Nick
Looking back, I remember it was Brian that had first introduced me to her. I remember my surprise that Brian - Brian married man Littrell - had been able to spot such a hottie. It was August of 2008. Bri had already been married for about a billion years, he was obsessed with Baylee's rendition of Jesus Loves You, and I was sure he had no friggin' clue that hot-blooded females were still walking the earth amongst us. We were in Kentucky when he hooked up with this guy he had known in high school, a guy that had a younger sister that was dying to meet us.
Brian had brought this beautiful, eager blonde angel up to me after our show and made introductions with an over-exaggerated drawl. I still remember her holding out her shaking hand, her face turning a deep shade of red as her own country twang proclaimed, "Hi, I'm Heather." It was love at first sight.
Heather. It was the perfect name. You know how some people look more like an Erin or a Jessica? Well Heather looks like a Heather. Her blonde hair curls over her shoulders and she has these blue eyes that sparkle like Christmas tree bulbs...
Except they aren't sparkling at the moment. At the moment she's tossing pairs of rolled up socks at my head, her face crumpled in anger. The country twang has lessened over the years; I've corrupted her with my California-ness.
"Y'know what? I don't want to go to Germany, anyhow. You go and--and--eat your chocolate!"
If there's one other thing about Heather, it's that she doesn't know how to fight well. She aimed another sock ball that I dodged as I zipped my suitcase.
"Babe, don't get bent outta shape," I said. "It's just that I'm going to be working nonstop. Don't be so...clingy."
"Clingy?" she repeated.
I didn't answer. I had a knot in the pit of my stomach that I couldn't loosen.
Guilt.
It all started when I first started organizing my solo concerts in between all this NKOTBSB stuff. It was when I had first met Lauren. Everything that happened afterwards was completely unplanned. Heather and I were okay up until that point; Lauren just changed it all.
Lauren and Heather were as opposite as two girls could be. Heather was the bubbly blonde; Lauren was the sultry brunette. Heather apologized if she uttered a mild curse; Lauren had no remorse.
Lauren had joined the crew I had slapped together to document my solo journey unexpectedly. She had breezed through her interview. Actually, she had walked in, camera around her neck, big boobs out to - here - and I had hired her on the spot. Luckily, her skills were as good as her looks. From the moment we met, she had flirted with me like no tomorrow. By the time we got to Japan a couple months ago, we somehow ended up naked in my big ass hotel bed and I swear I forgot my name no fewer than three times. Luckily, her shouting it at the top of her lungs helped me remember it.
But that was why I was keeping Heather stateside. Unfortunately, even Ms. Patient's patience was wearing thin.
And I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do with her.
Heather
"I'll be back May 20. Then you'll be coming on tour with me for NKOTBSB. Trust me, I just don't want you to get sick of this tour stuff. You know how it was last summer."
Nick's big puppy dog eyes did me in. Besides, I had no more balled up socks to throw. He grabbed my limp arms, wiggling them playfully. "Give me a hug?"
I wrapped my arms around his neck, inhaling the scent of his aftershave. He pressed a kiss against my neck.
"Be safe," I said. He pulled away, a perfect white smile lighting up his entire face.
"Promise. And promise me you won't get all work-a-holic on me while I'm gone."
A giggle rose in my throat. "Promise."
Nick stepped back, a doubtful look replacing the smile on his face as he swung his duffel bag onto his shoulder. "Hun, you know no matter how hard you work, they're never going to give you a chance. It's a dying field."
I struggled not to let him know yet again how much his lack of confidence hurt me. "I know," I said softly.
He pressed his palm to his lips, tossing it back at me in an air kiss.
"Bye, Heath Bar."
"Bye, Nick."
He turned and I heard the sound of his footsteps on the stairs as he descended. I sank down on the bed, sighing softly.
I couldn't put my finger on when things had begun to change, but they had. Somehow the Nick I had started with had changed into the guy who had just left. Hot and cold. More judgmental. Unattentive.
I felt an unwanted tear trail down my cheek. I brushed it away and exhaled loudly. My eyes flickered to the large pile of printer paper stacked on the desk near the door.
For as long as I could remember, I had wanted to be a writer. When I had met Nick, I had been fresh out of the University of Kentucky with a degree in writing. At twenty-six, I thought that I'd have no trouble becoming world famous in a year. I was destined to be the next Nicholas Sparks. Or Danielle Steele. Or Barbara Taylor Bradford.
Three years later, that confidence was gone. I free-lanced to have a semblance of an income, but my dream resided in the incomplete romance novel the was sitting just feet from me. No one would bite. 'It lacks passion.' 'There's not enough emotional connection between characters.' 'Devoid of conflict.'
No matter how many rejection letters I received, I had never given up.
But now that my own romance was seemingly waning, it was becoming harder and harder to think about love.
The sound of the phone ringing broke through my thoughts. As my eyes fell upon the display and recognized Brian's number, I smiled through the tears.
Maybe instead of a love story, I would be better off writing about friendships.
At least my friendship with Brian hadn't changed; if anything, it had just been getting stronger.
And at the moment, I totally needed a friend.
Brian
"Fine whatever, go call Nick, tell him what a bitch I am. I don't care." Leighanne slammed the bedroom door and I slammed my office door. I growled and launched myself across the room.
We'd been home from California maybe fifteen minutes before it started. Baylee had excused himself immediately to go to his room, abandoning me with the woman from The Ring screaming in my ear. I'm not even sure what had set her off this time, all I knew was that I was pissed.
My fingers jabbed at the number pad on the phone. Nick would have some good man advice for me. He'd tell me to do something ridiculous like go out, let some steam loose. He'd probably tell me to sleep with the first thing I saw with boobs and two legs.
Childish as it sounds, that's what I needed right now.
"Brian!"
Heather was not what I expected. I felt my palms go all funny and I turned away from the door, my eyes flashing to the LCD to see if Leighanne had picked up the other line (she hadn't). "Heyyyy kiddo," I drawled out, my Kentucky poking through naturally. I'd grown up with Chris - Heather's older brother - and somehow I'd always be that nine year old country boy who was giggling at the two year old with sand down her diaper.
Heather was a little sister I never had.
"How are you, Bri?" she asked.
I glanced at the door of the office, which seemed to still shiver with the force I'd slammed it with, then back to the LCD. Now she was listening. "I'm -- I'm okay. Is Nick there?"
"You just missed him, he's on his way to LAX, if you give him a call you can probably catch him before his flight takes off."
I sighed. "Nawh, I'll call him another time, I don't wanna stress him out."
"Serve him right," she muttered.
"Something wrong?" I asked.
Heather sighed, "Nawh. Nick's just... I dunno, he's already stressed. This whole solo tour thing. You know Nick." I could hear the forced smile in the words.
Yeah. I know Nick alright.
"Sorry," I managed to say outloud.
It was like being stuck between a rock and a hard place. Nick - my best friend in the entire world - and Heather - my might-as-well-be-sister. I tried not to get involved when they had fights and stuff. I didn't want to hurt either of their feelings. I wanted to side with both of them.
"Maybe the trip to Germany will cool him down," I suggested, "You know he likes Germany."
"Yeah," Heather sounded sad. She paused, "Something wrong with you?" she asked.
I glanced at the LCD. Leighanne was still listening in. I sighed. "No..." I lied, "I just wanted to wish Nick good luck on the trip to Berlin, you know." I fingered the phone cord, twisting it around my digits. The thing about Heather and I was since we'd grown up together, sometimes even the silence felt like a conversation. After a long, long pause of such feelings, I said, "Hey kiddo? Don't worry about Nick. He's probably sitting on the plane right now, thinking about how much he misses you..."
