Moving On Up

Charlene POV

My eyes only opened slightly before slamming shut again as the morning sun lit up the entire bedroom, eliminating me from my deep sleep. I went to snuggle into Nick but my eyes flew open when I felt empty sheets. I pulled my head up and craned to look around the room, squinting and being unable to see him. I sighed and dropped my head into his pillow, a smile lifting at his smell. He still had the same scent as he did in high school which had always been one of my biggest comforts. I’d missed him.

“Nick?” I called, my voice raspy and filled with sleep. “Nick?” I called louder, turning on my side and cuddling into the thick duvet and pillows. I peeked over the duvet to see Nick enter the room looking beyond adorable. I just wanted to eat him up. He still wore his boxers but had on a large hoody which looked so warm. His curls were unbrushed and all over the place. He hadn’t changed since high school.

He walked over to the bed and placed 2 glasses of water on the bed side table before sitting on the side of the bed and smiling down at me. “How did you sleep?” He asked, tucking the duvet under my chin so he could hear me clearly.

“Amazingly. If I were you I would live in this bed; built a little fort or something.”

He chuckled and continued to stroke my hair, a deep loving in his eyes.

“Why did you leave the bed?” I asked as he continued to stroke my hair, brushing my bangs away so he could see my eyes.

“To get some water and fresh air.”

“Ok, but why now are you still not in the bed?” I bit down on my bottom lip as he smiled and lifted the duvet to join me, ushering me into his chest. “Did you sleep well?” I asked, sliding my hands under his hoody to feel his bare chest and smiling at how firm his muscles were.

“I haven’t slept that well in almost five years.” He said softly. “It’s the first night I haven’t had to raid my insomnia tablets throughout the night. I didn’t even need one.”

I smiled weakly and cupped his face with my palms, my lips pressing softly to his. “We’re going to get you back to normal. No more pills, no more depression, no more...anything. Just Nick.”

Nick pressed his forehead to mine and sighed softly; a content and relaxed sigh. “I love you, Charlene.”

“I love you too.” I smiled, bringing his lips to mine and immediately claiming them. I smiled against his lips when I felt his tongue swipe along my bottom lip, begging to be let in. I teased him slightly before allowing him entrance and wrapping my arms tightly around his neck as our tongues battled fiercely.

He groaned when my phone started ringing from the bedside table and we tried to block it out but the ring just kept getting louder, ruining the mood. I pulled back and pouted up at him as he reached behind to retrieve my phone which was ringing for the second time. He handed the phone to me and I glanced at caller id to see it was one of my friends from university.

“Hello.” I sighed, being scooped up into Nick’s arms and snuggling into him.

“Well don’t you sound pleased to hear my voice.” Lauren laughed, oblivious to what she had just ruined. “I was just wondering if you were going to class today.”

“Oh shit, I forgot this lecture had been rearranged.” I groaned, pressing my face into Nick’s chest.

“I had a feeling you would have.” She laughed.

“What is it?” Nick asked quietly, running his finger along my chin and pulling my head back slightly to see my face.

“I’ve got class in 30 minutes. It completely slipped my mind.” I whispered back, watching as a slight pout formed on his lips.

“So...” Laurens voice brought my attention back to the conversation at hand.

“You have to go. I’m not going to get in the way of your education.” Nick said, his face now serious.

“But I want to stay here.” I whispered, smoothing my hand down his chest.

He smiled and pressed a kiss to my forehead. “It will only be for a little while and then we can be together again. You are going to that class.”

I let out a dramatic sigh and pulled the phone up to my ear again. “Looks like I’m going to be there.”

“Excellent. I’m just driving past your neighbourhood, do you want me to come and pick you up or are you heading into town with Mark?”

I shut my eyes tightly and continued to stroke Nicks chest softly, knowing I had made the right decision. “No, I’m not there so I’ll just meet you at the university. I have a lot of stuff to tell you.”

“Oohh, I love a bit of gossip.” She laughed and I couldn’t help but smile. “I look forward to it. See you in a little bit.”

I hung up and gave Nick back my phone which he returned to the bedside table, giving me the perfect opportunity to admire his incredible stomach muscles which were peeking out from under his hoody as he stretched. He was a god, I was convinced. He wasn’t making it any easier to leave the bed.

“Looks like someone has school to attend.” He laughed, kissing me quickly before jumping out of bed and flinging back the duvet.

“Nick!” I screeched, trying to grab the covers to shield me from the freezing cold. My pyjamas were certainly not enough to keep me warm.

“Nuh uh, get your butt out of bed and in that shower. You need to be there in 30 minutes, meaning we’re out of here in 20.”

“What if I don’t wanna?” I asked, sitting cross legged on the bed, crossing my arms and raising an eyebrow.

He dropped the duvet on the end of the bed and walked around the large bed towards me, a cheeky glint in his eyes. “Then I’d have to do this.”

I squealed when he lifted me off the bed and flung me over his shoulder, carrying me towards the bathroom, ignoring all of my complaints of wanting to be let down. It felt good to be back in his arms...even if they were holding me upside down.

...

“Ok, so let me get this right. You’re no longer with Mark; instead you’re seeing a world class athlete who has been voted sexiest man alive twice in a row?”

Ok, I will admit; it didn’t sound believable.

I had been going over this with Lauren for over an hour over a starbucks and she still couldn’t grasp it. No one would ever be able to grasp it.

“And you dated this athlete in high school?”

“We were engaged.”

She scratched her cheek and the pure confusion on her face made me laugh. She looked up at me and then she too began to chuckle. “You understand how crazy this all sounds to be right? I mean, you and Mark were perfect.”

“I thought so to. But it’s only when I got close to Nick again that I realised only he completed me. He filled the small void in my life that I could never fill elsewhere.”

“So, were you two ‘together’ whilst you were still seeing Mark?”

“No, not in that way. I mean there were a few times when we just forgot about the circumstances. But there was really only one time when we kissed and knew full well what we were doing and the fact that Mark didn’t even cross my mind made me so scared.”

“Did you two sleep together whilst you were still with Mark?”

I looked into her eyes, surprised she would even think I would do something like that. “Of course not. We still haven’t slept together. Everything is just so dramatic and crazy right now.”

She continued to just stare at me and I feared what she was thinking. “Does he make you happy?”

I thought of Nick and without knowing, a smile lifted on my face. He was perfect. “Happy doesn’t come close. What we have together isn’t just love; it goes beyond that.”

“Then that’s all that matters.” Placing her hand on mine she smiled and her eyes radiated genuine happiness for me. “You deserve true happiness, Charlene. You are one of the nicest people I have ever met and all I want is for you to be happy. It would be a crime against nature if you didn’t find happiness. You deserve it more than anyone I know.”

“Thank you.” I said softly, feeling myself getting emotional.

“But girl, you need to toughen up. You’ve gotten so emotional recently!” She laughed and a laugh then burst out of my lips, a large smile appearing on my face.

“I know! I don’t even know what is wrong with me!”

“Well I think you need to release all of those emotions...perhaps, tonight with lover boy.” She wiggled her eyebrows and I laughed, shaking my head at her constant sexual references. Her boyfriend was certainly satisfied; that I was sure of. “Speaking of; when am I going to get to meet him?”

“You will.” I smirked, standing and putting my jacket on, groaning when I saw all of the strong winds outside. We said our goodbyes and headed in different directions, both touched by our conversation. Luck was on my side considering I had so many incredible people in my life. Things were finally looking up.

I hopped into my car and began to head home, blasting the heat and seat warmer. 5 minutes into the drive I realised I had been driving to Mark’s house. I let out a deep and ragged breath and pulled the car to a stop. Looking around the neighbourhood I had grown to love, it looked empty and unknown to me. I didn’t belong here anymore. Nick’s face flashed into my mind and I immediately turned the car around, heading to my new home with him. It would take a while to get used to that.

15 minutes and a few wrong turns later, I finally arrived back at Nick’s apartment and pulled my car into the spot next to his huge range rover. The wind had died down and the air felt fresh against my flushed cheeks, the sun beginning to set in the distance. I stood and stared for a while, just taking in the beauty of it all. Everything was going to be ok.

I walked into the lobby and entered the code before heading over to the lifts. Nick’s apartment block certainly wasn’t as fancy as his new york penthouse, but it was still beautiful and certainly on the posh side. Security was also tight so I could sleep well at night knowing obsessed sports fans wouldn’t be hunting Nick down.

I got off at Nick’s floor and walked down the corridor to his apartment which was at the very end, hidden around the final corner. All of the people in his block were so friendly which was just another thing I loved about the place. Unlocking the door, I pushed it open and smiled at how warm it was inside. I hung my coat by the door and walked into the apartment, smiling when I saw Nick in the kitchen, his back to me.

I quietly walked over to him and wrapped my arms around him from behind, chuckling when he jumped slightly. “Miss me?” I smiled, pressing a kiss to his large and firm back.

“What a silly question Miss Howard.” He grinned and turned, bringing me into his chest. All these years later and our bodies fit together like a jigsaw; perfect. “How was your lecture?” He asked over my head as he lay his chin on top of my hair.

“Good. I missed you though.” Snuggling into him further, he tightened his grip on me, completely covering my smaller body with his large one.

“I missed you too.” He pressed a kiss to my forehead and I smiled, nuzzling my head into his chest.

I wriggled from his grasp and stepped behind him to see what he had been doing. Nick stood behind me and placed his hands on the counter, either side of me, trapping my body between him and the granite worktops.

“What are you doing?” I asked as I saw his laptop screen had lots of statistics and graphs up that I could not make sense of.

“It was a study day rather than training.”

“What do you mean study day?” I asked, pressing my back into his warm chest.

“Being a football player doesn’t mean running around on the field all day long. We have to go away and do some research as well. We look at our strengths and weaknesses, compare performance with other teams; that kind of stuff.” He clicked on his laptop and brought up another screen of himself during a game last season. “We have to analyse our performances to improve our skills and tactics.”

“I never knew so much went into it.”

He chuckled and lay his chin on my head once more. “Most people don’t. But I’m going to cool off it a little bit more now.”

“Why?”

“Because I have you now.”

“Nick, just because we’re together doesn’t mean you should put in less effort.”

“Ok, hear me out.” He spun me around so I was facing him and went back to placing his hands on either side of me. “For the last four years, football has been my entire life. I have had to focus entirely on it to keep my mind off how lonely I was. I would spend hours on end studying and doing private practice; far more than I needed to. Even my coaches tell me to take it down a notch because I get myself too stressed and critical. Every one of the other guys has a good balance of work and social. My life has been work non stop. My performance on the playing field will not fall, if anything it will improve if I put more time aside for myself.” He lifted my hand and pressed a long kiss to it. “For us. I know how much you hated Mark having to work around the clock and having very minimal time together and I promise you that will not happen to us. I don’t want my work life invading into our private time. Sure, there will be days when I have to train late and especially leading up to games I’ll be busy; but you will always come first. Always.”

I nodded and had a soft smile on my face, feeling nothing but absolute love and admiration for the man in front of me. “I love you so much.”

“Charlene, I cannot begin to explain how much you mean to me. I just want you to be happy and never regret giving us another shot.”

“I will never regret it.” I said onto his lips before giving him a passionate kiss, pouring everything I had into it. His hands slid down to my behind and he pressed me further into him, bringing one hand up to hold my face as his mouth moved quickly over mine.

There was a thud that came from inside the apartment and I froze, pulling back from Nick who seemed oblivious.

“Nick, what was that noise?” I whispered.

“What noise?” He groaned into my neck, clearly wanting to continue with the kiss.

“I think it came from the bedroom.”

He pulled his head back and smiled. “She’s woken up.”

“What?” I frowned, wondering if I had misheard him. “Nick, who else is here?”

There was another thud and I looked up at Nick before wriggling out of his arms and walking towards the bedroom.

“Wait, wait, wait.” Nick jogged after me and grabbed my arm, preventing me from walking in.

“Nick, what the heck is going on? Who is in there?”

“Just trust me.” He said and pressed a kiss to my lips, pushing open the door behind me as he did. He took my hand in his much larger one and we walked into the bedroom. I heard Nick mutter something under his breath but I couldn’t make it out which only confused me further.

“Nick?”

“Sshh, sshh.” He said softly, squeezing my hand. A moving jumper caught my eye and I focused on a pile of clothes that had fallen off a chair, Nick’s hoody moving slightly. I nudged Nick and pointed towards the clothes, fearing it would be a rat.

Nick smiled and went to walk over but I squeezed his hand and didn’t move. “What if its a rat or something?” I asked, genuinely scared. Rats had always been one of my biggest fears.

Nick chuckled and wrapped his arm around my shoulder, walking towards the clothes which were still moving. He bent down and brought me with him, nodding his head towards the pile of clothes. “Go on.” He said softly, smiling lovingly at me.

I pulled my hand from his and slowly moved it towards his hoody which was still moving. A yelp left my lips when I felt something lick my hand and I jumped backwards into Nick. He laughed and hugged me tightly, pressing a kiss to my shoulder.

“Seriously Nick, what the-”

Nick pulled back the hoody, revealing the most adorable little puppy I had ever seen. It looked up at Nick with big eyes before turning its gaze to mine, holding it for a long time.

“Oh my gosh.” I whispered, watching the puppy as it moved towards me and whimpered slightly to be picked up. I gently picked the tiny creature up and held it in front of my face, smiling as its tiny tongue licked my nose.

“Is it a girl or a boy?” I asked Nick, not taking my eyes off the little treasure in my hands.

“It’s a little lady.” Without turning I could tell he had a large smile on his face as he wrapped his arm around my waist, resting his chin on my shoulder as he watched us both. “And she’s all yours.”

I gasped quietly and craned my head to look at him. “Are you serious?” I whispered, looking at him with his huge smile and loving eyes. He nodded and I felt my heart leap inside.

“I love you.” Was all he said before he pressed a kiss to my lips. A tear slipped down my cheeks and I kissed him back, not believing how incredible he was. “I love you so much, Nick.”

A tiny bark brought my attention back to my little princess and I grinned, bringing her into my chest.

“I’ve wanted a puppy ever since I was a little girl. We could never get one because of dad’s job in the army and every christmas and birthday I would ask for one, but it never came. I would always wish and pray for a puppy of my own but it never happened. That’s why I was so happy when I found out Mark had a dog, because it was like living out a childhood dream. Except Lola was Mark’s dog; not mine.” I paused and brought the little fluffball up to my face, smiling as she stared at me with beautiful, wide eyes. “But Bella here; she’s all ours.”

Nick smiled and brought his hand up to Bella’s tiny head. “Bella.” Nick confirmed. I laughed when she pressed her head against his hand, closing her eyes as he rubbed behind her ears. “We always said that when we were graduated and had our own place that we’d get our own dog. I’m not one to let dreams die.”

“I’m glad.” I whispered, pressing a delicate behind his ear and laying Bella back on my lap, laughing as she gloried in her head massage from Nick. “She’s so little.” I grinned, comparing her to the size of Nick’s large hand and laughing. I had never seen anything so adorable.

I turned my head and held Nick’s chin in my hand, staring down into the eyes of the man I loved. “Thank you.”

He smiled and squeezed my hip, turning me to lie against his chest once more as Bella remained sprawled over the two of us. “You’re welcome.” He whispered into my ear and I was shocked to discover he still gave me the shivers and butterflies. I felt like a lovesick kid again. I’d missed the feeling.

...

Nick POV

Just when I was beginning to fall into a deep sleep my body jolted violently, awaking me instantly. I hated when that happened. I opened my eyes and smiled at Charlene who was cuddled against me, undisturbed by my leg spasm. I lifted a hand and ran my fingers through my hair and chuckled when her nose scrunched up.

It hadn’t sunk it. I didn’t know if it would ever sink in that she had chosen me. She had chosen to be with me when she could have had anyone she wanted. I wasn’t stupid; I saw the looks men gave her. Many would give anything to be with her and for some unknown reason, it was me that she wanted. She’d given up her perfect life with Mark for me and all of my baggage. Words could not begin to explain how much she meant to me.

She nuzzled her face into my neck and I bent my head down slightly to bury my nose in her hair which had always had a scent of coconuts. The smell drove me crazy. I would find myself sitting alone and just craving the smell, or more what it represented; her.

I took in a deep breath and only then realised how dry my throat was. I accidentally let out a loud cough and quickly covered my mouth, not wanting to wake her. She groaned quietly when I tried to move away from her. Carefully I removed my arms from around her and slowly slid from the bed, my heart aching when I saw panic in her movements. Her arms were trying to grab for me and her eyebrows were pulled tightly together, her eyes squeezed shut.

Bella’s sudden movement at the end of the bed caught my attention and she sat there staring at me, an accusing look in her eye as if I was the reason for her owners unhappiness. I wondered how the hell she had gotten onto the bed but then I twigged that Charlene would have been the reason. Bella plodded across the duvet and nudged Charlene’s face with her little black nose, trying to snuggle close to her. Charlene relaxed and a slight smile curved her lips. She was asleep but her movements showed me how much she needed and wanted me, even when she was not aware of it and I found comfort in that.

I looked at Charlene and Bella and smiled before turning and heading for the kitchen to get a glass of water. I grabbed a mug and filled it with ice cold water and out of instinct began to bring down all of my medication from the cabinet. Half asleep, I poured out my tablets onto the counter, putting them into the same order that had become routine. Picking up the first of my tablets I placed it in my mouth and poured water in after it. It was only after it was almost down my throat that I finally awoke. I choked and lent over the sink, trying to bring it back up.

I didn’t want this anymore. I didn’t want to rely on prescription drugs to survive. That wasn’t my life anymore.

After several attempts the tablet was still lodged in my throat no matter how many times I tried to get it out. I continued to choke and out of frustration swiped at the bottles, sending my tablets flying around the kitchen, hundreds of them.

I heard the bedroom door fly open and hit the wall; the sound of Charlene’s footsteps coming down the corridor towards me. I looked over my shoulder at her mid choke and even in the darkness I saw her turn pale.

She ran over to me and wrapped her arms around the front of my chest in an attempt to do the heimlich manoeuvre. The only problem was our size different. She was 5”7 and slim and I was 6”4 and pure muscle. But then she pushed into my chest so hard all air whooshed right from my lungs and the tablet flew from my mouth and went straight into the sink, plunging down the plug hole.

As soon as I had recovered, she spun me around and slapped me, my eyes widening in surprise.

“Don’t ever scare me like that!” She cried, tears pouring down her cheeks, her eyes scared and upset.

Still struggling to grasp what had happened and trying to block out the sting from her slap, I reached for her. “Baby.” I said softly, trying to bring her into my chest but she fought against me before realising I wasn’t going to let her out of my grip. She collapsed into me and sobbed softly as I rubbed her back, my heart still beating fast from my choking.

“Don’t ever do that to me.” She whispered, whimpering softly. I held her close, her warm body pressed to mine as she began to calm.

“I’m sorry.” I whispered, pressing a kiss to her soft hair. “I’m so sorry for scaring you.”

She reached up and held my face in her hands, worry still in her eyes. “Scared is an understatement. Bella started barking and then I heard your choking. Nick, if she hadn’t heard you and woke me, what would have happened?”

“It wouldn’t have come to that.”

“Nick, don’t you dare-”

I pressed my lips to hers, knowing she was on the verge of getting worked up and angry. It was 3 in the morning; neither of us had the energy. When I pulled back, she stared up at me, her anger having faded.

“I won’t ever scare you like that again.”

“You better not.” She muttered and I chuckled, squeezing her body and wiping the tears from under her eyes. “You owe Bella big time.”

“I introduced her to you. We’re even.” I said, feeling her smile against my chest. She pulled her head back, her beautiful smile very much in tact. Her eyes left mine and settled behind me, her smile slowly falling. She pulled from my arms and walked over to the door, flicking on the lights to the kitchen and gasping.

Literally hundreds of tablets were scattered around the room and it made me sick thinking that over time they would have all been inside my body.

“Nick?” She whispered, huddled into the corner and holding her hands to her chest.

“I wasn’t going to take them.”

“Then why were they all out.” Her voice was so soft and weak that my heart bled for her. I walked towards her and she took a step back. I stopped dead in my tracks and looked at her. She was scared.

“I was half asleep and out of instinct I went to take my daily doses. I put one in my mouth and then woke up and tried to get it out but it wouldn’t. That was why I was choking. I always told myself that if we were back together again I would never let that shit run through my veins ever again. I promised you and myself.” I picked up her hand and let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. “I made a promise to you that I will never break. Never.”

I took a step closer and picked up her other hand, holding them both in front of us.

“You promise?” She said extremely quietly, fear present.

“I promise.” I nodded, kissing her hands.

“I love you.” She breathed, squeezing my hands.

“I love you too.” I dropped her hands and instead wrapped my arms around her lower back, drawing her to me. She smiled up at me and I lowered my head and rubbed my nose against hers, a soft laugh leaving her lips.

“No, no, no.” She said abruptly. I frowned and pulled back, watching her walk quickly towards the fridge. I then saw Bella by the fridge, sniffing at one of my insomnia tablets.

“Those aren’t for you, Bella.” Charlene cooed, walking back to me with the tiny dog in her arms. Charlene stood in front of me, her eyes gazing deep into mine. “Those aren’t for daddy either.”

I stared back at her, a silent communication passing between us. I was making a promise. A promise that I would never again take those pills; that I would never need to take them. I was happy for the first time in five years.

I didn’t need any pills to be able to get through the day. All I needed was Charlene and happiness was finally a reality.

“Come on, let’s get back to bed.” I said, wrapping my arm around Charlene’s shoulder and grabbing a water bottle from the ledge at the same time. “That’s enough excitement for one evening.”

“Life with you is always exciting Mr Jonas.” She laughed as we entered the bedroom, Bella tucked up tightly against her. I took Bella from her and set her down in her small bed at the end of our much larger one. I lifted the duvet and expected to see Charlene doing the same from her side but she was standing by Bella with a pout on her lips.

“No, Charlene. She needs to learn to not sleep in our bed.”

“Please.” She pouted, a challenge in her eyes.

“Don’t be pulling your puppy dog eyes at me. Besides, she’s so tiny I’d probably roll over and squish her.”

“But she’ll get lonely. She’s only a baby, Nick.”

I sighed and walked around to Charlene and looked down at Bella who was already fast asleep in her bed, her head tucked tight under one of her paws. I chuckled and lifted Charlene into my arms, smiling as a squeal left her lips.

“She looks perfectly happy to me.” I smirked, looking up at Charlene who was grinning down at me.

“You think you always know everything don’t you?” She poked my nose and I nodded, walking around to the side of the bed and carefully dropping her onto it, the duvet already lifted. I crawled in behind her and felt the mattress dip at my movement. This bed seemed so much comfortable and cosy now that Charlene was here.

She turned and pressed her body flush against mine, her finger tracing my bare chest. I slid a hand down her back and squeezed her bum, bringing her even closer to me and resting my hand there. She slid down the bed slightly so she could lay her head beneath my chin and nuzzle her face into my neck. All these years later and she still did that.

“Nick?”

“Hmm.” I replied sleepily, raking my fingers through her velvet soft hair.

“You’re pretty awesome.”

I laughed and kissed her forehead, loving that she was still as random as she had always been. My Charlene was never the norm.

“Charlene?”

“Nicholas.” I felt her lips widen into a smile over my chest before she pressed a kiss there, her lips sending tingles all over my body.

“You’re pretty awesome too.”