“Nick, wake up!” Corinne shook the sleepy singer.
“Wha… what?” Nick asked, sleepily.
“Baby, it’s 8:15. Don’t you have to be at the studio at 9:00?” Corinne said.
Nick sat up. “Yeah, I do. Thanks for waking me!” He looked at her. “Baby, you look so hot…” He pulled her to him and kissed her. Corinne felt that his protruding counterpart rubbing up against her and she pulled away, laughing.
“No time for that, Romeo. You should get in the shower and you’ll probably want it cold.” She giggled.
“Thanks for the tip!” Nick said sarcastically, as he headed for the bathroom.
Suddenly the sounds of George Michael wafted through Kevin’s bedroom:
…“my best friend told me what you did last night
Left me sleeping in my bed
I was dreaming but I should have been with you instead
Wake me up before you go-go
Don't leave me hanging on like a yo-yo
Wake me up before you go-go
I don't want to miss it when you hit that high
Wake me up before you go-go
'Cause I'm not planning on going solo
Wake me up before you go-go
Take me dancing tonight
I wanna hit that high…”
“God, make it stop!” Kevin yelled and put his pillow over his head. Amber laughed and reached over him to turn his alarm off.
Kevin lifted his head to smile at her gratefully. “Thank you!” And then he added, “Good Morning. I’m so glad you stayed.”
Amber smiled back. “Well, it’s not like I had a choice! I didn’t have my car!” She teased.
“Oh, is that why? I thought it was because we stayed up all night having sex!” He laughed.
“Come here.” He planted a kiss on her.
“Uh, Kevin, I hate to break it to you, but I think you’re supposed to be at the studio and you still have to drop me off at Clancy’s so I can get my car.”
“Oh, yeah, you’re right. Did you want to take a shower?”
Amber shook her head. “No, I’m fine. I’ll shower at my parents’ house later. You go get ready. I’ll get dressed and be waiting.”
“OK, cool.” He said, then added, “Can I see you later?”
“You will! When you get out of the shower, silly!”
Kevin frowned. “You know what I mean… I mean, later today, tonight maybe?”
“We’ll see. Just go get ready!” Amber wanted to keep him hanging; she hadn’t decided on her next move yet.
“Oh, shit!” Corinne exclaimed.
“What’s wrong?” Nick asked.
“Nick, I must have dropped my cell phone at the bar last night! I can’t find it anywhere. I know I had it at Clancy’s last night, but I don’t think I’ve had it since we got here. This stupid purse. My phone keeps dropping out it! That’s why I dropped it that day at Kevin’s house.”
They had just finished getting dressed and were almost out the door when Corinne made her discovery.
Nick smiled at her, pulled out his wallet and gave her his credit card.
“What’s this for? Am I supposed to buy a new cell phone with this?” Corinne asked, confused.
Nick laughed. “No! It’s so you can buy a new purse or whatever. You and your sister can go shopping and buy something; something for the baby if you want; anything, I don’t care.”
Corinne just stared at the piece of plastic in shock. She didn’t know whether to be insulted or complimented.
“I…Nick…I don’t think this is a good idea…”
“Why not?”
“Because I feel weird spending your money. I make pretty good money; I can afford a purse or whatever. You don’t have to pay for it.” She handed the card back to him.
“Look, I know that. I just want to because I love you. There are no strings attached to this, no hidden agendas. I just want to, that’s all. So, take it, please.”
Corinne took the card back and said, “Wow, Baby, thanks.”
“Now, don’t lose that like your cell phone. Put it in your wallet.” Nick said, smiling.
“Don’t worry, I’m doing that right now. Okay, so here’s the thing I need to go back to the bar to look for my phone, but I wanted to go to the studio with you. Do you want me to meet you there or what?”
“I’ll take you to Clancy’s and then to the studio.”
“What about my car?”
“Do you need it?” Nick asked.
Corinne thought for a minute and shrugged. “I guess not. I mean, Amber can come pick me up… oh wait, that may not be such a good idea…”
Nick frowned at her. “What? Why? For all you know she might at the studio with Kevin right now.” Corinne’s heart sunk. She hoped not.
“OK, screw it. I’ll just go with you. Let’s go.”
“Kevin, I should really go!” Amber said. They were standing in front of her car in Clancy’s parking lot and he kept kissing her. It’s not like she didn’t enjoy it; she did. He was an exceptional kisser, but she was ready to go home so she could shower and get ready for the day.
“Okay, just one more…” He said and she giggled. He was incorrigible, she thought.
Just then Nick and Corinne pulled up in Nick’s red BMW and parked across from them. Nick and Corinne got out the car and stopped short when they saw the kissing couple. The four of them stared at one another for a minute, not knowing quite what to say. What do you say when you see your former boyfriend/girlfriend attached to your sister/friend? The cat got everyone’s tongue until Nick finally said,
“Hi guys. Uh, we just came back to look for Corinne’s phone. She thought she dropped it somewhere around here last night.”
“Oh! Well, we’ll help you look for it!” Kevin said, glad Nick broke the awkward silence.
“No! You guys keep doing what you were doing! We’re fine!” Corinne said, grabbing Nick’s arm and walking past them towards the bar’s front door.
“Nick, can I borrow your phone?” Nick handed it to her. She quickly dialed her cell phone number and suddenly “Set It Off” by BSB began playing. Nick walked over to the planter next to the front door and retrieved Corinne’s phone.
As they traded phones, Nick saw tears in her eyes.
“Corinne?” He said.
“I’m fine. Let’s just go, okay?” She walked back to Nick’s car and got in. Nick waved at the confused couple and got into his driver’s seat. Nick drove them a block away and then pulled over.
“What are you doing?” Corinne asked him.
“We need to talk. What’s going on, Corinne?”
“Oh, Nick, I don’t want to talk right now.”
“That might work on Julia or maybe even Kevin, but not me. Talk to me. I want to know what’s going on in your head.” His voice was filled with emotion.
“But, I don’t think you really do, Nick and you shouldn’t be late for your recording session. The guys are waiting for you…”
“Screw them. You’re more important to me. Now, spill it.” His voice warned that she couldn’t get out of it this time. Damn, he really did know her too well.
Corinne sighed, more tears threatening to spill over. “Oh, Nick, I just got a little emotional, that’s all. It was one thing to see my sister and Kevin last night, but when I saw them this morning standing there kissing, well, it just hit me that they actually, well, you know, had sex. And I guess I just got…”
“What? Jealous?” Nick asked.
“No, I don’t know…” her voice trailed off. Corinne had to think about what she was really feeling. Yeah, it probably was jealously. But jealous of who? Kevin or Amber? She would probably always have feelings for Kevin, but she had envied her sister at times in her life because she lived her life so free; without a care or a worry and Corinne was more of the worrying type; at least some of the time.
Corinne decided to be honest. “Yes, I guess jealous. I’m sorry. It’s just that it’s Amber and Kevin. Anyone else…”
“Anyone else, Baby, and you’d still probably be jealous. You know what? I’m not mad. If that’s all it is, then I’ll deal with it. Now, if you want to act on it, then I do have a problem with that.”
“No, I don’t. I told you, I want to be with you and I meant it. I’m over it now so we can go. And Nick… thank you again for being so understanding.”
“Yeah. I’m not usually this way. I guess you bring out the best in me.” He smiled at her and started the car. He had surprised himself on more than one occasion ever since they had gotten together. It was like she brought out the gentler side in him. Oh God, Carter, you’re not becoming a sap, are you? Was his thought as they sped down the road.
“Okay, guys, let’s try that again!” The producer roared from the booth. Take three and three hours into the recording session.
Corinne was so into this except she found herself stifling another yawn. Man! She had to get more sleep! Ever since she and Nick had started dating, she had gotten less sleep. She smiled to herself. She really couldn’t complain because it was usually because they were staying up late making love, but still… a nap right now sounded really nice…
Rob, Nick and Kevin were are standing around Corinne. They each took turns kissing her. The next thing she knew she was giving birth to a baby. Corinne held her up so they could all admire her. “Look! It’s a girl!” she said. “She’s mine!” Kevin said and took the baby. “No, she’s mine!” Nick said and took the baby from him. “No, she’s mine!” Rob said and snatched the baby away from Nick. Corinne took the baby from Rob. “No, she’s mine.” A person without a face took the baby from Corinne. “No, she’s ours!”
“Corinne! Corinne!” Nick was shaking her awake and she sat up abruptly.
“Huh? What?”
“Baby, I think you were having a bad dream. Are you okay?” Nick said.
“Uh, yeah, I guess.” Corinne tried to shake the cobwebs from her head. That dream seemed so real. She looked at Nick. Oh, God, there was something she had to tell him, but first she said,
“Nick, promise me you won’t leave me.” She said intently.
“What are you talking about you?’ He looked at her curiously.
“Just promise me.”
“Alright, I promise. What’s going on?”
Corinne stood up and hugged him.
“Alright, you two, enough. Hey, Corinne, I saw you sleeping over here. Is our music that boring?” AJ said behind them, smiling.
“Hey, AJ! No, you’re music is awesome! I love it! I just haven’t had a lot of sleep lately.” She looked over at Nick and AJ laughed.
“Oh, I get it. It’s Nick’s fault.”
“Hey!” Nick said.
“Yeah, it’s always Nick’s fault.” Brian said as he and Howie approached them.
Corinne laughed. "Hi guys. Hey, Howie, last night was fun! Thanks for joining us!"
“Yeah, it was. You’re mom and dad are awesome! I loved them!”
“Yeah, Corinne’s mom has a crush on Howie!” Nick chimed in.
“Really?” Kevin walked in on the conversation.
Corinne was quiet and she couldn’t look at him.
“Corinne, I never knew.” Kevin said to her, trying to get her to meet his eyes, but he was failing miserably. Oh, God, what was she thinking? He thought. He still cared about what she thought; he still cared about her in general.
“Well, I didn’t know about it until last night. My mom had a glass of wine and it was like true confessions!” Corinne laughed, looking at Kevin briefly and then looking away.
“She’s sounds cool!” AJ said. “Hey, you should bring your parents by, oh and I heard your sister had a baby, congrats!”
“Yeah, Corinne, give her our love!” Brian said.
“Thanks, you guys! That will mean a lot. I’m going to see her later today. I’ll let her know.”
“Well, you can give her our gift. We got her a little something.” Howie said, smiling shyly.
“You guys, no way!” Corinne was touched.
“Yeah, I picked it out!” Nick laughed.
“Oh, right, Nicky! No, Brian and Leighanne picked it out.” AJ said.
“Thanks, Brian. Give Leighanne my thanks, too.” Corinne smiled and hugged him.
“I will.” Brian smiled.
"Hey, we were going to run to get something to eat, do you want to come?" Nick asked Corinne.
Corinne yawned again. "Actually, I hoping maybe I could crash somewhere around here for a few minutes." She said, looking around.
"Hey, there's a couple of pillows over there." Brian pointed to a corner. "We usually use them for throwing, but you're welcome to sleep on them!" He giggled.
"That will work, thanks." She smiled.
They exchanged their goodbyes and as Nick, Brian, Howie and AJ walked out, Kevin walked out of the bathroom and stopped when he saw Corinne standing there.
"Hey." he said.
"Hey." She said back.
"Aren't you going to lunch with us?"
"No. I'm going to try to get some sleep for a few minutes."
"Oh, okay. Corinne?"
"Yeah?"
"Is everything alright? It seems like something's wrong."
Corinne paused. What was she to say? "Um..."
"I mean, if you want to talk, I'm here for you."
"Actually, Kevin, I would like to take you up on that offer."
Kevin was surprised, but happy. There were things he wanted to say to her, too.
"When? Now?"
Corinne nodded. "Who needs sleep, right? But what about the guys?"
"Don't worry about them. They won't care if I don't show up."
"OK." They walked over near the soundboard, sat down in two of the chairs and looked at each other. Corinne sighed. Where did she begin?
