Part 186

After dinner, while Nick got ready to do his part, Howie took Sarah to the editing room so she could see his part. She sat at the controls as he stood behind her, leaning over her to start the tape. She watched as the tape rolled and Howie appeared on the screen.

As the water began and Howie’s hair started curling, Sarah let out a soft whimper.

Howie laughed softly against her ear, "What’s wrong, Angel?"

"Oh my god, D! It’s AWESOME…you look…I can’t describe how you look."

Howie whispered in her ear, "Fuckable?"

His warm breath on her skin sent a shiver throughout her body. "Yeah…It’s probably a GOOD thing I wasn’t watching."

"Oh, I don’t know. It could have been interesting afterwards."

"There’s STILL tonight. I’m taking this with me so I can see ALL of it…Alex and Kevin included."

"You can watch it but NO SEX…not tonight anyway. When we’re done here, I’m taking you back to Kevin’s and putting your butt in bed….NO ARGUMENTS."

Sarah pretended to pout. "But ‘D’…Sweet D…my Latin Lover…don’t you want me?"

Howie laughed, "Yeah, I do but you’re still sick; we have a daughter BOUNCING…"

"I’m tempted to let THEM deal with her," smirked Sarah.

"No…it’s not their fault. I should have been more aware of what was going on with her since you were sick."

"D, it’s hard to get used to having someone else to be accountable for. I was sick and you were worried. Don’t blame yourself."

Howie kissed her. "Thank you, Angel."

"Howie, you’re a good father to her and you’re only gonna get better. Come on, looks like Nick’s ready. I do NOT want to miss Becca’s reaction."

Standing up, Sarah turned and was in Howie’s arms. He put his hands on her waist pulling her close. Their bodies pressed together and Sarah reached up to run her fingers through his hair. Howie closed the distance between them, their lips touching in a sweet kiss, tongues barely touching.

"I love you, Sarah," whispered Howie, their foreheads touching.

"I love you too, Howie."

Arms wrapped around each other, Howie and Sarah headed back out to where the others were and found seats. Nick was already in place and the director called for action.

Becca had the seat of honor. Kevin had arranged for her chair to be placed right next to the main camera, which made it possible for Nick to sing right to 'her' instead of the camera, like the others had done. The song began in all innocence. Nick simply emoted for the camera/Becca as the pre-recorded version played the others' parts.

As the refrain began he smiled at Becca as he sang.

He smiled as he listened to Alex's part, knowing exactly what was coming. Kevin's voice joined Alex's in harmony before leaving Alex to finish the thought.

It's not for me, 'cause only you can save me, oh, can't you see?

As Alex sang, Nick leveled his gaze at Becca and then sang his own part as if his life depended upon it.

The rain began to fall gently as the music swelled once more into the refrain. The water soaked his normally spiky hair and it fell over his eyes, plastered to his skin. Becca watched raptly, her breathing having all but stopped with the first drops of rain that fell. Her lips were parted in a silent 'o' as she lost herself in the music. Unbeknownst only to her, Kevin had come to stand behind her as Nick was singing. As his own part began, he leaned in close and sang in her ear.

Becca jumped and would have fallen off her director's chair if he hadn't grasped her shoulders to hold her steady. The look on Nick's face was priceless. He knew exactly what he was doing to her, and Kevin was just the icing on the cake. He narrowed his gaze to that heavy-lidded, bedroom look that melted more women than just Becca. His voice rose with his emotions and the others on the soundstage faded away as he sang to his wife. What he wasn't able to do with the filming of "More Than That", he was more than able to accomplish with "Drowning." He'd wanted so badly to connect with Becca, to have her there with him and he had been heartbroken by her absence. But this time, this time she was right where she belonged.

He pressed his hand to his heart and closed his eyes as he sang the refrain again and again. He was soaked to the skin by now, glad that no one could tell the difference between the simulated rain and the tears that had begun as he watched Becca. Damn, he loved her so much. This had all started out as an amusing little game, but the more he played to her the darker her eyes became. Damn if he didn't want to just pull her into the pool of water at his feet and take her right there in the rain.

Becca was hopelessly lost. It was like watching him the first time in "Quit Playing Games", except this time he was legal, and damn if he wasn't 'hers'. Vaguely she sensed that Kevin was still behind her, and when he whispered evilly, "Nicky's all wet, Bec," she replied without thinking, "God, so am I."

Kevin chuckled as Becca moaned, too far gone to even be embarrassed any more. Jimmy zoomed in on her face as the song came to a close, satisfied that he had more than enough footage to accomplish what the guys wanted him to do.

The director called 'cut' and everyone breathed a huge sigh of relief. Nick had managed to do his part in one take, a new personal best, and if there were no problems with the rough cut, they would be free to leave. Becca sat immobile, too strung out to even move, and watched as Nick made his way toward her.

"Bec?" he whispered, wiping the water from his face with his hand.

"God." The uttered syllable emerged as a pained whimper and was Nick's undoing.

Lifting her easily from her chair, he took her mouth with his, patently ignoring the catcalls and hoots from the crew and his so-called friends. Finally the need for air won out and he broke away.

"God, Bec."

"Let's get out of here. Now."

"Baby, I can't. Not yet." He moaned pitifully.

"Nicky, please? Take me back to the hotel." The look in her eyes was desperate and Nick was so anticipating easing every bit of that desperation and more.

"Bec-" he whined.

"Don't forget," Kevin said over her shoulder with a smirk. "Everyone's coming back to my place tonight. We gave up the hotel rooms and decided it would be fun to just kick back and all hang together tonight. Sounds like fun, huh?" He laughed, feeling like the biggest party pooper in the world and enjoying every minute of it. Giving a thumbs up to Howie and Sarah, he walked off to the control room to take a look at the rough cut.

Part 187        The Dance Index(2)