Chapter 20

Nick, AJ, Andrea and Annie slipped out a side door to the hotel and jumped into the mini van that was waiting for them. Andrea was relieved to see that they had a driver to take them around the city; she did not want to have to try to navigate Pittsburgh.

“Where do you want to go first?” the driver asked as he started pulling out of the parking lot. Luckily the van had tinted windows, so when they drove through the crowds of girls wandering around the parking lot, they were not noticed.

“Well, I have no idea what there is to do in Pittsburgh. I didn’t expect to be here so I did not do any research or planning for this city,” Andrea said, sounding disappointed that she dropped the ball on this. She was usually so organized and it pained her greatly when she was unprepared.

“Well, you had no time to prepare for it,” Nick said in an effort to make her feel better. “We basically kidnapped you and gave you no advance warning.” He leaned forward to talk to the driver, and then leaned back in his seat a minute later.

“What did you tell him? Where are we going?” Annie asked inquisitively. “And it better not be a Hooter’s or a strip club!”

“Why, you afraid they would offer you a job and then you’d have to stay here?” AJ asked her, looking at her breasts. “Cause you could totally work there!”

“Yeah, thanks,” Annie said sarcastically. She turned her body away from AJ and towards Nick. “So anyway, back to where we are going….”

“I just told him to take us someplace where we could do some walking around and look at stuff, but something that wouldn’t be a time consuming commitment since we only have two hours,” Nick replied. “He knows this city better than any of us, so I’ll let him decide.”

They rode in the van for about ten more minutes. When it stopped and they got out, they found themselves downtown. They saw men and women in business suits walking down the street, moms pushing strollers with kids in them, dogs walking their owners, and people getting on and off the bus. It was a very busy city and the hustle and bustle made that quite obvious.

The foursome spent the next two hours walking down the main streets, going in and out of shops and stores. They laughed, played, and for those two hours, Nick and Alex got to be just two normal guys hanging out with two normal girls. When it came time to get back in the van and head back to the hotel, Andrea and Annie were ready to sit down and relax, and Nick and AJ felt rejuvenated.

“God, it’s so nice get away from being a Backstreet Boy 24/7 and just be Nick, doing some sightseeing and shopping, and hanging out with friends” said Nick with a big smile on his face. “I love my job, but unlike most jobs, I don’t get to leave at five o’clock and go home, it’s an always thing, and sometimes I feel burnout coming on, and doing things like this really helps to make that feeling go away. Thanks for inviting me,” Nick said as she kissed Andrea on the cheek.

“Yeah, same goes for me,” Alex said. “I had a great time. Pittsburgh is a great city.”

They pulled into the hotel parking lot with one minute to spare, but as always, Kevin was already standing next to the buses with his hands on his hips and a questioning look on his face.

“You guys always have to cut it close, don’t you?” Kevin asked, not trying to stifle the accusing tone in his voice.

“It’s one of the few ways we can get to you Kevin,” Nick said, mocking his older “brother”. “It’s so much fun to get a rise out of you!”

Kevin grabbed Nick by the head and rubbed his knuckles over the top of it. “This is how I get a rise out of you,” he laughed, as Nick flailed himself around, trying to break free of Kevin’s hold. When he finally let Nick go, he frantically fixed his hair and straightened his shirt.

“I hate it when you do that. It might have been cute when I was sixteen, but not anymore!” Nick shouted, knowing that Kevin had accomplished what he was hoping to. Instead of feeding into it anymore, he decided to just get on the bus. He turned around and noticed Andrea and Annie snickering, both trying their hardest to hide it. “What are you two laughing at?” he asked, trying himself not to laugh.

“Oh Nick, you are so cute when you get picked on and get mad about it,” Andrea said as she walked up to Nick and smoothed his hair. “Your face turns red and you eyes get fiercely blue, it’s so….” she paused for a minute, standing up on her tip toes to reach his ear. “Sexy,” she whispered seductively into it. Nick groaned a little at the tone of her voice; it was turning him on.

“Girl, you better stop right now before I do things to you that you never imagined,” he said playfully, biting his lower lip. “Cause if you keep that up, I might not be able to control myself.”

“I know, that’s the fun part,” she said slyly. She smacked him on the a$s and then ran away before he could grab her.

“You have to ride back to Cincinnati with me, so I’ll get you sooner or later,” he remarked, looking her up and down. “You can run, but you can’t hide!” Andrea let out a shrill giggle and Nick made a grab for her, but she wiggled away from him.

“Oh, I’m looking forward to it,” she said smiling at him.

“Okay you two, we have to get going,” said Howie. “Everybody on the buses.” Andrea and Annie walked onto Nick’s bus and took a seat. They were very excited to be going to the concert tonight, since they missed the one last night. They were also excited because instead of sitting in the fifteenth row of the second section, they would be in the third row tonight.

“Now Annie, you have to be careful walking from the tour bus into the venue, I don’t want you to get pelted in the head with a flying object again,” Nick joked. “Seriously though, go really fast and stay right next to Marcus and Q, got it?”

“Yes sir!” Annie exclaimed, saluting Nick. “I promise…there is no way I am missing the concert tonight.”

A few minutes later the buses were pulling up to the venue. The barricades had not even been set up yet and there were no fans in sight. “It’s my lucky day I guess,” commented Annie as the doors to the bus opened. Annie walked off the bus, with Marcus on one side and Q on the other. Both her and Andrea made it into the venue without incident.

“I guess this is a sign of better things to come,” Andrea said smiling at her cousin.

“You better believe it,” Nick said coming up behind her. “It’s only going to get better from here.”