Melissa agreed to go with Nick and asked him if it would be cool if her friends who had been with her at the club that night came too. She thought it would be a perfect way to make it up to them for leaving the club so soon. “ Sure Meliss, I want you to have fun too, and there are gonna be a lot of people there anyway, so they’re welcome to come!” “Thanks Nicky” she said kissing him lightly. Their tender gestures still were comforting to both of them. She called Rhonda and Katrina on her cell phone telling them just to meet them there. It was the first time she had spoken to them since the night at the club, she regretted not calling them earlier to let them know she was fine, but her week with Nick, away from everything, was completely worth it.
“Where the hell have you been girl? I left like 20 messages on your phone, you disappeared so quickly that night.” Rhonda asked. “Well you probably won’t believe it, but I’ve spent the week with Nick, yes, before you ask, Nick Carter. We met on the beach that night and we’ve had the best time together, he’s a really cool guy.” There was silence on the other end for a moment before Katrina jumped in. “ So it sounds like you had a great birthday anyways?” “ Yeah, it’s been great, we’ve really have been there for each other, sounds like he’s having some problems of his own.” Rhonda and Katrina both remembered the night at the club when AJ and Howie went running up the stairs. They didn’t know exactly what happened, but maybe it was connected. “ So did you guys have a good time without me?” They both started to laugh. “What? What’s so funny?” Melissa asked. “ Well we both ended up meeting Kevin and AJ, but things didn’t exactly work out the way we had hoped, they had some kind of an emergency.” Katrina said. Melissa didn’t want to share completely what she had known to happen and now it was quite clear that Brian was most likely the one that Nick loved. Kevin wouldn’t be that upset about anyone else and AJ and Howie wouldn’t be that concerned either. She didn’t want to betray Nick’s trust and therefore changed the subject. “So girls, Kevin’s birthday is tomorrow and they are having a big party for him, I asked Nick if it would be ok if you guys could come and he said ‘Yes’. It should be fun, I don’t think Howie is going to be there, so I can relax about that.” “Yeah, what did happen with him that night? Did you see him at all?” Katrina asked. “Well let’s just say I saw a little more than I cared too. I really don’t feel like talking about it now.” Melissa said, not wanting to reflect on what she had seen. “So just meet us there, I gave you the address, it shouldn’t be hard to find. I should already be there when you arrive, just tell whoever answers the door that you are with Nick.” The two girls laughed knowing that people probably heard that a lot. “I’ll talk to you later.” Melissa said as she ended the phone call. If Howie did happen to show up, she wanted her friends to be there. Nick would probably be having enough problems of his own.
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“I’m so nervous…” Nick said as he and Melissa drove to Brian’s house for Kevin’s party. “Nick, just remember what we talked about. You love him, right?” Melissa said reassuringly. “With all my heart, I can’t imagine my life without him.” Nick said. Her heart warmed with the amount of love that Nick had for Brian. “Well you need to tell him that and let him now how serious you are about making it work Nick. We both know that he was wrong for denying what you mean to him, but maybe he just wasn’t prepared.” “I hope that’s it Meliss, cause I miss him so much and want him to be comfortable with our feelings before we go any further. He hurt me so much that night; I just hope I can forgive him.” Nick said, his voice trailing off as they pulled into the driveway. Melissa was still nervous even though Nick had told her that Howie would most likely not be inside. Yet she secretly wanted him to be there, to face him and face the feelings she was still harboring for him. The two walked up to the door. Nick paused before knocking. “Hey,” Melissa said grabbing onto Nick’s hand, interlocking their fingers. “You’re going to be fine. Now, we’re going in here to have fun, remember? No matter what.” Nick smiled back at her. He was glad they had become good friends, its what he needed now more than ever. Two of his closest friends were waiting for him inside that house. One he thought might physically harm him and he didn’t even want to think about the further emotional harm that Brian could do. “That’s right, no matter what.” Nick said squeezing her hand. Nick reached up with his other hand and knocked on the door. There was no turning back now.
Suddenly the door opened and a set of muscular tattooed arms was flung around Nick’s shoulders, squeezing him tightly. Nick let go of Melissa’s hand and returned AJ’s embrace. She could see how much they cared about each other by their hug, AJ looked like he had been so worried, he was holding onto Nick’s large arms so tight. “I’m so happy you came.” He said into Nick’s ear. “Thanks, J, it’s good to see you.” Nick said, rubbing AJ’s back. “How are you feeling?” AJ asked concerned. “Oh I’m a lot better physically.” Nick said looking past AJ into the house. They broke apart ,Nick still staring into the house, his eyes perusing the people inside. “Um, Nicky, who’d you bring with you?” AJ asked, smiling at Melissa. “OH I’m sorry J, this is Melissa, I met her the other night…” Nick’s voice trailed off, remembering what had happened. “Nice to meet you Melissa. Hey, why don’t both of you come in. Nick, I need to talk to you.” As they entered the foyer, Melissa spotted Katrina and Rhonda. “I’ll be right over here guys, come find me when you’re done, I want you both to meet my friends.” “Sure babe.” Nick said, kissing her on the cheek before she went to chat with her friends.
“Well what was that about?” AJ said with a smile on his face as he watched Melissa walk to the nearby corner where her friends were sitting. “AJ….” Nick said with a smirk on his face. “ It’s not like that.” “Suuuuuureee it’s not…Nick you are forgetting, I know you very very well, especially when it comes to telling when you’ve had sex…” Nick blushed slightly, although somewhat regretful because AJ was mostly referring to times he spent with Brian. “ Alright , we slept together once, the night of…at Howie’s club… It was just once J, and it was purely out of need. She’s a great girl, but you know that I’m hurting right now and…” Nick’s eyes, filled with pain stared back into AJ’s. “ I know, I know… even though he hurt you, I know you still love him. But that’s why I’m glad you came tonight. Nick, you know you can’t ignore him, your feelings are too strong. I know he hurt you, hurt you real bad, but I really think he’s gonna make it up to you… but you have to know that’s something he needs to decide. He has to be ready to give himself completely to you. If he’s not ready… Nick, you don’t deserve a love like that…” AJ said, placing his hand on Nick’s arm. “I know AJ…I just love him so much, I’d do anything for him, I just want him to feel the same way… but I don’t think I can handle being hurt like that again. He has to be honest not only with me, but also himself and everyone else.” |
