Next Day: Lexa awoke to the sound of the telephone ringing. "What the hell?" she said aloud to herself. She looked at the clock as she threw off her covers. 10:00am. "Shit," she muttered to herself as she picked up the phone. "Hi Nick," Lexa said. "How'd you know it was me?" "Well, you said you would call this morning and everyone else who knows me knows not to call this early cause I'll still be in bed." "Oh, okay. So I'm standing here outside your door, waiting to be let in if you don't mind." "Why didn't you call first?" Lexa asked as she walked downstairs to open the door. "I thought you would be up. Most people see morning every once in a while," Nick remarked, stepping through the open doorway. "Very funny Carter," Lexa said, still talking into the cordless phone. Nick went to reply, but realized his cell phone was still on. He turned to look at Lexa, who just laughed. 'Pajama pants, tee shirt, and no makeup and she still looks hot,' Nick thought to himself. Lexa looked at Nick and suddenly felt self-conscious. After all she was still in her pajamas looking rather bummy. "Umm, I'm gonna go get ready. I'll be back in about 20 minutes. "You can watch t.v if you want. Make yourself at home." Nick did just that as he plopped down on the sofa and Lexa jogged upstairs. 20 minutes later: "Do I need a bathing suit?" Lexa hollered from the top of the stairs. "Yeah, why not? Maybe we'll anchor the boat somewhere and go swimming." "Okay." About 15 minutes later Lexa returned downstairs. She had on her blue one-piece suit and khaki shorts. Her hair was up in a messy bun and she had on her sunglasses. "Ready," Lexa declared, standing near the door. "Well lets go then," Nick said as he followed Lexa out the down. Half an hour later, Lexa and Nick were sailing off the coast of Florida, taking in the scenery and the sun. "So do you love you job?" Lexa asked Nick, after sitting in silence long enough, except for the small talk about the ocean or the beautiful weather. "Yeah, I do," Nick answered with no hesitation. "Wow, that was a quick answer. You didn't even have to think about it." "All I have ever wanted to do is perform. Ya know, make other people happy. I've got the best job in the world to make that happen. It's my passion. What about you, Lexa? What's your passion?" Lexa took her gaze off of Nick and looked out at the ocean. After a minute she answered him. "I wanna save lives, make the world a better place. Cure AIDS and cancer and just the knowledge that I have stopped a lot of suffering in the world." Nick looked at Lexa and saw something he never noticed before. She had a fire in her eyes and Nick knew that was she was saying was true. "Well if anyone can do it, its you." Lexa blushed at the compliment, but quickly looked away and took the focus away from herself. "But if you couldn't perform, what would you be doing?" "At college, playing basketball and partying. Living the normal teenage life. I joined the group when I was 13, so I missed out on a lot. No homecoming dances, no senior prom or graduation. I never took the SAT's or even applied to college. I feel cheated sometimes, like I never got the choice. I would have chosen to perform, but I just feel like no one ever asked me." Lexa say the pain in Nick's eyes. She didn't know what to say to that, so she said nothing at all. After all, he had just poured his heart out to her but she still had no idea how he felt. She had never been in his situation so she couldn't say she knew how he felt. Nick turned his attention back to sailing. It had been a long time since he was able to say what he was feeling without the person he was talking to adding their two cents. They never really understood because it wasn't their life. Nick finally found someone he could talk to with no expectations. Chapter 6 Back to story index |