The next three weeks went by quickly, everyone falling back into routine. LeighAnne managed to make it to every show. Rayanne and Amanda found their way to most with the exception of a few. Amanda told AJ she would stay for the whole tour, but hadn’t made any promises about moving to Florida when the tour was over in a couple weeks. She had school to think about, although she had confided in Rayanne that there were a couple colleges in Florida that offered what she was looking for. Nick and Rayanne grew closer as time passed, as did AJ and Amanda. Nick and Rayanne talked a lot about what their relationship would be like when tour was over; if she was going back to New York. Rayanne couldn’t bear the thought of living her life without Nick there with her, but she was also very attached to her mother and younger brother Tyler. Each day passed, similar to the one before, as they made their lives in Europe...

“Man, I can’t believe they have this show over here.”

“What kind of shows did you think they had over here? It’s a different country Ray, not a different world.” Nick laughed as he handed her a bowl of popcorn and sat down on the bed next to her with his own bowl of newly popped popcorn.

“You know what I mean.” she said as she threw a piece of popcorn that bonked him in the forehead.

It was about 4:30, they were just hanging out in their room. They had popped popcorn and were watching a marathon of Full House. The episode started and they watched quietly while eating from their respective bowls of popcorn.

“Oh my God! That is so goofy looking!” Rayanne said as Kimmy walked out of the bathroom with bright red hair.

"Deej! Look what you did to my hair!”

“Kimmy! I am SO sorry. I didn’t mean to do that. But, hey, at least you’ll match those bright red shoes you have now.”

“Yeah, It’s actually not that bad.” said Kimmy. “Hey Mr. T! Like my hair?”

“Guess what Nicky? I did that to my hair once. But it wasn’t that bad. Just kinda orangy.”

“Oh God...” Nick said and started laughing uncontrollably. “What I wouldn’t have given to see that!”

“Oh, like you’ve never done anything like that. Oh, right I forget, guys don’t do makeovers like that.” she giggled. “I can just picture you and Brian carefully applying eyeshadow to those beautiful baby blues.”

Nick looked at her, his eyes eyebrows raised.

“Maybe some lipstick, fix up that hair of yours...” she trailed off trying not to laugh.

“You wanna fight don’t ya? I’ll take ya down Elizabeth!”

“I don’t want to fight, I want to do a makeover.” she said grinning from ear to ear.

“Uh...no.”

“Aww...come on! It’ll be fun! I’ll do it to you and I’ll let you do it to me. I’ll do makeup, you can do hair.” she compromised.

With an evil grin Nick gave in. “OK...but remember, I can do what I want to you!”

“Fine. I’ll get all my stuff.”

She went in and rummaged around the bathroom. A few minutes later she came out carrying a huge basket with all her bathroom stuff in it. Hair scrunchies and make up brushes spilled over the edges.

“Wow, look at all that stuff. You don’t wear that much makeup, where did it all come from?”

“I’m a magician Mr. Carter, I have talents you don’t know about.” she laughed. “I don’t wear that much, but I have it all in case.”

“Well, I guess it’s gonna come in handy.” he said.

“Now, sit back and let me work my magic.”

“I changed my mind. I want to do your hair and your makeup.”

“Oh lord.” she thought to herself. “A deal is a deal though and I want to do this, so I guess he gets his way.”

Rayanne got to do Nick first. She noticed he had really nice skin, so she went all out. She first applied liquid powder. Powder came next, then some darkish purple eyeshadow with a lighter color over it. 15 minutes, some mascara, eyeliner, three different color lipsticks and lots of grumbling from Nick later, she was done...with his makeup.

“Ray, let me see.”

“No way, I haven’t done your hair yet.”

“Fine.” he said.

Rayanne twisted sections of his fine blonde hair into little balls on his head. She secured each one with a silver bobby pin with a small stone on the end. It took her a while to do his whole head, but when she was done, she smiled at her work.

“How adorable my boyfriend is.” she said.

“OK, now I get to see?”

“Yup.”

He stood up and looked in the mirror. “Oh lord.” he said with a grin on his face. “What did you do to my hair? And why does my head gleam when I move it in the light?” his grin turning to confusion.

Rayanne giggled. “They’re studded bobby pins silly.”

“Oh, I see.” he said rolling his eyes. “My turn.”

Rayanne sat down on the end of the bed obediently while Nick pretended to apply her makeup like he was a pro. “Now let us see...which color lipstick would go best with your skin tone?” he asked in a goofy voice.

She had to laugh at him. He was so much fun, she couldn’t remember how she lived so long without having him in her life.

When he was done with her makeup, he moved to her hair. She could tell her was putting it in tons of ponytails. After some more of the goofy voice and some “girl talk”, which Nick said was necessary during a makeover, he took a step back to look at her.

“I’m done, and I present to you...my masterpiece.” She could tell he was trying to keep a straight face, but he wasn’t doing a very good job.

“Nickolas! What did you do to me?!” she demanded.

He couldn’t manage an answer and instead just burst out laughing. She got up off the bed and brushed by him to look at herself in the large mirror over the dresser.

“OH MY GOD.”

Nick had put her long blonde hair into a countless number of ponytails, buns, twists, knots and braids. Her makeup actually looked nice, although a little thick. But looking at her face, her attention was drawn to her mouth. Her lipstick was on everything but her lips.

“Nickolas Gene. You did this on purpose you brat.” she said trying to feign disgust.

Looking at him, laughing at her, was making it hard to be upset.

“You said I could do what I wanted.”

“Yes I did. I asked for it. It’s gonna take me years to get all these things off my head.”

“Don’t take them off.” he said simply with a grin.

“Oh, you want to sleep with me looking like this? I’d scare the piss out of you if you woke up and saw me in the middle of the night. I’m like Medusa’s evil twin sister.”

“I think you look just perfect. Good enough to eat.” he said still not able to stifle his laughing.

“OK Nick, give it up already.” she warned. “Good enough to eat?” she said as an afterthought, more to herself than him.

“Yup.”

“Come here sexy.” she said with a sly grin on her face.

She sat on the bed up against the headboard. He crawled on the bed until he was face to face with her.

“Good enough to eat.” he said again as he leaned in and kissed her. She kissed him back, feeling his tongue slip into her mouth. He ran his hands up her legs to the button on her pants. His fingers unbuttoned them with ease and moved up. He put his hands under her shirt and gently rubbed her stomach. His hands felt warm and soft against her skin. She reached up to take his shirt off just as the door opened.

“NICK!” came a female voice from the doorway.

Nick quickly stood up and fixed his shirt. Rayanne buttoned her pants and stood up next to Nick.

“Sorry I didn’t knock, I didn’t think you were busy.”

Oh my God! Lyn!!!” Nick said excitedly as he picked her up giving her a huge hug.

He held her tight for a few minutes before putting her down. Rayanne felt a little uncomfortable standing there. She still wasn’t sure who this girl was; just that she was Lyn.

“Rayanne, this is Lyndsey. She’s a very well kept secret.” he laughed. “Brian’s adopted sister.”

“Brian has an adopted sister?!?!”

“That’s me!” she said with a smile that could light up a room. “By the way, can I ask why you guys look like that? Well, not that it’s bad or anything-” she said trying to fix what she had said.

“It’s OK. We did makeovers.” Rayanne explained, laughing. “Extremely obnoxious makeovers.”

Lyndsey just looked from Nick to Rayanne and back to Nick laughing.

“Wow, I cannot believe you’re here.” Nick said, still in shock from her walking in their room. “I can’t believe B didn’t tell me you were coming.”

“I told him to keep it a secret. I wanted to surprise you Nickyolas!”

“Nickyolas?” Rayanne thought to herself.

“So, how long are you here for Lyndsey?” Rayanne asked politely.

“Umm, I think a couple weeks at least. I’m not for sure yet.”

She was beautiful. She was the same height as Rayanne, maybe a little taller with the clearest dark green eyes Rayanne had ever seen. Her dark blonde hair fell to the middle of her back and when she smiled everyone smiled with her.

“Lyn, this is Rayanne. You remember me telling you about her a while back right?”

“Yup!”

“Come on, let’s go find you’re brother. Is he in his room?”

“Was when I came over here.”

“Um, hun, might you want to take that stuff off your face and out of your head first?”

“Oh yeah” he grinned sheepishly. Rayanne and Lyndsey helped him get all the bobby pins out of his hair, then he and Rayanne walked into the bathroom together to wash their faces.

“We’ll be right out.” Nick yelled to Lyndsey, who they had left sitting on the bed.

They had washed their faces and Nick was getting all the stuff out of Rayanne’s hair. It took him a few minutes, but he finally got them all. He put all the hair ties on the sink and started to walk back out back into the room.

“Hey hun?” she ventured standing up from her seat on the edge of the sink.

He turned around and walked back over to her. She took his hands in hers and looked up at him.

“Do you want to finish what we started?” she asked.

He smiled and kissed her. She let her hands find the button on his pants. She undid them and pulled them down as he pulled her shirt up over her head. She felt his soft hands touch her chest and squeeze gently. She pulled his shirt up and knelt down in front of him. She kissed his stomach and started pulling down his boxers.

“Hey, you guys almost done?” came Lyndsey’s voice from right outside the door.

“Yeah, sorry, we’ll be right out.” Nick said as he took Rayanne’s hand in his and pulled her to her feet. “Maybe we shouldn’t do this right now.”

She looked at him for a minute. “Alright.”

He finished pulling up his pants and kissed her hand. “You know I want to baby, but we have company.”

“I know.” She put on her shirt and kissed him. “I’m just disappointed that’s all.”

“Me too. But bedtime isn’t too far away. We always have fun then don’t we?” he asked with a grin.

“Yes we do.” she agreed. They walked out of the bathroom hand in hand, once again looking like normal people.

“Ready?” Nick asked Lyndsey.

The three of them walked into the hallway and down the two doors to Brian’s room. They found him on the phone.

He held his finger up to let them know he would be off in a minute.

“So Lyn, did you have plans for tonight? Me and Ray were gonna see a movie. You should come.”

“Yeah, we’d love to have you come!”

Brian was off the phone and walked over to them.

“So, I see you’ve met my sis.” he said with a grin as he put his arm around Lyndsey’s shoulder.

“Yup.”

“Can you guys show me around the hotel? I’ve never been in one quite this big, even when I was here with you last year.” she said looking more at Nick than Brian.

“Sure, we can take a walk around.”

“I’m tired, I think I’m gonna take a nap while you guys go. Have fun though!” Rayanne said with a smile. “I’m sure you have tons of catching up to do.”

“I’m gonna stay too Nicky.” Brian said. “LeighAnne should be right back and I told her I’d be here.”

“OK. Have a good nap hun.” Nick said as he leaned in and kissed her on the top of the head.

“I will.”

Rayanne watched Nick and Lyndsey walked down the hall together laughing about something Lyndsey had said. Brian turned to her.

“I stayed cause there’s probably something you should know about Nick and my sister that I’m sure he never told you...”

“OK, come in my room.” she said as she turned to walk down the hallway.

He followed her in her room and sat down on the bed.

“Sit.” he said patting the bed next to him.

She sat down, knowing she probably wasn’t going to like what he was about to tell her.

“Ray...I introduced Lyndsey to Nick almost two years ago. They hit if off immediately. Lyndsey was the first real girlfriend he had, same with her. She came with us everywhere for 6 months. They loved each other very much, but the distance was too much. They gave it a try for a while, but it was too hard with her back in Kentucky, even when we were home. They would still get together every chance they had. It was sad to see how much they loved each other and how hard they tried to make it work. They finally decided all they could be was friends. They were both pretty upset about it. Nick didn’t look at another girl for the longest time. This is the first time they’ve seen each other in months. I honestly do not know how they’re going to be around each other while she’s here.”

She looked at Brian, at first unsure of what to say. It’s not that Nick’s ex-girlfriend being there bothered her. She wasn’t a jealous person but she could tell by the way Brian was talking that Nick’s feelings for Lyndsey were very strong. Lyndsey had known Nick longer than she had and they had more of a history.

“Well, I trust Nick. I’m not worried. I think they should probably spend time together, as friends, and I’ll let them.”

Brian stood up, pulling Rayanne to her feet and giving her a hug. “She is my sister, but I’m here if you need to talk too ya know.”

“I know Bri, thanks.” she said returning the hug.

“I’ll send LeighAnne in when she gets back if you want.” he offered.

“Thanks, but I think I’m gonna take that nap. Have Nick wake me up if you guys go anywhere exciting though.”

“Sure thing Ray.” he said as he headed for the door.

When he was gone she lay on her side and shut her eyes. She curled up in a ball with a lot on her mind, but amazingly she fell asleep very quickly...

She woke up when she heard Nick’s voice in the hall.

“I had a lot of fun Lyn.” he said.

“Me too. Do you think maybe-” her voice was cut off. Rayanne listened hard to try to make out if they were still talking.

“Nick, I don’t know what to say.” she said after a moment of silence.

“Don’t say anything, just kiss me back.”

Rayanne got up and walked toward the door to see what was going on. Her Nick kissing someone else?

Before she could make it all the way to the door, it opened. She ducked into the bathroom so they wouldn’t see her.

“Good, she’s not here.” Nick said. She heard him kissing her again.

“Mmmm, Nick, it feels so good to do this again.” Lyndsey said.

She heard them sit on the bed and cracked the door just a little. She could see them in the mirror over the dresser, but she had to be careful because she knew if she could see them, they could see her too.

Nick laid Lyndsey down on the bed. He was on top of her, touching her the way he touched Rayanne. She closed her eyes to fight back the tears. When she re-opened them Nick’s shirt and Lyndsey’s pants were in a pile at the end of the bed. She couldn’t hold them back anymore and tears poured over the rims of her eyes. She threw open the bathroom door and walked into the bedroom.

“Rayanne!” Nick said when he saw her...

“Rayanne! Ray!” she heard his voice. She felt someone shaking her. She opened her eyes, still heavy with sleep.

“What’s going on?” she asked groggily sitting up.

“I don’t know sweetie. I heard you yelling from out in the hallway.”

She wasn’t sure why, but she started crying.

“Babe, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” she said wrapping her arms tightly around his neck. “Just please stay with me for awhile.”

“Anything.” he said as he lay down pulling her down with him. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back against him. He kissed the back of her head.

“You sure everything’s OK?” he asked quietly.

“Yeah, it just wasn’t a good dream that’s all.”

She felt his breath on the back of her neck each time he exhaled.

“Everything will be OK.” she thought to herself. “I know he loves me.”

“Oh yeah, Lyn said she’d love to come to the movies with us tonight.”

“Great. Did you guys have fun touring the hotel?”

Nick was quiet for a moment. She finally realized she wasn’t going to get an answer when she heard him snore.

She woke up first and crawled out from under his arm. She decided to be nice and let him sleep for a while longer. She went to the bathroom and pulled her hair back into a sloppy bun and slipped her feet into her shoes, then walked down the hall to Brian’s room.

*Knock, Knock*.

It was LeighAnne who came to the door.

“Hey Ray, come on in.”

Rayanne walked into the room expecting to see at least Brian and Lyndsey, but saw that, instead, LeighAnne was all alone.

“Where is everyone?”

“The guys and Amanda all went to dinner and took Lyndsey with them. Want something to drink?”

“No thanks. So you’ve known Lyndsey for a long time, huh?”

“As long as I’ve known Brian.”

“Is there a reason no one ever talks about her or even mentions her?”

“Mostly because of Nicky, but Brian misses her very much so it’s hard for him to talk about her sometimes too. Plus when he’s away and she’s home he feels like he’s not ‘protecting’ her like he should...especially after what happened.”

“What happened Leigh? I mean, it’s OK if you can’t tell me.”

“Well, the first time the guys were on tour in Europe she wanted to come, but Brian said she was too young, since at the time she was just barely 14. As much as she didn’t want to be alone he made her stay in Kentucky...”

*Nick&Rayanne’s Room*
Nick woke up and realized Rayanne was gone. He went to take a quick shower and planned on heading to Brian’s room to look for her after he was a little more awake.

*LeighAnne&Brian’s Room*
Rayanne listened intently to the whole story LeighAnne told about Lyndsey wanting to come on tour but Brian denying her request. He didn’t know at the time that Lyndsey had wanted to go to get away from more than he realized...Brian got a call 3 weeks into the tour that his little sister had been kidnapped and raped by a man who had lived down the street from them as long as Brian could remember. He flew home to be with her and only then did he learn exactly what Lyndsey had been trying to run from. He lived everyday of his life thinking if only he had brought her with him....

“Oh my God.” was all Rayanne could muster. “I can’t believe she had to go through that.”

“I know. Me neither, but she’s a really strong person. She had no anger at all about the whole thing. She’s fun to have around, and she’s very special to Brian.”

“And Nick.”

“Yeah.” LeighAnne said her face turning a little red.

Rayanne smiled a reassuring smile. “Hey, it’s OK Leigh. She seems like a very nice person and fun to have around like you say, I’m glad she’s here and it doesn’t bother me at all that she used to date Nick.”

“Oh, that’s good then.”

“Well, I think I am going to go back to our room and wake Mr. Nickolas up. I want to go see a movie. You and Bri wanna come? Lyndsey’s coming with us.” she offered.

“Let me ask Brian when he comes back. I’ll have whoever wants to come meet in your room. That sound good?”

“Sounds perfect.”

When Rayanne walked back into the room she shared with Nick she heard the water running. She opened the bathroom door and sat on the toilet. “Enjoy your nap?”

“Shit Ray, you’re scared me! Yeah, why’d you leave when you got up? You know I like to wake up cuddling.” he teased sticking his head out from behind the curtain to give her a quick kiss on the lips.

“I wanted to talk to Leigh. I invited everyone to come to the movies. The guys all took Lyndsey out to dinner, but when they get back whoever wants to go is going to come over.”

“OK. Were you going to take a shower before we went?”

“Yeah.”

He leaned his head back out and kissed her again, longer this time. “Get in with me.”

She smiled as she got undressed. She stepped into the shower and moved toward Nick.

“Let me under the water, I’m cold.”

Nick moved out of the way and let her under the water. She leaned back and got her long hair wet. She reached for the shampoo and handed it to him.

“Will you wash my hair?”

“Yup, turn around though.” he said as he squeezed a circle of Pantene onto his hand.

Rayanne turned around and let the water hit the front of her body as Nick began to work the shampoo into her hair gently. He rubbed all over before Rayanne felt his lips on her neck. She backed up so she was leaning against his wet body.

“Lets not wait till tonight to finish what we started.” he whispered in her ear. She turned around to face him and kissed him passionately.

He leaned her head back under the water and kissed down her neck, to her chest. The shampoo ran out of her hair and swirled around their feet. She reached up and ran her fingers through his wet hair. He leaned up and kissed her on the lips again, his tongue playing gently with hers. He ran his fingers down her chest, passing between her breasts and down her stomach. She felt his slick fingers slip inside her. She moaned with pleasure and reached down and gently started massaging him with her hand.

“Oh God...I’ve been waiting for this all day, I don’t know how long I can wait.” he whispered in her ear.

“Don’t wait, I want you now.” she whispered back.

He pulled his fingers out of her. She let go of him and he thrusted into her. She placed one foot on the shower wall for balance.

She moaned as she felt him inside her. He started slow, then went faster. He kissed her neck, her ear.

“I love you.” he said.

“I love you too baby.” she managed to get out. She kissed him again grabbing his back to pull him farther into her.

“Oh....God.” he said, half talking, half moaning.

He had her pinned up against the back of the shower, her back squeaking against the shower tiles each time he thrust into her.

“Go faster.” she said in almost a whisper.

He went faster and deeper, kissing her neck until they climaxed together.

He reached up and pushed her wet hair back out of her face. He kissed her on the lips and pulled her into a hug. “Did you know I’ve loved you since before you even got here?” he asked.

“Well, that was out of the blue.” she said with a smile. “But I’m glad you told me. I’ve loved you for a long time too. Almost as long as I can remember.”

He smiled and leaned down to kiss her. They finished their shower and got out to get dressed.

“Nothing stupid Nick.” she had warned. “We will be in public don’t forget.”

They decided to pick out each other’s clothes for fun that night. She decided on Nick’s khaki’s from Old Navy with a white wife beater and a green and tan plaid button up shirt over it. He handed her a pair of black bootlegger pants and a tight white shirt with a purple button up sweater.

They got dressed and were standing side by side brushing their teeth when Brian, LeighAnne, AJ, Amanda and Lyndsey barged into their room.

“Aww, don’t you two look cute. It’s good to practice oral hygiene together.” Brian teased.

“Brian shut up.” LeighAnne said with a laugh as she punched him lightly on the arm.

They finished brushing their teeth, grabbed their keys and the seven of them were on their way to the movies.

They took security and arrived during the previews so no one in the theater noticed them. Together they had decided on “The Blair Witch Project” which has just opened the day before. The second the movie started Nick and Brian started making fun of the people in the movie.

“Nickolas! I’m trying to watch the movie.” Rayanne said sternly, but looked at him and smiled.

He smiled back and took his hand in hers. They watched the movie in complete silence, except for the noises the guys were making inhaling their popcorn.

“I don’t feel good.” she said a while later.

“What’s wrong sweetie?” he asked rubbing her hand.

“My stomach is all queasy. I’m gonna go to the bathroom for a minute.” she pulled her hand away from his and got up, asking Amanda to come with her.

“Sure.” Amanda stood up and followed her into the bathroom.

She held her hair back for her while she puked. When she was done she helped her off the floor and to the sink.

Rayanne had tears in her eyes and Amanda embraced her in a hug.

“Are you OK now?”

“I don’t feel any better. Will you get someone to take me home?”

“Sure.” Amanda started toward the door.

“Manders?”

“Hmm?”

“Don’t get Nick. I want him to stay and have fun.”

“OK hun.” Amanda walked out the door, to return a few minutes later.

“Come on, I got Randy to take you back.”

“Thanks Manders.” she said as Amanda held the door open for her. Randy took her back to the hotel, where she immediately fell into bed.

*The Movies*
Amanda took her seat next to AJ, leaving an space between herself and Nick.

“Manda? Where’s Ray?”

“She’s sick, Randy’s taking her back to the hotel.”

“What? Are they gone yet? I want to go.” he said standing up. Amanda put her hand on his arm.

“They’re probably gone already. She said she wanted you to stay and have fun.”

“Is she gonna be OK?”

“I don’t know, she was throwing up. She’s probably getting the flu.”

“OK. She better be in bed when I get home or I’ll beat her ass.”

*Hotel*
Randy got Rayanne some medicine as she got in her pajamas and settled into bed. She fell asleep quickly and didn’t wake up when Nick opened the door and got ready for bed, but did when he got in bed next to her.

“Sorry hun. How are you feeling?”

“I’m OK now. It must have been something I ate.”

“Good.” he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead. “Go back to sleep.”

*The next morning*
Nick and Rayanne woke up early. They had plans to explore the city, maybe do some shopping. Rayanne felt better after some sleep, and better still after a shower, so they were dressed and headed out the door by 10:00. They were about halfway down the hall when they ran into Lyndsey.

“Morning guys.” she said.

“Morning Lyn.”

“Big plans today?”

“Nah, we’re gonna go exploring. Spend some money maybe.” Nick laughed.

“Mind if I tag along?” she asked.

“No, not at all.” he looked at Rayanne.

“I haven’t showered yet...” Lyndsey trailed off.

“We can wait.”

“I’ll hurry. I can take mad quick showers.” she laughed.

They walked down the hallway, Lyndsey going in her room, Nick and Rayanne into theirs. Rayanne laid down on the bed to watch TV, Nick laying down beside her.

“You’re not upset that she’s coming are you?”

“Why would I be? She’s Brian’s sister, it’s neat to have her around.”

“I know, but she’s not just Brian’s sister, Ray...”

She sat up and turned herself to face him.

“Oh?”

He sat up and took her hands in his. “No. She’s my...I guess you could call her my ex.”

“I know.” she said simply.

“You do? How do you know?”

“Brian told me.”

“Oh.” he looked down.

Rayanne pulled her hands away from his and lifted his chin to look him in the eye. “I don’t care hun. It doesn’t bother me.”

“OK, good. I’ve been meaning to tell you that since she got here. I didn’t want you to think I was trying to keep anything from you.”

“I know you wouldn’t do that.” she smiled and lightly kissed him on the lips.

“What do ya wanna watch?” he asked as they pulled away.

“Don’t matter.” she laid back down.

Nick flicked the hotel TV to MTV.

“Nick?”

“Hmm?”

“I feel sick again.”

“Want me to rub your stomach?”

“Sure.” she rolled over on her back and let Nick put his hand under her shirt and rub her bare stomach.

“Feel better?”

“Not really. Ugh, let me up. I’m gonna be sick.”

He let her up and followed her to the bathroom. “Want me to call and get you some crackers and ginger ale or something?”

“I don’t care.” she said as she put her head in the toilet.

He walked out of the bathroom to the phone at the same time there was a knock on the door. He answered it, letting Lyndsey in.

“Come on in, I gotta make a quick phone call.”

Lyndsey took a seat on the edge of the bed while Nick called and asked to have crackers and gingerale delivered for Rayanne.

“Lyn, Ray’s sick. I don’t think we’re going anywhere today.” Rayanne heard him say as she walked out of the bathroom holding a washcloth to her head.

“It’s OK, you guys go. I’m gonna kill myself now anyway.” she lay down on the bed.

“No, we’re not going anywhere if you’re sick.”

“Nick, what are you gonna do? Sit here and watch me be sick all day? Watch me sleep?”

“Somebody’s got to be here in case you get worse.”

“LeighAnne’s next door. Amanda’s next to her.

“I’d feel better if I were right here with you.”

“OK, how about this. I’ll have Amanda sit in here with me all day. So I’m not alone, and you take your phone with you, so if I need you, I can call.”

“That sounds like a plan. You can do that can’t you Nicky?” Lyndsey asked him.

“I guess. We won’t be gone long.” he bent down to kiss Rayanne on the cheek. “Get Amanda in here.”

“Yes hun.”

“Bye Ray, hope you feel better.” Lyndsey called on her way out the door.

“Have fun!” she called back.

“Bye hun. Feel better.” He blew her a kiss and closed the door.

Instead of calling Amanda to come sit with her, she walked over to the bedroom window that looked down over the hotel doors, and watched Nick and Lyndsey walk away together.