Chapter 12

Beth groaned as the crappy sequel to “Beauty and the Beast” finally ended. “She’s out like a light,” she whispered to her boyfriend, looking at Melissa. She smiled. The little girl had fallen asleep on Nick’s lap and was snoring.

“Do you want me to carry her up to her room?” he asked softly.

“Yeah, I’m afraid I’ll drop her. I’m so tired.”

She followed him up the stairs and pulled back the tires. Luckily, they had gotten her into pajamas earlier. As Nick turned off the light, Beth kissed her little sister lightly on the forehead and smoothed back her hair. Then she followed him back downstairs.

“You would be a great mother,” he stated.

“Don’t go getting any ideas, Carter,” she teased. “I don’t plan to be a mother for a long time.”

“Neither do I!” he protested.

“I should hope not. I don’t think you have the body to be a mother.”

He tickled her sides, making her screech. “You know what I meant.”

She grinned, an idea formulating in her mind. “Can we watch ‘The Little Mermaid?’ After all those terrible movies, I think we deserve to watch something good.”

“Okay, if that’s what you want,” Nick said.

She popped the movie in and cuddled up next to him on the sofa, and they stared at the television.

When it reached her favorite scene, she sat up. “This is the best part of the whole movie. It’s so romantic!”

“There you see her, sitting there across the way. She don’t got a lot to say but there’s something about her. And you don’t know why but you’re dying to try you wanna kiss the girl,” Sebastian sang in his Jamaican accent.

Nick shifted awkwardly in his seat. That sounded like really good advice to him, but he didn’t want to scare Beth off. He held a silent debate in his mind about what to do. It WAS the perfect time, since the song was playing on the television, but what if she didn’t want him to kiss her? “Now’s your moment, floating in a blue lagoon, boy you better do it soon, no time would be better. She don’t say a word and she won’t say a word until you kiss the girl.”

When Eric finally got the message and leaned closer to Ariel, Beth was so wrapped up in the movie that she didn’t notice Nick’s hand softly touch her cheek until he turned her face to his. Without warning, he captured her lips in a kiss. It began slow and gentle, and then his tongue eased its way into her mouth. For about thirty seconds, it escalated, and finally ended passionately, and they pulled away, breathless.

Nick opened his mouth to say something, but couldn’t find any words. Beth saved him by leaning in for another kiss. His hands entangled themselves in her chocolate colored hair, and she wrapped her arms around him, pulling him closer, if that was even possible. She eased him back into a reclining position on the sofa.

As the movie continued to play in the background, they were far too caught up in each other to notice.

Chapter 13
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