Truths by Candlelight - Part Three

His tongue moved before his brain could even react. “I heard you.”

Nicola raised one of her eyebrows. “What do you mean, ‘you heard me’?”

“I – the – the other day, you had a – a- a,” his whole body shook like a leaf in the wind as his mind and body prepared for an awful confession under the stern gaze of a living Aphrodite.

Seeing his evident panic, Nicola’s tone became more comforting, the icy cold tone released in favor of a gentler prodding. “William, one word at a time.”

“I… You had somebody over and…” His throat constricted between each stammered word.

Realization began to dawn on Nicola’s face, the icy expression thawing into amusement.

“So, you went back to the dorms and heard me having sex?”

“Yes, I, uh, well…”

Nicola burst out laughing, then tried to control herself when she saw his distress. “Hey, look, next time I’ll put a sock on the doorknob okay, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

His cheeks had flushed into a fiery red, and he was glad that the truth was out, even if it also involved a lie by omission.

She reached across and placed a hand on his knee, looking him in the eye.

“Seriously William, I’m sorry. I guess I forgot how young you are. It won’t happen again.”

Her touching of his skin sent a ripple through his entire body, although her comment made him feel like a little kid.

“Let’s play another round, okay?”

The next game was closer, but Nicola still managed to wrangle out a win despite his best efforts. This time, she didn’t wait to ponder a question.

“Hmmm… Do you have a girlfriend?”

“No. Why do you ask?”

She shrugged nonchalantly, although her sly grin betrayed how much she was enjoying messing with him. “I was just seeing if I should expect any socks on the door. Have you ever had a girlfriend?”

He was glad the room was dark enough to disguise the embarrassment written across his face.

“You only get one question.”

Nicola giggled in response.

Another round commenced, this time William won convincingly.

“Do you… do you have a boyfriend?” He spoke every word slowly, dreading what the answer could be. He felt like his throat was collapsing, his entire mouth suddenly dry due to sheer terror.

She smiled knowingly at him. “No, I don’t. Most boys aren’t as sweet as you are, William.”

Gracefully, she lifted herself out of her blanket pile and planted a quick kiss on his cheek. For a moment, his whole world seemed to freeze in time as he struggled to process the sweet sensation emanating off his face.

“Or as cute. Good night.”

The door to her room swung closed behind her, the gust extinguishing the candle's helpless flame and leaving him to sit stunned in the dark.