This is a continuation of the Jessy19/DanDresden story about what may happen if a boyfriend and brother has the same first name ...
*
Outside there were Clouds circling above but most of the stars were still visible. I thought about calling Nick but decided against it, not wishing to come off as the needy girlfriend. My phone would be handy in case he called.
"Wait a minute, where is it?!" I can't remember. Retracing every step in my mind, I began to worry on two fronts: "...would I miss his call? and 'WOULD SOMEONE FIND THOSE PICTURES ON MY PHONE?'
My heart raced. I racked my brain to think of an something. Nothing. The solution better be good. Who did I know who could come up with an idea, execute a plan and then keep the arrangement confidential? The answer had to be my brother. He could always think on his feet. He pulled off more than one scheme where no one was the wiser. Nick knew the campus layout from his skateboarding days. I had to set aside that elephant in the room thing and go for it. Walking briskly into co-conspirator brother's room, I closed the door and sat on his bed. Seeing the panic in my eyes, he agreed to help without an argument. With his assurance that we would search the grounds at tomorrow's first light, my panic was annulled. Sleep would evade me this night.
Up early Saturday, we each threw on one of his grey running suits. The color blended in with the sky and the sports gear would provide an ample alibi if we were caught sneaking around. The sweats were tight to accommodate his lean, toned body. I had to discard my bra and panties to make them fit. Leaving quietly, I noticed the morning was overcast, cloud banks were separated suggesting possible sunny patches in the afternoon.
Nick pinched the keys to the family car -- a Jeep four door Cherokee. We drove the short distance to the college, parking on the roadside in an inconspicuous place close to school. As we jogged to the gate nearest the schoolroom, dark heavier rainclouds approached. The asphalt was still dry.
We locked hands and I guided us to room of my last class. We began the search concentrating on the chair II sat on the previous Thursday. Having to reply on light coming through the windows would make it hard to see. Feeling around on the floor underneath the row in front of my chair I felt an object. Pushing it into the aisle, a barely visible rectangular object entered my line of sight. The next thing I knew, the cell phone was in hand, screen black, battery dead, no red warning light. A sigh of relief came with the realization that nobody had picked it up. There were no witnesses to the indiscreet selfie exchange.
Nick placed the phone into my pants pocket, replacing it in my hand with a little notepad.
"What do I need this for?" I queried.
"To explain our intrusion in the event we are stopped on the way out. You went to retrieve your notes. This is actually an old scratch pad of mine. Handwrite a few words of yours that are difficult to read for authenticity," he replied.
"Thank you" in big letters were my first words.
He held up "You're welcome. Now what do I get in return?"
"My eternal appreciation," was my retort.
"How about another kiss?" was an extreme request
"Careful what you ask for." I wrote as I closed by book.
Nick sat down few seats away across the aisle. Let's change the subject, "Is he really worth it?" was followed by a diatribe ending in" ...you're becoming a different person" all before I was given a chance to answer.
"What do you really want to know? For starters circumstances change, people change, but I'm still me." For a moment I became lost in a fleeting reflection that pictures freeze time. Returning to the present I continued: "what business is this of yours, why the sudden interest?"
Instead of the typical "don't want to see you get hurt" lecture, Nick tried to shrug it off by implying Kate was the one concerned. Boy Howdy! He wished he had those words back.
I rounded on him. "What's up with you and Kate?"
"What? Why do you care?"
"Because she's my best friend and you're my little brother. Now spill it."
Nicky, as Kate called him, confessed to kissing her. Kate was sleeping over and got up for a midnight snack. They happened to meet in the hallway. Nicky liked to tickle which made Kate laugh. One thing leads to another as the encounter became Nicky's first kiss. Over the next year they would get together on rare occasions for a kiss and cuddle. Lately they began to fill in the empty time was I was unavailable. Kate taught him a thing or two about women.