No Need to Push

Nick walked into the office carrying a couple of pizza boxes. He had assumed Cheyenne would open the door for him like she usually did but she wasn't at her desk. Figuring she was either in the breakroom or the bathroom he headed on to the back to set the boxes down. Walking to the fridge he pulled out a soda popping the top cussing when he heard the phone ring.

Stepping out into the hall to head to his office he found himself colliding with Cheyenne as she stepped out of the restroom. Out of instinct, he reached out to steady her even as her hands rested on his chest. The phone ringing started to sound more like alarms to Nick warning him of impending danger. One step back would break their contact but neither moved.

Nick looked down at her, "Cheyenne..."She looked up at him closing her eyes as he ran his hand down her face, "I have to get the phone." Nodding she stepped back opening her eyes and watching him as he paused before walking past her.

Cheyenne walked to the kitchen putting a piece of pizza and two breadsticks on her plate. Her encounter with Nick in the hall had caught her a little off guard. He had shown a crack in his armor. She knew she could have pressed the situation, she could have kissed him, she could have not backed down. There was no need to push him though. He had touched her on his on proving to her that he was attracted to her.

Nick barely made it to the phone. Ed's voice on the other end made his heart skip a beat and for a tiny second, he wondered if he didn't know what had happened in the hall with Cheyenne. "Hey Nick, is Cheyenne at lunch? She isn't answering her phone."

"Yeah, I think she is in the breakroom. Do you want me to tell her to call you?" He asked.

Ed sighed, "how is she? Rachel called and said they got into it this morning. I was just calling to check on her."

Nick debated for a minute about lying to him but he knew that Ed knew his daughter better than that. "She was upset this morning but she seems to be ok now."

"Rachel just won't leave her alone," Ed said. "Cheyenne isn't a bad kid. I thought her coming home would help but it's only getting worse."

Nick shook his head, "Rachel and Cheyenne have always butted heads. It's worse now that she's older."

Ed paused, "you have no idea. I've toyed with the idea of letting Cheyenne stay at the hunting lodge but I don't know, either way, Rachel will be pissed."

The idea wasn't a bad one, it would give Cheyenne some privacy. It would give her some space to do what she wanted without being judged. Nick knew this was Ed's way of asking him if it was ok. They shared the lodge, it wasn't much bigger than the office. In fact, it was based on the same plans. "They both might be happier with a little space Ed. Especially Cheyenne."

Hanging up Nick went to the breakroom grabbing some pizza before walking to the front. Cheyenne was sitting in her chair with her feet kicked up on the desk. "So you're a trouble maker with no manners?"

Cheyenne looked up from her phone, "Yep that's me. I'm certifiable."

Nick shook his head leaning against the counter, "so your dad is thinking about letting you stay at the cabin. Do you think that would help things?"

Cheyenne shrugged, "the Cabin? I mean it would get me away from my mom but isn't the cabin kind of secluded."

Nick shook his head, "it's not that bad. You'd be closer to me than your mom."

Cheyenne smirked, "well that's a plus. Are you going to come to visit me?"

Shaking his head Nick looked down at her, "I'm boring remember."

"I seriously doubt that. You had one boring weekend. What did you do this weekend?" She asked.

Nick looked down not about to tell her what he actually had done, "how about you tell me what you did?"

"Oh ok, your weekend was so boring you don't want to tell me about it." She laughed. "Me. I met some of my friends in Steelwater. Went to the bar and sang karaoke and drank till I could barely see."

Nick shook his head, "who the hell is serving you alcohol." He already knew her answer. Pretty girls like her always found away to get what they wanted. She probably flirted with the bartender, or hell he wouldn't doubt the girl had a fake ID somewhere."

Cheyenne looked up at him shrugging, "trade secrets Nick."

"Do you always get what you want Cheyenne?" He asked.

He saw the way her eyes lit up at his question. A smile played at her lips. "Pretty much. You tell me?"

Nick couldn't help the smile that came to his lips, "I guess we will find out won't we?"

Turning he returned to his office to his sitting down in his chair shaking his head. Why was he playing these games with her? He knew the answer as soon as he asked himself. She was young, beautiful, and off-limits. She was exciting, thrilling even.

Nick had never had problems getting girls. That had always come easy to him. His problem was in keeping them. He did ok in relationships the first six months or so, then things always seemed to fall apart.

It wasn't always the same problems that would end things. He didn't like the clingy possessiveness that happened later on in relationships. Most important Nick refused to be anyone's open pocketbook. Sometimes it was just him. He would grow bored in a relationship and once that happened there was no turning back.

He had married once out of pressure from his friends and family. That had been a disaster. Grace knew who he was when they married yet afterward she would throw huge fits when he would have to work late. It would be even worse on the occasions he would have to work out of town. He had known things were over but then she had fallen pregnant with Tate and he tried to make things work for another year but in the end, even Tate couldn't bandage their broken relationship.

Cheyenne was only in town for the summer. In the fall she would leave for college and after this year he doubted Ed would ever be able to drag her home again. Rachel had threatened her this year but by next year she would realize she didn't have to listen to her. Ed would never cut her off.

Nick wondered if he let Cheyenne have her way how far she would actually take things. Was she all talk? He highly doubted that. He had seen her around other people, Cheyenne didn't show interest in you unless she was in fact interested.

Letting out a deep breath he pushed her out of his head and started putting together the budget for their new contract. He couldn't get caught up in Cheyenne's boredom. She claimed she needed a distraction but the only thing she was doing was distracting him.