Disc: I own nothing but Carly

Chapter 10: Porcelain Gods and Idiots

By: LoveInk

Vince could not sleep. The couch he was using as a bed was about a foot too short for him and no matter how hard he tried, he could not find a comfortable position. He kicked his feet over the arm of the couch and stared at the ceiling, waiting for sleep to take him. A faint light appeared in the hallway before he heard the sound of fast footsteps running to what he assumed was the bathroom. After stopping at the kitchen to get a glass of water, he followed the light and found Carly hunched over the toilet. "Praying to the porcelain god?" he questioned, setting the glass of water on the counter before gently pulling her hair out of her face.

"What are you doing here?" Carly grumbled her voice hoarse and groggy.

He shrugged, letting go of her hair and handing her the glass of water. "Mira told me to stay and take care of you. Drink that. Where's your Advil?"

She stood slowly, rubbing her temple with one hand and opening the mirrored cabinet with the other. Vince's eyes roamed over her body as he watched her chug down the class of water. In just a black camisole and dark green boy shorts, she looked stunning. Pulling his eyes off her body, he refilled the glass and set it in front of her. "I'm not thirsty any more," she said, trying to push past him to get back in bed. His giant frame blocked the bathroom door; there was no way around him.

"Drink it. You'll thank me tomorrow," he ordered, nodding his head toward the glass. He felt like he was ordering a kid to eat their vegetables.

With a harsh glare, she grabbed the cup of water and downed it without stopping to breathe. She set the cup on the counter gently before an embarrassed blush rose to her cheeks. "I'm sorry. I'm being a brat," Carly admitted, running a hand through her messy hair before grabbing her toothbrush. "Thanks for taking care of me, but I'll be fine. You can go home now," she said around her toothbrush. He looked tired, and she didn't want him to see her puking any more than he already had.

He shook his head slowly and gently pushed her toward her bedroom. "I'm not going anywhere. Now get in the bed."

Once in her bed, Carly patted the space next to her. He looked at her skeptically and took a step closer to the bed, his hesitance to get in it apparent on his face. "You're not going to get any sleep on that couch and my bed is huge. I promise I don't bite...hard."



The thought of her biting him was reason enough for him to get in the bed. Taking off his jeans and his shirt, he slid into bed next to her. They lay in bed for awhile in complete silence. They were close enough to feel each other's body heat but too far to be touching. It seemed like neither of them wanted to be the first to cross that line. "Vinny?" Carly's pensive voice broke the silence.

"Yeah?" he replied, folding his arms underneath his head.

"What's the deal with you and Mia?"

The question surprised him. How could she have possibly known about his age-old crush on Mia? Did the girls tell her? He doubted it or else she would know that there was no deal between them. He had been chasing after Mia for years and nothing had happened. Deciding to play stupid, he said, "What do you mean?"

Carly let out a huge sigh. "I don't know. I just sort of get the feeling that there's something going on between you. I mean, did you guys date before or what?"

She was facing him now, her head propped up on her elbow. The moonlight danced along her shoulders making it hard for Vince to formulate any thoughts in his head that weren't about Carly. "Nah, we never dated." He didn't know what else to say about it. Should he be honest and tell her about the infantile longing he's had for Mia since she was old enough to be noticed?

"You like her though, huh?" she asked through a yawn. Were his ears playing tricks on him, or was there disappointment in her tone?

"I don't know," Vince turned toward her, mimicking her position and hoping he looked half as good to her as she did to him. "You see, right now, I kind of got my eye on this other girl." He hoped she'd get that he was talking about her.

"Anyone I know?" He could hear the smile in her voice and knew she had gotten the hint. Carly's fingers began lightly tracing up his arm, drawing unrecognizable shapes as she went.

"Maybe," he said, swallowing hard as her fingers brushed across his shoulders.

Her fingers lightly swept across the crook of his shoulder and he flinched, shrugging his shoulder uncomfortably. Carly's eyes lit up and she tickled him more, laughing as he grabbed her wrist and held it away from him. "I found it!" she exclaimed, a bright smile spreading across her face. "I found your ticklish spot!"

"No, no you didn't! I just had a twitch," he denied, laughing as she tried to pull her wrist out of his grasp.

"Then let go of my wrist."

Vince didn't let go. Instead, he used his other hand to tickle her. She wriggled around, moving closer to him than ever. He stopped when she was almost on top of him, their faces mere inches away from each other. Carly's smile slowly faded as her breath hitched in her throat. He let go of her wrist to brush a piece of hair out of her eyes, letting his hand linger on her face. She leaned in, he leaned in, and then smack! "Ouch!" she cried out, rubbing her forehead.

"Shit!" he grumbled, rubbing his own forehead. "I can't catch a break," he mumbled.

Carly pressed her forehead against Vince's chest in what he thought was embarrassment until her shoulders began to shake and her giggles filled the room. He looked at her like she was crazy. "You have to admit that was funny!" Her eyes met his, the green orbs glittering with laughter.

"I was trying to kiss you," he stated, not seeing the humor in the situation.

"And I was trying to kiss you which is why we bumped heads!" she explained through giggles.

Suddenly, his lips were on hers, quieting her laughter. The same unfamiliar warmth that he had felt when he saw her sleeping began spreading through his stomach when he kissed her. He pulled away suddenly. What was going on with him? He didn't get all warm and fuzzy over girls. Hurt flashed through her green eyes briefly but was gone as quickly as it had appeared. "You should go to sleep," he murmured gruffly.

Carly's thin eyebrows knotted together in confusion. Hadn't he just kissed her; kissed her so hard and passionately that she felt it from her head to her toes? Without another word, she flipped onto her stomach and scooted a few inches away from him. She was too tired and drunk to deal with rejection; it was something that would need to be faced in the morning.

Vince cringed; he had offended her. His hand hovered over her back, wishing he could say or do something to make up for being so stupid. A brightly colored phoenix was tattooed across flying diagonally across her back. Most of the beautiful bird's tail was hidden by her camisole but the very end was visible on the corner of her lower back farthest from him. It looked as though the bird's tail transformed from feathers to a music staff somewhere under her shirt. The colors were bright even in the moonlight. His fingers ached to touch it, to lift up her shirt and see what the middle section of the beautiful bird looked like.

She could feel the heat of his hand hovering over her back, and although she tried to ignore it, she couldn't push back the fire that spread through her body at the mere suggestion that he was going to touch her. Sighing, she turned her head so it was facing him. Her hair 

flopped in front of his eyes, hiding parts of his beautiful face from her view. His fingers reached out to her face, gently pushing her hair out of her face, his fingers brushing against her cheeks leaving her skin tingling in it wake.

He watched as her eyes slowly closed and her breathing grew heavier. Leaning forward, he pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I'm an idiot," he muttered to himself.

A smile spread across her face. "That's for sure," she murmured sleepily.

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Always Love,

Love Ink