[ - ]
Table of Contents [Report This]
Printer Chapter or Story Microsoft Word Chapter or Story
- Text Size +
Grace woke around three o'clock when Nick shifted in his sleep.  She came slowly to consciousness, her brain processing the information it was being sent...warm arms around me...he smells good...Nick!  She opened her eyes.  By the light from the window, she could see him sleeping.  What a beautiful face!  An angel in repose.  She hoped he wouldn't have a stiff neck from sleeping like that.  Should she wake him?  Or snuggle back down and enjoy the feeling of being held?

Nick shifted in his sleep again.  Grace traced her fingernail down his chest.

"Nick," she whispered.  He moved his head from side to side in his sleep, stretching his neck.  Then he opened his eyes.  He looked around, blinking.  His arms tightened around her.

"Oops," he said, "We're real party animals, aren't we?"

She pushed herself up off him.  She grabbed the crutches and pulled herself to her feet.  "I'm going to the bathroom.  And then I'm going to have something to eat.  I'm starving."

"Me too," he grinned.

Grace went into the bathroom.  She splashed cold water on her face and brushed her teeth. She ran a comb through her hair.  Then she opened a drawer and took out a toothbrush in a new package.  The dentist kept giving them to her even though she insisted that she used an electric one.  She set the package by the sink.

Back in the living room, Nick had tidied all the plates from the coffee table onto the kitchen counter.  He was looking around him, uncertain of what to do next.

"I'll take over here," Grace said to his back.  "Bathroom's free if you want."

"Thanks."  Nick moved past her into the bathroom.  This could get awkward, he thought.  Then he saw the toothbrush on the counter.  He grinned.  What a girl!  He washed his face and brushed his teeth.  He ran his fingers through his hair.  That was one advantage of a mussed-up hair look.  It always looked the way it was supposed to.  He looked at his watch.  3:15.   If he woke up at this time with a girl in his arms, he was usually already in bed with her.  He would know exactly what to do next.  But he knew he had to take it slowly with Grace.  He had only known her a couple of days.  That never stopped you before, his inner rogue said to the mirror.  It's stopping me now, he answered himself.  She's fragile right now.  She doesn't seem to be suffering the loss of Matt too much, but...

Nick returned to the kitchen.  Grace had tidied up the remains of their snack dinner and was looking in the refrigerator. 

"I make a mean omelet, if you're interested."

"I can run a toaster," he offered.

Together they made breakfast - omelets, toast and orange juice.  They talked about simple things - the news of the day, the weather - as they ate.  When they finished, it was only 4:30 in the morning.  An odd time to be wondering what to do next.  They were both wide awake.

"If you haven't been able to take a shower, what have you been doing?" asked Nick, and then blushed, realizing he had made it sound as if she were unclean.

"Oh, it's very sexy," countered Grace and described the awkward sponge baths.  "Washing my hair is the hardest, because I have to lean into the tub and still not put weight on my cast and...well, it's just annoying!" she finished.

"I'll wash your hair for you," he said.  "I love doing that."  She gave him an odd look.

"No, really," he went on.  He stood up and looked around the room.  He picked up the coffee table and carried it into the bathroom.  "Come in here," he called out.

"What are you doing?" she laughed, but grabbed the crutches and went into the bathroom.  He had the coffee table lined up perpendicular to the tub.  He had covered it with towels. 

"Come over here.  Lie down on the table.  It's the perfect height.  Here, let me help you.  Yeah, like that...slide up a bit, so that your head is almost over the tub.  There, that's it."

"I feel like a corpse laid out on a slab in the morgue," she said, crossing her hands over her chest. 

Nick turned from where he was picking up the shampoo bottle and gave her an odd look.  A shiver went through her.

“Do you have conditioner?” he asked.  She burst out laughing and so did he.  He did a little gay hairdresser mincing step and added, “Because we want those beautiful curls to be glossy and pert, don’t we?”

Grace roared with laughter. 

“Sshhh,” whispered Nick.  “It’s not even five o’clock.  The neighbors will be pounding on the walls.”

"I told you the flats are soundproof.  You could commit an axe murder in here and no one would hear."

Nick dropped the shampoo bottle on the floor.  His face was ghostly white.  She did look like a corpse, he thought.

"What's the matter?" she asked in alarm.

"Nothing," he stammered.  "Nothing.  It was just slippery."  He picked it up.  He shook his head as if to clear it.  "Now, you are going to enjoy this.  I promise."

He turned on the taps and fiddled until he had the temperature right.  He used the telephone shower head and wet her hair.  He knelt on the floor beside her and slowly rubbed the shampoo into her scalp.  She closed her eyes and savored the moment.  It was a wonderful sensation.  Her lips parted slightly and she moaned involuntarily.  Nick smiled down at her.  She hadn't even realized she had made a sound.  He continued massaging her head and then took the shower head to rinse out the shampoo. As the water cascaded over her head, he leaned down and kissed her.  Grace opened her mouth immediately and her tongue searched for his.  They kissed for a long time, the sound of running water the only sound in the room. 

Finally, Nick lifted his mouth from hers, and reached over and turned off the taps.  He wrung the water out of her hair with his hands and then covered her head with a towel.  He ruffled her head with the towel for a moment, then pulled her into a sitting position.  She turned sideways on the table.  Nick knelt on the floor.  He kissed her again and moved his lips down her throat.  She grasped his head and held it as he moved his mouth down to the top of her breast.  His hands reached for the buttons on her blouse.  He undid the top one and was reaching for the second when he felt her withdraw.

Nick immediately backed away.  He didn't want to scare her off with too much too soon.

Grace was embarrassed.  She felt like an idiotic schoolgirl.  One with dripping hair.  She reached up and rubbed the towel over her head.  Nick stood up and removed the towel.  He fluffed her hair with her fingers.

"Beautiful," he said under his breath.  He tossed his head and went back to the hairdresser routine.  "Just beautiful.  Such shine, such bounce."

Nick handed Grace the crutches and helped her to her feet.  She went into the living room and watched him return the table to its place.

He turned to her and yawned.  "I'm going to go home now and get some sleep.  You do the same.  Tomorrow, you have an enormous task ahead of you."  He looked at his watch.  "I mean, today."

"What's that?" she asked.  "Take a shower?"

"Well, maybe that, if you can manage.  No, I meant something much more dangerous.  I want you to meet my family."

Grace blanched.  "Your family?  You mean like parents?"

"And brothers and sisters.  Yeah, a family.  It's Sunday.  Whenever I'm not on tour, I try to do the Sunday family thing.  And Aaron's home now too.  A major coincidence."

"Well, if that is such a rarity, maybe they don't want to have someone tag along."

"You wouldn't be tagging along.  You'd be with me.  Can you handle it?  There's a bunch of them."

"I'd love to, Nick.  What time?"

"Let's say 2:00.  If there's a change, I'll call you.  O.K.?"

"Sounds great!"  Grace looked at the clock.  "That still gives me over eight hours to take a shower."

She walked with him to the door.  Here comes another awkward moment, she thought.  But it wasn't at all.  Nick leaned down and kissed her sweetly and said, "I had a great time tonight.  I really, really did."

"Me too," she murmured.  And he was gone.

"Now that has to make the top ten of strangest dates ever," she thought to herself.  "No," she mused, "That had to make the top ten of all categories of dates."  Best kiss, best nap, best omelet, best shampoo...