Perfect by Erica
Summary: 4 Models, 5 Backstreet Boys. A tour around the country holds trials and tribulations of love, work, and life in the spotlight. Read on to see just how "perfect" life is for Nick and Jade!
Categories: Fanfiction > Backstreet Boys Characters: Group, Nick
Genres: Drama, Romance
Warnings: Sexual Content, Sexual Assault/Rape
Challenges:
Series: None
Chapters: 24 Completed: No Word count: 55594 Read: 37657 Published: 05/25/06 Updated: 05/31/08

1. Chapter 1 by Erica

2. Chapter 2 by Erica

3. Chapter 3 by Erica

4. Chapter 4 by Erica

5. Chapter 5 by Erica

6. Chapter 6 by Erica

7. Chapter 7 by Erica

8. Chapter 8 by Erica

9. Chapter 9 by Erica

10. Chapter 10 by Erica

11. Chapter 11 by Erica

12. Chapter 12 by Erica

13. Chapter 13 by Erica

14. Chapter 14 by Erica

15. Chapter 15 by Erica

16. Chapter 16 by Erica

17. Chapter 17 by Erica

18. Chapter 18 by Erica

19. Chapter 19 by Erica

20. Chapter 20 by Erica

21. Chapter 21 by Erica

22. Chapter 22 by Erica

23. Chapter 23 by Erica

24. Chapter 24 by Erica

Chapter 1 by Erica
After walking the streets of Barcelona, Spain all day, I knew that it was time for me to take a break. I found a little Spanish bakery and walked inside. I threw myself into one of those stupid little wiry chairs that the Spaniards just seemed to love. After resting for a few minutes, I looked up at the menu and tried to decide what to order. Luckily, I had spent the past 7 years studying Spanish in both high school and college. Unfortunately for some people, that was not the case.

I sat back in my chair and watched as an amazingly good-looking blonde man struggled to order. I laughed to myself and decided to do my good deed for the day. I tapped him on the shoulder and motioned for him to move aside. I looked at the obviously amused Spanish girl on the other side of the counter and gave her a big smile.

"El quiere un paz de pan de chocolate y una leche, por favor." I said. The lady handed me the piece of cake and said, "3 Euro por favor."

I turned to the man to see his mouth hanging open shock. "That’ll be 4 dollars sir. You’re not getting this cake for free." I walked back over to my table and sat the cake down on the table next to the seat across from me.

I watched as the man paid for his cake and still in shock brought his "leche" over to the table and sat down. I laughed slightly and he shook his head in disbelief. "I’ve never had that happen to me before." He stated and picked up the fork to take a bite from his cake. "Thank you for saving me."

"No hay una problema. Yo soy de los Estado Unidos tambien, y he estado en su situación antes." I said, knowing that I was just confusing the hell out of him.

"Ok, all I got out of that was the United States. Could you please speak in English?" He asked carefully, not sure if he was offending me or not.

"Yes, of course I can speak in English. How else would I be able to talk to you and actually carry on a conversation? I’m Jade by the way." I said and extended my hand.

"Nick, nice to meet you Jade. So, how long have you been in Spain?" He asked. He continued to hold my hand, as if he had let go, I would have disappeared.

I looked deep into his eyes and they seemed so familiar to me. I shook off the feeling of home and responded. "I’ve been here for 2 weeks and I go home in 3 days. How long are you here for?"

He finally let go of my hand and I have to admit, I was very disappointed. "I’ve been here for 1 week and we leave the day after tomorrow."

"That’s cool. Well, I have a question for you, it’s been burning me up." I said.

Nick’s POV

I looked at her and took in her beauty. Her brown eyes were tantalizing and the way she presented herself was very intimidating. "Come on Carter, get a grip. No girl can intimidate you." I said to myself and prepared myself for what was next. I knew she was going to figure me out. She was going to ask about Backstreet.

"How is it, that you can come to a foreign country and have no knowledge of their language? That cracks me up." She said. I breathed out a sigh of relief and told her the "I travel a lot" line.

"Well, what do you do so that you travel so much?" She asked. "If you travel, then you must need to know some kind of other languages. You need to communicate, right?"
"I’m kind of in a band. We have people to communicate for us." I said and tensed up. I’m not a very good liar.
"Oh really, what band are you in?" She asked. I knew it was coming, why didn’t I just say that I was a salesman or something.

"Um, we’re not really popular in the United States yet. It’s called, um, Fish Bones, yeah, we’re trying to get a good, solid, following here in Europe before going to the States with our music." I lied.

"I don’t believe you." She said. "You don’t look like the kind of guy to be in a band called Fish Bones. You’d be in something like, ‘The Wonderful Terrific Boy Band."

I was kind of hurt by that statement, considering that, hello, I was in a boy band. "What, you don’t like that kind of music?"

"I didn’t say that, did I? I just said that you look like the kind of guy who would be in a boy band, not a rock group." she said, still trying to figure him out.

"Well, then I guess you’ll never know." I said and sat back in my chair and took a bite out of my chocolate cake. I considered the rich taste carefully and then took a long sip of my leche.

She watched me as I carefully swallowed the milk and just sitting here, knowing nothing about her made her extremely sexy. I licked my lips and all of a sudden I heard a loud buzzing sound. My hand immediately went to my pocket, where a vibrating cell phone emerged.

"Yes, Kirsten?" I asked into the phone. I held up one finger and she nodded at me.

"Nickolas, where are you? We need to have a meeting as soon as possible to discuss the rest of your recording schedule. Besides, I miss you and I want to see you. You’ve been gone almost all day." I heard Kirsten say. For some reason, I couldn’t concentrate with Jade looking at me questioningly from across the table. I mouthed "sorry" to her and she just gave me a small smile.

I looked at my watch and then turned my attention back to Kirsten. "Yes sweetie, I understand that we need to meet. I’ve only been gone for a little more than an hour. I should be back to the hotel in a few minutes, I just had to get away. … Uh huh, I’ll see you soon sweetie, I love you too. Talk to you later." I said and hung up the phone.

"Girlfriend?" She asked, looking slightly disappointed.

"Yeah, and manager. I know that I’m not supposed to mix business with pleasure, but, she kind of made me fall for her. We’ve only been together for 5 months, but it feels like we’ve been together forever." I said.

"That sounds like a bad ‘we’ve been together forever’. Is it?" she asked me. As soon as the words left her mouth, I could feel myself trying to figure out a good answer for her.

"It’s more of a convenience. I think that I truly do love Kirsten, just not the head over heels kind of love. What am I doing here? Tell you, a complete stranger about my love life of all things." I said to her. Her face softened and she smiled. What a beautiful smile she had. "Anyways, thank you so much for saving my life from the Spanish speaking world. Maybe I’ll see you around sometime, Jade."


Jade’s POV

After saying that, I watched as he flashed me an entire mouthful of pearly whites and got up to throw away his trash. He came back and watched as I got up from the table. I picked up all of my bags and looked at him.

"Well, I guess I’ll see you around sometime. Have a safe trip back to the states." I said and began to walk away.
He quickly walked up to me and grabbed my arm. I smiled to myself before turning around. "I just wanted to say thanks again, and that I do hope that we see each other again.

And, if my ‘together forever’ love doesn’t last, I’d like to talk. Here’s my number, give me a ring sometime." He said and pulled out a business card sized piece of paper and wrote on it "Fish Bones" and his number.

I looked at him and he winked at me. He walked away and I knew that I was hooked for a very long time to come. This was just great, wonderful, terrific. I just got the phone number from a gorgeous alpha male who I knew nothing about and all I could do was picture him naked wearing only that knee-weakening smile. Yeah, this was going to be just perfect.
Chapter 2 by Erica
The alarm in my room rang promptly at 5:00 a.m. and I groaned as I rolled over to shut it off. I got up and searched through the tiny hotel dresser drawers and replayed the previous day’s events. I laughed to myself as I found a pair of running shorts, a sports bra, and an old t-shirt. I threw them on with a pair of old running shoes and headed out the door to the hotel gymnasium.

I got on the treadmill and started walking slowly and gradually worked my way up to a steady jog. After about an hour of my workout, I headed back upstairs. My feet still felt like they were on the treadmill, so when I ran into someone, I nearly fell over.

I reached out to steady myself and I felt a strong pair of hands on my waist. I looked up and saw the eyes that I had gazed into only 12 hours prior.

"Fish Bones? What are you doing here?" I asked as I regained my balance. I let go of his arm and studied him. He looked completely different than he had the day before, I think it was the sweats and the bandana.

"I’m staying here, what are you doing here? Did you follow me home yesterday?" He said with a cheesy grin. "Nah, I know you’re not like, a groupie or anything, right?"

"Well, not yet. I still have to find a copy of the CD that you have out right now. As soon as I get back to the states, trust me, I’ll be looking. Then, I might just call you so that you can sign it before you become too famous." I responded and winked at him. "So, anyways, how are things with you and Kirsten?"

"Fine, I guess. I mean, she nearly ran me over when I walked into the hotel yesterday. It was like we hadn’t seen each other for weeks, months even." He chuckled.

We stood there standing together and talking for a few more minutes when I heard someone calling my name. I looked around the lobby and saw my best friend Amethyst and a couple of my other tour friends waving for me.

"Come on Jade! We’re going to be late for breakfast if you don’t come now! You can chat up the hottie later." Ames called. I held up one finger and turned back to Nick.

Nick’s POV

"So, I guess I gotta go. I still have your number, maybe I’ll give you a call." She said and began to walk away. Suddenly she stopped and turned back around. "Do you want to join us?"

Before I could stop myself, I said "Sure, I’d love to. I just hope I’m not intruding."

"No, don’t worry. The girls and I love having company at meals. It’s kind of like a test, to see if you can actually sit at a table with a bunch of girls without being a pervert." She said. I stood in front of her stunned, wondering if I’d be able to act cool, and suave, instead of a bumbling idiot in front of her.

"Come on Carter, you have got to get a hold of yourself. This girl cannot intimidate you, she’s at least 6 inches shorter than you, come on now. Besides, think of Kirsten." I said to myself. I shook my head to clear my thoughts and returned my focus to her question, "Um ,you know what, I’d love to, but I can’t. I really wish I could, but I have to go work out and then I’ve got a really busy day ahead of me. I’m sorry. Maybe some other time though."

She looked really disappointed, but she turned on a smile and nodded. "Alright then, your loss, I guess. I’ll see you around some time, I mean, it’s a small world, right?"

"Right, see you!" I said. I watched as she caught up to her friends and linked arms with them. They began to do their girly laughing and giggling thing, and I just shook my head at it. Too funny.

I went into the hotel gym and luckily there was no one else in there. First I got onto a bicycle and pedaled hard for about 10 minutes, as if I was trying to rid myself of a strong anger or hatred of something that I was unaware of. What was wrong with me lately?

"Come on Carter, you know what’s up. That girl actually has an effect on you." I said out loud as I pedaled harder. Just then, Kirsten walked in.

"What’s up babe? Were you just talking to yourself?" She asked me.

"Yeah, I’m pushing myself. I’m really trying to stay on this program. Anyways, I think it’s about time for a break." I said and got off the bike.

I sat down on the nearest bench and chugged the bottle of water I had brought with me. Before I knew it, the water was gone and I found myself still searching for a drink. "Anyways, so what are we doing today?" I asked Kirsten.

"Well, that’s what I came to talk to you about. It looks like the schedule has been cleared. We can do whatever we want." She moved closer to me and began to trace her fingers over my shoulders and down my chest. "I was think that I could join you in the shower after you were done working out and then we could spend the entire day in bed, if you know what I mean." I looked at her just as she winked at me.

I had to laugh to myself when she tried to look sexy because even though she was so damn good at it, I wasn’t really thinking about having sex with her at that moment. "You know what, Kiki? That sounds like it would be a good plan except that I heard that it’s going to be beautiful out today and how often are we in Spain?"

"How could you ‘hear’ that it was going to be beautiful? You don’t even understand Spanish." She retorted and pushed herself away from me.

"Whatever." I said and she walked out of the workout room. I just rolled my eyes and went back to working out.


~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~


Jade’s POV

"So Jade, who was that guy you were talking to earlier?" my friend Bianca asked me after we had ordered breakfast.

"He’s a guy I met yesterday in the bakery down the street. He was having a hard time ordering, so I helped him out." I said and took a sip of my drink to hide the pink color of my face.

"Yeah, well, he’s a hottie girl. You need to bag him!" Savannah said.

"Vannah! I can’t just do that! Besides, he’s got a girlfriend. He is hott though, isn’t he?" I gushed. My friends and I sat around talking for a few more minutes before our food arrived. We ate and talked and laughed and had a great time.

"Can you guys believe that we leave the day after tomorrow?" I said, kind of sad that we were leaving Spain.

"It’s been a great trip girls. I’m glad that we’re all in this thing together. Next time, we’ll have to go some place more romantic so we can all hook up with someone!" Amethyst said.

"Amen to that sister!" We all cheered and clinged our glasses together.

"Man, I love this place! Plus having some knowledge of the Spanish language helps out a lot." I said.

"Yeah, as I said before, it really helps you bag guys!" Savannah commented again. We all laughed and went back to eating our food.

"So, Jade, what are you going to do for the rest of the trip?" Bianca asked.

"Well, hang out with you guys of course, go clubbing, not think about work, and sleep as much as possible before we get back to the states because you all know that once we get back, we’re going to be SO busy with work again!" I said and took a sip of my hot chocolate.

"I hear you girl! We’re gonna be so busy going on tour for like, the next year! I’m excited, but I’m really nervous too! I’m not sure if I’m ready for it!" Ames said.

"Oh Ames, if anyone’s ready it’s you! Now hurry up and eat your food and let’s get some last minute shopping done so we can look really hot tonight!" I said. We finished our food quickly and paid the bill. We grabbed our purses and went out into the day to begin our shopping extravaganza.
Chapter 3 by Erica
Wow, what an exhausting day!" I exclaimed as I fell onto the bed in the room I shared with Ames.

"Yeah girl, you tore up the streets and shops today! You must have walked away with 20 bags!" She noticed.

"Well, it was 21, but who’s counting?" I laughed. Amethyst and I started sorting through everything that we had bought when the phone rang.

Ames was the first one to it, so she picked it up and said, "Yello? … Uh huh, hold on a sec Bianca … Hey J, do you wanna go out tonight? We’re planning on going to that club downtown. It’s supposed to be hott!" I nodded and shrugged my shoulders, so Ames turned back to the phone, "Yeah, we’ll be ready by 10:00. Yeah, we’ll meet you in the lobby. Alrighty huns, we’ll be there! Buh-bye!"

"Well, since we’re going out, I need to take a shower! I’ll be out in a few!" I said and ran to the bathroom.

About an hour later, I was out of the shower with newly shaven legs, blow-dried straight hair with crimps in certain areas, and freshly painted fingernails. Ames went into the bathroom and started her getting-ready-ritual, and I looked at the clock. It read 8:40 p.m. Well, I still had an hour and 20 minutes to get ready.

I searched through my bags for the outfit that I had bought earlier and eventually resurfaced holding up my knee-high leather boots, a white jean mini skirt, a black belt, and a black leather halter top. I quickly put on the ensemble and admired myself in the mirror. "Damn girl, you look hot!" I said to myself.

I walked over to the vanity and combed through the plethora of make-up that Ames and I shared and decided that I was going to really do up my eyes tonight. I started with a smoky charcoal eye-shadow and black eyeliner, and then I got out my black and white mascaras. I did a base coat of black and then tinted the tips of my lashes with the white. I put on a little blush to add color to my face and I chose a nude lip-gloss with a high shine clear coat.

To complete my outfit, I put on some medium sized silver hoops, a skinny silver band on my right ring finger, two silver bangle bracelets on my right arm and a faux-diamond necklace that dipped into the plunging neckline of my shirt. I stepped away from the mirror and took a long look at myself. "Damn girl, you look REALLY hot!" I thought to myself again.

By the time Ames was done getting ready, it was time for us to head down to the lobby and meet the other girls. We got off the elevator at the same time and immediately walked outside into the warm August air. After walking for a few blocks, we saw the club and the line to get in.

"Honies, I am not waiting in line to get into this club. I’m gonna go talk to the bouncer." Said Bianca. And there she went. She stood all of 5’2", but wore heels that made her look 5’7" at least. She was the tiniest of all of us, but certainly the most powerful. The next thing I knew, she was pointing at us and the bouncer was waving us in. When I walked past him, he gave me a creepy wink, but I brushed it off since he was letting us in ahead of everyone.

"Great going girl! How did you get us in so quickly?" Savannah asked.

"Well, I promised the bouncer that Jade over there would provide him with a good time, if you know what I mean." Bianca said and winked.

Nick’s POV

You did what?" I heard shrieking a few feet away from me.
"Well, it’s not like it’s ever going to matter anyway girl. We’ll find a way to get you out of here before el creepo comes looking for you." The short red head said to the group of girls she was with.

"Whatever B. I am not doing anything sexual to that guy, especially considering that I don’t even know him." The brown-haired girl said. She looked awfully familiar, and her voice sounded the same.

I took a few steps closer and realized that it was Jade. Damn, that girl looked HOTT tonight! Wearing that necklace should be considered a sin. I could feel the denim surrounding my package get tighter as I thought of where it led. Cool it Carter. Now.

I walked up to her casually and pulled her by the arm, leading her to the dance floor. The surprised, yet pleased look on her face turned me on even more, but she stopped me once we got to the floor.

"What are you doing here without your girlfriend?" She asked.

"We got into a fight. I just needed to get away." I said and tried to pull her closer to me.

"Uhn uh Fish Bones, I’m not doing this. I’m not going to be some girl on the side. I want a man who’s going to love me for me and is not going to dick around with another girl at the same time. Besides, you’re drunk and you’re going to regret anything you do tonight because of your impaired state." She said. She was right unfortunately.

I had been drinking to forget about Kirsten and pretend that she didn’t even exist for tonight. Too bad I was going to have to face her in the morning. Hell, I was going to have to face her when I got back to the hotel tonight. Maybe Jade was right. I’d have to leave her alone tonight if I wanted to stay out of trouble. But the question was; did I really want to stay out of trouble?

Jade’s POV

I could see him staring at me after I pushed him away. Honestly though, I was serious. I didn’t want to be his on the side girl, I wanted to be his.

Wait. Did I just day that? No way. I don’t even know the guy! "Yeah, but you want to get to know him, don’t you?" A voice inside of me questioned. "Shut up!" Another one said back. I just shrugged and went off and found my girls again.

"Hey, where did you disappear to?" Savannah asked me.
"I was just talking to someone." I replied and grabbed her arm. "Come on, let’s go dance!"

We were out in the middle of the floor dancing and having a great time when I spotted Nick. He was dancing with a girl with straight black hair and he was all over her. Kissing her shoulder, licking her neck. "What an f’n player!" I thought to myself.

I stopped dancing long enough to move closer and hear his conversation.

"Kiki, I’m so sorry that we fought earlier. I love you. We can spend the whole day together baby." I heard him say. So this was Kirsten? She was pretty, why would he want to cheat on her?

"How can we do that? We’re going to be on a plane for 13 hours tomorrow. You have no choice but to sit next to me." She replied and stormed off over to the bar. Well, that was settled, I guess that’s how he could cheat on her. Or at least want to. But, I, Jade Trinity Carroll was not going to be the girl he cheated with. At least I hope not.
Chapter 4 by Erica
I left the club that night both upset and happy. I don’t know if that’s possible, but that describes me. I left with the knowledge of who Kirsten was and the knowledge that she actually existed. That was the part that upset me; that she actually existed. But that was also the same thing that made me happy, now seeing her and now knowing that she is a true person and not just someone that he had made up means that I can use it against him if he tries to come onto me again.

Wait, again? Was there going to be an again? We met in a foreign country and he was touring Europe with a band called Fish Bones. As soon as I returned to the states, the girls and I were going on tour for a year. There was no way that we were going to run into each other again. Was there?
As soon as I hit the pillow, I fell asleep. I woke up the next morning to sun streaming through the curtains and Amethyst talking extremely quickly into her cell phone. When she noticed that I was awake, she held up her hand and gave me the signal to be quiet.

I got up out of bed and went into the bathroom. I went, brushed my teeth, and brushed my hair into a ponytail. When I walked out of the bathroom, Amethyst almost knocked me over. For some reason she was jumping up and down all over the place. "Ok, Ames, you’re a 21 year old woman, there’s no need to be jumping all over the place unless it’s something major."

"Trust me, it is! We need to get Bianca and Savannah and tell them the good news!" She said, changing quickly into a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. She urged me to get dressed, so I threw on a pair of jeans and a tank top. Ames ran out the door and grabbed my arm.

She knocked loudly on B and Vannah’s door, and they groggily answered the door. "What the hell do you want at friggin’ 10:00 in the morning. I’m hung-over and exhausted. I need sleep, and a whole bottle of Tylenol. This had better be good," Was our greeting from Bianca. Ames and I laughed and pushed past her to sit on the chairs in their room.

"So, what’s going on guys?" the already cheerful Savannah asked us as she came out of the bathroom.

"Ames and Jade have something important to tell us about." Bianca filled her in.

"Well, I do. Jade doesn’t even know. Tess called. She wanted me to tell you guys that we have to leave today because we begin touring in 3 weeks. We get to stay in New York all expenses paid and get fitted for all the clothes we’ll be wearing and we have to go through an interview coach. Anyways, we have to leave today." Ames said all in one breath.

"Ok, I’m missing the good part." Bianca said. "You woke me up for this? I’m going back to bed."

"Well, that’s because I haven’t mentioned it. We’re getting a major pay raise." Our eyes lit up. "Yeah, BIG time. We’re each getting a $1 million bonus for starting on such a short notice. Plus, our paychecks for this tour are $12 million a piece!" Ames tried to contain her excitement, but Bianca was the first to explode.

"Are you shittin’ me? We’re getting $13 million to go on an f’n tour for a year? Where do I sign up?" She asked.

"You’re already signed up. We’re all already signed up!" Ames said. The four of us jumped together and began screaming. This was going to be the best year ever!

Nick’s POV

Ok, I’m trying to sleep, but whomever it is screaming next door is really killing me. Alright, that’s it, I’ve had it. I got up out of bed and heard Brian mumble something to me as I flipped on a light to find a shirt to throw on and a pair of basketball shorts.

"Sorry man." I grumbled and turned the light off as I walked out of the room. I walked over to the room next door and knocked softly at first, but when the screaming continued, I banged a little harder. I heard the voices die down and heard someone walking to the door.

When the door opened, I looked into the deepest brown eyes I’d ever seen. "Shit. It’s you." I said as she smiled up at me.

"Fish Bones, nice to see you again. What brings you by so early in the morning?" She asked innocently.

"You and your friends screaming is what brings me over. What is all the noise about?" I asked her, getting annoyed with myself for sounding like a grandpa.

"Well, Mr. Bones, if you must know, the girls and I are celebrating. By the way, how did you find me? Did you follow me? Oh that’s right, you’re not like, a groupie." She said, mocking the words I had said to her only a day earlier.

"Anyways, could you please keep it down? I was out late last night." I said. Didn’t I see her? Yeah, I did. And I acted like an ass. And then Kirsten came. It was all coming back to me now. Damn it Carter, stop acting like an old man. Let her have her fun. It is almost 11:00 in the morning.

"Jade, what’s going on?" I heard someone call to her from inside the room.

"Oh nothing, an old man stopped by to tell us that we were being too loud. I’ll get rid of him." She turned to say into the room. The she smiled and turned back to me. "Why are you still sleeping anyways? Don’t you have some kind of promotion thing for your band? Which, by the way, I haven’t heard about or seen since we’ve been here." She said obviously skeptical of my story.

"Well, it’s like I told you. We’re not really popular yet. We’re working on it. I’ll see what I can do about making us a little more disposable." I said sarcastically.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever you say Bones. Listen, my girls and I gotta get going, but maybe I’ll see you around. I have your number. Maybe I’ll give you a call." She said and winked. She turned back into the room and closed the door in my face. I can’t remember anyone ever doing that to me. Wasn’t I the one that was supposed to try and resist the numerous sex invitations? Wasn’t I the one that was supposed to be shutting doors in girls’ faces? This whole rejection thing was not working well for me.


Jade’s POV

"Well, girlies! Let’s get to packing and go collect our money!" I said and Ames and I went to our own rooms to finish packing. "Meet in the lobby in 2 hours, the plane leaves at 4:00 p.m. See you there!"
Chapter 5 by Erica
By 2:00 that afternoon, the girls and I walked into the airport in Madrid. We had two hours to shop in the airport before we had to actually leave. I loved Spain, especially since I could speak to the natives. The girls and I decided to hit the little stores first and then go get something to eat on the ground, considering that we’d be in the air for 13 hours. So, we looked around for music and magazines and enough material to keep us busy for the airtime.

When we reached the local music store in the airport, I went and asked the clerk for the Fish Bones CD. Hey, he said that he was trying to get a following here, there must be a CD out, right? She looked at me funny, but turned to her computer and typed in Fish Bones. She said that she couldn’t find anything, and basically told me that if they were any good, they would have a CD in the store. So, huh, he lied to me. Not surprising, considering that he was trying to cheat on his girlfriend.

"Whatever Jade. You don’t need him." I said to myself out loud. I kept flipping through the pop section, but Amethyst came over and tapped me on the shoulder, signaling for me to leave with her. We found the food court and ate at the Chick-fil-A. I was about to sit down when I looked up and saw Nick.

"You have got to be kidding me!" I practically yelled.
"What’s going on?" Bianca asked as she sat down at the table. "Why are you screaming?"

"I just cannot believe this. Can you please hold on for a second, I’ll be right back." I said and pushed myself away from the table.

I tried to gather my strength and composure as I walked over to Nick. I tapped him on the shoulder and he turned around. He smiled at me and my composure flew out of the window.

"What are you doing here Jade? I didn’t think that you were leaving until tomorrow!" He said, almost as if he was happy to see me.

"Damnit, and here I was coming over here about to accuse you of following me. I forgot that you were returning to the States today too." I said and gave him an ‘I’m Sorry’ face.

"Yeah, so are you following me?" He said and chuckled.

"No, my boss called and told us that we needed to be home by tomorrow if we still want to have our jobs. That’s a reason we were celebrating this morning. Sorry about all the noise earlier." I said and blushed a little.

"Nah, it’s ok. The guys and I needed to get up anyways. I’m sorry for being such a prick about it." He said and playfully punched my shoulder.

Nick’s POV

"Nah, it’s ok. Sometimes we girls can get a little crazy." She said and punched me back.

Just then, her face changed to a semi-shocked look and I felt arms around me from behind. My face dropped and she giggled as I mouthed "Kirsten?" She nodded and I grabbed Kirsten’s arms.

"Hey babe!" I said and pulled her around in front of me. I gave her a quick kiss and she turned to look at Jade. Her face was very matter-of-fact.

"Hey honey. Who’s this?" She said, weirdly smiley.

"This is Jade. She’s a … friend of mine." I told Kirsten. Jade looked at me and nodded. "Yeah, a friend." I reiterated.

"Oh, well, hi Jade. I’m Nick’s girlfriend Kirsten. It’s nice to meet you." Kirsten said and actually stuck her hand out to Jade. Jade took it cautiously and smiled at Kirsten.
"Well, it’s very nice to meet you. I just came over to see what flight you guys were returning to the U.S. on." She said carefully.

"I think it’s flight number 1267, Virgin Atlantic to New York, you?" I responded.

"Same flight, that’s cool. I guess I’ll see you on the plane then." She said and waved. She turned around and rejoined her friends. I could feel Kirsten staring at me as I watched Jade make it back to her table.

"Ok, who the hell is she and how is it that you’ve never mentioned her before?" Kirsten demanded.

"Could you please be a little bit less of a bitch Kirsten?" AJ came to my defense. "So the guy’s got a friend that just happens to be a gorgeous babe, get over it. If you’re secure enough with yourself then you’d know that he loves you and only sees her as a friend." He moved past us with a tray of food, he nodded over to a table. I nodded back and turned back to Kirsten.

"Thanks J." I said to myself. "It’s true Kiki. I love you and Jade is just a friend. She saved me from Spain."
"What does that mean?" Kirsten asked, looking a little hurt.

"Well, as you pointed out yesterday, I do not have any idea about the Spanish speaking world. I was trying to order food a couple of days ago and I couldn’t even read the menu. She saw me struggling and came over and ordered for me." I explained.

"I’m sorry for over reacting. She seems really nice. She’s gorgeous Nick." Kirsten said, almost as if she was admitting defeat.

"Yeah, she’s pretty, but just remember, I love you." I said and kissed her. I still love her, right?


Jade’s POV

"Would you look at that fine piece of a man?" Bianca exclaimed as a guy with dark hair, sunglasses, and a goatee sat down at a table a few feet away from us.

"Yeah, he’s hot B." Savannah said continuing to eat her chicken.

"I wonder if he’s single. I think I’m gonna go find out." She said and got up from the table.

We watched her walk over to his table and sit down. He looked up in surprise as she took a place across from him. She sat there talking to him for about 5 minutes and then came back over to us grinning like crazy.

"Ohmigod! I just met the man of my dreams!" She squealed. "His name is AJ, he’s 26 years old, he’s single and he’s in a band called, oh shit, what did he call it? Fish Bones! Yeah, that’s it."

"Fish Bones? You’re serious?" I almost choked on my food. They really did exist?

"Yeah, weird name for a band, I guess, but hey, he’s hot! Plus, he’s on the same flight as us. If we choose where to sit, sorry to say girls, but you’re history." We all laughed and went back to eating our food.

Maybe I could do the same with Nick. Sit near him and talk to him for 13 hours. I just have to figure out how to get Kirsten away from him for all that time.
Chapter 6 by Erica
"Now boarding flight number 1267 Virgin Atlantic Airlines to New York, New York, United States. Now boarding all rows." A voice came over the loud speakers. The girls and I walked up calmly to the check-in desk and handed the attendant our tickets. She led us each to our seats when we realized that we were all separated.

I was mad at first, but then I figured out that Ames was in the row behind me and that maybe if we weren’t all together, I’d actually get some sleep. Or so I thought until the next person was led to the seat right next to me. Who should it be but fittingly Fish Bones? And of course, the girlfriend. I put on my headphones quickly and ignored his existence. I closed my eyes and waited for the plane to take off.

I woke up about 3 hours later and Nick was still next to me. This wasn’t part of my dream? Perfect. Just perfect. What was I supposed to do with the most amazingly handsome man I’d ever met in person sitting next to me and his girlfriend sitting right next to him? I looked over and saw that Nick was writing on a piece of paper and Kirsten was asleep, holding his arm.

"Hey sleepyhead." Nick said and ruffled my ponytail. I smiled and looked up at him through sleepy eyes. "So, what have you been listening to this whole time?" He asked and quickly shuffled away the papers that he was writing on before I had a chance to see what it was.

"Well, not Fish Bones. I tried the CD store in the airport and they told me that if y’all were any good at all they would carry the CD. So, explain please." I said and crossed my arms expectantly.

"I thought that I told you that we didn’t have a CD out yet. Anyways, as soon as we do, I’ll autograph it and send it over to you." He responded. Damn his face. If it wasn’t so gorgeous then I might just have to shake the smugness right out of him.

"That’s right. Sorry. I guess one of my friends met another guy in your band. AJ, is his name?" I stated.

"Yeah, AJ. He actually remembered the name." Nick said, sounding almost amazed. "Anyways, so what are you listening to?"

"You wouldn’t know her. She’s a country artist." I said and tried to figure out how to change the subject quickly.

"You’re a country kind of girl? I never would have pictured it! I had you picked as a more ‘I’m strong and beautiful’ chick rock. Like maybe Liz Phair or Sheryl Crow or Alanis Morrisette. Not country!" He said and began to laugh.

"Well, country’s just as good as your ‘I’m the happiest pop singer in the world’ stuff. I swear, you look like an *Nsyncer or something!" I said and angrily placed the headphones back over my ears and pushed the play button on loud.

"God Jade, what the hell has gotten into you? He was just commenting on your taste in music, it’s not like he was even insulting it. You need to stop being on edge with him." I said to myself. I looked over and saw that he had returned to writing on the paper. Without him knowing that I was looking, I saw him writing down what looked like lyrics to a song called ‘Shining Star.’

He looked like he already knew the song and was just re-writing the words down. It sounded like a hot song and I had to wonder if it was on the new Fish Bones album.

"Whatcha got there Nicky?" Kirsten asked awaking from her sleep. Damn her.

"Oh nothing sweetie. Just go back to sleep." He said and looked over at me. She just shrugged and fell back against the chair and fell asleep. Thank God I was in the aisle so that I wouldn’t have to go around her if I needed to pee.

Nick’s POV

She got up and walked down the aisle of the plane. I stared after her and my vision became obstructed when AJ sat next to me. I about killed him when I saw his goofy goatee clad face smiling at me.

"You like her man!" He hissed in a whisper.

"No, I do not like her. She’s just a friend." I said, hoping that I at least sounded convincing.

"Whatever Nick. She’s hot. Thanks for filling me in on the whole Fish Bones thing. Her friend is sitting next to me and has asked about 1 million questions about the band. Great name Nickers, what possessed you to think of something like that?" AJ asked me.

"Well, I standing in front of Jade in a bakery somewhere in Spain, and my mind went blank of any intelligent thought. It was the first thing that came to my mind." I replied.
"You had intelligent thought to begin with Nick? Where’s it been all of these years?" AJ joked, playfully punching my arm. "Nah, I’m just playing with you. What’s this dude?"
"It’s the lyrics to ‘Shining Star’. I was thinking about how it’s about Kirsten. I wanted to write it up and give it to her as a present. Like saying that I wrote the song for her." I said.

"Nick, that is so cheesy. Besides, do you really want to say that Kirsten is your shining star? Seems to me like someone else has become the star in your life." AJ said as Jade reappeared.

"Excuse me." She said politely. AJ turned around and saw her standing there and got up.

"No, excuse me madam." He said and kissed her hand. "My name is AJ, but you can call me whatever you’d like." He looked back at me and I just glared at him. What the hell did he think he was doing?! He just shrugged and she looked back and forth between us.

"I’ve heard so much about you AJ. My friend Bianca tells me that you’re 26 and single. How is it that such a good looking man is single?" She flirted back. What was this? Dig-the-knife-into-Nick’s-back day?

"I guess I just haven’t found the one yet." He said and released her hand. "I’ll be back Nick, don’t think that our conversation is over." He walked back to his seat and settled down.

"Oh I won’t." I muttered under my breath and then looked back up at Jade. "So, Jade, what exactly is it that you do? You were so excited this morning it sounded like you were getting a million dollars."


Jade’s POV

"Wow, you’re almost a psychic. We did actually get really big pay raises this morning. Anyways, we um…" I thought trying to figure out how to explain my job to Nick without giving myself and the girls away. "We work with underprivileged girls with low self-esteem and we visit them at camps to help them grow into self-assured women."

"That’s really interesting. And you get a million dollars for doing that?" He asked skeptically.

"Well yeah, and for being a model." I said simply and put my headphones back on and blasted Sara Evans.
Chapter 7 by Erica
"You’re a what?!" Nick almost screeched.

"Shhh! Nick, be quiet! You’re going to wake everyone up." I said putting my finger to his lips. Wow, he had soft lips. I quickly tore my hand away and looked back at him. "Yeah, the girls and I are all models. We work for O’Roark and Piston Modeling Agency in New York and we just made the first big deal we’ve had yet."

"So all that stuff about working with the girls was a line of crap?" Nick questioned.

"No, that was all true too. We’re going to be touring the country, promoting products and the tour, doing photo shoots, autograph signings, commercials, the works, but we’re also going to be working with the girls I told you about. We want to send a positive message to girls every where that you don’t have to look like a model to feel like one." I explained.

"Oh yeah, and how are you going to do that? You’re the most model stereotypical body-type there it." Nick said.

"Well, I’m not sure whether to take that as a compliment or an insult, but the reason they chose the four of us is because we all have some kind of imperfection, but we’ve made it to the top, just like these girls can." I said calmly, trying to decide if he was following or not.
"So what is the problem that you’ve had in becoming a model?" Nick asked.

"Do you really want to know?" I said. Nick nodded for me to continue. "Well, all four of us have certain things that the modeling world wouldn’t typically go for. Like me, I have size 11 shoe. I can’t find comfortable shoes anywhere when on the runway, but I make due with size nine. Amethyst has freckles on her back and arms. At first they had to go in and digitally re-master all of her photos so that you couldn’t see them. Bianca is only 5’2". She’s the shortest runway model out there. She has to find shoes that make her look at least 5 inches taller just to wear the clothes these designers make. And Savannah, she wears glasses. She used to feel like the ugly duckling without them, but she’s made a name for herself with them. She wears contacts for the main shoots and the important events, but she doesn’t have very good eyesight without them." I looked over at Nick, waiting for his reaction.

"Wow. I didn’t know that those were problems in the modeling world. I thought that your problems were all about choosing which type of lettuce to eat for the day. Shows how much I know." I laughed at Nick’s comments.

"Actually, none of us are like that. We all eat healthy, but we know how to take care of our bodies. Yes, there are some girls that will starve themselves just to look good on the runway or in the magazines, but the four of us are not like that. That’s another reason we were chosen to lead the campaign." I said and Nick just stared at me. "Is everything ok?"

"Yeah, everything’s fine, it’s just, wow. This thing you’re doing with the girls is great. How long are you on tour for?" He asked.

"About a year. We’re going back today so that we can start the fittings for the daily outfits and start meeting with some of the crews that will be traveling with us. I’m excited! I can’t wait to get started." I said, beaming.
"You look beautiful." He said. I looked at him a little shocked. "I mean, excited, you look excited."

"Right. By the way, I think you’re hott too." I said and winked back at him. If I didn’t know any better, I could have sworn the boy had blushed.

"Uh, thanks. You know, I still have a girlfriend, but we can be friends right?" He looked at me, completely serious. I could feel my face fall because I was so disappointed in his statement.

Nick’s POV

"Yeah, friends would be um, great." She responded carefully. "You know Nick, I don’t know how we’re ever going to remain friends, I mean, we met kind of weirdly and we’re both going to be extremely busy. But, I’d love to try and be your friend. If you ever need anyone to talk to … about anything, here’s my number." She said and took a piece of paper from me and wrote it down. I looked up at her and smiled.

"Thanks, buddy." I said and tapped her nose. Buddy, what the hell Carter?

"Yeah, right. Buddy. Great, well, um, we’re about to land; I’d better start packing up my stuff." She said and started scrambling around picking up all of her CDs and her CD player and magazines. She knocked over her tray, which sent her cup flying in the air. "Great, I’m so graceful. I wonder how I ever became a model." She laughed like she was nervous, but her laugh was calm and confident. She looked beautiful when she laughed.

I laughed with her and she reached out and touched my hand. Her fingers on mine almost made me come undone. I tensed up and watched as her eyes met mine. She quickly withdrew her hand, which sent the papers I was writing on flying. We both scrambled to collect them, but she reached ‘Shining Star’ first.

"What’s this?" She questioned. I wasn’t sure whether or not to explain it to her.

"It’s lyrics to a song I’m writing. It’s called Shining Star. Well, obviously you can tell that since it’s written at the top of the page." I said. Ok, yeah, I definitely lose control of all inhibitions when she’s around me. What am I going to do with myself?


Jade’s POV

"Well, that’s cool. I can’t wait to hear it when it comes out on the radio, Mr. Fish Bones. Anyways, like I said, we’re almost there, so I guess we should say good bye now and save the whole scene for another, more important good bye. Nick, I don’t even know your last name, but it’s ok. It’s been wonderful meeting you and running into you for the past few days. I hope that you enjoyed my company as well." I said and stuck out my hand. He took it, but eyed me warily. As soon as our skin came into contact it was if there was an electric current running through us both.

I looked him in the eye and held his gaze for about 3 minutes. He finally let go and said, "It’s been wonderful meeting you as well Jade. I hope that everything goes well with your modeling career and your camps. You have my number; please call me whenever you need to." He said and kissed my hand.

My hand tingled from where his lips had been and I mentally noted that I would never wash that hand again. "You have my number as well, don’t be a stranger. I’ll need someone to talk to other than my girls sometimes."

"Yeah, well sometimes having a girl friend is better to talk to than my girlfriend or the guys, sometimes they think with the wrong heads and Kirsten always has her sex drive on high. Wow, you probably didn’t need to know that. Anyways, I guess it’s time for us to go our separate ways. Ride off into the sunset." Nick joked. He poked Kirsten awake and she looked at me groggily and said, "Who the hell are you?"

"You don’t need to worry about that honey, just figure out who you are and what you’ve got before someone comes and sweeps it out from under you." I replied. Yeah, I think today is going to be a good day. I grabbed my carry on bag and handed Nick back his song.

"It’s been wonderful flying with you Nick. Talk to you soon I hope." I said and confidently kissed his cheek. I winked at him as I walked down the aisle to the front of the plane, arms linked with Amethyst and Bianca. I turned around just in time to catch a blown kiss to me. We both winked and I got off of the plane.
Chapter 8 by Erica
"Girls! Oh, girls, you look absolutely lovely, considering the past 13 hours were spent flying on an airplane." Tess’s British accent called to us.

"Well, Tess, I do believe that you’re the one who has always told us that we always have to look like models, not just on the runway." I said and gave her a huge hug.
"Oh darlings, I’ve missed you all so much!" She said and threw her arms around all of us. "So, tell me, did you enjoy Spain or what? It was fabulous, wasn’t it?"

The four of us gushed about the 2-½ week trip we had just taken when she interrupted us. "Well, ladies, I have some fantastic news for you! You have tonight off! I understand that flying for so long can be tiring, but I need you fresh and awake for tomorrow so that we can start finding you some cute clothes to wear this coming winter season. Besides, we need to find you clothes for all kinds of weather. Aren't you excited girls?"

We all nodded and silently thanked her for giving us the night off. We got our luggage and went to the awaiting limo. As soon as we reached the loft where the girls and I would be staying, we flung our bags to the ground and went to claim bedrooms.

I got the Aqua room. Everything was about fish and ocean colors, the irony huh? Fish Bones. God, was there nothing on this Earth that could prevent me from thinking about him for just a few hours? Probably not. Anyways, Savannah got the butterfly room. Ames got the room right next to mine; it was as yellow as possible. Everything screamed yellow.

When I walked into her room, I gave her a funny look. "What? I’ll always have a happy place!" She smiled and flopped onto her bead. I flopped next to her and we both stared up at the ceiling. "What the hell are we doing Jade? Are we really ready for this?"

"I think so. I’m ready to be a positive influence on these girls and I’m also ready to start earning that $13 million bucks!" I said and laughed. I closed my eyes and suddenly saw a picture of a young Amethyst and me.

"Hey Ames, do you remember when we decided to become models?" I said and opened my eyes to see her smiling. "We were what? 11 years old?"

"I think so. We were sitting on the swings behind your house and you got up and did a mock model walk and we both decided that we wanted to become models." She said and began to laugh. Savannah and Bianca joined us on her bed.

"Dang Ames, this room almost blinded me." Bianca commented. She had chosen the music room. It had music notes painted all over the place on a deep red background. It totally fit Bianca’s demeanor and personality.

The four of us lay together in a circle for about 10 minutes before Savannah broke the silence. "Has it hit you guys yet that we’re making millions of dollars?"

"No, and I don’t think that it will until I’ve actually used some of that money on something or someone." Ames said. We sighed happily and sat on the bed for a few more minutes before Bianca said, "So Jade, tell us about this guy that you’ve been glowing over for the past few days."
I opened my mouth to speak, but then I started to giggle.

"Well, his name is Nick and he’s in a band called Fish Bones, B, I think you’re familiar with that name. I met him in Spain a few days ago." I continued to divulge the story of how Nick and I had met and about Kirsten and everything.

~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~*** ~~~


Nick’s POV

"No friggin’ way. Dude, Nick, look. It’s that chick Jade. It looks like she’s living here too." AJ said and pointed to her as she and the other three girls got out of the limo that we had been following. "Dang, she’s gorgeous. Have you seen her friend Bianca? She’s a hottie too! She’s small, but she’s got a huge personality. I’m totally digging her!"

"Yeah, yeah. Great J. Man, I cannot believe that she is here. Is this like, fate, or what?" I said. Damn, the girl always looked great.

"Well, what are you gonna do about Kirsten?" AJ questioned.
"Dude, I seriously have no idea. Like, I love her and all, but there’s something about this girl that drives me crazy. Most of the time she’s not even nice to me, but I still find myself thinking about her all the time." I said, not taking my eyes off of her for one second.

"Come on man, can you honestly say that you love Kirsten after all of the shit she puts you through? She’s basically turned you into her lap dog, man. You really need to do something about her. I know, hook her up with Justin Timberlake. He could handle her. Oh wait, he’s got Cameron. Let’s see, who can we set her up with?" AJ asked me, completely serious.

"AJ, I am not pawning off my girlfriend. I don’t know if I truly love her, but I’m not going to just find someone new for her. But I can say that there’s something missing with us. I mean, she’s not a challenge anymore. Jade, now she’s a mystery. She and I are friends one minute, enemies the next. She always has me thinking, and besides, I lose all sense of anything when she’s around. Man, J, I’m glad you finally agreed to share this apartment with me." I said as I pushed the 25 button on the elevator. AJ and I heard the 24 preceding beeps to acknowledge each floor and when the elevator doors opened into the penthouse the two of us were sharing, I ran for the couch.

AJ went and claimed his room while I lied down on the fluffy white couch. "I wonder what floor the girls are on." I said out loud.

"Do you want to go find out? Chris will take care of our luggage for us. I mean, they’ve got to be easy to find right? They’re girls, they’ll make noise." AJ said and ran for the elevator. He pushed the down button and waited for it to arrive.

As soon as the door dinged open, AJ and I stepped inside. We knew that they had to be on one of the top five floors because those were the penthouses. We pressed number 24 first. The doors opened to a grand hallway and paintings of flowers on the wall. We came to a set of French doors and saw a doorbell. AJ pushed it and we waited for a few seconds.


Jade’s POV

"Oh, yay! Our first visitors!" Ames exclaimed. She ran up and went to the door. She flipped her hair over her shoulders and combed through it with her fingers. She adjusted her shirt and then walked to the door. The girls and I laughed as we watched her prepare for the grand opening.

She opened the door and said, "Hi, can I help you?"

"Um, yeah, is Bianca available please?" we heard a very smooth, sexy voice say.

Bianca looked at us and whispered excitedly, "AJ?!" She got up and Amethyst let him in. I looked up to get a better look at him and in walked Fish Bones.

"What the hell are you doing here? Are you like, stalking me or something, because if you are, I will have a restraining order placed against you."" I almost screamed at him when I had recovered from the shock.

"Jade, please. No, he’s not stalking you. We live here too." AJ supplied. "We live on the 25th floor and we decided to go around and meet our neighbors. We seriously had no idea that you were here too."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever you say AJ. You know that you were looking for me!" Bianca flirted and traced her finger down his chin. He grabbed it and kissed her palm.

"So, do you guys want to come in and sit with us?" Ames ushered them in. Nick took a seat next to me on the couch and AJ and Bianca retreated to the kitchen.

"So, Jade, how are you?" Nick asked nervously. I looked at him and scowled. "What?"

"I just cannot believe that now I’m stuck with you, again." I said and kept my eyes on the television.

"Stuck with me? We happen to be neighbors. OK? It’s not like I went looking for you, or followed you from the airport. As AJ already explained to you, we are living on the floor above you and we were coming around to meet our neighbors. God, you act like being nice is a crime." He retorted.

"It is when the person you’re being nice to doesn’t want the affection. Nick, listen, you have a girlfriend and I don’t want you to think that I can just be some girl that you can randomly hook up with just because you and she got into a fight." I practically yelled back at him. By this time, but Ames and Vannah had disappeared to the kitchen, allowing Nick and myself to duke it out privately.

"Jade that was one night! I was drunk and we got into a stupid fight about me not being able to speak Spanish. I was pissed off because all I thought about after she had said that was you, and when she asked what I was thinking about, I said you name. There, are you happy?" He demanded.

"Why the fuck would you fight about me? You don’t even know my last name! You didn’t even know what I did until just a few hours ago! You don’t know anything about me Nick! And I don’t know anything about you except that you are in a band called Fish Bones. Fish Bones for Christ’s sake!" I got up from the couch because I could feel myself becoming flustered. I couldn’t be near him any longer without doing something that I would probably regret later.

"That’s not true! I know that your name is Jade, and you’re drop dead gorgeous, you have the clearest brown eyes I’ve ever seen. I know that when the sun hits you in a certain light, your eyes flash gold, and your blonde highlights look lighter than usual. I know that you’re intimidating as hell and that I can’t look at you for more that 2 seconds without falling apart. You challenge my brain, you challenge my ego. Neither of those things has happened for a while. I can’t keep my mind off of you and I have to deal with a girlfriend." He took a deep breath and waited for my reaction. I walked over to the couch and sat back down, fixing my blank stare on the T.V.

"Are you serious? I thought I was the only one thinking those things. I enjoy your company Nick. Not just because you’re hot, but because you’re funny, and you don’t even try to be, you just are. Right now, all we can be is friends, and you know that. I’ve told you at least twice that I’m not going to be the girl on the side. Nick, when you’re ready to make a 100% commitment to me, let me know. But I’m not going to sit around here waiting for you." I said and got up from the couch and joined everyone else in the kitchen, leaving Nick staring after me with his mouth open.
Chapter 9 by Erica
Eventually, Nick and AJ went home and the girls and I decided to get some sleep to adjust ourselves to the time change. We all fell asleep around 9:30 p.m. and woke up to blaring alarms that we couldn’t remember setting. Groggily, we all got up and got dressed in some jeans and t-shirts. Then brushed our teeth and went to the elevator. We got downstairs and saw a man standing in a suit holding a sign that had each of our names on it. We laughed and introduced ourselves to him.

"Hello ladies, my name is Frank. I’m your driver. I’ll be with you for the next year. Now, I’ll be taking you to Tess’s office and she’s going to explain everything." He said as he led us to the awaiting stretch Hummer that was parked outside of our building.

The four of us got inside and opened our mouths in awe. Even though it was only 7:30 in the morning, we were awake enough to see all the extra features this car had. There were just way too many to name. Savannah, Amethyst and Bianca fell asleep on the way to Tess’s office. Because I was a morning person, I appreciated seeing the morning quiet of the city. We passed by a few stores that I was planning on shopping in and I just stared out the window until we pulled up to O’Rourke and Piston and Frank stopped the car.

He got out and I shook each of the girls awake. He opened the door and helped each of us out and drove off, saying something about when he would be back to pick us up.
The four of us walked into the familiar foyer and stopped when we saw Erin, the receptionist behind the desk.

"Good morning girls. It’s great to see you again, how was your trip?" She asked.

We each offered our opinions and gratefulness for the trip and I told her that we were here to see Tess. She buzzed us up to her office and when we walked in, we saw Tess at her desk and an unfamiliar man sitting in one of the armchairs across from her.

"Ah, girls, you’re here. Wonderful. Now we can begin." Tess said as the four of us arranged ourselves in the other armchairs in her huge office. "I’m sure that all of you have met Frank, your driver, lovely fellow, isn’t he?"

We all nodded and yawned. I looked at my watch and saw that it was barely 8:00 a.m. I turned back to Tess in time to hear her start talking about the important stuff.

"The tour is going to last for a little over a year. You’ll be traveling on 2 Greyhound busses across the States.
Today, you’re going to be trying on about a million outfits just for the next three months. Since it’s just going into the summer, you’ll be wearing lots of pastels and capris and tank tops." Tess commented, her British accent making everything she said sound amazingly sophisticated.

The four of us were in awe of everything that we would be doing for the next year. Tess handed each of us leather binders with the first 6 weeks of the tour. Luckily, we were going to actually be able to sleep. Our first stop was right in New York, in a small town a few miles outside of Manhattan.

By this time, Bianca was flaunting herself in front of the mystery guy, Savannah had positioned herself next to him, and Ames couldn’t keep her eyes off of him. I was looking at him, but for some reason, Nick was the only guy who entertained any thoughts of romantic interest in my mind.
Tess could see that all of us were interested to find out who this guy was. I mean, don’t get me wrong, he was gorgeous, and for some reason, extremely silent. Probably for the same reason as the rest of us. It was 9:45 in the morning and there were 5 girls talking loudly and excitedly about modeling. Any guy would probably hate to be in that situation.

"Well, ladies. I’d like to introduce you to the man who is going to turn your careers around. He is going to be your tour manager for the next 14 months. Savannah, Bianca, Amethyst, Jade, I’d like to introduce you to your new tour manager, Jordan Tylerton." Tess introduced.

We all said our hellos, and he continued to speak to us. I tuned him out because he was actually kind of boring. My thoughts returned to Nick. Just as I was daydreaming about kissing him for the first time, my cell phone vibrated in my purse.

~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~


Nick’s POV

Come on, come on. Please pick up." I said to myself as I heard the ringing in my ear. I hoped that she didn’t mind I was calling at 10:00 a.m.

"This is Jade." I heard her voice in my ear. I breathed a sigh of relief and opened my mouth to speak again.

"Hey Jade, it’s Nick. Are you busy?" I asked nervously.

"Well, I’m actually in the middle of a meeting with my manager and the tour manager that she’s assigned us for the Girls Across America tour. What’s up?" She asked.

"Oh, I didn’t mean to interrupt your meeting. I guess I’ll just talk to you later then." I said, about to hang up.

"No, wait. What’s going on? I’m out in the hallway." She said.

"I just wanted to see if you were busy and wanted to do lunch or something? You know, so we can talk." I said, carefully choosing my words.

"That sounds like a great idea. We’ll be out of here by 12:00. I’ll have Frank me off somewhere at 1:00. Where do you want to meet?" She said, actually sounding excited.
"Um, how about Tavern On The Green?" I offered.

"Isn’t that a little expensive for a not so famous band member?" She asked and laughed over the phone. God, she was sexy even on the phone.

"Well, I have some connections. I’ll meet you there at 1:00." I said and hung up the phone. It was time to be perfectly honest with her. If I was going to continue to have even just a friendly relationship with her, she needed to know the truth.


Jade’s POV

I walked back into Tess’s office and found that all eyes had been turned to me. Jordan looked at me expectantly and said, "You know, Jade, this is a very exclusive opportunity. If you’re not going to take it seriously and drop everything when the little boyfriend calls, then we’re just going to have to find someone to replace you."

"Excuse me. But first off, let me say this to you Mr. Tylerton. That was not my boyfriend, but my mother. It seems that she wants to talk to me about my grandmother. She’s sick with lung cancer and the doctors have told her that she only has 3 more months to live and it looks like she’s taken a turn for the worse. So, if you’ll excuse your know-it-all attitude, I’d consider talking to me in a different manner. And secondly, you do not own me. You may be my manager, but I am my own person and I know how to make decisions for myself. So the next time you talk to me like a 5 year old, I’ll be calling Tess on your ass and having you fired." I said and sat back down in the chair and stared him down, proving that I meant business.

"Then my apologies Ms. Carroll. But we do need to get back to business." He said and handed me a cardboard picture of the girls and I. "We need to come up with a name for you girls. The tour is called Girls Across America, but we need to have a catch phrase and a nickname for you girls. Do any of you have any ideas?" He responded.

"How about the Esteem Team?" Ames suggested.

"I like it!" Savannah exclaimed. "How did you come up with that?"

"I dunno. I guess I’ve been thinking about it for a while now. Let’s think about the catch phrase." Amethyst said and she, Bianca, and Savannah all turned to me.

"What? Why are you looking at me?" I asked, completely confused.

"Because, Jade, you’re always the best when it comes to things like that. You know how to put your words in a way that makes everyone want to listen. I mean come on. You just put Jordan in his place." Bianca pointed out. Jordan turned a bright shade of pink and looked back over nodding sheepishly.

"Alright then, let me think for a second. How about … Just like us." I suggested. "I mean, these girls are just like us if you think about it. I know that the four of us didn’t know that we would be doing this one day and we all thought that there would be something holding us back."

"I think that’s perfect." Tess interjected. "Just like us. I love it! I’ll let the press know as soon as possible. Let’s get you girls into the fitting rooms."
Chapter 10 by Erica
We were about to leave to go to meet with the designers, when Amethyst said, "Um, Tess. I know that you’ve probably put a lot of money into this whole, designer clothing thing, but don’t you think that if we want the girls to be just like us, that we should wear clothes that they would wear. I mean, instead of the clothes that would probably hurt their self – esteem even more."

"You know, Ames, that’s a really important suggestion. I think that we need to take a poll or a survey or something before we just go out and get all of these new clothes." I said, backing up my friend.

"I’m sorry girls, but right now, we really don’t have time for that. We’re meeting with Tommy Hilfiger in a matter of minutes. Then, we’re on to meet with John Mossimo." Jordan said.

"Are you serious?! I love John Mossimo! I buy his clothes from Target! If that’s not wearing what the average girls wears, than I don’t know what is." Bianca exclaimed. Well, I guess that Tommy Hilfiger and John Mossimo were the best designers to wear if we were going to be meeting with every day girls.

"So, Jordan, what are we doing tomorrow?" Savannah asked as she walked next to him.

"Well, I know that you might not like it, but we’re going to be meeting with the design teams of Hollister, American Eagle, Abercrombie and Fitch, and Aeropostale. I know, I know. You’re not gonna like it, but we’ve paid them lots of money already. Just think, if the girls really are trying to be just like you, then they’ll work hard to be just like you." Jordan said and ushered us into the limo.

After trying on at least 200 outfits each, it was time for us to go back to the loft and rest until the next day. Before getting into the limo, I stopped to talk to Frank. I asked him if he would mind dropping me off at the Tavern On The Green after dropping everyone else off. He smiled and nodded.

I got into the limo and saw that, thankfully, it was only the girls and I. "Where’s Jordan?" I asked.

"He’s staying to talk to Mossimo because there were some kinds of problems, I don’t know the reason, but he’s not coming." Savannah informed me, almost in a pouting way.

"Oh, someone’s got a crush on Jordan!" Bianca exclaimed.

"No, I do not have a crush on Jordan. I just think that he’s really hot. His attitude sucks, but he’s REALLY hot." She admitted.

"Well, you know what they say, if they’re really hot, than they’re either gay or taken!" Ames supplied. After that, we all cracked up and just enjoyed the ride home.

After a few minutes, Ames looked at me and said, "Hey Jade, can I ask what was up with that phone call you received?" The rest of the girls chimed in and said that they wanted to know too. "Why didn’t you tell me that your grandmother is sick?"

"Because she’s not. She’s alive and well, and perfectly happy. Besides, you know that my family moved back to North Carolina a few months ago." I said, adding the extra southern twang to my voice that I used to have when I lived in NC. "It was Nick. He wants to meet and talk. I don’t have any idea what he wants to talk about, so don’t even ask any questions." I turned away from them before they could see me turning bright red.

I heard lots of oohing and ahhing and giggling behind my back, but I did not want to bring attention to anything, so I stayed turned around. Just as Frank dropped off the girls and they left me with "encouraging" good-byes, my cell phone began to ring.

"Hey, Nick. I’m sorry that I’m running a little late. I’ll be there in a little less than 5 minutes; we’re right around the corner.

"Oh, ok. Just making sure that you hadn’t forgotten." His voice sounded over the phone. Still hot, still gorgeous.

"Nope, I didn’t forget, it’s a long story. I’ll be there as soon as I can." I said and we hung up.

Nick’s POV

As soon as her limo pulled up, the paparazzi were all over her. I yelled at Chuck to go and get her from them, but she stood at the end of the entrance and smiled for as many pictures as they wanted to take. They had questions and she answered them surprisingly professionally. Had she ever been trained? I’d have to ask her. After a few more minutes, Chuck went and got her and led her into the secluded room that she and I were going to share, so that the crazy people couldn’t see us.

She smiled brightly as she walked in and ran over to me and gave me a hug. "It’s so nice to see you again Nick. It’s going to be nice to talk to a guy that isn’t a complete asshole." She said and sat down. She was only in jeans and a t-shirt and she still looked beautiful.

"You did great with the paparazzi. How did you know to act like that?" I asked her.

"Well, I used to be in beauty pageants when I was younger, so I’ve been coached on how to answer questions, and I have a pretty good head on my shoulders so that helps too. Plus, they don’t really know me yet, so I have to take advantage of the easy press before they start chasing me in my car. Besides, I’ve learned that if you just give them the pictures they want, than they’ll leave you alone and won’t bother you." She explained and sat in the chair across from me.

"So, how was your day?" I asked her.

"Well, most of it was great, but there was one thing that I hated about it." She said and picked up her menu.

"What did you hate about it?" I asked her.

"My tour manager. We met him today and he’s a complete jerk. His name is Jordan Tylerton and he’s totally mean. I mean, he screamed at me for taking your phone call. I lied and told him that it was my mom regarding my sick grandmother." She said and laughed.

"I didn’t mean to get you in trouble. I’m sorry." She gave me a face that told me not to worry about it and I kept looking at her. She was so cute squinching her eyebrows together trying to figure out what to order.

"Are you sure you can pay for something like this?" She questioned from behind her menu.

"Yeah, just trust me, I’m sure." I said and tried to hide my face from her.

"So, it sounded like there was something really important that you wanted to talk about on the phone earlier. What’s up?" She asked and put her menu down.

"There’s something that I need to tell you. But you have to promise me that you won’t be mad." I said and looked at her in the eyes.

"I can’t promise anything. Especially when you start the conversation like that." She said.

"Ok, well, then you’re just going to have to listen and decide for yourself whether or not you’ll be mad at me. So here goes." I said and took a deep breath. "I’m not in a band called Fish Bones."

"I knew it! I knew that there was no such band with that name. So tell me, what are you? An investment banker? A travel agent? Come on, what do you really do?" She pressed.

"Well, I’m still in a band, but just not Fish Bones. You may have heard of us, we’re um, The Backstreet Boys." I said and looked at her.

Her mouth had dropped open and her fists went to the table. "You're in the fucking Backstreet Boys? What the hell! You’re joking me! I thought that all this time you were just making up the band thing to sound cooler and I could deal with that, but then you tell me that you’re in the fucking Backstreet Boys. That shit doesn’t fly with me Nick! Why would you lie to me like that? Honestly?" She screamed. A waiter came in an asked us to quiet down because we were disturbing the guests.

"I didn’t know what to say when you asked why I was in Spain. I mean, honestly, tell me that you would have talked to me like a regular person if you had known that I was in Backstreet." I tried to say calmly to her.

"Nick, you must really think I’m psycho. I just finished explaining to you that I know what it’s like being in the spotlight, so that would have been something we had in common. You know what? I told you that I couldn’t promise not getting mad, so I’m getting mad. I’m also leaving." She said and picked up her purse. She walked to the door of our room and stopped. She turned around and said, "Nick, it would be in your best interest if you didn’t contact me for a while. It’s going to take me a long time to learn to trust you again."

With that, she walked out and left me sitting alone at the table set for two.
Chapter 11 by Erica
I rode home in the limo completely depressed. Frank tried to ask me what was wrong about 30 times, but every time I snapped at him and told him that his job was to drive, not ask questions. Why did this admission of Nick’s bother me so much? Because, Jade, you really liked him, but you always knew that his girlfriend was going to keep you distant from each other, and this newly discovered lie just gives you a reason to accept it and move on.

Move on? Did I want to do that? No, but I had to. I lowered the partition and apologized to Frank for snapping at him. He told me that it was ok and he stopped so that I could ride up front with him. He asked me about what happened and I spilled my guts. I was touched by his concern, so I started to cry. I quickly got a hold of myself because we Carrolls do not cry for anything, crying just shows weakness. I remembered my father’s words clearly the day we lost our pet dog Chewy in a car accident.

Frank pulled up to the apartment building and let me out. I thanked him for helping me and getting me home safely. I watched him drive off as Johnny opened the door for me and escorted me to the elevator.

"There you go Ms. Carroll. Have a nice day." Johnny said as the doors closed. I tried to respond, but the elevator doors closed to fast. When I got upstairs, the girls rushed to me as soon as I got through the French Doors.

"Whoa, what happened?" I asked, very flustered.

"You got flowers! We’ve been waiting for you to find out who they’re from." Bianca pushed a bouquet of 23 yellow roses at me. "So, who are they from?"

"Probably Nick. Damn it! I told him to leave me alone!" I cried and went to the phone. I dialed his cell number as fast as I could. "Nick, why the hell are you sending me flowers after I told you to leave me alone?!"

"I didn’t send you flowers Jade. I don’t want to mess up the chance to have a friendship with you, so I didn’t want to contact you until you called me first." He explained.
"Whatever." I said into the phone and hung up on him. If they weren’t from Nick, who could they be from?

"What was that all about J?" Ames asked as I put down the phone. "Did you and Nick get into a fight?"

"Let’s just say that I really don’t want to talk about him right now. Our lunch didn’t go so well, and that’s all I’m going to say for now." I said. "Now, let’s find out who these flowers are from." I ripped open the card and read:

Jade – I’m so sorry about earlier. Please let me make it up to you. Meet me tonight outside of your building at 7:30 p.m. Thanks – Jordan.

"Jordan? Why would he want to meet with you?" Bianca asked as she read the note over my shoulder.

"I have no idea. I guess I have to though, I mean, he is technically my boss. Do you think that this is a formal occasion or informal?" I asked the girls.

"Probably informally formal," Savannah offered. We laughed at her suggestion and decided that it would probably be best if I dressed up a little more than usual, but not over the top. They all came to my rescue with clothes, make-up, and hair stuff.

Around 6:00 that night, I chose a simple black-strapless dress from Bianca’s closet, Savannah did my make-up in silver and black, and Ames curled my hair. I hoped that I didn’t look too over-done and expecting of a date. I mean, for goodness’ sake, I didn’t even like Jordan.

At exactly 7:27, the girls pushed me out the door and down the hallway to the elevator. When it opened, AJ stood in the door and whistled as I stepped inside. "Is that for Nick?" He asked me.

"Huh, yeah right. Nick and I are no longer on speaking terms, as of 2:00 this afternoon." I answered.

"Seriously? What happened?" He asked, sounding concerned.
"If he wants you to know, than he’ll tell you. It’s not my place to discuss Nick." I replied coldly.

"Jesus Jade, you don’t have to get an attitude with me. That’s probably what happened between you and Nick, huh? You got pissed and walked out before he could fully explain something." He interjected.

"How do you know AJ?" I screamed. "How is it, that everyone thinks that it’s my fault that Nick and I aren’t friends right now? For Christ’s sake we weren’t even dating!"

"Yeah, that’s true, but you’ve been more constant in his life than Kirsten has been lately. Honestly, he talks to you more than Kirsten. When they’re together, all she ever wants to do is have sex, and when he’s with you, he said that you’re a challenge because you have to be figured out. I’ve known Nick a long time Jade. Whatever it was that he did, it wasn’t in an attempt to hurt you, but probably in an attempt to save you from the life he lives." AJ explained.

"You mean as a Backstreet Boy? I’m not mad that he’s a Backstreet Boy, I’m mad that he didn’t tell me and that he wasn’t honest with me from the beginning." I said and leaned against the metal wall. Could this elevator be any slower? Honestly!

"That’s what he told you? And you’re mad? Most girls are freaking out at the chance to spend all of his money. Did it ever occur to you that maybe he didn’t want you to know because he wanted you to get to know him as Nick Carter, the person and not Nick Carter, the Backstreet Boy? He really likes you Jade. Don’t shut him out just because of something like that." AJ pleaded with me.

"Ok, well, than let me turn the tables. Does Bianca know that you’re a Backstreet Boy? What do you think she’s gonna do when she finds out that you are?" I cornered him.

"Probably freak out, but I’m willing to suffer the repercussions. Just like Nick is willing to do for you. But don’t string him along Jade. Don’t be mad at him just because you can’t get over yourself." AJ said. With that, the doors of the elevators opened and we walked out together. He walked over to Johnny and started talking to him as I reached the door and saw Jordan standing out front in a blue polo shirt and khaki pants. He saw me and smiled.

Has he always been this cute? Since this morning? I smiled back and he took my arm and led me to the awaiting limo. We both got inside and stared at each other.

Jordan broke the ice saying, "Jade, you look beautiful. Not that you don’t always, but tonight especially." I thanked him and looked out the window.

"What are we doing tonight Jordan? I mean, what is this whole thing all about?" I asked.

"Well, I’m taking you out to dinner to apologize for being such a dick earlier at the office. I didn’t mean to jump all over you about that phone call. How’s your grandmother by the way?" He asked and inched closer to me.

"She’s fine, she was always fine. There’s nothing wrong with my grandmother. I just made that up so that you would get off of my case about one silly phone call. It’s not like we were even in the middle of anything." I replied.

"I guess I got jealous." He said. I turned to him, completely stunned and said, "Excuse me? Jealous?"

"Jade, you’re gorgeous. I found you the greatest from the second I met you. You're a natural born leader and you have the wits of a whip. I’ve never been challenged the way you put me to shame earlier. I started forming a crush on you as soon as you walked through the door and then when you received that phone call, it sounded like you were talking to a boyfriend and I got jealous." He admitted.

"Wow, um, I don’t know whether I should be flattered or completely creeped out." I said.

"Don’t worry, it’s not like an obsession or anything, I just went into manager mode to hide my feelings for you. I just want you to be focused for the next 14 months and having a boyfriend is not the best way to do that." He said.

"So, you want me to date you instead? That makes a whole lot of sense." I replied sarcastically.

"Well, not date me, but at least give me a chance. Having someone with you, you’d never have to worry about infidelity or anything like that. Plus you’d always have a support system if things got crazy." He suggested.

"I don’t really know Jordan, I mean, dating my boss? That might be kind of weird. Especially seen from the other girls. They might think that I’m getting special treatment or something and I don’t want that to happen." I responded.

"Well, then I’ll let you decide. How about we find out if there’s any chemistry between the two of us before decided right away?" He looked at me and inched closer. I don’t know why, but I didn’t move away. I allowed his lips to get closer to me and eventually I felt myself succumbing to his tender lips.

We kissed for about 10 seconds, before he reached up and took my face in his hands. He pushed his tongue through my lips and deepened the kiss. I moaned against his mouth as we both moved closer and pushed our mouths together. God, he was such a good kisser. We broke the kiss and he looked at me expectantly. I smiled at him, but moved away. This was just way too much for me.

What am I going to do?
Chapter 12 by Erica
The rest of the night went painfully well. I was growing more and more attracted to Jordan with every gesture he made and every word he said. His smile turned me on in ways that I didn’t even know existed. I found myself more and more excited to be with him. We didn’t talk business at all and he seemed truly interested in me.

We laughed and never once suffered from an uncomfortable silence. At the end of dinner, Jordan ordered some wine and we toasted each other. We walked out of the restaurant holding hands and we continued to talk all the way home.

"Jade, I’ve had a great night." Jordan said and kissed my hand when we arrived back at my apartment building.

Slowly, I admitted that I had had a good time as well. He licked his lips in a way that drove me crazy and before I knew it, I was practically diving onto his lips. We calmed down long enough to tell the driver to drive around the block a few more times.

I don’t know how it happened, but I was eventually in his lap, kissing him as passionately as I could and his hands had free reign over my entire body. I plunged my tongue into his mouth and hearing him moan against me made me even more turned on. Slowly, he worked his way down my neck with a trail of kisses and eventually reached the neckline of my dress. As he reached up to pull it down, I stopped him with my own hands.

"Not yet." I breathed against him. It had been a very long time since I had experienced the act of making love and I was not about to change that one my first date with Jordan. I was supposed to be experiencing that with Nick.

Whoa! Where did that come from? What the hell am I doing? I’m making out with a gorgeous guy and I was supposed to be mad at Nick. Why was I always thinking about the way that he could win me back?

"Jordan, I think it’s time to end our night. I’m not ready to take that step with you right now. I’ve had a great time tonight. I’m just not sure if it would be good if we continued to see each other." I said and removed myself from his lap.

He took my hand in his and looked me in the eyes. "Jade, I understand completely. I mean, if we have to keep it secret, we can do that."

"No, I’m not going to keep it a secret from my best friends. I’ll talk to them about it. But I have a lot of things going on right now that I need to work out." I said and told the driver to take me back to the apartment building.

"What kind of things do you have to work out?" He asked as he pulled me closer. I moved a little away from him so that I could look at him.

"My friends need me more than anything right now, and I need to experience being single for a while. I just got out of a relationship that was emotionally taxing and I need some time to recuperate. I mean, maybe we can try to cultivate a relationship. We’ll be seeing each other almost every day for the next 14 months, so I’m sure that we’ll have plenty of time to get to know each other." I lied. I just really needed to get out of this car and go talk to the girls.

The driver finally pulled up to the curb again and he got out and opened the door for me. Jordan and I exchanged good-byes and I went inside the building. I saw James and he opened the elevator for me.

"Hot date tonight Ms. Carroll?" He asked with a slight smirk on his face.

"More like a business meeting that turned into a date, thing. But I’m not as into him as I thought I was." I said and tapped James on the arm.

"Oh, really? Why not?" He asked.

"I think I’m interested in someone else. And he wants to keep the relationship secret. And I just couldn’t do that to the girls. They would kill me first of all for even thinking about mixing business and pleasure; and secondly for lying to them. I’d probably be so beat up that I would never be a model again." I said and laughed.

"So, this "someone else". They don’t happen to be living on the 25th floor do they?" James asked. I could feel the heat rising to my cheeks and James just nodded his head. "I get it Ms. Carroll. You’re cheating on me."

I laughed and James did too. "James, could you please call me Jade? I know that you’re probably supposed to call me by my last name, but it makes me feel really old." He nodded and the doors to the elevator opened. I kissed his cheek and said, "Thanks for the ear. I’ll see you tomorrow!"

At first, I pressed the 24 button, but about half way up, I pressed the 25 button. I needed to talk to Nick.

When the elevator opened to my floor, I looked down the hall and saw that the lights were still on inside the foyer. I looked at my watch and saw that it was 10:30 p.m. I quickly pressed the "Door Close" button and waited as the elevator took me up one more floor.

Once the doors opened, it took me about a minute to gain all of my composure. I walked up to their door and knocked five times. AJ opened the door and smiled at me. "Hey Jade. What’s up?"

"Nothing really. I hope I’m not interrupting anything. Is it too late to be stopping by?" I asked carefully before stepping into his living room.

"No, not at all. Are you looking for Nick?" He asked.

"Yeah, um, actually I came to talk to him. And apologize for my reaction today." I said and looked around casually to see if I could find Nick on my own.

"Ah, I see. So, my little talk today sunk in huh?" He winked.

"Yeah, actually it did." I said. "But I’d really like to talk to Nick. If that wouldn’t be too much to ask."

"Yeah, um, I’ll go check and see if he’s in his room. I’ll be right back, wait here." He said.

I looked around the apartment and walked into his living room. I sat down on his big, fluffy white couch and sunk in. I stuck out because of the black outfit contrasting against the white background.

Nick’s POV

"Hey man, Jade’s here." AJ said as he stuck his head into my room.

"No she’s not. We’re not talking to each other right now." I said and kept flipping through the magazine I was reading.

"Dude, you’re seriously gonna wanna come out here and talk to her. She looks fine and if you don’t get your ass out here in 10 seconds, I’m gonna make a move on her." AJ prodded.

"Whatever." I said and got up from the chair I was sitting in. I walked into the living room and couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw Jade sitting on the couch, decked out in a hot black dress.

"Jade?" I asked from behind the couch.

"Hi Nick. Um, I wanted to stop by and talk." She said and got up from the couch. The asymmetrical hemline barely brushed the top of her knees and her make-up made her look like a goddess.

"You look beautiful." Was all I could mutter. She smiled and walked over to me.

"Nick, I’ve been thinking. And I had some help from a mutual friend. But I’m so sorry for the way I reacted today. I know that you were just trying to protect yourself from me, or from who I could have been." She said and stepped closer to me.

"Jade, I’m sorry I lied to you. I’m sorry that you ever had to find out, but I knew that I wanted to pursue some kind of relationship with you and relationships are always supposed to be honest." I said. I could feel her breath on my face now.

"Well, if honesty is the policy, then I have a confession to make." She said and looked up at me with her big, brown eyes. "I went on a date tonight. With my tour manager. Well, it wasn’t supposed to be a date, but somehow I ended up in his lap by the end of the night and we were making out." I was so hurt by her words. I just looked at her and tried to focus.

"How was it? I mean, do you like this guy?" I asked her slowly.

"No. I hate him, actually. He was a great kisser, but the entire time I was kissing him, I was thinking about you. I wanted you to be the guy I was sitting on. I wanted you to be the guy kissing my neck. Ok, I’m sure that you didn’t need to hear all of that, but I wanted to be honest. I want you Nick. You and you only. I know that right now we can’t be together because of Kirsten, but I just though you’d like to know how I feel." She said and began to walk away.
I reached out and grabbed her hand. "Do you really mean all of that?" I asked her.

Her eyes were filling with tears as she slowly nodded her head. "I want you as a friend, as a man, as a lover. But right now, things can’t work that way. I don’t know if I’m going to wait, but I’m willing to try."

The words spilled out of her mouth at the same rate as the tears spilled from her eyes. I didn’t know what to do, but I started to wipe away her tears. I brought her into a close hug and kissed the top of her head. "Everything will work out Jade. I want to be with you too."

"Then be with me. If only just for tonight." She said and took my hand and led me back into my bedroom.
Chapter 13 by Erica
Nick’s POV

My mind was running on overload as I watched Jade’s graceful steps into my bedroom. What about Kirsten? I can’t do this. Not right now.

"Jade. I can’t do this." I said and she stopped. She let go of my hand and went over to my bed and sat down. She leaned back on the bed and her posture was driving me crazy.

"Why not Fish Bones? The sexual tension has been through the roof since we met. Are you sure that you don’t want to sleep with me?" She asked and licked her lips.

I sucked in a deep breath and felt the jeans surrounding my package get tighter. "I didn’t say that. I do want to sleep with you, but not like this. When we do make love Jade, I want it to be all about you and all about the two of us. I don’t want to do it while I’m still with Kirsten because it wouldn’t be fair to anyone." I explained.

"When? You seriously want to have sex with me?" She asked and got up from my bed. She walked over to me and took my hand in hers.

"No. I don’t want to have sex with you. I want to make love to you. Jade, you are one of the most wonderful people I have ever met. You challenge my mind and my body and my soul. When the day finally comes that you and I can really be together, there will be nothing to get in the way. I promise you that." I said and cupped her face in my hands. I lightly kissed her forehead and she smiled.

"I think it’s time for me to go home for tonight. I just wanted to say again that I’m so sorry for the way I reacted earlier. I’ll see you tomorrow." She said.

"You can count on it." I said and she held onto my hand until she couldn’t reach me anymore.


Jade’s POV

I stood outside of the double doors to my apartment and touched my index finger to my lips. Did that whole situation with Nick really happen? Did he say that he wanted to make love to me? "Landon didn’t refer to it like that," I thought to myself, remembering the night that I lost my virginity to my first boyfriend almost four years ago.

I thought that he loved me, but when I woke up the next morning, there was a note telling me that he didn’t think that we could be together anymore. At that very moment, I knew that he had used me to get laid. I felt like such a whore, and I vowed to myself that I would never have sex with someone again, until I knew for sure that we loved each other.

I opened the door to the penthouse and smiled to myself thinking of the words Nick had used. I respected his decision and his morals more than I could find the words to say. Bianca was the first one to reach me and she came running through her bedroom door.

"Jade! Oh my gosh, you’re home so late!" She exclaimed as I looked over at the clock and it read 12:30 a.m. Had I really been at Nick’s for two hours? Wow. It felt so much shorter! "Tell me all about your meeting with Jordan!"

Savannah and Ames came out into living room and I collapsed on the couch and proceeded to tell them every single detail of the date. Even Jordan’s request to have a "secret relationship". I go lots of "oh he’s such an asshole!’s and "I can’t believe that he would even think of that!"s.

I left out the part about Nick, because I wanted to figure out our relationship by myself. I know that the girls probably knew that something was going on between us, but I really needed to have something private from them.

"So, have you talked to Nick at all today?" Ames asked me as we walked back to our rooms.

Ok, ok. So I had to tell Amethyst. I mean, come on, she is my best friend. I told her how I went and made an ass of myself and he told me that he wanted to make love to me. She was so excited for me that she squealed like we were back in junior high.

"So, what are you gonna do?" She asked excitedly.

"What do you mean, what am I going to do? He’s got a girlfriend. I have to wait until they break up or something. But I know that he’s going to have to be the one to break up with Kirsten, because she’s obsessed with him. But she doesn’t deserve him. She treats him like crap." I vented. God, I didn’t even know that girl and I hated her.

"Things have a way of working themselves out, girl. I’m sure you and Nick will be together one day." Ames said and hugged me and went into her room. I went to sleep having sweet dreams involving both myself and Nick naked on a beach somewhere.

~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~


Nick’s POV

I woke up to the phone ringing. I looked over at my clock and saw that it was already 11:00 in the morning. I rubbed my eyes and grabbed my phone.

"Hello?" I said sleepily into the phone.

"Hey Nick. Can I come over?" Kirsten’s voice asked into the phone.

"Uh, yeah, sure I guess. Just let me get dressed." I said.

"Ok, I’ll be there in about 20 minutes." She said and hung up. Wow, no ‘I love you’? That was unusual. Maybe something’s wrong.

I got up, went to the bathroom, and threw on some jeans and a t-shirt. I brushed my teeth and grabbed my cell phone. Before I hooked it onto the clip, I checked out the missed calls. There were 28 missed calls. 27 were from Kirsten and one was from Kevin.

I checked to see what time Kirsten’s first call was and when I saw, 7:30 a.m. I knew something was wrong. I called Kevin back really quick and he said that he was just checking up on me and that he had talked to AJ this morning. AJ was up before I was? Now that’s definitely odd.

I heard the TV in the living room, so I went out to see what it was and heard AJ laughing to the Game Show Network.

"Dude, I didn’t know that you watched the Game Show Network." I laughed and joined him on the couch.

"Hell yeah man! The Newlywed Game is awesome! Check out what’s on next – the Hollywood Squares Episode with Howie and his mom on it." He said and pointed at the TV.

"Kirsten’s coming over," I filled him in. "I think that something’s wrong. He called me 28 times this morning."

"Damn, can we say obsessive?" AJ said, his glare still glued to the television set.

"No, I think it’s something else this time. Maybe she caught me with Jade last night." I said and rubbed my head, feeling a little guilty.

"Well, it’s not like you two had sex did you?" He said and finally looked at me.

"No, but it’s not like we couldn’t have. I stopped her because I didn’t wanna cheat on Kirsten." I said.

"What the hell is wrong with you man? You’ve got one of the finest girls I’ve ever seen in my life practically begging you to bang her and you say no? That’s seriously fucked up man!" AJ said.

"You know what’s fucked up? Your brain man." I said and smacked him across the head. "I can’t do it. I mean, I would have loved to, but think about it. We’ve only known each other for about a week. And I’m in the middle of a relationship, whether it’s any good or not is not the point." I said.

"Well, then I guess that’s admirable. Oh wait, that must be Kirsten. I’ll get it. Do you wanna sit out here and talk or do you want me to send her somewhere?" He offered.

"Um, tell her to meet me in the dining room." I said and got up from the couch.

A few seconds later I heard the door open and AJ’s voice feigned excitement at seeing Kirsten and he sent her into the dining room.

"What’s up baby?" I greeted her and tried to kiss her, but she turned her head and I only got her cheek. Ok, now I definitely know that something’s wrong. I’m actually ok with it, I think.

"Um, Nick. Can we sit down?" She said and sat at the table without waiting for my response. I followed her and took the seat across from her. "We really need to talk. Ever since the trip to Spain, things have been different between us." I nodded in agreement and allowed her to continue.

"Well, I know that you’ve been hanging out with that girl and at first, I was really upset and hurt. Then I realized that I wasn’t as bothered as I thought I would be. So last night, the girls and I went out to a club downtown and we were dancing and this guy came up behind me. At first I was a little paranoid, but then I realized that I was actually ok with dancing with another guy. Are you mad?" She asked.

"No. It was just a dance. Is that what you were so worried about?" I asked and looked her in the eyes. She shifted them away and I knew that there had to be more to the story.

"Well, there’s more. I turned around and saw that it was Glenn. I’ve told you about Glenn, my first boyfriend from high school and my first love. Well, one thing led to another and by the end of the night, I was in his apartment half-naked by the time I stopped him. I’m so sorry Nick. I really, really like you, but I’m still in love with Glenn." She said and reached out and touched my hand.

At first, I didn’t know what to say. My insides were screaming "THANK GOD! NOW YOU CAN BE FREE TO BE WITH JADE!!!" But I didn’t want to publicly express those emotions yet. I just stared at her and nodded. "So, I’m guessing that this means we’re over."

"I hope that you don’t hate me Nick. I know that we’re still going to have to work together, but I won’t be bothering you so much. I’ll go through other people to get to you if you need me to." She offered.

"Kirsten, I’m not upset and I don’t hate you. You’re a great girl, but you have to admit that things haven’t been smooth sailing lately anyways. I mean, this break-up was inevitable, and I’d rather break things off now while we’re still friends than end up hating each other." I said and got up from the table and she did the same. I walked her to the door and gave her a hug. "I hope that you’re happy with Glenn again Kiki. I just want what’s best for you." She nodded tearfully and left.

"Yes!" I exclaimed and punched my fist in the air.

"What was that all about Nicky?" AJ called from the couch.

"We’re over. I mean, maybe I shouldn’t act too happy about it because we did spend 5 months together, but now I can be with Jade." I said and did a little happy dance.

"Well, Nickers, just take things a little slowly this time. I mean, just the other day you were all over the magazines with Kirsten, wait a few months before taking Jade public. Besides, she’s going to be working a lot and she needs to build up some good PR before having the whole world looking at her in a relationship." AJ advised.

"I guess you’re right. I’m going to do things differently with Jade anyways." I said and I could feel my mind thinking about how to romance her.

I couldn’t wait to tell her the good news.
Chapter 14 by Erica
"Jaaaade! Pick up the phone!" I heard Bianca scream from the living room. I grumbled as I rolled out of bed and picked up the extension in my room.

"Hello?" I said into the phone and heard the click of Bianca hanging up.

"Hey girl! What are you doing today?" I heard Nick’s voice boom through the receiver.

"Hey Nick. It’s so good to hear from you at …," I looked over at the clock, "11:30 in the morning."

"Hey, I’m sure you remember picking on me for still being asleep at 10:00 a.m. in Spain." He chuckled. "Anyways, answer my question, what are you doing today?"

"I have some fittings for clothes for the tour, but we’re supposed to be done by eight o’clock tonight. Why?" I asked and rubbed my eyes awake.

"Well, I was wondering if you wanted to do something tonight. I dunno, since you don’t get out until eight, do you want to grab some dinner?" He asked.

"Um, yeah, that sounds great. Where do you wanna go?" I asked,

"You know that burger joint right around the corner?" He asked. "Let’s meet there at 8:30. I’ll see you then!" He hung up the phone and surprisingly, I smiled. This was all part of the goofiness that I had come to appreciate.

"Jade! You’d better get going, girl! We’ve gotta be about of here in 15 minutes! Just throw on some clothes and let’s go!"

About 20 minutes later, the four of us were standing on the corner, holding our purses and squinting through our sunglasses down the street, waiting for Frank to arrive. I had on a pair of ripped jeans and a white tank-top that showed off my pierced navel and the butterfly tattoo on the small of my back. Today, I was wearing a dangling butterfly ring in my stomach. I also had on a pair of flip-flops and pulled my hair into a wavy ponytail.

Bianca was next to me and she had on a pair of khaki capris, a brown t-shirt and 5 inch brown leather heels. Her hair was also up in a ponytail and the butterfly tattoo on the small of her back was showing. All four of us had decided to get the same tattoo in the same place, each with our names across the wings.

Next to Bianca was Savannah. She was wearing a turquoise tube top dress that stopped mid-thigh and she wore white-heeled flip-flops. Her hair was down and she had on turquoise earrings. To my left was Amethyst and she was wearing a flowered mini-skirt and a green halter-top. She had on flat sandals and a straw anklet.

The four of us must have looked like divas standing there, with our hands on our hips and our big, circle frame sunglasses, waiting for our limo. The life was certainly better than expected.

"Hey guys, I’m going to be right back. I’m gonna go grab a muffin from Starbucks real quick." I said and walked in the direction of Starbucks. I turned the corner only feet away and saw Kirsten sitting at a table by herself. I was about to walk up to her and say hello when another man joined her. He kissed her cheek, handed her a drink and sat across from her. He reached out and grabbed her hand and began to caress it carefully.

"Baby, I’m so glad that we’re together." I heard the mystery man say.

"Me too. I love you SO much Glenn." Kirsten said and leaned across the table, exposing her cleavage and kissed him passionately, in BROAD DAYLIGHT.

What the hell was this bitch thinking? Cheating on Nick like that. He was going to be devastated when he found out. I knew that I was going to have to tell him at dinner, but how?

"Jade! Are you ready? Frank’s here!" I heard Ames call my name. I jogged around the corner and met up with Frank and the girls. He smiled and winked at me as I got into the back with the girls.

"So, Jade. What are you going to do when you see Jordan today?" Bianca asked.

"Shit. You know what? I had totally forgotten about him." I admitted. What the hell was I going to do?

We pulled up to the studio and were greeted with 4 designers all at once. I was taken away to Hollister Fitting, Ames was gone to American Eagle, Savannah was off with Abercrombie & Fitch, and Bianca was whisked away to Aeropostale. About an hour and a half later, we switched designers and this happened two more times. Each of us had the opportunity to meet with the designers and tell them what we were looking to wear. They made us all choose signature colors so we would know what was made for whom. I chose green; Ames chose blue, Bianca chose red, and Savannah chose yellow. We were like, the colors of the rainbow.

After having a quick meeting, the girls and I were out of the studio by 7:15 p.m. I had been able to avoid Jordan all day and I ran out before he could take me aside. We got back to the apartment at 7:45 and I knew that I was supposed to meet Nick between 8:00 and 8:30. I ran upstairs, fixed my hair and touched up my make-up. I grabbed my purse and ran to the elevator. As I eagerly punched the button, the doors opened and I pushed the Lobby button. James greeted me and he smiled and pointed out the door.

"Mr. Carter just walked by. If you hurry, you can catch up to him." He winked and saluted me. I returned his gestures and walked out of the sliding doors. I saw Nick a few steps ahead and walked quickly to catch up to him.

"Hey hottie!" I said and put my arms around him in a hug.
"Hey you! I wasn’t expecting you for a few minutes." He said and returned my hug. He was wearing blue jeans and a plain white t-shirt. He also had on a baseball cap and brown flip-flops.

"What’s the cap for Nick?" I asked and tapped the bill.

"To keep a low profile." He said.

Nick’s POV

“Oooh. I forgot that you were a celebrity!" She said, and giggled. She was so cute when she giggled. I can’t wait to tell her about Kirsten.

"Yeah, well. I’m glad you forget things like that." I said and put my arm around her shoulders and walked with her into the restaurant. "I love this place because it’s never busy, but always seems to survive, and there is never any paparazzo."

"What? You don’t want to be seen with me in public?" She asked me. "No, I’m just kidding. I don’t know what it’s like yet, but I can almost predict we’ll be as BIG as the Backstreet Boys one day."

"You probably will be. The work you’re doing for charity and for these girls is awesome." I said as we sat down at my usual table. I took my hat off and put it in the chair next to me.

"So, what’s good to eat here?" She asked me and looked at the menu.

"Just about anything. I already know what I’m going to get. A bacon cheeseburger, medium well, no pickles or onions." I answered and looked at her.

"You know what, that sounds great. I think I’ll get the same." She said and put her menu down. The waitress came and we ordered our food and stared at each other. She started to giggle and I asked her why she was laughing.

"Because I was just sitting here thinking, ‘I wonder what his favorite color is’." She said and started to laugh again.

"It’s green. Why would you think of something like that?" I asked and her mouth dropped open. "What?"

"MY favorite color is green! I would ask something like that to get to know you. You and I know virtually nothing about each other, other than our names and the physical enticement we have for one another." She said and leaned back in her chair.

She always seemed to affect me, no matter what she was doing. The way she always brushed her bangs out of her eyes, her relaxed posture, her composed sense of self. Everything about this woman enticed me and attracted me more.

"Hello! Earth to Nickolas! Food’s here. I know I’m gorgeous, but you can tell me about it later." She said and snapped her fingers in front of my face.

I watched her as she ate her hamburger and couldn’t believe that the girl I was sitting across from was actually enjoying the food I liked. Kirsten wouldn’t go to a restaurant that had anything less than $50.00 on it, Paris hardly ever ate, and Willa complained about how I did everything, especially eating.

"So, what’s on your mind. You look totally lost in thought." She asked me.

"Don’t take this wrong, but I was comparing you to my ex-girlfriends." I said.

"You were? How?" She asked curiously.

"Well, none of them would have EVER sat here with me and eaten a hamburger and not like, thrown it up or complained that it wasn’t expensive enough, or that I was eating it wrong. I can actually sit here and enjoy a real meal with you." I said and picked up my burger for another bite.

"Well Nick, don’t you remember, I was eating your chocolate cake when we met." She laughed. "On a serious note though, there’s something I need to talk to you about."

"Yeah, I have something really important to tell you too." I said. "You go first."

"Um, ok, well, I don’t know how to tell you this. I guess I’ll just say it. I saw Kirsten today making out with some guy. IN BROAD DAYLIGHT." She said, putting extra emphasis on the last few words.

I stared at her blankly because I honestly couldn’t be happier that she had seen that, and then told me about it. That meant that she cared enough about me to talk about serious things with me.

"Yeah, I know. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about too. She and I broke up this morning. I woke up and she had called about 27 times. She came over and told me that she had re-met her first love and that she really wanted to go back with him. I was already over her because to be honest, all she ever wanted was sex. I mean, a relationship is not about sex only. It’s about the mental, emotional, spiritual, and lastly sexual connections that you feel with someone." I said.

"Like I do with you." She said and then her eyes got very big. She put her hand over her mouth and looked at me. "I’m so sorry. Forget I said that. Um, I have to go Nick. I’ll see you later." She said and grabbed her purse. She ran out of the restaurant and I saw her walking quickly past the window.

"Hey Joey! Put it on my tab and I’ll pay you back when I come next week!" I called out to the owner, a personal friend. I ran after her and when I finally caught up to her, I grabbed her by the arm and spun her around.

"Jade, why did you run away from me like that?" I asked her, trying to catch my breath.

"Nick, I totally embarrassed myself in that restaurant. I basically told you that I’ve fallen in love with you over the past week and made a complete fool of myself." She said and began to walk away again. I took a few quick steps and walked right next to her.

"No you didn’t Jade. You were honest. There’s nothing wrong with honesty. The truth is I like you a lot too. I’m not sure if I love you yet, but I’m willing to try. Will you give me a chance to try?" I asked her and took her hands in mine.


Jade’s POV

"Fish Bones, I really like you too. I didn’t mean to scare you with the "L" word because that’s not what I meant to say, but I do really want to try and have a relationship with you." I said and looked into his crystal clear blue eyes.

"Do me a favor Jade. Don’t tell anyone you call me Fish Bones." He said and smiled.

Before I knew what was happening, I felt his lips press lightly against mine and he was pulling me closer to him. My entire mind spun out of control. I closed my eyes to enjoy the moment and remembered everything that Nick and I had been through for the past week.

When he finally pulled away, he smiled at me. I couldn’t do anything but smile back. He laced his fingers through mine and used his free hand to trace my face. His touch made me shiver and I grabbed his arm for support.

We walked hand in hand until we reached the apartment building and walked in together. James smiled at us and I giggled at him. The awkward feelings of being alone for a LONG elevator ride were quickly abolished when Nick took my face in his hands and began kissing me again. I could have stood in the elevator kissing Nick forever, but that damned bell rang and announced that we were on my floor.

Nick walked me to the doors and kissed me softly on the lips and then kissed my forehead.

"Good night, Jade. I will see you tomorrow." He said and held my hand until he couldn’t reach anymore. I stared after him for a long time until he got onto the elevator. When I went inside I was met by four pairs of VERY curious eyes.
Chapter 15 by Erica
"Hey ladies, and Jordan." I said as I walked into the living room of my apartment. "What’s going on?" I walked over to the counter that separated the kitchen from the living room and put my purse down, all the while being followed by those same four pairs of eyes.

"Shouldn’t we be asking you that, Jade? Seems to me that you’re holding out on us all." Bianca supplied.

"Well, Nick and I … we’re together … I guess." I said and glanced quickly at Jordan. He raised his eyebrows and got up from the couch.

"You guess?" Was all he said. "All that kissing is just an, I guess? How would he feel if we told him that that’s what you said?" Jordan fired at me.

"Excuse me, Jordan, but you seem to have mistaken me for a lap dog. Not only do I not have to explain myself to you, but I have my girls here to back me up on the pig you are." I shot back.

"That’s not what you said last night, sweet thing." He said and got really close to my face.

"Oh really? When I was trying to tell you that I was going to tell my friends about the secret relationship you wanted to have, or the part where I turned you down after asking me out again?" I said and faced him so that I was square to him.

"You are crazy. How about when you were practically sitting in my lap making out with me?" He interjected.

"Or when she was asking you to stop? Jordan, you’re no longer welcome in this apartment, please leave. And if you don’t I’ll call Tess so fast you won’t even remember having a job with her firm." Savannah stood up and said. I was amazed that Vannah was sticking up for me like that.

"You’re going to be sorry for this girls, all of you will be sorry. I was the best thing that ever happened to any of you." He said.

"Jordan, get the fuck over yourself. We haven’t even done anything important yet. Shut the hell up and get your ass out of our house." Bianca said and practically shoved him out the door.

"Wow, that certainly was interesting. I really am going to get in touch with Tess though and tell her everything that’s happened." I said and picked up the phone. I dialed her cell phone number and laid everything on the line for her. I told her about the meeting with Jordan, of which she had had no prior knowledge, and how he came to the house and yelled at me, and my newly forming relationship with Backstreet Boy Nick Carter.

"Darling, you’re just going to have to calm down. Honestly, everything will be alright. You need to trust me. I’ll get rid of Jordan this instant and by morning, you’ll have a new manager. Have a good night dear and tell all of the girls that we’ll have a meeting at 9:00 tomorrow morning to deal with Jordan." Tess’s British accent flowed over the phone.

I hung up the phone and filled the girls in on my conversation with Tess. "So, Jade, tell us what happened with Nick!" Bianca squealed.

I told them about going to dinner, about Kirsten, and about kissing him.

"And it wasn’t the rough, sexual monster kissing, you know? It was slow, and sweet, and soft, and sensual. It was so many things. I can’t even put the feeling into words." I said.

"Jade, it’s been a long time since you’ve had a boyfriend, hasn’t it?" Savannah asked.

"Yeah, about 2 years. Landon was the last boyfriend I had." I said.

"The creep who took your virginity and ran?" Savannah questioned.

"Yeah. I don’t really wanna talk about it because it was very painful and I’m looking forward to all of the new beginnings that I’ve made over the past few years. Girls, I know that it’s still early, but I’m going to go to bed. I’m exhausted." I said and yawned to prove my point.

"Yeah, I guess that’s what a night full of kissing will do to you." Ames teased and I threw a couch pillow at her. I walked into my room and changed into my pajamas and fell into bed and into a wonderful land of dreams.

~~~***~~~


I woke up the next morning to the sound of an alarm that I didn’t remember setting. I rolled over to turn it off and to look at the time. I saw that it was 7:45 a.m. and next to my clock was a single lavender rose and a note. The writing on the note was really small, but I did my best to read it.

"Good morning Jade – I had the best time last night. I couldn’t sleep because I kept thinking of your lips on mine. I stayed up all night researching what the different rose colors meant and then got up this morning and found the perfect lavender rose for you. In case you didn’t know, Lavender is the color of Enchantment and Love at First Sight. That is how I feel with you Jade. You enchant me and have taken over my dreams. Please get dressed and join me for breakfast. – Nick"

By the time I had finished reading the note, I was tearing up and a single tear had fallen down my face. I looked out my window to see that it was sprinkling lightly.

"I love the rain." I said aloud to myself. I got dressed in a pair of jeans and a pink shirt and threw on my red and white track jacket. I walked out of my room and saw Nick standing in the living room looking at our DVD collection. The entire room was lit by candles and the aroma of pancakes and chocolate filled the air.

Nick turned and saw me. His face lit up the room brighter than any candle would have done. I practically ran to him and he embraced me in a hug. He kissed the top of my head and said, "I’ve missed you."

"Nick, I dreamt about you all night long." I said and looked up at him. He smiled at me again and then leaned in for a short, sweet kiss.

Nick’s POV

The feeling I got from kissing her scared me. It was so strong, and so mutual, and so … real. I have never felt something so beautiful in my entire life.

"Jade, you take my breath away." I said with every bit of honesty flowing from my body. "I made you breakfast. I called to talk to you last night, but Amethyst said that you were already asleep. So, I asked her what your favorite breakfast was and if I could come over and make it for you. She let me in this morning and went back to sleep." I said.

"Oh Nick, this is amazing." She said. I led her over to the table and sat her down across from me. I placed a plate of three pancakes in front her.

"I hope three’s not too many." I said.

"No, it’s fine. I LOVE chocolate chip pancakes! I can’t believe Ames remembered, I haven’t had them in SO long." She said and began to dig into them.

"So, what’s your schedule like today?" I asked. She even made eating look sexy.

She wiped away a piece of chocolate from her lips and said, "Well, Tess had to fire Jordan, so we have a meeting at 9:00 this morning to meet with our new manager."

"Oh wow. Why did you have to fire Jordan?" I asked.

"Well, it’s kind of a long story." She said and brushed her bangs out of her face. "You know that date we went on the other night? Well, he came over last night to throw it in my face and use it as a way to get the girls to go against me. He basically called me a whore and Savannah told him to leave." She informed me.

"Are you serious? I can’t wait to get my hands on that bastard!" I said, almost yelling. Then I remembered that there were three other girls asleep.

"No, it’s ok. I don’t think he’ll ever be coming around here again. Or anywhere near us for that matter." She said and finished her pancakes.

"Wow, first a hamburger, and now chocolate chip pancakes. And who says models don’t eat!" I laughed. I cleared our plates and began washing them in the sink and then put them in the dishwasher.

"Wow, first making breakfast, and then cleaning it up. Who says men weren’t made to stay home!" She laughed. She was always so cute when she laughed like that.

"Well, it’s only 8:15. Do you want to take a quick walk?" I asked her.

"I’d love to, especially if it’s still raining. I love the rain." She said and smiled. "Let me go wake up the girls first. We have to be back in 10 minutes."

"Alrighty." I said and waited for her to awake all of the girls.

"Ok, let’s go." She said.

I took her hand and used my thumb to caress the top. She was just so beautiful. I leaned over and kissed her forehead.

When we got outside, the sky was clearing up a little, but the rain was still falling lightly. "So Nick, what is your schedule like today?" She asked.

"Well, right now, I’m enjoying the company of my beautiful girlfriend, and then I have some press stuff and then the rest of the guys are coming into town." I said.

"OOH! Do I get to meet them? Please Nick?" She asked and got so excited.

"If you want to. Kevin might not like you though. He never likes any of my girlfriends." I said and squeezed her hand tighter.

"No way. He’ll love me. I’m different from all of the others." She said confidently and looked up at me through her bangs.

We turned around and started walking back to our building. "You know what, you’re probably right." I said and we kept walking. By the time we got back to the building, it was time for Jade to go and her limo was already waiting for her. I gave her a quick kiss good-bye, said a thank you to Ames and then said hi to Bianca and Savannah.

I watched the limo drive away and then felt a hand on my shoulder. "Hey man. Where have you been?" I heard AJ ask.
"I’ve been with the woman I’ve always dreamed of." I said and we walked back into the building.


~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~


Jade’s POV

"Good morning ladies." Tess said as we walked into her office.

"Hey Tess. How’s it going?" We all said in unison.

"Wow, you’re almost like, the spice girls, well, except that you don’t sing and you’re not British. Oh yeah, and there’s only four of you." She laughed. We all laughed as well. "Well girls, I’ll have you know that I got rid of Jordan as soon as you called me and he tried to turn it back on you all. Of course, I believe each of you before I even imagined believing him. So, I’ve found you another manager, however, I interviewed her myself and made sure that she’s in it for the right reasons."

We all nodded our heads. "She is very highly qualified to take you over, and she’s already set up publicity stuff for you guys. Like tomorrow, you have an interview with ‘Z-100’s Rayne and Mischa in the morning’. The interview will be live and callers will be able to call in and ask you questions. And she’s set up some photo shoots for you. Let’s meet her. She should be here by now."

The doors opened and I couldn’t believe my eyes. "Ladies, please meet your new manager, Kirsten Taylor."

"Hey girls. I heard about this wonderful thing you’re doing for the girls with low self-esteem and I thought ‘This is the perfect job to work on’. Jade, I hope you don’t mind." Wow. Was this the same Kirsten that used to date Nick? The sex-fiend? The crazy, jealous bitch? What had gotten into her?

"Um, yeah, wow. I can’t believe you wanted to work with us." I said.

"Hey girls, I’m Kirsten. I know your faces on paper, but it’s so nice to meet you in person." She said and hugged Bianca, Ames, and Savannah. "I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve already drawn up an itinerary for the first 3 months of the tour. I called the venues, booked the schools and made up fliers for the people who are going to be attending these seminars." She said excitedly.

"Wow, you’ve done more in one night than Jordan did in the 5 days he was with us." Ames said. "And she’s energetic guys, and she’s a girl! She’ll understand our mood-swings and she won’t try to get into our pants! This is great!" Ames was so excited.

"Try to get down your pants? What do you mean?" Kirsten asked.

We filled her in on what had happened with Jordan. She was seriously upset. I couldn’t believe the complete 360 she had done. She seemed like she was going to be the best candidate to work with.

"So Kirsten, are you still working with the Backstreet Boys?" I asked her.

"No, after Nick and I broke up, I called them to tell them that I couldn’t work with them anymore because I didn’t want to cause Nick any problems. Besides, I know he’s dating you now, and I couldn’t be happier for you." She said and hugged me.

"Well, can I ask you then, what caused the complete turn-around in your attitude?" Bianca asked.

"I fell in love, again. You see, when I was in high school, I used to date this guy named Glenn. He was a really great dancer, so he went to college for musical choreography and I went for Business Administration. Our colleges were on the complete opposite ends of the country and we tried to have a long distance relationship, but it didn’t work out. We broke up and then I dated a few guys, then I met Nick. He was the closest thing to love that I had felt in a long time.

"So we started dating and when we took that trip to Spain, things changed. A lot." She looked at me and I looked at the ground.

"Kirsten, I never meant to break you too up. Nick and I never did ANYTHING while you two were still together." I said apologizing profusely.

"No, honey, don’t feel bad. I’m not mad at you at all. It was actually an awakening for me. I realized that Nick wasn’t the man I wanted to be with because I still had all of these feelings for Glenn. Anyways, we came home and I went clubbing one night with my friends. All of a sudden, a pair of hands was on my hips and we were dancing and I knew it was Glenn, because he was the only one who knew "the move" that we used to do. Anyways, it was Glenn and I just knew that it was fate for us to be together." She explained.

"So I had nothing to do with you two breaking up?" I asked, carefully.

"No, not at all. Mine and Nick’s relationship was pretty much down the drain before we even went to Spain. We went there trying to salvage what was left, and we found out that there was nothing." She said and hugged me. "I’m so happy for you two."

"Yeah yeah yeah, they’re cute and all, but what I’m happy about is hooking up with AJ." Bianca said.

We all laughed and left together. The five of us went out for lunch and ended up back at our apartment to hang out. We had over 600 channels to surf, and we were bound and determined to see each and every one. Also, we needed to bond with our new manager and go over the schedules she had drawn up.

~~~***~~~


Once we had arrived back at the apartment, we all sat at the big round table and Kirsten took some papers out of her briefcase. "Here you go ladies. The schedules I was talking about. We’ve decided to stay in the New England region for the first 3 months of the tour. You’re pretty much going to be doing two schools a day where all of the girls come into the gymnasium or auditorium and you’ll be having a press conference where they each get to ask you questions. We’re trying to work in some contest winners and of course you’ll be taking pictures."

"This sounds like so much fun!" Ames exclaimed.

I couldn’t believe how packed everything for the next year. But the question that kept coming to mind was, Will Nick and I survive? Instantly I answered, “Of course we will”.
Chapter 16 by Erica
After Kirsten left that evening, Ames took me into her room and asked if we could talk. I had to laugh at her because she knew that we could always talk when she needed to.

"J, I just wanted to tell you that you need to be careful." She said solemnly.

"Why’s that?" I asked her, confused.

"Just some advice, I don’t think that you and Nick should take your relationship public for a while. I mean, seriously, a LOT of people will be fighting and putting pressure on whatever the two of you have, and I don’t want you to get hurt again. I mean, I know that what you and Nick have will be real and all, but the whole world doesn’t. Give your relationship time to grow and develop before putting it out in the public eye." She advised.

"Thanks for the advice Ames. You know, I was thinking about that earlier and I wanted to talk to Nick about it, but I didn’t know how to approach the subject." I said and squeezed her hand reassuringly.

"I mean, I’m not telling you to keep it a secret, but wait awhile before making a BIG public appearance, like at an awards show or something. And maybe when you are asked if you’re dating someone, you should say yes, but not give any more details, you know? I’m just so worried about you getting hurt. I mean, the media and everyone tend to forget that we’re real people too, you know? We have emotions and hearts that can be broken too." She vented.

"Amy, is this about something else? This is kind of coming out of the blue. Are you sure that everything is ok?" I asked, worried for my friend.

"I don’t know Jade. I guess I don’t want to be left out. You’re my best friend and you have been for as long as I can remember. Landon really hurt you and I don’t want that to happen with Nick. Besides, I don’t want to lose you to a guy." She said and started to tar up.

"You would NEVER lose me to a guy. Friends come first, always. Anyways, we’re gonna be together everyday for the next 13 or 14 months, so you’re gonna be happy when Nick comes to take me off your hands." I said, laughing. Ames laughed too and hugged me tight.

"Come on, let’s go meet Nick’s bandmates. They all flew in from out of town and I haven’t met them yet." I said and took Amethyst by the hand. "Should we bring Bianca and Savannah?"

"They left with Kirsten. You know, she’s really nice. Why did you say all those horrible things about her?" Ames asked as we locked the doors to the apartment.

"I said them because at the time they were true. She was so rude to me when we first met, and from what Nick told me, she was horrible during the last few months of their relationship. Considering that they were only together for 5 months doesn’t say much. I guess really being in love changes people though." I said and we got on the elevator.

"Oh my gosh, I’m so nervous!" Amethyst squealed.

"Why?" I asked.

"I don’t know. Meeting famous people is so, new to me!" She laughed and the elevator dinged open.

"No, you’ll do fine. Plus, think of this as the practice round. When we meet famous people that we actually know, now that’s going to be interesting." I said and knocked on Nick’s door.

A very attractive Latin male answered the door and smiled at us. His hair was pulled into a low ponytail and he was dressed very nicely for the casual slacks and button-down he was wearing.

"Howie, who is it?" I head Nick call from inside.

The man at the door turned a quarter of the way into the room and said, "Two very, very fine ladies. Should I let them in?" Ames and I laughed and walked in as he motioned for us to enter.

"Well, hello ladies. My name is Howard Dwaine Dorough. More commonly called Howie D. from the Backstreet Boys." He said and extended his hand.

"Hi Howie, my name is Jade Trinity Carroll, more commonly called Jade from the Modeling Group "The Esteem Team" and this is my co-model and best friend, Amethyst Renee Riggins, more commonly called Amethyst, from the same sub-title. It’s very nice to meet you." I said and extended my hand to him. Ames did the same and he kissed the top her hand. She blushed slightly and I smiled to myself.

I looked up and saw Nick step into the room. He walked over to me and gave me a big hug and planted a kiss on my forehead. "Howie, I see that you’ve met Jade and Amethyst. Jade is my girlfriend."

"Yes Nick. I can hear." Howie said to Nick. He turned to me and said, "All I’ve heard since Brian, Kevin, and I stepped off the airplane was how excited Nick was for us to meet you. You’ve got this young man very excited." I stood with my mouth in shock and looked at Nick wide-eyed. "Wow, I’m sorry, that came out wrong. Let’s just say that he’s mentioned you before."

The four of us laughed and Nick led Amethyst, Howie and I into the living area. There were two other unfamiliar faces sitting at the large table and AJ. AJ waved and got up from the table. He gave both Ames and I a hug and introduced the other guys as Brian and Kevin.

"Hi Jade, it’s very nice to meet you. We’ve all heard a lot about you. Nick’s very impressed by you." Kevin said, eyeing me slightly.

"Well Kevin, I’ve heard that you’re probably not going to like me, but I hope that’s not the case. I really like Nick, and not for his fame. I like him for him and because he can make me laugh and he makes me smile." I said and informed Kevin.

"Wow, you know Kev, I think that’s the first time a girl has ever said that to you upon meeting you. The girls are usually scared of you." AJ said. "One point for Jade."

The seven of us laughed and from that moment on, Amethyst and I felt nothing but comfortable around the guys. We laughed together, played video games together, and ate together. By the time Nick looked at the clock, it was 1:45 a.m. We had been at the guys for about five hours.

"Ames, we have a radio interview at 8:00 in the morning!" I said and gathered Amethyst. "Bye guys! It was great meeting you and I can’t wait to see you again! How long are you in town for?"

"We’re here for two or three weeks. You’ll see us around!" Brian said and waved good-bye.

Nick and AJ walked us to the door. AJ hugged each of us and asked if we could tell Bianca to call him. We agree and Nick walked us to the elevator.

"Hey J, I’ll meet you downstairs. Night Nick!" Amethyst said and got on the awaiting elevator.

"Babe, your friends are so much fun!" I said and Nick pulled me into a tight hug.

"I’m so glad that you like them. I’m sure they’re going to talk all about you and give me their opinions when I go back inside." He said and kept hugging me.

"Nick, is everything ok?" I asked.

~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~


Nick's POV

"Yeah, everything’s ok. Why do you ask?" I asked her.

"Well, you’re hugging me very tightly and you barely said a word while we were in there with the guys. I was just wondering what you were thinking about." She said.

"I just can’t believe how real you are. I mean, the guys have NEVER gotten along with any of my girlfriends before you. They never laughed with Kirsten or Willa or Paris. I mean, I think you’re a breath of fresh air for them, the way you are for me." I said and kissed the top of her head.

"Nick, please remember, that I am dating you for you. I don’t care about the fame, I don’t care about who your friends are, and I really don’t care what they think about me. I mean, it’s great that they like me and we get along, but I’m dating you, not your friends." She said and looked up at me with her brown eyes.

I leaned down and kissed her lips softly. I felt her body melt against me and she deepened the kiss. She tempted me with her tongue and I allowed her access to my mouth. She was relaxed and confident in her kiss. She broke it and leaned against me. "Wow." Was all she said.

"Yeah. I think I have to agree with that." I said. "You’d better get going if you’re going to be on the radio in a few hours!"

"Good night Nick. Oh wait, there’s something I want to talk to you about real quick." She said. "I don’t want the whole world to know that we’re dating just yet. You know what I mean?"

"Um, kind of." I said, tentative.

"I don’t want to keep our relationship a secret, but I don’t want to make any big premiers as a couple for a few months or so. I want to give our relationship time to grow and cultivate without being plunged into the spotlight." She said.

"I understand. But we can still date, right? Like go out and do stuff together?" I asked her.

"Oh yeah! Of course! But I mean, like no awards shows together or anything like that for a while. I mean, I know that there aren’t any for a while, but you know what I mean. And during interviews, we can say that we’re taken, but not too much detail. Ok?" She said.

"I understand completely. Night Jade! I’ll be listening!" I said and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek as the elevator doors opened. I watched her step in and waved good-bye as the doors closed.

I turned around and walked back into my apartment. I was met with three sets of very interested eyes and AJ’s goofy smile.

"What?" I asked and blushed. I sat down at the table and sat through the next two hours of grilling about Jade. The added their positives and inputs. As I endured the night, I thought constantly about Jade and her radio interview.

I woke up the next morning at 7:30 and turned on the clock radio right beside me and heard the voices of Rayne and Mischa in the Morning.

"Well, coming up in the next hour we have some very special guests in the studio. They’re the girls of the Esteem Team and they’re here to tell us what they’ll be doing and to get to know them a little better." Rayne’s smooth voice announced over the air-waves.

"Yeah, so stayed tuned! That’s coming up. For now, songs by Jesse McCartney, Kelly Clarkson, and Avril. We’ll be back with the girls!" Mischa’s peppy voice said.

The radio cut to Jesse McCartney’s "Beautiful Soul" and I got up and went to the bathroom. I walked into the kitchen and turned the radio on in there too. By the time I had finished making some cereal and read the Comics in the Newspaper, Brian was awake and I was listening intently to the radio because the girls were being introduced.

"Hey ladies! Thank you so much for stopping by. For those of you out there who don’t know who these beautiful ladies are, they are Jade Carroll, Amethyst Riggins, Savannah Malone, and Bianca Sanchez." Rayne said.

"Hey everyone!" All four girls said over the speakers. I heard Jade’s voice through everyone’s and smiled.

Mischa and Rayne questioned the girls and interviewed them for about 35 minutes when they opened up their interview to at home callers. I dialed the number and got through quickly.

"Hey, you’re on with Mischa, Rayne and the girls of the Esteem Team, give us your name and ask your question." Mischa said.

"Hi, um, I’m Nick and I have a question for all of the girls." I said.


Jade's POV

"Oh my gosh!" I mouthed to Ames. "I can’t believe this!"

"Go ahead, Nick," Bianca said, putting extra effort on his name.

"Well, I was wondering, do any of you have boyfriends?" He said and chuckled.

"Jade, why don’t you start us off with that question." Savannah prompted and giggled.

"Fine. I guess I can start. Caller, what’s your name again?" I said, and played along.

"It’s Nick." He said.

"Oh, ok, Nick. Well, I hate to break it to you, but yes, I do have a boyfriend." I said and began smiling from ear to ear. "What about you girls?"

There was a chorus of "no"s and then Mischa turned to me and asked, "Care to tell us about your boyfriend?"

"Actually, we just started dating, and I’m sure that he’s sitting in his kitchen listening to the radio right now, so I’ll say a quick ‘Hey Sweetie’. But other than that, I don’t really want to comment yet." I said.

"Is he famous?" Rayne asked.

"As I said before, No Comments on my love life. Sorry, I just want to be able to have some privacy for at least 3 days." All of us laughed and more callers called in asking questions about our favorite colors, they asked about the tour and where would we go if we had the option. The questions were really good, and before we all knew it, it was 10:30 and we had to go.

"Thanks again ladies for joining us and we’re looking forward to hearing all about the tour and the trips. Will you keep us posted?" Mischa asked.

"Yeah, we’ll call in and keep everyone updated!" Ames said excitedly over the microphone and then we were taken off the air.

As soon as the "On Air" light went out, Kirsten burst into the room. "Wow! You guys did amazing! I’m so proud of you!" She said and ushered us out to the awaiting limo.

"Hi ladies. You did well." Frank said as he opened the door for us and helped us inside.

"You listened, Frank? Yay! We had at least 5 people listening!" Bianca exclaimed and was the last one in the limo.

"Jade, was that Nick who called in asking about the boyfriends?" Kirsten asked me and laughed. "I think you handled him well."

"Thanks. I about died when I heard his voice come over the speakers. I was like, What the hell?!" I said and all of us laughed.

"Ok, well you were supposed to have a photo shoot today, but that got cancelled because the photographer is sick, so it’s rescheduled for tomorrow. So, you have the rest of the day to hang and do whatever you want. Take the day off! Go shopping, go sight-seeing. Have some fun!" Kirsten informed us as we got out of the limo. "I’ll see all of you bright and early at 5:45 a.m. Be ready to go! See you tomorrow!" Frank drove off and the four of us were standing on the curb looking at each other.

"5:45? What the hell? That time even exists?" Bianca complained. "Well, I’d better go to sleep now!" She said and we all laughed and walked upstairs.
Chapter 17 by Erica
Author's Notes:
Hey everyone! Thanks for the gret reviews! Keep 'em coming! :-)
BUUZZZZZZZZ! My alarm screeched at 4:30 in the morning. I looked at the clock and thought to myself, "I can’t believe I’m really getting up at 4:30 in the morning. I thought Kirsten was joking when she said that." Regardless, I got up and woke all of the girls up. I knew that it was going to be a long day if they didn’t get up now.

After I was sure that Bianca was wake, since she had the hardest time doing so, I hopped in the shower. I let my hair air-dry and I put on a pair of green Abercrombie cut-off sweats and a tank top. The other girls all had the same idea, but Bianca was wearing HUGE circle frame sunglasses.

"Bianca, why the hell are you wearing sunglasses at 5:30 in the morning?" Amy asked sleepily.

"Because I don’t want everyone to see the huge circles under my eyes." She said and sat down on the couch. Within moments she was sleeping lightly and we had to shake her awake. "Leave me the hell alone. It’s only 5:30 in the damn morning!" She snapped. Savannah grabbed her arm and pulled her off of her butt and steered her out the door and down the hallway to the elevator.

By the time the elevator made it all the way to the bottom of the building, the night guard, Joseph was waiting for us. "Good morning ladies, I had some muffins and danishes delivered for you since I heard you had an early morning." He said and presented us with a box filled with breakfast pastries.

"James, you are a god!" Savannah exclaimed and grabbed a cherry danish from the box. She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and he blushed a deep red. He winked at her and he winked back. The rest of us grabbed a pastry and walked out the door just as Frank pulled up.

He opened the door for us and helped each of us in. As soon as the door shut, Bianca squealed, "Girl, it might only be 5:45 in the morning, but I can see the crush you’ve got on Jamesy in there!"

"No, I do not! He’s the doorman!" Savannah defended.

"He’s one hot doorman!" Bianca said. "Go for him! What’s your famous line? Oh yes, ‘You should just bag him’!"

Savannah turned bright red and looked at the floor. She looked up at us and said, "He is pretty cute isn’t he? He asked me out for coffee the other day." She admitted.

"He what?! And it’s taking you this long to tell us about it?!" I exclaimed.

"Well, he gets off of his shift at 7:00 and he wanted to take me for breakfast and coffee the other day, but I told him that I had this photo-shoot to do." She said and looked a little sad.

"When did you talk to him? He only works from 12:00 to 7:00 in the morning." Amethyst asked her.

"Well, I called him a when we first got here at like 1:30 in the morning to ask if there was a cleaning service or if we had to clean the apartment ourselves because we were out of toilet paper and we needed some. So, he said they had that on hand at the desk, so I went downstairs one morning and talked to him for like, 2 hours. We’ve been talking ever since then." She said and smiled. "I really like him."

"You should go for it then!" We all said at once. We talked for a few more minutes before arriving at an old warehouse. Standing outside were Kirsten, two neatly dressed women, and a shaggy looking man.

"Hello ladies!" Kirsten called. "It’s so good to see that you’re all here this early and on time at that." As soon as she said that, the two women started scribbling on the notepads they had in their hands. "Girls, I’d like you to meet a few people. First, we have world-renowned fashion photographer Dan.E Howard. He’ll be shooting your pictures today. Inside here you’ll have your hair and make-up artists. Also, these two women are reporters. We wanted to surprise you with this being your first photo-shoot as the Esteem Team and all, with Cosmopolitan magazine!"

"Shut up! Are you serious?!" Bianca screamed and ripped off her sunglasses. "Oh my gosh! What’s it like to work at Cosmo? I read that magazine as if it’s a Bible! You’ve got some pretty good tips in there! Oh my God, I’m sounding like an idiot, I’ll shut up now." She sheepishly shrunk back to the group and looked at us and shrugged.

"Well, someone sure is awake! Anyways, you’ll each be getting photographed separately and then together as a group. You’re each going to have your own cover, but the magazines will all be the same, just different girls on the cover. Plus, you’re going to be interviewed by reporters Jane Evansen and Claire Hopkins, both from Cosmo magazine." Kirsten said.

We shook hands with each of the women and were immediately whisked away to begin the day’s process. Amethyst and I were taken to hair and make-up while Savannah and Bianca were taken to get interviewed. They dressed me in a pale green strapless chiffon dress with an asymmetrical hem. I was placed in front of a dark green background. Dan.E asked me what kind of music I wanted for the shoot and he put on some Sara Evans. I know exactly what she was feeling when she wrote "Suds in the Bucket". I started dancing with my dress and just having fun while he took pictures. I did the trademarked Cosmo pose to the best of my ability, but I had a lot of fun with the actual shoot.

Next was Amethyst. She had on the exact same dress I did, except hers was a pale blue and she was on a dark blue background. She asked for some Spanish music and did the same thing I did. Dan.E loved her and told her that she had one of the easiest demeanors about her. I was so proud of her because we had come so far together.

After Ames was done, Bianca walked out in a hot red dress that had thin red straps and dipped low into her cleavage. The dress went to mid thigh and it showed a lot of skin, but it was perfect for Bianca. She asked for Club beats and was ready and raring to flaunt her stuff for the camera.

Savannah was last and she came out in a yellow halter dress that was simple, yet beautiful. It had little bows down the front and her hair was flowing in soft waves and she had yellow daisies clipped in random sections of her hair. The background was a deep purple and she stood out in the yellow.

While B and Vannah were getting photographed, Ames and I were sent over to be interviewed. I was SO nervous at first because, hello, it was friggin’ Cosmo magazine here! Jane and Claire were really sweet and asked us really fun questions. Then, they asked us about boyfriends. As if on cue, my cell phone rang and name Nick flashed across the caller ID.

Nick’s POV

"Come on, come on. Pick up babe!" I said as I stood in my kitchen, shaking my left leg. "Jesus Jade, where are you?"

"Hello?" I heard her voice and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Baby! I’m so glad you answered. I was so worried about you. Where are you? I went down to your apartment and no one was there. We didn’t talk last night, so I wasn’t sure what was going on with you." I said in a rushed sentence.

"It’s ok. I’m with the girls. I’m working. We’re getting interviewed by Cosmo magazine!" She squealed over the phone. I could hear her excitement and her smile.

"That’s great sweetie. I’m proud of you. How did your photo shoot go yesterday?" I asked.

"It was rescheduled for today. The girls and I left at 5:45 this morning. I’m sorry for not calling, but it was short notice. Anyways, I’m sorry. I’ve gotta go, but I’ll call you when we’re done. We should all go out to dinner tonight." She suggested.

"Well, that’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about, but call me when you’re done. I don’t want to keep you. I’ll talk to you later." I said.

"Alrighty, I’ll talk to you later. We shouldn’t be too much longer. Just a few more group shots and then we’re done." She said. "But I’ll talk to you later too. Bye!" And then she hung up the phone. I looked at my phone and smiled.

Just a 5-minute phone call was enough for me. I knew that I had to be prepared for that because once she left and the guys and I started touring, it was going to be difficult.

We could do it though, I was sure of it.


Jade’s POV

I smiled as I put my phone back into my purse and Jane and Claire looked at me. "Boyfriend?" They asked, pens in hand prepared to write everything down.

"Maybe." I said coyly and brushed my bangs out of my eyes. Ames nudged me and Claire asked, "So I’m guessing you’re not going to tell us anything."

"Well, I will tell you that we just started dating and that we want to keep a low profile because we really want everything to work out between us." I said. "I hope you wrote that down, because that’s all you’re getting from me regarding the boyfriend situation." They both nodded and the four of us laughed. Just then, we heard a shriek come from the photo-shoot.

Ames and I recognized Bianca’s scream and bolted from our chairs. Just as we rounded the corner that led us to the room being used as the picture studio, we saw Bianca attached to AJ. She hugged him tightly and jumped down from his arms. After she let go, AJ held out a squished red rose and handed it to her.

"AJ, this is beautiful. Thank you much! I can’t believe you’re here!" She said and jumped on him again. She kissed his lips, and it did not look like it was the first time.

"Are you sure you want to be here? I mean, we haven’t even told anyone yet."

"What do you mean you haven’t told anyone yet?!" Savannah asked.

"Well, AJ and I got together last night. Congratulate us." She said and looked at the blank stares and open mouths that Savannah, Amethyst, and I all shared.

"Congratulations!" Ames was the first to scream. Then, Vannah and I joined in and it started a huge hug fest.

Kirsten even joined in. Then, Dan.E yelled at us and told us that we were going to mess up our hair and make-up if we didn’t stop jumping up and down. And if we wanted to be out of here by 6:00 p.m.

So, with that, we were ushered into the dressing room. "I’m so upset. Everyone is hooking up but me." Ames whined as we were changing into our group outfits.

We were each in ripped jeans and different colored shirts. First, Dan.E had us all on white couches, sprawling over each other and the couches. He took a couple of pictures of us like that. Then we moved to what looked like a garden and a porch swing. He tried a few different positions there and was finally satisfied and told us that we could go home.

As we changed back into the clothes that we came in, AJ entered and Kirsten followed shortly behind him. "Girls, you did a fabulous job at your first shoot as a team. I remember working with the Backstreet Boys for the first time, man, they were the worst group ever. So picky!" She laughed.

"Hey! We were not that bad! Besides, we do that with all of the new assistants, it’s like an initiation." AJ defended his friends and put his arms around Bianca and kissed her cheek. "Babe, you looked amazing today. You did great."

"Thank you. But just because you’re flattering me doesn’t mean you’re going to get laid." She said and tapped his nose and winked at him.

"Me?! Why would you think that of me?" AJ asked and put extra emphasis on the word "me". The five of us laughed at him and went back to finish changing.

"Girls, I have something important to talk to all of you about. I’ve firmed up and consolidated your itinerary and I have the first week’s schedule for you. You’re going to start in New York and work your way up and around New England. I don’t know how long we’re going to be gone for, but I know that you’re doing 10 schools in the first week." Kirsten said.

"Are you serious? 10 Schools? How are we managing this?" I asked and looked over the schedule. Actually, it didn’t look too bad. "How did these schools get chosen?"

"Well, each submitted either and essay or a video audition explaining why they wanted you to come to their school. We got a lot of good videos. Between myself and Tess, we’ve selected 5 schools from every state, except Rhode Island. You’re going to have a Meet and Greet at every school and you’ll be eating lunch at a school pretty much every day." Kirsten said.

"Eww, are you serious? Cafeteria food? Every day?" Savannah asked.

"Well, actually, the schools will be providing some form of catered food that day for the entire school. You’re lucky girls." Kirsten said.

"How are we going to determine who gets chosen for the Meet and Greet? I mean, there’s no way that we’re going to be able to see EVERY student in the school in an hour. Not with autographs and pictures." I said and continued looking at the itinerary.

"Well, this you’ll actually be happy to hear. We’re providing the schools with 2 or 3 rolls of raffle tickets each. They’re going to sell the tickets for $2.00 a piece to be able to meet you. The day before you arrive, they’ll be picking 100 tickets. The people will meet you in order of how their ticket was picked. They’ll have to have their tickets present when they come. What’s really cool though, is that the first person who gets chosen gets to choose which Charity the money raised goes to." Kirsten said.

"That’s a really great idea." Amethyst said. "I hope we raise a lot of money for these charities and everything."

"We’re not trying to sound cocky, but you girls are gorgeous. And, we’ve opened up the seminars to the boys of the schools as well. I’m sure that they will be a HUGE draw for the money. We have to take a few promotional pictures for the posters we’re going to put up to advertise your arrival, but the schools are prepared for you. You start in two weeks, so you’d better get rested and ready to go." Kirsten said.

"Are we going to be able to visit them?" AJ asked from next to Bianca.

"I don’t see why that would be a problem. I mean, just as long as you stay in the wings and don’t make your presence a big deal. It might be cool for the two of you to see what it’s like to watch your loved one be in the spotlight." Kirsten said and began gathering up her stuff.

"You know what, that might actually do us some good. To see what the girls always saw." AJ said and grabbed Bianca’s hand and laced his fingers through hers.

"What do you mean, always saw? How many girls were there?" I asked.

"Well, for Nick, I can only remember like 3 or 4. Let me see, Willa, Paris, Holli, and Kirsten. Yeah, those are the only ones he ever brought on tour with him. And me, only 2. Amanda and Sarah." He said and reassuringly squeezed Bianca’s hand.

"Who’s Holli? I’ve never heard of her." I asked AJ.

"Wow, really? Nick and Holli were all over the place. She was a dancer for Backstreet and they were engaged for about 6 months. Then one day, she up and left him for one of the other dancers. He was sad for a really long time after her." AJ said and opened the door to the limo for us. He jumped in after us and shut the door.

"I had no idea. Nick has only talked about Kirsten, Paris, and Willa. He’s never even mentioned Holli’s name." I said and sat with a frown on my face.

"Don’t worry about it. He really likes you. He’ll come around to telling you. I know it’s a part of his past that he’d rather not relive unless absolutely necessary. I always had my reservations about her anyways. She knew who he was the second they met and used it for her advantage." AJ said and the limo slowly pulled to a stop in front of the apartment building. "Please Jade; don’t tell Nick I told you any of this, because I know how upset he’d be if he knew you found out from someone else."

"No, I won’t say a word. But can you do me a favor? Can you tell him that I’ll be up in a little while? I want to go shower and get ready for dinner before seeing him." I said. AJ nodded and we all got into the elevator.

When it finally reached our floor, the girls and I stepped out and walked down the hallway to the double doors. Ames, Vannah, and I walked in and left Bianca and AJ alone for a few minutes. Each of us hopped into the shower and got dressed for a dinner and a night out with the Backstreet Boys.
Chapter 18 by Erica
About half an hour later, all four of us were ready to go out to dinner with the Boys, so we made our way up to Nick’s penthouse and walked in and sat on the couches. I was wearing a purple tube-top and dark-blue cut off jeans with black lace-up stilettos. My hair was down and I had some diamond earrings on. Ames was wearing an emerald green silk miniskirt with a white halter-top and white ballet flats. Savannah was in some "destroyed" jeans and a bright pink polo shirt with pink wood slip-ons. Bianca was wearing a tangerine halter dress that flared at her knees with black sling-back pumps.

When the guys walked out of their rooms, I heard five different pitches of whistle. I smiled at my girls and we got up from the couch. AJ walked over to Bianca and lazily eyed her entire body, and Nick came over and did the same to me. I could feel my face flush and to hugged him before I could feel anymore self-conscious. He kissed my shoulder while we hugged and I smiled against him. His hands carefully rubbed my back reassuringly and we let go of each other. I looked into his eyes after our embrace and something was different. There was a new sparkle in his eyes.

He kept me close to him and the rest of the guys came out and introduced themselves to Bianca and Savannah. I noticed that Howie was particularly interested in Ames. They hung together in the apartment and sat next to each other in the awaiting limo. We drove to New Jersey for dinner. We wanted to go to a place that was quainter and had less publicity. The place was a little Japanese Hibachi restaurant that the guys had rented out for the night.

"Let me show you to your room." The hostess said and directed us to a glassed in room that had a beautiful view of the Atlantic Ocean. The 9 of us sat down and began talking immediately.

"So, Bianca. AJ. Care to tell us what happened between the two of you?" I asked, eyeing the both of them.

"Well," they said at the same time. Bianca continued, "Well, last night we were just hanging out, chilling, and we were watching a movie while no one else was home and before we knew it, we were kissing. And it was great!" She was so enthusiastic and happy.

"Bianca, I knew something was different about you today. I mean, you were your normal morning self, but once you were awake, there was something else. I mean, even in the interview, you said you had a boyfriend and even when I wanted to make a face, I just kinda stayed with you. I mean, I swear I haven’t seen you this happy since Scott." Savannah said.

"Well, Scott was over a long time ago and you’re right, I am very happy. I mean, I know that our tour is coming up, but I know we can make it." Bianca said and looked endearingly at AJ. He squeezed her shoulders and rubbed her arm reassuringly. They smiled at each other and he kissed her forehead.

"So, Jade. How are you and Nick planning on staying together through all of this hoopla? I mean, Nick likes to have attention and he usually gets fidgety when his girlfriend’s not there for him." Kevin said pointedly and then looked at the menu.

"Wow, Kevin. You know, if you’re going to ask me a question like that, at least give me the respect of looking at me while I answer you." I snapped back. Kevin looked up with very nervous eyes. "Nick and I are going to be fine. You guys don’t even start rehearsing for your next tour for another six months or so, right? Well, AJ was at the photo-shoot today and he talked to Kirsten. She said that it would be ok if Nick and AJ joined us while we were traveling. I mean, it’s not like we’re doing huge musical performances, we’re going to be visiting high schools across the country talking to the students about body image and self-respect and peer pressures. We’re going to be positive role models for these kids and having Nick and AJ with us is going to be an added bonus. I know that the four of us have yet to seriously talk about it; we know that we won’t be together 24/7, but we’re going to make time. We’re going to do what we can to make it work out. So, now let me ask you. What about you and Kristin? Where is she? Are the rumors of infidelity true Kevin?" I shot at him.

He buried his head back in his menu and turned a deep shade of red. "I’m sorry Jade if I’ve offended you." He said a moment later and looked up at me. "No, Kris and I are fine; we’re both very busy people. I guess I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions about you and Nick before you’d even made it out of the one-week mark. I apologize. Nicky, why aren’t you even saying anything?"

"Well, because I know that Jade can handle herself. She needs me to protect her from real dangers, not you Kevin." Nick said and held my hand under the table and began to run his thumb over my fingers.

"Kevin, I want to like you. I want us to get along. I want us to be friends even, but how is all of that going to happen if you’re going to be cynical every step of mine and Nick’s relationship?" I asked him.

"I guess it’s more of a protection thing. He’s my baby brother. I’ve watched him get hurt before, too many times. You’re already different from the other girls, but things change. People change." He said.

"Kev, I love you man, but I’m a grown-up. I don’t need to be watched like a thirteen year-old any more. Yes, I’ve gone through my share of heartbreak and mistakes, but I’ve learn from those mistakes and moved on. I’m happy right now. Happier than I’ve been in a while." Nick said. "Can we just order? I’m starving!"

As if on cue, the waitress came out and our personal chef followed suit. He started to unload all of the ingredients that were on his cart and began cooking us a delicious dinner. After we ate the dinner, it was still early, so we decided to go to a club back in New York and have a little fun. We all got in the limo and everyone fell asleep almost immediately.

Nick’s POV

I had Jade under my arm and I was stroking her hair when I noticed that AJ and I were the only ones still awake.

"AJ McLean. I am proud of you man. Bianca sure seems like a great girl." I said.

"Yeah. She’s great. We’re so happy too. I mean, I don’t think I’ve been this happy to be with someone since before I went into rehab." He said.

"That’s really cool. That’s how I feel about Jade. It’s so weird, the chance meeting we had, and now we’re dating." I said.

"Hey Nick, does Jade know about Holli? I mean, I’ve heard you mention Willa and Paris, and obviously she knows about Kirsten, but anything about Holli?" He asked me.

"No. I’m not going to tell her for a while. I mean, I’m over her and everything, but I’m just not ready to answer all the questions that I know she’s going to have. Some of them I still don’t have any answers to." I said.

"Nick, she needs to know. I mean, at least mention her name to Jade. A relationship is about honesty and trust. You can’t lie to her." AJ said to me.

"I’m not lying to her. I’m temporarily leaving out a detail regarding a past relationship. It’s not like I’m cheating on her; it’s not like I’m a drug-lord. I just don’t want to drag up painful memories. And besides, I’m sure she hasn’t told me everything. I mean, we’ve only been dating for a week. We have the rest of our lives to find out everything and to argue and make up. Besides, if she likes me as much as I know she does, she’ll be cool with it. She’ll understand." I said, defending both Jade and myself. I kissed the top of her head and ran my hand over her hair.

"I hope you don’t wait too long to tell her Nick. By the way, do you ever talk to Holli?" He asked me.

"Nah. When she left, I thought I was in a dream state but then one day like, 3 months later she called and came and took all of her stuff out of the house. I watched her come and pick up everything that was hers and as she walked out the door, I thought about how I could finally get over her. Her stuff was gone; her presence was gone from my life." I said and AJ nodded.

"Nick, I’m really proud of you. You’ve really pulled your life together after her. I know how much pain you were going through when she left and I shouldn’t pressure you to tell Jade about her if you’re not ready to talk about it. But just know, that I’m always here for you man." AJ said and we slapped hands over the girls. We looked up and saw that we had arrived at the club. "Do you really wanna go in?"

"You know what, I’m really not in a clubbing kind of mood. I don’t think anyone else will mind if we just go home. They are all asleep and I’d rather risk them being mad at us in the morning for not going out than having them mad at me for waking them up in the middle of a dream." I said and AJ and I laughed. "Hey Frank, can you take us home? We’re sorry."

"It’s no problem guys. I have to admit I’m kind of tired too. I don’t think I could have waited up for you. I know, I know, I’m an old man." He laughed.

"No, we’re tired too. Thanks for being flexible. The girls sure are lucky to have you." I said and Frank drove us home.

We pulled up to the apartment building and Frank opened the door for us. We woke everyone up and they sleepily made it upstairs. Jade fell asleep on my shoulder in the elevator on the way up to her apartment. When we made it there, I picked her up and carried her in my arms to her room. I watched as Bianca and AJ kissed good night at Bianca’s door and Howie kissed Amethyst on the cheek before she retreated to her room. Kevin and Brian went straight upstairs with the other two in close pursuit.

I walked into Jade’s room and laid her down on the bed. She looked so peaceful as she slept. I leaned down and kissed her lips lightly and walked to the door. I turned off the light and stood watching her sleep. There was something so special about this girl. Something that made me want her, emotionally, physically, mentally, sexually. But there was also something that told me that I would be loved for a very long time.


~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~


Jade’s POV

"Ugh!" I moaned as I rolled over to turn off the alarm that I again don’t remember setting. I made a mental note to ask Tess or Kirsten about that damn clock. I got out of bed and walked into the bathroom I shared with Ames. I looked down and noticed that I was in the same clothes I went to bed in, my hair was a mess and my make-up was all over my face. I remember going out to dinner with the guys and some of the limo ride. I think I feel asleep in the limo and never woke back up. How did I get upstairs?

I looked at the mirror and saw a note that said, "Hey Ladies – Be ready at 7:45 to take those promotional shoots for the tour I was talking about. Don’t worry about hair and make-up, just come in some sweats. See you on the corner at 7:45! – Kirsten"

"What the hell is this? America’s Next Top Model?" I heard Bianca say from her bathroom. I laughed aloud and got undressed and took a shower. About thirty minutes later I had finished scrubbing all of the make-up off of my face and washed all of the hairspray out of my hair. I got out of the shower and went into my room to get dressed when I looked at the clock and saw that it was 7:42. I ran around my room and pulled on some white terry cloth sweat pants, a wife beater and a red track jacket. I found some red flip-flops and threw them on. I ran into the living room just as the girls were all coming out of their rooms, rushed as well.

We ran down the hall to the already open elevator, which was a miracle. The elevator seemed to go faster than ever and we walked out to the curb where Frank looked at us and then his watch and said, "You made it!"

The four of us breathed a sigh of relief and climbed into the Hummer. We all fell asleep again and woke up to Kirsten climbing into the limo and shaking us awake. "Girls, if you’re going to arrive at every shoot sleepy, you need to go to bed earlier."

"We’re sorry. The guys took us out to dinner last night and we were so tired. By the way, I have a question for you. What’s up with the alarm clocks? I never remember setting them, but somehow I always wake up to it going off, and it’s not always at the same time." Savannah asked.

"Yours does that too? Good, I thought I was the only one." I said to her.

"Well, did you ever notice that your apartment is hardly ever messy? There’s a cleaning crew that comes into your apartment and takes out the trash and I have them set the clocks for you. Because I know that if I didn’t, you guys would forget." Kirsten said and laughed.

"We’re not usually messy though! We clean up after ourselves." Bianca whined.

"Yeah, actually you girls are pretty good with all of that kind of stuff. Anyways, today you’re doing promotional shoots so that the cardboard cut outs can be put up in the schools that got chosen. Please meet your photographer Zachary Haney." Kirsten introduced us to our photographer.

"It’s so nice to meet you girls. Today we’re going to have you in the T-shirts that Kirsten had made. They have your slogan and name on them. You’re going to be in plain jeans, the shirts, and barefoot because your motto is ‘Just Like You’, so how better to show the kids that, than to dress like them?" Zachary said. He was funny and cool. He was calm and made us feel confident.

All four of us were taken to get our hair and make-up done. Our make-up was very simple, with light eyes, a small amount of blush and some lip gloss. My hair was in a ponytail, Ames’ was down and flat-ironed, Bianca’s was gelled and curly and Savannah’s was half-up and half-down. We looked like normal girls. Thank goodness people were going to think the same thing.

The photo-shoot went on for about three hours. Zach took solo shots, group shots, and duo shots. It was a lot shorter because we didn’t have the wardrobe changes and the complex make-up. The shoot was fun and by the end of it, it was time for us to go home and get something to eat for lunch.

"Girls, I want you home by 11:00 tonight. I’m going to call and make sure that you’re in bed early and I want to talk to each and every one of you. If I don’t, you’re going to be in trouble tomorrow. Tomorrow is Thursday, and the tour starts in a week from Monday. You need to be as serious about this as the kids you’ll be talking to and as serious as Tess is. See you tomorrow morning at 8:30 for breakfast and we’ll be having a meeting about the rest of your tour." Kirsten said and we got into the limo and drove home.

When I got home, I went straight up to Nick’s apartment and found him lying on his couch playing video games.

"Hey babe." I said and lied down next to him on the couch. He put his arm around me and kissed my forehead. "Whatcha playing?"

"Nothing really. Just kinda put Grand Turismo 4 on the auto-pilot racing part and it’s a 24 hour race, so I just started it and it’s gonna be on for 24 hours. How was the photo-shoot today? You’ve gotta start filling me in earlier on these things." He said and laughed.

"I didn’t even know about it until this morning. I woke up to my alarm, went to the bathroom and saw a sign on my mirror that told us about the shoot. I tried calling you, but I never got the chance. Something was stuck up Kirsten’s ass today though." I said.

"Really? How so?" Nick asked.

"I dunno. She was just really off. Like, she yelled at us for being asleep when we got to the shoot and she gave us a bedtime and she wants to talk to all of us on the phone at 11:00 tonight to make sure we’re at home. It was just weird. She got all business on us all of a sudden." I said. I liked the feeling of lying next to Nick with his arms around me.

"It’s ok. I’m sure she’s just stressed. She used to get into those moods with us too. I look back now and I have to wonder how I stood for it for so long." Nick said and started running his fingers through my hair.

"Nick, I’m happy. For the first time in a long time, I’m really, genuinely happy. Thank you." I said and I reached up and kissed his lips softly. He adjusted our bodies so that we were lying more comfortable. The kiss he returned was nothing like I had ever felt before. It was soft, but full of passion. It made everything in my body feel awake and alive. I could feel the power from it in my toes. After we broke the kiss, I smiled up at him.

Nick’s POV

"Jade, I’m happy too. I’ve gone through a lot of previous relationship problems, but I’ve never felt this happy in the very beginning of a relationship. Being with you awakens something in me. Since the day I’ve met you there’s been something about how I feel when I’m around you. When I hear your voice, my entire day gets better, and stays that way for the rest of the day. Even when I only get to talk to you for 5 minutes, I’m happy to just talk to you. The feelings I get even from the shortest of phone calls gives me confidence that we’re going to make it for a long time." I said.

I looked down at her to see if she was going to respond when I saw that she was sound asleep in my arms. That in itself was the best feeling in the world.
Chapter 19 by Erica
The next two weeks flew by with incredible speed. The girls and I didn’t even have a chance to think. Before we knew it, it was the Sunday night before we started our tour.
"I cannot believe it’s finally the night before we start to tour. This whole thing feels like such a dream." I said to Ames while the four of us were sitting at the tale eating dinner.

"I remember getting that phone call in Spain. We thought being in Spain was amazing. Then we heard about the tour and all the money. Oh my gosh – I had forgotten all about money. 13 million dollars." She said in amazement. All of us sat at the table and looked at the food in front of us.

"What are we gonna do with all that money?" Bianca asked. She sounded awed by the amount. I think that this was the first time that the actual amount really hit each of us.
"I have no idea. We should go out tonight though to celebrate our last night of not working." I said and the girls agreed. "Besides, it’s the guy’s last night here in town, so we’re gonna have to take them out anyways."

I called up to Nick’s room and told him to tell the guys to be ready to go dancing in about an hour and a half. Each of us went to our rooms and changed into club clothes and did our hair and make up. I wore a green glittery halter-top and a white asymmetrical skirt that showed off my stomach and the butterfly tattoo with green heels and silver earrings and silver bangle bracelets.

Bianca was wearing a brown strapless dress and white heels and her hair was twisted back out of her face. Savannah was in a teal halter-top and ripped jean capris with blue wedge Keds Sneakers. Amethyst was wearing a pair of red and white striped goucho pants and a white tank top and red heels.
We rode the elevator upstairs and got the guys from their apartment and saw that they were each dressed in jeans and slogan t-shirts. Nick walked over and put his arm around me and kissed my forehead.

"Hey babe. You look amazing tonight." He said and smiled.

"Thanks, you look great too. Ready to go?" I asked. We left the apartment and went downstairs to find that Frank was already waiting for us at the curb. We spent the next few hours at a local club and partied the night away. By the time we arrived back at the penthouse, it was almost 2:30 in the morning.

I looked at the clock and said, "Girls, we have to be ready to leave by 7:30 in the morning. Nick, good night, I will call you on the bus sometime tomorrow, I’m not sure when, but I will." I kissed him good night and ushered him out the door.

Our alarms rang at 4:45 the next morning. The four of us walked into the living room and began to scream. "It’s finally here! We start the tour today! I can’t believe it!" Bianca exclaimed, the most awake we had ever seen her.

"Did anyone get any sleep last night?" Savannah asked us all.

"No!" We all said together and began to laugh.

"Girls, girls. Could you quiet it down please? There are other people in this building you know?" Kirsten said as she walked into the room from the kitchen. Along side her was a man with bleach-blonde hair, tight leather pants, and a pink and white striped polo shirt. "Jade, Savannah, Amethyst, and Bianca, I would like to introduce you to your tour stylist Pierre Wagner. Pierre, these are the girls who make up "The Esteem Team"."

"It’s so nice to meet each of you. I have been told that you each have a signature color. Is that for photo-shoots only or for the tour as well? Because finding those colors for each of you EVERY day is going to be a little hard." Pierre said, using his hands to talk. "I do have to say though, your skin complexions and hair color are absolutely fabulous. I wish I was your hair stylist too!"

The four of us laughed and Amethyst said, "We have a hair-stylist too?"

"Dear, you have a hairstylist and a make-up artist that is going to be traveling with you everywhere. Amanda Honeycutt is your make-up artist. She is relatively new to the business, but she is very high in-demand, just like you girls. Your hair-stylist is Henry Young. He has worked with Tyra Banks since she started her career many years ago. You’re in the best hands of the Fashion Industry." Kirsten filled us in.

Ames, Bianca, Savannah and I stood in front of these two people completely awed and amazed. "Well, girls, let’s get started on your clothes. Henry and Amanda will be here shortly, so let’s have a look at the clothes that have been sent to us for you."

It seemed as if out of nowhere, Kirsten pulled four racks of clothing, one for each of us. Pierre started flipping through the clothes and started making comments. We laughed as he said, "Oh, this SO not a Monday outfit" or "I cannot believe we have to wait until Friday to see this on you."

"Oh, you think I’m kidding ladies? There are certain kinds of clothes that are worn on certain days, well, maybe not specifically, but at least when they speak to me." He said dramatically and whipped his hand to the top of his head and let out a loud and exaggerated sigh.

By the time Pierre finally picked out the four "Monday"s, Amanda and Henry had arrived and began to style our hair and do our make-up. Pierre decided that we should stay in our signature color for the first day of the tour, so I was wearing a mint –green halter top with a faded-tiered denim skirt, a brown and green belt and a pair of green mesh slides. I was wearing a leather tie anklet and a wide-strapped leather watch and jade dangling earrings. Amanda did my eyes in a dark green to match my earrings and belt with a light pink lip, and Henry had my hair down and pin-straight.

Bianca was dressed in a deep red tube top with a white peasant skirt that stopped just above her knees. She had on pearl earrings, a large pearl necklace and a small pearl ring on her right hand. She was wearing high white pumps. Amanda did her make-up in a smoky-eye with lots of white eyeliner and a bright red lip. Henry pulled Bianca’s hair out of her face in little twists so that you could see her make-up.

Amethyst was wearing a dark blue, sparkly tank top that bunched at her chest a little to make her cleavage look a little bigger and dark blue bermuda shorts with a silver belt and silver lace-up flats. She was wearing silver bangle bracelets and a long silver chain that fell in between her chest, leaving much to the wandering eye. Her eyes were done in a sparkly blue to highlight the honey tones and her hair was pulled into a low ponytail with lots of waves.

Savannah was wearing a yellow polo that was outlined in a light orange and she had on a pair of short "destroyed" jean shorts. She was wearing a pair of understated yellow diamond earrings and a thin diamond necklace and matching bracelet. She had on yellow and orange plaid wedge sandals. Her eyes were in a gold shimmery color that really highlighted her hair and the color of her outfit and her hair was pulled half-up and half –down. She looked the most amazing of all of us, even though her outfit was the least flashy.

The girls and I were completely done getting ready by 7:45 and Kirsten was already loading everything onto the buses. There were two HUGE apartment-sized buses waiting for us at the curb. Our names were on the buses that we would be riding in: Ames and me on one and Bianca and Savannah on the other. "The Esteem Team" was plastered on the sides as well. The girls and I were so giddy from the sights that we stood on the curbs and began to scream and jump up and down.

"I swear to God if you girls mess up your outfits, I will personally kill you." We heard Pierre say from behind us.
"Ditto goes for your hair and make-up." Henry said. The four of us laughed and began to compose ourselves. We met outside of the buses and Kirsten handed us our leather binders that contained our schedules. We looked at them and saw that our first stop of the day was the Fashion Industries High School in downtown New York. It was the perfect place to kick off the tour.

"Girls, I also wanted to inform you that you are being sponsored by hotel chain, Starwood Inc, which is the owner of all Sheraton, Westin, Four Points, Ws and St. Regis Hotels. They are going to put you up every night in a gorgeous four star hotel. So, tonight, you’ll be at the Sheraton Long Island Hotel. Remember, this week you’ll be traveling all of New York State and Pennsylvania, averaging two schools a day. You’ll see the time markers for each of the events and I need you to know that being on time is very important for this tour. Well, good luck and we’ll see you in the next half-hour at your first school." Kirsten said and each of us got on our own bus.

"Ohmigod!" I heard Amethyst squeal as she stepped on the bus ahead of me.

~~~***~~~

Nick’s POV

The alarm clock woke me up at 6:30. I groaned as I rolled over to turn it off and remembered that today Jade was leaving to begin her tour. Luckily, she was going to be in the city for tonight. I was already planning on surprising her with myself and maybe a rose or two. Well, maybe I should leave her alone for a few days so that she could get used to being on tour.

"Yeah right Nick." I said to myself and rolled out of bed. I went to the bathroom and quickly threw on some clothes. I found the note I had written to Jade the night before and I took one of the pink roses from the dozen I had purchased earlier and walked downstairs. I saw Howie leaving the bus that Jade and Amethyst were on, and I slapped him a good-morning high-five.

Once I got on the bus, I took in the vastness of it. A sense of pride for Jade overcame me and I had to grab onto the railing to stand straight. I looked around and saw a large sitting/living area with a huge ceiling to floor bookcase. I continued along on the bus and saw a mini-kitchen that I wondered if Jade was ever going to use. Then, there were two good-sized bathrooms and two rooms in the back. I saw the one that was decorated for Jade and walked over to the bed and put the rose and the note on one of her pillows.

The bus was decorated perfectly for the two girls who would be sharing it and I couldn’t help but wonder how much time I would be spending on it. Hopefully there would be many days, and possible nights, that Jade and I would get to be together on this bus. I looked at the clock on Jade’s bedside table and saw that it was approaching 7:30 so the girls would probably be arriving shortly and I didn’t want Jade to see me.

I quickly went back upstairs and went to the living room window, which looked out directly onto the street. I remembered the first time I was ever on a Backstreet bus and watched as Jade, Amethyst, Bianca, and Savannah all saw the buses and the expressions on their faces were priceless. I watched as they all jumped up and down and hugged each other. I saw Kirsten walk out of the building followed by two men and another woman. I wondered who they were and thought about talking to Jade. I couldn’t wait to talk to her after her first full day.


~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~


Jade’s POV

"Ohmigod. I cannot believe how pimped out this bus is." Amethyst said as we both climbed the stairs to the bus. We saw a huge sitting area with a bookcase, a little kitchen and as we traveled deeper into the bus we saw our rooms. They were decorated almost the same as the ones back in the penthouse.

I walked over to my bed and saw a pink rose and a note attached to it.

"Oh Nick, this is beautiful." I said aloud to no one in particular. I hugged the piece of paper close to me and thought about how much I missed him already. We didn’t even get to say good-bye this morning. I kinda hoped that he would have been there to see me off, but maybe I got my hopes up. Whatever, at least I know he’s thinking about me.

"Jade! I got a note and a flower from Howie! It’s so cute." Ames said as she came bounding into my room. "Oh, you got one from Nick too. They are too cute."

"Yeah, they are. I’m so excited though. I can’t even think about boys right now. What kinds of questions do you think the kids are going to ask us?" I asked Ames.

"Well, you know they’re gonna want to know about dating and clothes and stuff. Whatever they ask, we just have to answer. Oh my god, we’re here already. Are you ready?" Ames said as the bus pulled up to the front of the school. We got off and saw Savannah and Bianca.

"Ready ladies?" I asked them as Kirsten led us into the school.

"As ready as we’ll ever be. AJ gave me a note and James gave Savannah one. We’re so loved." Bianca said and laughed. "I assume Nick and Howie left something for you two?"

Amethyst and I nodded and walked into the Principal’s office of the Fashion Industries High School of New York. She took us on a quick tour of the school and we stopped when we were walking down the hallway and saw a huge cardboard cut-out of the four of us from the promo shoot we had just done two weeks ago. "Oh my GOD! It’s us!!" Savannah exclaimed and ran over to the picture.

We all scrambled over and looked at it. "Damn, we look hot!" Bianca said and we each hugged again.

"Alright ladies, are you ready for your first meet-and-greet session of this tour?" Kirsten asked and led us into a large classroom with about 100 kids standing along the wall. They each held a picture in their hands and we were led to a table that was covered by a blue table cloth, there were Sharpie Markers for the each of us to use and we sat in front of a backdrop that read "The Esteem Team: Just Like You".

The first person walked up to us and held out her picture. Her name was Jennifer Kerry. I will remember that girl for the rest of my life since she was the very first person who ever got to meet us as the Esteem Team. We went through the 100 in a fairly good amount of time, we were still on schedule.

As we walked out of the classroom, Savannah took a hold of my arm and said, "Jade, I am so nervous. I am shaking so bad. What if I throw-up on stage or something? Oh my gosh, I am so scared of this."

"Don’t worry sweetie, we’re not singing or anything. We’re talking about what we know best. How to be ourselves. They’ll probably ask general questions and maybe some specific questions, but every one of us is going to be nervous the first time." I said and hugged her.

"Thanks for the encouragement. I needed that." She said and the four of us got into a line while the principal of the school introduced us.

As soon as she said our names, we walked into a screaming auditorium. The feeling of accomplishment that overcame me was amazing. I have never felt so important in my entire life. Here I was, in this high school auditorium with the entire school wanting to talk to me and my best friends about the awesomely cool lives we are having the opportunity to live.

We each took our places behind our name cards and smiled into the audience. The principal introduced us each individually and asked us to talk about ourselves, our mission for the Esteem Team and a little bit about the tour. Then came the questions.

Our first question came from a girl in the audience who looked like she belonged in the fashion industry. "Ok, well, your motto is ‘Just Like You’, but you all look like the perfect model. What makes you just like us?"

"That’s a great question. Actually, we’ll each tell you. Mine is the size of my feet. I have a size 11 foot and there are not many shoe designers who make shoes that size. And when I go to do runway shows, I have to fit myself into a size 9 and walk comfortably. It’s not as easy as it seems. Ames?"

"Well, I actually don’t have a problem with runway, but it’s more my photographs. I have really bad freckles on my back. Every time I take pictures in an open back shirt, the production company has to spend lots of money trying to retouch my photos and make my skin look clear. Maybe after all of this is over that won’t have to happen anymore." She said gracefully. "And you Ms. Bianca?"

"Well, I don’t know if you saw when I walked in, I was wearing the tallest pair of heels. I’m only 5’2" and that is really short on modeling standards. I have to wear 4 to 5 inch heels just to look like I’m as tall as the other girls when they don’t have shoes on." The audience laughed at Bianca’s speech and she turned to Savannah. "And you Savannah Jessamyn Malone, how are you just like everyone else?"

Savannah blushed and then looked out at the audience. "Well, I am blind as a bat. Actually, I have to wear contacts to see more than 6 feet in front of my face. I used to wear glasses all the time for my go-sees and when I was in Paris, I had one guy who shall remain nameless say to me, "Who do you zink you are? You cannot wear zee glasses in my fashion show?" She said in her best French accent. The audience laughed again and after that everyone was completely at rest.

We talked with the students for another half an hour when one of the guys stood up and asked us if we had boyfriends.

"Well, actually, yes, some of us do."

"Who? I hope at least one of you is single because I am too and I want to show you a good time." There were lots of catcalls and whistles and the whole auditorium began to laugh. One of the faculty members walked over to him and scolded him, but we continued to answer the question.

"Actually, I am spoken for, it’s kind of a new relationship so I don’t want to talk about it too much, but yeah, I’m taken." I said and looked to Ames to answer next.

"I am free and single. Hanging out with some friends, but I am completely unattached." She said and winked at the kid.
"I am also in a new relationship with an amazing guy. I’m sure you’ll all find out sooner than later who I’m dating, but anyways, for now I’d like to keep it low-key." Bianca said and turned it over to Savannah.

"I’m seeing someone right now, but we are not officially dating. Actually guys, it’s time for us to wrap this up and head over to lunch. This was awesome and don’t forget to pick up our Cosmos when they come out next month!" She said and we walked off the stage.

After lunch was over, we got back on the bus and traveled over to Adlai Stevenson High School in the Bronx and repeated the process. They asked the same questions and had the same interests. The whole tour was off to an amazing start.

I finally got the chance to call Nick on our way to the hotel.

~~~***~~~


Nick’s POV

"Hey Nick! I’m so excited!" Jade said when I answered the phone that night. "Thank you so much for the rose and the note, they kept me going through the busy day I had today. You have no idea how much talking so much in one day will kill your voice. Oh geez, what am I saying? Of course you do, you’re a singer for crying out loud. I keep forgetting that." She sounded so cute on the phone.

"I miss you babe. I’m so glad your day was good. Why kinds of questions did they ask you?" I asked.

"Aww, Nick. I missed you too, but don’t start that or I’ll cry. And I have way too much make-up on right now to start crying. They asked the same questions over and over. Oh my gosh. I know that everyday of this tour I am going to answer how I am just like them and if I’m dating anyone. I swear, I love this job and I love the kids, but maybe we should all makes signs that pre-answer the questions. Hey, and then we can market them." She said sounding excited.
"Now now, sweetie. Don’t get too far ahead of yourself. You’ll drive yourself and everyone else crazy. So what are you doing tonight to celebrate?" I asked her.

"Well, I’m planning on just staying in tonight and getting lots of sleep since I didn’t get ANY last night at all." She said as she walked into the lobby. I had her in my view and I got up off the couch. I walked over to the elevator where she was walking to and I stood in front of her and said, "Wrong. You’re going out with me tonight."
Chapter 20 by Erica
Nick’s POV

"Hey Nick! I’m so excited!" Jade said when I answered the phone that night. "Thank you so much for the rose and the note, they kept me going through the busy day I had today. You have no idea how much talking so much in one day will kill your voice. Oh geez, what am I saying? Of course you do, you’re a singer for crying out loud. I keep forgetting that." She sounded so cute on the phone.

"I miss you babe. I’m so glad your day was good. What kinds of questions did they ask you?" I asked.

"Aww, Nick. I missed you too, but don’t start that or I’ll cry. And I have way too much make-up on right now to start crying. They asked the same questions over and over. Oh my gosh. I know that every day of this tour I am going to answer how I am just like them and if I’m dating anyone. I swear, I love this job and I love the kids, but maybe we should all makes signs that pre-answer the questions. Hey, and then we can market them." She said sounding excited.

"Now now, sweetie. Don’t get too far ahead of yourself. You’ll drive yourself and everyone else crazy. So what are you doing tonight to celebrate?" I asked her.

"Well, I’m planning on just staying in tonight and getting lots of sleep since I didn’t get ANY last night at all." She said as she walked into the lobby. I had her in my view and I got up off the couch. I walked over to the elevator where she was walking to and I stood in front of her and said, "Wrong. You’re going out with me tonight."

She looked up at me and her mouth and cell phone dropped. She threw her arms around my neck and my cell phone fell to the ground as well. She jumped up and wrapped her legs around me and started kissing my face.

"Oh my god! I cannot believe that you’re actually here! I thought that I wasn’t going to see you for a month. I was so depressed this morning because I thought that you were going to come say goodbye to me, but then I saw the flower and now you’re here!" She said excitedly and kissed me full on the mouth before jumping down. "I am so happy to see you!"

"Well, I’m glad you’re happy to see me. I’m happy that you’re happy to see me. Are we gonna go upstairs or what?" I asked her. We picked up both of our cell phones and got on the awaiting elevator.

"I thought you said that we were going out." She looked up at me through her bangs, her brown eyes wide.

"Well, not tonight. I know what it’s like to be on tour and I know that you’re going to need as much rest as possible, especially in the first few weeks. We’re spending the night in." I said and leaned over to kiss her forehead as the elevator brought us to her floor.

We got off of the elevator and walked to her room. She unlocked it to see a large suite, not as big as the guys and I were used to, but hey, it was perfect for Jade and the girls. The guys and I also weren’t used to having our own rooms either, so that was a plus for the girls. Must be the bathroom situation or something.

"Oh really? Are you spending the night?" She asked cautiously.

"Only if you want me to." I said and she looked away.

"What? Jade, what’s wrong?"

"Nothing. I’m just not ready to go there with you yet." She said and sat down on the bed.

"Go where? Having sex? No way, me neither." I said and sat down on the bed next to her. Even through my reassurance, she continued to scoot away from me. "Jade, what’s wrong with you?"

"I don’t know. It’s just that, well, I’ve only had sex once in my life and the guy left as soon as it was done and I felt so dirty afterwards. Ever since then I’ve been really careful about getting that close to a guy. Well, I haven’t had a relationship since him." She confessed.

I tried to scoot closer to her so that I could put my arm around her, but she moved so far away from me that she fell off of the edge of the bed. "Jade! Are you alright?" I asked and got up from the bed to see her rolling on the floor with her eyes closed and laughing. I began to laugh and put my hand out for her to take so I could help her up. Instead, she pulled me down on the floor next to her.

"Jade, I just want you to know that I’m not that kind of guy. I don’t have sex with every girl I date. I mean, yeah, it can be good, but it’s not the most important thing. I believe that people should connect on every other level first before exploring the sexual chemistry they may share. I’m really sorry about the jerk who made you feel dirty. He must have been stupid and done it wrong!" I said and pulled her close to me. She laid her head on my chest and snuggled close. "So, what do you want to do tonight?"


~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~


Jade’s POV

"Well, there are plenty of things we can do tonight." I said. "We could just lay here on the floor and I could listen to your heart, or we could take a walk, or we could play video games, or we could watch TV or we could just talk and order dinner in."

"How about we talk and order in. Do you want room service or something take-out?" He asked me and began to stroke my hair. I could tell he was looking up at the ceiling and thinking about something.

"Let’s just call room-service. Hey, it’s paid for, right?" I said. Neither of us moved to get the menu, so I said, "Nick, can I ask you a question?"

"You can ask me anything." He said.

"Ok, well, I want you to be 100% honest with me. I wanted to know how many girls you’ve slept with. Just so I know, when we do have sex, I won’t worry about not having asked you." I said and looked up at him. Sure enough he had focused on the ceiling and his eyebrows were scrunched together. "That many huh?" I said and chuckled slightly.

"Did you know that there are 325 dots in that one square of the ceiling tile?" He said trying to change the subject.
"Oh wow, that many huh?" I said and pushed myself off of him. I sat back down on the bed and leaned back on my pillows.

"Four." Came his answer from the floor.

"Ok, well, I know of three. Willa, Paris, and Kirsten. Who is the other girl?" I questioned.

"Jade, do we really have to talk about this now?" Nick asked as he sat up on the floor. He too got up and joined me on the bed.

"Well, I just want to know. I mean, I’m obviously not as experienced as you are, but I’d tell you what you wanted you to know if I had more to say." I said and looked at him.

"Well, her name was Holli." He said and closed his eyes. He looked like he was in pain and I reached over to took his hand in mine. "I was going to tell you about her sooner or later, but I guess the time has come. She and I were engaged. We were three weeks away from our wedding when she up and left me for one of our other dancers." I knew I had a confused look on my face, but I was trying to rub circles of encouragement on his hand with my thumb, showing my support.

"We have kind of a complicated relationship. I mean, I was dating someone else when I met her, kind of like you and Kirsten, but our relationship was totally different. We were friends, and then we went on a date and things went well, and then the next day she was in a really bad car accident and ever since that we were inseparable, so she became a Backstreet Dancer. I thought she was "The One", but she wasn’t. I mean, I really truly loved her, but I gave so much more to the relationship than she did." Nick said and continued to brush my hair.

"I didn’t realize that things were that serious. So what happened? I mean, what made her leave you. Now talk about a stupid person!" I said, rolling closer to him, happy that he was finally opening up to me.

"To be honest with you, I still don’t know. I’ve only seen her once since she left and that was to pick up her stuff from our house. She cancelled everything for the wedding, so luckily I didn’t have to deal with any of that mess. It was really weird. Like, one day she was there and the next she was totally gone." He said and put his arm around me.

"How long was it before you dated Kirsten after her?" I asked, still curious.

"Um, probably 10 or 11 months." He said. "What about you? You have so many questions, do you have answers as well?"
"I got answers to whatever you want to know. But can we order some food first? I’m starving!" I said and picked up the menu next to the bed.

We ordered our food and the waiter brought us our hamburgers, shakes, and fries in about 20 minutes. We took the food and sat at the little table provided in the corner of the room.

~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~


Nick’s POV

"Ok, so you have questions to ask me?" Jade asked me as she took a bite of her burger.

"Well, yeah. Of course I do. So, tell me about this guy who had sex with you and made it such a horrible experience that you never want to do it again." I said, half serious and half joking. I watched her intently as she bit her lip and thought about what to say.

"Well, his name is Landon. We dated for over two years. He professed his love for me every day. He bought me a red rose every Friday. We were the cheerleader/football player couple. You know, those picture perfect ones that everyone thought was great." I nodded for her to continue.

"But things got really weird between us about a year and a half into our relationship. He wouldn’t call as often and we didn’t see each other as much. Well, I finally gave in and had sex with him because I thought it would bring us back together. Then I didn’t hear from him for a while, so I went over to see him at his apartment and there he was, in bed with another girl. Another CHEERLEADER. I was furious. I felt so used and disgusted. It turns out that they had been dating for over 8 months. I was devastated. I haven’t seen him since that day either." She said and took another bite of her food. "It’s not that I hate sex. I’m sure it’s really great with the right person, but I’m more afraid that if I do it with someone else they’ll leave me too."

"You don’t have to worry about that with me. Wow, that really sucks." Was all I could come up with.

"Tell me about it. I mean, obviously Holli was cheating on you with the dancer before she just left you, but you never caught them together. I actually had to walk in on my first everything having sex with another woman. And mind you, it wasn’t sweet, passionate sex. It was mad crazy monkey sex." She said and laughed. "God, I can’t believe it’s been almost two years since that night. I’m glad I can look back on it with you and laugh. I was so sad and depressed when it first happened."

"Yeah, you know, you really are a special person. I don’t know how that stupid guy could have ever let you go. I wanted to tell you, that when you and I eventually sleep together, I will not consider it sex. You and I will be making love to each other because when we finally do do it, we will be madly, head-over-heels in love with one another." I said and took her hand in mine.

"I hope so. I know that making love to you will be fantastic, but I just don’t want to go that far until I’m madly, head-over-heels in love with you. Don’t get me wrong, I’m heading down that path, but I’m not ready for it just yet." She said and looked deeply into my eyes. "Did you ever feel like Kirsten was "the one"?"

"No. Never. What I had with Kirsten was purely sexual. But, with a chance to defend myself, I was not the aggressor. Don’t get me wrong, the sex was great, but it wasn’t the kind of sex you have with someone you’re truly in love with. I think we just told each other we loved each other to feel better about all the sex." I told her.

"So how’s the sex when you’re really in love with someone?" She asked me. I was a little taken aback by the way she phrased the question.

"Actually, I wouldn’t know. I’ve never been truly in love with someone. Yes, I had very deep feelings for Holli. Willa was my first and she and I were so young, so I can’t ever call that true love. First love, maybe, but not true love. I thought I was in love with Paris, but she had too much shit with her. She and I had a good time when we weren’t fighting and when she wasn’t accusing me of beating her up." I said.

"What?! She accused you of what?! You’re the gentlest person I’ve ever met in my entire life." She said, with shock written all over her face.

"You didn’t know about that? It was all over the news and in the magazines and everything." I said, more in shock that she hadn’t heard.

"Are you serious? I don’t like to read those grocery store magazines because I don’t believe in the crap that they spread. I mean, I read Cosmopolitan, but that’s it. I hardly ever even go to the grocery store anymore. I almost never watch TV either because there really is no good TV on anymore." She said.

"Well, that’s a good way to look at it." I said and sat back in my chair.

"However, I do like movies. Do you want to order one in-room?" She asked.

"No actually, I just want to be here with you and talk tonight. We have the rest of our lives to watch movies." I said and she smiled. She got up and moved back over to the bed and lied down on her stomach. I joined her shortly and she turned her head to look at me.

"I knew that you and Kirsten didn’t really love each other. The night I saw you in the club fighting with one another I knew your relationship was doomed." She said and giggled a little. "I’m glad it was."

"So am I. I’m so happy you’re in my life. And imagine, I almost lost you to Jordan." I said and smirked. She slapped my stomach playfully and said, "There is no way that you would have lost me to Jordan. I was upset and vulnerable and he was there. I didn’t feel a single thing for him. I told you that I thought about you the entire time we were together."

"I’m glad he meant nothing to you. I was so upset when you told me that you were all over each other. I felt stabs of jealousy and it was killing me. I almost cried. Well, not really." I said and laughed. "Were you really upset about me being in the Backstreet Boys?"

"Well, at first I was more shocked than hurt. But I was never really angry. I think I just used it to cover up my jealousy for Kirsten. I figured, ‘Well hey, now I have a reason to stay away from the guy’." She said and looked up at me. "But we all knew that I couldn’t do that. If I had stayed away, we never would have gotten together. I can honestly say that this has been the best month of my entire life."

"I couldn’t agree with you more. We’ve had fun and shared special times and I really just enjoy being with you, like now. I know that the next year is going to be really hectic, but we’re going to get through it." I said and pulled her closer to me.

"Do you mean that Nick?" She asked me with her eyes wide.

"Yes, I mean it. I don’t want to go through a day when you’re not in my life. But we’ll worry about the future in the future. Let’s just worry about now." I said and kissed the top of her forehead.

"I can’t imagine my life without you. I can’t even remember what it was like before that fateful day in Spain when you couldn’t speak Spanish. Who knew that high school and college would actually pay off?" She said and began to laugh. Her smile and laughter were infectious and we began a tickling match on her bed.

I soon had her pinned underneath me and I leaned down and kissed her. I pulled her body close to mine and traced her face with my fingers and then began to kiss her face. I started with her forehead and then kissed down her nose. I kissed over each eyelid and her cheeks and then I kissed her chin. She smiled and I kissed her lips while she was smiling. The kiss was short, but it shared a lot of emotions; passion, love, reflection, comfort, confidence, and many others.

"So, I guess the real question is, can I stay the night?" I asked and looked deep into her eyes.
Chapter 21 by Erica
Author's Notes:
Sorry it took so long to put this one out. Please leave feedback :-)
"So, I guess the real question is, can I stay the night?" he asked and looked deep into my eyes.

“That seems to be the question of the moment doesn’t it?” I said nervously. “Yes Nick. You can spend the night with me. But don’t get any bright ideas.” I said and smiled cautiously at him.

“Jade, you’re the greatest, you know that?” Nick said and swept me into his arms. He kissed me full on the lips and laid me back on the bed. The pressure of his body on top of me was surprisingly welcome and comforting. I ran my hands over his back and his hands were tangled in my hair. Just as the kiss was about to get deeper, Nick climbed off of me and walked to the bathroom.

“You suck! You’d better stay in that bathroom for a long time if you don’t want to experience serious repercussions!” I shouted after him and began to laugh. I got up from the bed and changed into a tank-top and some striped pajama bottoms before climbing into bed.

A few minutes later, Nick popped his head out from behind the bathroom door and said, “Do I have the all-clear?” I nodded and began laughing again. I moved over and Nick crawled under the covers with me. “Good night Jade. Sleep well, sweet dreams. See you in the morning.” Nick then kissed my forehead and turned over.

“Are you serious? That’s it?” I asked. I was kind of disappointed so I shrank down into the bed and turned over. I turned off the light next to my bed and tried to fall asleep.

Just as I was drifting off, I felt Nick roll over and wrap his arm around me. “You didn’t think I’d be able to go the entire night without you in my arms, did you?” He said and kissed the top of my head. I smiled and closed my eyes and quickly fell asleep.

~*~


The next morning, the alarm woke us up at 6:00 and I ran for the bathroom. I took a quick shower and got out as Pierre banged on the door, holding the day’s outfit. I opened the garment bag and found a pair of dark washed jeans with a rhinestone butterfly design on each of the back pockets, a white tank-top and a green bohemian flowy top with ¾ length sleeves and a low cut neck-line bunched together with a rhinestone brooch. I had green heeled espadrilles and some diamond jewelry.

After I was done changing, Nick came out of the shower and gave me a low wolf whistle. I blushed a deep pink and gave him a huge hug. “Listen babe, I would love to hang around and go with you to the schools today, but I have to get back to the city for a conference before the rest of the guys leave town again. I’ll call you tonight and you know that I’m always with you.” He ran his hand over my face and pulled me close to him, enveloping me in the greatest hug I’ve ever felt. He kissed me goodbye and left just as Amanda and Henry came into my room to complete my make-over.

“Girl, I didn’t know that you’re dating Nick Carter. He’s hott!” Amanda exclaimed as she applied my foundation and started working on the rest of my face.

“Yeah, we’ve been dating for a little over a month and it’s been great. He’s the best guy I’ve ever met.” I said and smiled.

“He seems to make you happy. He’d better not hurt you because I know about 7 people who would kick his ass if he did.” Henry said and finished spraying my hair with the third coat of hair spray. The three of us laughed and once they were finished, I grabbed my stuff and met the girls in the hallway.

We were all wearing similar outfits just in our different colors. We smiled and hugged when we saw each other for the first times and went downstairs to get on our buses. We traveled to Deer Park High School and did our morning walk of the school and met with the contest winners. This group was extremely quiet and acted very nervous. Then, when we got into the Discussion time, they seemed to be a little more interactive.

A young red-head stepped up to the question microphone and nervously tucked her hair behind her ears. “Hi, my name is Rachel and my question is what are your families like and do you get along with them?”

“Wow, that’s a great question. I’m glad you asked that question Rachel.” Savannah said and looked at the rest of us. “My parents have been married for 30 years and I have 3 brothers, 2 are twins and 1 younger sister. We get along great. Actually, I really miss them because we haven’t seen our families in about 2 years. We’ve been working so much.”

“Yeah, I really miss my Grandmother. She and my mom were all that I had growing up. No surprise there since I’m such a girlie girl!” Amethyst said and made everyone in the audience laugh.

“My parents are still together after 23 years and I have one younger brother. When we were little, he and I used to fight all the time but I really miss him. I have a funny story about him actually. When I was about 13 and he was 9, he found my bra and put it on his head and ran around the house. It’s even funnier that my 15-year-old boyfriend of the moment was there when it happened, and I wasn’t so well, um, endowed when I was 13 so the bra was so small. I think the guy actually broke up with me two days later.” Bianca said and the entire audience laughed.

“Well, my parents are still married, and I have an older brother who I haven’t talked to in over 4 years because he moved out and left our family and I have a younger sister who I have lunch with at least once a month because she’s only 10, so she needs her big sister. My family and I get along pretty well.” I answered and another student walked up to the microphone.

“Hi, my name is Jeff and I was wondering if any of you are still virgins and how old were you when you first had sex? Was it uncomfortable?” The guy said and had a smirk on his face. He sat back down at his seat and the principal waked onto the stage.

“Jeffery Martin, you will need to report to my office as soon as this is over. We have some things to talk about.” She said loudly, without using a microphone.

“Actually, Mrs. Phillips, we don’t mind answering that question. One of our goals as The Esteem Team is to be 100% honest with all of the students and answer each of their questions. We’re here for them and you as an adult may never know what kind of inner issues they’re dealing with, and by answering one question, we may be answering more.” Amethyst said to the principal. I was surprised by the poise and presentation of her answer because she is usually the most fidgety when the four of us talk about sex. I always thought that it was an uncomfortable subject for her to deal with.

“With that said, I’ll answer first. I’m still a member of the V club. I just haven’t found the right person yet.” Amethyst said and looked down at the table.

“No, I am not a virgin. I was 17 when I lost my virginity and it was the most uncomfortable night of my life. However, it does get better. Remember, practice makes perfect.” Bianca said and winked at the crowd.

“Well, actually, you’d be surprised to know that I am not a virgin. I was 15 and I had sex with the neighborhood heart-breaker. At first I thought it was great, but then I met other guys and they were better.” Savannah said.

“And to finish off, no, I’m not a virgin. I was 18 when I lost it to my long-time boyfriend and it was uncomfortable because I did it because I felt like it would be the only way to get us to reconnect what we had lost. Girls, don’t be like me. Do it because you are really willing and because you’re not pressured. I went to visit my boyfriend a week later and found out that he had been cheating on me with a friend of mine for 8 months, so I really felt dirty afterwards.” I said and I could hear clapping. The four of us looked up and saw 3 girls standing up and clapping for us. When we smiled at them, they yelled, “Thank you!”

Now, that’s what my job was all about.

~~~***~~~***~~~


Nick’s POV

Once I reached my car, I got in and turned the radio on. I heard an advertisement for the girl’s appearance at Deer Park High School and smiled. I picked up the phone and dialed Jade’s number.

“Hey this is Jade. You know what to do at the beep.”

BEEEP!

“Hey beautiful, it’s just me. I wanted to tell you that I had a great time with you last night. You’re doing an amazing thing for these kids and I’m so proud of you. I can’t wait to hear from you later today. Call me when you can!” I said and hung up the phone.

I drove along for a little while and listened to the radio and then a Backstreet Boys song came on the radio. I turned it up and laughed. I felt weird singing the whole song since I usually only sang certain parts. When it was over, I sat back in my seat and waited at a red light.

“Damn, this light is long.” I said out loud and then my phone rang. I didn’t bother to look at the caller ID and I picked it up, “Hello?”

“Hey Nick. How are you?” A familiar female voice said to me. “It’s Holli.”

“What?! Are you serious? Why are you calling?” I demanded to know. The light turned green and I slammed my foot on the gas.

“Well, hello to you too. I was calling to see how you were doing. I miss you.” She said quietly. “I was wondering if I could see you,”

“No, no you can’t.” I said and pushed the gas a little more. “You know what Holli, I’m doing really well without you. I don’t need to drudge up old memories and pain that had finally subsided. I’m with a really great girl now and to be honest with you, I’ve never felt this way. My life is so complete and at peace that I really don’t want you to be a part of it.” I said and hung up on her.

The nerve of her. Who the hell did she think she was? Calling me up out of the blue like that. I don’t need her or her drama and I sure as hell am not going to be there for her just because she’s having a shitty day. I turned the radio to a local rock station and began to really get into the music. My phone began to ring again and I reached for it and it fell to the ground. As I bent over to pick up the phone, I heard a loud beeping and the next thing I knew, I was in total darkness.

“JADE!!!!!!!!!!!”

~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~


After Deer Park High, we were heading over to Harmony Heights High School. I went to find my cell phone to call Nick and when I reached it, I had 5 missed calls. I had one from Nick and one from AJ and 3 from an unidentified number. I listened to my messages and heard Nick’s sweet voice come over the speaker, “Hey beautiful, it’s just me. I wanted to tell you that I had a great time with you last night. You’re doing an amazing thing for these kids and I’m so proud of you. I can’t wait to hear from you later today. Call me when you can!”

I smiled when I heard his voice and saved the message. The next message was from AJ. “Hey Jade, um, I’m afraid I have some bad news. Nick has um,” his voice trailed off and I heard him choking back a cry. “Nick’s been in a pretty bad accident. He’s at Our Lady of Mercy Hospital at 600 East 233rd Street in Manhattan. I know that you girls have a really busy schedule today, but I thought you’d like to know. All the guys are here with him and I know that they’ve each tried calling you. I’m going to call Bianca now and let her know what’s going on. Give me a call when you get this.”

“NO! NO!” I screamed and threw myself onto my bed. “No, Nick! No!”

“Jade, what’s the matter?” Ames asked as she rushed into my room and sat by my side.

“Nick’s been … in … a … really bad … car accident.” I choked out and threw my head into my pillow and sobbed harder. “And I can’t … even … be there for … him!”

“No, no, no. That’s not true. You’re going to be with him. I’m going to call Frank and have him pick you up. There’s no way you can work right now. I’ll be right back.” She said and hugged me. I continued to lie on my bed in a numb state and continued to cry harder than I’ve ever cried before.

“Ok, listen babe. I called Frank; he’s only a few blocks away. I already called Kirsten and told her that you weren’t going to make the rest of the week and she was pretty bitchy at first, but then I explained it all to her and she completely understood. The bus driver is going to meet Frank at the Circle K in 5 minutes and then Frank is going to get you to Nick as soon as possible. Do you know the address?” Ames said as she was calmly smoothing my hair.

“Yeah, it’s 600 East 233rd Street Manhattan. Ames, he’s going to be ok, right?” I asked and began to brush away my tears.

“Yeah, he’s going to be just fine. He’s going to come back to you and you are going to be so happy together. You’re going to get through this. And you know that you always have the best family! Me, B, and Vannah are always here for you and so are the other guys! Look, we’re here – get going!” Amethyst said as she ushered me out of the bus. She handed me a bag with some clothes and hygiene stuff and walked me over to Frank’s car.

“Oh Jade! He’s going to be ok. Are you ok?” Savannah and Bianca said at the same time as I got off of the bus.

“I’m horrible guys. I’m so scared. Can you please cover for me? I love you guys so much. I’ll call you to tell you how he is, ok?” I said and climbed into the back of the limo.
I watched as we pulled away from the girls and I began to sob silently again. Frank lowered the partition and said, “Hey Jade, I wanted to tell you that I’ve already got the go ahead to speed from the police. I called them and told them the situation.”

“Thank you Frank, but I want to make it there in one piece ok. I couldn’t handle two car accidents.” I said and began to cry again. I closed my eyes and remembered the first car accident I had ever been in.

~*~FLASHBACK~*~


“I hate you Jade! You’re the worst sister ever! I can’t believe you won’t help me out!” I heard my brother Jaken’s voice as clear as day.

“I’m not going to help you out by lying to the police Jake! I’m not hiding the weed for you!” A sixteen-year-old version of me screamed into the phone. “Who the hell do you think you are? Do you want me to go to jail too?! No way. I love you, but this has got to stop.”

“You know what? You’re nothing but a selfish, stuck-up bitch. I can’t believe that we’re even related. No sister of mine would treat me like you do!” He screamed back and hung up.

I started to cry and the rain began to come down harder outside of my Aqua Mustang Convertible. I hung my head and before I knew it, I saw two headlights coming directly at me and I felt my car flip 3 times and I blacked out.

~*~END FLASHBACK~*~


I shook myself from the feelings of the memory. “Nick, please, baby. You have to make it. I need you. Please.” I said up to the sky as Frank pulled into the hospital parking lot. As soon as he had parked, the two of us ran to the front desk.

“Hello ma’am, can I help you?” The desk clerk asked me.

“Yes, uh, Terri,” I said after looking at he name tag. “I need to see Nick Carter. I’m Jade Carroll.”

“I’m sorry Ms. Carroll. Unless you’re blood related, there’s no way I can allow you to see Mr. Carter.” Terri said back sympathetically.

“Terri, you don’t understand. This woman is the most important thing in Mr. Carter’s life. If you don’t let her up there, he may die and I don’t think the hospital wants to be responsible for neglect, now do you?” Frank swooped into action.

“Uh, um, let me check for you. He’s still in ICU and waiting for his operation but you can go up to the waiting room. There are already 4 other gentlemen there waiting for him.” Terri stuttered and pointed us in the right direction.

“Thank you.” Frank said and placed his hand on the small of my back, guiding me through the hospital.

As I reached the waiting room doors, I took one look at AJ’s face and started sobbing. I was so weak from crying that I collapsed on the floor. All four guys and Frank ran to me and carried me into the room.

“How is he?” I asked, still crying.

“He’s waiting for surgery. You’re not allowed to see him until after, but it should be soon.” Kevin said and took hold of my trembling hands.

“What kind of surgery does he need?” I asked, scared out of the answer.

“Well, right now they’re taking X-rays to check his bones and they know that he’s got internal bleeding, they’re just not sure how much.” Brian said.

“Do you guys know of any broken bones he has right now?” I asked, my crying had subsided to allow the numb state to return to my entire body.

“I think the doctor said that he has a broken foot from slamming on the brakes so hard and his head hit the dashboard pretty hard. He has a broken arm and they think his hip was chipped also.” Howie delivered the news with a breaking voice.

“Did any of you see him? Did you see the accident site?” I asked while staring off into space.

“Yeah, um, I was the first one there. It didn’t look too good Jade. They had to use the Jaws of Life to get him out of the car. He was bruised and cut up and bleeding and he looked really hurt. I know that’s not what you wanted to hear, but it’s the truth.” AJ said and took me in a hug. “He’s going to be ok though. He’ll have a few scars, some battle wounds, but he was too pretty anyways, right?”

“He was beautiful AJ. He has to pull through this. I don’t know what I’ll do without him.” I said and began to cry again.

“Shh, shh. It’s ok. He’s going to be fine.” AJ said and comforted me.

“Excuse me, but is there a Jade in the room?” A nurse came into the waiting room at the time.

“Yes, I’m Jade. Is everything ok?” I asked and tried to wipe my tears.

“Well, Nick is going into surgery now and we found something in his wallet and thought that you would want it.” She said and handed me a silver chain with a solid silver heart attached to it.

The heart was engraved with “Nick + Jade”. I saw it and smiled. I remembered when I bought that necklace. We went to a local theme park and they were making them for $5.00. I bought it and gave it to Nick a few days before the tour started. “Thank you.” I said and pulled it close to me.
“You’re welcome; we’ll let you know when he’s out of surgery.” She said and turned back to the ICU doors.

~*~5 Hours Later~*~


The same nurse came back out and said, “Well, you have a very strong friend in the other room. He came through each surgery with flying colors. We had a little trouble with his internal bleeding, but it was quickly taken care of. We had to set his foot and arm in casts and his hip was not chipped as we had originally thought. You can all go see him if you’d like.” She said and walked us to his room.

I stood outside not knowing what to do. “Jade, you go first, we’ll all be right here when you’re done.” AJ pushed me towards the door.

“No, no I can’t do it. I can’t see him like that. You go in first and I’ll be here. I’m going to go find some coffee.” I said and walked away.

I walked all over the first floor and found a coffee dispensing machine. I knew that it would be gross, but it would keep my mind off of how Nick was. I put the cup to my lips and tasted the bland coffee and nearly spit it out. I walked back to Nick’s room and the guys were still in there. They were surrounding him and I couldn’t see anything other than his foot raised over his bed wrapped in a bright green cast. I laughed to myself knowing that it was his favorite color.

I quietly entered the room to here Nick’s strained voice. “Where’s Jade? I need to see her. I need to feel her next to me. Where is she?”

“I’m right here baby.” I said and slowly approached the bed. The guys made a clearing so that I could be right next to him. Looking at him, I began to cry again.

His beautiful face had a huge gash across his right cheek, a bump in the middle of his forehead and he had two black eyes. His lips were swollen and cut and his neck was all scratched.

“Babe, what’s the matter?” He said as he reached for me. I pulled away and stood next to his bed silently. “Come here, please hug me.”

“I can’t.” I said. I started to cry again and I turned away but AJ grabbed my arm.

“Jade, please. I need you.” I heard Nick say. I closed my eyes and turned around.

“I’m going to hurt you.” I said and felt AJ loosen his grip on my arm. When I opened my eyes again, the guys had left and it was just Nick and myself left in the room.

“No, you’ll only hurt me if you don’t come close and hug me.” He said and with his free hand pulled me near. I climbed into his bed and lied beside him. I snuggled close and I felt his hand running through my hair. “See, I’m not hurt. I’m doing much better.”

“Nick, you amaze me. You have no idea how scared I was. I was so afraid that I had lost you and I don’t know how I’d ever deal with that.” I said and kissed his unharmed cheek. He turned his head and kissed my forehead and I reached up and kissed his swollen lips.

“Now that’s the best I’ve felt all day.” He said and smiled at me. “How long are you here for?”

“I have the rest of the week off. The girls are going to cover for me. I’m sure that the media is going to have a field day with this one. I can read the headlines already ‘Nick Carter in Car Crash and Jade Carroll goes Missing from Esteem Team Tour: Coincidence?’ And after you get released, you’re coming with me. I am not going to let you out of my sight for at least the next 3 months.” I said and wrapped my arms around him.

“I don’t want to be let out of your sight.” He said.

“Nick, can you tell me what happened?” I asked carefully.

“I can tell you up to what I remember.” He said and closed his eyes as if he was thinking. “I was driving and singing to a Backstreet Boys song and my phone rang. I thought it was you so I didn’t look at the caller ID and it was actually Holli. She called to talk and I yelled at her and told her that I didn’t want anything to do with her anymore and that I was happy with you. I was really mad at her, so I turned up the volume on the radio and sped a little. Then, the phone rang again and it was on vibrate so it fell on the ground of the truck and I leaned over to pick it up and then I heard a beeping and then I blacked out.”

“That bitch! Just wait until I get my hands on her. This is all her fault! I knew that you had to be upset about something for this to happen. Was it your fault or the other driver’s?” I asked.

“I was going through an intersection and the other guy ran a red light, so it was his. The guys said that he walked away scratch free. Doesn’t that suck?” He said and laughed a little.

“Yeah, it does. You know what though. I want you to get some sleep. You’ve had a very stressful day and you must be tired.” I said and tried to get up from his bed.

“I’ll sleep if you promise to stay with me.” He said and pulled me back down next to him.

“Ok, I promise.” I said and ran my hands through his hair as I watched him drift off into a deep sleep.
Chapter 22 by Erica
Author's Notes:
I really have NO idea what took me so long to put this chapter out, and I hope some of you are still reading. Please leave feedback and I'll definitely update more often!
CHAPTER 22

~*~7 MONTHS LATER~*~


March 13, 2006

Dear Diary,

Wow, it’s been quite a while since the last time I wrote to you. In the past nine months, I have met the greatest guy and fallen head-over-heels in love with him. He just doesn’t know it yet. I just don’t know how to tell him yet. His name is Nick and about 7 months ago he got in a really bad car accident. I knew then that I loved him because all I thought about was what I would do if he was gone.

He pulled through the surgeries perfectly and he was out of the hospital in a matter of days. Luckily for me, he was home-bound for a little while and he got to stay with me while the girls and I were on tour. We finished touring all of New England, the Northwest and Pacific Coast and the Midwest. We only have the Atlantic Coast and the Southern Part of the United States to go before the tour is over.

We’ve met some really amazing kids and they really make the job worthwhile. The next few months are going to be tough because Nick is starting to tour with the Backstreet Boys again but I think that by the time they actually get around to touring after rehearsals and recording I might be able to go and visit him. I don’t know what I’m going to do when the tour is over. Tess is talking about contracts again, but I don’t know what they would entail. Well, tonight is the Big in ’05 awards for VH1 and all four of us girls are up for “Model of The Year” and we’re also up for “Newest Act”. How we ever got considered for that I have no idea, but I really have to go get ready.

Tonight is the night where Nick and I are debuting our relationship to the press. We’ve been together for 8 months and have luckily gone unnoticed as a couple because we’ve been so busy. I’m glad that we’ve had so much time to be together just the two of us without everyone getting into our business. I can’t wait to walk onto the Red Carpet and hold his hand proudly without worrying about everyone’s reactions to our relationship. I don’t know how I’m going to do it, but I am going to tell him tonight that I love him. Anyways, I’ll try to write more often!

Love, Peace, and Chicken Grease,
JTC

~*~


I closed my diary and shoved it into the top zipper of my rolling suitcase. The Girls and The Backstreet Boys were all in Los Angeles for the Big In ’05 Awards and we were trying to get ready for the awards without being rushed and nervous. Pierre found each of us the perfect dresses. Mine was floor length black satin with a diamond-studded v-neck neckline. It dipped into my cleavage and crisscrossed in the back. My hair was swept up in an up-do and I was dripping in diamonds.

Bianca’s dress was gold and strapless. It was scrunched and clasped at the hip with an amethyst brooch. She was adorned in amethyst jewelry also and her hair was swept back off of her face in a low ponytail. She and AJ were making their first public appearance as a couple although everyone knew that they were together from Cosmopolitan magazine.

Savannah was wearing a pink mini-dress that accented her tan and it almost mimicked a dress that Beyoncé wore as it had two circle cut outs on each side of it. She looked more than amazing in the dress and the high silver heels she wore. Her hair was down in loose curls and James was her date. They had been together for about 2 months, since our latest trip home.

Amethyst looked amazing in her copper toned dress. It was fitted tightly at her bust area and flowed down to the ground loosely. Her hair was pinned up in a million curly pieces and she wore black onyx jewelry on her ears and around her neck. She was on the arm of former American Idol runner-up Justin Guarini. They met during a press conference about 3 months ago and have been hanging out ever since. Nothing too serious, but I think that she really likes him. Howie has tried calling her a few times, but I think that she wants to have her own relationship that isn’t in the shadow of mine and Nick’s and Bianca and AJ’s.

I told Nick that he wasn’t allowed to see me until we were all ready to leave for the awards ceremony but he kept calling me every five minutes. “Babe, I can’t wait any longer. I need to see you. Can I please come up and get you now?” He pleaded with me.

“No Nick. I’ll be ready to go in about 20 minutes. Everyone should be ready to go by then! I can’t wait to see you either. What color is your tie?” I asked and tried to put my earrings on and cradle the phone on my shoulder.

“I’m not telling you if you don’t tell me what your dress looks like.” He teased.

“Well, I don’t really care anyways. Pierre dressed you because he knew what I was wearing, so whatever it is, I’m sure you’ll look great. I’ve gotta finish getting dressed Nick. I’ll see you in a little bit.” I said and hung up the phone before he could protest.

Before I knew it, the girls and I were lining up to meet our dates and exchanging compliments. “Pierre, you are a total God. You really know exactly what each of us likes and what goes best for our bodies. Thank you!” Bianca said as she quickly smoothed her dress down.

“Well, you know, I am the best.” He said and straightened his tie. I was so excited that our entire entourage got to go to the awards show with us. They really did all the work. We got to meet Pierre’s boyfriend Hector, Amanda’s husband Kenny and Henry’s fiancée Jill. We had met Glenn a couple of times, but tonight he and Kirsten looked extremely happy.

The boys each walked out separately. Justin was the first out and the look of pure bliss on his face made Ames’ night. He smiled as wide as possible and kissed her cheek before pulling her close and whispering in her ear.

Brian and Leighanne appeared next and they looked gorgeous in matching baby blue attire. Kevin and Kristin appeared in matching purple outfits and the four of them looked amazing.

Next came James. He practically ran to Savannah. Each of the guys was wearing a tuxedo with matching ties and vests of the color that their girl was wearing. Pierre was amazing to find the same colors for these guys.

AJ came next and he looked amazing. He was wearing a black tux with gold ensemble, a gold hat and sunglasses. He looked just like AJ. He and Bianca made the perfect couple because they complimented each other so well.

I was dying inside as I waited for Nick. It seemed like he had been in that stupid room for forever. I wanted to go run in and get him myself, but just as I was thinking that, he stepped out. He looked like the most perfect man I’d ever seen in my entire life. He was a sight from Heaven as he walked out in a black tux with a white tie and white vest to match my dress. He stepped out and his mouth dropped open. His just stared at me and didn’t move.

“Well Nick, are you just going to stand there or are you going to tell her how absolutely fabulous she looks tonight?” I heard Pierre ask Nick. He smiled and moved forward.

Nick leaned over and kissed my cheek and stood in front of me, smiling. “Well, do you like it?” I asked as he held my hand and spun me around in a tight circle.

“I … I don’t know what to say. I’m speechless.” He said and pulled me close. He held me tight to his body and whispered in my ear, “JT, you look amazing. I can’t believe you’re mine.” He started calling me JT when he found out my initials. He told me that he wanted to call me something that no one else calls me, so he came up with JT.

“Thank you baby. You look more than amazing. I’m so happy to be with you tonight. Are you nervous?” I asked and he let go of the tight hold he had on me.

“Not at all. I know that you’re the best woman for me and I can’t wait to share you with the world. I’m ready. Are you?” He said and placed his hand on my lower back to guide me out of the hotel and to the limo waiting in the back for all of us.

“Well, when you put it like that, how can I be?” I said and smiled up at him before climbing into the limo.

The ride to the Staples Center was relatively quiet because we were all so nervous. Each of the girls was nervous because we were individually nominated for Model of the Year and I know that while we each wanted each other to succeed, we equally wanted to win the award, if not more. We were also up as a whole for New Act. Along with some really great artists. The Boys were up for Best Comeback. It was totally ironic because the entire time they were “making a comeback” they didn’t want to call it that.

When we pulled up to the paparazzi entrance, the Boys got out first. The limo drove around the corner and I saw Nick and the rest of the guys interacting with some reporters. I started to grow very nervous because I was going to have to enter the world of the Red Carpet alone. It’s not like the girls and I had not done press and walked red carpets before, this was just such a big moment for all of us. We all knew that the press was not expecting anything from us as couples, so we wanted to focus on our careers first and our relationships second. The second time the limo pulled up, all of us girls got out.

“Hello Ladies of the Esteem Team! Congratulations on your nominations! Are you nervous?” One reporter asked sticking a microphone in our faces as soon as all four of us had emerged from the limo.

“No, we’re just here to have fun!” Amethyst responded.

We continued walking down the red carpet, stopping periodically to take pictures. “Jade! Amethyst! Savannah! Bianca!” We heard all of our names being called so we kept looking every which way. Posing this way and that, as a group, as individuals. It was a little overwhelming but fun none-the-less.

We found the guys and slyly slipped up to them. I slipped my arm through Nick’s and I saw him smile. He leaned over and kissed my forehead and before I knew it, there were a hundred photographers taking our picture. Bianca joined AJ, Ames joined Justin, and James slipped his arm around Savannah. Now, we were the subject of ALL circulation.

The new couples had finally emerged. I felt powerful standing beside Nick with his hand on my waist pulling me into the curve of his body.

“Nick! Jade! Are you and official couple?” “How long have you been together?” “How did this happen?” “How did you meet?”

There were a million and one questions being thrown at us and we didn’t know how to answer them all. It seemed that each of the new couples had been swept away from one another. I couldn’t even see any of my other girls in the sea of reporters and photographers and I wondered if they felt lost as well.

Nick calmly walked me through the rest of the line and we stopped a few times to pose for pictures. It was so interesting how one small romantic motion that had happened just about every day for the past eight months could ignite such a media frenzy.

When we got inside the Staples Center, we were whisked away to our seats and found that Bianca and AJ, Brian and Leigh, and Kristin and Kevin had already made their way inside. Amethyst and Justin and Savannah and James followed quickly behind us and were seated next to me and Nick.

The show was soon underway with Adam Sandler as the host.

“Well, I just had to re-write my opening monologue material. Who the hell knew that Nick Carter could get with a model? And Jade Carroll none-the-less! And AJ McLean with Bianca Sanchez! What is this? Dial-A-Backstreet-Boy hook ups?” He quipped.

The camera panned to the four of us and I blushed deeply as Nick pulled me closely and waved sarcastically at Adam. “Damn and Justin Guarini! A has been American Idol runner-up? With Amethyst Riggins? She’s so hott! Ok dude, how much did you pay her to make you look cool?”

Amethyst hid her head in her hands and Justin began laughing as he rubbed her shoulders reassuringly. We all knew that he was just joking and we also knew that this was just the beginning of a whole new life.

~~~***~~~


Nick's POV

About half way through the ceremony, I looked over at Jade and saw her smiling and laughing at Adam’s jokes and something in me changed. I saw her as the love of my life. The woman of my dreams.

“Hey Nick, is everything ok?” She asked me, snapping her fingers in front of my face, breaking my trance.

“You’re beautiful.” Was all I could manage to get out.

“Thank you. You look great yourself. But the girls and I have to go get ready to present, so I’ve got to go. Wish me luck!” She said and leaned down to kiss me as she stepped over me and into the aisle.

The other girls stood next to her and they linked arms and walked to the backstage area. “Good luck!” I called after her, knowing she probably didn’t hear me.

“Hey Nick. How’s it going?” I heard AJ’s voice from next to me. I turned back around in my seat so I was looking at him, instead of Jade’s path.

“I’m doing alright. What about you? The girls look amazing tonight, don’t they?” I said, trying to regain my composure.

“Yeah, they really do. I think Bianca’s really nervous though. She told me last night that she’s afraid of the outcome of Model of the Year. She’s afraid that it’s going to cause some animosity among the group. She told me that she thinks that Jade is going to win because she’s the “front-woman” of the group.” AJ said and rubbed his goatee with his hand.

“Really? Jade and I haven’t talked about it much. I don’t think she’s really worried about it. I think she’s more worried about winning New Act. I mean, they’re up against some good people, you know?” I said and shifted in my seat.

“Yeah they are. I don’t think they have anything to worry about though. Are you worried about our award?” AJ asked me.

“Not really. I mean, it’s not like we’re up for a Grammy, you know? I’d be petrified if we were up for a Grammy. Don’t get me wrong, I’d really like to win though.” I said and sat back.

“Nick, are you sure you’re ok? You look kinda funny.” AJ stated.

“I love her man.” I said, finally expressing in words what my heart had been feeling for a while now.

“Duh, everyone knows that. You two are like, sunshine, sending out rays of happiness.” He said and shook his head. “What’s got you so worked up?”

“I don’t know if she feels the same about me. I mean, we’ve had a great relationship up to this point, but I don’t want to scare her away by telling her that I love her.” I confessed.

“There is no way in hell that she doesn’t feel the same about you. Her smile lights up the room whenever she even hears your name dude. You just need to be honest with her. Tell her how you really feel. Here’s a question for you. What if you tell her and she doesn’t say it back? How will you feel?” AJ questioned.

I sat back in my seat and thought about it. “Well, I would be upset, but I would still love her. I would know that it would take time for her to love me, but I would still be there for her. But she wouldn’t do that, right? I mean, if I tell her that I love her, she’ll say it back. I just know it.” I said and the lights dimmed as Adam Sandler took the stage again.

“Well, damn. You’re still here huh? Well, if you’re just tuning in, this is the best time. We have the four finest ladies in the world here to present the next award. Will you please join me in welcoming the ladies of the Esteem Team? Savannah Malone, Bianca Sanchez, Jade Carroll, and Amethyst Riggins!” Adam clapped and the girls all walked up to the podium.

As they were about to speak, a deep male voice yelled, “I love the Esteem Team!”

The girls laughed and looked into the rafters at a guy who was holding a huge sign with their names on it. “We love you too!” The girls responded in unison.

“We are here to present the award of Best Reality TV Show.” Savannah began.

“Yeah, at one point in our lives, we have each become so grossly involved in a reality show that it consumed our days.” Bianca continued.

“Reality TV has become a necessary evil in the lives of the American public.” Jade said.

“Yes, reality TV presents every American with the opportunity to be someone they’re not, whether it be the rich girl, the token black guy, or the drunken idiot. These are the nominees…” Ames said and turned to the big screen behind them to watch the segments provided by American Idol, America’s Next Top Model, Beauty and the Geek, and Survivor.

After watching each clip, the camera turned back on the girls. Bianca ripped open the envelope and Savannah said, “The winner is …”

“Beauty and the Geek!” All four girls screamed at once.
I watched as Ashton Kutcher and Jason Goldberg went onstage to receive their award. They hugged each girl and kissed them on the cheeks.

After giving their acceptance speeches, the girls returned to their seats.

“How did we do babe?” Jade asked me.

“You were amazing. You looked so confident.” I said and pulled her close and kissed her full on the lips.

She broke away and smiled at me. “Oh, look, it’s time to see who wins Model of the Year! I’m so nervous. I don’t want to win though.” She whispered and returned her gaze to the stage.

Amanda Bynes and Josh Duhamel were on stage. “What are models really? Stick-figures who strut their stuff in tiny bathing-suits down a runway every couple of months? Or women who are doing everything in their power to boost the self-confidence of the American Youth and Teens of today?” Josh asked Amanda.

“Well, before meeting each of these women, I would have said the stick figures, but now knowing that there is so much more, I have to say that not only are the women of the Esteem Team fashion models, but they are role models as well. Unfortunately tonight, they were individually assessed by the American Public and only one was chosen as our Model of the Year. The nominees are…” Finished Amanda Bynes.

“Jade Carroll.” The big screen showed Jade’s headshot and then the camera swept over to us. She waved and smiled while the audience cheered for her.

“Savannah Malone.” Savannah’s Cosmopolitan cover showed up on the screen and the camera panned her and James. She too smiled and winked while the audience hooted and hollered.

“Amethyst Riggins.” Ames’ headshot showed up on the screen and the camera picked her out while she too smiled and waved.

And finally, “Bianca Sanchez.” Her Cosmo cover appeared as well and the camera found her while she and AJ clung close together and she waved while the audience screamed for her.

Josh pulled out the envelope and opened it. He read the name and his mouth widened into a smile. “And the winner is…”
Chapter 23 by Erica
Author's Notes:
YAY for a fast update! Please leave feedback! :)
CHAPTER 23


I broke away and smiled at Nick. “Oh, look, it’s time to see who wins Model of the Year! I’m so nervous. I don’t want to win though.” I whispered and returned my gaze to the stage.

Amanda Bynes and Josh Duhamel were on stage. “What are models really? Stick-figures who strut their stuff in tiny bathing-suits down a runway ever couple of months? Or women who are doing everything in their power to boost the self-confidence of the American Youth and Teens of
today?” Josh asked Amanda.

I started to tear up because I knew that Josh ad perfectly described the mission of the Esteem Team and it felt really good to be recognized by our peers.

“Well, before meeting each of these women, I would have said the stick figures, but now knowing that there is so much more, I have to say that not only are the women of the Esteem fashion models, but they are role models as well. Unfortunately tonight, they were individually assessed by the American Public and only one was chosen as our Model of the Year. The nominees are…” finished Amanda Bynes.

“Jade Carroll.” The big screen showed my headshot and then the camera swept over to us. I waved and smiled while the audience cheered.

“Savannah Malone.” Savannah’s Cosmopolitan cover showed up on the screen and the camera panned her and Justin. She too smiled and winked while the audience hooted and hollered.

“Amethyst Riggins.” Ames’ headshot showed up on the screen and the camera picked her out while she too smiled and waved.

And finally, “Bianca Sanchez.” Her Cosmo cover appeared as well and the camera found her while she and AJ clung close together and she waved while the audience screamed for her.

Josh pulled out the envelope and opened it. He read the name and his mouth widened into a smile. “And the winner is…”

I sucked in my breath and held Nick’s hand tightly. “Please don’t be me, please don’t be me.” I said to myself inside my head.

“Savannah Malone!” Amanda announced into the microphone.

I looked over at Savannah and the look on her face was pure shock. “They’re wrong! It’s not me!” She said as James helped her out of her seat. Ames, Bianca and I all stood up and gave her a huge hug.

“I’m so sorry guys! I don’t want to win. Come up with me!” She said and started to pull us with her.

“No, this is your night. You need to have the spotlight for a while.” Bianca said, pushing Savannah towards the stage.

“Ok, ok. I’ll see you guys in a little while.” Vannah said and disappeared to the stage. I turned around once I had gotten back to my seat before she started talking to see the entire rafter’s section standing and applauding.

Tears sprang to my eyes again. I am so proud of Savannah.

“Well, um wow. I’m sure that no one expected ME to be the one receiving this award tonight. Least of all myself. Wow. I don’t even know what I’m supposed to say. I’d like to first thank my sisters. Bianca, Amethyst, Jade. We never could have done this without each other. Tess O’Rourke, our agent, Thank you SO much for giving us this opportunity. Kirsten Taylor, our manager. Without her we would not have the amazing schedule and we wouldn’t be doing the photo shoots or anything without her.” She began.

“Talk about how hott you are!” A chorus of male voices came from the 2nd level of seats.

“Um, ok. I’m hott? Wow, that’s interesting. Well, I could never be this hott without my stylist Pierre Wagner. He always finds the best clothes for me and my body type and in the best colors! Whoo! Um, Amanda Honeycutt who does my make-up and Henry Young who is the most amazing hairstylist ever. Thank you James for keeping me normal throughout this entire process and always being there for me, no matter what time of the day or night it is. Thanks to my parents and my entire family and thank you to all of you who voted for me! I am so honored by this and I’ll do my best to make you proud.” Savannah finished and pumped her arms in the air. We watched as she walked backstage and finally made her way back up to the front with us.

“Guys, I don’t know what to say. I wish we could all win. This really sucks.” She said, apologizing again.

“Do NOT be sorry for this. You really deserve this V. You know?” Bianca encouraged.

“It’s just … we’ve ALL worked so hard and I don’t think it’s fair that we were separated.” She said. “But I do have to say, I’m really glad I won!”

“That’s my girl!” I said and hugged her. “We’re damn proud of you Savannah Jessamyn Malone!”

She sat down again and only 10 minutes later, Kelly Clarkson and Kimberly Stewart took the stage to announce “Best Comeback.” I squeezed Nick’s hand tightly and said, “You’ve got this one in the bag babe.”

~~~***~~~


Nick’s POV

“Shh, shh. You’re going to jinx us.” I said and gently rubbed her hand with my thumb. “I still think you should have won Model Of The Year. You’re always number one in my book.” I said and leaned over and kissed her forehead as she smiled and closed her eyes.

“This is a first for the Big In Awards because we’re never had so many comebacks before by our favorite artists.” Kimberly Stewart’s annoyingly high voice began the monologue.

“There are some really great acts in this category. We have some Boys who, although their name remains the same, have grown into men. Some Independent Women, and some real Fighters.” Kelly Clarkson continued.

“The nominees for Best Comeback are…” “The Backstreet Boys” The audience irrupted in applause. I smiled because their clapping and hollering really gave me confidence in our fans. I looked around at the guys and smiled at them as the camera swept over us.

“Destiny’s Child…” The cheering continued, but seemed to dim a little.

“And finally, the Foo Fighters.” The crowd’s cheering picked up again. Oh crap, this can’t be good. Stop it Nick! Stop analyzing the clapping! Stop.

Kelly Clarkson held the envelope in her hands. She ripped it open in slow motion and Kimberly Stewart read, “And the winner is … The Backstreet Boys!”

“Baby! You did it! You won! Congratulations!” Jade exclaimed as she jumped up and hugged me. I gave her a huge kiss right on the lips as the camera swept over to catch our reactions. I saw the other guys kissing their wives and girlfriends and I scooped Jade up in a huge bear hug and swung her around. I put her down and walked with the other guys up to the microphone.

“It really feels great, doesn’t it guys?” Kevin said into the microphone and waved at the fans in the upper levels of the stadium. “First, we’d like to thank each other and all of the people in our management teams. Our stylists, all the people who make us look god every day. Our fans for voting for us. Kristin baby, I love you. Thank you for all of your support!”

“Leighanne and Bailey, I love you both so much, thank you. Um, my family and everyone in the Backstreet Family.” Brian said quickly.

“My family and friends, the guys, and of course our inner circle. Thank you!” Howie said.

“Bianca, baby, you’re the greatest, I love you, thank you. My mother Denise, and Grandma, I know you’re with me! I love you so much! And of course the fans! Thanks for being there with us all of this time away from you.” AJ said as he finished.

Ok, now it’s my turn. Do I tell Jade I love her here, in front of everyone? “JT, thank you. You mean so much to me and I don’t know what I’d do without you and your support. Dad, Aaron, all the sisters, Ginger, the Team, and all of the fans. Thank you!” I said and waved into the audience.

Well, I guess I didn’t say it. I just couldn’t tell her the most intimate, personal thing for the first time in front of the entire world. We’re still Nick and Jade, still just the two of us. We’ve done great so far that way, that’s the way it’s going to stay.

The backstage area was really hectic, but we eventually made our way back to our seats. I sat down next to Jade and as soon as I sat down, she took my hand in hers. “Thank you baby.” She said and kissed my forehead for a change.

“For what? For what I said? I meant it. Look, you and I really need to talk tonight after all of this is over.” I said and hugged her head to my shoulder.

“Yeah, I have some stuff that I want to talk to you about too.” She said and snuggled up to me.

The very last award of the night was Best New Act. Unfortunately, the girls didn’t win. That damn Ryan Cabrera took the cake. I guess even four hott girls can’t compete with that spiky hair and guitar.

I could tell that Jade was sad when he won, but she took it well. When we got to the limo, she was really quiet and to herself, but I figured that we would talk about it when we got back to the hotel.

When we pulled up, there were at least 100 people standing outside waiting for us, so Frank drove us around the back. Our entire group snuck in as quickly as possible and we all branched off into our own rooms once we reached our floor.

Jade and I retreated back to our room and as soon as we were inside, Jade sat on the bed. She took off her shoes and crossed her legs Indian-style on the bed. She looked nervous, but as if she had something she wanted to say.

“Jade, is everything alright?” I asked her and sat next to her on the bed, putting my hand on her knee.


~~~***~~~


Jade’s POV

“Yeah, everything is great. Nick, I have to tell you something. It’s been eating at me for probably months now, and I’ve gone over it at least a hundred times. I don’t know how you’re going to react, but I really don’t care because,” I was cut off by Nick’s finger on my lips.

“Jade Trinity Carroll, I love you. I have loved you from the day I met you in that stupid Spanish bakery. I love how you twist your hair around your finger when you get nervous. I love how you giggle at even the corniest of jokes. I love how you love your job with such a burning passion. I love you, all of you. I’ve wanted to tell you for so long, I just didn’t know how to get it out.” Nick said and then replaced his finger with the soft feeling of his lips.

“Geez, do I even get a chance to say it back?” I asked and laughed. My heart felt so different now than it did five minutes ago. “I love you too. I love the feeling of your arms wrapped around me when you’re just giving me a simple hug. I love how your hair falls in your face all the time, even after you put 3 pounds of gel in it trying to spike it up. I love how YOU love YOUR job with such a burning passion. I love your heart, I love you so much.”

“You have no idea how long I’ve waited to hear those words come out of your mouth. I just want to keep saying them, I love you JT.” He said and kissed me again.

“Nick, I just want to scream it out or something.” I said and threw my arms around him and kissed him with more passion than I had ever used before.

“Well, I’m sure we can find an activity where you can do just that.” He said smugly.

“How do you know I’m a screamer? I don’t remember being one the first time I had sex.” I said and slapped him lightly on the chest.

“Oh baby, you’ll be a screamer with me, trust me.” He said and buried his lips in my neck.

“Oh Nick, God, that feels so good.” I moaned and he continued to plant whisper kissed all along my neck and down the diamond neckline of my dress.

“We don’t have to stop Jade. I want to finally make love to you.” He said as he pulled his lips away from my cleavage and looked into my eyes. “I’ve wanted you for so long Jade and I want to prove to you how strong my love is for you.”

“Nickolas Gene Carter. You didn’t say the “L” word just to get some booty did you?” I asked, jokingly.

“Never in a million years am I that trashy. Jade, I love you. If you can’t feel it even without making love to you, then you must have some kind of force-field around you.” He said and took my hands in his. “I want to show you.”

“I want you to show me.” I said and closed my eyes as Nick closed his lips on mine again.
Chapter 24 by Erica
Author's Notes:
It's taken me a while to get back on track with this story. I've had it written for a while now, but I'm trying to edit/update the chapters when I have the chance. I hope you're still reading and I can't wait to hear what you have to say about this chapter :)
CHAPTER 24“Oh, trust me, I’ll show you.” Nick said as he unclasped the neck clasp of my dress. “Yo Nick!” Came a banging from the door. “Nick, you need to come out here!”

“You have got to be fucking kidding me!” Nick moaned into my neck as he stopped kissing me to get off of the bed. “I cannot believe this!”

I fixed my dress and went with him to the door. “AJ, can we help you?” I asked innocently.

“Actually, Jade, I really need to see Nick. This is something that he’s going to have to take care of.” AJ said and pulled Nick down the hall away from our room. I followed them to the common area and saw a petite blonde woman sitting on one of the couches in the room.

“You have got to be fucking kidding me!” I heard Nick repeat. “What the hell are you doing here? How did you find me?”

“Nicky, baby, you and I need to talk.” The blonde said and got up from the couch. She walked over to Nick and put her arms around his neck. She leaned up to kiss him and he threw her arms off of him.

“Talk to me about what Holli? You and I have been over with for almost two years. What more could you want from me?” He said. I stood in shock as I absorbed the scene playing in front of me. So this was Holli, the woman stupid enough to leave Nick for some dancer and the one who caused him so much emotional hurt and the one that caused his horrible accident months ago.

“You know that you and I were good together Nicky. I miss you. I want you back.” She pleaded with him and gave him a puppy dog face.

“No way.” I said and announced my presence in the room. “You can’t have him. Do you know how much shit you’ve put him through? You’re not going to just walk back into his life without getting through me first.” I said as I stood with my arms crossed from the corner of the room.

“Oh, is this the latest slut Nick? The girl you’re using to get over me?” She turned her attention back to Nick.

“Yeah. That’s exactly what she is. You have me all figured out Holli.” Nick said and threw his hands up in the air. “Are you fucking serious? No, there’s no way we’re actually having this conversation. Come on Jade, let’s go.” Nick said and grabbed me by the arm.

“No Nick. I’m going to stand here and let her have it.” I said and he loosened his grip on my arm. “Holli, right? Let me tell you a little something about our mutual friend Nick. He’s over you, he’s been over you and hasn’t looked back. Yeah, you two were together and engaged or whatever, but you know that you never loved him. Now his band is doing really well, his life is going great, and you just want a piece of it because you’re failing miserably. You and your little dancing partner didn’t work out, so you just figured that you’d come back to Nick.”

“You’re wrong. Nick loves me.” Holli said and stuck her chest out reassuringly.

“And who are you trying to convince Holli? You weren’t there for him when he really needed you. You left him so suddenly and his life fell to pieces. I was there. I was the friend he turned to.” AJ said, surprising everyone because he had been silent throughout this entire debacle. “I don’t know if they’ve told each other yet, but Nick and Jade truly love each other. I have never seen Nick so genuinely happy with anyone in my entire time of knowing him. He looks at her different, touches her different, says her name differently. You are just a figure of the past and that’s where you belong. Now, I’m going to ask you to leave and please leave all of us alone.”

AJ stepped aside and Holli stared at him for a few minutes, questioning the seriousness of his request. Eventually, she pulled at the hem of her sweater, smoothed the wrinkles in her jeans and ran a hand through her curly hair. “Well, I guess that’s my cue. Look Nick, I’m sorry for bothering you. Good luck with your life; I just want you to be happy.” She said and walked out of the room. I watched her step into the elevator and wave a small good-bye.

“Well that certainly was interesting.” I said breaking the uncomfortable silence. “I never imagined it would be that easy.”

“I know. It surprised me too.” Nick said and walked past me back to the room.

“Thank you AJ. What you said really meant a lot to me.” I said and hugged AJ. “Nick, wait up!” I yelled after him and watched as he continued walking into our room, not even acknowledging my voice.

I quickly followed suit into our room and closed the door behind me. When I entered, I saw Nick lying on the bed with his feet hanging over the side and his hands covering his eyes and rubbing his face. “Babe, what’s wrong?” I asked carefully as I sat next to him and placed my hand on his chest.

He sat up and took my hand in his. “God I hate this.”

“Hate what?” I asked growing nervous of his answer.

“People always questioning me. I can never just be happy, you know?” He said and let go of my hand. He got up from the bed and began pacing back and forth in front of me. “Here we were, about to make love for the first time and something like this happens.”

“Something like what? That was just a little roadblock. Right?” I asked, very worried.

“Yeah, but she just won’t leave me alone. Why? Why can’t I just be happy without her?” He said.

“You’re not happy without her? Then what was your proclamation of love about?” I asked, also getting up from the bed. “You know what? I’m going to change and go downstairs. I’m going to leave you alone for a little while.” I grabbed some sweats and changed in the bathroom.

“No Jade.  Please don’t leave me now.”  Nick pleaded with me.

“Why? Obviously I don’t make you as happy as I thought I did.” I said and walked out.

~~~***~~~

Nick’s POV

I watched her leave the room and got up to go after her. She walked to the elevator and I called her name. She put her hand up as if to dismiss me and I just turned back into my room as she got on the elevator.

“God Carter, you’re so stupid. Why did you have to say that? What was going on in your brain?” I asked myself out loud. I quickly changed out of my tux and threw on a pair of basketball shorts and a t-shirt. I too got on the elevator and went to the lobby area.

As I stepped off of the elevator, I found Jade’s body curled up on a couch in the corner of the room. Her shoulders looked like they were shaking slightly. Oh God, please no. I didn’t mean to make her cry.

I watched as a man of about 30 sat down beside her and put his hand on her shoulder. I began to fume but watched as she quickly wiped her tears and brushed him off. She got up from the couch and headed to the pool.

I didn’t want her to know that I was watching her so I found a table behind the lounge chair she chose to sit on. She looked up at the clear sky and I could see her tear-stained face. The visual pierced my heart. I couldn’t take it anymore.

“Baby, please don’t cry.” I said and placed my hand on her shoulder. She shivered and jumped slightly and shrugged off my touch. “Please allow me to explain myself.”

“Why? You made it perfectly clear that you’re not happy without her.” She said coldly and turned away from me so her back was facing me.

“JT that is NOT what I meant. The words came out wrong. You know I have a hard time with words.” I said in a calm voice. “What I meant to say is why can’t she let me be happy without her? I love you more than words can even express and regardless of how I try to tell her that, she continues pushing. It’s so ironic that you had to meet her the night we expressed our love and I hate it. You mean more to me than anything in the world.” I said to her back. “I understand if you’re mad at me, I would be mad at me. But please know that I do love you and I want you and only you.”

I got up to go back to the room because I wanted to give Jade some space when I heard, “Where are you going? You give a speech like that and don’t even give me a chance to talk back?”

I turned around to see her wiping her eyes. “Baby, please don’t cry. It hurts me to see you so upset.”

“You know, I was really upset when you said that you couldn’t be happy without her. I was crushed. I felt like, ‘after all this time, he still misses her? What am I doing wrong?’” She said and turned around to look at me in the eyes. “But then all I thought about was you. I just want you to be happy Nick. If it’s not me, tell me.”

“I can’t believe we’re actually having this conversation. Jade Trinity Carroll, I love you so much. Holli is on a power trip with a bruised ego and she’s looking to hurt whatever is in her path. Today, and for the past 2 years, it has been me. If she’s not happy, than I can’t be happy either.” I explained and rubbed her back reassuringly.

“Then she doesn’t really love you. Even if she thinks she does, she doesn’t because she’s only in it for her own happiness.” She said wisely. I kissed her forehead and pulled her close to me.

“You know, you’re right. This is why I love you so much.” I said and grabbed her hand and pulled her up so she was standing next to me.

“Well, I guess this isn’t too bad. We made it nine months and this is our first fight.” Jade said and pulled close to me while we walked back up to our room. We walked into the room and both collapsed on the bed. I got up to go to the bathroom quickly and when I walked back out, Jade was sound asleep on the bed. I tucked her in and crawled in next to her, wrapping her in my arms.

Jade’s POV

I stretched and yawned as I woke up the next morning. I rolled over to see Nick’s blonde hair falling in his face. I looked down and saw that he and I were completely clothed, realizing that we had not had sex. I smiled to myself, remembering the events of the night before with Nick and me telling each other just exactly how much we really loved one another and then Holli coming and Nick and me reaffirming our love.

I got up and looked out of the huge bay window we had over looking the quiet city. I looked over at the clock and saw that it was only 7:30 in the morning.

“Jade? Where are you?” I heard Nick’s panicked voice ask from the bed as he slowly sat up and his squinted eyes looked around the room.

“I’m right here baby. Just looking out at a quiet L.A.” I said and headed back over to the bed.

“That’s nice. Come back and sleep with me.” He said and reached his hand out to pull me back onto the mattress. He kissed my forehead and pulled me down. “You know, they say the best sex is morning sex.”

“Oh do they now? Who’s ‘they’?” I asked and grinned at him.

“Cosmopolitan magazine. You should know that, you read that magazine. For heaven’s sake, you were on the cover of it once.” He said and smiled, pulling me down to him and kissing me on the mouth.

Nick teased my mouth with his tongue by tracing the outline of my lips. I allowed him access and he swiped my entire mouth with his tongue. The kiss turned passionate very quickly and before I knew it, Nick had flipped me on my back. He lifted his arms and tore his lips away from mine only long enough for me to pull his shirt over his head. His lips quickly returned to mine only long enough to tease me.

He pulled my sweatshirt over my head and exposed my bare breasts, which were quickly hardening into pert peaks from the cool air and Nick’s lips trailing soft kisses down my neck and over my collarbone. I arched my body into his and felt a small burning sensation in between my legs and I knew that I was truly ready for Nick.

He looked up at me and then dipped his head down to my left breast. He used his tongue, lips and teeth to torture me and used his hands to massage my right breast. I let out a deep, throaty moan as I received the best sexual arousal I had ever felt. I ran my hands through Nick’s hair and pulled him as close to me as possible.

I pulled him up to kiss me on the lips and allowed our naked tops feel each other full contact for the first time. I pulled off his basketball shorts and he pulled off my sweatpants and my thong underwear.

“Jade, are you sure about this?” Nick asked and looked at me full in the eyes.

“I have never been more ready for anything in my entire life.” I said honestly and looked into his eyes. “It sure feels like you’re ready too.” I said and moved my hand down to grab his elongated member. I watched as he closed his eyes and moaned in pleasure.

“Don’t. Please baby, please don’t do that.” He said and fumbled in the nightstand. “Damn it, I can’t find a condom.”

“Nick, I’m on the pill. I have to be to be a model.” I said and a sexy smile crossed his lips and he said, “That makes this so much better. Since you haven’t done it in a while, I’m going to go slow at first so you get used to me, ok?”

I just nodded and felt him enter me for the first time. I took in a quick breath and pulled his lips to mine. We soon found each other’s rhythms and we both catapulted into the most intense orgasms we had ever felt.

After finishing off, Nick and I lied in bed, our bodies completely intertwined. “That was the most incredible time of my life.” I said to Nick after about 10 minutes of comfortable silence.

“I am speechless Jade. You have no idea how special being with you was for me. I have never ever felt the genuine passion that you have within you from anyone else.” Nick said and kissed my forehead.

“You know, the best feeling in the world is being right here, in your arms. I never want to be anywhere else.” I said and turned over to face him.

“I don’t ever want you anywhere else either.” He said and smiled and kissed me again.

~~~***~~~

Nick’s POV

After releasing the kiss, I looked into the eyes of the woman I had been waiting my entire life for. It was as if Jade had been hand-picked for me.

We got up and took a shower together because we knew that we would be flying back to New York today. Once we were finished, we got dressed. I threw on a pair of jeans and an American Eagle T-shirt. I also found my white baseball hat and put it on backwards. Jade came out wearing a pair of dark blue jeans and a white tank top, over which she wore a baggy off-the-shoulder pink sweater and a pair of flip-flops. She put her hair up in a ponytail and she wore no make-up. Even without it, she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen.

I looked around the room and saw the clothes we had worn just a couple of hours earlier strewn around the room. The sight reminded me of the place of pure bliss Jade and I had visited. I smiled as I began to pick up the loose articles and pack them into our empty suitcase.

“Hey babe, I’m pretty glad to be going home today. We finally have a week off and I can do whatever I want.” Jade said as she packed her toothbrush in her carryon bag.

“I hope you’re going to be doing me in the next week.” I said and smirked.

“I hope I’ll be doing you for the rest of my life.” She said and put her arms around my waist and snuggled close to me.

“I hope you will be too.” I said and kissed the top of her head.

We finished packing and walked out to the hallway where everyone was supposed to be meeting. Jade clung close to me and we stood close together laughing and smiling at each other the whole time.

“Hallelujah! Someone finally got laid!” Bianca yelled as she and AJ emerged from their room.

“What?! Who got laid?” Savannah asked as she and James joined us.

“Duh! Jade and Nick finally did it!” Bianca said. “They’re glowing! Even more than usual. I guess Jade was the real winner last night, huh J?” Bianca was winking at me and nudging AJ’s arm.

“Babe, let them be! It’s absolutely none of our business is Nick and Jade did it.” AJ said.

“Nick and Jade did it?!” Amethyst asked as she and Justin finally joined us. “I’m supposed to be the first to hear all the details!” She whined.

“No one knows any details. Besides, Nick and I did not do it!” Jade said and pinched my side as to signal to me to go along with her joke.

“Yeah, we definitely didn’t do it. And anyways, when/if we do, no one else is going to hear any details, got it?” I said and looked at each of the girls.

“Yeah, yeah. Ok fine.” They said and turned to their boyfriends.

“I love you Jade.” I said and planted a kiss on her forehead.

“Oh yeah, you didn’t do it alright.” Bianca said sarcastically and we all boarded the elevator to leave for the airport.

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