For the first time since her and Nick had rekindled their relationship, Alyssa awoke disappointed to find him not lying beside her. She could clearly remember that one morning back in September when they’d finally given in to the attraction that still sparked between them. The feeling of dread that had filled her before she opened her eyes, knowing that they’d have to ultimately face the consequences of what they had done, was a feeling that she couldn’t easily forget. On this morning though, almost three months later, Alyssa found that she had actually been looking forward to waking up beside him. Instead when she opened her eyes she was met with an empty spot where he had just been.
Rubbing the sleep from her eyes before extending her arms outwards to stretch, she felt her arm brush against something on the pillow. Looking over she realized that it was a large post-it note attached to the top of Nick’s pillowcase. She sat up and grabbed the note her eyes squinting to make out Nick’s scrawled handwriting.
Alyssa,
I just took a look in my fridge and realized that since I haven’t really been home for very long yet, I don’t really have anything to eat. So, I went to go pick up something for breakfast. In the meantime if you want to take a shower the bathroom is across the hall and there should be clean towels in the closet. I’ll try to be back soon.
Nick
Alyssa let out a small sigh of relief. Even though she knew it was a little ridiculous to think that Nick had run out on her, especially when she was in his house, a part of her couldn’t help but to be just a little worried that he had left her alone. Don’t be stupid, Alyssa she reminded herself. Nick just ran out to get some food. He’ll be back before you even know it.
She reached down towards the floor for the nearest piece of clothing which happened to be Nick’s t-shirt and slipped it on over her head. Her suitcase was still downstairs where she’d dumped it as soon as they’d arrived home from the airport the night before. She’d have to have Nick help her drag it up the stairs later, but for now she at least needed to grab her carry on bag which contained all her essential items like her toothbrush and her shampoo among other things.
After a quick trip downstairs to grab what she needed, she headed across the hall to where Nick had told her the bathroom was located. Stepping inside, she gasped in amazement. His bathroom has to be about twice the size of my bedroom in my apartment, she realized. After a minute or two of gaping, she grabbed herself some fluffy looking bath towels from the closet, her eyes darting back and forth between the frosted glass shower stall and the separate large, old fashioned bathtub in front of her. As tempting as a bubble bath seemed, she opted for the shower, figuring that she could try the bathtub out later in the week.
She turned on the water and while she waited for it to warm up she pulled Nick’s shirt over her head. Once she was satisfied with the water temperature, Alyssa stepped underneath the spray, sighing in contentment. This sure beats the shower in my apartment, she decided, thinking about the tiny stall that was barely enough room for herself and the showerhead that never seemed to pump out water at a full force. Then there was the unpleasantness of having to wait a full fifteen minutes before she could get any hot water…
I sure could get used to this, she thought to herself as she squeezed some shampoo into the palm of her hand and began to massage it into her scalp. As much as she prided herself on being self-sufficient and independent, the reality of it was that struggling to afford a New York City apartment on her measly salary was anything but glamorous. It was kind of nice staying at Nick’s house with all its luxuries for a change. It was nice staying with Nick period.
A grin spread over her lips as her thoughts lingered back to the night before. Reaching up to rinse the shampoo out of her hair, she had to admit that she’d never had such intense feelings for any of the other men she’d dated in the past, and as thrilling as the feeling was, it also scared her. Was there such a thing as too much passion in a relationship? Could their feelings for each other be so intense that they could cause complete destruction? Their relationship was volatile enough to begin with. What would happen if something were to light the fuse that would cause it all to blow up in their faces?
Alyssa was so engrossed in her thoughts that she hadn’t even heard the bathroom door open or notice the presence of anyone else, until out of the corner of her eye she noticed the shower doors spring open behind her. She nearly jumped a mile in surprise when a pair of familiar arms encircled her waist. “Good morning,” Nick’s voice tickled against her ear. “Sleep well?”
She whirled her body around so that she was facing him. “You scared the shit out of me!”
Nick raised his eyebrows at her. “I did? Why? Were you expecting someone else?”
Alyssa just rolled her eyes already feeling her cheeks heating up as she stammered, “No… Just that I wasn’t… I mean… I’m not really used to anyone sneaking up behind me on the shower anymore.”
“But I used to do it all the time,” he pointed out with a pout.
“And it’s been quite a while since.”
“Well…” his voice teased between placing a few light kisses along her neck. “I suppose if you really feel that uncomfortable I could just leave you alone.”
Alyssa bit back a moan. “No, that’s okay,” she insisted. “I mean you need to shower too and-“
“It saves time for us just to do it together?” Nick cut her off.
“That and its more environmentally efficient. You know less water and all that.”
“Since when do you care so much about water conservation?”
“Since when do you know words like conservation?” Alyssa retorted. “I’m impressed!”
Nick placed his palm over his chest pretending to be hurt. “That really hurts Alyssa. And after I went out and got you something really special for breakfast too.”
“What’d you get me?” she asked, sliding her arms loosely around his neck.
“You’ll see,” he assured her as he turned her so that her back was leaning up against the wall. “But breakfast can wait a little bit.”
His lips met Alyssa’s in a kiss, so surprisingly deep that she was thankful that she was leaning against something. All of a sudden she could care less about breakfast…
About forty-five minutes later the two of them were downstairs fully dressed at the kitchen table. “So, what’s for breakfast?” Alyssa asked, finally remembering that had been what Nick had gone out to get earlier in the first place.
“Something that you absolutely love, but don’t get to have very often because you can’t find it by you in New York,” Nick hinted placing two styrofoam containers in front of her.
“Hmm…” Alyssa poked the corner of one the boxes. “This wouldn’t happen to be something that I got hooked on while I was living in Florida, would it?”
Nick shrugged. “Guess you’ll just have to open it up and see.”
She wasted no time in opening up the tops on both containers. Nick watched as her face broke into a pleased looking grin. “Denny’s!” she squealed. “You completely rock! I can’t believe the nearest one for me in New York is like a two hour drive.”
He laughed at her reaction. “I remember how obsessed you are with Denny’s, so I figured why not? You still like the lumberjack slam, right?”
Alyssa nodded her head. “And you even remembered the french fries instead of home fries.”
“Well, it’s kind of hard to forget, french fries with pancakes,” he pointed out.
“Shut up. Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it! But seriously thank you. That was very thoughtful of you.”
“You’re welcome.”
The two ate in silence for a moment until Alyssa interrupted. “So, what’s on the agenda for today?”
“Since I figured that there was no way that I was going to get you to come out to LA without at least one shopping trip, I thought that we could get that out of the way today,” Nick suggested. “We can go downtown and I can show you all the touristy things and watch you gawk at all the designer stores.”
Alyssa pretended to look shocked. “You shop? Voluntarily?”
He nodded. “Yes, and it doesn’t happen very often, so you better take advantage before I change my mind.”
“Okay it sounds like a plan to me,” she agreed. “What about tonight? Didn’t AJ say something about going out somewhere later?”
Nick shrugged. “I’ll have to call him later to find out what he wants to do, but I’m sure we’ll figure out something.”
Alyssa just nodded and went back to eating her breakfast. She had to admit that she was pretty excited about going shopping in LA. I’m such a tourist, she thought with a smile. You’d think that living in New York City would mean that nothing could faze me. In reality though, she knew that she wouldn’t be able to help to feel just a little star struck shopping in some of the very same stores as her favorite celebrities. Of course she probably wouldn’t be able to afford more than a tin of mints, but that was beside the point.
She wolfed down her pancakes in record time and sounding just like a little girl on Christmas morning she turned to Nick and asked, “Can we go now?”
Nick laughed at her eagerness, knowing that it was no use in making her wait any longer. He was kind of looking forward to her reaction to places like Rodeo Drive. Her enthusiasm was just adorable and it was nice for once to be in the presence of a girl that would be easily impressed by the Hollywood lifestyle. “Yea sure, we can go. But let’s go out through the garage. I didn’t get a chance last night to show you my other toys.”
“You mean there’s more?” she asked in a surprised voice. As long as Alyssa had known Nick he’d only owned one car. He’d claimed that anything more than that would just be impractical. So, what had changed?
She followed him out through the garage doors and stopped dead in her tracks when her eyes landed on the monstrosity that lay before them. “Oh my God… I’m speechless,” she managed to choke out at the sight of the practically glowing yellow Hummer parked in front of her.
“It’s hot isn’t it?” Nick asked her with a wide grin on his face.
“Oh, it’s something else all right,” she muttered. “And I thought the Escalade was bad.”
She watched Nick’s expression fall from his face. “You mean you don’t like it?” Was it her imagination or could she practically see his chin quiver?
“Uhm…Well, it’s certainly noticeable,” she told him, fighting for something halfway nice to say about it. “I’m just not very big on trucks in general.”
“It’s not a truck,” he explained. “It’s an SUV. There’s a difference.”
Alyssa rolled her eyes. “Excuuuse me, Mr. SUV. I was trying to be nice here. You know between this and the Escalade, if I didn’t know any better, I’d probably start to think that-“
“Don’t even say it,” Nick warned, knowing exactly what she was getting at.
Alyssa’s grin only grew wider, knowing that he comment would be sure to piss him off. “- that you’re trying to compensate for something!” She immediately turned her expression into one of innocence and batted her eyelashes at him.
She had to bite her lip to try not to laugh as she saw Nick’s face redden. “Well, we know that’s not true.” He grabbed her by the waist and pinned her against the side of the Hummer. “So, I’m afraid you’ll have to come up with another theory,” he told her, his lips drawing nearer to hers.
Alyssa closed her eyes and welcomed the unexpected kiss. She loved this new playfulness that had developed between the two of them. It was an indication that the awkwardness that had originally laid between them had finally begun to dissipate and comfort had taken its place. If things stay like this between us we’ll have no problems.
Reluctantly, she pulled away from the kiss, about to come up with some kind of snarky response, when something caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. Parked on the other side of the Hummer was another car that Alyssa hadn’t noticed before. “And what’s this one?” she asked, already making her way towards it.
Nick smirked as he watched her admire the sleek black BMW with an impressed look on her face. “I see my chick magnet has worked its magic once again.”
Alyssa seemed to ignore his comment as she continued to examine everything from the leather seats to the sun roof. “Now this is a car,” she murmured.
“I take it that this one meets your approval?”
She just nodded tossing him a playful grin. “Definitely my favorite by far. I think I now see why so many girls fantasize about having sex in one of these babies.”
The shocked look on Nick’s face made Alyssa have to bite down on her lip to keep from laughing. She loved to purposely come out with unexpected responses like that just to see how he would react. Yea… Maybe it was being a bit of a tease, but it was fun. After it seemed like he had recovered he attempted to play along. “And are you one of them?”
Now it was Alyssa’s turn to gasp and pretend to act shocked. Playfully she swatted him on the arm. “You wish Carter.”
Rubbing his arm where she’d hit him he shot her a lopsided grin. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
“You have a very interesting way of interpreting things,” she noted. “So, do you have any other cars hiding anywhere else or can we get to that shopping now?’
“No, that’s it. I suppose you want me to take this baby, huh?” Nick asked patting the hood of the BMW.
“As much as I’m dying to take a ride in that thing it doesn’t look like it has very much room for packages. Maybe we better take the Escalade instead. I can fit more shopping bags in there.”
Nick rolled his eyes. “Funny how all of a sudden you don’t mind the size once it comes to shopping.”
“Yes, well I suppose it has its advantages. Now let’s get going. I already feel like I’m missing out on sales as we speak,” Alyssa insisted.
Shopping turned out to be more disappointing to Alyssa than she had originally anticipated. With every store they entered, she felt more and more self conscious as if she had no right to even be looking at the high priced fashion that was most definitely out of her budget. At first, she had been excited, expecting any minute for Jessica Simpson or Lindsay Lohan to come waltzing in on a shopping spree, but so far there had been no celebrity sightings. Must be a slow day in Hollywood, she mused.
What was even more depressing was the fact that everything that she saw and liked was way more than she could afford. By the time they had walked into their seventh or eighth shop, she still had not bought one item. They were in Marc Jacobs when Nick finally decided to comment on her lack of purchases. “What’s wrong? We’ve been in more than half a dozen stores already and you haven’t even considered at least trying anything on. I know that’s not like you.”
Alyssa just shrugged, too embarrassed to admit that she couldn’t afford anything. “I haven’t really seen anything that I’m crazy about. If I’m going to max out my credit card on an overpriced designer article of clothing I’m really going to have to love it.”
“But you’re in LA,” he insisted. “You can’t come out here and not splurge on something ridiculously expensive that you can’t really afford.”
“That’s easy to say when you don’t have to pay rent each month.” She pulled a soft looking black sweater from a rack for closer inspection. With one glance at the price tag she quickly put it down as if it were contaminated. “There goes my credit limit.”
It was then that Nick remembered how bare her apartment had been when he had visited her in September. How she had criticized him for even thinking that she could afford a new car after hers had been stolen. Things had been going so good between the two of them these past few days that he had almost forgot that Alyssa’s financial situation wasn’t the same as when they were dating. Of course she wouldn’t be able to afford to wear designer clothes. She was probably sick of looking at things that she would love to have, but could never afford.
He focused his gaze back on Alyssa who had moved on to another rack and was gazing longingly at a classy looking beige, double breasted, trench coat. “That’s a nice jacket there.”
Alyssa looked up at the sound of his voice. “Yea, it’s very timeless. And it’s perfect for New York City in the spring and fall.” She glanced over at the price tag and made another pained look. “But yea… It’s cute, but not $600 cute.”
It was easy to read the disappointment in her eyes and Nick immediately felt bad. He could tell that she really liked the coat, and it was definitely something that she could use. “If you really like it that much I’ll buy it for you.”
At first Alyssa’s eyes lit up, but then as his words sunk in they clouded over again. “No, Nick. That’s all right. Six hundred dollars is way too much to spend on me. I know that’s practically pocket change to you, but you paid for me to fly out here and even when you came to visit me you paid for everything. I can’t let you do this.”
“It’s really not a big deal Lyss. I can tell you really want it.”
He’d forgotten how stubborn she could be. “Really, Nick. I saw a similar jacket in the Victoria’s Secret catalogue for like a hundred. I don’t need to pay the extra money for the name. It’s probably almost exactly the same.”
“Please let me buy it for you?” he pleaded, for the last time.
“No! I don’t want the fucking jacket!” she exploded. He could see that he had definitely pushed her too far. That was Alyssa for you. No one could accuse her of being a gold digger like some of his past girlfriends. Alyssa had always liked nice things, but had always been hesitant to accept expensive gifts from him. She’d once told him that she didn’t want people to think that she was only dating him for material things. Maybe that explained her reluctance to let him buy anything for her.
Luckily Nick’s sidekick began to ring, breaking the tense moment. Pulling it out of his pocket, he saw that it was AJ calling and he got an idea. “It’s J. Do you want to do me a favor and answer it for me? It’s probably about tonight. I just want to look at some shirts over there.”
“Sure,” she agreed, taking the phone from him.
“You may want to take it outside.” He cocked his head towards the salesgirls. “They don’t really like people talking on cell phones in here.”
Alyssa gave him a weird look, but seemed to buy the weak excuse. “Fine. I’ll meet you outside when you’re done.” He watched as she headed out the store already distracted by her conversation with AJ.
As soon as he was convinced that the coast was clear, he picked up the trench coat from the rack. He wasn’t going to take no as an answer from her this time. He’d buy it for her and give it to her before she flew back to New York. That way she wouldn’t have time to try and return it.
As he brought it up to the register all he could think of was how much Alyssa would kill him once she found out what he had done, but she’d get over it. She always did.
Alyssa was just ending her conversation with AJ when Nick stepped out onto the sidewalk clutching a shopping bag. “You actually bought something?” she asked, surprised at the irony of the situation.
“Yea, just some shirts I saw and liked.” He quickly changed the subject before she could grow anymore suspicious. “So, what did AJ have to say? Did he figure out what we’re doing tonight?”
She nodded. “Yea, he said that he and Tricia will come by to pick us up around eight. He mentioned something about dinner at a Mexican restaurant that’s supposed to be really good and then heading out to a club. He already talked to Howie and he said that he’s in and he’s bringing his girlfriend. He asked Kevin and Melanie if they wanted to come also, but they declined. Apparently Melanie doesn’t like being out in crowds because of the baby and all I guess.”
Nick rolled his eyes. “Yea, ever since they learned that they were having a baby they’ve turned into a bunch of party poopers. Their idea of a hot night is falling asleep together on the couch with a movie.”
“Well, no offense Nick, but Kevin is a little old for the whole club scene anyway.”
“Ooh! I’m telling Kevin that you called him old!” he teased.
“Go ahead,” she told him. “How old are we again anyway? Ten?” Alyssa paused for a moment. “By the way, I didn’t even know that Howie was seeing anyone?”
Nick started to laugh. “Oh yea, I forgot to tell you about that one. They make a pretty interesting couple.”
Alyssa just stared at Nick as he continued to laugh. “What do you mean by interesting? I don’t get it.”
He finally managed to control his laughter. “You’ll have to see it with your own eyes, but let’s just say that Teri is the complete opposite of Howie in every way imaginable. They’re very much the odd couple.”
“That does sound interesting. Tonight definitely should be eventful then, huh?”
Nick just nodded his head. “Hey, are you hungry? Maybe we can stop and get some ice cream or something?”
“Cold stone?” she asked in a hopeful voice.
“Of course. I think there’s one within walking distance.”
The two began to walk down the street hand in hand. Halfway down the block, Alyssa felt his arm slip around her waist and his thumbs hook into the belt loops of her jeans. Oh God, she thought. We’ve become one of those couples I hate who can barely walk because they’re too busy hanging on each other. But secretly she didn’t mind. Just the fact that he felt comfortable enough to walk that way with her in a very public scene meant a lot to her. Like as if the walls were finally beginning to come down between them.
And she was reminded just how public the streets of downtown LA could be as they rounded the next corner. A small group of men with cameras were standing a few feet away and as soon as they spotted the two of them, flashes began to dance before her face. So, this is the paparazzi, she realized.
Her experiences with them in the past had been minimal. Living in Florida they weren’t as common as out here in LA and although she’d encountered them at awards shows and such, never had she been approached with Nick when they were just going about their own business. “Just keep walking and ignore them,” Nick advised through gritted teeth as they approached. “Don’t say a word. They’ll lose interest after they get their pictures.”
Alyssa just nodded. Nick sounded as if he had a lot of experience when it came to dodging the paparazzi, but she supposed he must have learned from dating Paris judging from the number of pictures she’d seen of the two of them in tabloids. Before she knew it they were on them, each of them firing questions at once almost faster than they could snap the pictures.
“Nick, who’s the girl?”
“How long have you two been dating?”
“What’s your name there, sweetheart?”
Alyssa’s heart hammered in her chest as she glanced over at Nick beside her. He just kept on walking stone faced, straight ahead as if the reporters never existed. Now I know why all the celebrities wear such big sunglasses, she noted, thankful for the large frames she had shielding most of her face. At least now if she landed in the middle of some tabloid no one would be able to positively identify her.
Then one of the men uttered the one question that couldn’t be ignored. “Nick, can you comment on the rumors that Kevin might be leaving the group to be with his wife and upcoming child once this tour ends?”
Alyssa felt Nick stop dead in his tracks and her stomach automatically flip-flopped. Kevin leave the group? This is the first I’ve heard about this! Kevin wouldn’t… But then all of a sudden she remembered a comment that Nick had made a few weeks earlier at Jingle Ball…
"It was great. Over much too quick though. And of course it’s not the same with only four Backstreet Boys."
"Yea, I know what you mean." Was it just her imagination or did he seem to be looking right at Kevin as he said that?
I'm probably just reading into this too much, Alyssa told herself as she brushed the comment aside. It was probably an innocent remark…
Was it possible that even then Kevin had been considering quitting the group? Was he even considering it? Or was it just a rumor?
She watched in shock as Nick’s face reddened in anger. “Where the fuck did you hear something like that?”
“It’s all over the internet,” the man explained. “Is it just speculation or is there some truth in the matter?”
“Of course it’s not true! I don’t know why the fuck you would believe some shit like that! And for your information if Kevin were really leaving the group, which he’s not, why would you think I’d tell you assholes?”
“For just a rumor you seem to be getting pretty hot under the collar,” noted another man. “If there isn’t any truth behind it, why are you so defensive?”
“Because it’s none of your fucking business!” Nick exploded.
“No need for all the foul language, man,” the first man began again. “Do you kiss you girlfriend there with that same mouth?”
Bringing Alyssa into it proved to be going too far for Nick’s liking. Unexpectedly he lunged at the man so roughly that Alyssa had to fight to hold him back. “Nick, don’t do this, please,” she begged. “Don’t make a bad situation worse. You’re only giving them what they want.”
Nick didn’t listen though and grabbed the man by the collar of his shirt. “It’s bad enough you’re harassing me, but leave her out of this! You got it?”
The guy just nodded and Nick loosened his grip. “Oh, yea. And one more thing. Hand over the film.”
The man hesitated which only made even angrier. “Hand over the fucking film right now before I call the cops!”
This time the men listened and unloaded their film. Alyssa watched the scene completely petrified. She’d never seen Nick so angry before. It scared her to see how violent he had become.
“Now get the fuck out of here.”
The men quickly retreated and Nick started off down the street walking so fast that Alyssa had to practically run to keep up with him. “What was that all about?” she asked. “There are rumors going around about Kevin leaving the group?”
Nick’s voice was flat and cold. “I don’t want to talk about it Alyssa.”
“Why’d you get so pissed off though? It’s not true, right? Kevin’s not leaving, is he?” she continued to press.
“I said I don’t want to fucking talk about it Alyssa! God… Why are you always so damn intrusive? You’re not my fucking shrink you know.”
His words were like a slap in the face to her. She bit her lip as tears welled up in her eyes. She hadn’t meant to be nosy. She just sensed that there was more to the story that Nick was keeping from her. I only wanted to help him. If only he weren’t so goddamn stubborn and actually opened up to me instead of repressing everything! Well, I’m not in the mood to deal with his bullshit today, especially after everything seemed to be going so well.
“You know what Nick? Screw the ice cream. Take me back to your place. All of a sudden I’m not much in the ‘shopping’ mood.”
