| Chapter 12: The Dating Game Lauralee waited at the house, Angel following her around. She waited for Alex to return. They were at the 3-week mark until the wedding. Presents were starting to arrive at Laura and Kevin’s house. Of course, some fans knew the wedding date, but the place was being kept at top secret levels. The only people who knew were close family and friends. People were speculating at New York, Kentucky, or Florida, but no one knew the real spot. Laura and Kevin came up with a great plan to make sure that the wedding wasn’t a press frenzy. Lauralee didn’t even know what some of their plans were, even the honeymoon. Lauralee heard the limousine pull up and the door close. She got up and ran to the door, with Angel barking behind her. She opened the door to find Alex struggling with his bags. As soon as he saw her, he dropped the bags, ran and embraced her. “Are you a sight for sore eyes,” Alex said into her shoulder. “God, I’ve missed you,” Lauralee cried. She grabbed one of his bags. They walked into the house as Angel tried to jump up to Alex. “I missed you just as much, and you, furball,” he knelt down as Angel jumped into his arms. They went to the back patio, with them catching up about the tour. “So how’s everything with the album promos?” Alex asked. “The album cover’s done, along with the name. Now we’re on hold until Laura comes back from the honeymoon.” “And the name is?” Lauralee smiled. “Victory. The girls suggested it when we finished recording ‘Break Away.’” “Victory,” Alex nodded. “I like it. And how’s the pre-wedding plans going?” “You tell me yours, and I’ll tell you ours.” Alex laughed. “All I’ll tell you is that Kevin will be extremely pleased. Did you ladies figure out a present for them yet?” Lauralee sighed. “Nope. Howie said he hadn’t figured out anything either.” “Well, we got three weeks. We’ll find something to give them. So,” Alex leaned close to Lauralee. “You wanna see how much I missed you?” He gave Lauralee’s neck a little nibble. Lauralee closed her eyes. “Oh I can’t wait,” Lauralee ran into the house, with Alex not far behind. ~*~ The crew was at Club Passaro, which was closed that evening. The girls threw a welcome home party for the boys, with champagne and a catered dinner for them. Nick popped a cheese puff into his mouth. “This is quite a spread.” Howie nodded. “Yeah, you didn’t have to do this.” Lauralee laughed. It felt nice to have everyone back. “So, guys,” she nodded towards Kevin and Laura, “three more weeks before taking the plunge.” Nick made a bomb noise with his mouth as the others laughed. Laura patted Kevin’s knee. “That’s right. Marrying this man will be ‘da bomb!” A collective “aw” was shared as Kevin and Laura kissed and they laughed again. “Am I interrupting something?” Lauralee and the others turned around to see Celia standing there. Lauralee’s eyes bugged out of her sockets as Laura ran over to her and kissed her on the cheek. “Come in and grab a plate,” Laura smiled. “Thanks for coming.” “Thanks for inviting me,” Celia responded. Lauralee shook her head slightly at Laura. There goes the neighborhood… ~*~ Howie felt his insides twist as he saw Celia enter the room. He had managed not to think about her since his phone call with Lauralee, but all of that seemed trivial as she walked into the room. He watched as Celia grabbed some food and walk over to the table. She went over to him. “Is it OK if I sit here?” “Uh, yeah, sure,” Howie said as Celia took a seat. “So, any more mistake shipments? Or did UPS finally get their addresses right?” “No I think everything’s in order,” Howie smiled. “So Howie,” Laura interjected, “did you know Celia comes from a big family?” “Really,” Howie took a bite of his baked ziti. “Yeah, four brothers and a sister. I’m the baby of the family,” Celia smiled. “I guess it helped my father. It was automatic employees for his business.” “And Howie is the youngest of his family,” Laura agreed. “Isn’t that right?” Howie nodded. “Looks like you guys have a lot more in common than I thought.” Howie looked as Lauralee stood up. “Who wants more champagne?” “I do,” Howie said quickly. He held up his glass as Lauralee filled it up. “Fill them all up,” Bianca smiled, “Because Nick and I have an announcement to make.” The glasses were filled as Nick and Bianca stood up. “We got something to tell you all,” Nick smiled. “Nick and I are moving in together,” Bianca smiled. “Hey that’s great!” Brian stood up and hugged them. “When?” “As soon as the wedding’s over. I’m gonna sell the house and live with Bianca. She has the bigger one anyway.” “Would it also be that Bianca just built a full size court?” Elizabeth laughed. “Hey at least I’ll always have someone to go one-on-one with.” Howie swigged his glass in a second. Oh great, more romantic bliss to deal with. He glanced at Celia, who was taking a side-glance at him. Why in the hell am I here? ~*~ The night wore on literally for Howie. Laura kept directing the conversation towards Celia and him. Howie did find himself having a lot in common with her: both from a big Latin family, same tastes in music, clubs, etc. But the way Laura was bringing it up, he felt like he was on the Dating Game. Several glasses of champagne later, Howie was feeling no pain. “I say we head home,” Lauralee said. “Yeah me too,” Elizabeth and Brian stood up. Howie swayed as he stood up. He took his keys out of his pocket. “Well, I’m in no condition to drive. Who’s gonna take me home?” “Celia can,” Laura looked at her. “Right?” “Yeah sure,” Celia smiled. “No, I’m… I’m sure it’s kind of far from where you live.” “It’s not that far,” Laura reassured him. “Besides, we only took two cars. We’re riding with Lau and Alex, Bri and Liz drove with Nick and Bianca.” “Fine,” Howie rubbed his eyes. Now he was fully drunk. What the hell… ~*~ The ride was somewhat silent. The car came to a traffic light as Celia turned on her radio. When the song came on, Howie froze. Oh my God… it can’t be! “I love this song,” Celia smiled. “Yeah,” Howie slurred. “It was our song.” Nothing is promised to me and you So why will we let this thang go Baby I promise that I'll stay true Don't let nobody say it ain't so Baby I promise that I will never leave And everything will be all right I promise these things to you Girl just believe I promise “Our song?” Celia asked. “Veronica and I,” Howie felt the tears in his eyes well up. “Oh,” Celia’s voice turned low. “Do you want me to turn it off?” “No, it’s OK,” Howie turned to the window. Said I know the things you say been right Forever since a very long time We never even had a fight Don't let no one change your mind Cause they don't how much I care They don't know the things we share unless they here But since they're not how can they say I’m not true They arrived at Howie’s house. “You have a nice place,” Celia said as she put the car in park. “Thanks,” Howie took off his seatbelt. “And thanks for the ride.” “No problem.” Howie started to get out of the car but Celia stopped him. “Howie?” He leaned back into the car. “Yeah?” “You need help getting out?” “Nah, I can do it by myself.” He got out of the car, closed the door behind him, and stumbled to the door, not even looking back. ~*~ “So, you guys think there were sparks this evening?” Laura turned to Lauralee and Alex in Kevin’s car. “Honey,” Kevin put his hand on her knee as he looked at Lauralee in the rearview mirror. She was glaring at Laura. “Well, wasn’t there? I saw a little look Howie gave her.” “Maybe because he was drunk Laura,” Lauralee said through gritted teeth. “Or maybe he was uncomfortable.” “Easy Lau,” Alex rubbed her shoulder. “Actually he did look weird when Celia walked into the room.” Laura folded her hands and placed them near her cheek. “He was probably enchanted with her.” Lauralee rolled her eyes as Kevin pulled up to the house. They said goodbye as Alex and Lauralee walked into the house. “Damnit!” Lauralee threw her bag on the couch. “Will she just give up on this already!” “She’s got the bridal bug babe,” Alex said. “She just wants to spread her happiness around.” “Yeah, but this is starting to get on my nerves,” Lauralee went to the answering machine and checked the messages. “Hi, Lauralee, this is Chad Robson. Please call me at your earliest convenience. Goodbye.” Alex heard the message. “Who’s Chad Robson?” Lauralee whipped around. “Chad?” “Yeah.” “Oh,” Lauralee let out a nervous laugh. “He’s someone who works for Sony. Probably has some questions about the album.” Lauralee watched as Alex nodded and headed to the kitchen. The one time she wasn’t available, and she got the call. Hopefully it would be the one to end her anxiety once and for all. Chapter 13 Contents Chapter 11 |