The Gift
Chapter 2
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Lainie paced nervously around her room. There was no way she could stay in the house alone with Nick Carter. He was just so... gorgeous. And he made her so uncomfortable. And he was so cocky. Who did he think he was kidding in that Armani suit, anyway? It was soooo not him. And he was a jerk. Wasn't he? Well, he really hadn't done anything to prove himself to be a jerk since he had been there. Except for insisting that he stay in the house... Jerk.
Lainie fell back on her bed and covered her face with her hands. Nick Carter was the kind of guy who would have tortured her in school. The kind of guy who would have called her Shamu and mooed at her when she walked down the halls. The kind of guy who would have tripped her in the lunch room and laugh when she fell on her face into her lunch tray. All cute guys were like that. She knew that from experience. That's why she stayed away from them now. Guys like that never changed. Once a jerk, always a jerk. She'd keep her distance from Mr. Nick Carter, too. But... right now, she had a house to clean. She sighed as she got off the bed and stripped off her black velvet dress. She stared at her reflection in the mirror. She still couldn't believe what she saw whenever she looked into a mirror. Her stomach, which was once soft and doughy, was now flat and firm. Her butt, which used to be big and dimply, was now pretty nice. Her legs were long and lean, and the muscles in her calves and thighs were ever so slightly defined. She worked out every day, religiously. Except for today. Today, she didn't' feel like it. But, she would never again be called Two-Ton Lainie. She pulled on a pair of sweat pants, a baggy white t-shirt, and her tennis shoes. She pulled her hair up into a pony tail and went back downstairs to begin cleaning. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she stopped in her tracks, and her mouth dropped open. Nick was holding a trash bag and stuffing paper plates and cups into it. He turned to her and smiled. He had changed into baggy sweat pants and a white wife-beater shirt. He looked so... no... she had to chase that thought out of her head. Nick Carter was one of them. One of the cute guys. The kind to be lusted over from afar. The kind to be feared. The kind to steer clear of.
"Thought I'd get a head start on this. This place is a wreck," he said, shoving a plate piled high with napkins and cups into the bag.
"Thanks," Lainie muttered, looking down at the floor. She walked into the kitchen and began to fill the sink with water. She squirted some Dawn under the running water and Edward had never bought a dishwasher. He said he had one, and her name was Lainie. Lainie laughed at this memory. She really didn't mind washing dishes. It gave her time to think. Anyway, it had always just been the two of them, so there wasn't much to it. Nick came into the kitchen with the full trash bag. He put it in the closet and took his place beside her at the double sink.
"You wash, I'll rinse and dry," he said, smiling.
"Uh no. I'll do it. You don't have to," she said, her eyes downcast and her voice low.
"No. I insist," he laughed. "It's been a long time since I washed dishes, but I think I remember how."
"Well, ok," she said, dipping a casserole dish into the hot soapy water. She scrubbed silently, then handed the soapy dish to Nick. She didn't know what to say to him.
"So, tell me about yourself," Nick said, running the dish under the faucet.
"What do you want to know?" she asked quietly.
"Well, how old are you? What are your likes? What are you dislikes? Do you have a boyfriend? That kind of thing."
Lainie snorted. "Well, let's see. I'm 23. I like reading, movies, and animals. I don't like onions, fast food, and I don't like talking about myself."
"You forgot one," Nick said.
"Forgot what?" she asked, looking up at him curiously.
"Do you have a boyfriend. You forgot to answer that one," Nick said, smiling. His smile was truly breathtaking. And he had the best hair she had ever seen on a man. Lainie quickly looked back down at the dirty dishes in the sink.
"No. No boyfriends for me," she laughed softly
"Oh, are you a lesbian?" Nick asked nonchalantly.
"No!" she exclaimed. "I mean... no. I'm not a lesbian. I just don't... I just haven't had time for a boyfriend."
"Well, I'm glad you're not a lesbian. That would be a shame," he laughed, elbowing her gently. She didn't respond.
They continued washing dishes as Nick chattered on about Uncle Edward and the things they used to do when Nick was a child. She could hear how much Nick had loved his uncle when he spoke of him. Maybe he wasn't a faker.
"He used to take me to this little lake at the back of the property and we'd go fishing. Have you ever been back there?"
Lainie knew that lake well. She meditated by that lake every morning before she swam. She had the yardman keep the area by the lake cut back and neat. She'd take Edward out there in his wheelchair on his good days, and they'd watch the swans swimming peacefully through the still water. Edward had bought the first swans back in the 40's, and the ones that lived there now had to be their great-great-great-great grandchildren. Apparently, the loved the place as much as she did. She nodded her head in response to his question.
"I'll bet the fish are huge by now," he said, smiling. "I wonder if Uncle Ed's fishing stuff is still in the barn. Maybe we can go fishing tomorrow. I'm gonna be here until Thursday. I needed a vacation anyway."
Shit, Lainie thought. Six days alone with him... Six days to have to entertain him. What could she possibly do that he would enjoy? He was a freakin' world traveler. A world famous celebrity. And she was just Lainie Matthews, private nurse from Eufaula, Alabama.
"I think he sold the fishing stuff in the garage sale he had last summer," she replied, dismissively. She pulled the drain plug and let the water out of the sink. She grabbed a towel and wiped down the counters. "Thanks for helping me clean up."
"No problem," Nick said. "Hey, why don't we go to the store and buy some fishing rods and stuff so we can go to the lake tomorrow."
Lainie looked up at him wearily. "Maybe tomorrow. I'm really tired. Today's been pretty draining for me."
Nick's eyes clouded and he ran his hand over her cheek. "I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking. I know this had to be rough for you, losing Uncle Ed and all. You two were pretty close, weren't you?"
Lainie nodded and looked down. Nick pulled her in for an embrace, his hand on the back of her head. She rested her cheek on his shoulder and began to weep silently. She allowed him to hug her... but only for a few seconds. It felt good to be held. Nobody ever held her. Nick's shoulder was warm against her face. She pulled away and wiped her tears away.
"I... I'm going up to my room. I need to lie down for awhile," she said, sniffing. Nick nodded. She walked slowly up the stairs. She fell into bed and stared up at the ceiling. She could hear Nick moving around downstairs, then she heard the television turn on. God, he was so beautiful. She could barely bring herself to look at him. She could never even dream that somebody like Nick Carter would give her a second glance. She hugged her pillow and fell asleep.
She dreamed of being in an elevator with a tall, dark man with green eyes. She couldn't' make out his other features. She was frightened because the elevator was out of control. It was going up and down and bouncing and tilting. It wouldn't stop, and she was panicking. The man with the green eyes held her hand and calmed her. He kept whispering that it was going to be ok, and it would stop soon. She woke with a start, and glanced at the clock. It was after 11pm. She certainly couldn't go back to sleep after that dream. She got up and went back downstairs for a glass of water. Nick was still sitting up watching a movie.
"Whatcha watching?" she asked quietly. Nick jerked and turned to her.
"Holy shit, you scared me!" he exclaimed, clamping his hand over his heart.
"Sorry," she said, lowering her head. She walked into the kitchen and turned on the light. She got a glass out of the cabinet and ran cold water into it. She walked back toward the stairs to return to her room.
"Hey, why don't you come on in here and watch this with me?" he asked.
"What is it?" she asked, stopping.
"I don't know. Some weird Charlston Heston movie. He's been wearing the same fucking scarf through the whole thing. It's futuristic and there's a food shortage, and when you rent an apartment, it comes with a woman. They call them 'furniture'. This is some strange shit."
"Soylent Green," Lainie laughed. "It's called Soylent Green."
"Ohhh ok. Come watch it with me," he said, patting the spot on the couch beside him. She slowly returned to the living room and sat down on the couch, careful not to sit too close.
"I don't bite," Nick laughed.
"I trust you," she said, "but I'm just fine where I am." Nick shook his head and they watched the movie.
"Soylent Green is people?" Nick shouted at the end. "What the fuck? Soylent Green is people????"
"Yep," Lainie said, laughing.
"Oh that's just disgusting. That makes me ill. They were eating PEOPLE."
"You got it."
Nick turned to her. "You watch a lot of television, don't you?" he asked, smiling. His blue eyes sparkled from the glare of the television.
"Well, yeah. I mean, after Edward would go to bed, there wasn't anything else to do. It's not like I could go out and leave him here alone."
"So you haven't been out in two years?" Nick asked, amazed.
"No. Not really," she replied, embarrassed.
"When was the last time you went out on a date?" Nick asked, cocking his head to the side, a sly smirk on his face. Lainie felt the color rise in her cheeks. How could she tell Nick Carter, Backstreet Boy, one of People magazine's most beautiful people, that she had never been on a date before? She panicked.
"I... uhh. I don't remember," she said.
"Well, it must have been a long time ago," Nick said, shaking his head. "Shame, you know. You're really pretty."
Lainie's blush deepened. She didn't respond.
"You don't take complements very well, do you?" he laughed.
"No, I guess I don't. I'm not used... Never mind."
"You're not used to getting compliments?" he laughed. "You've got to be kidding me. You're beautiful!"
"Stop saying that, please," she said, turning away from him. His finger caught her jaw and he turned her back to him. He looked into her eyes and smiled.
"You're beautiful," he said softly. "And I'm going to kiss you."
He leaned in close, his lips just millimeters from hers. She could feel the heat from him. She could smell him. He smelled like shampoo and Tide. She closed her eyes in preparation for her first real kiss. Suddenly, panic seized her. She jerked her head back and jumped up.
"I've got to go to bed," she said quickly. Nick smiled.
"Ok. See ya tomorrow morning. Bright and early," Nick laughed. He stood up, and she could clearly see his hard-on through his sweatpants. He didn't seem the least bit concerned about it either. She was mortified.
Lainie ran up to her room and shut the door. She fell onto the bed and squeezed her eyes closed, trying to block out the image of Nick's hardness. It was no used. Deep inside, she wanted to see him naked.... NO NO NO Not a good idea. Nick was one of the cute guys. She had to remember that. She had to beat that into her pea brain. Nick would hurt her, just like cute guys did. Hell, he probably was just coming onto her as a joke anyway. It wouldn't be the first time. But... God what would it be like to kiss him? His lips looked so soft.
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Nick went to his room and grabbed a handful of Kleenex, quickly taking care of his erection, all the while, thinking of Lainie. She was hot. REALLY hot. Those eyes of hers were just... ugh! He swallowed hard. He had to have her. If she wasn't so damned stuck up. She had to be the snobbiest girl he'd ever met. Nobody but NOBODY ever turned him down for a kiss. Hell, there were girls out there who would give their fucking left arm to kiss him, and this chick turned him down... What the hell was up with that? Snooty bitch...
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