Time To Pretend

Chapter Fifteen: Goodnight

The night passed by slowly, both Nestor and Vera noticing every little thing about each other. It was as if they were falling in love all over again. Nothing changed between the last time they went through this. Vera was still chasing after a man in a relationship and it was torture.
"We're gonna get going." Freddie says, standing up with Max and Olivia.
"So soon?" Vera asks.
"V, it's almost two in the morning." Nestor whispers.
"Oh. Okay. Well thank you for coming. I'm sorry you didn't get to know..." she trails off, momentarily spacing.
"Chris." Nestor whispers.
"Chris! Right." she says, blushing with the embarrassment of forgetting the name of her own boyfriend.
"That's alright. I know enough about him." Olivia says with a frown.
"He really is a nice guy and-"
"You don't have to defend him to us, V. If you like him, then we...will make an effort to...tolerate him." Max says.
Freddie steps forward and hugs Vera tightly, placing a kiss on her cheek.
"Goodnight, love." he says, stepping back.
"Goodnight, darling." she says with a smile.
"Goodnight." Max says, stepping forward with Olivia to embrace Vera together.
"Goodnight dears." Vera says, releasing them.
"Be safe." she calls out after them.
She turns and looks at Nestor and Bonnie.
"I should get going too." Bonnie says to Vera.
"It was nice meeting you." Vera says, sticking out her hand. Bonnie takes it.
"You too. And good luck with your...sexual troubles. If you need any tips on self pleasure, I know all about it. And even if you and Chris want to meet with me I think I can get the ball rolling again between you two." Bonnie says with a smile.
"Really? Are you like...a relationship counselor?" Vera asks
"No, but I've been around. I know a lot about different sexual techniques from experience and there is usually always something that the guy can do to get the girl moaning. The fastest way to learn is to train you while you are active. You won't even know I am there. We will get you that orgasm." she says enthusiastically.
"I think it's time to go." Nestor says, stopping the awkward conversation.
"Walk me to my car?" Bonnie asks, turning to Nestor.
"Yeah. Sure." he says. Bonnie turns and begins walking.
"I...I'll be back to help clean up-"
"Oh that's not necessary-" Vera says, holding up her hand.
"Stay here. Wait for me." he says before turning and jogging to catch up with Bonnie. Vera watches from her spot as Nestor walks Bonnie to her car, not even bothering to take her hand.
Vera turns away and walks inside to begin cleaning. A few minutes later, her front door opens and Nestor let's himself inside.
"Hey!" Vera says, as he walks into her trailer.
"I could've been naked, you know." she says.
"There's always that possibility." he says with a smirk.
"I told you to wait up for me." he says, grabbing what's left to be picked up. She shrugs, throwing everything away before turning to him to see him washing the dishes. He glances over at her and the tension begins to fill the air for the second time that night.
"What?" she asks. He shrugs, shaking his head.
"Nothing." he says.
"What?" she asks again. He chuckles and glances at her again.
"You're just beautiful." he mumbles. She smiles and looks away, her cheeks burning.
"I like when you wear your hair up." he says randomly.
"What?"
"When you put it up. It shows off the back of your neck. I like the back of your neck." he says softly, glancing down at her neck, fighting the urge to place a kiss on the back of her neck.
"Huh. Okay." she says with a soft smile. There's an awkward pause as he stares at her.
"So that kiss.." she begins, wanting to get the awkwardness out of the way.
"Yeah we need to be more careful." he says, washing the last plate in the sink. Her heart drops at his statement.
"I mean do we really want to go down that road again?" he asks with a light chuckle. She forces a laugh and nods.
"No. No we don't." she mumbles quietly.
"I think this whole friendship thing is going to need work." he says, drying his hands and turning to her.
"Okay. Let's set some ground rules." she suggests.
"Ground rules?" he asks.
"Yeah. Boundaries." she says.
"Okay well lets start with trying not to kiss each other anymore." he says, making her giggle.
"Oh. And that. That can't happen." he says.
"What?" she asks.
"That laugh. You can't laugh like that. It's too cute." he says. She looks at him with her eyebrows raised. She forces an obnoxious laugh out which makes him laugh more.
"Was that better?" she asks.
"No." he says chuckling. "It's hopeless."
"Alright. Well if I can't laugh then you can't call me beautiful...with those big brown eyes." she says, watching him smile and look down at the ground.
"I don't know if we can have that as a boundary. Because someone has to tell you and I don't think your boyfriend can do the job...just like he can't do a few other jobs." he says with a wink.
She gasps and pushes against his chest, making him laugh. She bites her lip to try to contain her smile.
"Really, if you need any assistance with your other problem, let me know. I'll be right over. I've been told i'm good with my hands." he says.
"Don't you think that would violate a few of our boundaries?" she asks with a smirk.
"Friends with benefits. Nothing wrong with that. I just get the job done. No one has to know." he says, smiling even though he is slightly serious.
"That can't happen and you know that." she says.
"It can." he says, his smile gone.
"Nes, we aren't doing that. That would be completely...wrong." she says, realizing that he is serious.
"You have to admit...it would be mind blowing. With our chemistry. I mean think about the scene we had in the bed. I had you speaking other languages and that wasn't even my best work." he says, smiling again. She rolls her eyes but her mind goes back to their steamy scene in the bed.
"We can't." she whispers. It was obvious that denying him of this pained her.
"I should get going." he says, glancing at the clock.
"You don't want to stay the night?" she asks.
"You want me to?" he asks, wagging his eyebrows.
"Well not in that way. You would sleep on the couch. I just didn't want you walking by yourself when it's this late." she says. He puckers his lips, thinking it over.
"I'll be fine. I'll see you tomorrow." he says, leaning in to kiss her cheek.
"Okay. Goodnight, dear." she says, watching him grab his jacket and walk out the door.