Gotta take a deep breath, time to focus on you

After the showers, everyone had a chance to cool their heads. So when the trio regrouped, things were a lot calmer, which Nick greatly appreciated. It definitely made the walk to the spa a lot more relaxing.

What Nick didn’t appreciate so much was the person following him.

“Hey, guys? Can I ask you something?” He stopped in the street and Dani and Kim turned back to look at him.

“Sure?” Dani shrugged.

“What’s up?” Kim asked.

“…Am I the only one who sees Nola stalking us?” Nick looked over his shoulder. A flash of green ducked behind a lamppost and he swore he saw the bounce of bright pink curls.

He stared at the empty space with an exasperated expression.

Dani and Kim glanced at each other.

“Well, I could say you’re imagining things, but I don’t like gaslighting,” Kim sniggered. “Yeah, apparently Mary sent Nola to spy on you. Again.”

Dani looked at Kim, shocked. “Again? You mean she’s done this before?”

Kim nodded, smiling in amusement. “Yeah-huh. It seems Vivian wasn’t entirely to blame for how big of a mess her date ended up being.” Kim realized how what she’d just said sounded and gasped. She turned and looked at Nick. “Sorry, uh… that was kind of insensitive.”

“No, it’s fine,” Nick said, shaking his head. “But I’d rather not talk about that kind of stuff, alright? It’s a little… private.”

Kim nodded and made an exaggerated display of closing her mouth to show Nick that she was serious about not wanting to upset him. It wasn’t her place to stir up bad memories.

Nick sighed and looked back at the street corner Nola definitely wasn’t hiding behind. “I get that Mary’s worried, but… she shouldn’t be. Things are going fine, right?”

He turned to Dani and Kim, and saw the tense smiles on both girl’s faces.

“Sure, yeah! Totally good!” Dani said, nodding her head a little too quickly.

“No issues here!” Kim shook her head as hard as possible.

Nick just stared at them.

“…Guys, seriously?” He sighed and rubbed his temples. “If this is about what happened before with the teasing thing-”

“No!” Kim blurted out, her eyes widening. “It’s not about me! No, it’s about Dani!”

“Kim!” Dani looked at the other girl in shock. “Not right now!” She hissed.

“What, what’s going on?” Nick looked between them both. “What are you guys not telling me and what can I do to make it right?”

Dani sighed and rubbed her temples in frustration. She gave Nick an irritated look. He always did stuff like this. “Dude… don’t worry about it, okay?” She said, shaking her head. “It’s not anything you did. It’s totally about me and the shit I’M doing. Or, well, that I have to do… look, it’s complicated, okay?”

Nick just stared at her, not sure what to say. He turned to Kim. “…Kim? Can you translate?”

Kim shook her head and pointed to her mouth. “I’m keeping quiet, remember?” She reminded him, zipping her lips.

“But you just said- …No, never mind.” Nick realized he was getting caught up doing the same thing as last time. He took a step back and held up his hands. “Look, guys, I’m just trying to have a good time with you guys. I know it’s not a date,” he pointed out, nodding to Dani, “but as a group of friends, we should be able to talk about stuff, right?”

Dani winced. “Seriously, Nick, it’s really not an issue,” she said softly. “If anything, you’re making me more embarrassed by making such a big deal out of it!”

Nick looked at her, not sure exactly how that went, but not trying to start something with her. Maybe he was making too big of a deal like this, as usual. So he fought his natural inclination.

Seeing Nick’s hesitation, Dani decided enough was enough. She wasn’t the sort of woman who beat around the bush; Nick needed to know exactly why she felt the way she did, so she straightened up and put her game face on.

“Kim and I were talking in the shower,” she said seriously.

Nick blinked. “Talking? Or… ‘talking’?” He asked, his mind going to certain places out of reflex.

Kim snickered and Dani rolled her eyes.

“I swear-! Talking, just talking!” Dani put her foot down.

“We also had a splash fight, kinda,” Kim volunteered, earning her a look from the other girl.

Nick knew better than to push his luck and just nodded silently, letting Dani continue with what she was saying.

“We were talking about… doing stuff with you,” Dani said. “I mean me doing stuff with you! Obviously Kim has done a lot of stuff with you… and will do more… obviously… …I’m getting off track here!” She shook her head and cleared her throat. “Look, it’s about the Victory Points, right? Our conversation this morning?”

“Oh!” Nick was finally on the same page. “You mean that stuff about the two of us experimenting with more ways for you to get VP? Well, why didn’t you just say that?” Now that he knew what they were talking about, he struggled to understand Dani’s reticence on the subject.

Which was what irritated Dani.

“Kim made a very good point, about how there’s a small list of things we actually haven’t done together, and a lot of those things, well, they might be awkward,” Dani explained. “But I said that I would be willing to take that chance. You know, for the sake of us having a good time.”

“It was just a warning, by the way,” Kim clarified. “I never told her that she shouldn’t do anything! Just that she needed to be careful.”

Nick looked at Dani, and he could see the faint hesitation in her otherwise firm gaze. It was easy to miss; Dani was the sort of girl who faced every challenge head-on without backing down; for her to be hesitating, even slightly, she must have been seriously worried.

And at that point, he doubted there was much he could do to reassure her. But still, he wanted to try at least.

“Dani, we talked about this, I’m sure we can do stuff together without it having to be that big of a deal,” Nick said.

Dani nodded back. “I agree.”

“So… what’s the problem?” Nick asked, wondering why she was making a big deal out of this.

“…There isn’t a problem. That’s what I said before,” she bluntly replied, staring at Nick like he was an idiot. “Weren’t you listening?”

A surge of shame blossomed across Nick’s face and he averted his eyes. “Maybe, uh… maybe I was a little… overzealous with my concerns,” he conceded, turning and looking back at the hiding place that definitely didn’t have a Nola behind it.

Maybe Mary was right to send her to spy.

“So we’re good then?” Dani asked bluntly, crossing her arms over her chest. “Because I don’t know about you guys, but I’m ready to soak in the hot spring.”

“Sounds good to me,” Kim agreed with an eager nod. “Then a late lunch after, yeah? I’m starving.” She rubbed her stomach.

“Lunch, definitely,” Dani said, cracking a grin. “And after that, Kim and I were thinking maybe… for the rest of our date we could try and do some stuff together to clear some of those easy VP goals. Would that be okay?”

She looked sincerely at Nick, and he could see how much faith she had in him. She really wanted to go through with this, and who was he to disappoint her?

“That all works for me,” Nick agreed. He looked cautiously over at Dani, still hesitant. “Actually though, I have a concern.”

“Oh?” Dani raised her eyebrow and tensed. “What?”

Nick rubbed his shoulder. “…To tell you the truth, my arms are a little sore from all that weightlifting we were doing. I’m not so sure if I’ll be able to give you a princess carry.” Truth be told, even at his best he wasn’t confident about that after what had transpired this morning. “But since it’s just 1 VP it’s not that big of a deal, right?”

Kim had to stop herself from bursting out laughing. Dani, in comparison, handled the situation with significant grace and maturity.

She still rolled her eyes though.

“Didn’t I warn you of just that?” She chided, lightly jabbing her finger into his ribs. “This is why I said not to load up so many weights!”

“Well, it was feeling alright at the time!” Nick protested. “But now that it’s over…”

“Because the adrenaline is wearing off, and your body is realizing how much strain you put it through,” Dani sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. She shook her head and gave him an exasperated smile. “…Whatever. It’s not that big a deal, honestly.”

“It’s not?” Nick asked, relieved.

Dani shook her head. “Do your arms feel like they’re going to fall out of their sockets?”

“…No.”

“Then you’ll be fine, let’s go.” Dani turned and headed for the spa, feeling they’d been delayed long enough. Kim skipped after her and Nick followed the girls hesitantly, thinking about how there was a pretty big gap between “your arms are going to fall out” and being “fine”.

But he had to trust that Dani knew what she was talking about.

“Man… this is the liiiiiiiffee…” Kim sighed, sinking into the soothing warm waters of the hot spring. She tucked her chin under the surface and began to blow bubbles. “Blrrbllgrhgrl… …Haaaaah… nothing feels better after a workout than lying back in a hot spring and letting the water wash all your cares away… don’t you think, Nick?”

She didn’t even look at him. That would involve opening her eyes, and right now Kim was relishing in the bliss that came with completely surrendering your body to the water. She didn’t want to move a single muscle if she didn’t have to.

“Yeah…” Nick agreed, looking down at the steamy water. “It’s like all that pain I was just feeling… it’s all completely gone!” He sank into the water up to his neck, feeling the aches in his muscles and joints slowly fade away.

“See? I told you, nothing to worry about,” Dani said, rolling her eyes. She stepped gingerly in the water, making sure she was behind Nick as she did so. She didn’t mind him looking at her naked but she knew it would probably make things awkward for him, and that wasn’t good for anything. They were just here to relax after a good workout, after all. “Someday, Nick, you really should learn to trust me when it comes to physical health, I know what I’m talking about.”

“Hey, I trust you!” Nick protested. He turned to look her way out of reflex before stopping himself. “I just, well… I wasn’t expecting it to feel this good, that’s all.”

Dani had been right to reassure him. After just a couple minutes in the hot spring he felt like he could head right back to that gym and do another set. But his brain reminded him that he knew better and he refrained.

“Well, don’t get too excited, it’s not like this is some miracle cure!” Dani tried to walk a fine line in her voice between being firm and being playful. “You feel good right now because the warmth of the water is boosting your circulation and relaxing your muscles after you just put them through the wringer. But once you get out of the water everything will tighten up again, and some of the soreness will come back,” she warned.

“Well, then we should just stay in here foreeevvvveeeeeerrrrr…” Kim murmured, drifting through the water blissfully.

Dani laughed. Kim was usually so diligent and focused, seeing her blissfully relaxing like this was really an adorable sight.

Then the tomboy bumped into Nick, which made her jump. Her eyes snapped open and she splashed in surprise, kicking away from him.

“O-oh! Sorry about that!” She apologized quickly, rising to her feet. “I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going!”

Nick barely even heard her apology. His eyes were focused on the naked body standing right in front of him. The water clung to her slender figure, and he could swear that his senses increased a hundred times over. In that moment Nick would have sworn that he could see every droplet trailing across Kim’s flushed skin, rolling over the small hills of her modest chest and dribbling down into the delta between her legs.

Kim didn’t even seem to care that Nick was blatantly checking her out, much to Dani’s shock. She sat on the sidelines as an outside observer, and her wide open mouth slowly shifted into a wry grin as she looked at Nick’s stunned face in amusement.

Wow! I mean, I know she’s gotten used to walking around in her underwear, but she’s completely naked! Nick’s ogling her like crazy and it doesn’t even faze her! Is she just that used to showing off her body now?

Dani was used to Carly and to a lesser extent Vivian taking pride in their nakedness and showing off their bodies. But with Kim it was a whole different vibe. While both girls took control over their image and even highlighted their sex appeal, Carly moreso than Vivian, Kim was just so… ambivalent. It was a level of comfort that stretched even beyond Carly’s proud “Yeah, I’m naked, so what? You checking me out?” daringness.

If someone told Dani that Kim had walked down a crowded road completely naked, right now Dani would believe that completely.

In the end, the onus was on Nick to say something. “Kim… you know I can see everything, right?” He said, pointing at her. He figured she had to know that on some level; he just hoped she wouldn’t freak out when he drew attention to it.

Kim looked down at herself and gasped. “Oh! Uh… well, that’s a little embarrassing!” She laughed sheepishly, scratching her head. She crouched back down in the water and hugged her knees to her chest, smiling through her red face.

Dani raised her eyebrow. In spite of what Kim had said, she didn’t hear any actual embarrassment in the other girl’s voice. If anything, Nick seemed more embarrassed for her than the person who’d actually gotten seen. He was incredibly conscious of the situation now, forcing his head down to look at the water to spare the girls any violation of their modesty.

He was so awkward about it, even Dani was starting to feel uncomfortable just from secondhand shame! Which made absolutely zero sense, since she didn’t give a damn if Nick checked her out or not!

Somehow Kim naturally just showing off her body was more effective than all her attempts to appeal to him earlier today. That’s weird. Dani felt a smile tug at her lips again. I guess that’s just Nick, huh? He really likes it more when Kim’s herself, as opposed to when she’s trying to emulate Carly or someone else.

Dani was completely correct in her assessment though. Nick was left paralyzed in the water, staring down at his body. It was practically the only safe thing he could look at! With the steam he could barely make himself out, which was good, because he was naked with two girls in a situation that he was very much trying to keep platonic.

Then he felt Kim poking him in the shoulder and nearly lost it.

“Hey, uh… you okay?” Kim leaned over and whispered into his ear. He could almost feel her breasts press against his arm. Kim was careful enough not to let them touch, but he could feel the hairs on his arms sticking up from proximity; Nick just had to shrug a little bit, and there would be contact.

He focused very hard on not doing that.

“I’m fine,” he assured her. He turned and looked at her, taking the opportunity to pull his body out of danger. That also gave him another safe place to look; right into her eyes. Nick knew Kim probably wouldn’t care if he was checking her out, and maybe she even wanted that, but the last thing he wanted to do right now was ratchet up the sexual tension with Dani present as the third wheel.

Kim sighed in relief. “Oh, good, I was afraid you’d be kind of nervous since we’re all naked,” she said with a laugh, scratching her head. “I thought you might be a little tense, what, with Dani here and everything.”

Nick stared blankly at her. “…Believe me, Kim. Dani is NOT the one who’s causing me issues right now, seriously.”

Kim looked at him in confusion for a second and then her eyes widened. She smiled a giddy smile that still looked gorgeous on her and sank back into the water.

“W-well then, I’m glad I asked,” she grinned, cradling her cheeks with her hands and beaming at him. “Getting that kind of reaction out of you has got me feeling all sorts of lucky!”

Her eyes twinkled and it was like it didn’t even matter that they were both naked. The look she gave him would be just as enticing if they were sitting across the table from one another in a loud restaurant.

“…Glad I could help,” Nick said, smiling. I guess it’s not that bad to give Kim a little bit of fawning right now. After we’re done here, most of the day is going to be spent helping out Dani with her VP problems, after all. And Kim even volunteered to lend a hand with that. It’s the least I can do.

Nick’s concerns about Dani being a third wheel were very much proven to be fact.

But Dani herself was fine with that. She leaned back against the edge of the hot spring and smirked, watching the two of them make goo-goo eyes at each other.

“Is it just me or is it getting hot in here?” She joked to herself, fanning her face. “I’d say get a room, but then I’d probably not see them again for the rest of the day!”

Sure, maybe today was supposed to be about Dani; it was her day of the week with Nick, after all. And while other girls might have gotten irritated that someone else was taking up Nick’s attention, Dani had no such concerns.

After all, she was Nick’s friend. If he was having a good time, then that was good enough for her, even if it was due to another girl.

And to be honest, seeing the two of them like that, completely naked under the water and free to do just about anything they wanted with her being none the wiser?

It was stoking a strange fire in her heart that she was fanning with eagerness, and she leaned forward subconsciously to try to see more.