Manhattan, New York: September, 2001
 

“We’re in the biggest city in America. The city that never sleeps, for heaven’s sake! How in the world could we be this bored?” Melissa complained loudly. She had hung her body off of the edge of the hotel bed, her head supporting her weight on the ground. She had always loved the sensation of blood rushing to her head.

"I'm up for playing basketball, whenever you're ready to." Nick reminded Melissa. He was also lying on the bed, flipping through the latest issue of Rolling Stone magazine.

Melissa groaned. "Ugh...not right now. My knee still hurts from rehearsel this afternoon."

"Still?" Nick repeated. He abandoned his magazine and moved closer to Melissa. pushing away the hemline of her skirt, Nick began to examine the injured knee.Sure enough, the left knee was clearly swollen, slightly larger then the right. "Liss, that doesn't look good. Maybe we should take you to the doctor this afternoon, get everything checked out."

"Nah, that's alright," Melissa insisted. "My body is so messed up at this point, its beyond the medical scope. I have as many joint and muscle issues as an eighty-year-old woman. There's nothing a doctor can do to help me out in that area."

"Thank God your body doesn't look like an eighty-year-old woman." Nick muttered quietly.

Melissa laughed. Then, she clearly winced in pain. "Oooh...head rush."

"Let me help you up," Nick offered. Melissa held her arms upwards, as Nick pulled her onto the bed. Her face was bright red, matching her hair color. Nick was now sitting up, looking down at Melissa. He pushed her unruly curls out away, so he could look at her face. It was bright red, the same color as her hair, from the blood rush. Nick helped Melissa settle her body into a new postion, comfortably lying on the bed. He was faced sideways to her reclining body, his legs crossed and her knees lying in his lap. Nick took her problemed left leg in his hands, slowly massaging her thigh and calf.

"Feel better?" Nick asked.

"Mmm...much." Melissa agreed. She had closed her eyes, and a smile played across her lips. "Thanks."

"I worry about you sometimes," Nick said sincerely. "You push yourself so hard sometimes. Your heart wants to keep dancing, even when your body tells it to stop. That's how you're going to get yourself hurt."

"Well, Nickers- I'm a dancer. It kinda comes with the profession." Melissa joked.

"No, I'm being serious here, Lissie." And by the tone in his voice, Melissa could tell he was being truthful. It wasn't something that happened often, and Melissa knew it deserved her full attention.

"You've been dancing ever since you came out of the womb," Nick continued on. "But you're body just can't take it. I've seen your injuries increase in the past couple of months. And it worries me. I don't want you getting hurt."

"What are you trying to say here, Nickers?" Melissa asked.

"What do you think about taking some time off from dancing? What's it called? Uh...sebatacle, that's it. Take a little vacation and let your body heal."

"That's retarded," Melissa scoffed. "And what exactly am I supposed to to while I'm on this little vacation of yours?"

"You could come on tour with us." Nick suggested.

"I have student loans to pay off, Nickers. And rent. I need some sort of income. And the only way I can achieve that is by dancing. Its all I've done my entire life. I don't know anything else."

"I can cover your bills, Lissie. Its not a big deal."

"I can't let you do that. I can't let you just pay for my bills. I'd feel like a golddigger or something. It wouldn't be right." Melissa insisted.

"But I really don't mind," Nick said as convincingly as possible. "I have more money than I'm ever going to spend. I like to provide things for my friends and family. It makes me feel good."

"Aww...that's sweet sugar." Melissa sat up and wrapped an arm around Nick's shoulder. "But its more than the money. Dance is my life. What would you say if I asked you to stop singing?"

Nick's face fell. "I guess I hadn't thought of it that way."

Melissa nodded. "I appreciate the thought. But dance is my life. Without dance, there is no me."

Nick turned away from Melissa, pretending to be hurt. "I'd like to think that I played a small role in your life."

"Oh, sugar. You know what I mean. Of course you mean the world to me." Melissa reached up and pulled his chin towards her. Even then, Nick was still pretending to be upset. "You're not mad at me, are you Nickers?"

In response, Nick swooped over Melissa. He picked her up and pinned her down to the bed. He straddled her body and began to cover her neck in kisses. Melissa giggled and squirmed under his grasp. She kicked her legs, trying to get him to stop. It was no use. "Sugar, that tickles!"

Nick relented. He let go of his hold on Melissa, and instead settled down next to her on the bed. He lay curled around her side, his arms wrapped around her waist and legs entangled. He nuzzled his head into the crook between Melissa's neck and her shoulder. "You deserved to be tickled."

"Whatever did I do that made me deserving of being tickled?" Melissa said innocently as Nick continued to kiss her neck.

"For doubting that I'd ever be upset with you." Nick paused. Melissa could hear that their breathing patterns matched up, and they were now inhaling and exhaling as one. Then, softer he said, "I love you so much, Liss."

Melissa rolled onto her side. She and Nick faced each other. Their bodies instinctively moved to that familiar position, wrapped up in each other's limbs. Melissa reached one arm up, gently stroking Nick's cheek. They made eye contact for a moment, breathing in each other's presence. More forcefully, Melissa placed her hands on either side of Nick's face, drawing him into a kiss. As they pulled apart, she began to twist a lock of his golden blond hair around her index finger.

"I love you more than words, Nickolas."

Melissa never referred to Nick as anything other than Nickers or Sugar. Occassionally Nick or Nicky, but very rarely at that. So when she called him "Nickolas," he knew she wasn't kidding. She meant it from the bottom of her heart.

"Saying I love you / Is not the words I want to hear from you..." Nick began to sing the one-hit wonder from Extreme.

Melissa groaned. She lay her head against his chest, so he could feel his body vibrate as he sang.She mumbled, "You know that's my favorite song, Nickers. I don't know why you taunt me with it. It gets me all hot and bothered."

Nick stopped singing. He looked down at Melissa, completely serious. "That's exactly why I sing it for you."

"You're such a tease!" Melissa complained. She hit Nick lightly on the arm.

Nick shrugged. "Well, you said you were bored and wanted to do something tonight."

"I meant going out to a club or something. You're a pop star, for heaven's sake. We should do something glamourous once and awhile." Melissa rolled her eyes as she explained.

"We'll be out at parties all night tomorrow after the awards. I figured you'd want to stay in tonight." He spoke with a grin both in his eye and his smile. The look was impossible to turn down.

"Well, if you put it that way," Melissa said dramatically. She got to her feet. "Just let me run to the bathroom first."

Nick watched her walk to the bathroom. The way her skirt swung in time with her hips.He was lucky to have such a girl.Smiling contendly to himself, he reached for the remote. Melissa normally took forever in the bathroom. It was best if he had something to distract himself with until she returned.

But for once, Melissa was out of the bathroom in record time.Nick was still flipping channels as she climbed back into bed.

"Whatcha watching?" She asked, as she wrapped her little body around his.

"Just channel surfing." Nick explained.

"Well, flip to MTV. They're were at Radio City today, filming parts of our rehearsel. I want to see if they show it on TV." Nick did as he was told. But much to Melissa's display, there was no Britney on TV. Instead, another blonde popstar was showing skin in her latest music video. Recognizing the face, Melissa ordered Nick to "Turn the TV off, now!"

Nick did just that, being just as grateful as Melissa to make his ex-girlfriend disappear. "I'm sorry, baby girl. I didn't know that she was going to be on."

"I just hate seeing her everywhere." Melissa said angrily.

"I do too. But what else can we do?" Nick asked.

"Ask Carson to stop playing her videos on MTV."

"He wouldn't do that!" Nick objected.

"Sure he would," Melissa counterargued. "He has a man-crush on you, Nickers. He'd do anything to get in your pants."

Nick placed a hand on Melissa's thigh, slowly massaging it in circles. "Let's just forget about this, okay?"

"Ugh. Not now, Nick. Seeing that witch on TV totally put me out of the mood."

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