A Few Little Scars

by Casey McMillin

  "Nick, you need to just go lay on the couch. I'm going to bed."

  "Do you mind if I shower?" Nick asked, pulling it together.

  "Go ahead. I'm doing the same thing. I'll see you in the morning."

  "Okay."

  Jason walked off, but turned back to Nick with one finger in the air, pointing upstairs. "Don't do it."

  "Chill, dude."

  "I don't want tears in the morning."

  "I won't."

  Jason's mouth was turned upward in the hint of a smile as he walked off. It was real easy for him to issue demands about not talking to a lovely lady when he had one waiting in his bed, Nick thought. Screw Jason. Nick was a big boy and if he wanted to wake up the sleeping vampire, he would.

  Nick took a shower in one of the downstairs bathrooms where he found a random toothbrush and washed it with soap and hot water before using it. It was probably his anyway, but he couldn't be sure with being inebriated and all, so he figured he'd wash it just in case. Nick found some of Jason's clothes in the dryer, and he grabbed sweatpants and a T-shirt and put them on. He felt a lot better once he was clean and dressed. He was tired enough to go straight to the couch and crash, but his own curiosity wouldn't let him do that.

  Before he could reconsider, Nick went upstairs. He took them two at a time just to prove to himself he wasn't drunk. He climbed like the well-primed athlete he was, and felt satisfied with his sobriety by the time he reached the top.

  There were at least three bedrooms upstairs, but it was obvious which one Molly was in because hers was the only door that was shut. He stood outside the closed door for a second contemplating whether he should give a light knock or just open it. There was no sound coming from inside, and he decided after almost no deliberation that he'd just go ahead and open it.

  He did so very quietly, turning the handle and stepping across the threshold with no sound whatsoever. So what if he was a ninja from way back? Molly had left a light on and the door cracked in the adjoining bath, so even though it was mostly dark, Nick could easily see where he was going. The room she was sleeping in had a king-size bed, and he could see that she was positioned on the far side with her back to the door. He crossed the room silently, taking in the fact that her clothes and bag were in a neat pile on the dresser.

  As he got closer, he could see that she had one leg peeking out of the covers. He almost reached out and touched it without thinking, but reminded himself that his presence might not be a welcome surprise.

  He had no plan.

  Maybe he just wanted to remember what she looked like. Maybe getting a glance at her while she was sleeping would be enough to satisfy his curiosity. Her phone was sitting on the bedside table next to her. She had it set on a white noise app that made it sound like a thunderstorm, and was sleeping soundly when he approached.

  Nick only looked at her for about five seconds before coming to the realization that he was going to kiss her again. It was probably the scotch talking, but he knew it was her he kissed in the hallway the night before and he clearly remembered what her lips tasted like.

  He wanted to taste them again right then. He stared down at her—suddenly feeling like it was either taste her lips or come unglued. Her long hair was splayed out behind her, and he thought about what the soft skin at her temple must feel like. He wanted to reach out and touch it. He wanted to put his hands on her, but he knew if he did, he might miss his only opportunity for a kiss.

  No part of him touched any part of her as he leaned in, hovering over her. Nick had the fleeting thought that he wouldn't be doing any of this if he hadn't been drinking, but it was too late now, the wheels were set in motion. His arms were on the bed beside her, bracing his weight, and he stayed like that for a few seconds before he made contact.

  His mouth touched the corner of hers in an extremely gentle kiss. Her lips felt soft and warm and he paused there for a second, just enjoying the scent and feel of them. He wanted more. He licked his own lips before putting them to hers again. This time he gently sucked on her bottom lip. She stirred a little beneath him, and he held really still, waiting to see what she'd do.

  He couldn't believe what happened next.

  She took her hand out from under the covers and put it on his face then she opened her mouth to him just as she'd done in the dark hallway the night before. He didn't see her eyes open, but thought she must have known what she was doing if she was holding on to his face like that.

  He didn't really care. He closed his own eyes and gave in to the kiss. She awakened a need inside him that had him wishing he were laying next to her on the bed with his bare skin touching hers. He placed kiss after delicate kiss on her mouth until, slowly, they become more urgent. He let his tongue penetrate her mouth, which made her let out a little sound of pleasure.

  ****

  Molly was dreaming… or at least she thought she was. She was in a syrupy state of mind where only one thing was for certain—she was extremely aroused. She was kissing someone in her dream, and it was so real that it caused a wet, hot burn between her thighs. She felt herself thrust forward a little bit and heard herself moan at the intrusion of his tongue in her mouth. She vaguely had the passing thought that she hoped she could finish the dream before she woke up. The next passing thought was wondering who she was kissing.

  Wait? Shouldn't she know who she was kissing? Oh yeah, it was probably Zeke. What a hottie. She opened her mouth to him and he responded by deepening the kiss even further.

  It was the friction of the five o'clock shadow rubbing against her cheek that made her stir and start to come out of her dream. Only, the kiss didn't stop. She squirmed a little as she started to cross the barrier between sleep and consciousness, wanting to continue the kiss, but beginning to hear mental alarm bells in the distance.

  Molly pulled back slightly as she started to peek out of squinted eyes. Her mind and her vision were both hazy, and she sort of thought she was still dreaming. She half-expected to see a vision of Zeke above her when she opened her eyes.

  There was a guy.

  It was Nick Logan.

  His dark hair fell onto his forehead as he looked down at her. Ahh, so handsome.

  It hit her a few seconds later that she might not be dreaming after all. She blinked to bring the image into focus, and could see the dark, handsome stranger was still hovering over her. She groggily began to come to terms with the fact that Mr. Wonderful's very real tongue had most likely just been in her mouth.

  Her eyes snapped open. There he was, staring back at her like nothing happened.

  Is he… smiling? Where the heck am I and how did I end up kissing this guy again? Molly looked from side to side, taking in her surroundings. It registered as guest bedroom at Jason's.

  She focused on Nick again, who by that point was sitting back, realizing he should probably retreat.

  Molly blinked. "Was I just kissing you for real just now?"

  He was silent for a second. "Uh, yeah," he said. "Who'd ya think you were kissing?"

  She blinked, utterly confused. "I thought I was kissing no one—a dream guy. I thought I was dreaming since I went to bed alone in here. Alone Nick."

  "You're obviously not alone," he said.

  "I can see that I'm not alone, Nick. The question is, how'd you end up in here kissing me in my sleep?"

  "I just came up here, and I remembered the last time we kissed, and I wanted to do it again." He had the nerve to look injured. "You seemed into it."

  "Into it?" she asked, incredulous. "I was sleeping."

  He smiled. "Don't lie. You know you liked it."

  "I repeat… I was sleeping, Nick. Sleeping." She gave him an offended glare. "And you didn't hesitate to push me aside last night when Daisy Lee showed up."

  "Oh is that what this is about?" he asked. "What was I supposed to do? I had no idea who you were. I thought it was her I was kissing in the first place."

  "I don't really know what you could have done differently," she said. "I don't ev
en know why we're having this conversation right now. I think it's safe to say you might be a little drunk since I can both smell and taste some sort of hard liquor right now."

  "It's scotch, and I'm not too drunk to know what I'm doing."

  Molly thought about that. "I'm not even sure if what you just said makes sense, Nick. But I don't think you mean to be up here right now."

  "I think I do."

  "No you don't."

  "How do you know where I mean to be?"

  She regarded him regretfully. "I know it's not here. Or at least it shouldn't be."

  He looked a little injured. "Are you kicking me out?"

  She huffed a humorless laugh. "You shouldn't be in here in the first place. I don't know what you're doing. I think you might have had too much to drink."

  "I know what I'm doing, Molly. I came up here because I wanted to see you." He reached out and ran his fingertip over her scar. "I like the way you look."

  She sat up, blinking in disbelief. "I think you need to find your own bedroom and sleep it off," she said.

  He regarded her, wondering what he could or should say next. He didn't want to leave, but wasn't able to put together a reasonable argument. He cursed the scotch and the effects it had on his ability to think straight. "I'm not trying to leave," was what he said even though he knew it was too simple.

  She stared him down. "Well, I'm not trying to have you stay."

  "Are you seriously telling me to get out?"

  "That's exactly what I'm saying."

  "I'm not drunk."

  "Just go sleep it off, Nick. You'll be glad I did this in the morning."

  "No I won't."

  "Go Nick."

  Without another word, he got up and walked out of the room.

  Chapter 6

  Molly's head fell onto the pillow in exasperation as soon as Nick closed the door behind him. Had she seriously just been making out with him again? She stared at the ceiling wondering how much of what just happened was a dream and how much was reality.

  Two nights in a row she'd been kissed by that dark, handsome stranger, and neither time was she able to see him or even appreciate what was going on. She sighed remembering how it felt. He was gorgeous and a great kisser, and for a second she considered getting out of the bed and catching him while he was still close by.

  For what seemed like forever, she laid there imagining she'd never kicked him out. She thought about that they'd be doing if he were still in there with her. She ached to have him back. She assumed it wasn't necessarily that she wanted Nick specifically¸ because she was all worked up over that Zeke guy earlier, but she really enjoyed kissing Nick, and found herself wanting to feel his touch again.

  She wondered how far they would have taken things if she had let him stay. She let herself fantasize about it for a while, and had moments of regret for making him leave. Her body experienced a longing that somehow felt like more than lust. The warm ache he stirred in her groin had her tossing and turning for the next hour, trying to get comfortable.

  She woke up at 10AM the following morning. Her thoughts instantly drifted to Nick Logan. After letting herself lay there and think about him for a few minutes, she decided to get up. Jason's house was so big that she knew she wouldn't disturb anyone, but she was still careful to be quiet. The room she slept in had its own bathroom, and she showered before making her way downstairs.

  She knew Nick was drunk the night before, and the kiss hadn't meant anything, but part of her was still excited to see him. Hoping he would be downstairs when she got there, she brushed her teeth and put on a little mascara and lip-gloss.

  "What are you doing up so early?" Jason asked.

  Molly was slightly taken off guard by seeing him since, in her mind she thought she'd be running into Nick.

  "I just couldn't go back to sleep," she said. "What are you doing up?"

  "I'm always up," Jason said. He looked at Molly with narrowed eyes. "You didn't happen to see Nick last night, did you?"

  "No, uh, you mean Nick Logan? No, why?"

  Jason breathed a frustrated sigh. "Because he was supposed to crash here last night, and he drove home. He's not texting me back, and now I'm gonna have to drive my ass to Nashville to make sure he didn't kill himself going home."

  Molly felt the oddest sense of disappointment at the news that Nick wasn't there. "Do you think he's okay?"

  "Yeah, I checked the local news earlier. He's fine. Nick's high profile so I'm sure even a DUI would have been on there. I'm still gonna kick his ass for driving, though."

  Molly didn't want to think about Nick. She reminded herself to focus on the very exciting news that she hit it off with the very cute and talented Zeke. "I met a guy at that show last night," she said

  "Really?" he asked. He gave her a curious glance, and Molly knew it was probably less about her love interests and more about what she and Hannah were doing meeting guys.

  "He's the singer in the band we went to see last night," she said. "His name's Zeke."

  Jason gave her a smile, but didn't really know what else to say. "Sounds like you guys had fun," he said.

  "We did," she said. "Printer's Alley is really cool. I'd never been down there before."

  "I like it too," Jason said.

  They said nothing for a few seconds before Molly felt the need to fill the silence. "Did y'all have fun?"

  Jason smiled. "It's always fun with Nick," he said. "It's just a matter of whether or not we got arrested."

  "Glad to see you're not in jail this morning."

  "The jury's still out on Nick, remember?" he said, laughing. "There's still a chance I'll need to bail him out this morning."

  "Are you seriously going by his house?"

  "Probably."

  "I might not be here when you get back," Molly said. "I really should be getting back to Sparta before too long."

  "You should go wake Hannah up first," he said. "I know she would want to see you before you leave."

  "Oh, I definitely wouldn't leave without saying bye."

  "You leaving already Molls?" Neither of them had seen Hannah approach, and both turned to see her walking sleepily through the living room.

  "I thought I would," Molly said.

  "What's the rush?" Hannah asked. "Why don't you hang out for the rest of the day?"

  Molly had already thought of that. As much as she wanted to hang around, she knew it'd be better to get back to Sparta. The longer she stayed in Nashville, the harder it was to go back. Compared to Nashville, her dad's hardware store might as well have been prison.

  "I'd really love to Hoo, but I really should get back."

  Hannah looked at Jason. "Molly hung out with the lead singer of the Half Nelsons a little bit last night," she said.

  Jason had never heard of The Half Nelsons and wasn't the least bit impressed, but obviously he'd never say that. "She told me about that," he said. He looked at Molly and smiled. "I guess that'll make you put the pressure on your dad about moving over here," he said.

  "It's really not his choice since I'm twenty years old," she said. She was already on edge about it since the weekend had been so much fun and she was dreading going home.

  "Seriously," Hannah added. "You should just ask him to hire someone to take your place. He pays you the same amount he'd pay someone else. Why can't he just hire someone to take your place?"

  "He could, he just doesn't want to."

  "I need to head to Nashville for a little bit," Jason said.

  "Why?" Hannah asked.

  Jason rolled his eyes. "Because Nick drove home drunk last night and I need to make sure he didn't kill himself."

  Hannah gave him a confused look. "Why'd you let him drive drunk?"

  "I didn't. He was supposed to stay here last night, but he left instead."

  "How do you know he didn't just leave when he woke up this morning?"

  "Because I know Nick, and considering the state he was in last night, he should be passed out on the couch righ
t now."

  Hannah glanced over at the empty couch before looking at Jason with a concerned expression. "I hope he's okay."

  "I'm sure he's fine," Jason said. "I'm basically just going over there to kill him for making me have to go check on him."

  Molly wanted to tell Jason to take it easy on him since she was likely the reason he left in the first place. She caught herself before it came out of her mouth, though. A statement like that would do nothing but confuse everybody—including herself.

  ****

  A little more than a month later, Molly was on her way to Nashville again. It was Halloween weekend, and Jason was having a get-together at his house. Halloween fell on a Thursday that year, so the party ended up being a day late. That was convenient since Hannah's birthday was November 1st. Jason swore the party wasn't for her and he was planning on doing something for Halloween regardless. Hannah let him go ahead with it even though she knew he was lying.

  Molly was actually excited to go to Nashville this time. She had been communicating regularly with Zeke. They hadn't seen each other since the night they met a month before, but they'd been in contact almost daily through text and, on occasion, Facetime. She was planning on spending the whole weekend in Nashville, and was really excited at the prospect of seeing Zeke again.

  Seeing Nick didn’t even cross her mind.

  Okay, so maybe it did, but that was more because she'd made out with him twice. She told herself that once she had the chance to kiss Zeke, all thoughts of Nick would be erased from her mind.

  She sent a text to Zeke at four o'clock Friday afternoon. He had plans to meet her at Jason's for the party, and she wanted to solidify them.

  Molly: "I'm just leaving work. On my way to Nashville. See you tonight."

  She was on the interstate thirty minutes later when she got a reply.

  Zeke: "We're gonna be a little late, but we'll be there. Text me the address again."