Out of My Element (11 page)

“Adam kept taunting me on the
field. I could ignore him for the most part, but the second he mentioned you, I
lost it.” I played nervously with a string on my shirt.

“Me? What was he saying, Nick?” 

“Are you sure you really want to
know?” I asked.

“Nick.” She warned.

“Okay.” I held up my hands. “He
basically said you were a tease and then accused me of moving you in here so I
could wear you down and have my way with you,” I blurted out.

“Are you serious?” She stared at me
with wide eyes.

“Completely.”

I watched as she reached over and
drug her fingers across my knuckles where they were bruised and scabbed. “You
hit him? Is this how you hurt your hand?” she whispered.

“I didn’t just hit him.” She
snapped her head up. “I’m pretty sure I broke his nose among other things.” I
shrugged.

“Oh, Nick. I hate that you got
kicked out of the game over me. I know how much you love soccer. You should
have just ignored him.”  

“Hey,” I reached down and held her
hand. “You're worth fighting for. And if that means I have to break somebody's
face, then so be it.”

I could almost feel the change in
the atmosphere. Chelsea looked up at me, and my heart rate increased. She was
so beautiful, with her red hair hanging down her back. Her flawless skin begged
to be touched, and her plump pink lips certainly begged to be kissed.

“Chelsea, can I try something?” I
whispered as I leaned into her. She didn’t back away, so I took that as a good
sign. I watched her eyes, almost begging her to say yes. She nodded slightly,
but it was enough.

I reached up and grazed my finger
down her cheek and slid my hand behind her neck. Without taking my eyes off of
her, I leaned toward her until my lips brushed softly against hers. That
light—almost nothing—kiss was better than any kiss I’d ever had before. I
continued to watch her, waiting for her to tell me to stop, but it never
happened. I leaned in again, pressing my lips harder against hers, dragging my
tongue lightly against the seam of her lips, begging for entrance. She moaned
and I lost all control, pressing myself into her, claiming her mouth.
Carefully, I lowered her to her back, leaning over her as I lost myself in our
intoxicating kiss. Our tongues danced and curled in a moment so intense that I
actually shuddered. This kiss was so much more than I’d ever expected, and the
realization of what we were doing hit me like a ton of bricks. I pulled back,
watching her chest rise and fall. Her lips were swollen, pink and beautiful.

“Nick?”

“Shit, Chelsea,” I gasped. “What
are we doing?” Chelsea brought out emotions in me that I had never known. I
didn’t know what I was doing. I was in completely uncharted territory.

“Why did you stop, Nick?” She sat
up, dragging her hand over her hair.

I stood up and paced, stopping in
front of the window. “I’m so fucking confused,” I mumbled more to myself than
anyone else. I could hear Chelsea moving around behind me, but I couldn’t bring
myself to turn around—not until I heard the front door close, and she was gone.

Chelsea

“I’m at a loss.” I shook my head
and looked around the small bar, watching people talking and having fun around
us. Ava and Talia sat across from me, faces covered in sympathy.

“Did he say anything after he
kissed you?” Ava questioned.

“Um yeah,” I scoffed. “He said
‘Shit, Chelsea, what are we doing?’ ”

Talia sighed, “Guys have no idea
how long the stupid shit they say sticks in a woman's mind.” She paused and
looked from Ava back to me. “I know you won’t believe what I’m about to say,
but I think we need to cut him some slack.” She took a drink as Ava and I
stared at her.

“What?” Ava touched Talia’s
forehead. “I know you are the nurse, so you would know better, but I’m pretty
sure you are sick.”

She laughed and swatted Ava’s hand
away. “No, I’m serious. Tom told me about the fight at the game, and he didn’t
go into detail about what happened at the bar, but from what I gathered … Nick
is pretty invested in you.” Talia shrugged. “Granted, the man is seriously
lacking proper social skills normally, but I think he’s totally out of his
element with you. For as long as I’ve known Nick, he has never been interested
in a woman beyond his one night of fun.” I grimaced, but Talia held her hand up
to stop me as she continued, “He is different with you. I mean,
really
different.”

“I don’t know,” I sighed. “Things
have been uncomfortable for the last few days, but today … today things felt so
right.” I thought back to the kiss we shared earlier. It was different than the
first one we shared at Ava and Trevor’s wedding, but it was just as good, if
not better. Whether I wanted to admit it or not, I was pretty invested in him,
too.

My phone buzzed from in my purse,
and my gut told me it was Nick. I was right.

Nick:
Where are you?

Me:
With Ava and Talia.
Why?

Nick:
We need to talk.

Me:
I know. I’ll be home
soon.

I tossed my phone back into my
purse, took a drink and glanced back up at my friends who were sitting
patiently for details. “He said we needed to talk.” I smiled halfheartedly. I
knew we needed to clear the air, but I was afraid it wouldn’t go the way I
wanted, and the thought of trying to reel my feelings back in and just be a
friend to him seemed almost impossible.

“It will be okay.” Ava touched my
hand.

“So, enough about me. How are you
all doing?” I asked the girls, trying to take my mind off of my own issues.

***

The drive from the bar seemed to
take forever. Ava and Talia had a way of making me feel so much better about
the situation. They had both had their issues with the men in their lives, and
they had been around Nick longer than me. If they said he was different with
me, I would have to go with that until I was given reason not to.

I pulled into my parking spot next
to Nick’s car and took a deep breath as I headed into the building. I wanted
this. I wanted him. Not just because he was gorgeous, but also because he was
my best friend. He was the total package for me.

The elevator doors opened, and I
stepped out. I was so busy digging in my purse for my keys that I almost ran
into the blonde bombshell in front of me. “Oh! Excuse me,” I gasped.

It wasn’t until I’d looked at her
face that I noticed who she was, and a sense of déjà vu came over me. The woman
who was standing in front of me, glaring at me like I’d just kicked her dog,
was the same blonde that was with Nick the night of the fire.

She scoffed and moved around me,
punching the elevator button a little too aggressively. I watched the door
close before I finally let out the breath I was holding.

Damn it! Why was I even surprised?
I was such an idiot. I’d completely misinterpreted his text message. I had
assumed he wanted to work this through, but obviously it was just the opposite.
He just wanted to know when to expect me so he could have his booty call. Apparently
he had decided to keep living like he always had. I guess I should be happy
that it happened before I allowed myself to be with him.

I leaned against the wall, willing
myself not to cry. I didn’t want to be the crushed, weak woman. I was better
than that. “Come on Chelsea, you can do this,” I told myself softly, pushing
away from the wall and walking to our door. I slipped the key in the lock,
turned it and walked in.

The door closed behind me as Nick
rounded the corner. “You’re home.” He smiled nervously.

“Uh, yeah. Apparently a tad too
soon.” I didn’t like the hurt in my voice.

“What do you mean?” Nick stepped
toward me, but I put my hand up to stop him.

I set my purse and keys on the
table and walked past him into the living room, stopping before I reached the
couch. “I saw your friend in the hallway.” I stood with my back to him. It was
too hard for me to look at him right now. I didn’t want to be hurt, but I was.

“My friend? Chelsea, what are you
talking about?”

I whipped around. “Your blonde
friend. I saw her leaving. God, I’m so stupid!” I yelled, shaking my head.

Nick’s face changed when he
realized what I was talking about. “Shit, Chelsea, it’s not what you think.”

I closed my eyes and took a ragged
breath.
“We are playing an entirely different
game, Nick. While other girls might wait patiently until you breakup with your
many girlfriends, I can’t. You see, I have been waiting all my life for
something real. And if this isn’t real, no way am I spending another hour on
waiting.” I turned and walked toward my room, but I was spun around as Nick grabbed
a hold of my hand.

“Damn
it, Chelsea. Don’t walk away. You need to listen to me for a minute,” Nick
pleaded.

“There
isn’t anything else to say, Nick. I know what I saw. I think we need to just …”
Before I could continue, Nick pulled me to him and kissed me hard. I pushed him
back, stunned.

“Damn
it, woman, you are going to listen to me, and if you want to walk away after,
that is your prerogative, but I need you to stop for a damn minute and just
listen.” I stared at him, shocked.

“Okay,”
I mumbled.

“Okay?”
he asked, cautiously.

I
nodded.

Nick

This
day was turning into a nightmare. I honestly couldn’t believe that it was the
same day. I had gotten into a fight, kicked out of my game, drank myself
stupid, slept with a beautiful woman in my arms, shared an amazing kiss, and
then managed to screw that up, too. I couldn’t make this shit up if I tried.

If
Chelsea didn’t look so hurt, I would have probably laughed at the situation. I
was a complete moron a lot of the time, but not so much so that I would be dumb
enough to laugh at a woman who looked like she could either burst into tears or
tear off my balls. I wasn’t taking that chance.

“First,
you did see the blonde, but what was she doing, Chelsea?”

“Leaving,”
she whispered.

“Exactly.
She was leaving. She never even made it through the door. I told her I was off
the market.” She hadn’t taken it well.

“You’re
off the market?” She asked softly. I took both of her hands in mine, pulling
her closer to me. “Nick, I just want you to know that if you come any closer,
I’m not going to let you go again.” There was just a hint of a smile on her
lips, and I could tell she was nervous. Shit, I was nervous, too. I was so out
of my element here.

“I’m
counting on that, Chelsea.” After she had left, I had some time to think about
what I wanted. I wanted to still have fun, go out with my friends, enjoy my
life to the fullest, but the thing that I had no doubts about was that I didn’t
want to do any of those if Chelsea wasn’t with me. For so long I had denied
that Chelsea meant anything more than a friend to me, but I loved her—I
needed
her. Warmth filled my chest and settled in my heart as I finally admitted what I
think I might have known all along.

My
hands shook and my stomach tightened. “I love you.”

“What?”
she whispered.

“I
love you, Chelsea; I want you to be mine. I want to be yours.” I placed my
forehead against her. “God, please tell me you want this, too.” Her bottom lip
trembled, and her eyes looked glassy with tears.

“You
love me?” she asked as a tear rolled down her cheek.

I
reached out and wiped the tear away. “
I'm a screw up, Chelsea, and I'm
so scared because I've never wanted to be with someone as much as I want to be
with you. I don't want to lose you.” I didn’t even care that I sounded like a
girl. I was past that. I knew what I wanted, and she was standing right in
front of me.

“I
love you, too, Nick.”

“You
do?”

“Oh
God, so much!” I took her face in my hands and placed a soft kiss on her lips.

“Well,
what do we do now?” I pressed my forehead to hers.

“Will
you make love to me?” she whispered.

I
groaned at the thought, “
Baby
, I’ll do anything for you.”

I
led Chelsea back to my bedroom, not turning to face her until we were standing
right at the end of the bed. She was trembling. “Chelsea, we don’t have to do
this. We can wait.”

She
shook her head. “I don’t want to wait. I want this. I want this with you. Now.”

She
pulled her shirt over her head and stood before me in just her jeans and a
small, white lace bra. My mouth went dry, and I couldn’t even speak. She was so
perfect.

“What’s
wrong?” she asked.

I
took her face in my hands and pressed my forehead to hers. Now I was the one
trembling. “I don’t know how to do this,” I confessed.

Chelsea
laughed. “What do you mean? You have been with more girls than I care to think
about, Nick.”

“Shit,
that’s not funny, Chelsea. But really, not like this—
never
like this. I
don’t want to hurt you.”

She
stroked my cheek and smiled at me. “Well, I guess we’ll just figure this out
together.”

Before
I could blink, she pushed me back onto the bed and straddled me. I chuckled at
the little red-haired vixen leaning over me. I flipped her over so she was
under me. Kneeling, I pulled my shirt over my head and tossed it to the floor.