Hunger

By angellwings

Dana nudged Ella's side as she joined the group at the altar. She leaned toward her maid of honor's ear and whispered. "If you keep staring at Nate you're going to burn a hole through the middle of him."

Ella's eyes widened and she immediately looked away from him.

Dana chuckled at her. "Ella, Nate and I have been over for almost a year and a half now. You're allowed to have feelings for him, you know. Clearly, I've moved on or we wouldn't be here tonight."

"Alright," The wedding planner said loudly. "Let's practice the exit. Now the pastor will say, 'Presenting for the first time, in front of their family and friends, Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Cantor.' And then, of course, Andy and Dana will leave first…"

Andy held out his arm to Dana and she beamed at him as she accepted. They walked away and the wedding planner glanced between Ella and Nate. "Now, once they're halfway down the aisle the two of you will meet in the middle of the stage, and follow them."

She motioned for Ella and Nate to do as she asked. Nate smiled easily at her and offered her his arm. She smiled in return and accepted. They walked toward the back of the church together. They were followed first by one of Dana's friends from Julliard and Sander, then Peggy and Barron, Mitchie and Shane, Caitlyn and Jason, and then, finally, Lola and Andy's little brother.

They all held their breath as they waited to see if Dana's wedding planner was going to want to do yet another run through.

"Okay, good job, kids. I think we're all set."

They released their breath and a few happy cries could be heard. This meant it was time for food. The rehearsal dinner. Andy and Dana's families would be waiting on them at the hall that had been reserved. The dinner was going to be catered. They were all starving. Ella's stomach growled and she blushed.

Nate chuckled at her. "Hungry, El?"

"Just a little," She answered as she bit her bottom lip.

Nate pulled a pack of peanut butter crackers out of his pocket and held them up for her to see. "We could split them. They might hold you over until we get real food."

She nodded and chuckled. "Sure, thanks, Nate."

He tossed her the pack and shrugged. "Not a big deal."

She opened it and took a cracker for herself before holding out the pack toward him. He took one as they all walked out the door of the church. They munched on them as the group walked toward the parking lot. Caitlyn slowed to match Ella's pace.

"Do you still need a ride to the hall?" Caitlyn asked.

"No," Nate answered for her. "I got it. I'll take her."

"Of course you will," Caitlyn said with a knowing grin. Before she sped up to join Jason she winked at them. "See you both in a bit."

"Thanks," Ella said again.

"We still have a few crackers left. We can't share them if you ride with Cait," He told her with a playful smirk.

She chuckled. "Very true."

They got to Nate's car and Ella reached for her door but Nate beat her to it. He winked and opened it for her. She blushed and sat down in the passenger seat. He closed the door and then walked around and got in. He let her have the last cracker as he started the car. "So, are you ready for tomorrow?"

"You mean am I ready to stand up in front of everyone in a day-glo purple dress with impossibly tall heels dyed to match? Sure, why not?" Ella said with a smirk. "I've worn worse."

Nate laughed and gave her an amused glance as he pulled out of the church parking lot. "I over heard Caitlyn talking about the dresses too. Are they really that bad?"

"Nate, it looks like Barney threw up all over them. I mean I adore Dana, I do, but she's insane," Ella said with a shake of her head. "But whatever, it's her day. I'll wear an ugly dress if it makes her wedding perfect for her."

"That's a good way to look at it besides you can always get revenge at your own wedding, right?" Nate asked dryly.

Ella laughed. "Oh gosh, I would never be able to do that. The stylist in me would feel terrible."

"But if you did do it," Nate started with a smirk. "What color would you pick?"

She tapped her chin thoughtfully before she answered. "School bus yellow with a big black sash across the middle."

"To make them look like bumble bees. I approve," Nate said with a chuckle.

"Oh, they would all hate me," Ella said as she laughed.

"Come on, admit it, you'd enjoy messing with them, though," Nate said with an evil smirk.

Ella shared his smirk. "I'm not gonna lie, it would be hilarious."

"We're here," Nate announced finally.

They parked outside of the building and Ella smiled eagerly. "Oh thank God, food."

Nate laughed and got out. Ella started to open her door but Nate jogged around to the other side and beat her to it, yet again. He opened the door and motioned for her to lead the way.

If she didn't know any better she'd think this was a date. They entered the hall and were immediately greeted by Andy's mother. "Well, hello you two. My don't you both look nice. What a beautiful couple you make."

Ella blushed. "Oh, no, we're not—"

"Just find your name cards and take your seats. The food should be served any minute."

"Okay," Ella said with a sigh. It's not that she minded people thinking she and Nate were a couple. She didn't mind one bit. It's just that hearing people says things like that got her hopes up where Nate was concerned.

Nate nudged her with his elbow playfully, and he chuckled. "Nice to know the idea of us being a couple is so repulsive to you."

To anyone else that would have sounded like a joke, but Ella knew his joking tone.

That wasn't it.

"What? No, that's not what I meant. You and me being a couple is by no means repulsive to me. It's just not…our reality, that's all," She explained apologetically. That comment nearly gave too much away. She continued and tried to recover from it. "You wouldn't want to miss your chance with some cousin of Andy's or Dana's because they think you're attached to me, would you?"

"Wouldn't be so bad to me," Nate muttered. "But you know, I wouldn't want to hinder you while you searched for Mr. Right."

Ella's brow furrowed at the bitterness in his tone. What? Where did that come from? He walked ahead of her and scanned the tables. Ella saw Caitlyn motioning them over.

"You guys! You're over here. Next to us," She yelled.

Nate pulled his chair out from underneath the table with so much force that he nearly knocked it over. Ella winced. Great, now he was mad at her. How had she possibly offended him? It's not like they were dating or like he was even remotely interested in her. At least she didn't think he was. He'd never really acted like it.

Ella sat down in between Caitlyn and Nate hesitantly. If he was going to be like this all night she didn't know if she wanted to sit next to him. She hated dealing with this Nate. Not Angry-Nate. Angry-Nate she could handle. It was Suffer-in-Silence-Cause-I-Think-I-Can-Handle-Everything-On-My-Own Nate that she hated, and that's who was currently sitting to the left of her.

Caitlyn and Jason stared at him like he'd grown two extra heads, and Ella leaned toward him.

"What is wrong with you?" She whispered. "You're throwing a tantrum."

He didn't answer her. He simply glowered at the table cloth. She huffed and threw her clutch down on the table. Well, tonight was going to be fun. She could tell already. Jason and Caitlyn talked quietly as they waited for the rest of the party. It turned out Shane and Mitchie and Peggy and Barron were also sitting at their table. Nate and Ella were the only two people not talking.

Finally, the first course came and Ella frowned at the bowl that was placed in front of her. What the hell was this?

Nate glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and she saw him grin very slightly.

Ella glared at the bowl in front of her. Bisque. They were serving her bisque. And not just bisque, but cold spinach bisque. She was not eating cold leafy green soup. No way. She wrinkled her nose and pushed the bowl away from her. She didn't want to be rude, but she just couldn't eat that.

They took the first course away and brought the main entrée. She was very glad Nate had shared those crackers with her because it didn't look like she was going to be eating tonight. She'd have to wait until she got home.

The main course was smoked beef. Smoked, in Ella's mind, was code for "not really cooked." There was asparagus too. Unseasoned, stiff asparagus. Ella usually loved aspargus but not when it was cooked like that. She felt obligated though to eat a few bites of it. She quickly followed it with a swig of her lemonade. She stared in horror at the last side dish on her plate.

Mushrooms with garlic butter. Who in the world had put together this meal? Ella was beginning to think they polled her friends and decided the theme would be "Ella's least favorite foods ever." She hated mushrooms. They had no flavor. They took on the flavor of whatever they were being served with.

She discretely glanced over at Nate and found him eating everything but the mushrooms. He felt her looking at him and met her gaze. His angry look faded a bit and in its place was a sympathetic one. He knew Ella despised most of what had been placed in front of her, and he knew she was starving. She looked away from him when she realized he'd seen her staring. She pushed her food around on her plate with her fork.

This was the worst night ever. It had started so well. Now Nate was mad at her, and she was hungry…but couldn't eat any of this food. Her stomach growled quietly and she fought back a whimper. This was ridiculous.

Caitlyn heard the growling and turned to her. "Why aren't you eating? You're obviously hungry, El."

She bit her bottom lip and sighed. "I don't like any of this stuff."

Caitlyn's eyes widened. "Are you serious? This is delicious. Just try some of it."

Ella glared at her. "I've tried it all before, okay? I know what every bit of it tastes like. I just don't like any of it."

"Suit yourself," Caitlyn said with a scolding look. "But it's your own fault if you go hungry."

Ella rolled her eyes. "Gee, thanks, Cait. I feel so much better now."

Caitlyn shrugged and returned to her food. Ella excused herself to go to the restroom. She knew she had to be here. She was the maid of honor after all, but she wanted to go home. At home she had noodles and alfredo sauce and chicken breast. It would be so easy to throw that all together and eat.

Dana better appreciate what Ella was going through right now. Maybe she would make her bridesmaids wear ugly dresses at her wedding. Ella ran a hand through her hair. She was grumpy and snippy. This happened whenever she was very hungry. She'd nearly freaked on a waitress once while she and Nate were out to lunch one day. The girl had forgotten to put in their order. Nate had talked the waitresses into giving them a free appetizer to make up for it. She wondered if he knew he'd saved that waitress's life that day.

She stared at herself in the bathroom mirror for a bit. Would Dana hate her if she left early? No, wait. She couldn't leave early. She didn't drive herself. Well, she supposed she could call a cab. She groaned. Who was she kidding? She would feel even guiltier if she bailed. She would just have to wait it out. Maybe she'd force herself to eat the rest of her asparagus. She returned to the table to find that Nate had gone missing. Her brow furrowed and she nudged Cailtyn's arm.

"Where'd Nate go?"

Caitlyn shrugged. "I have no idea. He finished his food and then left. He didn't say a word to any of us."

Ella scoffed. "Great. There goes my ride."

"No, worries, Ella," Jason said. "We'll get you home."

She smiled appreciatively at him. "Thanks, Jason."

About forty-five minutes later when everyone had almost finished eating Andy's parents stood up and made a speech. They thanked everyone for coming and praised Dana until Ella thought her skin would forever be tinted deep crimson, and then announced that desert would be cheesecake…with raspberry coulis. Ella had gotten her hopes up for a split second.

Raspberries. Of course they would slather the cheesecake in raspberry sauce. It just made sense that they would pick her least favorite berry ever to ruin good cheesecake.

Ella was so hungry that she was starting to feel sick. Just an hour more at most and she would be on her way home. Suddenly someone sat down in the seat next to her. She turned to find Nate. He was back. Her brow furrowed at him.

"Where did you go?" Ella asked as the disgusting cheesecake was placed in front of her.

He smiled softly at her. "You'll see, but first…I'm sorry. I snapped at you back there, and you didn't really do anything wrong. You didn't deserve to be ignored tonight. I was a complete and total jerk. I apologize."

She returned his smile, and nodded. "Apology accepted. Now where did you go?"

He smirked as a waiter approached their table and took away her cheesecake. He placed a larger plate in front of her and then walked away. Ella stared at the plate and then turned to him. "What is this?"

He laughed. "What does it look like?"

"A small steak, a baked potato, and steamed vegetables, but where did it come from, Nate?" Ella asked as she looked up at him suspiciously.

"I might have left briefly to order you some take out from that steakhouse down the street," He admitted sheepishly.

"What? Why?"

"Because you looked absolutely pathetic. I couldn't take watching you starve," He told her with a smirk. "And I knew you wouldn't leave because you'd be too afraid of missing something important and disappointing Dana. The only solution was to have someone run out and get you something. So, that's what I did."

She couldn't stop herself from doing what she did next. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you! You're amazing!"

"Can't wait to see how you thank me for dessert if that's how you thank me for dinner," Nate said teasingly as she released him.

"Well, that depends on what it is," Ella said with a smile. "Now, please excuse me while I eat. I'm famished."

"By all means," Nate said with a laugh. "Dig in."

The entire table couldn't help but stare as Ella inhaled her food. Nate smirked at her in amusement and tried to keep from laughing. She really was famished.

"Geez, Ella. Are you packing it away for the long winter ahead?" Caitlyn asked with raised eyebrows. Ella paused in her chewing and looked up at Caitlyn in confusion. Nate covered his mouth with his hand to hide his smile. Ella had food stuffed in her cheeks. She looked like a chipmunk. He thought she looked adorable.

She swallowed and chewed slowly when she realized people were staring. She blushed and took slower, smaller bites. And he could no longer hold back, at least, a chuckle. Ella glared playfully at him and acted as if she might fling a bit of baked potato at him.

He held up a finger and wagged it at her. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. I'm still holding your dessert hostage, remember?"

She pouted for a moment but then quickly returned to her food. She was done not long after that and then she turned to him expectantly. "Okay, where's dessert?"

"Don't you want to let that settle first?"

"Nope. Dessert, please."

Nate chuckled and pulled out a Styrofoam container from underneath the table. He placed it in front of her, and opened it slowly.

She gasped. "Oh my God. You brought me chocolate cheesecake covered in caramel sauce. Okay, you are the best person I have ever met in my entire life."

"Wow, would you have done if I'd brought you more than one piece?" Nate asked with wide eyes and an amused smile.

She took a bite and made a sound that clearly expressed how much she enjoyed her dessert. She swallowed and then turned to face him. "Um, if you would have brought me another piece I just might have kissed you. This is the best cheesecake I've ever had."

He smirked at her. "I knew I should have ordered another slice."

Her fork froze as it dug into the cheesecake and she looked up at him in surprise. "I—you—what?"

He chuckled, and repeated himself. "I knew I should have ordered another slice."

She stared at him for a moment, and then blushed and smiled brightly at him. "Yeah, you should have."

He put his arm across the back of her chair and she felt his fingers graze her bare shoulder. She was never more grateful to be wearing a spaghetti strap top than she was in that moment. She forced herself to put the focus back on her dessert even though all she wanted to focus on was Nate. She finished her dessert and then leaned back in her chair. Nate's eyes found hers as her back rested against his arm.

"Feel better now that you've been fed?" He asked with a grin.

She nodded. "Much."

Andy's brother stood up then and toasted to the happy couple and officially brought the rehearsal dinner to an end. Nate stood from his chair and held Ella's jacket out toward her. She gave him a surprised look as he helped her slip it on. Her heart sped up as she felt his breath on her skin. His hands lingered on her arms for a minute and she heard him take a deep breath before he brought them back to his sides and stepped away from her.

"C'mon, I'll give you a ride home," Nate said as he placed a hand on the small of her back. She nodded and picked her clutch up off the table. He kept his hand on her back as he led her out of the room and back to his car. He stopped before he opened the passenger door for her. "I really am sorry about the way I acted tonight, Ella."

She smiled softly at him. "Its okay, Nate. Really. I'm just glad you're not still mad at me."

"I wasn't really mad at you, Ella. I was just…mad. That's all."

She squinted her eyes at him thoughtfully. "About what?"

"About…certain circumstances."

"Okay, Nate, you're really gonna have to learn how to answer questions. That tells me nothing," Ella said with a stern gaze.

He sighed. "Ella…"

"Nate, seriously, what set you off tonight?"

"It doesn't matter, you made it clear that it's not something you want. I mean, you can't help that, really, and I shouldn't have reacted the way I did. Sometimes things are one sided—"

"Woah, woah, woah. What are you talking about?" Ella asked.

"I can't blame you for not feeling for me what I feel for you. It was just tonight when you told Mrs. Cantor that we weren't a couple and then…said the thing about missing chances with other people…it just hit me all at once, and I lashed out at you—"

"Nate…"

"No, Ella it's okay. Really, I promise—"

"No, Nate, it's not okay—"

"Ella—"

"Nate," She snapped in frustration. "Stop talking. I need you to listen to me right now."

He nodded and looked away from her.

"I didn't correct Mrs. Cantor tonight because I didn't want to be a couple. I corrected her because…she was getting my hopes up and I was afraid you only wanted to be friends. And then the thing about other people…I only said to throw you off. I didn't mean it. God, if I knew you were going to take all of that away from what I said I wouldn't have said anything to begin with," Ella said as she stepped closer to him and brought a hand to his cheek. She lightly traced her thumb across his skin. "Maybe if I'd done that we would have had a better night."

"What are you saying, Ella?" Nate asked as he placed his hand on top of hers.

"I'm saying that all the bad things that happened tonight…came from one huge misunderstanding," Ella said with a sigh. "You thought I didn't want you and I thought you didn't want me when it looks like…"

"We both wanted each other all along," Nate said as the full meaning of her words hit him. "I got mad for nothing." He pulled her hand from his cheek and kissed the back of it. He looked into her eyes and spoke softly with a smirk. "So, you want me?"

She smirked back at him. "You want me too, apparently."

"I really do," He said in a low voice as he slowly pinned her to the side of his car. She took in a deep shaky breath as he moved closer. Her back was pressed against the car door and he moved his hands to her waist. His chest was flush against hers now and she was stuck between him and the car. His lips hovered over hers for a moment before they pressed against her own. He kissed her hungrily. His tongue immediately ran across her front teeth and she parted her lips. He was devouring her, and she didn't mind one bit. Nate groaned as Ella's arms wrapped around his torso and she clung to him. He was kissing her forcefully and she felt like she had to hold onto him.

He pulled away to catch his breath and rested his forehead against hers. Ella swallowed thickly and smiled at him. "That was way better than chocolate cheesecake."