Chapter 29
"Carter is late...." Skye said, twirling the drumsticks in her hand as the band waited for Nick to arrive. He was an hour late....something he rarely did. Amanda was not pleased at all, especially since Nick had promised her before CHristmas that he would not be late to rehearsals. She was already in the middle of the divorce from Lance so she had not been in a good mood already, and now Nick had added to it.
"I will be in my office when the rock star decides to show up." Amanda said coldly. She went to her office to do paperwork. It was not like Nick to pull something like this, but she was mad none the less. Amanda was so infuriated that she did not look up when Nick appeared in the doorway an hour later.
"Hey." he said, knocking on the door jam softly.
"What do you want, Nick?" Amanda said coldly. He was wearing the big sunglasses again and looked dishevelled, as if he had just rolled out of bed. He smelled slightly of cologne and alcohol.
"Just wanted to let you know I was here...sorry, I'm-"
"Nick, you are two hours late. I do not want to hear your excuses."
"But Amanda..."
"I don't want to hear it. If you're such a rock star that you think you can pick your own time to start rehearsals, then I suggest you find somewhere else to play." Amanda snapped. Nick frowned at the way she was speaking to him, it wasn't like her at all. He moved closer to her and tried to talk to her again, Amanda saw the gold glinting on his hand.
"Amanda, I'm sorry...I promise it won't happen again." he said as he took off the glasses. His eyes were bloodshot and had dark circles under them, his face tired and worn.
"Have a good time in Vegas?" Amanda asked without looking at him. Nick shifted uncomfortably...this was not going the way he had planned.
"Not really....I..."
"Leave your personal life at home. Go start rehearsal....you are already late." she said. Nick hung his head as he walked out of the office and as soon as the door closed Amanda cried, her head on the desk. It broke her heart to know that Nick was married to someone like Katie, and that she couldn't be with him. Lance had left her with a six month old daughter...sure, Brian had stepped up and given all his free time to help with Celine, but she had hoped Nick would take some responsibility. Instead, Nick was out partying and didn't seem to care. Amanda ended up leaving the club early right in the middle of a song Nick was playing. She Looked at him with tears in her brown eyes as she walked out. Nick got upset and stopped singing, sitting down on the stage and knowing he screwed up big time. Amanda went to pick up Celine from Brian's and he noticed she was upset.
"You okay?" Brian asked.
"Nick was two hours late to rehearsal."
"Are you serious? That's not like him." Brian said as he handed her the baby.
"I know it isn't, and it scares me. He is turning into something he isn't....he smelled like alcohol too." Amanda said.
"Well, maybe one of us should talk to him."
"It won't be me, Bri. I have enough on my plate without dealing with his mistakes too. Nick chose to get married, he can get himself out of it." Amanda stated as she walked home. That night, Amanda was still mad at Nick so she didn't go to his performance. She called to check on things and could hear the crowd booing. It was the first time Nick had ever been booed in his life. Amanda didn't care...Nick had screwed up himself...she had no pity or remorse left for him. After that she and Nick were barely speaking. He was on time and did exactly what she needed him to do, but they did not talk. A few days went by and Nick had the night off. When this happened, Amanda usually had a DJ or recorded music so she didn't have to worry about entertainment. It was this night she was surprised to see Brian walk in the door. He was not in uniform....wore a dress shirt and black pants. Amanda admitted to herself he looked gorgeous as he walked over and smiled. He smelled amazing and his voice was smooth.
"Wow, Brian....what brings you here?" she asked playfully.
"I had a free night and I decided to go out." Brian said. Amanda had never really noticed how attractive Brian was. She and him had always had a brother-sister type relationship.
"Actually, I wanted to ask you something."
"Okay..."
"I was wondering if you would like to join me for dinner sometime." he said, grinning. Amanda could not believe Brian was asking her out. She had not known he was attracted to her at all...he never flirted or showed that he liked her in that way.
"Like a date?" Amanda asked just to be sure." Brian nodded and they agreed to go out that Thursday night. After Brian left, Amanda felt excited about the date but something deep down told her it would lead to trouble. Brian was a wonderful man....he always helped her and was good looking...he was sensitive and charming, a gentleman. Amanda thought for a long time about the prospect of dating Brian and decided that she was done waiting for Nick....that she was done helping him and did not need to stress over him anymore.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Thanks again for the awesome reviews for this story. Hope you all like this chapter!!
