Maya 7:12pm : So, how is it?
Maya 7:31pm : Naira?
Maya 7:39pm : Did you get murdered or something?
Maya 7:54pm : Wait a second…
Maya 7:55pm : I know what’s going on ;)

Naira’s POV
I looked over my outfit one last time. We weren’t going anywhere fancy, so I was able to wear one of my comfortable sweaters again, I just wanted to make sure that I didn’t look too casual. You see, Maya and I were going to met the guys at a diner somewhere downtown and have dinner together. Well, when I say guys I only mean Vic, Mike and Tony, since Jaime canceled last minute, which sucked because I still wanted to be friends with him, even though he had done some terrible things. Anyway, the guys had been so excited to go to this diner. It had opened a couple months back and followed the old concept, but in a completely modern setting. They had been wanting to go for ages, but had never been able to make time for it since they were working on the album for so long. It was a good thing that they decided to take a break now -- even though they were just finishing off -- especially for Vic, since he had been burning himself out. It was why were were going to go out to a cabin together for a weekend. Some people might have said it was too early on in our relationship, but I didn’t care, if it helped him relax then I was fine with it. Plus, it might strengthen our relationship a bit more.

I grabbed my light jacket and walking into Maya’s room. “Ready to go?” I asked her as she ran a brush through her hair one last time.

“Yep,” she smiled and grabbed her phone, forcing it into her jeans pocket, “I’m excited to be going out for the first time with you and Vic being a couple.”

I rolled my eyes, “we’re not exactly a couple.”

“I say you’re a couple,” she bluntly said, walking out of her room first, expecting me to follow her, “you guy’s have been dating for a bit, and I don’t expect you guys will suddenly break it off, right?”

“Well, no, I don’t think so, but we never made it official--”

“Who cares about that official bullcrap anyway? You guys like each other and are dating, so you’re basically a couple.”

“But--”

“Stop denying it, you know it’s true.” Maya locked the front door as we both stood outside. “You know what, how about we make a deal. If he kisses you when we meet each other, you’re a couple, if not, then I’ll stop.”

“Ok, fine.” I turned around and walked to her car, waiting for her to unlock it.

Luckily, Maya let the subject drop for the short drive. Of course I could tell she was so sure of herself, that she was confident that she would win this. It wasn’t that I didn’t want Vic and I to be a couple, because, trust me, I did, but I wasn’t sure how he worked. Some guys liked the cliche approach of asking a girl to be their girlfriend, others just subtly did it by introducing the girl as their girlfriend, some just assumed it, and then the girl could also be the one to do it (but then you’d still have the same problems). Maybe Maya would be able to spark a conversation about it, because right now I was just lost.

The three mexican boys were already seated at a table (Tony at the head and Vic and Mike opposite of each other) so we were just able to walk in and up to them, not having to worry about being seated. They all grinned and greeted us as they saw us approaching, Vic getting up from his seat and quickly slipping over to me. He wrapped his arm around my waist after giving Maya a hug and placed a sweet kiss on my lips.

“Told you so,” Maya snorted as she took a big gulp from Mike’s beer without getting permission. I guess I was going to have to stay away from the alcohol and drive us home.

I shook my head lightly, hoping that nobody thought much of her random comment. But, of course, Vic had to inquire further, wanting to know what Maya and I had been discussing earlier.

“I said you guys were a couple,” she started explaining, not caring about the possible embarrassment it would lead to me having, “but Naira was like, ‘nah… maybe… I don’t know’, so I said that if you kiss her as soon as we came, then you would be.”

“Is that so?” Vic chuckled and let me sit down before sitting next to me himself. “I guess we’re a couple now.”

“I never denied it,” I grumbled and glared a little at Maya. I might have now known the answer for sure, but she didn’t have to make it so uncomfortable for me.

“Well, now that you’re a couple, I kindly request you don’t to coupley stuff around us, because we singles don’t really appreciate that.” Mike announced, taking his glass of beer back from Maya, but not getting mad at her for finishing half of it.

“Oh, so I’m not allowed to hold his hand,” I grabbed Vic hand and put our interlocked finger on top of the table for everybody to see, causing Mike to groan, “or sit way too close to him,” I shuffled closer so that our legs were just barely touching, getting another sigh from Mike, “or kiss him,” I pecked Vic’s cheek, making both Maya and Mike scrunch up their faces in disgust as they shook their heads, “or stare at him for no reason,” this time, however, I gave Vic the creepiest look I could give, widening my eyes until I felt like they could pop out. Fortunately, everybody saw the humour in it and laughed.

“Please don’t ever look at me like that again,” Vic grinned, not letting go of my hand.

“I have a kid who I teach that always stares at me like that,” I pondered out loud, “I’m afraid he might kill me in my sleep one night.”

----

Maya and I both stood up as we were both getting ready to say our last goodbyes for the night to the guys. We had decided to leave since Maya had to get up early to go to work, and I had to show up for my job in time as well. While it was really fun hanging out with our friends again, we also weren’t stupid enough to leave too late. We were unfortunate enough not to be living the rockstar life, and so also couldn’t wake up later than 1pm every day. I still had to be in my classroom at 8am every morning, and that meant waking up at 7am at latest if I wanted to rush. I actually enjoyed being able to keep up with the energy of the kids I teached, and not be that one teacher who almost fell asleep at their desk every single day.

“I’m going to the store tomorrow, do you need me to get anything?” I asked Vic incase he wanted me to buy anything, such as food, for our weekend away together. I still needed to get some things at the drugstore, so I could also quickly run to the grocery store if I had to.

Vic shook his head, “nope, I got everything covered. Unless you want to get some specific food or snacks you really like, then there’s no need to.”

“Ok,” I quickly pecked him on the lips as the final see-you-later I was going to give him

“I’ll be there at 7pm to pick you up tomorrow.”

“Yeah, bye!” I waved as Maya dragged me out of the diner before I would be talking with him for another hour or so.

She handed me her car keys so I could drive us. While it wouldn’t have been the first time she had something to drink and did drive, she wasn’t that stupid this time. I smiled as I unlocked the car and got in the driver’s seat. For the first time in a while, I was really happy. But that was going to change soon as Maya decided to say the wrong thing.

As soon as both of our doors slammed shut, she turned to me with a serious look, “condoms.”

“What?” I chuckled. I didn’t think she had had enough to drink to suddenly start blurting out inappropriate words.

“You need to get condoms,” Maya clarified for me, still keeping her honest demeanour, “you know, just incase Vic forgets. You don’t just want to be in the situation where you can’t find any and the closest store is an hour away. Just buy some so that won’t happen. It’s a foolproof plan.”

“I’m sorry,” I stopped her before she could continue you, “excuse me?”

“Well, you and Vic are going to go on a small trip, meaning you’ll be spending two nights together with nobody else around. Of course there will be sex.”

I gulped and gripped the steering wheel as I left the parking lot and pulled up onto the road. Nerves started rushing through my body, eventually pooling at the bottom of my stomach, making my breathing speed up just slightly. I tried to keep my cool, but the feeling just wouldn’t go away. “You-- You really think so?”

“Yeah, of course. Do you really think that Vic will take you out for a weekend without having sex with you? That’s just stupid! I mean, especially since it’s not like you two haven’t done it before,” she said as if she was stating the obvious.

I gave her a quick nervous look, not really sure how to express what I was feeling or what the thoughts in my mind were. But Maya was able to read my not-even-second-long look in one go. “Wait, Naria… Are you telling me that-- But Mike and I were sure that you and Vic have at least banged each other twice!”

“No…” I mumbled quietly as I tried to pay most of my attention towards the road.

“Oh my god!” She gasped and stared at me with wide eyes, “But how? Before you were dating you were already-- and what about that time he stayed over? There’s no way! You are so lying to me!”

“I don’t know if I’m ready, Maya,” I whispered, trying to keep my tears at bay, not wanting my vision to become blurry while I had to focus on the traffic surrounding me.

“Of course you are! You like Vic and you’re sexually attracted to him, right?” She asked me, to which I nodded, “it should be fine then. Seriously, if you were nearly going to do it before even thinking about dating him, then it should be easy now. Trust me, Vic will be really glad to do it.”

----

I laughed as I handed the just washed wet plate to Vic for him to dry. We had been at the wooden cabin for a couple of hours. Vic said that he came here sometimes when he felt like a change of scenery, but didn’t feel like going too far away from home. We had just had dinner after having a whole adventure of trying to make it first. I didn’t really have trouble cooking. Of course I wasn’t some amazing cook who could just make something by trying things out, but I knew my fair share of recipes. It just happened to happen that Vic and I were prone to messing things up when cooking together, or so I had found at that evening. First of all, the water for our pasta had boiled over, and then we completely forgot about making the sauce. We basically had to enjoy some cold pasta with (luckily) warm sauce, while the kitchen was just a complete mess. At least we didn’t leave cleaning up to the last day, and we actually did it straight after finishing our meal. I guess we weren’t such a horrible team, since we did it without breaking any plates or glasses.

I felt arms sneak around my waist while I unplugged the sink to let the water drain away, and dried my hands on a clean towel. Leaning into him just a bit, I threw the towel onto one of the counters and let Vic kiss my cheek.

“How about you go make yourself comfortable on the couch and I’ll get a fire going?” He suggested as he rested his chin on my shoulder.

I decided to make a better suggestion, “how about you go do that and I make us some hot chocolate?”

“Hot chocolate does sound good…”

“Good,” I pushed him away from me with a smirk, “now leave before I manage to burn this kitchen down by adding cocoa powder to hot milk. No, not by heating up the milk, but by mixing two harmless substances together.”

So, while I took out a pan to warm up the milk -- there wasn’t a microwave at the place -- Vic went into the living room, which was just in the room next to the kitchen. I made sure to take the pan off the fire before it started boiling, I didn’t want to actually start a fire. After pouring the hot chocolate into two mugs, I added some whipped cream and marshmallows, the way my dad always made it for me when I was still a kid.

I took both the mugs and entered the living room. Vic was still in front of the newly started fire, adding the last piece of wood to it. Placing the drink on the large oak wood coffee table, I sat down on the couch, bringing my legs up to my chest to get more comfortable. I grabbed the blanket that was draped over the armrest, and let it fall over my shoulders, keeping me nice and warm. Vic turned around and smiled at me as he saw me all huddled up, falling down on the couch next to me and stretching his arm over the back on the couch behind me.

He picked up one of the mugs and grinned again. “Hot chocolate with marshmallows? Damn, you treat me way too well.”

I shrugged and wrapped my hands around my own mug. “It’s not hot chocolate without them.”

“That,” he leaned forward to give me a quick kiss, “is so true.”

We both took a couple of sips of the hot liquid, being careful not to burn our tongues. I let myself fall over a bit so I was cuddled into Vic’s chest, as he wrapped his arm around me tighter. There was nothing to be afraid of, this trip had only been going really well so far.

“This tastes really amazing,” he told me, looking satisfied and licking his lips to get rid of any whipped cream.

“It’s a family recipe,” I told him as if I was telling him and honest story, “what we do is heat up milk, throw a buttload of instant hot chocolate in it, and then try to get it to taste normal by adding more cream and marshmallows. Nobody’s able to replicate it.”

“Oh, wow, sounds like you’ve got some culinary masters in your family,” Vic played along with my joke.

“Yeah… I learned the college way of living. Perks of having a dad who was way too young and way too unprepared to be a father, I guess. Often we’d use lukewarm water instead of milk, and the powder wouldn’t fully dissolve properly. I did always drink it, though. I mean, my dad made it for me, so it’s the thought that counts.”

“Sound’s like you and your dad have a great relationship.”

“It happens when he’s the only family I have, well except for my grandma,” I smiled, thinking about all the good memories I had of my messed up childhood, “but I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“Just like I’m happy I asked you to come here with me,” Vic looked down at me as I stretched to put my now empty cup back on the table, “Mike thought I was crazy at first, asking you to go away with me for a weekend this early on, but I didn’t care.”

“Well, I’m happy I’m here with you as well.”

“Good.”

He took this time to firmly plant his lips against mine. Having completely forgotten the conversation I had with Maya and the possibility of where this could go, I let him kiss me and move me over so he was just hovering over my body. One of my hands rested on his chest, while the other arm went around his neck, bringing him just a bit closer to me. He took this as a sign to deepen the kiss, running his fingers through my hair. I was stupid enough not to think anything of it, even though his body was practically pressed up against mine. It was only when his hands started roaming around underneath my shirt, that alarm bells started going off in my head, and I started panicking.

I pushed him away as quickly as possible, staring at him with wide eyes. “I’m sorry,” I blurted out when I saw his confused look.

“It’s ok,” he smiled and sat back upright, but his eyes showed a hint of rejection.

“I’m sorry,” I said again, feeling to awkward do anything.

“Really, it’s ok. I’m not going to force you into doing anything you don’t want to do.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Really, Naira,” he chuckled, really not caring about what had happened anymore, “there’s nothing to be sorry about.

But I couldn’t help myself and repeat it again, “I’m sorry.”

“You can stop saying you’re sorry--”

“I physically can’t!” I screamed, getting up and running away to the bathroom, but not before having the phrase come out of my mouth again.

I slammed the door shut behind me and slid down a wall, trying to get myself to calm down before it all got so much worse. Hugging my legs, I rested my forehead against my knees, keeping my eyes shut as I tried to think of only happy things, like what Vic and I were doing before I all went downhill. Tears were running down my face, trying my best to count down from ten and control what I was saying. Vic probably thought I was crazy now, just like all the other people who came face to face with my tourettes.

“Hey, you don’t need to be afraid,” he told me as he sat down next to me, enveloping me into a hug. I completely had forgotten to lock the door behind me; so much for trying to hide away from him.

“I’m sorry,” I hiccuped, only this time is wasn’t caused by my condition, it was genuine.

“There’s no need to be,” he whispered, picking me up and trying to stand up without falling over, “let’s not do this on the cold hard bathroom floor, though.”

And so he carried me to the bedroom, sitting down with his back against the headrest himself, and keeping me in his lap. I had calmed down significantly, no longer having to worry about blurting out something I didn’t want to say or something inappropriate. I just hid my face in Vic’s neck, his hair tickling me with every small movement made.

“Thank you,” I mumbled, wrapping my arms around his waist, hearing his steady heartbeat.

“It’s no problem, really,” he said back, stroking my hair in smooth and calm motions.

“Not just for this,” I sighed, “also for keeping me away from Jaime. I would have been off so much worse now if it weren’t for you. You always managed to interrupt just at the right times, which I’m very thankful for now. I probably wouldn’t even be with you right now if you hadn’t done all that.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I already told you the story of the guy I lost my virginity to. You probably still remember that that didn’t really work out all too well. I don’t know if it ever happened to you, but it’s pretty weird when the person you’re dating and sleeping with suddenly comes out as gay. Of course he was still my best friend, but it’s pretty confusing. Like, sure, I’m happy I was able to help him figure it out, but still. Why do it when he knew I was a virgin, and not only do it once, but multiple times? It just… you know? Then, next came my college boyfriend. All was well, I was a bit older, all that high school drama no longer mattered, etcetera. But then, the night after we had sex for the first time, he showed up at my dorm and told me he was being transferred to another school on the other side of the country and that he didn’t want to do long distance. That obviously made me feel great. But that’s not all of it, there was another guy after that who totally just dated me for a month just to get in my pants and then broke up with me right after. Like, literally right after; like, he-didn’t-even-have-time-to-catch-his-breath right after. So, that was a nice confidence boost. Luckily you, maybe indirectly, managed to make sure nothing happened between Jaime and I. Imagine how that would have worked out. I would have been an even worse mess. I don’t even understand why they all did it, because I am not pretty enough to be one of those girls who’s fine with having way too many one night stands.”

“Don’t say that,” Vic frowned, moving so I was no longer hiding and so that he could look me in the eye, “you’re beautiful. Those guys are just really really stupid. Basically dickheads. At least Jaime is realising how badly he screwed up. And I promise you I’ll never be one of them, I’ll never force you to do anything nor am I with you for the reasons the others were. I’d rather be that awkward guy that always asks you whether or not you want me to kiss you, than be the total creep who does it without you wanting. I really do like you, Naira, and not just because I think you are one of the prettiest girls I’ve seen in my lifetime. Actually, scrap that, you are the prettiest.”

I just smiled at him, not saying another word. It didn’t take long until I reached out to pull his head down to me so that I could kiss him again. Maya was right, I was ready to be with him. Vic let me stay in control, moving his lips along in the pace I had started. I wasn’t afraid this time, and slowly got up so I could straddle him. Able to reach better now, I deepened what we had going on, tugging on his shirt lightly.

He placed a hand over mine, which was gripping his fabric, “we don’t have to do this.”

“But I want to,” I breathed out, just a bit confused. It wasn’t that I didn’t feel the same way he did, that I’d never make him do anything he didn’t want, but he was the one to make the first moves earlier on.

“Goddamit,” Vic smirked with a laugh, “I hoped you’d say you didn’t want to, that way I wouldn’t be in this awkward situation right now. I completely forgot to bring any form of, uh, protection. ‘Cause, trust me, I would if I could.”

“Thank god for Maya’s stubbornness,” I giggled, going back to kiss him again, no longer afraid of the events that happened next.

Notes

Hey, Maya, you gotta step up your game ;) Vic and Naira are already moving further with their relationship, where's yours?