Chapter Ten
A Few Days Later
"So? Which one? The black one or the green one?" Lisa asked, holding
first one outfit up, then another. "Which one?"
"Huh?" Lara snapped out of her reverie. "Oh, uh, the blue one."
Lisa put the hangers down. "Lara, there IS no blue one. Will you pay
attention for fuck's sake?"
"Excuse me for living!" Lara snapped. "I'm sorry if your wardrobe is NOT
the only thing on my mind right now. I have about a hundred interviews to
chose from before this damned show starts, and I apologize if it is a little
more important to me then what you're gonna wear!"
"You know what? You have been a total bitch all day, and I'd LOVE to know
why. If you're not gonna help me, go back to your mousy little life,
sitting in front of your computer all night and never seeing the light of
day!" Lisa yelled before she thought. Lara turned bright red. "Lara,
wait, I'm sorry, I..."
"I'm sorry I'm such an embarrassment to you," Lara said, trying not to let
the tears fall. "I'll call you with the interview schedule. Have a nice
dinner with Kevin." She hurried out of Lisa's bedroom and Lisa heard the
front door slam.
"Fuck," Lisa muttered, tossing the clothes onto the bed. She hadn't meant
to sound so harsh, but Lara HAD been a bitch all day. She didn't think Lara
was a mouse by any means, but it was the first thing that had jumped into
her head.
Lara tried to stop crying as she drove home. The tears were making it hard
to see the road, and the last thing she needed was to drive into a
guardrail. Actually, she thought to herself, that might be a good idea. No
one would notice if she were gone. Lisa obviously thought she was a waste
of space, and Nick, well, she hadn't heard from him since their trip up the
coast. That day had been wonderful. They had laid out all day on the
beach, and then stopped at a small pay-by-the-hour motel on the highway to
shower and change. It had been an experience, that's for sure. There was a
lot of kissing and fondling before they got ready, but Nick had not pushed
her. The hotel where they ate dinner was everything Nick had promised and
more, and Lara had felt like a princess.
She sighed as she put the key in the lock of her front door. She had
thought that they really had something...but obviously it was all in her
mind. She was just a little diversion until...
Lara gasped as something hit her in the face. She put up a hand and the
something gave way. She stood in the doorway, frozen with shock. Hundreds
of blue and silver helium balloons filled her living room, taking up every
available space they could. She carefully closed the door, leaning back
against it. Nick. It had to be. When they were driving up the coast, they
had passed a car on the highway that had a backseat full of helium balloons,
and Lara had commented on how much she loved balloons. Well, here were
balloons, a whole apartment full. But how?
Lara carefully picked her way towards the bedroom, giggling as the balloons
bounced and danced around her. When she got to the bedroom, she almost
fainted. Vases of white roses, her favorite flower, filled every flat
space, filling the room with a sweet aroma. She sighed, burying her face in
the closest bouquet. She had not thought Nick capable of something this
sweet. "How in the world?" She said out loud.
"I conned your landlord. It's amazing what a hundred bucks can get you."
She whirled around to see Nick leaning against the doorframe, a sexy smirk
on his face. She threw herself into his arms.
"Oh, Nick, thank you! I have had the most awful day, and this..." the
events of the day finally caught up to her and she burst into tears. He
rubbed her back, kissing her forehead.
"It's okay, baby...it's all over now. I'm here." He gently wiped her tears
away with his thumb. "I have some bad news, though." Lara looked up at him
questioningly. "We have to do this huge Euro press tour thing for two
months."
"When do you leave?" Lara asked sadly.
"Two days after Lucky's show."
"That's the beginning of next week!" Lara exclaimed.
"I know. I hate it, too." He kissed her nose. "Why don't you go soak in a
bubble bath and I'll run out for videos and pizza, okay? We'll hole up here
all night."
"Okay," Lara said with a sigh.
Nick held her chin gently. "No long face, okay, or I'll make you eat
anchovies on your pizza." Lara wrinkled her nose and he laughed. "That's
what I thought. Be right back."
"Two months?" Lisa gaped at Kevin across the table. "You'll be gone two
months?"
"Lisa, I thought that you of all people would understand this," Kevin said
earnestly. Lisa started to reply, but was interrupted by two young girls
asking for her autograph. They had chosen to eat at a less than fashionable
diner, and fans were constantly interrupting them.
"I DO understand, Kev, but it doesn't mean I have to like it," she told him
when they were alone again.
"Believe me, Lisa, I don't want to go. I'd rather stay here and work on
this new album. We have to go promote it before it's even finished!" Kevin
grumbled.
Lisa sighed. "This has been one hell of a day. First I lose my best
friend, and now I am losing my boyfriend."
"You're not losing me, Lisa. I'll be back before you know it, and I'll call
all the time. Maybe you could come..."
"I can't," she reminded him. "The show."
"Right," he said, taking her hand and rubbing his fingers over her knuckles.
"And don't worry about Lara. You two are too close for her to just stop
talking to you."
"She said that? No wonder you're mad at her," Nick said, his mouth full of
pizza. Lara handed him a napkin.
"I'm not mad, really, just hurt. I didn't realize that's how she saw me. I
mean, I know I'm far from glamorous but..."
"You are quite glamorous. You really have done a one-eighty from the girl I
met at that luncheon," Nick told her. Lara felt as if someone had punched
her in the stomach.
"Was I really that awful?"
"No, of course not!" Nick said quickly. "You weren't bad. But
now...wow...I'm almost afraid to leave you alone here. Everyone will be
after you as soon as my dust clears." He leaned over and kissed her cheek.
"I'll be reading in the tabloids how my girl was seen here and there with
this guy and that guy."
"Your girl?"
"Sure...you are my girl, aren't you?"
"Yes, of course, but we've never, you know, gone out and really did
anything. You know, hung with Kev and Lisa, or Amanda and Brian..."
"We don't need them. We're the perfect couple just being us." Nick
finished off his fifth piece of pizza. "Okay. Onto the videos. I picked
out three but I think I know which one you'll want to see."
"Oh, Nick, this is great!" Lara exclaimed, picking up the latest version of
"Romeo and Juliet" and examining the box. "I love this version, even better
then the first one. I didn't think you were into Shakespeare."
"I'm not," he replied with a shrug. "But I thought maybe I could pick up
some lines to use on you later." He wiggled his eyebrows and made her laugh.
Nick stretched out on her sofa and Lara leaned back onto his chest with a
sigh. He began to lightly massage her neck as the movie started, but soon
he maneuvered so her head was right next to his. Nick softly kissed her
neck and earlobes occasionally, and by the time Juliet first meets Romeo
they were in a heavy makeout session.
"Oh, Nick, do you really have to go?" Lara whispered as he flicked his
tongue against her ears.
"I do. I goddamn hate it but I do." He moved his hand up to gently massage
her breast. "Lara, please, let me make love to you," Nick pleaded. "We
only have a few days...and I want to be able to pleasure you every single
one of them."
Lara had a weird feeling that it wasn't right...that it was too soon...but
suddenly she didn't care. "Yes...oh yes, Nicky...I want you, too," she
murmured. He stood and led her by the hand into her bedroom. He slowly
pealed off her tank top and shorts, and when they were both naked he began
to kiss every square inch of her body. She forgot Lisa, forgot the show,
forgot everything but what Nick's mouth and hands were doing to her body.
Home
By: Lara
© 2000
Hosted Stories
Chapter Nine
Chapter Eleven