"Spiderman's the coolest!!" Taelen exclaimed, his eyes bright as he clutched his bag of Universal Studios souvenirs. It might have been a couple of months late, but Nick kept his promise, spending the entire day walking around Universal with him.
"Yeah, he's pretty nifty," Nick replied smiling down at him. "Hungry?"
"Yupyup," Taelen nodded.
"What'cha wanna eat?" Nick asked as he helped the little boy up into his Durango. "Fingers," he said making sure he didn't catch Taelen's fingers in the door. Taelen held up his hands and wiggling them. Nick grinned as he shut the door.
"Can we have McDonald's," Taelen asked as Nick climbed into his seat.
"Sure," he said putting on his seat belt and starting up the truck. Glancing over, his breath caught as he watched Taelen flipping through his "The History of The Amazing Spider-Man" book. He looked just like Alesha did when she was excited about something.
"What's the matter Nick?" Taelen asked, his blue eyes full of concern.
"Huh? What'cha mean Munchkin?" Nick asked turning his attention back to getting out of the parking lot that was overflowing with vehicles.
Taelen shrugged. "You looked sad."
Nick smiled and ruffled Taelen's hair, laughing as his nose scrunched up in annoyance. "Just missing a really good friend," he said softly.
"Lita?" Taelen asked putting his book away. "She misses you, too."
"Hmmm," Nick said amazed by the astuteness of the little boy sitting in the passenger seat.
"Sure you don't you mind?" Howie asked Rebecca as he walked back over from talking to the DJ.
"If you dance with Alesha?" she asked smiling at him.
Howie nodded. "Kind of a sentimental song."
She laughed and kissed him softly. "Go," she said pushing him towards Alesha.
Howie smiled and walked over to the bar where Alesha was sitting chatting with some guy. "Excuse me," he said looking at Alesha.
"Howie!!" she exclaimed smiling. "This is Clay," she said looking at the guy next to her. "He's from Oklahoma. He went to OSU at the same time I did. Pretty wild, eh?"
Howie chuckled. "Yeah," he said. "Can I borrow her for a second?"
Clay smiled. "Not a problem."
Alesha grinned. "Nice meeting you," she said as she waved and walked off with Howie. "Where we going?" she asked as he led her to the dance floor. "Oooh. Won't Becca get jealous?"
Howie laughed. "No," he said looking over at the DJ booth. The sounds of LFO came drifting through the speakers.
Alesha giggled. "What is this? Our song?" she asked moving to the music.
"Yup," he winked.
Alesha laughed as he tripped almost falling in the middle of a turn. "And you do this for a living?"
"Oh shaddup," he said. "I've only danced to this song once."
After the song had finished, they walked back to the table. Leighanne and Brian had finally arrived, along with Kevin and Carrie. "Well, isn't THIS a familiar scene?" AJ smirked at Leighanne.
"Yeah, but this time, I'm gonna be nice," she said smiling and hugging Alesha. "I'm so glad you're back."
Sliding into the booth next to Howie, she laughed. "This is weird," she said looking at AJ.
"What?" he asked slipping his arm around Lori's shoulders.
"This was you," she said pointing at herself. "She was me, and you were Nick," she said laughing.
AJ looked at her, down at her water, and then back up at her. "No more for you," he said reaching for her glass.
"Funny Agee," she said moving her drink before he could get to it.
He looked up at her quickly, his eyes wide behind his glasses. A large grin suddenly plastered itself on his face. "She's BACK!!" he exclaimed loudly.
"Aren't you a cutie?" the girl behind the counter said smiling down at Taelen. "You look just like your daddy."
"He's-" Taelen began.
"Does that mean I'm a cutie too?" Nick asked interrupting, his blue eyes twinkling.
The girl giggled. "No. It means he's gonna grow up to be a hottie heartbreaker," she said.
"Hmmm…good thing he's not mine then," he winked. "He's my girlfr-he's a friend of mine's."
"Ahh," she said looking down at the register. "What can I get for ya'll?"
"Hmm.." Nick looked down at Taelen. "Well Munchkin?"
"I wanna cheeseburger happy meal. No ketchup or onions -" "Extra pickle and mustard with a Mr. Pibb?" Nick finished for him. Taelen nodded looking at Nick in awe. "Just like your mom," he said smiling. Glancing up at the menu he chewed on the inside of his bottom lip thinking. "Just a Big Mac and a large Coke."
"No fries?" she asked punching in the order. He shook his head, so she gave him his total and turned to assemble the order.
Nick reached into his back pocket, pulling out his wallet. Opening it up a picture fluttered to the ground. Handing the money to the girl, he watched as Taelen bent down to pick it up. He looked at it, his head tilted in confusion. "How come you and Lita aren't happy anymore?" he asked handing the picture back to Nick.
Nick looked down at the picture and sighed. "Because I'm an idiot," he said stuffing it in his wallet and putting the wallet in his back pocket.
Taelen giggled. "Stimpy," he said walking towards an empty booth.
Nick picked up the tray of food and followed him over to the table. Looking at Taelen funny, he asked, "What?"
"Steeempy you eedeeot," he said, sounding just like Ren.
"You boy, are a nut," Nick said laughing and shaking his head.
"Well?" Leighanne asked as the girls stood in the restroom, freshening up their make-up.
"Well what?" Alesha laughed self-consciously. Leighanne was staring at her, her hands on her hips. Lori was giggling as she re-applied her lipstick. Rebecca was re-doing her ponytail trying not to laugh, and Carrie was hiding her face by digging in her purse.
"Who's DarkStar and why haven't I heard about him?" Leighanne asked, crossing her arms across her chest.
Alesha giggled. "Some random weirdo on the net," she replied combing her fingers through her hair, shaking the ends to loosen the curls.
"Some random weirdo she's been babbling about all day," Lori murmured.
"Funny Lor," Alesha said making a face.
"Ya know Lesh, he could be some psycho-maniac-killer type. There's crazy lunatics on the Internet," Carrie said adjusting her bra straps.
Alesha looked at Rebecca and busted out laughing. "Tell me about it," she said.
"Funny Lesh," Rebecca said making a face at her.
"Calm down ya'll. Really. It's not like I'm going to run away with him. I've only talked to him a couple of times," Alesha said rolling her eyes.
"Yeah, well. Stranger things have happened," Leighanne said. "Just keep us informed on Mr. Mysterio," she grinned as they walked back to the table.
"Basketball?" Nick groaned. "Aren't you tired?" he asked watching Taelen jump out of the truck.
"Nopers," he said running over to the court and picking up the ball.
"Munchkin, you're gonna kill me," Nick said carrying the packages to the door. Setting them down on the porch, he walked back over to the basketball court.
"To 10," Taelen said, looking at Nick with fierce competitiveness.
Nick chuckled. "To 10," he said getting into his defensive position. Much to Nick's surprise, Taelen handled the ball well for his age. He played a good game, losing by only 2 points. "You're awesome," Nick said as they walked inside.
"Thanks. Lita use to send me money for my birthday so mom could send me to Basketball Camp. I love playing. I'm gonna play for the Hornets some day," Taelen said jumping on the couch and turning on the TV.
"The Hornets?" Nick asked grabbing two sodas from the refrigerator. Opening one, he handed it Taelen and sat down next to him.
"Yup. Then I'm going to go play for the Heat," he said taking a big gulp of his soda, giggling as the fizz bubbles tickled his nose. "I'm gonna be just like 'Zo," Taelen said rubbing his nose.
Nick laughed. "Does that to me all the time," he said. "Just like 'Zo, huh? Hmmm…well, we'll have to make sure you practice lots."
