Chapter Nine
"Hey you guys! Happy New Year!" AJ and Kevin called, running into the kitchen.
Nick and I jerked apart. Kevin and AJ came to a halt as they looked at us.
"Uh oh," said Kevin, "We interrupted something."
"Yes, we did," AJ said, "And we're going to go now."
"Happy New Year, you guys," I said.
"You too," said Kevin, as he and AJ backed out of the kitchen.
"Perfect timing," Nick said, "I was just about to do something that maybe I shouldn't be doing."
"Yeah," I said, "Me too."
"It's nothing personal," said Nick, "It's...I don't know."
"I understand," I said, "Don't worry about it."The party raged on for about two more hours and then everyone began to leave. We had called Kim and each of the guys had a pretty long conversation with her. After everyone had left, we went to bed.
I had just closed my door to get ready for bed when there was a knock. I opened the door slightly and saw Nick standing there. He was running his fingers through his hair.
"Hi," I said.
"Hi," he said, "Can I, um, talk to you for a minute?"
"Sure," I said, "Come in."
Nick came in and we sat down on the bed.
"What did you want to talk about?" I asked.
"About tonight," said Nick, looking down at his hands. "It wasn't going to be a mistake."
"What are you talking about?"
"I lied," Nick said, "I wasn't going to make a mistake. I really wanted to do it."
"Do what?" I asked.
"This," said Nick.
He leaned forward and ducked his head down. Before I knew it, his lips had met mine in a sweet and gentle kiss.
"Oh," I said quietly, as we pulled apart, "That."
"Yes, that," said Nick.
"But I thought you couldn't do that," I said.
"What I meant was that I couldn't...wouldn't let myself do that," Nick said.
"What do you mean?"
"I just got off of a bad relationship," said Nick, "And I didn't want to set myself up to get hurt again."
"Nick," I said, "I'd never hurt you."
"I know," Nick said, "But at first I didn't. But now I know."
"So what now?" I asked.
"Well," said Nick, "Uh...um...do you want to be my girlfriend? I mean, normally, I'd want to go out on a date before I ask, but I've been living with you for the past couple of days so I think that's good enough."
"Um," I said, "Okay."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
Nick ducked down and gave me another kiss. "Maybe I should go and let you get some sleep," he said, "I'll see you in the morning."
"Okay," I said, "Goodnight."
"'Night," said Nick.
He left the room and I got ready for bed.The next morning, when I got up, I still couldn't believe what had happened the night before. Maybe it was just a dream I thought to myself. I got out of bed and changed my clothes.
After brushing my teeth and everything, I went into the kitchenm thinking that everything was going to be like it had been the day before. But, as soon as Nick saw me, he came over and wrapped his arms around me, giving me a kiss. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Brian's mouth drop open.
"There's something my best friend isn't telling me," he said to Nick.
"No, there isn't," said Nick, "It's just something I know you guys have been trying to set up since we got here."
"This is really great," Brian said, "Nick, I told you something amazing was going to happen this trip."
"You're the one who didn't want to come," said Nick.
"Not to me, stupid," Brian said, "To you."
"Yeah, uh huh," said Nick.
"And didn't you tell me on the plane here that the night before you had a dream about meeting someone special?" Brian asked.
"Well, yeah," Nick said.
"And look what happened."
"I know," said Nick.
Nick's arms hadn't moved from the hug he had me in. His parents and siblings came in a couple of minutes later.
"See," said Aaron to him parents, "I told you it would happen."
"I guess you're right," Jane said.
"Did everyone know and just not tell me?" asked Nick.
"Probably," I said, "They were hinting to me, but I don't catch on that easily."
Nick laughed. "Well, at least we figured it out," he said.
"Yeah," I agreed.
My parents we getting ready to go to church. They came in, ready to go.
"Jen," Mom said, completely missing the fact that Nick was hugging me, "You're not ready to go yet?"
"I'm going, I'm said, "Give me ten minutes."
Nick let go of me and I headed down the hallway back to my room to get ready.
Ten minutes later, I was ready to go.
"Let's go," said Mom.When we returned home from church, Nick was sitting in the living room with Brian, Kevin, Howie, and AJ. They were talking about their upcoming tour.
"Hi," I said, walking into the living room.
"Hi," the guys said.
"Come sit by me," said Nick.
I sat down next to him on the love seat. "What were you guys talking about?"
"The next tour," Nick said, "What we want the show to be like."
"Cool," I said.
Then it hit me. Nick was going to be leaving the next day.
"I know what you're thinking about," Nick whispered to me.
"You do?" I asked.
"Yeah," said Nick, "And don't worry. I'm never going to stop thinking about you. We'll keep in touch."
"That's not what I was thinking about," I lied.
"Yes it was," Nick said, "I was thinking about it too."
"But how do I know that you're not going to find some other girl that you like better than me?" I asked, "And you're not going to go out with her and get to know her better and then leave me out in the dust?"
"I'd never do that," said Nick, "It's just like saying how do I know that you're not going to find some guy here that you're going to want to go out with and the break up with me."
"The guys here suck," I said, "There are no guys like you around."
"There are no girls like you anywhere either," said Nick.
Aw man," AJ groaned, "This is getting to mushy for me. I'm going into the kitchen."
"Me too," said Howie, Kevin, and Brian.
"But not because this is getting too mushy," Brian said, "It's just that we think you need some privacy."
The other guys hi-tailed it out of the room.
"I'm gonna miss you," said Nick, leaning in close to me.
"I'm gonna miss you too," I said, "But you have the other guys to talk to. I don't have that kind of friends."
"What about Kim?" Nick asked.
"Sure," I said, "When I can get a hold of her. And Sharon's always with her boyfriend. And I don't really talk to my other friends that often."
"Then I'm just going to have to E-mail you all the time and call you all the time," said Nick.
"You don't have to do that," I said, "I can just sit at home and miss you."
"I'll tell you what," Nick said, "I'll give you my cell phone number and when you need to talk, just call me."
"Okay," I said.
"Good."
Nick kissed me and then we just sat there for a while."Are you guys done?" Brian asked, coming into the living room a few minutes later.
"Yeah," I said.
"Great," said Kevin.
"I'm going back to the hotel with them," Brian said, "Just for a little while and then Kev's gonna drive me back. I need some time with LeighAnne."
"Okay," I said.
Brian left with the guys and Nick and I watched TV for a while until his family came back.
"We should come back soon and stay longer," Jane said, sitting down on the couch with her husband.
"Yes, we should," agreed Bob.
"That would be cool," said BJ.
"Can I come?" Nick asked.
"If you're not working," Jane said.
"Cool," said Nick, "I'll make sure I'm not working."
"But you have to make sure you check out the other islands," I said.
"We can come and pick you up first," Nick said, "And then go."
"That's an idea," said Jane.
"Let's try for just after graduation," BJ said.
"Okay," Bob said.
"Good," said Nick, "We're going to be off then. I think. We might be working on a new album, but that's okay. I can take some time off."
"Great," said Jane.
"Can we go to the beach again next time?" Aaron asked.
"Of course," Bob said.
"Yeah," said Nick.
"Then I can't wait until the next time we come," Aaron said.
We all laughed. I knew that the next day was going to be hard and I was determined not to let that ruin my last day with Nick and his wonderful family.
Onto Chapter 10
