The bathroom was filled with a sweet scent as I washed my hair with my favorite apple shampoo. It was one of my favorite in the Bath and Body Works collection. I was enjoying my shower immensely, when I heard a funny little sniffing sound. I turned around in the shower and saw Nick staring straight into my eyes, his nose twitching from the sniffing he was doing.
"AHH! Oh God, Nick! You scared the life outta me! What are you doing?" I screamed in panic.
"I am so sorry Heather, I was walking down the hallway and smelled apples, and I came to see what it was from. When I realized it was in here, I had to explore more. To my surprise, you were in here and the smell was intoxicating. I just couldn't help it, I was hoping you wouldn't get mad." he explained turning bright red.
"I don't mind at all. I just have a favor to ask." I asked with a sly smile on my face.
"Anything sweetheart, anything you want." he spoke softly.
"I want you to join me in here and wash my back. Is that okay with you?" I gave him those cute puppy dog eyes.
He just couldn't resist my offer and he jumped right in. He had this silly grin on his face and was trying to hide the fact that he was totally embarrassed. I looked at him and he just looked down. I didn't understand why he was so embarrassed. All I could think of was how wonderful he felt against me, his hands running up and down my back, and his body so close to mine. It was one of the most amazing feelings in the world.
I turned around to face him, looked at him, and saw that his face dropped. I was worried that I had done something. I turned off the water, stepped out of the shower, and wrapped a towel around myself. "Nick, are you okay? Did I do something?" I asked, worried.
"Oh God, no Heather. I am just embarrassed." he said as he stepped out and grabbed at towel. "I am afraid that you won't find me attractive. I mean, I know that we have been together, but this is really the first time you have um…really…um, seen me…umm, well, you know what I mean." he tried to say, but found himself blushing even more.
My stomach got butterflies in it as I started to speak. "Sweetheart, I love you…and I love everything about you. You are the most handsome and, trust me, the most sexy man I know. I don't ever want you to be embarrassed with me. If anything, I should feel embarrassed. I mean, I am by no means the most beautiful woman you have ever met. I am sure that you have had beautiful and sexy fans swarm you. I am sure that I could never compare to them." I said, feeling my heart beat faster.
"Heather, you are right…you could never compare to them…" he said. I felt my heart drop and tears fill my eyes. "…You are more beautiful than all of them put together. Please don't ever forget that." he finished as he wiped the tears from my eyes and then held me in his arms.
Nick then looked at his watch and then yelled, "Oh man! We have to be at Brian's house in 20 minutes!!! We better hurry. It's bad enough that I had him wake up AJ for this and if I am late…AJ will kill me!"
I just looked at him and started to laugh. It was so cute how he panicked and ran out of the bathroom. I found myself looking at a pile of dirty clothes on the living room floor. What was I going to wear? All I could find was a pair of clean sweat pants and a t-shirt. It was the best I could do on the spur of the moment, so I threw the clothes on, tied up my hair and put a tiny bit of make-up on.
Minutes later, Nick and I were on the way to Brian's house. He just kept looking at me, and I was beginning to hate what I had on. "Sorry Nick, I didn't have time to wash the clothes in my bags…" I said embarrassed.
"You look fine hon. I think you are gorgeous." he said.
I laughed and buried my face in my hands.
****
Nick and I arrived at Brian's house with minutes to spare. When Nick told Brian one hour…he meant it.
Naturally, Brian had followed Nick's orders and the three others were sitting on the couch. Howie just smiled as he saw me walk in. Brian and AJ looked confused. When Kevin saw me, he gave me an angry look. I didn't understand, but I just said hi to everyone and sat on the couch next to Howie.
"Heather, you are looking just beautiful. It is so nice to see you again." Howie said as he leaned over to give me a hug.
"Nick, you better have a damn good reason for waking me up so early. If you don't, I am going to beat you till you can't get up!" AJ teased. I just looked at Nick and tried not to laugh.
Kevin and Brian looked over at me, then at Nick, and then right back at me. No one could really figure out why they were here. Nick hadn't given away any hints to Brian, so, everyone was just really confused.
Nick looked over at me and said, "Heather, would you mind getting some drinks for each of us while I talk to the guys for a moment?"
"Sure, I'll be right back." I said softly as I walked towards the kitchen. I got up and started walking when I heard Howie tell the guys that he would help me.
He followed me into the kitchen with a smile on his face. I knew he wanted to talk to me. I was just about to say something before he interrupted me.
"You really love him, don't you?" he said.
"Howie, you have no idea. Nick is someone I want to spend the rest of my life with. He is the harmony in life. It just feels so right. I love him with all my heart." I spoke as my eyes filled with tears.
"Well, Nick is truly a lucky man. You are a beautiful, caring, and loving person. I can see in his eyes that he loves you very much, and he feels the same as you." he remarked as he wiped the tears off my cheek.
I just stood there for a moment and then held up my hand. Howie saw the gorgeous ring on my finger and knew what it meant. His face lit up and he hugged me.
"Congratulations sweetie. You deserve to be happy." he said as tears welled up in his eyes. "I always knew from the beginning that you would be the one. From the minute he looked at you, he knew too." he finished, wiping the tears from his eyes.
"Thank you Howie. I want you to know that I appreciate your support. You are one of the best friends I have and I thank you for being here for me." I told him as we started walking back to the living room with the drinks.
*****
Meanwhile…
"Nick, now tell us what is going on. Does this have to do with Heather?" Kevin asked impatiently.
"Well, yeah, it really does." Nick simply answered.
"Oh man, you didn't do anything drastic did you? I think you are taking this relationship with her too far and going overboard." Kevin responded.
"What?! I love her…why can't you just understand that Kevin?" Nick questioned.
"Nick, look, she hurt her fiancee, and I don't want you to go through the same thing he went through. She is really a big mistake…and you are jumping right into it. I think she is a terrible person for what she did, and I have the feeling she will do it again." Kevin shot back at him.
*****
Just then, Howie and I walked back in.
"Hey guys, what is everyone talking about?" I asked softly.
"Well, Heather, I was just about to tell the guys what is going on." Nick answered quickly, hoping I hadn’t heard what Kevin had just said.
He walked over to me, and wrapped his arms around my waist. He leaned in, kissed me, and then looked into my eyes. "Are you ready to tell them baby?"
I just nodded and gave him a soft and passionate kiss.
Nick turned towards his four best friends and said, "Brian, Howie, AJ, and Kevin, I wanted to tell you that Heather and I are going to get married." looking at them all.
"Congrats!!" Brian yelled.
"Damn, well, I guess that means I can scratch you off my list of perspective ladies, Heather." AJ teased with a smile.
"You two are going to be so perfect. You are just right for each other." Howie finished.
Kevin just sat there, staring at us. He had pain in his eyes and he was obviously upset over the announcement.
"Kevin, what's wrong? Don't you think this is wonderful?" I asked.
"NO, as a matter of fact, Heather. I think that this is a horrible idea. Nick is a very nice guy, and he deserves better than a slut like you. In fact, I know that you will hurt him the same way you did the other guy." he stated as his looked at me with anger in his face.
"Kevin! How dare you talk to her like that?" Nick yelled as he walked up to Kevin.
I stepped in front of him, trying to keep Nick from doing something rash. "Nick, sweetie, it's…it's…it's okay." I whispered as tears poured from my eyes. I quickly turned, looked at Kevin, and then ran out of the room. At that very instant, I could feel my heart break and my world crumble around me.
Nick started to go after me, but stopped, turning towards Kevin. "You son of a bitch! I hope you are happy. You have managed to destroy all that I have in my life. Why can't you just understand that I love her…and I am never going to let her go! I can't believe I thought you were one of my best friends. But I was wrong!" Nick screamed and then ran off to find me.
The others just looked at Kevin in disbelief. They couldn't understand what happened or why Kevin had so much hatred towards me.
AJ spoke up first. "Damn man, I have said some shitty things in my life, but that was not cool. You have no respect for others. I am outta here." He then walked towards the kitchen, hoping to find Nick and I.
"Kevin, why can't you see that Nick and Heather are happy together. They have a wonderful relationship, but you had to butt in. I can't believe you said that about Heather. She is a kind and wonderful person, but you can't see that." Howie said as he stormed off in search of us.
"Dude, cousin, that was cruel. You know that Nick is my best friend, and if he is happy, then I am happy for him. You know what? You're a bastard." Brian said as escorted his cousin to the door. "Let's hope that you haven't ruined everything. Let's hope that Nick and Heather can forgive you. But, personally, if they don't, I could care less." he finished as he close the door in Kevin's face.
Brian then walked to the kitchen, yet didn't find anyone. He looked out the window and saw Nick chasing after me as I ran down the beach. He knew that there would be trouble, so he ran out of the house following AJ and Howie.
Nick finally caught up with me, grabbing me by the waist and turning me towards him. "Heather, please, listen to me." he pleaded.
I pulled away from him, walking away. All I could do was scream and cry. It hurt terribly to know that my life was falling apart. I cried so hard that I collapsed in the sand, my body suddenly feeling very weak. Nick rushed to my side. He tried to hold me, tried to tell me that everything would be okay, but all I wanted to do was hide, hide from the pain, hide from the humiliation and hide from everyone.
I finally sat up, looking out at the water. Thoughts ran through my head. I could think of no reason why Nick would want me, and certainly no reason for me to go on.
"Heather, please, just look at me. I will take you home. We will work things out. Kevin doesn't know what he was talking about. He's just a bastard…don't listen to him. I love you, and I want you to be in my life forever. Please. Please, just listen to me." Nick cried.
I just stared at him. I couldn't hear him…all I heard were the echoing words from Kevin. I suddenly just stood up, and started walking away. Nick was pleading with me. He tried to hold me back. He tried to comfort me. All I could do was push him away and keep walking. Kevin was right, I was a terrible person. How could I ever deserve Nick?
All that the guys could do was watch me walk off into the distance.