"This is a beautiful house, Brian," Chris looked around in awe. Wow. Very tasteful, very understated, not overdecorated. Just what there was....was the best there was.
"Thanks," Brian opened a pair of glass doors and waved them to the pool. "There you have it."
Julia grabbed a beach chair and spread out her towel. "Give me sun!" She pointed to the chair next to her, "Sit Chrissy."
"Yes dear." Chris laughed obediently, sitting down in the chair.
"You're gonna tan with your clothes on?" Julia raised an eyebrow.
"Lemme warm up first, the air conditioning was on high in the car." Chris rubbed her arms and sat back in the chair, enjoying the sun on her face.
"I'm going in." Nick announced, throwing off his shirt and shoes. "Anyone joining me?"
"Me!" Brian called, his shirt joining Nick's on the grass by the pool. He took a running leap and dove into the pool, grinning as he surfaced. "I turned the heater on earlier, the water should be nice and warm."
Nick did his best cannonball into the pool, laughing when Chris and Julia jumped from the splash. "It's only water, girls." He flicked water at Chris, smiling.
"I'm cold." Chris told him seriously, ignoring Julia's smack on her leg.
"No you're not." Nick winked, and dove underwater, looking for Brian. He found his target and grabbed his legs, upending Brian in the pool. Nick emerged with Brian hanging off his shoulders, laughing. "Look what I found!" He called, strutting around the pool.
Nick sufficiently distracted, Julia turned to Chris. "What is going on?" she whispered.
"Nothing." Chris replied, watching AJ jump in the pool to save Brian from Nick, only to be quickly followed by Howie and Kevin. "It's a full out Backstreet brawl!" She pointed.
"We're getting it on tape, don't worry." Julia smiled. "But stop changing the subject...Nick?"
"You'll see soon enough, it's on this morning's tape." Chris sighed. "He came to my room, he....I don't even know what he did. Screwed with my head."
"He loves you, Chris."
"I don't know."
Julia laughed and smacked Chris' leg. "Look at him, would you?"
"What do you mean?"
"Chris, there is a very gorgeous wet blond quickly losing his bathing suit in that pool. Any other woman in their right mind would be drooling. You're not even noticing."
Chris had noticed Nick's bathing suit start to slip downwards, but had chosen to avoid looking at him altogether. The man just looked far too good in a bathing suit anyway... "I've seen it before anyway." She said with a smirk.
"Yeah, but now's my chance to see, since you're never going to tell me."
"You're awful." Chris laughed, as she pulled her tank top over her head. She slid off her shorts and neatly folded her clothes, leaving them on the ground.
"That's a cute bikini." Julia remarked. "Looks good on you too."
"Thanks." She smiled, and sat back on the chair, watching the guys continue to battle in the pool.
"Oh shit, he got it!" Julia watched as AJ jumped out of the pool with Nick's bathing suit, holding it above his head as a trophy.
"Give me that, AJ!!" Nick shouted from the pool, where Brian and Kevin were keeping him half underwater, splashing around.
"Mine." AJ strutted around the pool, stopping in his tracks when he saw Chris and Julia. "Well, hello ladies," he whistled, looking them both up and down. "I don't think I could ever find 2 "
"AJ, you whore, give me my bathing suit!" Nick screamed, jumping up to try to get a look at the girls. "I can't see," he muttered as AJ took off, running away from the pool at top speed.
"Poor Nicky," Brian laughed. "Buck naked, and can't even see his girl."
"And you call yourself my friend." Nick pouted, his shoulders slumped. "All I ask is for some clothes...."
"Oh, he pulls the heartstrings, doesn't he," Howie said sarcastically, splashing Nick in the face.
"Ok, I'll let you go, Nick." Brian let go, and Kevin did the same. "You're free to get out now."
Chris and Julia watched Nick stand up and turn to them, his hands covering himself underwater.
"Um...hi." His eyes widened when he saw Chris. "Hi." He said again.
"Hi." Chris replied, laughing at his face. He looked shocked. Rather like a deer caught in headlights. "I think AJ went that way," she pointed towards the house.
"Oh." Nick looked wistfully towards the house, then at the towels by the side of the pool. "Chrissy?"
"Yes Nicky?" She looked at him and batted her eyes. No way was she helping him out of this one...not after what he did to her this morning.
"Could you, um, throw me a towel?" He asked in his sweetest voice, shooting glares at the guys' snickers as he spoke.
"Oh, Nicky, sweetie, you know, I'd love to help you," Chris' voice was sugar sweet, her smile wide. "But I don't think I can, I mean, I don't want to interfere in Backstreet Boys business, you know."
"This has nothing to do with the Backstreet Boys, I swear, you wouldn't be interfering." Nick said quickly, nodding his head for emphasis.
"I disagree, Nick, I think this is between you and AJ," Kevin couldn't help laughing as he spoke, trying to keep his voice serious.
"AJ!" Nick shouted, "I am going to burn every one of your hats, bleach your hair in your sleep, and dye your favorite boots pink unless you give me back my bathing suit now!"
"Poor poor Nicky, whatcha gonna do." Julia laughed. "It's not like I've never seen a boy naked before Nick, you can just get out of the pool."
Nick blushed bright red and looked around the pool helplessly. AJ clearly wasn't coming back with his bathing suit, and the other guys had all gotten out and were standing by the side, waiting for him to join them.
"Towel's right there, Nick." Brian waved. Nick would have to get out of the pool, turn towards Chris and Julia, and walk a couple steps towards them to get to it.
"Great." Nick shook his head and made his way out of the pool, stumbling up the steps as he tried to keep his hands over his crotch. He walked over to the towels and looked down, willing the towel into his hands, realizing he couldn't exactly keep covering what he was covering with his hands AND pick up a towel. "Shit." He mumbled, and turned around so his back was facing Chris and Julia.
"Aww, damn Nick!" Julia shouted, "I wanted to see!" She angled her head to try to get a peek as Nick bent down to grab a towel, quickly wrapping it around his waist. "Nice ass though."
"Julia!" Chris exclaimed, staring at her friend. "I swear, the sight really couldn't be worth this much effort."
"I strongly disagree, Chrissy." Nick turned back to face her, grinning.
"I agree with Chris," Brian nodded. "Having just seen the offering, of course." He added, laughing.
Nick's eyes narrowed, "Frick, you will pay. As will Bone."
"Don't I always." Brian smiled.
"Anyone hungry?" Kevin called, toweling off his hair.
"Starved!" Howie replied, followed by an enthusiastic "yes" from the rest of the group.
Kevin cooked up a storm on the barbecue as they joked around by the pool, just hanging out and having a good time, exactly as requested. When the food was done they ate their full, and washed it all down with a lot of good beer.
Leighanne joined them by the pool as it got dark out, setting out candles to light the area. "It's not too buggy, is it?" she asked, sitting down next to Brian on a beach chair.
"Not at all." Brian bent in and kissed her, pulling her close in a hug. The day had been good for him, he didn't look as stressed as he had when they'd arrived at the house earlier, and he was genuinely smiling now.
"Good." She sat back and looked at Brian, glad to see some of the lines had left his face. "You all have fun today?"
AJ nodded enthusiastically. "We had a great time...we can't thank you guys enough for having us all out here."
"Our pleasure." Leighanne replied, waving off the thanks. This day was more for Brian than for the group as a whole anyway...Brian needed to see that they were all still the best friends, and always would be. And they'd done just that.
"Flashlight tag, anyone?" AJ grabbed a flashlight and shined it into Howie's eyes.
"What are we, three?" Howie shaded his eyes from the glare, smiling. He'd had a great time just hanging out and joking around with the guys, like old times. It was exactly what he'd needed to get his head back on straight.
"Got anything better to do?" AJ challenged, a grin on his face. "So grab a flashlight, smartass."
Howie accepted the mission and picked up a flashlight, chasing AJ into the darkness.
"Flashlight tag." Kevin said disbelivingly, watching them run off.
"You used to love flashlight tag." Kristen poked Kevin. She'd shown up not long after Leighanne, and they'd been acting like the picture perfect happy couple.
"I'd rather sit here with you." Kevin cooed, and kissed her.
Julia snorted and shook her head. "I think we're all going to deserve academy awards for our acting skills tonight," she whispered in Chris' ear.
"You've had fun today Jules, so have I." Chris whispered back. "And I think we all needed some escape." She still hadn't asked Julia what was going on with Kevin, that was a conversation she would have to tackle tomorrow.
"Chris, come here." Nick called to her from his spot on the grass, he'd spread out a blanket and was lying on his back, looking at the stars.
"What?" She yelled back, quite content looking at the stars from her chair. Standing wouldn't be so easy, she'd had a bit too much beer. Not to mention, watching a drunken AJ and Howie play flashlight tag sounded like fun....
"Come here." Nick insisted, "I want to show you something."
"Fine," Chris pushed herself up from the chair, wrinkling her nose as Julia started laughing at her efforts. She made her way over to Nick and lay down on the blanket next to him, giving a start when his arm slid around her.
"Relax, I'm not going to bite." He laughed, his hand rubbing her back. "Everyone's staring at us anyway."
Chris looked over towards the pool, and sure enough, they were staring. "Great." She leaned her head on Nick's chest, listening to his heart beat. "So, you wanted to show me something."
Nick pointed up at the stars and explained the constellations they were seeing, and how he had been taught to use the stars to navigate his way on the ocean. "I miss being on the water." He finished, rubbing Chris' back softly.
"We'll be in Florida in a month." Chris said softly, feeling calm and relaxed, snuggled in Nick's arms.
Nick nodded. "I miss a lot of things, though."
"Can't Always Get What You Want." Chris giggled.
He squeezed her tight and laughed, "But I Want It That Way."
"Time to go, kiddies!" AJ shouted from the doors to the house. "It's getting late, and you're all falling asleep out here."
Sure enough, everyone had curled up on a blanket or pool chair, and they were fading fast. With a collective groan, they collected their things and made their way out to the van, thanking Brian for the wonderful time.
Nick and Chris were the last to leave the pool area, Chris hunting for her sunglasses in the dark, finally finding them under a stray towel. "There they are," she held them up happily.
"Come here," Nick grabbed her and wrapped his arms around her waist, his lips brushing her hair.
She squirmed in his grasp, "They're all waiting for us." With a laugh, she poked him in the stomach, "Everybody. Backstreet's gotta go Back."
"Just want the perfect day to end right." Nick said softly, his voice serious. Bending down, he kissed her softly, his hands sliding up her neck to cup her face. He pulled away and looked into her eyes, smiling. "I Wanna Be With You."
Chris stared at him, eyes wide.
"Never heard that song?" He grinned, "It's one of ours, looong time ago. You should listen to it, the whole thing...the lyrics fit." Nick dropped his voice to a whisper and bent his face down towards hers, "'I wanna be with you. It's crazy but it's true.'" He gave her a quick peck on the cheek and turned around to leave, disappearing into the house.
Chris watched Nick walk away, shaken by the kiss, her heart pounding, smirking as she thought, 'and I Don't Know How to Love Him.'
******************************
A Day in the Life of... (Day 177) Lexington
Chris woke up and looked at the clock with a sigh. Nine o'clock. Early for her to be waking up on a Sunday morning, but at least she'd slept through the night. She got out of bed and flipped on CNN. A quick shower later and she was fairly awake, although exhausted. Maybe some people could live on 4 hours of sleep a night, but she was quickly discovering her body wanted more sleep than that, even if her mind didn't want to let her get it. At the knock on her door she got up, and joined Julia in the hall. She'd asked Julia the night before to meet her for breakfast, figuring she might as well get the tough stuff over with as quickly as possible. "Morning."
"Morning." Julia replied softly, all the glee of the day before gone. Today they were back to reality, and the ugliness of their current situation. "Hotel restaurant?"
"Yeah," Chris followed Julia to the restaurant. When they were seated, she looked at her friend. "I need to ask about Kevin."
"Yeah, I know."
"You are still seeing him, aren't you."
Julia nodded solemnly. "I'm sorry Chris, I know I lied to you..."
"He's married Julia, how could you?" Chris stared at her, eyes wide.
"I don't know." Julia stared at her coffee cup, shaking her head. "I can't seem to say no to him."
"Two letters, one word...you could say no to AJ, why not Kevin?"
"You know what I mean, Chris I guess I'm in love with him in some weird way, I want to be with him as much as possible, even if it does mean sneaking around. At least I know that when Kevin's with me, he's fully with me. It's better than nothing, right?"
"Julia!"
"I mean it, Chris, not all of us are content with just flirtation." Julia's voice was biting.
"Are you suggesting I'm a tease?"
"All I can say is that if our situations were reversed Nicky wouldn't be single."
"If our situations were reversed Kevin wouldn't be cheating on his wife."
"Oh please, Chris, even if I'm not sleeping with Kevin, don't kid yourself, someone else would be." Julia snorted. "When are you going to realize that as much as we like to think we're like these guys, we're not? Everything is different to them."
"I can't believe that, Julia. Every day we're seeing just how much like us they are...how can you say that?"
"Do you think I would have slept with a married man if he was just some guy I met in a bar in New York? Of course not..." Julia sighed. "But he's Kevin Richardson, Backstreet Boy, and if he doesn't sleep with me, he's gonna sleep with someone else, so why can't it be me."
"I don't like it, Julia."
"What can I say, I'm sorry." Julia said honestly, "but I won't say I'll stop either. It's lonely on tour, you know?"
"Of course I know." Chris nodded. "But it's dangerous, for both of you...god only knows what could happen if Kristen finds out."
"She knows Kevin sleeps around, she's always known." Julia took a deep sip of her coffee. "That's just...Kevin."
"And she's still with him."
"That's just them."
"Can't say I get it."
Julia looked at her watch and groaned. "I need to go, Dave has the flu that's been going around and there's nobody else to edit."
"You're editing?"
"Yeah yeah, laugh." Julia shook her head. She detested editing, she found it monotonous and boring. "Someone has to do it. Damn that flu."
"Jules," Chris grabbed her friend's arm as she stood up. "Exactly what are you editing."
"I'm not using any footage from Friday night, if that's what you're asking." Julia said softly. "Lucky for you all I was alone when I was reviewing the tape, so nobody else ever has to know."
"Thanks." Chris smiled lightly, the relief apparent in her eyes. "That was one battle I didn't want to have to fight."
"Don't worry about it." Julia turned to leave, then paused. "You do realize Nick kissed you on camera last night, right?"
Chris stopped, stunned. Her day yesterday had been magical, Nick had been...wonderful. It had just felt like the perfect ending to a perfect day between two friends, nothing more... "He barely kissed me."
"And that scene on the bed yesterday morning?"
"Julia..."
"I need a story, Chris, you don't want me using Howie. Or AJ. Or Brian. Or Kevin. The only one whose story is clean enough to run with is Nick's. Give me another story for this week's episode, I'll gladly use it, but we've done all the side stories I can think of at this point."
"Goddammit." Chris stood up, eyes blazing. "Why do I feel like I'm sacrificing my life for the Backstreet Boys? Do you realizing what airing what happened yesterday could potentially do? JUST when the fans have settled down again."
"Relax, it'll probably mean nothing to them." Julia gave her friend a quick hug. "I have to run if we're going to have a rough edit by tonight. I'll see you later."
Chris nodded. "Yeah, later."
Chris made her way back to the elevator and up to her room, opening the door to hers just as she saw another door down the hall open. "Hey." She waved to Nick.
"Hey," He came over to her, "Just getting in?"
"Met Julia for an early breakfast," Chris said, waving him into the room. "We normally work the weekends, remember? Taking a day off yesterday screwed up our schedule." She smiled. "But it was fun."
"Yeah." Nick sat down on the bed and looked up at her. "You said you know how Howie felt...can you explain it to me?"
"What?"
"Howie and I talked this morning," Nick's shoulders were slumped, his voice timid and confused. "I understand how he hated the nightmares, I can get that he didn't want to have them anymore. But he always said drugs would pollute his body, that he couldn't stand having anything like that inside of his bloodstream. How does someone who feels like that become an addict?"
"They were prescription drugs, Nick, that makes a world of difference to some people." Chris said softly, sitting down next to him. "A doctor told him to take them. It's very scary when you suddenly find yourself dependent on something someone you trusted told you to take."
"What kind of doctor would prescribe something that would do this to him?" Nick shuddered, holding onto Chris for comfort.
"His doctor thought he was doing what was best, remember, Howie hadn't been completely honest with why he wanted the sleeping pills. That could have changed everything." She leaned into him, feeling his body move closer towards hers on the bed.
"He's going back to the doctor's again today, they want to get in as much time as possible before we leave. The doctor says he'll be ok, though." Nick leaned his head down and buried his face in her hair, inhaling the familiar scent of her. "You smell so good," he mumbled absentmindedly.
"Nick," Chris pulled away slightly, bumping him with her head.
"Ow," Nick held his nose and looked at her. "Can't a guy say his friend smells good? Damn me for complimenting you."
"Shut up." Chris pushed him onto his back on the bed, laughing. "You were saying?" She curled up next to him, sighing contentedly when his leg slid between hers, their hips pressing together through their clothes.
"You smell good." Nick replied, his mouth brushing over her neck, his breath sending shivers down her spine. "That's all."
"Just a guy complimenting a friend." Chris said softly, suddenly feeling like they were getting a little too close.
"Why do you do this?" He pulled her face up to look at him, staring deep into her eyes.
Chris could feel herself swimming in the bright blue of his eyes, it would be so tempting to just give in. But Julia's words kept spinning through her head...'everything is different to them' After all, this wasn't just Nick Carter, at the end of the day, this was Nick Carter, Backstreet Boy. It never mattered to her before...how strange that it seemed to matter so much now, and made her less comfortable with him... After all, any 'normal guy' couldn't just snap his fingers and have a choice of women at his hotel room door. Any normal guy probably didn't have as much practice as Nick in saying the right things. She hated that he knew how to play her so well. Was it possible to be in love with only one half of a man? "Do what?"
"You let yourself relax and have fun with me....up to a point. Then you get all nervous and tense."
"I do not!"
"You are right now!" Nick answered stubbornly. "I did this," he bent his head to her neck again and licked her, "and you got all stressed out."
Chris couldn't help the moan that escaped her lips, and shook her head in frustration. "You didn't do exactly that." She couldn't help but point out.
Nick looked up at her and grinned. "Well, I wanted to." He wanted to lick her in other places too, and his eyes darkened as he thought about the things he wanted to do to her.
"You shouldn't do things like that to me."
"Why, because you like it?" Nick groaned and reached between them, rolling onto his back, "excuse me," he reached down his pants and adjusted himself, turning back to face her. "Sorry...was getting a little, um, uncomfortable." His leg once again found its spot between hers, and his hips settled into hers.
Chris' eyes widened when she felt just how comfortable he now was. This was getting dangerous...yesterday had been one thing. Being with Nick was like living a fantasy. But fantasies weren't real, and they certainly couldn't last. She'd had her time with that fantasy. "Nick..."
"See, there you go again."
"We were talking about Howie." She tried to pull away from him, but his arms trapped her tightly in place.
"I'd rather talk about you." Nick's eyes twinkled as he looked at her, a smile on his face. "You're so beautiful."
"Stop it," Chris squirmed in his arms, pushing against his chest. She was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, without any makeup on. Not a chance in hell she looked beautiful, he was just teasing her now. "Nicky..."
"Ok, ok." He released her with a laugh, kissing her forehead. "I'll wait."
"I hate that you keep saying that." Chris sat up, looking at her laptop across the room. "I have work to do, anyway."
"Admit one thing to me, Chris," Nick sat up next to her, tilting his head to look her straight in the eye. "Admit that you know full well you'd have a hell of a lot more fun spending today with me than you will working in here on your laptop."
"That's not a difficult thing to admit, Nick." Chris laughed. "Hang out, or work, easy choice."
"Admit you'd have more fun with me than you would with Brian, or Kevin, or AJ, or Howie, or Julia. Chris, you can lie to me all you want, but please don't lie to yourself." His voice pleaded with her. He was dying to tell her how he felt, but he knew that would just scare her further away. Maybe if he could make her see she loved him too...
Chris sighed. Nick was 6 years younger than her, why was it he always managed to make her feel like a child? "I admit it."
Bending close to her, he whispered in her ear, "Have a fun day....working," his tongue reaching out and licking her earlobe lightly.
She shuddered in response and groaned, "Nick..."
Nick stood up with a shake of his head. "You've never made me hate the sound of my own name so much. Every time you say it..." He ran his hands through his hair, pushing back the messy locks. "I'll see you later, baby."
"See you later, Nicky."
***********************************************************
Nick sat in his hotel room staring at the ceiling. Brian and Kevin were with their families, AJ and Howie were at the doctor's. Chris had thrown him out because he came on too strong, so now he was alone. Again. As always. He turned on the tv and flipped through the channels, stopping with a cry when he recognized his brother. "Aaron." He gasped, he hadn't seen his new video yet. He watched, spell-bound, as the video ended and the show came back for a quick interview. "God kiddo, you're getting so big." His eyes filled with tears and he brushed them away quickly, not wanting to block his view. He recognized his sisters in the background and grinned, they were all looking great. "I miss you so much," he whispered to the television.
The show ended and he turned off the television, looking at the telephone. Should he even try to call? He hadn't talked to his brother since a radio station called during an interview a week or so ago, and it'd been even longer since he'd talked to BJ, Leslie or Angel, every time he'd talked to his mother lately his siblings had been busy doing something or another. He jumped as the phone rang and snatched it up, hoping against hope, "Hello?"
"Hey Frack, whatcha up to?"
Nick was glad to hear his friend, but disappointed it wasn't his family. "Just saw Aaron's new video."
"What did you think?" Brian asked. He'd called to check in on Nick, realizing that being left alone today probably wasn't going to be easy on him.
"He's getting so old, Brian," Nick's voice was soft, "he's growing up."
"He's starting to look and sound so much like you, Nick, you should be proud."
Nick could hear the smile in Brian's voice, but all he felt was sadness. "I should have been there to see him grow up. And I don't want him to be like me." His voice grew gruff. "I want Aaron to be happy."
"Are you ok, Nick?" Brian heard something in Nick's voice that unsettled him.
"Yeah, I'll be fine." He replied a bit too quickly. "Have fun with your family." He spit out the last word. Family. Where the fuck was his family when he needed them. His whole family was traveling together for Aaron's tour...everyone except him.
"I'll see you tomorrow morning, ok Frack?"
"Have fun, Frick." Nick hung up the phone and stared at the ceiling again. Maybe touring wasn't so bad...at least it kept him busy. He looked over his video games, pondering playing something. It wasn't like he could exactly go anywhere, the hotel was surrounded by fans. Maybe he could get Chris to hang out with him? He looked wistfully at the door. "If I keep my hands off of her, maybe.." he said to himself. He'd never felt like this about another person, desperately wanting to be near them, to touch them, to smell them. He didn't feel truly happy, complete, unless she was around. It didn't matter if she didn't want him, he believed she would realize someday how perfect they were together, and then everything would be ok. He would wait. As the song went... "I'll be waiting until you face the truth." He wondered if she'd had a chance to listen to that song yet...
But waiting was killing him...his body screamed for her every time he saw her, reacted instinctively when he felt her against him. And that made her uncomfortable. "Damn chemistry," he mumbled, feeling himself stiffen at the mere thought of her. At least he could take care of that today, nothing to interrupt him there. And it was something to do. Mind set, he made his way into the bathroom, grabbing a magazine as he went.
Chris tapped away on her laptop, trying to concentrate on the e-mails she was writing, budgets she was approving, forms she was filing back in New York. The wonders of the Internet...she really could do all her paperwork from her hotel room. If only she could get her mind off the blonde Adonis down the hall...she looked up with a groan as she heard the phone ring, "yeah?"
"Help." Julia's voice was tired. "I swear, Chris, editing kills me..."
"I'm coming." She hung up the phone and headed down to the production truck, stopping to pick up two cups of coffee from a cart in the lobby as she went.
"Fans." Elaine whispered in her ear, pointing to one side of the lobby.
Chris nodded and ducked her head, carefully following Elaine out of the room and to the truck in the roped-in parking lot without incident. "How's it going?" She opened the truck's door and joined Julia inside, handing her a cup.
"Slow. As always." Julia sighed. "And I'm not happy with what I have to work with. I've already cut together as much as I want to use of you and Nicky, and I'm not even at 15 minutes yet. I suppose I could always throw a song in there from the concert, but depending on what song I used, it could make things look strange."
"We didn't use any of the stuff from that night in my apartment in NY, we can use that, along with the pool party yesterday, show the guys kicking back and relaxing." Chris smiled lightly. "I don't think we've ever been able to show much of that...they don't do it often."
"True, good thinking." Julia flipped through some tapes next to her and stuck one into the deck. "You all singing was definitely classic."
"It was fun." Chris laughed, watching Julia take careful note of the timecodes on the video, choosing what she did and didn't want to air. "Do you like doing this, Jules?"
"Editing? No."
"No, you know what I mean, going through the tapes, picking what we show, that sort of stuff."
"You mean, directing."
"Sort of, yeah." Chris sipped her coffee thoughtfully. "I know I brought you on as an Assistant Producer, but you really have been acting as both producer and director."
Julia nodded, switching tapes quickly. "I never really had given much thought to directing before, but yeah, I'm discovering I rather like it."
Chris watched in amazement as Julia found the perfect moments from each tape quickly, digitizing them and moving on one at a time. "I always know what story I want to tell, it's finding a way to cut it down to that perfect soundbyte that kills me."
"Once again Chrissy, that's why you're the exec."
"I suppose. I'm starting to wonder." She watched Nick in the pool from the party yesterday, his face flushing bright red as AJ escaped with his bathing suit. "We have to use this."
"Oh, we will." Julia watched the screen in awe. "And you're starting to wonder what?"
"If this really is what I'm supposed to be doing with my life."
"We're on tour, Chris, it's a bad time to make life changing decisions. Everything's all out of whack." Julia's eyes widened as she watched, "Oh jesus." Her mouth fell open as she finally saw the wonder she'd been trying to get a glimpse of yesterday. "God bless our cameraman." The camera was directly in front of Nick, giving the ladies a full frontal view as he bent down to grab the towel.
Chris couldn't help but smile as she watched. He was a beautiful man...no questioning that.
"And you gave that up?" Julia shook her head. "I'm going to use a blue dot, it'll be hysterical."
"Aw, Julia, he'll know that means you saw, that'll embarrass him to no end."
"Isn't that where the fun comes in though?" Julia grinned. "Gonna have to be a big blue dot though..."
Chris smacked her friend. "Julia!"
"Sorry. So what exactly is going on with you and Nick now? I cut the stuff together, and I can't say it makes any sense to me."
"Not sure." Chris watched Julia add some wipes to the cuts she'd made, cleaning up the piece. "He keeps saying he'll wait for me."
"Wait for you to what?"
"That's what I'm not quite sure of. He told me there's this song I have to check out the lyrics to..."
"Yeah, I saw that, have you heard the song before?"
"Nope, I forget the name now," Chris shook her head. "I'll find it later, I wrote it down somewhere. Anyway, he just seems to like teasing me, and he's good at it. He knows the effect he has on me, and he likes using it."
"So it's just sexual."
"No, it's almost the opposite. Like the sexual is getting in the way of the friendship now. We'll be talking, then he'll do something, and everything will get all awkward." She laughed. "But I do think he likes it when it gets awkward. I just don't."
"You do like being with him then?"
"Of course."
"Then where's the problem?"
"As you said, he's not just a normal guy."
Links to other sites on the Web
Get your own Free Home Page