PART NINE



    A little less than a month passed by and the guys were on the bus on their way back to Orlando. Chris and Joey were playing a game on the Play Station at the front of the bus, and Justin, Lance, and JC were all sitting at the round table with a deck of cards in front of them.
    “C will you just go already?” Justin said as he watched JC stare at his cards.
    “Hold your pants up J. It isn’t like you’re gonna win anyway!” JC replied back.
    Lance sat there and watched the two argue until JC finally laid down his cards and said that he had a royal flush. He won that hand. “Care for another round?” Lance asked.
    “Nah, I am beat. Where the heck are we anyway?” Justin asked.
    “We should be home pretty soon,” Lance answered back.
    “Good! I wanna go home and take a real shower in my bathroom and sit at my table and eat me some cereal!” Justin said with a laugh.
    “I am waiting for my nice big bed!” JC said and the others laughed.
    “Figures,” Joey yelled back to them.
    “Oh cool it Joey,” JC said. “You just can’t wait to get back home to Ann. What, it’s been like 2 weeks since you’ve seen her. How ever have you made it this far?!” JC joked.
    Joey turned and threw the game book at JC. “What can I say?” Joey said with a smile.
    “Absolutely nothing,” Chris said.
    Justin looked over at Lance and said, “so Lance, you still bringing Steven to the pool next week for me.?” Lance looked at Justin and was completely confused. He had no idea what he was talking about. “You remember? I asked you the other day if you could do it for me. My parents have something to do and I said that I would take him to the pool for his swimming lessons, but then I got called upon to do that AOL chat.” Justin looked at Lance with wide eyes and waited for him to catch on.
    Finally Lance remembered what was going on. It was all part of Justin’s plan. He couldn’t believe that he had forgotten about it. “Ah man, J, I totally forgot! I talked to Brook last night and told her that I would go visit her Aunt with her for the day.”
    “Well what am I supposed to do now?”
    “I’ll take him,” JC said. “I haven’t gotten to hang out with the little man in awhile.”
    Justin smiled and said, “wow, thanks C. You just saved me.”
    “No problem. What day is it on?”
    “It’s Monday at two o’clock.”
    “Sure, no problem Justin.”
    “Thanks,” Justin said and looked at Lance with a sense of pure accomplishment.
    With all of that said and done, the guys all went back and did their own thing and started to bring some of their bags up to the front. They were due back into Orlando in less than an hour and couldn’t wait to get home for some chill and relaxation time.

    A couple hours later all the guys were back at their houses and somewhat trying to unpack some of their stuff. They had awhile till the second leg of the tour started so they were making the best use of their time as they could.
    About an hour after they had gotten home, Justin made his way over to Nikki’s house and hoped that she would be there. He pulled into the driveway and then hopped out of his car and walked up the path to her front door. He rang the doorbell once and then turned around and looked off down the road. A minute later, when no one answered the door, he started to walk back down to his car. Just then he saw Nikki’s car turn the corner and come down the street. She pulled into the drive on the other side of Justin's car.
    He walked over to her car and went to the back passenger’s side. Nikki looked back at him and smiled. Justin opened the door and said, “hey there baby girl.”
    “Uhnkle Uztin!” Courtney yelled.
    Justin smiled at her and then said, “Hey Nikki.”
    “Justin, what are you doing here?”
    “Oh I just wanted to stop by. We just got in a little while ago.” Justin unbuckled the car seat and lifted Courtney out. He propped her up on his hip and walked to the front of the car where he met up with Nikki.
    “Well that was awfully nice of you,” she said as she kissed his on the cheek. “Come on in.”
    Justin grabbed one of the bags from the front seat and held it in his other hand. The two of them walked up the drive and made their way inside. Justin sat Courtney down and then carried the bag into the kitchen. Nikki started to take out the contents of the bag and place them in their appropriate places.
    “So, how was the rest of the tour?” Nikki asked as she put the milk in the refrigerator.
    Justin took out some more of the stuff out of the bag and handed it to Nikki. “It was good,” he said. “We still have a second leg to do, but we have a little less than a month before we do that.”
    “Wow, you guys sure have picked up on the business,” she laughed.
    Justin looked into the living room and saw Courtney sitting on the floor in front of the TV. She was watching Scooby Doo. He smiled and said, “we sure did. But we all love it.”
    “I am sure that you do.”
    “So Nikki, Monday I have to take Steven to the pool for his weekly lessons. You think that you want to bring Courtney over to the pool too?”
    “Wow, he must be getting big huh?
    “He sure is,” he said.
    Nikki looked over at her and then back to Justin. “Uhm, sure. Why not? What time do you want us there?”
    “Well it starts at two, so how about one thirty or so?”
    “That’ll work just fine.”
    “Good,” he said with a smirk. “I’m sure that he and Courtney will get along just great.”
    Nikki giggled and said, “I’m sure they will.”
    “He takes after his brother, so I would doubt it if he starts making pretty eyes at little Courtney here. He’s gonna think she is a doll. He may be young, but he knows a pretty lady when he see one.”
    They both laughed and Nikki uttered out a final giggle and said, “well, she takes after me. She’ll pop him one if he starts to hit on her too much.” Both of them laughed again and then let their faces be covered with a smile when they noticed Courtney glaring back at them with her big blue eyes and a really big smile.

    Monday afternoon Nikki walked into the field house where the pool was and went to the counter. “Hi, I am here for the two o’clock swimming lesson. We’re new. Is it too late to sign up?” she asked as she held Courtney up on the edge on the counter.
    “No mam, it isn’t too late. We accept people basically anytime as long as it isn’t during the middle of the lesson. Can I have your name and the child’s name please?”
    “Thanks. I’m Miss Nicole Taylor, and this is Courtney Taylor.”
    “Okay, thank you Miss Taylor. Just go right through those doors and find you a layout chair to sit in. The class won’t start for another thirty minutes or so, but you are more than welcome to go stick your feet in with Courtney if you like.”
    “Thank you mam. Oh, and about how many people are usually here?”
    The lady looked at her chart and said, “well today we have about seven including yourself.”
    “Okay, thanks.” Nikki and Courtney walked through the doors to find a large pool and a small kiddy pool. There were only three other families there at the time. The two of them strolled over to an open area and Nikki set down her stuff and put Courtney down.
    “Mommy, I gonna swim in that?” Courtney asked.
    “Yes you are baby, eventually. But today you are going to start learning the basics in the little pool over there.”
    “Oh, otay.”
    “Come on baby, let’s go to the bathroom and get changed up,” she said as she scooped up Courtney and headed around the corner to the bathroom.
    A few minutes had passed when Seven wobbled in the door. He went over and stood by the counter. “Uncle C, here!”
    “I’m coming kid. I’m coming.”
    “Mr. Chasez?” the lady said.
    “Yes,” he answered back.
    “Justin called in and said that you would be accompanying Steven today.”
    “That I am.”
    “Okay, just go ahead and sign in and then go right through those doors. I am sure Steven knows exactly where you two are going.”
    JC let out a slight laugh and said, “I’m sure he does. Justin says this is his favorite thing to do now.”
    “Well I am glad that he enjoys it. Have a good time,” she said as she took the clipboard that JC had just signed.
    “We will,” he said.

    JC walked in following Steven. They made their way to the back side and JC put down both his and Steven’s things. “I swim there!” he exclaimed as he pointed to the kiddy pool. “Tis crunk huh?”
    JC burst out laughing, “Justin taught ya that one eh?”
    “Justin smart. He knows good words. He teach me some sometimes.”
    JC smiled and said, “well that was one I hadn’t heard ya repeat yet, but it is a good one!” JC took off his shirt and undid it jean shorts. He was standing in his swimming trunks when he said, “come on bugger,” and grabbed Steven under the arms. He carried him over to the shallow end of the big pool and held him up. Steven had on a paid of arm floaters, but he knew that Steven wasn’t used to swimming in that end of the pool, so he just kept him nearby.
    “Again again,” he yelled as JC lifted him up in the air and then splashed him into the water.
    Nikki carried Courtney back into the main area by the pool and set her down on their layout chair. “I wonder where Justin is at,” she said.
    “Uhnkle Uztin is coming?” she asked excitedly.
    “He is supposed to,” she answered.
    Nikki counted the heads in the room and noticed that including herself there were now all seven people there. Four of them were in the pool with their kids, and the other two were on the side of the kiddy pool. None of them were facing her so she couldn’t see if Justin was one of them. “What am I thinking?” she mumbled to herself. “Justin’s hair is huge, how could I miss it. Maybe someone else signed up right before class,” she sighed and sat down.

    “Hello everyone,” a girl said from over at the kiddy pool. “I’m am Lisa and today we are going to start out with me and my staff working with the kids. After about fifteen minutes, we will take a five minute break and then ask their ‘partners’ come into the pool with us to work with the kids.”
    JC lifted Steven out of the pool and patted his butt and told him to go on over there. He told him that would be right over here in the pool. Steven took off towards the pool.
    “Well baby, go on over there. I will be right here,” Nikki said.
    “Uhm, otay,” Courtney said and made her way over to the lady that was talking. “Hi,” she said.
    “Well hello there. What’s your name?” Lisa asked.
    “I am Courtney,” she said as she hand her hands on her hips.
    “Well come on in Courtney. We are going to start teaching you how to swim. How does that sound?”
    “Good,” she said with a smile and then lowered her hands and reached out to Lisa.
    A few minutes later Lisa called, “Steven come over here. I want Courtney to be your partner for this.”
    Steven paddled himself over there and said, “hi. I am Steven.”
    Courtney blushed and said, “I am Courtney.”
    Lisa couldn’t help but giggle at their young flirtatious ways already. “You are too much like your brother,” she said to Steven.
    “And that is a good thing,” Steven said with a smile.
    Lisa giggled again and said, “yes I suppose it is. Okay you two, here’s what we are going to do.” About ten minutes later she yelled, “break time.”
    Nikki sat up and yawned. She couldn’t believe how tired she was already. She went to wipe her eyes and when she took her hands away from her face she saw Courtney standing in front of her. “Courtney, well who is this?”
    “Is Steven. He’s my partner.”
    “Hi.”
    “Well hello there. You wouldn’t happen to be Justin’s brother now would you.”
    “Uhm... my brother is named Justin.”
    Nikki smiled and looked over by the little pool and then said, “well where is Justin?”
    “He not here. He had to do,” he stopped for a second and then said, “AOL today.”
    “AOL? Ohh, did he have a chat today or something?”
    “I don’t know. He just had AOL today.”
    “Oh,” she said back very confused. “So who are you here with?”
    “I’m here with Uncle C,” Steven said.
    “You’re here with Uncle,” she started to say, but got cut off by a man’s voice.
    “Steven, you flirt, what are you doing?” JC looked down and noticed who it was. “Uhm,” he said and then gulped.
    Nikki knew that voice anywhere. She slowly looked up and took a deep breath, “JC.”
    JC rocked back and forth on his feet and chewed on his lip. “Nikki,” he said. He was speechless. He knew of nothing that he could say to her at the moment. So instead, he just stood there with his bottom lip under his top teeth, and his hands locked together.



Part Ten