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A Collaboration between Bron and Suzie
Chapter 55
The light on the
voice mail machine blinked rapidly as Nick adjusted his eyes
to the offending light. "Angelina, you've got a message."
Nick kept walking to the bathroom, completely naked.
Angelina rolled over
to the side of the bed. She slowly stood up, grabbed her bathrobe
and began walking to the bathroom. She quickly peered into her
living room, then Sheridan's bedroom, where she saw a sleeping
figure. Knocking gently on the bathroom door, Angel whispered
she had to 'go.' Nick came to the door with a toothbrush in
his mouth. "Unless you want Sheridan to see Thor, I'd suggest
you put some pants on babe."
Nick gave her a look
and rolled his eyes. Nick spit into the sink, "Who called?"
"I don't know
yet. Had to go first." Angel brushed her teeth and washed
her face and hands. Putting a brush through her hair, she pulled
her hair up into a ponytail.
Nick strolled out
of the bathroom carefully; he didn't want to run into Sheridan
in his birthday suit. He put on some sweatpants and went into
the kitchen to turn on the coffee machine. He pulled out two
mugs and set them on the counter. He walked to the refrigerator
and grabbed the cream and a spoon from the drawer. He set the
spoon on the counter as he watched Angelina walk from the bathroom
to the answering machine.
Angelina walked into
the living room and hit the button. "You have two messages.
First message, received on Thursday, January 29th at 9:39PM
from an unknown caller, "Hi Angelina. It's Joey…"
Angel stared at the machine in shock. Nick stared at Angelina.
"... call me when you can. I want to make sure you are
alright. I've seen your photos in the magazines gallivanting
across the US and I want to be sure you are truly happy."
Joey's voice was filled with sarcasm and jealousy. "Your
life is being portrayed for the whole world to view and I know
you are a very private person." His voice softened, "Just
want to be sure you are alright." There was a slight pause,
"And uh, I uh, well, the ring is beautiful, just like you.
When are planning on getting married?" Angelina's mouth
dropped open as she plopped down on the beanbag chair. "…call
me please, Angel. I still love you very much. I need to make
sure you are alright. Bye."
Nick leaped from
the kitchen and was next to Angelina on her beanbag chair. "Are
you alright?" Nick was generally concerned. He knew this
kind of publicity could be a deal breaker with his relationship.
In his past, it usually did, especially from some of the boys'
fans.
Sheridan came out
of her bedroom and noticed the couple sitting quietly with an
intense look on their faces. Angel was staring at the answering
machine, Nick staring at Angelina. "What's the matter?"
Nick looked up at
Sheridan with a sad look on his face and shook his head. He
went into the kitchen to bring her a cup of coffee.
"Joey,"
whispered Angelina as she waited for the second voicemail to
begin.
"Next message,
received on Friday, January 30th at 3:50AM from cell phone number…"
Nick handed Angelina
her coffee mug. She smiled and said thanks. Her smile made him
melt. Her sister's voice boomed through the machine brought
him back to the present.
"…is there something
you forgot to tell me? Tell Carter he's got great taste in jewelry."
Angelina's face went pale; she turned to Nick. She didn't even
listen to the rest of MaryAnn's message. "I haven't worn
the ring outside my apartment except to lunch with the girls
almost two weeks ago! I'm so sorry…"
Nick interrupted
Angelina's tirade, "Angelina, you have nothing to be sorry
for. I bought it for you to wear, not keep hidden in your jewelry
box! I'm going to call Johnny." He leaned over to kiss
her cheek. Picking up his coffee mug, Nick walked into Angelina's
bedroom and closed the door.
Sheridan had been
watching and waiting in the background but moved in to Nick's
spot immediately after he shut the bedroom door. "What
did Joey say?"
Angelina played both
messages again for Sheridan. She deleted them and grabbed her
phone to call her sister back. Sheridan had her computer booted
up and was searching for any information on the BSB websites
or celebrity gossip sites.
"Are you working
days this week?" Angelina questioned her older sister.
She sat on the couch with her legs tucked under her and wrapped
up in her bathrobe. Angelina listened to her sister ramble on
for a few mintues before she could get a word in edgewise.
"Where?"
Angelina called over
to Sheridan, "Look up this addy, www.imlimages.gr,"
turning her attention back to her sister, "MayMay, how
did you find out about this?" Her sister replied she was
sent an email from Joey earlier that night. "Yeah, he also
left me a message to find out if I was engaged."
Mary Ann pulled her
cruiser off the road and parked it, appearing like she was going
to look for speeders on the side road. She wasn't sure how this
conversation was going to go, or how long she'd be on the phone.
A low whistle came
from Sheridan's lips as she looked through the photos that appeared
on her computer screen. "Um…yeah, there must have been
someone lurking outside in our parking lot. With an amazing
zoom lens!"
Nick came back and
was leaning over Sheridan's shoulder, "Good thing you had
clothes on, Angelina." He winked at her as he walked into
the kitchen for more coffee. Angelina wondered why Nick wasn't
upset over this. 'Cause he's used to this shit,' she mentally
smacked herself. Nick sat beside Sheridan scrolling through
the pictures.
A few more minutes
on the phone with her sister then Angelina hung up. She stretched
her body, raising her arms in the air. "So," she stopped
herself trying to figure out how to word what she wanted to
ask, "What did Johnny say?" Angelina questioned as
she came around to sit on Nick's lap.
"Wow,"
was all Angelina could say as she looked through the photos.
She did a quick search on a few other websites and noticed a
few of her with Nick on ISIFA's website. "What's up with
the foreign paparazzi?" Angelina wondered out loud.
Nick snuggled in
her neck. He could care less but was hoping Angelina could get
past this. "Johnny said not to worry about it. The press
is always trying to make something out of nothing. He'll issue
a statement on our behalf if he's called."
Angelina turned around
in Nick's lap and eyed her boyfriend. "And what about Kevin
and the guys?"
"This has nothing
to do with them." Nick said flatly. "Just you and
me." They stared at each. Sheridan thought she should probably
leave the room until Angelina answered a minute later, "okay."
And with that, she got up and went to get something to eat.
Nick turned to look
at Sheridan. "So, how did it go last night?"
Sheridan turned pale,
"What do you mean? Did you talk to Kevin? What did he say?"
Angelina walked back
to the table and watched with extreme interest in her roommate's
reaction to Nick's question. Putting down the box of Raisin
Bran, two bowls and two spoons, she eyed her roommate, "I
think Nick was asking you how it went with Kevin last night
on the studio set. You know, helping Kevin rehearse the scene!"
Sheridan's lips pursed
together, "Fine. It went fine. He should be fine today."
Getting up, she walked quickly to the coffee pot. Noticing the
time, she said her goodbyes to take a shower.
Angelina put a spoonful
of cereal in her mouth, "Was she acting strange to you?"
Nick shrugged his
shoulders, "Not any more strange than her usual self."
Angelina eyed her
boyfriend, "Huh? In English please."
"She always
acts strange in my book. Not that it's a bad thing, but especially
when you mention Kevin to her. Now that she works for him, like
all the time, she acts strange all the time." Nick picked
up his bowl and drank the rest of the milk in his bowl.
"Want anything
else to eat?" Angelina questioned.
"Nah, I'm good.
What do you want to do after work today?" Nick was hoping
they'd spend it together at his place. Since he knew Joey will
probably call again if Angelina doesn't return his call, he'd
prefer she weren't home, just in case.
"Well, what
do you have in mind, Carter?"
"Well, assuming
you've caught up on your sleep, how about we call A.J. and see
if he'd like us to use our rain checks and hit a club later
tonight? We can either grab a bite to eat, or maybe you can
cook us up something at my place?" Nick's lopsided grin
told Angelina he would like a nice home cooked dinner.
Angelina grinned;
inside she was melting while admiring his smile, "What
do you have in mind?"
"Something that
contains meat, potatoes and veggies. I'll leave it up to you."
Nick stood and picked up their bowls, kissing the top of Angelina's
head before bringing them to the sink.
"Are you going
to be at the studio or movie set today?"
"I need to be
at the set then after lunch I need to head over to the studio
to finish up my backup vocals on one of the songs." Nick
knew Angelina and Sheridan were dying to hear something, anything
that they've recorded so far. He felt Angelina staring at him.
"Ya know, if
you need an unbiased opinion, I'd be happy to take a listen."
Laughing Nick agreed,
"I know you would. I don't think you are as unbiased as
you think you are."
Shaking her head
thinking about their plans for the evening, she told Nick to
call A.J. and ask if he'd like to join them for dinner. The
couple walked into Angelina's bedroom and shut the door.
"I'll run by
Ralph's first on the way to your place. Will you be home for
me to get in?"
Nick contemplated
for a second before he realized now would be good a time as
any. Reaching down into his gym bag, he pulled out a wrapped
present. "Here, open this."
Angelina eyed her
boyfriend. "What's this for?" Mentally she was calculating
if she forgot some important 'anniversary' between them.
"It's for nothing
but it's something for you."
Angelina giggled,
"I totally understood what you meant." Angelina sat
on the end of her bed as she opened up the long, rectangular
box. Pulling off the cover, Angelina noticed what was inside
immediately and took a sharp intake of breath as she realized
Nick gave her a key to his condo on a nice diamond heart shaped
keychain.
"Now young lady,
with ownership of this key comes a lot of responsibility."
Nick teased. He realized Angel wasn't paying attention, "Earth
to Angel."
She looked up at
him with a smirk. "Remember the day you taught me how to
surf." Nick didn't have to remember, he relived that day
in his dreams for weeks. "Yeah.
"And you gave
me a tour," Angelina's face held a wicked grin.
"Yeah?"
Nick questioned wondering where Angel was going with this conversation
and what it had to do with his key.
"Well, I may
have to give myself a private tour of your bedroom now."
Nick chuckled, "You've
seen it all. There are no skeletons in any of my closets."
Angel sounded disappointed,
"Really? No fan mail, pictures, presents, videos, fugly
shirts….nothing?"
Nick laughed out
loud. "I hate to disappoint you babe, but I have no idea
where that stuff is now. It's probably all in a box sitting
in a truck or warehouse someplace." Angelina pouted which
turned into a smile when she looked at the key again.
"I need for
you to memorize my alarm code. Do not write it down, please."
Nick's brows furrowed
"No worries,
I promise not to write it down. What is it?"
Sheridan walked past
Angelina's closed bedroom door and gently listened to the couple
talking and giggling and wondered what her future with Kevin
held after last night. 'Time to find out,' she said to herself.
Sheridan tapped her knuckles on Angel's bedroom door, "I'm
off to Kevin's house. I'll see you later at the set meeting."
Sheridan arrived
at Kevin's to find the house empty. She couldn't decide if she
was happy or disappointed that he wasn't there. She tossed her
purse on the kitchen counter and went to the coffee pot. The
pot was brewing a fresh pot. Her brows knitted together for
a moment and then she shrugged her shoulders. The coffee had
never been made before but she wasn't going to look a gift horse
in the mouth this morning. Sheridan crossed the room to the
refrigerator and pulled open the door. The milk jug stood front
and center on the shelf. Attached to the milk was a note that
had been taped neatly to the cap. She pulled the note off and
closed the door on the appliance. Sheridan leaned back against
the fridge and read the note aloud.
"Good morning
Sheridan,
Last night was the consummation of the beginning of a life long
love for us. I didn't get to tell you that last night because
of the setting. Know this much, last night was a first but not
the last; it was the real deal and not a rehearsal for us. You'll
be writing love scenes for us for the rest of our lives. From
the bottom of my heart thank you. Look for a delivery this afternoon
around lunch time."
Love,
Kevin."
Sheridan collapsed
against the fridge, her knees bent and she slowly slid to the
floor. She fanned herself with the note until she cooled off.
Then her emotions went haywire for a second until she could
come to grips with the impact of the words Kevin had written.
"OH MY GOD, HE SIGNED IT LOVE KEVIN!!!" Sheridan sat
on the floor until the phone rang yanking her out of her rehash
of the night before. She crawled across the floor on her hands
and knees. She didn't trust herself enough to stand up as she
pulled the phone off the counter to answer it. "Hello."
"Good morning,"
a velvet bass voice caressed her ear. She drew in a breath sharply
and it sounded like a yelp.
"Are you okay?"
the voice asked.
"Um, ah, um,
I----"
"Do I need to
come home to see if you're okay?" the voice asked.
"NOOOOOOO, I'm
fine, better than fine." Sheridan bit her bottom lip to
stop from screaming.
"You don't sound
fine. Are you sure? I'm right around the corner."
The voice on the
other had a hint of amusement in it along with something she
couldn't recognize. "No you can't come here; you can't
come home at all..."
"I live there;
I can come home anytime I want." The voice wasn't stern
but it had an attitude behind it.
"I know that,
it's just well… Look I need to get my head together after last
night. Last night changed things between us."
"It certainly
did. Did you make your coffee yet?"
"You made the
coffee."
She heard a chuckle,
"Yes I know. I was wondering if you had made a cup for
yourself yet."
"Not yet,"
Sheridan smiled at the note.
"Why don't you
do that and call me back later. I think there might be a surprise
for you there."
The caller hung up
on her. "I wonder why he wanted to know that." She
fanned her face again with the note. Her face blanched, "Oh
shit he wanted to know if I found the note!" Sheridan smacked
her open palm into her forehead. "You idiot!"
~~~~
Kevin shook his head
from side to side as he disconnected the phone. He was smiling
like a mad man this morning when he woke up. He hadn't had sex
that good in a long time. It was perfect.
"Man, I haven't
seen you grin like that in ages. Did you finally get laid?"
A.J. tried in vain to swat at Kevin's head.
"None of your
business tattoo boy." Kevin fended off the hands that were
trying their hardest to connect with his body.
"Ah-ha that
would mean yes." A.J. dropped his hands and stared at Kevin
pensively. "It'd better be Sheridan."
"I'm not sayin'
another word tattoo boy so forget it." Kevin pointed to
the soundproof booth. "Get your skinny butt in there so
we can get this done. We have a meeting with John and I have
to do my scene."
A.J. finished his
track in record time and Kevin was slightly suspicious that
the little twerp just wanted to get to the film studio like
it was on fire. A.J. raced to his side. "Let's listen and
then go. We can clean it up later."
"No, we're going
to listen to it and clean it up now. Then we'll go."
"You're such
a damn perfectionist Kevin." A.J. grumbled as he dropped
in the seat next to Kevin.
"Yes I am,"
Kevin hit play and began to slide switches up and down. "We're
not due on the set until one."
"I want to go
early." A.J. listened to the music.
"You just want
to tag up with Sheridan and that's not going to happen. You're
too nosey about this and she is edgy enough after last night."
Kevin ignored the puzzled face A.J. was wearing.
"Does that mean-"
"Not open for
discussion." Kevin quipped as he dropped his headphones
over his ears.
"You're such
a shit Kevin. I just want it to work out for you guys."
A.J. spoke out of turn since Kevin couldn't hear him.
Kevin lifted his
headphones off his ears. "I understand that but I'm not
going to go around yelling that I finally scored with the woman
and then you go up to her and make her feel like an ass."
Kevin paused, "Next time make sure the music is on so I
can't hear you."
A.J. wore a cheesy
grin. "I knew it. Damn, now I can't say anything. God,
I'm surprised you're here. Why aren't you two cuddle up in bed?
How many times? You're still walking-"
Kevin stuck his finger
in A.J.'s face. "Shut up!"
A.J. finally stopped
flapping his lips long enough for Kevin to talk to him. "This
is why I didn't want you to know. I'm telling you right now
that after last night that woman is going to be my wife and
you guys are out of my bedroom chatter from here on out."
"Great, another
Brian," A.J. moaned.
"Not really,
Brian was stupid enough to tell you guys Leighanne can put her
feet behind her ears." Kevin smirked.
A.J. tilted his head,
"Can Sheridan?"
"I have no fucking
clue, okay." Kevin dropped his headphones over his ears
and his concentration left. The thought of that was just too
much for him. He had to get through this day come hell or high
water. He needed to get the scene shot and then take Sheridan
home to his place to make love to her all over again. He knew
Sheridan would be somewhat embarrassed over her behavior but
since she was the one who had initiated the sex. However, he
should have been a gentleman and told her to wait until they
got back to his place. But the scene had been important to both
of them for different reasons. For him it was his first hard
core love scene, for Sheridan she had written for him with her
playing the role of the student.
The studio time was
wrapped up in no time and Kevin headed to the film studio. The
paparazzi swarmed his truck as he and A.J. exited the sound
studio. There was a crowd in front of his truck as cameras went
off at a hundred miles an hour. They were shouting at both he
and A.J., who rode in the passenger seat. "This is bullshit,
I'm gonna be late." Kevin groaned and hit the window's
power window button.
"Are you crazy!"
A.J. jammed his finger down on the lock button as the driver's
window went down. "Kevin, man are you trying to get us
killed?" A.J.'s eyes constantly scanned the crowd around
the vehicle. Some of them almost climbing on top of the truck.
Kevin stopped the
truck. "What's up man?" His slid his gaze to the side.
A.J. was scared shitless right now. Kevin started to grin.
"Kevin give
us some gossip!" they shouted at him.
"Gossip huh,
Nick's getting married on Valentine's Day." Kevin watched
the pack of photographers swoop to their cars. Kevin laughed
as they cleared out from in front of his truck and pulled out
of the parking lot.
"Holy shit!"
A.J. straightened up in his seat.
"It works every
time, suckers!" Kevin laughed a deep belly laugh.
"Not that man,
Nick is going to kill you." A.J. punched him Kevin in the
arm and they both laughed. "Shit, I'm going to be out with
Nick and Angelina tonight. I better not be around when they
hear this tidbit." A.J. was lost in his thoughts figuring
out what the couples' reaction would be. He knew Nick would
take the news of his upcoming rumored Valentine's Day wedding
with a grain of salt. Who knew how the Carter family would react?
Hopefully they wouldn't take it to the media again, especially
Jane. What about Angelina? What about her family?
Kevin drove by his house just in time to see Rose's delivery
van parked in his driveway. A smile escaped his lips and he
kept on driving, right by.
Forgetting that A.J.
was with him Kevin became lost in his own thoughts on the way
to the movie studio. They went from rehearsing a scene to the
real deal in seconds. Characters names were replaced by real
names. He had thought back over the night several times this
morning before he had called Rose at the flower shop to have
his full bloom red roses delivered.
"Rose, it's
Kevin Richardson. I don't know if you remember me."
"Oh, Kevin of
course I do. How are you?"
"I'm fine, thank
you. How are you and your husband?"
"We're just
fine. So why are you calling me Kevin?"
"I'd stop by
but I'm running late today. I don't know if you remember our
conversation from when I stopped by last time."
"I most certainly
do. We had quite a long chat about roses. I bet you learned
more than you wanted to."
"I enjoyed our
conversation very much…. Um, Ah."
"Are you ready
for those fully bloomed red roses young man?"
Kevin felt the color
creep up his neck and face. "Ah, yeah I am," he cleared
his throat. "Is there anything you can put with them?"
"What are your
intentions?"
Kevin almost choked,
it sounded as if he was taking to Sheridan's mother and not
his florist. "Ah…"
"Besides to
do it again," Rose's voice bubbled in his ear.
"Gawd,"
Kevin started to laugh. When he finally stopped he answered
her. "I plan on that and getting married… soon I hope,"
Kevin sighed.
"Is your girl
a lover of roses?" Rose questioned him.
"Definitely
and she knew most of the meanings so I looked like an expert
thanks to you." Kevin was still pleased from that night.
He could hear tapping on the other end of the phone line. It
sounded very much like someone tapping a pencil or pen on a
flat surface.
"I think we'll
send her two roses entwined together around one white rose."
Rose paused. "Same address."
"No, my address
she works for me now." Kevin blushed again.
"Ahhh, keeping
her close are you? You devil you." Rose questioned him.
Kevin couldn't help
but laugh. "Just keeping the others away Rose, just keeping
the others away. So what does this bouquet signify so I don't
look stupid?"
"Trust me, you
won't look stupid, you'll probably get just what you're looking
for." Rose's laugh was full of merriment as she hung up.
Kevin pulled into
the lot on auto pilot. He hadn't heard a word A.J. had said
on the way over. A.J. just about jumped out of the truck. "Hold
up Aje!" Kevin called him back.
A.J. dropped his
head and walked back to Kevin. "Don't say one word when
she gets here, I mean it."
"It must be
serious, you had flowers delivered you freakin' suck up."
A.J. laughed, punched Kevin in the arm and sprinted to the door
of the studio.
"I so wanna
friggin' kill him," Kevin moaned as he locked up his truck.
Mail To Bronwyn
Mail To Suzie
This page ©
2001 - 2009 Bronwyn
All Rights Reserved
This is a work
of fiction.
The characters and events portrayed are fictitious.
Any resemblance to real people or events is purely coincidental.
Used with Permission
No part of this text may be copied or reprinted
without the author's permission.
Graphics by Bronwyn
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