"OK how do I look? Melissa asked Meg as she stepped into her room wearing a black 3/4 sleeve top that tied in the lower back and a short black and silver skirt with black sandals.
"You look great Mel! Gee, what's the occasion?" she asked burstig into giggles.
"God, we really have to start acting more mature. I mean we are 19 today."
"Yea, I know. That's scary when you think about it."
"So what are you doing with AJ tonight?"
"He's coming over here since you and Nick are going to be at their place."
"Oh, I see. Well, I better get going now."
"OK see you. Wait hold on! I got to ask you something. Will you be coming home tonight?" Meg asked mischievously.
"Probably," Melissa told her. Ever since she and Nick got back together they had both agreed that it might be better to back up and go a little bit slower. With the whole pregnancy scare it really seemed like a good idea.
"I finally thought you'd loosened up and now you're reverting back into your old self," Meg said half joking.
"Well, OK bye."
When Melissa arrived at the door to Nick's apartment he opened the door for her and let her inside. Melissa had to admit he looked better than ever for some reason.
"You look great," he told her.
"You do too," she told him.
"Happy birthday, Babydoll," he said as he kissed her.
"I never thought I'd hear you call me that again."
"I never thought I'd get the chance to say it again."
Melissa smiled and asked, "So what do you have planned for tonight?"
"First off a nice, romantic candlelight dinner."
And romantic it was. She never knew how enjoyable a candlelight dinner with your significant other could be. All she knew was how great Nick looked in the candlelight.
When they finished dinner Nick took her in his arms and they began to slowly dance.
"Hold on one second," he told her as he headed towards the stereo and put on I Knew I Loved You by Savage Garden.
"It's our song," she told him.
"Yea I know," he answered back as he pulled her closer and started running his fingers across the exposed skin of her lower back. "Do you know what today is?" he asked her.
"My birthday?" she guessed.
"Besides that."
Melissa shrugged. "I give up."
"Think back 3 months from today."
"We were in Cancun then."
"Yea and?"
"It's our anniversary?"
"Yea, I was waiting for you to figure that out."
"That's kind of weird that it ends up the same day as my birthday."
"Yea, but it's all good because now we got two reasons to celebrate."
"Yea, I know," she said as she kissed him.
He kissed her back as his hands began playing with the string that tied the bottom of the back of her shirt. He expected her to pull away or tell him to stop but she didn't, she just kissed him back deeper than before.
Pretty soon Nick had untied the back of her shirt and slipped his hands up the back running them up and down her back as he kissed her.
Melissa still did not say a word as he slipped off her top, letting it fall to the ground. She just kept on kissing him as he picked her up and started to carry her towards his bedroom. She had told herself that she didn't want things to go to quickly again, this time around but now it looked like she was going to give into temptation.
He laid her down on the bed carefully as she pulled him down on top of her. She was becoming breathless from his kisses but soon he slowly began to trail kisses from her lips, down her neck, all the way down to the top of her black, lacy bra, giving her a chance to catch her breath. She coudn't control her pounding heart though as he continued kissing her and let his hand creep up the side of her leg, underneath the side of her skirt.
Melissa slowly rolled on top of him and began to unbutton his shirt, kissing his chest as she undid each button until finally she slipped it off.
He found the zipper on the back of her skirt and slipped it off her hips, letting it fall unto the floor with the rest of their clothes.
Still on top of him Melissa began kissing him all the way down his chest until she reached the very top of his pants. She heard him moan beneath her as she unzipped his pants and slid them off.
When their lips met again they began kissing harder and deeper than she had ever experienced before and soon Nick was on top of her again. He slowly began to kiss down the side of her neck and unto the tops of her shoulders as he slid the straps of her bra off, continuing to kiss down her arms. He then carefully bent her just so in order to unhook her bra and then slowly removed it from her body.
They just stayed like that for a while just kissing and touching, remembering how good it felt to be this close to each other again. Finally after a while he began to slip off her underwear.
"Hold on. Do you have condoms?" she asked pulling away a little bit.
"Yea, but do I have to get up and get them?" he whined.
"Yes, because if you don't then you can forget about it. You know what happened the last time."
"Yea I do. OK I'll be right back," he told her as he got up and reappeared a few minutes later.
That's much better," she told him as she pulled him back down on the bed and slowly slipped off his boxers...
"C'mon AJ! Tell me what you got me for my birthday" Meg demanded.
"Nope! I can't say a thing."
"Please?" she begged.
"Do you really want a present?"
"Yes, I do."
"Well, he said as he picked her up and started to carry her down the hall, "I do have something for you in your room."
"Yea, I bet you do," she told him as he carried her into her bedroom.
When Melissa and Nick finally pulled apart they were both breathing heavily. Melissa's heart was beating wildly in her chest and as she laid her head on top of Nick's chest she could tell he felt the same.
They stayed like that for a little while, just holding each other, not even saying a word. Melissa closed her eyes and sighed peacefully realizing how tired she was. Before she drifted off to sleep she whispered softly to him," I love you."
She fell asleep before she could hear his reply.
The next morning when Melissa woke up to the sound of Nick's steady breathing and the feeling of sunlight reflecting over their bodies from the window. She was still only half awake when Nick turned and whispered in her ear, "I love you too."
"Huh?" Melissa asked only just beginning to open her eyes.
"Last night the last thing you said to me was I love you so I'm just saying it back."
"Oh yea," she said with a laugh. "Sorry I need a cup of coffee."
"It's OK. I just couldn't wait to tell you though."
"Aww. That's really sweet," she told him as he took her hand in his and brought it up to his lips and kissed each one of her fingertips.
Melissa pulled him closer to her and kissed him deeply as he ran his fingers down the sides of her body. As she pulled away slowly she announced, "You know, I got a craving for eggs."
"Well, I can make you some," Nick told her.
"That sounds great."
A few minutes later Melissa was sitting at the kitchen table wearing his robe and eating her eggs. "Uggh you know what I need?"
"What?"
"A nice hot bubble bath. You don't mind if I go take one do you?"
"Of course not. In fact, I'll be right there in a few minutes."
"Who said you were invited?" she asked teasing him.
"I invited myself. Anyway this is my apartment."
"Good point," she said with a laugh. "So I'll start running the water and wait for you."
"I'll be right there okay?"
"OK," she agreed as she headed for the bathroom and turned on the water. After she had filled up the tub and slipped off Nick's robe she got in.
A few minutes later Nick entered the bathroom still wearing his boxers and carrying a small bag.
"What's in the bag?" she asked curiously.
"Your birthday present. I meant to give it to you last night but i kind of got sidetracked."
"That's okay," she assured him with a laugh. " Can I open it now?"
"Hold on a second," he told her as he kneeled beside the tub and began slowly kissing her neck and running his fingers down her arms.
"Mmmm," she said making a noise that sounded like a cross between a moan and a giggle. "C'mon Nick, let me open my present."
"Uh uh. Not yet," he told her as he lifted her chin up and ran his thumb across her bottom lip as she kissed it softly and soon enough he was kissing her with so much passion she began to feel weak.
"Please," she begged as she tried to catch her breath.
"Not yet," he repeated as he began to very slowly run his fingers down the curves of her body.
Melissa closed her eyes and bit her bottom lip as his fingers continued down her body. "C'mon, please let me open my present and stop torturing me."
"I'm not torturing you. If I wanted to torture you I'd-"
"If you don't let me open my present right now you aren't coming in!" she warned him.
"OK fine. Here," he said as he handed her the bag.
"You got me tissue paper?" she asked as she threw several pieces on the floor at his feet.
"Keep digging," he told her.
Soon enough Melissa reached a little black box and slowly opened it. "OMG," she whispered taking in a deep breath as tears began to form in her eyes.
"Will you marry me?" he asked.
Melissa tried to open her mouth to speak but couldn't. All she could do was kiss him with all she had.
"Wow!" Nick said with a laugh when she finally pulled away. "Is that a yes?"
"Yes!" she told him. "And if you don't get into this tub this instant, I'm going to have to pull you in, boxers and all."
"Is that a threat?" he asked her.
"Yep, it definitely is," she assured him as he kissed him again slowly and deeply.
When Meg and AJ awoke the next morning, much how Melissa and Nick had the first thing out of her mouth was, "You never gave me your present."
"You mean last night didn't count?" he asked teasing.
"Nope. Admit it, you were just to cheap to get me anything."
"That's not true."
"Then where is it?"
"I'm waiting for the right moment."
"Sure," Meg answered sarcastically.
"Well, your sister should be ecstatic when she gets home," AJ said trying to change the subject.
"Mel? She's home by now. Ever since she's now normal she's gone back to being a saint."
"Well, then you better get that 6th sense thing fixed up because I can assure you that she did not come home last night."
"How do you know?" she asked him.
"Well, Nick told me he got her an engagement ring as a birthday gift."
"Aww how romantic! See, Nick knows how to treat a girl unlike you who got me absolutely nada!"
"I swear I got you something. It took a long time to pick out because I was trying to figure out how to top Nick's present."
"And did you?"
"Well, an engagement ring is pretty hard to top."
"True. So you didn't get me anything right?"
"Nope. Quite the opposite."
"Then what is it?" she asked impatiently.
"Well, I figured if you can't beat them, join them, "he told her as he pulled out a small black box from under his pillow. "Will you marry me?"
"OMG!" Meg shrieked. "Of course," she told him as she kissed him.
"Good," AJ told her.
"How did that get there anyway?" she asked suspiciously.
"While you were in the bathroom I snuck it in here and hoped you wouldn't find it. I told you I had a present for you in here."
"Yep and I didn't believe you," she told him. "I'm sorry."
"It's OK," he said. I forgive you."
"Good," Meg said as she pulled him on top of her kissing him passionately as they made love yet again.