Page 71 of I Need You Tonight
Yeah, happy Thanksgiving to me. Too bad the only thing I had to be thankful for was them leaving.
“Thanks,” I said to Nicole, feeling even more drained than before the girls had shown up.
“You’re welcome.” She gave me a small smile and glanced around at the tables surrounding us. Some people were staring at us. Others didn’t care about anything besides whether their flight was still on time. The problem was a storm in the Chicago area. So far our flight hadn’t been canceled yet, but a large number of others had been.
I checked my phone to make sure nothing had changed.
“Fuck,” I muttered.
“What’s wrong?” Nicole asked.
“The flight’s been delayed by two hours.” For now. There was always a chance it could be delayed even longer…or worse.
“At least it’s not canceled,” Nicole said, doing her best to stay positive, but there was no missing the fatigue in her eyes.
The restlessness that had surfaced when I first discovered my father had died grew. I went back to pretending that I was watching the game and shifted around on my seat. I was also vaguely aware that I was drumming on the table.
A hand touched my knee, and I looked up at Nicole sitting next to me. “Did you want to walk around?” she asked.
I nodded and finished my beer while she signaled to the waitress for the check. We paid for the food and walked around the terminal. Like in the restaurant, my presence gained me looks from fans who recognized me, but fortunately no one else tried to talk to me.
Nicole tugged me down a quiet hallway. There were no shops or restaurants here. Nothing that would attract a steady stream of travelers. She pressed a featherlight kiss on my lips. Then she nipped my lower lip between her teeth and gently tugged on it.
Hell, yes!
I didn’t need another invitation. Knotting my hands in her hair, I opened my mouth and let her in. Our tongues glided together, taking, giving, worshipping. Her kiss was a salve on my battered soul.
We kissed for a while. I was vaguely aware of the occasional person walking past. No one said anything—not that I would’ve cared if they had. I just wanted to arrive at the hotel in Atlantic City and get Nicole in my bed.
Once things progressed from sweet kisses to something more intense, I rested my forehead against hers, both of us panting.
My phone pinged with a text from Jared.We’re in Atlantic City. Is your flight on time?
It’s been delayed two hours,I replied.
Will tell the hotel that you’ll be late,he responded a few minutes later.Don’t want them to give away your rooms.
Not that Nicole needed her room. She’d be sleeping with me. But since I wasn’t sure how Jared would react to that, I didn’t bother to tell him to cancel hers.
Or more like I didn’t know how the band would react. Jared knew about my feelings for Nicole. As far as I could tell, he hadn’t said anything to the guys.
An antsy feeling crept inside me, and I drummed my hands against my legs. It wasn’t enough. I needed to pound on my drums. That and sex were the only ways to drive away the feeling. But after what had happened at the funeral, I had a feeling sex wouldn’t be enough this time. Fuck, I shouldn’t have gone—then Nicole wouldn’t know how badly I’d screwed things up with my family.
As it was, the clock was rapidly tick-tick-ticking toward those final minutes before she would discover exactly how I had destroyed the people I loved.
