CHAPTER TWO

~ OLD RELATIONSHIPS ~

The phone was ringing.

That was the only thing that registered in her mind. Micah groaned and rolled over. It had to be early -- like the sun hadn't risen yet early. It was nearly a week after Nick had asked her to go to AJ's party. She, the band and the guys had been practicing the whole week and the start of the tour was only two days away.

The phone was still ringing.

'Why isn't the answering machine picking up?' she thought, rubbing her eyes and then opening them. They were struck by harsh late afternoon Florida sunlight that was sneaking through the Venetian style shades of her bedroom. She rolled back over and looked at the clock. It was nearly three in the afternoon. She sighed and reached over to grab the phone. "Hello?" she asked, her voice raspy with sleep.

"Hey. Micah?" Nick's voice came over the phone line. He sounded tentative and nervous.  It was nearly a week after Nick had asked her to go to AJ's party.

"Yeah. Hey Nick." Micah responded, shifting in her large and comfortable bed. Over the past week she and the guys had all become fast friends. Micah no longer felt uncomfortable and out of place around them, like she had before.  "What's up?"

"Nothing. I was just calling to give you directions to AJ's house, for the party," Nick answered. She could hear something in the background clicking and she assumed he was holding a pen. "Where do you live?"

"Umm...near Lake Tohopekaliga." Micah told him before quickly giving him her address, which was on the outskirts of Orlando. To say she lived 'near' the lake was a bit of an understatement. The lake was practically her backyard. That was probably the biggest reason she had bought the four floor three bedroom townhouse. Watching a sunset over the lake was unexplainably beautiful. Then out of nowhere Nick laughed. "What?" Micah asked, surprised.

"I know where you live and all but I have NO idea how to give you directions to AJ's house." Nick told her, feeling incredibly stupid.

Micah laughed and shook her head. "Would it be out of your way to swing by my house and I could like follow you there or something?" she questioned, yawning.

Had Nick been driving from his home near Tampa it wouldn't have been out of the way, but because the tour rehearsals were in Orlando he was staying with Brian and Leighanne at their home in Orlando. AJ lived about twenty minutes away from them. The address Micah had given him was about forty minutes from Brian's house. Basically he was driving across town only to drive back across it. "No. It's not out of the way," he lied.

"Are you serious? Because, I mean, I could always call A-"

"No. No. It's okay. I don't mind."

Micah felt a bit funny having Nick come pick her up but he seemed to have made up his mind and there was no changing it. She was beginning to have cold feet about going to the party but then again it would be a chance to get to know everyone who was going on tour better. She had talked with AJ after rehearsal's again he had told her all about the party. He had invited literally EVERYONE to the party. "Okay." she responded, slowly.

"All right...Should I come around noon tomorrow?" Nick asked. The nervousness that had been in his voice at the beginning of the conversation was gone. He still sounded a bit tentative.

"Yup. Noon sounds fine." Micah assured him, "I'll see you then okay?"

"Okay. Bye."

"Buh bye." Micah responded, hanging up the phone and laying back down in her bed. She was damn tired and had no idea as to why. Normally she never slept this late. With a groan she sat up and pushed herself out of her bed. If she was going to this party tomorrow she better start packing.

~!@#$%^&*&^%$#@!~

Nick sat in his car, taping out the rhythm of a System of a Down song anxiously on the steering wheel, the next day. He watched the car clock switch from 11:59 to 12:00 and groaned. He looked forward and begged the cars in front of him to start moving. He had been stuck in traffic for the past twenty minutes and had no idea when he would be out it.

He toyed with the idea of calling Micah and telling her to simply call AJ and get directions from him because Nick was only about two minutes from AJ's house but he didn't want to. The car ride over would be a good way to get a little more aquainted with Micah one on one.

"Yeah that's if you ever get there," Nick muttered to himself, settling back in his seat and running his fingers through his hair. He stared frustratedly at the cars in front of him and groaned.

It would only figure that he would be late to pick Micah up. Granted, it wasn't a date but he was still making an impression on her and he certainly had to make up for the first impression he had given her. He didn't want her to think he wasn't ALWAYS a bumbling idiot -- only sometimes.

Two months ago he had broken up with his ex, Tiffany. He had told the press it had been an agreed breakup so Tiffany could attend college but Nick hadn't wanted to let Tiffany go. She had been so sweet, loving, caring, funny and she loved him for HIM. Not because he was 'Nick Carter The Backstreet Boy.' He had been so unwilling to get into a relationship after his relationship before the one with Tiffany because the girl before Tiffany had only played with Nick's heart to get what she wanted.

He had dated Willa Ford before Tiffany and he had thought he was in love with Willa only to find out she was using him as a springboard to launch her singing career. Nick had been deeply hurt, even though the rest of his friends and even his family had warned him about what she was doing. For a while he had become extremely withdrawn from everyone, wallowing in hurt and self-pity. Then he had met Tiffany and then she had broken his heart.

Nick was tired of putting his heart on the line and was leery of getting back into another relationship but with Micah there was something different. He couldn't explain it. It wasn't just her looks though. Something seemed to click in his mind and heart when he talked to her or even looked at Micah.

Nick just hoped that this time he wouldn't have his heart stepped on all over again. He wasn't sure how much his ol' heart could take.  

~!@#$%^&*&^%$#@!~

Micah sat on the bottom step of her back porch, facing Lake Tohopekaliga, as the hand on her silver wristwatch slide forward to quarter of one. Nick was forty-five minutes late and Micah was beginning to wonder if he was even coming.

'Stood up by a Backstreet Boy. I wonder if anyone'll believe that.' a voice teased her and Micah laughed to herself.

"It's not a date though." she reminded the voice, absently, as she watched the boats glide by her house. Some were pulling water-skiers or tubers, some were fishing and some were simply out just to be on the lake. Jet-skis speed past the houses breaking the silence that normally surrounded the small and "well off" community.

The West side of the lake was the side of the lake that was outrageously rich -- pretty much the celebrities and multimillionaires. The East side -- the side on which she lived -- was the upper middle class people, or the ALMOST millionaire people. The only difference to the two sides -- other than the class -- was the fact that the West side watched the sun rise over the lake and the East side watched it set over the lake. Micah preferred the later and didn't mind that she didn't live on the filthy rich side.

With a sigh Micah pushed herself off of the step and walked up the three steps, onto the porch and then into the large and airy kitchen of her house, to get a drink of water. The house was ridiculously big for just one person to live in but Micah didn't want to have the hassle of getting a roommate. It would probably be easier because she was pretty much only home two or three months out of the years but she liked being by herself after spending so much time cramped into a bus with normally six or seven other people.

Micah grabbed a bottle of water out of the white refrigerator, remembering when she had bought the house, nearly six years ago. She had just moved to Orlando -- on the insistence of her then boyfriend JC Chasez and his band mates from *NSYNC -- from Lower Manhattan in New York. She and JC had started dating during the Janet Jackson Velvet Rope tour and dated for three years after. Now they were simply close friends.

Originally she had bought a small apartment near Disney World only to find that it was roach and rat infested. JC had found this out and insisted that she move out right away. He said she could live with him but Micah had turned him down. She wasn't ready for that yet. Then one of JC's band mates -- Justin Timberlake -- had volunteered and Micah would have accepted because in some ways she was closer with Justin than she was with JC but she felt funny doing it. She didn't want to freeload off the guys.

Then Lance Bass -- another one of JC's band mates -- had pointed out that she probably had more than enough money to buy a house of her own. After all she had already had big paying gigs with Janet Jackson, Britney Spears and Tina Turner. Plus she had been in several music videos that had also paid well. After checking her bank account, Lance was proved right and JC and Justin had taken her house shopping.

The condo was the last house they were to see that day and the second JC and Justin had stepped into it, the two guys had fallen in love with it. Micah had been unsure about buying such a big house until she had walked into the kitchen and saw the view of the lake. After that she bought the house on the spot. A year after the house had been bought she and JC had broken up.

It had been a relatively easy breakup. No screaming or crying fits. Nothing was thrown. Micah had just looked over one day at JC while they were sitting on her back porch and asked him if they had any kind of future together. It had been stupid to ask the question. After all they were still young. She was nineteen and he was twenty-two. They were both just starting to get big and there was almost no time to think about marriage, kids and things of that nature.

JC had looked at her, almost blankly and asked why. Micah had just shrugged and said that if they didn't have a future what was the point of going out? JC agreed and started a long and drawn out talk that somehow ended in ending the relationship.

Justin had called her the next day and told her that JC was practically in shambles and asked what had happened. Micah had told him the truth but left out the fact that she was devasted too. Justin had accepted the truth but had insisted that he didn't know why they were breaking up. Micah had hung up on him and refused to answer the phone for the next week and a half. Then JC had shown up at her door and by the time he left four hours later, they were practically best friends.

JC started dating six months after the break up and was now seriously involved with a girl. Micah on the other hand didn't want a serious relationship and it had nothing to do with hang ups from an old relationship.

Micah was just about to sigh when the doorbell rang, startling her out of her thoughts. "What the hell am I doing thinking about this?" she asked herself, throwing her now empty water bottle in the sink and heading towards the front door.

She opened it, half expecting JC, but found Nick standing on her front porch. "Hey, Micah. Sorry I'm late," he greeted, fighting to keep his mouth from dropping. Micah looked beautiful as usual. The visor -- baby blue this time -- and braids were still in place but today she wore a faded yellow and baby blue sundress that was backless and stopped mid-thigh and baby blue Converse sandals.  Nick noticed she had GREAT legs. "Traffic."

Micah nodded and smiled sympathetically. "Yeah. Normally on Friday and Saturday's traffic is pretty bad around here. I still haven't figured out why," she responded while opening the door and motioning Nick in. She felt a sudden flutter of nerves but quickly pushed it away. "You want anything to drink or whatever?"

Nick shook his head as he stepped into the house. He was a bit awed by the house. He had checked the piece of paper he had scribbled Micah's address on, twice before actually pulling into the gravel driveway that lead to Micah's house. He wasn't really sure why he was so awed but he didn't except her to live in a house so...large. Nick had even looked for a house in this area, a few years back. It had been on the opposite side of the lake though. "Naw. We better get going. We're supposed to be there around one," he informed her.

"I guess we're gonna be a little late, then," Micah commented. It was one-fifty now and took about twenty minutes to get to the gated community where AJ lived. She grabbed her stuff and nodded towards the door. She set the house alarm before heading out the door. Nick followed her out.

"Do you just want to come in my car?" Nick suggested, like he had just gotten the idea. In reality he had planned on asking her that since yesterday.

"Um...well wouldn't it be easier for you if I just took my own car? That way you wouldn't have to drive me back?" Micah responded, locking the door and walking down the steps and to the cobble stone walk way that lead to the driveway.

"It doesn't matter," Nick assured her, unlocking his own car and walking to the passenger's side door. "Mademoiselle?" He bowed grandly and with a sweeping motioning of his hand.

Micah giggled and walked towards the car. "How could a girl turn down that invitation?" she replied, stepping into the car.

'You should be taking your own car.' an inner voice told her, as Nick shut her door. It was too late now. She had to go with him. 'You SHOULDN'T be doing this. You should have just called AJ and asked him for directions.'

'But then I would hurt Nick's feelings.' Micah protested, rested her elbow on the armrest watching Nick walk around the front of the car. He was so cute and from what she knew of him, he was sweet and funny, too.

'You're gonna hurt him more in the long run.' the voice responded, as Nick got into the car. He smiled at her and she smiled back, while pushing the voice of her mind. It was fine. It wasn't a date and Nick knew that. Nothing would happen. It would all be FINE.