"Yeah, of course. Remember or vow, whatever we say in here, never leaves," I said, sitting on the floor next to her feet.
"Well... nothing, I just wanted Nick to think it was something special and important," BJ whispered. We both started to laugh.
"Did you see the look on his face when I said I had to tell you something?" she asked, giggling.
"It was pretty funny," I agreed.
"Hey girls, are you okay up there?" I heard Nick yell from the bottom of the stairs.
"Of course, why would we be hurt?" I yelled back, hoping I didn't sound too strange.
"Never mind," Nick mumbled, heading back to the kitchen. He hoped that Jess was okay up there, by herself. He opened the cabinet door, and grabbed a bag of Cheez Doodles. "Hey, bro, we have some MAJOR catching up to do," Nick said, seeing Aaron walk in the kitchen.
"Hey, give me some of those!" Aaron replied, shoving his hand in Nick's bag.
"Okay, fine. Wanna go play Nintendo?" Nick asked, returning to his question.
"Sure! Let's go!" Aaron exclaimed excitedly.
"Nick, hold on a sec, I have to ask you something," Jane said, putting down her newspaper.
"Hey, Aaron, go get started, AND DON'T CHEAT! I'll be up in a sec," Nick said, walking to the kitchen table.
"How's Jessica doing, and I want the truth. Is she okay with AJ and everything?" Jane asked, looking up at her son.
"Yeah, you saw her," Nick said, looking away. It was hard not to tell his own mother about him and Jess, but if it meant keeping Jess, he would try.
"I know, but considering you're her best friend, you might know something more. Are you sure you aren't hiding anything from me?" Jane hinted.
"Yeah, of course. I think she realized what an asshole AJ was to her, and got over it," he said exiting the room.
"I don't like that kind of language young man. Besides, AJ's your friend," Jane said sternly.
"Yeah, yeah, he still is, but that doesn't mean he had a right to do that!" yelled behind him. He bounded up the stairs, passing BJ's room on the way. He heard giggles coming from it, and knew that his girlfriend was okay. He ran into his room, and sat down.
"Did you start everything right?" Nick asked Aaron, picking up the controller.
"Yeah, just get ready to play," Aaron reassured.
"Oh my god! You should have seen the look on his face, when he realized that I stole his clothes! It was so funny!" BJ exclaimed, tears running down her cheeks from laughing so hard,
"It looked like this!" She made a frown, and had one eyebrow go up. We burst out laughing, knowing the familiar look Nick gave.
"Anyway..." I sighed, after we both laughed over the story.
"When was you're first kiss and by who?" BJ asked suddenly.
"You tell me first," I said, becoming very shy.
"Steve Mattison, about...4 years ago," she said, counting in her head.
"Steve STEVE?" I asked, surprised.
"Yeah, I was so surprised, that when he asked me out I automatically said yes," BJ said, rolling her eyes.
"Now you're turn," she said.
"Okay... it was Nick, and, 2 years ago," I said, looking at my hands.
"Nick, my BROTHER?!" she asked in disbelief.
"Yeah," I said.
"Two years ago, wasn't that the first year you guys met?" she asked.
"Yeah, in fact, after we met, he asked me out, and when he brought me home, he kissed me. It was no big deal for him, but it was for me," I said, giggling.
"Whoa, I can't believe Nick can actually act human," she said. I giggled.
"EVERYONE! TIME FOR DINNER!" Mr. Carter yelled from the hall, breaking our odd moment. BJ and I heard scampering feet run down the stairs.
"Oh, living with boys, isn't it just great?" BJ asked sarcastically. All of a sudden, we heard a pair of feet return up the stairs and open BJ's door. The door opened to surprise us with Nick standing there. BJ looked at me strangly, and I just shrugged. "You're dinner awaits, girls," Nick said, smiling innocently at BJ. She stuck her tongue out and walked past him. He waited her to walk down the stairs, before he grabbed my wrist, and pulled me to a corner. "What are you doing? Somebody's gonna think something's up!" I exclaimed, as his lips pushed against mine. As he backed away, I saw some of my lip gloss on his lips, and I quickly grabbed my shirt sleeve and wiped it off. He licked his lips, and said, "
Don't forget, quarterback and reciever. Besides, I've been waiting a long time to do that," Nick said, leading me down the stairs.
"How long?" I asked curiously.
"Oh, about 30 minutes," Nick said. I playfully punched him, as we walked into the kitchen.
"Hamburgers for everyone, and don't worry Jess, I know you like your's with cheese," Bob said, putting down a plate piled with hamburgers. He handed me a seperate plate, with just a cheeseburger, and passed out some french fries. "Here, I know you want some cole slaw," Nick said, scooping a big glob onto my plate.
"Thanks," I said, smiling sweetly, as I stole some of his fries. I heard Aaron stifle a giggle, and I placed the fries onto my plate.
"Who wants some extra fries!" I asked, "I took too many."
"I DO!" Aaron screamed, holding out his plate. I placed them on his plate, as Nick looked down at his.
"Ha ha, really funny," he said, glaring.
"I know," I said winking. He smiled and said,
"Hey, mom, can I have some of MY OWN fries?" She rolled her eyes, and handed him the tray.
"Thanks you," he said, grinning.
"Yeah, thanks Mrs. Carter," I said. I took the ketchup, and looked up to everyone's staring eyes.
"Man, you've been away from us for WAY too long. Remember..." Leslie hinted.
"Right! I'm sorry! It's Jane and Bob, not Mr. and Mrs. Carter!" I exclaimed, smacking my head.
"Why haven't you been around for a while?" Angel asked curiously.
"Well..." I said, looking across the table at Nick, almost asking him to help me.
"She DOES have a job, and I'm not always here," Nick said, answering her question.
"Right, and I don't feel comfortable just walking into your house," I finished.
"Oh, okay. Well, I think Nick has something to give you," she said, staring at Nick.
"Oh, right," he said, jumping up.
"Yeah, I've got something for you guys too," I said, rumaging through my purse,
"Here it is," I said, coming up with a small box, as Nick walked back into the kitchen.
"It's for everyone, basically, but I think maybe Nick should hold it," I said, handing it to him. He tore it open quickly, revealing a small gold key. He looked up, and I smiled.
"It's a key to my house, in case I need your help," I explained.
"Oh," he said, frowning. "What?" I asked.
"Nothing, our's doesn't mean much anymore now," he said, handing me a similarly wrapped box. I opened it slowly, keeping the suspense going.
"Just open it!" Aaron exclaimed impatiently.
"Okay, okay!" I said, taking out the box. I opened it to uncover a silver key on a chain. "It's a key to OUR house, in case you want to talk to someone, you can just come here without worrying," Nick said, slipping the chain over my head.
"Oh you guys!" I said, feeling tears come to my eyes. I hugged everyone, and as I came to Nick, I slipped my arms behind his head, and hugged him closely. He kissed my cheek, and quietly whispered, "It's also the key to my heart."
"Thank you!" I exclaimed, sitting back down to finish dinner surrounded by the Carter family's smiling faces.
