"We can eat ice cream if you want?" Nicki suggested over the phone as I entered my home.
Just like Luke said, he wasn't there. All his stuff was gone, from his clothes to his toothbrush. Everything.
I felt my throat tighten at the sight and resisted the urge to drop to the ground and cry. Even if he possibly was cheating on me, being left without a proper good-bye still hurt.
"S-sure," I managed to get out as I plopped down on the couch.
"Jess, I really am sorry. I regret getting in between you and Luke--"
"It's my fault. I continued it anyway. I deserve to be like this."
"But I'm sure he was cheating on you first! Being out late, being late in the studio, never coming home until morning? It's his lost, not yours!"
"I guess..." But I still wasn't convinced.
"How about I give you some space? You obviously need to think about it--"
"No! I don't want to be alone. Please," I added.
"Are you sure? Well, what time are you coming over?"
I looked down at Jackson, who was at my feet, looking back up at me. "I'm not coming over. You are."
"What? Jessica--"
"I'll text you my address. Come over whenever."
"...Okay."
I hung up and texted her the address. She said she was coming over within an hour or two.
It gave me enough time to feed my dog and take a shower. But I put Nicki's shirt right back on. It smelled of her and it comforted me greatly.
Then I went to my room and tried to make it seem not so...empty. It was like half of the room was taken away because Luke's things had occupied it. So I spread my clothes in the closet and put some of my things in the nightstand on his side of the bed. It still looked odd without his things, but I didn't have time to ponder on this; the doorbell had rung.
Nicki came in, smiling up at me, and holding grocery bags. I leaned down and gave her a peck on the lips, which made her jump. She obviously wasn't expecting that. How come?
"Feeling okay, Jess?" Nicki had asked.
"Yeah. What was that about?"
"What about?" She asked.
"That kiss. You weren't expecting it. Why?"
"Because I didn't think you'd want to kiss me after everything that happened."
I sighed. "Pretending I never liked you won't solve anything."
"Oh. Right. Um, where's your kitchen?"
I led her into the kitchen, where she sat the bags down. She pulled out two big containers of ice cream, two big silver spoons, and two oversized shirts from her home. I smiled at her as she put a container into the freezer--even his favorite Ice cream he had was gone--and she turned back to me.
"You didn't have to do this," I said.
"I did. I had to. For you, Jess."
"You're so sweet. Uh, what's the shirts for?"
"You. So you can always have me when you're home alone."
She eyed the shirt I still had on, and I blushed. "Which means I get something of yours."
And she marched off out the kitchen, with me following her. After watching her open every door in search of my room, I led her to the closet.
"I want this," she immediately said, picking out a sweater I had. She buried her face in it and giggled.
"Take it."
And she took it off the hanger, took her jacket off, and slid the too big sweater on. She was dwarfed even more, but she grinned like she won a million bucks.
We went back downstairs, and Nicki made me sit while she retrieved the ice cream and spoons.
"I got chocolate, because everybody likes chocolate, right?" Nicki explained, handing me a spoon.
"Not me."
Her eyes widened to the size of saucers, and I chuckled at how cute she was.
"I'm kidding, Nicki."
"Oh. That's good, or else I would've gotten a different flavor."
"I would've eaten it if I didn't like it still."
She took the lid off and I dug my spoon in it. Ice cream really did help in situations like this. Ironically, I could feel the stress melt away.
I put on Netflix, but we barely paid any attention to the movie. We talked to each other about anything that came to mind, really. I felt so relaxed and at ease with her, I even talked to her about Luke.
"Do you still love him?" She asked, spooning out more of the cold treat.
"Of course. I mean, how can you stop loving someone after a day of being broken up?"
She bit her lip, hesitating. "More than me?"
I froze. I couldn't possibly tell her that I had fallen in love with her. Even after she told me not to. But did she actually want me to? To be a rebel and fall for her?
"Don't answer that," she quickly said before I could open my mouth.
Should I tell her so she won't be upset? Or would that scare her?
"If I wasn't so attracted to you, I wouldn't be in this situation now, would I?"
Nicki slowly shook her head, and I gave her a reassuring smile. Then we went back to our conversation about boyfriends, and Nicki had given up on men apparently.
"Same reason. They're cheaters. Every single guy cheated on me."
"I'm sorry to hear that," I said. "I can't imagine why, though."
"Yeah. Then a girl helped me back on my feet out of my latest breakup. One thing led to another, and we kissed and everything," Nicki shrugged.
"What happened to her?"
"I broke up with her. Too clingy, you know?"
I nodded in understanding. "I had girlfriends like that also."
"She was a nice girl and all. But no..."
We were halfway done with the tub when my phone rung, and I looked to see it was my manager. Confused as to why he was calling me, I answered.
"Hello?"
"Jessie, have you seen the news?" He asked in a frantic voice.
"No, why?"
"Luke is cheating on you! Here, I'll send you the link."
Then he hung up, and I looked at Nicki.
"What's wrong, Jess?"
"My manager said Luke was cheating on me..."
"Oh baby. I'm so sorry."
My phone vibrated with a text. It was the link to the story. A picture of Luke and some other woman popped up, kissing in front of a store. I couldn't speak. It was ridiculous how fast he moved on...Or was he actually cheating on me while we were together?
It shouldn't bother me, but it did. That Luke was kissing on some woman that wasn't me in public. IN PUBLIC! I kept the relationship between Nicki and I private. Yet he didn't have the decency to do so also?
I cut my phone off, placed it on the table, and brought my knees up to my chest. I wasn't in the mood to eat anymore ice cream, my stomach more upset. All I wanted to do was curl up in a ball and cry my eyes out.
"Jessie, you'll need to learn to stop crying over other people."
Nicki wiped my tears away once again. But I turned my head away from her touch and buried my face in my legs.
She sighed and I felt the couch slightly shift as she got up and walked away. The cold container was no longer beside me. I looked up to see Nicki grabbing her keys and sliding on her sunglasses. Panicking, I hopped up and ran after her to the front door.
"Please! Don't go," I pleaded.
Nicki sighed again. "I won't sit around and watch you cry over some idiot that doesn't deserve it."
"I'm sorry! But please just stay with me? Please?"
"I'll come back when you've got yourself together."
She kissed my forehead before turning to open the door and walk away from me.