One Simple Step (Journey Series) (8 page)

“You sure you don’t want to hang out for a little bit longer?” Nick asked, running his hand through his hair after sliding off his helmet.

“It’s not that I don’t want to, I just need to get Remy’s car back to her.”

He pursed his lips at me as I leaned back against the car. “You’re not just blowing me off again, are you?”

“Of course not! That probably wouldn’t be a good idea anyway, since you’re going to be my boss and all,” I teased, as he took a step towards me.

“Oh, so you’re just gonna be nice to me because we work together? I see how it is.” His dimples disappeared as he frowned, and dipped his head down, his face just inches from mine.

“Well.” I licked my lips, nervous but excited at the same time from the closeness of his body. “What exactly are we doing here? I mean, I like you, and I’m not just saying that because we’re going to be working together. But—”

A single finger landed on my lips, and my words caught in my throat at the contact. My head was swimming from that one simple touch, causing me to forget whatever I was saying in the first place.

“Both of our heads are spinning right now. We both just came out of messed up relationships, and our worlds still haven’t settled down yet. Who knows if they ever really will?” He moved an inch closer, his lips just lightly brushing my ear. “So, for now, let’s just be friends… and maybe someday, more.” His hands landed on my waist, grazing lightly up my sides until they reached my hair.

His eyes closed just as his mouth crushed against mine, and I whimpered when he fisted his hands into my hair, pulling our bodies together. I rocked towards him when his tongue brushed against mine, and I tasted him again.

When I met Nick, my first impression of him was that he was a laid-back, easygoing guy. I never expected him to own me, but that’s exactly what he did with just his simple kisses.

He pulled back slightly, nipping at the corner of my mouth, before burying his nose in the crook of my neck, and inhaling deeply. “So perfect,” he murmured against my skin.

I dropped my hands down that had somehow become tangled in his hair, and leaned back against the car for support. “Is that really something ‘friends and maybe someday more’ do? Not that I minded,” I added when his head snapped back, and he gave me a questioning look.

“Ally, that’s our thing. We can make whatever the hell rules we want, and that one is definitely at the top of the list.”

Chapter 9

Nick

I blew out a sigh of relief as I shut my computer down for the night, and flipped off the light in my office. “Heading home, kiddo?” Leo patted me on the back when I walked out to the front desk where he was just finishing with a guest.

“Yeah, I think I’ll head out early while I still can. You think you’re good?”

“Of course, the missus hasn’t been bothering me as much since she knows I only have two days left. Are you meeting up with the lovely Miss Ally?” Leo gave me a wide smile, and I couldn’t help but smile back.

It had been almost a month since Ally came to work for me at the resort, and I had been right all along. The guests loved her, and she loved what she did. She might have been a little bit down when I first met her, but I could see the light trying to shine through. Her bubbly personality was exactly the type that was needed for this line of work.

And the resort wasn’t the only place I got to spend time with Ally.

I had been telling the truth when I told her we should just be friends, and maybe someday, more. I just needed to seal the deal with that kiss that I now thought about day and night. Yeah, totally what I had to do.

I somehow managed to keep my hands, and my lips, to myself for the most part, even though we spent almost all of our free time together.

After a little while, I realized that Ally had never been treated the way she deserved. She wasn’t used to being taken on dates, or even being asked the simple question of how her day was.

She was everything Kara wasn’t, though I really didn’t even like to compare the two. She was carefree, outgoing, and willing to do really anything.

She even showed up early one day to drag me out of bed, and we then proceeded to rip up the nasty carpet that had been in the house for as long as I could remember. Afterwards, we ate pizza on the floor, admiring our hard work, before racing into the ocean to cool ourselves off.

“Earth to Nicky boy.” Leo snapped his fingers twice, pulling me out of my thoughts about Ally. “Ah, I know that look all too well. Just be careful, son. Ally seems like a wonderful girl, but getting involved with someone that works for you could lead to a sticky situation if things go south. Tread lightly,” he added with a wink, before patting my back and greeting a guest that had just arrived.

“See ya, Leo,” I called over my shoulder, pulling out my ringing phone as I stepped into the parking garage, and answering it when I didn’t recognize the number.

“Nick, we need to talk.”

Ally

“Alright, two more nights till I get a much-needed three days off. Hopefully I can make it.” Remy dropped down next to me on the couch, twisting her red hair up into a tight bun.

I had no clue how she worked third shift; I knew I couldn’t do it. She always seemed exhausted, but at the same time, the way she talked about her job as a nurse, I could tell how much she loved it. Hopefully I would be able to find something like that someday.

I loved working the front desk at the resort, but I knew that wasn’t something I wanted to do for the rest of my life. It could definitely be enough for right now, though. And it certainly didn’t hurt that I got to see Nick every day. I think that had a lot to do with why I liked it so much. Who wouldn’t want to enjoy the view of his sexy self while working?

“I have faith, you got this, girl. Why don’t we plan a night out so you have something to look forward to? Drinks are on me.”

That perked her up a little and she jumped to her feet, twirling her keys around on one finger. “That sounds pretty awesome, Al. You want a ride anywhere on my way into work?” She wiggled her eyebrows at me, and I couldn’t help but roll my eyes.

Remy was all for me having a relationship with Nick, and not a strictly friends one. She was convinced we were a match made in heaven. That we were most likely soul mates and Teddy had just been a bump in the road.

When she first brought it up, I told her where she could shove her whole “soul mate” idea, but then she had to go and remind me about Chase and Leah. The minute I met Chase, I told him that he was Leah’s soul mate. I knew it, I believed it, and it came true, just like it was supposed to.

Whatever Nick and I had right now, I was happy with it.

“We-ll, Nick did want me to come over, but I told him I was staying in tonight. I think I’ll catch up on some sleep or something. I don’t want to get on his nerves by always being around. I mean, we do work together, eventually he’s probably going to get sick of me.” Just like Teddy.

“Oh, please.” Remy grabbed my hand and yanked me off the couch, bending down to throw a pair of flip-flops at me. “
He
invited
you.
That means
he
wants to spend time with
you
. It’s not like you invited yourself over or anything. And who wouldn’t want to spend time with you?

“Just because Teddy was a jackass and only liked to be with you when it was convenient, does not mean every other guy is like that. What he did to you is because of his own messed up problems, not because of anything you did wrong. Nick is one of the good guys. I know it, and if I’m wrong, I’ll take one hundred percent responsibility. I’ll be your own personal punching bag or something if things end badly.”

“Thanks, Rem, it really means a lot to hear someone else say that. What would I do without you and your pep talks?” I gave her a tight squeeze, and straightened the t-shirt I was wearing over a pair of yoga shorts. I was totally rocking the grunge look but it was gonna have to do. “Let’s hit it, I don’t want to make you late.”

I asked Remy to drop me off at the corner store that was within walking distance of Nick’s place so I could pick up a few things, since he never had much in his fridge. I’m sure it had to do with the fact that he was starting to work more, and he was a guy.

The time that we didn’t spend together, he always ended up at his parents’ house or with Danny and the boys. Nick was set on me meeting his parents, but I had declined the offer several times to have dinner with them. It would totally be awkward, I could see it now. “Hi, this is Ally, my friend and
maybe someday more
.”

Whatever the hell that meant.

I still hadn’t figured it out, but for now, I was going with the flow. I liked Nick and he obviously liked me, so if we were going to play the friends card for the time being, that was fine with me. He was right. We had both come out of sticky situations pretty recently and needed to get our heads on straight before jumping right back into a relationship. Everyone and their mom knows I had already made that mistake once, with my shotgun wedding to Teddy, and we all saw how
that
one worked out.

I tapped on the glass with my free hand, and I heard Nick yell for me to come in. “Hey,” I called out, before I stepped into the kitchen and opened the fridge to unload my bags. “Hope you don’t mind, but I decided to come over anyway.” I heard paws padding on the hardwood floor, and soon enough, I was getting attacked by Gunther.

“Gunther, leave her alone,” Nick directed in a low warning tone as he stepped into the kitchen, leaning back against the counter, elbows resting on the hard surface. “I thought you were staying in tonight. You should have called.”

I shut the fridge, and turned around, crossing my arms over my chest, as I suddenly felt uncomfortable. “I changed my mind, but I can leave if you want me to.”

He pulled out his phone and tapped on it a few times, before looking up to give me a distracted smile and a quick shake of his head. “Of course I don’t want you to leave. You wanna watch some movies or something? I didn’t pick anything up to eat.”

“I have that all taken care of.”

I shoved a six-pack of beer at him, and he smiled. “Ah, a girl after my own heart.”

“Well, I figured I should bring some kind of bribe so you would build me a fire out on the beach. Hot dogs and s’mores sound good?”

“Ally, you’re killing me here. Beer, hot dogs, and marshmallows?” He dropped down to his knees in front of me, and I giggled when he pulled me down with him. “Will you marry me? Because, seriously, I think you might be the most perfect girl ever.”

“Very funny.” I shoved him in the chest as I stood up, and began pulling things out of the cabinets. “Now, go get to work.”

We stayed up way too late, eating endless amounts of hot dogs and marshmallows. By the time we were done, I felt like I had gained at least fifty pounds and could barely move. Nick insisted that he could out eat me, since I was a girl and all, so I had to take on the challenge, and sadly, I just couldn’t win.

“Where do you put all of that?” I teased as I poked him in his flat stomach.

“It’s all muscle, baby.” He flexed an arm, winking at me as he jumped to his feet and threw the last of his hot dog bun into the low fire we were left with.

He leaned down quickly and, before I knew what he was doing, scooped me up into his arms, slinging me over his shoulder. “And where did you put all of it? Light as a feather.”

I squealed as he held me upside down, and beat on his back to try to get him to put me down, but it was a lost cause. He began running in the sand through the darkness. I knew exactly where he was going, and I held my breath just as the cool water hit both of our bodies. His arms wrapped around my waist, and goose bumps instantly spread across my skin at his touch.

“Was that really necessary?” I asked when we both reached the surface, his arms still tightly around me, causing our faces to be just inches from each other.

“Definitely,” he replied, voice low, eyelids fluttering open and beads of water dripping from his lashes. He moved an inch closer, and my legs had a mind of their own, instantly moving to wrap around his waist.

He let out a grunt at the contact, and I smiled at the effect it had on him. He licked his lips slowly, causing the sexual tension between us to grow even more. For me at least.

“You were a sticky mess, I figured you needed some help washing it off. I’m a genius, you’re welcome.” The moonlight glinted off of his eyes as his mouth twitched in amusement, and I wrapped a hand around the back of his neck, pulling him even closer.

“Whatever would I do without you? Actually, I think you still have a little something right here. I need to help you out this time.” I bent towards him, letting my tongue dart out to lick at the corner of his mouth, and his hands moved to cup my ass, pulling me even tighter against his body.

Nick didn’t let me have control for long though, and for once in my life, I think I actually enjoyed it.

He trailed soft kisses down my jawline until he reached my neck, blowing a warm breath across the sensitive skin before sucking lightly. Something between a moan and whimper escaped my lips, and I clenched my legs around him, my hands knotted in his hair.

His mouth finally landed on mine, and it was what I had been waiting for all along. Things with us had been strictly friendly since that first day at the resort, and I had been savoring that kiss ever since. When his tongue finally entered my mouth, I sucked it deep and reveled in the taste, shivering from the overwhelming feelings running through my body.

Nick pulled away all too soon, and grabbed each of my hands, kissing both of them. “Let’s get you inside, I’m pretty sure you’re freezing, I can feel the goose bumps all over your body.”

I didn’t tell him that those were from him. We could pretty much be swimming in Alaska right now, and I don’t think the freezing water would have bothered me as long as I had Nick there, and he was doing what he was doing to my body.