"Who Better To Love" ch. 5
Zac and Nikki: Who Better To Love ch. 5
What Happens in Vegas… But, Does It?
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the people in this story, as they are real people and that would just be wrong. But, I do really wish that I owned Zac and Nikki!
Rating: R
Please see links to the first four chapters "under the cut"
Dedication: This chapter is dedicated to Jess (happy birthday!), Carrie, and Ash, who have all been kind enough to pester me to finally get the chapter finished!
I'm sorry that I haven't updated since November (bad me!) but I hope that you are still with me on the series! There is a lot more to come.
For those of you who haven't read the previous chapters, please do!
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Also, if you are not familiar with the song "Total Eclipse of the Heart" you may want to take a listen, since it comes up in the story. Unfortunately, neither of these videos have the last verse that I use at the end of the chapter, but, c'est la vie.
Bonnie Tyler
or if you prefer
Westlife
This chapter picks up with the other end of the phone conversation that Zac had with Vanessa before he left Toronto. Before you begin, some little things to remember from the last chapter are the Supreme's song that Nikki played for him, the night they slept together for the first time. She played that song, and danced, and he got up from the couch and put his arms around her, and that was her way of saying she was ready. Also, before he left to go back home, she gave him a gift. A silver dollar that her grandmother had given her.
Chapter 5: What Happens in Vegas… But, Does It?
“So, that was pretty quick. How did he sound?”
“I don’t know. Kind of… strange. Well, he said he was getting ready to leave, so he was probably just in a hurry, I guess. I wish I was going to be home when he got back. I mean, he’s been gone so long, and I’ll be on tour for two more months.”
“Don’t worry, Nessa. We’ll be back in California in a couple of days. He’ll come to one of those shows for sure!”
“Yeah, you’re right, Ash. I just miss him so much!”
“I know, Nessa,” and she put her arm around her friend’s waist. “But you’ll see him in a few days, I guarantee it!”
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Zac returned home to his parents’ house in Arroyo Grande, with his heart and mind heavy with confusion. Had he fallen in love with Nikki? Or was it an illusion, orchestrated by the extreme closeness and familiarity experienced by every company of actors living and working together. It’s what happened with him and Vanessa. But that turned out to be real, as they had been together for over a year. But, was it real? Was it still? He just didn’t know anymore. He didn’t know his own mind, and he didn’t know his own heart.
When he closed his eyes on the long ride home from the airport, all he saw was her. She was cheering! The Yankees had made another run, and she was on her feet waving her arms in the air, spilling her popcorn all over his lap. Her joy drew him to his feet, and his arm around her shoulder. The scent of her hair as she hugged him made him wonder, just wonder, about this girl. Closing his eyes again, she was dancing. Not dressed as Tracy, in the stiff teased hair and puffy plaid skirt, but as Nikki, in a tight black top that showed miles of cleavage. Her breasts and soft flowing hair were bouncing lightly to the beat of the music in the club, where she was dancing just with him. He had wondered then what it would be like to touch her. Then, sleeping close beside him on their last night together, her arm around his waist and her round hip like a gently sloping hill beneath the sheet.
He couldn’t wait to call her when he got home. He dropped his bags, pulled out his phone, and closed his bedroom door. The sound of her voice made his heart race and his smile widen and the confusion was pushed back, for the moment.
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“So, Zac made it home okay, I gather.”
“Yeah, Mom. He had just walked in the door when he called me, so he sounded really tired, but happy to be home.”
“Happy, huh?” and Karen gave Nikki a sideways glance that seemed to suggest she knew something. Nikki blushed and lowered her eyes. He had told her how much he missed her, that he hadn’t stopped thinking about her from the moment she left his apartment, and he didn’t know how he was going to sleep tonight without kissing her, holding her, touching her. It had made her forget what she had overheard, forget that he had called Vanessa “baby” and said he loved her. She had wanted any excuse to forget.
“Nik, I know that you’re eighteen now, and you have the right to your own privacy, but I’m your mom, so I’m going to ask. Did something happen between you and Zac?” Nikki’s blush deepened and she opened her mouth to protest. She stopped the quick denial, and closed her mouth again, averting her eyes. She had never lied to her mother before.
“We kissed once,” she answered, a moment later, looking up into her mother’s eyes. “That’s it. We kissed, not for the movie but just us. But, we’re just friends, Mom.” Karen nodded her head, smiled, and didn’t ask anything else. She trusted her daughter. If Nikki didn’t want to freely tell her, she wasn’t going to push her. But as much as she felt there was more to it, she never imagined they’d been sneaking off to sleep together for the last six weeks!
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“Zac, I have to ask you something.” The look in Vanessa’s eyes, and the tone in her voice, caught him off guard.
It was Christmas Eve. Zac drove down to LA to spend a few hours with Vanessa before she had to return to the tour in two days. It was the first time he had seen her in over two months, since his week’s holiday in California in early October. He hadn’t managed to make it to one of the California HSM concerts after all. He hadn’t really tried.
“OK. What is it?” he asked, sitting beside her on the couch.
Vanessa held his photo album in her hands. She had been flipping through the pages while Zac was getting a drink, and couldn’t help noticing all the faces she didn’t know, might never know. All the friends that he had made. All the pretty girls that he had spent the last 5 months with.
Zac looked over at the photo album. Her hand was resting on one of the pictures, and it made his heart leap into his throat. He was in the picture, with his arm around a beautiful girl. He remembered that morning. They were in his apartment with a few friends, hanging out after shooting all night. Brittany picked up his camera and took a picture of them, laughing together, not an inch between them on the loveseat. Although he and Nikki had been surprised by the flash, it was his favourite picture of them.
Zac took a long, deep breath while he collected his thoughts. But she just flipped the page. She’d hardly noticed Nikki in the picture at all.
“There are so many girls in here, Zac. Pictures of you with so many girls. Who are they? Like, her,” and she pointed to one of the Council girls. “Or her,” and she pointed to one of the Detention girls. “You look so close with them. This one,” she tapped the face of a beautiful brunette, wearing a low-cut dress, who had her arms around his waist, “who is she?” Vanessa flipped the page again, and pointed to another pretty face.
“Van! Stop it! They’re just friends. All of them, they’re just friends. You know how close everybody got. We were together for months, working together, living together…”
“I need to know, Zac. I’ve been worrying about it for months. I need to know…”
He took her hand from the page of the photo album and held it to his heart. “Nothing happened with any of those girls. Nothing ever happened,” he insisted, shaking his head.
Nikki, her hand under his t-shirt, rubbing his back.
“They’re just my friends, people I worked with and we hung out.”
Nikki, licking his neck as he squeezed her breast.
“I promise.”
Nikki, staring down into his eyes as she took him inside of her.
“I love you.”
He wiped the tears from her eyes, and she kissed him softly. She stood up and dropped the album carelessly onto the couch. As she took his hand, he glanced at the page before he stood up. Standing together under an umbrella, Zac had Rocky in one arm and Nikki in the other. They were smiling despite the cold and wet, windy weather. They were smiling because they were together. A moment earlier, his heart had leapt to his throat with nerves. Now it sunk to the pit of his stomach with guilt. He took one final glance at that rosy-cheeked face before Vanessa led him to her bedroom.
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Nikki closed her phone and tossed it on her bed before walking to her window. She stood there, arms around herself, partly from the cold and partly from the hollowness she was feeling. It had been four days since she had talked to him. Four days since he had arrived in Utah. It was the longest they had gone without talking since they had met.
When they had first returned home, they talked everyday, for hours. If not on the phone, then they were on msn. They were always able to talk about anything and everything, so easily. They talked about Toronto, and the movie, and their friends, and what they were doing at home, and their plans. And, yes, sometimes the conversations got a little heated, late at night, when their houses were quiet, and they turned off the lights and imagined they were together again.
Just after Christmas, Nikki called but Zac was on his way out to see some friends. He said he’d call her later, but he didn’t. Over the next few weeks, they often went a day without one or the other calling. But they still had that easiness between them when they talked. They still had that aching between them that they were apart.
But now it had been four days. Zac had called her his first night in St. George. They arrived late that morning and had already put in six hours of dance rehearsals. He knew it would be more like eight or ten hours the next day. He had called her that night, and they spoke just for a few minutes. He said he was exhausted, and wanted an early night and a good, long rest before a full day of rehearsals, and he would call her tomorrow. She waited, but the call didn’t come.
“He’s tired, and busy, and settling into a new home and a new set, and reconnecting with old friends,” she reasoned, to herself. She wouldn’t think about who else might be taking up a lot of his time.
Standing at her window, she looked out over her backyard. The moonlight glistened on the fresh snow, and it seemed to sparkle like a field of diamonds. Closing her eyes, she recalled the last moment of their phone call:
”I miss you so much! I can’t believe it’s been two months. It feels like… it feels like 2 years! I have to see you, Nik.”
“How, Zac? You know we can’t….”
“I know. I know, but…,” he sighed. “I know.
‘I miss… being with you. But, I miss you . I miss hanging out with you, I miss hearing you laugh, and hearing you sing. I miss your eyes, and your hands, and-“
“Zac! Stop! You’re going to make me cry,” and a little laugh broke through the choked-back sob.
“I’m sorry, darlin’. I just-“
Knock - knock - knock.
“Shit! I have to go. I -“ he stopped himself. “I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?”
“Okay. I miss you. Night!”
“Night!”
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“Uh, helloooooo! Do you ever talk about anyone else from that movie,” Monique laughed.
Zac was taken aback at her comment, stopping himself in mid-sentence.
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“We’ve only been here a week, and I think I know more about Nikki Blonsky than I do about you sometimes!” she laughed, grabbing herself a bottle of water from the craft services table.
Zac hadn’t realized that he was talking about Nikki that much.
“Nikki this and Nikki that! Does somebody have himself a crush?” she winked.
Zac blushed, and stammered out a response. “No, of course not! She’s just my friend. What do you mean…? But she’s great, and really talented, and funny. I guess we hung out a lot. A lot of my stories involve her, in some way…,” and his voice trailed off, his eyes lowering.
“Talking about Miss B. again, is he?” Ryan asked, reaching across a startled Zac to grab a muffin from the table.
“I was not! I was telling Mo about…”
“Yes, he was!” Monique interrupted. “Don’t be so sensitive, Zac. I was just teasing. I think it’s great that you made such a good friend. Friends are the most important thing in the world, after family. You can never have too many!”
“I would just watch what you said in front of Nessa, though. She might get the wrong idea,” Ryan said, lightly patting Zac on the back.
Monique and Ryan continued onto the rehearsal studio, leaving a shaken Zac standing by the table alone. From then on, he would have to be much more cautious about what he said about Nikki. Vanessa was jealous enough as it was. He didn’t need to give her a reason.
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“So, Bryan’s pretty cute, huh, Nik?”
“Mom! I don’t know. I guess so.” She looked away, blushing.
“Well, he is. And he likes you, too.”
“We’re just friends, Mom. We just like hanging out. He doesn’t like me. Not like that.”
“Sounds like another friend of hers,” Karen thought. “Do you like him? Like that?” she asked.
“Mom!” and she grabbed the bowl of popcorn, leaving a chuckling Karen alone in the kitchen.
“Hey, Nikki! Mmm, the popcorn smells great! Did you make it yourself?” as he took a handful. “Wow, it’s great! You’re a good cook!”
Nikki couldn’t help but laugh at Bryan trying so hard. “Thanks, but it’s just popcorn. Pour kernels in hot machine, and wait for them to pop! Add butter and salt, toss, and stuff in mouth!”
“Oh… well, it must be your expert tossing skills that makes it so good then!” and he laughed with her, his face flushed.
“Yeah, that must be it! So, what are we watching?” She passed him a can of Coke.
“Oh, this is fantastic! It Happened One Night. Have you seen it?” He continued, as Nikki shook her head. “One of the first screwball comedies, with Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert. 1934. I have to write a paper on it for one of my classes, but I thought you might like to watch it with me.”
“Sounds great! I haven’t seen it before, but I remember Adam mentioning it and said I should see it.” She nestled into the cushions of the couch, throwing a blanket over her legs, while he turned the movie on.
Later, Nikki turned back to the TV, after glancing at Bryan taking notes. She was enjoying the movie, but, like usual lately, her mind began to drift.
“Zac and I were going to watch this, but we never got around to it,” she thought. “We were going to watch a lot of movies that we never got around to. Too much…” and she giggled softly to herself, thinking of all the movies they had started to watch but didn’t make it much further than the opening credits.
“What’s that?” Bryan asked? “Did I miss a joke?”
“What? No! I was just thinking of something else. Sorry,” and she bit her lip to stifle her embarrassed laugh.
Her eyes were focused on Claudette and Clark, but her mind was back on Zac. She missed him so much. She had talked to him yesterday, but it had been a few days before that. He was never on msn anymore, and she wasn’t going to send him another e-mail until he answered her last one. She was so confused. When they did talk, he told her how much he missed her, how much he needed to see her. But then he’d seem to ignore her calls for days. She knew he was busy, and that friends can drift apart, but she cared about him too much to let that happen. There was too much between them to let that happen. But she was beginning to feel like a stowaway, like she was hiding and didn’t belong, and he only let her out for air when it was convenient for him. And yesterday’s call confused her even more.
”I can’t wait to see you, Darlin’! Just 2 more days! I can’t wait to… dammit. I have to go.”
“But Zac, you just called! I miss you! I just want to talk to you. I just want to hear your voice. Tell me about something stupid on set or what kind of trees they have in Utah or what you ate for breakfast. I don’t care. But don’t ignore me! I don’t…”
“I know, Nik! I’m sorry! But, I have to go,” he whispered, then continued, in a louder voice. “I’ll talk to you later, Dylan. Bye,” and the line went dead.
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Vanessa laughed to herself as she walked through Zac’s Casita in St. George. The bathroom door was half-open, and she could hear him singing in the shower again. She stood by the door, listening, trying to make out what he was singing.
Whenever you’re near me, I hear a symphony, a tender melody, pulling me closer, closer to your arms.
Glancing across the hall into his bedroom, she noticed his duffel bag open and half-filled with clothes.
Baby, baby, you bring much joy within. Don’t let this feeling end. Let it go on and on and on.
“What is he singing? It sounds so familiar.” Her attention returned to Zac’s voice, as she absentmindedly picked up a silver dollar from the bathroom counter.
Baby, baby, as you stand holding me, whispering how much you care, a thousand violins fill the air.
He shut the water off then, and grabbed a towel that was hooked on the outside of the glass shower door.
“Dammit, Van! You scared me!” he exclaimed, after sliding open the shower door.
Vanessa laughed, and asked, “What were you singing in there, Zac? I’ve heard you sing that before, but I can’t place it. It sounds like the Supremes or something like that!” she laughed, turning the silver dollar over and under her fingers.
“What are you doing with that?” Zac shouted, and took the coin.
Vanessa was startled, as the warm piece of metal was taken from her hand. Zac grabbed another, smaller towel, and walked to his bedroom, closing the door behind him.
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At last.
Standing off to the side, back stage, with her back to him, he knew her immediately. Her black dress, with sparkles catching every light as she moved, drew his eyes to her like a lost boy looking to the stars to find his way home. Her soft, brown hair was down, and her arms were bare. The hair he loved to run his fingers through, and the arms that held him tight.
His heart was racing, but his legs were frozen to the floor. It wasn’t until she heard someone call his name that she turned around, and, after catching his eyes watching her, quickly looked away.
He found the courage to walk across the scuffed floor to her. Courage? He needed courage to talk to Nikki? The butterflies in his stomach said yes. Seeing him approach, the dancer that Nikki was talking to gave her a quick hug and said she’d see her later. Nikki stayed grounded to the floor, her back to him still.
“Turn around, bright eyes,” he whispered into her ear, his lips brushing against her hair. His hand slid along her back, to hold her waist. “I missed you at my rehearsal this afternoon. They said you were already finished and….” She turned around slowly in his arm, and looked up at him. She wasn’t smiling, and her eyes were all questions.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Zac asked, softly, although he was sure he knew the answer. Without waiting for her to respond, he said, “I know I should have called more often lately. And I’m an ass for not answering your last few e-mails. And calling you Dylan, on the phone, I don’t have any excuses. Just…” and he averted his eyes. “There’s always somebody around. I never have a moment to myself. The only time I have alone is when I go into town. I just wander around and think for hours, and go back to the golf club more confused than before. But I know that I missed you. It’s complicated. No. Don’t.” and he put a finger to her lips as she began to speak. “I missed you. All I could think about the last two weeks was being able to see you. As soon as Adam called me about this show, all I could think about was you.”
“It sure didn’t seem that way when you were ignoring me.”
“You know…”
“Zac, I can’t do this. I can’t…” and she stepped back from his arms.
“Nik, I need to see you…”
“I have to go on in a few minutes. I can’t…” and she walked away, shaking her head, her arms tense at her sides.
Zac stood there for several minutes, his hands in the pockets of his black suit pants. His thumb was running over the texture of the large coin in his pocket, as he listened to the opening of “Good Morning Baltimore.”
“So, Nikki, what do you think of ShoWest? This is your first time here, right?” Ben Lyons asked, after they were introduced, following the cast’s performances. Nikki chatted with him for a moment before she noticed Zac watching her from across the room. Nikki was all smiles and giggles and flipping her hair, as she shot sideways glances at Zac. Ben leaned down to tell her something that made her laugh.
“Nikki, the photographer needs us now,” he interrupted. “Everyone’s ready for the cast photos.” He turned to Ben and nodded once, reached out his hand to shake Ben’s, and introduced himself. Before Ben could respond with much more than his own name, Zac had taken Nikki by the arm and was leading her away to the couch where the cast was assembling. They smiled through the shoot, his arm reaching around her, his hand grazing her bottom surreptitiously. Her smiles let him hope, but he was once again dejected when she quickly left the set with Brittany when the shoot was finished.
“Nikki. Please, talk to me. I need to talk to you. I need to see you. I need-“ when he cornered her in the dining room a short time later.
“The last month, you’ve hardly talked to me at all, and you had plenty of opportunities,” she retorted.
“I told you, it’s hard-“
“Don’t make excuses. I won’t lie, Zac. I was looking forward to seeing you today, more than anything, but now… I need to think. I need to… I don’t know what.” She smiled at John when he walked towards them, and took his outstretched hand to escort her to the dining table.
Nikki returned to her room after dinner with the cast, Adam, the choreographers, producers, and the relatives that some of them had brought along. She was thankful that she had her own hotel room, knowing that she would not be able to stand the questions her mother would surely ask after her mood during dinner. She had barely touched her food, pushing the chicken and broccoli around her plate, concentrating hard at not looking at the young man across the table and three seats down. The young man who couldn’t keep his eyes off of her. Giving a headache as an excuse for not joining everyone in the lounge, she returned to her room early. She knew that Karen would have fun with Adam and Todd, and hoped she would forget to worry about her daughter once they hit the slots.
Nikki had just sat down on the corner of her bed, her earrings on the dresser and her shoes kicked off, when there was a knock at the door. She thought it may have been Brittany, coming to ask her to join them all in the lounge again. Or her mom, checking on her after all.
He just stood there when she opened the door. His hands were in his pockets, and his head was hung low. His eyes were looking down, and he was silent.
The black suit was a little too big. The white shirt, unbuttoned at the collar. The skinny black tie loosened at his neck. His hair gelled and sticking up randomly. He looked like a little boy that was lost and had come to her to take him home.
She stepped out of the doorway, leaving the door open, and walked to the large window across the room. He entered, bolting the door behind him. Hearing the click of the bolt, her heart began to race and her thoughts became incoherent.
His arms were around her then, and he held her hands in his, at her chest. Her back was against his stomach and his chin was resting on her head. They stared out over the bright lights and neon signs of the Vegas strip for a long while, neither of them saying a word. A thousand different thoughts and choices ran through her mind. None of them felt right. But when he ran his cheek along her hair, when he kissed her cheek and lightly nibbled at her ear lobe, when he whispered her name and asked, “What can I do?” she closed her eyes and just breathed him in.
“Nikki. Turn around.”
“Bright eyes?”
“Yes. Do you remember? That song? That time we-”
“Mmmhmmm.” She lightly nodded her head against his chest, and sighed. “Every now and then I get a little bit lonely and you're never coming round,” she sang, slowly, barely more than a whisper.
“Turn around.” His voice was low and soft.
“Every now and then I get a little bit tired of listening to the sound of my tears.” He held her tighter, gently squeezing her hands in his as he listened.
“Every now and then I get a little bit restless and I dream of something wild,” he sang into her hair. “Every now and then I get a little bit helpless and I'm lying like a child in your arms.”
“Every now and then I get a little bit angry and I know I've got to get out and cry,” she sang, so softly, he had to strain to hear her. “Every now and then I get a little bit terrified but then I see the look in your eyes.”
“Every now and then I fall apart.” He paused. “I need you tonight, Nikki. It’s not just a song.” She turned in his arms and stared up into his eyes. He had an effect on her that she had never understood.
“Have you always been this much of a dork?” she asked, smirking.
“Have you?” he answered, smiling widely, relief coming over his face as he wiped her tears away with his thumb.
When he kissed her, so softly, just barely brushing his lips against hers, the doubt and worry began to sink back down and she just thought of him. When his hands ran up and down her back, she just felt him. When his breath sounded in her ear as he held her close to him, her head resting against his shoulder, she just heard him. And when her hands slipped from his back to his ass, she just wanted him, knew he wanted her too, and hoped that was enough. She still hurt. She still felt angry. She still felt confused. Guilty. But wanting him, and he wanting her, was all she could think about.
He kissed her neck, lightly sucking at the soft, pale skin. His tongue darting out, he licked her ear and sucked on her earlobe. Her faint moan made him smile, the first real smile he’d had since seeing her that afternoon. She leaned back her head and looked again into his eyes.
“So, what’s with Ben Lyons?” he asked.
“Oh, a little this, a little that,” and she winked.
“I really missed you, Nikki. I never feel happier than when I’m with you.” He ran his finger along a strand of hair at her temple.
“Then why-“
“Do you remember what you said to me, the first night we…,” he interrupted, and she looked up at him questioningly. “You said, ‘I don’t know what will happen tomorrow. But I know that we have this tonight. Just give me this, and we’ll figure the rest out later.’ Will you give me this tonight, Nik? I don’t have any answers yet. But, will you give me this tonight?”
“Show me how much you missed me.”
He leaned down and gently kissed her right shoulder several times, pulling the straps of her dress and bra down on that side. Nikki grasped the lapels of his jacket and pulled it down his arms, letting it drop to the floor. Zac kissed along her collar bone. She pulled at his tie, further loosening the knot until she could lift it over his head. He reached behind her and found the zipper of her dress, sliding it halfway down her back, which loosened her dress enough for him to enjoy her cleavage. Tossing the tie across the floor, she began to unbutton his white shirt. With each button, she kissed his neck then his chest then his stomach until his shirt was open. She tugged it from the waistband of his pants, and it, too, was pulled off and dropped to the floor. She reached her hands up to take his head and kissed him, soft and slow, like she knew he loved to kiss her. Her tongue licked and sucked his lips and he opened his mouth and tasted her, and they were gone. She kissed him harder, like she’d been wanting to all day; like she’d been wanting to for months.
Nikki grabbed a handful of his hair and yanked his head back after she broke the kiss. She stared into his eyes, their mouths open, their breath coming quickly. Zac took her hand in his, running his thumb along her wrist to find her pulse. He lifted it to his mouth and kissed it, feeling the rapid rhythm of her pulse as he held his lips there. Her hands were still in his hair, and she pulled him in to kiss her again.
Zac pulled up the fabric of her dress at her hips, slowly inching it up her body until the hem was at the top of her thighs. He crouched down and ran his fingers along the backs of her thighs, up and down, slowly moving forward then inward as she kissed him. His fingers pushed aside her panties, grazing her wet warmth as she moaned lightly into his mouth. Two fingers inside of her, his thumb on her clit, his hand moved in rhythm with their tongues. Her hand had traveled from his hair to his neck and down his back, gripping his strong frame for support. She was so close so soon, with his fingers and tongue, his other hand on her ass holding her steady. Nikki broke the kiss and threw her head back, her hands slamming against the floor-to-ceiling window as her hips thrust out towards him. She was swearing and breathing his name; she was still his New York girl. She came hard and fast, on his hand. Leaning back against the window, she followed his hand from her to his mouth, and he tasted her on his finger. One of his fingers in his mouth, she took the other in her mouth. Their faces were so close, both tasting her on his fingers.
Not able to wait another moment to relieve his erection, he spun her around and began to push her towards the bed. He quickly slid the zipper down and pushed her dress down her body while she undid his pants. She reached back and unclasped her bra, and he stepped out of his pants, every action moving them closer to her bed. Black lace panties and blue plaid boxers were on the floor, he was inside of her, and they were lost again.
Nikki woke up and looked at the clock. 4 a.m. They would have to get up and leave in a few hours. Zac was due back to the set in St. George that afternoon, and she didn’t know when she would see him next. She sat up a bit, adjusting the pillows behind her back. Zac, who had been laying close against her side, felt her move. In his sleep, he wrapped his arm around her and laid his head on her stomach. Nikki ran her fingers through his hair, now soft and clean from their bath. She listened to him breathe, her fingers in his hair, and the words came to her mind again. She sang to him, softly, in his sleep.
”Every now and then I know you'll never be the boy you always wanted to be. Every now and then I know you'll always be the only boy who wanted me the way that I am. Every now and then I know there's no one in the universe as magical and wondrous as you. Every now and then I know there's nothing any better and there's nothing I just wouldn't do." She sighed, running her fingers along the touch of stubble on his jaw. "Every now and then I fall apart.”
Looking ahead, away from her, his eyes open, his mind ran her haunting words again and again, as she laid back and drifted off to sleep.
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A month later, Nikki was at the drugstore picking up a few items for her trip to LA. She was looking forward to seeing Zac the next evening at the Young Hollywood Awards. She was so excited that they would both be receiving the One to Watch award. Nikki felt like it was something that connected them to each other. Zac had been better about keeping in touch since they were in Vegas, although she hadn’t heard from him in over a week. Just a postcard from Hawaii. A post-HSM2 celebration holiday, he had said in his e-mail.
Walking down the magazine aisle, she reached for a copy of her little indulgence, People magazine, when something on the corner of a tabloid caught her eye. A photo of Zac, on the beach, kissing Vanessa, with the heading, “Zanessa is real!”
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A/N: Thank-you to Jules, as she told us about her cousin (from St. George) that saw Zac several times walking around town, by himself, looking less than happy.
A/N: Irish, I know that I have omitted the Billboards, but you're probably the only one that would have noticed the oversight! Don't kick me out of the Details Club, kay! lol
What Happens in Vegas… But, Does It?
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the people in this story, as they are real people and that would just be wrong. But, I do really wish that I owned Zac and Nikki!
Rating: R
Please see links to the first four chapters "under the cut"
Dedication: This chapter is dedicated to Jess (happy birthday!), Carrie, and Ash, who have all been kind enough to pester me to finally get the chapter finished!
I'm sorry that I haven't updated since November (bad me!) but I hope that you are still with me on the series! There is a lot more to come.
For those of you who haven't read the previous chapters, please do!
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Also, if you are not familiar with the song "Total Eclipse of the Heart" you may want to take a listen, since it comes up in the story. Unfortunately, neither of these videos have the last verse that I use at the end of the chapter, but, c'est la vie.
Bonnie Tyler
or if you prefer
Westlife
This chapter picks up with the other end of the phone conversation that Zac had with Vanessa before he left Toronto. Before you begin, some little things to remember from the last chapter are the Supreme's song that Nikki played for him, the night they slept together for the first time. She played that song, and danced, and he got up from the couch and put his arms around her, and that was her way of saying she was ready. Also, before he left to go back home, she gave him a gift. A silver dollar that her grandmother had given her.
Chapter 5: What Happens in Vegas… But, Does It?
“So, that was pretty quick. How did he sound?”
“I don’t know. Kind of… strange. Well, he said he was getting ready to leave, so he was probably just in a hurry, I guess. I wish I was going to be home when he got back. I mean, he’s been gone so long, and I’ll be on tour for two more months.”
“Don’t worry, Nessa. We’ll be back in California in a couple of days. He’ll come to one of those shows for sure!”
“Yeah, you’re right, Ash. I just miss him so much!”
“I know, Nessa,” and she put her arm around her friend’s waist. “But you’ll see him in a few days, I guarantee it!”
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Zac returned home to his parents’ house in Arroyo Grande, with his heart and mind heavy with confusion. Had he fallen in love with Nikki? Or was it an illusion, orchestrated by the extreme closeness and familiarity experienced by every company of actors living and working together. It’s what happened with him and Vanessa. But that turned out to be real, as they had been together for over a year. But, was it real? Was it still? He just didn’t know anymore. He didn’t know his own mind, and he didn’t know his own heart.
When he closed his eyes on the long ride home from the airport, all he saw was her. She was cheering! The Yankees had made another run, and she was on her feet waving her arms in the air, spilling her popcorn all over his lap. Her joy drew him to his feet, and his arm around her shoulder. The scent of her hair as she hugged him made him wonder, just wonder, about this girl. Closing his eyes again, she was dancing. Not dressed as Tracy, in the stiff teased hair and puffy plaid skirt, but as Nikki, in a tight black top that showed miles of cleavage. Her breasts and soft flowing hair were bouncing lightly to the beat of the music in the club, where she was dancing just with him. He had wondered then what it would be like to touch her. Then, sleeping close beside him on their last night together, her arm around his waist and her round hip like a gently sloping hill beneath the sheet.
He couldn’t wait to call her when he got home. He dropped his bags, pulled out his phone, and closed his bedroom door. The sound of her voice made his heart race and his smile widen and the confusion was pushed back, for the moment.
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“So, Zac made it home okay, I gather.”
“Yeah, Mom. He had just walked in the door when he called me, so he sounded really tired, but happy to be home.”
“Happy, huh?” and Karen gave Nikki a sideways glance that seemed to suggest she knew something. Nikki blushed and lowered her eyes. He had told her how much he missed her, that he hadn’t stopped thinking about her from the moment she left his apartment, and he didn’t know how he was going to sleep tonight without kissing her, holding her, touching her. It had made her forget what she had overheard, forget that he had called Vanessa “baby” and said he loved her. She had wanted any excuse to forget.
“Nik, I know that you’re eighteen now, and you have the right to your own privacy, but I’m your mom, so I’m going to ask. Did something happen between you and Zac?” Nikki’s blush deepened and she opened her mouth to protest. She stopped the quick denial, and closed her mouth again, averting her eyes. She had never lied to her mother before.
“We kissed once,” she answered, a moment later, looking up into her mother’s eyes. “That’s it. We kissed, not for the movie but just us. But, we’re just friends, Mom.” Karen nodded her head, smiled, and didn’t ask anything else. She trusted her daughter. If Nikki didn’t want to freely tell her, she wasn’t going to push her. But as much as she felt there was more to it, she never imagined they’d been sneaking off to sleep together for the last six weeks!
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“Zac, I have to ask you something.” The look in Vanessa’s eyes, and the tone in her voice, caught him off guard.
It was Christmas Eve. Zac drove down to LA to spend a few hours with Vanessa before she had to return to the tour in two days. It was the first time he had seen her in over two months, since his week’s holiday in California in early October. He hadn’t managed to make it to one of the California HSM concerts after all. He hadn’t really tried.
“OK. What is it?” he asked, sitting beside her on the couch.
Vanessa held his photo album in her hands. She had been flipping through the pages while Zac was getting a drink, and couldn’t help noticing all the faces she didn’t know, might never know. All the friends that he had made. All the pretty girls that he had spent the last 5 months with.
Zac looked over at the photo album. Her hand was resting on one of the pictures, and it made his heart leap into his throat. He was in the picture, with his arm around a beautiful girl. He remembered that morning. They were in his apartment with a few friends, hanging out after shooting all night. Brittany picked up his camera and took a picture of them, laughing together, not an inch between them on the loveseat. Although he and Nikki had been surprised by the flash, it was his favourite picture of them.
Zac took a long, deep breath while he collected his thoughts. But she just flipped the page. She’d hardly noticed Nikki in the picture at all.
“There are so many girls in here, Zac. Pictures of you with so many girls. Who are they? Like, her,” and she pointed to one of the Council girls. “Or her,” and she pointed to one of the Detention girls. “You look so close with them. This one,” she tapped the face of a beautiful brunette, wearing a low-cut dress, who had her arms around his waist, “who is she?” Vanessa flipped the page again, and pointed to another pretty face.
“Van! Stop it! They’re just friends. All of them, they’re just friends. You know how close everybody got. We were together for months, working together, living together…”
“I need to know, Zac. I’ve been worrying about it for months. I need to know…”
He took her hand from the page of the photo album and held it to his heart. “Nothing happened with any of those girls. Nothing ever happened,” he insisted, shaking his head.
Nikki, her hand under his t-shirt, rubbing his back.
“They’re just my friends, people I worked with and we hung out.”
Nikki, licking his neck as he squeezed her breast.
“I promise.”
Nikki, staring down into his eyes as she took him inside of her.
“I love you.”
He wiped the tears from her eyes, and she kissed him softly. She stood up and dropped the album carelessly onto the couch. As she took his hand, he glanced at the page before he stood up. Standing together under an umbrella, Zac had Rocky in one arm and Nikki in the other. They were smiling despite the cold and wet, windy weather. They were smiling because they were together. A moment earlier, his heart had leapt to his throat with nerves. Now it sunk to the pit of his stomach with guilt. He took one final glance at that rosy-cheeked face before Vanessa led him to her bedroom.
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Nikki closed her phone and tossed it on her bed before walking to her window. She stood there, arms around herself, partly from the cold and partly from the hollowness she was feeling. It had been four days since she had talked to him. Four days since he had arrived in Utah. It was the longest they had gone without talking since they had met.
When they had first returned home, they talked everyday, for hours. If not on the phone, then they were on msn. They were always able to talk about anything and everything, so easily. They talked about Toronto, and the movie, and their friends, and what they were doing at home, and their plans. And, yes, sometimes the conversations got a little heated, late at night, when their houses were quiet, and they turned off the lights and imagined they were together again.
Just after Christmas, Nikki called but Zac was on his way out to see some friends. He said he’d call her later, but he didn’t. Over the next few weeks, they often went a day without one or the other calling. But they still had that easiness between them when they talked. They still had that aching between them that they were apart.
But now it had been four days. Zac had called her his first night in St. George. They arrived late that morning and had already put in six hours of dance rehearsals. He knew it would be more like eight or ten hours the next day. He had called her that night, and they spoke just for a few minutes. He said he was exhausted, and wanted an early night and a good, long rest before a full day of rehearsals, and he would call her tomorrow. She waited, but the call didn’t come.
“He’s tired, and busy, and settling into a new home and a new set, and reconnecting with old friends,” she reasoned, to herself. She wouldn’t think about who else might be taking up a lot of his time.
Standing at her window, she looked out over her backyard. The moonlight glistened on the fresh snow, and it seemed to sparkle like a field of diamonds. Closing her eyes, she recalled the last moment of their phone call:
”I miss you so much! I can’t believe it’s been two months. It feels like… it feels like 2 years! I have to see you, Nik.”
“How, Zac? You know we can’t….”
“I know. I know, but…,” he sighed. “I know.
‘I miss… being with you. But, I miss you . I miss hanging out with you, I miss hearing you laugh, and hearing you sing. I miss your eyes, and your hands, and-“
“Zac! Stop! You’re going to make me cry,” and a little laugh broke through the choked-back sob.
“I’m sorry, darlin’. I just-“
Knock - knock - knock.
“Shit! I have to go. I -“ he stopped himself. “I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?”
“Okay. I miss you. Night!”
“Night!”
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“Uh, helloooooo! Do you ever talk about anyone else from that movie,” Monique laughed.
Zac was taken aback at her comment, stopping himself in mid-sentence.
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“We’ve only been here a week, and I think I know more about Nikki Blonsky than I do about you sometimes!” she laughed, grabbing herself a bottle of water from the craft services table.
Zac hadn’t realized that he was talking about Nikki that much.
“Nikki this and Nikki that! Does somebody have himself a crush?” she winked.
Zac blushed, and stammered out a response. “No, of course not! She’s just my friend. What do you mean…? But she’s great, and really talented, and funny. I guess we hung out a lot. A lot of my stories involve her, in some way…,” and his voice trailed off, his eyes lowering.
“Talking about Miss B. again, is he?” Ryan asked, reaching across a startled Zac to grab a muffin from the table.
“I was not! I was telling Mo about…”
“Yes, he was!” Monique interrupted. “Don’t be so sensitive, Zac. I was just teasing. I think it’s great that you made such a good friend. Friends are the most important thing in the world, after family. You can never have too many!”
“I would just watch what you said in front of Nessa, though. She might get the wrong idea,” Ryan said, lightly patting Zac on the back.
Monique and Ryan continued onto the rehearsal studio, leaving a shaken Zac standing by the table alone. From then on, he would have to be much more cautious about what he said about Nikki. Vanessa was jealous enough as it was. He didn’t need to give her a reason.
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“So, Bryan’s pretty cute, huh, Nik?”
“Mom! I don’t know. I guess so.” She looked away, blushing.
“Well, he is. And he likes you, too.”
“We’re just friends, Mom. We just like hanging out. He doesn’t like me. Not like that.”
“Sounds like another friend of hers,” Karen thought. “Do you like him? Like that?” she asked.
“Mom!” and she grabbed the bowl of popcorn, leaving a chuckling Karen alone in the kitchen.
“Hey, Nikki! Mmm, the popcorn smells great! Did you make it yourself?” as he took a handful. “Wow, it’s great! You’re a good cook!”
Nikki couldn’t help but laugh at Bryan trying so hard. “Thanks, but it’s just popcorn. Pour kernels in hot machine, and wait for them to pop! Add butter and salt, toss, and stuff in mouth!”
“Oh… well, it must be your expert tossing skills that makes it so good then!” and he laughed with her, his face flushed.
“Yeah, that must be it! So, what are we watching?” She passed him a can of Coke.
“Oh, this is fantastic! It Happened One Night. Have you seen it?” He continued, as Nikki shook her head. “One of the first screwball comedies, with Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert. 1934. I have to write a paper on it for one of my classes, but I thought you might like to watch it with me.”
“Sounds great! I haven’t seen it before, but I remember Adam mentioning it and said I should see it.” She nestled into the cushions of the couch, throwing a blanket over her legs, while he turned the movie on.
Later, Nikki turned back to the TV, after glancing at Bryan taking notes. She was enjoying the movie, but, like usual lately, her mind began to drift.
“Zac and I were going to watch this, but we never got around to it,” she thought. “We were going to watch a lot of movies that we never got around to. Too much…” and she giggled softly to herself, thinking of all the movies they had started to watch but didn’t make it much further than the opening credits.
“What’s that?” Bryan asked? “Did I miss a joke?”
“What? No! I was just thinking of something else. Sorry,” and she bit her lip to stifle her embarrassed laugh.
Her eyes were focused on Claudette and Clark, but her mind was back on Zac. She missed him so much. She had talked to him yesterday, but it had been a few days before that. He was never on msn anymore, and she wasn’t going to send him another e-mail until he answered her last one. She was so confused. When they did talk, he told her how much he missed her, how much he needed to see her. But then he’d seem to ignore her calls for days. She knew he was busy, and that friends can drift apart, but she cared about him too much to let that happen. There was too much between them to let that happen. But she was beginning to feel like a stowaway, like she was hiding and didn’t belong, and he only let her out for air when it was convenient for him. And yesterday’s call confused her even more.
”I can’t wait to see you, Darlin’! Just 2 more days! I can’t wait to… dammit. I have to go.”
“But Zac, you just called! I miss you! I just want to talk to you. I just want to hear your voice. Tell me about something stupid on set or what kind of trees they have in Utah or what you ate for breakfast. I don’t care. But don’t ignore me! I don’t…”
“I know, Nik! I’m sorry! But, I have to go,” he whispered, then continued, in a louder voice. “I’ll talk to you later, Dylan. Bye,” and the line went dead.
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Vanessa laughed to herself as she walked through Zac’s Casita in St. George. The bathroom door was half-open, and she could hear him singing in the shower again. She stood by the door, listening, trying to make out what he was singing.
Whenever you’re near me, I hear a symphony, a tender melody, pulling me closer, closer to your arms.
Glancing across the hall into his bedroom, she noticed his duffel bag open and half-filled with clothes.
Baby, baby, you bring much joy within. Don’t let this feeling end. Let it go on and on and on.
“What is he singing? It sounds so familiar.” Her attention returned to Zac’s voice, as she absentmindedly picked up a silver dollar from the bathroom counter.
Baby, baby, as you stand holding me, whispering how much you care, a thousand violins fill the air.
He shut the water off then, and grabbed a towel that was hooked on the outside of the glass shower door.
“Dammit, Van! You scared me!” he exclaimed, after sliding open the shower door.
Vanessa laughed, and asked, “What were you singing in there, Zac? I’ve heard you sing that before, but I can’t place it. It sounds like the Supremes or something like that!” she laughed, turning the silver dollar over and under her fingers.
“What are you doing with that?” Zac shouted, and took the coin.
Vanessa was startled, as the warm piece of metal was taken from her hand. Zac grabbed another, smaller towel, and walked to his bedroom, closing the door behind him.
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At last.
Standing off to the side, back stage, with her back to him, he knew her immediately. Her black dress, with sparkles catching every light as she moved, drew his eyes to her like a lost boy looking to the stars to find his way home. Her soft, brown hair was down, and her arms were bare. The hair he loved to run his fingers through, and the arms that held him tight.
His heart was racing, but his legs were frozen to the floor. It wasn’t until she heard someone call his name that she turned around, and, after catching his eyes watching her, quickly looked away.
He found the courage to walk across the scuffed floor to her. Courage? He needed courage to talk to Nikki? The butterflies in his stomach said yes. Seeing him approach, the dancer that Nikki was talking to gave her a quick hug and said she’d see her later. Nikki stayed grounded to the floor, her back to him still.
“Turn around, bright eyes,” he whispered into her ear, his lips brushing against her hair. His hand slid along her back, to hold her waist. “I missed you at my rehearsal this afternoon. They said you were already finished and….” She turned around slowly in his arm, and looked up at him. She wasn’t smiling, and her eyes were all questions.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Zac asked, softly, although he was sure he knew the answer. Without waiting for her to respond, he said, “I know I should have called more often lately. And I’m an ass for not answering your last few e-mails. And calling you Dylan, on the phone, I don’t have any excuses. Just…” and he averted his eyes. “There’s always somebody around. I never have a moment to myself. The only time I have alone is when I go into town. I just wander around and think for hours, and go back to the golf club more confused than before. But I know that I missed you. It’s complicated. No. Don’t.” and he put a finger to her lips as she began to speak. “I missed you. All I could think about the last two weeks was being able to see you. As soon as Adam called me about this show, all I could think about was you.”
“It sure didn’t seem that way when you were ignoring me.”
“You know…”
“Zac, I can’t do this. I can’t…” and she stepped back from his arms.
“Nik, I need to see you…”
“I have to go on in a few minutes. I can’t…” and she walked away, shaking her head, her arms tense at her sides.
Zac stood there for several minutes, his hands in the pockets of his black suit pants. His thumb was running over the texture of the large coin in his pocket, as he listened to the opening of “Good Morning Baltimore.”
“So, Nikki, what do you think of ShoWest? This is your first time here, right?” Ben Lyons asked, after they were introduced, following the cast’s performances. Nikki chatted with him for a moment before she noticed Zac watching her from across the room. Nikki was all smiles and giggles and flipping her hair, as she shot sideways glances at Zac. Ben leaned down to tell her something that made her laugh.
“Nikki, the photographer needs us now,” he interrupted. “Everyone’s ready for the cast photos.” He turned to Ben and nodded once, reached out his hand to shake Ben’s, and introduced himself. Before Ben could respond with much more than his own name, Zac had taken Nikki by the arm and was leading her away to the couch where the cast was assembling. They smiled through the shoot, his arm reaching around her, his hand grazing her bottom surreptitiously. Her smiles let him hope, but he was once again dejected when she quickly left the set with Brittany when the shoot was finished.
“Nikki. Please, talk to me. I need to talk to you. I need to see you. I need-“ when he cornered her in the dining room a short time later.
“The last month, you’ve hardly talked to me at all, and you had plenty of opportunities,” she retorted.
“I told you, it’s hard-“
“Don’t make excuses. I won’t lie, Zac. I was looking forward to seeing you today, more than anything, but now… I need to think. I need to… I don’t know what.” She smiled at John when he walked towards them, and took his outstretched hand to escort her to the dining table.
Nikki returned to her room after dinner with the cast, Adam, the choreographers, producers, and the relatives that some of them had brought along. She was thankful that she had her own hotel room, knowing that she would not be able to stand the questions her mother would surely ask after her mood during dinner. She had barely touched her food, pushing the chicken and broccoli around her plate, concentrating hard at not looking at the young man across the table and three seats down. The young man who couldn’t keep his eyes off of her. Giving a headache as an excuse for not joining everyone in the lounge, she returned to her room early. She knew that Karen would have fun with Adam and Todd, and hoped she would forget to worry about her daughter once they hit the slots.
Nikki had just sat down on the corner of her bed, her earrings on the dresser and her shoes kicked off, when there was a knock at the door. She thought it may have been Brittany, coming to ask her to join them all in the lounge again. Or her mom, checking on her after all.
He just stood there when she opened the door. His hands were in his pockets, and his head was hung low. His eyes were looking down, and he was silent.
The black suit was a little too big. The white shirt, unbuttoned at the collar. The skinny black tie loosened at his neck. His hair gelled and sticking up randomly. He looked like a little boy that was lost and had come to her to take him home.
She stepped out of the doorway, leaving the door open, and walked to the large window across the room. He entered, bolting the door behind him. Hearing the click of the bolt, her heart began to race and her thoughts became incoherent.
His arms were around her then, and he held her hands in his, at her chest. Her back was against his stomach and his chin was resting on her head. They stared out over the bright lights and neon signs of the Vegas strip for a long while, neither of them saying a word. A thousand different thoughts and choices ran through her mind. None of them felt right. But when he ran his cheek along her hair, when he kissed her cheek and lightly nibbled at her ear lobe, when he whispered her name and asked, “What can I do?” she closed her eyes and just breathed him in.
“Nikki. Turn around.”
“Bright eyes?”
“Yes. Do you remember? That song? That time we-”
“Mmmhmmm.” She lightly nodded her head against his chest, and sighed. “Every now and then I get a little bit lonely and you're never coming round,” she sang, slowly, barely more than a whisper.
“Turn around.” His voice was low and soft.
“Every now and then I get a little bit tired of listening to the sound of my tears.” He held her tighter, gently squeezing her hands in his as he listened.
“Every now and then I get a little bit restless and I dream of something wild,” he sang into her hair. “Every now and then I get a little bit helpless and I'm lying like a child in your arms.”
“Every now and then I get a little bit angry and I know I've got to get out and cry,” she sang, so softly, he had to strain to hear her. “Every now and then I get a little bit terrified but then I see the look in your eyes.”
“Every now and then I fall apart.” He paused. “I need you tonight, Nikki. It’s not just a song.” She turned in his arms and stared up into his eyes. He had an effect on her that she had never understood.
“Have you always been this much of a dork?” she asked, smirking.
“Have you?” he answered, smiling widely, relief coming over his face as he wiped her tears away with his thumb.
When he kissed her, so softly, just barely brushing his lips against hers, the doubt and worry began to sink back down and she just thought of him. When his hands ran up and down her back, she just felt him. When his breath sounded in her ear as he held her close to him, her head resting against his shoulder, she just heard him. And when her hands slipped from his back to his ass, she just wanted him, knew he wanted her too, and hoped that was enough. She still hurt. She still felt angry. She still felt confused. Guilty. But wanting him, and he wanting her, was all she could think about.
He kissed her neck, lightly sucking at the soft, pale skin. His tongue darting out, he licked her ear and sucked on her earlobe. Her faint moan made him smile, the first real smile he’d had since seeing her that afternoon. She leaned back her head and looked again into his eyes.
“So, what’s with Ben Lyons?” he asked.
“Oh, a little this, a little that,” and she winked.
“I really missed you, Nikki. I never feel happier than when I’m with you.” He ran his finger along a strand of hair at her temple.
“Then why-“
“Do you remember what you said to me, the first night we…,” he interrupted, and she looked up at him questioningly. “You said, ‘I don’t know what will happen tomorrow. But I know that we have this tonight. Just give me this, and we’ll figure the rest out later.’ Will you give me this tonight, Nik? I don’t have any answers yet. But, will you give me this tonight?”
“Show me how much you missed me.”
He leaned down and gently kissed her right shoulder several times, pulling the straps of her dress and bra down on that side. Nikki grasped the lapels of his jacket and pulled it down his arms, letting it drop to the floor. Zac kissed along her collar bone. She pulled at his tie, further loosening the knot until she could lift it over his head. He reached behind her and found the zipper of her dress, sliding it halfway down her back, which loosened her dress enough for him to enjoy her cleavage. Tossing the tie across the floor, she began to unbutton his white shirt. With each button, she kissed his neck then his chest then his stomach until his shirt was open. She tugged it from the waistband of his pants, and it, too, was pulled off and dropped to the floor. She reached her hands up to take his head and kissed him, soft and slow, like she knew he loved to kiss her. Her tongue licked and sucked his lips and he opened his mouth and tasted her, and they were gone. She kissed him harder, like she’d been wanting to all day; like she’d been wanting to for months.
Nikki grabbed a handful of his hair and yanked his head back after she broke the kiss. She stared into his eyes, their mouths open, their breath coming quickly. Zac took her hand in his, running his thumb along her wrist to find her pulse. He lifted it to his mouth and kissed it, feeling the rapid rhythm of her pulse as he held his lips there. Her hands were still in his hair, and she pulled him in to kiss her again.
Zac pulled up the fabric of her dress at her hips, slowly inching it up her body until the hem was at the top of her thighs. He crouched down and ran his fingers along the backs of her thighs, up and down, slowly moving forward then inward as she kissed him. His fingers pushed aside her panties, grazing her wet warmth as she moaned lightly into his mouth. Two fingers inside of her, his thumb on her clit, his hand moved in rhythm with their tongues. Her hand had traveled from his hair to his neck and down his back, gripping his strong frame for support. She was so close so soon, with his fingers and tongue, his other hand on her ass holding her steady. Nikki broke the kiss and threw her head back, her hands slamming against the floor-to-ceiling window as her hips thrust out towards him. She was swearing and breathing his name; she was still his New York girl. She came hard and fast, on his hand. Leaning back against the window, she followed his hand from her to his mouth, and he tasted her on his finger. One of his fingers in his mouth, she took the other in her mouth. Their faces were so close, both tasting her on his fingers.
Not able to wait another moment to relieve his erection, he spun her around and began to push her towards the bed. He quickly slid the zipper down and pushed her dress down her body while she undid his pants. She reached back and unclasped her bra, and he stepped out of his pants, every action moving them closer to her bed. Black lace panties and blue plaid boxers were on the floor, he was inside of her, and they were lost again.
Nikki woke up and looked at the clock. 4 a.m. They would have to get up and leave in a few hours. Zac was due back to the set in St. George that afternoon, and she didn’t know when she would see him next. She sat up a bit, adjusting the pillows behind her back. Zac, who had been laying close against her side, felt her move. In his sleep, he wrapped his arm around her and laid his head on her stomach. Nikki ran her fingers through his hair, now soft and clean from their bath. She listened to him breathe, her fingers in his hair, and the words came to her mind again. She sang to him, softly, in his sleep.
”Every now and then I know you'll never be the boy you always wanted to be. Every now and then I know you'll always be the only boy who wanted me the way that I am. Every now and then I know there's no one in the universe as magical and wondrous as you. Every now and then I know there's nothing any better and there's nothing I just wouldn't do." She sighed, running her fingers along the touch of stubble on his jaw. "Every now and then I fall apart.”
Looking ahead, away from her, his eyes open, his mind ran her haunting words again and again, as she laid back and drifted off to sleep.
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A month later, Nikki was at the drugstore picking up a few items for her trip to LA. She was looking forward to seeing Zac the next evening at the Young Hollywood Awards. She was so excited that they would both be receiving the One to Watch award. Nikki felt like it was something that connected them to each other. Zac had been better about keeping in touch since they were in Vegas, although she hadn’t heard from him in over a week. Just a postcard from Hawaii. A post-HSM2 celebration holiday, he had said in his e-mail.
Walking down the magazine aisle, she reached for a copy of her little indulgence, People magazine, when something on the corner of a tabloid caught her eye. A photo of Zac, on the beach, kissing Vanessa, with the heading, “Zanessa is real!”
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A/N: Thank-you to Jules, as she told us about her cousin (from St. George) that saw Zac several times walking around town, by himself, looking less than happy.
A/N: Irish, I know that I have omitted the Billboards, but you're probably the only one that would have noticed the oversight! Don't kick me out of the Details Club, kay! lol