I'm sick of sitting around here trying to write this book

It was a strange thing, for the person who gave the blowjob to be the one who felt most refreshed at the end of it. But that was how Gina felt after her bit of intimate contact with Nick. She lounged back in the water, floating and looking up at the artificial sun, and just…

Took everything in.

She was grateful. Grateful to Nick, primarily. Not just for all the things he had said to her, to make her feel better about herself, but also grateful that he hadn’t made the blowjob about that.

It had just been about the both of them. That was the sweet thing. And that was the thing that made Gina feel so much better about it all.

“Nick, are you coming?” She turned her body upright and her feet briefly brushed against the soft ground at the bottom of the lagoon.

“That’s a pretty loaded question,” Nick called back to her.

Gina flashed him a cheeky smile. “You’re right, it kind of is, isn’t it?” She was forced to agree, bobbing her head up and down in the water. “Well… …You still didn’t answer.”

“I’ll go for a swim,” Nick said, not having to think too hard about it. After all, he had to get all this sand off of him somehow, right?

Nick stepped forward and slid into the water, joining her in the cove. He had to admit, it was pretty nice. The water was just the right temperature, and it was so clear and beautiful, it brought a smile to his lips instinctively.

He slid over to Gina, who smiled playfully back at him. He could see the tempting look in her eyes, and he felt a bit of apprehension.

“…You’re not planning to fool around in the water, are you?” Nick asked, making sure to keep her distance until he got a straight answer out of her. He knew how Gina was thinking, and he knew that she was going to play a little game with him if she could.

But this wasn’t the way he wanted to go about it.

“Maybe I was thinking about it,” Gina conceded, knowing that Nick had her number. She wiggled her eyebrows and floated closer to him. “Would that be so wrong?” She asked.

Nick looked at her and tried to hide his exasperation. “Gina, come on,” he said, shaking his head. “We’re here to have a fun, friendly date, remember? You just gave me a blowjob- we don’t have to make everything sexual, do we?”

Gina gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. “Nick! I don’t believe you!” She shook her head in disbelief. “You actually thought I meant-? …Certainly not!”

“…Huh?” Nick looked at her, utterly confused by her sudden outburst.

Gina pouted. “I thought you meant we would fool around as in, splash about for a little bit!” She exclaimed. “…Nick! Is sex ALL you can think about when it comes to me?”

As Nick went back and examined the imprecise wording of her insinuations, he narrowed his eyes. “…Come on.”

They both knew that Gina was trying to play with him. He wasn’t going to be fooled that easily by her wiles.

Gina smirked. “…Well, maybe I could have made myself a little clearer,” she crooned, wiggling her eyebrows.

Nick rolled his eyes and smiled. “Splashing around is perfectly fine,” he assured her with a smile. “As long as that’s enough to satisfy you, Gina.”

Gina paused. Then she nodded. “…Yup. It should be!” She said with a cheeky grin.

And then promptly splashed him in the face.

Nick laughed, and splashed her right back. After the tension in their previous conversation, he was happy to keep things light and playful, and have a little bit of fun in a casual way like this.

It made him feel a lot more relaxed, and he could be content to spend the whole afternoon playing around with her!

Of course, it wasn’t meant to be. They had a lot of fun, but in the end, the date couldn’t go on like this forever. Gina had so many more things that she wanted to show him, after all, and he was happy to see what she had to show him.

“So, what’s the plan next?” Nick asked, looking at Gina. The two of them were walking along the shiny black stone path. They were both clothed again, which was good, and sand-free, also good.

Gina’s hair was still dripping wet, which was good in a different way. He liked the look of her like that, it seemed… pure, in an interesting way. Like she was comfortable with herself, having just stepped out of the shower or something.

And her smile was relaxed again, which he had been hoping to see.

“I have a few ideas of what we could do,” Gina said, “but first, want to get a bite to eat?”

“Sure,” Nick agreed. He was feeling pretty hungry now that the tension between the two of them was gone. “So, what were you thinking?”

“How about we get some burgers?” Gina suggested. “I love a good hamburger.”

Nick could go for burgers. “As long as they’re actually burgers,” he agreed. “And not burger-flavored ice cream.”

Gina burst out laughing. “Fair enough!” She chortled. “It’s a bit of an acquired taste, I’ll admit that much.”

Yep, Gina would be happy just getting to enjoy a nice meal with the boy she liked.

The two headed over to a stand, where Andy was waiting. She flashed a toothy smile. “Square burgers, is it?” She tapped her ear. “Sorry- I couldn’t help but overhear?”

Gina rolled her eyes and Nick looked at her. He knew that Andy was based off of the Wendy’s logo, so she was just being prodding.

“I’ll have… a triple,” Gina decided. She was really hungry, even though she felt satisfied from drinking Nick’s semen earlier. “Nick?”

“I can order for myself,” Nick said, his face hot. “I’ll just have a double.” He didn’t want to eat too much food, in case it would leave him feeling sluggish.

He had a feeling that Gina would have some more “fun” planned, and he wanted to be ready for it when it happened.

The burgers were delicious, but Nick assumed they would be. After all, this was all coded to Gina’s specifications, and she would want him to have a meal that would satisfy.

“You really should have splurged and gone for a triple, Nick,” Gina said, wiping her lips with a napkin. Normally, she wouldn’t have bothered, but she was trying to change for the better. “Trust me, it’s worth it. You want to get as much… flavor as you can get!”

Gina had been about to make a crack about wanting to cram as much meat into her mouth as possible, but after what they’d done together, it might be a little too raunchy. Not that Nick minded when she was raunchy, but she needed to rein it in sometimes.

Nick caught on, though. “Gina, are you holding back?” He asked.

She gave him an innocent look. “Holding back?” She asked. “What do you mean by that?”

Nick just stared at her. Was she really trying to…?

“…You know what I mean,” he said, keeping his cool and not getting too invested, just in case this was a setup for something. “You wiped off that mayonnaise without so much as a comment, and I heard you change your words at the last second just now to avoid making an innuendo. Where’s the bawdy, irreverent girl I know and love?”

Gina batted her eyelashes. “You love me?” She cooed.

An excellent job of changing the subject and putting Nick on the defensive. Even as his face flushed with embarrassment, he had to give her props for that. “You know what I mean,” he responded, ignoring his pounding heart.

Yeah, Gina knew. It was just a saying, that was what Nick was trying to tell her.

But…

It was more than just a saying, too. Because Nick wasn’t lying about loving her, even if it wasn’t quite the kind of love that Gina was anxious for.

Maybe that was a good thing right now. Gina wasn’t sure if she was in the proper mindset to reciprocate that kind of love, not yet, anyway.

“…You’re right,” she conceded, deciding to stop giving Nick a hard time. She leaned forward across the picnic table and gave him a serious look. “I’m trying to be a little more… mature. But it’s not because I’m trying to be a ‘good girl’ or anything like that! I just… know when to play, and when to take things seriously.”

Most of the time, anyway.

Nick was glad she was being honest with him, and sincere. “Well, Gina, you know how I feel,” he gently responded to her. “I don’t mind if you’re a little bawdy, and I like when you’re playful. So, don’t think you have to change the way you do things for my sake or anything.”

Gina’s lips curled up in a grin. “Well… it isn’t for you,” she said, with a depth to her words that left Nick stunned given the smile on her lips.

“I’m trying to change up my act for myself, that’s all,” Gina said seriously, and the look in her eyes struck Nick with an intensity that he hadn’t anticipated.

“For… yourself?” He would be happy for her, if he understood what she meant by that. But looking at Gina right now, he wasn’t so sure if he should be happy.

He just felt stuck.

Gina nodded. “It’s like you said… I can be more than I am, right?” She looked into Nick’s eyes, and her smile slowly faded from her face as a pensive expression took over. “I can be… better. I can be a… what’s that word? Reproductive? I can be a reproductive member of society-”

“Productive,” Nick quickly corrected her. His face burned from the insinuation of her words. “A productive member of society.”

“Productive…” Gina tried the word out on her lips. She blushed a little. “Oh. OH. So, not, uh… …Never mind, whoops.”

Even she had things that embarrassed her, sometimes.

“…Look, um, anyway, as I was saying… I can be a productive member of society,” Gina tried again. “You know I can, right?”

“Yeah,” Nick said, nodding gently. “I know, Gina.”

She smiled, relieved to hear him say that. “Well, then it’s like Amelia’s always saying, I’ve got to be more responsible,” she said, doing a mocking imitation of Amelia’s accent. “I don’t think that any workplace I go to will appreciate me cracking dirty jokes at every opportunity.”

Nick shrugged. “Well, if you find the right place…” he joked.

But Gina wasn’t joking. The look on her face said as much, and Nick stopped kidding around.

“…Seriously though, Gina, I think this is a really good step for you,” he told her. He reached across the table and held her hand. “I’m glad that you’re giving this some serious thought.”

Gina was relieved to hear him say that. She knew that there was zero chance of her changing overnight, because she was who she was. But there was a time and a place for everything, and she needed to be able to behave herself and be an adult.

She was 27 years old. It was time to grow the fuck up.

“But Gina, you can still have some fun, too,” Nick added.

“Hmm?” Gina looked at him, surprised.

“Being an adult is fine and all, but take a look at this place,” Nick said, waving his hand around the wide expanse of the amusement park that had popped out of her mind. “This isn’t the place for being a composed adult. You can have as much fun as you want here, and just let loose. I know that I wouldn’t mind.”

Gina smiled. He really wouldn’t, that was one of the things she loved so much about him. He would be happy to accept her just the way she was.

Which was why she wanted to change. For his sake, too.

“I appreciate you saying that, really,” Gina said. “And maybe you’re right… maybe I can take the day off and not try to change so much about myself so fast.”

She tapped her finger thoughtfully on the picnic table and gazed into Nick’s eyes. It looked like she was trying to think hard about something.

“To be honest, Nick…”

“Yeah?” Nick leaned forward intently.

“…I could say the same to you.” Her eyes dropped to the burger wrapper in front of him. “I mean, aren’t you holding yourself back a little?” She pointed out. “You could have gone for a triple, you know. Wouldn’t have hurt.”

Nick rolled his eyes. “We’re back to this, huh?” He scoffed, secretly glad that Gina was giving him a hard time. “I told you, I’m not that hungry.”

“No, but you could have been,” Gina said, resting her chin in her hands and leaning forward with a playful smile on her face. “This is Dream Alley, remember? If you want, you could make it so you’re hungry enough to eat a thousand triple cheeseburgers.”

…She raised a valid point.

“…Still, this is good enough,” Nick said, wiping his mouth. “And anyway- Gina, if you don’t mind me saying, I think you need to give yourself some credit.”

“Oh? Credit for what? Your appetite?” Gina asked, raising her eyebrows. “I mean… I won’t deny I have a reputation for stimulating men’s appetites, but…”

Well, she was certainly getting back to her old self, that was for sure. Nick couldn’t be happier for her, really.

“Your creativity is what I’m talking about,” Nick said. “Not just anybody could come up with a place like this, Gina.”

“Sure they could, if they had access to something like Dream Alley,” Gina quickly downplayed his compliment. “This is just, like, a kid’s fantasizing. Not anything substantive. So before you tell me that I have some big future in amusement park design or something-”

“You could,” Nick interrupted her. “Don’t sell yourself short on anything, Gina. If this is something that interests you, maybe you could actually look into it. You never know.”

Gina bristled at the thought. “Nah, shit, no way,” she said, shaking her head. “You gotta do, like, a shit-ton of schooling for that, right? I mean… I’m not gonna learn how to be a fucking architect or anything like that!”

“You don’t need to be an architect to design fun theme parks, Gina,” Nick protested.

Gina looked surprised to hear that. “You don’t?”

Nick opened his mouth to reassure her, only to pause as he realized that he actually had no idea.

Maybe you did.

“…I don’t think so?” He finally, clumsily stammered out.

Gina sighed and rolled her eyes. “So, you don’t know either,” she muttered, shaking her head. “Great, just great…”

Nick winced. “Sorry…”

She waved her hand. “No, it’s fine… Don’t worry about it,” she assured him.

Still, she bit her lip, uncertain. The way Nick was talking… the stuff he was saying…

“Well… I did have fun,” she admitted. “But… I don’t know, it’s just not something I’ve ever seen in myself. You know?”

Nick could understand her feelings. Really, he could. “Well, Gina… just don’t close your mind off to anything, and tell yourself that you can’t do it. Alright? That’s the only mistake you can make when it comes to something like this.”

He knew that it was part of Gina’s nature to sell herself short and convince herself that she couldn’t do something. And that wasn’t what he wanted to see from someone he cared about. He wanted Gina to be able to say wholeheartedly that she was capable of doing anything, and that she was going to try. And so, he wanted to encourage her the best he could.

And, judging by the look on her face… she was convinced.

At least a little bit.

“Well… I guess… I’ve never really thought about doing anything creative before,” she admitted. “Except, I guess, when it comes to singing…”

The other version of herself had been a singer and a songwriter, and she’d been a popular one, too. Gina was actually incredibly envious of her popularity, even if the other Gina had been envious of her style, for some reason.

“That’s always an option, too,” Nick pointed out. He didn’t want to discourage Gina from anything. “Maybe you could get back into music. You said you wanted to, right?”

“Yeah…” Gina reached to her neck and gently massaged her throat. “I’ve been working on my voice a little, to be honest… not, like, expecting anything, but, well…”

Ever since she had gotten the encouragement, she’d tried. And she’d found that, since she wasn’t smoking anymore, her throat was actually starting to heal. Her voice didn’t sound as warped as it used to sound.

Who knows?

Maybe, given time, she might even be able to sing the way she used to again.

Wouldn’t that be something?

“…Or, maybe I could even be a writer, like you,” Gina said playfully. “Wouldn’t that be something? I could write a book that would put yours to shame, I bet!”

She leaned back on the bench and cradled the back of her head in her hands, and flashed Nick a sly grin. “Just think about it, Nick! I mean, the way you’re going? There’s no telling. I don’t need any fancy schooling to write a great book. I could write some really sloppy romance that would get all sorts of girls juicing over it, with a broody vampire hero, maybe. That’s still popular, right?”

Nick didn’t like this line of thinking. “I mean, I guess?” He said, feeling a little exasperated.

There was such a thing as being too permissive.

“I’m just teasing,” Gina giggled. She shook her head and sat up straight again. “…But really, Nick, thank you,” she said sincerely. “It means a lot to me that you’re willing to support me like this. Telling me all that stuff… thanks. I’m glad I heard it.”

“I’m just happy you’re happy,” Nick replied. “That’s all I want from you.”

He knew that if Gina set her mind to succeed, that she could succeed. He just hoped that things would work out that way.

Gina really deserved a win here.