Cameraman, Swing the Focus

Chapter 7

"My place is really close to here. If you wanted to stay over, you'd be more than welcome," Nicole offered.

Z studied her face in the streetlight, and Nicole wondered if this wasn't the peak of stranger danger. Should she make a joke about not being a serial killer, or would that be too predictable?

"Sure." Z's voice startled her, saying the exact opposite thing she'd expected to hear.

"Oh, really?"

"Unless you didn't mean it when you offered, in which case I was joking."

Nicole laughed. "No, I meant it." She tilted her head a little, perplexed by Z's entire existence. "Come on, it's this way."

Z seemed to have a compulsive need to walk along any curb or raised platform they passed as if it was a balance beam. Nicole watched her hop precariously from one ledge to the next, flailing her arms but never falling. The weather felt like it was on the verge of raining any second, and Nicole tried to keep the pace up so they wouldn't get caught in it.

When they got to her apartment, the building felt abandoned. They lived in a decent area where it was mostly young families. Nicole realized it must have been a school night, because everyone was in bed and the halls were silent. She heard her footsteps louder than usual as she lead the way, taking the stairs two at time to get this weird part over with. 

As she fumbled with the mass of keys attached to her key ring, Z leaned against the wall next to her door and studied her. The close inspection didn't help her task, and it took her a full minute to actually let them into the unit.

She waved her arm around the room in a sweeping gesture, since the whole apartment consisted of one large room, apart from the bedrooms and bathroom. "This is it, in all its glory." Looking at it with Z standing next to her, it suddenly felt small and embarrassing. She and Brendon spent so little time there, it hardly even felt homey. Z seemed not to mind though, since she made a noise of approval and flounced over to sit in front of their shared record collection. 

Nicole laughed and followed her over, standing close by to watch over her head. "Did you want some water? Anything to eat?" 

Z laughed and grabbed at her hand, pulling her to sit down next to her on the rug. "You don't need to play hostess. I'm fine, and if I decide I want something, I'll go rummaging around in your cupboards when you're not looking."

Nicole smiled. "Feel free. Make yourself at home." She had a strange habit of resorting to cliches whenever she didn't know what to say, and each time she did it, Z looked at her like she'd come from a different planet. "What kind of music are you feeling like?"

Z tilted her head to the side and continued to scan the shelves of records. "I can't possibly commit to one album. There are at least five at a glace that I need to listen to before leaving." She started pulling them out and stacking them on the floor.

Nicole picked up the top one, making a humming noise at her choice, and popped open the lid of the player to get it going. Z finished her perusal of the records, and seeming content with her choices, she got up and turned out the lights.

She joined Nicole back on the rug, laying down with her head in Nicole's lap. "This is the most ideal way to listen to music."

Nicole wasn't sure if she was talking about the vinyl, laying in the dark, or the close proximity they had to each other, but she agreed regardless. "Yeah, I think it just might be."

They laid there for a while, talking about the music, their friends, and just life in general, only pausing when one of them had to get up to flip the record over or change it for a new one. They ended up laying next to each other on their stomachs, heads pillowed on their hands. 

The way Z smiled at her gave her butterflies, and every time she told a corny joke that had Z crying because she was laughing too hard, it felt better than anything else ever had. The longer they talked, the more Nicole only had one question she wanted to ask, and eventually she couldn't keep the words down any longer.

"I know this isn't the best time to ask this, but it's on my mind, so I kind of just want to ask it anyway." She hesitated and Z nudged her shoulder encouragingly.

"You can ask me anything."

"Right, umm, would you ever kiss a girl?" Z smiled like she'd been told a joke before seemingly considering it. 

"Probably. Under the right circumstances, and if it was someone I liked." Nicole nodded wordlessly. "I don't think I'd do it as a joke, or because some guy said it would be hot though. Somehow that doesn't feel like something I'd do."

Nicole studied her face in the dark, feeling suffocated by the close proximity of their bodies, and the possibilities that offered her.

"Would you?" Z's voice came again. Somehow she hadn't expected to have the question turned around on her. 

A beam of light briefly illuminated Z's face as a fork of lightning struck outside, and Nicole couldn't find it in herself to say anything other than the truth. "Yeah, I would." She took a deep breath before forcing out, "and I have." 

Despite everything she knew about Z, she was still relieved when her reaction wasn't one of judgement or disgust. "What? How did I not guess that?" She sounded intrigued. 

Nicole shrugged, the position she was in on her stomach not really aiding that motion. "Honestly, most of my friends are gay, so I don't have to come out much anymore. Sometimes I forget that most people assume you're straight until you tell them otherwise. Plus, I'm told I dress pretty gay in my normal life. I'm not typically a miniskirt kind of girl."

Z's eyebrows raised just the slightest fraction, but she seemed to decide not to push that line of questioning. She instead said, "What was it like the first time?"

Nicole's cheeks blushed. "I dunno, nice?"

Z flopped onto her back with a dramatic sigh. "Come on! I need details!"

Nicole's mind rewound to that memory, playing small, zoomed in details instead of the whole picture. "It was soft. At least at first. I was pretty terrified, but I felt like everything just kind of made sense." She'd closed her eyes, but opened them again when she felt Z moving closer. 

They were laying next to each other on the floor now, and Nicole rolled onto her side to face Z. Her hair fell into her eyes a little, and that layer somehow felt like a shield to hide behind.

"And then what?" Z prompted.

"Her mom came home and we acted like nothing had happened?" Nicole twitched one side of her mouth in a half smile. That feeling of panic when they'd almost been caught felt funny in retrospect. 

"Pity." Z's voice wasn't deeper or quieter, but it somehow sounded more imbued with meaning all of a sudden. 

Choose your path:

To touch her hair and smile at her, go to chapter 20.

To kiss her, go to chapter 19.