**A LITTLE LATER**
“You know, something told me to wear my bathing suit today,” Jade smiled. “I just know everything about you.”
“That’s it,” Nick said sarcastically.
They were loading supplies onto his boat. It was a beautiful day, with no clouds in sight, and extremely warm. “Ya know, I love Florida,” Jade said, stopping to look up at the sky.
“Why’s that?”
“Because even during winter we can still go sailing. It’s so beautiful out here.”
Nick stopped and glanced over at Jade, who was still looking up toward the sky. “Yeah, I know,” he said staring at her.
Jade looked back down and caught his eyes. Smiling shyly, she resumed her task of loading supplies. “You picked a perfect day to sailing.”
“Yeah,” he smiled.
**********
Jade leaned back and closed her eyes as the boat rocked gently. She sighed contentedly and listened to the water splash against the side of the boat.
“What are you humming?” Jade questioned, looking over her shoulder at Nick.
“Just a song of ours from the new album,” he answered. “You wouldn’t know since you didn’t get it.”
e smiled and closed her eyes again. “I can’t even remember the last time I bought a CD. I’m gonna get it the next time I go shopping. Whenever that might be.”
just laughed and went to sit beside her. “I can get you a copy if you want. I mean, that’s no problem.”
, it’s okay. I like buying my own CD’s. You know I have to be complicated,” she grinned. “Sing it. I wanna hear it.”
"Nah, you’ll hear it on the album.”
“C’mon, don’t be a wimp, Nick,” she pushed him. “Sing it for me. Please.”
“Oh, alright,” he gave in and reluctantly began clearing his throat. After a minute he began to sing:
I will love you more than that
I won’t say the words then take them back
Don’t give loneliness a chance
Baby listen to me when I say
I will love you more than that
When he finished, he opened his eyes and looked at Jade. She was smiling with her eyes shut. “That’s beautiful.”
“It’s the chorus of ‘More Than That.’ My favorite song.” He just shrugged and looked down at his hands. “I have a favorite song on every album...we all do.”
“Me, too,” she smiled. “I think that one will be my favorite.”
I hope so. “All of the slow songs are gorgeous.
“I can imagine.”
The rest of the day was spent basically the same way. Quietly talking and just listening to the waves gently lapping against the side of the boat. When Nick finally took her home it was early evening and getting dark. He walked her up to the front door, holding her hand.
“I had fun today, Nick,” Jade smiled and squeezed his hand. “We should go sailing again.”
Nodding, he began leaning closer. Jade felt her breath catch in her throat when she realized what was going to happen. When she felt his lips against hers, she relaxed. She soon felt his lips part and his tongue slowly ran over her lips. Parts hers slightly, Jade allowed him to slide his tongue inside her mouth. The kiss deepened as their tongues swirled together. Pulling away, Jade ran her fingertip over his lips. “Night Nick,” she whispered.
Smiling widely, he made his way back to his car. Looking up at the sky, he sighed. “Bye Jade.”
**THE NEXT DAY**
Jade was going over some paperwork when her phone rang. Smiling, she put the folder down and picked up the phone.
“Hey, sweetie,” she said into the receiver.
“Jade?”
Her face fell when she realized it wasn’t Nick. “Kevin?”
“Yeah, sorry if you were expecting someone else,” he said.
“Well, I wasn’t expecting you,” she said with obvious bitterness. “What do you want Kevin?”
“I know I’m probably the last person you wanna talk to but--”
“How did you ever guess that?” she snapped.
“I was wondering if we could go talk over lunch,” he asked quietly. “Jade, we really need to talk.”
“Kevin, we’ve already talked about. You’re engaged and Alexia’s gonna have your baby. What else is there to talk about?”
“Dammit Jade, please. Meet me for lunch and let’s talk. Please.”
“Okay,” she gave in. “I’ll meet you in half an hour.