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Chapter 24

Nick looked up at Cass. She looked great, he thought. She was wearing a strapless black top and a black skirt that went just below her knees. Her almost black hair was pulled back and her make up was discrete.
“What are you doing here?” Cass was surprised to see Nick there, and the moment she saw him, she instinctively wanted to leave.
“I’m meeting the boys here for dinner with our manager. What are you doing here?”
“I’m having dinner with Holly.” Cass looked around. “She’s not here yet. And I think you’re sitting at our table.”
“Oh… I was shown to this table by a waitress. She’s checking the reservation again right now. There she is.” Nick nodded towards the waitress approaching the table.
“Umm… Nick and Cassidy?” She said, looking at them both.
Nick raised his eye brows suspiciously. “Yes?”
The waitress handed him a white envelope. “For you.” She said, and walked away.
“What’s that?” Cass walked to stand behind Nick so that she could see what it was.
“This smells like trouble.” Nick handed her the envelope and gestured for her to open it.
Cass hesitated.
“Come on, open it.” Nick said. He could guess what was coming, and he didn’t like the smell of it.
Cass slowly opened the envelope, and pulled out a folded piece of paper. She unfolded it, and read it out loud.

Nick and Cass.

We guess that you are close to figuring out what’s going on, and we’re really sorry. We just couldn’t watch you guys being miserable because of what happened. (although we don’t know what it’s all about.) So we hope that you’ll have dinner with each other tonight, and make up for what ever happened.
Nick; The meeting with Johnny isn’t until next week… sorry.
Cass; Don’t be mad at me. I’ll call you tomorrow and we’ll have dinner another time – Holly.

The table is reserved for the entire night.
Have fun.

Holly and Aj.

By the time Cass had finished reading the letter, she couldn’t help but feel really stupid.
“I should’ve known…” She whispered embarrassed. “I’m sorry, Nick. I’ll just go.” She gave him the letter, and began walking away.
Nick sat there for a few seconds, not knowing what to say. He realized then, that this was his chance to make up for what he had said, and explain the situation.
“No wait!” He stood up, and walked over to her. “Listen…I feel so bad for what happened the other night, and I’ve wanted to talk to you about it, but I just didn’t know what to say.” He looked down, and took her hand. “Have dinner with me tonight, Cass. We can talk about this. I know I have a lot to explain, but I think you do too.”
Cass sighed. She knew he was right, and that this was her chance to get past this and move on. But still, she felt really insecure about her feelings and she was afraid that her story would push him away, although he knew parts of it already.
“I don’t know Nick.” She hesitated.
“Please…” He pouted and looked down at her with his big blue eyes. She had to look away just to prevent herself from drowning in his gaze.
“Nick, I…” She trailed off.
Nick took her other hand in his. “Look… We don’t have to talk about what happened right now. Let’s just get to know each other a little better, and you can tell me whenever you’re ready. I don’t wanna push you.” He looked at her again, and when his eyes met hers, he knew he had won.
“Come on.” He led her over to their table again. They both sat down and the waitress came over again.
“Would you like something to drink?” She asked.
They both ordered water, and the waitress walked away, leaving them alone.
“So…” Nick said. “Let’s start over again. Hi, I’m Nickolas Gene Carter, but you can call me Nick. Don’t ever call me Nicky, and definitely NOT Gene. I’m a Backstreet Boy at heart; I’m blond, silly, charming, and I Rock, with a capital R! What about you?” He shook her hand firmly, causing her to laugh.
“Umm… I’m Cass…?” She said, still laughing.
Nick pretended to be disappointed. “Umm…I’m Cass? That’s it? Come on, you gotta do better than that!”
She took a few moments to collect herself, and then sat up straight.
“Ok…” She shook his hand, “I’m Cassidy Ann Jacobs, but you can call me Cass. I’ll hit you of you ever call me Cassy or Ann. I’m a dancer at heart, I’m poetic, crazy, strong, sensitive, and I Rock too! How’s that?” She said smiling.
“A lot better.”

They continued to talk and eat for the next two hours. They discovered that they had a lot in common, especially when it came to music. Cass had almost forgotten about the incidence at the club a few nights before, and so had Nick. They were both caught up in a fit of laughter because of something Cass had said, when Nick’s phone rang.
He pulled it out from his pocket and pushed the answer button.
“Hello.” He managed to say in between laughing.
“Hey man.”
“Aj, hi.”
Cass started laughing even more when she realized who it was, and so did Nick. Neither of them knew why though.
“Dawg, are you drunk?” Aj sounded surprised to hear Nick laughing.
“Drunk? No, I’m just having fun."
“I hope that’s Cass laughing in the background.”
Nick started to calm down a little, at least enough so that he could speak properly.
“Yea, it is.”
“Good.” Aj said. “You’re not mad are you?”
“Nah, it’s all good man.”
“Good. Oh, Holly wants to speak to Cass.”
“Ok, just a sec, I’ll put her on.” Nick handed Cass the phone. “Holly.” He said.
“Hello?” She said, still laughing a little.
“Cass, I’m so sorry! Are you mad at me?” Holly said apologetically.
“Holly, do I sound like I’m mad?”
“Umm… No?”
“Good. I’m not mad. I’m having a great time.” She said and smiled at Nick who smiled right back.
“You have no idea how relieved I am right now. I’ll let you to get back to what ever it was that you were doing. Call me tomorrow, k?”
“Ok, I will. Bye girl.”
“Bye.”
Cass hung up and handed Nick the phone.
“So are you really?” He asked.
“Am I what?”
“Having a good time?”
Cass looked shyly down at her hands and nodded. “Yea, I am.”
Nick reached over and took her hand in his. “Good.” He smiled. “You wanna get out of here and go for a walk or something?”
Cass smiled. “Sure.”

They paid and walked out of the restaurant. The evening was cool, and Cass looked down at her outfit, certain that she was going to get cold within minutes. Nick noticed this.
“Here.” He took off his jacket and put it around her shoulders.
Cass smiled shyly. “Thanks.”
They walked over to a park, and Nick started talking about the new record that they were going to start recording. Cass listened and noticed the passion in his voice when he spoke about music. She smiled and looked up at him, while Nick continued to talk. After a few minutes, he noticed that she was still looking at him.
“What?” He said. “Do I have something between my teeth?”
Cass laughed a little, “Music really is everything to you, isn’t it?” She asked.
Nick nodded. “Yea.” He took her hand and led her over to a bench that overlooked a small lake. “It is. Without the group and the guys, I don’t know where I’d be.” They sat down next to each other. “This is what I grew up with. It’s everything I’ve ever known.”
Cass nodded. “I wish I had something like that.” All of a sudden she sounded very sad, and Nick wanted more than anything to know what she was on her mind. As if she knew what he was thinking, she started telling him about her past. She hadn’t planned to, but at that moment, it felt right.
“I used to be like that with dancing. But after my mom died, I didn’t have the strength to continue. She always encouraged me to do my best, and she did everything she could to help me get somewhere. I think it was because she felt guilty because of dad leaving us. He left when I was ten, and I haven’t heard from him since. Mom remarried a few years later, but she always found time to spend some quality time with me.” Cass went silent, and prepared herself to tell Nick her story.
Nick sensed where this was going, and put an arm around her shoulders.
“Cass… It’s ok. You don’t have to do this now.”
She shook her head and looked at him. “No, I want to.” She continued talking, and as Nick listened to her he got more and more concerned. What she told him was worse than he could ever have imagined, and his heard was aching for her when she started to cry while telling him about the baby she had lost. He pulled her closer to him, and stroke her hair gently.
When she was finally finished telling him everything, she was crying uncontrollably. But she knew that this time, she wasn’t crying because she was sad, she was crying because she felt relieved. She was crying because she felt so safe in his arms, and because she could tell that he really cared. But at the same time, she was also crying because she was afraid. Afraid because she was having feelings for him that she never had allowed herself to feel before. She rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. He continued to stroke her hair, and whispering comforting words to her.
“It’ll be ok, Cass. I won’t let anything happen to you, I promise.”
And for the first time, she truly believed him.