Chapter 14
Nick
came out of his walk-in closet and tossed the sweats on the bed. “Okay, I think
those should do it.”
“I’d
think so. My God, Nick, we’re going to have 20 suitcases for a one week trip!”
“Yeah,
and 19 of ‘em will be yours. How many damned pairs of shoes did you pack?”
“Trust
me. You do NOT want to know. And seriously, we need to condense. They’re not
letting anyone take too much luggage, especially on a commuter to
“Well,
I don’t wanna be rude, but woman, you’re the one who needs to condense. I’ve
got a couple pairs of trunks, t-shirts, shorts, sandals and a nice dress outfit
for dinner one night. Can’t imagine I can go with less.”
“No,
probably not. Well, crap.” Ciara started digging
through the piles of clothes Nick had laid out, realizing that yes indeed, he
had packed sensibly. Years of touring came in handy apparently. “Okay, well,
I’ll pack this up here and head home to reduce my junk.”
“You
want me to come help? Far as I’m concerned you just need a bathing suit.”
“Yeah,
well…I DO plan on leaving the cabin for more than swimming, Romeo. And THAT
requires shoes.”
“Whatever.
Come on. Let’s get this done so we can rest tonight.”
******~~~~~~******~~~~~~
“Oh
my God, Nick! This boat is HUGE!”
“Makes
mine look like somethin’ I built with popsicle sticks when I was a kid. Damn.”
“Is
everyone here for the foundation?”
“I
don’t think so, no. It’s a public cruise, but you could get rooms and stuff
from the DLF.” Tipping the chauffeur well, he wrapped his arm over Ciara’s shoulder and walked to the boat, suddenly feeling
like a kid the day before Christmas. “All I know is we’ve got a kick ass room
and 7 days together on the water. Anything else…I just don’t care.”
“I’m
thinkin’ I don’t either. I need this and bad!”
“Yep.
Perfect end to one helluva shitty year I’d say.” He leaned down and kissed her
forehead before ducking into the ship.
They
wordlessly made their way to their suite, following the concierge who led the
way. Once all of their luggage made it to the room, Nick hung the “do not
disturb” sign on the door and turned to the beauty standing on his balcony. He
still couldn’t believe it was really Ciara. That
sweet, funny girl he’d met so many years before. She’d changed so much, yet she
was still the same Cici. Longer hair, fuller face
because of some of her medicines, more slender body and just…his Cici.
Why
did it take him until now to realize how much she had meant to him? Or was he
not supposed to know until now? Maybe they weren’t ready for each other before.
Probably not. Were they ready for each other now? He knew he surely felt
ready…but it took two to make a relationship work. Twenty-one or not, he at
least had learned that much in life. She wasn’t fighting him anymore, but
yet…there was still some sort of wall there.
Before
joining her outside, he poured them each a glass of champagne that had been
left by hospitality. They didn’t have much time before some of his duties
began, starting with a Meet and Greet, but for now, they had each other. No
fans. No interruptions. Nothing but the ocean breeze and a beautiful room to
enjoy.
“Hey…what’s
on your mind?”
She
looked away from the blue of the ocean into the blue of his eyes, smiling at
the similar hues in each. “Hey. Not a damned thing. I’m kinda likin’ that.” She took the glass of champagne from him and
they made a silent toast before taking a sip. “Thank you for inviting me, Nick.
This is going to be wonderful. I can feel it.”
“I
can’t imagine doing this without you.” He leaned down, capturing her lips with
the sweetest kiss, still flavored with the champagne. “Can we go inside?”
She
smiled and nodded and followed him back to the bedroom portion of their suite.
Their accommodations were truly amazing, although Nick was unfazed by it all.
“What time do you have to be at the Meet and Greet?”
“
She
sat next to him, resting her head on his chest and slowly running her finger
over his stomach. And there they sat for the few moments they had alone. Just
enjoying the sounds of their breathing, the ocean crashing into the dock, the
ticking of the clock in the living area of the suite. Sometimes words were noisy
and this was one of those times.
In
what felt like seconds later, a loud knock at their door jolted them out of
their reverie.
“Oh
shit…we fell asleep! Ci! Wake up, hon.” He touched
her cheek giggling at the mark a button on his shirt had made on her face.
“I’ve got to go. Someone’s at our door.”
“Oh,
okay…man. We’re the life of the party, huh? Sleeping already!” She stretched
her body out and fluffed her hair, groaning when the knock on the door repeated
its call. “Okay! Okay! On our way!”
She
jogged to the door, flinging it open to greet their guest but was surprised to
see Howie waiting in the hall. “Howard! Come in here, baby!”
“Ciara! I’m so glad you could come!” He wrapped her in the
warmest of hugs, as usual. Out of the five, THAT boy knew how to hug. Nick
was…well, now that totally changed her perspective, but Howie still knew what a
hug meant and offered every one from his heart. She sighed in his arms, feeling
reunited with a long lost big brother.
“So
am I.” Pulling away she turned back to see where Nick was. “You comin’, Nick?
It’s time!”
“On
my way…hang on.”
“He
must be in the bathroom. So, tell me. How have you been? You resting okay after
the tour?”
“I
don’t rest, but yeah, I’m doing good. How are you feeling?”
“Eh,
you know. Every day it’s something. I live.”
“Just
live happy, Ci. That’s all any of us should do.”
She
smiled at his simple wisdom, touching his face. “I think I am finally happy, D.
Just don’t let Nick know. I like to keep him guessing.”
“Keep
me guessing about what? You keepin’ secrets from me,
woman?”
“Always.
You boys go meet and creep your fans.” She threw herself backward on the couch,
dramatically kicking her legs up in the air before letting them fall to the
seat. “I’ll just stay here in our miserable room wishing I was cleaning poop
off some patient’s ass like I was scheduled to be doing about now.”
Nick
just shook his head. “What am I supposed to do with her, D?”
“Oh,
I’m having a feeling you’ll find a few things to keep yourself occupied. Come
on. There’ll be plenty of time for that. We’ll see you later, Ci!”
“Bye
guys! Have fun!”
Just
as she settled into the couch to finish up her nap, the door whipped open
again. “And you’d better have shoes back on those feet when I get back. You
brought enough that I don’t EVER wanna see those toes naked.”
She
heard him giggle as the door closed again. “Smart ass.”
******~~~~~~******~~~~~~
“I’m
so sorry, Nick. I can’t believe I feel so sick already.”
“It’s
okay. You’ll get used to it. Did you get sick when you took that cruise a few
years ago?”
“No.
God. You don’t think it was something at dinner, do you?”
“I
dunno. I hope not. Is it just your sto-“
“Aw,
shit…move.” Ciara pushed away Nick’s arms and ran
into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her before she made it to the
toilet.
“Crap.”
She’d moved so quick Nick didn’t even think clearly until he heard her losing
her dinner. “Cici…” He got up to help her, stopping
short at the closed door and grimacing at the noises coming from inside. Taking
a deep breath, he opened the door finding her kneeling on the floor, head
hanging over the commode.
“Nick,
please…”
“Let
me get you a cold cloth, Ci. It’s okay.” He yanked a
washcloth from the rack near the sink and quickly ran cold water through it.
Why a cold cloth on the forehead always felt better when you were sick he
didn’t know, but it did. It’s the least he could do.
“I’m
embarrassed. Please, Nick.”
“Stop
it. Here…” He pulled her hair back as her stomach wretched again. Quietly he
knelt down beside her and slowly wiped her brow and neck with the cold cloth.
“It’s okay, baby…” He rubbed her back with the other hand, hoping to help her
body relax. She finally sat back on her haunches with a sigh, flushed and took
the cloth from him.
“Thanks.
I just love being sick.” She wiped her whole face with the cloth and slowly
stood to get a little water for her mouth. “This is definitely not
sea-sickness. Something I ate got to me. I was fine before dinner.”
“Could
be. You okay?”
“For
now, yeah. I’m sorry, Nick.”
“Would
you stop apologizing? Let me turn back the bed and we’ll just stay in and watch
TV or something, huh?”
“Yeah,
okay. I wanted to go dancing tonight.”
“I
know.” He touched her face and smiled weakly. “Tomorrow. Or the next day. We
have 5 more nights for that, okay?” Nick tossed the multiple pillows on the
floor beside the bed and threw back the comforter. “Come on…get in.”
Without
another word, she climbed into bed, curling around a pillow, grateful for a
soft place to lay her throbbing head. This sucked. Before long, Nick snuggled
in next to her and rubbed her hair hoping she could fall asleep quickly.
Just
as he thought he’d succeeded, she bolted back up out of bed. “Dammit!”
“On
my way….”
***
