| Chapter 35 Nick and Lyn sat in the living room after breakfast. Aleisha was getting ready for the �girl's day' and Brian was playing with Angel. "Lyn, why don't you go with them," Nick suggested. She looked at him, her eyes full of love, "I'd rather stay here with you." He smiled, "I see that, but you haven't left my side since I can remember, which I know isn't very long, but you should go and have fun." Lyn laughed, "Nick, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were trying to get rid of me." "Oh, I would never do that," he said, taking her hand in his and raising it up to kiss the back of it. "You're sure?" she asked. "Yeah, go have fun," he said. Lyn sighed, "OK, tell Aleisha not to leave without me," she said, getting up and going upstairs to get ready. Brian sat down next to Nick, exhausted from playing with Angel. "She going?" he asked. "Yeah," Nick said. "Good," Brian said, "It'll give us a chance to hang out." "You got something planned?" Nick asked, seeing the look in Brian's eyes. "Um, yeah. Us guys are gonna hang, minus A.J. of course. I swear that boy shoulda been born a girl as much as he likes to shop," Brian said, laughing. Nick laughed, holding his side, "Man Bri, don't make me do that, it hurts." "Sorry, I can't help it that I'm extremely humorous," Brian said, dawning his cheesy grin. "Oh God," Nick said, laughing even harder. Aleisha came downstairs, "What's so funny?" "Me, of course," Brian said, getting up and walking over to her. "Lyn is gonna go too," Nick said. "Great," Aleisha said. Brian pulled out his wallet and handed her one of his credit cards, "Have fun." She took it, giving him a kiss, "Oh I will." Lyn came downstairs, "You ready?" "Yeah," Aleisha answered. Lyn walked over to Nick and leaned down, kissing him, "Don't overdo anything, just rest, OK?" He grinned at her, "I will." She joined Aleisha and together they left. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "A.J. come on already, geesh," Kira yelled up the stairs. A.J. came bounding down the stairs, "I'm coming." Kristin shook her head, she'd shopped with him before, it was going to be a long day indeed. Leighanne wasn't thrilled about going, but she thought she needed to. The more she could learn about Aleisha the better chance they had at beating her. Lyn and Aleisha walked in, seeing everyone waiting on them. "Lyn, you decided to come," Kristin said, smiling. "Yeah, Nick said I should come and have some fun. So, where's the fun?" Lyn asked. "Right here baby," A.J. answered, putting his arm around Lyn and walking out the door to the car with her. The rest of the girls laughed as they followed, and soon they where headed down the road. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Howie and Kevin showed up at Brian's not to long after the girls left. Brian was trying to teach Nick how to play his favorite video game, but Nick was having problems with the controllers. He finally pulled the bandages off his hands, "That's better." The guys laughed as he went back to the game, doing much better now. "So Nick, you and Lyn seem to be hitting it off," Kevin said, teasing. Nick smiled, "She's sweet." "Yeah she is," Howie said. "In your face!" Nick yelled as he won the game. He threw the controller in the floor and pointed at Brian, "See, I beat you. You said I couldn't and I did!" Brian was laughing hysterically, "Ok, you beat me. Not like you haven't beaten me at that game every time we've ever played it." Nick looked at him, "I have?" "Nick, this is your favorite game in the universe. You couldn't lose if you tried," Brian said. "Oh, well then. Pull out something I suck at," Nick said. Kevin and Howie laughed. "Um, I don't think I have a game you suck at," Brian said, looking through the games. "That one looks cool," Nick said pointing. Brian pulled it out, looking at it, "I don't wanna play this one." "Why not?" Nick asked. He handed the game to Howie, "Cause it was Tara's favorite game," he said, getting up and walking out of the room. Nick looked at Howie and Kevin, "I didn't know." "It's OK Nick, he's gonna do that sometimes. It's still hard for him to think about," Kevin said. "I should go talk to him," Nick said, getting up, and following the path Brian took. Brian was standing in the kitchen, staring out the window at the gazebo. "Brian, I'm sorry," Nick said, walking up behind him. He turned around, "It's OK. You couldn't have known." "You miss her a lot don't you?" Nick asked. "Yeah I do. Not as much when Leisha is here though," Brian said. Nick sat down at the table, "Will you tell me about her?" "About Tara?" Brian asked, sitting down across from him. "Yeah. Kevin told me that we started out together, and that I let her be with you. Did I not love her?" Nick asked. "On the contrary, you loved her very much," Brian said. Nick looked at him, puzzled. "Well, you know the story, but what Kevin didn't tell you was that from the moment Tara and I met, we had this bond. It was undescribable. We could feel what the other was feeling, we just connected on so many levels," Brian said. "But if you two had that, why did she and I get together?" Nick asked. "Well, I was married to Leighanne, and Tara really did love you," Brian said. "Oh, so what made you guys realize you wanted to be together?" Nick asked. Brian got up and grabbed a beer from the frig, offering one to Nick, he took it. "Well, Lee and I were on the rocks and I was staying with you at your house. I was up late one night, mulling over my problems, when Tara came down. We started talking, and I just threw caution to the wind and told her how I felt. She told me she felt the same way, but we decided not to do anything about it, cause it would hurt you," he said. Nick stared at him, "You guys stayed apart for me?" Brian nodded, "But then the kidnaping happened, and Tara got shot, and we let it slip in front of everyone." Nick took a drink and looked at Brian, "What did I do?" "At the hospital you got with Leighanne and explained everything to her, then you both came into the room and told us that you wanted us to be together. You let her go," he said. Nick stared at his beer bottle, lost in thought. Brian looked at him, wondering what he was thinking. "You guys were dying," Nick whispered. Brian's eyes grew wide, "Yeah, we actually did." "I couldn't let you guys go without letting you know it was OK with me," Nick said, looking up at Brian. "Oh God, Nick you remember?" Brian asked. He nodded his head. Brian was about to jump out of his chair with excitement, "Do you remember anything else?" Nick thought for a moment, then shook his head, "Just that." "Well, at least that's something," Brian said. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "A.J. how much longer are you gonna be?" Kira asked. All the girls were standing outside the dressing rooms. A.J. was in trying on his twelfth outfit. "In a minute," he yelled. Lyn and Kristin were laughing. Aleisha sighed, handing her bags to Kira, and turning to walk inside the dressing room. "OK Bone, you better cover what you don't want seen, cause I'm coming in," she said, walking in. Leighanne and Kira stared at each other in shock, as Lyn and Kristin burst out laughing. A.J. turned around a shocked look on his face when she appeared inside the dressing room with him. He instinctually covered himself, although he was still wearing his boxers. She laughed at him, "Now what seems to be the problem?" "Nothing," he said, in an unusually high pitched voice. He cleared his throat, "Um, I'm fine." "Yeah, sure," she said, looking over the clothes he was trying on. "Put that one with that," she said, pointing to a shirt and a pair of pants. He looked down, "OK." She stood there waiting on him to do what she said. "You aren't gonna leave?" he asked. "Nope, you take to long by yourself. Now put them on before I do it for you," she said, an evil grin crossing her lips. "Yes mame," he said, putting the clothes on in record time. "See how easy that is," she said, leaning close to him and staring into his eyes. He smiled at her, getting lost in the blue-green sea of her eyes. "Um Leisha, maybe you should step out. This is the men's dressing room," he said, coming back to himself a little. "Once you've seen one, you've seen them all," she said, smiling. He laughed, "Um, so this looks good. I'll get them," he said, looking at himself in the mirror. He could see her behind him, checking out his backside. "Something back there you like?" he asked, playfully. "Maybe," she said, smiling. He turned around and stared at her, "Exactly where is this going?" "Anywhere you want it to," she said, winking at him as she left the room. A.J. stood there in shock for a moment, not believing the feelings he was having towards her. He shook his head to clear the cob webs and undressed, putting his own clothes back on. "So?" Kristin asked as Aleisha came out. "He's coming," she said, "He has a hard time putting things together doesn't he?" All the girls laughed. "Yeah, we usually have to tell him what goes with what," Kira said. "Except for women's clothes. That he seems to have a handle on," Lyn said. "See, boy shoulda been a girl," Kira said. A.J. walked out hearing that, "Hey!" "We're just teasing," Leighanne said. A.J. grinned, "Yeah, that's all you guys are. One big tease." They all laughed as A.J. went to the counter to check out. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Brian, tell me about Tara's personality. What was she like?" Nick asked. "Um, well, she was the most giving person I've ever met. She would make sure that everyone around her was happy, and she never thought about herself," he said. Nick smiled, "Sounds like an angel." Brian couldn't help but laugh, "That's what you used to call her." "I did?" Nick asked. "Yeah. She always knew how to lift my spirits and make me laugh. We played too," Brian said. "Played?" Nick asked. "Yeah, when things would get a little to serious, she would start up a game of tag, or a pillow fight, you know, something fun," he said. Nick laughed, "She sounded like a great person." "She was," Brian said, the memories flooding back. Nick could see that Brian was reliving something. "Brian, how did she die?" Nick asked. Brian closed his eyes and sighed, "She gave her life to save Leighanne's and her baby." Nick looked at him with sadness in his eyes, "How?" Brian looked at him, "Well, Tara had abilities that you and I don't have. She could do things, like see into someone's soul and heal their heart. Lee went into labor early and Tara delivered the baby and got it breathing. Then Leighanne started to die, and Tara put her hands on her, trading places with her." Nick's mouth was half open, "Then what Kevin said is true? She really was an angel?" Brian nodded, "She was." "So how come she isn't here? Angels don't die," Nick said. Brian took a deep breath, "When that happened, she was more human than angel. She'd lost her powers before that, and I guess it was to much for her. Tracy said she couldn't come back." "Who's Tracy?" Nick asked, looking confused again. "Tracy is Lyn's sister. She's also an angel. She died when Lyn was ten, and she looks out for us," Brian explained. "Why do I suddenly feel like an idiot?" Nick asked, smiling at Brian. "Cause you are," he said, smiling back. "Bri, if you loved Tara as much as you obviously do, why are you with Aleisha. She's nothing like what you described Tara to be," Nick asked, hoping he wasn't stepping over the line. Brian stared at him, "She's fun, and she makes me happy." "Does she really?" Nick asked. Brian glanced away, "Nick, you don't understand how I feel when I'm with her. She makes me feel like we are the only two people in the whole world. I'm alive when I'm with her." "Brian, even good sex isn't something to base a relationship on," Nick said. Brian looked at him surprised. "I'm in the bedroom next to you, I can hear you guys sometimes," Nick explained. Brian blushed, "Sorry." "Bri, we are obviously good friends. What kind of friend would I be if I didn't care about your happiness. Sure you may be happy now, but what about in a few months when all the newness wares off? Is there anything of substance there to keep you two together?" Nick asked. Brian looked at him, thinking about what he was saying. He had noticed that Aleisha really seemed to care only in pleasing herself, but then she would look at him and all his concerns would fly out the window. "At least tell me you'll think about what I just said," Nick asked. "I will," Brian said, getting up, "We better go back in there before they go to sleep on us." Nick laughed, "Yeah, if they are let's find some shaving cream and draw pictures on them." Brian burst out laughing, "Now you are really sounding like the Nick I know." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "OK, now where to?" Lyn asked. They were in the mall now and had already been in a dozen shops. "Let's go over to the new bed and bath store," Kira suggested. A.J. looked over and found a lingerie store he wanted to check out. "I think I'm gonna go in there, see if I can find something for Sarah," he said. "OK, we'll meet up with you at the restaurant in an hour," Leighanne said. "Better make it two," he called back. The girls laughed. "You know, I think I'll go with A.J. I might find something Brian would like," Aleisha said, turning to follow him. Leighanne watched as she left, knowing it would look suspicious if she went after her. "Come on girl, we're wasting valuable shopping time," Kristin said, pulling Leighanne along with them. Aleisha walked into the store and spotted A.J. along the back wall. He was looking at nighties. "So, Sarah likes this stuff?" she asked, walking up next to him. He smiled, "Well, I think so. It's really for my viewing pleasure though." She laughed, turning her attention to the clothes. "Oh, do you think Bri would like this?" she asked, holding up a sheer baby blue gown. "Um, I know I would," he said, growling at her. She slapped at him, "I'm gonna go try it on. Come over and tell me how it looks, K?" "You sure you want me to see you in that?" he asked, a little apprehensive. "A.J., if there's one thing I'm not, it's modest. Come on, I need a guys opinion," she begged. "OK," he agreed, and walked over to the dressing rooms with her. She went in and in a few moments asked him to come around the corner. He sheepishly walked around the corner and stopped dead in his tracks. His mouth dropped open and he was having a hard time taking his eyes off her. Aleisha was standing there in the gown, with only her panties on underneath. "Well, does it look OK?" she asked, turning around so he could see the back. "Um OK isn't the word," he said, "Damn girl you look hot." She laughed, "So it's a yes?" He nodded his head. "Do me a favor. Go pick out a couple more and bring them here, will ya?" she asked. A.J. said nothing, but went and found three more nighties and brought them back. "Thanks," she said, taking them and looking them over. "These are really good pics," she said. A.J. leaned against the wall and smiled, "I may not be able to dress myself, but I know what looks good on a lady." She laughed, going back into the room. One by one she modeled the outfits for him. With each one A.J. could feel himself wanting her more. He kept telling himself to leave and go find Sarah something, but he just couldn't. Aleisha came out in the last one, it was a black lace gown that went to her ankles, with a slit up each side, and no back in it. "I like this one," she said. A.J. stood there staring at her, speechless. She turned around and smiled at him, "You like it?" All he could do was nod his head. She laughed as she walked over to him, "You alright?" "Yeah," he said, staring down at her, and right into the plunging neck line of the gown. "A.J.," she said, taking her finger and pulling his head up a little, "I'm up here." "Oh, sorry," he said, "It's just that you look...." She laughed when he couldn't finish the sentence. "Is there something you want to do?" she asked, looking into his eyes. "I could write a book on the things I wanna do right now," he said, breathlessly. "So what's stopping you?" she asked, backing into the dressing room and pulling him with her by the waist band of his pants. She pulled him into the room and locked the door. She took the gown off, hanging it back on its hanger. A.J. was in shock, she was in nothing but her panties and didn't seem to mind at all that he was in there with her. Aleisha turned around and looked at him, "Now, tell me what you want to do." He knew he shouldn't, but he couldn't help himself. A.J. grabbed Aleisha and pulled her into a passionate kiss. She pushed him down on the small bench in the room and unbuttoned his pants, then began to work the zipper down. She pulled his pants down, grabbing his boxers as she went. A.J. sat there on the bench, his pants around his ankles, and his eyes clouded over. Aleisha laughed, "Now let's have some fun." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Where are those two? I'm starving," Kira said. She and the other girls were sitting at the restaurant. They'd been there for a half hour already. "You know how he is when he's in those stores. He's probably making Aleisha try things on for him," Kristin said with a laugh. "Yeah, Oh God, do you remember when he made Tara to that in Vancouver. I thought Brian was gonna die," Leighanne said. They all laughed. "Oh, there they are," Lyn said, waving them over. They walked over and sat down. "Sorry we're late. We found some really cool stuff in the lingerie store," Aleisha said. Leighanne kept looking at A.J. Something about him didn't look right. His face was flushed and he was breathing a little more rapidly than normal. "Alex, you OK?" she asked. He looked up at her and smiled, "Yeah. We ran from the store, I'm just outta breath." "Well, let's order," Lyn said, picking up a menu. The waitress came by and took their orders, and after a while brought their food out. Everyone ate and had a good time talking. Leighanne watched as Aleisha and A.J. seemed to be a little to close. Aleisha putting her hands on his lap as they laughed, A.J. feeding her from his plate. No one else seemed to think anything of it, other than they were becoming good friends. Aleisha caught Leighanne staring at her, "Something wrong Lee?" "No, I'm just getting a headache," she said, digging around in her purse for something to take. "Well let's finish eating and get outta here," Kira said. "Sounds like a plan," A.J. said, looking over at Aleisha and smiling. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Later on that evening, the girls plus A.J. returned to Brian's house. They all walked in carrying a number of bags from different stores. Brian met them at the door, "Hey, did you have fun?" Aleisha kissed him, "I had a blast." "Good, Howie and Nick have dinner ready," he said. "Nick cooked?" Lyn asked. "Yeah, he's really catching on too," Brian said. They all walked in and dropped the bags in the living room before going into the kitchen. Howie was pulling the main dish from the oven, Nick was setting the table, and Kevin was supervising. "Hey Lyn, Howie gave me my first cooking lesson," Nick said, excitedly. She laughed as she walked over and kissed him, "It smells good." "I hope it tastes good," Nick said, sitting down. "So, did you guys have fun today?" Kristin asked. "Oh, you know us. We can always find something entertaining," Kevin said, smiling. Nick looked over at Leighanne, seeing a troubled look on her face. He caught her eye, "I'm gonna go wash up," he said, getting up and leaving the room. Leighanne sneezed into her hands, "I'll be right back." "So baby, did you find some good things to buy?" Brian asked. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Leighanne walked into the wash room, closing the door behind her. Nick was standing next to the sink, the water running, waiting on her. "So what's up?" he asked. "I don't know. Something's not right though. She and A.J. went to a few shops together, and ever since then he's been acting kinda weird," she said. "Like how weird?" Nick asked. "Like, I dunno, a little more than friends weird," she said. "They were alone together?" Nick asked. "Yeah, they went to a lingerie store together, and we went to a few stores and then met them for lunch," Leighanne said. "OK, just watch your back," Nick said, "I'll see if I can pull anything out of A.J." Leighanne walked over and washed her hands, "OK." Nick left the room, and she stayed a few minutes before leaving too. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Everyone ate. To Nick's happiness, the food was really good. "Well D, looks like you may be replaced as cook," A.J. said, teasing. He laughed, "Suits me just fine." They all went into the living room, gazing upon all the bags. "Is all this yours?" Brian asked. "All but two," she said, handing him back his card. Nick glanced over at Brian, and he glanced back. Nick knew he wasn't to happy, but then Aleisha kissed him, and the look faded. "I'll help you carry them upstairs," he said, grabbing as many as he could carry and following her. As the evening went on, Nick never could get A.J. alone to ask him about the days events. Kevin and Kristin had already left and Howie was getting ready to go also. Aleisha took some of the empty glasses from the coffee table and glanced at A.J., "You wanna help me carry these?" "Sure," he said, jumping up and taking a few from her and walking with her into the kitchen. They set the glasses down on the counter, and Aleisha turned to look at him. "Now remember, no one needs to know about our little dressing room fun," she said, stroking his cheek. He nodded, smiling at her. "OK, you go be a good boy and I'll see if we can repeat that sometime," she said, pulling him down and kissing him. They broke the kiss a second before Howie walked in, "Bone, you about ready?" "Yeah man," he said, walking around Aleisha and out of the room. She smiled as he left, knowing she could get anything she wanted out of him now. Everyone said their goodbye's and left. Lyn was telling Nick about the days events when Brian got up. "I'm beat. I think I'll go hit the hay," he said. Aleisha got up and took his hand, "Come see what I got at the lingerie store. I think you'll like it." Brian smiled as she lead him up the stairs and into their room, shutting the door. Nick groaned. "What was that for?" Lyn asked, amused. "I know I won't be getting any sleep tonight," he said. Lyn looked at him funny. He smiled at her, "I can hear them through the walls." "OH," she said, laughing. "Why don't you take your aid out then?" she asked. "I don't like to. I want to be able to hear if something happens in the night," he said. "Nick, what's gonna happen?" she asked. "I don't know, someone could break in, the house could catch on fire, lots of things," he said. "Well, you could move into my room," she suggested. Nick looked at her, "With you?" She laughed, "No, I could trade rooms with you. I sleep like a log anyway." "Oh," Nick said, sounding disappointed. Lyn caught it, "Unless you want me to stay." He looked up at her, "I'd like that." "OK, let's go, I'm kinda tired myself," she said, getting up and pulling him with her. They each went to their prospective rooms and got ready for bed. Lyn was standing in her bathroom brushing her teeth when Nick knocked on the door. She walked over and let him in, going back into the bathroom to spit. He laughed at her, "That's attractive." She smiled, "Hey, what you see is what you get." Nick looked at the bed, "What side do you sleep on?" "Whatever side you're not gonna be on," she said, waiting for him to climb in before she followed him. He got in and pulled the blanket over him, Lyn climbing in next to him. She shut the light off on the night stand and looked over at him. The moon was shining through the window, casting a blue glow over everything. Nick had a nervous look on his face. "Nick, if this makes you uncomfortable, I'll leave," she said. "No, it's just that.....um, never mind," he said. She stared at him, "What?" "I really want to kiss you right now, but if I do, it may not stop there," Nick said, somewhat embarrassed. She smiled and raised her head up a little, "Who says it has to?" Nick looked at her questionly, and she nodded her head. He smiled as he moved closer to her and took her in his arms, kissing her. Lyn started laughing, breaking their kiss. "What?" Nick asked. "Maybe we'll give Bri and Aleisha a run for their money," she said. Nick burst out laughing, "Is that a challenge?" Lyn shrugged her shoulders, smiling at him. "OK, challenge accepted," Nick said, determined to win. Chapter 36 |