I wrapped my white, cosy bathrobe around me as I hurried downstairs to answer the door. It was 6pm, rehearsals having finished at 4.30pm, and I was in a rush to get ready.
“Okay, okay. I’m coming.” I said, feeling even more frustrated. I threw open the door to find Nick on the doorstep. “What are you doing here?” I asked, letting him inside.
“Isn’t it seven?” he asked, tapping his watch, “Must’ve decided to gain an hour,” he grinned. I gave him a skeptical look. “Okay. Seriously I just wanted to see you.” He wrapped his arms around my waist and just held me for a moment. I took his hands,
“So where I we going tonight?” I asked, leading him into the lounge. I took in his casual attire and concluded it would be nowhere posh.
“I thought we could just get a take-away or go to McDonalds,” he said, cautiously.
“Cool,” I replied, “I wasn’t really in the mood to get all dressed up anyway.” He smiled and pulled me closer to him.
“You look so cute in your bathrobe,” he commented, kissing me gently.
“I’ll just go and get dressed,” I smiled. “If you want a drink, help yourself.” I quickly changed into jeans and a vest top. Nick was leant against the kitchen counter when I returned. His eyes were closed and he seemed to be humming to himself. I couldn’t help but smile. His hand tapped lightly on the hard surface and a small smile played on his lips.
“Ready,” I said after a moment.
“McDonalds?” I nodded and we walked to his car. “You know, I was talking to Ronan Keating, he’s in a group that’s big in Europe and that, and he told me that you have to be careful who you date when you get famous.” I looked at him, expecting some elaboration or point to his little story. “And I told him about you. And he thought you sounded great.” Nick sent a little smile at me, which caused me to blush slightly, “but then he said you might expect more.”
“How d’ya mean?” I asked, a little confused.
“Well, he said you might expect me to take you to posh restaurants, buy you anything you want and stuff like that.”
“If this is your subtle way at asking me to buy dinner, then okay I will,” I laughed. Nick smiled, and pulled the car over into the parking lot. He turned off the engine and looked at me seriously.
“But I told him you weren’t like that… and I’m glad I was right.” He then grinned and threw his car door open. “And since you offered, you can pay for dinner.” I laughed and followed him inside.
I smiled as I watched Nick telling me all about the group, gesturing with his hands and grinning from ear to ear when talking excitedly about a specific event. It was almost like sitting opposite a whole different Nick. He had changed in so many ways since I had first met him. The hard guy images had been replaced with what sometimes could only be described as an excitable child. His new lifestyle seemed to have provided him with the new start he had so obviously craved.
“So me and Brian hid in the cupboard. It was so funny.” He concluded telling me about a prank he, and his new best friend, Brian had played on the other three guys. Being completely honest I was a little jealous about the relationship Nick had formed with Brian. I had lost the closeness, maybe just because of our time apart… but still much of it was gone. “Are you okay?” Nick questioned, noticing I wasn’t finding his story as funny as he himself was.
“Yeah,” I smiled, “Yeah, I’m fine…”
“Nah, something’s wrong… you were all happy earlier…” He seemed genuinely worried, an emotion I couldn’t remember ever seeing displayed by him before, “was it something I did?”
“No,” I answered quickly, “No…” I said more quietly, “I was just thinking… oh, it’s silly.”
“Go on..?” Nick urged.
“Well, you’re not gonna have much time for me… and the group can only get bigger… what will I do without ya?” I tried to joke in an attempt to lighten the slightly tense mood.
“I’ll always be here for you Laney,” Nick said, squeezing my hand. His blue eyes bore into me, holding my gaze.
“I know Nick… I know.” But would he be? I had always thought Ryan would always be around, but he had left me. Looking at Nick I realised that this was only the beginning. For him the best was yet to come. He was destined for something big. I smiled lightly and continued eating, my attention returning to Nick’s stories of Europe.
Chapter Twenty Two
Second Chances
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