The next morning I awoke still tired. My head lay on Nick's chest and my arm was around him like his was around me. Memories from the night before flooded my mind. Wow! I couldn't believe any of it had happened. Nick stirred and awoke. He ran his fingers through my hair and leaned down to kiss me. His lips were warm and I was happy to wake to such a kiss. I rolled to my other side and streched my arms ached for having them in one positon for too long.
"How do you feel?" he asked.
"Great," I said running my hand up and down his chest. He took my hand gently and kissed it.
"We have to go back today," I said to him.
"Yeah, we should leave right away to get there soon."
He got out of bed and put clothes on then left the room. As soon as he had left I got out and put on some clothes. The sun was out this morning and it was slowly melting away the snow. I made the bed and got my things together. Nick returned holding a cup of coffee and a muffin for me to eat.
"I'll eat it in the car."
Outside the ice from the cabin had melted and had begun to drip down on the ground. There was a smell in the air of pine trees. A few birds sat on the tree singing. I took it all in and let it sink slowly. It felt good to be here. Nick who was behind me locked the cabin and prepared to leave.
He pressed the button on his keychain to remove the alarm to his car. Then he stepped over to my side and opened my door. I stepped inside and started drinking the cup of coffee. Nick who was beside me just started ahead thoughtfully. Then he turned and smiled at me.
"What are you thinking about?" I asked.
"Lots of things: about us, about the guys, and other things."
"What about us?"
"Nothing, just about how much I love you... and I don't think I ever felt this way". He laughed at himself. "Wow, you must think I'm just using all the typical lines,huh?"
I smiled at him not knowing what to say.
"But somehow it's not like that, you see there is something different about you that just... I don't know. You're everything I ever asked for, and now that you're here it's weird. I feel like I don't deserve you. Still, I don't want to get all mushy... so I'll stop."
"I feel the same way about you and I KNOW our love is true. I'll always be here by your side. I believe what your eyes are telling me and the words you say. I'll go with you to where ever you take me."
"Everything's going to be alright" he said taking my hand in his.
When he said those words I had no doubt that he was telling the truth. Maybe he was "the one". Most people spend their lives in love with the idea of love. They spend their life looking for that perfect person who will be there through everything. Who at the worst moment will stand with them and tell them it's going to be ok. Maybe my search has come to and end? I smiled at the thought. Inside I knew it had ended. I felt at peace just sitting there with the man of my dreams.
We arrived at my apartment in the afternoon. Nick was too tired to go to his apartment so we slept a few hours upstairs. I had disconnected the phone in order not to be disturbed or awakened. I opened my eyes around 6:00. I found Nick next to me laying down with his eyes open.
"What time did you wake up?" I asked.
"A few minutes ago... We need to go."
"Where?" I asked confused.
"I have to go to some practices for the concerts and I want you to come along."
"Ok just let me get ready."
"Yeah, I'll be downstairs watching t.v."
Nick headed downstairs and I jumped into the shower. I came out a few minutes later and put socks and shoes on. I could hear the t.v. on. It sounded like South Park. My hair was still wet so I just left it like it was. Then I headed downstairs.
Nick was seated on the edge of the couch watching the cartoon and laughing. He had a cute goofy laugh. He smiled and turned off the t.v. when he saw me coming down.
"You look great, are you ready?" he asked.
"Yeah, let's go."
He took hold of my hand and kissed me. As soon as his lips touched mine I felt 100 emotions running through me at once. I stood there speechless. He backed off and stared at me half puzzled half laughing at me.
"You look surprised."
He laughed and pulled me outside, and then he waited while I locked the door.
We joked around on the way to practice. He laughed as I told him about the time when Belle and I had fallen off of the back of a truck while sitting there while Bere drove up a hill. The truck had been my brothers and we had decided to take it out for a test drive out in the wild. Belle and I had wanted to sit in the open back while Alexis (the crazy driver) sat in the front alone. Alexis had started going up a really bumpy hill after we had crossed a small river. Belle and I started slipping out of the back we tried to hold on but everything was slippery. Belle fell out first, but she held on to my jeans making me slide out with her. We rolled down a muddy hill and fell right into the water. Alexis somehow had noticed, so she turned off the truck and went to help Belle and me out of the water. On the way back Belle and I had to sit in the back freezing so we wouldn't ruin the seats.
Nick laughed until the end. After a while we reached the place. It was dark and the streets were noisy with cars. We parked and headed down a dark alley to a door. Nick took out a key and opened it. Inside it was warm and bright. People stood around talking while others set up more lights. There was a snack table on the side of the room where someone stood eating cookies. Brian was talking to Kevin, and Howie was seated down reading a magazine. A.J. was talking to a girl showing her some dance steps. The girl repeated what A.J. had done so she moved on to another step.
A man walked towards us. Nick seemed to recognize him so he greeted him. The man asked Nick who I was and Nick answered saying I was his girlfriend and his best friend. I smiled and shook the man's hand.
The man then turned from us and yelled, "Let's get started!" Instantly all of the dancers went to the back. Nick gave me a kiss and told me to sit down and watch. Then he and the other guys line up in front of the dancers.
The wall infront of all of them was covered by a large mirror.A woman stepped infront of the whole group. She was young and pretty. She wore a shirt and some shorts. I figured she was their instructor.
The song started. Brian started singing first and then a guy next to him joined in. The song became more upbeat as the guys sang the chorus. The dancers were doing their moves around the guys and then the guys joined in doing their moves. The song was pretty cool. On the table next to me lay a cd case. It was half black and half blue, and that was the title "Black and Blue". I looked at the stereo to see what song number was playing. The small screen had a 10 on it. I looked it up on the box. The name of the song was "Not for Me".
After finishing the song they stood standing around for instructions. The woman began giving them a few pointers on their moves. They listened carefully and watched her do the step. Then she asked them to do it one by one. They stepped next to her and did it. She approved and they moved on.
After 4 songs everyone took a break. Nick headed towards me.
"Are you thirsty?" he asked.
"No, I'm fine."
He sat down next to me putting his head on my shoulder. Brian then came over with the restof the guys trailing behind him talking.
"Hey, Sophie, how's it going?" Brian asked.
"Fine, and you?"
"Can't complain."
Kevin said hi to me and sat down accross from us next to Brian. He was really tall and handsome. He also had a nice body. Which he must have worked hard for.
"I haven't introduced you to A.J. and Howie," Nick said standing up.
I followed his example and stood up facing A.J. and Howie. A.J. had been the guy that had sung next after Brian. He wore a hat and sunglasses. He looked young and daring. He was also cute. He shook my hand greeting me.
Next Nick introduced me to Howie. He had shoulder length straigh hair. It was nice I felt like feeling it, but I told myself not to do it. Howie also had a nice body. He had a very nice smile too, and warm brown eyes. He shook my hand, and winked. Howie had the most...attractive wink. I laughed but stopped myself seeing that I was the only one laughing and that it might look bad.
"C'mon I want to show you something," Nick said pulling me away from them. I said bye to them quickly and followed Nick. We went through a door to a room that was also lighted. There were pinball machines on the side and other games.
"I love to come here," Nick said pointing at the games.
I smiled, and followed him to the games. He started playing one, but stopped when he saw me just standing there.
"You're not going to play?"
I shrugged, "I don't know..."
"You don't know how to play?"
"The last time I played was when I was 17. I think I forgot how to play."
He looked at me bewildered. He took my hand and laughed,"Here play this one."
I stepped infront of him. Things began looking familiar to me. Nick stood behind me and controlled my hand. He whispered instructions in my ear. I followed his instructions and found myself beginning to remember the game.
"I feel stupid," I said laughing after a while.
"Forget about it. Let's see who gets the most points."
"He began playing at another game like mine. We played for a few more minutes, and then compared scores. I had beaten him by a little.
By the end of the break we were laughing and playing around. Everyone had opened up and now they weren't so serious. The dancers fooled around and shared tips on how to do their moves. A.J. was telling the guys a joke as we got nearer to them. As he finished the guys burst into laughter. Everyone seemed to enjoy their night. The break ended and they guys were pulled back onto their practices.
They practiced for a while and then everyone was excused. Nick and I said good-bye to everyone and left. We got into the car and he drove me to my apartment. When we got there he parked the car and we sat there without saying a word.
"I should go in, it's late and I need to work tomorrow," I said breaking the silence.
"Oh yeah, he said surprised. I'll see you tomorrow,ok?"
I nodded. He leaned over and kissed me a real passionate kiss. He placed his hand on the back of my head pulling me in closer. Then we pulled apart even though I didn't want to.
"I love you."
"I love you too." I stepped out of the car and waved good-bye to him. I walked to my apartment and unlocked the door. I closed it behind me after getting in. I ran upstairs and threw myself unto my bed. Everything was perfect!! That's why I had never expected what was about to happen the next day.
