There was really no way to explain the feelings that were coursing through Nick as he watched his best friend and major love interest, Leah, and his girlfriend, Lisa, playing around in his pool. He was in love with his best friend, and dating her closest gal pal. He knew it was messed up and that hurting Lisa was going to be the only thing that came from the situation. Lisa had, in fact, told him for the first time that she loved him only two days earlier ... and what had Nick done? He'd reiterated the statement. He was still kicking himself for telling her that he loved her. Because he didn't ... and sooner or later, he would have to tell her that.
Leah had been living in Florida for 2 months now and had adjusted quite nicely. Though she got homesick once a week and had to cuddle up on the couch and call her family through tears, she was actually enjoying her new life to the fullest. She was living with Lisa and Sheena in their luxurious condominium, and although the three sometimes argued, they were actually getting along pretty decently; she spent as much time with Nick as she could, and she was enjoying being able to actually DRIVE, as opposed to flying, to his house to see him, whenever she wanted; she was enrolled in college which would be starting in less than a month; and she had a job at a local clothing store, which she loved, since she was getting a major discount ... her closet was getting full real fast.
Nick set his Sprite down on the deck railing and walked down to the pool. "Hey, girlies... you two play like boys. Geez, you're gonna kill each other."
They looked up from their intense water wrestling match and giggled. He was standing by the pool and the sun was shining behind him, illuminating his blonde hair. His dark Ray Band glasses covered his eyes, and to Leah and Lisa he looked like he was extremely overheated in the Florida sunshine. They looked at each other quickly before grabbing him by the shorts and pulling him into the water with them. Nick sputtered to the surface and regained his breathing while laughing the entire time ... and once he was ready, they were back to wrestling.
~ * ~
"Nick, I gotta go back down to the studio," Lisa sighed as she came into the kitchen where Nick and Leah were talking, having been in the living room on the phone with her agent. "The idiot photographer, who has been fired by the way, didn't even have film in his d*mn camera throughout the entire August spread."
"Fired? Gee, you mess up once nowadays and you get your ass fired," Nick laughed, swiveling around on his stool. "See you later?"
"Yeah ... just stay here, L," she directed towards her friend as she grabbed her purse and keys.
"You're my ride!"
"Then spend the night. I'm sorry; I don't have time to drop you back off at the house," Lisa explained as she hurriedly rushed outside and left.
"She's all business sometimes, ain't she?" Leah laughed.
Nick sighed and stood up, "Yeah."
"You okay, Nick?"
"Uh huh. Let's go watch a movie, roomie."
Leah knew something was wrong, but she dropped it as she and Nick went off and picked a few movies from his retarded comedy selection. They had fun and it was good to hang out with each other alone, for the first time in a while, but Leah couldn't shake the feeling that Nick wasn't fully happy ... and she wanted to know why. She would make SURE she knew why by the time she left the next day.
~ * ~
It was two o'clock in the morning and Nick and Leah were just now pulling themselves up from the couch to go upstairs and sleep. They'd watched about 3 movies, eating popcorn and drinking soda the entire time, and now they were extremely tired ... not to mention how much they had to pee.
"I call bathroom first!!" Leah shouted, running up the staircase with Nick hot on her tail.
Nick laughed and pounced on her, knocking her down to the ground, which probably wasn't the smartest thing, seeing as how full her bladder was. "Lee, I got like a thousand bathrooms in this house!"
"But only one is as cool as yours!"
"Keyword: yours."
"Uh ... yeah."
"Meaning mine!"
Leah laughed, "You're an idiot."
"But I can beat you to the bathroom, because I'm a faster idiot."
"I'm not an idiot."
Nick stayed in his position, looking puzzled. Finally he sighed and glanced back down at her, still laying below him on the floor. "You really confuse me, Lee-Lee."
"Uh huh," she laughed. "My theory is that half the time you're just playing dumb."
Nick didn't respond and before Leah knew it he had jumped up from the ground and was running down the hallway towards his room and adjoining bathroom. Just as he reached the bathroom door Leah stuck her foot underneath his heel and pulled up, causing him to lose his balance and stumble.
"HA-HA, dumbass," Leah giggled, running past him as he grabbed onto the doorjamb so he wouldn't fall over. The door slammed in his face and Nick stood there dumbfounded. But her giggling from the other side of the locked door finally brought a gradual grin to his face and before he knew it he was laughing too. See, he never had this much fun with Lisa.
