This Story's Going Somewhere

Chapter 14 - Nora

That night, after the show, we told the rest of the guys about what had happened at dinner. Pete was ecstatic, of course, and Joe and Andy were both very happy for us. Patrick performed perfectly that night, and was still noticeably excited as he ran backstage to hug me after the show. I don't know what it was, but being in his arms now was a completely different sensation of excitement. After we told everyone, and the boys were all showered and packed up, we headed back for the hotel, where we would once again be staying the night. I don't think any of the guys minded that Patrick and I immediately locked ourselves in our room, and in fact, I don't think any of them blamed us.

    As usual, we turned on the TV and watched whatever we could find, but this time, there was no hesitance in cuddling up to each other. I curled into Patrick's side with my head on his chest, and he wrapped his arm around my waist, his palm flat against my stomach. I could tell that he liked being able to touch me, especially my belly. It was still small, but just knowing our little bun was in there made us want to be as close as we could be. We were quiet for a while, as Patrick was clearly tired from the show, but eventually, Patrick leaned away from me to grab his bag off the floor beside the bed. He set it down between his legs, with me watching curiously, and pulled a notebook and a pencil out of it. Without a word, he opened it up to a page half filled with words and phrases, some of them scribbled out, and began writing more. Above what he was writing, I recognized the line, "Am I more than you bargained for yet?" When he pulled his hand away, I looked at what he had written beneath the finished lines. He had written, "Is this more than you bargained for yet? Don't mind me, I'm watching you two from the closet, wishing to be the friction in your jeans." I smirked at that, lifting my head to look at him and he blushed.

    "Sorry," he said quietly, "It popped in my head, and I had to write it down before I forgot." He closed up the notebook then, tossing it onto the bedside table and putting his bag back on the floor.

    "You don't have to apologize," I said, smiling, "That's the same song that you told me about before, right?"

    "Yeah," Patrick said, yawning, "I just don't know where I'm going with it yet."

    I sat up slightly, so that I was eye level with him. "You'll get there," I told him, knowing that he would eventually. He smiled and squeezed me closer to him, planting an unexpected kiss atop my head.

    "Thank you, Nora," he whispered before pulling away.

    I looked up at him again, blushing deeply. "You're welcome," I said softly, and laid my head back against his chest. I wrapped my arm around his stomach again, pulling myself closer to him. "You're warm," I whispered, burying my face against his shirt.

    Patrick breathed a laugh and turned his body towards me, hugging me to his chest so that we were pressed tightly together. "You're cold," he teased, rubbing one hand up and down my back. I smiled, wrinkling his shirt in my hands. "Are you okay?" He questioned, now rubbing my arms as well.

    "Yeah," I said, yawning, "It's just a little chilly in here."

    "Do you want me to turn the air down?" Patrick asked, leaning away from me slightly. As much as I didn't want to let go of him, I was shivering slightly and couldn't say no, so I nodded my head and released his shirt so he could get up. He slid out of bed and walked to the window, beneath which was the control panel for the air conditioning. He turned the dial until the air shut off for a few moments, then returned, pulling down the covers to the bed as he climbed up. "Get in," he said, motioning for me to move under the blankets. I did as I was told, cuddling up to him as soon as he was beside me. "Better?" He asked, looking down at me with a grin.

    "Much better," I said, "Thank you." Without thinking, I leaned up and pressed a kiss to his cheek. He blushed hard, just as I had, and leaned his forehead against mine, to gaze into my eyes.