Not just as a girlfriend (2)

Nick looked at Elizabeth anxiously as he said "What is it? I will promise you anything if it can make your tears stop from flowing. If I knew it would make you feel like this, I would never have taken this step. If I had any idea that you didn't want this last night, I would have stopped right away. You have to believe me when I say that. I would have been content with just sleeping next to you, like we have done these past few days." Suddenly Nick fell silent and started looking fearful. With clear self doubt he continued "Maybe you did let me know you didn't want this. Maybe I was lost in my happiness of finally getting you to be with me. Maybe all the tempting and teasing from before finally got to me. Please tell me, did I force you last night?"

Elizabeth saw the fear in his eyes and quickly shook her head. "No, no. There was no way you could have known this. I wasn't unwilling. These feelings rushed over me this morning, but it confirms my feelings from before. That I wasn't ready for us to get to this stage yet. We still have a lot of trust to build." Elizabeth looked down and continued her words "So... I want to keep sex off the table until you have decided that you want to choose me. Not just as a girlfriend, but as a wife. I need a sense of security before I can take that step with you again. At the very least I want to be dating with the intention of marriage, I want to be engaged. Not just this casual thing that we have going on now." She looked up carefully and glanced over to see his reaction. Nick grabbed her face on both sides and forced her to look him in his eyes, which were filled with determination.

"To me this wasn't casual the moment we decided to date, but if I haven't been able to convey that, then that is on me. I know my past scares you and I can't blame you for that. Your fear is a consequence of my own actions and is a burden I must bear. So if I haven't convinced you of my intentions and you need us to take a step back to see what's in my heart, then I have no problem doing that. Don't get me wrong. I was happy last night and I do like you. I am going to have those kinds of feelings towards you. But if I can't have you because of it, it isn't worth it. For you I am willing to be the first celibate playboy." Elizabeth couldn't help but laugh at that silly inappropriate joke. With tear filled eyes she nodded her head "Good. Otherwise I would have needed to turn you into a eunuch instead". After saying this she embraced Nick and in a much softer voice told him her real response "Thank you..." Nick returned her hug and they simply sat there, waiting for Elizabeth to calm down and regain her sense of comfort around him. It wasn't until they had to leave to not miss their flight that Nick let go of her.

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Coming back to the present, they had decided to divide the tasks as there was plenty to do. The boys decided that they would take the cooking upon themselves and the girls would join Elizabeth in packing their bags. Though they didn't have to separate into guys and girls, they each had questions they wanted to ask and certain things were only told when it was just girls or just guys. Even Jenny saw that something was off between the two of them and was curious to know what had happened to make Elizabeth turn so silent. Where her interest in the both of them had started as pure curiosity, as the week progressed she noticed a shift in her own feelings. Jenny had seen that things were serious between Nick and Elizabeth. This had caused her to drop her initial wariness and hostility towards the both of them and replaced it with genuine concern. So without protest she followed the other girls towards the room that Nick and Elizabeth had occupied during their stay.

When the girls were out of sight and Jason heard the door close, he turned to Nick who was still pretending nothing was going on. With a domineering voice he interrupted their silly stories and said "Stop the nonsense and tell us what really happened." Nick's initial cheerful face turned serious and Harry and George, who hadn't noticed anything yet, looked on with confusion in Nick and Jason's direction. Nick started telling them why they had really been so late today. George's jaw fell to the ground as he listened to what had happened. Harry and Jason were more stoic and serious as they heard what Nick had to say. Once he was finished Jason asked him the question that was on everyone's mind "So what are you going to do now?" In an attempt to ease the tension, George followed up with "Yeah, are you going to join us and pop the question?"

With a distant look Nick replied "I don't know. I am not like you guys. This is my first real relationship. Though we go way back, I have only known her as she is now for two weeks. I know she is special and I care about her a lot, but this is marriage we are talking about. How can I go from being a free man and a playboy, to someone with a fiance in less than a month?" The other guys exchanged glances and couldn't help but laugh as they thought about their own situations. Jason had made a choice in a little over a day and had proposed in less than a week. Harry, though he had taken a long time to accept it, had been engaged in a month as well. And George had been engaged in about two weeks, all it had taken was a couple of meetings to convince him of his parents choice. So they were quite amused at his dilemma, but Harry was the one to speak some words of wisdom. "Don't you think that maybe she feels your hesitation, which makes her feel insecure?" As Harry's question gave Nick something to think about, over at the other side Elizabeth wasn't so quick to spill.