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Author's Chapter Notes:
So glad I finally got this chapter out. There aren't too many chapters left and I'm kind of hoping that it'll all go smoothly, so I can finish it up. So this is for Tri. Ha ha! I used your favorite word and you thought it couldn't be done? Please review because this was one of the hardest chapters for me to write because I wasn't sure how it was all going to go down since I strayed quite a bit from my outline.
Chapter 53


By the time that they pulled into Nick’s garage a little under an hour later, the excitement and thrill of finally having Nick agree to some form of commitment had vanished and had been replaced with the harsh reality that in only about another three hours she’d be boarding a plane back to New York. A plane without Nick. Although they’d certainly been apart a lot longer than a month before, the next four weeks seemed as if they’d stretch out for an eternity to Alyssa. It wasn’t fair that they’d finally made things truly official and couldn’t even have the opportunity to celebrate the occasion.

But then again they’d missed another important opportunity as well. Throughout all the fighting last night they’d went to bed angry at each other, closing the door on any chance of intimacy that they might have had before their separation. Another opportunity wouldn’t arise until after Nick returned from his tour and Alyssa was completely settled into her new life in LA. Alyssa almost wanted to kick herself as the realization hit her. Why did I have to be such a bitch last night? she found herself asking. But then again Nick’s behavior hadn’t exactly been innocent either. Whatever the case, the fact still remained that they more than likely would not be having sex again before Alyssa left in a few hours. Alyssa had to admit that the thought made her just slightly uneasy as insignificant as it seemed. Nick had promised to try his hardest to remain faithful to her while on tour, but still Alyssa would’ve felt more confident if she could at least send him off with something to remember.

The two of them remained seated in the car not saying anything for an awkward moment as Nick killed the engine. It seemed as if neither one of them wanted to go back inside the house because that would mean packing and then there would be the dreaded trip to the airport. If they stayed in the car, they could almost pretend that time didn’t exist. That they had all the time in the world left to spend together.

Alyssa was the first to break the silence with a sigh. “I really am not looking forward to going back in there and packing. I can’t stand doing it.”

“Well, if you want you can leave some stuff here,” Nick offered. “I mean you’re only going to come back out here next month. It’ll save you the trouble of more packing.”

“That’s not a bad idea. There are a few things I’ll want to bring back to New York with me, but I’ll have no use for my lighter clothes in New York in January,” she admitted. “Who am I kidding? I just really don’t want to go back to New York, but I have to. There are so many little stupid loose end things I need to do back there.”

Nick grabbed her hand. “It’s only a month.”

“I know… Just a lot can happen in a month. Look at us.”

She had a point there. At the beginning of December they’d been nothing more than friends who were trying to deal with the messy aftermath of a drunken fling a few months prior. Now one month later they were a bona fide couple and Alyssa was about to move cross country to be with him. It was definitely an eye opening thought.

“I’m going to miss you a lot,” she continued as her fingertips stroked the top of his hand. She was now beginning to see where Nick had been coming from earlier when he’d shown his reluctance to become official now before the tour. It would’ve been hard enough to say goodbye to him then, but now it would only be more painful for her.

“Me too,” Nick confessed. “I’m so sorry I fucked things up last night. I really ruined our last night together.”

“It wasn’t just you. I played my part in it as well.” She looked away for a moment. “I just wish that it had ended up differently. Especially with it being my last night here and us not going to be seeing each other for another month.”

“Well, we still have a little bit of time before your flight to make up for lost time,” he hinted, flashing his signature smirk.

Alyssa just shook her head at him, trying not to laugh although she couldn’t help but to be slightly tempted by his offer. For a moment or two she fantasized about reaching across the console and pressing her mouth aggressively against his, burying her fingertips into his hair. She’d coyly suggest that they move things into the backseat where they’d begin to tear each others clothes off. Then he’d be inside her, pressing her body up against the cool, glass of the window as his thrusts grew deeper… Then the unfortunate reality hit her in the face. As hot as the idea of having sex in Nick’s car was, she’d never get on that plane at that rate.

“I know it’s a big fantasy of yours to have sex with me in this car, but it’s going to have to wait until next month because otherwise my mind is not going to be on packing and I’ll probably miss my flight,” she finally managed to get out, trying not to look too flustered.

“Can I take a rain check on that?” Nick asked, still smirking.

“Maybe if you’re a good boy and help me pack,” she responded as she finally cracked open the car door.

All of a sudden she felt like she needed some air.




Half an hour later, Alyssa had changed into the clothes that she had intended to fly back home in New York in and was just finishing up packing all the clothes that she knew that she definitely would need back home. She’d thrown her hair up in a messy bun on top of her head and looked as if she were deep in thought, trying not to forget anything absolutely essential.

She was so distracted with packing that she didn’t even notice Nick walk into the bedroom at first. He stood in the doorway for a moment watching her bite her lip and mutter to herself as she double checked the contents of her suitcase. Nick just chuckled to himself. Outside of Kevin, Alyssa had to be the most anal retentive person he’d ever met. Growing impatient, he made his presence known. “There’s no way you can be forgetting anything important. You have to be packed by now.”

“You never know with me. I just want to be sure,” she told him as she double checked the area for any loose clothes of hers.

Nick stepped up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. “And would it be that big of a tragedy if you did? I already told you that it’s cool if you want to leave anything here. Not like you’re never coming back.”

“I just need to make sure all my pairs of jeans are definitely packed. I’ll need them in New York,” she insisted, trying to shrug out of his embrace, but Nick was quicker.

“Fuck the jeans,” he told her, his voice tickling her earlobe. “We have just about an hour left before I have to take you to the airport. And I definitely don’t want to spend that time making sure you have all your jeans packed.”

Alyssa froze for a moment, but broke into a grin once she realized what he was getting at. “Let me just zip up my suitcase.” She leaned down a little bit to struggle with the zipper to her overstuffed suitcase.

While her fingers fumbled with the zipper, Nick’s mouth connected with the side of her neck gently sucking at the tender spot which only made Alyssa lose all her concentration on the suitcase and her fingers clumsily go limp. Her breath caught in her throat as she felt him reach up into her hair and pull out the thin elastic band that secured her hair, letting it tumble onto her shoulders. Knowing that Nick was definitely not going to allow her to finish she pushed the suitcase off to the side before turning herself around so that she was facing him.

“Okay… You win. God, you’re impatient,” she teased as she slid her hands up his shoulders. “You’re like a little kid. You can’t wait two seconds.”

Nick pouted. “I’m not impatient. I’m just on a tight schedule here. I only have a limited amount of time to make up for last night.”

Alyssa just rolled her eyes and held back a giggle. “If that’s the case then I guess we better stop messing around and start fooling around.” Her mouth drew nearer until her lips had finally sought out his. Her attempts at deepening the kiss though were thwarted once she felt Nick’s lips vibrating against her own as if he were trying to hold back laughter. Growing frustrated she pulled away and the laughter finally erupted from Nick’s mouth.

“Way to ruin a moment there Carter,” she complained, her hands on her hips. “Would you like to share what you find so funny?”

“You,” he managed to get stammer out between all of his laughing. “Stop messing around and start fooling around? You have to admit that’s pretty corny there. Definitely not your style.”

Alyssa scowled. “And now you know why I never do anything crazy in bed for you. The moment I let my guard down you make fun of me.”

“Aww, baby… I was only kidding with you,” he insisted. “It just wasn’t something I expected you to say.”

She just continued pouting. Seeing that he wasn’t making the situation any better he grabbed hold of her waist again. “Maybe I should just quit while I’m ahead.”

“I think that’s a smart idea,” she agreed as their lips met for a second time. This time, they were both completely serious and the kiss quickly grew steamy as their tongues meshed together. Barely breaking their embrace, Alyssa’s hands slowly drifted off of him and grabbed hold of the hem of her shirt, pulling it up over her head in one swift move.

“Now who’s the impatient one?” Nick teased as he smirked down at her.

“Shut up… I was only helping to move things along a little quicker since we’re so pressed for time and everything.”

“Sure…” he played along backing them up a few feet until Alyssa felt her back being pressed up against the wall behind them. A moment later he aggressively planted his lips over hers, pinning her against the wall with his palms. Alyssa’s hands dove under his t-shirt as she tugged at his bottom lip slowly moving the garment upwards. Breaking apart for a moment, Nick helped her pull it over his head before shifting his focus to a spot behind her earlobe. As soon as Alyssa felt his lips touch the extremely sensitive area, she let out a small sigh of pleasure. Noticing the way that she had reacted, Nick increased his pressure to the area, sucking gently. He grinned in satisfaction when his actions produced a louder moan from her and he could tell just by the way that she had shifted her position that her knees were beginning to buckle beneath her. “Nick…” she whimpered. “God, that drives me wild.”

“I can tell,” he told her with a playful smile. He spent a few more moments teasing her before finally moving his torture down to the spot in which her neck and shoulder met. His hand slid down her body to trace the curve of her hip as he began to work the waistband of the sweatpants that she’d been wearing down her legs. When they finally landed in a pool at her feet she shakily stepped out of them and kicked them aside.

Alyssa pulled away from him a moment, looking up at him with a devilish grin. Sliding her hands down his chest she finally let them rest at the waist of his jeans. Hooking her fingers inside, she pulled him back into the direction of the bed. “Let’s move this to someplace a little more comfortable,” she suggested.

Nick did nothing to protest. He willingly let her drag him down onto the bed. Immediately, she flipped them over so that she was straddling him and captured his lips with hers. Slowly tracing circles along his chest, she deepened the kiss, sucking on his tongue. He wasn’t used to Alyssa being so in control, but he certainly wasn’t complaining about the new change in her especially as her lips strayed from his and started a painfully slow descent downwards. He bit down on his lip as her fingers fumbled with the button and zipper of his jeans. Before he could further react she was pulling them off of his legs. Her mouth was only inches away from the waistband of his boxers and he couldn’t help but squirm beneath her, knowing which direction she was heading in. Just as she reached the waistband, her head popped up again a smirk painting her face.

“Why’d you stop?” he breathlessly asked.

Alyssa just innocently shrugged her fingertips brushing against the erect bulge straining against his boxers. “It just hit me that we really don’t have that much time left. I do have a flight to catch.”

“Are you serious?”

She just nodded her head. “Sorry… If I had more time…”

“Cocktease,” he muttered under his breath. Suddenly he found himself praying for some sort of freak blizzard in New York that would delay Alyssa’s flight significantly.

“Hey I heard that!” she playfully slapped him across the chest. “Let’s say I owe you one the next time I see you.”

“You bet you do! Well, two can play at this game,” he warned as he reached behind her to undo the clasp of her bra before rolling them over.

He pulled the piece of lingerie off her shoulders and threw it to the side as his lips made contact with her collarbone nibbling gently. He didn’t stay in that one spot for long before he traced a path of feathery light kisses over the tops of her breasts. Reaching her nipples he let his tongue encircle one of them teasingly. He immediately took notice of the way Alyssa shifted beneath him. Pinning her hands out at her sides, he flicked his tongue against it causing her back to arch. With a smirk, he bent down and softly blew a tiny bit of air on the area. Alyssa shuddered in response her eyes pleading with him to get on with it. Finally he gave in to her and clamped down on the hardened bud producing a gratified moan from the back of her throat.

After repeating the same tortuous process on the opposite side, he dipped his tongue into her naval, knowing how much she enjoyed the sensation. As his mouth tugged on the barbell that hung there his hand rested on the string of her thong and lowered it off her hips. Once it was completely removed his hand traveled back up her thigh and in between her legs, his fingertips rubbing against her mimicking the motions of his tongue.

Nick was finding it harder and harder to hold himself back as her breathing accelerated and her body trembled with her imminent release. Realizing that he couldn’t wait any longer, he pulled away just long enough to shed his boxers. “Fuck, I need you Lyss,” he told her between gritted teeth as he lined their bodies up.

Alyssa just nodded in agreement, feeling him up against her opening. Slowly he filled her sending a wave of immediate pleasure over her as her hands traveled around to his back. He began to move, trying his hardest not to move too fast too soon. Since he’d agreed to pretty much remain celibate for the next month he definitely wanted to concentrate on making this experience as pleasurable as possible.

Pressing his forehead against hers, he deepened his thrusts still going as slowly as he could possibly stand. He felt Alyssa’s nails digging deeper into his back as she moved with him. “God, I’m going to miss this,” she moaned in his ear.

“Me too, baby,” he agreed, his breaths shortening as he felt her walls beginning to contract around him. He bit his lip as he sped up the pace, lifting her body slightly upwards with each movement he made. Her hand gripped tightly onto the headboard using it force him deeper inside of her. He could tell by her cries that she was close and he wasn’t very far behind. Just as he felt her body begin to quake with the beginnings of her orgasm, he thrust into her one last time before he came and collapsed on top of her while she was just coming down from her release.

They were both breathing heavily for a moment too amazed with how the sex between them just began to get better and better each time. Finally Alyssa broke the silence. “Well… Now I definitely don’t want to get on a plane and go back to New York.”

For a moment or two it seemed to Alyssa that Nick hadn’t even heard a word that she had said. He still had the same blissful daze on his face. Just when she was about to give up hope that he had comprehended anything she said at all he did the one thing she least expected him to do. He looked up at her and laughed and then said the three words she had longed to hear from him for so long, at the most inopportune moment. “I love you.”

Alyssa’s head jerked upwards, her face frozen in shock. No way did he possibly say what I thought he said, she tried to tell herself. “What did you say?” she found herself asking.

“I lo-“That’s when it finally hit Nick what he had actually said. Shit, how fucking stupid am I? He’d struggled with finding the perfect moment to finally tell her how he felt non stop for the past few days and here he’d just blurted the words out like they were completely meaningless to him.

“Is this some kind of joke or something?” her voice cut through the silence as Nick’s words trailed off.

“No, it’s not! I just… urgh!” He groaned in frustration. “I didn’t mean it to come out that way.”

Alyssa immediately wriggled out from underneath him. “So, you weren’t being serious?”

He positioned himself so that he was lying next to her. “If I was would you have believed me?”

She looked away for a moment as if deep in thought and then shook her head. “No… Not the very minute after we finished having sex. It’s just hormones talking. You say things you don’t entirely mean.”

“But-“he tried to insist.

She put her hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay Nick. Don’t explain yourself. You don’t have to. I’m not mad. It happens. I’ll just pretend like it never happened okay?”

Seeing that there was no way that he was going to fix the situation, Nick gave up feeling like the worlds biggest ass. Leave it to him to fuck up something as simple as saying ‘I love you.’ Even though Alyssa had yet to say the words to him, it was painfully obvious that she had fallen back in love with him and was just waiting for him to say them first. And he’d of course made it seem like he was just saying them because of the heat of the moment.

“Shit,” Alyssa cursed as her eyes made contact with the alarm clock on his nightstand. “We need to get dressed and start getting ready to go to the airport.”

Nick grabbed her waist. “It can wait five minutes. Stay here.”

Alyssa shook her head and pulled away from him, sliding off of the bed. He watched as she began to collect her clothes and pull them on completely frustrated by his mistake and the effect that it seemed to have on her. Just a few minutes earlier they’d been as close as two people could possibly get and now he felt as if they were miles apart.




They arrived at LAX with barely enough time for Alyssa to have her suitcase checked in and pick up her boarding pass. Her flight was scheduled to begin boarding in a little less than half an hour and they were still in line outside the security gates where they’d have to separate. The line was moving at a snails pace and for once Nick didn’t mind. After she went through those gates he wouldn’t be seeing her until February.

Since his awkward declaration of love earlier that morning things had been a little awkward, but Alyssa appeared to be warming back up to him. He wasn’t sure if it was because she had blocked his words out of her mind like he’d never said them or if it was because she was being hit with the realization that this was the end of their week together out in LA. Whatever the reason he was thankful.

“So when are you going to tell me what’s in that bag?” her voice interrupted his thoughts as she gestured to the gift bag that he was holding in his hands.

Nick’s eyes glanced down at the large gift bag he held in his hand, almost forgetting that he’d brought it with him to give to Alyssa before she got on the plane. “Oh, yea sorry,” he apologized, handing it to her. “Just a little goodbye gift. Something I thought you might be able to use in New York.”

“Doesn’t look very little,” she commented as she reached into the bag. She gasped pulling out the very same six hundred dollar trench coat that she’d been eyeing at Marc Jacobs on her first full day out in LA. “Nick, I can’t believe you… This is way too extravagant just for a going away present.”

Nick just grinned and shrugged. “Well, it’s not exactly a going away present. I just didn’t decide to give it to you until now because otherwise you’d probably steal my credit card and go back to return it.”

“I still might. You know I’m pretty sure there’s a Marc Jacobs in New York City someplace.”

“Which is exactly why I didn’t include the receipt. I know that you’d be too embarrassed to go into a store like that and try to return something without a receipt. I hear those sales girls can be pretty nasty,” he teased, knowing that he had her there.

Alyssa sighed. “Okay, you’re right. I wouldn’t have the nerve. But thank you Nick, really… You didn’t have to.”

“I wanted to,” he assured her, reaching upwards to cup her chin before placing a light kiss on her lips.

Alyssa closed her eyes and returned the kiss, momentarily forgetting that she was standing in the middle of LAX. It wasn’t until she heard the sound of someone behind her clearing their throat that she reluctantly pulled away. Looking behind her she could see the annoyed expression of an older man and then she realized that the line had moved up another several feet. “Sorry,” she apologized, before closing the gap between the line.

In a few more short minutes Alyssa was nearing the head of the line and the both of them tensed up, knowing that they’d have to say their goodbyes soon. “I really am going to miss you,” she told him, intertwining her fingers with his.

“I’m going to miss you too,” he truthfully admitted. “I’ll keep in touch though. It’s only a month. We’ve been apart for longer. And after that you’ll be out here permanently.”

Alyssa grinned. “I kind of like the sound of that. Now it’s just breaking the news to my parents.”

Knowing that he didn’t have much time, Nick decided to try one last attempt at explaining that his accidental I love you wasn’t so accidental. “Look, about this morning, I-“

“It’s over Nick,” she interrupted. “I don’t want to talk about it. Especially not here.” Her eyes darted around to the crowds around them.

“I meant-“

“Miss, are you ready?” the stern voice of the airport employee in charge of the security check interrupted him. “You’re holding up the line.”

Nick looked up, realizing that it was already Alyssa’s turn to walk through the security checkpoint. “Yes I am,” she spoke up, throwing her carry on bags onto the conveyor belt. She quickly turned towards Nick and wrapped her arms around him. “I guess this is it.”

“Yea, I guess it is.” He dropped a light kiss on her forehead before moved his mouth closer to her ear so that only she could hear him. “I’d give you a proper goodbye, but the people behind us look pretty pissed.”

Alyssa laughed. “It’s okay.” She reluctantly pulled away squeezing his hand. “No groupies on this tour. You got it?”

Nick rolled his eyes. “Yes, Mom. Don’t worry I’m a one woman man now.”

“I certainly hope so.” She paused for a moment awkwardly. “Well, I’ll see you next month. Good luck on the tour.”
“Thanks. You have a safe flight,” he told her as she walked through the metal detector.

Once she was out of sight Nick sighed before turning on his heels and starting to walk back in the direction of the exit. No matter how often he had dealt with airport goodbyes, they always sucked.

At least once Alyssa moves out here we’ll have to do them a lot less often, he thought optimistically. Just that thought alone was enough to make him feel better about leaving her at the airport.

Now he just had to get through this tour. And get through it without getting himself in trouble.