Chapter 27: Showing Up

Chapter 27: Chapter 27: Showing Up

I woke up later than usual, sunlight already coming through the gap in my curtains. I couldn’t remember what time I’d gone to bed, which probably explained why I felt like I’d barely slept.

For a few seconds, I just stared at the ceiling, still half asleep. Then last night came back to me: Nicole sitting beside me in the car, her hands fidgeting in her lap, the way she’d looked at me before she left.

I reached for my phone on the nightstand and checked the time.

7:42 AM.

There were a couple of notifications on the lock screen, mostly from the group chat. Nicole’s name was sitting underneath them.

I stared at it for a second before unlocking my phone.

Nicole: Good morning 😊 Did you sleep well?

Of course she texted. I wasn’t sure why I’d expected anything different. The strange part, though, was how normal it felt, like last night hadn’t happened at all. Except I knew it had, and so did she.

I typed back: Morning. I did. You?

She read it almost immediately. A second later, her reply came through.

Nicole: Like a log 🥱

I looked at the screen for a moment.

That was it. No mention of last night. No question about what I’d decided. No attempt to make me answer her. Just Nicole being Nicole.

I thought about what to say next before typing again: I won’t be on campus this morning. I’ve got a shift at the shop. My first class isn’t until one.

Her reply came almost immediately.

Nicole: Okay 😊 Don’t work too hard.

I texted back: I’ll try.

Nicole: You won’t 😌

I smiled despite myself, then locked my phone and set it back on the nightstand. Apparently, Nicole had decided this was going to be a normal morning. I figured I could play along.

I got out of bed and headed for the bathroom.

—

Breakfast with Chloe was quick.

She asked if I’d called Nicole the night before. I told her I hadn’t. She gave me a long look, the kind that usually meant she was gearing up to argue. I pointed at her plate instead. "Eat your food."

She pouted, exaggerated on purpose, then said I should buy Nicole something nice. It would make her happy, apparently.

I told her I’d think about it and stepped outside before she could say anything else.

The drive to Tanaka Auto was quiet, which was probably what I needed. I had work to do before my first class, and for the next few hours, I figured I could focus on that.

At least, that was the plan.

"Nathan."

...

"Nathan."

...

"Nathan."

I finally looked up and found Marcus standing a few feet away, watching me.

"Yeah?"

"You good?"

"Yeah."

He raised an eyebrow. "You sure? Cause you’ve been staring at that same spot for the last five minutes."

"I’m fine." I looked back down at the brake line I was supposed to be bleeding, my hands moving on autopilot more than actual focus.

Marcus didn’t buy it. He crouched down beside me anyway, elbows on his knees.

"You and your girl fight or something?"

"We didn’t fight."

Marcus raised an eyebrow. "You sure? Because you’ve got that exact face guys get when they’ve said something they can’t take back. Or didn’t say something they should have."

I didn’t answer that. Somewhere in the back of my head, a half-second too late, I noticed I hadn’t even bothered correcting ’your girl’ this time.

Marcus, if he’d caught it too, didn’t say anything about it; just nodded slowly, like my non-answer was answer enough, and reached over to hand me the wrench I hadn’t noticed I was reaching for. "Didn’t say something, then."

I let that sit for a second before finally sighing. "It’s complicated."

"It’s always complicated." He shrugged, standing back up. "Go. I’ll cover for you if Tanaka asks."

I looked up at him. "You sure?"

"Yeah. Better than having you space out and actually blow something up." Marcus jerked his chin toward the exit.

I smirked despite myself.

"Go clear your head before your one o’clock," he added. "I’ve got this."

I stood, grabbed my things, and thanked him. Then I paused. "Hey. What’s a good gift for a friend? Who’s a girl."

Marcus considered it for a second, entirely too seriously for the question. "If she’s just a friend, get her a gift card or something generic." He shrugged. "If she’s your girl, though, get her something she’ll actually use. Flowers are nice, but something she can keep around is better."

I watched him smirk the second the words left his mouth, fully aware of what he’d just done.

"Tell Nicole I said hi," he added, already turning back to his work.

"Yeah. Sure."

I shook my head and headed out.

—

The drive to campus gave me way too much time to think, and every idea I came up with landed somewhere between too much and completely useless. She had everything already. A house with a pool. Two cars, one of them a Bentley. Whatever I bought had to be something that actually meant something, not something expensive just for the sake of it.

At a red light, my eyes drifted to a billboard, some perfume ad, a woman laughing with her head tilted back. My attention caught on the thin gold necklace at her throat, simple, nothing flashy.

That worked.

I found a small shop a few blocks off campus and picked out something close to it, plain, delicate, nothing that screamed expensive because it didn’t need to. I paid, tucked the small box into my bag, and made it to campus with barely enough time to spare.

The rest of the day passed in the usual blur. Lectures, a quiz I’d half-studied for but somehow still expected to ace, and Jackson checking his phone every few minutes like the grade might change if he refreshed it enough times. When it finally posted, he stared at his screen for a solid ten seconds before turning to me, eyes suspiciously bright.

"Sixteen." His voice cracked slightly. "I got a sixteen."

"I can see that."

"Out of twenty, Nathan." He wiped at his eyes, only half joking. "I’m not crying. This is just happiness leaking out."

I didn’t tell him I knew it was over twenty all along.

By the time my last class let out, it was 5:34 PM, the hallway already filling with the usual after-class noise. I made it halfway down the stairs with Jackson and a couple of the guys before I stopped.

"Go on without me."

Jackson glanced at me, then at the bag slung over my shoulder, then back at me, already smirking like he knew exactly where I was headed.

"Sure," he said, dragging the word out. "Have fun."

I didn’t dignify that with a response.

I adjusted my bag and headed toward Nicole’s office instead, the small box sitting somewhere near the bottom of it.

I knocked twice.

"Come in."

I stepped inside. She had a paper in front of her, pen in hand, focused enough that she didn’t look up right away.

I watched her for a moment before she finally glanced toward the door and saw it was me.

She went still. Just for a second, barely long enough to register, before the smile came, easy and warm like it always was.

I caught the stillness anyway.

"You came to look for me. Without me bringing it up first." She set the pen down, tilting her head slightly. "Careful. I might start thinking I won the lottery or something."

I didn’t say anything to that, I just let it... sit there.

She gestured toward the couch. "Sit."

I did, settling onto the couch instead of the chair across from her desk.

A second later, she was already up, crossing the room and dropping down beside me, close enough that it clearly wasn’t an accident.

"So," she said, watching me. "What’s up?"

I looked at her, and realized, somewhat too late, that I actually had nothing prepared to say.

"I, uh..." I glanced at my bag. "I got you something."

She blinked, clearly not expecting that at all.

I reached into my bag and pulled out the small box, holding it out to her.

"For me?"

I nodded. "I haven’t really gotten you anything since... well, you know."

She took it, eyes already lit with something close to excitement. "Can I open it now?"

"Yeah. Go ahead."

She peeled the lid off carefully, and the second she saw it, something in her expression melted, all at once, softer than I’d expected.

"I love it," she said quietly.

She lifted the necklace out and stretched it toward me without another word.

I looked at it, then at her.

"Help me put it on."

I finally met her eyes. Whatever had been sitting there since last night was gone, at least for the moment, replaced with something that looked almost fully like happiness.

I took the necklace from her hands. She scooted closer, close enough that our knees nearly touched, angling herself slightly and sweeping her hair over one shoulder to give me room.

I reached around her, fastening the clasp carefully at the back of her neck. She stayed completely still, letting me take my time.

When I finished, she looked down at the necklace resting against her collarbone, then back up at me.

"I’m never taking it off."

I looked at her for a moment, at how genuinely happy she looked, and felt my chest tighten. I knew what that feeling was now, and "I like her a lot" didn’t seem like the right way to put it anymore.

At this point, even calling it falling for her was starting to feel like an understatement.