Chapter 21
OK, so now we had a huge problem and there was no easy way out of it. We’d have to do the time – six months of marriage. Six whole months of being married to him.
We walked out of the court feeling completely dejected. AJ made a quick phone call, then lit up a cigarette and inhaled deeply. As soon as that one was finished, he leaned against the building and lit up another. I resisted the urge to say something about his smoking habits, what was it to me!
“What are we going to do?” I asked, not really speaking to anyone, just needing to ask the question.
“Fuck knows” AJ said, flicking his cigarette end away into the bushes.
“Nice answer Alexander” I turned to face him, still pissed off with him.
“I thought so too, Stephanie” he glared at me, his deep brown eyes burning into me.
“Whatever” I said and spun away from him, stomping off down the steps.
“Wait” he said coming after me, grabbing hold of my arm and spinning me to face him “where do you think you’re going?”
“Well it’s obvious that I’m not going to get any sense out of you, so I’m going back to the hotel to pack. Then I’m going home” I told him, yanking my arm out of his grasp.
“Listen…I know I can act a real dick sometimes, and I’m sorry. We really do need to talk though” he said with sincerity.
“You’re right…you are a dick” I affirmed and he smiled.
“Come on, Paul will give us a ride back to the hotel” he said and I followed him to the waiting car.
“Hey guys” Paul said as we climbed in “bad news then?”
“Yep” we both said together
“OK” Paul said and kept his mouth shut the rest of the way, which was for the best really because I certainly didn’t want to talk about it with a total stranger.
When we arrived back at the hotel, all I wanted to do was go to my room and cry. Nothing had gone to plan. Why did that judge have to be such a bitch? Why couldn’t she just annul the damn marriage? And how were we going to work this out?
“Do you want to talk?” AJ asked softly, placing his hand on my arm.
“No. If you don’t mind, I’d just like to go to my room for a while” I replied and wiped away a tear which was beginning to form.
He placed his arms around me and pulled me close “don’t cry Steph” he said and placed a tender kiss on my head.
I pulled away a little and looked into his equally sad eyes “I’m sorry, I guess this wasn’t the best of days for either of us”
“You can say that again. Look, I really don’t think going to your room and sulking is the right answer, why don’t we get something to eat? If you want to sulk alone after that, then I won’t stop you” he asked, his lips curling up into a smile.
“I do not sulk” I retorted.
“Sure you do” he responded.
“Do not!” I said and laughed “OK…maybe a little”
“A little!” he laughed
“Come on, are we going to eat or stand around arguing all day?” I asked
“Lead the way Mrs McLean” he teased
“Uh” I groaned at his use of that name I hated.
“Where do you fancy eating?” he asked
“McDonalds” I replied, not in the mood for some fancy restaurant.
“Then let’s go” he said.
A little while later and we were tucking into burgers, fries and milkshakes at McDonalds, our worries pushed aside for the moment. The restaurant was relatively empty, which suited us just fine.
“So, you’re recording a new album then?” I asked after sitting in silence for a little while. I wasn’t all that familiar with the Backstreet Boys newer stuff, and was curious.
“Yeah, that’s the plan” he replied and sipped his milkshake.
“I don’t mean to be rude or anything, but you don’t really look like a member of a boy band” I admitted
“Man band” he corrected
“OK, man band” I conceded
“And what exactly should a member of a man band look like, in your opinion?” he teased
“Well…you know…kind of the pretty boy look” I replied
“Ah, like Nick or maybe like that Jason guy you fancy?” he asked
“I do not fancy him!” I snapped
“Oh really?” he asked
“Not anymore anyway” I admitted
“How come?” he questioned
“Let’s just say I was in love with an image. The man behind the image was a huge disappointment” I sighed
“You should never judge a book by its cover” he said shaking his head
“I know that now” I confessed and thought back to that disastrous date with Jason ‘self-obsessed’ Orange. There had been nothing there, no chemistry, no nothing.
“So I guess you have your answer about me” he simply said
“Guess so” I admitted
We finished our food and walked slowly back to the hotel, not really saying a lot, but just enjoying the silence. I still had no idea how we were going to work this out. Obviously we’d have to go to these marriage guidance sessions together, but would it matter where? Would I have to keep on coming over here, or would he be able to travel to England? These were questions I needed answers too, and something we were going to have to discuss in a civilised manner.
“Here we are then” he said when we got back to the hotel “feel like sulking?”
“No” I said and playfully elbowed him in the ribs.
“Well, I’m glad to hear that” he said
“But it’s been a long day and I’m knackered, so I think I’m going to head on up to bed” I told him
“OK, feeling pretty tired myself, didn’t get a lot of sleep last night” he grinned and winked at me.
I blushed at the memory of it.
“I’ll call you in the morning, maybe we can talk then?” I asked, changing the subject.
“It’s a date” he said and we went to our respective rooms.
What I really wanted to do was fall into bed and wake up to find out this was some twisted figment of my imagination, but what I actually did was call my friends and tell them all about it. Naturally, they were gutted for me. But Jess said that everything happens for a reason, and that things will work out for the best in the end. What crap had she been reading recently?
I eventually drifted off to sleep, surprisingly my dreams were empty and I awoke the following morning feeling refreshed and positive about life. This wasn’t the end of the world, it was a mere blip.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Here's the next bit, hope you like.
