"Ms. Nicole!  Ms. Nicole!"

Nicole stopped picking up the crayons off the table from the art project they just finished doing and looked down at the little girl in blonde pigtails.  Nicole moved down so she was at eye level with the child.  "Yes Joyce?"

"Derek hit me!"

"Aw, did he now?"  Nicole asked softly, taking the arm Joyce was holding out.  "Right here?"

The little girl nodded her head and pointed by her elbow.  "He took my toy.  I said give it back and he hit me."

"Now that isn't nice."  Nicole rubbed over the sport the little girl pointed on her arm.  "Do you need me to kiss it and make it better?"  She asked with a small smirk.

Joyce nodded her head; her small blonde curls flutter around from the movement.  Amused how the line her own parents use to say to her every time she got hurt still worked, Nicole moved the little girls arm up and gave it a small kiss.  "Better?"  After getting a nod of approval and a smile, Nicole stood up and took her small hand into hers.  "Let's go talk to Derek."

After fixing the situation between Derek and Joyce, Derek apologizing and both playing together, Nicole jerked her head to look behind her when she heard a loud smack followed by cries.  Oh my god...Nicole jumped up and hurried to the other side of the room where the young boy laid.

"What happen?" Nicole franticly asked her helper, Jillian, and picked up boy in her arms.

"He tripped over Rachel's foot and lost his balance, nailing his head on the floor."  Jillian told her with a worried look.

Nicole let out a heavy sigh while swaying her body right to left.  She ran her hand up and down soothingly down the boys back.  Oh dear god don't be anything serious.  Nicole sympathetically prayed in her head.  "Can you fill out an accident report for me?  I'll go up front and get him a bag of ice."

"Top drawer?"  Jillian asked while making her way toward Nicole's desk.  Nicole nodded her head and pushed her back against her classroom glass door and started walking to the front.

"Its okay, Trevor."  Nicole cooed while rubbing his back when she heard him starting to calm down.  He placed her hand on the side of his head and winced when she already felt a lump appeared.

Cindy, the receptionist, looked up from her desk and frowned when she heard Trevor wails.  "What happen?"

"We had an accident.  Trevor fell and smacked his head hard against the tile floor.  Can you get us a bag of ice, please?"

Cindy nodded her head and walked into the office room that was behind her.  Nicole rocked her body back and forth while tenderly running her hand up and down Trevor's back.  She gave Cindy a smile and a nod when she appeared with a bag of ice wrapped with paper towels.  "Thanks."

"Okay," Nicole sat the bag of ice on the counter and carefully sat Trevor down next to it.  She carefully wiped the tear stains off his cheeks and poked his nose softly.  "We are going to do a test to make sure your not dying on me, okay?"  Nicole tilted her head sideways and gave Trevor a small smile.  After getting a small nod, Nicole held her arms out like she was holding a check board and a pen.

"First, you have a bump on your head, Mr. Trevor." Nicole shook her head and looked at him.  "Do you want to feel it?"

"Yeah."  Trevor said softly in-between his sniffles.

"We got to be careful okay?"  She took his tiny hand.  "If you hit it or push too hard it's going to hurt."  She placed his hand over the bump on the side of his head and made eye contact with him.  "Feel it?"  After getting a nod, she moved his hand back to his lap and positioned herself like she was holding the check board again.  No unusual eye movements or change in pupil size.  Nicole checked off in the invisible list in her head on seeing if he had a concussion.

"Wait," Nicole drawled out and quickly looked at Trevor with narrow eyes.  "Are you an alien?"

"No."  Trevor giggled.

"Okay.  Making sure that was just a bump and not growing another head."  Nicole made an imaginary check and looked back at Trevor.  "Are you seeing stars running around your head?"

Trevor laughed again.  "No stars."

"Good."  Nicole repeated her movements from before and looked back.  Nothing wrong with his speech.  "Last question.  Do you see any dinosaurs running around behind me?"

He let out a small squeal before breaking out into laughter.  "No!"

Nicole blew out an exaggerated breath and wiped the invisible sweat off her forehead.  "Good news, Trevor.  You are not dying.  You just have a booboo on your head and this ice," Nicole pointed to the bag beside him, "Will help it get better, okay?"

Nicole reached out and picked up the boy, resting him on her hip and gently placing the bag of ice over his bump.  "How about we ask Ms. Jillian to read a book to the whole class and you can sit on my lap while we have this bag of ice work its magic?"

"Okay."  Trevor agreed and laid his non-injured side on her shoulder.

"Say thank you to Mrs. Cindy for the bag of magic."  Nicole told him and twisted her body toward Cindy so Trevor can see her.

"Thank you Mrs. Cindy for bag of magic."

Looking at the clock, Nicole took a deep breath and started walking toward her classroom.  It's only ten o'clock and this has already happened.  This is going to be a long day.

~~~*~~~

Nicole applied mascara to her eyelashes before stepping back and looking at herself in the mirror later that night.  She ran her hands down the sides of her simple black and white polka dot dress that swished around her knees.

"Let's dance, let's shout.  Shake your body down to the ground.  Shake your body down to the ground."  Nicole sang along with her Michael Jackson CD that was playing in the mini stereo she had in her bathroom.  She continued to dance while singing the rest of the song.  Applying her lip gloss, she stood back before letting out a laugh after seeing her dance around in the mirror.

"I'm so ridiculous."

She looked over at her cell and picked it up after hearing a beep; alerting her she had a new text message.

I know you are about to go on your date so wanted to wish you a good luck and...wrap it before you whack it!  I'll be waiting for the detail call tomorrow! :)

Nicole laughed over Kara's text message and quickly typed a response.

First of all, that isn't going to happen...Are you calling me a whore?  Second, I'll call you tomorrow, don't worry.

She situated her cell back on the bathroom counter and ran her fingers threw her straight hair before blowing out the candle in front of her.  She took a deep breath and let it out leisurely.  The rest of her day seemed to run smoothly after the accident with Trevor and she couldn't have been any more pleased.  Nicole looked out her bathroom after she heard a knock on the front door.

Nicole ran her fingers through her hair as she walked toward her door, nervous butterflies fluttering around in her stomach like they won a championship game.  She bit on her bottom lip and opened the front door to see Chris standing there in a dark red button down shirt, black pants along with with a smile on his face.

"Hey." Nicole took a step to the side and opened the door wider for him to come in.  "I'm just about ready."

Chris stepped in and closed the door behind him.  "It's okay, take your time."

"You shouldn't ever tell a girl that."  Nicole laughed over her shoulder.  "Let me get my shoes and we can go."

Chris chuckled and leaned against the wall with his hands in his pockets.  He watched her disappear into her bedroom before his eyes started to wonder around her apartment.  His eyes looked over the place.  Her apartment looked just like it had been the past couple times he had been there; neat and organized.  There where red pillows on each end of her black couch in the company of candles throughout the place with pictures of her friends and family.  A smile always came to his lips when his eyes would fall on the hand drawn pictures that the kids in her class drew for her that where held up by magnets' up on her refrigerator.

Her place was just like her character; bubbly, organized, colorful and warm.  Chris straightened off the wall up when he saw her walking back into the room with heels now on her feet and a clutch in her hand.  "Ready?"

Nicole took one last look around her place before nodding her head.  "How are you?"  Nicole asked while locking her door after they walked out.  She glanced over at him before putting her keys into her clutch.

"I'm fine."  Chris opened the front door of the apartment complex.  "You?"

"Thanks."  She replied looking at him while they walked to his car.  "I'm doing well.  Finally got another teacher aid, thank god."  He took his keys out of his pocket and unlocked his car before opening the passenger door for her.  After Nicole got in he closed the door and walked to the other side.  Hopping into the driver side, he placed his hand on the head rest of the passenger seat, giving her a quick glance before looking out of the back of his Escalade. 

"You look beautiful."  Chris admitted as he looked at her before pulling onto the streets.  He watched as the look of shock appeared on her face before washing away with a smile, her cheeks turning to a light shade of red.

"Thanks."  She twisted a piece of her hair between her fingers.  "So do you."  She smacked her forehead with her hand and closed her eyes.  "Not beautiful, I mean-."  Nicole groaned when she heard him laughing from across from her.  Chris watched as her face continued to get to a darker shade of red as she got more flustered.   "You're looking good also."

"Thank you.  I can't recall the last time someone called me beautiful."  He gave her a teasing grin.  "How was your day?"

Nicole blew out a breath.  Chris looked over her way.  "That bad?"

"I wouldn't really call it bad."

Chris grimace.  "Horrible?"

Nicole shook her head.  "No, it was all right after a serious accident.  One of the boys in my class, Trevor, fell and smacked his head onto the tile floor.  I was so terrified I couldn't stop shaking at first."

"Is he okay?"  He apprehensive asked.

She nodded her head and looked over at him.  "Just has a nasty booboo on his head."

Chris snickered over her choice of words and glanced at her.  "Booboo?"

Nicole covered her eyes with her hands while she laughed along with him.  "Sorry; work talk."

"It's okay.  It was cute."

"Oh whatever."  Nicole crossed her legs and tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear.  "How was your day?"

"It was good."  He leaned his elbow on the car door.  "Almost killed Jace though."

"Oh yeah!'  Nicole exclaimed as she sat up in her seat and looked at him.  "You guys were going back to the studio today.  Did you get a lot done?  Was everyone there?  How did it all go minus desiring to kill JC?"

"Jeez, what are you, Oprah?"  Chris teased with a smile as he pulled off the freeway.  "All the guys where there and it went fine besides wanting to kill Jace.  I swear the perfectionist thing is going to be the death of him one of these days.  Either it will kill him, or he will die in our hands for driving us insane."

"Nothing is wrong with being a perfectionist."  Nicole fought back with a smile.  "Just because we want everything to be just right isn't terrible."

"You," Chris looked over at her.  "Are nothing compare to his perfectionist.  You're going to have to come one time and you will see.  You could come over during your lunch hour since your daycare is about ten minutes from the studio."

"I can see it now," Nicole spread her arms out in front of her, "Hey Nicole, do you want to bring us some food since you're on your lunch break?"  She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and he laughed.  He turned his head in the direction of her and grinned.  Nicole bit on her bottom lip when her body tingled by his smile.  She rubbed her hands together and looked back out the window in front of her to try and control herself, blush creeping upon her cheeks.

Chris's eyes slowly soaked in her presents when he knew she wasn't looking.  Playing tennis in High School sure did her body good.  Her long, toned legs on her 5'6" frame showed from the bottom of her dress with matching color heels on her pink painted toenails.  His eyes slowly traveled down the length of his legs and he could hear his heart pounding in his ears and his mouth running dry.  Come on, Chris.  He told himself as he drove into the restaurant parking lot. Concentrate.

Chris waited for Nicole to make her way around the car once he parked in the parking lot.  He smirked when he saw her eyes light up after reading the name of the restaurant; Cheesecake Factory.  She looked at him as the two were making their way to the doors.  "You remembered that I love this place."

Chris tapped the side of his head with his index finger before holding the door for her.  "I have a good memory."  He positioned his hand on her lower back and guided her into the restaurant.  After giving a false name he had the reservations under, they followed the hostess to their table.  Chris pulled out her chair and pushed her in before sitting down on the other side of the table.  He glanced at her when he saw the look she was giving her.  "What?"

"Nice name."  She said referring putting the reservation under Johnny Wright's name.  Chris chuckled and shrugged his shoulders.  He held the laminated menu between his fingers.

"Don't want to take any chances."  Chris winked at her over the top of the menu and started to read it.  "I don't know why I am going to ask this, but do you know what you are getting?"  He asked after they ordered drinks few minutes later.

"Mhm.  Bistro Shrimp Pasta.  I can feel my mouth watering."  She replied dreamily.

Chris gradually laid his menu on the table, his eyes staying connected with hers the whole time.  "You really have an issue with your love for pasta."

"If pasta was a man," Nicole sighed and leaned back in her chair, "Whew; match made in heaven."  She gave him an innocent smile.

Chris shook his head and chuckled.  "You're shameless."

"I know."  She sat up in her chair.  "Know what you're going to get?"

"I'm thinking of the Cajun Jambalaya Pasta.  It looks good."

"Oh it is."

He crossed his arms over his chest and looked at her with a brow raised.  "Is there something on the menu on the pasta side that you haven't tried?"

Nicole opened up her menu and read down the pasta list. "Mmm..."  She clicked her tongue while running her finger down the menu.  Chris sat back in his chair with a look of amusement on his face while he watched her.  He couldn't help but noticed how cute she looked; her eyes moving left to right along with her finger while her bottom lip was held between her teeth.  "Just the Louisiana Chicken Pasta."

"One?"  Chris questioned her.  "Out of all the pasta dishes, just one?"

"It's new...Hey!"  Nicole reached over and smacked his arm when he started to laugh at her.  "You think I'm crazy over pasta, wait till you see my love for cheesecake."

"Oh I already know your love for cheesecake.  You almost killed Joey when he stole your piece.  I dunno which love is worse."

"I was the last piece!  He snoozed he lose.  Not my fault I beat him to the punch."  Nicole rolled her eyes and smiled.  "And this coming from the Mexican food lover."

Chris clasped his hands together on the table.  "That is nothing compare to your love for pasta, cheesecake or," He paused dramatically, "Ice cream."  He pointed his index finger at her.  "Don't even try darlin'."

"Mm, don't try what?"  Nicole said softly, a sultry smile on her face in the company of her chin resting on the palm of her hand.  He slowly swallowed the lump in his throat and fought to keep his gaze off her lips.  He blew out a breath and sat up in his chair when the waiter came to the table.  Save by the waiter.  Chris told himself before giving out his and Nicole's order to the man.

"So," Nicole said, bringing Chris's eyes back to her attention.  "Tell me about your next CD."

Chris sat back in his seat and began telling her about the CD him and the guys were working on.  He explained everything that had to be done, the songs they picked, the theme and how everything worked.  It amazed him that she actually wanted to know the whole ordeal.  Usually it was whoever he was on the date with talk non-stop about themselves; which mostly ended up that they were an aspired model, dancer or singer.  Nicole's eyes sparkled with curiosity while his past dates shone with dollar signs.

Yet, here he was talking about the one thing he had the most passion about, his job, his life, and Nicole sat there listening to every word he was saying with interest.  They had talk about what he did for a living but not to this much of depth.  Soon the conversation drifted off to everything and anything from stupid stories they both have done to what their plans were doing next week for Thanksgiving.  Nicole explained how she was going with her father to Georgia, like every year, to visit the family while Chris was staying in Florida since his mother and sisters moved down to live closer to him couple years ago.

After the food was served he once again he found himself staring at her.   He licked his lips as her lips pressed against her wine glass as she took a sip, wondering how it would feel to have her lips pressed against his.  Her eyes met his again and he felt a leisurely smile spread across his face.  He watched as a blush crept across her cheeks again and dropped her eyes back down on her food.

After eating a slice of cheesecake after dinner, Chris paid the bill and boldly took Nicole's hand in his.  His eyes dropped to their hands, fingers intertwined with each other, and he wondered if she felt the spark also.  He held onto her hand protectively as he lead the way around the other tables in the restaurant.  He couldn't help the grin that appeared on his face from her smooth skin making contact with his.  Her small hand felt perfect in his like it was the missing puzzle piece of the riddle to make it complete.

He opened the door with his other hand over her head and moved to the side, refusing to let go of her hand.  He watched her bit her bottom lip and walked under his outstretched arm before he walked out behind her and appearing back to her side.

Once helping her into his car, his hand that once held hers felt cold and empty without hers.  He got into the driver side and backed out, glancing at her with a grin before driving back on the road.  The need of feeling her skin against his grew greater and he couldn't hold back any longer.  He reached over the center console of his car and took her hand in his again and gave it a gentle squeeze.  His hand rest casually on her thigh while his thumb gazed across her knuckles tenderly.

"So you and your father are going with your cousin and her family to Georgia?"  Chris asked when they brought up next week.

"No," Nicole replied with a shake of her head.  "My cousin, her husband and their daughter are going up tomorrow.  My dad and I are going up on Monday morning because he has a case tomorrow.  On Friday we are coming back on the same plane with my cousin and her family."

"Ah."  Chris checked his blind spot before switching lanes.  "Got it now.  This cousin is...Kate?"

"Mhm."  Nicole hummed in approval.  "Her daughter, Jessica, is four and has Asperger's."

"That's right.  It's all coming back to me now."  Chris said a couple minutes later once he remembered the conversation they had couple weeks ago about their family.  "Our biggest fan, correct?"  Chris asked her with a mischievous twinkle in his eye.  Nicole chuckled and lifted their hands that were intertwined up and back down once she crossed her legs.

"Oh god yes."  Nicole flattened her other hand against her forehead and let out a dramatic sigh.  "When she saw the picture of you, the guys, and I, she couldn't stop looking at it and repeating the words ‘NSYNC' a million times.  I'm use to her repeating things over many times because that's a symptom of Asperger's but," Nicole shook her head and laughed, "She was in complete shock that I knew you guys and made me promise to let her meet you all one day.  Good thing I like your music," She grinned at him, "Or I would have died that Saturday because that was the only thing she would listen to for the rest of the day."

"Well look at us," Chris puffed out his chest and smiled at her, "Who wouldn't want to listen to us all day?"

"Oh brother."  Nicole mumbled and smacked her free hand against his chest.  "Lower the ego there buddy.  Gosh, you sell a thousand of CD's on one day and,"

"Ahem," Chris interrupted her.  "It was more than a thousand on the day the last CD came out.  We sold--"

"That's beside the point!"  Nicole laughed and took her turn to interrupt him this time.  "Just...just...Shut up!"

Chris looked at her with an amused look on his face before he started laughing.  "Nice, Nicole.  Is that what you tell your kids?"

"No."  Nicole groaned.  She stared at him with narrow eyes, fighting hard to keep a serious look on her face while Chris smiled broad at her.  She quickly turned her head to look at the front in front of her to try and keep herself content and not break her wall in front of him.

"Let it out."  Chris sang.  "You know you want to."

"Do not."  She replied and bit on her bottom lip.  She fought back the sigh that wanted to escape from her lips when she heard him sing.  She loved all the guys singing voices but it was something about Chris's that would make her melt the instant he would start singing.  Even if it was just one word, her body would tingle and a smile would appear on her face.

He tugged on her arm slightly, moving it over to his lap and resting their hands on his thigh.  "You know you want to.  I see the laughter in your eyes, come on."  Chris taunted her, tugging on her arm more.  "Everyone is doing it."

Nicole lost the battle and started laughing after the last line.  Chris smiled in victory before laughing with her.  Nicole tilted her head back against the headrest and continued to giggle.

"Really?"  She asked when she started to calm down.  "Everyone is doing it?  That's the best you got hotshot?"

Chris shrugged nonchalantly and glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.  "It got you to laugh, didn't it?"

"Because it was stupid."  Nicole replied in an obvious tone.  She turned toward his way when she heard him gasp dramatically, looking at her with a hurt look on his face.

"It was stupid?  You just hurt my feelings!"

"Oh brother."  Nicole rolled her eyes and giggled.  "Just drive you nutcase."

~~

Nicole let go of Chris's hand took her keys out of her clutch once they got to her apartment ten minutes later.  She turned around and looked up at him when they got to her apartment door.  "Thank you for tonight, Chris.  I had fun."

"So did I."  Chris brushed her hair with his fingers and tucked it behind her ear.  "Have fun seeing your family next week."

Nicole's eyes followed the movement of his fingers than looked into his eyes.  She nodded her head and smiled a little.  "I will.  Have fun with your family also."

Chris looked into her eyes for a moment before he brought both of his hands up to frame her face.  His thumbs stroked her cheeks tenderly and lowered his head while tilting her head up slightly, pressing his lips against hers.  Before Nicole could open her eyes when she felt his lips part from hers seconds later, she felt his lips back on hers, kissing her again.  Nicole wrapped her hands around his wrists when she kissed him back.

When the kiss ended, he pulled back enough to look into her green eyes.  When she opened her eyes he saw the shock look on her face slowly melt away to no emotion.  Chris felt himself start to panic inside.  Fuck.

"I'm really sorry for just kissing you like that."  He started after taking a ragged breath.  "I shouldn't have done that.  You didn't give me any indication that you even wanted to be kissed." Chris rubbed the back of his neck while his eyes focused on his shoes.

"I liked the kiss."  Nicole revealed.  He looked up with raised eyebrows and watched her face turn to a shade of crimson red.  "I uh mean it was nice and I enjoyed it and I'm going to stop talking now."  Nicole rambled, swallowing hard.

"So you liked it, hm?"  Chris asked with a teasing sparkling in his eye and a grin on his lips.

Nicole rolled her eyes while biting on her bottom lip.  She fought with all her might to keep a straight face.  "Don't be so full of yourself, Mr. Popstar."

"So," Chris took a step towards her, his eyes holding hers, "What would you do if I kissed you again?"  He asked in a whisper.  He watched her breathing quicken a bit and run her tongue along her lips.

"I dunno, maybe you should try it and see what happens?"  She replied boldly with a smile.

Chris raised his arms, cupping her face with his hands and tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear before he brought his lips towards hers again.  Nicole placed her hands against his chest while they continued to kiss.  He moved his hand to the back of her neck, holding her close while he nipped at her lips, tasting her mouth.  Their lips moved slow and gradual against each other's in perfect rhythm.  Chris pulled away from the heated kiss and rested his forehead against Nicole's; both of their lungs burning in need for oxygen.

"Let me know when you land on Monday so that I know you got there safe."  Chris said quietly, lifting her chin up with his finger so that her eyes would once again meet his.  Nicole responded with a soft nod before feeling his lips press against hers softly.  "Goodnight."  He stroked her cheek with one hand, running his thumb along her bottom lip.

"Night."

A smile tugged at her lips while she watched him walk down the hall.  She couldn't help the small giggle that escaped from when he looked over his shoulder at her one last time before walking out and giving her a wink.  Sighing, Nicole unlocked her door and walked in.  She leaned her back against the closed door and brought her hands up to her chest.

"I'm in so much trouble."  Nicole said to herself with a smile.  "Oh so much trouble."

I know romes still burning
Though the times have changed
This world keepd turning round and round and round and round
These days