We've Only Just Begun

Part 23 - The Talk

I woke up the next morning around 11. It felt so nice to sleep in. Nathan was still asleep next to me. I quietly got out of bed and went to the bathroom to freshen up, brush my teeth, all that. When I went back to my room to check my phone I had hundreds of twitter notifications. My follower count had gone up to a little over 6,000 and I had lots of nice messages with some occasional nasty ones. I spent some time replying to a few of the nicer ones and then decided to call my mom.

"Hey mom, I'm sorry I haven't been in touch lately. This job has kept me crazy busy." I said once she answered. I was out in the gameroom trying to stay quiet so I wouldn't wake Nath.

"It's okay honey. How is everything going?" She asked.

"Freakin' awesome. Uh, I don't know how much Maddie has filled you in on, but I have a boyfriend." I spoke hesitantly.

"Really? Already? You've only been there for a week and a half." 

"Yeah. But he's... different. We're just right for each other." I replied. "Steph's with someone too." I said with a small laugh.

"Jeez, seriously?" She asked 

"Yeah. Jay. And I'm with Nathan, they're both in the band I'm looking after."

"Mmm... and you're living with him? I'm not sure if I like that." She said skeptically.

"Mom. I'm 22. I think I can handle it..." I told her.

"Just be careful, Abbey." She replied.

"I'm really happy, mom. Don't worry. I've taken great care of myself so far." 

"Just as long as you're happy. I'd love to meet him." She said.

"Care to make the trip all the way to LA?" I asked with a laugh. "The boys were on Ellen yesterday so that should be airing today, if you want to watch. Nathan talks about me..." 

"I'll make sure to watch." She said. I could hear the smile in her voice. "Send me pictures, or post some on Facebook."

"I will when I have the time." I said. I heard my bedroom door creek open and looked up to see Nath coming out with my blanket wrapped around him. He came and sat by me on the couch and gave me a kiss.

"Morning." He whispered with a smile. I squeezed his hand and smiled back at him.

My mom and I chatted for a bit about how things were going back at home and I filled her in on the trip that I'd be taking with the boys and Steph soon to Brazil. It was nice talking to her, I really missed home. Nathan sat by me and listened the whole time. 

"I gotta go. Tell dad I miss and love him. " I said.

"Alright hun. Love you. Talk to you soon."

"Love you too, bye." I said, and hung up.

"Your mom sounds lovely." Nathan said with a smile.

"She is. Best mom ever." I replied. 

"I can't wait to meet her." He said. That made me smile; the thought of him wanting to meet my parents, that he wanted it to get that serious. 

"How's the hand?" I asked.

"It's a little swollen and sore but it's nothing I can't handle. Don't worry about me babe." He said.

"That's never gonna happen. I always worry." I said matter of factly. I leaned back into Nathan and sighed. "I wonder how Ollie's doing." 

"She's a tough girl. I bet she's fine." He replied.

I stood up and grabbed Nathan's hand and led him downstairs. Ollie was sitting on the couch with Maria and Becca. None of the boys were in sight, nor Steph.

"Where is everyone?" I asked.

"Max went to the phone store to get that bitch's number blocked with Seev and Tom, and I haven't seen Jay. I guess he's still asleep with Stephanie." Ollie replied. I nodded and sat down on the couch opposite of her. Nathan was making tea in the kitchen with the blanket still wrapped around him. 

"I'm really glad y'all worked everything out." I told Ollie.

She nodded. "Thanks. I just can't stand the woman. She's such a whore and doesn't know when to stop. She knows he's taken." She replied rolling her eyes.

"Oh believe me. I know the feeling." I said shifting my eyes over to Nathan who was walking into the living room with his tea. He didn't hear what I said. Ollie looked at me and smiled lightly, she understood. I turned to look at the TV and Friends was on, my favorite TV show of all time. Nathan sat down next to me and wrapped the blanket he had wrapped around him around me as well and I leaned into him slowly so he wouldn't spill his tea. 

After a couple minutes I looked down at my phone and saw a twitter notification from Maria. "@MariaCortesR: Look at these cuties :)" the tweet had a picture of Nathan and I cuddled up on the couch attached to it. I hadn't even seen her take the picture.

"Maria!" I yelled at her with a smile and threw one of the couch pillows at her. She laughed. "I'm trying to survive here, okay!" 

"Oh whatever you'll be fine." She replied with a smirk. I stuck my tongue out at her. A couple seconds later Nathan retweeted it. Great, now I was really going to get hate. 

"Don't worry, babe. Everyone will love you." Nathan said kissing my forehead. I knew that there were going to be more people out there who would like me more than hate me, but I still wasn't prepared for any kind of major attention from fans. 

Jay came downstairs then with Stephanie in tow. They were both dressed like they were going out somewhere.

"Where are you off to?" Nathan asked. 

"Just to grab a bite." Jay replied. "See you in a bit." 

He and Steph walked out the door. I stood up from the couch and stretched. "I'm gonna go start packing, y'all should start too. We leave for Brazil in two days." I said walking toward the stairs. I ran up the stairs two at a time and went to my room. I pulled my suitcase out from under my bed and started sorting through my clothes. I had no idea where to start, I was always the queen of over-packing. I stood and looked at my closet with my hands on my hips and huffed in frustration. I just wanted to take my whole closet, but we were only going to be there for three days.

I heard Nathan come in and then felt him wrap his arms around my waist from behind.

"How are you doing love?" He asked.

"I'm great." I said with a light laugh. "Why?" 

"I'm just making sure you're happy." 

I turned to face him and wrapped my arms around his neck. "I've never been happier." I replied, and reached up to kiss him. He smiled down at me.

"I've been thinking about yesterday morning..." He trailed off. I started blushing. 

"Yeah that was...really something." I replied with a smirk.

"Was that okay?" He asked. I pursed my lips, still smiling, and nodded slowly. He looked at me lustfully and pulled me closer to him, staring right into my eyes. 

"But..." I started. "I don't want to rush the physical stuff. I know we're together officially, but I'm not ready for... you know..." I hoped he was catching my drift. 

"You know I would never pressure you to do anything." He replied with a smile and kissed my forehead. "I'm not quite ready for that either, if it makes you feel any better." 

"It'll come naturally, just like everything else has." I said looking up at him. He nodded in agreement, still smiling. I gave him one more quick peck and then went back to packing.