I'm the type of person who can't get out of bed when they first wake up. I prefer to lounge around for at least an hour before I actually have to face the world. I must say that I do some of my best thinking in when I wake up in the morning, so you could probably guess that the next morning the first thing I did was analyze every detail of the night before.
Wow, I still couldn't get over the fact that Nick was actually jealous of AJ! It really made me wonder if I had been maybe a little too flirtatious with AJ in the past. Had this whole thing with Katie been caused by something that I did self consciously?
The more I thought about it, the more it seemed like it was MY fault. Here I was flirting with AJ, allowing Nick to believe God knows what. Then there was the night before he left and how I had turned him away after he had obviously had plans for us. Guess that must have left him just a little disappointed and maybe skeptical in our relationship, which could be why he was so quick to follow Katie into bed. It all came down to the simple fact that I had neglected my man. I wasn't giving him what he wanted, so he had went out and got it elsewhere.
So, now what? We were back together, but that didn't mean that things were all perfect. There was still some tension there and there still would be no matter how many times he told me that he was sorry. What had happened, happened and it wouldn't just disappear if we pretended that it never happened. It was still there deep down. Our relationship needed something and fast. If things kept up the way they'd always been, boring and predictable, I had the bad feeling that Nick would find himself another "Katie" and then I'd be right back here again.
I didn't want my relationship with Nick to end up that way. He was the first guy I'd ever felt this way about and I wasn't just about to let him go without a fight. Something needed to change and I began to wonder if it was me who needed to do the changing.
I sighed as I sat up in bed. I knew I had promised I would call AJ and give him all the dirt on last night, but what was I supposed to say? Well, AJ everything was going great up until the point he admitted that he was jealous of our friendship? No, I think I needed a female's opinion here so I dialed Izzy's private line.
"Hello," I heard Izzy's groggy voice on the other side of the phone. "Who's this?"
"Hey Iz. It's me Mel," I told her, hoping that I didn't wake her up.
"Oh hi. What's up? How was your date last night? Did you make Nick kiss your feet?" she asked.
"Not exactly," I told her as I started to describe my night to her. "He took me on his boat and he ordered Italian food for dinner. Everything was going pretty decently until I mentioned AJ's Taking me to get a tattoo on Saturday-"
"Whoa! You're getting a tattoo? Since when?" Izzy interrupted.
"Since yesterday. Just try to follow me here Iz," I begged. "Well, Nick was just a little jealous that AJ was taking me especially since.... well he told me everything about my surprise party."
"That ass! Doesn't SURPRISE mean anything to him?" Izzy complained.
"No, Iz. I'm glad he told me. I mean I was beginning to think that all you guys had totally forgot and didn't care about me. Anyway apparently HE was supposed to take me out to distract me but AJ beat him to it. He said that he was afraid that he'd lose me to AJ. Iz, what if he thought that AJ and I had something going on and that's why he slept with Katie?"
"I don't think so Mel. I don't know the whole story, but from what you told me it sounds like it was pretty much what he told you. He was drunk, she was there, you weren't, it was convenient. I am kind of shocked that he'd do something like this. I mean I've known him for like 10 years now? I've never thought him the type to cheat on a girlfriend but... Anyway it's a good thing I haven't heard from him since I found out. So, for the record are you guys together or what?"
"We're together," I said with a sigh. "I promised I'd give him another chance as long as he agreed to not see, hear, or keep in contact with Katie. Things just are weird..."
"Well, life isn't just going to go back to normal now Mel," Izzy told me. "It's going to take time. Time and patience." All of a sudden I heard Iz go from completely serious to giggly. "Hold on a sec Mel. Ash is trying to get my attention."
Hmm... Ashley was over? This early in the morning? Guess she found a way to smuggle him in last night behind Kevin's back. I sighed. I loved Izzy to death, but sometimes I had to admit that I was jealous of her relationship with Ashley. It was so perfect... Why couldn't Nick and I be like that? We'd all started dating about the same time and you'd think that the two of them had been together forever. What did they have that Nick and I didn't?
"Okay I'm back. He just wanted to say good-bye. He has to get back to his place before Lou realizes he's gone," she told me and I could tell that she was probably rolling her eyes at the mention of Lou's name. It was no secret she wasn't too fond of the man. She had witnessed all the crap that Lou Pearlman had put Kevin and the rest of the guys through firsthand and it was just coincidental that she happened to be dating a guy that was part of Lou's newest collection of puppets.
"I'm surprised you managed to sneak him up in the first place," I remarked.
"Yea, well Kevin and Melanie were out late last night doing some wedding stuff so... Anyway I really don't care anymore. I'm a big girl and Kevin knows this. He's not my father and I'm not doing anything that he's not already doing with Melanie. Besides lately it's been really tough to find time to spend with Ashley. Lou's got them so booked up lately that I feel as if I never even see him. Like now for instance. He had to hurry back to the house because if Lou finds out he was with me all night he's gonna have his ass. Hey... Do you think I'm just being paranoid or is Lou purposely trying to keep Ashley from me?"
"That's a little extreme Iz. I think it's more that the group is just getting started up and the guys have a lot to learn, so Lou doesn't want them getting too involved with anyone yet," I tried to tell her.
"You don't know Lou like I do Mel. I saw how he treated my cousin and the rest of the guys. How they weren't 'allowed' to have girlfriends. I think he's just keeping Ashley from me because he knows I'm Kevin's cousin."
My mind had began to wander during Izzy's little tirade. I know really nice of me how I can unload on Izzy but when she tries to unload on me I block her out. I just had a lot of shit on my mind. This whole thing with Nick... I was just clueless. It was almost impossible to think very logically.
"Uhh Iz? What would you think if I decided to sleep with Nick?" I blurted out of nowhere.
"Damn... Mel, you're just full of shockers today. I don't want to know where that one came from! Look, I know you're blaming yourself for this whole thing with Katie, but don't decide to do anything drastic in a last attempt to keep Nick. It's just gonna make things 10 times more complicated."
"I really do love him, " I told her sincerely. "It's not like I'm doing it just to prove myself or something. Besides it almost happened the night before he left. It probably would've if it wasn't for the fact that he'd be gone the next day for a couple of months there. "
I heard Izzy sigh. "Look, I can't make decisions for you. You're a big girl now and I know from experience that no matter what people tell me, if I want to do something I just do it anyway and hope it works out. Just be smart Mel okay? I know how your mind works and I know you're already making plans. You're thinking tomorrow night because it's your birthday right?"
"How'd you know?" I asked her blushing at well she knew me.
"Lucky guess. Anyway just promise me it aint gonna be a quickie in one of AJ's guest bedroom's all right? Make it memorable."
"Okay," I promised with a laugh.
"Anyway you up for a shopping trip? Chantal and I were going to go to the mall to find outfits for your party, but since it's not a surprise anymore guess you can come too. Anyway it seems like you're going to need something special to wear," she told me.
"Me? Pass up a shopping trip?" I asked innocently.
"Guess that's a yes. So meet us in food court in like an hour and a half?"
"Yea, sounds good to me."
"Oh, yea Mel? Thanks for listening to me about Ashley and Lou," she told me.
I grinned. "No problem. Thanks for listening to me about Nick."
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Three hours later our shopping spree was well underway. We'd grabbed some lunch then hit a couple of our favorite stores. Chantal had found her outfit for the party rather quickly. Izzy was still deciding. She had one outfit she liked in like every store we went to, so she was checking out all her options first. I on the other hand couldn't find a thing. I wanted something sexy yet not downright slutty. Something that would make Nick realize how wrong he was for cheating on me in the first place.
"God, I can't believe that I have not seen ONE outfit I liked!" I whined as we left about our ten-millionth store.
"I don't see what your problem is Mel," Izzy said with a laugh. "I've seen at least two dozen outfits that I like. I don't even know how I'm going to choose."
"First store I went into I found an outfit, but then again I don't have anyone to impress," Chantal added.
"Oh my God!" Izzy shouted stopping dead in her tracks. "I have THE perfect dress for you Mel!"
"Does she normally get brainstorms like this out of nowhere?" Chantal asked me with a laugh.
"All the time," I told her. "Okay what is this perfect dress?"
"It's like a sky blue colored slipdress, but it has like a really low back and it really clings to all the right places. It would look great on you! I've only worn it like once or twice myself, so it's like new," she described.
"Well,... It would save me the money of buying a dress myself," I said slowly.
"Good. Then I'll bring it over tomorrow sometime before the party," she decided for me. We were silent for a moment until Izzy stopped in her tracks once again.
"Oh no... Don't tell me you had another brainstorm Izzy?" Chantal whined.
"No. Look over there," she pointed towards the opposite side of the mall. "It's Nick."
"What's he doing here?" I wondered. "He told me his parents and Aaron were supposed to come and visit today." There could be a million and one reasons why he was at the mall, but I still felt paranoid.
"You're going to find out," Izzy insisted as she dragged me by the arm towards Nick. "Hey Nick! What are you doing here? Thought you hated to shop?" she asked him.
"Uhmm... I just had some errands to do. Not really shopping," he insisted.
"Thought your parents and Aaron were coming over today?" I asked him a little suspiciously.
"They are... I mean they did ... but they left to go visit some friends and left Aaron with me. He's home right now attacking my video game collection," Nick explained. "Hey we're still on for tonight right?"
"Uh huh. I'll see you then," I told him, trying to tie up the conversation because I felt Izzy tugging on the back of my shirt.
"Bye," he told me as he disappeared.
"Tonight? What's tonight? You didn't tell me about tonight on the phone this morning." Izzy interrogated.
"I'm having dinner at Nick's house with his parents and Aaron is all," I told her.
"Oooh... Dinner with his parents? Maybe there's hope for you two yet. Anyway I think he was telling the truth," she told me, stating her opinion. "I think he's just probably shopping for your birthday gift."
"You think so?" I asked her.
"I know so. Now come on! Let's get some ice cream and I can think about which outfit to get!"
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Just when I thought things were perfect the other shoe had to drop. While I was out shopping with Izzy and Chantal and finally beginning to feel confident that maybe things with me and Nick were going to be okay, somewhere else my world was already beginning to fall apart.
While Nick was out at the mall, he had indeed left Aaron home where he was happily playing video games. He was so absorbed in Nick's Playstation 2 that he practically didn't hear the phone ring. He probably wouldn't have even bothered to pick it up if it hadn't been that he just killed himself in the game he was playing.
"Hello," he answered the phone.
"Hello?" a heavily accented female voice said on the other end. "Can I please speak to Nick?"
"Uhh... he's not here right now? Can I take a message?" he asked figuring it could be something important.
"Yes. Could you please tell him that Katie called. He'll know who I am. Tell him that I'm here in Florida and I'm stopping by for a visit okay?"
"Uhmm, all right," Aaron agreed a little confused because Nick had never mentioned a friend of his named Katie. Furthermore Nick was having me over for dinner and he doubted that he'd have invited another friend. "I'll tell him you called."
"Thank you. Good-bye," the voice on the other end said before hanging up.
Something wasn't adding up right to Aaron. Maybe I should try calling Nick's cell and find out what this is all about? he thought. Naturally Nick had left his phone off so Aaron just got his voice mail.
The phone rang again interrupting his thoughts. "Hello," he answered.
"Hey Aaron. How are you doing?" AJ's voice on the other end asked. "Is Nick around?"
"I'm all right. Actually he's out right now picking up Melissa's birthday present," he reported and then paused for a moment. "Hey AJ, by any chance do you know if Nick has a friend named Katie?"
"What about Katie?" AJ immediately asked sounding a little panicked.
"She just called. She asked me to tell Nick that she's in Florida and she's coming by to visit. I thought it was a little strange but-"
"Shit!" AJ interrupted. "Okay listen. If she comes by before Nick gets home let her in and get her comfortable. I'm going to call Melissa. She'll probably freak out and storm over there. Whatever you do keep them away from each other hear me? Stall her until Nick comes back. Do you think you can do that?"
"I guess," Aaron agreed in a confused voice. "But I don't understand. Why is Melissa involved?"
"It's a long story but let's just say that your brother has gotten himself into another one of his messes."
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We were sitting at a table eating our Baskin Robins when my cell phone began to ring. "Wonder who that is?" I asked as I picked up. "Hello?"
"Damn Mel! I've been trying to get a hold of you!" AJ's frantic voice shouted on the other end of the line.
"What's wrong AJ? I've been at the mall with Chantal and Izzy. What's going on?"
"You're at the mall? By any chance have you seen Nick?" he asked.
"Like ten minutes ago. Why?"
"Okay don't freak out, but I just tried calling Nick and got Aaron. Katie called and she's in Orlando. She says she's coming over to Nick's right away!"
"You gotta be fucking kidding me! What's she want now?" I asked angrily. Both Izzy and Chantal exchanged worried glances.
"I don't know but look... Try to find Nick and tell him what's going on so he's prepared," he told me.
"All right," I promised trying to remain calm.
"Okay good. And don't worry. We'll get rid of her."
"Whatever. Bye," I told him as I shut off my phone.
"What did AJ want?" Izzy asked.
"Apparently Katie just called Nick's house and she's going to pay him a visit," I explained as I dragged both her and Chantal up from their feet. "We gotta find Nick!"