One Night Stand

Chapter 3

    Throughout the walk Nicole found her mind wandering back to the beautiful blond she had spent the night with. There was something about Gray that Nicole was drawn to, that was obvious when Nicole saw her on the dance floor. But she knew even thinking about anything more with Gray was ridiculous because they lived in two different cities and they had agreed this was a one night thing. Besides Nicole didn't do relationships, there was too much drama and work involved in being half of a couple in her experience. One night stands were so much easier. You have fun and then go about your life.
    Nicole was a little surprised when she arrived at Rachel's front door, she hadn't realized how quickly she had walked. She took a deep breath and walked into the kitchen knowing her sister would probably give her shit from the moment she laid eyes on Nicole.
    "Hey there sis, glad to see you made it back in one piece." Rachel saiid in a teasing tone from the kitchen table.
    Nicole smiled, "Very funny sis. Where are the boys?"
    "I sent them out for breakfast. I didn't feel like cooking since I gotta go to work in an hour." Rachel replied.
    Nicole breathed a sigh of relief, "Good, at least I didn't miss breakfast."
    "What? Your flavor of the night didn't offer you breakfast in bed?" Rachel asked with a bit of sarcasm.
    Nicole shrugged, deciding to match her sister's smart ass comments with one of her own. "She tried but I woke up too early. Though I did get a cup of coffee from her roommate."
    Before Rachel could reply the front door opened again. Rachel's husband Will walked into the kitchen, his arms full of bags. Their four year old son Tyler walked in with a couple small bags.
    "Did you boys order one of everything?" Rachel asked.
    "It feels like it." Will responded. "Tyler insisted on a variety."
    Nicole noticed the bags were from a wonderful food truck that usually parked a few blocks away. "It smells wonderful. I'm starved."
    "I'm sure you are." Rachel said with heavy sarcasm again.
    Nicole just rolled her eyes at her sister. She knew Rachel was just teasing but sometimes her sister didn't know when to stop.
    As they all sat down Rachel added, "I just want you to settle down Nic. You know, find a nice woman to spend your life with."
    Nicole laughed, "Pretty sure I'm not gonna find the love of my life in a club Rach, just saying."
    Rachel shrugged then suggested, "You could just take the plunge with Leslie."
    "I'll find someone eventually Rach and for the record it will not be Leslie so don't even think about it. She is like my other sister, us as a couple would be all sorts of wrong. But who says I can't have fun while I search for Miss Right?" Nicole said with a smile as she loaded up her plate.
    "When do you have to go home aunty Nic?" Tyler chimed in.
    "I'm driving back home after you go to bed tonight buddy. I have to go to work tomorrow." Nicole answered with a slight pout then smiled, "Which means today is all about you and me. We can do whatever you want little man."
    "SWEET!" Tyler squealed with a huge smile.
    "Within reason!" Rachel and Will chimed in at the same time.
    "Oh you guys are no fun." Nicole replied with a mischievous smile.

    After a day filled with junk food, video games, go karts, bumper cars, laser tag and mini golf Nicole was exhausted. Unfortunately she still had a two hour drive home to Milwaukee ahead of her. She said her goodbyes to her family and stopped at the nearest gas station to stock up on snacks and the largest coffee she could before she headed north.
    Every time Nicole visited her sister it became a little harder to leave. She loved spending time with Tyler and with how fast. He seemed to be growing up it felt like she was missing so much. She and her brother Mike had discussed moving down to Chicago after their mother passed away but obviously these thoughts had been talked about for a few years without any action. Plus Nicole had her roommate and best friend Leslie Zimmermann to consider. She knew Mike and Leslie were the only reason she still lived in Milwaukee.
    Nicole's bond with Mike was pretty obvious. They both grew up wanting to be firefighters and had grown to hate their father equally as the years passed. Once they graduated the academy, a year apart, they did everything they could to earn respect in the department for their abilities and not because of who their father was. Growing up in the family they did, the bond between siblings and mother were much stronger than any of their bonds with their dad.
    On the other hand, Nicole and Leslie were friends who had been inseparable since they were toddlers. They both came from firefighter families and wanted to follow in the tradition. They'd gone through all the awkward growing up stuff together including realizing they were both gay. They were even girlfriends for two years but towards the end of the relationship they were arguing horribly. They realized the most important commitment for them was to maintain their friendship and sleeping together was ruining their relationship.
    Her and Leslie were both on squad together, with her brother Mike as their lieutenant. Also her and Leslie were roommates which made some people question the nature of their relationship. Nicole was sure plenty of people thought they were a couple when they first met the pair. If someone asked she would pose the question, honestly could a couple be around each other 24/7 working a high pressure job that is as physically and emotionally demanding as squad and not kill each other or at least fight like crazy? Most people would agree it was not likely though some would argue it was not unheard of as well. In the end everyone had their own opinions which the long time friends didn't really allow to affect them, they knew where they stood with each other.
    As Nicole drove she found her thoughts floating from one beautiful blond to another. There really was something about Amber Gray that stuck in Nicole's mind and it wasn't just sex. Though Nicole couldn't deny Gray definitely knew how to please a woman numerous times and ways but there was something more. Maybe it was their conversation about her angel tattoo's. Nicole was used to women admiring her many tattoos but usually women used it as foreplay, never seeming to care about their significance only their location on her body. On the rare occasion that someone asked about why she got a certain tattoo she would give a quick bull shit answer. But when Gray asked Nicole told the truth which stumped her. Nicole decided this was a conversation she should have with Leslie. Maybe the woman who knows her best could make sense of this situation.
    When Nicole finally got home the apartment was dark and quiet, she hadn't seen Leslie's car either. She stumbled into the kitchen and turned on the light. First thing she noticed was a note on the fridge.
    'Made a new friend while you were gone. See ya at work tomorrow lady. Love, Leslie.'
    Nicole smiled knowing there was probably some big story that she would hear over the course of the shift tomorrow. Leslie was the type who fell in then out of love frequently and there was usually some entertaining story to accompany the relationships inception through the eventual demise which sometimes played out over the course of a single night. With nothing to keep her up she grabbed a bottle of water and headed to her room. She badly needed sleep because 7am was quickly approaching, which is normally when she would wake up to get ready for her 24 hour shift that started at 8. She knew if she didn't get at least a few hours sleep it would be a really rough shift.