"Uh, do you want to watch a movie or something?" Nick wasn't sure why, but he felt about as nervous as he had on his first date in high school as he and Sara walked through the door into his house. They had stopped by her apartment so she could pick up a change of clothes and a few toiletries and now it occurred to him that the whole situation was making him feel a little awkward. She was his friend and he was a little too excited at the prospect of getting to share a bed with her again; in the back of his mind he was considering that his motives were suspect.
"Uh, sure." Sara smiled at him, feeling as if maybe she shouldn't have volunteered to sleep with him. He had a perfectly good couch and a perfectly good guest room that she could have offered to stay in rather than actually share a bed with him given the way her thoughts had been wandering.
"Or we could eat something...neither of us has eaten in a while." Nick was formulating a plan in his mind. If he could get them to stay up long enough, he'd be too tired to do something stupid in his sleep to make Sara uncomfortable.
"That sounds good." Food could be just the distraction she needed to focus on the fact that she was here for Nick as his friend. She couldn't let herself forget that less than a day and a half ago, he'd been perfectly happy with Amy; until she dumped him that is. Even if there was a remote possibility that Nick could ever be attracted to her, she did not want to be someone's rebound.
Nick sauntered over to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator to take stock of what he had in it. He glanced over at Sara with a quirked eyebrow. "We may want to consider eating take out."
Sara looked at him curiously, noting the impish grin that flitted across his face. "Any particular reason?"
"Well unless you have a need to make your own antibiotics, I think I need to clean out my fridge." Nick smirked as he held up a container of left-over something which was clearly growing something.
"Take out's good." Sara smirked back.
"Ok, you pick, I'll just clean this out." He gestured towards the refrigerator and then grabbed the trash can and pulled it closer. "The take out menus are by the phone."
Sara walked over to the desk that held the phone and began to sift through the menus sitting there. "Pizza, Thai, Chinese, Mexican..." She came to one menu and stopped, a smile spreading across her face. "How about Indian?"
Nick didn't even look up, he just nodded. "That sounds good."
Just as Sara reached for the phone to place an order, it rang. She looked at Nick who glanced up at her. "You want me to get that?"
"Sure." Nick reasoned that it was probably his mom, the only other person who would normally have called at this hour he didn't even want to think about.
Sara hit the answer button on his cordless phone, the caller ID just showing it as a no ID number. "Hello." There was silence at the other end. "Hello?"
A female voice that Sara recognized spoke. "Is Nick there?"
Sara's eyes widened as she realized just who was on the other end of the line. "I'll see if he wants to talk to you." She covered the receiver and mouthed her words as she looked at Nick with concern on her face. "Amy."
Nick grimaced but then reached out for her to give him the phone. His brows were deeply furrowed as he spoke. "Hello." His body language changed as he listened to her talk; he looked tense.
Sara just stood there watching his facial expressions. He was obviously not pleased with the conversation.
After a few minutes of listening, Nick finally interrupted. "Look, Amy, I'm sorry that you're sorry...but I know about you and John."
Sara could hear the choice curse word that Amy spoke through the phone from where she stood on the other side of the counter.
"How could you do that?" Nick looked genuinely hurt.
Sara wondered if she shouldn't just go into the other room and she actually took a step to head down the hallway to give Nick some privacy when he caught her eyes and shook his head, waving her back.
Whatever explanation Amy offered apparently sounded hollow. "Look, Amy, I thought I really loved you, but maybe it just wasn't enough for you..." Nick winced. "Ok, or maybe it was too much for you...in any case, I don't think I want you back." He paused for a moment and looked over at Sara who he was surprised to find was trying to blink back tears. "No, I know I don't want you back." He clenched his jaw as Amy tried to give him one more argument to take her back. "You knew what kind of guy John was before you made your choice. I'm sorry, but no." Nick ended the call and set the phone down on the counter, letting out a deep sigh of relief that there was no going back.
"Do you want to be alone?" Sara's eyes were still a little teary, but she'd managed to keep them all in check. She reasoned that if Nick needed some time, she could certainly go out and pick up some food.
His smile was weary but peaceful. "No. I just want to spend some time with my friend and get some sleep." He was grateful for Sara and maybe someday he might explore these other feelings he was starting to have; but for now, he just wanted her company.
Sara made her way back into the kitchen and walked over to Nick to give him a hug, feeling a tear finally slip down her cheek, and unsure of why she felt so emotional all of a sudden. Her voice was a bit thick when she whispered loudly. "She doesn't deserve you. You know that don't you?"
Nick enveloped her in his arms and just held her for a long moment, whispering back. "Thanks, Sar, you have no idea how much that means to me." He wasn't sure he wanted to try and explain it to her, so he just held onto her and breathed in the scent of her hair, finally pulling away before the moment had a chance to get awkward.
Sara smiled at him. "Are you gonna be ok?"
"Yeah." Wanting to change the subject, Nick smirked. "Now before we were so rudely interrupted, you were going to order some Indian food." He wanted to get his mind as far away from Amy as possible, and at the moment, dinner and a movie with Sara just sounded heavenly.