Nick & Bailey

28. Bailey

I wake shivering. It is so cold. I open my eyes and realize I'm cramped in the backseat of my car. I'm only in my tank top and shorts. Ginny was supposed to bring some warm clothes for me to sleep in. How the hell did I end up here?

I remember dancing with Ian, and Amanda coming over to take him away. I remember sitting with Nick, and laughing, and telling him that I cared about him, and him telling me that he cared about me. I feel happy when I think about that. But did that really happen? Or did I dream it? It all kind of seems like a dream right now.

I turn over to face the front and see that the passenger seat is laid back. Nick is sleeping on it. Desperate for warmth, I crawl onto the seat and curl up on top of him, head on his chest, one bent leg on each side of his hips.

He wakes up in the process but doesn't make me move as I feared. Instead, he wraps his arms around me. I need to warm my hands so I slide them under his shirt on his back. It makes him jump.

"Holy fuck, Bailey! Your hands are icicles!" He laughs.

"That's why I need to warm them," I say. Obviously.

"Well in that case..." he sticks his hands under my shirt. Now it's my turn to jump. He's just as cold as I am.

I'm too tired to bicker anymore. "I guess that's fair."

He gives a contented sigh and repositions himself, getting more comfortable. "How are you feeling?" He asks.

"Not bad actually. But I think I might still be drunk," I look at the windows. They are fogged up, but it still looks pretty dark. I couldn't have slept for more than a few hours, the cold waking me up. "Do you remember how we got here?"

"Honestly, no. I think I remember some of it, but not all."

"It'll come back to us," I say, smiling to myself. I close my eyes and fall asleep listening to the sound of Nick's breathing.

I wake to the sound of voices outside the car. I couldn't guess how much time has passed, but it's full daylight now. My arms are still wrapped around Nick, his back keeping my hands warm, and his are still wrapped around me too.

"Nick, we should get up," I slide my arms out from beneath him and sit up straight. "Ian will probably be here soon."

He opens his eyes slowly, and, when he sees the position we are in, gives me a sleepy smile. His hands slide up my thighs, and the movement jogs something in my memories. Were we dancing at some point?

He lifts his hips slightly, and I can feel his hard-on through his jeans. I raise my eyebrows in a questioning look, and he shrugs, "I just woke up, and you're straddling my lap. What'd you expect?"

I love that I have that effect on him. "Come here," he says softly.

I bend down to kiss him, and there's the faintest taste of cigarette smoke on his tongue. The image of us sitting on a couch comes to mind. And then a feeling of disappointment. Why had I been disappointed?

I break the kiss and climb off of him into the drivers seat. I'm sure it's nothing, but something in my gut was telling me not to kiss Nick. What the hell happened last night?

"Let's find Ian," I say. "I have to get to the gym and take down all the decorations before the graduation ceremony tomorrow."

Nick nods. "Okay. I have to be at work by noon anyway." The look on his face is just as confused as I am.

We eventually find Ian and Amanda and drag them awake. We shove the tent into the trunk and climb in the car to leave.

"God, I feel like shit," Ian says as we pull away.

"I think we all do," Nick replies. "And fuck, man, I don't even remember what happened after you two left."

"Nothing?" Amanda asks, eyeing Nick coyly.

His eyebrows crease together. "No. And why are looking at me like that?"

"Oh, no reason. I left the tent to pee during the night, and I just happened to run into Ginny."

That name sends a fresh shot of pain through me. Nick must have the same reaction because he looks at me, concerned. "And...?"

"She said you guys hooked up."

"What?!?" Nick yells, turning his attention back to the front seat. "There's no fucking way. I would not fuck Ginny."

Ian pipes in, "Why not? You used to fuck her all the time."

I'm going to puke. My stomach is in knots. The fuzzy memories from last night are starting to come into focus.

Amanda puts her hands up. "She never said you had sex, necessarily. She didn't exactly specify though. The party was pretty much over and she was just looking for you, couldn't find you, so she told me. You really don't remember?"

Nick sighs and looks at me with troubled eyes. "I'm beginning to."

I mouth the words "Me too" to Nick before turning towards the window. I look outside the car for the entire ride back to my house, despite the fact that I can feel Nick eyes boring into the back of my head. I just can't look at him right now.

I spend the day in the gymnasium taking down the prom decorations. It takes me several hours, I'm not sure exactly how many. I had a few friends offer to help, but turned them all down. I wanted to be alone, and I wanted the distraction. If I was at home, I'd be thinking about Nick.

So I decided to think about Nick at the school instead, apparently.

I go over the events from the night before over and over. Some parts are still not completely clear to me, which is a tad bit unsettling. I've never drank to the point that I have memory lapses before.

I do remember that I told Nick I liked him, and I'm almost positive that he said he liked me too. I remember that he kissed Ginny, and I remember being consumed by sadness after finding out, which turned to anger. I remember us yelling at each other, but I still don't remember what happened after that or how I ended up sleeping in the car.

I am more tired than I've ever been in my life, and after I come home, I immediately go to bed and sleep for next fourteen hours. When I wake up, it's the day of my high school graduation.

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