Unchosen (Chosen #2) Read online

  “Cool, so is this your version of taking a piss?” he guffawed.

  “Yes! I am currently pissing my pants,” I replied dryly. What was up with this guy? One minute he huddled with Caroline and the next he was seeking me out.

  Drew sat down on the blanket next to me and put his arm around my shoulders. Wow, that was a brave move. I looked at him and half smiled, feeling absolutely 100% uncomfortable.

  River looked at the two of us and grinned broadly.

  “Hey, you guys want some X tonight?” River asked. I shook my head while Drew asked him how much.

  River waved him off. “Nah, it’s a Phish show. We all are about love here,” he said, pulling out some pills.

  “I don’t do ecstasy, Drew. And since you are my designated driver, I suggest you don’t do it either,” I said firmly. God, I already sounded like a mother.

  I took a swig of my beer and brushed Drew’s arm off my shoulder which wasn’t noticed because he was already grabbing for the baggie. He looked around and put it in his front pocket. I stood up and gave River a big hug and thanked him for playing for me.

  “Keep it real, Lizzie,” River said as he started playing again.

  I started walking down the row again and heard Drew calling out my name from behind me. This was so damn uncomfortable and I didn’t know what to do. I looked back to see how far back he was when I slammed right into another person. I looked up to find Nick staring down at me with concern in his eyes. “What’s going on, Lizzie?”

  “Nothing. I was just meeting some cool people.”

  “You took off.” He had his hands in his pockets with his Texas Rangers hat on backwards. His broad chest ached to be touched. He was so striking to look at. He was unlike any other man in the whole field of thousands. The bothered look on his face was charming. I had to look away to stop my heart from beating so fast. Focus on something, anything else, Lizzie.

  “Yeah, I’m sorry. I just can’t do the tense drama scene tonight,” I said with a frown. I couldn’t even look him in the face because if I did, I would tell him I didn’t even want Drew to come. I wanted to be his date.

  “Come here.” He pulled me into a tight hug and placed his chin on top of my head. “I am sorry. I put you right in the middle of a real bad situation.” His warmth felt so inviting and I had been waiting so long for his touch. I had dreamed about him hugging me, nuzzling into me, making love to me.

  “Dude, what the fuck? She is my date tonight,” I heard Drew say from behind my back. I quickly pulled away but Nick took my hand in earnest.

  “Go find, Caroline. She wants to be your date after all,” he said with a knowing look.

  “Shit, she told you?” Drew asked as he put his hands on top of his head. “Nick, it was one time and we didn’t do it. I stopped it. I promise. I mean, I like her but…”

  Nick just nodded curtly. “Well, apparently, she likes you, too, man. So have at it.”

  Oh God, she and Drew. Caroline wanted to be with Drew instead of Nick? Why? How? He is beautiful, smart and so...Nick. But none of those attributes mean anything when the other person doesn’t feel the same. I knew that first hand. I felt like the whole field was spinning and I couldn’t figure out which way was up. I looked down at my hand inside Nick’s and the electricity between our hands was undeniable. I looked at him and gave him a sympathetic look and mouthed, “I am so sorry.” He shrugged and his smile was radiant. “Everything is better now that I have you by my side.”

  The next moment, Nick pulled on our intertwining hands and started back down the row to the beer tents. He bought me a shot and a beer and we said nothing. There was nothing I could say. I just held his hand and watched everyone around us having a blast. After what felt like an hour, I turned to Nick and said, “I don’t know how to say this but if that girl is down, Drew and Caroline are going to do X tonight.”

  He stared at me for a long time and then shook his head. “Fuck,” he muttered and we both turned to watch everyone around us. In that moment, we bonded in a way that far exceeded what I expected from the night.

  NINE

  The show was a-fucking-mazing. Nick and I danced nonstop. We didn’t want to see Drew or Caroline as long as we could so we never went to our seats. It was an unspoken agreement when I asked him to dance on the lawn with me for a while. Dancing with thousands of stunning, free-spirited people was magical and I wondered if Nick had ever been on the lawn. It was the best place to be part of a Phish show. When “Bouncing Around the Room” began, I bounced up and down along with the rest of the crowd for the entire song.

  Nick laughed at me and yelled in my ear, “I am so fucking ecstatic you are here!” I smiled brightly and raised my empty beer bottle. Suddenly, there was a fresh one in my hand. I looked at him perplexed.

  “Someone has to drive us home,” he yelled. No way. Nick was cheated on. This is his favorite band and he can’t even let loose. Damn, I should have noticed. “I’ll stop, too!” I yelled back.

  He shook his head and gave me a big thumbs up with the most gorgeous grin. Damn, he was pretty. I could stare at his sexiness all night long. I wondered what it would be like to kiss him. I looked around us and watched three girls trying to dance with him from all sides. I snorted and backed off. No drama. No old Lizzie. As I continued to peer at him and the girls inconspicuously, I saw he wasn’t dancing with them but trying to keep up with me. A guy in another group grabbed my hands and started twirling me around. I giggled, enjoying the buzz of the music scene. Nick came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me away from my other dancer. “You are mine,” he groaned in my ear. His moves were seductive and so close that if I had been on the outside looking in; I would think we were a couple. He remained so close I could see the beads of sweat coming off his neck onto his shirt. I welcomed the closeness and let loose. It was exhilarating and incredible.

  Occasionally, Nick would come close to my ear and sing lyrics to me. I smiled so bright while all the girls around blatantly watched us. We moved as if we had been dancing together all of our lives. We anticipated each other’s step and hold. Our collective rhythm was magical. I felt a strong connection to his presence and when the show was over, it was a massive let down. I didn’t want to stop dancing with Nick. Ever.

  We fumbled our way to the car. Okay, I fumbled and he kept his arm around my waist. We yelled about all the great songs and Paige’s solo. I always had a soft spot for piano players. As we approached Drew’s car, I said, “Next time, we are going to sit on…” I stopped short to see Drew and Caroline making out on the hood of the car. He had his hand up her skirt and his shirt was basically up to his shoulders.

  “Holy hell,” I muttered as Nick muttered, “God damn.”

  I turned to him. “What do we do?” I asked. “Do you want me to beat them both up or should you take Drew and I’ll take Caroline?” He chuckled and gave me a wink.

  “No, no. Although, I like your thinking, Lizzie, I think we should just keep the peace and get them home,” he said, still watching them groping each other.

  I blew out a big whistle with my fingers and teeth and announced it was time to go. Nick jumped in the driver’s seat and started the car. The two lovebirds nearly fell off the hood and crawled into the back. I took shotgun, for Nick’s sake, of course. After listening to Caroline’s moans for a few minutes and realizing they were going at it again, I started riffling through the CDs in the front seat.

  I looked over to Nick who was holding the steering wheel with white knuckles. I softly put my hand over his and said, “It’s okay. It is her loss.” He visibly relaxed at my touch. “I am not worried about Caroline. I feel bad you have to be here to see them,” he replied. Shrugging, I threw in David Gray by habit and as “Babylon” started, I stiffened. What the fucking hell was I thinking? Nick started singing along and looked at me with a grin. “Good album,” he said.

  “Hmm. Yes, it is,” I said quietly as I sat back in my seat and looked out the window. I swear th
e moment I think the past is the past, Teagan’s image slams back into my brain. Nick noticed.

  “Hey, you okay?” he asked. I shook my head and for appearances sake, I started singing along, too. At least, the music drowned out the sounds of foreplay in the back. This music would never drown out my memories. Music only makes memories, some wonderful and some painful. If I could do it all over again with Teagan, which I probably would, I would have made us listen to obsolete one hit wonders that weren’t sold anywhere and never played on any radio station.

  An hour later, we pulled up to my apartment and Nick looked up to see the building. I turned around to see Drew and Caroline basically in a comatose state. “Where are you going to take them?” I asked with alarm. Drew couldn’t drive home, I thought, analyzing the driving situation. Did Nick already have a solution in his head about what to do with these two?

  “I am going to take them to my place. Caroline still lives with her family and I am not letting Drew drive,” he said, looking resolved.

  “You can’t do that!” I exclaimed. I thought about my apartment. I had a sectional couch and a blow up mattress for camping. The two shit heads in the back could take the sectional and Nick could go home alone.

  I relayed my idea to him. “They are not your problem, Lizzie,” he said, shaking his head in earnest.

  “Okay, well, you can stay, too. It is not a big place, though. Once you guys get up, you can take them home and then this whole disaster will be over for good. Wash your hands of it, Nick. Seriously, you don’t want this bullshit in your life.” My brilliant confidence was shining through.

  I held up a finger. “However, tomorrow will be the first time I have slept past 6:00am in almost five months so you guys have to be super quiet,” I said, tamping down my uneasiness at this new arrangement. Nick sat back and thought about it. I didn’t. I grabbed the keys out of the ignition and climbed out of the car to open the back door.

  “Okay, love birds. Time for bed.” I squared my shoulders, ready for battle. How many times in my life had I literally carried people to their sleeping spot? Drew and Caroline both looked up and smiled.

  “Lizzie,” they both sang at once. I rolled my eyes.”Where were you? We love you.” I flashed them a quick smile. This was going to go better than I thought.

  “Can you walk?” Please, please, say you can walk. Nick was on the other side of the car pulling Caroline out of her seat.

  “You were my blind date,” Drew said as he stood up and tried to unsuccessfully nuzzle into my neck. Nick scowled from around the other side of the car. He studied Drew carefully and then let out an audible huff.

  “Oh no. Not a date. A misunderstanding. Believe me. Nick was my date tonight and he was a perfect gentleman.” I stole a glance at Nick, who was smiling brightly down at the ground as he took Caroline out of the car. He didn’t want me to see that my words had pleased him.

  Caroline came around the back and took Drew by the waist. Nick and I half heartedly helped them upstairs and plopped them down on the couch. For good measure, I didn’t even take the noisy toys from underneath them. I threw one of my baby blankets on them, so small it took up one quarter of their bodies. It was hysterical. I didn’t even have the heart to make sure they were comfortable. How very unlike Lizzie.

  I chuckled all the way into the kitchen, thinking paybacks and hangovers were a bitch. Nick was sitting at my kitchen table, staring at Niall’s high chair.

  “It’s kind of a mood killer, huh?” I went to the cupboard and got a glass of water. Silently asking him if he wanted one, he nodded.

  “Oh, they killed my mood the moment we got into the car,” he replied, standing up to come closer to me.

  “No, I meant that,” I said, pointing at the high chair.

  “No, Lizzie, that doesn’t kill any mood. I mean you have a baby, a boy. Niall,” Nick fumbled out his words.

  I giggled at him. He turned his face to see me and smiled. As I continue to smile at him, he asked, “Is his father in the picture?” Now, that was a mood killer. No, Teagan didn’t choose me. I am on the “Unchosen” list.

  I shuddered inwardly and closed my eyes. Shitty pants, I didn’t want to talk about this. I shouldn’t have drunk anything. Everyone knows I easily pour my heart out because there was no filter on my drunken mouth. I bit my lower lip and shook my head. He exhaled resignedly and took my hand. We didn’t say anything for a while. I started to get up to get ready for bed and he grabbed my arm.

  “Lizzie, I am so in awe of you. You are a working, full time, single mother,” he stated. I nodded. It probably looked commendable to the outside world. All working, single mothers just want to survive through the monotonous schedule until they can take a shower in silence. It’s just a fact of life. “My family is close. They help a lot,” I said with a smile.

  “That’s really… great,” he said. “Can I see a picture of Niall?” Knowing this was a really bad idea, I tamped down my apprehension and went to the magnet and picture covered refrigerator. I took down Niall’s most current photo from JC Penney’s and handed it to him. I tried to act at ease as I put my hands behind my back and clasped them.

  Nick gazed down at the picture and drew his finger over Niall’s nose and his chubby cheeks. “He looks like you,” he said, grinning up at me and handing the picture back. I shrugged and returned the photo, secretly smiling about Niall. I spun around to see Nick looking at my backside. His eyes shot up to mine. We studied each other in silence and it was unbelievably comfortable. Nick never made me feel awkward. His presence had the opposite effect on me. There was an unspoken communication between us. He was staying in my apartment tonight and without warning, I was flustered. I held out my hand and crooked my head towards the bedroom. He took it but I saw his eyes had widened. Oh, no. He didn’t think I was that easy, did he?

  “I am going to head to bed. I am exhausted but I had a great night. Thank you for setting it up. I know things are a bit crazy in there,” I said, pointing in to the living room. “So, I am going to put on my pajamas and you are going to sleep with me, fully clothed, of course.” His face registered my meaning and he stood woodenly. “No, Lizzie, I don’t need a bed,” he said. “And what do you mean about me setting it up? Did Drew tell you I set you two up?” He shook his head in disgust. An uncomfortable silence fell over us.

  “Come on, you stay in my room. It doesn’t matter what happened tonight. Let’s just sleep and all will be well in the morning. Besides, we are friends, right? To be honest, friendship is all I can give to anyone right now. So, friend, come have a sleepover. I promise I won’t write stupid things on your face during sleep.” I giggled. “Well, at least I won’t draw a penis on your face.”

  He chuckled but I did see a brief flash of disappointment cross his face. He followed me into my room and looked around at my art, my guitar, and my notebooks. I followed his gaze as he took in everything in my room. Luckily, my parents got me a king sized bed. We won’t even touch each other. Was that a good thing? I went into the bathroom, got changed, and went back into my room. Before I turned out the lights, I saw Nick lying on my side of the bed, breathing methodically. I watched him for a few moments and sighed. There was a hot man in my bed and I just told him not to touch me. I must be the stupidest woman alive. I got under the covers and within moments, I drifted into a dreamless sleep.

  Sometime during the night, I awoke to find Nick’s body was completely enveloping mine. His arms were around my belly and his breath was tucked into my neck. It felt so good. It felt so right. I put my hands over his and sighed. Just as I was nodding off again, I heard him whisper, “You are so beautiful.” “You are, too,” I replied. He squeezed me tighter and I fell into his warm embrace without reservation.

  TEN

  The next morning, I woke up and quickly identified the two classic characteristics of “the morning after.” These were precisely the reason why I didn’t drink anymore. My throbbing head, first classic sign, was the basis of that conclusion. I grabbed
a plastic water bottle from my stand and then I realized the second thing. No one was in my bed. I jumped up and ran into the living room. No one was there.

  Wow, that was fast. I wondered how their morning went. I barked out in laughter at the outlandish night and did another happy dance for absolutely no reason at all. It just felt so good my life wasn’t mundane that morning. There were love triangles, uncomfortable conversations, and none of it really had anything to do with me. Thank God! I absolutely loved that it was just me in my apartment with several hours to privately enjoy before I could go get Niall. My mother said I wasn’t even allowed to call to check up on Niall. God, I loved my parents that morning.

  I slipped out of my pajamas, which I never actually wore, unless a hot man I didn’t sleep with was in my bed. Okay, so he cuddled up to me. That was unexpected and I felt a flush run up my neck. I kept my camisole top and boy shorts on and turned on my stereo system. “Big Time Sensuality” by Bjork rang through the surround sound Conner set up for me the first weekend I moved in. It was so loud and I loved it. I danced and threw my arms up in the air and giggled. It was fabulous.

  “Lizzie!” I heard Nick’s voice barrel through the music. I fumbled for the remote and muted the music.

  “Shit, you scared me!” I yelled, still thinking the music was turned all the way up.

  Nick held up his hands and stood there like he was waiting for me to attack him. But then he just stayed there and I looked at him with a question in my face.

  His eyes moved from my feet up to my face and he broke out into a huge smile. I looked down and quickly grabbed the baby blanket from the couch.

  “Oh my God,” I said. “I didn’t know you were coming back. I didn’t hear the doorbell or any knocking at the door.”

  “Yeah, I tried to call you but there was no answer and I did stay outside your apartment for about five minutes but I could hear the music,” he replied sheepishly. He shoved his hands in his pockets and it was then I noticed he had showered. His hair was a little damp and definitely spiked with some type of hair product. Why did men using hair products turn me on? He wore a long sleeve black shirt under an old Texas A&M University t-shirt and his jeans were faded black. Worn out Adidas adorned his feet. I took in his obviously put together appearance and then realized I was still in my underwear. Standing there. Gawking at him. I blinked to get myself out of my trance. I fumbled with a toy in my hand and it dropped to the ground.