In Real Life (Nemi)

Falling Over Me

Nick came to my house just before lunch & my sister let him in. I was in my kitchen, having some tea & talking to Ben on the phone. "That sounds nice." I said to Ben when he suggested we do dinner when I got back to L.A.

"It's a date." Ben laughed.

I smiled, looking out the window. "A date? Wow. I'm excited. I can't wait."

"Me neither." Ben replied, then we both hung up after we said good bye.

I held my phone against my chin, still staring out the window. "You have a date?" Nick asked, snapping me out of my daydreaming.

I looked at him, still smiling. "I guess I do. We're gonna do dinner when I get back."

Nick nibbled on his bottom lip & his eyebrows went up. "You ready to go?" He asked. "We can go grab some lunch before we head to the trampoline place."

"Just let me grab my purse." I got up, quickly, walking passed Nick to where my purse was. He followed, then we headed outside. "You doing okay, today?" I asked as we walked to his car.

Nick threw me a glance as he opened the car door for me. My heart fluttered in my chest. Such a gentleman. "Yea. I'm good, actually. Never felt better." He smiled at me as I got in the seat. His toothy grin sent butterflies loose in my stomach.

As we drove to the restaurant, Nick cleared his throat. "You excited about your date?"

I looked at his profile. I was probably just wishful thinking, but he almost seemed jealous. "Yea. It's been a long time since I've been on a date." I laughed. "Come to think of it, I can't even remember the last time I was on one."

"Yesterday." Nick said, glancing at me with a sexy smile on his face. My heart pounded in my chest.

"What?"

"I mean it was kind of a date, except for the good night kiss." Nick smiled, softly, as he concentrated on the road, avoiding my eyes.

"It's not a date when you're just friends." I said, smiling. I couldn't help but to smile.

Nick pulled his lips in & nodded. "Ahh, yea you're right. I forgot. But just act the same way you act when you're with me & the guy will fall in love with you."

"What makes you so sure of that?" I asked, a serious tone in my voice. "You didn't." I added in a cold tone.

Nick's head snapped to look at me, something flashing in his eyes that I wasn't sure about. "Where do you want to eat?" Clearly, he was changing the subject.

I smiled & told him to pick a place, then we headed there. Nick didn't talk a whole lot about anything current while we were at dinner. Mostly he talked about our past & the fun things we had done together. It was weird. I tried not to think too much of it.

The trampoline park was much more amusing. Nick & I had so much fun, playing for several hours. We played dodge ball mostly. I never laughed so hard in my life. Right before we were ready to leave, Nick & I were jumping in the free play area. Nick was showing off & he landed on my trampoline, knocking us both over, him landing on top of me.

"Sorry." He laughed, looking down at me.

Our faces were inches apart, both of us breathing heavily. "It's okay." I responded, smiling softly. Nick's eyes locked on mine for a moment, then he licked his lips & looked away. He held out his hand after he stood up for me to grab & then he pulled me up. "We should go. I think our time is almost up." I said, trying to catch my breath.

After we got in the car, Nick asked, "Do you need to get home any time soon?"

I shook my head. "No, why?"

Nick took a deep breath as he started the car. "It's such a beautiful night. I kinda just want to go somewhere & look up at the stars." He chuckled, looking down at his lap, then up at me. "Lame. I know."

I laughed, too. "It's not lame. It sounds nice. You want to see a UFO, don't you?"

Nick laughed, loudly. "Yea." He started driving, while we small talked. Nick found a place near his parents' house that we could park the car & lay on the ground or on his car to look at the stars. Nick pulled a flannel blanket out of his trunk & laid it on the ground in front of his car. "I wish we had a telescope."

"I have that stars map on my phone." I suggested.

"Yea. Bring that up. At least we'll know what we're looking at." Nick chuckled. He sat on the blanket, leaning back on his hands. I sat down next to him, trying to bring up the app on my phone. When I did, I pointed my phone at the sky & Nick leaned in so his head was against my shoulder. I could smell his cologne & it was turning me on, so bad. I wondered if he could sense my feelings for him. If he could hear my heart, he would know for sure.

"There's the big dipper." He whispered. I could feel his breath on my cheek when he spoke. He chuckled. "I'm whispering like I'm afraid I'll disturb something."

I laughed, quietly. "It's so peaceful out here, I feel like we should whisper. Out of respect for Mother Nature."

"I'm fine with that." He whispered, his head turned toward mine a little, making me shiver. "Are you cold?" He asked.

"A little. I'm fine, though."

Nick sat up & took off his coat & put it over my shoulders. I fell in love a little more as I smiled at him. "Thank you." I cleared my throat. "Now, you'll be cold."

"I'm fine. I have long sleeves on." Nick flashed a grin as he laid down on the blanket, his hands behind his head. His legs were bent, one leg on the other one. I played with my phone for a few minutes. "Why don't you lay down so I can see it, too." He said. I, happily, laid down next to him. I held my phone up so we could both look at the map of the stars. Nick sighed. "This is so relaxing. I love just doing stuff where I don't have to worry about someone taking my picture or starting a rumor."

"Me, too." I agreed. Nick & I laid there in a comfortable silence for a while. Maybe twenty minutes or so. I was wondering if he had fallen asleep when he finally spoke again.

"Can I ask you a question?" He asked, still whispering.

"Sure." I whispered back.

"Do you ever think about the night... in December.... " He cleared his throat. "when we... uh... made love?" Oh my God. My heart skipped a beat. He was bringing up the night we made love. He called it making love. He didn't call it hooking up or having sex. Why was he bringing it up? Of course, I thought about it. Everyday in fact.