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Chapter Nineteen: Girl, You Move Me


Nick woke up at four in the morning to the feeling of Kelsey's hand snaking around his body and pulling herself tight against his back. He stared through the dark in the bedroom at the glowing digital numbers on the alarm clock, just feeling the weight of her there beside him, feeling the smoothness of her skin against him. He held his breath and felt her chest rising and falling in a soft rhythm.

They'd wakened during the night and fallen into a second round of love making. He'd held her wrists to the pillow and kissed her head to toe this time before she'd taken control, rolling so that she was straddling him and kissing him and he'd gotten dizzy with excitement. They'd fallen asleep still tangled up in knots of skin and sweat and her hair had frayed across the pillow around them like a curtain for their kisses to remain private.

He drew a deep breath and she slid her hands across his chest, pressing her palm squarely across him, right over his heart. He smiled, and she nuzzled her face into his back, and mumbled, her lips moving against his skin, her breath warm on him, "Desi."

Nick blinked into the dark.

Kelsey hummed and breathed deeply and shifted her legs.

Nick brought his hand up to his chest, covering hers, almost protectively holding it there, as though by holding it to his chest he would undo the fact that she'd just whispered Desi's name instead of his own. He chewed his lip. How the hell was it that after last night, after the heat of last night, that she'd just mumbled Desi's name? Maybe it wasn't like that, he tried telling himself. Maybe she was having a terrible dream and Desi was in it and it had nothing to do with the sex.

He decided to let the word disappear into the dark, to fade away, four letters never uttered.

He closed his eyes and, still clinging to her hand, attempted to fall back asleep.

But her voice kind of rang in his ear and he found himself allowing his eyes to slide open and stare into the dark only a few moments later.

He wondered if this was how normal guys felt when paired up against him.

It was several hours later - all filled with thinking and over-thinking on Nick's part - before Kelsey yawned and stretched and her hand slid away from his chest as she rolled onto her back. He turned in the bed and watched as she twisted and turned, her bare chest thrusting toward the ceiling. He smiled, nestling his chin into the pillow, his eyes glistening as he watched her. "Mornin'," he mumbled finally.

Kelsey's arm slid across her breasts, as though she'd just realize he was there and needed to be modest. Her cheeks flushed, "Morning," she replied. She lifted the pillow from behind her and hugged it to cover her chest.

Nick reached for the pillow, "But they're beautiful," he protested, and he swatted the pillow away. He stared up at her eyes. "Ain't like I didn't see'em last night," he smirked.

Kelsey laughed, "You did a lot more than see them last night," she pointed out.

He slid his hand across her stomach to her chest and gently cupped his hand across her breast. He smiled, and stared into her eyes as he softly caressed her. She flexed the muscles in her toes as he rubbed her skin.

"What time is it?" Kelsey asked quietly.

"Nearly nine," Nick replied.

Kelsey thought about it a moment, "At night?" her eye brows stitched together.

"In the morning," Nick corrected.

Kelsey's eyes widened. "What??" she squeaked, sitting up, knocking Nick's hand from her breasts. "How can it-- you aren't-- are you serious?"

"Yes I'm serious," Nick laughed and he turned and reached for the alarm clock, aiming it at Kelsey. "See?"

"Shit." She rolled and climbed out of bed. "Shit-shit-shit. Desi must be worried sick..." she grabbed the towel he'd discarded the night before from the floor and wrapped it around her. She looked around, "Where's my phone? I gotta call him." She went into the bathroom.

Nick stretched out on the bed, his hands clasping over the two sides of the mattress and he pulled until he felt his back pop and let out a groan as he fell back into the blankets. "Aw man that felt good," he mumbled.

Kelsey came back out, tugging her bra on, her jeans already buttoned, her shirt tossed over her shoulder as she struggled with the clasps of her bra. Nick watched her pull her hair back into a messy pony tail. "Relax," he mumbled, "I'm sure Desi's asleep. He worked late last night, right?"

"Yeah but he wouldn't have gone to sleep," she shook her head.

"Needs to be tucked in, does he?" Nick jested.

Kelsey was pulling her shirt on now, and Nick rolled out of bed and waddled into the bathroom for his pants. He tugged them on as Kelsey shouted, "Hurry, we gotta get back to the hotel."

"Can't I at least bring you to breakfast first?" he asked.

"We can go after we get Desi," Kelsey called.

Nick sighed and tossed on his t-shirt. He knew he looked messy but he didn't really care, so he wandered downstairs after kicking on a pair of old leather flip flops and scratched his butt as he descended the steps. Kelsey was waiting at the bottom, her purse under her arm. She led the way across the yard to Nick's car in the mid-afternoon light and he climbed in, yawning even as he shoved the key into the ignition.

"Shit I need coffee," he groaned.

"Again -- after we get Desi."

"You're no fun," Nick pouted.

Kelsey raised an eyebrow, "No fun?" she asked, "Did we not have any fun last night, playing rodeo, Mr. Horsey?" she teased, her eyes twinkling.

"Yeah no that was fun," Nick said, "I mean in the morning. You're too...rushed to get back to reality. We should still be up there laying in the afterglow arguing over what poor cab-driving bastard to subject to picking up our to-go breakfast order and making out until we're ready to do it again -- twice before lunch, if we're lucky." Nick smirked at her as he drove down the street.

"Well I have responsibilities," she said, "I told Desi I'd be home and I gotta be home." She shrugged.

"Yeah," Nick said, and he chewed his lower lip. Thing was, he didn't want Kelsey to have to go home, he thought, he wanted her to be home. He hesitated, "Well what if you moved in?" he asked.

"What?" Kelsey looked at him like he had several large, biologically unexplainable heads.

"Well I mean I got a shitload of extra room," Nick pointed out, "It wouldn't be all that hard to do.. and you could use the tub any time you wanted," he added.

Kelsey laughed. "You're bribing me with your bathtub?"

Nick nodded, "And also the sex that goes with it." She laughed.

"While the tub and the sex both sound exhilarating," she said, "What about Desi?"

"What about him?"

"Well he moved to Nashville with me, I can't imagine him being chill about me just up and running off on him like that.." she said.

Nick shrugged, "I got a room over the garage."

Kelsey laughed. "I'll mention it to him sometime."

"Sooner rather than later?" Nick suggested.

When the car pulled up in the hotel parking lot, Kelsey leaned over and presed her mouth into Nick's, her heart pounding as she kissed him, her hands sliding up the back of his neck to his hair. She twined her fingers through it, stroking his head softly.

Nick hummed in approval.

"Okay, I gotta go in," she mumbled into the kiss. "But I'll see you later."

"Okay," he mumbled. Kelsey pulled away and he leaned as far as he could to prevent the separating of their lips. Then, "When later?" he asked.

"I dunno. Call at some point." Kelsey waved and started up the steps. Nick watched until he saw her safely enter the hotel room before driving off.