CHAPTER 33

Before long, her legs softened, easing their hold on me, and Nicole basically became a limp pile of flesh on the bed. Slowly, I loosened and stopped my tongue's dance on her areola and looked into her eyes, smiling.

Her eyes had a sparkle to them. It was frankly a magical sight to see. She wasn't full-out grinning, but I could tell that Nicole was happy, happier than I had seen her in a long time. I pulled myself forward and kissed her on the lips, which she returned with gentle passion. Our mouths never parted, but we didn't feel like there was any need to. I felt like I was in sync with Nicole, like we were one instead of two people lying on my bed.

Eventually, our lips parted and we just lay there, with me still in her, on top of her, softening inside her. I gently pulled myself out and placed myself next to her, laying on my side so I could still take in her beautiful face, still framed by her impossibly non-messed hair.

"Even my hair's a mess." I remarked. "I didn't know being in grade 11 protects your hair."

She chuckled. "There's a lot of perks to being a junior, Junior. You'll see in two years."

"I guess I will." I replied, not knowing anything else to say. I gave a few seconds pause before I figured, what the hell, it was bound to come up sooner or later.

"So you love me, huh?"

"What? She asked me, turning on to her side so she could face me. There was genuine confusion in her face.

"When I was inside you. You said you loved me." I explained, not knowing what to make of her reaction.

"Did I?" she asked me, more in a curious way than a challenging way. Her brow was fully furrowed.

"Yeah…" I replied, as if it were obvious. "You said it, clear as day. 'I love you.'"

"Nope, I don't think I did." She replied, half in refusal, half in disinterest.

She definitely did, I heard it. Is it possible she herself didn't know she had said it? Her tone didn't really sell the point that she didn't hear it, it was more like she was giving me a subtle hint that she wanted me to just drop the subject. I mulled it over before deciding that I would, though I was confused why she would want me to.

"Okay, I guess I was mistaken. Sorry about that!"

"No worries, squirt." she replied, stretching. "We all hear crazy things sometimes."

I kept wondering to myself before I reached a conclusion. She was emotionally vulnerable right now. Of course she would tell me she loved me, she was still in an emotional state after telling me about her dead brother. She would reach out to anyone if she could after revealing something like that. She just needed someone TO love, and I was happy being that someone if it meant making her happy. It was at that point that I realized just how much the girl meant to me. I had always appreciated her, but this was more. I truly wanted to make her happy. I still had that crush in May, but friends can love friends. I knew that love was a strong word, too strong for teens to understand, some say, but I wondered if I loved Nicole. I was starting to suspect I did.

I stole one last look at Nicole, who was still stretching right next to me (there wasn't much room for the two of us on my single bed) before rolling over onto my other side so I could check the time. 6:47pm.

"What time is it?" I heard Nicole ask from behind me. I rolled back over to discover that once again she was fully dressed, checking her phone.

"Oh come on!" I said, almost frustrated at this point. "That was literally a few seconds! You can't be that fast at doing that!!"

"C'mon, step it up!" she replied in a cartoonish voice. "You're too sloo-ooow~!" She grinned at me for a few seconds before that grin disappeared.

"That's a reference to something, isn't it?" I asked her, getting up off the bed to get my own clothes on.

"God damn, I have a lot to teach you." she replied, sighing to herself.

"It's 6:47." I told her, getting my shirt over my head.

"Mmm." she grunted, annoyed. "I probably have to get home." She got up from the bed lazily and walked over to me, joining me just as I was fully clothed.

She gave me a peck on the cheek. "Thanks for putting up with me, Adam." she said genuinely. "I was a real asshole today."

I smiled at her. "It's perfectly fine, Nicole." I took her hand in mine. "May I walk you to the door?"

"I thought you'd never ask, Sir Watson." she replied in a well-executed British accent. She led the way, opening the door and walking down the stairs, her hand in mine. Before leaving, she decided to find my parents and bid them goodbye.

She found my dad in the living room in front of the TV, which was no surprise. "Hey, dad." I waved to him as we entered, Nicole's hand now out of mine. "Nicole here just wanted to say goodbye."

"Alrighty!" Dad responded, then looked at Nicole. "Goodbye, Nicole. It was nice to finally meet you."

Nicole looked dad in the eye, then put one hand to her forehead, pointing another at Dad. "You just finished watching Ferris Bueller's Day Off." she told him. "I sense that you really enjoy Bueller's character."

Dad's expression fell. "Adam, how's she doing that?!" He asked me desperately.

Nicole stumbled around, feigning dizziness (I could tell it was fake, but I don't think dad could) and faced dad again. She smiled sweetly. "Hey there, Mr. Watson! I just wanted to say goodbye. It was nice knowing you!"

Dad sputtered for a second, before managing to say, "Y-yes. Nice to meet you too. Goodbye."

Nicole's goodbye to mom was a lot more normal, just consisting of a wave and a "Goodbye, Mrs. Watson!" as we approached the exit via the kitchen.

Once we were in the back room, Nicole started laughing and I joined in. "You're going to give my poor dad a heart attack." I told her.

Nicole shrugged. "I was just messin' with him." she said flatly.

"So, how'd you do that one?" I asked her.

"Jeez, you just wanna know all my secrets, don't you, hotshot?" She asked me, grinning. "I could see the TV with my peripherals. The VHS case was on top of the TV. I didn't know people used VHS tapes anymore. Your dad is old."

"Don't tell him that." I said. We shared another laugh, and then went silent, just staring each other in the eyes.

"So, um…" Nicole awkwardly stated. "Bye, I guess. Text me later?"

"You can count on that." I said, and smiled warmly. Nicole nodded and smiled, before her smile turned sassy.

"Let's hope you remember." She told me. It was a little weak, but I guess Nicole's sassiness needed to recharge after sex. Nevertheless, I gave her a little wink as she got on her boots and left, with me waving goodbye to her until she was out of view.

I sighed to myself. Someday, we were going to have to deal with what she had said to me while I was inside of her. Especially since I wasn't exactly done with the other two girls who had suddenly come into my life.