Oreos for Breakfast: Nick BSB Fiction

Oreos for Breakfast - Chapter 23

By
The Paperbag Princess & The Pumpkin Coach

"Why aren't the girls in school today?" Nick asked me as we pulled into the driveway at the vineyard. I glanced down at the clock on the dashboard, and my heart sank as I calculated the hours until I'd have to leave my home and Nick… again.

"Floating holiday," I answered trying not to think about leaving.

He just stared at me, perplexed. Okay, he'd never really had much time in school, but our little town's floating holiday policy was a little weird. I'd grant him that.

"Because there are so many farms and vineyards here, the kids get a floating holiday during the harvest. So they can help their families."

Nick giggled, "Did we just end up in 'Little House on the Prairie' or something, Rache?"

"Oh, you city boys don't know nuthin'!" I joked, parking the car next to the house.

"You keep me around for the cheap labor, don't you?"

"Don't you know it… not to mention the amazing…" I said over my shoulder as I got out of the car.

Suddenly Billy was at my feet, and I stopped abruptly and Nick licked his bottom lip just to taunt me. Why did he love to flirt with me at the house? Was it because it was my childhood home and it was somehow naughty?

Alright, that worked for me. I remembered that time we'd made out upstairs in my old room. That was kinda hot.

"William! Billy-bill!" I called, picking him up and swinging him in the air. Man, he was getting a little big for this. But he giggled and screamed as I waved him around. Fuck it. I'd deal with a strained muscle later. It was fun to see him giggling like that, his chubby cheeks turning all red from the cold. "Where is everyone, Billy?"

"Gapes!" he said, pointing to the vineyard, and Nick and I both cracked up, making him pout. At 2, Billy still wasn't very good with his words, and he hated it when you couldn't understand him. Last night he'd gotten so angry at his mom when she'd had him repeat a word that he'd held his breath until he started turning red. Poor thing.

"Out back with the grapes?" I asked, over-pronouncing the word and he tried to repeat me, but it still came out wrong, and I elbowed Nick as he laughed. Setting Billy down, I let him take my hand and lead me out back where everyone was assembled. They hadn't gotten that far in their picking, and I called out. Katie and Colleen came running over, their parents hollering in unison for them to stop running with the knives.

Yeah, that was a bit dangerous, but not one Connor kid had been harmed yet during a harvest. Well, not seriously. There was that time that Jon and Patrick had ended up fighting and rolling around too close to the wire, but eventually Patrick's scar had faded.

Suddenly, Nick's arms were around me, and I leaned back against him. "I'm done having you all to myself, aren't I?" I whispered, as the girls got closer.

"Sorry, but seeing your family is important, buttercup."

"Ah, they're over-rated."

He laughed at that, turning me around and kissing me thoroughly before the girls got to us.

"Nick! Nick! Are you gonna help?"

"I'm gonna show Nick how to pick grapes!" Katie announced, reaching out for Nick's hand.

"I'm better at it!" Colleen protested before trying to push her sister away.

They were talking over one another at lightning speed and I caught Nick's eye, but he just smiled at me. He loved my girls as much as I did, I think. Man, I loved that about him.

"One at a time, or do I have to make you raise your hand?" he teased and they both laughed, throwing their arms around him for a big, group hug.

"Hey, doesn't your Aunt Rachel rate a hug, too?" I whined and Katie broke away, coming over and letting me pull her into my arms.

"We just saw her yesterday," Colleen stated. Brat!

"But we never get to see Aunt Rachel," Katie interjected. She was so the oldest child, trying so hard to be grown up and impress everyone around her.

"Okay, Katie's the favorite!" I proclaimed, making her smile.

Colleen turned to Nick, "Can I be your favorite, Nick?"

"Umm…" Busted! You had to pick now, dude! And one of the little girls was gonna end up annoyed. Oh, welcome to my life, Nick!

He got out of it, though, by telling Katie she was his favorite 11-year-oldand Colleen was his favorite 9-year-old.

"Oh, that was smooth," I teased as the girls ran off to get us baskets and aprons for grape picking.

"Hey, I have practice with the little girls."

"Don't remind me," I deadpanned, but he didn't fall for it, just flashing me that cocky grin and whispering something nasty in my ear. How long did we have to stay again?

"Put this on, Nick," Katie demanded, handing him an apron and then leading him out into the field. "Beth and I are over here. Aunt Rachel and Colleen can help Grandma."

I could see Beth now, peeking through the vines to watch us. She'd gotten a little more relaxed last night. Maybe now she'd get to show Nick how to pick and she'd realize what a dork he was.

Mom came over when she saw us, leaving the others to yell 'hello'. It looked like we still had a lot to harvest, and it was supposed to rain later in the week. I almost wished I could stay longer and help out.

Or not. Picking got really boring, really quick. I wasn't sure if even Nick could make it more interesting.

"Hello!" Mom called, coming over and kissing us both. "Did Katie give you everything you need?"

"Daddy took the last pair of big gloves!" Katie pouted.

I smiled down at her, ruffling her hair, "It's okay, Katie, I can get my hands dirty."

"Aunt Rachel has gloves!" Colleen teased and Rachel rolled her eyes, pulling a pair out of her pocket. Where did those come from?

"Some of us have to use our hands for a living."

"I use mine quite well, I've heard…" I said before I could stop myself and Rachel blushed slightly, pushing me toward a vine.

"Start picking, Carter. You said you wanted to experience this."

Rachel showed me how to strap the basket across my chest and off we went. I followed Katie to a vine and started pulling off grapes, letting the purple berries fall into my basket as I talked to her and Beth. They were on the other side of my row, so I only caught glimpses of them through the vines, but they kept up a steady conversation. Even Beth was talking to me. Maybe it was easier when she wasn't face to face with me.

Bet I could get this whole row done before Rachel was finished with hers! I picked as fast as I could. Man, this was a messy job. There was juice running down my hands and arms… thank god Kate had given me a towel. After an hour or so, the towel was soaking, and I went over to Rachel's row to see where I could get another.

"Where are more towels, Rache?"

She looked up at me and then burst into laughter. What? What the hell had I done?

I just stared at her and she laughed harder, attempting to look into my basket. "No peeking!" I scolded. "I just need a fresh towel. My hands are too slippery."

"Ummm… Nicky…"

"What?"

"The juice is supposed to stay INSIDE the grapes, you know."

"Duh. I'm trying, but it's hard. You pick them and they just pop!"

"That's because they're ripe, bunny… which is why you have a knife."

A what? No one had given me a knife… what the hell were you picking with a knife. Oh… shit. Rachel pulled a bunch of grapes away from the vine and then took her knife, cutting them off at the top and they dropped into her basket. I looked down and saw that her basket was full of bunches of grapes whereas mine… well, it wasn't.

She peered in, still laughing, "Oh, bunny! You've already made grape juice!"

"Stoppit! No one told me you CUT them off! I thought we were PICKING THEM! You said we were picking grapes, not cutting them!"

Her face was red from laughing, and there were tears in her eyes, and I tried to stop being so annoyed. But damnit! She's the one that let the 11-year-old take me! She could have shown me what I was supposed to be doing. How was I supposed to know?

I let my basket fall, and she came over to me, pulling her clean towel out of her apron pocket and wiping my hands with it, "It's okay, bunny. That whole vine only makes part of a bottle of wine. You only owe us about $25."

"Ha fuckin' ha," I grumbled, and she smiled up at me, rising up on her tiptoes to kiss me quickly.

"I'm sorry I'm making fun of you, Nick. But really…"

"I know. It's like the damned sea grass… I should know better. I don't have any common sense!"

"Aw, baby… you do too! You're much better at being diplomatic with the little girls than I am. And you know lots about slipping out of hotels…"

I pouted down at her, but it was mostly to get her closer to me. She responded like I knew she would, putting her basket down and pulling me into her arms. I bent my head so it rested on her shoulder and she ran her fingers through my hair. Turning my head to her, I licked at her neck and she sighed.

"You're so good at that bunny. See, there are lots of things you're good at."

I nodded against her neck and kissed my way up to her mouth, loving the feel of her lips against mine. Kissing her deeply, I tasted the sweetness of the grapes. She must have been trying them as she picked, "Sweet," I murmured as I pulled back to breathe and she stood there, her eyes closed, until we heard her brothers.

"Get a room, Connor!"

"Mom! Rachel's making out with a boy!"

She turned and threw a bunch of grapes in Jon's direction, "Oh, stop it! Both of you!"

But everyone laughed, the girls giggling and making kissing noises to further annoy her.

My family were such dorks. At least it kept them from finding out what a mess Nick had made. He'd never live that one down.

"Finish that basket yet, Carter?" Jon asked, coming over to look at our progress.

Aw, fuck.

He looked inside and cracked up. "Rachel! You were supposed to explain this process to him."

"Hey!" I whined. How was this my fault? "Your daughter dragged him away before I could give him a lesson."

"She's eleven, Rache. Think she's gonna tell the Backstreet Boy when he's being stupid?"

"Hey!" Nick and I both protested, and Jon just laughed again.

"It's alright, man. You don't have wine in your veins. Here, I'll show you." Jon handed Nick his knife and demonstrated how to cut the vine at just the right spot so that the grapes fell into your basket.

I'd been doing this for so long that I almost forgot that not everyone knew how to do it. Everyone here did, because we all either owned wineries or knew someone who did. James had been a clumsy, awkward mess the first time he did it. He still had a scar on his thumb from where a knife had slipped.

But Nick was a natural. After five minutes, he had it. "You got it," Jon told him. "Now, you still owe me an hour."

"I have to leave here by two at the latest," I complained.

"Then you go. Nick can stay, right? What does he have to pack? You can have the limo pick him up at five, right?"

"Or not," I said, glaring at Jon. "I'd rather he come with me, so that we have time to…"

"Stop!" Jon conceded. "Damnit. Fine. I don't want to know!"

I smirked at him, and he sighed. "Do you have little sisters, Nick?"

"Three," Nick told him.

"Hope they never have sex."

Nick shuddered. "I'll remember that."

"And you wonder why we wanted to beat you up?" Jon asked, walking back to his vines.

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