I was running late, very late actually. Avery had started calling me Nick of time becasue I always seemes to be running late and making it to whatever engagement I had with seconds to spare. Her plane was leaving in an hour and I wanted to be there with her at the airport to say goodbye. She was heading home to Orlando after 2 wonderful weeks in Sweden. In all honesty I was pretty bummed out to know that when I woke up tomorrow I wouldn't be able to meet her for breakfast and hear her lecture me, playfully about how I was not eating from all 4 food groups. While I got pissed off and cranky when others lectured me about my weight and food I tended to listen to and take Avery's good natured ribbing and suggestions. How boring it would be without her here. I was going to be miserable without her.
~~**~~
"Well it's about damn time Nick of time, I thought you had dumped me for the little bimbo that was hitting on you last night at the club" Avery teased me as I arrived out of breath and offering a thousand apologies.
"Easy Raging Bull that woman was a hottie" I teased back. "So have they made the boarding call yet?"
"No" Avery pointed at the photo booth and grinned "Let's go get our pictures done" she grabbed my hand and the next thing I knew we were making funny faces and laughing hysterically as we posed for the camera. God I was going to miss her.
~~**~~
"Well Raging Bull I guess this is it, the end of our reign of terror on Sweden. It's been fun" I pulled her into my arms and hugged her tightly.
"I will call you when I get into Orlando. I am going to take a couple of days off to recover from the trip and then I am going to start on your house."
"Well then you will need these" I pulled out a ring of keys and handed them to Avery "Here is my boat key, the boathouse lock, and the house keys."
"Nick I can't take these, you said your caretaker would let me in, I can't be responsible for these" Avery handed me the keys.
"Uh uh, my caretaker won't always be available, you said yourself that you tend to have brain spurts in the middle of the night, this way you can go to my house whenever those ideas pop into your head"
"Why your boat keys?"
"The only place I can think straight is on my boat, I thought maybe if you had a rough day at work and needed some quiet time you might like to use my boat. You should be honoured, that boat is my baby" I was overcome with the need to brush the strand of hair that always seemed to dangle over her left eye, out of her face. My hand lingered longer then it should have and I felt Avery shiver. "You need to get going, as much as I wish your plane was delayed here for the next 3 weeks I know you have to get back. Call me when you get home, no matter what time" I hugged her and kissed her softly on the cheek. "See ya raging bull"
"Later Nick of Time" Avery picked up her carry on and walked to the gate and as she waited for the gate attendant to rip her ticket she turned to me and smiled "Bye Nicky"
"Bye Aves" I watched her walk down the tunnel and I turned and walked through the crowded airport. I felt like I had just lost my best friend. Truth be told....I had...It was going to be a long 3 weeks without Avery.
~~2 weeks later~~
"Nick move your ass, AJ is going to barge in there any minute and when he finds out that you are on the phone with me he will freak. You know how jealous he is that you and I are friends...you know how bad he wants my beefy ass" I laughed as Avery gave me my daily wake up call. AJ and I were supposed to be going to an interview session with some award winners and Avery was right, if I didn't soon get ready I was going to face the wrath of AJ. Ordinary people would be shaking in their Calvin Kleins at the prospect but not me, I could take him. I chuckled at the thought.
"Aves I will call you when I get back from the interview session. Hey did you get the tape I sent you?"
"Yes and let me tell you something, you have one hell of an ego. What ever made you think I wanted to watch 6 hours of interview clips with you and the other 4 prissy ass prima donnas"
"Yikes...easy raging bull, you know deep down you love it. You cannot get enough of your best friend"
"Or his attitude. Alright boy wonder you need to get dressed and get down to the lobby to meet AJ. Give him a big sloppy kiss for me and if you can drag yourself away from your ego building fans that are camped outside the studio call me at your house. The new vanity came in and I want to make sure it is set up properly."
"Ooh I am getting individual attention huh..Aves you don't do that for your other clients"
"Nothing is too good for my conceited prissy ass pop star pal...later Nick of Time"
"Later Raging Bull"
~~**~~
Avery stood back and stared at the oval mirror and the wrought iron fixtures that hung above it. Something was not right. The entire bathroom didn't have the homey feel that she had invisioned. She had spent the last 2 weeks scouring auctions and estate sales trying to find the perfect furniture and fixtures that would transform Nick's showcase house into a comfortable and nurturing home. An idea came to her head and she left the contracters to finish installing the peices while she took care of implementing her sudden idea spurt.
~~**~~
"So how is Avery?" AJ and I were eating lunch after the first of a long line of interviews.
"She is great, she is pleased with the way my house is turning out and the new Orlando city hall is moving along smoothly so she is in a great mood. I am supposed to give you a big sloppy kiss but you know me, I don't swing that way." I laughed as AJ's face turned into a pout.
"What no tongue, come on big boy just this one time" AJ teased "So when are you two going to break down and tell each other what all of us have seen since breakfast the first day we met her?"
"Drop it Bone, Brian and D already gave me this lecture, Avery and I are friends, besides I would not want to risk what we have."
"Nicky you guys are hot for one another. I haven't seen you this happy since your mom and dad packed up and moved to LA"
I picked at my baked potatoe and tried to get Avery's smile out of my head.
Avery stood amongst the mens' family, friends and business associates as she waited for the plane carrying the men to arrive in Orlando. It had been more then a month since she had seen Nick and she couldn't wait to see his cheeky grin and hug him. In the short time they had spent with each other and the daily phone calls, emails, letters and tapes they had been sending to each other for the past 2 months, they had both realised that they shared a unique and incredibly special bond of friendship and they were both anxious to continue building on it.
~~**~~
I waited for the unfasten seat belt light to come on and I reached for my napsack. I was so happy to be home, even if it was only for 3 days, then we would be heading to the Bahamas to work on some more recording. I was anxious to climb onto my boat, to see my newly decorated house, sleep in my big, comfortable bed and mostly to see Avery. I stood behind Brian and waited for him to climb down the stairs.
~~**~~
"You look incredible Raging Bull" Avery and I were walking towards her car, both trying to talk over one another. We were both excited and had a lot of catching up to do even though we had spoken to each other that morning. We had that effect on one another, the need to babble and spill our guts.
"Well I wish I could say the same about you Nicky but I can't, you either spent too much time bopping all the Swedish chicks you and AJ told me about or you worked too hard, you look like shit" Avery stared at me with an evil grin. "If I know my best friend I would say you worked too hard on smooth talking the swedish ladies. Am I right Nick of Time?"
I grinned and put my luggage in her trunk.
~~**~~
I walked into my house and instantly felt a feeling of comfort come over me, it welcomed me home like an old friend or beloved family member. The front hall had been painted a light buttercream, a very comfortable looking bench was set up against the wall and the mirrored cupboard doors had been switched to light wood levered doors to soften up the look.
"Nick I know you want to see everything but there are certain rooms you need to see before the rest" Avery took my hand and led me upstairs to my bedroom. My comfortable bed was covered with a new quilt, upon further inspection I was touched to see that the quilt had been made out of tshirts that fans from all over the world had given me. "I figured that whenever you needed comfort you could wrap this around you and fans from all over the world would be hugging you"
"Aves did you make this...oh my god you can't even imagine how special this is" I was honestly touched, it was one of the most thoughtful things anyone had ever done for me. "Aves the bedroom looks wonderful, I love it"
"I am so glad, your bedroom was so hard to do, I wanted to keep all of your stuff but I wanted to organize it better, by the way do you know you have 14 of the same comic book?"
I grinned and followed her back downstairs and into my study, nothing could ever have prepared me for what Avery had done. I had confessed to her one night that my study was my safe haven in my house. It housed my computers and games which in turn were my escape mechanisms from reality. The walls were covered with a collage of pictures that she had obviously spent alot of time looking through the boxes in the basement for. They were arranged on the wall and covered with glass. I touched the one of of Brian and I sleeping together on the couch. It was one of my favourites, Brian had appointed himself my protector from day one and that picture showed the bond we shared.
"I hope I didn't intrude, cross the line of your privacy, I was cleaning out your basement and stumbled on these and I hated the fact that they were collecting dust, I figured that by surronding you with memories and love that this really could be your safe haven"
I turned to Avery and pulled her into my arms "Thank you Avery, this was the best welcome home gift ever"
Avery and I spent the three days I had in Orlando completely together. She had tried to schedule appointments in the early morning so that we would have the afternoons and evenings to be together. We spent most of the time on my boat. I couldn't get over how sea sick Avery got as we crashed over the waves and basked in the hot Orlando sun. She looked so right sitting on the front perch of the boat, her short hair tousled in the wind, her legs dangling over the edge, the green tinge of her complexion was the only thing that gave away her uneasiness on the boat.
When Avery met me the Friday, the day before I was scheduled to head to the Bahamas I could instantly tell that something was bothering her but she blew it off and hurried me out of my house and into her jeep. She had planned something for my final night in Orlando and she was drving me insane with all the secrets. She knew I was a little kid when it came to suspense and no amount of ribbing, tickling and bribing would make her spill the beans.
"So how is Howie's little bimbo?" Avery asked as we sang along to Paul Simon, her favourite singer, in the car.
"Easy....gee Raging Bull if I didn't know any better I would think that you have a lust on for Mr Latin Lover." I teased, knowing how embarassed Avery was about her drunken confession to me the night before about how she would take Howie on in a minute. I loved having blackmail on my best friend, although I couldn't help but feel a slight tinge of jealousy that she thought Howie to be sexy. I didn't want to share her, she was my best friend and I wanted it to stay like that.
Avery responded by flicking me the finger and turning Paul Simon up even louder to block out my teasing.
~~**~~
"Avery I would never have thought this of you, you are full of surprises aren't you?" I asked as we stood at the front desk of the tattoo and peircing salon.
"I have been dying to get one and I know that you are always up for more so I thought that we could do it together, is that alright Nick, we don't have to do this if you don't want to"
"Hell yeah I will get one, besides I always jump at the chance to see you squirm" I winked and started to look through the Flash book.
~~**~~
"You designed this? Avery it is beautiful" I stared down at the tattoo sketch and smiled. She had drawn a cute bull holding an hour glass.
"It represents both of us, is it too sappy?" Avery asked worried.
I turned to the tattoo artist "I think we have decided on the design" I took Avery's hand and led her into the room.
~~**~~
I watched in awe as the artist finished up the design on Avery's lower back. She had designed waves with an hour glass floating in it. It went from tip to tip. It would look beautiful when she wore a shorter top or hip slung jeans. It was just the shock value somone would experience when they caught a glimpse of this professional and totally put together woman's tatoo. AJ would love it. When I asked her about it she replied "It incorporates our love of the water, even though I get sick and the hour glass represents you Nick of Time." Avery squeezed my hand and stared at me as he finished the shading.
~~**~~
"I cannot believe that you, you of all people did this. I mean Aves you aren't someone I ever thought was into tatoos" I teased as we walked towards the car. I had decided on putting the tatoo on my chest, I knew the guys would rib me and that the fans and media would be cuious about the significance of the tatoo, I mean it was a strange one but I wanted it to be visable to Avery so she knew that i was always thinking of her. I might not be comfortable taking off my shirt in front of the fans buyt around Avery it was second nature for me to be bare chested. I was completly and utterly comfortable with every aspect of our friendship.
"I think I should take that as an insult. Are you telling me I am a priss?" Avery put her hands on her hips and waited for me to answer, fighting with herself not to grin.
"You are the biggest priss I have ever met but that's why we work so well together, you keep me grounded and I introduce you to the wild and immature side of life" I picked her up and swung her around. "I love you Raging Bull, you are my best friend"
"I love you too Nick of Time, now let me down, you are creasing my shirt"
I groaned "I rest my case Priss Ass"
~~**~~
"As if you just shoved all of that in my mouth" Avery shielded her full mouth with her hand and tried to swallow the fudge brownie delight we were sharing.
"Swallow it. Hell I am sure you would love to hear Howie say that to you huh?" I teased.
"Nickolas shut up. I was drunk, alot of people say stupid things when they are drunk. I never said i wanted Howie I just said he was doable." Avery wiggled until her head was resting on my chest, far enough away from my new tattoo as not to hurt me. She was lying between my bent knees, her head on my chest, my hands on her stomach as we laid under the stars and let the waves lull our peaceful last night together. We had stopped at Ben and Jerry's and were stuffing ourselves silly with ice cream and drinking wine. I had always hated wine but Avery introduced me to one of her passions, wine tasting, and now I appreciated a fine glass of chablis. "Nick have you ever felt that things were too perfect and started bracing yourself for a complete meltdown?" Avery ran her hands up and down my bare legs and sighed softly. I had never felt so close to heaven as I did at that moment. I had never felt this way with the women I had loved and dated, this was my best friend and everything was perfect. Was this the way it was meant to be? Had Avery been sent to teach me to love and trust and prepare for my eventual meeting with my destiny, my true love? How could I love a woman so much and only feel feelings of friendship towards her, or so I thought.
"Aves what's wrong, I knew something was bothering you when you came to see me this afternoon. Is everything alright at work?" I stroked her short hair and kissed the top of her head. "You can tell me anything Raging Bull"
Avery swallowed hard and wanted to tell Nick that her business was not picking up as fast as it should be after working on such prestigious projects that she had been doing lately. She wanted to tell him that her ex ( the one he didn't even know existed)was not in any hurry to sign the divorce papers, and she wanted to tell him that she was thinking of taking off for a few weeks to clear her head. But something stopped her. The look of complete happiness and peacefullness on Nick's face stopped her. It was her last night with her best friend for a few weeks and she didn't want to ruin his happiness, she didn't want him worrying about her while he should be concentrating on his own career so she bit her tongue "I am just overworked Nicky, overworked and tired. That's all. No worries"
"You would tell me right, you wouldn't keep anything from me. Aves I am your best friend and I would do anything to help you" I ran my hands over her stomach and started to softly rub it. It always made her relax. She had once told me that her stomach was her most sensitive spot and whenever she needed comforting I would rub her stomach and she would purr and everything would be alright again.
"I promise I would tell you" Avery lied. She snuggled closer
to my chest and
her soft breathing signalled that my best friend was now sound
asleep. I
blew out the candles that lit the deck and gently reached for
my jacket and
covered her with it. I continued rubbing her stomach and
buried one hand in
her hair, stroking it as I too fell asleep.
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