“So how have things been going? I haven’t talked to you in a while, well before you got here that is,” Veronica smiled.
“Yeah I know, once I got to my grandparents it was harder to get online. They want me to hang out with them and talk and I feel bad for hiding away and pulling out my laptop you know?”
“Oh yeah, I understand.”
“And I was afraid to call you; I didn’t want to blurt out that I was coming up.”
“I don’t know how you did it,” Veronica chuckled.
“I don’t either, I’m lousy with secrets.”
She shook her head, grinning. They’d arrived at the restaurant about ten minutes ago and had already placed their order and were waiting for it to arrive. Silently, Veronica was cursing herself for ordering the fettuccini alfredo, knowing she should’ve just gone with a salad, but she loved their pasta. She’d been relieved when the complimentary salad came out, maybe if she stuffed herself on that, she wouldn’t look like a pig eating a huge plate of pasta in cheese sauce. She hated eating in front of guys.
“Are you looking forward to the tour?”
Nick nodded, messing with the fancy cloth napkin, “Yup, it’ll be great to get back out on the road; I really miss it when we’re off.”
“Didn’t get enough on your tour?” Veronica asked.
“Nah, it’s never enough, granted there are times when I just don’t feel like it, but overall it’s really fun. I’ve been doing it for so long, it’s what I know. When I’m not doing it, it feels wrong after awhile.”
“Are you ready for it? I know you have to kind of…mentally and physically prepare for touring.”
“Mmm, I’m getting there. I still have a bit of time left. I see this time; these two weeks off I’m spending with my grandparents and you, kind of like that prep. The calm before the storm,” Nick announced, looking up at her suddenly.
Veronica smiled suddenly, “Thank you for letting me be a part of your…preparation.”
“My pleasure,” he winked. “In any case I’ll be ready when the time comes, I have to be.”
“I couldn’t do it, I know that. I don’t have the mentality for it.”
“It’s very rough, very demanding.”
“Yeah it sounds like it.”
“Have you heard from your Dad lately?”
“Mmmm a few weeks ago, but not recently.”
Nick didn’t know how she did it, how she dealt with it. His parents barely kept in touch with him and when they did, he didn’t want to talk to them. Veronica had her Dad calling her and most of the time she felt so bad after and she went on and dealt with it. He just didn’t understand why she didn’t just put an end to it.
“Man, I just don’t get your Dad. He’s so…”
“Controlling?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s what he does best. He knows the right things to say, the right buttons to push. It’s really not a good way to be.”
“Why don’t you just…”
Veronica stared at him intently, her head cocked to the side. She had an idea of what he was going to say, and she knew exactly what she’d tell him if he did.
“What?”
He shook his head, “Nothing, never mind.”
She stared at him a moment longer, a smile lingering on her lips. Just then their food came, Veronica thanked the waitress after she’d set their plates down, noticing her watching Nick for a moment before walking off.
“Isn’t that unnerving?”
Nick looked up, “What?”
“Having people stare at you all the time? I mean, some people are discrete about it, but others…us fans, blatantly stare. That’s gotta be annoying.”
He laughed, “In the beginning it used to bug the shit outta me, but I guess I’m used to it. I don’t mean that to sound cocky or whatever, but ya kinda gotta learn to just zone it out sometimes.”
“Wow,” Veronica sighed, grabbing the pepper and adding an overgenerous amount to her pasta. Clearing her throat, she started to eat. She’d tried hard to fill up on the salad, but after awhile she hadn’t wanted anymore.
Big mistake.
The moment the pasta hit her lips she was gone. She wanted to eat with gusto, but couldn’t bring herself to do it. So after two bites, she sat back in her chair, playing with her food. It felt as if everyone was watching her, wondering how she could sit there eating something like that in front of Nick Carter. Sighing heavily, she grabbed her glass of pop and took a long drink.
Nick cut a piece of his chicken parmesan and shoved it into his mouth, groaning in pleasure. He really did love to eat, and he knew he should be cutting back, but this was a special occasion, so he’d allow himself to pig out and not feel bad. Nick had been talking to Veronica for so long, that he’d forgotten that she was a fan, and he knew how fans felt about his weight. It hurt, and a lot of the time he tried to play it off, act like he didn’t know.
But he did.
Clearing his throat, he looked up at Veronica and stilled. She was playing with her barely touched food, literally playing with it. He watched in shock as she moved the pasta from one end of the bowl to the other with her fork. Her gaze on the food was intense, deep and she kept licking her lips as if she were hungry. She hadn’t eaten much of anything, just a couple platefuls of salad, she couldn’t possibly be full.
“Veronica?”
She looked up at him suddenly, her fork stilling in the bowl, she looked as if she’d been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.
“Yes?”
“Is everything ok?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Your food, you’ve barely touched it. You can’t possibly be full, you’ve only had salad. Does it taste ok?”
“No no, it’s great, delicious actually.”
“So then…what’s wrong? Do you feel ok? Are you sick,” Nick asked frowning, a hint of concern in his eyes.
“I’m ok Nick, really. It’s just…”
“What?”
“I dunno, I have a hard time eating in front of guys. I always feel like they’re gonna think I’m a pig if I eat something other than a salad. I’m not exactly a small girl,” she replied, her face turning red.
He blinked, “Veronica…”
“I’m sorry, I can’t help it.”
Here he was worried about what she was thinking of him, when she was worried about what he was thinking of her.
“Hey…c’mon. I don’t care about that. If any guy were to care or comment on it, he’s a jerk. Everyone needs to eat, no one should feel uncomfortable about what or how much they eat. Eat please; besides, I like a girl with a healthy appetite. I mean hey, look at me, god knows I have one.”
Veronica looked up at him and he smiled. She knew he was not only saying that for her, but for himself as well.
“Eat up girl, you know you want to.”
“I am really hungry.”
“Ok then, that pasta stuff you’ve got there is calling your name, you better answer,” he winked.
“Nick?”
“Yeah?”
“That was really lame,” Veronica smirked.
“Heeeey!”
She giggled, taking a hearty bite of her pasta.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“So here’s the kitchen, what there is of one anyway,” Veronica spread her arms open wide.
They’d left the restaurant a short time after finishing and drove around for a bit so she could show him a few places that she liked to go before heading back to her apartment. Veronica promised Nick a tour of her apartment, which wasn’t that big, but he insisted.
“It’s small, just the right size for you don’t you think?”
“No way! You can never have too much kitchen space.”
“That’s what I’ve heard,” Nick groaned.
“Ok, moving on. You know the living room and here’s the dining room, and down this hall here we have my den type room. I have a desk and all that crap in here. Over here is the bathroom on the left. Down further we have a hall closet where I keep towels and sheets and such. And last is my bedroom, which luckily is clean at this point.”
She swung the door open and flipped the light on.
“Nothing special.”
Nick poked his head in and looked around, his eyes resting on her computer.
“So there’s where the magic happens huh?”
Veronica laughed, “I guess you could say that. Just your run of the mill computer.”
“I love those flat screens; they’re so much nicer than those big bulky monitors ya know?”
“Definitely, I’m spoiled now. I don’t know if I could go back to an old monitor.”
He brought his gaze around to the small bed and dresser straight ahead. It was a feminine room, a poster of Harry Potter on one of the walls, a BSB poster on another and then his gaze stopped on a poster of himself…right over the head of her bed.
“So…do I chase away all the bad dreams at night?” He asked softly, looking over at her.
“Huh?”
Nick motioned with his head and smiled when Veronica turned her gaze to her room, namely to the poster over her bed, her face turning beet red.
“Damn, I forgot about that.”
“Do I do a good job?”
“Can we just forget you saw that please?”
“No way! I think it’s cute!”
“Yeah sure,” Veronica moaned, closing the door.
She couldn’t believe she’d forgotten about that, how embarrassing! Part of her had wanted him to forget that she was a fan, for him to treat her like any other girl, but then again part of her wasn’t sure if that’s what she wanted either.
Nick laughed, following her out into the living room, sitting on the couch.
“So…that’s it. Nothing spectacular. I know you’re used to something…slightly bigger and all.”
“Hey it’s cool, it works for you. You don’t need anything huge you know.”
“True, too much space I can fill with stuff I don’t need.”
“Yeah, I do that too.”
“But it’s different for you.”
“In a way, but I have the tendency to buy things I don’t need, just cause, ya know I can.”
“I don’t know that I can relate to that exactly, but I get where you’re coming from.”
“God that sounded so bad didn’t it?” Nick frowned.
“Nah it’s cool, it’s the truth.”
“Still, I feel kinda uncomfortable talking about it sometimes, I don’t want people to think I’m bragging or whatever.
“You should brag, you’ve earned everything you’ve got, you should be proud of it.”
“I am, but still.”
He never did feel right talking about it with his friends. They always looked uncomfortable when he talked about a new car he bought or a new stereo system he’d received. There never seemed to be a time when it was appropriate.
Veronica looked over at him and smiled.
“Well, it’s late, so I guess I’m gonna head over to the hotel. What time are we leaving for your Mom’s tomorrow?”
“Twelve thirty, but come anytime you’d like.”
“Mmmm, ok. I’ll try to be early, but when I do that, I’m always late, so we’ll see how it goes,” Nick laughed.
“That’s fine.”
He stood, making his way towards the door, “Thanks for dinner Veronica.”
“I should be thanking you ya know. You’re the guest and YOU paid, that’s not right and you know it.”
“For the fiftieth time I didn’t mind.”
“Still…”
“Shhhh, I’ll hear no more about it. I’ll see you tomorrow then?”
“You will.”
“Have a good night.”
“You too Nick.”
He gave her a small wave before heading out.
