Ch. 11

Nic

Nic grabbed the bottle of shampoo and squirted a huge dollop onto his palm. After he'd told Olandria that he wasn't sure if she still had a chance with Taylor or not, she'd nodded and told him she'd give him the bathroom to get ready for the day. It was her way of saying she needed space so Nic had let her leave and gotten into the shower.

He really wasn't sure where her chances with Taylor stood. If it was up to him, Taylor would have zero chance because he didn't deserve her. Nic had tampered down his feelings because the situation wasn't about him but now that he was alone, he let his anger and annoyance rise to the surface.

Nic wasn't angry or annoyed at Taylor because he'd found happiness with Clarke. That was the point of the show after all. No, he was angry and annoyed because he was 90 percent sure Taylor had been stringing Olandria along this whole time. That annoyed the fuck out of him.

He'd given up pursuing Olandria because she was head over heels for Taylor and Taylor acted as if the feelings were mutual. All he wanted was for her to be happy, even if it wasn't with him. So, he'd decided to keep an eye on her (he couldn't keep his eyes off of her even if he wanted to) and focus on exploring a connection with Cierra.

But if Taylor had been honest with Olandria weeks ago, she could've pulled back and started exploring other people. Could've explored him.

Nic wondered if going back to the villa was a good idea. Not because he didn't want to but because he wasn't sure he'd be able to see Taylor without punching him and the show didn't tolerate physical violence.

Nic was pulled out of his thoughts by one of his favorite sounds in the world: Olandria's voice.

"Hurry up! We have things to do," she yelled through the door.

This was news to Nic. He wasn't aware that they had plans but he wasn't one to keep a beautiful woman waiting so he rinsed the remaining shampoo out of his hair, jumped out of the shower, and got dressed in record time.

When he exited the bathroom, he almost fell to his knees in worship. Olandria had changed out of her dress and was wearing a hot pink bikini that he wanted to peel off with his teeth. Her body was un-fucking-real.

"Close your mouth," her voice was full of amusement. She did a deliciously slow 360 turn and Nic's jaw dropped even further.

"Do these plans involve my face being buried inside your pussy again?" Olandria gasped in disbelief at his vulgarness.

"Nic!" she admonished and he shrugged shamelessly. "No, they do not involve that and that's what I wanted to speak to you about earlier. Before..." she waved her hand in a circle, "all of that this morning. I don't think we should have sex again."

Nic thought being shot would probably hurt less than hearing those words come out of Olandria's mouth. "Ever?" he asked, voice full of disappointment.

"No, not ever," she giggled at the sound of Nic's audible sigh of relief. 

Then, she turned serious, "I'm thinking about Cierra. I feel terrible for taking it that far and I think we both owe it to her to explore our connection without anything physical for the rest of our time here."

Nic knew she was right. Cierra was already going to be hurt when he told her that this time in the hideaway made him realize his heart belonged to Olandria even if she didn't want it (but god, he hoped she did); they didn't need to add any more kindling to the fire.

He pulled Olandria to him, "you're right but when you say physical..." his hands moved to grope her ass and she let out an involuntary moan.

"No more making me cum," she clarified and Nic swore he heard the same disappointment he felt in her voice.

"But this is okay?" he asked, giving her ass a firm squeeze.

She bit her lip and nodded.

"What about this?" he leaned in and sucked on the side of her neck, biting gently.

She gasped and let out a breathy, "yes."

"So everything but kissing on the lips and orgasming, got it." There was a lot of gray area in between those two things and Nic fully intended to take advantage of it.

Olandria

The morning had been nothing short of a disaster but the rest of the day had turned out surprisingly well. Olandria refused to spend the day moping over a man who wasn't thinking about her so she'd decided to keep herself and Nic busy.

She and Nic had found a few board and card games in the closet and spent hours playing them and talking about everything. Olandria had learned a lot about Nic over the past few hours. He'd been a competitive swimmer in high school which explained why he was always in the pool on their days off from swimming. He'd swim laps for hours–not that Olandria had been paying attention to him or anything.

They'd talked about him being a nurse, about how he loved it because he got to use his charisma to bring some positivity to people who were going through a tough time. Olandria had envisioned him bopping around the hospital, doting on patients and ensuring they got the best care possible. 

At his core, Nic was a caretaker. She'd seen it firsthand but she'd also seen it in his interactions with the boys. If she was the villa therapist for the girls, he played that role for the boys. He was always looking out for Ace and Taylor, always willing to do anything they needed to strengthen their connections

As she learned more about him, she couldn't remember why she'd ever cared that he wasn't her usual type. This show was about taking risks and stepping outside of your comfort zone and Nic was way out of her comfort zone. Yet, she'd never felt more comfortable with a man in her life.

Now, it was evening and Olandria was in the bathroom putting on makeup while Nic set up dinner for them outside. He'd told her to get dressed up so they could have a date night. It was their last night in the hideaway; tomorrow night they'd have to decide if they wanted to go home or return as a couple to the villa.

Olandria couldn't think about that decision without feeling sick so she pushed it out of her mind and focused on contouring her face. It was weird getting ready without her girls; she missed them fiercely.

At the thought of her girls, Olandria felt sick all over again. How was she going to explain the past 48 hours to Cierra in a way that didn't completely ruin her or their friendship? As much as she wanted to blissfully ignore the outside world and focus solely on her and Nic tonight, she knew they needed to talk about the Cierra-sized elephant in the room.

She finished her makeup, took a deep breath, and then headed outside to join Nic for a conversation that she absolutely did not want–but needed–to have.