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Sitting in the middle of Baylee's hospital bed, Natalie barely glanced up from her laptop when Brian entered the room. Fingers flying over the keys, she kept her mind focused on the message she was writing for the Healthy Heart Club website. An update on Baylee's condition. She had been joyous to write that he was starting to feel better thanks to the care he was receiving. At the moment it was in the Pediatric Recreation Room, playing with other children. Closing her eyes briefly, she sent another quick prayer up, this time including Baylee's newest friend Elizabeth. The little girl had arrived at Baylee's hospital room just after breakfast, nearly dragging Nick along with her. She had instantly captured Baylee's heart, and the boy had begged Alana to let him go play.

Shifting, she glanced to see Brian looking through a stack of cards that had been delivered that morning. Wishes of health from his fans. Clearing her throat, Natalie held the laptop out to him. "Here's the update," she murmured, quickly looking away once he took the computer from her.

"Thanks," Brian answered, glancing toward her to flash a grin, but her gaze was no where near him. He knew it was because of what happened Friday night. He had all but thrown himself at her. Desperate for some kind of romantic entanglement, he had all but shattered his friendship with the wonderful woman. With his best friend. He had to keep track of his emotions from now on. He couldn't put her in the middle of his heartache. Not anymore. Fighting a heavy sigh, he settled the laptop on his lap as he hurriedly scrolled through the recent update. He smiled appreciatively at the creativeness of the page. "You do such a great job with this page, Nat. No wonder we pay you so much."

"You pay me too much," Natalie replied softly, pulling the laptop back into her lap when he held it out. She wondered what his reaction would be if she told him she would be willing to do the job for free, then quickly decided against it. After what had happened Friday night-or, truthfully, what had not happened-it seemed he had grown distant. True, he still hugged her, still insisted she snuggle with he and Baylee at night, but she could tell he was holding something back. With a heavy sigh, she looked at him, his words still burning in her mind. I've loved you since I met you. Didn't he realize what those words could do to a woman? Especially considering she had loved him then, too.

"I don't pay you enough," he laughed, leaning back in his chair as he braced his hands over his face. "…Guess you should put up later that he's having his surgery next Friday. Alana's going to be in the surgical unit with him. They're even letting him have George and Simba with him. Although, I think Alana coaxed them into that, too. At least the guys'll be here then. We won't be so alone, y'know?"

"Yeah… Howie's going to be able to make it from Cabo?" Natalie questioned softly as she quickly uploaded the update, grateful the hospital had allowed her to use the high speed internet access. Once the update was done, she snapped the laptop shut, pushing it away before sliding off the bed to put it away.

"Howie's leaving early just to come here to see Bay and Nick. Always trust your little love affair to be worried about the little ones," Brian teased, watching Natalie bend over her laptop bag. He tried to pry his eyes away from her curved, supple backside, feeling his loins burn with need. Groaning softly, he pressed his hands into his lap, glancing out into the hallway instead. "…How you have a crush on him is beyond me…"

"I don't have a crush on him," Natalie disagreed, shaking her head as she stooped to push her laptop bag under the bed. "Howie's just a sweet, romantic guy who always knows how to make a girl feel special--"

"You say this as if you dated him-Are you not telling me something?" Brian accused quickly, feeling his heart sink.

"Bumpkin," Natalie sighed, flopping into the empty chair next to him with a sigh. If she didn't know better, she would think Brian was jealous. "Howie and I went out one time. You know that--"

"If he's so terrific, so romantic and sweet, why didn't you stay with him?"

"Because my heart already belonged to someone else."

"Flavio?" Brian guessed the name of her ex-lover, immediately snorting at the name. The man had always been one step away from calling himself Fabio, the greatest lover in the world, or so he thought. He recalled many a time where he could have wooed Natalie far better than the two-bit-so-called Italian could.

"Flavio? Lord, no," Natalie breathed, waiting for the familiar heartache that always followed the mentioning of his name. It never came, however, and she shook her head slightly. Flavio… She had met him in California, just after Brian's wedding. A photographer, Italian, very wild and dangerously exciting. Though he had left her at home alone more than he had spent time with her. She should never have been surprised to learn he was sleeping with everything but her. "I dated Howie after Flavio…"

"Well then who--"

"It's not important, Bumpkin," Natalie interrupted, unsure if she could even tell him the truth.

"Well obviously it is--"

"You."

Brian choked, "What?"

"You asked… It was you."

"Was me…" Brian repeated, turning to glance at Natalie to catch her light caramel eyes. He had to assure himself that she wasn't lying or merely pulling his leg. Though, she had never teased him before. She reserved the merciless teasing for Nick. She was just so sweet with him. So, that meant… Brian reached up to rub his heart, feeling as if it were rushing into a furious flight. Licking his dry lips, he took a deep breath in hopes to calm himself. "Past tense? So not anymore?"

Did he have to sound so hopeful? Natalie swallowed hard, biting down on her bottom lip to ward off tears. "Brian, I--"

"Me? I had your heart? The romantic part of your heart?" Brian whispered.

Natalie nodded. "You still do--"

"God, Nat, I love you so much--" Brian hesitated on his next set of words, just wanting to yank her into his arms. He wanted to meet her lips in a passionate dance of tongues, laying her upon the bed and finishing what he should have so many nights ago. But, staring at the empty IV pole, he knew he couldn't be foolish. "God, Nat…"

"You're married to someone I used to call my best friend," Natalie whispered, quickly brushing her tears away. She knew what would come next. The declaration that she was his best friend, that he didn't want to risk--

"She left me, Nat, and she's not coming back," Brian whispered softly.

"What if she does?"

"She's not the person I fell in love with."

"I'm sorry, Brian…"

"I'm not," he answered softly, reaching to brush his fingers delicately down the side of her face. "If only I had been the man and asked out who I wanted to ask out in the first place - you. But… God, Scooper is so sick and I can't…. I don't want to ruin our friendship by taking it somewhere and not having it work out when my heart's so focused on him. Can you just give me time? Just a little bit more--"

"I've waited nine years, Bumpkin," Natalie reminded him, turning her head to press a soft kiss to his fingers. Years of hiding her true feelings, standing at Leighanne's side and pretending to be happy when the woman married the man Natalie loved. Years of wondering if he loved her even an inkling more than he hinted at. Closing her eyes, she bit back more tears.

"Is that you're way of blowing me off or promising me that you'll give me a chance when I'm ready?"

"I'll be here when you're ready," Natalie promised, leaning over to kiss his cheeks softly.

"I love you, Nat, so much," Brian whispered against her cheek, moving to kiss the corner of her mouth, praying she meant it.

"I love you more," Natalie murmured, resting her fingers against his neck briefly. "But I should go down and get our lunch…"

"Want me to go with--"

"You need to stay here and work on your thank you message for the site," she reminded him, reluctantly pulling away. She needed time alone. To think over and analyze what he had just said.

"Take my credit card," Brian decided absentmindedly, reaching for Nick's sketchpad and a pen.

"I already have your credit card that you gave me last week…" Natalie trailed, digging her purse out of a drawer. "I'll be back in a little bit--"

"Hurry back," Brian insisted with a small smile.

"I will," she promised softly as she left the room. Once in the hallway, she leaned against the wall for a long moment, drawing in several deep breaths to calm herself before heading for the elevator. Immersed in her mental replay of Brian's declarations and promises, she nearly walked right into Alana, who was going the opposite way. Lifting her head at the last minute, she quickly stepped aside. "Holy crap--"

"Damnit!" Alana yelped in shock as she caught her foot against Natalie's heel, sending her plummeting to the tile floor with a small bag of IV normal saline solution beneath her. She heard the loud pop of the bag and felt the seeping of cool fluid against her new scrubs. Pulling back, Alana glanced down at her light purple Disney Princesses scrub top, now showing the delicate outlines of her expensive bra. "Nothing like a wet t-shirt contest to really make my Monday morning…"

"I'm sorry," Natalie murmured, wondering how it was she always managed to make a mess of things.

"Guess just because you got long bird legs don't mean you're supposed to be graceful," Alana laughed with a soft shrug, standing up and gathering the empty bag she had been fixing to give to another nurse. Glancing toward Natalie's forlorn expression, she offered an encouraging smile as she pressed a hand to Natalie's shoulder. "Hey, it's okay. I caught all the saline on my scrubs. No mess, no fuss."

"I should have been looking where I was going. It's just that me and Brian… And then… Just… Ugh! Men!" Natalie growled, rubbing her temples.

Alana's face grew into a serious expression as she glanced up from her damp top. "You have no idea how many women mutter that in these halls…"

"…I'm sorry," Natalie murmured softly. "If you don't have a spare top, you can borrow one of my shirts if you want… They're in my bag in Bay's room. I'll just go--"

"Hey, I'll dry out, don't worry," Alana assured sweetly. "Why don't you come take a walk with me back to the nurse's lounge? All of the cows are out trying to scope on Nick and Brian, so no one uses it anymore. You can come vent if you like?"

"Just what I need. Some more horny cows scoping on Bumpkin," Natalie sighed. "Is there junk food in the lounge?" she questioned hopefully.

"You're talking about nurses here, we've got every junk food known to man in there," Alana promised, gesturing to Natalie to follow her. Leading her behind the nurses' station, she entered the private nurses' lounge and started to collect the variety of junk foods hanging around the fridge and cabinets. Thinking she had enough, she dumped the contents upon the coffee table and collapsed onto the nearby sofa.

"My God… Do you know how long it's been since I've been able to actually eat one of these?" Natalie asked, scooping up a Snickers before dropping onto the sofa. "Leighanne absolutely refused to allow it anywhere in the vicinity of the office… Her car… Her house…"

"What about your car or house?" Alana questioned in confusion, kicking off her converses as she tucked her legs beneath her. She knew vaguely about Brian's wife from what he told her and what Baylee mentioned. Brian had explained that they were separated and Baylee really didn't know his mother. She thought that was a shame; Baylee not knowing the strength of a mother's love, but who was she to say? She had experienced that too.

"I kind of got used to not eating it I suppose…" Natalie trailed, pausing to take a bite of the candy. "Plus the fact that up until a few months ago I spent the majority of my time with them…"

"You still shouldn't have let her dictate the rules of your life," Alana murmured softly, reaching to play with the ring on her silver chain. She wished she had learned that early in her life. But, unfortunately, she had been in the same place. Her mother and stepfather having complete control over what she said and did. Guilt was the reigning factor along with just the hope of being loved and appreciated. But she received neither. Not with her half brother becoming the only piece of sunshine.

"I did it so I could be near Brian… And Baylee when he came along. It was either live with her tyranny or not be around the man I love--"

"Now that's something I understand," Alana laughed softly, watching Natalie's light brown eyes widen in horror. "C'mon now, it's not too hard to see something brewing between you two love birds. It's the way you treat each other. In the morning always cuddled together in that godforsaken hospital bed with Baylee lying on top of you. I'd venture to say you've been the mother Baylee was hoping to find in Leigh-Sorry, habit that comes with being a nurse. You read people too well…"

"You read me pretty damn well," Natalie murmured, reaching to toss the wrapper away. "And I guess I don't mind confiding in you, you're the closest thing I've got to a friend right now… Something's been brewing between me and Bumpkin for years, at least it has been on my side. But there was nothing I could do, not with Leighanne sitting in his pocket all the time. And then she married him, and then Baylee came and… Here I am."

"And now with Leighanne gone; Brian's starting to realize that things aren't so one-sided?" Alana guessed, watching Natalie rummage through the junk food for means of sustenance.

"He freaking told me that he's loved me since he met me," Natalie grumbled, scooping up a pack of Skittles. "This while we're sharing the most amazing kiss in the kitchen the other night… And then he turned me away 'cause I'm a virgin--"

"I'm the closest thing you've got to a friend right now and you don't mind confiding in me, yet you have the balls to bring out your sexual history?" Alana questioned with amusement.

"Don't you mean my lack of sexual history?" Natalie returned with a soft giggle.

"A lot of sexual history or lack of sexual history; it still don't need to be discussed between perfect strangers. Unless you're at a clinic needin' a penicillin shot," Alana drawled, her accent getting the best of her as she grinned.

"Sorry… I tend to trust people when I think they're nice… A downfall of mine, it would seem," Natalie murmured, pulling her knees up to her chest as she munched on her Skittles. "Bumpkin says I always trust too easily… I wonder if that's some deep mysterious hint of his…"

"Did he also say you've got a real knack for offending people without even meaning to?"

"I wasn't talking about you!" Natalie yelped, sitting straight up, her caramel eyes wide and earnest. "Honest, I was talking about jackasses and whores in my past… And you aren't either one."

"Well, thanks for that, as close to a friend as I'm going to get--"

"I totally said that wrong--"

"I'm just teasing you. It's alright, honest. I've been called worse."

"Can I call you my friend, then? Or should we go out for beer and pizza tonight before I get the pleasure of saying you're my friend? I play a mean bar piano when I've had a few beers in me--"

"You mean like a blind Beethoven?" When Natalie's eyes widened in horror, Alana laughed. "Okay! Okay! Just kidding! I knew he was an alcoholic paralyzed midget!

Snorting with laughter, Natalie slung a handful of Skittles at Alana, shaking her head. "You're horrible! Mozart was the alcoholic paralyzed midget! Beethoven was the herpes-infested pimp!"

"Well what-the-fuck-ever, they're both dead bastards and you can use Brian's credit card to pay for tonight!"

*~*~*

"So, J, you're sure you're going to come, man?" Nick questioned, impatiently clicking his pen in his hand. Looking down at the papers scattered across the table in front of him, he wondered if he had taken on too much by jumping into the idea of the benefit. His gaze landed on the purple friendship bracelet Elizabeth had presented him with that morning, one she had requested Allison make just for him. Smiling slightly, he nodded to himself. There was no way he had taken on too much.

"Yes, Nick, I'm sure that I'm going to come," AJ announced with an impatient sigh, obviously bothered that Nick had questioned him at least ten times previous to the last. "I told you, I need to get away from the suffocation of dating this…this…little girl who has nothing better to do than spout my shit on Myspace. If I needed the shit said, don't you think I'd said it myself--"

"What-the-fuck-ever, man, you're the one who couldn't wait to get into her pants," Nick interrupted with a grumble. "When are you flying out?"

"Whenever the Hell you need me… Maybe a few days earlier… Bay's in a Pediatric Unit of the hospital, which means nurses who like kids. What kind of nurses like kids? Young nurses! Young and hot nurses! Yes-sir, I'm flying out early!"

"You are a horny fucker," Nick sighed, thinking of one nurse in particular as he smiled. "Natalie's here too, and I know you love her--"

"You mean how I love ruffling her virgin feathers with talk of S&M that makes Brian's face turn purple?"

"Like he should care?"

"You just ain't reading the signals, Little Brother. So, what are we doing this thing for anyway? Trying to impress a hot resident or nurse?"

"You're the only one who thinks with his dick, J. I'm doing it 'cause these kids are awesome and I want to cheer them up--"

"So a dick hardening patient then?"

"All the patients on this floor are kids… So maybe they're more your type?"

"Ouch," AJ howled with laughter. "Smooth… But what the Hell is your change in attitude for? When we left the tour, you were ready to ride any woman that so much as batted her lashes at you. Not to mention down in the bottom of an alcohol bottle…"

"Bay needs me to be here, man. The bitch of an egg donor that gave birth to him hauled ass, so Rok's alone. I'm just here for Bay--"

"And I'll find out the real reason when I get there," AJ interrupted with a chuckle. "What day do you need me there?"

"Five minutes before we start singing," Nick suggested with a scowl, knowing the older man would only attempt to humiliate him. And succeed. "Just whenever you get here, really. No rush--"

"I'll get packing right now. We're all staying at B's house?"

"Uh…" Nick faltered for a moment. He hadn't gone that far in his planning. "Yeah, sure. Call me when you get in--"

"If I feel like it," AJ decided, terminating the conversation without any means of a goodbye.

"He's so going to fuck up my life, I can feel it," Nick groaned as he hung up the phone. Resting his forehead on the desk, he heaved a weary sigh before pulling one paper close to make sure he had called everyone. Management was all for the idea, Kevin was already on his way to be with Brian for the surgery at the end of the week, Howie's flight was coming in at five in the evening. Natalie had told him that morning she would get a few press releases out… "Fuck this," he sighed, pushing the papers away as he leaned back in his chair.

Closing his eyes, Nick folded his arms over his face as he leaned back in the large, leather chair. The director of the hospital had been kind enough to give him this room so he could plan the benefit concert in privacy. Of course, Nick had greedily accepted the room when he realized that Alana was avoiding Baylee's hospital room because of one specific occupant - him. After their passionate encounter on the hood of her car in the pouring rain, Nick had expected her to want to grow closer. But, inside, when they woke up at dusk in the backseat of his rental, she had offered him a kiss of thanks and gathered her clothing. Climbing into her Jeep, she sped off without any words about what they had just done. And she had avoided him for the rest of the weekend. Well, even now. He had to wonder what he had done wrong. Usually when he had sex with a woman, she was clinging tightly to him, making him vow to never leave.

"Nick?" a soft feminine drawl called, bringing Nick away from his dreary thoughts as the board room door opened. Slowly, Alana stepped inside with a box from the local pizza place. She smiled with uncertainty as she closed the door behind her. Nick thought she looked absolutely beautiful in light purple Disney princess scrub top and black capri scrub bottoms. Sure enough, glancing down, he found she had matching light purple Converse shoes. Though his eyes glanced back up to see that her long strawberry blonde locks had been ironed and allowed to lay loosely over her shoulders. An obvious attempt to hide any hickies he had given her over the weekend. "Thought you might be hungry, so I brought you lunch?"

"Awesome," Nick breathed, a smile touching his lips as she carried the box over. Pushing the papers aside, he gave her an affirmative nod. "The show's a go. The guys are all heading up this week, and Johnny's calling the hospital director this afternoon to talk about the donation. Howie was saying that if the weather's not too bad, maybe we could do it outside--"

"I already talked to the hospital director and it's supposed to be sunny on Thursday and pretty mild. So, he's setting it up to do it outside in the play area we've got for the kids. I talked to the local radio station and they're going to get us a stage for you guys. Then the sports shop where I get my rock climbing equipment going to be donating some shade for the sicker kids. And the cafeteria will get drinks and stuff for them…" Alana answered as she slid onto the clean piece of desk in front of him, offering him the box. Though, at his bewildered look, she smiled softly. "I know a lot of people?"

"As I was saying… Howie told me that if we can do it outside, he has contacts with Pepsi, and they'll donate ice, sodas and waters to anyone who shows up. And Brian's supposed to be checking with Papa John's to see if they'll do pizzas for the kids afterwards," he explained with a grin, scooping up a slice from the box. At her amused smile, he shrugged. "We know people too?"

"As if I didn't know that," she groaned, closing the small box and setting it off to the side for him to eat later. Precariously swinging her legs as she sat on the large desk, she tucked her long strawberry locks behind her pierced ears. "Spice Girls, Madonna, Shania Twain, Paris Hilton, Queen of England, bet they're all in your little black book--"

"None of them are in my little black book," Nick interrupted with a scowl. "Have you had a look at Madonna lately? She's starting to get old. And the Spice Girls were never pretty. Shania's too bouncy, Parasite can rot in the depths of Hell, and I've never been desperate enough to even think about the Queen in a sexual way--"

"Okay, okay, didn't mean to get your G-string in a bunch," Alana interrupted with a soft whistle, holding her hands up in defeat.

"Forgotten everything so quick? Or did it slip your notice that I go commando?"

"Things went pretty fast, I didn't have time to notice," she answered, turning slightly to glance at his pieces of papers filled with a hurried scrawl. Allowing her tremendously long strawberry blonde locks to become a golden curtain to hide the faint blush of her cheeks, she demurely crossed her legs at the ankle. She had actually spent the last three days trying to forget what she had done with the man. It had been completely uncharacteristic of her. The only man she had ever been physical with was her ex-husband and now she had to chalk up a Hollywood Heartthrob. What in God's name had she been thinking? She wanted no relationship and had spent the past three days crying over it. Thank God she was at least on birth control to manage her menstrual cycle.

"We can take it slow next time," Nick promised, resting one hand on her knee gently as he ate. Comforted that she had sought him out finally. He had been worried that his overzealous actions had scared her away, which was the last thing he wanted to do. Squeezing her knee slightly, he wiped his greasy fingers on his jeans before reaching for his scattered papers.

"You've done a lot of work for this project," Alana noticed, completely ignoring his mention of them having sex again. In her mind, the first time would most definitely be the only time. She had promised herself when she placed her son in the ground and scrawled her name over the divorce papers that she would never seek out that type of heartache again. She was better off living alone. Shifting her still tender knee away from his hand, she overlooked the papers he started to gather around her. She noticed the variety of doodles scratched into the free spots of the paper. "And obviously wasn't paying attention to the serious end of the business…"

"Those were just when Kevin was going on and on and on and on and on about… Something," Nick shrugged, straightening the papers before shoving them into the folder. He truly loved Kevin like an older brother, as he had said in countless interviews, but the man loved to talk. About the most inane of topics, most of which didn't interest Nick in the least. "Think you can sweet talk Frick into letting the guys stay at his place?"

"You're his best friend, shouldn't you be doing the sweet talking?" Alana questioned, kicking off her shoes and settling her socked feet on each arm rest of his plush leather chair. Reaching in her pocket, she withdrew a Blow-Pop that Elizabeth's mother had given her after coming upon them in the play room. The entire parental unit of the hospital seemed to know Alana's likes and dislikes, making sure to have treats whenever she stopped by. It was amusing to say the least as she fiddled with the wrapper. "And you're pretty talented, even if they are just doodles."

"What can I say, I have creative fingers," Nick murmured, leaning back in his chair to go over his notes. Wanting to make sure he had remembered everything. "Oh fuck me raw, we need chairs-wait, I'll get some big blankets to spread out so it'll be casual…" Idly rubbing her bare calf, he continued to read his notes, not noticing that he moved his chair closer to the table. He felt comforted by her nearness, the feel of her warm skin beneath his fingers. "And Brian already lined the band up, they should be here Wednesday to do their setup…"

"I'm sure everything will be perfect. You've honestly thought of everything. Making sure every kid in the hospital will be there along with your fan club in the area and others. Then donating all the money to the hospital? It's just… Oh, I'm getting those awareness bands made and having some of the nurses sell them. One for each of the girls' causes, y'know? A dollar each and I'll send them to the local charities supporting that disease," Alana promised, biting down on the hard candy outside of her lollipop as Nick's long fingers brushed against her silky leg. It seemed like even the most simplistic of touches from him caused a sweeping brushfire of passion to kindle within her body. "Oh! I have a request."

Nick nodded, making a quick note on the corner of the page he was reading. "Nat's going to have a booth for the awareness bands, Brian and Howie's charities are going to be selling some too… What's your request?" he questioned, glancing up.

"I know the girls have been egging you to bring me up on stage to sing. Lizzie especially, because her mother was just telling me how wonderful she thought it was that I'll be singing with the radio stations present. Do not, under any circumstances, pull me up on that stage. I sound like Cookie Monster with ten cookies caught in his throat and I'm terribly shy. Promise me? This concert is about you giving something to these little girls. Not me."

"Well…" Nick trailed, chewing on his lower lip as he flipped to the tentative set list. "I was hoping that you'd come up and sing--"

Alana wrinkled her nose with distaste. "Are you trying to make me die of embarrassment? I sound awful--"

"In the words of your Jungle Boogie Boy, you sound like an angel. And I just want you to come on and sing one song. With me and Nat. Not that she'll be singing, she's doing piano--"

"You and Natalie will make a good duet and you haven't even heard me sing," Alana protested, watching him play idly with the delicate anklet on her right ankle.

"I have so heard you sing. The other night when you were singing Bay to sleep," Nick informed softly, his fingers tracing her ankle bone.

Alana softened with a heavy sigh, "Nick--"

"Sing with me? Please? With me on top?"

"Excuse me? You on top?" Alana questioned, almost sliding off the desk in surprise.

"Alright, with you on top?" Nick clarified with a grin, his hand sliding up to her hip to steady her.

"Are we talking about a concert or what?"

"I’m asking you to sing with me, Baby."

"But you were talking about being on top as in-Baby?"

"Are you going to sing with me or not?" Nick whined, his fingers dancing under the hem of her scrub top.

"I can't," she insisted softly, reaching to grasp his hand before it could go up farther, though she was aching for him to do so.

"Don't you want to know what song I want to sing with you?" he murmured, twining his fingers with hers as he set the folder aside.

"I can't imagine…" she trailed as he slid his chair closer to the desk, helping her feet fit snuggly against the sides of his hips within the chair.

"Paradise By the Dashboard Lights," Nick murmured, resting his head on her thigh as he leaned close, his ocean blue eyes wide and hopeful. "Please?"

"How'd you know I like Meat Loaf?" she questioned incredulously, feeling her body respond immediately to his.

"I heard it last week when I called you…" Nick trailed softly.

"You were paying that much attention to the phone call?" she asked, her voice barely coming out above a whisper. Her heart fluttered against her ribcage as her stomach curled with nausea. Glancing down at their intertwined hands, she couldn't understand what was happening. Hadn't he just wanted sex?

"Well, yeah… Shouldn't I have?"

"I didn't think you would…"

"Guess it's a good thing you weren't watching a porn, huh?"

"Totally," she agreed with a useless smile, slightly thankful he was so naïve.

"Do you have any plans for tonight?" he questioned softly, running his hands up and down her calves gently. Wanting to have her alone and get to know her.

"Natalie's offered to take me out for some beers," Alana confided, offering him what she hoped was a regretful smile. Feeling her calves tighten at the smooth strokes of his hands, she released a soft whine of a breath, reaching to play idly with his messy locks.

"Tomorrow night?" Nick suggested. "Oh, don't let Nat get a hold of tequila… She tends to do crazy things when she gets tequila…"

"Then you haven't seen me do a good bar dance," Alana laughed.

"Guess this is a girls only night out, huh?" Nick sighed wistfully.

"You'd have to talk to Natalie."

"I'd rather just kiss you," Nick murmured, tugging her legs until she fell into his lap.

"Nick," Alana squealed with soft surprise as her arms wrapped around his neck to keep from toppling. How he managed to control the situation, she would never understand. She had taken on men twice his size at the local bar. But, whenever he pulled her, she gave in to the desire. Or at least her heart tried to. "Wait--"

"Just a kiss, okay? I know you have to go back to work," Nick murmured, tangling his fingers gently in her strawberry blonde locks. Tugging her face down until their lips were barely touching, he wrapped his other arm around her waist, holding her close. Looking into her dark teal eyes for a moment, he whispered her name before covering her mouth with his.