Chapter Four

Two weeks later everyone at the beach house had fallen into a daily routine. They all would sleep until late morning, relishing in the fact that they had nothing to do. No dance rehearsals, no concerts to perform, no jobs to go to, no school to attend. Summer was great. Every day had been beautiful, high temperatures, bright sunshine, light cool breeze, and luke warm oceans to bathe in. Nick and Gianna had become inseparable. They were the best of friends, telling each other deep dark secrets, and doing everything together. Elise and AJ had an odd and interesting relationship. Although no one in the house knew exactly what was going on between AJ and Elise, they knew.

The sun flickered past the curtains and twinkled on Gianna’s face. She squinted in her half-awake state and rolled away from the window. Nick walked out of the bathroom and into her room, seeing her curled into a ball against the wall. He smirked at her position, her butt sticking out in the middle of the bed and her shirt riding up her back.

“G?” he whispered. Gianna mumbled something incoherent and pulled the blankets over her body blocking Nick’s view of her skin. He shook his head and made his way over to the bed. Sitting on the edge, he slowly pulled the blankets down to reveal Gianna’s body again. “Gianna. Wake up.”

“Why?” came a muffled reply. Nick laughed lightly as he turned Gianna over to face him.

“Come on, let’s go to the beach today.”

“Nick...” Gianna whined. “We just went to the beach yesterday. Can’t we take a day off?” she asked grabbing her pillow and placing in over her head.

“Gianna, come on.”

“Why??? Are you some fanatic??”

“Yes, please, no one else in the house will go with me.”

“Oh...” Gianna started as she pulled the pillow off of her face, “so, I’m the last resort? No one else will go, so you ask Gianna?”

“No, no, no...I know no one else will go, that’s why I didn’t ask them.”

“Nickolas.”

“Don’t call me Nickolas.”

“I will call you whatever I please. You woke me up.”

“Come on!” Nick pleaded in a childish whiny voice. Gianna let out a sigh and looked up at him. He stuck his bottom lip out and widened his eyes.

“Stop!” She screamed covering her eyes with her hands.

“What? What did I do?”

“Oh please, you know exactly what you did.” Gianna said uncovering her eyes. Nick’s puppy dog face had vanished and only a confused one was left plastered on his face.

“You honestly don’t know?”

“What?”

“The face you just made.”

“Yeah, what about it? I was pouting.”

“Do you have any idea of how powerful that look is?”

“Um...huh?” Nick asked raising his eyebrows at her.

“Wow, you have no idea.”

“Gianna, you’re confusing me, I wanna go to the beach.” He said flopping across Gianna’s bed and Gianna in the process. Gianna stared down at him. How could he not realize how well the his puppy dog look worked. Any girl who was put under his gaze while he gave that look would surely fall. She shook her head.

“Nick...”

“Huh?” he asked from his position curled at the end of the bed with his eyes closed.

“Get up or we aren’t going to the beach.”

“Really?!” Nick asked jumping up. “Yes!!!!! Meet me downstairs in 20 minutes k???”

“Sure.” Gianna said quietly as she dragged herself out of bed and into the bathroom. Turning the shower on she climbed into the tub and showered.

Nick darted into his room and changed into his Hawaiian swimming trunks. He made his way downstairs and grabbed an apple to eat.

“Why so happy this morning? Last time I checked you were not a morning person.” Kevin said as he pulled his sunglasses down to look at Nick.

“We’re going to the beach today.”

“Who is we?”

“Gianna and I.” Nick stated as Gianna appeared in the doorway to the kitchen dressed in a sundress with her suit underneath.

“Ready waterboy?” Gianna asked as she grabbed her sunglasses and suntan lotion off the counter where she had left them the day before.

“Yeah.” Nick said leading Gianna out the back door onto the patio. Since is was late morning, the sun had already risen to a high point in the sky, and it shined down on the two as they made their way across the back lawn to the sand. “Nice day huh?”

“Yeah, I’m glad that you dragged me out here. I need to work on my tan, and besides, what else would I be doing? Sleeping.”

“See my point now?” Nick asked smiling at her.

“Yeah, yeah, why am I always wrong??” Gianna muttered to herself.

“You’re not. In fact you’re usually right. What you said about Anglea a few weeks ago was right.”

“What? About you meeting someone who really loves you?”

“Exactly. G, I never got around to it, but I want to say thank you. You helped me a lot that night. I always figured that people would judge me when I told them what happened, but you didn’t. You listened.”

“Of course I did. Why would anyone judge you. It wasn’t your fault that Angela cheated on you.”

“Before I talked to you, I did think that it was my fault. I blamed myself for it. You know? What if I had been there instead of in Germany? What if I had called more often. But now, I know that it wasn’t my fault. Thanks to you.” Nick said. In the past weeks, Nick had grown to love Gianna. He didn’t know quite how he felt about her though. He didn’t want another relationship because of what happened with Angela, but he couldn’t help but know that Gianna would never hurt him like Angela did. There was just something about Gianna that made the whole world seem right.

“Want to go swimming???” Gianna asked Nick. She dropped her things on the sand and headed for the water as Nick followed.

AJ rolled over and came face to face with beauty. Elise was curled up next to him under his warm blankets, her black hair splayed over his pillow. He watched her sleep as he recalled the previous night. He had finally spilled his feelings. Elise had poured her heart out to him and the two had made love all night long. Somehow he and Elise had managed to fall in love in the past three weeks. It was amazing. From the minute he had seen her on the day she and Gianna arrived it was sparks. Elise felt someone’s gaze on her and she opened her eyes. Smiling up at AJ she pulled him into a kiss.

“I loved waking up to your eyes.” Elise whispered. “How long have you been watching me?”

“Just a few minutes,” AJ whispered back, “but I could watch you for hours.” he gazed down at the woman he had come to love.

“Last night was....”

“I know, spectacular.”

“Just the word I was looking for.” Elise said pulling AJ on top of her. “Wanna relive it?” She asked seductively.

“Ah...what do you think?” AJ asked lowering his mouth to hers.

Nick and Gianna splashed in the warm ocean salt water.

“You know what my favorite thing to do was??” Gianna asked as she stood in the shallow waters.

“What?” Nick asked wading over to her.

“When I was a little girl, I would go in the shallow end and I would kneel down in the sand and stare down at the sand on the bottom.”

“Why did you do that?” Nick asked looking at her strangely.

“Have you ever slowly swam under water and watched the bottom?” Nick shook his head so she continued. “Well, when I would swim, I would pretend I was a plane and the bottom of the ocean was a desert. For some reason doing that calmed me.”

“Really? When I was little I would go out into the kinda deep waters, 7 or 8 feet and I would pretend I was a deep sea diver.” Nick said laughing. “It was cool, because I was so little, and the water was so deep, it felt real.”

“We have some pretty odd memories of the ocean.”

“Yeah, but then there are some really nice ones.”

“Like what?”

“Oh the time when I had my whole family in one place.” Nick started. “My grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins. They flew down from Jamestown, where I was born. Everyone was at my parents house back in Tampa. We had a cook out on the beach for the Fourth of July. It was the best summer I had ever had. I think I was 10.” Nick said looking out towards the horizon.

“Wow, I remember this one time, I was dating this guy named Craig. He was so sweet, I was about 16 I think. Any way, he knew I liked the beach so he took me out to this one place on the shore where we watched the sunset and then sat and talked about everything for hours. It was the best date I had ever been on.”

“Really? You had the best time talking?” Nick asked as he waded out of the water and onto the sand. Gianna followed.

“Yeah, all that dating stuff, movies, pizza, dancing...they just don’t do anything for me. I like to know the person. Talk to them. Learn their likes, dislikes, fears, dreams.”

“You are one of the most unique girls I have ever met. Has anyone ever told you that before?” Nick asked spreading a large blanket out for the two of them to lay on. Gianna sat down and looked up at him.

“Nope, you’re the first.”

“I have never met a girl who prefers a talk over a guy spending his money on her.”

“Well, here I am.” Gianna said smiling.

“I honestly wish that Anglea had been more like you. Or I wish I had met you before meeting her.” Nick stated looking out to the ocean. Gianna took that second to glance over at him and take him in. He was beautiful. As odd as that sounded, it was true. He was the model of her dream guy. Tall, smooth, and needless to say, he was a total prep. And she thought she couldn’t find a guy she would fall for in Orlando. Pfsh! She looked over his body, his tan skin, broad shoulders, somewhat muscular arms and chest. She sighed. Nick glanced over at her. “What are you thinking about?” he asked snapping Gianna back into reality. He had seen Gianna looking at him, her gaze had begun to make him feel uneasy. He wanted her to look at him for one reason, because she wanted him.

“Um..nothing.” Gianna answered, not having enough boldness to come straight out and tell him what she was thinking about. Eventually she would tell him how she felt about him, just not now. ‘By then end of the summer Nick and I will know each other extremely well’ Gianna promised herself.

“Is it just me or is it getting really hot out here?” Gianna asked turning over to face Nick hours later. He opened his eyes and glanced over at her. The two had been sunbathing for the past four hours and the sun had climbed high in the sky.

“Yeah, you know, it is kind of warm. Wanna go swimming again?”

“Sure.” Gianna said standing to brush the sand off of her legs.

“Race ya.”

“Oh yeah. You’re gonna lose.”

“Oh please.” Nick said waving his hand at her. “You...are going to eat my dust.”

“Ha! We’ll just see about that.” Gianna said as she adjusted her stance, readying herself for the race.

“Sure, Sure...on go.” Nick said. “On your mark, get set...go!” he said as he began running. Gianna was right beside him the whole time. He glanced over at her as she glanced at him. Flashing him a smile she pulled ahead. Nick looked at her in awe. Because of the surprise he fell even further behind. Gianna reached the shore seconds before Nick did and she turned around smiling.

“Ha! Beat ya, Beat ya, Beat ya!!” Nick looked at her with fiery eyes.

“Yeah, so what. You distracted me.”

“How?” Gianna asked raising her eyebrows.

“Um...you smiled at me. That threw me off.” he stated as Gianna giggled. “You are gonna pay!” Nick said splashing water at her. She screamed as the cold water hit her and splashed him back. The two began a water war screeching and laughing.

Up at the house AJ and Elise were awakening for the second time that day. Elise rolled out of bed and made her way over to the French doors leading to a balcony. Opening the doors she heard giggling down the beach. Walking across the balcony she saw Nick and Gianna splashing at each other down in the water. Feeling arms wrap around her she leaned back on AJ’s chest.

“Whatcha looking at, baby?” a raspy voice whispered in her ear.

“Nick and Gianna.” Elise said. AJ looked out at the ocean over Elise’s shoulder and spotted the two playing in the water. “You know what I’ve noticed in the past few weeks?”

“Hmmm?”

“Nick and Gianna are very close, and...flirty.” AJ said.

“I noticed that too. They are always fooling around with each other. You know? Looking when they think no one is watching, finding some way to touch each other.”

“Yeah, so I’m not the only one who saw all that?!” AJ asked.

“Nope. I think they want each other.” Elise said in a sing-song voice.

“Yeah, that’s obvious now.”

“Aww, that is so cute.” Elise said as she pointed down to the sand again. Nick and Gianna finished their water war and were both drenched now on the beach. Nick had splashed water in Gianna’s face and was now carefully wiping her face with a towel. She was gazing up at him.

“Do they even realize what it going on between them?” AJ asked in awe.

“That’s hard to tell. They could be together like you and I, and aren’t telling anyone, or they could be totally blind to the fact that they are in love with each other.

Nick finished brushing Gianna’s cheeks with the towel and dropped it. This was becoming unbearable. Since Gianna had come to the beach house he’d had feelings for her. They had become strong, and they weren’t able to be ignored anymore. He couldn’t just sit there and watch her tanning in a tiny swimsuit without letting his mind wander. He couldn’t handle watching her smile up at him while he did nothing. He had to tell her how he felt. He had to let her know what was going on in his head and heart.

Gianna reached up and brushed a strand of blond hair out of Nick’s eyes as she watched him in deep thought. Her touch startled him and he jumped a little. Gianna placed her hand softly on his shoulder. He gazed down at her hand on his skin and then met her eyes with his. A new look was in his eyes. Instead of the bright, sky blue that his eyes were normally, they were deep, dark and stormy.

“What is it Nick?” Gianna asked softly. His heart pounded in his chest as he looked down at her. What was going on? Sure he liked her, thought she was beautiful, but how could he feel this way again. His heart had been ripped from his chest when he had discovered what Angela had been doing to him. He thought he would never love again because of the pain she had caused. For the past six months he had been virtually girl free. He avoided all confrontations with fans and girls at night clubs. He didn’t want to get involved with another girl who would eventually break his heart again. But the way Gianna looked at him, deep into his eyes, lovingly, honestly. He was drawn to her. Gianna gazed up at Nick. The look in his eyes frightened her. She didn’t know whether Nick was mad, or sad. “Nick?” she asked softly as he looked off to the water again.

“I’m sorry.” he whispered as he pulled back. He glanced up at her again before retreating quickly to the house again. Gianna stood in the sand confused. What had happened? Was it something she did? She watched Nick reach the house and duck inside.

AJ and Elise watched the happenings from the balcony in silence.

“What happened?” AJ asked when he saw Nick turn and leave Gianna standing on the beach.

“I’m not sure.”

“They were almost there. Did you see the way he was looking at her? He definitely wants her.” AJ said.

“I saw, but why did he run away?”

“I don’t know. Maybe it has to do with his ex-girlfriend.”

“Angela?” Elise asked.

“Yeah, you remember her?”

“Yeah, Gianna and I were talking about her when we first got here. About how Nick was crazy about her every time we had seen him. Gianna said that she barely knew Nick because he never had time to spend with us when we were here.”

“Yeah.”

“What happened between them? When did they break-up?? ”Elise asked turning around to face AJ.

“Almost six months ago.”

“Wow, what happened??”

“No one know. He never told any of us. He was just depressed for months and then he was himself again.”

“Has he dated anyone else?”

“Nope.”

“Odd...and none of you guys know what happened at all??”

“No idea, we even called his family, he didn’t tell them either.”

Nick entered his room and fell onto his bed not caring about his wet swimming trunks. The position he was in scared him. He had promised himself that he wouldn’t get involved with another girl for awhile, to give himself time to heal. His plan was slowly deteriorating. Every day he spent with Gianna made him want her more. He couldn’t let this summer fly past and not do anything about his feelings, he was just scared. He had never felt the feelings he was experiencing now when he was with Anglea. Being with Gianna was all new to him. She was so different from Angela in every sense. Anglea had been loud, outgoing, and wild. Gianna on the other hand was calm, quiet, and shy. Thinking about it, Nick realized that a girl like Gianna had been what he always wanted. Even with Anglea, he wished that she were different, that she acted more like Gianna was now. Nick heard the shower start in his bathroom and he knew that Gianna had come inside. He lay on his bed, contemplating how to approach her. Should he just go over to her room and tell her he was falling for her? Or...should he just hang out with her like always and drop hints until he had the chance to kiss her. He decided that he would go with the latter. Give Gianna hints until she realized his feelings for her. The water stopped and he heard Gianna go into her room. He sighed deeply and got up to shower as well.

“Nick?” he heard Gianna ask as she came into the bathroom. Her eyes automatically went to the foggy glass, transparent door. All she could see was blur, but behind all the clouded glass she could see the outline of Nick’s nude body. Enough to make her stop to catch her breath and then gaze.

“Huh?” he mumbled his response, feeling guilty about his reaction to her earlier.

“Um...we’re all going out to dinner at this French restaurant they have about five minutes from here. Do you want to come?” she asked hopefully as she watched his movements through the shower wall still.

“Sure, I guess. What time are we leaving?” Nick asked as he placed the soap he had been using back in its dish. He turned around and saw Gianna’s figure through the shower door. Realizing that if he could see her, she most definitely could see him. The thought of her watching him pleased him more than he imagined it would . He smiled.

“Um..well, we...um...” Nick chuckled at Gianna’s jumpiness.

“G?”

“An hour.” she said finally forming the words.

“Great, I’ll be ready.” Nick said turning the water off.

“Okay, I’ll see you downstairs.” Gianna said as she turned to leave the bathroom, but stopped for one last glance. Nick saw her move towards the door and then pause to look back at the shower.

“You wanna hand me a towel G?” Nick asked when he noticed her not leaving.

“Uh..sure.” Gianna said hesitantly as she opened the cupboards and pulled out a towel for him. She handed it to him over the shower door and headed for her room again. “I’ll let you get ready.” she said closing the door behind her. She let out a deep breath and fanned herself as she went to her closet to find something to wear.

Nick stepped out of the shower into the steamy bathroom, wrapping the towel around his waist. Running his hands through his wet hair he entered his bedroom and dressed in the khaki pants and navy blue polo shirt he had laid out while Gianna was in the shower. Changing quickly, he grabbed his wallet shoving it in his back pocket on his way out of his room Entering the living room he froze, looking at Gianna seated on the couch flipping through the television channels. He took the time, while she didn’t know he was looking, to take her in. She was gorgeous. She had put on a short forest green dress with spaghetti straps. Her hair was long and fell over her shoulders, framing her face. He let out a deep breath and headed for the couch.

“Hey.” Gianna said glancing up from Rugrats.

“Hey..love this show.” Nick said seating himself down next to her. He slid closer to her on the couch until his leg brushed against hers. ‘Hint One.’ he silently mouthed to himself as he raised his arm over Gianna’s head and rested it on the back of her couch behind her. ‘Two.’ Gianna nervously awaited Nick’s next move. She realized that he had moved next to her close enough to let his leg lightly brush against hers. She tensed when his arm went behind her. She watched the cartoon playing on the big screen TV in front of her, but her mind was on Nick. What was he trying to do? First she gets close to him, too close, and he runs. Now he is getting closer to her. What if Gianna followed his lead? Would he run again?

“Ready love-birds??” AJ asked entering the livingroom with the rest of the guys and girls. Gianna and Nick broke from their trance and looked up at the group startled.

“Love-birds?” Gianna asked.

“Oh man, they know!” Nick thought to himself as he stood. He quickly got as far from Gianna as possible and went to stand by the doorway with Brian. Brian looked at Nick oddly as he led Leighanne towards the door. Gianna stood from the couch and slowly made her way out of the house clearly hurt by Nick’s speedy avoidance. She joined the rest of the house in the huge limousine they had rented for the night and thus began the interesting night ahead of her.

Chapter Five
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