"Nick?" she whispered in the darkness.
He stirred a little and looked up at her, "Claire?"
"I'm cold." she said.
Nick laughed and moved to the other side of the bed. He lifted up the blankets and Claire crawled under them, inviting in the warmth of them. She nuzzled her face into Nick's shoulder and he put his arm lightly around her. She was just falling asleep when she felt something cold and wet on her toes. She sat up to see one of Nick's pugs sniffing her feet. She laughed and went to lay back down, when the puppy bounded on Nick and barked twice.
Nick's eyes flew open and he looked at the impatient pug staring up at him with large eyes.
"At this rate, we are never going to get to sleep..." she laughed.
Nick peered at the dog and then at her, "Well, then let's at least do something fun." he said hopping out of bed.
The pug bounded after Nick and Claire got out of bed, wondering if Nick had lost his mind. He came back into the room a minute later dressed in windbreaker pants on and a nike sweatshirt.
"Come on, get dressed." he said pulling the blankets off her.
She sat up and looked at him, "Where are we going?" she asked.
"You'll see." he said mischievously before walking off calling the puppy's name.
Claire got up and put on pajama pants and the Journey sweatshirt. She walked downstairs and saw Nick waiting in the living room, with the dog on a leash.
"Nick, it's 3:30 in the morning, and you have a flight at 7." she laughed.
He nodded, "So we better move quickly."
He grabbed her hand and pulled her out the door. The cold air hit her and she let out a shiver. Nick held her hand warmly in his and they walked down the street a little, till they got to the beach. Claire laughed and walked close to Nick as they walked down near the shore. He bent down and unlatched the leash from the pug. The puppy jumped in and out of the waves as Claire and Nick walked hand in hand on the beach.
"So Mr. Carter, did you plan this or are you just a hopeless romantic?" she laughed.
He squeezed her hand lightly, "I'll miss you when I'm gone."
She almost let out an 'aww' but she held it in. She stepped away from a wave that came close to wetting her feet then she returned to where she was before.
"I'll miss you too. But it's only for three days and I will see you the second you get back." she insured him.
He nodded and they walked along for another 30 minutes or so. Nick called the pug's name and the puppy ran back to them. Nick latched the leash back on and they headed back to the house. After they let the dog in the house, Nick led Claire to the car and she giggled asking him where they were going now.
"You'll see..." he said in a sing song voice.
She smiled as the rode into the center of town. Nick parked on the deserted street and they got out. Claire eyed him and just smiled. They walked down the street a bit until they walked around a corner until they saw a dimly lit sign that read 'By the Light of the Moon'. Claire looked at Nick and he took her hand in his.
"I come here late at night when I need to stay awake to write or practice. I grab a coffee and drink it down here then go home. They open at 11pm then close once the sun rises." he said.
"I have never even seen it..." she said as Nick held the door open for her.
They walked inside and Nick smiled at the old woman behind the counter.
"It's nice to see you again, having the usual?" she asked in a soft voice.
Nick nodded and the woman turned towards Claire, "And what about you little lady?"
"I will have a cappuccino with whip cream." she ordered.
The woman smiled kindly and turned around to begin to make their coffees. Nick and Claire sat at a booth and began talking as they waited.
"Now is this just an occasional thing, or do you make a habit of roaming the town at 4 in the morning?" Claire cooed.
Nick smirked at her, "The moon makes people do crazy things."
"Coffee's done." the woman said.
Nick and Claire stood up and grabbed their coffees, saying thank you, and leaving. They strolled around town, drinking their coffees and just talking. They walked the streets of town stopping and going in anyplace that was open, to see what type of place would actually be open at 5am. Then when the sun started to rise, they drove back to Nick's and saw it was 6:15am. They loaded his luggage into his car, he put on a baseball hat, pulled down low and then they drove to the airport.
After going through luggage check and making all arrangements, Claire and Nick sat down in the passengers waiting section. A few minutes later, they saw Howie walk over talking a mile a minute into his cell phone. He waved hi and sat down, still talking.
"You have to wonder, who is he talking to at 6:30 in the morning?" Nick laughed.
Howie jabbed Nick in the ribs and Claire just laid her head on his shoulder. Nick placed his arm around her and she nuzzled against him.
"Regret seeing the town and missing your sleep?" she asked him.
"Was I with you?" he asked.
"Yeah..." Claire said slowly.
"Then how could I regret it?" he whispered.
She looked up, placed her hand on his cheek and kissed him. He smiled and she laid her head back on his shoulder. At 6:40, Brian and Kevin showed up, talking about the good old days playing baseball in the fields of Kentucky.
At 7:00am, the first class got called to board and there was still no sign of Aj.
At 7:20am, when they were saying final call for their flight, the guys turned to walk on the plane, not knowing what to do about Aj's absence. Then a second later, they heard 'Guys, wait up!' and looked to see Aj and Angie running down the airport to catch up. Aj turned to Angie out of breath and kissed her briefly.
"I love you, and I'll call." he said.
"Love you too." she smiled.
Aj, Brian, Howie and Kevin boarded the plane. Nick kissed Claire softly and waved goodbye before boarding the plane. After they closed the terminal doors, Claire turned to Angie who was still trying to catch her breath.
"And what happened to you waking up Aj on time?" Claire asked.
"Well, when I said he is a pain in the ass to get up at 6am, I meant it." Angie laughed.
The two girls headed to Au Bon Pain to grab bagels and juice before heading home.
