The Wolf and the Lamb

"I don't know, man. She just creeps me the fuck out." Emily averted his gaze then, casting as her soft brown eyes to the busy morning traffic outside as she ran her hand through her messy brown hair in a half-heartened attempt to tame her wild, unbound mane. Nicholas didn't say anything for a second, instead choosing to take a sip from the warm cup of tea before him. He was trying really hard to not let his frustrations show, but the early morning drowsiness made it difficult to summon the energy to hide the look of annoyance directed at his best friend. Finally, he put the mug down, looking into the steaming surface as he formed his words, hiding his harsh tones the best he could.

"But, why don't you like her? I came to breakfast with you for advice, and general disliking is not... you know. Great." He had a point he wanted to make, but it escaped him there, at the end.

"She... creeps me out." Emily quietly said once more, turning back to Nicholas, pleading in her eyes. How could she tell him? What could she say to dissuade him? She wanted to beg him to not move in with her, but that would do no good here.

"You've said that already, Emily. Can you give me any solid reasons why you don't like her? You know how I am. Any facts, evidence... Anything?" Nicholas asked. He wanted to ask if she had any peer-reviewed studies, but his dry attempts at humor would be misplaced at this tense discussion.

"She doesn't freak you out any? Like at all? The fact that she can physically dominate you doesn't put you off?" Emily enquired, pushing her half-eaten cinnamon roll to the side. Her usually voracious sweet tooth had been pacified, drowned out by her growing concern that she just might not be able to change her lifelong friend's mind.

"She's not gonna break my fucking ankles if I don't pay rent, Emily!" Nicholas laughed, happy to let his mirth ease up the tension in the air.

After a second, Emily responded, her voice so quiet, Nicholas could barely make out the words. But he did, nonetheless. "She might."

"Emily!"

"I'm sorry, Nick! But you've heard the rumors! Everyone has. She ran with bad people and you know where they are now!" Nicholas pinched the bridge of his nose and shut his eyes tightly, as he exhaled slowly. He had known the reason for this talk, of course he had. He had also known why she didn't like Lily, but he had just wanted to hear her say it. He didn't know why now that he had heard her speak her concern, maybe he just wanted to get the truth of the matter out there. Nicholas had always hated the whole half-lies, beating around the bush way of acting. It had caused enough strain on him to know that sometimes things should stay unsaid, sometimes you do have to read in-between the lines, but he would make at least his friend be upfront with him, damnit!

"I don't care about the rumors. Do you remember when rumors spread saying you slept with a dozen different guys and everybody, everybody except me, started calling you a slut? The same thing is happening with Lily and you're happy enough to spread them! Honestly, I thought you were better than the whole typical 'girls talking behind each other's back' thing." Nicholas vented, nearly knocking over a passing waitress as he waved his hands dramatically. He glanced a silent apology at the flustered woman, who nodded and continued on her way.

"That's a bit sexist, Nick." He turned back to Emily, who now looked down at her lap quietly.

"Sorry," He mumbled. He felt that she only said it to change the subject, but bringing that up would do no good to him or their friendship right now. They both sat in silence, the ambience of the traffic and quiet café filling in the empty space where their heated discussion had been.

After more than a few seconds, Emily spoke. "You don't need my permission to move in, or to pick your roommates, Nicholas." Nick saw an opportunity to end the heated conversation, and gratefully took it.

"I know, and I'm sorry. I just had wanted you to like her. You're my only friend after-" Nicholas' voice suddenly cut off as he fought to fight back tears. God damnit, he thought he was done with this! Emily looked up, surprised and read the expression on his face. She reached over the table and placed her hand on top of his, rubbing the back of his hand comfortingly. She smiled softly at him, the first time today.

"I will support any decision you make, Nick. You know this. I'll support you through anything, I've shown as much, haven't I?"

Nick finally regained his composure, and looked up at his friend across the table. "Yeah, you have. Thank you. Again." They broke the touch when waitress brough the bill.

"Here you go, hun. You can pay at the front register; my daughter will take care of you." As she walked away, Nicholas grinned at Emily.

"Her daughter will take care of us." He quoted, humorously. Emily laughed from behind her hand, happy that things were back to how they usually are. She like familiar ground, and she like the familiar Nick. They joked and teased about how exactly the waitress's daughter would take care of them as they walked up to the register and as they walked out after paying. Finally outside in the crisp Oregon air, they looked around outside as people walked past, scurrying off briskly to whatever fates their own Mondays had in store for them.

"When are you moving in?" Emily finally asked, as the tone regarding Lily had eased up greatly.

"Friday." Nick responded. Emily nodded quietly. She never was going to change his mind, then. He was just looking for affirmation.

"Do you need help moving?"

"No, thank you though. Lily's... you know." Nick flexed his arms like a bodybuilder, giving a caveman grunt as he did so. Lily laughed, despite herself.

"Okay then. Take care of yourself, Nick."

Nick shook his head, defiant. "Oh, absolutely not. You know me, I'm a wildcard." Laughing, they both said their farewells before heading off in different directions, off to start their respective work weeks. Monday came and went quickly, as did the rest of the days leading up to the fateful Friday.

On Friday morning, Emily awoke, and reached for her phone, before stopping herself. Right. It's moving day. Fuck. Groaning, Emily turned back over and thought of Nick, as she often did when she was alone. She also thought of Lily, which was an occurrence that was happening more frequently, a fact that thoroughly vexed her. What are the chances that Nick and Lily would even hit it off? She pictured Nick meeting the woman. Perhaps they would be friendly in their greetings. Perhaps they would laugh, forming their own inside jokes that belonged to them and only them, just as Nick and Emily had done. Perhaps, on the night of the move, they would get closer, enjoying pizza and a movie, relaxing after a hard day of moving.

As Emily pictured the scenarios, she hugged a pillow to her chest, uneasy as she knew where her imagination was taking this train of fictional scenarios. It had played out in her head every morning of the week. They would laugh or jump at whatever happened on the big screen tv, then lock eyes in some sort of acknowledgment or agreeance of their simultaneous reaction. Then, Nick would place his hand on Lily's thigh. Or rather, from what she had heard about Lily, she would place her hand on his. Yes, that was the more likely scenario. Then, Nick would look at her in those wide, stupid, dumb, naïve, innocent, cute, adorable eyes, Emily thought angrily. Emily closed her eyes as she pictured how the rest of the evening would play out. Lily would take his hand and guide him upstairs. Wait no, they were moving into an apartment.

Fine, she would take his hand and lead him into her bedroom, whatever. She would sit him on her bed and command him to watch, to not move a muscle. Moving slowly, Lily would remove her leather jacket, tossing it onto the back of a chair. Unbuckling her pants, she'd toss them to side, looking down at Nick as he stared, mesmerized, helplessly captivated. Then her green tank top would slowly creep up over her muscled stomach. Nick's eyes would flick to her midsection, moving up slowly as it followed the hem of her oil-stained shirt.

His eyes would lock onto her chest as it was revealed, hypnotized by her ample breasts. Lily would smirk then, pleased in the knowledge that Nick was fully within her grasp. Emily imagined Lily slowly peeling off Nick's sweaty garments as he stared, lost in her eyes. As Emily imagined the scene before her, she could feel her hand moving down her body, slowly creeping past her stomach. Emily made no move to stop herself. She had fought to resist the urge to touch herself to this scene ever since she first heard of Nicholas' plans to move in with Lily, and she had lost that battle every time.

Emily turned onto her back, spreading her legs as her fingers began to explore and tease. Squeezing her eyes shut with intense concentration, Emily continued the vivid movie playing inside her head. Lily would push Nick onto his back, before kneeling and- wait, no. Lily didn't seem like the 'service first' type of girl. Lily would lay on her back and, gripping Nick's head, fingers curled in his dark hair, guide his head in between her legs. Leaning her head back, Lily would moan softly as Nick's tongue hungrily explored Lily's quim, desperate to hear his goddess' moans of affirmation. He would tease and lick her, before slipping his fingers inside her, curling and prodding every sensitive spot that made Lily's eyes roll towards the back of her head, as he leaned his head down and gently licked and sucked at Lily's clit, his eyes, forwards gazing over the body he was busy worshipping. Lily would reach orgasm quickly and violently, shuddering as she covered Nick's face with the evidence of her approval of his efforts.

She would reward him, then, as she pushed him backwards, climbing atop him, and pinning his arms above his head. Nick would struggle, only to prove to himself he couldn't best Lily in a test of strength and was truly dominated. Having successfully wrestled control, Lily would take her prize, mounting Nick as he cried weakly in ecstasy, pleasure etched in his face, eyes held captive by the intense gaze of his better as she would begin rocking back in forth, impaling herself upon Nick, squeezing him in a way he had never experienced nor will forget.

Emily knew how this scene would play out in her head, for it had done so countless times, and as much as she despised the ending her mind seemed so obsessed with, she was unable to stop camera in her mind's eye as it panned away from this torrid affair, and changed locations. Emily saw herself, in her imagination, eyes squeezed shut and in an identical position she lay in now. Her eyes would be squeezed shut, laying naked on her bed, legs splayed out as her fingers worked violently. She would be picturing being in her bed with Nick as he smiled down at her, arms pinning her own to her sides as he plunged into her and cooed down praises at her. This imaginary, naked Emily would be pleasuring herself to the thought of Nick while just a few miles away, Nicholas would scream out Lily's name as he squeezed his hands around Lily's waist, eyes frozen in place, locked in ecstatic bliss. Emily, as she always had, came suddenly and violently, quivering as this scene playing in her mind slowly came to an end, blocked out by the intense pleasure coursing through her like a heated river.

Slowly coming down, Emily opened her eyes gradually. She felt a tickle near the corner of her left eye and taking her hand out, reached to feel her face. She stopped and looked at her hand. It was covered, slick with her juices. She shook her head, laughing to herself at her own absentmindedness and brushed the side of her face with her other hand. The side of her face was wet, covered in... Had she been crying? That was... well, new. And not great. Emily slowly rolled out of bed and shuffled to her bathroom. Washing her hand off in the sink, she avoided meeting her own gaze in the mirror. That's not going to happen, she thought to herself. Nick is, well, not experienced and since he's so skittish, he'd sooner jump off the balcony than make an advance on a roommate, especially one so intimidating.

Whenever she felt upset about her thoughts, Emily always brought comfort to herself by reminding herself that Nick had precisely zero experience in women whatsoever, so the likelihood of her fears, or fantasies more like it, were laughably low. It was a terrible thing to do, as Nick had confided in her and she knew he was truly embarrassed by it, but she couldn't help it. Nicholas' family was kind of shitty in their own special way, but Emily had to thank them for keeping him locked up and sheltered for so long. It was the only thing that eased her thoughts on the matter, after all. Emily shook her head to clear her thoughts. The more she dwelled on it, the more guilty she felt for taking comfort in Nick's shortcomings. She was supposed to be his friend, after all, his confidant. Emily suddenly decided she desperately needed a shower, and closed the bathroom door, and her thoughts on the matter drifted away.

Nick stepped out of the shower and dried himself off with a towel. He stood before his mirror naked. He looked at the mirror, excitement and nervousness written on his face, then annoyance as he fussed with his hair. He brushed it to the side, and turned, looking at the mirror form the side. Turning back to the mirror with a swagger, he lifted his hands formed finger guns, pointing at his reflection.

"Hey, Lily, right? Great to meet you." He said in a deep voice, trying to imitate what he thought the leather-bound tough guys on

Grease

probably sounded like.

Nick was immediately crushed by the weight of embarrassment that followed, and he buried his face in his hands.

God damnit, Nick. Stop acting like such a virgin, you, dipshit

. He reminded himself they were just roommates, and that this wasn't a love story, nor a porno. He had heard too many stories online of women being harassed or pestered by guys who couldn't keep it in their head that this wasn't a movie and that every guy they meet trying to hit on them got old fast.

I'm not like that.

Nick ran his hands through his hair, as if to brush away thoughts that plagued him. His thoughts were interrupted by a

ding,

as his phone's screen lit up. Thinking he had received a text from Lily discussing today's plans, he excitedly scooped up his phone and unlocked the screen. He had one unread message from Mom. Fuck. Okay, wait. There's no reason to jump to negatives head on. Perhaps she just wanted to wish him well during today's move. Already apprehensive, he clicked on her number and read the text.

"I saw on the news the other day that a young man died in a car crash as he was driving home one night. It made me think of you. I pray for you, you know. Hebrews 9:27 says that-" Nick clicked his phone off, choking back tears. He knew Hebrews 9:27 from memory, and he was in no mood to discuss this, or even dwell on such thoughts. Nicholas had hoped his mom would've texted him, wishing him a good morning, and chiding him to drink water before moving, like a mother's ought to do, but that was a foolish thing to wish for, he guessed. Nick hurriedly applied deodorant, because he was a decent human being after all, and walked to his closet. He spent more time there than he'd like, carefully trying to pick the shirt he thought Lily would like. Reminding himself she was just a person, and that he needed to treat her as such, he picked a shirt at random and prepared to put it on. He stopped, second guessing, then picked a plain black shirt instead and slipped it on, trying and failing to convince himself he chose the black t-shirt because he wanted to, and not because he knew black was Lily's favorite color. He grabbed his phone and wallet and headed for the door, stopping up short and looking at the expensive bottle of cologne by his bedside.

Maybe...

He shook his head, chiding himself.

Treat her like a person, don't go in there hoping to form a relationship where there isn't one

, he reminded himself over and over as he walked out to his car. He closed his car door and turned on the phone to look at the directions to his work. He probably should've known how to get there from memory considering he's worked there for a month, but at least technology covered for his utter lack of sense of direction. His self-admonishment was interrupted as his phone buzzed in his hands. A text from Lily? "Hey man, can't wait to hang today, see you after work, k? ;-)." Grinning ear to ear, Nick ran upstairs and grabbed his cologne.

Just in case.

"See you later, Nick!" Nicholas turned and waved at Sammy as she drove away before walking, then running, to his car. He jumped in before calming himself once more. She's just a stranger, he reminded himself for the dozenth time that day. That thought was thoroughly obliterated as his phone lit up with a text from Lily. "Hey, I got pizza for us after we finished moving. Don't eat it all by yourself, bitch." Nick sent off his own text back. He was so elated he wasn't even sure what he had said in response, only the fact that he had ended it with an emoji of a middle finger raised. He knew this much because she sent one back in return. Nick drove back to his packed apartment, grinning wide and singing along to love songs on his radio and the wind drowned out his ecstatic performance.

"I mean, yeah, they're all in prison now, but they were good people, I promise!" Lily said as she loaded a box into the back of her black pickup. She pushed her blue hair out her face as she turned to Nicholas.

"Oh, yeah. They sound like a stand-up crowd. A regular gang of soft-hearted 'Mr. Rogers' watching buddies." Nick laughed, as he struggled to stack a smaller box next to hers. "Hey, your dye isn't going to get washed out by the sweat, is it?" Nicholas asked. Lily raised an eyebrow, scratching the section where she'd shaved a slit in the eyebrow. Nick had never seen an eyebrow slit before and was intrigued, wondering if he could pull that look. Probably not, if he was being honest with himself.

"I...is my sweat going to wash out my hair dye? You don't know a whole lot about hair dye, do you, Nicholas?" Nicholas' face immediately turned bright crimson and he kicked himself for even bringing it up.

"N...no, but... shut up! How would I know anything about hair dye, you can't dye black hair!" Lily walked toward him and Nicholas had to resist the urge to take a step back. She really did cut an imposing figure.

"Oh, dude, you totally can! We'd have to bleach it, but then we could dye it all kinds of fun colors. Red, green, blue, like mine. Or maybe pink?" She teased. Nicholas could feel his cheeks blushing so he took her hand off his head.

"One day, maybe. We'll see." She looked at him for a second, then put her hand back on his head. They stared at each other for a second, and Nicholas could feel his heart start to race. Is this... Is she about to-

"Dude, I never noticed, but you're really short!"

"Oh, fuck off! I'm average height, it's not my fault you're a fucking giant!" Nicholas laughed, despite feeling more than a little disappointed. Lily laughed and slapped Nicholas on the shoulder.

"Sorry, dude. I couldn't resist messing with you. Hop in, that's the last of it." Nicholas nearly toppled over, but recovered quickly and slid into her truck.

"So, your friends..." Nick prodded when Lily climbed in.

"Right, so they had been to prison before, for small shit like possession and selling drugs and shit, right?" Nick had other opinions on what could be considered 'small stuff' but he just nodded anyway. "I ran with them for a while. We were a motorbike gang for a long time, travelling a bunch. I did some stuff, but never as big of the stuff as they did. We didn't really have a lot of income, so we'd like, hit up gas stations and convenience stores, or whatever. That doesn't, like, worry you or anything, does it?"