Nicole eventually stopped laughing, though the amused smile remained on her face. She looked entirely too pleased with herself, as if catching me off guard had been the highlight of her evening.
Fortunately, my heart was beginning to settle down.
I took another sip of water and leaned back against the couch, giving myself a moment to recover while Nicole watched me with an expression that was far too warm to be considered innocent.
Then, as though a thought had only just occurred to her, her eyes shifted slightly.
"Wait," she said. "You haven’t had dinner yet."
I lowered the glass. "No."
She considered that for a second before turning toward me again.
"What would you like?"
I thought about it for a moment, then decided to make things easy for her.
"Takeout or delivery," I said. "Whatever sounds good."
Nicole shook her head almost immediately.
"No."
I raised an eyebrow. "No?"
"Takeout feels a little... impersonal." She paused, then smiled. "I’ll cook."
I stared at her for a second.
"You’re serious?"
She nodded.
She was. There wasn’t even a hint of hesitation in her expression. Her eyes had that same bright, determined look I’d seen plenty of times before, the one that told me she had already made up her mind and wasn’t particularly interested in negotiating.
I couldn’t help but smile a little.
"You just want an excuse to show off."
"Maybe," she said, looking far too pleased with herself. She tilted her head slightly. "Now, tell me what you want to eat?"
"Steak and mashed potatoes."
Nicole immediately stood up.
She took a step toward the kitchen, then paused as though she’d just remembered something. Turning back to me, she gave me a small, almost cheeky smile.
"Wanna watch?"
I tilted my head slightly, already knowing exactly what she was asking.
She held my gaze for a moment before adding, "Please."
I shook my head, smiling. "Lead the way."
Her face immediately lit up. She turned around and headed for the kitchen, and I followed her.
The kitchen was exactly what I expected after seeing the rest of the house, which was to say, far more impressive than any kitchen had a right to be.
Everything looked clean, spacious, and expensive without being so flashy that it felt uncomfortable. The counters stretched farther than I expected, the cabinets looked like they belonged in some high-end showroom, and there was enough room between everything that I could probably walk around with my eyes closed and still not bump into anything.
I looked around for a moment.
"You weren’t kidding."
Nicole glanced back at me.
"This really is a nice kitchen."
Her smile widened slightly. "Told you."
She was already opening cabinets, apparently knowing exactly where everything was. A moment later, she pulled out a pan and held it toward me.
"Here."
I took it from her.
"Can you put that on the stove for me?"
"Sure."
She turned toward another cabinet while I placed the pan where she wanted it.
A second later, she handed me a cutting board. "And this."
I took that too. "Anything else?"
Nicole didn’t answer right away. She simply held my gaze, the corner of her mouth curling into a knowing smile, and I suddenly realized we were no longer talking about kitchen utensils.
I stared at her.
She held the look for another second before finally turning back to the counter. "Maybe."
I narrowed my eyes.
"Don’t do that."
She laughed softly and reached for another cabinet. "I was going to ask if you could get the potatoes."
"Ha ha. Very funny."
Her laugh only grew.
I shook my head, trying not to smile. "Where are the potatoes?"
She pointed toward one of the lower cabinets. "Down there."
I grabbed them and brought them over, placing them on the counter beside her.
For a few seconds, neither of us said anything. We simply moved around the kitchen, passing things back and forth as she started preparing dinner.
It felt strangely natural.
And maybe that was the part I found myself noticing most.
Dinner was, unsurprisingly, amazing.
The steak was cooked exactly how I liked it, the mashed potatoes were creamy without being too heavy, and somehow Nicole had managed to make the whole thing feel like something I’d ordered from an expensive restaurant rather than something she’d prepared in her own kitchen.
I told her as much.
She tried to act casual about it, but I caught the small smile that appeared on her face.
She also kept glancing at me while I ate, not constantly, just often enough that I noticed.
Every time I looked back, she would either look away or pretend she was focused on her own food, but I could tell what she was doing.
She wanted to know if I liked it.
And every time I took another bite, that satisfied little smile seemed to return.
It was honestly one of the things that made it difficult not to like her.
She was already someone I enjoyed being around. She was smart, funny, attractive, annoyingly good at getting under my skin, and somehow capable of making even something as simple as dinner feel like it mattered.
Adding good cooking to the list wasn’t exactly helping my situation.
After we finished eating, we stayed at the table for a while and talked. Nothing particularly serious. We jumped between random topics, laughed about things that happened at the university, and somehow ended up talking about cars for a while. It was easy. It was... comfortable.
Eventually, I checked the time and realized I should probably head home.
Nicole didn’t argue. She simply helped me clean up before walking me back outside.
The night air was cool by the time we reached my car.
She stood in front of me, looking at me with an expression that was noticeably different from the playful one she’d worn most of the evening. There was a faint reluctance in her eyes, almost like she wasn’t quite ready for the night to end.
I reached for the door handle.
"Can’t you just spend the night?"
I blinked.
It wasn’t like I hadn’t expected her to ask. In fact, after everything she’d done this evening, I probably should have seen it coming.
Hearing her actually say it, though, was still enough to catch me off guard.
She gave me a small pout, looking up at me with those eyes that made it painfully obvious she was hoping I’d say yes.
I couldn’t help but smile.
"You know, most people at least wait until the third visit before trying to trap someone in their house."
Her pout deepened.
"I wasn’t trying to trap you."
"Right."
"I wasn’t."
"Nicole, you literally asked me to spend the night after cooking me dinner and walking me to my car."
She crossed her arms. "That doesn’t prove anything."
I laughed softly.
"Sure."
Nicole stared at me for a moment. Then her expression suddenly changed, as if she’d just realized something.
"Wait." Her eyes brightened. "You just said you’d spend the night after the third visit."
I froze.
How the hell did she even take it there?
"That isn’t what I—"
"You said it."
"I was joking. It was a joke."
She smiled. Actually, no. She looked happier than she had all evening.
"You know what?" she said. "It’s actually perfect. You can go."
She turned around and started walking back toward the house.
I stared after her.
"That’s not what I meant. Nicole. Nic—"
She didn’t even turn around.
I let out a long sigh.
Of course. Of course she’d do that.
I got into my car and closed the door behind me.
A moment later, the engine came to life.
I looked through the windshield as Nicole continued walking toward the house. She didn’t bother looking back, probably because she already knew she’d won.
I watched her for another second before a quiet laugh escaped me.
She really was something.
I shook my head, still smiling, then put the car into gear and drove away.