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Author's Chapter Notes:
Hey all I know it's been a while. Hope you still like. Thank you!

It was noon when she opened her eyes and shifted in her bunk. It startled her a bit, and then she remembered they were traveling to Phoenix. She took a peek from her curtain and heard the concerned voices in a light argument. She wondered what was going on. What it was about. Giving into finding out later, she groggily stepped out of her bunk and made way into the bathroom. It was always uncomfortable to do things in such a small space, so she always waited till they reached their hotel room.

The encounter with Nick last night was still on her mind. The kiss he had given her was still fresh on her lips. Why couldn’t he just forgive her? She hadn’t done anything wrong. With the exception of lying, but who didn’t lie. Letting out a soft sigh, she spun around and exited the bathroom.

“Hey guys!” she walked into the room full of commotion.

All three guys stopped and turned to look at her, “Morning” they all said in chorus.

Anita giggled and took a seat on the sofa, “Morning guys! So what is all the commotion about? If I may know.”

“Another show cancelled!” Howie huffed, taking a seat across from her.

AJ took a seat next to her and let out a sigh, “Yeah! Nick is really sick…he’s passed out on his bunk. We don’t think it’s a good idea for him to perform. So we just announced the cancellation.”

They all looked pretty bummed. Anita felt bad, but was it really there fault. They were only human and getting sick was something that happened to everyone. They were entitled to be normal.

“You shouldn’t feel bad guys…I understand that you want to please your fans. But I think they wouldn’t want to see a half ass show.” She gave a shrug, got off the couch and walked towards Nick’s bunk.

While the three men just looked at each other.

Nick was in a coughing frenzy. How the hell had he let himself get sick? That was the question swirling in his mind, besides the kiss and argument he’d had with Anita last night. He didn’t understand why he couldn’t get past her lying. Maybe it wasn’t as bad as he was making it. So, she was a normal girl…from a trailer park and her mother was a whore. Thinking it over, it sounded really bad.

He had to admit to himself that it wasn’t the lying that go to him the most. It was the thought of Anita with AJ. For one reason or another he couldn’t get past it. He believed that there was something there. Why was AJ so protective of her then?

Anita moved the curtain to Nick’s bunk and their eyes met. She cleared her throat and bit her lip “Hi. I just wanted to see how you are doing.”

“I’m ok.” he started coughing again, rubbing his nose with the Kleenex. “Stupid cold.”

She felt bad for him. He looked terrible, his face was pale, nose red, and his eyes were watery. “Is there anything I can get you?”

“Not really.” He tried to smile, but coughed again.

“Um…ok. Well let me know if you need anything.” she closed the curtain and went back to laying in her bunk.

It was decided that there was no reason to stop in Arizona and they continued their drive all the way to Las Vegas. Later that evening, everyone shuffled out of the bus and into the Palms hotel. Where they were greeted and helped to their rooms.

Anita felt a flutter in her stomach as she stared out at the view. It was after all her hometown. This was her home. And somewhere out there was her mom and sister. She was happy to have her own room this time around, knowing that bumping into Nick wasn’t bound to happen. Unless she went to look for him, which was already on her mind. After all, she needed to know how he was doing. He was sick.

After a long warm shower, she pulled on her jeans and a t-shirt, brushed her hair and headed out to see Nick. On the way she bumped into AJ and Howie who were dressed to impress.

“Let me guess you guys are going out tonight?“ she smiled.

“Yup…man. I’m tired of being cooped up in a room or on that damn bus. We are taking a break tonight.” Howie whined, adjusting his shirt.

AJ took her hand in his and gave it a squeeze, “Do you want to come?” He asked.

“No thanks guys. I’m going to check on Nick and then call it a night. I‘ve got a really big day tomorrow…”

AJ knew exactly what she was talking about. He gave her hand another squeeze and a reassuring smile. He had promised he’d be there to accompany her. The two men were pleased to know, she was going to visit Nick. That’s exactly what they were hoping she would do.

“Alright then. Good luck with Nick.” Howie said.

“Thanks I need it.” she smiled the last time and continued her way to the end of the hall to room 320. She knocked once and then again. There was no answer. She knocked again.

The door swung open, followed by a stream of sneezes. “Hey…” he finally piped, wiping his nose with the Kleenex.

“You look worse. Here I brought this stuff. It might make you feel better.” she handed over a small paper bag.

He took it and peeked into the bag, he couldn’t help smiling. “Vicks vapor rub! Wow now that’s kinky…?”

“I knew you‘d think so…come on…I’ll help you.”

They walked into the room, and she quickly took in the scent of his cologne lingering in the air. He took a seat and watched her as she busied herself taking out all her remedies. She dosed him with Nyquil first. Then requested he take off his shirt.

He looked at her puzzled, “What? Are you going to rub it on yourself?” She cocked her head to the side.

“Um…ok…”

She watched intently as he pulled the shirt up over his head. Her eyes scanned his bare chest and shoulders and she felt the urge to jump him. Carefully she dipped her fingers into the mush, feeling an icy prickle on her fingers. Gently she ran her fingers and palm over his skin.

Nick swallowed hard as he felt her hands running over his chest, around his shoulders and up his neck. The substance was leaving a tingling feeling all over his body. The trail of her hands were giving him a hot rush in his private region. He cleared his throat, trying to keep his mind off doing things to Anita he hadn’t done before.

“Earth to Nick…” she waved her hand in his face, a smile wide on her face. Anita had a pretty good idea about what was on Nick’s mind. Because she was thinking the same exact thing. “You are all set. Now you need to get back in bed.”

He put his shirt back on and laid back on the bed, while she put everything back in the bag. She placed her hands in her pocket when she was done.

“Thank you!” He said, folding his arms under his head. Nick wasn‘t sure if his question would be inappropriate, after all, there was still a lot of unfinished and unanswered issues between the two of them. “Do you want to make me company?”

Without hesitation Anita took the offer and sat on the opposite side of the bed. She felt slightly uncomfortable being on the same bed as him. They had been in good terms the last time something like that had happened.

“It’s ok to lay down. I don’t bite. I promise.” Nick chuckled, waiting for her to lay down.

Her movements were a bit robotic, as she awkwardly laid back onto the soft pillows. Her eyes gazing up at the ceiling. “This is awkward.” she stated.

He let out a soft laugh. “Yeah, it is. But it doesn’t have to be. Just because we…you know…doesn’t mean we can’t sit here like two adults and talk. Right?”

“Right,” the word came out of her mouth, but she didn’t believe it. The butterflies were going insane in her stomach and she felt her cheeks burning. “So where is your obnoxious girlfriend?” Anita glanced over at Nick.

“Hyper girl had to leave us for these two shows.” Nick flopped onto his side, using his elbow for support and resting his head on his hand. “What about you and AJ?” He had thought it, but hadn’t planned out asking it out loud.

Anita got into the same position as Nick, she stared into his blue eyes and smiled. “I told you…there is nothing between AJ and I. He’s become a good friend, it’s the least he can do.”

“They really carried you into the limo…you had no idea where you were?”

She nodded, remembering the fateful day. There had been lots of drinking and some dancing and lastly a surprise road trip California. “Yup. I know I should have told you. But truthfully would you have believed me. NO…AJ kept pressuring me and at some point even threatened to…never mind.”

“This has become sort of a nightmare for you hasn’t it?” he questioned, almost feeling sorry for Anita.

“Hell no.” She responded, trying to smile. Anything was better than being home. “Anything is better than living in a trailer park, with a drunken mother and sister who whore themselves for a living. Not to mention that I had men wanting to do the same with me. I guess that could be the main reason I never said anything. I knew you wouldn’t believe me and you’d send me back.”

A single tear ran down her cheek. She had tried to hold them in, but one had slyly escaped. It wasn’t easy to be this vulnerable around Nick anymore. He didn’t even care about her anymore.

Nick raised a finger and slid it across her cheek, wiping away the tear. “You could have told me. I was so in love with you, I would have believed you and I would have helped you.”

“You were?” The way he put it in past tense made her stomach coil. “I guess you don’t any--” She lost her voice, as she felt his hand cup her face and his mouth brush against hers.

He engulfed her lips and slid his tongue into her mouth, as he pushed her back and eased his way onto her body. Her hands curled into his shirt as she pulled him closer, allowing his body to rest between her legs. Even though Nick gave her a sense of security, she was having disturbing flashes of her last sexual encounter. Fear settled in the pit of her stomach, as she felt Nick’s hands unbuttoning her pants.

“Please stop!” She snapped, pushing him away.

He looked at her startled, “What’s the matter?” Nick questioned out of breath.

“I…I can’t Nick. I’m sorry.” She busied herself buttoning her pants, and pulling down her shirt. “Really I--”

Then it hit him, he’d forgotten the incident. He gave himself a mental head slap and stumbled on his words. “Shit…I’m sorry…I…kinda…I forgot about. Shit!”

“It’s ok…I just need to close my eyes for a second,” she closed her eyes, trying hard to forget the bad memories and replacing them with thought of Nick. Instead she thought of nothing. Nothing but sleeping.