"Kevin? Are you serious?"
I was practically wearing a circle in the carpet of our hotel room. I stopped and leaned my hands back on the edge of the windowsill. "I'm serious. He's dating her."
"Do you think Brian knows?" Lauren asked.
I snorted. "Probably not. You know how Brian is. He let's the world know everything he knows by tweet. He sends a 'chirp' every two-point-five seconds. Even if he didn't publicly say anything, he would have told me, D, and AJ."
Lauren stood up and walked over to me. My arms wrapped around her tightly as she nuzzled my chest.
"I'm sorry it didn't go well."
I kissed the top of her head. "It was going fine," I said. I rocked her playfully. "Jake pretty much asked me everything from my favorite food to what kind of underwear I wore."
Lauren laughed. "That sounds like a Carter."
I smiled. "It does, doesn't it?"
She looked up at me slowly. I couldn't resist a kiss. Just one little kiss...
Forty-five minutes later, I was getting the most amazing backrub of my life. Lauren's naked body was sitting on me and I was in heaven. The smell of sex permeated the air; she was kneading all the tension out of my muscles. Her fingers almost made me forget about Kevin mackin' on Shay.
Almost.
"Did I ever tell you how much I love you?" I mumbled into the pillow. I felt her lean down. Her breasts pressed into me. She laughed in close to my ear. I swallowed hard as her breathing filled my eardrums for several long, tantalizing seconds.
"I love you too, Nicky."
I waited for another second while she straightened up. Before her hands could go back to my shoulders, I rolled over and grabbed her hips. The surprise element of that move had disappeared ages ago; even so, she wiggled over me teasingly. Her hair cascaded down her back.
"Can you knead my favorite muscle now?" I asked. "Didn't I just do that twenty minutes ago?"
"That was then. This is now," I explained.
I knew she couldn't resist. I had gone all out renting a suite at House of Blues. Lauren loved being pampered. When she was pampered she was very grateful.
A mass of dark hair slid along my chest as she wormed her way down the King size bed. Her lips wrapped around me and I pressed my head back against one of the zillion pillows we had been given.
My sexy little Kitty was a keeper. A total keeper.
I woke up the next morning to the sound of the chime ringing through the apartment. My eyes felt raw from all of the crying I did the night before. I was expecting maintenance; I had become horribly aware of a slow drip starting in the tub. I yanked down my tanktop and made my way to the door.
"It's the tub," I said groggily.
"No, actually it's breakfast."
I was more than a little surprised to see Kevin standing at my door. He held a bag in one hand and a drink holder in the other.
"May I?"
I stepped back. He walked in. He was dressed down more than I had ever seen him in a gray hoodie, flannel shirt, jeans, and sandals. I followed him to the kitchen.
"Jake still asleep?" he asked. I nodded. Jake had crawled into my bed around three a.m. We had watched a goofy infomercial for a fruit juicer until sleep had taken over.
Kevin unfolded the bag. The Panera Bread logo on the front told me that I had a fifty/fifty chance of eating healthy. Kevin handed me a bacon, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwich. Score. I watched him unwrap his own. Lots of veggies. No cheese.
"I got a yogurt parfait for Jake," Kevin said. "It would go good with cereal."
I nodded. It would be a miracle if he ate it; it looked healthy. There wasn't a sprinkle in sight. I took a bite of my sandwich; the bacon was the perfect ratio of crisp to juice.
"I've got to admit I was worried you weren't going to let me in."
I reached for one of two orange juices in the drink carrier. I pulled back the tab and took a drink.
"I probably shouldn't have," I admitted. Our eyes met.
"I don't like liars," I added.
"I'm sorry about the name thing. It's just that I needed to get used to hearing it. Blake Scott officially starts shooting his first 'big-name' movie tomorrow."
"Really? Where?"
"Here in Chicago."
"What's the movie?"
"It's a historical fic about the Chicago mob and Al Capone. I'm playing 'Machine Gun' Jack McGurn." He smiled. "I should have kept my hair. It's going to be hell to slick this stuff back."
I stared up at the short dark spikes; I liked it. Too much in fact. I looked down at my sandwich.
"Shay?"
His voice was soft. I looked up. Those eyes got to me every time.
"I don't know what happened with you and Nick, but I know how I feel about the time I've spent with you."
"Yeah?"
He set his sandwich down on the counter. He stepped closer to me. I almost dropped the OJ. He took that and the sandwich from me.
"I like you. You're easy to talk to..." I was waiting for it. I was waiting for the words 'I need a friend like you.'
"You're beautiful."
"Wh--"
I wasn't sure I had heard right, but Kevin's kiss was more than enough clarification. For one half of a second I thought about pulling the 'I'm still mad at you routine.'
But it had been a long time since I had gotten a kiss. And an even longer time since I had gotten a kiss from a guy that wasn't drunk...or high.
The only thing that stopped me from totally enjoying it was the fact that I had just woken up and my breath was not minty fresh. I pressed my tightly closed lips to his for a few glorious seconds before pulling away. I covered my mouth and laughed; Kevin looked amused.
"I'll be right back...I--"
"I smell beg-con!"
Jake padded into the room. "Mornin' Blake," he said. He reached up and took my sandwich. Kevin started to say something, but I shook my head.
"It's okay," I said. I turned and ran to the bathroom. I looked at myself in the mirror and almost screamed. My hair was out of control. My tank top was two sizes too small. I yanked my toothbrush out of its holder and attacked my teeth and gums. I was halfway through spritzing my hair and yanking at the offending strands with my pick when the doorbell rang again. The tub continued to drip behind me. I dropped my supplies and ran through the living room. I grabbed the knob and opened the door.
"It's the tub," I said breathlessly.
"Actually, it's Nick," Nick said. "Good morning."
I sighed.
What did I have to do to just get a tub fixed around here?
