When Angels Fall (Fallen Angels) (40 page)

“We can talk about it later.” Chloe opened the door and walked past him.

Nick grabbed her hand and pulled her back. “After dinner, when we get back, we’ll go for a walk and talk. I want you two to be friends. She didn’t mean it when she called you a bitch. I’ll talk to her about it.” He didn’t want to fight with her. He wanted to have a good time and spend some time together.

“Just you and me?” she asked hopefully.

He hugged her tightly and then kissed her. “Yeah, just you and me. I thought we could take a walk out to the boathouse and light the fire in there and just spend some time together.”

She started playing with his dog tag necklace, and then looked up at him. “That sounds really nice. I kind of thought we could make up for last night.” She smiled shyly.

He laughed at that. “That was what I was thinking, too.” He was about to say something else when they heard Taylor call up to him to hurry up. Nick rolled his eyes, and then taking her hand, they went out to the van.

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To Chloe, it seemed like Taylor had other plans for Nick. It started with her jumping into the seat with him, and then talking to him all the way to the restaurant, and then when they were seated, she made it so Chloe couldn’t sit with him. For the most part, Chloe sat and listened to them talk about summers and holidays past.

 
She felt stupid being a little jealous, because she knew he had a life before her and there were people he was friends with. But Taylor was making it hard to like her. She kept touching him and talking around her. At one point, Nick winked at her, and when Chloe smiled, Taylor spilled a glass of water on her.

She had noticed the way Kevin had looked at her after it happened, waiting for Chloe to say something. But that wasn’t like her. She just got up and excused herself to the bathroom.

Once Chloe got to the bathroom, she didn’t know if she wanted to scream or cry. She hit the dryer and held her shirt under it, hoping it would dry a little.

 
Claire came in and put her purse down. “I’m so sorry. Mark is signing the bill and we’re going to head home. I don’t know what the hell is wrong with her.” She tried to help Chloe dry her shirt.

Chloe just shook it off and faked a smile. “It’s fine. It was an accident.”

Claire hit the dryer again and looked at Chloe. “Are you kidding? She did it on purpose. I watched her. She didn’t like that Nick looked at you. I know she’s my sister, but she is being a real bitch right now. The question is? Are you going to continue to let her dish it out? Last time I checked, Nick is your boyfriend and she hasn’t let him near you.”

“They’re friends and they haven’t seen each other since the summer. They’re catching up and she—can’t keep her hands off him. I don’t think he even realizes it,” Chloe finally confessed.

“Guys are dumb. They never do. Well, Mark picked up on it, though, which really surprised me. Like I said, she’s my sister, but in this case, I got your back. I will talk to her later about her actions. But you have to show her that he’s yours and you’re not going to put up with her shit anymore. Or this is going to be a very long week for you and you two may not be together when you go home,” Claire explained as she fixed her hair in the mirror.

“So, what should I do?” Chloe liked her. She couldn’t understand why the boys didn’t like her. Claire was very down to earth and sweet.

She turned to Chloe and smiled. “I think you know. Go out there and remind him he’s with you. Don’t back down, either. I will put Miss Taylor in her place later.”

When they came out of the bathroom, everyone had headed out to the lobby to wait for Mark to get the car. Chloe stopped dead next to Kevin and watched as Taylor had her arm linked in Nick’s and they were laughing.

“Okay, I know I’ve only been your adopted brother for a few hours now, and he is my actual brother, but say the word and I will go and kick his ass for treating you like this. I can’t believe he’s being such a dick,” Kevin said, putting his arm around Chloe.

“He can’t help it. She’s his friend and he doesn’t see it. Do me a favor. When we go to get in the van, stop her from getting in before me, so I can sit with him,” she said, thinking of the plan she was going to try.

“Sure. Anything else, like kicking his ass?” Kevin laughed.

Chloe laughed. “No, just wish me luck,” she said and applied her lip gloss. She put her shoulders back and took a deep breath. As she walked over to them, she felt her legs shaking. Why was she so nervous? He was her boyfriend and she would never take this from any other girl. As she approached them, Nick smiled at her.

Taylor was about to dismiss her when Chloe took Nick’s hand and asked if she could talk to him for a minute. He unhooked his arm from Taylor’s and, as he was about to step away, Chloe put her hand to his face to make him look at her. Bringing his face to her, her lips brushed past his. She kissed him lightly at first, enticing him slowly by the light kisses, then opening more and kissing him deeper. She felt his hands on her face and smiled.

She pulled away a little and he looked into her eyes. “What was that about?” he asked her, a little breathless from their kiss.

She ran her thumb over his lips, removing some of her lips gloss. “You said after dinner you were mine. Well, it’s after dinner and I want you to be mine.” She was careful in how she worded it. She didn’t want him to think she was being negative about Taylor. But Claire was right. It was time to get him back. She could see Taylor out of the corner of her eye start to say something, and she kissed him again, lingering there for a few minutes and feeling his hands on her back. She ran her fingers through his hair and then nuzzled her lips against his neck.

“Ugh, I’m suddenly not feeling well. Can you two knock it off, so we can leave? Mark just pulled up,” Taylor complained and stomped outside.

Nick and Chloe walked to the van while holding hands.

Taylor seemed to wait for Nick to get in. As he did, Kevin grabbed Taylor from behind and winked at Chloe, who followed Nick into the van.

Once it was dark and they were on the way back to the house, Chloe continued to try and keep his attention. In the dark of the car, she slowly ran her hand up his leg. She felt his hand touch her face and she kissed him again softly, letting her tongue lightly touch his.

“Hey, Nicky, when we get back to the house, you wanna watch a movie?” Taylor asked.

“Nick, Taylor is talking to you.” Kevin smiled, knowing he was busy.

Reluctantly, Nick broke away from the sweetness of Chloe’s lips. “What was that, Ta?” he asked in a whisper.

“I asked if you wanted to watch a movie. Like we used to do. Chloe can come, too,” Taylor suggested, seeing that she wasn’t going to let him out of her sight again.

“Um, not tonight, Ta, sorry,” he somehow managed to say, and then found Chloe’s waiting lips again.

Arriving back at the house, Nick took Chloe’s hand and led her out the back doors. They walked in the moonlight to the boathouse. He opened the door and they entered into the darkness of the place. It smelled musty from being closed up, and as soon as he found the lights, Chloe noticed the covers on all the furniture.

“No one must be staying here this week. Usually, it is opened up and smells better. But it’s warm. Well, it will be in a minute, and it is away from everyone,” Nick explained and went to the huge marble fireplace. Turning the knob, the fire went up in a blaze.

She followed his lead, taking her boots and coat off.

Nick took of the sheet from the couch and motioned for her to come over.

Slowly, she walked towards him.

When she was inches from him, he grabbed her and kissed her. “What the hell got into you tonight? Not that I’m complaining, it was a kinda sexy, but you’re never aggressive like that,” he asked, holding her close to him.

She titled her head to the side and smiled a little. “Well, I wanted to get your attention. You seemed like you were a little busy with Taylor and I wanted you to notice me,” she confessed, as she put her arms around his neck.

He kissed her neck and she giggled. “Baby, trust me, I have been noticing you. I’m sorry about dinner. She’s just really excited to see me, I guess. But, right now, it is just you and me. And honestly, since you went to work, I have missed being alone with you. Last night, things got out of hand. But I want tonight to be different.” He kissed her lightly.

“How different?” she teased, running her hand down his chest.

He cocked his brow at her, and then pulled her down to the couch.

Chloe straddled his lap and ran her hand down his face.

As her fingers reached his lips, he kissed them. “What are you thinking?”

 
“Just that I love you and how I don’t want moments like this to end.”

“I want this week to be special. I want us to spend time just being together. No influence from your family or friends. Just us,” he whispered and started to kiss her neck.

She rolled her head back, enjoying the warm of his mouth. His hands slid up her side and she steadied herself on his shoulders. “I love when you kiss me like this.” Her voice was a whisper as he kissed her throat.

He moved her from his lap and had her lay on the couch. Lifting her shirt a little, he kissed her stomach and smiled as she giggled. “How much of that wine did you drink tonight? You’re a little giddy,” he teased.

“I had two sips. Are you sure no one is going to come out here?” she asked as his hands slid inside her shirt. “I really feel like someone is going to catch us any minute.”

“We’re safe. Mark and Claire are hitting the hot tub, Kevin is watching a movie, Max and Collin are in bed, and my parents are going to be so bombed when they get back that they will go to straight bed,” he explained and kissed her stomach again. This time, she took a deep breath as his hands caressed her breasts. He could feel her open to him, her body unafraid to react to his touch. He was about to bring her shirt up higher when the door opened and he jumped.

“Oh, my God, here you two are. I didn’t think anyone was here until I saw the light, and then I thought if the fire is going, maybe someone is staying. I was going to come in here and read. I’m not interrupting anything, am I?” Taylor said with a wicked smile.

“Um, no, we were just talking,” Nick said, pulling Chloe up, so she could sit next to him.

“Oh, okay. Wow, Nicky, do you remember the time we came in here and hid from Kevin and my sister? What, were we like eleven?” Taylor blushed.

“I think we were. That was when we were making all those plans for when we were going to run away from home. God, that was so funny.”

Taylor sat next to him and started talking about when they were kids again.

Chloe could feel her blood boiling. He’d promised this was their time. And now she was there, again. And he wasn’t even trying to get rid of her. He just sat there listening to what Taylor was saying and forgetting about her again. Finally, she had enough. “You know what? You two sit and talk. I had a really long day and I’m going to go to bed. Nick, if you can find time for me tomorrow, let me know.” She got up and put her boots back on.

“God, we haven’t seen each other in months. Sorry, if I interrupted.” Taylor stood up and acted like she was going to leave.

“Ta, just wait here. Chloe, wait,” Nick said and ran after her.

She was so mad that the cold air didn’t bother her. Instead of heading to the house, she went to the lake and stood there, trying to figure out what to do.

“What the hell is your problem? She just came to hang out for a few minutes.” Nick grabbed her arm and made her look at him.

“Are you really that blind? How is it that everyone can see what she’s doing except you?” She pulled her arm from his grip and backed away from him.