Walk Away, The Romance of Nick and Layla (Part 1) (14 page)

"You don’t have to hide from me,"
I whispered, my lips pressed to his cheek. "You don’t have to wipe away
your tears for me. I like to see that you’re flawed. It just makes you that
much more perfect to me."

"I’m so glad you’re back," he
whispered into me. "You’re back to being the same Layla Garrett I fell in
love with. Before we fucked it all up."

"Don’t call me that." I could
only imagine that his eyes reflected the intensity in my own eyes. We stared at
each other and with each passing moment, an understanding formed. I looked at
his lips. "My name is Layla Hudson. You gave me your last name. And I’m
keeping it."

"It’s yours."

"Good." I could taste more tears
on his lips. Such a strange sensation.

And finally, with just one kiss, everything
made sense. But with a touch, with just a microsecond of his skin against
mine... Forget sense. This was heavenly. This was right. This was all ours.

"Layla, what was the last thing I told
you at our last meeting?"

How is it possible that, even over the
phone, even over three thousand miles, Doctor Brown still manages to be
patronizing? "’Goodbye’?"

"No. I told you that at our next
session I wanted you and Nick to come in together."

"Well I haven’t had a session with you
since then. And if you bill me for this phone call I will not be happy, Doc
Brown."

"Okay Layla. What is it you wanted to
tell me?"

"Nick and I worked things out.
Everything. And we’re back together."

"Really?" What? She doesn’t
believe me? Where the hell did this woman graduate from? Apathy University?
"So did you find out what you wanted to find out?"

"Excuse me?"

"You said you came to me because you
wanted to know why Nick is a jerk."

"Oh I know why. Because that’s all I
was letting him be."

"So you think it’s your fault?"

"No. But I don’t think I helped the
situation any."

"I see."

"Okay, so now tell me I’m healed and
send me my final bill. I’m done."
Click
. God that felt so good.
After all the times I wanted to walk out in a middle of a session but couldn’t
because I felt obligated to stay. Oh well. I’ll just pretend it was a bad
connection.

"Who was that?" Nick asked as he
walked in from the bathroom. Wrapped up in that towel like he was.... Wait,
what was the question?

"My therapist in Santa Monica. I told
her I’m healed."

Nick merely chuckled as he towel-dried his
hair. "Sexual healing."

"No! It wasn’t just that. Not
entirely."

"The hot chocolate?" he joked.

I rolled my eyes and folded my legs up on
the couch. "Maybe it was you." I fidgeted with the sheet wrapped
around my body. I was nervous. Had to admit it.

"Me?"

"You. Nick Hudson. I think you were
the key to my success this whole time. And all this time I thought you were the
thorn in my side."

"Glad to help."

"I’m serious Nick. I can’t tell you
how much clearer I’m seeing the world this morning. It’s like I’ve woken up
from a coma. And I’m ready to start living again. With you."

Nick sat down next to me and put a hand on
my knee. "You know, what you said last night..." He stopped to look
away and clear his throat. And when he finally looked at me again, he looked so
grown up. So manly. So mature. "About me not wiping my tears away. I’ve
never had anyone say that to me before."

"Most people never do."

"But you said it to me."

"And I meant it. Don’t try and hide
from me Nick. Because I love your imperfections. I love that you feel you can
cry in front of me. I was always too stubborn to cry in front of you. But when
I did, it just made me feel so much closer to you."

"I feel closer to you." He bumped
his shoulder into mine and smiled. "So now that you’re healed what’s the
first thing you’re going to do?"

"Send you out to get me a pair of
clean clothes."

Someone once asked me how I can possibly
enjoy only ever having sex with one man in my life. I remember laughing and
shaking my head. They didn’t understand. They never would. They’d never come to
realize the perfection of loving only one man. And all that comes with it. The
way his touch makes you weak in your knees. The way he kisses you like you’re
the only two people in the world. The way he fits perfectly inside you. All of
this and more.

My time spent with Nick in New York, so
far, has been perfect. Absolutely perfect. We haven’t fought once. Just smooth
sailing. No clouds. Just pure sunshine. And now here we were, one day before
our one year anniversary. And honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever been happier.

Nick was right. Things are back the way
they used to be. Before we were married. Before we were fucked up. And I
couldn’t help but think that this is the way it would be from this day on.
Okay, maybe once in a while we’d have our road bumps. And certainly when the
paternity of Vanessa’s baby was determined we’d have some sort of altercation,
in some form or another. But all in all we are just
perfect
.

Maybe it was New York. That old fashion
feeling of getting dressed up to go to dinner and a show. Whatever it was, it
was good. And that’s exactly what we were doing. I was wearing a brand new
dress, which, by the way, put a major dent in my American Express, and I felt
like a queen. Now all I needed was my king. Where was Nick?

I crossed my legs and tapped my fingers on
the bedspread. He’d better get back soon if we’re going to make our reservation
on time.

And just like magic, the lock on the door
clicked and in he walked with a huge bouquet of flowers.

"What are all those for?" I
asked. I stood up and met him halfway in the room.

"Who do you think they’re for?"
He handed the flowers to me.

No ‘who’, but ‘what’? "Why did you do
that?"

"Because I wanted to."

"You didn’t have to."

"I know." He looked so proud of
himself. In all the ways our relationship failed over the years, he never once
failed at expression himself through a gift.

"Then why did you?"

Nick laughed and placed the flowers in my
arms. "Because I can. So, are you ready to go?"

"Yes." I inhaled the scent of the
flowers and smiled. It’d been so long since I’d received flowers I almost
forgot what it was like. What they smelled like.

"You look amazing."

And that made me smile even more.
"Thank you." I admired his, what he liked to call "relaxed
suit", and nodded my head appreciatively. "You don’t look half bad
yourself."

"I tried."

"I can see that."

"The car is waiting downstairs for us.
Shall we?" He held out his elbow, waiting for me to take it.

I looked at him, totally amused.

"What?" he asked.

"I was just thinking that we should
take a picture of us."

"Right now?"

"Yes! Right now!" I retrieved my
cell and took a picture of him behind his back.

"Hey! No surprise photos!" Nick
turned around and flashed me a crazy smile. God I love this man.

"You mean like the ones you took of me
last night when I was in the bathroom?" I raised an eyebrow and looked at
him, waiting for him to even try and deny it.

He had a cocky grin on his face and looked
away. "Guilty."

"Since when is the act of taking off
panty hose worth a picture?"

"Since you looked damn sexy doing it,
Layla."

"Well lookie-loo who’s got the camera
now, Nicky-poo."

Sometimes I think Nick laughs like a
maniac. Now was no exception. "Are you gonna take a picture or not?"

"Yes. Come here." Nick wrapped an
arm around my waist as I held the camera up in front of us. "Say
cheese."

"Cheese?" he asked.

I snapped the picture. Dear Lord, I caught
him right in the middle of saying ‘cheese’. His face looks all screwed up. Nice
work, blondie.

"You messed it up! Do it again. No
faces Nick!" I smiled and took another picture. But when I looked at the
display Nick’s face was still messed up, with his tongue sticking out and his
eyes crossed. "Dude. Ever pose for a picture before?"

"Never," he joked. Jerk.

"One more time!" I exhaled.

"Let me see that thing!" Nick
grabbed the phone and pointed it in my direction.

"No! Not of me! Of us!" He
started randomly snapping pictures of me scolding him. Of me laughing. Of me
rolling my eyes.

"Oh wow, that’s sexy Layla."

"
Ha-ha
," I joked back.

"All right. Come here girl. Let’s do
this right."

I wrapped my arms around Nick’s waist and
waited for him to snap another picture. And he did. But then I felt his lips at
my neck.... And heard the camera snap again.

"Nick...."

Another picture taken. He was nibbling on
my ear, still taking pictures.

"Wouldn’t it be funny if these found
their way on the Internet?"

Nick stopped kissing and looked at me, his
eyes wide. "Girl, don’t even joke about that."

I laughed as I grabbed the phone out of his
hands and held it securely in mine. "Well if we’re going to get all Tommy
Lee and Pamela about it, then let’s do it the right way."

"Now that would be fun!" Nick’s
eyebrows wiggled up and down.

"I don’t think your fans would
appreciate it, Nick. And on another thought, I think they’d find out just
exactly how naughty you really are."

Snap.

"Bet it’d be a best seller."

"Yeah. Your fans could get a
one-of-a-kind look at all of your tattoos. And how your hair isn’t always
perfect. And how white your ass is."

Snap.

"What is it with you and white asses?
That’s the one part of your body that’s
not
supposed to be tan."

"Mine is."

"What?" His eyes
travelled
down my body, a slow smile splaying across his lips.

Snap.

"How could you not have noticed?"

"I wasn’t exactly paying attention to
the
color
of your skin, Lay."

"No, but you were pretty busy down there."

Snap.

"Let me see."

"Now?" I asked. What does he want
me to do? Lift up my dress and flash him my cheeks?

"Yeah. Hike that dress up girl!"

Snap.

"I’m not going to show you my
ass."

"How come?"

"Because I haven’t done Pilates in
over a week!"

Snap.

"Are you afraid you’ve lost your ass
that fast?"

Snap.

"No."

"Do it!"

"Nick! You pervert!"

Snap.

"Want me to do it for you?"

"No!"

"Come on. Look you started this, now
finish it."

"I’m not showing you my ass. It’s one
thing when we’re in bed, but it’s quite another when we’re not in bed."

"There’s a dining room table in the
next room," he joked, winking at me.

I rolled my eyes and shook my head.
"One more picture before we’re late."

"All right. Let’s make this one
count." Nick leaned in and kissed me.
Snap
. Oh yeah, that one
definitely counts.

We probably should have known better. We
should have realized that we were going to create a commotion. But did we think
about it? No. And now we were in trouble.

It was one thing when everyone in the
restaurant turned around to look at us as we were seated at our table. It was
another when several fans came up and asked for autographs. Some of them were
polite. Some of them weren’t. But when people started taking pictures, thinking
we wouldn’t notice... That’s where I drew the line.

"Just ignore them, Lay."

I fidgeted with the napkin in my lap. I had
lost my appetite completely. And my good mood was quickly dwindling. "I
don’t like this Nick. We can’t even go out to dinner without someone making
something of it. I mean come on! That guy over there is taking pictures of
us!" I shook my head and swirled my fork through my pasta.

"Don’t worry about them. I’m here with
you. Okay? If they want to make it their business, let them. We don’t have to
acknowledge them if we don’t want to."

"I know. But I’m just thinking about
what’s going to be in the media tomorrow morning. God only knows."