�Wake up, Sleeping Beauty,� Nick whispered into my ear. Slowly, I opened my eyes and met a pretty shade of blue ones.
�Good mornin�. Sleep well?�
�Very,� I said stretching. �You make a very comfortable cushion. Did you sleep well?�
�Yep.�
�Ha, wore you out, didn�t I?�
�Very funny,� he said rolling me beneath him. He leisurely nipped at my lips. Before capturing them in a searing kiss. I rolled us so I was on top. I smiled down at him as I kissed his nose and chin before finally taking his lips with mine.
�Oh, is that a banana in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?� I whispered into his ear.
�What do you think?� he asked. I was just about to reply when we heard a knock at the door. �Ignore it, they�ll go away.� Nick started nibbling my earlobe to distract me from whoever was knocking on the door.
�I think I can definitely ignore anything if you keep doing that,� I said.
�Hhhmm. . . don�t have to tell me twice,� he replied continuing his leisure exploration of my neck. I slid down his body. Raining kisses across his neck, down to his chest, and over his tattoos. I even kissed his pierced nipples.
Then the knock sounded again. This time it was louder and with a voice,
�Nick! Open up, bro. I know you�re in there,� he yelled. �I�m looking at your truck here in the driveway.�
�Shit,� said Nick. �It�s AJ, he won�t go away until I answer the door.�
�So shouldn�t you do that?� I asked still perched atop him.
�Yeah,� he said rolling me beneath him. He kissed me deeply before saying, � Stay right there. I�m going to go and get rid of him.�
�Ok,� I replied.
He hopped out of bed and threw on a pair of shorts. I smiled. He noticed and dropped a quick kiss on my lips.
�Seriously, don�t move from this spot. When I get back here we are going to finish what you started.�
�I�ll be right here waiting for you,� I said.
�Don�t move,� he said going out the door.
I laid there for a while. It looked like it was a beautiful day outside. The sun was streaming through the windows brilliantly. It looked like there wasn�t a cloud in the sky. I smiled. It felt like it was a beautiful day inside as well. I was so happy. Nick and my trip to the beach the night before and the night we spent together totally made up for what happened at the club.
I didn�t want to think about Kim. I started to wonder what in the world was AJ talking to Nick about. He had been down there for awhile. I laid in bed a little while longer before the curiosity got the best of me. Wrapped in the sheet from the bed I slipped out of his room and crept to the stairs. I could hear them talking below.
�Do you realize that this is the first day since the tour ended we all have absolutely nothing to do?� AJ asked.
�Yeah AJ, I know. But look I-� Nick started but AJ kept talking as if he hadn�t said a word.
�So today, I�m barbecuing.�
�Barbecuing? Since when do you barbecue?�
�I know how to barbecue. So look, bring some ice and some buns or whatever else you might want. I�ll handle the meat,� AJ said laughing slightly at �handle the meat�.
�I don�t know if I�m up for a barbecue, today,� Nick replied.
�You? When have you not been up for free food?�
�You just asked me to bring buns and ice. That�s not free.�
�Ok, ok so it�s not completely free but you know I make a bomb ass set of ribs. I have never known you to turn them down. I can guarantee you that they will be there.�
�I don�t know. I kinda have other plans.�
�Oh come on. What other plans? You look like you just rolled out of bed. Look, it�s like a little after one now. The barbecue�s not till four so that gives you time to get up for it. I invited Kevin and Kristin, Katie�s coming, Howie�s coming and I think he�s bringing Leigh. It�ll be fun. You can bring your trunks for the pool.�
�What about Brian?�
�He went back to Atlanta already. You can bring Alexis, if you want.� Nick being the blonde that he is asked,
�How did you know Alexis is here?� Oh no he didn�t, I thought. There was a pause before AJ replied with,
�I didn�t. . . but I do, now. What have ya�ll been up to, lil bro?�
I sat at the top of the stairs mildly embarrassed. What would Nick say? How would he word it? Would he tell him everything? I knew men talked the same way women talked. That worried me a bit. Do you really want to sit here and eavesdrop on Nick�s conversation with his buddy about last night? I asked myself. Yes! I got comfortable as I pulled the bed sheet more securely around me.
�She spent the night here,� he said.
�Oh and that�s all? Come on man I know you want to tell me the dets,� AJ said. Nick must have been thinking about it because for awhile he didn�t say anything. Then I heard him say,
�I don�t know man, she�s right upstairs, waiting for me to get rid of you.�
�Ok, I get it. Well at least tell me this much, was it good?� Another long pause before he replied,
�It was awesome! Not just last night. . . everything. We had a lot of fun.�
I blushed and smiled.
�That�s all I wanted to know. I�ll get the details later. I�ll leave you two lovebirds alone. Come to my barbecue, don�t stay in bed all day.�
�I�ll see what Alexis wants to do,� Nick replied.
�Good, then you�re coming.�
�What makes you so sure?�
�Come on man, she may be dating you but, she can�t get enough of me. You know that.�
�Sure AJ, I�ll see you later.�
�Alright, lil bro. Call me when you�re about to leave,� he said.
When I heard the door open and close I ran back to Nick�s room as quietly as possible. I sat at the foot of the bed waiting for him.
�You moved,� he said slightly disappointed.
�Yeah I know. You were taking too long and I had to pee,� I replied. Nick sat down next to me and reached up to brush a stray hair out of my face.
�You feel like going to a barbecue, today?�
�Sure, I can eat.�
�Cool, that�s what AJ came over here for,� he started. I was going to act like I hadn�t heard their conversation but for some reason I couldn�t lie to him.
�I know,� I said.
�What do you mean, �you know�?� he asked.
�I heard you and AJ talking. I was listening at the top of the stairs,� I said.
�Everything?� he asked.
�Everything,� I replied then placed a soft, sweet kiss on his lips.
�What was that for?�
�I thought you were awesome, too,� I whispered in his ear. He smiled.
�It doesn�t bother you that I talked about you. . . . er. . .our night together like that?�
�No, I mean I�ll probably be describing every little detail to Joshua. You know I gotta call Paulette and the twins, Mia and Tia, you remember them. So I figure, everything balances out.�
�I�m going to have to try and break you of that eavesdropping tendency.�
�Honestly, I usually don�t but you were taking so long and I was getting curious,� I said snuggling up against him.
�Hhhmm, you sure you want to go to that barbecue? We could stay here and have a barbecue of our own.�
�No, I want to go to the barbecue. We need to get up anyway, it�s after one o�clock. I need to find something to wear so we can go back to my hotel and I can shower and change. Then we have to go shopping.�
�Shopping? Why?�
�I didn�t bring a swimsuit. Plus we need to stop by a grocery store so we can get the things AJ asked for,� I said standing. Nick looked at me for a moment.
�I might have some old clothes that Aaron left here.�
�What about your sisters?� I asked hopefully.
�My sisters rarely spend the night over here. This is a bachelor�s pad. And if they did they would never leave anything. So I don�t have anything of theirs.�
�Ok.�
Nick left the room to find some of Aaron�s old clothes. I sat back down still wrapped in the sheet.
Later, when we finally emerged from Nick�s house he was dressed and ready for AJ�s barbecue while I wasn�t exactly that. Nick wore a black t-shirt with Von Dutch written across the front in red letters with a matching plaid trucker hat, black trunks and black flip flops.
I wore a pair of dark green shorts that were too big for me, so I rolled the waistband down a few times, a blue t-shirt with two black dragons swirling around some Asian symbol on the front (the t-shirt fit snuggly) and Nick�s old flip flops which were too big. My hair was pinned up in a messy bun by three bobby pins that I found in the bottom of my purse. I carried my dress, shoes and purse from the night before in a shopping bag. Never again, I thought as I looked down at myself.
�I can not believe what I�m wearing,� I said as we pulled out of the driveway.
�I think you look cute,� Nick said.
�You thought I looked cute wrapped in your sheet.�
�Well, you did. Plus, I was thinking about how much fun it would be to unwrap you.�
�We can play that game another day.�
�This is probably the first time in a long time that you�ve been in a Holiday Inn,� I said as I let us into my room.
�I usually wouldn�t even be seen in such an establishment,� he replied with his nose in the air. I rolled my eyes. �I could get you in a better hotel, ya know.�
�No, I�m ok with this one. You don�t have to worry about me. I can take care of myself,� I said going through the drawers looking for something to wear. Nick sat on the bed.
�I know that. I�m just used to taking care of my girlfriends.�
�Well guess what, you lucked up and got one that can take care of herself,� I said heading for the bathroom.
�You need some help in there? I could wash your back,� he said as I went inside.
�No, then we�d never make it out of here,� I called
�Exactly,� he replied. I laughed.
I went into the bathroom and took the quickest shower, ever. When I turned the water off and got out of the shower. I heard Nick talking. He wasn�t talking to me, though. I stopped to listen. He was on the phone. He was arguing with someone.
�No. Does it sound like I care? Why should I care about what some stupid tabloid says?�
He didn�t say anything for awhile, I assumed he was listening to the person on the other end.
�Look Mom, I am not getting back with Jessica. Why not? Because that bitch is crazy. She got knocked up by some other guy and tried to push it off on me. Or did you forget about that? I don�t give a damn what her father can do for my career! Maybe I�m fine with things the way they are.�
So it was his mother, I thought.
�Don�t you even think about bringing Alexis into this. I�m with her because I like her, not to further my career and she doesn�t have a burning desire to sing or act unlike all those others. She makes me happy and that�s more than I can say about you, right now,� he said and hung up. Wow, I thought. Nick was right I really needed to stop eavesdropping.
I towel dried and wrapped myself in my robe. I stepped out of the bathroom and smiled at Nick.
�You�re clean,� he replied.
�I�m clean,� I said. Then, �Were you talking to someone? I thought I heard you talking. If you talk to yourself that�s fine, as long as no one answers.�
�No, I was on the phone. It was. . . AJ, he wants me to get some chips,� he lied.
�Oh ok,� I said. �Any particular kind?�
Why did he lie? I wondered. I wasn�t going to say anything about the phone call. I didn�t want Nick to know I eavesdropped on him, again. This time he might get really angry.
�No,� he replied.
Did Nick�s mother have a problem with us dating? I thought. It did sound like he was defending our relationship to her. Maybe I heard wrong. I did only hear his side of the conversation.
Once I was dressed, Nick and I were ready to go. I was wearing my favorite well worn jeans, an orange camisole and my black flip flops. I pulled my hair up in a ponytail high on my head, grabbed my canvas tote bag, my sunglasses and turned to Nick.
�I�m ready.�
�Alright, let�s hit it.�
