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Chapter 29

Nick and Cass arrived at the airport the next day together with Holly and the rest of the guys. Cass had been dreading this day ever since she found out that Nick was going on tour, and all she could do now, was try not to burst into tears in front of everybody. She didn’t even want to think about how lonely she would feel once he’d left.
“You ok?” Nick asked her as they entered the airport building.
Cass shrugged and looked down. Nick knew what she was thinking, and he put an arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer to him as they walked over to the check in counter.
“You’ll be fine, Cass. I’ll be back before you know it.”
She nodded slightly, and walked over to Holly while the guys checked in their luggage.
Cass sighed. “I’m gonna miss him so much…” She said, watching Nick from a distance.
“Yea, I know.” Holly said. “I’m gonna miss Alex too.” The two girls exchanged looks.
“It’s kinda funny though.” Holly continued, “I mean, if someone had told me a year ago that we would be here, dating two of the Backstreet Boys, I probably would’ve laughed at them.”
“Yea, I know.”
“I can’t believe we’ve been this lucky.”
“I can’t believe they’re gonna be away for ten months.”
Holly chuckled and took a deep breath. “I’ll miss him so much.”
The two girls hugged.
“God, we’re so pathetic…” Cass didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, and neither did Holly, so they just did something in between.
Just then, the guys walked up to them. Both Aj and Nick had a confused look on their faces, seeing that the girls were in a fit of laughter, but at the same time, tears rolling down their cheeks.
“Women…” They both said at the same time.
Nick walked up to Cass and put an arm around her waist. “So… are you laughing because you’re happy that I’m leaving, or crying because you won’t have to see my cute face for the next months?”
Cass turned around to face him. “Well… a little bit of both I think.” She joked.
Nick pretended to look hurt.
“Guys, five minutes, and we’ll have to go, ok?” Johnny, their manager shouted.
Cass looked down, realizing that the moment she had been dreading was getting closer.
“Come on, let’s go and sit over there.” Nick took her hand and led her over to a bench where they sat down next to each other. He took a deep breath and looked at her.
“So this is it…” His voice was shaking, and Cass could tell that he, like her, was close to tears.
“I guess it is…” Cass didn’t know what to say, she just wanted to hold him. Nick must have thought the same thing, because seconds later, he wrapped his arms around her.
“I’ll miss you so much.” He whispered into her ear. He could feel her shaking, and knew that she was crying. “Don’t cry, baby. We’ll see each other soon. I’ll try to come home for thanksgiving.”
Cass pulled away and took his face in her hands to look at him. “Thanksgiving is over two months away, Nick…”
He sighed. “I know… Listen,” he said firmly, “we’ll find a way, ok? Don’t think about that right now.”
He leaned closer and gently kissed her lips. Cass returned the kiss as if it was the last time she would ever kiss him. A few minutes later they were interrupted by Johnny, again.
“Ok, guys. It’s time. We have a flight to catch.”
Cass and Nick broke away from the kiss and stood up.
“I’ll call you everyday.” Nick promised.
“You better,” Cass smiled through her tears as Nick pulled her in for one last hug.
“I love you so much, baby.”
“I love you too Nick.” She kissed him again not wanting to let him go, but he pulled away, and squeezed her hand.
“Bye Cass.”
“Good bye Nick.” She whispered as he turned around and walked away.

“Cass! Open up. Hurry!!!”
Cass was jerked out of her dream by Holly, who was banging on her front door.
“I’m coming Hol. One sec.” She said, walking over to unlock the front door.

It was two months later, and Thanksgiving was getting closer. Cass had just received a call from Nick the day before, telling her that he wouldn’t be able to make it home due to their hectic schedule. Cass had been very upset, but she understood that he was committed to his job, and that she just had to wait a bit longer to see him. They spoke on the phone every day, sometimes even twice, and she had gotten used to the fact that he was away. For the first couple of weeks after he left, she had felt so alone in the big apartment. She was scared that her past would catch up on her, and that she would forget how to trust, but after some time, she had gotten used to being alone. At least she had Holly, who spent a lot of time at Cass’ place, and Cass also visited Mary as often as she could. She still had the job at the club, but she realized that she soon wanted to apply for other, more serious jobs.

“Come on, Cass. Open up.”
Cass ran the last few feet over to the door and opened it, causing Holly to stumble through the opening.
“I am sooo good!” She said, popping down on the white comfy couch in Cass’ living room.
“Well… hello to you too.” Cass said laughing, as she sat down next to her friend. “What did you do, Hol?”
“I am the most genius person alive.” She said throwing out her arms, almost hitting Cass in the face.
“So, are you gonna tell me about it?”
“Hell yea!” She bent down to get something out from her purse. “Brace yourself, Cass. You’re gonna love me for the rest of your life.”
Cass laughed excitedly. “You’ve got my attention.”
“Ok. A friend of mom works for American Airlines. A couple of years ago, mom did him a pretty good favour, which I won’t go into detail about, and he always said that if she ever needed something in return, she could just ask him. So… here.” Holly handed Cass an envelope. “Open it.”
Cass opened the envelope and pulled out a piece of paper.
“A flight ticket? Holly, I don’t understand.”
“Read it!”
“From Orlando international, FL to Charles De Gaulle, PARIS! Are you kidding me???”
Holly shook her head. “We’re gonna go see our boys! We leave tomorrow.”
She stood up from the couch, pulling Cass with her as they both jumped up and down in the middle of the floor.
“I can’t believe this!” Cass said, not knowing what leg to stand on.
“I know.” Holly laughed. “And guess what. We’re flying first class too, both ways. And we don’t have to pay one singe dollar.”
“You have no idea how much I love you right now.”
“Told you so.” Holly said, giving Cass a hug.
“You haven’t told Aj yet, have you?”
“Nope. And I’m not planning on it either. We’re gonna surprise them, big time. I spoke to Brian though. He’s gonna make sure they’re at the hotel when we arrive, and he promised not to tell.”
“Oh, I’m so excited!” Cass said, but then suddenly realized something. “Man… I have to work tomorrow.”
Holly smiled. “You’re gonna love me even more now. I spoke to Mike and explained the situation. You have the whole week off.”
Cass gave Holly another hug. “Thank you so much Hol.”
“You welcome. I’ve seen how much you miss Nick, and I miss Alex just as much. It’ll be good for us to spend some time with them again.”
“I can’t wait!”
“I’m gonna pick you up tomorrow morning at 8. Our flight is at 11. I really have to get home and pack now, and so should you. Oh… and Brian told me that Paris is kinda chilly at this time of the year, so you should pack some warm clothes.”
“Ok. I’ll be sure to remember that. I’ll call you tonight to make sure I’ve got everything, k?”
“Sure thing.”
Cass followed Holly over to the front door. “I can’t wait until tomorrow.”
“I know.” Holly smiled and gave Cass another hug.
“See you.”
“Bye Cass.”

The girls arrived at the airport the next day almost two hours before their flight was due to depart. While they were waiting to board the plane, Cass’ phone rang. She saw Nick’s number show on the display, and suddenly got really nervous. This was the first time she would have to lie to him.
“It’s Nick…” She said to Holly before she pressed the answer button.
“Hey baby.” She spoke, trying not to sound nervous.
“Hey. How are you?”
“Oh, fine.”
“Whatcha doing?” He asked her.
Cass gulped. “Umm… nothing, really.” She said, trying to sound convincing. “Just watching TV.”
“It’s noisy in the background. What are you watching?”
“Oh… it’s umm… it’s a documentary about… umm… American Airlines. Yea, a documentary”
“Cass, are you ok? You sound weird.”
“Yea, I’m fine. Just tired I guess. I miss you.”
“I miss you too, baby. I feel so bad for not coming home for thanksgiving.” He said.
“I know Nick… but it’s ok. I understand that you have to work. We’ll see each other soon.”
‘Sooner than you think’ Cass thought to herself.
“Listen, I have to go. We’ve got an interview with some radio station. I just wanted to say hi. I’ll call you later tonight, k?”
“I’m working tonight, Nick.” Knowing that she would be in the air on her way to Paris by then.
“Oh… ok. I’ll talk to you tomorrow then.”
“Ok.”
“I love you.”
“Love you too. Bye Nick.”
“Bye honey.”
Cass hung up, and sighed, knowing that in no more then 10 hours, she would be with him.

“Brian is meeting us in the lobby.” Holly told Cass as they walked through the main entrance of the five star hotel that was situated in the heart of Paris.
“I don’t see him anywhere.” Cass said, looking around.
“I do, there he is.” Holly pointed towards the elevator across the lobby. She waved to get his attention. He spotted them, and walked over to the two girls.
“Hey you.” He said, giving them both a hug. “How are you doing?”
“Great now that we’re here.” Cass responded.
“Come on, I’ll show you to your guys. They’re both in their rooms.”
The girls looked at each other excitedly and followed Brian over to the elevators.
They rode the elevators in silence, and once they stepped out on the top floor, Cass was so nervous, she thought she was gonna pee her pants.
“Ok, we’re here. Aj’s down the hall, to the right, 1007, and Nick’s on the left, 1014. I’ll see you tomorrow at breakfast.”
The girls hugged Brian one last time, and walked down the hall together.
“Good luck Cass.” Holly said, hugging her friend.
“You too.” Cass smiled.

Holly stopped in front of the door to Aj’s room, while Cass continued down the hall to Nick’s room. When she reached the door, she stopped to take a deep breath and gather herself a little. Then she lifted her hand, and knocked three times on the wooden door.
She heard sounds coming from the inside, and felt her heart beating faster.
Then, slowly, the door opened and she found herself face to face with Nick. At first it didn’t seem like he quite understood who she was, but then, his face lit up, and his eyes got wider.
“Cass?” He pulled her into a hug. “Oh my god. What are you doing here honey?”
She smiled and put her arms around him. She looked over his shoulder and into the hotel room, and felt her heart skip a beat, when she saw a pretty blond girl sitting on his bed. She froze in his arms, but quickly pulled away. She looked at him, and shook her head.
“I wanted to surprise you, but I see you’re busy.” She said hurt and started walking away.
“Wha…?” Nick turned around to see what Cass was talking about. “Shit…No, Cass. Wait! It’s not what it looks like.”