AJ:

 

            “I’ll see you tomorrow, AJ,” Shea said softly, shifting Tristan to her other hip and throwing the carryon over her shoulder.

            I pulled her close to me and kissed her gently. “Have a good time, sweetie,” I said, holding her tightly. I watched after her as she turned away and began her assent up the boarding hall to the awaiting plane.

            It was only after I couldn’t see the curls of brown hair any longer that I, too, departed the airport. I had to do something. I wanted to be with her. Intimately. I wanted to be with her. Forever. But she still had this wall up between us. I knew she cared for me. But Nick was still in the back of her mind. Not as a man that she wanted to be with, but as a man who was the undeniable father of Tristan. He still came first. Nick still came first. He always had. Even when I wanted Shea in Madrid, Nick came first.

            Well, he wasn’t going to come first any more. I had to figure out a way to make her understand how much I wanted her and make Nick fess up to his child. But how I was going to manage that, I was unsure.

 

Shea:

 

            The plane landed unsteadily at the Lansing airport after experiencing low turbulence near the runway. My heart thumped madly in my chest as the gigantic 747 swayed gently on the snow-surrounded runway. But Tristan remained calm. He found the flight exciting. Kicking his legs and flailing his arms at every bump we hit. The breath that I held tightly in my lungs escaped my lips in a tight stream upon the plane’s stop.

            I pushed through the crowded airport terminal, Tristan on my hip, to the baggage claim to retrieve Tristan’s small suitcase. Luggage in hand, I scanned the lobby in search of Brian’s adorable face. “Shea!” a voice called from across the sea of people. I turned in the direction of the shout and saw a hand waving in the air. I maneuvered my way through the unusually busy terminal to where Brian stood waiting for me.

            The instant I stood before him, he engulfed me in an enormous hug, knocking the wind out of me and causing Tristan to squirm between us. “Hey, little guy!” Brian cooed, taking Tristan from my arms. Tristan squealed loudly as Brian lifted him above his head. “My how you’ve grown!” I just smiled at his affection and Tristan’s returned giggles. They truly loved each other.

            “I’ve reserved us a room at the Holiday Inn since neither of our flights leave until tomorrow,” he stated, turning his gaze back toward me.

            “That’s fine. Completely what I expected,” I replied. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and ushered me out the main terminal doors to an awaiting taxi.

 

Lauryn:

 

            “Nicky!” I squealed as I raced across the terminal to where the blond-haired man stood. I jumped into his arms and hugged him securely against my body, kissing his ivory cheek tenderly. “It’s so good to see you,” I said, wiping away the smear of lipstick I’d left behind on the alabaster skin.

            “You too,” he replied with a smile, enfolding me in his muscled arms once again. I took his hand in mine and we zigzagged our way out of the airport.

            After situating ourselves in my Expedition, we began the long journey to my Manhattan walk-up. He stared straight ahead out the windshield. Staring out into the overcast late-January sky. And I stared at him. He looked different. Even more different that the month before when I’d seen him at my opening.

            His normally robust cheeks now seemed shallow. Caved in. The usual ruddy color was now a faded sallow yellow. The baby blues seemed even paler, lacking the light of excitement and happiness that used to shine so eminently. His shoulders remained broad, but his waist appeared narrower. The love handles that used to curve around his mid-section gone. And his body lacked the sturdiness that once was visible. But the thing I noticed the most was his lack of confidence. The confidence that made everyone stop what they were doing when he entered the room.

            “Stop staring at me, Lauryn. I know. I’ve changed,” he said, glancing over at me with his azure gaze and a small smirk playing on his lips. The lips hadn’t changed. They were still the full, pouty, rosebud lips. Classic Nick Carter lips. And I guess the twinkle hadn’t completely disappeared from his sapphire eyes.

            “I’m sorry. It’s just you look so different now. You look bad,” I said. I mentally slapped myself. ‘Way to go, Lauryn! Insult the poor guy!’ my brain chastised.

            Nick laughed softly. “Thanks, Lauryn. That’s just what I needed to hear!” I smiled sheepishly. “I know you didn’t mean to say. But the sad thing is, it’s true. I think I’ve been working too much.”

            “How is work? The new album coming out anytime soon?” I questioned, glad of the subject change.

            “It’s going fine. I have another movie I’m doing immediately following this one. And the album should be out by fall. But that’s still up in the air. It depends on how the next movie goes,” he answered.

            For a moment no words were uttered. Both of us quiet in thought. But I gazed over at him when he took my right hand in his. “Thank you, Lauryn,” he whispered softly.

            I squeezed his fingertips lightly. “Anytime, Nickolas,” I whispered back. The rest of the drive was spent in silence. The two of us just enjoying the moment of being together. Just enjoying this.

 

Brian:

 

            Tristan slept soundly in the portable crib that Shea had brought for me to take back to my ranch when we left the following morning while Shea and I sat together on the double bed, watching old reruns of Gilligan’s Island on Nick at Nite. But it wasn’t Ginger who held my attention. It was the ravishing beauty at my side. Shea. My feelings for still hadn’t changed while I was gone. And now, having her beside me, made me realize they were even stronger than before.

            I peered out of the corner of my eye and watched as her eyelids grew heavy and began to droop under the weight of sleepiness. Her supple lips parted, her sedated breaths causing tiny movements. The glare of the bright, tropical-filled screen lit her face with heavenly light. She looked so angelic, peaceful. The mass of unruly curls like a halo framing her golden face.

            I situated myself so I was facing her, staring at her stunning profile. I was so hypnotized by her. Her voluptuous bosom rising and falling with each tranquil inhale. Her eyes fluttering underneath her closed lids. Hesitantly, my fingertips brushed the sleek, bronzed skin of her cheek. I ran my fingers up the length of her cheekbone and back down. An unconscious sigh whispered through Shea’s lips as I traced the edge of her perfect jaw line. My eyes closed as the pads of my fingers danced across her contours. But when I reopened them, Shea stared back at me with electric blue-hued eyes.

            “Wha-” I silenced her question with my forefinger, shaking my head slowly.

            “Don’t say anything,” I said in hushed tones, leaning forward and capturing her succulent bottom lip between mine. I nibbled at the plump flesh, my eyes never leaving hers. Arousal coursed through every space in my body as the kiss intensified. My tongue waltzing with hers in the sanctuary of her mouth. I murmured a moan through the kiss, my heart beating fast in my chest.

            She caressed the back of my neck with the palm of her hand, her fingers twining themselves within the short curls at the nape. Then, without warning, she pulled. Fiercely. Dragging my lips from hers. “Ow! Dammit, Shea! Let go!” I ordered, struggling to get my hair from her hand.

            “Why did you do that, Brian?” Shea asked, fury burning in her eyes and the grip on my hair loosening.

            “I love you!” I replied, kneeling before her. I took her hand in mine. “I think I loved you when we first met. But bad timing kept me from ever admitting that to you,” I explained.

            “I’ve explained this to you, Brian! I love you. But not like that. I’m with AJ. I’ve found the person that I believe I’m meant to be with,” she stated, climbing out of the bed and away from me.

            “That’s bullshit, Shea! AJ is still AJ! No matter what he tells you! He has that way! A way with words that render women helpless!” I growled, leaping from the bed. “You are just another mark on a tally sheet for him and I don’t want to see you get hurt again.”

            “Brian, you obviously don’t know anything about AJ. He loves me. And I think I love him. He’s good for Tristan and since you left, he needs a stable father figure in his life!” she retorted.

            “HA! You call AJ stable!” I chortled. Then all was silent. The Skipper slapped Gilligan upside the head. Mrs. Howe whined about another horrible thing about being trapped on the Island. And the professor attempted to make a coconut phone.

            I finally broke the silent stare down. “What if I told you I wanted custody of Tristan?”

            “You can’t do that!” Shea shouted.

            “I can. And I will if I have to,” I responded calmly. “You’re busy with the movie. And you’re living with AJ who is about as stable as the San Andres Fault.” She gaped at me with wide eyes and a dropped jaw. “I’ve got a permanent home in a safe state. Enough money in the bank to keep us both well cared for. And I’ve been his father for the last seven months. I’d say I have a pretty good case.”

            “What is this, Brian? Is this blackmail? Is this bribery? ‘Be with me and I won’t take your son.’ Is that what you’re saying?” she questioned.

            “No. It’s just that I think he’d be better off living with me permanently,” I stated. “I’d allow visitation rights of course,” I added.

            “Damn you! Damn you!” Shea shouted, slapping my face with a fierce blow. “He’s my son! You can’t take him away from me! Without him my life means nothing!” she bawled, sinking to her knees on the carpeted floor.

            Tristan’s cries erupted from the portable bed and I lifted him into my arms. I stared down at Shea, her son resting on my hip. “Don’t take my son. Please,” she begged, reaching her arms upward to take him from mine.

            What was I doing? Why was I hurting my best friend? There was no way in Hell I’d ever take Tristan from the best mother I’d ever seen in my life. I lowered Tristan into the security of his mother’s outstretched embrace. She nearly yanked him from my grasp, pulling him to her chest and smoothing back the blond, bed-head curls that adorned his head.

            I knelt before her, and stroked her arm. “I’m sorry, Shea. Please forgive me. I would never take Tristan from you,” I whispered, rubbing Tristan’s back affectionately.

            “I don’t know if I can let him go with you now, Brian,” she wept. “How do I know that you won’t flee the country with him? How do I know that you won’t do what you’ve just said with such conviction? How do I know?” she cried, droplets of moistures streaking her now pale cheeks.

            “Please. Let him come. I promise. He’ll come back. Don’t take this away from me. Trust me,” I begged, my own eyes beginning to drip salty tears.

            “I wish I could,” she sighed, rising to her feet. She left me kneeling on the floor as she gathered all their things. She opened the door and I watched her leave. The flames in my heart licked at my throat. I raced to the bathroom and heaved into the toilet, releasing everything inside. I’d lost them. And probably for good.