"Your, uh, your parents fuckin' left a few minutes ago," Negan informed Nicole as she finished drying off and getting dressed. "Two separate cars. You should be safe to sneak back over unnoticed." A smile formed on his face and Nicole smiled back, running a hand through her towel-dry hair.

"Thanks." She chuckled to herself, "I feel like it's like James Bond or something... sneaking around."

He snickered again and tossed on a t-shirt over a pair of black pants. "Well... thanks for keeping me fuckin' company."

"Yeah." Nicole nodded, feeling that sinking feeling again from the uncertainty of their unorthodox relationship. It was a weight that she felt each time she parted from him. Now that she'd spent a night sleeping next to him the feeling was magnified.

"You okay?"

She forced a smile, trying to focus on the amazing aspects of their night together rather than the depressing what'ifs that plagued her mind. "Yeah. I'm good."

Negan looked her up and down a moment and then waved her out of the spare bedroom with him.

Nicole reached for her bag and followed him down the hall into the kitchen where he began rummaging through a drawer filled with miscellaneous coupons, writing utensils, and post-it notes. He ripped a yellow post-it from the top of a short stack of them and then scribbled seven digits with a black sharpie and handed it to her.

"I know this is kind of the old- fashioned way to give someone your phone number," he went on, handing it over, "But, shit, I'm old."

She felt the butterflies again - a surge of positive vibes that overtook her worries as she accepted his number. "You're not that old."

Negan smiled. "Send me a text or some shit so I have your number too. Just..." He hesitated and attempted to find the right way to word what he was thinking. "Save me under a different name for now maybe."

Nicole nodded, the darker side of their situation now regaining control over the good side again. It was like a powerful game of tug-of-war.

"I know that sounds fucked up." He scratched the back of his head.

"No," she shook her head, "I get it." Nicole was tempted to ask a question about Lucille but she wasn't sure what to ask, or even where to start. All the same she didn't want to ruin the most amazing night of her life with an awkward, short discussion as they parted.

Negan stared at her a moment and then Nicole decided to offer to leave so he wouldn't have to ask her to.

She pointed over her shoulder toward the back door with her thumb. "I'll, um... I'll see you later."

He nodded and followed her to the door as she began to head that way. When she turned the knob and pulled it open, Negan pressed his hand against it and closed it again.

Nicole stared up at him and Negan opened his mouth to speak, though nothing came out. She waited, and saw he was visibly distressed, at least for a moment, as his eyebrows pressed together. It wasn't like Negan to be at a loss for words. Nicole knew him well enough by now to know that he often had plenty to say - and then some.

"I, uh..." He cleared his throat and paused for another several seconds. "I get out of work around three."

She wanted to smile, and inside her heart was doing backflips; but she was too overwhelmed by the look on his face and his unwillingness to let her leave to show it. "Okay," Nicole said simply. When, again, he didn't speak she continued. "My parents usually aren't out of work until about five, so..." She snickered, "I could probably easily get back over here... I just don't know how I would get back home."

"You could always sleep over your friend's house again." Negan tipped the corner of his mouth up in a smile, making her grin wider.

"They may send a search party." Nicole took it upon herself to bring her lips back to his, watching for a second as Negan's eyes closed firmly before closing hers.

He pulled her tightly against him, leaving the other against the door and kissed her harder before reluctantly letting her go. "I gotta go to work." Negan brought his lips back to hers once more and Nicole found herself craving him again. When her hands tightened around the fabric of his shirt he cursed against her mouth. "Fuck."

"Do you think..." she breathed, "Do you think Holly would care if I slept over a second night?"

Negan finally managed a full grin, continuing to alternate between playfully making out with her and having a conversation. "I don't think she'd fuckin' mind." He grunted and groaned, closing his eyes and roughly pressing his forehead and nose against her. "Fuck, I want to just pick you up and put you on the counter and..." He let out a sigh as he let the rest play out in his mind.

Nicole kissed him again, playing into the raw aggression he attempted to control by pushing his face into hers. She felt his hard-on pressing through his pants as their bodies collided again.

"It's not fuckin' healthy to fuck this much." He reached down, adjusting himself and moved away to regain some control. Negan kept his eyes closed again and tried to think of anything else. He knew if she touched him at that moment then he'd willingly be late to work because he would have to have her again. "I have to go."

Nicole knew she had been indulging in her own pleasures far too much and decided to take a moment to be fair to him. As bad she wanted to cross back into his personal space and take control of the situation she refrained, noting he was trying to contain himself.

"I'll call you," she told him.

Negan opened his eyes and looked her up and down before nodded. A smile finally crossed his face again and he laughed at himself. "I should have just taken a fuckin' sick day."

Nicole giggled and shrugged, this time opening the back door fully. "I'll go home before you change your mind."

He let out a deep breath and watched her a moment. "Keep that bag packed."

"I will." She smiled at him and looked around the house once more before opening the screen door. "See ya later."

Negan swallowed hard and nodded, watching as she exited his home.

The intense energy that had swept over him made him feel like a new man each time he saw her. Negan wasn't used to not being in control, though he openly acknowledged now that Nicole held some power over him. Their instant, intense connection had left him fantasizing about her long after they'd parted.

He crossed the kitchen and glanced out a window that gave a view of her house, watching as Nicole pulled open the back door. She gave a final look in his direction before heading inside and Negan turned away from the window, bracing himself against the kitchen table.

What the fuck is wrong with me? He couldn't deny that what he was doing was wrong, but also acknowledged that his stomach seemed to drop when Nicole disappeared inside her home next door. In the tail end of the same thought his thoughts were heavily contradicting. I could be fucking her right now but I just let her walk out.

Negan closed his eyes and drew a hand across his beard. For a moment he just stood there in the empty house, letting his thoughts wander in rapid-fire fashion. Whatever was happening between him and Nicole had its hooks in him. She was a like a drug and he was heavily addicted. The hardest part was knowing he could walk across the invisible line that separated their yards, knock on the door and never look back. Nicole, he knew, was willing to do whatever he wanted. He was beginning to feel like that worked in reverse because Negan also knew that if Nicole was the one to coming knocking on his door, he wouldn't be able to deny her.

"Shit." He said the word quietly to himself and glanced at the clock. With fifteen minutes to spare he decided to try to make the feeling go away temporarily and walked down the hallway toward the bathroom.

Steam still lingered on the mirror and when he saw his lone reflection he immediately missed having Nicole there in front of him as she had been a short time earlier.

Negan stared himself down, shaking his head. Get a hold of yourself you pussy. He cursed himself for feeling the way he did, even if the feeling was purely sexual. Mostly sexual. He corrected the phrase in his head and shook his head almost angrily again before stripping off his clothes and adjusting turning the shower back on.

He shivered as he stepped in, purposely leaving the water cold and closed his eyes, teeth chattering, as he stood directly under the icy flow of water. Negan wrapped his arms around himself and was able to focus on the uncomfortable sting from the shower rather than the one that burned inside of him. He stood there enduring it until the top of his head felt nearly numb. Negan turned the handle hard, creating a loud thump as it clicked back into place and the faucet turned off.

Again, he took a deep breath and still shivered there alone for a moment before ripping back the curtain so he came face to face with himself again in the mirror. Negan took in his shivering body, his desperate eyes and chattering teeth. In that moment he felt he looked more like a scared child than the strong man he viewed himself as.

He shook his head again. What the fuck did I let this woman do to me?