Nick's Obsession

"Can I ask you a question?"

The ride to Nick's apartment or rather our apartment since Nick would get upset if I didn't refer to it as that had been quiet. We had a nice lunch with Nick's friend Zoey. She was nice, had a history with both Evan and Nick, but not romantically. I could feel there was something going on between her and Evan, but she wasn't talking about it. Neither was Evan. When I watched Nick and Zoey interact I felt a pang of jealousy, I knew it was stupid considering I was five months pregnant with his baby and I was the one going home with him, but still, I couldn't push the feeling away.

"Sure."

Nick was engrossed in his phone, always working. He made time for me so it never bothered me. I knew what I was getting myself into when I chose him. I didn't regret my decision either. Nick understood me, made me feel like I couldn't breathe when he looked at me and when I looked into his eyes I knew it was the same for him. Yet that stupid little emotion called jealousy wasn't going away. I needed reassurance and I needed it now.

"You've known Zoey for a while right?"

My question still didn't make him look up from his phone, "Hm, we didn't speak to each other for a while, life got in the way, you know."

"But you followed her career?"

"Yes, I do keep an eye out for people I care about."

I shifted in my seat, "So you care about her?"

That caught Nick's attention, but how could it not? I wasn't being subtle about what I was asking anymore. The look in his eyes told me he didn't appreciate it either. I couldn't help how I was feeling right now though. I could blame it on the pregnancy, saying my emotions were all over the place, but I was sure that even if I wasn't pregnant I'd still ask those questions.

He narrowed his eyes on me, "What are you trying to ask me, Emily?"

He knew what I was trying to ask, he knew exactly where I was going with this, yet he still wanted to hear me talk about it. Maybe he was hoping I wasn't going there at all. Especially since I met Zoey in person and had a lovely time with her.

"Did you ever...with her?"

He was silent for a while, his eyes never leaving my face. He pocketed his phone which told me I had his full attention now. He grabbed my hand and tightly held onto it.

"No, we've only ever been just friends."

He told me it straight out, never blinking either. He wanted the thought out of my head, but I was paranoid. I was fully aware of it right now. Maybe it was the fact that Zoey looked amazing, had a mouth on her and made Nick laugh. There weren't many people out there who got that side of Nick.

"You two seem to get along really well."

"Yes, Em, we get along, but we've never gone there." His eyes sparkled amusingly, "She is like Evan to me and you know I'll never go there with Evan."

Now he was just making fun of me. I was glad he could laugh about it because I certainly couldn't. I was serious about Zoey. She was a nice girl who was so confident in herself, I could totally imagine them dancing in a club and Nick getting a bit too personal with her. I could picture them together, both ambitious and always on the move.

"Em, you're imagining things that aren't there." He pulled me back to reality, obviously seeing right through me like always, "Zoey and I never went there, I swear. She always has been just a friend."

I knew he wasn't lying to me, maybe my emotions were all over the place. I felt Nick softly tracing the back of my hand with his thumb, trying to soothe me. Just that simple touch of him calmed me down more than his words did.

"I don't know if you would never go there with Evan." I tried to lighten the mood between us and by the looks of it, it was working, "You two are really intense together. Who knows!"

"You're not funny." His dancing eyes told me a different story though.

"You never know maybe you have just one glass too many and so does Evan. You two stare at each other, your heart beating, your lips parting and before you know it-"

Nick leaned in captured my mouth with his and shut me up, his kiss harsh and wet. Instantly my fingers gripped his hair, loving every second of his dominating kiss. Before I could get really into it Nick pulled away, his eyes flickering to the front of the car. Miles was being professional, ignoring us while we had our private moment. We weren't alone though and the thought of Miles listening to us, hearing our kiss made my cheeks burn up. Thank god Nick stopped me before things would have gotten out of hand.

"Like hell, I'm ever going there with Evan."

I couldn't help but to laugh, "I know. I was just messing with you."

His eyes got serious again, "But all joking aside, we're good, right?"

I smiled at him, "Yeah, we're good, Nick."

His eyes warmed, making me take in a sharp breath when he placed his hand on my belly and focused his eyes on our baby, "You good too, little man?"

"He isn't going to respond, Nick." I laughed at him both our smiles dropping from our faces when our baby kicked, very hard, which made Nick's eyes shot up to mine.

We were quiet for a while, both keeping quiet as if we were afraid to let go of the moment. Matthew didn't stop moving though. He was active now, letting his presence known. Sometimes I felt him move and sometimes I couldn't tell if it was him or just my body. The doctor told me not to worry though, Matthew was doing fine.

"Guess he got you there, Em." Nick smiled, leaning in to kiss me.

***

Nick was ordering dinner while I changed into more comfortable clothing. He stayed home with me, working from his laptop in the living room while I caught up on my favorite series. Sometimes interrupting him to talk about it. He always listened even though he had no idea what I was talking about. Nick didn't like many series, he did like the ones with the superheroes and thankfully those were my favorite too.

Walking back to the living room I took a seat on the couch, unpausing the video so I could go back to watching my superhero series. This one was about a girl being so strong she survived nearly everything. She was awesome, looking great in her jeans and a simple tee. Nick's eyes traveled to the screen as well when I peeked a glance at him. Yeah, he definitely liked this one as well. Too bad there was only one season so we wouldn't bond over it for long.

"Okay, thanks." He ended the call and took a seat next to me, reaching for his laptop which he had abounded on the coffee table, "They're here in forty."

"Okay."

"You want a snack?"

I smiled at him, "No, I'm good."

We sat there, Nick with his laptop on his lap while he occasionally typed up an email and me with my eyes fixed on the screen. I was so into the episode that I jumped when the doorbell rang. Nick beside me couldn't hold his laughter in and burst out, laughing at my expression.

"That scared the hell out of me, " I whispered, pressing a hand to my chest as I tried to calm myself down.

Nick put his laptop aside, "I can tell."

He was still laughing, making me glare at him, "Hey! I could have gone into labor, you wouldn't think it was funny then."

"You're only five months pregnant, Em, I'm pretty sure the chances aren't that high yet." He got to his feet and kissed my head, "It's cute though. You're cute."

I let my annoyance go since he was being sweet again. Nick got our food while I tried to see what he was doing on his laptop without touching it. I was being the snoopy girlfriend and I wasn't good at it because Nick was back in the living room clearing his throat.

"What are you doing?" He asked me, a big paper bag in one hand while the other was on his hp.

I was caught in the act and there wasn't anything I could say to excuse my behavior. When I noticed how amused Nick looked I knew he wasn't angry with me. Not really. He placed the bag on the table and walked past me, reaching for his laptop to place it on the table as well.

"Were you spying on me?"

I so was! I wanted to hide in the corner, but I knew Nick wouldn't let me.

"Yes." I admitted in a small voice, "I was just curious."

He folded his arms across his chest, "Is that all?"

My eyes flickered back to his, "Of course it is. What else would it be?"

"I don't know, maybe you were checking up on me because you're still not sure about Zoey?"

I could hear by the tone he used that he was joking. Letting go of my embarrassment I leaned back against the couch and flashed him a smile.

"Okay, fine I was stupid jealous but I promise I wasn't checking up on you. I was just curious what you were doing."

He settled on the couch next to me again and reached for the paper bag, obviously done with the subject of me snooping on him. He was taking out the food, handing me my egg noodles with chicken, corn, broccoli, bean sprouts and tofu in sweet and sour sauce. I loved it. He had the same only his sauce was spicier. We also ordered soup and bubble tea.

Nick handed me my chopsticks, "I was going through the stats of the club in Tokyo. Reading through the ideas of my marketing team and Chris' report."

"Things I wouldn't be interested in?"

"I don't think you'd find it all that interesting."

We were enjoying our food while Nick put his laptop away, giving me his full attention. We were having a great time when the doorbell suddenly rang again. This time I didn't jump two feet in the air though. Smirking Nick walked past me to get the door. Hearing the rucking in the hallway I couldn't help but smile when Evan's voice traveled into the living room.

"Hey, Emily."

He took a seat next to me and reached for my bubble tea, taking a sip from it, "Hey!"

"You guys having a night in." He stated and glanced at the screen, "I love this series."

"Me too!"

Nick wasn't so lenient with Evan's presence though, he gave Evan a stern look as he folded his arms across his chest again. He always did that when he was about to scold someone. He did the same to me but I didn't get scolded though.

"What are you doing here, Evan?"

"I was bored."

My heart melted for him. Evan loved going out, he loved the scene and partying like there was no tomorrow. Since Nick and I were together he went out less and less. I think we were changing his ways too, for the better, at least I hoped. When I glanced at Nick I saw that his eyes softened as well. He dropped his arms, rounding the table to take a seat beside his friend.

"Fine, you can stay."

We finished the episode when I couldn't keep my words to myself anymore, "I met Zoey today." I felt Nick's eyes on me, but I ignored him, "She's a nice girl."

"Yeah, she totally is."

I narrowed my eyes on him, "So why would you fuck it up?"

"Emily!" Nick warned me.

He always called me 'Emily' in his stern voice when he wasn't pleased with me. Right now he was definitely not pleased with me, but I wasn't going to stop. He knew I always told people what was on my mind. Right now Evan and his threesome in a bathroom stall were on my mind.

"Excuse me?" Evan didn't seem to understand what I was asking.

"Evan, at the club. You had a bathroom stall threesome, freaking the hell out of Zoey."

His frown told me he still had no idea what I was talking about. It made me wonder if he had been so drunk he didn't even realize what he had been doing that night. I needed him to realize what he had done, maybe he could fix things between him and Zoey. I knew there was something between them and I didn't want them to ignore it. Evan did me that favor now I could return it.

"Zoey isn't over it. I don't know what you did or what you said to her but that night is still on her mind. You freaked her out."

"Evan-" Nick stopped himself when his friend suddenly got to his feet.

"I gotta go, thanks, Em." He kissed my head and was out the door as quick as he pushed through it.

Nick gave me a look, but I just brushed him off, "They needed a push in the right direction."

"I hope you're right about that."

I hoped that too because if I did push them and it wasn't going to work out Nick would be pissed. He wouldn't show it, but I knew he'd blame me for ruining their friendship. He cared about Zoey and he loved Evan, Evan was his Brandon after all. I really hoped Evan and Zoey could work things out, for everyone's sake.