Eighteen

   “So how did they get him, anyway?” Nathalie asked Nicky as they were driving over to Jacob's apartment.

   “I think they traded a draft pick, because none of the guys have left.” Nicky said. “Look, here it is!” He stopped next to a big, gray building and both of them got out.

   “I wonder what she's like...” Nathalie thought out loud.

   “I bet she's nice.” Nicky spat on the ground and they opened the door to the building.

   “Yeah...” Nathalie said. “Probably.” They knocked on the white door and five seconds later, Jacob had opened it and was smiling at them.

   “Hey!” He said with a grin. “Come in, come in. Autumn?”

   “Yeah?” Autumn walked out from the kitchen. “Oh, hi.”

   “Hello.” Nathalie said and held out her hand for Autumn. “I'm Nathalie, nice to meet you. Autumn, right?”

   “Yeah.” Autumn shook her hand. “Same.”

   “Sorry, girls.” Nicky said, checking his watch. “But we have to go.” Jacob grabbed his bag from the floor and followed Nicky through the door. They waved goodbye and when the door closed, Autumn cleared her throat.

   “So, you're from Sweden too?” She asked.

   “Yeah, I am.” Nathalie didn't know what more to say, but she didn't want the awkward silence to come around. “Nicky told me you were Canadian.”

   “Yup.” Autumn scratched the back of her head.

   “So how do you know Jacob?” Autumn shrugged.

   “Met him in Florida.” She paused. “It's funny, actually.” She gestured for Nathalie to follow her into the apartment. They sat down on the sofa in the living room. “So I was working at WalMart, right? And he comes in every single day to ask me out.”

Nathalie smiled.

   “Really?”

   “Yeah! I knew who he was, of course, so I didn't want to get myself into any trouble. That's why I kept saying no. I don't remember why I caved, though...” Autumn rolled her eyes and shrugged. “Oh well...”

   “Sounds like a fairy tale.” Nathalie laughed and looked at Autumn's face. She did seem to be a good girl.

   “What about you?” Autumn asked. “How did you meet Nicklas?”

   “Ha, it's actually kind of funny.” Nathalie said. “I was working as a waiter in Sweden, and he slipped me his number after he had bought some beers. I wasn't sure what to do, but my co-worker told me to call him, so I did.”

   “Wow.” Autumn said, nodding. “That's cool.”

   “Incredibly.” Nathalie rolled her eyes. “Exciting story, right.” She winked and laughed.

   “Your English is good, by the way.” Autumn said, sounding impressed.

   “Thanks,” Nathalie blushed. “I have relatives in California and I've been speaking it at home since I was a kid.”

   “So you're like, bilingual?” Autumn's mouth fell open. “I've always wanted to be one of those! It's so cool. What's it like?” Nathalie shrugged.

   “Uh, I don't know...” She said. “It was great during school, always got the best marks in English, and it's awesome when you're looking for a job. But you don't have much use for it in Sweden. That's why I moved here with Nicklas. It was a hard decision too.” She sighed. “I played professional handball in Denmark and I was just home visiting family and working a little when I met Nicklas. Then he convinced me to come here with him.”

   “Handball?” Autumn looked confused. “Is that what I think it is?”

   “Probably not,” Nathalie smiled. “Some people seem to think that it's when you hit a ball against a wall, and it really isn't!” She got her phone out of her pocket and showed some pictures.

   “Ooh, that's cool!” Autumn said, amazed. “So how do you manage without it?”

   “I don't, actually. I play in a team here in D.C.” Nathalie grinned. “Do you play any sports?”

   “No,” Autumn shook her head. “I'm more of a musical and artistic person.” Nathalie nodded.

   “So you sing, or...?”

   “Yeah, actually. I sing and play guitar.”

   “Wow, maybe you can play me something one day?”

   “Yeah, why not,” Autumn nodded. “So what can you do around here?”

   “What did you do down in Florida?” Nathalie asked, smiling slightly.

   “You know...” Autumn shrugged. “Worked, swam, sunbathed.” She shivered slightly. “It's way colder up here, by the way. How can you stand it?” Nathalie laughed.

   “It's not that bad.” She said. “But what do you mean do? It's the American capital, I think you can do pretty much whatever you'd like.”

   “So, what do you recommend?”

   “Depends. What do you like to do?” Autumn looked around the room.

   “Pretty much anything. This apartment is kinda boring, to be honest.”

   “Okay...” Nathalie searched her mind for a good place to go, if you were bored and Canadian. “There's always bowling not far from here, if you don't mind walking?”

   “No, walking's fine!” Autumn said, getting out of the sofa. “My feet are a bit sore though... How far is it?”

   “Ten minutes, max.” Nathalie replied. “Why are your feet sore?”

   “Uh...” Autumn bit her lip. She didn't know whether to tell Nathalie or not. After all, they had just met. “I don't know, they just are.” She shrugged and turned away. Nathalie blinked.

   “Okay...” She said, standing up as well. “Isn't that... You know, a sign of pregnancy?”

   “Is it?” Autumn said, biting her lip and pretending to look for something in a drawer. “I didn't know.”

   “Autumn,” Nathalie said, walking over to her. “Are you...?”

   “Look, I just met you, what do you care?” Nathalie backed off.

   “Sorry,” She said quietly. “It's just... I know your brother, and I've heard a lot about you before you came. Whenever he talks about you he's got that look, you know. As if he'd kill for you. He's really protective, obviously.”

   “You won't tell him will you?” Autumn turned around and closed the drawer. “He'd kill me, kill Jacob...”

   “Why would he kill him? Doesn't Jacob make you happy?”

   “Yeah, he does...” Autumn sighed. “God, I can't believe I'm about to say this to a complete stranger...” She paused. “It wasn't planned, exactly.” Nathalie blinked.

They sat down in the sofa again, and Autumn told Nathalie everything she could remember from that date, and whatnot. Then she explained why she didn't want Mathieu to know the true story, and they'd be telling him that they had dated for a while. Nathalie promised to play along, even though she now knew the truth.

   “Why are you so afraid of him, though?” Nathalie raised her eyebrows. “He's not that intimidating if you ask me.” Autumn stared at her.

   “He's my older brother...” She said. “He's always hated every guy I've ever seen, and just imagine him knowing that his little sister got pregnant at 21.” She shook her head. “No, I don't even want to think about what he'd do.”

Nathalie put her hands on Autumn's shoulders and looked into her eyes.

   “I promise you, he won't find out before you're ready to tell him, okay? I won't say a word, nor will Nicklas, okay?” Autumn nodded, a tear sliding down her face.

She could tell that the two of them were going to be great friends, and she really needed that.