Neri
School goes a lot better than I thought it would. I wear my sunglasses and there's more security around the areas where I go to class. Other than a few good jobs and other comments, it's very quiet. I head back to my new home and take the elevator up to the room. No one is there when I arrive and I don't have to pick up Gabby until later, because she is going over Terry's house after school so they can work on a project together. Terry's mom is going to pick them up from school. Terry is proving to be a good friend to her and I may consider having both of them come with us in June and also have someone to come with us when Gabby has her modeling jobs.
I start on my homework and thinking about the paper that I have to write for my class, when my phone rings. "Hello." "Hi Neri. It's Roger. How are you?" He greets me. "Doing better. How's it going?" I say back. "It's going really well. I was calling because you have so many offers flooding in and I wanted to go over some of them with you."
Okay. "Go ahead." I tell him. "First there are news stations and morning shows that want to interview you. I told the morning shows that since you are still in school that you can't travel except for on Fridays. I told the local news stations that they would have to interview you early because of school. There are a couple of newspaper's that would like you to write an article talking about your experiences doing the food drives. I just needed your input on that one. The same company that tried to get you to model for them after the first food drive wants you to do it for them this weekend. What do you think?'
I take a deep breath, "Okay. First and foremost I can't do anything this weekend coming up. Cole is taking me out of town and would kill both of us if I took any jobs. I just need some rest this week so we can revisit some of those morning shows next week. I'm writing a paper for my class about my experiences doing the fundraisers. I have to ask my teacher, but I'm sure that he'll let me use it for the newspaper. Find out how many words they want and I'll try to make it work. Have you gotten any offers for Gabby?" "I've gotten a few. I told her mother about them and she'll talk to you." He says. "Let me know how many words the newspapers need and I'll work on that this week. We'll talk next Monday about everything else." I say. "Will do." He says. We say bye and disconnect the call.
I sent an email to my teacher to make sure that I would be able to use my paper for the newspaper articles and then I continue to do my homework enjoying the quiet. I hear the keycard in the door and look up as Cole and Shawn walk in together. "Hey." I say. Cole comes over and gives me a kiss then sits beside me. "Hi." Shawn says "Hey!" and moves to sit across from me at the table. He pulls out his books and starts working on his homework. "What were you guys doing?" I ask. "My car broke down so I called Cole to come and get me. We got a lot of looks when a limo came to pick me up." Shawn says. "Why didn't you call me? I was right there." I ask.
"This is your week of rest. We're not going to bother you for anything." He says. "What's wrong with your car?" I ask. "I think it may be the battery. I had it towed to the shop and they are going to call me later. I'm going to sell it anyway before we move and buy a new one when I start work." He looks around. "Where's Gabby. Were we supposed to pick her up?" "No. She's over at Terry's house working on a school project. She'll call when she's ready for us to pick her up." I say. Then I remember. "We can't go over my parent's house for dinner tonight because of paparazzi, so we decided to meet at Texas Roadhouse in St. Charles for dinner. How does that sound?"
"One of my favorite restaurants." Shawn says. I look at Cole. "I've never been there, but I'm willing to try it." "You'll love it." Shawn says. "They have the best of anything on their menu." Cole nods his head and we all go back to work. I finish my homework in record time and start working on my paper. Cole is working on his computer and Shawn is doing his homework. I remember my call with Roger and turn to Cole. I decide to mess with him a little bit. "Roger called today and I was offered a modeling job for this weekend and I took it." He looks up at me. "What!" I send Roger a quick text so he'll expect Cole's call.
Me: Messing with Cole. Please play along.
Roger: No problem.
Shawn looks up and into my eyes. He sees what's going on. He gives me a small smile and looks back down at his homework. I shrug and turn back to Cole. "They made me an offer I couldn't refuse."
I think that he's going to burst a vein or something. He starts to yell, "Dammit Neri, you know that I'm taking you out of town this weekend! Why did you take it?"
I shrug again, "Like I said they made me an offer I couldn't refuse."
"No way are you taking that job this weekend. Shawn, do you hear this?" Shawn puts his hands up and says, "I'm not in this. That's between you two and Roger."
"We'll take care of this." He says. He picks up his phone, find Rogers name and selects it. "Roger, she cannot work this weekend!" He listens as Roger speaks. "Who else, Neri! You have to cancel anything she has going on this weekend!" He's quiet again as he listens to Roger. I look behind his head at Shawn who has his head tucked down and trying not to laugh too loud. Cole looks back up at me opening his mouth to yell at Roger again and I can't control my smile. He's silent for a moment as he looks back at Shawn. At this point Shawn is laughing so hard he can't control it. He deflates. "You're messing with me aren't you?" I nod my head. He hangs up on Roger without saying bye or anything.
I get out of my seat and start backing away towards the bedroom door. Cole jumps out of his chair and I turn and run into the bedroom closing the door behind me. I look around for a place to hide and could only find the tub in the bathroom. I hear the doorknob to the bedroom start to turn and I run into the bathroom and jump in the tub. I hear him walk in the bedroom. I hear him move around looking for me. I make sure that I don't move because every little movement in the tub makes a sound. I start to hold my breath as I hear him get closer to the bathroom.
I hear his shoes hit the bare floor as he walks into the bathroom. I hear quiet and then all of a sudden the shower curtain is yanked open and he's grabbing me around the waist, hoisting me over his shoulder. He's carrying me out of the bathroom as I start to squeal. He throws me down on the bed and climbs on top of me so I can't get away. I'm squirming, trying to move out from under him. He pins my arms down and looks at me with a smile on his face. "I'll teach you to mess with me." One of his hands come down to my armpits and he starts tickling me which elicits a whole new set of squeals out of me. After trying to move away from him and it not working I start to beg.
"Please stop! I have to pee!" I squeal "I promise. I won't do it anymore!" "Say I'm the king and I'll stop." He says as he runs his fingers down my side. I squeal some more. "You are the king! Please stop!" He runs his fingers down my side one more time before he lets go. My arms move down first and when he frames my face with his hands. My arms comes back up and my hands rest on his arms. He looks at me and reaches down and gives me a kiss. When he pulls back, he says, "I'm so glad I met you and that you let me in. You will always be a part of me. I just want you to know that. I love you."
"I feel the same way. I bless the day that Mike broke up with me because if he didn't I would have never met you. That would have been a shame." He kisses me again. He pulls back and gets up pulling me up with him. "Let's go back in there so Shawn knows that you're still alive." "I really have to go to the bathroom first." I tell him. He leans down and pecks my lips. "Okay, I'm going in there."
After I finish, I head into the living room. Shawn and Cole are sitting at the table talking and laughing. I walk over to join them and take a seat. "Did you call Roger back?" I ask Cole. "Why?" "You hung up on him without saying anything. Don't you think you owe him a callback?" Cole says, "I'll call him back alright. He might not like what I have to say."
"Don't blame him. It was all me. I told him to go along with it. When he told me about the job, I turned it down immediately. I knew that you would have a fit if I took the job. I also told him that I wasn't doing anything this week, but rest." I touch his cheek and gave him a kiss.
Shawn laughs, "You have to admit that was a good one Cole. She got you really good. You were about to explode until Neri couldn't hide her smile anymore." Cole says, "It was a good one. I do admit that." He turns to me. "You got me really good." I shrug, "I saw the opening and took it." He leans over and kisses me. "Paybacks a bitch."
I open my mouth to reply when my phone rings. It's Gabby saying that she's ready to be picked up. We decide to pick her up and then go to dinner. I text my parents to let them know. I decide not to change for dinner. I know that my mom is going to have a fit, but I just don't feel like it. This is my week of rest. We pick up Gabby and then head to the restaurant. Cole and I put on our sunglasses and Cole puts on his cap and pulls it down over his eyes. Maybe I should get bangs or something.
We request a table in the corner, so we won't be in the middle and there will be less chance of someone recognizing us. Cole and I sit with our backs to the restaurant so anyone who looks at our table won't recognize us right away. The first thing my mom says to me is, "So you're not dressing for dinner now?" I look back at her, "Mom. I'm tired and this is my week of rest. Just leave it alone for this week." My father steps in. "She's been on the run for the past month and a half. She has dressed for every dinner so far. Please let her have one week to relax and recuperate." He rubs moms back and kisses her on the cheek. "Fine." She says, "But only this week." I feel Cole's hand on my knee. He squeezes it for a second.
I turn to Gabby. "How was school today?" "It was okay. Kinda weird sometimes. People who have never spoken to me before, are talking to me. Some are saying bad things, but they stay away from me. I hadn't heard from Shannon at all since before my car and all of a sudden, she's talking to me. I asked Terry about her and she's going to ask around to see what she's been saying behind my back." I nod my head at her. "We won't go into this again about friendships but they will come and go. If she's meant to be your real friend, it will happen in the long run." "I know. I talked to my mom about it too. She says the same things that you all do."
"What did Shannon talk about?" Cole asked. "She said that she was sorry about what happened to me and then she started asking me about knowing you and the shooting the commercial. She also tried to ask about how much money I made doing the commercial." We all look at her sadly and Cole says, "She's not your friend honey. She's going to try to use you for what you have. I'm sorry." Gabby shrugs her shoulders. "I knew that I would have to let her go. It's not a big deal. I'm prepared for it." I'm sad for her, but she came out of this with one true friend in Terry. I ask, "What happened to the guy that you went on the date with?"
The server finally came over to take our order. When she walks away, Gabby said, "We were fine for about a week and then he was upset, because I didn't have time for him. So he started going out with someone else." My mom chirps up, "Oh sweetie I'm sorry about that, but if he wasn't willing to wait for you then he wasn't worth your time. There will be other boys, some who will be worth your time."
We change the subject and talk about other things. When Shawn tells everyone about the joke I played on Cole today, everyone starts laughing. Cole puts his arm around me and pulls me to him, kissing me on the cheek. My father freezes. "Are you two together?" I nod my head. "Since when?" "Since my birthday weekend." I say. "And no one was going to bother telling me?" He sits up in his chair. My mom immediately grabs his arm. "Honey let her be. She has been so busy lately that she hasn't had time for much of anything. Let alone tell us what's going on in her life personally." He turns to her, "You know about it." My mom nods her head. My dad opens his mouth to say something, but she stops him. "Don't even think about it. When she went to you for things, did you tell me everything? No, you didn't. So when she mentions in passing that they are together, I left it where it was. I figured that she would tell you when the time came. This is her week of rest and she's just trying to have a stress-free week. Leave it alone." My dad stiffens for a second, then relaxes and lets it go.
We have a pleasant dinner. The food is excellent, the talk flows. We laugh a lot and have an overall good time. When it's time to leave, Cole and I put on our disguises and I start to think about needing more pairs of sunglasses since I seem to be wearing them all of the time. I run to the bathroom before we leave and I meet everyone outside. When I step outside of the restaurant, I see my dad and Cole standing away from the crowd talking. I start to walk towards them when Shawn grabs my arm. "Let them do this. Your dad asked me about him and I gave him my opinion. Just let him talk to him for a few minutes and they will both be fine."
"I told him I love him yesterday." I tell Shawn since we are standing away from everyone. "I can tell. Did he tell you he loves you back?" I nod my head. "I told you that he loves you. He will do anything for you including talking to your dad." We notice my mom heading towards them and call her over. I want this talk to happen and be done with. We call Gabby over too. Shortly, she has us all laughing with her stories. Dad and Cole finish their conversation, shakes hands and walks over to us. We say goodbye and head to the car.
Cole
After I picked up Shawn earlier, he asked me where I'm taking Neri for the long weekend. I told him that we were going back to Miami to one of those private resorts. Even though they were on spring break last week, it seemed like she worked harder than when she had school. Shawn tells me. "She'll like that. She really needs the rest." I told him, "I'm going to turn off her phone so if anything happens you can call me and I will let her know." "Just make sure that if anything happens, that you do tell her because she will be so mad at you if you don't. You do not want to lose her trust." He says.
"I understand. I will definitely tell her if anything happens. I did want to talk to you about something though. When you all move to Chicago, I just want you to know that you are welcome to stay as long as you want, but if you find a place, I'm not letting her go with you. I really need her with me." I tell him.
He laughs. "Thanks for letting me know, but do me a favor, when I start looking for a place please do not tell her that you won't allow her to move with me. You need to ask her way in advance to live with you. I'll put off looking for a place for a while when we get down there until you have talked to her. I may just stay with you for about a year or two until I figure out what I want to do. I'm joining a semi-pro football league so I can decide it I want to go into the draft or not."
"So you will be very busy, huh. Working all day and practicing all night. You need to stay with us until you figure out what you're going to do." I say laughing. "Yep. Have you heard from crazy girl lately?" He says. "Nope. Have you received any emails from her?"
"Not at all. I'm hoping that she stays away. For Neri's sake. You can't keep this from her for too much longer. She's going to be pissed." He says. "I know. We're still feeling our way around each other a little bit. I need to know that I'm not going to have to chase after her before I tell her." I reply. I wipe my hand down the front of my face.
We pull up to the hotel and head up to the room. Neri's sitting at the table doing homework. Her usual spot about this time. We both say hi to her. Shawn sits across from her and opens his books and I walk over and give her a kiss. She asks what's going on and we explain to her about Shawn's car. We work for a little bit and then she turns to me and tells me that she spoke with Roger and took a job this weekend. I blew up and yelled and she just looked at me and said, "I told you, they made me an offer I couldn't refuse." I called Roger and told him that she couldn't work this weekend. He had the nerve to say "Who are you talking about?"
I yell at him, "Who else, Neri! You have to cancel anything she has going on this weekend!" He says, "She already accepted the jobs, we can't go back now." I open my mouth to yell at Roger some more when I look up at Neri. She she's barely controlling her laughter and I look back at Shawn who's laughing so hard that I think he's going to pee on himself. I look back at her, "You were just messing with me." She nods her head yes. I hear Roger laughing on the other end of the line. I'm going to get her. She must see something in my eyes, because she gets up and starts backing away. I hang up the phone without saying bye to Roger and go after her. I find her and have a little fun myself.
A little later, we pick up Gabby and go to dinner. While at dinner, Shawn is telling the story about Neri playing the joke on me. The whole table is laughing when I put my arm around her and kiss her on the cheek. He dad stiffens up right away. He asks if we are together and she confirms it. He's ready to blow a gasket, but her mother puts a stop to it. I find this kind of funny, because it's actually her doing the reining in this time. While we are eating dinner, I notice her father talking to Shawn. When dinner is over, Neri excuses herself to go to the bathroom and tells us that she'll meet us outside. While we are walking out, her father pulls me to the side and asks to speak with me. I glance over at Shawn and he nods his head at me.
We walk away from everyone and find a spot where no one can hear us. The first thing he asks is, "I thought you were her boss, how did this happen?" "I am her boss, and we're going to have to find another assistant, because she's busier than me right now. I've wanted her since I first met her. I was being patient because I knew that she had just gotten out of a two year relationship and needed time. We just got closer and the weekend of her birthday we became an official couple."
"Why are you with her?" He asks. "Because I love her." I say simply. "What makes you different from the other dipwad?" He asks again. "I already bought the ring." I tell him. "All I need is your permission." "When are you going to ask her?"
"It won't be for a few months yet. I'm ready, but I know that she's not. I'm just being patient for her. When the time is right, I will ask her." I tell him. I see a ghost of a smile hover over his lips before he says, "Fine. She and her mother are the most precious to me of everyone on this earth. Please take care of her the way that she's supposed to be taken care of. I will be watching you." "I wouldn't have it any other way, sir." I say. "Names Henry." He says as he holds out his hand for me to shake. Phew! Made it through that one. We shake hands and head back over to our group who seems to be laughing at something that Gabby's saying.
We have Shawn drive home. We get into the back seat and I pull her to me. She lays her head on my shoulder and I put my arm around her and rub her arms with my hand. She mumbles, "What did he say to you?" "I'm fine. Don't worry about it. We're good." I tell her. "I saw him shake your hand, I take that as a good sign." She says. I nod my head. "I'm going home tomorrow, to get a few things together before we go out of town. I'll be back on Wednesday. Will you rest for me?" "I will try. I'll miss you and the bed will be so big!" She says back to me. "I heard that!" Gabby says. "Me too!" Shawn says. We all laugh. I kiss her on the head and we make the rest of the ride back to the hotel in silence.
Neri
I make Shawn use the limo since I'm trying not to be seen and I'll pick him up since I get out of class at ten today. I was able to take Cole to the airport since I had the early release. I know it's only for a night, but I miss him already. I don't know where we're going because he won't tell me and he told me not to pack. I guess that I'll make sure that I at least have toiletries to take with me. It seems like time is going by so fast. Before I know it, graduation will be here. I can't wait for it. As soon as I get back, I finish my homework and finish my paper. I'll proofread it later and send it to my professor.
When I check my email, I receive the email back from him giving me permission to use my paper for the article. I also know why he excused me from class after the last week. I have all kinds of emails from my classmates asking for my help with their projects. I send them all suggestions, but that's all I could do. If Cole or Shawn found out I was helping someone, they would both blow a gasket. I just don't want to fight. To be honest, I don't want to help either, because I am tired. I will be in bed early tonight.
When the time comes, I pick up Shawn and we come back to the room and he works on his homework while I read until it's time to go and pick up Gabby. We pick up Gabby and she has Terry with her. "Can she spend the night? Her parents are out of town and she doesn't want to be alone tonight." I call Terry's mom who confirms that they are out of town and she can stay with us. We take her home first so she can pick up some clothes and then we head out on our shopping trip to replace anything that was destroyed in the apartment.
After shopping, we decide on fast food for dinner and go through a drive-thru to get our food. We get back to the hotel and sit down and eat. After dinner, I tell Gabby and Terry to start their homework. Shawn sits down with them and finishes his homework while I sit on the couch and read. I hear Gabby telling Terry, "Shannon was talking to me again today. The only thing that she kept talking about was Neri and Cole and how I know them. Then she started asking me when I have my next shoot and can she come with me." I stay quiet and listen to their conversation. I glance over at Shawn who nods his head that he heard and just waiting it out.
Terry asks, "What did you say to her?" Gabby replied, "I finally told her that there are about a hundred thousand other things that I would be able to talk about with her and if she doesn't want to talk about them, then I don't want to talk to her anymore." Terry said, "She hasn't been saying anything about you at school, I think that she learned from Britt's stunt and trying to be smarter about getting close to you. Let's see what happens next." I glance up just in time to see Gabby nod her head. Terry starts talking about some new guy in school and how cute he is. Gabby agrees and they start talking about other things while they finish their homework.
After their homework is finished, I remind everyone that we are moving to our new room tomorrow, so make sure everything is packed up and ready to go. I go in my room and make sure that everything is packed up and only the things that I'll need for the morning are out. I look at my clothes and decide that I need to go to the laundry mat tomorrow.
I decide to call Cole before bed and say goodnight. "Hi Sweetie." He says. "Hello. What are you doing?" I ask. I'm about to go to bed. I was going to call you." He says. "How was the rest of your day?" "Shawn and I went to get the necessities we needed to replace and then had drive-thru for dinner. Terry is spending the night because her parents are out of town until tomorrow." I tell him. "How was the rest of your day?" "I had a couple of meetings and I had to check in with the staff since I haven't seen them for about three weeks and I looked at a couple of condo's in the city. I want you to see them too. We may pick out one and move to the city." He said, "Oh and by the way, Margie made me fried chicken, mashed potatoes and greens."
"I'm so jealous! I need a home cooked meal. Tell Margie I said hi!" I tell him. Then I realize what he said before. "Why are you looking at condos? Why are you talking about moving to the city?" He says, "Shawn will be working in the city and I was just thinking that if we could find one there, we could all move in."
"Shawn is a big boy and can find his own place to live if he needs too. I love your house. Why wouldn't we stay there?" I ask. "Okay, we'll put it on the shelf for now. Maybe revisit it later if we need to." He replies. I don't understand why he's all of a sudden talking about moving. Oh well, I'll talk to him about it later. We talk for a little bit longer and then say bye. I turn on the tv and fall asleep watching it.