Nick and the Altos

Nick and the Altos, Part 11

Nick and the Altos, Part 11

Here we go again, everyone, Part 11 -- Sorry this one took so long. I was making really good progress until work got in the way. Thursday was a 15 hour day and Friday was 14. So anyway, here it is at last.

I'd really like to thank those have emailed me. It's really great knowing that there are guys out there who enjoy reading what I have been writing. One of the things that seems to be a tradition on here is for authors to mention some of their favorite stories... I have been an avid reader of quite a few: Brian and Me, Jamie's Romance, My Surprise Romance, Lance in Shining Armour, Studio in the Country, Lucky Me, Not Meant to Be, Twist of Fate, Mile High Meeting and the list goes on. My email address is mikeylikesit80@hotmail.com if you feel inclined to write and let me know what you think or just want to chat.

Now on to the standard disclaimers. I doubt that anything I write will make any difference since if you found this little gathering place on the World Wide Web you're probably going to go ahead and read what's here no matter what anyone says. But here it goes anyway...

If you have a problem reading about guys who like other guys as something more than just friends, you need to go find some other place to poke around. If you are under the legal age to read erotic fiction where you live, you probably wouldn't get in trouble for reading this story, but you really don't belong here. And most importantly, many of the names mentioned in this story have been changed to protect the guilty (or is that supposed to be the innocent?). Under no circumstances will I disclose whether or not I actually know any of The Backstreet Boys or any other celebrity who may make an appearance. Nor do I believe in outing people, so I will not disclose any information about the true sexual orientation of anyone mentioned in this story.

Previously in the story of Nick and the Altos

"So what was he getting on you about?"

"Mikey, please don't push me about this. I don't want to talk about it any more and I definitely don't want to get mad at you like I do Kevin."

I decided it was best not to keep after him. "You know I'm here for you if you need to talk about it or anything else, don't you?"

"Yeah, I do. Thanks, Mikey," he said, smiling.

As I lay there the cold room started to have an effect on me and I shivered. Nick reached over and put his hand on my arm.

"Mikey, you're freezing. Come on and get under the covers," he said, lifting the sheet and blankets.

"Well maybe for a few minutes," I said as I crawled under the covers. "You know Nick there is something you need to do before you go to sleep."

"Yeah, I know."

"And Nick, there is something you have promise me."

"What's that, Mikey?"

"No matter what has happened and no matter how far apart we might be, you have to promise me that you will never go to sleep still mad at me. You mean way too much to me to let that happen, Nick."

"I promise on one condition, Mikey."

"Don't worry, Nicky, I'm making the same commitment to you."

"I promise, Mikey," he said as he moved closer to me and pulled me into a hug.

It felt so good laying there in bed, being held by someone who meant so much to me. Then junior started to get a mind of his own so I broke the hug.

"Nicky, I'm going to head off to bed now. Why don't you go do what you need to do and then get a good night's sleep. I'll see you in the morning."

I rolled out of bed and started towards the door.

"Mikey."

"Yeah, Nick."

"Thanks."

"That's what friends are for Nick, you don't need to thank me."

"I know, but I wanted to. Love ya, Mikey."

"I know, Nicky. Love ya too," I said and then left and went back and crawled in my bed. Damn, I have it bad...

Nick lay there a couple of minutes thinking about how wonderful it had felt to lay there with Mikey in his arms. He noticed himself getting turned on which was the last thing he needed right then. He got out of bed and dug through the drawers in the dresser until he found some sweatpants. After pulling them on he walked slowly down the hall until he came to the door to Kevin and Kristin's room.

He knocked quietly on the door, "Kev, can we talk for a minute?"

Kevin was laying in bed cuddling up to Kristin and talking quietly to her. He had told her what had happened and how he just didn't know how to deal with Nick any more.

"Ok, Nick, give me a minute."

"Sorry, honey, but I'd better go see what he wants."

"It's ok, Kev, you won't be able to really relax until you guys work out what's going on between you."

Kevin got up and pulled on jeans and a sweatshirt and opened the bedroom door. He found Nick sitting on the floor a little ways down the hall with his knees drawn up to his chest. He walked over and sat down beside him.

"Kev, I'm sorry I was such a jerk earlier," Nick said quietly, "It's just that Mikey means so much to me and when you were saying how I was going to get hurt, it was like you were attacking him and I just couldn't let you do that."

"Nick, I understand. I didn't mean that Mikey was going to hurt you himself. I know I don't know him very well, but he does seem to be a very nice guy. But Nick, you have to know there are people out there who will do everything they can to get to you because they're jealous of your fame. And because of who he is and because he is gay, if you aren't careful, some really awful things are going to be said and that is going to hurt both of you. I don't think Mikey would want that to happen to you and I know you would hate to have him be hurt any more than he already has been."

"I know, Kev. I'm sorry I took it all out on you. Here I want you to treat me more like an adult and then I act the way I did. Doesn't exactly prove my point, does it."

"Nick, all kids go through a rebellious phase where they need to declare their independence. I just happen to be the person you naturally rebel against and I guess I take it pretty hard. It's only cause I care so much. So you have to realize that we're going to butt heads like this every once in a while. But Nick, I'll always love you. You've really come a long way kiddo, but if you tell anyone I said that, I'll deny it."

"I love you too, Kevin. I know you want to protect me, but it's time that I start making choices in my life and living with the consequences."

"I know, Nick, and I hope you know that when the time comes that something doesn't work out the way you hoped, I'll still be there for you."

"Yeah, I know. Thanks, Kev."

"You're welcome, Nicky. Now why don't we both get some sleep, ok?"

"One thing first, can I have a hug?"

"You don't really think I was going to let you leave without one, do you?" Kevin said as they stood up.

Kevin pulled Nick into a tight hug and patted him on the back. When they let go of each other, he stood and watched as Nick went down the hall. His mouth dropped open when he saw Nick walk past the door to his room, knock on Mikey's bedroom door and then walk inside. After standing there for a minute or two, he went into his room, undressed and got into bed with Kristin.

"So how did it go, Kev?" she asked.

"I thought it went ok, but now I'm not sure."

"Why's that, honey?"

"He went to bed with Mikey..."

"How do you know?"

"He didn't go back to his room, he went into Mikey's."

"Still awake, huh?" Nick asked.

"Yeah, I'm having trouble getting to sleep."

"Anything I can do to help?" Nick said.

"Not really. So how did your talk with Kevin go?"

"Ok, we parted on good terms, anyway."

"That's good. Listen, you sound tired, so there's no need for you to stay up just cause I can't sleep. See you in the morning, Nicky."

"Night Mikey," Nick said as he walked out and went into his bedroom.

I rolled over on my side, clutched one of my pillows and lay there thinking about how wonderful the guy in the next room was. Even though I didn't feel like I was sleepy, I didn't last too long before drifting off.

I was awakened the next morning by a knock at the door. I crawled out of bed slowly and opened the door to see who was being so cruel. Nick was standing there holding two mugs of coffee.

"Mikey wanna cupa coffee?" he said.

"What time is it, anyway?" I asked.

"Time for you to have your lazy butt downstairs for our bike ride," he replied.

"What time is it, Nick the Dick?"

"It's 8 a.m. and Gracie is ready for a walk."

"And you're waking me up just for that? She can go outside by herself," I said.

"Well aren't you Mr. Wonderful this morning! Here, drink some of this," he said pushing a mug of coffee into my hand.

"Thanks, at least you brought a peace offering for waking me at this ridiculous hour."

"So aren't you going to invite me in?"

"I'm not dressed yet."

"It's not like I've never seen you undressed, Mikey," he said grinning.

"You would have to remind me of that little trick of yours. Ok, come on in..." I said as I opened the door further.

Nick came inside and sat down in one of the chairs. I got back in bed and pulled the covers up over me and started sipping the coffee.

"Ummm, good coffee."

"Thanks," he said.

"You made us coffee?"

"Yep, I've already learned that you are a pretty major grump until you've had a cup or two."

"And they said you were untrainable. I'll have to let them know they were wrong," I said with a straight face.

"Who said that?"

"Brian."

"I'm going to get him for that one when they get back from playing golf."

"You mean they already left?"

"Yeah, about a half hour ago. They were going to eat breakfast over in Vail."

"I can't believe they are starting out this early. It's pretty cold out early in the morning."

"Aren't you a sissy boy!" Nick said.

"It's not that I don't like the cold weather, but I would just as soon wait a few hours to go for a ride. It gets pretty damned cold coming down off Vail Pass on your bike at 60 miles per hour. Why get frost bite?"

"You don't really go that fast on a freakin bicycle do you?"

"Yeah, my record top speed is 72 going down I-70 towards Frisco. It was awesome passing cars on my bike."

"You're totally insane!"

"Not even close. I have friends who race professionally who have gone faster than that."

"Still, it's pretty reckless."

"Not really. As long as you don't lose it in a turn or flat it's pretty safe. It's not like you can just fall over."

"Well, I'm not even going to try to go anywhere near that fast," Nick said, "So are you going to get your lazy butt out of bed?"

"I guess," I said, as I crawled out of bed again. "And you are going to sit here and try to check me out again, aren't you?"

"Yep, although I've already seen everything there is to see."

I went into the bathroom, closed the door and started shaving. The door opened and Nick walked in and hopped up on the vanity.

"So you don't believe in giving a guy some privacy?"

"I got lonely so I thought I would come in and keep you company," he said grinning at me.

"You realize how this would look if someone walked in here right now, don't you?"

"Yeah, but we don't have to worry about that. I locked your bedroom door."

"My bedroom door doesn't have a lock on it."

"Well, would you believe I put a 'Do Not Disturb' sign on the outside?"

"Nope."

"Some day I might just fool you."

Nick carried on a one sided conversation with me while I finished shaving and brushing my teeth. Mostly he talked about what we needed to go shopping for later that day.

"Nicky, I'm going to take a shower now, so could you go out in the bedroom?"

"Why?"

"Please, Nick. I know you've managed to see me naked, but that still doesn't change the fact that I'm basically modest."

"Ok," he said, somewhat dejected.

"Thanks... Oh, and Nicky, please don't come back in after I'm in the shower. I'll see you in a few minutes."

"Ok, Mikey," he said as he closed the bathroom door.

I took a pretty quick shower, at least for me, and poked my head out the shower door to see if he was back in the bathroom before stepping out of the shower. After drying off I wrapped the towel around me and went out into the bedroom.

"Jeez took you long enough!"

I ignored him as I went over to my dresser and got some clean boxers out of a drawer. Then I turned around and threw the wet towel in his face. It caught him by surprise and I nailed him perfectly.

"This means war!" he yelled as he jumped out of the chair and tackled me. We wrestled on the floor for several minutes until his height and weight won out over my agility. There I was laying on my back with him sitting on my legs and holding my arms down. During the course of the wrestling I had gotten a little excited and, wouldn't you know, he noticed.

"So, Mikey, what do we have poking his head out down here?"

Needless to say I turned bright red. I squirmed trying to escape but it was no use.

"Nick, please let me up," I pleaded.

"He's a cute little guy, Mikey."

"Shut up, Nick and let me go!"

"Not until you say the right words."

"Please let me up, Nick."

"No, that's not it, Mikey."

"What then?"

"Nick Carter is the most handsome, talented singer in the world."

"Yeah, right," I said.

"Wrong, say the right words."

"Nick Carter is the biggest dick in the world."

"Nope, one more chance, Mikey."

"Ok, Nick Carter is the most handsome, talented singer in the world."

"Ok, Mikey, here you go..." he said as he got up off of me.

I tucked myself back inside my boxers, still blushing. "You are such a dick, Nick."

"Hey, you've seen me in that condition so what's the big deal."

"You brought that on yourself, remember?"

"So, now we're equal," he said.

I got up off the floor and finished getting dressed, not saying a word.

"You're not pissed at me are you," Nick said as he came up behind me and put his arms around me when I was standing looking in the mirror running my fingers through my hair. I watched us in the mirror and smiled to myself, thinking about how wonderful it would be if we were really more than just friends.

"So, Nicky, are you ready for some breakfast?"

"Nah, I'm not hungry."

"Yeah, right. That'll be the day."

We left my bedroom and went down to the kitchen to see what there was to eat.

"Kevin, you sure are quiet this morning," Brian said as they sat drinking coffee after breakfast.

"Yeah, sorry about that, but I'm really getting worried about Nick," Kevin said.

"Why, what's going on?" AJ asked.

"We had a big fight last night..."

"So you confronted him about his friendship with Mikey?" Brian asked.

"I didn't confront him, Brian. I tried to talk to him and he just totally flipped out."

"So that isn't exactly the first time that's ever happened," AJ said.

"I know. But then he actually came over later and apologized and explained why he had gotten so upset."

"Well, that probably is a first," AJ said.

"Yeah, I have to admit I was pretty shocked. It seemed like everything was fine when he left to go to bed."

"So what's the problem?" Brian asked.

"He told me there was nothing going on with Mikey other than friendship, but then he went to bed with him."

"How do you know that?" AJ asked.

"Because he went into Mikey's room instead of his."

"That doesn't mean anything, Kevin," Brian said.

"Well, the way they have been acting it sure seems like they are more than friends. I've never seen Nick be so clingy with anyone before."

"You mean anyone other than me, don't you, Kev?" Brian asked.

"Yeah."

"And since I'm straight it never bothered you, but since Mikey's gay you have a problem with it."

"Kev, Nick has talked to me about Mikey and he told me they are just friends, and I believe him. He was downstairs making coffee when I came downstairs this morning and Mikey wasn't around. I asked him where Mikey was and he said he assumed he was still asleep. He didn't have any reason to lie to me about it."

"Well, maybe not, but why did he go to his room when he said he was going to go to bed?" Kevin asked.

"Maybe he was just saying goodnight," AJ replied, "I think you should give him the benefit of the doubt."

"Hey, Kev, can you believe those words came out of AJ's mouth?" Brian asked, laughing.

"Yeah, it is pretty hard to believe it," Kevin replied.

"So are you going to lighten up over this or are we going to have to put up with your attitude on the golf course?" Brian asked.

"Screw you, Brian," Kevin said.

"Kevin, come on, I'm just trying to get you to relax a bit so you can enjoy our game," Brian said.

"Yeah, Kev, it's not like you can change anything right now," AJ said.

"Ok, I'll try to forget about it."

When we got downstairs, Nick poured us both another cup of coffee. I started looking through the refrigerator to see what there was that would be quick and simple to cook. It didn't look like there was much that wasn't going to take some effort, so I took out some eggs, cheese, milk and veggies.

"So what's on the menu this morning?" Nick asked.

"How about an omelet?"

"Sounds good to me. I'll fix some toast when the time comes."

"Don't over extend yourself," I said, grinning at him.

"Oh, don't worry. Tomorrow we can trade places."

I started slicing up some zucchini squash, chopped onions, green peppers and tomatoes and then started heating the omelet pan while I prepared the eggs and milk. When I poured the eggs into the pan, Nick put some sourdough bread into the toaster and then set the kitchen table.

"What kind of jam do you want, Mikey?"

"Strawberry or, if we're out, apricot."

We actually did a pretty good job of timing things correctly. The omelet was done just a minute or two after the toast was ready. We loaded up our plates and sat down at the table. Just as we were starting to eat our breakfast we heard the women coming down the stairs, chatting away.

"Wow, something smells good in here," Kristin said as they walked in.

"Hi, guys," Amanda said, "I hope you fixed enough for us."

"Nope, you're on your own this morning it looks like," Nick replied.

"Watch out..." I said, trying to warn him as Kristin slapped the back of his head.

"Listen you little brat, if you don't watch out I'll send you to your room and eat your breakfast," she said as she ruffled his hair.

"Hey, you old witch," he said, laughing.

"I'm not that much older than you, brat."

"Maybe not from your perspective."

"You're cruisin' for a bruisin', Nicky," Kristin said.

"If you want to have some coffee while we eat, we can fix you breakfast when we are finished," I offered.

"See, Nicky, at least one of you little brats can be nice once in a while," Leighanne said.

"Yeah, but he doesn't know you the way I do. Give him some time around you and he'll treat you just like I learned to."

"Sorry to disappoint you, Nick," I said, "But I am always a perfect gentleman. I would never treat anyone that way." Somehow I was able to keep myself from laughing after saying that. I definitely would be a total failure at being the straight man in a comedy team -- and no, being the other kind of straight man doesn't work for me either...

"Oh, spare me the total and complete bullshit," Amanda said.

Everyone else started laughing and I sat there with this incredible shocked look on my face. I guess they thought I was serious because they quickly became silent and just looked at me. After a few seconds of silence I couldn't contain myself any longer and burst out laughing.

"Gotcha..."

For a few seconds I thought they were going to gang up on me. I did end up with my hair all messed up and Nick got in some tickling. When they got bored with terrorizing me, Nick and I went back to eating breakfast while they poured themselves coffee and sat down at the table and started planning for the day's shopping.

Once we finished eating, Nick asked them what they wanted for breakfast. Naturally, they each wanted something completely different and way beyond the effort we were interested in expending.

"Ok, here's the deal," I said, "We'll fix you toast and an omelet. If that isn't satisfactory, there are plenty of restaurants in town that would be more than happy to charge you to fix something fancy."

"Oh, all right. I guess we can settle for the only things you too losers are capable of cooking up," Kristin said.

Nick and I looked at each other and I saw this sort of evil smile start to appear on his face. He pick up his empty coffee mug, put some cold water in it and walked over to the kitchen table. Then he calmly lifted the cup over Kristin's head and poured the water on her hair. She jumped up in shock and Nick took off running.

I started laughing so hard I could barely stand up. Leighanne and Amanda joined in after a few seconds. Kristin, of course, took off after Nick, although she had no hope of catching up with him. Actually, I don't think she even knew where he had gone.

A couple of minutes later I noticed Nick walking around the side of the house and coming up to the kitchen door. I went over and let him inside. He poured himself another cup of coffee and started helping me fix the omelets.

"Nick," Leighanne said, "You know that she is going to kill you for that."

"She should be glad it was only water..."

We continued talking as Nick and I cooked the breakfast. A few minutes later we could hear Kristin coming back down the stairs.

"I am going to find that little brat and kick his ass like it has never been kicked before," she said as she was walking into the kitchen. When she saw Nick she stopped and glared at him. "You are such a dick, Nick!"

"Hey, I know exactly what you mean, Kristin," I said. "I even call him Nick the Dick."

She started walking towards us with a serious look on her face. Nick was closer to her than me. He started moving my direction and before I knew what he was doing, he was directly behind me and he grabbed me by the shoulders and turned me so I was between them.

"Hey, you don't need to use me as your human shield. It's not like I give you that much protection anyway."

"She wouldn't hurt you, Mikey," Nick said, "So you're all the protection I need."

"What makes me think I wouldn't hurt your little boyfriend, Nick? I'm sure you'd come to his rescue and then you're mine!"

"Hey, enough of this. You two can go fight without me in the middle. And what do you mean by boyfriend" I asked.

Kristin stopped coming towards us and Nick let go of me. She picked up a wet towel from beside the sink and tried to throw it at his face. Nick caught it easily and tossed it on the counter.

"Why don't you go sit down, Kristin, so we can finish cooking," he said.

"And what was that boyfriend comment about?" I asked again.

"You guys are sleeping together, aren't you?" she asked.

"No, why would you think that?" I replied.

"Kevin said he saw Nick go into your bedroom when he went to go to bed last night."

"Yeah, so?" Nick said, "I just went and told Mikey about my talk with Kevin and then I went to my room."

"Oh," she said, "Sorry about making an assumption..."

"He is a cute little shit and I think the world of him, but we're just friends," Nick said as he grabbed me around my neck and mussed up my hair.

I squirmed around until he let me go, "Can we get this cooking thing over with so we can go do something?"

"I guess," Nick replied as he went back to chopping up the veggies and peppers.

We finished cooking and served the women their breakfast. We were sitting back at the table watching them eat when I heard the phone ringing.

"Mikey, your parents want to talk to you," Maria called out.

I got up and went into the family room and picked up the phone, "Hi."

"Mikey, how's Colorado so far?" my mother asked.

"Fine, mom. We just finished breakfast and I guess we will go for a hike in a little while. Is everything ok with Angela?"

"Yes, Mikey, she's doing fine," she replied.

"Mikey," my father said, "Have you noticed any cars parked around the house that don't belong there?"

"Not really, but I haven't been paying much attention. Why?"

"We are having people parked out near the gate keeping track of who is coming and going. Occasionally they are following us. We want you to reconsider having a body guard," my father said.

"Dad, I'm fine. If I notice anything out of the ordinary, I promise I'll let you know and we'll discuss it then."

"Michael, please be careful," my mother said.

"Don't worry, mom, no one is interested in me."

"Michael, this is really serious. You need to pay attention to what is going on around you," my father said.

"Guys, I don't have a death wish or anything. I'll pay more attention, I promise."

"Ok, Michael, we are just worried because we love you," my mother said.

"I know, I love you too."

"Talk to you later, Michael," my father said.

"Bye."

I stood in the family room looking out the windows towards the front of the property. There weren't any cars parked along the road as far as I could see. I'm not going to say that the conversation hadn't left me a little worried, though.

Suddenly I was startled as Nick walked up behind me and put his arms around me.

"Everything ok, Mikey?"

"Yeah, sort of..."

"What did they want?"

"They were worried because some strange cars have been spotted around the house in Montecito and they have been followed when they go out. They still want me to have a body guard."

"You're going to do it, aren't you?" Nick asked.

"No, I don't see what anyone would want with me. It's not like I have anything to do with my father's business and I won't have anything to do with my grandfather. So why would anyone bother with me?"

"Mikey, you need to be careful. I don't want anything happening to you."

"Awww, how sweet," I said.

"I'm serious, Mikey," Nick said.

"I know, Nick. I just want to live my own life and this kind of stuff doesn't fit my idea of 'normal'."

"How about we look out for each other?" Nick asked.

I turned around and looked at him, "You're serious, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I really am, Mikey. You're really special to me and I don't want anything bad happening to you."

"Thanks, Nicky," I said as I hugged him.

"See, I told you they make a cute couple."

Nick and I both jumped when we heard a female voice. We looked back towards the kitchen and saw the three of them standing there, looking at us and smiling.

"We aren't a couple!" I said rather abruptly.

"You sure could fool anyone who happened to see you. For two guys who aren't involved, you sure are pretty touchy feely," Leighanne said.

"Besides, Nick is straight and I don't fool around with straight guys. We're just really close."

"So, Nicky, what's your position on this relationship?" Kristin asked.

"Mikey is a very special friend. That's all you or anyone else needs to know. So why don't you go do your shopping and leave us alone."

At that point Nick grabbed me by the hand and headed towards the front door. Once outside we looked around until we found Gracie and then he lead us away from the house for a walk.

We didn't talk much while we hiked. Gracie would do her normal thing of running off ahead around a bend in the trail and after a minute or so of not seeing us, she'd haul ass back and walk with us for a minute. Then she'd run off ahead again.

After we had gone about three miles, we came to a spot where there were some benches along the trail that looked out over the valley where the house was located. We sat down and in a minute, Gracie had come back and curled up near our feet, panting away.

"One thing that works great with her is that she does two miles for every one we do. She ought to really sleep when we get home," Nick said.

"Yeah, it worked great in college to wear her out so I could study."

"Did you spend a lot of time up here during school?"

"I came up pretty often on the weekends. I could get out of town by noon most Fridays, so the traffic wasn't too bad. It really sucks if you leave late in the afternoon."

"I think that's true anywhere there is a nice weekend destination within driving distance," Nick said.

"Hey, Nick, something is sort of bothering me and I need to talk to you about it," I said, looking out over the valley.

"What's wrong, Mikey?" he asked.

"It's the way everyone keeps making these assumptions because of how we hug each other and stuff. It's really starting to get to me."

"Mikey, don't worry about it. I couldn't care less what their dirty little minds are thinking about us. You and I know how we feel about each other and that's what's important."

I continued to stare off into the distance, thinking about the growing feelings I was developing towards him and, I guess, my secret wish that he was feeling the same way towards me.

"Mikey?"

"Yeah?"

"Would you look at me?"

I continued looking over the valley until I felt his fingers touch my face and turn my head towards him. He had a beautiful smile on his face as he sat there looking at me.

"Mikey, I can't tell you how much you mean to me. I've never really felt like this before. I just feel so safe and comfortable when I'm with you. I don't worry about being physically close when we're together and it doesn't matter if they get their simple kicks making a big deal out of it. I'm not going to stop just because they tease us."

"Doesn't it bother you that they're essentially saying you're gay?"

"No. In fact, to be totally honest, Mikey, I'm sort of enjoying it."

"What? Why?"

"Because it's really messing with their minds and I love it."

"Oh, so you're just using me to bug them..."

"Yeah, right. Not even, Mikey. If you noticed I'm the same way whether we are by ourselves or around them."

"Actually, I guess you are even friendlier when it's just the two of us," I said, smiling back at him.

"You look a lot cuter when you're smiling, Mikey."

I know this will come as a big surprise, but I started blushing. Nick, of course, got some mileage out of it. He slid over so we were sitting side by side and put his arm around me.

"Mikey, all I ask is that you continue to treat me like you have since we first met. That is one of the reasons you are such a special friend. I know you like Nicholas, not Nick Carter. And Mikey, I can't tell you how wonderful that makes me feel. We gotta deal?"

I put my arm around him and sat there without saying anything. I pretty much figured that, since actions speak louder than words, he knew my answer.

A few minutes passed and then I asked him if he still wanted to go for a bike ride. After promising not to try to give him a heart attack he was ready to give it a try. We got up and headed back down the trail to the house. We went in and changed.

Since the sun was out it was going to be a nice ride but I decided to wear a long sleeve jersey and tights because the temperature was only in the middle 50's. Nick came out in sweat pants and a long sleeve tee shirt. I aired the tires on Jason's mountain bike and helped Nick adjust it so it fit him pretty well. After airing my road bike's tires we headed down the driveway.

I didn't want to push it to hard since Nick wasn't exactly the greatest rider in the world. Everyone always says that once you learn how to ride a bike, you never forget. While I don't disagree with that statement, knowing how to ride a bike on a bike path and doing the kind of riding I like to do are worlds apart.

We rode the roughly 15 miles up to Vail and then cruised around town. I took it pretty easy on Nick since he was on a mountain bike and not used to the altitude. We stopped at a little juice shop for something to drink.

"Say, Nicky, would you mind if I did a quick trip up towards the summit while you relax?"

"No, how about I come part way with you and then wait for you to get back? I'd rather not sit here in town, I feel like a sitting target for observant young girls."

"That works for me."

We got back on the bikes and headed to the frontage road along I-70. After about a mile we came to a little rest stop kind of place and Nick pulled off the road and waved goodbye to me. I got out of the saddle and picked up my pace. I was only planning to do another ten miles before turning around since I didn't want Nick to have to sit there very long.

I was really enjoying the ride as I started a good climb. I wasn't wearing my heart rate monitor so I had to do a quick check and guessed I was hitting around 170, a good rate for the effort I was putting out. After about 30 minutes I decided it was time to turn around and meet up with Nick again.

The ride back down went quite a bit quicker. I was really enjoying leaning the bike into the turns and was going at a pretty good clip. I was riding the right side of the lane but not getting too close to the shoulder because of the sand on the road. I was in this long sweeping turn when I heard a car honking its horn.

I was sort of surprised someone was wanting to pass me because I was doing about 45 miles per hour and the speed limit was only 35. The next thing I knew the front fender of the car was next to me and the car was starting to drift towards the outside of the turn, due to its speed. I edged out a bit and then I felt the front tire lose its grip because I hit a patch of sand.

I was slammed down on the pavement and slid along the shoulder and then off the road, coming to a stop in one the patches of snow that were still along the side of the road. My shoes came out of the pedals and the bike went flying.

Needless to say the car didn't stop. I lay on the ground for a minute inspecting the damage to my body. My jersey and tights were pretty ripped up on the left side and there was a pretty good case of road rash on my arm and leg. My shoulder seemed a little sore, but I was able to reach my arm out and my hand was working ok, so I figured it wasn't anything serious. I slowly got back up and hobbled over to where my bike had landed.

The bike didn't appear to be damaged other than cosmetically. I carried it back to the road, straddled the frame, clipped into the pedals and started my way back down the hill.

I pulled up to where Nick was sitting and when he saw my left side he pretty much freaked out.

"Mikey, what happened? You're really hurt. I need to call an ambulance!"

"Nick, calm down. I'm ok. Let's just ride home."

"Mikey, you need to go to the emergency room!"

"Nick, I know how to treat road rash, it isn't my first time."

"But it's really dirty and bleeding."

"I know, Nick, but I'll be fine."

He forced me to sit down for a minute and squirted water on my wounds to try to get the worst of the dirt off. I explained what had happened and he said he had seen this car come hauling ass down the road a few minutes before I reached him. He had seen two guys in the front seat.

"Mikey, do you think they did it on purpose?"

"Huh? They were just going to fast," I replied.

"Mikey, it's not like they wouldn't have realized what happened and they didn't stop."

"Nick, you really have an overactive imagination."

"Mikey, your parents seemed to be worried that something might happen. You need to let them know."

"That's the last thing I need, getting them all worried. I'll never have a moment of peace. Let's just get home first and then we can talk about it. Ok?"

I knew that I needed to keep myself moving so that I wouldn't stiffen up. That would make the ride much rougher. We got back on the bikes and started the ride home. The ride home didn't go too badly, all things considered. We put the bikes back on the rack in the garage and went inside.

Fortunately no one else was home yet so I didn't have to contend with everyone making a big thing about my crash. We went upstairs to my bedroom and I pulled off what was left of my tights and jersey.

"Ok, Mikey, off with the shorts," Nick said.

"Excuse me?"

"I think you need to get in the shower so we can clean the dirt and blood off your arm and leg."

"Nick, I can take care of myself," I said.

"Mikey, it's not like I haven't seen you naked before. What's the big deal?"

"The big deal is me naked in front of you. You know I'm modest."

"Would you just get over it, I want to make sure that your cuts are really cleaned out so you don't get an infection. It was really dirty out there and I'm worried, ok?"

"Well, I guess I should be glad it's you and not my mother."

"Yeah, now that would be embarrassing."

I pulled off my cycling shorts and we went into the bathroom. Nick turned on the shower and adjusted the temperature so it was comfortably warm. I stood under the shower and rinsed off. Nick opened the door, took the shower head off the bracket and sat on the seat. He started running the water over my arm and took the bar of antiseptic soap and ran it up and down over the scrapes and cuts on my arm.

After a minute or so I handed him a wash cloth and told him to go ahead and get it good and soapy and start scrubbing. I'm not going to pretend to be Mr. Tough Guy and tell you it didn't hurt cause it did. I didn't start crying or anything, but it really stung. Nick rinsed the arm off and inspected the damage and decided it was as clean as it was going to get.

Next he went to work on my leg. I had road rash both above and below my knee. He scrubbed on my lower leg first. It took him about five minutes to get it clean and then he started working on my upper leg. As he rubbed the soap on my thigh, something started to happen that I didn't even want to happen. You probably guessed, I started to get excited. I turned a bit to try to make it so Nick couldn't see what was going on, but that only made him look.

"What's up, Mikey? Oh, dumb question, huh?" he said.

"Very funny, Nick. This is so embarrassing."

"I can't believe this, Mikey. You made fun of me being little Nicky. I know mine's bigger than yours."

"Oh, you think so? Well if it is, it ain't by much."

"Yeah, right," he said.

"Can we just get this over with, Nick. This isn't exactly the way I wanted to be spending my afternoon."

"Ok, Mikey, but just so you know, it's sort cute for a little one," he said grinning at me.

"Fuck you, Nick."

"Probably shouldn't think about that right now, what with your injuries and your current condition..."

I'm sure I was already blushing, but that definitely flipped the red switch. Nick noticed and started teasing me about getting embarrassed so easily. Every once in a while I noticed him checking out the state of my woody and that had the undesired effect of keeping it around.

Finally Nick was done cleaning my leg. He stood up and got out of the shower. I'd swear there was evidence that I wasn't the only one who had been on the excited side, but I decided not to embarrass him.

While I was drying myself off, Nick went out to the bedroom and returned bringing me some clean boxers and a tank top.

"I figured a tank top would be more comfortable than a regular tee shirt," he said.

"Thanks, Nick. Sorry for what happened in the shower."

"Mikey, don't even be embarrassed about it. I probably shouldn't have teased you, but I couldn't help myself."

"Yeah, just remember, he who laughs last laughs best," I said.

"I know and I'll probably deserve what you dish out. You want something to drink, Mikey?"

"That would be great, Nick. There should be some Snapple down in the refrigerator."

"Ok, be right back."

Nick went down to the kitchen and grabbed a couple of bottles of Snapple out of the refrigerator. As he was walking back to the stairs, the guys walked in the front door returning from their game of golf.

"Hey, Nick, what happened to you?" Brian asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, your clothes are pretty wet. Did you and Mikey get in a water fight?"

"No, he got run off the road by a car and I was cleaning up his road rash in the shower and got sort of wet."

"Jeez, why didn't you take him to the emergency room, Nick?" Kevin said.

"I tried, Kev, but he wouldn't let me."

"Is he ok?" Brian asked.

"Yeah, come on up to his room. I was just getting him something to drink."

The guys followed Nick upstairs and down the hall to my bedroom.

"Hey, Mikey, you have company," Nick shouted as they approached the door.

I was laying on my right side on the bed when they walked in. They were pretty shocked by the look of my arm and leg.

"Mikey, shouldn't you have a doctor look at that?" Kevin said.

"Not really. It isn't the first time it has happened. Nick got the scrapes and cuts cleaned up really well. As soon as they dry I'm going to put on some dressings on the worst cuts and just gauze over the scrapes so I don't stick to my clothes or the sheets tonight. Most of it will be okay in a day or two."

"Well, if you change your mind, just let us know and we'll take you," Brian said.

"Ok, I think I'm just going to rest for a while."

"I'm going to go change into some dry clothes," Nick said.

They all left my room and I closed my eyes. I little while later I was awakened when, as it turns out, Nick came in a sat on the bed next to me.

"Are you going to be warm enough on top of the bed?"

"It is a little cool, but I didn't want to have the sheets stick to me."

"How about I build a fire in the fireplace?"

"That'd be great, Nick. Thanks."

Nick started a fire and before long the room was much more comfortable. After he was satisfied with the fire, he came over and lay down on the other side of the bed. We chatted about the bike ride for a few minutes and then we both fell asleep.

Well, that's it for Part 11 of Nick and the Altos. Part 12 should be ready towards the end of the week, work permitting. Any comments, suggestions or whatever, email me at mikeylikesit80@hotmail.com.

Thanks for reading... Mikey