Chapter 16
"I'm so tired," Riana muttered two weeks later as she fell backwards onto her couch. Her feet ached from walking practically the entire country of Germany. Nick had dragged her everywhere. He showed her places that she never imagined, places she didnt know existed. He showed her all of the places where the BSB had played, and Riana had watched Nick the entire time. His eyes lit up as he saw all of the arenas and concert halls. Every single arena had a memory that Nick had told her. He also added that the memories he had in his mind would be better if she was with him.
Nick was so sweet to Riana. No guy she had ever dated, actually met, was as sweet as Nick. It was the little things that counted to her. The way he would affectionately grab her hand, or the way he would kiss her. They always talked, always shared their feelings with one another. Whenever they were apart, one of them would be counting the minutes until they saw each other again.
That night between Brian and Riana was never brought up, but it was never forgotten. Riana would often wake up in the middle of the night, just thinking about that night and what a mistake she had made. But it was all in the past and there was nothing she could do to change it.
Nick still carried the video camera with him wherever he went. He was recording as often as he could, and they would watch them at night before they went to sleep. 'It's a good thing to go to sleep to,' Nick would always say. They would sit on Riana's couch and just watch everything that he had captured on tape. Riana would fall asleep before the video was over and Nick would pick her up and carry her to her bedroom. He would tuck her in her covers and kneel beside her bedside, and sing her a lullaby, like a parent would do to their little child.
Riana found herself smiling as she rubbed her feet on her couch. She heard a knock on her front door and she stretched as she got up to answer it. Nick stood there with a smile on his face.
"Hey," she said as she invited him inside. He didn't sit down but he took her hand and pulled her out on her balcony.
"I missed you," Nick said and took her chin in between his thumb and index finger. He kissed her deeply, leaving her breathless when they broke apart. She smiled as he sat down in the folding chair. He reached out and pulled her down in front of him. She leaned against his muscular chest and sighed when Nick's chin rested on the top of her head. He did the littlest things and those little things made her feel wanted.
"Guess what?" Nick whispered after ten minutes of silence.
"Hmm?" Riana murmured as her eyes threatened to shut. The swoosh that the waves made when they covered the sand made her so relaxed.
"We're done in Europe. We're heading to the US," Nick said with excitement. "
Wow! We're only going to do a certain amount of states, right?" she asked. Nick nodded.
"Our first stop is New York. We're going to spend about three days there and then we're going to do Virginia and then North Carolina. Then we're going to the best state, Florida, and then we're going to Texas, and then to California," Nick said.
"Wow! I've only been to the United States once," Riana said. "And that was for work, so I didn't get to enjoy much of it," she admitted.
"I'll make sure you enjoy it, ok? I can't wait until we get to Florida! I want to show you everything there!" Nick said with a twinkle in his blue eyes.
"So how many days do you think we'll be on water?" Riana asked. She shifted her position so she could look at Nick. She sat indian style on his outstretched legs.
"Well, " he said, wrapping his arms around her waist, "probably two weeks."
"Oh, I don't think I'll be able to take it!" Riana groaned. Nick laughed and leaned his forehead onto her own.
"Trust me, I'll keep you busy," he said.
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By the end of the first week on water, everyone on the ship had gotten pretty bored. AJ and Leah were stuck on board, but Riana took advantage of it and actually hung out with Leah. Ever since Leah had started dating AJ, she rarely saw her. Riana and Leah were talking late one night when there was a knock on the door. Leah opened it and AJ, Brian, and Nick piled inside the room.
"What are you doing here?" Riana asked. Nick came over to her and gave her a quick peck on the lips. V"Well, we were bored and Kevin and Howie ditched us for some girls they met on the ship, so we decided to come and chill out with you," Brian said as he sat down on the comfy couch that Riana and Nick always fought over, but they would compromise by Nick getting one half, and Riana getting the other. It was a tight squeeze, but they always managed to fit.
Nick sat down on the couch and patted the spot next to him. Riana cuddled against Nick as they watched Dante's Peak. When the movie was over, AJ walked up to the TV and turned it off.
"Ok, guys. Who wants to play truth or dare?" he asked them.
"Count me out," Riana said.
"Why? Too scared..." AJ joked.
"No, I just know that truth or dare can sometimes get out of hand," she said.
"Don't worry, Riana. We won't let AJ get too dirty," Brian said with a laugh. Riana smiled and sighed.
"Ok, Riana. Truth or dare?" AJ asked her. She contemplated her decision.
"Truth," she picked, fearing what dare AJ would have asked her if she didn't pick truth.
"Ok. How far have you gone with a guy?" AJ asked. Nick leaned over to look at her, obviously interested.
"That's none of your business!" Riana said, her cheeks turning a slight pink.
"No, you gotta answer!" AJ persisted.
"Fine." Riana grumbled. "Let's just say to the point of no return," she said.
"Really?!? With you!?" AJ asked.
"You already asked me a question, AJ." Riana said with a laugh.
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"I can't believe I did that!" Nick asked as he covered his face with his hands. The rest of the room was still engulfed in laughter at the sight of Nick running down the hall naked. He was a little hesitant at first because the thought of his girlfriend seeing him naked made him feel uneasy.
"Ok, Brian. Truth or dare?" Leah asked as she popped some popcorn into her mouth.
"Dare."
"Hmmm....."Leah thought. "Oh! I got one. Ok, Brian. I want you to kiss Riana, on the lips, for ten seconds. No stopping."
Riana's mouth circled into an O as Leah's words flew out of her mouth. Nick's face was blank, he had no expression on it at all. Riana knew her consequences if she turned down the dare. If you turned down a dare, you had to kiss someone of the same sex. Nothing against Leah, but Riana did not want to kiss her best friend. The guys would object, but Riana and Leah were never going to stoop that low.
"You don't have to do it if you don't want to," Brian said with a smile.
"You just want me to kiss Leah. But, guess what? If I don't do it, you don't do it, so you have to kiss Nick or AJ," Riana said.
"In that case, kiss away!" Nick urged. Deep down he felt a twinge of jealousy as he watched Leah get her watch ready for the kiss. Brian and Riana got closer and closer each second, and Nick had to look the other way the whole time. He looked back and saw Riana sit back down next to him. She squeezed his hand, her way of telling him that she was sorry. He smiled at her and blew a kiss in her direction and she caught it and placed it in her pocket.
"For later," she said.
"Nick. You haven't gotten anything in a while," Brian asked. He had watched Nick and Riana whispering after the kiss was over, so he had some time to brew a question for Nick.
"Truth or Dare, Nick?" Brian asked. Nick tore his gaze from Riana and looked at Brian.
"Truth."
"Ok. Have you ever loved anyone?" Brian asked. He knew this question would get Nick thinking. Brian wanted to know, too.
"Yes, I have." Nick whispered. Riana's heart went out to Nick and she took his hand again.
"Riana, truth or dare!" AJ asked.
"Dare."
"Ok, how far have you gone with Nick?"
"I picked dare."
"I know, I know. Just answer the question."
"Far enough," she said with a smile in Nick's direction.
"Well, I dare you to go into your bedroom with Nick....."
"That's called 7 Minutes in Heaven, and you do that in a closet," Brian said.
"Well, there is only one closet in here and it's extremely small, so I went with the next best thing. No go!" AJ shouted. Nick and Riana exchanged a look and then slowly retrieved into the bedroom. Riana shut the door quietly.
"We're timing you!" they heard AJ yell.
"Riana, umm...you know the only reason I streaked was because-"
"Don't worry. I didn't look anyway," she said, wrapping her arms around his neck."
"You didn't?" Nick asked. She shook her head.
"No. I figured I'd get my chance at the right time and place," Riana said before Nick kissed her and fell backwards onto her bed.
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"I don't know about you but I am dead tired," Leah said as she snuggled into AJ's embrace.
"Yeah. I'm crashing here tonight," he said to Leah. The response from Brian was a slight snore.
"Goodnight Leah."
"Night AJ. Hey! Weren't you supposed to time them?"
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An hour later, Nick stopped suddenly and walked over towards her door.
"What is it?" Riana asked as she fixed her rumpled clothing. She walked over to Nick and felt a tender spot on her neck.
"Great," Riana said with a laugh as she looked at her hickey.
"Hey, looks good." Nick said as he came up behind her.
"It's gonna be hard to cover up."
"Cheer up, a Hickey from Nicky is like a hallmark card. Always care to send the very best," he said, quoting a line from the hit movie Grease.
"Why did you walk over to the door?" Riana asked.
"It was quiet," Nick said. He opened the door and laughed at his sleeping friends.
"Their asleep," Riana whispered. Nick shut the door quietly and walked them back over to her bed. He laid his head on her pillow and pulled her towards them.
"Let's follow their lead," he whispered before both of them were fast asleep in each others arms.
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