Almost a week went by and I hadn’t heard from Aaron. Not that I expected him to call but a girl could hope. It was hard concentrating on school, I couldn’t get him off my mind.  A couple more days went by and still nothing. Then I got a call.

“Auntumn?” the voice asked. He even sounded like Nick on the phone. I knew who it was though because Nick would never have called me. Why would he? I tried to be cool though. “Yes, who is this?” That was so stupid, I knew who it was. He was making me act so out of my character.

“This is Aaron Carter.”

“Hey. What’s up?”

“Sorry I didn’t call you sooner, I’ve been a bit busy.” I told him I understood. “I was thinking we could hook up…” Him saying that made me choke on my own spit. Good thing I wasn’t drinking or eating anything. “in Palm Bay this weekend and hang out.” ……silence…. “You still there?”

I composed myself enough to answer him. “Um….” I had nothing. Now I know any other girl would jump at this chance but I was an adult ….and I had to keep reminding myself that he was too.  I was silently questioning his motives. Palm bay was right in the middle of where we both lived….why would he want to meet half way if he wasn’t expecting anything? But I wasn’t going to pass up this chance. “I would love to.”

That day couldn’t come soon enough. It was hard not telling my best friend where I was going and what I was doing but I knew I probably would have psyched myself into not going or something. I did however tell her on the drive down there. Just in case something bad happened. Had to be responsible. She freaked out, went through a million different scenarios on how this weekend could go. Like I said, crazy!

I pulled into this beach club to park where I was told to meet him. Sure enough as soon as I texted him I was there, he came out.

“Hey!” He said as he came out to greet me. I couldn’t believe the beach was right there, it was beautiful. I got out of my car and looked at the scenery. He came over and gave me a tight hug. His hug was comforting. I couldn’t help noticing his arm muscles and how strong he looked. It was hard seeing him this way when all I could picture was the little blonde in red overalls jumping in the air with a sky background.  I still had my guard up I mean a Carter or not, he was still a guy. He walked me into this building that overlooked the harbor. The water was a crystal clear blue. Inside was just as beautiful. I quickly looked around for the second bed. My fears were at ease when I found that there were two separate bedrooms. I put my overnight bag in one of the rooms and walked outside to enjoy the view.

“I’m really glad you came” He said joining me outside. “Me too.” I said. I really meant that. “Those are cute shoes but I hope you brought sneakers.” He said noticing my wedge sandals. I looked at him curiously. He had planned a full day of fun for us! Hiking, kayaking, snorkeling, how were we to fit all that in one day? We did somehow! It was so much fun! Until I had a small panic attack as we were snorkeling and I saw a shark! I was deathly afraid and I clung to Aaron like no other. “It’s okay, relax. Breathe. Calm down, relax.” He instructed me in a soothing tone. I whipped my face mask off trying to catch my breath. I think I hit Aaron trying to take the dang thing off.  Then I made the mistake of looking into his eyes; Big mistake. Although, it did help me forget about the shark. When I calmed down I felt him holding my hand. He held my hand all the way back onto the shore. “You okay?” He asked me. “Yeah, I’m okay. I’m going to take a shower.” It was starting to get dark anyways. I walked into the room and quickly made it into the shower. I let the cool water wash over my face. I kept visioning his eyes looking into mine. He was concerned and just trying to calm me down but that stare was….something. Something I hadn’t felt in a long time. Usually I was attracted to blue eyes. Aaron’s brown eyes really caught me. What was I doing? What was I thinking coming here? He was probably a player and took girls here all the time. Deep down though, I didn’t feel like that was true.

“I’m sorry I freaked out back there.” I said sitting across from him in a small chair. I was towel drying my hair when I noticed he was staring at me; I was fully dressed. I had shorts and a tank top on. He noticed me looking at him and that brought him out of his trance. “You’re scared of sharks?” He guessed. “I don’t know what it is; I’ve always been that way.” He went on to tell me that they are more afraid of me than I am of them but that wasn’t going to fix my fear. From the way he was talking I could tell he had another one of Nick’s traits; his love for the ocean.

After dinner we politely said goodnight and I retreated to my own room. I couldn’t sleep though. It was so peaceful, so quiet with only the noise of the soft waves crashing and then I heard faint singing.

* I can see the lighting, I can hear the thunder I can feel her heartbeat, but I can't find her*

I grabbed a throw blanket and walked out onto the white sand and saw Aaron sitting there singing.

* She got style, she got class*

He must have felt my presence or something because he quickly stopped. “That was pretty.” I told him as I sat down next to him. “May I join you?”

“Sure, I don’t mind.” He looked at me intensely. “Did I interrupt you, Your song? I could go back inside.” I offered. The way he was looking at me so hard, I thought I had maybe bothered him. “No, I enjoy your company.” We sat in silence looking out onto the water. This was a romantic setting and I wasn’t sure he and I were being romantic or even if I wanted to. It was a little awkward. I decided to lighten the mood.

* Tonight is the night I'm feeling right Its time to party I'm calling my boys to come roll with me*

I looked at him from the corner of my eye smiling; he was just looking at me in kind of a shocked manner so I carried on.

*Oh end of the week runnin' the street, The strip is crawlin' With honeys that cant get enough of me* I tried to sing and popped my face collar. It made him smile.

“What was that?” He smiled. “You wanna party?”

“It is Saturday night.” I shrugged. “It is a Saturday night in fact its a party day.” He continued saying the lyric. He stood up offering to grab my hand to help me up. It was innocent enough so I held on steadying on my feet. We changed into different clothes and walked down the strip to see what the nightlife was like. It wasn’t long until we found a little spot set up for dancing. Aaron and I exchanged looks as we walked over and joined the locals dancing. They were playing the hit songs like Lady gaga’s Telephone and Usher’s OMG, Aaron was not only a great singer but he was just as great a dancer. Then Lollipop came on. I love dancing to that song. I think Aaron enjoyed watching me more than actually dancing with me; I didn’t mind. I think he was surprised by my moves. I never danced professionally but one would think I would have by the way I move. We eventually made our way further down the strip to see what more was down there but when we came to the end we opted to walk back on the beach. Aaron took my hand in his, I just smiled. No harm done in holding hands. I was very shocked by the move though.

When we reached our place we decided to stay outside and talk for a bit.

“I’ve had a lot of fun today autumn, thank you for this.”

“I should be thanking you, you invited me here. This was all your idea. Today was such a great day. I enjoyed it too.” I wanted to say more. I wanted to say what was on my mind but I didn’t know how to.

“I can’t ever remember a time when I had this much fun with a girl who just enjoyed it for what it is.”

“What….what does that mean?” I asked a little confused.

“You’re not like most girls I hang out with. The girls around me are so drama and just want to date me to say they dated Aaron Carter. Or hang out with me just to say they’re friends with Aaron Carter. You say you’re a fan but you act like I’m just a normal guy and that’s so different than what I’m used to.”

“Well I am older than you and probably most girls you hang out with….”

“You are? How old are you?”

“27”

“Well that would explain your maturity. But you’re not that much older than I am. Besides, you’re around my brother’s age and I’m used to being surrounded by older adults. No offence.” There was none taken. I tried to read his face but it was just so serious like he just wanted to talk. So I listened.

“Despite what you may have heard or expectations you’ve had of me, I’ve never done anything like this for a girl. I mean I have driven four hours to see a girlfriend but nothing like this. This could be taken a romantic way but I just wanted to show you a good time and get to know you. I hope that’s okay.”

“When you grabbed my hand, were you testing me?” I asked. I didn’t know where that question came from, it kind of just slipped out.

“I was trying to calm you down so the shark didn’t eat us.” He laughed.

“No,” I laughed. “ I mean when we were walking just now.”

“Maybe a little. Just to see how you would react. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I’ll tell you now. I was shocked when I first met you and I think this is a fantasy but you are a normal guy away from all that celebrity and I like the person underneath that I’m getting to know. I would never tell anybody about this; With the exception of my best friend because we tell each other everything.” I smiled.

“Anyone ever tell you what a beautiful smile you have?” That made me blush. I was bracing myself for him to kiss me but he didn’t. We stayed out there talking for hours. I got to know a side of Aaron most people probably never get to see. He really is a caring person with a lot of heart. He’s come from a tough childhood but he is so caring and really has a lot of love to give. He puts most of it into his music for his fans. I stayed up listening to him talk for as long as he was going to. He was pouring his heart out to me; a person he didn’t know all too well. I thought maybe he just needed someone to listen and no one in his life had.  After he was done, he wanted to know all about me. I never thought that he would even care but as I spoke, he listened to every word. I don’t even remember where we left off. I must have drifted off because next thing I knew, I awoke in the bed.