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| NICKY, HOLD ME IN YOUR ARMS by Janey I have known Nicky since we were neighbours when he was married to Rachel. Three years ago well almost four now actually, they had divorced. It was amicable with them remaining good friends but both had acknowledged that their marriage had become a friendship, nothing more, so it seemed sensible for them to do something about it. They had gone away for a fortnight on a romantic break, leaving Clara with Nicky’s parents, but they had been unable to rekindle the flame. It had been sad watching them separate; I liked both of them. Rachel and I spent a lot of time in each other’s company, especially when Nicky was away. Being their friend wasn’t always easy. I adored Nicky; had done since the first time I met him. When it came to MSP, I loved their music but was an out and out Jamesy girl. Meeting Nicky changed all that. He was interesting, jocular, intelligent, charming, not to mention sexy. He smouldered with a subtle sensuality. The clincher had been the brightness of his vivid swimming blue eyes when he smiled. His smile was a thing of beauty, but those eyes…hypnotic. As my friendship with the Jones’ deepened, I was introduced to Sean, James, Martin, Terri, Dave, Guy and Mitch, then to all of their families. Before too long I was being invited to watch them do video’s, interviews and TV appearances. When they went into the studio to record the first album since I had known Nicky I got to go along to see how the whole process worked. It was intriguing if not a little arduous. It was strange watching as Nicky was called to put a baseline down; for a man who always seemed so ebullient and confident in public, in the studio he was as nervous as hell, doubting his ability. When James told him that he was happy, he was surprised; convinced he had played nowhere near well enough. For a short while I dated James but we were better friends than lovers so soon called a halt to it before we lost our friendship as well. “If he wasn’t with Rachel, Nicky would be with you.” James had shocked me when he said that, leaving me to ponder if he knew the secret desire that I harboured for Nicky. When he said no more about it I let the doubts and niggles leave my mind. Strange though that when James split with his next girlfriend, Tina, it was me that he called, asking if he could call round because he didn’t want to be on his own. He stayed with me for a week, totally shunning Nicky despite the close proximity. Nicky took the rejection personally until I explained that although James was staying with me, we weren’t actually talking a great deal. At first I had been unable to get him to shut up as he endlessly reflected on his doomed relationship and how and why it went so wrong. Then suddenly, as though someone flicked the off switch, he clammed up, refusing to discuss it at all. He took sanctuary in his bedroom, playing his guitar, singing. It later transpired that he had written several lyrics whilst cooped up there. Gradually James dug himself out of the pit of despondency, started socialising and was soon back to shagging a plethora of beauties. James had a high sex drive, with no compunction regarding one night stands. Trouble with James though was that when he fell for a girl, he really fell for her, hence all of the engagements that he was so notorious for. The guys often joked that if James saw a girl for more than three months she would soon be sporting an engagement ring. I had thought that they were being facetious, actually it was pretty much accurate. On only two occasions that I can recall did James not propose after three months. Instead he moved them in with him. James was a man who desperately needed to be loved. It was to everyone’s relief that he eventually married a lovely girl called Mylene who would take no nonsense from him whatever. For once, he wasn’t the boss of the relationship; it was an equal partnership, which worked like a dream. James, it seemed, had finally found his soulmate, at least that’s what we hoped. “That could’ve been you,” whispered Sean whilst we posed for photographs following the ceremony. “Any regrets?” “Not a one,” I smiled back. “He’s my friend, always will be, but that’s it. I could never have made him as happy as Mylene does. Besides, he would drive me nuts! He’s too short tempered, argumentative and moody.” Sean threw his head back as he laughed raucously. “Strangely that is why most women love him.” “Yeah, they all think that they can be the one that can cure him,” I commented. “If they did that though James wouldn’t be the same man, they’d get bored and leave. Mylene understands him, what’s more she loves for the man he is. If this doesn’t work I think it will be because James has fucked it up.” The Manics seem cursed when it comes to relationships; Rachel and Nicky are divorced so did Rhian and Sean. Sean is now married again; she’s a lovely girl called Jenna, they are both very happy and expecting their second child in five months time. James and Mylene entered marriage counselling, neither of them optimistic at what the future holds for them as a couple. Rachel and Nicky were both aware of what affected their marriage, but neither Sean nor James was certain of where theirs had fallen apart. Sean and Rhian had also gone for counselling prior to their divorce but it backfired badly. They began arguing more than ever until the relationship was unbearable. James and Mylene still loved each other, for some reason they didn’t seem to like one another very much. Instead of talking they argued, fought, spat and raged. Rachel and I suspected James was getting itchy feet. Prior to his marriage his longest relationship had been two and a half years. On the verge of settling down James had been plagued with doubts about whether or not he had met enough women. Yes, I know, we had all been astounded too. There had been endless hints to him from various quarters about it being time that he became a father, perhaps that had been what scared him. On one occasion when I dared ask him about it, he launched into a tirade that turned the air blue. I would never broach the subject again. If he wanted to – fine. I continue to see Rachel and Nicky regularly. She is involved with an I.T. technician called Karl, but it’s still early days, though I have to say that they seem very happy. Sometimes when Clara was staying with Nicky, Rachel and I would spend an evening or even a full weekend catching up on gossip and letting our hair down. Clara is absolutely gorgeous, quite the little lady and it’s a delight to spend time with her. She loves it when I take her to work for a chat with my colleagues and is determined to become a nurse as well. Although Clara never met Richey, she knew a lot about him having seen video’s, dvd’s and pictures. Nicky often told her of some of their little escapades, barring the drinking and womanising of course. Those topics of conversations are not in the least suitable for a young girl of eight. She was however aware that Uncle Richey had been ill at various times during his life. When she discovered that I cared for people that were ill like her Uncle Richey had been, that had been when she decided that she wanted to be a nurse to care for ‘poorly people’. Very intelligently she had stated that it would have been hard for me to look after her Uncle Richey when I had answered her question about whether I had been his nurse with a ‘no’. Nicky is currently single though he has dated various women. It’s strange for me to see him with other women because of how I feel about him, but ultimately he is my friend so he doesn’t see me in any other light. All I can do is be happy for him. Some of the girls he has dated have been lovely and I’ve genuinely warmed to them, others I have disliked from the get-go. To be fair though, the situation had been the same with Rachel. What on earth had possessed her to date some of the men she did, I’ll never know. At times Rachel even surprised herself by agreeing to date some of them, citing, “it seemed like a good idea at the time.” I am about to leave to go and see Nicky. He needs some help with his new computer; not being computer literate and Sean not being available; he’s asked me for my assistance. What the hell he thinks I can do is anyone’s guess. I can do what I need to do on mine and that’s about it. An expert is the last thing that I am. “Hey there gorgeous!” Nicky beamed as he greeted me. “Thanks so much for helping me out. I am so thick when it comes to technology.” “If it was a Dyson you’d be fine,” I laughed. Pretty soon I had a huge steaming mug of strong tea in hands, as we sat talking in the lounge before going through to his office. “So, what’s the problem?” “Everything! I can’t get it to do a bloody thing.” “Why didn’t you get the engineer to install it Nicky? They would have put all of the software on and sorted out any little glitches.” “Yeah well,” he grinned sheepishly. “I was going to but the young lad that sold it assured me that setting it up was ‘child’s play’; I didn’t want to look like a berk.” “So, instead of swallowing your pride, you’ve been sat here for however long with a computer that you can’t use.” “Two weeks almost,” he said bashfully. “I’ve tried, honestly I have but the booklet, well TOME is written in bloody gobbledegook.” “With two of us on the case how hard can it be?” “I hope that you’re right. I have loads of letters to reply to, pics of Clara to print and all sorts of other stuff.” “First things first, let’s go and make sure that we have connected everything properly.” “We?” he exclaimed. “It was me, not us.” “Nah, we’re in this together now partner!” I replied with a reassuring smile. “If we get it working you can take all of the credit.” “I can’t let you do that,” he chuckled. “The offer was very generous though.” “Oh I can be sometimes you know.” “More than sometimes Shona.” Damn him! His voice was smouldering and velvety. I wish that he wouldn’t do this to me; he made me feel like a schoolgirl with a crush. If he continued like this, my nerves would be in threads; it would be all too easy for me to forget myself and lunge madly at him for a kiss. Poor Nicky, I would frighten the life out of him, leaving him wondering what kind of monster he had unwittingly unleashed. Two and a half-hours of swearing, head-scratching and nervous pacing later, the computer was up and running, everything working in blissful harmony. “Shona, you are a star!” he gushed enthusiastically, picking me up and swinging me around. “Put me down!” I laughed. “You’ll make me dizzy.” “That would give me an excuse to hold you in my arms,” he said, then suddenly stopped, looking very bashful. “Sorry, it just kinda came out.” My feet now firmly on the floor, I continued to keep my hands on his shoulders to help steady myself, but mainly because I liked being able to touch him. “Nicky, you can hold me in your arms whenever you want and for as long as you want. Surprisingly, I like it.” I smiled warmly at him, stroking his broad shoulders with my hands. “Thanks,” he giggled nervously. “You are a good mate you know.” Still holding him, I caressed his face with my right hand. “Only a mate?” I couldn’t help but give a wry grin; the look of confusion on his face was so endearingly cute. “Tell me if I’m out of line Nicky and we can forget that I mentioned it, but, well, would you be interested in anything more?” “Are you coming on to me?” he blushed. “Not as such. More like making tentative enquiries.” “Oh I see.” A broad grin spread over his lips. “In that case, can I come on to you?” “I’d like that.” His arms were around me, his blue eyes shining with happiness, his head moving toward mine so slowly that it was agonising. When his soft quivering lips met mine I moaned, moulding my body into his. All too quickly his lips parted from my own. “How do you feel about staying the night Shona?” “That sounds like a terrific idea!” The end. <<< Janey's stories |