Date: Mon, 8 Mar 2004 20:34:26 -0800 (PST)
From: slpwriter <slpwriter@yahoo.com>
Subject: Nick Lachey: My Everything-68

I'm back with another chapter of "My Everything."

Thanks for all of your support! Without it, I don't
think I could have written this story for this long.

Now on with the story.

First of all, let me just say that this is my first
time writing any kind of fiction like this.

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of total fiction and is
not meant to imply anything about the sexualities of
Nick and Drew Lachey or anyone else mentioned in
this story.

If you are too young to read this, or if
Homosexuality offends you, then please don't
continue any further and leave.

Other 98 Degrees stories I'd like to recommend are.

"Give Me Just One Night" by Unanoche.
"69 with Jeff Timmons" by Zachary Scott Pritt
"Nick Lachey" by Ken.
"98 Degrees Is Hot" by Gay Night
"The Reunion" by RinSong.
"Loving Nick Lachey" by Jordan
"Playing Doctor with 98 Degrees" by Brian
"This Gift" by Sprout

and finally:

"What I feel for you" by Thack.

"What I feel for you." is an awesome story and
Thack, himself deserves applause for all of his hard
work on it.

NEWSFLASH:

It is heard that Nick Lachey has signed a deal with
ABC to star in his own comedy or drama series. Lets
all keep our fingers crossed and hope that we get to
see Nick Lachey do great things as an actor as well.

Before any of that happens, you can still catch Nick
Lachey and his brother, Drew, on "Newlyweds: Nick and
Jessica." The show airs Wednesdays on MTV at 10:00p.m.
Eastern Standard Time (EST) and 9:00p.m. Central
Standard Time. (CST)

 Now, I"ll let you get on with the story.

Enjoy.


Previously on "My Everything".....


"You've really got it bad for him, don't you?" She
asked me, in between her laughter.

I was not expecting that and it caught me off guard. I
suddenly felt sick. I looked up at Michelle.

"Excuse me, I think I need some air." I said, quickly
getting up and running to the door and heading
outside.

I ran down into the sand and stood near the water, as
darkness started to descend upon the sky. I stood in
my usual spot and tried to keep from crying. I guess
my plan didn't work out as well as I thought.

I felt someone's hands on my shoulders, massaging them
gently. I didn't even need to know who it was. There
was only one person who would offer comfort like that.

"Are you ok?" I heard Nick ask me. I turned around and
looked at him. His hands left my shoulders when I did.

"Yeah, Nick, I'm fine." I said, as I wiped at my eyes.
Nick didn't look convinced.

"You don't look fine." Nick said, looking at me,
closely. "Is something bothering you?"

For a split second there, I wanted to tell him
everything. About how much I missed him and how much I
still loved him. But I didn't.

"I just felt sick all of a sudden and I just wanted to
get some air." I told him. I'm fine now."

I then looked back at the house and saw Michelle
standing there, in the doorway.

"Shall we go back in, now?" I asked, gesturing to the
house.

"Sure." Nick said, and turned to head towards the
house. I grabbed his arm at that moment.

"Hey." I said, as he turned around. "First, I want to
give you something before we go back in."

"What's that?" Nick asked, with raised eyebrows.

I stood there a moment, wondering if I should do it,
but in the end, my desire won over and I pulled him
close and wrapped my arms around him. I hugged him
tightly.

I felt his arms go around me, and breathed a content
sigh. I always felt better when I was in his strong
arms. Even if he was just my friend.

*******************************************************
BACK IN LOS ANGELES.............

Drew was in his car, driving down the streets of
Beverly Hills. He was obviously very upset, for he was
crying.

"I really fucked up this time." He said to himself.
"And now I've lost my brother forever."

He wiped at his eyes and continued.

"There were alot of tough times in our lives. Nick and
I always had our disagreements and brotherly quarrels,
but in the end, we always knew we would be there for
each other, no matter what. There were times when Nick
and I didn't think we'd make it, as a family, but we
did........"

Drew choked up, unable to go on. He stopped at a
traffic light, which had turned red.

"I don't think we're gonna make it this time." He
sobbed. "We're not a family anymore."

The light turned green and Drew started driving again.
He was almost at his parents' house. But then, he got
a very disturbing look on his face.

"I'm sorry, Nick." He said, quietly. "Someday, you
will know just how sorry I am for everything."

Drew looked down, at the letter he had written to his
parents and decided that he'd just swing by and put it
in their mailbox.

He drove down his parents' street and up to the
driveway to the mailbox. His parents weren't home yet.
Both cars were gone.

Drew slid the letter into the mailbox, with the rest
of the mail and drove off again.

"I'm sorry, Mom and Dad." He said, outloud. "I can't
face you right now. Maybe, when I come back, we can
work this out. But not right now."

As Drew drove, he looked around the city, wondering
when he would ever see it again.


"Goodbye, Everyone." Drew whispered.


***********
CHAPTER 68
***********

BACK IN ORLANDO, ON THE BEACH.................

Nick and I pulled back from our embrace and looked
into each other's eyes. I could feel my desire for
him, strengthening. I wanted him bad. I wanted him in
the worst way possible.

"I'm sorry, Nick." I said, as I turned away from him.
"I just felt like I needed someone's arms around me at
that moment."

"You don't have to apologize, Sean." Nick said. "I'm
glad I could be here for you. I know you would have
done the same for me if I were in your shoes."

He was right, of course. I would have done anything I
could to make him feel better if he were in my
position.

"I'm sure I would, Nick." I said, putting a hand on
one of his muscular arms, squeezing it gently. "You've
always been there for me and even when I was mean to
you, you always gave me the benefit of the doubt. Even
when things seemed at their worst. I can't thank you
enough for that."

Nick nodded and smiled at me. His smile made my heart
skip a beat. Even now, his smile still did that to me.

Nick turned and looked back at the house. Michelle
wasn't standing outside anymore. She had gone in to
help Jake with dinner and to give us some privacy.

"I'm going to go back in and help with dinner." He
said, and then turned to look at me. "Are you ready to
come back in?"

I thought about it for a moment and then decided I
might as well go back in, since I was famished.

"Sure." I smiled, and put my arm around his shoulders.
"Come on."

Nick and I walked back into the house, together. When
we were in the living room, we saw that Jake and
Michelle had set the table and also filled our bowls
with salads.

Jake gave me a look of concern when he saw me.
Michelle must have told him him what she had asked me,
earlier. But he didn't acknowledge it, so I wasn't
sure.

"Are you ok now, Sean?" He asked me.

"Yeah, buddy." I said. "I'm alright. Just felt sick
for a moment. But since I'm starving, that'll change."

"You can say that again." Nick said, rubbing his
washboard stomach. "Let's all sit down and eat now."

"Yes, let's." Michelle said. She turned to Jake.
"Honey, are the steaks done?"

Jake turned back to the stove to check the steaks.
They were definitely done.

"They're ready." He said, as he picked up a fork.
"Give me a plate."

Nick handed him a plate and Jake put a piece of steak
on it for him.

"How about you do the honors, Nick?" Jake suggested.
"How's it taste?"

Nick set down the plate at his place, on the table,
and grabbed a sharp steak knife. He cut a piece of
steak and brought it to his mouth. He opened and
accepted the steak.

As he chewed, a look of satisfaction crossed his face
when he tasted the steak. It tasted great! Jake was
obviously a great cook.

"It's delicious, Jake." Nick said, smiling. "I'm
telling you, you could do this for a living. You'd
make a great chef."

Jake grinned at Nick, pleased that his cooking had won
Nick over. He of course had a surprise in store for
Nick.

"Actually, Nick, I am a chef." Jake said. "At least
until I've graduated college. Then I move on to other
things. Like getting married, and preparing for a new
baby that's on the way."

Nick was surprised. He looked over at Michelle, who
had taken a seat near him.

"You're having a baby?" He asked her, like he couldn't
believe it. "Congratulations, to both of you!"

"Thanks, Nick." Michelle said. "Although, we weren't
expecting to be having a baby this soon, it still
worked out in the end. And Jake and I don't have to
sacrifice anything."

"I'm really happy for you guys." Nick said, reaching
out to shake Jake's hand. "You don't know what an
adventure you're in for. Having a kid is like nothing
else you could ever experience."

As Nick was talking, he looked sad for a moment. Maybe
because he was thinking about his own daughter.

"I loved every minute that I spent with Jessica,
raising our daughter, Nicole." Nick continued. "It was
one of the best experiences of my entire life."

 As we all sat there, eating dinner, we all noticed
how Nick's face would light up whenever he would talk
about his little girl. I, of course, remembered that
he looked like that when we'd gotten married two years
ago.

I remembered the love in his eyes. The love in his
heart for me. I wondered if Nick still remembered
that. It wasn't exactly a moment to forget. That
memory had been burned into my brain, forever. I would
never forget it.

I listened, as Nick talked to Jake and Michelle about
how lucky they were to be having a baby and to be
getting married. He then brought up how lucky he was
to be married to Jessica and that he'd never been in
love more than he had when he'd married her.

Nick didn't see it right then and there, but he'd just
talked his way right into an insulting situation.

"How can you say that, Nick?" Jake asked him, suddenly
looking angry. My eyes widened, in shock.

"Jake, don't!" I warned him, nervously. "It's
alright."

Nick looked at me at that moment. Then, he looked back
at Jake.

"What's this all about, Jake?" Nick asked him,
confused.

Jake turned towards Nick, looking really angry.

"You just said that you've never been more in love
than when you married Jessica." He said, repeating
Nick's earlier statement.

"Yeah. So, what's the problem?" Nick asked, still not
getting it.

Jake rolled his eyes. He then decided to spell it out
for Nick.

"You seem to forget that you were married once before.
To your ex-husband, who just happens to be right here
in the same room with us!" Jake said, rather harshly.

I covered my face, in my hands, obviously humiliated
and embarrassed by Jake's misinterpretation of Nick's
words. But something told me that this wasn't just
about that.

"Wait a second!" Michelle gasped, her eyes wide.
"Nick, does this mean that you're the same Nick who
broke up with Sean and threw him out of your life, two
years ago?"

Nick hung his head, and nodded.

"I'm afraid so, Michelle." He said, sadly. "And I will
regret that, until my dying day."

Michelle then didn't feel much like eating, since she
was now feeling a little angry at Nick.

"Who would ever have thought of it?" She asked,
sarcastically. "You, Nick Lachey, of all people. You
marry our best friend, find out that your marriage
wasn't legal, get mad at Sean for keeping it from you,
and then you throw him out on the street, like trash?!
Who the hell do you think you are?!"

Suddenly, I couldn't take it anymore. I was sick of
listening to Jake and Michelle insulting the man I
loved for something that wasn't entirely his fault.
I'm sure if Nick had known that Drew had been the
cause of our breakup back then, he probably would
never have let me leave.

I stood up. My cheeks were flushed, which was the
first sign that would show that I was upset.

"I'll tell you who Nick Lachey is!" I said, loudly.

Jake and Michelle looked up at me, as did Nick. They
were all shocked to see how upset I was. I saw Nick,
looking at me, like a scolded child.



"He's a wonderful man! He's the most generous, kind,
loving husband that any man or woman could ask for!
He's a wonderful father to his baby girl, and he's
worked hard to get to where he is today, so how dare
you two, insult him and embarass him, when he is a
guest in my home!"

I looked over at Jake and Michelle, my eyes moving
from one of them, to another.

"I'm getting so sick and tired of you two making such
a big deal over something that happened such a long
time ago! Nick has been an amazing friend to me,
lately, which is alot more than I can say for you two,
so the two of you just butt out!"

Jake and Michelle both looked confused and hurt when
they heard that last part of my outburst. When I
realized what I'd said, my eyes widened.

"Oh, man!" I gasped, putting my hand to my forehead,
in shock. "Jake, Michelle, I'm sorry."

Jake was obviously hurt by my harsh words, although he
masked it over with an angry frown, I knew him well
enough to know how he was feeling.

The silence that filled the room was so intense, you
could feel the tension in the room. Nobody said
anything for a few minutes.

"Well, come on, Michelle." Jake said, standing up and
walking over to Michelle's chair to help her up.
"We've obviously worn out our welcome here."

"I think you're right, sweetie." Michelle said, sadly,
as she got up with him. "Let's go home."

I felt a wave of guilt wash over me for how I'd
treated my best friends. This was definitely the first
time I'd ever done anything to hurt them. Even if it
was unintentional."

"Jake? Michelle? wait." I said, as they walked to the
door.

Jake opened it and Michelle left first. Then, Jake
turned around.

"I'm sorry, Sean." He said, angrily. "I'm sorry I'm
not a good enough friend for you! Obviously, you've
forgotten who was there for you, during some of the
worst times of your life!"

"Who was there to save you, after you tried to attempt
suicide? Who was there for you and got you help with
professional couselors and therapists when you were at
your lowest? Who was there for you to help you
recover? Who were there for you to offer comfort and
support when you cried, somtimes up to 4 times a day,
because you hated Nick for what he'd done to you!"

I buried my face into my hands and took a deep sigh. I
couldn't say anything, so I just listened.

"Why, I believe it was Michelle and I." Jake
continued. "And you have the nerve to say that Nick is
the one who's been an amazing friend to you, over us?"

Was Nick there for you when you were going through any
of this?!" Jake asked, harshly. "No! He wasn't! But,
we were! I hope you remember who your friends are, if
you still have any left now!"

Jake grabbed the doorknob and opened the door,
roughly. "Goodnight." He said, walking out and
slamming the door.

"Jake!" I yelled, opening the door, as he walked
towards his house. He kept on walking.

"Jake, come back here!" I called out, again. "Jake!"

But it was no use. Jake wasn't listening to me. He
entered his apartment and shut the door behind him.

I sighed, heavily and walked back inside. When I
entered the kitchen, I saw Nick, cleaning up the table
and throwing away the rest of the food that were on
Jake and Michelle's plates that they hadn't finished.
His back was to me.

As I stood there, watching him, I realized at that
moment that Nick and I had unfinished business to
attend to.

"Nick, we need to talk." I said from behind him. He
turned around and looked at me. His expression was
sad.

"Yeah, we do." Nick said, throwing the empty plates
into the sick and rinsing them off. "Why don't you go
wait for me in the living room, while I get all of
this taken care of?"

All right, Nick." I said, turning around and walking
out of the kitchen.

I went out into the living room and took a seat on the
couch, and lie back into the couch, as I let my
thoughts wander back to everything that had just
happened a few minutes ago.

*******************************************************

BACK IN LOS ANGELES...............

It was late afternoon, at the Lachey house. Justin and
Kandi were sitting on the couch together, watching
television. Danny and Jeff were in the love seat,
making out together.

Jessica came downstairs, into the living room and
caught Danny and Jeff in their intimate moment.

"Hey, you two, break it up." Jessica said, with a
grin. "If Nicole had seen that, I'd have kicked both
of your asses."

Danny and Jeff stopped kissing and the both of them
looked up at her. They both were blushing, but had
smiles on their faces.

"Sorry, Jess." Jeff apologized. "But my man here is
too sexy to resist."

"So are you, baby." Danny said, stroking Jeff's face
with his fingers. Then he looked up at Jessica again.

"Where is that little angel anyways?" Danny asked her.


Jessica sat down, looking very exhausted. She
obviously wasn't have the best time right now.

"She's asleep. I finally managed to put her down."
Jessica said. "She's been really fussy since Nick left
earlier today."

Jessica stood up and started to pace the room. She
looked flustered. Not to mention, frustrated.

"You know, I don't care what Nick says." She said. "I
have every right to call and talk to him, family
emergency or not. I'm his wife, for heaven's sake!"

"That doesn't give you the right to disrespect your
husband's wishes, sweetie." Kandi said, from beside
Justin. "Nick's asked you for time to figure things
out and you should honor his wishes."

Jessica looked at Kandi, shocked at what she was
saying. It made her go on the defensive.

"Who's side are you on, Kandi?" She asked, with a
confused scowl.

"This isn't about taking sides, Hon." Kandi said,
calmly. "This situation is already bad enough with
Nick, finding out about what Drew did to his and
Sean's marriage, as well as the fact that you wanted
to keep it from him."

Justin spoke up, next.

"And now with Nick leaving, and your unwavering
contempt for Sean, I think this situation will only
get worse."

"Oh yes, it will." Jessica said, angrily. "But not for
me. For Sean."

Jessica looked over at the phone that was on the table
beside her. She decided what to do next.

"Sean Perry is going to regret the day he ever decided
to mess with me and my family!" Jessica said, the
bitterness obvious in her voice.

She picked up the phone and started dialing someone's
number.

"Who are you calling, Jessica?" Jeff asked, from his
spot on the loveseat, next to Danny.

Jessica looked up at everyone, with a look on her face
that had "Showdown!" written all over it.

"I'm calling in reinforcements." She said, as she put
the phone to her ear. "Sean is finally going to learn
who he's dealing with!"

*******************************************************

BACK IN ORLANDO......................

While Nick was cleaning up in the kitchen, I sat on
the couch in the living room and thought over what had
happened earlier.

I had hurt Jake and Michelle a great deal and I felt
really bad about it now. But I of course knew that
things would be ok. I just needed to give Jake and
Michelle some time to cool off and think things over,
just like I was going to do.

"Hey." I heard Nick's voice say.

I looked up to see that he was finished cleaning up
and was now standing in front of me, near the couch.

"Hey, Nick." I said. "Are you ready to talk now?"

"Yeah." Nick said. "I think it's time we did."

With a sigh, he took a seat, next to me, on the couch.
He looked up at me, and I could tell that he was
definitely concerned.

"Look, Sean." He said, sadly. "I just want you to know
how sorry I am that I ruined your night for you. The
last thing I want to do is come between you and your
friends."

I looked at him, in shock. I wondered why he was
blaming himself. He wasn't responsible for what
happened with Jake and Michelle.

"Nick," I said, looking at him with a worried look.
"You don't have to apologize for anything. It wasn't
your fault. Jake and Michelle overreacted and they had
no business treating you like that."

"But, they were just trying to protect you." Nick
said. "I actually admire that about them. It's obvious
that they both care about you, very much. You've got
two great friends."

"Yeah." I agreed. "Jake has been terrific since I've
known him."

Nick nodded. Then something strange occurred to him.

"You know," He started saying. "I'm actually surprised
that you stood up for me, earlier. I remember Jake
saying that you hated me for what I did to you,
throwing you out like I did."

I could see that Nick was starting to tear up now, and
he continued.

"Not that I could blame you." He said. "I hate myself
for the way that I treated you and I'll understand if
you still do."

I could see just how torn up Nick was about it, and I
reached out and pulled him to me, embracing him in my
arms.

"Nick, don't worry about that, now." I said, softly,
as I rubbed his back up and down. "It's all in the
past. We shouldn't dwell on it anymore."

Nick and I pulled apart and I looked up at him.

"I also want you to know that I don't hate you." I
told him, making sure that he understood that. "In
fact, I.............

I broke off, knowing what would have come out. I was
not ready for my feelings to be known. I had come to a
decision earlier about my future and I had to tell
Nick about it. But it didn't include telling Nick how
much I loved him.

"You, what?" Nick asked, wondering what was wrong.
"What is it, Sean?"

I looked up at him and decided that what I wanted to
tell him could be done in a better setting. I stood up
and looked down at him.

"Would you like to take a walk outside with me?" I
asked him. "It's actually a perfect night for a walk
on the beach. what do you say?"

Nick looked up at me, his eyes looking into mine, as
he thought it over a moment. Then, he smiled.

"I would love to." He said, standing up with me.

"Ok, then." I said. "Let's do it."

Nick led the way as we walked to the door. As we did,
I took a moment to check Nick out.

He was wearing a bright red t-shirt and faded glory
jeans. I had to admit he looked good.

Nick opened the door and held it open.

"You, first." He said, with a smile, motioning for me
to step outside.

I stepped outside and he closed the door behind him.

We then started walking,through the sand, both of us
enjoying the sound of the water and the waves crashing
against the shore.

"Nick." I said, as we continued walking along the
shore. "There's something that we need to talk about.
It's really important."

"What is it?" Nick asked, looking at me, as he walked
beside me.

We both stopped where we were. I looked back at the
house, which was quite a distance away. Then, I looked
back at Nick.

"We need to talk about what you are going to do where
your family is concerned."

Nick nodded, knowing where this was headed.

"You're talking about Jessica and Nicole, aren't you?"
He asked. I nodded in response, as I looked down for a
moment.

I then looked up at him, naming someone else.

"And, Drew." I finished for him. Nick bristled, at
hearing Drew's name.

"Don't!" He said, bitterly. "Don't bring Drew into
this! He's not family anymore!"

"What do you mean, Nick?" I asked him. "What
happened?"

Nick then proceeded to tell me everything that had
happened back in Los Angeles when Drew had finally
decided to tell him the truth about what he had done.

Nick told me how he had hugged his brother, briefly
and told him that there was nothing he couldn't tell
him.

He told me how he had felt when Drew had revealed the
awful truth about how he had been the one who paid off
the man who'd acted as our minister to make sure that
we were never married, legally.

Nick proceeded to let me know every emotion that he
was feeling at that exact moment. He also voiced his
disgust with Jessica, after finding out that she'd
known about his brother's secret and how she'd wanted
to keep it from him.

As I watched, Nick's eyes filled with tears. He told
me about how the guys and Jessica had walked in on
him, when he was shaking Drew, violently and slamming
him against the wall.

"And then, I let Jessica have it for keeping the truth
from me, too." Nick said, wiping at his eyes. "But
there's still something I can't understand."

"What's that?" I asked him, as I put a hand on his
shoulder and gently squeezed it.

Nick looked at me and his expression had changed. He
obviously looked hurt. And I had a feeling that it was
something I had done.

"I can't understand why YOU would want to keep
something like this from me too." Nick said, looking
angry.

I suddenly felt guilty for my own part in keeping this
from him, but I'd had a good reason for it. I then
proceeded to help Nick understand why.

"Nick, I hated having to keep what Drew did a secret
from you." I said to him. "Hell, I wanted to tell you
the minute I found out, but you were gone. Besides,
when I thought about it more, on my way back home, I
realized that it wasn't my secret to tell. It wasn't
my decision to make. It was your brother's secret. His
mistake. If anyone had to tell you the truth, it had
to be Drew. You needed to hear it from him."

Nick nodded, but his expression was still angry.

"I'll admit that even though I'm glad Drew told me the
truth, it still doesn't change anything. He still
betrayed me!"

Here, Nick looked up at me.

"He betrayed US." He said, addressing me and him.
"Now, I'm left to pick up the pieces of my shattered
life and go on, somehow, without my brother in my
life."

Here, I looked up at Nick in shock. I wondered what he
meant by that.

"Without Drew?" I asked him, frowning. "Nick, what are
you talking about?"

Nick's eyes filled with more tears and I could tell
that whatever had happened, it was not good.

"I officially kicked Drew out of my house, and out of
my life, forever." Nick said. "As far as I'm
concerned, He is not my brother anymore! Things can
never be the same between us ever again!"

Nick turned away and started sobbing again. Then he
started walking again.

I stood there, in shock, wondering if Nick really
meant that. Could he really just throw Drew out of his
life like that?"

As I watched Nick cry, I suddenly felt my guilt start
hammering away at me. I'd ended up destroying two
brothers' lives, possibly forever. Even though it
wasn't my fault, directly, or indirectly, I was the
cause of that. Without meaning to, I had come between
two brothers who had had a strong bond that was never
to be broken, and I'd destroyed their relationship,
which was something I swore I'd never let happen. But
it was too late to do anything about it now.

I then realized that what I had to tell Nick, had to
be done, whether I liked it or not.

I walked up behind Nick and put my hands on his
shoulders and spun him around. When he did, I saw what
he was going through. He was an emotional wreck.

"Oh, Nick." I said, symapathetically, as I threw my
arms around him and hugged him, tightly. I'm so sorry
that things have come to this."

Nick wrapped his arms around me and held onto me for
dear life, as he sobbed into my chest. I stood there,
not really knowing what to say or do. I just stood
there, holding Nick in my arms, until he calmed down.

Although, I had to admit that having his arms around
me felt great, I still knew that I could never have
the kind of relationship with Nick that I'd once had
again. The scars were still too deep. No matter how
much I loved him now, or that I'd forgiven him for
kicking me to the curb, I knew that I could never
trust Nick in that way again.

Nick pulled back from our embrace, and gave me a weak
smile.

"Thanks." He said. "I needed that."

"No problem." I said, shrugging it off. "I'm just glad
I could be here for you."

"Thanks, that means alot to me." Nick whispered.

As I looked at him, I saw a weird look in his eyes,
which I couldn't read correctly.

"What's that look about?" I asked him, staring aback
at him. I saw Nick smile a bit.

"You know, it's amazing." Nick suddenly said, his
smile getting bigger, as his eyes shifted down to his
feet.

"What is?" I frowned, not sure what he meant.

Nick looked back up at me and I could see an intensity
within his eyes that I'd never seen before.

"Even after everything I've put you through, you're
still a gentleman." He said, his eyes locking on mine.

I looked back into his eyes and smiled.

"Thanks, I think." I said, looking down, briefly. Then
I looked up again. "I could say the same thing about
you."

Now, it was Nick's turn to be confused.

"What do you mean?" He asked me, frowning a bit.

"The other day." I said to him. "When I was cold and
you wrapped your jogsuit coat around me. It was at
that moment, that I remembered just how romantic you
can be. You still haven't lost your touch, cutie."

"Dont read too much into that." Nick laughed, as he
started to turn red, from embarassment. "I was just
trying to be nice."

I grinned, as I looked at his red face.

"I know." I said, still grinning. "But it was still a
romantic guesture, nonetheless. Jessica is a very
lucky woman to have you in her life."

When I mentioned Jessica, Nick's angry look came back
again.

"I still cannot believe that she was willing to keep
what Drew did a secret from me, indefinitely. Why
would she do that?"

That of course was easy for me to answer. I knew
exactly why.

"She felt threatened by me, because of our history." I
told him. "I can understand that. And frankly, I don't
really blame her. If I were in her position, I might
have done the same thing. I think she was afraid that
when you found out the truth, that you would want to
leave her and come back to me, or something."

"But, I would never do that." Nick said, defensively.
"Why can't she understand that? Doesn't she know how
much I love her?"

I felt a wave of jealousy wash over me, when I heard
those words. Yet, I kept myself under control.

"I think she needs to hear it in order to believe it."
I said, then wondered. "What did you say to Jessica
when you found out the truth?"

Nick shook his head, remembering that moment.

"Well, first it started with Jessica saying that some
good came out of Drew's secret being kept." Nick told
me. "Then I asked her what could have come out of it
that had been good? Then she slapped me."

My eyebrows arched up at that revelation.

"Wow." I said. "What was it about that statement that
pissed her off enough to do that?"

"The fact that I'd forgotten that the good things that
came out of it was our marriage and our beautiful
little girl." Nick explained. "But the way I saw it,
my little girl was the only good thing that came out
of this mess."

Nick was right. A child was never a mistake. Every
child was a miracle and should never be looked at
differently.

"You're right about that." I said, agreeing with him.
"Your precious little girl is one of the good things
that came out of all of this. But of course, she's
such a innocent little thing. She didn't ask to be
brought into this world under those kind of
circustances."

"I know and I'm not disputing that." Nick said, wiping
at a tear that had started to roll down his cheek.
"That little angel is my heart."

I nodded.

"You also forget that the other good part of all of
this was that you were happy again." I said,
remembering back to when I saw Nick on Carson Daly's
show.

"When I saw you and Jessica on Carson's show the night
you and I would come face to face, I saw it then, and
I still see it now."

"How do you figure that?" Nick asked me.

"Because, if you didn't love Jessica as much as you
say you do, then you wouldn't be feeling so hurt and
betrayed right now." I told him. "Even though the hurt
is directed mostly at Drew, I can still see that
having Jessica being honest with you means alot to
you, and the fact that she was willing to lie to you,
indefinitely, has to hurt. I know how much you love
her."

Nick looked out at the water and watched the waves
crashing in the distance. The wind started blowing,
making his hair, and mine, flutter in the wind.

He sat down, in the sand and looked up at the sky,
glancing at the moon, which shone full, overhead.

"Now, I have to wonder if I can stay married to
Jessica, knowing that she was willing to continue to
deceive me, for the rest of our lives." Nick said, as
he took off his clogs and pushed his feet into the
sand.

I sat down, next to him, in the sand and put my arm
around his shoulders.

"I think you can, buddy." I said, squeezing his
shoulder muscles. "Damn! You're all tied up in knots."

I had noticed just how tight Nick's muscles were. I
decided to do something about that.

"Sit back a little." I said, as I knelt behind him.

Nick sat back so that he was sitting straight up a
bit. I then put both of my hands around his shoulders
and started massaging them, trying to loosen up his
tight muscles.

"Oh god!" Nick gasped. "That feels amazing!"

I looked around, as I massaged his shoulders to make
sure that no-one was nearby. It was dark and there was
nobody else out on the beach, except the two of us.

"You know, it's a good thing that there's nobody else
out tonight, or I wouldn't be doing this." I said to
him, as I went to work on his tense muscles. "The last
thing I'd want is for someone to see this and risk
them getting the wrong idea. That'd be quite a story
for the press, but it would destroy you."

"Don't worry about that." Nick said. "Now that our
group has officially broken up, we are all on
indefinite vacation, and can go our separate ways."

Now, that was news to me. Shocked, I stopped rubbing
Nick's shoulders.

"What?!" I asked him. "What do you mean you are
officially broken up? Are you saying that 98 degrees
is no more?"

Nick nodded, and patted my hands, guestering me to
continue with my massage. So, I did.

"That's exactly what I'm saying." Nick said. "I'm
actually ready to start pursuing my own career as a
solo artist. The guys all feel the same way. Plus, we
all miss our families and I think Jeff and Justin,
want to go back home for awhile and spend time with
their families as well. Of course, nothing's been
decided yet. We haven't had a chance to talk about it,
yet."

I started to feel Nick's muscles starting to loosen
and I lifted my hands from his shoulders and returned
to my spot, beside him, in the sand.

I saw Nick, smiling at me, as I sat next to him. He
was grateful to me for the comforting massage I'd
given him.

"Thanks for the massage." He said, patting my back,
gently. "I didn't realize how tense I really was."

"Well, what are friends for?" I asked him, looking
back at him.

Our eyes locked on each other at that moment and it
was like the world had stopped. I felt drawn to Nick
at that moment.

I felt Nick's hand, which had still been resting on my
back, slide up to the back of my neck and sit there.

As I looked into his eyes, I suddenly felt Nick start
to pull me in, closer to him.

I couldn't believe what was about to happen! We were
about to kiss!

Before our lips could connect, Nick cellphone started
ringing, breaking the spell we had been under.

Nick cleared his throat and grabbed the phone and
flipped it open.

"Hello?" he asked.

"Nicholas, this is your mother." He heard his mom's
voice say. "Where are you right now?"

Nick was surprised to hear his mother's voice. He
wondered what she wanted.

"Hi, mom." Nick said, looking at me, in confusion.
"I'm in Orlando right now. What's up?"

"Are you with Sean right now?" Cate asked him,
obviously sounding upset.

"Yeah, I am." Nick said. "He's sitting right here,
next to me."

"Well, I want you to pack up your stuff and book a
flight back home ASAP." Cate ordered. "I want you to
get as far away from Sean Perry as you can! He's no
good for you, honey!"

"Mom!" Nick said, getting defensive. "That's not fair!
Sean has been a good friend to me and I am not going
to turn my back on him!"

I frowned, wondering what Cate was saying to Nick, to
get him to go on the defensive like he was. Nick
looked like he was starting to get agitated.

"Son, you can either come back home first thing
tommorrow or your father and I can come after you and
drag you back here, ourselves! Now, which is it going
to be?"

Nick rolled his eyes, annoyed at his mother's
attitude.

"Mom! I'm a grown man!" He said, angrily. "You can't
tell me who I can and cannot be friends with! If I
want Sean in my life, he will be in my life, and
there's nothing you can do about that!"

"Don't argue with me, Nicholas, just do as I say!"
Cate said, letting Nick know that she meant it.
"Besides, it's a family emergency! Something's
happened and we need you back here as soon as
possible!"

As I watched Nick, I saw his face turn ghost white and
I stood up, wondering what was wrong.

"Oh god, Mom!" Nick started, looking like he was going
to panic. "Has something happened to my daughter? or
Jessica?"

When I heard that part, I grabbed Nick's hand and
squeezed it, letting him know that I was there for
him. He squeezed it back, as his way of thanking me
for being there.

"I'd much rather not get into it over the phone,
sweetie." Cate told him. "Just get back here as fast
as you can and be safe. I love you."

"Mom, wait!" Nick called up, but his call was cut off.

"Nick, what's wrong?" I asked, the fear in my voice,
obvious. "What's happened?!

Nick grabbed me into a hug, which I returned,
strongly.

"Well, at first, my mom told me to pack up my stuff
and get as far away from you as I could get." He told
me.

He continued.

"She even said that if I didn't come home, that she
and Dad would come and get me, theirselves, which is
why I went on the defensive just a minute ago. But
then, she said, it was a family emergency and that
they all needed me back there as soon as possible.
When I asked what it was, she said she didn't want to
get into it over the phone. She told me to get back
home as soon as possible and to be safe."

Nick pulled back from our embrace and I could see the
tears of fear that were rolling down his face. He was
scared that something had happened to Jessica or to
his little girl.

"All I know is that I have to get back home." Nick
said. "My wife and daughter could be in trouble!"

"You don't have to explain, Nick, I understand." I
said. "Come on, let's go back to the house."

Nick and I both turned and ran as fast as we could,
back to my apartment. Nick burst into the house and
immediately grabbed the cordless phone from the
console and started dialing the number for the
airline.

"Nick, when you book the flight, ask for two seats,
would you?" I asked him.

Nick frowned. "Why?" He asked, confused.

I'd hadn't originally planned on doing this, but Nick
needed me and I wasn't about to let him go through
whatever it was, alone.

"Because, I'm going with you." I finished.




To Be Continued........?

"Will Sean make up with Jake and Michelle, after their
little incident at dinner?"

"What is Jessica up to? Will she really be pregnant?
How will Nick react to that if it's true?"

"What is the big "family emergency" that Nick's Mom
called him about? Has something really happened? Or is
it just a lie to get Nick away from Sean?"

What will Nick and Sean be in store for when they get
back to Los Angeles?"


"What happens next? Oh, if you only knew!"

Stay tuned.

slpwriter@yahoo.com