CHAPTER ELEVEN
Charley
I was in shock as we were ushered into the White House and led down hallway after hallway. When they finally opened a door and told us to make ourselves comfortable, I half-expected the room to be oval in shape. But it turned out we were in the residential part of the White House, in one of the rooms designed to entertain guests.
I sat on one of the floral, stiff couches while Nick paced the room in front of me. I had never seen him this anxious and it was starting to make me feel panicky.
“Why don’t you sit down?” I suggested, but he didn’t seem to hear me.
I turned on the television to have some background noise to keep me from going insane and that was how I learned that the vice President really was dead. He had been shot by an assassin at an event in New York. It seemed categorically impossible that someone was able to shoot Vice President Anderson in such a heavily guarded area, but somehow that was exactly what happened.
“Unbelievable,” I said as I watched the footage.
Nick stopped pacing and stared at the television. He didn’t say anything for a long time until finally a scowl turned down the corners of his lips. “At least they aren’t talking about me anymore.”
“Why are we here, Nick? I don’t understand.” What had happened to the vice President was tragic, but I failed to see how it required Nick to be rushed to the White House.
“The President wants to speak with me.” He shrugged and took a seat next to me.
We sat in silence as we watched the drama playing out on television. Journalists speculated about the motive of the assassin and the failure of the Secret Service. Some of them surmised that there might be a conspiracy within the agency. Others were convinced that it was part of a much larger plot to bring down all of the influential leaders in the government. One blamed North Korea while another blamed Iran. It was impossible to separate fact from fiction.
Nearly an hour passed before someone entered the room. Even then, it was just a pair of Secret Service agents coming to take Nick away.
“She can stay here,” one of them said, glaring at me. “We’ll bring you back to her after.”
“After what?” I said but they all ignored me.
As I watched Nick leave the room I got the feeling that the next time I saw him, everything would be different. I turned back to the television where the pundits were now discussing the vice Presidential vacancy. I read the text that flashed on the screen:
Section 2 of the Twenty-fifth Amendment:
Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress.
That was the moment it clicked for me. Now I knew why the President of the United States had sent his agents to find Nick and escort him to the White House. Immediately after I had that thought, I pushed it away. It was too ridiculous to be true.
Nick returned twenty minutes later looking like he had seen a ghost. He was accompanied by the agents naturally.
“Well?” I was literally sitting on the edge of my seat.
Nick shook away my question. “Let’s go home.”
The agents drove us to Nick’s place because mine was “less secure.” That was something I had never considered when picking a place to live. Nick’s condo was in a high rise that required guests to make it past a doorman and two different secured doors just to get to the elevators. The agents left us at the door after giving Nick strict orders not to leave without contacting them. They handed Nick a card with the necessary numbers and information and then we were finally alone.
“So this is your place?” I waited for Nick to take the lead, but his mind was far away.
He didn’t even notice me walking past him, so I headed to the kitchen and found a nearly full bottle of whiskey and two glasses. I poured them half-full and handed one to Nick who was now seated stiffly on the couch. I sat next to him and when my knee brushed against his leg, his head snapped in my direction.
“Is it true? Does he want you to be his vice President?” I could tell Nick was having trouble finding words, so I figured I’d make it easier on him.
“Yes,” he said vacantly.
“Are you even old enough to be Vice President?” I felt a little bad about not even knowing Nick’s age. It seemed like something you should know about the guy with whom you were having regular sex.
Nick managed a tight smile. “Just old enough. I’m 36, Charley.”
He was almost a decade older than me. How had that not come up yet?
“What did you tell him? Are you going to do it?”
I felt like a petulant child bombarding him with questions, but I was dying to know what he had decided. If he had said yes, I was fairly certain our relationship was going to end before it had even really started. A newly appointed Vice President probably wasn’t going to have a lot of time for sexcapades with his new girlfriend.
“I told him I needed to think about it.” Nick remembered he was holding a glass of whiskey and took a slow drink. “He said he will give me 48 hours.”
“That’s not a lot of time to decide something as huge as this.” What I really meant was, it wasn’t a lot of time to decide to say yes. If Nick’s answer was no, he probably would’ve already said so. I glanced at him, but Nick was still long-gone. He stared down into his drink with glassy eyes. “What are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking, I don’t want this.”
“The vice presidency?”
“No. I don’t want the responsibility of making such an important decision.” He looked at me for the first time and gave me a half-smile. “Will you do it for me?”
“No way.” I leaned to the side, bumping him gently. “You’re on your own for this one, Moore.”
“I have to say, I didn’t see this coming.” Nick leaned back against the couch cushions until he was staring at the ceiling. “I thought I would have a few more years before I was making a decision like this.”
“First-world problems,” I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm.
Nick laughed and poked me in the side. “I’m glad this is so enjoyable for you.”
“Every second with you is enjoyable for me,” I confessed. “Even your apparent misery.”
“Is that why they say misery loves company?”
I took Nick’s glass from his hand and set it down next to mine on the coffee table. Then I carefully climbed over his lap until I was straddling him.
“Look at me, Nick.” I placed a hand on each of his shoulders, forcing him to look me squarely in the eye. “You’re a good man. You will be an amazing Vice President, if that’s what you decide to do. Or if you decide to run away from it all and join the circus, I have no doubt you will make a wonderful clown.”
Nick rolled his eyes. “You are a ridiculous human being.”
“You’re just now figuring that out?”
“I had my suspicions, but you are definitely confirming them right now.” Nick’s hands moved up and down my thighs. “What do you think? Would you still want to be with me if I was Vice President?”
“Good question. Typically, I picture pudgy old dudes as Vice Presidents, so I can’t say I’ve given much thought to banging one.” I tapped a thoughtful finger to my chin. “But you’re a lot better looking, and much younger than my mental image so… maybe.”
“Maybe?” Nick pretended to be hurt. “Seriously, though. It’s a big change. Not just for me, but it would be for you, too. Do you think you could handle it?”
I put my hand on Nick’s chest, just over his heart. “I’m only going to say this one time, Nick. I don’t care if you’re a Senator, a Vice President, or a janitor. None of that matters to me. If it’s what you want, then I’ll support you as long as you want me around.”
“I can’t imagine there ever being a time when I don’t want you around.” Nick’s arms wrapped around my waist.
“Oh, don’t worry. That time will come. Most likely it will be the first time you see me when I’m hit by the flu. I’m a nasty flu patient. We’re talking sneezing, coughing, vomiting, snarky attitude–” I squealed as Nick began tickling me, his fingers poking into the tender area around my ribs.
I struggled against him, twisting and turning to get away but Nick got a good grip on me. He flipped me onto the couch and held me down, sitting on my pelvis and pinning my hands above my head.
“No fair. You’re bigger than me.”
“Damn right,” Nick said, leaning down to kiss me.
“Are you going to let me go?” I asked even though I wasn’t fighting against him any longer. Being pinned beneath Nick wasn’t a bad thing as far as I was concerned.
“I’m never letting you go,” he said with a sudden intensity. “Not unless you want me to.”
“I don’t,” I replied confidently. “I don’t want you to let me go.”
“Are you sure?” he said, sounding hopeful.
As I looked into his eyes, I knew that it wasn’t up to me anymore. Nick had already captured my heart. “Not now. Not ever.”