He didn’t know what to do as He saw her leaving through the door. His inner self wanted to pull her back in but his arms and body didn’t respond to his will. And in his ears he could still hear the words she said while she grabbed her stuff, mixed with all the memories of both of them together.

“Let’s go, man! It’ll be a fun party”, said his friend Luke. “You need to get out more and you’re going to start tonight.”
“I don’t know, man. You know I ‘m not into going out that much anymore…” he tried to defend himself.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. I’ve heard all that before, but you’re going out with me tonight, whether you like it not!” Luke said that already pushing his friend towards the bedroom so he could get ready. Nick ended up giving in and went to the party.
It turned out to be the happiest choice he’s ever made. As soon as he arrived he met some of his oldest friends. He later discovered the party was to welcome back Alice. She was a tall brunette girl, very different from what Nick could remember from the little girl he used to pick on at school. When he put his eyes on her he didn’t recognize her and not knowing why, he felt his heart beat a bit faster.
Alice knew Nick was coming and was anxious to see his reaction to the girl she had become. She got used to his jokes about her strange looks and remembered how great friends they used to be before he became a worldwide heartthrob. She had never looked at him like that, but after so long she couldn’t deny she was amazed at how beautiful he was that night.
Nick had become a tall man, too. His blond hair was shorter than in his teen years and his eyes looked bluer than ever. He had built his body in a perfect shape and looked so much more mature. She was very impressed to see him but didn’t talk to him straight away. There were too many people in the room before she could reach him.
From the opposite corner, Nick saw her and couldn’t keep himself from looking at her. He couldn’t believe what a pretty figure she had made of herself, but he tried to pretend his excitement. After all, he didn’t even want to go to that party
It took them about an hour before they could talk. Neither knew exactly what to say and the first minutes of their conversation were very awkward.
“Hey! Welcome back!” Nick said as they kissed.
“Hi, there! Thank you! Didn’t think I was going to meet you here. Did you give up being a Backstreet Boy?”She replied.
“No, I didn’t, but we’re on a tour break.” He defended.
They were silent for a moment until Nick let out. “Wow! You’re so beautiful!” The moment he realized he had said that aloud he turned red. But instantly Alice replied.
“Yeah, you’re something too, boy!” They both smiled and felt the tension lighten between them. They talked all night long, recalling their school time and their present lives. Nick didn’t need to say much, but listened to every single word Alice was saying. She went on about her life in London studying Literature and teaching teenagers in public schools and how she got a job at UCLA, which is why she came back to the US.

They were so hung up on each other that didn’t see the people leaving and the room becoming almost empty. Luke came over just to tell Nick he was also going home and to ask if he wanted a ride back home too. Inasmuch as Nick wanted to stay, he knew better and decided to leave. Alice didn’t let him go without exchanging their phone numbers and a promise to have lunch later that week. Lunch turned into dinner, dinner into a walk in the park, a walk into movies, and movies into a relationship and soon they were inseparable.
Nick fell for the girl as he never thought he would. In very short time they were under the same roof living the happiest time of all. In the meantime, nick started working on his solo album – something he wanted to do for so long but never found the right inspiration to get started. Throughout all the composing and recording process Alice was Nick’s best friend and stood by his side approving of all his decisions.
After releasing the album, Nick went on tour, first only in the US. Every time Alice had a chance, there she was with him. She tried to keep certain distance when Nick met fans, either on sound check parties or on the streets, but she tried to be always nice to all the girls. She understood how much that meant for them and for Nick. They seemed pretty happy together. But when Nick decided to take his tour overseas he had to be away longer and she couldn’t be with him. At first, they thought they could keep their love alive, after all, with the internet nobody is that far.
One night Alice called him and gladly he picked up on the first ring.
“Hello baby! I’m so glad you called. I miss you so much!” He spoke all at once, not giving Alice the time to say anything.
“Hi baby. I’m glad you answered too. I really need to talk to you…”
“What happened, Alice? You sound so…” he was looking for the right words, “… worried.”
“I’m sorry, Nick. I didn’t mean to scare you, but there’s something. When are you coming back? I really need to talk to you.” She tried to soothe him, with not much success.
“I’ll be home only on Monday, I guess. But now I can’t wait that long. What’s going on?” She could despair in his voice.
“Don’t worry. It’s nothing, just something I wanted to talk to you about”, she paused for a moment, “but I prefer to talk personally if you don’t mind.”
“Baby, what happened? I’m worried now! Are you ok?” Nick rambled a lot of questions. On the other end, Alice tried to remain calm and keep the tears from falling off her eyes.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I guess I just miss you too much!
Nick could sense something odd in her voice, something like she’s been crying. But he knew better than to ask her, she would certainly deny it. Instead, he said he would try to manage his comeback as soon as he could.

Alice has been very understanding of Nick’s job and life through all that time. But just like everyone, she surely missed her boyfriend in many situations, such as cold nights, beautiful sunsets, and walks on the beach. Alice was pretty lucky to have found someone as special as Nick, but she did feel upset at times like these.
A few days after Nick had left for Europe for a 10 show tour, Alice was invited to give a series of lectures at UCLA on international literature. She was so excite with this new opportunity that she felt like exploding with pride. She wanted to sit with her boyfriend and tell him all about the invitation and the preparation procedures, and also how each lecture was. Of course she talked to him, but either on the phone or on the webcam; nothing like she imagined it would be. She could picture them laying on each other in the middle of the living room while she told him all the details. But she didn’t have it. She was all alone in one end and so was he in the other, in a hotel room.
Alice wished so much to share these feelings with someone that she started confiding with Mark Stevens, an old friend. They have always been pretty close, but lately Mark has been Alice’s all time companion. They work together – which explains why they spend so much time with each other – and they do everything together – lunch, shopping, movies… Alice tells him everything. When she found out she was doing the lecture sessions they had a long talk.
“Why have you been smiling all day, Ali? Mark asked over lunch.
“You won’t believe it! I got it! I got it! I got it!”She replied, almost screaming.
“Wow! Easy, girl! What are you talking about?”
“The lectures at UCLA! I got it!” She couldn’t help a broad, proud smile.
“That’s awesome! When are you doing it? I wanna be there and sit in the first row!”
“It’s a series of 6 lectures and they start in two weeks. Every week is a different topic.”
“That rocks! And what’s your first topic? Have you decided yet?”
“Well, not really. I’m between Shakespeare and some great poets in Latin Literature. What do you think?”
They kept talking and sharing ideas. During that whole week, Mark and Alice talked about the lectures. They were even closer than usual.
When the day of the first lecture came, Alice had to control herself. She went through her speech over and over again. Mark kept his word and was sitting in the first row, right in front of her. He was really proud of his friend and she was relieved that she saw a friendly face in the crowd.

As soon as Alice finished, both of them went to a bar to celebrate. Alice was radiant and she barely thought of nick. She was too happy doing shots with Mark and telling him all about how she felt up there on the little stage she was.

“I’m so glad you did it, Ali! I knew you’d do great!”

“Oh, Mark! I’m so happy too! I was a little scared at first. It was so strange. But as soon as I started talking and I saw you there smiling at me I felt as if I belonged there, you know?! It was magical!”

“It sure was! You rocked, Ali!” they toasted one more time and downed their drinks at once. Mark pulled Alice into a hug. Their faces were so close and their eyes met. She was vulnerable because of Nick being away and now the lectures and Mark knew about it all. He had her where he wanted. He kept her close for a few seconds, looking intently into her eyes. She couldn’t help looking back. They were so close that she could sense the heat coming from his body and his warm breath on her face.

Alice felt even more alive at that moment the rush of blood through her veins moved her and she closed her eyes letting him kiss her unthinkingly. He kissed her gently at first, and then broke apart, expecting her reaction. She was in a trance, enjoying the taste of his lips on hers. Mark didn’t think twice and kissed her again, a bit more fiercely this time and she responded to it.

When they broke apart, she felt ashamed and apologized.

“I’m so sorry, Mark. I guess I was carried away with everything that has happened today.”

“You don’t have to apologize, Ali. It was my fault, too. I’m sorry, too!” She nodded and lowered her head. “Let’s forget about it okay? Let’s pretend nothing happened. Is that okay with you?”

She nodded again and whispered “I’m sorry.”

The silence grew awkward between them. But both couldn’t stop thinking about that kiss. Alice couldn’t take that anymore and decided to go home.

“Let me walk you home, Ali, please. It’s the least I can do.” She looked away. “Please” he cooed. She consented and they headed to her place. At first, they were very quiet but soon they started chatting again.

As they reached the driveway to Alice’s house they stopped for a moment.

“Well, I guess that’s me!”

“Yeah… I’m sorry again for tonight and congrats on your great job as the new lecturer at UCLA!” Instinctively, Mark put his arms around Alice’s body and pulled her into a hug.

As soon as she felt his warmth again she felt the urge to taste his lips one more time. She held on to him tight, but pulled apart. She turned around and started unlocking the door. She held it open and he stepped in. Before she could close the door properly he had her in his arms again and kissed her passionately.

The door had barely closed, but Mark had Alice in his arms already. He held her from the back and was nuzzling her neck. Alice felt like melting down at his touch and she let herself be driven by her hormones and the sensations Mark was causing on her.

As soon as he realized she had given in to him, he turned her around and cupped her face. Her eyes were partially closed now and he could see lust in them. So he pulled her closer and kissed her. Her body responded to it immediately.

Without breaking up the kiss, Mark led Alice towards the couch. He didn’t want to miss her touch, or the taste of her lips and how good she felt against his chest. When they hit the couch, Alice fell on it on her back and Mark fell on top of her. But with the sound of their bodies, there was another sound in the house, as if someone was stepping into the room.

Alice heard it and suddenly all her sense came back to reality. She couldn’t believe she let herself fall again. She broke the kiss right away by pushing Mark off of her. He fell to the ground with a thud.

“I’m sorry, Mark. We can’t… I can’t… You have to go!” She said as she stood up still looking for whoever was making the stepping noise. She looked around and saw Kimmy, Nick’s dog, hopping on Mark.

“But, Ali, I thought you were enjoying our kiss.”

“Yeah… No… Mark, please, go away!”

“But, Ali…”

“No, Mark. I need you to leave.” And she held the door open. She didn’t dare looking into his eyes.

Mark stood up and made his way to the door, his head down. He stopped in front of Alice and took her hand. She was still looking away.

“Ali, babe, please…”

“Don’t babe me, Mark. Just go!”

He tried to kiss her one more time but she turned her face. So he only gave her a peck on the cheeks. He left as a warrior leaves after losing a war.

Alice closed the door and slid down until she reached the ground. She sat there for a while totally lost, absorbed in her emotions. The evening felt like a roller coaster. All the happiness and joy from earlier became a mixture of lust, hurt and wrongdoing. She curled up there and started to cry. She was feeling like a little girl who was abandoned home alone. Kimmy came running to her and licked her hands as if planting kisses on her.

“Oh Kimmy. I’m so lost. I just don’t know what to do. I guess I’m doing everything wrong.” She said crying. As if the dog could understand her, Kimmy continued licking her playfully.

The next day, Alice barely got out of bed. She felt terrible and guilty. It was past 11 o’clock when the phone rang forcing her to get up. Though she didn’t feel like talking to anyone, she left the bed and went to the living room to answer the phone.

“Hello?”

“Ali, thank God! What took you so long? Are you okay?” asked Kimberly, her sister.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I was away from the phone, that’s why.” Alice replied with no emotion in her voice.

“I see. Anyway, I’m calling to know about yesterday and to let you know I’m coming to pick you up for lunch. I’ll be there in thirty minutes.”

“Kim, I’m not really in the mood to go out…” as she let her body fall to the couch, she tried to argue.

“What? No way! Go get ready and wait for me!” Kimberly hung up not giving her sister the chance to say anything else.

Alice went back to her room and grabbed a pair of blue jeans and Nick’s favorite t-shirt. She looked at it for a while thinking about him and what she had done. She felt lost in the moment for a few minutes. Then she decided it was time to go and take a shower.

She was wearing her hoes when the doorbell rang.

“Hello, sis! You ready to go?” said Kim with the biggest smile on her face.

“Guess so.” answered Alice. She didn’t have half the energy her sister seemed to have now.

“Oh, come on! It’s clear you are not! Look at you! We need to change these clothes. Jeans and a t-shirt are old-fashioned now.” Kim said and pulled her sister upstairs.

“Let’s see what you got in here…” she started pulling hangers out of Alice’s wardrobe making remarks as “No, this is too childish” or “Eww, that makes you look like granny. Why would you even wear this?” while throwing the clothes into a pile on the bed.

Alice just sat down across the room and waited. She didn’t feel like arguing about the clothes with her sister. It was useless.

“Oh, I found it!” shrieked Kim. “Wait, isn’t this dress mine?” and she put the dress in front of her body looking in the mirror.

“It might be. I don’t know, Kim.”

“Well, it’ll look fabulous on you. Go and get changed. I’ll be downstairs. You have ten minutes.” And she left the room.

Alice did as she was told and went to the living room to meet Kimberly.

“Wow, you look amazing! If Nick were here, he wouldn’t let you go out like that, for sure.” She laughed. You’re too beautiful!”

As she heard Nick’s name her eyes filled with water and she did all she could not to cry. But Kimberly saw it.

“What happened, darling? You look as if you’re gonna cry.”

“No, it’s nothing…” Alice attempted to lie.

“You keep telling yourself that, but I don’t believe it. You didn’t show any emotion since I arrived here. Something is wrong and you’re telling me what it is right now.” And she ushered her sister to the couch, “Spit it out!”

“There’s nothing, really. I guess I just miss Nick and you mentioned him.” Then she burst out crying. “I just want him to be here right now.”

“Oh, darling, calm down. He’ll come back soon.” Kimberly hugged her sister in an attempt to make her feel better, but it took about half an hour for her to stop crying.

“Come on, Ali. Let’s go have lunch and I still wanna know how your first lecture was. But first, let’s wash your face and put on some make up again.”

All the way to the restaurant Alice was trying hard not to remember what had happened with Mark the night before and she tried even harder not to miss Nick. But it was a little difficult once Kimberly made her talk about the lecture. As time passed, Alice got more involved in the conversation and forgot a little how much she missed her boyfriend. The two sisters spent an agreeable afternoon together.

Alice got back home and checked her messages, though there was none. She went upstairs and filled in the tub. One hour later she was cooking something for dinner and having a glass of wine. With every gulp she thought more and more about Nick. She was trying to resist the urge to call him but she needed to hear his voice, even if it was for just one second, so she picked up the phone and called him.

Nick arrived at his hotel after another show in Germany. There were some fans outside and he stopped there for a couple minutes to talk to them and to take some pictures.

As soon as he opened the door to his room, his phone rang.

“Hello, baby! I’m so glad you called. I miss you so much!” He spoke all at once not giving Alice the time to say anything.

“Hi, baby. I’m glad you answered too. I really need to talk to you…”

“What happened, Alice? You sound…” he was looking for the right words, “…worried.”

“I’m sorry, Nick. I didn’t mean to scare you, but there’s something. When are you coming back? I really need to talk to you.” She tried to soothe him with not much success.

“I’ll be home only on Monday, I guess. But now I can’t wait that long. What’s going on?” Alice could hear despair in his voice.

“Don’t worry. It’s nothing, just something I wanted to talk to you about.” She paused for a moment, “but I prefer to talk personally if you don’t mind.”

“Baby, what happened? I’m worried now! Are you ok?” Nick rambled on a lot of questions. On the other end, Alice tried to remain calm and keep the tears from falling off her eyes.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I guess I just miss you too much.”

Nick could sense something odd in her voice, something like she’s been crying. But he knew better than asking her, she would certainly deny it. Instead, he said he would try to manage his coming back as soon as he could.

He hung up the phone and immediately went to check his tour schedule. He still had one show and some radio interviews until Monday morning. That meant he would only arrive home on Tuesday afternoon. He couldn’t wait that long. He knew something was wrong and he needed to be with Alice. The next morning, he convinced his tour manager to let him go home earlier and he would do the radio interviews through the phone.

On Monday morning, Nick opened the door to his house and found the house messier than usual. There were clothes scattered all around, piles of dirty dishes in the kitchen and no sign of Alice. He left his bag by the couch and went upstairs hoping he would find her there, but she wasn’t home.

He planned on making a surprise so he decided not to call. Instead he started tidying the house.

When Alice came home she had a shock. The house was clean and Nick was asleep on the couch. She felt all the guilt growing bigger inside her. She closed the door as silently as she could and made her way upstairs. She didn’t want to wake him up. But as if sensing her fear, Nick woke up.

“Hey baby! You’re home! I was waiting for you! Where have you been?” Nick sat down and reached out a hand to her.

“Hey you! I didn’t mean to wake you up. Sorry. I was out with my sister.”

“Is she ok?

“Yes, she is.” Alice was quiet for a moment and Nick pulled her into his arms. He kissed her gently but he could feel her a bit distant.

“What’s up, Ali? I came as soon as I could. What happened?

Alice felt uncomfortable and sat across from Nick. “Nothing really. I just think you should know…” she bit her bottom lip.

“Baby, I’m scared! Just tell me.”

She lowered her head and remembered the talk she had with her sister. Kimberly had told her to keep it to herself, Nick didn’t need to know. It would only hurt him. But Alice argued and said she’d rather tell him the truth. She couldn’t lie to him.

“Alice, please,” Nick touched her chin and raised her face, “whatever it is, just tell me.”

“Oh Nick…” Tears started rolling down her face. “I love you so much. I just… it just…” she was sobbing now.

Nick pulled her closer. “Baby, what’s wrong? I can’t help you if you don’t tell me.” But the gurl could only cry.

“I just need to be near you and I know everything is gonna be okay.”

Nick didn’t understand very well what she meant but decided it was better to let it go and wait for her to calm down.

Nick didn’t know what to do, so he just held her close and waited until she had calmed down, Alice stood in his arms for about half an hour before she could stop sobbing. Nick tried to talk to her but she told him she needed more time. He started to get suspicious. ‘Something is very wrong and she won’t tell me what it is’, he thought.

Both of them tried to spend the rest of the evening pretending everything was fine, but every now and then awkward silences grew bigger between them.

The next morning, when Nick woke up, Alice wasn’t in bed anymore. He thought she had gone away to avoid talking to him, but noises in the kitchen led him to her.

“Good morning, baby! I made you breakfast. Are you hungry?”

“Hey, good morning. Why didn’t you wake me up? I could help”, he said and yawned.

“I wanted to make a surprise. How do you feel about some pancakes?”

They ate and talked a little. Things seemed to be okay.

“So, tell me about your tour in Germany. Did all the girls go as wild as they do here?”

“Yeah, it was amazing. We sold out all the shows and I’m sure they all had a great time.” Nick said with a smile on his face.

“I’m sure they did. They always do! Your show is incredible. Too bad I couldn’t be there too.”

“I know! I really wish you were there too. I visited some nice places and found out great restaurants.” His face lit up and he continued. “Oh, I almost forgot! I have presents for you! Come with me.” He took her by the hand and ran upstairs.

He opened his suitcase and grabbed a big pink wrapping package. ‘Here, this is the first.”

Alice got it and opened it. It was a poetry book.

“Oh my God! How did you know?

“I heard you talking to your sister before I traveled and, well, I got it for you!”

She jumped on his neck and kissed him.

“Wait, wait, Ali. You’ve got more surprises!” Nick reached for his bad again and took another package.

“Humm, what is it?” She opened the wrapping paper carefully and saw a beautiful blue dress. “It’s beautiful, Nick. Thank you!” She kissed him again.

“Go on and try it on. I wanna see how it’ll look on you.” She did as she was told and came out of the bathroom. It was a strapless long blue dress embroidered with tine blue crystals, pretty tight to her waist and larger on the bottom. She looked like a princess.

“Wow! You look amazing!” Nick sighed.

“Oh, thank you, baby. It’s so beautiful!”

“It would only look even more perfect if you had one of these on!” and he produced a blue velvet box.

She gasped when he opened the box and revealed a shiny grayish diamond hung on a silver necklace. He took the jewel and put on her neck. She turned to see her reflection on the mirror and Nick held her from behind.

“You look astounding.” And he kissed her neck. The kissed turned into a full make out session and her new dress was on the floor within minutes. The only thing she was wearing was her new necklace and the sunlight on her skin.

“Are you hungry, baby? I’m starving!”

“Me too. Breakfast feels like hours ago,” she giggled.

“Well, it does, really! Let’s go downstairs and get us something to eat.”

They went to the kitchen and prepared something quickly. As soon as they finished, he ushered her to the couch and they settle together.

“I missed being like this with you, Nick.”

“Yeah, me too. I miss you every time I travel far away. I’ll start taking you with me everywhere!”

“That would be nice. If only I didn’t have a job…” she sighed.

“Well…” Both of them stopped talking for a few minutes. It was Nick who broke the silence.

“Baby, can I ask you something?

“Sure, what is it?”

“I don’t know how to say it and not make you break down again, but what happened while I was away? Why were you crying last night?” He felt the tension growing between them and her body stiffened in his arms.

She sat straight. “It’s nothing. I told you. I guess I just missed you too much.”She tried.

“Oh, come on, Ali. I know something is wrong. Why won’t you tell me? We’ve always had a great relationship, why can’t you trust me on this?”

She felt herself blushing. Nick was right. They never kept secrets from each other. But how would she tell him the truth? He would never forgive her.

“I’ve already said it’s nothing. Forget it, please!” She took the remote control and turned the tv on, trying to ignore Nick and his frustrated look.

He couldn’t understand why the attitude, but it only confirmed his suspicion that she’d done something she shouldn’t have. He thought of calling some of her friends, but then considered it too risky. Instead, he called Kimberly. However, all he could get from her was the same lame story.

Alice was distant and quiet all afternoon and even spent half the time locked in the bedroom. Nick was getting more and more frustrated, so he thought some time out would be good for him. He decided to call Luke and go for a walk, but as he picked up the phone he heard Alice’s voice.

“I don’t know what to do, Kim. I want to tell him but I can’t. I just don’t know what to say. I can’t simply say ‘Hey baby, while you were away I hooked up with someone else.’ He’s gonna kill me…”

Nick hang up the phone not believing what he’d just heard. ‘So that’s what she’s been hiding’, he thought. He felt his blood boiling. In a minute he had his car keys in his hands and banged the front door.

Nick drove without destination for about an hour and ended up in a bar. He ordered a shot of vodka to ease the pain and downed it in one gulp. Then he got a bottle of beer and went to sit in a distant corner of the bar.

With every gulp he thought of Alice and what she’d done. Her words kept ringing in his ears. Soon he had pictured a horrible scene of Alice being kissed and possessed by other man. He tried to imagine who it was, but the images in his head wouldn’t show the face of the enemy.

Nick looked around and realized how many beautiful girls were at the bar dancing and showing off for the guys next to the counter. A tall red-haired came swinging to hia table.

“Hello there. Why don’t you dance with me?” she smiled and pulled him up towards the dance floor. The girl started to dance and rub against him. He let the alcohol drive him. ‘She’s hot!’, he thought and enjoyed the moment.

It felt nice being with just a random girl, just like the old times when he was young and stupid. The girl was all over him and he let her lead him. Just then his phone rang. He reached out into his pocket and looked at the ID Caller. It was Alice.

“Who’s that? Are you gonna answer?” asked the girl with a husky voice in his ear.

“It’s nobody.” He answered and put his phone back in his pocket. They continued dancing but Nick felt his phone ringing repeatedly through the night.

Nick was now seated with his new friend, Cassie, and her girls. They kept talking and drinking. Nick as over the edge with so much alcohol in his system that he was acting as if he’d known those girls all his life. He held them in his arms and let their hands wander around his body, sweaty from dancing. He was doing a great job at keeping Alice away from his thoughts.

Across the bar, Luke heard the laughing and turned to see where it was coming from. He, then, saw a group of girls hanging on a guy’s neck. He recognized his friend and approached the group to see what was happening.

When he got  closer enough he didn’t see Alice, and noticed Nick wasn’t sober, either.

‘Hey, man.”

“Luke! Come here, buddy! Join us!” Nick said.

“Hmm, Nicky, who’s your friend?” asked a brunette who looked at the man almost eating him up with her eyes.

“Girls, this is my budy, Like! Luke, these are the girls!” and he laughed.

“Yeah, hello, girls. Nick, can I talk to you, man?” and he pulled Nick from the table.

“What are you doing, Nick?”

“I’m just having some fun…” Nick raised his glass.

“Well, that is clear! What I don’t understand is what you are doing with all these groupies… Where’s Alice? Does she know you’re here?”

“Oh, don’t talk about her. I don’t wanna think about her now. I just wanna forget her.”

“What? What are you talking about?

“She thinks she’s the only one who can have fun? No, no, no, I can have fun, too!”

“Nick, what are you saying? What happened?”

“If she can hook up with other people, why can’t I? I think the red-haired really wants me. I could kiss her. She is really hot!” Nick rambled on, but Luke was still attached to the fact that Alice had hooked up with someone else.

When he realized, Nick was back to the group of girls and ready to kiss Cassie. He pulled Nick again in time to stop him from doing a big mistake.

“Sorry, girls. Time to say good night. This man here needs some sleep for a big day tomorrow! Say good bye, Nick.” And he led him to the exit.

The next morning, Nick woke up with a terrible headache. The sunlight hurt his eyes and it took him some time to get used to it. He looked around and had no idea where he was. The sound of plates and things falling caught his attention and he followed the sound.

Luke was preparing breakfast and it looked like World War II had just happened in the kitchen.

“Man, what’s up with all the noise?” Nick asked rubbing his eyes.

“Good morning, man! Could you get any sleep?”

“Any? I slept like a log! Why am I here anyway? What happened last night?”

Luke laughed. “You don’t remember anything, do you?” Nick looked confused now. His head still aching. “I found you drunk last night at a bar trying to kiss some red-haired girl. You said something about Alice having fun and you wanted it too… I didn’t quite understand.”

Things started getting clear in his mind. He remembered overhearing Alice on the phone and then going to a bar. He started drinking and dancing with a girl, but couldn’t remember any further than that.

“What the hell happened in that bar last night? All I remember is drinking and dancing with a somewhat pretty girl… what was her name? Carol? Kamilla? Cassidy? Cassie? Yes, Cassie!”

“I guess that was it. Why were you drinking like that, Nick? You barely drink anymore!”

Nick didn’t know exactly what to answer. He couldn’t find the right words to tell Luke what happened.

“I tried to talk to Alice. She had called me while I was in Germany, she sounded as if she had been crying. I came back as fast as I could, but she kept lying about it. I knew something was going on, but she wouldn’t tell.” Nick took a deep breath. “Every time I tried to talk to her she burst out in tears and she wouldn’t talk. Then last night, I was going to call you and when I got the phone she was talking to her sister.” Nick paused, not sure if he should continue. Luke gave him an encouraging look.

“I heard her saying she had hooked up with someone else while I was away. How could she?” Nick looked outside the kitchen window.

“Man, that was low! Never thought Alice would do something like that to you. You were so in love.”

“That’s what I thought!” Nick chimed in.

“But have you talked to her? What did she say to you?

“I haven’t. I couldn’t stand looking at her face, then. I don’t think I can now. I just left and ended up at that bar.”

Nick remembered she had called him a million times last night. His head ached again.

“Hey, Luke, do you have an aspirin? My head is killing me.”

Luke was going to pick up his medicine box, but the phone rang and he answered it.

“Hello… Oh, hi. Yes, yes, he is here. Don’t worry… No, he’s ok. We went out to talk and he just crashed in my house… Ok, right. I’ll tell him to call you. Bye.”

Nick heard the conversation and knew it was Alice. Luke hung up the phone and looked at him. No words were necessary.

“I don’t want to talk to her. At least not for now. Where’s that medicine, anyway?”

Luke took the medicine and gave it to Nick. Both were silent for a while.

Nick didn’t call Alice back all day and waited for her to leave the house before he could go back. As soon as he was past the door, the words he heard she saying started ringing in his mind again and he did all he could to get rid of them.

He ran to his bedroom, grabbed a bag and started packing, but just as he was zipping it, Alice opened the door.

“Hi, baby, you’re finally home!” She noticed the bags and looked puzzled. “What are you doing?”

Nick didn’t expect to talk to her, let alone so soon. He was caught off guard and didn’t know exactly what to do.

“Are you going to travel again? I didn’t know you had to.” She sounded so earnest.

“No, I’m not. I’m just… I…” He was looking for what to say, but there was nothing he wanted to say. He only wanted to be away from her. “I just can’t be here right now. I can’t be with someone who did what you did.” He put his bags on his shoulder and started to leave.

“What are you talking about, Nick?”

“Oh, don’t pretend you’re an angel. You’re not fooling me anymore. I heard you on the phone last night.” He paused for a moment, but she didn’t move. She was in a shock. ‘So, I guess I spared you the trouble of telling me.”

When he was half way down the stairs she ran after him.

“Nick, please, wait! Let’s talk!”

“I have nothing to say to you and as I see, nor do you.” He didn’t stop.

“Let me explain!”

“There’s nothing to explain, Alice. You cheated on me and that’s all I need to know.”

“No, it’s not true. I didn’t cheat on you.” She was crying.

“So, you hooking up with another man is not cheating?” He stopped abruptly and turned to her. “What is it then? No, wait. I don’t wanna know. Do us a favor and do not talk about it anymore.”

“Nick, where are you going?”

“It’s not your business anymore.” He left the house and she sat on the floor in tears. She felt as if the ground under her feet were gone. ‘All I ever do lately is cry’, she thought. She didn’t know what to do and didn’t have the strength to get up and follow him anymore, so she stood there on the ground for a while not even bothering to dry the tears that kept on falling.

Nick marched to the car and threw his bags inside. He sat down, but didn’t turn on the engine. Instead, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He didn’t want to be fighting this battle again. He thought Alice was different from the other girls he’d been with and she wouldn’t hurt him, but she did exactly what all the others did – broke his heart and pretended nothing had happened.

‘When will I ever learn and not trust women again?’ he thought to himself. He opened his eyes, looked far ahead in the distance and started the car. He had nowhere to go, and a lonely hotel room was the last thing he needed now. He needed to have someone to pull him back to reality and keep him from doing anything stupid at the moment. So, he drove straight back to Luke’s place.