Paige pulled into the driveway and turned off her car. She glanced behind her; Natalia was sleeping soundly in her car-seat. She almost hated to move her ... she needed a good nap for once. Paige was always so busy and most of the time she had to cart Natalia around with her. The girl's sleeping habits were not normal. With a sigh, Paige got out of the car quietly and opened the back door. Surprisingly enough, she made it up to Nick's front door without awaking her daughter.
Nick swung the door open before Paige could even ring the bell. "Hey," he whispered, smiling when he saw that Natalia was asleep. "Zack's asleep upstairs."
Paige laughed as she stepped into the house as Nick gestured her to do so. "So much for their play date, huh?"
"I'd say it's going pretty good. Sleeping together on the first date." Nick closed his eyes and bit his tongue. He hadn't meant to say that. He hardly knew this girl; he didn't want to offend her already. "Sorry ... I'm sorry. I had to tame my mouth pretty quickly when Zack came along; sometimes things just slip out."
Paige laughed, mostly because she completely understood what he meant. "It's okay, Nick. I understand."
Nick smiled and pointed towards the staircase. "You wanna put her down upstairs? I don't care which room you use. There're some guest rooms, or you could put her with Zack, or even in my room, if you want."
Paige shrugged with a smile, surprised and touched by his continuous generosity. "Whatever's fine. Lead the way."
They ended up putting her down with Zack, mostly because Nick only had one set of baby monitors, before making their way out onto his back patio with strawberry lemonade in hand. It was an incredibly hot day and both were sweating as they sat and talked, but neither cared. They were enjoying the company and they had a week to get to know each other before heading to LA for the Teen Choice Awards.
"Are you bringing Zack?" Paige asked as she pulled her hair into a ponytail with a hair tie she'd had on her wrist. She was thanking the Lord above that she'd worn a tank top and shorts.
"Yeah, I think so. I'll probably bring my neighbor, Emma, to watch him. She baby-sits him a lot and I've dragged her around on short tours to help me out. She doesn't mind, 'cause she gets a hefty chunk of money out of it," Nick laughed. "What about you? Are you bringing Nat?"
"I haven't made up my mind," Paige shrugged, a small sigh escaping her lips. "To tell you the truth, I've been trying to keep her out of the public eye as much as possible, yet still be there for her. It's been virtually impossible. She needs somebody to care for her who isn't a stranger. If her dad was around, then I'd feel better about leaving her more often ... but I'm all she has and I don't want to just stick her with a nanny all the time, so I bring her with me. But I don't really feel right about that all the time either. It's hard for kids to grow up in the limelight. I'm sure you know that."
"Yeah," Nick nodded, "it is. But she has the love of an amazing mother. She's gonna be all right, Paige."
"Thanks," Paige smiled over at him, once again amazed by how much sincerity she found in this young man.
"Look, I'll have to ask Emma to make sure, but I'm sure she wouldn't mind watching Nat, too. I trust her more than anybody, when it comes to watching Zack. She's reliable, I promise."
"Thanks, Nick. That means a lot."
Nick smiled and reached over to squeeze her hand. "No problem. I'll call her this evening and let you know."
