—”

Nate would not get to finish his sentence because Natalie had enough of him for the night. Family Dinner Night had come to a close before it started and Nate found himself banished from Natalie’s apartment. Nate did not want to leave; he suddenly had so many questions, he could not pick a place to start. All that escaped his lips was a disheartened, ”Nat…”

He was throwing it back at her. Of course he was throwing it back at her. It wasn’t as if she didn’t deserve it, but in that moment, she didn’t need it. Not in the slightest. Nate was only digging himself deeper into the hole with every word. Each mention of their agreement was another heap of dirt on his grave.

She’d essentially told him how she felt, though. She’d drawn the dots in a perfect circle, meaning that his job was the simple task of connecting them. Really, she’d assumed that he would be more capable than that. Of course she didn’t dislike him. How on earth could he think that? He was the only person she’d ever opened up to, and each time she pushed him away, it was because they’d gotten too close. It was because she knew that they’d end up in the situation they were in right that moment, where she had fallen and it was just sex for him.

He’d thought maybe. That was good on him, wasn’t it? Maybe. That was just great. She let a huff out with his words, resting her hands on her waist as she stared at him. There was clearly something wrong with his brain if that was all he had deduced.

The whole thing would just be better if he left, though. They’d both made their points clear, and they’d reached an impasse. If they stopped what they were doing, then Nate could still have his fun with his girlfriends without her ever being a factor in it. She wouldn’t have to deal with any of the mess that was involved in being associated with him, and they would never have to get messy in front of Norah. Messier, anyway.

She wanted him gone.

”Leave. Now.” Each word came with weight that had come from a hardening of her spirit. She’d opened up all that she would that night, and there would be nothing else to come from her. Nothing friendly, anyway. Behind them, the oven timer went off and she walked around him to get the chicken out from the heat.

The way Natalie spoke said a lot. She was not joking and she was not looking to talk things out. She wanted Nate gone, and he got the impression that, if he stayed, the hot pan of chicken recently recovered from the oven would be making a beeline for his head.

Somewhere along the way, they crossed a line and things changed. They wanted to keep things from being messy and they failed spectacularly. It was a state of affairs Nate could not talk his way out of, so he could only retreat and think about where everything went wrong.

Nate almost motioned to say goodbye to Norah, but he knew Natalie wanted him out immediately. ”Say goodnight to Norah for me. Tell her I’ll be by to pick her up on Monday,” he muttered, hoping his exile from Natalie’s life did not mean he would not be seeing his daughter. He was already feeling an overwhelming sense of sadness, even if he could not place why yet.