Playing With Fire

Kissing Nick was like walking on air. It’s impossible to describe. Simple words wouldn’t do it justice.

His body had been rigid and scared to death. He was shaking with anxiety over not wanting to harm me. He was stuttering and tears were falling down his face. But his kiss took my breath away. His kiss soothed the wound in my soul, almost completely sealing it forever. His kiss sent butterflies to my stomach and static down my spine. I could feel Layla squirming with delight. It had been absolutely perfect.

His lips were soft and gentle as they molded to fit mine exactly. I had pictured myself kissing him countless times before, ever since the third grade, but the actual experience was so much more amazing that anything my imagination could offer. I knew then that I wanted to be right there with him forever.

As soon as I had let those four words out, Nick’s crying ceased.

“I love you, too,” I had said.

“You – you do?” he asked me with wide eyes.

I nodded.

He went down and kissed me again, this time a kiss that was so exceptionally simple and sweet that it brought tears to my eyes. I kissed him back with equal passion and he was surprised. He began to pull away, unwrapping his arms from around my waist.

I clung to him. “What are you doing?” I asked anxiously.

“I’m sorry,” he said softly, “I shouldn’t have done that.”
“Why?”

“Because…” He brought his hand up to my cheek and caught a teardrop.

“Nick,” I said, pulling myself closer to him, “I’m not crying because of the memory.”

“Then wh-” he began to ask, confused. I interrupted him with a peck.

“I was crying because I’m happy,” I said, smiling, “So incredibly, completely happy.”

He grinned. “I love you,” he said, kissing my forehead and pulling me into a delicate hug. He stroked my hair and I took my place against his chest once again, knowing that I was exactly where I belonged.

Nick and I spent the rest of the afternoon paying attention to Layla and watching the Food Network. The remaining Jonases came home shortly after six o’clock with handfuls of shopping bags.

“Nick! Kara!” we heard Mr. Jonas yell from upstairs, “We’re home!”

“We’re in the basement!” Nick yelled back.

“Okay!”

We heard Mr. Jonas tell Kevin to take all of the bags upstairs. Mrs. Jonas began making dinner and in about twenty minutes, Joe made his way down to the basement.

“Hey, guys,” he greeted us cheerfully.

“Hey, Joe,” Nick and I said in unison.

“What’s crackin’?” He took a seat on the couch opposite of us. I was in my usual spot, listening to Nick’s heart, and he was keeping Layla company.

“Nothin’” Nick said, “How was shopping?”

“Exhausting. Kevin wanted to buy the whole mall.”

I laughed. “What’d you guys buy?”

“Oh, y’know, clothes and stuff…” Joe looked around nervously.

“Stuff?” I asked, eyebrows raised.

“Yeah…” Joe glanced at his brother, who was laughing to himself beside me.

“C’mon guys, what am I missing?”

“Nothing, babe,” Nick whispered in my ear, “Don’t worry about it.”

“Alright…” I eyed him suspiciously.

“Did you just call her ‘babe’?” Joe asked Nick, pointing to me.

Nick blushed. “Maybe,”

Joe’s eyes widened. “NO WAY!”

“Shhh, chill! You’re freaking Layla out!”

“Layla? What are you- You guys are together now?” Joe asked, shocked.

I smiled and nodded.

“Dinner’s ready!” yelled Mrs. Jonas, right on time.

Nick and I left Joe sitting in the basement in complete shock and walked hand-in-hand up to the kitchen. We took seats next to each other at the table. Joe slowly followed, except he then had a smile on his face.

We all held hands to say grace and then ate the steak that Mrs. Jonas had prepared. I ate everything, including the mashed potatoes, and received pleased remarks from everyone, especially Nick. My appetite was really improving and Nick was to thank for it. For everything.

“What’s for dessert?” asked Kevin as he placed his plate into the dishwasher.

“Let’s bake cookies!” yelled Joe.

“Uh, I don’t think so, Joe,” Nick said as he laughed to himself. “Remember the last time you tried to use the oven?”

“Okay, it was one tiny fire and my eyebrows totally grew back,” Joe defended.

“Yeah, if you say so, Joe,”

“I do say so!”

After five more minutes of arguing, Joe finally won and began gathering the ingredients together to bake the cookies. Nick decided to help so Joe wouldn’t burn the house down.

“Wanna help?” Nick asked me as Joe prepped the oven.

“No, thanks,” I said, smiling, “I don’t think you’d like me without eyebrows.”

Nick laughed and kissed me on the cheek. “Of course I would,” he said, “But okay, I’ll be done in ten.”

“’Kay,” I replied, “Joe?”

“Hmm?”

“If you burn off any one of Nick’s curls, just remember that I know where you live,” I said, smiling. Joe stuck his tongue out at me. I walked into the living room laughing my head off and saw Kevin sitting on the couch.

“Hey, Kev,” I said, sitting down beside him.

“Hey, Kara,” he replied, “How are you?”

I sighed. “Never been better,” I said, smiling brightly.

He chuckled. “I can tell,” he said, “My brother’s the same way,”

I blushed. “He told you already?”

He shook his head. “No, I just know. I see the way he looks at you, Kara. He loves you. Always has.”

I smiled. “He makes everything better, Kevin. I feel so safe with him,”

Kevin put an arm around me. “That’s great, Kara,” he said sweetly. “I’m happy for you,” He smiled.

“Joe, you’re supposed to mix it before you put it in the oven, you idiot!” We heard Nick yell from the kitchen and laughed.

“Well, I gotta go practice. Come find me if you need me, okay?” said Kevin.

“Okay,” I replied. Kevin squeezed my arm and then walked out. I knew he would be up in his room for the rest of the evening, playing his guitar like always.

I curled up on the couch and spotted a magazine on the coffee table. A boy with straight brown hair was on the cover kissing a girl with a sleek black ponytail and sunglasses. Under the picture, there was a caption reading, “The latest scoop on Zanessa and their Jamaican vacation! Only Tiger Beat has the pictures!” I rolled my eyes. Paparazzi really gave no one any privacy. I pushed the magazine aside.

Suddenly, I noticed the boys in a small picture in the corner of the page. I turned my attention to it and flipped to their page. There was an interview in it with them:

“Tiger Beat talks to the Jonas Brothers, the brand new pop band bouncing onto the scene with their new Disney remake single, ‘Year 3000’!'

TB: So, can you guys introduce yourselves? Like, full names?

Kevin: Okay, I’m Paul Kevin Jonas…the second.

Joe: I’m Joseph Adam Jonas.

Nick: And I’m Nicholas Jerry Jonas.

TB: Nice to meet you, boys. So, what was it like recording ‘Year 3000’?

Joe: It was absolutely amazing. So much fun.

Nick: Yeah, we’re big fans of Busted and we’re really honored to do this remake.

TB: Awesome. So, here’s the deal. I’m gonna ask you some questions that some fans have sent in and all you have to do is answer. Sound good?

Kevin: Yup.

TB: Okay. Let’s start with the basics. What are your favorite colors?

Kevin: Blue.

Joe: Red!

Nick: Blue.

TB: So Joe’s the odd one out?

Nick: Always.

Joe: Hey!

TB: Okay, next question. This one was sent in by tons of fans. Do you guys have girlfriends?

Kevin: Actually, we’re all single.

TB: Okay, then, describe your ideal girl.

Joe: Yes! My favorite question! Okay, mine has to like food. Seriously. A lot. ‘Cause double cheeseburgers are way better than salads. And I like brunettes. I dunno why, I just do.

Kevin: Mine has to be a musician. She can have any color hair she wants as long as she can talk to me about scales and chords and measures galore.

TB: Very nice. What about you, Nick?

Joe: Nick loves eyes. He’s obsessed.

TB: Is that true, Nick?

Nick: I guess. I mean-

Kevin: Yeah, Nick only dates the girls with the gorgeous eyes. It’s his thing.

TB: Good to know.”

I closed the magazine and set it down on the table, confused.

Nick walked in laughing and I couldn’t held laughing myself. He had a neon green apron on that said “Kiss the Chef” and he was completely covered in flour. He came over and sat down beside me, pointing to his apron and raising his eyebrows. I giggled and kissed him tenderly. He pulled me close to him and then let go, moving a strand of hair away from my eyes.

“I love you,” he said, flashing me a brilliant smile.

“You’re so random,” I whispered, smiling back at him, “I love you more,”

“Mmm, never,” he said, kissing my forehead.

We sat back against the couch and I took my usual place again.

“What were you reading?” he asked, spotting the upside down magazine on the table.

“Your interview,” I said.

“Ah,” he sighed.

“It doesn’t make any sense,”

“What?”

“Your ‘ideal girl’,” I said, making quotation marks with my fingers.

He laughed. “What are you talking about?”

“I don’t have super stunning eyes,” I answered.

He laughed again.

“Great, Nick, I’m glad I amuse you,”

He shifted so that he could look into my eyes. “You’re being serious,” he stated.

I nodded.

“Kara,” he said lovingly, taking my face between his warm hands, “You are so incredibly, heartbreakingly gorgeous,”

“You’re just saying that…” I said, blushing.

“No, no, I’m not,” He shook his head sternly. “You have no idea,”

“But my eyes –”

“Are beautiful,” he finished for me.

“No, they’re not,” I said sadly, “They’re brown.”

“What’s wrong with brown?”

“It’s boring,”

“So you’re saying my eyes are boring?” he asked, smiling.

I looked into those chocolate eyes and wanted to take every word back. “No,” I said softly, shaking my head. “No, your eyes are…” I struggled for the right word. “Breathtaking.”

He grinned. “Then so are yours.”

I sighed and leaned into him, concentrating on his steady heartbeat.

“Besides,” he began, “Those magazines are all crap. They mixed up most of our answers and took out over half of the interview. They didn’t even let me answer the question completely,”

“Hmm,” I said, grabbing the magazine and flipping through the pages once more. “It has good posters though,” I ripped out a folded sheet and straightened it out, unveiling a handsome poster of Nick. He was sitting on a windowsill, wearing simple black pants, a white dress shirt, and a black tie, but his smile was what made my heart skip a beat inside.

Nick touched my face and brought my lips to meet his. I sat the poster back on the table and wrapped my arms around his neck. The poster was amazing, but nothing compared to the real thing. He deepened the kiss, testing the waters slowly. I allowed everything in, surprised at how nothing he did triggered the memory. His touch was like magic. We continued to kiss until we heard Joe’s voice from the doorway.

“Okay, that’s gonna be really hard to get used to,” Nick and I pulled apart and looked at Joe together. He had a hand over his eyes and he, like Nick, was drenched in flour. His hair was pointing in all different directions and he looked awful.

Nick laughed a beautiful laugh next to me and my heart completely filled with joy.