The Homecoming Benefactor

16 | the cove

I woke up where I thought I was going to, but I had no idea how I got there or when I fell asleep. The four deer heads on the wall looked down on me judgmentally as I rubbed my eyes. My head felt like it had been hit with a comically large mallet, stars swirling around it like a scene in an old cartoon. I checked my phone, saw that it was 4:56 in the morning, and tried to go back to sleep. That effort was unsuccessful.

To my left side, Nick was fast asleep, one arm draped around my waist. He had on a tank top and shorts that I had never seen him in before. I was still in my dress, which meant that my night must have ended roughly. Slowly, trying to be nearly silent, I slipped out of the bed and opened my bag. I changed into a silk pajama set that consisted of a tank top and shorts. Carefully, I zipped the bag back up and placed it back on the ground.

"Francie?" Nick opened his eyes and sat up.

"You're a light sleeper," I replied, frozen in my tracks.

"I was hardly sleeping," he replied. "I couldn't after last night."

I tried to remember what had occurred the night before, but it just made my head hurt more. The last thing I remembered was Danielle pouring me a drink.

"Why?"

"Danielle drugged you. We don't know what with, but there was something in that drink that wasn't supposed to be there. She got arrested a few hours later for drunk driving. I guess she was pissed that she couldn't get to me by knocking you out."

"She was drinking from the same jar I drank from," I said, narrowing my eyes. "Did she drug herself?"

"Perhaps," Nick shrugged. "She could self-detonate in a meth lab for all I care. Are you gonna be able to go back to sleep? I probably won't."

I analyzed his sturdy frame; it was not quite Herculean, but it was husky from years of manual labor. "Why do you ask?"

"If you must know," Nick drawled, standing up from the bed. "I have something I want you to see. Of course, as long as you aren't too sick from the drink."

I walked closer to him and batted my eyelashes. "How much am I gonna be seeing this weekend?"

"Whatever you wanna see," he replied, placing a hand on my shoulder.

Sure, that was a corny exchange, but I fell for it nonetheless. There was something endearing about how much he reminded me of the "boy next door" from a teen movie. It took me back to a time when I thought love was only that, no ulterior motives to use someone's body. That, for whatever reason, created a constituency in my mind that wanted to take things further. It was too soon after what had happened these past few weeks, but it was not too soon for my imagination.

"Grab your bathing suit, Francie," Nick said, taking off his shirt. "Meet me outside when you change."

Watching this happen set off a carnal impulse. "That's what I want to see," I smiled, twirling a piece of my hair.

We were still maybe a foot away from each other, and I was hardly as tall as his shoulder. I was completely distracted from my headache at this point. As he loomed over me, I couldn't help but to place a hand on his chest. I had no idea how to deal with my desire building up; it had never happened before.

"Hurry up, and make sure to use the back door," Nick replied, going to grab towels out of the closet.

As soon as he left the bedroom, I grabbed the bikini from my bag and quickly changed into it. I had actually never worn it before, as I had bought it to look cooler and more grown up for college, and it was more revealing than I was used to. It was a bright purple high-waisted bikini with straps that tied around the back of my neck. As a plus-sized girl, I always felt like I didn't have a "bikini body" and would opt for tankinis or one-pieces that covered more. If anything else, it was dark outside, so how much could anyone really see?