I folded the last bit of clothes and zipped up Connor’s suitcase. “Well, that’s the last of it.” I rubbed his blonde head and kissed the top of it. “You wanna go pack up Toby’s stuff?” Toby was the three week old golden retriever Nick had surprised Connor with for Christmas. It certainly was a surprise, alright. At first I was mad, but when I saw Connor’s face when he heard the puppy bark, my anger seemed to disappear.
“K,” Connor said simply and bounced into the living room where we were currently keeping the baby golden retriever’s belongings. I sighed as I did one final glance around the room. Even though we had been staying with Nick for months, we didn’t have all of our things at his place. Most of our clothes were still at our apartment back in Jersey.
“How’s it going?” Nick sighed as he came into the room. He had tried to help us out as much as possible, but he was busy packing up for the Backstreet Boy’s second leg to their Unbreakable tour which was to take place in South America.
“Not too bad,” I grinned. “Connor’s packing up Toby’s stuff and I’m finishing with the clothes. We should be out of your hair in an hour or so.” Nick chuckled and rolled his eyes.
He ran his fingers through his dirty blonde hair. I loved the way he was keeping it recently; he stopped dyeing it and started wearing it naturally. Connor ran into the room, tackling Nick against the back of his legs. “I’m gonna miss you guys.” Nick grumbled and picked Connor up, swinging him around the room. I shook my head and laughed as Toby came bounding into the room after Connor.
“Can we come with you?” Connor pouted as Nick placed him back down onto the carpet.
I rolled my eyes. I was always the bad guy when it came to Nick leaving for tour. Nick would invite Connor to come along and I’d be the ‘mean-old-mom’ that said no. I took in a breath, ready to battle it out with Connor and explain why he couldn’t follow his dad around the globe when Nick decided to surprise me, yet again. “Bud, you have to go to school.” Nick knelt down in front of him, brushing his hair back with his hand. “I’ll be back soon, though. And I promise,” he glanced up at me in the process. “I promise to both you and your mom that when we come back to the states, I’m coming back to New York.”
Connor got a big grin on his face. “Really?”
“Really,” Nick confirmed with a nod of his head. Connor started bouncing around the room and ran into the living room, followed by Toby nipping playfully at his ankles.
“Nick,” I sighed as I pulled at the suitcase so it was standing on the ground. “Please don’t make promises you can’t keep.”
“Who said I wasn’t keeping them?” Nick folded his arms across his chest.
“I’m just saying…you aren’t going to be back in the states for a few months now. What if something comes up? Things change, Nick,” I sighed and dropped my voice to a whisper so Connor wouldn’t eavesdrop. It had been weeks since we had fought in front of him. “I’m not saying you’re not good for it. The past few months you’ve proved to me that you mean what you say. I’m just saying that things change constantly. Just don’t promise him something and don’t follow through.”
Nick nodded and licked his lips. “Sarah, I could never picture myself away from you two again.” He said softly. “I-I…” he started saying and then his cell phone went off. “Dammit.” He sighed. Glancing at his BlackBerry screen, he clicked the ‘talk’ button. “Hello? Hey J, can I call you right back?” He asked. After a pause, he continued. “Man, okay, fine!” He muttered and hung up. “I have to go…can I call you?”
I smirked. It was almost like a young boy asking a girl he had a crush on if he could call her. But I knew Nick and I knew that just meant he was on a tight schedule and needed to go, but he wanted to finish this conversation later. “Yeah,” I nodded. “Connor, come say by to your dad!” I called into the living room. “I’ll lock up and then where do you want the key?” I asked him.
“Just hold onto it. Hold me to my promise,” he winked. Connor ran into Nick’s legs again and wrapped his arms around him.
“I’m gonna miss you, bud,” Nick lifted him into a big hug. “I love you so much, Con.” He sighed into the boy’s blonde locks.
“Love you, too,” Connor sighed. He pulled away from Nick for a second and stared into his eyes. “When you come home, can I live with you?” My eyes grew large and I swear I felt my heart stop. My breath caught in my throat and I quickly felt tears flood my eyes. Nick slowly set Connor down on the carpet like he had moments before.
“Uh…” he wasn’t sure what to say. I was waiting for him to throw out a, ‘well, we’ll talk about it later’ or a, ‘you should ask your mom about that one’ comment. He always left it up to me. “Connor,” he sighed and knelt down. “I love you so much…I never thought I could love someone as much as I love you.” He grinned. “But I’m constantly traveling with the Backstreet Boys. I’m never in the same place. You’d have to switch schools and live out of a bus; and that’s no fun.” He shook his head ‘no’. “Besides,” he looked up at me. “I know you and I know you’d miss your mom way too much.” He chuckled.
Connor nodded and smiled up at me, clearly missing the tears pooling in my eyes. “Okay,” he sighed. Nick kissed the top of his head and stood up, waiting for me.
“Connor, how about you go open the door and let your Uncle AJ in,” Nick said as someone knocked on the door. Once Connor left to room, I dabbed underneath my eyes to dry them. “Aw, Sarah, don’t cry.” Nick sighed. “He wasn’t serious. He doesn’t understand the concept.” Nick shook his head.
“No, I know,” I nodded and sniffled a little. “Thank you.” I said seriously.
He frowned. “For what?”
“For growing up. For becoming a father over the past few months,” I smiled, still feeling the tears in my eyes. Though this time it was because I was saying goodbye to Nick, ironically. “I have never seen Connor happier, Nick. I mean it. You’ve seriously stepped up to the plate and I can’t tell you how grateful I am.” I dabbed at my eyes again and shocked myself when I wrapped my arms around him. “Seriously, Nick. Thank you for everything.”
Nick instinctively wrapped his arms around me in a friendly gesture, only I felt so much more. I closed my eyes and took in his scent, thinking about all the times when we were together and times were good – times were great. I pulled him closer and played with the hair at the base of his neck and tried to hold in my tears. His fingers traced small circles on my lower back and sent shivers up my spine.
Then it hit me.
Nick was leaving for a different country in less than two hours. I couldn’t do this; not now. I pulled away hastily and kissed his cheek on the way down, sniffling some more and wiping at my eyes. “Have a safe trip.” I mumbled and pulled at my suitcase. He looked a little shocked and concerned at what had just happened; I wasn’t sure what he was feeling.
“Here, let me,” he took my suitcase from me, brushing my hand in the process.
“Thanks,” I muttered and glanced up at him once more. Before I could understand what was happening, his hands reached up and cupped my face and his lips tackled against mine.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Thank you for the reviews! I appreciate them all :). Keep them coming + I'll try to update again ASAP!
Also, I found it HILARIOUS that apparently hours after I posted that last chapter (or maybe it was a day or two? I can't remember) Howie & Leigh announced they're expecting! Haha. Crazy coincidence. ANYWHO! Enjoy :).
Also, I found it HILARIOUS that apparently hours after I posted that last chapter (or maybe it was a day or two? I can't remember) Howie & Leigh announced they're expecting! Haha. Crazy coincidence. ANYWHO! Enjoy :).
