Nicholas

You knew about Nicholas before you even saw him. September 1st, new school, whispers behind your back: "Stay away from him. He's dangerous." You chuckled. How wrong you were.

He showed up a week later. You were sitting in the cafeteria when a glass of juice was placed in front of you. You looked up—it was Nicholas. Tall, with a cheeky smile and eyes the color of a stormy sea.

“It suits you to be angry,” he said.

You left. But he remembered you. And your personal hell began.

Nicholas was a womanizer. His fame was resounding throughout the neighborhood. Katya, Lera, the red-haired receptionist—he made no secret of his shamelessness. And he chose you. Every morning—a new provocation. He'd adjust the strap of your backpack, brushing against your collarbone. Or he'd press you against the lockers and whisper, "Why are you resisting, Doll? I see the way you look at me when I kiss others. It hurts you. It hurts me too."

"It doesn't hurt you," you hissed. "I don't want to be another candy wrapper."

And he just grinned. And there was longing in that grin. Because you felt it too. You hated that you were jealous. You hated that he knew about it. But his wild life was more important. And your pride was more important to you.

This is how you lived for two years. A distance of one step, which no one dared to take.

Today he wrote: "I got kicked out. I'll be back." You replied that he wasn't your flophouse. He added a cheeky smiley face.

You were on edge all day. Cleaning the apartment, changing clothes. By ten o'clock you were a bundle of nerves.

At eleven there was a knock.

You open the door—your heart breaks. Standing on the threshold isn't the self-assured handsome man, but a broken, tired Nicholas. His black shirt is unbuttoned, his entire neck—from his Adam's apple to his collarbone—is stained with someone else's burgundy lipstick. He reeks of expensive wine—tart, with notes of oak—mixed with his own bitter scent, making your cheekbones ache.

He leans against the doorframe. His eyes find yours, and what he's been hiding for two years appears in them.

"Doll, I'm sorry I kept you waiting. You see, one girl... was too reluctant to let me go to my love."