Key (Double Life)

A/N: This is a very short DL ff -well, more than a fanfiction I think what I´m doing with these things is  making side-stories that are only losely related to the real story and that only because there are the same characters- again, this is very short and if it had to be put on a time-line, this is prior to the other ff with Josh and Nic together. I mention a dress here and since I´m not good at describing clothes I will show a pix of how I imagined the dress I think it´s a very cute dress.

****

The young woman in front of the canvas slightly tilted her head to a side and immediately wrinkled her nose. A few minutes later a knock on her door was heard and then again and a third time. She didn´t get up to get the door, she kept painting with a small frown.

“Nichole, open up. I know you are inside!” a female voice said from the other side of the door. The black cat that was Nichole´s pet came strolling and meowed near the door.

“Nichole, listen to Mitch and open!” the voice outside the door pleaded

“Were you really going to let me hang in there?” the young woman at the door asked Nichole

“Yeah but you´d probably wait for me to go out to attack me” Nichole let the woman in

“Ah, so you know me already”

“Knowing your cousin is a good reference, Helen”

“…And you know Josh real well, don´t you?” Helen had a smile that was more of a smirk

“I hope” Nic replied

“Aren´t you going to ask me what brought me here?” Helen stopped in the middle of the living room

“No” Nichole walked in the kitchen followed by Josh´s cousin, Helen

“How can my cousin handle you, really?” she put one of her hands on her hip

“Maybe I´m not the one being handled” Nichole said with a straight face. Helen gasped

“I never thought my cousin would be that way!” she had that expression with big surprised eyes, her eyes were gray like her mother´s, that expression was from their mom, Maggie´s twin, that´s where the Arlington twins had gotten it. Nichole chuckled. Helen cleared her throat

“Anyway… since you´re not asking I´m telling you –she paused- I came here to dress you”

“I’m a grown up. I can dress myself”

“Right. Tell me what you´ll be wearing tonight?”

“This”

“Jeans and a sweater?? I´m glad I came!”

“Does Josh know you´re here?” a smirk was on Nichole´s face

“No. Is he coming?”

“Maybe”

“Are you calling him?” Helen sounded a little worried

“Perhaps”

“Don´t –a light blush colored Helen´s cheeks- He´ll get mad”

“It´s not that bad”

“To you it´s not bad, to me it´ll be hell, but hey, I´m sure he´ll like this” Helen lifted a gray garment bag

“He won´t mind this” she motioned to herself. She did look good with her fitted jeans and a sweater that clung to her upper body but that covered her complete with a turtle neck.

“Think of this as a birthday gift to him” Helen winked

“You´re crazy, Helen” Nichole rolled her eyes

“You´ll thank me”

“No, I won´t”

**

As the two women were on their way in the restaurant Joshua was on his way out.

“Nichole…?” he smiled confused. They´d agreed he´d pick her up in another hour

“Your cousin –she looked pointedly at Helen- came to my apartment and attacked me with a dress and make up and then dragged me out” the girl said with a slight irritated tone. Helen´s eyes grew as she gasped

“You were not supposed to say that!” Helen pouted as Josh narrowed his gaze pinning her in place

“Helen, I told you to leave Nichole alone” Josh´s tone was serious but it brought a smile to his girlfriend´s lips

“Come on, Josh! Look at her. You should be thanking me that I didn´t let her come in ripped jeans and a t-shirt” Helen wrinkled her nose

“Helen, it´s not up to you what she decides to do or not. I don´t want you coaxing Nichole ever again, in any way” his tone was stern

“Aagh –Helen sighed with frustration- you very well know she can´t be coaxed to do something unless she wants to do it!” Josh´s cousin said but he knew, as well as Helen, that the girl could be coaxed when he was thrown in it and he knew his cousin well enough to know  that she´d made Nichole believe that doing what she said would please him

“Helen, this is the last time I´m telling you this –his voice still stern- leave Nichole alone, she´s not your doll and I won´t let this…” he was interrupted when the girl he was holding at his side placed a kiss on his cheek. His whole attention was then directed to her. Helen took advantage of this and hurried inside.

“Look at you, defending me” Nichole nuzzled her nose against his cheek

“I don´t want you to feel you have to do anything for me” he turned to face her. She smiled

“In that case I need a change of clothes” she pursed her lips in a pensive manner as he took her looks. She looked stunning in the white fitted dress that ended right above her knee and hugged her body as the black gloves on her hands

“You already took the trouble to wear this, let´s not waste that” he smiled placing his forehead on hers, she chuckled

“You´re crazy” she mouthed

“For you” he pulled her closer

“So sap” she kissed his cheek and embraced him with her arms around his waist. When she let go his keys made a jingling sound as she pulled them out of his jacket pocket. He looked at her curiously.

“Happy birthday, Josh!” she kissed his lips and he gladly returned it

“Thank you” he smiled when they parted, she shook his keys in front of his eyes. He noticed a new addition. It had a little chiming bell; there was also a new key that he recognized as the one of her apartment. He smiled at her and pulled her for another kiss that she returned as she threw her arms around his neck.

She was giving him access to her life; more so than what he already had and as if she knew what he was thinking he felt her smile against him.

“Use it wisely” she murmured against his lips

“I will” he kissed her cheek “thank you so much for this” he looked at his gift

“It’s just a key” she winked. He chuckled recognizing it was as big of a deal for her as it was for him, maybe more.

“Is it ok for me to use it now?” he asked mostly wondering to himself

“It´s yours, whenever you want to is ok” she had her trademark half-smile with a tiny speck of nervousness in her eyes. He hugged her tightly, the way she seemed to lower her walls when he was there had become one of the things he´d had come to love, he knew most of the times it was unconsciously and this felt like completion to him.