Annie studied her reflection in the bathroom mirror. She turned to the side and sucked in her stomach, smoothing her yellow camisole down underneath her gray cardigan, then pulled up on the waistband of her jeans to make sure she didn’t have any sign of “muffin top.” She pulled up on her bra straps pulled her breasts up to where they were “pre-Drew,” then sighed as they sagged back down. No bra in the world could completely reverse the damage that being pregnant and breastfeeding did to a woman. She leaned forward and studied her eyes in the mirror, first wiping away a little mascara smudge under her left eye, then placing her fingertips at her temples and pulling the skin back taught, temporarily erasing the few fine lines that had appeared around her eyes in the past five years. Annie wasn’t oblivious to the fact that she was an attractive woman, but she had her insecurities anyway, and the fact that she was getting ready to go out on a date with Nick Carter himself was enough to make her a little crazy about trying to look perfect. Her eyes trailed down the length of her body and stopped at her left hand. It hit her that there was a good chance she and Nick may get spotted by a fan, and she really didn’t want to be the reason that rumors got started about Nick having an affair with a married woman.

“Annie, you’re going on a date,” she told her reflection in the mirror. “Maybe it’s time....” Then, with her hands literally shaking so hard she could barely bring them together, she gently slipped off the thin platinum band with the thumb and forefinger of her right hand. She searched in her jewelry pouch for her long silver necklace and threaded the ring onto it carefully, then slipped it around her neck and tucked the ring underneath her camisole. She put on a beaded necklace that matched her ensemble to make it look a little less conspicuous. “I really hope you’re okay with this, Andrew,” she breathed softly. “Of course, if you wouldn’t be okay with it, I don’t guess you’ll ever know. There’s no sorrow in heaven, right?” She jumped at the sound of tapping on her bedroom door, then took one more look at herself in the mirror, tucked a curl behind her ear, and went to answer it.
Nick’s mouth fell open a little when the door in front of him swung open and Annie stepped into the doorway, slinging her purse over her shoulder. She wore a ¾ sleeve gray cardigan over a ruffled yellow tank top with dark washed jeans and yellow flats. Her hair was curled neatly with one side pinned behind her ear. She was wearing more eye makeup than he was used to seeing her in, and it served to turn her eyes a more brilliant green. “Hey..... you look really....nice,” he stammered.

“You, too, Nick.” She stood there for a minute taking him in. He wore distressed jeans and a navy blue zip-up hoodie over an olive green v-neck t-shirt. His blonde locks, which he was apparently starting to grow out, were messy, but in a deliberate sort of way. How in the world could a sweatshirt jacket look that good?

He stuffed his hands into his pockets and rocked back and forth on his heels. “You ready to go?”

“Yep.”

They were on their way down the stairs when Nick noticed she wasn’t wearing her ring. He grabbed her hand and stopped her on the landing. “You didn’t have to take that off because of me,” he said casually, gesturing to her ring finger.

“Nick, do you really want to start rumors that you’re having an affair with a married woman?” she asked bluntly.

“They’ve already torn me apart in every way possible,” he said, referring to the media. “I know how much that ring means to you. If you want, you can go put it back on before we go.”

Annie looked down at her finger. It had what seemed like a permanent indentation where her ring used to be. She wondered what was worse-- Nick looking like he was on a date with a married woman, or Nick looking like he was on a date with a married woman who was trying to look like she wasn’t married. Either way, she figured he wouldn’t want to go out with her again after the potential backlash. Wait a minute. Did she just think something about going out with Nick again? She hadn’t even been on one date with him yet, and now she was thinking about the possibility of another one? Sure, she was attracted to him, but this was just for fun, right? “It’s okay.” Annie pulled the silver chain holding the ring out from under her shirt and showed it to Nick, then tucked it back in.

“Well, okay, then.” Nick nodded and lead her down the rest of the stairs.

“You kids have fun, and have her back before bedtime, alright son?” Brian gave them a cheeky grin and slapped Nick playfully on the back as they were on their way out the door. Nick just rolled his eyes while Annie giggled. “Remember to be a gentleman.” He made sure to sound like he was joking, but he shared a “look” with Nick that told him he wasn’t. Nick gulped and nodded.

“So, where are we going?” Annie asked once they were inside the car.

Nick grinned and started the engine. “You’ll see.”

When they pulled into the Atlanta Family Fun Center fifteen minutes later, Annie looked at him like he was crazy. “What are we doing? Going to the arcade?” Leave it to Nick Carter to bring her to an arcade.

“Nope.” Nick cut off the engine and jumped out of the car, walking around it quickly to open Annie’s door.

“Miniature golf?”

“Nope.” He held out his hand to help Annie out of the low-riding sports car he’d convinced Brian to let him drive.

“Please don’t tell me we’re playing laser tag.” She eyed the building warily. “I hate laser tag.”

Nick’s face dropped. “Why do you hate laser tag?”

“Well, it’s kind of a long story....”

He shrugged and placed his hand lightly on the small of her back as they walked through the almost empty parking lot. “We’ve got all day.”

“I was ten, and we were on a family vacation in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. My brother and male cousins all wanted to play laser tag, so not wanting to feel left out, I decided to play with them. I remember being strapped into this big, heavy plastic vest that I could barely run in and shoved into this dark maze full of people with gun and little to no idea what I was doing. I tried to play along, I really did, but my vest essentially vibrated the entire time because I kept getting shot, and I finally crawled into a corner crying and hid until the game was over.”

“That’s horrible!” Nick chuckled as he held the heavy glass door open for her. “But I say you just haven’t played laser tag with the right person,yet.” Five minutes later, Nick was strapping her into a heavy, bright orange, plastic vest.