“What is she doing here?” Nick asks Angel after he pulled her out from the group. The Backstreet Boys are waiting at the hotel lobby for a service pick-up that will take them to Tower Records for a promo gig and album signing. Julie, on the other hand, is talking with AJ and Katie, his girlfriend. There were several fans outside and the security had already planned the Boys’ exit strategy.
“I told her that we’re here. It happened that she’s in Lower Manhattan with her parents. And that was before Anna came here. Don’t blame me.” Angel replied.
Nick frowned. “Stop meddling, Angel. You don’t know what you’re doing. Plus, I just asked Julie out because you haven’t given me a choice. I don’t want to go out with her after that first date because it bored me to stay with her all night and hear her whine and complain even in just the simplest of things.”
“Hey, don’t blame me.”
Nick glared at her. He didn’t say anything more as he walked back to the group. Julie, AJ and Katie turned to him. He was getting his phone in his pocket at that moment. “We won’t be back until late evening, Julie. Do you have other plans today?” He asks her. AJ and Katie looked at each other.
“Actually, I do.”
Nick smiled as he dialed the number that Anna has given him.
“I would love to go with you.” He heard Julie added.
Nick sighed. “I don’t want you to go with me, Julie. I’m working. I can’t look after you. And can’t you see? Kristin, Leighanne and Katie aren’t coming with us, not even Angel. This is not a family affair. This is work.”
Julie pouted, as if that will affect Nick. He shakes his head at her and turned to his phone. “Hello? Oh, thank God. Lisa let you bring the phone. Are you at the airport already?” His voice is far from the tone he used on Julie. This one is soft and gentle.
Julie raised an eyebrow. She turned to AJ. “Who is he talking with?”
AJ shrugged. “We don’t know, must be his girlfriend.” He grinned.
“He already had a girlfriend?” Julie exclaimed. “Since when?”
Nick ignored Julie as Anna explained her flight details. “Have you taken your medicines, sweetheart?” He intended to add the last one to show Julie he’s not interested in her.
“Sweetheart? Where did that come from, Nick? The last time I knew, we took a break from our relationship.” Anna said on the other line. “And yes, I had my medicines and I’m a little fine now. Thank you.”
Nick walked away from the group and sat on one of the plush sofas in the lobby. “Well, how about if I tell you that the break is over? Let’s go back to what we were.”
“Are you ready for that?” Anna asked him. “This is not a game, Nick. We both know that.” They stayed silent for a long while. “Call me when you’re ready.”
Nick blinked a few times. “Wait, Anna. Please stay in LA for a while. Please wait for me next week.”
“I have a job, Nick. I can’t afford to stay there longer.”
“I’ll make a way for you. Trust me. Just stay there with your uncle for a while, please,” Nick tried again.
He heard her resignation. “Okay.”
“Thank you. I’ll see you next week.” Nick bid goodbye to Anna. When the call ended, he looked up to see Julie. “Can’t you get the message?”
“You’re talking with Anna. Anna Gomez, isn’t it?” Julie said. “Your ex?”
“Yes.”
“I like you, Nick. I like you so much.”
“I already liked someone else. In fact, I love her.”
“You can’t do this to me, Nick.” Julie’s eyes narrowed.
“I already did, Julie. Listen, you’re a wonderful woman.” Nick stood up and held her arms softly. “You don’t deserve me. You can find another one who will love you more than you do but not me. I already have someone else and she had me.”
“Okay, but let me kiss you first.” And before Nick would know it, Julie leaned closer to kiss him fully on the lips.
~~~
Anna’s mouth dropped open when she saw a couple of celebrities kissed, just within a distance from where she and her cousin, Paula, were having their lunch. She turned to Paula. “Isn’t it that she’s already married?”
Paula ignored the couple kissing. “Anna, it’s normal. When you’re here at the land of the celebrities, don’t be surprised who’s hooking up with whom. Some just won’t take relationships seriously. Others even took marriage as a trial and error stage. Just because there’s always divorce, they can marry whenever and whoever they want since they can be separated from them when the love was gone.”
Anna continued eating her food. Later when they’re done, they will go and buy stuff for Thanksgiving. She’s excited to spend it with her uncle and his family. At least, she has someone in this foreign country.
“Speaking of celebrities, why did you break up with Nick Carter?” Paula quietly asked her.
She sighed. “There are lots of things that contribute to it like time, geography, presence, the situation...”
“He seemed to be a nice guy.”
“Yes, he is. He wanted me to stay here until next week when he gets home from New York.” She tells her cousin.
Paula looked at her. “Then, stay. This will be a great time for us to be together again.”
“It’s not that easy. I have work in New York. I just can’t leave it. I need money to live here.” Anna said. “You know that I didn’t ask for anything from my family. I never got any support from them. They totally abandoned me when I put Dad and Uncle in jail.”
“Not everyone because you have us.” Paula corrected her. “Now, let’s go back to Nick. We’ll talk about your living preference later at home and in the presence of Dad. I’m sure he would want you to stay here.” She drinks her water first. “As for Nick, how did your long-distance relationship work?”
“Huge amount of phone bills!” Anna chuckled. “But it’s worth it. I always looked forward to his call every night just to say hi. Hearing it just makes my day. When we broke up, I think I’ve cried a river.” She sighed.
“You love him.”
“Yes.”
“I couldn’t imagine how it worked for you, especially that you haven’t known each other in a long time.”
“We’re attracted to each other, Paula. We didn’t waste time to beat around the bush. He said he likes me and I felt the same. Whatever came in our relationship is both our decision. We didn’t regret it but it hurt me a lot. I don’t want to hope but I wish that when we see each other again, there will be another chance for me.”
“Do it next week, Anna. You know, we only live like this once in our life. Make the most of it.” Paula said. “If it makes you happy and so did he, go. No one will stop you. You’ve worked it together although being apart from each other. You have more chance now that you’re in the same country and Nick, being the rich man that he is, can go anywhere you are just to be with you.”
“I hope that things will work out between us. When I saw him that day, I wanted to hug him and never let go. God, it feels so good to embrace him again.”
Paula smiled. They finished their lunch. When they’re done and ready, they paid the bill and walked out of the restaurant. The grocery is only on the next block that they only walked to go there. They passed by a bookstore first and Paula, being the bookworm that she is, stopped by first to check for anything she may want to buy. Anna browsed on the newspapers and magazines. A tabloid cover caught her eye and she held her breath. Nick is on the front page, at the lower left of the cover. But it’s not the usual picture. It says ‘Caught In The Act.’ And there he was on the picture and kissing a brunette in his arms.
