“Ashton, please come out.”

“No, I can’t. I’m so sorry Pete.” I sobbed from his bathroom. There was no way I could look him in the face. It was mortifying to call out another guy’s name. Why did it have to be Nick’s? Why couldn’t I forget Nick even existed?

“We need to talk about this. I’m not mad at you, honey.” Pete said sweetly. He didn’t even sound mad.

I slowly opened the door and came out. Pete wrapped me in his arms. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to do that.”

“Ashton, I care about you so much. Who’s this Nick guy?”

We both sat on the couch. How was I going to explain Nick to him? It was a complicated situation.

“Remember that friend of my brother’s that we always seem to run into.  That’s Nick.”

“Oh the tall blonde guy. What happened with him?” Pete was curious about Nick. He seemed to show up almost everywhere they went.

“He was my first serious boyfriend. I was fifteen, and he was fourteen.”

“Those are hard years to be in love.” Pete rubbed my shoulders.

“Yeah. At first we hated each other. Then we became a couple. Our relationship ended very quickly.”

“That sucks. What cause you to breakup?” He looked straight into my eyes. I didn’t understand how Pete could be so calm about me calling out another guy’s name. Now he was listening to me talk about Nick. Pete was such a great guy. I was lucky to be dating him.

“He cheated on me. I had gone to Kentucky to visit my mom. He went to a party and made out with another girl. I can’t stand cheating. I had no choice to break up with him.”

“I agree. Cheating is a deal breaker. If you care about someone then you don’t cheat. I think a kiss is considered cheating. If you are in love with someone you wouldn’t want to kiss someone else.”

“Pete, I’m sorry about what happened. I didn’t mean to call out his name. Can you forgive me?”

Pete gave me a quick peck on the lips. “I know you are. You wouldn’t purposely do that. You are not that kind of girl. I’m sure you thought your first time was going to be with him. Your mind was using its memory of that. We all do embarrassing things. I’ve done lots of stupid things.”

“Like what?” I challenged him.

“Well the first time I got frenched, I burped into the girl’s mouth.”

“Eww. That is so gross.” I fell back on the couch laughing. Pete kissed me. I knew things were going to work out with Pete.

------------------

I had just finished doing aerobics. I was trying to stay in shape. My phone rang. I ran into my bedroom to get it.

“Hello!”

“Hey sissy.”

“Kevy. How are you?” I hadn’t heard from him in a few weeks. I missed talking to him.

“I’m doing well. They are keeping us very busy. Canada was a lot of fun. How’s college?”

“That’s great Kevin. College is great. I love it. My classes are easy. I have a boyfriend.” I rattled on a mile a minute.

“I heard about your boyfriend. Nick says he’s a pretty boy and a grass fairy.”

“Nick is stupid. He has no right talking about my boyfriend. I mean look who he’s dating.” I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge.

“Will you two ever stop?” Kevin sounded annoyed.

“I doubt it. Anyway, Pete is a great guy. He’s a junior and psych major. He’s the sweetest guy and treats me like a princess. You would like him Kevin.”

“He sounds great. What are you doing on October third?”

“Nothing. It’s your birthday.”

“Nia is having a get together for mine and your birthdays.” It would be awesome to see Kevin and all the guys. I missed everyone. I hadn’t seen them since the beginning of August.

“That sounds like fun. Can I bring Pete?”

“Of course. I want to have a talk with this young man. I need to give him the older brother lecture.” I rolled my eyes. Why couldn’t he let me handle my life on my own?

“Kevy, don’t humiliate me in front of him. I really like him. I don’t need you scaring him away.”

“I promise to have a nice chat with him. Make sure to invited Sage and her new man to the party. I got to go. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

------------------------

“Sage what are you going to wear to the party?”

“I was thinking about my green skirt and black tank top. Marc loves that outfit.”

“Aww, that’s so cute. How’s Marc?”

“He’s doing well. Why didn’t you tell me you almost did it with Pete?” I raised an eyebrow at her.

“I embarrassed myself in front of him. I’m sure Marc told you what happened?”

“Yeah. I can’t believe you moaned Nick’s name. I would have died.” Sage sighed dramatically.

“I have never felt so bad. Pete was very nice about it. I found that kind of odd.”

“Yeah, most guys would be pissed at you for saying another guy’s name. Do you still have feelings for the infamous Nick Carter?” She probed. I would not answer that question. I would keep it until I was in my grave.

“No, I don’t have feelings for him. I did run into Kalla that night. She was pissy as usual. Maybe that’s why I called out his name.” I lied

“Ashton, stop. I’m your best friend. You’re not telling the truth.”

“Sage, I’m with a great guy. Why would I want to ruin that? Nick is with Kalla. Even if I still had feelings for Nick it would be pointless. I’ve moved on. It’s been over for a long time. I love Pete. He’s the only guy for me.”

“Ashton, you’re going to get hurt or hurt Pete in the process. You need to get over Nick or tell him how you feel.”

“As if it were that easy.” I huffed and left the cafeteria.