The was fine with him. So he went off to the Lido Deck, security in tow.
“Hey, fellas,” he said with a grin.
The others nodded a quick greeting at him, and they ignored the screams of the fans in front of the stage area. The ship started to move and the DJ began to play music.
“You're late,” AJ said, snicking a little.
“Yeah, sorry,” Nick said sheepishly. “I was enjoying the view.”
“I bet you were,” he laughed suggestively.
Nick rolled his eyes, but didn't say anything. Try as he might, he was never going to convince the others that he hadn't brought Brittany with him in an attempt to get into her pants. And, try as he might, he also wouldn't be able to convince himself that the only reason he had brought her was just to be nice and give her some breathing room after her break-up, either.
But he'd always been good at lying to himself.
“Hello ladies!” Nick exclaimed into his microphone. “Are y'all ready to party?”
Commence the screaming. He grinned to himself as the music got louder and the wind blew through his hair. It was shaping up to be a pretty good weekend.
Afterwards, he made it back to his room a little buzzed – he was the one footing the bill for the ship after all. It was his weekend to party. He didn't have anywhere to be for a couple of hours, until it was time to go to one of the game shows. Whatever it was – he wasn't quite sure.
He opened the door to his room and saw Brittany still sitting out on the balcony of the room, looking out onto the ocean.
“Hey,” he said, stepping out to join her.
He appeared to have startled her, because she jumped a little in her seat. “Hey,” she said quickly, wiping her eyes. “How was your party?”
Nick pretended not to notice the fact that she'd obviously been crying. Because if she wanted to talk to him, she would, right? He didn't know what to say to her, and didn't want to pressure her into talking if she didn't want to. “It was great,” he grinned. “Really dope. Plus, I really missed those fin drinks.”
Brittany raised her eyebrow. “Fin drinks?” she asked.
“Yeah,” Nick said. “You haven't had one?”
Brittany shook her head. “Considering I've never been on a cruise before...no. I have no idea what you're talking about.”
Nick gaped at her, and acted like it was the biggest deal in the world that she hadn't had one before. In reality, he was making a bigger deal out of it that it was to try and distract her from whatever had been making her upset. A drink would probably do her good. “Wait right here,” he said, dashing off the balcony and out of the room.
He returned a few minutes later with two of the aforementioned “fin drinks.” “Here,” he said, handing it to her. It was just as he'd described it – a drink that looked identical to the fin of the ship with a straw sticking out of it.
“Thanks,” she said, eyeing it.
“Cheers,” Nick said, clinking their cups together. “Good?” he asked after they'd taken a sip.
“Yeah,” Brittany nodded, putting her mouth around the straw and chugging the rest of it. “Really good,” she laughed.
Nick gave her an impressed look. “You want me to get you another?” he asked with a sly grin.
She rolled her eyes. “Are you trying to get me drunk?”
“Maybe,” he joked.
Brittany just laughed, the alcohol clearly making her a little more comfortable around Nick. “Maybe I'll have another one later. The cup's cute though.”
Nick just nodded, chewing on the straw of his own drink. “You're cute,” he said flirtatiously.
Brittany looked at him, but didn't say anything.
Nick ran a hand through his hair. He hadn't really meant anything by the remark, but it was clear she wasn't in the mood to hear anything like that. “So what'cha think of the view?” he asked, changing the subject.
“It's nice,” she said quietly, looking out at the ocean.
“Yeah,” Nick sighed, stretching out a little in his chair. “We're supposed to save these rooms for the fans to get, but I wanted one for myself. Need a little place to escape the craziness, you know?”
“Is it really that crazy?” Brittany asked, glancing at him.
Nick gave her a look. “Yeah... you've been in the room the whole time. You should come to the gameshow. You'll see the crazy. Are you going to come to the deck party tonight?”
Brittany shrugged. “I don't know.”
Nick cocked his head to the side. “Oh come on, I didn't bring you all the way here so you could sit in the room the whole time. If you're not going to come to the gameshow, at least come out to the deck party. They're fun... lots of fans screaming... more of those cute cups,” he gestured to the fin that was still in her hand.
Brittany laughed a little. “I guess I'll come to the deck party,” she said with a small smile.
Nick grinned. “It'll be fun. Just you wait. Now, let's get them to bring some food to the room, because I'm starving.”
The deck party was like nothing Brittany had ever seen before.
The deck of the ship was packed and crowded with fans, each of them dressed up in their best 90's gear for the theme of the evening. Of course, this meant they were decked out in old school Backstreet Boys t-shirts, but Brittany had at least managed to find something a little less obvious while they were out shopping.
She hung back a little while the boys walked out onto the ledge that overlooked the fans. The fans screamed and cheered and it wasn't unlike that of the multiple One Direction concerts she'd been to in her lifetime.
Of course, this was a little different given that all the girls were drinking and nearly in their 30's.
“I hate this part,” Brittany heard Leighanne mutter to Kristin.
Kristin didn't say anything, she just merely nodded.
Leigh and Rochelle were wrapped up in their own little conversation. Despite her shopping trip with Rochelle the day before, Brittany still didn't feel as if she knew any of the other girls. So, she just hung back and watched the boys from afar as they entertained their fans.
It was quite a sight. Nick had a drink in his hand, but continually spilled it as Kevin tried to say something to him. AJ and Brian were dancing along to the music a little further away, and on the other end of the ledge Howie was yelling something in Spanish, laughing the entire time.
“Are you ready for this?” Leighanne asked, tapping Brittany on the shoulder.
“Huh?” Brittany asked, turning around. She wasn't even sure which woman was attached to which Backstreet Boy, save for Rochelle.
“This,” Leighanne said, gesturing towards all the fans. “When we walk out there, and they see you, it'll be like going public with your relationship with Nick.”
Brittany gave her a look. “I don't have a relationship with Nick.”
Leighanne shrugged her shoulders a little and looked down at the group of fans. She didn't say anything more, but it was clear to Brittany by her body language that she didn't believe her. And it annoyed her to no end. Between Rochelle's comments the day before, and Leighanne's current attitude, Brittany was beginning to wonder which boyband camp was the more mature one out of the two that she knew.
Then she remembered that One Direction had Harry Styles, which meant they instantly lost in any sort of maturity competition. She giggled a little to herself, thinking that this blonde wife of a Backstreet Boy would probably be a match made in heaven for Harry.
“Hey,” Brian said, walking over to where all of the girls were standing. “What are y'all doing back here? C'mon,” he said, taking Leighanne's hand and pulling her out further onto the ledge.
And just like that, the girls were out in the open, paired up with their respective boys, dancing to some Spice Girls song that Brittany only faintly knew.
“Do you want another drink?” Nick laughed, nearly shouting over the screaming of the fans and the loud music.
Brittany nodded eagerly, feeling as though she was probably going to need it. “Yes!”
Already half in the bag, Nick grabbed Brittany's hand and led her over to their own private bar, getting two of the fins they had earlier, and two shots.
“It's not a Backstreet Cruise without Patrón,” Nick said seriously, handing one of the shot glasses to her. “Cheers, baby,” he winked, clinking his small glass with hers.
Brittany downed the shot without thinking and swallowed quickly as the liquid burned her throat. She set the glass down on the edge of the bar and laughed a little, taking a sip of the fin drink. “You want to go back over there?” she asked, glancing over to where the rest of their group was.
Nick looked back. “Nah, let's stay here and drink,” he said, still wearing the same cocky smirk he'd had on his face all evening.
Brittany nodded, but couldn't help looking over to where the others were. Brian was dancing with his wife, AJ and Rochelle were laughing and talking. Kevin and Kristin were involved in some sort of dance off with Howie and Leigh.
She glanced back at Nick as he handed her another shot. Suddenly, she began to realize that perhaps Nick hadn't just brought her on the cruise so she'd have something to do.
Maybe he needed the distraction and someone to spend time with as well.
