Oreos for Breakfast: Chapter 28

Oreos For Breakfast: Chapter 28
By the Paperbag Princess and Pumpkin Coach

There was a crowd waiting on the concourse, but it took me a minute to find my boyfriend. He was leaning against the far wall, away from the rest of the crowd, a baseball cap pulled low over his eyes. That was him, right?

Fighting my way through the rest of the happy people greeting their loved ones, I headed for the solitary figure holding up the wall. He was so lost in his thoughts that he wasn't even looking for me. Had he decided to be mad at me again? When I'd spoken to him a few hours ago, he'd been excited that I was coming, but then again, he had been a little drunk at the time. Maybe now he was hungover and cranky and taking it out on me.

I dropped my bag in his line of vision where he was staring at the floor, and he jumped, looking up at me. "Did you sleep at…" I started to ask, but he pulled me into his arms, holding me so tightly that I couldn't breathe.

He wasn't mad, then. That was obvious from the way he was crushing me against his body, holding me like he might never let me go. I snuggled into him, freeing my arms enough to wrap them around his waist. We stood like that for a few minutes, not talking, until he finally took a deep breath and relaxed his hold on me. "I don't think I realized how much I wanted you here," he whispered, and I smiled, looking up at him.

"I'll be more fun now that you're letting me breathe."

"Sorry," he said, cupping my face in his hands, running his thumbs lightly over my cheeks. "But I have to kiss you now." I leaned up towards him, sighing against him as our lips met. I didn't care if we were in the middle of a crowded airport. I had to show him that I loved him, just a little bit.

He let go of my face, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me into his body again, kissing me until we broke apart to breathe, both of us a little dizzy as we looked at one another. "Hi," I said, making him laugh.

"Hi," he responded, stroking my hair. "Did I thank you yet for coming?"

"I think that kiss was thanks. Yes. Did you sleep at all, bunny?" When had he called me? Five in the morning? It was only ten now. He certainly didn't look like he'd slept. He looked hungover and exhausted. He'd managed to shower, because he smelled like the shower gel I'd given him for Christmas, but he hadn't bothered to shave.

"Not really. Did you?"

Stepping away from him, I started to pick up my bag, but he grabbed it, throwing it over his shoulder. "No. I hung up with you, threw a bag together, and caught a cab to the airport. Barely made it, too. You know I can't sleep on planes."

"Sorry." He took my hand as we started to walk towards the parking garage. "We can go home and sleep."

"You know you need to take me shopping, right? I only had cold weather clothes in New York."

He was quiet for a second, and I looked over at him. "Can we do that tomorrow?" he finally asked. "I don't want to be around people right now."

I pretended to consider the idea, and finally nodded. "On one condition."

"Anything."

"I'm starving. That Waffle House we've been to won't be crowded, will it?"

Smiling, he kissed me quickly. "I can handle Waffle House. I should eat something."

"Hungover?"

He shrugged, his brief smile leaving his face. "I guess that’s what part of this is. I had a lot to drink last night. AJ's going to give me the alcoholic lecture, I'm sure."

"Have you not told him yet?"

He shook his head. "I haven't called anyone but you. It's only 10. I'm not sure who knows."

"It'll be on the Internet soon enough, and they'll start calling you. Don't you think you should call your mom and the guys before they find out another way?"

Groaning, he stopped walking to look at me. "And say what? 'Hey, Mom, I was arrested last night for being a drunk idiot'? It was easy to call you. I was still drunk."

I smiled, pulling him along with me. "You'll eat something and feel better. Honestly, sweetie, this isn't a big deal. Yeah, it was dumb. But you didn't hurt anyone. You were just being drunk and stupid."

"You really do not know my mother. She is going to kill me. I'm setting a bad example for the kids, I've ruined my image, blah blah blah…" he mimicked.

"Screw her. This is going to blow over in about five minutes. You are so not big news."

"Hey!" he whined. "I'm big news."

"Of course you are, bunny," I soothed, following him onto the elevator for the parking garage. "You'll be the bad Backstreet Boy now."

"Quit it," he muttered, and I managed to hide my smile. Maybe after some hash browns he'd be up for being teased. "Do you really not have clothes? It's not that warm."

I let him change the subject. "I have a couple of t-shirts and underwear in there. I just grabbed stuff quick."

Finding his car, he unlocked it and threw my bag in the back, and then came around to open my door. "How long are you staying?"

I shrugged. "Dunno. Depends on if EMI comes back to us with something, I guess."

"Oh, shit." He blinked at me for a second, remembering what I had going on right now. "Rache, you shouldn't have come."

I put my hand on his arm, shaking my head. "No, I should have. All we can do is wait, and I can do that as much here as there." Jeremy was going to have something else to say about that, I was sure, but screw him.

"I… I'm sorry."

"For what? You didn't make me come here."

"If I wasn't such a fucking wimp, I wouldn't have called you and freaked out last night. I shouldn't have…"

She stopped me, leaning up to kiss me lightly. "You're not a wimp. This is a big deal, baby, and I wanted to make sure you're okay."

I was a fucking pussy. Vinnie was right. I couldn't do anything without her. What if this had happened while she was in Europe? She wouldn't have been able to just fly out and be with me then.

I mean, I could handle this on my own. I knew I needed to call Mom, and the Firm, and the fellas, and someone would get me a lawyer, and I'd do probation or community service and it would all be over. At least that's what Anna had said.

I couldn't do shit without a girl there to help me, could I? Any big crisis, I was running to Mom or Rachel. I was useless. When was I going to grow up? I should turn around right now and put Rachel on a plane back to New York and handle this mess on my own.

But she slid inside the car, and I didn't stop her. Sitting up there, she was a little taller than me, and I hugged her, breathing her in. She stroked my hair when I leaned my head against her chest, and I could take a deep breath again.

I was useless. I could accept that. I got this amazing woman to leave her life to come and take care of me. I should stop fighting it and just accept that I was blessed. "I love you," I told her.

"I love you, too. I think we should get some food before we get really overwrought."

See? She was so much smarter than me. I knew she was right. None of this was the end of the world. I just had to live through the publicity and get a lawyer to deal with the trial… was it a trial? What was I on trial for? Did a jury have to decide if I was guilty or not? I mean, I did it. The cop told me to leave, and I ignored him. I wouldn’t argue that. So could I just admit that and pay a fine or something? That was okay. I didn’t care how much it was. I just wanted it to all go away.

It didn’t matter if I said I was guilty and paid a fine. It was still a matter of public record, and it was going to be all over the press soon. I should call the Firm and letthem know. They’d know what to do.

"Where’d you go, sweetie?" Rachel asked, and I realized I was still standing there, hugging her.

"I need a lawyer," I told her, moving away from her arms.

"Yeah. Who do you want to call about that? I bet the Firm can recommend someone. Do they have lawyers in Tampa?"

I had no idea. How the hell could I find a lawyer? I’d dealt with all sorts of lawyers in my life, plenty of them in Florida, but those were all for business things. I wasn’t sure if any of them handled criminal stuff.

Was I a criminal now?

Rachel must have seen the look on my face, because she laughed, reaching out to smooth my hair. "Do you want me to drive? Because you so need to eat something before you freak out."

"I don’t know that eating breakfast is going to help this, Rache."

"Nonsense. Waffle House can cure anything!"

I had to kiss her just one more time before I went around the car to finally get in. This is why I wanted her here. I loved that she thought that Waffle House made everything better. She was good at distracting me and keeping me calm.

"You can even have double hash browns," she told me, as I settled into my seat.

"Can I get them covered and smothered and stuffed and suffocated?"

She giggled as I started the car. "Suffocated?"

"That's with, like, garlic, right?"

"What are they stuffed with? Bread crumbs? It's a carb fest!"

"Isn't that what Waffle House is all about? It's not like you go there for the salads."

"Good point," she agreed. "It was the thought of the carbs that got me through my flight. And seeing you, of course," she added quickly.

I hoped that was true. I wouldn't blame her if she didn't want to see me right now. But it'd been her idea to come. She'd booked a flight before I even thought about asking her to come. "Did you have a lousy flight? I'm sorry. I should have asked."

"You have other things on your mind, bunny. It's fine. But it sucked!"

I knew that tone in her voice. She'd just been waiting to rant to someone. "What happened, buttercup? Did they make you sit in coach?"

"Yes! I spent a zillion dollars for a last minute flight and ended up in coach. That is just wrong. One of those freaking business travelers should have been forced to give up their seat for the pop star."

"Absolutely," I agreed. "It was a crisis. Shouldn't they have known that?" Maybe it was good that they didn't know that. The news wasn't out quite yet. But any minute someone would be calling my mom, I just knew it. She was Aaron's manager, so everyone in the entertainment press had her number.

How did the press find out these things? Whenever some celebrity got arrested, or married, anything like that, the press knew in hours. Did they have people that just checked the police records every day? Or did the police call them with the inside scoop?

"Totally!" Rachel continued to rant. "But they made me sit in coach, and I had to sit in a middle seat. I hate middle seats!"

Had I ever sat in a middle seat in coach? Maybe… when Backstreet was first starting. But I'd been flying first class for a long time now. On those rare occasions when I got stuck in coach, I was tall enough to end up with an aisle seat.

"Were you stuck between two obnoxious people?"

"Yes! Stupid commuter flight! And they both had to have their laptops out, so I barely had enough room to read my Cosmo."

Rachel was the opposite of the 'Cosmo girl', but she loved to read it. They did have good sex articles sometimes. "Learn any good tips?" I asked, and she shook her head.

"There are no original ideas left. I think I read the same sex tips like six months ago."

"Guess we'll have to make up our own, then," I said, looking over at her as we pulled up to the line to pay for parking.

"Know what's a good thing about you getting arrested, bun?" she asked, pulling her wallet out of her bag and handing me a twenty. I tried to wave her away, reaching for my wallet, but she thrust the bill at me. "Please. I can pay for parking. It's right here."

"Fine. But I'll get breakfast."

"Whatever." I paid the parking attendant and handed Rachel back her change.

"This might pay for breakfast," she joked, dropping the money in her bag.

"Is that the good thing about me getting arrested? You had an excuse to come to Florida and have Waffle House?"

"That is a good thing, but that's not it. No, the good thing is that we get some alone time. We needed that."

Her voice was serious, and I reached over, taking her hand in mine. We did need that. We were supposed to have had that if I'd stayed in New York. But I'd left because I was pissed at her, and now look what had happened… I should have stayed. "Yeah, this was all a big plan to get us some alone time here where it’s warm."

"You could have just asked. We could have gone to LA sooner or something. No need for all the drama with law enforcement."

"Sorry." I had a lot more to say to her, and she deserved to hear it. But… I was having enough problems with getting arrested. I at least needed some breakfast before I could apologize for our stupid fight yesterday. That was… complicated. I didn't want to think about that now. She was here now, and we were good for the moment. I just needed that right now.

Just 'sorry'? I didn't get anything besides a 'sorry'? After our fight yesterday, I still flew down here to be with him, and he couldn't even give me a decent apology? I was willing to admit that I should have told him about the Nsync thing as soon as I found out about it, instead of waiting, but…

This was not the time, Rachel. I looked over at him, and his face was tense as he drove, staring intently at the road in front of us. We were both exhausted and hungry and he was this side of hysterical. If I brought up the Nsync tour now, we'd end up in an even worse argument. And now I'd be trapped in Tampa. At least yesterday I'd been in New York and knew how to get around. I was stuck with Nick here.

I squeezed his hand, and he glanced over at me, smiling gratefully. He wasn't getting out of our fight this easily, but he didn't need to know that right now. "How long are you staying?"

I shrugged. "I haven't thought that hard. I have a return ticket back for the day after tomorrow, but… I don't know. I'm not sure if I'll need to fly back and sign things, or fly back and figure out what to do without a record contract or…"

"You will so have a record contract. EMI would be crazy to give you up. And if they do, then someone else will pick you up in a second."

I was such a wimp. I'd just jumped at this chance to leave town, didn't I? I was scared to death about what was happening with my career, and taking care of Nick was easier than dealing with that. "What if they just tie us up in legal battles for years?"

Nick shook his head. "There are ways out of those. I've been there."

"But you still owe Lou zillions of dollars."

"It was better than being off the market for years. You'll find a solution, Rache. You have great lawyers. They'll figure it out."

"They'd better, for what we're paying them. But… anyway. I imagine my phone will ring in a few minutes and Jeremy will be screaming at me."

"Turn it off. That's what I did."

I laughed. "What if it’s management or something?"

"I'll call them back. It's still early, Rache, and the Firm's in LA. I think I'm good for a little while."

"Give me your phone." He shot me a look, and I held out my hand. "Gimme. I'll check your messages."

He hesitated for a moment, and then pulled his phone out of his pocket. "Thank you."

I flipped it open, and it beeped at me, telling me he had messages. But he always had messages. "When did you check this last?"

"Last night. I called you before I went out, and then I was with everyone, so I turned it off. I guess I had messages when I called you after it happened… yeah, I think it beeped at me. I just ignored it."

"Then these might just be from me." Two were, and another from Aaron, before anything had happened, and Tony this morning, and… I laughed, hitting the button to play the message again and holding up the phone for Nick to hear. "Who's this?"

A voice barked out. "What the fuck did you do, Nick? Resisting arrest? You stupid little Florida boy. Don't fuck with the cops! Just do what they tell you. Call me. I've got lawyers waiting to hear from you."

Nick groaned. "Ken. My guy at the Firm. How the hell does he know already? It's only, like, seven in the morning there!"

"Probably the same way Frank does," I told him, listening to Frank's familiar Texas drawl. Nick needed Frank back. He didn't need a bodyguard, but he needed someone to keep him in line. If Frank was around and the cops told Nick to move, Frank would have moved him. Hell, if Frank had been there, the cops probably wouldn’t have even hassled him.

"Oh, I don't even want to hear that one."

"He said pretty much what Ken did. That's it." I clicked off the phone. "See, Ken's got a lawyer for you to call. That's good." I needed to meet Ken. He was working with Nick on the solo stuff, and he seemed really cool. Nick talked about him all the time, and they were sort of friends. "Should I call him back?"

"No. We're almost at Waffle House. Let me eat something first. Then I might need to sleep."

"I might make you call him before you sleep. No sense in putting it off."

He scowled at the road, and I giggled to myself. "Who else called?"

"Me. Aaron called last night, it was midnight or something."

"No Mom?"

"No Mom. None of the guys, either."

He just nodded, switching lanes for our exit. "Is that good or bad?"

"It'll probably be easier for you to tell them."

"Probably," he admitted. "But what do I say?"

"Tell them you were in a big fight and broke your arm or something. That way, when you tell them the truth, it won't seem as bad."

That made him laugh for the first time all morning. "Good idea. I'll tell them I crashed the car, too. And my apartment burned down."

"So you were arrested for arson, and aggravated assault, and you stole the matches you set the fire with, so they got you on theft, too."

"Dude, resisting arrest is nothing after that. Mom will just be so glad I'm okay, she won't care."

"See? Don't I have all the best ideas?"

He parked the car at the Waffle House and pulled me into a hug. "You do. Thank you for being here."

"I just came for the hash browns."

Laughing, he kissed me. "Let's go get some, then."

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