Chapter 49
One year later
It was hard to believe how much had happened in the past year. Not only had I married AJ, whom I loved more and more with every passing day, but I’d also completed my list of ten things to do before I was thirty. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d accomplish half the list, never mind the whole list.
Shortly after arriving home from our idyllic honeymoon in Tahiti, AJ had asked me how I felt about road tripping across America in his tour bus. He said he understood that it might not be quite what I’d had in mind when I’d thought of a road trip, but I quickly silenced him with a kiss and told him it was perfect. Sharing a tour bus with my husband whilst he toured with the Backstreet Boys was way better than anything I could’ve come up with.
And so I’d gone on tour.
Being on the road was hard at times, we didn’t always have time to venture away from wherever they were playing, we were just going from bus to arena and then bus again. It could get a bit boring sometimes and so to ease the monotony, we bought a Wii and spent many hours competing against each other whilst on the road. But there were times when we had time to go off and do some sightseeing in between shows and that more than made up for it. We saw so many places and I couldn’t believe how diverse the landscape could be from state to state. It was beautiful.
“So here we are, back where it all began” he smiled when we arrived in Las Vegas.
“I cringe when I think of how horrible I was to you back then” I told him, remembering the way I was when he’d emerged from the bathroom and I’d been hoping for Jason Orange.
“Hey, I wasn’t exactly nice either” he admitted “I called you a bitch”
“I called you worse” I admitted
“Me too” he laughed
“And look at us now” I said and we both laughed. We may have started off all wrong, but love had found us eventually.
After the tour had finished, everyone went their separate ways. The plan was to take some time off and then get back into the studio to begin work on the next album.
“How about we take a trip to England” AJ said when we got home to Los Angeles “I know you must be dying to see your family and friends”
“Are you sure you don’t mind? I thought you must be sick of travelling by now and just want to chill here for a while” I asked, although I really did want to go home and see everyone. It had been so long.
“Steph, you’ve given up everything for me, I’d be a total bastard if I just sat around here and let you go alone. Besides, I want to go. You know how much I love England” he said.
We spent a couple of days relaxing at home, enjoying the peace and tranquillity of normal life. We did things couples do, like grocery shopping, walking hand in hand on the beach, hanging out with friends and then of course, our latest obsession…the Nintendo Wii. We spent hours and hours on that thing, I especially liked Just Dance, whilst AJ preferred Mario Kart.
We then flew to England.
“Y’know, I think it would be great to buy a place here” he mused as we sprawled out on the grass in Hyde Park on a gloriously sunny day about a week after we’d arrived.
“Really?” I asked, knowing that to me it would be perfect.
“Really” he said “you know I love London. We could spend a few months of the year in England and the rest of the time in LA. Sound good?”
In reply, I peppered his face with kisses.
“Is that a yes?” he grinned, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me on top of him.
“Yes!” I replied and leaned down to kiss him again, not caring if anyone was watching. There were plenty of other couples doing exactly the same thing no doubt!
And so a year after we’d got married, we found ourselves living part of the year in Los Angeles and the other part in a beautiful Victorian house in London. The boys had released another album which had been a huge success and they were in the process of planning another tour.
“You know, I was thinking about your list the other day” Alex said as we snuggled up in bed one morning.
“Mmm” I replied
“Yeah, I was thinking of a list of my own” he mused.
“And what would be on this list of yours?” I asked, leaning on my elbow to look at him.
“Oh the usual“ he said and I leaned back into the pillow “I’d like a number one album, to continue with the boys and to become a Dad”
I bolted upright, unsure I’d heard correctly.
“What was that last one?” I asked, leaning over and looking into his eyes.
“You heard me” he murmured “I’d love to be a Dad”
“Well then Mr McLean” I said seductively “how about we make that wish come true?”
He pulled me on top of him and knotted his hands in my hair, kissing me with everything he had.
“Are you sure? I know we haven’t exactly talked about starting a family or anything” he said breathlessly, pulling away for a moment to get my reaction.
“I’m sure” I replied with a grin “now shut up and kiss me”
“I’m going to do so much more than just kiss you” he rasped breathlessly “I love you so much Mrs McLean”
“I love you too Mr McLean” I replied
z88;
z88;
THE END
