Off To Uni! (Written after Nick & Charlie by Alice Osmen)

Chapter Twenty Four

Chapter Twenty Four

Charlie:
Before I even open my eyes, I feel Nick running his hands through my hair.

"Have you just been doing this all night?" I tease, still with my eyes closed.

He kisses the top of my head, continuing to run his fingers through my hair.

"Yeah, who needs sleep these days anyway?" He says with a small chuckle as he rolls over to face me. 

I open my eyes and look at him with a small smile.

"Can I brush my teeth before you get this close to me?" I say with a smirk.
"Too late," he says as he kisses me quickly. "Okay, now go because I know how your breath gets in the morning."

I lightly push him off me while laughing.

"Gee, thanks. Here I was thinking I was going to have a romantic morning with my boyfriend and all he is doing is talking about my breath."

I walk over to his dresser, grab my toothbrush and before walking into the bathroom, I walk over to him again.

"You should also spend sometime with your toothbrush, I'm sure your breath is just as bad, if not worse," I whisper with a smile as I walk over to his bathroom.

After brushing our teeth, we make our way back to Nick's bed, like we would do every weekend. We didn't want to get out of bed, we just wanted to kiss with minty breath. I smile to myself as he wraps his arms around me.

"What time are you kicking me out today?" I ask as I look up at him.

He then proceeds to pretend like he's pushing me out of bed.

"You can actually go right now if you prefer," he teases.
"Shut up," I say, laughing.
"You don't have to go at all. But I'll probably end up hanging out with Mum sometime after breakfast."

Just then, Nick's Mum lightly knocks on the door as she peeks her head in.

"Nick's right, Charlie. You're more than welcome to spend the day with us."

I smile and shake my head.

"Thank you Sarah, but I know Nick really misses you and probably wants to spend some time catching up."
"Okay, but you're coming over for dinner, if you want to. I'm also about to run out and get breakfast, do you guys want anything special or will bagels with cream cheese do the trick?"
"Bagels are fine, thanks Mum!" Nick says as she walks out of view.
"So how did it feel to sleep in your own bed again?" I ask.
"Anywhere where I get to wake up next to you feels amazing, but waking up to you in this bed, yeah, it's the best."

I smile as I snuggle my head into his chest.

"What should we do until your Mum gets home?"
"I think I have an idea," Nick whispers into my ear and he kisses my neck.
"Now whose mind is always in the gutter?"
"Still yours," Nick teases as he flips me over on top of him.

I intertwine our fingers as he pulls me down and kisses me.

"I just want to spend the entire weekend here, with you, in this bed," Nick says in between kisses. 
You just said you wanted to spend time with your Mum," I say with a smile.
"I know and I do but, I just want you all to myself."

I kiss Nick as he deepens the kiss right away. I always have a slight fear that Sarah will come home and be able to get up the stairs before we can get dressed, like all of a sudden she would become super human and fly up the stairs. I laugh at the thought. Another part of me is always so consumed in the moment; Nick and I together, the feeling I get when our bodies touch; when I touch him or feel his lips on me, nothing could ever take me out of that moment. 

Nick:
As Charlie and I are putting our pajamas back on, we hear the door open.

"Boys, breakfast is here!"

Charlie and I look at each other and giggle before I put on my shirt.

"She was close this time!" 
"Shut up! It makes me never want to do that again."
"Really? You never want to do that again?" I ask as I kiss his neck.

Charlie pushes me away, giggling.

"No, you loser. I mean never when there's a chance she can walk in."
"Charlie, she JUST opened the door downstairs. Do you think my Mum can fly up here or something?"

He looks at me and shakes his head laughing. We walk downstairs and sit at the table with Mum.

"So do you both have anything else planned for the weekend before you go back up to school tomorrow night?"
"Well, I think today I'm just going to hang out with you Mum. Charlie will come by for dinner and then tomorrow we're all going to hang out. Me, Charlie, Tara, Elle, Darcy, Tao and Aled."
"Oh, that sounds wonderful. It's important to make time for your friendships now that everyone is off in different directions."
"Well, almost everyone," Charlie chimed in. "Tao, Aled and I still have the rest of the school year."
"It'll be over before you know it. Do you have any idea where you want to go to University, Charlie?"

And just like that, there's a lump in my throat. I know we recently touched base on this conversation, but that doesn't mean I'm not completely worried about where Charlie could end up next year. And who am I to tell him where he can or cannot go to University? Who am I to limit his options when he let me have the freedom to choose where I wanted to go? My train of thought is broken by Charlie squeezing my hand from underneath the table. He's always been so good at telling when my mind is racing.

"I haven't fully decided. But I've been thinking about the school that Darcy and Elle are at. It's close enough to home, I can focus on music and I'll be surrounded by people that I love," he says as he looks at me.

This is the first time Charlie seems sure about the answer he is giving. I try not to seem too excited because I don't want him to base his answer off of me, but I cannot hide the smile that is forming on my face.

"Really?" I say.
"Really."

After breakfast, I drive Charlie to his house.

"Pick you up later?" I ask.

He kisses my cheek.

"Absolutely," he says as he begins to open the car door.
"Char," I say as I place my hand on his leg.

He turns around and looks at me.

"What's up?" 
"Were you.. Were you serious about University?"

He shifts his body to face me completely and smiles.

"I was."
"Are you really sure?"
"Nick, I am so unbelievably sure. I just didn't want to say anything until I knew if I was accepted or --"

I cut him off by throwing my arms around him and squeezing him tight.

"You're brilliant and extremely talented. You're getting accepted wherever you decide to go."
"Well I guess it's a good thing I chose a school that's close by to you," he says as he kisses my head. "Now go spend time with your Mum, she misses you and to be honest, I'm kind of sick of you," Charlie teases as he sticks his tongue out at me.

I pretend to kick him out of the car but smile.

"See you soon?"
"Can't wait."