*Ring!* *Ring!*
I swear, that darn phone was the bane of my existence.
I rolled over and grabbed it. "Hello?" "Good morning to you
too, Sunshine. I hope your not really as cranky as you sound."
"Pardon me, this brain of mine is not registering
anything at the moment. Who are you and what right do you have to
call me cranky?" I was beyond pissed that someone had the nerve to
wake me up and then accuse me of being cranky.
All at once a figure stepped into my room.
"Well, then" Nick spoke into his cell phone, "shall I just jump on the
next plane back to Florida now?"
My mouth dropped open. "What are you doing
here?!" I asked incredulously. "I thought...I mean...shouldn't you
be working?"
His response was sealing my lips with his, and a
long kiss that sent tingles all the way down to my toes followed.
He looked deep into my eyes and said, "There's no place I'm supposed to
be except right here, right now, with you." I looked back at him
questioningly. "And we've also got a 2 week break before we go to
Europe."
"Ah, I see. So you decided to waste your time
like this just to come and see little ol' me, didja?"
He flashed a plane ticket in my face. "Actually,
I was hoping you'd be willing to waste a little bit of your time with me.
As I said before, we're leaving for Europe in 2 weeks, and I'd really love
it if you'd agree to come along."
I sighed and turned my face up to his. "I'd
love to, but there's only one problem: how am I going to get so much time
off work?"
"Well, for starters, you can quit your job, if you
trust me, that is." Nick gave me a mysterious look.
"What?! You're joking, right? My parents
would kill me!!"
He looked at me with a twinkle in his deep blue
eyes. "Nope, not at all. See, right now AJ's mom, Denise, is
doing all of the organizing and stuff for us while we're on tour, and it's
really hard for her to keep up when we've got such a strict schedule.
So what she really needs is an assistant, and she knows you've got some
secretarial experience and stuff, so she was wondering if you'd be interested.
It means that you'd get to come along with us wherever we go...but it also
means long days and sometimes very short nights. What do you think
about it?"
Ok, well, I've been shocked before, but now I was
the definition of flabbergasted. My eyes grew so wide I thought they'd
pop out, and my mouth gaped open like the Grand Canyon. "This is
great! Are you serious? I could be with you every day!
I'd have to leave my family...where would I live when you're not on tour?
I'd have to be in Florida with you..."
Nick just stood there grinning at me while I babbled
on and on. Finally he interrupted. "Shall I tell Denise that
you'll take the job?"
I thought for a moment. "Yes, I'll take it"
I replied. "But I really need to sit down with my parents and talk
to them about it before you tell Denise, ok?"
Nick nodded. "I'll come with you when you
talk to them. Do you want to do it now?"
"Might as well."
So I got dressed and nervously wandered into the
kitchen. I was so afraid that my parents wouldn't let me do this,
but I knew that with Nick there, they were less likely to say no.
"Uh, mom, dad, there's something we need to talk
about."
Now, I knew right then and there that I shouldn't
have started off that way, but there really wasn't any other way to say
it. And I could tell that I'd put them on edge.
But then, my knight in shining armour stepped in.
"Mr. & Mrs. McKinley, I offered Sam a job. She'd be working with
us, in an assistant position to our Public Relations director. It
would be a great opportunity for her, but it also means she's be on tour
with us all the time, and when we're not on tour, she'd probably have to
be living in Florida so she'd be near to us. She's already expressed
a lot of interest in the position, but she wanted to clear it with you
before formally accepting it. Would you be ok with it?"
I couldn't believe it. He'd just charmed my
parents within an inch of their lives. How could they say no to that?
Apparently they couldn't. "Are you sure you're ready to
move out honey? It's a big step for you, and it wouldn't be easy
work...Have you thought this through?"
I nodded and replied "I think it would be really
good for me. I'd be able to experience a whole different lifestyle
and earn money while I'm doing it. I'm sure the pay won't be too
shabby either." I smile nervously at them.
"Well, if this is what you want, then we're not
going to hold you back. All I ask is that you drop us a line every
once in a while. We'll miss you around here." I couldn't believe
it. My mom actually had tears in her eyes when she said that.
I thanked them and went into the hallway with Nick.
I threw my arms around him and whispered in his ear "What's Denise's phone
number?" His grin lit up the room as he pressed the speed dial button
on his cell phone and handed it over to me.
"Hello, Denise? It's Sam. I'd just like
you to know that I'll take the job...."