At The Beginning

Chapter Seventeen

Amanda opened her mouth to speak when her eyes fell upon the guitar in the corner of Nick's bedroom. She wondered why she hadn't noticed it before but it stood out.

"Is that yours?"

Nick smiled, she had noticed it. AJ had given him the guitar as a thank you a while ago and it really helped with his songwriting.

"Yeah, it is." he whispered before tossing a m&m in his mouth.

"Do you play? I mean.....can you play something for me? I love the guitar." Amanda asked. Nick took out a notebook from under his bed before going to get the guitar, and she flipped through it.

"I had no idea you wrote music." Amanda said, impressed.

Nick brought the guitar to the bed and sat indian style, balancing it in his lap. He tuned it and thumbed through the notebook, his hands shaking a bit.

"Okay....um, so this is the first time I've played for an actual person other than my guitar instructor." he confessed.

"That's fine, play anything you like. Did you write all of these?" Amanda smiled.

"Yeah, I wrote them." he said. Nick cleared his throat and began to play a soft melody, the notes floated around the room as he hummed. Amanda felt like she would melt into a puddle. The music was soothing to her and she hung onto every last note, feeling like she could just listen to him play forever. He finished and looked up expectantly, waiting for a response.

"That was beautiful. I didn't know you could play like this." Amanda sighed. Nick beamed at her and set the guitar down, feeling very proud of himself.

"Seriously, Nick....you are really good. I can't get over it." she continued.

"Thank you. It's kind of a secret talent I have. I like to play, it helps me clear my head." Nick explained. Amanda was so overcome with emotions that she needed to release them and didn't know how, before she knew it, her lips were touching his again. Nick wasn't so nervous this time, he just went with it until they parted, breathing heavily. Amanda felt so safe with him, she didn't even want to scold herself for the thoughts she was currently having.

"It's too quiet." Nick said, breaking the awkward silence between them. All he could hear was the movie, listening to Jack tell Rose he knew he had nothing to give her, yet loved her anyway.

"You've had a lot of firsts tonight, haven't you?" Amanda said suddenly. Nick sat there, staring. She was right....his first dance, his first kiss..

"I suppose," he breathed. He felt his heart beating faster as she moved closer.

"I really like you, Nick."

"I like you too." Nick replied flatly. What was this, some kind of crazy dream? Nick knew that never in a million years would Amanda fall for him so quickly.

"I want you to help me with a first of my own." she whispered, her breath hot on his neck.

"Like w-what?"

"Take me, Nick. I want you to have me. All of me." Amanda said. Nick felt himself begin to sweat. He felt queasy, how was he going to know what to do when he'd never even got past first base? He was afraid he would hurt her.

Laughable, but true. Nick knew nothing about...sex. Even just the word sounded awkward and unfamiliar.

"I don't....I mean...I'm a.." he said quietly.

"I'm a virgin too, Nick. Gotta learn sometime. I trust you." she told him. Nick worried what Lance would say if he found out he slept with his girl.

"Wouldn't you rather do this with Lance? He's your boyfriend. What if he finds out?" Nick asked. Amanda knew where he wad coming from, she was afraid too. However, she just didn't feel comfortable sharing this with Lance. Nick was someone she cared deeply for, and she felt ready.

"I just think this is something we need to experience together, but if you aren't comfortable, I don't want to force you." she said, putting her hand on his. Both of them were trembling. They sat in silence, watching.the movie until Nick cleared his throat.

"I...I'm.....I'm ready. If you promise things won't get weird between you and me." Nick said. Amanda was really surprised, she didn't expect him to agree.

"We need protection." Nick added a moment later. If he was going to have sex, he wanted to make sure he did things the right way. He left the room and to Amanda's surprise, returned with condoms.

"Nick, where did you get those?"

"Uh, my roommate downstairs. He had extra."

Amanda raised an eyebrow, wondering what kind of person lived with him as he struggled to get the condom package open. He vavuely remembered this from health class, but managed fine. Amanda lay back, wearing nothing but her panties as Nick hovered over her. He leaned in and kissed her, starting with her face before moving lower. Things seemed to flow naturally, Amanda returning kisses. She exclaimed when he entered her, but after that it was all roses, the two of them finding a rhythm.

He was nervous the whole time, and so was she....but they didn't tire. The two of them lay together, his head resting on her chest as their hearts winded down.

"You okay?" Nick whispered. The movie had long since ended, the title screen showing on the TV set.

"Absolutely." Amanda sighed. Everything felt so perfect. Laying in Nick's arms without a care in the world was the best feeling ever. They fell asleep like that, their bodies entwined in a mess of sheets.

Nick knew that night he didn't just have a crush.on Amanda.....he was in love with his best friend.

The next morning Amanda woke up was Saturday. Nick had told her to help herself to the fridge, so when she went for some orange juice, she didn't expect to run into anyone. She threw one of Nick's shirts on and walked downstairs to the kitchen.

"Hello there."

Amanda almost dropped the juice when she heard the voice. Here she was wearing nothing but a T-shirt in Nick's kitchen, what was she going to do?