Chapter Five
~Bailey~
I was a bit muddled once I opened my eyes and stared up at the lacy fabric canopy on the bed I was alone in, and smiled when I remembered Nolan touching me in a way no one ever had.
I reached for my phone to give Sierra a call and have her cover for me. I wanted to spend the day with Nolan without worrying about work. Sadly, it was her answering machine I ended up talking to. Then I left the same message on Nick’s voicemail and crossed my fingers that one of them would call me back right away.
With that, Nolan walked into the room carrying a tray with two coffee mugs and cream and sugar, smiling as he neared. Putting the tray on the bedside table and bending over, he placed a gentle kiss on my forehead.
“Morning, Kitten,” he whispered.
“Kitten?” I sat up as he handed me a hot mug of coffee.
“Yep, did you know you purr in your sleep?” Nolan laughed. “Cream and sugar?”
“Just a splash of cream, thanks,” I directed, chewing the inside of my cheek. “And how exactly do I purr?”
“Soft and quietly, like a kitten, of course.”
“And that little tidbit of information will never leave these four walls, right?” I asked, in as threatening a tone as I could without laughing. Taking a sip of my coffee, I watch as Nolan sat on the edge of the bed and pursed his lips and blew into his mug.
“What time do you work?” Nolan asked, at the exact moment my phone rang.
“Hold that thought,” I handed Nolan my mug and answered my phone. “Nick, you got my message?”
I watched Nolan rise and walk across the room, sliding open the heavy chocolate brown drapes and leaning against the window frame while sipping on his coffee. He looked very handsome in his gray shorts and rainbow tie-dyed t-shirt from the seventies. I tittered to myself remembering Nolan calling me Kitten, and even though it was weird, I kind of liked it. Still, I wasn’t going to tell him that and risk it becoming a permanent term of endearment.
“Thanks, Nick. Oh, and don’t forget to set the alarm on the back door and turn the lights off after eleven, why waste hydro, you know? I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Playing hooky, Mr. McAllister?” Nolan laughed, as I hopped over to the window and shared the view of the back garden and crystal-clear swimming pool.
“Yep, I want to spend the day with you,” I nudged Nolan’s shoulder with mine, “Unless you have other plans, of course.”
Nolan turned to face me. “Would you like to go for a swim before I take you to my favorite restaurant for brunch? We can play the rest of the day by ear.”
“Sounds great, but you don’t need to take me to fancy places, you know.”
“Who said anything about fancy?” Nolan winked and slapped his open palm against my ass cheek as he passed on his way to his dresser, where he rummaged around in the bottom drawer. “Swim shorts?”
“Unless your neighbors want a show, they would be a good thing.”
“Tell me you’re not opposed to skinny dipping.”
“After dark anything goes, in the light of day, not so much.”
Wiggling my brows, I snatched the offered shorts from Nolan and went into the washroom, brushed my teeth with the new toothbrush Nolan had left on the counter for me and stepped into the shorts, not bothering to tie them since they were rather snug. They left little to the imagination. Nolan and I were the same height, but I was a good few sizes larger than him, meaning I would have to keep a change of clothes with me in case Nolan invited me to stay again. I was hoping he would.
“Ready?” Nolan asked, as I hopped out of the bathroom, seeing him standing all sexy in skin tight black trunks with an electric blue stripe running up the left side.
“I just need Taz then we’re all set.”
“You don’t wear it to swim, do you?”
“No, but it’s easier to walk to the pool on two feet than hobbling on one.”
“Jump on,” Nolan squatted in front of me.
“Forget it,” I argued. “I’m not an invalid.”
“Whoa, Bailey,” Nolan protested, grasping my face in both his hands. “I am not treating you like an invalid. I promise you, it never crossed my mind. Can you just relax and let me do what feel right, just the way I would with anyone else? Now climb on.”
Briefly hesitating while Nolan positioned himself, resolute that he was going to do this, I place my hands on his shoulders and hoisted myself onto his back. He was much stronger than he looked, and bossier, too.
Nolan’s slicked back hair smelled like mint. I rested my cheek at the side of his head and whispered against the shell of his ear, “Take me, I’m all yours.”
Nolan moved out to the hallway, ducking through the doorway as he walked us through the kitchen and out onto the small patio attached to the back of the house. The sun was warm on my skin, the air fresh with the scent of flowers hanging on the slight breeze. It was a beautiful beginning of what promised to be a remarkable day.
“How well do you swim, Kitten?”
“You seriously have to stop calling me that,” I looked around to make sure the neighbors hadn’t heard Nolan’s endearment. “I swim like a fucking shark.”
“Huh?”
“You’ll find out if you keep calling me Kitten,” I growled while Nolan laughed.
“Quit bitchin’ and hang on,” Nolan warned, stepping off of the patio and breaking into a sprint as he yelled, “Cowabunga…!”
Sucking in a deep breath only moments before we crashed through the still surface of the crystal-clear water, the chill of the water quickly engulfed us. Nolan brought us up to the surface and turned me into his arms. I gasped in a lungful of air and burst into laughter. Struggling from Nolan’s grasp, I dove under the water, swimming to the far end of the pool. I felt invigorated. When I broke the water and looked around, Nolan was nowhere in sight, for a moment my heart stopped. Ready to dive back under and look for him, a hand touched my thigh and I let out an embarrassingly girly squeal.
“Fuck! You scared the shit out of me,” I shouted, my hand scooping up a fist full of water and sending a large wave into Nolan’s face.
“Do you know what I am now?” Nolan asked, a wicked sparkle in his eye as he yanked me around the waist and bumped our chests together.
“I can think of a few things,” I wrapped my arms around Nolan’s neck.
“A shark eater,” Nolan exaggerated a growl as he playfully sunk his teeth into the side of my neck and continued growling.
A shot of fully charged electricity shot up my spine like a rod of lightning, igniting every fiber of my being. Making me hyper sensitive to every part of Nolan’s body pressed deliciously up against every part of mine.
Tucking in my chin to stop him, I licked up the side of his bristled face, his mouth scraping along my jaw, his lips making contact with the corner of my mouth. Our lips met, crushing together as Nolan’s palms pressed against the center of my back, heaving me against him as if he was trying to blend my skin with his. If we were not already wet, I surmised we would have been covered in a heavy layer of steaming hot perspiration as we devoured each other, my hands raking across Nolan’s shoulders. Panting and gasping, the heat from the sun streaking over us, my arousal dueling with his, I knew I needed Nolan and from the way he pressed us together, he needed me too. We were so lost in each other and the taste and the noises we made, that impending footsteps went unnoticed.
“Well, well, well. Clearly you forgot I was coming over,” a man’s voice teased, forcing us to turn in his direction. He set a large envelope on the table and pulled out one of the chairs from the patio set to sit. Well amused, he propped his feet up on the table edge, crossing his ankles. “Don’t stop on my account.”
“I remembered,” Nolan chuckled, as he broke away and swam over to the opposite side of the pool and crossed his arms resting on the tiled edge. “I also remember you said after dinner.”
Whoever this man was, he had bad boy written all over him, from the top of his blond hair pulled up into a messy man-bun, to the bright orange laces in his neon blue Adidas. He was wearing black denim cutoffs and a t-shirt that said I think he’s gay with an arrow pointing to the left.
“Bailey, come meet a friend of mine or he’ll never go away,” Nolan called over his shoulder and waited while I swam over next to him. “This is Tag. Tag, I’d like you to meet my friend, Bailey.”
“Nice to meet you, Tag,” I offered my hand and we laughed as Tag pretended to wipe his hand clean before shaking mine, which was dripping chlorinated water onto the cement tiles at his feet.
“Finally, we meet. The reason I showed up now is because Fletcher said I was to invite you to an early dinner,” Tag told Nolan. “You can bring your new friend if you like.”
Tag gave me a wink and I watched Nolan’s face turn a lovely shade of pink, causing me to laugh out loud. Surely, he wasn’t jealous.
“Tell Fletcher thanks anyway,” Nolan looked at me and smiled as he spoke to Tag. “We have plans for dinner.”
“Your loss, he’s making Guinness stew, it’s your favorite,” Tag teased, as he stood and waved the envelope from the table and dropped it again. “The photos you ordered, the invoice is inside, kidding, of course. Make sure I get a copy of the banner for my portfolio, okay?”
“It’s the least I can do. I appreciate you squeezing me in at the last minute. It was the station that changed its mind about this bus bullshit.”
“Happy to help.”
Nolan had told me that Diane, the station manager, had come up with a brilliant idea that if the public could put a face to the voice that they tuned into each Tuesday and Wednesday night, it could increase the audience and perhaps a weekend show would be added to the bill. So, she decided Nolan’s face should be smeared on the side of the city’s buses, getting attention from the rush hours commuters at peak times during the day. Voila, the reason for Tag dropping off photos he had agreed to take. Nolan was not exactly on board, but he said it was for the good of the station.
Nolan hoisted himself out of the pool and stood, offering me his hand. My comfort level was tested, not sure how this Tag guy was going to react to me the way I was, dating his friend. I took Nolan’s hand and allowed him to help me out of the water. Tag put his hands on his hips as he looked me up and down, making me feel uncomfortably self-conscious.
“Really?” Tag said, sweeping his hand over my form, my gut clenched in fear as I sat down on one of the loungers. “How does a fucking putz like you attract a hot guy like this?”
“Fuck off,” Nolan said, snapping Tag’s thigh with the wet end of his towel as they laughed. “You are practically married, keep your eyes off of my boyfriend.”
Nolan covered me protectively with his towel. I liked his jealousness, his possessive side, as well as the endearment. Boyfriend, really? Boyfriend, wow! That sounded nice coming from Nolan’s mouth. Did he consider me his boyfriend after only a few dates? The grin on my face could not be hidden, and a compliment like that from Nolan’s handsome friend was beyond flattering. My self-consciousness began to fade.
“It was very nice meeting you, Bailey,” Tag grinned and wiggled his brow. “Make sure he takes you somewhere nice. See you both later. We’ll make plans to get together soon.”
“Sounds great.”
“Later,” Nolan yelled after Tag.
“He’s hot,” I teetered beside Nolan and watched Tag leave, the words slipping past my lips before I was aware I had said them out loud.
Nolan tipped his head to the side, not amused as he raised his brows and his jaw twisted. “You think?” he asked, knocking me into the pool with one swift shove.
~
“Do you bring all your dates here?” I asked with a chuckle, watching as Nolan chopped ham into perfect bite sized cubes, tossing them into a bowl with cheese, onion and eggs.
“Actually, this is a first for me,” he confessed, as he poured the mixture into a ready-made pie shell. “At one time, I wanted to be a chef, but my mom had other plans for me, she’s an amazing cook and taught me everything she knows. I hope you like quiche.”
“I’ll eat just about anything,” I told Nolan, enjoying the view as he bent over and slid the pie into the oven. He had a nice firm looking ass end. “Eighty percent of the time I eat clean, but the other twenty percent look out, pure indulgent crap. I can’t wait to taste… your quiche.”
Perfect hesitance executed. Nolan looked at me over his shoulder, a mischievous grin folding the corners of his mouth with a single eyebrow raised impudently.
“Forty minutes before lunch is ready,” Nolan informed me. “Go ahead and have a shower while I put together a salad. You should find something in my closet that fits.”
“Thanks.”
As I entered the hall I heard Nolan call out, “There should be brand new underwear and socks in one of the dresser drawers.”
There were several pairs of sweatpants and t-shirts damned close to my size in Nolan’s closet, I grabbed one of each and located the drawer with new packages of sports socks and Andrew Christian underwear. He had sexy taste in undergarments.
After tearing open the package of socks I caught the glint of something shiny to the right of the drawer. It was a framed photo of Nolan with a man. His arms were wrapped around the smaller guy, whose cheek was pressed to Nolan’s chest, a bright happy smile on each of their faces. I don’t know why it bothered me to see Nolan happy with someone else, but it did, far more than I would have even conceived. I placed it back where I found it and slid the drawer closed.
“Did you find everything you needed?” Nolan asked from the bedroom doorway, where he stood with a small stack of towels. “I brought you towels.”
“Yeah, thanks,” I smiled as I took a towel, hoping Nolan could not see how the picture bothered me.
“Everything, okay?” Nolan asked, lifting my chin with the tips of his fingers.
“Great,” I lied, thumbing over my shoulder. “I better get a move on.”
“Take your time, I’ll keep the quiche warm,” Nolan’s smile steeled me in place, his beautiful eyes scoping my face before turning and walking out of the room.
“Great,” I said, though I was sure he hadn’t heard.
What was wrong with me? As I showered, images of the photo kept creeping into all my thoughts, raising questions. Were they close, were they just good friends or were they lovers? And if they were lovers, was this man still part of Nolan’s life? They did look very happy. Not the kind of happy like after the big win in a ball game, the kind of happy dreams of a life together came from. Why was I driving myself nuts needlessly over an inconsequential photo? I knew I just didn’t want to say. I selfishly wanted Nolan all to myself.
Twenty minutes later, I stepped out the back door onto Nolan’s patio, finding him sitting at a table with the umbrella tilted to block the sun, he was talking on his phone. Instead of interrupting, I walked around his garden admiring the wide variety of colored flowers blended gorgeously between small green shrubs. As I followed the curve of the flowered border, I came upon a small garden bench with a wooden arbor arched over it. Climbing roses were beginning their journey up each side of the trellis and a polished stone sat on the bench. New Beginnings was carved into it. I sat down and looked up at the flawless blue sky.
Everyone had a past, me included. And in that past, there were people that came and went. Along with those people came romance, heartbreak, joy, and sorrow and it collectively made us who we were. Nolan had a past too. Tracing my finger along the letters in the stone, I promised myself new beginnings starting today. I would talk to Nolan instead of letting things eat me up inside.
“Hey,” Nolan came towards me smiling.
“This is great,” I rapped my knuckles on the seat of the bench.
“It was here when I moved in. I just cleaned it up and painted it and planted a few roses. Fingers crossed they don’t croak on me. I don’t know the first thing about roses.”
“And this?” I pointed to the rock.
“I found it buried in the front garden,” Nolan said, with an indifferent shrug. “It seemed fitting somehow, a new house, new life and new experiences.”
“Talk about fate?”
“It’s just a stone,” Nolan said, as he offered his hand. “Come on, let’s eat.”