Chapter Twenty One:
I looked round at the darkened figure as they slowly took a few more steps along the pier towards me, slowly beginning to be illuminated by the twinkle of the moon and stars light above.
"Nicky." I gasped in surprise as his gorgeous face came into the glow of the stars. I swung my legs round off the rail, almost stumbling face first to the floor beneath me, but I managed to grab the rail behind me as I jumped off, just catching myself in time. It must have looked so funny from Nick's perspective though.
I slowly took a wobbly step forwards towards him, holding my hands out either side of me to balance myself. "Hey Nicky." I smiled again, looking at the concerned frown on his face.
"Hi Greg." He smiled softly, taking a few steps closer to me, so we were just a few feet apart.
"When did you get here?" I asked, trying my best to stand up straight.
"I drove."
"I sssaid when." I smirked at him.
"I just got here. Are you okay?"
"The bruises look worssse than they really, really are... my cousin's daughter tried to hide them with her makeup ssset . . . but she went a little nutsss..." I giggled shaking my head from the dizziness.
"I meant are you okay coz you can barely stand." He chuckled, taking a small step closer to me.
"Are pisssssed at me for not..."
"No." He interrupted me shaking his head, knowing what I meant before I even finished speaking. "I'm more pissed at myself for not comin' with you in the first place Greg." Nick took another step closer so he was right in front of me, looking deep into my eyes. "I could never be pissed at you G."
"Even though I-I didn't... didn't." I stammered, feeling as though I was going to fall right asleep where I stood.
"Even though you didn't tell me." He finished for me. "I wish you had . . . but I don't blame you for not tellin' me G. I couldn't bare the thought of anythin' bad happenin' to yah though." He softly spoke, gently caressing the side of my face with his hand as he looked into my eyes. "Are you drinkin' coz of him . . . or coz of me?"
"I wasn't... drinking." I hiccupped.
"G, you can barely stand." He laughed, shaking his head at me. Nick just managed to catch me as I almost toppled into him, standing me up straight again. "See." He smiled softly. "Are you okay G?"
I nodded, clinging to him to stabilise myself. "Nick . . . I love you."
Nick smiled widely, pulling me into his arms. He held me tightly against his chest just like I wanted him. I softly rested my head on his shoulder, wrapping my arms securely around his waist.
I closed my eyes against his shoulder, breathing in his strong scents as he hugged me intimately, tenderly smoothing his hands up and down my back. "I love you too Greg . . . I couldn't bare it if anythin' bad happened to you. And I can't believe you saved that jerks life after what he did to you. But I get why you did it. You have a heart of gold." He whispered softly, pressing his lips to my cheek. Nick pulled back slightly to look into my eyes. He softly pressed his lips to mine, engaging in a sweet passionate kiss. He ran his fingers softly through my hair as he pulled me closer, deepening his kiss.
Nick slowly broke the heavenly kiss, pulling me tightly into his arms once again. "Have you been smokin' G?" He suddenly asked, licking his lips.
"No." I awkwardly replied, but he could easily tell I was lying. "Maybe." I shrugged as he looked at me.
"Jail for one night and you're already pickin' up bad habits." He snickered, pressing a kiss to my cheek. "I can't let you smoke anymore though G."
"I won't."
"Promise me."
"I promise . . . I won't even remember tomorrow." I giggled softly. "Nicky, when did you get here?" I asked looking up at him.
"I just got here G." He chuckled. "How much did you drink?"
"I didn't drink." I shook my head, resting it against his shoulder again.
"Okay G." He chuckled again, softly smoothing his hands up and down my back, holding me even tighter against him. I could really tell he missed me by the way he was clinging to me. It was nice to be missed by someone that loved me in return. "Did you miss me Greg?"
"Mmm hmm." I nodded, almost falling to sleep in his arms. "Hey when did you get here? You said you weren't coming."
"Things have changed. I'm here for you Greg."
"Really? Where am I?" I asked looking around.
"C'mon we should get you home before yah drop." Nick chuckled, trying to support my weight so I didn't fall over.
"Wait, I want another piece of cake."
"No more cake G, when you drink this much you always throw up." Nick explained to me, pulling my arm over his shoulder to support me back to his truck. He leant me against the side of his truck as he unlocked the door, pulling open the passenger side door.
"Wait." I suddenly gasped. Nick looked at me wide eyed, waiting to hear what I was gonna say. "I love this song!"
"Greg, you can listen to it later okay?" He tried not to laugh. "Right now though, we gotta get you home and off to a toilet before you start throwin' up."
"I'm not gonna throw up." I mumbled, being lifted into the passenger seat in his strong arms.
"Maybe not yet." He straightened me up against the seat, climbing up on the side to pull the belt over my shoulder. "But you might want to in a bit. Just hold it till we getcha home though, okay?"
"Do you know where I live?"
"Luckily I have directions." He smiled at me, buckling the seatbelt around me.
"Who gave you those?" I squinted, looking at the piece of paper in his hands.
"You did Greg." He laughed at me, closing the door. I watched him walk around the front of the truck, heading round to the driver's side door. "Ready to go?" He asked, climbing in.
"Nicky? What you doing here?"
"You're adorable when your drunk Greg." He snickered, reversing his truck back towards the road.
"I thought you were in Vegas though." I muttered, looking out the window. "Where are we?"
"We're headin' home loopy." He chuckled. "Just sit tight. We'll be home soon." I looked over at him, feeling my eyelids falling heavily over my eyes. A few minutes later I felt the car coming to a stop. Nick unbuckled my seatbelt from his side then climbed out the car to help me out. "C'mon G." He lifted me down to the ground, resting me against the side of his truck again as he locked the car up again. "Where's yah keys Greg?"
"Keys?" I asked him confused.
"To the house Greg?" He laughed at me again.
"Oh." I pulled the keys from my pocket, handing them over. "Nicky?"
"Yep, I'm here G." Nick pulled my arm over his shoulder, sweeping me off my feet as he walked up to the front door. He set me down beside the front door, trying to hold me up as he unlocked the door. "What's the alarm number G?" Nick asked as he heard the beeping.
"Um..." I thought about it a moment but I began to space out again.
"Greg, what's the alarm number?" He asked again, shaking me softly to keep me awake.
"I think... it's my . . . birthday," I mumbled. "Year, month . . . day." Nick nodded, punching it in. He hit enter disabling the alarm, just managing to grab me in time as I almost toppled over. "How do you know my birth date?" I asked him.
"Coz I'm a good boyfriend." He smirked, pushing the front door shut then lifting me into his arms again, carrying me off up the stairs to my room. I was amazed he managed to find the way to my room so easily as he had never been here before, but he got the right room perfectly. "You gonna throw up G?"
"No." I shook my head. "Wait . . . wait . . . yes." I nodded. Nick carried me off towards the bathroom, setting me down by the toilet.
"I'll be right back." He shouted, running out the door.
"Nicky." I moaned, feeling my stomach beginning to turn on me.
"I'm comin' G . . . hang on!" Nick shouted back, rushing into the room a few seconds later with a can of 7up in his hands. "It's okay G . . . just let it out . . . you'll feel much better after baby." He softly whispered.
"I wonna go to sleep."
"In a minute baby, you have to let this out first." There's that word again. He really called me baby. Nick softly smoothed his palm up and down my back as I started to throw up everything I had consumed since I started drinking. "It's okay baby." I heard Nick's voice softly whispering as I started to dry heave. "Here go Greg, drink this." Nick popped the can of 7up open, handing it over to me.
I took a few slow sips from the can then held it against my forehead, watching Nick cleaning up. He was always so tidy. "Bet you regret eatin' all that cake now, huh?" He smirked at me.
"I liked it the first time around." I moaned, leaning against the radiator on the wall behind me.
"You wonna brush yah teeth before you go to sleep?" Nick asked me, flushing the toilet as he knelt down beside me.
"I'm tired." Nick smiled, lifting me to my feet. He leant me against the sink, squeezing some toothpaste onto my brush for me.
"Here go, brush yah teeth real quick then you can go to sleep." I handed the can of 7up over to him as I took the toothbrush from his hands to start brushing my teeth as Nick watched me. "Are you still loopy Greg?" I shook my head slightly, looking at the serious expression in his eyes. "I love you Greg."
"I wuv you too." I replied with the toothbrush still in my mouth. Nick smiled widely, taking the toothbrush from me as I rinsed my mouth out.
"C'mon." Nick led me back towards the bedroom, stripping my suit jacket from my shoulders. He carefully lifted me back onto the bed, pulling my shoes off for me. I sleepily fell back against the cushions, feeling my eyelids trying to force themselves shut. Nick fiddled with the belt around my waist, popping my flies open. He lifted me up slightly to pull them off my hips, throwing them to the ground with the other piles of my clothing left on the floor. "You can barely keep your eyes open." He chuckled softly.
"You try sleeping when you're handcuffed to a table . . . or when big biker guys are staring at you like they wonna make you their bitch." I smirked at him with my eyes shut. "I even had to hold it the whole time I was there . . . I was too afraid to go to the bathroom in front of em all."
"I'm sorry you had to go through that G." Nick untied my bowtie then started on my shirt buttons, carefully striping it off my shoulders. I fell back against the cushions again, watching as he undressed himself down to his boxers. He quietly clicked the bedroom door shut, turning off the light then climbed on the bed beside me; carefully lifting the comforter over us both then pulled me tightly into his arms. I rested my head on his warm chest listening to his heartbeat echoing through the soft skin. I felt a soft kiss being pressed to my forehead as I just started to doze off to sleep. "I love you Greg." He gorgeous Texan drawl whispered softly into my ear, circling his strong arms around me.
I relaxed against him, falling right asleep in the security of his strong arms wrapped tightly around me.
"Good mornin' Sunshine." Nick's warm smile greeted me as I sleepily rubbed my eyes open.
"Morning." Nick softly caressed the side of my face, looking deep into my eyes. "You really drove all the way to the California for me?" I asked him.
"Yep." He nodded with a slight smile. "You still loopy today?"
"Nope." I shook my head smiling widely at him. "I'm glad you're here."
"I didn't want you to be alone after what happened . . . that and I missed you."
"I'm glad you did. I missed you too." Nick advanced closer to me. He licked his lips then closed his mouth over mine, kissing me with a fiery hunger. Nick's hands slid down my sides to rest at my hips, taking a few slow breaths between his deliciously sweet kisses.
"Mmmm." He rasped against my lips. "I love kissin' you."
"I love you kissing me too."
"That works out nicely then." He chuckled. "You want some breakfast?"
I looked round at the time. "It's almost twelve Nicky." I smirked.
"Lunch then." He smiled at me, pressing a kiss to my lips again.
"Okay." I rolled across his body to grab a long sleeved t-shirt from the draw beside my bed, pulling it down over my head.
"Whoa, what are you doin'?" He asked watching me, straighten it over my body. "What are you hidin'?"
"Nothing."
"Greg, I know you." He pulled me back towards him, lifting the shirt off my head. He tossed it aside to look at the bruises on my chest. His eyes immediately ran to the burns and bruises on my arms along with the circular ringed bruises around my wrists from the handcuffs.
He took one of my wrists in his hands, pressing a soft kiss to the bruise. I crashed back against the cushions as he did the same to my other wrist, starting to work butterfly kisses up my arms towards my face. He pressed a warm kiss to my split lip, the bruise on the side of my face then the cut above my eyebrow. I melted under the soft touch of his kisses, looking up into his gorgeous brown eyes.
"It kills me that he hurt you again Greg."
"I'm okay Nicky. You're here now . . . he can't hurt me anymore."
"If it was up to me I'd kill the son of a bitch."
"I wouldn't want you to." I wrapped my arms around him, pulling him down to lay flat against my chest. "I wouldn't want you in jail because of that jerk Nicky."
"If I had just come with you in the first place..."
"No Nicky. This isn't your fault." I held him tightly, lowering his head to my shoulder. "This isn't your fault at all Nicky." I whispered softly, trying to calm him down from his anger before he got himself too worked up.
"But Greg I shoulda..."
"You can't change the past Nicky. If we could then I'd chose to switch myself with you in that coffin in a heartbeat." I interrupted him as he continued to protest.
"No Greg! I wouldn't want you to go through that." He wrapped his arms tighter around me.
"Then don't do this to yourself too Nicky. I'm okay and you're gonna drive me crazy if you keep fretting about this." I smiled softly, looking down into his eyes.
"Sorry."
"Don't be sorry Nicky, haven't you suffered enough? You don't need to take this weight on your shoulders too. I forgive you for not coming with me. I blame Ryan for what happened. None of it was your fault so don't you dare blame yourself."
"Forgot how bossy you are Sanders." He chuckled slightly, pressing a kiss to my lips. "I love you Greg."
"I love you too Nicky. Now you wonna go get some breakfast?"
"You're on. You got a t-shirt I can borrow?"
"Where are you going?" I asked curiously.
"I wonna go get my stuff from my truck and I don't want your neighbours to stare at me, if that's alright with you." He snickered.
"Yep." I grinned, reaching through one of my draws beside the bed. "This one should fit you." I handed him one of my larger plain white t-shirts, climbing off the bed. Nick pulled the t-shirt on over his head, following me off down the stairs. I looked through the fridge for something to eat while Nick went out to his truck to grab his things. "I could make us some pancakes?" I suggested as he walked back in.
"Sounds good." Nick smiled, locking the door behind him again as he set down his bag at the foot of the stairs. He walked through to the kitchen again sitting on the counter behind me, watching me cooking.
"Are you checking me out Nicholas Stokes?" I grinned looking round at him.
"Might be." He smiled wider, licking his lips. "You do have one gorgeous little arse there Sanders."
"Who are you and what have you done with my uptight Texan?" I teased him, turning completely to face him.
"I wasn't really that uptight." He smiled widely, pulling me towards him. "It just doesn't seem to matter that I'm gay anymore."
"That's one improvement. You managed to say you're gay without flinching."
"I did." He smiled proud of himself. "I am gay and I don't care anymore. I wonna be with you Greg. I love you more than anythin' in the world." He ran his fingers through my hair then leant down to join our lips for a deep passionate kiss.
"Pancakes are burnin' G." He pointed as we broke apart. I spun back round to the cooker, quickly taking them off the heat. I flipped the half burnt pancake on a plate before I started to cook up another batch.
"So how much courage did it take yah to walk up to me and kiss me on the pier?" I asked him curiously.
"A lot . . . I think some of your family were watchin'."
"And that didn't bother you?" I asked turning to face him.
Nick chewed on his bottom lip a moment then shook his head. "Not so much. The thing that bothered me more was that you were completely smashed."
"I wasn't completely smashed." I frowned at him, even though it was true.
"You were!" He laughed. "You must have asked me where you were about five times."
"I don't remember that." I looked at him curiously then flipped a pancake onto a plate for him. "What else did I say?"
"Well you were a little loopy. When we tried to leave you wanted more cake . . . Oh, and you wanted to listen to the song that was playin'."
"I definitely don't remember that." I turned the stove off, handing Nick a fork and a plate of pancakes. "I do remember you calling me baby though." I smiled, watching the blush creeping up his neck.
"I did say that." He smiled wider. "You don't like pet names?"
"I do, it's just weird to hear Nick Stokes say baby, especially to me. I thought you weren't the sort for pet names." I teased him.
"I never called Starla a pet name . . . I did call you doll once." He pointed out to me.
"True." I laughed.
"But I've never been in love with anyone before you G. And you are cute as hell so baby suits yah!" He snickered.
"That's okay then . . . I didn't hate it anyway."
"Good." He smiled licking his lips. "Thanks for this buttercup." He winked with a wide smile as he jumped off the counter. Buttercup? Not so bad. As long as he doesn't call me it in public. He pecked me on the cheek as he stepped past me then started looking through the cupboards.
"Whatcha looking for?"
"Syrup." He replied, digging through one of the top cupboards.
"That you'd find in the fridge, CSI Stokes." I pulled open the door, handing him the bottle.
"Thanks." He poured a decent amount onto his pancake before he sat down at the breakfast unit to enjoy his breakfast. I sat opposite him, watching his wide smile spread as I kept my eyes on him. "Whatcha starin' at G?"
"You. So... Muffin?" I teased him. "What did you wonna do today?"
"Forget that you called me muffin for starters." He smirked as he looked up at the wide grin on my face.
"What should I call yah then? Tinkle monkey? Sugarplum?" I suggested watching the adorable blush creeping up his neck towards his face.
"You got a games station in this big ol' house of yours?" He asked. I nodded wondering where he was going with this. "Then I want yah to call me Master." He grinned, setting his empty plate in the right compartment of the dishwasher.
"But I only have co-operative player games here." I climbed off the stool, doing the same with my plate.
"That'll have to do." Nick smiled, lacing his hands with mine. "Which way?" I smiled up at him, leading him upstairs to the movie theatre den, complete with games stations of many shapes and sizes, along with stacks of games.
"Pick your poison." I dropped down onto the sofa as Nick set up a game in the X-box, crashing back onto the sofa right beside me. "Conflict: Desert Storm?" I asked him as it started up.
"Yeah." He smiled at me, licking his lips. "Let's see how yah do buttercup." He winked.
"You're on sugarplum!"
Please Review.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thanks so much for all your lovely reviews on the last few chapters. I'm so glad you're enjoying the story :D