Everyone at Hoover High called her Ikky Nikki and it was Garrett Smith's misfortune that he had drawn her name as his partner in Senior Biology for the semester end's project that would provide them with a third of their grade for graduation. Because Garrett was a star player on the football team, he thought he could get his partner exchanged, but had no such luck.
As Garrett hit his locker, a couple of his fellow jocks from the same class slapped his back on their way to their lockers.
"Man, you are so lucky to have chosen such an awesome project partner!" One of the fellows teased, ducking a mock blow from his prey.
"Yeah, Ikky Nikki. Ewww!" The other shivered playfully, barely dodging the book Garrett had tossed his way. "You didn't get to exchange partners?"
"No," Garrett sighed loudly as he got his book for the next class. "You know Mrs. Ludlow is a feminist nazi." He growled softly and then groaned when he saw Ikky Nikki coming his way. The other two saw her and made kissing noises as he shoved them away.
"H-h-hi G-g-garrett." The pathetic pig-tailed girl blushed as she greeted him with a smile made of metal. She pushed her thick glasses up on her nose and waited.
"Hey Ikk... err...Nikki. I guess you are my partner, eh?" He tried not to stare at the girl's multi-pimpled face as he collected his cool and prepared to hurry to class.
"Y-y-yeah. I guess. When do you want to meet? I figured it would probably take a few hours two or three evenings. How about tomorrow? And where?" Her words came out like an overflowed dam and he held up a free hand to stop her.
"Whoa, whoa, no, not tomorrow, it's Friday and I'm going to hang with the guys." He nearly said "with Brandy" but they had broken up months ago. Habits died hard sometimes. "How about Tuesday night at my house?" At least he would have control over when to get her out of his place instead of getting stuck somewhere. The girl nodded eagerly and waited while he gave her the address on a piece of paper.
"G-great! See you then." He watched her walk away happily, tucking the paper down her shirt as if she had just been asked on a date. Garrett felt himself want to yank on one of her black pigtails she so childishly wore despite being seventeen like him. He shook his head, running the hand through his golden locks and went to the next class dreading their 'date'.
===Tuesday, 7 pm===
When Tuesday night rolled around, Garrett glanced at his watch and groaned as he heard the doorbell ring. Ikky Nikki was right on time. Figured.
"I'll get it!" His middle sister, Claire, dashed to the door and then skidded to a halt when she saw their visitor. She stared at the senior femme in curiosity and disgust as Nikki stood gawking back at the young and beautiful sixteen year old.
"Look, Garrett, your friend Nikki is here!" Claire escorted the guest into the living room where Garrett was pushing the off switch on the football game and preparing to study and get it over with. So, after ushering his sister out of the room, he sighed and spread out the papers to get to work. They began to study, each taking a part of the cell they were creating the project about and took some time to work on the project. After they had a good portion done, Garrett needed a break. He stood and stretched, realizing the study time hadn't been so bad. He brought them two colas just as his youngest sister, Annie, came darting through the living room, heading to the back door. Garrett shook his head at the intrusion but Nikki didn't seem to mind.
"Just how many sisters do you have?" She asked him as he handed her the pop and sat down on the couch beside her.
"Three very annoying twerps. How about you? Any brothers or sisters?" He sipped slowly, enjoying the coldness as it rushed down his throat.
"I have a younger brother." She commented, also sipping at her drink. It was at that point when Garrett started to really look at Ikky Nikki.
"Hey, do this for me?" He motioned at her for her to hand her eyeglasses to him, which she complied after staring oddly at his request. With her glasses off, Garrett studied her eyes. They were a gorgeous sea green color, which he found very attractive.
"You should wear contacts or something." The young man cringed at how rude his words sounded and tried to switch to something nicer to say. "I mean I like your shirt." It was a halter-top, but she wore it well up over her shoulders despite the elasticity.
"You should not try to be so macho all the time." She told him with a smile. He glanced at her twice and then grinned. Her smile was infectious and he found himself relaxing.
"Oh yeah, well maybe I like being macho! I am a man after all." Garrett lifted his sleeves and mock-glared at her, flexing his biceps as he did. This elicited a smirk from the girl who pulled his sleeves back down, rolling her eyes at him. He growled playfully and yanked on both of her sleeves, pulling down her shirt so that the tips of her heaving breasts were displayed.
"Garrett!" This offended the girl, who blushed furiously, putting a hand across the shirt top to hide her ample cleavage. When Garrett got a look at the peek at the goods, he felt a quickening in his groin and was completely taken by surprise that there might be a gorgeous body underneath all of her clothes. He leaned over and loosened her pigtails, pulling the hairbands out and tossing them away. Moving his hands through her hair, Garrett smiled at her as he loosened the braids, enjoying the feel of her silk locks within his hands. She hid her face, which was a bright pink, and suddenly the feeling he had in his groan began to grow slightly more intense. Her shyness was endearing and if he could just get past the million and one zits on her face, she might actually be pretty.
"You know, if you take a tube of Clearasil or whatever product like that and put it on your face twice a day, until your face shows signs of white peeling and flaking, you will get rid of ninety nine percent of your acne problem." Garrett wasn't sure why he felt the urge to share the tidbit of information with the girl, but being around his sisters paid off sometimes. She stared at his baby blue eyes as if seeing him for the first time.
"Really?" Her voice was soft, alluring, reminding Garrett of a siren. He nodded and then felt himself drawn to her lips. They were full, pouty, luscious, kissable. He wondered what they would taste like and leaned in slightly, pressing close. Her eyes grew wide when she saw what he was doing and scooted away from him, snapping her glasses on quickly. Nikki gathered her books and began to head to the door.
"T-Thanks Garrett for the study time. How about Thursday to finish?" She looked at the carpet, at the drapes, anywhere but his face as he sighed in wonderment at his actions.
"Yeah, sounds good, Nikki. See you at school." When she left, shutting the door quickly behind her, Garrett relaxed on the couch, wondering what on earth had gotten into him. Was he actually thinking of kissing Ikky Nikki? The guys would have a field day with that! He had to be more careful come Thursday else do something he would never live down.
===Thursday, 7 pm===
As Garrett expected, Nikki was right on time again on Thursday. She hardly said a word to him as she walked with her head down into the living room only to find it was occupied.
Garrett's parents were rounding up his younger sister, suitcases in hand. He introduced Nikki to his mom and dad and watched as they all flew out of the door.
"Annie has a state championship to go to for junior volleyball." He explained, watching his entire family leave for the rest of the week. It would be time for a party soon, he could feel it, despite the promise he had made to his parents. The room was deathly silent as they pressed forward with their project, being almost completed.
"So, Nikki, what are your plans after high school?" He knew she was a smart girl and wondered what she wanted to do with her life.
"I'm going to become a business major. Not sure doing what yet." She fiddled with a pencil and sent a quick glance his way. "What about you?"