Angel Standing By
Chapter 11
The trip from the arena to the hotel was a quiet one. Claire accidentally fell asleep in one of the bunks with Nick. She had been tired lately.....stressed about something. Nick just wished he was able to figure it out. He stared at her while she slept. She was even more beautiful than the day he met her. He couldn't believe how far they had come in a year............
6 months earlier
"Ahhh!!! Nicky, stop tickling me!!!!" Claire could barely get the words out between giggles.
"Boy, you did it now! You called me Nicky! You must pay!" He tickled her harder now. "You guys never get enough of one another, do you?" Kevin's voice startled the both of them. He looked at them from the hallway of the 3rd floor of the hotel they were staying in. He may have had that deep and sexy voice and that hardened look, but Kev was a complete softy. Even though they were young, he couldn't help but be a bit envious of the two. They got along so well and seemed to care for each other a lot.
"Nope!" they said in unison, and Nick quickly went back to tickling her.
"Well, at least shut the door!" shouted Brian. "No one wants to see you two bein' lovey dovey!"
"Oh, would ya mind doin' that for me Frick? As you can see, I've got my hands full!" Nick shot Brian a devilish grin, not even breaking away from his tickling session with Claire.
Brian just shook his head and closed the door.
"Nick, please stop! I'm gonna get sick!" Claire was trying to sound serious, but they both knew she secretly loved when he did this.
"First ya gotta say, 'Nick Carter is the greatest man I've ever dated!'"
"Nick, you're practically the only guy I've ever dated!" She was still doubled over in giggles as Nick never stopped the tickling.
"Ya gotta say it!"
"Okay, Nick Carter is the greatest man I've ever dated!"
"..........and the sexiest!"
"Nicky!"
"Ah, ya have to say it now! It's the only way to redeem yourself from callin' me that again!"
"You're the sexiest! You're wonderful! You're the best in bed!"
Nick quickly stopped in shock. "WHAT? Claire, is there something I don't know about? Did you drug me one night and use my body as your play thing? Man, wish I wouldn't have had to miss that one! I would've enjoyed it!"
Claire lightly punched him in the arm. "Very funny! You know I wouldn't let you miss out on that one. It wouldn't be any fun if you were comatose!!" Claire bolted for the bathroom and locked the door for fear that Nick would begin tickling her again. Instead, he just laid back on the bed and thought about everything that had happened in the past six months. Claire and him were practically inseparable. He never knew that he could have this much love for just one person. After they had gotten back from Germany, it seemed as though Mrs. McLean discovered that Claire could be a help to the band......and not just to Nick. After two days of being back in the US, Claire sat with AJ's mother in one of their many hotel rooms while the boys were in the studio arranging the first US release. To pass the time, Claire went on the internet and discovered a ton of BSB web pages, made mostly by their overseas fans. Not to her surprise, there was a ton of rumors that were simply not true. Claire spoke up to Mrs. McLean and suggested that there should be someone appointed to dispel the rumors, someone to write the owners of the pages and set them straight, someone to be an assistant to Mrs. McLean since she was their official spokesperson. Once she heard the suggestion, she couldn't think of anyone better to do the job than, of course, Claire. Nick was enthusiastic about the decision. But he noticed at the time that AJ seemed to be distancing himself from her more and more. It hurt Claire, but Nick always made sure to be there for her. He wanted to be there for her forever............he felt as though he was ready to move up a step in their relationship.
"Is it safe to come out?" Claire sheepishly stuck her head out of the bathroom door.
"Yea, come on over here." His smile warmed her whole body. She felt safe with Nick. She loved being in his arms. At night while she laid in bed, it was the one thing she missed the most, his guarding and protective embrace.
"Can I tell you something?"
"Nick, you can tell me anything, you know that!"
"I wanna stay with you tonight."
She shot up in a moment. How did this boy do it? How was he able to read what she was longing for? "But, won't you get into trouble? I mean, it doesn't look the greatest, you staying in your girlfriend's room."
"I don't care how it looks." He sealed his sentence with a warm and passionate kiss.
"Well, how could I possibly say no after that?"
"Great! I'll tell Bri right now! Let's both finish unpacking, and later tonight, oh say around ten o'clock, I'll be here."
"I'll be waiting!"
Nick quickly kissed her on the lips and seemed to almost be skipping as he exited the room!
Later
Ten o'clock seemed to take an eternity to arrive as Claire sat quietly in her room. She unpacked, showered, picked out the perfect nightgown to wear that evening, and was now watching some Adam Sandler movie on HBO. She had seen it a million times before and she soon got bored with it. Before she knew it, she was out like a light.
In Nick and Brian's room
"Awwww! My little Frack is growing up!"
"Shut up Brian!"
Brian could see he was embarrassing his friend, but that didn't stop him from the torture!
"It's not everyday that my little Frack spends the night with his girlfriend........his l-uver!!"
Nick's head shot up. He wasn't sure what to say. "What are you talkin' about Bri? She's not my lover!" 'At least, not yet,' he thought.
"Nick, are you seriously telling me that you're not gonna do anything?"
Brian was looking at Nick a bit disapprovingly. Nick knew how Brian felt about premarital sex. Why should he set himself up for a lecture.
"Look, I'm not gonna lecture you. What I believe is my business. What you believe is your's. Just be careful if you do happen to do anything. You and Claire are both too young and too...........well, you just don't deserve to end up in a bad situation."
"Thanks Frick. I love you too man!" he exclaimed in a sarcastic voice while tackling his pal to the ground.
"Hey man, save it for your woman! By the way, shouldn't you be going soon? It's almost ten."
"Yea, I'd better be headin' over."
"You're making sound like such a chore!"
Nick just flashed his famous smile and walked out the door. He was careful while walking through the hallway. He didn't want to make too much noise. As he approached Claire's room, he heard the faint sound of the TV. He decided he'd better knock. "Claire?" he whispered. No answer. "Claire, open up, it's me." Still no answer. It was unlikely, but he decided to try and open the door, hoping it wouldn't be locked.......and it wasn't! He slowly and quietly shut the door behind him and fixed his gaze on the bed. She was absolutely angelic. He hated to wake her, but knew she'd kill him if he didn't. "Hey sleepy," he whispered into her ear as he kissed her cheek.
Claire slowly opened her eyes, seeing the most wonderful sight in the world. "Hey you. I guess I dozed off!"
"Yea, well, I'm here now, so you don't have to worry about being bored anymore!" His playful grin gave her relief. She knew exactly what he was thinking........exactly what he wanted........and she was ready.
"I see you came ready for bed. Guess you can crawl right under these sheets with me!"
As he pulled back the covers, he noticed her clothing. Claire was wearing a short satin nightgown.........in the color of dark green. She knew that it drove him absolutely nuts when she wore green because it was his favorite color........and because she looked fabulous in it! He knew at that point that what they were about to do was right......they were both ready. He slowly began kissing her neck, moving his way down her shoulder.
"Nick, did you bring something?"
Nick stopped and felt like kicking his own ass. Didn't Brian just get through telling him to be careful? How could he be so dumb! "No, did you want me to go and get something?"
Claire laid there a bit, looking into his baby blue eyes, and didn't even seem to care. "No, it's okay." She rolled him on his back and began nibbling his ear. After that, there was no turning back. That night was the first night of many that they made love to one another.
