Big Nick Energy (Tales from Hamilton University)

Chapter 4

Four

A lthough I had plans to change into something a little more casual, my outfit was sexy—professional, but sexy. If there was nowhere to sit, the gold heels would eventually present a problem. But overall, I was completely fine with the sudden change in plans—especially since the reason I wasn’t going to the hotel to change was because I was going straight to the kickback with Nick Williams.

“You ready?” Nick asked, coming up behind me.

A chill ran down my spine. “I’m ready,” I answered.

He placed a hand on my lower back and escorted me down the stairs of the library. “Where did you park?”

I pointed in the general area. “It’s not that far.”

He gestured to my feet. “So, you’re good in these?”

“Oh yeah.” I looked up into his eyes. “There’s a lot I can do in heels.”

He licked his lips. “Noted.”

My skin heated as I shifted my eyes away from him and turned on the sidewalk. I knew I was laying it on a little thick, but I wanted to make sure he knew I was interested in more than friendship. Our conversation earlier was good and while I felt like we connected, it wasn’t very personal. It was focused on school and work. I was ready to transition us into more personal topics.

“So, where do you live?” I asked him.

“Well in a few weeks, it’ll be Northern Virginia. But currently, I’m in Austin.” He put one hand on the small of my back and the other grabbed my elbow as we stepped off the sidewalk. “What about you? Where are you?”

“I’m in Virginia. Richmond.” I swallowed hard as I realized his hand still remained on my back. “About two hours from D.C.”

“That’s what’s up. And you mentioned you’re in social services upstairs. What do you do?”

“I’m a case worker for a school district. I work with a lot of the same demographics you serve.”

“Ah.” He nodded. “Makes sense now.”

I pulled my key from my bag and unlocked my SUV as we approached. “What makes sense?”

“Allow me.” He stepped in front of me so he could open my door for me. “Doing this line of work ain’t for the weak.” He smirked as I climbed into the driver’s seat. “And what you were saying up there made a lot of sense. It sounded like you were speaking from experience.”

“I’m very passionate about what I do.”

“I can tell.”

He closed the door before I could respond.

I watched him walk around the front of the vehicle and took a deep breath. I stuck the key in the ignition and turned it as he got in. His long legs were folded, and his knees were basically touching his chest.

“Oh, there’s a button on the side to give you some room,” I pointed out.

He gave me the address to the rental home as his seat started sliding back. I typed the location in the GPS and when I looked back at him, he was staring at me.

“You had a child in the front seat?” he joked.

I burst out laughing. “Nah, my best friend. She’s 5’7” but she likes to sit straight up and close to the dashboard,” I explained.

“I was going to ask if you came to homecoming alone.”

Now we’re talking. I bit my lip and tried not to smile as he put on his seatbelt.

“I came with my best friend Paris,” I answered casually. “Did you come alone?”

“Technically, I did. But everyone on my line is in town for this. We’re hosting the step show and the party tomorrow night, so the SONs had to show up and show out. You have a regular ticket or a VIP pass for tomorrow?”

I could feel his eyes on me. “Regular. I don’t even think I knew there was a VIP option.”

“It wasn’t publicized. It’s kind of by invitation only and even then, those of us who financially contributed were the only ones who had access. But I didn’t know who you knew, and I didn’t know if you might’ve gotten one.”

“No one has given me a pass.”

“Aight, let me fix that. Remind me to get you and your friend passes first thing in the morning. I have some in my hotel room.”

Pulling out of the parking spot, I kept my eyes straight ahead so he couldn’t see the giddiness on my face. “I can do that.”

“What’s that look?” he wondered.

“Just thinking about the perks that have already come from our collision earlier.”

He laughed.

“But I do have a question for you,” I said.

“Anything.”

My stomach fluttered and I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. “How do you find the time to work a full-time corporate job, run a successful nonprofit program, and have an active social life?”

“I make time for everything that’s important and I balance it accordingly. One week, one thing might need more of my time and another week, something else. It helps to have an assistant.”

My eyebrows shot up, intrigued. “Your assistant handles your social life too?”

“If it’s important. Work and moving has been at the forefront this year so she hasn’t had to do much as far as my social life is concerned.”

“Don’t tell me this weekend is your first nonwork or nonmoving activity you’ve done for the year!”

He made a face and ran his hand over his smooth, chiseled jaw. “Yeah, pretty much.”

I gasped as I parked across the street from the rental house. “So, you haven’t gone on dates, gone to the movies, gone to any concerts, gone on any trips? You just go to work and then go back home?” I turned to him and frowned. “You don’t do anything? ”

He burst out laughing.

“Okay, okay, okay, you got me.” His deep, hearty chuckle filled the car as he realized I was mimicking his earlier reaction to me.

With his eyes closed, his white teeth were almost blinding. The streetlight cast a soft glow into the car and his face was highlighted in both shadow and light. It was amazing how good he still looked even though half of his face was muted by the night.

His eyes danced when they met mine again. “I was asking you real questions because the person you described didn’t seem to line up with the person I was looking at.”

Lifting my eyebrows, I leaned toward him. “Same! The man I’m looking at right now doesn’t seem to have an aversion to fun”—I pointed at the house we were about to go into— “or one-on-one interactions”—I gestured between the two of us— “so let me find out you are the shy, wallflower.”

He chuckled. “Don’t do me like that.”

“I’m just trying to figure out who Nick Williams is,” I mused comically. “From our conversation, I’m gathering that you’re a man who is passionate about work and community but doesn’t ever go out except for Homecoming weekend. No dates, no hangouts, no friendly meetups, just going to work and planning to move.”

“Yooooooo!” He was hunched over toward the door as he laughed. He covered his face with his hand as he collected himself. “It’s not like that.”

I sat back in my seat and grinned. “So tell me what it’s like.”

He held my gaze for a moment and let the humor seep out of the car. “I got out of a relationship last year and restructured my priorities. I knew I wanted to move back to the east coast, so I put things in place to make that happen. Going out wasn’t high on the list because of my personal goals.”

Nodding, I stared into his brown eyes. “And this weekend would be your first night back out?”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

I turned the car off and pulled the key out of the ignition. “So, you came to homecoming brand new?”

He smirked. “Something like that.”

I picked up my phone. “Then we should document this.”

Leaning toward him, I hit the camera button and then flipped it, so the front camera flooded my screen with our image. Realizing what I was doing, he put his arm around my shoulders and moved closer. As soon as we were both settled in the shot, I snapped the picture.

I was smiling brightly, and he had a sexy little smirk.

“Okay let’s do it again because you look cool and I’m smiling like I’m in a toothpaste commercial,” I told him.

He started laughing and I snapped another photo catching us both with huge smiles on our faces. It was unposed, slightly chaotic, but the immense joy in the photo made it beautiful.

“Okay one more time.”

The two of us smiled and as soon as the picture was done, we cracked up again. I flipped through the three pictures, nodding my approval. “You like?”

“I do.”

Pleased with myself, I put my phone in my bag. “My friends always joke about me taking pictures before we do stuff but then they always want them later on.”

“I never take pictures.”

“You should,” I told him. “It’s important to commemorate the moments we have and cement them in time. Tomorrow’s not promised.”

“You’re not wrong.”

We stared at each other, sharing a moment before a loud noise grabbed our attention. We both swung our heads in the direction of the house and saw someone burst out the front door. Two people were chasing him and once he tripped, he was caught and tackled. The loud hooting and hollering that followed made it clear that the scuffle wasn’t serious or violent.

“This is the shit I was talking about,” Nick said, pointing at the people in a pile on the front lawn. “You sure you want to do this?”

I gave him a look. “Ordinarily I’d drive the fuck off.” I paused, jutting my thumb toward the kerfuffle on the lawn. “But I’m very interested in seeing brand new Nick Williams in his first weekend out.”

He grinned. “Then let’s do this.”

Climbing out the car, we walked past the commotion and entered the house. The music was loud, but not loud enough that we couldn’t hear each other speak. There were plenty of people around, but not so many that the place felt overcrowded and sweaty. There were many people I recognized but more people that I didn’t. There were so many rooms on the way to the kitchen and as we passed through each, Nick introduced me to his frat brothers. In turn, we were introduced to whoever they were with.

It was sexy watching him navigate a crowd firsthand. I’d seen it from afar, but it was my first time experiencing it with him.

He’s not just giving big dick energy; he’s giving big Nick energy.

He was popular and, maybe it was because he wasn’t on social media, but so many people wanted a piece of him. And while he genuinely seemed happy to see everyone who said hi, it was clear Nick didn’t enjoy small talk because we were in and out of each introduction within ninety seconds. His excuse each time was that he needed to get us a drink.

The SONs signature drink was called the Green Goblin. Since I was driving, I only had a small sample of the surprisingly sweet concoction and then I switched to water.

Something happened while we were leaning up against that kitchen island. We became increasingly flirtatious as the minutes passed by. The way he gazed at me, the way I smiled up at him, and all the times we found excuses to touch one another through the conversation made it clear we were feeling one another. I was so hungry for Nick Williams that I didn’t realize I was actually hungry for a while.

Unfortunately, the only food available was pizza and wings.

Shit, I grumbled to myself as I made hard decisions.

My frustration was quickly forgotten as Nick ate lemon pepper wings. Watching his mouth work was mesmerizing. I wasn’t fully satisfied with my slice of pizza, but knowing how I eat wings, I opted not to get any. I wanted to make a good impression, and it didn’t feel appropriate to suck the meat off the bone.

Well actually…

I chewed my pizza and swallowed my amusement.

“What’s so funny?” Nick asked.

“This pizza,” I replied. “How are your wings?”

While we ate and drank, he peppered me with questions about me and my life. As soon as a swarm of people flooded the kitchen, he placed his hand on my lower back and navigated us outside.

It was pretty quiet out there. We were the only people on the deck and the music from inside was reduced to a faint, dull sound. Without the distractions of the party, our conversation became more personal and a lot more intimate. We talked about our families and our childhood. We talked about our dreams and our future.

“So, you’re single?” he asked almost out of the blue.

“I am.” I took a sip of my water. “Are you?”

He nodded. “I am.”

“Your last?—”

The door to the deck flung open, interrupting me. The man, clearly drunk, was holding hands with a woman and beckoning to people behind them to follow. Seconds later four other people clamored outside, leaving the door open.

“Oh, I love this song!” I exclaimed as I moved my hips. Closing my eyes, I tipped my head back and finished my bottle of water. “Sorry, back to what I was saying.”

“No, no, you’re fine.” His smile could be seen behind the cup he was holding to his lips. After he finished, he tossed our trash away. “Watching you dance reminded me that I’ve held you hostage out here and the party is in there. Let’s go.”

I wanted to tell him that I enjoyed spending time with him and that being out on the deck with him was better than the party, but he grabbed my hand, and the words got stuck in my throat.

Heat traveled up my arm and then moved through the rest of me. He let my hand go to allow me to enter the house in front of him. Even though he was no longer holding my hand, I could still feel his touch. His palm rested at the small of my back as he directed me toward the living room.

“Before we get in there, you do know how to dance, don’t you?” I asked as we weaved through the partygoers littered through the halls.

“I can .” The hand on my back slid to my hip as we entered the living room where they’d created a makeshift dance floor. He leaned down so I could hear him over the music. “But I just planned on watching you.”

Biting my bottom lip, I peered over my shoulder at him. My braids swished softly between us. “I want you to do both.”

The song switched to something with a throbbing beat, and I took the opportunity to back up into him. Moving my ass to the music, I started grinding on him. I threw my ass in a circle as he gripped my hips for dear life. I made a point to break out all my best moves and when I felt his dick stiffening through his pants, my heart skipped a beat. I was about to take it to the next level when the music scratched to a stop.

“Yo yo yo yo yo yo,” Amir, a frat brother I met when we first came in, yelled to get everyone’s attention.

Some people booed as there were at least fifteen of us dancing. Even though we were no longer dancing, Nick and I were still extremely close. He wasn’t touching me anymore, but I could feel the heat from his body. It took everything in me not to lean against his chest.

“I have something to say,” Amir continued. “We… Are… The…”

Nick moved fractionally to cup his hands around his mouth and bark out with the rest of the frat.

“Chosen Ones. The Mighty SONs,” they all chanted in unison.

“This weekend is unofficially sponsored by the SONs, so I put this night together to announce a few things…” Amir started.

“This will take awhile. Amir can talk,” Nick said in a low, hushed tone. His breath tickled the back of my neck. “There’s a spot on the couch.”

I sucked in a shaky breath as I turned my face toward him. “We’re not both going to fit there,” I whispered back to him.

Gripping my hips, he brought his mouth close to my ear. “I don’t want you on your feet all night.”

A chill ran down my spine.

Even while Nick’s frat brothers were shouting around us, I could only hear Nick’s whispered words. Lost in his eyes and hyperaware of his hands on my body, an electric charge moved between the two of us and I knew he felt it too.

I swallowed hard. “I can’t talk to you if I’m over there and you’re over here.”

“Oh, we won’t be apart for long.” His body heat permeated my outfit as he shifted me. “Ol’ boy with the checkered shirt is getting up as soon as he gets the girl’s number.”

I checked out the man with the high-top fade and the woman with the blonde afro currently seated on the couch. “How do you know?” I wondered, resisting the urge to rock into him as we talked quietly.

“Look at his leg.” It was bouncing a hundred miles per hour. “He’s going to ask for the number and regardless of what she says, he’s going to leave the room.”

“Mm.” I nodded. “I see you’re very perceptive.”

“Very.” A couple of people entered the room, and he gave my hip a gentle squeeze. “Get your spot. I’m right behind you.”

“We’re reppin that green and gold at the game tomorrow,” Amir shouted as I crossed the room and sat on the couch. “The cameras will be out. The news coverage will be crazy. This will be the biggest college game of the year, and you know the Wasps sending scouts to check out our boys. And speaking of the Washington Wasps”—he waved off a couple of boos— “they are hitting their stride.”

There wasn’t enough room for me and Nick, but I still squeezed myself as close to the armrest as possible to create more room for him to join me.

“There’s room,” I mouthed to him, twisting slightly and leaning to the left.

He shook his head no, but he came to me anyway.

“There’s not enough room,” he told me, glancing at the space I’d created.

I blinked up at him. “We’ll make it work.”

He stared down at me for several seconds before he wet his lips. Reaching his hands out, he helped me to my feet. Our gaze never wavered as bodies softly collided.

“What are you doing?” I murmured, hoping his face was hovering over mine because he was going to finally kiss me.

He brushed his thumbs over the back of my hands before stepping around me. “Making it work.”

He took a seat.

“Nick!” I gasped as he pulled me into his lap.

He spread his legs and slipped an arm around me. Holding the wrap skirt together, I situated myself on his right thigh with my legs between his. I slipped my arm around his neck and allowed myself to be drawn into him. My breasts were sitting in his face and the way his eyes remained respectfully locked with mine made my nipples hard. I squirmed, drawing my legs further up to keep them from being exposed and I was almost certain that the thing pressing against my left knee was his dick.

He grabbed my legs and adjusted my positioning.

“Let me know when I get too heavy,” I murmured.

“I can handle you.”

My stomach flipped.

I didn’t think he meant it sexually, but my body took it that way.