A Chance for Redemption

For one, my schedule didn't match what I had in my first timeline. My original schedule by junior year centered around my actual major of economics, which I took up shortly after I abandoned automotive engineering. This schedule actually reflected the choice I made two moments ago and was heavy on the automotive course load.

I also noticed several pictures of myself and Nicole scattered around my desk. There was one that could only have been taken during Christmas time, and one that was definitely in summer because we were at the pool. All of this wouldn't have been possible during the original timeline because Nicole and I had only been together for a few months at this point.

In this timeline, we'd been together almost two years.

Before I could process what this meant, I heard the front door to the apartment open. Figuring it was still my roommate from junior year, I was surprised to see Nicole walk into the apartment.

She looked just as I remembered her during the night when we first had sex. She was wearing a heavy winter coat and boots, reflective of the start of winter but when she took them off, I became immediately acquainted with her body once more.

"I'll be so happy when we graduate and we can finally get a place of our own," said Nicole as she kicked off her last boot. "I really hate that my parents won't let us live together, and I have to trudge all the way over here in the snow just to see you."

"We don't live together?" I asked out of confusion, looking around the apartment again. It was then that I realized that I didn't have the memories of the almost two years that we'd been dating. They stopped abruptly the night I took her virginity, simply because I hadn't really lived them the first time around.

Thankfully, Nicole didn't pick up that I was actually confused. "Someday we will," she said as she walked over and put her arms around me. "How's your day, babe?"

"Oh, it's starting to get interesting," I said, not realizing how truthful I was being.

Nicole grinned wickedly. "It's going to get interesting all right," she said as she put her finger against my chest. "I have about an hour before my next class, and I know your roommate is out with his lab all afternoon. How about a quickie?"

Her voice went very low and sultry at the end and I felt some instant steel in my erection.

"Let's do it," I said as I pulled her to the bedroom.

About thirty minutes later, we remained pressed together in my bed while Nicole rested her head against my chest. We were still gloriously naked but tucked away under a comfortable layer of fleece blankets.

"I can't wait until this is every day," she said while her finger circled around my nipple. "I really want us to sleep together all the time."

I didn't know what more I could say to that than what I already had so I kept it light and noncommittal. "Maybe your parents will have a change of heart sometime."

"Not my mother," said Nicole with a giggle. "You know how she is."

Indeed, I did know. Pauline Damico could be quite the bitch when she wanted to, which was just about any time she didn't get her way fully. I often wondered how such a bitter woman could have produced such a wonderful daughter. My most entertaining answer was that Nicole was switched at birth, something that only seemed to make the most sense to me.

"So you have your meeting with your student advisor in two days, right?" she asked, craning her head to look at me.

This was one of those times where I got lucky. It was only because I looked at my schedule that I noticed the meeting with my advisor set for Friday morning.

"I sure do. It shouldn't be too long, and I'm just hoping to find out what other classes I need to take so I can pass automotive."

"You shouldn't have too much to do still," said Nicole as her expression changed to one of uncertainty. "At least mine is still relatively straight-forward. At least I'm getting extra credits for subbing at the local high school to teach French to the middle school."

I started to chuckle. "That must be unbearable. Middle school kids are the worst."

Nicole swatted my chest. "They are adorable actually. Makes me think about what it might be like to have some one day."

"Not me," I said, with all the confidence of a college-aged male. "Kids are just not in my future."

She looked perturbed by that statement. I sensed some tension in her body right away but Nicole didn't say anything further on it. She seemed to let the subject die and remained quiet for another ten minutes. The next time I looked over at her face, I noticed she still had something on your mind.

"Hey," I whispered. "Talk to me. What are you thinking about?"

Nicole bit her lip as her eyebrows drew in tight. "I have something I want to talk to you about but I don't know how."

It wasn't hard for me to figure out what it was. After all, wasn't that the entire reason I was back in this moment? I steeled myself for what was to come before I replied.

"Tell me. It sounds complicated."

She nodded. "Can you just hear me out before you say anything? I have a lot to say but I want you to hear the whole thing before you decide."

"I'm listening," I replied.

Nicole sat up in bed and rested her hand against my chest. In any other circumstance, I would have focused in on the sight of her topless body but now wasn't the time. I gazed in her eyes as she started speaking.

"You know that I'm really taking my French major seriously and that I want to teach when we graduate. Well, competition is pretty fierce right now, and it's not that easy to get a job teaching right out of school. Lots of experience will help and that's why I'm doing all that work at the local middle school but I don't think it's enough."

"You want to try something new?" I asked, playing along.

"I found out that there's a study abroad program in Lyon in France that I'm eligible for," said Nicole with a tepid smile. "Part of that program would get me into real French classrooms so I could get that needed experience for my resume. Plus, it's France, Derek. How many kids do you know get to spend a whole semester overseas in a place like France?"

"Oh, I see," I said. I knew my reaction this time around was the same as in the first timeline. No matter which way you cut it, the thought of losing Nicole was too difficult to bear.

"But wait, it gets better," said Nicole as she reached over to where her bookbag laid on the floor. She pulled out a brochure that was written in French and handed it to me. "This is the university that does the program. And look right here! They have an automotive engineering program!"

Genuine shock appeared on my face. "You want me to come with you?"

She nodded while a smile appeared on her face. "Of course! I wouldn't have even given this serious thought if it meant going by myself." She grabbed my hand and squeezed. "I love you, Derek. And I thought that you could come with me and do your semester there in automotive. Hell, I'm sure with how expensive Europe is, we could even talk my parents into letting us live together! Plus I know you know a little French so that will only help!"

I grimaced as all the objections came flooding into my brain. "I know like two phrases in French and neither of them will get me any far," I said softly.

"Don't worry, I can tutor you!" she said. "I have practice now with new speakers so it wouldn't be that bad."

"But when is this, Nicole? What semester would it be?"

She bit her lip again. "Next semester."

"That's only six weeks away," I argued. "How am I going to get proficient in French in six weeks? Not to mention, how would I get approved to even go over there in that time? It took half a year just to get into college here."

"They run these programs all the time," she countered. "I'm sure we can find a way to get you in. And don't worry, I can translate anything we run into."

"Are you going to come to my courses with me and translate those? My classes are hard enough right now as they are in English. How am I supposed to learn in a foreign language?"

The smile fell from her face. "I know it's not going to be easy, Derek, but this would be really good for me and my prospects once we graduate. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity. I just thought that maybe we could do it together. I don't want to go over there without you."

"I don't want you to either," I replied, squeezing her hand. "But I would be absolutely lost over there. It's too big of a risk. I finally got my GPA to a respectable position and one bad semester could completely kill it."

"Would you at least think about it, please?" she asked, her eyes pleading with me. "Please, Derek? This would mean the world to me."

I had a hard time as it was saying no to Nicole but this one just seemed completely unattainable. Perhaps if I had more time to think about it my answer might have changed. Perhaps if I'd take a few French classes or at least been fluent in basic conversation, it might have changed. Maybe if my major wasn't as hard as it was, I could have found a way to make it happen.

But none of those were true. I knew what I had to do but I just couldn't do it.

"I just don't know how I can swing it, Nicole," I said quietly.

Her head fell forward in disappointment. It killed me to have to be the one to put a knife in her dreams but I told myself I wasn't doing it for false pretenses. It really would be a struggle on my part. All of a sudden, all those same worries I had during my first life came roaring back. I remembered the time when she brought her French boyfriend back to the states and I saw their pictures on social media.

Was our relationship strong enough this time around to survive that kind of pressure? Could two years of dating still keep Frenchie at bay?

Nicole left with much more somber spirits than how she arrived. I felt terrible for what I had to tell her, and for the first time since I met Barry, I seriously began to wonder if I might fail one of his tasks. We didn't text the rest of the day like we normally did, and I didn't hear from her the entire next day, which was extremely odd for Nicole. I sent her a message late that evening just to check in but I didn't hear back.

In all honesty, I couldn't blame her if she was pissed at me. I knew what this experience would do for her job prospects, and it wasn't like I was telling her she couldn't go. Things were just different this time around. Our relationship was too solid that such a long time apart wasn't the existential threat it was in the first timeline. But it also meant our feelings for each other were deeper and staying together throughout the whole thing would be a real torture when we couldn't touch, kiss, or make love like we were so used to doing.

I started to feel like I lost her by Friday morning when I still hadn't heard from her. I wasn't sure if it was the threat of loss or whether the idea just had time to soak in but I started to do some research on my own for a way out of this predicament. I went to my classes and had my meeting with my advisor, and by the time I got back to my apartment, Nicole was there waiting for me.

Her face was practically unreadable. Her expression was neutral and her body language was closed off to me, signs that I didn't find encouraging.

"Hey," I said simply, offering her a smile to test the waters. "I didn't expect to see you here."

"Well, I wanted to talk," she said, while crossing her arms. "Can we do that?"

"Of course," I said, leading her to the kitchen table and taking a seat. She sat opposite of me and began to chew her lip, something she always did when she was upset. At any moment, I expected Barry to yank me back to the present, chastise me for making the wrong choice, and end our little experiment.

"I tried to text you last night," I said before she could start speaking. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay. That we were okay."

Nicole nodded as her eyes remained glued to the table. "Sorry I didn't write you back. I've been thinking a lot, and I didn't know what I wanted to say just yet."

"That's fine," I replied, not knowing what else to say.

There was a moment of awkward tension between us. I could tell she was summoning up the courage to say something. All I could do was brace myself for what was to come.

"So I guess what I was really thinking about was whether this trip would be worth it after all," said Nicole as she finally met my eyes. "I mean, I can't deny that it would be an awesome opportunity to do a semester abroad but I don't actuallyneed to do it. I have the grades to be marketable once we graduate and all my local work at the school will help with the experience side. I don't need to go to France."

She then reached out to grab my hand. "Besides, I'd only wanted to do it if you came with me. I'm not sure I can be separated from you for that long, Derek. I thought there was a chance it might be able to work but I know how much you'd have to give up to even consider going to a foreign country without even knowing the language. Let alone trying to learn something in it."

Nicole let out a deep breath and a small smile appeared on her lips. "I'm just not willing to risk us over this. You're the most solid thing in my life, and there's no way I want to be separated from you for an entire semester. So I'm going to work hard, continue to get good grades and do any subbing that I can to gain the experience. I'll make this work. I have to."

Her tone sounded a lot less sure of herself towards the end of that statement. I could tell she was clearly upset about not being able to go. Who wouldn't be in that position? But her love for me was that strong that she was willing to forgo a dream opportunity.

In that moment, I knew I never wanted to be with any other woman but her. She was sacrificing so much for us, not to mention taking a giant leap of faith.

The words hit me like a ton of bricks.

"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."

Barry's words echoed throughout my skull, getting louder with each reverberation. Suddenly, I understood. Nicole had taken her leap of faith, just like she was meant to. I was the one who didn't.

I knew exactly what I had to do.

"I've really been giving this a lot of thought too," I said, gently squeezing her hand. "I appreciate what you just said more than you know but before you do anything further, I think it's important that I tell you what happened this morning."

She looked confused. "This morning? What do you mean?"

I flashed a small smile. "I had that meeting with my advisor, remember?"

She nodded as she remembered. "And how did it go?"

"Really good actually," I replied. "More importantly, he really helped me with my outlook. You see I've almost been working a little too hard here."

"Too hard? How so?"

"I'm about twelve credits ahead of where I need to be," I said with a growing smile. "Taking that summer semester this past year really helped to get me ahead of the game.

Nicole smiled. "I'm glad it paid off. I had to really talk you into staying here with me over the summer." She still didn't seem to get it yet. "So what does that mean? Are you going to graduate early?"

"No, I don't really want to," I said. "Don't get me wrong, I'm not really looking forward to paying for another semester but I figure some things are worth the costs. And since I'm a semester ahead of where I need to be, maybe in this next one, I can only take a few credits and take it easy. Maybe a course or two. And I was thinking it might be a good time to get those last electives out of the way." I shrugged my shoulders. "And what better place to learn some French than in France?"

Nicole's eyes lit up. "Are you serious? Tell me you're not messing with me!"

I couldn't contain my grin. "My advisor says the paperwork is not too bad but the deadline is actually today for getting the application in, so it has time to process. So after we had our discussion, he walked me through the application and I brought it home with me." I moved my hand to the other side of the table where the application waited. "If you still want to do this, I need to get this application back over there before the end of the day. But I'm willing to do this if you are."

If she could have thrown herself across the table, she would have. I watched as Nicole frantically rushed out of her chair and crossed over to my side, smothering me in kisses and wrapping her arms around me tightly. I could only laugh in return at her sheer joy. It had been incredibly difficult keeping this from her, especially as she talked about abandoning the idea moments earlier, but I knew it was the right thing to do. Even when I still had my doubts while preparing the application this morning, I wasn't about to repeat this same mistake.

Nicole finally came up for air. "What did I do to deserve you?"

I smiled and sunk my fingers into her long dark locks. "I hope you're prepared to tutor me. This is still going to be hard as hell without knowing the language."

She beamed with a smile. "I tell you everything you need to know,mon amour. I'll be your own private teacher."

I raised an eyebrow. "Now that sounds rather enjoyable. Private teacher you say?"

She grinned wickedly. "Oh, yes. We're going to have lots of fun in France." Her hands raced to my belt buckle as she struggled to get it undone. "And here's a little preview."

I wasn't able to stop her as there was one thing that still needed to happen before we could have fun. I picked up the application and waved it around. "I still have to drop this off before four. We don't have much time for that right now."

Nicole's hand wrapped around my cock. "I'd better make you cum quickly then."

She certainly did.

*****

Barry waited until after the application had been submitted before he brought me back to my hospital room. I was almost angry with him for doing so—after all, it was a certainty that Nicole and I would spend the entire rest of the evening making love.

"You brought me back before the really good part," I grumbled.

He was sitting in the chair by my bed shuffling through several pictures. "Not bad, Derek. Not bad at all. And here I thought you were going to disappoint me there."

"Then I really did it?" I asked. "I made the right decision?"

"Come see for yourself."

Barry gestured me over to the chair and showed me the pictures that he was looking at. They were all of Nicole and I during our college years.

"You and Nicole took these pictures when you were in France. You spent the entire spring semester there, and you only took two classes but you both made it work. Not knowing the language forced you two closer together. Getting the chance to teach you the language nearly from scratch made her a better teacher. In the end, it forced you two closer together than you were before, and that's a lofty statement."

He handed the pictures to me so I could look at them. Only in a few of them could you tell that we weren't in America, and that was mostly due to the architecture. I could tell from the cramped surroundings that we did indeed get our wish to live together while we were over there.

"So everything worked out then?" I asked him. "No Frenchie in this timeline?"

Barry started to laugh. "Oui, Derek. No Frenchie. In this timeline, her French boyfriend, Adrien, didn't make a pass at her because you were with her at the time. He assumed, correctly I might add, that she was taken and went about his life. No Frenchie."

"So are Nicole and I still together then? Is this all over?" I asked after I set the pictures down. Without the separation caused by France, it was hard to imagine there was anything else that could keep Nicole and I apart.