Eleven thirty, that�s late for me to wake up; it has to be a personal record. Granted, I did wake up a couple times so if we�re being honest, I guess its not a record. As the water fills the tub I go into the kitchen and pull out a bowl of grapes, then head back to the bathroom and light the candles. Soaking in a hot bubble bath is the most relaxing thing in the world to me. I�m a true romantic at heart. Hallmark cards for no reason, phone calls in the middle of the day just to hear say hello, that was all me and I loved it. For as long as I have been of dating age I have gone back and forth on whether I wanted to be a romantic or not, vulnerable or a hard ass. One thing was for sure; I have spent more time single than in a relationship. Sometimes I�m proud of that fact. I�ve always pitied women who thought they had to have a man, that a man gave them an identity. Other times I wondered if it would be my downfall. Once I was in a relationship would I stay in it even if it were bad because I didn't want to be alone again?
Wrapped in my robe comfortable on the couch, I dialed Eric�s number.
�Hello?� He answered the phone with a laugh,
�You�re in a good mood. Hi, its Quinn.�
�Hey its good to FINALLY hear from you.� I smiled uncomfortably, for whatever reason I felt a little loyalty to Nick and didn't want to rat him out,
Sorry, but I�m calling now if that�s ok?� He laughed at my squeaky voice and I smiled,
�That�s ok, Nick already told me it was all his fault.� I have to smile at the idea that he may have been looking out for me,
�So, how�s the tour?� I could hear the background noise seem to decrease,
�Its great besides the usual�people trying to stir up stuff.� My smile faded and I thought about Nick. Everyone else seemed to be ok and settled so if anything was being stirred up Nick would probably be in the middle of it,
�Stir up stuff?� There was a slight pause,
�You know, media trying to get some amazing scoop, some dirt.� I nodded, feeling a little better by his answer,
So�of all the times to leave the tour you pick when I go to Charlotte to see you guys.�
�What? You were in Charlotte?� It wasn�t a secret was it? I figured Nick would have mentioned it; he was the one that mentioned Eric when he found out I would be in Charlotte,
�Yeah, I was visiting a friend and we went to the show.� He sighed,
�It wasn�t the same without me was it?� I could only laugh at his pathetic tone,
�Of course it wasn�t the same. Its all about you.� His carefree attitude and his constant laughter made me smile,
�How have you been?� I continue to smile as I thought of the possibility of yet another male friend. I can count on one hand the number of female friends I have,
�I�ve been great. Was everything back home ok?� He laughed a little,
�Who have you been talking to? Yeah, things are fine, just some things you can�t handle over the phone.� Our conversation was very laid back and every time he had to hang up he would call me back and we would pick up where we left off.
A couple of moths have passed and Eric and I have talked almost every day. After a few unreturned phone calls to Nick, I decided it was a lost cause and gave up the line of communication. In the middle of my aerobics routine I smiled as the phone rang,
�Hello?� I felt so rude breathing into the phone like a pervert,
�Hey, you ok?�
�Yeah, you gave me an excuse to stop working out.� I always kid Eric that is my favorite telephone only friend,
�So what did your boss say?� I ran the towel over my face as I thought back to my boss� expression when I asked for vacation,
�He was shocked I asked for time off but of course he said yes.� Eric had been on vacation waiting for the next leg of the tour to start and I finally let him talk me into visiting him in Los Angeles,
�Great, can�t wait to show you around LA. There is a little change in plans. Instead of one week of rehearsal its now two.�
�So you have rehearsal the week I�m there?� I could hear him sigh,
�Yeah, they last all day but I have one weekday and the weekend off so its only four days.� There was no way I was going to let that ruin my first California vacation,
�That�s fine. Maybe I can watch you rehearse one of those days.� He laughed,
�Yeah, the guys can�t wait to meet you.�
�I can�t wait to meet them either.� Just as he was about to respond there was a commotion,
�Hello? Is this Quinn?� I giggled as I heard Eric in the background fighting for the phone,
�Yes, this is Quinn.�
�We thought he was just making you up. This is Andre.�
�No, I�m real.� I was envious of being surrounded by a lot of people, always having someone there to talk to and have fun with,
�We�ll see you soon. Here�s your boy.� I could hear a female shout,
�Hurry and get here so we can talk about Eric.� I laughed as Eric�s voice came through the phone once again,
�Sorry about that, they are children.�
�Its ok, they sound like fun. I can�t wait to meet them all.�
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Mixed Feelings
Chapter 22