"... OK... OK... Sounds great... Alright, then we've got you down for 3 o'clock next Tuesday for a head shot session... Well, thank you! Have a great day... Thanks, bye!" Laura hung up the phone. She finished writing the appointment into the book for studio 7, when she was distracted by the door opening.
"You're a receptionist now, too?" Nick said, smiling at her. Laura was pleasantly surprised to see him. Ecstatic, actually. It had been a week since Aaron's shoot, and the party at Nick's place. And she hadn't stopped thinking about it all week... thinking about him all week. In fact, Laura figured he'd come with Aaron to see the proofs from his shoot, so she told the receptionist, Cherie, to take her lunch break early so that she'd be the one to see him first when they walked in. Looks like her plan worked beautifully, because Cherie still was not back yet.
"Uhh, yeah, just for the time being," Laura replied, slyly smiling. "Our, uhhh, our receptionist had an, ummm, appointment, so I said I'd take care of her duties until she returned." she continued, suddenly feeling herself shiver under his stare. He playfully ran his hand through his hair as he smiled at her. Laura smiled back and let out a nervous giggle as she changed the subject. "So, anyway, hi Aaron," she said, smiling at him then turning back to Nick.
"Hey, Laura, good to see you," Aaron replied, amused that she couldn't keep her eyes of his big brother. "We, uh, my manager called me and told me that the proofs were ready, and that he'd be in to look at them sometime next week. As for me, I wanted to see them myself, now, so I asked Nick to come with me."
"Uh, yeah, so I came with him," Nick echoed dumbly, watching Laura's every move as she dug out Aaron's file. She turned and smiled at him, then at Aaron. "Well, shall we go check them out then? I've got some posted on an easel in Conference 2," Laura said, motioning for them to follow her.
Walking down the hallway, Misty came flying out of Studio 6, running smack into Laura. "Whoa! Way to go, Grace," Laura said, laughing. "Who set your pants on fire, girl?" she said, smiling.
Misty regained her composure and started running the opposite way. "Sorry! We'll talk later, Laura... gotta get Jenn more film!" she shouted, rounding the corner. Laura just shrugged as she, Nick, and Aaron laughed as they headed into the conference room. Laura flipped on the light switch and closed the door.
"OK, here we go... grab a beverage or whatever and have a seat," Laura said, pointing over to the table that had soda, juice and water on it, along with various 'munchies.' "I figured since it was around lunchtime, I'd set out some snacks, so help yourselves!" she said graciously. After everyone got what they wanted to drink and snack on, they sat down at the head of the table.
"... OK... Thanks, bye," Cherie said, hanging up the phone. She had gotten back from lunch about five minutes after Nick and Aaron arrived. She hit "save" on the computer, and turned to make a copy at the xerox machine.
"Excuse me?" a voice said, causing Cherie to turn around to see who was there. "Am I interrupting you?"
Cherie felt her breath catch in her throat. "N-not at all... What, uhh, what can I do for you?"
"I'm Howie Dorough, and I'm looking for Nick and Aaron Carter... are they still here?" Howie asked, smiling at Cherie. She thought she'd melt under his warm brown eyes.
"Uh, I think so... let me see if they're still in the conference room. Have a seat while I page Laura," Cherie replied, avoiding his gaze. After all, she was nervous enough. That was Howie... Howie Dorough. Just as Jenn, Laura and Misty were, Cherie was also a Backstreet Boys fan, and Howie was her favorite. "Yes, Laura, Howie Dorough is here, are you still with Nick and Aaron Carter?... uh-huh... umm... OK... OK, so about how long yet?... OK... OK I'll tell him, thanks," Cherie said into the phone, and hung up. "Looks like it's gonna be a while, they just sat down and got started. So, um, if you wanna come back in a couple hours, or whatever..."
"Nah, I don't have anywhere that I need to be right away, I'll just stay here... I mean, if I won't be in your way," Howie said, looking for her approval.
In my way? What, is he kidding?! Cherie thought as she swallowed hard. She took a deep breath. "No, not at all, that's fine," she said, smiling at him.
"Great," Howie said, winking at her as he sat down, never breaking his stare. Cherie inwardly chucked to herself. Many people often teased Howie because he winked a lot, but she actually found it endearing. She smiled warmly back at him, and returned to her work, trying to concentrate, as much as she could, anyway.
"Alright! So then when you come in with your manager next week, we'll show him these ones you really liked, along with the rest of them of course, and we'll go from there," Laura said, smiling.
"Well, I thought they ALL looked great... especially his hair," Nick said, winking and smiling at Laura. They had been going over Aaron's proofs for almost 2 hours, but Nick never stopped watching Laura's every move. But it wasn't just him. She couldn't keep her eyes off of him, either. She blushed at his compliment on her work.
"Why, thank you," Laura said, smiling modestly at Nick. He tilted his head and ran his hand through his hair again, looking up at her with his eyes. Laura shifted in her seat nervously as she smiled at him.
"OK, Nick, let's go!" Aaron said, getting up. Unfortunately for him, Nick didn't hear him. He was too busy locking glances with Laura to notice he was speaking to him. Aaron sighed. "Nick... Niiiick.... NICK!" he shouted, finally grabbing his attention. "C'mon, let's go!"
"Oh... yeah, right, Aaron... sorry, bro. Wonder if Howie's still there, he's probably bored by now," Nick said, snapping out of his trance-like state. He and Laura stood up and the three of them walked out of the room heading back to the reception area.
"Well, it's about damn time," Howie said, jokingly of course, as Nick, Aaron and Laura entered the reception area. Laura handed Cherie Aaron's photo files, and turned to Howie.
"Hello, Howie, good to see you again," Laura said, shaking his hand.
"Same here, Laura." Howie smiled at Nick as he spoke. He knew the only reason he had come with Aaron today was to see Laura. And of course, being one of Nick's older "brothers" he took it upon himself to tease him about it. Nick gave him a dirty look. Dammit, shut up, Dorough, he thought to himself as Howie said goodbye to Cherie.
"Well, it was, uh, good to see you again, Laura," Nick started, and Laura blushed.
"You too, Nick. I--I hope it's not the last time I see you," Laura said, hopeful. Her hopes were about to be answered.
"Yeah, so um, that reminds me," Nick said, trying to be cool and casual. It wasn't working. "Um, I was wondering what you were doing tonight. I just thought, I don't know... that maybe we could get a couple movies or something." Laura blushed and looked down. Uh-oh, I've gone too far, he thought to himself. "Uhh, what I mean... If you don't want to, or you have plans already, that's ok, no big deal," Nick said quickly, running his hand through his hair again. He did that a lot, especially when he was nervous, like now. He liked Laura a lot, and was hoping to spend more time with her. He was hoping that he wasn't too straight-forward.
Laura looked up and smiled at him. "I'd love to, Nick," she said shyly. "I'd like that."
"Great!" Nick said, trying to be non-chalant. He and Laura just stared at each other for a minute or two, smiling. Finally Laura broke the silence.
"Well, I get off of work at six, so--"
"I can pick you up, if that's OK," Nick interrupted.
"Yeah... yeah, that sounds great!" Laura said enthusiastically. "I'll see you at six o'clock. You can meet me right out this front door." She said, as she rubbed her hand up his arm. "I'll--I'll see you then."
"See you then," Nick echoed, as he backed away toward the door, never breaking his glance until the door forced him to as it shut in front of him.
Laura put her hand to her lips and kissed them. "See you then," she repeated, still staring at the door.
Cherie was astounded by the scene that had just played out before her. "Laura, I... wow," she said, speechless. "You guys are sooo into each other, oh my God," she said, playfully punching Laura's arm. She showed no reaction, for she was lost in Nick-world again. "Hellooo?? Laurrraaa??" Cherie called, waving her hand in front of Laura's face.
Laura was snapped out of her trance, but only partly. She looked at Cherie. "He asked me out. I can't believe he asked me out. Nick Carter asked me out!" She said, getting more and more excited by the second.
"I know, remember? I was there," Cherie said, jokingly. "But you're not the only one that scored a date for tonight...."
"You mean...?"
"YES! Howie asked ME out too!" Cherie replied happily. The girls hugged for a moment, then broke away. "Oh my God, I gotta get myself ready," she said, racing to get the rest of her work done. "I hope I can manage to get out of here a bit early tonight."
"I don't think that'll be a problem, Cherie; the rest of the afternoon is pretty quiet," Laura said, still smiling from ear-to-ear. Laura just knew that this was going to be a night that she would never forget.
