by Jo Cattell
Chloe hugged her. “I’m so happy for you. That’s great.”
“Well, if you and Nick stay together, which I think you will, I need you in my wedding.” She smiled hoping for that.
“Too funny, but I would love to be in your wedding. What did Gina say?”
Claire laughed. “She cried. Mark said he took Kevin and Nick to help him pick it out. I guess they have better taste than we thought.”
Mark joined them and Chloe hugged him. “I can’t believe you didn’t ask me for help,” she said and pushed him.
“You would’ve told her. Besides, I took your boyfriend and he did an okay job,” Mark replied.
“Wow, and he kept it from me, too. I don’t know what to think about that,” Chloe commented as Nick and Kevin joined them as well.
“Look, Kev, it is our fave sister-in-law.” Nick laughed and hugged Claire.
“Yeah, just so you know, there is no give back. Once you marry him, he’s your problem,” Kevin reminded her.
“Really? You mean I’m stuck with him?” Claire laughed.
Mark kissed her. “Oh, yeah, you’re pretty much stuck with me.”
Nick put his arms around Chloe and hugged her.
She smiled. The clean scent of the soap mixed with his cologne turned her on and she found she didn’t want to stop touching him. His hair was still a little damp from the shower and she curled a few ringlets around her finger.
“Yeah, it’s amazing what he smells like when he takes a shower,” Kevin shot at him.
“We’re going to go help Mom. You two?” Mark pointed at his brothers. “Try not to kill each other while I’m gone.” He headed into the house with Claire.
“Do you want something to drink?” Kevin asked Gabbie, and then led her to the patio.
“So, nice game. I have to admit, you looked kinda cute in your uniform.” Chloe looked back over at Nick while she started playing with his necklace.
“Really? I’m glad you liked it, even though we lost,” Nick said and smiled.
“Yeah, wasn’t that one of your turn offs?” she teased him.
“About that phone call last night, we need to talk. I didn’t like the sound of your voice. You sounded really shook up.”
Chloe thought about everything from the night before and how Gabbie had accepted it. “She just gave me a lot to think about and I really feel like a bad friend.”
“Then, let’s go talk. Go upstairs and I will sneak through the front door and meet you in your room,” he suggested.
“Why don’t we go in together?”
“Because I don’t want to deal with my mom and we won’t be able to talk without anyone bothering us if we stay out here,” he explained and went around to the front.
Gina stopped her as she went through the kitchen and talked to her for a few minutes. Chloe nervously looked at the steps and saw Nick quietly go up. When she finally got away, she went up the steps to her room and closed the door. Nick grabbed her and kissed her.
“If this is your idea to make out with me before everyone gets here, you just should have said so.” She smiled playfully and pulled away from him.
“No, I just wanted to kiss you. So, what the hell happened last night and why are you a bad friend?” he asked her as he sat back on the bed.
“I just really should’ve been there for her more.” Chloe told Nick what happened between Gabbie and Dave.
Nick was quiet after she told him. “Dave never seemed like the type to do something like that. I mean, the cheating with Tabitha was pretty much a given because he talked about her all the time in the locker room, but, wow, poor Gabbie. I mean, I felt bad lying to her and telling her she was all he ever talked about, but I couldn’t tell her the truth,” Nick explained.
“Now, I wonder if we should have. She really wants to believe what happened was normal. It kind of scared me,” Chloe confessed.
“You explained to her that what happened wasn’t normal, right? You don’t think that it is, do you?” He wondered now if that was what had her so rattled.
“No, I don’t, and I stand by what I said about you. I just can’t keep that image out of my mind of her saying she felt like he was killing her,” Chloe said softly.
Nick held her. “It won’t be like that, I promise. If you change your mind or tell me to stop, I will. You know that. The last thing I want is to scare you. Chloe, if you don’t want to, we can wait, really.”
Chloe looked up at him. “I know that as long as I’m with you, I’m fine. You asked me to trust you so many times, and I do. Last night, I just needed to hear your voice to know that I was right.”
“I will always be here for you. I will never cheat on you and I promise to always make sure you feel safe. The last thing I want is for you to feel the way Gabbie did. I promise to be gentle.” He smiled and kissed her.
“Mmm, I know you will. It isn’t in your nature to be any other way,” she answered.
They heard someone calling them and they both knew it was better this way.
Nick took her hand and led her back down the steps.
Chapter Fifteen
Nick sat on his bed, waiting for Kevin to get out of the way. He was annoyed at having to sit there and wait as Kevin purposely tried to fix his hair. “You’re worse than a girl. Chloe doesn’t even take this long.” Nick watched as Kevin smoothed it down and looked at himself.
“All you do is throw some gel in and style it. What do you need the mirror for?” Kevin shot at him.
“So, I can make sure this stupid tie is right,” Nick answered bitterly.
A light went on in Kevin’s head. “Wait, I know what your problem is. It’s killing you that Chloe is down the hall and mom won’t let you near her.”
“This is just stupid. I haven’t seen her since before lunch and now they’re hiding her away like it is supposed to be some kind of surprise. Why the hell is this such a big deal?” Nick pushed Kevin out of the way and started trying to fix the bow tie on his tux.
Kevin just laughed and picked up his jacket. “So, really, why are you two leaving tonight and not waiting for tomorrow?” he asked him, giving him a long suspicious look.
“Because we would have lost the rooms if we didn’t. She’s staying in her room and I’m staying in ours. Trust me, Mom has me so freaked out about having sex with her, I’m afraid to even try to just go in her room and just ‘sleep,’ let alone do anything else,” Nick lied.
“But you want to. You want to do the deed with her. Get down and dirty and…”Kevin was rocking his hips and laughing.
Nick turned and punched him in the arm.
“You get blood on this tux and Mom will kill you.” He rubbed his arm.
“Why do you have to make things sound so gross? It’s none of your business if I want to do that with her or not. We both made the promise and we both want to wait until and when we get married,” Nick defended.
“Why? Mark hasn’t.” Kevin sat on Mark’s bed.
Nick looked over at him. “Spill.”
“Let’s just say our older and wiser brother, who thinks he has to dish out the advice, should take some of his own.” Kevin smirked.
“Do tell. What do you know, Kevin?”
“I saw them. Over New Year’s in the hot tub,” Kevin told him.
Nick threw his arms out. “And you waited until now to tell me? Thanks!”
“I was waiting for a good bonding moment to tell you. He’s such an ass. Did he give you that speech, too, about ‘Oh, ah, think with your head and not your dick.’? Maybe he should take his own advice.” Kevin laughed.
“He said that it would be wasted on you to even try to explain that,” Nick taunted.
“Yeah, well, he only gave me that speech because I’m taking Gabbie to the prom and going away this weekend with her. I told him that I was sharing a room with you, so he would lay off me a little. So come on, tell me the truth, what are you two up to after you leave tonight?” Kevin asked him again.
“Well, we�
�re driving down the shore, checking into our rooms, and—going to sleep. I’m not Mark, and I’m not going to do that,” Nick answered him and went back to getting ready.
Gabbie got back an hour later.
As Kevin and helped her out of the car, Nick came outside. “Wow, Gab, you look great. Tell me why you are going with Kevin again?”
“I felt bad for him. Where’s Chloe?”
“I have no clue. They’re being secretive. Mom wants pictures.”
As they started past the steps, they all finally saw Chloe.
“Oh, that dress is beautiful!” Gabbie exclaimed.
“I love that color on you,” Chloe said, admiring the coral-silk mermaid dress Gabbie wore as she hugged her.
Nick stood speechless and stared at her.
“Close your mouth, little Bro, before you catch a fly,” Mark whispered in his ear.
Chloe was dressed in a long, white, strapless gown that had a lavender overlay. The overlay was embroidered with orchids and sequins. Around her waist was a lavender sash that tied in the back in a loop and left the remainder to hang straight down. Her hair was pulled to the side and hung over her shoulder in curls. It was tied with a lavender orchid.
Nick took her hands.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“You look beautiful. I’m speechless,” he answered, more in love with her now than he had been a few minutes before.
“See why we hid her from you?” Claire teased him.
“Ah, yeah.” he answered, still not able to take his eyes from her.
“Okay, let’s go and get these pictures done, so you can head off,” Gina said and headed out to the backyard.
After the pictures they all left for the school.
The music was loud and it seemed like everyone was here. Gabbie seemed to finally relax and have fun. Tabitha was there, but they stayed far away from Tiffany and her. It seemed that since Dave’s death, the little gang had grown apart. And for some reason, it didn’t seem to bother Chloe or Gabbie. They had their own group and were happy without the stress there used to be when they’d been with the entire group.
“We should order a pizza. This stuff sucks,” Kevin suggested, throwing his fork down.
“You can’t have pizza delivered to the prom.” Nick rolled his eyes.
“Why not?” Kevin retorted.
“You just can’t. We’re supposed to be acting like grown-ups. They don’t have a pizza delivered to the prom.”
“I think a pizza is a great idea. They really need to serve something that isn’t dried out. Is this chicken or fish?” Gabbie picked at her food.
“I think it’s chicken, but I could be wrong. We’re so stopping and getting something on the way down,” Chloe suggested to Nick.
Gabbie started to pout. “I can’t believe you’re heading down early. We should all go.”
“You have to go to practice. Which…” Chloe raised her water glass, “I’m so proud of you for getting back in the game. To Gabbie, go get us gold in the Olympics.”
“Hear, hear!” Nick joined in.
“I think that slumber party really helped. I feel much better now that we had it.” She winked at Chloe.
“I’m glad it did. Next one, will be a lot more fun.” Chloe winked back at her.
“So, what do you two do at these parties?” Kevin asked them.
Gabbie decided to have a little fun with them. “We practice making out. Chloe is actually getting good at it.”
“That is so hot. Nick, we have to crash the next one,” Kevin said to him.
“She’s yanking your chain, dummy. They don’t make out.” Nick laughed at him.
Chloe looked at him and smiled playfully. “How would you know? Didn’t my kisses get better?”
The look on his face said it all.
That he even thought about it was enough to send both girls into hysterics.
The music seemed to slow down and Nick took her by the hand, out to the dance floor. He held her in his arms and looked into her eyes. The heels she wore made her just about eye level with him, and it was easier to see them sparkle. “You two really don’t do that, do you?” he asked.
Chloe giggled. “Why?”
“Because Kevin is right, that is kinda hot.” He kissed her nose.
Chloe looked at him and touched his lips with her fingers. “The only lips I want to kiss are these.” She kissed him.
He broke the kiss and smiled. “Have I told you how amazing you look?”
“It never hurts to hear you say it again.” She batted her eyes at him.
Nick laughed at her eye batting act. “You look amazingly beautiful.”
“You’re looking really hot in that tux.” Chloe rested her hand on his chest.
“Let’s go for a walk,” he suggested and took her hand. He took her outside and they walked around the fountain that was filled with floating candles. There were a few kids from school hanging around, but most were just getting air and going back in. They walked in quiet, and every now and then, he noticed she would look up at the night sky.
He stopped and took her into his embrace. “I bet she would’ve never thought that you would grow up to be so beautiful. Seeing you like this, I realize just how in love with you I really am,” he whispered, knowing she’d been thinking about her mother.
Chloe smiled at him and laid her head on his shoulder. “I love you, too.”
Nick reached into his pocket and took out the ring he’d gotten her. Suddenly, he felt his throat get dry and he got nervous. But all she had to do was to smile at him and it all went away. “I have something for you.” He gave her the box.
“Nick, what is this?” She opened the box and found the amethyst ring. She started to shake as she looked at the ring.
Nick took the box from her and then held her left hand. “This is a promise ring. I want you to have it for a lot of reasons. This ring has a different meaning than what your ring has.” He removed her purity ring and placed his on her finger. “I don’t know what your dad said to you that day. I don’t know if he even promised to take care of you. This ring, which I’m giving to you, is my promise that I will always protect you. I will always be true to you and never take you for granted. I will never hurt you or raise a hand to you. I promise that if ever we should part, you will always be my first love. I will always remember this night and how beautiful you looked, and how special it was because of the love we have for each other.”
Chloe wiped tears from her eyes and looked at the ring. “Nicholas, it’s beautiful.”
He leaned in and kissed her.
Chloe finally pulled away and took his left hand, tracing the silver band he wore. “I promise that I will always be true to you. I will never use words to hurt you or actions to push you away. I will never take you for granted and will always love you no matter what happens between us. You are my heart and soul. And you always will be.”
He touched her face gently and kissed her again, feeling the warmth of her mouth as his tongue touched hers. He stopped and held her close to him. “I really wish we could get out of here.”
“We will, in time. Let’s not rush this.”
He took her hand and led her back in.
* * * *
They had hardly spoken on the ride down to the shore. Every now and then, Nick would glance at Chloe to see she was looking out through the window. Taking her hand, he kissed it and she looked over at him.
She held onto his arm and he slid his hand between her legs. She pulled it out and then held his hand in hers.
When they pulled up at the hotel, he suddenly got nervous. “Wait here, I’ll be back.” He kissed her and went in to get the keys.
Chloe watched him go inside and thought about what was going to happen later. Gabbie’s words haunted her. She knew Nick was nothing like Dave, but still, from what she’d read and heard, it scared her. She looked down at her ring and smiled. She never would’ve imagined he would give her something like this.
&nbs
p; With everything he said to her about what it stood for, and his promises to her, she knew she had nothing to fear about what was to happen. If she did change her mind, he would be fine with it and not hold it against her.
As they were driving down, Chloe tried to imagine what it would be like, how he would act. How would things change between them afterward? Would anyone know what they‘d done?
Nick looked back at the car and rolled his eyes.
She laughed at that.
Finally, he came out to the car to get her.
They found their rooms and went in. Nick had arranged it so that the rooms were connected and that they could all hang out together when Kevin and Gabbie got there.
Chloe put her bag on the bed by the window and took a deep breath. She wondered which room they would sleep in and which room would be ‘the room.’ She looked out the window and got lost in thought, then felt his lips on the back of her neck. She jumped and turned to face him quickly.
“Don’t look so scared. I’m not going to jump you.” Taking her hand, he led her over to the bed and they sat down. “Are you having second thoughts?”
“No, I’m just a little nervous.” She wrung her hands in her lap.
“I am too. Chloe, look at me,” he said, taking her face in his hands and making her look up.
She smiled nervously at him.
“Let’s do this. We will take it as it comes, and if we decide to make love tonight, then we do. It isn’t written in stone that we have to.”
She knew he was right. There was just so much running through her mind now that the time was here. “I know. It’s just a little scary when you think about it. I really wish Gabbie hadn’t told me what happened to her.”
He knew that was what had been on her mind, but didn’t want to bring it up. “Okay, come with me.”
“Nick, don’t be mad at me,” she said, getting up.
“I’m not mad. Get whatever you need for tomorrow and follow me,” he said and waited for her to get some things together.
“Where are we going?” She went through her bag.