--chapter one - page two--
"Hello?"

"Are you sure its mine?" Malu didn't have to ask who the angry voice was on the other end of the phone line. Okay, so in the process of eating and calling Malu, Nick had forgotten to calm himself down.

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Because you were on Spring Break. And you slept with me after we'd only known each other twenty minutes. How am I supposed to believe that I was the only person you slept with in the Keys?" Nick was angry. Over a room service dinner, he'd been mulling over how irresponsible they'd both been. He couldn't help but be upset by it.

"That night at the club was my first night on Break," she replied coolly. If Nick wasn't so preoccupied, he'd marvel at how the tones in her voice changed each time they'd talked. That night at the club, her voice was low and sexy. Full of lust. The message she left on the phone was that of a scared and lonely and confused little girl. But when he pushed her, she pushed back. Her voice was filled with the same sort of frustration as Nick's. "After you left the next morning, I got really sick. I think I had a little too much to drink. I spent the rest of the weekend throwing up in the bathroom. So yes, I'm pretty sure it’s your baby."

"Well, how the hell did this happen?" Nick had never really doubted that it wasn't his. Even though he didn't know Malu, he knew he'd been the only person she slept with on that Break from college. He knew because of the way he felt after that night. Sort of...spellbound. So entranced by that amazing time they'd shared together, he didn't want to sleep with anyone else. It had taken him several weeks to sleep with someone else after Malu, and just like he'd predicted, there was no comparison. But now, Nick needed something else to be angry at. "I thought you were taking birth control. I thought you were going to take the morning after pill."

"I was sick for three days after that night, Nick. There was no way I could hold down birth control or morning after pills." Nick was amazed at how calm she was. She was pregnant, by a man she barely knew. But she managed to keep herself cool and collected. Nick wished he had her self-control, at least when it came to this discussion. He was still in shock by the situation, and it affected his speech. He spoke cruelly without thinking, mainly because he was so disappointed in himself.

"So what are you going to do?" The big question. It was hard for Nick to ask. He knew that whether or not she decided to keep the baby, there was nothing he could do. Even if it was half of his genes. It was her body. Her decision. Life was utterly unfair sometimes.

"I'm keeping it," she said quietly. "I just couldn't have an abortion, that's just not me."

Nick wasn't sure whether he was relieved or not. He still hadn't made up his mind on how he felt about brining a kid into the world. All his mother needed was another Carter to push into stardom.

"But listen," she continued. "I'm not going to force you to be a father. I realize you have a lot going on in your life, with your career and all. It probably wouldn't be very good press for you to have a child out of wedlock. I just thought I owed it to you to let you know. I'll let you decide what role you want to play in this baby's life. Whatever you decide, I won't hold it against you."

He hadn't thought about his career. Damn, Kevin was going to kill him. But then again, didn't Joey Fatone have an illegitimate child? That didn't seem to stop *NSYNC fans, not really. But then again, Joey wasn't the heartthrob. Nick was the favorite of the group- the blonde baby who induced the most screams. That made a difference.

"I guess I need some time to think about this. You haven't told anyone its mine, have you?" Nick prayed. The last thing he needed was someone leaking this to the press.

"I wouldn't do that to you, Nick." And Nick knew she wouldn't. "But it was really hard to get your phone number out of my cousin, without telling her what I needed it for."

"We should probably talk, in person." Nick realized. "Where do you live? I can fly out to meet you."

"I'm at parents' home for the summer. In Los Angeles."

For the first time sine he heard her voicemail, Nick smiled. This made things a lot easier. "I'm in LA too. Should I come over to your house?"

"No," Malu said sharply. The next time she spoke, it was with a softer voice. "I haven't exactly told my parents yet. Let's meet at Mel's Diner, on Sunset. You know where that is?"

"Yeah, I do. But I don't think meeting in public is the best idea," Nick said. "Someone might overhear, and figure out what's going on."

"That's right," Malu realized. "Sorry. I've never had to deal with this fame issue before."

"Not a problem. How about you come to my hotel?"

...to be continued...
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