The ‘little, quiet thang’ had become the most anticipated part of the concert. The guys just sat on stools and chatted for a bit. Then they did some songs. Then they chatted a bit more and then sang some more. The songs varied from concert to concert and so did the patter. It was all grist for the Internet mill and there was a race after every concert to be the first to post what the Boys had said and sung.
“So, howdy Atlanta. How’re you all doing tonight?” said Kevin. Cheers and applause. “Here we are in Brian’s hometown.” Roars of approval.
Brian nodded his appreciation to the crowd. “It’s good to be home,” he said, “back with the family.” The audience started to settle. Those who knew about this part of the show shushed the people around them. They didn’t want to miss a word.
“That’s one cute little gaffer you got there,” said Howie. Nods and murmurs of agreement came from the others.
“Thank you,” said Brian. “He’s my little man.” Awwww. How sweet! The audience sighed.
“So, uh, any of you guys do anything interesting today?” asked Kevin, looking from one to the next. “Get out and see some sights?”
AJ raised his hand, as if he were in school. “I went to a wedding,” he said, when Kevin acknowledged him with a nod.
“Okay, cool,” said Kevin.
Howie leaned into his microphone. “Me too. I gave the bride away.”
“Oh sure, Howie, always trying to top me, aren’t ya?” AJ laughed and made a face. A rustle went through the audience. Were they serious? What were they talking about? Whose wedding?
“I can top that,” said Brian, with a grin. “I was the best man.” The audience became very still. All eyes were on Nick. He was looking at the floor. They knew he was engaged but the wedding wasn’t supposed to happen until September, according to the rumors.
“Whoa. How about that? Can anyone top that? Can you, Nick?” Kevin smiled at his little brother.
The audience held its breath.
The smile started in one corner of his mouth and worked its way across his whole face. He looked down into the pit, where Abby stood between Leighanne and Kris. Nick nodded. “Yeah, I can,” he said quietly, his eyes locked on Abby’s. Suddenly, her eyes got huge as she saw her face along with Kristin and Leighanne’s on the big screen. Nick looked over his shoulder at it and then back down at her. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out his wedding ring. He slipped it back onto his finger. “I surely can.”
“Ladies and gentlemen, would you please join me in congratulating Mr. and Mrs. Nick and Abby Carter.” Kevin rose to his feet and started to applaud. AJ, Brian and Howie joined him. So did the whole audience. They screamed and stamped their feet. There were tears, of course, but it wasn’t like they didn’t know it was coming. Nick took it all in stride, nodding his thanks. Abby stood frozen, afraid to move in case she did something wrong. She wished the camera guy would move on to something else.
“The Internet will be humming tonight,” said Leighanne into Abby’s ear. She hugged her new ‘sister’ and so did Kris.
“We’re going to do a song now for the happy couple,” said Brian, as they settled back onto their stools. “Nick picked this out. It’s from our Black and Blue CD. You may remember it.” And he gave the downbeat for the intro to Yes, I Will.
The guys thought Nick had been funny about the song. They thought he would have picked I Promise You or maybe I Got You from his first solo album. They’d made a couple of other suggestions too. But Nick was adamant that it be this song. He didn’t tell them the real reason, which was that it only had the word ‘love’ in it twice, and Nick didn’t sing either of them.
During his solo part, Nick got up off his stool and took his microphone out of the stand. He walked to the edge of the stage and knelt down on one knee. He reached his hand out toward Abby. “As God is my witness, I will carry this through,” he sang. “’Til death do us part, I will promise to you…”
Abby opened her mouth to say ‘I love you’ but bit back the words in time. She covered her mouth and then sent a kiss in Nick’s direction. He caught it and sent one back, along with a look that made the women in the first ten rows squirm in their seats.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~“Do you want some champagne?” Nick gestured at the bucket on the table. They were in a suite at the Atlanta Hilton. Leighanne had continued her planning for them right down to the last moment. There was a bottle of champagne resting in an ice bucket, with a platter of fruit and cheese beside it. She had suggested chocolate-covered strawberries, but Nick had told her ‘no way’ on that one.
“Not really,” replied Abby. “It’s been a long day.”
“Yeah, I’m kinda tired too. But I’m sure a shower will pick me right up. I would have had one at the venue since it’s not an ‘on the bus’ night, but I wanted us to get away…to get here.” Nick picked up a bunch of green grapes and started popping them into his mouth one by one.
Abby nodded. She was going to learn his routines over the next few days, she guessed. Right now, she just wanted to be in his arms. “Give me five minutes and then the bathroom is all yours.”
Abby scrubbed off her makeup and brushed her teeth. She was so tired. She’d been up since dawn and the super-charged atmosphere of the day had drained all her energy. She’d better stay upright until Nick was finished his shower, she thought. If she lay down on the bed, she’d be asleep in seconds.
When Nick got into the shower, Abby put on the other item that she and Leighanne had purchased. ‘I know you won’t be wearing it long,’ Leighanne had said with a laugh, ‘but it’s important that you have it’. Abby hadn’t even bothered arguing with her. This was the woman, after all, who had talked her into buying a wedding dress. And besides, it was pretty. It was navy…Abby remembered the words of the Color Lady from Toronto. ‘Navy is in every woman’s palette. It is the one color that all women can wear.’ Navy satin. Full-length, thin straps, plunging neckline…really plunging…almost to her navel. Abby didn’t see how any woman with any endowment in the chest area could wear this. But she could!! She didn’t have to worry about anything popping out if she turned sideways.
Nick stood in the shower letting the hot water pour down on him. He leaned one hand on the back wall to hold himself up. God, he was tired. His whole body was numb. Touring took enough out of you. Throwing a life-altering experience into the middle of it, along with all the emotional shit that went with it, man, it just did you in.
But it was done. Nick smiled in satisfaction. It was done. His life was fixed. No more uncertainty. He never had to go on another date in his life. He never again had to make clever conversation in the hopes of getting laid. He never had to answer another question about his love life, other than to smile and mention his wife. He also had a perfect excuse for saying no. He didn’t have to worry about hurting anyone’s feelings by saying, no thanks, I think I’d like to keep it in my pants. He just had to say, I can’t, I’m married.
Nick had a feeling that none of those things were normal reasons for getting married. But he didn’t care. He was happy. He was settled. He wouldn’t have to wake up every morning with that queasy, uncertain feeling about what his day would bring. He could just get on with his music. He twisted his wedding ring with his thumb. Friends forever. That was the inscription Abby had put inside the ring. Friends forever. How perfect was that!
Nick suddenly realized that he had been standing with his eyes closed, almost asleep. His ‘friend forever’ was waiting for him to contem…consti… officially kick off this marriage. Nick shook his head to wake himself up and turned off the water.
He’s sure been in there a long time, thought Abby with a yawn. I wonder if he’s avoiding this. I wonder if he’s nervous. I wonder why he would be. I wonder if I should be. She gave her head a little shake. Hello, get a grip.
Abby sighed. She just wanted to go to sleep. Her body ached with fatigue. She had stood for the entire concert, in the pit at the foot of the stage, gazing up at them, the wall of sound behind her making it difficult at times to even hear them. Abby looked out the window at downtown Atlanta and resented everyone who was already asleep.
“Hey.” Softly. From behind her.
She turned. Nick stood there in a terrycloth robe, running a hand through his damp hair.
“Wow!” he said. The back of the gown had been very flattering, cut fairly low, but the front! Wow! This was sure going to be easy to get off. He stepped toward her. “Come here, Mrs. Carter,” he said. He was halfway through it when he yawned.
“Okay,” said Abby. Yawning is contagious and of course, she did it too.
“Well, we’re a couple of fireballs, aren’t we?” he asked, reaching out to touch her face.
“I’m really tired and I didn’t just put on a two-hour concert, so I can’t imagine how you must feel.” She stepped into his arms.
He held her against his chest and ran his hands down her back. Mmmm, was all he said.
“Would you like a massage?” she asked. “I could rub your back.”
“Nah, if you did that, I’d fall asleep,” Nick said.
“That’s okay, you know,” said Abby. “We’re under no obligation to consummate this thing tonight.”
Consummate! That was the word, thought Nick. He was sorely tempted. Oh, just to be horizontal and have her massage him into oblivion. That would be heaven. But he knew that there would be four leering brothers tomorrow making sly jokes about the ‘wedding night’ and he knew that he would blush and stammer anyway, but if it were a lie, they’d catch him out immediately.
He put his mouth on hers, hoping he wouldn’t yawn again. They kissed for a moment, just barely making contact, softly, tenderly. Then he ran his tongue lightly along her lips. She opened her mouth and did the same to him. Their tongues touched and caressed each other, slowly, languorously. They both sighed.
Abby was feeling no response from Nick’s groin area. She was torn. Should she slip her hands inside his robe and try and generate some interest? Or should she just back away and encourage him to go to sleep? The really tired part of her brain started chanting, ‘sleep, sleep, sleep…’ but her hand didn’t pay any attention. Abby slipped her right hand into his robe and caressed his chest. She kissed him softly on the sternum and waited.
Nick set her back from him. He reached out one long finger and ran it down Abby’s neck past her collarbones and down her chest to the point where the plunging neckline ended. She inhaled sharply. “This...” He paused. He wasn’t sure what to call it. Dress? Robe? Nightgown? “…is beautiful.” He decided to skip the word altogether. “But, if you don’t mind…” He slipped his thumbs under the straps and tugged them gently sideways. The navy satin fluttered to the floor.
Abby undid the belt of the robe and Nick shrugged it off his shoulders. Abby pulled back the covers and they climbed into bed together, moving around, settling in, snuggling together. Nick lay on his back with Abby nestled in the crook of his arm. They both closed their eyes for a few seconds and then blinked them open. No! They’d fall asleep. They began tracing their fingers over each other, slowly, randomly, the kind of thing they usually did when they were finished making love and were sliding down into sleep.
Their eyes drifted shut but their hands kept moving, drawing thrilling little lines. They both decided that if the other fell asleep, they would stop and be content. They would be happy to pick this up in the morning. But instead of cooling down fevered nerves, this time the stroking woke them up and made them hum with desire. They lay together in silence, until Abby did a fingernail thing from Nick’s neck to his groin and Nick reciprocated with a thumb down her spinal column and suddenly, neither wanted to sleep. They moved as one, Abby sliding under him and Nick shifting his body over her.
There was no need for more foreplay. Promising to be together forever in the presence of God and these witnesses, 20 000 of which had been screaming fans, was all the foreplay they needed.
“Marry me,” whispered Nick, as he positioned himself at her opening.
“Been there, done that,” said Abby with a grin that soon changed into a moaning sigh as he entered her body.
They scaled the heights together and when they reached the peak and sailed off the other side, Nick put his head down in her neck and cried, silent tears of fatigue and emotion and relief. Abby tipped her head back on her pillow, breathing heavily. She had a very intent look on her face. That was because she was in Myopia with Princess Penelope, who was in the castle treasury, searching among the piles of gold coin and priceless artifacts. The princess triumphantly raised a box, like a pirate chest, with a heavy, solid-looking key. And Abby knew that she had the place where she could store all the unsaid ‘I love you’s that she couldn’t say to Nick. She would lock them away in the vault forever. She held him tight and kissed his shoulder and mouthed ‘I love you’ into the night.
