Lexa awoke with a start, sitting straight up in an unfamiliar bed. Her eyes scanned the room for familiar sights, but there were none to be seen. Suddenly she recalled where she was. Her mind drifted back to the night before.
"So where am I gonna sleep?" Lexa asked Nick.
"Well, there's always my bed," Nick said, a sly smile forming on his lips. He leaned in and placed a small kiss on her lips.
"No funny business tonight, Mr. Carter. Why can't I have my own bed?" Lexa asked, beginning to wonder if staying the night at Nick's house for the night was the best idea.
"Nothing like that Lexa, I just wanna hold you." Lexa looked at him skeptically. "I'm serious. I cross my heart and hope to die; I won't try anything," Nick said, doing his best to convince her that his intentions were pure.
Lexa pondered the proposal for a moment before agreeing. He showed her to his room on the second floor. Nick got her one of his tee shirts to wear to bed and even left the room while she changed. When he returned, Lexa had already climbed into the bed. Nick slipped under the covers with her and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him. Lexa placed her head on his chest and quickly found herself asleep.
Now Lexa scanned the room, looking for Nick. If he had been there when she fell asleep, he should be there now. The smell of brewing coffee hit her nostrils and Lexa followed the scent down the stairs and into the kitchen, where she found Nick sitting on a stool, reading the paper. Lexa quietly sneaked up behind Nick, wrapping her arms around his waist, softly kissing the back and side of his neck.
"Better watch out, I could get used to a beautiful girl kissing my neck every morning," Nick said, turning around on the stool, kissing Lexa on the lips. "Good morning, or should I say afternoon."
Lexa looked at him sheepishly. "Is it really that late?"
"Yeah, it's about 12:30pm. I take it you slept well."
"Better than I have in a while. What time did you get up? I didn't even hear you."
"I woke up at 10am, but I didn't move until around 11, I was hoping you would wake up before I had to move."
Lexa stared at Nick, unsure of what to say next. For the first time she felt awkward around, almost as if she didn't know how to act around him. Almost like he was reading her mind, Nick spoke up. "You know, I hope this doesn't change stuff between us, or if it does, only makes it better. You don't have to change for me now."
"I know Nick, it's just, I don't know, different now. I mean, it shouldn't be, but it is. We were just friend's 24 hours ago and then we kissed and so now we are more than friends and?"
Nick cut her off. "Do you always over analyze stuff?" Nick asked, smiling to let her know it wasn't a criticism, just a thought aloud.
"No," Lexa replied with a fake pout on her face. Nick leaned forward and kissed either side of her face before kissing her lips. His fingers ran through her hair, pulling her closer. Lexa slowly pulled away, looking up at Nick. "Ya know, I need to be getting home soon."
Now it was Nick's turn to pout. "But why? Can't you just stay here all day? We could just hang out by the pool and some more of this," Nick said before leaning in for another kiss, but Lexa turned her head, causing the kiss to land on her cheek.
"My cousin is here visiting, so I need to spend time with her. Plus, I can't spend every waking hour with you; you would drive me crazy."
"I guess, but can you blame me for trying?"
"Not at all. If I were you, I would want to spend all my time with me too," Lexa said smiling. "I'm gonna go get dressed, then I'll let you take me home."
"Gee thanks," Nick said as she took off back upstairs.
"Okay, here you are, home sweet home. Sure you don't wanna stay with me."
"I'm sure, but thanks for offering. You have my phone number, right?" Nick nodded. "Okay then, you can call me sometime. Maybe for a real date?"
"Don't worry, I'll call you. As for a date, how about tomorrow night, we could go to dinner and a movie or something."
"Okay, just call me and let me know what's going on." Lexa kissed Nick on the cheek and stepped out of the car. She stood in her driveway, watching Nick's car until it was out of sight, then heading inside. Angela greeted her at the door.
"So?"
"So what?" Lexa said as she walked passed Angela and up the stairs to her room. Once there she picked out her clothes for the day and headed into the bathroom, where Ang cut her off.
"What happened last night? You didn't come home."
"Did you?"
"Yes I did, don't try to turn this around on me."
"Nothing happened, Ang. Except he kissed me."
"He kissed you? So was it good?"
"Omigod Ang, it was amazing. It just feels so right. I don't know though. He just got out of a pretty serious relationship, and I don't know if it's too soon. He says its not, but I'm scared."
"If he says he's over her, then believe him. Has he given you any reason not to trust him?" Lexa shook her head no. "Well until he does, he gets the benefit of the doubt. So did it go any further?"
Lexa looked at her in shock. "Absolutely not. I'm not about to give it up to some guy I've only known a week. And he knows I'm a virgin, he asked."
"Well, hun, I'm glad you finally got a guy, and he seems like a decent guy."
"Yeah, me too."
Nick entered his home, trying to decide in his head how long he should wait before calling her. 'Maybe an hour or two," Nick thought to himself. Looking down at his answering machine, he saw a red blinking light. 'Did she call me already,' Nick thought, 'Nah, can't be, she doesn't have my number. Who could it be?' Nick pressed the playback button and his face fell when he heard the voice.
"Hey Nicky, its Mandy. Um, I was just sitting here thinking that maybe our separation wasn't the best idea. I really miss you baby, and I've never been more sorry about something in my entire life. Give me a call and maybe we could work this cause I am willing to try."
Nick stared at the machine in disbelief. Mandy was never one to apologize; he always did the crawling. 'Maybe she's changed finally.' Nick had no clue how to handle this, a date with a sweet girl he had just met or call the girl he had called his life for the past three years.