"Mmmmm," Kayla remarked, leaning back in her chair and holding her stomach as she swallowed the last of her dinner. "That was so good! I think I just gained about fifty pounds!"

Nick, who was sitting directly to her right, patted her on the shoulder. "That's real attractive, Kay."

She grinned. "You need to be quiet," she warned.

Smiling back at her, Nick pantomimed zipping his lips.

"Good Nicky," Kayla cooed, patting him on the head.

He whimpered.

"Fine. Good Nickolas," she amended.

"Okay, anything but Nickolas. Even Nicky is better than Nickolas."

She laughed. "You're such a weirdo. And what happened to those zipped lips? Huh?" she teased.

He just rolled his eyes. She smiled back at him, and for a second, their eyes locked, and their faces turned serious. Then, the next thing Nick knew, the moment was over, and she was coughing and reaching for her water glass. Nick was going to say something but before he could thinking of anything relevant, Amanda came back into the room.

"The movie's ready, if you're all done eating," she announced. "Although...if any of you really have a strong desire to help me with the dishes, I would definitely have no problem with that."

"Don't worry, babe, I got 'em," A.J. called, already on his feet and starting to pick up plates. Everyone else, which was now down to only ten or fifteen people, got up and started to head towards the den.

"I'm gonna help A.J.," Kayla said as she and Nick stood up.

He nodded. "Okay."

A few minutes later, when Kayla and A.J. were finished with the dishes, and after they had cleaned up the dishwasher detergent that A.J. had somehow managed to spill all over the kitchen floor, Kayla went into the den and found that there was nowhere left to sit. The couch and all of the armchairs were occupied. Then Kayla spotted Nick sitting on the floor with his back against the left half of the love seat, and she headed in his direction. When she reached him, she seated herself right in his lap.

"Do you mind?" she asked in a whisper, turning around to look at him. "I'm freezing." He was wearing jeans and a long-sleeved t-shirt, while she only had shorts and a tank top.

He smiled and shook his head, trying to hide the surprise at her being so forward with him. "Actually, hold on just one second," he said, patting her on the back. She got up off of his lap, and he spread his legs apart a little. "There," he said, patting the carpet in front of him. She smiled at him and sat right between his legs, leaning back against his chest. She took his arms and wrapped them around her waist before folding her own arms across her chest and snuggling up against him. Nick had to force himself to focus on the previews that were playing instead of the fact that Kayla's body was pressed up right between his legs.

She leaned to the side and looked up at him again. "Thanks, Nick," she said with a smile.

He smiled right back. "No problem, Kay."

Feeling his heavy eyelids drooping again, Nick quickly lifted and shook his head in an effort to stay awake. He was still at the Latona house, and they were coming to the end of the second or third movie, Nick wasn't sure which because he had fallen asleep for a little while. Kayla, on the hand, had been out cold ever since the middle of movie #1, and she was still dozing away right there between his legs. During one of those times when she had almost woken up but not quite, she had turned and snuggled up against him so that now her right side instead of her back was up against his chest. Her arms were wrapped loosely around his waist, and her head was resting against his left shoulder so that he could feel her breath against his neck. Nick had his arms around her waist too, and it was taking everything in him not to pull her even closer, kiss her passionately, and...well...experience a little deja vu from that night one week ago.

The movie finally ended, and Nick could hear people on the couch behind him starting to get up. He saw Brian and Leighanne waking up and whispering to each other, as well as Kevin, Mindi, Derek, and Lisa. Nick frowned and squinted, looking for A.J. and Amanda. He grinned when he saw them curled up together in the recliner, both of them fast asleep.

"I'll get the light," Nick heard Brian offer.

"No!" Nick protested quickly. "Don't wake them up."

As if on cue, A.J. and Amanda started to murmur small complaints as they slowly awakened. Brian gave Nick a look saying, Now can I do it? Nick shook his head and looked meaningfully down at the still sleeping Kayla. To that, Brian gave Nick a smirk and left the light switch alone.

"Hm? Is it over?" Amanda mumbled sleepily.

"Yeah," Howie said. "I think we should all be getting home now."

"Oh, okay, I'll walk you guys out to the door," she decided, getting off of A.J. and onto her feet.

"Baby," A.J. protested, automatically getting up and following after her like a lost puppy.

Nick frowned down towards Kayla. He really didn't want to wake her up because he knew that if she did wake up, she probably wouldn't let him hold her anymore. Nick shifted her a little so that he was cradling her in his arms, but when he was holding her, he found it nearly impossible to get to his feet. He let out a frustrated sigh and loudly whispered, "Kev!"

Kevin stopped on his way out of the dark room. "Huh?"

"C'mere," Nick said.

Kevin walked up to him. "What?"

"Will you hold her for a second? I'm trying to get up and I want her to stay asleep."

Kevin nodded and, bending down a little, carefully took Kayla into his own arms. Nick got to his feet and took her back.

"Thanks," Nick said.

"Sure. Hey, who are you going home with? Leigh and Brian?"

"Yeah."

"Want me to take her in my car so y'all can talk?" Kevin offered.

"No...Leigh will probably be sleeping too. And...I don't mind holding her," Nick said, looking down at Kayla. That had to be the understatement of the decade.

Kevin smiled. "Okay. I'll see you back at the hotel then," he said, starting for the door.

"Yeah," Nick agreed.

When the two of them got outside, Amanda, who had A.J. clinging to her waist, was involved in some conversation with Brian, who had Leighanne clinging to his waist.

"You're sure you don't want to just stay here? I don't want you to fall asleep at the wheel or something," Amanda was saying worriedly.

"I'll be fine," Brian assured her. He nodded towards Nick and Kayla. "Those two will probably be doing it in my back seat by the time we get back, so that'll keep me awake."

Nick gave Brian his deadliest glare, but the others just laughed even more at that.

"Well...as long as you think you'll be okay," Amanda said.

"We will be," Brian assured her. He spotted Kevin. "Oh, Howie's waiting for you in your car."

Kevin nodded and went over to Amanda. "Thanks for having us," he said, giving her a hug despite A.J.'s refusal to move. "Are you coming, Bone?"

"Hell no. I'm staying here with my Panda," he said, nuzzling Amanda's neck. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Okay. Bye. Bye Amanda, bye Bri, bye Leigh, bye Nick," Kevin said quickly.

Everyone else also said their goodbyes, and then Amanda and A.J. went inside the house again while Brian loaded up his car. Leighanne got in the front with him, and Nick managed to lay Kayla out in the back so that her head rested on his lap. He mindlessly shut his eyes and began to stroke her hair as Brian started the engine and pulled out onto the road. To him, this felt perfect.

Once again, Nick was furiously trying to collect himself in Amanda's bathroom, splashing cold water onto his face and trying not to think about it. Trying not to think about that night a little more than a week ago when his desires had been fulfilled, when Kayla had let him take her places she had never been before. Ironically, the harder he tried to divert himself, the more vivid and intense the scene in his mind became. Now, instead of being inside his dimly lit hotel room, they were out on the beach at the stroke of midnight, icy cold waves breaking over them and mingling with the heat of their bodies.

Three light knocks on the door pulled Nick out of his fantasy and left him back in the Latona bathroom, leaning against the sink and breathing raggedly. Nick swallowed and barely managed to get out, "Just a minute!" before he began to look for some lotion. He didn't usually resort to this but today it was just getting out of control.

There was a slight pause before a female voice replied, "Open the door."

Nick's eyes widened. It was Kayla. There was no mistake about that. Pure curiosity drove him to go to the door, unlock it, and pull it open.

She was standing there with her hand resting on her hip, her fingers pushing slightly against the lower half of her bikini so that he could see a little more skin than he was supposed to. Nick forced himself to look into her eyes and not at her practically bare hip.

"Yes?" he said stupidly.

"Let me in," Kayla said, smirking.

"Uhm...I'm almost done. Just one—"

"No," she interrupted, laughing and shaking her head. She took her hand away from her hip to put it on his chest and push him backwards as she walked forwards into the small tiled room. Her foot the shut the door behind him, and she reached back to lock it with her free hand.

Nick's eyes widened slightly. "But what are—"

Kayla put a finger to his lips. "Shhh," she told him in a way that sent chills through his body. Smirking again, she stepped away before reaching for the sides of her bikini top, pulling it up over her head, and letting it fall to the floor beneath her.

Nick had to make an effort to keep his eyes from popping out of his head. "Kayla—" he breathed.

"C'mere, Nicky," she begged, taking his hands in her own as she got down on the floor and pulled him with her. She placed his hands on her hips and wrapped her arms around his neck before pulling him to her and giving him one of those kisses that drove him wild. Unconsciously Nick finished undressing both of them as their lips pressed together. He finished and let his kisses move down from her lips to her neck.

"Nicky," Kayla whispered, making him stop and look at her. Their eyes met, and she smirked. "Fuck me," she whispered.

Smirking right back at her, Nick wrapped his arms around her as he bent down to kiss her lips again.

At that moment, Nick's alarm radio started to play loud music, and his eyes shot open. He let out a disappointed sound that was almost a desperate whine when he realized that the dream had ended right before the best part. Again. For the past four nights, ever since the pool party, he'd been having sexual dreams about her, and it was driving him crazy, especially since he hardly ever got to talk to her anymore, let alone try to win her over again. He'd had her that day at the pool party, he knew he had. If everyone else hadn't been around and watching them then he would have done something about it and made her his. But that wasn't the way things worked, not with the two of them. With him and Kayla, there was always something in the way, always something that prevented things from working out so that she didn't end up in his arms where she belonged.

Suddenly Nick realized what song had woken him from his dream, and his lips curled into a sour smile. Of course it would be that song...

Picture this, we were both butt naked
Bangin' on the bathroom floor

Rolling his eyes, he shut off the radio and got up out of bed. Well, despite what Brian had suggested before about laying low, Nick was going to make another move, and he was going to make it today. Otherwise these dreams were going to drive him insane.


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