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Ericka had been working, nonstop, for the past three weeks. The building threat of a mental breakdown and the fact that her brain stopped working last week were the weaknesses that led her to agreeing to go out tonight.
“You need to get out of here!” Stacy cried. Ericka wasn’t so sure she did, she would be perfectly happy to lay her head down and never wake up again, no leaving required.
When she told Stacy that, Stacy had been less than impressed, rolling her eyes and foregoing a vocal response by dragging her out of the office.
“Let’s go! You need to let loose and get laid or something Ericka, your stress is going to give me a mental breakdown if you keep this up.”
It was Ericka’s turn to roll her eyes. There was no way that would happen. Stacy was the most happy-go-lucky person she had ever met. Stacy was the kind of person to be excited to wake up in the morning and greet everyone hello on the way to her desk. Ericka wanted to kick her sometimes, in the most loving way possible. Because even though Stacy was way too happy most days, she was also Ericka’s best friend and she still couldn’t believe they met only a few years ago working in this god-forsaken office.
By the time Ericka came out of her reverie Stacy had managed to make it to her car, unlocking the doors and shoving her towards the passenger side before hopping in herself.
“Buckle up girl, we’re going downtown!” Stacy wiggled her eyebrows mischievously.
“I really don’t drink that much…” Ericka tried to protest.
Stacy didn’t buy it. “I literally watched you drink a whole bottle of wine by yourself. We are going to a bar, you are getting some liquid courage in you, and then you’re going to let off some steam with some no-strings-attached sex.”
Ericka sighed, she was already in the car so there was no escaping it, hopefully all the people there would be awful and she could convince Stacy that going to her apartment and drinking that bottle of chardonnay she had stashed away would be a better use of their time.
Nick was excited. It was Friday, and Friday meant going out for drinks with Charlie and their friends. It meant laughing and talking about all the ways the kids he taught cracked him up this week. Friday meant that he had two whole days with Charlie without work or school or anything taking up his time instead.
Unfortunately Friday also meant that Charlie often worked late. Normally Nick would wait for him so they could go to the bar together but Charlie had texted him telling him he was going to be “really, really late Nick” and that he should go and meet their friends at their normal time.
@cfspring I’ll join you once I get done. It’s taking a lot longer than I thought it would.
@nicholaszzzzz I could still wait for you!
@cfspring It’ll be an hour or so at least, go without me!
@cfspring I promise to text you when I’m on my way
@nicholaszzzzz You sure I can’t wait for you?
@cfspring Nicholas Nelson I better not find you at home! Go!!!
@nicholaszzzzz ok, ok!
@nicholaszzzzz You promise to text me?
@cfspring I promise
@nicholaszzzzz ok xx
@cfspring xx
Nick stalled as long as he could, taking Henry and Nellie out, washing all the dishes, even doing a load of laundry, all to no avail. Charlie still didn’t walk through the door after all his stalling. Nick did not admit to moping for a little bit before finally locking up and heading to the bar by himself.
One of the benefits of being tall is that you can pretty much find anyone. By the time Nick got to the bar it was pretty crowded but he noticed Elle at the bar, accompanied by Tao, Darcy, and Tara. He started weaving his way towards them when he accidentally bumped into someone.
“Oh! I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you there!”
Stacy had managed to get her out of her work blazer, out of the car, and into the bar at record speed. Ericka was sure that if there was an Olympic sport for meddling, Stacy would have won it. They had almost made it to the bar when someone bumped into her.
She turned around to find… a wall? No, not a wall, she looked up to find a man standing in front of her. He was tall, way taller than she was, over 6 feet if she had to guess. He had sandy hair and brown eyes that made him look like a puppy despite his size. He gave her a sheepish grin, shoulders scrunching up apologetically, “Oh! I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you there!”
She shrugged, “It’s fine, it’s pretty crowded here.”
“Yeah! Sorry again! I hope you’re ok!” He rubbed the back of his neck nervously.
“Oh yeah! I’m totally fine, no worries!”
“Great! I got to go now, I’m glad you’re alright!” He ducked his head and gave her a little wave. It was kind of cute, in an awkward way, not that Ericka would ever admit that.
“Thanks!” She waved back on reflex.
Ericka watched him continue to the bar, stopping in front of a group of people that were already there. She could feel Stacy poking her side rapidly. Turning, she was faced with the full force of Stacy’s overenthusiastic energy radiating out of her.
“Ericka!” She said, extending Ericka’s name by a few syllables, “Who was that???”
“Just some guy that bumped into me. Come on Stacy, I don’t have nearly enough alcohol in me for this right now.” She thought about approaching the bar on the same side as the guy that had bumped into her but she didn’t want it to be any more awkward than it already was.
“Let’s go to the other side, it looks less crowded.”
Stacy gave her an unamused look, clearly knowing she was trying to avoid the subject, but let Ericka pull her towards the opposite end. Immediately, Ericka ordered a shot. Thirty minutes later, she was pleasantly buzzed and feeling much looser than she had been when she walked in.
“Ericka, he’s still just standing there! You should give it a go, he’s pretty cute!” Stacy was still trying to get her to ask bumped-into-me guy out for the night. She’d been trying ever since Ericka had downed her 3rd shot. Ericka was now nursing a beer and not finding Stacy nearly as annoying. Damn, the alcohol must really be getting to her.
“He’s probably already dating or something, Stacy. People like that aren’t single.”
“Ericka! All his friends went to dance already. He’s just standing there alone. His friends are clearly couples. It’s perfect!”
“I’m really not sure if…”
“Maybe…” Stacy said, drawing out the word, “His friends brought him here for the same reason I brought you here, ever think of that?”
Ericka hated how logical that sounded. She blamed it on shot number 2.
“Come on! You won’t know until you try right?”
Ericka groaned, “Stacy, can’t we just get drunk and call it a night?”
“No! I said I would get you laid and I meant it! Now get over there, I’m going dancing!”
Ericka slumped a little as Stacy quickly escaped to the dance floor. Downing the rest of her beer she gathered the liquid courage before heading over to get herself a booty call.
Nick ordered a beer before he and the gang went to find a spot to stand. He explained that Charlie was going to be late so he came by himself. Tao asked if it killed him inside to do that, one eyebrow raised in mock disgust.
“So that’s why you’re late!” Tara exclaimed.
Nick sent them a sheepish grin, “I tried to stall as long as possible.”
Darcy snorted and Tao muttered under his breath, “whipped.”
Elle hit him in the arm, “Tao! I think it’s sweet Nick.”
Nick smiled at Elle, she always did know what to say. Darcy started jumping up and down, “Let’s go dance!”
Nick mock-whispered to Tara, “How many drinks has she had already?”
Tara giggled, “Only one!”
“Oi!” Darcy shouted, “No slandering my name!”
They all laughed and Darcy dragged Tara with her to the dance floor. Elle looked at Tao, smiling. Tao’s eyes widened, head shaking rapidly back and forth, “No way, I don’t want to dance!”
“Come on!” Elle pleaded. Nick watched Tao crumble under the force of her eyes. As they passed his he whispered “whipped” to Tao. Tao shot him an unamused look before he was whipped around on the dance floor. Nick let out a chuckle. He watched his friends dancing and finished his drink. He was thinking of texting Charlie to see how much longer he was going to be when a girl approached him.
She looked kind of familiar, but Nick didn’t really remember where he’d seen her before. She was shorter than him, but most people were, and had brown hair and brown eyes, again, like most people. He blinked a couple of times, willing the memory to come back.
“Hey,” she called out to him, giving him a small smile and a wave. Nick wanted to hit himself, that’s where he met her, literally almost running her over not 30 minutes ago.
“Hi! Sorry about earlier!”
“No worries!” She paused. “I’m Ericka.”
“I’m Nick. Nice to meet you!”
“Nice to meet you too! Do you want another drink? I was about to grab one myself.”
“Sure!” Nick smiled, it was nice to know she didn’t hold a grudge against him. He thought she was pretty nice, he always liked making friends.
They made their way to the bar, dodging people left and right. When they got to the bar she waited for a spot to open then took a seat. Nick was about to sit with her when his phone vibrated. “Sorry, this’ll just take a second.”
“No problem!”
Nick opened his phone to a message from Charlie:
@cfspring I’m on my way! Sorry, it ran later than I thought!
@nicholaszzzzz No worries! The gang is already out dancing 🤣
@nicholaszzzzz When do you think you’ll be here?
@cfspring lol 🤣🤣🤣
@cfspring Maybe 10 minutes? I’m in an uber
@nicholaszzzzz ok, do you want me to get you something to drink?
@cfspring Sure, maybe an old fashioned?
@nicholaszzzzz ok, see you soon! xx
@cfspring xx
Nick put his phone away and turned back to Ericka, “Sorry about that,” he gave her a small smile.
She smiled back at him, “It’s no big deal! What do you want to drink?” Nick thought about it, “I’ll just get two old fashioneds.”
“Drinking doubles?” She asked, laughing.
Nick blushed, “No! I’m not actually a big drinker I swear! I’m a teacher!”
Ericka laughed again, “Not sure being a teacher is an excuse to drink more or less!”
Nick laughed, “It depends on the day,” he admitted.
Their drinks came and they were once again making their way through the crowds. Nick could see Tara and Darcy dancing on the floor. Tao had finally convinced Elle to take a break and they had commandeered a spot near the door. Perfect. Nick made his way over to them, Erika following.
“Hey guys! This is Ericka, I almost ran her over earlier tonight!” Nick opened with, setting the drinks on the table. Elle smiled at Ericka but Tao’s face scrunched up.
Nick looked at Ericka, “Ignore Tao. He’s always mean.”
Tao stopped glaring at Ericka in order to glare at Nick. Nick laughed, he knew how Tao showed his love. “When’s Charlie coming?” Tao asked.
“Should be here pretty soon, a few minutes or so!”
“Who’s Charlie?” Nick watched Ericka tilt her head in question.
Tao looked at Nick strangely, “Charlie hasn’t come up in your conversation yet?”
“We’ve only been talking a few minutes! We just got some drinks at the bar! You know I’d never do that!”
Tao scowled some more until Elle took pity on him. He gave her a grateful stare before turning to Ericka. “Charlie is my…”
Before he could say anything else he felt a presence on his back and cold hands covered his eyes. A voice in his ear said “Guess who?”
Nick turned around, “Charlie!!”, he wrapped him up in his arms, lifting his feet off the ground. Charlie laughed as Nick attempted to hug the life out of him. Nick did his best to spin Charlie around despite the people around them. He didn’t stop until Charlie hit him lightly.
“Nick, stop that! There are too many people here!” Nick pouted but dropped Charlie to the ground.
He gently set Charlie down, hands never leaving Charlie’s back, Charlie’s arms still around his neck. He bent down to speak softly, “Hi.”
“Hi.” Charlie snorted and smiled. Nick bent his head the rest of the way to give Charlie a kiss. It wasn’t a long one, since Nick knew there were other people waiting for Charlie’s attention, but he needed a few moments just him and Charlie, he’d been waiting (not so) patiently, after all.
When they were done, Nick turned back, one arm slug over Charlie, to the rest of the group. Charlie smiled and waved at Tao and Elle and Nick introduced him to his new friend.
“Charlie, this is my new friend Ericka! I almost ran her over when I first got here! Ericka, this is my boyfriend, Charlie!”
Charlie gave a small wave to Ericka, “Hi! It’s nice to meet you!”
She gave a smile back, “Nice to meet you too! I hate to introduce myself and dip but I have a friend waiting for me so I have to go.”
“Oh!” Nick exclaimed, “No worries! It was good to meet you!”
“You too.”
Ericka walked off and Nick and Charlie got closer to Tao and Elle. Tao was still looked at Nick like he was a specimen on display at the museum.
“Do you know what she was doing Nick?”
“Being friendly?” Nick ased, a little confused. Where was this going?
“She wanted to bang you,” Tao deadpanned.
“What?!” Nick exclaimed in shock, “There’s no way! She was just being nice!”
Elle looked at Nick in pity, shaking her head, “Oh Nick, if only you weren’t so oblivious…”
Nick gapped at them. There was no way. Ericka was just being nice. There was no way! He loved Charlie. His head whipped around to look at Charlie. Thankfully he didn’t look upset, more amused than anything else.
“Chatting up a new girlfriend while I’m away?” he joked.
“Never!” Nick replied vehemently.
Charlie laughed, giving Nick’s cheek a peck, “I know, I’m just teasing.”
Nick’s lower lip was going to be permanently stuck out if they didn’t stop picking on him. Darcy and Tara had stopped dancing at this point in order to say hi to Charlie and join in on the “make fun of Nick” banter. Nick watched them all talk back and forth, sighing contently. He loved his friends, he loved Charlie. Nick rested his chin on Charlie’s shoulder, just basking in the presence of his boyfriend and their friends.
When Ericka heard the name “Charlie” she didn’t think much of it. Nick’s friends seemed pretty nice. Well, Elle seemed pretty nice. She didn’t know what Tao’s problem was but he didn’t seem to like her at all.
“Who’s Charlie?” she asked, tilting her head, based on the conversation, this Charlie hadn’t made it to the bar yet.
She watched Tao look at Nick now, well, at least it wasn’t her. She was getting a little freaked out by him. “Charlie hasn’t come up in your conversation yet?”
“We’ve only been talking a few minutes! We just got some drinks at the bar! You know I’d never do that!” Ericka didn’t really know why Nick was protesting so much, why did it matter if this Charlie came up in conversation?
Nick turned to her, “Charlie is my…” Before he could finish, Ericka watched a man approach them and wrap his hands around Nick’s head. The new guy was tall too, but a little shorter than Nick. He had black hair and a faint tan to his skin. As she watched, Tao approached her. She turned as he started speaking to her.
“I’m on to you.”
“Excuse me?” She was kind of offended. Sure, she had approached Nick with less than pure intentions but she did not take well to be accused of something.
“I know you want to bang Nick.”
Her jaw dropped a little, “That is so rude!”
“It’s not rude if it’s true. But if you look over there you can see Nick is clearly in a relationship, with a man . So you should probably just go back to your own friends.”
Ericka could see that Nick was clearly in a relationship. Her face flushed a little, no wonder Nick had never gotten any of her hints. “I really didn’t know!” she explained, “and we were just talking, it’s not like anything happened!” she tried defending herself. To be honest, she was embarrassed. She was never going to let Stacy take her out again.
“So what? You came on to a basically married man.”
“Tao,” Elle said lowly, “Be nicer.”
“Sorry,” Tao replied, then looked back at Ericka. Ericka didn’t really want him to look at her anymore. “I don’t actually have anything against you but Nick and Charlie have been Nick and Charlie since they were in grade school. We don’t want anything to happen to them.”
Ericka could understand that. If a random stranger started coming onto her basically married friends she’d probably be as mean as Tao. By the time she composed herself, Nick and Charlie were done “greeting” each other.
Nick had turned, arm still around Charlie and introduced her, “Charlie, this is my new friend Erika! I almost ran her over when I first got here! Ericka, this is my boyfriend, Charlie!”
Charlie gave a small wave, “Hi! It’s nice to meet you!”
Well now that she felt sufficiently awkward she made an excuse to leave, “Nice to meet you too! I hate to introduce myself and dip but I have a friend waiting for me so I have to go.”
“Oh!” Nick exclaimed, “No worries! It was good to meet you!”
“You too.” She walked off as fast as she could without pushing anyone. She didn’t turn around as she made her way back to the other side of the bar, grabbing Stacy on her way there. She needed at least four more shots or she wasn’t going to live past the embarrassment. Stacy looked at her.
“Where’s your hot hookup?” She asked. Ericka gave Stacy a stare, she was not in the mood for this. As she waved a bartender over she replied, “Still over there,” Ericka pointed the group out to Stacy, “with his boyfriend.”
Needless to say, Ericka did not hook up with Nick that night. She also never let Stacy convince her to approach a random guy like that again.
Nick, oblivious as ever, honestly couldn’t remember much about that night besides the fact that he’d met a new friend and that Charlie had been late. Other than that, it was a perfectly normal Friday. He left the bar with Charlie next to him, giggling as he stumbled into Nick’s car. Nick smiled as he clipped Charlie into his seatbelt. Charlie was pantomiming playing the drums on the dashboard as they pulled out. By the time they got home, he was asleep.
Nick shook Charlie softly. Charlie just grumbled, “Carry me?” he whispered, his eyes not even opening. Nick let out a soft breath of air but complied. Soon enough, he and Charlie were tucked into bed, soft snores from the dogs and Charlie filling the air. Nick smiled one last time before joining them in their concert. It was a good Friday.