Chapter Twenty – Three - Old News

[ Nick Narrating ]

The past three days have been three of the best days of my life. I can’t even begin to explain what I’m feeling right now. Actually I probably could if I tried, but I don’t want to try. I don’t have to try because you can look at the smile on my face and see.

I’m happy.

I don’t know what it is about her that makes me so happy but her being around me makes me happy. She makes me a better person and I don’t wanna loose that. I didn’t want to leave that cabin. God, I loved being in that cabin with her. We only left it twice. The first time was when we went to the lake and then last night we went out and had a picnic while watching the sunset. We just layed around the cabin the whole time talking, cuddling, kissing, touching, feeling, and everything.

I didn’t want to leave that, but we had to.

Now we are on our way to Jackson, Mississippi to meet back up with Tim’s tour. I’m really less than thrilled but Caraline seems eager to go. Her mom, sister, and her sister’s family were supposed to come but they aren’t anymore. I’m sort of happy because it would be like “Hi, I just spent the last three days doin’ your daughter”. Good thing her brothers’ aren’t coming – at least I don’t think so.

I just can’t wait until we go to New York so I can work and we can be alone again, without anybody around.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

”Shhh,” Caraline said as her and Nick walked out of the elevator, giggling as she looked back at the bell boy, “We’re really not drunk. We promise,”

”Yes ma’am. I’ll go take these to your room,” he said as Nick gave him a evil glare as Caraline looked at the hotel room numbers.

”That’s their room,” Caraline said as she walked up to it, knocking on it. She smiled, looking over at Nick as the bell boy closed their hotel room door and walked by, handing Nick their key. Nick tipped him and then looked back at the door to see Faith opening it, “Hey! We’re back!”

”You’re back!” Faith yelled as her and Caraline hugged, leaving Nick standing there with a confused look on his face, “Did you guys just get back?”

”Just got back. Our room is down the hall,” Nick said as him and Caraline walked into the room.

”Where’s the girls at?” Caraline asked as she looked around the suite, “Are they out with Sandra?”

”Yeah, they went out with Sandra and my parents are here and they went with them to the park,” Faith said as she crossed her arms, looking at them, “So did you have a good time?”

”Yes,” Caraline and Nick said at the same time as they started to laugh.

”We had fun,” Nick said as he put his arm around Caraline’s shoulder, “We didn’t really wanna leave,”

”Too bad, you had to,” Faith said as she snickered, winking at Caraline who winked back. Nick looked at her with a confused look on his face and Faith laughed, “Don’t worry it’s just girl winking,”

”Oh okay,” Nick said as he laughed, shaking his head, “You two wanna be alone? I need to go make a phone call or two,” he asked, looking over at Caraline who nodded her head at him, “Alright. I got the hint. I know when I’m not wanted.

”Oh shut up,” Caraline whispered as she leaned up a little, giving him a little kiss. Faith put her hand over her mouth, smiling as Nick gave her another quick kiss back and then smiled over at Faith, winking at her, “Stop the winking and go,”

”Yes ma’am,” Nick muttered as he smiled, walking over to the door. Caraline and Faith watched him as he smiled, shutting the door behind him and then looked back at one another.

”So?” Faith asked as Caraline crossed her arms, “Tell me everything. You know you have to.” Caraline giggled, walking over to a chair and leaned back, smiling, “Caraline Morgan, talk to me,”

”Is it sad that I think that I’m falling in love with him?” Caraline asked as a huge face spreaded across Faith’s face as she pulled a chair away from a table, moving it in front of Caraline and sat down in it, “I just can’t get enough of him and I can’t fight it all anymore,”

”You really think that you’re falling for him?” Faith asked as Caraline smiled, nodding her head yes, “But how do you know?”

”I just know,” Caraline said as she tuckered her hair behind her ears and smiled, “I’m happy when I’m with him and I’ve never been that happy with a guy before,”

”Not even with Bryan?”

”Bryan is a whole different story,”

”Why is Bryan a whole other story?” Faith asked as Caraline sighed and shook her head a little.

”Because I was young and I was stupid. Yeah I loved Bryan and I used to think that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him but.. it didn’t work that way. I’ve moved on and Nick makes me happy,” Caraline said as Faith crossed her arms.

”Don’t you think this is moving just a little fast?” Faith asked as Caraline rolled her eyes, “I mean, yeah my relationship with Tim moved pretty fast but not this fast,”

”It’s not like we’re jumping up and getting married next week,” Caraline said as she stood up and walked on the other side of the room, looking out of the window, “I’m happy with him. He makes me happy,”

”Well if he makes you happy then great,” Faith said as Caraline turned around, seeing Faith standing up from the chair she was sitting in, “But you don’t want to move into too much too soon and I’m not saying wait five years until you become really serious or wait a year but just get to know one another really well and don’t use the word ‘love’ too loosely,”

”I haven’t told him that I think I’m falling for him yet,” Caraline said as she smiled, “But it’s like we can look into one another’s eyes and see that. That’s what I felt like the first time we were, well not the first time but this –“ she said as she paused and looked at Faith who looked confused. Then she realized that Faith didn’t know about their actual first time together, “our first time together.”

”Are you confusing yourself?” Faith asked as Caraline smiled at her, walking over and hugged her. Faith hugged her back and started to laugh, “Tim got some new clothes in so maybe you should go over to the arena and help him out,”

”Ohhh!” Caraline said as she stopped hugging her and clapped her hands, “Maybe I should, but first I need to go down to our room,”

”Our room,” Faith said as she sighed, watching Caraline walk out of the suite and started to giggle to herself.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

”You know,” Nick said later that afternoon as he sat in Tim’s dressing room, looking at a magazine as Tim and Caraline were going through some shirts that were on a rack, “None of the stylist that I ever worked with did this,”

”Have you noticed half the crap you wear?” Caraline asked as Nick looked over the top of the magazine at her, “Awww don’t look at me that way,”

”Ugh, sick puppy love crap,” Tim muttered as Caraline hit him lightly, “Abusing the artist!”

”How about this one?” Caraline asked, pulling out a maroon looking shirt, “It would look good with a pair of jeans and a black hat,”

”Yeah I like that one,” Tim said as he took it from her and put it over on the rack with the shirts he had chosen, “So when are you two going at it again?” he asked as Nick cracked up laughing, “Off again. You know what I mean,”

”Two days I think,” Caraline said as she looked back at Nick who nodded his head yes, “I wish my mom and April and the kids could have came and they could have met Nick,”

”Don’t worry I’ll have plenty of time to meet them,” Nick said as he smiled over at her, throwing the magazine back on the table, “Where’s the show tomorrow night?”

”Two sold out shows here,” Tim said as Caraline smiled, “Faith said that she talked to April earlier before you two got here and that her and Mitch might be coming tomorrow night, but weren’t sure yet,”

”And why didn’t you mention this before?” Caraline asked, hitting Tim upside the head lightly.

”It was supposed to be a surprise but I just let it slip,” Tim muttered as he hit her upside the head, “So how was the cabin kids? Did you try that lake out Nick told me about?”

”Tim!” Caraline yelled as Nick and Tim cracked up laughing, “My god, you know I am in the room,”

”It was cold man,” Nick said while he was still laughing. Caraline just stared over at him.

”Fine, you two talk while I’m not in your presence. I’m going to go get something to eat,” she said as she shook her head walking out of the room.

”Women,” Tim muttered as Nick laughed again, “So it was a good trip huh?”

”Too good man,” Nick said as he smiled, “I didn’t want to leave but she kept saying how we had to leave and get back here so that we can be here a few days and then go to New York so I could record. She’s always so on me about being on schedule and not being late and being on time,”

”Sounds like Faith,” Tim said as he laughed, as he turned around, “Now tell me the manly details,” he said as Nick cracked up laughing at him again.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Caraline walked out of the snack room, and opened a bag of chips, walking down the hallway slowly. She pulled a chip out and put it in her mouth, taking a bit of it before she walked over and sat down in a chair, crossing her legs. She smiled, hearing Nick’s laugh stuck in her head and licked her fingers before reaching for another chip. She realized how comfortable the chair that she was sitting in was, so she stood up and started walking around the arena slowly, looking around. She passed one of the band members, and waved to him, and realized he was checking her out.

She just rolled her eyes in return.

She walked over to a huge set of windows that over looked part of the parking lot and watched to see some fans, getting out of their cars, getting ready for the concert that night. She saw a older man, picking up a little girl with a Tim McGraw t-shirt and helped her out of their SUV and she smiled. Then she realized she knew the guy and he was one of her teachers in high school. She shook her head a little, turning around and bumped into someone.

”Caraline?”

”Bryan?” Caraline asked as she looked at the guy standing in front of her. He was about Nick’s weight and height, except he had short, light brown hair, “Uh what the hell are you doing here?”

”Forgot my uncle owns part of this arena?” Bryan asked as Caraline put another chip in her mouth, biting down on it as she looked at him with a confused look, “I’ve been working for him some so I get to come to the backstage area and well I figured you’d be here,”

”And you were looking for me?” Caraline asked as she walked around him, throwing the rest of the chips away and wiped her hands on her jeans before crossing her arms, “What do you want with me?”

”Well I hadn’t seen you in a long time and I saw your brother last week and he said that you would more than likely be on tour with Tim McGraw so I decided to look around and I saw you looking out the window when I walked in here,” Bryan said as he put his hands in his pockets, “So how have you been?”

”I’ve been good,” Caraline said as she stared at him, tucking her hair behind her ears again, “How have you been?”

”Alright. I graduated college a month ago –“

”Finally –“

”Yeah well, we all didn’t start early like you did,” Bryan said as Caraline rolled her eyes at him, “So you like going around with Faith a lot?”

”Yeah I do,” Caraline said as she shrugged her shoulders and smiled, “I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I mean didn’t you like going off to college and partying?”

”Yeah, until it got old,” Bryan said as Caraline laughed a little, “Well it did. Plus, me going into rehab probably didn’t help things,”

”You went to rehab?” Caraline asked as Bryan nodded his head, walking closer to her, “What did you go to rehab for? Why didn’t I hear about it because God knows my family tells me everything else that you do.”

”Well not many people know,” Bryan whispered as he looked around and then looked back at her, shrugging his shoulders a little, “After we broke up, I started drinking a lot and I ended up going to rehab for two months after I passed out one night and has to be rushed to the hospital. My dad made me,”

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

”What the hell is Caraline doing? Go to the grocery store to get something to eat?” Tim asked as he started to laugh.

”Maybe she figured we were going into this huge man talk or some shit,” Nick said as he stood up and walked over to the door, “Want me to go find her?”

”Yeah go ahead and find her so we can finish up in here,” Tim said as Nick saluted to him and walked out the door, shutting it behind him.