The Gift

Chapter 4

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"You've got to be kidding," Lainie laughed, blushing profusely.

"No way! I wanna go swimming. It's hot. I'm almost naked. Let's hit it!" Nick exclaimed, running into the water like a little kid. "Come on!"

"Not a chance," Lainie said, sitting down on the bank, hugging her knees to her chest. There was no way Nick was going to see her in her underwear. No way in hell.

"Come on, Lainie," Nick whined. "It's warm. I promise."

"Nope," she replied, shaking her head.

Nick slowly made his way out of the water, his boxers clinging snugly to his body, leaving absolutely nothing to the imagination. Lainie's eyes grew wide as she saw the outline of his... She shook her head and looked away. Nick smiled. He sat beside her and nudged her with his cold, wet shoulder.

"Come on. Tell me what's wrong," he said, grinning a little.

"Nothing."

"Come on..." he chided, nudging her a little harder. She laughed a little and looked down. He tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"I just don't want you to see me... you know... without my clothes on," she said softly, blushing.

"Why not? It's like wearing a bathing suit when you swim in your underwear. I mean, it's not like you've never worn a bathing suit before, you know?" Nick laughed. Lainie didn't laugh. Nick stopped, and his smile faded.

"You've never worn a bathing suit before?" he asked, wrinkling his brow. Lainie shook her head without looking at him.

"Lainie..." he said softly, turning her face towards his. "It's ok. I think you're beautiful."

Lainie took a deep breath and pulled off her shoes.

"That's my girl," Nick said, grinning. "You need some help with those clothes?"

"No thank you. I can handle them myself. Been undressing myself for quite awhile now," she replied. Nick snickered. "Wait," she said,"that came out wrong."

"Sure it did," Nick said, raising an eyebrow. "I know all about you southern girls. You play all innocent, but you're really tigers in the sack."

"Yeah. Whatever," she muttered, pulling her shirt off over her head. "And not a word about the stretch marks on my hips. I'm really self-conscious about them."

"What girl doesn't have stretch marks on her hips?" Nick laughed. "I never notice stuff like that anyway. You women are so paranoid about shit that guys don't even pay any attention to. I mean, if I worried about even half as much stuff as a woman, I'd never be able to get onstage. I'd be staring at myself in the mirror saying 'oh, do these make my ass look big?' or 'Ohmigod, I have a blemish on my forehead!'. Sheesh. It's just ridiculous."

Lainie laughed and unbuttoned her jeans. "Turn around," she said. Nick laughed and turned his head. She slid out of them and walked into the water. Nick watched her out of the corner of his eye, smiling to himself. He had the overwhelming urge to run his hands over the gentle curve of her spine, then down to her ass.

"Ok, I'm in," she said, turning to face the bank. The water was warm and relaxing. Nick got back into the water and promptly splashed her in the face.

"Oh! You jerk!" she screamed, splashing him back. A huge splash fight ensued, and soon, they were both laughing uncontrollably with water dripping from their faces. Nick caught her quickly around the waist and pulled her to him.

"Whoa, big fella," she said, placing her hands on his chest to maintain some distance between their bodies. "What was that for?"

"I don't know," Nick said, shrugging. "I just thought I'd kiss you or something."

"Um. Ok," Lainie replied quietly. Nick's wet lips found hers in a sweet, hot kiss. She relaxed the tension in her arms and allowed him to bring her closer. Nick's tongue probed gently into her mouth, and she felt the goosebumps rise on her flesh. He rubbed her back lightly as they kissed. His hands stopped on the clasp of her bra, and he unsnapped it expertly.

"Stop," Lainie gasped, pulling away. She crossed her arms over her breasts and backed up. She turned her back to him and fastened her bra. He eased behind her and grazed his fingertips down her arms, then his lips over her shoulder. She closed her eyes and sighed. It felt soo good to be touched like this... But she couldn't.

"Stop," she whispered, trying to sound convincing.

"I don't think you want me to stop," Nick said softly, kissing her shoulder with his perfect, silky lips.

"Yes. I do," she said, her voice a little stronger.

"Ok," he said, kissing the nape of her neck. She felt chill bumps rise on her arms again, and she shivered.

"Nick," she said softly, "you have to stop. Ok?"

"But why?"

"Because... you just do."

"Lainie... I want to make love to you," Nick rasped in her ear. Her eyes shot open wide and she jerked away from him.

"No," she said quickly, heading to the bank.

"I'm sorry," he said, following behind her. "I shouldn't have said that."

Lainie didn't respond. She pulled on her t-shirt, then tried to pull on her jeans. Her legs were drenched, so she couldn't pull them up.

"Damn it," she grumbled.

"Hey," Nick said sitting down in the grass. "There's no hurry. I promise I won't touch you again. I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable."

"Let's go grab a bite to eat," she said, finally able to pull up her pants.

"Ok," Nick said, sounding dejected. "Listen, Lainie... I'm sorry..."

"Forget it," Lainie said, waiving him off. She pulled a brush from her backpack and ran it through her wet hair.

"No, please. Let me apologize. I just thought..."

"I said... forget it," Lainie said, looking him square in the eye. Nick swallowed hard and nodded. He grabbed for his shirt and pulled it over his head.
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"Lainie, is that you?" the cute blonde shouted. "Oh my GOD! Chip said you lost weight, but... My GOD!"

Oh damn, Lainie thought. Jan Jones. Highschool cheerleader. Beautiful. Perky. And the biggest bitch Lainie had ever met in her life. She made Lainie's life a living hell from first grade all the way through graduation. It was Jan who had first noticed that Lainie was gaining weight in kindergarten.

Lainie, Lainie, two-by-four. Can't get through the bathroom door!

Then when she put on even more weight in high school, Jan's taunts became more viscous.

Hey wide-load, move your fat ass so we can get down the fucking hall

Jan was relentless. She had orchestrated the cruelest pranks on Lainie, and made her the butt of all the jokes. She was the one who had sent Lainie fake love letters from the secret admirer in tenth grade, begging Lainie to meet "him" behind the baseball dugout after school. When Lainie showed up, nervously expecting to find a guy, she found Jan, Chip, and several other "beautiful people" waiting. Laughing.

Nobody's ever gonna like you, Fat Ass. You're disgusting. You're a dog.

Those words rang in Lainie's head as Jan came running up to her in Subway.

"You look great!" Jan exclaimed, holding both of Lainie's hands in her own. "Oh my GOD! I just can't believe it's really you!"

Lainie swallowed hard. "Thanks," she said, weakly.

"Who's this," Jan asked, eyeing Nick like a dog eyeing a piece of steak.

"Oh... uh... this is Nick Carter," Lainie said quietly.

"THE Nick Carter?" Jan said, her eyes widening. "As in the Backstreet Boy Nick Carter? Oh shit! I thought you looked familiar."

"That's me," Nick said, laughing lightly. "THE Nick Carter. I guess."

"Well, THE Nick Carter," Jan said, cocking her head to one side, "I'm Jan Jones."

"Nice to meet you, Jan," Nick smiles. He gave her one of his patented Nick smirks. Lainie looked down at the floor, obviously very uncomfortable.

"Are you staying in town long?" Jan asked, raising an eyebrow and smiling.

"Just a few days," Nick replied. He sensed Lainie's tension, and he put his arm protectively around her.

"Wait, are you and Lainie..." Jan asked, laughing. "No. Strike that. Not possible. What was I thinking?"

"Well, it was nice meeting you, Jan," Nick said, shaking his head.

"You too. Hope to see more of you," she replied, winking suggestively.

Nick and Lainie went through the line and ordered their lunch. When they sat down, Lainie picked at her salad without eating.

"Hey," Nick said softly, "what's wrong? Is it that Jan chick?"

"Yeah," Lainie replied. "She's always been like that. I don't know why I let her bother me."

"Like what? Like a total bitch? Hell, I could see that before she even opened her mouth. Girls like that always intimidated the shit out of me when I was a kid," Nick laughed.

"Really?" Lainie said, looking up at him.

"Oh hell yeah," Nick laughed. He held her hand across the table. She looked shyly up at him, and his bright blue eyes sparkled. She just wanted to run her fingers through that hair of his. She looked back down at her salad.

"We have an audience," Nick whispered, still smiling. Lainie glanced up and saw Jan and her two former cheerleader friends watching them and whispering.

"Imagine that," Lainie said, rolling her eyes. "They just can't believe you're with me I guess."

"Why not? You're beautiful," he laughed, kissing her hand. "I'm proud to be with you. Hell, you're much prettier than those girls. Inside and out. They're really pretty from a distance, but when you get close up, you can see their flaws. You know what I'm saying?"

Lainie nodded and smiled a little. "I guess so."

Nick nodded too, and smiled brightly. He kissed her fingers again and put her hand back down on the table. Lainie felt much better. They finished their meal and Nick piled their trash on the tray to take to the garbage can. On his way back to their table, he stopped in front of Jan and her friends.

"Uh, Jan," he said, his voice low and sexy. She looked up at him expectantly.

"Yessss," she purred.

"You've got a little piece of lettuce right here," Nick said, picking the lettuce off her cheek. "There ya go. You girls have a great day, ok?"

Nick sauntered back to Lainie and grabbed her hand. "Let's go, beautiful," he said, pulling her up from the seat. He hugged her tightly and looked into her eyes. In one dramatic move, and ran his fingers through her hair and gave her a kiss that can only be described as WOW. It was like something out of a Hepburn-Tracy movie. When the kiss ended, Lainie was breathless and her knees were shaking.

"Damn," she muttered, shaking her head. "Just... Damn..."

"Thanks. I'm glad you enjoyed that," Nick said, laughing lightly. He put his arm around her and they walked by Jan's table.

"Bye Jan," Nick called out. "You girls be good."

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