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“Dee-Dee, listen, I just can’t go on a cross country trip right now,” Nick Carter tried his best not to laugh into his cell phone. He had been sent out to run various errands for his grandparents, and unfortunately, he had forgotten to switch off the phone. “Look, I’m really busy right now, I’m gonna have to call you back.”

Nick pushed the “end” button on his Nokia and tossed it in the backseat of his dark green Jeep Cherokee. “I wish she would just leave me alone,” he snickered to himself. He had been seeing Darla Dawn “Dee-Dee” Matthews for a couple weeks and he couldn’t take much more. She was a sweet girl, God help her, but she was entirely too clingy for his tastes. And ever since she had found out that Nick wouldn’t be spending the summer with his mother in Goldsboro, she had been pushing for him to drive to California with her. He actually thought he might leave her in the desert somewhere just so he wouldn’t have to hear her annoying giggle and gum smacking. Just the thought of being stuck in such a confining space for 3,000 miles made him shudder, so he tried to turn her down as politely as possible.

“Hey, man, what’s happening,” he was greeted by a childhood friend, Graham Addison, as he walked across the parking lot towards the large grocery store.

He would never understand why a food chain was named Food Lion, but there had to be reasons, right? “Hey Gray-ham,” Nick grinned, cracking on his friend’s name. “What’s up? You loafin’ around town?”

“Pretty much…I was thinking about grabbing my stuff and going surfing. You up for it?”

“Nah, I can’t right now,” Nick shook his head and grabbed a shopping cart. “Gram has me shopping for her. I just got back from Lowe’s and Home Depot in Shallotte. I’ve got a lot of stuff to do for Gram and David before I can even think about hitting the beach.”

“Suit yourself,” Graham said with a nonchalant shrug. “I’m gonna go scope out the hotties.”

Nick made his way around the vast supermarket picking up all the items on his shopping list. This was his last stop before heading back to his Grandmother’s beach house. He let out a thankful sigh as he continued to shop. Knowing his grandmother, she would let him have the rest of the day off and he could go “scope hotties” with all his friends.

He hated that he had to waste half a beautiful day shopping, but it had to be done. Every summer, his grandmother and her husband stocked up on supplies for hurricane season. Being right on the beach made it mandatory to be prepared for those kinds of events. That was why he had to drive all the way to Shallotte. Sunset Beach was a beautiful tourist spot for beach-goers, but they couldn’t get ply wood and such for reasonable prices. Nick knew that David would be pleased with the money he saved. Parking himself in the checkout line, he picked up a gossip magazine and flipped through it while he waited. For some reason, even as large as the store was, they only had a few check out lanes open. Why they had ten lanes would forever remain a mystery.

“Hmmm, looks like J.Lo and Ben Affleck still have yet to choose a wedding date,” he smirked to himself and realized an older lady was watching him in amusement. Feeling his cheeks flush, he promptly placed the magazine back in its place and moved with the line. Luckily, he didn’t have to wait much longer and he was soon on his way back home.

***

“Oh, Nicky, thank you so much for going out and getting all of that stuff for me,” Winifred Gaines greeted her 23 year old grandson with a warm hug and kiss on the cheek.

“Yes, thanks son,” David greeted his step-grandson. “You really saved your grandmother and me some time and labor.”

“It’s no problem,” Nick smiled and gave his grandmother a kiss on the cheek

“Nicky, sweetheart, you can go and spend the rest of the day with your friends if you like,” Winnie’s soft-spoken voice was comforting to him. “I know you would rather be spending time on the beach instead of wasting it inside.”

“Okay, thanks Gram. David, do you need any help with anything else?”

“No, I think we have everything covered,” David smiled, his tanned, lined face lighting up. “You go have some fun.”

***

“Hey Nickolas!” Graham called out when he spotted his friend making his way across the warm sand to the group that was gathered near the surf. “I thought you couldn’t make it, you know, since you’re such a hard worker.”

“Yeah, well, I got the day off Graham, you gotta problem with that or you just scared I’ll steal all your hotties?” Nick questioned with a smirk.

“Where’s your girlfriend, Nick?” one of the guys standing with his surfboard by his side asked causing the group to erupt in laughter.

“Ha ha ha,” Nick mocked their laughs. “She’s not my girlfriend, Chase, so you can just get over that.”

“Really now?” Chase’s girlfriend Joylyn asked raising her eyebrows. “That’s definitely NOT the story Dee-Dee has been telling.”

Nick chose to ignore their taunting and headed for the water. Even now when most of his friends were in their early twenties, they continued to act like they were still in junior high school. Sometimes, he wondered if they would ever grow up. Dipping down into the water, Nick began to relax; he loved the summers he got to spend here. They were always the ones that proved to make the best memories. He hated to admit it, but he was somewhat relieved when his mother told him he could stay in Sunset Beach instead of making the usual trip to Goldsboro. It wasn’t that he didn’t love his mother, but honestly, he didn’t really know her. She had only come back into Nick’s life within the past five years, and he was still learning to adjust.

Nickolas Carter was an “accident” he had heard many times. His mother, Jane Spaulding, had been seeing a college student from the next town for a few months when she discovered she was pregnant. Being only 15 years old, she was scared and confused, so she agreed to let her mother raise her child until she was older and more mature. After she gave birth, Jane would be leaving to go live with her father in Texas. They both agreed that Nick would be well-informed on the situation and from the time he was old enough, he knew that Winnie was his grandmother and when he was ready, he would meet his mother.

Understanding the situation, Nick never asked more than they were willing to tell and he never complained. Growing up, he never had any complaints; he had all he needed. While they may not have had many luxuries like other kids his age, they always had enough and they were happy. Looking back on the way he was brought up, Nick was happy about the decisions that his mother and grandmother made. Then, when Nick was almost 18, Jane finally came back into his life.

She insisted that he start spending his summers with her in Goldsboro so they could get to know one another. It wasn’t how he would have chosen to meet his mother, but Nick did not protest her requests and neither did Winnie. He had spent a large portion of the past four summers with Jane, but she decided they should take a break this year. It had come as a surprise, but Nick didn’t mind. He knew that if Jane needed space, he should give it to her.

Coming back toward the shore, Nick asked Joylyn to get a towel for him so he could dry off. After getting the extra moisture off himself, he sat down on the warm sand and watched the rest of his friends joke and cut up. Spotting a cooler a few feet away, he concluded he could use a nice cold soda and maybe a snack. When he stood up he stretched a little before turning toward the cooler. All of a sudden, a girl who looked to be in her early teens collided with him and she was sent flying to the ground with a loud ‘oof’.

“Damn,” the pretty, dark haired girl called angrily. “Why don’t you watch where you’re going?”

Nick had to laugh at the girl and her attitude and the fact that she was rubbing her obviously bruised bottom. “You’re the one that ran me over…sheesh.”

“Yeah, whatever pretty boy,” she flipped her long hair over her shoulder and continued on as quickly as she had run into him.

Shaking his head, Nick resumed his quest for refreshment still laughing about the hit-and-run girl.

***

“Nick, one of your friends is on the phone,” David called from the TV room.

Nick took a quick glance at the clock on his wall before replying. “Uh, do you know who it is?”

“No, sorry, but it sounded important.”

Nick groaned and walked across his bedroom to the telephone. “Hello?”

“Nick! I’ve been calling all day,” Dee-Dee’s perky voice filled his ear causing him to groan again. “Where have you been?”

“I told you I was busy today,” he said. He didn’t know why she insisted on keeping such close tabs on him. They weren’t an exclusive couple or anything, so why did she think she needed to keep track of him? “I had a lot of things that I had to get finished.”

“Well, Joylyn told me you were with them on the beach today.” She sounded like she was pouting and Nick was growing more impatient by the minute. “I just kinda got the feeling that you didn’t want to hang out with me today.”

“No, no, it wasn’t that Dee-Dee,” he was beginning to feel guilty. As much as he didn’t like her, he couldn’t deliberately hurt her feelings; as annoying as she was, she was too nice for her own good. “I, uh, didn’t expect to be on the beach today, but Gram gave me the afternoon off.”

“Oh, okay. Well, Joylyn said you would be at the restaurant tonight and I was just calling to let you know I would be there, too,” her voice was cheerful. “Do you wanna go see a movie or something after dinner?”

“I can’t,” he said quickly. “I have to be up early in the morning. Hey, I’ll see you in a little while.”

Letting out a quick sigh of relief, Nick decided it was time to get ready to meet his friends. Even though he really didn’t feel like going now that he knew Dee-Dee would be there, he knew he couldn’t cancel now. Dee-Dee would take it personally. I’ll just break it off tonight…not that there’s anything to break off.

***

“Nick, I was beginning to think you weren’t coming,” Dee-Dee met him at the door of the local pizza place. She stood on her tip-toes and pecked his cheek softly. “I’m glad you made it.”

Forcing a charming smile, he nodded. “I had to get ready, Dee-Dee.”

“Yo, Nick, no more PDA’s,” Chase called loudly across the small restaurant, causing everyone to stare.

He could hear people snickering at his friend’s loud comment and only gave him a glare. “Yeah, okay. At least someone is gettin’ some PDA’s.” Ignoring the rest of their smart ass comments, Nick slid into a booth and was quickly followed by Dee-Dee.

“What are you gonna have, Nicky?” she asked, popping her gum loudly.

“Well, since we came to Pizza Village, I’d say pizza,” he was trying his best not to lose his patience. He didn’t want to hurt her feelings or embarrass her in front of all these people.

A waitress was soon standing at the end of the table ready to take drink orders and he didn’t have to worry about saying anything. After everyone had given their order, conversation quickly started back up again and Nick was surprised when he felt Dee-Dee’s hand on his leg. Clearing his throat uncomfortably, he reached down and moved her hand from his leg to her own. “Uh, Dee-Dee, I think we need to go talk.”

“Oh, okay,” she smile, raising her eyebrows suggestively.

Nick quickly made his way out the door to the “front porch” of the restaurant. It looked just like a house; warm, cozy and inviting. “We need to talk.”

“Okay, Nick. You said that already,” she smiled and leaned against the banister. “What’s on your mind?”

“Well, I don’t know how to say this…Dee-Dee…I uh,” he hesitated unable to find the right words to gently let her down. He felt terrible when he looked into her green eyes; she looked so innocent and naïve. “I don’t think we should see each other anymore.”

“O-oh…I, well, okay,” her eyes filled with hurt. “Do I need to leave? I mean, I will. You know, so it won’t be weird. I don’t mind.”

“No, you stay and have fun, okay? I’ll go,” he offered a smile. “I’m really sorry.”

Nick turned to walk down the few steps and before he knew it, he had bumped into someone. Man, twice in one day. “Oh, no,” he groaned and found himself staring into the same caramel eyes he’d seen on the girl at the beach earlier that day.

“I beg your pardon,” her soft voice was tinged with a southern accent as well as a hint of annoyance.

Nick squinted his eyes a little to see her better in the dark and was embarrassed to see that it wasn’t the teenager from the beach, but a woman who just greatly resembled the girl. She had the same long dark, shiny hair and soft features. Her full lips held a soft pink tint and her cheeks appeared to have a natural blush. Nick found himself lost in her eyes, but he would quickly be brought back to that porch.

“Hello, are you listening to me? I said excuse me,” her voice didn’t seem as soft as it had just moments ago.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” he could feel a blush creeping up his neck and into his cheeks. Looking past the beautiful woman he could see the girl from the beach. She was smirking at him. Great, he decided to keep his thoughts in his head that time. He snuck another quick glance at the attractive woman before she disappeared inside then turned and made his way to his Jeep. After all that just happened, he was ready to go home and get in bed. After all, he had a long day in store for him tomorrow and he could use the extra rest.