Unrequited (Chosen #3) (14 page)

She beamed with satisfaction and Nick grinned at her. You could see it. You could see his heart pushing right out into the room. The man was so in love with her.

“It is a beautiful song, though,” I added.

“Yes, it is,” she said.

A few moments later, I watched in awe as Nick and Lizzie played their guitars and sang Butterfly Girl. Their voices were fucking miraculous together. As Lizzie started to sing the chorus, she nudged me to join in. I shook my head and she gave me a “don’t fuck with me” look so I immediately started to sing. I looked at the picture again. I sang to the beautiful man that was in the picture. I sang to the beautiful man that remained in my heart. I sang for the Butterfly Girl who finally found her wings. I hoped that one day I could find my wings, too.

TWENTY TWO
- NICK

My girl was home and I could not stop grinning. Our love making had been unbelievable. Every time I thought about a place I wanted her to kiss, she did it. Every time she moaned my name, my stomach burned with fire. Every time I told her I loved her, she kissed me with more force. We were on fire.

As I sat here now strumming the guitar with Lizzie again, the world fell away and it was just her and I. Occasionally, her foot would rub up against my calf and I would lose my mind from her electric touch. Lizzie was mine and I was hers.

A few moments passed and I realized Lizzie and I weren’t alone. I looked over at Sam and smiled as I watch her mouth the words to one of the songs Conner wrote. She knew them word for word. She was off in her own world, occasionally looking down at the picture Lizzie had given her.

Lizzie took the whole situation with the car accident, Sam’s father’s attempts to push her away and paying Teagan off to finally leave us alone. I thought she would become grumpy about the sum of money I offered Teagan, but she just thanked me with a kiss. I wasn’t ready to tell her I quit my job and I was working with Jeremy to open a recording studio. I wanted it to wait until after we returned from Texas. I looked over at the kitchen clock and saw that it was almost two in the afternoon. Shit, we needed to go.

I put down the guitar and put my hands on my legs. Lizzie stopped strumming and waited for my words.

“Ladies, I hate to break up this jam session but we do have to take a quick trip down to Texas so I can deal with Mr. Hughes for good,” I stated. Both of the girls’ eyes go wide and I braced myself for their resistance.

Lizzie shook her head. “You let that man be. If you go down there and fuck with him, he will come after Sam. Nick, he will come after me. I don’t want anything to do with people like that. No offense, Sam.” She looked at Sam and gave her a sheepish look.

“I agree,” Sam said. “He doesn’t know about my new apartment. I transferred all of my money to a different account that he doesn’t have access to. I had to prepare for when shit hit the fan.”

“Ladies, I understand you are both fearful but I can take care of this once and for all. Nothing, I mean
nothing
will happen to either of you.” I was firm and resolute.

They gave me that look. The look women do when they feel sorry that their man is wrong. It’s a pitiful look. It makes me feel like a bug and I am about to get squashed.

“You aren’t going with me, are you?” I looked from Lizzie to Sam and back. Both girls shook their heads. Lizzie put her guitar down and came to sit in my lap. I put my arms around her beautiful waist and looked up to my bride to be. I was mesmerized by her presence. She felt so fucking amazing in my lap.

“Baby. There are more important things to be done than having a conversation with someone that won’t even hear you. He might listen to us but he will never grasp the fact that
he can’t control us.” She kissed my cheek and rubbed her nose against mine.

“I don’t want to go because I
just
got home. I want to spend time with you. I want us to eat dinner tonight as a family. I want Sam to talk to my parents this weekend. I want to feel love after everything that happened with Teagan. I don’t care about all that other bull shit.
No one
is getting in the way of me loving you ever again. Please don’t go. Stay
here
with us,” she pleaded.

I watched her eyes search mine and wondered how lucky I was to fall in love with a woman that loved me right back. I kissed her chest above her v neck tee shirt. She sighed and relaxed in my arms. I rubbed her back and held her for several minutes.

“Okay. I won’t go to Texas this weekend but I will take care of him. He tried to ruin all of us and I can’t sit by and let it happen anymore.” I relaxed back into the chair and all of a sudden, I felt so tired. Content but exhausted.

I continued to rub my hand over her back and looked over to Sam. She was beaming at me and mouthed “Thank you”.

Sam stayed through dinner. I watched Lizzie ask Sam a lot of questions. By the time she left, I saw similarities in them. They were both head strong and open to change. At one point in the goodbyes, Sam said that Lizzie should join her at the spa and go shopping.

Lizzie let out a chuckle.

“You should go for me and then tell me how I liked it,” Lizzie answered. Sam looked confused and hugged her goodbye.

As we prepared Niall’s bottle and took him to bed, she hummed a new song I hadn’t ever heard. “What are you humming?” I asked.

“I wrote some songs while I was in Maine. Television is sketchy up there and well, there wasn’t anything else that could keep me from picking up the phone to call you. So I wrote songs for you.” She shrugged. She laid Niall in his crib with his bottle and smiled down at him. “It’s good to be home, huh buddy?” She asked.

“It is very good for him to be home,” I said as I watched her hair fall over her face. Slowly, I felt the sensation to feel her against me again took over.  A simple task of putting our child to bed put me in the mood to lick her all over. I must be a love sick idiot.

We held hands as we made our way back to our bedroom. We both took off all of our clothes. She sighed as she took me in. My heart beat picked up as I took her in. We crawled under the messed up covers and inched towards the center of the bed to hold each other.

“I quit my job, Lizzie,” I quietly said.

“You did?” she asked nonplused.

“Yep. I am opening a recording studio near Berklee College of Music. I want you to go back to school. I want you to go study music there.”

“Hmm… that sounds amazing, but Nick, I am about to have two children. I won’t have time to study. Plus, I want to plan our wedding.”

I was slightly taken aback at her lack of interest. I thought she would be excited about going back to school. As I thought about it for a minute, I am adding more to her life and she needs to relax, not stress out more. I need to start thinking about what I want for her and listen to what she wants for herself.

“Well,” I kiss the top of her ear lobe and brush my lips down to outline the rest of her ear. “What do you think of the recording studio?” I asked seductively.

“I think it sounds hot,” She said breathily.

She pulled back from me and I saw the enthusiasm in her face.

“I am sure the boys would love to record,” she practically yelled it in my ear. Why is she so excited about the band recording? I lay back and pulled her down to me.

Then I got it. Conner wanted to be signed. He wanted to own a recording studio one day.

“I want you to name the place. Oh and I want you to pick out a really, really colorful house in Cambridge.”

She jerked her head up and her mouth dropped wide open. “Are you fucking with me, Nick Sawyer because I will sleep on the couch for days.” I have yet to surprise her like this since I brought her back to my apartment to find that I was…what did she call it? A filthy rich guy?

“Nope, I want you to live the life that you and Conner dreamt of when you were younger.” I said, grabbing a piece of her hair and pulling it away from her face. Her eyes were shiny and she was beaming. She looked so magnificent. The small side table lamp drew out her redder highlights and her green eyes.

“Okay,” she whispered. She leaned in and kissed me. Her mouth was soft and gentle. I groaned and brought her on top of me. Our bodies were warm and we relished into each other’s mouths and hands for hours. I would never get enough of my Butterfly Girl.

When we filled the whole apartment with moans, grunts, and begging, I curled up behind her sweaty body. As we caught our breath, I groaned into her hair. “Baby, my sweet Lizzie, You will always be my Butterfly Girl.”

The next morning, I woke to the phone ringing. I groaned and looked over to see Lizzie miraculous, naked, and still passed out cold. We wore each other out last night and the poor woman was growing my baby inside of her. I slipped out from under her arm and leg. I walked out to grab the kitchen phone just as it was going to hit voicemail.

“Nicholas?” Mother. Ugh. Why, oh why do they think we get up at six in the morning on Sundays?

“Hey Mom, what’s up?”

I yawned into the phone and adjusted my briefs so I am not exposed to a conversation with my mother. Even from afar, some things just aren’t appropriate.

“Oh honey, were you sleeping? We haven’t spoken in weeks. I was worried about you. Your father and I want to come visit you and Lizzie soon.” She startled to ramble on about all the trips they had coming up and when they could come.

“Well, you should come in about 5 months. Lizzie should be giving you your first Sawyer grandchild then,” I yawned again.

I held the phone away from my ear as she shrieked. She called my father and he got on the line. He was pleased and offered congratulations. They asked to speak to Lizzie. When I told them she was still asleep, they insisted that I was never to wake her up when she was sleeping. Was I helping enough at home? Was she eating okay? The questions were endless. At one point, I tuned them out and just grunted.

“Oh and I can’t even believe what happened to the Hughes’ family. I will tell you what. I won’t be donating anything to their charity event this year. You think you know some people and then all of a sudden, they turn out to be slimy rats.”

“Mom, what are you talking about?” I stood up straight and was fully awake.

“Mr. Hughes. Don’t you know, Nicholas? He was arrested for insider trading. He was trying to open a software company and it was going public. He basically orchestrated a huge
financial scheme. I don’t know what it all means but he is going to prison. Can you believe that? I am surprised you didn’t know, honey. Don’t you talk to Sam? It happened over a week ago and he is home with one of those ankle thingies.”

Holy hell. He was going to prison? Thank fuck. Wait, but what about Sam? She hadn’t talked to him. She has to know. I needed to tell her she was safe.

“Mom, I got to go. Lizzie wants to start on wedding plans and will call you soon for your input. I love you, mother.” I hung up and quickly dialed the hotel, only then realizing she had moved and I had no idea to where.

TWENTY THREE
- SAM

As I took the cab home to my empty apartment, I realized I had nothing to do tonight, tomorrow, or even next week. My only comforts were the new couch, television, and the services the cable company set up for me. I fell onto my king sized bed in my bare bedroom and smelled the photograph of Conner. It was still clutched in my hands hours after Lizzie had given it to me. I couldn’t put it away. I had to keep holding on to it. Because if I let it go, I would feel the emptiness I had felt for all of those months after the accident.

Lizzie may have said it wasn’t my fault but I knew better. I was glad she was told the truth. She can find peace with what happened to Conner. Somehow, I knew when she gave me that photo that I would never find my peace.

I wanted so much to become a girl who found her wings and could fly. Deep down inside, I knew that only had happened once.

Conner O’Malley.

He gave me my wings but now they fell off, shriveled up and are dust. Hell, I do need a therapist again. Or maybe I need a little drunken sex distraction.

Game on?

TWENTY FOUR
- NICK

I sat on the bed next to a sleeping and stunning Lizzie with a clean and fed Niall in my arms. I squeezed her ass. She groaned. I squeezed it again. She kicked.

“Hey! Baby in arms,” I pleaded.

She turned around and her smile was priceless. “Aww. I missed you babe. Look at my two handsome men.”

I leaned down and kissed her. Niall slapped her on the face and we both looked at him and said, “No hitting” at the same time.

“I just got off the phone with Mom. I told her we are going to have a new Sawyer baby. She wanted to know everything…like right now.” I rolled my eyes and kissed Niall. He grabbed for his mother and I laid him down on our bed.

Lizzie stretched and nodded her head. “I am sure she does. My mom and dad need to know soon, too. I noticed I am starting to really show.” I put my hand on her stomach and was amazed to feel a hard bump. Why hadn’t I noticed it before? “You are exquisite.”

She laughed. “Don’t be annoying, Nick! I know I am going to turn into a whale. Hey, what sound does a whale make anyway?” Her face was serious and I blinked several times.

“I have absolutely no idea, but we could go to the aquarium again to find out?” I asked. She smiled and sighed,
intertwining our fingers together. “Lizzie, she had some news for me. For us.”

I looked around the room, trying to think of a way to get in touch with Sam. I wanted her here to tell them both.

She sat up on her elbows. “What’s up, Nick?” she asked concerned.

“Sam’s dad was arrested for fraudulent trading. He is looking at time in jail.”

Her eyes widened and she put her hand over her mouth. “He
did
have something to do with getting me fired. I didn’t think it was possible with all of the security but fuck, Nick. That guy really did screw with my career!” She looked upset. Maybe I threw too much information at her last night but I had to tell her everything. We were best friends. We were lovers. If you can’t be honest with the person you love, then what’s the point in having a relationship in the first place?

“I know, baby. I was trying to tell you that last night. We need to call Mac back and see if you can get your job back. I know you were so upset that day. I bet you want an update on Mrs. Crayton.” I chuckled.

Lizzie shook her head. “I don’t want to go back there. I would rather go to the spa and shopping with Sam every day of the week. That is saying something.” She laughed loudly and rolled her eyes. She is different. Less stressed out and…happy.

“Wow, so you aren’t going to work? I mean, it is fine with me, but what are you going to do?” I asked, clearly
astonished. “You know you don’t know how to sit around all day with nothing to do.”

Lizzie kicked me playfully and tickled Niall. “Look for a house. Go get a sonogram. Take care of this little guy. Hang out with my fiancé. Have mad passionate sex with my fiancé. Play music. Plan a wedding? Duh.” She widened her eyes and a sarcastic smile spread across her face.

“That sounds like a very busy life,” I whispered. “I am glad you are going to take it easy. On another matter, I am concerned about Sam. She doesn’t know her father was arrested. Did she give you’re her new phone number or her address?”

Lizzie’s head cocked to the side as she was trying to remember something. “I think she lives closer to Cambridge but on this side of the river. It is some high rise apartment complex that overlooks the Charles.”

I nodded. “Ok, well that is something. I will look into it tomorrow. Today I just want to lounge in bed with my two favorite people. Let’s watch movies and eat take out all day.”

Lizzie got up on her knees and one bare leg crossed over my waist. She was so warm and smelled so delicious. “Nick Sawyer, you are a man after my heart. I don’t think you could be any sweeter, sexier, or smart.”

I lifted my eyebrows as I cupped her ass and give it a small squeeze. She leaned over me and we kissed like teenagers. It was a beautiful moment.

These are the moments I wished we had a camera ready to capture the moment of love and life. The past twenty four hours has changed my whole world right side up again. I had no pictures of my depression or my anger while Lizzie was in Maine. Most likely, tomorrow there will be other changes, whether good or bad. Someday, I will need this moment to get me through the hard times. I got up and grabbed my Nikon camera from my dresser drawer and got back in bed. I turned it around and Lizzie brought Niall up to our laps. I took thirty pictures as we made funny faces, smiled and then kissed softly. All thirty pictures turned out perfect.

*************

Lizzie and I spent the next week looking at colorful houses in Cambridge, talking to the band about the recording studio and hanging out like two teenagers in love. She went shopping one day to find some maternity clothes. She tried to get her parents to come into the city for dinner but they were both laid up with the flu. Still holding off on telling them about the baby, we made an appointment with her OBGYN for a sonogram.

“Will you want to know if it is a boy or girl?” Lizzie asked me one day, as we were eating chips and salsa on the couch.

I hadn’t thought about it before. I shrugged. “I think we have had a lot of really bad surprises this year. Maybe we keep this one as a good surprise.”

She smirked at me and kicked me in the leg. “You are so fucking sweet. How did I land a hunk like you?”

I shrugged again. “Good sex?”

“Good one, Mr. Sawyer. Really? Good sex? I think it had something to do with our mutual love of Phish. Oh yes, my first marriage proposal was through an email. That was hot,” she deadpanned.

I laughed out loud. I had forgotten about that email. “I was 100 % serious that day and every day thereafter.”

I leaned over and popped a chip in her mouth. She grumbled something around the chip. “What?” I asked as I cupped my hands around my ear. “Did you say something?”

Lizzie kicked me again and I brought her foot up and licked it from the bottom to the top. She screamed and tried to wipe it away on my bare chest. It was funny to see her grossed out. She could play dirty.

A few minutes later, we continued to eat the chips while eyeing each other to see if one of us was going to do something else disgusting. Neither one of us moved. I exhaled deeply and turned my face towards the phone. Sam. I got up from the couch and started to pace.

“Lizzie, why hasn’t Sam come by this week? Why hasn’t she called?” I placed my hands against the back of my neck and started to rub it.

“I honestly don’t know. Maybe she wants us to have some alone time. Maybe she didn’t like me like I thought she did. Maybe she is busy moving in,” she started rambling.

“Yeah, but it’s not like her to not call. She is almost annoying about calling me.” I had a bad feeling that I couldn’t shake. She must be up to something.

“Maybe she left town. Maybe she got closure with telling me about that night and didn’t feel like she needed to be here any longer. Call her mom. They might know where she is,” she said.

“I won’t ever talk to those people again. I don’t care if I am looking for the President of the United States.” I gapped at her in disbelief. Call Sam’s parents? Preposterous. I wouldn’t even ask my mother to contact them. I wanted them as far away from my family as possible.

“I don’t know, babe. But you seriously need to chill out. Sam is an
adult
. She has plenty of money and is capable of making her own decisions. I wouldn’t be surprised if she took off to a fabulous beach for some rejuvenation. She probably doesn’t feel the need to contact us any longer, now that we are back together. Sam and I aren’t exactly
best
friends, you know.  I get why she was here in the first place but now…well, that’s over and done with.” Lizzie exhaled loudly. She put her hand on her stomach and groaned. “I am so full but I can’t stop eating.”

“I am going to try those other apartments this week just to see if they know her. I need that list you made, okay?” I asked.

“Sure. No problem. Now rub my feet.” She smiled.

She wiggled her toes out to me as she popped another chip in her mouth. I sat back on the couch and took both her feet into my lap. I rubbed those delectable feet until Lizzie fell asleep. Even then I didn’t stop. I thought about Sam. I thought about everything that had happened since she first showed up in Boston. She had risked everything to come clean to me. Maybe she already found out about her dad and she flew back to Texas. Maybe her father is blaming her for everything that happened. I sighed. I had no answers.