[ - ]
Table of Contents [Report This]
Printer Chapter or Story Microsoft Word Chapter or Story
- Text Size +
Chapter Twelve – December 1 to December 5

December 1

“Okay, first things first,” Dr. Tresher said as she sat down beside me at our last doctor’s visit before the trip. “You don’t have to be on bed rest.”

I smiled triumphantly at Nick. He shrugged.

“Exercise is not bad. But that brings me to point number two.”

For this, she turned to Nick.

“Calm the libido, my friend.”

Nick looked at her innocently. Dr. Tresher smiled.

“I’d say once a week at most; every other week would be better. Just to forewarn you, I’m cutting you off cold turkey about a month before delivery; unless Olivia cuts you off before then. Then it’ll be six weeks after delivery.”

Nick looked like a kid that had woken up Christmas morning to a tree void of presents. I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Trust me; you’ll be so tired from staying up all night after the baby gets here that it’ll be the furthest thing from your mind.”

Somehow I highly doubted that. It was Nick we were talking about.

“That’s fine,” he said a little sheepishly. “I just don’t want a repeat of Thanksgiving.”

Dr. Tresher nodded. She looked back at me. “Last, but not least, some travel tips.”

She held up a bracelet. “I’m giving you this. Pregnant women are more prone to sea sickness; it’ll be like morning sickness all over again. This should help calm that queasiness.”

I made a face and took the bracelet. It wasn’t the most stylish accessory; but if I could keep from puking over the railing into the ocean below, I was fine with it.

“Also, make sure to bring plenty of bottled water with you. Drinking foreign water can bring about diarrhea which will dehydrate you and baby. Don’t eat fresh fruits and vegetables unless they’re cooked for the same reason. Also, be careful about milk. Sometimes the pasteurization is iffy.”

“But other than that?” I asked. She smiled.

“Have a great trip and take tons of pictures. I’m jealous.”

Fifteen minutes later, Nick and I walked out to the car. As I climbed up in the passenger seat, I looked down at him.

“If all those girls on the cruise knew that you were being deprived of sex, they’d go crazy,” I teased. Nick grinned.

“Hey I’m going to be on my best behavior this whole week,” he said. “I’m cashing in my sexy time on the ship. I can’t go to Cozumel, Mexico and not make love to you. I’m going to have Howie teach me some sexy Spanish words.”

I laughed. “Aye papi,” I said with a fake moan. Nick covered my mouth.

“Don’t even tease me. In fact, you probably shouldn’t talk or smile for the next, oh, week.”

I grinned. He closed the door a pained, pained man.

--------------------------

December 3

I stared at case after case of bottled water. “How much do you think I’m going to drink?”

“If we get stranded, you’ll still have water,” Nick explained. I raised an eyebrow.

“How long are we going to be stranded?” He ran a hand through his hair.

“Why do you have to be difficult?”

I laughed. “Am I difficult?”

Nick leaned over and kissed me softly. “Incredibly.”

“Have you heard from the other guys?”

Nick nodded.

“Yeah, Howie called with our whole itinerary. We have to be at this warehouse in downtown Miami at about 4:00 a.m. Tuesday morning. We’ll spend the whole day getting the bulk of the shooting for Figured You Out done. Anything we have to change or reshoot will be done on Wednesday. The cruise leaves Thursday and last pieces of footage on board.”

With the success of the Masquerade video, Howie had asked me if I had any other fantastic ideas. I had admitted that I had fallen in love with their unreleased song, Figured You Out. I could picture the video in my head. Howie had taken the bait, and once more, my vision was going to become reality.

“What about AJ and Rochelle? Have they come off their honeymoon high?”

Nick laughed. “I seriously think AJ’s in mourning. He was looking forward to the wedding so long that now he’s all antsy because he’s not planning anything. I guess he did a small promotional tour at some colleges. I can’t picture any college letting him in, but that’s just me.”

I couldn’t help but agree. “Well, I talked to Leighanne last night. She said Baylee’s bouncing off the walls. Brian’s been showing him pictures of the cruise ship and he can’t wait. Leighanne sounded exhausted just talking about it.”

Nick laughed. “You should see the wait list for the cruise. It’s insane. The way it stands right now we probably should do another one in the summer.”

“Not August,” I said. Nick laughed. “No definitely not August. I ain’t celebrating my honeymoon with a ship full of fans.”

The thought of honeymooning with Nick gave me a hot flash. Phew.

“Have you started packing your clothes yet?” I asked him, returning to our little cruise check list. He shook his head. I gave him a look.

“It’s not like it’s that hard for me,” he explained. “T-shirt, t-shirt, jeans, t-shirt two pairs of underwear, socks, and tennis shoes. Done.”

“You’re going to need more than two pairs of underwear!”

Nick shrugged.

“If you’re bringing fifteen cases of bottled water on board the ship I should see at least two brand new packages of boxers in your suitcase.” I said.

“What for?”

I smirked. “What if we get stranded?” I asked, giving him a taste of his own medicine. He leaned over and tweaked my nose.

“Ha-ha, point taken. I’ll start packing.”

I scratched Bitsy’s head and followed Nick to our bedroom. My suitcases were already neatly packed and stacked against the wall. I watched him throw open the door to his walk-in closet. It looked like Mt. Vesuvius had erupted. Nick kicked a huge pile of clothes before stepping in and turning on the light.

“Someday we’re going to have to clean your closet,” I said. Nick shuddered.

“I hate to see what’s all the way in the back,” he said. “I think there’s some type of Gremlin back there. And not a cute Gremlin like Gizmo. I’m talking about the Gremlins with the red eyes and the hair coming out of their ears.”

I just looked at him. Sometimes the most random things came out of his mouth and all I could do was stare.

“Then you shouldn’t have fed him after midnight,” I finally said. Nick grinned.

“See this is why I love you. You get all of my weird 80’s movie references.”

I shrugged modestly. “What can I say? You’ve met your match.”

“You bet I have.”

-------------------------

December 5

“We’re going on a cruissseee, we’re going on a crrrrrruissseee,” I sang off-key as I finished the dinner dishes. Nick was on the phone with Angel.

“No, you’re a lifesaver. No it’s only for a week. Uh-huh. Yeah, you have free run of the whole place. No parties. Of course I trust you. Alright, love you too.”

“Everything all set?” I asked. Nick nodded.

“Our dog sitter is on board.”

“No parties?”

“I know. I feel so old, but she’s gorgeous and young and I’d really like my house in one piece.”

“I trust her,” I said.

“Well unlike my own mother, I doubt she’s going to take our dogs to the pound,” Nick said bitterly. I looked at him sadly.

“I don’t know what I did wrong,” I said. “She really hates me.”

“It’s not you; it’s her. I daresay Aaron might have gotten to her about his big bad brother going ape shit on his ass,” Nick said.

“I’m almost afraid to meet your dad.”

“Dad’s a whole ‘nother story. He’s uber-friendly. Of course, he loves all females,” Nick explained. “The bad thing about visiting dad is it’s so weird to see Kaden. I mean he’s young enough to be my son.”

“Does Kaden look like you and Aaron?”

Nick nodded. “Yeah, in ten or twelve years I’ll probably see him on MTV. He’ll be the next Justin Bieber.”

I smiled. “Or maybe Baylee, James, and Mason will recruit him as a member of the New Backstreet Boys.”

“I don’t even want to think about that. I already feel old.”

“Thirty is so old.”

“Wait until you’re thirty,” Nick said. “You’re a baby. You’re twenty seven.”

I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him softly. “I’ll be your baby.”

His eyes darkened. He leaned down for another kiss; then paused.

“I’ve got to go take a shower,” he said. He ducked under my arm and headed to the stairs.

“Seriously?”

“It’s all your fault!” he called out. “I warned you not to talk or smile!”

I laughed. Our arrival in Cozumel couldn’t come soon enough.