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Before:


Ashley

I woke up like clock work at 4am.

Normally, I would've climbed out of bed as gingerly as I could to keep from waking Chris, snuck out the door, and padded down the hall to the kitchen. Normally, I would've spent the next half hour preparing his breakfast so that when he got up it was ready and all he had to do was eat, shower, dress, and head off to work at six.

I woke up and rolled out of bed gingerly before I realized I was alone in that bed and that the bed was at Nick's house and that there was no breakfast to make. I felt strangely empty, like my mission in life had been struck void. I went to the door and creaked it open. The hallway was dark. I snuck down it, being extra careful to tiptoe past Nick's open bedroom door. I didn't want to wake him up. I wondered why he slept with it open until I saw Nacho poke his head out the door and look up at me with his big eyes.

I motioned at him to shhh.

Nacho followed me the rest of the way out to the living room and he leaped up onto the couch as I dropped into the cushion. "Oh God I may never get up, Nacho," I said. Nick's couch is like heaven. I'm not even kidding. Even not pregnant his couch is next to impossible to get out of because it's just that soft.

Nacho curled up on my feet as I swung my legs up onto the cushions and he licked my toes for a moment before putting his head down and snoring for the next twenty minutes, louder than you'd think a dog his size could snore. I turned on the TV, keeping it muted, and flipped through the channels until I found a mildly amusing infomercial and proceeded to laugh as two people cluelessly cooked spaghetti and failed to drain it properly, making them the perfect candidates for these new pot lids that doubled as strainers.

It was about an hour later when Nacho leaped up and his ears flopped and he garuffed and jumped down off the couch, abandoning his roost and making my feet feel cold. I heard him tear off down the hallway.

A moment later, Nick emerged from the hallway, his hair standing up at ridiculous angles, wearing only skin-tight boxer-briefs and an undershirt. "Yes Nacho... Jesus, yes, holy crappin' hell dog, like you never been out before... my God..." Nick staggered by, eyes barely open, pushed the back slider door open and Nacho's coller jangled as he ran out. "Go... go... Jesus..." A second later, Nacho was barking like a madman and seagulls flew by the window, cawing in loud disapproval.

Nick turned back around and I got a good look at his full... physique... and felt my mouth go dry. I looked away quickly. Holy shit, I thought. I mean, I've seen... you know... all... of Nick before but it'd been a really long time and honestly last time had been... well... less than conventional... and... you know, dark.

He stood in the doorway and scratched himself.

Well, that was less than becoming.

I closed my eyes. "Nick," I called.

I heard him jump with surprise. "Fuck," he said, and he thundered down the hallway.

Evidently my presence had been unnoticed.

Nick came back down the hall a moment later in jeans and a t-shirt, though his hair was still all messed up. He tried to play it cool, went back to the slider door and stood there, staring out. "NACHO!" he yelled. Pause, then, "NACHO!"

I struggled to sit up. I couldn't.

"NAAAAAAAAAACHHHHOOOOOOO!"

I grabbed onto the back of the couch, and tried to pull myself, but couldn't. "Nick," I whined.

"NAAAAAAAAAAACHHHHHHHHHOOOOOO!!!!"

"NICK!"

He turned, "Whatup?"

"I can't get up."

Nick glanced back at the beach. "Nacho, get your ass up here!" he turned back to me and walked across the room, holding out his hands, "Here." I wrapped my hands around his and he pulled me carefully to my feet, steadying me as I wobbled. Unlike a weeble, I would fall down. "There you go," he said, smiling. Then he returned to Operation Get the Dog Inside.

I couldn't help but wonder why he let the dog out loose like that if he had such issues getting him back in.

"NACHO!"

I went out to Nick's kitchen and dug around in his fridge until I'd come up with everything I needed and proceeded to make breakfast while he yelled for Nacho and eventually went down to the beach for another romp. He came back just as I was putting the last of the eggs I'd just made onto the plate. Nacho was panting, and laid down in the dark hallway, sprawled out. I put the plate down on the bar counter.

Nick looked at it fro where he was standing catching his breath from getting Nacho back upstairs. "What's that?" he asked, sniffing and moving closer, intrigued.

"Breakfast," I said.

"For me?"

"I know I'm fat but I'm not fat enough to eat two plates of this," I laughed.

Nick grabbed the fork I'd put on the counter and leaped onto the stool. "Oh shit, I fucking love breakfast," he said, shovelling food into his mouth.

I smiled, watching him eat, a boyish grin on his face.

And I realized Chris was right.

If Nick asked me to, I probably wouldn't say no... like, to anything.




Nick

I'd barely finished eating breakfast when my phone rang.

"Yo, sup?" AJ.

"Hey," I said. "I'm kind of bu--"

"So have you decided to stop this nonsense and come back yet?" he plowed on. Clearly asking me what's up had been a formality.

"No," I answered. "Quite the opposite, I actually ---"

"You're gonna change your mind, man," AJ interrupted again, "I'm serious."

"Yeah Nick, you have to change your mind," Rochelle said.

Does AJ ever call anyone without Rochelle on the line? I wondered.

"I'm not changing my mind," I said.

Rochelle sighed. "Nick, you can't let the haters get you down. You can't let the fans break your spirit. This is such a huge part of you!"

"Listen to my wise monkey, man," AJ commanded, "She knows what she's talking about."

I sighed, "I'm sorry AJ, it's just not gonna work. I'm just... there's too much going on..." I looked at Ashley, who was still pushing the last of her eggs around on her plate. "Like a lot going on..."

Rochelle piped up, "But it's the Backstreet Boys, it's you guys, it's the five of you. Finally together just to be torn apart?"

"Maybe I'll come back like Kev did, I dunno. Just ...not right now, that's all."

"Nick, do you want more juice?" Ashley asked.

I shook my head.

AJ must've been eating or drinking something because I heard him choke on whatever it was, then hack and spit it out. "Who was that?!" Rochelle squealed.

"...Ashley..." I said.

Rochelle let out a shriek that evidently even Ashley heard because he turned around and tilted her head at me like a dog does when a person plays a harmoica.

"Okay yeah no I gotta go now then bye," I said and I hung up quickly.

I ignored it when they tried calling back a second later.

"What was that?" Ashley asked.

"Rochelle. Being... you know... Rochelle...like..." I replied. I paused. "She saw a mouse or a bug or something."

Ashley laughed, "You sure that was her and not AJ?"

Actually I wasn't but okay.

I laughed.

Ashley poured more juice in her own cup and sipped it. She reached behind herself and rubbed her back. I studied her, taking the last sip of my own juice as I did. Then I realized she was wearing the same stuff she'd been wearing at the coffee house four days ago.

"I'm gonna go get dressed," I said, standing up, "Then we're gonna go."

"What? Where?" she looked confused.

"To get your clothes," I answered.

Nacho followed me down the hall.