Nick sighed as he rolled over in his bed for the eightieth time that night. He was thinking about Megan, and he couldn’t fall asleep. Finally he got up and turned on the light. He looked out the window at the stars. Then he looked down at the glowing water in the pool. He saw someone sitting on the edge of the pool, and he ran out his door and downstairs to see who it was.
As he walked out the door, he realized that it was Megan sitting there, her feet trailing in the water as she stared up into the stars. She didn’t even realize that Nick was coming up behind her until he said, “Hey.”
Megan, thinking that it was someone who was going to rape her, shrieked and hopped up. She was going to run away when Nick caught her arm and put his hand over her mouth. “Shhhh, it’s just me,” he said soothingly as she relaxed at his touch.
“Oh, jeez, Nick, you scared the patooties out of me,” Megan said with a giggle as she sat down next to him and put her feet back in the water. “What are you doing up?” she asked him.
“I couldn’t sleep,” he replied, gazing at her.
“Oh, me either,” she said, looking at her feet, which were swirling in the water, making ripples. She let her hair fall over her face like a veil. She could feel his gaze on her, and she was afraid to look at him.
“Um, Megan, can I tell you something?” Nick asked her as he touched her face and gently pushed he golden brown hair behind her ear.
“Um, sure, Nick,” Megan said as she looked up and into his eyes.
“I…I…well,” Nick stammered as he tried to think of the right words to say.
Megan put her finger to his lips. “Shhh…” she said. Then she gently reached up and kissed him.
* * *
The next day, everyone slept in really late, except for Kevin, who was, ironically awake at the crack of dawn and went for a swim. When Megan woke up, Kevin was in the pool, and everyone else was asleep. She plodded downstairs in her slippers and robe. Nick was also up, and he was out on the sun porch watching Kevin swim lap after lap. Megan went up to him and said, "Want a cup of coffee?"
Nick turned to her and smiled. "No, thanks. Here, sit down." He pulled out a chair for her.
"Thanks."
It was a beautiful morning, and the dew made the grass and flowers sparkle in the suns light. Megan looked at Nick.
"What are you doing up this early?"
"Oh, I don't know, I just woke up. I figured that I better get up and get everything ready to go on tour, because it takes me forever," he laughed. "How about you?”
"Oh, I always get up early. When my mom was alive, she and I used to sit out here and watch the sun rise during the summer. She loved sunrises, that's when my Daddy proposed to her. They were on the beach, and they were watching the sunrise. She always said that he was totally romantic," she said with tears in her eyes. "After he died though, she would never watch the sunrise. I guess it was too painful for her. And when she died, I would wake up early every morning just to watch the sunrise. I guess it made me feel closer to her or something." She laughed sadly. "Oh, never mind. I'm sounding way too corny."
Nick came over to her and touched her cheek softly, looking deep into her eyes. "No," he whispered, "Not at all." He leaned over and kissed her softly.
“Hey guys,” a voice sounded.
Nick pulled away and saw Brian standing there watching them on the porch. "Oh, uh, hi, B rok." He and Megan started blushing furiously.
"Hey guys, good morning. Meg, did Sam spend the night?" Brian asked.
"Yeah, why?" Meg replied.
"Oh, ok, I was just wondering because she's not in your room, and I was just wondering where she was."
"Oh, well, then she probably went out for a jog with AJ, I overheard them talking about doing that this morning."
Brian sat down with his coffee. "So, those two have been spending an awful lot of time together, is anything going on between them?"
"Between who? Nick and Megan or AJ and Sam?" Aaron said as he walked onto the porch.
"Hey, honey, good morning," said Megan.
"Well, I know about Megan and Nick, but what about Samantha and AJ?" Brian said teasingly. "I've got it!" he said in a fake British accent. "It's toime for the Gossip Show with Brion Littrell! Today's guests, Megan ond Nickolas!" He held out an imaginary microphone towards Megan. "So, how long hove you two been dating? I cought you two snogging a couple minutes ago, you know."
"Nick, what does snogging mean?" Aaron asked his older brother.
"Oh, hush up Brion!" Megan said, mimicking Brian's accent. She got up and went to get another cup of coffee.
Brian smiled devilishly and said, "Snogging means kissing in England, Aaron. Well, thot's oll for us! Be sure to tune in next week for the episode on Alexonder ond Somontha!"
"Ewww, you guys were kissing?" Aaron asked his brother, wrinkling up his nose in a childish way as Megan came back out onto the porch. He started laughing hysterically.
"What? Who was kissing?" Kevin asked as he came up the porch steps sopping wet.
"Hey! Don't get the carpet wet! Towel off first! Do you know how long it takes to get water spots off this carpet?" Megan said, looking pointedly at Brian.
"Hey, you didn't have to clean it, I did," Brian retorted.
"That's because you made the mess. And if Kevin gets spots on the carpet, HE's gonna have to clean it."
"You two fight like cats and dogs, you know that?" Nick told Brian and Megan.
Megan smiled at him. "I know," she said, punching Brian on the shoulder as she got up and started to walk into the house. "I'm going to start breakfast. Everyone is leaving today, and we need a big breakfast to get us started. Any special requests?"
"Bacon and pancakes!" Aaron said excitedly.
"Eggs and toast," Nick said, followed by Brian saying, "French toast, please."
"Alrighty, give me 45 minutes," said Megan. She spotted AJ and Samantha coming up the drive and called to her friend, "Sam, come and help me with breakfast."
"K, I'll be right there!" Sam called.