Best Friends Forever, Chapter One



"Just go talk to her, Eric, you've got nothing to lose!" Mike urged softly, turning back to Helen. Eric laughed nastily, returning to his drink with a scowl. It seemed to him that everyone was getting hitched these days, even Mike had gone and found himself a lady and a good one at that. Maybe it was his turn, but it wasn't likely that the flower-child across the room was going to take any notice of him. It was also unlikely that the keyboard player in the band was going to take any notice of him. So he settled down for another depressing night of watching his friends all enjoy their time with girlfriends and wives while he watched, as usual.

The bartender gave him a sympathetic look and slapped a small shot glass in front of him, filled to the top with malt liquor. He winked and turned to the waitress who had returned for a refill on drinks for another table. Eric nodded thankfully and picked up the glass, downing it with a grimace before stepping off to walk toward the toilet. Maybe he'd be able to pick up some guys tonight, that seemed easier than women. Laughing at his own stupidity, Eric pushed into the toilet with a snort and leaned against the far wall, inhaling the stale smell of the chokingly small room. The door pushed open behind him and in walked Gray, who paused for a moment seeing Eric leaned up against the wall in his own private anguish.

"You alright?" He asked, putting a hand on Eric's shoulder. He jumped, but nodded before smiling weakly and exiting the room and walking back out among the many couples dancing. A few women gave him looks, but he wasn't quite up to it anymore; he wasn't feeling like he was in a very articulate mood which was highly uncommon.

Hoping he would find anything to cheer him up, Eric wandered aimlessly along the perimeter of the dance floor, looking for anyone he recognized, any ex-girlfriend that was looking for him, even if only to smack him or indulge in him one last time. He'd take what he could at this point, sadly enough.

"Hey stranger," a soft voice seemed to be teasing him. Spinning around, Eric grimaced to recognize his latest ex-girlfriend, Natalie Schmidt. She sneered at him with a strange _expression on her face, eyes glued to his face, slowly running down his entire body as though undressing him. He squirmed before turning only to run right into her cronies, a couple of overweight, underpaid whores. They sneered at him as well, running their hands over him.

He bared his teeth, suddenly and comically animalistic. "Hands off ladies, I'm broke tonight," he exclaimed snidely. All three women became half cat suddenly and began to hiss and claw at him until he was rescued by an old friend. She elbowed Natalie out of the way and pulled Eric out of the ensuing din with an almost pushy attitude.

"Damnit, Nadia, if I've told you once I've told you twice: you deplete what little masculinity I have when you save my ass like that!" He cried at his old female friend from Cambridge, picking up his drink from the bar where he'd left it. She rolled her eyes at him and put her elbows on the wood, her square glasses slipping to the end of her nose. As always, Eric absent-mindedly reached over and pushed them up to the bridge of her nose for her, not noticing that Gray and Mike were exchanging looks of knowing to each other.

Finally, the ever-quiet Nadia spoke. "It was either let you die out there and not talk to me tonight, or let them murder you and laugh with them. I rather like keeping my friends." She replied coolly, looking at him over the thick black frames.

Eric let out a sigh that resembled a man in great dislike of something. "I can't believe it, but I, Eric Idle, have officially decided that tonight, I'll even take Natalie back if it means one night-"

"Don't finish that thought; you're not that desperate." She told him with a small smile. Her short black hair was so short she had been able to style it on top of her head with hair spray and gel, making her look sort of quirky in the room full of all the long-haired flower children. She had always been his friend, ever since he could remember meeting her. It had been almost instant magic, meeting her.

He remembered walking on campus, his mother and grandmother waving and crying hysterically as they pulled out of the area he was boarding in before he finally decided to go check out the main campus area. As soon as he saw her sitting in the water fountain with four security guards scrabbling to get her out of the water where she was being drenched, he knew he'd found a friend. Eric had helped her escape the guards then, hiding her in a small dorm where he knew a guy and then taking her back to his place for a change of clothes before the guards left, certain she was still in the area. They hadn't seen her go into his dorm, so it would probably be alright if they caught a bus over to her dorm. Ever since then they had been attached at the hip, never even thinking about anything other than zany antics and other fun things. Eric had always made fun of the fact that everyone else seemed to be falling all over themselves with "hidden feelings" for their best friends, but he said that if a man and woman chose to be friends, that marriages were practically sleepovers with your best friends and everyone should lighten up. Nadia had agreed, and suddenly they were like this always dating, never quite boyfriend/girlfriend couple. That hadn't changed at all, only they hardly ever saw each other what with Eric's new job and Nadia's many boyfriends.

"So, who's the bastard you're cheating on me with now?" Eric asked lightly.

Nadia smirked and turned to him. "I'm actually single now; if you really are desperate, Eric, you know I've got a few dozen decks of cards at my house."

He smiled mischievously. "Strip poker it is!"

They looked at each other and shook their heads. Maybe sex hadn't swung their way yet, but they had pretty much lived through everything else. They had lived together, shared bank accounts for a year, Eric had been there when her sister had given birth, she'd been there when Eric's grandmother had died, it was like they were just waiting for something romantic to happen and they never saw it that way. Hell, other than a kiss on the cheek the other person was like a relative you hardly ever see but used to love to death. As if this option was becoming more clear to him, Eric looked at Nadia.

She glanced up at him and cocked her head.

"Hey Nadia!" John sidled up to her.

She turned to him and grinned broadly, looking up into his eyes. "Hi John!"

"Gosh, how are you doing? We haven't spoken in ages; Eric never calls you over anymore-" He was cut off when Eric rolled his eyes dutifully.

"For the last time, John, we haven't dated, ever."

He scoffed out loud and waved away Eric's comment. "You've lived together, shared money, personal, and joyful problems together; you might as well be married."

As always, neither of the two seemed embarrassed about everyone insisting they should date. Nadia simply shrugged. "Nothing we haven't heard before, John."

"I know, and as always I'm here to join up with the rest of the world in saying, 'God damn you kids, at least go out once!'" He grinned and bowed low before walking back over to the table where other partying Pythons were sitting.

Eric wasn't stupid; he knew that Nadia was a beautiful girl and anyone would be lucky to be with her, including himself, but he never looked at her in any other light than the friendly almost sisterly way. There had been nights after traumas in her life where the only place she could fall even into a shallow sleep had been his arms, and yet he'd only been there for her because he knew she needed him and he knew he loved her enough to be there for her. It was always this mutual friendliness that would eventually drive his mother insane, like everyone else. An ex-boyfriend of Nadia's had become drunk and tried to hurt Nadia nearly seven months after Eric's graduation, and she'd found him way down in London and stayed with him for three weeks. Those three weeks had been like a class reunion. He skipped all sorts of things he needed to do, just to get Nadia back into the place in her life where she felt comfortable. She was a better person when she knew there was good in the world, and Eric was just the person to show her all the bright and shiny faces out there. Likewise to Eric, Nadia wasn't stupid. Eric was a great guy, but in the same way, she'd never once worried about being alone and having to find a potential mate. She wasn't worried about losing a friend by finding new "hidden feelings" for him, their friendship had always swayed on the romantic side, but they never seemed to feel the need to be physical or do anything else. Lust was saved for strangers, not for those they didn't want to hurt or cause pain to.

Eric sighed, breaking the silence. "Well, I suppose I should be getting home, you need a ride?" He asked, pulling a set of keys from his pocket.

After a moment, Nadia nodded and allowed him to lead her to his car and drive her along the deserted roads. Instead of bothering to ask her where she lived, he drove right up to his house, and with no words spoken between them, they collapsed inside together on the couch, simply happy to still be friends.

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"Just open the door, he never locks it anyway." Terry pressed open the door and walked in, dropping his keys on the table. It was past noon; Eric must be awake be now. As the others filed in, there was a soft "Oh!" to their right. Mike was smiling gently on the couch, which he stepped aside to show, Eric and Nadia lying together there, faces inches apart with their breathing in sync and everything.

John snorted. "Friends my ass!"

With that exclamation, Nadia sat up and pulled her glasses onto her face, blinking rapidly as she noticed Eric's friends standing around her like a zoo exhibit. Eric jumped up as she clamored across his lap and rubbed his face heartily, trying to ignore the fact that the clamoring across his lap and the added fact that Nadia's shirt was falling off her shoulders had nearly made him squeak out loud. John's raised eyebrows made Eric want to moan with anguish; nobody seemed to understand that the participating parties in any relationship tend to know what's best for them.

He looped his arm around her waist and smiled weakly as she leaned back into the crook of his arm, her appearance tiresome to look at. She was so predictable; sinking into his arms like she always did early in the morning. Even a few weeks after meeting her she had always seemed to collapse right into his arms for a daily shaking. As always, he shook her shoulders briskly, loving the way she flopped around until she finally snapped to attention and gave him a quick little hug, standing up to make tea.

"Sorry I didn't take you home last night; I didn't feel like looking for your new house in the dark." Eric explained as he gestured for the others to sit. He walked into the hallway of his house, pulling his shirt of as he did, little or no concern there was a female in the house.

Pulling on her clothes a bit, Nadia straightened her glasses again and pulled on her hair. Eric walked back into the room, jeans and a short sleeved shirt on, tossing a plain white dress shirt to her. She exited to his hallway, just in his peripheral vision, before changing out of her short sleeved shirt and into his very loose dress shirt, buttoning up the front as she walked out into the kitchen again. She left most of the buttons undone, the bottom up far enough to reveal her navel, the top low enough to bare her tanned chest. She was a French beauty; all her heritage lead to the French, and she even spoke the language fluently, which went well with her easily tanned skin, dark black hair, and bright green eyes. Her bellbottom jeans were hanging helter skelter on her hips, far too big for her. Even her feet seemed to show how indifferent she was to certain things. Toe rings on her toes, a tattoo covering most of her left foot. She exuded an anti-fashion war cry, which intrigued all the Pythons, though they didn't dare walk in on Eric's girl, even if he was adamant about his un-involvement with her. If the opportunity for him to date Nadia ever came around, they were not going to interfere with that.

"Where do you keep-?" She started to ask him when he pulled a griddle out from a cabinet somewhere just below her and placed it on the work surface, smiling as she watched him with a smile that could show she was impressed he still knew that the only good meal she could cook was breakfast, even if it was only omelettes and toast. He kissed her on the cheek, smacking her lightly with a spatula before sprawling out on the couch with Mike and Gray to work out the kinks on a few sketches they were working on for their new show.

The day was wasted on Nadia; she finished making the breakfast, served it to the starving masses and herself, and then made herself busy picking up around the house while the men talked. She found quite a few things to do, including dishes, laundry, and his bathroom was filthy, so she cleaned that in a desperate attempt to stay busy. Every time she surfaced in the living area with a cleaning bottle or a laundry hamper, Eric would grin and say an endless thank you while she did whatever it was she was doing. When the guys finally did leave, it was ten o' clock at night and Nadia knew her house was a little over an hour away. Eric insisted on giving her a ride anyway, and did so willingly.

It was odd, seeing her again. She seemed to grow in a lot of ways every time he saw her, and in a lot of ways he did feel like he should tell her some things, just because she had the right to know. It was more of a "don't ask don't tell" type thing though, telling her that when she undressed to change in front of him, of recent, he seemed to be short of breath. There must have been some way he could make it light-hearted, but he didn't want to. He wanted her to know that whatever it was that he had made fun of for all those years was happening now, and he didn't seem to care at all. In fact, the idea of kissing her on the mouth was starting to become more and more appealing.

"There it is, on the left." She pointed on her side of the car to a small brick house. He slowed to a stop and climbed out to see her inside, to check in on her digs to make sure she was alright. As he sat on the couch he felt something odd stir in the air. She stood in the light of the lamp, the only light on at that point, and looked absolutely heavenly.

He grinned. "You look real good, Nadia."

She blushed lightly, which was odd for Nadia. "Gee, thanks! I feel like I just came out of the dryer." She rubbed her shirt with a frown. "Which isn't odd, seeing how I did laundry all day."

Eric didn't feel odd as he thought of putting his thought into a question, but it did feel odd for Nadia to be standing there with a schoolgirl's demeanor, her usually casual and friendly flair gone and replaced by this well-behaved, blushing little girl. She was adorable in that way, but it wasn't her, and he wanted it to stop.

"Do you suppose the only reason we never think about dating is the fact we've never tried to do anything romantically?" He asked, catching her off guard.

She snorted, almost completely normal again. "What do you mean? I don't know many friends out there that have had joined checking-"

He waved his arms around, cutting her off. "I don't mean that, Nadia, I mean we've never even had time to think about it. I mean, have you ever considered what it would be like if we just tried it?"

"Tried what, Eric? Don't get me wrong, you're one of my best friends ever, I love you, but I don't know what you mean!" There was a slight tremor in her voice now.

Eric smiled and sidled up next to her, feeling her body emanate a beautiful heat over him, making him acutely aware that he wasn't just admiring her beautiful smile, but staring at it with a vigor. Had it always been like this? And when had her house gotten so bloody hot?

"What I mean, dear, is that while all those other dumbasses are out there whining about not wanting to spoil their friendships with people, we've sat here just laughing at them and never doing anything." He felt his own voice drop down to a husky whisper.

She squinted. "Are you insinuating something?"

"Only that suddenly I want to know."

"Want to know WHAT, Eric?" She asked, exasperated.

He took both sides of her head in his hands. "Nadia, we haven't even kissed on the mouth and we act like we are certain we don't ever want to see each other like we're dating. I am almost one hundred percent certain that a kiss won't ruin anything we've built up over the years."

She snorted again, looking away. "You don't know what will happen but you want to try."

"Worst-case scenario: we don't like it. We are still best friends, right?" He elbowed her weakly. "Opposite worst-case, highly unlikely scenario: we like it and fall madly in love. Does that really sound like us?" He smiled weakly.

"We know more about each other than our own mothers, Eric. We know too much! Aren't you a little bit afraid we're going to mistake something we know we have for something we don't have?" She asked, looking both ways nervously.

Realisation hit Eric squarely, startling him. She was pushing him away because she knew she wanted it too. Maybe it was time they both just sucked up their fears and did what they had been laughing about for so many years.

He sighed and slipped his arm around her, kissing the side of her head. "Still just friends then,"

She looked up with a slightly startled look, looking away with a heavy blush when she saw him smirk and lift his eyebrows at her. He ran his hand over her shoulder a few times, smiling with a sort of wisdom as she tried to pretend like she hadn't just been caught in her own lie.

"I only meant that we could mistake the friendship love we have for something else." She replied thickly.

He shrugged and started to stand up. "I guess we'll never know, as you won't even try it."

He knew she couldn't resist a challenge, so when she jerked him back onto the couch and gave him an evil eye, he knew he'd won the battle, war, and medals.

"Alright, you dolt, kiss me! Figure it out yourself!" She opened her arms like the gate had been opened.

Even Eric was surprised at the speed in which he flew to her, mouth moving quickly over hers, a gasp emitting from her as a spark of pleasure lit up between them. Not a comprehensible thought was spread in Nadia's head; she was utterly confused as her lips moved on their own accord, pressing against Eric's, flooding her nose with his cologne and his touch. Before they could even decide whether or not it was just a friendly kiss, Nadia's lips parted and Eric's tongue flitted in without a second thought. It was only instinct, loving the way she fit in his arms and way she went completely docile once he took control. She flailed for a moment in the taste of him, putting her hand on the back of his head for support; he was unaware of the sounds he was making. Finally she gained half of her mind and pressed her tongue back into his mouth, feeling whatever confusion left in her disappear, covered only with a primal instinct to please him. She wanted nothing more than to give him what he wanted now, even if that meant sex with her best friend. He was her only friend at this point, and she did love him, but now it was like she was realising that all along she had misinterpreted herself. Her tongue slipped back into her own mouth, lips closing as an emptiness flowed to her, eyes opening slowly to see Eric's bright blue eyes staring back, wide and confused.

"Well?" He asked, hands still holding her tight like he was afraid to drop her.

She still held onto his head and shoulder, looking him over with a completely open mind. "Yeah, that was alright."

He smiled. "Not bad for a first kiss, eh?"

She squirmed away from him, hiding her grin comfortably. "I dunno, you could've done better."

He gaped, jaw hanging open. "You think so, huh? I'd like to see you-"

"Do better? Gladly," she grinned mischievously at him before situating herself on his lap.

They looked at the other for a moment before she leaned forward and ran her lips over his, teasing him. He jerked his head forward, trying to capture her lips with his own, but she was cunning and managed to keep him tortured for a few minutes before taking his head with both hands and kissing him defiantly. He whimpered against her, trying to get her even closer to himself though it was impossible. He was just starting to feel the slow and steady aspect of the kiss slide into gear when she moved again, pushing his shoulders back to the armrest, only a few inches away. He rocked backwards and felt his shoulders hit a soft pillow, though he was more concerned with Nadia, who was lying over him now, her body so unbelievably tempting. The tease was far from over, because they both seemed to realise that it was late and they were alone there, and neither of them could deny that the electricity flooding from the other wasn't exciting.

The best part about Eric and Nadia being best friends was the comfort between them. If she elbowed him in the stomach and hurt him barely, he'd just grunt and smile, Nadia giggling before the passion in them resituated itself and all pain was forgotten. After all that heavy kissing, snogging almost, they pulled apart and began to kiss more slowly, an instinct of some kind slipping in. They began to kiss slower and slower, building up what had been flowing like a river before, every kiss damming up the waters between them.

"Has it always been like this, Nadia?" Eric's rushed and breathy voice echoed into Nadia's ear faintly.

She sighed against him and hugged him tight, putting her head on his shoulder. "I don't know, I'm just enjoying the moment."

His arms crept up to hold her tighter, a smile on his face. "Me too, dear, me too. I'm thinking I should stay tonight, couch or no?" He asked, running a hand over her back slowly, feeling at the clasps of her bra.

She squirmed away from him, eyes dancing playfully. "You can stay in a bed tonight, but if I wake up bra-less, I'm going to give you a swirlie, and you can count on that." She warned. He linked his hand into hers, laughing in a relieved way as she lead him into her room. The bed was unmade as they talked and climbed in together, curling up like they always did.

"See? We didn't ruin anything, now did we?" Eric asked, yawning slightly.

Nadia sighed. "I'm still confused."

He nuzzled her weakly, only sure that whenever he was this close to her he felt the strangest need to touch her. "We can figure it out later, when we're more awake."

"What if we can't?"

"Then we move on like it's all the same." He answered.

She sighed, exasperated again. "What's moving on, Eric?"

"Whatever we want,"

He kissed her cheek again before falling into a heavy sleep with her wrapped up in his embrace.

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"So, Eric, where were you last night and half of today?" Mike asked, eyebrows lifted. Eric shrugged indifferently, feeling completely normal.

"I had to drop Nadia off at her new house; it was farther away than I expected." He replied evenly, wondering if they would believe him or not.

John nodded, his smile not hidden very well. "So I suppose you stayed the night, eh Idle?"

Without _expression, Eric nodded. "Yup,"

Trying not to sound like he was doing what he was doing, Mike asked, "So, do you think you'll be getting together any time soon?"

Eric shrugged, drinking out of a tea cup deeply. "Maybe; we didn't talk about that."

He had a brief flashback to that morning. It wasn't anything special, except when he had left he had kissed her on the mouth and had felt an extreme reluctance to leave her at that point. The only exceptional thing he could remember was the kiss itself, which never ceased to amaze him.

"What did you talk about, then?" Mike frowned earnestly.

Eric sighed, wondering if he should be honest or not.

John's face emitted honest surprise. "You talked to her about dating, didn't you?"

Shrugging with an uncomfortable feeling, he decided that he might as well tell them what happened. "Sorta kinda? I mentioned that we always said we would never date because we didn't like each other that way, but I also said that we never give ourselves the chance to prove we don't like each other that way."

Gray smiled slightly. "And?"

"And we kissed and it was the best fucking kiss in my entire life," Eric spat, standing up. His heart was pounding hard, and not because he gave a damn about the cheering guys behind him, but because every time he heard or said the word "kiss" now he could only picture Nadia's sweet face blushing to him. He abandoned his tea cup and retrieved a beer from Terry's fridge.

Mike cleared his throat. "The best?"

With a hearty glare, Eric lifted the bottle to his lips and raised his eyebrows. "Yes,"

"You sure?" Terry asked, remembering clearly times when Eric would flip out simply because a woman was kissing him on the cheek, and she was supposed to be his best friend!

Eric rolled his eyes and took Terry's hand, putting it on his chest, though his heart had steadied by now. He gave silent instructions. "Nadia Smart kissed me." He said shortly, his heart jumping up into his throat to shut him up. His throat felt painfully crushed; he knew he wouldn't be able to talk. Terry's eyes did widen a bit when he felt Eric's heart go racing, but even Terry Gilliam, who probably knew Eric the least was looking skeptical.

"You sure you're not in it for the sex?" Gray asked, tilting his head.

"We didn't have sex, Gray, we just kissed. I'm over-reacting with a kiss; you'll know if anything else happens." He muttered, rubbing the nape of his neck. "Besides, I knew her before now, I've lived with her. It's like now that I know how she operates outside of school and polite banter-the formalities gone-I can skip right to the rest of it. She was nervous just about kissing me, though..." He had to stop, his heart pounding again.

Mike shook his head with a low whistle. "And you made her do it?"

Shifting his weight conspiratorially, Eric nodded. "More or less; I kind of tricked her into it, you know? Made her think she was the one with all the say."

"Quite the pickle you're in, Eric, really. In love with your best friend and neither of you can do anything about it. Tsk tsk." John shook his head thoughtfully.

"Now now!" Eric retorted, smiling nervously. "I didn't say I was in love, guys. I just said that when she kisses me-" His voice cracked.

Mike chuckled, standing up. "You've got it bad, mate, real bad."

"Well, whatever I've got it can stop right now." He spat, folding his arms with a scowl.

Nadia walked along the city streets, eyes glued to her feet as she walked, gaze drifting over her class ring everyone and a while. It was a behemoth of a ring, just like a college or high school to make them gaudy and expensive, but the dark green jewel was beautiful; it matched her eyes. She had only graduated one year short of Eric, so she had gotten her ring early, with a little lie and some help with her application from her friend. They had, as promised, gotten them engraved and now, as she slipped the ring off her finger and peered at the inside circle, she felt a smile lift up on her face.

"Look! An Engraving!"

She snorted heavily before slipping the ring on again, shaking her head with a smile that could only be put there by a crazy man. As she situated her easel in her bag again so it wouldn't dig into her side, she could only wonder if her collection would be big enough for her to put on that show the art collector had promised. She couldn't only paint and find out, so she sat down in the park, staring at the playing children. She pulled out a small pencil and roughly sketched the trees and buildings, a few fountains that she remembered seeing when she looked up. In fact, when she closed her eyes, it was like a picture of what she had only glimpsed at was there, sitting there to be nit-picked and taken apart. She had a photographic memory, which right now was proving to be her most helpful asset.

"Nadia Smart! I haven't seen you in years!" A perky voice came over her shoulder. Knowing the picture would be there when she closed her eyes again, Nadia opened her eyes and grinned broadly, also knowing she'd seen this person a little over a week ago.

She leapt up and hugged the woman behind her, surprised to see her old elementary school friend back in town. "Lexi Bishop; who would have guessed to see you back in Burton?"

She laughed lightly, looking at the obscure shapes on Nadia's watercolor paper. "Not me, but I'm here now, working for a law firm."

"Excellent," Nadia replied, putting paint on a small pallet, eyeing the brightly colored shirts the children wore and the dull gray and chipped brick parts of the buildings and swing sets. She began to paint as she and Lexi caught up, completely unaware that the sun was starting to set and another day had gone by. Lexi and Nadia were as close as two girls got, and not in a feminine way. Both had been pegged out as strange all through school, mostly because of their clothes and hair. As eighth formers both had worn short hair like Nadia's now, only changed once for a protest in which Nadia appeared in her maths with a short spiked hair style with bright blue tips poking out. She was also pegged strange when she wrote the poem about what it was like to be dead, but she had written it like a sort of prose, a poem with no stanza, rhyme, or shape. Only Lexi had seen the shape in her poem, and she was supposedly a vampire. They seemed to be close in their difference, but they were so alike in every way that Nadia liked to pretend that when people mistook them for sisters, they shouldn't correct them.

"It's getting late," Lexi noted dryly, then cursing. "Damnit! I was supposed to look for a flat today-"

Nadia stood up, holding her half-done painting out before her. "Stay with me, then, I've got room if you don't mind the couch."

The other woman grinned happily. "Thanks,"

"In fact, I've got an extra room; Tommy moved out." She grinned.

Lexi did a little dance as they walked down the streets together. "I'm so glad to hear that! Speaking of boyfriends, how's Eric doing?"

Nadia's breath caught slightly, making Lexi's eyes widen a bit with awe. "He's alright, I just talked to him yesterday and today a bit, actually."

"Something wrong, Naddy?" She asked, using Nadia's nickname.

Laughing nervously, Nadia shook her head. "No, everything's alright, trust me. Just let me clear one thing up," she started, smiling in her friendly way, "when you said 'speaking of boyfriends, how's Eric?' did you mean when he was your boyfriend or were you teasing me?"

Lexi smirked. "A little of both, actually."

Nadia rolled her eyes and pulled her keys from her pocket, looking at her small brick house. "Alright, just wondering."

"Well, what did you two talk about?" Lexi pressed, gratefully dropping her things around Nadia's feet, running a hand through her own short black hair.

She smiled suddenly. "All sorts of things, I can't believe I ran into him down in London-"

"Oh! So you actually ran into him, not just talked to him, huh?" Lexi asked as they sat down on the very couch where Eric had kissed Nadia.

Nadia nodded, unconcerned. "Yeah, anyway, I saved his ass from Natalie and company, so we talked for a while. He offered me a ride home, but we decided it would be too hard for him to find my house in the dark, so we went back to his place. The next morning his friends came over so he couldn't give me a ride and we're both sticklers for cash, you know." Lexi smiled with a roll of her eyes. "After I spent the day keeping busy playing housewife, he drove me home and-" She cut herself off, standing up.

"And what, Nadia?" Her friend asked, standing up. Sometimes Lexi and Nadia tended to act more male-like on the spectrum, mostly on Nadia's part in her fervent secrecy and the many things she chose to hide from Lexi most of the time, whereas any normal woman would be screaming and shatting themselves in order to tell their best friends that they had just kissed another guy.

She squirmed. "I dunno, we talked some more, about some things I never talk about with him, you know? It made me feel weird, but not because it was him, it was just things you don't talk about with anyone for whatever reason."

"It probably was because it was him, Naddy, you know that. You and I talk about necrophilia like it's no big deal, so what made you shy away from Eric, your good buddy of whom you have spent so many years with?" Lexi asked, pulling Nadia back down to the couch as she rose to get them some drinks; they'd need them.

Nadia squirmed when Lexi placed a Cosmopolitan in her hands, knowing if she told Lexi that she'd be full of good advice that she didn't want to hear, but if she didn't she knew that Lexi could figure it out. She was a criminal lawyer and could read any emotion on your face, and could also test you by saying things that'll get you to make those faces that she could read like a book. It was risky business knowing Lexi, but she knew if she didn't tell somebody other than Eric about what happened she be dead meat. Her older brother was a little bit on the jock side, and her younger sister was a little bit on the ditzy side; together they made her parents look like a pair of crazies.

"Shall I interrogate, or would you feel more comfortable telling me on your own accord?" Lexi's tone was business-like, never a good sign.

Managing not to show very much _expression, Nadia rolled her eyes. "We talking about having REALLY WILD SEX, AND THEN WE DID." She said in a loud, sarcastic voice.

With a small smile, Lexi rubbed her chin. "I'm thinking he brought up something along those lines and you were uncomfortable. You were uncomfortable because you had been thinking the same thing and didn't want it to get out of control; am I right?"

Nadia took a deep draw from the glass in her hand, scowling at Lexi and her damnable ability. "I think his friends made him feel like he had to talk to me about dating, because after we left the club where he and his friends-all of whom have their little significant others but him-he was very nice to me. I'm not saying he's not normally nice, but this was strange. We fell aslee-"

"Girl, if I wanted to know what happened the day before yesterday, I would've asked. Now, can you please tell me what happened last night?" She put her arm across Nadia's shoulders, soothing Nadia slightly.

"He wanted to know if I thought the reason we never see ourselves as a possible couple is because we've never given it a shot. So he asked if I wanted to 'try it' just to see if anything happened. I didn't want to become that thing I hated-you know, what with all the 'I'm afraid if I date Jim our friendship will suffer' crap, but as soon as he started talking about that, I started freaking out-" Nadia shook her head slowly.

Lexi waved her to a stop. "So, he mentioned trying to date you?"

Nadia groaned, putting her head back. "I don't know what he meant, all I know is he tricked me into telling him to kiss me."

The other woman squealed. "Oh my God! Did he?"

With a bitter sneer, Nadia nodded. "Hell yeah!"

"And did you like it, Nadia?" She asked quietly.

Nadia's brain kicked into overdrive, but she caught herself and put on a stony face. "No,"

"You didn't?" Lexi frowned.

It was a filthy lie, but Nadia stood by it. "I hated it; I felt like I was only there because he wanted to try it. Afterwards didn't feel normal, it felt like nothing had happened and we were still just friends!"

"Nadia, that's a good thing, you know. If you can still be comfortable around him after that you should be happy. Besides, it doesn't mean anything; if you didn't like it it's no big deal. You're still friends, right?"

She nodded slowly. "Now he kisses me on the mouth when he leaves, and I don't know what to do-"

"Move your head just a little so he only gets the corner of your mouth; it'll be alright." She paused, scrunching up her nose. "I can't believe you don't like him! He's such a great guy, Nadia!"

Nadia sighed and swirled the ice in her glass. "I guess I needed to get that off my chest; thanks Lexi."

"Hey, no problem! That was just about the best gossip I've heard in months!" She teased. "Eric 'I'm Never Going To Get Married' Idle and Nadia 'My Best Friend and I Have Joined Checking' Smart have finally kissed each other."

Nadia smacked Lexi with a blush, which made Lexi gasp out loud. "You're lying, Nadia! You liked it!"

"No!" Nadia buried her face in her hands, standing up.

Lexi caught her arm anyway. "You did! You're embarrassed-why the hell are you embarrassed? Do you know if he liked it?"

"No!" Nadia wailed, falling to her knees. She felt like, for the first time in a very long time, she was going to cry. "I didn't like it, and I know he didn't-"

"You don't know that." Lexi's voice was far too calm.

Nadia stood up and slapped her legs hard, face contorted into a very upset _expression. "Those people are right, Lexi. For once we were wrong; if you try something you're not used to with someone you're close to, it can change things."

Lexi shook her head, putting her hand on Nadia's shoulder gently. "You said you acted like just friends afterwards, right? Unless you were lying there too, I think you'll be fine. Why are you lying about liking it, though? Do you think I'm going to tell him?"

"No, I don't know why I lied. It seems to me that if I admit that it was the most awe-inspiring kiss in my entire life, that I wouldn't act the same around him-" She started off, shaking her head slowly.

Fighting the smile, Lexi replied. "You acted the same right after, right? You're going to be fine. As my mother said; 'Marriage is like spending the night at your best friend's house every night.' Lucky you that your best friend is a good kisser." She smirked, causing Nadia to smile.

"Come on then," Lexi tugged Nadia's arm, "you can talk to him tomorrow, go see if he's not busy on a Saturday, be normal again. See a movie, do something with him and act normal. It's easy, Nadia, you just need to stop lying to yourself."

"Alright, maybe. Maybe he'll let me paint him this time..." It seemed like everything would be alright now, but maybe she was going to have to act differently. Until tomorrow, she wasn't sure she'd know.