A Weekend Getaway
"Hello" Jackie said as she answered her cell phone.
"Hey chica" Her very good friend Alyssa said.
"Hey Lyss"
"Listen, this weekend Todd and I are going up to Pahrump and we were wondering if you and Nick would like to come along, we'd leave on Friday morning and come back on Sunday evening. We know that you and Nick have been very busy with your jobs recently and we thought you could use a vacation"
"That sounds like fun, I know Nick has Friday and Saturday off and if we are back early enough he wouldn't have to take off of work on Sunday either, and I actually have Friday off because of a convention so I wouldn't have to miss work either, and I'm sure my mom would watch Jasmine and Houston for the weekend. Nick's not home right now but he'll be home shortly, I'll talk to him about it and let you know later today. Who's watching your kiddos?"
"My sister in law." Alyssa stated.
"That's nice of her. Thanks for the invite Lyss I'll call you later."
"K, talk to you later." Alyssa said and then hung up.
Alyssa was one of Jackie's best friends. They had gone to high school together and even after Alyssa moved away after high school the two remained really close. When Jackie had married Nick and moved to Vegas Alyssa and her husband Todd (who also went to high school with the women) would come to Vegas often for vacation and they usually stayed at Nick and Jackie's house, and even if they didn't they still spent a ton of time together while they were there. The two couples had even gone on a couple of cruises together. A couple years ago Alyssa had called Jackie to tell her that Todd's company had transferred him to Vegas and so they were moving there, and boy were the women excited. Since Alyssa had moved to Vegas her and Jackie had gotten even closer then they had been in their high school days. It was also nice because like Nick and Jackie, Todd and Alyssa had two children, a daughter Arden who was a year older than Jasmine and a son Adam who was a mere three months older than Houston.
About a half hour after Alyssa had called Nick came home.
"Hey Nicky, Alyssa just called, her and Todd are going to Pahrump this weekend and she was wondering if we would like to come, I know you don't have to work, and I think we both could use the getaway."
"That sounds nice, but what about the kids?"
"I'm sure my mom would take them, if you want to go, I'll call her right now to ask."
"Yeah, why don't you, I'd like to go."
"Good" Jackie said with a smile.
Jackie's mom readily agreed to watch the kids.
After she had gotten off the phone with her mother Jackie called Alyssa to tell her the good news.
"Ok great, Todd and I thought it would be nice to go to breakfast before we headed out of town, so why don't you and Nick meet us at Pearlman's dinner at 8 Friday morning and then we'll head out after?"
"Sounds great, see you Friday." Jackie said.
The days went by quickly and soon Jackie was dropping her kids off at her parents house.
After a tearful goodbye Nick and Jackie headed to the restaurant to meet Todd and Alyssa.
"What's wrong, you're awfully quiet." Nick asked on the drive over to the restaurant.
"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all." Jackie said.
"Why not?" Nick asked.
"I don't like leaving the kids." She said.
"They'll be fine, it's not like we left them with strangers, they are with your parents and besides, they've spent the night over there before and that's never bothered you." Nick reminded her.
"I know but it's still hard" She said.
"They'll be fine, come on, cheer up, this is going to be a fun weekend." He said as he reached over and squeezed her arm.
"You're right" she said with a smile.
The two couples had a nice breakfast together and then they hit the road. When they arrived in Pahrump they got checked into their hotel.
"So what does everyone want to do?" Alyssa asked after everyone had gotten settled.
"I want to go hit that golf course, Nick you in?" Todd asked.
"Sure." Nick replied.
Alyssa looked at Jackie and said "How about you and I go sit by the pool?"
"Sounds good to me" Jackie said.
"Ok good. Oh and tomorrow I thought we could go tour the wine vineyard, does that sound like fun to everyone?" Alyssa asked.
Everyone agreed that it would be fun to go to the vineyard.
After that had been decided the guys left for the golf course and Jackie and Alyssa went to get changed into their bathing suits.
"Jackie, you ready?" Alyssa asked as she knocked on Jackie's hotel room door.
It was nice because the two couples had managed to get rooms right next to each other.
"Yeah" Jackie said as she opened the door. She took one look at Alyssa, gave her a smirk and said "I hate you."
"Why?" Alyssa asked with a laugh as the two women headed for the elevator so they could head to the pool.
Alyssa was clad in a very revealing bikini while Jackie had on a much more modest one piece suit.
"You are so skinny, you've always been skinny. With two kids you think you would have just a couple ounces of body fat on you, but nope."
Alyssa laughed and then said "Where's your bikini?"
Jackie chuckled "In my pre-children drawer at home." She said.
"What the hell is a pre-children drawer?" Alyssa asked with a laugh.
"It's a drawer in my dresser where I keep all the clothes that no longer fit because of the weight I gained when I got pregnant." Jackie said grinning back.
Alyssa laughed.
"Seriously though Alyssa, how did you lose your baby weight so fast? No matter what I do I cannot seem to lose these last 5-8 pounds."
"Honestly it just came off, I didn't really do anything." Alyssa said.
Jackie looked at her dismayed.
"Come on Jackie, don't feel bad about this, you are gorgeous, I would kill for your beautiful green eyes, or your perfectly straight teeth."
"Thank you, but I wasn't just blessed with straight teeth either, I spent about four years in braces when I was a teenager." Jackie reminded her.
"I know, but it was worth it, look at your teeth now."
"Thanks" Jackie said with a smile before adding. "I don't know, I guess I just feel bad about not losing the weight, it makes me feel like a slug or something, and I feel bad for Nick."
"Why do you feel bad for him?" Alyssa asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh I don't know, I guess just because when Nick and I met I was so skinny, now look what happened."
"Ok, first of all, you gained the weight because you had Nick's children, second of all, Nick absolutely adores you, it's obvious just by the way he looks at you, and third of all, and no offense to Nick because he's great and everything but he's not as skinny as he once was either."
Jackie laughed "Yeah I know, he also gained a few pounds when I was pregnant, he claims it was sympathy weight."
Alyssa laughed
"Yeah Todd tried to say that when I was pregnant too, what a load of crap huh?" she said with a grin as both women plopped down in a lawn chair right next to the pool.
Jackie grinned.
"Listen Jackie, if this weight thing really bothers you, which it shouldn't, but if it does you and Nick could join a gym, they have discounts for couples, it might be fun for the two of you, I'd even watch Jazz and Houston for you when you go."
"Thanks Lyss that's sweet of you but I'm not sure that's such a good idea." Jackie said.
"How come?" Alyssa asked.
"Because going to the gym is what Nick and his best friend used to do all the time, it was kind of their thing."
"You mean Warrick, the one that was murdered?" Alyssa asked.
"Yeah" Jackie said.
"Well Nick goes to the gym now right?"
Jackie just nodded.
"Then maybe it would feel less lonely for him if you went with him?" Alyssa suggested.
"I don't think so, I suggested that not too long after he died and Nick liked the idea, but we weren't in the gym for five minutes before he had to leave, it upset him so bad he literally had to walk out." Jackie explained.
"Yikes, but maybe now that more time has passed it would be a little easier for him."
"I doubt it, just the other day Nick and I were watching a basketball game and a guy on the other team's name was Warrick, Nick got up and left the room, he couldn't even finish the game."
Alyssa made a sympathetic face.
"Well then you could join one on your own, you could use some time by yourself anyways." Alyssa said.
"I'll think about it." Jackie said.
Alyssa nodded and then laid back and cracked open her romance novel that she had brought to read. Jackie also laid back and began reading.
A couple hours later the guys walked in, clad in their swimming trunks.
"Hey, how'd the golf game go?" Jackie asked.
"I think I need to spend way more time playing golf, he killed me." Nick said with a chuckle.
Jackie laughed and Todd grinned triumphantly.
"Hey babe, what do you say we get in the hot tub?" Todd asked Alyssa as he grabbed her hand.
"Can I finish the chapter I'm on?" Alyssa asked as she pulled her hand from his grasp.
"Nope." Todd grinned.
Alyssa rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to the novel. Nick took a seat in the lounge chair next to Jackie.
"What are you reading?" Nick asked her.
"Just a book I brought, it's not very good though." She answered.
He laughed "Then why do you keep reading it?" he asked.
"You know how I am about finishing a book once I start it, no matter if it's good or not."
He laughed and then asked "Do you want to go in the hot tub?"
"Ok." She said as she laid her book down next to her and then stood up.
Nick and Jackie went into the hot tub and soon Todd and Alyssa joined them. They stayed in the hot tub for about an hour and then the couples went back to their respective hotel rooms to shower so they could go to dinner.
The restaurant they went to was right in the hotel room and it was beautiful. It was dimly lit with candlelight, the art decorations were very high end but the best part of it was the view. After dinner they went shopping at a cool quaint little antique shop not far from the hotel and then they went back to the hotel to go to bed.
The next morning the two couples went out for breakfast and then went to a wine vineyard. The wine tasted incredible but the best part was the scenery, it looked like something out of a storybook. They spent the entire day there, just strolling along with each other without a care in the world, it was an awesome feeling for all of them. When they finally got back to the hotel they ate dinner at the same restaurant they had the night before and then they went to bed, it had been a great day but they were all exhausted.
The next day was the end of their vacation and even though they were bummed they had to leave they were happy that they were going to get to see their children again, they had missed them terribly.
"What a great weekend huh Nicky?" Jackie said as they were driving back to Vegas.
"Yeah, and do you know what made it so great?" he asked.
"The wine?" she asked with a smirk.
Nick laughed "No, the fact that I got to spend it with you." He said with a smile.
The End!