| Nick and i had been out on several dates; I guess you coudl say we were dating. I enjoyed his company and he enjoyed mine.There was never any talk of anything unpleasant; there was never any awkwardness between us. Our friendship was nicely growing into something more. Nick would occasionally hold my hand, but that was the etent of affection he'd show me. It had been a beautiful night so we decided to walk to the movie theater Now on the walk back, he held my hand and we talked about the different movies we'd seen. We stopped for ice cream before continunug on to my apartment. He'd finished his ice cream and i had only a little of mine left when we decided to call it a night.We both stood next to his car; he held his keys in his hand, nervously jingling them. " Are you sure you don;t want to come up?" I asked. " I should probably just go on home, but i'll call you tomorrow," He said quietly. " Okay. Thank you, for the ice cream," " You're welcome... Would you mind if i kissed you?" He asked nervously. " Not at all," I giggled. He smiled and leaned in brushing his lips against mine ever so lightly. It had been so long since i had a decent kiss, and i didn't want it to end. I deepened the kiss, forgetting about the Ice cream in my hand and letting it fall to the ground. When Nick and i both pulled away, we were out of breath. " Wow," He said quietly. " I wasn't expecting that," " Me either," I said kissing him again softly, " That definitely took me by surprise," " Heather, I'm sure this is going to ruin the mood we have going here, but if i don't go i'm afraid... I might... I mean... I don't want you to feel pressured to do anything you're not ready for," He said stepping back from me. " I'm sorry," " Thank you for being thoughtful, buti'm over Marcus and what he did to me... well maybe not completely over it but i'm ready to move on wiht my life. And i'm not asking you to marry me, hell i'm not even asking you to sleep with me, but i am asking you not to assume i'm some fragile girl who'll pass out at the first hint of sexual tension. That kiss was nice. There was nothing behind it though. I like you. I like spending time with you and if and when we decided to take that next step, it will only be between you and I. Marcus will have nothing to do with it okay?" " Okay, now i feel ike a total ass," He said blushing furiously. " Don't" I smiled. " You were just looking out for me. That's one of your best qualities," Nick laugehd and kissed me again, only this one was shorter. " I love you," He whispered, after he pulled away. The look of confusion on his face mirrored mine. Neither of us knew what to say, we just stood there staring at each other. " You weren't supposed to hear that," He said after minutes of silence. " Oh.... Okay," " I'm gonna go. I'll talk to you soon," He quickly got in his car and drove away. I stood on the pavcement and watched as his tail lights disappeared into the darkness. ' What just happened?' I thought. When i went to wotk the next day, i found out that NIck had taken the day off, because of me no doubt. Rachel was full of reasons, he was sick, his dog died, his car broke down... but in the end she gave up herself and said she didn;t know. But i knew. I explained to Rachel what had happened the night before, and she found it amusing. " You don't know?" She laughed. " How could you not know?" " Know what? All i know is one minute we're kissing and the next i'm standing in my driveway alone. I don't get it Rachel," " Tha man's been in love with you forever. Why do you think he's always picking on you-" " What the hell is this? the third grade? He likes me so he picks on me and calls me names? Why didn't he just say something?" " Hello? Can we say Marcus? You were with him for two years Heath. What's he supposed to say? Hi Heather, I'm in love with you, but go ahead and stay with Marcus, becaus i don't want you for myself. I'll just sit abck and watch you live a happy lif with another man-" " My life was hardly happy. But he stil could've-" " Could've what? There was nothign he could do but sit and wait. Lord knows i tried to help him pass the time. HE probably just freaked out and needs some chill time," " I wish he would have just given me a chance to respond ya know? I mean, he just said 'I love you' then left," " What would you have said? What could you have possibly said that would make him feel better?" " I don't know," I shrugged. " All i know is he's great. He's a great guy and i don't want to lose him over something like this," " Heather, he loves you. He said so himself. There's no way you're gonna lose him-" " You don't know that, Rachel. He might be deciding i'm not worth the wait or something," " He's not Marcus, Heather. Nick has done nothing but wait for you. He's waited for two years and now that he's got you, he's not throw it away because of three little words," " You didn't see the way he looked at me Rachel. He was genuinely upset, and now he's not at work today. He's avoinding me," " Maybe he is, but give him a break. He opened his heart to you last night, and it wasn't planned. He's vulnerable right now. Just give him a couple of days," A coupke of days came and went, with no sign of Nick. He never called or stopped by, and when i did see him at work, he was always formal and only talked to me when it was job related. " Heather, can i have the file for the Monroe case," He said stepping out of his office. I spun around in my chair, and looked at him trying to keep calm. " I don't have that file Nick." I said through gritted teeth. " I gave it to Jack weeks ago," " Why?" He asked, annoyed with my frustration. " Because you gave me the flie to look over before giving it to Jack, who agreed with me that it belonged under copyright. Whether it's there now i don't know-" " Well could you find it for me please?" " Right now? I'm in the middle of something? " I need it now," " Well then maybe you should go find it youreself," I siad before turning back around in my chair and continung to work. " But i asked you-" " And i'm busy! So if you want the damn file so badly go find it yourself!" I yelled A couple of people in the office looked my way, and i quieted down. " I don't know where that file is Nick, I haven;t seen it for weeks-" " Yeah I know," He said before slamming his door shut. I looked over at Rachel, whose mouth was agape with what she'd just witnessed. " What was it you said about not letting go?" I asked. Part Six |