Nick woke up the next morning, before he was ready, to Sydney shaking him not so gently,
"Get up sleepyhead." He glanced at the clock and groaned,
"Oh hell no Sydney. It's eight o'clock in the morning." She could never sleep in late; she always had to be up at the butt crack of dawn. That was one of the negatives to growing up in rural Tennesee like she had. She tapped him on the shoulder,
"Let's go Nick. I'm hungry." He sighed, he was hungry too but he'd rather sleep than eat,
"Order room service." She kissed him on his bare shoulder and jumped out of bed and skipped out of the room,
"Ok." That kiss, it meant nothing to her but it sent a volt of electricity through his body. He wished he could just pull her into his arms and kiss her and tell her how much he wanted to be with her. He couldn't do it, he just couldn't have her tell him no again. Besides, he knew he wasn't her type. She liked to have fun with him but when she dated she was always with some lawyer, doctor or athlete; someone with some big shot career. She walked back in and sat on the edge of the bed and looked down at him,
"Is this what you've been doing since your vacation?" He looked up at her and nodded his head and she shook her's,
"You need to get out and enjoy life without a schedule. Most people would give anything to have a life of complete leisure." She tapped him on the end of his nose,
"Just because you don't need an alarm clock doesn't mean you sleep the day away." He rolled his eyes and covered his mouth as a yawn crept up on him,
"What else should I do?" She jumped a little and stared at him. She frowned,
"What?" She bit her lip and shook her head,
"Nevermind." He hated that; when he wanted to repeat what they said and they respond with nothing; it was obviously something, he heard it,
"Syndney. Say it." She shrugged,
"I was wondering if you wanted to come to Mexcico with me. I know it's chick ball but we can hang out, I'll only be there a few days." He didn't say anything and she must have mistaken his silence for a no. She shrugged,
"It's just an idea. I don't know." He nodded his head,
"Yeah, I'll go. I'd love to, really. I'll have to take Tommy with me, I can't go to Mexico without someone." She nodded,
"Yeah, I'm sure. Are you sure? You don't have to." He shook his head,
"No, I really want to, it'll be fun. Like you said, I should visit the cities I don't get to see when we're there on tour." She gave him an apologetic smile,
"Sorry, I'm not going to be there but three or four days. Then I'm back for the season." He nodded,
"That's cool. We'll go anyway, it's not like I'm doing much." As long as he was around her he didn't care. They barely spent that much time together and now that he was off for a year they cojld hang out. He could spend a lot more time out in LA with her. Even if they were just friends, he wojld enjoy being with her. She placed her hand on his shoulder and he felt the electricity, this time she felt him jump,
"Are my hands cold?" She rubbed them together,
"Sorry." He shook his head,
"No, they're fine." He held her hands in his and began to rub them together, warning them up. At least, that's probably what she thought, he just wanted to touch her. She smiled as he began to massage her hands,
"Better watch it, I could get used to this." He smiled,
"Thats fine."
Tommy and Nick arrived at the Staples Center and sat down near the court,
"Man, these seats are amazing. Sydney is the hookup." Nick nodded as he looked around; all the typical stars you saw on TV was there. Jack Nicholson, Dyan Cannon, Denzel Washington even a few musicians. They settled back to watch the game and it wasn't before long that little girls were coming up to him. How did they get don\wn there? He would think with all these celebrities who were always here this wouldn't happen. He smiled as one of the little girls asked him for an autograph. He nodded,
"Sure sweetheart." How was he supposed to say no to a little kid? He didn't particularly like saying no to anyone but of they were older he would do it. He noticed the camera in her hand and because it was during a timeout he pointed at it,
"Want to take a picture?" She nodded eagerly and he handed the camera to Tommy,
"Take our picture." He stood up next to the girl in the aisle and they smiled for the picture. He happened to glance up at the giant screen after Tommy snapped the picture and saw that he was on the screen with his small fan. He pointed it out to her and she hid her face in her hands. He gave her a hug and sat down as she went back up to her seat. The rest of the game was slightly interrupted as more kids came down and got his autograph, there was even a little counter in the corner of the screen when a kid would come down. Once the women started coming down he notified one of the ushers that he'd had enough but they could still send the little kids down.
"That is gross." Nick looked over at Sydney,
"What?" She pointed at his eggs,
"Ketchup on your eggs." He frowned,
"Have you ever tried it before?" She shook her head,
"No." He rolled his eyes and laughed,
"So what are you talking about?" He took a fork full of eggs and shoved them at her mouth and she squealed as she turned her head,
"No, no way. Stop Nick." He held her head in place and attempted to shove them in her mouth but she clamped it shut like a kid trying to avoid medicine. She knocked them out of his hand and he frowned at her as they landed on his jeans. She giggled,
"I'm sorry." She laughed loudly as he looked at her and pouted. She grabbed his cheeks,
"I'm sorry baby." She cooed at him before leaning in and kissing his pouting lips. He wanted to pull her in and kiss her long and hard but he fought the urge because he knew she meant nothing by her kiss at all.
They had been sitting at the table for about an hour when a couple of teenage girls timidly walked up to their table. Nick had seen them earlier, noticed they knew who he was but he didn't make an effort to be inviting. If they came over he'd humor them but if they didn't, all the better.
"Excuse me, hi Nick." He nodded at them,
"Hi." as he continued to eat. One of the girls was more outgoing than the other and it showed,
"How long have you two been dating?" Nick looked up at her and then over at Sydney who was silent as well,
"You two look so cute togather." That's what he thought too. He looked at Sydney and she began to laugh,
"Me and Nick? We aren't. Could you see Nick and I together?" Her laugh sent a burn through his heart. Everyone could see it, he could see it, these girls saw it or they wouldn't have mentioned it. Why was Sydney so oblivious to it? The girl nodded,
"Guess not, now that you mention it."
