Chapter 35: Close Enough

Chapter 35: Chapter 35: Close Enough

The drive back to Nicole’s place was a long one, but it gave me plenty of time to appreciate the Mercedes.

I took my time getting used to how it handled. The GLE was smooth, quiet, and ridiculously comfortable. Even the way it responded to the road felt different from my BMW.

It was an incredible car, which made me wonder, not for the first time, why Nicole always seemed to prefer sitting in mine instead. Not that my M340i wasn’t a good car too.

I smiled to myself, already knowing the answer to that question.

Eventually, I pulled into Nicole’s driveway and made my way toward the garage. I parked the GLE beside her GTC, then glanced toward the front of the house.

My car was parked outside, which meant Chloe was still here.

I got out of the Mercedes, closed the door, and walked toward the house. I didn’t bother knocking. I opened the door and stepped inside.

The sitting room was empty.

I looked around for a moment before heading toward the stairs. Since Chloe had brought the clothes I’d asked for, I figured I might as well take a shower and change before doing anything else.

I went up to the guest room, grabbed the clothes Chloe had brought, and took a quick shower. After changing into the fresh clothes, I left the room and headed back downstairs.

The house was still quiet.

I walked into the sitting room again and looked around.

Still empty.

I pulled out my phone and dialed Chloe’s number.

She picked up on the second ring. "Hey big bro."

"Where did you go?"

"You’re back?"

Before I could answer, I heard Nicole’s voice in the background. "He’s back?"

"I’m in the living room," I said.

"We’re upstairs in Nicole’s room. Come join us."

I stared at my phone for a moment.

Of course they were.

"Nah. I’m good. Have fun."

I ended the call, slipped my phone back into my pocket, headed toward the kitchen and opened the fridge, pulling out a bottle of water.

I twisted the cap open and took a long drink before making my way back to the sitting room.

I dropped onto the couch and glanced toward the television.

I figured I could relax for a bit before getting back to reviewing the materials. I was already almost done with them anyway, so there wasn’t much left to go through.

I picked up the remote and turned the TV on, scrolling through the available movies, looking for something to keep me occupied for the next two hours or so.

I hadn’t even settled on anything when I heard footsteps coming down the stairs.

I already knew who it was.

Nicole appeared at the bottom of the stairs with a bright, happy smile on her face. She was wearing an oversized black T-shirt that dropped all the way to her thighs, with a pair of short blue shorts underneath that were barely visible beneath the shirt. She also had another pair of plush memory-foam scuffs on her feet, different from the ones she’d worn earlier.

I looked at her for a second longer than I probably should have, then made the deliberate decision to keep my eyes on her face.

It wasn’t exactly difficult to figure out where my eyes could wander if I let them, and I wasn’t about to give her the satisfaction of catching me doing it.

Nicole came straight toward me with that bright, happy smile still on her face and dropped down beside me on the couch, close enough that our shoulders were almost touching.

The shirt shifted higher against her thighs as she settled in, and for one brief, unfortunate second, my eyes followed it before I caught myself and looked straight back at her face.

She was already staring directly into my eyes. Her smile hadn’t changed, but there was something different in her expression; a little glint in her eyes that felt less like a tease and more like a dare.

It sounded poetic in my head, but her eyes were genuinely, literally daring me to do something. Anything.

As if she’d decided I’d had enough time to think about it, she leaned in slowly, close enough that I could see the faint flecks in her eyes and feel her breath. Close enough that the TV in front of us stopped being anything at all.

Then she stopped just short of me.

She didn’t need to say anything. I knew what she was waiting for. I could turn my head, lean back, or say her name the way I’d done countless times before whenever I wanted to remind her where the line was.

But this time, I didn’t move. I didn’t want to.

She watched my face for one more heartbeat, looking for any sign that I might pull away, then she closed the distance and kissed me.

It was soft, almost hesitant at first, but it still sent a strange warmth through me. Three seconds, maybe, though I couldn’t have known for sure.

When she drew back a little, she didn’t go far. She stayed right there, still looking at me, her eyes bright and uncertain, so open that I could read every question in them.

I’d spent weeks asking myself the same questions. Was the age difference too much? Can I really date my professor? What about the fact that she was absurdly wealthy? What would happen if things between us went wrong? There had always been another reason to slow down, another excuse to remind myself that this wasn’t supposed to happen. At least not yet.

But sitting there with her looking at me like that, none of those reasons seemed to matter anymore.

They were still there. I knew they were. I just didn’t care about them right now.

I leaned toward her, closed the small distance between us, and kissed her back.

There was nothing careful in it. One of my hands found the side of her face, hers curled into the front of my shirt, and for a while, there was nothing in the room except the two of us and the faint sound of the TV completely forgotten in the background.

"Hey, do you guys wanna—"

We broke apart immediately.

I pulled my hand away from Nicole’s face and shifted to the other side of the couch, while Nicole moved in the opposite direction. Neither of us looked at the other. I stared straight ahead at the television, suddenly very interested in whatever was playing on it, while Nicole seemed to find something fascinating about the wall across the room.

Chloe, on the other hand, had stopped halfway down the stairs, one hand resting on the railing, still looking at us.

Nobody said anything for a few seconds.

Then a slow grin spread across Chloe’s face. "Never mind. Carry on."

She turned around and practically skipped back up the stairs, looking far too pleased with herself.

She looked like she’d just stumbled onto the best part of her favorite show.

Neither of us said anything about carrying on, because there was obviously no chance either of us was doing that with Chloe still somewhere upstairs.

I finally looked at Nicole, and she looked back at me. We held each other’s gaze for a moment before both looking away. I wasn’t sure what either of us was supposed to say after that.

I glanced at her again a moment later and caught her biting her lower lip. I wasn’t sure if she realized how good she looked doing it, or if she knew exactly what she was doing, but there was something uncertain in her expression, like she was waiting to see what I’d do now.

I looked back at the TV and let out a slow breath, although I wasn’t sure if I’d been holding it in or simply trying to get my heart to calm down.

It hadn’t completely worked.

I reached for the remote, then glanced at Nicole.

Her index finger was now resting against her lips, completely unaware that I was watching her. She seemed lost in whatever was going through her head, her eyes fixed somewhere ahead of her as she absently pressed her teeth against her finger.

It was cute.

I smiled to myself before asking, "Wanna watch a movie with me?"

She turned toward me, her finger still resting against her lips. She held my gaze for a second, then slowly nodded.

I tapped lightly on the spot beside me.

Nicole’s eyes immediately brightened, and she moved closer without hesitation, settling beside me until our shoulders were actually touching this time.

I turned my attention back to the TV, but I could feel her looking at me. When I glanced over, she actually was. She was simply staring.

I raised an eyebrow and mouthed, ’What?’

She shook her head with a small smile and turned her attention back toward the TV.

I did the same, continuing to scroll through the movies on the screen.

Then I felt her head settle gently against my shoulder.

I froze for a second, my heart skipping a beat before I could stop it. I smiled to myself, shook off the surprise, and continued scrolling through the movies.