This Was Not the Plan (gxg)

Chapter 21

Sunday I woke up with a throbbing in my head. I felt hungover even though I hadn't drank anything. I couldn't stop thinking about Nick professing his love to me. I felt so guilty for saying it back. I panicked and told him what he wanted to hear. Now I was stuck with a horrible pit in my stomach.

Nick invited me to his house to hang out later. I woke up early to beg my dad to let me spend a few hours at his house. He agreed thankfully. I wasn't sure I would be able to tell Nick I couldn't hang out. He was so excited at the idea; I didn't want to get his hopes up.

I wanted to hang out with him too. I needed time alone with him to re-spark the way I felt about him when we first started dating. I needed to replace toxic thoughts and memories of my dream, the drunken car ride, and now the dance with Kendall with thoughts of Nick. I didn't want to think about Kendall when I kissed him. I needed to love him the way he loved me.

I showed up to Nicks house around 11:00am Sunday morning after church. His dad, Andrew, greeted me at the front door. He hollered for Nick, who came flying down the spiral staircase at an alarming rate. He slid to a stop just in front of the door.

"Hello, m'lady." He bowed.

"You're a dork." I giggled.

"But I'm your dork." He smiled, holding his hand out.

I rolled my eyes but took his hand in mine. He was bubblier than normal. He was most likely on a high from our confessions last night. He led me to his basement where his younger brother, Hunter, was playing on the Xbox.

"Get out," Nick demanded, swiping the controller from his brother.

"Fine, I don't wanna watch you two suck face anyway." The preteen grunted as he stormed upstairs.

"Sorry about him," Nick said once his brother had disappeared.

"It's fine. I know how siblings can be." I shrugged.

"So, what would you like to do? We could watch a movie, or play video games, or play pool, or we could always go outside and play a game of HORSE again." He smirked.

"Right, so I can get my ass whooped a second time? No thanks," I glared at him.

I looked around the space. It seemed bigger than I remembered. Although, last time I was in Nick's basement I was confessing that I cared to Kendall. I was so focused on her I completely ignored how luxurious the area was. There were movie theater style recliners that lined up in front of a large projection screen. The entertainment area was complete with every game console I knew of from xbox to ps5 to a Nintendo switch. There were even older generation Nintendo systems like the wii, gamecube, and n64. There was also enough space for a pool, foosball, and shuffleboard table. In the back corner was a fully stocked bar and behind it a walk-in wine fridge. I wondered what his parents did for a living.

"I haven't played pool in a while," I said, looking at the seemingly new pool table.

It had a red top, a color I hadn't seen on a pool table before. Most I had seen had that murky green color, mixed with black patches where drinks had been spilled. This table was far more taken care of. It was way fancier as well, made out of solid wood with sculpted legs that ended with large, clawed feet. The pockets had floral designs engraved in the leather.

"Pool it is," he said.

He gestured to a rack hanging on the wall that held eight pool sticks, "take your pick, I'll wrack the balls."

I nodded, taking my time to test out each cue, checking their height and weight. By the time I settled on the one I wanted, Nick had the balls set and ready to be broken.