MARRIAGE OF CONVIENCE - A Nick Story

Chapter One: First Encounter

The pounding bass of the drums in the music could be heard throughout the entire nightclub as the DJ spun his tracks causing the people on the dance floor to heat up their movements. The three couples in the center of the room were doing the most erotic movements, complimenting the music. From the corner of the nightclub, I watched as three of my friends danced with the hottest guys in the club or in the world for that matter. The one that was doing the most erotic movements was my best friend out of the group, Aphrodesia Rosemary McCarthy, or Aph as we call her. Aph was dancing in the middle of the entire crowd with Howard "Howie" Dorough, the owner of the club and one-fifth of the hottest music group around, the Backstreet Boys. I watched as she ran her hands down his chest as they danced to the song, "Bailamos" by Enrique Iglesias before seeing her turn around so that her back was to his chest, so that Howie could smell the sweet scent of Aph's raven hair.

The couple dancing closest to the DJ was a pair that no one could miss, especially the way that the two of them were moving against each other and the way that they were dressed. The girl was wearing a short crimson red skirt and a short black baby tank top, but the thing that caused most people to stare was her fire red hair that had been freshly died that morning, but only I and my friends would know that little fact since she was my baby sister, Dawn Carpenter. Dawn was dancing with AJ McLean, who happened to be another member of the Backstreet Boys; well, not only a member, but the most distinguishable of them all because of his wild bright neon yellow hair, his animal print leather pants, and tight black shirt, plus his signature sunglasses. But I just shook my head at their erotic dancing before turning my head to the third couple, who happened to be my second best friend of the group, Alima Rae Speaks, and the so-called "father of the group", Kevin Richardson, who were doing a seemingly less erotic dance, still enough to be called "dirty dancing" and I mean dirty dancing, because as I sat there, I watched as he lifted her up on his hips spinning her around the room causing her long red hair to spin around like a whip.

The most calmest couple of the night happened to be sitting next to me at the both that I was sitting at carrying on a conversation over the loud music, but they were close enough to each other that they could hear each and every whisper that was said. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see as my third best friend of the group, Heaven Leigh Snow, started to giggle softly as the calmest of the Backstreet Boys, Brian Littrell, whispered something in her ear. As Heaven giggled, I watched as she softly pushed back a long strand of auburn hair that happened to drop into her face.

As I listened to the music and watched each of the couples, keeping a close eye on them since I was the oldest of the group and the most "mature" of the group, I noticed that my glass of Sprite was empty. I leaned over and softly tapped Heaven on the shoulder, who was now softly kissing Brian's lips. As Heaven looked at me, I pointed to my glass telling her that I was going to the bar, but not vocally since there would be no reason because of the pounding music. As she nodded, I scooted out of the booth before straightening my emerald green dress as I stood up and making my way through the crowd to the very busy bar.

As I set my glass down on the bar and motioned for the bartender to come closer, I had the strange feeling that I was being watched, and after telling the bartender my order, I began to survey the room for the person's eyes that seemed to be memorizing my entire body, but stopped as I saw a pair of dark blue eyes staring at me over a pair of dark sunglasses. I keep my eye on the person noticing that the fingers of one hand were resting against their chin as those blue globes watched me with great concentration. The person sat there concentrating on me before I turned to grab my drink as the bartender set it onto the bar. I thanked the bartender and set my money down, but he handed it back to me and told me that it was already paid for. I was about to say something to the bartender, but he was already waiting on someone else.

Already paid for, I wonder by who, I asked myself before coming to a simple conclusion that Howie had been the one since he had paid for our first set of drinks, but I was completely mistaken as I turned around to find the mysterious blue-eyed stranger from the corner now standing behind me. As those blue eyes tried to read my thoughts, I was suddenly hit by the realization of who he truly was. Standing in front of me in a pair of black jeans and a black leather jacket over a Journey t-shirt was the baby of the Backstreet Boys himself, Nickolas Gene Carter, or as Aph affectionately called him - the "man of my desires", but she didn't know how true that really was.

I sat there completely mesmerized by those blue orbs that were his eyes as he leaned down close to my ear softly, yet huskily, whispering, "You're welcome."

I shivered at the feeling of his breath on my neck and ear before suddenly realizing that he had been the one who had paid for my drink. I opened my mouth to say something to him, but nothing came out.

"Ahh, I see that you recognized who I am; well, since you know my name, how about you tell me what yours is?" he said to me as he gave me one of those million dollar Carter smiles that women all around the world loved to see.

"Si...Sierra," I said to him.

"Sierra, that's a beautiful name for such a beautiful lady," Nick said as he softly took my hand in his before bringing it up to his lips, softly brushing them against my knuckles. I shivered again at the sensation as he spoke once more. "Would you care to dance?"

I opened my mouth to speak, but not a single word would come out, so I closed my mouth and simply nodded my head at the exotic man that was standing in front of me. I watched as he softly slid his hand around mine and lead me to the middle of the dance floor just as a slow song started to play. From the instant the melody started, I knew what the song was as he softly wrapped his arms around my waist pulling me close to his chest. I wrapped my arms around his mid-section and leaned my head against his chest as he softly sang the song to me.

As he breathed the last words into my ear, I felt my whole body shiver as he ran his hand down my back and pulled me close to him, so that he could speak into my ear. "Would you like to get out of here?" he huskily whispered to me.

I once again tried to speak to him, but nothing came out of my mouth, showing the amount of possession that this man had over me. I nodded my head at him and he softly took my hand in his hand leading me to the front door of the club, leaving all memory of the night, of my purse, and jacket in the back of my mind. All I could concentrate was on the tall, built man leading me to the forest green Durango that was parked at the front of the club under a pale street light. He softly squeezed my hand in his as he dug into his other pocket grabbing his car keys and unlocking the door with the automatic button. As he opened the passenger side door for me and helped me into the SUV, I caught a glance of his blue orbs watching my lean figured body climb into the truck.

As I settled into the seat, pulling my dress down over my legs, he closed the door and went around the truck before climbing into the driver side. He turned to me and softly squeezed my hand in his as he softly kissed my knuckles once again before taking his keys and sticking it into the ignition, turning the SUV on causing the monster of a truck to purr like a kitten. He looked at me once again to make sure that his unanswered intentions were true and that I wasn't going to say "no" to leaving before pulling out into the street as he saw that it was clear of traffic.

Nick drove for quite a while before pulling off of the road and down onto a small gravel road, which lead to a secluded part of the beach, which Florida was well-known for. Nick parked his Durango close to the sand, but stayed on the gravel since he didn't want his clean truck to be mudded with sand, since "sand gets everywhere". As he parked the car, I began to open the door, but stopped with Nick's words.

"Don't do that. I will get it," Nick said hopping out of the truck and coming around to my side and opening the door for me. "My lady," he said as he held his hand out to me. I slide my small hand into his large one and let him help me out of the SUV. Nick closed the door behind me after reaching into the back seat to grab a blanket before putting his hand into mine as he led me down the beach. Nick led me to the edge, where the surf would be just hitting our feet before stopping to lay the blanket down on the sand. Nick sat down before helping me to sit down in between his strong legs. As I sat down, he softly wrapped his strong arms around me watching the full moon that was glittering on the dark blue ocean.

"So, Sierra, where are you from?" he asked me in a soft whisper that tickled my ear.

"Toronto, Canada," I said to him before turning sideways to look into his face as I softly spoke. "Why me?"

"I don't know. There was just something about you that sparked something in me and I just had to come and figure out what caused that spark," he told me. "Why? Are you scared to be with me?"

That question took me by surprise and caused me to softly blush as I put my head down and shaking it "no" before feeling his finger beneath my chin lifting my eyes to meet his. I knew what was going to happen in that next moment but nothing prepared me for the shiver that went through my body as our lips softly meet in our first kiss, which seemed to burn my lips with pleasure and passion.

The kiss lasted a few minutes before he softly pulled back and looked me into my eyes. As he looked at me, I noticed that he softly began to smile before leaning closer to me once again and taking my lips into another mind-blowing kiss. As he kissed me this time, he laid back before rolling over on top of me so that my back was pressed against the blanket and the sand. Nick took his lips from mine and began to trail down my neck to the exposed skin on my chest. Since the dress that I was wearing was spaghetti strapped and the top of the dress came close to my now heaving breasts, he had easy access and began to kiss the creamy flesh of the top of my left breast. As he was doing this, I felt his hand slide down my side causing a shiver to go through my body before my mind suddenly realized what he was doing. As his hand came to the bottom of my dress that was pushed up from our position, he ran it over the exposed flesh of my upper thigh, which caused me to shift my body. The shift of my body caused him to look up and as he did nothing prepared him for what happened next. WHOP!!! My hand that was now freed from underneath his body had come up and slapped him point-blank range across the face.

"What did you do that for?" he asked me staring at me as if I was from another planet or had five different heads.

"Never, I mean never do that again," I told him as I used all my weight to push him off of me before standing up. I quickly got to my feet and began to run or fast-walk as fast as my legs would take me. The feeling of being used began to hit my heart and tears began to form in the side of my eyes. I softly blinked my eyes causing the tears to fall as I stopped fast walking and began to stroll before stopping completely. I wrapped my arms around myself to shield my body from the coolness of the night that I felt from being exposed to the night air and from being out of his warm arms.

I stood there a few minutes looking out into the dark ocean before suddenly feeling the weight of his leather jacket being put around my shoulders. I began to shrug it off but he stopped me.

"Don't. Without it, you will get yourself sick," he said standing beside me before coming around in front of me. "Listen, Si, I'm sorry. I didn't..."

"Nick, stop. You are going to make it worse with your excuses. Just take me home," I told him stopping him in mid-sentence. He opened his mouth to say something, but just stopped and nodded his head. Without another word, he led me back to his Durango helping me into the passenger side seat before going to get into the driver side.

The entire way back to the condominium that I was sharing with my friends and sister was quiet except for me giving Nick directions, but he seemed to know his way, which later I would find out the simple reason for that. As he pulled into the driveway, I noticed that there was a couple of extra cars sitting in front of the house, but that didn't shock me since I knew how all the rest of the girls were. Nick pulled his Durango next to Howie's purple Corvette and placed it in park, but he did not turn it off. I began to take the leather jacket off and leave it in the truck, but his words stopped me.

"Keep it. It looks better on you any ways," he said to me before I began to open the door. "Si, I am sorry for whatever I did wrong."

"Nick, just leave it alone. It's just that I..." I began but stopped.

"That you what?" he asked me.

"Nothing. Listen, it was nice meeting you and I wish you a good night," I told him before opening the door and getting out before my heart made me do something that I would regret.

"Good night, Sierra," Nick said to me in a soft whisper that caused a shiver to go through my body as I closed the door. I put my arms through the arm holes in his leather jacket that felt so warm against my exposed skin as I walked up to the door hoping that it was open since on the car ride here, I remembered that I had forgotten my stuff at TABU. I put my hand on the door and turned the knob finding it unlocked. I pushed the door open and turned to close it as I noticed Nick finally pulling out of his spot to leave. I watched as he turned his Durango around and left the condo. As the taillights left my eyesight, I felt the tears begin to fall once again.

Stupid, stupid girl. You had the hottest man in the world in your grasp and you rejected him. Plus, you slapped him across the face, my mind yelled at me as I closed the front door and locked it.

"Shut up. He was trying to take advantage of me. All he wanted was to fuck me and leave me and I didn't want to feel that heartbreak," I said softly to myself as I wiped the tears away from eyes before going up the steps to my room. As I got to the top of the steps, I heard a sound that made me feel worse than anything in the world because coming from the room next to mine was the moans and groans of sex. I slammed my door as I suddenly hear Aph's accented Irish voice yell in the midst of her moment of passion, "OH HOWARD."

Those two words caused me to feel sick to my stomach as I threw myself on my bed hugging Nick's jacket close to my body smelling the faint scent of his Cologne on the leather. Gravity. He wears Gravity. Damn that boy for smelling so good and damn him for doing this to me, I said to myself as tears began to well up in my eyes once again. I cried myself to sleep thinking of how I could be the one having the pleasure of Nick's company in my bed, but knowing that I was too chicken to let him in my heart and for him to take my innocence.

*************
Chapter Two: To Forgive or Not to Forgive?

The next morning, I woke up to find the reminder of the night before tangled around my upper body as I sat up to go get something to eat since I hadn't ate at all the day before. I took the jacket off hanging it on the chair that was in front of the small desk next to the bed, but not before smelling the leather one more time to remind me of his scent. I stretched my tired body and walked into the bathroom that connected my bedroom to Aph's bedroom. As I walked into the bathroom, I noticed that there was a shaving kit sitting on the counter next to an open box of condoms. Boy, I guess Aph was prepared for anything, and the good thing was that she was doing it safely, I thought to myself remembering the scream that I had heard the night before.

As I grabbed my toothbrush to brush my teeth, I noticed that my eyes were bloodshot from crying so much the night before, which had caused streaks of black down my cheeks from the mascara that I had put on before we had left for the club. So as I got done brushing my teeth, I quickly washed my face trying to get the reminder of the night before off of it. I dried my face off and went back into my bedroom to change into some comfortable clothes to lounge around the house in since I knew that there was no way that I was leaving this house. I grabbed my sweats out of the second drawer of the dresser before grabbing a pair of underwear, bra, and socks out of the top drawer. I quickly changed clothes tossing my dress from the night before onto my bed. I put my long blondish-brown hair up in a messy ponytail after brushing out the tangles and sand that had gotten into my hair.

I put my sandals on my feet before heading downstairs to find something to eat but as I got to the kitchen nothing prepared me for the sight that I saw. Sitting in the corner of the kitchen on one side of the large booth that was our dining table was a shirtless AJ, holding Dawn on his lap, as he was talking to a seemingly sleepy Brian, who had his arms around Heaven's waist as she sat on his lap. Sitting next to them was Howie, who was playing with Aph, who laughed as he whispered something in her ear. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a shirtless Kevin sitting on the kitchen counter next to Alima, who was making breakfast.

"So is that her?" the sudden voice of AJ McLean hit my ear as he must have noticed my arrival in the kitchen.

"Am I who?" I said to him crossing my arms across my chest.

"Sierra Nicole Carpenter, what in the world gives you the right to slap Nick across the face?" the angry voice of my baby sister asked me.

"How in the world did you know that I slapped him? And what gives you the right to yell at me?" I said turning to Dawn, who had moved from her seat in AJ's lap to come and stand in front of me.

"Nick called Brian this morning and told him that you slapped him across the face. What gave you the right to do that?" Dawn told me.

"The right was giving to me as their little friend decided to feel me up without my permission and since I really didn't appreciate that, I slapped him across the face. But none of you would know that feeling since all you girls do is screw anything that walks with two balls and a dick between his legs," I told her.

"Excuse me, miss thing! What gives you the right to yell at my girlfriend?" AJ said as he got up coming close to me.

"Well, buster, I got that right for the fact that I am her older sister and you better not take an attitude with me because I may not be big, but I can put your ass on this floor in a heartbeat," I said to him.

"So you think that you can take me," AJ said getting in front of me.

"I can take your ass any day, skinny man," I told him before Kevin's deep voice broke us apart.

"Okay, you two, cool it," Kevin said to us as he got off the counter and coming between us. "AJ, sit down before you get your ass in trouble. And you...what's your name again?"

"Sierra," I spat at him still fuming from my encounter with AJ.

"Okay, Sierra, how about you sit down by Aph here and tell us what in the world happened last night," Kevin said taking my arm as he tried to lead me to the table wanting to take control of the situation but that didn't work since I was the kind of person that no one could boss or take advantage of.

"Richardson, let go of my arm. I can find my own way to the table. Plus, I don't feel like spilling my guts to four guys that I don't even know," I told him pulling my arm out of his grasp.

"Well, excuse me, miss. But you did slap a friend of mine, who I do consider as one of my brothers, and I just wanted to figure out what in the world happened," he told me getting a little loud, but still trying to keep his cool.

"Don't call me 'miss', because my name is Sierra. And I told you that your friend tried to take advantage of me. I know that most girls would throw themselves at Nick to get him to sleep with them, but I am not that kind of girl. And if you excuse me, I think that I am going to go out to get some breakfast, so I don't have to worry about ruining all of your happy-go-lucky moments that you all seem to be having," I told him as I turned around walking out of the room and going into the living room to find my purse before remembering that I had left it at TABU. "SHIT!!" I yelled out loud before going back into the kitchen.

"Oh, back for another round, I see," AJ said to me.

"No, asshole, I came to see if one of your fuck bunnies happened to bring my purse with you back from the club," I told him.

"Excuse me, but Heaven and I did not do anything last night except sleep and yes, we put it over on top of the fridge," Brian said to me.

"Well, thank you, Brian, for remembering my purse, but I don't think that the information that Nick shared with you should have been shared with the rest of the group, since friends are supposed to keep each other's secrets," I said grabbing my purse and leaving the kitchen before he could retaliate.

**********

After grabbing something to eat at McDonald's, I decided that I should get back to the condo since I knew that the guys would be gone, but as I pulled into the driveway, I found out that I was completely wrong, all four cars were still in the driveway. "Fuck," I said to myself as I got of the VW Beetle that I had rented and walked to the front door. I opened the door to find Brian, Heaven, Howie, and Aph sitting in the living room watching Saturday morning cartoons, while Kevin, Alima, AJ, and Dawn were in the game room playing a game of pool. I began to walk through the room trying not to be noticed by the all of them as Heaven spoke up for the first time.

"Si, there's something in the kitchen for you," Heaven said to me.

"Okay," I said to her as I made a detour and went into the kitchen to find a white roses sitting on the table with an envelope laying underneath the flower. I opened the envelope and pulled out the letter that was inside. As soon as I opened the folded sheets of paper, the handwriting caught my attention because it was Nick's handwriting, which I could distinguish from anyone else's. The letter read:

Before I closed the letter, one of the tears that had come to my eyes fell onto the paper smearing some of the ink. I folded it up and put it back into the envelope as I took the rose into my hand smelling its sweet scent.

"So are you going?" the sudden sound of Aph's Irish voice behind me scared me that I dropped the rose to the floor.

"Holy shit, Aph, you scared the bugger out of me," I told her as I bent down to pick up the rose.

"I'm sorry, but are you going to go to dinner with him or not?" she asked me.

"I don't think so," I said to her taking the letter from the table and turning to leave the room.

"Sierra, you should go with him and forget that bloody promise that you have told yourself. With or without your control, you are going to get your heartbroken again and you won't be able to stop it," Aph said to me.

"I know that, but I still don't think I want to go and right now, I am going to change and take a swim in the pool," I told her going up the steps to change into my bathing suit.

****************

About an hour later, I was sitting on the edge of the pool in my hunter green bikini slowly moving my legs back and forth in the water as I heard the screen door that lead onto the deck from the kitchen open and close announcing someone's arrival. I didn't turn my head to look who it was, since I thought that it was probably one of the girls coming to check on me, but my thoughts were proven wrong as the slightly husky voice of Nick began to softly sing in a cappella a rare song from the Boys to me, which caused me to turn to look at him.

As Nick began to sing the chorus to me, he came over and knelt down beside me taking my hands into one of his as he softly stroked my face with the other wiping away a tear that was falling down my cheek.

As Nick stopped the song, he looked into my eyes and softly spoke to me. "Sierra, I know that I was a complete and total jerk, but please forgive me. I don't know what happened last night and I want us to forget that and start over from the...," Nick said but I stopped him by placing my finger against his lips.

"Nick, I can't forget what happened, but I do forgive you. And yes, I would love to start over with you," I told him as I looked into his beautiful blue eyes before leaning forward and softly kissing his soft, cool lips. Our kiss was broken as a round of applause and catcalls came from the screen door.

"Way to go, Nicky," AJ said from the door.

"Don't worry about him, sweets. I will deal with him later," Nick said to me as he softly kissed me again before helping me to stand up. As we walked into the kitchen, Nick spoke to the rest of the girls. "Now, why don't you ladies go take Sierra to get dressed while I chat with the rest of the fellows?"

"Okay," Alima said taking charge of the situation since she was just like Kevin, who always wanted to be the boss or the head of the group.

"How should she dress? Casual, nice, or elegant?" Aph asked Nick as they began to drag me to the steps.

"Casual, yet elegant," Nick said to them before watching as they dragged me up the steps to change for my evening with him.

***************
Chapter Three: Advice from Friends

The clothes strewn across the room made the room look like a tornado had come through it, but the sudden sound of Aph's dissatisfied "hmpf" could be heard throughout the room. "Si, we come to Florida and all you bring are old-maid outfits. You knew that we were coming here to find men, especially those five sexy men in the living room. Couldn't you have brought something more sexy?" Aph said as she walked out of my closet.

"Well, no, because I didn't think that I would actually get the man of my dreams?" I told her.

"The man of your dreams. If he is the man of your dreams, then why did you slap him?" Dawn asked me from her spot near the bedroom door.

"Because I didn't want another reoccurrence of what happened before?" I told her. "And you should know that little sis."

"What happened between you and Trent should not come between you and Nick?" Alima said speaking for the first time about the situation.

"I know that, Al, but I still don't want that to happen again. Trent wanted to go to far and I told him no, so he hit me and almost tried to rape me, but couldn't because you guys came into that room," I said to them. "I am not going lose my virginity to anyone who takes advantage of me. I want the person that I love to have that, not some fling that I will have for a few days. I'm not like you guys. I won't fuck a guy and leave them."

"I don't do that," Heaven said to me. "Besides, I don't know what you ladies want to do, but I think that I want to continue seeing Brian even after we leave here."

"But, Heaven, he's a pop star that won't have time for you," I told her.

"He may be a star, but I know in my heart that if I started a different kind of relationship with Brian, that he would want to stay with me," Heaven told me before turning to the rest of the girls. "Isn't that right, guys? Aph, what about you and Howie or Dawn, you and AJ? Or Al, you and Kevin were really steaming last night? Don't you want to continue a relationship with him?"

"If there was a chance, then yes, I would stay with Kevin," Al said smiling a little to herself before she came over to me with a brush in her hand and began to brush my hair.

"Same with me," Aph said to me before she went into the bathroom to grab her make-up bag and a few other things.

"Dawn?" Alima asked my sister, who wasn't paying attention to us, but listening to the conversation that was happening downstairs. The four of us in the room were suddenly shocked as we heard shouting then the front door being slammed.

********

Nick watched as the rest of the girls took Sierra up the steps to change for their date before turning to his friends that were standing around the kitchen staring at him. Nick scanned the room looking at his fellow band mates, trying to figure out their feelings on his situation. Howie and Brian looked at their younger brother with a look that they supported him and his situation, but the two people that didn't look to happy was Kevin, who was sitting on top of the bar looking out the large glass doors that lead to the deck, and AJ, who was searching through the fridge.

"Guys, talk to me," Nick said to them. "What is going on?"

"That's what I want to know, Nick. That girl slaps you one night, the next you want to take her out for dinner," Kevin said to him.

"Well, she had the right to do that. I tried to take advantage of her and I shouldn't have," Nick told him.

"Kissing a girl is not taking advantage of her. That is called making out with her," AJ pointed out to him. "And you should know that because you made out with a lot of girls in your days, buddy."

"Don't 'buddy' me," Nick told him as he threw AJ's arm off of his shoulder, which AJ had put around him.

"Nick, don't get defensive. AJ did nothing wrong, it's that thing of a girl that did something wrong," Kevin told him.

"What is your problem, Kevin? Si was just trying to...trying to...Okay, I don't know what she was trying to do, but I do know that she didn't want my hands on her and she proved that," Nick said to Kevin, who was still not looking at him.

"Nick, that girl wants nothing but your money and your career. She doesn't care how you feel," Kevin told him as he finally got up from his spot on the counter. "I've seen it before Nick. It was the same way between you and Willa."

"Sierra is nothing like Mandah, or Willa, or whatever you want to call her. Willa was the one that wanted my money and a career for herself, but Sierra is nothing like that," Nick said getting pissed before standing in front of Kevin. "That girl up there is special to me and I really like her. So if you have a fucking problem with that, Richardson, then you can take that and screw yourself because I care about her."

"Fine, Nick. Go and ruin your life with that trash, but don't come whining to me when she breaks your heart or tries to ruin you," Kevin said as he grabbed his jacket before leaving the room and slamming the front door as he left. The rest of the guys stared at Nick, who suddenly got angry and rammed his fist into the refrigerator, which was next to him.

"Shit, why does he treat me that way? I am not a child anymore. I can make my own decisions about who I want to date or love," Nick screamed as he continued to ram his fist before Brian grabbed his hand before he could do any damage.

"Nick, he does that because he loves you. He loves us all like brothers and he wants to protect us. That is how Kevin is," Brian told his best friend.

"Yeah, Nicky, we just wants what's best for you. We don't want you to get your heart broken again," AJ said trying to come close.

"I know, but I just don't like being babied. My mother has babied me for all my life and now, I am tired of it. I want to live my own life and that's why I did this album, changed my style, and I got tattoos, which you all knew would piss my mom off and it did and for once, I was happy for doing it," Nick said as he opened the fridge and grabbed a drink. "And for all my life, my mother or the record company has told me who I should or should not date and now, I want that control for myself. Right now, all of this with Sierra and the past two days has been amazing and I don't even know what is going on. I guess I was right, a girl will come and blow my mind. And I guess that is what she did."

He's got it bad, but I hope that this is the right thing, Howie thought to himself before going past Nick and into the living room, where he saw the girls waiting for them.

********

Blew his mind, huh, I thought to myself as I listened from the top of the steps where I was sitting after the girls and I had heard Kevin leave, who we found out had been the one to slam the door. I stood up as I saw Howie come into the living room and whisper something to Aph before Nick followed Howie asking a simple question.

"So, is she ready?" Nick asked before suddenly hearing me clear my throat. Nick turned to see me standing at the top of the steps wearing a short black skirt that wasn't tight, but still hugged the correct places, with a hunter green baby t-shirt. Damn, Nick thought to himself as he came to the bottom of the steps and held out his hand to me. I walked down the rest of the steps before laying my hand into his. "You look beautiful," Nick softly whispered into my ear before kissing my cheek.

"Thank you," I told him before finally noticing his outfit. Nick was standing in front of me with khaki pants and a light blue shirt that brought out his eyes. I put my free hand on his cheek before running it up into his spikey hair. "You don't look that bad, either."

"Not that bad," he said smirking at me. "Are you sure?"

"Okay, you look very sexy," I whispered to him as I leaned up and easily brushed my lips against his in a tender kiss. Nick leaned down and carefully pressed his lips against mine in a more intimate way before the sudden sound of someone clearing their throat behind us broke the kiss. The two of us turned to see AJ standing there looking as if he wanted to say something.

"Bone, just say it," Dawn said from her spot near the kitchen door. (That girl just loves doorways. Just kidding, Dawn.)

"Okay, okay. Sierra, I'm sorry for the way that I acted this morning. I shouldn't have judged you before I knew you and I'm sorry," AJ said looking down at the floor. As he did this, I let go of Nick's hand and turned towards AJ. I stepped closer to him and wrapped my arms around him, causing both Nick and him to gasp in shock.

"I'm sorry, too, Alex, but thank you for apologizing," I told AJ before tenderly kissing his cheek, which caused AJ to blush since I called him by a name that only a select few could call him by. After I let AJ go back to Dawn, Nick came over to me and delicately wrapped his arms around me kissing my neck.

"That was sweet," Nick said to me.

"Thanks," I told him as I turned around to him and wrapped my arms around his waist.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked me.

"Yes," I said to him as he took my hand after I grabbed his leather jacket that I had put on a chair in the living room. Nick helped me into it before taking my hand once again.

"Night, you two. Be careful," Heaven said to us as Nick opened the front door and let me go first as he answered Heaven.

"We will," Nick said to her.

********

"He's got it bad," Howie said out loud.

"Who's got what bad?" Heaven spoke.

"Nick," Howie said.

"What about Nick?" AJ asked him.

"Nick's in love with her, but he can't see that and that is going to hurt him," Howie said to the gang that was staring at him.

"Well, I guess that he will have to figure that out by himself," Aph told him.

"Yeah, and I hope that he realizes it soon or we will all be in a lot of trouble," Howie told them as they watched the couple walk to Nick's hunter green Durango and get in before Howie closed the front door. Be careful, Nicky boy, and treat her right, Howie thought to himself as he joined the rest of the gang, who had gone into the kitchen.

**************
Chapter Four: First Base with a Little Twist

Nick pulled his Durango into a parking spot near the fairly empty looking restaurant. Nick turned the SUV off before getting out of the truck and coming over to the passenger side opening the door for me. Nick took my hand into his and led me to the front door of the restaurant that seemed like a little mom and pop store. The older woman behind the counter smiled as she saw us come into the front door, which Nick held open for us.

"Nickolas, it's been so long since you have come to visit me," the older lady said with a heavy Italian accent as she came around the counter coming over to Nick and kissing both of his cheeks.

"I know, Agnes, but I've been so busy with my new album," he told the older lady.

"Yes, and a good one it is. Later, you will need to sign the copy I have for my Julie," she told him before leading us to a small table in the corner.

"I will, but first, Agnes, let me introduce you to this beautiful lady. Sierra Carpenter, meet Agnes Samson; Agnes, this is my beautiful girl, Sierra," Nick said.

"It's nice to meet you, my dear," Agnes said to me as she softly kissed my cheek.

"It's nice to meet you, too," I told her.

"I will go and get your food," Agnes said turning to me and saying, "Don't let this one get to pushy."

"Don't worry, I won't," I told her as she left the table. "Our food?"

"Yes, I come here so often that she already knows what to get," Nick said answering my question as he placed his hand over my hand, which had been lying on the table.

"I like this place," I said trying to start a conversation with the man that was staring at me as if I would disappear any second, if he took his eyes off of me.

"Yeah," Nick said to me before opening his mouth to say something else, but closed it back.

"What?" I asked him.

"Nothing," Nick told me as he gently rubbed his fingers against my knuckles.

"Come on, it has to be something or you wouldn't be staring at me like that," I told him.

"What happened?" Nick asked me.

"What happened when?" I asked not knowing what he was talking about.

"I know that something must have happened to you for you not to like my...my touching you," Nick said to me.

"Nick, I don't want to talk about that," I told him as I turned to look out the window.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked you about it," he said to me before changing the subject. "So what do you do in Toronto?"

"I'm a student and I work at the public library," I told him thankful for the change in subject.

"Cool, what are you studying?" he asked me.

"Linguistics," I told him. "And Library Media Education."

"Whoa, you must be really smart, if you are studying Linguistics," he said.

"I guess, but most people just called me a 'nerd' or a 'bookworm'," I told him.

"You don't look like a bookworm," he said to me.

"Well, Aph is a bookworm and she doesn't look like it," I told him, which caused him to slightly laugh. "Well, it's true. I think that her accent, her confidence in her body, and the way that she can go through any man is what throws guys off."

"So, how did all of you hook up and become friends?" Nick asked me.

"At Aph's bordello," I said to him with the straightest face that I could.

"What?" Nick said to me squeaking as he spoke that word.

"I'm kidding, Nick. Truthfully, Dawn, of course, is my baby sister, so I've known her for all of her life and the two of us went to school with Alima and Heaven through all of our school years. When I was in the 10th grade and they were in the 9th grade, Aph moved to town from Ireland with her family because of the conflicts over there. So after she moved into town, we started hanging out with her and that's how all of us met," I told him.

"Wow, you guys have been friends for a long time, huh?" Nick said.

"Yeah, but it's more than a friendship. All of us are like sisters, except for Dawn and me, we have always been that way since she is my sister, but I guess that rest of us just got along so well that we became more like sisters than friends," I explained to him.

"Same with the guys and me. We are more like brothers, instead of friends," Nick said.

"Yeah, and you don't like being the baby of the group. You are always being babied by people and can't have your way. You don't like that, do you?" I asked him.

"Nope," Nick said to me before realizing that I had heard the conversation that he had had with Kevin. "You heard what was happening, didn't you?"

"Yeah, but don't worry about it, Nick. Kevin will come around, but right now, he's just trying to help you and not let you get your heart broken again," I said to him.

"Jeez, why can't more people be like you, Sierra. You come into my life and blow me away with your knowledge, your unconditional love, and your ability to tell the truth to people," Nick said to me.

"Well, we are a dime a dozen," I told him before noticing Agnes coming over to us carrying a large platter.

"Yes, you are. A dime a dozen," Nick said quietly as Agnes got to our table and set down the platter, showing a large pizza with pepperoni, sausage, bacon, ham, and extra, extra cheese.

"One meat deluxe pizza pie for my sweetest customer and his beautiful date," Agnes said to him.

"Thanks, Aggy," Nick said to her flashing her one of his million dollar Carter smiles. While we ate the delicious tasting pizza, Nick and I continued a casual conversation until the pizza was all gone. As we finished, Nick and I noticed that we were the only two customers in the restaurant. Agnes was beginning to wipe down the tables as her husband, Georg, who I was introduced to during Nick and my dinner, came out from the kitchen and went over to the jukebox that was sitting in the corner. Georg grabbed a quarter from the box on the table next to the jukebox before turning the jukebox on as Joe Cocker's smooth voice suddenly began to drift from it.

From my seat, I watched as Georg went over to Agnes taking the washcloth from her hand and laying it onto the table before wrapping one of his wife's arms around his waist as he took her other hand into his and began to whirl her around the empty restaurant. As I watched, I suddenly felt Nick's movement from the table, which caused me to look up at him as he came to my side of the table. Nick held out his hand to me as an unspoken question to dance with him.

After the song was over, Nick went over and told Agnes and Georg thanks for the food before paying them. Agnes tried to protest but Nick said that he wanted to pay because she had been so good to him.

"Okay, but you come and see me again. Bring your lady friend, again. She is something very special," Georg told him.

"Yes, she is," Nick said to him before coming over to me. "You ready?"

"Yup," I said to him getting up. Nick helped me into the leather jacket before I went over to tell Agnes and Georg bye as Nick took my hand as we left the restaurant. Nick held my hand as we walked over to his Durango, which was the only car in the parking lot. Nick helped me into the SUV before closing the door as he walked around to the driver side. Nick climbed into the SUV and pulled out of the parking lot after turning the truck on. As he pulled out, he turned toward the opposite direction of the condo that I was staying at.

"Where are we going?" I asked him.

"I'm gonna show you something," Nick said to me. "What are you scared?"

"No, just wondering," I said before giggling softly as he took my hand in his and softly kissed my knuckles before keeping a hold of my hand as he drove.

***************

After about twenty minutes, I noticed that Nick pulled off the road and drove down a short road before stopping next to a lake that surrounded the Disney World Resort. The whole scene in front of me made me gasp because the lights of the Magic Kingdom glistened off the calm waters of the lake as Nick turned the truck off before turning around to grab a blanket out of the backseat. Nick grabbed the blanket before turning to me.

"Come on. It's about to start," Nick said as he motioned for me to get out of the SUV.

"What's about to start?" I asked him as he took my hand after coming around the SUV and pulled me to a grassy spot near the lake. Nick laid the blanket down before sitting down on it, motioning for me to sit down between his legs. I sat down between his legs and leaned back against his chest.

"Watch," he said pointing to the sky over the Magical Kingdom before wrapping his arms around me. I looked up at the sky and was suddenly amazed as I saw and heard the first burst of fireworks. I couldn't believe my eyes. Nick had brought me to see the fireworks show that is held every night over the Magical Kingdom. The two of us sat there in the grass on that blanket for the next half an hour watching the different colors of the fireworks as they burst over the Magical Kingdom.

"Wow, that was beautiful," I said mesmerized by the last of the beautiful colors of the fireworks.

"Not as beautiful as you," he whispered to me before softly kissing my neck.

"I'm not beautiful," I told him looking down at the ground in front of me. Nick pulled me back and turned me around to face him.

"Yes, you are beautiful. What would ever make you think that you are not?" he asked me.

"Trent," I told him in a soft voice.

"Trent. Who's Trent?" he asked me causing me to look up into his eyes.

"My ex-boyfriend. That's why I have been so shy with you. I...Trent..." I began but stopped as tears came to my eyes from the memories that just his name brought to my mind.

"Shhh, baby girl, you can tell me," he said holding me tightly to his body. I felt so safe in his arms that I told him the entire story of my relationship with Trent. I told him how he had been so loving at first, but when he began to pressure me into sex that he began to become abusive and possessive of me. I told him about how Trent had broken into our apartment with a knife and attempted to rape me.

"...but he couldn't because Heaven and Aph came in and heard my screams. That's the only way that I got away from him. I got away because they saved me. That's why I am so close with them. They saved my life because if they wouldn't have come in, I probably would be dead. He wanted me dead," I said crying in his arms.

If I run into that asshole, he's gonna be dead. I don't care if I am rich and would be publicly disowned, but I would still kill the asshole for hurting such a wonderful girl, Nick thought to himself as he soothed me. "Shhh, baby girl. He can't do anything to you. I am here with you," he said as he stroked my back.

"Nick, can I tell or actually confess something to you?" I said to him as I began to calm down.

"Of course, baby girl," he said as he squeezed my hand after I linked our hands together.

"I didn't want my first time to be that way. I want someone that would be gentle and loving. Actually, I dream of my first time is with you in your home away from all the chaos of our lives and away from the rest of the world," I told him.

"Maybe your dream will come true," Nick told me as he gently lifted my head to look at him before he leaned down and gently captured my lips in a soft, gentle kiss. The kiss became deeper as Nick gently ran his tongue over my lips causing my mouth to open and allowing his tongue entrance. Nick's tongue gently stroked mine as he rolled us over so that we were laying on the ground. Nick broke the kiss and looked into my eyes. "Is this okay, baby girl?"

"Yeah and Nick?" I said to him.

"Yeah," he said.

"Thanks for asking," I told him before gently pulling his lips down once again to meet mine. The two of us continued to lay there in a make-out session before Nick pulled back as his cell phone, which was in his back pocket began to ring. Nick let out a sigh as he sat up and pulled it out of his pocket before answering it.

"Hello?" he said into the phone as he opened it before pressing the button to talk.

Frack, where in the world are you two? It is almost midnight and we have a recording session tomorrow. You know that Kevin will get your booty, if you are late tomorrow, the worried voice of Brian said into his ear.

"Sorry, Frick. We lost track of time. We are on our way," Nick said into the phone, which caused me to realize that he was talking to Brian.

Good. You might as well stay at the condo with the girls and us, guys, so that you will be on time, Brian said.

"Yes, dad," Nick said as he stood up helping me up before grabbing the blanket. Nick took my hand into his other as the two of us walked to his Durango as he continued his conversation with Brian.

Don't call me that. I am just trying to save your butt since you already did piss Kevin off to the point of breaking stuff, Brian said to him.

"Well, he needs to learn to mind his own business and that I am no longer a teenager," Nick said becoming defensive.

Don't tell me this, bro. Just be careful and get here before we are down one Backstreet Boy, Brian told him.

"Don't worry. We are in the truck and on the way," Nick said getting into the driver side after helping me into the SUV on the passenger side.

Okay, talk to you soon, bro, Brian said before saying 'later' as they hung up.

"Damn him," Nick said as he threw the blanket into the backseat before tossing his phone into the cup holder.

"Who? Brian?" I asked.

"No, Kevin. He's still trying to baby me," Nick said to me as he pulled out of the parking lot and turned the Durango around to head toward the condo.

"I know, Nick. But Kevin does that because he loves you," I told him as I watched his expression turn from pissed to halfway laughing. "What?" I asked him.

"Nothing. You just sounded like, Rok, when you said that. He told me those exact words before we left the condo," Nick told me as he stopped at a red light.

"Well, it's true, Nick. Sometimes people just have to take the parent role with people and that's the type of person that Kev is. He's been the baby of his family for most of his life, but when he meet you guys, he became the older brother and just wants to protect you," I explained to him.

"How can you know so much?" he asked me.

"I don't know. I guess sometimes that I am just a people reader," I told him.

"And you know what?" he said as he stopped at another red light.

"What?" I asked as he leaned over to me.

"I love that about you," he said before softly taking my lips into a gentle kiss for a few minutes before the car behind us honked since the light had turned green. This motion caused us to laugh before Nick sat up and continued to drive to the condo. At one point during the trip, he took one of his hands off the steering wheel and held my hand the rest of the way back to the condo.

*******

Nick pulled into the driveway and parked his Durango in between Brian's BMW convertible and AJ's black Expedition. Nick turned off the engine and got out of the SUV coming over to my side to help me out of the car as I opened the door. Nick took my hand into his before grabbing his cell phone from the cup holder. Nick closed the door sticking the cell phone into his pocket before leading me to the front door. As we got to the front door, I began to grab my key from the my jacket pocket but the door suddenly flung open in front of us.

"Where in the world were you?" Kevin's bass voice boomed in front of us.

"Out," Nick said as he pushed his way through taking me along with him.

"That's not an explanation. It's passed midnight," Kevin said as he slammed the door shut behind us.

"Yeah, so what. I am an adult, Kevin. I don't have a curfew and I have my own brain, so you don't have to be my father or my alarm clock. And if you excuse us, we are going to bed, so I can be up, so I don't piss you off even more," Nick said to him as he led me to the steps that led to the second floor of the condo. "Oh, and Kev, next time, don't ask Brian to call me because I don't need a babysitter."

With those words, Nick led me up the steps before stopping to allow me in front of him to show him which room was mine. As I led to the room that was the farthest away from the steps, I turned around and stopped him in front of the door.

"Nick, I know that most of your arguing with Kevin was not only about you being babied. I know that some of it was about me and I know that Kevin really doesn't like me right now, but I think that's because he really doesn't know the real me or the real you, yet," I told him.

"Si, how do you do that? You, and only you, can you calm me with the drop of a hat," Nick said to me.

"I don't know, Nick, but I think that we should take this slow," I said to him.

"Okay," Nick said to me before looking at me with a questioning look as I put my hand on my bedroom door.

"What?" I asked him.

"That doesn't meant that I have sleep on the couch, tonight. Does it?" he asked me.

"Of course not," I said taking his hand into mine and pulling him into my bedroom as I opened the door causing us both to laugh as we entered before Nick closed it behind us.

*************
Chapter Five: One Last Night

The restaurant/club was filled with people to the rim as I sat in a large booth near the front close to the stage. I was sitting in between Heaven and Alima as the rest of the group was filed around us. From left to right, we sat AJ, Dawn, Brian, Heaven, myself, Alima, Kevin, Howie, and Aph. Nick was not sitting with us because we were all at Orlando's House of Blues awaiting Nick's first solo concert for his new solo album, Now or Never. As the house lights began to dim people clapped as the curtain began to rise to show's Nick's band, Born Into Kaos, sitting at their instruments. They began to play a very rocking introduction to the song, Help Me, before Nick suddenly jumped from behind the drum set onto the stage. As Nick did this, Heaven nudged me pointing to the boy that had stolen my heart for the past week, which caused a smile to come to my face. Tonight was the last night that I would have with Nick and tonight was the night that I would know the feelings of a man.

After doing a stellar performance of Help Me and another favorite song of mine from his album, Blow Your Mind, Nick got to the calm, quiet portion of his performance. Nick grabbed a barstool that was close to one of the speakers and exchanged his electric guitar for an acoustic guitar. Nick sat down on the stool before speaking into the microphone.

"So did you all enjoy that?" Nick asked the crowd, which gave him applause. "Good. Well, right now, I am going to slow things down a bit and perform another song from my new album, which has gotten a new meaning for me these past few days. Here is a song that I dedicate to a special someone in the audience tonight and I hope that she knows that this is my way of telling my feelings."

"3...2...1," the drummer said as he counted out before the whole group began to play the introduction of Nick's song, I Got You.

After Nick had finished his performance of that song, I watched as he got off the stage after thanking the crowd for their support and love. From my seat at the booth, I watched as he made his way through the crowd before coming up to where I was sitting. As Nick showed up, the rest of the gang excused themselves to go dancing or to get new drinks.

"Hello, baby girl," he said before delicately kissing me on the lips. "Did you enjoy the show?"

"Yes, I loved it," I said to him before cuddling up to his body as I leaned over to whisper in his ear. "Can we get out of here?"

"Of course," he said as he took my hand helping me out of the booth before leading me to the front door. On the way to the front door, we ran into Howie and Aph, who were on their way to the dance floor.

"Going so soon?" Howie asked us.

"Yup," Nick said to him before leading me to the door as Aph yelled to us.

"Have a good time and be careful," Aph yelled.

************

As Nick walked with me hand-in-hand to his Durango, I spoke quietly to him causing him to stop in mid-track in the middle of the parking lot. "Nick, take me to Tampa."

"What?" Nick asked me in shock.

"I want to see your home in Tampa," I told him.

"Are you sure?" Nick said remembering our conversation earlier that week about my fantasy of my first time with him. While on the beach that second night, he had asked me what one of my fantasies would be and I had told him that I wanted to have my first night with him away from everyone. Nick continued to stare at me before coming back into his body as I spoke the one word that he wanted to hear, "Yes."

*********

As we arrived at his home, Nick unlocked the door before leading me into the foyer. As he let me follow him into his home, Nick looked into my eyes to see if I was sure that I wanted what I had told him at the club. As soon as Nick closed the door, a pair of barks could be heard from the back of the house. Without a word, I followed Nick down the hallway to see a kitchen blocked off by a baby gate.

"Hey, boys. I'm sorry about keeping this up. Here you go," Nick said to a pair of tanish-brown colored pugs that stood against the edge of the gate whimpering. As soon as Nick pushed the door out of the way, the two pugs came over to me and began to sniff my feet before suddenly standing up against my legs nudging me.

"Well, I guess that they like me," I said to Nick.

Of course, you are with me, Nick thought to himself before saying, "Yeah, they do. The one on the left is Willie and the other one is Mickey. Mickey is smaller because he was the runt, that's why I got him."

Nick watched me squat down in the hallway petting both of the pugs kneeling in front of me and rubbing the two of them before saying, "Let me feed these two and give them some water. Then I will take you on a tour of the house."

"Okay," I said as I stood up causing the two of them to whimper when I did stand up. I followed Nick and the pugs into his kitchen watching as he got into a cabinet grabbing a bag of dog food, which caused the two pugs to jump with excitement. As Nick interacted with the two pugs, I knew that in the back of my mind that he would make a great father some day.

What caused me to think of that? I thought to myself as I watched him pour the food before getting their water bowl and taking it over to the sink to fill it up. Nick set the bowl down onto the floor after getting it full and softly ran his hands over both of the pugs before looking up at me with a gentle smile playing on his lips.

I gently sighed to myself as I watched him stand up and come towards me knowing that this would probably be my last night with this wonderful, loving, sexy man. I guess I better make the best of it, I thought to myself as he came and stood in front of me before leaning down and whispering.

"What are you thinking about?" Nick whispered into my ear.

"Nothing. Just about you," I said to him as he took my hand into his leading me into the foyer to where his steps were.

"Really. I hope that they are happy thoughts," he asked me as he leaned down and softly kissed me on the lips.

"They are," I said slightly lying as he broke the kiss before leading me up the steps to the second floor of his home.

"I think that the tour can wait until later. Right now, I want to show you something," he said as we got to the top of the steps before he led me down a long hallway towards a set of double doors. Nick took my hands into one of his before opening the door to reveal his master bedroom. Nick led me into the room and pulled me across the room toward a set of balcony doors. Nick let my hand go and open the doors for me revealing a breath-taking view of the ocean.

"Go on," he said as he watched me take in the view. I stepped onto the balcony and looked around myself and saw that for miles in front of us was nothing but the calm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. I went towards the railing and gently leaned onto it watching the waters gently wash back and forth over the beach.

"It's beautiful," I said as I felt Nick's presence behind me before he softly wrapped his strong arms around me as he gently whispered in my ear.

"Not as beautiful as you," he said to me before gently kissing my neck. Nick turned me around in his arms and gently kissed my lips before saying the three words that I never thought that I would hear from him. "I love you," he said to me.

I pulled back and stared into his eyes seeing if I had truly heard what he had said to me.

"Si, did you hear me? I said that I love you," Nick said taking my hands into his.

"Yes, I heard you. And Nicky?" I said leaning up to kiss him.

"Yeah," he said against my lips.

"I love you, too," I told him as I kissed him fully on the lips.

*************

The two of us now stood in the middle of Nick's bedroom looking into each other's eyes as Nick took a remote from the table next to the bed and turned on the stereo that was positioned on his entertainment center. The music coming from the stereo caused me to softly laugh.

"You weren't planning this, were you?" I asked him causing him to softly blush.

"No, I was just hoping that it would happen," Nick said before taking my hand into his leading me to the center of the room. Nick softly wrapped his arms around me pulling me close to his body as the soulful sound of Boyz II Men's I'll Make Love To You began to come from the stereo.

"Damn, baby, why did you hide this from me?" Nick said as he glanced over my upper body noticing that I wasn't wearing a bra since I had been wearing a tank top that a bra wasn't required for. I giggled from embarrassment covering myself up but Nick took my hands and put them in his as he led me over to a recliner before letting me sit down as he said, "No, don't. You are beautiful, perfectly beautiful."

As I sat down, Nick got down on his knees in front of me and kissed me softly before running his hands down my body going passed my breast after he softly rubbed each before going to the top of my jeans that I was wearing. Nick softly ran his fingers across my stomach causing me to gently shutter under his fingers before he put his hands on the top of my jeans gently pulling them apart causing the zipper to go down.

"Lift up, baby," Nick said to me as I lifted my hips up so that he could pull down my jeans. Nick pulled my jeans off my body taking my sandals off with them before standing up leaving me sitting there in only my panties. I watched as he stood up dropping my clothes next to the recliner before starting to sway his body to the music. The rhythm of his body took my breath away as he rubbed his hands down his chest before crossing them across his body as they stopped at the bottom of his black Journey t-shirt. I gazed in wonder as he gently began to tug his shirt over his chest slowly revealing his taut male nipples and then revealing one of his newest tattoos, which were a pair of feet that sat very close to his collarbones.

"Damn," I whispered a little louder than expected because Nick threw his t-shirt onto my lap teasing me as he spoke to me.

"There's more than that, baby girl," Nick said as he ran his hands down his body, but stopped as I stood up coming closer to him. I walked over to him swaying my hips as I took his hands into mine before leaning up and whispering into his ears.

"Let me do that," I told him. Nick dropped his hands to his side as I slowly turned around pressed my body against his bare chest but as I rubbed my body up and down the front of his body as "Blow Your Mind" came onto the stereo causing Nick to groan. Out of the side of my eye, I noticed that he reached for the remote that he had dropped.

"Don't change it," I whispered seductively to him as I turned and gently kissed him on the lips before slowly sinking to my knees in front of him.

"Baby, what are you doing?" he asked me.

"I'm gonna blow your mind," I said seductively singing the last three words with his voice on the stereo as I ran my hands over his stomach before reaching the top of his jeans. I carefully undid the buckle of his Journey belt before pulling it out of the loops and throwing it onto my clothes.

"You don't have to do this. Tonight is about you," he said to me lifting my head up to meet his eyes.

"I know, but I want to," I told him as I stood up taking his hand into mine causing him to follow me. I pushed him slightly that he fell into the chair that I had occupied before standing up and playfully straddling his hips. I leaned down and snaked my tongue out running it over his left collarbone before running over and around the left footprint tattoo. This action caused Nick to moan causing his chest to ripple as I slowly got off his body and seductively moving my hips to the chorus of the song.

After swaying my hips seductively, I sank to my knees in front of him slowly moving my hands down his body as I got down to my hands. I ran my hands back up his body before pulling them down meeting the top of his jeans. I easily pulled apart the top of his jeans pulling the zipper down. I put my hands on the flap of his jeans and gently tugged them causing Nick to lift his hips allowing me to pull them off of his body. I chuckled to myself as I saw that he was wearing a pair of green silk boxers with the words "NOW OR NEVER" written in silver on them.

I guess that this is it. It really is Now or Never, I thought to myself as I pulled his jeans off the entire way removing his shoes and socks with them. I tossed them onto the floor behind me before turning to notice that the tip of Nick's erection sticking out from the flap in his boxers. I pushed his legs further apart and scooted my self between them as I reached out for him.

"Damn, baby," Nick said as he sucked in a sharp breath as I put my hand out and gently ran my cold hand over the tip of his penis before pulling him fully out of the flap of his boxers. I stroked my hand over his member getting used to the feel of it as I examined it.

It's now or never, Sierra, I thought to myself as I leaned forward and gently took the tip of him into my mouth getting a salty taste in my mouth that really wasn't that bad since I loved salt. The feeling of my mouth on his swollen member caused Nick's body to shudder slightly as I slowly began to suck his penis like a newborn baby with a bottle or pacifier.

"Oh, yeah. That's how to do it, baby," Nick said as he held himself onto the chair by clamping his hands onto the armrest as he leaned back closing his eyes and leaning his head back. Nick's moans told me that I was doing the job correctly as I became a little daring by taking my teeth and gently raking them across the bottom of his member. This action caused Nick to moan really loudly as I felt him get harder into my mouth.

"Oh my God...baby girl...I'm gonna...cum," he said between sharp breaths as I readied myself for what was going to happen. The pure salty liquid poured from Nick's member slightly choking me but I took all of it and swallowed what he shot into my mouth. As I pulled his out of my mouth, I gently kissed the tip of it before looking up at him to see his reaction. I could see that his eyes were glazed over for a few minutes before he shook himself reaching out to take my hands into his.

"I'll never sing or hear that song the same way again," Nick said as he took my hands in his standing up causing me to stand up from the floor with him.

"So I did good," I asked him a little embarrassed.

"No, baby. You did DAMN good," he said leaning down to kiss me before surprising me as he lifted me into his arms carrying me over to the bed that was near the balcony doors. The next song that came onto the stereo caused me to softly sigh as he laid me down on the bed before laying down on top of me reclaiming my lips in a sweet, tender kiss that caused me to moan against his. He reached up linking our hands together as he began the sweet torture of my body that he knew he could claim as his for one night, and hopefully, for more.

As he slowly began to once again descend down my body, the gentle plea that came from my mouth in the form of a whimper was the only clue that he needed to continue the sweet torture that he was performing on my body, but the sweet torture was not only a release for me, but also a release for him from the pain that had been ripping at his heart these past few days. A stream of light from the moon flooded through the window as he began to run his silky tongue down my neck before reaching the top of my left creamy breast. He gently took the mound into his hand causing me to shiver under his hand as he lightly ran a finger across my swelling nipple that tightened under his touch as he began to knead the mound. But the movement that sent the most waves of shock through my body was the feeling of his hot, silky tongue flicking out of his wet mouth across my right breast causing the nipple to harden before he closed his mouth over the nipple suckling it like a newborn child. The feel of his hot mouth against mine caused a deep gruntal moan to escape from the bottom of my throat as he stopped kneading my breast taking its nipple into his mouth doing the same thing to it as he had done to the other.

Once satisfied that he had paid attention to my creamy breast and now harden nipples, he ran his tongue along the bottom of each breast before kissing a gentle trail down to my belly button placing a wet, warm kiss against it as the tip of his tongue snaked out and delicately licked around my belly button. He gave me a devilish grin for the first time that night as he slide down to the small pair of emerald green bikini briefs that covered a mound of hair that already glistened from the wetness that I had for him. He put his hands on the side of my briefs and slid them down my body and off my body throwing them to the floor.

"Baby girl, I'm gonna use my mouth and fingers to make love to you. This will get you ready for me, okay," Nick said explaining what he was about to do to me, which I really appreciated since this was the first time that I was doing any of this.

With a gentle nod and smile from me, he took two fingers and delicately spread my nether lips causing my whole body to shake as I felt his hot breath on my dripping wet core as he gently took my swollen nub into his mouth causing a gasp to escape my mouth. He carefully sucked my nub as he gently took a finger stroking my aching slit causing my hips to lift from the bed meeting his finger as he inserted one long finger into me. My moaning began to get louder as he stuck one more finger into my joining the first before pushing them in and pulling them out in a slow, torturous rhythm that caused me to grip the bed sheet as he made me ready for him. He could feel that I was near the edge of my ecstasy, but stopped him torture as he heard my softly whimper to him.

"Please, I need you inside me," I moaned to him as he slide his fingers out of me completely before kissing his way back up my body stopping to drop sweet, little kisses on the places that he had tortured before. As he got back to my now pouting lips, he gently kissed my lips easily slipping his tongue into my mouth as I opened my arms welcoming him into them as I sat up with him, as he sat up onto his legs, before I ran my hands down the flesh that covered his muscular back before running my hands down his chest to the top of his boxers I ran my hands into them moving them around his body to cup his tight ass into my hands, which caused him to lift himself from his legs, giving me enough room to remove his boxers. He lifted off the bed for a moment letting me slide them down his legs and off his body throwing them to the floor with the rest of our clothes. As they were discarded, I saw that his erection was hard and ready for me as much as I was ready for him.

"I will be as gentle as I can but this is going to hurt," he said looking into my eyes.

"I know," I said shaking a little.

"Baby, you just have to calm down. If you don't want to, then we can stop," he said to me.

"No, don't stop. I want this," I said to him.

"Okay, baby, now, I just want you to keep your eyes on me. Okay," he said to me.

"Okay?" I said he laid us both back down onto the bed covering my body with his as our mouths meet in another heated kiss. I gently moaned into his mouth as I felt his tip near my now throbbing core as I ran my hands down to his back gently raking my nails down it as I wrapped my legs around his waist.

"Do you want me to go quick or slow?" Nick asked me as he broke our kiss.

"Fast, it won't hurt as much," I told him as I began to close my eyes.

"No, baby, keep your eyes on me," Nick said as he gently kissed my trembling lips as I opened my eyes to look at him. "I love you," he said to me.

"I love you, too, Nicky," I said to him as he pressed his tip to my throbbing area before saying.

"Here we go," Nick said as he entered me, which he did in one fluid movement causing my insides to spread to its maximum capacity filling me completely and me to slightly moan in pain as the barrier of my innocence was broken.

"Baby, I'm gonna stay just like this until you tell me to move. I'll move when you are ready," he said wiping away a tear away that had came from the side of eye. All I could do was softly cry and whimper as the pain took my body before suddenly being released as I felt him gently lean down and softly sing the song that was playing in the background.

"So now I come to you, with open arms. Nothing to hide, believe what I say so here I am with open arms hoping you'll see what your love means to me," Nick softly sang to me as he gently kissed my lips. I kissed him back more passionately as I softly pushed my hips up against him. Nick took this as a sign to continue on. The two of us moaned together as he began to pull out of me before pushing back into me completely in a long, torturous motion setting our pace for that evening. The two of us continued this motion until I felt my walls begin to clamp around him in my own orgasm as he grew hard in me signaling his own release deep inside of me as we came together in deep gruntal moans against one another's mouths. As we came down from our ecstasy, he pulled out of me rolling onto his side trying not to squish me.

Without words, he wrapped his arms around me pulling me close to his body as I was lying with my cheek pressed against his chest, listening to his pounding heart as he softly caressed my back as he fell asleep to the feeling of my body next to him. In the back of my mind, I knew that in the morning that the real world would once again come to life and my night with him would be only a memory and gone forever, but for now, I laid there in his arms enjoying the feeling of being in us.

*************
Chapter Six: No Regrets or Is there?

The moon's delicate rays cast a silverish glow on every curve, muscle, and tattoo that covered the man beside me. His minimal breathing told me that he was in a deep sleep, but I couldn't sleep, not in this man's arms. In the back of my mind, I knew that if I fell asleep in his arms that I would wake up the next morning to find him gone.

As easily as I could, I lifted my hand and began to trace the outline of his shark tattoo that was nicely placed on top of a floating American flag. The simple movements of my fingers across his skin caused a soft moan to escape his mouth before he rolled over letting me go and laying on his side making the tattoos on his back appear to me.

With a single finger, I traced the musical note that was delicately placed on his left shoulder blade. This motion didn't bring a sound out of him but he simply slept through each movement. The motion that caused him to roll over once again was the simple movement of my finger tracing the "K" of his KAOS tattoo that went down his back.

As he rolled over, I could see that his eyes were moving lightly beneath his eyelids telling me that he was in the deepest stages of sleep. I pushed myself up onto my elbow holding myself up as I gently began to trace the pair of feet tattoos that I had fallen in love with in the short time that I had actually known him. The feeling of his chest going up and down under my finger caused me to shiver knowing that this was real that I wasn't dreaming about this whole thing. As I softly traced each toe print of one of the tattoos, my mind began to race with the idea of having to leave the next morning telling this man that I had begun to fall in love with that I was probably never going to see him again.

The thoughts that raced through my mind caused me to easily slide my body off of the large king-size bed leaving the man that had taken my innocence, but showed me the most amount of love that I had ever felt in my short-lived life. Without a noise to wake him up, I easily walked around his room trying to find my clothes, but the only part that I could find was the jeans that I had worn to the concert. So I grabbed my jeans before searching the floor for a shirt that I could wear, lying in a corner near one of my shoes was the black Journey shirt that Nick had worn the night before. I easily slide the black T-shirt over my head, but as I did, the scent of his Gravity cologne hits my senses and the first tears of many begin to fall down my cheeks.

You should leave him a note. It's the best thing to do, my mind tells me before I shake the thought out of my head. As the tears begin to fall freely, I escape his room before taking one last look at him sprawled across the bed with the thin sheet barely covering his glowing body. With that one last glance, I went down the steps and into the foyer, which was next to his large living room, where I could see his two pugs sleeping on a large chair. As I grabbed my purse from near the front door, I suddenly felt a cold nose against my bare feet since I was still carrying my shoes in my hand.

"Hi, baby. I was so happy to meet you. Now, you take care of your daddy for me, okay?" I whispered leaning down to pet Mickey, who was the smaller of Nick's two tanish-black pugs. "I have to go, boy, but I will always love you and your daddy."

I stood back up and grabbed my purse, which contained my cell phone. As I exited Nick's home, I could see that the light of the gatehouse was still on, which meant that Billy was still around and up. I was happy to see him still there since the sky above had the look of an approaching storm. I slowly walked down Nick's driveway and got to the gatehouse.

"Hello, miss. I'm surprised to see you out this early," Billy said to me as he saw me.

"Yeah, I have an early flight back home. Do you know the phone number of a cab company?" I asked him.

"Yes, I do, but if you want, I can take you back to Orlando," Billy said to me.

"No, I will just take a cab," I told him.

Billy searched around the gatehouse for a few minutes before finally bringing me the number. Billy smiled at me as he handed me the number and said, "Well, miss, I'm really going to miss you, but I hope that I get to see you soon."

"Maybe someday," I said to him before taking my cell phone and calling the Cab Company. The person on the phone told me that a cab would be there in about 5 minutes since a person had just been dropped off in that neighborhood. I thanked the person on the phone before hanging up. "Thanks again for the number."

"No problem, ma'am. If you would like, you can sit in here and wait for your cab," Billy said to me.

"Thanks," I said to him as I sat down in the gatehouse as the first drops of rain fell on me. Billy said nothing just sat down next to me watching all the security cameras that showed the massive view of Nick's estate.

*******

Five minutes after the call to get a cab, a yellow and red cab pulled up in front of the estate humming softly as the guy put it into park. Billy followed me to the car with a large umbrella since the few drops of rain had turned into a downpour of cascading rain. Billy held the door to the backseat of the cab open for me before handing me a twenty-dollar bill. I held my hand up to refuse, but he put it into my hand.

"Take it, Miss. This is the first week that I have ever seen him that happy and you deserve to have a good ride back home," Billy said to me.

"Thanks," I said to him as he closed the door before I watched as he went back to the gatehouse waving to me. After telling the cab driver my destination, I sat back in the seat and watched as the home of my first love disappeared from my view as the radio came to life playing one of his songs that told my thoughts about the situation.

As the song finished, I gently wiped the tears out of my eyes, before thinking to myself, I guess that this time I have to cry for him.

"You okay, miss," the voice of the cab driver spoke to me.

"Yes," I told him. "How long will it take to get to Orlando?"

"About 20 more minutes," he told me.

"Okay," I told him before looking out the window of the cab watching as the clouds disappeared showing the sun beginning to peak over the edge of the highway. Without my knowledge, I suddenly fell asleep in the back of the cab, but I knew that I must have because flashes of my week with Nick began to flood my head and in my sleep, I began to cry as those memories caused my heart to break once more.

************
Chapter Seven: Going Home...

About twenty minutes later, the cab pulled up to the door of the condo and the driver turned to me to tell me the amount of the drive, but he saw that I was sleeping and just smiled to himself before turning the meter off after writing the amount down. He grabbed his own wallet and put the amount into the box before turning to me.

"Ma'am. Excuse me, ma'am. We are here," he said shaking my leg.

"Huh?" I said waking up to see the driver staring at me.

"We are here," he said smiling at me.

"Oh, sorry," I said grabbing my purse before handing him the twenty.

"Don't worry about it. You were my final drop of the night, so just go and take care of yourself. He was probably nothing to worry about any ways," he told me as I started to protest. The cab driver wouldn't hear anything about it and just let me get out.

"Thank you," I said to him before waving as he left. I slowly walked to the door wrapping the leather jacket that Nick had given me closer around my body to guard my body from the cool air that was blowing after the storm. I grabbed my keys out of my purse and opened the door to find AJ and Dawn lying on the couch with the TV going. I smiled to myself as I looked at the scene before going towards the steps to go pack my stuff and change clothes before we left. As I got to my bedroom, my eyes began to water at the memories of the three nights that Nick had spent sleeping in that room with me.

Don't cry, Sierra. It was for the best and you would never have been able to keep his heart in the first place, I thought to myself as I open the door dropping my purse next to my suitcase that I had started to pack before we went to the nightclub. I scanned the room trying to memorize each and every crevice of the room that I had shared with the man of my dreams and desires. I softly sighed to myself before leaning over and getting some new clothes out of my suitcase. As I opened my suitcase, I noticed that lying on top of it was the sweatshirt that Nick had let me borrow, when the whole group had gone on a cruise through parts of the keys. I picked it up and smelled it inhaling the scent of his Gravity cologne. I kept the shirt out before grabbing a pair of loose pants that would be comfortable for the plane ride home. After getting some underclothes, I grabbed my shower stuff and went into the bathroom noticing that Howie's shaving kit was still sitting on the counter.

"Boy, I'm gonna miss seeing all this stuff laying around here," I said to myself before closing the bathroom door to my side of the room before going to close the one that led to Aph's bedroom. As I began to close the door, I noticed that Aph and Howie were lying in each other's arms asleep. I smiled to myself remember how the third morning here I had woken up early and gone around the condo taking pictures of every one. The sound of the camera had woken both Howie and Aph up, which caused Aph to start a chasing me down the hallway. I laughed at the memory and just turned towards the bathroom closing the door behind me.

*************

About half an hour later, I was standing in the kitchen fixing everyone breakfast as the arrangement of people that had stayed in the condo became fully awoken and started to enter the kitchen. I was just finishing making the last batch of pancakes as Brian entered the room with Heaven and her luggage.

"Morning, Si. Where's Nick because I never heard you and Nick come in last night," Brian said to me as he sat down at the table that was already occupied by a sleepy AJ and Dawn, who had been the first to awaken.

"He's at home and we didn't come here last night," I said turning towards my love's best friend and giving him a cup of coffee.

"Oh okay," Brian said dropping the subject as he took the cup of coffee after seeing the look in my eyes knowing that something had happened last night or this morning between Nick and I that I didn't want to talk about it. I sat down at the table with them waiting for the rest of the gang to show up in the kitchen, which didn't take long because just as I sat down, Aph and Howie entered the room holding each other's hands. I noticed that Howie had Aph's carry-on over his shoulder and her suitcase in his other hand.

"Morning," Aph said in an unusually cheerful mood as Howie placed her stuff next to Heaven's luggage.

"Morning," I said getting up and giving them each a plate of pancakes as a round of sleepy 'mornings' came from the table.

"Boy, only one more hour with my baby, and then, you have to go back home," Howie said as he took his plate before he sat down with Aph on his lap.

"I know, but I will always love you," Aph said.

"Yeah, but wherever I go, my heart stays with you," Howie sang a little causing Aph to giggle.

"Geez, some people are cheerful this morning," the deep, bass voice of Kevin said from the kitchen door. The seven of us sitting at the kitchen table turned to see Kevin leaning against the kitchen door wearing only a pair of sweat pants as his arms sat across his bare chest with Alima's luggage next to his feet.

"Geez, Train, what crawled up your ass and died. You need to be a little more cheerful or didn't you get any from Alima last night?" AJ said as retaliation causing Kevin to stare at him coldly before going to get a plate of pancakes that I had set on the stove to keep warm.

"That wasn't nice, Age," Dawn said slapping AJ on the arm as Kevin took the plate and sat down at the bar not joining the rest of us at the table. The rest of breakfast was ate mostly in silence with a few words spoken as Al came downstairs after getting a shower. The thing that broke the silence was Brian asking me if Nick was going to go to the airport with us.

"No, he had stuff to do at home. We already had our good-byes this morning," I said lying to him as I stood up and started to clean the table off.

"Well, guys, hurry up and get your stuff together because we have to be at the airport in half an hour," Kevin said looking at his watch as I came over to him and got Alima and his plates.

"Geez, Kev. We have time," Aph said as she got up from Howie's lap to help me clean up the kitchen.

"Yeah, but we have to leave early because of..." Kevin said but the rest of the room, except myself, finished his sentence.

"Security," everyone said.

"Geez, cuz. We know you told us a million-and-one times last night. I think that we got it," Brian said.

"I'm just making sure that the girls don't miss their flight," Kevin said getting up from the bar and going up the steps.

"Geez, what's his problem this morning?" Heaven said looking around the table.

"Who knows?" Brian said before changing the subject. "Come on, baby, let's go and watch cartoons, while we wait for my 'stick-up-his-ass' cousin to return."

Heaven and Brian got up and went into the living room to watch cartoons as Dawn and AJ went up the steps to get her stuff together. I continued to clean the kitchen as Howie and Aph sat at the table. I could feel that the two of them were staring at me.

"What?" I said dropping the rag that I had been using to clean the counter into the sink before turning around to look at them.

"Nothing. You just seem down or not in a happy mood this morning," Howie said to me.

"Well, I'm sorry that I am not as cheerful as you and Aph, but I'm really fine," I told him.

"So what happened last night?" Aph said changing to subject.

"Nothing. I'm going to go into the living room to watch TV with Brian and Heaven," I said dropping the whole conversation and stalking off to the living room.

************

"Something happened last night and I want to know what caused her to seem like someone ran over her favorite puppy," Aph said to Howie.

"I don't know, but I would guess that it has something to do with Nick because I know Nick and I'm sure that he would be here to go with us to the airport," Howie said.

"Maybe he hurt her," Aph said remembering the whole thing with Trent.

"No, Nick wouldn't do that. He loves her and I know it," Howie said to her.

"Well, whatever it is, I'm gonna find out what it is from her," Aph said to him.

"Yeah, and I will try to find out what it is on this side, and then, you can tell me what happened on your end because you have my numbers and I have yours," Howie said.

"True. I will call you tonight or tomorrow morning," Aph said to him.

"Good. Now, let's make up for the time that we are going to lose," Howie said as he brought Aph's head down to kiss him, which started a full-blown make-out session in the middle of the kitchen.

***********

Nearly an hour later, the nine of us were standing or sitting in the middle of Orlando's International Airport waiting for our plane to be called. I was sitting on a seat staring at my bag as I began to think of how I could be the one getting kisses and hugs from my love, but that I ruined that chance this morning when I left without saying good-bye. As I sat there, I felt someone come and stand next to me causing a shadow to fall over me.

"Hey, girl, you not gonna tell us 'bye'," AJ asked as he stood over me with his arms around Dawn.

"Sorry, I was just thinking," I said to him.

"Well, stop thinking and stand up. I want my hug before you have to leave," AJ said taking my hand and pulling me up to hug him. "Don't worry, chica. I will all turn out for the best."

"I know," I said as I grabbed my carry-on going over to the rest of the gang with AJ and Dawn. The next few minutes became a round of good-byes as I hugged both Brian and Howie telling them that I would take care of Heaven and Aph for them.

"You better, or I'm gonna come up there and get your Canuck butt," Brian said laughing as he hugged me once again before the announcement told us that our plane was boarding.

"FLIGHT 2323 TO TORONTO, CANADA IS NOW BOARDING AT GATE TWELVE. ALL FIRST-CLASS AND SPECIAL NEEDS PASSANGERS CAN NOW BOARD," the announcement said.

"Well, that's us. We better get going," I said as I grabbed my bag and put it over my shoulder as I turned to go onto the plane, but turned to see Kevin, who was standing behind me.

"Well, it was nice to meet you. Have a good flight," Kevin said sticking his hand out to me.

"Thanks, Kevin. It was nice to meet you, too," I said shaking his hand knowing that the simple motion of moving his mouth to tell me good-bye was causing Kevin pain or massive relief. After letting his hand go, I turned to the rest of the girls and said, "Come on, ladies. It's time to go back home. Bye, guys."

"Bye, Sierra," the chorus of three voices said to me as I turned and headed to the plane. I gave my ticket to the lady and began to enter the pathway to get onto the plane as I heard the guys told us to be careful.

***********

As we got onto the plane, Heaven and Aph sat down on either side of me after putting their bags in the over head compartment. I grabbed my CD player from my bag and began to put my headphones on my head as Aph turned to me and began to question me.

"So, what did you and Nick do last night after you left the restaurant," Aph asked me.

"We went to Tampa and he showed me his house," I told her.

"Wow, you saw his home. Is it as beautiful as we thought," Heaven said to me.

"Yeah, it is. And he has the cutest set of pugs," I told her.

"Really, what are their names?" Aph asked me.

"Mickey and Willie. Mickey is really small and Nick told me that he was the runt of the litter, so that is why he took him," I told them.

"So what did you do after you got there?" Heaven asked me.

"Nothing. He took me on a tour of the house, then we fell asleep on his bed after we watched a movie," I said lying to them.

"Okay," Aph said knowing that I was lying to them but not trying to pressure me into anything. Aph continued her questioning with a question that arrived after she noticed that I didn't eat anything. "Well, did you and him eat breakfast together?"

"Yeah," I said. "And then he brought me back to the condo before going back home to do some stuff."

"Cool, and did you give him a kiss 'good-bye' or at least, say 'good-bye"?" Heaven said to me.

"Yes, we did kiss and I did tell him good-bye. Now, can you two please stop interrogating me because I didn't ask about your times with Brian or Howie. Plus, I'm tired and I want to get some sleep," I said to them.

"Okay, girl. We will wake you up when we land," Aph said to me before watching as I put my headphones onto my head before grabbing my CD. I opened my CD case and grabbed the burnt copy of songs that Nick had given to me after he came back from the studio with the guys. All the songs on the CD were songs that Nick had chosen to re-record with only his voice and some help from the other guys. As I turned the CD, I heard the opening strings to the Boys' song, If I Don't Have You began to play.

As the second chorus of the song started to play, I fell asleep dreaming of my last night with the man that I knew would always hold my heart and be my one true love.

**************
Chapter Eight: Missing Shirt, Broken Heart

Almost three hours after I left his home, the sun shining through the window caused Nick to slowly wake up and roll over to take me into his arms. But as he rolled over, Nick's eyes popped open because all he could find was the pillow that I had been laying on and nothing else.

"Sierra? Si, where are you?" Nick said sitting up and scanning the room. Nick got up as he noticed that my shirt and bra were still on the floor next to the recliner, but that my jeans and shoes were gone.

"Sierra? Where are you?" Nick called out frantically as he got up throwing a pair of boxers on and his jeans before searching for his Journey shirt. Damn, it's gone. So is she? Nick said as he grabbed his GOONIES shirt that was next to the bed before looking around for a note.

"Nothing. She left nothing. Damn, her plane leaves in 30 minutes. I have to get there," Nick said as he grabbed his shoes, my shirt, and his car keys. Nick threw his shoes into the passenger side of his Durango as he got to the garage and opened the door. He got into the SUV and started the car throwing it in reverse as he clicked the button to open the garage. He pulled out and headed straight for the gate, where he saw Billy standing.

"Damn, Carter. Where are you in such a rush?" Billy asked him as he pulled up and stopped at the closed gate.

"Sierra's gone. She left," Nick said to him.

"Yeah, she left about three hours ago. I thought that you knew," Billy said as he noticed that the day watchman, Martin, pulled up and stopped.

"No, she left without saying 'good-bye'," he said to him. "I need to go and get her back."

"Okay, man, let's get moving," Billy said jumping into the passenger side as he opened the gate before yelling at Martin. "Hey, Mart, we will be back in a little while. Everything's ready."

All Martin could do was nod and wave because Nick pulled out of the driveway and headed towards Orlando's International Airport, which was about 20 minutes away. Nick banged his head against the steering wheel each time that they caught a red light.

"Bro, watch it. You are going to give yourself a concussion or worse, get the both of us killed," Billy said to him trying to calm his boss and friend.

"I know, B, but I really have to get her back. I need her," Nick said as he continued on as the light turned green allowing them through so that Nick could get onto the Interstate. The entire ride down the Interstate and around the airport was spent in silence as Nick pulled into a spot before running towards the entrance with his shoes, keys, and my shirt in his hand. Nick ran straight through the airport ignoring all the people as he went directly to the gate where our plane was supposed to take off. As Nick got to the gate, he stood there watching the four other guys standing there watching as the AIR CANADA plane took off from the runway and began to ascend into the air. As the plane disappeared into the sky, Nick dropped to his keys and shoes before falling to his knees. Nick fell forward onto the floor hugging my shirt against his chest as he began to repeat to him.

"Why? Why did she leave without saying good-bye?" Nick said to himself as the tears began to fall down his cheeks.

***************

"Good riddance to bad trash," Kevin said out loud as he turned to leave with the guys.

"Cuz, that wasn't nice. Sierra wasn't bad trash. Nick loved her," Brian said to him.

"It's true. She was bad news," Kevin said to him.

"Kev, shut up," Brian said getting frustrated as he turned to leave but stopped as he turned to see Nick kneeling on the ground and Billy coming up behind him. Billy looked at the crowd of people that had begun to form around Nick and got them to move as Brian went over and squatted down next to Nick.

"Frack, come on, buddy. Let's go get some breakfast," Brian said rubbing his friend's back.

"She left. She left without saying 'good-bye'," Nick said to him as he looked up at Brian with tears in his eyes. "She's gone. I need her. I love her."

"I know, bro. Come on, let's go," Brian said as Nick finally let him help him up from the floor. Brian kept his arm around Nick as he lead him towards the exit as the guys began to follow him.

So, she did lie to us. She didn't tell him 'good-bye'. I guess that's why she was acting so weird this morning. Wait till I tell Aph, Howie thought to himself as he followed Brian, who held onto Nick.

If you could only see him, now, Si. You would really see how much he really did care about you and how much he really does love you, Brian thought to himself as he led Nick to the exit leaving behind the memory of his upset friend and hoping that one day Nick would find his true love again.

As Brian led him out of the airport, Nick pulled my shirt up to his face and whispered into it as the airport doors closed behind him, "No matter I have to do or say. I will get you back, my love. And that's my promise."

WEBSITES

HOMEPAGE
MARRIAGE - PART TWO
MARRIAGE - PART THREE