A Beautiful Mistake

"Aubrey! Hurry up. I'm hungry," Stefanie yelled, coming into my room.

"Hold on. I'm adding the last touches to my outfit." I turned from the mirror, satisfied, and let Stefanie drag me away.

"Has he called today?" I asked as we got in the car.

You see, Nick's called everyday since we've been here to 'check up' on me. He'd always talk to either Miley or Stefanie. I wasn't ready to talk just yet, but tomorrow, on the other hand, was another day. It's Nick's birthday, and I was thinking about surprising him with a phone call.

"No. But don't worry. He'll probably call tonight," Stefanie said as Miley turned on the radio.

I nodded my head and began to drive. I pulled into Le Papagayo's and parked.

"What were we doing tonight?" I asked as we walked into the restaurant.

"I was thinking that we could go check out the boardwalk," Miley said as the waitress led us to a table.

"Sounds great," I said picking up the menu.

We ate dinner at a reasonable pace while having many different weird conversations. When we were finished, I paid the bill before walking out to the car.

"Are you happy now?" I asked Stefanie as I pulled out of the parking lot.

"Very! Hey! Nick's calling!"

My eyes got wide. I tried to hear what Nick was saying but all I could hear was Stefanie's side of the conversation. I got a little antsy waiting for the call to end.

"What'd he say?" I asked as soon as she pulled the phone away from her ear.

"He told me to tell you that loves you, and that he's very sorry. And he wanted me to remind you that his birthday is tomorrow."

After we left the restaurant we decided to head on over to boardwalk to hang out for a while.

"I'm so tired!" I yelled as we walked away from the boardwalk.

"So am I," Miley said, leaning up against me.

"Hey, what time is it?" I asked Stefanie as I unlocked the door to the house.

"11:55 P.M."

I ran to my room, threw some pajamas on, and sat on my bed, staring at the clock. I picked up my phone as soon as the clock said twelve and dialed Nick's number with shaky hands.

"Hello?" His deep voice echoed.

"Hi, Nick." I said softly.

"AUBREY? Is it really you?!"

"Yes, Nick. It's me," I said, laughing a little and and walking out on the balcony. I found myself doing this a lot lately.

"I'm so sorry for lying and acting like an butt. You will never know how sorry I am."

I sighed, "Nick, we can talk about that when I come home. I just wanted to call and say happy birthday. So, happy birthday?" I looked up at the moon.

"When are you coming home?" Nick's voice fell a little.

"Saturday," I breathed into the phone.

"Will you go to dinner with me then? And then come back to my house?" Nick questioned.

I took a deep breath while thinking it through, "Sure."

"Okay. Great. I'll pick you up at seven. Wear a cocktail dress, or whatever you call them."

"Okay. Well, I guess I'll see you Saturday?" I asked.

"Yeah."

"Bye, Nick." I said, running my fingers through my hair.

"Bye, Aubrey. I love you."

"I love you, too," I whispered before hanging up the phone.

Before I fell asleep, I prayed that agreeing to see Nick on Saturday wasn't going to be a mistake.

I didn't feel like doing anything on Nick's birthday. After I woke up, I curled up on the couch in a sweat shirt and watched movies all day. Then, after I ate dinner, I went to bed. Nothing exciting, right?

"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Aubrey, happy birthday to you!"

I opened my eyes to see Stefanie and Miley standing at the foot of my bed with a plate of pancakes with a lit candle sticking out of them. I rolled my eyes as I sat up in bed.

"You guys didn't have to do this."

"We did. It's your eighteenth birthday," Stefanie said, stepping forward to hand me the plate.

"Now, make a wish and blow out the candle," Miley ordered.

"Hurry up and eat. We already got the day planned out," Stefanie said before they left.

I just wanted to lay around today, like I did yesterday. It was just another day to me.

I walked into my bathroom to take a shower. We'd spent all day at the beach since it was our last day there, and we were about to go out to dinner - they insisted on it. I walked into the living room when I was done getting ready. Miley and Stefanie stood up and we all walked out to the car. I drove to The 3rd Corner and parked in the back. After eating, Miley and Stefanie paid, and we left. We blasted the radio on the way back to the house. I cranked my iPod up in the living room and we had a random dance party. Before we went to bed, we went ahead and packed up all our stuff.

The next morning, I got up really early and changed my clothes. Since Stefanie or Miley wasn't up yet, I decided to take a walk on the beach and watch the sun rise. I sat far enough back where I wouldn't get wet and looked out into the ocean. Today was the big day. Today was the day I was going to see and talk to Nick in person. This vacation was much needed, and I didn't want to leave, but I knew that I had to.

"Aubrey! We're ready when you are," Miley yelled from my balcony.

I sighed and slowly stood up. I dusted the sand off of me as I took one last look out into the ocean. I turned around and slowly walked back to the house. We checked the house three times making sure that we were leaving anything before we left. We blasted the radio all the way home. "I Am Not A Whore" by LMFAO was playing as we drove down our street. I swore I saw Nick look out his window when we drove past. I let Miley out first before taking Stefanie home. I pulled up to my house and took everything inside.

My parents greeted me, and I talked to them for awhile before going upstairs to do laundry. At about 5:30 P.M., I started getting dressed. The closer it got to seven, the more nervous I got. Then, I heard the dreaded door bell ring. I slipped on my shoes and walked downstairs to see Nick standing in front of the door. I said a quick goodbye to my parents and left.

The car ride to the restaurant was awkwardly quiet. I felt this strange sense of déjà vu. I took a deep breath as we sat down at a table in the back.

"Why'd you do it?" I asked after we told the waiter our order.

"I don't know. I was being stupid. I didn't think you would find out."

"But you knew how I felt about her. And if I meant anything to you, you would have deleted the number when I asked you too."

"I know. I made a mistake Aubrey. I deleted her number and told her I didn't want to talk to her anymore after you left. If you don't believe me look through my phone right now." He took his phone out and handed it too me.

I went through each contact like I had done that night in his bathroom. I handed it back to him when I didn't see her in there.

"I'm sorry I went through your phone in the first place," I muttered, becoming interested in my silverware.

"No, Aubrey. You have no reason to apologize. This is all on me. I'm the one who lied, and I deserved everything you did. If I could go back, I would have deleted her number, and I wouldn't have acted like such a butt."

"Okay. I forgive you," I said, looking at him.

He smiled my favorite crooked smile, then leaned over and kissed my cheek.

"Don't make me regret this," I said after he sat back down.

"I won't," he said as the waiter sat our food in front of us.

After we ate, we walked out to his car hand-in-hand. Something still didn't feel right, though. I decided not to say anything as he drove home.

"Come with me to get some clothes," I said as I began to walk across the yard.

"Aubrey?" My mom called out when I opened the door.

"Yeah, it's me," I said, walking into her view.

"Are you staying with Nick tonight?"

I nodded my head.

"Well I just wanted to tell you happy late birthday. And Denise and I talked about it, and we're going to have a small barbeque tomorrow for your and Nick's birthday."

"Thanks, mom," I said, stepping forward and wrapping my arms around her.

"No problem. Now, go get you some clothes and go over to see Frankie. He's been worried."

I nodded my head and ran up the stairs. Nick looked up at me when I walked in my room. I grabbed some clothes to change into before grabbing my toiletries. I threw them all in my purse before we left. My hands became instantly sweaty when we walked into Nick's house.

"Nick, how's Aubrey?" Denise asked, coming out from the living room.

"I'm doing well," I said as soon as I saw Denise.

"Oh my goodness!" Denise squealed before rushing to give me a hug.

"I missed you, Denise," I whispered in her ear.

"I missed you, too," she said as we pulled away. "You got a nice tan going on too."

I laughed, "Thank you. Now, where's Frankie? My mom told me he's been worried."

Denise's smile dropped a little, "He's in his bedroom."

I nodded and walked up stairs. I knocked on Frankie's door softly.

"Leave me alone!" I heard Frankie yell.

"Now, that's no way to treat your best friend!" I said, walking into his room.

"Aubrey?!" He jumped up and threw his arms around me.

"So, I heard you missed me?"

He let go of me and nodded his head, "Where did you go, and why didn't you take me?"

"I couldn't Frankie. I wish I could have. I just needed to get away from here for a little while, so I went to the beach. But I promise we'll spend next Saturday doing whatever you want? Okay?"

Frankie nodded his head.

I told him I would see him in the morning before leaving his room. I walked into Nick's room and saw him lying on the bed.

"Can you unzip my dress please?" I asked, slipping off my shoes and walking over to him.

I put on my pajamas, walked over to Nick's closet, got a sweatshirt out and put it on before going to lay beside him.

"How was your birthday?" I asked as he wrapped an arm around my waist.

"It sucked," he muttered.

I giggled, "And why is that?"

"Because I lost my girlfriend to me 'acting like a baby'," he said, quoting me.

"Well, mine wasn't that great either. Miley and Stefanie took me out to dinner, but that's it."

Nick and I talked a little bit more before falling asleep. It had been a long day.