Just One Song

chapter Sixteen





I wake up with Zack’s legs and arms wrapped around my entire body my backside, holding me against his stomach. He’s warm all over and I’m a little bit sweaty from being entangled in his arms. I slowly roll over to admire his beautiful face when he opens his eyes. “Good morning, love.”

I love my new nickname.

“Good morning, rock god.” I lean in and kiss him pulling his body close to mine. Since the first night we made love, I can’t seem to get enough of him. Visions of last night dance through my head. Zack gently caressing every inch of my body, kissing me like he was worshipping me, and the tender way he held me as he entered me.

I had no idea I could ever experience such a powerful, slow-burning passion. I can feel my heart beat increase and my body warm as I remember how good he feels inside me.

He groans roughly while I kiss him before slowly pulling away and cradling my face lightly in his hands. “If you keep this up, we’re going to be late for Thanksgiving, you know.”

“Hmmm...,” I whisper just inches from his mouth. “I don’t want that.” Taking a deep breath to slow down the fire that is already burning for him, I slowly pull out of his arms and begin to roll over. I don’t get far when Zack’s hand moves to my wrist and pulls me back and on top of him.

“We can be a little late. We’re the ones cooking anyway.”

I arch an eyebrow. “We’re cooking?”

“Fine. You’re cooking, but if we’re late, I can help.” I don’t want his help. I’ve heard the stories of how his mom and Sammy tried teaching him how to cook that resulted in multiple kitchen fires. I still haven’t figured out how you can set pancakes on fire.

With my legs straddling his hips, I lean down and kiss his neck, then his jaw, and back to the soft part behind his ear that I discovered he likes so much. I whisper in the most seductive voice I could manage, “I’ll be quick. I promise.”

I delight when his body shivers under me and he quietly growls out my name.

“I know…let me show you how much I love you.”.

***

“Stop fidgeting. They’re going to love you.”

I’m not fidgeting. I’m pacing, tapping out my Debussy tune on anything I can get my fingers on, and frantically worrying that something is going to go wrong with Thanksgiving dinner and I’ll be horribly embarrassed. I’m terrified that Sammy won’t like me or that his mom will think I’m not good enough. They’ll be here any minute and I want to be certain everything is absolutely perfect.

I look over at the dining room table and arch an eyebrow at Zack. It’s the only job I allowed him to do all day and I still don’t think he did it right. “Why are there three extra place settings at the table?”

He walks away without saying a word.

“Zack?”

“It’s a surprise for later.” I hate surprises. Correction; I used to hate surprises, but Zack’s done pretty good so far in the surprise department so I’m beginning to maybe sort of like them, sometimes. But today is not a good day for surprises. Not when I want everything perfect.

“Zack.” It comes out whinier than I intend and I grimace at the sound of my own voice.

He cups my face in his palms, gently caressing my cheeks with the pads of this thumbs. “It will be okay. Everything will be perfect, and they’re going to love you. Stop worrying. You love my surprises.”

I do. I really do. I’m so lost in his eyes that I jump when the doorbell rings. I jump away immediately and smooth down my skirt. Zack simply kisses my cheek and walks to get the door.

“You look great. Stop fidgeting.” The space gives me just a few seconds to take a couple deep breaths and calm my nerves. It’s not nearly enough time because as soon I walk around the corner when Zack opens the door, a tiny female with a short black pixie haircut and a wine colored dress is wrapped around Zack.

“Zackie! Finally!” She squeals in his arms and holds on tightly while he spins her around finally setting her down just inside the front door. I look over at the two and watch their faces light up with smiles that stretch from one ear to another. With one hand on this beautiful woman’s lower back, Zack reaches for my hand with his free one.

“Sammy….this is Nicole. Nicole, this is my little sister Sammy.”

Even quicker than she had moved before, she throws her arms around me pulling me into a giant hug much harder than I would think her tiny body could handle. She releases me after a moment but is still jumping on the balls of her bare feet and clapping her hands excitedly. “I have heard so much about you,” she squeals while still bouncing.

He laughs, still wearing that grin, but simply winks when she runs back outside. “I tried to warn you she was easily excitable.”

“Oh stuff it, Zackie, you know we’ve been dying to meet the girl who’s finally captured your heart.” I look at Sammy, watching her rush out the front patio, wondering where she’s going, when my eyes widen.

“Oh please.” She turns around and smiles at me when she reaches the front door. “Like you didn’t know he was totally in love you with you….MOM…hurry!!” Zack’s description of Sammy being easily excitable is much too tame for what I’m witnessing.

Zack’s hand wraps around my waist from the side. “You know she’s totally right, right?” His warm breath on my neck causes every hair to stand up.

Not wanting to get worked up again, I turn to him and raise an eyebrow giving him a questioning look. “Zackie?”

He groans in disapproval. “Childhood nickname. And only Sammy’s allowed to use it, so don’t get any ideas. But I wasn’t talking about the nickname; I was talking about your being the woman to capture my heart.” He playfully taps one finger on my nose just as Sammy returns, followed by one of the most stunningly attractive woman I have ever laid eyes on. Her light brown hair - pulled back into a tight bun at the base of her neck - and dark green eyes match Zack’s exactly. She’s short and has the same energetic appearance Sammy showed earlier, except with a grace and elegance that instantly attracts me to her.

“Hello, Zack! It’s so good to see you. Sammy hasn’t stopped bouncing all morning.” She leans in and gives her son a warm hug that he responds to immediately.

Leaning back, he holds a hand out to me, “Mom. This is Nicole, Nicole, meet my mom, Melody Walters.”

She reaches for me and gives me the same warm hug she just embraced Zack in. “It is such a pleasure to finally meet you, Nicole. Zack has talked about you for weeks now. I was so thrilled when he called letting me know you’d be joining us today.”

“It’s wonderful to meet you too, Mrs. Walters.”

“Please dear, call me Melody.” I must look nervous because she leans in to whisper, “It was all the most amazingly wonderful things any man has ever said about a woman, I promise.”

I look back and forth between the two, certain my face is so bright it matches Sammy’s dress.

I follow Melody and Zack into the kitchen where I have them sit down while I finish dinner. Sammy is already there opening a bottle of Cabernet for everyone. She passes me a glass of red wine as I begin making a salad. I am amazed by this beautiful young woman before me. Zack was right about everything he’d told me about her. She definitely is excitable; she also has a naïve innocence when she speaks about school, work and her friends that make you want to laugh along with her. Between her definite fashion sense and sense of humor, see totally reminds me of a younger Mia. No wonder why I like her so much within just a few minutes.

I also love how she just hops into the kitchen with me and begins helping. “You know,” she says as she chops vegetables to add to the salad, “I knew you were the girl for him when he told me how you met.”

Zack smiles over at me while she just grins and gives me a playful wink. “But I didn’t even know who he was,” I say and take a sip of my drink.

“Exactly my point.” She eyes me directly as if willing me to understand. “Zack’s known everywhere he goes for what he does. And you have no idea how many times I’ve seen people try to take advantage of his generosity.” Her quick fierce expression shifts back to a bouncing co-ed before I blink and her gaze returns to mine. “I loved how you were able to get to know Zack, the real him, without all the other stuff getting in the way first. His singing is just what he happens to be really, really good at. But it’s not who he is.”

“Besides that,” she continues without taking a breath. She’s talking so fast, with a smile plastered on her face I almost wonder if I should grab a paper bag for when she finally decides to breathe. The girl is sure to hyperventilate. “I don’t know anyone who can beat him at pool. And that’s just fantastic. I’d love to watch you kick his butt after dinner.”

With a wink and a smile, she leaves the kitchen, carrying the salad to the dining room.

Once gone, Zack leans in for a chaste kiss. “She loves you. I told you she would.”

“She sure doesn’t let people get many words in though, does she?” We laugh.

“No, she really doesn’t, but it’s just too darn hard to get mad at her when she’s so cute.”

The four of us sit down to eat when the dinner is ready. I speculatively eye the three empty chairs but neither Melody nor Sammy say anything about the missing company. I wonder if they know of the surprise.

Zack does the honors carving the turkey after Melody takes a few moments to give thanks for her family and everything we have been blessed with. I know that I am thankful this year, most definitely. I fall completely in love with Zack’s little family over dinner. He was right when he told me that they were sometimes brutally honest with him. Sammy shares stories of how Zack had gotten started with singing and guitar playing and most likely embellishes the parts where he had sucked so horribly in the beginning. I don’t believe a single word she says. There is no way Zack doesn’t have a natural talent for singing with how beautiful he sounds now. Zack’s smile throughout dinner says everything to me. This is his home, and where he is more comfortable than anywhere else. I’m honored he loves me enough to invite me into his family.

The only difficult part of dinner comes when Melody asks me what my family usually does for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I wipe away an escaped tear quickly before I can look across the table at Melody, whose eyes shine with regret at the very mention of my family. “I’m so sorry, Nicole. I shouldn’t have said anything. Zack told us about ….” Melody’s voice drops off without continuing.

“It’s okay, really.” Trying to keep the mood light, I respond as honestly as I can. “It was loud, and Andrew was always so excited at having my parents over he was like a bunny hopped up on caffeine. Constantly bouncing around from one room to the next, getting in everyone’s way, disrupting the football games, spilling the food. It was a chaotic mess. I’m guessing it was no different with my family than it was when Zack and Sammy were little.”

Melody laughs in understanding. “Tell me about it! I’ll never forget the year Zack and Sammy marched around the house banging on their toy drums, guitars and toy recorders pretending to be the marching band in the Macy’s Parade. I could barely hear myself think over the racket they caused.”

When we finish our meal, Sammy jumps up from the table and without a word, she and Melody clear the dishes and flutter out of the room while declining my offer to help them with the dessert.

“Thank you for inviting me here to meet your family Zack. I absolutely adore them.”

He rests his forehead against mine. “I had to have them meet the woman I want to spend my future with.” Future? This is the first time we’ve really talked about us, and what’s going to happen. My palms start sweating.

“A future?” I smile as I repeat his words back to me. I lean in close to his mouth, my heart rate already increasing, and ask again, “You want a future with me?”

Keeping my mouth just out of his reach, I let him lean slightly forward, our lips not quite brushing, as he murmurs, “Yes, a future. And I’m hoping a really long one.”

Both of his eyebrows rise just slightly as if wanting my agreement, but I don’t have to agree with words. I knew before I ever showed up at his place this week that I was in this with him, for the long haul. So instead of replying with words, I close the space and hold his face in my hands as I kiss him.

I don’t even have the time to register the fact we’re in plain view of the kitchen where Melody and Sammy are dishing up pie until I hear what sounds like schoolgirls giggling in the background, followed by the stern sound of Melody shushing Sammy. Zack slowly breaks the kiss, but without turning around, speaks to his sister. I look over briefly and see Melody leave the kitchen. “Give us a few minutes Sammy.”

Unfortunately, knowing we’re being watched totally kills the mood for me, and I can’t help but laugh at his sister.

I kiss him one more time. I can’t help it. I feel like a hormonal teenager all over again when I am this close to Zack, and now that we’ve spent the last two days discovering each other, I can’t keep my hands off him. “What’s my surprise? You said it was after dinner.”

He looks at his watch and smiles, more to himself than to me. “It should be here any minute.”

When the doorbell rings a few minutes later, just like he said, I quickly look to Zack. He smiles knowingly and nods to Melody. I look between all of them. They clearly know something I don’t.

I jump up and gasp when I hear the trio of voices walk through the door. I don’t even have to see who’s arrived to know exactly who they are.

“You did this!?” I gasp excitedly.

“Happy Thanksgiving!” Mia, my mom, and dad throw me into a bone-crushing hug once they walk through the living room where I’m frozen to my spot. I am stunned in the best possible way.

“Hi!” I squeal like a little girl and return their embraces. And then I pull back to introduce Zack to my parents.

“You planned all of this?” A slight blush grows on his cheeks.

“Sort of…” he begins to explain, shrugging like this is no big deal.

“Oh please. He’s being modest, Nic. Chase invited me to the music awards with him. I was going to fly out Saturday morning, but when Zack heard about it, he changed the plan on me.”

I reach for Zack’s hand while Mia keeps talking, “He called your parents to see if they wanted to join you for Thanksgiving.”

I don’t even know how he got their number. From Mia? My phone? I am simply stunned he did this for me.

“And we said yes, immediately.” My mother chimes in. “It’s only for the day though, we fly the red-eye home tonight.” I look to Zack and then my parents. My mom has the biggest smile I’ve seen on her in years while my dad stands behind her with one hand on her shoulder. My eyes are pulled back to Zack who looks satisfied at his ability to surprise me. Again.

I pull him close to me, holding onto his shirt with both hands. “I can’t believe you did this.” My eyes fill with tears, overwhelmed at this man who so quickly came into my life and swept me off my feet.

“You’re about to be thrown into my crazy life this weekend where we’ll be photographed and gossiped about forever. I can’t take you there and not have you see your parents before so you can remember first, what’s always most important and real. No matter what else happens out there,” he waves his arm out gesturing to the world, “the only important thing to remember is how much everyone in this room loves you, and loves us. The rest just doesn’t matter.”

Mia clears her throat, rudely and intentionally, pulling us apart. “We’ve been on a plane for hours, I’m starving!” I grab Zack’s hand and practically skip to the dining room table where everyone else is seated.

And before I know it, both of our families are sitting around the Thanksgiving table enjoying pie and the leftover turkey dinner Melody had set aside for my parents when they cleared the table for us.

I have the absolute best time, watching everyone that is most important to me and Zack get along, share stories, and by the time dessert is done and everyone is hanging around outside on the patio, enjoying a couple of drinks, I feel like the luckiest girl in the world. And it’s all because of Zack.

I follow my mom inside when she excuses herself to use the restroom. On her way out, I stop her. She has always been a worrier, and she’s been the quietest one of all today. It makes me wonder what she’s thinking. Is she worried about me dating Zack, or moving on too quickly, or dating a rockstar?

I’m not sure, but there’s always something with her and I don’t want her to leave today worried about me.

“Are you okay?” I ask when she walks through the kitchen.

“He seems to make you happy.”

“He does. And he’s been really patient with me. Not pushing too fast, but letting me set the pace.”

“You love him.” It is not a question, but a statement filled with love and acceptance, not concern. It makes me happy that my mom finally got to meet Zack. Even though I’m an only child, my parents had taken Mark in from the moment they met and began treating him like the son they never had. I didn’t realize, until this moment, that I was afraid my parents would be concerned about me moving too fast. Or if they would even like Zack, or his career, or lifestyle, or whatever problem they could find.

“Is it too soon, mom?” Knowing I need someone to tell me, again, it’s okay to be happy again. Will I ever stop needing this reassurance?

“Do you think it’s too soon?” Her question instead of an answer surprises me. Instead of answering, I look over at Zack, Mia and my dad. They’re laughing at a story Sammy is sharing while Zack argues with her. Sammy is jumping around laughing, using large arm motions to explain whatever she’s saying, while Zack shakes his head in defiance. At some point, he catches my eye and smiles. I return his smile and have a quick rush of thoughts and memories we’ve already shared in the short time we’ve known each other. Football games, pool nights, talking late into the night on the bus while the other guys went out, watching him sing his concerts, the way he holds me and how he comforted me when I told him about Mark and Andrew. I think of how I felt when I saw him standing in my building’s lobby, looking so worried I would turn him away again, and how his presence gave me strength at the cemetery.

We fit together, and even though our relationship started suddenly, and when I wasn’t sure I wanted one, it was perfect timing.

I turn to my mom and smile. “No, I don’t think so.”

She simply squeezes my hand with tear-filled eyes. “You have, unfortunately, learned a very hard lesson that in this life that there are no guarantees. Your dad and I love you, and we are here to support you in whatever decisions you make. And if loving Zack makes you happy, then we will love him right along with you. And all you need to do is enjoy the ride.”

“Thanks, mom.” I kiss her cheek and hold her hand as we walk back outside.

“Enjoying your Thanksgiving?” Zack asks when I sit down next to him. He grabs my hand immediately and pulls me onto his lap. I squeal in surprise and blush as I look around the table with our parents sitting around us. My dad just winks at me, and goes back to listening to Sammy talk about her job at the accounting firm. I still can’t picture this hyper recent college graduate as a number pusher, but she seems to love it.

“It’s the best – just perfect. Thank you so much for this. I feel so lucky right now.”

“I’m the lucky one, Nic. I never knew what love was until you walked into my life.”