" And then He kissed me Aaron, he friggin' KISSED ME! I dunno what to think? " Aaron was a little surprised to hear this revelation. I mean any girl would be thrilled to kiss Nick Carter but Skye? Something must of happened last night....he remembered Nick crying very hard last night and was so scared that he wanted to go and comfort him. He continued to listen to me;

" What the hell am I supposed to think huh? Maybe I'm overreacting but it was still a kiss...." Aaron nodded his head and looked a little troubled. Sure there was sexual tension between the two but would Nick try anything to move the relationship forward?

" Look I'm sure it was a friendly kiss...as strange as it sounds you never know...it could of been meant as a thankyou? You could of read it totally differently to Nick, who would see it as an innocent, kind gesture from his point of view. Skye, you're making great progress with him...this is the real Nick you're seeing, no popstar image, no glamour and definitely no sugar coating. His issues are real and what he deals with everyday is real. He's practised putting up walls his whole life. You be the spontaneous one now...he's bared a bit of his soul and he'll want more guidance. Just keep doing what you're doing, he really values your input and support " I smiled and looked towards the ocean. I felt truly saved from any sort of embarrassment at any time with this kiss. Maybe it was just a kiss...a kiss that I wanted to be more but couldn't...not when we were making such good progress...Aaron had provided me with some sort of insight into what Nick was feeling and his life. That was what I needed. Not just from Nick but someone who had watched him go through all this. His brother Aaron.

" Well I'm gonna go and make some calls with management about the new album..." Aaron patted me on the shoulder and gave me the thumbs up sign. I didn't notice why he had done that till Nick was now sitting where Aaron had been not two moments beforehand.

" So how did you sleep? " Gosh was I that obvious? Well Nick did have an exhausting night last night and with the crying and stuff I figured he'd be still tired.

" I slept good...better than I have in a long time..Skye...that kiss last night..." I got up and moved away.

" Nick it's okay...I know it was just a friendly kiss to say thankyou nothing more..." Oh how I wanted more...so much more...

" You've got it all wrong...it was more than I imagined it to be....a little overwhelming...it had more meaning than I intended..." I felt Nick's hands on my shoulders and I instantly was relaxed by his touch. I couldn't give in to him just yet. My guidance was definitely more important.

" It's okay...I understand...I'm here to help and the "Us" or the "Kissing" can be sorted out later...." Nick turned me around to face him.

" Now say that to my face....Skye I care about you..a lot and I hope after all this is over we can maybe pick up where that kiss left off...." There he had me hook, line and sinker. My opportunity and he was right there. He leaned down to brush his lips against mine, lightly rubbing his nose with my nose at the same time. He tilted his head to progress further into the kiss, hands on my face, me leaning into to him and totally into what he was doing to me. Pulling away gently he kissed my forehead and I managed to find my voice.

" Definitely when I finish helping you that's my priority at the moment..." Nick nodded and smiled pulling me in for a hug. I was totally engrossed in his smell and his warmth wrapping around me.

" Skye, once I bare my soul...maybe you could bares yours a little? I seem to hardly know anything about your life and you seem so interested in helping me I just wanted to get to know you a little more..." Hang on a minute! One minute we were sharing a gentle kiss and a cuddle and then he wants me to spill? Ha! how long did I have to wait before he spilled anything to me? I moved away from him a little and kissed his forehead.

" Sweetie...don't worry I'm not an axe murderer or criminal, I'm just me...I have secrets and just like you I don't want to share them right away, it's all about you and not me okay? " Nick knew there was more to it than that. Bastard. His life he could lie about it if he truly wanted to but he hated being patronised into believing my life was any different or as just as complicated and we had a conflict of interest in which would explain their troubles and I would win hands down. Nick paced a little and I knew then I had said something wrong.

" Since when do you get to patronise me to believe that your life is any different or as complicated as mine? Sure I bare my soul but I hardly know anything about you either and how come we aren't making ends meet? I'm sure as hell am meeting you halfway....how come you get to get away with it? not have to reveal any broken bones, bruised soul or heart? I wanna help you as much as you have helped me....come on let me in? " Oh no that pout...it made me melt at the sight of him doing it. Damn you to hell Carter...pulling a stunt like that....

" Okay I understand you viewpoint but Nick I'm supposed to help you...this doesn't work both ways, and if I need any saving I'll ask you, but in the mean time we'll talk like this okay? you talk, I listen..." Nick scoffed. He definitely wasn't going to let this one go.

" See getting out of it again! What are you so afraid of huh? that maybe I might just be able to help you? Maybe I want to be the one to listen? How come when I put you in the hot seat you cringe? It's not very fair if I give you confessions and all I'm trying to do is get to know you a bit more...." I stood there a little shocked. What a damn hypocrite!

" Not fair? Nick I'll tell you what isn't fair, that it's okay for you to sit there and tell me that you wanna get to know me, that I'm running away, that I patronise you and make you feel about this situation as being all about you, coz it is all about you! Every damn last second of my time here has been all about you! For once my life hasn't come into the picture, you never asked about my life, because it doesn't apply, it is not for sharing and telling people. My life is private, just as yours is and I have busted my ass to get you to understand that I want you to trust me and now in a matter of moments no time given coz remember I gave you all the time in the world to fess up, you want me to share my life with you? Nick I don't understand? This isn't open for discussion..." I went to walk away when Nick's hand grasped me and he turned me around. He looked at me and not just for a few seconds but for a very long time. He wanted to know I could tell. Instead of getting angry he tried calm.

" Remember when you told me no matter what you would be here regardless of what I had to tell you? That I could trust you and you would never leave. Not until last night had I realised that you were there and you held me like I needed you to, let me cry and didn't interrupt me when I opened up. All I want is for you to need me, to want me, a shoulder to cry on. I wanna know the true you, all the faults, all the good and bad, I'll take it, strip it down and what's left? You...I wanna know what matters in here..." Nick put his other hand over my heart and I gasped. No one had talked to me that way before. I realised then that I did have a soul to bare. Could he handle it? Could he look at me the same way he looks at me now? Those intense blue eyes staring at me in curiosity, need and even want...I needed to feel wanted by him. I mean I had never let anyone in before and I guess I knew how Nick felt. Trying so hard to keep people out but tired of feeling nothing within. I would give him a chance to back out.

" You really wanna know? Seriously? " Nick nodded and put his hand to my face that was on my chest a moment before.

" I wanna know your faults too, show me...it's time to let me in...."

" Okay so do I get to ask some questions? " Looking at Nick and seeing he was so interested to know about my life I figured I'll tell him what he needed to know and leave the rest to a later date.

" Fire away...." We sat Indian style on the couch, facing each other, smiling. Nick finally able to ask some burning questions about my past.

" Okay...so...um...where did you grow up? " That was an easy one! Not too in depth. Well Done Nicky!

" Well I was born in Australia but I moved to the US when I was about 14. I'd known Brian and Kevin since then, growing up on a nearby property in Lexington, before moving down here to Florida permanently to live in Tampa. I got a call from Bri to come to his wedding and we always kept in touch. We are pretty close, even when he was with Backstreet Boys and yeah...that's when I got another call from him to come down and help you....and here I am, learning and helping at the same time...." Could I open more up to him? I had a feeling in my gut that I could and he was taking in all that I said. Taking my hands and squeezing them gently he asked a question I didn't think I could answer.

" So...do you have any secrets you wish to share with me? " Should I tell him? I was a little taken a back, lost for words you might say.

" Nick I don't think this is such a good idea...." I looked down and sighed Nick trying hard to get in but getting nowhere. He lifted my chin up and I saw him smile.

" Did I say something wrong? " Oh yeah! I wasn't sure how he would react to my secret with Grace and I having a bit in common.

" Well...I didn't know how you would react....after I tell you coz of Grace..." Nick put a finger to my lips as if to say tell me anyway and so I did his eyes constantly watching me;

" Well...when I was 18 the doctors discovered I had a benign cancer, I was scared, even if it was a safe growth. I had a follow up of tests and the doctors discovered that it had disappeared within a few months and no operation was needed. They said I was a miracle teen, one minute it was there existing and the next it was gone like it had never even had been there. Brian thinks I have a gift.....for helping people...I can touch someone and they feel instantly relaxed, like the pain they were feeling not only is gone not just for a while but forever...I make them feel like they still have something left to give to the world...." I looked into Nick's eyes...he seemed intrigued by my life and what I believed. He lifted my hand to his lips and kissed each finger.

" You have something left to give to the world....you help people understand there's more to life and I may have clouded judgement but the way I see it is you have given me this light back when I lost all hope in ever finding it again. I feel closer to you now than ever before...." I put my hand to his cheek and rubbed it gently.

" So do you Nick...you still have something left to give to the world also...."

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