Nicol texted Max, "I'm home," and waited for his reply. She thought he might not answer at all—but he did. He really wrote back. They kept texting for days and eventually agreed on a second date. It was on Wednesday, a public holiday, so Max had the day off.
Nicol did her makeup, straightened her hair, and chose a black turtleneck, black pants, and a leather jacket. She sent Max her address so he could pick her up in front of her building. She even told her grandmother about him that day—her grandma immediately noticed she was in love. After everything Nicol had been through lately, she finally looked happy again.
That afternoon, Nicol kept checking Max's location on her phone. She sprayed herself with Sol de Janeiro 62 body mist—it smelled like caramel and vanilla. Max was getting close. Nicol put on her shoes and went outside to wait.
Meanwhile, her grandmother kept peeking out the window. Nicol saw her and thought, Oh God, here we go again with all the questions.Max arrived, and the moment Nicol saw him, a smile lit up her face. She opened the car door, said "Hi," and they greeted each other with a kiss.
"So, where are we going?" Nicol asked with a smile."Well, I have to stop by the office real quick," Max said. "Then we'll go to the cabin.""Alright," she said, putting on her seatbelt. "By the way, you know my grandma was watching us from the window the whole time?""What? Seriously?" Max laughed."Yep," Nicol chuckled. "Now I'll have to explain who you are and why I got into a stranger's car."
They both laughed.
"So, what do you think of my town?" Nicol asked."It's alright," Max replied, "nothing special though.""Alright? I wouldn't go that far. I can't wait to move away," she said."I was driving past the nicer parts," Max teased.
As they drove, Nicol wasn't sure what to talk about. Her nerves kicked in again."How was work?" she asked."Good," Max said. "You didn't have school today, right?""Nope, we had the day off.""Must be nice," he laughed.
Soon, they were in Max's town. As they passed a street, Nicol spotted someone through a window."Oh my God, that was my ex," she blurted."Which one?" Max asked. "The guy in front?""No, the one in the back. But whatever—I don't want to talk about my exes."
Max turned down a side street. "Look, that's the apartment I wanted to live in.""Are you going to move there?" Nicol asked."Well, my friend wants to live with his girlfriend, so… I'm not sure.""Got it," she said.
They arrived at the office building. "This will just take a minute," Max told her. He handed her a KitKat with peanut butter. "Do you like this one?""Yeah, I do. Why didn't you eat it yourself?""I'm not really into sweets.""Fair enough," she said.
He handed her a water bottle. "Here, you can play some music while I'm inside.""Okay," she nodded.
Once Max got out of the car, Nicol immediately started texting her best friends."He told me to prepare some questions to ask him. What should I ask?""I don't know," they replied."This is so messed up," she typed. "I'm so nervous, it's like I forgot how to talk. What's wrong with me?""Relax, you'll come up with something. Show us what you're wearing!"
Nicol turned on her camera and recorded a short video of her outfit."Does it look good?""Yeah, you look great!"
She spotted Max returning from the building, quickly put away her phone, and pretended she was just scrolling TikTok.
"So? Everything okay?" she asked as he got in."Nope, those two ladies want my ID card," he sighed."Oh, alright," Nicol replied, and he went back inside.
She watched him from the window, then opened a video call with her friends."I'm acting so weird around him. You know this isn't me—I usually talk nonstop!""You're just shy. Don't worry," they said."Alright, love you guys," she smiled and ended the call.
She opened the KitKat and started eating, sipping her water while she waited.
Eventually, she saw Max coming back. He walked over jokingly and said, "I need to go get some more documents.""Seriously?" Nicol asked."No, I'm kidding," he laughed, getting into the car.He looked at her. "You ate the KitKat, didn't you?"Nicol smiled and nodded."I can smell it," he said with a grin."Oh, really?" she laughed.
Max started the engine. "Alright, off to the cabin we go!"