"Guess, that leaves that out of the question," Lori whispered to Alesha.
"No. You have to," she whispered back. "He's gonna have to know sooner or later. Now's the best time as any. He won't react too badly with the other guys here."
"Who won't react badly to what?" AJ asked sitting in between them. "I don't like it when ya'll whisper. Bad things usually happen."
Lori looked over his shoulder at Alesha, a pleading look in her eyes. "Oh AJ. You're so melodramatic," Alesha grinned.
"Hey Rebecca, can I go play Nintendo?" Taelen asked.
"Sure sweetie," she smiled at him. Everyone watched him run off into the house. "That little boy acts more and more like Nick. Scary," she said shaking her head.
"Well, Howard," AJ smiled at him. "When can we expect a baby D?"
Rebecca looked at Lori who looked at Alesha. Howie laughed. "Man, you think I want my child growing up around you? You crazy maniac psychopath?"
AJ grinned. "I'd make a good daddy, wouldn't I Lori?" he asked leaning back against her and looking up at him.
"Yeah, to a monkey," Brian grinned.
"Now, that's not a very nice thing to say," AJ pouted. "I'd make an EXCELLENT father."
"Guess we'll find out sooner than ya think," Leighanne murmured, looking away.
"What?" AJ asked looking at her sharply.
"Nothing," she said smiling innocently.
Alesha looked over at her, and then at Lori. "Man," she mumbled shaking her head.
"What is going on?" AJ asked looking at Alesha.
"Umm…I…you hafta…" she looked at Lori.
"Do you REALLY wanna find out how great of a daddy you might be?" Lori asked quietly.
"Yeah, eventually. Someday," he said looking at her funny.
"Is…7 months from now long enough to be considered someday?"
"7…months....what do you…you mean…in 7 months…" he said almost falling off the bench. Lori nodded slowly. "Oh man," he said. "I'm gonna be a dad." He shook his head and whispered, "A dad. Me?" He looked at Lori, the tears filling her eyes, and a grin slowly formed on his face. "I'm going to be a dad," he said.
"You're not mad?" Alesha asked.
"Hell no," he grinned. "Why would I be a mad?" He looked at Lori. "You thought I'd be mad?"
She shrugged. "I didn't know what to think," she smiled.
"Aww darlin," he said hugging her close. "I love you baby. I'm probably the farthest you can get to mad," he whispered kissing her softly.
"I hate to break up the happy party here," Brian said suddenly serious. "But…how and when are we going to break the news to the world? I mean, we have Mr. Sex-Maniac over here," he pointed at AJ, "settling down with a chick, getting ready to be a father. We have Mr. Sweetness over here," he pointed at Howie, "settling down with a chick, getting married. Then we have the Wonder Couple," he pointed at Alesha, "who's no longer a couple. That's a lot of news there that ya know the gossip mill is gonna have a heyday with."
Alesha sighed. "I'm going in the house," she said looking at the other girls.
"Yeah," Leighanne said kissing Brian on top of the head. Rebecca and Lori followed, all of them realizing the guys needed time to formulate a plan against the attack their fans would ensue.
Howie nodded. "I know that's part of why I kind of needed to ask you guys. I mean," he sighed. "It's going to start a lot of rumors about the band breaking up, and stuff like that."
"Yeah," Brian agreed. "But ya have to think of your life, too."
"I got it!" AJ said.
"What?" Brian and Howie asked simultaneously.
"Well, I was thinking. Ya know how we have that press conference thingy in a week?" Brian and Howie nodded. "Well, we could kind of…ya know…leak some of the information to our oh-so-reliable gossip circuit, and ya know the questions will be asked at the conference. Then we can confirm them there."
"Good idea," Brian grinned.
"Cool," Howie nodded. "Hey BRok," Howie asked his mind already on another train of thought. "What was up with Nick? He didn't say anything, just left in a rush."
Brian sighed. "Before this whole thing with Chad or whatever his name is and Alesha happened, he was gonna ask her to marry him. He had already bought the ring and everything."
Howie cringed. "Oh man," he sighed. "Hold on a second," he said running into the house to answer the phone.
"Fuck, fuck, FUCK!!" Nick yelled slamming his hands on the steering wheel of his truck. Leaning his head against the wheel as he waited for the light to change, he sighed. "Shoulda been me and Alesha," he mumbled. "I love you babygirl," he whispered, his tears falling. "Why didn't I listen to her," he said. "Why didn't I just be there for her instead of pushing her away." Driving back towards Tampa, his mind lost in misery, his heart breaking because he was slowly losing the girl he loved, Nick's cries of pain were heard by no one but himself. As he pulled in the driveway, his mind began to clear, and his thoughts started moving towards a plan of getting Alesha back. "What if…" he said throwing his seatbelt off and running towards the house. Unlocking the door, he ran to the phone, not even bothering to shut it behind him, and he dialed a number quickly.
