Chapter 7

Actually, the clothes shopping was kind of fun. Luckily for me, Nicole retained her casual, fun-loving attitude the whole time we were there, and didn't go serious on me again. My entire wardrobe was changed by the time we left, and as much as I hated critiquing my younger self for fashion choice of all things, I had to admit I looked better in my new clothes.

The most painful part of that trip was when Nicole convinced my to cut my hair. I actually loved my long, kind of messy blond hair, but if Nicole said it didn't look good, I believed her. Once I saw myself in the mirror with my hair cut, half of me was confident, believed I looked good. The other half was scared to admit that I didn't recognize who who staring back at me.

I had no idea what I was getting into when I hastily agreed to do karate, though. From the second I walked in, I was overwhelmed. People were doing punches and kicks and weird moves everywhere in weird white suits, and what unnerved me the most was that everyone there looked like they knew how to fight. All of them. I sure as hell wouldn't be able to keep up with that.

I was even uncomfortable standing next to Nicole, who was in her own white suit, tied together with a brown belt. Right as we walked in, the toughest-looking black belt whipped her head around from what she was doing to look at us. She had short, brown hair and a naturally stern look on her face. As soon as she saw Nicole though, her face broke out into an unexpected grin.

"Hi, Nicole!" she cheerfully said, walking over to us. "We haven't gotten to see you in a while."

Nicole responded by bowing, keeping her head up, and uttering some kind of noise. It sounded like she was saying 'ous', but I'm sure it meant something in Japanese or something. "Sorry about that, sensei." She continued. "School and other stuff just happened to get in the way."

The black belt waved her hand at Nicole dismissively. "Of course, of course." She responded before clapping her eyes on me. "Who's your friend?"

"This is Adam," Nicole proudly said, giving me a less-than-gentle push forward. "He was looking for a good outlet, and he could use a little more confidence."

The black belt nodded and turned to me. "It's very nice to meet you, Adam." she said, bowing to me. I just stood there dumbly.

Nicole subtly jabbed me in the side. "Bow back, knucklehead," she muttered without moving her mouth. Hesitantly, I bowed back.

Class started shortly after. At the start, everyone gathered in a line, sorted by level of experience. I went right to the end of the line, with no experience and no white suit. I found out later from Nicole that she ordered it with the sensei while I was off looking around before class began, and that it would arrive by next week.

Once we were in the line, we did this bow ritual, and luckily the sensei was casual enough to explain it to me personally in front of the class as we were doing it. However, she was still strict enough to damn near scare me as she was doing so. Afterwards, we were all ordered to spread out as one student led opening exercises.

By the end of the exercises alone, I was wheezing and bending over, catching my breath, and naturally, I was the only one. No one else was even breaking a sweat, of course, including Nicole, who casually strode over to me.

"You okay, hotshot?" She asked me with more humor in her voice than concern.

"It ... the ... I..." I managed to get out between breaths.

She giggled. "You'll get used to it soon enough. Now come on, back straight. Let's make a good first impression on the sensei."

The sensei, now that the exercises were over, was dividing up the class by the time I had the strength to look up.

"Green belts, go with Sensei McArthur, he's going to go over kicks with you." The green belts broke away from the group, along with a black belt who sported glasses and a consistently red face. "Orange belts, you're with Sensei Wise. He's going to handle chokeholds." Those poor orange belts, I thought to myself. Sensei Wise looked like he could snap a human being like a twig. He was easily the most buff guy in the room by far, and that was saying something. "Yellow belts, you're doing the basics with sensei Gratton, white belts, you're with me, and brown belts..." She stopped and looked around. "It's just you here tonight, isn't it, Nicky?"

Nicole, face worrisomely serious, just nodded at the sensei.

"Alright, then why don't you take Adam?" The sensei asked her. "Teach him the basics, let him know how to bow in and how to behave in line, stuff like that."

"Ous, sensei Sparrow." Nicole responded like a soldier, before bowing. She then started to walk off to a corner and motioned for me to follow.

"Do I get to call you Nicky?" I asked Nicole, grinning.

"Fuck off." Nicole responded playfully, grinning back. That was enough of a 'no' for me!

The rest of the class went by eventlessly, with Nicole explaining to me the basics of karate, with a lot of manners, some terminology, stances, and a few basic moves. For the last minute of class, though, Sensei Sparrow called the class together and all of the students found their own spaces around the room. I was asked to keep to the sides, since I apparently didn't know what they would be doing.

As I later learned, they were doing what were known as 'katas' - a series of karate moved done in seemingly perfect execution. I was in awe of how perfectly they all seemed to pull it off, in unison no less. I was equally shocked, however, with how the Sensei was constantly barking criticisms as she watched everyone.

"Bart, straighten your punch."

"Paul, fix your stance."

"Georgia, other hand should be at your side."

Nicole, in my mind, was an enigma of perfection, a person who seemed to never screw up, but shockingly, she was actually the one the Sensei picked on the most.

"Nicole, your shoulders are too stiff."

"Nicole, your timing is off."

"Nicole, you should know better."

Sheesh! If I thought Salvador was tough, then this was insane. Nevertheless, Nicole never once talked back, never once did anything but correct herself. It was interesting to see.

After we did the line and bow thing at the end of the class, we were all dismissed by the sensei, and Nicole walked up to me. "So how'd you like it?" She asked as we started to leave.

"It was ... interesting." I said with a small chuckle. We both bowed as we left the room (apparently called a 'dojo'), something Nicole taught me to do.

"Sorry that the sensei was so hard on you." I added as we left the building. I noted the black December night sky as we walked back to Nicole's car.

Nicole gave me a weird look before lightly laughing. "Dude, if you think she was 'hard on me, ' maybe you're not so ready for karate." she told me. "In karate, you're supposed to accept that you're not the best. You have to be diligent and learn, leave ego outside the door, and swallow your pride." She got into the car with me in tow, then added, "And speaking of swallow, I'm hungry as hell. How about McDick's, squirt?"

Why the hell did everyone in high school feel it was necessary to call it that? "I'm down." I cheerfully answered.

"Cool." She beamed as she started the car. Before leaving, though, she reached over and gave me a peck on the cheek.

"What was that for?" I asked her.

"I wasn't aware I needed a reason." She replied, winking at me. "But it's so I can show thanks. For one, I hate how my karate friends are ONLY my karate friends, this gives me a nice change. Plus, even though you were kind of being a shallow prick earlier, it doesn't change the fact that I was being a bit of a bitch. It means something if you are willing to put up with me like that."

I shrugged. "Not so much 'putting up with you, ' more like 'scared of your tone.'" She playfully punched me in the shoulder, before realizing I was serious. She couldn't have made that realization more obvious if she tried. Instantly she tensed up and looked forward, focussing on getting out of the parking lot with a suddenly blank-yet-almost-worried face.

I caught that immediately and tried to break the tension. "And hey, it means 'something'? It doesn't mean 'a lot'?" I was kind of worried I made her upset, so I hoped my tone reflected the playful attitude I wanted it to, not my worry.

Luckily, it paid off as she looked back at me with a sly grin. "Well then, dinner's on you."

"I was already planning to pay." I replied, slyly yet seriously.

Nicole smiled. The car came up to a red light, and we stopped. She took the opportunity and rotated my face to meet hers. Slowly, sensually, she kissed me on the lips. After a few seconds, we broke away, and she faced the front of the car. She was half-smiling as she bit her lower lip, presumably in thought.

About a minute later, she spoke. "Yeah."

"Yeah what?" I asked her, not knowing what she meant.

"It does mean a lot."

Full and happy, we approached Nicole's house around 10pm that night.

"Hope you didn't mind eating in the car." Nicole piped up as we pulled in her driveway. "I don't exactly like going around town dressed as..." She gestured at her white robe. " ... This."

"That's fine, don't worry about it." I replied as we got out of the car.

"So ... Wanna hang around for a bit?" Nicole asked me.

"I probably shouldn't." I answered her. "I've got this lab report due tomorrow, plus I want to be well-rested if you meant that thing about hitting the weights tomorrow."

"Oh, I was dead serious, squirt." She said with a chuckle. "But I can help you with the lab report."

"Nah, I should probably go home to my parents anyway." I replied.

Nicole looked at her front door, then back to me. "Please?" She asked.

"Why do you want to so much?" I asked. I looked to the door after her - I wondered briefly if her parents ever did have that talk with her. They said they would, after all. Hopefully things were better with them.

I swear it was only out of curiosity, but Nicole's gaze stiffened, clearly taking my comment offensively. "Fine." She waved me off as she started to go inside.

Shit. "Sorry." I immediately blurted out. "I didn't mean it like that. I just wanted to know if there was a specific reason or something. I can hang around for a little bit, but not any longer."

Nicole smiled, but shook her head at me. "You really need to learn how NOT to offend girls, you big dumbo." She muttered at me, still smiling.

"I know." I admitted sheepishly. "By the way, how are your parents?"

Nicole was about to open the door, but stopped when I asked. "They're fine..." She slowly answered. "Why?"

"I was just wondering if things got any better with them. Like, if they sat down and talked to you about it or something."

Nicole shrugged. "Nope. I don't think that's gonna happen. It's just sorta ... Oh well, y'know?"

I nodded, although I was kind of angry on the inside. Her parents didn't talk to her at all.

Nicole opened the door and strode in. "I'm hoooome~!" She sang as she walked in. She dropped all of her stuff off near her shoes and strode right in.

As if I shouldn't have expected anything different, her dad was sitting in the kitchen, reading Dickens. The Chimes. Hm.

Her mother was getting up to greet her from the living room. "Hello, Nicole! How was your d-" Her sentence stopped right in its tracks when she clapped eyes on me. A brief flash of something that left too quickly to be identified filled her eyes, as she looked back at Nicole and smiled.

Noting the silence, Mr. Baker looked up from his book to see me, doing a double take when he saw me for the first time. He looked me dead in the eyes and cleared his throat. "Um, sweetheart, maybe this isn't the best time for your friend to be visiting. We have something we'd like to tell you."

Clearly this wasn't a common thing. Nicole shot her mom a confused look, before replying, "Um, does it have to be now? Maybe Adam can wait in the other room or something."

Her mom picked up where her husband left off. "Sweetie, this is a bit of a family thing - no offense to your friend here." She looked at me. "Sorry, Adam, would you mind?"

Following her mother, Nicole turned to look at me. Noticing her daughter's eyes were off of her, Mrs. Baker looked me dead in the eyes and slowly nodded. It wasn't a threat, she was trying to tell me something, and I had a feeling it had to do with my talk with them on Halloween.

"Um ... No, I guess not." I said slowly, trying to identify the situation. Nicole looked back at her mom as I looked at Mr. Baker. He gave me a half-smile (something which looked like it was painful for him to make) and slowly nodded at me. I turned back to Nicole. "Unless Nicole really wants me here."

"Nah." She said flatly. "As long as it's a family thing. C'mon, Adam, I'll show you out."

With surprising speed, she led me to the back room. As soon as we were out of her parents' sight, she pulled me into a tight hug.

"Of COURSE I want you here, you idiot." She whispered into my ear as she continued her embrace. "I dunno what's gonna happen. My parents don't usually get like this."

I broke the embrace and looked her in the eyes. Her hair was covering one of her eyes, so I brushed it out of her face. "Don't worry. I think it's going to be good news." I was a bit disappointed in Nicole's parents for needing a prompt, but as long as they were going to handle it tonight, I was happy.

"I'll text you later?" She asked me, smiling slightly.

"You'd better." I smiled back. I kissed her on the cheek and grabbed my bag. She waved me out, almost nervously as I left.

I felt really happy as I went back home and greeted my own parents. I was really grateful to have good, understanding parents like these (although granted, they didn't know I wasn't a virgin) and I was happy Nicole would get the opportunity to have the same thing, finally.

As soon as I got to my room, I anxiously pulled out my phone. I knew the conversation she was about to have with her parents would be a long one, but I still wanted to check. What I found was a text message, not from her but from May.

Well, shit. I completely forgot. I pulled up her messages. Yeah, I actually would like to talk about it

Oh, boy. I hoped that May was the type of easily forgive. Oh shit, I'm so sorry! My phone died on me. I'm listening. :) Yup, a white lie. It's official, I was shameless.

Almost instantly, she responded. Oh thats OK. i dunno, Carson is a good guy but it just didnt feel right with him. i felt really lonely around him is all, and now i feel like a bitch because i'm the one who shut him down and i still feel lonely and yeah.

Wow. I totally thought Carson was the one to break up with her. Well I'm here for you if you're ever lonely. You shouldn't feel like a bitch, if it's not meant to be it's not meant to be. Oh look, there was a break-in at the cheese factory.

Thanks :) but i dunno. he didnt do anything wrong but the date was still bad, like i didnt enjoy myself at all and i dont know why. i really wish i knew why. i feel so bad :(

I had no freaking clue how to reply. Don't worry, you shouldn't feel bad. I'm sure he understands, Carson is a really understanding guy. Besides, you don't owe him anything. You shouldn't have to apologize for your feelings. Woah. That wasn't actually half bad.

Thanks Adam <3 youre the best friend ever, you really cheered me up :))))))

Ugh, the inner Nicole in me piped up. The dreaded many-mouth Smiley.

What are friends for? :) I sent in reply.

There was still no response from Nicole, even by the time May sent a :) in response. Even still, I waited. I was almost asleep by the time my phone finally buzzed. I checked the screen, and sure enough, it was Nicole.

Holy shit that took way too long. was all it said.

I smirked. What was it about? I asked her, knowing full well the answer. I hope they found a middle ground or something.

Dad just wanted to tell me about his brother's new job. I don't get why they shooed you out of the house for that...

Wait, what? That was the reason? That might have made some sense in any other scenario, but they made eye contact with me. They all but promised with their eyes that this would be the night! Without me realizing, I became fully upset, having a grasp on my phone firm enough to start hurting my hand. Did they just say that to get me to leave? They might have been a bit mean to Nicole, but they didn't seem like they were that big of a bunch of cowards.

Nicole noted my lack of reply and continued. It's like they just wanted an excuse to get you out of the house.

Son of a bitch...

Another good reason to love the holiday season hit me a few weeks later - Christmas. I wasn't overly religious, but I loved the spirit of the holiday. This year was no different.

Actually, that's a complete lie. This year was completely different. After the usual festivities at my place, there was always this weird 4-hour gap in-between present opening and Christmas dinner, with nothing but marveling at the new stuff to fill it. Well, this year, like my own Christmas angel, Nicole asked if I wanted to come over.

Not to say I wasn't prepared. After I cleared it with my parents, I grabbed her present and dashed out of the door.

Despite her hatred for winter, I think Nicole loved the spirit of the holidays as well. She was so wrapped up, no pun intended, in the joys of Christmas, she didn't notice the glares I was flinging her parents every few minutes.

Mr. Baker glared back at me every time I did, challenging me with his eyes. I didn't stop though. Mrs. Baker, on the other hand, just looked down every time I gave her a glare.

Nicole was practically bouncing around. She showed me the decorations she put up, played me some of her favorite Christmas music, and offered me a few cookies which she baked herself. After a while, her mother cleared her throat.

"Sweetie, do you want to do the present-opening upstairs? I've got a little headache coming on and I'd appreciate less noise."

I could tell from her weirded-out expression that Nicole was as shocked by this as I was, but after a while she shrugged. "Sure, no complaints from me!" She said casually as she started to go upstairs. "Advil's in the third drawer from the right on the left counter, second drawer down."

As we closed the door to her room, Nicole shot me another look. "That was really weird..." she said slowly, before grinning. "Mom doesn't ASK me to go upstairs with boys. Maybe she likes you more than I thought!"

I held my tongue. I wanted to say something, but for some reason I felt like now wasn't the right time.

"Anyway, your present!" Nicole exclaimed, dashing to her dresser. She rummaged through her drawer for a few seconds before pulling out a rectangular gift, with a hand-wrapped bow on the top.

She bounced back to me, handing me the gift. "Open it open it open it!" She exclaimed giddily. She was really cute when she was excited.

I tried to salvage the bow at first, but couldn't figure out a way to do so and still open the package. Eventually, Nicole rolled her eyes and undid the bow.

"There! Now open it, squirt." She said, smiling.

Smiling back at her, I ripped open the packaging to see it was a book. A children's book, to be exact.

"The Missing Piece by Shel Silverstein?" I asked her.

Her bubbliness was gone, but she was still smiling as she nodded. "I feel like you could learn a lot from that book." She told me softly. "You're a really great guy if you just believe it. I think this book could help make you more confident."

"Voice of experience?" I asked her, my smile coming back.

She lowered and eyebrow and smirked. "I can't give you all of my secrets, hotshot." She told me.

I went forwards and hugged her. "Thank you, Nicole." I told her. "Thanks for caring."

"Ugh, too sappy." She said, playfully shoving me back. That was Nicole for you, I guess. I briefly wondered if she actually enjoyed my sappiness but tried to play it cool, or if she had some sort of reason for disliking it, before realizing only one of us had given the other a gift.

"I actually got you a gift too." I told her, thinking she had no idea.

"Oh, I know. You need to work on your subtlety, bro. Especially when it comes to hiding this behind your back." Nicole replied. How did I not see that coming? Oh well. Rolling my eyes, I picked up the gift from behind me before giving it to her.

At first, she just inspected it. Holding it up in front of her eyes, shaking it up and down, even sniffing it once.

"Just open it." I said with a chuckle.

She pouted at me, which frankly looked adorable. "I have to guess first! It's tradition." She inspected it for about fifteen more seconds before shrugging. "Ah, fuck it." she thought out loud. "You're not family anyway." She winked at me as she frantically tore away at the packaging, revealing a CD case.

She laughed out loud. "The Best of the 80s New Wave? She read aloud.

I nodded enthusiastically. "I checked - Tears for Fears is on that CD."

She turned the CD around and nodded thoughtfully. "So I see! And ABC, Devo ... Wow, even Wang Chung!" She looked up at me and smiled in approval. "Congrats, squirt, you hit the jackpot." She lunged forward and latched herself onto me, giving me a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks, Adam." She said softly. "I love it."

She made no effort to detach from me, and just kinda stayed on me. Eventually I lost strength (I was still sore from our most recent gym trip) and fell back on to the floor. She fell with me with an alarmingly loud thud. We both immediately looked at each other to make sure we were okay, and ended up bursting out laughing. I'm not really sure why.

Eventually we settled there on the floor. Nicole gradually cuddled up closer and closer to me until she was basically latched on to me like a baby koala. Over time, her nuzzling became the exploration of her face and hands on my neck, until eventually, she got up and started to take my shirt off.

I could guess where this was going and complied. However, instead of getting frisky, Nicole just nuzzled into me again, still too lazy to even climb up on the bed.

"Wouldn't the bed be more comfortable?" I asked, breaking the silence.

"I don't wanna move." She lazily replied. Chuckling to myself, I accepted my fate of staying on her floor until she wanted to move. Nicole just nuzzled back into me, continuously moving herself around, never seeming to find a comfy position.

After a bit of this, it became clear that she had other motives at work. Before long, her crotch rested atop mine, and every time she tried to get comfy, she would brush up against me. Before long, I started to get hard. If she noticed, she didn't say anything, although from that point forward, every time she brushed up against me, she would do it with more and more force until it became a shameless grind.

Nicole buried her face into my neck again, only this time her lips opened and I could feel her hungrily licking and sucking on my neck; gently at first, but soon with more ferocity. Her grind lost all of its desire to be subtle as her mouth trailed its way up to mine and soon we were making out, her grinding up against me, my body laying on her bedroom floor.

Nicole broke the kiss and grinned, half triumphantly, half devilishly. "You didn't really think your gift was just a book, did you?"

I grinned back, but didn't say anything. After another round of our tongues battling for victory, without breaking the kiss, I got up, lifting Nicole off of me so I could get up without stopping what the both of us were so keen on doing.

Naturally, she broke the kiss anyway. "Wowie, hotshot!" She exclaimed. "I think those visits to the gym are already taking effect!"

I didn't respond, I only pinned her down to the bed, before she lifted me off of her.

"The bed is boring. We've done it here too many times. Christmas gift time, squirt! Anywhere in the house, as long as we can shoo my parents away. Where do you wanna do it?"

The mere mention of her parents was enough to make me angry again, when I realized where I want to do it. "Your parents' room." I confidently said.

Nicole looked shocked. "Wow, you're kinkier than I thought..." She started. "Why there?"

I thought about making a bullshit excuse, but the truth just kind of spilled out. At least, part of it. "Fuck your parents." Great start. "They don't accept you for who you are, and they should have cleared the air with you a long time ago. It would be no less than they deserve."

Nicole didn't say anything at first. She cocked one eyebrow and looked to the floor, and for a second, I was worried if I had said yet another thing out of line. "Well, isn't someone passionate." She finally said, looking back up to me. Her tone turned seductive as she added, "I think I'd like to see just how passionate you can get." With that, she took my hand and opened the door, leading the way to her parents' room.

Once we got there, we were a mess of removing clothes, unable to resist our hands roaming all over each other in the process. At first, we focussed on nothing else other than our hands and mouths. Nicole's tongue probed my mouth as I fully explored her body, not daring to leave any one area untouched, without my worship. Soon it was my turn to explore her mouth as her hands went from clasping around my neck to tracing its way down my chest and stomach, feeling every muscle on my body.

Even after our kiss had ended, her fingers still remained, roaming all over me. didn't see it, but I felt her faintly smile. "Not too shabby, Watson." she softly said, almost in a whisper.

I couldn't wait any longer. Grasping her firmly by her shoulders, I gently coerced her to the bed, which she all-too-eagerly accepted. Nicole lay down on the bed, her body poised like a Renaissance painting, leaving me wondering if I should have rammed her at that moment or just stood there, appreciating the sheer beauty that lay before me.

My lust won me over as I crawled over to her, my hand lingering behind me so I could make sure she was ready for me. At first contact, I could tell that Nicole was ready for me. As I felt over her slit in such a gentle fashion that she moaned in frustration, I could feel her wetness and her engorged slit, which spoke for themselves, supplemented by her moaning. However, I did not stop, but instead just pushed hard enough so that my fingers barely entered her, rewarding me with a small, frustrated moan from her. With an agonizing slow speed, I pumped my fingers in and out of her while my thumb found its way to her clit and gently started rubbing.

Nicole was squirming at this point, and I loved every little motion she would make as I continued my teasing. Every little expression her face made displayed a mix of sexual frustration, ecstasy, and all-around beauty. I could have watched it forever, but it was time to move on to the main event. Slowly taking my fingers out of her, I crawled up to Nicole and gently kissed her lips, placing my hands on opposite sides next to her head, positioning myself. She reached down and grabbed my shaft, all too eager to guide me in. Breaking the kiss, I smiled at her.

"Are you sure you want this?" I asked her softly. It may have been a dumb question, but I figured it was a good policy to always ask the girl.

She playfully frowned, but I could tell she was glad I made a habit of asking. "I definitely want this." She responded quietly, yet with power. I nodded as I started to push forward, guided by her hand. I was met with resistance but, watching her face to make sure I was never hurting her, thrust forward until I was fully inside her.

She winced at first, and sensed my panic. "Don't worry, hotshot." She said, her voice reflecting that she was still in a bit of pain. "I'm just naturally tight, and you're not exactly small. Just gimme a sec."

Despite my lust, I waited until her expression eventually softened and she opened her eyes to look at me. Nervously biting her lower lip, she simply nodded at me, giving me her consent to continue.

It's true, Nicole was incredibly tight. Being inside her was a sensation that was not easily describable. It felt incredibly warm, like it should have hurt but instead just gave me an amazing sense of pleasure. Her love tunnel seemed to have its own way of caressing my manhood as I slowly began to pump it in and out of her.

"Oooooh, Adam..." Nicole moaned. "That's good, that's so good."

Nicole was lost in her own world of euphoria almost immediately. Every slow stroke of mine into her was savored, by myself and by her. Each and every one was met before long with a small thrust of her hips that quickly evolved into becoming a bigger thrust, though I noticed Nicole was being quieter this time.

While pumping in and out of her, I also observed her for a bit before noticing that she was definitely holding back. "Are you okay?" I asked her, stupidly not stopping as I did so.