The weeks went by and Brian still was in San Francisco recording the new Backstreet Boys album. Brian’s cell phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Brian?”

“Yes…who is this?”

“This is Tahlia you gave me your cell number last week”

“Oh sorry about that T what’s up?”

“Well I was wondering if you had time to go out and grab a bite to eat?”

“Tahlia I don’t know? I mean doesn’t it seem weird we’re not ‘together’ anymore?”

“Brian it does but we’re just friends…nothing more”

“Tahlia I know nothing more”

“But Brian I KNOW you wish it I can tell by the sound of your voice and the way you look at me”

“Okay I admit it I can’t help it…I mean we were together for a year…”

“But half that year you were gone…you went on tour or something like that”

“I offered you to come with me”

“Brian I couldn’t just leave work for 6 months and you knew that”

“True I am sorry T okay…really I am sorry how about I take you up on that offer to grab a bite to eat? I am kinda hungry”

“All right does 6-ish sound good?”

“Yea…”

“Okay I will see you then”

Brian hung up the phone and he saw Nick looking at him.

“You are going out with Tahlia tonight?”

“Yes…she asked if I wanted to grab a bite to eat”

“But I heard y’all talking about when you were together… I know you haven’t gotten over her yet”

“Nick I know all right? Trust me I am trying my best okay? Maybe we’ll you know get back together again”

“Brian you are so full of it…I swear…you are completely getting g your hopes up…she is going to end up breaking your heart and you are going to be miserable yet once again. And you are going to wish you hadn’t gone back out with her. You are my best friend and I would hate if she breaks your heart again. I really hate seeing you in a moping mood…you don’t really work well. I am telling you…that’s what she is going to do”

“Nicky please just let me make my own mistakes all right? I am willing to risk it all for Tahlia”

“Fine Brian don’t say I didn’t warn you”

“Comfortable I see” Brian chuckled.

“Yea…I didn’t really feel like getting all dressed up ya know? There just wasn’t any point. So yes I am comfortable today is that a problem?”

“No not really…”

“Good I wasn’t going to change anyway” Tahlia giggled.

“I knew you wouldn’t…I am smarter than you think…”

“Oh I am sure. Anyway come on in…I just have to finish getting read and then we can go”

“Alrighty” Brian walked into Tahlia’s house,” I like what you have done with the house why didn’t you ever do this back in Orlando?”

“ I don’t know…I really just wanted to I guess experience something new all of my friends houses they look very much like this with the yellowish orange walls. But mine is difference they have a lot of fabrics and they really don’t but I of course didn’t do this…I had someone come in and do it for me. I am not at all talented with doing these kinds of things,” she explained.

“I know you aren’t. It’s nice though. So where are you working?” Brian asked.

“I am working at a near by school Wellington High School…me being an English teacher in all”

“Oh yea that’s right sorry I forgot”

“Don’t be sorry Brian I am sure you tried to forget about me right?”

“Oh yea” he lied.

“Liar hehe…anyway well I am done we can go now”

“Where exactly are we going?”

“Oh just the little café down the street they the best and I mean the best chicken salads you could ever possibly have in your life”

“Even better than the café on highway 1?”

“I don’t know? I haven’t been there for ages…if I ever go back to Orlando I’ll make sure to tell you…or you can just be the judge of that yourself”

“All right I am hungry how about we get going before I literally melt away”

“Haha very funny”

~~~~~~

Brian and Tahlia sat down at a near by table and ordered their food.

“So Brian anyone ‘special’ in your life? I haven’t been keeping up on the latest Backstreet dirt” She laughed.

“No”

“Oh come on you really haven’t found anyone new?”

“No…just never really thought about it I guess”

“You really aren’t over me are you?” Tahlia questioned.

“No…not really is it REALLY that obvious?” Brian replied.

“Yea you know just a little”

“What about you? Anyone in your life who is I guess special?”

“No”

“Oh”

“Brian I really know what you are thinking and believe me it’s a no”

‘Tahlia why? Don’t you remember all the fun we had together? Don’t you miss that?”

“Brian let’s not talk about that please? I really have tried to forget about it. I still have but us it no more”

“So are you telling me there is NOTHING I can do?”

“Brian…no…now please just drop it all right?”

“Fine Tahlia I will drop it.”

Brian went home that night and tried to figure out what just had gone wrong.

“So how did your date go with Tahlia?’ Nick asked.

“Good I guess”

“What happened?”

“Nothing”

“Please something is bothering you”

“Well Tahlia asked me if I had anyone ‘special’ in my life and I said no and then we just started to talk about how we used to be me and her and then I guess everything just kind of went down hill from there,” Brian explained.

“I told you it was never going to work,”

“All right Nick you won all right? You happy? Jeez, excuse me for just having a little bit of hope! Unlike you and Mandah!”
“How dare you fucking bring that up!!” Nick yelled.

“See now you know how I feel don’t you Nick? You didn’t get over Mandah for like 3 years and you just haven’t been the same ever since Nick. I just haven’t gotten over Tahlia all right? The only one I loved enough to marry and it all went down the drain when we went on tour,”

“Brian trust me I know exactly how you feel Rok, but I got over it,”

“You weren’t really going to marry Mandah though Nick”

“True,” Brian heard his phone ring.

“Hello?”

“Brian I think we need to talk…it’s about the café can you come over to my house?” Tahlia asked.

“I guess I can come over”

“All right I’ll see you soon” Brian hung up the phone.

“Was that who I think it is?” Nick said as he raised his eyebrow.

“Yea she wants to talk about what went on at the café I think she changed her mind Nick”

“Just went I thought I was getting some sense knocked into you she called and wants to talk”

“I think I just found a way back to her heart that’s all”

“Its never going to click in your head is it?”

“No”

“I really don’t want to see you get hurt that’s all Rok”

“I know Nick” Brian grabbed his coat and was out the door yet once
again.

Brian got over to Tahlia’s house just a short time later. He got out of the car and walked up to her door and rang the doorbell. Tahlia answered the door.

“Hey”

“Hi”

“Like I said on the phone we need to talk”

“About what exactly? The whole not having anyone ‘special’ in our lives?”

“Basically when you said you didn’t have anyone something I guess came over me”

“Like remembering how we were you know together?”

“I remember it all the time…in Orlando I still have that picture of us in the café on highway 1 the beach here in San Francisco was even hard to come here I begged Jive to go somewhere else I just didn’t want to risk running into you” Brian said.

“I remember those too Brian I only moved here because me and you how we wound up in a blanket on the floor everything I just couldn’t forget”

“Then why did we break up? Why couldn’t you get used to be being a Backstreet Boy? You knew it came with dating me”

“I know Brian I just couldn’t handle you being away so much”

“I understand Tahlia I really do”

“Then why do you want to go back out so bad Brian? Is it really worth it?”

“Yes I REALLY think it’s worth it. I just remember being so happy together for the first time I actually felt love it is an amazing feeling Tahlia really it is”

“I know that Brian I loved you too…I just can’t handle it okay I don’t think I could risk you going away for months at a time doing God knows what”

“I STILL love you Tahlia I always have”

“Don’t say you ‘still’ love me Brian its not going to work”

“That night we were going to go to dinner you know?”

“Yea what about it?’

“I was going to purpose”

The words to say The road to take To find a way back to your heart What can I do? To get to you And find a way back to your heart

“Wait Brian you were what?”

“I was going to purpose I had the ring and everything all ready to go in my pants pocket when you said we shouldn’t see each other anymore it just completely broke my heart it felt like someone just stabbed me in the heart 5 million times,” Brian explained.

“Why? Why didn’t you tell me Brian? Jeez if I knew exactly how you felt Brian I might have changed my mind” Tahlia yelled.

“Why are you yelling at me? You are acting like everything is all MY fault you should know by now I DO have a hard time expressing my feelings I just don’t understand why I am getting yelled at when I didn’t do anything”

“You DID have something to do with it. I loved YOU enough to marry you and you never showed. So like I said I got lonely you were never around no phone calls no emails no nothing”

“I couldn’t call EVERY night you know that!”

“Brian I DID know that once a week just wasn’t enough I am truly sorry that you felt the way you did really I think out little discussion is over now”

“Fine I will just leave if this discussion is over,” Brian walked out the door and drove back home…he still saw Nick’s car in the driveway. Brian got out of his car and walked in the house.

“So what did she want to talk about?”

“Us”

“And?”

“There will never be ‘us’ again. She blamed me for everything! I told her I was going to marry her and then she just started blaming me for everything so now is really just useless Nick I guess you were right she isn’t worth it.”

The words to say
The road to take
To find a way back to your heart
What can I do?
To get to you
And find a way back to your heart

“Brian are you sure now? I don’t want you saying 2 months from now on I still love Tahlia” he stated.

“Yes, Nick I am positive blaming me for everything is just unfair she new dating me was going to be hard but yet she complained”

“Well it comes with the territory some people can deal with it like Kristen she had stuck by Kevin for 8 long ass years and now they are married it will just take some time for you to find I guess that ‘someone’ Brian”

“Jeez Nick since when are you the one to be giving advice?” Brian chuckled.

“Since now I guess I don’t know?” Just then the phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Hey Brian.” It was Tahlia yet once again

“What do you want? I thought our discussion was over?” he angrily said.

“Well after you left the house I went and thought about what you had said and I really still do love you I always have I could never forget those long walks on the beach the sand castles the key lime pie at the café on highway 1. The reflection in the windows of the stores here in San Francisco… I can’t forget it Brian. Everywhere I seem to turn there is you and me I know I am very sorry for being such a bitch to you earlier but I just didn’t realize it until after you had left my house” Tahlia explained. Brian stood there in silence oh the phone he didn’t know how to react.

“Now you say that after all that big fiasco about ‘us’ is never again crap. And then you blame basically everything on me and that really hurt me Tahlia. I still love you very much but that discussion we had you were right its time to get over you. You can’t handle me being away all the time you even said so yourself. SO maybe it would be best if we didn’t speak to each other. That way we don’t see each other or speak to each other. And we can just move on with our lives, and not be bothered anymore…is this making any sense?”

“It makes sense Brian really it does. It’s fine not having ANY contact with you. It’s perfectly fine with me. If that’s what it takes then that’s what it takes do whatever YOU have to do Brian. It isn’t going to bother me any”

“Then it’s settled. We won’t have ANY contact at all”

“ Okay sounds good well I guess I better let you go then. I really hope you have fun recording the new Backstreet album and of course traveling around the world as usual enjoy your life Brian Littrell it was fun” Tahlia hung up the phone.

“Brian don’t you think you were a little harsh there?”

“Maybe but if that’s what it takes then that’s what it takes”

“I guess that makes sense I am very proud of you Brian. I am very surprised you just didn’t take her back”

“You were right. She just wasn’t worth risking EVERYTHING on her. My life was completely ruined when we broke up and it still ‘somewhat’ is and if I were to take her back and it all happened all over again it would just mess me up even more. So like I said Nick YOU were right…not worth it”

“Wow I am very surprised you even remotely took advice from me really I am”

“Well I guess there is a first for everything”