Just One Kiss

Nick smiled as he saw Stacy and John walk into the hotel lobby a couple hours later.

“Have fun,” John winked toward Stacy as he hurried up to the elevator.

“What’s that?” Stacy asked, looking at the bag in Nick’s hands.

“For you. You’re my sister BJ’s size, so I knew it would fit.” Nick shrugged, handing her the bag. “Go on upstairs and change, I’ll wait down here.” Stacy took a minute to look him over, and realized his short was actually a pair of swimming trunks. He was wearing a regular t-shirt with writing on it, and a red pair of low cut chucks.

“Go, while we still have sunlight,” Nick insisted with a small smile. Stacy rolled her eyes and went to her room, pulling out a yellow tankini bathing suit out of one bag. After slipping it on, she realized she couldn’t just walk around like this, so she went to her suitcase and pulled out a yellow flowing tank top with gold sequins at the top. A plain button down denim skirt and pair of yellow wedge sandals finished the outfit. After teasing her hair a little, Stacy walked out of the room and ran into London and Nikki.

“Wow, looking hot. Special date?”

“Yep,” Stacy smiled. “I gotta get going though, he’s dying to get there.”

“Have fun,” both ladies shouted as Stacy hurried down the hallway.

London turned to Nikki as they watched her leave.

“Have you talked to her yet?”

“Not yet, I haven’t gotten the chance. I think Nick’s time on tour with us is coming to a close though, so when she’s not so distracted by him I’ll talk to her.”

“You know she’ll take time for you. You’re her best friend.”

“She’s everyone’s best friend,” Nikki pointed out. “She needs this though, especially after everything with Randy and Malia.”

“I know I wasn’t around for that, but from what I can tell, she really isn’t as affected by it anymore as she was at first.”

“That’s the one bad thing about Stacy,” Nikki sighed, looking up at London. “She’s the kind that keeps things hidden, especially if she’s hurting. She won’t let it on to anyone, not even John.

“Well, let’s hope Mr. Carter can change that out of her.” London said as John walked up to her.
Back in the lobby, Nick turned just to see Stacy walk up to him. He smiled at the bright yellow she was wearing, which set off her skin and hair and made her glow just like the sun.

“You look great,” Nick smiled. “I can see it does fit.”

“Like a glove,” Stacy nodded. “So, where are we going?”

“You’ll see,” Nick replied, grabbing Stacy’s hand and leading her out of the hotel. He grabbed a cab and told the driver an address.

“You’re excited,” Stacy couldn’t help but point out.

“Well, I’m on a date with my girlfriend right? Why wouldn’t I be excited?” Nick winked and drew Stacy to him, letting her lay her head on his shoulder.

“Here we are,” the driver announced some time later. Nick paid the driver, and got out of the car before rushing over to open the door for Stacy.

“Where are we?”

“This is a place we keep in our name, in case any of us comes out here for an extended time. Mainly I come out here to get away from family crazy,” Nick explained. He led Stacy down a path that led to the backyard. Right away she smelt the aroma of salty water.

“Are we at the ocean?” She asked as the water came into view.

“We’re from Florida, where we lived on the beach. I have a thing for the ocean, which explains this,” Nick lifted his sleeve on his right arm, where he showed a tattoo of a great white shark on his upper bicept.

“I like it,” Stacy said, running her hand over the picture, causing Nick’s heart to skip a beat.

“So, are we just hanging out on the beach all day?” Stacy asked, removing her hand and bringing Nick back to reality.

“Not exactly, ever been out on the water?” He asked, pointed down the beach to a good sized sail boat.

“W-wait, you mean we’re going sailing?” Stacy asked, causing Nick to look down at her.

“I was thinking about it, we don’t have to if you don’t….” But Stacy running toward the boat cut off the last of his sentence. “Does that mean you’re okay with it?” Nick asked laughed.

“Let’s go!” Stacy shouted back, looking back to see Nick already running and catching up with her. By the time they reached the dock, Stacy had taken her shoes off and was holding them in her hand.

“Go ahead and sit down and I’ll get us going.” Nick said. “The cool thing about this boat is, not only is it a sail boat, it’s got a motor in it. So I can get us out faster.”

“But fast isn’t fun when it comes to boating.” Stacy replied.

“We’ll still sail when I get them set up, but for now, I’ll just power jet us out.” Nick laughed, starting the engine. Stacy watched as the coast got smaller until it was just barely a line.

“Nick?” She called out as he stopped the engine.

“Yeah?”

“We can barely see the coast line, what if we drift out more?”

“It’ll be fine,” Nick replied, climbing up a mast and releasing a sail. “This wind is blowing toward the beach, so that’ll direct us back there more than anywhere else. Besides, I think I’ve been out on the ocean enough to know where I’m going.”

“I trust you,” Stacy whispered, forcing Nick to look down at her. He could see she was genuinely worried about getting lost on the sea, so he went back to the wheel, turned the engine back on, and moved them closer to the shore.

“That better?” Nick asked, walking up behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist.

“Yeah, thank you.” Stacy replied. “So, you got me out here, what are you going to do with me?”

“Well, we can go swimming,” Nick stated. “We can just laze around on the deck, or if you’re hungry I packed a picnic that’s sitting below the deck.”

“Sitting around in the sun sounds nice.” Stacy replied.

“Come on then, I know where to go.” Nick said, grabbing her hand and leading her toward the front of the boat. He grabbed a blanket, which he spread out on the floor, and he and Stacy sat on it, looking out into the clear blue water.

“This is beautiful,” Stacy commented, looking over the horizon.

“One of the reasons I fell in love with the ocean,” Nick nodded, grabbing Stacy’s hand. “And now I get to share it with the most beautiful woman on the planet.”

“How many chicks have you used that line on?” Stacy teased. Nick chuckled, but his face was still serious.

“None,” he replied. “None of the other women I dated would come out here. At least, not as far as this.”

“We could have stayed out there. I meant what I said when I trusted you Nick.”

“I know, which is why I moved us up a little bit. Don’t want to be losing that trust while being stranded in the middle of the ocean do we?”

“I guess not,” Stacy replied. They fell silent, but it was a comfortable one. Stacy moved to lay her head on Nick’s shoulder again, listening to the sound of his heart beating.

“By the way, have you went to your doctor yet?”

“Not yet, I don’t go back for few more months.” Nick replied, rubbing his thumb over Stacy’s shoulder. “I can tell what you’ve helped me with is working though. It just,” Nick sat up, forcing Stacy to sit up with him, looking confused. “If this works so well for me, why not you?”

“Probably because I was born with it. Weak heart muscles is all my body knows.”

“It just doesn’t make sense to me. You’ve been working your ass off trying to get better your whole life. I do the exact same things you do, and it only takes a couple months for me to feel anything different.”

“Everyone’s made differently Nick.” Stacy sighed. “Something that’s working for you doesn’t necessarily mean it will work for me.”

“There’s got to be something though.”

“Nicky, we’re out here on this beautiful boat in the amazing ocean, let’s not talk about this right now.” Stacy pleaded. She had an appointment coming up of her own, and she didn’t want to think about it. Right now all she wanted was to spend time with her boyfriend.

“Sun’s about to set, how about we head up to the house and watch it, so we’re not fighting to find land after it does.” Nick suggested.

“Sounds great,” Stacy smiled as she followed Nick back to the wheel.

“Hey Nick,” Stacy said suddenly as he pulled up to the dock. He looked down at her and saw the contentment in her eyes. “This is probably the best day I’ve had in years. Thank you.”

“It’s nothing.” Nick smiled, jumping out of the boat and anchoring it to the dock. He reached in and helped Stacy jump out, grabbing her hand and leading her back up to house.

“Here’s a good spot,” Nick said, sitting on a lounge chair on the back patio. He pulled Stacy down, and she automatically leaned back against him, savoring the feel of his arms around her.

“It really is beautiful out here,” Stacy sighed, staring at the golden sky above them.

“Yes it is,” Nick agreed, not even looking at the sun anymore. Stacy looked back at him, and noticed how the sun glimmered in his blonde hair. “I think I want to kiss you right now.” He whispered.

“I think I want you to,” Stacy whispered back. Nick bent his head forward and gently pressed their lips together, but instantly, they felt everything turn into something more urgent and passionate.

“Stacy,” Nick whispered, breaking the kiss and drawing back. “I’m sorry, if this is too fast..” But Stacy cut him off with another kiss, turning her body more so she could get more comfortable. Nick’s hand went up and down Stacy’s back, stopping to run his fingers through her long brown hair.

“Want to go inside?” Nick asked, seeing she didn’t want to stop.

“We’re here alone right?” Stacy asked.

“We should be, but I don’t like taking chances with the paparazzi or anything.” Stacy contemplated for a minute, before eventually agreeing to go inside.

Nick had no idea how he made it to the living room, but he knew he couldn’t go any further. He started moving down Stacy’s neck to the cleavage showing from her tank top and bathing suit top.

“Take this off,” Stacy commanded, tugging on Nick’s shirt.

“Hey, not so fast,” Nick smirked, knowing how hot she was feeling right now. “I put my girlfriend before myself, all the time.” He removed her shirt and reached for the nape of her neck for the tie of the bathing suit top. He just touched the bow when the front door swung open.