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He hates to admit it, but Nick knew he’d fall for her as soon as she stepped into the club that night.
It is just like any other night. Nick is helping Joe lock up, which means that he stands around while Joe does everything. Joe is a perfectionist when it comes to his night club and doesn’t want Nick messing up anything. “You’re the singer and that’s all you do here. Leave everything else to me.” Joe would explain in his heavy New Jersey accent whenever Nick asked to help him.
The two brothers live in apartments above the club; Nick lives across the hall from Joe and his wife, Blanda. There are other apartments up there as well that other people live in and that’s why Nick likes staying to help Joe close. It gives Nick more time to play guitar; he found out that he gets really good inspiration in the middle of the night.
Joe places the last chair on top of one of the tables when she walks in. She had auburn hair that was draped over her right shoulder and Nick finds that he’s holding his breath as he watches her walk in. Her hips sway when she walks, like she’s dancing or something, and it almost makes Nick want to dance but Nick doesn’t dance.
"Demi!" Joe greets with his arms open. Nick watches as his brother hugs her. When the two part Joe still has an arm around Demi’s waist as he turns toward his little brother. "Nick, this is Demi. She’s gonna be singing with you."
Nick shakes his head to break this spell that Demi has cast over him. Then, his brows scrunch as he considers what Joe has just informed him. “What are you talking about?”
"Well, of course with your approval. You are in charge of music after all." Joe pats Demi’s back a couple times and Nick’s pretty sure one of those slaps was on her rear end. "Why don’t you go show him what you got?"
Listening to Joe, Demi walks over to the stage and as she prepares herself, Nick leans in closer to Joe. “What the hell is this, Joe?” He whispers.
"Oh come on! Having a girl singer will be great for business." Joe places a hand on Nick’s shoulder and uses his free hand to pull a cigar from his jacket pocket.
"This isn’t some excuse for you to sleep with her, is it?"
Joe shakes his head as he places the cigar in his mouth and lights it. “Nah. Blanda and I are trying to have a kid and she’d kill me if I got another girl pregnant when she ain’t.” Joe slaps Nick’s bicep.
"Yeah, that’s why she’d be upset." Nick sarcastically said.
"Besides," Joe pulls the cigar out of his mouth and smoke fills the air in front of him. "I thought you’d like her. She seems like your type and all." He says with a shrug.
"Joe-" Nick tries to talk, but Joe cuts him off by pushing him toward the stage.
"Live a little, Nicky. The war’s over!" That was Joe’s reasoning for everything: the war is over. Nick had been too young to enlist, but Joe had gone over. He was only in combat once and he doesn’t mention it ever.
Joe walks away from Nick and sets a chair down on the ground so he can watch the show. Nick, noticing he has not choice, joins Demi on stage. “Do you need help with anything?” He asks.
"Could you play the piano for me?" She requests and Nick obeys.
"What song?" He calls out from the piano bench.
Demi looks over her shoulder and gives him a smile. “You’ll know it right away.” She then turns her attention back to where an audience would be seated. This leaves Nick with nothing to do but wait until she begins to sing.
Somewhere over the rainbow
Way up high
There’s a land that I’ve heard of
Once in a lullaby
Nick knows the song - he knows it all too well - and smiles as he begins to play along. As he listens to her sing he’s pretty sure he falls harder for her with each passing note.
—————————————————
Joe is right: having a female singer does wonders for business. The club is filled to capacity almost every night and Nick’s pretty sure it’s not to see his pretty face.
It’s about a month after they hired Demi that she spends the night at Nick’s apartment. Joe had not been at the club that night because he had plans with Blanda which meant that Nick was in charge. When closing time comes around, all their customers drink the last of their scotch and pay their bills before they leave. To Nick’s surprise, Demi stays and they talk about everything. Nick finds out that Demi is the same age as him, her favorite singer is Ella Fitzgerald, and she’s originally from Texas but moved up here to be a jazz singer. They even put on an impromptu performance of every song they know and even write a couple new ones. They both find it hard to believe that it’s already six in the morning when they decide it’s best to go to sleep.
As they both pack up their belongings, Nick glances over at Demi and notices a glum look on her face. “What’s wrong?” He asks.
Demi lets out a sigh but offers a small smile. “It’s nothing. It’s just,” She pauses. “I had a fight with my landlord earlier and I just don’t feel like seeing his face right now.” She confesses.
Nick smiles at her and gently places his hand on her shoulder. “You can stay with me.”
"Are you sure?" She looks up at him. "I don’t want to intrude."
"Trust me, it’s fine."
After making sure all the doors are locked, Nick leads Demi up to his apartment. He pulls out one of his old button down shirts and hands it to Demi along with a pair of boxers. “The bathroom’s over there and the bedroom is at the end of the hall. I’ll sleep on the couch.” Demi opens her mouth to protest but Nick raises his hand to stop her. “Demi, just take the bed. Even if you go on the couch I’ll sleep on the floor.” He gives her a smile. “I’m a gentleman like that.
Demi laughs and Nick thinks it’s the second most wonderful sound in the world; the first being Demi’s singing voice. “Well thank you, Nick. I promise this will only be for one night.”
But it wasn’t just for one night. Demi ended up staying the next night, and the night after that, and the night after that as well. After about two weeks of saying “Just one more night,” Nick finally persuaded Demi to move in with him and that’s exactly what she did.
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She gets him to dance and that’s when Nick knows that he’s in love with this girl because he doesn’t dance and no one has ever gotten him to dance ever.
Joe’s club is normally filled with elderly men having business meetings, so the mood of the place is very mellow with Nick and Demi singing slow jazz songs. On occasion though, the two of them will throw in a fast song or two throughout the night just to liven it up. This was one of those moments. There just so happens to be an instrumental break for a few bars. When the band begins to play their notes, Nick glances over at Demi to see that she has this wide smile directed at him.
"What?" He asks.
She reaches across the stage and takes his hands in hers. “Dance with me.” Nick feels her tug, but he stands in place. “Come on.”
Nick lets out a nervous laugh. “I don’t dance.”
"Nick, just because you’re a singer doesn’t mean you can’t dance."
"No, I mean, I literally can’t dance. At all. People get injured when I dance."
Laughing, Demi tugged tighter. “Now this I have to see. Just do it.” She gives him puppy dog eyes and Nick’s pretty sure he’s about to melt on the spot. “For me?” She begs and Nick can’t refuse that. So finally he follows her onto the empty dance floor that had been placed in front of the stage for the occasional couple to dance upon.
Still holding one of his hands, Demi places her other on his broad shoulder. Nick’s free hand goes down to her waist and he can feel her breath on his face; they’re that close. He wants to lean in to kiss her, but Demi starts dancing and Nick gets confused because he has absolutely no idea what she’s doing. He looks down at her feet to try and get help.
"Just watch me and let me lead." Demi explains as she keeps moving. That doesn’t help at all because her feet are moving too fast for Nick to comprehend.
Another nervous laugh escapes him. “I told you I was bad at this.”
Demi stops dancing and Nick thinks he’s blown every chance with her, but he watches as a smile creeps onto her face. “Hold on. Stay right there.” She walks out of his grasp and goes back up to the stage to talk to Garbo, the band’s bass player and also second in command after Nick.
Garbo nods at whatever Demi is telling him and then he repeats it to each band member, but Nick can’t hear what they’re saying. The music changes from a fast song to a slow one that Nick recognizes right away. Demi approaches him again and their hands go back to their previous positions.
I’ll be loving you
Always
With a love that’s true
Always
Before Nick knows it, the two of them are gliding across the floor and he hasn’t stepped on her foot once. Well, maybe once, but they both just laugh it off and continue. Other couples begin to join them, but Nick is only seeing Demi.
She looks radiant tonight. Her auburn hair is up in a fancy bun and she dons a black dress that clings to every curve in the right way. Even though she looks stunning when she’s all dressed up, Nick has begun to prefer her when she’s just herself. He loves hanging out in his apartment with her, like when they both are on the couch and her head is in his lap looking up at him and they just talk about anything that came to mind.
He wants to kiss her, good Lord does he want to kiss her, but not right now. Not in front of everyone. Especially Joe. No, kissing Demi had to be something special.
—————————————————
He finally sleeps with her, but not in the way that his little Nick would have liked. It is the night after they have their first dance and they just share the bed together, but that’s okay with Nick. He wakes up the next morning and the sight of her laying next to him, her hair a mess and her make-up smeared because she was too tired to wash it off last night, made him smile. This is the Demi he loves to see and wouldn’t mind waking up to every morning.
They start sharing the bed after that night, which leaves Nick confused as to what their relationship is. He doesn’t have the courage to ask her though because he doesn’t want to ruin what they have going on right now. He likes it too much. He just really wants to kiss her though.
One morning he wakes up to find the bed completely empty. Nick doesn’t know why he starts to worry, but the smell of breakfast fills his nostrils and all his worries are gone. He quickly rushes into the kitchen to find Demi cooking in her nightgown.
She turns around and gives him that smile that he has grown to love. "Good, you’re up. I was just making-" She doesn’t get to finish her sentence because Nick’s lips collide with hers.
Nick pulls apart after he starts thinking about how Demi’s going to react, but God was it worth it.
A smile breaks out onto Demi’s face. “Finally!” And she kisses him again.
—————————————————
They don’t tell Joe, but he eventually catches on when he notices them holding hands every so often and how they now dance every night. What finally convinced him though was when he caught them making out in her dressing room one night. He politely excuses himself and closes the door as he leaves. Later that night he does congratulate Nick with a high five and a “it’s about time.”
The two of them barely leave their apartment after the kiss. They spend most of their time making out, talking, sleeping, making out some more, and eventually making love. As much as he does love that last activity, he really enjoys when they cuddle after. It’s doing this that he finally confesses his love for her.
She’s playing with the scarce amount of chest hair that he has with her fingers. He takes a deep breath and says, “I love you.”
Demi stops what she’s doing and looks up at him. The Nick before would’ve worried that he said the wrong thing, but he knows that he hasn’t. He’s hopelessly in love with her and even if she doesn’t feel the same way he is content that she knows his feelings towards her.
She slowly brings her face closer to his and plants a kiss on his lips. “I love you too.” She whispers back.
Sure Nick had thought he’d been the happiest when she sang, when she had spent the night, when she moved in, when they had danced, or when they had first shared the bed. Even their first kiss was a tough one to beat. But upon hearing her say those words back to him, Nick knew that the only way he’d ever be happier is if she says yes to him proposing. And he knows he’s going to propose eventually, but just not now. Why rush it? He’s perfectly fine doing this dance with her. She’s the best dance partner he could ever imagine.