"Three days here and then I fly back so we can begin rehearsing with Jo for song number one on our album," James said.
"EP," Lucy corrected.
"Yeah that. Actually, I think the guys are already rehearsing with her, but I get three days with you before I'm needed back." The two of them sat on the couch in Lucy's tour bus snuggling as it barreled down the highway from Los Angeles to San Diego for the first stop on the Lucy Stone North American Tour 2014. Right after the San Diego concert, James would fly back to LA for a few days of rehearsal and then catch up with the bus before it hit Santa Fe. Or was it after Santa Fe and before Dallas? James couldn't remember, but he did have an itinerary on his phone to remind him.
"Gah, I feel so pregnant," Lucy complained with one hand on her belly as she snuggled into James's chest.
"News flash, babe, you are."
"I know, but before I just felt, ugh, but now I really feel like there's a baby in there."
"Is it bothering you?"
"No, it just feels…weird."
"Can you feel it move yet?" James moved his hands to Lucy's belly which in his opinion was getting firmer and rounder with each passing day.
"Not really. I can tell there's something there, but I can't make out anything specific." Lucy stood up and stretched. James watched the way her belly stuck out as she arched her back. She was a skinny girl before so any added weight became very apparent, at least to him. Well, he was used to her skinny body. "You're staring at my stomach, aren't you? I look pregnant don't I? Everyone's gonna be able to tell now."
"No, Babe, no." James reached for her arm. "If I didn't know I would just think…"
"You would just think I'm fat, right? Cause I'm fat. I'm a fat heffer."
"No, you're pregnant. You're beautiful."
"Stop trying to flatter me. It's not working." She grumbled as she headed for the teeny tour bus bathroom. She returned five minutes later with a yogurt cup.
"We're almost in San Diego and then we'll stop for dinner," James said even though it was only almost 3PM.
"I know," Lucy licked her spoon, "but baby's hungry." James's stomach growled causing Lucy to laugh. "And so are you."
James took hold of Lucy's hand and led the spoon filled with yogurt into his mouth giving her a cheeky grin.
"You do know you're taking away from your child when you do that?"
"One spoonful won't hurt him."
"Selfish brat," Lucy muttered with a smile.
.O.
"Carlos!"
"Mrs. Knight?" Carlos asked even though he knew it was her on the other end since caller I.D. said it was.
"I'm stuck on the other side of LA at the moment and Katie gets out of school soon. I called Kendall but he's busy with Jo. James is in San Diego. Logan is at Rocque Records. Can you pick up Katie from school?"
"What are you doing on the other side?"
"Not important. Can you pick up Katie? I don't want her riding the city bus."
"And I'm your last resort?"
"I won't make the dinosaur chicken you love so much!"
"I don't have a car."
"You have the, what do you call it, the BTR-mobile, the convertible?"
"Logan took it to the studio."
"A limo came to pick him up."
"Kendall's using it."
"They took Jo's car. I won't do your laundry for a month."
Carlos sighed. He hated doing laundry. He always did something wrong and ended up with pink underwear or a shrunken sweater or something equally bad.
"OK, fine."
He grabbed the keys from Logan's nightstand; they really needed to get three more sets if they were still sharing the car, and headed down to the parking garage. On the way he passed the pool area blocked off with caution tape and cones.
"What's going on?" He asked Bitters, nodding his head toward the pool.
"Something's caught in the drain. The pool has to be shut down until someone can get it out."
Carlos's heart swelled. His ring! It had to be his ring! He was going to get it back!
He started for the pool when he realized he had to go pick up Katie. Well, maybe it would be out by the time he got back. Oh, he hoped so.
The traffic wasn't so bad once Carlos hit the road. Believing he would soon be getting his ring back he was in a great mood and decided to listen to music.
"Who the heck drove this last?" He questioned when the radio blasted some bluegrass music. "NO!" He shouted at the sound of the song on the next station. "Alexa was in that movie!" He scanned through four stations before stopping on one playing an Eric Carmen tune and as he pulled into the high school parking lot he was confidently belting out "All By Myself" not aware that groups of teenage girls were recording him on their cell phones.
As soon as he finished he realized where he was. The same girls who had recorded him were now screaming and aiming to jump into the car. He pressed the button, or what he thought was the button, to bring the top up but nothing happened.
"Up, up!" He shouted.
Katie suddenly jumped into the car, pressed the correct button, the lid went up, and Carlos drove off.
"What are you thinking?" She smacked him in the back of the head. "Look at that." She immediately played a video posted of Carlos's rendition of the 1980s classic.
"I—I—"
"Whatever. Let's just go home." The video ended with the BTR-mobile screeching out of the parking lot. "Don't do that ever again."
They spent the rest of the ride listening to the radio. Katie turned it to a Top 40 station and pretended not to be interested when "Like Nobody's Around" came on. Finally, they pulled into the Palmwoods parking garage. Carlos bolted out of the car.
"Did they find it?" He asked out of breath as he tumbled into the lobby with Katie right behind him.
"Find what?" Katie asked.
"Huh?" Bitters questioned.
"The—the," Carlos paused to catch his breath. "What was blocking the drain in the pool?" He jerked his thumb toward the pool area.
Bitters uncurled his fist. "Just this."
Carlos took one look at Bitters, grabbed the ring, and ran toward the elevator.
"That's not yours!"
Carlos slammed the up button to the elevator.
"Come on, come on."
Finally, the doors opened. He stepped onto the elevator and repeatedly smashed the closed door button when Katie stuck a foot in between the closing doors causing them to open back up. She entered next to Carlos and the doors closed.
Carlos purposefully did not look at Katie.
"That's a wedding ring," Katie stated matter-of-factly.
Carlos did not reply.
"You, um, you're keeping a secret. Why? What are you afraid of?" When Carlos didn't answer Katie continued. "You're married, aren't you? You married Alexa without telling any of us and now you won't say anything. You're trying to keep it a secret for whatever reason, I have no idea. Carlos? Why?"
The elevator opened on the third floor where Carlos had planned to get off for Alexa's apartment, but now he just stood there, unable to say or do anything.
"She's not pregnant, is she? No, she wouldn't have gone on this mission if she was."
"How do you know that?"
"I'm Katie Knight."
He ushered Katie into Alexa's apartment, which he had a key for, and sat her down firmly on the couch.
"So, is this like your home now? Can I have your bedroom?"
"Alexa and I accidentally got married the night before the MVAs. I was drunk or something."
"You were drinking? I always knew you were the bad boy."
"What? No! I ate too much. It was a food high or something. I don't understand it myself. I don't remember anything, but I have this ring and a marriage license that proves I'm Alexa's husband and she's my wife."
"Are you getting divorced?"
"No." He started pacing the room. "When she gets back, we're having a small wedding. We're going to pretend I got so worried during her time away I realized I needed to marry her or something like that. She came up with that idea."
"Why? Why not just tell everyone the truth. You eloped."
Carlos shrugged. "I can't just…it's hard…I dunno…I mean it was an accident…it's just something stupid Carlos would do. The guys would be mad I didn't include them or something and Kendall would be mad I'm trying to steal the spotlight away from him."
"Wouldn't he still feel that way when you have your wedding?"
Carlos sighed. "This is all so complicated."
"It doesn't have to be."
"Don't tell anyone, okay? I would just rather you not."
"OK." Katie held up her hands. "Your secret's safe with me."
"Crap, now I have to get a new chain." He pulled the broken necklace out of his pocket.