Battle Of The Blondes

© Sweet Kisses™

~*~

Nick was sitting on a chair in the kitchen with his chin placed in his hand, his elbow resting on the table. He just didn't understand. How could Britney just leave like that? He had woken up to find her gone. Her clothes were gone, her shoes. Her bag was still there, but that just reaffirmed to Nick that she was wanting to get out quick. She must've forgotten it. It wasn't like anything in her bag couldn't be replaced quickly.

He just didn't understand.

She had made the first move, she had done the initiating. He had done everything to be patient, caring, to not scare her away. Now, he had done so. Mysteriously. Surely there was something that he was missing. She seemed happy, really happy, in fact. She herself had told him so. So what was going on? Why did she just leave?

There had to be something he was missing, surely.

Nick’s heart skipped a beat when he heard the front door opening and closing softly. The next moment, Britney walked through the kitchen. His eyes widened. She looked happy with her life, even after everything. Even in just plain old Nike clothes and her hair tied up, he thought she looked beautiful. Stunningly natural. He then saw the packages in her arms.

Britney placed them down on the kitchen table and looked closely at Nick. "Something wrong?"

Nick shrugged. "Oh, no, not really. Just that I thought you had left me, but yeah. Nothing serious."

She smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, I had a craving for French delicacies." She pulled out a croissant out of a paper bakery bag. "They're tasty, I assure you," she added and pulled it apart to eat. "Sorry about leaving unexpectedly. I didn't mean to, I thought you'd like the surprise."

Nick couldn't help but chuckle. "And you're so full of surprises lately, girl," he replied and snatched a croissant.

Britney raised an eyebrow mischievously. "I am, aren't I?"

Nick wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed her forehead. "Sure are," he whispered. "But I love you for that."

Britney turned to him and kissed him deeply. She felt like it was the easiest thing in the world to be doing what she was doing, as though she had been with him forever. She couldn't believe that she was so uncertain about her feelings for him in the beginning. Well, that had all changed...

They both sat down at the table, facing each other. A coffee cup was in front of Nick, a glass filled with milk was in front of Britney. She couldn't believe how many changes she had to make to her lifestyle because of being pregnant. In any other circumstance, she would've been drinking lots of coffee as though the world was being sapped dry of it. But now, everything was changing and she was ready to make those changes, she knew that much.

"I really am sorry for leaving," Britney said, taking a sip of milk. "But I didn't want to wake you, you were dead to the world. You just looked so peaceful and relaxed."

"I felt as though I could sleep for a million years," Nick replied. "Thanks to you."

Britney blushed and stared down at the table. She couldn't explain to him in words why she had made the first move the night before. She just couldn't, even though she felt his eyes on her. "What?"

Nick shook his head with a soft smile. "No, just wondering how it’s possible that you’re even more beautiful now than ever."

Britney shrugged. "Unexplained, I guess."

Nick took hold of his coffee cup. "Hey, now I’ve got two things in one," he said with a cheeky smile. "Someone who provides wonderful French food...and someone to hopelessly love."

Britney rolled her eyes at Nick as he took a sip of coffee. "Funny."

"But it was good though, right," Nick said, his eyes gleaming mischievously. "Admit it." When her eyes met his, he smiled sphinx-like. "Come on," he coaxed in a sweeter-than-honey tone. "You know you want to."

Britney laughed. "I’d say it was a nice beginning."

Nick laughed. "Nice beginning, huh? Well, if that's what you call it...I'll drink to that."

"I'm serious," Britney said, her eyes wide. "It was a nice beginning. Really."

"Oh, I know. And it can only get better from her, babe. Trust me."

Britney rolled her eyes again at him. "Do you ever take anything seriously?"

Nick smiled devilishly. "Oh, I know for sure that there’s one thing I take seriously - but you know by now what that is."

Britney stared at him with disbelief. "One track mind huh, Nicky?"

Nick smiled widely. "Nicky. You called me Nicky," he said softly. "You’ve never called me that before. I like it."

Britney smiled back. "Glad you do."

They just sat there for the next few moments, enjoying their compatible silence together. Britney wondered if it was the right time to ask him to go with her to her first ultrasound. She wondered if he would even consider it. Well, from what he had said to her, she thought he would agree to go. But, she had learned to never assume things about it. She'd been so horribly wrong and hurt in the past because she had assumed the best from people...

"Uh, Nick, I - "

Nick held up his hand. "Go out to the deck. I’ll meet you there in a minute."

Britney frowned. "But – "

"Just go."

Britney watched him disappear quickly up the stairs with her frown still intact and did as she was ordered. She stood at the double doors that opened out to the large area that had a love seat that overlooked the ocean in the distance, and was sad to see the sky still a murky grey. Why is there never any sunshine?

With a despondent sigh, she pushed the doors open wide and stepped out, only to be greeted with a cold gush of wind. She shuddered and made her way across the deck to the love seat and sat down, thinking of a million things. Justin - what was going to be her revenge, and Nick - and where everything was going. She had to be realistic. Surely it wouldn’t be like this forever, this happy, this love-sick, this perfect, and when it wasn’t, would she be able to deal with all that, find deep inside her heart her main reason for loving Nick, and continue to love Nick for the rest of her life?

Before she could think of an answer, Nick came strolling out with a cryptic smile on his face and himself wrapped in a blanket. "Cold?" he asked and engulfed her in the blanket and pulled her against him, her back to his chest as they both stared out into the distance together. "You know what I love about you?"

"What’s that?"

Nick chuckled. "Well, besides the obvious - "

"Here we go again," Britney quipped dryly.

"The fact that I can just sit with you and be silent, and not feel like I have to make conversation or suffer an awkward moment. It’s not awkward when I’m silent with you. It’s like music to my ears. That’s special, you know."

Britney nodded. "I know."

Nick wasn’t exactly sure how to go about saying the next thing he wanted to say, but he knew the best thing was to say it while he had the courage, or else he’d never say it. He took a small breath. "What are you going to do about Justin?"

Britney sighed. How many times had she thought about that and not come up with a conclusive answer? Many, many, many times. "I don’t know," she said softly. "I think until he makes another move, I’ll keep low. I don’t want to see him again, and I don’t want him to ruin any happiness that I’m feeling now with you."

"Really and truly happy?"

"Of course."

Nick frowned. "But that still doesn’t take care of him. You can’t let him get away with what he’s done. It’s not right." He paused, letting the words sink in. "You’ll probably feel a lot more comfortable when you have closure with him, you know," he added in a softer voice.

Britney nodded. "I realise that."

"You know, I have to leave tomorrow. I just got a call from Kevin. We have an emergency meeting. I should be gone for only a few days. I'll miss you..."

Britney sighed. "You’re going to miss my first ultrasound. I wanted you to be there." But then, she realised she had to stand on her own two feet. She couldn’t have someone always holding her hand. "But that’s okay. I can handle it."

Nick frowned and tightened his grip on her. "Look, that’s pretty important and you’ll need support. Just tell me not to go tomorrow and I won’t. Just say the word and I’ll stay." He nuzzled softly at her neck. "I want to," he added in a whisper.

Britney shook her head and closed her eyes momentarily, just enjoying the feeling of security in his arms before she moved her head slightly away. "No. We both agreed that this wasn’t going to affect what obligations either of us had according to our career. You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do, and I can’t expect you to hold my hand constantly. I need to stand on my own two feet, you know?"

Nick then gave her a small nudge forward. "Look under the seat," he whispered into her ear.

"What?"

Nick chuckled quietly. "A present."

Britney leaned down and looked underneath the seat and found a tiny black box sitting there all by itself. She gasped and picked it up, sitting up slowly. She stared at it for several seconds, becoming aware of just what it was and what Nick was doing to her, carefully tracing patterns across her stomach. Her gut just knew what it was and so in some sort of need to prove herself right, she slowly and carefully opened the box to reveal the same stunning diamond ring that they had seen in the window the day before.

"Oh...shit..."

Nick laughed. "Now, see, that’s what I love about you. You’re not like most girls. Any other girl would’ve either started crying or screamed. But you…..swear. And that’s exactly what I look for and love when I propose to a girl."

The twinkling diamond, her breath completely taken away, captured Britney’s eyes. "God, I’m sorry, but..."

Nick then moved off the seat and lowered himself to the deck in front of her, taking the ring from the box and balancing on bended-knee. "Britney," he said seriously. "You’re the love of my life, I know that now, and if I was to let you go, I just know that I’d never be happy again. You make me a better person, you make me want to be a better person. I want to love you, live with you, have children with you...I want all that. But most of all, I want you to love me and say yes." He paused dramatically and stared into her eyes. "So, will you? Will you marry me?"

Britney was silent, her mind ticking over his question at a rapid pace. The same question flew through her mind. Why do you marry someone? Is it because they know you better than anyone? Is it because it’s just too comfortable to have it end? Is it because you think you know them better than anyone? Is it because you couldn’t see yourself with anyone else? Is it because you have this special connection with them, more special than anything in the world? Or could it be that everything between you, including sex and love, is better and sweeter and more magical than you ever had in your life?

But then, she remembered: this is Nick, he loves you - more than anyone else in the world has. He makes you happy...

Suddenly, she nodded. "Yes," she whispered. "Yes, I’ll marry you."

Nick smiled brightly and slipped the ring on her finger and wrapped her in his blanket and pressed his lips against hers, holding her tightly against him. She was completely involved with Nick, in his embrace and kiss, to even think of how she would explain this to certain people.

That being Justin, of course.

~**~