Feeling This

Chapter Four

Nicolette wasn't sure what she had expected for dinner. She had thought that maybe they'd go to a nice restaurant since the guys were rock stars. She certainly hadn't expected them to go out to a greasy diner that was completely average in comparison to other diners. Although Travis' choice in cuisine may have had something to do with the fact that they were in Las Vegas and all their other options were either bars that Nicolette couldn't get into, or fine-dining restaurants that were way over-priced.

Not that Nicolette was complaining. The fries here were delicious; she couldn't get enough of them. Apparently neither could Mark because he kept reaching across the table to steal some from Tom's plate. That was another thing Nicolette wasn't upset about: the seating arrangement.

Davion had been sure to sit on the side of the table that faced the diner's entrance. Nicolette figured it must have been some sort of bodyguard thing. Travis had sat down across from him. Tom pulled out the chair next to Travis for Nicolette to sit down, surprising her with the chivalrous gesture. She didn't even think people still did that anymore. Then Tom took the seat next to her, leaving Mark with the seat next to Davion and directly across from Nicolette.

Nicolette was actually enjoying herself. She always enjoyed messing with Tom though. It was just too easy. Ever since she had made him blush after Travis' comment about Nic being "all grown up" when they first met, she had known it wouldn't be hard to mess with him. She figured a little harmless flirting wouldn't hurt anyone, and it was a way to keep herself entertained while trapped on a tour bus for two months. And Tom was cute, which made the little game even more fun.

Their seating arrangement at the diner made it easy for Nicolette to tease Tom without anyone else knowing. Not that she did much anyways. She would just rest her hand on Tom's knee whenever she laughed at something one of the guys said, acting as if the gesture didn't mean anything and was just a result of laughing too hard. Sometimes she would squeeze lightly if the joke had been really funny.

Tom didn't comment on Nicolette's behavior during dinner, but he had certainly noticed. His body would tense up every time Nic laid a hand on him. She never looked at his face, however, not wanting to draw attention to her actions. He must have made some sort of face though, because Mark called him out.

"Are you okay, dude?" Mark asked, frowning at his bandmate.

"Huh?" Tom replied. Nicolette smirked to herself when his voice cracked slightly, sounding strained. "Oh yeah, I'm fine."

Nicolette took her hand off Tom's knee and placed it back in her lap. "Just lost in space?" Mark guessed with a smirk, like he was used to Tom's daydreaming.

Tom's gaze flickered over to Nicolette before he responded. "Yeah, just a little...distracted, I guess."

"Are you nervous about tomorrow night?" Nicolette asked innocently. She took a sip of her soda before meeting Tom's gaze. He looked more confused than anything, making him even more adorable.

"Yeah, that must be it," Tom agreed after a pause. His eyes remained focused on Nicolette's. Time seemed to drag on as they had a miniature staring contest. But none of the other three paid it any attention, so it couldn't have been more than a few seconds when Tom finally looked away from her.

Nicolette didn't know what she was trying to accomplish exactly. It's not like she expected Tom to flirt back, nor did she entirely want him to. She had a boyfriend after all. Really she just wanted to see how far she could go before Tom said something to her.