| SIX-B |
| Aimee emerged from the bathroom a few minutes after she went in, looking much more like herself. All the make up was gone, and although she was still wearing the provocative outfit Ellen had picked out for her, without the facepaint, she looked much more like a normal person, and much less like a whore. "Thanks, Nick." She said, smiling weakly at Nick, who was sitting on the couch in his living room. "Sure." He said. "But, I really am sorry about what I said. I didn't mean any of it. I don't even know where those words came from. They just, kind of, came out of my mouth before I could stop them. Honestly, none of that came from the heart." Aimee brushed a hand in front of her face, as if she was brushing away the words. "Oh, it's no problem. I know you didn't mean it. Actually, I came over here to apologize, anyway. For last night. Brian called today, and he made me promise to tell you I was sorry. But then I lost my nerve when I called, and then when I called back you were mad, and then I called again, but I said I was Jennie, because I thought you might talk to her, if not me. So, she's not coming over tonight." "Yeah, I figured that." Nick smiled at her. "So, I guess I'll see you around then?" "Yeah. I'll see you." Aimee turned to leave, but then stopped. "Wait, Nick? Can I ask you something?" "Sure, I guess." "Okay, remember when you were yelling at me? And you said that I liked to toy with guys who like me?" A bit of color rose into Nick's cheeks. "And then you, um, said that, um, I was doing it to you, too?" Her voice was soft and embarrased. "Never mind. I know that's not what you meant. I'll just go now." She walked quickly over to the door. Nick took a deep breath. "Wait, Aimee?" She stopped. "I, uh, maybe I did mean that." She turned to look at him, but he was staring down at the ground. "I mean, I'm not saying I'm in love with you, but it's just that you're really not. . . like, ugly, and it was just kind of natural to sort of, you know. . ." Nick didn't even know he felt that way until he started talking about it. But now, everything made sense. Now he knew why her being mad at him hurt him so much, and why he'd felt the need to hurt her back. "But don't freak out about it, or anything. I know that this is weird, because of you and Brian. But, I can't help it. . ." His ears, the only part of him Aimee could see from the angle he was holding his head were now bright red. "I'm not asking you out or anything." His voice was becoming smaller and more pathetic by the second. "Just telling you. So that you know." He still didn't look up. A smile crept onto Aimee's lips. He was so adorable right then, looking like a little puppy dog. The kind of cute that made you want to pack them up and take them home with you. "I know what you mean." She said softly. Nick finally looked up, but didn't meet Aimee's eye. His face was the color of a beet. "I guess you should go now. I mean, I've embarrased myself enough for one night." Aimee nodded. She stepped over to him, and wrapped her arms around him. "Thanks, Nick. That means a lot to me. I thought you hated me." "You're too beautiful to hate." Nick said, then immediatly cursed at himself (mentally, ofcourse) for saying something so bold. But, instead of pulling away from him like he expected her to, Aimee just pulled him closer, and hugged him harder. Nick hesitatly wrapped his arms around her, too. A little chill ran through his body. He pulled her a little closer. Aimee moved her head from where it was resting on his shoulder, and looked him in the face. "You're not too bad looking yourself, Carter." She whispered. There was a mood settling over the two of them. A romantic, tender, loving mood that rarelt happens when two people aren't in love. But it was happening now. And neither of them wanted to ruin it. So when Nick's head moved closer to hers, instead of pulling away, Aimee parter her lips and closed her eyes, anticipating the soft touch of his mouth over hers. And when their lips finally touched, she felt a million little tremors run through her body. Nick felt the same sensation. The streetlights outside chose that moment to go on, and the room was lit with only one small lamp, and the glow of the lamps through the curtians. Nicks hand trembled as it traveled up her body, finally resting on the top button of Aimee's sweater. He slowly pushed the button through the hole, and moved down to the next one. "Can I do this?" He whispered. He could feel Aimee shaking under his touch. "Don't talk." She whispered back, and pulled his shirt over his head. As the night fell, it looked through the window to see two bodies lying on the floor of a living room, all thier clothes scattered around them, and Aimee asleep, wrapped in Nick's arms. Nick's eyes were closed, and his breathing was soft and even, his body was relaxed, but while he floated in and out of sleep, he couldn't help but think that he finally understood how Brian fell in love with Aimee. He opened his eyes for a moment, and softly kissed Aimee on the cheek before falling once again into a deep, contented sleep. |