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Author's Chapter Notes:

After breakfast, everyone dispersed to do whatever day-off things they had planned, and Nick and Coll took up residence on two lounge chairs by the pool while Billy relaxed at the bar on the pool patio. Only one other family was out there with them, it was quiet and warm and the perfect opposite of their usual venue.


"Are you planning on doing some poolside laptop work or something?" Nick asked with a smile as he watched Coll dig something out of her tote bag that sat between their two chairs.

Coll had packed her day bag as if she might actually do any normal poolside things like read the only book she had brought from home, put some words on paper in her journal, or listen to music on her Walkman. Even In the simplicity of their afternoon, though, there was too much happening to concentrate on any of that. Nick was shirtless, she felt half-naked even in her one-piece, and she already had a little buzz from a complimentary glass of Prosecco a poolside waiter had brought her when they first arrived. There wasn't enough bandwidth in her brain for much more after the emotional swell of having a crush on him took up most of it.

She sighed as she pulled out a Red Sox hat and tugged it down over her head. "No, I brought it because I wanted to try connecting to the internet later in the business center. I noticed they had ethernets in there the other day when I went to use the computer. There are no ethernets in the rooms. I just didn't want to stop back later to get it." She shrugged.

"Gotchya." He nodded. "How's the novel going?"

She rolled her eyes, "You'll be the first to know once any significant progress has been made." She explained with a grin. "You know it's not happening right now…"

"I'm teasing you." He said as she relaxed back into her reclining position. And mumbled something about inspiration being a dark horse.

"So, what happened with the shitty guys?" Nick asked after a long period of silence - which he deemed long enough that he didn't appear too eager.

"Huh?" She turned to face him.

"You said Melanie ended up in your bed…"

"Oh." She realized, "I mean, it's whatever. Not always over guy problems but mostly… Anyway, just the usual stuff." She adjusted her sunglasses on her face.

"I don't know what usual stuff is." He laughed.

"Well... for example, Melanie was dating this guy Ted for like, I don't know, maybe 3 months last semester. He was super nice, he was always up for whatever … easy going. She needs that because she's got a lot of baggage… anyway, turns out he was seeing this other girl who goes to some other school at the same time and never even told her. Like who does that?"

Nick's stomach turned.

"So she found out because she was at his place and found a note from this other girl, and when she asked about it, he didn't even understand why she was upset."

"So, she broke it off?"

"Yeah, because she wants someone who doesn't have several girlfriends - or side affairs or whatever it was. And I get it, college guys wanna do what they want to do, but he lead her to believe it was a relationship between the two of them. That's what she wanted. Not really a lot to ask for but yeah… So that was pretty low. She was upset about that for a while, maybe like four days or so. The first night she slept in my bed… she's great, and she deserves a great guy."

"Any other examples? Ones that maybe aren't things I have done?" He asked, nervously.

"You did that?" Coll asked, her tone wavering between surprised and terrified.

"Well, Mandy…."

"Mandy agreed to that whole thing. Whatever it was… I don't know why." Coll laughed, "But she did. That's different, you told her."

"Alright."

"Seriously, Nick, you aren't a Ted." Coll said, reaching out to touch his arm, sending a weak feeling through his body, "You're a good guy."

He wasn't sure, but it was nice to hear.

"But yeah, I have more examples." She smiled. "Guys are weird."

"Let me hear them."

Coll recounted the top four most memorable moments from the past couple of years with college guys being morons, and Nick listened intently. A lesson in what-not-to-do he supposed.

As Coll was wrapping her stories, the waiter passed by with another glass of Prosecco. She looked up at him curiously, and he smiled politely. "Prego."

"Grazie mille." She replied and took the glass off his tray. He bowed his head and was gone in a flash.

"I love this country." She said as she brought the glass to her lips.

"Looks like this country loves you a little bit, too." Nick laughed.

"Maybe he heard all my stories and felt bad."

"Maybe he's just attracted to you," Nick stated plainly.

Without responding, she took another long sip and settled back into the chair. "As soon as I'm done with this, I'm going in." She mentioned as she looked straight ahead at the empty pool.



The height of the afternoon brought bright sun, dry heat, and several dips in the pool to cool off as the afternoon wore on.

Nick spent the majority of their time together trying to look at Coll as much as possible without her knowing. The sunglasses helped - and he knew he could take long glances at her without her noticing, especially when her eyes were closed as she reclined on her lounger or while she was swimming, and so he did. He was surprised again - and distracted - by how pretty she was. He had lost track of time watching her float, watching the water move around her curves, watching her hair flow out all around her as she enjoyed the buoyancy of her body in the water.

Everything felt different in the best possible ways.

When she smiled, he felt a weakness in his back.

When she laughed at something he said, he felt happy.

When she lifted herself out of the water at the ladder, he couldn't help but notice everything - her arms, her thighs, her back … everything was soaking wet and appealing, and he caught himself imaging sleeping with her, feeling oddly uncomfortable in that reverie while simultaneously enthralled by it.

She had noticed him watching her at times and enjoyed the fact that he was. The case for him maybe being into her was mounting, and she was collecting the data, analyzing it as she went. The idea that he might have some reciprocal feelings for her put her a bit more at ease - it felt maybe she didn't have to battle her feelings back so hard… like maybe they were in something together even if she didn't know what that was. Even still, being with him was bliss… she felt everything and loved the vast majority of those feelings. But she tried to maintain some caution as she felt everything.


"This is the perfect day," Coll said as she rested her head on her folded arms at the edge of the pool, letting her body relax in the water. Nick was sitting on the edge next to her with his feet in the water.

He looked at her and smiled. "Yeah."

"What are you doing tonight?" She asked as casually as possible even though she was anxious over his answer.

He looked at her curiously. "Eating dinner with you?" He shrugged.

She wasn't sure why it surprised her, but it did. "Oh, you don't have plans?"

"Plans? No."

"Honestly, just figured you would."

"Well, I do if you consider I 'planned' on hanging out with you all day."

"I just don't want to keep you from whatever you … do. Or want to be doing."

"You're not. This is what I want… to be doing." He explained, and the words sounded more serious than he wanted them to.

Her heart fluttered, and a shiver ran up her spine. "Fair enough." She relented. "What's for dinner then?"

"Let's go somewhere."

"Is that complicated?"

"It doesn't have to be."

Coll looked in Billy's direction, "Billy coming?"

"We can escape him," Nick explained, feeling the anticipation build up inside, hoping to recreate some of the magic from London.

I'm done for.



An hour later, they were making their way back to Coll's room, discussing their plans for the rest of the evening as they walked.

"Alright so meet me back upstairs after you get -"

"Oh my god," Coll said, cutting him off, as she sped up a bit as they were approaching her door which she had noticed was cracked open.

Nick looked ahead of her curiously and spotted what caught her eye, "Wait!"

He sped up as well, reaching her before she reached the door. "Wait." He said, putting his hand on her arm and pushing her aside gently. She looked at him for answers. "Just in case," he said as he moved ahead of her. That means something. She thought as he pushed her door further open.

"Shit." He stated as he took in the scene.

"Oh my god." Coll brought her hands to her mouth as she observed the situation in her room: completely ransacked.

A lamp was overturned, the bed was unmade, every drawer was open, there were hangers on the floor, even the minibar was cleared out… no more suitcase on the floor, no more jacket draped over the chair... she started walking quickly around the room, looking things over closer.

"My suitcase is gone. Everything is gone." Coll said, her voice trembling from the panic.

"Oh my god."

"Nick, holy shit what -"She didn't even know what to say, the room was spinning, and her mind was reeling. "I just… oh my god."

"Check the safe." He said quickly. She hurried to do that, but her hands were so shaky it took a few tries to get it open. Everything that was supposed to be in there was in there, though it wasn't much. Just her passport, her wallet, and her silver ring that she had taken off before going to the pool.

"Thank you, Jesus." She sighed with relief as she lifted the items out of the safe and held them close to her body before slipping the ring back on her finger.

"Thank god I had my bag with me! My laptop, even! Holy crap. This is crazy." She started rambling, "Oh my god. I have no clothes!" The realization sounded even crazier out loud, "No shirts, no shorts, no pants … no shoes. Oh my god, all I have left is this fucking bathing suit..." She said. She realized that she didn't even have underwear but refrained from mentioning it.

"Okay, first, we are going to call Billy and Tim and the hotel management," Nick stated as he watched Coll plop down, defeated on the edge of the bed, staring blankly ahead at nothing.

"Crap. That dress I bought in London… and that fancy perfume." She stated quietly. A running list of all the items that were in her bag started racking up in her head. "My B.U. sweatpants… My pajamas."

She sat there staring now at him blankly as he dialed Billy. She tried her hardest not to cry as she thought about how much it would cost to rebuy everything.

"Coll, we can replace all of that." He tried to be as reassuring as possible.

He was trying to take care of her, and she loved that, but that made her feel even more things she was afraid to feel. She was positive now there was no way out of this with him, she was in it even deeper than she initially thought.

She covered her face with her hands as Nick moved in to kneel in front of her, with one hand holding the phone to his face waiting for Billy to answer, he placed his other hand on her bare leg above her knee.

Instantly, she felt the rush of warmth through her body as he touched her, it got mixed up with the anxiety of the situation, but she looked at him, and it felt like things would be okay, even though she had no idea how.

She watched as he explained quickly to Billy what happened and asked him to come to her room as soon as possible. The way his voice sounded concerned but also confident made her dizzy, and she felt herself falling into trusting him.

A few tears slipped out of her eyes as he finished on the phone, and she brushed them away quickly. He moved his hand off her leg and took her hand in his as he flipped his phone closed. The impulse to take her hand was carried out without hesitation, but as he looked up at her, he realized he was actually enjoying the fact that she might need him at that moment.

The feeling of his hand wrapped around hers was so natural it almost didn't make any waves, but the fact that he reached out and took it was giving her immense pleasure. It wasn't the physical contact, it was the fact that he had emotional thought to do it. It means something. Her heart skipped a beat out of rhythm, and she took a deep breath.

"Coll, it's okay, everything is going to be fine. We can replace everything. The super important stuff is safe." His voice was sweet as he pushed some hair behind her shoulder.

The soft graze of his hand on her shoulder and the sweet gesture were enough to send a shiver up her spine. it means something. The imaginary evidence pile toppled over. She was almost sure of it now: she wasn't the only one with feelings. She smiled softly at him but shook her head sadly.

"I promise." He said as his thumb rolled over her knuckles.

Her eyebrows furrowed together, and another tear slipped out of her eye. She wasn't sure how to feel the happiness of what he was doing for her and the stress of the robbery at once.

They sat there quietly for a minute, her hand still in his.

"I feel so dirty." She said after a while.

"Why??"

"Like, who wants all my clothes?" She sniffled, "All my stuff? Like... that's so weird."

He looked at her, her face was blotchy, and she was trying so hard not to cry. He wasn't sure what to do, but he knew he wanted to be the one to fix this for her. "I'm so sorry." He said, "This sucks. But we can fix it."

Trying to think logically amidst the hazy lustful and emotional things she was feeling in that moment, she found herself beginning actually to calculate the value of everything that was gone. It made her stomach hurt.

"Maybe I should just go home." She thought aloud.

"What?" His heart sank, "No, what? Why would you do that?"

"I can't afford to replace all of that stuff … and if I can't take care of myself, I shouldn't be here." She brushed a few more tears off her cheeks.

"No. You're not going home over some random person being a jackass. I'm going to take you shopping, and we will get you all new stuff." He explained. "I don't want you to leave."

She looked at him and caught the hint of nervousness in his glance. His offering to take her shopping to replace everything wasn't just for her - it was for him, too. The thought of her leaving bothered him.

It means something.

Before their conversation could continue, Billy and Tim arrived at the door.

The four of them talked through everything for about ten minutes before calling the hotel manager up to the room. Half an hour later, it was determined the incident was caused by a door that didn't close all the way and another guest coming into the room. Coll had stopped in her room after breakfast, and housekeeping had already been through. Even the minibar had been cleared, so they mostly ruled out the possibility that hotel staff were to blame. The manager assured them they would investigate further, though.



"Thanks a lot, we appreciate it," Tim said, shaking the hotel manager's hand as he left with a sympathetic nod.

"Alright guys, let's try to move on from this, Coll what can we do?" Tim asked turning to face her. "Do you need to go anywhere tonight to get some stuff?"

Coll shrugged sadly, shaking her head, not even sure what to do next.

"I feel like a moron." She admitted.

"Don't." Tim and Nick both said at the same time.

"It's my own fault."

"It was a mistake. Even still, a decent person doesn't just rob someone." Billy added.

"I'm such a moron. I'm sorry." Coll turned away from them, into Nick's direction, and covered her face with her hands, shaking her head again, feeling ashamed.

Tim looked at Nick, "Just let me know what you need." Nick nodded.

Tim and Billy slowly made their way out of the room, leaving Nick and Coll alone.

"Come upstairs with me, I'll get changed, and we can go shopping," Nick said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. She sighed and slid her tote bag onto her arm and let him lead her out of the room.

She was quiet as they made their way to Nick's suite. He pushed the door open and let her in ahead of him. "First, let's put your stuff in the safe." He smiled. She nodded and pulled her passport and wallet out of her bag and handed them to him. He went to the closet as she watched from the edge of his bed.


She looked so defeated sitting there with her tote bag at her feet, her hair pulled into a messy bun on top of her head, still damp from the pool, and her cheeks were still splotchy from crying. All he wanted to do was take care of her, and that was an unfamiliar feeling, but it was one he didn't want to let go of.

"We should be able to get you a few things tonight, at least. We can finish it off in the next few days. You're going to have a cool new European vibe going by the time this is finished." He smiled.

She shook her head sadly, "I really can't let you do this, Nick."

"Why not?

"I will just have to use the money I have, and then when I get back to Boston I'll look into starting work earlier-"

"Coll, Let me help you. This is an easy one."

"It's not your responsibility to-"

"It doesn't matter. You need help, and I can help you." He said, "You don't want to live in that bathing suit for the next month, do you?"

She thought it over for a few more seconds, "Fine." She gave in, "But I'm going to pay you back…. someday."

"If you really want to, but I don't think it'll matter." He explained as a vision of the two of them ten years in the future flashed in his mind.

"How will it not matter?" She asked as they made eye contact. The only situation she could imagine in which it might not matter made her feel too much. Each of them felt a little warmer for a moment.

He shrugged it off, "I just don't think it'll be necessary." He said, "Let me take a quick shower and then we can go out and see if there is anywhere, we can at least get you some new pajamas," he began, "I know that's the most important outfit of the day."

She giggled softly, "Alright." She said as she slid back along his bed and laid down. "I'll be here. Hopefully, nothing else ridiculous happens to me in the next ten minutes."

"Alright, don't worry, you're gonna be okay."

“Collypop! What the hell happened.” Brian asked as he and Leighanne approached Nick and Coll in the hotel lobby with Tom not far behind. Billy had sent a text to the rest of the team to give them the summary of the day’s events at the hotel, and word traveled to Brian and Leighanne naturally as they were out for the day with Tom accompanying them.

“Collypop?” She asked, smiling involuntarily.

“See it made you smile!” He grinned.

Coll rolled her eyes, “Yes, thanks for that.”

“But seriously what happened??”

“I don’t know.” She said plainly, not really wanting to recall the whole situation.

Nick filled them in as Coll accepted a hug from Leighanne.

“Damn.” Brian sighed.

“Do you need anything?? Obviously, we are gunna have to replace your stuff but do you need anything in the meantime??” Leighanne asked concerned.

“I don’t know, I just-“

“We’re gonna go out and see if any stores are open, get a start on it at least,” Nick said, looking at Coll who was still fully defeated and still wearing her pool clothes under a teeshirt he had given her.

“Can I give you something to wear out at least?” Leighanne asked.

“Sure,” Coll replied with little emotion. Her body was tired and her mind was fragile. Everything felt full to capacity. The week had been so long.

“Come with me, you guys wait here - give us fifteen minutes,” Leighanne said as she took Coll’s hand and the two of them left the scene.

Waiting until the two of them were well out of earshot, Brian turned back to Nick, “Alright so - what’s up?” Brian asked, as he folded his arms over his chest.

“Not much, been dealing with that for the past couple hours…”

“No man, I mean, you and Coll … what’s the deal?” Brian prodded.

“What do you mean?” Nick asked.

“Nick...”

“What??”

“Did you sleep with her?”

“What?! No.”

“Are you trying to?” Brian asked.

Fuck