Giggles, groans, and creaks were keeping Ally awake, and they were all coming from the room next door. She couldn’t believe they were fooling around when they knew that she was right there. She couldn’t believe Nick would do that. What was she talking about? It wasn’t like they didn’t have the right to do it. Nick was Natalie’s baby, now, not Ally’s. That was so sad…
Natalie’s passionate scream interrupted her thoughts. “They aren’t even trying to be quiet anymore,” she muttered to herself. Right now, that invitation from Celeste was sounding really good. Celeste had wanted her to come out with the girls, but Ally remembered her last girl night on tour. That was when she had gotten so drunk and went to Nick’s room, thinking it was her own… At least worse things didn’t happen that night. Gosh, she had objected to Dave, but no way would she have cared with Nick. She was so in love with him…why couldn’t she have recognized that just a little bit sooner?
Another loud shriek was heard from next door, making Ally roll her eyes. “NICK! Oh, my God!” How could Natalie even have that much energy after the performance?
She fought back the urge to yell back, “Would you two settle down in there?” The only thought in her mind was that it could have been her in Natalie’s place, making love to Nick, hugging him, kissing him, talking to him, loving him, being with him… What had been going through her mind?
The next morning, Ally couldn’t even look Nick or Natalie in the eye. The two of them were giggling all through breakfast. Did they even realize she heard everything last night? Probably not…
Ally avoided the couple for the rest of the week. The thought of him sharing with Natalie what he had shared with her was very depressing. Maybe they were serious about each other. It was still gnawing at her conscience that he had kissed her, but why ruin Natalie’s paradise?
Finally, it was unavoidable. “Ally, could you do me a favor?” Cindy asked after the performance. It was the very last one. Ally looked down at the baseball cap in Cindy’s hands and nodded, though she had an idea of what the favor would be. “Nick forgot this backstage. Can you go find him and give it to him?”
“Yeah, sure,” Ally said. She grabbed the cap and began searching. After checking Natalie’s dressing room, she figured he would be watching TV in the lounge. Hopefully, someone else was there with him. Of course, it didn’t work out that way. He was alone on the couch watching ESPN.
He looked up and smiled. “Hey.”
“Hi. Cindy said you left this backstage,” she said softly. He stood up to grab it, but she tossed it to him instead. The farther away she was from him, the better. She turned to leave, but he called her back.
“Ally, is it just me, or have you been avoiding me since Boston?” Nick asked.
“I have been avoiding you since Boston,” Ally said honestly.
He waited for her to go into detail, but she didn’t. “Why?” he inquired timidly.
“It sounded like you and Natalie were having so much fun together that first night. I didn’t want to bother you. Hotels have thin walls, Nick. Not a good thing when you’re next to your ex-girlfriend,” she stated bluntly.
“Wait, you’re mad at me because I had sex with my girlfriend?” he exclaimed. “I’m sorry, Ally, but you had your chance. That could have been you.”
‘Tell me something I don’t know,’ she felt like saying. Instead, she said, “It’s called common courtesy. That’s not the nicest thing to hear, no matter who it is. You could be a total stranger, and it’d still bother me. I don’t need to know.”
“At least you didn’t walk in on us,” he muttered.
“Craig and I were quiet! And I at least would have been smart enough to knock, dumbass!”
“I didn’t kiss someone one day and then have sex with another person the next day,” he pointed out.
“Is it impossible for you to leave the past where it is?” she cried. “That was a long time ago, and you initiated that kiss!” Neither one of them was actually thinking about what they were saying. Words were flying out of their mouths on instinct, each one trying to beat the other.
“You kissed me!”
“You were falling in love with me!”
“I know I was! I still am in love with you!”
“Then why are you with her when you know how I feel about you?”
He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. “I don’t know,” he mumbled. “Because she’s nice and sweet and pretty.”
“Do you even feel anything for her?”
“Yes, I love her,” he lied. “And she’s a lot better of a girlfriend than you could ever be.”
“Thanks,” was all she could mutter. She spun on her heel and walked toward the door, but he grabbed her arm.
“I’m sorry, Ally. That’s not true. I don’t know why I said that,” he said softly.
She turned and looked into his teary, blue eyes. “I was being a bitch. I deserved that. I’m sorry, too.”
Before she even realized what was happening, his hands were on her waist, and his lips were against hers. This time, though, she didn’t protest. She simply closed her eyes and parted her lips. Natalie didn’t even cross her mind. He could have told her to crawl through broken glass at that moment, and she would have done it. He had total control over her.
Suddenly, the door opened and Natalie stepped in. “Nick?”
Nick looked up at Natalie, startled. “Natalie!”
She bit her lip and dashed out of the room, but he was right on her heels. The irony of the situation came to Ally’s mind. Natalie was in almost the same position she had been in two years ago, except this kiss was a real kiss. She listened to their argument from inside the room.
“You told me you didn’t care about her, Nick!” Natalie sobbed. “You told me you loved me!” It wasn’t anger in her voice as much as it was sadness.
“I do love you, Natalie. I’m just…” He hesitated for a long time before Natalie finally finished for him.
“You’re just not in love with me, are you?” she whispered. Ally had to strain to hear her.
“No, I’m not. I’m sorry, Natalie.”
“Well, that’s great. I finally fall for a guy and he leaves me for one of my dancers. Thank you, Nick. You made my day,” Natalie said bitterly.
Ally heard footsteps coming back towards the room, too heavy to be Natalie’s. Great. Now Nick was going to be mad at her. She looked down at the floor as he walked over to her. He lifted her chin, and she squinted, not wanting to see the anger in his expression. Instead, though, she saw love, and her eyes filled with tears. “Nick…”
“Shhhh…” He put his lips on hers and kissed her passionately. “Don’t worry about her. It’s us now.”