"Alright." Chris replied, also turning to watch Selena's daughter.
Gina got revved up and sang five more songs, and was left breathless but beaming at the end of the session. Her hard work had paid off, and she had the rest of the afternoon to spend with Nick. When she closed the door to the cubicle and turned to smile at her boyfriend, she gasped in shock.
"Chris?" she asked, coming to hug him.
"Hey there Gina," Chris replied, hugging her back.
She withdrew from the hug to look at him. "How's it going?" she asked "And by the way, how is my new sister of whom you neglected to tell me?" she asked in a scolding tone.
"She's great! I'm sorry I forgot to tell you, though. I was just so involved with Mia and..."
"It's okay! It's good to see you happy again with another girl. You're still a young guy." Gina said, patting his arm.
"You really think so? You don't think I'm dishonoring your mother's memory?" he asked cautiously.
"No way! She would want you to be happy again and I bet she's glad that you are." Gina exclaimed.
"Really? Cool. So-"
"What is your little angel's name, anyway?" Gina cut him off, smiling angelically.
"Cala. You can see her if your tour comes by Texas."
"It does. Well, Nick and I have a date to get to, so I'll talk to you again sometime. Bye!" she said happily as she took Nick's hand in hers and they left together. Those two looked like they were falling for each other. Nick had sounded like he was falling for her, at least when he talked about her. He wondered how Gina's grandfather would like him.
The next few days went by quickly for Gina and the guys. On Tuesday, the guys came over and they recorded "From this moment on" together, a ballad about a married couple. Finally, Friday arrived and Gina rose at the customary time to go and record the songs she had left. Nick drove her to the studio, and watched as she sang her heart out to the microphone. The emotions she felt while singing flashed across her lovely face and Nick loved watching her sing.
"Because we want to! Because we want to!" Gina sang the last line of the chorus into the mic.
"Perfect, Gina! Well, there's your album!" Mr. Palmer said happily.
"That's great!" Gina said, smiling up at Nick. "I have that photo shoot now, though, so can ya drive me?" she asked, pouting.
"Only if you kiss me when we get there." Nick said, grinning devilishly at her.
"Alright, you got a deal!" Gina said, and put an arm on his. He put an arm around her waist and they left the recording studio, heading for the photo shoot by a sunny beach on the coast.
"And hold that pose! perfect!" the photographer exclaimed as she took several pictures of Gina in her swimsuit. It was a bright orange one piece that had an opening which showed off her flat, tanned stomach. Gina hadn't wanted to look slutty, so she had taken this particular suit, but it still showed off her great figure, much to Nick's delight.
"And keep that pose again!" the photographer said energetically. Gina sighed and kept as still as she could, and soon her patience was rewarded. The shoot was over.
"Oh gosh I have never been so worn out in my life!" Gina said when they were driving back to the hotel.
Nick looked at her and smiled. "But you love it," he said, grinning.
She grinned back. "Yes, I do. Thanks for sticking around like this, it means a lot to me." she said seriously.
"No way I'd leave my baby all alone to face the business. It was okay for me, coz I had the guys, but you have me, and you're stuck with me."
"And there's not one single person on this earth I'd rather be stuck with than you, Nick." she said, smiling softly.
"Likewise for me, baby." Nick said, keeping an eye on the road.
They arrived back at the hotel and went to their room. Upon opening the door, Gina was shocked. There was Brian, undressing Leighanne right in front of her eyes. She gasped.
"What is it, baby?" Nick whispered. Gina's mouth remained open. Nick looked in, and immediately came back out, blushing beet red. He shut the door, then took hold of her shoulders, steering her to Howie's room where they were welcome. Three hours later, they crept back to their room and to their relief, found Brian and Leighanne curled up and tucked underneath the covers of their bed.
Nick and Gina took their turns in the bathroom, getting ready for bed after an exhausting day and poor Gina had a whole day's worth of interviews the next day. Gina had a hard time falling asleep, and found herself thinking about her mother. The thought comforted her very much, and she realized that Selena was still with her in spirit. With that as her final conscious thought, she fell into a deep dream-filled sleep.
Gina got up before anyone else that before dawn, so she took her shower and dressed in a long bright green skirt with tie-dye swirls on it and a darker tank top. She left her hair down, but made two little braids that joined at the back by a bright green clip and silver eye shadow finished the look. She slipped on her black platform sandals and went to sit out on the terrace. The stars were still out but the sky was just starting to turn pink.
She found herself thinking of her mother again, and a tear slipped down her face. She missed her mother so much. Not a day went by that she didn't receive painful reminders of her past. She wanted to cling to something, anything that could bring her comfort that her mother had done. The song came to mind. She would sing this song to the world, but right now she'd sing it to Orlando.
“Late at night when all the world is sleeping
I stay up and think of you
And I wish on a star that somewhere you are
thinking of me too
Cause I'm dreaming of you tonight
Till tomorrow, I'll be holding you tight
And there's nowhere in the world I'd rather be
than here in my room
dreaming about you and me
Wonder if you ever see me and I
wonder if you know I'm there (am I there, am I?)
If you looked in my eyes would you see what's inside
Would you even care?
I just wanna hold you close but so far
all I have are dreams of you
So I wait for the day (wait for the day)
to take the courage to say
how much I love you
Yes I do
I'll be dreaming of you tonight
Till tomorrow, I'll be holding you tight
And there's nowhere in the world I'd rather be
than here in my room
dreaming about you and me
Corazón
No puedo dejar de pensar en ti
Cómo te necesito
Mi amor, como te extraño Sweetheart
I can't stop thinking of you
How I need you
My love, how I miss you
Late at night when all the world is sleeping
I stay up and think of you
And I still can't believe
that you came up to me and said
I love you
I love you too
Now I'm dreaming with you tonight
Till tomorrow (till tomorrow) and for all of my life
And there's nowhere in the world I'd rather be
than here in my room
Dreaming with you endlessly…”
Gina looked up at the brightening sky and sighed. Would her life ever be stable? But she had Nick to...- her thoughts were interrupted by Leighanne, who came out onto the terrace.
"That was so beautiful." she said, looking at Gina.
"Thank you. My mother really sang it better than me, though." Gina said, hugging herself.
"Who was your mom?" Leighanne asked slowly, wondering why this girl said "was". Her mother was dead, that had to be it. An enormous wave of sympathy for this girl came over Leighanne.
"She was Selena, “the next Gloria Estefan". She wrote this song for Chris, her husband." Gina replied, tears in her eyes.
Leighanne's eyes widened. Selena had been murdered, shot in the back at a young age. "Oh my god, I am so, so sorry!" Leighanne exclaimed as she took the girl into her arms and hugged her comfortingly.
The girl smiled wanly. "Dead is dead. She's not coming back, I know that. I just somehow feel cheated out of my childhood because I had to grow up so fast after I was twelve."
"My name is Leighanne, I'm Brian's fiancée. Who are you?" she asked curiously, knowing at least that this girl had been to hell and back during her youth and she was only a young girl. She couldn't imagine losing her mother at twelve years old. God, this girl must have been so devastated.
"My name is Gina, I'm Nick's girlfriend." she replied proudly, tears slowly turning into a smile as she thought of Nick, her hero.
Leighanne smiled also. "Poor Nicky boy's been too long without love. It's good that he's finally found someone who is falling for him."
"I don't think I'm falling for him, but I do get these weird feelings whenever I'm around him." Gina admitted honestly. Leighanne knew better.
"Tell me more." she said simply.
"I always want to be around him, and when I am I feel like there's a giant prehistoric butterfly unfolding and retracting its wings in my belly. I love the smell of his cologne, the way he talks, and that smile..." she trailed off, sighing. "I don't know what is wrong with me, but I feel all tender even at the mere mention of his name." Gina looked confused, and Leighanne smiled, putting an arm around her.