Sara immediately pressed her body as tightly to Nick's as she could. Her skin was so cold. Nick rubbed her arms and back. When Sara curled into fetal position and rested her legs on top of the lower portion of Nick's torso, he began rubbing them as well.
He couldn't help but notice how soft and smooth her skin felt. That turned him on a little.
"By the way, Nick," Sara said, breaking the silence between them, "It was Sunday."
"What?" Nick furrowed his brows.
"You were talking about when I was wanting to get thoroughly drunk during the reception. That was Sunday night, not Monday."
Nick shrugged and looked at Sara. "I guess all of my days are running together." He smiled. "When all you do is dance day in and day out, that kind of happens."
Sara returned his smile, but continued to shiver a little. A quiet voice in the back of her mind asked her if she may have been in shock. She pushed that thought away. Her injury was not severe enough to send her into shock. I've just got a chill, she thought, I just need more body heat against my own.
"Nick." She looked into his eyes and then averted her gaze. She wasn't sure whether she could follow through with where her thoughts had led her. "I think this may work better if we lie chest-to-chest."
Nick knew that Sara would become acutely aware of his erection if he complied, so he began an internal dialogue to distract his mind from sexual thoughts.
Unsexy things. Unsexy things. Okay…gym socks. Sweaty gym socks rolled up in my shoes. Tobacco. Baseball players chewing tobacco an spitting juice on the ground.
He rolled over to face Sara and continued to distract himself. He placed one arm underneath Sara and pulled her close. Sara almost immediately stopped shivering when their torsos touched.
She smiled shyly at Nick and then averted her eyes. She liked lying in that position, having Nick's body pressed against her own. A flush crept over her body and she felt the urge to start something with Nick, to tell him that she wanted to be more than friends.
Nick noticed that her skin felt warmer. "Is this actually working, Sara? Do you feel better?"
If only you knew how much, she thought as she looked at him and nodded.
"If you're warm enough, I can back away."
"You don't have to, Nick. This feels really nice."
I know, he thought, that's why I need to back away soon. If I don't, you'll surely find out how nice I think this feels.
Sara sighed contentedly and pulled herself closer to Nick. He could feel her breasts flatten against his abdomen and he could feel her stomach press against his pelvis.
Despite his best efforts, he was completely aroused.
He debated whether he should mention anything to Sara to lighten the mood. He was sure that Sara had noticed his current condition.
"This feels really nice," she said to Nick, "You're really warm."
Nick paused for a moment. He wasn't sure whether he should respond. "You're really soft," he said, "It's nice to hold you."
Sara was pleased with Nick's response. She considered countering it by saying that he was really hard, but she didn't want to embarrass him. Instead, she laid a gentle kiss on his chest and began stroking her fingers lightly along the length of his back, including in her path the very beginning of the curve of his buttocks.
She knew that Nick wouldn't agree to have sex with her that night, but she wanted to make her interest known and get the ball rolling.
Nick was slightly startled by Sara's action, but he wasn't completely surprised. He returned Sara's kiss on the top of her head and then he turned her face upward so that he could look into her eyes. She scooted up in the bed so that their faces were at the same height and she kissed him softly on the lips.
When they pulled apart from their first few kisses, Sara decided that she would put all of her cards on the table. "I love you, Nick," she said as she stroked the side of his torso, "I think I have for a long time."
"Oh, Sara," Nick replied and kissed her on her forehead. He grinned widely. "I love you more."
Sara and Nick filled several minutes with soft, yet intense, kisses. They were like two teenagers who had just learned how to kiss, becoming lost in one another. The contact was electric.
After a while, they pulled apart and Nick checked the time. According to the clock in their room, it was after midnight.
"Well, Sara. The hour's up. You can go to sleep now. Is there a bump?"
Sara felt of her head and then put on a frown. "No, but I don't want to go to sleep." She kissed Nick seductively beneath his ear and then decided to give his lobe a little nibble, for good measure.
"Sara if we don't sleep, we'll die tomorrow."
"Okay." Sara sighed and rolled over into her most comfortable sleeping position. She hadn't actually intended to stay awake for much longer.
"I'm going to wake us up every hour, though," Nick said as he rolled over to set the alarm clock, "I'll need to make sure that you remain lucid."
"Are you going to ask me my name and who's President and where do I work?"
"Something like that." He leaned over and kissed the back of Sara's head. After a few moments he said, "What time do you think we'll have to wake up to get to our first class?" Sara didn't respond to Nick's question. He sat up and looked at Sara. "Sure, you didn't want to sleep," he mumbled to himself and smiled.