"No, no, definitely not, not in your wildest dreams."
Nina couldn't believe herself. She was falling for a coworker. And not just any coworker.
Dennis Finch.
It all started when she found him living in Jack's office, after the breakup of his marriage. Or maybe it started a long time before that. She didn't know. All she knew is that she was falling for him.
Falling hard. Nina was falling for him harder than she did with her previous marriages...all of them combined.
But she couldn't tell him. Not after the time she made fun of him for asking her out. Not after the time she and him at their weakest points made out. Nina had to admit that it was obvious that he enjoyed it. In her honest opinion, no one could kiss Nina Van Horn, and not enjoy it. It was impossible.
She sits in her office waiting for five o clock to hit. That way, maybe she could gather the courage to tell him. To tell him she was falling for him, and falling hard. Nina pulls a cigarette out of her purse and her lighter. She sticks the cigarette in her mouth as she reaches for the private stash of alcohol in her office.
"Brandy mood today." She sighs, cigarette still in her mouth, as she pours a half a glass of the amber colored liquid. She throws a few ice cubes in the drink, and sets the drink down to light her cigarette.
Lighting it, she smiles, and takes a deep inhale, then exhales slowly, watching a stream of smoke shoot from her lips. Cigarette in one hand, brandy in the other, she sips the brandy slowly.
"This is going to be hard." She takes another puff of the cigarette, before she dabs it in the ashtray Binny got her for Christmas the year before.
Jack walks in, finding Nina smoking.
"Something bothering you? You only do both when you're stressed." Jack had known her for quite a long time. He'd never really seen her that stressed. Except for the time when the daughter she'd put up for adoption found her, and the other time when she learned within the same visit that she was also grandmother to a young woman who reminded her more of herself than her own daughter Chloe.
Nina dabs the cigarette in the ashtray, and looks up at Jack. She could tell him, he knew more about her than the rest of the gang did, even his own daughter Maya. He'd seen her through all her marriages, and all her divorces. He was her best friend, just as much as her friend Binny was.
"Jack, can I tell you something, and you have to promise not to speak a word of it?" Nina said, taking a swig of the brandy.
Jack smiled. "Anything, Nina. You know me well enough to not tell a soul, even my own daughter."
Nina nodded. She did know him well enough to know just that. Continuing her train of thought, she smiled.
"What if I tell you that I'm falling for Finch?"
Jack looked at her, a bit stunned. "Dennis? You're falling in love with Dennis?"
Nina took another swig of the amber colored liquid. "You could say that."
She poured herself a second glass, and smiled.
"Have you told him your feelings yet?" Jack said, still trying to understand what Nina just told him. He knew Dennis had a crush on Nina, but Dennis always hid his feelings for her, as most times, Nina rejected his advances.
"Not yet. Not sure how he'd react."
She stirred her drink, slowly and nervously. Nina didn't know how to tell Finch. She could only hope he'd react the way she imagined him to.
In a typical, Finch like, manner.
Five o clock hit pretty fast, or was it the gin. No wait, it definitely was that martini she had after her lunch.
Nina was nervous; this wasn't exactly her first time hitting on Finch. And last time did not go well on her part.
She saunters over to Finch, and waits for him to look up.
He looks at her, confused. "Nina, if it's about using the limo for your boozing escapades with your party buddies, you know Jack will not approve. Last time, he found the limo reeking of booze and cigarettes."
Nina puts a hand to his mouth. "Hush…no one's supposed to know about that."
She sighs. "And no, I don't need the limo. I came to ask you something."
He sighs. "Okay, spill."
Twisting a curl in her hair, she smiled. "What if I told you that…oh, damn this is so hard to say…someone has a crush on you and this time she's not kidding or playing a prank?"
Finch leaned in. "I'm intrigued. Go on…"
Nina smiled. She could only hope that he'd take the news well.
"Finch…it's me. I'm falling for you. And this time, I'm not playing a sick horrible joke. This is for real."
He stared at her blankly at first…then a silly grin came across his face.
"I knew it!" Finch exclaimed. He then looked at her.
"You're not joking this time are you?" Nina shook her head no, responding in almost a whisper, "Not this time, my feelings for you are very much real."
He was still vulnerable after his wife Adrienne had left him. But his therapy sessions had helped him to understand that the two had nothing in common to begin with. Nina was a drinker, took pills…some with names that he'd have to bust out foreign language dictionaries for, a smoker, a partier. He loved parties, especially ones Jack let him go to because Jack turned down a lot of events to raise Maya's half-sister Hannah whose mother was the best friend of Maya-Allie. Nina and Finch both knew how to get under Maya's skin, both were sometimes high strung, both loved a good time…so she hoped if they tried, things could work.
Nina pulled him in closer to her.
"Is this convincing enough to you?" she kisses him, directly on the lips.
Pausing, she waits for his reaction to the kiss.
He throws his paperwork down, and runs into Nina's arms. She takes him in, as she had desired to for a long time.
"Jack gone?" Nina whispered to Finch.
"He left a half hour ago. Why?"
"Come…" she pulls him inside Jack's office. He smiles.
Shutting the door, she presses Finch against the door.
"I want you."
He laughs, and smiles. "Sex in Jack's office?" Nina presses herself against him, grinning.
"Hush, Finch." She plants a kiss on his lips, and he reciprocates and they made out, finally falling onto the couch in the office.
Nina pushes herself against Finch, thrusting her body against him. He pushes her back a bit, a look on his face, a look of caution.
"Whoa whoa whoa Nina... Slow down the train."
She stops, looking a little bent out of shape. He smiles and puts an arm around her.
"Finch- I have a question to ask you."
He looks at her, a look of sheer excitement.
"Spill the beans."
Clearing her throat, she smiled.
Have you ever...fantasized about me? She stopped to realized what she said, laughing," Of course! You probably did."
Finch smiled. "Well, duh! All my friends did..." he did the unthinkable, kissing Nina on the lips. Somehow it felt right.
She looks at him, a smile on her face.
"For some strange reason, this feels like we did the right thing."
"It kind of does."
They resumed making out. Nina normally would have gone straight to the bed, but she thought, since it was Finch that she should take it slowly.
How did I get here?
I woke up in an unfamiliar bedroom, an unfamiliar bed, and not only that, naked and next to a sleeping Nina Van Horn.
A naked, sleeping Nina Van Horn.
I gasped. Oh my god. What did I do? What was I on? Was there any sex?
Nina wakes up, and turns to look at me. She smiles. This is not normal Nina behavior.
"Good morning," she says cheerfully. Definitely not normal to behavior Nina usually displays. Usually she makes jabs about my height or something.
I looked into her eyes.
"What happened?"
Nina shrugged. "I don't know. One minute we were at a bar, next minute I'm waking up next to you... stark naked."
She scratches her head. Maybe she was as confused as I. Nina seems like she's surprised that she was sleeping with me. I, Dennis Finch finally scored with of all people, Nina Van Horn. The former model of all his friends' and their fantasies.
Nina traced Finch's chest gently.
"Well, it's not that bad...you, me... sharing a bed."
She smiled and leaned into him, kissing him gently against his neck. Finch didn't speak; he just let her do her thing.
It was after all, Nina. If he didn't let her have him, she'd throw a fit.
Or that's what he heard.
He heard she was good. She proves him right. Kissing him against his neck and laying alongside him, she caresses his bare skin gently. Finch couldn't believe this.
After nine years, he finally got her where he wanted her.
She was good; he had to admit, too good. He reciprocates and she purrs happily in his ear. He felt weird touching her skin; it wasn't typical of him to do so. But it felt cool to the touch, and he smiled at the thought of being with Nina.
Jack would laugh. After all the times she rejected him, now she sought comfort in his arms.
I look at her, asking, "Why now? You've never once wanted me, or noticed me."
She sighs and leans into my neck. I feel her hot breath against my moist skin. Her lips pressing against my neck told me.
"I've always had the hots for you. Sometimes I wish I could have given in."
Affectionately she nuzzles him with her nose. He smiles as she spoons up behind him and holds him close to her. She leans in, and they kissed.
"I guess we had to stumble through other relationships before we realized we were a pair."
Finch smiled as he stroked her hair. "I agree.
Nina smiled." This moment, it's so hard to believe we came this far."
Finch looked up at her, smiling. "Was I good last night—I must've been drunk." He laughed. Normally he didn't drink a whole lot.
Nina sighed." You were amazing." She kissed him again on the lips.
Finch grinned. He finally got his dream woman. And it took him a whole nine years to get her.