Nicole

"Oh! My! God!" 

"Jesus Diane, you don't have to sound like Janice!" Friends references always work with the show's two biggest fans. 

"Yes, I do! I can't believe he really had the balls to kiss you! He knows what he wants, that's good." 

"Oh my God, stop talking about him that way!" I laughed as I adjusted my laptop on top of the comfy colorful boho themed comforter while I took off my clothes and changed into my pajamas. "It's not like I'm exactly complaining."

"Oh right. I bet you wish he was in that bed with you right now." 

"Do you ever wash your mouth?" 

In my pink pajamas I crawled into bed and put the device on my lap, laughing along with her. It's at times like this that I am extremely thankful for timezone differences, and for Diane clocking out earlier today. 

"So, what does this all mean?" My best friend asked me, as if I knew.

"I don't know!" I exhaled loudly before picking up my London themed mug from the bedside table and taking a sip of the hot tea. "I like him, he's great but I didn't really want to jump into a relationship right now, especially after Matt. We were together for so long and it ended up the way that it did, you know how much it hurt me."

"So what? You're gonna be single forever just because one guy broke your heart?" She sounded outraged. 

"I didn't say that, Di. I just don't know if I am in love with him or not it's... too early to know."

"So, you go out and then you see how it goes and if your feelings evolve. That's usually how it works." 

I closed my eyes only to open them again and look at her face, her eyes boring into me even through a Skype call. 

"He sounded pretty confused too, so..." 

"Have you thought about the fact that this might be fate playing its cards?" She tilted her head to the side with a knowing look. "Can't fight that."

"Oh, shut up."

"How was it after the kiss?"

"Well we left the store, made our way to the station, got in the tube train and he went to his place and I went to mine and that was it. But it wasn't awkward or anything, we talked the whole time, like always."

"That's good!" I nodded and took another sip of my hot tea that I was becoming quite used to by now. "I think you two should talk about this again, see what you both want to do about it."

I agreed with her and after yawning a few times we hung up and I put my laptop on the bedside table lazily, wanting nothing more than to just cover myself with my blankets and go to sleep, after the long day and night I'd had. 

 * * *

Actually, talking about it proved itself to be much more harder than I ever thought it'd be.

For the next week I chose to spend most of my days inside the house, writing and writing and thinking about the kiss twenty four seven.

We kept talking through texts and kept on meeting up for our morning coffee at Magic Beans but I just couldn't help but chicken out every time I sat down in front of him and looked into his eyes, not being able to bring myself to actually talk about what happened at the record shop that infamous night. 

And this morning was no different.

"I'm trying something new today for a change." I said to the waitress while I took a quick last glance at the menu. "Instead of the normal black coffee, I'll have a flat white." 

"And you?" She asked Lucas after writing down my order. 

"You know, I'll have a latte today."

She smiled at us and made her way behind the counter, and I looked at Lucas, feeling his eyes on me, pulling me in. It was like those two blue orbits of his were like magnets, forcefully yet naturally drawing me in. 

"Got a lot of work done yesterday?"

"Y-Yeah. Being here in London really helps."

"I'm glad." He smiled and his eyes dropped to his hands that were on the table, his fingers tracing small patterns on the wood. "Look, I want to ask you something."

"Shoot."

He looked up at me.

"Would you like to go on a date with me? And I mean an actual, romantic date."

I opened my mouth only to close it again as my brain tried to process his question and his explanation.

"Nic, please say something."

Oh, poor guy! 

He looked absolutely desperate for an answer and the pleading look in his eyes was something I could not bare to look at. 

"Of course!" I finally said, releasing a breath I didn't know I was holding on for so long. "I would love to!"

"Great!" He sounded as happy as he looked and that was an instant mood booster for me. "I have been thinking a lot about the conversation we had the other night at the record shop and our kiss and... I like you a whole lot and I want to give us a chance, see how we do."

Don't ask me when or how it happened but I felt my heart swell at the sight of him blushing and looking slightly embarrassed that he'd just ask me out on a date. 

"I like that." I responded, smiling back at him and letting my hand travel to his involuntarily. 

"What do you say we meet this Saturday night? Meet me at my place, I'll cook dinner? And no Lexi this time forcing you to watch Frozen."

My first, not lasting, thought was that going to his place for dinner was no way in hell what a first date should be like but then, I thought about it, and this was not going to be our first date. We already did the whole first date thing, and the second and third, so this just seemed perfect to me. 

"It's funny that you still think I was forced to watch that movie."

He chuckled lowly, never darting his eyes away from me and shortly after, I joined him giggling non stop until I noticed our drinks in front of us, on the table.

We never noticed the waitress coming over with our coffees probably while he asking me out.

Time stopped whenever we were together, and I loved it.

 * * *

There was a tingling feeling in my stomach that didn't allow me to write that whole day. 

I don't understand why I feel so nervous about this date - ever since I came to London, I spend most of my weekends and free time with Lucas, I know him and he knows me, we get along great... There is literally not a reason for me to feel nervous about something as simple as dinner with a friend.

I adjusted my knee length skirt along my thighs and took a deep breath as I rang the doorbell to Lucas' house. 

"Hi." I saw him look me up and down slowly and meet my eyes two seconds later with the brightest shy smile. "You look so beautiful."

"Hi, thank you."

"Come in."

I couldn't help but think back about the last time I was at his place for lunch on a rainy Saturday that turned into a movie date with Lexi, and think about how similar all these steps were, yet they all felt insanely different today.

"It smells so good, what are you making?"

"Spaghetti carbonara." He replied, taking my coat from my hands and placing it on the wrack that I realized I hadn't noticed before, in the corner. 

I walked through the hall and followed the smell, finding my place in the kitchen. This looked nothing like that last time I was here. 

Candles everywhere. Soft jazz music playing in the background quietly. Red Wine. A dozen red roses on a vase. Dim lights. 

I felt drunk on Lucas right away.

"Hey, Nic?" He swiped his hand across my face to catch my attention, causing me to wake up from the daze I was in. 

"Yeah, sorry."

"I asked if you wanted something to drink."

Seems like I could use some tequila to get through this whole night.

"Oh, um... No, I'm fine. Thanks."

Thankfully we didn't have to wait long and make small conversation until the food was ready and we sat down to eat.

Maybe it was a bad idea after all to go on this date. Maybe we'd be better off as just friends.

There was also the possibility that he was as nervous as I was, and that was why any word whatsoever seemed so hard to roll out of both our tongues. 

"This is really good, you sure you're not a professional chef?"

He chuckled at my comment and took a sip of his wine before answering me. 

"If I was, you would be starving with the small portions I'd serve you."

I do love a full plate. 

"Uh, you're right." I scrunched my nose at the thought of having a four inch round portion of pasta. "So, what are our plans for the rest of the night?"

Okay, I realize now how bad that must have sounded. But before I could correct myself he answered truthfully, clearly not imagining what I thought he would imagine in his mind. Or maybe he just didn't show it. 

"I thought we could finish dinner, have dessert and then talk over a few more glasses of wine and then... well, whatever you want to do. If you want to watch Frozen again, we'll watch Frozen."

God, how can anyone not like him?!

"Actually, I had something else in mind."

"Do tell."

"I thought you could show me your cartoon drawings."

I could tell he suppressed a laugh when he realized I was actually serious about wanting to see his wok. 

I knew he'd done some in the past and whenever he had some free time, although it's been a while since he picked up the rainbow color pencils. 

"Why do you want to see them?"

"Because." He rolled his eyes playfully and I waited until I swallowed a forkful of pasta to elaborate my response. "It's what you love to do, it's your dream, isn't it? I want to see all about it."

He showed some hesitance and I could relate, although it didn't stop me from wanting to see the drawings either. I too never showed my chapters to anyone, not even my best friend, I get it.

Our art reflects our passion, our mind, our vulnerability - mine through the words I put into my chapters and his through the drawings he makes, as crazy and as insignificant as that may seem to anyone else.

It wasn't exactly fair that I was asking him to see inside his mind, his darkest and silliest secrets and not show him mine. 

"I'll let you read one of my chapters. If you want to, of course."

"I'd love to! Okay, you got yourself a deal."

"Yes!" I exaggeratedly celebrated, taking my fork up in the air, the pasta swaying from side to side, causing him to laugh. 

The rest of the meal went by faster than ever, and it went better than I thought which made me realize that I really had no reason to feel nervous about this date with someone who knows me inside out by now and vice versa. As soon as we engaged into a conversation we're unstoppable and all my worries simply vanished away. 

After we had chocolate covered strawberries and fresh made crepes, we made our way to his office that was his little world in every sense of the word, where he worked on his drawings and made all the cartoon characters that only lived in his mind, come to life. 

 "I love these so much!" I was in pure awe and admiration for his work. He was so talented, and I could tell that he poured his heart and soul into all of the different drawings he made.

He was born to be an illustrator, plain and simple. That was a God given talent, and I can't believe that he's wasting it away in a back office at some jewelry store. 

"Thanks."

"What does Lexi say about all of this? Has she seen these pieces?"

"Oh, she loves it! One day after Christmas break she told everyone in her class that her uncle was going to create the next Disney movie."

I giggled at the image in my mind of Lexi promptly telling all the other kids her age that Lucas was going to make a movie.

"It's been a while since I've sat down here and actually drew the cartoons in my mind." I looked up from the sheets to look into his blue blinking eyes that captures my every movement. 

"Do you have any in mind?"

"I do... Sort of." He opened and closed his mouth repeatedly, he wanted to say something but was fighting the urge. "It's based on you."

Me?!

"Me?" I took my hand to my chest, touching the wool of the shirt I was wearing that night and curling my fingers around it.

"Yes." He replied in a whisper, not sure if he wanted to admit that to me and I was suddenly a bit afraid that I may have pushed it a little too far, but the words that came out of his mouth after put me at ease. "You... sort of inspired me to get back on my drawings. You inspire me, period. I think what you're doing is really brave and I decided to use that inspiration to create something."

By the time he finished talking my cheeks hurt from smiling so much. How did he do this? How did he know exactly what to say to make me smile? Could he be anymore perfect?

This might be the wine talking now.

"I'm really honored. Promise me you'll show me when it's done?"

I tilted my head to the side a little to look at him and saw him nodding in agreement. 

The feeling of his warm breath on my neck was enough to cause a shiver to run up and down my spine and to cause my knees to buckle a little, making me feel so good, so wanted. For a split second I lost track of where I was, I felt like I was in an authentic trance, truly hypnotized by his ocean blue eyes and the light freckles that I hadn't noticed until now, causing my heart to beat at what seemed like the speed of light.

We were standing face to face now, mere inches apart from each other and I wanted nothing more than to close the gap between us. I wanted nothing more than to close my eyes and kiss him, feel his lips on mine again, feel the pressure of his tongue on mine, feel my heart beat out of my chest as my lungs run out of breath.

I wanted all of that.

And he wanted it too.

* * * 

Author's Note:

Hello lovelies! How are you all doing today? Early chapter this week because I'm gonna be at college all day tomorrow and probably won't be able to update. 

Soooo, what did you think? Their date was pretty great wasn't it? But don't worry, Lucas and Nicole's date isn't over and you're gonna LOVE next chapter, it's gonna be absolute fire, if you know what I mean! 😏💘

I sound like a broken record but please vote, leave a comment with your feedback (I really love those!) and add this story to your reading list or follow me so you don't miss out any updates and trust me, you do not want to miss the next one!

Xoxo, Mars