Page 94 of Falling for Nicole
“A bath?” Dec asks as he rounds the corner.
“Yep, a nice bubble bath.”
Both Liv and I burst out laughing at the incredulous look on his face.
“Do I look like the kind of guy who enjoys a bubble bath?”
“You look like the kind of guy who’ll enjoy a bubble bath with his naked girlfriend,” I say with a salacious smile.
“What are we waiting for?” he asks as he grabs my hand and begins pulling me from the room to the sound of Liv’s laughter. It warms my heart to hear her happy, but I know it’s only fleeting because she’s going back to her shitty life any day now.
“Why haven’t we done this before?” Dec asks as he runs his fingertips up and down my arm as it rests against the edge of the tub.
“No idea.” I snuggle deeper into him and let out a contented sigh.
“Everything’s going to be okay, you know?”
“Yeah, I know,” I say on a sigh as I try to keep reality from bubbling out of my mouth.
“No matter what happens, good or bad. We’ll be okay.”
Turning, sloshing water everywhere until I’m straddling his waist, I look down at him, his wide tanned shoulders covered in fluffy, white bubbles, and smile. “I love you,” I say, taking his rough cheeks in my hands. “No matter what happens, we’ll be okay,” I promise before lining myself up and sinking down onto him. His head falls back as he moans in pleasure. I still until his eyes come back to mine before I continue. I want him with me every step of the way.
* * *
“We’re going out tonight,” Dec says as he strolls into the shack on Friday morning.
He announced when we woke up Wednesday that he was going to go to Oxford for a few days to help his dad out since Susan had her first chemo session the day before. He reappeared unexpectedly last night after he was told to leave and stop fussing. I couldn’t help but laugh when he explained how his mum practically manhandled him out of the house and sent him back to me.
“I was only trying to help,” he said innocently.
“Just do as she asks. If they need you, they’ll reach out,” I reassured. “In the meantime, just keep in touch. If she starts feeling rough, the last thing she’s going to want is everyone there staring at her,” I say with experience.
“What would I do without you?” he asked.
“Annoy the shit out of your mum.”
I pass him over a freshly made coffee as he takes a seat on one of the bar stools in front of the counter. “Where are we going?”
“I thought it was time for you to hit the stage again.”
“It’s only been two weeks.”
“Two weeks too long. I want to hear you sing again.”
“You hear me sing every day,” I argue.
“It’s not the same. I want to see you on stage. It’s so fucking sexy.” I raise my eyebrows at him and he just shrugs it off. “Everyone’s already said they’re coming, so you don’t have a choice.”
“I wasn’t going to argue.” In reality, I’m actually quite excited to sing again, which is an amazing feeling after being scared for so long. Thanks to Dec, most of what I was scared of when I first moved here suddenly doesn’t seem all that scary. Getting up on stage, riding on the back of his bike, standing by his side while his mum goes through treatment, he makes it all seem so much easier to bear.
“Good. Be ready by eight. I’ve left what you’re wearing hanging on the front of your wardrobe.”
“Oh?”
“You’ll have to wait and see.”
Excitement fills me as I think about him planning my outfit, until I have a realisation. “It’s a dress, isn’t it?”
