Survivor
Chapter 16
Bailey was feeling almost giddy as she walked into the room on Nick's arm. She could feel the excitement in the air and it added to her emotions. Smiling the sorority smile, she greeted her sisters and their dates. Leslie waved at them, dragging Brett with her. He looked Nick up and down with cool disinterest. Brett had a lot of practice at these and noticed that if Nick didn't watch himself, he could be eaten alive.
"Nick, you've already met my best friend in the whole world, Leslie. This is her boyfriend and we hope soon to be fiancé, Brett."
"How do you do?" Nick asked, shaking Brett's hand.
"A lot better if the women would lay off the whole engagement trip they're on," Brett answered, taking a swig from his glass. "Can I get you anything to drink, man? It might make the evening a little better."
Nick looked at Bailey, deciding a drink was not going to be needed to make anything better.
"Nah. I'm cool."
"Nick, you've just got to tell us again how you and Bailey fought off that mountain lion," Leslie gushed, wrapping herself around his other arm. "Not everyone has heard the real version of it."
He chuckled deeply. "I think I'm going to pass on that invitation, Leslie. It upsets Bailey too much, reminding her of it."
Leslie nodded understandingly, glancing at Bailey with sympathetic eyes. Bailey fought back the giggle she felt trying to escape. She was in such a good mood and she was afraid that good mood was about to turn into silliness. Nick disentangled himself from Leslie as Bailey pulled him over to another group of people.
"Now, here are a few pointers," she whispered to him. "Carly is the blonde there in the black dress. She always dresses to the extreme, no matter what the occasion. She's from old money, so don't be surprised if she's a bit distant. She feels that's her birthright. Meghan is the brunette in the green outfit. She's really smart, so watch out. She'll try to drag you into a contest of wits that you cannot win."
"Gee, thanks for the confidence," Nick whispered back to her.
"No, I didn't mean it like that. She gets off on making everyone feel stupid. God, could she have worn a worse outfit? She looks like a giant leprechaun."
Nick snorted, playing it off as a cough as Bailey introduced him to the group. They gave him a lukewarm reception. It was obvious to Bailey that was to cover the feeling of inadequacy they had in their dates. Quarterback of the football team...star player on the soccer team...tennis guru...impressive, but nothing compared to her date. Feeling the envious glares Carly and Meghan were sending her, she tossed a saccharine sweet smile over her shoulder as she and Nick sat on a couch. That would teach them not to make fun of her "adventure" again.
As the evening wore on, the liquor flowed liberally. Bailey had a bad feeling as the football players kept their glasses filled. Someone suggested playing a game. Not seeing a problem with it, Bailey and Nick agreed to play with the others. When it was announced the game would be "Truth or Dare", Bailey shot Nick a look of concern. He just shook his head and smiled reassuringly at her.
"All right, Nick," Jakob the quarterback said, "your turn. Truth or dare?"
"Truth," he answered as Bailey slipped her hand in his.
"Have you ever gotten it on with another guy? And kissing counts, too."
"OK, obviously you've heard something," he told him, staring him right in the eye. "But let me give you the truth. No, I haven't. I've never kissed, held, stroked, fucked, or even thought about another guy like that."
Nick quickly and silently prayed lightning wouldn't suddenly strike, suddenly remembering the incident in the mountains after their crash. But, he reasoned to himself, he was asleep and thought it was Bailey.
"Fair enough," Jakob said. "You get to go next."
"Brett," he said, going for his only male ally in the room.
"Truth," Brett answered.
"Do you have any plans of actually getting engaged to Leslie?"
Leslie turned to her boyfriend, waiting for his answer.
"Truthfully, wait and ask me that again tomorrow," he said, playfully pinching Leslie's behind.
"I don't think you can do that," Nick said, knowing the answer.
"Yes, he can," Leslie defended Brett. "I wanna go next. You don't mind, do you, Brett? Good. Nick again."
He groaned good-naturedly, then answered, "Ummm, dare."
"I dare you to," Leslie said, giving them both an evil smile, "to make out with Bailey here in front of us for two minutes."
"I am not going to do that. Bailey is a lady and I am not going to do something as vulgar as that," he answered, standing up.
A chorus of boos and groans of disappointment went through the room. Nick shrugged, walking away. He grabbed a coke from the fridge as the game continued with someone else being dared to make out. Cheers encouraged them. Standing propped up on the bar, he sipped his drink, watching the people in the room. Suddenly, he felt so mature in relation to them. I was worried about nothing, he thought.
"Thank you for that," Bailey said softly as she came up behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her head on his back.
"Hey, I meant it," he said, placing his hand over hers and turning to face her.
They stood close to each other, their bodies almost touching. She looked up at him, blue eyes meeting blue eyes.
"I'm ready to leave. Are you?"
"Yeah," he answered, grabbing his coat as they left.
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The ride back up to the cabin had been quiet with only the swoosh of the windshield wipers for noise. Bailey had let Nick drive and she kept a hand on his leg.
They were met with the warmth from the fire as they entered their cabin. They both laughed nervously, awkwardly uncomfortable. The thought of "what now" went through their minds.
"I guess I'll get ready for bed," Bailey said, taking her suitcase into the bathroom.
Now she's suddenly struck with modesty, Nick thought, remembering the sight of her changing clothes in front of him earlier. He sat down, taking off his boots. He pulled the sweater over his head, hearing the static electricity crackle in his hair, knowing it was probably sticking up in a million different directions.
As he stood up to undo his pants, he noticed a bottle of champagne in an ice bucket on the stand next to the bed. He couldn't remember if it was there when they left or not. Either way, it seemed like a good idea. He was removing his belt when he heard the door to the bathroom open. Looking up, he saw a vision from heaven.
Bailey stood in the doorway, wearing a blush colored negligee. Nick stopped what he was doing and looked at her. He held out his hand to her as she walked to him, lightly placing her hand in his outstretched one. He pulled her to him, feeling the incredible combination of her warm skin and cool silk against his bare chest arousing. Take it easy, he reminded himself, as he eased her onto the bed. Lying down beside her, he looked into her eyes while brushing a few stray wisps away from her face. She smiled warmly at him as he did so. Slowly, he lowered his head towards hers, covering her mouth with his. She wrapped her arms around him, running her nails across the skin on his neck before entwining her fingers into his hair. Nick’s hand softly caressed her cheek, causing her to shiver in anticipation.
Breaking the kiss, he pulled back and looked at her, trying to read what she wanted next.
“Nick,” she said breathlessly as his hand stroked her bare arm.
“Yeah?”
“I…” she began, but faltered, suddenly unable to form a complete thought, let alone an entire sentence, as he lightly traced a finger over the outline of her face.
“Shh, it’s all right,” he soothed, kissing her again, feeling her breath mingle with his as his tongue gently danced with hers. “It’s whatever you say.”
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