A Chance for Redemption

I watched her as she moved between my legs and cradled my head in her hands. "Do you want me, Derek?" she asked, no doubt probing to see if I was really ready to cross that line with her.

I nodded. After all, that was the easiest answer in the world. "More than anything," I whispered.

Nicole smiled. "You can have me tonight. All of me, Derek."

Even though I knew what was to come, I played dumb. "Do you mean . . ."

She nodded. "Yes. I want to do it with you. I want you to be my first." As she spoke the words, she pulled her jean jacket off her shoulders, pulling her hands out of the cuffs while letting it fall to the floor.

I wrapped my arms around her as my fingers moved through the soft fabric of her dress. Nicole kissed me hungrily while her fingers went through my dark hair before she centered a look on my blue eyes. "Will you take my dress off?" she whispered.

She didn't wait for my response as she raised her arms into the air. I reached forward with trembling hands and grabbed the hem of her dress. She nodded once I met her eyes, and I began to raise it over her body. The first thing I saw was a small and sexy pair of blue panties. Her stomach greeted my eyes next, tight and firm and begging to be touched. As I moved higher, I saw a frilly blue bra that matched the panties and enclosed her breasts. Nicole was never particularly busty, having worn a B cup the entire time I knew her, but to me they were the most perfect pair I'd ever laid eyes on.

I dropped her dress on the floor as I looked at her semi-nude body. She had obvious designs for my hands because she placed them around her and had me pull her in tight. The feeling of her smooth skin against me was intoxicating. So was the look of vulnerability in her eyes.

Without much thought, Nicole reached behind her to unclasp the bra. I watched it fall off her chest in slow motion before feasting on the sight of her flawless body. Without missing a beat, she hooked her fingers in her panties and yanked them down, leaving her completely nude before me.

"You're perfect," I breathed, never wanting to take my eyes off of her.

"I'm a little cold," she said, breaking the tension and making us both laugh. "And you're overdressed," she added.

I fumbled with the two buttons on my collared shirt and yanked it over my head. Nicole bit her lip once I was topless and reached out to rub my chest with her fingers, her one digit circling around my nipple several times. I wasted no time in getting out of my pants, and she moaned when she saw how hard I was.

"Oh, Derek, you're just throbbing," she whispered as her hand circled around me and gave it a quick stroke.

"I've been like this since before we left the restaurant," I said with a chuckle.

"Poor baby," she said. "Let's see if we can get you some relief, okay?"

Nicole didn't wait for my response. She sunk to her knees in front of me and leaned in to place a kiss against my stomach, to the right of my belly button. She repeated the same kiss on the other side before letting her lips drift lower. I sucked in a breath of air when I felt those perfect lips descend on my cock.

It wasn't the first time that Nicole had her lips wrapped around my manhood, even in this redemption sequence, but every time she did it, she treated my cock like it was royalty. Her hands were always soft and tender, and it wasn't a stretch to say that she quite literally made love to my cock with her mouth. The best feeling was how she massaged the underside of my shaft with her tongue while still keeping the majority of it in her mouth.

I groaned at the exceptional feeling of her attention and ran my fingers through her dark brown hair. I watched as she took in more and more of me until finally her lips kissed the base of my pubic bone. When she came up for air, her eyes were red and watery but that satisfied smile on her face was proud for having taken the whole thing.

"You have no idea how good that feels," I muttered.

She giggled and gave my cock a gentle stroke. "It looks like it feels really, really good."

Her tongue darted out and wiggled against the slit before she smiled once more. It was a move I recognized as solely hers, something she did hundreds of times in our first life. Seeing her here right now was the most intoxicating part. This was the first time we would have sex but not the last. The foreknowledge at what this would become made it that much more special.

I didn't want to be too selfish with the oral so when I felt that she was getting me close to eruption, I gestured for her to stand. Nicole gave me a confused look for a moment before I had her switch places with me on the bed.

"This night is about you too," I said as I dropped to my knees and gently spread her legs. "And I really want to taste you right now."

Nicole bit her lip and nodded. As soon as her legs were spread, I feasted on the sight before me. Nicole was simply drenched just from our meager foreplay. Her lips were slightly parted, and I could see a heavy slickness had coated both of them. I could also see her clit was already red from being rubbed, and now I knew what she'd been doing while she sucked me. Right above her clit was a small patch of pubic hair which was also a difference from our first life. When Nicole and I started dating junior year, she regularly shaved it off, usually keeping it that way. To see her like this was to remember what she was like before all of that experience the first time around.

Nicole moaned out loud as my tongue made the first movement to lap at her exposed clit. I continued this treatment for several moments before I drifted lower, letting my tongue wedge between her lips and truly dip into her hole. Some of her juices soaked into my tongue, and the taste of it was as sweet as I remembered. I buried my tongue back inside her while bringing my fingers up to assist my efforts.

"F-Fuck," she stammered as I dialed up the intensity. "What are you doing to me, Derek?"

"Does that feel good, babe?" I asked, my voice muffled against her body.

"Sooo good," she moaned. "Your tongue is like magic."

I resisted the urge to laugh and just redoubled my efforts. Soon, Nicole's hips were buckling heavily while I was struggling to stay on. I knew her body well enough to know when she was approaching orgasm, which usually meant that she got really quiet right before it happened. When the moaning abruptly stopped, I poured in every ounce of effort and was rewarded when she came a moment later.

Her body convulsed around on the bed for a full minute before she finally came down from the high. When it was over, she looked at me like I was from some kind of heavenly kingdom.

"I don't know how you did that or what you did, but that was the most amazing thing ever," she said with wide open eyes. "Oh my god, Derek."

There was no way I could tell her that we'd actually slept together many times, and I knew exactly the way her body worked, so I simply basked in the adoration as I kissed my way back up her face. Nicole wrapped her arms around my neck and pressed the tenderest of kisses to my lips. Below us, my cock nudged against her outer thigh, still red, throbbing, and slick from her recent attention.

We both knew what was coming next.

"Will you get on top of me?" she whispered, her eyes once more assuming that vulnerable look.

I pivoted my body and she spread her knees so that I fell right between them. My cock poked against her inner thigh this time and Nicole locked eyes on me.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" I asked. What I really meant was if she was sure she really wanted me.

Nicole smiled and nodded her head slowly. "I want you, Derek. I want all of you."

That answer was good enough for me. I felt her arms wrap around my neck as I positioned myself against her slick opening, nudging the tip right before it. I could already feel the heat coating the sensitive head, and Nicole sucked her breath in once she felt the movement.

"Breathe," I said with a gentle smile before I reached up to caress her face. She rewarded me with one of her own and then she nodded once more.

Nicole gasped as I pushed the head inside, spreading her labia as our hips joined together. I slipped in so easily thanks to her wetness, and before I knew it, more than half of me was buried.

"You're inside me, Derek," she said with a small giggle.

I leaned in to kiss her as she pulled me tighter against her. The movement forced me to sink a little further into her body.

"I always wondered what this would feel like," she whispered once I'd bottomed out.

"Does it live up to your expectation?"

Nicole nodded. "It's even better."

I pulled my hips back slightly only to thrust forward once again, quickly creating a slow and steady rocking motion as our bodies became intimately familiar with each other. Once our rhythm was regular, I bent my head to meet her lips, kissing her passionately as her small twin bed started to creak from the force of our movements. Nicole moaned against my mouth before giving me a more serious kiss—one that told me that I could pick up the pace.

I really arched my hips until the just tip remained inside her before I pushed in with more force once again. Nicole let out a loud moan of content when I repeated the movement, her arms clinging to my back while her nails dug into my flesh.

"Just like that," she whispered as her hips met every thrust with a counterthrust of her own. "You fill me so well. Fuck, it feels so good, Derek."

Her encouragement was just what I needed to hear. The sounds of our flesh joining was soon echoing throughout the room. Every hard thrust brought an extra yelp of pleasure from Nicole. Soon her eyes were closed and her mouth was open as she enjoyed the steady waves of pleasure. It was an intoxicating sight for me to see her body so consumed with passion. Knowing that this was my Nicole was the best part about it.

She was mine all over again.

Nicole leaned up to kiss me passionately while our hips pistoned together rapidly. Her tongue sought easy entry into my mouth, permission of which I was only too eager to grant. Every time I went deeper, she cooed against my lips until finally her eyes popped open after it broke.

In that moment, it became the most intimate coupling of my life. Being able to actually look Nicole in the eyes as we had sex took the passion to another level. We were both now aware and sentient of our feelings for each other, and that look shared during our coupling bonded us for life.

At that point though, I was struggling to stay in control. The sight of Nicole's sweat-slicked breasts bouncing with every hard thrust was too erotic to ignore. The feel of her body welcoming mine was shooting pleasure all throughout every nerve I had. It became even more intense when I grabbed her hip with one hand, giving me better leverage to make deeper strokes, something she instantly noticed.

"Right there, Derek!" she moaned. "Oh my god, oh my god!"

Sweat was dripping off of me now but I couldn't care less. The only thing that made any sense was keeping up our rhythm and continuing to listen to the delightful moans that Nicole was making. If these walls were thin, there was no doubt all of her neighbors would know exactly what we were doing but I couldn't care less about it.

The only thing I cared about was Nicole.

Shortly after the thought, I felt Nicole really dig in with her nails as her legs tightened around my waist. Her head went back and her mouth fell open.

"I'm going to cum," she moaned before soon falling nearly silent as she approached the edge.

I felt a rush of wetness when she did, and her body shuddered completely as she rode the waves of pleasure. I think seeing her let go like that was the best part about our intimacy. Knowing that I was able to get her there was what gave me the final push to begin my own orgasm.

"I'm so close," I warned once she was able to come back to her senses.

I was rewarded with a loving smile as she clamped her legs tighter around my body.

"I want you to cum inside me," she replied. "Please don't pull out."

I was too caught up in the moment to ask if it was safe because her words were good enough for me. I felt my eyes rolling up in pleasure as I poured the last amount of intensity into my thrusting.

In the next moment, my orgasm hit with full force. I angled my hips so that I could be as deep inside Nicole as I could possibly be when I felt the first spurt of cum. I fired off several more jets inside her as Nicole held me tightly, our bodies as close as they could get. I closed my eyes and shuddered at the intensity of the orgasm, a feeling that I wouldn't soon forget.

As our orgasms began to subside, both of us struggled to catch our breath. I watched as her heaving chest caused her breasts to bounce around, staring mesmerized at them for a moment until I captured her nipple with my mouth. Nicole giggled delightfully before she swatted me away and curled up against my chest.

"That was so great," she whispered. "I didn't know anything could be that amazing."

I put my finger under her chin and gently lifted it so I could kiss her. I put on a brave face but the reality was that I was close to tears. It was probably the foreknowledge of how my original life turned out but having this second chance with Nicole play out was the best thing about the accident so far.

That old lady and her grandson brought Nicole back to me. And in that moment, I said a silent thank-you to them stepping out into the street when they did.

Nicole locked eyes with me. "I love you, Derek."

I only had one thing to say back to her.

"I love you too."

*****

The next time I woke up, I wasn't in Nicole's bed any longer. I was back in the hospital, and my real body was still on the hospital bed. I had nodded off while on the chair in the room. I stretched out my arms so I could be fully awake, and that's when I noticed that Barry was leaning against the wall reading the newspaper. Even though he couldn't see my face, he somehow knew that I was awake.

"What's it going to take for Democrats and Republicans to get along?" he muttered before closing the paper and shaking his head. "No matter what we do, those two are always like cats and dogs."

I smiled. "Maybe they just need to go back and do-over parts of their own lives. Correct their mistakes?"

"Not enough time in the world for all of that nonsense," said Barry as he folded the paper and looked at me. Right next to him, the roses that were there from my colleagues were in full bloom and looked lovely. Barry swiped his fingers along one of the petals before walking closer to me. By that point, I noticed that he had changed clothing again. Instead of looking like your typical college stoner, now he looked like a caricature of bad European-style dress. He wore a black beret, a black and white thin-striped shirt, as well as pants that were just as little too tight for decent company.

"What's with the get-up this time?" I asked, gesturing to his clothes.

"Don't worry about that just yet," he said before changing the subject. "I take it you had a good time?"

I remembered how it felt to have Nicole's body against mine. "A great time," I said, before remembering his promise to let me stay the night with her. "Thank you for letting me stay."

"You're not a bad guy, Derek," said Barry in a moment of frankness. "You've just made some bad decisions along the way."

"And we're working to correct all of those," I added. "Thanks to you."

"Yes, thanks to me," he said without a hint of modesty. His face then turned somber. "You two were beautiful back then. Your relationship, that is."

I gulped. "The early days of Nicole and I were really good, in both timelines."

"So how did something so beautiful become so flawed?"

I grimaced instead of answering. I knew the reason why, the moment that truly revealed the fatal crack in our relationship. Unfortunately, it was one that would have happened in both timelines.

Barry got my attention again. "How did it break, Derek?"

I replied with only one word. "France."

He raised an eyebrow. "France?" he repeated.

"Yes, France. As in the country," I confirmed. "Second semester of junior year, Nicole got the opportunity to study abroad in France. She jumped on it since she was a French major and wanted to get some real experience in the country before looking for teaching jobs back at home after she graduated." I let out a deep sigh. "Our relationship was still so young at that point, only a few months old. We decided to take a break while she was over there rather than handle the long distance. I thought it was the sensible thing to do."

"Sensible, eh?" asked Barry. "I'm not buying it. What was the real reason you broke up?"

I gave him an annoyed look, hating the way he could see right through me. "You want the truth? I was petrified, okay? She was the best thing about my life in those days, and it wasn't fair that she was leaving after I spent two years trying to date her."

"Keep going," said Barry. "You're almost there."

I kicked the hospital bedpost in frustration. "Fine. I was scared she would meet someone over there. I was terrified that I'd get that call that this relationship that I worked so hard to create was just going to fall apart because some French guy talked nice to her and won her over. I thought she was just going to forget about me."

Barry frowned. "You didn't really think that she's that shallow that she'd forget about you over there, did you?"

I reluctantly nodded. "It doesn't matter what I thought. It's exactly what happened. I still remember when I saw it on social media after the fact. She looked so happy with that Frenchie that it was like someone stuck a dagger into my soul."

Barry put his hand on my shoulder. "Do you ever wonder what would have happened if you hadn't broken up?"

"Every day of my life," I replied honestly. "I didn't know what to expect with her at that point in our lives. You see, the Nicole that I knew wasn't the innocent virgin we just witnessed. She went through a crazy phase in her life after the breakup with Tony. I had it so set in my mind that once she was over there, she would want to have the full experience of living abroad. I thought it was only a matter of time before she found someone new."

"So the timing wasn't great the first time around," said Barry with an indifferent shrug. "In this new timeline, you've been dating for about two years when this comes up. I would think you'd be in a lot stronger position to weather the storm."

I hung my head. "That's just the thing though. I had no interest in going to France. I don't speak the language which is the major issue. My classes were hard enough let alone having to learn in a different language. She was always dead set on it though. She wouldn't budge during my first timeline."

Barry put his hands on both of my shoulders. "I have every faith in you this time that you'll get it right, Derek."

I shook my head. "There's nothing to get right though, Barry. She goes and I don't. I can't change this."

"You're going to have to if you want to keep playing," he answered. "Trust me when I say this that sometimes love requires all of us to take a big leap of faith. In what happens in the next sequence, you'll both have to take one of your own in order to come out on the other side."

"I still don't know how I'm going to do it," I groaned.

Barry chuckled. "The first three moments were the easy ones, Derek. They're going to get a lot harder moving forward, I can promise you that."

Before I could ask him to explain, he snapped his fingers again.

I opened my eyes to a familiar apartment. It was the same one I stayed at for most of my junior and senior year at school, one that I hadn't been back to since I graduated. My room looked the same as it was back then—a simple twin bed, dresser, loveseat couch and entertainment system, as well as small black desk to do my actual schoolwork on. My class schedule was taped to the desk and that's when I started to notice the differences.