“AJ, can you grab the cookies?” I was juggling two bowls of assorted candies and chocolates. Turns out Denise packed AJ a whole bag of goodies for today. Yeah, he was definitely a mama’s boy.

“Sure thing, man.” I looked over at him as he carefully picked up the clear plastic container of sugar cookies that had been decorated with pink and purple icing. We clumsily made our way around the tv.

It was Valentine’s Day, and we were out on the road. Our first show was a couple days away to kick off our Unbreakable tour. We were starting in Asia, and obviously management didn’t plan our schedule that well. I mean, really? Did we have to get here so early and miss Valentine’s Day at home? To be honest, I was a little relieved. Let's just say that things weren’t as great at home as everyone thought.

I guess it’s pretty lame that we would spend this day together in a hotel suite, watching a movie. But it’s not like we had anything better to do.
“You know how gay this looks?” Seems like someone else was reading my mind, but in a very AJ-like way.

“Who cares, AJ? What else did you have to do tonight? I mean, this is better than going out to a candlelit dinner together. At least no one can see us here.” I think Nick was pretty happy that we were spending tonight together. He’s all about the bromance sometimes.

“I guess you’re right man. It’s not like our ladies are here, and I need someone to chill with.” He did. AJ is so sentimental. I wouldn’t be surprised if he started cuddling with one of us tonight.

“So, we gonna start this movie or what?” Howie asked while biting into his sushi. He always had to find the authentic foods. We were in Japan…of course we had to get sushi! “What’d you end up getting, Nicky?” Why Nick was in charge of picking the movie was beyond me.

“ I got Titanic and The Notebook. “

“Oh my god, Kaos! Are you kidding me? Why in the world would you think that we would want to watch those movies?” The look on AJ’s face was priceless as he whined about Nick’s choices.

“I don’t know! I didn’t know what to get. I was on the phone with Angel while I was looking for videos and I asked her to pick two movies. Come to think of it…I didn’t tell her I was going to be watching them with you guys. Oh well, I’ve never seen either one of those.”

Howie was laughing so hard now that he was almost choking on his…miso soup? Guess he already finished his sushi. I swear he inhales his food.

“Whatever dude. I’m gonna go change,” AJ said as he stormed into his room. We all laughed at how silly he was being.

“Nick, I gotta admit. I can’t believe you picked those movies. I’m not really in the mood to watch those with ya’ll, but I gotta admit that AJ’s reaction made it worth it.” Nick grinned with that smirk of his that drives the ladies wild. Makes me think he did it on purpose.

“So which one do ya’ll wanna watch first?” I took the two dvds in my hand and studied the covers. Look, I gotta admit I’ve seen both of them. They’re good, but The Notebook would definitely make anyone cry. “Let’s go with Titanic.” It’s a classic. I definitely did not want to cry tonight.

“Sounds good, Bri.”

“Okie dokie, Smokie.” I took the dvd out of the case and popped it in, waiting for it to start, while I looked for the remote control. Suddenly, I heard laughter and when I looked up, I saw AJ walking into the room with some pink pajama pants adorned with red sparkly hearts.

“Dude! You’re mad at me for picking romantic movies on Valentine’s Day and you’re wearing that?” We all started laughing so hard that AJ couldn’t help but join in.

“Ok guys, let’s get comfortable. I call the recliner.” I was not about to risk getting snuggled up against with any one of those guys.
Howie and Nick jumped on the sofa, While Aj made a pallet on the floor.

“Guys, let’s not tell anyone about this. This really is pretty lame. If anyone asks, we just hung out in our rooms. I mean, ok, we ate dinner at the hotel. But this movie part is pretty gay.”

“Nick, quit using that word. It has nothing to do with being gay. We’re just watching a movie together. It’s not like we’re giving each other massages.”

“Howie, let’s leave your fantasies out of this.” That prompted Howie to beam a pillow at Nick’s head. In .2 seconds, there was an all out pillow fight going on. As things calmed down and the movie started, AJ asked me to pause it as he ran into his room. He came out with a full on manicure set and black nailpolish.

“Are you kidding me, AJ?” I couldn’t help but chuckle. We all laughed again as we watched him “touch up” his nails.

“Yeah really guys, let’s please not tell anyone about this. First the movies, then the pillow fight, now polishing nails?” I had to agree.

We all quieted down and started watching the movie. It didn’t take long for everyone to get into it. I couldn’t believe everyone was actually quietly watching. When the iceberg struck, and everyone was running for their lives, I swear I saw tears in Nick’s eyes.
I tried not to laugh as I turned back in the recliner to watch.

The next thing I knew, I woke up to Celine Dion’s song and rolling credits. It took me a second to realize where I was as I stretched and sat up in the recliner. I looked around the room, giving my eyes a minute to adjust to the glow from the tv. AJ was fast asleep curled in a ball on the floor, snoring away on his makeshift pallet. I was reminded of his silly pants and held in my laughter. Nick was lying with his head in Howie’s lap. Howie’s hand was on Nick’s head, and they were both fast asleep. I couldn’t help but smile, as I looked around at my brothers.

I got up for a glass of water and grabbed a blanket on the way back. I carefully lay it on top of AJ so that I wouldn’t wake him. As I contemplated going to my bed, I decided to hop back in the recliner.

As silly as this night had been, I had a blast. And even though it’s not exactly what I had in mind for Valentine’s Day, I wouldn’t trade it for the world.