When she stepped into the hallway, she noticed Nick opening his door, coming back from something or other. “Nick!”
“Huh? Oh, hey, Liz! I didn’t know who was calling me,” he stated. “What’s up?”
“I just wanted to know how your date went.”
“Oh, it went great! Andrea is the sweetest girl ever,” he gushed. “We went on a picnic, and she loved it. Thanks so much for that idea!”
“You’re welcome. I’m happy for you.”
“What brought you out here? Were you waiting for me or something?” he inquired.
“No, I was just bored and very lonely. I know that’s all you hear about now, me missing Joel, but I can’t help it,” she sighed. She quickly looked down so Nick wouldn’t see the tears forming in her eyes, but it was too late.
“Come here. I miss my family a ton, too,” he said, pulling her into a hug.
She took a deep breath and blinked the tears away. “Anyway, I went to get some chocolate. Now that I think about it, I probably don’t need anything that’s gonna make me fatter,” she groaned.
“What are you talking about? You’re not fat at all,” he assured her.
“Yeah, right. Anyway, I have to find something else to entertain me for a while.”
“Hey, I have an idea. Wanna come hang out with me?” he offered. “We can play video games.”
She laughed. “Yeah, me playing video games? That would be an interesting sight. I don’t know how.”
“Come on, I’ll teach you.”
“But, Nick – “
“No buts. Come on, you’re playing video games.”
Giving in, she followed him into his room and sat down on the sofa. “I don’t know what I’m doing,” she warned again.
“Don’t worry. After this lesson, you’ll be a pro. All my students become pros,” he boasted.
“I will be the exception to that rule, I’m sure,” she laughed as he put MarioKart on and thrust a controller into her hand. “Okay, show me what I’m doing here.”
After a while, she was almost to the point of beating Nick. “Hey, you’ve got natural talent, girl. With some a little work, you could be almost as good as me,” he joked.
“Oh, honey, I could be a heck of a lot better than you,” she teased. “Just give me some practice.”
“Sure, whatever gets you to sleep at night.”
Just as she pulled ahead of him, he paused the game and started tickling her mercilessly. “Stop it, stop it, stop it!” she squealed. “No one tickles me!”
“It appears I’ve done a pretty good job of it,” he stated.
“Leave me alone,” she pouted.
He looked back at the clock to see it was past two. “Wow, we should probably go to bed, huh?”
“Yeah, we probably should. Good night, Nick. Thanks for making me feel better.”
He pulled her into a hug and kissed her cheek. “If you ever need to talk, Lizzy, I’m here.”
“Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.” She went back to her room and fell asleep right away, with the spot where he kissed her cheek still tingling.