On Valentine’s Day, Nick mustered up every ounce of romance he
could and treated Leah to a night he hoped she would never forget. He decided to go with the traditional
approach and took Leah out to dinner at a fancy restaurant. Dressed in a tuxedo, which he hated with a
passion and wore as little as possible, he picked her up in white
limousine. Armed with a bouquet of
long-stemmed red roses and a heart-shaped box of chocolates, he had his driver
park at the end of her driveway, climbed out, and set off for her front door.
Standing on her front porch, he rang the bell and waited, tugging
at his stiffly starched collar, which seemed to choke him. But when Leah pulled back the front door, all
the discomfort became worth it. Dressed
in a long, form-fitting black gown, her hair twisted and piled atop her head
with thin tendrils curling around her face, Leah looked simply
irresistible. Grinning widely at the
beauty before him, Nick held out the roses and the candy.
“Aww, Nicky, you’re so sweet,” gushed Leah, her eyes lighting
up. She set the candy down just inside
the door and clutched the bouquet in her arms.
Stepping out onto the porch and closing the door behind her, she held
out her free hand for Nick to take. He
did, and, pulling a move right out of Titanic, he lowered his face and
pressed his lips to her hand.
Leah burst out laughing, ruining the moment, and Nick pulled back
quickly, his cheeks flaming. “Sorry,” he
muttered in embarrassment.
“No, no, that was adorable!” Leah giggled. “I’ve just never had any guy do that to me
before!”
Nick grinned cheekily and grabbed her hand again. “Come on, let’s go,” he said, leading her off
the porch. As soon as his foot made
contact with the top step, he stumbled, pain shooting through his left
leg. For one horrifying moment, he lost
his balance and nearly fell face-first down the rest of the steps.
“Nick!” Leah cried, grabbing hold of him. She managed to catch and steady him, and he
stayed on his feet.
“Oh my God,” Nick muttered, closing his eyes. This night was not turning out the way he had
planned so far… how many more times was he going to embarrass himself tonight?
“What happened? Are you
okay?” Leah asked, peering at him in concern.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine, I just tripped,” Nick said quickly, face
hot with humiliation. “Let’s just go,
okay?”
“Okay.” Leah’s voice
wavered, and Nick glanced at her. Her
lips were twitching, and he knew she was struggling not to burst out
laughing. He sighed, put his arm around
her, and led her to the limo, praying they would get through the rest of the
night smoothly.
“Oh, Nick, this is so wonderful!” Leah gasped, forgetting her
laughter, when Nick opened up the limo door for her. When he had climbed in next to her on the
other side, she exclaimed, “I haven’t been in a limo since senior prom!”
Nick just smiled, having nothing to say to that. Of course, he had never gone to prom, but he
had been in millions of limos during his career. It was just one of the many things that
separated him, a famous singer, from her, a low-paid stri-… exotic dancer.
The limo pulled away from Leah’s house, and they were on their
way. As they drove, Leah explored the
limo’s luxuries.
“Check out the fridge,” Nick said, pointing out the tiny
refrigerator. Leah opened it eagerly and
peered inside. Grinning over at Nick,
she pulled out a bottle of champagne and two glasses. “Well, well, well, what a surprise,”
commented Nick, grinning back at her. He
took the champagne and poured it into the two glasses, handing her one. She sipped it, happily looking around at her
extravagant surroundings.
“I feel just like a princess,” she said with a joyful sigh.
“Or a celebrity,” Nick teased, and she laughed.
When the limo pulled up in front of the restaurant, Nick got out
and went around to Leah’s side to let her out.
As he opened the car door, he heard the familiar, “It’s Nick
Carter!” He whirled around to see a
young woman grab her date’s arm and point excitedly at him.
Rolling his eyes, Nick took Leah’s hand and helped her out of the
car, praying there wouldn’t be a frenzy.
But others had heard the girl as well, and a small crowd was
gathering. A camera flashed, and the
young woman who had first spotted him came hurrying up, running as fast as she
could in heels.
“Nick, can I have your autograph?” she asked breathlessly.
Helplessly, Nick looked at Leah.
“Go ahead,” she said with a knowing smile. “I don’t mind.”
“I’m sorry,” he mouthed at her quickly and then turned to the
young woman, who was waiting anxiously with a piece of paper and pen in her
outstretched hand. “Sure,” he said,
taking the pen and paper. “What’s your
name?”
“April.”
“Okay. Turn around, would
you?” Using her back as a makeshift
table, Nick wrote April a quick message and signed his name. As he did, he heard April ask Leah, “Are you
Nick’s girlfriend?”
“Um… you might say that,” Leah answered, glancing uncertainly at
Nick over April’s head.
He grinned at her and handed April her autograph. “There you go, hon,” he said.
“Thank you! Happy
Valentine’s Day!”
“You too.”
April went back to where her boyfriend was waiting, an annoyed
expression on his face, and Nick grabbed Leah and hurried her into the
restaurant, trying to avoid a scene.
People chased after them, but the restaurant personnel managed to hold
them back while Nick and Leah were seated in a private area of the elegant
eatery.
“Phew,” said Nick, pulling out Leah’s chair for her. “Sorry about that.”
“It’s okay,” Leah replied with an understanding smile. “It must happen a lot.”
“Yeah. Hopefully people
will leave us alone now though.” He sat
down across from her and picked up his menu.
Leah followed suit, her eyes traveling up and down the menu, growing
wide as she caught sight of the prices.
“Wow,” she said. “I’ve
never been anywhere this expensive.” She
grinned awkwardly, and her cheeks pinkened.
“You’re probably used to it though.”
Nick shrugged, feeling awkward himself. He realized she was uncomfortable, not used
to these surroundings, and he suddenly wished he hadn’t gone all out for
Valentine’s Day. He was more of a low
class guy himself, and he told her that.
“Yeah, I guess, but honestly, I don’t eat in places like this all the
time. I’m much more comfortable in a
McDonald’s.”
Leah giggled and immediately looked more at ease. “Well, I definitely don’t mind all this,” she
said.
“Well, good. I want you to
have a good time.” Their eyes met, and
they gazed at each other for a moment in rapture. The trance was broken by a waiter, who asked
for their drink orders in a heavy French accent.
Studying the menu, Leah ordered an expensive wine, and Nick
followed suit. The waiter disappeared
and returned moments later with a bottle of the fine wine, which he poured into
their goblets, filling them halfway.
They needed more time to decide on their meals, so the waiter left them
alone again.
Going over the menu choices and laughing at the fanciness of some
of the dishes, Leah looked up at Nick and said, “I could definitely get used to
this!”
***
“I had a wonderful time tonight, Nick,” Leah said, as the two
stood facing each other on her front porch later that night.
“Me too,” smiled Nick. “And
I’m glad you’re coming with me on tour.”
After some haggling with her boss, Leah had managed to get a month off
to go on the tour with Nick. He was
glad. It would be a great opportunity to
hang out every day with her, and she would be great company so he wouldn’t have
to be on the road all alone.
“Me too. I can’t wait,”
replied Leah. “Only two more days!” They would be leaving on Sunday, the
sixteenth, for Pennsylvania. The first
show would be the following night, in Pittston.
“I know.” Smiling, Nick
studied her for a moment, his eyes running up and down her face. Then, on pure impulse, he leaned forward and
kissed her, pressing his lips to hers.
He half-expected her to pull away, but she did not. Instead, he felt her lips caressing his. Gently wrapping his arms around her, he ran
his hands up and down her bare back, still kissing her. He opened his mouth slightly, and her tongue
slid in, the kiss turning more passionate.
Finally, it ended, and they pulled away, breathless. Holding her at arm’s length, Nick gazed at
Leah, his eyes drawn to hers. He had
heard people describe the fireworks they felt when they kissed certain
people. He had not experienced these
fireworks often. But with Leah, there
had definitely been fireworks. And
looking into her eyes, he knew they had been there for her too.
“Happy Valentine’s Day,” he whispered, making no move to leave.
“Thank you for an amazing night, Nick,” she said softly. Then they stood there for a few more seconds,
just looking at each other. And finally,
Leah pulled away. “I’ll see you
Sunday.” She stood up on tiptoe, kissed
his cheek, grinned at him, and opened her door.
“Yeah,” Nick said breathlessly.
“See you Sunday.”
Leah went inside and closed the door behind her. And Nick walked slowly off of the porch,
grinning from ear to ear.
***