"BAYLEE!" I screamed.
"BAYLEE LITTRELL!"
Any kid that looked remotely like Bay was getting the 'Carter' treatment which consisted of being turned around and shrieked at. I had parents screaming at me, fans freaking out, and sweat pouring from my head and pits. People were trying to keep a good distance from me. I could feel the regurgitated nachos drying into my hair. I smelled like south-of-the-border puke and sweat. It wasn't pretty.
"BAY!" I screamed again.
"Looking for something?"
I whirled around. Razzo was holding Baylee's hand. He was still waving the stupid purple thing on a stick. He gave me an angelic smile. I wanted to ring his neck for running off. Instead I sank down on my knees in front of him.
"Oh thank fuckin' god," I gasped. I squinted, checking him over for any bumps, scratches, or bullet holes. "Are you okay?"
Bay wrinkled his nose. "You smell ba-ad." He held out his hand. I looked at it in confusion.
"What?"
"You said a bad word. I get a quarter."
I snorted. "That's stupid."
Razzo put a quarter into Bay's palm. He wrapped his money-hungry fingers around it; his giant Bri nose flared happily. He tossed the quarter in the air; almost hitting me in the process before he caught it.
It didn't take much to make a Littrell happy.
"Where'd you find him?" I asked Razzo.
Razzo was looking cute in a pair of short shorts and a tank top. The tank must have had a built in miracle bra because I had never seen her chest look that good; I was truly seeing a miracle.
"He was trying to find his way back to the busses," Razzo explained. "Thank goodness he's seen me snapping pictures of you guys before. He was starting to get scared."
Baylee looked up at me and nodded dramatically. I winced. Losing Baylee was bad. Baylee getting scared was even worse. He had two of the most protective parents in the world; I was dead meat. Feeling as if I was starting my death march, I had Razzo and Baylee follow me back to the busses.
"I can't believe AJ lost him," I grumbled as I walked. I went to run a hand through my hair, but I remembered the nacho thing. The smell was making me sick. I was used to my own stink; but having Brian's on me was no fun.
"AJ lost him?" Razzo asked. "Or you both lost him?"
I scowled. I couldn't even recall the turn of events. Rhoda left...there was a promise of bumper cars...AJ and I started bickering...
"Baylee? Oh buddy, you're safe!"
Bay's impressive head of hair bobbed as Bri scooped him up. Leigh was right on his heels; she gave me the filthiest look I have ever seen. I gave her a charming smile, but I knew it was totally ineffective because of the puke.
"I'm never going to trust you again," Leighanne whispered. Her eyes were red; she had obviously been crying.
"I'm sorry," I said feebly. I shoved my hands in my pockets. I really did feel bad. I glanced around. I didn't see AJ anywhere; at the moment, I didn't care. I wanted to get away from Bri and Leigh before they really tore into me. I glanced at Razzo.
"I'm gonna take a shower. Wanna come?"
Her eyes widened to the size of saucers. "W--What?"
I nodded towards the bus. "You want to get out of the heat and sit in my bus while I take a shower?" I clarified.
Her eyes grew smaller. "Oh. Um....sure."
We walked back to the bus. Her hair was in a ponytail; I was dying to see it down again. I climbed up and gave Julie a hand. She looked around.
"This is just what I thought it would look like," she said appreciatively .
The bus was a pigsty. Leigh was getting ready to leave; she couldn't take the mess and Howie hadn't knocked her up yet. I guess she thought AJ and I were ruining the mood. Who would have thunk?
"Well, three of us share it so..."
The bus was quiet. I motioned towards the couch. Razzo sat down. My eyes went to her legs. I licked my lips.
"Y'know, if you do want to take a shower with me..."
She gave me a look that stopped me from saying another word. I checked her out sadly and headed to the showers.
I've always been a fan of my hand; but I had been spending way too much time with it lately. After getting the pukey nachoes off me, I spent a little 'Nick' time to unwind. After the water ran cold (which didn't take long), I took my time getting dressed in new jeans and a jersey. By the time I got back out to the living room, Julie was sprawled on the couch. She was asleep.
It was like a Disney movie. No joke. She looked like Snow White. I reasoned that maybe a crazy fan had slipped her a poison apple. If that happened, wasn't it my duty to bring her back to life with a kiss?
I crept towards her. Her chest rose and fell slowly. Her cheeks were red from being out in the sun. I knelt down beside the couch. I inhaled deeply; she smelled like cotton candy. I lowered my head. My heart beat in anticipation.
Before my lips touched hers; Julie's eyes flew open. Her mouth parted. I think she might have been ready to scream; but I didn't give her the chance.
I placed my hand on the jut of her hip and kissed her passionately.
I made my way back toward the buses, scanning the crowd in a panic. "Baylee?" I called, "Baylee?!" I could hear Brian behind me. When we got to where the buses were parked, he bolted for his own bus to get Leighanne while I headed towards the stylist buses. Baylee had last been seen clutching Rhoda's hand, I rationalized. I wasn't exploiting the fact Baylee was missing - I was legitimately researching his whereabouts. Really.
I knocked on the bus door, expecting Rhoda to open it.
Instead, I got Dee.
Dee had on baggy sweats and a baby doll t-shirt with a picture of the Rolling Stones tongue on it. The t-shirt was riding up and her belly button peeked out over the drawstring of her pants, which she'd pulled tight. Under them she had on flipflops and her hair was coming out of her head sideways. Her nose was reddish in color.
"What?" she demanded.
"Hey Dee," I said, backing away.
Dee stared at me. "What the hell do you want AJ? Huh?" she asked. She yanked a tissue out of her pocket. "Rhoda's not here." She reached for the door to close it and I stopped it.
"Do you know where she is?"
"Probably with her boyfriend," snapped Dee.
Baylee was officially forgotten. "Her boyfriend?" I asked. I couldn't help but feel the tension crawl into my voice, "Nick is not her boyfr-"
Dee started to slam the door, but I caught it again.
"You look like shit," I added.
"You're a fucking charmer," she said, "I mean, dammit, with comments like that its a wonder you're single. Women should be wooing at your feet as we speak, just waiting for your compliments..."
"Are you sick?" I asked, ignoring her outburst.
Dee rolled her eyes, "No, I just sound and look like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer for the fun of it."
I scowled, "Jesus, you don't have to be a bitch about it..."
"Sorry," she said sarcastically, "I'll try to be less of a bitch and more like Rhoda." Again she tried to close the door and yet again I caught it before she could. "AJ," she said... but this time her voice was different, defeated, emotional, "Just... just go... Rhoda's probably around somewhere, I'm sure she'll be happy to entertain you."
"What's that supposed to mean?" I demanded.
Dee sighed, "Like she doesn't know she's driving you boys over the edge? You're a toy to her, you stupid ass." Dee shook her head, "She's playing you both. You should just get Fisherprice stamped on your ass."
"Rhoda wouldn't do tha-"
That's when Dee started coughing. She was practically hacking up a lung. I leaped up onto the bus and rubbed my hand against her spine, trying to diffuse the coughing fit. She held her arms up and hacked. I kicked the door shut and walked her back to the couch in the back of the bus and laid her across it gently. Her eyes welled up as she coughed. "Hey, hey," I said, "It's okay..breathe. ."
"It's not okay," she gasped through chokes.
"No really," I insisted, "It is."
"You don't know anything," Dee responded.
I pulled a blanket off the back of the sofa and draped it gently across her body, running my hand over her sides to tuck her in. My palm slid across her breast and I felt the contour of her nipple. She wasn't wearing a bra, I realized. She had those naturally perky breasts. The kind that stayed standing out without aid. My mouth went dry.
Our eyes met.
Dee was biting her lower lip, an unreadable expression in her eyes.
"Dee?" I asked.
"AJ?"
I started to lean towards her, my heart slamming in my chest. My mouth curved into a pucker slowly, my face mere inches from hers...
"Dee! Do we have any more Nyquil over here?" Rhoda's voice traveled through the bus from the door, "Justin's all out and he really needs some..."
Dee - whose eyes had closed as I neared - opened her eyes and gasped. I pulled away. "Its in the loo," Dee called, using the British term.
"Thanks doll," called Rhoda. "Hey you should hear the commotion outside. Apparently Nick and AJ lost Baylee and Leighanne's ready to rip both their balls off with her bare hands. She's already ripped Nick a good one and she's on the hunt for-" Rhoda came around the corner and found me leaning over Dee. She stopped short and dropped the bottle of Nyquil. "....You," she finished.
Dee blushed.
Rhoda looked from me to Dee, disbelief on her face.
"This isn't what it looks like," I said, jumping up.
Dee looked at me. "What?"
"It's not what it looks like," I insisted to Rhoda. "I was just - I just -" I looked at Dee, then back to Rhoda. I felt torn.
"He was just leaving," Dee supplied. She rolled over, giving me her back, and pulled the blankets around herself tighter. "Goodbye, AJ."
"Watch out for Leighanne," Rhoda laughed.
I stumbled out of the stylists' bus and headed toward the bus Howie, Nick and I were sharing. I climbed on board. I could hear the unmistakable sounds of two people making out. I stopped short. Fucking Howie gets all the god damn fun, I thought to myself.
I didn't really wanna witness Howie getting tongue shoved down his throat, so I got back off the bus and sat down, leaning against the tire.
"Hola amigo!" Howie suddenly rounded the corner of Brian's bus."You really want to sit somewhere in plain sight? Nick found Baylee and Leighanne's on her way to slaughter you."
I thumbed at the bus, "Well I'd be on there except..." I stopped. "Wait a second," I said, the pieces falling into place together. "If you're out here... then..." I looked at the bus door. "Then Nick is in there... Who the hell is he with?"
"Rhoda?" Howie asked, raised eyebrow.
"No, Rhoda's getting Nyquil for Justin," I said slowly. I looked at the bus door.
"Well he was with that reporter chick before," Howie said slowly.
"Julie?" I asked.
Howie laughed, "AJ, that's not her real name," he said, "That's just what Nick calls her. Haven't you ever read her articles? She's a really good journalist..."
"Why the hell would I read them?" I demanded, "Besides, that's a damn hard thing to do when you don't know their real name. I just thought thats what her name was."
Howie shook his head. "Here..." he shoved a rolled up magazine from his back pocket into my hands. "This is her review from the other night. I gotta warn you," he snickered, "She's very biased to Nick."
"Well," I said, "That's good, because apparently his tongue is somewhere south of her tonsils."
