Chapter 15
Nicki called Justin later that night after talking with Heather, talking about the different patients she saw that day, ones that got to go home.
The next day, Nicki took Parker and anything he did or said with a grain of salt. She was starting to feel more comfortable with charts, certain tasks that she had done before that were becoming familiar seeing them done every day. She’d requested to work closer to the nurses than to shadow Parker, but they said they would think about it and get back to her. Justin was glad to know she was trying to distance herself from Parker.
Wednesday came, and Justin was over for movie night. He’d asked the girls what to bring and the answer was unanimous- pizza. He rang the doorbell, holding 3 pizzas in his hand.
“Pizza, I mean Justin, is here Nicki!” Heather joked, flashing a smile at Justin. “I’m glad things seem to be going well,” she whispered as Nicki came down the hall.
Nicki greeted Justin with a hug and a peck on the cheek. Justin put the pizzas on the coffee table before settling in on the couch.
“After last week, I feel we need something just super funny. School of Rock for tonight’s viewing pleasure,” Heather said.
Despite it being a comedy without much romance, Justin and Nicki were cozy on the couch, Justin’s arm around her shoulders, or Nicki holding his hand. Justin found it hard not to sing or anything musical that might give him away vocally that he’s on her iPod.
The movie finished, and Nicki whispered in his ear, “we could go in my room, maybe you spend the night?”
Justin’s eyes looked at Heather, raising an eyebrow in question. He remembered what she’d said a while back about her feeling out of place in her own home. Heather nodded, but put a finger to her lips to be quiet.
Justin nodded at Nicki, as she took his hand and led him down the hall.
“Yup, things are getting back to normal,” Heather said to the empty room.
Justin sat on Nicki’s bed. “I’m all for spending the night, but is it bad I just want to kiss you, and hold you as we sleep?”
“That sounds pretty nice, actually. Romantic,” she said before kissing him.
Their hands wandered as they kissed, Nicki pulling off his shirt. Justin kissed her neck as she fumbled with her button up shirt.
“We can still do other stuff, right?” Nicki asked between kisses.
Justin laughed, then nodded as he continued to kiss her. He was true to his word, trying to enjoy his time with Nicki while being respectful of Heather.
…
Nicki and Justin groaned when her alarm went off the next morning. Nicki got ready for work, while Justin got dressed and ready to go home. He opened the door, kissing Nicki as he stood in the doorway, and saw Parker pull up as he turned to walk to his car. He walked down the sidewalk to his car, feeling a mix of smugness and frustration that Parker was the one giving her rides to and from her shifts.
At least I know that she’s calling me every night, Heather hates his guts, and I’m getting date nights, Justin thought to himself. Parker had to hide his disappointment at seeing Justin leave her house early in the morning.
Parker still kept his smear campaign against Justin, the other nurses snarling at him in the halls. He saw no problem with it. They’re just jealous I loved em and left em. They wish I was paying as much attention to them as I am Nicki. She’s gonna see how much better I am than he is. I’m a pediatrician, I take care of sick kids. That’s a walking pickup line by itself to get women throwing themselves at me on dates. Just a few stories about helping sick kids and they’re in my bed and on their backs. I don’t go off for months at a time on tour, much more reliable and serve a purpose to better our society than some musician. Someday soon, Nicki’s gonna be the newest name on my list of conquests. She’s bound to be a great lay for Justin to have kept her around.
…
Justin texted Heather once he got home. Did you know about Asshole driving her to and from her shifts? It makes me wanna take her instead.
Yeah, but I don’t know that there’s much to worry about, Justin. She told me if he’d taken her on that date instead of you, nothing would’ve happened. She thinks he’s good looking, but she felt an instant something once you walked in that night. I think you’re good, making dates and plans and all that. Nothing to worry about.
Justin put his phone away, feeling better but still mulling it over in the back of his mind.
…
It was Friday night, and Justin invited Nicki over to his place so they got their date night in. With his party the next night and recovering after, this was really their only shot. Heather would drop her off around 7:30. He wore a denim blue button up shirt and dark jeans. The sleeves of his shirt were rolled up, he grabbed a towel to wipe a light sweat off his forehead. If you can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen, unless you’re the cook, he thought. Then you just deal with it.
He checked the oven, pulling the tray out. He poured wine, making sure everything was perfect. He heard the doorbell, checking his shirt was ok. He walked up to the door, smiling as he opened it. There was Nicki, in a black dress, hair pulled up into a twisted bun, silver dangling teardrop earrings with a matching necklace.
“Wow, you look amazing,” Justin said, sucking in a sharp, short breath, his eyes widening and eyebrows raised. “I suddenly feel underdressed.”
“You’re not so bad yourself,” she smiled. She walked inside. “It smells amazing, what’s for dinner?”
“It’s not fancy, but I made spaghetti, salad, and garlic bread. Paired with a nice Zinfandel, one of your favorites. I admit I cheated on dessert, but my baking skills are pretty basic.”
“You still cooked, that counts for something,” she said. She walked over to the table, seeing everything set. The pasta was in a big bowl in the center, salad and a slice of bread on each plate, with a basket of the rest of the bread to the side. There were two lit taper candles on the table. Justin dimmed the lighting a little for extra ambiance. He pulled out a chair for her before sitting across from her.
She used the utensils in the pasta to serve up a helping, before beginning her salad. She sipped the wine, raising her eyebrows and nodding in approval.
“So, how are things at the hospital?” Justin asked.
“Let’s not talk about that tonight. We talk about that every other night. I want to forget about it for a bit, just be you and me,” she replied.
“Ok, what do you want to talk about?”
“Us. I wish you could tell me more about what things were like before the accident.”
“Does it matter at this point? We’re here, together, I like you, you like me. Can’t that be enough?”
“I suppose so. I just want to know more of who I was.”
“You’re still the same person, I don’t see any change in personality or anything like.”
“What about me attracted you to me, then or now,” Nicki asked.
“Well, you have a great laugh and sense of humor. Your eyes are so expressive, I feel like you can stare right into my soul, I could get lost in your eyes. You’re so caring, and you tend to be a workaholic like me. But you help sick kids, I make music, so it’s very different levels.”
“Music can be healing. I’ve been listening to more of my iPod. That one band we were listening to on our date, I’ve been listening to their stuff after hearing a couple songs on my playlist. I really like them, the name is a little tricky, goes back and forth between having a star or an apostrophe.”
“*NSYNC?” Justin asked. Same Nicki, definitely.
“Is that what they’re called? I can’t find any CDs of them in my room, just downloaded on my iPod. I don’t even know what they look like. Have you heard of them?”
“They were only one of the biggest fans a few years ago,” he said, almost bragging.
“What happened?”
I, I mean, they all split off to do their own stuff. One wanted to act, one had a baby girl, one wanted to try a solo career, one wanted to go to space… They originally asked planned on it being a temporary break, but things are more complicated now. Two put out solo albums, one did better than the other, but that’s a whole can of worms. The music industry can be terrible.”
“You’re in the music business, have you worked with any of them?”
“Yeah, you could say that,” he replied.
“What was it like?”
“They’re like brothers, really close. At least they were. It’s a little fuzzy now. I was at the wedding for the one that had the baby. All the group was there, it was cool to be with them for that.”
“Does JC know them then?”
“Yeah, we’ve worked on each other’s stuff too.”
“Well, like I was saying, their music has been really helpful for me, it’s almost like they did these songs just for me. I know that’s not true, but I feel a strong connection to their music.”
“You were a big fan before, so that definitely makes sense.”
“Would you help me meet them, thank them in person?”
“I’ll see what I can do. If nothing else I can pass the message along.”
“What else do you like about me?” she laughed.
“You’re beautiful, but you’re not stuck up about it. Almost like you don’t think you’re beautiful. I know most people don’t see themselves that way, but you have a confidence about you without coming off like a snob. You work hard for what you want, very driven and determined.”
“I know I’ve felt more confident lately, and I’d like to think you have something to do with that, at least now. That’s why I wore what I did for our first date, if meeting me was one of your favorite memories, I needed to remake it.”
“Well, you look great again tonight. I feel like we should have gone out, or I should have had something more fancy for dinner than spaghetti.”
“You cooked, that means more than WHAT we eat,” she smiled, taking his hand in hers.
“Ready for dessert?” he asked. She nodded, and he cleared the plates into the sink.
He turned to the fridge, grabbed some small plates, put the desserts on the plates, and brought them to the table. “Tiramisu from our favorite bakery/cafe.”
Nicki tried a bite. “Mmmm, yeah, that place is amazing. This has all been so wonderful, let me help with things once we finish dessert.” Justin nodded as he took his first bite, raised his eyebrows and nodded in approval of the dessert, and took another bite.
Nicki cleared their dessert plates and started on the empty dishes. There was some spaghetti left, so Justin put the leftovers in a container and put it in the fridge.
Justin put his arms around Nicki’s waist as she washed the dishes. “I don’t want you to mess up your dress, you want something to wear over it?”
“I’ll be fine, but thank you. I like you being here though, if that helps,” she said, content.
“What’s the plan from here? Am I taking you home, or…”
“You think I’d have Heather drop me off just for you to take me back home?”
“I didn’t want to assume anything,” he replied.
“I want as much time with you to myself as I can get. I’m sure the party is going to be hectic, so I want you all to myself all… night… long…”
He raised an eyebrow. “Alright then, no complaints here,” he said, kissing her neck, nibbling her ears as she finished washing the dishes. He turned her to face him, kissing her deeply. She surprised him by hopping up and wrapping her legs around him.
“We can start right here, and see where the night leads us…” she said seductively before kissing him.
