There's Something About Nik

by Sara Hantz

  “Because I can’t quite believe it. After everything you said,” Lauren pointed out. She piled her blond hair on top of her head and then fluffed it back out again.

  “I know, but these were extenuating circumstances.” Amber crossed her arms over her chest.

  Her fists tightened as the enormity of her dilemma hit her. She knew she sounded crazy. Everything was so confusing.

  “And what’s that supposed to mean?” Lauren asked.

  “That it wasn’t something I’d planned, or even wanted. It just happened.” Her mind went back to the kiss. The feel of his lips on hers. Demanding, but not aggressive. It was perfect. And it probably wasn’t going to happen again. The thought dampened her spirit within seconds.

  “Don’t tell me. Sitting on a bus put you in such a romantic mood that you couldn’t help yourself. You were so overcome by the atmosphere that you kissed him by mistake. You…”

  “Enough.” Amber held up her hand indicating Lauren should stop. “He kissed me, actually.” She couldn’t make light of the situation. Not yet. Her emotions weren’t ready for it.

  “Same difference. Unless you pushed him away, which you didn’t. Did you?” Lauren prodded.

  “No. Not after that dreamy kiss,” Amber admitted.

  “The best you’ve ever had. Yes, I know,” Lauren said.

  “Well, it was.” She drew in a long breath, reliving it yet again.

  “And have you arranged to see him again?” Lauren asked.

  “He didn’t ask, and that’s probably for the best.” The words came out of her mouth, but she didn’t believe them.

  “But if he asks you, you’ll go, won’t you?” Lauren insisted.

  “I don’t know.” She wanted to voice her concerns, but it was going over old ground, and Lauren had all the answers. Answers she didn’t want to hear at the moment. “I can’t shake the feeling that he’s hiding something. I know you think that I’m imagining things, but I can’t help it. Plus, as I’ve already told you, I don’t want boy drama this year, and I believe this boy is all drama.”

  “Well, you know my view. If you go out with him, then we can double date, instead of you two being a third and fourth wheel.”

  Amber despaired at the eagerness in Lauren’s voice. How did she manage to make everything seem so easy? Amber knew for a fact that life wasn’t like that. Maybe she should be more like Lauren. She shouldn’t read too much into it. So what if it was a once-only kiss? She should just take things as they happened. Live in the present and not spend so much time worrying.

  “He hasn’t asked me, so this conversation is totally hypothetical.” Amber’s stomach dipped once she’d voiced that out loud, because she realized that Nik not asking her out had gotten to her more than she’d thought.

  “He will,” Lauren said with confidence. “And you can say yes. It will be fun. No one is asking you to marry him. Just go out together and enjoy it.”

  Well, when she put it that way…

  “He’s certainly different from any other guy I’ve been with.” She failed to stop the smile that tugged at her mouth.

  “That’s a good thing, right?” Lauren uncrossed her legs and rested her feet on the floor.

  Amber walked to the bed and sat beside her. “I guess.” She pulled her cell from her pocket and opened the email she’d sent to herself of the photos she’d taken of Nik. “What do you think? How cute does he look?” she asked Lauren, showing her.

  “Really cute.”

  “I know.” Her whole body heated from just looking at him.

  “He didn’t mind you taking them this time, then?”

  “I didn’t ask. But it’s not like anyone else is going to see them. I’m sure he won’t mind,” she confirmed, more to herself than to Lauren. She swallowed hard, suddenly panicking. She hoped she hadn’t done anything to damage things between them. “He won’t, will he?”

  “No. Of course he won’t. He was just being stupid.”

  Amber exhaled. “True. He probably regrets his over-reaction already.”

  “It’ll be cool. Don’t worry.” Lauren rested her hand gently on Amber’s arm. It felt reassuring.

  “Okay. But please don’t mention the photos to Josh. In case he tells Nik.” Although she asked, she knew that she hadn’t needed to because Lauren would always have her back.

  “My lips are sealed. He takes an awesome photo, by the way,” Lauren said, clearly voicing her approval.

  “I know. I told you that he would. Look at the outline of his jaw. And his hair, so blond. Isn’t the way it caresses the tops of his ears adorable?”

  “Caresses the tops of his ears. Adorable. You’ve seriously got it bad, girl.” Lauren giggled.

  “No, I haven’t. I’m looking at him with my detailed photographer’s eye. Nothing else.” Amber elbowed her in the ribs, a little harder than she intended.

  “Ouch,” Lauren groaned.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

  “That won’t change the truth. Just admit it.” Lauren pulled out a lip gloss from her pocket and swiped it over her lips.

  The text tone on Amber’s phone interrupted their conversation. She opened it, and her heart did a triple flip as she saw the text was from Nik.

  “It’s from him. It’s Nik.” She couldn’t hide the excitement in her voice.

  “What does it say?” Lauren demanded.

  “How do I know? I haven’t opened it.” Amber stared at the screen, transfixed. Not wanting to open it in case it wasn’t what she wanted to read.

  “Give it to me.” Lauren snatched the cell from her hand and before Amber could grab it back, she’d read the message. “Oh.”

  “What? Tell me,” Amber practically yelled, grabbing the cell back and scanning the message.

  Her heart plummeted. He was just thanking her for taking him shopping.

  No date.

  Chapter Nine

  Nik spied Amber jogging alongside the large lake in Victoria Park. After overhearing Josh and Lauren on the phone discussing that Amber had gone for a run in the park, he’d wondered whether they’d bump into each other since he’d already planned to go for a walk there.

  What a coincidence.

  Okay. He admitted that he’d only half thought about going out. But he wanted to see Amber. To confirm that their kiss was a mistake. Well, not a mistake in that he didn’t enjoy it. He did. A lot. A mistake for all the reasons he’d been rehashing over and over in his mind ever since it happened. Which all related to his real identity.

  He ran across the path, skirting behind a large bush until he came out just in front of her.

  “Hey. What are you doing here?” She wiped away the beads of sweat on her forehead with her red and white striped wrist band.

  “I was out for a walk and saw you.” He noticed the ice-cream van from across where they stood. “Want one?” he asked, pointing toward the vehicle.

  “Mmm. Yes, please. I’m so hot from running.” She ran her tongue over her top lip.

  His eyes rested on her mouth. His previous thoughts banished, all he wanted to do was draw her into his arms and kiss her. He couldn’t, of course, since they were in full view of everyone in the park. He remembered that first kiss on the bus as if it was yesterday. It haunted him. The pounding of his heart against his chest. The way she’d run her fingers down his back. His nerve endings felt on fire just thinking about it.

  But it couldn’t happen again. She’d had cancer, for God’s sake. The last thing she needed was someone playing with her feelings. He knew that Josh would say he should just take each day as it came. They could date and then it might naturally fizzle out. But what if it didn’t? When would he tell her who he really was? As he took off on his plane back to royal tedium?

  And how would it change things between them?

  It was so complicated.

  So I won’t think about it.

  “I’ll race you there. Loser pays.” He grabbed hold of her hand and pulled her in the direction of
the van.

  “You’re on.” She dropped his hand and took off immediately, catching Nik unawares. He hadn’t been ready for that.

  “Hey,” he yelled, following her.

  He quickly caught up, tapping her on the shoulder as he passed. He glanced behind him and snickered. After a few paces, he slowed down, allowing the distance between them to reduce to almost zero.

  “I don’t need any help,” Amber called out as she came level with him, her breathing labored.

  Nik reached out and captured her warm hand in his. “We’ll go together.”

  They jogged toward the van. The line was long. With only twenty yards to go, Amber stopped dead in her tracks. Nik stood there transfixed as all color drained from her face.

  “I’ve changed my mind,” she said, turning away.

  Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The small line of people continued to laugh and chatter as they waited for their turn to get ice cream. So what had happened? Whatever, he wasn’t going to force her stay if she didn’t want to. And he certainly wasn’t going to ask why. She’d tell him if she wanted to.

  “Of course,” he said.

  They walked in silence until reaching a bench by the lake. There weren’t any people there. Some privacy.

  “Sorry,” Amber said, turning to him. “You must think I’m crazy.”

  The color had returned to her face, though the haunted expression lingered.

  “Hardly. Besides, there were too many people there. I hate crowds.”

  He slipped his arm around her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze.

  She tilted her head back to look up at him and squinted as if she were trying to see through him. “Question. Why haven’t you asked me why I just flipped out over there like I had a deathly fear of ice cream?”

  He lazily rubbed her shoulder, telling himself it was for her comfort, not because he enjoyed touching her. “It’s not my business. If you want to tell me, you’ll tell me. If you don’t, that’s more than okay with me.”

  Kind of.

  “Wow.” She was silent for a moment. “You really are one of a kind, Nik Gustafsson.”

  The compliment would have felt good if she hadn’t had his false name in her mouth.

  “I’ve had people prying into my life since before I was born,” he said without thinking. “I’m not going to do that to you.”

  The sidelong look she gave him let him know he’d revealed way too much. “Why? Who are you? The secret son of the fifth Beatle?”

  He laughed, despite himself. “How did you know? You haven’t heard of my father? John, Paul, George, Ringo, and Lars?”

  “Your father’s name is Lars? Lars the fifth Beatle?” She rolled her eyes and laughed, obviously deciding to play along.

  “Yes,” he said with mock seriousness. “You must have heard of his hit song, ‘Liesel in the Sky with Diamonds.’”

  She put a finger to her chin, pretending to think that one over. “I thought it was Lucy.”

  “A common mistake.”

  She shook her head, as if unable to believe he’d actually sustained the joke for that long. But then her expression turned serious all of a sudden. “There was someone there, at the stand. Wade. My ex. He was waiting in line.”

  Her ex-boyfriend. And it affected her so badly.

  His stomach tightened. Josh hadn’t mentioned an ex. Then again, Nik hadn’t asked him Amber’s boyfriend history. The breakup must have hurt a lot if it messed with her head so much that she ran away when all she had done was spot him in public. He waited for her to continue. “It’s the first time he’s been so close. At school, I’ve managed to avoid him.”

  Who was this guy and what had he done to Amber? More importantly, did she still have feelings for him?

  “What happened between you?”

  “He betrayed me.” Her voice trailed off.

  Nik could guess what that meant. The bastard. “Do you want to tell me?” he probed gently.

  Amber didn’t answer for a few seconds. Tension noticeable around her mouth. “He was seeing another girl behind my back. While I was sick in the hospital.”

  His jaw clenched. He longed to go up to this Wade guy and punch him. Of course, he couldn’t really do anything like that. The newspaper headlines at home would be beyond crazy if he was charged with assault, and the fake name on his student ID wouldn’t protect him in a police station. But that didn’t stop him from wanting to confront Wade. What kind of a name was Wade?

  “That’s not very manly.” He sneered.

  “You could say.” She bowed her head.

  “Seems like you are well rid of him,” he muttered.

  “That’s exactly what Lauren said.”

  The despondent tone in her voice made it sound like she didn’t agree. Did she still like Wade? Better than him? Not that one kiss made whatever was happening between them anything serious.

  “Don’t you agree?” His breath hitched in the back of his throat as he waited for her response.

  “Of course I do.” Her lips were set in a thin line.

  He couldn’t fathom the expression on her face. Hurt, yes. But there was more. He knew it.

  “It must have been a dreadful time for you. Being sick, I mean.”

  “Yes. I don’t know how I’d have coped if my family and Lauren hadn’t been there. When I was in the hospital, Mom stayed overnight with me. My dad and brother visited every day.”

  “You sound very close to your family.” It intrigued him when she spoke of her family, since it was so different from his own. They seemed almost like friends.

  “Yes. I couldn’t imagine life without them. Especially when I was sick. They were my lifeline. Lauren, too. She visited as often as she could. She was the one who…” A dark shadow crossed her face.

  “Who?” Nik prodded.

  “It doesn’t matter.” She waved her hand dismissively, but Nik could tell it was an act. Something was bothering her.

  “Tell me.” He gently pulled her even closer, until he could wrap both arms around her shoulders. He wanted to protect her.

  “It was after my second round of chemo. I was very sick. My hair was coming out in clumps, and I felt so down. I knew something was wrong by the way Lauren was acting. I finally got it out of her. That Wade had been seeing this other girl.”

  Wade disgusted him. Nik would never do anything like that to Amber.

  “What did you do?” He loosened his hold around her, and she looked up, staring right into his eyes.

  “I confronted him the next time he came to visit me at home,” she murmured.

  “And he said?” Nik asked, wondering how the creep could possibly try and get out of such a despicable situation.

  “He denied it at first. Then when I presented him with the facts Lauren had told me, he admitted it.” Her eyes filled with tears, and she blinked them away.

  “And you ended it with him?” How could she have done anything else?

  “Not right away. At first, he asked me to forgive him.”

  “At first?” He deliberately kept his tone neutral. It wasn’t easy.

  “When I ranted about how much he’d hurt me and how I didn’t think I could trust him, he turned the tables and said that it was all my fault for getting sick. He was fed up with being alone all the time. I was always in the hospital. And he needed some comfort.” She swallowed. “A lot of my friends had stopped being in touch because I think it had gotten too hard. I was just so grateful that he’d kept in contact. So in some twisted way, what he said to me sort of made some sense.”

  The anger inside threatened to spill over. Who could do that to someone facing a life-and-death situation? Especially someone like Amber, who didn’t seem to have a malicious bone in her body. At that precise moment, if he could bring his full royal weight down on Wade, he would do it gladly and to hell with the consequences.

  Not a good idea.

  Okay, he knew that. But he felt so helpless.

  “It makes no sense. What sort o
f person does that?” he asked, more to himself than to Amber.

  “Exactly. I know that now,” she said. “I was actually starting to think about maybe trying again, until he said he’d cheated because I could never go out with him, do the things ‘normal’ people our age did.” She made finger quotes when she said the word normal. “He used that word, normal. As if I’d chosen to have cancer! As if my being sick was some kind of inconvenience for him. I called him a self-centered jerk and told him to get the hell out of my life. That was the last time we spoke.”

  “You were brave.” Nik nodded.

  “Again, that’s what Lauren said. But I wasn’t. It’s taken me a long time to even talk about it without it getting to me.”

  “Because you miss him?”

  “No. A hundred percent no. He betrayed me at a time when I was at my lowest. The cancer. I had Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The awful treatment. I spent most of the time lying in my hospital bed scared that I wouldn’t wake up the next day. That I’d die and never see my family again. I-I…” She paused as tears trickled down her cheeks.

  He swallowed hard. Feeling privileged that she’d confided in him. And angry that he couldn’t take the pain away. One thing was for sure. He could never do anything to hurt Amber. Never.

  …

  Amber gazed at the unreadable expression on Nik’s face. She shouldn’t have told him about Wade. She certainly didn’t want to dwell on what had happened in the past. It did no good at all. Other than putting a damper on their friendship. Except that Nik was special. Something about him made her want to trust him with her secrets. She leaned in until their shoulders were touching.

  “Tell me more about your family,” she asked, wanting now to take the spotlight off of her. “Are your mom and dad still together?”

  “Of course. Why shouldn’t they be?” The look of horror on his face staggered her. She hadn’t intended to ask anything confrontational.