Chapter 2
"Do you want to wait in the car? Or do you want to help start the fire?" Nic asked.
It was a cool December night, and the prospect of starting a fire didn't enthuse me. "I'll stay here," I said. As he walked away, I grabbed my phone to update my roommates. It took him a couple of minutes before he came back. Enough to tell them how it was a weird date and how he's nice but I'm not sure yet.
The fire was nice, warm. Two chairs were set up, side by side. Nic put a lantern on a tree branch to light our way back. It didn't take long for us to kiss under the stars. It was intense, the kind of kiss where explosions go off in the background. The scent of bonfire lingered long after we left his backyard, and as the fire died out ours didn't. He lead me from the fire pit back the house where we spent the night in the basement. Well, most of the night. I left at 3 AM because I had class the next day, not to mention my roommates were wondering where I was. Oops.
Christmas arrived soon after. Not to mention Nic's birthday. What do I get him? Do I get him anything? I decided to get him something small. Nic had studied abroad in high school in Japan, so I knew he was a fan of Studio Ghibli. I ended up buying him two movies: My Neighbor Totoro and Howl's Moving Castle. It ended up being a good present for nerds like us.
We dated for about a month, either I would drive to his parents place or he would spend the night on campus. At this point, Winter Break was fast approaching. At the time, you worked as a body man for some big company, and it was time for their Holiday party.
"So I was going to invite my mom," Nic said. "But I was wondering... if you'd like to go with me?"
I looked at him in a slight state of disbelief. We'd only been dating for a couple weeks, but he was already asking me this. "Sure," I responded, "I'd love to go."
It was a big night, the kind of night where I thought I should go out and buy a new dress. So there I was, driving to his house so we could go to the dinner together in a new black dress. He was wearing a purple button down shirt, a dark purple color that royalty would wear. I didn't realize how big of an event it would be and I'm not the best with crowds. But he found this endearing, how I would rather walk off and wander than be in a huge crowded room. There were pieces of art on the walls and as we looked Nic reached out his had to touch the wooden sculpture.
"Don't touch the art," I scolded. "You'll get us thrown out." He did anyways. Even today he says that he wanted to touch all the art.
We shared our plates and held hands under the table, you know the cute stuff. And when it came time to leave we stole one of the table pieces to bring back to his mom. It wasn't long after this night that I realized I was falling in love with the guy who I thought was a thug.
Although it was Winter Break, I had come back to campus because my CNA job was in town. My job required me to work every other weekend at least, so I drove from Milwaukee to Madison early to spend some time with the guy I was dating. Because I lived on campus, my room was small to say the least, so we dragged my twin bed into the living room and decided to sleep in there. At least then we could also use the couch.
After making some dinner, pasta I assume, and getting comfortable on the bed we cuddled up to watch Netflix on my laptop. In the middle of the night, Nic said "I love you." I must of looked at him with a strange expression on my face because he took it back. "I mean I really really like you," he said flustered.
My right hand cupped his face as I looked in his eyes and whispered, "I love you too." I wish I could tell you everything was fine after that night. That we fell in love and stayed in love, but life isn't that simple as I soon learned.
It was a cool December night, and the prospect of starting a fire didn't enthuse me. "I'll stay here," I said. As he walked away, I grabbed my phone to update my roommates. It took him a couple of minutes before he came back. Enough to tell them how it was a weird date and how he's nice but I'm not sure yet.
The fire was nice, warm. Two chairs were set up, side by side. Nic put a lantern on a tree branch to light our way back. It didn't take long for us to kiss under the stars. It was intense, the kind of kiss where explosions go off in the background. The scent of bonfire lingered long after we left his backyard, and as the fire died out ours didn't. He lead me from the fire pit back the house where we spent the night in the basement. Well, most of the night. I left at 3 AM because I had class the next day, not to mention my roommates were wondering where I was. Oops.
Christmas arrived soon after. Not to mention Nic's birthday. What do I get him? Do I get him anything? I decided to get him something small. Nic had studied abroad in high school in Japan, so I knew he was a fan of Studio Ghibli. I ended up buying him two movies: My Neighbor Totoro and Howl's Moving Castle. It ended up being a good present for nerds like us.
We dated for about a month, either I would drive to his parents place or he would spend the night on campus. At this point, Winter Break was fast approaching. At the time, you worked as a body man for some big company, and it was time for their Holiday party.
"So I was going to invite my mom," Nic said. "But I was wondering... if you'd like to go with me?"
I looked at him in a slight state of disbelief. We'd only been dating for a couple weeks, but he was already asking me this. "Sure," I responded, "I'd love to go."
It was a big night, the kind of night where I thought I should go out and buy a new dress. So there I was, driving to his house so we could go to the dinner together in a new black dress. He was wearing a purple button down shirt, a dark purple color that royalty would wear. I didn't realize how big of an event it would be and I'm not the best with crowds. But he found this endearing, how I would rather walk off and wander than be in a huge crowded room. There were pieces of art on the walls and as we looked Nic reached out his had to touch the wooden sculpture.
"Don't touch the art," I scolded. "You'll get us thrown out." He did anyways. Even today he says that he wanted to touch all the art.
We shared our plates and held hands under the table, you know the cute stuff. And when it came time to leave we stole one of the table pieces to bring back to his mom. It wasn't long after this night that I realized I was falling in love with the guy who I thought was a thug.
Although it was Winter Break, I had come back to campus because my CNA job was in town. My job required me to work every other weekend at least, so I drove from Milwaukee to Madison early to spend some time with the guy I was dating. Because I lived on campus, my room was small to say the least, so we dragged my twin bed into the living room and decided to sleep in there. At least then we could also use the couch.
After making some dinner, pasta I assume, and getting comfortable on the bed we cuddled up to watch Netflix on my laptop. In the middle of the night, Nic said "I love you." I must of looked at him with a strange expression on my face because he took it back. "I mean I really really like you," he said flustered.
My right hand cupped his face as I looked in his eyes and whispered, "I love you too." I wish I could tell you everything was fine after that night. That we fell in love and stayed in love, but life isn't that simple as I soon learned.
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