Always & Forever (Nick & Bailey #2)

3. Nick

Bailey looks so fucking hot tonight. As she's looking at herself in the mirror one last time before they leave for the party, Nick imagines bending her over and lifting her little skirt up to her hips before pounding into her--but he contains himself.

The skirt she has on is short—hitting her upper thighs—and she has a thin, silky tank top tucked into it at her waist. On one hand, he gets to look at her all night, but on the other hand, so will every other guy at the party. He's not sure how he feels about that.

Instead of telling her all of his internal dialogue, he simply says the truth. "You look beautiful."

She turns to him and smiles. "So do you."

He laughs and looks down at what he's wearing. It's one of the many dark t-shirts in his wardrobe—he's not sure if it's navy blue or black—and jeans. He didn't have a chance to take a shower after having sex this afternoon when Bailey got back from her final, so he threw on a hat to cover his bedhead.

"Let's not make a habit of calling me beautiful. Please?" He asks.

She walks over to him. She still seems a little wobbly in heels—she never wore them in high school. But they make her legs look even longer than usual, so he's not complaining.

Overall, he's noticed a lot of differences in how she dresses now compared to a year ago. She dresses like a woman rather than a girl. It's so damn sexy sometimes.

"Abby should be here any minute," she says.

"Fantastic." He knows he sounds sarcastic, but it just slipped out.

Bailey stops in her tracks and looks at him, arms crossed. "Okay, that's enough. What is your problem with her? She's my best friend, Nick."

"She told me she tried to get you to go out with Evan over me," he admits.

She looks genuinely confused. "When did that happen?"

Nick shrugs. "I don't know. But she stopped me at that pajama party and told me--she wanted to confess, or something."

"Okay. I am starting to remember that now. But Nick, you and I were not in a good place at the time. She didn't want me to get hurt. She was just being a good friend."

"And that's fine, Bailey. It's not like I'm going to fight her, but she called me an asshole. I'm never going to be best friends with her either."

Before she can respond, they hear a knock at the door. "That's Abby," Bailey says, walking over to open it looking sad, immediately making Nick wish he had just lied. 

Abby walks in like she owns the place. "You guys ready? I think Derek is there already."

Nick didn't know Derek was going to be at the party, but he shouldn't be surprised. Bailey, Abby and him seem to spend a lot of time together--much to Nick's dismay.

The three of them walk a few blocks until they come upon a house party that looks very familiar to Nick. Apparently, drunken college kids look the same no matter where you go to school. One thing does capture his attention, though.

"This is where your living? It's huge for just the two of you," he says to Bailey as they walk into the front door. There is a second floor and, Nick's guessing, at least four bedrooms.

She glances around, and it seems like maybe she's looking for Abby. But they've already lost her somewhere between the sidewalk and here. "Yeah, it's not just Abby and me."

"Who else?" He has to yell now because of the music blaring, but Bailey doesn't hear him anyway--or at least she pretends not to.

She turns away from him towards the kitchen and he follows. She reaches the keg and grabs each of them a cup before filling them up. She seems to know where everything is, and he wonders how much time she's spent here, and with who.