Chapter 11- The Kiss & The Promise
"Nick…I, uh…" Stephanie stammered. One simple sentence caused her heart to flutter and her hands to shake. Her voice was no better; it was all over the place with nerves.
Coming back to realisation Nick looked away and went to scratching the back of his head nervously…
"Shit, fuck… I, I didn't mean to uh… say um… that." Nick also stammered hesitantly.
Stephanie silently and awkwardly nodded in reply.
What felt like an entire eternity but in fact was only a few seconds; the raven-haired pair stood awkwardly not saying anything to each other. Who was going to make the first move?
"Stef, c'mon… please. I'm sorry… I'm sorry for everything, being a dick and all…" Nick finally decided to say something first as he felt like it was his fault all of this shit happened anyway. He just hoped Stephanie wasn't still mad…
Finally, Stephanie slowly tilted her head upright so that she was facing Nick. He was already looking down at her with concern and regret showing clearly within his ocean blue eyes.
Inside, Stephanie forgave Nick for everything that had happened so far… None of it was his fault; none of it was hers, no matter how many times she had said it was… All people had their differences no matter how similar they looked. Nick and Stephanie had their differences even with their corresponding black hair and blue eyes…
Arguments, disagreement's… they were all natural. In the end, they were only human beings.
Just ask him Stef, c'mon, just do it!
"Nick… do you… love me?"
It was so quiet, almost a whisper. The words were frightening to say, as there was such thing as 'rejection'… Yikes, that would be embarrassing…
"Do you?" Nick questioned instead of answering Stephanie's original question.
"Do you what? Stephanie questioned back, deciding that she won't be the one to give in first…
"Do you love me?" Nick asked, a small smirk forming on his face. A light shade of crimson made it's way onto his cheeks and Stephanie could only think the same was happening to her.
"I asked you first." Stephanie replied, a small smirk now on her face as she watched for Nick's reaction.
Nick stood silently for a few moments, as if he was trying to figure at what to say next. He knew Stephanie wasn't going to give in first…
It's only a yes or no answer, Nick…
How hard can it be?
Taking a deep breath, Nick looked Stephanie straight in the eyes, already getting lost in the colour…
"Yes…"
Nick didn't say anything after that. He wasn't entirely sure whether it was too early to confess his feelings, whether they were feelings or not… But he hadn't felt this way for someone in a long time… He knew Stephanie was someone special. Someone he hoped he would not lose anytime soon…
"Nick… I…"
"You?"
"Thank you… Nick, that was… uh, really kind of you." Stephanie breathlessly replied. She was taken aback from Nick's confession, it left dozens of butterflies in her stomach and her cheeks were burning like mad. She couldn't take it. Has it really been this long since she had last loved someone?
Nick just do it.
It's now or never, buddy…
"You're welcome." He whispered.
Nick slowly bought himself closer to the shorter woman. They were nearly touching until Nick bought one of his hands up to stroke the side of Stephanie's blushing cheek. Her skin was soft and warm and his fingers left the same feeling on Stephanie's skin.
"I love you Stef…" Nick whispered again soothingly, making Stephanie's heart tickle and her face redden.
Nick meant it... he was sure...
Stephanie knew she couldn't stay silent anymore…
"I… I love you too Nick…" Stephanie whispered also, stammering slightly due to her nerves. She hadn't felt like this is a long time…
Now cupping her cheeks with both palms, Nick took a few moments to study Stephanie's face while she looked up at him in a full-blown daze.
Everything about her was perfect to Nick. He never imagined what his ideal girl would be… She didn't have to have black hair, blonde hair, brown hair, white skin, black skin… None of that seemed to matter to Nick as long as he loved her. But Stephanie, she just ticked his boxes. He had found the person that he loved… Even in the middle of the damn apocalypse… he had found her. And honestly, he loved her from the start... It was only trust that made you want to question.
Ever so slowly, Nick leaned forward. To his luck, Stephanie also leaned in. This was it… it was going to happen…
The tension rapidly increased as their faces came closer, and within less than a second, both the raven-haired man's and the raven-haired woman's lips made contact smoothly. The warming feeling in both Nick and Stephanie's heart sent them over the edge. This was comfort… this is what they both needed.
Stephanie raised her arms so that they wrapped around Nick's neck, and Nick slowly took his hands away from Stephanie's face and wrapped them tenderly around her waist. They stood for what felt like forever, in a dark, damp shed, locked up and surrounded by the faint sounds of walker's, yet they didn't care. They were now exchanging their trust for each other, showing it within love, within a long, deep kiss.
Nick carefully removed his lips from Stephanie's and slowly traced his way down to her neck, gently placing small kisses randomly around her neck. Stephanie let out a small and quiet moan as Nick caressed the sweet spot of her neck. She could feel him grinning slightly through her skin…
"Nick…" Stephanie breathlessly muttered catching his attention.
"Yeah?" Nick slowly replied breathlessly also. He removed himself away from Stephanie's neck. His face was hot and flustered and so was hers as he looked down to her gentle face. They still had their arms wrapped around each other.
"I'm sorry for everything I said to you…" Stephanie explained saddened.
Nick looked down at Stephanie and smiled.
"There's nothing to be sorry for Stef…"
Stephanie smiled back gratefully.
"Can we just forget what happened then?" she asked quietly.
"Yeah… we can." Nick replied, smile still there and blue eyes shining.
"Should we uh… get some rest?" Nick asked, looking around the shed for a decent place to lie.
"Yeah… I'm tired." Stephanie replied before letting out a small yawn.
Nick chuckled before slowly letting go of Stephanie and walking towards the front door of the shed.
"Is here alright?" Nick asked indicating to the ground.
Nowhere in the shed was 'alright' the sleep on. The ground was hard, damp and cold… but anything had to do…
"Yeah." Stephanie replied with a smile before walking over to Nick and sitting down.
The two then lied down on the hard ground, closer than they were the previous nights of sleeping. They faced each other and wrapped their arms, also around each other's bodies.
"God damn, it's freezing." Stephanie said not long after lying down. She was already starting to shiver.
"Isn't it?" Nick replied with a slight smile. He slowly pulled Stephanie closer to his body so that she was curled up on his chest. His heart pounded every time Nick thought about how close they were to each other, how they kissed for what felt like years but only ended up being a few minutes. This was a comfort he hadn't felt in years…
"Don't leave me Nick… promise me you won't…" Stephanie suddenly muttered quietly into Nick's shirt.
"I won't Stephanie… I won't." Nick promised.
It had been a while since Nick had made a promise like this… let's just hope he could keep it…