Julia was so excited that all her siblings were with her. They did have a lot to catch up on since Julia wasn't in Canada very often anymore. The huge group of us sat around chatting, catching up and in some cases getting to know each other. It was a lot of fun.
Before it was time for the infamous annual Christmas Eve Celebration, everyone had to get settled in their rooms. It was decided that the Backstreet bodyguards would stay in the other suite with the older people, while everyone else would fit in the room that we were in now.
Soon everyone split into their separate rooms and began to get ready for the party. As Alex was slipping into the brand new dressed that she had been forced to buy, she worried, yet again, about how her Grandmother and Father were going to react when she told them she was pregnant.
"Al, I can hear you pacing, stop worrying, everything is going to be fine." Jules said from her room.
"She's right, you know she's right." Ali said to herself and sat on her bed, to stop her legs from pacing around the room again.
Then there was a knock at the door. Ali went to open the door, it was Nick. "Hey Ali, can you tie my tie for me?" he asked with that puppy dog look that she couldn't resist.
"Man! How many costumes do you have to change in and out of and you don't even know how to tie a tie!" Ali snapped, more angrily than she had meant to. "We have people to dress us." Nick said with a bewildered expression on his face.
"I'm sorry Nick." Ali said and walked over to stand in front of him. "I'm just really stressed about a couple of things." She added while tying up his tie.
"I bet I know why." Nick said and rubbed his hands comfortingly along her arms. "Yeah I bet you do." Ali said with a tired smile. She turned around and forgot that she hadn't been able to zip her dress. As she stared comtemplatingly out the window she wondered what the heck Nick was laughing at.
"What?" she asked and spun around.
"I was just wondering if you were planning on going to the party with your dress undone." Nick said, unable to conceal his smile.
"Well I thought about it, but I don't think the world is ready for that. Can you do it up for me? I can't reach around that far." Ali said and again turned her back to him. Nick zipped her up.
"Thank you, my knight in shining armour." Alex said dramatically.
"You are very welcome my lady." Nick said and bowed before exiting her room.
"All right now that I have exposed myself to Nick, it's time to do my hair." Ali said, mocking herself for her forgetfullness.
Finally everyone was finished getting ready and they all met in the main room of the suite. Surprisingly, the guys were the last ones to be ready. Alex, Julia, Georgia, Gillian and Deanna watched as one by one, the guys came out of their room. All the guys were dressed in various versions of the classic tuxedo, but when AJ came out last, he made a big splash in his yellow suit.
"Couldn't just wear something normal, could ya Bone?" Brian asked as everyone stared open-mouthed at AJ's banana-coloured suit.
"If I dressed normally, that would be abnormal." AJ replied and slipped on his trademark shades.
"And you need those because these hotel lights are just sooooo bright." Alex teased AJ.
"What is this, rag on AJ night?" AJ complained.
"More like rag on AJ month." Howie said.
"Year." Brian added helpfully.
"No I think more like decade." Nick said with a smile.
"More like century." AJ grumbled.
"All right, play nice boys, it is Christmas Eve." Julia said taking Kevin's arm as they all got ready to head downstairs.
Somehow the huge group of people managed to squeeze into the elevator and after getting downstairs, the crowd was herded into the dining room, where the party was to be held. Alex was standing there looking, somewhat nostalgically around the room, as most of her family and friends gathered around and celebrated. Julia came to stand beside her best friend and she hooked arms with Ali.
"It always brings back good memories whenever we're here, doesn't it?" she asked Ali.
"It sure does." Ali said in agreement.
Alex's grandma and dad came in a few minutes later. As it turned out they were more supportive than disappointed in her. She should have known, her family was always there to support her. Everyone got seated at the various tables and were just talking when they all heard AJ shout, "C'mon people let's get this party jammin'! Where's the music?"
"Yeah let's get some music on." Kevin agreed. So AJ went over to where the music equipment was set up and put on some ballroom music. Everyone in the room, even the parents and grandparents looked over at him like he was bananas but just by being himself he had the same looks from the others about a dozen times since they had all met him.
"What? I was just thinking that Kevin could show off some of those slick moves he learned during his ballroom dancing days." This time all eyes were directed at Kevin who was slightly blushing.
"Gee, let me think about that… Umm, no." Kevin said.
"What a party pooper. Show me what you got." Julia said and pulled him out onto the dance floor.
Alex was beginning to suspect that Julia had been into the champagne, she wasn't usually into making a fool of herself in public, which she was definitely doing now. Okay, let me rephrase that. Julia wasn't usually into making a fool of herself around friends, our families knew her better than that. As good a dancer as Julia was she had absolutely no ballroom experience at all and was tripping all over her own and Kevin's feet.
Everyone clapped when they were done and not because it had been good, just because it was over.
Later on in the night, everyone was dancing around and having fun when Alex felt the need to pee, so she left the room and when she came back, she stood in the doorway.
Nick came to stand beside and unfortunately neither of them noticed that they were standing under mistletoe. Julia did, and she shouted, loud enough for everyone to hear, "Look who's standing under the mistletoe." So everyone turned around to see who was and then they all began to chant, "Kiss, kiss, kiss!"
Nick obliged them by pecking Ali on the cheek. "That was so not a kiss! Now let's see a real one." AJ contributed his two cents from the other side of the room.
Nick was really more than happy to oblige, so he turned to Ali, asking the question without saying a word, and Ali nodded her head slightly. Nick bent his tall form down to her relatively short height and leaned in to kiss her. The first touch of their lips was light, but then Ali tentatively wrapped her arms around Nick's neck, again silently giving him permission for more.
As they got really into the kiss the began to forget that everyone else was there watching them, until they heard someone coughing loudly and Julia's drunken voice.
"Get a room you two" she yelled while Alex blushed at Julia's statement in front of her family.
Finally Ali was the one who broke the lip to lip contact, but continued to hold onto Nick. "All right, shows over. I hope that AJ is happy now." Alex said from her standpoint in the doorway.
"I'd be happy too if someone brought me over a beer. What are you people trying to do, keep me dehydrated here?" Julia interrupted while holding on to Kevin so she wouldn't fall.
"Yo kid, didn't you hear what I said? Why do we pay you around here?" She asked pointing to Joe.
"Jules, it's me Joe, YOUR-BEST-FRIEND'S-BROTHER?" He said as if talking to a child.
"If you get me that drink I'll even let you be my brother, now chop-chop I don't have all night" she replied while the others laughed at the show Julia was putting on for them. Kevin then guided Julia onto the dance floor just so she could keep her mouth shut for the time being.
At this point everyone went back to their own business and Nick reluctantly let go of Ali.
"Well that was unexpected." Alex said, still standing close enough to him so that her presence knocked the balance out of him.
"Umm yeah." Nick replied, trying to regain control of all his faculties.
"I don't want you to think I regret it, but I just need time to think." Alex said reassuring him as she lay her hand on his cheek. Nick just nodded and they went back to their table.
Everyone took a turn dancing with each other and at one part there was the gigantic congo line going. Later on, though, everyone was getting tired so they just sat at their tables. Everyone that is, except Jules.
The more she drank, the more she wanted to dance with Kevin and the more they danced, the gropier she became. Finally Alex decided to try to help out the poor, tired and mauled Kevin.
"Jules, try to control yourself, both of our families are in the room. Leave the poor man alone!" Julia finally relinquished her stranglehold on her boyfriend and walked over to where Alex was sitting.
"Need I remind you, best friend of mine, that you would be doing the same thing if you weren't pregnant." Jules said and hiccuped.
"Well... umm.. that isn't the point."
"Remember last year?" Joe asked.
"Oh you had to bring that up didn't you." Ali groaned, now sure that her family was going to embarrass her in front of her new friends.
"Oh yes." Joe said with evil glee.
"Why? What happened last year?" Nick asked curiously.
"Trust me, you don't want to know." Julia said, knowing this even in her drunken state.
"Oh yes he does." Jamie interjected. If looks could kill Jamie and Joe would be dead and Ali would've been sent off to jail.
"Here's what happened," Joe began, Nick leaned in, eager to hear the tale.
"Ali, and Jules both had a little too much, okay way too much to drink last year. At their worst point they were both up on a table, dancing around and the began to strip while singing the Ricky Martin song "Shake Your Bon-Bon." It took both me and Jamie to get them down off there. It might have been embarassing for them but it was the funniest Christmas Eve that I can remember."
Nick was laughing his head off, as was everyone else, who was listening. Some who were remembering it and some who were just enjoying it for the first time.Just then Nick remembered Christmas Eve with his family. Even though they weren't with him now, they'd be celebrating Christmas Eve together in a few days when they're all settled in their new home.
He was happy that Ali, Julia and the guys would join him in the celebration, he knew this was going to be a Christmas he would never forget.
"Kev, can I ask you for a favour?" Nick asked out of nowhere.
"Sure man, anything."
"Umm… well you know how we're all going to LA to in a few days spending our second Christmas?"
"Yeah" Kev answered. "Well do you think you can control your woman while we're there, I mean I wouldn't want her to start stripping in front of my little brother and sisters."
As soon as he said this the whole room joined in a fit of laughter. Ali hit him playfully in the arm pointing out that she had been stripping too. Julia on the other hand didn't really know what was going on but since the whole room was laughing she decided to join in. Nick had been only joking of course but by this time everyone was rolling on the floor.
Everyone sat around for a little while longer, but then they started to get tired and figured that tomorrow was Christmas morning, they might as well head off to bed and get some sleep. Once everyone had split into their separate rooms Nick stood staring at the Christmas tree.
"Thank you for coming." Ali said coming up behind Nick.
"Thank you for inviting me. I had a great time. Shall I escort you to your room my lady." Nick said, slipping back into the night in shining armour thing.
"Uh, Nick, my room is like ten feet away, I think that I can make it on my own."
"But wouldn't it be more fun if I took you there?" Nick said again with the puppy dog look. Ali laughed and motioned for him to come with her.
"Merry Christmas Eve Ali." Nick said quietly as they came to stand in front of her door.
"Merry Christmas Eve Nick." Ali said. Nick leaned down and kissed her gently on the mouth, she just looked so cute standing there in the dim light coming from the Christmas tree lights.
"Goodnight Nick." Ali said and went into her room after she broke away from his kiss.
"Goodnight Ali." he whispered to her closed door.
