Summer Lovin'

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

They went through the set list flawlessly. But when Nick was supposed

to play Hello Beautiful was when they did something I never thought

they'd do.

"Guys, I've got a request for you all tonight. Can you do something

for me?" Nick asked. The entire stadium erupted in screams.

"Kevin, Joe and I have a special friend with us tonight. She's very

dear to us. And we want to welcome her out on stage. She's never been

on stage before so make her feel welcome?" Nick said. The room

exploded again. Nick took off his guitar for a moment and handed it to

a stage hand and ran right to me.

"Come on, Mandy." I was frozen in place. Nick took me hand and pulled

me out into the bright bright lights. The room continued to scream and

I laughed suddenly snapped back to reality.

"Nick, what are you doing?" I asked as he dragged me to center stage.

"Can we get another stool for Mandy?" Nick said and a stage hand

brought one out along with his guitar. Nick put on his guitar and had

me sit on the stool and took the one next to me. Joe and Kevin had

suddenly disappeared and all the lights disappeared but one that

remained focused on us.

"Alright everyone. This is Mandy. And I wanted to do something special

for her tonight. Mandy and I have been friends for nearly 11 years

now. And I want to say thanks for sticking with me." Nick never took

his eyes off me the entire time he spoke. I felt the tears well up in

my eyes.

"This song is for you Mandy." He mouthed "I love you" as he began to

play Hello Beautiful. I sat there struggling to hold back the tears

lest I mess up my make up. I thought back over the last 11 years. And

I realized he really was my best friend. There was no one else I could

think of that stuck by me like he had. When it was over the lights

dimmed and Kevin and Joe rejoined us to say goodbye and end the

concert. Hello Beautiful was the last song on the set list. I tired to

walk off the stage but Nick gripped my hand and wouldn't let me move.

When they were in place the lights flared back. And the boys said

farewells and thanked all the attendees. I stood next to Nick and

waved as they did their thing. And as the lights faded out again the

screams multiplied until they were louder than I ever thought

possible. We exited the stage and went to a conference room that was

set up for the fans with backstage passes. And the rest was a blur of

activity.