Katelyn screamed. “Shit, I’ll come back later!” she exclaimed as Christine frantically pulled the covers over her and her now panicky, wide-awake boyfriend.
“Oh my God! I forgot that I share this room!” Christine cried as soon as she was no longer exposed.
Katelyn snickered. “Yeah, that’s usually bad. Um, when you two are finished, could you let me know?” She turned to leave, but Nick stopped her.
“That’s okay, I’m leaving. Just give me a second to get dressed.”
Katelyn shrugged and stepped into the bathroom while Nick pulled on his clothes. “Okay, now I am humiliated beyond belief.”
“Eh, she’ll get over it.” Christine paused. “Nick, what’s our status? Are we a couple or not?”
Nick picked up Christine’s shirt and panties handed them to her. “I don’t know. Do you want to be a couple?”
Christine squirmed uncomfortably. She hated making decisions like this. “I guess so, if you want.”
Excitedly, Nick plopped down on the bed. “Good, because I love you a lot.” He kissed her softly on the lips, but she pushed him away.
“Kate’s waiting. Later,” she whispered.
Disappointed, Nick stood up. “Okay. I’ll see you later, babe.”
“I love you!” Christine called after him.
“I love you, too,” she heard him say as he closed the door.
Immediately, an angry, protective Katelyn stepped out of the bathroom. “Okay, what is going on? What did I miss?”
Preparing herself for a long lecture, Christine groaned. “I’m really not the person to ask. Go talk to Nick, because I don’t even remember what happened after we left the club last night.”
“WHAT?!” Katelyn exclaimed. “So you’re telling me you lost your virginity and you don’t even remember?”
“That’s exactly what I said when I woke up, Kate,” Christine replied simply. She looked away as a tear rolled down her cheek. “Please don’t say I told you so. You told me to be more careful with the alcohol. God, how I wish I would have listened!”
Katelyn’s face took on a soft tone as she sat down next to her friend. “Oh, sweetie, I’m sorry. Why don’t you tell me what you know of what happened?”
“Well, we were at the club, and I had four wine coolers, so needless to say, I was really drunk. ‘I’ll Never Break Your Heart’ came on, so I told Nick that we had to dance. He told me we could as long as I promised not to drink anymore. The next thing I knew, he was singing in my ear, and that’s all I remember. He told me that after that, we kissed a few times, and then we came back. I guess we came up here and started making out, and it just continued from there.”
“Then what happened this morning?” Katelyn asked.
“I woke up, and I saw Nick lying next to me. I flipped out and he told me what we had done, and I asked if we used protection. He didn’t know because he was drunk, too, but neither of us saw any wrappers. I started bawling, and he told me everything, and he kept blaming himself. I told him not to because it was as much my fault as it was his. Then I asked him what we would do if I were pregnant, and he said it would be all right. I told him the media would be all over a nineteen-year-old pop star getting a seventeen-year-old pregnant, especially one that he wasn’t in love with.” She smiled momentarily. “Then he said he was in love with me, and I didn’t believe him at first, but he insisted he was, so that was that. Now we’re together.”
“So something good did come out of this, huh?”
“Yeah, but still, if I’m pregnant, what am I going to do? Mom and Dad are going to kill me, and Nick’s reputation will be ruined. Kat, I’m so scared.”
“Why don’t you wait for ‘your friend’, and then if it never shows up, we’ll figure it out from there.”
“What happened with you and Brian?” Christine sniffled. Her tears had stopped, but her nose was still a little runny.
“We came back here as soon as we left East Point. I guess I can’t lecture you, because the same thing happened with me and Brian, but I was sober enough to know what I was doing.” Katelyn smiled slightly, remembering the amazing events of the previous night.
“Did you use protection?”
“Yeah, we did.”
“Good. You didn’t make the same mistake I did.”
There was an awkward silence, something that barely ever came up in their conversations, that Katelyn finally broke. “So what’s up for today?”
“Why don’t we just hang out at the hotel with our men? I’m sure Brian wants to be around you as much as he can before you leave.”
“Don’t say we should stay here for Brian’s sake. If you want to do something, we can leave the guys. They’ll understand.”
“No, I want to stay here. I don’t really feel like going anywhere today after what happened last night. Besides, I want to spend some time with Nick, too. Boyfriends tend to get a little jealous.”
“Okay. Get dressed, and then we can go talk to the guys,” Katelyn suggested.
“Yeah, sure.” Christine dragged herself out of bed and into the bathroom. Twenty minutes later, she was ready to go, and, as if on cue, there was a knock on the door.
“I’ll get it. Who’s there?” Katelyn called.
“It’s Nick,” echoed the familiar voice from outside. Katelyn opened it and then took Christine’s place in the bathroom.
“Hi, sweetie,” Christine said.
He wrapped her in a hug and looked into her eyes. “Hi, angel. You feeling any better, now?”
She nodded. “Yeah, I feel a lot better. Kate and I were wondering if you and Brian wanted to hang out with us today, since she’s leaving tomorrow and all.”
“That sounds great. Did you tell her everything?”
“Yeah. It wasn’t like I could hide it from her, first of all after what she saw, and second because she knows me so well. She can tell when something’s wrong…or right, for that matter.” She smiled and kissed him sweetly, tasting the minty toothpaste on his warm lips. “I love you. Did you tell Brian?”
“I love you, too, and yeah, I did tell Brian. He obviously assumed it, seeing as I didn’t come back last night, so I just confirmed it for him.”
“Did you tell him everything?”
“Not quite everything. I didn’t tell him about you being upset. He doesn’t really need to know that,” Nick replied. He ran his fingers through her wet hair. “You’re so pretty. You look just like an angel.”
“Maybe that’s why you call me ‘angel,’” Christine teased.
“Probably. You are an angel. My angel,” Nick whispered. He leaned forward to kiss her, but Katelyn stepped out of the bathroom to interrupt them.
“Oh, uh, sorry. I have this tendency to come in at the wrong moments,” she mumbled. “Anyways, are you two ready?”
“Ready for what? Where are we going?” Christine asked, confused.
“To the guys’ room to wake up Brian.”
“Why don’t you do that by yourself and then bring him back here?” Nick suggested.
“Oh, you just want to kiss Chris,” Katelyn whined. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
Of course, as soon as she left the room, Nick pulled Christine closer to him and kissed her passionately. When they finally paused for breath, Christine sighed unhappily. “Nick, what are we going to do if I’m pregnant?”
“I don’t know, baby. We’ll figure something out,” he whispered. He inhaled. “Your hair smells great.”
Christine attempted to smile and rested her head on his chest. “Thanks.”
Just then, Brian and Katelyn stepped into the room. Brian smiled. “Hey, guys! What are we doing today?”
“Chris and I want to hang out here, if that’s okay with you,” Katelyn replied.
“All right, that sounds good. What are we going to do here?” Nick asked.
Christine and Katelyn looked at each other, puzzled, then at the same time said, “Good question.”
“We could watch movies, go to the arcade, go swimming…” Brian suggested. “There are lots of things we could do.”
“Why don’t we get breakfast first? I’m hungry!” Christine exclaimed.
“Sounds pretty good to me,” Brian replied. He rubbed his stomach, and Christine looked away. It reminded her of being pregnant. No one noticed her discomfort.
They spent most of the morning after breakfast swimming, and then they went to lunch at the hotel restaurant. Nick and Christine avoided the subject of the previous night at all costs. After lunch, they decided to hang out in the arcade.
“Gosh, Carter, you’re too good at pool! I have a pool table in my basement and I still can’t beat you!” Christine muttered after losing a third game of pool to Nick.
“Oh, and you think I don’t?” Nick teased sarcastically. “I must say, though, you do put up a pretty good fight!”
“Thanks. I used to be a lot better, but I haven’t practiced in a long time. I played three or four games when I got home from school, then I left to come here, and I haven’t spent much time in the arcade at all.” She threw up her arms in defeat and collapsed in a chair near the pool table.
Nick smiled. “You’re so cute, babe.”
“I know!” Christine joked. “You’re pretty cute, yourself, you know that?”
“Why else would you like me so much?” Nick asked, raising his eyebrows and sitting down next to her.
In between kisses, she answered his question. “Because you’re sweet, (kiss), funny, (kiss), romantic, (kiss), and all in all, (kiss), just a wonderful guy.”
Brian and Katelyn rolled their eyes. “Would you two get a room?” Brian groaned.
“Actually, we have one upstairs,” Christine shot back playfully. She stood up and walked over to the video game that Katelyn was unsuccessfully attempting to play. “Thanks for the suggestion, though!”
“And he’s not that great of a guy,” Brian teased.
“Aw, sure he is,” Christine replied as her boyfriend stepped up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.
“I love you,” he whispered in her ear.
“I love you, too,” she whispered back.
As soon as Katelyn lost the game she was playing, Brian grabbed her arm. “I think they need some ‘couple time,’ and I wouldn’t mind it for us either.” He smiled and pulled her out of the room to leave Nick and Christine alone.
Nick ran his hands down her sides, letting them stop at her waist, and kissed her softly. She pulled him closer and deepened the kiss, letting his tongue slip into her mouth. After a few moments, she unwillingly pulled away. “Let’s go upstairs. Someone could come in at any time when we’re in here.”
Nick grabbed her hand and silently led her upstairs to his room. As she opened the door, he hesitated. “Wait, Chris. Maybe we shouldn’t. This is how everything got started last night.”
Christine pulled him in. “Last night, we were too drunk to know what was going on, or at least, I was. We know our limits now, right?” She looked around the messy hotel suite. It had two bedrooms, one for Brian and one for Nick, a kitchen, and a living room.
Nick led her into his bedroom and sat down on the bed. “I guess you’re right, angel. Come here.” He held out his arms and she fell onto his lap. In between kisses, he managed to murmur, “I love you.”
“I love you, too, Nicky. You’re right. Even if I am pregnant, everything will be fine,” she whispered back.