I'm so sorry this update took so long! I started to keep going with this chapter, but wanted to get something posted. I hope to have the next chapter posted within the week! Hope you enjoy it.
"I broke up with Champ, Nicole."
"Yeah, no… I heard you… I just…" her voice faded.
"You just haven't said anything…" Waverly's voice wavered, slightly, as she dropped her head.
"Waverly, look at me," Nicole responded, realizing she needed to reassure Waverly. She stretched her right foot out, tapping the side of Waverly's foot to get her attention. Waverly finally looked back up to Nicole and was met with the taller girl's soft, kind smile that stretched to her eyes. Her heart raced, waiting for Nicole to speak.
"I have to be honest… I don't really know what to say here." Nicole paused, and took a breath, never breaking eye contact. "You caught me off-guard, Wave. Obviously, I'm excited about what I hope that means, but… I mean, are you okay? I know you were with him for years... Celebrating your break-up doesn't really seem right." She looked at Waverly with tenderness and worry.
Waverly melted on the spot at Nicole's thoughtfulness, and was immediately drawn to close the gap remaining between the two of them, slipping her free hand hand into Nicole's, giving it a light squeeze.
"Thank you, Nicole," she said softly. "But I promise you, I'm okay."
Nicole nodded and ducked her head, trying to hide how much Waverly's hand in hers was affecting her.
"Actually, that's not true," Waverly said, suddenly.
"Oh?" Nicole asked, lifting her chin again.
"I'm not okay… I mean," she quickly corrected, "I'm not just okay. I'm good… I'm really, really good." And Waverly squeezed Nicole's hand again, stroking the back of it with her thumb as the lines around her eyes became prominent with her impossibly wide growing grin.
Nicole blushed and squeezed back, stomach flipping and hands tingling at the way Waverly was looking at her.
"Baby girl!" Wynonna hollered from the table.
Nicole and Waverly awkwardly hopped back from each other, Nicole silently thankful that the height of the pool table hid their intertwined hands from their table.
"Yeah, Wy?" Waverly said, voice tinged with annoyance.
"Are y'all still playing that same game of pool? Get back over here."
Waverly looked back to Nicole, shrugging, and they re-racked their pool cues and went back to the booth. Waverly scooted in first, Nicole, close after, tucking into the seat to Waverly's left.
"What is it, Wynonna?" Nicole asked.
"We're playing a new game and we needed more players."
"Okay…" Nicole said, watching on, expectantly.
"Never Have I Ever." Wynonna said, shit-eating grin on her face.
Nicole immediately groaned and rolled her eyes, "No way, Wynonna… I don't…"
"Sounds fun to me!" Waverly cut in, turning to Nicole with an eyebrow raised, in challenge.
Nicole glared at her briefly, and then laughed, shaking her head.
"What?" Waverly said, directed only to Nicole.
"I just hate games like this…" Nicole said, softly, smile still plastered to her face.
"Well…" Waverly said, hand slyly brushing over Nicole's knee and up the inside of her thigh… "I think it might be fun," Waverly winked.
The blood drained out of Nicole's face and she zeroed in on Waverly's hand on her leg for an embarrassing amount of time. Finally, Waverly coughed slightly, tapping Nicole's knee with her thumb.
Nicole rolled her eyes and covered Waverly's hand on her leg with her own, looking at Wynonna. "Alright, count me in," she sighed.
"Hells yeah!" Wynonna said, fist pumping.
"Okay… so, never have I ever… gotten a traffic ticket," Dolls said, confidently.
The other four groaned at the lame turn in their game as they took chugs of their respective drinks. Wynonna—of course—couldn't let it slide.
"Dolls, good lord, you are boring as FUCK…. You've never even gotten a speeding ticket?! I mean, I don't know why I'm surprised, you cringe when I use a piece of Black Badge stationary to make my shopping list for the liquor store, but I mean… COME ON. Be slightly more interesting for this game, PLEASE?!"
Nicole, Waverly, and Docs all chuckled to themselves while Dolls simply shrugged. Wynonna flailed a bit longer until the turn finally moved on to Waverly.
"Never have I ever… smoked pot?" Waverly said, sheepishly.
Wynonna and Doc both laughed out loud, taking long, deliberate chugs from their beers. But, of course, the real surprise came when Nicole slowly, but surely took a sip of her beer, sly grin firmly plastered on her face.
"Nicole!" Waverly said, giggling.
"What?" Nicole said, laughing and pseudo-casually running her fingers across the back of Waverly's hand, still resting on her thigh. Nicole looked around the rest of the table, looking for support of her obvious admission. "Is that really a big deal?" Nicole asked, laughing.
"Well I sure as hell am not gonna be thinking of you as such a goody-two-shoes anymore, but no ma'am… that just means you're a normal human being, Nicole!" Wynonna stated. She raised a hand to Nicole, gesturing for a high five. Knowing a high five with her left hand would be awkward, she reluctantly pulled her hand from the back of Waverly's, leaned across the table and high-fived Wynonna.
"Thanks, I guess?" she said to Wynonna, chuckling.
Nicole smugly took another sip of her beer, as Waverly looked on, somewhat in awe.
"Well, I learn something new about you every day, Officer Haught," Waverly said, slightly under her breath towards Nicole. Nicole winked, imperceptively to anyone except Waverly.
All eyes stayed trained on Nicole, waiting for her to take her turn, but Nicole was lost in Waverly's gaze and the shy, but seductive look being thrown her way. It took Doc—who was surprisingly in tune with what was taking place across the table from him—kicked Nicole's foot to jar her back to reality.
"Oh! Oh… is it my turn? It's my turn…" she said, clearly flustered. "Ummm…" she thought for a moment or two, trying to ignore Waverly's attempt to suppress her laughter at Nicole's expense.
"Okay," she finally said, swigging her beer, "Never have I ever been arrested."
All heads immediately turned to Wynonna who groaned and chugged the rest of her beer before putting her head on the table. "Low blow, Haught-stuff." Everyone else was laughing, until Waverly shyly took a sip of her own beer. Silence fell over the table, and everyone's eyes bugged out of their heads at Waverly.
"Well I do declare, Miss Earp. I did not have you pegged for someone who has spent time in the old calaboose! Do go on…"
"For REAL, baby girl! What the hell?" Wynonna exclaimed.
Waverly rolled her eyes and glared at Wynonna. "You really don't remember?"
"Remember?" Wynonna asked, confused.
"A few years ago… Gus's birthday… you picked a fight?" Waverly gawked at Wynonna, who stared back, blankly.
"Good gravy, Wynonna! You punched Champ in the face and then tackled him in the middle of Shorty's!"
"Ohhhhhhhhh…." Wynonna said, recognition flooding her face. Simultaneously, Waverly felt the muscles in Nicole's leg tense at the mention of Champ, and Waverly felt an immediate wave of guilt at bringing him up, again. But, gracefully, Nicole pushed through in the same conversation.
"Wait," she returned her hand to cover Waverly's on her thigh, reassuring her, "but how did that lead to YOU being arrested, Wave?"
"Because someone called Nedley, and I tried to break up the fight as they were rolling around on the floor and Wynonna tripped me. So I fell on top of the pile, and when Nedley got there, he was so frustrated, he didn't even ask any questions. Threw cuffs on all three of us and took us down to the Department. We all got booked, but later they let me go and slapped Wy and Champ with fines for disorderly conduct."
"See?!" Wynonna added, "No harm, no foul!" She looked smug.
"Tell that to Gus, Wynonna. She was so so so mad at us. Both of us. And I didn't even do anything!"
"Oh, yeauh…" Wynonna faded off. "Okay, I need more beer," as she shoved Doc and Dolls with her hip to push them out of the booth. She beelined for the bar while Doc took the opportunity to go out for a quick smoke and Dolls wandered off to the bathroom.
Left alone, Nicole gave Waverly's hand a squeeze, bringing her attention back to the red-head to her left.
"Talk about learnin' something new," Nicole said, quietly. "I didn't know I had a lawbreaker on my hands. Don't you know I'm an officer of the law?" She flashed her trademark, glowing smile, dimples on display, and Waverly's insides flipped and sent a chill down her chest. She thought for only a moment, before letting all the beer she'd drank do the talking.
"Well then I guess I found you just in time, huh? You'll have to set me straight." Waverly slowly slid her hand further up Nicole's thigh, away from her knee, never breaking eye contact. Nicole arched an eyebrow as her heart started racing and familiar warmth settled low in her stomach.
She leaned in, breathing for a moment on Waverly's neck as she felt Waverly's hand continue upward, and then whispered, "Call me crazy, but that roaming hand of yours tells me you want anything but to be set straight."
Waverly's breath caught in her throat, her eyes involuntarily closed, and her hand stilled, fingertips digging slightly into Nicole's jeans.
Nicole leaned back, satisfied with the reaction she pulled from Waverly, and a smug grin on her face. Waverly finally opened her eyes, a spark in her eyes that Nicole had only seem fleeting glimmers of before but was unabashedly on steady display right now. And that spark, unmistakably, was pure lust and desire.
Nicole's throat went dry and all of her limbs turned to jelly, completely melting under Waverly's stare. Waverly moved in, lips parting slightly as if she had something to say, and Nicole's focus trained completely to those lips, hanging on every breath and sound coming from them.
But, of course, they were interrupted.
Wynonna plopped back down, right at that moment, forcing the two girls back apart. Wynonna slid back in next to Waverly as Doc and Dolls soon followed, bickering, as usual, about something the other two girls had less than no interest in. Wynonna seemed to be mediating, and so Nicole and Waverly's intense looks and flushed cheeks went unnoticed. Neither heard one word said from the others for several minutes. Rather, they surreptitiously brushed and grazed and intertwined their hands on Nicole's thigh, focusing on each other's faces and breaths and, in Nicole's case, the visible beating of Waverly's pulse under the fair skin on the side of her neck.
Quickly, though, they were brought out of the moment when Wynonna started making a big scene of the next turn being hers.
"You can say something you've done as long as you drink for it, right?" She asked, laughing. Everyone basically agreed, as Wynonna looked self-satisfied.
"Never have I ever had a sex dream about someone else at this table," she said, confidently looking towards Doc.
Everyone at the table knew that Wynonna's turn was directed to Doc, as Wynonna honed in her attention on him. Of course, a subtle hum vibrated across the table, as, one-by-one, Dolls, Waverly, and Nicole all also took a sip of their drink.
"Y'ALL DIRTY DOGS!" Wynonna yelled in surprise.
Everyone averted their eyes and tried to change the subject.
"No, no, no, no, no, Waverly… you're not getting off—I mean, bad choice of words—getting away with this so easily. Which one of these jokers are you dreaming about?!" She wagged her thumb between Doc and Dolls. "I can't have you fantasizing about my… friends…" Wynonna says, incredulous.
"Maybe you shouldn't ask questions you're not prepared to hear the answer for, Wy?" Waverly asked, voice surprisingly confident. Without halting her challenging stare towards Wynonna, she released her hand from under Nicole's grasp and lightly feathered her fingertips up and down the inseam of Nicole's jeans.
Nicole melted in place and let out a shaky breath. She was certain all the color had drained from her face, and she tried to will herself to act normal, but Waverly wasn't making it easy.
"Besides," Waverly continued, "I'm more interested in who this one is dreaming about." She nodded her head towards Nicole, drawing all the attention to her end of the table. Nicole looked at Waverly, whose attempt at keeping a straight face was failing with the curl of her lips.
"I…" Nicole's breath caught with a swirl of Waverly's index finger and a mischievous look in her eye. "I don't kiss and tell, even when it's confined to my dreams."
"Oh, how honorable," Waverly smirked.
"It's okay, Nicole…. I don't mind," Wynonna chirped from across the table. Both girls looked at her, curiously. "I mean, you're around my 'top shelf' ass all the time, it's only natural." Wynonna winked at Nicole and Waverly's jaw dropped. Nicole laughed, loud and full.
"That's it, Wynonna. You caught me. Glad you're so understanding." She laughed again. "I'll try to keep my hormones in check around you."
Wynonna nodded, seriously.
Nicole noticed Doc stifling laughter, and he nodded at her with a quick, subtle glance at Waverly. Nicole blushed and quietly pulled Waverly's hand between both of hers in her lap. Intertwining their fingers and brushing her thumb lightly across her soft palm.
The conversation veered off track again, and the game faded, forgotten in the commotion that followed Wynonna's last question. Nicole and Waverly both thought it was just as well. Neither could handle much more overtly sexual talk. Waverly's entire body was humming with energy and anxiety and sexual frustration, starting at her hand-affectionately held by Nicole—and coursing through her body before landing between her crossed legs.
Waverly watched Nicole as she engaged in casual conversation with Doc and Dolls, studying every feature and contour of her face.
Eventually, Gus sidled up to the table, setting down a round of five tequila shots before adding, "Y'all probably haven't noticed, but you're the last ones here. Consider this your last call and get the hell out of here so I can go home!" She tried to sound tough, but her smile betrayed her. They all looked around, noticing for the first time how quickly the place had cleared out. Doc started passing out the shots, but Nicole attempted to decline.
"No, no, I can't. I've already had too much to drink and will need to sleep a few hours in my truck before I drive home."
"What are you talking about, Haught? None of you four are driving anywhere tonight," said Dolls, sternly.
Nicole looked at him, questioning. "What?"
"I'll drive everyone home. I have hardly had two beers."
"Like hell you have!" Waverly challenged.
"No, really. I've been passing Wy all my shots, and I've been nursing this one beer the whole game."
Waverly looked over to Wynonna, look of judgment clear in her eyes.
"What? Not my fault." Wynonna shrugged.
"Well, Dolls, I really appreciate it, but it's really not necessary. I'm used to it. I love clear on the other side of town from the Earps and wouldn't have a way to get my truck tomorrow. I'll just sleep some of it off in…"
"Why don't you just come home with us?" Waverly cut in.
"Oh yes! A sleepover!" Wynonna added.
Nicole met Waverly's eyes, uncertain she heard what she thinks she heard.
"Ummm… are you sure?" Nicole's question was only directed to Waverly.
"I'm one hundred percent positive," Waverly said, seriously. "Come stay with me—with us," she quickly corrected. "I'll bring you back to your truck in the morning?"
Waverly's voice, for really the first time all night, seemed incredibly uncertain and her eyes waited for Nicole's response, open and vulnerable.
"Okay, then," Nicole said, simply.