Note: This is a continuation of the Chicagoland story which, up to this point contains the following:
Cori: The Last (First) Milestone
Nikki: A Day Full of Surprises
and this story: Nikki: About Time
If you want the details of how we got here, I highly recommend reading back through those stories first. But here's a quick TLDR recap for those not looking for 10,000 plus words of backstory:
Cori, after completing a grueling ordeal and being injured, had her first intimate encounter earlier today with her mentor/coach Mary (Mae) Winston in the training room. After school, she told her best friend Nikki which made Nikki happy for, but also a little jealous of her best friend.
As the two 18-year-olds drove home from their last day of High School, they were surprised to find Cori's Uncle Adam at Cori's home with a moving truck full of Cori's belongings. Cori's mom had sold their house and was leaving her to her own devices.
Adam told the girls that he was moving back to the Chicago area and had purchased a house where the two friends were welcome to live, an invitation which the girls were overjoyed to accept. Adam took the girls to the new house, gave them some belated birthday presents, and a birthday dinner at their favorite restaurant.
Finally, at the end of the evening came the big reveal. Adam told the girls that he was actually Cori's father. He had conceived her after a single encounter with his sister after a night of celebration and intoxication when they were both teenagers (18 and 19 respectively). Cori's mother reacted (due to some baggage and family history) negatively to the experience after the fact which resulted in the two becoming estranged, Adam only allowed to visit on occasion. He was unable (out of respect to his sister, and a preponderance of guilt) to tell Cori the truth of his relation to her until she was old-enough to make her own decisions.
Cori, on finding that she was the product of an incestuous union between the two siblings, wasn't sure how to react, and retreated to be alone. Nikki and Adam stayed and talked and wound up kissing, which Nikki stopped before it could escalate, not wanting to take advantage of Adam's emotional state, or focus on her selfish desires when her friend was in need...
Now, we're all caught up, here's what happened next (told from Nikki's PoV):
Nikki tapped lightly on the door to Cori's bedroom before letting herself in.
"Hey Sweetie," she said quietly, "You don't have to talk about it, I just don't want you to be alone."
Cori, who was lying on the floor under a blanket in the otherwise bare room, looked up red-eyed at Nikki, nodded wordlessly and put her head back down, eyes closed.
Nikki took silence as an invitation and slid under the blanket with her friend, snuggling in to the big-spoon position behind her and wrapping an arm over Cori's side in a gentle hug.
"Love you...when you're ready to talk, I'm here." Nikki murmured quietly to her best friend, who made a tiny grunt, but no further attempt at communication.
The two laid there for a long time in silence. Cori seemed to have stopped crying, but obviously wasn't ready or willing to talk yet. Nikki's held onto her friend, gently stroking her arm and nestling up close behind. After a while the two fell asleep in that position.
Sometime later that night, Nikki woke up to the call of nature. Her bladder was about to burst, not to mention her left arm was completely dead from being laid on top of on the floor for who knows how long. She extricated herself from the blankets and tiptoed quietly out of the room so as not to disturb Cori who was snoring lightly.
In the living room, Nikki was surprised to find that Adam was not there. The pile of blankets and pillows from earlier in the evening was still there, but Adam was gone.
Oh no...I hope he hasn't been scared away...
Nikki poked her head into the other two bedrooms, whose doors were open, but they were as empty as before. After availing herself of the facilities in the master bathroom, she came out, and remembered her phone.
Hopefully he left a message.
Sure enough, there was a message in the group chat the three of them kept up;
I thought I'd give you both a little space. I've got some thinking of my own to do after tonight. I'll be back in the morning to unpack the truck. I promise I won't leave you again, but if you want me to keep my distance, just send me a message and I'll stay away until you are ready.
Nikki smiled at the message, wondering how much of the thinking he had to do was related to the kiss the two of them had shared.
I don't regret it, but I'm glad that we didn't go any further tonight. I hope he's not beating himself up over it.
She grabbed a couple more pillows from the floor, and another blanket, Cori was a bit of a covers-hog, and crept back into the bedroom.
When she opened the door, Cori was awake and lying on her back with the blanket pulled down a bit, her eyes staring at the ceiling. Nikki took a moment to admire her friends beautiful face in the moonlight, and the curve of her breasts, which, even while lying on her back, filled out the tight tank-top she wore to bed in a very interesting way.
"Hey." Said Cori, "Everything ok out there?"
"He left for the night. Silly man thought he'd better 'give us our space' tonight." Nikki smiled, "But, he'll be back in the morning. Hope he's not sleeping in that damn U-Haul or he's going to be the one who needs a happy ending massage tomorrow!"
"Ughhh...I almost forgot, that happened today too, didn't it?" Cori said, sitting up and scootching back to the wall with her blanket so she had something to lean on. "I think more happened today than in my whole boring life!"
"No wonder you needed time to digest it all babe," Nikki cooed, settling down next to Cori, and leaning her head on Cori's shoulder. "Looks like you're ready to talk now?"
"Yeah, do you mind? I know you're probably sleepy..." Cori started.
"Nonsense!" Nikki laughed, raising her eyes to Cori's, "One; I'm here for you, whenever you need me. Two; I've been dying to talk to you about this...and something else too."
"Something else? Isn't today enough already?" Cori said, laughing nervously.
"No, no, you first, this is about you right now." Nikki said, "We'll get to me soon enough but you're the star of the show tonight."
Cori looked strangely at her friend, "Not sure that's how I'd think of myself, but it's better than 'the victim' I guess."
Nikki waited, patiently, for her friend to continue; suppressing her urge to stamp out Cori's characterization of herself as a victim.
"I always wondered who my father was...I assumed it was some loser from the bar, or in my wildest dreams maybe I was the love child of some rockstar/groupie situation." Cori laughed, "Never thought I was a child of incest." Cori was silent again for a few moments. "Well, it could be worse. At least I don't have flippers, or a 3rd ear or something..."
Nikki burst out in a guffaw, "I'm not sure it works that way...or at least it doesn't have to." She peered down at the blankets, "But let me count those toes again, are you sure there aren't 11 of them?" she playfully reached down to pull back the blankets.
Cori giggled, "You know, I never bothered to count, but I'm sure someone would have noticed before now."
"Seriously sweetheart," Nikki reassured, "Whatever could have happened, you got the best of both worlds. Your mom's pretty face and brains, your...father's strength and good nature. I'd say it worked out in your favor." She put her hand on Cori's cheek, gently pulling her face to look directly at her, "No two un-related parents could have made a better baby, and that's the truth!"
Cori's eyes watered again, "How am I so lucky to have you."
Nikki smiled, "Because I wouldn't let you chase me off in 4
th
grade when you wanted to be friends with Arabella! I always know what's best for you, never forget that!"
"Thank god for that!" Cori laughed.
The two sat quietly again for a few minutes. Then quietly, "I always had a crush on Unc....Adam" Cori said, almost a whisper. "I...he was part of more than a few of my fantasies. The things we've both said! Now they seem so....dirty." She looked at Cori, "Does that mean it's genetic? Am I some kind of deviant too?"
"I mean he was already your uncle you perv..." Nikki said jokingly, "But seriously...calm down, it's fantasies, not reality. I had a sex dream about my brother once...doesn't mean I'm going to have his babies!? It's just hormones and the fact that he is an amazing man who probably no other man will ever live up to for either of us..."
"Promise? You're not grossed out by my weird family?" Cori asked.
"No...not at all. I...thought it was kind of romantic, even a bit hot if I'm being honest. Big brother taking care of his sister, who he loved more than anything else in the world. The two of them living together...you know he loved her, and judging from that letter, I think your Mom could have loved him too, if not for what your Grandfather did..."
"Yeah" Cori said, "...it was kind of exciting I guess...Although poor Mom, the whole thing clearly broke her. I feel a bit guilty about all the things I've said about her over the years."
"Don't!" Nikki interrupted, "...make excuses for your mother. Yeah, she had it rough, but she owed you better! Nothing wrong with a bit of empathy, but don't let her off the hook completely! She was a bitch to you and you did nothing to deserve that!"
