“Good, Bone, it went good.”
“You didn’t do anything…Nick-like…did you?”
“You mean like pick my nose or fart in public?”
“Yeah,” laughed AJ, “or pick up some other chick at the party?”
“Why?” asked Nick. “What have you heard?”
The two friends had a good laugh. Nick shook his head on the other end of the line. AJ was closer than he knew. Nick had been totally unprepared for Ronni showing up at the party. He guessed now that he thought about it, he could maybe have figured it out. He knew Ronni was from Chicago and that she was well off. He guessed if he’d ever mentioned her name to Abby, he would have found out. Funny, he thought, that I never ever said her name. I guess I was just trying to wipe her out of my life. Out of my mind. And he thought he had.
But she was back there with a vengeance. Even though she was married and he was about to be and there was no chance whatever of them getting together, the tiny voice in the back of his head kept saying, ‘what if?’ all the way home on the plane. He’d tried to shush the voice…he was with Abby, Ronni was with James, there was nothing he could do about it anyway. But the voice wouldn’t go away.
Okay then, what if? He finally faced it head on. What if Ronni were available and so was he? Would he want to get back together with her? Nick turned it over in his head. What he did know was that after they split up, many of the people who had met her confided to Nick that they didn’t like her all that much and that they didn’t think she was right for him. At first, he thought maybe they were just trying to make him feel better…aw, don’t worry about losing her, we never liked her anyway…but when person after person said it, he began to wonder. He expected it from his mother and Mary – he knew they didn’t like her – but a bunch of his other friends had mentioned it too, Troy and Chelle, Mickey and Deedee, even Mrs. Marchesa.
So would it be good to go back with her, not that that was a possibility or anything, just a…what did you call it…a hypocritical question? His brain said ‘no’, but his heart said ‘yes’. If they were both available, which they weren’t, so there was no possibility of it, but if they were both available, if he could magically make James and Abby disappear, would he try to get Ronni back? Yes, he would. He knew that. And based on her reaction to him last night, he figured there’d be a good possibility that he could get her back.
So okay, that settled the ‘what if’? Now, get over it. Suck it up and go on. Because James and Abby were not going to magically disappear. Nick felt a moment’s guilt for even having thought of it in those terms. This was his life. It was the life he had chosen for himself – deliberately. He had chosen to forego the roller coaster ride of searching for true love to settle for friendship and stability. He had made the choice freely and he was sticking with it. Not that there was any reason not to or any possibility of not…but what if?
Okay, that’s it, he decided. You are going to get Ronni out of your head. And you are going to put Abby back in there. Think about this morning. Oh yeah, do that. Think about this morning.
Nick had not made love to Abby the night before because it just didn’t seem like the right thing to do at that moment. He felt that he and Abby had come through the party unscathed and he wanted it to stay that way. Their long talk had been good for both of them, he felt, setting all the demons free. Cuddling up together and going to sleep was the perfect ending to the evening. And he was also a little afraid that he’d say the wrong name at the wrong moment.
This morning, however… Nick smiled to himself. He had more than made up for his inaction of the previous night.
He woke up first. A glance at his watch told him it was just after six. He wondered what had wakened him. He slipped out of bed, taking care not to let the cold air in under the covers. He was surprised that Abby was still asleep when he came back out of her bathroom. He had thought it sounded like Niagara Falls when he was peeing. He figured it would have wakened the whole household. And he was such a dork, he even whispered, ‘Shhh’ to the stream of piss, like that would make a difference.
Nick spread some of Abby’s toothpaste on his finger and tried to brush his teeth. He swished it around in his mouth and spit as quietly as he could. Then he slipped back into the bedroom. He dropped his t-shirt and sweatpants on the floor and eased himself back into the bed. He rubbed his hands together, making sure they were warm and then he went to work, caressing her arm and kissing her softly on the neck. Abby, he whispered. Aaaabby. He slipped his hands up under her nightgown and massaged her back. Aaaaaabby. He sang it to her softly.
Abby stirred in her sleep and made a small sound. Nick pushed one of her knees up and then moved his fingers between her legs, probing between her folds. He stroked her softly from behind. Aaaaaabby.
“Nick.” Her eyes flew open as she came awake and realized what he was doing. She tried to turn to face him. But he wasn’t done kissing her neck yet, and he held her down. Abby reached behind her trying to find him
“Mmmm,” he murmured, as her hand closed around him. He moved his hand then, sliding two fingers into her.
Abby gasped. “Nick,” she whispered again.
He moved his hand out of her and leaned back. Abby sat up in bed and in one motion lifted her nightgown over her head. She slid back down and he covered her with his body. She pulled the covers up over his shoulders.
“You cold?” he asked.
“No,” she murmured, raking her fingernails down his back. “No, I’m very warm. What about you?”
Nick lowered his body so that Abby could feel his arousal. “Oh, I’m feeling the heat.”
“Be in me,” she replied. She didn’t have to say it twice.
Nick entered her slowly and deliberately, savoring every second of the sensation. Abby clenched and unclenched her walls around him, massaging him out of his mind. When he was fully in her, he withdrew almost all the way and then came charging back. He grunted softly with each deep stroke. Abby’s hands worked on his nipples and his back fluttering back and forth, tweaking, stroking, scratching. She wrapped her legs around him and arched her back. Nick was coming too fast and he wanted to slow it down. Abby felt it. “No,” she whimpered, pressing on his butt with her heels. “Now.”
And so he gave himself up to it, driving himself deep within her, letting the contractions of her womb pull the fluid from his body. He moaned as he finished, keeping perfectly still for a few seconds and then ending with three quick strokes. Then he lay still above her, balanced on his forearms, staring at her face, while she whimpered softly through her final moments. Her head was back on the pillow and her eyes were closed. She did that thing with her bottom lip that she always did when she was uncertain, pulling it between her teeth. But he didn’t think it was uncertainty that was making her do it this time.
Finally, she opened her eyes. “Morning,” she said, with a lazy grin. Her voice was still husky from passion and it sounded very sexy. Nick leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips.
“No fair,” she said, turning her head and covering her mouth with her hand. “You brushed your teeth.”
“Hmmm,” said Nick. “I guess I’ll just have to find other spots to kiss then. Because I’m in a bit of a kissing mood.” And with that, he put his mouth on her neck. He kissed her softly and then moved his mouth to her collar bone. He licked and sucked his way along it. Abby tried to stifle the whimper but was unsuccessful. And when he moved his mouth lower, capturing her breast, she didn’t even try. The moan started low in her throat and oozed its way out of her.
“Nick, stop before I wake my parents,” said Abby, hoping that he wouldn’t listen to her.
“No,” he said shortly, lifting his head from her breast and looking her in the eye. “I think they need to know that I can make you squeal.”
A sharp bark of laughter erupted from her. She clapped her hands over her mouth. Nick started giggling and buried his face in her neck to muffle the sound. Abby trembled beneath him, shaking with laughter.
“I have to go to the bathroom,” she said, between giggles.
Nick rolled off her. “Don’t be long,” he said.
She hadn’t been long, he remembered. And she tasted minty fresh when she came back. He kissed her mouth for a long, long time. She seemed to really like that. Then their hands got busy and they brought each other closer and closer to the edge. Nick pushed her over and then entered her as she was tumbling into the abyss. The sensation for him was incredible. She seemed to enjoy it too.
And he’d get to do it again in a week or so. Because she was coming to California for New Year’s Eve. This time it was his parents that would put them through the wringer.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Abby sat and stared at the computer screen. She had come up here to write. Well, she had come up here to get away from her mother. Writing was just the excuse. But she wasn’t writing, she was thinking. She was thinking about Nick. Nick last night and Nick this morning. A smile crept across her face at the thought of Nick this morning. Mmmmm…
Aaabbyyy. Aaabbyyy. Waking up to that soft whisper and the feel of his lips on her neck and his fingers… Abby could feel her cheeks getting warm. She shook her head and reached for the keyboard. Yeah sure, Abby, what are you going to write, Princess Penelope Gets Laid? Where are you going to find the words for it, to describe that moment when he entered your body, that feeling of being one person? And then when he’d started moving…those deep, fulfilling strokes…
There was a hint of desperation to it on both their parts, she thought. It was almost as if he couldn’t get far enough into her. And she needed to possess him…all the way. Spectacular sex, truly amazing. He made love better than anyone she’d ever been with. Not that that was a lineup around the block or anything, but still…
And they had laughed. And that was the best part…okay, fine, the second best part…but it was still something she didn’t want to be without. The joking and the laughter, the teasing and giggling, the…okay, say the word, Abby…the friendship.
Friendship had got them through last night. Abby wasn’t sure that love would have. Love would have colored their judgment and allowed the green poison of jealousy to blur their vision. Princess Penelope would not have been able to save Captain Carter from the evil Lady Vera if she had not been entirely focused on the task at hand. There was strong emotion, yes, but it was hatred for Ronni and she had managed to overcome it enough to be there for Nick.
And she had been there, Abby thought, smiling to herself. Maybe Ronni had done them a favor, after all. Abby knew they would never have played the cooing, adoring couple under normal circumstances. They would have been stiff and formal, nervous and afraid that the people would see through them, that they would think that he was marrying her for money or because she was blackmailing him or something.
But they had left no doubt in people’s minds. The smoldering glances, the tiny kisses, the whispered words…all good, solid evidence of a match made in heaven. Abby only hoped that Ronni had gotten the message. And just in case she hadn’t, Abby was going to try to keep Nick out of Chicago.
She was going to California this time, to meet his parents. She was going for a couple of days over New Year’s. It would give her a nice break from her parents, she thought, even though she would be meeting his.
On the way to the airport this morning, they had laughed about getting the parents out of the way. Then we can just live our lives and ignore them, said Nick. Yeah, right, said Abby. Sure, that will happen. Do you remember my mother? Nick informed her that after Abby met his mother, she would come home and throw herself on her own mother and never let go.
Abby dropped him at the curb again and said that she’d see him in a week. “Will you be picking me up at the airport?” she asked with a grin.
“Nah, take a cab,” said Nick, laughing. Then he climbed out of the car and walked into the airport without looking back. Abby signaled and pulled out into traffic.
