Chapter 31

Nick slowly opened his eyes, the smile he had fallen asleep with, still on his face. He felt for the red head that had fallen asleep next to him, and when he found nothing, he bolted upright. He looked around the room for any trace of her...

None.

"Riley?" He whispered and felt his throat closing in from the tears threatening to fall. Her clothes were gone, as well as her shoes and jacket, and everything else she had brought with her. She had left...she left without even saying goodbye.

"Nick? You're awake." She stated, a small smile on her face. Nick looked up in shock and she grinned sheepishly. "I had to borrow one of your shirts cause-" She frowned when she saw the look on his face. "Baby, what is it?" She asked and worriedly went to the bed to sit next to him.

He breathed a sigh of relief and grabbed her hand. "I thought you left..."

"No, I'm still here."

"Where are your clothes?"

"I borrowed your dryer...I put your clothes from last night in there too..." She replied.

"You sound sick..." He said noticing the congested sound of her drawl.

She frowned playfully and poked his shoulder. "So do you...guess that make-out session last night in the rain wasn't such a good idea huh?" She asked and he laughed and shrugged.

"I had fun." She laughed and patted his knee when he looked at her oddly. "I just realized, you got up before I did...that's friggin amazing!" Nick exclaimed and she rolled her eyes. "You deserve a cookie." He joked and she laughed.

"Damn straight I do!"

"How'd you wake up before I did?"

She shrugged. "I slept less than you did..." She blushed a tucked a curl behind her ear. "I uh...I was too exited to fall asleep...I couldn't wait to see you..." She admitted sheepishly and blushed deeper.

"Aww...Baby..." He replied and pulled her close to him to kiss her tenderly.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah...get off me ya big mush." She joked and pushed him away. He chuckled and looked around the corner of the hallway from his doorway.

"Did you make coffee yet?" Nick asked and she shook her head. "What, you didn't have coffee and you're smiling?Has the world stopped turning?" He joked and she rolled her eyes.

"Shut up and make me coffee Stokes." She demanded playfully, and climbed out of the bed. "And get me chocolate while you're at it."

Nick laughed and swatted her butt as they went off towards the living room. Nick slid his boxers back on and followed Riley into the living room. She yawned and stretched her arms above her head, Nick's flannel shirt riding up her thighs, giving him a nice view of the bottom of her buttocks. He smiled and walked into the kitchen and began making the coffee as she went for the cereal in the cabinet. She frowned when she saw it was empty.

"Nicky, you're out of Lucky Charms..."

He shrugged. "You're the only one who eats it, it was gonna go bad so I pitched it." She smirked and rolled her eyes. "Want me to run out and get you some?"

She laughed and shook her head. "No..."

"I will, do you want me to?"

"I know you will. But I'm fine. I like bagels too..."

"Umm...yeah, I'm outta bagels too."

She laughed. "Alright, well then I'll just eat a big lunch." She concluded and a sudden flying bird prevented her from saying anything further. She raised an eyebrow and looked over on her shoulder at the Yellow Head Amazon now perched contently on her shoulder. "Uh Nick...when'd you get a bird?"

"A few weeks ago...his name is Wheaty."

"Wheaty?" She asked and began to laugh as Nick shrugged innocently.

"Yeah...short for Whole Wheat."

"As in the bread...?" She asked and Nick nodded.

"I can't believe he likes you." Nick stated and she gaped at him and swatted his arm. "No! I mean that he doesn't like anyone...he only tolerates me because I feed him..." Nick drawled and she shrugged.

"Well...it's a boy right? Maybe he's a lil' playa and he only likes the Ladies." She replied and Nick laughed.

"Oh God...great, my little boy is a Ladies Man."

"Just like his daddy." She joked and then gasped. "Yoda!"

"Yes Jedi?" Nick asked while chuckling and Riley ignored him.

"Oh my God I forgot Yoda! I am a horrible mother!"

Nick's jaw hit the floor. "What?" But knowing Riley, the real situation wasn't anything like it sounded...

"My puppy..."

Nick smiled, Figures...hey, when'd she get a dog?

She groaned and went off in search of her cell phone to call Tina and make sure her puppy was okay. "I am the worst mother! I left my baby! How could I forget her! She hasn't left my sight since I got her a few weeks ago..." She groaned as she turned over couch cushions, and Nick joined her, then remembered he had The Browns' number. He quickly pulled out his cell phone, and got a very grumpy Warrick on the phone.

"This better be important Stokes..." Warrick warned and Nick frowned and sat the phone on the table as he clicked it to speaker phone so Riley could hear.

"Geez, you're testy. I thought you and Tina worked everything out..."

"We did..." Warrick hinted and Nick laughed while Riley smiled and rolled her eyes as she played with the bird on her shoulder.

"Oh, well, sorry. I'm just callin to see if there happens to be a little puppy there by any chance?"

"Riley's dog? Yeah, she's here. I've been tryin to get a hold of her all morning...till I realized her phone and everything was still here..." Warrick replied through the phone, and Nick looked over to Riley pointedly, to see her slap her head and mentally berating herself. "I think she left with Kiersten cause some of her stuff is here too. Hey, how'd you know Yoda was here...?"

"Kiersten called..." Nick lied.

"How do you know Kiersten?"

Uh...she's my girlfriend's best friend... "Um...I just do." Nick replied and Riley rolled her eyes and gave him a sarcastic 'thumbs-up' sign while mouthing, 'Good save' as she returned Wheaty to his perch.

Warrick laughed. "Man, are you bangin Kiersten?" Warrick asked and Nick blushed and looked over to see Riley laughing at Nick's embarrassment of him being accused of sleeping with her best friend. "Dude...she's really cool, but I thought really dominant women freaked you out? If you were gonna go for anyone I figured it'd be Riley. She'sjust as assertive...but she's got an excuse cause she's a red head..." Warrick theorized and Riley smiled and shook her head as Warrick continued to ramble on. Nick grinned at her, never letting his eyes stray from her as he answered.

"Whatever you say man...so Yoda's alright?"

"Yep, she's fine...little freaker kept on barking though...all night."

Riley's hand flew to her mouth to stifle her laughter and Nick laughed freely. "Eh, Wheaty is just as bad..." Nick replied and Riley slapped his arm, a panicked looked on her face reminding him that no one knew about them yet. "I mean when I'm trying to sleep..."

"Uh, yeah...sure. Well, tell Kiersten to tell Riley that Yoda's okay...just uh...don't come over to get her for a while..."

Nick laughed and Riley shook her head. "Copy that man...just don't be late for work..." Nick instructed, and the two said their goodbyes.

"Shit...I'm dog-less, phone-less, and stuck in your clothes..."

Nick grinned deviously. "We could always get you outta those clothes..." He waggled his eyebrows and she laughed.

"You have a one-track mind Mr. Stokes."

"Yeah well...I've been without you for long enough..." He reasoned and moved towards her on the couch to start kissing her neck. She smiled and slid down into a laying position and let him climb on top of her as she wrapped her arms around him.

"Wanna make up for lost time?"

Nick shook his head, "No..." He answered, making Riley look at him confused and worried. He smiled softly and caressed her cheek with the back of his hand and knuckles. "I wanna start over..." He explained, his smile growing. "You said that you and Deven talked..." She winced slightly from the mention of his name. "Well, you said that everything was straightened out...y'all worked some things out that, if you hadn't, would've fucked up any chance of you and I being together..."

Riley smiled. "My exact words...ah, you listen."

Nick chuckled and caressed her cheek again as he looked all over her face, memorizing every line, curve, and sparkle. "I always listen to you...every word..." He vowed and she grinned.

"I don't doubt that for a second." She replied and Nick chuckled.

"Well, anyway..." He adjusted his weight so that he wasn't squishing her tiny frame beneath his ample muscles. "Now that you have that part of your life straightened out...you can start this part...with me."

She smiled nervously as he dipped his head down to kiss her neck, continuing what he had started as Riley tried to keep the thought of 'starting over' out of her mind.

--Local Café—Saturday—August 8, 2006—10:16 a.m.--

"Eeeeww!" Tina exclaimed and covered her face to shield herself from the thought.

"Gross!" Kiersten exclaimed.

"That's FUBAR..." Riley declared.

"Way FUBAR." Tina agreed.

"So wait...what was it like...?" Kiersten asked, her curiosity growing. Tina looked completely repulsed as she swatted the woman's arm.

"Kit!"

"What!"

"Yeah, how big was it?" Riley asked, a little too interested.

"Riley!" Tina gasped and she giggled and shrugged.

"A girl's gotta know."

"C'mon Em, spill the details..." Kiersten instructed and the brunette blushed and shook her head while grinning.

"It was grotesque!" She exclaimed and Riley squealed as she laughed and clapped her hands, in delight of the bizarre story (cause Riley's weird like that). "I mean seriously...it was big...but bad."

"How bad?" Tina asked, getting sucked into the morbid conversation.

"Very bad...I couldn't even concentrate on the movie..."

"Why? Why would you do that?" Kiersten asked again. "What would posses you to put that in your house?"

Tina chuckled. "You know, he is a CSI...Rick's brought some pretty nasty stuff home with him as well..."

Emma leaned into the table and whispered as if it was a big secret. "Greg said that Grissom, his boss, keeps severed heads in his freezer..." She nodded and pulled away while surveying the shocked faces around her.

"Yeah but...growing foot fungus in your fridge!" Emma exclaimed and Riley merely laughed, thanking her lucky stars Nick never brought home anything weird...

"Does Nick ever bring home weird things Riley?" Tina asked. They had sat the woman down a few days ago and Riley finally came out with it that she and Nick had in fact been seeing each other...and now Tina was sworn to secrecy (something she was reluctant about, keeping secrets from her husband that it...). Tina had been supportive about it, yet slightly saddened that they had kept it from her, and that she had to keep it from Warrick.

Riley smiled and shook her head as she sat her ice cold water down. "Nope, thank God. He's always getting on my case about bringing things home actually...once, a man's foot had to be amputated and he was apparently 'in love with me', he was on penicillin by the way, and since he had legal rights to the foot...he gave it to me."

"No he didn't!" Tina exclaimed and Riley smiled and nodded slowly.

"I kid you not. And this was one big ass foot! I'm talkin size 13!" She drawled and Kiersten laughed.

"You know what that means..." She waggled her eyebrows and the girls all laughed.

The waitress came over and set their orders down in front of them, and they thanked her and continued their conversation. "So, go on Emma...what happened next?" Tina asked.

Emma sighed and shook her head sadly. "Then...he brought out the deal breaker..."

"Oh God, don't tell me...a Porcelain Doll collection?" Kiersten asked, making Riley double over laughing, remembering one time that had happened to Kiersten.

Emma shook her head. "Now, you know I'm not one to rag on a man's personal belongings..."

"You know, it's the ones with the weirdest house decors that are the best in bed." Tina added.

"Personal experience?" Riley joked, making Kiersten chuckle.

"No...I read it in a Cosmo magazine." Tina defended.

"Girl, take my advice, lay off the Cosmos." Kiersten advised.

"Cosmos can be very educational."

"So can dictionaries, but you don't see me cracking into one." Emma replied and Riley smiled and shook her head.

"When's the last time you even cracked a book Em?" She ribbed and Emma feigned offense.

"A few days ago actually..." Everyone looked at her curiously. "Kama Sutra for the not-so-adventurous." She answered and Riley gave a confused smile.

"They make those?" Emma nodded. "Right...and what were you doing with one?"

Emma lifted her chin and shrugged. "I may be experienced...but not everyone is Honey..." She replied with a smile.

"Well Yee haw!" Kiersten exclaimed, raising her drink in a toasting gesture.

"Wait, wait, wait...back to the deal breaker..." Tina commanded and Emma sighed.

"Oh, yeah." She set down her drink and sighed. "He brought out...Chemistry."

"What?" Kiersten asked confused.

"Chemistry." Emma repeated.

"Isn't he a Chemist?" Riley asked and Emma shrugged.

"I don't care if you're the President. You bring a girl to your house the politics, or in this case Chemistry, stay hidden."

"What's so wrong with chemistry? Isn't that kind of essential in a relationship?" A naïve Tina asked.

"Not that kinda chemistry..." Emma rolled her eyes and Tine furred her eyebrows in confusion.

"Wait, what relationship? He showed her his foot fungus, not much to speak of. They haven't even had sex yet." Riley replied and Tina shook her head.

"A relationship doesn't always have to be about sex. It's about feelings and emotions."

"And apparently foot fungus." Riley joked and Tina rolled her eyes and chuckled.

"Besides, some of the best relationships can start with sex...look at Nick and Riley." Kiersten defended and gestured to Riley, who shrugged. "Whoa, things aren't good with Nick?"

Riley made a face and nodded. "Nah, things are good..."

"So why the-" Kiersten did the shrug and sigh Riley had performed only a few seconds before, and Riley sighed again.

"It's just me freaking out because he said he wanted to start over with me now that everything's cleared up with Deven."

"And starting over freaks you out...?" Tina clarified.

"Yes...sorta." Riley sat forward. "But...he said we'd do it together..."

"Do you not wanna be with Nick?" Kiersten asked.

"No, I wanna be with him...it's just...I don't know, maybe he was right. He's farther along in the relationship than I am...a lot farther..."

"So...? Does he have a problem with it?" Emma asked.

"No."

"So what's the problem?"

Riley leaned back and sighed. "Nothing...nah, I'm just bein silly..." She waved her hand in front of her face and put on a smile. "So...Chemistry...what next?"

"Well, after Chemistry...was proofs."

"No!"

"Oh God!"

The three girls carried on the conversation, letting Riley think about her latest 'dilemma' with Nick...why was she being so worried? Since when did it become a bad thing for a guy wanting to be with you and having a clean slate? Wasn't that the good thing about new relationships? So Riley couldn't help but wonder, why did a fresh relationship with Nick freak her out?

--End Chapter...but I think y'all pretty much figured that out...--

So...drama? Angst? Fluff? ...Time will tell, PS, I live for reviews...hint hint.

-Futuremisscsi60