Nikki POV
It took Nikki about five paces from walking out of Michael's office to realise she had made a mistake. How could she think Lorraine was interested in her, let alone would want to go out on a date.
"How could I be so stupid?" She asked herself, as she entered the PRU. "Not only have I just made a complete fool of myself, but I did it in front of my boss. Great idea." As she packed up her things for the Easter break, the events of the week went through her mind; the looks they had shared, the secret smiles, inside jokes... Had she made herself think it was more than just friends having a laugh? Was if all just in her head? One thing was certain, she was grateful she had Easter to get over the embarrassment, and bury any feelings she had for Lorraine.
As her truck pulled up to the house, she heard a friendly bark coming from inside, at least someone was always happy to see her, even if she did have four legs and fishy breath. Opening the door carefully, she greeted the Weimaraner with a big kiss on the nose "you're going to laugh when I tell you what I did today Lexi". She smiled as the dog cocked her ears as if waiting for an explanation, "come on let's go for a run".
Whenever she was stressed or had a lot to think through, Nikki always found herself pounding the same trail, she and Lexi knew the surrounding area like the back of her hand, and they both enjoyed tackling the challenging peaks. As they ran up the side of the hill, Nikki started to unwind, it wasn't the end of the world asking her boss out, she could brush it under the carpet after a couple of weeks.
As they reached the summit, Nikki stopped to take in the view, the sun setting over the lake was a breathtaking image, framing the village below them, making the houses look like dolls toys. This was why she decided to move with Waterloo Road, she needed a fresh start after Rochdale, and where better than the Scottish highlands?
As they made their way back down, Nikki reflected on her life before Waterloo Road, she might not like to admit it, but the army had made her very cautious about opening herself up to others. With its "don't ask, don't tell" policy, she had never held a relationship down for long enough to let anybody in. The only person she truly trusted was the dog running with her.