Chapter 54

From the moment that Alyssa set foot back in New York City the next week or two of her life passed by in a blur. In her eyes, it was good that she was busy because it would mean that before she knew it, it would be February and she’d be moving out to LA and seeing Nick again. One of the first things she’d done upon her return was hand her landlord a check for the next month’s rent and inform him that as of February 1st, her apartment would be vacant.

            Then there was all the packing that needed to be done. She’d taken Teri up on her offer to take all of her old furniture and before Teri had left for Japan with Howie, she’d hired movers to move everything from her apartment to Alyssa’s new condo while she was out of the country. Outside of her bed which was coming with her to California, the rest of her furniture was going into storage. Stephanie was considering getting an apartment next year with a few of her friends, and Alyssa figured that she could use most of her things.

            Stephanie had left for her semester abroad in Australia a few days after Alyssa had returned from LA. Thankfully her apartment remained relatively unscathed and she hadn’t heard any complaints from her neighbors so she assumed that nothing too wild had went on while she was away. So, between packing, tying up loose ends, and squeezing in a few substitute teaching jobs, the days flew by not as painfully as she had originally feared.

            People often say that things happen at the moments that you least expect them to, and Alyssa found the old cliché ironically true one day about two weeks later. She was subbing in a sixth grade class which admittedly was not her favorite grade to teach. With all the students growing hormones she often found herself dealing with more personal drama than actual science and social studies. That day alone she’d had to send a boy to the principal’s office for inappropriate sexual comments that he had been making to his female classmates and was now in the process of being suspended.

            During her prep time the secretary had buzzed her room and informed her that the principal had asked to see her as soon as possible. This naturally caused a knot in her stomach to form. As a substitute teacher being summoned to the principal’s office immediately made her wonder if she’d done something wrong. Maybe I handled the situation from this morning the wrong way? she wondered as she hurried down to the front office, her mind full of confusion as to why the principal had wanted to speak to her.

            When she arrived the secretary ushered her into the principal’s office. Alyssa had been working in that school on a fairly regular basis, about once a week at least. In fact, this was the very same school that she’d come home crying from because of the class of unruly second graders that she’d told Nick about, and the very same principal who told her that she was very impressed with the way she’d returned to the building a few days later, determined to make a fresh start and put the horrible experience behind her.

            “Miss Martinelli, thank you for coming down,” Mrs. Porter, the principal welcomed her. “Have a seat.” She gestured to an office chair in front of her desk as she closed the door behind them. Alyssa took a seat, licking her lips nervously. It must be serious if she’d closed the door.

            “I’m really sorry about this morning,” she immediately began apologizing. “I hope I handled that situation with Christian appropriately. I just did-“

            “You handled it perfectly,” the older woman reassured her with a laugh. “In fact I was very impressed. Not many substitutes actually think to document everything that was said, word for word. As a teacher that’s important so that you have evidence of what occurred so that you can cover yourself if need be.”

            Alyssa looked shocked, especially since she’d pretty much convinced herself that she’d been called in to see the principal to be lectured, not praised. “Thank you,” she managed to spit out. “In all my teaching courses my professors always stressed how important documentation was. Just taking the time to write out what went on and formulate a report on it could save you your job.”

            “They’re exactly right,” Mrs. Porter agreed turning very serious. “Look, I called you down to speak with you about something more than today’s little incident.”

            Oh oh… Here it comes, Alyssa thought inwardly cringing to herself.

            “I’ve noticed that you’ve been coming into her building as a substitute a lot in the past few months. You might not have realized, but I have been keeping tabs on you. I keep tabs on all my substitutes and I’m very pleased with your work. I see a big improvement in your classroom management skills and you have an excellent rapport with the students. We have a fourth grade teacher going out in maternity leave next month. This woman also has other younger children at home and has opted to take some time off to stay at home with them. She’s unsure if or when she’ll be returning. I was wondering if you’d be interested in the position before we start interviewing other candidates.”

            The news was so unexpected to Alyssa that she sat there for a moment stunned. Was she just getting offered a job, here?

            “Keep in mind, that it’s not a guarantee for a permanent position, but it is an excellent opportunity,” the woman stressed. “It would look impressive on a resume and would give you a lot of experience. And it could lead to a permanent job for you.”

            This is what I’ve been waiting for since I graduated college! She couldn’t wait to tell her parents, and her sisters, and Nick… That’s when all of her excitement faded away. She was moving out to LA by next month. She’d be long gone by the time the position became open. Unfortunately, the job offer came too late for her.

            Mrs. Porter must have noticed the way that her face fell. “Is something wrong?” she asked. “Are you not interested in the position?”

            “Oh, I’m very interested Mrs. Porter,” Alyssa insisted. “Just I’m moving out of state next month and it’s kind of little too late now to change my plans. I have a condo out in California and everything already. I’m really sorry. I’d have loved to take the position.”

            The principal gave her an understanding look. “It’s perfectly okay. I’m sure we’ll have no problems finding someone else. You know firsthand just how many prospective elementary school teachers there are in New York. Did you get a job out in California?”

            “No, not yet,” she told her. “My boyfriend has a job out there and the distance thing isn’t working out too well.” It wasn’t that far from the truth.

            The woman nodded. “You’ll probably have a much easier time of finding something out there. They’re in need of good teachers there. If you’d like I could even write you a letter of recommendation?”

            “That would be great! Thank you so much. And again I’m sorry about the job.”

            She shot Alyssa a tight smile. “No problem. You have to do what you have to do, right?”

             Alyssa just nodded her head. At the moment she wasn’t exactly sure if she agreed with the principal. Instead she found herself wondering to herself, Did I make the right decision by agreeing to move out to LA after all?

            Later on that night, Alyssa had changed into a pair of capri pajama pants and a tank top and was vegged out in her bed with the television on and a copy of the Times crossword puzzle from that day’s paper. Ever since she’d gotten home from the school earlier that afternoon she’d felt kind of blah. She supposed it was because she was a little depressed about having to turn down the job offer from Mrs. Porter. It’s no biggie; she’d tried to tell herself. When you get settled in LA there’ll probably be plenty of job opportunities. Permanent job opportunities. This was just a leave replacement in which knowing your luck the teacher would show up back to school as soon as September rolled around again.

            Her thoughts did little to console her though and try as she might to distract herself with the episode of Grey’s Anatomy one television in front of her, she just couldn’t concentrate on it. She’d given up on the crossword puzzle long ago. Even though it still wasn’t very late, she found herself actually contemplating on trying to get some sleep.

            Just then her phone rang shrilly. Glad to have something new to focus her attention on, she snatched it up from the nightstand table. “Hello,” she answered, not bothering to look at the caller ID first.

            “Good morning… Or should I say Good night because it’s probably almost time for bed for you by now.”

            Alyssa recognized the familiar voice at once. “Nick! How are you doing? How’s the tour going?”

            “So far so good,” he answered. “We did our last show in Japan last night and now we’re heading off to Korea. How are you doing?”

            “I’m all right. Been busy packing my apartment up. Right now I just put my pajamas on and I’m just lying in bed trying to watch a little television before I go to sleep,” she explained. “Pretty boring huh?”

            “Not necessarily.” There was a pause on his end. “So, just curious… Which pajamas are you wearing? Those paper thin pink lacy ones? Or those teeny black shorts that barely cover your ass and the matching tank top?”

            Alyssa just rolled her eyes on her end of the phone. “Sorry to disappoint, but it’s a little too cold here for any of those. Plus I had a really rough day, so it’s all about comfort right now. Just some PJ pants and a tank top.”

            “Too bad… So, what happened today that was so rough?”

            “Well, I had to suspend a sixth grader today. Apparently he was going around to all the girls in the class and telling them that he wanted to ‘slob on their knobs.’ Wonderful, huh?”

            She could hear Nick laughing on the other hand. “Certainly sounds like an interesting day.”

            “Yea, tell me about it. You know maybe I’m just getting old or something, but I’ve never heard anyone use that expression before. My jaw must have dropped ten feet when I heard him say it because obviously I knew what he meant. Where do they come up with this stuff?”

            “No idea... Slob on your knobs, huh? I think I’m going to have to write that one down and use it someday,” he joked.

            “Yea really…” Alyssa sarcastically replied. “Let me know how that works out for you, okay?”

            “Sure thing. So did anything else happen today?”

            Alyssa hesitated for a moment wondering if she should bother telling him about the leave replacement she’d been offered. She didn’t want to make him feel bad, like he was holding her back from establishing her own career, but she did feel the need to vent to someone about it. That part eventually won out. “Well, I sort of got offered a job today.”

            “A job? Lyssa that’s great!” She flinched at the enthusiasm in his voice.

            “Here in Manhattan,” she elaborated.

            “Oh.” She couldn’t help but notice the way his voice fell flat.

            “It isn’t exactly a job though. It’s a leave replacement. There’s a fourth grade teacher going out on maternity leave for the rest of the year and there’s a possibility of her taking an extended leave of absence afterwards,” she quickly explained. “So, it’s not like permanent or anything. Unless she doesn’t come back.”

            “So, what are you going to do?” Nick asked sounding a little worried to hear her answer.

            “I turned it down,” she confessed.

            “What? Lyss you didn’t have to do that.”

            Alyssa just shrugged. “I’ve already made all the arrangements to move out to LA. It would be too much of a hassle to change my mind now. Besides there are other jobs.”

            “I’ll be honest with you Lyss. I really would be disappointed if you decided to stay back in New York, but I wouldn’t want to stand in the way of your career just like you don’t stand in the way of mine.”

            “I know Nick, but there’s no way he could keep this relationship up from two different coasts. I’m not that upset about it. I’ll find something else and get over it. So, what’s on your agenda for the day?” she asked, expertly changing the subject.

            “Well, we’re off today, but we have a flight to Korea to catch. I just woke up and I have a little bit of time before I have to start getting ready, so I thought I’d give you a call,” he explained.

            “You better have woken up alone,” she teased. “Not with some trashy blonde by your side.”

            “Nahh,” he replied. “We’re in Japan, so there’s not a very large blonde female population going on here.”

            “All right then I hope you’re not in bed with some exotic looking Asian chick who can like twist her body into any position,” she corrected herself.

            “Damn, how’d you know? Seriously though I’m not really that into Asian girls. And if I remember correctly you were pretty flexible there yourself at one time.”

            “Yea, back when I used to dance. Then I stopped and I got old.” She smirked at just the thought of trying to get herself into some of the positions she used to be able to. “If I tried that shit now I’d probably break something. Well, as long as you’re being a good boy.”

            “Oh, I’m always good. At least that’s what the ladies tell me,” he joked.

            “Nick!”

            “Okay fine… Yes, I am being a good boy, but I never usually have much trouble in Asia. There always seems to be less temptation here. I mean the fans are crazy here, but not in flirty, all over you, type of way they are in the US or in other places.”

            “And the fact that you’re not really attracted to Asian girls helps, right?” she reminded him. “So what about in Australia?”

            There was dead silence on Nick’s end. Not a good sign, Alyssa realized. “Uh oh… What’s with the silence?”

            “Well… the girls are pretty crazy in Australia,” Nick hesitantly admitted. “We don’t get around to their continent very much, so when we do…”

            The news wasn’t very reassuring to Alyssa. “Well, you’re only doing four dates there right?”

            “Yea, we have the first show there on my birthday,” he informed her.

            “I’m sure that’ll make it even worse, huh? All the girls offering to give you ‘birthday presents?’

            Nick seemed indifferent. “Yea, I’m sure they’ll be girls who’ll try, but you trust me right?”

            Alyssa swallowed hard. “I trust you. It’s them I don’t trust.” She sighed all of a sudden thinking back to those two blondes that Nick had picked up at the bar after the show in Irvine that summer. She’d been shocked at their audacity and bluntness when they’d spoken to her. She couldn’t believe just how skanky the two of them had been. She had to admit that she couldn’t say that she, herself was completely innocent. She’d had some one night stands and drunken hook ups after she and Nick had broken up, but never did she go out of her way to do something outrageous to catch a guy’s attention like that. Then again, those guys had just been average frat guys, not a famous pop star.

            She’d never been the type to throw herself at a guy or to compromise herself by competing over one. She was the type of girl who usually shied away from all that. If too many girls found a guy desirable she was one of the first to admit defeat. But there were other girls who’d go over the top trying to do whatever it took to outdo each other, no matter how wild their actions. And these were the girls that she knew Nick was susceptible to, and unfortunately there seemed to be a wide supply of them out there. She really did trust Nick, but on the other hand he was a guy. If a girl put herself out there for him, would he be able to resist?

            She could hear Nick sighing on the other end of the line. “I’m a big boy Alyssa. I know how to spot those types of girls in a minute. So, I’ll just stay away from them.”

            “But what do you do when they practically wave their boobs in your face? Isn’t there a point where you find it impossible to ignore and just give in?” she pressed.

            She could practically picture Nick frowning. “What’s with all the questions Lyss? If I remember correctly before you left LA you were the one who was pushing for us to be exclusive throughout the tour and now all of a sudden you’re doubting me? This isn’t like you. Is there something else going on?” His voice sounded genuinely concerned.

            Alyssa paused for a moment, unsure if she should share her real fears with him. You’re in a relationship now though, she argued with herself. If you can’t share your concerns with him comfortably then what’s the point? “Well, I guess it’s kind of stupid…” she started off.

            “Nothing is stupid if it’s bothering you. You can tell me,” he assured her.

            Alyssa felt her face redden as she traced her fingers over the pattern on her comforter, kind of glad that they weren’t face to face which made this conversation a little easier for her, especially since it had been on the back of her mind for so long. “I know that you’ve been with a lot of girls. A lot more than I actually would like to think. And I know it comes with the territory of what you do. There’s always going to be groupies who are going to try and do whatever they can to lure you into bed and I guess I just… I’m afraid that because I’m not always willing to do the sort of things that they do for you that you’re going to lose interest in me. “There. She’d said it.

            Nick’s reaction was not at all what she had expected. He actually laughed on his end of the phone. “Is this your way of asking me if you’re bad in bed?”

            “Uhmm, maybe?” she answered, biting her lip, almost afraid to hear his answer.

            Again he laughed. “Lyss, seriously… If you were bad in bed do you honestly think that we’d be where we’re at now? If that was the case, this never would’ve gone past that weekend I came to visit you back in September.”

            “I guess you have a point there,” she admitted.

            “And besides how could you possibly be bad when you’ve had such an excellent teacher?” he teased.

            Alyssa just rolled her eyes. “Okay, let’s not get too carried away here.”

            Nick’s tone turned from that of joking to total seriousness. “Honestly though Alyssa, you’re right. I have slept with a lot of women and I will admit that I have some pretty crazy experiences. But that’s a whole different ball game. It’s kind of hard to explain, but many of those experiences were just purely physical and although they were over the top, they didn’t mean much to me outside of just fulfilling a need. Now with you and me, there’s such a strong emotional connection between us, which actually makes it more meaningful, and in its own way even better than the wildest sex I’ve ever had. If I had to choose between having wild sex with someone I have no feelings for, and having relatively tame sex with someone I actually cared about, well the decision is a no brainier for me.”

            Alyssa wasn’t exactly sure how to react to that. It definitely was not the response that she had expected from him, but she was extremely happy to hear it. “So, you’d really rather have sex with me than two random girls with tongue piercings willing to do absolutely whatever you wanted sexually and dressed in vinyl, begging you to let them make you their bitch?”

            “Actually I have done that one before and trust me… It’s not all that it’s cracked up to be,” Nick answered, trying to say with a straight face, but found that he couldn’t and crumbled into laughter. “Okay… So I’m kidding.”

            “With you I never know. It wouldn’t surprise me if you really had.”

            “But yes. I would rather have sex with you. Because the thing is with you, I never know what to expect. I don’t know if you realize this or not, but every once in a while when you do try something that is a little bit out of the box, I find it that much hotter because it’s not expected. Do you know what I’m saying? Like for instance that time during the Black and Blue tour when we went to that little mall in the middle of I forget what city, but you pulled me into the dressing room at one of the stores for a quickie? Or when you surprised me with the whole ‘stage’ fantasy on my birthday that year? It’s those things that I find so much hotter coming from you, because I know that you’re stepping out of your comfort zone for me.”

            “But those two examples were how many years ago? What about recently? I mean, yea we had sex in that VIP area in that club in LA, but I was also pretty drunk,” she reminded him.

            “So? It still counts. And I think it’s safe to bet that when you move out to LA they’ll be plenty of other opportunities to make some new memories.”

            “You’re completely right. I-“

            “Hey Lyss? I’m sorry to cut this short, but I just looked at the clock and I got to start getting ready. We have to leave for the airport in half an hour and I still need to shower. I’ll call you later in the week or something.”

            “Ok, that would be great,” she told him, a little upset that their conversation had to end.

            “When I do call can I request that you be wearing something sexy?” he coyly asked.

            Alyssa grinned. “I’ll see what I can do. Good luck on your shows this week.”

            “Thanks… Oh by the way, before I go there’s something I need to tell you…”

            “Ok?” she answered wondering what could be so important that he needed to tell her. She hoped he wasn’t going to try to tell her that he loved her again. She honestly wanted him to say those words to her and mean them one hundred percent. And if there was any less ideal time or place for that other than right after they’d just had sex, it was over the phone while he was on the other side of the world.

            She held her breath. “I just wanted to let you know that… I want to slob on your knobs!” He immediately erupted into hysterical laughter on his end of the phone. “Sorry, I couldn’t resist.”

            Alyssa sighed in relief as she joined in with his laughter. “You’re such a dick.”

            “Okay, I really have to go now. I’ll talk to you soon,” he told her, trying to calm himself down.

            “All right. Goodbye.” She sighed once the connection went dead and laid back on her bed thinking about their conversation. It certainly had been one of their more interesting ones.

            She couldn’t help, but to grin thinking back to the things Nick had said to her. From the conversation they had just had, she knew that she had nothing more to worry about. He wanted her and only her. And it was a damn good feeling. Especially hearing how hot he found it when she let down her guard a little bit.

            That got Alyssa thinking a little and she realized that it had been a long time since she’d done anything special for Nick. She really felt like she owed him some sort of surprise, but she wasn’t exactly sure what. Then a burst of inspiration hit her. Without even stopping to think it over anymore she reached for a phone again and found the number she was looking for.

            “Hello?” Teri’s familiar voice answered.

            “Hey Teri. It’s Alyssa.”

            “Hey, how are you? How’s the packing for the big move going?”

            “It’s going pretty good. I actually called though because I kind of need a favor. I want to do something special for Nick for his birthday and I was wondering if you could help me out with it.”

            “Honey, if you’re calling to ask me if I’d have a threesome with you and Nick, I’d be honored. You’ve came to the right woman.”

            Alyssa’s cheeks instantly flamed once she realized how her proposition had came out sounding like. “A threesome?” she sputtered. “Hello, this is me we’re talking about here. Sorry to disappoint you, but no I need something else from you.”

            “Oh darn… I knew it was too good to be true,” Teri joked. “Okay, whatever you need I’d be happy to help. Especially if it’s a sexy surprise. Is it a sexy surprise?”

            Alyssa just laughed at her friend’s excitement. “Well, to start off I’m going to need the name of the hotel that you’re staying at the night of Nick’s birthday…”