WWYK 1.2

Chapter 2 - Catching Up and Moving On

Nicole Parker was the undisputed most popular girl in Gouverneur Morris High from the moment of her enrollment until her graduation four years later. Possessing beauty, a razor-sharp wit, and a friendly demeanor, there wasn’t a soul in that school who she couldn’t befriend. Nicole was that special sort of sweetheart who got along with everyone and didn’t pay any mind to things like social castes, having friends among all the cliques, whether it was the goth kids, the computer nerds, or even the loathsome weebs.

After an awkward mixup in their freshman year, Nicole became linked to Nate and took a particular interest in him, resulting in a casual friendship during their school years. While things were never intimate, she always seemed to be waiting just around the corner to chat with him before and after any classes they shared.

Her smile helped Nate through some of his worst days back then, and he’d never had the guts to tell her.

Granted, Nicole was infamously not allowed to date anyone in high school, and Nate’s attentions were pointed elsewhere at the time, but still… to think that his biggest fan was actually his old pal Nicki this entire time. There was also the fact that she’d transformed a gyaru, wanted to be his editor, and sent him a lewd selfie with undeniable implications behind it, but Nate could only deal with so much at once.

“Really nice house you got here, Mr. Masters,” Nicki whistled as she followed Nate into the foyer. “Doesn’t seem like the kinda place I’d expect your stories could pay for.”

“Wow. Twist the knife harder, why don’t you?”

“Ah, shit,” Nicki laughed. “Not what I meant. I was just wondering what’s up with it? Is it yours? Was there a murder here, and you picked it up on the cheap? No, wait. Indian burial ground. Right? Gotta be.”

“Not quite. It’s my uncle’s place.” Nate admitted with a sigh, watching as the girl politely removed her shoes and placed them on the designated rack.

“Oh,” Nicole noted, looking a little concerned. “He’s not here right now, is he? Cause if he is, then, uh, maybe it might be best if we-”

“My bad, it was my uncle’s place… I really need to stop saying it like that. It’s just.. two years later, and I still have trouble feeling like any of this is really mine, you know?”

“Damn. That’s rough, man. I remember how close you told me you were with him. You doing any better these days?” Nicki placed her hand on his shoulder and offered him a sincere smile.

“More or less,” Nate nodded nonchalantly. “I miss the old bastard, but you move on whether you want to or not.”

“Yeah? Good. Awful nice of him to leave you his house, though.”

“He left me a lot more than that,” Nate laughed at the massive understatement. “Come on into the living room if you wanna see what I mean, but I should probably give fair warning. It’s pretty damn nerdy.”

“This coming from the kid who once wrote a twenty-chapter Naruto Shippuden harem fic ending in a sixteensome? Yeesh. Now that’s saying something.”

Nate blushed bright red as his cheeks burned. His roots were cringier than most, but he owned them and tried never to be embarrassed about his old work. Everyone had to start somewhere, right?

“Christ… I can’t believe you secretly read all the depraved crap I posted back then, only to show up at school the next day and talk to me with a straight face.”

Nicki snickered, already feeling guilty about her upcoming joke. “Believe it!”

“Actually, you know what, I’m starting to think it’d be for the best if you went home and we forget this ever-”

“Aw, c’mon, I’m just fucking with you!” Nicki hugged his arm tight to her chest, making an exaggerated sulky expression. “Don’t make me go, Nate! I wanna see how bad Nerdvana is! Naaaate…!!”

“Fine,” Nate gave in with a smile, enjoying her clinginess. “But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Nate then led her into the living room, where his fears of whether Nicki would be scared off by the radiant weebitude were immediately laid to rest. Her eyes became pinpricks as she looked at the massive entertainment center, the anime collection, and all the scattered collectibles littering the shelves. No matter where she looked, there was something for her to find amazement in.

“Holy shit,” Nicki darted off to admire the huge ‘Griffith Did Nothing Wrong’ poster, only to dash off to pick up and inspect a figurine of Hisoka doing his most infamous pose. “What the fuck, Nate? You’ve been hoarding all this awesome shit all to yourself for two whole years when I could’ve been coming over to hang out this entire time?!”

Feeling emboldened after seeing how much she liked the place, Nate tried his best to sound smooth as he said, “Guess so. Not my fault I didn’t know you were CagedBirdSings01, though. Maybe you should’ve hit me up with a selfie a lot sooner?”

She put down the Hisoka figure and looked at him with a catty grin. “Nice to see you have the balls to bring it up on your own. I was kinda worried you’d be too overstimulated to talk about it.”

“Yeah, well…” Nate idled. Truthfully, his courage only went so far, and he couldn’t bring himself to push much more than he already did. “Sounds like you might be showing up around here more often, so feel free to take it all in. Oh, and if there’s anything you wanna borrow, just let me know.”

“Hm, tempting, but I find anime is a lot more fun when you have someone to watch it with…” Nicki shrugged her shoulders and purposefully turned around to inspect a lower shelf, pointing her big, round butt at him.

Aside from the most excellent ass he’d ever seen, there was something else that Nate couldn’t help noticing. “Nicki, you know I have to ask…”

“Yesssss?” She wiggled the butt, and by the grace of god, it was good.

“When did you start liking anime? Our school had an assload of manga in its library, and I never saw you check out so much as a single volume.”

The butt wiggling stopped, and Nicki stood straight up, turning around to face him. Her teasing smile was replaced with a solemn expression. “I’ve always liked anime, manga, games, and all that shit. I just didn’t have a chance to really start consuming any of it until I moved out. God… my mom would’ve killed me if I brought home any manga. That shit’s satanic, don’t you know?”

“As opposed to my horrifically smutty fanfics, which she no doubt gave you her full blessing to read?”

Nicki snorted, appreciating his attempt at injecting levity into the serious topic. “We had a computer, and my mom’s technologically illiterate. We’re talking, like, incurable levels of boomer over here. She didn’t question why the browsing history was always cleared, so if I ever had free time, it was spent catching up with your new porn or reading scanlated manga.”

“No kidding…” Nate shook his head, finding it hard to take in how much they had in common. “You know, I’m starting to think it’s kinda unfair how you knew all about my dirty secrets back in high school but kept your power level hidden from me all this time.”

“Night’s still young,” Nicki smirked. “Plenty of time left for me to reveal a dirty secret or two if that’s what you’re hoping for.”

“Honestly, I’m not really sure what it is I’m hoping for… but I do know I’m enjoying your company a hell of a lot, Nicki. It’s been a long time since I’ve really hung out with anyone, so…”

“Yeah?” Nikki smiled wide, and Nate watched as her cheeks subtly reddened. “Dope. I’m happy to perk you up a bit, especially since it seemed you needed it.”

“Yeah…”

“Hey, random question. What’s this kid from? He looks familiar.” Nikki abruptly changed the subject, picking up a small figurine of a curly-haired boy with a crown and a rapier. Built into the stand he was propped up on was some sort of oddly adorable amorphous shadow creature, the two looking like quite the ill-fitting pair.

“Ah,” Nate smiled at one of the only figurines he’d bought in the years since his uncle’s passing. It was from one of the best series he’d seen in years, so he splurged to support it a little bit beyond whatever pittance the studio was getting from fucking Crunchyroll. He wished his uncle could’ve gotten to see it before he died. It was right up his alley.

“That’s the main character from Ranking of Kings and his sidekick. It was super popular not too long ago- still is, really.”

“Yeah? I’ve probably seen it somewhere before but haven’t checked it out, then. The kid’s cute. What’s his story?”

“He…” Nate paused, sensing the chance to mess with her a little. “He’s a prince who goes on adorably wholesome adventures with his pal, and nothing bad ever happens. Just an enjoyable slice-of-life story with a cute, simplistic art style and some fantasy elements to give it some spice, you know?”

“Sounds dope!” Nikki smiled and inspected the figurine before setting it back down. If she picked up on his facetiousness, she didn’t let it show. “I think I’d like that. You should show it to me sometime!”

“Sure thing,” Nate gulped, hoping he didn’t just orchestrate his downfall. He could probably sell her on that lie for the first episode, tops, but it’d be clear the kind of show it really was immediately after… but then he realized he'd just agreed to show a girl a twenty-three-episode anime series, which was more anxiety-inducing than his little white lie being discovered.

“Much as I’m in love with all this junk, I’ll check everything else out later,” Nicki took her coat off and threw it on the couch before sitting down and patting the seat next to her. “We have business to discuss.”

“Before that,” Nate followed her to his couch, and despite how close it put them, he took the spot she indicated for him on her right. “I’ve been meaning to ask… and I’m sorry in advance if this sounds rude, but… shouldn’t you be in college this time of year?”

“Oh, dude. I totally dropped out.” Nicki blew a raspberry like it was no big deal.

“No shit?” Nate blinked as the absurdity of that statement really sunk in. “Are you seriously telling me that top of her class, honors student, famed teacher’s pet, valedictorian, 4.0 GPA-having Nicole Parker dropped out of college? Fuck. I still remember how big a deal it was when you won that huge scholarship for your essay on… ah, shit… you definitely don’t want to hear any of that coming from me. I’m sorry, I-”

“Chill, it’s all good!” She laughed and put her hand on his knee for a second, patting him. “The only reason I did any of that preppy bullshit was because of the pressure my mom put on me. Without her in the picture, I realized, wow... I don’t have to fucking do this shit anymore if I don’t wanna. That, and a year away from her really got me to understand she wasn’t as scary as I thought and that disobeying her wasn't such a big deal after all.”

“Good for you, Nicki,” Nate said. He was happy for her but a little upset to find out she’d been back in Willowbrook as of three years ago, and he’d never heard until now, but given what was going on with the world at the time, followed by the death of his uncle and then Nate’s subsequent self-imposed hermitage, it all checked out. "Sounds like things are going a lot better for you."

“Mostly,” She shrugged. “I still gotta pay back my scholarship and student loans, but at least I’m happy! I live with my big bro and his partner now, and I’ve never been better.”

“I feel bad because as soon as we talk about me and my work, it’s just going to be a total downer compared to all that uplifting junk. Student loans notwithstanding, I mean.”

“Hey, I knew you were feeling down coming into this! What do you think I’m here for?” Nicki grinned and elbowed him in the side.

“Still kinda waiting for answers on that, actually. It sounded like you wanted to be my editor, but then things got-”

“Sexy?”

“…Very. Confusing, too.”

“What was so confusing about it?” Nicki tilted her head. “Going off of the air freshener in here, it smells like you knew exactly what to do, didn’t you?”

“No, that one was earlier in the day,” Nate laughed uncomfortably.

“That ‘one’, huh? So you did jack it to my pic.”

“Was I not supposed to?” Nate tried standing his ground and looking her straight in the eyes.

“You know, I’ve always loved that about you…” Nicki reminisced. “The fact that you’re always so open and honest about everything, I mean. You are who you are, and you don’t care who knows it… even if it means admitting to a girl how you splooged to her like an hour ago.”

“Not sure most people would find that very admirable,” Nate shrugged. “I just didn’t see any point in lying to you when the answer is obvious.”

“Heh, fair enough…” Satisfied, Nicki nodded and leaned back on the couch as she got comfortable. “Sooooo… was that the first time you’ve done it to me, or…?”

“Really putting those English skills to work here on that editing, Nicki. Damn fine work.”

She snickered and rolled her eyes. “Okay, okay! Just trying to lighten the mood a little. Go on, Nate. Let’s talk about your writing.”

Nicki’s face lost its teasing element, becoming gentle and supportive. It made him lower his guard even further, encouraging him to spill. Before he could, though, he wanted more answers.

“We will, but first off… I have to know. Is there any special reason you’ve been following and supporting my work all this time, or what?”

“Do I need a reason to follow my friend’s pursuits?”

“No, but… I mean, sure, we were friends and all back in high school, but we weren’t that close or anything.”

Nicki gasped playfully, covering her mouth as she did. “Not that close? But Nate, I thought I was the precious guardian of your treasured secret! I’m hurt- appalled, even.”

Nate chuckled under his breath and shook his head. “That’s… so not how I’d put it.”

“Then how would you put it, Mr. Masters? Go on. Enlighten me using your fancy turn of phrase and your charming wit.”

“Nicki, we bumped into each other in the hall once and dropped our shit all over the place. You accidentally got my story planning notebook, and I got your social studies notes. We traded back the next day, and when you asked me about it, I admitted I wrote all that stuff and wasn’t ashamed of it. It wasn’t like I asked you to keep it a secret or anything, either.”

“But I did,” Nicki turned her nose up at him and crossed her arms, proud of herself. “And the fact that we shared that secret means we were closer than you think, silly.”

“If you say so,” Nate sighed. “Though, now I’m wondering how you even found my online stuff after reading the notebook?”

“You don’t remember? You were brainstorming pen names for A03 on one of the first pages and circled ‘HaremMaster69’ in red ink.” Nicki grinned, enjoying the moment when Nate’s face cringed in embarrassment. “One Google search later, and boom, I’m reading a fic about Ichigo fucking Rukia, Orihime, and Nell all at the same time!”

Oh, yeah. Nate vaguely remembered that now that she had brought it up. He nodded along, recalling the details of the embarrassing fic in question.

“I maintain that my version is still better than the actual ending,” Nate shifted around and scratched the back of his head. “But I digress. So… what’s next? Are you gonna tell me you had a secret crush on me all throughout high school and never told me, or what?”

“Dude, I sent you a half-titty pic and then came over to your house at night,” Nicki blushed, looking at Nate rather seriously. Then, she forcibly popped the lollipop from her mouth and gave it what could only be described as a slow, deliberate lick. “Draw your own conclusions.”

Gulping, Nate couldn’t pull his eyes away from Nicki’s candy as it shoved all sorts of dirty ideas into his filthy, perverted mind. “…Okay, so I just did that, and the conclusion I drew is telling me I need a drink.”

“Sweet, what are we having?” Nicki smirked, taking the candy back into her mouth.

“I’ll see what I’ve got,” Nate got up from his seat, eager to distance himself and his incredibly erotic guest. Not out of fear or anxiety or anything, just to readjust for a brief moment and get used to the situation. It was rough going from having almost zero social interaction to hanging out with the new Nicki, and he hoped alcohol would ease that transition.

A few minutes later, he returned with two cups of vodka mixed with cranberry juice and lemon-lime soda, handing one to Nicki and keeping the other for himself. Nate told her what was in it, and she seemed enthused, taking a deep sip and saying, “Not bad! Remind me to give you a tip, bartender.”

“I’ll drink to that,” Nate smiled back and did exactly that. Before the atmosphere could devolve back into more flirty shenanigans, he pressed forward and established the topic on his own. “So… about my writing…”

“Yeah, yeah! Go for it, dude. We keep getting distracted... it’s mostly my fault. I’m just, uh… real happy to see you and all that, so I kinda can’t help myself, y’know? Haha…” Nicki seemed almost embarrassed momentarily at how much she let slip, but she covered it up by drinking more. She held her lollipop between her fingers on her free hand, the same way one would hold a cigarette. "Ready when you are."

Nate breathed deeply, drank more, and unloaded his deepest thoughts and feelings. “The main thing I’m feeling is stagnation, I think. Stagnation and… disappointment toward myself. I told you my uncle left me this house, but he also left me, well… a lot of money.”

“Oh, shit. For real? What’d he do for a living?”

“I'm… actually not too sure on that, honestly,” Nate looked away. “That sounds bad, doesn’t it?”

“Nah, man. It sounds super fucking bad. Are we just gonna skip over that, or what?”

“I can’t tell you what I don’t know,” Nate shrugged. “He mostly just smoked weed, gamed, and watched anime, honestly.”

“Respect,” Nicki nodded.

“I was surprised as hell when I got told about the inheritance, but I can’t imagine he would’ve gotten away with leaving everything to me if it wasn’t above board somehow.”

“True, but… this ties into your writing, how?” Nicki rubbed her chin. “Don’t get me wrong, I’ll listen to your life story all you want, but I thought you were going somewhere with this.”

“Yeah, I was. He left me the house and the money so that I could quit my job, chase my dreams and not have to worry about anything while doing so, and… well, it’s been two whole years since I started the whole Max Masters gig, and in that time, I don’t feel like I’ve made any real strides in my career. Even though I know he’d be supportive if he was still around and tell me not to give up, it’s hard to fight off this stupid mental image of him being disappointed in me, if that makes sense.”

“Ohhhh. Fuck, dude. Yeah, it makes total sense. You don’t need to tell me what it’s like to worry about whether or not you’re disappointing someone…” Nicki groaned. “Thanks for that one, Mom…”

Showing some spine, the alcohol in Nate’s system told him it was a good idea to reciprocate Nicki’s earlier gesture. He placed his hand on her knee, surprising her but earning a smile out of the girl as she put hers overtop of it. The two smiled together in mutual understanding.

“Can I ask what you really think of my writing, Nicki? I mean… would you still be reading it if it wasn’t mine, or-”

“You know that’s not a good question to ask, dude. I’m obviously reading your stuff because it’s yours, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like it. There are a lot of good ideas in your short stories, and I doubt I have to tell you that you have gotten better with the fundamentals over the last couple of years. It’s just, well… you know where I’m going with this, don’t you?”

Nate lowered his head and took his hand away from Nicki’s knee. “The sex scenes suck.”

“Sorry, dude. I’m not gonna lie to you. You won’t get better if I do.”

“It’s just so fucking frustrating because the sex is my favorite part!” Nate vented his irritation, sinking back into the couch and staring at the ceiling. “It’s beautiful to me- it really is. One guy and preferably multiple girls all expressing their love to each other with their bodies, trying different things, and having fun character interactions all the while… but I can never get what’s in my head onto paper no matter how fucking hard I try.”

“Nate…” Nicki frowned and scooted closer. “Not to point out the obvious, but… there’s a reason they suck so bad, and I think you’re overlooking it.”

“Lay it on me,” Nate drudged himself back up and looked her in the eyes. “Why do my sex scenes suck, Nicki?”

“You’re a virgin, aren’t you?” Nicki asked without a hint of judgment in her voice.

Nate sat there in silence for a few seconds, then finished the rest of his drink all in one go and placed the cup on his coffee table. “Well, yeah… I am.”

“Sorry… but… it shows,” Nicki sighed and set her drink next to his, putting her lollipop back where it belonged and sucking on it from stress. “Granted, I don’t have any experience either, but-”

“Wait, seriously?”

“Wow,” Nicki scoffed and nudged him with his elbows. “Talk about judging a book by its cover! Just cause I look like one of those slutty gyaru girls you write about doesn’t mean I act like them!”

“About that…” Nate coughed. “Why do you look like a gyaru now? I mean, if you’ve been reading my writing all this time and given that you basically admitted to having a crush on me-”

“Okay, hold up a sec, dude,” Nicki blushed and put her hands on her hips. “I know what it looks like, but no. I didn’t start tanning and dressing like this because of you. I learned about it from you and discovered I kinda vibed with the whole gyaru thing, that’s all!”

“Shame,” Nate smiled and clicked his tongue. “Would’ve been cute as hell if you did it for me.”

“I already told you I’m not gonna lie to you, Nate,” Nicki rolled her eyes but smiled when all was said and done. “Which is why you’re really going to like my first decree as your new editor.”

“I didn’t know editors made decrees.”

“This one does!” Nicki insisted. “Now listen up and do me a favor. Think back to our senior year-”

Nate cringed. “God, I would really rather not...”

“Too bad. Remember how we both had Miss Keller’s creative writing class?”

“Kinda hard to forget the teacher I had a minor crush on, yeah.” He smirked and scratched the back of his head.

“I fucking knew some of those naughty teachers in your stories were based on her…” Nicki mumbled to herself, shaking her head at the kinky bastard. “Putting all your fantasies aside for a hot sec, remember what she always used to tell us over and over?”

“Write what you know?”

“Exactly!”

“That’s really basic shit, though,” Nate shrugged. “The kind of thing every creative writing teacher or random tutorial off the internet would tell you.”

“And yet nobody ever does it. Look at you, writing about shit you don’t know anything about. It’s no wonder your spice ain’t so spicy, Nate. You’ve got nothing to cook with- no experiences to draw from.”

Nate had a long, long look at Nicki. He wasn’t drunk enough to remain oblivious to where this was going. “And your editorial decree would be that we fix my lack of experience… together?”

Nicki blushed, but her fierce expression softened into a playful one. “Getting a bit ahead of yourself, dude. I get the feeling you’re not really sold on the idea.”

“Oh, no, I’m totally sold on doing whatever you want,” Nate instantly said, prompting Nicki to laugh at his honesty. “I’m just not sure how much it’ll actually help me. Even if I pick up some sexual experiences, it’s hard not to think this isn’t all just my lack of talent, you know?”

“Lucky for you,” Nicki placed her hands on her hips and dramatically pointed her lollipop at him. “I already thought of a way to prove it to you through a little writing prompt! You ready for this?”

“Uh,” Nate looked around for something to write with before whipping out his phone and opening up its note-taking app. “I don’t really think so. I mean, I’m a little buzzed, but… I’ll give it a try?”

“Good,” Nicki regarded him with satisfaction. “That’s what I want to hear.”

“What’s the plan then, editor-in-chief?”

Her ego stroked, Nicki smirked and stated, “Give me a thousand or so words based on the following scenario; the main character is a virgin who just got sent a steamy selfie from a girl he’s known for a really long time. It’s the first time he’s ever gotten such a selfie, and he’s excited and nervous about what to do about it. He’s especially anxious about what it means for his relationship with this girl going forward. Describe in detail his conflicted feelings and the uncontrollable arousal he feels while staring at the body of his female friend through his cellphone screen.”

Nate went dead silent again as he recalled the events from over an hour ago in vivid detail. He stared straight at Nicki, who gave him a knowing smile. “That’s what the selfie was for?” He remarked in disbelief. “You were leading up to this the entire time?”

“All according to keikaku!” Nicki chomped down on what remained of her lollipop and then unwrapped a new one from her pocket, quickly substituting it.

“Keikaku… right… so have you been planning all this out for a while now, or what?”

“Maybe a little,” Nicki batted her long eyelashes at him. “I’ve wanted to hit you up for ages, but… I dunno. Emotions are weird, dude. Never felt like it was the right time to strike.”

“For what it’s worth, I wish you struck a lot sooner.”

“Yeah, I bet, nerd. Now stop trying to get all touchy-feely with me and get started on your prompt!” Nicki reached out and tapped the top of the phone in his hands, drawing attention to her long, pastel-colored nail. “There’ll be plenty of time for the mushy stuff once you realize I was right.”

“Roger that,” Nate turned his attention to the phone but then took a quick look at Nicki when she suddenly leaned forward to the coffee table. His eyes went wide when he realized what she was doing.

How did he forget to hide that thing when he was cleaning?

“In the meantime…” Nicki announced as she took hold of the Sex Note, cracking it open with a wild grin. “I’m gonna go through this bad boy and see what you’ve got brewing.”

“Ah, hey… that’s… not what you think it is. It’s not like that old notebook you saw when we were kids, it’s where I shove all the crazy fantasies and dirty things I want to write about. There’s stuff in there that’s crazier than anything I’ve ever published so far.”

Nicki raised an eyebrow and whistled. “No shit? And these fantasies… are they just fantasies, or are they things you actually want to do?”

“Well, if I had a chance, I’d obviously want to actually do them, but…”

“Then that’s all the more reason for me to give it a read! You know, as your…”

“As my…?”

“Editor, silly. What else?” Nicki winked and got to reading what was essentially a giant manual on what made him tick sexually. “Now hop to it, Mr. Masters!”

Nate was starting to think this girl was much more than he could handle, but he liked girls like that, so everything was perfect. “Yes, ma’am,” he replied sarcastically and started on the prompt.

What happened next was magic, plain and simple.

The words poured out of Nate, his experiences coloring his descriptions and choice of words. It was like something had been missing until now, and it’d finally been socketed into place, and he was finally working at total capacity. As he wrote out what the protagonist felt, he knew precisely what those feelings would be and how they should be expressed.

The sight of Nicki’s magnificent underboob made him salivate the more he thought about it while working, his mouth salivating and his pants tenting. He thought of her toned tummy, her sexy piercing, the tight denim shorts, and most of all, he thought about where their relationship was going and the speed at which it was rocketing towards that destination.

The anxiety it gave him… the excitement… the rush… and most of all, how it felt to have someone show interest in him after so many lonely years spent without even a drop of love.

Nate was engrossed, but not so much that he didn’t take a quick peek over his current muse from time to time as he worked. He was glad that he did. Nicki seemed a little hot and bothered by what she was reading. Her eyes were glassy, she was sucking on her lollipop with reckless abandon, and she kept fidgeting in her seat.

She was getting turned on right in front of him, and Nate could hardly believe it. The fact only heightened his arousal. Knowing that such a hot girl was reading the fucked up things he wanted to do and was totally into it drove him crazy. Nate had to force himself to focus on his work whenever he got too caught up in the idea, but as the prompt was short, it only took him about ten minutes.

“Alright,” Nate proclaimed. “That should just about do it, I think.”

“Look at you, speedy,” Nicki smiled and shut the Sex Note. “Gotta hand it to you, though. You weren’t kidding. To think you’re an even bigger perv than thought…” She said, looking at the journal with a despondent yet intrigued expression.

“I did warn you,” Nate gave her a weak smile, shifting around to hopefully hide his arousal.

“You did, and again, I’m totally into how you own it!” Nicki looked back at him and gave him a smirk. “You might be into some kinky shit, but I can’t deny there’s a ton of good ideas in there that’ll really appeal to your demographic. Gonna have to read the rest of it sometime real soon. For now, though, hand over your phone!”

“I’m pretty happy with how it turned out, but keep in mind that it’s still rough…” Nate warned as he passed the phone to her.

“Yeah, yeah. I get it. Now shush up and let me go over this.” Nicki demanded.

Nicki's expression became tense for the next minute or two as she read. She narrowed her eyes, taking in the details of Nate’s prose and judging it with editorial scrutiny. Nate could tell she wasn’t going to hold anything back, and her poker face made it hard to tell what she was thinking, making the tension he felt stretch on uncomfortably long. This was infinitely worse than posting something on LewdPages and waiting anxiously for the first reviews to pour in. Watching the reviewer actually read his work was a different beast entirely.

“Okay,” Nicki announced. “I’m done.”

“Thoughts?” Nate unintentionally leaned closer, his restless heart beating with optimism.

His anxiety was rewarded a thousand times over when Nicki dropped her tense expression and adopted a beaming smile, her hand reaching out to ruffle his hair. “Pretty damn good, Nate! Pretty. Damn. Good.”

Tension relieved, Nate sighed heavily and leaned back into the couch. His head lolled back, and he stared at the ceiling again. “Oh, thank god. After how good it felt to write that, I don’t know how I would’ve taken it if you didn’t think so, and it’s not like I’m even that bad with criticism or anything. It’s just-”

“You totally wanna impress me. I know, I get it.” Nicki teased.

“You’re not wrong,” Nate freely confessed.

“Heh. So, yeah. Reading this little blurb, I can really feel the sexual tension coming off of this guy. You conveyed his emotions bluntly where they needed to be and subtly where appropriate. The description of the girl in the photo is tasteful, not too trashy, but definitely erotic. Best of all is how by the end of it, the anxious guy is coming to terms with how desperately he wants to fuck the girl. You really sold that part…” Nicki was giving Nate a suggestive look by the end of her professional takedown, drawing attention to the fact that he was blatantly conveying his thoughts and feelings to what was obviously Nicki’s surrogate.

He stared back at her with a nervous smile, scratching his arm. “I might have had someone in mind, and thinking about her really sped the scene along and added some extra gravitas, I’m thinking.”

“Yeah?” She raised an eyebrow, passing him back his phone. “So does this mean you get where I was coming from, then?”

“Totally. Drawing from my own experiences improved the piece, made writing it easier and faster, and overall, it felt dramatically improved from how I usually do things. Like I wasn’t just making shit up and trying to guess how it would feel when describing it, if that makes sense.” Nate looked off into the distance and frowned. “Man, I feel really stupid for having doubted you when you brought it up.”

“Aw, c’mon, dude. Don’t be like that.” Nicki casually wrapped her right arm around his shoulder to cheer him up and patted him reassuringly. “You’ve been writing for eight years, two of them professionally. In all that time, you’ve barely gotten a lick of constructive criticism aside from my sporadic comments, so it’s only natural you got settled in your ways. The more comfortable you get with the way you do things, the harder it is to see when you need to shake things up a little. You know?”

“Yeah. Thanks, Nicki. That… actually makes me feel a whole lot better.” Nate smiled and took another chance. He leaned subtly into Nicki’s shoulder as she continued to embrace him, which she allowed. It didn’t show through her typical smile if it bothered or embarrassed her. “I have to ask, though. What now?”

“Do you really have to ask?”

“Well… assuming you’re not sending me some of the most confusing mixed messages of all time, then no. Not really. I think that you want me to get more ‘experiences’ so I can become a better writer.”

Nicki got really quiet for a moment before scooting closer so there wasn’t any space left between them, and they were now hip to hip. She looked into his eyes with a determined yet somewhat embarrassed expression as she slid her hand on top of the tent in his pants that Nate had failed miserably to hide ever since it was pitched.

“I’m not the only one who wants that… am I?” Nicki questioned, her voice a low and seductive whisper. “Don’t you want to get even more experiences, too?”

Nate’s blood was boiling, and the butterflies in his stomach were fluttering around like crazy, even more so than they did when he confessed to the girl he liked back in high school. This was so much more potent. Raw.

“I do. I really, really do… and not just because I want to be a better writer, Nicki…”

“Careful, now…” Nicki took her hand from his erection, and just as he was starting to miss it, she ran a finger up his chin and smiled sensually. “It’s important you don’t go developing feelings for your editor if we’re going to have a positive working relationship with each other, Mr. Masters.”

“I’m a harem fetishist,” Nate declared. “I fall fast, and I fall hard. It’s way too late for that, Miss Parker.”

“Quite the way of warning me you’re a man slut,” Nicki giggled.

“I am what I am,” Nate gave a nonplussed shrug. “And I don’t care who knows it.”

“There it is again,” Nicki intoned. “That total lack of shame.”

“You keep going on about that,” Nate noticed. “Is that why you liked me back in high school?”

“No, dummy. It’s why I like you even to this day.”

Nate took further initiative, holding her hand in his own. “I really wish you could’ve told me back then.”

“You know why I didn’t,” Nicki sighed but tightened her grip on his hand. “My stupid fucking mom would’ve… fuck, I don’t even know. Something stupid and psychologically abusive, no doubt. Besides, you had your eyes on someone else, didn’t you?”

Nate frowned. If anything could’ve killed the mood, it was bringing up his old crush. Thankfully the sheer romance in the air was intoxicating enough for him to get through it, and he merely shook his head.

“Lot of good chasing after Shizuka did me. I would’ve been better off looking elsewhere for love and not wasting all that effort… God, sometimes it feels like a good chunk of my youth just drifted away from me because I was so narrow-sighted with her, and-”

“Shush,” Nicki placed her finger on his lips, ensuring his silence. “Stop dwelling on the cringy teens we used to be, forget what happened, and don’t worry about what could’ve happened. Put everything aside except for this moment, where it’s just you… and me…”

Nicki suddenly sat halfway up, swung her leg around Nate, and mounted him. Her hands found his broad shoulders and held them for stability, gazing into his eyes long and hard. “Enough dancing around the topic, Nate. I’m going to put this very bluntly so there are no more mixed messages and no room for doubt. I have a business proposal for you.”

Staring into Nicki’s beautiful, bright blue eyes, Nate could see himself in the reflection. He was nervous, excited, and, above all, thrilled. The smile on his face trumped everything else he felt.

“I’m listening.”

“I can tell,” Nicki grinned, then shook Nate to the core by pressing down with his hips and applying some of her weight to his cock. He released a deep grunt of arousal, perking Nicki’s brows and raising her excitement even further. “Oh, I liked that…” She couldn’t wait to hear what other cute sounds she could get him to make.

“Fuuuuck, so did I…” Nate hissed. He was beyond happy that he followed Nicki’s advice and jerked off before she came over. If he hadn’t, there was a good chance a virgin like him would’ve just popped. The pressure felt great, but it was mainly that Nicki was just that ridiculously hot. “You should hurry up and tell me your proposal so we can do something even better.”

“God, you really are just the cutest, aren’t you? So eager, I love it…” She licked the corner of her luscious lips, her lollipop shifting sides before she plucked it out and leaned in.

Nicki’s big breasts pressed tightly to Nate’s chest, squishing and flattening against him as she draped her arms around his shoulders. Nate could feel her mouth mere inches away from his ear, her hot, steamy breath clouding his mind and filling it with thoughts of only her. Then, she whispered wonderful words into his ear and rocked his world.

“Here’s the deal, Nate. You let me become your editor, and from now on, I’ll make sure every last fantasy you ever write down in that little Sex Note of yours comes true. That way, you can write about absolutely anything and everything your pervy ass could ever dream of and have the real-life experience to back it up.”

Nate tried not to let his jaw drop, but he allowed it to happen because Nicki couldn’t see it from this angle. “Nicki… I… I don’t know what to say other than yes, obviously, but… not to ruin the moment or anything, but you know like eighty percent of the stuff in there requires more than one girl, right…?”

“All in due time,” Nicki nipped his earlobe, prompting him to buck upwards in his seat and wrap his arms around her waist. They mashed their bodies together, both lost in the excitement and letting out sounds of arousal, but Nicki wouldn’t let it distract her, telling him in a husky voice, “I’ve read enough of your stories and the hentai that inspired ‘em to know one thing, babe... I’m into sharing.”

“You’re hired,” Nate groaned, his erection painful at this point. “You’re so fucking hired, oh my god.”

“Finally. You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting to hear you say that!” Nicki pulled away from his ear and gave him a wholesome grin. Nate had half a mind to lean straight in and steal a kiss regardless of whether or not the lollipop stick was in his way, but she surprised him by standing up and offering her his hand. “Now, come on and take me to your bedroom! I’ve already got the perfect idea of where to start Sex Note-wise.”

Nate took her hand and stood, looking down at her in slight confusion. “Not that I’m against the idea, but… you don’t want to take things slow and work up to things like that?”

“Nah, I found a pretty vanilla one that I realized was juuuuust perfect for your first time! Well, our first time, really… but you get the idea. You in?”

“Hell yes, I’m in,” Nate held Nicki’s hand even tighter, making her grin when she realized why.

“You’re really happy about the whole virgin thing, huh? Don’t think I don’t notice how rare it is for you to include non-virgin heroines in your writing…”

“It’s part of the harem fantasy. What can I say?” Nate shrugged.

“Heh. Just count yourself lucky I never met anyone else half as interesting as you in the eight fucking years since we were freshmen, you perv. Speaking of how long this took, hurry up and lead the way!”

Nate wasn’t about to waste any more time than he had to, so he led Nicki by the hand up the stairs and down the hall to his bedroom. She liked what she saw, but the shelves full of manga, the posters on the wall, and everything else could wait. She walked ahead of Nate and plopped down on the bed, looking up at him and smirking despite the redness of her cheeks. Both were inexperienced, and tensions were high as could be, but Nicki held herself together a lot better than he did.

“Smells like jizz in here,” Nicki remarked without hesitation.

“I didn’t immediately assume we’d end up in my bedroom, so I kinda forgot to use the air freshener after you sent your selfie…”

“Rookie mistake,” Nicki clicked her tongue, “Anyway…” Nicki stretched out and reclined, sprawling out her beautiful frame across the bed. “You ready to hear how this is gonna go?”

“As I’ll ever be.”

“Okay, so… in one of the earliest pages in your Sex Note, you wrote down ‘free-use play’. In other words, you want to play with a sexy girl while she doesn’t do anything to help or hinder you, right? To have her… or rather, me, lay there motionlessly while you take what you want without a single complaint?”

“That… is more or less what that means, yes…” Nate became even more conscious of Nicki’s body as she spoke. His mind was filled with tantalizing possibilities, like she’d given him an entirely different sort of prompt and let him fill in the answers on his own.

“Right, so that got me thinking… what better way to give you some hands-on experience than literally giving you an all-you-can-grope buffet?” Nicki’s broad smile nearly stretched ear to ear, and her voice had a dash of excitement. She wasn’t proposing this solely for his benefit, he realized. Nicki was totally into the idea herself. “What do you say?”

“I really don’t know, Nicki. What should a man say in this situation that wouldn’t be an understatement? I could say yes, but I don’t really think that carries the full weight of my sheer excitement. I’m kind of at a loss here.”

“Heh, that’s okay. I suppose you’ll just have to show me how you feel about it once we get started?” She tilted her head at him, playing up a coquettish innocence that evaporated under the slightest scrutiny.

“Now, then… I’m gonna lay down… and you’re gonna come over here… and when you do, you have my full consent to do anything you want to me.” Nicki did as she said, getting into position and resting her head on the pillows against the headboard. She spread her arms and legs like she was making snow angels to make things easy for him.

“Think you can handle it, or are you gonna wuss out?”

“I didn’t wuss out when you asked for my address,” Nate reminded her as he got on top of the bed and then on top of her. He swung his leg out over her hips, now hovering over her body. “And I’m not gonna wuss out now.”

Reaching out with his right hand, he grasped the stick of Nicki’s lollipop before taking it from her mouth and transplanting it straight into his own. Nicki’s eyes went wide from a mix of shock and pride as he sucked down, tasting the unbelievable sweetness of a girl’s saliva for the first time.

“Mmmn, keep it up, babe. You’re knocking it out of the park, here.” Nicki purred. “Mind if I give you a quick suggestion before you start? If you’re not planning on giving that back, I recommend you put something else in there to keep me busy. I’m only slightly slutting it up when I tell you that I get really, really antsy if I don’t have something to suck on…”

“That so?” Nate looked down at the sexy girl sprawled beneath him, focusing on her puffy, purple lipstick-covered lips. He was feeling bold and wouldn’t waste the momentum. “Well, the last thing I want is for you to get antsy… so I guess I can help you with that.”

His left hand extended toward her mouth, his thumb aimed straight at Nicki’s lips. Acting on pure reflex, the beautiful, sexy girl began her free-use service as she opened up and swallowed him wide- taking his thumb to the back of her throat and licking its entire circumference, all without breaking eye contact for even a second.

Then, she started to suck.