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Despite the fact that Nick’s wet clothes were now pressed up against what seemed like every inch of the front of her body, Annie felt warm. His hands fisted in her wet hair and his tongue trailed over her lips before he finally pulled away to take a breath. They both stood there gasping, and when he realized that she hadn’t been the one who pulled away, he smiled. Then, she did too. So he kissed her again. She responded with a little moan and leaned into the kiss as he clasped his arms around the small of her back and pulled her even closer. When she didn’t resist, his lips curled into a smile against hers. “I like you,” he breathed, resting his forehead against hers. “I like you a lot.”

“I know,” she sighed, resting her hands on his broad shoulders. “You shouldn’t.”

“I shouldn’t?”


She shuddered at the feeling of his breath on her cheek. “No.”

“Why is that?”

“Nick....” He loosened his grip on her and looked down at her quizzically. “I’m not what you need.”

He shrugged. “Maybe so... but right now you’re exactly what I want.”

“Nick, I...”

“Ssh.” He dropped his fingertip onto her lips for the third time in as many minutes. “Me thinks you doth protest too much.”

Annie giggled. “Is that Shakespeare you’re quoting there, Mr. Carter?”

“Are you surprised, Mrs. Morgan?” She flinched as his calling her “Mrs.”, though technically, that was what she was. She was still using her late husband’s surname, and Nick was well aware of her hesitation to move on after Andrew. Yet, somehow, over the past few months she’d gotten to the point that she didn’t really feel like a “Mrs.” anymore. Still, “moving on” was something she wasn’t quite sure she was particularly ready for.

“Actually, yes. I’m a little surprised that Nick Carter is quoting Shakespeare,” she answered him quietly, getting back to the subject at hand.

“Well, don’t be. Shakespeare was one of those subjects I was required to learn according to the homeschooling guidelines. While most of it still doesn’t make a lot of sense to me, he would have made a hell of a songwriter.”

“I see.”

“So, back to my question....” He stared down at her with a little smirk. “If we hadn’t had an audience, would you have kissed me at the end of our performance?”

She gulped. “Maybe.”

“Maybe?” Nick raised an eyebrow. “It didn’t feel like ‘maybe’ two minutes ago,” he chided.

Annie bit her bottom lip in an attempt not to smile at his sudden confidence. “Um...probably?” she squeaked.

He thought about it for a minute. “I’ll take probably.” He paused and took a breath. He imagined that had he gone to high school, this is how it may have felt when he asked the head cheerleader to go steady. His palms were sweaty and his heart was racing. He wondered if she actually had been a cheerleader. She didn’t really seem the type, but one thing was for sure-- She would have been a knockout in one of those little uniforms. “So, what do you say, Annie? You and me?” He figured he’d better go ahead and say it before he lost his nerve.  However, when he felt the muscles in her lower back tense up under his grasp, he realized he may have come on too strong.

“What?” Annie’s eyes got a big as saucers, and if it weren’t for Nick’s firm grasp around her waist, she would have stumbled backwards. She glanced at down at that all-important (and still bare) finger that was poised hesitantly on his right shoulder and fought the urge to pry his long fingers off her waist.

 

“Listen Annie, it’s not like I’m proposing marriage here, but I was planning on letting loose and letting myself have an amazing time tonight, and those plans include you. Like I said last night, I’ve not made it any secret that I’m attracted to you, and after that duet we just finished a few minutes ago, you can’t deny the chemistry here.” He gave her a little squeeze to emphasize his point. She gulped and squeezed her eyes shut in response. He loosened his grip on her and brought a hand up to her cheek. “Annie, look at me.” She opened her eyes and stared at him blankly, her expression completely unreadable. “We’ve been tip-toeing around this for weeks now, and I just want to know whether I should keep trying or give up and run away with my tail tucked between my legs.”

 

Annie could hear Leighanne’s voice echoing in her head. Have a little fun with the Backstreet Boy. Oh yeah-- and get the stick out of your ass. She looked up at Nick and took in a sharp breath. His proximity was overwhelming, yet she suddenly felt calm. “Keep trying,” she said softly. “At least for tonight, keep trying.”

 

Nick felt like like the skin on his cheeks might crack under the sheer pressure of his smile. “That’s what I was hoping you’d say. It’s a good thing, because I’m not so good at that ‘tail tucked between my legs’ thing.”

 

“So I’ve noticed.” She realized they were both shivering, and wondered whether it was simply because of their wet clothes in the air-conditioned suite or a little something more. “You should probably get out of those wet clothes,” she cautioned. “No hypothermia on the Backstreet Boys Cruise.”

 

“Why, Annie Morgan, I didn’t know you had it in you! Care to help me out?” He backed away from her and started shimmying out of his shirt.

 

She rolled her eyes but took just a moment to look beneath the raised hem of his damp gray sweatshirt and get a peek at his abs before clasping hands around his wrists. “Not so fast, mister. This is still me we’re talking about here.”

 

He dropped the hemline he was grasping and gave her a shrug. “It was worth a shot. You can’t blame a guy for trying.” He walked towards the door and she followed, holding it open as he started out into the hallway and turned back to face her. “Meet me backstage after the concert?”

 

Annie hesitated, but only for a moment, as Brian passed by in the hallway and paused to study them, his eyebrows furrowed in.... confusion? Distaste? She wasn’t sure, but it occurred to her that she really didn’t care. Plus, Nick had his back turned and didn’t even see him. She wondered if there was some kind of “Frick/Frack” sense that made him know Brian was there and choose to ignore him. In reality, the younger man didn’t have a clue. All of his attention was focused solely on Annie. “Sure. I’d love to,” she responded.

 

He smiled and bent over to plant a kiss on her cheek. “I’ll be looking forward to it. Tell me you at least brought some of those little ‘shortie’ pajamas to wear to the party tonight?” She laughed and pushed him on out the door.