He made his way backstage, sweaty and exhausted, but
thrilled. It had been an outstanding
first performance, and he couldn’t have been happier.
Leah ran up to him, her eyes shining with enthusiasm. “Oh, Nick, that was wonderful!” she cried.
“Thanks,” Nick said, grinning at her. “Well, I’m gonna hit the showers. I’ll meet you on the bus, okay?”
“Okay.” Leah ran off one
way, and Nick went in the opposite direction, desperate for a shower.
Minutes later, Nick slowly stripped and turned on the water in the
shower. He waited a few minutes to let
it heat up and then climbed into the steamy jet. The hot water felt like heaven on his
body. He stood there for what seemed
like an eternity, just letting it flow over his body, washing away his
sweat. He was startled out of his bliss
by a loud knock on the door and his bodyguard Joe’s deep voice calling, “Nick, are
you okay in there?”
“Yeah!” Nick shouted, rolling his eyes. “I’ll be out soon!” Sighing heavily, he squirted some shampoo
into his palm and ran it through his blonde hair. Then he took the bar of soap and quickly
washed his body. Taking a few final
minutes to rinse himself off, he finally shut off the water and climbed
out. He threw on a pair of sweats and
left.
Joe was waiting for him outside.
“Nick, you ready to get out to the bus?” he asked.
“Yeah, let’s go, I’m beat,” Nick said, following Joe out of the
small venue to where Nick’s tour bus was parked. He climbed onto the bus and found Leah
sitting on the couch.
“So, what are our plans for tonight?” she asked, as he sank down
tiredly beside her.
“Plans? I don’t know about
you, but I just wanna go to bed,” said Nick, tiredly raking a hand through his
wet hair. “I’m exhausted.”
“Oh,” said Leah, sounding disappointed.
“Why? You wanted to do
something?”
“Well, I dunno, I’m just not tired yet. I’m wide awake from the show.”
Nick smiled. “Sorry,” he
said. “Usually I’m still on an
adrenaline rush now, but it seems to have faded early tonight. But if you wanna stay up and watch a movie or
something, go right ahead.”
“Okay. I guess I’ll stay up
awhile then,” said Leah. “Go on to bed.”
Nick did just that, staggering to the back of the bus and
collapsing in his bunk. He didn’t know
why he was so tired; he usually was not this beat after the very first
concert. Figuring it was just a result
of the buildup of nerves he had experienced before the show, he pulled the
covers up around himself and closed his eyes.
All he needed was a few hours of sleep.
***
Nick awoke the next morning with renewed energy. Pushing back the curtains surrounding his
bunk, he climbed out of bed. The
curtains were drawn around Leah’s bunk, and he figured she was still
asleep. He hadn’t even heard her go to
bed the night before, having fallen asleep almost as soon as his head hit the
pillow.
His stomach rumbling with hunger, Nick walked to the center of the
bus, where the kitchen area was located.
He stuck his head in one of the cupboards, rummaged around, and emerged
with a small box of Frosted Flakes, which he dumped into a bowl and poured some
milk over. He sat at the small table,
eating and looking out the window at the passing scenery. There was snow on the ground. Having grown up in Florida, seeing snow still
amazed Nick. He would have liked it if
it wasn’t so cold. Nick had never been
big on cold, which was why he liked living in a place with mild winters. He couldn’t imagine being cooped up inside
all winter and not being able to go out on his boat.
Nick’s thoughts were interrupted by Leah’s voice. “Nick?”
Nick jumped in his seat and turned his head to find Leah standing there,
her blonde hair in tangles from sleep, her eyes bleary.
“Leah! Hey, I didn’t even
see you standing there. Did you sleep
well?”
She shrugged. “Yeah, I
guess so, considering I’m on a bus. How
about you?”
“I slept okay. I’m used to
the whole bus thing by now, I guess.”
Nick smiled. “So, you
hungry? There’s cereal in the
cupboard.” He nodded to the empty
Frosted Flakes box.
“Um, not right now.”
“Okay. Well, get something
to eat whenever you feel like it.”
Leah nodded and sat down at the table across from him. They made small talk and looked out the
window while the bus drove on. After
awhile, the bus slowed, and Nick noticed a rest stop ahead.
“Looks like we’re going to make a pit stop,” he said. “I’m gonna get out, are you?”
“Yeah, I guess so. I should
go throw some clothes on,” Leah said, looking down at her wrinkled spaghetti
strap top and pajama bottoms.
“Yeah, me too.”
By the time they were both dressed, the bus had stopped at a gas
station. Nick and Leah climbed off and
went into the gas station. After a quick
bathroom break (despite his many years on the road, Nick still hated using tiny
bus bathrooms), the two wandered through the small convenience store, looking
around. They got some snacks for the
road and took them to the counter. While
the young man behind the counter rang up their food, Nick’s eyes traveled to
the magazine rack. Immediately drawn to
one periodical in particular, Nick groaned.
“What?” Leah quizzed from beside him.
“Look,” Nick said flatly, pointing at one of the tabloids. Leah gasped.
There, gracing the front cover, was a picture of her and Nick on
Valentine’s Day, in front of the restaurant.
The headline above the picture read “Backstreet Boy Nick Carter’s New
Love Affair.”
“New love affair?” quoted Leah, her nose wrinkled in disgust. “God, these people need to get a life. I can’t believe they actually care about who
you’re dating… no offense.”
Nick laughed. “I don’t get
it either. I’m sorry – I didn’t expect
you to be in the tabloids this soon.”
Leah shrugged. “It’s not a
big deal. No harm done, right?”
“No… except when the teenyboppers get a load of this, I’m sure
there’ll be a few hate sites about you springing up online.”
“Hate sites? But… but they
don’t even know my name! How could
they-“
“Because they’re jealous and delusional,” Nick interrupted. “They hate any girl they see me with.”
Leah laughed. “Well, I
don’t care. Screw them, right?”
“Yeah,” Nick said with a grin.
“Screw them all.”
***
Later that afternoon, Nick’s cell phone rang.
“Nick Carter,” he answered.
He was greeted with a cheerful, “Nickolas Gene Carter, what in the
hell do you think you’re doing dating some trampy stripper, of all
people?! I thought I raised you
better! Just think what this is going to
do to your reputation!”
“Nice to talk to you too, Mom,” Nick muttered, rolling his
eyes. His mother sounded irate, and he
assumed the “trampy stripper” she was talking about was Leah. Just how she knew about Leah and Leah’s
career choice was beyond him.
“What did you say?”
“How the hell do you know she’s a stripper?” Nick demanded,
ignoring his mother’s question.
“So it’s true?!”
“What are you talking about?
Where did you find this out?” Nick asked again.
“Well, it was in the latest issue of Globe! I saw it at the supermarket this morning, and
lo and behold, your face was on it! That
girl you were with – she’s a stripper?!”
“How did they find out she’s a-“
“Nickolas, I don’t know, but they found out, and now it’s all over
the world that you’ve got some trashy new girlfriend that takes her clothes off
for money. Just lovely. What were you thinking? Don’t you care what people think of you?!”
Nick was outraged. “No,
Mom, that’s just it – I don’t!”
“Well, you should! You’re
supposed to be a role model – what will your young fans think?!”
“I don’t give a crap what they think, Mom! I never claimed to be a good role model, and
I’ll damn well date whoever the hell I want!”
A click on the other end of the line signaled that his mother had
hung up on him. With a growl of rage,
Nick turned off his cell phone and threw it onto the couch, where it bounced a
few times and came to rest. Aaron was
right – Jane Carter was a bitch, an irrational, shallow, heartless bitch. “Damn her,” he muttered angrily under his
breath.
“Nick?” came a tiny voice from behind him. Nick turned to find Leah standing there, her
eyes wide.
“I’m sorry you had to hear that,” he said quietly, giving her a
grim half smile.
“That was about me, wasn’t it?
Your mom saw the tabloid?”
“Yeah. And apparently the
tabloid knows… uh… where you work.”
“How??”
“Your guess is as good as mine.
Maybe whoever sent in that picture of us together recognized you and
knew where you worked. I have no
idea. But the truth is out now, I
guess.”
Leah sighed. “Great. Now all your fans will think I’m a slut.”
“Leah, they’d probably go around calling you a slut anyway, so
it’s not a big deal. I like you for who
you are, not what you do, and that’s all that matters.”
Leah smiled a little.
“Really?”
Nick returned the smile, along with a hug. “Really.”
***