Close Enough (High Rise Novella Four) by Harper Bliss

banter between Nat and Alex. She knew what Alex meant to Nat, and despite trying very hard not to show it, how sad she was to see Alex leaving her flat.
    “I moved in here,” Alex continued, “and that started it all.”
    Nat shook her head. “If it hadn’t been for me, you’d never have gone near Maddie. You were petrified.”
    “Allow me to remind you that if it hadn’t been for me, you’d have pushed Isabella right out of your life just because you were frozen with fear.”
    Isabella locked eyes with Maddie and shot her a smile. They might have been sitting in the same spot as last year, but everything else had changed dramatically. She remembered the first time they’d all gathered on her terrace together and the instant attraction she had felt toward Nat—how clueless she had been.
    It had been two months since she had found Nat’s letter in her mail box, scribbled in almost illegible hand writing, but the emotions behind it were more than clear. As a declaration of love and intent, it sure had hit home. They hadn’t looked back since. Nat had spent every single night at Isabella’s. When Isabella left for work, Nat headed down to her apartment to write, but she was there every evening and every weekend. They had spent Christmas and New Year’s Eve together and had booked a trip to Phuket together with Maddie and Alex for Chinese New Year.
    Maybe Isabella had been afraid to see it, but once they had taken the last hurdle, their affair had advanced just as rapidly as her best friend’s. Maybe she should ask Nat and make it official. She was fifty now. What was she waiting for?

    NAT

    Nat sat slouched in her favourite arm chair in Isabella’s living room. It overlooked the window and the million twinkling lights of the Hong Kong night. Isabella didn’t know that Nat often came here during the day when she was out. Just to sit and think and make some notes. She didn’t tell her because—she didn’t really know why. Maybe because she had forced herself to forget what the natural stages of a relationship felt like. Was it normal to want to be in someone’s house even when they weren’t there? To want to be around their things and be surrounded by their essence? Nat didn’t have a clue so she didn’t talk about it.
    After Maddie and Alex had left, Isabella had gone quiet. She lay stretched out on the sofa, her legs crossed at the ankles, staring at the ceiling.
    “Have you got the midlife blues?” Nat asked in a soft voice. “And more importantly, is there anything I can do about it?”
    Isabella turned on her side, supporting her head on a bent arm. “You can come closer.”
    Nat jumped out of the chair and sank down on the carpet next to Isabella. Isabella raked her fingers through Nat’s gelled hair.
    “You looked very handsome today.”
    “Who?” Nat pointed a finger at herself. “Moi? In this old thing?” She’d had the tuxedo tailor made. They usually didn’t come with a plunging neck line.
    Isabella’s hand snuck down to Nat’s neck. “Yes.” Her fingers squeezed the sensitive spot at the base of Nat’s neck. “You.”
    Nat let her head fall back on Isabella’s hand. “Hey, guess what?”
    “What?” The sound of Isabella’s voice drifted lazily over Nat’s head.
    “I quite like the thought of being with a fifty-year-old cougar.” It was Nat’s way of expressing her love.
    “An age difference of less than fifteen years hardly makes me a cougar. You really should do better research.”
    “You know me, Doc. I like to wing it.” Isabella’s hand had snuck beneath the collar of Nat’s top and her nails scratched lightly over the skin of her back.
    “Do you want to move in with me?” Isabella’s hand stopped and Nat felt her muscles tense. Did she hear that right? She sat motionless for a few seconds, before turning to face Isabella.
    “I understand if you think it’s too soon. I know you value your independence. You can always keep your place as an office…”