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'I think your plan backfired, Terry.' 'Why is that?' 'It seems as if she just doesn't want me around her.' 'Who, Nicole?' 'Yeah, I mean, I saw her during lunch again in the cafeteria and Nicole really seemed to be surprised that I sat with her again.' 'And?' 'Aaaaaaand... We talked for about fifteen minutes until she came up with some bullshit excuse that she had to go again.' 'Dude, come on... Be reasonable.' 'What?' 'It's just really difficult for her to meet new people, that's all. You can't expect her to be best friends with you after just two days.' 'Look, I really appreciate that you want to help her out and let her meet new people but the way she converses is just...' 'Weird?' 'To say the least, yeah. I mean, she stutters like crazy and... it feels as if she hardly knows how to interact with people, as if she's been under a rock her whole life. No wonder she's so lonely.' 'Hm...' 'Don't get me wrong, though, she's really nice but... just a little strange and I don't think it'll work out...' 'I'm not forcing you to be friends with her, you know...' 'Look, I know she's one of your best friends but she has to accept the fact that we're together now, whether she likes it or not.' 'She does! Nikki does accept that we're together except she's got the feeling she's being left out! I'm already spending much less time with her now that I got together with you and I don't want to give her the impression that I don't want to be with her anymore.' 'I know... But maybe she needs to find new friends to hang out with as well...' 'My point exactly, Ceylan...'

It stayed silent for a while as Terry and I sat on his bed... That Thursday, I sat with Nikki as well in the cafeteria to have lunch together but the same thing happened as the day before. We only talked for a short moment until she left again and it was at that point where I just wanted to give up. Terry told me that she's lonely and he's pretty much her only friend. And now that Terry and I were together, Nicole felt left out because he was hanging out with me a lot more than with her... And even though Nicole told me that she "finds it refreshing to see Terry together with a girl like me", I still wasn't convinced that she was happy about my relationship with him. The night before, all sorts of scenario's have been wandering in my head and I wouldn't take it if she ever tried to drive Terry and me apart. That's the reason why I didn't want to get too personal with her in the first place encase such thing would happen. Nicole's nice, she really is but I really had my doubts about her... Because it wouldn't be the first time that someone would wreck my love-life... And it would happen again if I wasn't careful enough... All day long, it was bothering me and I talked to Terry about it once more...

'Look, I really don't understand why you're so paranoid, Ceylan.' 'I didn't say that I was...' 'But you are...' 'Hm...' 'And like I said, I can't force you to be friends with her but at least give it some time. She'll open up to you and then you'll find that she's the best friend you could ever wish for.' 'Heh... Maybe...'

Terry sat behind me and grabbed my hairbrush from his nightstand. And just like that, he gently started to brush my long silky hair... It wasn't the first time he did that but every time he did, I was surprised because I always thought it was a chick thing, brushing each others hair. The fact that a guy brushes a girl's hair was something I really wasn't used to. Then again, I wasn't used to anything when it came to males...

'You really make me do things I ever did before.' 'Yes, I have that effect on people, haha...' 'Do I get "awesome boyfriend bonus-points" for this?' 'Definitely...' 'Hehehe...' '... Did I ever tell you that you're the sweetest guy I've ever met...?' 'Many times, dude, but I just love hearing that from you.' 'Hehe... Are you sure your parents are okay for me to stay over for the night...?' 'Yeah, I told them, it's okay. What time do your classes start tomorrow?' 'Half passed eight... I need to get up at seven... You?' 'My classes don't start until one o'clock.' 'Lucky...'

He stopped brushing my hair for a moment and when I faced him, I saw how he was smiling once more... And I just couldn't contain myself anymore... My arms flew around him and pushed him down on his bed where I gave him tender little kisses on his lips as his hands were going through my hair... What could possibly be more perfect than this...? Moments like these make me feel on top of the world... Things became natural because I gave it time... To have someone your deeply in love with is just indescribable... I know I've changed a lot because of Terry... As if I became at peace with myself and accepted who and what I am... No word in the dictionary can describe what I felt whenever I was with him... Everyone could see that the two of us were madly in love with each other... And the passion never died out... So it inevitably came to it that night while we were making out on his bed that evening... I always had the feeling that Terry never got used to see me in the nude... As if he just couldn't keep his eyes of me... Every girl wants to hear that they're beautiful and sexy, even though they're sometimes not... But the ones you love are beautiful because you love them... Terry often whispered in my ear how beautiful I am... But what does it do to you when you hear these simple words being whispered in your ear by the one you love the most...? It does absolutely everything to you... Words are redundant on evenings like these... The way he looked at me and the way he touched my body was everything I had to know... Just one quick look in his eyes told me more than a thousand words... In everything he did, Terry made me feel special... I just wished I was able to express my feelings towards him better... To let him know he's special to me... But something in his eyes told me he already knew...

The next day, I woke up at seven AM by the shrieking annoying beeping of my mobile phone... "For fucks sakes... Almost weekend, Ceylan..." I had a really hard time to get out of bed and I felt so tired, I took the annoying beeping for granted if that meant I could stay in bed for five more minutes... I was on top of Terry and he had his arm clenched around me... And just like me, Terry's hard to wake up but at some point, we couldn't ignore the beeping alarm anymore that got louder by the minute...

'Oh, for fucks sake, turn it off, dude...' 'Mwhuh...'

Seriously, the most difficult thing to do when you wake up so early in the morning is to open your eyes... I lacked the energy to move and quite honestly, I didn't want to... With my face buried in Terry's shoulder, I moved my arm over his nightstand in an attempt to get hold of my phone... Instead of grabbing it, I knocked my phone down and heard a quiet thud on the carpet asthe beeping sound came from the floor... "Damn it..." While every fibre in my body was reluctant to move, I had to... I was leaning over Terry's stomach to look at the floor and noticed my mobile phone near his night stand... I quickly snatched it from the ground and glared at it as I furiously pressed some buttons in attempt to make it stop... "What does it take for you to shut the fuck up...?!!" Pressing the button on the side seemed to do the trick... I had my eyes closed as I sat on the edge of Terry's bed, trying to wake up... Terry, on the other hand, fell asleep again, just like that... Wishing I could be him, I sighed quietly and went into the bathroom to brush my teeth and to get myself dressed... And even though I felt myself waking up slowly, looking in the mirror made me think that I looked like shit... Once I got all of my stuff, I gave Terry a gentle kiss on his forehead...

'I'm off to college now, okay...?' 'You want me to give you a ride...?' 'No, it's fine, I'll take the bus...' 'You sure, dude...?' 'Yes... You just go back to sleep, okay babe...?' 'Alright... See you tonight...?' 'Sure thing...' 'Gimme a kiss...'

I got closer to his face and pressed my lips against his... Afterwards, he opened his eyes and looked at me as his hands caressed my cheek as he had this little smile on his face... Once I got to his bedroom door and looked back, I saw he had his eyes closed again... And with that, I got out of his bedroom and quietly made my way downstairs...

Once I got downstairs to put my boots on, I heard stumbling in the kitchen and this delicious smell of fresh breakfast penetrated my nostrils... When I looked around the doorpost, I saw Terry's mother in the kitchen, pouring coffee in a mug. Once she placed her cup down, she attended her stove so that whatever she was making wasn't getting burned... But when Simone noticed I was standing there, she smiled right back at me...

'Hi, goodmorning, Ceylan!' 'Goodmorning, Mrs. Williams...' 'Please, I told you many times, call me Simone, dear... Mrs Williams is my mother. It makes me feel old.' 'Hehe...' 'Can I get you something?' 'O-Oh, no, I should be going otherwise I'll miss the bus.' 'You can't start the day on an empty stomach. Come, I'll make you breakfast and then I'll take you to college.'

In my culture, it's a rude thing to deny food that is being offered whenever you're a guest in someone else's house, even when you're not hungry. Turning it down is considered pretty much like shitting in someone's living-room... And just like the bowl of water in front of every door of a house to wash your feet in before you entered, it's a sign of respect to the owner of the house to accept whatever is being offered... Hospitality is something that we value the most and my parents taught me that at an early age as well... And even though I can't remember all the habits and the culture; the things I do remember is cherished and it's something I live by... And for that very same reason, I did not had the guts to deny whatever she offered... So I took a seat at the kitchen table and watched how Simone was preparing breakfast... And I know it's a wrong thing to do because after all, she IS Terry's mother... But nevertheless, my heart skipped a beat when I stared at her ass... Every once in a while, she turned around to get something out of the refrigerator and then turned back to the stove... Simone is in her mid fifties but she looks as if she's in her mid thirties... And well, not to put it in a condescending way but I'll just say it purely for the lack of words: a MILF... Like, the hottest MILF I've ever see...

I know I'm not supposed to say these things about Terry's mom but... I really wish I had a change to sleep with her and I don't know why. Everything about her looks so good... Simone looks like an ordinary husky with the known and common black, white and gray patterns... Despite her wealth, I didn't think she did any plastic surgery to change her appearance... The only thing that might not be natural is the colour of her hair... Nevertheless, she has beautiful brunette hair that reaches down to her shoulders... The same light blue eyes like Terry's... A friendly face to see yet her life's journey is etched on her fur... She's kind and friendly yet forceful if things don't go her way... She looks like the kind of woman who's been through a lot in her life but is happy nevertheless... And even though Terry is twenty-one years old, she still treats him like a little cub sometimes... Don't know if it was supposed to be intentional but it was rather embarrassing for him to be treated that way and it was good for my amusement... I've always noticed the difference between other people's family and mine... And sometimes, when I saw the look on Terry's face whenever he was with his parents, made me wish I was able to give in like that to Simon and Catherine...

'Here you go, coffee, cream and sugar, right?' 'Hm? Oh, yes! Thank you... Uhm... Can I help you with anything?'| 'It's fine, dear, breakfast's almost ready.'

She got out another plate from her cupboard and cutlery from her drawer and placed it all in front of me. A basket of croissants, muffins, bagels and crumpets... All sorts of sandwich spreads, from Nutella to slices of beef and chicken... And then she came over with a frying pan and got something on my plate I've never seen before. I thanked her but I had no idea what it was until I took a good look at it. Two slices of toast with eggs... That's in itself isn't that strange but the egg was in the slice of toast... Smelled good though but I waited until Simone took her seat across me. When she took the first bite, I started to eat as well... And it was something I've never tasted before... A little creamy with a hint of garlic and the crunchy toast made it all the better...

'This is really good... What's it called?' 'You never had an egg in a basket before?' 'Egg in a basket?' 'Yes, that's what they're called.' 'Oh... I've never had one before, no. How do you make them?' 'Easy, take a loaf of bread, cut a hole in the middle, heat a little butter in a frying pan and add the slice of bread. Fry them until both sides are light brown and add a little butter in the hole of the slice of bread. Crack open an egg and drop it in the hole. Fry both sides and add toppings to your liking.' 'What'd you used?' 'A little garlic powder, that's all.' 'I gotta remember this even though I'm a terrible cook...' 'Haha, well I don't think even you can go wrong with this one, dear. Just try it out some time.' 'I will...'

While we were eating, it stayed silent... And quite honestly, I didn't know what to say to her... I've never been alone with Simone before and she always was a lot of fun whenever Terry was with us, as if he became some sort of an intermediary between his mom and me. She had loads of stories to tell, I had loads of stories but now that Terry wasn't sitting with us at the kitchen table that morning, I had a bit of an awkward feeling... Not to mention that I stayed over at their place for the night while they were gone... I didn't really feel comfortable with the idea that I stayed over seeing as neither she or Terry's father Peter invited me... Only Terry did...

'I hope I'm not too much of a hassle...' 'What do you mean, dear?' 'Well, me staying over just because Terry said it was okay but...' 'Don't be silly, you're always welcome to stay over.' 'Thank you...' 'No worries, dear. You're almost like a daughter to me...' 'Heh... That's really nice of you to say...' 'It's true. You're one of the very few women who has a large influence on him. Nicole is one of them. And me, of course, haha...' 'Hehehe... Do you know her well...? I mean, Nicole...?' 'Hm-mm... She visited regularly, even when Terry wasn't around.' 'I feel bad that I'm driving the two of them away... It seems like they're really close friends...' 'They are, yes...' 'Heh...'

During our conversation at the kitchen-table, I tried to get to know Nicole a little better through Simone by asking subtle questions about her. Somehow, Simone knew that I was feeling a little jealous and scared but she wasn't revealing anything new to me... I wasn't realizing it before but that morning, it was made all too clear that I really was feeling jealous and scared... Jealous because of the fact that another girl wants to be around him and scared of the possibility that Terry might choose her over me... I didn't understand why everyone told me that there was nothing to worry about because I really saw her as a threat once she came into the picture. Their words couldn't reassure me... So I had to find out on my own and the only way to do that was to confront her in a subtle way...

Once Simone and I had breakfast, we cleaned the table and after I got my stuff, we went to the garage to get to her car. Aaaaaaaaand... Just the sight of their garage made my jaw drop, considering they own four cars in total. One of them is a four-door Lexus LS 600H and the other one is an Audi S6. The another one however was a two door BMW M6, presumably owned by Simone, considering her key had the BMW logo. And the other one was Terry's Seat Ibiza. How do I know all the names of those cars? Well, it said so on the back of the cars. I know nothing about cars but judging the shapes, the logo's and the interiors made me realize that these cars are really expansive... The BMW was the best looking though... The whole shape of the car was elegant yet radiated raw power... We approached the BMW from the back as Simone press a button on her car-key to unlock the doors of the vehicle. The indicator-lights blinked twice and I got in the passenger-seat. And the whole interior of the car was absolutely beautiful... The console was decorated with wood while the rest was covered in some black plastic. I believe its called carbon because of the very tiny checkered flag texture it had. The seats were made out of black alcantara leather and had really detailed stitches to the sides. I didn't see a clutch or anything but it did had a gearstick in the middle of the console. I saw three buttons to the left of the gearstick saying Power, DSC and EDC... Something about that made me think that this was one hell of a fast car... We both buckled up once we got in and Simone inserted her key, which looked more like a smartcard by the way. She pressed the Start Engine button and the car fired up. The engine made an aggressive little roar as all the lights of the console started to flash as a huge touch-screen emerged from the console... A heads up display got projected on the windshield and with that, she gently tapped the gearstick towards her to change to first gear. And even though everything about her car radiated raw power and looked so aggressive, I didn't expect she'd be driving of so gently...

I got dropped off at college by Simone and the day went by really fast. All day, whenever I had the time, I was looking for Nikki but I just couldn't find her. Before I knew, it was three o'clock and I went outside for a smoke during the break. I was pretty much the only one in my class who smoked and well, if my classmates didn't had to go outside, they didn't... I didn't understand because it was such a beautiful warm September afternoon with the sun shining outside and not a cloud was seen in the sky. So I stood there and took a walk around the square, looking at people having a good time with each other. Girls were gossiping and giggling while guys were just bragging to each other... I thought that Nikki would be there, like she usually was but she wasn't. So instead, I made my way towards C-Wing instead to see if I could find her. But it didn't took long before I saw her walking my way... The moment she noticed me, she seemed surprised and quickly turned around to walk away again... But the moment I called out for her, she stood dead in her tracks and slowly turned around as she clenched her book against her chest...

'Hey, Nicole!' 'Hi...' 'I was looking for you.' 'Y-You were?' 'Yeah, how you doing?' 'I-I'm fine, how about you?' 'I'm good.' 'Uhm... I uh... I-I got something for you...' 'You do?' 'Yes...'

She took off her shoulder bag, opened it and after grabbling around in it for a moment, she got something out... She handed a DVD case over to me...

'I-It's Reservoir Dogs... So that you can watch it together with T-Terry... H-He really like that movie...' 'Aww... I'll give it back to you on Monday. Thank you...' 'You're welcome... Heh... Uhm... I, uh... I-I got to go so uhm...' 'Okay...'

And with that, she turned around to walk away while I did the same... With all the things said about Nikki, it had me thinking... I knew I just had to talk to her about my relationship with Terry in order to make me feel better about it but... It seemed as if Nikki didn't want to. As if she tried to deny that we were together or that she tried to avoid any form of a confrontation with me... And well, I've been there too, you know... I know what it's like to be lonely and to feel that you're being left out... To have no one around you... And maybe it would be best if we could talk together somewhere alone, without other people eavesdropping on us... It was at that point when I turned around...

'Hey, Nicole!'

She stopped dead in her tracks once more and turned around to face me again. There was just something in her eyes that just told me how nervous and scared she was whenever she's around me and I didn't understand... I'm not that intimidating... Still, she took a few steps back when I approached her... Why was she so scared of me...?

'Hey, uhm... Listen. I was wondering if you're doing anything this afternoon...' 'Uh... W-Well, nothing actually... Uh... I-I got some laundry to do and need to clean... So...' 'You feel like going for a drink somewhere in town after class is over...?'| 'Uh... I-I-I don't know, I mean...' 'Just you and me, together...' 'Uhm... Where do you want to go...?' 'Lorbourne?' 'That's not too far from my house...' 'Really?' 'Yes...' 'Sooooooo... You wanna go?' 'Okay... But uhm... I-I need to tell you that I'm not much of a drinker...' 'You mean alcohol?' 'Yes...' 'You don't have to. We can also go for an ice-cream. I know a great place.' 'I'd love to...' 'I'll meet you on the Square there after class then.' 'Okay... You see then....!'

And with that, Nikki gave me a weak smile and turned around to walk away... Within moments, she disappeared in the crowds like a phantom...

When class was finally over for the day, I took the bus to get to Lorbourne in downtown Ravello. Lorbourne is a fairly large shopping mall and just outside, there was a huge square with a few restaurants and several bars surrounding it. It was always a lot of fun to go there, especially during the summer. Lots of people were looking for a place to relax in the sun while having a drink. And that Friday evening was no exception. Most of the tables were already occupied when I arrived but I didn't see Nikki . I made my way to the middle of the square and waited on a bench, in the hope of seeing her. Nikki wouldn't be so easily spotted in the crowds but after a while, I just thought that she wouldn't show up... And all of sudden, I heard her quiet voice behind me...

'Hi...'

When I turned around, she stood there but wore a different outfit she wore in college... A casual light blue dress with open high heels... Nikki didn't had to change her outfit but it was really warm outside so I didn't pay it much attention... She did it for a reason I wasn't even thinking of back then... And she looked absolutely beautiful in that dress... Once I smiled back and said hi to her, we were looking for a place to take a seat... So I took her to Giuseppe's ice-cream parlour, where I've taken my best friends to over the years... It was kinda strange that only a few customers were in his parlour considering it was a hot day and everyone could go for an ice-cream. Nevertheless, Nikki ordered a humble vanilla pastiche ice cream in a bowl, while I got myself the usual. A large Dame Blanche... We took our seats outside in the shade... Nikki just looked down on her ice-cream and every once in a while, I noticed she looked at me for a short moment only to avert her eyes again whenever I looked back at her... Once I took the first bite of my ice-cream, she started eating as well... There was this awkward moment of silence and something told me that she was really nervous again... So I tried to make her feel comfortable...

'You can relax, you know, it's not like we're on a date, haha...' 'U-Uh... Uhm... Yeah, I-I know but I'm just... really bad at these things so...' 'Bad at what?' 'Having a conversation with someone I hardly know...' 'We're having one right, don't we?' 'Yes, that's true, hihi...' 'I gotta ask you something though.' 'S-Sure, ask me anything...' 'Terry always calls me a dude but what exactly does that mean...?' 'Dude...? Uh... Hehehe... It's slang for "guy".' 'So he calls me a "guy" all the time?' 'No... That's just Terry... He calls everyone and everything he likes a "dude"... Hihi...' 'So it's a compliment then.' 'Yes, pretty much...' 'There are so many things I don't understand in this world. And they're all guys.' 'Heh... They're not exactly different from me anyway...' 'Whadda ya mean?' 'Well... I've got hobbies most people don't consider very... lady like...' 'Walking in the forests and watching movies isn't considered lady like?' 'I-I'm not talking about that... I mean... I-I'm a huge car-freak... Which... Is why I get along much better with guys than with girls... They're easier to talk to...' 'I see...' 'Then again, cars aren't really that any different from girls so...' 'Why is that?' 'They have beautiful shapes and they make a lot of noise, just like girls do.' 'Haha! Oh man... I never thought of it that way... Is that the reason why most guys are into cars?' 'Yes... They like to look at beautiful shapes and just love to listen to all the noise they make...' 'Hahaha, wow... That explains a lot...' 'It does, doesn't it...?' she said with a weak smile... 'Hm-mm... Hey, uhm, listen... I got to be honest with you, Nicole...' 'O-Oh...? W-Why is that...?' 'I asked you out for a reason... Aaaaand... The reason is that we could just talk together, alone...' 'Uhm...'

For a second there, it seemed as if she finally started to relax but the moment I mentioned that I took her here for a reason, she started to get very nervous again... She puts her spoon back in her ice cream when she wasn't looking at me anymore... I felt I just totally blew it with her... But nevertheless, I placed my hands on hers and looked her straight in the eyes when she looked up surprised to me...

'Listen... I know you and Terry have been close friends together ever since high-school... And I understand if you're angry at me for claiming him... But Terry and I had some issues to work out together before it ever got to this... I don't want you to think that you can't hang out with him anymore just because we have a relationship...' 'Heh...' 'I love Terry, I really do and I wanna spend every second I can together with him but I realized that it's not what he wants nor what he needs... He needs to be with his own friends as well and I need to let him go a little... And if the two of you want to hang out or do something that you like together, I'm not gonna stand in your way...' 'D-Do you uhm...' 'Yes...?' 'N-No, never mind... It's stupid...' 'No, it's okay, ask me.' 'Uhm... D-Do you uh... D-Do you feel jealous...? I mean... If I hang out with him...?' 'I would be lying if I said I wasn't but... I know I can trust the two of you...' 'I-I know what you mean and I understand that you feel this way...' 'You do?' 'Yes... It wouldn't be the first time I got confronted with it...' 'What do you mean?' 'All of his girls in the past started to get jealous whenever he was hanging out with me... Some of them even confronted me, saying that I slept with him behind their backs... But that never happened and well... I-I guess they didn't like it that his best friend is a girl...' 'I see... Heh... They're just jealous because they didn't even came close to the same bond that you and Terry have together as friends...' 'But you do, Ceylan... What you and Terry have together is bigger than my friendship with him... And... I don't think it's something you should let go... It's too precious to let it go to waste like that just because of me...' 'Heh...' 'I can't blame you that you feel this way... But in all these years I've known him, I never tried to hit on him and I never tried to seduce him in any way... I never... slept with him simply because I'm not like that... I know I cling on to him too much because he's pretty much the only friend that I have... But no matter how difficult it is for me, I don't want to claim him for my own... Because he has his own life to live and his own girlfriend to love... It would be wrong for me to stand in between the girl he loves the most...'

All of a sudden, that delicious ice-cream in front of me didn't look so delicious anymore... It felt as if my stomach was turning... Nicole didn't look at me anymore as she just stared down on her ice-cream... I had no idea what to say... She made it sound like she's the loneliest person on the planet... I didn't understand how a girl so absolutely gorgeous like her is lonely... But I guess it's not about her looks... It's her personality that plays a part as well... And I know exactly what its like to be lonely... To get overrun by pretty much everyone... People who take away your self-esteem and dignity, just like that, without realizing of what they're doing... Despite the fact I've only talked to Nikki occasionally, it made me realize that she was a lot more complicated than I could ever imagine... Just the way she looked at me felt as if it was a desperate cry for her to be with him, with the only friend she has... And Nikki felt as if I was denying her that...

'You don't have to be lonely, you know... I won't stand in your way if you want to hang out with Terry...' 'Heh... And I-I just want to let you know that there's no need for you to be jealous... Simply because I'm not like that...' 'I trust you when you say you are...' 'Thank you...' 'And well, if you ever feel like you wanna hang out with the two of us, just tell me what you'd like to do.' 'W-With you? Really?' 'Why not?' 'Heh... Uhm... W-What do you have in mind then...?' 'It can be anything!' 'I-I'm pretty sure you wouldn't like the things that I like...' 'I can always try, right? I mean, my first date with Terry, you know what we did?' 'Hehehe...' 'Miniature golf! It's not exactly you think of when you go on a first but it was a lot of fun. I even go to a car-show in two weeks even though I know nothing about cars.' 'Terry said that you were coming along...' 'Hehehe... But... My point is that things doesn't have to change... You shouldn't be feeling left out by me... Just because Terry and I have a relationship doesn't mean you and I can't be friends... You seem like a really nice girl and I don't want you to feel bad about it...' 'Thank you...' 'Heh... Our ice-creams melted...' 'It seems that they are, yes... It would be a shame to let them go to waste like that...' 'Yup...'

Even though our ice-creams melted in our bowls, it was still edible and the taste didn't really seemed to be affected. It still felt cold on the tongue and the hint of chocolate was just melting inside... So yeah, those ice-creams got eaten very quickly...Even after we finished our ice-creams, Nikki and I stayed just to talk about the usual... About my hobbies, about her hobbies... About college and even about the weather... Nikki told me that she's really bad in having conversations to people she hardly knows but once the ice was broken, there were a lot of things the two of us could talk about... Getting to know her better made me realize I wasn't really that any different from her... Because I used to be exactly like her... There were still these little awkward moments where she looked a little embarrassed and nervous during our conversation... But maybe that's the reason why I started to like her so much... To see her being so shy and so timid was really cute...

Talking to her made me forget time... I took a look at my mobile phone at some point and realized I was already too late to meet up with Terry. Already had a missed call and a text message from him asking what took me so long... But I still had to go home first by bus to get my stuff to spend the evening together with Terry.

'Hey, uhm...' 'Yes?' 'I have to catch the bus now, Terry's waiting...' 'Heh... I understand...'

And with that, she gets up from her chair and reached in her purse to grab her wallet. And Nikki just stood there a little uneasy, not knowing what to do... 'What are you doing, Nic?' 'Well, you paid for my ice-cream, so... Uhm...' 'Don't be silly, put that away.' 'Really...?' 'Yeah! You'll buy me one next time.' 'Okay, thank you...' 'Your welco- Oh shit! There goes my bus...! Damn it...' 'Uhm... I can give you a ride if you like...' 'Would you? I mean, only if it's not too much trouble.' 'N-No, no, of course not... Do you want me to take you to Terry's place or...?' 'I need to go home first.' 'Where do you live...?' 'Belwynne, on the other end of town.' 'Okay, I know that district...' 'You really don't mind bringing me...? Because if you do, you really should tell me.' 'No, it's okay. I'll take you home.' she said with a weak smile...

Once we got up and grabbed our things, Nikki and I made our way to the parking lot across the street. I actually kept on walking while Nikki stopped in front of a small yellow car. I didn't even see her car parked there between the large sedan's and SUV's. She smiled at me when I realized I overlooked her tiny little car... The back of it said Fiat Cinque-something... I can't pronounce it. Nikki unlocked the door of the drivers seat, got herself inside and unlocked the door of the passenger-side from the inside. And once I got myself inside, I looked around but there wasn't much to look at. The interior was rather empty... It was nothing like Simone's car...

'Uhm... D-Do you see that apartment there? The one on the left on the third floor?' 'The one with plants on the balcony?' 'Yes... That's where I live.' 'Really? Are those apartments really as nice as everyone claims they are?' 'Even better... I have a good view on downtown Ravello from my bed-room and the living-room has a beautiful view on the ocean...' 'Hehe... Nice...' 'Yeah... And well... I can show you some time, if you like...' 'I'd love to...'

Once more, she smiled back at me and started her car... And the sound of it wasn't anything like Simone's BMW either... It sounded more like a lawnmower or something... Nevertheless, Nicole seems very content with her little car... And so, we drove off the parking lot and made my way home...

It stayed silent for a moment while we were driving... The radio was playing quiet music in the background while we had our windows rolled down because of the heat... But since we had a speed-limit, it didn't do us much good... In fact, it seemed to get worse because there was no way for cool air to circulate inside... We stopped for another traffic-light and waited for it to turn green...

'How long do you have this car?' 'Hm? Oh, I have it for three years now.' 'You do?' 'Yes, I bought it for five-hundred dinar back then while it had fifty-six thousand kilometres on the counter.' 'How much do you have now?' 'Uhm... Around one hundred and forty seven thousand kilometres.' 'Wow... All of that in just three years?' 'Yes. I like to drive around a lot. During the summer breaks, I like to get in my car, take a few things with me and just drive, you know...' 'Where to?' 'Don't know, that's the fun part... I'll always see where I'll end up.' 'What about sleep?' 'I do that too, of course. I'll just find a little motel and spend the night there.' 'That sounds like quite an adventure then. You just go on some sort of a road-trip?' 'Yes, you can call it that...' 'With whom...?' 'Alone... Just me...' 'Isn't that kind of dangerous...? I mean, I hear a lot of stories about people being pulled over to the side of the road only to get mugged and got their car stolen...' 'You really think their gonna pull me over for owning a Fiat Cinquecento? If you own a Ferrari or a Lamborghini perhaps, that sort of thing might happen but not with this cookiejar on wheels.' 'Hehe...' 'You know how beautiful it is to ride on Faycastle Cliffs at dawn...? And to see the sun coming up over the ocean...?' 'On the other side of the country?' 'Yes...' 'It must be beautiful...' 'It is, yes...' 'But... Doesn't that make you feel lonely...? I mean...' 'Kind of... I tried several times to get Terry with me but he wasn't up for that kind of thing... And I understand though, it's something you have to appreciate and I guess not everyone can see the fun in that. So I just put up my favourite tunes and hit the road... It's the only thing in the world that makes me feel free. For as long as the ride takes, I don't have a care in the world I should be worrying about...' 'Heh...' 'Besides, Terry wouldn't even last five minutes with me when I'm at the wheel.' 'Why is that?' 'I tend to sing while I'm driving... Hihi... Well, not always but... You know... I want to spare you the torture of me singing.' 'Hahaha, can't be that bad?' 'Hihihi... Ask Terry, he should know...' 'Hehehehe...'

Once Nikki brought me home, I got all of my things while Nikki just kept on smiling... Once I unbuckled my seatbelt, I gave her a big firm hug and a kiss on her cheek as I thanked her taking me home. It really caught her off guard and I saw how she had a very uneasy and nervous smile on her face when Nikki wasn't looking at me... Nevertheless, she said I was welcome and once I got out and closed the door, she drove off... I watched her driving until she turned left at the intersection further down the road...

That day, when she brought me home, I really felt liberated. I really did when I realized I had nothing to fear from Nicole. And yes, I was jealous and suspicious and I know its wrong feeling like that but lets face it: you would've act the same if you were in my shoes. The talks that we had didn't make me think Nikki was trying to take Terry away from me and that they really were just close friends. I should've taken their words for it but it wasn't enough for me, you see. I had my own reasons to find out what she really was after but turns out that all she needed was a friend. So yeah, once I told that little voice in my head that it was safe, I finally was at peace with it and had no longer to worry about it anymore. But that cynical and pessimistic voice in my head was already looking for something else to worry about... Truth was though, it wasn't able to find anything new to worry about... Now that things got settled with Nicole, I felt carefree... And I realized the only thing I could do was to enjoy every second I got to spend with Terry without worrying... Nothing was standing in my anymore... Absolutely nothing...