Ten: Cause and Effect
What Nick didn't realize, was that while he was running his mouth to AJ, practically everyone on our floor could hear what they were saying. Granted, after the day I'd had I was exhausted and ready to crawl into bed. But what girl would pass up an opportunity to eavesdrop on the guy they were crushing on? Really.
I have to say, it was pretty impressive that Nick was still going along with the plan. That had to make things awkward. Having to tell people I was his girlfriend when he was obviously unsure of what he wanted. Typical Nick, indecisive. Just another one of the reasons why dating him was probably a terrible idea.
Oh right. On the car ride home I made a list of all the reasons a relationship with Nick would fail. It Made me feel a little bit better about the fact he wasn't jumping up and down at the chance to be with me for real.
He's bad with monogamy, and would probably cheat on me all the time. He's incredibly self absorbed and always busy with work. His fans are psycho and despise any girlfriend he has. He can't go anywhere without being recognized and subsequently having to sign a million autographs.
Yup, those are all reasons why I should just push this stupid idea out of my mind.
It's really too bad that he's incredibly gorgeous and could make any girl melt with his smile. He can be thoughtful at times, usually when you least expect it. We've been friends for two years, so I know that we already get along. He's really funny and a ton of fun to just sit around and do nothing with.
Ugh. This really is a problem.
“I could have Danica right now if I wanted her.”
Whoa, wait, what?! Arrogant much? I guess that's another thing I can add to my list of reasons why Nick would make a shitty boyfriend. He thinks he can get any girl he wants.
God, he cannot just assume that I'd fall into his lap as soon as he snaps his fingers. I mean... it's true that I want to be with him but he was sort of right, we need to talk to Brian first. If we just decided to take things to the next level, it would cause all sorts of problems. Brian would be upset, he'd feel betrayed by Nick, eventually the whole plan would get out in the open. No... that would just be bad.
And I certainly wouldn't sleep with him right away! I mean it's not like I'm some kind of innocent virgin or anything like that, but I'd prefer to at least build some sort of foundation to our relationship before having sex with him.
The fact that he said that just infuriated me. So much that I didn't even want to listen to the rest of what he and AJ were saying. I sighed out of frustration and flopped down onto my bed. Sleep was probably out of the question at this point, but at least I could stare at the ceiling and brood.
I guess I must have hit that bed pretty hard, because Bev woke up with a start.
“Dani, what are you doing?” She asked me, sitting up in her bed and glancing at me.
“Sorry, just thinking.” I said with a sigh.
“I take it you didn't tell Nick how you felt?” She asked me, turning on the lamp on the desk between us.
“What makes you say that?” I asked, not really wanting to get into the specifics, but knowing that I probably didn't have a choice. Bev would get the truth out of me, she always managed to.
“Well, if you had I assume you guys would be in his room.” She said suggestively, giving me a wink.
Ugh. Of course she would assume something like that. “Yeah, because everything has to be about sex.” I said bitterly, looking down at my hands.
Bev gave me a strange look. “Okay, what happened?” She asked cautiously.
I rolled my eyes. What a stupid day it had been. That's all it was, just stupid. “Nick asked me if I liked him on the car ride home.” I admitted.
You could almost see her eyes light up. Trust Bev to always think there was going to be a happy ending. “And?!”
“And I told him that I did... I guess.” I said, taking a breath. “And all he said was that he needed to talk to Brian about it. Not that he felt the same way, not that he didn't. Just that he needed to talk to Brian.”
Bev raised an eyebrow. “How exactly is that bad?”
“Because he was supposed to be like 'Oh Dani, I'm so glad that you want to be with me for real, I've been waiting for this moment ever since we started fake dating.'” I imitated Nick, complete with dramatic gesticulation.
But Bev just burst out laughing. “Right. Because that sounds exactly like something Nick would say.”
“Well clearly not, because he didn't say it!” I shot back.
Bev sighed. “Well look at it this way. He didn't say that he didn't like you, and really, making sure Brian is okay with you guys being together should be his top priority.”
“I guess.” I mumbled, knowing that she was right.
“Besides, why would he have to talk to Brian if he didn't like you?” She reasoned. I guess that made sense. But if he liked me too, why couldn't he just have told me that? Ergh, men.
“Yeah.” I could agree with that at least. “But he doesn't need to be such a douche.”
“He's not being a douche.” Bev said. “He's just trying to smooth everything over.”
“Yelling with AJ in the hall is trying to smooth everything over?” I asked, still annoyed, and also forgetting that Bev didn't know that tidbit of information.
“What?”
“AJ saw him going into his hotel room and started grilling him about me again. They started arguing about sex and Nick told AJ he could have me anytime he wanted.” I scoffed. Nick could be such an insensitive douche.
Again, Bev just laughed.
“It's not funny!” I defended myself.
“Dani, I really wouldn't worry about it. That's just the kind of thing guys say to each other.” She said, grinning at me. “Besides, you have to hand it to Nick. He's still keeping up appearances with your plan even though things between you guys are really weird.”
“Yeah.” Damn her and her logic.
“So try to get some sleep, okay?” She said, turning off the light and rolling over.
“Yeah, goodnight.” I mumbled, crawling underneath the covers. Hopefully I could sleep off all this stress and the next day would be less awkward. Nick would talk to Brian and everything would get sorted out. No need to worry.
I was sort of right. The next morning I woke up feeling much better. Things were sure to work themselves out. I mean, it was Nick and I. He was fairly level headed and wouldn't let things get out of hand.
Plus he and Brian were good friends. Brian would be understanding, he'd be hurt, but he'd understand. Nick and I could be together and live happily ever after. Everything would work itself out eventually.
Now, if I could just start believing that, things would be peachy keen.
After quickly getting ready I decided to head down to the restaurant in the hotel for some breakfast. That was one thing I loved about touring with these guys. Spending nights in ritzy hotels with fabulous food. What girl wouldn't enjoy that?
Either way, my mind was occupied with thoughts of belgian waffles and orange juice. I momentarily forgot about the situation with Nick. That is, until I nearly collided with he, AJ and Kevin in the hall.
“Dani!” He said, sounding surprised. “Did you have a good sleep?”
“Yeah.” I lied, eying him. Well, this was definitely awkward. Had he forgotten about what had happened the night before? “I'm just going downstairs for breakfast... do you want to come?” I asked him, not sure if I wanted him to say yes. I did want to talk with him... but I still wasn't sure what I was going to say.
“I can't, we've got to get going to do interviews and stuff.” He replied, glancing at Kevin. I can't say I wasn't a little relieved.
“Okay, I'm starving so I'm going to get going. See you guys later.” I said, waving at the others and giving Nick a quick hug.
Then something happened that I wasn't at all prepared for. After I pulled away from Nick, he leaned his head down and pressed his lips against mine. It happened so fast that I didn't fight it. Not that I wanted to, and I really couldn't because AJ and Kevin were standing right there.
In reality, it lasted only a few seconds but it felt like it went on for hours. His lips were softer than I imagined (and believe me, I had) and he parted them just enough. Needless to say, it was perfect. Perfect in that it was great and wonderful and confusing all at the same time.
“See you later, Dani.” He said after he pulled away, giving me a cocky wink. Pulling away? Why are we pulling away... I kind of wanted to keep kissing him...
“Bye.” I replied, still in something of a daze. I don't even remember getting down the rest of the hallway and making it on to the elevator. But somehow I did, and all I was thinking was, what the hell just happened?!
