Chapter 7
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.
***