A/N: Hey guys! Big thanks go to SarahLou143, nikki1335, Bubblyjayy, hardyrhodescenafan1, beautifultragedyxxx and xHalosandwings for reviewing the last chapter, I love you all!
Are you all looking forward to Summerslam tonight? I hope you'll all be cheering for Dolph, because I sure as hell will!
This chapter is pretty fluffy, but I think it's a nice change to the other ones... although don't expect it every time, haha. Here it is, anyway. I hope you all like and please remember to leave feedback!
Chapter 9
Tegan
When I awoke the next morning, it felt like I had been hit by a truck. My eyes and head felt like they were going to explode from the bright sun that shone through the still open curtains, and my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth, feeling like sandpaper. I desperately needed to get up for a drink, but I knew from the pounding in my head how much effort it was going to take.
I let a small groan escape my lips as I covered my eyes with one of my hands, stretching out with the other... and hitting something in the bed beside me.
My gaze instantly shot to the side and widened in horror at what I saw. Nic was sprawled out beside me, his bare chest rising and falling slowly in his sleep. I gulped as flashes from the previous night instantly began to return – getting drunk at the restaurant, coming back to the hotel completely trashed, inviting Nic into my room, kissing him senseless...
"Oh crap, oh crap," I shook my head and sat up instantly, wincing at the pain. I couldn't remember anything after that, not one single thing...
"Tee..." I heard Nic groan from beside me, and I turned ever so slowly to see him rubbing his own eyes. When he finally looked my way to see my expression, he quickly pulled himself up to sit beside me, his eyebrows furrowed, "What's wrong? Are you feeling sick?"
"No, well, yeah... but that's not the point," I shook my head, realising now that he had mentioned it how terrible my stomach felt. I ran a hand through my messy hair, vowing never to drink again. Not only did it leave you feeling like death the next day, but it left you in situations like these, where you had no idea what happened the previous night, "I, I just..."
"You want to know what happened last night," He practically read my mind, a small, amused smirk growing across his face as he tried to control his own messy hair by smoothing it down with his hands.
I glared his way, wondering why he found it so funny... but then again, he was a guy. Wasn't that what all guys were after? I knew I shouldn't have been so damn stupid. I had thought I'd seen a good side to him, but maybe he'd just been in it for the sex after all... and like an idiot, despite the bet, I had allowed myself to begin to feel something for him.
"Relax," He seemed to notice I wasn't happy, and his expression quickly changed, "How much do you remember?"
"Oh god," I whined, my cheeks growing red as I looked away, not being able to tell him when I was looking at his face, "I remember getting drunk, coming back here and then... throwing myself at you," I cringed. If he had taken advantage of me, then could I really blame him, when it had all been me?
"Okay, you don't remember what happened afterwards?" He asked, raising an eyebrow, and I shook my head lightly, dreading what he was about to say, "You don't need to worry, nothing happened, Tegan. I realised that it probably wasn't the best idea for us to do anything like that when you were drunk, so I stopped. You were pretty pissed at me, though."
I couldn't quite believe his words. I'd practically given myself to him, but he'd stopped, because I was drunk? That was definitely the last thing I had expected, but as I looked down at myself and my dress that I had been wearing the night before, I shook my head at my stupidity. I'd jumped to the wrong conclusion, by far. I'd blamed Nic for taking advantage of me, when he'd done nothing of the sort. I hated that I jumped to conclusions because I still expected him to be the guy I had first thought he was. I was really going to have to make myself realise that he was nothing like him.
"I, umm... I was pissed at you?" I asked, not quite knowing what else to say as I turned back to look at him, happy to see that he laughed lightly when he nodded, "I'm so sorry. I must have been really out of it."
"Don't be sorry, it happens to the best of us," He shook his head, ever so gently reaching out to wrap his arm around my shoulder, "Just as long as you're not still mad."
"Mad?" I asked quickly, shaking my head back and forth, "Nic, you have no idea how not mad I am with you right now, and how grateful I am, too. Don't get me wrong; it's not that I don't want to... you know," I blushed again, and his mouth pulled up at the sides, "But not like that. So, thank you, so much," I began to smile his way slightly.
"You don't need to thank me," He rolled his eyes, before a smirk began to grow across his face, "Besides, all the complements you gave me made up for it."
"Oh god, do I want to know?" I asked, covering my face with my hands in embarrassment, making him laugh out loud.
"Oh it was nothing serious, you just kept telling me how pretty my eyes were, and how handsome I was..." He trailed off, grinning down at me, making my cheeks grow even redder.
"Wow, stealthy," I shook my head, not being able to stop myself from laughing lightly. I peaked up at him, knowing that I might as well say what I was thinking, it wasn't like I could make myself look like an even bigger idiot, "But it's true... you are rather handsome, and your eyes are really pretty."
"Yeah?" His expression was amused but his eyes were soft and warm as he leaned in to kiss me sweetly, "Thanks, I guess," He chuckled.
"Anytime," I smiled against his mouth.
He pulled away slowly, before quickly looking down at himself and raising an awkward eyebrow. I frowned at him, wondering what was bothering him, "I'm sorry that I err, stayed here last night," He patted the bed, looking at me out the corner of his eye, "I just didn't want to leave you alone. You were in a pretty bad state when you fell asleep."
So, if it wasn't enough that he had stopped me from making perhaps the biggest mistake in my life... but now he'd stopped and taken care of me as well? If I hadn't been so full with guilt over the fact that this absolutely amazing guy was going to get hurt because of the stupid bet, I would have wondered how I'd gotten so lucky.
"Really? You're saying sorry, for taking care of me?" I raised an eyebrow again, smirking ever so slightly as I inched over and wrapped my arms around him in a hug, "I owe you big time."
"You know you shouldn't say that, because I'll hold you to it," He grinned at me as I pulled away, and I shook my head, giggling slightly in return. Despite the still throbbing pain in my head and the queasy feeling in my stomach, a huge sense of relief washed over me from the fact that I hadn't drunkenly slept with Nic, or that he wasn't annoyed with me for getting in such a bad state in the first place.
"How do you feel?" He sighed, one of his hands slipping around my waist and pulling me closer to him. I snuggled in to him, the side of my head resting against his as I closed my eyes. I hated to admit to myself how good it felt to be wrapped in his arms. I knew that when this was all over, if I let him get to me like this, it was going to hurt so much more than I had first thought.
"Like hell," I groaned without opening my eyes, and I felt the rumble of his chest as he laughed at me. I pulled a face as I snuggled closer to him, enjoying his warmth. I guessed a few more moments wouldn't hurt with him... I was pretty damn far gone as it was, either way.
"Silly girl, you couldn't have chosen a day that you didn't have to fly to get drunk," He laughed lightly again, his free hand lifting to run through my hair. I shivered at the feel of his fingers as they untangled my amber locks, hating that he had to remind me of our flights that were only a few hours away.
"I'll be okay," I sighed, finally opening my eyes and lifting my head, "I'll just sleep throughout it. A special talent of mine," I smiled his way crookedly, and he rolled his eyes playfully.
As my smile disappeared, the pair of us fell silent, and I began to feel extremely awkward. What was I supposed to do now? I needed to take a warm shower and pack all of my things ready for leaving in an hour or so, but I didn't exactly want to chuck him out. In fact, I hated to think it, but I didn't want him to leave at all. I was slowly beginning to regret the excuse I had made about visiting my family and turning down his offer of going home with him.
"So, umm, I better get back. I need to be at the airport in like," He looked down at his watch, and his eyes practically bugged out of his head, "Shit, half an hour."
He quickly jumped up from the bed and ran towards his shirt that was thrown over one of the seats. I watched as he buttoned it up in record time before slipping on his dress shoes and picking up his jacket.
"I hate that this has to be so quick," He looked at me with sad eyes as he slipped into his jacket, "But I'll see you soon, okay?" He didn't even wait for an answer before he began to move over to the door... but I couldn't let him go like that. No matter how late he was running.
"Nic, wait..." I shot up from the bed and moved over to him, thankful that he had stopped at the sound of my voice.
He turned around just as I reached him, and I dived into his arms. I smiled as I felt him grip me tightly to him, and I rested my head against his chest. I didn't want him to leave without a proper goodbye, not only because of the absolutely insane night and morning we'd had, but because we were going to be apart for a few days now. I needed him to miss me while he was gone so that he didn't do anything rash, and that he came back for more afterwards... and also because I needed to be close to him one last time.
"I'm sorry, I know you're running late, I just..." I trailed off, not knowing how to even word it as I pulled away and looked into his eyes. I felt stupid, wanting to say this, but it had to be done, for more reasons than one, "I know this is going to sound crazy after we've only been together a little while, but I'm gonna miss you."
"No, Tegan," He shook his head instantly, his hands rising to rest on both of my cheeks, "It's not crazy. I'm gonna miss you too," He sighed, before he ever so slowly leant down and placed his lips against mine.
No matter how many times he kissed me, I still couldn't get over how perfect it felt. How no matter whether it was sweet and slow, hot and fiery, or a little bit of both, it felt right. It was like I was made to be in his arms, and for him to kiss me...
But how could that be, when this was only happening because I wanted to win a stupid belt? The title suddenly seemed so inconsequential compared to Nic.
"I'll call you later, okay?" He whispered when he finally pulled away, and I simply nodded his way, not being able to find my voice, "Have fun with your family, Tee."
"I will," I finally spoke up, holding on to his hand as he began to pull away from me, "Take care at home."
He nodded my way as if to answer his question, and even after he moved from my grasp his eyes stayed locked on mine. I felt a lump in my throat as he sent me a small smile, and I quickly swallowed it, hating myself for so many different reasons as he eventually turned his back on me and left the room, closing the door behind him.
I walked slowly back towards the bed and sat down with a thud, not caring that I too was running late for my flight. I couldn't wrap my head around anything other than the fact that I didn't want to be apart from Nic for only a few short days... and I was only just over a week into the bet. What the hell was I going to be like by the time the whole month was up?
Nic
I walked through the corridors quickly, watching the time tick by far too fast on my watch as I jumped in the lift and waited impatiently for it to reach my floor. I could feel anger bubbling up inside of me as I tapped my foot on the floor, but deep down, I knew I wasn't pissed at the time. I was pissed at myself.
Why had I turned Tegan down? Why hadn't I slept with her when I had the chance and won the bet? I shouldn't have cared whether she was drunk or not, I should have got it over and done with, because I could have been $500 richer on my plane ride back home, and not to mention done with my relationship with Tegan.
But instead, I'd been the perfect damn gentleman and not slept with her while she hadn't been herself. Instead of the bet being over and done with, it was still going strong... which not only meant I wasn't going to be getting my money or sex any time soon – it also meant that I was going to spend even more time with her.
More time that was most likely going to make me fall for her even more.
