Alyssa’s eyes snapped up, a worried expression coming over her face. Nick actually wants to talk? she asked herself. She wasn’t sure if his request was a good or bad thing because you never could tell with him. Of course, just the fact that he wanted to have some kind of deep conversation with her could be considered an improvement.
“All right,” she finally agreed as she stood up from the booth, her margarita glass in hand.
“Follow me,” Nick instructed, grabbing her arm as they weaved between the crowds of people heading towards what Alyssa assumed to be an outdoor patio where it would be less crowded. Instead Nick stopped in front of a flight of stairs that had been roped off to the public. Standing in front of the stairs was a large, burly looking bouncer. “Stay here for a second.”
Alyssa did as she was told and watched with mild curiosity as Nick approached the broad shouldered man. The two of them exchanged a few words and Nick gave him a friendly slap on the back. It was pretty clear to Alyssa that Nick obviously knew this bouncer pretty well. The two men conversed for another few moments and she saw Nick gesture towards her. The bouncer seemed to nod and reached over to unhook the rope closing off the stairs. Nick motioned for her to join him, which she hesitatingly did.
“Thanks man,” she heard Nick say as she approached.
The bouncer nodded. “Any time Nick. You better get up there now though because you know I’m not really supposed to do this.”
Nick nodded. “I appreciate it.” He ushered Alyssa up the stairs, following close behind her.
About halfway up the stairs, Alyssa turned towards Nick. “Okay, what was that all about?”
Nick just laughed. “Charles is a buddy of mine. I used to come here pretty often and I usually spent way too much money here, so most of the bouncers and stuff know me pretty well. There’s this private VIP lounge up here that they open up when its really busy or for like special events, but tonight its pretty dead, so its closed off.”
“This is dead?” Alyssa asked in amazement as she stared down at all the people below.
“By LA standards, yes.”
“Wow…” she murmured as they reached the landing. “So this is what a VIP lounge looks like.”
“Don’t sound so impressed. You’ve been in VIP areas before at clubs before.” Nick led her towards a comfortable looking leather couch and helped her have a seat.
“Yea, but not in LA,” she argued, getting herself comfortable. “This is kind of weird being the only ones up here.” Already her mind couldn’t help, but to wonder just how many other girls Nick probably had taken up there in the past.
Nick shrugged. “It’s kind of nice. It’s a good place to talk which is impossible to do downstairs.”
Alyssa had to agree that he did have a point there. The blaring music from downstairs was reduced to only a dull roar which made it actually possible to hear what another person was saying and not have to shout. “So… Speaking of talking. I believed that you wanted to speak to me?”
“Yea, I did. I guess I just want to apologize for this afternoon,” he admitted, looking down at his beer bottle.
“Wow… An apology. I’m impressed. What changed your mind?”
Nick sighed. “A conversation with Howie and AJ. I was wrong to snap at you. I was just really pissed off at the reporters and I lashed out at you because you were the closest target.”
“That’s big of you to apologize Nick, but you can’t jump down my throat every time I try to help you. I could see that you were upset, but I wasn’t even clear on why. I only asked about Kevin because I was concerned about you.” She paused remembering her conversations with her sister and with Teri and Tricia. “I know that you don’t like to talk about things, but you can’t just treat me like shit because you’re in a bad mood and not explain why. It’s not fair to me.”
“I know that Alyssa. I just really am not ready to go into the whole Kevin thing right now. It’s a really complicated situation and I’m not ready to talk it out just yet. I’d rather pretend its not happening,” he tried to explain.
“Oh yea, and that’s healthy right? Denying your problems makes them just disappear? If only life were that easy. You are only going to have to face them eventually, so what’s the use in hiding from them?”
This conversation is not going the way I want it to, Nick thought to himself growing increasingly frustrated. He really did not want to pour out all his problems to Alyssa, especially in the middle of an LA nightclub. This trip was supposed to be about them just enjoying being with each other without any of the other bullshit that had been surrounding them the last couple of months. Hadn’t things been complicated enough for them? Why did she have to keep digging up more problems for them?
Switching tactics he grabbed her arms. “Lyss, I’m not hiding from my problems. I know that they are there, but right now this is my off time. In another week I have to get back to touring which is stressful enough. Then I can deal with Kevin. But for now I want to enjoy what little time I have off and I want to enjoy it with you. Haven’t we done enough fighting? I didn’t invite you out here to argue with you. Can’t we just enjoy what time we do have together?”
Alyssa looked away, clearly still hurt. “I was only trying to help by being a good listener,” she tried to explain in a small voice.
“And I really do appreciate the thought Lyss. But I really just don’t want to bring myself down by thinking about it right now. I was doing fine with pretending that everything was cool until those damn reporters had to bring it up. Honestly, I’ve probably been happier the last few days than I’ve been in awhile.”
Alyssa sat there stone faced without saying a word. The silence was deafening to Nick’s ears. After a few moments he quickly realized that she was not going to be the one to break their silence. He sighed loudly and ran a hand through his hair. “Look I promise that if I change my mind and I need to talk you’ll be the first person I go to, okay? Just please don’t let something this stupid ruin the next few days we have together. Can you forgive me?”
Again Alyssa refused to answer. She appeared much more interested in playing with the stem of her margarita glass. His eyes remained glued to her as she raised the glass to her lips and took another sip. It amazed him how he could find something as simple as watching her sip a drink so completely enticing. He found himself mesmerized by the way her lips met with the glass and the way that her tongue ever so subtly darted out of the corner of her mouth to catch a few grains of salt at the rim. It was a completely innocent action, not meant to be overtly sexual, but Nick still found himself having to uncomfortably shift his position a bit on the couch. How fucked up is this? he sternly asked himself. She’s obviously pissed at you and all you can think about is sex? Then again, she did look pretty hot when she was angry; especially when her dark eyes were clouded with frustration like they’d been just a few moments ago…
“Why are you staring at me like that?” her icy voice interrupted, snapping him back into the present.
If only you knew… There she was with that look in her eyes again. She was clearly annoyed with him and there was only one way he knew of to bring her back around again. Yea, it was a bit on the messed up side, but it was the only surefire way he knew of to get his way with her. Unexpectedly, he pulled her towards him and pressed his lips up against hers.
The kiss caught Alyssa off guard at first, so much so that her body was about ten steps ahead of her mind. Automatically the tough exterior that she had put up began to melt away and she fully reciprocated, allowing the kiss to grow deeper. Of course the alcohol probably a huge role in her response. By the time her brain caught up, she was already reclined back against the arm rest of the couch.
“Dammit!” she cursed as she pulled away. “Why do you always have to do that?”
Nick innocently smirked. “Do what?”
Alyssa’s eyes darkened. “You know… The minute I start to get mad at you somehow you manage to charm your way out of the situation with a kiss. And stupid me always falls for it.”
He just shrugged. “Sorry. Can’t help it if my ninja kissing skills have struck again. Did it work?”
She rolled her eyes. “Come on Nick. Be serious. You can’t solve everything with a kiss. Because one kiss turns into two kisses and two kisses turns into-“
As she was in the midst of her rant, Nick seemed to have tuned her out and leaned over her dropping light kisses on her neck. “Oh, I can’t solve everything with a kiss?” he asked her between kisses.
“No,” she repeated with a sigh, even though she had to admit that even to herself she didn’t sound very convincing. He knew damn well that her neck was one of her weak spots and even though she was determined not to let him get his way this time out of principle, she was beginning to find it difficult to stand firm. Maybe she shouldn’t have had all those margaritas…
“That didn’t sound very convincing,” he noted as his mouth connected with the area where her neck and shoulder met.
Alyssa bit back a moan, feeling his lips lightly suck against the area. “You’re just doing this to piss me off because you’re drunk.”
“I’m drunk?” Nick laughed. “Not even close. If I remember correctly you’re the one who almost fell on the floor at the restaurant. If I hadn’t been there you would’ve so busted your ass.”
“I did not almost fall!” she argued.
“Yes you did! I had to grab your arm because as soon as you got up you almost went down again.”
“Well, it wasn’t from the alcohol. If you must know it’s these ridiculous shoes. I merely tripped is all.” Alyssa firmly nodded her head to make her point more believable.
Again Nick was unable to keep a straight face. “I merely tripped is all? Sounds to me the tequila is beginning to do the talking. And how could you trip when you didn’t even take a step? Face it, you’re the drunken one.”
“Am not!”
“Are too!”
“Am not!”
“Are too!”
It was around that moment when Alyssa realized that she was still sort of pinned underneath him on the couch before and was it just her or was the closeness between them beginning to fill up? Still she continued the childish fight. “Am not!”
“Are too!”
It wasn’t just her imagination. Nick was indeed drawing closer to her, but instead of the kiss that she had anticipated his fingers dug into her sides and began tickling her. Alyssa, who was extremely ticklish immediately, began to writhe in laughter beneath him. “Come on Nick… Please stop!” she begged, tears forming behind her eyelids.
He just grinned, clearly enjoying the opportunity to tease her. Besides it was a good way of getting her to lighten up and forget about being mad at him.
“Nick I swear if you don’t stop I’ll bite you!” She loudly chomped her teeth together in his direction to let him know that she was serious.
Another playful smirk grew over his face. “Sounds pretty kinky to me. Watch out, you might turn me on.”
Alyssa managed a groan between her giggles as he continued to tickle her. “Why did I have the feeling that you were going to say something like that?”
Finally after a few more moments of torture, Nick’s fingers froze. “Okay. I’ll stop. But on two conditions. One, you have to admit that you’re drunk and two, you have to say that you forgive me.”
“You drive a pretty high bargain there Carter. All right…” she finally admitted. “Maybe I am a little bit drunk.”
“And do you forgive me?”
Alyssa pretended to sigh dramatically. “I suppose so.”
Nick impishly grinned at her submission from his position still hovering above her. “Good… Now that that’s out of the way we can concentrate on the making up part.” Before she could further protest his lips were pressing over hers again.
Alyssa closed her eyes and welcomed the sensation of his kisses, a fuzzy feeling beginning to cloud her head thanks to all the tequila. Those margaritas were definitely starting to hit her now. Pulling away from him for a moment she cocked her head to one side thoughtfully. “What were we fighting about again anyway?”
“Who cares?” Nick softly laughed. “Does it really matter anymore?”
A few more heated kisses and Alyssa had to admit that he was definitely right. After another minute or so with him she really could care less.
The giggling couple that approached the very same booth that they had left over an hour earlier seemed nothing like the pair who had been sitting there previously, stone faced and not even acknowledging one another. Hand in hand, they exchanged matching conspiratorial smiles between the two of them, as if they were sharing some kind of juicy secret. They both appeared to be noticeably more disheveled than before they had disappeared, his shirt buttoned unevenly and hair slightly sticking up, her makeup slightly smeared and her skirt twisted around her legs. But they both looked happy, which they were anything but earlier in the evening.
“And where have the two of you been for the last hour or so?” AJ asked Alyssa and Nick as soon as they were in ear shot.
“Upstairs,” Alyssa answered. “There’s this really cool VIP area up there! Oh, wait…” She clamped a hand over her mouth. “I wasn’t supposed to mention we were up there, was I?”
Nick just laughed. “It’s okay. I think that we can all keep a secret over here. Alyssa’s just had a little too many margaritas,” he explained to the others.
“Awesome,” Tricia chimed in with a smirk on her face. “So, what were the two of you doing up there for so long?”
“Just talking,” Nick responded, a little too quickly.
“Yea, talking,” Alyssa echoed.
Terri snorted. “Yea… Talking my ass!”
Nick looked offended. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Hey Nick,” AJ interrupted. “You might want to check yourself there. Your fly is open.”
“Oh shit, is it?” he cursed, his face turning crimson in embarrassment as he glanced downwards only to discover that he’d been duped. “Real funny J. How old are we again?”
AJ cracked up in laughter at the expression on his friends face. “Gotcha! You should’ve seen how red you just got. Yea…it’s completely obvious that the two of you were definitely doing a lot more than talking up there. So, why don’t you just come clean and admit it?”
“Not to mention the fact that the two of you look like you’ve been rolling around somewhere,” Teri pointed out with a snarky grin. “And judging from the marks on Alyssa’s neck-“
Alyssa’s hand immediately flew up to her neck. “Marks? What marks?”
“I rest my case. So, yea… Basically we’re calling you out.”
“All right! So you got us,” Alyssa admitted, not realizing just how loud she was talking in her altered state. “We just totally had a quickie up in the VIP section!”
Naturally at that precise moment, the song that had just been playing was close to the end, and had faded out just softly enough for practically everyone sitting around them to overhear. Several heads turned towards their direction towards a very embarrassed looking Nick and a completely oblivious Alyssa. This caused Teri and Tricia to explode into a fit of giggles before grabbing Alyssa by the arm and dragging her into the direction of the bathroom. “Let’s get you freshened up a little before you say anything else incriminating,” Teri suggested.
Once they stepped inside the bathroom doors, Teri immediately burst into laughter. “Oh my God, that was like the funniest shit ever! Nicky boy looked like he wanted the floor to swallow him up whole or something. I’m surprised at him. I thought he’d be the one bragging all about it.”
“How much did you have to drink already Alyssa?” Tricia asked in a concerned voice. “You’ve got to be a freaking light weight or something.”
Alyssa shrugged. ”Damn tequila… It always brings out the worst in me.” Out of nowhere she began to giggle. “God, I’m fucked up.” Finally catching a glance of her appearance in the mirror she continued to laugh. “Holy shit… You weren’t kidding when you told me I looked like crap!” Her hair, which she had spent forever straightening earlier, was already beginning to frizz and most of her makeup had since rubbed off. Then there were those lovely red marks along her neck and shoulders…
“That’s why we dragged you in here,” Tricia explained as she dug around in her purse. “I know I have a brush in here somewhere.”
“And I have some extra makeup on me,” Teri piped up. “Thankfully enough I always carry plenty of concealer on me. You never know when you’re going to need some, especially in situations like this.”
The two girls got to work on her, and after a few minutes, Alyssa again looked as polished as could be expected under the circumstances. Nothing could be done about the slight wave to her hair, but at least it looked tamer. And Teri’s concealer was a shade or two to light for her skin tone, but it would suffice. She’d just have to keep her hair over her shoulders.
“Well, you’re as good as you’re going to get,” Teri remarked. “You picked the wrong night to wear a tube top though.”
“And the wrong night for stilettos,” Tricia agreed as she helped lead Alyssa back into the club. “I bet you fifty bucks that you’ll land on your ass by the end of the night.”
“No I won’t!” Alyssa indignantly replied. “I can walk just fine. See!” After only about two steps on her own she stumbled and her body pitched so far forward that Tricia had to practically dive to catch her.
Somehow they made it back to the table in one piece. As they approached though, the three men were standing around waiting for them, as if they were about to leave. When they were within ear shot, AJ spoke up. “Since the entire club now knows way too much information about Nick’s sex life thanks to a certain petite brunette, we’ve decided that it’s probably best if we head out now. It’s kind of a boring crowd tonight anyway. We’re going to check out this smaller bar.”
“Are you feeling up to it?” Nick asked Alyssa in a concerned voice.
“Of course! I feel great!” she insisted with a bit too much enthusiasm.
Nick exchanged a worried glance between his friends. He doubted that he’d ever seen Alyssa this drunk, at least not in a very long time. With those odds, there was no telling how this night could wind up.
Thankfully enough, the ride between destinations was pretty uneventful. They had about a twenty minute ride, since the other bar that AJ had wanted to go to was actually a little outside of LA. During that time, Alyssa had curled up against Nick’s chest and drifted off to sleep for a bit. Nick supposed that she needed to sleep off some of that alcohol although he wasn’t really sure how much of a difference her little cat nap would make.
The new bar that they had entered was the exact opposite of the posh LA nightclub they had just been to. This place was much smaller and low key. In fact, it kind of reminded Nick of that place that he and Alyssa had went in the city when he’d gone to visit her. Only there was one difference…
“Oh my God! They have karaoke!” Alyssa exclaimed as they found themselves a table in the back corner. As soon as they sat down she made a grab for the song booklet and quickly began thumbing through it.
“Please tell me you’re not going to sing,” Nick begged her, in a dry voice. “I’m afraid to even think about what you’d pick.”
“How about ‘Tequila Makes Her Clothes Come Off’?” Teri snickered. “I think that would be an appropriate choice.”
“Don’t encourage her Teresa Marie.”
“What’s the matter Nickolas Gene? I thought the prospect of Alyssa taking her clothes off would get you more excited?”
Nick opened his mouth as if he was about to say something in response, but then decided against it and gave up. He wasn’t in the mood to playfully argue with Teri and the scrawny looking dude who was currently on stage singing Bon Jovi’s ‘Wanted Dead or Alive’ was killing the song, so badly that Nick was afraid his eardrums might rupture in another minute or so. Whose bright idea was it to go to a karaoke bar anyway? “I think it’s about time for another cigarette break. What do you say Bone?”
“You read my mind,” AJ replied as he stood up. “We’ll be back in a few.”
Teri watched as the two men disappeared out towards the deck and as soon as they were out of sight a devious grin washed over her face. “What do you say we play a prank on those two?”
“Anything that involves humiliating my boyfriend and I’m in!” Tricia quickly agreed.
Howie stroked his chin thoughtfully. “It would be nice revenge to get Nicky back for all those pranks he’s pulled on me throughout the years.”
“What’s your idea?” Alyssa asked, leaning forward in interest.
“We sign up Nick and AJ to sing something completely and utterly embarrassing. Then when their name gets called we laugh our asses off at how embarrassed they get,” she explained.
“Hmm… That could be pretty damn funny.”
“And I brought my camera with me too…” Howie’s face broke into a huge grin. “Can we say blackmail?”
Alyssa flipped through the song catalogue looking for the most humiliating karaoke song that she could think of. It didn’t take long for her to find it. “I got it!” she announced, pointing the title out to Teri.
“Like a Virgin by Madonna? Oh my God! That’s perfect!” she agreed, jotting it down on one of the pieces of paper on the table. “I’m just going to drop this off up front and then we’ll be good to go.”
When Nick and AJ returned from outside a few minutes, the four of them tried their hardest to keep poker faces on. After a few moments, they all relaxed and ordered a round of shots, minus Alyssa, who had drank more than her full earlier and AJ of course. About half an hour passed by, and the group seemed to forget all about the prank they had pulled until the DJ raised his microphone once again.
“Next up, we have Nick and AJ performing Madonna’s ‘Like a Virgin.’ Let’s give it up for them!”
Nick, who by this point had downed two or three rounds of shots just laughed. “Hey, those two douche bags have the same names as us!”
“And they’re singing Madonna. How gay is that shit?” AJ nodded in his head in agreement.
“Nick? AJ? Don’t be shy, guys. Come on up!”
“What a bunch of pussies. They’re probably too embarrassed to go up there,” Nick commented, rolling his eyes.
“Or maybe their friends put their names down without them knowing it,” Tricia innocently suggested.
“Why don’t you two go on up there and show these guys how to be a man about it?” Alyssa giggled.
Teri joined in. “Yea… Why don’t you? I mean you’re such manly men.”
Slowly both men began to connect the dots. A look of horror crossed over AJ’s face. “Oh no… You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”
“You didn’t really put our names down to get up and sing in front of this whole place, did you?” Nick asked, wide eyed. “You guys suck!”
Teri lost her composure just then and cracked up laughing. “Looks like you two are the two douche bags huh?”
“Howie…” Nick whined. “Did you know about this?”
“I might have had a part in it,” he innocently replied. “Revenge is sweet, Nicky.”
“Traitor,” AJ mumbled under his breath.
“Last chance guys. Nick and AJ wherever you are, I’m sure this audience is dying to hear you perform.”
With a sigh, the two men exchanged a defeated glance. They knew that either way they were screwed. If they went up there they were sure to embarrass the hell out of themselves, but if they didn’t they’d never live it down. “You owe us big time,” Nick told them as he took a large swig of his beer before following AJ up to the stage.
Alyssa couldn’t help but laugh at how pissed off the two of them looked. It was even funnier once they got up to the stage and it became obvious that they were recognized by more than a few patrons. Voices were heard echoing throughout the bar, shouting out everything from, “Will you marry me Nick?” to “Get the fuck off the stage you queers!” She watched as Nick whispered something to AJ and AJ nodded, just as the beginning of the infamous Madonna song began to play.
The moment they opened their mouths, Alyssa just about lost it. In their best high pitched Madonna voices both men began to sing, purposely trying to be outrageous for laughs.
I made it through the wilderness
Somehow I made it through
Didn't know how lost I was
Until I found you
I was beat incomplete
I'd been had, I was sad and blue
But you made me feel
Yeah, you made me feel
Shiny and new
As if the singing wasn’t hilarious enough, they both began to dance, doing some kind of odd variation of a bump and grind that made them look completely ridiculous. She could tell from the reaction of the audience that they were finding the performance just as funny, but instead of laughing at them, they were laughing with them.
Like a virgin
Touched for the very first time
Like a virgin
When your heart beats
Next to mine
And somewhere between the drunken cloud that had been hovering above her all night, Alyssa had a moment of complete clarity. In that moment, she saw Nick, actually laughing and looking as if he was actually having a good time despite being pretty much forced up there to look like an asshole.< I>He’s a really good sport, she realized. How many other guys would get up there and put themselves on the line like that? In a strange way it made him even more appealing in her eyes.
And then the moment was gone.
