Chapter Eleven: Land Down Under

Nick and Alyssa smiled at each other before turning their attention back to the ocean in front of them. Alyssa loved this being able to just relax on the beach, not worrying about some stupid photographer trying to catch a glimpse of Nick. She looked at him he seemed completely calm, for once in his life. “Hey...”She said nudging him a little.

“Hmmm?” He answered still mesmerized watching the boats sail off in the distance. He was almost too happy at the moment to be there with her, not a care in the world could kill his mood.

She laughed at him, a simple action that made him look at her, “I think I’m going to go check messages see if there’s any crisis at home.” She stated getting up, pausing only to kiss him on the cheek before going inside the house there.

Meanwhile....

“Where in the hell is he?” Kevin barked loudly.

Howie sighed, “Don’t know he’s not answering his cell phones even the emergency line, and I don’t think he’s home, I went by there earlier and both their cars are there.”

AJ sat there thinking, “Maybe he’s screwing someone and wants to be left alone.”

All the guys looked at him rolling their eyes, “But then where is Alyssa she isn’t there either.” Brian stated.

“Hey guys why not try Lori?” Kristin suggested.

“Do you know her number?” Kevin asked.

Kristin thought a moment, “Well no, but she told me where the hide-a-key was and we could go over there and get the number. It has to be on his computer or in their phonebook.”

“Isn’t that breaking and entering?” Howie asked.

“Not if you have a key, that and I remember the security code, Alyssa had me use it to help her get things in the house when her and her brother were painting it.”

Kevin smiled a little, “Nah he’d be pissed if we did that, there has to be a logical explanation for this.”

“Like maybe they ran off together?” Brian offered.

AJ rolled his eyes, “You really think that they are hooking up?”

“Well...” Kristin trailed off.

“Do you know something we don’t?”

Kristin laughed, “No, just suspicious, when you guys were on tour I stayed with Ali and she was pretty bummed out not having him around. But I overheard her talking to Lori and she said that she thinks that she’s still in love with him. Which means she was in love with him at one point and then tried to move on but it isn’t working. Lori told her that she needed to tell Nick about it and Alyssa kept saying she couldn’t lose him if she did.”

Back in Australia....

Alyssa set down the cell phone now worried about the concerned messages she heard. “Nick did you tell the guys where we were going?”

Nick came walking in, “Umm no.”

Alyssa rolled her eyes, “You better call them Kevin must be having a fit. They each left like three messages on each phone.” Alyssa said referring to his three cell phones. It always seemed ridiculous to her that he had so many but after he explained that one was for business, the other for personal and the third was emergencies only she didn’t mind so much.

Nick picked up his sidekick dialing Kevin’s number rolling his eyes at himself for not calling them. “Hello?” He heard Kevin answer.

“Hey Kev...”

Before he had a chance to finish Kevin was on him in a second, “Where are you? Are you ok? Do you realize you bailed on two meetings?”

Nick laughed making Kevin even angrier, “To answer your questions I’m in Australia, yes I’m fine, and I’m sorry the trip was sort of spur of the moment.”

“You’re WHERE?!?!”

“Australia we’ll be back in like four days relax man.”

Kevin handed the phone to Brian too angry to talk to him, “What’s going on Nick?” Brian asked.

“I’m in Australia, with Ali. We decided to go celebrate her graduation, by using the tickets you guys gave her for her birthday.” Nick answered as Alyssa sat next to him.

Brian laughed a little, “So how come you didn’t call us? Didn’t think we’d be worried?” He asked completely amused that they’d been caught on a romantic vacation.

“No just I had planned to and just never really got around to it.”

“Too busy being on a romantic vacation with your roommate?” Brian asked laughing a little shocking Nick.

Recovering quickly he replied, “It’s not that, geez just she wanted to go and I was the first person she asked.” He stated lying through his teeth.

“So there’s nothing going on between you two?”

Nick rolled his eyes hating having to do this, “...No, there’s nothing going on between me and Ali we’re just having fun, going surfing and lounging on the beach. Like I told Kevin we’ll be back in four days.”

“Alright man I’ll talk to you later.” Brian said hanging up cracking up immediately.

“What?” The guys asked.

Brian sat down still laughing a little, “He’s in Australia....with Alyssa....and he’s trying to convince me that there’s nothing going on between them.”

AJ rolled his eyes, “Yeah right...why can’t friends go on vacation together.”

“Because this is Nick we’re talking about here, he doesn’t go on a vacation with a girl unless they’re together.” Howie replied.

“Well he’s changed guys maybe they aren’t.”

“Maybe they are and are trying to hide it.” Brian shot back.

The next morning...

Alyssa rolled over seeing Nick still out cold, both of them still partially jet lagged. She held the sheet tight to herself as she moved closer to him brushing his hair off his forehead. She jumped a little when his hand came up taking her hand in his. “Relax, God you’re always so jumpy.”

“You were supposed to be asleep.” She stated laughing a little.

He smiled a little, “I was until someone was mothering me by fixing my hair.” He shot back.

She smiled then leaned over pressing her lips to his silencing him for the moment. He moved her onto her back returning her kiss only to break away a minute later when his cell phone rang. “Let it ring...” She said.

He looked at her, “As much as I’d like to I can’t or else they’ll think something is up.” He said leaning over her grabbing his phone from the nightstand. “Hello?”

“Hey...” AJ answered back.

Nick thought a moment, “What do you want Alex?”

“Nothing much just wanted to call and talk can’t I call my best friend?” He asked.

Nick rolled his eyes rolling onto his back as Alyssa tried to get up being stopped by him grabbing her arm making her stay, “Well normally I’d say it’s fine but Alyssa and I were just about to go surfing.” Nick said wanting him off the phone as quickly as possible.

“Surfing?” AJ asked.

“Well yeah it’s summer here in Sydney and we are at Kellie’s dad’s private beach house.”

“Ah yeah I keep forgetting that Australia’s climate’s different than here.” Getting a wicked idea Alyssa moved to kiss his neck, nipping at it a little causing Nick to suck in a breath as she moved lower down his chest. “You ok man?”

“Yeah I’m fine, just almost tripped.” He said lying.

“Ok but anyways you and I are gonna hit the town when you get back there are some fine ladies that’s for damn sure.” Alyssa kept kissing down lower and lower until she stopped just above where he wanted her to go as he tried desperately to keep quiet as AJ continued to ramble. Hearing silence on the line AJ asked, “Are you sure you’re ok? You sound kinda distracted.”

“Uhh...no...just...kind of tired...” He managed to say while Alyssa moved back up his body stopping to pull him into a kiss then trailing her kisses along his jaw line. “Umm Alex I gotta go.” He said hanging up his phone.

Alyssa pulled away smirking at him, “What did he want?” She asked ignoring the subject of what she pulled on him.

“To talk...and you better finish what you started.” He shot back at her.

She laughed at him, “Why? Whose gonna make me?” She said grinning at him as she got up walking towards the bathroom.

Nick rolled his eyes and got up going after her he knew she was teasing him, and he knew he’d have to tease her right back. He walked in the bathroom seeing Alyssa through the glass shower door. He opened it getting in as Alyssa turned around laughing at him. “What’s so funny?”

“That I got you all worked up while you were on the phone and there was nothing you could do about it.” Alyssa stated triumphantly.

Nick pulled her to him pushing her up against the tile wall, “Who says I can’t?” He said before kissing her.

Meanwhile...

“So where are they?” Lori asked.

Kellie laughed at her, “My dad’s beach house in Australia.”

“And she didn’t take us!” Lori exclaimed a little hurt that Alyssa didn’t take them too.

“I think they wanted to be alone...” Kellie explained.

Lori rolled her eyes laughing a little, “God it’s so funny them together, it’s like they can’t keep their hands off each other now.”

“Except in front of the guys.” Kellie added.

Lori laughed, “You do know that they were holding hands under the table at her graduation lunch right?”

“You’re kidding.”

“Nope, the whole time practically I’d dropped my napkin and looked under the table seeing them holding hands as they talked to everyone about how good of friends they are.”

“Is that why you bumped your head?”

“Yeah....though that hurt it was pretty funny.”

“I’ll bet, anyways how is Clark doing?”

Lori sighed, “We got in a fight...I want him to move out here....he wants me to move to Sedona where he lives....but I don’t want to.”

Kellie rolled her eyes, “Sounds like Michael and I. Except our argument was over sex.”

Lori arched her eyebrow, “Really?”

“Yeah I was asking him if we could experiment, try new things instead of the whole man on top crap. And he was like I like it that way.”

Lori began to laugh, “So what did you say?”

“I kinda told him about Nick and Ali.”

“WHAT?!?! Kellie you aren’t supposed to tell anyone!”

Kellie immediately looked guilty, “I know, I know. It just came out he was going on and on about how he likes things the way they are and I blurted out: ‘you know everyone is having better sex than us...even Alyssa’”

“What did he say?”

“He went off on me asking me who it is she’s with and blah blah blah. I told him that it was Nick and that he could NOT tell anyone and if he did the wedding would be off.”

“How’d he take knowing Nick got there before he did.”

Kellie sighed, “He was so pissed and started ranting about how Nick sabotaged his and Alyssa’s relationship because he wanted her for himself and that’s why they aren’t friends anymore. I replied saying that maybe he isn’t over Alyssa.”

“Ooooo.”

“I know he was like I still care about Ali, yeah but I don’t want to be with her I love you Kellie....blah.. But yeah he agreed not to tell anyone about Nick and Alyssa so I won’t get in trouble with either of them.”

A few days later....

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Alyssa Narrating:

I seriously don’t want to go back to LA. Australia is so fucking amazing that I want to stay. Amazingly I got to see a lot of it, more than I was expecting to. I was expecting to see the beach, and the beach house and that’s about it. But Nick had other plans.

You know he’s such a romantic sometimes...*laughs*

Seriously now he even took me to the Sydney Opera house (the big white building that looks like sails if you didn’t know). He can’t stand classical music like he does like strings in the back of a song because that just sounds cool. But a full symphony orchestra....definitely not his cup of tea.

But he knows that I love it, especially piano music...anything with piano in it and I’m a happy girl. That’s of course because I grew up playing the piano...14 years of lessons ought to count for something. I still play alot usually when no one’s around I’m not one for performing in front of people.

But yeah he didn’t even tell me where we were going all he said was... “wear this...you look amazing in it...” as he handed me this chocolate brown velvet long sleeve, off the shoulder dress that’s pretty form fitting.

I’d only worn it maybe once or twice and that was before he and I had ever hooked up...so I’m guessing he really liked what he saw back then.

Anyways we leave and go to the Opera house which isn’t that far from the house we were at. We get out and I’m looking at him strangely trying to pick anything up on him which is hard to do sometimes.

But we get in and sit down and I look through the program and see that the show performing there was the Sydney Orchestra with piano. I was so freaking happy especially for the finale they did Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue...my favorite instrumental song ever. Afterwards he took me out to dinner at one of the restaurants that overlooked the harbor. We talked about the concert a little and he asked why I never played anymore. I told him I still do just not around anyone.

He then proceeded to tell me that he always loved watching me play so completely focused on the music. I told him, sort of half assed, that maybe I’d play for him when we got back to LA sometime.

I truly never expected him to ever actually sit through 2 and a half hours of classical to neo classical music. It was strange really seeing him actually enjoying it too and not just sitting through it because I love it.

The funny part though was when he was asked for an autograph while we were walking out of the restaurant. I could tell he was just a bit annoyed but he didn’t let the fan know. She asked if I was his girlfriend and he said, “No this is my best friend Alyssa.”

And to be quite honest...that hurt...being reduced to just a friend when we’re so much more than that now.

But then I remembered that it was my idea to keep quiet about us and decided against saying anything because I know he’d throw that in my face. It got me thinking though....what would he say if we told everyone? Would I be his girlfriend or become someone non threatening to the fans like what happened with Amanda. I remember seeing all that crap about her all over the internet. I remember helping Nick calm her down when she lost it because she hated being called a whore.

I know that the fans have changed since then and most of them support the girlfriends/wives/whatever...but there’s still that small minority that can ruin a perfectly solid relationship...it did just that to Nick and Amanda’s relationship.

She was his first love, first serious girlfriend...hell I thought they were going to get married there for a while.

And in the end what did that matter that they loved each other? Can two people who care that much about each other be torn apart by rabid teenies?

Hell it took them two years to even speak to each other again let alone become friends.

Is that going to happen to us? I love him...so much that it hurts when we’re apart. What if they hate me? What if it doesn’t work? Oh God....what if he wants out? I love him more than anything but....

Is love really enough?

End Narration.

************************************

They both trudged into the house from the garage, dropping their bags by the laundry room to deal with later. Alyssa began to unzip one of the bags deciding to get some laundry done now until Nick’s hand on her shoulder made her turn to look at him. “What?” She asked.

“Laundry can wait....” He stated taking her hand leading her up to their bedroom both of them lying down together too tired to change out of their clothes. He pulled her close to him, resting his chin on her head as they slowly fell asleep even with the immense sunlight filtering in from the french doors that lead out to the balcony.