Chris snapped his fingers. “Excellent idea. I can’t wait to get home and watch a Christmas movie.”
Nick followed behind them. “I’ll walk you out.”
His parents hugged Noel in turn and headed for the door. As he stood there, holding it open in the bitter cold, his dad shot him a grin.
“Good luck with that one, son. She’s going to fight her feelings for as long as she can.”
Nick blinked at his dad. “How do you know that?”
“Because your mother was the same way.”
His mom smacked his dad in the gut. “I was not. I wanted to be caught. You just took your sweet time doing it.”
“We remember our youth differently, my dear.”
She hugged Nick, whispering in his ear. “You might want to let Noel know her panties are bunched up under the couch. I pushed them further back with my foot so your father wouldn’t see them. I didn’t want to embarrass her.”
Nick’s mouth dropped open, but his mom turned away, returning to her argument with her husband on the way to the stairs. “I remember pretending to break my ankle at our first dance senior year and you sat me in the corner with a bag of ice and left me.”
“I went to go get you an Advil!”
Nick chuckled as he shut the door. The bickering and sarcasm were just puzzle pieces in his parents’ relationship. Every little part went together, proving their love and creating a stronger structure for their marriage. Perfect relationships didn’t exist, but strong bonds did. Nick wanted that. An impenetrable, emotional bond with unconditional love and passion.
That wasn’t too much to ask, right?
Nick walked over to the couch and bent down to retrieve Noel’s underwear, shoving them into his back pocket. If he told Noel about his mother’s assist, it would only embarrass her further and his mother would never mention the incident to Noel for the same reason. Might as well keep it under wraps.
When he reentered the kitchen, he found Noel taking a huge bite out of a fajita.
“Sorry, stress makes me hungry,” she mumbled over the food in her mouth. “I washed my hands, I promise.”
Nick laughed. “I believe you. And there’s nothing to be stressed about. My parents adore you and didn’t suspect a thing.”
“Really?” she said, doubtfully.
“Yes. Oh, and I wanted to return these.” He dangled the underwear from the ends of his fingers with a smirk. “Although, I have to admit, I kind of want to keep them. Put them in a frame to commemorate this amazing night.”
“Give ’em. Those were expensive and my favorite pair.”
“Fine.” Nick handed them to her and watched her stuff them in her pocket. “Now, the two of us were discussing a date a few moments ago. I would like to solidify this idea.”
Noel chuckled, leaning against Nick, her arms wrapping around his shoulders. “I’ll go out with you.”
“That was easier than I thought it would be.”
“I’m still freaking out.”
Nick tucked a strand of hair behind her ear gently. “Why don’t we make this our trial date?”
“Trial date?”
“Yeah. Eat some food. Talk. I’ll walk you to your door after and kiss you goodnight?”
“Oh, so we aren’t going to…pick up where we left off?”
He noted the clear disappointment on her face and his chest puffed up. “I’m not going to say no, but I think we should dial it back.” Even as he said the words, his dick flexed angrily. But if he was going to go there with Noel, he wanted it to be more than a passionate fuck against the wall. He wanted to take things slow. Make love to her. Show her what they have could be so much more than friendship.
“Fine,” she pouted.
“Grab your food and we’ll go to my bedroom.” Her face perked up and he groaned. “Not for that! It’s the only surface not covered in boxes and crap.”
Noel huffed as she picked up her bag, although the hint of a smile told him she wasn’t really mad. Maybe disappointed, but hey, he felt the same way.
Nick grabbed two cokes from his ice chest, slipped his bag of food over one arm and followed her down the hall. He set the cans on the nightstands on either side of his bed. He hopped on one side, while she climbed up and sat cross legged on the other.
“Now what?”
“I’d say we could watch a movie, but I haven’t hooked up my TV yet. Why don’t we play a game?”
Noel popped the top of her soda, watching him dubiously. “A game?”