It was a few hours before sunrise and everyone was sleeping. They all spent the night at Kevin�s and the girls slept in front of the fireplace with Brian; who wanted to be with Destiny. Sunshine was tossing and turning the whole night and was surprised she didn�t wake up Brian or Danielle.
After another ten minutes of tossing and turning she finally got up. She sat there a moment thinking and looked at the bodies surrounding her. And she also thought about Nickolas who was just upstairs alone in the extra bedroom; probably dreaming about her. She smiled at the thought and then saw a flicker from the hallway. She quietly got up and made her way to the kitchen where she saw Howard sitting.
�Hey, D.�
�Hey, Sunn.�
�Can�t sleep?�
�No; you?�
�Me either.� She sat across from him at the bar. �I�ve been tossing and turning all night. I�m surprised I didn�t wake up Brian and Danielle.�
�I was doing the same thing.�
�I just have so much on my mind.� She sighed. �Truth is I haven�t been sleeping well for the past month or so.�
�Danielle told us what�s been bothering you.�
�What? I mean, what did she tell you exactly?�
�She said that something happened back home with you and Josie and that it followed you here. Kevin said he�s not going to bother you with it unless you want his help.�
�She told you that?�
�Yeah; why?�
�Howie, it�s not true. Nothing happened back home.�
�Nothing?� Sunshine shook her head. �I feel like an idiot.�
�Don�t; Danielle should.� They both just sat there staring at the candle then Sunshine asked, �If I tell you what�s really on my mind do you promise you won�t say anything to anyone; not even the second party involved? It�s a big problem.�
�I promise. Your secret�s safe with me. What�s on your mind?�
�I like Nick.�
�Everyone does. He�s a great guy.�
�No, I mean I really like Nick. Not just as a friend.�
�That is a big problem. Does Nick know?�
�I guess. I don�t know.� She ran her fingers through her hair. �He might, because ever since we kissed I�ve been trying to avoid him.�
�You guys kissed? When?�
�Um�in the motel bathroom back in Colorado.� He looked at her. �Then again at the one concert ya did in Colorado.�
�Wow!�
�And then�� She waited a moment and sighed. �Then in front of the fireplace.�
�In that compromising position?�
�Yeah.� She sighed.
�When did ya start liking him?�
�The day I saw him and each day it grows stronger. It�s just so hard.�
�Because of Kevin.� She nodded.
�He�s such a great guy and I don�t want to hurt him, ya know.� Howard nodded. �Kevin is one persistent guy. Did you know that?�
�Yeah.� They laughed.
�He�s so persistent about me being his girlfriend when really I�m not and I don�t want to hurt him by telling him other wise, because he�s so amazing.�
�You just don�t like him that way.�
�Exactly.�
�So tell him.� She sighed. �He�s not going to hate you for being honest.�
�He�s just going to hate me for leading him on and shit.�
�No he�s not. He might be upset, but I highly doubt he�s going to hate you.�
�I just don�t know what to do, Howie.� Howard looked at her and she sighed. �So tell me your problems. They can�t be any worse than mine. When did you start liking Josephine?� Howard just looked at her surprised. �I figured it out on my own.�
�That night at the concert we gave you the tickets to. She just captured me right away.�
�Does she know?�
�I don�t think. I try to tell her everyday that passes, but we always get interrupted or I chicken out.�
�And then there is Alex; your best friend.�
�Exactly.�
�I chicken out to when I want to tell Nick. I guess it�s just fear that he doesn�t reciprocate those feelings and I don�t want to feel like an ass.�
�I know what ya mean.�
�I�ve seen the looks between you two.�
�And you caught us in a compromising position.� She just looked at him confused. �The day you walked into the dressing room of our one show and I was just in a towel and she was in the middle of changing and we were in each other�s arms.�
�Oh that. What exactly happened that �glorious� day?�
�I didn�t know she was in and she didn�t know I was in and we turned the corner at the same time and ran into each other.�
�Oh.�
�Well yesterday we finally had our first kiss and Venus walked in.�
�You�re in about the same boat I am. The only question is what do we do about it?�
�Maybe we should wait and see what happens. To be honest your �relationship� with Kev is soon over, because you two are totally different. Kevin can only be alone with Nicky for so long before he starts going nuts. It�s going to be the same with you. Kevin�s mature and you�re more like Nick and Alex combined. You�re mature, but you�re crazy like them.�
�Thanks. I think. And to be honest with you it�s not going to last too much longer with Jo and Alex, because Alex is too wild for her. She wants someone who is sweet and romantic. Someone that�s like you.�
�Thanks.� They both sighed. �What you confided in me won�t go any farther than this room.�
�Same here.� Sunshine grinned and looked at the flickering candle.
CHAPTER 18
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