'Til Sun Beams Find You [COMPLETED]

Five

The week ended fairly quickly and before she knew it, it was Friday evening. Nico was pleased to leave the office promptly at 5 and head downtown to grab some food for herself and Jada for their date night. She usually worked from home on Fridays, but the good weather brought her out and made her want to enjoy the day.

As she drove through the swarming incoming-weekend traffic, she hummed along to the radio calmly. She drove right at the speed limit and didn't get mad when cars honked or cut in front of her. She just smiled.

The grace she gave other drivers was afforded to her when she found street parking on an otherwise busy street right outside the restaurant she was ordering take out from.

She stood in line, still humming a tune stuck in her head as she glanced at the overhead menu.

She already knew what she'd be ordering and Nico very rarely strayed away from familiarity.

There were a few people ahead of her and she let her eyes bounce around the restaurant. It was pretty typical for a Friday evening as people from nearby offices filled up the seats with their fancy suits.

Nico glanced down at the tank top and skirt she had on, having left her blazer in the car and slowly started to feel out of place with the rest of the corporate world.

"Nico?"

When she looked up, she was greeted by warm brown eyes.

No way.

"Hey," she smiled, genuinely surprised by Carter's presence. "What are you doing here?" She asked and then mentally kicked herself at the stupid question.

Not only was it a restaurant, it was a restaurant he had once recommended to her.

"Just grabbing food."

"Same," she replied.

They moved up in line.

"You coming from work?" He asked, glancing at her attire.

"Yeah. The whole look is more put together with the blazer I had on. It's in the car," she pointed backwards.

He nodded.

"...Did you drive or you walked?" She asked after a moment of silence.

He was wearing a t-shirt and sweat shorts, so it obviously looked like he had just popped out of his home for some dinner.

"I live across the street," he reminded her.

"Right. I love that you're saving the environment and getting your daily steps in," she nodded.

Carter chuckled. "You're so awkward."

The comment was meant to be endearing but Nico felt flustered.

"How's your week been?"

"Great. Yours?"

"It's been alright," he answered.

A girl appeared almost out of nowhere and stood next to him in line before she could respond.

"Don't you hate those paper towel dispensers that rip before you can pull the whole sheet out?"

"Yeah. T, this is Nico. Nico this is my friend Tiana," Carter introduced.

She nearly scoffed at the word 'friend'.

The girl was very pretty... way too pretty to be a friend. She was also dressed pretty homely in a cropped top and a pair of shorts that looked like they belonged to him rather than her.

Whore! 

Nico shouted the word in her head but decided to say "Nice to meet you," out loud.

"You too," the girl responded, equally as dry.