4 - A Man Named Nik
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Honey & Hemlock
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“I’m Nik.”
Narrowing my eyes back at the stranger with those piercing blue eyes focusing on me. “Nik what?”
“Just Nik.”
A snorted laugh came out of me. “That’s not suspicious at all.” He laughs quietly and surprised, like he didn’t expect me to tease him.
“You’re quite bold for someone hiding under bleachers.”
“And you’re quite nosy for someone who doesn’t go to this school.”
He tilts his head, amused. “You noticed.”
“You’re wearin’ a leader jacket that costs more than my mama’s car. You’re not exactly blendin’ in.”
He looks down at his combat boots, then back at me with a soft smile. “You’re observant.”
“And you’re avoiding my question.”
Nik, as he's called, takes a few steps forward until he’s standing in front of me, leaning his side into the bleachers just like I am. His eyes scanned me up and down like a hunter scanning its kill shot on an animal that surprisingly didn’t worry me. “Let’s start this over this way, my name is Nik. What’s your name, love?”
“Like I’d give my name out to a stranger.”
“I’m trying not to be.”
“We’ll keep tryin’ honey cause we aren’t going to be a thing or even friends for that matter.”
Nik sent me an amused smile. “Is that a dare?”
“In your dreams, leather jacket.”
He simply hummed, lowering his gaze downward to my dusty cowgirl boots I always wore regardless unless mom insists I wear heels for a more formal event the town is doing. “Speaking of fancy attire, I haven't seen too many people around this town wearing boots like yours. Surely there must be a story behind these.”
“I’ve been wearing boots like this since I was six years old and mama hasn’t stopped me yet.”
“That’s an interesting accent you have there.”
Reaching up to tuck some loose strands of hair behind my ear I avoided eye contact feeling some nerves building in my stomach. “I might say the same bout you…”
His eyes linger on me a second too long, like he’s memorizing the way I tuck my hair behind my ear. Or maybe I'm overreacting about this and he's just looking at the flower crown of wildflowers on my head that mom made for me every year for my birthday.
“You do that when you’re nervous.”
My breath catches in my throat. “Do what?”
“You hide behind your hair.”
“You don’t know me, fancy jacket man.”
“Not yet.”
He says it like a promise that I didn’t understand. Parting my lips I hesitated in giving him a response before the familiar voice of my best friend broke me away from whatever was going on between me and this new stranger in town.
“Casey!”
Sharply turning my head in the direction of his voice I watched him jog up towards me, eyes flicking between me and Nik like he walked in on something he shouldn’t have.
“Am I interrupting something?”
My voice came out in a stutter. “Uh, no. What - what do you want?”
“We’re ditchin’ school,” he instantly grins wickedly, grabbing my hand. “Birthday girl gets the day off.”
“Shawn, what about school?”
“Live a little, love.” Nik commented on our conversation where my friend sent him a nod of approval and he didn’t even know his name yet.
“Thanks, dude. Shawn Hale.”
He held out his hand and Nik shook his hand. “Nik. Nice to meet you, mate.”
“Now let’s get back to celebrating your birthday cause he’s right you only live once. You only turn sixteen once. And there’s some s’mores and hidden beer waiting for you at the Quarry.”
Staring at my friend for a second or two I raised a hand and he raised his own and we clasped the other's hand making our way over to his old beat up picking truck. “Where you go I go.” Shawn nodded and I let him pull me away, but I could feel Nik’s eyes on my back the whole time until we climbed into his truck.
The Old Quarry Overlook always feels like it’s holdin’ its breath.
It sits way out past the last gravel turnoff where the trees get thick and then the woods open up all at once, like someone pulled back a curtain, and there it is a rocky ledge droppin’ straight down into dark water. The air always smells like pine sap, cold stone, and the wind whistles through the broken fence like it’s tryin’ to tell secrets.
Dylan and Alison beat Shawn and I here to already have the old fire ring goin’, flames cracklin’ high enough to make sparks float up like fireflies. Blankets are spread out across the uneven ground, shoes kicked off in the grass, someone’s half‑burnt marshmallow stuck to a paper plate like a crime scene. A cooler sits crooked near the edge, full of sodas and the kind of drinks Caroline would ground me for if she ever found out.
I drop down onto one of the blankets, pulling my knees up to my chest as the fire pops. The heat feels good against my skin, but it doesn’t quite chase away the chill that’s been sittin’ in my bones since earlier…..since meeting him. For some reason my mind kept telling me I might have met him before. I just can't put my finger on when that would have been.
“Heads up! Beer for the birthday girl.”
Shawn pulled me from my thoughts, tossing me an open beer bottle that I almost spilled when it reached my clumsy hands. “Ag! Rye, I told you I don't do good with contact sports.”
“Eventually I'll get you to play dogfight football, Griffin-Forbes.” He took a long sip from his own bottle, licking his lips. “So who was the guy you were talking with under the bleachers earlier?”
“Do we really have to talk about that?”
Dylan lowered his beer from his mouth. “There’s a guy?”
“Yes.”
“No, Shawn!”
Alison paused roasting her marshmallow in the fire, looking across it at me with a hopeful curiosity in her tone. “Okay since she’s clearly playing massive denial tell us what you know, Shawn.”
Shawn shrugs his shoulders inside his leather jacket. “Not much. Just that she was under the bleachers with some guy she’s refusing to talk about.”
“I’m not refusing,” I say, heat crawling up my neck. “I just don’t think it’s a big deal.”
Dylan says back. “If it wasn’t a big deal Shawn wouldn’t have brought it up.”
“She’s glowing. Look at her. Birthday girl met someone.” Alison points her stick at me.
“I’m not glowing.”
“You’re blushing,” Shawn says, annoyingly sure of himself when I threw a tiny piece of graham cracker at him. It bounces off his shoulder and he pressed a hand to his chest, offended. “How do you assault your best friend on your own birthday?”
“Shut up,” I mutter, but my cheeks are burned and Alison picked up on it.
“Oh my god, she’s blushing!”
“I’m not-”
Dylan leans forward. “Was he cute?”
“No,” Shawn answers instantly.
“Yes,” Alison counters.
“Can we not do this?”
“Nope, we’re absolutely doing this.”
Shawn tilts his head curiously. “Did he flirt with you?”
“Did you flirt back?” Alison wiggled her eyebrows.
Dylan adds on. “Did you two kiss under there like some kind of teen drama?”
“DYLAN!”
“I’m just asking questions.”
Alison laughs so hard her marshmallow falls straight into the fire. “My marshmallow! No! - Casey!” She reached for another one, but I snatched the bag first from her hand.
Holding the bag tightly against my chest I warned them till Dylan managed to snatch it out of my grasp. “If y’all don’t stop interrogating me, I swear-”
“Give me the sugar!”
I yank it away, but he grabs my wrist, and the bag slips, having marshmallows spill everywhere, bouncing across the blanket like soft little grenades.
“Ohhh, it’s war.” Shawn bursts out laughing picking one up, flicking a marshmallow at Dylan’s forehead.
“You did not just-”
He grabs two and chucks them back, missing Shawn entirely when he ducked his head down and hitting Alison in the shoulder as she yelps. “Hey! I wasn’t even part of that!”
“You were absolutely part of that.” Shawn says, throwing another one. Joining in on the fun I picked up a handful dropping them down onto Shawn’s head in a fit of laughter where he reacts by tackling me down onto the blanket on my back tickling me.
“Rye! Rye! - Shawn!”
He chuckled as he continued his assault on my ticklish hips even with my hands swatting at his chest trying to get him to stop. The dorkiest grin plastered his face as our two other friends piled on top of him in a doggie pile making all four of us fall over in a cackling fit of laughter.
That’s how the rest of the night went until Shawn parked the truck outside my house at 1am carefully walking up the porch steps to not wake my mom since it’s past my curfew. Standing outside my front door I dug around in my pockets for my keys, not finding them anywhere. “So tonight was fun but I should get to bed before my mama sends the whole police force out lookin’ for me. Hmm….have you seen my-“
“Keys. Yep, right here.”
He twirled them around on one of his fingers with a playful grin, tossing them into my open hands. “Shawn, how did you even-“
“A magician never reveals his tricks, farm girl. Besides, I couldn't let you leave without getting my birthday present.”
“Awe, you didn’t have to get me anything. You’re my best friend, that's enough.”
He nodded simply shrugging off the jacket he was currently wearing at the same time catching me by surprise. For this jacket wasn’t just a random one from the store, no it’s the one he has worn every single day since I’ve known him. “I know that, Casey. I appreciate you more than anything, I still want you to have this.”
In his hands now was his dark charcoal jacket, soft from years of use, the cuffs a little frayed where he absentmindedly picks at the seams. It’s warm, heavier than a hoodie, lined on the inside with flannel that’s faded from too many washes. The shoulders are worn out but ultimately it smells like him.
“Oh Shawn.”
Putting a hand over my mouth Iwas a little in shock over his sudden gift. He stepped behind me holding it up and helped me put my arms through the larger sleeves. “Since you always end up curled in this thing during movie nights, I figured it was easier to just let you have it. Saves me the trouble of pretending I don’t notice you stealing it.” A chuckle came from both of us at the same time by his comment, eventually I spun around to face him, throwing my body into his for a bear hug like he had for me this morning.
“Thank you for today.”
“That’s what a best friend is for, Casey.”
He squeezed me back gently pulling away with a smile, once he got in his truck and drove off I grabbed the door handle of the front door about to sneak inside till something caught my eye. Sitting on the ground at my feet was a small thin box with a bow tied around and a folded piece of paper underneath the bow. Bending down I picked it up, taking out the paper, unfolding it to find the words.
“I saw these tonight after our talk and thought of you. Figured you would like one that you could put on your wall. Happy birthday, cowgirl boots - Nik.”
Lifting the box gently upward my mouth parted slightly, finding a small frame photo with two orange wildflowers together that had been pressed down into the paper inside the frame. Truly I didn’t know what to make of this, we barely knew each other so why go through the trouble of giving me a gift. Brushing my fingers carefully over the glass muttering to myself I slipped inside and up to my bedroom. “I’ll have to find him tomorrow and thank him.”
