Chapter 39

Worthy Of

May 2011 

The next day...

“You think I can get Trace to buy me a house by the ocean?” Samantha-Trace’s girlfriend- asked jokingly, as she folded the towel in her hand.

Nicole bend down and picked up her towel that had been spread out on the sand. “I don’t know-that boy loves his open spaces.” she answered with a smile. She shook the towel in hope to shake off any excessive sand it might still have. Samantha, along with Trace, Justin, their friend Marty (Justin’s old dance choreographer) his wife, and Nicole had spent most of the late morning and afternoon at the beach. (Marty and his wife had left about an hour before.)

“What can be more open space than the ocean as your backyard?” Samantha argued with a light frown.

Nicole giggled lightly. “You and me might see it that way-but he likes land. Always has.”

Samantha wrinkled her nose and sighed. “I know.” She placed the folded towel into the beach bag. She looked out onto the view in front of her- the Pacific Ocean. “Being out here- just makes me miss home.” she confessed. “It’s so peaceful …”

“Yeah…I know exactly what you mean.” Nicole followed her Samantha’s gaze and smiled knowingly. That was the exact same way she felt about it. It was peaceful, and that only made her feel at ease with everything that went on in her life. “Do you guys have any plans to visit Sydney anytime soon?” Nicole asked after a few moments of silence.

“Actually we do. I can’t wait!” she said with a smile. “Hopefully by the end of the month.” She covered her mouth with a hand as she yawned. “I would love to stay out here a little bit longer -but it's almost 4 and we made plans to go and have dinner with a friend who is town." she explained. "And I made the mistake of telling Trace that I was starting to feel tired..."

"So he wants you to go home and rest." Nicole guessed.

Samantha nodded with another yawn. "Do you know he requires me to rest? The doctor said it's a good thing to do-but Trace has taken it upon himself to make sure I do it- like everyday." she wrinkled her nose. "At first the attention was great. Now? It's getting kind of annoying." she half-joked with a smile.

Nicole giggled again. "Enjoy it." And placed the folded towel in the beach bag Samantha held. "For the record-I don't think he has ever been this happy or excited-about anything."

"Yeah?" Samantha said as she placed her hands absently on her growing belly.

Nicole nodded and gave Samantha's belly a light rub. "Yep." she looked up and smiled. "So let him spoil you in any way he can." she advised. "He loves you." Nicole could see the difference between this relationship and the past relationships Trace had been in. He had matured from his last relationship to now, and Nicole sensed that for the first time in a long time, he felt content with his life. For years now, he had searched for someone that understood him-and he even had confided in Nicole that he thought he had found that in his past relationship with Joanna, and even with Elisha, But Nicole had never seen him this happy before. It was as if Samantha had breathed a new sense of hope, and love into him-and Nicole could not be more grateful for that. And Samantha had added to his happiness when she announced that she was pregnant.

"I love him too." she answered with a huge grin.

Nicole felt her heart warm, because she knew Samantha meant it. But before she had the chance to respond, she heard Trace's voice behind her. "I think that's everything that needed to be packed back into the car." Nicole turned fully around and felt her heart jump a little when her eyes fell on Justin’s handsome face-who walked a few feet behind Trace. She felt a small smile tug on her lips when she met his gaze. His blue eyes danced as he smiled back. They had been doing that all afternoon-giving each other small smiles, and looks-as if they were sharing a secret. It made Nicole's pulse race every time he looked her way. Nicole blinked out of her thoughts when she heard Trace's voice once again. "Do you need any help taking any of this stuff back into the house?"

Justin cleared his throat and quickly cut in. "I got it."

"You sure?" Trace asked.

Justin nodded. "Yeah, I can help her with the rest of it."

Nicole added. "It's just the two beach chairs and the small water cooler."

"Okay." Trace said and looked over at Samantha. "Baby, you ready?"

"Yeah." she answered with a small yawn. "Sorry." she said with a sheepish grin. She looked over at Nicole and added jokingly. “I guess I do need that nap.”

Nicole chuckled, as she took a step toward Samantha to give her a goodbye hug. “Monday? Baby shopping?” she asked.

“What?” Trace asked, he frowned at both girls as they pulled away. “I thought we got everything we needed?”

Samantha smiled innocently at her boyfriend. “There are a few things we still need to get.”

Nicole placed a hand on Trace’s arm. “Relax short stuff. It’s not anything major.” She grinned. “Besides-this will be bonding time for me and the mommy and my future niece.”

Trace glared. “I swear if she comes home with crazy shit I’m coming after you.” he threaten.

Justin chuckled. “C’mon Trace, when did you become so fucking uptight?”

Samantha cut in. “And what ‘crazy shit’ do you think I’ll come home with?” she asked with a glare.

“Thanks Peanut.” Trace said to Nicole with a smirk. “Now you’ve pissed her off and I’m the one that gets to drive her home.” he teased.

Samantha punched his arm playfully. “Very funny.”

Trace smiled innocently at Samantha and then took a step toward Nicole to give her a hug. She also punched him on the arm-only her punch was rougher than Samantha’s. “Ow! What the fuck is that for?”

Nicole glared. “What have I told you about calling me that?” she said, referring to a nickname Trace had come up with when they were kids. It wasn’t necessarily a nickname she liked, but if anyone was allowed to call her that it was Trace (and it was not a nickname she let him use often) not even Justin called her that.

Trace blinked in mock surprised. “It slipped.”

“Uh-uh.” she said with a glare. She could have sworn she heard Justin snicker next to her.

Trace hid his smile and finally gave Nicole a goodbye hug. “Coffee date soon Peanut?” he asked as he pulled away.

“Juan Trace Ayala!” Nicole exclaimed. This time, she knew she heard Justin snicker.

Trace rolled his eyes and gave her a quick peck on the lips. “Oh please. It’s not like it’s a big fucking secret.” He then grinned. “Besides, I love pushing your buttons.”

She only glared and then heard Justin tease. “We need to separate them before she attacks him Sam.”

Samantha giggled. “C’mon you two.”

Nicole watched as Trace gave Samantha a wink, before he turned back to her. “Seriously, coffee date?”

She raised an eyebrow. “Maybe.” she answered with a smirk.

“Wednesday night.” Trace stated and reached out for Samantha’s hand. “I’ll even buy those little cakes you like so much.” he bribed. He glanced over at Justin. “What are they called again?”

“Cappuccino cakes.” Justin answered. Nicole raised an eyebrow at him. Justin smirked. “We both know you’re going to go.” he said as his smile grew.

Nicole pressed her lips together to hide her own, but didn’t respond. She watched as Justin gave Trace a brotherly hug, and Samantha a big hug goodbye as well. They locked gazes as soon as he let Samantha go. She chewed on her lower lip to keep the smile from her face, as Trace and Samantha made their way to their car, leaving Nicole and Justin alone in the middle of the beach. They glanced back at each other and smiled again. The way they were acting was probably really high school but she honestly did not care.

The funny thing about all these smiles and looks they had shared in the past few hours was that nothing had happened the night before. No crazy night of wild inappropriate sex-even though technically they were both free to do just that. It had turned out to be a purely innocent night of them passing out on Nicole's couch after talking until almost 3 in the morning and sleeping until almost 8 in the morning- at least until they got woken up by Trace's phone call; apologizing for bailing out the night before.

Once Trace and Justin (Trace had no idea Justin had stayed the night) made plans for all of them later in the afternoon, they decided it was best to get up. He had pressed a soft kiss on her forehead after she had apologized for the night before and he had told her there was no need for any-there was no pressure for her to do anything that she was not completely ready for. He then had given her that smile that still made her heart beat a million times faster, and promised he would be back in a few hours with Trace and Samantha, and that had been that. There had been no weirdness or awkwardness-then again-maybe it had to do with the fact that they had kept their hands to themselves...and there was no need to over think any actions. He had seemed to understand where she was coming from. Because truth of the matter was, she wasn't sure what any of this now meant.

Were things between her and Chase truly over? She wasn't sure. Did she want it to be over? She wasn't sure of that either. She glanced back up at Justin, and her heart skipped a beat at the sight of him. She swallowed the lump in her throat. Had she wanted Justin to kiss her last night? Yes, there was no question about that. Had she felt safe wrapped in his arms as they slept? Yes, she couldn't deny that either. He had a part of Nicole's soul that no one else had or could ever have. It belonged to him, whether he realized it or not. And just the mere thought of being close to him again like the night before made every nerve of Nicole's body, heart and soul flutter with a sense of contentment. He made her feel...alive. Which was weird in it self because she hadn't realize that feeling had been missing.

"Do you want to grab the cooler?" she heard Justin ask, breaking her out of her thoughts.

Nicole blinked. "What?"

He smiled and nodded toward the ground. "The cooler Nic." he said in an amused tone. "I'll carry the chairs." She wrinkled her nose up at him, but blushed slightly as she reached down for the cooler. She knew he had caught her lost in her thoughts, and Nicole had a feeling that he knew he exactly what she had been thinking about. She stood back up and only raised an eyebrow at him. He faked an innocent smile. “What’s the look for?” he asked as he took a folded a chair in each arm.

Nicole shook her head. “Nothing.” she said and began to take a step toward her house-which was about 75 feet from where they stood.

“Then what’s the look for?” he repeated, the hint of amusement still in his tone as he followed behind her.

She came to a halt and looked over her shoulder at him and furrowed her eyebrows. “There was no look Timberlake.” and continued to walk again.

Justin snorted. “There was a look.” he insisted as he followed.

Nicole rolled her eyes. She knew he was doing it now to annoy her-and it was working, but she wasn’t going to let him know that.

"Fine." Justin continued. "Whatever you say." as he followed a few steps behind her.

Nicole glanced once more over her shoulder and wrinkled her nose at him before she took the steps that led up to back porch of her small beach cottage. “Good, I’m glad you finally realize it’s whatever I say.” She said teasingly.

She heard him snort again, but he didn’t say a word, instead he placed the beach chairs back where she had them, and Nicole unlocked and walked inside to place the unopened beverages back in the refrigerator. She closed the fridge and turned around in the direction of the porch door. She blinked in surprise when she saw Justin leaning against the door frame, arms folded across his chest, a light smile on his handsome face, the ocean behind him the perfect background. She felt her cheeks burn. When did she become shy around him? She nervously placed a strand of loose hair behind her ear. "What?" she asked and regained her composure and placed a hand on her hip.

He shrugged. "Nothing...I was just...." he trailed off, and unfolded his arms from his chest as he rubbed the back of his neck.

“Staring?” Nicole supplied with a slight raise of her eyebrow, yet she couldn’t help but feel the familiar flutter in the pit of her stomach. He slowly licked his lips, but did not dispute her answer. Nicole swallowed the lump that formed in her throat, she knew she was titling on dangerous territory.

She heard him clear his throat nervously before he asked. "Do you wanna take a walk?"

She blinked before she locked her gaze with his "A walk?"

He nodded, and pointed behind him in the direction of the beach. "Yeah.” he said in a teasing tone. “Out there." he said. She looked over his shoulder for a split second then looked back at him. “I thought we could walk along the beach coastline before it starts to get dark…”

Nicole felt her heart squeeze at his words, she couldn’t help but smile. And this was one reason why he could still make her heart flutter. It was his simple actions that made her remember why he had a part of her heart. Why she couldn’t say no, even if she tried.

She gave him a small nod. “Sure.” and took a step toward him.

For the next two and half hours, they walked along the beach coastline-shoes in hand-and talked. Thankfully Nicole’s cottage was set on the private side of the beach, so not many people were seen out, and the few people they encountered did not seem to recognize who she was with. So they walked until they found themselves at the beach’s cove and they stayed there for awhile and watched the sun set over the Pacific Ocean. After half an hour of being out in the cove, they decided to head back to Nicole’s cottage after the temperature began to drop and skies above them turned overcast. But as they walked back, they continued to talk.

Nicole shared with him stories about school, the students she had come to know in the past few months. And Justin did the same-he shared stories about the movie sets he had been in the past 6 months. He had confessed that he had been a bit skeptical about the idea of working with Cameron, but that the time with her had been in a way therapeutic, and that they had somehow reconnected as friends.

They also shared their feelings on the whole idea of Trace becoming a father in the next few months, and how they both saw his transformation from a single guy to a man with responsibilities. "All I know is that this little girl is going to have him wrapped around her little finger." Justin guessed with a small smile as he tossed a few small rocks into the ocean-they had decided to stop for a few moments, to enjoy the view in front of them. (They were maybe five minutes away from the cottage anyway.)

Nicole nodded in agreement and gave him a teasing smile. "I think Trace is not going to be the only one that she has wrapped around her little finger."

Justin glanced over at her. "Yeah, but I get to hand her over to him once I'm done spoiling her," he said with a grin. He absently threw the hood of his sweater over his head.

"That's mean." she said, but couldn’t help but grin herself.

Justin rolled his eyes. "Oh please, like you aren't thinking of doing the same thing." and gave her a small nudge with his elbow, as she neared closer to him.

Nicole faked a shock look. "Me? Never." she answered, and bend down to pick up a few rocks. She heard Justin snort next to her as she followed his lead from earlier and tossed a few rocks into the open water, and watched them bounce a few times in between the waves that had grown in the last ten minutes.

"Right. You've been doing it with Brianna for years." he said, referring to Joey's oldest daughter.

She couldn't help but giggle. He was right, she had been spoiling Brianna, from the moment she had been born, and she still continued to do it even though she was almost 12 years old now. "What? I have that right." she defended, and took a step closer into the water, the waves splashed higher than what she expected and she quickly took a step back and reached out for Justin’s arm without thinking, she felt the familiar shiver run down her body when they touched.”Sorry.” she murmured as she began to move her hand away.

But Justin was quicker and he grasped her wrist instead, and aligned his hand with hers-fingertips touching before he tangled his fingers with hers. “For what?” he asked with a small smile.

Nicole felt her heartbeat quicken as they stood there with their bare feet in the sand and hand in hand. She tried to hide the stupid girly smile off her face as she narrowed her eyes over at him. “Very slick.” she said with a smirk instead.

He gave her hand a light squeeze, but raised an accusing eyebrow. “Right, of course-it’s all me.”

Nicole couldn’t help but smile that time, as she squeezed back. But before she had the chance to retort, she jumped at the sound of thunder. She heard Justin chuckle lightly next to her. She glared over at him. “What’s so funny?” she asked but tighten her grip on his hand.

He shook his head and chuckled once again. “You are.” he said as he looked up at the sky above him.

She followed his gaze up to the darken skies. “You know I hate thunder.” she reminded him, and wrinkled her nose when she saw the lightening hit the sky. “Maybe we should head back…” she suggested nervously. The waves quickly getting bigger by each second.

Justin glanced at her, and then back up the sky for a quick second. “Yeah, I think you’re right. It looks like it’s about to hit.” But no sooner were the words out of his mouth when Nicole felt the first drops of water on her head. Justin tugged on her hand. “C’mon.” he stated. They hadn’t even taken three steps toward the direction of the house when Nicole heard the thunder again, and gasped in surprised when she felt the huge drops of water begin to hit her. She met Justin’s gaze, and he smiled. They were both thinking the same thing.

“We’re going to have to run aren’t we?” she asked, but she didn’t have to wait on Justin’s answer because the clouds opened up above them and it began to pour without warning.

“What do you think?” he said with a laugh. “C’mon!” he exclaimed, and began to run in the direction of the house-Nicole’s fingers still intertwined with his. Nicole couldn’t help but laugh as she jogged along him as she realized it didn’t matter if they ran-they were already half way soaked. And it was only going to be worse once they finally got to the house.

When they finally stepped on the back porch, Nicole couldn’t help but giggle when she glanced over at Justin, who stood completely soaked from head to toe in water.

“Like you look any better.” he accused with a small glare and a slight shiver.

Nicole moved a few strands of wet hair away from her face and blinked innocently at him, but shivered herself. There was no part of her that was dry at the moment. Damn rain.

“Motherfucker, it’s cold.” Justin mumbled. She only nodded, as she walked up the back porch stairs. “Where are you going?” Justin asked.

Nicole unlocked the back door of her bedroom, and then glanced over her shoulder at him. “Inside.” she answered as her teeth shattered from the cold. She glanced over his shoulder and out into the dark horizon and frowned, of course the rain had slowed down once they had stepped on the covered porch. “This bathroom is closer. I don’t want water on my living room floor.” she stated.

He wrinkled his nose and sigh. “Fine.” he said and followed her.

She grinned widely. “Thank you.”

“Yeah, yeah.” he said as he stepped into inside-but not before they both took their soppy shoes off.

“I’ll grab some extra towels.” Nicole said, and switched the lamp on the night table.

“Okay.” She heard Justin say, as he quickly made his way toward the bathroom and she into the closet.

Once she was inside her walk-in closet, she grabbed her bathrobe on the hanger, and quickly got out of her wet clothes. She sighed, when she felt the warmth cotton material of the robe snake around her naked body. She tied the robe fully around herself, and reached for the extra towels in a drawer. As she stepped out of the closet, she tried to dry her wet hair with one of the towels in her hand.

“I thought maybe you got lost.” she heard Justin tease.

“Sorry, I just had to get out of the wet-“ she came to an abrupt stop when her eyes landed on a shirtless Justin, with a towel wrapped around his waist. Her jaw dropped slightly at the sight of him. He looked better than she remembered. She quickly regained her composure and finished. “Out of my...uh wet clothes.” and blinked away.

“Yeah, me too.” Justin said with a slight smirk, as he took a step toward her. “I used one of the towels in there. I hope that’s okay?”

Nicole swallowed the lump that had suddenly formed in her throat and nodded. “Y-yeah. Totally fine.” she stammered as he stepped even closer to her.

“Okay.” he said, and shivered slightly again from the cold.

Nicole’s eyes lingered down to his bare chest, and saw the goose bumps form on skin, and her nurturing side took over. “Here.” She closed the gap between them, and unfolded the dry towel- forgetting for a second about the fact that he stood halfway naked in her bedroom- and wrapped it around his shoulders.

“Thank you.” Justin murmured, as held the towel wrapped around his shoulder with one hand, and used the other to move a strand of wet hair away from her face.

“You’re welcome.” she murmured back. Nicole knew she should move, lock herself in the bathroom until his clothes dried or something, but she couldn’t. She didn’t want to. Because regardless of how confused she felt about her situation with Chase-being this close to Justin only heightened the need to kiss him. To have him touch her the way only Justin knew how. She sucked in a shaky breath, and leaned in closer. Unable to resist touching him, she smoothed out his dark eyebrows, traced his cheeks, brushed along his lips in a caress that was too intimate, yet so familiar, and that she had only shared with him. She heard a small sigh leave his mouth, as his lips pressed in a kiss over her fingers and Nicole smiled, she felt as raw and vulnerable as he looked.

“I thought you said-?” Justin started.

She cut him off. “I know what I said.” Nicole whispered and moved her fingertips away from his mouth, and kissed the corner of his mouth in such a light teasing touch that he shivered again-but she was sure it wasn’t from the cold. “I miss you Justin.” she confessed, an overwhelming feeling of emotions taking over her.

“I know.” he said hoarsely, their breath mingling together as his lips hovered above hers, his nose alongside hers, his forehead brushed hers.

She hadn’t fully thought through of what to do if this truly happened again. Had it crossed her mind in the past 4 years? Yes, if last years indications weren’t prove of that-she wasn’t sure what was. But she also knew that last year had somehow been a fluke-it had to be right? But now? Now technically there was not anything holding either of them back. And for the first time in months, she felt the tension of everything evaporate. She felt at home. It felt right, and safe with Justin. She met his gaze again under her lashes. He had that look in his eye-that she recognized –lust and at that moment it was flaming red-hot.

There was a split second before he kissed her that Nicole could have used to move away, to protest him, stop him. She didn’t. As a matter of fact, when his lips touched hers, she forgot about everything-her undecided future about leaving for a year, Chase and Jessica’s feelings, where they were-and put her arms around his neck, and kissed him back-the towel she had wrapped around his shoulders fell to the floor-but neither one seemed to care.

She forgotten his nice mouth, and how well he used it, it warmed her from head to toe with a few presses of his lips. He was oxygen to her lungs, to her heart, to her soul. A small whimper like noise left her lips. Each kiss had her gripping him harder, which made him kiss her harder, until they were melded together, breathing heavily and taking and sharing passion. When his tongue invaded her mouth, Nicole felt an eager tug between her thighs, and she rocked forward on her feet. Justin buried his hands in her wet hair and worshipped her with his mouth over and over again. Finally after what seemed a lifetime, she gripped onto his shoulders, and blindly took a step backwards-in the direction of her poster wall bed. Once she felt the support of the bed with the back of her legs, she broke from away from his lips.

He just stared, almost as if he wasn’t sure of what to say. After a few moments passed, she heard him murmur. “I miss you too Nicole.”

Nicole pushed herself onto the mattress horizontally, and pulled him with her. She felt him nudge her knees apart with his legs, as his fingertips outlined the side of her face. She smiled up at him, and teased despite of herself. “I forgotten how much of a great kisser you are…”

He chuckled and retorted back.“I was just thinking the same thing about you.”

“Hmm.”

“Hmm…” Justin mimicked before he kissed her deeply, openly while his hands brushed her hair back from her face.

Nicole knew they just crossed that line again. She knew how dangerous this was now, she knew what it would lead to next…especially when they were both halfway naked-him in the towel, and her in the bathrobe. But he continued to attack her with his mouth, she realized she did not care. Nothing else mattered- but them at the moment. So for however much longer-Nicole wasn’t sure-they employed on a full out make-out session, with low moans, whimpers, long sighs, and soft touches that made every part of Nicole’s body burn with more need than she every thought possible.

He finally broke their kiss, and nuzzled his nose into her hair, and heard him take in a deep breath. “God I’ve missed you so much.” she heard him repeat. “I hadn’t realized how much until right now.” He confessed, the emotion in his voice undeniable.

Nicole rubbed his shoulders softly, as she tried to keep her emotions in check as well. She knew exactly what he meant. He didn’t have to say any more, he was conveying everything she was feeling. He wasn’t talking just about sex, it was everything else that came with it. The connection they shared when they had moments like this was hard to put into words. So instead of giving him a response, she cupped his face in both of her hands and kissed him. Hard.

She felt her heart race faster when she felt his hands slowly begin to untie the front of her bathrobe, their lips never breaking. Cool air hit her overheated flesh when Justin opened the robe. A low moan escaped her lips when she felt fingertips smooth across her torso, then cup one her bare breast in his hand. He continued to massaged her breasts as his lips and tongued played with her mouth. She whimpered when he pinched one nipple lightly. She slid her arms around his neck, pressed his bare chest closer to hers, and massaged the top of his shoulders for a few moments. She then dropped her arms from his neck, and slipped them around his waist-in search of the towel that separated them from being skin to skin.

She suddenly felt him stiffened above her, and felt him move his hand away from her breast, and reached for her hand between their bodies. He broke the kiss, and looked down at her. Nicole gave him a wrinkle of her nose at his sudden hesitation. “What is it?”

He shut his eyes for a second then sucked in a large breath before he opened them again. “Nicky…” he started.

She lifted her head up, just enough to let her lips brush lightly against his. “What’s wrong?” she whispered.

She saw him shut his eyes one more time. “It suddenly dawned on me what we are about to do...” he trailed off.

Nicole pulled her face from his, rested her weight on her elbows and licked her lips nervously. She was quickly confused about his change of direction. “You don’t want to anymore?” she heard herself ask cautiously when she realized she was afraid of his answer.

Justin quickly opened his eyes back up, and let them lingered back down to her still bare breasts. She watched as his hand moved back up to one and stroked the very undersides of her breasts for a few moments, before he said. “Believe me, I want to-“

“Then what’s the problem?” she asked with a slight shiver from his touch.

He moved his hand away again, leaned his face back down to hers and pressed a soft kiss on her forehead and murmured. “In the course of us getting lost in this…moment.” he paused for a moment. “It hit me that you just got out of a long relationship.” Justin reminded, and pressed his forehead to hers. “And that I told you I wasn’t going to pressure you into anything you weren’t ready for.”

“Justin-“

He shook his head, and pulled himself off her. “As much as I want you-“ he confessed with a half smile. “And trust me Nicole-I fucking want you, I respect you even more baby girl.” He rubbed a hand over his face. “And I don’t want to complicate this more for you.” Nicole felt her heart squeeze at his words, and knew he was right, but at the same time-frustrated because her body wanted him. He narrowed his eyes down at her and gave her a slight smirk when he noticed the look in her eyes. “You know I’m right…”

She let out a loud sigh, and sat up enough to pull the robe back over her shoulders. Nicole knew he wasn’t rejecting her. She wrinkled her nose at him and asked teasingly. “Since when did you begin to have so much self control?”

Her eyes fluttered shut for a second, as he reached out and stroked the side of her face with his knuckles. “Since it also hit me that this is the first time in a long time where the both of us are truly single at the same time.” he murmured.

“C’mon J-it’s not the first time-“

He shook his head and stopped her. “You know what you mean to me right?” he asked. Nicole gave a small nod. She knew. He might not always express it out loud, but Nicole knew. It was the same way she felt about him. “Then know that I want to do this right.”

“What does that mean?” she asked.

“It means that I don’t want to rush this.” he stated. “It means that I want this to be different. That I’m not just looking for the physical part of a relationship with you Nicole.” He murmured as he reached for hand, and squeezed it. “It means that this-whatever it could turn into-can go on it’s own pace.”

Nicole’s eyes never left his face as he spoke. She felt her heart beat thump louder as his word sunk in. She knew he was being serious. She licked her lips. “So…nothing…physical?” she asked.

She saw his eyes gleam with amusement at her question, but said instead. “I know you still have a lot to sort out about Chase-“

“And I’m assuming so do you?” Nicole cut in. She knew him as well as he knew her, and realized that there was still a lot of things he probably had not thought about since his break-up.

“About Chase?” he asked innocently.

She frowned at him. “About Jessica, smart ass.”

“Oh right.” he said with a nod and small smile.

Nicole resisted the urge to roll her eyes, and asked instead. “So what exactly are you suggesting?”

He intertwined his fingers with hers. “I’m suggesting-we take baby steps.”

“You mean like starting over?” she asked.

He gave a small shrug, after taking in her words for a few moments. “Yeah…in a way.”

Nicole couldn’t help but smile at his offer. “So…does that mean you’ll take me out on dates and stuff?” She realized that-in all the time they had known each other and tried having a “relationship”, they had never truly ever been on a date. Usually their romantic relationship consisted of them being locked inside, or wrapped in sheets. And it hit Nicole that they never got a real chance to go the dating route. That they always seemed to jump into each others arms with their hormones.

“Yeah, I can do dates…and stuff.” Justin said with a small grin. His grin faded, and he turned serious. “Neither one of us can deny that our feelings for Jessica and Chase have magically evaporated.” Nicole’s smile slowly faded at his words. He was right. Regardless of everything, Chase was big part of her life now, just like Jessica was part of Justin’s. “But I also can’t deny how you make me feel. No matter how hard I try to push those feelings aside.” he murmured, breaking her from her thoughts.

She swallowed the lump in her throat, but gave a small nod. “I know what you mean…” she said in a barely there whisper as their eyes locked. After a few moments, she cleared her throat, and glanced away. “Okay, so where do we start?” she asked.

“We should probably start with putting on clothes.” Justin stated in teasing tone.

Nicole let go of his hand and shook her head in agreement. “Right. I guess I could put your clothes to dry and I could go change into some sweats…” she stated as she lifted herself from the bed.

She jumped in surprise when she felt him reach for her hand again, and tugged her down to him, so they were face to face.“I can still kiss you though right?” he asked with a small smile.

Nicole raised an eyebrow, and pretended to think about his question. “I think so, yes.” She answered in a low voice, as she leaned in even closer and brushed her lips against his in a sweet kiss that left her breathless when he broke it. He smiled up at her, and she couldn’t help but smile back. “I’m going to go put..the clothes in the-uh-dryer.” She reminded after she caught her breath and stood back up-but not before her fingertips stroked the top of his freckle shoulders. “I’ll see if I can find an extra robe.” She stated.

“Thanks.”

She walked toward the open bathroom, and stopped when she reached the door. “J?”

He had gotten up from the bed and had bend down to pick up the extra towel from the floor. “Yeah?” he asked and turned to look at her.

Nicole chewed on her lower lip and whispered. “Thanks.”

“For what?”

“For not taking advantage.” She paused. “For knowing me better than anyone else.”