Big Nick Energy (Tales from Hamilton University)

Chapter 9

Nine

T he SONs had to be in The Elm’s ballroom early for set up, so Paris and I weren’t going to the party with Nick and Tuck. But they were our dates.

“I cannot believe I’m going to a party with Tuck,” Paris sang happily, turning around in her pink dress. “You were right.”

I refreshed my lip gloss. “I usually am. But what specifically?”

“Well, first, about this dress.”

“You always look pretty in pink, but this dress on you is fire.”

“Thank you.” She pointed at me. “And that dress is amazing on you.”

I slipped into a pair of black pumps with five-inch silver metallic heels then did a little shimmy. The formfitting black sequin dress hugged my curves and made me feel extremely sexy. I bought the dress six months ago and never had a place to wear it.

“I think Nick will like it,” I told her.

“He’d be a fool not to!”

We stood side by side in the mirror. Our hair, makeup, and outfits were perfect, but none of that compared to our smiles.

“We’re going to have a good time tonight,” I told her, grabbing her hand and giving it a squeeze.

“I know.” She took a deep breath before looking over at me. “Thank you.”

“For?”

“For pushing me out of my comfort zone.” I shrugged. “Even if it doesn’t end up with me and Tuck having more than just this weekend together, when we kissed for the first time, I saw fireworks.”

“Do you want more to happen tonight?”

“Absolutely.” She smirked. “After what happened earlier today, I’m ready for something more to happen tonight.”

My eyes opened wide. “What happened at the tailgate?”

“We got soul food from Wright Now and?—”

“Girl, you know good and damn well I’m talking about what happened between you and Tuck! And why am I just hearing about this now!”

“Because we were surrounded by the whole frat! I couldn’t tell you at the step show!”

“Okay tell me everything!” My pitch was high and excited. “What happened?!”

She filled me in on what happened with her and Tuck as we made our way to the first-floor ballroom. We paused the conversation while in the packed elevator but then picked back up when we made it to the lobby.

“Well, if you want to use our room to take it there, feel free,” I told her as we got in the line to enter the party. “I don’t plan on sleeping there tonight.”

It took almost twenty minutes to get into the party because of how many people were there. The Elm was the place to be. Even though I wasn’t walking in with Nick, knowing he was my date for the evening made the time fly by. Flashing our VIP passes, we made our way into the party of the year.

“Tuck!” Paris exclaimed as her man appeared seemingly out of nowhere.

Wearing a green suit with a black t-shirt, Nick Williams moved through the crowd with effortless confidence. I saw the way people looked at him. I knew the way I looked at him. And it was so refreshing to learn that he was as amazing on the inside as he was out the outside.

“Wow,” Nick commented as soon as he saw me. “You look…” His eyes swept up and down my body. “Wow.”

Heat traveled up my neck and flushed my cheeks. “Thank you.” I took a step back and checked him out. “You’re looking good, too.”

“I’m glad you think so.” He drew me in and pulled me to his chest. “And I’m glad you’re here.”

I wrapped my arms around his neck. “I’m glad to be here.”

He put his mouth to my ear. “I was ready to go before you showed up.”

“You weren’t having fun?”

“It was cool, but…” His eyes stayed locked on me. “I’m not really into parties.”

I smiled up at him. “I noticed.”

“Oh, you noticed?”

“You’re worth noticing.”

“Oh, is that right?”

I nodded as he lowered his face to mine and planted a sweet kiss against my lips.

I saw people I hadn’t seen in person in years. I was introduced to people I’d never seen before in my life. I danced with Nick. I danced with Paris. I danced with some of the girls that were in the same dorm as me. I was having a really good time catching up with old friends and I was in the middle of a big, belly laugh when they played my song.

“I love this song,” I yelled before moving my body to the beat.

I felt someone come up to me and try to dance with me. Almost immediately I noticed it wasn’t Nick.

“I’m good,” I hollered over the music while sliding to the side of him.

He shrugged and went about his business.

I lifted my arms up and continued swaying my body to the song. When I looked to my left, I saw Nick watching me. He was with a group of people. They were talking but he was staring. Even as he spoke to the people speaking to him, his attention was on me.

It felt so intimate to have his eyes on me in the middle of the crowded room.

My movements slowed down as the song changed. I let the sexiness of the beat course through me, and I danced for Nick and Nick alone. He spent a full minute watching me before he ended his conversations and cut through the thousands of people separating us.

He got behind me and I began to whine my hips. Without saying anything, he gripped my waist and rocked with me. Just when I was about to put my hands on my knees and really give it to him, the DJ cut the music.

“I’m DJ B-Easy on the ones and twos,” the DJ announced energetically. “My wife and babymama—Jamila Lee Simon, I love you boo—is a Hamilton University alum so to be here tonight is a full circle moment! What’s up HU?!”

All of us in the crowd cheered.

The DJ continued. “We’re about to announce this year’s homecoming king and queen, but before we do that… I have it on good authority that we have about twenty homecoming kings and queens from the last thirty-five years here tonight. So, we’re going to bring them to the stage right now.”

I looked up Nick. “That’s you.”

He kissed the top of my head before heading to the stage.

We all clapped as the stage was filled with beautiful faces from over the years. They stood in order from youngest to oldest and Nick was somewhere in the middle. The homecoming court was then announced and these fresh faced twenty-year-olds came on stage. It took everything in me not to say awwww at the sight of them.

Once the newest homecoming king and queen were crowned, all of the other kings and queens were paired up and asked to join them on the dance floor for a dance. While I was sure most people would’ve been looking at the ones with the crowns on their heads, I was staring at Nick and Evie. They were both smiling at each other and swaying to the music.

“Don’t worry about that,” Mitchell commented, startling me.

“Mitchell!” I looked around. “Where did you come from?”

“I was over there and then I saw you over here. And I saw Nick over there. And I didn’t know if maybe things didn’t work out with the two of you.”

I made a face. “Why would you think that?”

“I noticed a vibe between y’all at the library but then I just saw”—he pointed to Nick and Evie looking perfect together— “and I wasn’t sure if everything is cool or not. I’ll back off if you’re still interested in him. But if not, and you wanted to see what was up with me…” He opened his arms wide. “I’m right here.”

“Isn’t Nick your friend?”

“Yeah, that’s my boy! That’s why I’m making sure there’s nothing between you two before I try to get your number.”

The room erupted in loud cheers as Mitchell and I stared at one another. He looked at me expectantly and I looked at him in disbelief.

“Nick and I hit it off,” I assured him.

He held up his hands in surrender. “Okay, okay, my bad. Just checking.” He backed away slowly. “If anything changes…” He put his thumb and pinky near the side of his face and mouthed, “Call me.”

Laughing, I shook my head.

Nick was talking to Evie and homecoming royalty of the past and I was in awe of his. For someone who didn’t love crowds and small talk, he had a certain air about him as he engaged. It was remarkable how he always seemed to be in his element.

While he did his thing, I left to go get a drink.

“Hey! I met you earlier, didn’t I? After the game?” Michelle asked as she came up to me on my way to the VIP section.

I recognized the woman that didn’t acknowledge me at all when she came to speak to Evie.

“Hey,” I replied with a confused smile. “Yeah, after the game.”

“You were walking with Evie and Nick! It’s so cool to see them rekindling things.”

Rekindling things?

I gave her a look. “Is that what’s happening?”

“Yeah! They’re both single at the same time and it’s inevitable,” she told me. “I wasn’t sure how the two of you knew each other, but I just thought, as a friend, I should let you know.”

“Noted.”

“I mean, look.” She pointed in the direction of Nick and Evie. “Truly, it’s inevitable.”

“I guess we’ll see,” I told her before moving away from her. “Take care.”

The tight smile on my face fell as I made my way to the bar in the VIP section. SONs and their dates were everywhere but it didn’t take long for me to get my drink. As I stood off to the side, I watched the entire crowd break into a line dance. I scanned the crowd for Nick. My phone vibrated in my clutch.

Nick Williams: I can’t seem to find my date.

Asha James: Give me a description and I’ll help you find her.

I could see that he was typing, but a couple of minutes passed before I got a response.

Nick Williams: She’s tall, but not that tall. She has beautiful brown skin that I can’t wait to touch. A soft body I can’t wait to press up against. A big brain I can’t wait to explore. Brown eyes that I want to stare into. A sexy mouth that says and does amazing things. Long braids I look forward to pulling. A big ass I plan to smack. Big titties I want to suck on. A tight pussy I’m desperate to slide into. A pretty face I’m looking at right now.

My eyes flicked up and looked into the crowd. It took me all of thirty seconds to find him. And my heart skipped a beat.

It wasn’t just the lust that I saw in his gaze. It was the way his dark brown eyes focused on me and me alone. It was the way he bit down on his bottom lip when he looked at me. It was the expression on his face as he got closer.

I liked him.

I liked him a lot.

And the way he looked at me made me feel like he felt the same.

“You didn’t respond to my text,” he said as he wrapped his arms around me.

I slid my hands up his arms and then locked them behind his neck. “Here’s my response.” I pushed myself up on my toes and let my lips brush against his. “Take me up to your room so I can thoroughly respond.”

“I like thorough.”

“Oh, you’re going to really like how thorough I plan on being.” I smiled against his lips.

“We should get started on this.”

He kissed me again and then draped his arm around my shoulders so we could make a beeline to the exit. Unfortunately, we only got a few steps before we encountered a familiar face.

“Damn Nick! You got her in a headlock?” Jason bellowed, crossing his arms over his chest. He looked at me. “Blink twice if you need me to get this Neanderthal off of you.”

“Cut that shit,” Nick groaned, rolling his head back in exasperation.

I laughed, resting my hand on Nick’s chest. “He’s good.”

“Ah.” Jason nodded with a sympathetic look. “Stockholm syndrome.”

The three of us cracked up.

“So, every time I look, you two are together,” Jason pointed out. “Asha must be cool because you act like you don’t fuck with new people.”

“What can I say?” Nick looked down at me. “I like her.”

Gazing into his eyes, I smiled. “I like you, too.”

“I can tell,” Jason interjected. “I ain’t seen this many of Nick’s teeth in a minute. You got this man smiling so hard, I can see his molars.”

Amused, Nick shook his head. “Mannnnnn…”

“Look at his ass! Can’t even deny it,” Jason teased. He gave me a pointed look. “He would’ve showed up to the kickback ten minutes before the meeting. He would’ve left this party right after that homecoming court bullshit. Y’all out here holding hands and shit.” He shifted his eyes between us. “Y’all done inspired me to go make a love connection.”

“Are you going to say something to Leslie?” Nick asked him.

He sucked his teeth. “I tried to say something to her on Friday and I ain’t gonna say shit else.” He pointed at someone behind us. “I’m going to see what’s up with Anissa Fletcher over there.”

“Aight, see what’s up man.” Nick dapped him up. “We’re about to head out.”

“Okay I see you! I see you!”

They did their secret SONs handshake and then we headed toward the door.

“Jason is funny,” I commented as we entered the much quieter lobby.

“Yeah, he’s a fool.” Nick shook his head and then kissed me on the top of mine. “You just gotta roll with his bullshit.” He paused. “But on some real shit, I hope you know I didn’t mean to hurt you yesterday. I really didn’t see you and?—”

“Nick,” I interrupted, realizing he was serious. I stopped in my tracks, pulling him to a stop as well. “I laughed at what Jason said because it was funny—not because it was true.” I pushed myself up on my toes and kissed him. “I know it was an accident.”

He took my face in his hands. “I would never hurt you.”

Between his whispered words and the sincerity in his eyes, my heart thumped in my chest. “That’s good to know.”

His thumb grazed my cheek. “I’m sorry it happened, but I’m really glad we ran into each other.”

“Well actually…” I brought my lips to his. “You ran into me.”

His jaw dropped before he let out a short chuckle. “Wowwwwwwww.”

“I’m just playing! I’m just playing!” I exclaimed giddily. “But seriously, I’d let you run into me over and over again if the end result is this.”

“There’s something else I’d like to do to you over and over again.”

I intertwined my fingers with his. “I’d like to hear more about this.” We started walking toward the elevator. “Actually, I’d like you to show me.”

“Bet.”

Nick took me to his room and had his way with me. For hours, we ebbed and flowed between slow, deep strokes and hardcore fucking and back again. I came so many times that my body physically ached from physical exhaustion and vibrated from complete and utter satisfaction. It was the wee hours of the morning by the time we fell asleep. And when I woke up naked, in his arms, covered in crumpled sheets, I couldn’t do anything but smile. The room was still dark, but I knew it was morning. I was so comfortable and even though I wasn’t tired, I could’ve stayed in bed, in his arms, for the rest of the day.

“Good morning,” Nick said groggily, wrapping his arm around me and pulling my back to his front.

“Good morning.” I ran my hands over his arms and nuzzled into him. “How are you?”

“After you drained me, I had the best sleep of my life.” He let out a little chuckle before kissing my neck. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m a little sad that it’s Sunday and the weekend is over,” I sighed. “When is your flight?”

“Two o’clock.”

“What time did we go to bed? Five o’clock? Six?”

“It was closer to six. When you asked for water, it was like five-thirty. And we went to sleep not long after that.”

I smiled, remembering how our night unfolded. “What time is it now?”

“Probably ten or eleven. I’m not ready to get up, but I probably should,” he said even though he didn’t make a move to let me go.

“Why do you have to leave so soon?” I complained.

“The next flight out isn’t until eight o’clock tonight and I have a meeting first thing tomorrow morning.”

“Boooooo.”

He chuckled. “Well, next weekend, you’ll be in Austin with me. And two weeks after that, I’ll be in Virginia permanently.”

“I like the sound of that.” I turned in his arms to face him. “I still can’t believe you booked my flight at two o’clock in the morning.”

“Once you said you were free, I needed you to know how serious I was about it.”

My phone vibrated and I groaned. Reaching toward it, my fingertips just barely grazed the nightstand. “I should get that. It’s probably Paris.”

He reached his long arm over me and grabbed my phone for me.

“Thank you.” I answered the phone as soon as he placed it in my hand. “Hello?”

“Hey!” Paris greeted me in a sing song voice. “Are we still going to the picnic today?”

“Yes. It starts at one o’clock, right?”

“Yeah, and it’s about to be noon?—”

My eyes widened. “It’s noon!”

“Yeah girl,” she replied. “I asked for a late checkout since you weren’t back yet.”

“I’ll be there in ten minutes,” I told her as I watched Nick scramble to get out of the bed.

We said our goodbyes and as the call disconnected, the time flashed across the screen.

11:58am.

“You’re not going to miss your flight, are you?” I climbed out the bed and started collecting my clothes strewn across the room.

“Not if I can help it,” he explained, pulling out a pair of joggers and a t-shirt.

He made his way over to me and then scooped me up in his arms. Bringing his lips to mine, he kissed me. His mouth moved over mine and a chill ran down my spine. When he pulled out of the kiss, he looked me in my eyes.

“I hate to rush, but…”

“No, I understand.” I pushed him. “Go, go, go!”

He placed one last quick kiss against my lips before he headed to the bathroom.

“I need to pack up too, so I’m gonna go.” I pulled my dress back on and stepped into my shoes.

“I’ll call you when I make it to the airport,” he yelled from the shower.

“Bye!”

I made a beeline to my room with my bag in one hand and my panties clutched in the other. When I swiped the keycard at the door, I found Paris was humming happily as she finished packing her bag.

“Girl!” she yelled, throwing her hands in the air.

“Giiiiiiiiirl!” I hollered in return.

We both fell out laughing.

“It won’t take me long to get ready, I already know what I’m wearing,” I told her as I ran to the bathroom to shower.

Thirty minutes later, I was fresh, clean, and dressed in distressed jeans and a black and white Hamilton University t-shirt. We packed my SUV and then headed to HU for the picnic.

“…and then I got back to the room around eleven,” Paris concluded as my mouth hung open.

Hearing how her night went made me so happy. “Paris!” I squealed. “This is how you end the fucking weekend!”

We hooted and hollered as we found a parking spot and made our way over to the quad where the picnic was being held. We were riding the high from our wild nights. There were so many beautiful smiling faces. There was so much joy swirling around campus. The smell of grilled meats and vegetables was in the air. The music and laughter carried between buildings. The more we walked around, the more people we saw and the more conversations we participated in.

“Asha! Paris!” a woman called our names, and we whipped around to see who it was.

“Anna!” I gasped.

“Where have you been?” Paris asked as we hugged her tight.

Before she could answer, Michaela, Lauren, Olivia, Connor, Bowman and Franklin appeared. Within an instant, it was a sophomore year English reunion. It was nice seeing old friends we’d only kept up with on social media.

My phone vibrated in my back pocket. When I pulled it out and saw who the text message was from, my stomach fluttered.

Nick Williams: I’m at the airport. About to check in and then go through security.

Asha James: I’m glad you made it safely. I would’ve felt so bad if I had anything to do with you missing your flight.

Nick Williams: I’m going to barely make it to my gate, but I wouldn’t change a thing about my time with you.

I sighed happily and was about to tell Paris about the text message when I looked up and stopped in my tracks. A crowd had gathered around a trio of men and women who were doing a dance.

My face crumpled in confusion. Where the hell did Paris go?

When I looked to the right, I did a double take. Evie’s friend Michelle was staring at me.

“Hey, I know you!” Michelle chirped with faux enthusiasm. She pointed to the other side of the circle.

I followed her finger until I saw who she was pointing at.

Evie was wearing what looked like a custom HU cheerleading uniform and was garnering a lot of attention from men and women alike. She tossed her head back and laughed.

“You’re friends with Evie’s man, Nick,” Michelle continued.

My head swiveled back to her. “Nick?”

“Yeah, Nick Williams.”

“They aren’t together.”

“Oh honey…” She gave me a sympathetic look and then waved her over to us. “You didn’t know?”

“To my understanding, they broke up in undergrad.”

“Is that what he said?” She put her hand on my arm and squeezed. “Poor thing.”

Her words rocked me, but I refused to let her see me sweat. “If Nick is her man, she may need to check in with him about it because he’s not aware.” My phone vibrated in my pocket and when I pulled it out, I gave Michelle a look. “Speaking of… I need to take this.”

I lifted the phone to my ear and walked around her.

“Hey baby!” I answered.

“Bitch what?” Paris reacted before she burst out laughing. “Why are you calling me baby and where are you?”

I kept walking until I was out of earshot of Michelle. “I’ll explain in a minute. Where are you?”

“I thought you were right behind me. I’m waving my arm. Look straight ahead.”

When I located her, I laughed. “I see you.”

I hung up as I approached her. “I had to pretend you were Nick,” I explained.

“Why?”

I told her what happened with Michelle, and she frowned.

She sucked her teeth. “Nick isn’t with her. I saw the way that man looked at you.”

“Right?” I agreed. “I don’t think so either.”

I looked over at the gorgeous woman in the cheerleading uniform. Michelle was next to her, and they were chatting. Even though I knew Michelle was full of shit, my mind flashed to how Nick and Evie looked together at the party. I remembered how people reacted to the sight of them together.

Shaking my head, I pushed the thought away.

“And it would be different if he was sneaking around with you in the hotel. But he was parading you around campus on Saturday, at the step show, at the game and at the party last night.”

“And at the party on Friday,” I added, remembering how he introduced me to everyone and stuck by my side.

“Evie’s probably jealous and sent her friend to do the dirty work of scaring you off.” She frowned. “You’re not letting her get in your head, are you?”

“Definitely not.”

I thought about the way he looked at me, the way he talked to me, the way he held me, the way he brought me to orgasm. There was no doubt in my mind that the connection we’d shared was real.

“What’s that smile?” Paris asked, bumping me with her hip.

“Just thinking about this weekend.”

She started to say something and then her face lit up. “There’s Tuck!”

I followed Paris’s finger. I saw her man standing in front of the SONs tent across the quad and I smiled. She was so happy. I’d met him at the party, but I didn’t get a chance to talk to him that much because I was busy with Nick.

“Let’s go!” I said excitedly, walking beside her. “Oh!” I pulled out my phone, remembering what I wanted to show her. “Nick said he wouldn’t change a thing about his time with me.”

“Aww,” she squealed. “What did you say back?”

“I’m texting him now. I got caught in that conversation with Michelle, but I’m texting back now.”

Asha James: You were the highlight of my weekend. I’m glad you made your flight, but I have to admit, the picnic would be better if you were here with me.

Nick Williams: I didn’t care nothing about no damn picnic until you said you were going. Now I’m on this flight wishing I was there.

Asha James: You got me out here smiling.

Nick Williams: Good. You kept a smile on my face.

Nick Williams: If this weekend showed me anything, it’s that everything is better with you.

Asha James: And you kept a smile on mine. I thoroughly enjoyed our time together. Even if it was just the high of homecoming, it was real for me.

My phone vibrated immediately, and I stopped a few feet away from the tent.

“Hi,” I answered.

“We’re about to take off,” Nick said in a low tone. “But it wasn’t just homecoming weekend, it was real.” He paused. “You felt that shit, right?”

I got butterflies. “I felt it.”

“Good. I’ll call you when I land.”

We said our goodbyes and disconnected the call.

Slipping my phone in my back pocket, I flashed a smile at my best friend and her man.

“Hey!” I greeted Tuck as I skipped over to them.

Paris reintroduced us. “Tuck, you remember my best friend Asha, right?”

“Yeah, yeah.” He nodded, extending his hand to me. “Nick’s girl.”

I damn near giggled as I shook his hand. “Yeah, that’s me.”