Eight
That night, as Nicole and AJ, Howie, Nick and even Kevin and Kristin ventured out to a local bar, Nicole found herself hanging around the long, wooden bar while the others kept to either the dance floor or V.I.P section. And those who were dancing would keep traveling back to Nicole and talking. She was never really left alone at any one point, but rather, had different companions throughout the night.
At one point, she had Howie with her and though they hadn’t talked about her and AJ being ‘together,’ she could sense he wanted to. Nicole brought it up as easily as possible, yet with her own warning. "About me and AJ, could you not really tell anyone about it?"
He was shocked and turned to face her. "What?"
"I just feel a li’l uneasy still, about being here. And that kind of info getting around could make it all the more weird."
Howie shook his head, mumbling. "I can’t believe that," he trailed off with a small smile.
Nicole leaned closer to him. "What?"
"AJ asked me that earlier. When we first showed up, he pulled me aside. Asked me to not advertise things between you two."
She smirked lightly, but wasn’t sure if she was as entertained by the fact that they’d asked their friend of the same favor. "Really?"
As Nicole took a swig off the bottle in her hand, Howie nodded and pushed his drink in her direction. "It’s kinda scary. You both asking me that." She could only shrug as she sensed he was insinuating something more. "So, what all is happening with you two?"
Nicole shrugged again. "I don’t really know. It’s kinda like just really close friends."
"With benefits," he smirked.
She swatted a hand at his arm. "We kiss. That’s about all that’s happened."
"Really?"
Sobering a bit from the amusement between them, Nicole took another drink off her bottle. "I don’t like to kiss and tell," she spoke with an air of attitude, yet a tiny smile.
"Ah, but you just did," he nudged at her arm with a laugh.
"Okay," Nicole nodded in agreement. "But I don’t do all that other stuff and gossip on it."
"You can say sex. I know you two are sleeping together."
"We’re not sleeping together," she insisted immediately in a rather loud voice, then froze as she saw Howie’s eyesight go elsewhere. In instants, Nicole felt a presence behind her and only prayed it was AJ.
"Hey, guys," Kevin offered in an uncomfortable way. He only prayed they weren’t talking about what he imagined. Things between he and Nicole. Knowing they still kept in touch while she was there and kept it as quiet as possible between everyone was almost starting to make him paranoid of most everything.
Howie brightened and shifted away to allow room for Kevin to move in, ordering a drink, and Nicole offered a quiet hello. "How’s the floor?" Howie asked.
"Crowded," he frowned. Then Kevin looked around them. "This isn’t much better." After he received the two drinks he ordered, he looked back to the two people in front of him. "Why don’t you guys head back over to our section?"
Howie eyed Nicole and nodded in that direction. "Wanna go sit?"
"I’ll be there in a minute," she shook her bottle, signaling the need for another drink. As Nicole turned towards the bartender, Howie walked away, but Kevin stayed. He leaned against the rail after putting his drinks at the counter. Waiting on her drink, she glanced over to him with a small smile. "You’re still here?"
"Yeah, imagine that," he smirked for her. Kevin started shaking his head, "And you’re still here, too."
When Nicole got her new bottle, she waved it towards him. "Had to get me-self something."
He leaned closer to her. "Nah, I mean still around. You’re still here with us."
Her eyes went in a nervous way, looking anywhere but to his face where he was smiling just right. Just right, making her stomach flutter. When she looked behind her towards the V.I.P. section she saw AJ bopping his head to the beat of the song, talking with Howie. With his attention taken elsewhere, she leaned back into Kevin with a smile. "Yeah, I am."
"You know, we got a few days off next week. Two or three, I think."
"Yeah, I know." Nicole took a few moments thought then looked to him with a drooped smile. "I was gonna head on home for a li’l while."
Kevin nodded slowly. "That’s a good coincidence. So was I."
Seeing how his head moved in such a deliberate way, she caught her breath and stared him down. The smile turned from nearly sad and disappointing to sly at his suggestion, yet timid at the situation alone. "Kevin, I doubt that’s a good coincidence."
He bumped his hip against hers. "Sure it is."
Nicole rubbed nervously at her nose and felt her breathing quicken at his close contact while feeling the alcohol begin to make its mark on her system. He was all she could consider in that moment and for reasons she later couldn’t come up with, AJ was the farthest thing from her mind. "What about Kristin?"
Kevin’s eyes went away from hers, but soon returned. "She’s heading home."
"As are you," Nicole pointed out with a slight smile.
"She has some work in Florida. I’m going to Kentucky." His thin lips turned into a smile that only grew the more they were sharing eye contact. "Or I could go some other place, if I really wanted to."
"Some other place, like?" Nicole figured on where this conversation was heading, but really wanted to hear it for herself in that moment.
He shrugged and pushed away from the bar rail. "Chicago, maybe. I hear it’s real nice this time around."
Nicole watched his eyes go back to where the others from their party were. When she looked over there, she saw that most everyone was still occupied and were enjoying themselves. No doubt, no one really was questioning where both Nicole and Kevin were at that moment. In a faraway voice while still watching her friends, "It’s nice all year round."
Kevin leaned in towards her face, one hand going across the fabric at her stomach. "I bet especially when you’re there." He kissed gently at her cheek and winked when he backed away.
He began to walk away, but she called out his name quickly and grabbed hold of the back of his shirt, pulling him back. "That is … I can’t believe you’d say that," she smiled, her eyelids fluttering. Nicole was enjoying this attention from Kevin in that exact moment and wasn’t think of anything else but the green eyes staring back at him.
"That’s just cruel," she finally said.
Kevin bit at his bottom lip, nearly hiding the smirk on his face, but Nicole could still read it. "Sometimes life is cruel. But sometimes it’s really enjoyable. Especially when you’re with someone." He tried to be casual in bringing his hand up to her face, swiping a few pieces of hair away from her cheek. The one he’d just kissed.
Nicole grabbed at his hand and pulled it away, trying to keep any of the happy features away from her face. It was not the time to show him she had any intentions on this.
He leaned in close again, but this time to grab at his drinks. "Maybe it’s the drinking, but I really do feel like I mean this." Kevin dropped a few bills behind as a tip and when Nicole glanced over her shoulder to his hands, she saw a piece of paper atop the money. "You can call me. In fact, I’d really like if you did."
Nicole took a deep breath and tried to keep herself sane as she watched him return to their friends. Reluctantly, Nicole grabbed at the paper, fingering the edges and staring at his handwriting. As well as his number.