Going The Distance

Nick POV

“You look so handsome.” Charlene said softly, smiling as she perfected the black tie I was wearing, her long fingers pulling the material through the final loop before tightening the tie and pushing it gently into place.

“I have a feeling all eyes will be on you, rather than me.” I smiled, smoothing my hand down her arm and staring down at her; her long baby yellow gown fitting her body like a glove, her long brown hair flowing off her shoulders and a simple diamond necklace on display.

I was a lucky bastard.

Charlene and I had only arrived back from our honeymoon less than a week ago and much to my delight, we’d brought the honeymoon home. We’d had five days to ourselves before having to fly to New York for an NFL function I was required to attend and I think it was pretty obvious who my ‘plus one’ was going to be.

“Be prepared to be asked about the wedding and honeymoon all evening.” I chuckled, caressing her soft cheeks and smiling down at my beautiful bride.

“I know.” She laughed, wrapping her arms around me and snuggling close as I lay my chin on her head, closing my eyes at the comfort she brought.

“I’m so tempted to just ditch and-”

“No!” Charlene exclaimed, pulling back and placing her hands on my chest, staring up at me. “I was just waiting for you to try to wriggle out of it!” She laughed. “You’re so lazy when it comes to these things, Nick.”

I grinned and pulled her tightly against my chest, looping my arms around her lower back. “Perhaps...or one could argue that I would much rather spend some alone time with my wife, instead of having to smile politely the entire night, talking to people I don’t even know or care to.”

“That’s not the best attitude.” She chuckled, standing on her tiptoes to press a kiss to the corner of my mouth. “Be ready to leave in ten minutes, ok?”

I sighed and nodded, but not being able to hold back a smile as Charlene grinned and kissed me once more, patting my cheek and saying “good boy” before walking back to the bathroom to finish her makeup.

I watched her leave and found myself smiling like a fool without even realising it. I was truly whipped. Though she assured me she had faults, in my eyes she was utterly perfect...and she was all mine.

The bright night lights of New York City shone from outside the huge windows of our hotel room, reminding me of the time I had spent in this city; of the years I never went a day without feeling lonely and isolated, all because I didn’t have Charlene with me. The flashbacks of those dark times hit me hard, my entire body going cold as the memories rolled back. The memories of relying on prescription drugs, which could still not fully tame the depression and loneliness. Though to the outside world I’d had everything; the money, the girls throwing themselves at me and one of the fastest growing NFL careers in history; on the inside, I had nothing.

I continued to stare out of the window, my hand above my head on the wall to keep me steady as I leaned my body on it. The city was busy and hectic as always, people coming and going without so much as a glance at those around them. I pulled my eyes away from the view when I heard Charlene shuffle back into the room, putting some small earrings in as she headed towards the wardrobe to find her shoes.

She opened the wardrobe doors and then placed her hands on her hips, huffing ever so slightly. I looked beside the end of the bed and saw the shoes I knew she was after and bent down to pick them up.

“Nick, where are my-”

She paused and smiled when she she saw the shoes hanging from my fingers. She walked towards me and when she reached upwards for the shoes I pulled them further away.

“Sit.” I said softly, nodding my head towards the bed. She blinked a few times and then did as I asked and sat down, a knowing smile appearing as I got down on one knee and slipped the heels onto her feet.

A few years ago, never would I have imagined I’d be here today, getting ready to go to an NFL event with Charlene as my date, having just got back from our incredible honeymoon, completely and utterly besotted with each other.

I glanced up to see Charlene staring back at me lovingly, her deep brown eyes telling me she was thinking the exact same thing. I pushed myself up from my knees but remained low as I reached for her, taking her cheeks in my palms and guiding my lips to hers. She remained sitting and wrapped her arms around my neck, kissing me back just as softly, though the passion I felt in our kiss almost made me lose my balance.

Ever so softly, I pushed her back onto the bed, our touch still soft but overwhelming. An eruption of butterflies flourished in my stomach as I held her face in my hands, our lips working perfectly together as my tongue gently touched hers.

“Nick.” She whispered, moving her hands to hold my face. “Nick.” She whispered once more, her lips forming as smile as she kissed me, as if she too had had flashbacks to when we were apart, her smile the confirmation that what we were now, was real.

“I love you.” I breathed gently, my face hovering just above hers.

“I love you too.” She said quietly in return, holding one hand to my face, her thumb brushing up and down my skin. “My Nicky.” She said ever so quietly.

“Always.” I said through a hushed voice, brushing my nose against hers and holding her body to mine. “Always.”

...

Charlene POV

The flashes that greeted us as our car door was opened frightened me even more than I had expected, with the screams and yelling all around us panicking me further.

Nick got out of the car first and held his hand out for me to take, his eyes warm and supporting. I let out a deep breath and stood from the car, taking his hand in a death grip.

“It’s ok, baby.” He cooed into my ear as we stepped onto the red carpet. “Just relax and smile.”

His arm slid around my waist, keeping me close, his thumb gently rubbing back and forth. I tried to force my nerves aside so I didn’t ruin this for Nick and somehow managed to smile despite the fear wracking through my body. Normally, I was a pretty confident person but the extremity of the red carpet would be too much for most people.

“You’re a natural.” Nick said before kissing my temple, setting off a flurry of cameras flashes. “Sorry.” He chuckled, squeezing me slightly. I laughed and glanced up at him, having so much respect for his ability to handle all of this in stride, just like everything he did.

I tried to step to the side so he could have some solo shots like every other star had had but he wasn’t having any of it and tightened his grip further. After a few more moments, Nick led us towards some of the reporters, again not letting me leave his side.

The first reporter was a tall blonde woman who had such a warm smile, that calmed my nerves slightly.

“Hi, Michelle for ‘Goodmorning’.”

“Nice to meet you; this is my wife, Charlene.” Nick smiled down at me before turning his attention back to the interviewer.

“Firstly can I just say, Charlene you look absolutely beautiful tonight.”

“Thank you.” I smiled, completely taken back that she hadn’t just blanked me which I would have expected seeing as Nick was the star here.

“I heard the wedding was incredible. How does it feel to be one of the only married men on the squad?”

Nick was right, we were going to get these questions all night long.

“To be honest, I think they’ve always considered me a boring old married man even before we were engaged.” Nick laughed. “Skipping drinking nights to spend a night in with this one.” He grinned at me as I chuckled. ‘I’m a very happy man.”

“Does it feel weird being considering an ‘NFL wife’ now?” She asked me, her perfect smile still in place.

“I don’t think about that side of it. I just think about how lucky I am to have married the man I love.”

“Are you worried about the negative connotations of being married to an NFL player?”

Nick’s grip strengthened on my waist, signally he would answer this one as well as how pissed off the question had made him.

“As Charlene just said, we don’t think of that element. This is my job, not my life so it won’t dictate our future as man and wife.”

We moved onto the next in the long line of reporters, though just before we answered anything, Nick leant down to speak into my ear. “Don’t answer anything you don’t want to. Reporters look for anyway possible to twist peoples words.” I nodded and he smiled down at me. “You’re doing great.”

“The legend himself! Hi, I’m Harris Young from ABC News.”

Nick nodded and I smiled at the reporter, cuddling close to Nick.

“Congratulations to both of you; you look very happy together.” He smiled. “Nick, what are your plans for the new season with the Saints?”

I smiled as Nick answered, my grin full of pride and love for him. Reporters that knew Nick well, knew he wasn’t one to talk about his private life and would get the best answers out of him if the questions were strictly business.

Nick shielded me from any trick or person questions and helped relax me from all the craziness around me, knowing he was always on his guard.

We finally approached the final reporter after what felt like years on the endless red carpet, though we had only spoken to a handful of reporters because Nick had just wanted to get us inside.

“Nick Jonas, always a pleasure.” The gentleman greeted us with a huge and friendly smile, the most genuine I’d seen so far.

“Lovely to finally meet you, Charlene. I’m Adam.” He kissed my cheek and smiled as I resumed my place, snuggling into Nick’s side.

“And boy haven’t you done well here eh?” He grinned, nodding his head towards me.

Nick laughed and nodded, smiling a wide toothy grin. “I certainly have.”

“I recently got married too; best feeling ever right?”

“Absolutely.” Nick’s entire posture loosened slightly for the first time of the night and I knew these two men must have met before.

“I’m sure Nick speaks about his love for me all the time right? I’ve interviewed your man quite a bit in the past.”

“Oh...so that’s why ‘Adam’ is tattooed on your chest.” I grinned up at Nick who laughed. “It makes sense now.”

Adam laughed and grinned at us both. “As much as I’d love for that to be true, judging by some of his shirtless photo shoots; we all know it’s not my name tattooed there.”

I blushed and smiled up at my husband who was looking back at me with those rich chocolate eyes, the same one’s I got to wake up to every morning and would do for the rest of my life.

After Nick had finished speaking to Adam, to whom he gave far more time than any of the others, we swiftly made our way into the huge event.

“I’m so proud of you.” Nick said as soon as we were inside, pressing a swift kiss to my lips.

“I’m proud of you. You’re such a little diplomat on the red carpet.” I chuckled.

“Cool as ice baby, cool as ice.” He smirked, kissing me once more and leading us into the main theatre for the night.

I stayed close to Nick’s side as we entered the room, swarming with pro athletes, most of which were well over six foot tall and extremely intimidating. I looked up at Nick, my six foot five teddy bear, which definitely helped calm my nerves knowing everyone would be judging who America’s golden boy chose to spend the rest of his life with. Whenever I was with Nick, I always forgot about the status and fame he now held, to me he was just the boy I fell in love with at seventeen years old and we both preferred it that way.

Nick’s best friend Matt from the Giants quickly came over with his now fiancée, Mandy, who was also one of my closet friends and one of the only women who too knew the reality of being with an NFL player.

“The honeymooners have returned.” Matt laughed, giving Nick a huge hug and then doing the same to me after I’d finished hugging Mandy. “How was it?”

“Incredible.” Nick smiled, softly squeezing my side. “Did you guys enjoy the wedding?”

“Honestly, it was the most beautiful wedding I’ve ever been to; it was absolutely amazing. You’ve definitely stepped up the game.” Mandy smiled softly at both of us and then up at Matt. I couldn’t help but grin as I saw the love between the two of them; so raw and genuine, that I wondered if people saw the same thing when they looked at Nick and I.

With Nick’s arm wrapped tightly around my lower back, I too had mine intertwined around his, my hand resting on his waist. I felt him place his hand over mine, his finger gently brushing over my wedding and engagement rings as a soft smile grew on his handsome face.

We bumped into lots of Nick’s friends, some that I knew and some that I didn’t. Nick seemed to love introducing me to people I hadn’t met before, purely so he could say ‘This is my wife, Charlene’ and the proud look in his eyes as he said it, got to me every single time.

Eventually we were seated in the huge great hall, surrounded by NFL superstars and celebrities alike. Nick had his arm draped over my chair, his warm hand gently rubbing my shoulder as his other hand lay in my lap, his fingers intertwined with my own. I could feel people’s eyes on us from all around, most of which were accompanied by a smile.

“Thank you for coming with me tonight.” Nick said quietly into my ear, squeezing my hand.

I turned my head to look up at him, our faces almost touching. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be, than here supporting you.”

He smiled back and pressed a quick peck to my lips, continuing to smile down at me as he scooted his chair even closer, tightening his grip on my hand that was still in my lap.

“You’re the most beautiful woman here.” He said softly, pressing a kiss to my ear.

“Hardly.” I chuckled quietly. “But I definitely know who the most handsome man here is.” I grinned. “Reggie Bush.”

Nick laughed and flashed a huge smile, dimples and all. “And to think, for a moment there I thought my wife actually considered me attractive.”

The lights in the hall dimmed and Nick and I were still smiling at each other. “I love you.” I whispered through a huge smile, placing my free hand on his chest.

“I love you so much.” He whispered back, kissing my forehead and then holding me close as the presenters took to the stage.

Nick’s thumb traced patterns on my hand for a good part of the evening, not even stopping when the cameras focused on him or when he was mentioned.

The night was all about celebrating the year for NFL, focusing on the key moments as well as acknowledging the people that had made that happen. Awards were handed out, but only to a few people, all of which were entirely oblivious. 3 awards had already been presented, meaning there was one more to come.

“Our final award goes to a man whose rise in the NFL is sure to go down in the record books, starting as a young passionate player and quickly rising to become a world class performer. This young mans ability on the field is certainly one to watch and his pure raw talent for the game shines through, as we all saw as he carried his team through to the Superbowl and on to claim the title. This award acknowledges a players contribution to the world of NFL both on and off the field, whether it be playing in the super bowl or speaking and training today’s youth. This gentleman is an all rounder and an absolute icon to what the NFL is all about.”

I felt a few eyes begin to glance in our direction and my heart began to accelerate as I twigged they were talking about Nick.

“The award for outstanding achievement and contribution to the NFL; Nick Jonas.”

I gasped and brought a hand up to my mouth, spinning my head up to look at Nick who was grinning from ear to ear as the crowd cheered loudly, though his eyes were only on me.

“Nick!” I squealed quietly, squeezing his hand. He looked down at me with that grin and kissed me, hugging me tightly and whispering into my ear, “It’s all because of you, sweetie” before releasing me and walking to the stage as people still cheered noticeably louder than any other moment of the night.

My eyes watered as I watched Nick walk up onto the stage to accept his award, his dimples still on display as he looked absolutely ecstatic.

“Wow...thank you so much.” He said, his deep and velvety voice flowing through the speakers all around us, settling right next to me bursting heart. “I’m so honoured to have received this award, especially considering the amazing talent in this room. Working for the NFL is an absolute dream come true, so thank you so much for never giving up on me and keeping me employed!” He joked and people all around me laughed, making my heart expand even further.

“My friends and family mean everything to me and have supported me in my job despite any turbulence along the way. They encouraged me to follow my dreams, despite the fact that it’s the same dream all mid schoolers had, to be an NFL player.” He chucked. “I’d like to thank my Coach Wilson, who’s been my mentor ever since I was eight years old and he noticed I had the football streak in me. I wouldn’t be here without you.” He smiled and looked over in my direction and I blushed as I noticed the camera now on me. “But most importantly, I’d like to thank my incredible wife, Charlene. Without Charlene, God knows what my life would have become and not a day goes past that I don’t thank her every single moment I get for simply being the amazing woman she is. I wouldn’t have done any of this without you, Charlene. I love you.” He smiled, raising his award and smiling at the applause and cheers. “Thank you!”

I quickly wiped the tears beneath my eyes and chuckled as the woman next to me passed me a tissue.

“Thank you.”

“It was getting me a tad teary eyed!” She smiled, patting my shoulder and then settling back into her seat.

The show continued and an old grainy film was now showing on the screens, the lights dim in the great hall. I felt a hand on my shoulder and then Nick was back in his seat again, wrapping his arm around my shoulders.

“Nick!” I whispered, wrapping my arm around his neck. “I’m so, so proud of you.”

“Thank you.” He whispered back with a huge grin. Seemingly oblivious to the people on our table hoping to catch his eye to congratulate him.

“You’re amazing” I smiled, biting down on my bottom lip and staring up at him in admiration. “I’m a very lucky lady.”

He continued to grin at me, his dark brown eyes all warm and inviting, even in the dark room. “And I’m a very lucky man.” He said, brushing his thumb along my jaw. I smiled and settled back into my seat, Nick’s arm still around my shoulders as he smiled and thanked the people congratulating him.

The whole time people were smiling and nodding at him, all I could focus on was the gold band on his finger that I could see in the corner of my eye; claiming this incredible man as mine.

...

The feeling of a soft hand caressing my cheek woke me from my deep sleep, followed by the soft cooing of my name.

My eyes fluttered open to see Nick sitting on the side of the bed, smiling softly at me.

“Time to get up, beautiful.”

“No.” I moaned quietly, snuggling further into the duvet.

“You’ve been napping for four hours now. It’s three o’clock so you need to get up or you won’t sleep tonight.”

“And whatever would we both do if we couldn’t fall asleep?”

His soft smile turned into a cheeky smirk and he laughed.

“You’re such a little minx.” He chuckled, kissing my forehead. He then pulled me out of the bed and lay me in his lap, making me curse his size and strength.

“It’s not fair when you do that.” I pouted, cuddling into his warm body.

“I don’t care.” He smiled, tightening his arms around me and standing.

“How are you not exhausted?” I yawned, hating that the Saints had booked such an early flight this morning, seeing as we’d only gotten back from the event at 2am.

“I’ve been doing this for five years now. Your body learns to adjust.”

“Do you think my body will ever adjust to your presence, you know seeing as I still get loads of butterflies whenever you’re around.” I said, peeking a look up at him and trying not to laugh.

“You’re on a roll today.” He laughed loudly. “But even though I know that wasn’t a serious question...I hope not. I enjoy the butterflies.”

I leaned up and brushed my lips against his, being taken by surprise as his kiss was a little stronger than I’d expected. I brought my hand up to his face as he walked us down the stairs, increasing the pressure ever so slightly on our kiss. My arms remained tightly around his neck as he headed towards the kitchen, our lips still working perfectly together.

He placed me on my feet against the counter, his body pushing into mine as I looped my arms around his neck. He slid his hands down to my behind which were only covered by my underwear seeing as I had only worn one of his long shirts to bed.

“It’s good to be home.” I breathed against his lips, resting my forehead on his; his neck craned so he could kiss me since he was just so tall.

“There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.” He said before kissing me softly once more. He wrapped his arm around my waist and nodded towards the counter. “I made us a late lunch.”

I glanced over to see perfectly cut sandwiches on a plate, all of various flavour and surrounded by a mix of crisps. There was also some chopped carrots and celery circling a pot of humus, with little cubes of cheese just to the side of it.

“Aww, Nicky.” I pouted, looking up at him. “Thank you.”

He pointed to his lips and I grinned, leaning upwards to kiss him. I picked up the two glasses of water and followed him through to the living room as he carried all of the food, setting it on the coffee table.

I stopped in my tracks when I saw a huge duvet and loads of pillows on the couch and glanced over at my husband, wondering when I would wake up from this perfect dream I was having, and find myself alone without Nick in my life.

“I thought we could have a movie afternoon. That new Matt Damon one is out today; we could download it on movie plus.”

“Sounds perfect.” I said softly, placing the glasses of water on the table and grabbing a sandwich before snuggling beneath the duvet with Nick.

He flicked through the television movie catalogues before finding the movie and downloading it, reaching forward for another sandwich.

“Did you have a good time in New York?” He asked, looking down at me with those amazing eyes.

I nodded and swallowed the piece of sandwich before speaking. “It was fun. I like travelling with you.”

“I wish I didn’t have to travel without you so much.”

“Me too.” I sighed. “But it’s your job.”

“It won’t last forever though. Afterwards I’ll still work within sport, I’ll just make sure I don’t travel as much. I want to witness every stage of our children’s childhood.”

I snuggled even closer to him, placing my hand delicately on the side of his neck and gazing up into his eyes.

“We’re going to be such a happy family.” I said quietly, letting my imagination drift off to picture that part of my life with Nick. “Lots of little children, hopefully with a nice set of curls, running around everywhere with huge smiles on their adorable faces.”

“Children with the most amazing mother.” He said quietly, running his hand down my face.

“And father.” I smiled, leaning into his touch.

He went quiet and continued to stare down at me, his eyes never leaving mine. It was a good minute or so before he finally spoke up. “Have you thought about when you want to start a family?”

“In the next few years maybe.” I said softly, watching his face closely. “Have you?”

“I want to start a family as soon as we’re fully settled somewhere; but I want you all to myself for a bit first.”

“Same.” I smiled, tangling my fingers in his perfect hair. “There’s something more.” I whispered, seeing the look in his eyes. We knew each other so well.

“I don’t want our children to resent me for never being there as they grew up.”

“Why won’t you be there?”

“Because of work.” He sighed. “I travel so much that I know I’d end up missing so many important moments in our children’s lives.”

“But all of this crazy whirlwind will die down eventually. NFL careers aren’t exactly known for being particularly long.” I chuckled sadly.

“I know.” His fingers continued to trickle down my cheek, his head turning to the side as he analysed my face deeply. “I know how much you struggle when I’m away as it is and I can’t put you through that with a child as well; being left to do it alone.”

“So what are you saying?” I whispered.

“I’m saying that despite how desperate I am to have a mini you running around the house; I think we need to wait. It wouldn’t be fair to any of us to start a family yet and I know you know that’s true.”

I nodded, biting down on the inside of my cheek to stop myself from saying anything.

“I love you.” He said, holding me close and kissing my temple.

“Nick, just promise me one thing.”

“Anything.” He replied within a second, now holding my face in his warm palms.

“Promise I won’t become an ‘NFL wife’.” I said quietly, the fear ripping through my stomach; something everyone assumed my life would become.

“Baby-”

“Please, Nick.” I whispered.

“I promise. I promise you will never be made to feel like an NFL wife. We come before my job and that will never change.”

“But everything you just said; all of our future plans are all circled around your job.”

He sighed deeply and continued brushing his thumbs over my cheeks. “That’s just what would be ideal for both us and our children. If you turned around now and told me you were pregnant I would be over the moon; but in an ideal world I would be able to be at home with you every day to care for our babies but at the moment I can’t. I still spend far more time with you than most players do with their wives, but still not enough as I’d like.”

“I’m not meaning to come across as needy or whiny -”

“Charlene, you’re not.” He chuckled quietly, his eyes now soft and warm. “I expect you to be honest and tell me how you’re feeling. You are my number one priority. My contract with the Saints is four years long and I’ve told them I won’t even consider moving even for an amazing deal elsewhere; because I want you to feel at home here. I love that you’ve settled in so quickly and made lots of friends here, because that’s all I want for you. I’m doing everything in my power to avoid you feeling like an NFL wife and you have to tell me when you start feeling like that...do you already feel like that?”

I shook my head and shuffled closer. “No. I’m just petrified that that’s what this will become just like everyone expects it to.”

“What other people say or think means nothing to us. We know how special this is.” He said, referring to our intertwined bodies, our hands clinging to one another. “We won’t allow anything to change that.”

“I know.” I whispered.

“I love you so much, Charlene. You need to speak to me about these things, ok? Don’t be bottling it all up.”

“I won’t.” I said through another whisper.

Nick frowned at me and placed his index finger on my chin, tilting it upwards. “Smile for me, babygirl.”

I smiled and his frown deepened. “No...that’s how you smile to the outside world. I want my smile.”

I buried my face into his neck and pressed some soft kisses to his skin, trying to avoid his eyes.

“Am I going to have to play dirty to get that smile?”

I didn’t reply and his hands immediately flew to my sides, tickling me furiously.

I tried very unsuccessfully to push his hands away and ended up on my back as he sat on my legs, his fingers finding all of my weak spots that were so ticklish.

“Nick, stop!” I laughed, covering my mouth and rolling my body around to avoid his hands.

“Nope.”

“Nick!” I screeched just before he pulled my hands from my mouth to reveal my huge smile.

He grinned and leaned down to kiss me, smiling into the kiss. “That’s my smile.” He whispered against my lips before settling his on them again. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed kisses to his ear, smiling as he did the same to me. “Everything will work out. I promise.” He said, continuing to press gentle kisses to my neck.

“I love you.” I whispered, closing my eyes as his alluring scent pulled me in.

Though I was still scared about the effect Nick’s job could have on us in the future; I trusted him when he told me not to worry. I trusted him when he said he’d protect me from everything. I trusted him when he said I was his number one priority because God knows he was mine and that was one thing in our lives that would never change.