Oreos for Breakfast: Nick BSB Fiction

Oreos for Breakfast - Chapter 24

By
The Paperbag Princess & The Pumpkin Coach

NOTE: The visual A.D.I.D.A.S. precedes Chapter 24

I could see his blond head above everyone else waiting for their people on the concourse. Airports were so weird now. You couldn't meet anyone at the gate anymore. If you were picking up your friend or your kid or your mom or your dad, you had to stand behind the security checkpoint and wait with crowds of people picking up their friends or kids or moms or dads.

Still, there was my boyfriend, jumping around to peer over people's shoulders, looking for me. He finally saw me and gave me my favorite smile. He had dozens of different smiles, but this one was all mine.

Seeing that smile, I could relax. It had been a horrible flight- two horrible flights, one from Rome to New York, and then New York to Tampa, and I'd spent the last one wondering what the fuck I was doing. Why didn't I just get off in New York and go home? I was exhausted and cranky and in no condition to be with anyone. Especially not Nick's friends and family. I was off for nearly a month, and Nick had made me promise to spend every night with him.

We were ready for that? I'd never made that type of commitment to anyone. Even when I'd moved to London to be with Damon, we hadn't pledged to spend every moment together. He'd go off and record, and I'd have time to myself or to hang out with Em… I felt like for the next month, Nick and I would not be apart. I sorta needed my alone time.

As soon as I stepped into the hallway, Nick pulled me into his arms and I relaxed into him. Fuck alone time. This was better. I leaned up to kiss him, and he met my lips quickly, kissing me deeply. Finally we moved apart, and he smiled at me. "Hi," he said softly, and I grinned.

"Hi, bunny."

He took my guitar off my back with a smile. "You brought your guitar?"

"Of course!" I told him.

"Are you playing a gig?"

I rolled my eyes. "No, I just don't trust her to anyone else. I'll be here for a while. Maybe I'll have a song idea or something. James is taking care of the others." And I was nervous about that. I liked taking care of my own guitars. I didn't even really like the roadies taking my guitars when we were touring.

Nick pulled me into his arms again, hugging me tightly now that he could put his arms around me, and I sighed. I could stop thinking about touring and the band for a few days, at least. Let Nick carry my guitar. "I'm glad you're finally here, buttercup," he whispered, and I looked up at him.

"Did you get my message that the flight was delayed, or have you been here forever?"

"Got it," he answered, kissing my forehead and making me giggle. "I was at the mall, and the reception sucked. Wait until you see what I bought."

"What?" I asked, but he just shook his head, wrapping his arm around my shoulder and leading me away from the crowd.

"You'll see when we get home. Did you check bags?"

I shook my head. "Didn't need to. Just this little bag."

He noticed my rolling suitcase and reached around to take it. "Cool. I'm parked right outside. Do you just want to go home?"

"Yes," I sighed. "I don't want to see any more people. I'm sick of people. Can we just go back to your place and order a pizza or something?"

"I've got better plans," he said with a smirk, and I glanced at him, trying not to look disappointed. It had been a nearly 18-hour flight with layovers and delays and getting from the hotel to the airport in Rome. The only person in the world I wanted to see was Nick.

Evidently I didn't hide my disappointment very well, because he laughed, kissing me again as we maneuvered our way to the parking garage. "Don't worry, buttercup. I'm going to make dinner."

"You are not!" He'd never cooked a meal the entire time we'd been together. He actually tended to look at me like I was a magician whenever I cooked for him. Since when could he cook?

He laughed at my surprise. "If it sucks, we'll order a pizza. But I got salmon and stuff to grill. I can handle the grill."

I stopped walking, pulling him down for a kiss. "Bunny, that is so incredibly sweet. Really, I…" My voice broke, and suddenly I was blinking back tears. He was going to cook for me? I knew that had to be an effort for him. He actually figured out how to make a meal for me.

"It's just dinner, Rache," he teased, leaning down to kiss my cheek. "I can handle dinner."

"I know. I just…"

I kissed her again, feeling her tremble against me. Why was she crying about dinner? It wasn't a big deal. She cooked for me almost any time she could. She even found stuff to make dinner on my tour bus once.

Alright, I had no fucking idea how to cook a meal. This might be the first time I ever made real food. Anna had talked me into it when I'd seen her this afternoon, and she'd written down the recipes for me. It was salmon and grilled vegetables. I'd cut up everything before I left, and there were potatoes baking in the oven. I hoped my condo was still there when we got back…

Ok, Rachel knew I couldn't cook. It was sorta a big deal.

And she'd been on planes for the last day or something. No wonder she looked tired.

I held her tightly, leaning down to whisper to her. "Are you ok?"

She nodded against my chest, pulling away with a sigh. "I'm sorry. I'm overtired, I think. I tried to sleep on the plane, but even first class was full, and none of them had just been on a flight from Rome, so everyone but me was awake and talking, and asking the flight attendant for more fucking drinks and-"

I cut her off with another kiss. Rachel ranting I could handle better than Rachel crying. "Then let's go home. I promise, it's quiet there."

"Didn't you say you're close to where the festival is tomorrow?"

"Ybor City," I told her, hitting the button for the elevator to the parking garage. Where the hell did I park? Level four? Five. No, three. Fuck.

"Are they getting ready? Isn't it loud?"

"I've got the air on, Rache. They might be loud, but I can't hear it."

Her face fell, and I looked behind me. What? Why was she upset now?

"I thought it was nice weather here."

"It is, but…"

"I'm sick of fake air, Nick. Can we turn off the air?"

I held open the elevator door for her. "Anything for you, buttercup. I think it's in the 70's. That's not too hot."

She smiled, giving me a quick kiss. "Thank you. I promise, after I shower, I won't be a psychotic freak."

"I have a great bathtub," I told her. "Why don't you take a bath while I make dinner?"

"Why don't you take a bath with me?" she flirted, smiling up at me.

"Then we'll never have dinner," I tried to protest, but I didn't resist as she kissed me. Fuck dinner. I'd probably screw it up anyway. We could take a bath, and have sex, and then order a pizza. Fuck, I had frozen pizzas in the fridge.

The elevator stopped, and we moved apart as the doors opened. Someone was waiting to get on, but I thought this was our floor, and I led her out. Five, right? I spotted my car just a few feet away from the elevator and breathed a sigh of relief. I didn't want to search for the car for an hour. That would really make her cranky.

"You had no idea where the car was, did you?" she teased, and I turned to her with a pout.

"I was too excited about seeing you to remember such trivial things," I responded, and she kissed me.

"Good answer. Which one is yours?"

I stopped walking. "Guess."

"Guess?" She liked the game, though, looking around with a smile. I loved my car. Would she be able to figure out which one was mine? She considered the cars near us, and then looked back at me. "Is it close?"

"Yes," I admitted. Well, it was in the next row. But it was like the biggest car here. I could see it. She looked around, glancing between me and a couple of cars, and then finally settled on one.

"That one," she said, pointing to a black Jeep.

"Very good," I told her. "I have one of those at home. But that's not it."

"Oh." She looked disappointed, then glanced around again. "If you loved me, it'd be the convertible."

She looked over at me, and I shook my head. "But I do love you!" I caught myself quickly, and she laughed.

"Well, it can't be that huge thing," she said, pointing at the white Escalade and I cracked up.

"What's wrong with that huge thing?"

"It's a gas guzzler, and it's…" She sighed. "It's such a pop star car."

"Sorry, babe," I said, hitting the button on my key chain and hearing it unlock. "We don't all drive nice sensible VWs. Speaking of which, it is so cool that you're doing a commercial for them!"

"I know!" she preened, following me to the car. "Jeremy was all worried about selling out, but VW is cool, right? Only very cool people do songs for them."

"Totally," I agreed, loading her bags in the trunk as she went on.

"We're making a ridiculous amount of money, and they're giving us all cars! I'm giving mine to Mom. She needs a new car. I'm thinking the Passat. It's a nice roomy car. She can still drive the kids to stuff. I want it to be a Christmas surprise, so you can't tell her!"

"I will keep your secret, baby. Promise." I walked around the car and opened the passenger side door for her, but she just looked at me for a second.

"I don't think I can get in there," she said, looking at the height from the door to the ground, and I laughed.

"I got this car just so I can help pretty girls get in," I joked, and she came over to me, letting me give her a hand to get in.

I looked around the car while he got in. Did he live in here? It was a mess, trash in the back, CD's scattered everywhere. He was one of those guys that had his seat jacked all the way back. I remembered that from the couple of times he'd driven my car. This car was a tank compared to my little tiny VW Cabrio.

He swung into the driver's seat, and I had to smile at him. He fit here. It was big and messy, and I just knew it would be loud when he turned on the radio.

"This is actually your condo, right?" I teased, and he laughed, looking back at the trash in the backseat.

"I meant to clean up, but I got sidetracked with cleaning the apartment instead. The condo does exist, I swear," he joked, and I giggled.

"Good to know. Although I think the backseat might be able to fit a bathtub."

He leaned over to me. "Or a bed…" he whispered, kissing me.

Ok, all those other kisses in the airport were just practice for this one. I opened my lips to him, hearing myself whimper as his tongue touched mine. A month of this might kill me. I'd get to do this tomorrow and tomorrow and the tomorrow after that… no more hurried moments together. Was I actually worried about too much time together an hour ago on the plane? Was I insane?

Nick pulled away, smiling down at me. "Why are you laughing?"

I shook my head, giggling. "Nothing. I was… I just…" I stroked his face, distracted unless I was touching him. "On the plane, I was getting all freaked out about spending the next few weeks with you."

He kissed me carefully. "You said that in your emails. I promise I'll try not to drive you crazy."

"It's not that. It's just…" I was too tired to make any sense. "I was being stupid. I was away from you and second guessing everything, and now I'm here and you're here and I realize I was being an idiot. I'm really happy I'm here with you, bunny."

He cupped my face in his hands. "I'm really happy you're here, too." We kissed again, and I wanted to crawl inside him. It wasn't even sex. Right now, I was too tired to expend that much energy. I just wanted to lean on his chest and listen to him breathe. Right now, that would be enough.

He ran his fingers through my hair, pulling me closer, and I tried to move into his lap, but I whacked my knee on the dashboard. "Shit!" I whined, breaking away from him to rub my knee.

"Damn car," he sympathized, stroking my knee gently. "Should we just go home?"

"Yes," I pouted, and he kissed me again before starting the car. Music blasted out, and he turned it down quickly.

"You've been listening to crap when I was gone, weren't you?" I teased, and he smiled over at me before pulling out of our spot.

"Do you know how long a drive it is between here and Marathon?"

"How long?" He drove from Marathon to here? Didn't he tell me once there was an airport in Marathon? Didn't he live right near it?

"Six hours. Well… four or five, the way I drive."

"You drove?"

He shrugged. "It's that or drive to Miami and fly, and by the time you do that, I might as well drive. Besides, I haven't driven for a while. It was fun."

"Are you going to show me all the sights when we drive back?"

"Yeah," he deadpanned. "There's some good McDonald's between here and there."

"Then I guess we'll have to make up driving games to pass the time…" I mused, running my hand up his thigh. He grinned over at me, wiggling his eyebrows.

"There's plenty of room in this car," he joked, taking my hand in his.

I sighed, leaning back in my seat. "We will try it out on the drive to Marathon. I don't think I have the energy for ridiculous sex right now."

He kissed the back of my hand as he held it in his. "How about normal sex?"

I laughed. "You could probably talk me into that."

He had to let go of my hand to pay the parking guy, and I took the time to roll down my window. "How warm is it?"

He looked at the thermometer on the dash. "72. This is nothing compared to Marathon. It's in the 80s there."

I sighed, leaning into the wind as he drove through the exit gate. "I love that. It was cold in Europe, especially at night. I can't wait to wear shorts and stuff. Did you bring my stuff with you?"

"What stuff?"

"The bag I gave you when we were at the Point." I'd packed a suitcase with warm weather clothes, and he'd taken it with him. It was easier than lugging all of that stuff across Europe with me.

I didn't make that up, did I? It seemed like such a long time ago that we were at the Point.

Shit!

Shit, shit, shit!

When I left Marathon yesterday, I was half thinking I needed something on my bus. But I couldn't remember what it was, and I hadn't wanted to wait around until today when it was supposed to get home to find out. Damnit, why couldn't I have remembered that I had all of Rachel's stuff?

"Nick?" she asked, and I glanced over at her. Damnit, she was crying over stupid things already. She was going to freak out about this.

"I'm sorry, Rache. Really. It's on my bus, and my bus was supposed to be in Marathon today. I'll get Mom to FedEx it tonight. Or, we'll go to the mall, right now, and I'll buy you whatever you need."

"I don't want to go to the mall tonight, Nick."

"I'll take you home, and you can take a bath, and I'll run to the mall and buy you clothes. You're a four, right?"

"Six," she said, and I looked over at her. Was that going to get me in trouble? That was good, right? I thought she was smaller than she was. Girls liked that.

She stroked my hair, and I looked at her, surprised.

"It's okay, bunny," she said with a smile. "I'm not mad."

"I'm really sorry."

"It's fine. We'll go tomorrow to the mall, and I'll buy some stuff to last me until we get to Marathon. Not a big deal."

"But tonight…" I argued, and she laughed.

"I have something to wear tonight. It's blue and silky and I know you've been dying to see me wear it…"

I couldn't help grinning at her. She'd worn part of that blue silk lingerie when we were in Vegas last week, but that had been under her clothes and I didn't get the full effect… I wanted the full effect.

She kissed me quickly and then slid back into her seat. "Drive. I'll be fine until tomorrow. When are we meeting your friends? Will we have time to shop?"

I shrugged. "We haven't made real plans. Guavaween starts at six or seven, but it doesn't get good until later. Yeah, we'll have plenty of time. I'll take you to the fancy mall and buy you all sorts of stuff."

"Target would probably be fine, baby," she disagreed. "I just need some shorts and t-shirts… I guess underwear, too."

"Then I'm definitely taking you to the good mall. There's a Frederick's of Hollywood there!"

"That stuff is trashy," she sniffed. "You should have seen how much I spent on the blue silk stuff you like."

How much could lingerie cost? "How much?"

She waved a hand at me. "A lady never tells. What are you making me for dinner?"

"Just grilled salmon. Anna promised me it's very easy."

"Anna?"

"My friend, she…"

Rachel interrupted me. "I know who Anna is. But when did you talk to her about making me dinner?"

Anna. I still wasn't sure if I should be worried about her or not. In the last few weeks, Nick had been talking about her a lot. Okay, part of that was because I'd told him to talk to her instead of his stupid guy friends, but still. I was sort of tired of hearing her name all the time.

"This afternoon. I ran into her at the mall when I was buying stuff, and she asked when you were coming in and stuff… I was going to take you out to dinner, but Anna said you'd probably be tired."

All right, Anna was smart. I was fucking exhausted. I should thank her, right? She'd convinced him to cook me dinner, that was sweet.

I mean, he never would have thought of that himself. I should have known a girl was involved somehow.

"She told me what to do, and I went and bought everything. I even chopped vegetables, Rache."

He sounded so darn pleased with himself that I had to smile. "That's very impressive, baby."

"What's that thing you make with the red peppers? Is it goat cheese?"

He'd paid attention? Grilled red peppers with goat cheese were one of my favorite things to make. I had made it for him a few times, now that I thought about it. "Yes, goat cheese."

"Cool. I got that, too."

"I am so impressed, bunny. Really."

He leaned over, kissing me quickly while keeping one eye on the road. "I have to admit that I'm sorta impressed with myself."

"You haven't actually made it yet. It could all go horribly wrong."

He pouted at me. "It'll be fine! Anna wrote everything down for me. I can follow directions."

Anna… there was that name again. "So you just ran into her at the mall?" Was she following him? Wasn't she in school? It was Friday, right? What was she doing at the mall when she should be in class?

Okay, when I was in college, I managed to never have a Friday class.

"She works there."

So did he go to that mall on purpose, to see her?

Christ, I was overtired.

"I'm looking forward to meeting her tomorrow. Who else is going to be there?"

He managed to talk about his friends for the rest of the drive to his place. I tried to pay attention, but my mind couldn't focus on anything right now, especially people I didn't know. But I liked the sound of his voice and the way he drove with one hand so he could keep holding mine. I'd be better tomorrow. I'd put faces with names, and it would be fine.

He finally took an exit off the highway, and we were in a more residential area. "Are we close?"

"Just a couple of minutes," he promised, smiling at me.

"Is this near where you grew up?"

He cracked up. "No. The place I have now is like another world compared to the part of Tampa where I grew up."

"Oh. Will you take me past where you grew up tomorrow?"

"You want to see that?" he questioned, turning down another street. I was definitely too tired to figure out where I was.

"Of course! You saw where I grew up, and my schools and stuff."

He glanced at me for a second and then looked back at the road. "Yeah, I'll show you. It's really different than where you grew up. We didn't have a lot of money."

"I know," I told him. "I read your mom's books." That made him laugh, and I looked out the window again. It looked like we were in the middle of town. We were passing apartment buildings and restaurants. It probably was far away from where he grew up. Jane's book said when they first moved to Florida, they didn't have any money for furniture. They'd found a bed for Nick in someone's trash. And now look where he was. I bet this car cost more than what they'd paid for their first house.

"This is home now," he told me, pulling into a driveway and hitting the garage door opener on his dash. I wasn't even paying enough attention to notice the outside of the building before we pulled into an empty garage. "Sorta," he admitted. "I haven't spent a lot of time here."

"If it has a bed, I'm happy," I admitted, opening my door. He got my stuff out of the trunk while I leaned against the car for a second. I felt like I was still moving. Too much travel. I hated that dizzy, shaky feeling I sometimes got after a long plane trip. I needed a shower and some dinner, and then maybe I'd be human again.

"Come on," he said, bounding up a small flight of steps and opening the door to the house. I had to walk up steps? I felt like whining, but I moved away from the car anyway. Still dizzy. Hell.

I followed him inside. He'd put my bag and guitar down by the door, and as soon as I was through the door, he wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into his body. "I missed you so much, bunny." I whispered as I held him. I loved being this close to him, feeling so comforted and safe in his arms. We couldn't do this in the airport, not just lose ourselves in each other. Who knew how many people would be watching… but this was nice.

He sighed as we moved apart. "Me, too, baby. Welcome home?"

I laughed, looking around for the first time. We'd come up into the kitchen, but he pulled me into the living room.

"Wow," he whispered, as I looked around, echoing his words.

The whole apartment was done in light colors and blond wood, just like I'd always pictured Florida homes. And it had one of those sunken living rooms, with a wide screen TV on the far wall and a huge sectional couch that looked so comfortable. I could just curl up there and sleep while Nick made me dinner, right?

But the amazing thing was how there were candles lit everywhere, flickering flames casting shadows on everything, making it inviting and romantic.

"Weren't you worried you'd burn the house down, leaving all these candles burning?" I asked, and he shook his head, looking around.

"Anna. It must have been her."

Anna made all this romance?

Okay, I could like her. Unless she was lying in wait for us, she had to be cool. You didn't help guys create romance for another woman if you wanted him for yourself.

He turned around, smiling a little sheepishly. "I bought all the candles, though. Anna works at that candle store you like. I bought about a million lavender candles, and she told me that might be overwhelming, so there's something else… vanilla?"

I breathed deeply, nodding at him. "I think so. Did she get you to buy all the holders and stuff, too?"

"I'm not exactly a decorator, Rache," he admitted. "I hung the wall ones up… but I don't think I put those on the table like that…" he mused, looking at the coffee table. "I was going to light them all while you were taking a bath, but she must have just come in while I was at the airport."

"It probably took her an hour to light all these. It looks amazing."

He pulled me closer, kissing me again. "I wanted it to look nice. Your house is so… homey. Mine isn't like that. It's just new and white."

"It's beautiful. Can I get a tour?"

"There's not much, but sure. This is the living room." He smiled, motioning around the room. "There's a bathroom over there." He pointed to the left and I saw a door beyond the stairs that must lead to the second floor. "And you saw the kitchen."

It was such a bachelor pad. The kitchen looked like no one ever used it. All chrome and black appliances. There was even a wet bar at the back of the living room. Okay, I bet the bar got some use. I peered over the top and saw half-empty liquor bottles and what looked like a tap for a keg. What did I expect? All his friends were 21, too, right?

I noticed now that there were even candles in the kitchen. I hoped Anna had given him her employee discount. Had he left any lavender candles in the store?

"The grill is out on the deck," he went on, opening the sliding glass doors and showing me. Going over to the deck, I sighed as he put an arm around my shoulders.

"It's lovely, Nick. How do you have flowers if you're never here?" The privacy fence around the deck was covered with vines full of gorgeous pink and white flowers that trellised up it.

He just shrugged.. "Dunno. Probably part of something I pay for. Must be. I don't remember planting anything."

"Are you sure this is your house?" I giggled, and he smirked at me before leading me outside. I'd loved picking out everything in my home, even the flowers. I'd missed the entire summer this year, and I was sure my garden was a mess now. Last time we'd been home, I hadn't even had time to check in on it. I should call Mom and ask.

"This is my favorite part!" He smiled over at me as he led me past a large outside dining table and to another door into the house. Opening the door, he stood back so I could see in.

"A hot tub! Oh, Nicky, that is such a popstar trick!"

He laughed with me, showing me how the blinds around the tub opened so that you could see out onto the deck. Of course there were candles strategically placed around the tub with a bottle of champagne chilling on the side. Oddly, these candles weren't lit.

"Hoping to get lucky?"

He shrugged, pulling me back in his arms. I rested my head on his chest, closing my eyes and just listening to the sound of his heart beating. "I'll admit to doing this part, yeah. I'll light the candles after dinner, and we can relax."

"Relaxing won't be a problem, bunny," I yawned. "It's so pretty here. And warm…"

He held me for a moment longer and then pulled away. "Oh, you wanted to turn off the air."

"We don't have to…" I tried to protest, but I really wanted the air to be off. It was so gorgeous out. I wanted to breathe real air. I'd been in planes and hotel rooms for far too long.

He rolled his eyes at my weak protest, leading me back into the kitchen. "No problem. Can you get those windows?"

I opened up the windows around the kitchen, but I wanted to open all the cabinets, too. Did he have anything in them? Did he have to go out and buy pots and pans today just to cook me dinner?

"Hey…" he said, looking at a box on the counter. "I don't remember that."

He opened the box revealing an amazing looking chocolate cake. "Anna?" I questioned. "Don't tell me she bakes, too."

"No," he laughed. "I don't think so." He looked at the lid again and shook his head. "She left a note on the box. 'I figured you'd forgotten dessert. If you fuck up dinner, let her eat cake.'"

I had to laugh. "I like her."

"Anna is pretty fucking cool," he agreed, dipping his finger in the chocolate icing and tasting it. "Man…"

I leaned forward and licked the rest of the icing off his finger, smiling as the chocolate melted on my tongue. "Butter cream even, my favorite."

He fed me another bit of icing, and I felt like I was in heaven. Maybe I was hungry. Peanuts and pretzels on the plane ride here was about all I'd eaten since this morning.

"Let me take you upstairs, and I'll call her to thank her while I start dinner."

Upstairs… there would be a bed up there. Maybe I'd be happy just going to bed right now. We could have dinner for breakfast tomorrow and start our day in the decadent hot tub.

Nick went up the stairs ahead of me, carrying my bags, and I considered his ass. Okay, sex, and then sleeping. Shower, sex, sleeping. Wait… shower, sex, dinner, and then sleeping. Maybe we should have dinner before sex, so I'd have more energy?

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