CARNIES! Chapter 11

I woke up with a jolt, thinking of Nick, and calmed when I felt, more than saw, him beside me. He rolled over a little, pulling the blanket, and I shook his shoulder.
"Nick!" I whispered.
"What?" he asked sleepily.
"You’re trying to take the blanket again." I said. He opened his eyes and looked down at the blanket, moving it back to where it was equal amongst us both, pulled me tight in his arms, and closed his eyes.
"Ugh…Nick?"
"Yeah?" he asked, chest rumbling at my back.
"It’s time to get up."
"No it’s not."

"Ugh…yeah, it is. It’s two thirty. In the afternoon."
"Oh. Well, we stayed up late."
"Come on! I wanna go out and do something today. Please?" I asked, and turned around, facing him. He kept his eyes shut stubbornly, and I kissed his lips softly. "Please?" I whispered.
He opened his eyes and sighed. "Fine. But only if you kiss me again." He said and grinned.
"No. It’s not worth it if you have to bribe me."
"Oh, come on." He said, sitting on my legs.

"Uhuh. You can’t make me kiss you." I crossed my arms. I looked at him and saw a sparkle in his eyes. "Don’t even think about it." I said. That was his "I’m gonna tickle you" look. "Don’t do it!" I said, and squealed, trying, and failing, to get out from underneath him. I started laughing, and tried to get him to stop, but I knew he wouldn’t till I complied. "All right!" I said through my laughter. "Just stop!" He did, and got off of me so I could breathe.
"OK. I’m waiting." He said, teasing look on his face, sitting Indian style.
"Not a chance." I said, and ran out of the tent.
I stopped at Joseph’s trailer. It seemed so ominous. He wasn’t there anymore, and it was kind-of strange. I opened the door, and stepped inside. I felt Nick come up behind me and get inside too. "Wow. It’s so weird." I said. The cabinet under the TV was empty, probably for evidence.

"Yeah. Empty." Nick said. He was looking at the VCR while I went to the back, looking around.
There was a bed back there, neatly made, military style. I knew from Nick that his dad never did such a thing, so I looked around curiously. My dad was sitting in the chair in the corner, and for once in my life, he looked sober.
"Dad?" I asked, and he looked up at me, smiling. I smiled with relief. I had my daddy back! I hugged him, and he seemed a bit taken aback, but his arms went around me, large hand patting my back awkwardly.
"I can’t believe I did all of that." He said when I stood in front of him again.
"Who told you?" I asked.

"Marla. She told me about all that happened here, and how the ringmaster was a sick pervert, but he’s gone now. I can’t believe that I was so wrong. I’m so sorry." He said, tears running down his face. "I didn’t mean to do any of that. To hurt you. It wasn’t me."
"It’s OK, dad." And as I said that, I knew it really was. "So, you’re sober now?"
"Yep. And, aside from these bruises," he turned his head so I could see the one on his temple. "I’m feeling fantastic." He grinned and got up, standing ramrod straight, habits from the army.
"Great. So what else did Marla tell you?"
"She said ya’ll need a new ringmaster. And that you and your boyfriend have an awesome act. How is he? She said he had a near death experience."
"Oh, he’s fine. As a matter of fact…" I said, smiling, then yelled to the front of the trailer, "Hey Nick! Come here!"

He walked back there, VHS tape in his hand, and saw my dad behind me. His face grew hard, then, seeing my expression, went back to normal again. "Nick, this is my dad, Robert." They shook hands, and there was a pleasing sparkle in his eyes at the firm grip Nick gave him. Dad said, "Call me Bob," and I grinned at the return of the whole persona of my dad. I missed him.
His eyes flashed to the tape in Nick’s hand, and I looked at it, too. "Is that what I think it is?" I asked with a low voice.
"Unfortunately, yeah,"Nick said.
"You know what we should do?" dad said from behind me.
"What?" Nick and I asked at the same time.

"Burn it." At that, we all went running out of the trailer, matches in hand, to the old bonfire area behind it. Nick threw the tape onto the old wood, and we all lit about seven matches, and soon it was burning. The plastic melted, leaving a black, shiny, distorted square on the wood. We were all laughing with relief. Finally, that last part of the nightmare, was definitely gone.
I introduced dad to Rosa, Kevin, and Malachi, and they all loved him. They went to introduce him to the rest of the carnies, and I think they planned for him to replace Joseph. And I liked that just fine.

***
TWO DAYS LATER…THE CIRCUS IS BACK!!!!
I put on the red suit, me, Marla, and Rosa bustling around, tripping over troublesome things such as mattresses. Rosa put my makeup again, this time going heavy on the eye liner and mascara. Cat like eyes looked back at me when I looked in the mirror. I’d straightened my hair this time. Rosa was wearing black suit, without the legs, and fishnet hose, and Marla was wearing a white one. What was it with circus performers and tights?
We all were ready and went to the big tent waiting for our big act. Rosa’d told both me and Nick to make our act look sensual. That wouldn’t be hard.
This time, the acts were strictly for 16 and up only, mostly because Kevin decided to join Rosa with her act.

Dad came out into the arena, said a bunch of stuff that I could tell just came to his head, and announced Marla’s entrance. She rushed forward, her horse’s reins in hand, doing a bunch of tricks and back flips on the saddle. Then the weird lady with the elephants came out, the crowd entranced by their huge grey stinkiness.
Rosa and Kevin ran out, him wearing tight black tights he must’ve borrowed from Nick, and she lit the batons on fire. Then she twirled them around in intricate detail, drawing lines in the air. Then, she pressed them to her chemical-drenched suit, Kevin matching her choreography perfectly. I saw them press together, and inhaled sharply at the seemingly accidental touch, then relax when I saw the flames creep lazily on his pants. She’d put the chemical on his clothes, too.

They did a fire dance, painting pictures with their movements. The crowd gasped constantly in the darkness, the couple the only things keeping light in the tent. Kevin pulled her close in his arms, to never let go, when an unknown force wrenched her from his hold, and he fell back in defeat. She fought the force, movements lithe and graceful, while he knelt, back to her, mourning the apparent death of her. She came up behind him, hand brushing across his shoulders, and he looked up, hopeful, and turned swiftly, picking her up and swinging her around.
Her legs wrapped around his waist, just below the waistband to keep him from burning, and they kissed dramatically. The crowd applauded as they withdrew, leaving room for the acrobatic act that preceded Nick and my act. I took a deep breath and went to find my partner.

He was talking with Malachi, who was applauding sullenly, probably still feeling stiff about Rosa having a steady boyfriend. But, he couldn’t say a thing because Kevin had helped save his best friend.
Nick saw me walking up, and opened his arms for me, hugging me close. I closed my eyes and inhaled his scent, surrounding and comforting me.
"I love you," I whispered on impulse. He smiled down at me, kissing the top of my head, and said, "I love you, too."
Sara ran up and grabbed Malachi’s hand, and they ran off together, laughing. Both Nick and I were grinning when we were called out, and we walked out, hand in hand, to the silks, letting go to climb the ladder to a certain point, and grasping hold of the silks in unison as the music started.

ROSA’S POV
I broke free of Kevin’s grasp, even his breathtaking kisses, to watch Nick and Kenna’s performance. It always took my breath away to watch them move together on the silks, floating high in the air. They could fall any minute, but moved with careless grace and perfection.
The music started, startling me. In the past, when he’d performed with her, they hadn’t had music. Violins rang, and Nick and Kenna told a sad story of heartbrokenness with their movements. They started moving faster and faster, fighting almost like Kevin and I had seemed to, but more so. Then Nick stopped moving. The crowd gasped.
A sad note rang out, the instrument unidentifiable, and Kenna moved slowly and gracefully, sad and mourning. She sped up, movements gaunt with apparent anger, and gradually slowed down. She looked down at Nick, hanging in the air, and he moved. The crowd gasped again.

She moved faster and faster, inhumanly fast. Nick joined in, moving up, Kenna’s back to his chest, but so close they were almost touching. It was a miracle they kept the silks from tangling. Kenna whipped around, arms flying around Nick’s chest, and let go of her silks. I could see their heads move close together, and knew she’d kissed him.
He brought her close to her silks so she could grab them again, and they moved, him up, her down, and danced in the air together. I grinned, knowing they were doing what I wanted. I’d wanted them to do this because it would do two benefitting things: provide an amazing performance, and lead them both into the right direction in their relationship.
The crowd applauded as they stopped, but then they did the unspeakable. They let go.

KENNA’S POV
We both let go, as planned. The crowd gasped, and we both grinned at each other. We had a loose hold on the silks, keeping the momentum at a bearable level, and my feet met the floor much like they would if I’d jumped.
A booming applause met us at the bottom, and I knew then why Rosa’d made us the last act. I grabbed Nick’s hand, both of us grinning at one another, and we walked back to our tent.
I faintly heard dad closing the show, and saw Rosa and Kevin running off to her tent. Both Nick and I burst out laughing at the look on her face.
The tent was still opened when we got to it, and we paused at the doorway, looking at one another.

I looked into his heated gaze, then looked from it to his lips, swollen from earlier kisses. He seemed to be doing the same, and paused, looking straight in my eyes, me getting lost in the dark gaze until he came forward suddenly, pulling me into the tent and zipping the tent up, until it got stuck, and left it fastened partway.
My hands pulled his face close, and he kissed me deep, hot tongue prodding my mouth, fierce. We fell onto the bed, and I leapt on top of him, bringing our bodies closer, my tongue matching his in every movement. He groaned, pulling me closer, hands sliding across my back, pulling up the shirt part of the suit just enough for him to touch my skin. He turned his head more, deepening the kiss, if it was possible, and his hands went under my shirt to hold on to my hips, pulling me close to the bulge in his pants, rubbing tight. I moaned, and he flipped us over, him on top, dominating.

I grinned, bit my bottom lip, and pulled his tight spandex shirt up, sliding off of his chest like a second skin. My hands traveled the dark panes of his chest, tracing the tattoo, and latching onto his shoulders to pull him closer. I made us roll over, sitting up, and Nick groaned at most of my weight being pressured on his groin. I pulled my shirt off, and his eyes widened at the sight. No, I wasn’t wearing a bra. My nipples got tighter.
He rolled us over again, and his mouth went to suckle my breasts and his hands kneaded my stomach. My hands were in his hair, tangling in it, pulling his head up. He looked up at me darkly, and, seeing the expression on my face, moved up and kissed me again.
My hands went behind him, to the smooth waistband of his pants, thumbs latched underneath them.

He stopped kissing me, and asked hoarsely, "are you sure?"
I nodded, grinning, and gave him a short, quick kiss before he rolled us over, pulling my thumbs from his pants, and grabbed mine, pulling them down an inch before looking at me again. "Positive." He looked relieved, and pulled the pants down with one motion. Somehow they didn’t get stuck on my feet, and I grinned, turning us over again before pulling his off with the same motion, avoiding his feet, too.
We rolled around, kissing and nipping at each other’s lips and necks, before Nick took charge and laid me still beneath him.

"I don’t have a condom." He said regretfully, and I could feel him just outside me.
"I don’t fucking care. Now!" I said, and he pushed himself inside me in one motion, and I groaned, trying to get used to the huge change. He was as far as he could possibly go in this position, and he pulled out, moving inside me when the pressure backed off a little.
He found that spot inside me fast, and I went over the edge, orgasm overtaking me almost immediately.
He moved faster and faster, and with one last thrust, he filled me completely, more than before, exploding inside me. We both lay there, spent, until we fell asleep.

**the next day

I woke up in a tangle of sheets and legs, pressed close to Nick’s chest, held close by an iron grip. I looked up at him, face right in the beam of light provided by the little crack in the door, and smiled.
I moved up a little to kiss him softly, and his eyes opened sleepily, looking down at me. "Morning." I sighed. He grinned, and kissed me again, echoing my greeting.
"Sleep well?" he asked, and I nodded, smile on my face.
"Best sleep ever."
"Me, too." He said, and hugged me lightly before kissing me again, this time deep.
"So, what you think?" I said, speaking of no particular topic.

"I think I want to spend the rest of my life with you." He whispered, almost as if he was afraid of what I was going to say.
I grinned, and said, "Well, you’re in luck. It seems to be that I want the same thing out of you. What in the world are we gonna do?"
He grinned, and kissed me again, happiness speeding up his movements, until he rolled us over onto the floor. We burst out laughing, tears forming and falling, until the sun rose high and we got dressed and ready to face the world. And my dad.