I Think I Love You

When we got home, I showered and changed into denim shorts and an Aeropostalé v-neck. I joined Ez in the kitchen for a lunch of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and milk. I sat down at the island and he placed a sandwich in front of me that had been cut down the middle. I smiled and said, "Thanks."

"You're welcome," he said as he claimed the bar stool beside me. I heard a car pull up in the driveway followed by Quellie's voice and another voice I didn't recognize. I got up to look out the window, seeing Quellie flirting with some guy. He was at least a foot taller than her with tan skin and long, wavy brown hair. They walked to the front door and I sat back down with Ez.

"Who's out there with Quellie?" I asked.

"Her friend, Peter."

"What kind of friend?"

"Well, she insists that they're just good friends, but everyone knows she has feelings for him."

"That's so cute!" Ez laughed. The front door opened and all we heard was laughter.

"Oh, Nikki!" Quellie called. I turned in my seat and said,

"Yes?" Quellie smiled at me and grabbed Peter's hand, pulling him into the kitchen.

"I want you to meet Peter. He's a really good friend of mine." I smiled and extended my hand.

"Hi, I'm Nikki," I said. He shook my hand.

"I'm Peter. Nice to meet you." He had a strong Australian accent.

"Okay, so guess who has four tickets to the All Time Low concert, and wants you to go with them?" Quellie asked.

"Uhm, you?"

"Bingo!" I grinned.

"Really?"

"Yep." I squealed and pulled Quellie into a hug.

"Oh my God, thank you so much!" Quellie laughed.

"No problem. The concert is in Las Vegas and it starts at eight-thirty, so we have to leave by three-thirty. That will give us an extra hour to work in the traffic."

"Awesome, I'll be ready."

By the time three o'clock rolled around, I had just gotten out of the shower. I shuffled to my room to get dressed. I blow dried and curled my hair, then did my makeup. I shoved my phone and lipstick in my gold-studded clutch and spritzed my Daisy perfume, then went downstairs.

Ez and Peter were sitting on bar stools talking. Since I'd already learned my lesson about eavesdropping, I just jumped right in. "Hey, babe, do you think this is too much?" I asked Ez. Him and Peter both turned to look at me.

"Damn," Ez mumbled, his eyes wide. I giggled and walked towards him. He took me in his arms and said, "It's way too much." I pouted.

"Really?"

"Most definitely. Shed a little bit more, then we'll see." I rolled my eyes and smacked his chest.

"I'm serious!" He laughed.

"No, Nikki. It's perfect." I placed my hands on his shoulders and kissed him gently, careful not to smudge my lipstick. I heard the clicking of heels on the stairs and turned to see Quellie. She was in ripped, black skinny jeans, a sheer, white tank top under a cropped, black blazer and black, studded booties.

"Holy shit, Quellie!" I said. She grinned.

"You like?"

"I love! You totally have to let me borrow those shoes sometime."

"Anytime you want, just ask." When she reached the floor, she ran over to Peter. "What do you think?" she asked, sounding a little nervous. It was completely obvious that she had feelings stronger than just friendship for him. Peter's mouth hung open and his eyes were bulging out of his head. I cleared my throat, snapping him out of the daze he was in. It was clear he wanted the same thing Quellie did.

"I think you look beautiful." Nice save, Peter. Quellie stood on her tip-toes and kissed Peter's cheek.

"Thank you," she said. I shared a glance with Ez and laughed. "What's so funny?" Quellie asked.

"Just the obvious," I said. Quellie and Peter both blushed. I rolled my eyes and changed the subject. "So, who's driving?"

"I am," Peter said.

"I call shotgun!" Quellie sang, running out to Peter's car. Ez took my hand in his and lead me out.

*

"Goodnight, Las Vegas!" Lead singer of All Time Low, Alex Gaskarth, shouted through the microphone as he walked off-stage. The crowd continued to go wild. I turned to see Peter eyeing Quellie as she screamed I love you, Alex. I smiled at him and when he saw this, he looked the other way. Once the band was finally off the stage, Quellie stopped screaming and turned to us.

"You guys ready?" she shouted over the crowd. Instead of shouting back at her, Ez and I just nodded. When she turned to ask Peter the same thing, he grabbed her by the waist and kissed her. It wasn't a shy, first kiss either. They were both into it, and I squealed. I was so happy for her. Ez wrapped me in his arms and we just waited for their kiss to be over. When Quellie pulled away, she was grinning like a mad man. Then again, so was Peter.

When we arrived back home, Ez and I left Peter and Quellie to say goodnight. I went up to my room and changed into a white tank top and fleece, zebra printed shorts. I pulled my hair into a ponytail and washed off my makeup. After brushing my teeth and washing my face, I went into Ez's room, where he was laying on the bed waiting for me. I climbed under the comforter and snuggled up next to him. "What do you think Peter and Quellie are doing?" I asked.

"Making out," Ez said. We both laughed. I traced small hearts on his bare chest with my index finger and said,

"I remember when that was us."

"What do you mean?"

"Keeping our feelings a secret from each other."

"Yeah, but that was different. We had to worry about our parents. Peter and Quellie don't."

"Do you remember our first kiss?" I asked. He smiled and pulled me closer to him.

"How could I ever forget? It was at the Hilton in New York. You had asked me if I really loved you because I wouldn't look at you. When you kissed me, it was like this whole marriage thing became real and we weren't just friends anymore. It gave me hope that you might've felt the same way I did." He paused, then resumed with, "Nikki, I've never felt so strongly about someone as I do you. You've brought sunshine back into my life. Whenever I'm down and blue, all you have to do is smile at me and I'm back. You really don't know how much you mean to me." I teared up seeing him tear up.

"I'm glad I can make you happy."