WWYK 1.4 Volume End

And thats a wrap on the first installment of this little series! Will talk more about stuff when my head isn't so cloudy, feeling bleh today.

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Chapter 4 - Better Than Denny’s

Nicki stirred in her sleep to the sounds of a keyboard incessantly click-clacking away like a Hollywood screenwriter on cocaine. Mornings weren’t her thing, and she grumbled softly before anything else before continuing to suck down on her thumb, which had somehow wound up in her mouth overnight, the same as it always did. No matter how long she waited, the typing wouldn’t stop, and she was almost about to vent her frustration before she remembered where she was and who she was with.

The realization that she was sleeping in Nate’s bed wiped away most of her grumpiness, allowing her to sit up slowly as the blanket fell from her shoulders. Nate was right by her side, typing away at a little laptop that seemed too small for his big hands. She didn’t get a good look at him last night since she was reading the Sex Note, so it only occurred to her how cute he looked when he was working.

Nicki smiled at the sight of him. She almost wished she could go back in time and tell herself, ‘You did it, Nicki. You got that perv and boy, was it worth the wait.’

“Hey,” Nicki leaned in and kissed his cheek. “Someone’s up bright and early. Whatcha workin’ on?”

Nate didn’t respond, continuing to mindlessly tap away at his keyboard. His eyes were glued to the screen, and on closer inspection, Nicki noticed he looked pretty tired.

“Babe?” She rubbed his shoulder to no response. Then, after her irritability started to kick in, she snapped her fingers in front of his face several times. “Hellooooo? Are you in there, dude? In case you forgot, there’s a hot chick with a womb full of your jizz right next to you.”

“Huh? Oh, shit-” Nate snapped out of his typing trance, flustered at having not even noticed the awakening of his muse. “Morning, Nicki. Sorry. I was just getting some work done on the short story I was in the middle of before you came over, and I got a little too into it…”

“I’ll say,” Nicki raised an eyebrow. “Did you even sleep?”

“I… no, I don’t think so…” Nate offered an awkward laugh instead of an excuse. “The things we did together wouldn’t stop replaying in my head, and I thought a little work might help calm me down. Turns out that didn’t really happen, and I just kept going… and going… and going…”

“Damn, dude. On the one hand, it’s nice to see that writer’s block is nothing a little SSR-ranked pussy can’t fix-”

“Really putting yourself on a pedestal there, aren’t you?”

“Are you implying my pussy is somehow undeserving of such a pedestal?” She glared at him, the question so bizarre he couldn’t help but laugh at how seriously she asked it.

“Okay, you got me. You totally deserve the pussy pedestal. Now what about on the other hand?”

Nicki crossed her arms. “I’m upset that you didn’t even notice your adorable editor slash gyaru girlfriend waking up and kissing your cheek the morning after you fucked her brains out, dude!”

“Girlfriend?”

“What?” Nicki smirked. “I slept on it.”

Nate smiled back, his heart going wild. “Good to know. Any ideas how I might make things up to said girlfriend, then?”

“You can start by giving her a good morning kiss and then by doing it every other morning when we’re together from now on.”

He didn’t have any objections, but after seeing how she acted last night continued to the following morning, Nate felt compelled to comment on what he’d noticed. “I had no idea you could be so clingy.”

“Yeah, well… apparently, I am…” Nicki grumbled. “I’ve never really gotten all needy like this before, so I’m not sure where it’s coming from. It’s super embarrassing, honestly, but-” Nate sealed her lips with his, taking her in a deep and unexpected kiss that she soon reciprocated by escalating it to a light make-out session that lasted upwards of a minute.

“Nothing to be embarrassed about. I like clingy girls, and all it really does is make me want to spoil you.” He teased. “Even if you’re a little bratty.”

Once the reality of the kiss had sunk in, Nicki was smiling from ear to ear. “Even if, or especially?”

“Especially,” Nate admitted. “Besides. If it weren’t for you, how would I ever be able to accurately describe the smell of morning breath in my writing?”

Nicki laughed and gave him a light punch on his shoulder. “New editorial mandate- never complain about the smell of my morning breath during our good morning kiss. Not when it’s your fault it smells so bad, weeb.”

“Fair,” Nate laughed back.

“So,” Nicki stretched out and then laid her head across his lap, blocking off the laptop. “How’s it coming along?”

“Great. I’m almost done with the whole thing, actually.” He looked at the word counter for verification before adding, “I wrote like… 10k words, maybe, on top of some light editing of what I’d already written to make the things I added work better.”

“No shit? Damn. Nice fucking going, Hamilton. How much longer do you need to finish up?”

“Not much,” Nate beamed at the praise, but what felt even better than Nicki’s validation was his sense of satisfaction with himself. It’d been a long time since he’d ever accomplished that much in a single sitting and even longer since the end product was something he felt so good about. With Nicki’s influence, he hoped both things would happen more often. “I probably just need another ten, twenty minutes?”

“Dope. Anything I can do to help?”

“I wouldn’t mind some coffee if you’re offering. There’s a Keurig next to the sink in the kitchen, and the cups are-”

“I’ll find it, babe. As the newest hire around these parts, I'm gonna have to get up to speed on where you keep everything, so I might as well get started! How do you take it?”

“There’s a huge thing of French vanilla creamer in the fridge. More creamer than coffee.”

“Coulda just saved yourself some time and said ‘like a pussy’.”

“I’ll take my coffee like a pussy, please,” Nate stated plainly, rolling with the punches.

“Anything you want, Mr. Masters.” Nicki laughed after putting on her best slutty secretary voice. She got out of bed and didn’t even bother looking for her clothes, instead marching straight out entirely in the nude.

As any man was obligated to do, Nate watched his new girlfriend's big, brown booty, savoring the way it jiggled when she walked away. Nicki, possessing a women’s intuition that alerted her when she was being checked out, looked over her shoulder with a smirk and lingered at the doorway. She then cocked her hip to the side and gave her ass a satisfying smack.

“Begone, temptress,” Nate waved her off. “There is work to be done.”

“Pft, temptress? If I was trying to tempt you, I’d do something like this-” Nicki bent forward slightly and pulled apart her ass cheeks, allowing Nate to witness his cum from the night before flowing out of her. He was left utterly speechless and inspired as she left the room.

That beautiful view was enough to motivate and reinvigorate his energy, pushing him further toward the finish line. He hardly even noticed it when Nicki returned with the coffee, taking a single sip and setting it down on the nightstand before continuing to type away. Nicki made herself a cup with only a drop of cream, and she drank it while checking her phone and responding to some messages, occasionally glancing up at the writer and smiling as he did his thing.

“There,” Nate announced and leaned back onto his bed, letting out a deep yawn. “I’m all done. It still probably needs a lot of editing, but it’s ready as far as this draft goes.”

“Nice! You cool if I get started?” Nicki motioned to take the laptop, which Nate voluntarily passed over. “I’m just gonna skim it for now, and I’ll do an actual editing pass sometime later.”

“Sure, sure,” Nate stretched out, finally enjoying some more of his now lukewarm coffee-flavored French vanilla. “I’m not in the right mind to do anything with your suggestions right now, anyway.”

“Shush,” Nicki reached out and placed her finger on his lip. “Let me cook!” With Nate’s silence ensured, the gyaru editor turned to the screen and scrolled up to the start of the document.

The story was the same one that put Nate in a bad mood the day before, but how it came out deviated heavily from his original outline. The sex scene between the nobleman Clarius and his two (now gyaru-themed) serving girls was overhauled entirely, with the final product reading suspiciously familiar to Nicki. It was almost as if she’d lived through it herself or, more accurately, was the direct inspiration behind most of the events.

“So this guy saves these two blonde, dark-skinned maids with bratty attitudes from slavery, and after getting closer to them, he proposes they pay off their debt by granting him free use of their bodies anywhere in his mansion, huh?”

“That is indeed the gist of it,” Nate confirmed.

“You said you went back and edited the earlier bits, too, right?”

“That is correct.”

“These serving girls… were they always gyaru-themed?”

“…No, that was a rather late addition I made to give their characters a little additional flavor. They had throwaway stock personalities before this, and I think they’re a little more unique now.”

“Unique, huh? I dunno about that. They seem pretty familiar to me…” Nicki was staring at him with hard-to-read eyes and a catty smile, which was quite the combo. Nate didn’t know if he was being judged or laughed at when the reality was probably somewhere in between. “Well, all teasing aside, I got through it. Ready for the cold, hard truth?”

“Please,” Nate leaned in and gulped.

“It’s your sexiest work yet, babe, and everyone is gonna think so. Mark my words.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously. The plot is a little basic, but I can help you spitball on that a little. There are also a few places we can touch up here and there, add another few layers of polish, but it’s in a really good place right now. The key takeaway here is that the sex scenes are a massive improvement over everything else you’ve ever pumped out. There was tension, suspense, believability in the character’s thoughts and feelings, and most importantly, the descriptions were tastefully erotic compared to the kind of shit a virgin would dream up.”

Nate let out a tremendous sigh of relief. He expected the worst, but that only made the actual outcome all the more surprising for him. “Oh my god, you had me worried it would be so much worse than that…”

“Wanted to keep you on the edge of your seat, silly,” Nicki smirked. “But hey, I’m seriously proud of you!”

How long had Nate been waiting to hear someone tell him that? Two years, at least, even longer if he counted his fanfiction days. Now that someone had, he was feeling better than ever and full of appreciation for the person who made it all possible. “Thank you, Nicki. Seriously. I couldn’t have done it without you, I- ow, what the fuck?!”

Nicki reached out and lightly tweaked his exposed nipple. “Bit of an understatement, there, don’t you think? All you did was remix everything we did last night and add a few variations. Sure, some of those variations were decently creative, but it was still more or less what actually happened.”

“I thought that was the point of everything we did?” Nate rubbed his nipple sourly. “So I could draw from my new experiences and include them in my writing?”

“It was, and it’s good that you did! I’m just pointing it out here because there’s something you need to be aware of, and that’s how your pool of options is still pretty shallow. We have to do our best to widen what you’ve got to work with, or else your stories will all be super repetitive.”

“That sounds great, obviously. I’m not gonna turn down more kinky sex, but…”

“Are you still hung up on your harem fetish?” Nicki narrowed her eyes and scooted closer after having closed the laptop.

“Kinda, yeah? I really like you. Hell, I asked you to be my girlfriend, and-”

“Nate, sweetie,” Nicki placed her hands on his cheeks and forced him to look her in the eyes. She’d cleaned off what remained of her makeup when she went to make coffee but still looked just as beautiful without it. “It’s 2023, I’m bisexual, and you fucking other girls with my permission is only weird if you make it. Not only will it help your career, but I just so happen to be something of a kinky bitch if you hadn’t noticed.”

There was no part of that last statement that Nate didn’t like, but he still had to verify. “It’s really that easy?”

“It’s really that easy. Polygamy isn’t anywhere near as weird as it used to be, and even if it was, it’s no one else’s damn business what we do with our lives.”

“Polygamy?” Nate batted an eye, his stomach lurching at even the slightest hint of cuckoldry. Such was his double standards. “Are you gonna want to-”

Nicki flicked his shoulder and made a pouty face like she was offended at the mere implication. “No, silly. I don’t need other dick. You wouldn’t have been living rent-free in my brain for eight fucking years if I was that shallow.”

Nate had to laugh at that, but it was coupled with a warmth rising from within that already through his heart and made him feel loved. “Okay, good to know… but polygamy is still pretty different from me just casually fucking other women, you know. The word kind of implies you’re thinking of something more formal.”

“Well…” Nicki scratched the back of her head, her cheeks blushing. “I dunno, I kiiiinda have some girlfriends who might be interested in you, and I’m also sorta interested in maybe seeing where things might go if you guys were to hook up or whatever…? But… as for anything formal, well… one step at a time, dude.”

That was an awful lot of kindas, sortas, and maybes. If Nate was catching her implications here, he almost thought it sounded like Nicki was saying she’d be cool with additional girlfriends so long as the circumstances lined up. The thought was a little overstimulating for him at the moment, so all he could do was idly nod his head and try not to think about it too hard.

These girlfriends of hers, though… now that inspired curiosity.

“Do I know these girls you’re talking about? It's a small town, so I just figured I'd ask.”

“What? Oh, uh, probably not...” Nicki abruptly laughed, brushed her bangs out of her face, and looked off to the side. “Speaking of them, though, would you mind if I like… I dunno… sent some of our pics from last night into our group chat, maybe?”

“Nicki?”

“…Yes, Nate?”

“You cannot just say shit like that. If I had coffee in my mouth, I would’ve just spit it out all over you.”

“Sure, sure, but… seriously, where do you stand on that? Are we leaning towards yes, or what?”

Nate had to seriously consider this for a moment, and he answered, “Well, yes, that’s where I’m leaning, obviously… but it’s still super embarrassing to think about.”

“Isn’t that what makes it hot, though?” Nicki’s eyes sparkled, and she wiggled adorable, already imagining what it would be like to show off her slutty pics with her friends. “Think about it, Nate. Think about me sending a couple of cute chicks pictures of us having fun, and then think about them getting off on it- getting off on you, babe! They totally will, by the way. Especially to the ‘after’ pics… god, they aren’t gonna believe what you did to me…!”

“Goddamnit,” Nate shrugged and lowered his head.

“I’m assuming that means yes?”

“Yes. When you put it like that, the idea is insanely fucking hot, and there’s no way in hell I can say no.” He sighed in resignation.

“Bitchin’!” Nicki exclaimed, her agile thumbs blitzing a message to her gal pals and selecting the naughty pics she wanted to send. “Aaaaaand, done! Now, we play the waiting game.”

“Keep me updated, I guess,” Nate didn’t actually expect anything to come from any of this, but he did feel a little horny knowing some other allegedly cute chicks might be looking at their naughty photos. That was worth letting her have this by itself, he supposed. “I’m not really wanting to jump into anything too crazy yet, though, so I hope they take their time. I still haven’t even gotten used to the whole idea of ‘us’ yet…”

“I know how you feel,” Nicki scooted in closer and leaned her head on his shoulder. “But it’s nice, isn’t it?”

“What, being in this weird transitional state between friends to lovers?”

“Yeah.”

“…Yeah, it is,” Nate admitted with a warm smile. “I’m anxious about everything but also really excited. It’s a nice feeling.”

“I think you’d feel less anxious if you got some sleep,” Nicki pointed out and rubbed his chest with a frown. “Seriously, do you need a nap or something?”

“I’m just fine,” Nate insisted with an ill-timed yawn. “I stay up all night often enough. This is nothing new. Granted, it’s not usually because I’m so inspired, but that’s a welcome change.”

Nicki was proud of herself for that. “Well, if you aren’t gonna sleep, how about we go grab something to eat?”

“I could order us something if you want. I think my phone is still in my pocket, though…”

“Nah, let’s get out of here and stretch our legs a little!”

Her suggestion was surprising, even if it shouldn’t have been. This was a thing ordinary people did all the time- they left the house to get food. For Nate, though, he hadn’t done it in a while, and he felt some hesitation.

“Babe?” Nicki shook him impatiently.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to freeze up on you. Can I be honest for a sec, Nicki?”

“Uh… yeah, sure? Always!”

“I don’t really get out much ever since the thing happened. I’m something of a shut-in these days.”

“Oh. Fuck, dude. I had no idea.” Nicki looked at him with concern. Nate worried she was judging him, but it didn’t seem to be the case. There was sadness in her eyes, but amidst the pity, there was a spark in them that implied she meant to do something about it. “Well… are you happy like that, or do you wanna try and make some baby steps?”

“That… sounds like it might be nice,” Nate gulped. He meant what he said, but there was obviously some anxiety behind it. “I don’t think I turned into a full-on agoraphobe or anything, and I do still get out of here when I have to, but-”

“You don’t need to explain yourself to me, babe. I get it.” Nicki’s smile was warm and welcoming. He realized she really did understand him, and that made him a lot more comfortable with the current situation. “We can order in for today or head somewhere else if you feel up to it. Either way, we’ll work on it.”

Nate pulled her closer in a tight embrace, feeling thankful beyond measure. “Thanks, Nicki. I appreciate it. Everything happened so fast last night, and it never really came up. It’s not like I was trying to hide it or anything.”

“Chill, chilllll! I know you better than to think you’d hide something from me, dude.” Nicki laughed. “And now that I think about it, it might be best if we stayed here for now. We fucking reek of sex, and we’d both need a shower if we were gonna go anywhere.”

“Good point, yeah…” Nate agreed, but under the surface, his mind began to wander just as Nicki predicted it would.

“Though, if you did feel like pushing yourself a little…” Nicki wondered aloud. “We could always take a shower together before heading out?” The room went silent as Nate turned his head to gaze at his girlfriend, seeing her catty grin and the smug look in her eyes. It was the look of a girl who figured she had him by the balls.

Nate shut the door to the master bathroom behind them as he led Nicki inside.

“Shit, dude!” Nicki whistled once she got a look at the shower. She’d cleaned her makeup in the downstairs bathroom while making the coffee, so it was her first time seeing the place. “Now I’m even more mad at myself for not hitting you up sooner.

The shower was its own closed-off chamber, and it was plenty big enough for two people and then some. There was a bench to sit on, an assortment of hygiene products, and a modern-looking detachable showerhead with multiple settings. All in all, it was definitely something to brag about.

“It’s pretty great, yeah, but I hope you don’t mind smelling like Old Spice for today,” Nate teased. “I’m fresh out of… um…”

“Did you just realize you don’t know any soap brands for women?” Nicki raised an eyebrow.

“You caught me,” He shrugged. “Yet my point still remains.”

“Heh. It’s cool for now, but would you mind if I bring some overnight junk the next time I’m over? Or would that be moving too fast?”

“Don’t you think it’s a little late to be worried about that?”

“Just trying to be polite,” Nicki clicked her tongue and contradicted herself by slapping him on the ass. “Now hop on in, and let’s make this fast! I’m hungry.”

The shower didn’t go fast.

The new lovers made an honest attempt to keep their impulses at bay while they soaped each other up and washed their bodies, but roaming hands couldn’t be stopped once they started with their wicked ways. Even if he was dead tired, Nicki was too tempting for Nate to hold back.

Her bronze skin was even more alluring when soapy and slick, and now that he had a chance to look at her in bright lighting, he found out she didn’t have any blind spots with her tanning. Tons of people were into tan lines, but this was much more to his tastes, and he had to respect the effort it must've taken to maintain her skin.

Nicki wasn’t innocent, making excuses to touch Nate all over and run her hands wherever she could get away with, but all the groping started to tick her off and activate her neediness. She was weak to heavy petting, and the shower only worsened that weakness.

“Ngh… are you just gonna keep teasing me, or are you gonna do something already? I can’t go out today if you leave me hanging like this…!”

“Maybe if you asked me nicely, I might be inclined to do something about it?” Nate hinted. His fascination with the brattier side of his new girlfriend continued as his hands swirled around her slippery breasts, finding her nipples and tweaking them to get a cute squeal out of her.

“Gah! Fuck this, and fuck asking nicely…” Nicki grumbled, taking matters into her own hands. She bent down against the wall facing the shower head and reached for her boyfriend’s groin, grabbing Nate by his cock and angling it right against her tight little pussy. One backward slam of her hips later, and relief was well underway.

Nicki groaned, “Muuuuch better…” As she set the pace.

“So impatient,” Nate lost himself in a blissful sigh and grabbed Nicki by the hips with his right hand, responding by driving his cock inside her just the way she wanted. “I guess we do have a lot of lost time to make up for, though…”

“T-That’s right, we do… so… so you better make the most of this and start taking notes!”

“Will do,” Nate answered by turning her head back enough for them to start making out while he set about stretching her pussy to the brim.

The first note Nate took was that water was a shitty lubricant, but he planned to omit this whenever writing sexy bathing scenes because there were times when a beautiful lie was preferable to the truth. Not that it had that big of an effect, as Nicki still felt just as good to fuck as she did the night before. In a way, that relieved Nate. Their casual intimacy only burned the pleasurable feeling of her insides into his memory even harder, reinforcing that he’d really had sex and that none of this was a lonely fever dream.

They were at it for a good ten minutes before Nate came and filled Nicki up again after she’d already been satisfied twice over. The lust they felt for each other at the dawn of their new relationship was immeasurable and they could’ve kept going, but they’d already been in the shower for a lot longer than they planned and were now even hungrier than when they started. Nicki cleaned herself out a little so she wouldn’t be leaking all day, and then they finished by drying each other off.

Nicki wore the same clothes from the day before since she had nothing to change into, and Nate picked out a nice pair of jeans, a shirt with a tasteful anime girl graphic on it, and a light jacket. The springtime weather could be pretty chilly in northern Iowa, even if Nicki’s shorts and exposed midriff implied otherwise. Nate liked this time of year a lot, owing to the fair temperatures and the frequency of rain. He knew it would be good for him to get out and get some air, even if the task seemed daunting at first.

Together, they exited the front door and stepped onto the driveway. Only a few seconds later, Nate's body was already thanking him for the sun and fresh air. Like he thought, Nicki had a scooter and not a motorcycle parked next to his crappy, old Ford Escort. He didn’t know enough about scooters to say anything about what kind it was other than it was blue and had the word ‘Zuma’ displayed on the side panel below the seat.

It looked pretty cool, though, and she’d left her pink helmet strapped to her handlebars. Risky, but Willowbrook was a small town of around thirty thousand people and had that old, picturesque Americana feel. Crime wasn’t a huge concern around these parts, and Nate lived in a good neighborhood, so Nicki must’ve felt safe leaving it out in the open.

Nicki walked toward her scooter and placed her hand atop her helmet, then looked over her shoulder and grinned. “You ever been to the IHOP a few blocks from here, babe? The one on Kirk. Is it any good?”

“Yeah, my uncle took me there all the time. It’s an IHOP. If you don’t know what to expect from that, then I don’t know what to tell you.”

“Better than Denny’s,” Nicki said.

Nate laughed, “What isn’t?”

“Not a whole lot, that’s for sure. Hop on. I only got the one helmet, but it’s only a few blocks, so I think we should probably be good.”

Nate raised his hand in concern, stating, “Hold on a second. This thing barely looks big enough for the both of us, and I really don’t feel up to it without a helmet.”

“Not like your car’s much safer, though,” Nicki correctly pointed out. “The thing looks like it doesn’t even have another mile left.”

“You’re probably right…” Nate looked at the car he’d been using since he first started driving. It was a junker then, and it was a junker now, and no amount of patchwork fixes over the years could change that.

“If you think you can handle it, we could walk. It's just two blocks?”

“I’m open to trying. I used to love going on walks, but…”

“I know, babe, I know. It’s all good. You’ll get back into the swing of things sooner than later!” Nicki smiled wide enough to convince him and then extended her hand. It was hard to see her as anything but a positive influence going forward, and he was willing to let her work her magic.

“Thanks, Nicki,” Nate said and firmly took her hand.

“Don’t mention it!”

The two then took off on their brisk walk, enjoying the lovely day. As exciting as it was to hold a girl’s hands for the first time, the rest of the world didn’t seem to care. They passed by a row of nice houses, and everyone they saw was minding their own business, hardly paying attention to the young couple as they walked. Some people were tending their lawns, and others were on their way to work or wherever else.

It was a quiet neighborhood, and Nate preferred it as such.

“So we’re having our first date the morning after we hook up, huh?” Nate postured. “Can’t help thinking we’re doing things a little out of order.”

“You weren’t complaining about it last night,” Nicki teased. “Or in the shower, either.”

“And I’m still not complaining. It’s just an observation. I think it’s kind of nice this way, actually. It’s casual, but… not, if that makes sense.”

“If I didn’t already know you, I might’ve cared more about getting an actual date first and testing the waters, but it’s you, Nate. Nothing else really matters beyond that.” Nicki squeezed his hand for emphasis, prompting him to do the same. Before her statement could get Nate feeling all mushy, she rushed ahead and tossed out a pointed quip. “Anyway, how’s all this vitamin D treating you?”

“I could ask you the same thing.”

“Oof,” Nicki sucked in air through her teeth. “I really set myself up for that one…”

“You really did,” Nate tsk’d in mock disappointment, and before Nicki could think of a witty comeback, they’d arrived at their destination.

The couple stepped through the glass doors of the blue-roofed building to find the place as dead as the parking lot implied. They were quickly sat at a booth by a Latina waitress in her forties who gave the impression that she was very uninterested in the whole flirty vibe the couple brought along with them but who was polite enough other than that. She took their orders, a three-stack of pancakes with a side of bacon and eggs for Nate, some sweet and savory crepes for Nicki, and iced tea for them both.

The two got to talking once the woman left them alone with their drinks. They had much to catch up on in the four years since they’d seen each other, even if most of the more interesting stuff was on Nicki’s side.

Nate explained that he didn’t want to go to college and moved in with his uncle while getting a job at a department store after their graduated in 2019. Retail was a living hell, as anyone who’d ever worked it could attest to, and then the pandemic made everything even worse, but neither of them really wanted to get into that. Matt died the following year, and he’d had to handle that whole mess mostly on his own while coming to terms and officially starting his writing career on LewdPages. Sadly, not a whole lot else had happened between then and Nicki hitting him up on Twitter.

As for Nicki, she elaborated on some of the things she’d already told him about yesterday and threw in a bunch of new stuff. Using the scholarship she’d won and a small student loan, Nicki went off to a nice college out of state, which ended up severing her mom's control over her after some time had passed. Her classwork piled up, and she found herself listless during lectures, ultimately deciding she could handle being someone she wasn’t any longer and coming back home.

Her mother was furious, as one might expect, but Nicki didn’t care anymore and didn’t take any of her shit. The funny thing about bullies is that when you finally show them a bit of spine, they often realize that you’re no longer worth messing with.

“So she doesn’t give you any shit these days?”

“Barely,” Nicki shrugged. “Maybe a bitchy text once a month, if that. Otherwise, I’m more or less disowned. It’s cool. The same thing happened to my big bro when he moved out.”

“What’d he do?”

“Put his dick in a twink’s ass, then decided he liked it enough to marry said twink.”

“Ah, yeah,” Nate took a sip of his tea and nodded casually. “Works like a charm, that one. You said you live with them, now?”

“Yeah, they’re great!” Nicki’s face lit up on the topic of her brother and brother-in-law. “Though staying with them has its ups and downs, even with a good pair of noise-canceling headphones… honestly, I’m desperate for any excuse to get out of the house more often. Especially if it’s overnight.”

“Nicki, you take a lack of subtlety and somehow transform it into a fucking art form, I swear.”

Nicki laughed hard at that, slightly embarrassing him since they were the only patrons at the moment, making her laugh carry throughout the empty establishment. “Just trying to warn you before your bathroom and closet slowly become unrecognizable from me bringing over a few things here and there until we get to the point where you realize I’ve basically moved in.”

“You really did plan this out, didn’t you?” Nate raised an eyebrow.

“Everyone has fantasies,” Nicki sighed. “It’s just that most of us don’t put them to paper like you do, babe.”

“I guess that’s fair. So what are you doing these days, then?”

“I’ve had a bunch of random jobs in the last three years, but none of ‘em really clicked until I wound up working at Pizza Palooza like… five months back or so.”

“On top of everything else, you make pizza, too? Fuck it, you can move in whenever.”

Nicki laughed again and corrected, “Damn. Sucks that I’m just a driver, then... but yeah, it’s not bad at all, and I actually get paid pretty well despite it just being a part-time gig.”

“Really? And why’s that?”

“For some reason, people just love giving me tips…” Nicki took out her lollipop and gave it another of her trademark, slutty-looking licks. “Strange, that.”

Nate laughed and tried to ignore the way the sight affected him. He’d learned precisely what that tongue was capable of, and now he’d be reminded of it every time she teased him like that from now on. Guess that was the price of a life-changing blowjob.

Even putting aside the sex, Nate was in a great mood and couldn’t help noting his appreciation. IHOP was somehow not done with their food despite there still being no other customers, so it’s not like there was anything better to do. “I’m really glad you talked me into coming out today. Catching up with you and hearing about your life has been nice, Nicki. I really missed this.”

“As in…?”

“Talking to someone else in a meaningful way, I guess.”

Nicki frowned and leaned in across the table. “How much socialization do you even get these days, Nate? Be real with me. What’s the damage?”

“I play online games with my old friends sometimes, but that’s about it. I want to say it’s better than nothing, but getting a taste of the real thing has me thinking twice about that. This?” Nate gestured at the space between them both. “This is better. Way better.”

“Well, you’ve already made the first few steps just by coming out here with me, so if we keep at it, you’ll be a regular social butterfly before you know it!”

“I don’t know about that much…”

“Just you wait,” Nicki blew a raspberry at him. “When I’m done with you, you’ll be a master of mingling! Not to mention you’ll be drowning in a veritable ocean of pussy, just absolutely fucking crushing it one by-”

“Nicki…” Nate gestured to her left, causing the girl to suddenly notice their food was here, and the already unamused waitress was looking quadruply so.

“Uh…” Nicki blushed and shifted uncomfortably in her seat, catching sight of the woman’s name tag. “Thanks a bunch, Maria… those crepes are, uh... looking dope as hell?”

"Niñas estúpidas, cachondas..." Maria mumbled unblinkingly in response, placed their dishes down, and shook her head as she distanced herself from the two of them.

Seeing Nicki get all embarrassed in public was a first for him, but she didn’t exactly go around making perverse declarations back in the day, either. There were a lot of reasons to like the new Nicki, and as far as Nate was concerned, that rough, unpolished side of hers was one of them.

The two ate their breakfast in relative silence, and when they were done and waiting for the check, Nicki asked, “So, any plans for the rest of the day?”

“I should probably get some sleep, even if it’ll fuck up my schedule…”

“You’re self-employed. What schedule?”

“I try to keep to normal hours for my own good, but fair enough,” Nate laughed. “I’ll take a short nap or something and figure out something for the rest of the day when I get up. I don’t want to do too much work without getting that editorial pass from you first, so I might just game or do some legwork for other stories. Not sure yet, what about you?”

“Gotta check in back home before anything else. I, uh, kinda left in a hurry last night after getting ready, and I don’t want my bros to be worried.” Nicki smiled awkwardly and rubbed her arm. “Then, I got a shift later tonight…”

“Cool, cool…” Nate nodded along. There was a question that both of them were dying to ask, but neither wanted to sound too desperate about it. The thing about Nate was that he cared far less about that than Nicki, so as the seconds passed by, he caved and just got on with it. “So… any idea when you wanna hang out next?”

“I was hoping you’d ask…” Nicki groaned and slumped in her seat, happy to be relieved of the awkward tension. “I’m pretty much free whenever I’m not working, so it’s really an ‘as much’ or ‘as little’ as you wanna see me kinda thing. You did say you like clingy girls, but I don’t wanna assume, so… just let me know.”

“You can come over after your shift if you want,” Nate suggested. “I don’t mind if you just want to start showing up whenever you want, honestly. It’s not like I’ll be doing anything better with my time, and if I happen to be working, you can always chill out and play a game downstairs or read manga or something.”

“Damn, dude… I’m really speedrunning getting a key to your place, aren’t I?” Nicki tried to hold back a smile but couldn’t do it for long. “Thanks, though. I’d love that. I get off at nine, so I’ll show up sometime after that. Gotta stop by home and pick up some overnight things first, and then I’ll do the editing you need as soon as I’m there!”

Smiling at her from across the table, Nate smiled and extended his hand to Nicki, who quickly took it and smiled back. “Sounds great. I’m excited to see what people will think of this new story after you’ve taken a crack at it, but even more than that, hanging out together and doing nothing sounds nice, too, Nicki.”

“On that note, I got a random question for you. Have you ever wanted to write a story about a dude binge-watching anime as he cuddles up to his cute girlfriend, but it’s broken up by intermittent fuck sessions? Because I might be able to arrange some first-hand experience in that department if it’s something you’d be interested in.”

“It’s funny you should say that. I’ve always had an idea for a story like that in the back of my mind, but it’s one of those things I never got around to writing…”

“No shit?” Nicki smirked, took out an unopened lollipop from her pocket, and plopped it into Nate’s mouth. “Sounds like you got yourself a date, then.”