Sydney checked the clock and noted that it was nearly one in the morning. Grabbing her phone and hoping either Baylee or Mason were still sober enough to help, she dialed their numbers. Baylee didn’t pick up, but, on the third ring, Mason did.
“Sydneeeeeeeeeey! Hey!”
She clamped down on the urge to giggle at his extremely cheerful voice. “Hi, Mason. Let me guess, the party’s still going on?”
“Oh, yeah, it definitely is. Good thing I’m drunk because watching my dad get all those lap dances would’ve made me die of embarrassment if I was sober.” He whistled a little. “But, ya know, I can’t blame him. That brunette is pretty hot.”
There was a pang in her heart at his words. She frowned over it for a moment then shrugged it off. “How many lap dances have you had?”
“Only one. It’s not all it’s cracked up to be.” His voice slurred a little. “So whatcha calling me for in the middle of all this drunken debauchery?”
“Is my dad still there?”
“Lemme check.” There was a short silence before Mason spoke again. “Uhh, yep. He’s still here. He’s chilling with Uncle Brian and Jacob. I think he said something about leaving soon because he’s got a meeting in the morning. How come you wanna know?”
“Mason, I know you’re drunk, but remember the plan?” Sydney nearly tapped her foot in impatience. “You have to let me know the second my dad leaves. I already made sure my mom is staying up to watch out for him because I’m so worried that he’ll hurt himself when he comes in drunk.”
Mason giggled. “Sydney, you’re too funny. You really think all your scheming is going to change something that hasn’t changed in over twenty years? Do you really think you’re Wonder Woman or something?”
“Excuse me?”
“Nah. Forget I said anything. I’ll buzz you back when your dad leaves. Gotta go check out the patriotic redhead. She’s got the flag painted on her in some pretty great places.” He whistled appreciatively. “See ya.”
When the call ended, Sydney frowned down at her phone. If Mason didn’t come through for her, she was going to pretty annoyed. No matter how uncooperative he was sometimes, she’d always counted on him to help her out in the end. This time, she hoped, would be no different.
“Patriotic redhead my ass,” she muttered before flopping onto her bed to plan and pray.
***
Spencer’s eyes were drooping as she tried to concentrate on the page of the book she was reading. It was one of her favorite novels and usually kept her attention no matter how many times she read it, but, this time, she was just too tired to stay awake. The day at the amusement park and the argument with Nick had been more draining than she’d thought. All she wanted to do was fall into bed and sink deep into sleep.
Unfortunately, she couldn’t do that. Not until Nick came home. Sydney had begged her to stay awake and make sure that Nick made it into bed without hurting himself. Apparently, her daughter hadn’t felt well, and Spencer had been left to deal with drunk Nick.
Whenever he came home, that is. Which could very well be at dawn.
“Forget this,” Spencer muttered as she pushed herself out of the armchair she’d been curled up in for the past couple of hours. Nick was a grown man, drunk or not, and could probably find his way to bed on his own. Probably. Tucking the book under her arm, she started out of the den, making sure to turn off the lights.
Halfway up the stairs, she saw the flash of headlights wash through the windows on either side of the front door. Closing her eyes briefly in resignation, she turned and headed back down. Before she could reach for the doorknob herself, the door opened, and Nick stumbled inside, waving over his shoulder. When he turned back, he nearly tripped over Spencer.
“Whoops!” He steadied her and barely managed to do so for himself. “Sorry. Didn’t think you’d be there.” He smiled cheerfully and ran his fingers through her hair. “Pretty hair. Did I ever tell you you’ve got the prettiest red hair that I’ve ever seen? I’m glad Sydney got your hair.” He leaned back against the door and fell backwards when it moved until it closed.
This time, Spencer reached out to grab him before he could fall. By the time he was standing again, he was giggling foolishly. The sound made her lips want to curve into a smile, but she firmly kept them straightened. “Jesus, Nick. How much did you drink?”
“Lots,” he answered between giggles. “Lots and lots. It was a great party, great booze. There were lots of pretty girls, too. Prettier than you,” he added.
“Well, that’s to be expected,” she muttered and held out a hand. “Let’s go, Nick. Up to bed with you. I hope you have a killer hangover in the morning to make me feel better.”
Nick stared at her hand then up at her face. “Y’know, even when you’re mad, you’re so goddamn beautiful. I’ve never met anyone that makes me want to kiss her because she’s so fucking hot when she’s mad. But you.” He whistled and grinned. “I always thought you were the hottest thing when you were mad. Like now.”
She couldn’t breathe. Surely all the oxygen in the house had just disappeared because she was having trouble catching her breath. “What?” was all she could manage to say.
Nick caught her face between his hands and kissed her enthusiastically. Her legs turned to jelly at his touch, but she fought to stiffen them. This was drunk Nick, she reminded herself. He had no idea what he was doing.
“Nickolas.” She shoved clear of his reach. “You are seriously drunk, and I doubt you’ll like knowing you said those things to me. Or that you just kissed me. You’re better off going to bed. Now.”
“Aww, Spencer, there you go again.” He stepped closer and was too inebriated to realize that she’d taken a step back in retreat. His fingers trailed softly over her cheek, even as his eyes fluttered close. “I would know this face anywhere,” he murmured quietly and had her heart racing faster. “These gorgeous eyes that show everything you’re feeling. This cute little nose…your lips.” He traced them gently and didn’t feel the way they trembled under his touch. His eyes opened and looked deep into hers. “No matter how mad I am at you, I always want you. It’s always you, and I can’t get away from you. You’re inside me, Spencer. You always have been.”
Spencer was immensely glad that her back was to the wall because it was the only thing that kept her standing. “Nick, don’t do this. You’re going to regret it.” In contrast to her heating skin, her voice was cool and clipped.
He sighed gustily. “And then there’s that. You never ever really listened to me, did you? You always thought I was joking or being stupid when I was serious. Why couldn’t you ever respect me, Spencer? That’s all I really wanted from you, and you never did.” His eyes, though blurred by alcohol, were still serious. “I couldn’t stand that you didn’t respect me.”
“That’s not true.” She took his hand and squeezed it without thinking. Had he really felt that way all those years ago? “That’s definitely not true, Nick.”
“Forget it.” He waved it off. “That’s in the past, right?” He started to step back, to turn away, but the effects of too many shots and too much hard partying was finally taking its toll. His knees seemed to drop out from under him, and he barely felt it when Spencer quickly moved to prop him up before he fell face-first onto the marble tiles.
She dragged his arm heavily over her shoulder. “Okay, that’s it. We’re going upstairs and getting you into bed,” she told him in a matter-of-fact tone that didn’t betray any of the nerves she was feeling.
Carefully, step by painful step, they climbed the steps. Neither of them said a word, though, at one point, Nick stopped to bury his nose in her hair and murmured incoherently. Spencer tried not to let the gesture affect her and concentrated on getting him down the hall to his bedroom. Each step felt like an eternity to her, and she was never so glad as when they finally made it into his bedroom.
Nick managed to step out of his shoes without tripping, and Spencer guided him towards the bed.
“Almost there, Nick,” she muttered. When she felt his body go slack, she shook him a little. “Stay awake. Come on, don’t fall asleep on me. We’re almost to your bed.”
Nick couldn’t feel anything but the wonderful feeling of having her by his side and the queasiness in his stomach. Forcing himself to concentrate, he kept his weight off of hers as much as he could as his stomach pitched and rolled uneasily and hoped he wouldn’t be sick until morning. It wouldn’t exactly please her if he threw up all over her. Not exactly romantic, he thought fuzzily.
“Here we are,” Spencer announced when they stood next to his bed. “In you go.”
Nick glanced at his bed and thought it looked heavenly. He tried to untangle himself from Spencer’s hold, but he wasn’t quite as steady as he thought. “Whoa,” he managed as he tripped over his own feet and, his arm still hooked around Spencer’s shoulders, took her down with him. “Sorry,” he mumbled as he blinked into her face when she was sprawled under him. Gosh, she was pretty and all warm curves under him, he couldn’t help but think. Though she was struggling to push him off her, he stopped her with the brush of his lips over her neck. “Mmm, Spencer.”
His eyes closed in pleasure as the scent and taste of her seemed to flood his senses. He didn’t notice when her struggles ceased or when she stopped resisting his touch. It occurred to him that there was something wrong with rolling around in his sheets with Spencer, but he couldn’t quite remember what it was as he craved the feel of her skin and hungrily closed his mouth over her breast. He never noticed when he kicked off his jeans or stripped away her robe, but he reveled in the sensations she brought to him. The last thing he remembered before he went blissfully under was thinking that being inside Spencer felt like coming home, and he’d been waiting to do so for far too long.
***
Sunlight warmed his eyelids, and Nick could feel the red heat from its rays burn into the dull, throbbing pain in his head. It wasn’t the worst hangover he’d ever had, he decided, when he realized his stomach felt fine. But, he still wasn’t quite ready to open his eyes. He let his mind drift over the past night’s drunken escapades and, though it took a good deal of effort, his lips curved into a grin.
He was glad he had such good friends. His bachelor party had been one for the books, he thought and began to stretch his arms. Then froze.
His eyes snapped open to look down into Spencer’s sleeping face. Her expression was so peaceful as her dark lashes lay against the pale, creamy skin of her face. There was a faint smile on her lips as her breath softly fluttered from between them. Her head was tucked into the curve of his shoulder. His arms were wrapped around her, and he found that he liked the feel of having her curled against him.
His mind rushed backwards to try to figure out what had happened to result in the two of them ending up this way. He found that he remembered coming home to find her standing in the front hall, he remembered kissing her there. Though he couldn’t quite remember what he’d said to her, he could recall the way she’d helped him up the steps and into his room.
“Oh, jeez,” he muttered under his breath as he remembered falling into bed with her and kissing her. After that, all he could call up in his memory were the sensations of moving with her in the dark, feeling their mutual pleasure, and sinking into oblivion wrapped up in her arms.
Nick let his eyes drift over her face again before he decided he should probably move. He vaguely recalled that there was a meeting he couldn’t be late for, and he didn’t want to be in bed when Spencer woke up. That was one sticky situation he desperately wanted to avoid because he had no idea what he’d say or what her reaction would be. As far as he knew, she hadn’t been drunk, so why had she allowed him to touch her, to make love with her?
Shaking off troubling thoughts, he shifted, and his hands brushed over her soft skin. He had the sudden urge to wake her into mindlessly making love with him again, but he resisted. He carefully slid away from her and out of bed. He breathed a sigh of relief and massaged his temples where his headache now centered. As much as he might have liked waking up with her in his arms, he couldn’t do it again. He was going to get married to someone else, someone he’d promised to love, and he had no right to go around sleeping with Spencer.
In the end, he knew, it would end up hurting both Cara and Spencer. He was tired of hurting Spencer, and he had absolutely no desire to hurt Cara. He had a life to get started on, and it was time he did that.
With one last glance at the way Spencer lay peacefully in his bed, he shook his head and walked into the bathroom.
***
Spencer’s eyes popped open and, for an instant, she thought she’d dreamed of making love to Nick. Unfortunately, from where she lay, she could definitely tell that she wasn’t in the guest room down the hall. She was in Nick’s room, in his bed, and, when she leapt out of his bed, she was relieved that he was nowhere to be found.
“What is wrong with you, Spencer?” she berated herself as she dragged on her pajama pants. They’d been lying on the floor next to the bed, and she was mortified. She couldn’t even begin to think about what Nick must’ve thought when he’d woken up. “You had no business sleeping with Nick.”
Though a part of her reminded her of how good it had felt to have Nick’s arms around her, to feel his skin against hers, another, more rational part of her, argued that only a self-destructive idiot would keep falling for Nick Carter repeatedly. She dragged on her robe and, her face tomato-red with anger at herself and embarrassment, made up his bed.
“He’s supposed to get married, Spencer,” she told herself as she headed for the door. “You had no right to help him cheat on Cara. God, what were you thinking? No, wait. Scratch that. It’s obvious you weren’t thinking.” She wanted to beat her head against a wall but didn’t. “Well, now you and Nick will just have to deal with the consequences, won’t you?”
She pulled open the door and stopped in her tracks. Sydney stood, brows raised, at the top of the stairs and stared as Spencer stepped out of Nick’s room in nothing but her pajamas. If possible, Spencer felt her face turn a darker shade of red as she began to stumble over explanations.
Her insides were doing wonderful flips as she watched her mother look embarrassed to be caught sneaking out of her father’s room at nearly ten in the morning in her pajamas. Sydney resisted the urge to jump up and down in joy. “It’s okay, Mom,” she said, cutting off Spencer’s babbling apologies. “Don’t worry about it.”
Spencer had no words to say as she watched Sydney smile brightly and head off down the stairs. It was obvious her daughter wasn’t going to dwell on the matter, so Spencer was going to work on forgetting it as well.
Unfortunately for her, she knew she’d never quite rid herself of the feeling of losing herself in Nick’s arms…
Author's Chapter Notes:
Hi again! I know this story is being updated FAST for me, but I hope you'll all enjoy this chapter, especially. I know some of you have been asking about it, so here it is...
