Chapter 16
Ciara leaned up to grab the remote, careful
not to wake the sleeping blonde on her lap. “I thought I was the sicky here, bud.” She turned off the TV and ruffled his
hair, stirring him awake.
“Mmmm?”
Nick stretched and fluttered his eyes open to the pools of green in hers. “Hey.
Oh God. I’m sorry. I fell asleep, huh?”
“Yep,
you did. I kept you up too much last night.”
“How
are you feeling?” He sat up stretching the sleep out of his body and leaned in
to kiss her.
“Yeah,
I feel pretty good. I need to check my sugar though…see what I should do about
eating and stuff.”
“You
hungry?”
“Yeah,
very. Even if not, I need to try to get something in me or I’m gonna be fucked
up.”
Nick
got up and brought her monitor to her, rubbing his head in a sleepy fog. “What
time is it?”
“Four
I think? Yeah, we should be able to make it down for dinner.”
“You
sure you’re up for it?” Nick started sifting through his suitcase for something
suitable to wear to dinner. “Casual tonight?”
“Please,
and yes, I want to get the hell out of here. I did not board this boat to stay
in our suite…especially if all I’m doing in here is sleeping and puking.”
“Not
quite what I had in mind for our suite either! How’s the sugar?”
“Low.
Which is good…I need to eat and I’m hungry. Works out.”
Nick
tossed his clothes on the bed and grabbed an apple from the fruit basket that
had welcomed them. “2 hours before dinner. Will that do?”
“Perfect.”
She took a huge bite out of the fruit and walked over to her shirtless partner.
“I need just one more thing and I think I’ll be back to normal.”
“You’re
never normal.”
“This
is true. Okay, I’ll be back to my old self….” She wrapped her arms around his
waist and laid her head on his chest, sighing as his arms slid around her. He
kissed the top of her head and silently waited for her request.
“I
need a bath. A nice, warm, sudsy bath. And I think…,” she mused as her finger
toyed with his nipple, “…that I might be too weak to sponge myself down. Think
you might be able to help me out?” She ended her appeal with a quick lick to
the now erect nipple and a cheesy grin for good measure.
“Mmmmmm…I don’t know…I’m awful weak myself. Who’s gonna
sponge me down?”
“I’ll
run downstairs and grab a fan.”
He
silently glared at her, with just a hint of twinkle in his eye, and lifted her
shirt over her head. “Nah. I don’t think that’ll be necessary.”
******~~~~~~******~~~~~~
“Ciara! Nick! Nice of you to join the living!” Howie stood
from his chair and pulled out a seat for Ciara to sit
in.
“Oh
shut up, D. You know she was sick.”
“Yeah,
uh-huh…that’s why you both have shit-eatin’ grins on
your faces. REAL sick.”
“Howie…I
was sick. I’m okay now. What kind of shit are you feeding these people anyway,
huh?”
“One
night I slip something in one dinner. Whoever gets it wins.”
“Nice.
I win. What’s my prize?”
“A
night alone with Nick and without fans.”
“Gee,
How…you’re too generous. Did you throw in 12 hours of vomiting for good
measure?”
“Yep…I’m
thorough. Seriously, you think it was food poisoning or something?”
“Yeah,
probably. I didn’t feel sick, sick and the movement of the boat doesn’t seem to
be bothering me now. I think you did it.”
“You
caught me.”
“Need
to work on your discretion…so, what’s for dinner? I’m a glutton for
punishment.”
“How
‘bout you avoid the seafood this time, huh?” Nick was NOT in the mood for
another night in the bathroom with her. Not with her head hanging over the
toilet anyway.
“Chicken.”
“Sounds
good.”
“That’s
what I was calling you, dork.”
“Good…eat
me.”
“Soooooo…what are you two going to do in
“Aw,
Howie…are we embarrassing you?” Ciara loved to
torment him; he was so easy.
“Yes,
and you can stop anytime now. Seriously…what are you planning off shore?”
“Snorkeling!
I haven’t been in too long.”
“You
going to be up for that, Ci?”
“Yes,
Nick…please. I’m okay. It was just food poisoning, okay?”
“I
know, I know…I just…I’ll stop.”
“Thank
you. So, I feel like I’ve missed a week here. When do you guys go back on
duty?”
“Tomorrow
night. We’ll do that celebrity auction and then the “date” is Wednesday after
we leave
“They
don’t have it every night?”
“Not
with us, no. You can sing any night, but we’ll participate Friday. They’ll make
it a game with prizes and stuff. Kinda like ‘Say What Karaoke’ on MTV.”
“That
sounds fun. And Nick…you may get your chance with a fan after all.”
“Nice.
Been there; done that. I’m taken this week, thank you.”
“Looks
like I’ll need to find me a new man for Wednesday….Hmmmm….”
Ciara looked up from her salad and started searching
the dining hall for a lonely looking man. There had to be one here somewhere!
“You’ll
do no such thing. I eat dinner with her, dance one or two songs and I’m all
yours again.”
“Aw,
I was hoping for some variety!”
“I’ll
give you variety.”
“Do
you two need to just go back to your room? I’m sure they can deliver dinner
there.”
Ciara and Nick finally laughed. “Aw, poor
Howard. We need to find you some lovin’!”
“Oh,
don’t worry ‘bout me. I’ll be juuuuust fine.” And it
looked like he was. Without another word, Howie excused himself from the table
and made his way over to another to talk to a few ladies. They were obviously
there for their own personal reasons. Not fans. Damn, he was good.
“Well,
damn. Look at that. No effort. I’m impressed.” Ciara
leaned back as the waiter set her dinner down in front of her. Never had
chicken looked better. Never had food looked better. Looking up at the man
across from her, never had a dinner companion looked better. So the cruise had
a false start. It was not going to have a false finish. This was going to be
one fantastic week.
******~~~~~~******~~~~~~
“You
ready yet, Ci?”
“Yep,
on my way out.”
Ciara finally came out of the bathroom, day
bag in hand looking ready for a day in the sun and water. She had her hair
tossed up in a light bun, with a few loose curls hanging down the sides of her
face.
“You
look too cute for snorkeling.”
“I
dare you to keep up with me, though.”
“I
intend to. Come on. I can’t wait to get out there.”
They
quickly made their way off the ship, getting stopped only once by a small group
of fans. Ciara took a picture of Nick with the girls
and pulled on his arm as they ran to catch up with the snorkeling group.
After
a short meeting for instructions, Nick stepped up onto the catamaran and looked
back to his lady, smiling at the excitement in her eyes. He leaned over and
offered his hand. “Come on. Let’s go see some fishies.”
***
