Run by emily_michele
As he lay there breathing, all Nick could think about was how great the past two days had been...
“Man, I love Disneyland!” AJ said with a grin as the stagehand secured the battery pack for his earpiece into the back of his pants. “I can’t believe we’ll be singing for Disneyland in less than five minutes!”
“In scarves,” Nick said with a snarl as he wiped the sweat from his brow with a towel. “And jackets,” he sighed. Annie expertly balanced Drew on one hip and smoothed the back of Nick’s wool blazer with the other.
“Well, this is a Christmas show,” Brian remarked.
“In Anaheim!” Nick rebutted. “Nobody needs to wear a jacket and a scarf in the middle of the afternoon in Anaheim! Who cares if I lose the jacket?” He looked at each of the four of his bandmates, who may as well have not heard them while they readied themselves for the quickly approaching performance. “Anybody?”
“This earpiece really doesn’t fit very well. Do you have any spares?” Howie asked one of the sound guys, who jumped to attention and started fumbling through his pockets.
“Alrighty, then.” Nick shed his jacket, tossed it across a clothing rack next to a big, green Goofy hat, and straightened up his scarf.
********************
“I can’t believe you aren’t going to ride the teacups with us!” Nick exclaimed in astonishment as Drew bopped him on the head from his position atop his shoulders.
“Come on, Annie!” Baylee whined.
“Yeah, come on, Annie!” Mason jumped up and down excitedly in the afternoon sun as he held onto the railing in line for the notorious ride.
Annie let out a little laugh. “Well, if you want my lunch to stay inside my body, I think I need to sit this one out.” Nick pouted dramatically, but gave her a quick, understanding wink as the ride in front of them came to an end and the gate opened for them to get on. Annie grasped the camera slung around her neck with her hands, and from beside her, Kristen did the same. “Take some good ones for me, okay?” she told the older woman. “I suck at this.”
“No problem,” Kristen answered nonchalantly. She was already snapping away as the crowd of Backstreet Boys and their families and bodyguards launched themselves towards the large, pastel teacups. It was really a sight to see-- Kevin and Nick heading for the same blue teacup, only to discover that between their four long legs and two little boys, they weren’t all going to fit; Mike and Q actually squeezing into the same yellow one; Leighanne purposely leading Baylee and Brian, both grumbling all the way, into a feminine pink and purple teacup; and Howie and James nothing but an orange blur as they started spinning the teacup long before the ride was ready to start moving. AJ had opted out of the rides and taken a very pregnant Rochelle home to rest after the performance. They all expected the first Backstreet girl to make her appearance very soon.
Now settled into a green teacup sans Kevin and Mason, Nick looked down at Drew. His cheeks were flushed with excitement as he waved at his mother’s camera. Nick placed his hands on the wheel in front of him and gave the teacup a tentative spin. Since his soon-to-be stepson was still only two years old, this had the potential to either be really fun or a little traumatizing for the toddler. Luckily, it was the former. Drew let out a delighted giggle as they whirled around, which prompted Nick to spin the teacup faster. “Fast, Nick, fast!” Drew squealed, and his soon-to-be stepfather was happy to oblige. The mop of blonde hair on the child’s head flapped wildly in the breeze, and his big, green eyes literally sparkled with excitement in the afternoon sunlight that streamed down on them. He was still giggling as the ride came to an end and Nick scooped him up and carried him to his mother.
“You okay?” Annie laughed as she took Drew into her arms and Nick leaned on the railing to catch his breath.
“I’m great!” Nick answered once his world stopped spinning. He took Drew back from her and swung him up on his shoulders, then trotted towards the cotton candy kiosk.
********************
The purple maxi dress she wore the next afternoon reminded Nick of the evening gown she’d worn on the cruise last year. Her hair was pulled into a bun on top of her head, and soft auburn tendrils framed her face. She smiled as Nick pulled his car into Kevin and Kristin’s driveway. “Thanks for suggesting this. We needed a day out together,” she remarked as he ducked out of the driver’s side and opened the back door to get Drew out of his car seat.
“I agree,” NIck said with a grin as he unbuckled the carseat, pulled the toddler into his arms, and started walking up the sidewalk to Kevin and Kristin’s front door. Mason greeted him by swinging the door open with a flourish before be had a chance to knock. The six year old wore a bicycle helmet on his head and a super hero cape around his neck.
“Hi Drew!” he exclaimed excitedly. Drew wiggled out of Nick’s arms and made a beeline for the playroom with Mason not far behind.
“Mason needs a little brother,” Nick remarked.
Kevin smiled wistfully and patted his little brother on the back. Nick let out a little gasp as he remembered the tote bag Annie had packed still sitting in the backseat. He turned on his heel and reached for the door knob to find Annie standing on the front porch holding the bag in her right hand with an amused smirk on her face. “Forget something?”
Nick frowned. “Sorry.”
“No problem.” Annie handed Drew’s bag to Kevin and smiled. “Thanks for baby-sitting.”
“No problem. Now you kids have fun and stay out as long as you want. Drew’s in good hands here.” Kevin shooed them out the door any they were on their way.
********************
“So, uh, I’ve been wanting to talk to you about something for a while now,” Nick stammered as he wiped his mouth and placed the white linen napkin back in his lap.
“Oh?” Annie sat her wine glass down on the table and ran the stem between her manicured fingers. “What’s that?”
“It’s about Drew, actually.”
“Drew?”
“Yes. Drew.”
“What about him?”
Nick cleared his throat. “Well… you know I’m crazy about him, right?”
“You’re great with him,” Annie agreed with a smile.
“I love him like he’s mine, Annie,” Nick admitted as he reached across the table to grasp her hand.
“I know you do.” Annie wiped at a happy tear with her free hand.
“And I can’t wait until we’re a real family.”
“I can’t wait either, Nick.”
“So… what do you think about making it official?”
“We are. December 18th, remember?”
“I can’t wait,” Nick acknowledged, his lighting up in anticipation. “But I’m talking about Drew. I want to adopt him, Annie.”
Annie flinched, but didn’t loosen her grip on Nick’s hand. “You do?”
Nick stared intently into her eyes. “More than anything. I’ve already had Jordan Keller drawing up some potential documents to speed up the process, actually.”
Annie bit her bottom lip thoughtfully before her face spread into a smile. “I think that’s a great idea, actually.”
“You do?”
“Of course. You’re already a father figure to him, but there is one thing…”
“Oh.” Nick’s heart sank. “What’s that?”
“I don’t think it will be that big of a deal, but I’d like to run it by Andrew’s family first and get their blessing before we truly make it official.”
********************
“Let’s celebrate.” Nick peeled himself off of Annie long enough to take his keys out of the ignition. The two of them had been necking like teenagers for the past fifteen minutes in the parking garage of Nick’s condominium complex.
“Isn’t that what we’ve been doing?” Annie winked.
Nick blushed. “Well, yeah, but there’s a bottle of champagne upstairs with your name on it. Let’s drink it on the beach.”
“Sounds great. I’ll just give Kristin a call and check on Drew while you get it.”
“I’ll be back soon.” Nick gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and ducked out of his car, heading for the stairway. He skipped up the stairs two at a time, and as he slid the key into the lock outside his condo, the hair on the back of his neck instinctively stood on end at the feeling of someone standing behind him. Hot breath licked at his neck, and Nick wondered how he’d been so distracted that he didn’t hear the footsteps coming up behind him. He gulped and gripped the doorknob as he turned to his left.
“Hi son.”
