Chapter 30
Riana opened the car door and pulled her legs reluctantly outside of the car. Her sandal-covered foot settled itself onto their driveway and she pulled herself up and she grabbed her purse. As she shut the car door, she noticed that Nick had walked around to the back of their car and had gotten out their bags. He placed their bags down and flashed her a quick smile before chirping the alarm.
"Nick, you're home!" Melanie called as she walked out of her house and up to Nick. He leaned down and placed a quick kiss on Melanie's lips. When she pulled apart she noticed Riana walking slowly into the house.
"Riana!" Melanie called. "Hi!" she said cheerily. Riana managed a small smile and a wave before she unlocked the door and disappeared into the house. Once Riana had vanished from sight, Melanie looked at Nick.
"Riana doesn't look too good. What happened?"
"Her father died a few days ago. That's where we were, at his funeral in London." Nick said. Melanie's eyes widened and she brought a hand up to her mouth.
"Oh, the poor thing!" she said. Nick nodded.
"She was really close to her Dad. But, next week is our two month anniversary, and I want it to be really special. How does a night spent together on the beach sound to you?" He asked, placing tiny kisses on her neck. She laughed.
"It sounds wonderful, Nick. But, Riana needs someone to help her get through this. Just be there for her now, ok? Don't ditch her for me. You knew her way longer than you've known me," Melanie said. Nick smiled and gave her a breathless kiss.
"It's getting late so I'll call you tomorrow, ok?" He said. He kissed her a few more times before he grabbed their bags and headed inside. As soon as he walked in, he went upstairs into Riana's room and placed her suitcase next to her closet. Riana came out of her bathroom just as Nick flopped down on her bed.
"You know what? I just realized something...." Nick said, his eyes wandering around her room. Riana stopped brushing her hair and looked over at him.
"What?" she asked him. She placed her brush down and walked over to her waterbed, pushing Nick so that she could crawl into her bed and snuggle under the covers.
"I realized that your room is ten times nicer than mine! I don't think it's fair that you got the nicer room," Nick said and hopped off the bed. "You even have your own patio out here!" He gushed as he opened the slider and stepped outside into the warm, night air. She lay in bed for a minute before joining him outside.
"I never noticed the beautiful view of the ocean before," admitted Riana after a few moments of silence. Nick looked up at her and nodded.
"It is beautiful. But at the same time the ocean can be a silent killer - only God knows how many lives the ocean has claimed." The two of them sat in silence as they listened to the sound of the ocean waves as they lapped their blue and warm water onto the smooth, wet sand. Nick broke the silence.
"You think you're going to be ok?" He asked her. She slowly tore her gaze from the water and looked over at him. She nodded slowly.
"Yeah, I think I will eventually. For some reason I thought that the further away I was from home...the less it would hurt. But it feels the same. He's still gone, and there is nothing I can do about it."
"You're right. All you can do is move on with your life. The pain will go away. I promise," Nick said. "Well, I'm going to hit the sack. I have an anniversary to start planning," he said. He walked back into the room and sealed the door shut once she was inside.
"Next week right? What do you have in mind for it?" Riana asked. Nick shrugged and ran his long fingers through his silky hair.
"I have no clue. What did Sean do for you?" He asked. Riana laughed softly.
"He did nothing for me. He had to work that day," said Riana sadly. Nick looked at her,
"Weren't you a little disappointed?" Nick asked. Once she was tucked inside her bed again he laid down beside her on his stomach and propped himself up on his elbows.
"Yeah I was. But I didn't need a whole bunch of gifts or a romantic dinner to know that we love each other."
"How long have you two been dating?"
"Well, we started dating in September and it's May now...so..about seven months. It's a pretty long time if you think about it," Riana answered.
"Do you see yourself with him forever?" asked Nick curiously.
"What's with all the questions?" she asked with a smile. Nick shrugged.
"Just wondering. If you answer this question, I'll let you ask anything you want about me and Melanie," Nick said in a sing-song voice. Riana nodded her head and he asked his question again.
"So...do I think I'll be with him forever....I really don't. I mean, the whole distance thing is working fine but I don't know if I can maintain a marriage over an ocean," she joked.
"I highly doubt that you'll be living here when you're married to Sean. But seriously...is he..good to you? Does he treat you well?" He questioned. Riana nodded her head vigorously.
"He treats me like a princess. He always asks me how I feel and calls just to tell me that he loves me. He didn't rush me into sex, I felt that it was the right time for both of us and-"
"Wait a minute - you had sex with him??" Nick asked incredulously.
"Yeah, I mean, we've been dating for a pretty long time. So...what about you and Melanie? Did you...ya know...do the nasty?" she said and punched him lightly in the shoulder.
"Can I tell you a secret, and you better not tell anyone else?" Nick threatened, holding a finger up to mark his words with fear. She nodded and stuck out her pinkie finger. Nick grasped it tightly and didn't let go until he was done speaking.
"I only had sex with one girl. And that was Emily. I only had sex with her because I loved her. My parents always told me when I was younger that sex was something special, and not to have sex until you truly loved the person. So..I've been dating Melanie for two months now..and I think I do love her. I want our first time to be really special, you know?" Nick finished his monologue. Riana nodded and at that moment she realized that Nick was really sweet. Not a lot of guys admitted that.
"Nick, all you have to do is tell Melanie the same thing that you told me. That was the most sweetest thing that I have ever heard you say."
"Now, don't go thinking that I'm Mr. Sappy now. I just told you because..I trust you. Your seriously one of my best friends and I just wanted you to know," he said jokingly.
"I swear I won't tell," she said with a smile. She yawned loudly and stretched. "Nick, I'm tired."
"Yeah, me too. Do you mind if I crash here for tonight? This water bed is so comfy," Nick said, bouncing on the bed. Riana laughed.
"Of course. Just no snoring," she said before they both fell asleep.
_______________________________________________
The next few weeks passed by quickly for both Nick and Riana. Riana had called the woman that she met at AJ's party and the woman had looked at some of Riana's designs. Riana had put in so much hard work and effort into her designing that Mrs. Thorton, the woman from the party, gave her some tips on making her own line of clothing. Riana gave it a lot of thought and decided to open up her own store of her designs. She started planning for her store a few weeks after her father's death.
His death had taken a toll on her and for the first couple of weeks she was very lonely and depressed. When Nick and the other guys went to do some promo work out in California, Leah had gone with them and that left Riana all alone to put some time into her designs. Melanie came over almost everyday and together, the two of them racked their brains with some ideas for the store. She decided that she needed to post some advertisements for some employees and the next day posted an ad in the local newspapers. The next day the resumes were flying in by the dozens and Riana and Melanie had to narrow it down to twelve people.
While Riana and Melanie interviewed some possible workers, all of the Backstreet Boys were busy working inside Riana's store. They had managed to install everything within two weeks time, along with all of the interior decorating that Leah had been in charge of. The store was filled with racks that were naked without the clothing on them. The majority of the clothes were in the back of the store, and the next step for all eight of them would be to stack them on the racks.
"Looks spectacular," Leah complimented once it was all finished. Riana looked around the room and admired what she saw. Everything was complete except for one thing: a name for the store.
"Where's Nick?" asked Riana once everyone but Nick had gathered in a circle at the front of the store.
"He went to the store to get us some stuff to celebrate!" Brian said and everyone laughed. They all went into the back room and grabbed some chairs and talked quietly until Nick came into the room.
"Someone quick! These bags are ripping!" He exclaimed.
"That's it!" Riana blurted.
"What do you mean 'that's it'? I am going to drop these sodas all over the floor!" He warned as he carefully made his way to the table. He wiped his brow with the back of his hand. "Thanks for the help guys," he said sarcastically.
"Nick, do you realize what you just did?" Riana shrieked once he sat down into a chair.
"No, what?!" He asked, quickly getting out of his seat thinking he ruined something.
"You just gave me the name of the store! Rippin'!" She screeched happily. She ran over and hugged him.
"Glad I can be of service," Nick said with a smile.
_________________________________________________
"So how is Rippin' coming along?" Nick asked three weeks later at the dinner table. Riana nodded as she placed a piece of salad in her mouth.
"It's going good. I'm getting a lot of sales," she said. Nick nodded and looked out the window into the community.
"You've been quiet lately, Nick. Got something on your mind?" Riana asked. Nick sighed and then looked at her.
"Actually yeah. I have to be honest with myself..."
___________________________________________
