Oh Baby, I'm a Fool For You

"Where the hell have you been?" Veronica yelled in frustration. "I've been trying to get a hold of you for more than four days and all my calls go right to voice mail! What is going on, Kaya?"

I was laying in the bathtub at Will's. I wasn't taking a bath; I had all my clothes on, and the water wasn't running. I just needed to be by myself. "I keep forgetting to charge my phone," I murmured lamely.

"I have so much to tell you, Ky," she said, her voice softer and gentler.

"Same here," I said with a dry, humorless laugh.

"Me first, though!" she said loudly, her voice turning to happiness. "You'll never guess what happened after you left," she said, her voice high pitched and airy. "Skandar proposed."

I could feel my jaw drop. "What?" I squeaked. "Proposed, as in marriage?" I asked.

"Yeah! He was so cute about it too. You know that envelope he sent with you? Well I opened it, and it told me to go to that park right across the street from that fancy coffee house at seven that night. He was waiting with a horse drawn carriage! Then he proposed during the ride. It was so romantic!" She squealed.

"I'm so happy for you," I murmured as enthusiastically as I could.

"What's wrong, Ky?"

I took a deep breath and bit my lip briefly. "Ben and I broke up."

"What?!" she screamed. "What the hell happened?"

And so I launched into my story of what had happened over the last few days. Midway through, I began sobbing. I couldn't handle repeating it, but Veronica is my sister, my best friend, and if anyone is going to help me through it, it's her.

"It's part of being in a relationship," Veronica said softly after I cried for nearly twenty minutes. "The heartache is what makes it all worth it in the end."

"What if this is the end?" I whispered.

"Roll with the punches. That man loves you too much to stay away from you," she said quietly. "Anyone who has seen you together knows that. Trust me. Just give yourself a little time."

"Thanks Veronica," I murmured, though I wasn't exactly sure how thankful I was.

"I need you to promise me something, Ky."

"Sure."

"Don't do anything... stupid."

In Veronica's mind, something stupid would be to hurt myself physically. "I won't," I replied, hurt by the implication, "I swear."

"Good," she answered. "And if you need anything, anything at all, you call me."

A smile tugged at my lips. I could always count on her. "Definitely."

"Okay. I'll call you later."

"Okay. Thanks Veronica. I love you."

"Right back at you, hon," she replied, and hung up.

I leaned back against the wall, my neck freezing at the touch of the ice cold porcelain.

Maybe it's a good thing that I hurt this much. Maybe it means what we had was true love.

Less than two days later, I was in New Zealand. I took a cab to the movie set, where Nikolai was waiting. Apparently Nikolai had paid for a few extra nights in the hotel on set because his sister was just too boring.

I had spent nearly two days crying about Ben. I couldn't believe that it was officially over. I guess somehow I knew that we couldn't last forever, but I never wanted to think about it. Ever. I want him back. I want him now.

I clamored out of the cab and paid the driver, then took a deep breath as I saw the movie set. All the buildings and the landscapes felt so familiar. I felt like I was home.

I made my way to the hotel and into the lobby, where a beautiful man was waiting for me.

"KAYA!" Nikolai screamed my name and came rushing at me.

I instantly dropped everything I was holding, waiting for impact.

He grabbed me around the waist and lifted me into the air, spinning me around with a huge grin on his face. "My baby, my baby girl!" he squealed, pressing his head against my stomach.

"Okay, okay! Let me down, Nik!" I exclaimed, laughing.

He obliged and set me down on my feet. "Oh, sweetheart," he breathed, smiling at me. Grasping my face between his hands, he began planting kisses all over my face. His warm lips kissed my forehead, my nose, my chin, my cheeks, my eyes, and-

With excessive force, he wrapped his arms around me and planted a hard kiss on my lips.

I was shocked, but not so shocked that I couldn't move. I put a hand on his chest and pushed, and with the slightest amount of force, he released my lips. "What was that for?" I snapped.

He just grinned that silly grin. "I missed you."

"You jerk," I said, slapping his chest. "I missed you too."

Nikolai and I ordered room service that night and curled up in bed watching a marathon of some ghost catcher show. I told him everything that happened, and he let me cry. After that, I resolved I wasn't going to let one break-up ruin my life. I just wish I had made that resolution before I ate two cheeseburgers and a quart of ice cream.

"My Kaya is the cutest in the world, I wouldn't trade her for any other girl. She once dated this hot guy named Ben, but he turned out to be a shitty boyfriend."

"You're rather proud of that song, aren't you?" I teased Nikolai.

He laughed and tightened his grip around me. My cheek was pressed against his warm chest, and his arm was around my waist. "You have no idea how long it took me to come up with that. I mean, it took forever. Seriously, it did!" he insisted as I laughed at him.

I smiled weakly and rested my hand against his stomach.

"Come on, sweetheart, cheer up," Nik whined, persistently poking my side.

"I'm trying, I really am," I said, snuggling against him. "I've never been in love with anyone like that before. Ever. It's hard to adapt."

"Well he's a moron for letting you go," he reassured me, kissing the top of my head. "Come on, you should probably get some sleep." He stood up, much to my disappointment, and cleared our food wrappers and dishes off the bed, setting them on the floor next to the bed. "Go put on your jammies," he said, pointing towards the bathroom.

"I don't want to," I replied childishly, rolling onto my stomach and hiding my face in the pillow.

"If you don't, then I'm gunna do it," he threatened.

I rolled onto my back and glared at him. "You wouldn't."

He grinned and rolled his eyes. "You really don't know me very well, do you?" he asked. He pounced on top of me, causing me to scream loudly. "This is what you get for being lazy!" he yelled, unbuttoning my jeans.

"Nik!" I protested, shoving at his hands, all the while laughing loudly.

"What was that, darling?" he asked, pulling my jeans down my legs.

"I'll do it, I'll do it!" I insisted, catching one of his wrists in my hands.

"Promise?" he asked as he stopped pulling at my clothes.

"Yes! Yes, I promise, now get off!" I hollered, kicking at him.

He simply kissed my nose and got off of me, going to my suitcase and unzipping it. "So, what do you want to wear tonight? I'll suggest a matching bra and pantie set, very sexy," he said with a wink.

Pulling my jeans back up and securing them around my hips, I stood and pushed him out of the way, kneeling in front of my bag. "I'm going to wear pajamas, thank you very much," I said as I drew a pair of bright blue sweatpants and a white t-shirt from my bag.

He pursed his lips and wrinkled up his nose. "Ew. Not sexy, Ky."

"Shush," I said, rolling my eyes, and retreated into the bathroom to change and brush my teeth. When I came back out, Nikolai was laying in bed, the light next to him illuminating the room dully. "Hi," I said as I walked to my side of the bed.

"Okay, Ky, look at this." He whipped the blankets back and revealed his shirtless body. He didn't exactly have muscle tone, but he was slim. He wore green boxers with The Hulk on them, that were showing off his prominent hip bones. "This is what sexy looks like."

"You're every nerd's dream," I said as I laid down, pulling the blankets up over us.

"And damn proud of it," he said, turning off the light. "Good night, Ky-Ky."

"Night, Nik."