That morning, we sat on the bed feeding each other break fast, Lance’s head placed on my laps; both of us wrapped in the huge complimentary flannel robes.
“Have you given any thought to L.A.?” he asked, as I brushed his hair seductively.
I rolled my eyes, “Umm, I don’t know. Who are these friends, is it Justin, Joey, JC and Chris...that naughty guy?”
“You know ‘em?” His eyes lit up.
“Hey, I don’t live under a rock, you know.”
“Yeah, I saw your CD collection…” He smirked, referring to my BSB greatest hits CD. I smacked him playfully, and he instantly went back to our topic of discussion. “The guys are great though…but of cos’ I would say that; they’re my friends. But apart from that I think they’ll dig you.”
“Sure…they’ll dig me...all red hair and all?” I asked, teasing his nose with mine.
“Yeah, especially the red hair, bet you Joey would get a kick out of it.” He had a bit of whip cream on his mouth; I was quick to lick it off.
“Can I stay in the room while you work?”
“Hell, no. I want to show you off.” I shook my head. That was the way it normally went down. Wait patiently in the room and wait for the man “hard at work” to come back to you. Don’t ask to be seen and no nosy reporter would get to you. “You must like being locked up in a hotel room all day? That or just being locked up…I’m not too sure.” He dimmed his eyes suspiciously. This young man was too hilarious. Tied up, me, I wouldn’t hear of it.

The phone interrupted our passionate kiss. He picked it up and handed it to me, “Nikki, it’s for you?” His face expressed displeasure.

I gasped, how could it be for me, no one knew where I was. I questioned Lance with my eyes, and he confirmed it with a nod that saw his face drop a few notches. Whoever it was, he wasn’t too happy about. I took the receiver from him, “Hello?” I said almost whispering.
“Hello, Nikki?” It was Nick. I heaved a sigh of relief.
I sprang up from the bed, excusing myself I moved to a more secluded spot near the bathroom, a part of the room I was certain Lance couldn’t overhear the conversation.
“Yeah, Nick, what is it?” I asked with an impatient tone.
“How are you?” Was his reply.
“I’m…em...fine, why? I’m sure you didn’t dig up this number from your mobile phone to find out how I was?

“Yeah I did. You left first thing that morning; you should have let me take you home. I thought maybe you were mad at me.”

“No…well…yes,” I stumbled. “But I’m not anymore.” I glowed. Leaving that hotel room that morning was the best move I’d made all week.

“Anyway, if you’re okay, I think there’s something you should know. The police were here, looking for you.”

My heart jumped into my stomach. “Why?” I cleared my throat. ‘What did they say?”

“Well not you, they had your picture so we guessed it was you. They accosted the bodyguards and flashed your picture; they said someone at the hotel told them you had been spotted here…with us. Is there something wrong?” His voice lowered, and I could tell he was waiting for some sort of confession.

“What…did the body guards say?’ I asked, my heart beating.

“Nothing, they denied it. They always do that. Anything to avoid police scrutiny, but he brought it to my notice though.”

“What did AJ say? Does he know?” I was suddenly bothered by AJ’s impression of the whole police fiasco. I could imagine he would be laughing it off with his new tramp, Vikki.

“He didn’t say anything, he doesn’t know. I didn’t tell him yet.” I swallowed with a gulp; my mouth suddenly went dry. “Nikki, I asked you what this was about?” He asked, impatient for a suitable answer.

“I don’t know. I’m as shocked as you are,” I lied, hoping he wouldn’t notice the panic in my voice.

“They asked if you knew a woman named Veronica Sawyer. They said it had something to do with her, she was in some sort of trouble…Nikki, if there’s any problem, you know you can tell your pal Nick, you know that,” he begged, desperate for an answer.

“I don’t know anything about this Nick and I certainly don’t know any Veronica… what’s her name. I have no idea what this is about,” I asserted sticking to my guns.

He heaved, thinking if he should let this go or not. “Okay, if you say so. But you have my number…call me if any thing comes up, if you need a ride, you want someone to talk to, anything. Hear me Nikki?” He declared like a big brother making sure his baby sister wasn’t taking drugs, missing curfew or any of those bad things teens were apt to do. “Okay, then, I’ll talk to you soon. And…I’m not gonna tell AJ.”

My heart melted at that. “Thanks, Nick. I appreciate it. I’ll talk to you soon.”

With heavy steps, I walked back into the bedroom where Lance was half-dressed in his pants. He had a stern look that I couldn’t quite make out.
I dropped the phone. “Uhmm, that was my friend’s boyfriend. He thought his chick was with me, apparently she turned up missing,” I excused, wiping off my sweaty hands on the robe. “So why are you dressed, what happened to breakfast in bed?” I forced a smile on his unyielding face as I stood in front of him, trying to get him to cast me a glance. “Lance, if you’re worried about the call, it was nothing. I swear.”

“You do?” he asked, without looking up.

“Yeah, I do.” I cheered. I knelt in front of him, wrapping his legs around me.

“I hate lies Nikki. Either we trust each other, or we call it quits right now,” he said, uncompromisingly. “I can’t “save” you if I don’t know who you are, or what kind of trouble you are in.”

“Yeah…” I was flushed with this declaration. “I swear that’s what it was.” I pulled his face close and played with his cheeks. It still didn’t get him to smile. “I have an idea…how about, we start packing for LA, right now. You call the guys and tell them, I’m coming, how does that grab you?” I grabbed at his crotch playfully.

He winced, with a winning smile. I knew that would get him to laugh.

“Yeah, I thought that would grab you fine.” He let out a loud guffaw laugh.

“Nikki, Nikki, Nikki, you drive me crazy,” he recited my name like a song, then took the stray strands of my red hair out of my face.
“I only aim to please Lance just like you,” I replied, with a smirk.
We made up with a kiss.
The thought of the police chasing after me had left me no choice but to accompany Lance to LA, hopefully they might take a while to catch up with me there. I hoped they would never.

All through our packing, these words kept racing through my mind and I tried hard to concentrate on concealing my fear from Lance. What Had Mama told them, what had Mama told them?