Page 67 of Paradise & Vodka
"Fuck it. I'm staying, okay?"
I blinked. I hadn't thought about being alone because everything has been go, go, go, since we were rescued, and now all I thought about was never seeing Nick again.
"I mean, I don't—"
"No!" I bellowed. "I want you to stay. I just didn't thinkyouwould want to."
"There's no way I can go home on our first night back after everything. I'll be up all night worrying."
My heart was fluttering in my chest. My face was beaming, and I couldn't hide my excitement that he wanted to stay the night because otherwise he would worry about me.
"I'll just go tell Gabe he can leave." He hooked his thumb toward the street.
"Okay."
While Nick went to say goodbye to Gabe, I turned to open my door but realized I didn’t have a key. Everything had been stolen or left behind. I ran to Nick. "Wait!"
He turned from talking through the open passenger window to Gabe. "What's wrong?"
"I don't have a key to get in."
Nick drew his head back. "Shit. I don't have a key to my place, either."
"My friend Adriane has a key, but I don't know her number by heart." I could log into Facebook on Gabe's phone and send her a message, but I wasn't sure when she would get it.
"We could call Paul to see if he can find it," Nick suggested as he looked at Gabe.
"Yeah, call him, and while you're at it, make sure you tell him you're staying the night," Gabe replied.
I furrowed my brow. Gabe didn't say it maliciously but more as though he knew some sort of secret, and Paul would get a kick out of it. "Ummm ..."
"I need your phone then." Nick reached out his hand for Gabe's phone.
Gabe handed Nick his phone, and I stood there and waited while he made the call. If it weren't for the private plane, I wasn't sure how we would have made it home. Not only did we not have phones and our keys, but we also didn't have our passports or driver's licenses. We literally had the stinky, dirty clothes on our backs.
Everything was so fucked up.But Nick wanted to spend one more night together, and that made me happy.
"Hey, it's Nick … I don't have mine … Right. So, Ashleigh and I don't have keys to our houses, and she said her friend could … Oh, right … Yeah, meet us there." He hung up. "Change of plans. We're going to my place. Paul has my spare key."
Nick didn't live far from me. When Gabe pulled up to the two-story house, Paul and Joss were already there.
"Fucker went inside already, didn't he?" Nick grumbled as he got out of Gabe's SUV.
Gabe laughed, still in the car. "You know how he is."
"He's lucky he's a federal agent, or I would kick his ass for trespassing."
I chuckled. I didn't know these guys all that well—obviously—but I could tell that they were all close and cared for each other. Clearly, that was the case since Gabe, Seth, and Brad had all left their wives to rescue us. I couldn't imagine what the women must have thought, knowing that their men were going on a rescue mission. Thankfully, all of the guys survived.
"Thank you for everything," I said to Gabe, even though I had already thanked him when he tried to drop me off at my place. He nodded his acceptance.
"Tell Autumn thank you, as well." Nick held out his hand to shake Gabe's. "I know she was probably worried sick, and I appreciate it."
"I will, and hopefully this is the last time any of my friends are in fucking danger."
"Ain't that the truth? Galen is the last one to fall—"
I looked at Nick as he rubbed the back of his neck, not finishing his sentence.
