CHAPTER FOUR: FRIENDS

So that friend-thing that Nicole had decided on last Monday? That was turning out to be decidedly harder than anticipated.

It had nothing to do with Nicole's own determination and opinion on the matter, but everything to do with Waverly and the way that she was dressed. She was just- Nicole bit her lip as her eyes scanned over Waverly's form for the umpteenth time that Friday night, 'She's just so fucking hot,' Nicole concluded to herself.

She might have already had a few too many beers, and Waverly was prancing around in a tight silver dress that displayed cleavage, midriff and thighs sexily; legs seeming impossibly long in high heels, even though she was so much shorter than Nicole herself, and hair straightened and loose, uncharacteristically for her as far as Nicole was aware. She just couldn't stop staring – it was impossible not to stare, and the redhead knew she wasn't the only one inside the bar who kept shooting lustful glances at the lithe brunette.

Nicole tore her eyes away from Waverly's ass, as she and Rosita made their way to the bar for another drink, and she turned her head to the side, determined to talk with some of the other students from the LGBTQIA Society, but her eyes caught Taylor's, and they gave her a saying glance as they took a sip of their beer.

Frowning, Nicole cast her eyes downward. She'd really tried to tell herself that friends was good, and that she could do that, but at the same time she was finding it decidedly difficult to control her attraction to Waverly. She'd even tried to take the edge off, in the shower, before getting ready earlier after her run; she'd used her shower head and her fingers, moaning against the bathroom wall, and it was only after she was done, when she was drying herself off in her bedroom to Calamity Jane's judging stare, that Nicole realised exactly who she'd been imagining between her legs the entire time.

Friends was definitely hard.

And she swore, she wasn't trying to be mean to Rosita or anything, but it just happened; she felt herself snap, being curt, not really wanting to talk to the other woman simply because she now knew the true nature of her relationship with Waverly. And Nicole wasn't a jealous person, actually far from – but maybe she was just really pissed that Rosita had been so close to Waverly and she herself was trying desperately to tell herself that she didn't want to experience the same thing.

Nicole tried really hard to listen and engage in a conversation that Jeremy had initiated about all of his different cacti in the apartment he shared with Rosita, but she couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when Rosita and Waverly came back to the table; Waverly was carrying a drink for each of them (it looked like a gin & tonic) and Rosita was balancing a tray filled with shot glasses containing a red, sticky, slush-icy substance.

"We've got shots for everybody!" She proclaimed, placing the tray on the table and taking a seat on the last spare chair.

Waverly sheepishly grinned at Nicole who scooted over on the bench, pressing herself as far up against Jeremy as she was comfortable with, leaving a little space for the brunette to sit at. Waverly pressed up against her body, her bare arm rubbing against Nicole's bare arm when she reached forward and grabbed two shots, pressing one of them into Nicole's hand. "Sweet and delicious," she whispered, pink lips shimmering as they wrapped around the glass and she downed it in one go.

Nicole followed suit, wincing slightly at the cold substance when it slid down her throat. It tasted good though.

"It's super awesome that you came along today," Waverly said then, green eyes travelling over Nicole's features kindly. Nicole was pretty sure that the other woman liked what she saw; it was kind of hard to keep her cool when she felt like her attraction towards Waverly wasn't just one-sided.

You'd have to be pretty blind not to acknowledge the sparks that flew between the two of them.

Nicole took a long sip of her beer, deliberately dragging out the time before she had to answer. She wasn't entirely sure what to say. Her initial desire to join the LGBTQIA Society for their night out had everything to do with Waverly and nothing to do with the rest of the students. She opted not to tell the other woman that though. "Need new friends," she murmured, wiping her hand over her lips, trying to catch a few spare droplets that had escaped.

Waverly's eyes followed a drop of beer as it trailed over Nicole's chin, and the redhead quickly wiped that off as well, her brown eyes raising to meet Waverly's green ones. The brunette grinned, "Just friends, eh?" She questioned, eyebrow raising, "Rosie told me all 'bout your ex. You don't feel ready to get back out there yet?"

The redhead's eyes landed on the brunette's lips, as she wrapped them around the straw in her drink. She sucked gently, awaiting Nicole's answer, and not for the first time that evening did Nicole get the feeling that Waverly was teasing her on purpose. She swallowed thickly. "Uhm," she breathed, mouth dry, "no?"

She had a really hard time remembering what Waverly's initial questioned had been. 'Friends,' she reminded herself, reaching blindly for her beer.

Waverly's green orbs shimmered in amusement as she continued to suck on her straw, tongue darting out to run across her lips as she sat the glass back down. This woman seemed so completely comfortable with her own sensuality, and Nicole found that very attractive. Of course the redhead knew that she, herself, wasn't by any means bad-looking, but she'd never shown her confidence in the way that Waverly was so clearly doing; flashing skin, small movements, saying looks. Nicole was confident in another way; her charm, her wit, her incredible (if Shae and other past lovers' words were true) skills in bed. Confidence took on many forms.

Knocking her elbow into Nicole's side, Rosita chose that moment to reach forward to clasp her hand over Waverly's on the table. Nicole suspected it was deliberate, and she was coming to realise that maybe her animosity towards the other woman wasn't one-sided. Rosita had seemed rather displeased with her presence all evening. She wasn't about to get into it though, she had far more interesting things to distract herself with.

"Waves, you wanna dance?" Rosita murmured, fingers caressing Waverly's hand lightly, in an almost pleading manner. Nicole could smell a whiff of her perfume as she leaned further over the table.

Waverly's lips curved into a smile. "In a minute," she whispered, eyes settling back on her drink, "take Tay and Jer and I'll come join you."

Rosita groaned, but pushed her chair back all the same. "But Jeremy can't dance!" She whined, which, fairness to Jeremy considered, Nicole actually believed. The clumsy Chemistry major didn't exactly appear to have many moves.

"But I can," Taylor butted into their conversation, wrapping an arm around Rosita's waist and pressing a kiss to her cheek, "you know I've got moves, Rosie-kins," they added, eyebrows wiggling up beneath the beanie they had chosen to wear even inside the bar. They looked handsome though; dressed in tight black pants, suspenders and a tie, complete with high heeled boots and a lot of glitter.

Jeremy manoeuvred his way around the table, almost knocking Waverly's G&T over (she caught it right before it tilted), and the three friends made their way onto the filled dance floor. Rosita cast a longing glance back at them, before she disappeared behind the other two into the crowd of writhing bodies. Nicole couldn't help the little smile present on her lips when she turned to meet Waverly's eyes once more. The brunette had chosen to stay with her.

Friends, right? Friends.

Waverly's plumb, very kissable lips, were wrapped around the straw once more, and Nicole felt her eyes fixate way too much on that fact. She cleared her throat. "You uh, you dance much?"

"I used to cheerlead," Waverly simply replied.

'Of course you did.' Nicole willed herself to immediately stop conjuring mental images of Waverly in a cheerleading uniform. "Nice," she breathed out, voice hoarse.

Chuckling, Waverly reached a hand out and gently flicked the shade of Nicole's cap, smiling devilishly at her. "I like this," she commented, her hand falling to rest on the table between them, which didn't go unnoticed by the redhead.

Which cap had she decided to wear again tonight? Oh, it was probably her simple bordeaux one that had the words 'Too gay to function' embroiled on the underside of the shade. She grinned sheepishly at the other woman, her dimples coming out to play. "Yeah? Wear a lot of caps, do you?" She teased, before she was even able to help herself. She darn well sometimes wished that flirting wasn't second nature to her.

Gasping, Waverly reached out and grabbed the cap off Nicole's head before the redhead even had time to react. The brunette placed it on her own head, with the shade in the back, and Nicole had to admit that she looked too adorable for words. "See," she pouted, but her eyes were glistening teasingly, "I can wear a cap."

Nicole ran a hand through her own hair, trying to ignore the fact that it was probably flat after hours beneath the cap. She didn't really mind, not that much, not when Waverly was looking so darn cute with her cap on. "Sure, sure," she murmured, lifting her beer to her lips, gulping it down, eyes never leaving Waverly's in the process.

Finishing her drink, Waverly placed the glass on the table and scooted off the bench. "I'ma go dance," she whispered, cheeks rosy. Her shirt had ridden up a little bit and Nicole was met with a splendid view of abs that she had no idea that Waverly was in possession of. Once more, she felt her mouth go dry, and Waverly turned on her heels, moving towards the dance floor, an extra sashay to her hips that Nicole was pretty sure was directed towards her. That ass in that dress though.

She felt her eyes go wide when Waverly stopped and turned her head around, looking at her with a daring smirk and a hand on her hip. "You comin' or what?" She questioned, eyes dark.

Nicole downed her beer and slipped off the bench, hand finding Waverly's as the other girl tugged her towards the dance floor and their friends.

Friends. Just like they were. Friends.

—-

Nicole's hands cupped Waverly's ass as the other woman pushed her against the wall in the tiny hallway of the bar, and their mouths worked in unison; lips pressing, caressing, and tongues prying. She could feel Waverly's hands on both side of her head, resting against the wall, as the brunette pressed up against her, her scent intoxicating Nicole as the minutes ticked by.

She was vaguely aware that people were pressing pass them, going here and there, but it wasn't an odd sight to behold, two women kissing against the wall in this particular bar. Nicole just breathed everything in, as she drew Waverly closer by her hands on the other woman's rear, pressing their hips together as they were pulled even closer. Something about being just friends soared in the back of Nicole's mind, but she wasn't entirely sure what all that had been about.

She couldn't honestly kid herself into believing this friends-matter when Waverly was so deliciously pressed against her entire body, and she had her hands full of the other woman, breaths ragged and skin hot. Waverly really smelled quite wonderfully, Nicole had to admit.

The brunette moaned softly as Nicole squeezed her closer, and then she trailed her lips away from Nicole's mouth, moving over her cheek towards her ear. Her breath tickled Nicole's sensitive earlobe as she opened her mouth to whisper in her ear. "You're so fucking hot."

Nicole felt the proclamation all the way in her pants, between her thighs, and she pressed herself further into Waverly's front, cursing the tight skirt that made it impossible to nudge her leg between the other woman's. A move she most definitely would have done right now if she'd had the room. She groaned in frustration and a ran a hand up Waverly's back instead.

Chuckling, Waverly trailed her kisses down the nape of Nicole's neck, ghosting over her collarbone and towards the edge of her breasts which were barely visible beneath the hem of her loose t-shirt. "Sorry," she breathed, as she trailed one hand away from the wall and down Nicole's side, lightly running over her hipbone, the top of her pants.

"It's a good dress," Nicole murmured, prying Waverly's face away from her collarbone, forcing their lips to meet once more, "but right now I hate it," she finished. Her tongue darted out, running over the seem of Waverly's lips, before the other woman granted her access and she took in the taste of shots, G&T and something that could only be Waverly herself. Nicole moaned into her mouth.

As Waverly's hands travelled up Nicole's stomach, running beneath her t-shirt, someone whistled from down the hall, and all of Nicole's resolve was gone. She couldn't do this, not right now, right here. Not with Waverly's fingers dancing tantalisingly over her skin, leaving goosebumps and want in their wake. Not with the way her ass had rubbed so beautifully against Nicole as they danced together, and definitely not with the way she had fought hard the entire night not to do the thing that she was pretty sure both of them wanted her to do – pull Waverly in for a kiss and finally let their lips touch.

Waverly had been so damn sexy, teasing her and dancing just a little too close to be friendly. Hands had lingered, skin had touched, and before Nicole had been able to stop herself, they were in the small, dimly lit hallway, and she was pressed up against the wall with Waverly pretty much taking control. Not that Nicole minded at all.

She was pretty sure that the other woman wasn't gonna pull them out of there though. There was just something about the way Waverly acted that Nicole just knew she wasn't going to suggest they leave. But it had been more than a month since Nicole had last had sex – with Shae – and she could feel how damp her underwear was, how the heat had coiled between her thighs, and damn did she want to take Waverly home.

Jeremy and Taylor might have said something about friends and stuff, but Nicole could honestly not remember a word of that conversation.

Her hand moved around Waverly's back, trying to pull her even closer, but it was in vain; there simply was not anymore space between them unless they wanted to shed their clothing. And as much as Nicole wanted to have the other woman naked, here was really not the place. She groaned and pulled at Waverly's hair, placing her lips against Waverly's neck and running her teeth over the sweaty skin there.

Waverly moaned loudly, her fingers curling into Nicole's side.

"Home," the redhead breathed then, pushing Waverly off of her and grabbing her hand resolutely. She squeezed her fingers and turned to the other woman with questions in her eyes, just to make sure that they were both definitely on board. "Mine or yours?"

Waverly's eyes were clouded with lust as her tongue darted out to wet her parched lips. "Yours," she breathed deeply, before she stepped pass Nicole and onto the dance floor, taking the lead.

She was still fucking wearing Nicole's cap.

Nicole woke up the next morning to light snoring and a mass of brown hair tickling her nose. For a second, she was confused about what was going on, but then she remembered. She remembered vividly.

Waverly Earp was laying in her bed, snoring, sleeping peacefully, entirely naked, buried beneath a mountain of blankets. And from the looks of it, she was drooling a little bit as well. Nicole bit her lip to stop herself from grinning aloud. Her own arm was slung over Waverly's side, resting across her abdomen, and from what the redhead could tell, she'd been the big spoon for most of the night. Not that she minded. Waverly's ass was pressed against her front, and it was absolutely delicious.

As it had been last night. Nicole wasn't really sure exactly what had happened at that club, and she was trying to recall how they ended up in her bed. All she was certain of was that there had been heavy flirting all night and she hadn't been able to stop herself.

She buried her nose into Waverly's hair, breathing in the smell of her, as she tightened her hold on the smaller woman. She could seriously get used to this. It felt as if Waverly's body had been made to fit exactly against hers, like two pieces of a human puzzle. Her and Shae had been more the same height, but this, this felt amazing, cuddling around the other woman like this. Not that she knew exactly what was going to happen now, not after last night, but they seemed to have passed friends a few kisses ago.

Waverly murmured lowly when Nicole snuggled her nose against her neck, and the redhead couldn't help herself; she ran her hands over the other woman's body, pushing the blankets aside, touching her breasts, dipping over her navel and then running over her thighs. The brunette led out a deep exhale, and Nicole knew that she was half awake, and she pressed herself closer to the other woman.

There was another murmur. "Mornin'."

Nicole felt herself smile, shushing Waverly as she pressed small kisses to her shoulder and back. She could feel her heart beat stronger against her chest when she ran her hand out over Waverly's hipbone only to run it teasingly across the curly hairs between her legs. There was a sharp intake of breath, and Nicole pressed her knee between Waverly's legs, nudging them open from behind, as she moved her fingers through the brunette curls.

She pumped in and out of Waverly slowly, lazily rubbing her palm against the other woman's clit, while she listened carefully to the small moans of appreciation that were ghosting across Waverly's pink and kiss-swollen lips. She felt the other woman's ass rub tantalisingly against her own naked centre, and even though this was because she couldn't stop herself from touching the other woman, it felt amazing to have her there, so close.

As Waverly reached her orgasm, she breathed out Nicole's name throatily. Her entire body stiffened, arching forward as the redhead tried to hold her in place, and when she came down down, Nicole ran her fingers back over her stomach, pressing kisses to her back.

"You're seriously beautiful when you come," she whispered, and she could see how her cold breath left goosebumps across Waverly's skin.

The brunette chuckled slightly, turning over in the bed so that they were nose to nose. "You're spectacularly good at that, did you know?"

Nicole tried to not look so smug (because yes, she did know), but her dimples betrayed her. "Yeah," she throatily whispered, leaning slightly forward to press her lips against Waverly's briefly. Morning breath and all that.

"You live here on your own?" Waverly questioned then, raising herself onto her elbow to stare around the tiny bedroom. Nicole hadn't had much of chance to show her around last night.

The redhead sat up too, fumbling for her glasses on the nightstand. "Yeah, I mean," she paused, finding them and pushing them onto her nose, "no."

With a raised eyebrow, Waverly looked at her in amusement, prodding her on.

"CJ lives here too," Nicole mumbled, and she stumbled out of bed then, ignoring the way she was entirely naked as she crossed the room to open the door into the rest of the apartment. She knew her cat would be pissed about the closed door; she always used to be when Shae stayed over. And Nicole was right, because the second the door was the slightest bit open, the red tabby had rushed into the room and jumped onto the bed with a giant meow.

Calamity Jane and Waverly stared at each other then; the brunette looked absolutely thrilled to have a cat in front of her, but the cat was looking at the new houseguest in disdain, eyes giant and round as it decided whether to like her or not. Finally, Calamity Jane let out another long meow.

"Oh my god, you're so cute," Waverly mused as she reached out and rubbed her fingers across the cat's fur. "Aren't you a little cutie-pie?" She questioned, lowering her voice.

Calamity Jane started purring and Nicole fell onto the bed as well, pulling the blankets to cover at least her bottom half. "'S Calamity Jane," she explained, scratching her cat on the nose.

"What kind is she?" Waverly eagerly asked, turning to Nicole with excitement in her eyes.

The redhead stared at the other woman with amusement. No one had ever asked her what kind CJ was – no one had ever minded or wanted to know. She was a Maine Coon, of course, but she was also just CJ. "She's uh… red?" Nicole settled for, not wanting to get too much into it.

Waverly gathered the cat in her arms with very little objection and pressed it against her naked chest. Nicole had to admit that it was slightly distracting how cute the other woman was with her cat – it was like Waverly couldn't get anymore perfect, but then she went ahead and did this? Nicole pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "Do you uh," she cleared her throat, feeling parched after last night's drinking and other… activities, "do you want coffee?"

Glancing around the room, Waverly's eyes landed on the giant clock on the wall, scrunching her nose up in confusion. "I should actually get going," she explained, shooting Nicole a strained smile. The redhead wasn't sure what it was, but suddenly she felt something in the mood shift. "I uh, I have a thing with Wynonna," she added, dropping CJ onto the mattress and pushing the covers aside.

Nicole didn't care much for the way Waverly suddenly hurried out of the warm and comfortable bed to find her clothing on the floor of the bedroom. It had all been strewn and tossed aside last night, before Nicole had descended between her legs, running her tongue across Waverly's impossibly wet folds. She clutched one of the blankets closer to herself. "Oh," was all she managed to get across her lips as Waverly pulled on her underwear and moved to clasp her bra.

"Yeah, we uh," Waverly shrugged, turning her shirt over as it was inside out, "we have this Saturday tradition at the house, eating breakfast together and stuff. I probably need to wake her when I get home."

Nicole then realised that she didn't even know where Waverly lived, but it sounded like she might live with Wynonna. "That's… cool," she whispered, running her tongue across her lips, "My family's far away, so it must be nice for you to have her close by."

Waverly nodded, stepping into her skirt as well. She pushed her hair away from her face, clearly annoyed by the fact that it was all in the way. It had started to curl a little as well, after a night rumpled in the sheets, and Nicole thought that she'd never seen the other woman look more beautiful than what she did right now; just awoken after a night in her bed. "Do you have a scrunchie I can borrow?" Waverly wanted to know then.

Nicole reached to her nightstand, pushing pass old contact cases and papers and books to find a scrunchie. She held it out for Waverly between two fingers, daring the other woman to come closer. "Here."

Waverly stepped forward then, grabbing the scrunchie into her hand. "Thanks," she whispered, but as she moved to pull back, Nicole grabbed her hand and pulled her closer. She pressed their lips together, and she felt Waverly kiss her back gently, almost too gently after what had transpired between them last night, and the redhead felt her heartbeat quicken when the other woman pulled back.

"So," she said, watching as Waverly pulled her long hair into a loose bun at the top of her head, "Do you wanna get together this week?" She questioned, eyeing the other girl appreciatively. She couldn't really read the situation and it was frustrating her. She could just sense that there was something off about the other woman.

Sighing, Waverly sat down on the edge of the bed, putting some space between the two of them. "Listen. Nicole," she begun, and Nicole felt her insides freeze. She was not prepared for what was going to come out of Waverly's mouth next, she was sure of it. She'd heard that 'listen' before, she knew what that 'listen' meant. She didn't want that 'listen' to come over Waverly's sweet, pink lips. Pink lips that just hours before had been wrapped around Nicole's nipple as the brunette fingered her to an amazing orgasm.

She closed her eyes, bracing herself for the blow.

"Thank you so much for last night," Waverly said then, her green eyes wavering as they finally moved to meet Nicole's brown ones, "it was, it was really great. Really nice," she murmured, "and I just wanted to make sure that we're on the same page, and…" she paused, tongue darting out to lick her lips, "that this is what it is."

Nicole could feel a sense of dread come crawling up the back of her spine.

"It was fun, right?" Waverly continued, eyes drifting nervously over Nicole's features. Obviously she was waiting for the redhead's confirmation.

Nodding, Nicole forced the words out of her mouth. "Yeah," she croaked.

The brunette looked relieved for just a second. "Yeah?" She confirmed, before hastily continuing her speech; not that Nicole wouldn't rather she didn't. "But I'm just…" she trailed off, "I'm just not really looking for anything serious right now," she whispered, green orbs shimmering as she tried to convey the seriousness to Nicole. "I mean, I uh, I really don't have time actually, with my studies and the clubs and Wynonna, and…"

Nicole cast her gaze down, not wanting to look at the other woman. She couldn't explain why, but this 'listen' felt a lot worse than any other 'listen' she'd ever been on the receiving end of. Why was Waverly telling her to listen? Hadn't she been there last night? Hadn't she, too, experienced the ridiculous amount of chemistry between them? A chemistry Nicole had never even come close to with any of her past lovers.

"I really just don't have time to date actually," Waverly added softly, and there was apologies written across her beautiful face. "I really like you, Nicole, and I really wanna be friends with you!"

The redhead clenched her jaw. Sure, friends. That's what Jeremy and Taylor had said too. Just friends. "But why did you sleep with me then?" She heard herself question. She could sense that she came off as bitter, and she didn't quite like that part about herself, but she couldn't help it.

Waverly flinched slightly. "You kissed me."

Sure, that was true. Nicole had been the one to initiate the first kiss, but it had been pretty clear that Waverly wanted it just as much as she did. She'd done nothing but flirt with Nicole all night, and she definitely had not said no when Nicole had pressed their lips together on the dance floor. "Sure, okay Waverly," she replied, glancing at the wall.

Reaching a hand out to clasp over Nicole's, Waverly continued. "I do wanna be friends," she added, dryly, "And uh, it's not that I wouldn't wanna do … this… again," she motioned between them when Nicole turned her head to look at her, "because let's face it, that was quite amazing," she grinned, eyes shining, "but in my experience… friends with benefits rarely end up well, and uh, I don't want you to get hurt."

Nicole wanted to object; wanted to question her why she just assumed that Nicole would be the one getting hurt, but she also knew that Waverly was probably right, so what was the point even? They could be friends, sure, but the benefits part would definitely not end well.

"Or we can continue to do this," Waverly proposed, straightening her back and daring Nicole to say something. "If so, we just can't really hang out otherwise."

The redhead opened her mouth, and the word spilled out of her before she even had time to contemplate it, "No," she piped. She definitely didn't want to not hang out with Waverly in any capacity. Sure, the sex was amazing, and it was a damn shame that she wouldn't be able to touch Waverly again, but she needed to be friends with her. She couldn't not spend time with her. It was out of the question. She cleared her throat, "Friends, friends is good," she whispered.

Waverly's shoulders slumped and she looked so relieved. "Yeah?" She questioned, and she looked so innocent that Nicole just wanted to wrap her arms around her and hug her close. 'But she just really doesn't deserve that right now, does she?' No, no she really didn't.

Nodding, Nicole brushed a piece of her read hair out of her eyes and forced a smile to the other woman. She could do this, she could so totally do this. Friends. "You uh, you can just find your way out of here, okay? I'll try to get some more sleep with Calamity Jane," she replied, eyes landing on the ginger cat that had snuggled up in Waverly's abandoned blanket.

A flicker of something else ran across Waverly's face, but the brunette stood up nonetheless and reached for her heels – the heels she'd kicked off last night before rushing to open Nicole's belt – by the door. She tugged them on, hand on the doorknob. "I'll uh, I'll see you around then?" She questioned, and she sounded almost hopeful.

"Sure," Nicole murmured, rolling onto her her side and tugging Calamity Jane into her stomach so they could lie close and snuggle. She couldn't bare to look at Waverly as the other woman left the room. She could hear how she swept through the small apartment, gathering her purse and jacket from the floor on the way. She held her breath, listening as the front door closed behind the brunette with a smack.

'Friends,' Nicole thought, as she bid back tears, determined not to cry and not be upset. She couldn't even explain why she was so affected by all of this. She'd just known the other woman for one week, it wasn't like their lives were intertwined or anything. She could simply just not see her again if that was what she wanted. "She wants to be just friends, CJ," she whispered, pressing a kiss to the cat's head.

Nicole couldn't help but think it was a little bit too late for just friends.