“I don’t know. Maybe he’s not getting any action from Christina and he wants you back,” Shauna replied.
“Very funny. Nope, he made it clear that he loves her and he just wants to be friends with me. You know, I’m tempted to take him up on his offer because I really miss Florida. What do you think?”
“I think you should give it a try, Beth. You’ve been so unhappy ever since you left there, and maybe having Nick around would make you feel better. He always made you so happy before.”
“Shauna, are you insane? He made me happy as a boyfriend, not as a friend! It’s gonna make me feel like crap to see him around his fiancée all the time. I mean, I’m over him and all, but it always hurts to see an ex with someone else.”
“Well, make up your mind! Two seconds ago you said you wanted to go!” Shauna exclaimed exasperatedly.
“I can’t help it.”
“Why don’t you tell him you’ll go live with him for a little while? Then from there, you can decide if you want to stay all summer.”
“Oh, is that what I’m supposed to tell him? I’ll see if I can handle staying with you and your fiancée all summer.”
“I give up, Beth. I’m leaving this decision up to you because you’re just bitching me out here,” Shauna stated.
“I’m sorry, Shauna. It’s just this is really unexpected, and I’m really confused. I don’t know what I wanna do.”
“If I were you, I’d go. If the whole Nick and Christina thing seems to be too much, you can always get your own apartment or go back home, saying you need to be around your family or whatnot.”
“I guess you’re right. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. I gotta go. Rich and I are going out tonight, and I need to get ready. Wait, you’re going, then?”
“Yeah, I think so. I’ll call you before I leave, of course.”
“Okay, good. Bye!”
“Bye.” Beth hung up and thought for a few moments before decisively dialing Nick’s phone number.
“Yo, Nicky’s phone,” said a deep, raspy, very familiar voice.
“Is this AJ?” she asked, smiling slightly. She knew Nick would probably kill him if he knew he was being called “Nicky.”
“Yeah, that’s me. Don’t tell me this is Beth.”
“How’d you know?”
“Nick told me to expect your call. What’s up, girl?”
“Not much, to be honest. How are you?”
“I’m great. Hang on, I’ll go get Nicky Boy.”
In a few seconds, Nick picked up the phone. “Lizzy?”
“Yeah, it’s me. I’ve made my decision.”