Light Me On Fire

By the time Nick and I arrived to my house, my parents had gone to bed, but I figured they wouldn’t mind it if Nick stayed over. We went straight to my room, and I turned on the light, while he took a seat on ‘John’s bed’. I grabbed out a pair of basketball shorts, which were also John’s, before grabbing out an old tee shirt.

“I’m gonna change real quick. Pick out a movie, or something,” I told him.

He nodded his head. “Any preferences?”

I shrugged. “Not really.” I walked into the bathroom and quickly changed, before washing my face. I piled my hair into a sloppy bun on top of my head, and walked back into the room. Nick grabbed the remote and turned around. “What’d you end up choosing?”

“Pineapple Express. I figured you can never go wrong with that,” he told me.

I laughed. “You’re right.” I noticed he was still in his jeans and shirt. “Um … do you want something to change into?”

“I don’t think I can fit into your clothes, Soph.”

I rolled my eyes. “John always forgets his clothes here when he stays the night. You can borrow some.”

He furrowed his brows. “Uh … sure, that’s fine.”

I reached into the bottom drawer, pulling out a pair of shorts and a white tee. “Here you go, Mr. Santino.”

He laughed and gave me a peck on the cheek. “I’ll be back.”

While he went to change, I walked downstairs and grabbed a water bottle, taking a large gulp while leaning the back of my head against the freezer door. I could have sworn I saw a look of some sort flash through Nick’s eyes when I mentioned that John left his clothes here, but I wasn’t sure. I shrugged the thought away and made my way back upstairs, and into my room, where Nick was now laying.

He opened his arms, smiling at me. “Come, babe.”

I gave him a small smile. “Uh … can we lie on my bed?”

“Aren’t these both your beds?” he asked.

“Yeah, but … well, John always sleeps on that one and he tends to drool all over the pillows. We’ll be safe from the swamp on my bed,” I told him, trying to make a joke out of it.

He didn’t say anything as he stood up, and moved to the other bed. I walked over and laid beside him, turning my attention to the screen. Nick sat with his back against the wall, arms crossed over his chest, completely ignoring me. After a few minutes, I sighed and he looked at me. “What?”

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing; why would something be wrong?” he asked.

“Because you’re acting weird, Nick.”

He sighed and ran a hand through his bright hair. “How often does John stay over?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“Is it like once a week, a few days a week, or every other night?”

“I don’t know, Nick. He just stays over whenever he feels like it,” I told him.

He looked at me. “And you two don’t ever sleep on the same bed?”

“What? No! We’ve never slept on the same bed.” He didn’t say anything and I let out a sigh, as I scooted up to him. “Are you jealous?” I asked in a taunting manner.

He looked at me, seriousness in his eyes. “Should I be?”

I bit down on my bottom lip, feeling my heart drop to my stomach. Although I liked John, there was really no need to be jealous; nothing was going on between us. “No.”

“Are you sure, Sophia? Because if-“

“Nick, I’m positive, okay? I’m with you, and you’re exactly who I want to be with,” I told him, pressing my lips against his.

He pulled away, smiling. “Do we have to watch the movie?”

I laughed, and swung my left leg over his lap, straddling him. I wrapped my arms around his neck, staring into his eyes. “What else would we do?”

He smirked. “Oh, I don’t know …” He stared at me for a moment, before pressing his lips against mines again. This time, however, the kiss was much more intense and it wasn’t long before his tongue was tracing my bottom lip. I opened my mouth, and our tongues began gliding over one another. He trailed his hands down my sides, resting them on my hips.

He pushed me back gently, and I landed on my back, with him on top of me. I tangled my hands in his hair, whilst his slipped under my shirt. Nick’s lips were addicting, and I could have stayed kissing them forever, but when his hand reached for the back of my bra, I knew I had to stop things before we both got carried away. “Nick, we can’t,” I told him.

He rested his forehead against the bottom of my chin, breathing heavily. “I’m sorry. I just … I got caught up in the moment.”

“I did, too.”

He placed a kiss along my jaw line, before sitting up. “Let’s lie down and watch the movie; for real, this time.”

I laughed. “Sounds good to me.” I placed my hands in his, and he pulled me up. Once we were both situated, I snuggled into him and set my eyes on the screen. So maybe I didn’t tell Nick the whole truth about me and John; but, I didn't exactly lie to him, either.

__________________________________________________________

I woke up to the sound of my phone ringing, annoying me to no end. “Sophie, make it stop!” Nick mumbled, his voice being muffled by the pillow.

I groaned and sat up, rubbing my eyes before reaching for my phone on the nightstand. I rolled my eyes when I saw it was John. “Do you know what time it is?” I barked.

“Were you asleep?”

“Well, that is what most people do at seven in the morning, John.”

“Look, I really need to talk to you, Sophia. Can we meet up somewhere?”

I let out a yawn. “Only if you feed me.”

He laughed. “I can do that. Is Nick still with you?”

“Yes, why?”

He sighed. “I sort’ve wanted to talk to you … alone.”

I looked at Nick, who had gone back to sleep. “He’s still asleep. How long do you think this talk will be?”

“Not that long.”

“Are you picking me up?”

“I can,” he said.

“Be outside in thirty,” I told him.

“Alright. Thanks, Sophie.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” I ended the call and took one last glance at Nick, before getting out of bed. I walked into my bathroom, and relieved my bladder, before brushing my teeth and washing my face.

Not really caring about what I looked like, I threw on a pair of black shorts and a loose grey tee shirt. I slid my feet into a pair of dark grey, black and white checkered Vans, before grabbing my phone and heading downstairs. My father had already left for work, but my mother was sitting in the living room, drinking a cup of coffee and watching the 700 Club.

“Morning, ma,” I said while taking a seat on the couch.

“Good morning, sweetie. There’s still some coffee in the pot if you want a cup,” she told me.

I shook my head, letting out another yawn. “John’s taking me for breakfast.”

She looked at me, raising her brows. “Isn’t Nick in your room?”

I nodded my head. “He’s still asleep. John called me this morning, sounding bothered and said he needed to talk. I should be home by the time he wakes up.”

She took a sip of her coffee, turning her attention back to the television. “Be careful, Sophia.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked, looking at her.

“You have two boys who, clearly, care a lot for you and not to mention, they’re best friends. You’re going to break one’s heart eventually, honey. Just make sure you break the right one,” she told me.

I stared at her for a moment, before hearing John’s car pull into the driveway. “I’ll see you later, ma.”

She nodded her head. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” I walked outside, the blazing sun beaming down on me. I sighed in relief once I was inside John’s car. “Good morning.”

“Well, you seem happier than you did on the phone,” he said, backing out of the driveway.

“You’re feeding me,” I reminded him.

He laughed. “Right.”

I turned the volume of the radio up, recognizing Stephan Jenkins’ voice. “We haven’t done this in forever.”

“Done what?” he asked, glancing at me.

“Gone out for breakfast.”

He shrugged. “We’re never up early enough.”

I smiled. “I forgot about that.” He laughed and we continued driving in silence, until we pulled into Denny’s parking lot.

“You look comfortable,” he said, while we walked to the door.

“I am.” He held the door open for me, and we stepped inside the air conditioned building.

“Just you two this morning?” the middle-aged hostess asked, grabbing two menus from behind the podium.

John nodded his head. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Follow me, please,” she said, leading us towards a corner booth. I slid in on the right side, while John slid in on the left. “Can I get you two something to drink?”

“Orange juice, please,” John ordered.

She nodded her head and looked at me. “And you?”

“Coffee, please.”

“I’ll get those for you, and your waitress will be right with you,” she said, before walking away.

I looked at John. “Come here,” I told him.

“What?” he asked, furrowing his brows.

I placed my hand underneath his chin, pulling his face towards me. “You need to shave, O’Callaghan.” I pushed his face away and he rolled his eyes.

“Was that really necessary?”

“Yes,” I said, picking up my menu.

He laughed. “Whatever.”

A fairly young girl approached our table, setting our drinks before us. “I’m Crystal, and I’ll be serving you this morning. Are you two ready to order, or do you need more time to look over the menu?”

“I’m ready,” I said, looking at John. “Are you?”

He nodded his head. “We can order now.”

The waitress took out her pad and I decided to order first. “I’ll have the Fabulous French Toast Platter, with apples on top, and bacon.”

She nodded her head, turning to John. “And you, sir?”

“I’ll have the same, only strawberries, instead of apples,” he said.

She placed her pad back in her smock, before grabbing our menus. “I’ll get that out to you as soon as I can.” She walked away, and I stared out of the window, watching as the sun rose in the sky.

After a moment, I sucked in a large breath of air and looked at John. “So … are you gonna tell me what you wanted to talk about, now?”

He set his arms on the table, and licked his lips; it took everything I had in me not to stare. “I don’t know how to really say it …”

“Just say it,” I told him.

He let out a nervous laugh, before rubbing the back of his neck. “Well … I broke up with Elle, last night.”

My eyes went wide and I felt my heart stop. “Y – you broke up … with her?”

He nodded his head. “I just couldn’t take it anymore, Sophie. I was tired of the constant nagging and bitching, and accusations. I mean, how long can someone really put up with that?”

I grabbed a few packets of sugar from the holder, ripping the tops open, before pouring them into my coffee. “How did you do it?”

He shrugged. “I drove her back to her house, and when I pulled into the driveway, I told her I couldn’t do it anymore; I wanted to break up.”

I poured in some creamer and stirred the liquid around. “I imagine she didn’t take it too well.” I picked the cup and blew over the top, before taking a sip.

He laughed. “She started screaming and saying that I was only breaking up with her, to get with you, and just a bunch of other bullshit.”

I let out a nervous laugh, setting my cup back on the table. “Crazy …”

He nodded his head. “I mean, we’re best friends … nothing more.”

“Yeah,” I said, not really knowing what else I could say. My heart fell to the pit of my stomach, and I didn’t want to be sitting across from him any longer, but I couldn’t get up and storm out of the restaurant; there wasn’t a reason to. John had done nothing wrong.

“I thought you would be happy?” he asked, more than stated, looking at me.

I nodded my head. “I am happy for you, John. Believe me, I am. I just … Elle’s probably gonna call me crying later and I don’t really feel like dealing with it,” I lied.

He rolled his eyes. “Maybe you should break up with her, too.”

I let out a dry laugh as our waitress returned with our plates. “Two Fabulous French Toast Platters; one apple, one strawberry.” She gave us a big smile. “Can I get you two anything else?”

John looked at me and I shook my head. “No, thank you. I think we’re good for now,” he told her.

Yeah … good for now.