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Author's Chapter Notes:
I just wanted to take the time to thank you all for your amazing reviews. I am so appreciative of the feedback I'm recieving, because I truly was apprehensive about posting this fiction. Thank you so much. And, as always, I have to give a special thanks to My Posie for giving me the courage to post. She's my muse.
Chapter 4


Finally. A day of solitude. Nick was amazed at the relief he felt when he realized that the typical stressors of daily life wouldn’t be adding weight to his heavy shoulders that day. The business was at a standstill for today; no meetings, no interviews, no recordings, no pressures of fame. Melanie had even demanded one of his credit cards with the larger allowance so she could spend the day pampering herself. Alone. He had gladly given the card away in hopes to give himself peace of mind, knowing that she would be occupied for the rest of the day and pleased with his actions. So, given a day of complete and utter relaxation, he couldn’t have imagined spending it any other way than taking Layla to the beach for some exercise.

Opening the side door of his hunter green Cadillac Escalade, Nick grinned when Layla tumbled from the vehicle, unfazed when she hit the ground as if she were trying to manage a belly-flop. Simply shaking herself of the fall, she raced off onto the white sandy shoreline, barking eagerly. The light colored sand kicked up in a storm behind her furiously flying paws, demanding that he hurry to catch up. So, electronically locking his car, he hurried over the dunes and started a leisure jog to keep up with the exuberant puppy. She loved the beach almost as much as he did.

Feeling the wind whip about him and the warm sand molding to his feet; hearing the ocean waves rumbling onto the shore with a soft hiss and the distant sounds of seagulls cawing against the wind; Nick knew that he was within his true element. Though he had been born in New York City, he had been grown in the ocean waters of the Florida peninsula. So, naturally, when he moved to California, his first trip out had been to spot the perfect plot of beach. And he was thankful that not many people knew about this particular portion, because it gave him the privacy that he was not normally akin to. He was able to walk down the beach and pretend that he was actually normal—

“Layla!” Nick suddenly barked in disbelief, noticing the puppy playing in the shoreline as a wave rushed over her. He could only imagine what kind of undercurrent could snatch her off to sea, but was relieved to see her hurriedly surfacing. Furiously shaking her body to rid herself of the excess water, she seemed to grin goofily toward Nick. But, like always, something else caught her attention before he could beckon her back to his side.

Barking enthusiastically, she tore off down the shoreline, barreling toward the only other person occupying that sliver of beach that day – a woman who had just climbed out of the waves with her surfboard to rest for a moment. Without warning, she slammed her head into the back of the surfboard that had been propped into the wet sand, causing it to fall and surf into the waves. Hurling her body onto the length of the surfboard to send it skipping into the ocean, she knocked the female surfer onto her backside when the tether attached to her ankle broke free of the board.

GODDAMNIT!” Nick howled in disbelief, unable to stop the turn of events as his kleptomaniac of a puppy stole the woman’s surfboard. All he could do was race down through the sand to help, hoping that he wouldn’t be castrated in the process, especially when he stumbled. Unable to maintain, he dove face-first into the wet sand beside the stunned woman, skidding to a stop only when he seemed to be buried in the wet, clumpy mess. He sputtered at the salty taste of ocean waters lapping against his face, slamming his fist into the sand, knowing that his cast would itch furiously till it was removed due to the pile of sand crammed into it from the fall. “Damnit, Layla! You get back here right now!”

“…I’ve never met a dog that likes to surf…” a familiar voice murmured in disbelief.

Wiping the grit of dirt that plastered his face, Nick squinted to see past the sand caked upon his sunglasses to size up the woman he would be groveling to. Grunting when it was useless, he yanked the sunglasses from his face, rolled onto his back, and gasped sharply at the woman who blocked the glaring sun from his face. Of all the women that Layla could possibly attack, it had to be—

“…Roxanne…”

“If it isn’t Mr. Smith…” Roxanne immediately mused with recognition, holding out her hands so she could help him out of the watery grave he created.

Regarding her with a bashful smile, Nick couldn’t help but be enchanted. Her beautiful face radiated with the smile that had lingered in his dreams for the past several nights. Her strawberry blonde hair was damp from her dip in the ocean, causing the locks to curl to tight ringlets in the ponytail. Even in a natural state she was gorgeous. Sweeping his gaze from her hair down the length of her elegant neck, he was startled to find more cream colored skin than clothing. Wearing a black bikini with a halter-styled top and short boy-cut bottoms of all things! Of course, since they were at a beach, it wasn’t illegal for her to wear a bikini, but it was a drastic change considering she had been drowning in scrubs when he first saw her. But, he was certain that he enjoyed the bikini more. The boy-cut bottoms hugged tightly to her hips and adhered to her form like a second skin, causing forgotten carnal thoughts to sweep through his mind when he observed her long, silky legs that never seemed to end. And, forcing his eyes upward past the delicious curve of her hips, he was surprised to find that a metallic emblem of a skull and bones was pressed onto the right cup of her halter-top. Shuddering when he watched her breath pull her breasts upward, he realized that she easily could spill over a ‘D’ cup--

“…Nick?”

“I am so sorry,” Nick immediately apologized, pulling his gaze from her body as he brought his hands to his face to hide. Forgetting about the cast wrapped about his right hand, he winced when the energetic thrust of his hands to his face caused quite a powerful hit. “Damnit--”

“You are just too much,” Roxanne chuckled good-naturedly, undaunted by his obvious leering. In fact, closing her hands tenderly about his upper arm, she pulled him away from the waves that rushed in. Glancing down, she noticed Layla tugging her surfboard away from the surf with the tether, hassling happily as she returned to her master’s side. “Both of you are too much.”

“I am so sorry about what she did--”

“What’s her name?” Roxanne asked instead, stooping down to brush her hands over the wet puppy’s head. Laughing softly when Layla reared to eagerly lick her face, she made no attempt to push the puppy away. In fact, she seemed to put an extra vigor into rubbing the puppy’s soft coat before grabbing her surfboard.

“That’d be Layla. The grounded mutt,” Nick answered, watching Layla nip at the strap on the surfboard before taking it into her mouth as if she would help Roxanne carry it.

“For such an awesome ride, Layla, I think you deserve a drink,” Roxanne offered, gesturing to the day camp she had made a few yards up. “Coming, Mr. Smith?”

“You can call me Nick,” he answered with a nod, following her.

“I was absolutely convinced that I was the only person that knew about this part of the beach,” Roxanne casually conversed as she reached her large, colorful beach blanket tucked underneath an even larger umbrella. Discarding her surfboard, she snatched the towel that had been resting with her other things and wiped the water from her face before plopping down beside the cooler. Rummaging around for a moment, she retrieved a large plastic cup from her picnic basket and a bottled water from the cooler, then poured the drink for Layla. Stabilizing the cup in the sand, she smiled when Layla pushed her entire face into the cup to greedily drink. “What kind of dog is she?”

“She’s a Pit-bull,” Nick answered, shifting his feet uncomfortably within the hot sand as he stared down at Roxanne. Itching absentmindedly at his chest, he was acutely aware of all the sand that had been ground into his body from the fall. He was even pretty sure that he could start a fire with the friction of sand combined with a hot fart in the crack of his ass—

“Here, Nick, take off your shirt and get rid of all that sand,” Roxanne called, breaking into his thoughts as she stood from the beach blanket. She had extended the slightly dampened towel she had used and smiled sympathetically at his reluctance. “I know what’s underneath your shirt and I know you don’t want to talk about it, but you can’t sit there in misery. Use the towel to wrap around you if you want. I don’t mind.”

“Thank you…” Nick trailed, not used to the overwhelming kindness that she extended to him. Melanie had never gone out of her way to ensure that he was taken care of, nor would she ever offer something of hers to him, whether he needed it or not. Fumbling slightly with his t-shirt, he grunted and groaned as he struggled to remove it, falling onto his backside when he yanked his head free. Stunned, he turned to see Roxanne giggling softly at his bewildered expression.

“Here,” Roxanne murmured, taking his t-shirt to shake the sand from it. When she assumed she had done the best she could, she stood to hang it upon her surfboard to dry. Turning, she watched the way Nick gingerly patted the sand from the deep scratches carved into his chest. She did her best not to wince, simply retrieving two cans of sodas before laying herself beside him. “How are you feeling?”

“Those pain killers that the Doc gave me are really something,” Nick answered, wrapping the towel about his shoulders when all the sand had been removed. Turning to look at her, he noticed she was laying and instantly shifted to face her while tucking his legs carefully beneath him. He did his best to concentrate on her face, thankful when Layla had plopped down into his lap for a carefree nap, hiding what he knew would be a telltale sign of an interest he wasn’t supposed to have. “I feel like a million bucks.”

“Are you keeping yourself safe?” she asked seriously, tucking her arms behind her head.

“It’s never been about anyone hurting me--”

“Just tell me you’re keeping yourself safe.”

“…I am…” he murmured after an uncomfortable pause, making sure not to add the ‘For now’ that he had been thinking.

“Oh!” Roxanne suddenly blurted, interrupting his thoughts once more when she turned to her side momentarily. Grabbing the two icy cans, she turned back and offered one to him. “I hope Pepsi’s okay?”

“A helluva lot better than Coke, that’s for fucking sure,” Nick snorted, suddenly appalled with his character. Melanie had always berated him for such vulgarities, though she had the mouth of a sailor. He had every intention of apologizing till he heard her soft laugh. Grinning at her carefree smile, he popped the top of his can and took a hearty swallow. Knowing her sight was obscured momentarily as she drank, he allowed himself another quick peek at her amazing body. He couldn’t deny the sexual instinct that had been instilled in him as a hot-blooded male, though his focus concentrated on the marred patch of skin along her abdomen--

“What are you staring at?”

“Huh?!” Nick lurched in horror, realizing that he had been caught. Swallowing hard, he shrank away from her and gestured pitifully in attempts to save himself, merely waiting for the outstretched hand to turn malicious in nature. “I…You…I…

“Nick…” Roxanne trailed uneasily.

“That,” Nick sputtered, gesturing toward the slightly darkened patched of raised skin to the far right angle of her belly button. He knew that it wasn’t a fresh injury, having faded to almost her original skin color, but it was such an unusual place for one. And the precision of the angle far too clean for an accident—

“The scar?”

“Yeah… How’d that happen?”

“Serious brawl at the local bar one night. All these fucking biker boys swarmed in like locusts. I was battling with this Hell’s Angel that had more testosterone than a stud stallion and smaller balls than a mouse and I just totally had to annihilate him because he smacked my ass and my girlfriend got jealous.”

Staring at Roxanne for the longest moment, Nick didn’t know what to make of her tale. The look on her face was so serious, not even her lips twitched in hopes to elicit a smile. Her aquamarine eyes had actually turned into a dark sapphire blue. Tilting his head to the side, he shook his head in disbelief. “…You’re serious?”

“…Serious about what?” she asked, toying with him as if he were on a set of strings.

“The girlfriend thing?”

“Nick!” Roxanne burst with a hearty laugh, gently pushing on his shoulder while she sat up. “I thought you’d be in that one percentile of men that aren’t sexually aroused by homosexual relations between females! I just told you this amazing story about kicking the ass of this burly biker and you’re worried about my jealous girlfriend!”

Flinching again, Nick hurriedly attempted to assuage her, “I’m sorry--”

“Don’t be,” Roxanne interrupted, giving him a winsome smile. “You’re absolutely adorable when you blush.”

Hesitating again, Nick felt his cheeks burn crimson, unable to censure his thoughts, “…So that means you’re not a lesbian?”

“Hell no! I hate girls way too much to befriend them, let alone date them. They’re manipulative, whiny, self-serving, egotistical, pretentious, vain--”

“I think I get the point,” Nick actually laughed, thrilled at the way she squealed when a piece of ice dripped upon her inner thigh. Noticing the way she blushed, though she tried to hide her embarrassment, he felt a true smile tug at the corner of his lips. “You’re so different from other women…”

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” Roxanne muttered ruefully, wiping the cold water away from her leg. Glancing up, she noticed the way his dark indigo eyes smoldered with appreciation and felt her entire body tense with a cheap thrill. But, unable to keep her self-destructive habits controlled, she asked, “Is your girlfriend different too?”

“…My girlfriend?”

“Melanie Hart, right?” Roxanne continued, biting down hard on her inner cheek till she thought that she’d draw blood. “…It’s hard not to notice you two plastered on the tabloids while I’m waiting in check-out lines…”

“Yeah… I guess…” Nick answered softly, feeling the back pocket of his trunks start to vibrate. Shifting with the dozing puppy on his lap, he retrieved his phone to quickly check the Caller ID. Seeing Melanie’s name appear, Nick lurched from his seated position and cursed at the resulting pain. Looking to Roxanne, he became skittish and encased in a thick layer of guilt, knowing that Melanie would suspect the worst. “I’ve really got to take this call—”

“Speak of the Devil, huh?” Roxanne questioned, trying to bury her disappointment.

“Yeah…” Nick trailed, hurriedly finishing with some sort of parting words while calling Layla to his side. Stumbling away and fumbling to open the phone with one hand, he was dismayed when his cellular phone alerted him to a newly arrived voice-mail. Melanie would not be pleased with his delayed reaction, but he stopped suddenly to face the befuddled Roxanne. Suddenly he thought, to Hell with Melanie’s temper, and called out, “Hey! Can I call you later?”

*~*~*


Holding her wine glass up for the server to fill once more, Josephina Hernandez cast a disgruntled glare to her significant other. She had spent a great deal of time getting ready that evening because he had asked her to. She had spent what seemed like hours diligently piling her copper colored curls into an elegant bun, curling the pieces of hair that had fallen to frame her face. Then another amount of precious time had been wasted applying makeup to accentuate her already lovely oval face, complimenting her full, luscious lips, sleekly defined nose, and glittering azure orbs which hid behind a pair of smart tortoiseshell glasses. She had even taken great consideration in choosing her outfit for the evening, which was a simple, short black dress with a lattice of silver embellishment flaring down the left side, enhancing her voluptuous curves. And, after all that effort, there she sat. Waiting. Her azure eyes burned with impatience, though she waited till the server scurried away to speak her mind. It was horrible enough to be roped into an evening that would no doubt leave her incapacitated with a furious migraine, but completely horrendous to be deceitful about the entire affair. “Howard Dwaine—”

“Oh, now I know I’m in trouble,” Howie attempted to tease with an uneasy chuckle, shifting uncomfortably in his seat while taking another hearty sip of his wine. He knew all too well what was starting to burn in his love’s heart. Typically, he wasn’t the source of her anger, but he certainly did receive the brunt of the burn when she vented. “Baby—”

“Don’t you dare start with the niceties,” Josephina chided, scowling in his direction when he attempted to assuage her annoyances. “I cannot believe that you told Nick and that…Two-faced-bug-eyed-prissy-whore that it was my idea for a double date. Honestly, Howie, you know that I don’t care for that woman who, in my opinion, has quite literally dug her fake nails into Nick’s arm to the point where he’s immobilized. I specifically told you that I missed Nick and wanted to invite him to our rented condo for dinner. Yet you concoct this ridiculous—”

“Nick! Melanie! There you are!” Howie suddenly announced, practically leaping from his seat to avoid his lover’s sharply worded reprimands. Waving the couple toward their private dining room, he made sure to lean down to press a soft kiss to his lover’s cheek. Never before had he wanted an evening to go so perfectly before, because he knew how precious the stakes were. He had spent much of the afternoon with Brian and AJ discussing Nick’s recent bout of injuries and just wanted the best for his young friend. “Please be nice. Nick really loves Melanie and needs us to know that we support him, especially now.”

“I’m not some royal bitch, Howie, I know how to—My God, Nick, what happened to you?!” Josephina exclaimed loudly without any thought to censor herself, ignoring the particulars of greeting and complimenting Melanie. Instead, she lurched up from the private table, causing the wine glasses to titter precariously over the elegant, linen tablecloth, and stepped toward Nick to cup his face within her hands. No one had thought to mention to her that Nick had been injured so severely, so it was an overwhelming shock to see him hurting. Clicking her tongue, she was horrified to see the array of painful coloring moving from his stitched bottom lip across his left face and the purple coloring of his right fingers poking out from the plain cast. “My God, what overeager fan’s boyfriend got hold of you?!”

“He tripped over Layla and collided with one of the doors at home. It was such a mess,” Melanie intervened when Nick couldn’t process a proper explanation. Though she was smaller than Josephina by several inches, she mustered a tall posture as if to threaten her. The other woman had no right to question what happened behind closed doors, especially her closed doors. “One too many beers, huh, Pookie?”

“Right…” Josephina trailed suspiciously when Nick made some kind of fruitless shrug of agreement. Brushing her fingers delicately over his face to bring his attention back to her, she was dismayed to see the lackluster in his usually shimmering indigo eyes. No spark of life. No impish streak. And what seemed to throw a dagger into her heart is when she noticed the peculiar shape of the central bruise, which was darkest and the hardest point of impact, seemed to match perfectly with the expensive emerald cut, diamond ring perched on Melanie’s right hand. “Nicky, Sweetheart, you may be clumsy, but you’re not that clumsy—”

“It happens…” Nick murmured with a soft shrug of his shoulders, feeling the electricity of annoyance sparking from his girlfriend’s body, warning him to be careful. So, gently pulling away from Josephina, he mustered a small smile, making sure to treat her as if she were nothing special. No matter how much he enjoyed Josephina’s company and wanted to hug her, he couldn’t chance his girlfriend becoming jealous and possessive. “It’s nice to see you again, Jo.”

“You too, Nick…” Josephina answered, dismayed to find that he offered no affection. She couldn’t recall another instance in where Nick had refused to hug her. In fact, when she had first started dating Howie, Nick had been the only member of the group to wrap her in a bear hug as a welcoming. He held no preconceived notion about her, simply loving her as an older sister because Howie had asked him to. Yet, there Nick stood, distanced from her in a way she couldn’t explain. Watching in confusion, she noticed how he wrapped an arm about Melanie’s tiny waist as if to show that he was dedicated. But, Melanie wanted no part in his romantic gesture, breaking away so she could embrace Howie instead.

“We should have done this sooner!” Melanie exclaimed with a charming giggle, wrapping her arms around the older man’s neck. Pressing her body close to his, she made sure to press several kisses to his face before playing with the collar of his shirt. Her lips formed into a small seductive smile as her fingers brushed down his chest, proving to Josephina that she was in control indeed. “You are just so handsome, Howie. I wish Nick knew how to dress like this. He just looks like some blob that fell into a pair of pants and a sports coat…”

Flustered, Howie moistened his lips and seemed to grin manically. “Well, thank you—”

“Excuse me,” Nick suddenly muttered. “I need to take a piss.”

“Nick…” Howie trailed in confusion, though it was fruitless as the man stalked away.

“Honestly… As if any self respecting woman wear’s cheap, prostitute-red lipstick anymore,” Josephina growled when she stepped toward her love. Giving him a censuring glare for upsetting Nick, she then reached in her purse to collect a tissue to rub off the smear of lipstick Melanie purposely left upon her lover’s face.

“I think I could use this chance to freshen up as well. Howie, you’ve got such good taste, why don’t you order us some appetizers? I’ll make sure to be right back so you don’t miss me too much,” Melanie suggested sweetly, burning at the sharp barb that passed from Josephina’s lips. Tightening her hands into fists, she watched Howie simply wave her off when Josephina captured him in a sweet affair of kisses. Not being the center of attention, she stalked through the dimly lit restaurant, noticing Nick ahead of her attempting to slip into the men’s bathroom. Annoyed that he had left without permission, she grabbed him by his injured arm and pushed him into the women’s bathroom.

“Jesus Christ, Mel—”

Keeping the element of surprise to her advantage, she shoved him into the nearby bathroom stall without justification. Throwing herself against him, she was able to keep him pinned to the tiled wall. Digging her nails into his injured arm, she was exhilarated by the yelp of pain that Nick emitted amongst his sputters for an explanation. But, she refused to give him one, simply yanking at his belt before tearing it from the loops. The sound of the belt clearing the loops and the wild jerk of Nick’s hips made her giggle. Then, ceremoniously tossing it to the floor, she crouched onto her knees and wrenched his pants to his ankles.

“Melanie, don’t—”

“Don’t be such a fucking pussy, you know you like it,” Melanie growled, using her free hand to grab his flaccid member, practically crushing it. Aware of the broken skin, bruises, and bite marks she had previously left upon him, but unsympathetic, she made sure to press her long nails into the flesh till he released a painful yelp. Hearing the whispers of other women filtering into the bathroom, she felt her appetite grow and brought him into her mouth. Biting down hard, she was not surprised when he became hard, despite his adversity to what they were doing. Dragging her nails over his already marred thighs, she was pleased at the sight of fresh blood. Leaning back with his rigid length in her mouth, she grinned at his humiliation. “See, you want this as much as I do. So, take it like a man.”

Sniffling softly, Nick leaned his head back against the cold tile wall and squeezed his eyes shut, ignoring the pained tears rolling down his cheeks.

Take it like a man…