“So are you ever afraid?” Lani turned the engine off and slid her seat back so she and Ben could talk in his driveway. It was one of her favorite ways to talk. Something about the darkness, the closeness in a car, the way movement echoed in the small confines of the seats. She was never sure why, but some of her most heartfelt conversations came at the end of a nice evening sitting in someone’s driveway, neither party wanting the time to end.

“I’m afraid of a lot of things. I’m 14.” Ben chuckled and mentally ran through his fears. The list wasn’t long, but the monsters sometimes seemed huge.

“I mean of this family stuff. With Darren. With…just not knowing. Not having a dad around.”

“I’m not afraid of Darren for me, no. He can’t hurt me again. I worry that he’ll hurt Liz or Jack or…Am-…” Ben shook his head, unwilling to even complete the thought. “Is that what you mean?”

“Sort of…you said something that was good. ‘All the characters are in place’. They’re not all in place at your home. You know it, I know it and I think your mama knows it too.”

“Yeah, she’s got to…somewhere inside she has to know.” Ben looked down and picked at a hang nail. “I guess I just don’t look at it like a sports team. You don’t have to have all the players to make it work.” Pulling on fresh flesh now, he stopped and rubbed his thumb on his jeans. He had to break that habit. “It’d be nice, you know. but just to have someone holding that spot down…it screws up the works more than it helps.”

“My mom was really good at spot holders. Was like a damned revolving door.”

“Did you like any of them?”

“Yeah, there was one. I thought he was going to be my daddy. He loved me. I really believe he did. And he loved Mamí too.” She sighed at his memory. “Ramón.”

“But Ramón left?”

“Yeah. I was too young to know why. But he just took off and never said goodbye to me.”

Ben sucked on the side of this thumbnail, finally pulling the final tab of skin off with his teeth, growling at the blood that took its place. “Nick’s not goin’ anywhere, Lani.”

“Eh, there aren’t any guarantees, Ben. I mean his whole life is one big revolving door. His career is just…I mean, group, solo, group. What if they blow up again?”

“What if they don’t?”

“That’s my point, Ben…no guarantees. I have no idea where he’ll even BE in 6 months, no less if I’ll be a part of it.”

“No, but you know - just like my mama - that Neron isn’t what will give you guarantees. Just because he fathered Ro doesn’t make him a sure thing.”

“Yeah, I do know that. Finally.” She turned to him and took his hand in hers, softly kissing the small wound he’d made on his thumb. “Thank you.”

He blushed. At the kiss, at the embarrassment of his new biting habit, at the fact that it was well past midnight and he was in Miss Romero’s car having a heart to heart. He should be in playing video games. But he didn’t want to leave. The security she’d given him all of these years had returned and he always felt it sliding away as he walked into his home. “You know, I’ve never seen anything like what you and Nick have. And I know it’s out there, but it’s never been in my life…I just have to believe it’s the real thing.”

“I guess I do too, huh?”

“You do believe it. You just have to throw that old story out and get ready to write a new one.”

“Wanna come in for a drink?”

“Nah, thanks, Nick. I need to hit the sack.” Howie slapped his band mate’s back and continued down the hall to his own room. “Don’t forget to call Lani!”

“Yes, Howard. Thank you.” He slipped his key into the slot and swore when the light stayed red forbidding him entrance into his room. It had been a long day and he just wanted to hear Lani’s voice, mindlessly surf through the movie channels and fall asleep when the plots got too dull. Which would be pretty instantaneously the way he felt.

“Need help?”

“Go away, D. I’m just tired.” One more try and he got it. “’Night…and, uh…keep it down tonight, huh?”

“Yeah, yeah…you’re just lonely and jealous.”

“Yes I am. Show some sympathy.” Nick didn’t even turn a light on before he kicked off his shoes and tossed his shirt somewhere near his closet, ready to curl up into bed with a sexy Latino voice and a bad B movie on the TV. It wasn’t home, but it would have to do. Home was yet a week away. He hoped Lani was able to stay awake and wait for his call given the extra hours between California and Florida.

By the time he hit the bathroom, he was down to his boxers, his socks, pants and belt having been strewn on the floor all the way in. He relieved himself and came out mumbling, singing, some combination of both, his mind not having totally shut down yet from the day’s work. As he bent over to his mini bar he grabbed his cell and flipped it open, finally close to the voice he had been waiting for since yesterday.

“Don’t dial that phone, mister.”

“Huh?” Nick snapped up, slammed the mini bar closed and almost dropped his bottle of beer. Before he could fall over in fear, two warm arms wrapped around him and long, wavy hair brushed against his chest. “Lani???”

“Hi. I thought you might like a visitor.”

“Are you kidding me!? Oh my god!” He put down his bottle and picked her up covering her face with kisses, tangling his hands in her hair, walking them both to the bed as her legs wrapped around his waist. In between breaths and kisses and stumbles over his scattered clothing he tried to get a grip on what was happening. “You’re,” kiss, “…here,” kiss, “…you came to see,” kiss, “…me. Lani,” kiss, “…oh my god, I love you!”

They fell onto the bed, limbs tangling, clothes and boxers flying, tongues dancing on body parts they swore they’d forgotten, and finally, quickly but passionately bodies joining as one, any exhaustion falling by the wayside as their love engulfed the darkness of the room. Their movements would slow as they stopped to take in the reality that yes, they were together. Yes, she was here, yes, she took the plunge and got on that airplane, yes, they were where they belonged. As their realization hit that ‘together’ meant ‘home’, their passions would take over and they’d get lost in the moment again. Her body so soft and round, moving so sensually beneath him. His body so broad and solid, folding into her as she raked her nails down his back grabbing onto his ass, pulling him in closer and harder and faster and more and more.

Yes, this was going to end too soon and no neither of them cared because yes, it felt so good they’d probably have to do it again and yes, her eyes melted him, yes, his hands played a symphony over her skin, yes they were so perfect together, and yes, yes, yes!

Lani continued to run her nails along Nick’s back as he let his weight rest on her in sated, exhaustive bliss. As he slipped out from her warm, contracting folds, they moaned at the separation. “Too bad you couldn’t stay there forever.”

“Mmm…no kidding.” He fell to her side kissing her shoulder as he fluffed a few pillows under his head and rested, keeping his legs entwined in hers, his fingers tracing imaginary pictures on her abdomen and arms. “Hi.”

“Hi…”

“So, uh…” He swallowed and tried to get his breathing back into rhythm. “What made you fly all the way out here?”

“I was horny.”

Nick laughed and fell on his back landing on someone’s underwear and yanking it out from under him so he could smack her with it. “Is that all I am to you? Your sex toy?”

“I thought you’d be okay with that.” She sat up and gently tugged on a nipple ring, bending down to kiss it when instinctively pulled back. “I fly back in an hour.”

“You’re kidding, right…”

“Mmmm…” Her lips traveled down his tummy while she pretended to contemplate an answer. “What do you think?” Before she straddled him, she kissed his overly sensitive tip, licking off the last drop that clung there, giggling as he hissed almost in pain. Settling her weight on his thighs, she centered her gaze in his ready to take the next step in her life. With him. “What would you say if I told you we were staying ‘til you went home…we’ll be here all week?”

“We?”

“Yeah…Ro and Katy are in a room down a few floors.”

“No way…”

“Yes way. We got in around 3.”

“And you’re staying all week!?”

“If that’s okay, yeah.”

His answer was clear as he pulled her back down on top of him and ground his hips up into her, their lips crashing into another passionate dance. Pulling back and taking in her soft flesh, her mocha eyes, the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed, he tried to find his voice. “And I get you all night…all to myself?”

“All night. All yours”

The why’s of her arrival, the what-will-happen-if’s of her risk all disappeared as they melted into each other once again, more slowly, more deliberately, more lovingly than they had moments before. The sounds of their lovemaking rang throughout Nick’s suite, the pleasure of it rang throughout their bodies and souls, reminding Lani that Ben was right. The characters were all in place.

It was now time to write their own story.

Lani reached out to smack the alarm clock, instead clocking Nick on the nose, rudely waking him from his sleep.

“Ow! What the-??” Nick’s confusion won over his thrill at waking next to Lani, compounding when he realized the ringing was his room phone and not an alarm. “Did you arrange a wake-up call?”

“Oh yeah, that’s what I wanted. Some moron to call and wake us up at the ass-crack of dawn.” She lazily raised two thumbs-up and flopped her arms back onto the mattress.

“Smart ass.” Nick groggily rolled over and answered the phone with a grunt. “What?”

“Buenos dias, Nicky!!! When can I come up and see you?”

“Muñe!!! You’d better get up here-…” Nick stopped when Lani sat up out of bed, her beautiful nakedness spilling out from under the sheets. “…uh…why don’t you give us half an hour or so?”

“How long’s that?”

“One Dora show. Can you wait that long?”

“Yeah!” Rosalie abruptly hung up the phone and Nick fell back into the bed glancing at the clock. It was 6 am.

“She’s still on Florida time, isn’t she?”

“Good guess…” Slowly stretching her body, Lani felt pleasantly rested and definitely ready for a shower. “We have time for a shower?”

“Take your pick. Nookie or a shower.”

“Nookie in the shower.”

“Deal…”

They’d barely dressed when Rosalie was pounding at their door, the whispered scolding of Katy almost as loud as Ro’s knocking.

“You two could wake the dead, you know that. They’re gonna kick me outta here.” Nick whipped the door open and looked down as a brown curly headed tornado walked into his room.

“That’s okay, Nicky. We have a room. You can come sleep with us.”

Nick scooped Rosalie up and thanked Katy for bringing his girls to him. “This is such a great surprise!”

Rosalie climbed up onto the couch, pulling Nick down with her. She started talking and Nick tried his hardest to pay attention without dozing. He was not used to being up, no less coherent at this hour. Today was supposed to be his late day, sleeping in, lounging around until mid-afternoon. Although, complaints were nowhere to be found. He had his girls, even if it was before God was awake.

Before Nick completely fell back asleep, Katy saved the day and told Rosalie it was time to go. They arranged to meet back up for dinner when Ro would move into Nick and Lani’s room giving Katy a room to herself and a bit of a vacation.

“What are you going to do today, Mamí?”

“I think I’m going to go to the studio with Nick. After we have our talk.”

“Oh, yeah…that talk. Can I come to the studio one day, too?”

Nick scooped Ro up and set her on his lap, tracing the ladybugs that decorated her shirt. “How ‘bout tomorrow? It’s a group session and you can meet all the guys.”

“Even Brian?????”

“Yes, even Brian.”

Rosalie sighed and hopped off the couch, walking half trancelike to the door. “I just love Brian.” She took Katy’s hand and began what would probably be a long-winded history of the boys…Rosalie style. “He’s a daddy now, you know.”

Nick kissed Ro’s cheek and closed the door behind them, chuckling when he heard her talking Katy into oblivion. “Okay, woman. What talk?”

“Well, yeah.” Lani smiled and rubbed her empty stomach. “How ‘bout we have it over breakfast? I’m starving.”

Nick tried to read her eyes and couldn’t quite decipher what he saw there. She was definitely still horny. She was nervous. She was still smiling though. “Should I be worried?”

“I don’t think so…only if you don’t get us room service real soon. I’ll start eating you.”

Nick raised and eyebrow and Lani sighed at her innuendo. “Food, Carter. I want food.”

And food she got. Fresh berries, an assortment of cereals, ice cold milk, juice and of course, a fresh pot of coffee. “Okay, I’ve changed my mind.”

“You have?”

“Yes. I’m not staying a week and coming home with you. We’re all staying here forever. I like this room service business.”

“It’s addicting, isn’t it?” Nick popped a raspberry in his mouth and sat down. “So, the talk. Hit me.”

“Read first.” Lani shoved a stack of stapled papers across the table and sprinkled a handful of raspberries into her bowl.

“What’s this?” He shoved a mouthful of cereal into his mouth and opened the documents, reading aloud as he chewed. “Instructions for Florida Supreme Court Approved Family Law Form…Petition to Determine Paternity and Related Relief.” His eyes questioned as his mouth swallowed.

“I’m taking control of my life again, Nick.”