Katelin stared wide-eyed at Nick. She couldn’t believe he had just done that. She quickly broke away from him and swam to the shore. Grabbing her clothes, she ran up to Nick’s house, leaving him standing in the water wondering what he had done wrong.
Nick shook his head at himself. That was a stupid move. The bet he had made with Aj was the farthest thing from his mind. He could honestly say that he hadn’t thought about it at all since they had been hanging out. He didn’t know what it was but there was something about her. He shook his head and followed her up to his house.
Katelin collapsed onto a chair on the deck, still soaking wet. The kiss Nick had just given her moments before replayed itself over and over in her mind. Truth was, she really liked it but she was so scared. She hadn’t even been close to a guy since Justin had died and that really terrified her.
She heard footsteps coming up the stairs and looked up to see Nick slowly walking towards her. She put her head down in embarrassment, unable to look Nick in the eye. He knelt down in front of her and forced her to look at him. “I’m sorry, Kate. I don’t know what came over me. I…I didn’t…”
“No,” she shook her head. “I mean…it’s okay. The thing is, I really liked it and that’s what scared me.”
“The truth is….” Nick trailed off, knowing, with his next statement, he was leaving himself completely vulnerable. “I..I really like you. I don’t know when or even how it happened, but it did.” She didn’t say anything and Nick felt his heart tighten.
Katelin didn’t know what to do. She tried to speak but nothing came out. Nick was about to get up and walk away. “Wait….” Nick looked imploringly into her eyes. Kate couldn’t find the words so she grabbed him and pulled his face to hers. She placed her lips on his and kissed him forcefully. Nick was surprised at first but then relaxed and leaned into it. A few minutes later, he pulled away, breathlessly. “Let’s go inside. You’re freezing.” Kate nodded. He quickly kissed her again and grabbed her hands to pull her up. Once inside, Nick led her over to the couch where they both collapsed. Katelin pulled his face towards her again. Nick’s hands started to roam and found their way to her bikini top. He pushed the straps down and moved his lips down her neck to her bare shoulder. A soft moan escaped Kate’s lips and Nick smiled to himself, getting more turned on by the second. He pulled the towel that was covering her body and way and threw it on the floor. His hands moved across her bare stomach and down to the waistline of her bikini. Suddenly, Katelin froze. Nick pulled away and saw genuine fear in her eyes. “What’s wrong?”
She bit her lip. “I don’t…I’ve never…you know.”
“We don’t have to,” Nick smiled at her innocence.
Katelin smiled as relief covered her face. “Thanks.”
He kissed her forehead. “We’ll take it as slow as you want.” He sat down on the couch and pulled her back towards him where they both fell asleep, content just to be in each other’s arms.
***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****
The incessant ringing of the phone at such an early hour brought Brian out of his peaceful slumber. He rolled over and glanced sleepily at the clock: 8:34am. “Who the hell is calling this early?” He grabbed the phone. “Carter, if that’s you, I’ll fucking kill you. I swear.”
“Sorry, Bri.” A familiar female giggle.
Brian’s eyes widened. “Leighanne?”
“Yeah, it’s me. Sorry I’m calling this early, but I’m flying into Orlando this evening and I thought maybe we could get together and have dinner or something. You know. As friends?”
Brian glanced briefly at his sleeping girlfriend. “Sure. I don’t see why not.”
“Good. I was hoping you’d say that.”
“Do you need me to pick you up at the airport?”
“Oh no. Don’t worry about that. I’ll just meet you at Elisabeth’s at 7?”
Brian smiled. “Sounds great. See ya then.” He hung up the phone and smiled to himself. He hadn’t seen Leighanne since she broke up with him 4 months earlier. He sighed contently and then looked over at Ang, wondering if he should tell her the truth.
***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****
Aj woke up to some awful noises coming from the bathroom. He noticed Krista was not asleep next to him. “Kris? Are you in there?”
Krista wiped her mouth and sat back against the side of the tub. “Yeah. I’m here.”
Aj got out of bed and walked into the bathroom. “What’s wrong?” he asked, seeing her sitting on the floor.
“I’m just not feeling well, that’s all,” she told him. “Would you mind taking me back to the beach house? I just want to lay in bed all day so I’m better tomorrow.”
“Of course, sweetie,” He replied, regretfully. He hated to see her like this. “Let’s get you home.”
***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****
“Hey girls! I’m home!” Brooke called as she walked in the door.
Alyssa came out of the kitchen. “Shh. Krista’s sleeping. She doesn’t feel well.”
“Oops. Sorry,” Brooke apologized. “Where’s everyone else?”
Lyss pointed upstairs. “Ang is in the shower and Katelin’s not back yet.”
“She’s not?” Brooke’s eyes widened. “I would’ve thought she and Carter would’ve killed each other by now.”
“Maybe that’s why she’s not back yet,” Alyssa chuckled.
Just then, Ang came running down the stairs. “Hey!” she greeted. “Do you guys wanna have movie night tonight? Just the girls?”
“Sure,” Alyssa shrugged. “Why not?”
Brooke nodded. “That’d be cool. We’re gonna be with those guys forever. We could use a night without ‘em. Why? What does Brian have to do tonight?”
“He’s having dinner with his ex,” Ang answered just as Alyssa took a sip of her drink.
Alyssa spit soda out everywhere. “He’s what?! And you’re okay with that?”
“Sure,” Ang shrugged. “I mean, why wouldn’t I be? He broke up with her. They haven’t seen each other in a while and she’s flying in later. They’re allowed to do that.”
“Very mature of you, Ang,” Brooke smiled at her.
Ang rolled her eyes. “Thanks….Maybe I should call Nick’s. I wonder why Katelin’s not back yet. I didn’t think they could stand each other this long.”
***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****
Katelin woke up to the smell of bacon. She looked around her and realized she was in Nick’s bed. She smiled dreamily, thinking back to the events of the night before. She got out of bed and threw her hair into a messy bun before heading downstairs to see Nick. When she got there, she saw Nick running around the kitchen trying to make breakfast. She tiptoed behind him and put her arms around his waist. “Morning!”
He turned around and kissed the top of her head. “Morning, beautiful.”
“Whatever, Carter,” She rolled her eyes.
He turned around and gave her a kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he slipped his tongue in her mouth. He caressed her back before dropping his arms down to her thighs and hoisting her up on the counter. Katelin reacted by wrapping her legs around his waist and deepening the kiss. She could feel how turned on he was getting. She smiled to herself before moving her lips to his ear. As soon as her tongue touched his earlobe, a soft moan escaped his lips.
“I don’t think so,” she whispered.
Nick stood there, shocked while Katelin pushed him away and jumped off the counter. He laughed as he watched her run into the living room. “You’re just a tease, you know that Taylor?”
“You love it!” She called from the couch. “Call me when breakfast’s ready!”
“You think you’re getting any of this after what you just pulled?” He laughed, going back to cooking his eggs.
“You love me anyway!” She yelled.
“Whatever Taylor,” he chuckled to himself.