"D'ya promise?" Taelen asked, a huge smile plastering itself on his face.
"I promise," Nick said, grinning almost as big on his side of the phone.
"When ya getting back?"
"Sometime late tomorrow. We'll go this weekend, how's that?" Nick asked.
"Groovy," Taelen exclaimed excitedly.
"Groovy, eh?" Nick laughed. "You've been living with Alesha too long," he said.
"Wanna talk to her?"
"If she's not busy," Nick replied.
"LITA!!!!" Taelen yelled not bothering to cover the receiver. "She's in the other room," he informed Nick.
"I kinda figured," Nick chuckled, his ears ringing.
"What?" Alesha asked walking into the front room. "Who's on the phone?" she asked.
"Nick, he wants to talk to you," he said handing her the phone. "He's going to take me to Universal this weekend."
"Oh he is is he? Groovy," she said smiling as he nodded and ran off. "Hello?" she asked into the phone.
"What? I can't hear you," Nick said loudly.
"Huh? Oh. Tae. Yeah, his phone etiquette could use a little work," she smiled.
"Hey babygirl," Nick smiled.
"Hey sweetie, how are you?" she asked sitting on the couch.
"Tired," he said. She heard him sigh, picturing him stretching out on his bed. "We just finished our Toronto show about an hour ago. I'm flying into Tampa tomorrow. Don't know all the details yet, I'll call you tomorrow with them."
"Really? That's wonderful!!" Alesha exclaimed. "I miss you so much," she said softly.
"I miss you too Leshangel," he smiled. "How are things there?"
Alesha shrugged. "It's okay. Kinda boring," she smiled. "Your mom called. She wants to know if you're going to come visit her on this vacation you have."
He laughed. "Crazy woman," he said.
"Oh…and umm…Sarah stopped by."
"Sarah?" he asked. "What did she want?"
"No clue. She was extremely friendly…as usual," Alesha said sarcastically.
"I'm sorry baby," he said softly. "I seen the updates on the page. AJ likes his page with the tattoo looking designs," he said trying to change the subject.
Alesha laughed. "That's cool. So, I hear you're taking Taelen to Universal when you get home."
Nick chuckled. "Yeah. Definitely tell that ya'll are related. That little dude is into Spiderman almost as bad as you are." He yawned suddenly. "ACK! Sorry babygirl. I'm terribly tired."
Alesha smiled. "Want that I let you go?" she asked.
"No no no, it's okay. I wanna talk to you. Just don't hate me if I fall asleep," he said yawning again.
"Oh. So I'm that boring to talk to?" she teased.
"No. You just have that soothing affect on me," he smiled and then he sighed. "I miss sleeping next to you," he whined. "I miss having you around. I need you with me. I get lost without you here."
"Silly boy," she said laughing. "How is everyone doing?" she asked.
"Ummm…Brian and Leighanne are doing okay. They're on the phone CONSTANTLY. Do you know that he even turns on the phone at the concerts so that she can hear what's going on since she can't be there?" he asked shaking his head. "She's still shooting her movie. I think she's almost done though. Good thing, too. He's driving everyone crazier than I am. So him and I hang out a lot more, wallowing in our mutual miserable loneliness," he laughed. "Uhh…Howie and Rebecca are disgusting. They've like melded into this singular mutated organism with two heads that are constantly sucking the brains out of the other. It's not a pretty sight."
"Singular mutated organism?" Alesha asked trying not to laugh.
"Yeah. They're no longer Howie singular and Rebecca singular. It's HowieNBecca. The only time you see Howie by himself is on stage. But I think he's like hiding her in his pocket or something."
"Oh really?" Alesha asked laughing.
"Yeah. AJ and Lori are almost as bad. Do you know that he talked her into getting her belly button pierced? She also has two tattoos!!" he exclaimed.
"Oookay. What did she get?"
"Some crazy Betty Boop thing on her ankle, and then on her lower back she got the Japanese symbols for peace, love, and happiness."
"Hmmm…maybe her and AJ AREN"T a good combination," Alesha murmured smiling.
"OH!!" he exclaimed. "She now has a pink streak in her hair."
"That's it. They're breaking up. He's completely warped my best friend," Alesha shook her head. "What about Kevin and Carrie?"
"They ummm…I don't know. Carrie is at home right now. I know Kevin is bugged by the whole Lori and AJ thing. I don't know. He says it's because it's AJ that she's with, but I'm not sure. I think he'd be bothered if it were anyone," Nick said.
"Hmmm…I bet ya'll are glad you're gonna be having a break," Alesha smiled.
"Yes, yes we are," he said. "WHAT?" he asked his voice muffled. "Lesh, can you hold on for a second?" he asked.
"Sure sweetie," she said smiling.
"What?" she heard him say to someone. A muffled voice in the background said something to him and then she heard him say, "Yeah. Give me a couple of minutes." Nick sighed as he moved his hand off the receiver," Dumbass," he mumbled.
"I love you too," Alesha teased.
"Not you," he said. "BRok. He's hungry and doesn't want to go out alone."
"Ahh," she smiled. "It's okay hon. I have to go put Taelen to bed anyway."
"I love you babygirl. I'll call you tomorrow with my flight information."
"Okay sweetie. I love you too Nickums," she said softly. "Goodnight," she said as she hung up the phone. She sat there for a few minutes thinking about him, excited that she was going to see him tomorrow. Standing up, Alesha climbed the stairs and found Taelen curled in a ball in front of the TV. His Nintendo controller still clutched tightly in his good hand. "Silly boy," she said softly picking him up and walking over to the bed. "If I didn't know better, I'd swear you were Nick's son," she said tucking him into bed, brushing his bright blonde hair out of his face. Leaning down she kissed him lightly on the cheek. "I love you baby," she whispered.
As she started to walk out of the room, she heard Taelen whisper sleepily, "I love you Mamma Lita."
