Kiss & Tell | Nicolandria FF

Part 13 - Nic

Nic tried not to make it obvious that he overheard the entire conversation, but when Chelly and Olandria came out of the bathroom, they both looked like they seen a ghost. Probably because they all knew that nothing was sound proof in this villa.

Chelly hugged Olandria good night and scurried up the stairs quickly, leaving Olandria and Nic alone.

She leaned against the wall across from him, staring down at her nails. "Did you hear all that?"

He nodded slowly. Nic was hoping he seemed as calm as he was trying to give. In truth, his heart raced the moment he heard the confession. God, of course he knew that there was something there. Something there between them.

But to hear it? To know that it was mutual?

Quiet, save for the cicadas chirping. Nic stared up at the ceiling to avoid Olandria's intense gaze. She wanted him to say something, but he didn't know what to say.

"Nic, look at me."

Goosebumps broke out on his skin. Slowly, he glanced back down. Olandria looked nervous enough that Nic wanted nothing more than to soothe her anxieties. Her leg was bouncing and her strong jaw was clenched.

"Olandria, I don't know what to say."

"It doesn't have to make me feel good," she replied. "But say something."

He inhaled. Exhaled. This was the perfect moment right? To pursue her, to make something happen. Because it was mutual now. Nic would feel bad for Taylor and Cierra, but he'd be with her. He'd be with Olandria.

He parted his dry lips. "I like you too."

And maybe no one else would've caught it, but because Nic saw her so well, he saw the hope flashed in her beautiful eyes.

God, why did he even like her so much?

Because Olandria was all the pretty things, all the light things, all the regal things in life. From her high cheekbones, her heart shaped smile, her alluring eyes. Her laugh, her careful touches, the way her head tilted when she was soaking in every word, the sparkle in her eyes, the way being around her made Nic's feel so breathless. God, those eyes.

Olandria made Nic dizzy, and that terrified him.

And Nic, someone so attached to the comfort his fears brought, began to shake his head. "Olandria... we can't be together."

Hope dissipated from her eyes, and she pulled into herself.

Take it back, Nic. Tell her that you'll work on being braver, that you'll work on being everything she needs. Tell her that you'll be enough for her.

Instead he said: "You deserve so much more than me. You're right, Olly. You can't trust me not to hurt you. I don't trust me not to hurt you. You deserve someone who only wants you, every part of you, and won't fuck up. And I can't trust myself not to fuck up."

She rolled her eyes, hurt flooded in them. "Am I not worth the effort?" Olandria asked gently.

Worth the effort?

Once, when Nic was with his ex-girlfriend, they had an argument. She told him that despite being together for three years, he wouldn't ever change for her. Nic told her that she was his longest relationship: 3 1/2 years. She was incredible, and he cherished it.

But she sensed it. Sensed it in the way he smiled too long at other girls, in the way he didn't do much to reassure her. And Nic told her she was being paranoid, and yelled at her for discrediting all the hard work he did to be a good boyfriend. He couldn't be perfect, but couldn't she see he was trying?