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Chapter 17
“Brian if you don’t calm down I’m going to tie you down and stuff you under the bed.” Kevin took a step back from his bouncy cousin.
“I can’t help it. Tomorrow I’ll see Veronica and she’s taking me out!” Brian was all smiles as he talked about Veronica for, what the guys thought seemed like, hours on end.
Aj chuckled. “If you’d put half that energy into our practices our new choreographer would chill out.”
“I try. I can’t help it if Howie signed our death wishes.” Brian turned to Howie and laughed.
“Ha ha. You’re so very funny, Brian. Maybe you should quit singing and become a comedian.” Howie rolled his eyes and went back to reading his book.
“Somebody is grouchy.” Kevin smirked. “You know, Brian, I think you need to share some of that happy, peppy energy with Howie.”
“Peppy, aye?” Brian grinned and evil grin and lunged for Howie.
Within minutes all, except the absent Nick, were in a huge pile tickling each other. For the 15 minutes that they were piled on each other they forgot about the pressures of a concert that evening.
Nick
“Lacy, I’m leaving tomorrow you know?” I sighed as Lacy kept kissing my neck.
Normally, pretty girls kisses were exactly what I wanted, but I wanted to see if there could be something more with Lace.
I pushed Lacy back and looked in her eyes. They only thing they were full have been confusion.
“What’s wrong Nicky-Pooh?”
I grimaced at her nickname. “Can’t we just talk for a few minutes?”
“Talk?” Now her whole face showed confusion. “You’re here, in my apartment, alone and all you want to do is talk?”
I nodded.
“Um, sure.” She turned to hang her feet over the couch. “So what do we talk about?”
“Um, what have you been doing while I was gone?”
She smiled at that. Maybe this wasn’t so bad after all, I thought.
“I’m a strpiper,” She screeched with happiness.
Maybe it won’t. “Really?” I hoped I at least sounded interested.
“Yeah, they call me Lady Luck.” I saw the same glint in her eye flicker as it one did before she started kissing me. “Want to know why?”
Not really, I thought to my self. “Sure.”
She leaned close to my ear and whispered. “Cause if your with me you get lucky.” She leaned back to get my reaction.
“I’m sorry, Lace. I like you and all, but I don’t want to base a relationship on sex.”
“What? I thought only girls say that. And they only say that if they don’t want…” She paused and turned in her seat. She stared blankly at the wall. “You don’t want to be with me.”
I noticed in an instance her personality changed. Her eyes softened and do did her look. She looked scared almost.
“No, it’s not that.” I took her hand causing her to look at me. “I like you, a lot, but you see I want a relationship beyond sex.”
“And I can’t give you that?”
I suddenly felt bad, I couldn’t believe that this was the same Lacy that was just talking about sex and stripers. With the look she had now it seemed almost impossible that she even knew what they were. Almost.
“I don’t know. We’ve never tried.” I immediately regretted the way that sounded.
“Yes and we never will, right?” She looked like she was on the verge of tears.
“No! Look, I meant that we haven’t given that type of a relationship. It doesn’t mean I don’t want to. Because I do.”
A look of shock crossed her. “What…you do?”
“Of course. You’re very beautiful and I like you a lot. I’d like the chance to love you.”
She smiled. “I’d like that.” She took a breath to calm the nerves I rattled. “OK, if we’re going to do this we’re going to do this right.”
“That’s my girl.” I leaned forward to give her a kiss.
Just as I did she leaned back arching an eyebrow. “Hun? What are you doing?”
“I was trying to kiss my new girlfriend.”
“I thought you wanted a non-sexual relationship.” She smirked.
“I do, but…”
“No buts about it. Not that you don’t have a cute butt.” She laughed.
“I love it when you laugh.” I brushed some of her blonde hair behind her ear.
She smiled sweetly. “I love it when you say sweet things to me.”
“I’ll be saying them a lot more.” I sat up and took off a gold ring with a dolphin engraved on it. “It’s a little big, but I want you to have it.”
She reached be hind her neck to take off the thin gold chain. Taking the ring from me she slid it on the gold chain and clasped it back behind her neck.
She smiled absently down at the ring. Slipping on her finger, with the chain making it the perfect size, the slipping it off. Memorizing etches in the dolphin, noting ever glint the light made on it.
She looked up at me and smiled. “I love it. You know what Nick? Hold on.” She got up and disappeared in to her room.
Soon she reappeared with a small box; “My mom bought me this name plate when I was 14. It was a little big then, actually very big; I always had small wrists. I can’t wear it, but if it fits you and you want to you can wear it.”
“Sure I’ll wear it baby.” I took it out of the box. It was a normal, silver, name plate bracelet. It had Lacy written on it in Old English Text.
Lacy helped me put it on. It was a snug fit, but it did fit.
“Now you can kiss me.” She smiled.
“With pleasure.” I paused and smiled. “On one condition.”
“There’s a condition to kiss me?” She laughed.
“No more Nicky-Pooh. I’m not a stuffed bear.”
“Aww, but that’s my favorite name for you.” She stuck out her bottom lip and pouted.
I sighed, “You know the guys are gonna rip on me constantly don’t you?”
She
squealed with delight and kissed me.
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