With the Lights Off...

(71): Things I Forgot to Do

* No author's note needed. By the way, something happens to Ian here that does not happen in real life. HAHA*

Ian's POV

The morning

"Do you think there's any chance in this world that Torrey would want to have all the blood sucked out of her and filtered just so she wouldn't be indebted to Nicky Hilton?" I asked Nina as she poured in strawberries in the blender.

"You know, sometimes I worry where your imagination takes you, my love," she said, popping a strawberry into her mouth. She padded towards me, wearing just my shirt and her lace underwear, and leaned over the counter, kissing me with the strawberry still in her mouth.

I pulled it out partially and took a bite, kissing her again. "That is one hell of a good strawberry," I commented, licking my lips.

She smiled and ran her thumb over my chin. "I know," she said, sticking her thumb in her mouth. She turned around and went back to her smoothie. "What I don't know is if your idea is impossible. Torrey is forgiving, but Nicky Hilton is her least favorite person in the world."

I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, scrolling through my iPad. "Everyone and their mother knows that," I said, even if I hated hearing it come out of my mouth. I went on silently, scrolling through my e-mails.

Nina pressed the blend button on the blender and let it go for about fifteen seconds, before turning it off and pouring the contents of the blender into two separate glasses. She walked towards me, handed me one, and set her glass down.

"How do you think she's holding up though?" Nina asked.

"Torrey?"

She cocked her head to the side and shook her head. "Nicky," she said, hopping up on the counter. She sat in front of me.

"I don't know," I said. "Basically, I shouldn't even care really. I mean, she wants everyone to let her be for a while. Maybe, I should do the same."

"But for some reason, you can't bear the idea of not knowing how she's doing, can you?"

I bit down on my lip and locked my iPad, setting it aside. I took Nina's face in my hands and ran my thumbs across her cheeks. I shrugged and she smiled, placing her hands over mine.

Somehow, just that tiny gesture made her understand that I couldn't let her be, but I didn't want to talk about it anymore. She kissed the inside of my wrist and set both of our hands down on the table.

"I have a question," I said. 

"No, I did not put kiwi in the smoothie," she said quickly, taking a swig from the glass.

I rolled my eyes and shook my head. "What does obicham mean?"

Her face lit up at the word. "Well, love." She smiled widely and kept silent, not giving me an answer.

"Yes, love? What does obicham mean?" I asked, confused.

"Ugh," she groaned, leaning in closer. "Obicham means love in Bulgarian, babe."

"Oh, oh."

"Yeah," she said, grinning. "Why do you ask, anyway?"

"Oh no, nothing," I said. "It's just..."

"What?"

"Your grandma," I said. "She asked me to call you that at least once everyday." I looked up at the sky and saluted. "10 points, baba."

Nina stopped moving for a while, then smiled a bit sadly. "She did, huh?" she asked. "Was that in her letter?"

"Not telling," I said. She cocked her head to the side and I placed my hands over hers. "I also never knew that she was expecting you to marry Bolton or get hitched to Alexander."