While the Sun Shines

38.

​​Despite Nick giving Blake the unintentional brush-off, things weren't strange between them in the morning. Blake had gone back to his usual routine of preparing bacon and eggs while singing his heart out, and they had breakfast together. Before departing, Blake had even kissed Nick in the bicycle shed and they'd made plans to meet up for lunch on campus along with Mia, Lara, and Carson.

Nick found himself looking forward to seeing them all again. The gaming nights at the Ace of Spades had been a lot of fun so far, apart from some minor mishaps. And Lara, Carson, and Mia were genuinely nice to hang out with.

The feeling seemed to be mutual. When Mia and Lara saw Nick approaching their picnic table in the grass, they both started waving enthusiastically. That made Carson and Blake also turn around to look and join them with waving. 

The sight of four people sitting at a bright yellow picnic table, all greeting him exuberantly made Nick laugh. Suddenly, he couldn't imagine wanting to spend his entire exchange alone anymore. What if he hadn't agreed to go with Lara to that gay bar? He would've never had tension with Alex later, and he likely wouldn't have kissed Blake after that. He'd be alone and miserable without any distractions. That was exactly what he'd wanted when taking the plane to the Netherlands, but Nick was grateful now that he didn't get what he wanted.

The only thing Nick wasn't grateful for, was the group deciding to claim a picnic table right next to the campus football fields. A bunch of guys were currently playing a game, probably also in their break. Nick's heart sank to the floor when he looked at the fields, but he forced himself to look away, keep going, and walk to the picnic table.

"You took your time getting here," Lara said the moment Nick was in earshot. "Sit down. We're signing up for something you're definitely interested in."

"Really? What's that?" Nick asked, climbing into the seat next to Blake.

"Ace of Spades contest, remember?" Carson replied, pointing at his phone on the picnic table. "You'll play several card games in a tournament. If you win, you'll get a night of free drinking with friends."

"If we all join, that's five chances to win the free drinking," Mia added. "Are you in too, Nick?"

"Yeah, sure put me on the list," Nick said. He looked at Mia, but his eyes kept getting pulled to the football game behind Mia. He'd wanted to sit next to Blake, but this was definitely the wrong side of the table for him.

"Well, if Nick is joining, we might as well quit and just watch him crush everyone," Lara said. 

"Hey, don't count me out yet, babe."

Blake scoffed, and Lara held up her hands in defeat with a wide smile. "Okay, okay. You have a chance, too. Maybe."

"Maybe?" Blake narrowed his eyes. "Need I remind you that I won every practice round just now?" He pointed at a red deck of cards at the corner of the table.

"Nothing but luck!" Lara replied. "I'll happily take you on again."

"You're on."

Lara reached for the cards and then several things happened at once. In her enthusiasm, Lara accidentally knocked a few cards off of the stack. They got caught by the breeze and flew past Nick. In response, Nick jumped out of his seat and dove after the cards before they could get away. Just as Nick had caught the escaped cards and stood up straight, a football came flying his way.

It had been months since Nick had last played, but his body remembered what to do and moved automatically.

Nick stopped the ball on his chest and then caught it with his foot. In one smooth movement, he kicked the ball back to the guy standing at the edge of the field. A few of the players stuck up their hand as a thank you, and continued their game.