"Nervous, Laura?" Jenn asked, teasing her sister. She knew the answer, she just wanted to heckle her.

"Shut up, Jenn. Of course I'm nervous. I mean, what if I make an ass of myself and he don't like me? You know I'm classic for that, Jenn."

Jenn smiled. "Sorry, Laura. You know I'm only teasing you. Obviously he liked you that day of Aaron's shoot, and then at his place for that party, and now today... Looks like you're not the only one that's been thinking of him... I think he's majorly crushing on ya," she said, rubbing Laura's shoulder as she glanced at the clock again.

"Only one more minute passed?! Felt like five," Laura said, very jittery. Just then the phone rang, and Jenn went to answer it.

"Just calm down, it's only 7 more minutes..." Jenn paused to pick up the phone as Misty walked in the room. "Thank you for calling Point and Shoot, this is Jenn, can I help you?... uh-huh... yeah, she's right here, hang on a sec," she said, covering the mouthpiece. "It's a Mr. Nick Carter for a Ms. Laura Bradley," Jenn said in a sing-song voice as she handed the phone to Laura, as she and Misty looked on.

"Hello?... ...Yeah, hi, Nick... ...what? I can't hear you... ...and you can't do something about that? I mean, you're a Backstreet Boy," Laura laughed. "I know, I know... ...yeah, um, we can do that. How long do you think you'll be?... uh-huh... OK, and someone should be there?... Oh, Aaron will be--OK... Alright, see you then, bye, Nick..." Laura hung up the phone. "Well, looks like Nick's stuck in traffic. There was an accident and they're re-routing and it's becoming a mess and he doesn't know how long he's gonna be... so, um, I need the car, Jenn. Misty, can you take Jenn home for me on your way?"

Misty and Jenn just giggled. "Yeah, I think I can manage," Misty replied as Jenn tossed Laura the car keys. Misty and Jenn walked to Misty's car and Laura walked to Jenn's car. Laura sat in the driver's seat and sighed. "Well, here goes nothing," she thought aloud as she started the car and drove to Nick's house.

Laura shut off the car. Here it goes, she thought, looking around. Hmm, looks like I beat him here, I guess I'll just go in. Laura proceeded to get out of the car and walk up to the door. Just as she was about to knock, it opened. She was in such a daze, though, that she knocked right on the person on the other side. Laura looked up and was stunned by who was in front of her.

"Uh, Kevin... hi, Kevin," Laura said, surprised to see him at Nick's place. "Whatcha doin' here?" she said, unable to hide the surprise in her voice.

Kevin let her in and showed her to the living room. "I just came to pick up--" He was interrupted by Aaron rushing into the room. "--Aaron. Hey, A, ready to go?"

"Hiya, Laura, long time no see!" Aaron joked, then turned to Kevin. "Yeah, Kev, I'm good to go."

"Go ahead, squirt, I'll meet ya out at the car," Kevin said, and Aaron grabbed his things and went outside. "So, meeting Nick, I assume?"

"You assume correctly," Laura smiled. "Actually, he was going to pick me up from work, but called me on his cell. He got delayed in traffic but should be home anytime now, I'm guessing."

Kevin nodded. "I see." He paused and looked at the floor to try to mask his nervousness. "Um, it was nice talking to you, y'know, at Nick's party last week..."

Laura looked at him and smiled. "Yeah, yeah it was... I mean, nice talking to you, too," she said, still smiling. She looked at his beautiful green eyes. She could get lost in those eyes easily... a little too easily. Laura had to remind herself why she was there... to see Nick. She quickly snapped out if it. "So anyway..."

Kevin snapped out of it too. "Yeah, um, Aaron's waiting for me, I better split... Good to see you again, Laura."

Kevin started walking to the door, and Laura followed. "You too, Kevin. Have a great night," she said, opening the door for him. Just then Nick pulled up into the driveway and was getting out of his car.

"You too, Laura," Kevin replied, taking her hand and squeezing it before turning around. His eyes met with Nick's immediately. Kevin was unable to hide his shock. "Nick, I--we'll talk later, Nick." And with that, he left and Nick entered his home. He tried his best not to show his anger, but was unsuccessful.

Nick and Laura entered his kitchen. "Nick, I can tell something's wrong. What is it?"

Nick just smiled. "Huh? Oh--nothing, just glad to be home and out of that traffic jam," he lied. He didn't want Laura to know he was jealous that Kevin was showing her attention.

"You sure?" Nick nodded and smiled again. Laura was not convinced but decided to respect his privacy and changed the subject. "Well, what kind of movies have we got?"

Nick and Laura chatted away as they made some popcorn and then ordered a pizza. When the pizza arrived, they sat down in the living room to watch their movies.

Half-way through the second movie, Nick wasn't even paying attention to it anymore. His eyes were on Laura the entire time. He had his arm around her, and decided to pull her a bit closer. When he did, she turned to him and smiled, then turned to watch the movie again. Nick took his hand and brushed a piece of hair off of Laura's face that was hanging in her eyes. She looked at him once again, but this time did not turn away. His eyes were the most beautiful blue color. It reminded her of the sky, or the ocean. Laura's eyes were blue as well, and Nick could almost see his reflection in them, they were so crystal clear.

Nick swallowed hard. "Laura? I, uhh... I kinda have a confession to make," he said, obviously nervous. He grabbed the remote and stopped the movie.

"What is it, Nick?" Laura said, putting her hand on the side of his face. Nick closed his eyes and savored her touch. "You can tell me anything," she continued, as he opened his eyes.

"I--I--" Nick gulped nervously. "I--haven't been able to stop thinking about you... y'know, since my party. Well, actually, since Aaron's shoot, but when you kissed me on my cheek that night--"

"I'm actually... uh, kinda embarrassed by that," Laura interrupted.

"Why? Why embarrassed?"

"I guess... I mean, I don't know what came over me. I--I kinda was afraid that it freaked you out, I mean, since we just met and all..."

Nick smiled. "Well, it obviously didn't, or you wouldn't be here now, right?"

Laura smiled back. "Yeah, I guess you're right. And, since we're confessing... I've been thinking about you all week too. In fact, I hoped you'd be with Aaron today, so I sent Cherie to lunch early so I would be in the reception area when you got there. Talk about being embarrassed... I can't believe I'm telling you this," she said with a nervous chuckle.

"You really went to all that trouble to see me?" Nick said. Laura nodded and looked down in shame. It really was kind of ridiculous when she thought about it. Nick smiled and put his hand under her chin and tilted her head up to meet his gaze again. "Well, don't be embarrassed. I'm... I'm flattered... really..." He traced his finger over her lips. "You're... you're so beautiful, Laura. I really mean it... so sweet, so pretty, so--"

Laura silenced him by kissing him, not forcefully though, but soft and tenderly. She loved the taste of his lips. After a few seconds, she pulled away slowly. "Sorry to interrupt you. I just--" Now it was Nick's turn to interrupt her. He kissed her firmly but not forcefully. Laura opened her mouth slightly, inviting Nick's tongue into her mouth. He traced her lips where his fingers had been just a minute before. She moaned slightly as he pulled her even closer to him, still kissing. After a minute they broke their kiss, but still held each other.

"Stay with me tonight, Laura," Nick said. He spoke the words, but he doesn't know how they flowed together. Laura looked up at him, kind of standoffish. "Oh... Oh, no, I don't mean that, Laura. I just want you here, near me. That's all. Please. I... I don't want you to go."

Laura was genuinely surprised. This is not how she expected Nick to act. Actually, she's not even sure how she expected him to be, but she knew that this wasn't it. Maybe she didn't expect him to be so romantic, she didn't know. But the fact remained that she wanted to stay with him too. She couldn't deny it.

"Yes, Nickolas. Yes. I'll stay with you." Laura sighed as she leaned her head down on Nick's shoulder. "I'm not going anywhere, I promise..." With that she relaxed and allowed herself to fall asleep in his arms.