Vietnam:

Book Two

Vietnam: Chapter 6

Jayme smiled as she watched Nick playing a video game at the hotel arcade. Seven months had passed and Nick had been getting antsy. Constantly picking up and moving on to other cities and other hotels had made him feel like he was back on a Backstreet Boys tour... only worse. At least when he was on tour they sometimes stayed in one city for a couple of days. With Jayme, they hadn't stayed put for more than twelve hours.

It was beginning to wear on both of them. They needed some stability. They were managing to slowly rebuild their relationship... starting with their friendship and the ability to communicate. But it was difficult to focus on each other when they were stressed out from constantly moving around. So they'd come to a decision while sipping burnt coffee in yet another Motel 6: the next day they would head to a nice location and stay in a big, beautiful, and posh hotel for two weeks.

So there they were... in Santa Barbara, California, staying at the Bacara Resort & Spa. It was wonderful... they were enjoying themselves to the highest extent. And Nick had even managed to talk Jayme into not only going surfing with him, but para-gliding, which had scared her half to death.

The entire resort was gorgeous and was right on the beach. There was an outdoor, heated pool, a hot tub and sauna, a lounge, and a beautiful restaurant that Nick and Jayme had eaten in their first night there. There were tennis courts on site as well as cute little shops that Jayme had spent an entire day browsing through. And Nick had, of course, spent a large majority of his time in the fitness center.

They'd rented a yacht their third day there and had spent the afternoon on the water, getting tan and enjoying the peacefulness... and that night they had gone to the Sandpiper 18 Hole Golf Course and acted like children for the evening, which was something they had needed to do for a while.

Their room had a balcony overlooking the water, as well as a fireplace, mini bar, and something Nick was extremely excited about... cable. It was a gorgeous room; everything was a dark, sensuous blue, and the bed was to die for.

"Nick?" Jayme walked up to him in the arcade and placed her hand on his lower back, hoping to get his attention.

Nick's on-screen character died instantly and he colored, afraid she'd realize how much her touch was still affecting him. He sighed and turned to look at her standing there in a little white sun dress, his eyes drawn instantly to her tan legs. "Yeah?" he mumbled, distracted.

"Sorry I killed you," Jayme smiled sheepishly, gesturing to the game that was long-since forgotten by Nick. "I was just wondering if you'd go down to that cute little barber shop on the corner. I need to get a trim or something, and you are in desperate need of a haircut." She ran her fingers through his growing hair for effect.

Nick sighed. He hated hair cuts. "Okay. Think I should get it really short again?"

"Yeah, I liked that on you. Looked much better on you than Justin Timberlake," Jayme grinned and slapped his butt, jokingly. "Hey, I was thinking after dinner tonight we should go to that World Class Wine Cellar... it'd be fun."

"Sure," Nick shrugged. "Any reason to drink... I'm there."

"You don't drink it, you dork. You just like swish it around in your mouth, to get the taste."

"Whatever. Think we could go down to the bar and get smashed afterward then?"

Jayme laughed and rolled her eyes, "You're hopeless. No, we cannot get smashed. It's our last night here... let's make it memorable."

Vietnam: Chapter 7

Nick giggled as they walked out of the Wine Cellar. "Did you see that guys face when he realized I wasn't just swishin' the wine?"

"Nick," Jayme sighed, "I thought he was going to hurt you. You're stupid sometimes, you know that?"

"Yeah... it's all good though, right?"

"Sure," she sighed, before letting a smile form on her face. "It was kinda' funny, actually. You're not drunk though, are you?"

"Are you kidding me? I've drank enough in the past to prevent sips of wine from getting me drunk," Nick laughed and looked down at her, noticing her shiver. "You cold?"

"Kind of," Jayme answered, not expecting Nick to pull her against him and run his hands up and down her arms. "What are you doing?"

"Warming you up. C'mmon, Jay... you're my wife; can't I help you out a little?"

Jayme looked up into his eyes and took a deep breath. He was still as breathtaking as the day she'd married him. It made her wonder why they hadn't had sex in over a year. And then she remembered that night seven months prior, in that Motel 6, when she'd told him she wanted him and he'd gotten up and left. He never had explained why.

"Nick, what happened that night?" Jayme sighed, worried he was going to tell her how repulsed he'd been by just the thought of her wanting him to make love to her.

Nick's eyebrows rose, showing his confusion. "What night?"

"That night in Austin, Texas, when you woke me up while I was dreaming and I..." Jayme trailed off, a light blush creeping across her cheeks. She never thought she'd see the day when she and Nick would have a problem talking about sex with one another.

"...wanted me to make love to you?" Nick questioned, his eyes downcast.

Jayme ran her fingers through his just-cropped hair and gently pulled his head back up, so he would look at her again. "Yeah... why wouldn't you?"

Nick licked his lips and sighed. "Jay, we haven't had sex in so long... I just... well, it feels like it's the first time all over again and I want it to be special... not some spur of the moment, I-need-to-get-off type of thing. I didn't want to make love to you, still wondering if when this year is over you're gonna leave me."

Jayme was silent for a few minutes, thinking things over. There was no doubt in her mind that she wanted, needed, to be with Nick again. She took a deep breath and her eyes met his. And in one last nerve-racking moment, she said the words that she'd been waiting to say for a while, "I'm not going anywhere, Nick."

Vietnam: Chapter 8

Nick looked down into his wife's eyes and could feel tears welling up within his own. He'd been waiting for so long to hear her say that, he hardly knew what to do with himself.

"Nick, would you just kiss me?" Jayme sighed as she anxiously watched him stand there, simply staring at her.

He didn't have to be asked twice. Nick leaned down and pressed his lips to hers in a soft kiss. He couldn't believe he'd gone so long without feeling her. "Jay, do you wanna... maybe... I dunno... maybe go back-"

"Yes, Nick."

Nick took her hand in his and they began the short walk back to the resort, stealing soft kisses along the way. They made their way slowly up to their suite and Jayme stood impatiently as Nick slid the keycard into the door. They spent the rest of the evening reuniting their bodies and getting to know each other once again.

Jayme awoke in the middle of the night, feeling an absence of some sort. Realizing Nick was no longer in bed beside her, she slowly climbed out of bed and slipped his T-shirt over her head. She made her way to the balcony and looked out, seeing Nick leaning against the railing, looking out at the water.

Jayme stepped outside quietly and wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head against his back. She smiled when she felt Nick's hands clasp her own.

"Did I wake you up?" he murmured, turning around and wrapping his arms around her shoulders.

"Not really... just you being gone. It got a little cold in there."

"There's a fireplace."

"I just wanted you."

Nick was silent for a minute. Finally, his eyes met hers again. "Did you mean what you said earlier? I mean, about not leaving?"

"Of course," Jayme whispered, resting her chin against his chest, her eyes looking up at his face. She leaned up and kissed his neck gently. "Come back to bed, Nicky. We can talk some more in the morning."

Nick nodded and let her lead him back into the room.

Vietnam: Chapter 9

Jayme looked at Nick the next morning at breakfast. They were leaving the resort in a few hours to get back on the road again. They had to slowly start to make their way back to the East Coast... back to their home in Marathon. And that's exactly why Nick was sitting so silent that morning.

Jayme looked up from her menu to see her husband slouched over in his chair, his head resting against his hand. She sighed, wondering why he'd been acting so weird since they'd woken up. "What's wrong, Nick?"

"Nothing."

"Right... like I'm gonna believe that. Nick, we're goin' on eight years of marriage... I think I can tell when something's wrong with you."

Nick groaned. He'd forgotten that part. Sitting up straighter, he lowered his menu and decided to be blunt. "Today we leave this incredibly romantic atmosphere, to begin to make our way back to our boring house in Florida. To be quite honest with you, I'm more than a little worried that everything you said last night was all brought on by the fact that we had a little bit of wine in our systems, we were surrounded by water, and there was a sunset in the background."

"Are you saying you think I said that I wasn't going to leave you because of our surroundings?" Jayme's eyes widened. He couldn't honestly believe that, could he?

"Jaymes, I'm just saying..."

"No, Nick. Don't, okay? I said what I said because I meant it. To be honest with you, I was going to tell you that I want to head home as soon as possible. I don't really want to finish out this year thing. Let's just start driving home today and get there as soon as possible."

"Why?"

"Because I'm ready to get back to normal life. I'm ready to start living life again with you, Nick."

Nick took a deep breath, a smile slowly forming across his face. "You don't need all of this... this romantic atmosphere?" he gestured to their surroundings with a wave of his hand.

Jayme smiled at him, reaching across the table to take his hands in hers. "We can make our own romantic atmosphere, Nick... right at home in Marathon."

Vietnam: Chapter 10

"Nick, can you grab my sunglasses from the dashboard?" Jayme called from the house.

Nick reached back into the car and grabbed her sunglasses. He locked the car doors before heading into the house, shutting the door behind him. He sighed as he kicked his shoes off and set them with the other shoes, remembering how much Jayme had hated when he'd leave them in the doorway for her to trip over when she got home. He made his way upstairs and into the bathroom, intent on taking a long shower.

"Nick?" Jayme called out from the kitchen, wondering what to make for dinner. She made her way out of the kitchen when she didn't hear him respond. About to head upstairs, she spotted his tennis shoes neatly stacked with the others by the door.

"Hey, Jayme, where are ya?" Nick asked as he walked down the staircase forty-five minutes later, in sweatpants and a towel around his neck. "Baby??"

"I'm in the kitchen. Dinner's almost done."

"Oh," Nick smiled. "K, I'll be there in a second... I'm gonna go get the mail." He walked to the doorway and saw his tennis shoes sprawled in front of the door. Forgetting the mail, he made his way into the kitchen and found Jayme stirring something on the stove. "Baby, did you move my shoes?"

Jayme looked up at him, a sheepish blush creeping across her cheeks. "Um..."

"I put them away, because I know how much you hate that... but now they're in front of-"

"I moved them."

"Why?" Nick laughed, clearly confused.

Jayme sighed and walked over to him, wrapping her arms around his bare waist. "Because I miss your annoying habits. They used to piss me off and now... I don't know... they're cute... they're you."

Nick smirked and leaned down, resting his forehead against hers. "I love you, Jayme."

"I love you too, Nick."

Nick nodded, "I know." He moved his mouth over hers and kissed her, relieved that they were finally home. "Hey, is the shoe thing part of your new romantic atmosphere?" He smiled when he heard her laugh.

"If you want it to be."

"Well, it's nothing like wine tasting at the Bacara... but it'll have to do."

Jayme smiled at him, before standing on her toes and kissing him again.