By the time they reached the club, Alyssa had to admit that she really wasn’t in much of the partying mood. Her little spat with Nick a few minutes ago had left her in a bit of a sour mood, even though the two of them had made up. She also didn’t feel much like drinking, since she didn’t want to be hung over on her flight home the next day. Dinner had been nice, but Alyssa would have rather spent the last few hours she had out in LA alone with him at his house, particularly alone with him in his bedroom since they wouldn’t be seeing each other for another month.
But she didn’t want to seem like a major bitch especially to everybody else who had come out to bid her goodbye, so she figured that she could suck it up for a little bit. They probably wouldn’t make it too late of a night anyway.
As usual the bar was crowded with people, so Nick parked her at the edge of the crowd. “I’ll go get us some drinks. What would you like?”
“Just a beer,” she replied.
Nick raised his eyebrows. “I thought you didn’t like beer? Like you only drink it when you have to.”
Alyssa shrugged. “I’ve been drinking it so much since I’ve started hanging out with you again; I’m actually beginning to develop a taste for the stuff.”
He cracked a smile. “Sorry to be a bad influence on you. What kind do you want?”
“Michelob is fine.”
“Okay, I’ll be right back. Don’t go anywhere,” he warned as he made his way towards the crowded bar.
Where would I go? she wondered to herself as she stood by herself. As soon as they’d walked in, Teri and Howie and Tricia and AJ had headed for the dance floor leaving her alone with Nick. She kind of felt retarded standing there alone in the midst of such a crowd. She hoped that Nick wouldn’t be too long with the drinks.
Her thoughts were interrupted as a dark haired guy of about medium height approached her. “Hey, how come you aren’t out there dancing?”
“Who me?” she asked rather stupidly pointing to herself.
“Yes you.” He shot her a toothy grin. “What’s the problem? Don’t like to dance?”
“No, I love to dance,” she answered honestly.
“You do? Well, then why don’t you and I go out and give it a try?”
Alyssa was just about to open her mouth to explain that she was waiting for someone when she spotted Nick out of the corner of her eye gripping two full bottles of beer. Before she could even form any words, Nick handed her the bottle of Michelob and placed a protective arm around her shoulder. “Sorry buddy, but it’s a no. She’s here with me tonight.”
The guy turned away looking a little sheepish and muttered a quick apology before disappearing into the crowd. As soon as he was out of sight Alyssa shrugged out of Nick’s embrace. “What the hell was that? Did I ask you to answer for me?”
“No, but-“
“I could’ve told him no myself! I didn’t need you do it for me,” she argued.
“I just wanted to make sure he got the message,” Nick tried to explain.
“Yea, he got the message… That you’re an asshole.”
“Lyss!” he whined. “I don’t want to do this again.”
“Like I do? All fucking night you’ve been in complete jealous, possessive mode and it’s really annoying. This is so not like you Nick. What’s going on?”
Nick bit his lip and was silent. He knew exactly what was bothering him, but somehow he didn’t think this was the best time to tell her.
Instead of taking his silence as a sign of defeat, she took it as a sign of him being stubborn. Finally losing her patience with him she began to walk away. “You know what? I can’t fucking deal with you when you’re like this. I’m going off with my friends. Come find me when you decide to break out of whatever little snit you’re in.”
With that she strode off in the opposite direction leaving Nick standing there alone. She immediately spotted Teri and Tricia coming from the direction of the dance floor and met them halfway. Grabbing them both by the arm she called over to AJ and Howie. “I’m stealing you girl friends for a minute. We need to have a little girl talk.”
Both men raised their eyebrows, but didn’t protest as Alyssa dragged them in the direction of the ladies room. “What’s the problem, hun?” Tricia asked. “You look pissed.”
“I guess that’s because I kind of am. Nick’s just been pissing me off all night,” she complained as she swung open the door.
“Uh, oh. More trouble in paradise?” Teri questioned.
“He’s just been like really possessive and jealous all night. Not only was he pouting because of the waiter supposedly flirting with me all throughout dinner, but while he was at the bar getting us drinks some guy asked me to dance and before I could answer or anything he was there with his arm around me telling the guy that I was pretty much off limits.”
“Did you want to dance with this guy?” Tricia asked.
Alyssa sighed. “Not really, but it’s the principle of the matter. I hate when guys get all pushy like that and make decisions for me.”
Tricia shrugged. “I think its kind of hot sometimes knowing that I have the ability to make a guy get all flustered and insecure like that. I know it sounds pretty bitchy, but when a guy gets that possessive I know he really cares.”
“Yea, but only to a certain extent. Some guys go overboard on it. If he’s going to flip out every time a guy even looks at you, its not going to be a very healthy relationship,” Teri disagreed. “And its just bad news when a guy is really controlling like that although Carter doesn’t strike me as the type.”
“He’s not which is what bothers me. If anything I’m the one who usually gets jealous in the relationship only instead of getting possessive I just get distant and let the situation stew in my head. I won’t like readily admit it,” she confessed.
“Everyone deals with things differently Alyssa. Maybe this is just Nick’s way of dealing with his insecurities,” Tricia tried to explain.
“Can I tell you girls something?” The two other women nodded in response. “Please keep this quiet because I don’t want Nick finding out, but that waiter from Koi, Mark, he gave me his number.”
“You’re kidding!” Teri squealed. “When was this?”
“After he returned with the receipt I went up to him to apologize to him for Nick being such a jerk and he thanked me and told me that Nick’s a lucky guy and if things don’t work out between us to give him a call,” she confessed.
“You go girl! Scoring some digits! What’d I tell you about the whole confidence thing? See!”
Alyssa looked surprised. “You mean you don’t think that I’m a total bitch for accepting it?”
Tricia shook her head. “It would be rude not to. And it’s not like you’re actually going to call him, right?”
“God no! That would be so awkward! Besides he’s not really my type.” Alyssa paused a blush creeping into her cheeks. “But I will admit that I kind of liked the attention. Does that make me a horrible person?”
“Absolutely not!” Teri insisted. “It makes you human. Who doesn’t like a little bit of attention from the opposite sex every now and then, even when you’re in a relationship. It reminds you that you are an attractive person. So, what did you do with his number?’
“It’s in my purse. I’ll get rid of it when I get back to New York.”
“Just don’t let Nick find it,” Tricia warned. ”Or else the shit will hit the fan.”
“I won’t,” Alyssa promised. “Speaking of I guess we better get back to the guys although I think I kind of need to spend some time away from Nick for a bit. I think being under the same roof with each other for a week is really beginning to get to us. Makes me grateful that I opted to get my own place out here and not move right back in with him.”
“That’s very true. By the way I don’t know if I told you, but I’m moving in with Howie after the tour, so I’m looking to get rid of a lot of my furniture and stuff. If you want anything, just let me know,” Teri offered.
“That would be really awesome. I think I’ll definitely take you up on that one because it’s going to be such a pain to move all my shit across the country. I’d take everything.” Alyssa wrinkled her nose. “Well, everything, but your bed. I don’t want to think about all the nasty stuff that went on down there.”
“Hey! Think if it as good sex karma,” Teri joked, sending the girls into a fit of laughter.
Nick had to admit; he was not having a good time at all. Since his blowout with Alyssa after they’d first arrived at the bar, Alyssa had disappeared someplace with Tricia and Teri for a while. During that time he’d been hanging around with Chris until he had excused himself for a bathroom break. When he returned a few minutes later he was both shocked and disappointed to find Alyssa engaged in a conversation with Chris. What’s that all about? he wondered. They don’t even like one another! Alyssa had made it quite clear that she didn’t approve of most of his friends outside of the rest of the guys, and Chris had made comments about how different Nick seemed to act around her. So what had changed in the course of ten minutes?
He hung back several feet away from the two of them, unsure of whether he should approach them or try to interrupt their conversation. He hoped that once Chris spotted him he’d wrap it up with Alyssa, but from Nick’s vantage point it looked like that wouldn’t be happening anytime soon. His head cocked to the side as he examined the body language between the two of them. They were both standing against the bar, Alyssa’s knee slightly bent and her body leaned towards him as if she was hanging onto his every word. Nick’s eyes narrowed as he noticed Chris lean towards her and say something into her ear that made her burst into laughter. What the fuck could be so funny? he angrily wondered.
As if a sign from above, the song that had been playing previously switched to an up tempo, dance remix of Mr. Brightside by The Killers. Normally it was one of Nick’s favorite songs, but at that moment the lyrics echoed in his head almost eerily. Could there have been a more appropriate song for the moment? All of a sudden Nick could feel his blood to start to boil as he realized what was going on. His best friend was trying to move in on his girl!
Oh hell no… His hands clenched into little fists as he continued to watch the scene unfold before him. Alyssa took a long sip of her beer and placed it down at the bar, obviously finished with it. A few more words were exchanged and he saw Chris digging into his pocket and pulling out a few bills. The bartender approached the two of them and a few moments later he was placing another cold beer into Alyssa’s hands while Chris handed over some money. He just fucking bought her a drink!
The breaking point came a moment later as soon as Nick noticed Chris’s hand on Alyssa’s arm. This has gone way too far now, he decided as he made his way over towards them. I can’t just sit back and let him sweep Alyssa off her feet. I’d expect this from Bean maybe, but never Chris. He was going to show Chris who Alyssa really belonged to.
He came up behind Chris and slapped a hand on his shoulder. “Hey there lover boy,” he sarcastically greeted. “I think you and I need to have a talk outside, now.”
He saw the look of surprise and disgust flicker across Alyssa’s face as she realized what was going on. “Nick, come on… Stop being a baby and get over it! We were just talking. That’s all!”
“Shut up Alyssa!” he interrupted with such anger in his voice that he himself was shocked by it. “This is between me and him.”
Alyssa looked as if she’d just been slapped. Nick had never yelled at her like that before ever in their entire relationship, even during their worst fights. Chris, who was determined to try to avoid any confrontation slowly turned around towards his friend. “Come on, man. We don’t have to do this.”
Nick became even more enraged at his friend’s attempt to pacify the situation. He shoved him backwards with so much force that he almost went barreling straight into Alyssa. “No, I think we do need to do this! And if you want do this right here, so be it.”
Alyssa jumped out of the way, a hand pressed up against her mouth in horror. She watched as Chris staggered to maintain his balance. “Hey, that’s not cool,” he replied in shock. “There’s no need to get physical here.”
Again Nick pushed him, just begging for Chris to throw a punch. “So, I’m just supposed to be okay with the fact that you’re all up on my girl? What the fuck is that shit, Chris? You’re supposed to be my best friend and this is how you act?”
His words must have finally struck a nerve because Chris’s face contorted with anger. “Well, maybe if her man wasn’t such as insecure, jealous, asshole, maybe there wouldn’t be any problem to begin with!”
“You motherfucker!” Nick was so beyond angry at that point that his temper kicked in full force and not realizing where he was, he swung wildly at Chris, striking him in the jaw. He could hear Alyssa’s voice shrieking in the background, but at that point he had almost completely blacked out. He barely had time to react before Chris lunged at him and the two began to wrestle towards the ground. Several blows were exchanged between both men, but Nick’s adrenaline was pumping so hard that he barely even felt them. With strength that he didn’t even know existed, he pulled Chris up by his shirt and knocked his head back against the side of the bar.
“Nick stop! You’re hurting him!” Alyssa’s voice shrilly pleaded. “This is your best friend here! Don’t be stupid!”
Her words pierced through his rage and hit him like a bucket of cold water. What the fuck am I doing? he found himself asking as his grip loosened. He just sat there for a moment completely frozen in shock as he realized what he’d just done.
He didn’t have any more time to react before he felt his arms being pinned behind him as a gruff voice growled behind him. “Calm the fuck down buddy! The both of you either leave now peacefully or we call the cops!”
The bouncer’s threat was enough to sober Nick up as he stood up by himself. Besides him another bouncer was helping Chris to his feet. He looked up to see the faces of Alyssa and the rest of his friends all looking shocked and terrified. He could taste blood in his mouth and after pressing a hand to his lip he realized that he was in fact bleeding. His eyes connected with Alyssa’s deep brown ones.
“Let’s get you two out of here Nick. The last thing you need is another run in with the cops,” Alyssa told him gently before turning to Teri and Tricia. “Why don’t you two get Chris outside and make sure he’s okay. I’ll take care of Nick. I think its best we keep them apart until they both cool off.”
The other two women nodded and a few moments later the large group found themselves spilling outside on the streets. Alyssa took Nick’s hand and dragged him towards the corner of the street while the rest of the group stayed behind with Chris. The two were silent for a moment as Alyssa pressed the napkins that she had swiped on her way out to his lip to stop the bleeding. “We really could use some ice. You’re going to be so swollen tomorrow,” she sighed.
“Is it that bad?” he asked a little afraid of the damage. The Asian leg of the tour was kicking off in about a week and he could just imagine the rumors if he showed up all banged up.
“Don’t worry. You’ll be fine by next week. Now don’t talk or else I won’t be able to get the bleeding to stop.”
Nick was silent for another moment or two, but the tension between the two of them was suffocating him. He could tell just by the icy tone in her voice and the tight lipped expression on her face that she was pissed off big time. Trying to ease the tension he tried to crack a joke. “You know I was expecting to be the one tending to your wounds if you’d run into Paris last night.”
Alyssa just gave him a look to let him know she wasn’t amused. “If I’d run into Paris, I could’ve handled myself. You on the other hand could have killed your best friend back there.”
“I think that’s a slight exaggeration…”
“Nick! You banged his head against the bar! Do you know how fucking dangerous that could’ve been? And all because he was talking to me?”
“He bought you a drink too,” he mumbled.
“Yea, only because he was being polite. It’s my last night here. I finished my beer and he offered to buy me another. Am I supposed to tell him no?” She groaned in frustration. “God, I can’t believe I have to explain myself to you.”
“Lyss, I’m sorry,” he quickly apologized. “I’ve been such a-“
“I don’t want to hear it!” she snapped. “You know I was really starting to become proud of you. I thought that you were becoming a better person, but tonight proved that you’re right back into your old ways. Picking fights in bars? Is that fair to me on my last night here? You said you wanted to make tonight special for me! The only special thing you’ve done is act like an asshole!”
He could tell that she was trying to hold back tears and Nick instantly wanted to kick himself. He had acted like a complete ass the whole night beginning with dinner and ending with his brawl with Chris. It was just that he’d began to take for granted that Alyssa would always be available to him and Kevin’s words from the night before came back to haunt him. He finally knew what his older friend had meant. Alyssa was a beautiful, smart, sexy, young woman and there were other guys out there. Guys who’d snatch her up in a moment if he gave them the opportunity to. For the first time, Nick actually contemplated telling Alyssa how he really felt about her, but quickly dismissed the idea. They’d just fought and he knew that Alyssa would accuse him of only telling her what she wanted to hear to get himself out of the doghouse. Besides, he didn’t want to make a commitment to her before heading back on tour. He still wasn’t sure if he was going to be able to resist the temptations that life on the road offered, even for only a month.
“I really am sorry Lyssa,” he apologized, wrapping his arms around her. “I was wayyyy out of line tonight. And seeing you with Chris just made me snap I guess. The idea of you with another guy…”
“But it’s not like we have a commitment here Nick. At least not right now. I know as well as you that you’re going to go off to Asia and Australia and have your full of women before you come back to LA to be with me. And if that’s what you want then I guess the same rules should apply for me, right?”
Her words hit him full force. And he had to admit that she had him there. Nick was so used to her being so passive that he never worried about her seeing other guys while they were apart. He just assumed it wasn’t an option. But now that she’d thrown it out on the table like that, he realized that it would be hypocritical to tell her anything otherwise. Sighing in defeat, he hung his head, “I guess you’re right.”
They were both silent for a few moments until Alyssa looked down the street towards Chris. “You should go over and apologize to him.”
Nick just nodded his head and stepped away from her. At that same time, Chris looked up and they both made eye contact. Chris took a few steps towards him and they both met up in the middle of the street. “I’m sorry man,” Nick apologized. “Are you all right? I really did a number on you, huh?”
Chris nodded his head. “I’ll live. It was partly my fault too though. I provoked you. And… well maybe I was being just a little flirty with Alyssa. I was just trying to feel her out for you and trust me, she’s not the least bit interested in me.”
“Well, I’m glad for that fact,” Nick replied with a bit of a nervous laugh. “But yea, I shouldn’t have flipped like that. You know I’m not usually the jealous type, so I don’t know what came over me.”
“I do. You really like this girl, don’t you?”
Nick immediately became flustered. Was he that obvious? “Yea… She’s all right…”
Chris laughed at his transparency. “Just all right? I don’t think you try to kick your best friend’s ass over girls that are just ‘all right.’ “
“Okay so I really like her,” he finally admitted. “In fact, I think I’m in love with her.”
“You? In love?” Chris hooted, but then turned serious. “Honestly though, she really is a great girl and I’m sorry I never gave her a chance before. The two of you have my support, no matter what you decide to do.”
“Thanks,” Nick told him, pulling him into a guy hug. “That means a lot to me since I know not everyone will be as supportive”
Chris pulled away and dug into his pocket producing a pack of cigarettes. “Want one?” he asked in sort of a peace offering.
Nick held up his hand. “No, that’s okay. I uhh quit.”
A smirk formed on his friends face. “No really. Take one.” Then it finally clicked that he wasn’t joking. “Holy shit, you’re serious.”
“Yea I am. Alyssa’s uncle just got diagnosed with lung cancer and I don’t want to wind up like him. Plus, I’ve wanted to quit for a while now. It’s really bad for you,” he rambled on.
Chris just grinned and rolled his eyes. “You two aren’t even official yet and she’s already got you whipped!”
By the time Alyssa and Nick arrived back at Nick’s house, they were both exhausted and drained from the evening’s activities. Since Alyssa had encouraged him to apologize to Chris, the two hadn’t exchanged more than the occasional few words and as soon as they walked in the door they began to mechanically prepare for bed. Alyssa changed into a pair of gym shorts and a tank top and headed into the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth. A few minutes later, Nick joined her in boxers and a wifebeater. They each went about their business as if the other one wasn’t there.
When they were finally ready for bed, they both got underneath the covers, but instead of making any attempt to cuddle up next to each other they turned away from each other on completely opposite sides of the bed, not at all the way they’d originally planned this night to end. Alyssa bit down on her lip, trying not to let the tears that had been threatening to spill all night finally fall. Things had been so perfect this week! Too perfect to let them end like this. Maybe I should do something to make a move? she considered, but her stubbornness won out. She shouldn’t be the one to come crawling back to him. If anything he should be groveling to her.
On Nick’s side of the bed he found himself too mentally, physically, and emotionally drained to even be thinking about sex. If anything his feelings for Alyssa that he thought he had figured out so perfectly only a few hours ago were now more complicated than ever. He loved her, he was sure of that, and he’d thought she loved him, but had she gotten fed up? I never thought I’d be one afraid of losing out on a committed relationship, he ironically thought to himself. He knew that he had to do something to make things up to Alyssa, but he wasn’t exactly sure what.
Alyssa fell asleep that night upset that on her last night in LA, Nick hadn’t even made an effort to touch her and they were going to now be apart for a month.
Nick fell asleep trying to figure out something that he could do to at least kind of make up for his behavior that night.
