1. Chapter 1 by elsabeth99
2. Chapter 2 by elsabeth99
3. Chapter 3 by elsabeth99
4. Chapter 4 by elsabeth99
5. Chapter 5 by elsabeth99
6. Chapter 6 by elsabeth99
7. Chapter 7 by elsabeth99
8. Chapter 8 by elsabeth99
9. Chapter 9 by elsabeth99
10. Chapter 10 by elsabeth99
11. Chapter 11 by elsabeth99
12. Chapter 12 by elsabeth99
13. Chapter 13 by elsabeth99
14. Chapter 14 by elsabeth99
15. Chapter 15 by elsabeth99
16. Chapter 16 by elsabeth99
17. Chapter 17 by elsabeth99
18. Chapter 18 by elsabeth99
19. Chapter 19 by elsabeth99
20. Chapter 20 by elsabeth99
21. Chapter 21 by elsabeth99
22. Chapter 22 by elsabeth99
23. Chapter 23 by elsabeth99
24. Chapter 24 by elsabeth99
25. Chapter 25 by elsabeth99
26. Chapter 26 by elsabeth99
27. Chapter 27 by elsabeth99
28. Chapter 28 by elsabeth99
29. Chapter 29 by elsabeth99
30. Chapter 30 by elsabeth99
31. Chapter 31 by elsabeth99
32. Chapter 32 by elsabeth99
33. Chapter 33 by elsabeth99
34. Chapter 34 by elsabeth99
35. Chapter 35 by elsabeth99
36. Chapter 36 by elsabeth99
37. Chapter 37 by elsabeth99
38. Chapter 38 by elsabeth99
39. Chapter 39 by elsabeth99
40. Chapter 40 by elsabeth99
41. Chapter 41 by elsabeth99
42. Chapter 42 by elsabeth99
43. Chapter 43 by elsabeth99
44. Chapter 44 by elsabeth99
45. Chapter 45 by elsabeth99
46. Chapter 46 by elsabeth99
47. Chapter 47 by elsabeth99
* Chapter 1 *
"Oh my gosh! I can’t believe that this is happening," I said in shock.
I was so surprised and excited when I saw Courtney, my little sister, standing at the door of my apartment this Thursday morning. When she rang the bell, I opened the door and she was standing there with a guy holding a mega-huge camera that said MTV on the side. I knew right away what they were here for.
"This is Bo and he is videotaping us to be on the Fanatic show for MTV," she said to me. "I sent them a tape explaining that you and I are totally in love with the Backstreet Boys. I told them about that one time where we dressed like them for Halloween because it was Nick’s favorite holiday. You dressed up like Nick and I was AJ. I also told them that you are almost 20 and you still have pictures of them all over your walls."
I was totally shocked. I mean, what could I say? After inviting them in, I didn’t know what to say so I looked square into the camera and said, "Well, I am a huge BSB fan. I would love to meet AJ, Nick, Bri, Kev, and D...especially AJ...he’s my personal favorite. I totally admire the boys for all of their dedication to their music, to their fans, and to themselves. If you guys are watching this, I would love to harmonize with you sometime. Oh, and I can’t believe that you all will be seeing me like this," I said looking sheepishly down at my sweats and red’n’white toe socks.
Just then the phone rang. "Hang on one minute while I get that. Ok?" I could feel the cameraman zoom in on me as I answered the phone. I instinctively looked up at the camera knowing it was recording, smiled, and then waved as I picked up the phone.
"Hello, Liz speaking. Oh hi Mel! What’s up? Yeah. Guess what my little sister did. No, she didn’t t.p. my apartment. She sent in a tape to MTV for FANatic about me!!! I know. I still can’t believe it myself. Yeah. This camera guy is here recording us too," I said giving little wave to the camera. "Uh huh. Well, I have to go, but I’ll call you later. Ok. Love ya tonz! Bye."
Mel is one of my best friends. She knows exactly when to call to talk. She is very understanding. I just got out of bed, so I politely told the cameraman that he could have a seat on the couch while I went and got dressed. I heard him say thank you as I headed to my room. Oh my gosh! What should I wear? Well, I don’t think it will matter since I’m going to be flying (I hope) to see them. I put on some faded blue carpenter pants and a purple baby tee with a glittery butterfly logo. I brushed my long blond hair and pulled it into a loose ponytail. I quickly put on some make-up and walked down the hallway.
"So Bo, what is the plan?" I asked excitedly.
"Well, we will go get into the limo for a ride to the airport. You and your sister will enjoy a flight to Florida courtesy of MTV. A limo will pick you up at the airport there and take you to the hotel that you will be staying at. Since your plane is going to land there later tonight, you will go to your hotel and have a good night’s rest. I’m not sure what time, but tomorrow, a limo will pick you up and take you to the studio or wherever to meet the guys. The interview will be the next day after that. So, are you really excited or what?" Bo asked.
"I am sooo totally psyched! I can’t wait!"
* * *
"I can’t believe this is happening," I screamed in delight as we drove down the freeway towards to airport with Bo still recording.
I turned on the stereo and popped in a CD. We both started yelling the words to ‘I Wanna Be With You.’ We were having the time of our lives! I screamed again as the limo came to a stop at the passenger drop-off gate.
"Thank you so much," I said to the driver. "I appreciate it a lot."
"Well you are very welcome," replied the driver as he waved good-bye. "Have a great time."
We grabbed our stuff from the trunk and took off towards the gate. We walked what seemed like forever until we finally got to the right gate. We said good-bye to Bo, who would be traveling on a private jet. After checking in at the desk, we went on to the plane and found our seats.
"Hey Court. Can I have the window seat?" I begged as we stepped into the first class section where we were going to be sitting.
"Sure, but I get it on the way back," she said.
As Court got her seat belt on and got comfortable, I opened the window shade. I couldn’t help but wonder exactly what she had put on that tape. I sure hope she didn’t go into my room and show them all the posters on my walls...or the box of BSB merchandise...or my BSB CD collection.
"So, what exactly did you put in that tape that you sent to MTV?" I prodded.
She just gave me that ‘why-should-I-tell-you’ look. The suspense was killing me!
"Well, if I told you then I’d have to kill you," she said with a giggle.
"Aaaww, come on!" I pleaded.
"Ok, ok. Well, since you gave me a key to your apartment for emergencies, I went over when you were at work. I got a friend of mine to go with me and we went and I explained who I was and what I was doing. After that, we went into your room and taped the billions of pictures on your walls. Remember when I told you that I needed you to make up a dance for my PE class? Well, I kinda lied about that. I put that dance on the tape as well because it was from a BSB song. We also inventoried all of your BSB stuff including CD’s and stuff," Court said. "You aren’t mad are you?"
"Uhhhh. Well, I was kind of hoping that you wouldn’t put those things on there, but since I’m going to meet them, I guess I can’t really be mad," I explained.
"That’s good," she said as she turned back to reading the book that she had gotten out earlier.
Since I had already seen the on-board movie (Armageddon), I laid my head back and dozed off.
* Chapter 2 *
"Liz! Liz! Wake up!" Courtney whispered loudly in my ear. "We’re here!"
"Sorry. We’re here already? How long was I out?" I asked in a slightly groggy voice.
"I’m not sure exactly how long you were asleep, but you missed dinner and your favorite movie," she said as we got our bags out of the overheard compartment.
"Oh. That would explain why I’m kind of hungry."
"We can get you something when we get off of the plane. I’m sure they have better food in the airport than they do on the planes," Court said as we walked down the aisle to the front exit door of the plane.
As we walked out of the plane gate, we walked down the hallway and noticed a cute little taco shop. We quickly made our way to the shop and I ordered for the both of us while Court found us some seats. I ordered two hard tacos and two bean burritos and waited for our food. I grabbed our food and made my way to where she was sitting. The food smelled so good and we were so hungry that we scarfed it down in like 5 minutes. We hurriedly threw our trash away and made our way towards where the signs said the baggage claim would be.
"Liz! Courtney! HEY LIZ!" I heard someone scream towards us.
I whirled around, but couldn’t see anyone that I knew. I instinctively walked a few feet more and to my surprise, I saw AJ waving at me! Oh my gosh! Was he really waving at me?!? I turned around to see if anyone else responded, but everyone around me just kept on walking the other way. He really was waving at me.
"Look who’s waving at me!" I said as I grabbed Court’s arm and pointed. "Look!"
We hurried over to where AJ was standing. He quickly introduced himself and explained that Nick, Bri, Kev and D were out in the limo waiting for us. He said that he knew who we were because the MTV execs gave them the tape that Court made. I blushed so much when he told us that. We talked as we swiftly moved towards the baggage claim. I still couldn’t believe that this was happening.
"Hey AJ. Would you pinch me?" I asked sort of jokingly.
I shouldn’t have said that because when I wasn’t expecting it, he reached over and pinched my arm.
"Ouch!" I complained. "I was only kidding!" AJ and Court both laughed at my whining.
"Would you like some cheese with that whine?" Court said. This statement made AJ totally crack up.
"Better be careful what you ask for," warned AJ in an old wise guy voice.
"Raspberry!" I exclaimed as I stuck my tongue out at both of them.
"Well fine! Be that way!" he said rather sarcastically as he lifted his purple tinted sunglasses and gave me a funny look back.
"Fine, I will!" I said as I lightly smacked him on the arm.
"Ouch!" he said as we all laughed.
We quickly walked over to where the elevators were and patiently waited for one to get to the floor we were on. The elevator dinged so we knew it was there. It took us a few seconds to pile onto the elevator with all of our stuff trailing behind us. I couldn’t help but pick at the side of the elevator because I was so nervous. AJ sure seemed to be enjoying himself as he hummed along to the music that played in the background. When the elevator opened on the floor that we needed, we scooped up our stuff and headed to the curb where the passengers (that’s us) were to be picked up.
"Wow!" I said softly as the double stretch limo pulled up in front of us. "Is this for us?!?"
"Yep," AJ replied as he walked around to the driver’s door and asked him to pop the trunk.
Just as I was about to say something to Court, the sunroof of the limo opened. Out popped Nick, Bri, and Kev. I smiled at them as I lugged my stuff to the back and hurled it into the trunk. Court did the same.
"Hi guys. Where’s D?" I asked.
"He’s in here with us. The sunroof isn’t big enough for the four of us," Nick said while he watched us.
After we got all of our stuff into the trunk, AJ opened the door for us. What a gentleman, I thought to myself. I waited for Court to get in and then I followed her. AJ then got in and shut the door behind him.
"Guys, this is Liz," he said pointing to me. "And this is her sister Courtney."
"Hi," they all said in unison.
"This is so cool! This morning Bo said that we wouldn’t be seeing you until tomorrow, so I was totally not expecting for you to pick me up here!" I said nervously.
"Well, we actually got a call from MTV about the plans, so we asked them what time you two were flying in. We didn’t exactly have any plans so we all decided to surprise you," Howie said smiling.
"I really appreciate you all doing this just for me!" I exclaimed.
"That’s what we’re here for," Brian said jokingly.
"Do you guys mind if I call a friend of mine? She made me promise her that I’d call when I got off the plane," I said.
"I think we need to huddle on this one, guys," Kev said sarcastically. They all leaned in and pretended to talk about it. I could see that they were trying to make me feel as comfortable as possible. This attempt at humor made me relax a little bit.
"We, as a group, have found that the party in question, that’s you, should be granted her request," Nick said authoritatively.
I giggled and then said, "The party in question thanks you very much," as Kev reached over and handed me the phone.
"You guys don’t mind if it’s long distance do you?" I asked. I looked up to see them shaking their heads.
"I don’t think we should mind, since it’s going to be on MTV’s tab in MTV’s limo," said AJ as he smiled. I quickly dialed the number and waited while the phone rang. I could feel all eyes on me as I looked out the window while waiting for Mel to pick up the phone.
"Hello. Mel speaking." I was relieved to hear Mel’s voice on the other end of the line.
"Hey Mel! It’s me. We made it," I said as everyone in the limo laughed at a joke Nick had just told.
"Wait a sec. Who is that in the background?!? Is that them?" she asked excitedly.
"Yes! Can you believe it? I wish you could be here too! You would love this. Hang on ok?" I said. I put my palm over the receiver and asked if everyone would say hi to Mel. They all agreed as I held up the phone.
"Hi Mel," they all said.
"Isn’t that cool? Uh huh. Yeah. I’ll take pictures and stuff for ya. Yeah. Well, I’m calling on MTV’s tab so I don’t think I should run the bill up too high. I’ll call you from the hotel, ok?" I asked.
"Ok," she said. "I’ll be waiting for your call!"
"Ok. Love ya. Bye-bye," I said before I hung up the phone.
"That was quick," AJ said jokingly. "I would have been on the phone for forever!"
"I told her I’d call her later from the hotel," I explained.
"She was so excited. And she’s not even here!" I whispered in Court’s ear.
"Hey, hey! No secrets in this limo!" exclaimed Brian in a funny voice. "Spill the news."
"Well, she said that she wishes she were here and she wants me to take lots of pictures. That is if it’s ok with you guys," I said with a hopeful voice.
"I think we can come to some kind of compromise," Nick said as he pulled out a disposable camera and snapped a candid picture.
"Wait! Let us at least pose!" I said as both Court and I looked at Nick and made funny faces. Everyone laughed as he took a picture of us and then told us all to scrunch in so he could take another picture.
"Let’s take another one when we get out at the hotel so we can all fit in," said Nick while he put the camera back into the pocket of his warm-ups jacket and adjusted the bill of his hat. That’s what he wears when he doesn’t want to be recognized in public.
* Chapter 3 *
"Thank you so much for picking us up at the airport," I said as all of us walked into the lobby of the hotel.
"Wait a sec," Nick said. "We didn’t get our other group picture. Let’s take it over there by that low front desk. Some of us can sit on the desk so we will all fit in the picture."
We walked over to the front desk and set our bags down. Nick asked the desk clerk if he would take the picture. The clerk said yes so Nick handed him the camera. Nick, AJ, and Bri hopped onto the counter and the rest of us got into position. In the front row were Kev, Court, Howie, and I. Nick was sitting behind Kev and me, AJ was sitting behind Court and me, and Bri was sitting behind Court and Howie.
"Smile everyone," said the desk clerk. We all smiled while he took the picture.
"Let’s take another one," I said. "Let’s make this one silly."
The clerk was going to start counting down to take the picture, so I reached behind me and grabbed AJ’s glasses. I could hear him chuckle as I slid them on. Right before the clerk got to five (instead of three), AJ leaned down and kissed me on the cheek so that it would be in the picture. Howie did the same with Court. I was so shocked! Mel was going to totally freak when she saw these pictures! Court looked at me with that ‘what-in-the-heck-just-happened’ look. I knew exactly what she was thinking. We both started giggling.
We said thank you to the desk clerk and told him that we needed to check into our rooms. He took our names and then gave us the key cards to our suites. I was so happy that we got separate rooms. After all, we have spent most of our lives sharing a room.
"It’s getting kind of late, so we’ll let you girls go upstairs and get your sleep," Kev said as he walked over and gave us both hugs and kisses on the cheek. The other ‘boys’ did the same as we said our good-byes.
"What time do we need to be ready tomorrow?" I asked curiously.
"Well, I’m not really sure, but we’ll call the hotel and have them give you a wake up call. Ok?" asked AJ.
"That sounds great. Just don’t have them call at like 5 in the morning," I said sarcastically.
"Sounds like a plan," Court said as we headed up the grand staircase to where the elevators were.
"Bye guys," I turned back and said before I followed her up the stairs.
"I still feel like I’m dreaming," I said after the elevator door closed.
"Me too," Court replied.
When we got to our floor, we walked down the hall to find our rooms. My room number was 269 and Court’s was 270. We opened the door to my room and walked in. Wow! The room was split into two levels, separated by a few steps. As we walked in and turned on the lights, I could see on the lower level that there was a huge bed off in one corner and a Jacuzzi in another. On the upper level there was a couch and table along one wall and a little breakfast nook with a sink, stove, and a few cabinets on the other. I slowly walked over to where the bathroom was and found a huge counter with two sinks. I went through a small sliding door to find the shower and the toilet.
"Wow! This place is huge! This is great. I wish Mel could be here," I said as I wandered over to the couch and sat down. "I noticed that they even brought our stuff up for us. I bet your room looks sort of like this one."
I motioned for Court to sit down on the comfy couch, so she walked over and sat down. We sat for a few minutes thinking about what had just happened.
Court got up and said, "I’m tired, so I’m going to go to my room and go to bed. I am so exhausted. Call me in the morning when you get up. Oh, and don’t forget to call Mel."
"I was just thinking about calling her, so I won’t forget. I guess I’ll see ya in the morning then," I said to Court before she went out the door.
I reached over to the little table stand that sat next to the couch and grabbed the phone. I slowly dialed Mel’s number and waited patiently while it rang. It rang four times and then the answering machine came on.
"Hi. You have reached Mel’s place. You just missed me. Leave your name, number and time you called and I’ll get back to you as soon a possible," the machine said.
"Hi Mel. This is Liz. We are here at the hotel and I’m sitting on the couch that’s in my room. This place is so huge! I wish you could be here. I have some exciting news to tell you so give me a call at the Marriott Hotel in Orlando. You can use my calling card that I gave you before I left. Ask for my room and they should connect you. Love ya and toodles!" I said before I hung up the phone.
Just as I set the phone down, it rang again. ‘That was weird,’ I thought as I picked up the phone.
"Hello," I said in a questioning voice.
"Hey there. Did you get settled in?" said the boyish voice on the other end of the line.
"Is this Nick?" I asked with curiosity.
"Yeah. How is the room? We stayed in that hotel once. It was when we first started out, so we didn’t have billions of fans following us around," he explained.
"The room is great. I bet that you wouldn’t mind being like that again, not having fans follow you around and pulling out your hair," I said as we both laughed at my comment.
"So, does Liz really like us that much?" he asked in an egotistical way.
"Huh? What do you mean?" I asked.
"This is Courtney, right?" he asked persistently.
"Duh! Anyway, I do know that she listens to your music a lot. She totally adores AJ and she really respects you guys," I said. I sure hoped he couldn’t tell that it was me posing as Court.
"Well, I just wanted to make sure you were comfortable in your room. Maybe we can go dancing or to a club tomorrow night or something," Nick said in a hopeful voice.
"Sure, I’ll talk to Liz. I’m pretty sure that she’ll want to go too, if that’s ok with you," I said.
"That’s fine with me," he said.
"So it’s a plan then?" I asked.
"Yeah. We can talk more about it tomorrow," he said.
"Do you have a phone number that I can contact you with?" I asked.
"Yeah. Hang on. I’ll give you the number to my cell phone," he said as he fumbled with something in the background.
He gave me the number, we said our good-byes and hung up. ‘How am I supposed to tell Court that Nick has a thing for her? What have I gotten myself into?’ I thought to myself. I have to think of a way to tell Court that she will be going out with a Backstreet Boy tomorrow night. I thought about what to do until my head hurt. I took some Tylenol and headed to bed.
* Chapter 4 *
Riiiiiinnnnnnnnnnggggggg. Riiiiinnnnnnnggggggggg. I woke up to the phone ringing on the table by my bed. I sleepily stretched out my hand and grabbed it.
"Hello," I said in a slightly groggy voice.
"Hello, hello. Ooohhhhhhhh Sugar, sugar. Da da da da da da. Aaaaaawwww honey, honey. Da da da da da da. You are my candy girl and you’ve got me wanting you," I heard someone sing on the other end.
"I’m guessing that this is my wake-up call," I said into the phone.
"It sure is," Kev said in a deep voice. "Can both of you be ready in about an hour?"
"Sure. Thanks for waking me up. I wouldn’t have gotten up otherwise," I said before I hung up the phone.
I slowly got up from the bed and went over to the closet. I opened the door and got out my favorite faded wide-leg jeans and a white fitted button up shirt. This was my favorite outfit. I loved wearing it. I pulled the Pantene Pro-V out of my bag that was on the floor of the medium-sized closet by the bed. After I set my clothes down on the counter, I turned on the water in the shower so it would be warm when I got in. After a refreshing shower, I quickly got dressed and sat on the couch by the phone as I put on socks and my favorite black big-soled shoes. When I was done, I picked up the phone and dialed Court’s room number. After it rang a few times, she answered.
"Hello?" she said.
"Hi Court. Sleep ok?" I asked.
"Yeah. This bed is really comfy. I didn’t want to get up yet, but I got a very interesting phone call from Howie, except I think he thought I was you. He told me that Nick said this was your room," she said.
"Actually, Nick did call here last night and he thought that I was you. I didn’t tell him because I didn’t want to totally embarrass the boy! He called to ask you if you wanted to go dancing or clubbing. Don’t worry! I told him yes and also said that I wanted to come too. Do you think he’ll invite someone along for me?!?" I asked with curiosity.
"Why would he do that?" she said sarcastically.
"Because I’m so adorable!" I replied as we both laughed at each other’s comments.
"Well, Kev said that we need to be ready in about an hour. Ok?" I asked.
"Ok. Kev called you! I wish Kev would’ve called me," she whined.
"Isn’t he a little old for you?" I asked as I stood up.
"Well, yeah. He is. Anyway, I’ve got to get dressed. Talk to you later," she said.
"Ok. Bye," I replied before I hung up the phone.
I walked over to the counter and found my make-up and hair stuff. I pulled my long blond hair into a sleek bun and put a scrunchy around it. As I was putting my foundation on, I thought about what was going to happen today. When I finished with the foundation, I noticed that there was something missing. I walked over to the closet and pulled out my Discman and portable speakers and grabbed a few CD’s. I picked out my favorite BSB CD and put it in the CD player. After turning it on to play, I went back to putting my make-up on. ‘That’s better,’ I thought to myself as I hummed along with ‘That’s the Way I like It’. I finished putting on my make-up, so I got up and went over to get my curling iron out of my bag. After all, I had to look nice for the boys. After pulling it out of the bun, I blow dried my hair, brushed it and quickly curled the ends so it curled under when I left it hanging down on my back. I liked it that way the most. Just as I heard my favorite part of the song play on the stereo, the phone rang. I let it ring a few times so I wouldn’t miss the best part of the song.
"Hello," I said into the phone receiver.
"Hey there," said the raspy voice at the other end of the line. "So, how is everything?"
"Everything here is great. The room is sooo huge and the bed is totally comfortable. This is more than I could have ever dreamed of," I replied.
"That’s good. I’m glad. Hey! That’s my song," he said about the music in the background. "Gotta listen to the groove and you’ve gotta listen well. The way I do it. Yeah," he sang along with the music.
"I love this song, but it’s not my favorite. I’d have to say it’s maybe my second favorite though," I said.
"Really? What’s your favorite then?" he asked curiously.
"My favorite song that you guys sing is 10,000 Promises. I fell in love with it the first time I heard it. It doesn’t really have any special meaning to me...I just think that the music is pretty," I replied.
"Really? That’s my favorite too," AJ said sort of surprised. "It’s really a great song."
"That is so cool!" I said enthusiastically.
"Yeah. Anyway, I was calling to ask if you would like to go dancing or clubbing with me tonight," he said in a rather hopeful voice.
"You know what? I would totally love to!" I replied.
"Good. Nick and your sister will be coming along too, if that’s ok with you," he said.
"That’s fine with me," I said as I played with my hair nervously.
"Great! I guess I’ll see you later then. Take care," he said before we exchanged good-byes.
I looked at my watch and it said that the time was 8 am. It was about 7:30 when Kev called, so that meant we had about 30 minutes ‘til our ride would be here. I decided to call Court up and see if she was ready to go down to the lobby. I called and she said she was ready so she met me in the hallway. We made our way to the elevator and I pushed the button to go down. When it reached our floor, we both got on the deserted elevator. I pushed the button that indicated we wanted to go to the bottom level.
"What do you think we’ll be doing today?" I asked Court curiously.
"I’m not sure. I hope we do something really fun though," she said in reply as we heard the elevator ding. We walked down the grand staircase, then out into the lobby and waited for a few minutes. There was no sign of our ride yet, so I told Court that I was going over to the little breakfast that they had set up in the lounge on the side of the lobby. I walked over to a basket of fruit and picked out a banana and motioned Court to see if she wanted anything. She shook her head so I made my way back to where she was standing. I suggested that we sit while we waited, so we walked over and sat on a couch facing a painting on the opposite wall from the front desk.
"Do you think we will do any shopping? I want to go and look for some cool stuff," I said after a few minutes to Court while she looked at a magazine that was on the coffee table in front of us. I peeled my banana and ate it in a hurry. Hey! I was really hungry!
"I don’t know Elsa. That would be fun though. What kind of stuff would you be looking for?" she asked in reply as I pulled my hair up into a bun and put a scrunchy around it.
"Well, I need to find something cool for Mel and I want to find some really cool sunglasses and maybe some Doc’s as well. I desperately need new ones. I want some glasses like the ones AJ had yesterday. Maybe I should just steal them from him!" I said sarcastically.
"I heard that!" a voice whispered in my ear from behind the couch.
I jumped up in surprise and covered my mouth so I wouldn’t yell ‘cause I didn’t want to get into any trouble with the hotel. I turned around and there was AJ leaning on the back of the couch that we were sitting on.
"AJ! You scared me half to death!" I exclaimed.
"Gotcha!" was all he said in reply.
Right then, I made a decision that this was war! What could I do to get him back? ‘Ah! I’ve got it!’ I thought to myself.
"Whatever," I said halfheartedly before I turned back around, winked at Court so she knew what was going on, and pretended to pass out. I closed my eyes slowly and fell back on the couch. I lay there for a few minutes while AJ was trying to figure out what happened. I think he literally thought he scared me to death! What a hoser!
"What happened?" he asked Court in a panicked voice.
"You scared her," she said in reply. "This happens a lot. You have to whisper something into her ear to get her to wake up," she added to go along with my plan. She knew exactly what I was going to do.
"Really?" he asked in a disbelieving voice. "That’s weird," he said as he shrugged his shoulders.
He bent down close to my ear and then whispered ‘Come on Liz. It’s time to go. You’re going to make us late.’ He waited for a reaction, but none came so he whispered it again.
Before he pulled his head away this time, I whispered, "Gotcha!" in his ear as I tickled his stomach. He laughed a little to himself then helped me up from the couch.
"This is war!" he exclaimed.
This made me laugh a little. I looked at Court.
"Duh!" Court and I both said in unison.
"Well, Homer Simpson to you too!" he exclaimed.
"Huh? Oh, no. That’s doh!" I said as I hit Court in the forehead like Homer does.
"Oh. Sorry," he said as he gave me with that ‘innocent-school-boy-that-didn’t-do-anything-wrong’ look. He knew that wasn’t working so he cracked a smile.
Court saw this and she couldn’t help but to laugh out loud. Court noticed that she was the only one laughing, so she walked over and tickled me in the side until I laughed too.
"Pass it on Elsa," she said.
I walked over to AJ and tickled him until he laughed uncontrollably.
"Pass it on AJ," I said imitating Court.
They both busted up at my impression of her and AJ grabbed my wrist.
"Pass it on," he said.
I grabbed Court’s arm while AJ led us out to where the limo was. AJ got in first, followed by me, and then Court.
"That was fun. Did you see the people walking in? They were giving us funny looks," I said as I tried to make a face like the ones they were making at us. "That was really great!"
"I don’t mind it when people look at me weird," AJ said. "I get weird looks all the time."
"I’m sure you do with that purple hair of yours," I said jokingly. "Hey, where is the stereo in this thing?"
"It’s right over there. Put in some good music," Court said.
I pulled my CD case out of my small backpack and flipped through it backwards. I took a few seconds to think about each CD as I looked through them. Shania Twain...nope. Britney Spears...nope. TLC...nope. Lenny Kravitz...nope. Len...nope. Smash Mouth...nope. Sugar Ray...nope. Goo Goo Dolls...nope. Tim McGraw...nope. Faith Hill...nope. Millennium...nope. Then I came across the CD that I put together. It had my favorite songs on it. I took it out of the case, popped it into the CD player, and pushed play. While I waited for it to start, I opened the sunroof and stood up. I motioned for the others to do the same. AJ declined, fearing it would mess up his hair. Court jumped up and we both blurted out the words to ‘Roll With It’ as it played in the CD player. AJ thought this was funny, so he started laughing at us. I ducked my head back into the limo and gave him with a questioning look.
"What are you laughing at?" I asked.
"You two act like you’ve never been in a limo before," he replied.
"Actually, Elsa and I had never been in a limo until yesterday," Court replied.
We both sat back down in the limo and I closed the sunroof. We listened as Christina Aguilera played through the speakers. After the song was over, we waited for the next song to play. Out of nowhere, I started singing the Mr. Rogers theme song to myself. It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood, a beautiful day for a neighbor. Won’t you be mine? Won’t you be mine? That’s what came out and then I stopped. All eyes were on me.
"What was that about?" Court asked.
"Don’t know. Just sort of came out," I said giggling.
"You know what? You’ve got a really nice voice," AJ said to me in a very serious way.
"Thank you. By the way, where are we headed?" I asked curiously.
"Yeah. Where are we going?" Court chimed in.
"Actually, we are heading to the Jive records buildings right now. We will meet the other guys there and we, the guys, might give you a tour of the studio. We might even do some recording or something. After that, it’s basically up to you two," AJ explained.
"Awesome! I can’t wait," I said enthusiastically. Court and I looked at each other. "Shopping!" we both said excitedly.
"Sure. Whatever you want. Maybe a few of us will come with you and show you some parts of town too," AJ said. "There are tons of cool shops around. You just have to know where to look."
This is so exciting. I get to go and see where THE Backstreet Boys go for business. Ah! We might do some recording! I am totally stoked. Maybe I can do a song with them or something. I wonder if we’ll see anyone else there. Britney Spears works for the same label. So does *N Sync. I wonder. My thoughts were interrupted when I heard AJ singing along with Lenny Kravitz’s version of ‘American Woman’. I thought that was so cute, so I turned up the music a little bit. I started singing along with him quietly. I sang the harmony to myself while he sang the melody.
"You sound great. Sing louder!" AJ said to me.
"Thanks. I’m kind of intimidated by you. I’m just not used to singing in front of, ya know, strangers," I replied timidly.
"Hi. My name is Alexander James McLean," he said as he stuck out his hand so I could shake it. After I shook his hand, he smiled and said, "There. We’re not strangers anymore. Now sing!"
I looked at Court and gave her a ‘what-in-the-heck-is-he-saying’ look. She took one look at me and started laughing.
"What?" I asked her.
"Nothing. You are just too funny," she said.
I shrugged my shoulders and gave her a ‘whatever’ look and continued singing, only louder this time.
"That’s better," AJ said sarcastically. "I’ll look you right straight in the eye, tell you what I’m gonna do. I’m gonna leave you woman. You know I gotta go. I’m gonna leave you woman. I gotta go. I gotta go," he sang.
As I was listening to the ending of the song, AJ moved over to sit on the seat that was facing us. He reached over to where the little fridge was and pulled out a couple of waters. He handed both Court and I one and then got one out for himself. I told him thank you and guzzled it down.
"We’re almost there. Getting excited yet?" he asked.
"Yes. Lots!" I replied.
* Chapter 5 *
We all hopped out of the limo after it pulled up in front of the famous record company. AJ led us to the doors and opened the door for us like he did last night. He pointed over to a small conference room on one side of the lobby and told us to go in there and have a seat. We went into the room and took some seats at the big oak conference table. After a few minutes of waiting, Nick walked in. He told us he was going to take a picture of us sitting there so we posed while he snapped a picture with the same disposable camera as the night before. He put the camera back in the pocket of his baggy jeans and sat down in the chair at the opposite end of the table.
"So, ladies, how is everything going today?" Nick asked.
"Everything so far is great. I can’t wait for whatever is going to be happening today," I said.
"The ride over here was kind of interesting," Court said as she laughed.
"And why is that?" Nick asked.
"I can’t explain. Just had to be there I guess," she replied.
"Whatever," I said to her as she made a funny face at me. I made one back at her, which just made her laugh even more.
"What’s going on in here?" Bri said as he walked in. "It sounds like you are torturing them with your lame jokes Nick."
Nick gave Bri one of those ‘you-just-hurt-my-feelings’ looks with his baby blue eyes as Bri sat down at the other end of the table. Nick looked kinda sad so I reached over and poked him in the side. He wasn’t expecting that, so he gave a cute little yelp in surprise. I gave Court an ‘oh-my-gosh’ look and we both started laughing hysterically. We looked at Nick and made funny faces at him, which made him laugh too.
"You guys are weird this morning!" Bri said to us. "What did AJ give you?"
"I heard that!" AJ said as he walked into the room, gave Bri a look over his sunglasses, and sat in the chair across the table from me and next to Nick. "I only gave them water," he said innocently.
"Probably sugar water!" we heard Kev say under his breath as he walked in and sat down next to AJ.
I was laughing so hard that my stomach hurt. I put my head down on the table and just sat that way for a few minutes while I recuperated. Everyone must have thought that something was wrong because after a few minutes, the room was quiet.
"Is she ok?" I heard Howie ask as he walked in, shut the door, and leaned up against the wall between the door and Bri. "She looks dead."
I slowly lifted my head and stuck my tongue out at D and said, "Raspberry!" in a cute little girl way.
Howie giggled and shrugged as I put my head back down on the table. I could hear Court hum something, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on what it was. After a few notes, I could hear AJ start humming with her. Pretty soon, I heard Howie and Nick bust out in the words. ‘Didn’t make sense not to live for fun. Your brain gets smart, but your head gets dumb. So much to do, so much to see, so what’s wrong with taking the back streets?’
I lifted my head up and said, "Absolutely nothing!"
Everyone laughed at my comment as I smiled and then set my head back down on the table, but this time I lay my cheek down on my arm like I was going to sleep. I closed my eyes and listened to what was going to happen.
"Where’s the bathroom," I heard Court whisper to Bri.
"Uh. You go down the hall and then turn the corner. Go to the end of the hall and take a left. It’s like the third door on the right," he explained in a whisper.
Court gave Bri a confused look.
"Forget it. I’ll show you. Follow me," he said. "We’ll be right back."
I looked up before they left the room and sarcastically said, "Don’t have too much fun without us!"
"Funny Elsa," Court said in an annoyed voice before the door shut behind her.
I put my head back down on my arm and closed my eyes. I could hear someone moving around, but I just figured they were going to go out of the room or something. Just when I wasn’t expecting it, someone tickled me in my side. I looked up and saw that it was Howie, who had moved over and sat down in Court’s seat.
"What was that for?" I asked him matter-of-factly.
"You just looked too comfortable," he replied with a smile. "I couldn’t resist!"
Just as D said that, Nick reached over and tickled me on my other side.
"Stop!" I said as I laughed. This only made them want to tickle me more. I laughed while I wriggled out of my chair and rolled on the floor with both Nick and D still tickling me.
"It’s a conspiracy!" I said between big breaths.
"You two should let the poor girl get some air," AJ said.
"Thanks," I hollered.
Just then, the door flung open and Britney Spears walked in and took the seat where Bri had been sitting before.
"Hi peeps. I heard someone laughing so I figured there was a party going on in here," she said. "We can’t be having a party without me."
"Whatever Britney," Kev said under his breath in an annoyed voice. "Actually we are kind of busy right now. Sorry. No party," he said rather annoyed.
"Oh. Well in that case, I have more important things to do," she said as she got up from the table and opened the door. "Don’t have too much fun without me," we heard her say in a really cheesy voice as she walked out of the room.
"Don’t worry!" AJ said as he made a face at the door after it was shut again. "We will!"
Nick and D had stopped tickling me so I got back up, readjusted my now lopsided shirt and sat in the chair that I was in before.
"What a snot!" I said. "Is she always like that?"
"Yeah, pretty much," Nick said.
"So, what is this whole Elsa thing?" Kev asked with curiosity.
"It’s just one of my nicknames. When I was in High School, before I moved, one of my friends was walking a ways behind me in the main hall at school, which is always busy. She was trying to get my attention, but she kinda forgot my name so she yelled ‘Elsabeth’ instead of Elizabeth. After that, my friends just started calling me Elsa," I explained.
"It’s kind of a cool name," Nick said. "Elsa," he said like he was thinking to himself.
Just as Nick said that, the door opened again and Court and Bri walked back in laughing. Court sat down in Bri’s chair, so Bri stood where D was standing before.
"Hey Elsa, guess who we just saw in the hallway?" Court asked.
"Umm...let me guess...Britney Spears?" I asked.
"Yeah. How did you know?" she asked.
"Cause she came in here and thought we were having a party, but Kev burst her little ego bubble and told her that we weren’t. Then she left," AJ said in an evil voice.
"Good for you," Bri said as he walked over and gave AJ a high five. "You should’ve told her that we were having a huge party, but that she wasn’t invited. That would’ve been funny."
"Anyway, does anyone know what’s going on? Are we actually going to do anything today?" I asked rather curiously.
"That’s a secret," I heard Nick say quietly as he gave me an ‘I-know-something-that-you-don’t’ look that made me laugh. "We could tell ya, but then we’d have to kill ya."
"Fine then," I said between giggles. "Bang!" I shouted as I held up my hands like I had a gun. "You’re dead!"
He played along, making gagging sounds as he slouched down in his chair.
"Hey Liz, don’t ya think you should’ve had him tell you what we’re doing before you shot him?" Kev asked.
"Yeah, but that’s what you’re here for, remember?" I said smiling innocently at him.
"Oh. Is that all I’m good for?" he asked in a fake whiny voice and then busted into fake crying which then turned into laughing.
"Whatever, Kev. Anyway, we are waiting for some people to finish up in the practice room so we can all go in and warm up," AJ said.
"Warm up?" Court asked.
"Yeah, as in warm up our voices," Howie replied with a smile. "You can’t sing until you warm up."
"Cool!" I said excitedly. "How long do you think it will be?"
"I’m not sure. They just got in there so it might be a while. Just depends on what they are doing," AJ said.
"Well, since we’ve got time, I’ve got a joke to tell you guys," Court said.
"Is it the purple joke?" I asked.
"Yeah! I love it," she replied.
"I’m feeling a little nauseous. I’m going to go get some fresh air," I said instantly as I stood up and headed for the door. "I’ll just be outside," I informed them before walking through the door.
"Ok. There is a purple man that lives in a purple house with a purple cat and a purple dog in a purple town," I heard Court say as I walked into the hall.
"I’m going to go see if she’s ok," AJ said right before the door shut.
I walked a few steps and heard him call my name. I turned slightly, waited for him to catch up and then we walked to the front doors. When we got outside, we walked over and sat down on a bench that was underneath a huge shade tree.
"So, are you feeling ok?" he asked.
"Yeah. I’m fine. I just hate that joke. It’s like five minutes long and it’s like the only good joke that she knows so I hear it all the time," I explained. "Besides, it’s really nice out here."
I looked over and saw him pull a pack of cigarettes out of the pocket of his baggy jeans. Before he could take one out, I grabbed the box, jumped up, and practically ran over to a garbage can, broke each one in half, and threw the pieces away one by one. I slowly walked back over to the bench and sat down as calm as could be.
"What was that for?" he asked in a whiny voice.
"Has anyone ever told you that smoking is a major turn off?" I asked in a kind of snotty way. "Besides, it’s probably the single worst thing you can do to your voice and your career can’t afford that kind of damage right now."
"Well, I guess I should be glad that you care so much," he said.
"I hope that you stop, but I can’t make you do anything. You have to decide to do it yourself," I said in a very supportive voice as I patted his knee a few times. "Just please don’t do it around me."
"I’ll remember that," he said apologetically.
"Sorry that I’m being kind of mean, but I just want you to know that your fans, myself included, care about you, and that we will also support you no matter what you do," I said.
"Thanks," he said softly. We both sat in silence for a few minutes.
"So, do you think we should go back in now?" I asked to break the silence, but also change the subject. "We’ve been out here for at least ten minutes."
"Yeah. The others might already be in the practice room," he said as we got up from the bench and walked towards the door.
We went inside and walked over to the hallway where the conference room was. AJ opened the door and looked in, but no one was there. I saw D walking down the hall, so I grabbed AJ’s arm and hollered for D. He turned around and saw us walking towards him, so he stopped and waited for us to catch up. We walked around a corner and I saw the rest of the gang going in a door. I assumed that it was the practice room. We quickly headed to the door and went in to see Kev sitting at a piano that was up against one of the walls.
"Perfect timing," Nick said as I walked over and stood by him. AJ followed and stood by me, as did Howie. Court was on the other side of Nick with Bri standing on her other side.
Kev played a few scales for us on the piano, then picked up a pile of music that was on the corner of the piano. He handed them to Howie who took one then handed the pile to AJ and so on ‘til everyone had one of the papers. I looked at it and saw the music for ‘The Star Spangled Banner’ on one side and ‘My Country, ‘Tis of Thee’ on the other. I smiled to myself remembering my High School choir days. We sang these songs almost everyday as warm ups. I loved choir class. It was always one of my favorites.
"Okay. Parts are as follows," Kev said as he turned half way around on the piano bench. "Courtney and Nick on the soprano line, AJ and Liz on the alto line in octaves if you want, Bri and Howie are on the Tenor line and I’ll sing the bass," he said as he pointed to each of us when he spoke our names.
After he turned back around on the piano bench, Kev started to play an intro to ‘The Star Spangled Banner’. We started singing when Kev was done with the intro and sang the first and last verses only.
"This is sounding great. We’ve got good balance between the parts," Kev said when we were finished. He stopped singing a few lines before the end of the song to listen to us sing.
After singing the other song a few times through, I asked Kev to play a few more scales on the piano for us because I didn’t feel that my voice was warmed up enough. He played them and the others sang along with me so I wouldn’t feel too uncomfortable. I did a few stretching exercises to help me relax. When we were all ready, D led us out to the hall and into a room a couple of doors down from the practice room. We all sat down on some stools that were surrounding a circle of microphones in the middle of the room. I noticed that one wall was made out of glass so we could see the recording crew and the mixing equipment. Bri told us that we should sit by the person or whomever in Kev’s case, that is singing our part so that it would be a little easier to hear each other. We all sat down and got situated.
"Ok. You guys might think that it’s a little early, but we are going to be recording a few Christmas songs," Kev explained to Court and I. "A couple traditional songs and maybe a few originals if it’s ok with you two," he said pointing to us.
"That’s totally cool with me," I said excitedly as I saw AJ take his sunglasses off and stick them in the pocket of his jeans.
"This is way, way too professional for me. I’m not a big singer, but heck, I’ll do it anyway," Court said shrugging her shoulders.
"Let’s get started then," D said with a smile as he motioned to a guy sitting on the other side of the glass. The guy motioned to another guy that opened the door and said something to someone in the hallway. A few seconds later, the band walked in and got into place. As they were sitting down, we grabbed our headphones and put them on. This way, we could hear each other’s voices and what it would sound like when they were recording us. The drummer counted off and before I knew it, we were all singing ‘Joy to the World’ to a very cool jazzy beat. ‘This is so much fun!’ I thought to myself. When we were done, the guys in the tech room played it back for us to hear. It sounded so cool! Nick looked at me and gave me a ‘that’s-not-half-bad’ look. I smiled back and waited to hear what we would be doing next. After singing ‘Silent Night’, we waited again to be told what we would be doing.
"This time we will be singing ‘Away In a Manger’," the drummer said. "They want it kind of slow and quiet though, so it sounds like a lullaby."
He counted off again and we sang a few verses before we were told to stop by a guy in the tech room.
"Ok. Let’s do that again, only this time, we want the girls to do a duet on the second verse with the guys coming back in on the final verse," he explained from the tech room.
We starting singing again only we changed the verses like the guy had said to. After the first verse was over, I got really nervous before the second verse started. Now was my turn to shine. I smiled at Court, shut my eyes while listening to the small intro, and then we started singing. This was perfect! It sounded absolutely perfect. I pictured a mother rocking her baby to sleep in my mind, which only made me sing it better. When the verse was over, I felt very happy. The time came and the guys joined us for the third verse. After the song was over, I looked towards the floor, took off my headphones, and closed my eyes.
"That was perfect," we heard the voice of the same guy as before say.
I looked up to see Bri smiling at me. I smiled back and then looked at Kev, who was also smiling at me. I couldn’t help but beam with gladness. I had been waiting for that moment for so long.
"That is definitely going on the album," D said as I shot him a huge grin. I noticed that the rest of the group was finally taking off their headphones.
"This is more than I could have ever imagined would happen," I whispered softly to myself.
"You better believe it," AJ whispered back as he patted my shoulder a few times.
"Hold it right there," Nick said. "We need a picture!"
We all squished in so he could get a picture or two while we were waiting.
"Say pickles!" Nick said before he snapped a picture.
"Let’s go ahead and take a quick break," said the tech guy. We all agreed and headed for the door.
* Chapter 6 *
"That’s a wrap," said the tech guy. "Thanks guys...and girls," he said as he waved at us.
We all took off our headphones and I sat and watched as both Kev and Bri got up and stretched a little. I ran my fingers nervously through my hair as I heard Nick let out a sigh. ‘Poor guy,’ I thought to myself. ‘It’s got to be hard for him being only 20 years old and constantly being chased by teenage girls.’ I looked over at him and noticed that he was looking at me, so I gave him a friendly smile. He smiled back and quickly looked the other way like he had a lot on his mind.
"Great job everybody," Kev said. "Now let’s go get something to eat. It’s 2, so we’ll call it a late lunch."
"Sounds like a plan," Howie said as the rest of us got up from our chairs. We were all hungry, so we moved towards the door in a hurry.
"Where are we going?" Court asked as we walked down the hall, turned the corner, and walked towards the front desk.
"Good question," Nick said as we walked into the lobby area.
Kev stopped at the desk and made a quick phone call while we waited for him by the front doors. After he was done, he came over to where we were and noticed that we were looking out the glass to see a group of about 15 girls standing outside the gates on the perimeter of the grounds. I looked over at AJ and saw him wave his arms above his head like he was trying to get their attention or something.
"Oh my gosh!" Court said. "Look at those girls just sitting out there waiting for you guys! They don’t even know for a fact that you are here."
"Kind of funny, huh?" D said as he looked at Court and I.
"Yeah," I said as we all looked back out the window to notice the girls pointing at AJ and screaming.
"Smooth move Bone," Nick said. "Now we’re going to have girls following us all day."
"Aawww, come on! You are no fun," AJ said in reply as he made a funny face that made Nick chuckle to himself. "Besides, there’s the limo," he said as he put his glasses back on and pointed out the window at the limo that was pulling through the gates.
As we went outside, the screaming got really loud so we quickly made our way to where the limo was parked in front of the building. The seven of us piled into the limo thinking it would hush the screaming girls, but they only screamed louder as we started to pull away from the curb. Just before we got to the gates, AJ popped open the sunroof and asked if any of the rest of us wanted to join him. D was the only one that replied affirmatively, so they both stood up and started waving at the group of teenagers. The driver sped up a little bit as the gates were being opened so they wouldn’t have too many problems. We were all laughing at AJ and D when we heard a loud thud. Kev instinctively jumped up and stuck his head out the sunroof to see what happened.
"What in the heck was that?" Nick asked. "I hope no one got hurt."
"No one is hurt," Kev said as he pulled his head back into the limo and sat down. "Some girl tried to jump onto the back of the limo. Didn’t work very well though," he said laughing.
"That’s not the first time that’s happened either," D said as he laughed while sitting back down next to Court.
"Yeah. It’s kind of nice when you go somewhere and people have no idea who we are, but that’s not very often anymore," AJ said as he sighed while closing the sunroof. "I guess I shouldn’t complain too much though."
"So where are we headed for lunch?" Court asked enthusiastically to quickly change the subject as I watched AJ sit back down next to me. I saw that he was looking out the window and I could tell that he was in deep thought, so I just waited for someone to answer Court’s question.
"Where would you like to go?" Kev asked. "We could go to J’s favorite, Micky D’s. We could go to a restaurant or we can get take out. Whatever you guys want is what we’ll get."
"Oooh! Elsa! You know what sounds good right now?" Court asked. "Fuddruckers! Except I bet that they don’t have one around here," she said in a sad voice.
"What is Fuddruckers?" Nick asked in a very confused voice. "Never heard of it."
"They probably don’t have any of them around here. It’s a restaurant in Utah that specializes in American food like their famous ½ lb. hamburgers, steaks and fries," I explained to everyone. "They have the BEST taco salad!"
"That sounds really good right now...I could sink my teeth into a good old American burger anytime," Bri said.
"Me too," Kev said very excitedly.
"I say that we go wherever AJ is thinking about," I said as I looked over to see if I got his attention. I didn’t. "I said, I think that we should go wherever AJ is thinking of," I said louder.
He finally broke his concentration as he continued looking out the window and said, "Huh?"
"Do you have any preference as to where we eat?" I asked.
"I’m not really that hungry right now," he said as he turned his head, took off his sunglasses and looked me in the eye. "Sorry about that. I have a lot on my mind."
"It’s ok. I understand," I replied as he went back to looking out the window.
"Hey, I have an idea," Court exclaimed.
"Let’s hear it," Howie said.
"Why don’t we go get some stuff to make sandwiches or something and have a picnic," Court explained. "There’s bound to be a park around here somewhere."
"That’s a great idea," Nick replied.
Kev rolled down the glass between the driver and us, told the driver that we wanted to stop at a grocery store for a few minutes and to pull over at the next one that he spotted. We drove for a few minutes before the limo came to a halt in front of a local grocery store. Court and I got up and made our way towards the door, crawling over the guys’ legs. We would be going in so that girls and parents wouldn’t bombard the boys. We went in and bought some hoagie sandwiches from the deli, fruit, chips, sparkling cider, pop, plates and cups. We paid and walked out the doors of the store to see AJ using one of the payphones with his head kind of hidden so that hopefully no one would recognize him. We walked over to ask him who he was talking to, but before we got that far, he hung up the phone, pulled the black baseball hat that he put on before he got out of the limo further over his eyes, and started walking to the curb.
"Hey you," I called out to him, not wanting to reveal who he was. He looked up and noticed that we were there, so he motioned for us to follow him.
"Hi girls. That didn’t take long," he said as we caught up to him and continued walking to where the limo was parked.
"We are going to have a really great lunch," Court said to AJ excitedly as we approached the limo.
Someone inside opened the door for us as Court walked around to the driver’s window and asked him to open the trunk so we could put the food and stuff in it. He did open the trunk, so we quickly put the food in and got into the limo with the others. Just like before, Kev rolled down the glass and told the driver that we wanted to stop and eat at a park. The driver nodded and continued on driving as Kev rolled the glass back up. I was a little tired, so I closed my eyes and laid my head on Court’s shoulder (she was sitting on my right side). I was laying that way for a few minutes until she shrugged her shoulder a few times, signaling that she didn’t want me to lean on her. I opened my eyes a little, lifted my head, and leaned over to my left as I set my head lightly on AJ’s shoulder.
I could hear him chuckle as I said, "What?"
"Nothing," he said in reply.
"Don’t get too comfortable," Howie said. "We’ll be at a park in a few minutes."
"Hmmm?" was my only response. I was already too comfortable, but I knew I had to move the second that we got there, so I sat up while leaving my eyes closed.
I could feel the limo go up a small incline and then come to a subtle stop. I opened my eyes, leaned over AJ, and looked out the window to see a deserted parking lot. No one was around to bother us! This is going to be great. Court and I told the guys that they had to stay in the limo while Court and I found the perfect spot to set up the picnic.
"Why do we have to stay in here again?" Nick asked in a questioning voice.
"Because we want it to be a surprise," Court replied as we made our way to the door and got out.
"A surprise huh?" we heard Kev say to himself as the door shut.
"This is going to be great!" I said to Court as we were getting the food and supplies from the trunk.
"Yeah, it is," she said as we walked across a small bike path and up a little grassy incline.
When we got to the top of the little hill, we looked out at the park. We saw that it was in the shape of a huge donut sort of thing, with the inside walls sloping to a flat surface at the bottom. It must have been about the size of a football stadium, because on the bottom there was a soccer field. There was also a bike and running path that ran around the field and up around the top of the circle shaped hill.
"Wow!" I exclaimed. "This park would be great for sledding in the winter!"
"Yeah," Court said. "Great for ice-blocking too!"
"No doubt!" I said in response.
I looked around and saw a big boulder to my left a ways, so I motioned Court to walk over to it with me. We went over and started to walk around it when we saw a small pavilion hidden by the big rock and some trees. This was the perfect ‘hiding’ place. Court and I looked at each other with pleased looks, then walked to the little pavilion at the same time.
"This is a cute little place to hide," Court said as we laid the plates, cups, and eventually the food out on the small table. We arranged the plates and then took the food out and placed it in the middle of the table. Next we placed the glasses above each plate and set the drinks with the other food.
"Ok," I said as we finished getting everything ready. "Let’s go get the guys."
* Chapter 7 *
"It’s about time," Nick said in a fake whiny voice as we all walked across the parking lot to where the grass was.
"Oh please," Court said as she patted his shoulder gently a few times.
We walked across the grass and up the little incline that Court and I had walked up before. When we got to the top of the hill, we all instinctively stopped and looked at the view.
"This is one of my favorite parks," Nick said as he grabbed Court’s hand and yanked her over to where he was, causing both himself and Court to fall to the ground. Instantly, Nick started intentionally rolling down the side of the massive hill. Court saw this and decided that it looked like fun, so she started rolling down the hill too!
"Don’t hurt yourself," I yelled towards where they were rolling.
"I’m sure they’ll be fine," Kev assured me as I walked towards to big boulder and motioned for the others to follow.
"I can see it in the news now," AJ said. "Backstreet Boy Hurt While Rolling Down Hill in Local Park," he said in one of his funny British voices.
I looked down the hill and saw that both Nick and Court had stopped rolling, so I slowed down a bit and waited for them to catch up. The others must have noticed, because I looked over my shoulder and saw Kev come to a halt behind me.
"Hurry up," I hollered to Nick and Court, who were now starting to walk up the bottom of the hill.
"Fine, fine," Court yelled back. After she started to run up the hill, she turned to Nick and said, "Race ya."
"Ok," he said. "Even though you got a head start, I’m still going to win!"
"Doubt it!" was all we heard Court say loudly as she kept on running.
We all watched as Nick got closer and closer to Court. When he caught up, he stayed behind her until she was too tired to run anymore. Out of the blue, Nick swooped Court up in his arms in one motion and carried her.
"Hey!" Court said as he carried her the rest of the way up hill. "Put me down!"
"As you wish," Nick said as he put her down where we were standing at the top of the hill.
"Gee thanks," Court said. "But I think I was going to win."
"Looked like a tie to me," AJ said as we all laughed.
We walked over to the boulder, made our way around it, and sat down at the table. We had some good conversations during lunch. Court and I got to know the guys a little more on a personal level and the guys got to learn about us.
"We come from a family of eight," Court said. "6 kids, 5 dogs, 4 fish, 3 cars, 2 parents..."
"And a partridge in a pear tree?!?" Bri said jokingly.
"No. A really, really, really big house," I said. "The house that my parents live in now has six bedrooms...our parents had one and there was one for each of us kids, until my brother and I moved out."
"Wait. I thought you said there were six kids in your family," Howie said totally confused.
"Yeah...there are. Our oldest sister who is married lives in a different state with her family," Court explained. "Speaking of her family, I miss Stets so much!"
"I know," I said as AJ looked at us with questioning eyes. "So do I."
"Stets is our nephew. Stets is short for Stetson," Court told the guys. "Stetson Douglas Allan has got to be the cutest kid ever!"
I reached into my little backpack and pulled out my Franklin planner. I looked through all of the pictures that I had stashed in one of the pockets until I came to the picture of Stets and Kalee. I handed it to Kev, who was sitting at the end of the table by me. He then passed it to AJ, who was sitting across from me. AJ then passed it to Court, who then passed it to Bri, who passed it to Howie, then Nick and back to me.
"They are pretty cute kids," Nick said.
"They are adorable," Court replied.
As the conversation wore on, we got to know little bits and pieces of the guys that I’m sure no other fan knew about them. After a while, we noticed what time it was. Court and I declared that we were going shopping and asked if anyone wanted to come.
"I’ll come with you," Howie said excitedly.
"Count me in too," AJ said.
"I have to help my family get ready for my little bro.’s party in a few days," Nick said sadly.
"I’m having company over," Kev said.
"I have a lot of stuff to get done. I wish I could come," Bri said.
"That’s ok. We still get to see you guys tomorrow for Liz’s little interview too, remember?" Court asked.
"Yep," Kev answered Court’s question.
Court and I gathered the garbage and the left over things so we could go. After we got all the stuff picked up, we all headed towards the limo. We still had to drop Nick, Bri and Kev off at the studio because that was where they had left their cars.
It was about 4 p.m. when we arrived at the studio. Court noticed that all of the girls had left that were in front of the gate from before. There wasn’t anyone outside the gate except one of the security guards in the little gate booth.
"Guess those girls didn’t have very much patience," Court said as we pulled up to the curb.
"Some of them don’t, but on the other hand, some of them have way too much patience," Nick said with a little chuckle.
Court and I watched as Bri and Kev made their way to the door of the limo.
"I guess I’ll see you tonight then?" Nick asked Court.
"Yeah. That’ll be great!" she responded.
"I’ll call you later and tell you when I’ll pick you up," he said before he headed for the door.
"Ok," she said. "Bye. I’ll see you later," she told him before he got out and shut the door.
"Well then...where to?" Howie asked.
"I want some new shoes...and a new dress...and some cool sunglasses since I can’t have AJ’s," I replied.
"That’s right," AJ said with a sly smile. "They’re mine!"
"I don’t care where we go," Court said. "Just as long as they have some cool stuff."
Pretty soon we were on our way to a huge department-like store that AJ knew about. He said that they sold all sorts of stuff, from shoes to clothes to jewelry to hats. I couldn’t wait! I wanted to get a new dress for our little date that we would be having that night.
"You know what Elsa?" Court asked out of the blue.
"What?" I replied.
"I think that I’m going to change my hair...maybe while you are shopping," she said to me with a little sly smile.
"To look like what?" I asked curiously.
"Maybe a different color...definitely a different length though," she responded as she held up some of her long brown locks.
"You should get subtle reddish highlights with your brown hair color," AJ suggested with a smile as we drove on.
* Chapter 8 *
"Howie and I are going to go over there to the salon," Court said pointing to a hair salon that was just inside the doors of the huge store. "I don’t know how long we’ll be, so we’ll call you from Howie’s cell."
"Yeah," said Howie. "Don’t forget to turn your cell on AJ."
"I’m about five steps ahead of ya," AJ replied as he took his cell out of his pocket and showed them that it was already on.
"See ya later alligator," Court said as she and Howie started to walk away.
"Alrighty Aphrodite!" I replied as we headed towards the rows of merchandise.
I saw a sign that pointed to where the shoes were, so I headed in that direction, not noticing that I had left AJ standing there.
"Where ya going?" he asked as he pulled his black baseball hat further over his eyes.
"Sorry. I thought you were following...I was headed over to the shoes," I replied.
"Sounds like a plan," AJ said as we both started walking in the general direction of where the shoes were located.
"Oooo! Look at these," I said to AJ pointing to a pair of bright neon green Skecher-like shoes with a smile. "They’re totally you!"
"Oh darn," he said in a disappointed sarcastic voice. "They don’t have them in my size."
"Yeah...well...they would match your dark green sweater...sort of..." I said as I headed over to the women’s casual shoes.
I walked down an aisle, but noticed that it was the wrong size, so I walked to the end of the aisle and turned down the next. After I found the section with the right size, I carefully looked for the type of shoes that I wanted. I searched for a few minutes until I finally found them! They were sparkly metallic gray Doc Martin army style boots with black soles and silver stitching. I untied my right shoe and took it off so I could try on the boot. As I hunched over and slipped the boot on, AJ tiptoed up behind me so that I wouldn’t hear him.
"Nice shoes," he said in a low voice as he looked over my shoulder.
I jumped about a mile! I fell over on the ground in front of me because I wasn’t exactly expecting him to be there. I lay there on my back laughing. I laughed so hard that my eyes started to tear up.
"I didn’t think it was that funny," AJ said in a surprised voice.
He stretched out his hand and offered to help me up. I took his hand, but instead of getting up, I grabbed them both with the other hand and intentionally pulled him down with me. It only made me laugh even more as he landed with an ‘Umph!’ sprawled out on his stomach on the floor. He landed with his arm over my stomach, which jumped up and down as I laughed.
"Face plant!" I exclaimed. "That was a perfect ten," I said as I sat up and watched him roll over onto his back.
"Thank you very much," he said proudly with a smile as I stood up.
I waited for him to stand as I admired the boot that was on my right foot. ‘These boots look awesome with these pants’ I thought. I took the boot off, stuck it back with the other one, and grabbed the box. I also had my eye on some little black chunk heel strap sandals, so I found them and tried them on.
"Those are kind of cute," AJ said as I slipped them off and grabbed the box that they were in.
"Now I need to go find some new clothes...to go with my new shoes," I explained to him.
"Cool," was all he said as we both headed to the back of the store where the women’s clothes were.
"You know what? I’m going to go and see how much longer Howie and Court are going to be," he said. "Is that ok?"
"Yeah. That’s fine with me," I replied as he turned and walked to the front where the salon was.
I looked at jeans, blouses, khakis, sweaters, and a bunch of theme socks for all types of occasions. Finally I came to the dresses and noticed a long black one that I eyed right away. It was long enough to go to my ankles and made out of see through lacey material that flared out from the knee and flowed when you moved with a black silky slip dress underneath. It had long skintight sleeves that flared out when they reached the wrists. I instantly fell in love with it. I found one in my size and quickly went to the fitting rooms to try it on. It fit perfectly as I twirled around a few times to get the full effect. ‘This will do just fine for tonight’ I thought to myself as I grabbed the dress and the shoes that I picked out and made my way towards the checkout stands. After paying, I said thank you to the clerk who handed me the bags with the boxes in them...one bag for the shoes, one bag for the dress in a box.
"All done shopping?" AJ asked as I walked over to where he was talking to Court who was sitting in some chairs at the salon.
"Yeah. Where’s Howie?" I asked Court.
"I convinced him to get his hair cut," she replied. "I’ll be going back to get mine done in a few."
"Sounds like fun," I said as I set the bags down at my sides while AJ and Court talked.
While they were talking, I started thinking about how fun that night was going to be. I wonder what club or whatever we are going to...Is it going to be fun? I hoped that we were going to be going somewhere a little dressier rather than a more casual club. I hope we do lots of dancing...AJ is in awesome dancer...I bet he would treat a girl right...He is so good looking...
"Earth to Liz," AJ said waving a hand in front of my face after a few minutes of trying to get my attention.
"Huh? What?" I said as I snapped out of my gaze into outer space and looked at him. "Sorry. I must have been in la-la land again."
"Are there any other places that you want to go shopping?" AJ asked.
"Actually, yeah," I replied, still not totally focused on what was going on. "I wanted to get some new sunglasses."
"Ok. I know of this cool little shades shop that we can go to," he said with a smile. "Is it ok if we head out?" he asked Court.
"That’s fine with me. We’ll call a cab when we’re done," she responded as I picked up my bags. "I’ll call your room when I get back to the hotel, Elsa."
"Ok," I said as AJ and I made our way towards the doors of the huge store.
We hopped into the limo and AJ informed the driver as to where we wanted to go while I put some awesome music in the stereo. We were on our way in no time.
* * *
"These are so cool!" I exclaimed as I slid on my new dark purple tinted sunglasses when we got outside of the little shades shop.
"Yeah," AJ said. "That’s cause they look like mine," he said sarcastically.
"Well, they say that great minds think alike," I replied with a smirk as we slowly made our way to where the limo was parked. "So, where to now?"
"Umm, do you have any plans for the next couple of hours?" AJ asked nervously.
"No," I replied while he opened the limo door for me and watched me get in.
"Good," he said after he sat beside me and shut the door. "Would you mind if I showed you some of our lovely city?"
"Not at all," I answered with a smile. "I’d like that very much."
"Cool," was all I heard him say before he told the driver to take us back to the hotel.
"I figured that we should get changed now so we wouldn’t have to rush and do it later," he explained to me as we got closer to the hotel.
"That’s fine with me," I said as we pulled off of the main street into the hotel driveway.
"I’ll pick you back up in about an hour then," he said as we came to a halt. "I’ll be driving, so I’ll come in and meet you in the lobby."
"Alright," I responded as I opened the door to get out. "I’ll be ready then."
"Oh and Liz," he said as I was about to get out. "Thanks for a great day," he finished as he leaned over and gave me a little kiss on the cheek.
‘Oh my gosh! AJ just kissed me on the cheek!’ I thought to myself as I walked in the lobby doors, went up the stairs and headed for the elevator. I must have been in la-la land again, because when I heard the beep from the elevator, I instinctively started to walk into the elevator when I ran into someone.
"Hey there," the friendly voice said. "You might want to watch where you’re going."
I looked up and thought that the face looked somewhat familiar.
"Howie?" I asked not sure if it was him or not.
"Yeah," he replied as he walked back onto the elevator with me. "Like the new look?"
"Well, I didn’t really recognize you," I said still surprised that he cut off all of his long hair. "You look great with short hair...you should keep it that way."
"I kind of like it too," he said. He ran his fingers through his short curls after the elevator doors closed. "I’ll ride up with ya," he said with a smile.
"Thanks," was all I said as I admired D’s new hair cut.
‘Court must have done a lot of convincing’ I thought as the elevator dinged when it got to my floor. I thanked Howie for riding up with me, said good-bye, and started to make my way down the hall. I was still in a daze as I searched through my small black backpack for the key card to my room. ‘Things can only get better!’ I thought optimistically to myself as I pulled out my planner and grabbed the key card out of one of the pockets. With my planner and backpack in one hand and the key card in the other, I slid the card into the slot on the door, turned the handle, and pushed it open with my foot. I walked a few feet into the room while I put the key card back into the pocket of my planner, not knowing what was ahead. As I put my planner back into my bag, I noticed out of the corner of my eye something red and white that was sitting on the small coffee table in front of the couch. After I shifted my eyes from my planner to the red and white mass, I saw that it was a very large vase filled with dozens of huge red and white roses. My chin just about dropped to the floor. Who would do this for me? The one and only time that I have actually gotten roses was from my parents for graduation! I immediately set my bag onto the couch and reached for the card that was attached to the vase as I sat down. It read: ‘Can’t wait ‘til tonight. AJ’
"Oh my gosh! How sweet! I can’t believe that AJ McLean of the Backstreet Boys sent ME roses!" I exclaimed out loud before I leaned over to smell them.
They smelled wonderful and they looked fresh cut. As I looked in awe at how many were arranged in the vase, I noticed that each rose was perfectly cut at the stem and each had carefully had all the thorns removed.
"These must have cost a fortune," I said out loud to myself, knowing that no one else was around to call me crazy or something like that.
I soon snapped out of my gaze at the beautiful flowers, realizing that I still had to get dressed...and do my make-up...and do my hair. I slowly got off the couch and made my way over to the bed where the bellboy had put my bags from our little shopping trip. After grabbing the smaller of the two bags, I took out the box with the dress in it, put it on the bed and headed for the closet to get my slip from my bag. I got my slip and also grabbed some small silver hoop earrings and a small silver choker with black beads from a small plastic bag. After grabbing my favorite plumeria scented lotion from Bath & Body with my free hand, I went over and set all of the stuff down on the bed. After changing into the slip, I sat down and put some lotion on my legs, then my arms, and eventually my hands. My eyes glanced over at the vase of roses to make sure that they were still there as I took the new dress out of the box, stood up, and put it on. Next came the shoes, then the earrings, and last but not least, the small necklace. I sat down again on the bed as I took the sandals out of their box and slid them on my feet.
* Chapter 9 *
‘These really look good together,’ I thought as I looked at my outfit in the bathroom mirror before I reached up and took my hair out of its high pony tail. I had already finished putting on my make-up so it was time to do my hair. I decided well ahead of time that I would curl it a bit and leave it down. After all, I hadn’t been growing it out for two years for nothing! When I got it cut two years ago it was only to my ears, but now it was to my waist. My hair always did grow fast. After brushing through it a few times, I grabbed the curling iron and started curling. It usually only took me about 5 minutes to curl my hair, but this time it took me about 10 because I wanted everything to be perfect.
"Hello?" I heard a male voice say at the other end of the line.
"Hi. Is Court there?" I asked confused. I decided to call her after I was done getting ready. "Do I have the right room?"
"Yeah, you have the right room," he replied sweetly. "Hang on. Let me get her."
I heard him softly tell her that the phone was for her as he put his palm over the mouth piece of the phone.
"Hello?" Court said.
"Hey Court...Let me guess...Howie came back?" I asked.
"Bingo," she said in reply. "I’ll tell you later," she whispered into the phone.
"Ok. Anyway, AJ and I are going to drive around town for a while, so I guess we’ll meet you at the club or wherever we’re going," I told her.
"Alright. I’m hoping that you-know-who will call me and tell me when to be ready," she said softly so Howie wouldn’t hear.
"I bet he will. Anyway, AJ is supposed to be picking me up in like 5 minutes," I responded excitedly. "I’ll let you and Howie get back to what you were doing," I teased.
"Oh yeah...watching a movie...just what I wanted to be doing..." she said sarcastically.
We hung up after saying our good-byes so I could get my things put away and so she and D could get back to their movie. After grabbing a little black purse filled with all the necessities (compact, lipstick, lip gloss, pain pills, the key card, a small comb, and a few quarters for emergencies) and checking myself in the mirror one last time, I finally left my room and headed towards the elevator.
After walking out of the elevator, I stopped in the little lounge at the top of the stairs and looked over the railing of the balcony to see if AJ was there yet. I didn’t see him, but I decided to start my descent down the long staircase anyway. After stepping down a few steps with my dress and purse in one hand and my other on the railing so I wouldn’t slip, I looked up and noticed AJ making his way through the door that the doorman held open for him. As I got closer to the bottom of the stairs, I could sense that he was watching my every move.
"You look amazing!" he said with a big grin as he took my hand and escorted me towards the doors. "Absolutely amazing!" he repeated as we walked out the doors of the hotel and onto the street.
"After you," AJ said to me after opening the passenger door of his metal-flake gray Limited Edition Expedition.
I gave him a shy smile and gracefully got in, waiting for him to get in the driver seat.
"Thank you for the beautiful roses," I said looking into his big brown eyes after we were both buckled in.
"You are always welcome," he replied gently with a smile. "Beautiful flowers for a beautiful woman."
I could feel myself blush at his comment before I broke eye contact and looked out the window as if I was mesmerized at the people walking down the sidewalk.
"So where are we going?" I asked quietly as I kept my eyes looking out the window at nothing in particular.
"It’s a surprise," AJ replied as he glanced over at me to see that I was still looking out the window, so he looked back to the road.
"That’s fine," I said shifting my glance to the road ahead. "I don’t mind surprises."
"Good," he said with a smile on his face and kept driving as I looked over at him.
‘I love his smile,’ I thought as I studied his face while he continued to keep his eyes on the road. ‘He has gorgeous eyes...a definite plus...He is a gentleman...plus number two...He’s taller than me...a must...he dresses well...and he obviously knows how to be himself’ I thought as I looked him over and checked my mental list for potential male interests.
"What?!?" AJ asked in a pleading voice, turning his eyes to mine. "In case you haven’t noticed, you’re like staring at me."
"Nothing," I said trying to keep a straight face as he took his hand off the wheel and pretended like he was going to tickle me.
"Please don’t tickle me," I said laughing. "If you do, I’d just have to tickle you back."
"Ok, fine," he said as he stopped teasing me and reached for something that was in-between our seats. "Here. Look through this and pick something out," he told me as he handed me a CD storage binder.
"Alrighty then," I said as I opened it up and started looking through it.
I have to say that I was really surprised by some of the CD’s that were in there. Some were not exactly the type of music you’d think AJ would listen to. Like the Titanic soundtrack for instance, the Temptations, or Shania Twain’s ‘Come On Over’. I finally found the one that I thought would be fun to listen to and handed it to him. I began to sing along as the music started playing through the huge woofers in the back. ‘Everybody...rock your body...everybody...rock your body right’ was all I could sing because AJ caught me off guard when he burst out singing the next few words.
"I never really believed it when I heard that you listened to your own music," I said out loud to him as I laughed quietly. "But I believe it now."
"Why wouldn’t you believe it?" he asked in a sly voice with a hint of sarcasm.
"Well, I don’t usually believe everything I read or hear on the net...It’s almost a given that it’s more than likely not true..." I trailed off.
"I see," he said slowly. "So, what do you say we play a little game while we drive around?"
"Like what," I asked.
"Sort of 20 questions, but about each other...I ask you a question that you have to answer about yourself, then you do the same to me," he explained.
"Ok...you first," I agreed.
"Hmmm," he said while we turned right, then kept going straight. "Ok...How old are you?" he asked thoughtfully.
"I will be 20 on June 10th...still a few months, but I can’t wait," I answered happily. "What’s your favorite color?"
"It’s yellow," AJ said happily. "What’s yours?"
"Now that’s a hard question," I said sarcastically. "Just joshin’ ya...I don’t really have a favorite. I like mostly dark colors...dark green...dark blues...purples. My turn again...what was your favorite class in school?"
"That would be English," he replied with pride. "I always loved English. Anyway, what kind of CD’s would I find in your collection?"
"Well, I hope you don’t want me to name them all."
"Just a few."
"Ok. I’ll name a few...Alanis Morissette, Lenny Kravitz, Smash Mouth, Hootie & the Blowfish, Savage Garden, Mariah Carey, Boyz2Men, Reba McIntire, Shania Twain, Martina McBride, Dixie Chicks, Garth Brooks, Britney Spears, Tim McGraw, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, a couple of musical CD’s, and of course Millenium, both your US and Canadian self-titled, Backstreet’s Back, and a bunch of singles," I said quickly. "Enough for ya?"
"Yeah," he replied. "Nice variety..." he said sounding pleased.
"Thanks," I said. "Umm, let me think for a sec," I told him while I closed my eyes and tried to remember a question to ask. I’d told all of my online buddies that if I ever got to meet the guys, I’d ask them that question, but I can’t remember what it was. I thought about it for a few minutes, then gave up.
"What is the biggest misconception that people have of you?" I asked bluntly.
"Well people, mostly adults and critics, think that I’m like this bad boy rebel who does drugs and drinks and gets into trouble," he explained. "Which is totally not true."
"I don’t see you as a bad boy," I said. "I see you as a person who expresses himself freely and doesn’t worry about stereotypes."
"Thanks. I’m really glad to hear that," he said looking over at me with a smile. "So, do you have a boyfriend?"
"No," I said sort of depressed. "Never had one either..." I said before turning to look out the window as if it would change the subject.
"What?!?" he asked not believing what I had just said. "No way. It’s not possible for a beautiful girl like you to not have a man by your side."
"Thanks, but it’s true," I said sadly. "So how about you? You going out with anyone?" I asked to hopefully cheer up the conversation.
"Well, I was going out with a girl that was very special to me, but it turns out that she just liked the title of being ‘AJ McLean’s girlfriend’ and I didn’t want a girl who only wanted me for that," he explained. "So technically, I’m single."
"Oh...I’m sorry..." I started.
"Don’t be," he cut me off. "She really wasn’t worth all of the pain. Besides, now I can have fun with ladies like you."
* Chapter 10 *
"You hungry?" AJ asked after driving around talking about anything and everything and looking at the city.
"A little," I replied.
"Ok," he said. "I know of this little café on the beach that we can go to."
"Sounds great," I said as we turned onto a deserted side road.
"I know you’re wondering why we are going this way," he said turning to meet my eyes. "Short cut."
Before long, we arrived at the little café along the beach that was surrounded my small souvenir shops. I noticed that it wasn’t very busy, probably due to the time of day and the fact that most of the beach-goers were likely to be clubbing downtown. We got out of the truck and walked up to the door and went in. AJ talked to the host, who then led us to a little private table on the deck that was around the back of the building.
"You’re waiter will be right with you," the host said before walking away, leaving us alone.
When the waiter arrived, we ordered our food and drinks. AJ ordered some sort of steak sandwich with a coke and I ordered a turkey sandwich with water. After our food came, we ate and chatted until we were done eating. When we were done eating our food, we just sat and continued our conversation.
"Birthplace?" I asked.
"West Palm Beach," he replied and returned a question. "Middle name?"
"Ann. Horoscope sign?"
"Capricorn. Birthplace?"
"Provo, Utah. Next hair color?"
"Not sure...maybe pink tips. Play any instruments?"
"Not currently. I used to play the violin, but I haven’t played that for like ten years. Birthdate?"
"January 9, 1978. Yours?"
"June 10, 1981. Any more tattoos?"
"Not anytime soon. You have any?"
"No...I don’t think I’d ever get one either," I said before taking a sip of my water. "Fave foreign city?"
"Paris...the city of love," he said with a smile. "Favorite cartoon?"
"It’s a tie between Cathy and Garfield. What is the first thing you notice about a girl?"
"Eyes," he said with a sly smile. "First thing you notice about a guy?"
"Their smile. Favorite play?"
"Phantom of the Opera. I always wanted to be in that play," he said. "So, are you ready to go?"
"Yeah," I replied as he got up and pulled my chair out for me.
After leaving the small café, we decided to take a walk on the beach before heading to the club.
"This is the first time I’ve ever been to the ocean," I said quietly as the soft sand sunk in-between my toes. I took off my sandals and held them in my hands.
"It’s beautiful isn’t it?" AJ asked.
"Yeah. It is."
"We better head over to the club," AJ said after we walked for a few minutes before we turned back towards his truck. "Otherwise, they’ll think we got lost or something," he continued with a little laugh.
By the time we pulled up to the front of the club, it was about 9 p.m., so AJ quickly parked in a reserved spot by the curb. After he opened the door for me, we made our way to the door of the club. AJ knew the bouncer so we didn’t have any problems getting in. When we got inside, AJ led me to a small reserved table that was on the upper level in a private corner.
"This place looks more like a cocktail party at a mansion than a club," I said somewhat amused.
"Yeah," AJ said in response. "It’s nice to go to places like this every once in a while."
A few minutes after we sat down I saw Nick and Courtney turn at the top of the stairs and start walking towards us.
"Looks like we’re not late after all," I said to AJ who was sitting next to me.
Before he could answer me, Nick and Court approached the table and sat down.
"Hey guys!" Court said excited looking over at me with a huge grin.
"Hi," I said back to her with a smile.
"Been here long?" Nick asked over the loud music.
"Only a few," AJ replied as he looked at me and gave me a mischievous smile. "Where ya been?"
"We decided to get something to eat first," Nick said looking around. "Really, how long you been here?"
"A few minutes," I answered with a smirk that made Court laugh.
She stood up and walked over to the marble pillar balcony that looked over the dance floor and stage where the band and the person singing were playing a swing song.
"Hey Elsa," she said turning to us. "You should do that," she said pointing to the stage.
"Do what?" I asked getting up and standing beside her.
"Do that. You know? Sing with them," she said sitting back down.
"I don’t think so," I said giving her the evil eye as I sat down again.
"Why not?" Nick asked.
"I hate singing in public...," I said insecurely with a shrug. "Ya know, in front of people..."
"Dare ya," AJ said with an evil grin on his face. "No, wait. I take that back. I double dare ya."
I glared at Court again as I thought about it. "What’ll I have to do if I don’t?" I asked sheepishly, not really wanting to know.
"Oh nothing big," AJ said. "Just walk around to people and sing to each person individually since you won’t do it on the stage," he trying not to laugh.
"If I do it, will you do it too?" I asked hopefully as I slowly looked down at the table. Out of the corner of my eye I could see AJ and Nick exchanging looks.
"Sure," AJ said after a few seconds of mentally arguing with Nick’s facial expressions.
"You two have fun," Court said standing up as she grabbed Nick’s hand. "We’re going to go dance."
Before they left, she leaned over to my ear and said, "Don’t worry. You’ll do great!"
"I sure hope so, or you are so dead later!" I replied as they walked off.
"I can’t believe that I’m going to do this! I hate doing things like this," I said to myself as I put my hands up to my face and closed my eyes, still verbally abusing myself.
"Hey," AJ said sympathetically, putting his hand on my back. "You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to."
"No. I’m going to do this," I said putting my hands down on my legs. "I need to get over this little fear of singing in front of people," I turned and gave him a smile.
"You sure?" he asked.
"Yes, I’m sure. I just don’t know what song..." I trailed off moving my gaze from his brown eyes to my ice-cold hands.
"You wanna do it now and get it over with?" he asked.
"Yeah, just a minute," I said as I took a few deep breathes. After I was relaxed a little bit, AJ grabbed my hand softly in his.
"Let’s do this!" he said happily as he led me to the stairs.
We went down and began to weave our way slowly towards the stage. I stood on the dance floor in front of the stage while AJ talked to the piano player. After a few seconds the piano player turned to talk to the bass player, then the drums player, and then back to talk to AJ some more. After a few more seconds, AJ walked back over to me.
"They said they’d be happy to play for you...I mean...us," AJ said taking my hand and helping me up the steps on the side of the stage. Right before the band finished the song that they were playing, AJ leaned over and gave me a kiss on the cheek.
"You’ll do great!" he said in an assuring voice before he let go of my hand and headed back over to the steps.
‘Great! Why did he have to kiss me? Now I’m even more nervous’ I thought as I slowly walked over to the piano player. The spotlights went out as I told the older man which song I would be singing and where I wanted the piano solo. He suggested for me to sit on the closed grand piano, so I took his suggestion, hopped onto the piano, and made myself comfortable by crossing my legs as he handed me the microphone.
"Ah, a jazz standard huh?" he asked softly with a smile.
"Yeah," I replied softly as the lights came up and I began counting off the slow and steady beat for the band.
* Chapter 11 *
"1...2...3...," I started counting slowly to bring in the band.
As they played the intro to my song, I nervously tossed my long curled blond hair over my shoulder and smiled out over the crowded dance floor, searching for a familiar face. The intro seemed to go by in slow motion as I located a face that I knew. I tried to remember all the things that I had learned a few summers ago at Jazz camp...don’t think about the words, it will only make you forget them...be yourself...and the best part, scatting...if I forgot the words, I could always scat. Before I knew it, the intro was almost over and it was time for me to sing. I took a quick glance at the face I had seen a few seconds before and saw a smile, so I smiled back as the couples on the dance floor begin to slow dance.
‘I don’t know why, but I’m feeling so sad...I long to try something I’ve never had,’ I sang effortlessly in my soulful alto voice. ‘Never had no kissin’, oh what I’ve been missin’, I sang as I looked out over the audience and caught a glimpse of Nick’s surprised and shocked expression. ‘Lover man, oh where can you be?’
I listened intently as the piano player played his little solo after the second verse.
‘I’ve heard it said that the thrill of romance can be like a heavenly dream. I go to bed with a prayer that you’ll make love to me, strange as it seems,’ I sang the bridge of the song, then continued on with the last verse. ‘Some day we’ll meet and you’ll dry all my tears and whisper sweet little things in my ears. A huggin’ and a kissin’. Ooo what we’ve been missin’. Lover man, oh where can you be? Lover man, where can you be?’ I finished looking into the audience to find AJ, and gave him a told-you-so smile as the lights went out.
I hopped off of the piano, gave the band a quick thank you and met AJ by the steps of the stage.
"Wow!" he said as he gave me a half hug. "What else can I say but wow!"
"Thanks," I said as I pulled away slightly. "Now, it’s your turn," I said happily, lightly shoving him towards the piano.
"Ok, ok," he replied. "I get the picture!"
I watched him nonchalantly walk up to the piano man and talk to him quietly for a second, then hop onto a stool that was in-between the piano and the bass player before I made my way down the stage steps. As I looked down to walk down the final step, I saw two feet. My eyes looked up and saw that it was Kevin. He stretched his hand forward to help me down and I gladly accepted, not wanting to fall or ruin my new dress.
"That was, how do I put it, perfect," he said. "But next time, you have to let me play for you," he said with a smile as we walked past the dry bar (author’s note~dry bar meaning no alcohol) and headed towards the stairs.
"Thank you. I kinda had to do it...," I said, noticing that Kev was confused by what I just said. "They...well, AJ dared me too," I said correcting myself.
"Oh," he replied.
"So, what are you doing here?" I asked curiously. "I thought you had company."
"I do. I’m here with some friends," he explained. "We just got here as you went on. I had no idea that you were going to be here."
"Well, I guess you better get back to your friends," I said.
"Yeah," he said. "Hey, I’ll see ya tomorrow," he said as he left me standing by the stairs.
I went up the stairs and made my way back to our table, where I saw Court and Nick sitting. I went over by the table, but instead of sitting, I stood by the balcony and watched AJ on the stage. I wasn’t paying attention to what he was singing...I don’t even know what song it was. I was too preoccupied with his hair...his eyes...his smile...his voice... After a few minutes, I broke my stare due to the sound of clapping and the fading of the spotlight. I went over and sat down at the table, trying not to interrupt Nick and Court.
"Oh my gosh!" Court exclaimed suddenly. "You were wonderful!"
"Thanks," I replied.
"Yeah," Nick added. "You were great."
"I couldn’t help but notice the look of shock on your face!" I said to Nick trying not to laugh. "Were you really that surprised?" I asked curiously.
"Umm...no...yes...I mean...sort of," he stumbled as Court and I laughed out loud. "It’s just that you didn’t sound like the voice we heard earlier today," he said trying to cover his mess up.
"Uh...thanks," I said unsure of what to say. "I’m taking that as a compliment," I said as I smiled at AJ, who started walking towards the table.
He waved at me as he walked up to the table and took his seat beside me. I looked across the table at Court, who was in turn looking at Nick. ‘She must be falling for him’ I thought while I studied her face for some sort of unexpected facial expression. Then I slowly moved my gaze towards Nick, who was telling us about some new movie that was out. ‘He sure seems happy tonight’ I thought as I let my eyes wonder to look at AJ. He must have noticed that I was looking at him, because he paused in the middle of his conversation with Nick and looked at me and smiled. Of course I smiled back. Who wouldn’t?
"Hey AJ?" I asked.
"Yeah," he replied.
"Let’s go dance," I said as I got up and took his hand, practically pulling him off his seat.
We danced a few fast songs on the crowded dance floor and kept on dancing when the next song came on. AJ showed me a few new moves and just how good of a dancer he really was. ‘He is way underestimated about his dancing abilities’ I thought as the song came near the end. A slow song came on next. He took my hand in his and we danced for part of the slow dance when I noticed that Court and Nick were dancing next to us. I exchanged looks with Court and we decided that we would switch partners for the rest of the song.
"AJ?"
"Yeah," he answered.
"Would you mind dancing with my sis for the rest of this song?" I asked.
"Nope," he said as he grabbed Court’s hand from Nick’s shoulder and cut in.
I grabbed Nick’s hand while he watched AJ steal Court away. I placed my hands loosely around his neck as we began dancing.
"So Nick, are you having fun tonight?" I asked trying to probe my way into his emotions.
"Actually, I haven’t had this much fun in a long time," he said happily.
"That’s good to hear," I answered.
"Are you having fun?" he asked in return with a mischievous smile.
"I’m having a great time!" I replied. "I like it that you guys are totally different than many perceive you to be."
He gave me a semi-confused look so I continued.
"Take you for instance. Most teenage girls think that you are a simpleminded blond play toy that doesn’t know his right hand from his left...no offense," I said.
"None taken," he replied looking into my eyes.
"But I know that you are a nice, regular guy who has a mind and heart of his own and he knows how to use them. And AJ on the other hand..." I continued even more. "AJ isn’t a bad rebel boy like most girls think he is. He’s really sweet and caring, and he likes to make people smile," I said looking over at AJ dancing happily with Court.
"So...how is our great state treating you?" Nick asked to get my attention again.
"It’s really great! I’ve only been here for one day and I’ve had so much fun," I said excitedly. "How’s my sister treating you?" I asked sarcastically.
"She’s treating me real nice," he answered back. "I’m having a really great time with her. She’s fun to have around."
"I’m happy that you are having fun," I said.
"How’s AJ treating you?" he asked, wanting to know how I felt about AJ.
"He has been a perfect gentleman," I answered with a smile, not wanting him to know how I felt. "I haven’t been out with many of those lately."
"I’m sorry to hear that," Nick said concerned.
"No, no. It’s ok really," I replied. "It’s nice to finally find one though," I said right before the song ended.
"We are going to the little ladies room," I said as I grabbed Court’s hand and pulled her along with me. "We’ll meet you at the table," I said to the guys.
"I have some good news," I said to her quietly as we headed towards the restrooms.
"Well, I have a little news for you too!" Court said back to me.
* Chapter 12 *
"I’ll go first," I said leaning against a sink watching Court as she looked in the mirror and fixed her hair. "Well, I think that Nick enjoys having you around. He told me that he thinks you are a lot of fun."
She looked at me in the mirror and smiled. "Did he really say that?" she asked excitedly.
"Yeah, he did," I smiled back. "I think he really likes you."
"Cool!" she said with a smile. "And you know what?"
"What?" I asked turning to look in the mirror.
"I asked AJ what he thinks about you," she said slyly.
"And?"
"And what?" she teased. "He said that he has never met anyone like you before. He likes your personality, your sense of style...he said that he loves your smile! He loves your long hair too," she added, turning to see me running my hands through my hair like I do whenever I’m nervous.
I was speechless. Hearing about AJ’s feelings only made me more nervous to go back out and face him again.
"Anyway, let’s get back to the table before they send a search party in after us," Court said with a little laugh.
"Ok. After you," I said as I pulled the door open for her.
"Thanks," she replied as I followed behind her.
When we arrived at the table, we sat down and listened intently to what AJ and Nick were talking about.
"Anyway, I guess Aaron is going to be touring with this Nickelodeon tour or something like that," Nick explained to AJ.
"Speaking of Aaron," I started. "That kid is so adorable!" I said with a little smile.
"Yeah," Court chimed in. "Our niece had a huge crush on you," she said looking at Nick. "That is until she saw little AC."
"Sorry Nick...guess you don’t have what it takes anymore," I said sarcastically with a smile, trying not to laugh.
"Aw. Poor Nick," AJ joined in the teasing. "It’s ok," he said in a voice that sounded like a mother talking to a baby.
"Ok, ok," Nick said in return. "So it runs in the family," he finished with a sly smile as we all laughed at his comment.
"Whatever you say," was AJ’s response.
"Maybe I’ll just have to give her a call and make her change her mind," Nick said in defense.
"You can try, but I don’t think it will work," I replied. "She’s only 8 and she’s super shy."
"Well," he said not knowing what else to say. "Well...umm...ok...anyway..." he trailed off, not wanting to make a fool of himself.
"Yeah, anyway," I said trying to change the subject. "I’m going to go dance some more if anyone wants to come," I said as I got up and started walking off.
I didn’t notice anyone following me, so I made my way to the dance floor and worked my way towards the middle of the crowd. The band was taking a break from playing, so ‘Rockafellar Skank’ was playing loudly over the speakers and the whole dance floor was moving to the groove. I was hoping that Court would come down with me to dance, but I didn’t want to force her. My eyes diverted from the people dancing around me to the balcony. I could see AJ looking down so I waved to him. He smiled and waved back. Just as I saw him turn to sit back down, someone bumped into me from the backside and nearly knocked me over.
"What was that..." I started to say as I turned around and saw Kev standing there in front of me. "For?" I finished my sentence and stood there as surprised as he was.
"I’m so sorry," he said in a worried tone. "These wacko people over here were getting a little out of hand."
"No, no...It’s ok," I said with a half smile. "Really."
"Well, if you say so," he replied. "So, where are the others?" he asked curiously.
"Oh, they’re up there," I said pointing to the balcony.
"Oh," was his reply.
"I’m going to go now," I said as we were about to be squished by the people on the dance floor.
"No," he called out before I got far. "Don’t go," he said grabbing my arm.
"I need something to drink. Care to join me?" I asked still trying to get away from the dance crowd.
"Sure," he replied. "That would be nice."
I walked over to the dry bar with Kev following shortly behind me. I sat down on one of the circle barstools and turned towards the bar, noticing a girl sitting beside me on one side and Kev on the other. The girl didn’t look any older than about 18. When I looked over at her, she looked back at me with a smile. She had shoulder length brown hair pulled back into two sparkly clips with hazel eyes that had a lot of kindness in them.
"Hi," she said. "My name is Megan," she said sticking out her hand for me to shake.
"Hi Megan," I replied shaking her hand. "I’m Liz."
"You can call me Meg if you like," she said with a smile.
"Ok. Anyway, Meg, this is my friend Kevin," I said pointing over my shoulder to Kev.
He didn’t seem to notice that we were talking about him because he was busy ordering water for us.
"Wow. Not bad!" she said. "How did you meet him?"
"Well, it’s a long story really," I replied with a small sigh. "It’s really nice to meet you. I’m not from around here," I said shyly.
"Really?" she asked in a disbelieving voice. "That’s so weird. I’m not from around here either!"
"Wow. That is weird," I replied. "So, where are you from? I live in Utah."
"That’s cool," she said. "I’m from Philly."
The bartender handed Kev and I our drinks. Meg and I talked for a few minutes until I felt someone tap on my shoulder. I turned to see what the person wanted.
"I’m going to go back and see what my friends are up to," Kev said. "I guess I’ll see you tomorrow. The water’s on me."
"Hey Kev," I said before he got up to go. "Thanks," I said giving him half hug before I watched him walk away.
"He seems really nice," Meg said before taking another sip of her coke.
"Yeah, he is," I replied. "So, what are you in Florida for?"
"Actually, I’m here with a very good friend of mine to record a CD for an independent record label...and for vacation," she said happily. "Can’t wait to get some sun."
"Really?" I asked surprised. "That’s so cool! I wish I could sing for a career."
"I heard you up there...you could make it in the business," she said.
"Thanks," was all I could say. "So, are you up to sharing your talent with us?" I asked with a mischievous grin.
"Sure."
"Just go up there and talk to the piano player when they get back up there," I told her. "I’ll be listening."
"Ok. Anyway, I have been looking for someone to sing back-ups for me on my album," she said hinting something. "Would you like to?"
"Oh my gosh!" I exclaimed. "You are asking me to sing with you!?! I’d love to!"
"Ok. Here’s my number," she said handing me a napkin with a number on it. "In case I don’t see you the rest of the night."
"This is so cool!" I said.
"We’ll be starting the day after next," she explained. "Call me and I’ll give you all the details," she said.
"Listen, I better get back to my group," I said. "But I’ll call you tomorrow!"
"Ok!" I heard her say before I turned and made my way to the stairs.
I was in a complete daze as I sat down at the table, staring off into space.
"I can’t believe what just happened!" I said quietly, still in a daze staring at the flame of a candle that sat in the middle of the table.
"What happened?" Nick wanted to know.
I didn’t hear what he just asked. I was too busy trying to digest the conversation that I just had with Meg. Still staring at the candle, I set the napkin on the table with one hand and reached for my purse with the other.
"Hello?" Court said. "What happened?"
"Huh?" I said as I snapped out of my daze, looking her in the face.
"I said, what happened?" she repeated.
"Oh...just a minute," I said rubbing my hands together, still thinking about what Meg said about her CD.
Right when I was about to tell them what happened, I heard a familiar voice come over the loud speakers. I stood up and walked over to the balcony and saw that it was Meg. ‘Good. She’s singing a song’ I thought.
"How’s everyone doing tonight?" Meg asked into the mic, looking up towards the balcony. "This song is for a very special woman. You know who you are, so this one’s for you," she said pointing at me.
I stood and listened to her sing for a few minutes before I noticed that AJ, Court and Nick were standing by my side listening also.
"Do you know her?" AJ asked confused.
"Sort of," I said after listening to Meg sing another verse. "I’ll explain when she’s done."
"She’s got a nice voice," Nick said softly as we all listened to her finish the song.
After we sat down, I began explaining how I met Meg, beginning with someone (not mentioning who) bumping into me on the dance floor and ending up with me being invited to sing on her album.
"So, that is what this number is for," I said holding up the napkin. "She said that they start the day after tomorrow. I’m so excited!"
"That’s great!" Court said, excited for me.
"Eewww! I love swing music!" I exclaimed as the air filled with swing music from the speakers. "Anyone want to dance?"
"I don’t know much swing," Nick said like he was a little embarrassed.
"That’s ok," I replied. "I’ll show you some steps," I said as we stood up and made our way back to the dance floor.
There were only a few people in the crowd on the dance floor that actually knew how to swing dance, so I decided to make a suggestion to the bartender.
"Hang on a minute. K?" I asked, leaving him by himself.
"I have a great idea," I said to the bartender. "Why don’t we get someone up on the stage and teach everyone some swing moves?"
"That’s a good idea," he said like he was thinking about it. "I know just the person," I heard him say as I walked back to where I had left Nick.
I looked around, but didn’t see him anywhere. ‘Where could he have gone?’ I asked my self mentally.
"I’m right here," I heard someone say as they tapped me on the shoulder.
"Oh, hi," I said turning around. "I thought you went back up there," I said pointing to the balcony.
"I’d never do that to you," he said apologetically.
"Thanks," I replied as I grabbed his hand and moved closer to the stage where the dance instructions were starting.
I managed to help Nick learn a few swing steps and I had a great time dancing with him, but I was missing dancing with AJ already. I looked around quickly, but didn’t see AJ or Court anywhere on the dance floor. In between songs and learning new dance steps, I glanced up at the balcony and saw both Court and AJ watching everyone have so much fun. I noticed Court looking my way, so I waved for her to come join us. She saw me and grabbed AJ’s hand and drug him down to the dance floor with her. Before Court knew what was going on, I stole AJ away from her and left her there with Nick.
"Now that he knows a few moves," I said to her. "You can dance with him now."
"Gee, thanks," was her response.
"You’re welcome," I said with a smile as AJ started getting into the music.
We danced a few dances, then AJ and I decided to make our way back to the balcony to scope out a pool table, leaving Nick and Court dancing on the dance floor.
* Chapter 13 *
"Corner pocket," I said pointing to the left corner pocket, then swiftly hit the cue ball with the stick.
"Thank you very much!" I said proudly as the eight ball disappeared into the pocket. "So, how about that $50?" I asked happily, holding my hand out.
"Let’s play another first," AJ responded, still shocked that I beat him. "Same wages?"
"Sure. Let’s go," I replied as he set the balls in the rack. "You break."
After playing a few more games, we decided to call it quits. He owed me $100...I won the first game, he won the next, I won the one after that, and the next after that.
"You’re going to make me go broke," he said jokingly as we sat back down at the table.
"Yeah right," I replied sarcastically. "And I’m the queen of England!"
"You are?" he asked as he got off the chair and kneeled at my feet. "Forgive me your Royal Highness!" he pleaded.
"Whatever!" I exclaimed. "Get up! People are staring!"
He did as told and started laughing for no apparent reason.
"What’s so funny?" I asked curiously.
"Nothing," he said trying to control himself which just made me want to know more.
"You are so gonna get it!" I exclaimed while tickling him on the side.
"Stop!" he yelped.
"Not ‘til you tell me," I replied.
"Ok, ok," he said before I stopped. "I was just remembering something stupid that Nick said while you two were in the restroom. That’s all."
"In that case, I’m not even going to ask," I said shaking my head and chuckling to myself.
"Good," he whispered as Court and Nick came into view coming up the stairs. "It’s probably better that you didn’t."
"Fine," I told him. "We have a little secret of our own," I continued, winking at Court with an evil looking grin after they sat down.
"Huh?" Nick said confused.
"Don’t ask," AJ replied shaking his head.
"So, Court," I said trying to change the subject. "What exactly did they do to your hair? It is sooo cute!"
"Well, first they cut it...obviously," she started. "Then they gave me red highlights with little blond streaks on top. I love it!"
"Yeah, they cut it a lot!" I said with a laugh. "No one’s going to recognize you."
"That’s the whole point," she said with a smile that made me laugh more.
"I know...no parties for MY little sis," I joked, taking in the sight of my little sis sitting there looking beautiful as always. "The guys would be all over you."
"Yeah right," she replied.
"I bet they would," I heard Nick say to himself under his breath.
"What was that Nick?" I asked, knowing that no one else heard what he said.
"Uh...I said...I’ll be right back," he said as he got up and walked off totally embarrassed.
I decided to apologize to him, so I got up and went after him. After a few seconds of looking around, I found him sitting at the bar. I slowly made my way over to him, contemplating on whether I should talk to him or not. As I approached him, I decided that I should. I would tell him I was sorry for embarrassing the poor guy. I mean, the guy has enough to handle, being the multi-millionaire teen pop star that he is.
"Hey there," I said to him as I sat down on the stool next to the one he was sitting on.
"Hi," he replied, reaching for the Mt. Dew that the bartender set in front of him.
"Listen," I started. "I’m sorry about that. I didn’t mean to embarrass you in front of them," I finished.
"It’s ok," he replied after taking a drink of his pop. "Really," he said turning to look me in the eyes. "It’s ok."
"Ok," I said with a smile. "Mind if I have some?" I asked pointing at his Dew.
"No, no, go ahead," he said pushing the drink towards me.
"Thanks," I said with a smile before taking a drink.
I couldn’t help but feel his eyes watching me, but that didn’t bother me one bit. It’s been a long while since guys have watched me. For some reason, I’m the girl who guys would rather have as a friend then a date. I kept a smile on my face as I set the drink down and pushed it back to Nick.
"Thanks again," I said.
"No problem," he said with a smile in return.
He broke his gaze and turned back to his drink. I could tell that he was thinking about something, so I sat there in silence for a few minutes. I thought about going to see if AJ and Court were ok, but I knew that they would probably be talking up a storm, or maybe even dancing on the dance floor. I couldn’t stand the silence anymore.
"Wanna talk about it?" I asked looking at Nick.
"Not really," he replied. "It’s not that I don’t want to talk to you, it’s just that I don’t think you’d understand."
"Oh," I said. "That’s fine."
"So," he turned on his stool to face me. "May I have this dance?"
I was kind of stunned that he asked me to dance. Why? I don’t know. I was pretty sure that he liked Court, but what the heck...it was just one slow dance.
"Sure," I replied happily as I placed my hand in his and got off the stool.
We made our way to the middle of the dance floor, where I put my hands loosely around his neck like I had done before. I could feel his hands gently touch my back just below my shoulder blades. It felt so good to be held by a guy again. I hadn’t been held, let alone danced with someone like this for a long time. I was always too consumed in my classes at college or off at the radio station that I worked at. I pulled away when the song finally ended. I suggested that we go back up to the table, but Nick insisted on staying as another slow song came on. It was an extended version of ‘Open Arms’ by Mariah Carey.
"Please! Even if it’s by Mariah, this is one of my favorite songs," he pleaded.
"I’m a little tired, but fine," I said before I laid my head on his shoulder and chest, draping my left hand back around his side and laid it on his shoulder.
I lifted my hand to place it on his other shoulder, but he took my hand in his and placed it near his heart. I could feel his heart beating fast enough that it was almost in time with the music in double time. I let my eyes shut as he softly sang the words to the song in my ear.
‘Why is he dancing with me? He should be dancing with Court. And why does it feel so good? I shouldn’t be doing this’ I thought as I heard the music change to a fast song. I quickly pulled away and guiltily headed towards the stairs without looking back. ‘This is not happening to me’ I reassured myself as I walked up to the table alone.
"There you are," AJ said sarcastically. "We thought you got kidnapped or something."
"Nope, I’m still here," I said folding my arms over my chest and looking at the table after I sat down. I could see Nick walking to the table out of the corner of my eye, so I turned slightly to towards the other direction and crossed my legs.
AJ leaned towards me. "Everything ok?" he asked in a whisper, obviously concerned.
"Um...yeah. Can we go?" I asked, turning to look into his questioning eyes. "I’m really tired."
‘I can’t believe I just lied to him’ I thought. I wasn’t tired. I was anything but tired. I was just afraid of what would happen next. I wanted to be alone and think things over. At that point, I wasn’t sure if I could face Nick the next day or not, let alone now. We’d just have to see.
"Sure," AJ answered my question before I grabbed my purse and stood up. "I think we’re going to go now," he said turning to Court and Nick.
I exchanged looks with Court and made sure that she knew to call me when she got back to the hotel.
"We’ll see you two tomorrow," AJ said looking over his shoulder as we walked towards the stairs.
I hurried down the stairs, leaving AJ lagging behind me. He must have sensed that I really wanted to leave, because he started moving faster down the stairs almost running into me. When we reached the door, he opened it for me and we made our way to his truck. After we got in, AJ reached for the CD binder to change the CD before we took off. I didn’t notice which CD he put in the player and at that point, I really didn’t care. I just wanted to get away from Nick. I hated feeling like I cheated Court out of a relationship with him. I didn’t want Nick to think that I had felt that way about him, but I guess he did think that. ‘Oh my gosh! He must like me and I’m sure he thinks I like him, but I don’t! What have I gotten myself into?’ I thought as I heard the music start playing. I wanted to scream after the first few notes of the song because it was the last thing that I wanted to be listening to right now. It was Nick’s song. I couldn’t bear to listen to the words. ‘Open up your heart to me. And say what’s on your mind. I know that we have been through so much pain...’ Tears welled up in my eyes as I tried to keep from breaking down.
"I can’t stand this anymore!" I exclaimed as I pushed the button to change the song.
"What’s wrong?" AJ asked.
"Nothing," I said, not wanting to talk about it. "I just want to go home."
"You mean the hotel?" he asked confused.
"No," I responded. "I mean home!"
"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked quietly.
"You wouldn’t understand," I said, still trying to hold back the tears.
"It’s ok," AJ responded as we turned onto the street of the hotel. "We’re almost there."
After we parked in front of the hotel, AJ got out and opened my door for me. I couldn’t help but wonder why he wanted to comfort me so much. When I got out of his truck, he asked if he could walk me up.
"That would be nice," I replied with a fake smile and continued walking towards the door.
"Wait," he said grabbing my arm gently, halting me in my tracks. "Will you go on a little walk with me?"
"Well," I hesitated. "Sure," I gave in.
I turned around and we started walking down the sidewalk. It was sort of chilly out and I didn’t bring a jacket, but I wasn’t exactly cold yet.
"So, are you having a good stay here in Florida?" he asked.
"Do you want the truth?" I asked, turning to look at him.
"Yeah," he said with a comforting smile.
"Ok," I responded. "I’m having a great time so far. I’m just not sure if I can go through with tomorrow," I said.
I could feel myself shiver when I said tomorrow. It was like that word was evil or something, the way it came out of my mouth.
"Here ya go," AJ said as he put his suit jacket around my shoulders. "So, what is it about tomorrow that is so bad?" he asked.
"It’s a long, twisted story," I said with a sigh. "And I’m not going to take the time to explain it."
"Does it have anything to do with me?" he asked.
"No," I replied with a laugh. "I assure you it has nothing to do with you."
"That’s a relief," he said with a sigh. "I thought that I did something wrong."
"No, no," I told him. "You have done everything right."
I could sense that he was congratulating himself even if he didn’t show it. As we walked down the street, we passed a souvenir shop, a clothes store, and finally a coffee and bagel shop.
"You want some coffee?" AJ asked pointing to the shop.
"I don’t drink coffee," I responded with a smile. "It’s not good for you and besides, it’s disgusting."
"That’s ok," he said. "I don’t really like it either."
We kept walking for a few more minutes until we came to the street corner. I glanced at my watch and saw that it was past 1 in the morning.
"It’s really late," I said. "We should be heading back."
"Ok," AJ said as we turned around and made our way down the path that we had just come.
As we walked down the sidewalk, we were both silent. I was glad that we went on this walk. It helped to calm my nerves, which I desperately needed. When we reached the hotel, I swung that huge door open and walked in, followed by AJ. The lobby was almost silent, except for a few people sitting in the lounge. We walked up the grand staircase and headed for the elevator door. I wondered if Nick had already dropped Court off, but I knew that there really wasn’t anything to worry about. She was old enough to handle things for herself. When the elevator arrived, we waited for the doors to open and then casually walked in. I pushed the button to go to the second floor and leaned against the wall of the elevator. I was too tired to do anything else.
"You know," AJ started as we walked down the hall towards my room. "I had a really great time tonight."
"So did I," I said smiling as I opened my purse and got out the key card.
I slid the key in the slot, turned the handle, and pushed the door open with my hand. I stood there in the doorway for a few seconds before turning back around to face AJ. I remembered that I still had his jacket on, so I slid it off and handed it to him.
"Thanks for the jacket," I said as he gently took it from my hand.
"It was my pleasure," he replied with a smile.
I stood there, frozen in the doorway, waiting for him to say something else, but not knowing what. He moved a little closer and before I knew what was happening our lips met for an instant. I had wanted this for so long, but somehow I never believed it would actually happen. ‘Now he can’t say that he’s never kissed a fan’ I thought with a smile on my face. I couldn’t help but smile. It was over as quickly as it had started, but it was heavenly. I wanted another, but I didn’t want to push it. After all, I’ve only known this guy for one day!
"I guess I’ll see you tomorrow then," he said pulling away slowly.
"Yeah," was all I could get out as I watched him walk down the hall.
"Sweet dreams," he said, turning around when he got to the elevator.
"You too," I called back before he stepped into the elevator.
‘I’m sure I’ll have sweet dreams’ I thought as I walked into my room and shut the door. I quickly changed into my flannel pajama bottoms and an old gray long sleeved thermal shirt that I always wore to bed. I pulled my hair up into a messy ponytail and quickly put my clothes away. I was tired, but not ready to go to bed so I turned on the TV, grabbed the remote, and got comfy on the couch. After turning the volume down a bit, I flipped through the channels for a few minutes looking for anything that seemed appealing. I flipped past a few boring movies, a documentary on bats, a British comedy that wasn’t very funny, a dozen infomercials and then I found it...Jerry Springer! I always got a laugh when watching this show, so I was bound and determined to get out of the rather sluggish mood that I was in. A few minutes into the show, I heard a soft knock on my door. I debated on whether to answer, but I figured that it would probably be Court. I slowly got off the couch and walked to the door, not bothering to look through the peephole. I slowly turned the handle and pulled the door open as I turned back to watch the TV to see what was happening on the show. I didn’t want to miss what was happening, so I reached out, grabbed the arm that I found, and pulled it into the room while still having my eyes glued to the TV. I almost died of shock when I turned to see who was standing there in my room with me. I instantly dropped the arm like it had a horrible contagious disease. I can’t believe that I didn’t look to see who was at the door before I pulled them in. This is all because I was caught up in some stupid show on the TV and I was definitely kicking myself for that.
"Um...I...uh," I stuttered, taking about five steps back. "I can’t talk to you right now."
"Why not?" he said taking a few steps forward.
"Because I can’t," I said, backing over towards where the bathroom was with my hands out like I was telling him to stop.
"But," he started.
"No!" I cut him off before storming into the bathroom and locking the door. "Leave!"
"I only want to talk to you."
I could tell that he was standing by the door, but not too close, in case I came out.
"Please leave!" I pleaded as my voice quivered. I was on the verge of tears. "Just leave."
"Fine," he responded. "If that’s what you want."
"Yes! That is what I want!" I yelled back.
I couldn’t hold back the tears anymore. They fell down my cheeks as I sobbed uncontrollably. I leaned against the wall and slid down until I was sitting on the floor with my knees up by my head. I sat there for a few minutes trying to regain my composure. When I stopped crying, I stood up, opened the door and looked around, not seeing him anywhere. ‘He must have left’ I thought as I went over to one of the sinks, turned the light on, and washed my mascara-streaked face with cool water. I stood up and observed my own face in the mirror. I thought I saw a figure sitting on my bed, but it was just my tired eyes playing tricks on me. I turned around to walk over to the bed, but stopped when I saw that he was sitting on my bed. I almost screamed bloody murder, but I put a hand over my mouth before any sound could escape. ‘Why won’t he just leave me alone?’ I thought as I headed back into the bathroom and locked the door once again. This time I sat there on the floor until I heard his footsteps and the door shut closed behind him.
* Chapter 14 *
I woke up the next morning to the phone ringing loudly in my ear. I reached over and picked it up slowly.
"Hello," I said sleepily.
"Can I talk to," was all I heard him say before I slammed the phone down.
The last thing that I wanted to do at this moment was talk to him. My head was pounding with every breath that I took, so I swung my feet from under the covers and made my way to the sink. I took two Tylenol and was getting ready to get in the shower when the phone rang again.
"Hello," I said again after picking up the phone by the couch.
"Hi," Court said.
"What’s up?" I asked, trying to keep myself under control.
"Oh, not much. I was just wondering if you were up yet," she replied. "So, how was last night?"
"AJ was really great," I said, not wanting to mention anything else that had happened the night before. "How was yours?"
"It was fun," she said in response. "Nick’s a great guy and all, but he’s not my type," she said after a few seconds of silence.
"Oh," was all I could get out.
"Yeah, well," she started. "It’s all good."
We talked for a few more minutes. I asked her to talk to the MTV people and explain about my change of plans. I would be staying a few extra days and she was going to tell them that I would book my own flight and get a different room. She said she would. We soon ran out of things to talk about, so we said good-bye and hung up.
I took a long hot shower and tried to relax, but found that it only worked for a few minutes. My mind kept thinking about what I was going to do today. I wanted to do this interview so bad before last night, but I wasn’t so sure about that now. ‘Why do things like this always happen to me?’ I asked myself as I pulled on a long ankle length black skirt that had slits up to the knees on each side of my legs. I grabbed a navy blue sweater shirt that had one section of green, black, white, and purple stripes across the chest and arms and pulled it over my head. I sat on the bed, put on my socks, and then slid on my new Doc Martin’s. It wasn’t the best outfit that I had to wear, but I wasn’t exactly trying to impress anyone either. I pulled half of my hair back and put it into a silver barrette so that my hair wouldn’t be in my face all day. After I was done getting dressed and ready to leave, I quickly gathered my things and put them on the unmade bed. I put everything in my bags and put them by the door so I could grab them when I got back. I wanted to be out of this room as soon as I got back from the interview. I told Court that I would meet her in the lobby and we’d go get some breakfast at the bagel shop down the street. I went down to the lobby and saw her already sitting on the couch waiting for me.
"Hey Court," I said walking up behind her. "Let’s go."
"Ok," she said getting up from the couch and walking towards where I was standing.
We went out the big door that the doorman held open for us. I sensed that someone was watching us as we left, but didn’t let it bother me. As we strolled down the sidewalk, I noticed that Court was dressed in a pair of carpenter pants and a baby blue button up shirt. She looked like she had just walked out of a photo shoot for a catalog.
"I’ll have a plain bagel toasted with plain cream cheese on the side please," I told the girl behind the counter.
"And I’ll have a plain with butter and honey," Court added.
When our orders were ready, I paid and took our bagels to the little table in the corner that Court was sitting at. We ate and chatted for about 15 minutes before I noticed what time it was.
"We better hurry back to the lobby so we can meet Bo there," I said.
"Ok," Court said while getting up to through away the garbage. "By the way, I talked to the MTV people and they said it was fine if you were staying. They just said to make sure that you are out of the room as soon as we get back."
"That won’t be a problem," I replied, walking towards the door with Court following.
We started to walk back to the hotel. I could feel my stomach tightening up and starting to feel like I was going to be sick. I knew that I wasn’t sick, I just didn’t know what I would do when I had to look at Nick’s face during an entire interview.
"There you are," Bo exclaimed when we walked into the lobby. "Smile for the camera."
I could see that he pushed record, so I put on my best fake smile and waited for Court to follow me in.
"Hi everyone," I said with a small wave to the camera and then walked behind Bo so I wouldn’t be recorded anymore.
"Well then," Bo said after he stopped recording. "Let’s be on our way."
Court and I headed out the doors, followed by Bo, who was recording us again. We got into the limo and were on our way. I wondered where the interview was being held, but decided that I’d rather not think about that right now. We drove for about 15 minutes and came to a stop in front of a large Victorian style building. I could see a woman walking towards us as we got out of the limo.
"Hi. My name’s Valerie," she said as she led us into the building. "Right this way."
The building was virtually silent except for the sound of our footsteps against the marble tiled floor. We turned a corner and Valerie led us to some French glass doors. She opened one of the doors and motioned for us to go out. I stepped through the door and waited for Court to follow me. I turned around and saw a beautiful green lawn with flowers along the edges. I walked a few steps along the sidewalk and admired the perfectly trimmed grass. Valerie moved ahead of both Court and I and led us to a large shade tree. I followed her, but I was still looking at the grass and the beautiful flowers. When I turned my head back to where I was standing, I saw that we were standing in front of the guys. They were already sitting on their chairs and had long since made themselves comfortable. All eyes were on me because I was the last to walk up to the group. I could feel all five pairs of eyes looking me up and down. ‘I must look as bad as I feel’ I thought. I was beginning to feel very uncomfortable as Valerie pointed to the chair where I would be sitting.
"Thank you," I said as politely as possible before I sat down and crossed my legs to get comfortable.
"Your welcome," she answered. "You can stand over here with Bo," she said to Court.
I watched Court as she moved over to where Val told her to stand. I really didn’t want to do this. It was too awkward.
"Ok," Bo said, ready to start recording. "Go ahead."
I didn’t know what to do, so I looked down at the clipboard that Valerie had given me when we first got there. I could tell that there was tension among everyone so I looked up and made eye contact with Kev. He gave me a warm smile that made me feel a whole lot better. I gave him a smile back and decided that it was now or never.
"How are you all doing today?" I asked in a cheerful tone.
I heard ‘fines’ and ‘greats’ from them all so I figured that they were all in pretty good moods.
"That’s good to hear," I said in return with a smile. "So, what are you all going to do during your two month break this summer?"
"I’m spending it with family and friends," Kev replied.
"I’ll be working on writing songs and making sure my business is running," Howie said.
"I’ll be at home with my family, probably just relaxing," Nick said.
"I’m going to be playing tons of basketball," Bri said.
"I will most likely be at my house recording in my own studio and hanging out with my mom," AJ said with a smile.
"Sounds like everyone is going to have a fun summer," I said.
I asked them a few more questions while trying to avoid eye contact with Nick. For the most part I succeeded in trying to avoid him, but every once in a while, I could feel him staring at me.
"Do you guys ever see the Backstreet Boys breaking up?" I asked. I already knew the answer to that question, but I couldn’t think of any other unique ones to ask.
"I guess that eventually over time we will stop recording or whatever, but we will always be the Backstreet Boys," Kev explained.
I couldn’t take the staring anymore from Nick. It was making me too uncomfortable. I felt like I was going to go insane. When I looked up and met his blue eyes with mine, I couldn’t handle it anymore. All of the pain came rushing back to me in an instant. My eyes started filling with tears as I stood up in panic.
"I can’t take this anymore," I said as I moved away from the chair quickly. "I...I have...I have to go," yelled after I turned and ran across the lawn.
When I reached the sidewalk in front of the house, I realized that I didn’t have a ride to get anywhere so I kept running for a few blocks until I came to one of the main streets. I hailed a cab and told the driver to take me to the hotel as quickly as possible. We arrived at the hotel about 5 minutes later, so I gave the cabbie some money and practically ran up to my room. I knew that at least one of the guys, if not all of them would come looking for me to see what was wrong. After opening the door, I grabbed my bags and went back to where the elevator was. Instead of taking the elevator, I took the stairs just in case they were here already. When I got to the bottom of the stairs, I cautiously made sure that none of them were hanging out in the lobby. No one was in the lobby but the clerk at the front desk, so I went up to the desk and checked out. I left a note with the clerk for Court telling her that I had to leave and that she could get reach me on my cell phone. After I was all checked out and ready to go, I made my way to the curb to hail a cab. Just as I got into the cab to tell the driver where I wanted to go, I turned and saw AJ, Kev, and Court running down the stairs. I noticed that AJ was looking at me as he ran towards the cab, so I sadly waved goodbye as the cabbie pulled away from the curb. I felt so bad about leaving him like that, but I couldn’t handle the pain that Nick had caused. It hurt too much to be around. I almost felt like leaving Florida at that moment, but being recorded on a CD was too big of an opportunity to pass up.
The cab pulled up at the hotel that I was going to be staying at, so I paid the driver and hopped out with my bags. After checking in at the desk, I went to my room to put my bags down and get settled in. Before I unpacked any of my clothes, I pulled out my cell phone and called the radio station that I worked at so they knew that I wouldn’t be home for a few more days. I was supposed to be on vacation for the next week anyway, so it wouldn’t be a big deal. I just wanted them to know that I wouldn’t be home if they needed me. The next person that I called was Meg. She seemed really happy to hear from me.
"Hey, let’s go out to dinner," she suggested.
"Ok," I replied. "I’m just getting ready to put my stuff away."
"Alright. I’ll pick you up around 7 then," she said.
I told her where I was staying and what room number I was in before we said our good-byes and hung up. I took my clothes out and hung them up in the closet when I heard a knock on the door. I hesitated whether to open it, but rested on the conclusion that no one could possibly have found me this soon. I walked over and opened the door to see the female manager standing there.
"I just wanted to come and say welcome," she said in a friendly voice. "We have a continental breakfast every morning from 7 to 10 and the pool is open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m."
"Ok," I replied with a smile. "Thanks."
"Your welcome," she said before walking down the hallway.
Just after I shut the door, my cell phone rang.
"Speak to me," I said into the phone after I pushed the send button.
"Hello?" the voice said on the other end.
"Heeelllllloooo," I said slowly with extra emphasis.
"Where in the heck are you?" the voice at the other end of the line said.
"Who is this?" I asked as the line started breaking up really bad.
"You...know...is?" was all I could make out through the static from the other line before it went dead.
"Ok," I said out loud. "That was weird."
I decided to turn my phone off so that I didn’t get any more weird phone calls. When I rode up to this hotel in the cab, I saw that there was a clothing store next door. I wanted to see if they had any cute swimsuits so I grabbed my planner where I kept my money, my cell (even though it was turned off) and the key to the door and headed out.
"May I help you," said a brunette behind the counter.
"No thanks," I replied with a smile. "I’m just looking," I said as I continued to walk to the back where the swimwear was.
I usually walk right past the two piece suits, but this time I stopped and admired the new summer fashions. After looking at those for a few minutes, I continued on to the one-piece suits. I finally found a dark forest green one that I liked in my size and went to the dressing room to try it on. I liked it, so I went back out and looked at the robes. I thought that a robe would be nice to wear around the pool to keep warm until I was ready to go in. I found a soft pale pink terry cloth robe that was long enough to go to my mid-shin that I totally fell in love with. I took the suit and robe to the counter and paid for them while making small talk with the girl at the register.
I went back to my room and changed into the new suit and robe and then headed down to the pool. I walked off the elevator and down the hall about five steps to the open pool door. There were windows in the wall by the door so you could see people come and go every once in a while. It was only about 4 in the afternoon, so there wasn’t anyone else at the pool when I arrived. That was perfectly fine with me. I needed some time alone to think.
I took my robe off and set it on one of the lounge chairs that was on the other side of the pool so it faced the windows. I stood near the lounge chair and noticed that if I were sitting there, I would have the perfect view of the front desk. After standing there for a few seconds, I slowly made my over to the large hot tub that was steaming. It looked very relaxing so I stepped in and sat down to let the warmth of the water and the jets massage my back. I closed my eyes and sat there wondering what kind of songs Meg was going to have on her CD. She had a soulful jazzy voice that was full and rich, but she would also sound awesome singing any kind of poppy song. After a few minutes of thinking, my eyes jerked open at the sound of a frantic commotion going on at the front desk. I got up out of the hot tub and went back over to the chair where my robe was and sat down. I looked out the window and saw two guys and a girl standing at the desk. They seemed somewhat familiar. I thought of whom it could be when it dawned on me. It was Kevin, AJ and Courtney. ‘Oh crap!’ I thought to myself. I jumped up and dove into the cold swimming pool before anyone saw me. I swam to the far end of the pool and sat in the corner closest to the window with only the top of my head sticking out of the water. I prayed that none of them had seen me. I sat in the corner of the pool like that for what seemed like 20 minutes until they were gone. I didn’t know exactly where they went, but they weren’t at the desk anymore. How did they find out that I was here? They couldn’t have followed me here...unless they tracked the cab. How could I be so stupid!?! I swam to the ladder, got out of the pool and went over to the chair to put my robe on. I could hear talking coming from down the hall so I practically ran to the sauna and went inside. I was sure that they would have seen me, but I left the door open a crack and watched them walk past the pool without stopping. ‘Thank goodness!’ I thought to myself as I opened the door and walked out to the hallway. I made my way to my room, being sure that none of them saw me. I sure hoped that the clerk didn’t tell them what room I was in. I smelled like chlorine and it was starting to make me sick so I jumped into the shower.
When I was ready I walked down the hall of the hotel and went down to the main floor on the elevator. I was supposed to be picked up by Meg in about 5 minutes so I decided to head out early. As I was walking out of the elevator, I saw Meg coming in the doors to the lobby. I waved to her and made my way over to where she was standing. As I got closer to where she was standing, she turned and walked with me to the door.
"There she is," I heard Kev say somewhere off in the lobby.
I panicked as I grabbed Meg’s arm and ran out the door. We were too fast for him because by the time he got outside, we were driving off in Meg’s silver metal-flake VW bug.
"What’s the rush?" Meg asked, obviously confused.
"Well," I started. "It’s a really long story. I’d rather not let it ruin our evening."
"Ok," she replied. "So, where do you want to eat?"
"Ya know? I really don’t care where we eat," I answered happily. My mind was thinking about other things at the moment.
* Chapter 15 *
"That was really good," I said while pushing the restaurant door open and holding it while Meg went out.
"Yeah, it was," she agreed as we headed to her new style bug.
We got in the car and started back to the hotel.
"Hey Meg?" I started. "Would you mind if I stayed at your apartment? It would be a lot less trouble than picking me up and dropping me off everyday," I said as we pulled into the hotel parking lot.
"That’s actually a pretty good idea," she said as I admired a hat that she had sitting in the rear window.
"Cool! Mind if I try it on?" I asked pointing to the hat.
"Go ahead," she exclaimed as I reached for it and put it on.
It was an oversized purple fisherman’s hat that was made out of some velour type material. I took it off momentarily as I stuffed my hair up into the hat and put it back on.
"How do I look?" I asked with a little laugh.
"Gorgeous darling," Meg replied with a fake English accent as she opened the hotel door for me.
"Beat ya," I said to her, running through the lobby and towards the stairs, hoping that Kev and AJ wouldn’t see me again.
I knew that Court’s flight was leaving sometime soon, so she was probably at the airport. Meg decided to take the elevator and I continued running up the stairs. I reached my room first so I opened the door and waited for her to get there. When we were both in my room, I began to throw my stuff back in my bags while she plopped on the bed and turned the TV on. After I was done packing my bags again, we took off towards the front desk. Meg grabbed my bags and took them out to put them in her car while I stopped at the desk to turn in my key. As I finished checking out, I turned around and saw that AJ and Kev were still sitting on the sofa facing the other wall.
"Bye guys," I said loudly as I waved at them and made a mad dash for the door.
I could tell that they saw me leaving after I waved to them, but they were too slow again. When they got out of the hotel and headed for AJ’s Expedition, we were already out of sight.
I took off the hat and set it back in the rear window, letting my long blond hair sit heavily on my shoulders. Remembering that I stuffed my cell into my jeans pocket, I reached down and retrieved it. I pushed the power button and waited for it to warm up before I could see that I had 10 new voice mail messages.
"Do you mind if I listen to my voice mail?" I asked while holding up my cell phone.
"You don’t even need to ask," she replied with a laugh. "I know how the whole cell phone thing is so I totally understand when you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do."
I smiled thankfully and dialed the number to my voice mail extension. The first four messages were nothing but static so I quickly deleted those. ‘Probably a wrong number’ I thought as I held the phone up to my ear to listen to the next message.
‘Hi Liz. This is Court. I’m sorry that I missed you, but I’m leaving the hotel for the airport now. I just wanted to tell you good luck on the whole CD thing. I’ll call you when I get home. Bye’
I pushed the button to save that message and waited for the next.
‘Hi Liz. I was hoping to talk to you, but I’ll call you back later. Your father and I are in Seattle and we will be making our way to Alaska soon. Hope everything is going well. Love you.’
I totally forgot that my parents were on vacation too. They were in Seattle visiting my mom’s relatives and then they were driving up to Alaska to see my mom’s parents. I guess they have to use the new motor home sometime! I again pushed the button to save the message and waited for the next.
‘Yo Els. What’s up? Hope everything is going great for you. I heard about the whole CD thing...cool, cool, cool! Well, I’ve got to get back to the booth...commercial’s almost over. Talk to you when you get back.’
That was a message from a friend of mine at work. He was one of the afternoon radio personalities and I was one of the little ‘gophers’. He was always nice to me. He let me on his shows sometimes and even told me that I could have his job someday. I quickly went to the next message.
‘Hi Liz. I know that you don’t really want to hear from me, but I really need to talk to you.’ I was so tempted to delete that message before I heard any further, but I didn’t. ‘I’m so sorry for what I did last night and I want us to be friends. If you feel like talking, call me. My mom’s yelling for me so I have to go. Bye.’
I was surprised at my reaction. I really did want to talk about it because I felt so bad about how I treated him. I wanted to apologize but how was I supposed to get a hold of him? And how did Nick get my cell number?
‘Hey Liz. I’ve been trying to call you for like the last day! Where ya been?’ I heard Mel’s voice say. ‘I called the hotel and they said you checked out. I’m totally confused. Anyway, call me!!! I’m outtie! Bye.’
I was tired of listening to the messages so I hit the end button and put the phone on the belt loop of my jeans. I pulled out my planner and flipped through all the cards and things that I had until I got to my calling card. It was supposed to be for work, but I used it more frequently for personal business than anything else. I pulled it out, studied the number on the back and then shoved it into my pocket. While I was closing my planner a small paper fell out and I noticed that it had Nick’s number sprawled across it in my sloppy handwriting. I shoved my planner back in my backpack and put the number in my pocket while we continued to drive.
By the time we pulled into the parking lot of Meg’s apartment complex, it was about 9 p.m. We lugged my bags into her apartment and I put my laptop bag on the coffee table while she went and got a blanket and pillow for me to use. I pulled my little laptop out of the carrying bag and opened the top. I pushed the little button to turn it on as Meg walked into the living room with some sleeping supplies in hand.
"Do you mind if I check my e-mail?" I asked Meg while she walked over to see what I was doing.
"No, go right ahead," she replied as I hooked up my computer.
I was connected in a few minutes and started sifting through the ridiculous amounts of mail in my mailbox. I was the one in charge of e-mail from the radio station’s website, so I usually had at least 10-15 new messages a day. I quickly scanned over the ‘from’ section and noticed that most of the messages were from newsletter lists and station listeners, until I got towards the bottom of the list. I stopped scanning when I noticed a message from a user named ‘BSBphantom’. ‘I don’t know anyone with that name’ I thought as I stared at the name.
"Hey Meg," I started. "Do you know of anyone with the screen name ‘BSBphantom’?"
"Nope," she called from the kitchen. "Do you wanna watch a movie or something?"
"Sure," I answered. "But let me finish checking my mail first."
Curiosity got the best of me, so I opened the e-mail and sat back to read it.
‘Hi Liz. You probably have no idea who I am by this name, but I got this e-mail address from your sister. I just want you to know that you are a really great girl and I’d love to go out with you again sometime. Later, Phantom’
"Go out with me again?" I asked myself out loud, totally confused.
I didn’t want to let that e-mail get the best of me, so I shut down my computer and sat back on the couch as Meg came in with a heaping bowl of popcorn. She popped in ‘Austin Powers’ and crashed on the couch beside me. During the beginning credits I excused myself and went off to find the bathroom. When I found it, I went in, quietly shut the door behind me, and hopped onto the counter. I pulled the number and calling card out of my pocket and unclipped my cell phone. I hated calling Nick this late, but I felt that I was ready to talk. After dialing the calling card number, I slowly dialed Nick’s number and put the phone up to my ear.
"Hello," he picked up after like 7 rings.
"Hi Nick," I hesitated. "I got your message."
"Oh...I...uh...I didn’t think you’d want to talk to me," he said, obviously stunned that I called.
"Well, I just wanted to tell you that I’m sorry about how I’ve been acting," I started. "I’m really sorry."
"It’s ok," he replied.
"No, it’s not ok," I said. "I should’ve talked to you last night at the club instead of running away from the problem."
He didn’t say anything so I continued.
"I also could’ve talked to you last night when you came to my room," I said softly. "But instead I freaked out and gave up."
There was silence again.
"I mean, I wasn’t really ready to talk about it then and you just showed up out of no where," I said getting worked up again.
"I’m sorry. I dropped your sister off and I heard the TV so I figured you were there," he replied.
I took a few deep breaths before speaking again.
"I understand. I needed to have a good cry anyway," I said sarcastically.
"So, do you wanna meet somewhere and talk about this?" he asked.
"Um, I’m...well...how about tomorrow sometime. I’m not really feeling up to going somewhere tonight," I replied.
"Ok. Tomorrow then. Where are you anyway?" he said.
"I can’t tell you that," I responded.
"Do you want me to pick you up or what?" he asked like he was confused.
"Um, I’ll meet you there," I said.
"Ok," he said.
He told me where to meet him and what time before we hung up. After putting my phone back on my belt loop and shoving the paper and card in my pocket I went out to the couch to find the movie almost half over.
"Whatcha been up to?" Meg asked.
"I had to make a phone call," I answered.
"Oh," Meg replied before turning her attention back to the movie.
I really wasn’t in the mood to watch a movie like Austin Powers, so I just sat there on the couch and thought about what tomorrow would be like.
* Chapter 16 *
"Wow!" the techie exclaimed after the song was over. "You two can really harmonize," he complimented us with two thumbs up.
Meg and I exchanged smiles as the techie played the song back for us. He was right. We did sound great together. We were singing a rather poppy song, but it had a cool bass beat to it. Even though it was a pop song, it was nothing like the bubble-gum stuff that you heard on the radio. It had more of a blues feel to it then the teenybopper music that was released within the last year. As we listened to the demo for the next song, I couldn’t help but think of how it would sound when we were done with it. Meg was the one who picked this song out from the piles of songs to choose from, so I knew that it had real potential. It was kind of slow and it talked about two people being in love. It reminded me of a few of the good oldies songs. We quickly finished that song, knowing that it was the best one that we had done so far.
"Let’s go ahead and take a quick break," the guy in the tech room said as Meg and I removed our headphones and made our way to a table where our water bottles were sitting.
"So," Meg said. "You like?" she asked with a smile.
"Do I like?" I repeated with a laugh and leaned against the wall. "I love! This is so much fun."
"I have to admit to that one," she said. "It can get pretty fun."
"Yeah," I agreed. "I never thought that I’d ever get to record anything, let alone be on a CD."
"That’s what I thought too," Meg said.
We went back to work after a few more minutes of gabbing. By the end of the day, we had recorded a total of 8 different songs. The techie decided that it was time to call it quits for the day, so we thanked him and headed for the door.
"That went great," Meg exclaimed after we got into her car.
"Yeah," I responded. "It was awesome!"
"So, what now?" Meg asked.
"I don’t know. I still need to figure out what to wear to my little rendezvous tonight," I said sluggishly as she started the car and drove off.
"Let’s go shopping," Meg said excitedly. "We can go to this really cool mall that I know of."
"Ok," I said. "I need some new clothes anyway," I said looking down at my old comfortable faded jeans that were obviously worn from time and a dark green T-shirt from Alaska that my parents bought for me a few years back.
"We’ll just have to find you some really cute stuff then," Meg said with enthusiasm as we drove into the mall parking lot.
"Ok," I replied happily.
We found a parking spot near an entrance and hopped out of the car. Meg practically dragged me into the mall and headed for the first store with delight.
We went into the store and looked through racks and racks of clothes.
"Try these on," Meg said holding up a pair of Pipes with a black stripe down each side on the seam. "This too," she insisted, handing me a short sleeved light green baby tee with a picture of a cute little frog on the front.
"Eeewww!" Meg screamed with delight. "I like those...no, I love those! This shirt totally brings out your eyes."
We found a few more shirts to go with the pants and paid at the counter. After leaving that store, we walked slowly down the hallway of the mall, looking at stores as we passed. We just passed a FootLocker when my phone rang.
"Hang on Meg," I said while pulling out my purple metallic phone. "Duty calls," I said pointing to my phone.
We stopped and sat on a bench in the middle of the hallway.
"Make it quick," Meg said.
I nodded to her and pushed the send button.
"Speak to me," I said into the phone.
"Do you always answer that way?" the voice asked.
"Yeah," I replied. "Why?"
"No reason. I see you," the raspy voice said.
"Really?" I asked while looking around, but didn’t see anyone talking on a phone anywhere. "I don’t see you. Who is this anyway and where are you?"
Meg gave me a questioning look. ‘Don’t know’ I mouthed to her with a shrug.
"I can’t tell you that," the voice said. "Think shoes."
"Shoes...shoes...shoes," I said out loud to myself as I looked around at the surrounding stores.
There were two shoe stores in this section of the mall, one being a dressy type store and the other was the FootLocker that we passed earlier.
"Ok," I said standing up and waving for Meg to follow. "I’ve got the shoe part down."
"Good," the voice said with an evil laugh. "Now, think of a hobby that almost every male has."
"A hobby that almost every male has," I whispered to Meg, hoping she could help me out.
"Beer, football, girls, soccer, punching each other for no reason, golf, TV, cars," Meg started listing. "Hockey, WWF, Roller Jam, Monster truck rallies," Meg rambled on.
"Well, considering every other thing that you just mentioned has to do with sports, we’re looking in here," I said grabbing Meg’s hand and made our way to the Foot Locker across the hall, still talking on my cell.
"I still see you," the voice said evilly.
"That’s nice," I replied, getting rather annoyed. "I still don’t see you."
"Really?" he asked. "Then your not looking hard enough," I heard the voice say from around the corner and on the phone at the same time.
It was like I was hearing it in surround sound as I turned the corner to find a guy standing over a pair of brightly colored shoes that he was trying on. He had his back to me so he couldn’t see that I was behind him now. I handed the phone to Meg and motioned for her to walk the other way while still talking to the guy on the phone.
"You still can’t find me?" he asked happily, not knowing that I was standing there. "I can see you."
"I can see you too," I bent over and whispered in his ear.
You could totally tell that he was scared stiff when he jumped up and screamed at me as Meg came walking up.
"Oh my gosh!" AJ screamed as we laughed at him. "You scared the crap out of me!"
"Serves you right for trying to pull a stunt like that," I snickered. "By the way, this is Megan," I said pointing to her.
"Nice to meet you Megan," he said while putting his shoes back on.
"So, AJ," I started. "How did you get my cell number and how in the heck did you know that I was here?"
"Well, I asked your sister for your number before she left and she gladly gave it to me," he explained. "I’ve been trying to call for the last day, but it’s been busy, or I got your voice mail, or it’s out of range."
"Oh," I said as we walked to the counter so he could pay for the stuff he was getting. "How did you know I was here?"
"That was by accident," he said pointing a pen that he was signing the credit card slip with at me with a smile. "I saw you and Megan walk by the store while I was looking at those funky hats over there and I decided to give you a call."
"By the way," Meg started. "It’s Meg."
"Ok, Meg," he replied. "So, where did you go after yesterday?" he asked me while we walked out the store.
"I had to get away from things for a little bit," I replied.
"You were gone in like two seconds. I didn’t even have a chance to say good-bye," he said fake pouting. "Where are you staying now?"
"That is highly confidential," I said while giving Meg a quick glance that told her not to tell him.
AJ turned to Meg to ask her if she knew, but before he could ask, she answered.
"Don’t ask me," she said with a shrug.
"Fine then. Do you two want some food? My treat," he asked as we walked down the hallway. "I’m in the mood for food," he said in a weird voice that made both Meg and me laugh.
"You are probably always in the mood for food," I teased as we walked into the food court.
"That Subway looks way good," Meg said.
"Eeewww! It does look good," I agreed.
"Then that’s where we’ll eat," AJ said as we walked up to order our food.
When we had our food in hand, we went off and found a booth in the back of the food court so we could eat in privacy. AJ sat by the wall in a corner with Meg sitting next to him and me on the other side of the table. Fortunately not many people recognized AJ, so we ate in peace.
"AJ?" I asked.
"Yeah," he replied between bites.
"When you get home, will you call Kev and tell him that I’m fine?" I asked while I watched him finish his sandwich.
"Sure," he responded when he was done.
"Thanks," I said with a smile. "I think I kinda got him worried."
"Just a little," he said sarcastically with a little laugh. "So, what are you two doing here anyway? I thought you were recording today?" he asked with a confused look on his face.
"We were recording today," Meg replied.
"They kicked us out a little early cause we’re so good," I teased. "Meg’s helping me pick out some new clothes to replace the worn out ones that I own."
"Sounds like a chore," AJ said with a laugh.
"Whatever," I replied pretending like I was offended as I reached across the table and lightly smacked his arm.
"Anyway," Meg said looking at her watch. "We have to get going."
She was giving me the look that meant we needed to leave because of my little get-together in a few hours.
"Yeah," I agreed. "Call me later," I said to AJ before grabbing my bags that sat next to me on the bench.
"Bye," he said before we walked away quietly.
After we got into the car, Meg noticed that it was running low on gas, so we stopped at a gas station to fill up. I rolled down my window to talk to Meg as she walked around to the passenger side where the tank was located.
"So," I said. "What do you think of AJ?"
"He’s cool," she replied while starting the pump. "You two would make a cute couple."
"Yeah right," I sighed as she pulled the pump from the tank and went in to pay.
"Naw, I’m serious," she said as she started the car again. "You two look cute together."
We drove most of the way back to her apartment in silence. I thought about what Meg had said about AJ and me, but I still didn’t think anything would happen other than us being friends. That was the way it always was with guys when it came to me. Besides, he was a rich worldwide pop star. Why would he want someone like me? Plain, not very interesting, little old me. My thoughts were disturbed when Meg shut her door and knocked on the window.
"Hello..." she said. "We’re here."
"Huh?" I replied.
I was still off in la-la land as I got out of the car with my bags.
"Sorry about that," I said sheepishly as we walked up to her door. "I was buried deep in my thoughts again."
"I figured as much," she replied as she pushed the door open and walked in.
* Chapter 17 *
"Hurry up," I heard Meg yell through the bathroom door. "You’re going to be late."
"Am not," I insisted as I walked out of the bathroom and headed for her bedroom.
I had laid out my outfit on her bed before I got into the shower so I could change quickly after I got out. I went in and noticed that the clothes I put on the bed were replaced with ones that Meg must have picked out.
"What’s wrong with the clothes I picked out?" I hollered down the hall.
"Nothing," she replied. "But the ones I picked are cuter."
"Whatever you say," I said as I shut the door and went over to the bed to check the clothes that she had picked out.
‘It’s not like I’m dressing to impress the guy’ I thought to myself as I slid on the new pipes that Meg set out. She also set out a white Roxy baby tee with a wide silver stripe across the front so I put that on too before I grabbed my socks and headed to the living room where my shoes were. I sat down on the couch and slid my socks on while Meg plugged in a blow dryer and started drying my long hair with it. When my hair was dry and my shoes were on, we made our way back to the bathroom. I worked on putting my make-up while Meg started curling the ends of my hair.
"Just curl the ends so they curl under," I said. "I’m not going to get all dressed up for some meeting at a pizzeria."
"Fine," she replied. "I think you look cute."
"Thanks."
"No problem," she said as she pulled the curling iron out of the last piece of hair. "All done."
"Good," I said turning around to face her. "I’m done too. How do I look?"
"You look great!"
"Thanks Meg," I said as I gave her a hug.
"No problem girlie," she replied as she handed me her car keys and a paper with directions on it. "I’m having my friend pick me up in a little so you can drive my car."
"Oh my gosh Meg!" I managed to get out. "Thank you so much."
"Like I said, it’s no problem," she said with a huge smile. "Have fun tonight."
"I promise I’ll try," I said as she walked out into the hall.
I just stood there for a few minutes, still surprised that Meg was basically giving me her car for the night. I mean, if I was her and it was my car, I’d be like freaking out about who could drive it and stuff. Meg was just one of those carefree type of people. ‘I wish I was like that’ I thought as I headed out to the living room to find my little bag. After I found it, I put some necessities in it and made my way to the front door.
"Bye Meg," I yelled out to her. "I’m leaving now."
"Ok," she replied. "I won’t wait up and there’s a key to the door with the car keys so you can be as late as you want."
"Bye," I said before shutting the door behind me.
The drive over to the pizzeria was short due to the fact that I was thinking about what would happen when I got there. I hope everything would go well without a scene. I didn’t want anything bad to happen because I still wanted to be Nick’s friend, even if he didn’t feel the same. I wanted to tell him that I was confused about what was happening, but that would all fall into place if this night went without a glitch. I pulled into the small parking lot and pulled into an empty space by the building.
"Hi," I said to the hostess at the counter. "I’m supposed to meet a friend here at 7."
"Your name?" she asked.
I gave the hostess my name.
"Aww yes. Right this way," she said as she led me to a small private table towards the back that was empty.
"Your waiter should be right with you to get you a drink. Here is our menu that you can look at until your friend comes," she said handing me a menu after I sat down.
"Thank you," I said to her before she left.
I sat at the table for a few minutes until the waiter came.
"Hi. I’m Jeff. I’ll be your waiter tonight," he said with a gentle smile as he took out his pad to write down my order. "Can I get you something to drink?"
"Yeah," I replied. "I’ll have a Mt. Dew."
"Mt. Dew it is," he said back to me before he turned around and walked away.
After about a minute, he was back with my drink.
"There ya go," he said as he set it in front of me.
"Thanks," I replied. "I’m supposed to meet a friend so it might be a few minutes before I’m ready to order."
"Alright," he said as he put his pad back into his pocket. "Flag me down if you need anything."
"Ok. I will," I said before he walked off to help someone at a different table.
I took a sip of my drink and sat back slightly in my chair with my hands sitting on my crossed legs. I sat and wondered where Nick could be for a few minutes until I got tired of thinking about it. Out of boredom, I held out my hands in front of me and looked at the rings on my fingers. I slipped off my High School class ring and held it up to my eyes to inspect it for about the billionth time. It had an alexandrite stone on the top, a Spartan with 1999 above it on one side, and music notes with Liz above them on the other side. The alexandrite was my birthstone and the Spartan was my High School mascot. I turned it so that I could see the engraving that was underneath the stone. It only said my name in script, but I loved to look at it. I turned it back over and looked at the stone. Looking at this ring became sort of a ritual that I did quite often when I was bored and had nothing else to do. I set the ring down on the table between my right thumb and left index finger and set it off into a gentle spin. I watched it as the stone glittered in the light of the lamp that was above the table. I did that a few more times before seeing Nick walk towards the table. I instantly sat up and quickly grabbed the ring to try and put it back on my finger before he saw what I was doing.
"Hey," he said taking a seat in the chair across from me.
"Hi," I said back to him, sliding the ring onto my finger.
"Sorry I’m late," he said with a sigh. "Traffic was a beast."
"That’s ok," I said in reply as I took a sip of my Dew.
"Hey, can I look at that ring?" he asked while pointing at the ring that I was just playing with.
"Sure," I replied as I took it off and handed it to him cautiously.
"Don’t worry," he said. "I’m not going to steal it or anything!"
"I know," I told him. "I just don’t usually let people see it cause it is worth more than I can afford to lose and besides, it’s my favorite one," I said with a small smile as I pointed to the other rings on my fingers.
I had a silver band with a black onyx heart on my left pinky finger, a silver band with footprints engraved into it on my left index finger, a beaded band ring on each of my thumbs, a silver ‘CTR’ (Choose The Right) ring on my right ring finger, and a plain silver band on my right pinky. My class ring belonged on my left ring finger. I loved wearing rings and I had a whole lot more of them at home.
"Dang girl!" Nick exclaimed when he saw all the rings that I was wearing. "You have almost as many rings as Bone."
I didn’t know what to say so I just chuckled at his outburst. I watched him as he looked my ring over carefully and stopped when he saw the engraving on the inside. He looked at it a few more seconds and turned it back over. He set it on the table slowly and set it spinning like I had a few minutes earlier. He looked up while it was spinning and gave me a sly smile. He obviously had seen what I was doing to amuse myself. I quickly slapped my hand down on the ring to stop it from spinning off of the table. I picked up my prized possession and stuck it back on my finger as Nick grabbed the menu and began to look it over.
"Double cheese with pepperoni," I blurted out randomly while admiring my other rings. "That’s what I want."
"Ok," Nick said. "That sounds good."
He flagged down the waiter and ordered the pizza while I sipped the last drop of my Dew.
"Can I get some more Mt. Dew please?" I asked Jeff with a smile.
"I’ll take one too," Nick added.
"Sure thing," he replied before leaving to get the drinks.
It was less than a minute before Jeff came back with the drinks in hand.
"Here ya go," he said as he placed the drinks on the table. "Your pizza should be done in a little bit."
"Ok. Thanks," I replied as he turned to help someone else.
I sat there in silence, not exactly knowing what to say. I could feel Nick staring at me as I moved my gaze from my hands on my lap to the picture that was on the wall. It was an enlarged picture of an old stamp that was probably at least 50 years old. It was kind of interesting to look at. I could still feel Nick’s eyes looking at me as if his gaze were singeing my skin. I couldn’t resist the urge anymore so I turned my head and met his eyes with mine.
"I...I...I’m so sorry...about...the other night," I managed to get out as I dropped my eyes to look at the table. "And yesterday," I added.
He just sat there staring at me silently so I continued.
"It was all too weird after that last dance at the club. I was confused and I decided to run away from you instead of talking to you," I blurted out. "And yesterday was torture for me. I truly didn’t want to be there."
I looked up and saw him looking at his hands that were on the table.
"I’m sorry for yelling at you when you came to my room," I continued. "I just wasn’t ready to talk right then."
"No," he said. "That was my own fault. I should have waited to try and talk."
"No, it’s not your fault," I said, still looking at him.
I felt like my gut was being ripped in two. I didn’t want to make it seem like it was his fault because it wasn’t.
"Nick," I started. "Look at me."
He looked up into my eyes.
"None of this is your fault," I said in a reassuring voice. "None of it."
Just as I said that, Jeff walked up to the table with our food. ‘Perfect timing’ I thought to myself. The mood of the moment was getting a little tense, so it was a good thing Jeff came when he did.
"Good. I’m starved," I said with a goofy look on my face as Jeff set the pizza down on the table.
I heard Nick laugh a little as Jeff laid some plates down on the table for us to use.
"Thanks," Nick said to him before he walked off once more.
Nick reached over to take the first piece but he was too late. I already grabbed it.
"Beatcha!" I exclaimed as he grabbed different piece.
After eating a few pieces, Nick decided to check out the selection in the jukebox. He came back a few minutes later with ‘Sometimes’ by Britney playing over the speakers that were placed in the ceiling and walls of the building.
"Care to dance?" he asked while pointing to the small dance floor by the arcade games.
"Actually, I’d rather not," I said looking down at my hands again. "Remember? That’s how this whole thing got started?"
"Yeah, but I like dancing with you," he replied. "I like you."
"What?" I asked looking back up at him completely confused.
"I said I like you," he repeated as he sat back down.
"Wait," I said while shaking my head. "I thought you like my sister."
"Yeah, she’s great as a friend. She’s great to hang out with," he replied. "But I want you."
Upon hearing those words, I suddenly felt like I was going to puke.
"I’ll be right back. I’ve got to go to the bathroom," I said as I wearily stood up and slowly walked towards the bathrooms.
I stood in front of the mirror for a few minutes just staring at myself. I was feeling a tiny bit queasy but I knew that I wouldn’t throw up or anything. After straightening my shirt and brushing back a few pieces of flyaway hair, I went back out to the table. Nick was sitting there eating another piece of pizza as if nothing was wrong. I sat down in my chair and waited until he was done. I had lost my appetite as of five minutes ago, so I didn’t touch anymore of the pizza.
"You must be really hungry," I said as he finished eating the piece he was working on.
The pizza was only cut into eight pieces. I ate two and there was one left. That meant he ate five pieces!
"Haven’t eaten since this morning," he answered with a smile. "You ok now?"
"Yeah, I’m fine," I replied.
"Good," he said as he wiped his hands on his napkin. "So, you have any plans afterwards?"
"Nope," I said as I picked up the bill and looked at it. "Why?"
"Well, I was wondering if you’d like to come meet my family," he said with a hopeful smile. "My parents are hosting this party at our place and I promised I’d be there later...so. Do you wanna come?"
"Well," I said as I thought about it.
Nick shot me a puppy-dog face that I couldn’t resist. He looked so funny that it was almost impossible to say no.
"Fine, fine," I finally gave in with a laugh as Nick put a few bills on the table with the bill for the food. "But, I’m driving for myself...I’ll follow you."
"Ok," he said happily while he wrote something on the bill. "I’m in the green Durango."
I stood up after he did and made my way towards the front doors with him behind me. He walked me out to Meg’s car in the parking lot.
"This your car?" he asked totally confused.
"No, I’m borrowing it from a friend," I answered.
"Oh," he replied as he watched me get in and roll down the window half way.
"Where ya parked?" I asked.
"Over there," he replied, pointing to a dark green Durango a few cars down.
"Well go already!" I exclaimed.
"Ok, ok," he said with a laugh. "I’m going."
I watched him get into his car and I started Meg’s bug as he started his. I backed up and waited for him to back up in front of me. After following him for about 20 minutes, we pulled up to a large house with a long driveway blocked by a gate. I pulled into the driveway after Nick when he pushed the button to open the gate. We drove slowly in-between about 15 cars that were parked on the sides of the driveway before Nick finally parked in front of the big garage. I pulled up behind him and turned off the car. I met him outside of the little bug after he watched me get out, lock the door, and put the keys in my pocket.
"I’m not really into these parties that my parents have," he explained as we walked to the door. "At least I’ll have fun tonight," he said as he gave me a little smile.
I wasn’t sure what he meant by that, so I just smiled back as he led me in the door and into the living room.
"There you are sweetie," said a woman that walked up to Nick and gave him a hug and kiss.
"Hi mom," he said blushing a little. "This is Liz," he said turning to me.
"Hi," I said shyly with a small wave.
"Hi Liz. I’m Jane," she said with a warm smile as we faintly heard another song come over the speakers that were in the backyard. "Everyone is out back. I’m just getting a few things in the kitchen, so go say hi to everyone."
"Ok mom," Nick said after her as she headed for the kitchen. "Let’s go," he said happily as he grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the sliding glass doors.
We went out into the backyard and we were instantly overwhelmed by the music blasting from the speakers. I just stood there on the steps and looked at how many people were in the backyard as Nick went down and got lost in the crowd. I looked over across the lawn where everyone was dancing. There were people everywhere. Some people were in the pool, some were sitting at tables that had been set up on the large lawn, people were playing pool on a pool table located on the patio, and the rest of the people were talking amongst themselves in little groups.
* Chapter 18 *
I slowly walked down the rest of the stairs while ‘What A Girl Wants’ by Christina Aguilera played over the speakers. I didn’t exactly know anyone here so I just kind of stood there at the bottom of the steps until I felt a hand on my shoulder.
"You ok?" I heard Jane ask.
"Yeah, I’m fine," I said unsure if I really was or not.
"Come with me. I know some things you can do that are fun," she said as she started to walk away.
I followed her, but glanced over the crowd every once in a while, hoping to spot Nick. Jane led me to the right side of the lawn where they had a few carnival-type games set up. They had a human bowling lane, some sort of water pistol game and a Velcro wall.
"Pretty cool huh?" she asked after she saw my look of amazement as I was checking out the Velcro wall.
"Yeah," I said as someone with bright bleached hair in a Velcro suit jumped onto the wall in a running man position and stuck there like that.
I couldn’t help but laugh when I realized who it was.
"Thanks for bringing me over to this little loony corner," I said to Jane with a little laugh. "I’m going over there," I said pointing to the Velcro wall.
"Ok," she said happily. "Have fun!"
I walked over to the side of the wall so that I was standing there looking at the guy that was stuck to the wall. He had jumped high enough that the people in charge of the wall were having a hard time getting him off.
"Hey AJ!" I yelled as he looked over in my direction.
"LIZ!" he screamed as a guy pried him off the wall. "You should try this! It’s the bomb!"
"No thanks," I said as he walked up to me with a Velcro suit in hand. "I saw what happened to you!"
"It’s fun!" he said still trying to get me to do it.
"I know," I said. "But I’m not in the mood."
"Ok," he said putting the suit back on the table with the others. "So what are you doing here?"
"Long story actually," I said trying to stay away from that topic. "This is kind of crazy. I’ve never been to a party like this before."
"Really? This is nothing compared to the ones that I have," he said with a huge grin.
"I don’t doubt that," I said with a laugh as we walked over to a table with a bunch of guys sitting there joking around with each other.
"Hey guys," AJ said. "Look who I found," he said as each one turned around.
I smiled until I saw who it was that was sitting at the table. I looked at each person and realized that I was looking at Kev, Bri, Howie, a kid that I was guessing to be AC, and another kid that was AC’s age.
"Hi Liz," Bri said with a smile.
"Hi," I said quietly while looking the other direction.
I really didn’t want to look at their faces because I thought they were mad at me or something. I was kind of relieved when Kev got up and asked me to dance to the song that was playing. I accepted and walked with him to the place on the lawn where everyone else was dancing. After we were comfortably dancing along with ‘Back At One’, he said that he wanted to talk when we were done. I nodded and we went back to dancing the last few seconds of the song.
"So, what happened yesterday?" he asked after we wandered into the house and sat down in an empty room to talk.
"It’s kind of a long story," I said with a little sigh.
"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked.
"Not really," I responded. "It’s all taken care of. Things are better now."
"That’s good," he said like he was really relieved to hear what I just said.
"I talked to the person that was driving me crazy, literally, and everything is fine now," I said with a smile as I sat back on the couch that I was sitting in. "Would you tell the other guys that I’m sorry about what happened? They are probably really confused about the whole thing."
"Yeah, sure. So, where are you staying?" he asked curiously while he relaxed in his chair. "We saw you leave the hotel yesterday. Your sister was pretty worried."
"I know she’s worried about me. She’s always worried about me...it’s almost like she’s the older of us two, always worrying about everybody," I said rolling my eyes. "Anyway, I can’t tell you where I’m staying. That’s confidential information, but don’t worry, I’m staying in good hands," I said with a smile.
He sat there and gave me a ‘don’t-worry, I’ll-find-out’ look. He didn’t say anything for a few minutes so I decided to break the silence.
"Let’s go back out to the party," I said while standing up and walking towards the door to the hallway. "They’re gonna think we left."
"Yeah, let’s go," he said as he followed behind me as I went out into the hallway.
We made our way to the sliding doors and I let Kev go first so that I could go without having to face the other guys again. I wanted him to talk to them before I did so I would feel more comfortable around them. I was kind of glad that AJ didn’t seem bothered about what happened the day before.
"There ya are," Nick exclaimed as I reached the bottom of the steps and stepped onto the lawn. "I see that you haven’t seen the pool yet," he said with an evil voice and a huge grin on his face.
"No!" I screamed as I ran the other direction to get away from him.
I knew exactly what he wanted to do. He wanted to throw me in the pool! I ran as fast as I could in a few circles when I came back to the spot at the bottom of the stairs where I started. I didn’t see him anywhere so I continued walking as if nothing was wrong.
"Gotcha!" he yelled as he picked me up like I was a bride or something and walked over to the pool.
"No!" I screamed bloody murder as I tightened my grip around his neck. "Not the shoes!"
That only made him laugh hysterically and want to do it worse.
"Hey Bone!" he yelled at AJ. "Help me out here. Take off her shoes."
AJ jogged over and pulled my shoes off quickly while I continued screaming.
"Help me!" I screamed as I squirmed to get out from Nick’s tight grip.
I could hear people laughing as he got ready to throw me in the pool. The people in the pool were all sitting on the edge so that they didn’t get hurt or anything.
"That’s not going to work," he said as he tightened his grip even more.
"I know," I said sadly as he readied to throw me in.
"Nick!!!" I could hear Jane yell at him as I went under. "What are you doing?"
"Nothing," he replied with a laugh as he gave AJ a high five.
"You two are so dead!" I yelled loudly while pointing at the two of them after I came back up.
‘It’s a good thing I’m wearing water-proof mascara’ I thought to myself as I made my way to the steps and waited in the water while Jane went to get a towel.
"Here you go," Jane said while I got out of the pool. "Let’s get you inside so you can dry off," she said as she wrapped a fluffy oversized beach towel around me.
"Geez! It’s freezing out here!" I whined as we made our way to the house.
"Here’s your shoes," Howie said with a little laugh as he handed me my shoes when we got to the steps to the door.
"Thanks," I said grumpily as I snatched them from his hands before turning to go up the steps to the house.
Jane led me into the house and up a flight of stairs past a few doors and into a large room with two beds.
"This is Nick and Aaron’s room. It’s the only one that’s clean at the moment. You can take your clothes off in here and wrap up in this blanket while I put your clothes in the dryer," she said while handing me a huge purple fleece blanket. "I’ll be back in a minute to get your clothes," she said before she walked out the door.
I just stood there in the middle of the room and looked around for a minute. It looked like any ordinary room from what I saw. After locking the door and shutting the blinds, I quickly changed out of my clothes and wrapped myself up in the towel and blanket. Jane came back and took my clothes to the dryer while I sat on a chair that was set by the window. I was going to be stuck in this room for at least a good 30 minutes, so I walked over to a bookshelf and found a pad of paper and a pen. ‘Perfect!’ I thought as I grabbed a sheet and started writing a few words in large letters.
‘Nick ~ You are sooooo dead! At least now I know where you live :o) From LH’ it read.
"There. That’ll make him jumpy for a while," I said as I stuck it in the frame of the mirror that was hanging above the dresser.
After I got it to stay in the frame, I walked over to the blind covered window and lifted one of the blinds to see what was going on outside. The number of people that were still there had gone down by about half, but they were all having a blast. I turned my eyes back to the table where Kev, Bri and AJ sat. They were playing some sort of card game and laughing a lot. They all reminded me of some of my High School friends. We used to play card games in choir class whenever we had a sub or our teacher didn’t have any plans in particular. I was pulled from my memory by a knocking at the door.
"Yeah," I called out, not wanting to get up and unlock the door.
"It’s me," Jane said. "Just wanted to tell you that your clothes will only be a few more minutes."
"Ok. Thanks," I said back loud enough for her to hear before turning back to the window.
I soon got tired of standing and watching everyone at the party below, so I walked over and sat on one of the beds. I laid down on my side with me feet still on the floor.
"This is turning out to be a rather boring party," I said out loud to myself as I laid there staring at the door.
About five minutes later, Jane came back upstairs and knocked on the door.
"Your clothes are done," she said as I got up and unlocked the door. "Here you are," she said, handing me my clothes that were still warm from the dryer.
"Thanks," I said before I shut the door to get dressed again.
After I had my clothes back on, I wandered downstairs until I found my shoes exactly where I had left them by the sliding glass door to the backyard. I sat down on the floor as I slid my shoes on and laced them up. I ran my fingers through my wet hair as I hummed along with Mandy Moore’s ‘Candy’ that played in the backyard. Thinking that I was alone, I started singing the words as I continued to ‘brush’ through my hair. I stopped singing when I heard giggling coming from the other side of the room. I got up quietly and decided to investigate. I walked over to where the laughing was coming from and saw AC rolling on the floor trying not to laugh out loud.
"What’s so funny?" I asked leaning over him.
When he looked up and saw me standing over him, he laughed even harder. He laughed until he was almost crying.
"Are you laughing at me?" I asked with shock.
"Yeah," he replied between giggles. "I mean...no."
"Whatever," I said as I stood and turned around to walk away.
"Wait!" he yelled out. "I’m not laughing at you."
I turned around and watched him get up.
"It’s just that you sing it so much different than she does," he said as he walked over to the couch and plopped down on it.
"Uh...thanks...I guess," I replied as I walked over to the glass door.
I decided that I’d go and tell Nick that I was going to go so he wouldn’t like freak out when he couldn’t find me anywhere.
"I’m going out here. Wanna join me?" I asked him.
"There’s only old boring people out there now," he said sadly.
"Hey! I’m not old and I’m not boring!" I exclaimed. "Come on! Let’s go," I said as I walked over and grabbed his hand so he’d follow.
"Ok," he said as he followed me out the door.
"Hey...wanna piggy back down the stairs?" I bent over and whispered in his ear.
I watched a smile form on his face as I looked him in the eyes so I hunched over and waited for him to crawl onto my back. I practically ran down the steps and almost ran into Brian in the process.
"Woah! Sorry Brian," I apologized and kept running until we got to the Velcro wall. "You wanna do it together?" I asked with a smile as he jumped off my back.
"Yeah!" he said as he jumped up and down with excitement.
We slid on the special suits and went way back so we could get a running start for a good jump.
"Ready?" I asked.
"Yeah!"
"Ok. Here goes nothing," I said. "On the count of three."
We ran as fast as we could and jumped as high as we could. It must have looked pretty funny to see us both stuck next to each other on the wall. We didn’t get as high as AJ, but we did get pretty high.
"That was awesome!" Aaron said happily as he took the suit off.
"Yeah it was," I agreed.
"Hey," Aaron said as we walked back over to where the tables were. "You’re pretty cool!"
"Why thank you," I replied with a smile. "I try!"
He laughed at my comment as we walked up to the table that Nick was sitting at.
"Hey Nick! You should have seen us. We did the Velcro wall at the same time! You should’ve seen how high we got," AC explained anxiously to Nick and the others at the table while I turned around and walked away. "She’s great!" he said pointing to me as I headed over to the abandoned pool table to play a quick game with myself.
* Chapter 19 *
I racked the balls and placed the cue ball in position before I chalked the cue stick that I was using. I bent over and got ready to break the rack when someone walked up behind me, breaking my concentration.
"Playing against yourself?" Nick asked as I turned around to look at him.
"Yeah. I do it all that time," I said before turning back around to break. "Why? You wanna play?" I asked after a solid ball fell into one of the pockets.
"Sure," he said. "But I’m warning you right now, I’m not very good."
"Fine with me," I replied as I took another turn, but didn’t make the shot. "Your turn."
He picked up a cue stick and attempted to make an easy shot, but missed badly.
"Ouch!" he said as the cue ball came to a stop where it lined up perfectly for an easy shot that I could make.
"Double ouch," I said apathetically as the purple solid fell into the pocket.
I made another shot and went again, this time only missing the pocket by a fraction of an inch.
"Dang!" Nick exclaimed as he made a shot and then missed the next. "You are too good for me!"
"Practice is the key," I said before taking another shot and watched the solid red fall into the pocket.
"Good thing we didn’t bet on this game," Nick said out of nowhere.
"Yeah, AJ made that mistake the other night!" I said with a little laugh.
"He did?" he asked shaking his head. "How much does he owe you or do I even wanna know?"
"He only owes me a hundred bucks," I said like it was nothing at all as I made another shot. "Corner pocket," I said as I pointed to the right corner pocket by where Nick was standing and watched as the eight ball sailed towards it.
"Dang it!" Nick yelled as the ball sunk into the pocket. "I hate it when I lose."
"Well, it was nice of you to invite me to this party and all," I said as I put the cue stick down on the table. "But I’ve got to go now. I have a really full day tomorrow."
"You’re leaving?" he asked sadly.
"Yeah," I said as I started to walk back to the table where AC was sitting. "Hey AC...come with me for a sec."
Aaron got up and followed me into the house as I pulled out a piece of paper and wrote down my home address for my apartment back in Salt Lake and my cell number. After I handed it to him, he looked at it with a confused look on his face.
"That’s so you can write me and we can keep in touch," I explained. "One condition though...no giving it to your crazy brother."
"Ok," he agreed with a laugh. "I had a lot of fun tonight," he said before he leaned over and gave me a hug. "Thanks for being cool!"
"My pleasure!" I said before he shoved the paper into this pocket and ran back out into the backyard.
I let out a small sigh before I turned and headed across the room towards the front door. When I got to the door, I paused and looked around the house before turning back and reaching for the handle.
"Liz...wait!" I heard Nick yell as my hand rested on the door handle.
I turned slightly to see him jogging up to where I was standing.
"Yeah?" I said.
"I just wanted to tell you that I’m glad you came with me tonight," he said quietly. "It really meant a lot to me."
"Even if I spent most of the time drying off in here?" I asked with a smile.
"Yeah," he replied with a smile in return. "So, will you keep in touch?"
"I’ll try," I said. "But I can’t guarantee anything with college starting up again and my job and everything. And I know it’ll be hard with you guys going on tour and all."
"Oh," he said sadly as he looked at the ground.
I started to turn back towards the door when he reached out unexpectedly and gave me a big hug.
"I’ve got to go," I said as I pulled away and opened the door.
"I’ll call you," I heard him say as I made my way to Meg’s car.
After I got into the car, I saw him watching me back out of the driveway. I could see him in the rearview mirror until I could no longer see his house. I drove a few blocks with the radio blasting when I heard my cell ringing. I reached over to the passenger seat and grabbed it.
"Liz speaking," I said, holding the phone to my ear.
"Hi."
"Nick...it hasn’t even been five minutes since I left," I said as I turned the radio down and waited at a red light.
"I know," he replied. "I just wanted to say thank you again."
"Ok," I said. "I get the picture already!" I said with a little laugh.
"Good," he said happily. "And have a good night," he said before we hung up.
I cranked the radio back up and rolled down the window before I drove the rest of the way to Meg’s apartment.
After I walked in the door, I set the keys down on the small table that was right inside the door and quickly changed into my pajamas. I plopped on the couch and turned the TV on to see if there was anything worth watching. Meg wasn’t home yet, so I just sat there on the couch and watched the TV.
I must have fallen asleep shortly after I turned the TV on because when I woke up, it was morning and I could hear Meg whistling in the kitchen. I could smell bacon cooking as I slowly made my way to the bathroom to change into some real clothes.
"Good morning," Meg said perkily as I walked into the kitchen dressed and ready to go.
"Morning," I replied with a smile.
"So, how did your night go?" she asked as she handed me a plate full of food and sat down at the table.
I filled her in on the whole night while we ate our breakfast and got ready to go to the studio. After we were ready, we hopped in Meg’s bug and drove off. I watched the mirror on the passenger side as we drove away from the apartment complex.
"Is it just me or is that limo following us?" I asked Meg after the limo pulled up behind us.
"I dunno," Meg said as she looked at it in the rearview mirror for a few seconds before looking back to the road. "I wouldn’t worry about it."
"Ok," I said as I continued looking in the mirror.
I watched the limo until we pulled into the studio parking lot. As we pulled into a spot, the limo pulled into the parking lot and parked on the other side of the lot.
"That’s weird," I said to myself I watched the limo while we walked to the door. "Wonder what those people or person is here for," I said to Meg as she glanced over to see what I was looking at.
"Don’t know," Meg said with a shrug as we walked through the doors. "Maybe to record some music. Cause ya know, this is a recording studio," she said sarcastically as we made our way to the same room we were at the day before.
We started by looking through some of the demos and sheets of music to find something that Meg liked. From there, we headed to the recording booth. At first, I sat in the tech booth while Meg worked on the lead vocals. After she was done, I went in the recording booth with her and we did the background vocals. After about 5 songs, we decided to head to lunch.
"Look," I said as we walked out the doors to Meg’s car. "They’re still here...whoever it is."
After a refreshing lunch, we went back to the studio to find that the limo had left while we were gone. We finished recording, editing, and revising at about 4 p.m. so we decided to head home for a girl’s night out. The next day was going to be my last day in town so we chose to have some fun that tonight while we had some free time.
"So, what do ya wanna do tonight?" Meg asked as she set our dinner dishes in the sink.
"I don’t know," I replied.
"Eeeww! There’s a new Freddie Prinze chick flick playing at the movies," she exclaimed with a smile and waited for my reaction.
"That sounds like fun!" I said as we both went to the bathroom to get ready.
We drove to the theater both discussing which movie was Freddie’s best and which one he looked the best in.
"’She’s All That’ definitely," I exclaimed as we pulled into the parking lot.
"I have to agree with you on that one," Meg said while nodding her head.
We waited for a few minutes in line so we could get our tickets and then made our way to the concession stand to buy drinks and goodies.
"Excuse me miss," someone behind me said as they tapped me on the shoulder.
"Yes," I said as I turned around to see what the person wanted.
"Hi Liz," Brian said when he saw that it was me. "I wasn’t sure if it was you or not, so I thought I’d check," he said with a smile.
"Yep, it’s me," I said with a smile in return as we moved forward in the line. "So, why are you here?"
"I’m here with my girlfriend. She’s getting us a seat," he replied. "We’re seeing the new Jim Carey movie."
"Oh," I said. "That ought to be a funny one."
"Yeah," he said before I turned around to help Meg carry the stuff that she had ordered for both of us. "I guess I’ll see ya later."
"Ok. Bye," I replied before following Meg to the theater where our show was already starting.
* Chapter 20 *
"I know this really cool club," Meg said as we stood up to stretch our legs as the credits of the movie were playing. "Wanna go?"
"Sure," I replied as we turned and walked towards the door with the ‘exit’ sign above it.
We sang loudly to the radio as we drove to the club that Meg was talking about. There was a long line in front of the door by the bouncers, but we had absolutely no problems getting in because Meg was friends with one of the DJ’s.
"He used to live down the street from me in Philly," she said over the loud music as we made our way to a table and sat down.
It was obviously a 16 or older club so that there wasn’t any alcohol sold there, but the place was hopping anyway. Who says you need to be drunk to have a good time?!?
"Let’s go upstairs," Meg said as she pointed to the ceiling.
She grabbed my hand and yanked me over to the stairs that led to the next floor. On the second floor there was a live band playing music instead of a DJ as people danced wildly on the dance floor.
"Naw! Let’s go to the private floor," she said to me while walking towards the next flight of stairs, still hanging on to my hand. "It’s more exciting up there!"
"Name please," said the bouncer that was guarding the stairs.
"Megan Watson and guest," she hollered over the music.
"Go ahead Miss Watson," the bouncer said after he checked his list.
"Thank you," she said happily before we trudged up the stairs.
When we got to the top of the stairs, Meg pulled me to a table and we sat down as someone brought us some water.
"Meg!" a man screamed with delight as he ran up to the table and gave her a huge hug. "I haven’t seen you for so long!"
"I know!" she replied. "It’s been a long time!"
"So, what are you doing at my club?" he asked.
"I brought a friend with me. This is Liz," she said while pointing to me. "We came here to have a good time before she leaves town tomorrow night."
"Nice to meet you," he said while we shook hands.
"You too," I said with a smile.
"Well, you came on a good night," he said as he pointed to the dance floor. "Ever heard of the Backstreet Boys?"
"Yeah," Meg said while giving me an ‘oops’ look. "Why?"
"They’re right over there with N*Sync, Britney Spears, and a bunch of other people," he said, pointing to the other side of the dance floor. "They’re here for some sort of ‘label’ party or something."
"Hmph" I said.
"Cool huh?" he asked.
"Uh...sure," I finally replied after searching over the dance floor.
"Well, I have to go back and keep spinning the music," he said. "Let me know if you wanna hear something," he told us before he walked off.
‘What a way to ruin a perfectly good girls night out’ I thought as I slowly took a sip of my water. Meg must have sensed that something was wrong because she grabbed my hand again and pulled me over to the restrooms.
"Look," she said after we were in the girl’s bathroom. "Don’t let it get you down tonight. Please?" she pleaded. "We need to have fun tonight. I mean, it’s YOUR LAST NIGHT HERE!"
I knew she was right. I should just go out there and have fun.
"Do you have a rubber band?" I asked.
She searched her pockets and a few seconds later she handed me a large black elastic.
"Thanks," I said before I bent over, gathered my hair in a high ponytail, and put the elastic around it.
"Ready?" she asked as I stood up and fixed the bumps in the mirror.
"Yeah," I said with a smile. "Let’s go have some fun!!!"
We went back out to our table, but instead of sitting down, I pulled Meg over towards the dance floor as a country song came on.
"I know you hate country, but I’m going to teach you how to line dance," I said with an evil smile.
There really wasn’t anyone who knew how to do a line dance besides me so I ended up teaching a few more people than just Meg. We had sooo much fun! We danced the ‘electric slide’ to ‘The Boot Scootin Boogie’ by Brooks and Dunn before a slow mushy song came on. We were heading back to our table when Meg got asked to dance, so I just smiled and walked back our table by myself. That didn’t last long because a tall blond guy came up to the table.
"Care to dance?" he asked me with a smile.
"Sure," I replied as I got off the stool that I was sitting on and walked towards the dance floor with him.
When the song was over, he thanked me before I set out to find Meg. She must have been thinking the same thing.
"There you are," she said when I found her. "I was looking for ya."
"I was looking for you too!" I said with a laugh.
"Did you dance with anyone?" she asked as we went back to the middle of the dance floor.
"Yeah," I said over the music.
Pretty soon there was a circle going, so we went over to see what all the fuss was about. I nearly died laughing when I saw who it was that was busting the moves in the middle of the circle.
"What’s so funny?" Meg said as she poked me in the back. "I can’t see anything."
"You have got to see who is in the circle," I said as I pulled her alongside me in the front so she could see.
"Oh my gosh!" she screamed with delight before she broke out laughing.
We were laughing so hard that we had to break out of the crowd and stand away from the circle for a while until we settled down a little. Meg was laughing so hard that tears started streaming down her cheeks.
"I have never seen anything so funny!" I exclaimed between laughs.
That outburst didn’t help any...it only made Meg laugh more. By this time, she was like hyper and giddy at the same time. When we managed to stumble our way back to our table, she fell off her chair and started laughing and rolling on the floor. I would have been doing the same thing except I was wearing a somewhat short skirt and she was wearing pants.
"What’s so funny?" I heard a voice say loudly after I closed my eyes and tried to take a deep breath to stop laughing.
When I opened my eyes and saw the same person from the middle of the circle standing in front of us, I burst out laughing again.
"You are!" I yelled in-between laughing and gasping for air.
He only gave me a puzzled look in return as I started to catch my breath again and helped Meg off of the floor.
"It’s ok Howie," I said sympathetically as he sat in a chair with us at our table. "You just look funny doing AJ moves," I said with a laugh.
He just gave me a look like I was crazy or something.
"I love you too," he said sarcastically as if I hurt his feelings.
"I know," I replied with a smile. "Anyway, this is Meg," I said patting her shoulder.
"Yep," he said. "We’ve met."
"Huh?" I asked totally confused.
"We met earlier today at the studio when you were in the bathroom during break," Meg said. "He was going through a song with some chick...I don’t remember her name...Manda or something like that."
"Mandy," Howie corrected. "Mandy Moore."
"Oh," I said with a smile.
"Do any of the other guys know that you’re here?" he asked.
"Nope," I said before taking a sip of my water.
"Want me to go tell them?" he asked.
"Nope," I replied.
"Ok...do you want me to leave then?" he asked with a sly smile.
"Nope," Meg answered.
"I’ll leave you two here to talk and do whatever you are going to do," I said with an obnoxious smile.
"Talk," Meg said pointing her finger at me. "ONLY talk."
"Whatever," I said with a smile as I stood up. "Gotta go...the music calls," I said before making my way to the dance floor where everyone was grooving and having a good time.
I somehow made it to the middle of the dance floor and started dancing along with a small group of girls that were getting pretty crazy. That’s one good thing about clubs like this, no one knows anyone else so they aren’t afraid to get wild. And we did get wild! Just when we were really getting into the music, I felt someone grab onto my shoulders and start to pull me away.
"What the...," I started to say before I turned around and saw who it was. "How did you know I was here?"
"I heard Howie talking to some girl about you so I asked where you were," he explained as he looked me in the eye. "They pointed in this direction so I came to find ya."
"But why didn’t you let me finish this dance?" I whined. "I was having fun."
"Don’t know," he said with a shrug and a smile. "Forgive me?"
"Sure," I replied as ‘Truly, Madly, Deeply’ by Savage Garden started playing.
"Wanna dance?" AJ asked.
"Actually...yeah," I said as I put my hands on his shoulders.
He draped his hands around my sides as the song played loudly over the speakers. I closed my eyes as AJ hummed the melody in my ear.
"So when are you going home?" AJ whispered in my ear.
"I’m flying out tomorrow night," I answered.
"Oh," he said sadly.
"When are you guys leaving for tour?" I asked.
"We’re leaving in about a week," he replied. "The break has been great."
"So you saw Howie talking to a girl huh?" I asked.
"Yeah. Do you know her?"
"Actually, I do. That was Meg...you know, the girl that invited me to do background vocals on her album?" I said.
"Oh yeah...I remember now," he said. "She looked different."
"Yeah. Anyway, the recording has been really fun," I said. "I think we did a great job on the songs that we chose. I’m really going to miss everything here."
"I know what you mean," he replied. "I get that feeling every time we leave."
"I can’t believe I’m leaving tomorrow," I said quietly.
"Speaking of tomorrow," he said. "Would you like to meet me for lunch?"
"I’d love to!" I answered happily as I listened to the last part of the song.
The song was over almost too quickly as couples began to part and groups began forming on the dance floor again. AJ leaned over and gave me a soft kiss on the lips before he turned and walked away. I was so shocked that I just stood there on the dance floor until someone calling my name snapped me back into reality.
"Hey Liz!" Nick exclaimed as he gave me an unexpected hug. "I saw you dancing with AJ. I didn’t know you were here!"
"Huh?" I asked confused. "Oh sorry Nick...I was just thinking...sorry about that."
I quickly pulled away from his awkward embrace and tried to walk away, but he grabbed my arm and insisted that I follow him. He led me onto a small private balcony on the side of the building that looked over the beach as the moon shone down on the water.
"That’s a gorgeous view," I said as I looked out over the water.
I was really only trying to avoid looking into his eyes. Why did he bring me out here anyway? I could hear the music faintly through the wall as he stood next to me and leaned against the railing. As we walked out I noticed that there were stairs from the balcony that led to the beach down below.
"So, when are you leaving?" he asked quietly as I turned to see him staring at me.
"Tomorrow night," I replied before turning back to the railing. "My flight leaves at 7:18 or something like that."
"Oh," he said with a sad sigh. "I know that I’ve only known you for like 4 days, but I’m going to miss you."
"I’ll miss you too," I said with a smile.
I turned my head to see him smiling as he too looked out at the water.
"So, how ‘bout we head back inside?" I asked while turning to head to the door.
"Ok," he said as he gave me another quick hug before opening the door for me.
"I’ll see you in a little bit," I said to him with a sly smile as we got to where we would go our separate ways.
"What’s that supposed to mean?" he asked in a slightly worried voice.
"Nothing," I said with a grin before I turned and walked away with him still standing there confused.
‘This is going to fun! I wish I had a video camera!’ I say to myself as I make my way to where Meg is still talking to Howie at our table.
"Hi guys," I say as I walk up to the table and sit in one of the empty chairs. "Whatcha talkin’ about?"
"Oh, you know," Howie said with a little shrug. "The weather...you...dancing...the guys...music...the usual."
"What were you saying about me?" I asked curiously.
"Nothing that you wouldn’t want us to talk about," Meg said with a reassuring smile.
Meg knew about the whole dance club thing with Nick...how I liked AJ...the recording with the guys. I told her the story about everything the day after I went to stay with her, so I knew that she could be trusted with that info.
"Ok then," I said with a smile in return. "Anyway...I need your help. Both of you."
"For what?" Howie asked.
For the next few minutes I told them my plan. It was a masterpiece of a plan and I knew that it would work!
"Oh," Howie said after I was done explaining. "They are not going to like this at all, but it’ll be dang funny to watch," he said with a laugh.
"Yep!" I said happily.
"So this is what you meant when you said that they were dead after they threw you in the pool?" Howie asked.
"Yep. No one said paybacks are a walk in the park," I replied with a smile.
"So what is it that you want us for?" Meg asked as I stole a drink of her water.
"I need you to go with me to talk to your friend and see if it’s ok if I use the mic," I said to Meg. "And I need you to make sure that they don’t take off anywhere," I said to Howie.
"I can do that," Howie replied with a smile.
"Good," I said as we all got up from the table. "This is going to be good!" I said before we all went our separate ways.
Meg and I went up to the DJ booth and talked to her friend that was running the deck. He was more than happy to be part of the joke. I grabbed the mic while he cued up some country music.
"Hi," I said in the mic. "How’s everyone tonight?"
I heard a loud cheer before I went on.
"That’s good to hear. Can you all do me a favor?" I asked.
I got a similar reaction from the crowd. By that time, I was standing at the front of the dance floor by the DJ booth with a spotlight on me so everyone knew who was talking to them.
"I need you all to form a huge circle on the dance floor really quickly...everyone needs to be part of this," I say as people start forming the circle. "Good," I say after everyone is in place.
"Now, may I please have Nick Carter and AJ McLean step into the middle," I say, trying not to laugh as they both give me surprised looks. "It’s ok guys," I say before they walk into the middle of the dance floor.
"By the way, does everyone know Nick and AJ?" I asked trying to keep the suspense up.
I could tell that they had no idea what was going on as they stood there on the dance floor.
"Here’s what going to happen," I start to say as the country music is turned up a little bit. "Nick and AJ are going to show us how to do a little country line dancing."
After I got done saying that, I motioned for Cash (the DJ) to blast the music. Nick and AJ just stood there in shock. People were starting to cheer for them as the music continued to play.
"Come on boys!" I say into the mic. "The crowd wants to see your skills!"
I looked around at the people to see the guys from N*Sync, Britney Spears, Howie, Meg, Kev, Bri and a ton of other people cheering them on. After a few minutes of seeing that they weren’t going to do anything until someone else joined them, I felt bad. I gave Cash the mic back, made my way through the line and headed for the middle of the circle.
"Gotcha!" I yelled as loudly as I could. "Here...I’ll teach you some moves."
I showed them a few steps as the circle of people began to break apart and people joined in on the line dance. When the song was over, Nick and AJ looked at each other, then looked at me and at each other again.
"Oh no you don’t," I said as I quickly backed away from them. "Not again!" I yelled as I turned around and practically ran to the table where Meg and Howie were laughing their heads off.
"Help!" I hollered at Meg as I reached the table. "Don’t let them find me," I said before taking off towards the balcony.
I ran out onto the balcony and was about half way down the stairs to the beach when AJ and Nick came running out the door. I continued down and took the steps two at a time as I tried my hardest to get away.
"You deserved it!" I yelled as I reached the bottom of the stairs and continued running left down the beach with them a ways behind me.
"We know," Nick yelled back as they got a little closer.
I saw a rollerblading trail a few feet ahead of me so I continued towards it. My feet were pounding loudly against the cement of the trail as I made my way towards a parking lot that was visible from the street-lamp light. When I got to the parking lot, I saw a bench under a lamppost and made my way over to it so that I could sit and catch my breath.
"Ok," I said before collapsing onto the bench. "I give up!" I yelled to them as AJ ran up to me with Nick lagging behind a little.
When I looked up and saw AJ standing in front of me with his hands folded over his chest and staring at me like he was thinking of something to get me back, I burst out laughing. I couldn’t help but remember how silly Howie looked when he was trying to be like AJ on the dance floor.
"What?" AJ asked like he was annoyed.
"Just remembering something," I said between laughs as Nick finally jogged up to where we were and sat down on the bench on my right side.
"Oh is that so?" AJ asked.
"Yeah," I said with another laugh before he leaned over and started tickling me.
A few seconds after he started tickling me, Nick decided to join in.
"Stop!" I screamed after a few seconds. "I...can’t...breathe!" I yelled as I tried to get up and away from their torturing hands.
"You aren’t getting away that easily," Nick said as he grabbed my right wrist and pulled me back onto the bench.
By this time, AJ was also sitting on the bench on my left side.
"You know you guys deserved that," I said before slapping Nick’s hand playfully as he tried to tickle me again. "Ya know, for the whole pool thing. That was totally embarrassing on my part."
"Why would it be embarrassing?" AJ asked in a voice that sounded like he was mocking me.
"Because I didn’t know anyone there besides you guys...and everyone was laughing at me...and I was ya know, wearing a white shirt," I said completely embarrassed by just mentioning the shirt reason. "That’s why."
"Aaww come on," Nick said with a little sympathetic laugh. "I’m sure it wasn’t that bad."
"Yeah, it was," I said as they both fell silent.
I looked at both of them and noticed that they were both kind of off in their own thoughts, so I took the perfect opportunity to run. I hopped up and before they knew it, I was running back towards the steps to the club.
"Hey!" Nick yelled at me as they got up and started to run after me. "No fair!"
"Totally fair!" I yelled back as I reached the balcony door.
After I quickly made my way back inside, I saw Meg and Howie slow dancing on the dance floor. ‘How cute!’ I thought to myself as I headed off to a dark table in the back of the room. They definitely wouldn’t find me here. I sat down on one of the stools so that I could see the dance floor and watched as both Nick and AJ made their way towards the table that I was sitting at before with Meg. When they didn’t see me there, they turned to the dance floor and started walking between couples to see if I was hiding amongst the dancing people.
"Those two are so hopeless," I said as I watched them both give up and head back towards their own table while I pulled the rubber band out of my hair and put it around my wrist. "I rule!"
"Says who?" a voice from behind me said sarcastically.
"Says me," I replied while I turned to see who was standing against the wall. "Hey Kev."
"Anyone sitting here," he said pointing to the stool next to me.
"Nope," I said. "It’s reserved for you," I said jokingly as I ran my fingers through my hair a few times.
"Thanks," he said with a smile.
"How come you’re back here by yourself?" I asked him as I continued to watch the couples dancing.
"I was just about to ask you the same thing," he said as he turned to look at me.
"You first," I said.
"Well, I’m actually just trying to avoid all the commotion," he answered. "I’m tired and I can’t leave until the rest of them are ready to go too."
"Oh. I’m sorry," I said. "I’m actually hiding from Nick and AJ," I said with a little laugh.
"I wonder why..." Kev said sarcastically with a smile.
"Hey! They deserved it!" I said to defend myself. "They threw me in the pool at Nick’s house."
"Don’t feel bad. They do that to everyone!" he replied.
"Well, at least next time they’ll think twice about doing it," I said happily as the slow song ended.
"Hey Kev...Have you met Meg?" I asked while looking at Meg and Howie sitting at the table.
"Uh...the one from the club the other night?"
"Yep. Come on," I said as I grabbed his hand and stood up, pulling him up too.
I led him to the table that Meg was sitting at by herself. Howie must have gone off to see where the rest of the guys had taken off to or something like that.
"Hey Meg!" I said as we walked up to the table.
"Hi Els," she said as I sat down next to her. "Hey Kevin."
"Hi," he replied.
"So, are you having fun with Howie?" I asked.
"Yeah!" she replied. "He’s really great."
Kev gave me a confused look and I raised my eyebrows at his facial expression.
"Oh, I get it," he finally said after a few seconds. "You and Howie have a little fling going," he said as he pointed at Meg.
"A little fling?" I said with a laugh. "I think it’s going to be more than that," I whispered to him.
"Shut up," Meg said playfully to us.
"Such harsh words...naughty...naughty," said someone behind me somewhere.
"Hi AJ," Meg said while looking past me at AJ who was walking up to the table.
"There you are," AJ said as he took the seat next to me. "I’ve been looking for you," he said with an evil voice.
"I’ve been in here all along," I said as I turned my head and gave Kev a wink.
"Yeah," Kev said. "She was talking to me. Where were you looking...under the tables or something?" he asked sarcastically.
"Ha ha, very funny Kev," AJ replied as he gave Kev a glare. "Anyway, I need to talk to you," he said seriously, turning his attention back to me.
"Uh oh," Meg said jokingly. "Someone’s in trouble!" she said in a taunting voice.
"Shut up!" AJ and I both said playfully at the same time as I stood up.
"We’ll be back," I said as AJ stood up too.
I walked away from the table with AJ following me.
"Where ya going?" he asked as he grabbed my arm.
"Don’t you want to go somewhere private to talk?" I asked.
"There isn’t really anywhere private here besides outside," he replied.
"Follow me," I said as I took his hand in mine and led him to the dark table in the back that I was sitting at just a few minutes before.
"This better?" I asked as I sat down on one of the stools.
"Yeah," he answered with a shy smile.
It was rather dark and quiet at the back of the huge room where we were now sitting. The only occasional faint light at the table came from the lights of the dance floor on the other side of the room. No one was back there because they were all having too much fun dancing or mingling with the other people from the record label.
"So, what is it that you wanted to talk about?" I asked curiously as I watched some of the people dancing.
I could tell that he was watching me, so I just sat there and waited for him to reply.
"Actually...I...uh...I just wanted to tell you about lunch tomorrow," he replied quietly as if he wasn’t sure of what he just said.
"Oh," I said with a smile as I turned my head to meet his gaze. "Ok."
"I’ll pick you up at Meg’s tomorrow at around 2," he started explaining before I cut him off.
"What did you say?" I asked with a mad voice, like he had called me a name or something.
"I said that I’ll pick you up at Meg’s around 2," he said sheepishly.
"How did you..." I started to ask when he put two fingers on my lips to silence me.
"I’ll pick you up at 2 tomorrow and we’re going out for the rest of the afternoon so you should dress casual...nice casual," he said with a smile as ‘I Could Fall In Love’ by Selena started playing over the speakers.
"Ok," I replied with a slight nod as I stared into his eyes. "I love this song," I said quietly as I turned back to looking at the couples on the dance floor.
"May I have this dance?" he asked as he held out his hand over the table.
"Sure," I said as I set my hand in his and hopped off the stool that I was sitting on.
He walked round the table to where I was standing and I put my hands around his neck comfortably. He pulled me closer and gently rubbed his hands up and down my back as I listened to the words of the song. ‘I could lose my heart tonight, if you don’t turn and walk away. Cause the way I feel I might lose control and let you stay. Cause I could take you in my arms and never let go. I could fall in love with you.’ Those words stayed in my mind as I closed my eyes and leaned my head a little closer to his. I could hear his steady breathing while the chorus played. Every once in a while I could feel him sort of stroking my hair as we slowly swayed to the music. I could smell his cologne as he laid his head next to mine. I didn’t want that moment to end, so when the music faded out into a more up-tempo song, we stayed the way we were in the darkness of the back area. After a few seconds we stopped moving, but stayed standing in each other’s arms.
"I’m going to miss you," AJ whispered into my ear before pulling away to look at my face.
"I’ll miss you too," I said sadly as my eyes started to tear up at the thought of leaving.
I didn’t want him to see the tears forming in my eyes, so I wrapped my arms around him in a tight hug for a few seconds before pulling back again. I could tell that he felt the same way that I did about me leaving the next day when I looked into his big brown eyes. I couldn’t help it anymore. A few tears rolled down my cheeks and I turned my eyes to look at my hands that were now sitting on his shoulders.
"Please don’t cry," AJ said as he brushed my cheek with his thumb.
"I’m sorry," I said sadly. "I can’t help it," I added before returning my eyes to his as more tears fell down.
He pulled me close again as I buried my head into his shoulder and cried for a few minutes before pulling away. I broke free of his hold and sat down on the stool before wiping my tear stained cheeks dry. He moved so that he was standing in front of me and again pulled me into a quick hug.
"I’ve got to go for a few minutes," he whispered in my ear. "But I’ll be back."
"I’ll be ok," I said as he let go. "I’ll go talk to Meg," I said as I got up so that I was standing in front of him.
"Ok," he replied. "I’ll come find you when I’m done."
He turned and walked a few feet before turning back to see me watching him leave. He turned his head back and continued walking as I moved my gaze to the table where Meg and I had first been sitting. I didn’t see her there so I made my way to the restrooms to check my face before returning to the crowd of people. I walked into the bathroom and let out a sigh of relief when I saw that no one else was in there already. I wiped under my eyes so that my make-up wasn’t smeared and fixed my mascara with my finger. After running my fingers through my hair a few times, I headed for the door and went towards the edge of the dance floor.
"Hey there," I heard someone say to me as I slowly walked by a table.
"Hi Brian," I said after I looked up to see him sitting by himself.
"Oh hey," he said as I continued walking.
I turned around and walked back a few steps to where he was sitting.
"Yeah?"
"Some girl named Meg I think came up to me like twenty minutes ago and said that she and Howie were leaving," he said. "She said that you are to get a ride with us."
"Ok," I replied with a little smile. "Thanks Bri," I said before turning and walking to the edge of the dance floor.
As I got to the dance floor, I could see that the guys from N*Sync were making up a dance to the song that was playing and they looked like total idiots! I couldn’t help but laugh out loud!
"Feeling better?" a voice asked as a hand wrapped around my back and rested on my side.
"A little," I answered as I turned my head to see AJ standing at my side.
"Good," he said before looking to see what I was laughing at. "Those guys are weird."
"No," I said with a little laugh as we walked over to where Kev was sitting at a table by himself. "Those guys are dorks!" I corrected him as I sat down.
AJ stood behind me for a few minutes and listened as Kev and I talked.
"I’m going to go find the other guys so we can go," AJ leaned over and whispered into my ear.
"Ok. Howie already left, so you don’t need to worry about him," I said before he walked away.
I turned back to Kev and continued our conversation for a few more minutes until someone walked up to the table.
"Hi," the voice said. "I don’t think we’ve met."
When I looked up and saw who was standing there, I let out a little laugh.
"No, we haven’t," I replied.
"I’m Britney," she said as she sat down next to me.
"I’m Liz," I said while I looked at Kev with raised eyebrows and a smirk. "It’s nice to meet you Britney," I said as I turned to look at her.
After a very short-lived conversation with us, Britney said that she had to go, so she got up and quickly left. When she was out of sight I burst out laughing.
"What in the heck was that?" I asked while laughing.
"She was only trying to be nice," Kev said with a little shrug as Nick walked up to the table and sat down where Britney was just sitting.
"Hi," Nick said with a smile.
"Hey blondie," I said with a smile in return.
"Who you calling blondie?" he asked. "You’re a blondie too."
"Yeah, I know," I replied. "But, at least I’m a natural," I said with a little laugh as Nick scowled at me.
"A natural what?" AJ asked as he and Bri walked up to the table.
"Nothing," Nick snapped.
"Geez Nick," I said seriously. "I was only kidding."
"Well, since we’re all here, let’s head out," Kev said as he stood up and waited for the rest of us to stand up too.
* Chapter 21 *
"Shot gun," Kev hollered as we walked into the parking lot where AJ’s Expedition was parked.
"You can’t call shot gun until the car is visible," I explained to him.
"It is visible," he said with a chuckle. "I can see it just fine over these cars."
"Are you mocking my height?" I asked sarcastically.
"Not at all," he answered.
"Good cause otherwise I’d have to hurt you," I said.
"Oh I’d like to see that one," Brian joined in the teasing conversation as we walked up to AJ’s truck.
"I still get shot gun," Kev said with a sly smile as he opened the front passenger door.
"Fine," I said as Bri opened the back passenger door.
I noticed that Nick was rather quiet, so I grabbed his arm and headed for the door that Bri had just opened.
"Nick and I will sit in the back," I said as I lightly pushed Nick towards the open door and watched him pull the seat forward before climbing in.
After he climbed in the back seat, I went to get in next. Bri held out his hand to help me in as I made my way in the door.
"Thanks," I said to Bri as I sat down next to Nick and pulled the seat back so he could get in.
After everyone was in and buckled up, AJ started the truck and we were on our way to drop everyone off.
"I’m sorry for getting you upset about the whole ‘blondie’ thing," I leaned over and whispered to Nick. "I didn’t think it would bother you that much."
"It didn’t," he said as he turned to meet his gaze with mine. "I just have a lot of things on my mind."
"Oh," I said before I turned to look at the rear view mirror.
Every once in a while I saw AJ looking back at us as he drove down the road. I was rather tired so I leaned my head on the window to my right for a few seconds and closed my eyes. It was really killing my neck so I decided to sit up and lean on Nick instead. He didn’t seem to mind as I set my head on his shoulder and again closed my eyes. After a few minutes of driving, I fell into a light sleep as we dropped Brian and Kevin off.
"Liz," I could hear someone calling my name.
I thought I was dreaming so I readjusted my head on Nick’s shoulder to a more comfortable position.
"Liz," I heard it again as someone began shaking my right shoulder lightly.
"Hmmmm," I said still half asleep while keeping my eyes closed.
"You have to get up so I can go," Nick said quietly as I slowly sat up and rubbed my eyes a little with my hands.
"Sorry," I said as AJ opened the door and slid the seat forward so we could get out. "I must have dozed off."
"It’s ok," Nick replied as I climbed out and stood on the driveway while he got out.
AJ walked around to the driver side of the truck and got in as Nick gave me a quick hug, a kiss on the cheek, and then headed towards the front door. I hopped back in the front seat as AJ turned the radio on. Once I was ready with my seatbelt on, we took off down the road once again.
"Don’t change it," I said when I saw AJ’s hand moving towards the tuning dial when Britney Spears’ ‘From the Bottom of My Broken Heart’ came on the radio.
"Ok," he said as he placed his hand back on the wheel and turned his concentration back to driving.
It was only about a twenty minute drive to Meg’s apartment so it didn’t take us all that long to get there. When we pulled up to the building, I noticed that Meg’s car wasn’t there yet, so I figured she was still out with Howie.
"Wanna come up for a few minutes?" I asked before opening the door to get out. "Meg’s not home yet and I hate being by myself."
"Sure," he answered while he turned the truck off. "For a few minutes."
"Ok," I said as I walked around to where he was now standing after he shut his door too.
We walked up to the front door in silence. I tried the door and found it to be locked, so I bent over and picked up one of the flowerpots filled with flowers that Meg had outside her door. I pulled the spare key from the tape on the bottom of the pot and unlocked the door before replacing the key and putting the pot back into position.
"I am so thirsty," I said as we walked in the door.
I took off the sweater shirt that I was wearing to reveal a plain white baby tee with black trim that I had on underneath. It went well with the black flowing skirt that fell right above the knees that I was wearing.
"Is it just me or is it hot in here?" I asked as I walked over to the thermostat and adjusted the temperature slightly.
"It’s a little warm," AJ said as he took off his leather suit-type jacket and laid it over the back of the couch.
"I’m going to get some water," I said as I headed for the kitchen. "Want anything?" I asked as I opened the cupboard door where the cups were.
"Um, sure," he replied as he walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table while I got two cups out of the cupboard and headed towards the fridge.
"Ok. Water...kool-aid...coke...orange juice...milk...Mt Dew," I said as I inspected what drinks were in the fridge. "Those are your choices."
"Even though the others are tempting, I’ll have some orange juice," he said as I took out the container of OJ and set it, along with his cup, on the table before filling my glass at the tap.
"Normally I would be drinking Mt Dew, but it’s too late at night," I explained as I took a seat at the table before taking a sip of my water. "I can’t really afford to be up all night," I said with a smile.
"You two going to the studio again in the morning?" he asked as I set my half-filled glass on the table.
"Yeah," I answered. "I really loved working on this whole project with Meg. I wouldn’t mind doing it again sometime."
"I love recording," he said before he finished off his glass and poured another.
"You guys are so lucky to be doing it for a living," I said before we both lifted our glasses and took a drink at the same time. "And I’m lucky enough to be playing it for mine."
"You work at radio station?" he asked like he was surprised.
"Yeah. Didn’t I tell you?"
"No," was his answer as he put down his empty glass.
"Oh. I thought I did," I said as I stood up. "You done?" I asked as I pointed to his glass.
"Yeah. Thanks," he said as I grabbed his glass along with mine and turned to put them in the sink.
I swiftly went over to the sink and turned my back to AJ as I set the glasses in the right side of the sink. ‘I wonder why Meg always has to have the dirty dishes put in the right side’ I thought to myself while I turned to walk back to the table. I was still lost in my thoughts.
"Umph," I said as I walked into AJ. "Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you standing behind me," I said looking at his face as he brushed back a piece of hair that had fallen into my face.
"It’s ok," he replied as one of his hands traced my jaw line before stopping to hold my chin in his hand.
He slowly leaned closer and closer to me. I closed my eyes in anticipation as his lips met mine. Butterflies seemed to arise in my stomach as the kiss progressed. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and started running my fingers through the hair on the bottom part of his neck. I was almost absolutely sure that I wasn’t as experienced at kissing as he was, so I just let him lead the way. After about a minute, we finally broke apart.
"Wow!" AJ exclaimed as he backed up a step.
I kept my eyes closed for a few seconds, still savoring the memory while it was fresh in my mind.
"That was well...wow!" he said again as I opened my eyes to see his silly smile.
"Ya like?" I asked sarcastically.
"What kind of question is that?" he asked me as if I was crazy.
"Just wonderin," I answered.
"Oh," he said as he looked at his watch. "Dang!" he said before turning and making his way to the door.
"What?"
"I’d love to stay and continue, but I’ve got to go...it’s really late and we have an early meeting in the morning," he said as he hurried out the door.
I saw the door shut behind him as I slowly walked to the kitchen doorway.
"Oh crap...he left his jacket," I said out loud as I grabbed it and headed for the door.
I swung the door open and walked out a few steps in time to see him opening the door of his truck.
"AJ!" I hollered before he got in.
He turned quickly to see what I had called his name for.
"You left your jacket," I called out to him.
"Keep it," he replied before getting in his truck and shutting the door.
I stood there and watched him drive away until he was out of sight before going back inside. I plopped down on the couch and sat there for a good 10 minutes just thinking about all that had happened that night. After deciding to just sleep in my clothes, I laid down on the couch, pulled a blanket up over my feet and stomach, and draped AJ’s jacket over my arms before leaning my head back. I stared at the ceiling for a few minutes before closing my eyes so I could at least try and get some sleep. ‘I love the smell of his cologne’ I thought to myself as I took a deep breath of the aroma coming from his...I mean...my jacket. My thoughts were soon interrupted by the sound of the door handle turning and the door being opened and then closed again. I knew it was Meg, but what I didn’t know was that someone was with her. I couldn’t really make out what they were saying as they stood in front of the door. They continued talking for a few seconds until it suddenly went silent. I got curious, so I leaned up on my elbows and turned my head to see Meg making out with...Howie?!?
"Share a little spit!" I said out loud to let them know that I was in the room. "Geez! Get a room!" I said sarcastically with a laugh.
I watched them instantly break apart as soon as they heard my comment. Howie just stood there and pretended like nothing happened while Meg started giggling quietly before she turned back to face Howie.
"Goodnight," Meg said sweetly as he opened the door.
They both walked out and shut the door. It was another few minutes before Meg came in again and headed for her room.
"Night!" I called after her.
"Ditto," she said before shutting her bedroom door.
It didn’t take long to get settled back down, so I soon fell into a comfortable dream-filled sleep in no time.
* Chapter 22 *
"Wake up Sleeping Beauty," I heard Meg tease as she stood over me while I was waking up the next morning.
"What time is it?" I asked as she headed for the kitchen when I sat up slowly.
"7...now get up! We have lots to do today," she said as she walked out of the kitchen and headed to her room.
I really didn’t want to get up, but after stretching for a few seconds, I slowly stood up and went into the bathroom to take a shower.
"Hurry up," Meg shouted through the door as I was getting out. "We have to be there in twenty minutes."
"Dang it!" I screamed as I pulled some clothes on and quickly pulled my hair into a bun before putting some make-up on in a hurry.
"You ready?" Meg asked when I walked into the kitchen to find her sitting at the table reading some sort of ad from a newspaper.
"Yep," I answered as she watched me sit in the seat across from her. "So, did you have a fun night last night?" I asked with a smirk and watched her face turn red.
"Yeah," she answered with a grin as she got up, walked towards the front door and motioned for me to follow. "We’re going to be late if we don’t get going."
"I’m coming," I said as I got up and headed for the door.
We hopped into Meg’s car, stopped by the Mickey D’s drive-up for breakfast, and zoomed towards the studio. We got there around 8, so not many people were there. After eating our food, we set out to the room that had become so familiar within the last few days.
"We’re only going to be recording one song today," Meg explained as she handed me the music and put on her headphones to listen to the demo. "It’s a duet."
"Ok," I said before I too put on my headphones to listen to the song that we’d be doing.
We listened to it a few times before taking the headphones off. We warmed up a little bit before jumping into the recording of the vocals. It was a beautiful and romantic slow song. It didn’t take us that long to finish because it was so simple and pretty at the same time.
"I want that song as my first single," Meg said to me after we got into her car. "Do you care if it’s my first single? It’s by far the best one we’ve recorded so far."
"I’m very flattered that you think it’s that good," I replied with a smile as she started the car. "I agree about it being the best one."
‘What did she mean about being the best one we’ve recorded SO FAR? I’m going home tonight...there is no more recording’ I thought to myself as we drove down the road.
"So, whatcha want to do now?" Meg asked.
"I dunno," I answered as I glanced at the clock that read 10:30.
"How ‘bout bowling?"
"Sure."
"Ok then...bowling it is," she said with a smile as she continued to drive.
I was off in my thoughts as Meg pulled into the parking lot that only had a few cars in it. My mind jerked back into reality as I heard Meg turn the car off. We went in, got shoes, bowling balls and found a lane off in the far end of the building. There were only about ten other people in the massive bowling alley, mostly ladies that looked like they were in their fifties, so we pretty much stayed to ourselves.
"I’m going to get this place bumping," Meg said as she pointed to the jukebox by the snack bar.
"Ok," I answered as I took my sparkling metallic purple ball out of the resting tray. "It’s my turn anyway."
I stepped up on the lane and took my first try. I only knocked down 7 of the pins so I had to wait for my ball to come back before I could take a second try. When I heard Christina Aguilera’s ‘Genie in a Bottle’ come over the speakers I smiled and turned around to see Meg walking back to our lane. I let out a little laugh as she did a trademark CA move (the Egyptian/genie with hands above her head and then a stomach roll) to the music, bowed when she saw that I was watching, and then sat in her chair.
"Cute!" I exclaimed as I turned slightly to pick up my ball.
I rolled a spare and then took the seat that Meg was sitting in as she got up to take her turn. I wiped my hands on the Mudd’s that I was wearing before I pulled off the open black short sleeved button-up shirt that I was wearing over a white fitted tee.
"By the way," she said facing me while she picked up her midnight blue ball that had glow-in-the-dark spots on it. "I hope you don’t mind, but I called a few people and told them to meet us here."
"Who?"
"It’s a surprise," she said with a sly smile before she went to take her turn. "You’ll see when they get here."
"Fine," I said as she rolled her ball down the lane and watched as she got a gutter ball. "That was precious," I said as she turned and walked back to where I was now standing.
"I know," she said happily before she sat down at the little scoring stand.
I again stepped onto the lane and picked up my ball in my right hand. I lifted the ball to my shoulder and gracefully swung it back as I took a few steps up to the lane line. When I got closer to the lane, I brought my right leg back just like the pros do on TV. After the ball left my hand, I stood up straight and watched as the ball sailed into the set and knocked down all the pins.
"Yes!" I yelled out in excitement as I shot my hands up in the air above my head. "Strike!"
I brought my hands down to my side and shouted another ‘Yes’ as I watched the machine sweep the pins off the lane. I turned around quickly to see Meg sitting on the chairs laughing and two other people sitting next to her. I was instantly embarrassed.
"You are the people?" I asked with raised eyebrows as if I was disappointed, pointing at them as I walked past and grabbed my black shirt.
"Yep," Meg said as she smiled at Howie while I quickly put my black shirt on and buttoned it half way up.
I walked to the row of chairs for the other lane next to ours that used the score table and sat down so I faced the lanes.
"Your turn."
I must have sounded a little bit annoyed at who was there when I said that because before I knew it, Meg was standing in front of me, blocking my view.
"Lighten up," Meg said with a silly expression on her face. "I thought it would be fun."
With that said, she turned and grabbed her ball to take her turn, only to roll another gutter ball. I couldn’t help but laugh as she let out a small groan in disgust before she went to the tray to wait for her ball.
"Hey!" Meg exclaimed. "Be quiet Miss pro bowler!" she said pointing at me.
"I am in no way a pro bowler," I replied as she picked up her ball.
"Then where’d ya learn to bowl like that?" Howie asked as Meg rolled again.
"My mom used to be on a bowling league in Utah before she had my two youngest siblings...I used to go with her during the day while she played. And then when I went to High School in Utah, there was a bowling alley across the street so we had bowling as a couple of our sections in PE," I said. "We would bowl for three week sections every 6 to 9 weeks. The lady that owned the alley taught us the correct way to bowl and the rules and stuff, but that was like 5 years ago."
"I wish my school would’ve had that!" Meg exclaimed as she sat down next to Howie.
"Yeah well...I haven’t bowled for like a year and a half," I said as I got up to get my ball. "I’m definitely no 300 point bowler."
"You could’ve fooled us," I heard Nick say before I stepped onto the lane.
"Thanks," I said as I slightly turned my head towards them and then turned back to concentrate on the lane.
I rolled and knocked down 8 pins, leaving the two remaining pins in a 7-10 split. I knew that it was the hardest split to knock down...I’d missed it any times before.
"Ew! Tough shot," I heard Howie say as I just stood at the foot of the lane for a few seconds before going to retrieve my ball from the tray.
"Oh?" I asked as I raised my eyes to look him in the eye. "You wanna try?"
"No, no thanks," he said as he shook his head from side to side.
"Ok then," I said before I stepped onto the lane.
I could tell that all eyes were on me as I stood there, ready to roll. I raised the ball to my shoulder like I had so many times before. I moved towards the lane and set the ball rolling with a slight spin. It rolled down the left side until it was a few feet away from the pins. When it was about two feet from the 10 pin, it curved right, just like I had intended it to. It sailed into the outside edge of the pin, which then sent the pin hurling through the air. Everything seemed to go in slow motion as I watched the pin collide with the other one and they both fell into the gutter.
"Phew," I said as I relaxed a little bit before turning around to go sit down.
"Wow!" Nick and Meg said at the same time as I started to walk towards them.
"I sure wasn’t expecting to make that shot," I said with a relieved smile as I sat down at the score table.
I could feel Nick’s eyes watching me as I kept mine glued on the ball the Meg had just rolled down the lane. I didn’t really want to look at him and I definitely didn’t want to know why he was staring at me. The smile that was on my face soon faded away as I sat there and watched Meg grab her ball to roll again.
"Um, I’ll be right back," I said as I stood up while Meg reached for her ball.
I turned to walk away before she could ask where I was going. I didn’t even know where I was going! I walked up the few steps that went from the hardwood and vinyl lane area to the carpeted floor. I walked over to the snack bar and sat on one of the fifties style bar stools. It looked more like a mini café than it did a snack bar. I stared at the menu that was posted up above the counter for a few minutes before realizing that I wasn’t all that hungry. I had really only sat down here because it was somewhere to go.
"Hey Liz, it’s your turn," I heard Meg say from not too far behind me.
I swiveled around on the stool and saw her walking up to where I was sitting.
"Um, let one of the guys go for me," I said before turning back around.
"Ok," she replied.
"May I help you miss?" a gray-haired woman from behind the counter asked with a smile.
"Um...actually yeah," I replied with a smile in return. "May I please have a small Mt Dew?"
"Sure thing hun," she said before turning her back to get my drink.
My hair was giving me a headache, being all pulled up so tight, so I took out the scrunchy, ran my fingers through it quickly, and let the damp strands hang down my back.
"Thanks," I said as she set my drink on the counter in front of me.
I drank it quickly, due to the fact that it was rather small and I was very thirsty.
"How much is it?" I asked as I reached for some money from my pocket.
"Dollar even."
"There ya go," as I handed her a five and hopped off the stool. "Keep the change," I said before walking away.
What was I thinking? I just gave that lady a four-dollar tip. ‘She was really nice. She deserved it’ I thought as I walked over to check out the selection that they had in the jukebox. There weren’t really many songs that I didn’t know...most were songs that people would expect to be in a jukebox. I saw that the last song that Meg picked was playing, so I put in four quarters and picked a few songs to listen to.
"Welcome back," Howie said cheerfully as I walked back down the steps to the chairs where he and Meg were sitting.
"Nick’s taking my turn," Meg said as she watched Nick roll her ball down the lane. "And your turn is next."
"Ok," I replied as Nick walked by and started to sit next to me.
Before he could sit down, I was up and reaching for my ball as ‘No Scrubs’ came over the speakers. This song always put me in good spirits. I didn’t pick up my ball, but instead I started singing along with the song.
"A scrub is a guy that thinks he’s fine...Is also known as a bustah. Always talking ‘bout what he wants...just sits on his dumb ass...No, I don’t want your number...No, I don’t wanna give you mine. No, I don’t wanna meet you no where. No, don’t want none of your time. Cause no, I don’t want no scrubs...A scrub is a guy that can’t get no love from me," I sang out loud before finally picking up my ball.
I did a cute little ballerina turn so that I was facing the lane before stepping up onto it. I rolled my ball down the lane, but I only knocked down 4 pins. I didn’t really care...I was too wound up in the song.
"Dang! What’d they give you over there?" Meg asked sarcastically.
"That’s a secret," I said with an evil grin as I walked back to pick up my ball from the tray.
Meg and Howie laughed as I grabbed my ball and rolled again, this time knocking down 4 more pins.
"Dang! My bowling skills are wearing off," I said jokingly as I took a seat next to Nick.
He just looked at me with his eyebrows raised like I was an idiot.
"What?" I asked.
"Nothing," he said as he turned to watch Howie bowl for Meg.
"No," I said as he watched Howie. "Really...what’s wrong?"
This time he turned and looked me in the eyes. He must’ve had a lot on his mind, because he only looked me in the eyes for a few seconds before looking beyond me. I could tell that he didn’t really want me to know what was wrong, but I wanted to help.
"It’s a big mess...I don’t think you’d understand," he said before turning his head to look at the ground.
"Ok," I replied. "But let me know if there’s anything I can do to help."
He nodded before turning his eyes back to mine.
"Thanks," he said softly before giving me a small hug.
"No problem," I said as I stood up to go bowl my last tries. "That’s what friends are for."
I got another strike followed by knocking down 6 pins and then 2 more after that. I really didn’t care what my score was...I wasn’t bowling my best anyway.
"So, wonna get some lunch?" Howie asked after he glanced at his watch.
"Sure," Meg blurted out before she realized what she had said.
She looked aver at me, then at Howie, and back at me.
"Don’t worry about me," I said when I noticed her worried look. "You can drop me off. You guys go and have fun," I insisted as I pulled the bowling shoes off my feet and slid my own shoes on.
"You sure?" Howie asked as I stood up with the rented shoes in hand.
"Yeah," I answered as the others stood too. "I have to pack anyway," I said as if it was no big deal.
It was a big deal though. I wanted to go with them, but I knew that I had to get ready to go. ‘Man! I wish I wasn’t leaving so soon’ I thought to myself as we returned our shoes and then headed for the door.
"I’ll take you to Meg’s," Nick offered as we neared the cars. "Where should I meet you guys?" he asked Meg and Howie while I climbed in the passenger seat of his Durango.
"Uh, how ‘bout that little café by the mall," Howie suggested.
"Ok," Nick replied before getting in.
I was silent for a few minutes as we drove. I wonder how he knew where I was staying.
"Nick?" I broke the silence.
"Yeah?"
"How did you know I was staying at Meg’s?"
"I’d rather you didn’t know," he replied as we pulled into the parking lot.
I didn’t really know how to react to that response, so I just sat there until he turned the truck off.
"Thanks for bringing me back," I said.
I leaned over and gave him a little hug while he gave me a kiss on the cheek.
"Your welcome," he said as I slid out of the seat and shut the door behind me.
He watched me walk up the steps and unlock the door just like I had the night before when AJ was here. How did everyone know what was going on besides me? I knew that Meg didn’t tell them that I was staying here, so how did they find out? Did they have one of their guards or someone follow me or maybe even both of us? ‘I have no idea’ I thought to myself as I walked into the apartment and shut the door. I turned to the window and watched Nick pull out of the parking lot. ‘He’s such a nice guy’ I thought. ‘He needs a girlfriend.’
The next hour and a half seemed to fly by as I gathered my clothes and things into my bags. When I was done, everything was in a pile at one end of the couch by the door, ready to go. After remembering what AJ said about dressing ‘casual...nice casual’, I changed into a khaki skirt and a white short sleeved button up shirt with a navy blue GAP sweater that had a white and maroon stripe over it. I had white socks on with a pair of black Doc’s that were an ankle cut version of the boots that I bought just a few days ago. ‘This outfit makes me look like a preppie schoolgirl!’ I thought to myself. I sat down to take a breather for a few minutes, so I reached over to the remote and turned on the TV. I flipped through the channels until I landed on MTV. I watched it for a few minutes while a CA (Christina Aguilera) video played. I was about to turn it off when a BSB video came on next. It was their newest ‘SMTMOBL’ video. ‘They all look so sad’ I thought as I watched. ‘So sincere...so honest...so mature...so fine!’ I finally concluded as I watched the last few seconds. I turned off the TV as an N*Sync song came on afterwards. I got up and was about to head towards the kitchen when there was a soft knock at the door. I practically ran to it in anticipation. I stood there for a few seconds longer before opening it so I didn’t seem so anxious.
* Chapter 23 *
"Hey!" AJ said happily after I opened the door. "Ready?"
"Yeah," I said as I walked out the door and followed him to his truck.
"Sorry that I’m a little early," he said as he opened the door for me. "I thought traffic would be bad, but it wasn’t."
"That’s ok," I replied with a smile as I hopped in.
"I like your outfit," AJ said to break the silence after a few minutes of driving.
"Thanks," I replied while I turned to see him smiling as we pulled up to a red light. "Where are we going anyway?"
"I can’t tell you that," he said with a sly smile.
"Fine," I said as I stuck out my tongue playfully.
"Don’t worry. We’re almost there," he said as the light turned green again.
"Oh jeez!" I said rather disappointed. "Turn it!"
N*Sync came on the radio and I can not stand the song that they were playing. I can’t stand much of their music.
"You don’t like them either," he asked as he turned the station to one that was playing Smash Mouth.
"I can only stand a few of their songs," I said as we pulled into the right lane.
I watched him flip the turn signal on as we approached a Mickey D’s. What? Mickey D’s?
"We’re going to Mickey D’s for lunch?" I asked as we pulled into the parking lot.
"I have a hankering for some real gourmet food," he teased while we pulled into a spot.
After he turned the car off, he walked around and opened the door for me. We went in and ordered. When we had our food in hand, we found a quiet little booth off in one corner and sat down to eat.
"So, what are we doing after this?" I asked after taking a few bites of my quarter pounder with cheese. "Wait...let me guess...it’s a secret?"
"Ding ding ding...we have a winner," he said in one of his funny voices before he took another bite of his burger.
I sipped on my Mt. Dew for a few seconds before grabbing a few of his fries. I didn’t order anything but a burger and a drink because normally I hate Mickey D’s food. I didn’t tell him that cause I didn’t want him to feel bad about coming here. He watched me dip the fries in his ketchup before munching on them while he took a sip of his coke. After I was done eating the fries, I picked up the remainder of my burger and wrapped it back up in the paper before placing it on the tray with the other trash. I folded my arms loosely and rested them on the table in front of me as he continued eating his burger and fries. Every once in a while he would glance up and catch me looking at him. When he looked up, I would instantly turn my gaze to the wall...or the window...or the table...or whatever was around, hoping that he didn’t notice me staring. One time he looked up and caught me off guard. I just sat there and smiled as if I was playing some sort of hide-and-seek game with my eyes.
"You are silly," he remarked before he took a swig of his drink.
"So I’ve been told," I said with a smile as I wiped my hands on a napkin and placed it on the tray.
He laughed a little before finishing his drink and setting the empty cup on the tray.
"Ready to go?"
"Yeah," I replied as I scooted to the edge of the booth.
He dumped the garbage and tray off before we headed out to his truck in the parking lot. We got in and sat there for a few minutes before he turned to me with a weird kind of smile on his face.
"Before we leave, I need you to promise me something," he said.
"What?"
"Promise me that you’ll close your eyes and keep them closed until I tell you to open them," he explained.
"Ok."
"No. That’s not good enough," he said with a smile. "Say it...say you promise."
"Ok," I replied. "I promise."
"Good...now close ‘em," he said as he started the truck.
I did as told before leaning my head back on the headrest. I let my thoughts wander while I listened to the radio playing through the big speakers in the back. ‘I wonder where he’s taking me. Maybe it’ll be somewhere fun...maybe somewhere that we could be alone’ I thought as ‘Every Morning’ by Sugar Ray played. I could hear AJ singing along softly as we drove down the road to the place that I was wondering about. ‘I wouldn’t mind getting to say goodbye to the other guys, but they’re probably off doing something fun at the moment. Wonder what Meg’s doing’ I thought to myself as AJ turned down the radio a little bit.
"We’re almost there," he said like he was taunting me.
I wasn’t really paying attention to what he was saying. I was too consumed in thinking about the occurrences that happened over the last week. ‘Oh jeez! I bet Nick thinks I’m a real witch after how I treated him.’
"Hello?" AJ said, sounding worried. "You alive?"
"Huh?"
"I was talkin’ to ya, but there wasn’t any response...I thought you fainted or something," he said with a little laugh.
"Nope. I’m still alive," I said with a slight sigh, still keeping my eyes shut.
"Good cause it’s only a little further," he replied.
"Ok."
Once again, thoughts began to run through my head. ‘Kevin had been so nice to me. No wonder they all call him the ‘big brother’. Howie...well Howie hooked up with Meg! They are such a cute couple. Brian was a really nice guy. I had a lot of fun recording with Meg. I hope her CD does really well cause she deserves it.’
"We’re here," AJ burst out as he turned off the ignition.
I just sat there and waited for him to come around and help me out. He opened the door and took my hand as I turned and slid out of the seat. When I was standing on the ground, he gently pulled me aside and shut the door.
"Don’t open your eyes yet. I just wanted to tell you that ya can’t laugh when you see where we are," he whispered in my ear as he guided me across the pavement. "Sidewalk...step up," he instructed.
He led me to what I could tell was a door that we went through before stopping momentarily.
"Hang on. I’ll be right back," he said before leaving me standing by myself.
I heard another door open and shut after he walked away. I could hear music start playing in the other room as I stood there and waited. The music got really loud when the door opened and AJ grabbed my arm again.
"This way," he said as the music overwhelmed my ears. "Remember, keep your eyes closed until I tell you to open them."
"I know," I said as we continued walking.
We walked a few more feet before he stopped again.
"There’s a bench here," he said as he held out my hand so I could feel it. "I need you to sit down."
He held my other hand for balance as I sat down. I sat there for a seconds when I felt someone untying my shoes.
"What are you doing?"
"I’m taking these off," he said. "You won’t need ‘em."
"Oh."
I could hear someone else let out a little laugh as I sat there letting him take my shoes off.
"9’s," he said to someone else as he stood up and walked away.
I could hear someone shuffling a little in the distance, so I knew we weren’t alone.
"What’s going on?" I asked when he came back and sat down beside me.
"Why don’t you take a look for yourself?" he said.
I slowly opened my eyes to look at my feet first. My shoes were sitting by the bench and there was a pair of roller skates sitting in front of my feet. I slowly moved my gaze across the brightly colored carpet and saw 5 pairs of feet that already had skates on them. When I saw the skates, I knew where we were. ‘We’re at a skating rink’ I thought to myself as my gaze moved from the skates to the faces of the people standing about 20 feet away from us.
"Whatcha waiting for?" Meg asked. "Put ‘em on!" she said pointing to the skates by my feet.
I leaned over and grabbed the white skates with silver laces as I noticed AJ putting his skates on too. After I got them laced up tight, I stood up and skated effortlessly over to where Meg and the others were standing.
"You guys did this all for me?" I asked as I looked around and saw balloons scattered around and a few tables with snack food and drinks set up.
"Yep," Kev replied happily.
"You guys are the best!" I said with a huge smile as I skated past them to hunt out the mixer’s booth to request some music.
When I found it, I saw a guy that looked about 25 sitting in the little booth playing with a bunch of switches.
"Hi," I said after watching him for a few seconds. "Will you play a song for me?"
"Sure. Whatch wanna hear?"
"’Allstar’ by Smash Mouth."
"Will do," he replied with a smile before I skated off towards the rink in the middle of the massive building.
No one else was skating on the rink yet, so I decided to be the first. The lights dimmed and a bunch of colored spotlights started moving around on the ceiling to cast weird colored shadows on the rink floor. I stepped out onto the rink and began skating around the floor as the music played loudly over the speakers. As I picked up speed and passed everyone still standing on the carpet, I turned my head to see everyone watching me.
"Come on guys!" I yelled as I kept going.
I turned around to see Nick and Bri coming onto the floor as I skated backwards around half the rink. When they got a little closer to me, I turned back around and sped off. They were way too slow because by the time they finished one lap, I had done two.
"Slowpokes!" I teased them as I passed by them effortlessly.
By the time I got around the oval shaped floor again, everyone was skating on the floor and having a good time. I stepped off the floor for a few seconds and headed for the table with the drinks.
"So you were in on this whole thing?" I asked Meg when she skated up beside me.
"Yeah. They wanted to have a little goodbye party for ya and I couldn’t refuse," she said with a smile as she grabbed a can of pop. "I’m gonna miss having you around too ya know."
"I know," I replied as we set our drinks down at the same time.
We started to skate off towards the rink, but stopped at the edge of the carpeted floor.
"So," I said quiet enough that only she could hear. "Wanna play with their heads for a little while?" I asked in an evil voice that made her laugh.
"Sure!" she replied in the same evil tone.
We both stepped onto the rink at the same time as the boys passed by. Howie was lagging behind a little bit, so we decided to help him out a little. Meg grabbed his left hand while I grabbed his right.
"Let’s go," Meg said to me excitedly.
We started pulling Howie along in-between us for a little while until we caught up with the other guys.
"Howie...put your hands on my shoulders," I heard Meg say as I let go of Howie’s hand and skated in front of the two of them. "And hold on tight!"
I made my way in front of Meg so she could grab onto my shoulders. I pulled them amongst the other guys.
"Skating Snake!" Meg screamed loud enough for the other guys to hear.
They turned their heads one by one. Nick was the first to notice what was going on. He skated over to me and tried to join at the front, but I shooed him to the back.
"This Snake’s mine!" I shouted.
Bri noticed second. He followed after Nick and grabbed onto his shoulders. AJ was next and Kev was last. After a few fun filled minutes of skating back and forth and watching the end of the line get lost a few times, Meg whispered to me that it was time. She let go of my shoulders and I skated away before the rest of them realized what was going on. After I was a ways away, she pried Howie’s fingers from her shoulders and bolted in the same direction that I had gone. We watched as the guys skated for a few more seconds just fine until someone slipped. Meg grabbed a camera that she brought and snapped a few pictures as they all came tumbling down on each other.
"Oh my gosh!" I burst out laughing. "Did you see that?!? It was hilarious!"
"Yeah," Meg said between laughs. "And I got the proof!" she said holding up the camera.
"Right on!" I replied happily and gave her a high five.
I looked out at the pile of guys sitting there on the floor. They were all tangled up and we could see hands and legs sticking out everywhere. Seeing that sight only made us bust out more.
"Get off my foot!" we heard AJ scream as he tried to sit up.
"That’s my hand you’re on," Kev hollered to no one in particular.
"Who’s sitting on me?" Nick asked loudly.
Meg shoved the camera into her jeans pocket and we watched them struggle to get up. When they were somewhat untangled, they looked at us, then at each other, and back at us.
"Oh crap!" I said to Meg. "That’s our sign to head to the little lady’s room."
"I agree!" Meg replied as the guys started to get up.
We skated as fast as we could to the girl’s restroom and locked ourselves in the biggest stall (which just happened to be the handicap stall).
"Maybe we shouldn’t have come in here," I whispered to Meg as the guys’ voices got louder.
"I think they went in there," we heard Bri say outside the bathroom.
I put the seat down on the toilet and sat down on it. I swung my legs up onto the railing so that they couldn’t see my legs under the door. Meg jumped up so she was sitting in the corner on the railings and rested her feet on them.
"I’m going in to check," Nick said.
"But it’s a girl’s room," we heard Bri say.
"Why in the world do you think we rented this place?" AJ asked.
"Oh...gotcha," Bri replied as if he understood.
"I’m coming too," we heard Howie say as his voice got closer. "You guys wait out here."
We sat still, making sure to make as little noise as possible. I could see their feet from under the door of the stall. They must have thought that we weren’t in here, because after a few seconds of checking under the stalls, they left.
"Didn’t see anything," Nick said as they reached the other guys.
After another couple of minutes, it sounded like they were gone, so I stood up quietly and motioned for Meg to follow. I made my way towards the door, but pushed Meg forward to go out first. She opened the door slowly and didn’t see anyone there, so she proceeded to skate out the door. I figured that the coast was clear when I didn’t hear Meg having any problems. As I skated out the door and to the left a few feet, someone grabbed me from behind.
"I’ve got her!" Nick yelled out.
I tried to wriggle out of his grasp, but he had his arms wrapped tightly around my body and arms just above my elbows.
"Uh oh," was all I could say as I heard Meg laughing her head off a few feet away. "Please don’t tickle me!" I pleaded as Meg continued to laugh uncontrollably under the guys’ torturing fingers.
"Don’t worry. We won’t hurt you," Nick whispered in my ear using the same evil tone that Meg and I had used only a few minutes before.
I could feel his warm breath on the back of my neck as he held me tightly against his own body. My head and shoulder flinched a little as his breath tickled my neck.
"I think I’m going to be sick," I lied.
"That one’s not gonna to work this time," Nick whispered in my ear again. "I’m not letting you go."
"Dang!" I exclaimed as I stopped struggling.
I knew that I wouldn’t be able to get away so I decided to just give up. When Meg finally stopped laughing, I could see the guys get up and make their way over towards where Nick was holding me hostage.
"Please don’t tickle me! Please don’t tickle me! PLEASE DON’T TICKLE ME!" I pleaded as they came nearer.
They just looked at each other with sly smiles before Howie grabbed one of my hands and AJ grabbed the other. Nick let go as Howie and AJ held my hands out to my sides in the air.
"No!" I screamed as Nick walked around to stand in front of me face to face. "Please don’t tick..."
I was too late. Nick leaned over and tickled me so much that I almost started to hyperventilate right then and there. I could tell that he was having fun watching me laugh as if I was loony. When he finally stopped, I was laying on my back on the ground with AJ and Howie still holding my wrists. Nick was sitting to the left of me before he stood up and helped the other guys up as well. I just lay there on the ground as they gave each other high fives.
"Hello?"
They didn’t even seem to hear me.
"HELLO?"
This time they turned to see that I was still sitting on the ground.
"Think I can get some help up? I’m kind of wearing a skirt ya know," I said as they stared at me for a few seconds before they stretched out their hands to help me up.
"Sorry," they said in unison.
"It’s ok," I said after they pulled me up. "I need a drink," I said before I skated slowly to where the drinks were set on the table.
They followed me over to the table, where I grabbed a can of Mt Dew and then headed to a booth that Meg was sitting at.
"That was so worth being tickled to death!" I said quietly after I took a seat next to her.
"I know!" she replied. "And look," she said as she pulled the camera out of her pocket. "I still have proof!"
I laughed at her as she shoved the camera back in her pocket before any of the guys could see it. We sat there in the booth and watched the guys as they skated around, making fools out of themselves.
"Come on," I said to Meg as I stood up and threw my empty can in the trash. "Let’s show ‘em how it’s done."
She grinned widely as she stood up and followed me to the slick floor. The colored lights were off and black lights were on so that anything bright in color or white glowed.
"Hang on," I said to Meg as I stripped off the Gap sweater that I was wearing so that my white button-up was showing. "Ok. Let’s go."
The second I took the sweater off, my shirt was glowing along with my skates and laces. Meg was wearing white jeans and a midnight blue Old Navy shirt so she glowed too. We quickly skated to where the guys were on the other side of the rink before passing them by. After we passed them, I turned around to skate backward and watched them try to catch up with us.
"You guys are too slow!" I exclaimed before turning back around and skating off towards Meg.
She was only a few feet ahead of me, so it didn’t really take all that long to catch up.
"Hey Meg," I said as I skated alongside her. "You wanna confuse ‘em again?"
"By doing what?"
"Nothing serious...let’s skate around so they’re going one way and we’re going the other. They’ll be like ‘what the?’...It’ll be funny."
"Ok," she replied as we both stopped and turned around to go the other way.
"Guys?" we heard Howie say like he was confused.
"What the?" AJ burst out.
"Bye guys," Meg said sweetly as we passed them going the opposite direction.
"What was that about?" Kev said rather loudly as we continued in the ‘wrong’ direction.
When we got around to where the arcade and prize games were, we skated off the rink and over to a ‘Claw’ machine that was filled with cute little stuffed animals.
"That one’s so cute," I pointed to a white medium sized fluffy teddy bear with a light pink fuzzy nose.
The inside of the ears, bottom of the feet, and the palms of the hands were all made of pastel pink silk material.
"I like that one better," Meg said, pointing to a light purple bunny with floppy ears at the back of the machine.
"That one’s cute too," I replied. "You have any change?"
"Yeah," she said as she dug into her pocket. "I have six quarters and like 12 dimes."
"Can I have two quarters?"
"Sure."
"Thanks," I said as I put the two coins in the slot.
I put my hands on the maneuvering stick and waited patiently as the machine got ready. There was a little green light on the claw that came on, so I knew that it was ready for me to direct it to my desired destination. When the claw was above the teddy, I pushed the button on the joystick and the claw fell.
"Dang it!" I yelled out in disappointment. "I was so close."
"What’s the problem?" I heard Kev say from behind me.
"Oh nothing. I’m just trying to get that bear," I said as I pointed to the fluffy white mass.
"Let me try," he said before putting coins in the machine.
I watched as the claw came back empty.
"Sorry. I tried," he said as he shrugged his shoulders.
By then the others were standing around watching. They all tried one by one, but failed every time.
"What’s going on over here?" the guy from the music booth said as he walked over to where we were.
"We’re trying to get that bear," Nick said as he pointed to it.
The music guy chuckled as he walked up to the machine.
"All ya had to do was ask," he said as he pulled out some keys, opened the front, and grabbed the bear before locking it back up again. "Here ya go," he said as he handed me the bear.
"Thank you," I said with a smile.
"No problem," he replied before walking away.
I hugged the bear against my chest as we skated to where the tables were. Meg grabbed a plate and put food on it while I set the bear on the 50’s style snack bar to mark our seats. After grabbing a small container of popcorn, I went back over to where Meg was now sitting on the swivel tools and sat down beside her.
"So what’s going on between you and Howie?" I asked her quietly so that the guys wouldn’t hear.
"Well, he asked me for a date on Friday night," she replied happily in the same quiet tone as she looked over my shoulder and saw Howie and the others sitting in one of the booths.
"Really? That’s great," I replied in-between bites of my popcorn.
"Yep! He’s a great kisser too," Meg said.
"Don’t forget...I witnessed your little tonsil hockey game last night," I teased.
"He’s probably the best kisser of them all," she said sarcastically.
"AJ’s the best kisser," I said without thinking about what I was saying. "Oh my gosh! Did I just say that?" I asked, totally embarrassed.
Meg took one look at my red face and let out a little chuckle.
"I figured that you two already kissed," she said with a silly smile.
"Well, it was great..." I trailed off while my mind got lost in my memory of the night before.
"I have an idea," Meg said, breaking into my thoughts. "Follow me," she said as she got up from the stool and walked away.
I got up and followed her over to a nearby vending machine that was filled with various candy bars and other goodies. She handed me a dollar bill that she had retrieved from her pocket.
"Get those," she said, pointing to a yellow package of Starbursts.
I put the bill in the machine and pressed the button for the package Starbursts. After reaching in the bin to get them, I stood up and held them out to Meg.
"Ever heard of the ‘Starburst Challenge’?" she asked with a sly smile.
"Yeah," I said as if it were no big deal. "Oh my gosh Meg! We’re not gonna..." I said after a few seconds as my eyes got wide.
"You betcha!" she cut me off as she grabbed my arm and pulled me back to our seats at the bar.
Instead of sitting down on the stools, she stood there and ripped the package open. She handed me seven of the candies and shoved the rest in her pocket before turning and walking to the table where the guys were.
"Hey guys," she said to get their attention as I made my way to where she was standing.
Once they were all looking at her, she began to talk.
"Can you guys do me...I mean...us a favor?" she asked.
"Good," she said after they all said yes. "I need you all to stand up in a line side by side from oldest to youngest."
After they were standing like she told them to, she went on.
"Ok. Liz is going to give you each a starburst candy...but you can’t eat it. Got it?"
They all nodded their heads.
"When I say go, you all have to put the WRAPPED candy in your mouth...and unwrap it in your mouth...which means NO HANDS," she explained as Kev, Bri and Nick gave her funny looks. "Got it?"
They nodded once again as I placed a candy in each of their hands, starting with Meg.
"One for Kev...one for Howie...one for Brian...one for AJ" I said as I progressed down the line.
Before I could give one to Nick, AJ grabbed my arm and whispered in my ear.
"I’m gonna win cause I’m the best," he said flirtatiously.
I smiled as I pulled away and handed Nick his candy.
"I wonder if they know what it means..." I whispered to Meg when I got back to where she was standing.
"Doubt it," she replied.
‘AJ knows what it means’ I thought to myself with a smile.
"Ok, go," Meg said before we all put the candies in our mouths.
I could see Bri and Kev having a hard time with theirs when they started making funny noises as if it would help them or something.
"Done," I said as I held up the wet wrapper a few seconds after we started.
"Me too," AJ said as he did the same.
"Me three," Meg said as she held her wrapper up for the rest to see.
When I saw the other guys struggling to unwrap theirs, I burst out laughing. Meg looked at me with raised eyebrows so I nodded my head in the guy’s direction. After she saw the distressed look on Nick’s face, she burst out laughing too.
"I give up," Howie said after a few more minutes of trying.
"Me too," Kev said.
"Same here," Nick added.
"I did it!" Bri exclaimed as he held up his wrapper.
"Took ya long enough," AJ teased.
"Be quiet," Bri replied as he threw his wrapper away in a nearby trash can.
"How come you had us do that?" Nick asked after we got rid of the wet wrappers that were in our hands.
"Oh, no reason," Meg said with a mischievous smile.
She looked at me and let out a little chuckle when she saw me shrug my shoulders at Nick’s question like I had no idea either.
"So AJ...Looks like you’re not the best after all," I said sarcastically.
"Guess not," he replied as we all sat down on some benches.
I was sitting next to Kev and Bri on one bench and AJ, Meg, Howie, and Nick were sitting so they were facing us on the other bench.
"Oh, before I forget," Meg said as she stood up and pulled something out of her back pocket. "This is for you."
I took the envelope that she held out to me and looked at it for a few seconds with a confused expression on my face. It was a plain white business sized envelope with my name written on the front in small elegant letters.
"You can open it if you want," she added as she sat back down next to Howie.
Right as I heard those words, I turned the envelope to the back and carefully ripped it open. I pulled the contents out and studied it carefully. It was a check written to me from Meg’s record company and management.
"What’s this for?" I asked as I looked up to see her smiling.
"That’s for your time recording...and it’s also your first royalty check," she replied happily.
"Oh."
I was speechless. First royalty check? There were going to be more? ‘Wow! I could get used to this’ I thought to myself as I put the check back in the envelope and put it in the pocket of my skirt. The guys changed into their shoes while Meg and I talked about the details of her album.
"Speaking of things for you...," Howie said before the others got up as if on cue. "Hold on," he said with his index finger pointed at me in a ‘one’ shape. "We’ll be right back, so don’t go anywhere."
"I won’t," I replied as the guys walked off towards the carpeted counter where you’re supposed to exchange your shoe for skates.
I watched them walk around the mixing booth and down a small hallway before they disappeared into the shadows. Meg was changing out of her skates so I decided I’d change out of mine too. I leaned over, untied my skates, and put on my shoes before sitting up again.
"I’m really going to miss having you at my place," Meg said as she came and sat next to me.
"I’m going to miss you too," I said as my eyes started to tear up.
I blinked back the tears as Meg wrapped her arms around me in a friendly hug.
"Thanks for everything," I said as the guys started to walk back to where we were.
"Awww...isn’t that cute," AJ said before Meg and I pulled apart.
"I hate good-byes," I said out of the blue.
"This isn’t good-bye...yet," Kev said as he sat down next to me.
Meg stood up and sat down next to Howie on the other bench. This time I was sitting next to Nick and Kev while Howie, Meg, AJ, and Bri were sitting across from us.
"I’ll go first," Bri said as he handed me a flat square package with shiny purple wrapping and a light purple bow.
"You guys didn’t have to get me presents ya know," I said with a little laugh as I took the gift from Bri. "Want me to open it now?"
"Sure...go ahead," he replied.
I carefully took the cute bow off and placed it on my leg before I ripped the paper off to reveal a CD. It wasn’t any ordinary CD though. I turned the case over to see the front and saw that the handmade jacket had a picture of the guys on it. I opened the case and looked at the other side of the jacket. ‘This CD is for you Liz. These are some songs that we’ve done in the studio...a few that you did with us, ones that we (the fellas) had done but never released, and we also managed to get a few of Meg’s on there. Hope you like it!
* Chapter 24 *
I sat back in my seat as the stewardess walked up to the people sitting in front of me and asked for their drink preference. It had only been an hour since we left the airport in Orlando meaning that we still had about six and a half hours left. I looked over at the bag Meg had given me that was sitting in the empty seat next to me and saw a light blue corner of the envelope from AJ’s present. I turned my attention back to the window, but after a few minutes the curiosity got the best of me. After pulling out the box and envelope from AJ and the small velvet box from Nick, I pulled out my tray and set them down before debating which to open first.
"Purple," I said pointing to AJ’s box. "Or Maroon?" I asked myself out loud while pointing to Nick’s box.
‘Maybe I need a second opinion’ I thought to myself as I stared at the boxes on my tray. The stewardess walked up to the seat that I was sitting in.
"Would you like a drink?" she asked sweetly.
"Yes, thank you. Water," I said with a smile before she walked off.
"Here you go," she said while handing me a small water bottle a few seconds later.
"Can I ask you something?" I asked before she turned to go.
"Sure."
"Which should I open first...the purple one or the maroon one?" I asked while pointing to each of them.
"My favorite color is red, so I’ll say maroon," she said happily.
"Ok...thanks," I replied before she went to help one of the other passengers.
I picked up the small maroon box that Nick had given to me such a short time ago at the rink. After rubbing the soft velvet with my right index finger for a few seconds I slowly opened the lid to reveal a silver ring sitting perfectly in the middle of the silk lined box. I pulled the ring out and looked at it carefully. It was a beautiful plain sterling silver band with the words ‘LH and NC = Friends Forever’ engraved in the inside. I pulled out a small piece of folded paper from the lid of the box and opened it.
‘Liz: I know that this week hasn’t exactly been the easiest for you, but I want you to know that we’ll always be friends, no matter what. I want to you always wear this ring and when you see it, remember that I’m thinking of you. Your friend always, Nick’
I held the ring in the palm of my right hand and looked at it for a few minutes before picking it up and sliding it on my fingers to see which one it fit the best. It was rather big, but it fit perfectly on my right index finger. After I slid it on, I held my hand up and admired the new ring and how it looked with the others I already had on. I slid the note back in the box before closing it and putting it back in the bag that sat beside me.
"Excuse me," I said to the stewardess that was walking by.
"Yes?" she said as she stopped momentarily.
"Can we use cell phones yet?" I asked.
"Yes you can," she replied with a smile as I reached for my backpack that was partially underneath my seat.
"Thanks."
As I rummaged through my backpack that was now on my lap, I kept wondering what was in AJ’s box. I eventually found my cell and pulled it out.
"Power," I said to myself in a silly voice as I hit the power button and waited for it to turn on.
’15 voice messages’ the small screen read when it was done checking the battery power and stuff.
"15 messages already?" I said, totally bewildered. "Geez Monkey!"
I dialed the number of my voicemail box and waited while it connected. I pressed the button and listened to the first few messages again. The first seven or eight messages were all ones that I’d heard before and saved, but I was still shocked that I had 7 new messages in less than two days.
‘Hey Liz. I made it home to SLC in one piece. I’ll be staying at your apartment for the next couple of days until I head back home to mom and dad’s. Hope you don’t mind! I’ll be gone by the time you get here, so call me when you get back...I wanna know details! Bye!’ I heard Court’s voice say.
It was obvious that she left this message a few days ago. I pushed the delete button and then waited for the next message to play.
‘Hi hun. Just wanted to let you know that we made it ok...we’re in Alaska at Grandma and Grandpa’s if you need anything. Love ya. Bye’
I pushed save after I heard the message from my mom. I put the phone back up to my ear and waited for the next message.
‘Liz?’ I heard Kev’s voice say. ‘We just saw you leave the hotel and I want to know what’s wrong...Is it something we did? Nick hasn’t said a word since you left this afternoon. Please let us know what’s up so we can help. Hopefully talk to you later’ he said before he hung up.
‘He must have called after they saw me leave the hotel with Meg’ I thought to myself, remembering that I didn’t listen to all of the messages that night.
‘Hey girlie. I haven’t talked to you for a while so I decided to call, but I guess you aren’t in right now,’ I heard Tina’s voice say (she’s another one of my sisters). ‘Call me when you get this message,’ she said happily before hanging up.
"That was weird," I said out loud to myself, knowing that Tina never ever called, even when she needed something desperately.
‘Liz. You’re on the plane on your way home now. You’ve been gone for almost an hour and I miss you so much,’ AJ’s voice said. ‘We all miss you. By the way, what happened when you left? You ran out of the room crying and you didn’t even look back. I know that something is wrong...call me so we can talk about it.’
He said his cell phone number so quickly that I had to replay the message just to make sure that I got the number right. I played with the scrap of paper with his cell number on it while I listened to the next message.
I could hear a lot of chaos and hollering in the background of the next message before a voice finally spoke up.
‘Liz...I know that I’m probably the last person you want to hear from right now, but I had to tell you that I loved having you here these last few days. Oh, and did you like the present? I had my mom pick it out, but the engraving was my idea!’ I heard Nick’s voice say as I looked at the ring on my index finger while he continued. ‘I really hope that we can still be friends...even if you don’t want anything more than that, I’d be more than glad to be friends with you.’
I could hear AC yelling ‘Eeewww!’ in the background before Nick went on.
‘We’re going on tour in less than a week and I know that everything will be hectic then, but I'll try to call you so we can talk. Well, I’ve got to go kill a certain blond kid’ I heard him say as Aaron yelled ‘Hey! I heard that!’ in the background. ‘Talk to you later’ he said before he finally hung up.
I pushed the save button before putting the phone back to my ear to listen to the last message.
‘Hey Els! I’ve got some really great news! The big-boss man finally decided that it was time for you to be given a promotion. Would you believe it if I told you that he’s giving you your own time slot? It’s not much, only a few hours everyday in the late morning before noon, but anything is better than nothing!’ Jay said with a little laugh. ‘See you when you get back to work’ he said happily before hanging up.
Jay is that DJ buddy of mine that I work with at the station. He was always looking out for me. ‘Oh my gosh! I get my own show!’ the realization of what Jay said started to sink in. ‘Well that news can wait, cause I’ve got a few calls to make’ I thought as I cut the connection with my voicemail box. I quickly dialed AJ’s cell number and waited while it connected and then rang. I thought that no one would answer after it rang like 11 times, until he picked up after the twelfth ring.
"Hello?" AJ said out of breath.
"Hey!"
"Liz?" he asked excitedly.
"Yeah. What took you so long to answer your phone?"
"We’re at a late practice and Fatima is yelling at us ‘cause we keep messing up on our dances," he said with a little laugh. "How’s the flight going?"
"The flight is great. I love first class," I said happily as I played with the ribbon on AJ’s package.
"Me too," he replied with a dreamy voice. "So, did you get my message?" he asked in a more serious tone.
"Yeah," I replied. "But that’s not why I called."
"Oh?"
"Yep," I said matter-of-factly. "I want a hint as to what you got me," I said slyly, still looking at the perfectly wrapped gift on the tray in front of me.
"A hint?" he asked.
"Yeah!"
"I can’t give you a hint."
"How come?"
"Cause you just have to open it...envelope first," he instructed as I picked up the envelope and held it in my hands.
"Who you talking to Bone?" I heard Kev ask in the background.
"Say ‘Hi’ to everyone for me," I said after hearing Kev’s question.
"I’m talking to Liz," AJ said to Kev. "She says to ‘Hi’ to everyone."
I could hear them all yell back when AJ held up the phone.
"No, you can’t have it!" AJ yelled as someone grabbed the phone away.
"Hey Liz!" Kev exclaimed. "Everything ok?"
"Yeah Kev! Everything’s fine."
"What happened earlier?" he asked in a whisper so that the others wouldn’t hear.
"Um...nothing."
"Cut the crap," he replied. "Tell me what happened."
"Fine. Nick kinda sorta....he....Ugh! He kissed me ok?" I finally said.
"And?"
"And I don’t like him like that. AJ’s the one who should’ve done the kissing," I said sheepishly.
"Oh," he said in an understanding voice. "See...I knew about you and AJ already, but the Nick thing is news to me."
"I sure hope the others aren’t listening," I said softly.
"Don’t worry. I’m in the hall right now," he reassured me.
"Good," I replied. "Don’t tell the other guys about the whole Nick situation ok? ‘Specially not AJ," I pleaded.
"I won’t."
"Thanks Kev."
"No problem," he said before I heard AJ open the door in the background and grab the phone back.
"What’d Kev want?" he asked.
"Nothing important. You know how he is," I joked.
"Yeah, I do."
There was an awkward silence for a few seconds.
"AJ?"
"Hmm," he answered.
"Promise me something," I said anxiously.
"What?"
"Promise me that you’ll call me sometime at work and give me an interview for my new show," I exclaimed.
"You got a promotion huh?"
"Yep! I get a few hours every day just before the lunch show. I’m so excited about it," I replied happily. "I mean, I’ve been on the air before and all, but I get my OWN show!"
"That’s great!" he said, joining me in my anxiousness.
"I know!"
"Listen, I have to go...Fatima’s yelling at me and giving me the evil eye," he said in a hurry. "I’ll call you tomorrow some time."
We said our good byes and hung up. I sat and stared at his present for like five minutes before finally opening the envelope that was in my hands. After pulling out a folded piece of paper, I put the envelope down and opened the paper.
‘Liz, I couldn’t sleep last night after I got home. I could still feel your soft skin against mine. I wish we had more time so we could get to know each other better, but life goes on. I wrote a poem for you...’ it read at the top and then continued with the poem.
"He wrote that for me?" I asked myself in disbelief. "That is so sweet!"
My eyes were tearing up as I picked up the box wrapped in light purple paper with white ribbon around it. I removed the ribbon, tore open the paper, and opened the box to find two things...a cassette tape and another plain white box. After looking at the tape that said ‘Liz’s Tape 2000 Mix’ on it for a few seconds, I turned my attention back to the little white box. I carefully pulled it out of the bigger box and opened it. After pulling out a few pieces of strategically placed tissue paper, I saw a cute little ‘Precious Moments’ figurine. It was a boy and a girl standing in a patch of flowers hugging sweetly.
"Aaawww! That is so adorable," I said while I pulled it out of the box and set it on the tray so I could see it better. "I wonder if his mom picked it out," I said sarcastically as I put it back in the small box and then placed the box in the bigger one.
After putting the box of stuff back into the bag on the other seat, I decided to see if I could take a nap. It was going to be a long flight and I knew I would have a severe case of jetlag if I didn’t get any sleep. I pulled out my Discman and popped in the CD that Bri gave me and leaned my head back before I finally dozed off with BSB blaring in my ears.
‘Where are you going?’ I called out to them as they continued walking away.
‘Wait! Don’t leave’ I screamed as they turned their heads and shook them at me in disgust.
‘What did I do wrong?’ I said out loud to myself as they all turned their heads back and kept walking.
‘You can’t let them leave...Tell them how you feel’ I heard a voice say loudly as if it were my conscience speaking to me.
‘Who are you and why are you doing this to me?’ I screamed with tears running down my face as the five of them kept walking down the dimly lit hallway.
‘YOU are the one hurting yourself. I’m only trying to help’ the voice boomed back.
Everything seemed to disappear as the guys turned to face me, now standing in a very well groomed backyard with a pool and garden full of flowers. It had recently rained, so everything was still a little wet.
‘What in the heck is going on?’ I asked confused as tears ran down my face.
‘They can’t hear me’ the voice said.
‘Don’t cry’ the tallest one with dark hair said in an almost annoyed voice as he slowly inched closer to where I was standing on a sidewalk made of red hexagon shaped bricks.
‘I hate it when you cry’ the short tattooed one said sadly as they got closer.
‘Come play with me’ the tall blond one said flirtatiously as he held a basketball in his arms.
‘Why are you here?’ the short one with a well-defined jaw asked with a glare.
‘Why are we here?’ the shortest one with brown curly hair said with even more anger than the last.
‘Did I bring you here?’ I asked in a pleading voice when they were about twenty feet from me.
‘No...I did. Tell them how you feel’ the thunderous voice demanded.
‘I...I...I can’t’ I yelped out as more tears fell and my knees went weak.
I looked at each of the guys standing so close with such anger, confusion, and agitation in their eyes as everything around me started to spin.
‘Help me’ I whimpered softly before everything went black and I fell to the ground with a thud.
‘Liz?’ I could hear one of them call out as I lay there on the ice-cold ground. ‘Liz? Liz come back! Liz!’
I couldn’t move my arms or legs as I lay there on the sidewalk. I could hear their footsteps coming closer and I tried to open my eyes, but it was as if my eyelids weighed a ton. I wanted to scream out for help, but my mouth remained shut. My body soon went cold from lying on the sidewalk that was clammy from it being damp.
‘Crap! She’s freezing’ said a worried voice as I felt a warm hand touch my arm.
‘Let’s get her inside’ one of the others said.
I felt my limp body being picked up in two strong arms as someone else put something over my lifeless body. ‘I’m so cold’ I thought to myself as I was being carried somewhere. Where are they taking me? What’s going on? I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs, but my body wasn’t functioning. My mind slipped in and out of consciousness as I was put down on a couch or something and covered with what seemed like 20 blankets.
‘Hmmmmm.’
I tried to talk, but the sound was trapped in my throat. Instead, it sounded like more of a moan than anything.
‘Shhhh! I think she’s waking up’ one of them said to silence the others.
I slowly opened my mouth, but my eyes still wouldn’t move. After taking a slow and steady breath, I winced in pain as I let it out. I tried to say something again, but nothing came out. I moved my head a little and let out another moan in pain. I was stiff from being so cold and every move hurt.
‘Help’ I finally whispered barely loud enough for anyone to hear.
The room went silent as soon as they heard that.
‘So...cold...’ I mumbled softly as I shivered.
‘Nick...get some more blankets’ a deep voice said.
‘Nnnniiiicccckkkk’ I mumbled while shaking my head slowly.
‘Nick...wait. Come here’ the same deep voice said.
I shivered again as I took another slow breath.
‘Cold’ I whispered lightly while I let out the air in my lungs.
I shuddered when a warm hand touched my cold cheek.
‘You stay here with her and I’ll get some more blankets’ the deep voice said.
‘Ok’ I heard Nick reply.
‘Noooooo’ I said as I jerked my head away from the hand on my cheek.
‘Hnnmmmm’ I moaned again in pain from the sudden movement of my head.
‘It’s ok’ Nick said in a soothing voice as I opened my eyes a teeny bit.
The light hurt my eyes so I quickly shut them again. I could finally move my hands a little so I slowly brought them from underneath the blankets and covered my face with them. They were as cold as the rest of my body so I shivered again as they made contact with the skin on my face.
‘Um Kev? I don’t think the blankets are helping’ Nick called out when he saw me shiver again.
Silent tears started falling down my cheeks as I remembered what the voice had said. ‘You can’t let them leave...Tell them how you feel’ kept echoing in my mind.
‘I can’t! I just can’t’ I cried as I shook my head from side to side.
‘Can’t what?’ a raspy voice asked.
‘I can’t’ I said as more tears stung my eyes.
‘I don’t know AJ...she’s been saying that for like the last 30 seconds’ Nick answered.
‘AJ’ I said between sobs.
‘I’m right here’ I heard him say as his warm hand slowly rubbed my cold arm.
My hands were still covering my tear stained face as he leaned over and wrapped his arms around me.
‘I’m so cold’ I whispered as he held me in his arms.
‘I know’ he answered.
‘Help me’ I let out before I lost consciousness.
‘Dang it! She’s out again’ I heard him say as he began to pull the blankets off my already freezing body.
‘What are you doing?’ Howie asked.
‘Don’t ask...just get over here and help me’ he replied as he continued taking the blankets off.
I felt them pick me up and carry me into a different room before they put me down again. They set me so I was sitting up against something that supported my back. They pulled off my shoes, but left the rest of my clothes on.
‘Put in the plug and turn the hot water on’ AJ instructed while he held my limp hand in his.
I could hear the water running. It felt so good as it came in contact with my skin. It was hot, but not hot enough to burn my skin. My legs slowly felt better as the water covered them and continued on up the rest of my clothed body until I was up to my chest in hot water.
‘Liz?’
I couldn’t answer.
‘Liz...Wake up Liz’ AJ said as he squeezed my hand lightly.
I still couldn’t move as he brushed a piece of wet hair from my face.
‘Bri...get some towels’ I heard AJ say as he rubbed my arm again.
The hot water was helping me warm up a little as I sat there in the tub.
‘It’s working. She’s warming up’ AJ said to whomever else was in the room.
‘Where do you want them?’ Bri asked when he returned.
‘Spread one out of the floor and set the others over here’ he replied before turning the water off.
I sat there in the water for what seemed like hours, but in reality it was probably only about ten minutes.
‘Howie, you stay here and help me. The rest of you can go in the other room. We’ll take care of her’ I could hear AJ say to the others as someone pulled the plug and the water started flowing down the drain.
‘Hand me one of those towels’ AJ said when the water was all drained.
After he shifted me a little, I could feel a soft towel against my head as he gently dried my hair with it. They picked me up when he was done and set me on another towel that was spread out on the ground.
‘We have to dry her off before she gets cold again’ AJ said.
I lay there unconscious as they covered me with towels and began rubbing my arms and legs. When they were done and I was mostly dried off, they wrapped me up in a blanket and carried me into the other room. When I was laying on the couch again, they covered me with a few more blankets before joining in on the conversation that was already in progress. I slowly came to again. My heart pounded loudly as I turned my head slowly and let out a little yelp in pain. They must not have heard me because they continued talking loudly as I gathered my strength and sat up with my eyes still closed tightly to hide them from the brightness of the lights. I opened my eyes a little and let them adjust to the daylight as I pulled a blanket around my shoulders. I saw the guys sitting on the other side of the large room and I watched them as they all laughed at some funny comment Bri just said. ‘They look so happy’ I thought to myself as I pulled the blanket tighter around my shoulders. None of them noticed me sitting up and watching them enjoying each others company. After pulling my legs out from under the pile of blankets, I slowly stood up and walked over to the door that led to a hallway. I wrapped the blanket from my shoulders around the rest of my body as I walked down the hall and found a room that I assumed was the kitchen from the large Stainless Steel Island with pans and utensils hanging above it.
‘Now this is what I call a kitchen’ I quietly joked with myself as I shuffled over to a large fridge that sat in the corner and opened the door.
I looked over the contents and finally pulled out a bottle of water before shutting the door. There wasn’t a table anywhere, so I walked over to the counter that was on the far wall and hopped onto it before opening the water bottle that was in my hands. I took a long drink of the refreshing water and then put the cap back on.
‘Liz?!?’ someone hollered in the other room.
‘She’s not here’ the same voice said after a few seconds.
‘Tell them how you feel’ I heard the voice say again as footsteps could be heard coming down the hall.
I closed my eyes.
‘Liz?’
I looked up and saw Kev standing in the doorway of the kitchen. He didn’t see me sitting on the counter on the far side of the room, so he had no idea that I was in there. I turned my gaze to the floor by the counter.
‘I’m right here’ I said in a low whispered voice, hoping he wouldn’t hear me.
When I looked up again, I saw him quickly making his way to where I was sitting.
‘Shh’ I said as I put a finger on my lips so he would keep quiet.
‘What are you doing in here?’ he asked in a whisper when he stopped in front of me.
‘I didn’t want to bug you guys. You were all talking, so I decided to take a little walk’ I replied as I pulled the blanket closer around my body.
‘Oh’ was all he said.
‘Kev?’
‘Yeah.’
‘Please don’t hate me...’ I trailed off as I looked at the ground.
‘Hate you? Why would I hate you?’ he asked, totally surprised at what I just said.
‘I don’t know...Nevermind’ I replied as I hopped off the counter and turned towards the door.
He just stood there in shock as I walked out the door and down the hall.
‘There you are’ Bri said from one of the open doors in the hall as I kept on walking.
I went in an open door and turned on the light to see that I was in a bathroom. I left the door open a few inches as I sat down on the counter by the sink and opened the water bottle again. I took a drink as the door opened and Howie walked in. He shut the door before walking over to where I was.
‘Feeling better?’ he asked as he came closer.
‘No’ I replied as I jumped down and stood in front of him.
‘Is there anything I can do?’ he asked while I dropped the empty bottle in a garbage can.
‘No, but thanks for asking’ I said with a weak smile as I gave him a half hug and walked towards the door.
I walked out the door and into the hallway. I turned to my right and kept on walking until I was in the room with the couch where I was in the first place. I strolled over to the big overstuffed couch and sat down sideways with my head on the back cushion. After a few seconds I shut my eyes.
‘Hey there’ I heard a voice say from behind me.
I didn’t move from my position on the couch. When the person who was speaking sat down on the couch next to me, I opened my eyes.
‘Hi’ I said with absolutely no emotion.
‘You’re warm again’ he said as he reached out and touched my cheek with his hand.
‘Nick...don’t’ I said while I moved my face away from his hand.
He gave me a questioning look.
‘Nick, I don’t like you like that. I am so confused when it comes to you...I don’t like you like that ok?’
He nodded and sat in silence for a few seconds.
‘Can we still be friends?’ he asked.
‘Of course...just don’t try to hit on me or I’ll just brush you off completely’ I warned him as he stood up.
I watched as he walked out of the room before turning back to lay my head on the cushion. The room was silent as I sat there and listened to the noises coming from the various other rooms. My head was pounding with a massive headache and my arms were getting cold again, so I wrapped another blanket around my shoulders. I shivered when I felt a breeze as someone walked by and sat down next to me. When I didn’t open my eyes, the person leaned over and wrapped his arms around me in a tight hug.
‘Mmmmm’ I said as I inhaled some of the familiar cologne that lingered in the air.
‘You had me scared ya know?’ AJ asked.
‘I’m sorry. I didn’t want to bother you while you all were having a good time’ I explained as he slowly pulled away.
‘It’s ok. I’m glad to see that you are awake’ he said with a smile.
‘Mmm. I’m only halfway awake, my head is pounding, and I’m still a little cold’ I said before pulling the blankets closer around me.
‘Come with me.’
He got up and grabbed my hand to help me off the couch. I followed him down the hallway and into a bedroom with a huge bed on one side and a bedroom set on the other. He let go of my hand before walking over to the bed and pulling the blankets and sheets back.
‘I want you to come and lay down for a while’ he instructed as I slowly walked over to where he was standing by the bed.
I climbed on the tall bed and lay down with the blankets still wrapped tightly around my body. When I was lying with my head comfortably on the down pillow, he gently pulled the sheet and blankets over me. He began singing as he turned off the light and sat down in a chair that was next to the bed. I closed my eyes and listened to him singing softly. After a few minutes of listening to his soothing voice, I dozed off.
I opened my eyes suddenly when someone tapped me on my shoulder. After seeing that it was the stewardess, I turned off the music and took my headphones off.
"Sorry to bug you ma’am, but your cell phone is ringing," she said politely.
"Thanks," I said while picking up my phone from the tray.
I pulled out the antenna and pushed the send button.
"Hello?" I said.
"Hi Liz."
"Yes, that’s me," I said, kind of confused at who would be calling.
"I know it’s you," the happy voice said. "It’s AC!"
"Oh hey Airboy," I replied. "What’s up?"
"Not much. I’m bored cause Nick and B-Rok are playing N64 and they won’t let me play with them," he said. "So I decided to call you. By the way, how did you know my nickname?"
"I work at a radio station...I hear about stuff like that."
"You work at a radio station? I didn’t know that," he said happily.
"Well now you do," I replied with a little laugh. "I actually found out a few hours ago that I get to have my own show now."
"That’s so cool!"
I could hear Brian shouting joyfully in the background.
"Go B-Rok! Go B-Rok!" AC hollered to Bri before he turned his attention back to the phone. "Nick’s the bomb!" he said with a hysterical laugh.
"Huh? Did Nick win?"
I was totally confused at that point.
"No. Bri’s winning. Nick’s the bomb...literally," he replied in-between laughs.
"Let me guess? Mario Kart?" I asked after I put ‘N64’ and ‘the bomb’ together.
"Yep," he replied as Nick let out a girly ‘No!’ scream in the background.
"You’re such a sore loser," I heard Bri say.
AC and I laughed at Bri’s last comment.
"What’s so funny?" Nick asked as he got closer to the phone on the other end.
"Nothing!" AC squealed.
"Who are you talking to anyway?" Nick asked as he got even closer to the phone.
"A friend," AC in a hurry.
I let out a little chuckle as AC started screaming his head off.
"Stop tickling me!" he screamed while he dropped the phone.
"Fine," Nick said as someone picked up the phone from the floor.
I didn’t know who had picked up the phone on the other end of the line, so I just stayed quiet until someone said something.
"Hello?" Nick said into the phone.
"Hi," I replied as calmly as I could, hoping that he wouldn’t recognize my voice.
"How did Airboy get your number?" he asked.
I could tell from the tone of his voice that he was confused at how his little brother could call me, but he couldn’t seem to ever get a hold of me.
"I...Uh...I gave it to him the other day," I said in a hushed voice.
"Oh," he replied in a whisper. "Listen, I’m sorry for kissing you at the rink earlier. I don’t know what came over me."
There was an awkward silence.
"Nick?"
"Yeah."
"Thanks for the ring," I said. "It means a lot to me that we’re still friends," I continued, making sure to emphasize the word ‘friends’.
"Your welcome," he said.
"So, you had your mom pick it out?" I asked sarcastically to lift the mood a little.
"Yeah," he said with a little laugh.
"Mister king of pop music that makes ten year olds scream and faint at the flash of a smile couldn’t pick out one little ring?" I teased.
"Well ya know...I had to get my ‘people’ to handle it for me," he said in a voice to try and make him sound important.
"Ah, I see. Your ‘people’ had to handle it for you," I said with a laugh.
"Are you wearing it?"
"Yes. Why wouldn’t I be?"
"Just checking...I didn’t know if you like hated me or whatnot."
"No Nicky, I don’t hate ya."
"Please don’t call me Nicky," he pleaded.
"Why not?"
"Nicky...Nicky...Nicky..." I heard AC and Bri scream in the background, taunting him.
"That’s why."
"Ok then...How ‘bout Gene?"
"Why that?" he wanted to know.
"Don’t know...nevermind though...it’s too weird," I replied.
"Ok," he said like he was unsure of what I was talking about.
"I can’t think of a good name right now, so I’ll just call ya Nilo."
"What kind of name is that?"
"I happen to like it...and besides, it’s only temporary," I said sweetly.
"Uh...sure," he said before someone took the phone away from him.
"I’m back," AC blurted into the phone.
"Hey QT! So, what’d ya want to talk about anyway?"
"I dunno. I called cause I couldn’t think of anything else to do."
"Well tell Nilo and B-Rok to be nice to you or I’ll have to show ‘em who’s boss," I joked.
"Liz says to tell Nilo and B-Rok to be nice to me or she’ll have to show ‘em who’s the boss," he relayed my message.
That sent both Nick and Bri into another fit of laughs.
"Who’s Nilo anyway?" he asked.
"The goofball you call your big brother," I laughed.
"Why do ya call him that?"
"Don’t ask...it’s only temporary until I find a more suitable nickname," I replied.
"Oh, ok. I’ll help you find a suitable one then," he said in an evil voice.
"Ok," I replied in the same tone.
"Do you mind if I start calling him that?" he asked. "I wanna see if he actually responds to it."
"Sure, but only call him that everyone once in a while...I don’t want him to get too used to it or anything," I said sarcastically as I saw the stewardess walking down the aisle, taking orders for what people wanted to eat for their onboard meal.
"Hey Liz?"
"Yeah," I replied.
"I just wanted to tell you that I’m glad you’re Nick...I mean Nilo’s friend," he said with a little giggle. "And I’ll write you a letter like everyday ‘til I get to visit."
"Cool! I love getting mail," I said. "Hey Airboy...as always, it was a pleasure talking to you, but the stewardess is coming around for orders so I have to go."
"Ok. Bye," he replied happily.
"Bye!" I said before hanging up my phone just as the stewardess walked up to my seat.
I told her that I only wanted a salad with ranch dressing and a water before she turned to get my food. I picked at my food for a few minutes, thinking about the dream that I had a little while ago. After I was done eating and the stewardesses came to pick up the garbage, they announced that there would be movie starting in approximately 10 minutes. I pulled out a camera catalog from my backpack and flipped through it, looking for enlarger filters until they announced that the movie would be starting. When I heard the announcement, I stuffed the catalog back in my bag and got comfortable in my seat for the show. ‘I love this movie!’ I thought to myself as ‘She’s All That’ began playing. Watching this movie with Freddie Prinze made me think of Meg. After seeing up to the part where Laney and Zak go to the big party, I fell into a light sleep.
I opened my eyes and realized that I was on the bed, but instead of being under the covers, I was lying on top of the neatly made bed with AJ’s arms wrapped loosely around my body. I turned to face him and watched him sleep peacefully for a few minutes before I put my hand up to his face and began rubbing his soft cheek with the back of my fingers. He stirred a little, but stayed asleep as I stroked his hair back and played with it in-between my fingertips.
‘You are so cute when you sleep’ I whispered to him as he slept.
When he didn’t answer, I stared at his face for a few more seconds before moving closer to his resting body. I wanted to stay in his arms forever, but I knew that I wouldn’t be permitted to. I looked at his face again and my eyes finally rested on his lips. I moved my head up and let my lips press against his gently. My eyes were closed momentarily, so I didn’t see when he moved a little. I almost had a heart attack when he kissed me back. I pulled away after a few seconds, only to see him lying there staring at me.
‘Man...I wish I could wake up like that more often’ he said with a smile as I rested my head on his arm.
‘Mmmm’ I replied, still caught up in the moment.
‘Can I have another?’ he teased after we slowly sat up.
‘Of course’ I replied happily.
This time he made the first move by quickly pressing his lips to mine with more affection than the first. His hands twisted my hair playfully while my hands were wrapped around his neck. We finally had to pull away to take a breather.
‘AJ McLean you are a naughty boy’ I teased as I got off the bed and stood in amazement when I saw that I was wearing a midnight blue formal gown and AJ was wearing a black tux.
‘Hey, you aren’t so bad yourself’ he said with a sly smile as he climbed off the bed and stood in front of me.
‘Why are we dressed like this?’ I asked as he took my hands in his.
‘I don’t know. I don’t care either’ he said before he leaned in for another kiss.
When we were only millimeters from our lips touching, the door flew open and in walked the other four guys followed by Meg. The guys were dressed in the same tux that AJ was, except they all had different colored vests on. Meg was wearing a long purple fitted gown with her hair up in little ringlets.
‘Come on you two. We have to get going or we’ll be late’ Kev said as the others rushed out the door.
‘Where are we going?’ I asked as AJ grabbed my hand and led me to the door.
He only gave me a shrug as we walked down the hall and out the front door to where a limo was waiting. Kev was the last one in. When the door was shut behind him, he gave AJ and I looks that said ‘don’t ask me...I’m not telling’ before he turned his gaze back to the window.
‘You really don’t know where we’re going?’ I leaned over and whispered in AJ’s ear.
‘That tickles’ he said with a little laugh.
‘Sorry!’ I replied with an innocent smile.
‘It’s ok. And no, I don’t know where we are going’ he whispered back as I laid my head on his shoulder.
I sat there with my head on his shoulder until the limo finally came to a stop. I watched lazily as the others got out and then waited for AJ and I to get out.
‘Come on Liz...we have to get out now’ AJ said as I continued to lay on his shoulder with my eyes closed.
I didn’t move.
‘Liz? Come on Liz’ he said with panic raising in his voice.
I took a deep breath of his cologne as I sat still.
‘Are you awake? Liz? Liz!?!’
‘I’m going...I’m going already’ I said quietly as I sat up and moved towards the door.
‘Don’t scare me like that’ he said, obviously terrified.
I stepped out of the limo slowly and waited on the sidewalk for him.
‘Don’t do that again. I thought you passed out like before’ he said as he wrapped his arm around my shoulder and gave me a quick hug.
‘Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you’ I apologized as we followed the others to the front doors of a huge elegant looking building.
‘After you’ he said when we got up to the doors that the doormen held open for us.
‘Thanks’ I replied before walking in the door.
My ears heard music playing as our group walked up about 25 steps and down a short hallway before coming to a balcony with steps going down either side. ‘This looks like the castle in the Swan Princess’ I thought to myself while looking over the edge of the balcony to the dance floor below.
‘This is like the Prom that I never went to’ I mumbled out loud with a small laugh.
‘You never went to Prom?’ AJ asked as if he was astonished.
‘Nope...neither of them’ I said, not breaking my gaze out at the dance floor below.
‘Let’s go dance’ I heard AJ say before he grabbed my arm gently and pulled me over to the steps on the right side.
The others were already down on the dance floor dancing the night away as we reached the bottom step. He led me to the dance floor as ‘Walk Me Home’ by Mandy Moore came on over the speakers. I put my arms around his neck as he wrapped his snugly around my waist. We danced with our heads against one another’s for a little bit until he pulled his head back to look at me. He didn’t say anything as he leaned forward and moved his lips to mine. He kissed me tenderly as we slowly swayed along with the music. We stopped dancing to the song after a few seconds, but continued with our little make-out session as the song kept playing and couples danced around us. We stopped as the song faded into a new one and the surrounding couples split to find different partners.
‘Mmmm’ I said, closing my eyes as we stood there with our foreheads touching.
‘I love doing that’ he said as he pulled me a little closer so that I was leaning my head on his shoulder.
It seemed as if we were the only ones there. Wait! ‘We are the only ones here’ I said to myself after I opened my eyes and saw that we were standing in the same well-groomed garden as before. The stars were shining brightly down on us as we stood on the red-bricked path that led from the pool and garden to the door of the house. ‘This is WAY weird’ I thought as AJ pulled away a little and kissed me gently on the cheek before moving his lips to mine again. I closed my eyes as he kissed me passionately for a few seconds. I kept my eyes closed even after he pulled away. ‘His kisses are heavenly’ I smiled to myself as he kissed me on the forehead and let me go.
‘Where are you going?’ I asked after opening my eyes to see him standing with the door open.
He didn’t answer. I watched him disappear into the house as my eyes began tearing.
‘Why is this happening to me?’ I asked myself out loud.
‘Why is what happening?’
‘Huh?’ I asked as I turned around to see Nick standing a few feet behind me.
‘I said...Why is what happening?’ he repeated.
‘All of this...I don’t understand’ I said as tears started falling down my cheeks.
I turned my back to him so that he wouldn’t see me crying.
‘Ya know...it’s ok to cry’ he said while I felt his hand on my shoulder.
I shrugged his hand off and walked towards a gate in the fence on the other side of the large pool.
‘I’m sorry. I have to go’ I said after taking a few steps and turning my head to face him.
I turned back to face the gate and took a few more steps before my legs went numb. My left knee gave out and I let out a small cry as I collapsed to the ground.
‘Whoa! Liz? Are you ok? Liz!’ I could hear Nick scream before my head hit the cement on the side of the pool.
I could feel his arms shaking me lightly as I lay there unconscious.
"This is your captain speaking. We are experiencing light turbulence as we approach Salt Lake International Airport. At this time we ask that you turn off all small electronic devices and fasten your seatbelts. We hope you had an enjoyable flight and as always, thank you for flying with Delta Airlines," I heard the captain say over the intercom after my eyes jolted open during the bumpy ride.
* Chapter 25 *
Well, it’s been almost three months since my trip to Orlando. I’ve called the guys on many occasions, only to get their voice mail or a member of their management to take a message. I never actually got any answers to the messages that I left, so I stopped leaving messages and eventually I gave up on calling them altogether. I did keep in touch with AC though. What a sweet kid! He told me in his letters and phone calls that everything was going great with the Nickelodeon tour that was starting up pretty soon. It’s actually supposed to be starting in a few days. ‘We’re going to be ending up there in Salt Lake’ I remember him saying excitedly over the phone one day.
"I’m coming!" I hollered into my empty apartment as I shut the door.
I lazily threw the pile of mail from my hand onto a small table inside the door and ran over to the ringing phone.
"Hello," I said breathlessly into the phone.
"Hey girlie!"
"Hi Meg!" I exclaimed. "What’s up?"
"A ton! Howie and I are still together, even though he’s on tour right now. As you know, the CD is doing great and our duet is working its way up the charts," she replied enthusiastically.
"How could I forget about the single? People request it like every 30 seconds!" I said with a sarcastic sigh. "I’ve gotten to the point where I just tell the other DJ’s to play it during their shows instead of having to play it during mine."
"That bad huh?" Meg joked.
"No...That well," I corrected her.
"Anyway, I was calling to give you some good news!" she exclaimed happily.
"Ok."
"You and I have been asked to perform our duet on the MTV awards show next month," she said.
I could tell by what she just said that if I were looking at her face, she’d be all smiles.
"You know that I’m already going to be there right?" I asked her, just to make sure that she knew. "Did you tell them yes?"
"They’re going to call me back later tonight to confirm and yes I do know that you were already going to be there," she replied. "I’m so excited that my ‘Ellz’ is up for the ‘best new radio personality’ award...you totally deserve it!"
"Aaaaawww! That’s so sweet of you to say that! Thanks!" I said while walking over to look through the mail.
"It’s true," she said in a reassuring voice.
"Thanks. So, how are the guys doing? You’ve talked to them haven’t you?" I asked curiously.
"Yeah, I’ve talked to them a few times on the phone and stuff. I actually got to spend a few days with them when I flew back to Philly to visit my family last month. The tour is really going great," she told me. "Haven’t you talked to them?"
"I haven’t talked to them since the week after I left O-town. I called and left messages, but they never called back so I just assumed that they were too busy to talk," I replied with a sigh. "Anyway, I’ve been exchanging letters and phone calls with Airboy...he’s such a QT!"
"I know he is," she replied happily as I shuffled through a few of the letters in my hands. "Anyway, I have this promotional meeting with my management that I have to get to so I’ll talk to you later."
"Meg?"
"Huh?"
"I know that the guys are going to be at the awards show, but don’t tell them that I’m going to be singing with you. Actually, don’t tell anyone I’m going to be there k?"
"Ok."
"Thanks Meg!"
"No prob. Bye."
"Bye."
I pushed the ‘talk’ button on my phone before turning my attention back to the letters in my hands. After walking over and sitting on the couch in my front room area, I flipped through the rest of the letters until I came to one with a familiar return address. I quickly opened it and pulled out the piece of paper that was inside.
Hey Liz!
What’s up? Everything here in Florida is great! Rehearsals for tour have been fun and I can’t wait to actually ‘hit the road’. Even if this tour is only like 15 shows long, its going to be soooo much fun! By the way, my mom says ‘Hi’. I sure wish that you could come visit...it’s so boring after rehearsals and stuff are over cause Nick and the other guys are gone. At least the house is kind of quiet now. :o) Just kidding. He’d kill me if he found out I said that! I can’t wait to come see your place when we get to Salt Lake. I’ve been to Salt Lake like two times...it’s a fairly nice place. So, how are things going for you? I had a lot of fun when I did that interview for your show. Maybe I’ll just have to stop by your booth at work when I get into town and we can have another interview or something. Anyway, I know that this may seem like a weird question, but what kind of shampoo do you use? I’m not a psycho or anything (good thing Nilo’s not reading this...he’d be laughing his head off), I was just wondering.
Well, mom’s calling me for dinner so I have to go. Write back when you get a chance.
Your favorite Carter,
Airboy
I chuckled as I got up to find some paper so I could write back. After finding some paper on my desk that sat by the door to the balcony, I sat back down on the couch and began to write.
Airboy~
As always, I was very happy to get a letter from you today! It’s good to hear that the preparations for the tour are going so well. :o) Everything here is going pretty well also. The duet that I did with Meg is climbing the charts, which is a good thing I guess. Hey, I’d be happy to have you over here to my place when you’re in town. I can’t wait to show you some of the fun places to go in town! You are right...that is a weird question. If you must know what kind of shampoo I use, it’s called Aussie Mango Smoothie and it smells yummy! I love it! Anyway, say ‘Hi’ to your family and Nilo for me if you ever get to talk to him.
Toodles ‘til we talk again!
Liz
I put the letter in an envelope with a stamp and sealed it before putting it on the same table by the door so I wouldn’t forget to mail it when I left. It was already 5:30 p.m. I had to stay a few extra hours at the station to help with some things, so I was rather tired. I fixed something and quickly ate before heading to my room. After watching an old 80’s movie on one of the PBS channels, I climbed into bed and fell into a deep sleep.
* Chapter 26 *
"Mel! Cynth! I need your help!" I yelled after opening the door to the duplex that they shared.
"With what?" I heard Mel’s voice holler back from somewhere in the house.
"I need help with a dress," I replied as I walked into the kitchen and sat at the table next to Cynthia. "And I know that you sew and all," I trailed off while she gave me one of her crazy smiles.
"What’s it for?" she asked happily. "Special occasion?"
"Actually yeah. It’s for an awards show and I want both of you to come with me to it," I exclaimed as Mel walked in and took a seat beside me at the table.
"Which awards show are we talking about here?" Mel asked curiously.
"The MTV awards show in two weeks," I replied sheepishly.
"Oh my gosh! You are going to THE MTV awards show! And you’re asking us to go with you?" she said excitedly.
"Yeah," I said before they both started screaming and jumping up and down with extreme enthusiasm. "That’s why I need help with a dress. I mean, I actually need two dresses."
"Wait...wait...wait. How did you get two tickets?" Mel asked.
"I have a friend...ever heard of Meggie D? She gave me her extra ticket cause she doesn’t’ need it," I explained.
"You know Meggie D?!?" Cynth burst out.
"Yeah," I said like it was no big deal.
"THE Meggie D?" Mel chimed in.
"Yeah! I was just going to give her a call after I got home."
"You...you...you have her number?"
"Yeah."
"Sweet! We’re best friends with Meggie D’s friend!" They both exclaimed.
"Ok, ok...calm down! We need to get working on what we’re gonna wear."
We hopped in my truck and took off to the closest fabric store. After looking through books and books of different sketches of gowns, we were pretty tired and almost ready to give up for the day.
"I’ve found it! It’s perfect for ya Elsa!" Mel hollered from one of the stools a few feet away.
Both Cynth and I strolled over to where Mel was sitting and pointing to a figure hugging, long sleeved elegant dress. The dress in the picture was made of light green sequin material and it was floor length with a scoop neckline.
"That is the ugliest color I have ever seen!" I joked.
"Yeah, but the dress would look great," Mel commented.
"I agree," Cynth chimed in.
"Ok."
I went and found the pattern before returning to look for another dress. This time looking for something on more of the ‘designer’ side of the fashion scale.
"Hey Liz, come look at this," Cynth said as she looked up from what she had in front of her.
Mel was sitting next to her with a pad and pencil in hand. As I walked over to where they were sitting, I could see that Mel was drawing a picture on the pad.
"Wow!" I exclaimed when I saw the dress that Mel had made a sketch of.
"You like it?" Mel asked.
"It’s gorgeous," I replied with a smile. "Is that what you’re wearing?"
"No...I was hoping you’d wear it," she said happily.
"Me? I think you should...it’s your design," I said, totally shocked that she wanted me to wear her dress.
"That’s why I want you to wear it," she responded. "I drew it for you! Besides, I already found what I’m wearing," she said as she pointed to a dress in one of the open books on the table.
"You sure?"
She nodded in response.
"Ok...I’ll wear it then. Did you find a dress Cynth?"
"Yep."
"Great! Let’s go pick out some material then!" I said happily as we picked up the patterns and headed to the rows and rows of material.
"I think I want this one to be made of black silk," I said while pointing to the green sequin dress. "And this one needs to be white...Meg and I decided I’d wear white and she’d wear black..."
"Cool!" Mel said. "Are you two going up together or something?"
"I guess you could say that," I said with a smirk.
I hadn’t told Mel and Cynth that I would be singing with Meg yet, so they didn’t have a clue exactly why I needed two dresses. They just sort of went with the flow.
"This is nice material," Cynth said while rubbing some soft black silk in-between her fingers. "It would look great for the ‘sequined’ dress."
"Sweet," I said as I picked up the bundle of material and put it in our cart.
After picking out material for Cynth and Mel’s dresses, we headed over to the aisles of white material.
"What type of material should it be made of?" I asked.
"I dunno...maybe some sort of thin taffeta...or maybe a light flowing type of material would look best," Mel replied. "We’ll just have to look and see what they have."
We looked for what seemed like a half an hour before we finally found it. It was thin white material, like the material that prom dresses are made of. It wasn’t shiny, but it looked very chic under the lights of the store.
"This is perfect!" Cynth exclaimed.
We picked up buttons, thread, zippers and anything else that we needed before paying at the check stand. After we hurried back to my place, we started working on our dresses right away.
"We’ll start with yours first," Cynth said pointing at me.
"Ok," I replied as they pulled the black material out and unfolded it out on the living room floor. "Do you guys want anything to eat?"
"Sure," they said as they started pinning the pattern on the material.
"Ok. I’ll fix something quick. Here...I’ll play a movie so you don’t get bored out of your mind," I said as I turned to TV on and put in a movie.
"Thanks!" Cynth said happily before I went into the kitchen. "This is going to be great!" I heard her say to Mel after I left the room.
About 5 hours later I walked out of the bathroom with the black dress on. It still wasn’t quite finished, but it looked great nonetheless.
"Come here so I can fix this," Cynth said after I showed it off for a few seconds. "It really looks great! I’m so excited!"
"Me too," I said.
"Me three!" Mel chimed in.
Over the next week and a half, Mel and Cynth basically lived at my apartment between jobs, meetings, and church. It’s now two days before the big show and I’m sooooo nervous!
"Let’s go girls! We don’t want to miss our flight!" I hollered into my apartment.
"We’re coming," I heard Mel yell back as Cynth came walking out of my room with the dress bag in one hand and her bag in the other.
"I called a cab so I wouldn’t have to leave my truck at the airport," I explained as we waited in the elevator.
"Ok," they both replied before the elevator dinged at us to say that it was at the main floor.
We hopped into the cab and were soon on our way to the airport.
"This is so exciting!" Mel said happily as we found our seats on the plain.
"I know," Cynth agreed as we sat down next to each other in our first class seats.
"I’m just glad that we only have to fly to Cali instead of New York," I said with a little smile. "That flight would’ve been horrible...horribly long."
I wasn’t really excited as my two friends were. I mean, I was excited about singing with Meg in front of so many people, but I also knew that the guys would be there and I really didn’t want to have to bother with them. I know it sounds weird cause I got kind of close to them during my visit to O~town, but I really didn’t want to see them now. ‘My life is finally going great and now I know it’s going to get complicated again’ I thought to myself with a sigh as Mel and Cynth chatted happily. I leaned my head back, closed my eyes, and listened to what they were talking about.
"There are going to be soooo many cool people there!" Mel exclaimed.
"I know! Maybe we’ll get to meet some of them," Cynth said in the same enthusiastic tone.
"I hope we get to meet Meggie D too. I love her music," Mel said.
"Me too!" Cynth added. "Maybe we’ll even get to see Britney Spears...or the Backstreet Boys...or even Alanis Morrissette!"
"Cool cool cool!" was the last thing I heard Mel say before I tuned them out and dozed off.
* Chapter 27 *
"You are so beautiful...to me...can’t you see-ee-ee-ee?" Meg sang playfully into the mic at our sound check the next day.
"You’re everything I hoped for...everything I need..." I continued in my mic while sitting down on the edge of the stage, facing the huge empty arena.
"You are sooooo beautiful to meeeeee!" Meg sang the ending dramatically to get the whole effect.
Cynth and Mel giggled in their seats in the audience.
"See girls! She’s just as crazy as you are!" I teased.
"Am not!" Meg insisted sarcastically.
"Are too!" Mel and Cynth yelled out.
"Ssshhh...don’t tell anyone," Meg whispered into the mic.
"Whatever!" I replied. "Let’s take it from the top already!" I said impatiently.
"Are you guys ready?" I heard Meg ask the band. "Ok then...here goes," she said as the music started playing.
Meg only sang half her verse before someone came in and told us that our sound check time was up.
"I didn’t even get to sing my part. That was quick," I said as we gathered our stuff and headed to where Mel and Cynth were sitting in the audience.
"Yep," Meg said as we approached them.
"Meg, these are my friends Melanie and Cynthia. Cynth...Mel, this is Meg...AKA Meggie D," I introduced everyone.
"Hi," Meg said warmly with a smile.
"Hi," Mel and Cynth said in return with huge grins.
"Ok then...let’s go get some grub! I’m starving since we didn’t have lunch," I said happily as we headed out of the auditorium.
"By the way, what hotel are you girlies staying in?" Meg asked as we walked out of the big building.
"Um...I can’t remember the name...it’s the humongous white one that looks like a mixture between a 500 million dollar mansion and a castle from Europe," I replied with a shrug while we waited at the curb for a cab. "Why?"
"Nu uh...We’re staying at the same hotel! What floor are you on?" Meg asked.
"We’re on the ninth floor," I answered. "Which one are you on?"
"I’m...I’m on...the private floor," she said sheepishly.
"What private floor? I didn’t know they had a private floor."
"Yeah, they do when the Backstreet Boys are staying there," she said in a very hushed voice so that I could barely hear what she said.
I must have looked really mad because she walked to the edge of the curb and hailed a cab so she could get out of any questions that I wanted to ask.
"How in the whole wide freaking heck did we end up staying at the same dang freakin’ hotel that they are?!?" I asked when we were squished in the back seat of the cab.
I was up against the window on the passenger side while Meg was against the other window with Cynth and Mel in-between us.
"We’ll eat at the hotel...call up room service or something," Meg told us after she told the cab where to go.
"We can’t go to the hotel if THEY are there," I whined as Mel and Cynth gave me confused looks.
"No one is supposed to know that she’s here to sing with me," Meg explained to them. "A surprise sort of thing."
"Yeah well that was a nice idea while it lasted," I retorted angrily.
Meg stuck her tongue out at me while I looked out the window at the people walking along the sidewalk.
"I saw that."
"Saw what?" she joked.
This time I turned to look at her and stuck out my tongue.
"Mmm to you too!" I joked back.
"So when we get to the hotel, I’ll call up to Howie’s room and see if they are there so we won’t bump into them on the way up," Meg said. "Your room or mine?"
"Duh! Ours," I replied. "I’m not even stepping foot on your floor until they have left," I said before turning back to look out the window.
"Are you like mad at them...the Backstreet Boys?" Mel asked as we pulled up to the hotel.
"I’m not mad, just extremely disappointed," I replied as we waited on the sidewalk while Meg paid the cabbie.
"Do we dare ask why?" Cynth wanted to know.
"Before I left Orlando they said that they would keep in touch. I tried calling them a few times...a lot of times actually, leaving messages time and time again and they never even attempted to call me back. They were the ones that told ME to call THEM and they didn’t even bother to lift one single finger once...not ONCE," I said with tears welling up in my eyes. "That’s why."
"I’m soo sorry," Mel and Cynth said as they put their arms around me in a ‘group’ hug.
"I’m going to go call his room," Meg said before we walked in the door that the gray-haired doorman held open for us.
"So how does Meg know them?" Cynth asked after Meg was out of earshot.
"She’s dating...Howie," I said slowly as I scanned the lobby, making sure that none of the guys were there.
"Wow...Meg and Howie...I never would’ve thought...," Mel trailed off when she saw Meg walking back from the front desk.
"No one answered so I assume they are out doing something," she told us while we waited for the elevator to reach the lobby level.
I turned around so that my back was facing the elevator doors when I heard the ding. I waited for the others to get in before I followed, assuming that the coast was clear. When we got to our two adjoining rooms, we got comfortable on the beds and Meg called room service.
"I’m so glad you two are here with me!" I said to Mel and Cynth while Meg was on the phone.
"So are we!" Mel answered back with a huge smile.
"They’ll be up with food in five minutes," Meg said as she took a seat on the bed next to me and turned the TV on with the remote that she picked up off of the bedside table.
"No Jerry Springer," I said before getting up and taking my shoes off by the closet. "No questions asked."
I certainly didn’t want to be reminded of the last time that I had watched Jerry Springer in a hotel room. That night was not exactly one that I cared to remember. The thought of Nick showing up at my hotel room...this hotel room...scared the crap out of me. I walked over and put the chain in the door just to be safe. Even though he probably had no recollection of who I was, I still wasn’t taking any chances. I only walked a few feet when I heard a knock on the door, causing me to jump in surprise. I froze in my tracks and stared at the girls sitting on the beds.
"I’ll get it," Meg said when she saw my pale face. "You go sit down on the bed and relax," she whispered to me as she walked past and undid the lock on the door.
I did as she said and watched two workers wheel in a cart that had platters and plates on it.
"This is delicious," Mel said as we munched on the late dinner that Meg ordered for us and watched an old ‘ER’ rerun.
"No George! You can’t leave!" I pleaded melodramatically with the TV.
I was too late. It was the episode where ‘Doug’ leaves ‘Nurse-Hathaway-who-is-pregnant’ and moves away.
"You watch too much TV!" Cynth said sarcastically.
"Do not!"
"Do too!" Meg joined in.
"Do not!"
"Do too!"
"Do too!" I said.
"Do not!" Meg replied.
"I know...I told you I don’t," I said happily as Meg realized what she said.
"Hey!"
I stuck my tongue out at her and bolted for the bathroom.
"Na na na na na na!" I teased from inside the locked bathroom door.
"At least I’m not in the bathroom hiding," she joked back.
I opened the door that she was leaning on and laughed as she tumbled to the ground.
"You should’ve just told me you need to use it," I said sarcastically as I stepped over her and jumped onto the unoccupied bed.
Mel and Cynth almost died laughing when they saw what I was doing.
"It’s fun. You should join me," I said as I jumped up and down on the huge comfy mattress.
Every couple of jumps my head would get a little too close so I put my hand up and lightly smacked the ceiling.
"Liz! I wouldn’t be hitting the ceiling if I were you!" Meg warned.
She was too late. There was a loud and persistent knock on the door.
"Oops!" I said as I hopped off the bed and sat down on a chair in one of the dark corners.
Mel got up and answered the door.
"Can I help you...you...Kevvvviiiinnn...?" she asked slowly to make sure I could hear their conversation.
"Yes, I’m Kevin...and I’d appreciate it if you’d stop pounding on the ceiling," he said angrily.
"I’m sorry about that. It WON’T happen again," Mel said apologetically before shutting the door.
"Holy geez monkey! Crap!" I said loudly as I shook my head violently with my eyes shut.
"Relax Ellz. He didn’t see me and I know he didn’t see you," Meg said before hopping onto the bed.
"Let’s watch a movie," Cynth suggested when we were all sitting on the beds again.
"You guys can watch a movie. I’m really tired so I think I’m going to head to bed," I said while making my way to the open door that went to the adjoining hotel room that was mine. "By the way, I have some things to do tomorrow morning so I won’t be able to go to the arena with you. Meg will take you two and show you where to sit. I’ll meet you there."
"Ok," Cynth replied.
"G’night." I said as I walked through the door.
"Goodnight," the three of them called out before I shut the door and headed to change.
I changed and then hopped into bed, hoping that a good night’s sleep would help calm some of my nerves.
* Chapter 28 *
"Arti? Arti Visana?!?" I called out to a woman that was about to check in at the front desk.
She turned slightly to see who was calling her name. A smile slowly crept across her face as she set down her bags and ran over to give me a hug.
"Oh my gosh! I haven’t talked to you for sooooo long!" I exclaimed as we hugged each other.
"I know," she replied.
"What are you doing here this early in the morning?" I asked confused.
"Oh, I’m getting a room cause I’m going to the awards show tonight. I won tickets and I needed a place to crash," she said in her cute English accent.
"Sweet! You can share a room with me if you want...there’s an extra bed," I suggested.
"That would be great!"
"Coolios!" I said before I walked with her to the front desk.
"Ms. Visani won’t need a room. She’ll be staying with me," I said to the clerk.
"Ok Ms. Holder. Would you like an extra key?" the clerk asked politely.
"Yes please."
After the clerk gave us the key, I walked with her up to the elevator and to my...I mean our room. I let myself in and helped Arti put her bags on the bed that was still made.
"Sshh!" I said while pointing to the open door to the room where Mel and Cynth were still sleeping. "Those are two of my best friends...Mel (short for Melanie) is the blond and Cynth (short for Cynthia) is the brunette. They are my ‘dates’ to the awards show tonight," I said with a little giggle. "I was just on my way out...I didn’t want to wake them up cause it’s so dang early."
"I don’t blame you," Arti whispered with a smile as she watched the two sleeping peacefully in the other room. "Where were you headed?"
"Well, I was going to go see some of the town and then get my hair and nails done for tonight and stuff," I explained.
"Sounds like fun," Arti replied.
"Not really," I said while heading for the door. "You wanna come?"
"Naw. I think I’m going to stay here and get some sleep if it’s ok with you."
"That’s fine with me. I’ll be gone all day though, so just tell them that you’re a friend of mine," I said while motioning to the room next door. "Tell them to call me on my cell if they need anything. I guess I’ll see you at the show then!"
"Yep! I’ll see you there!" she said before I walked out the door.
I headed down to the lobby and walked towards the front door. My heart almost stopped when I heard the elevator ding again and I heard a familiar voice coming from somewhere behind me. ‘Crap!’ I thought to myself as I quickened my pace and walked out the door.
"What in the heck would they be doing at 6 in the morning?" I asked myself out loud as I waited for a cab at the curb.
I had a hat, jacket, and sunglasses on so I doubt anyone knew who I was even if they did know me. My hair was pulled up into the hat and the black sunglasses covered my eyes.
"Naw man...that isn’t her," I heard AJ say as the two of them walked out the door behind me.
‘Her who? Are they talking about me?’ I asked myself before a pretty blond quickly crossed the street in front of us. ‘No...They must be talking about her’ I concluded as a cab pulled up to the curb.
"That was a little too close..." I warned myself as the cab sped off to the nearest park.
When we arrived at a quaint little park about six blocks from the hotel, I paid the driver before getting out and walking through the archway entrance. I walked around the park for about an hour before sitting down on a park bench that looked out over a small mirror like pond with swans swimming in it. I sat there for a while and thought about everything that would and could happen later on that night. ‘I could run into them...I hope I don’t...I hope we sound fantastic up there...what am I talking about? We will sound fantastic up there...I wonder if they will want to talk to me after I blew them off...I blew them off?!? I didn’t blow them off...They were the ones that blew ME off...’ I thought to myself. When I finally looked down at my watch, it read 9:38 a.m. I didn’t have to be anywhere until 11 to get my nails done, so I stood back up and walked toward the archway entrance once again. I walked down the street and went inside a little bagel shop to order some breakfast. When I had my bagel and bottled water in hand, I found a seat at one of the small tables on the far wall and sat down. I pulled the hat off my head and let my long blond hair cascade down my back while I ate my breakfast in peace. When I heard Meg’s and my solo come over the speakers in the little shop as I finished off my water, I smiled to myself and sat back to have a listen. I was brought out of my little listening session when my watch alarm started going off. ‘Crap! It’s 10:30...I have to get to that shop...where is it again?’ I thought to myself as I scrambled to throw away my trash and head out the door while putting the hat back on my head. I didn’t bother to put my hair up into again as I hurried down the street, looking for the more upscale salon that would be doing my nails.
"I’m here for a nail appointment with Paula," I told the woman at the desk in the front of the shop.
"Oh yes. Come with me," the woman said as she stood up and walked towards the back of the shop. "Here you are."
I sat down at the small table covered with nail polishes, files, and other salon type products lined up neatly on the tabletop.
"Hi. I’m Paula," a woman said as she took the seat opposite of me.
"I’m Liz," I replied with a smile. "Sorry I’m a few minutes late."
"Oh don’t worry about it hun," she said as she pulled out a container of tips.
I explained to her that I only wanted short nails with French Manicure tips. She started off by giving me a manicure that felt wonderful. Then she set off on doing my nails.
"These look great! Thank you so much," I said as I studied the finished product.
"You’re welcome," she replied with a warm smile.
After I paid at the front desk, I walked out onto the sidewalk that was slowly filling with people that were off to work. I hurried off to find the hair salon that was recommended to do my hair. I found it after walking around for about a half-hour and went in. Someone came and started helping me right away. The man who was going to be styling my hair was very nice. He talked about his family, how long he’d been cutting hair, what school he went to, and other stuff along those lines.
"What do you think?" he asked as he spun me around in the chair to face the mirror.
"Oh, it’s gorgeous," I said with a smile. "I wish I could get my hair to look this good every day!"
"I really didn’t have to do much because you have really wonderful hair," he replied happily. "Everyone should have hair like yours."
"Well thank you very much!"
"You’re welcome," he said with a smile as I got out of the chair.
I paid the man before leaving the salon to go for some lunch. As I was walking down the street, I saw a nice little deli so I decided to go in and see what their selection was.
"Dang!" I said angrily to myself when I saw a familiar couple sitting at one of the far tables. "Why does this always happen to me?"
I quickly went up to the counter and ordered a turkey sandwich with no tomatoes or mayo. While waiting for my food I drummed my fingers on the counter as if it would hurry my order along. I glanced over at the couple and saw Meg looking in my direction with a worried look on her face.
"Don’t worry...I’m leaving soon," I mouthed to her before I turned back to the counter.
I turned around to see that my order was sitting in front of me in a white paper bag.
"Thanks," I said to the teenage girl standing behind the counter before hastily heading towards the door.
I didn’t look back once I got out to the sidewalk. Instead I quickly headed for the hotel, hoping that I wouldn’t run into any more of the Backstreet Boys or anyone that was involved with them. When I reached the elevator, I angrily pushed the button with the up arrow and impatiently waited for the elevator to get there. I looked up and noticed that the little 10 above the elevator was lit up.
"Crap!" I said to myself hurriedly moving to the door that led to the stairs.
I quickly ran up the stairs before anyone saw me. When I reached the ninth floor, I calmly opened the door and walked to my room as if nothing were wrong. I unlocked the door with my key quietly in case Arti were still sleeping and pushed it open slowly before poking my head in. Arti wasn’t there so I pushed the door open and walked over to a note that sat on the table by my bed.
‘Hey Liz. We are taking Arti out to lunch. In case we don’t see you before the show, you’ll do great!
* Chapter 29 *
Most of the show went by like a flash of lightning before I realized that it was almost time for me to go backstage and find Meg to get ready. I looked around and noticed quite few well-known musical artists sitting in the chairs surrounding ours. *Nsync was sitting in the chairs directly in front of us. ‘I never really liked them much’ I said to myself as I looked at the back of theirs heads. I scanned down the row that we were sitting in and saw a few other singers that I knew of. Just when I was about to turn my head back to the screen where they were playing the commercials during the breaks, I saw a certain blond guy slowly heading our way. He was still a ways away and I doubt he saw me, but I still wanted to be on the safe side.
"Crap!" I said quietly as I started to stand up. "I’ve got to get back stage girls. Enjoy the show."
"Hey Liz...Break a leg," Mel said with a smile.
"I probably will now that you said that," I said sarcastically.
"You’ll do great!" Cynth said as I was walking off.
I turned and gave them a little wave before I walked out the door to the backstage area. Instead of continuing on, I turned around and watched them for a few seconds. They were chatting happily until Nick walked up to them. I could barley hear what they were saying.
"Hi. I’m Nick," he said while he stuck out his hand for Mel to shake.
"Hi Nick," she said while shaking his hand.
While her hand was still in his, she gave Cynth a questioning look and then Cynth shrugged her shoulders a little.
"Is anyone sitting here?" he asked as he pointed to my empty chair.
"Um...yeah, but she’s...uh...using the restroom right now," Mel replied with a worried smile.
"Do you mind if I sit here and talk to you during the break?" he asked with one of his famous smiles.
"No, no. Go ahead," Cynth said with a smile in return.
He sat down in my chair and kept on talking to them as if they were the only ones in the place.
"So where are you two ladies from?" he asked of the blue.
"Uh...we’re from Utah," Mel said sheepishly.
"Oh. That’s cool," Nick replied. "What were your names again?" he asked as he stood up to leave.
"I’m Cynthia and this is my sister Melanie," Cynth said with a smile.
"It was nice talking to you Cynthia and Melanie," he said while he shook their hands again.
I watched him saunter off to his own seat as Mel and Cynth gave each other worried looks.
"Ellz! There you are. I was looking all over for you," I heard Meg call after me from down the hall.
"Yeah, I’m right here," I replied after I turned around and walked in her direction.
"Come on...we have about 10 minutes to get changed and ready," Meg explained as we headed off towards the backstage dressing rooms.
When we found the room that had Meg’s name posted on a paper that was stuck to the door, we went in and changed into our other dresses.
"I loved your black gown," Meg said as she slipped her dress on.
"Thanks," I replied happily as I checked to make sure my hair was still looking ok.
I was already changed when Meg came over to check her make-up and hair.
"Here’s your mic," Meg said while handing me a cordless mic when we were walking down the hall towards the stage. "Let’s just do some A Cappella warm ups right here in the hall."
"Ok."
We sang a few simple little songs before breaking into the chorus of our song.
"You ready?" Meg exclaimed excitedly.
"I’m as ready as I’ll ever be," I replied with a nervous smile.
"You’re on in 2 minutes," one of the stagehands said as we switched on our mics. "Come with me and we’ll get you into position."
We followed the man onto the black stage. I stopped on the left side stage and stood where we decided I would stand. Meg continued walking until she got the middle of the main stage.
"And here performing for us is Meggie D with her first hit song," we heard the announcer say as the spotlight came up on Meg.
The audience clapped loudly when the slow music started playing. The noise died down as Meg’s part grew closer. She sang her first verse flawlessly and waited with a smile as the lights came up when I started singing my verse. When the chorus came, we sang it perfectly and continued on together as the third verse played. The audience clapped for what seemed like 5 minutes when we were done and the stage went black again.
"Do you hear that? They love you!" said the same stagehand from before.
"That was great!" I exclaimed while giving Meg a huge hug as we walked to our dressing room.
We went in and as I changed back into my black dress, Meg walked over and found a bouquet of roses sitting by her stuff.
"How sweet! Howie brought me roses!" she gushed.
"Yeah...just peachy..." I said like I was annoyed.
"Aaaawww come on! Lighten up," she said while she smacked my arm playfully.
"I’m not going to lighten up when it comes to THEM, but I’ll put on a smile just for you," I said with a fake cheesy smile as I headed for the door. "I’ll guess I’ll see you at the hotel later."
"You’re not going to the party?" she asked in a whiny voice.
"What party?"
"The hotel is throwing this huge party tonight after the show."
"I don’t know. I’ll have to talk to my Siamese twins," I joked while I pulled the clips out of my hair.
I let my hair down out of the French twist and let it hang heavily down my back as I shoved the pins and barrette in the garment bag with my dress.
"See ya," Meg said when I opened the door. "I hope you win the award!"
"Thanks," I said before walking out the door.
I told one of the guards that they could have my garment bag sent back to my hotel before walking around to the door of the arena that I came out of.
"And the nominees for ‘best new radio personality’ are..." I heard one of the announcers say as I slipped into my seat next to Mel.
"You were great!" Mel said as the announcers went through the nominees. "That’s you!" she exclaimed softly when she heard my name.
"I know...smile for the camera," I whispered to her as a cameraman came and sat down in the aisle beside me.
I pretended like the camera wasn’t there and just stared at the stage. I pretty much knew that they wouldn’t choose me...I mean, I’ve only been on the air for what...3 months?
"And the winner is..." I heard the female voice say as she tore open the envelope. "The winner is...Ellz H from KBEE 98.7 Salt Lake City."
"Aaaaaaahhhhh! You won!" Cynth said enthusiastically.
"I won? I won!?! I won!" I said to myself as I stood up slowly, still shocked that they chose me.
Mel and Cynth both gave me quick hugs before lightly pushing me out of the aisle. ‘What am I going to say?’ I asked myself as I carefully climbed the steps to the stage. The announcers gave me quick hugs and handed me the ‘moon man’ award before I stepped up to the mic.
"Wow! This was a complete surprise to me! I want to thank everyone who has helped and supported me in everything that I have done...my family and friends...Cynthia and Melanie Honomichl and their family, Megan Watson, and many, many more," I said with a smile.
"We love you Ellz!" I heard Arti scream out from one of the balconies.
"I love you too Arti!" I said into the mic with a wave and a little laugh. "And last, I want to thank all of my listeners...this one’s for you!"
I was ushered off the stage as the show went on. I answered a few questions for some of the reporters and then went to go back to my seat. I could feel bunches of eyes on me as I made my way to my seat. I even caught a few of the *Nsyncer’s staring at me.
"Geez! I feel like a piece of meat now," I joked after sitting next to Cynth.
Mel and Cynth must have traded places while I was gone because Mel was now on the other side of Cynth.
"Don’t worry about it," Cynth replied with a smile. "They’re just guys...and you know what guys are like..." she said while she rolled her eyes.
"Yeah...I do," I whispered with a small smile. "Especially famous ones..." I joked.
Cynth let out a little laugh as I pulled my hair so it was draped down my chest and fingered the ends playfully.
"Nervous?" Cynth asked.
"Nope...bored," I whispered back. "Hey...there’s a party being thrown at the hotel after the show...do you wanna go?"
"Hang on. I’ll ask Mel if she wants to go."
I watched her turn and whisper to Mel before she turned back to me. Mel was giving me a huge smile so I knew that they would more than likely want to go.
"Yeah, we’ll go with ya," Cynth said happily.
"Ok...I’m not sure if I’m going to stay that long, but you two can stay as long as you like," I replied just as the show was ending.
We got up and stretched for a few seconds before I saw Nick making his way over to us.
"Let’s go before it gets to crowded to move," I suggested as I headed for the door.
"Ok...hold up...we’re coming," Mel said as they struggled to catch up with me. "You wanna ride in the limo with Meg?"
"In a limo with Meg?" I asked confused.
"Yeah. We rode over here with her remember?"
"Oh yeah...I’m not so sure that’s a good idea," I answered as we reached the sidewalk.
The street was filled with limo after limo so there was NO way that we could get a cab.
"Let’s walk for a few blocks and then we’ll hail a cab," I said as we broke away from the crowd.
We walked for about 3 minutes when a limo pulled up to alongside us. I watched as the back window rolled down and waited for someone to show their face, hoping it wasn’t the guys.
"You gals want a ride?" Meg asked.
"Yes," Mel and Cynth moaned.
"Sure," I answered with a sigh as we walked up to the door that Meg opened for us.
Right as I got in the limo I saw who else was in it.
"Dang it Meg! Why didn’t you tell me who else was in here?" I asked angrily. "I would’ve kept on walking."
Howie looked at me with a confused expression.
"That’s exactly why I didn’t," she answered honestly. "Look...it’s only Howie, so calm down."
I was silent for the rest of the ride to the hotel while the other four made light conversation. As soon as we pulled up to the curb at the hotel, I opened the door and quickly got out.
"I’ll be in my room if the three of you need anything," I said angrily before I quickly walked to the doors of the lobby.
I instantly headed for the elevator, not even waiting for the others to catch up. When the elevator doors opened, I walked in and waited impatiently for the doors to close after I pushed the ‘9’ button. Just before the doors shut, someone walked onto the elevator. When I saw who it was I turned around towards the corner angrily.
"Hey," he said sheepishly.
"Please don’t talk to me," I replied, still facing the corner with my arms folded tightly across my chest.
"But," he started.
"I said...please...don’t...talk...to...me..." I said slowly with the anger building.
I cringed when I felt his hand on my shoulder.
"Brian, don’t touch me," I hissed as I pushed his hand off.
I reached out and pushed the ‘open doors’ button so the elevator would stop on the next floor it came to. The next thing I knew, Brian grabbed my arm and whirled me around. He kissed me forcefully when I was facing him. I instantly pushed him away and slapped him across the face.
"Sick! You...you...stuck up prick! You’re just like THEM!" I yelled angrily before I walked out the elevator doors.
I was only on the fifth floor so I hurriedly ran up the rest of the stairs. When I reached the ninth floor, I ran to my room and opened the door.
"Arti?!?" I called out before I got the door open all the way.
"Yeah..." she called back.
"Ugh! I hate men!" I burst out as I collapsed on my bed.
"What happened?"
"Brian...he...he...he..." I struggled while the tears came to my eyes.
"He kissed you?!?" she asked as if she knew already. "Doesn’t he have a girlfriend?"
"I don’t know. I hate THEM! I HATE THEM ALL!" I yelled loudly at the ceiling as if it would calm me down as the tears fell down my cheeks. "It’s almost as if they think no one has feelings or something...how dare they think that I’d just follow them around like some little devoted follower...I have a life too!"
"Oh hun...I know you do," she said as she rubbed my back to calm me down. "It’s ok. We’ll just sit here for a while until you are feeling better."
It was silent for a few minutes.
"Arti?"
"Hmmm."
"Thank you for being such a good friend. I almost died laughing when you burst out at the show earlier," I said with a little smile.
"Well, someone had to do it!" she said sarcastically.
"Oh gee thanks," I joked back.
"You’re welcome," she said as I heard the door open in Mel and Cynth’s room.
I closed my eyes and just laid there for a few minutes while Arti went to talk to them.
"Poor thing. Is she ok?" I heard Cynth ask from the open door between our rooms.
"She’s a strong person...I think she’ll be fine," Arti answered.
"I wish I was strong...look at these flabby arms," I joked as I sat up a little.
They all laughed with me and came into our room.
"Hey let’s order up again. That was fun when we ordered up while Meg was here," I suggested.
"Ok...I’ll call and order," Mel said happily while I flipped the TV on to MTV and turned the volume up a little.
I just about died when a BSB song came on. It was ‘Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)’. I instantly hopped up and began jumping on my bed again, despite the fact that I was still wearing my dress. I sang loudly along with the music, but I changed the words slightly.
"Oh my gosh I HATE THIS SONG!" I sang along with AJ as I pounded on the ceiling intentionally.
"What in the heck are you doing?" Arti asked while I pounded even harder to get the full effect.
"Nothing...it’s a daily ritual," I joked as Mel and Cynth laughed at me. "Are you sexual?" I sang along with Nick’s voice when I heard someone knocking on the door. "NOOOOOO!"
The music continued playing and I sang along loudly with angry words as Arti answered the door.
"Uh hi. Can you like stop pounding on the ceiling please?" Brian asked.
When I heard Brian’s voice at the door, I hopped off the bed and walked over to the door where Arti was standing.
"No, I cannot stop pounding on the ceiling. In fact, I was just going to do it some more...have a problem with that?" I asked angrily with a glare that could wilt a tree a hundred feet away.
He stood there dumbfounded.
"I didn’t think so...by the way, GO SCREW YOURSELF!" I yelled as I slammed the door shut and started singing again.
"ARE YOU SEXUAL?" I sang to the door. "HECK NO!" I screamed.
Mel, Cynth, and Arti just stared at me as I continued jumping and dancing around the room until the song was done playing.
"Ok...I’m finished. When will the food be up?" I asked innocently.
"Woah!" Arti exclaimed, still surprised at my reaction.
"Uh...the food should be up any time now," Mel answered.
"Cool. So, anyone up to catching some honeys tonight at this party?" I asked with a devilish smile.
"Heck yeah!" Arti replied.
"Good! We’ll knock ‘em dead!" I said when there was a knock at the door.
"I’ll get it," Cynth said as she hopped off Arti’s bed. "Who is it?"
"Room service," a voice called back.
I watched them wheel a cart in before I went into the bathroom to change out of my dress.
"What are you going to where to the party?" I called out through the door.
"Khakis and a tee," Mel said.
"Carpenter jeans and a tee," Cynth said.
"Skirt and a baby tee," Arti said.
"What are you wearing?" Mel asked back.
"How ‘bout this?" I asked as I stepped out of the bathroom wearing a long black fitted skirt with a light blue sleeveless shirt that was topped by a black short sleeved button up shirt.
"I like it!" Arti replied.
"Anyone know when this little party starts?" I asked while I dug through the platters on the cart to find something to eat.
"Ummm...I think it’s already going," Mel answered.
"We’ll go change quick while you eat Els," Cynth said as her and Mel went back into their room to change.
I munched on a few grapes as Arti changed. When we were all ready, we called to have room service pick up the cart and then we were on our way. We took the elevator to the basement level where the party was being held. We walked out of the elevator and were instantly greeted by people that we didn’t even know.
"Groovy!" I said as we walked down a few stairs and headed for the massive dance floor.
I saw Meg and Howie sitting with the other guys at one of the tables so I decided now was the time to make my presence known.
"Meg!" I said in the sweetest voice I could conjure up.
"Hey Ellz! I’m glad you decided to come!" she said as she stood up and gave me a little hug.
"Yeah well, I can’t be stuck in my room doing nothing now can I?" I asked with the same sickly sweet voice.
"Nope," she answered as I glared at Brian again.
"Hi Howie," I said with a fake smile before turning to go back to the dance floor.
"What was that about?" I heard Kevin ask.
"I dunno," Meg answered.
I found Arti on the dance floor and pulled her aside.
"Wanna have some fun?" I asked her with a mischievous smile.
"Sure," she replied slyly.
"Cool...I bet you 50 bucks that I can get more digits than you can," I challenged.
"You’re on," she replied before we headed back to the dance floor.
For the next 30 minutes I worked my magic and got 13 guys to give me their numbers. ‘Boy is Arti in for it!’ I thought to myself as I eyed another guy to get digits from.
"Hey Ellz...how many do you have?" I heard Arti ask as she came up beside me.
"How many do you have?" I asked with a sly smile.
"I asked you first."
"Fine...I have 13 so far," I replied with a smile.
"Dang girl! I think I’ll be owin’ you some money later...I only have 8," Arti replied sadly.
"Better get moving then," I said with a smile before walking off.
I danced my way over to where a small group of guys were standing around checking out the girls in the room.
"Hey boys. How’s it goin’?" I asked as I strolled up to them and put my arm around the cute one with brown hair that was standing in the middle.
"Good now that you’re here," he replied with a huge grin.
"That’s good," I said while I played with his hair flirtatiously. "I have a favor to ask."
"It’s yours...you name it," a short blond guy said.
"Ok...Can I have all of your digits so I can call you sometime?" I asked.
"Sure! Anything for you," one of the others with brown hair said.
I waited patiently as they all wrote down their names and numbers on small scraps of paper. When I had them all in my hand, I made my move.
"Thanks guys...I guess I’ll talk to you all later," I said as I ran my hand across each of their cheeks before walking off.
"Wow! Now that is a woman!" I heard one of them say as I headed to another group of guys that were standing not too far from the table where Meg, Howie and the others were still sitting.
I congratulated myself as I shoved the numbers into my shirt pocket and flashed my smile at the group of guys that I was heading for.
"Hey there QT," I said to a cute guy in the small group that was a few inches taller than I was.
I walked up to him and put one arm around his shoulder while I pinched his cheek lightly. The rest of the guys in the small group laughed when they saw the guy blush a little from me flirting with him.
"Enjoying the party?" I said to make light conversation.
"Oh yeah," the guy that was standing next to me said enthusiastically.
"Hey...why don’t you all give me your digits and I’ll call you sometime," I said with a cute smile.
"Ok," one of the other guys said as he pulled a pen out of his jacket pocket.
I watched them while they wrote down their numbers and then handed them to me.
"Thanks," I said as I playfully hugged the guy that my arm was around.
"LIZ! WHAT do you think you are doing?!?" I heard an angry voice say loudly.
I looked away from the face of the guy that was next to me only to see Nick standing right in front of me.
"LEAVE ME ALONE," I yelled at him as I let go of the guy, gave the group a small flirtatious wave as I pushed past Nick, and walked away.
I wove my way back into the crowd to find Arti. After a few minutes of looking, I found her trying to talk to the group of guys that I had just gotten numbers from a few minutes before. I waited for a few seconds until she was done talking to them before I called out for her.
"Hey Arti!" I hollered loudly over the music.
I motioned for her to come over to where I was standing next to a table.
"How many do you have now?" I asked happily.
"Only 14..." she replied. "How many do you have?"
"Hang on...let me count them," I said as I pulled out the pile that I had shoved into my pocket and started counting. "19...20...21...22...23...24...25...26. 26 in all so far."
"Geez! I don’t think there are any other guys in here that we could even ask!" she said sarcastically.
"So you wanna call it quits then?"
"Sure why not...I owe you $50," she replied as we shook on it.
"Sweet! I can always use an extra 50 bucks every now and then," I said with a smile.
We both turned and headed for the dance floor to dance for a while. I followed Arti to the packed dance floor and started dancing when a guy came up beside me and joined us.
"Can I buy you a drink?" he asked in-between dances.
"Sure," I said as he led me to the counter where they were serving up drinks.
"What’ll it be?" he asked when we were at the counter.
"Bottled water," I replied with a smile as he put an arm on my shoulder.
We waited for the guy behind the counter to serve us our drinks while we made light conversation.
"Here ya go," he said as he handed me the bottle of water that I had asked for.
We turned to face the dance floor and leaned up against the counter while we drank our drinks. I put an arm around his waste in a friendly hug as we continued talking.
"So, where are you from?" he asked.
"I live in Utah right now," I replied with a smile. "How about you?"
"Well, I live here in LA...My parents own a huge resort a few miles out of town," he replied. "You should stop by sometime."
"I’d love to!" I replied almost overly enthusiastic with a smile as I stood up straight.
"Where do you think you’re going?" Nick said as he walked up in front of me.
"What are you talking about?" I asked.
"Where are you going?" he asked again.
"Why does that matter to you? I can go anywhere I want to," I said with a glare.
"No, you’re not. You’re drunk," he said as he grabbed my arm and pulled me away from the guy that I was talking to.
"What?!?" I asked with the anger flowing in my blood stream.
"I said...You’re drunk."
"I AM NOT DRUNK!" I screamed as I yanked my arm out of his grip. "And if you knew ME, you’d know that I DON’T even drink alcohol, but you wouldn’t know that because you DON’T know me," I yelled at him coldly before I stomped off angrily towards the elevator.
He ran after me and grabbed my arm again.
"GET AWAY FROM ME! YOU MAKE ME SICK!" I yelled at him before continuing on my way.
I stepped onto the elevator and waited for the doors to close without turning to look back. When the doors were shut, I turned around and pulled the little red knob out that was for emergency stops. ‘This elevator isn’t going anywhere’ I thought to myself as I backed up to the opposite wall and slid down until I was sitting on the ground with my arms folded on top of my knees. I pulled my knees close to my chest and then rested my head on my arms. The sounds of ‘That Don’t Impress Me Much’ came through the door from the dance floor while I sat there listening to the faint music.
"What in the heck just happened?" I asked myself out loud. "Why did he have to ruin my night!?! Ugh! I hate them...I hate them all! I hate ‘em I hate ‘em I hate ‘em!!!!! At least the show went well with no interruptions...we did great! I loved being on stage...and singing with Meg. I wonder how Meg’s doing...Crap! I forgot to tell Arti where I was going...maybe I should go tell her...I guess I will go tell her," I told myself as I stood up and pushed the red knob back in.
When the doors opened after I pushed the ‘doors open’ button, I put on a smile and walked out to the dance floor. I walked a few steps before the music that was playing got into my head. When I saw the people having fun dancing along with the beat, I gave into the temptation and joined in on the fun. After quite a few minutes of dancing nonstop, I walked over to a table where Arti was sitting. I looked around before sitting down.
"Hey Arti," I said with a smile while I sat down next to her. "You picked a conveniently placed table to sit at..." I joked as I motioned to the table next to us.
I watched her avert her eyes to the neighboring table and saw her face go pale.
"Hey! Don’t worry about it...I’m over THEM," I said reassuringly. "So, are you having fun already?"
"Oh totally! Are you?"
"Yeah...just peachy," I said as sweetly as possible. "Let’s go get some honeys!" I said rather loudly as we stood up at the same time.
I could tell that the guys and Meg were watching me so I pulled Arti along past the table where they were sitting. We began dancing with a small group of people in front of the tables as the music played loudly over the speakers.
"Gee aren’t we flirtatious tonight?" I heard Kev ask the other guys as they watched me dance away.
I heard what he said and got a little mad at his stupid comment. I decided to give him a piece of my mind. After leaving the dance floor, I walked straight up to him and watched as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
"Have a problem with that?" I asked in a snotty voice.
"Uh...I...uh...," he said in a scared type of voice.
"You’re not jealous are you?" I asked in the same snotty voice.
"No...Don’t you think you’re just leading them on?" he asked sheepishly.
"Oh...look who’s talking ‘Mr. King-of-pop-who-makes-girls-think-that-they-have-a-chance-with-me-just-because-I’m-famous-and-have-lots-of-money...’Mr. I’ll-never-break-your-heart-as-long-as-I-get-what-I-want-before-you’re-out-the-door’. Yeah...whatever!" I said angrily before turning to Meg. "Can I talk you to Meg...like somewhere besides the presence of everyone’s quote on quote ‘favorite pop group’..."
"Uh...sure," she replied as she stood up.
I saw her shrug to the group before I turned and walked off without checking to make sure she was following.
"What’s up?" Meg asked as we walked up to the makeshift bar.
"I just wanted to know how long you will be in town..." I said.
"Well, I was planning on leaving in a few days cause Howie asked if I would stay an extra day or two," she replied.
"Oh...that’s all I wanted to know."
"Ok. Hey...why are you mad at the guys anyway?"
"I’m not really in the mood to talk about THEM right now, so I’d rather not talk about it. Let’s just say is involves 50 fully functional fingers that can’t even pick up a phone to call a friend back...Nuff explanation?"
"Yeah...I see what you mean," she said.
"I’m going to go walk around and see who’s still here. I’ll contact you to say good-bye before we leave town ok?"
"Sure thing."
After I gave her a little hug, I walked off in the direction of the dance floor. I walked around for a few minutes looking for Mel, Cynth, and Arti until I saw them dancing happily to the slow song that was playing. ‘Ugh!’ I thought to myself while I walked around a little more. I leaned up against one of the walls on the far side of the huge room and watched all the couples on the dance floor. I was pretty much standing by myself cause everyone was either dancing or talking with the other people in the room. I continued standing there as another slow song came on. I leaned my head back and closed my eyes while I listened to the words of the song.
"Wanna talk about it?" Nick asked as I opened my eyes to see him standing beside me leaning up against the wall sideways.
"Talk about what?" I asked before I turned so that my back was facing him.
"Look...I might be blond but I’m not stupid," he said.
He grabbed my arm and whirled me around so that I was facing him.
"Get your hands off me," I said coldly.
He let go of my arm instantly.
"You might claim not to be that stupid, but you’re sure fooling me," I said angrily. "Oh...and you know this?" I said while pulling the ring off my right index finger. "You can have it back."
I shoved it into his hand before I turned to go.
"Why?" he called out as I walked away.
I made my way to where the elevator was, but instead of getting on the elevator, I took the stairs. When I finally got to the ninth floor about 10 minutes later, I went to our room and wrote out a note for Arti.
‘Arti, Cynth, and Mel: The party was fun, but I’m going out for a while...Don’t wait up for me cause I’ll probably be pretty late. If you need anything, I’ll be at the club down the street. Toodles, Liz’
Just as I was about to head for the door, something sitting on the bedspread of my bed caught my eye. It was a large manila folder that had my name on it.
"What is this?" I asked out loud as I picked it up and studied it for a few minutes before opening it.
When I saw what was inside, my heart dropped to the floor. I looked at the pile of pictures for a few seconds before picking up an envelope that was on the bed next to the folder. I opened it and found a paper folded in half and a hundred dollar bill. I opened the note to see what it said.
‘Liz ~ Here’s the pictures that we had taken...sorry it took so long to get them to you. Also, here’s the hundred bucks that I owe you. Hope to see you soon. AJ’
"Oh that’s nice timing," I said as I put everything back into the manila folder and tossed it carelessly onto the small table by the bed. "Now of all times..."
I pulled out some money from my planner and headed out the door.
* Chapter 30 *
The breeze was warm as I slowly walked down the street towards the club that I had seen earlier that day. It was called ‘The Hot Spot’ and I could already see the long line at the door to get in. When I was half way there I decided that I really didn’t want to go there, so I spotted a bench on the sidewalk that was empty and made my way over to it. I sat down with my hands on my lap and closed my eyes while the breeze blew through my hair. I sat like that for a good 20 minutes just trying to relax and get a grip. It felt so good to just sit and think without any interruptions. I was rather startled when I felt a warm hand on mine.
"Penny for your thoughts," a familiar voice said quietly.
I opened my eyes and found AJ sitting on one side of me with Nick on the other. I quickly shut my eyes again, hoping that they would go away. When they didn’t, I opened my eyes again and moved my hand from underneath AJ’s. I folded my arms across my chest and kept my eyes staring straight ahead. ‘What am I supposed to say?’ I asked myself silently. I thought of all the things from the last four months that had brought me to this point. The pain of remembering them not keeping up on their word hurt me so much that it brought tears to my eyes. I put my hands over my face as the silent tears fell down my cheeks.
"You don’t want to know my thoughts," I whispered back as I wiped my eyes dry.
"That bad huh?" Nick asked.
"You have no idea," I replied.
"I think I do," AJ said.
"I bet you don’t," I whispered back.
"Do you want to tell us about it?" he asked.
"No...That’s what my friends are for..." I said coldly. "Cause with them I at least know that they’ll always be there for me."
Before either of them could say anything back, I stood up and began walking towards the hotel. I knew that they would probably follow me, but I really didn’t care. I just wanted to talk to someone...preferably not one of them. ‘I hope Arti is back’ I thought to myself as I watched the sidewalk in front of me while I walked on slowly. When I reached the hotel doors, the doorman held one of the doors open for me. I walked through the lobby and over to the elevator. After I walked onto the elevator, I turned around and saw them walking in the doors as I pushed the ‘9’ button. I walked down the long hall towards my room after the elevator doors opened. When I reached the door to my room, I was about to open it when I heard the elevator ding. I looked up to see AJ walking out of the elevator. When I saw him walk into the hall, I hurriedly unlocked the door to my room and shut it behind me. I walked over to my bed and turned the lamp on. I saw that Arti wasn’t there yet, so I sat down on the comfortable bed and fell back onto it. I stayed in that position when I heard a soft knock at the door.
"We need to talk...please Liz," AJ pleaded through the door when I didn’t open it.
"I have nothing to talk about," I replied.
"Then let me do the talking. I’m not leaving until I get to talk to you," he said.
"Get comfortable then," I said as I got off the bed and headed to the bathroom to change into my pajamas.
After I changed and washed my face, I climbed into bed and pulled out the book that I was reading. It was the Mary Higgins Clark book that Meg had given me in Orlando. I hadn’t read it all the way through yet, so I brought it with me. I read for about 20 minutes until my eyelids got heavy. After putting the book on the table, I turned the lamp off and lay back on my pillow. I lay there for a few minutes until I dozed off into a light sleep. I could still hear what was going on subconsciously when Arti let herself in. I was half-awake, but I decided to pretend like I was still asleep.
"She left you sitting out here?" I heard her ask.
"Yeah. She wouldn’t let me in so I told her that I wasn’t leaving until I talked to her," AJ replied.
I could tell that Arti let AJ in by where his voice was coming from and he was standing by my bed. I rolled over and changed positions as if I was asleep.
"Do you mind if I stay in here tonight?" he asked.
"No, I don’t mind. There’s an extra blanket in the closet and you can have one of the pillows from my bed," Arti replied quietly.
"Ok...thanks," AJ said.
"I’m going to change and then I’ll get the blanket for you," Arti told him.
"Alright."
I fought to lie still when I felt AJ’s hand rubbing my cheek softly. He stroked my hair a few times before he sat on the edge of my bed.
"What did I do to make you so mad?" he asked me.
‘I wonder’ I thought to myself as I lay still.
"I missed you so much these last couple of months," he continued.
‘Uh huh...right...’
"You know...you’re cute when you sleep," he said quietly.
‘I wouldn’t know...I can’t see myself when I’m asleep’
I rolled over again so I was facing the other way and pulled the covers up to my chin. I closed my eyes and fell back asleep before Arti came out to give AJ the stuff for him to sleep with.
When I opened my eyes again, it was morning and I saw Arti sleeping in her bed and AJ sleeping on the floor by my bed. I quietly got up, grabbed some clothes, and went in the bathroom to change. When I was done getting ready for the day, I came out and made sure that they were both still sleeping before I headed over to Cynth and Mel’s room. Cynth was awake in her bed and Mel was still asleep. I put a finger up to my lips so Cynth wouldn’t say anything.
"I’m going to go out for a walk. Arti’s still asleep so don’t wake her up...K?" I whispered as I moved to the door.
Cynth nodded back before I went out the door into the hall. The ride down to the lobby was quiet, probably due to the fact that it was 7 in the morning and everyone had been up late the night before. I walked out the elevator doors and passed Meg and Howie sitting on one of the couches.
"Good morning," Meg called out.
"Oh hey Meg! Good morning Howie," I said with a smile. "What’s up?"
"Not much. How come you’re up so early?" Meg said.
"Actually, I don’t know. I’m feeling good though," I replied happily. "I thought I’d go on a walk," I said while pointing to the doors over my shoulder.
"It’s good to see that you’re feeling better," Howie said with a warm smile.
"Thanks. Hey you two...we should do lunch," I suggested.
"Ok. I’ll call your room later and we can work out the details," Meg said.
"Sure thing," I said with a thumbs-up sign as I turned to go. "See ya later," I said with a little wave.
To tell you the truth, I was feeling better than I was the day before. I felt rather refreshed after the long and tiring events the day before. I walked around the massive block two times and finally decided to head back after being gone for a good hour and a half. ‘AJ will probably be gone by now’ I thought happily as I climbed the stairs instead of taking the elevator. I opened the door to our room quietly in case Arti was still asleep. When I walked in, I saw AJ sleeping peacefully on my bed. Arti was sleeping in her bed so I was quiet so I didn’t wake her. I walked over to the bed and watched him for a few seconds and then kissed his cheek lightly. I couldn’t help but to laugh to myself when I saw how he was tangled up in the sheets and blankets. After I watched in amusement for a minute or two, I grabbed some clean clothes and headed to the bathroom for a shower. I stepped into the hot water and stood there while the warmth soaked into my skin. I took a long 30-minute shower to try and clear my mind and relax my tense muscles a little. I put my clothes on and blow-dried my hair before putting my make-up on.
"Good morning sunshine," I said happily to Arti after I walked out of the bathroom to see her scrunching her face up at the sun in her eyes.
"Morning," she replied as she fell back onto her pillow and pulled the blankets up around her shoulders.
"Mmmmm," AJ moaned as he rolled over in the wrong direction and fell off the bed.
I couldn’t help but laugh as he struggled to free himself of the blankets and sheets that were holding him hostage.
"Want some help?" I asked trying to fight back a smile.
"I...uh...no...I got it," he mumbled before he threw the blankets back on the bed. "I think I hit my head on the table," he whined as he rubbed his head a little.
"Aaaawww...you ok? You want me to kiss it better?" I said sarcastically as I walked over to where he was lying on the floor.
"Ha ha...funny," he said in a monotone voice as he stood up and straightened his clothes. "So, you ready to talk now?"
"Hmmmm...maybe," I said while I spread the blankets out and made the bed.
"They have maids to do that you know..." AJ commented when he saw what I was doing.
"I know. But they have enough to do as it is, so I’m nice and I like to help out a little," I replied with a smile. "Anyway, why don’t you go get changed and meet me in the restaurant in 30."
"Ok," he said while he followed me to the door.
"See ya Arti," I called out as I opened the door.
"Mmm hmmm," she mumbled back.
I walked out into the hall and waited as AJ followed me out. We parted ways at the elevators. He took one up and I rode the other one down to the lobby. Instead of going into the restaurant right away, I walked out onto the sidewalk and headed towards a small newspaper stand. I picked out a magazine and paid for it before walking back to the hotel doors. After I walked in the small casual café-style restaurant, I found a small booth on the other side of the room and started walking towards it, passing a few tables on the way.
"Good morning guys," I said cheerily with a smile as I passed the table where Kev, Bri, and Nick were sitting at.
I sat down at the booth and put my magazine on the table. I crossed my legs under the table and leaned over the table a little as I opened the magazine cover and began reading one of the pages. I could tell that the guys were talking about me, but I didn’t hear exactly what they were saying. They looked at me every once in a while during their conversation as I continued to read the article that I was looking at. A smirk crept up on my face when I read about the latest ‘Backstreet’s Bare’ story. Apparently one of the guys had lost their pants once again at one of their recent concerts and a fan wrote a letter to the magazine about her little experience. I laughed out loud and watched as the guys looked at me with weird looks on their faces. I kept reading, not noticing that Nick was walking over to where I was sitting.
"What’s so funny?" he whispered over my shoulder.
I jumped a little and then turned around to see him kneeling on the bench behind me, facing my table.
"You are!" I replied with a smile. "You guys need to get pants that are made of Teflon or something..." I said before I broke down in a fit of laughter.
I pointed to the title of the article I was reading. He leaned over my shoulder and read the title out loud.
"Backstreet’s Bare?"
"Yep...ya know...pants fell down kind of bare. That must be pretty embarrassing," I said.
He raised one eyebrow and gave me a smirk back that only made me laugh some more.
"So, what’re you doing down here so early?" he asked.
"Waiting for him," I said pointing to AJ who had just appeared at the doorway of the restaurant.
"Oh," he replied as he stood up. "Well, I was wondering if we could go somewhere and talk later today."
"Sure...I think we can work something out," I said with a smile.
"Ok then. I’ll see ya later," he said as he headed back to his table, passing AJ on the way.
I looked back down at my magazine and turned the page just as AJ took a seat across from me in the booth. He watched me as I read one of the more interesting articles on the page. I couldn’t help but let a huge grin creep up on my face.
"Am I that amusing?" I asked, not moving my eyes from the page that I was looking at.
"Huh?"
"You’re only like staring at me," I replied, still reading the last paragraph of the article.
"That’s because I like to," he said flirtatiously.
I looked up and flashed a smile at him as one of the waitresses came up to take out order. I ordered a bowl of oatmeal and half a grapefruit. AJ ordered a chicken fried steak with eggs and bacon on the side.
"Hungry or something?" I joked as the waitress walked off.
"Mmmmm...Maybe," he replied with a sly smile.
"Did you get enough sleep?"
"Enough to last me a few hours...the floor is hard ya know."
"I’m sorry," I said when I saw him massaging his neck muscles with one hand while the other sat on the table. "I wasn’t really in a good mood yesterday. It wasn’t exactly the best of days...I mean, it was, but it wasn’t...Ugh!"
"How come you were so mad anyway?"
"I wasn’t ready to run into you all yet..." I trailed off as the waitress walked up with our food. "Thanks," I said to her as she put my food in front of me.
"You’re welcome," she replied warmly before she left.
"You actually eat that mush?" he asked as I put some brown sugar on my oatmeal.
"I love it...it’s the best," I said happily before taking a bite. "Why? You eat that..." I said, pointing to the chicken fried steak that was obviously cooked in a deep frying vat. "This is definitely better for you."
"Might be better for you, but this is better tasting," he replied in-between bites.
After I finished my bowl of oatmeal, I turned to my grapefruit. I reached for the salt and began lightly sprinkling my fruit with it.
"Why in the heck are you putting salt on your grapefruit? Aren’t you supposed to use sugar?" he asked as he gave me a puzzled look.
"Nope. Here," I said as I held up a spoonful of the fruit that was covered lightly in salt. "Try this."
He raised his eyebrows as if to protest and I watched in delight as he closed his eyes and wrinkled his nose as he put the fruit in his mouth. He ate it and when he was done, I grabbed the spoon and retrieved a piece of fruit that I had sprinkled a little bit of sugar on. He ate that piece too.
"Now...which was better?" I asked when he was done.
"That is way weird...the first was actually better," he replied with an unbelieving smile.
"And you doubted me," I teased as I took a bite. "It works on sour oranges too."
I finished my fruit while he continued to eat his food.
"So how come you ‘weren’t ready to run into us yet’?" he asked before he ate a piece of bacon.
"Well, when none of you ever returned my hundreds of messages, I figured it was time to move on. I was doing just fine with keeping my life simple until seeing you all at the show yesterday started making things complicated again. Things are going so well...I have my own radio show...I have great listeners...I have the BEST friends ever that support me at home..." I trailed off as I looked out the window on the other wall. "I didn’t need THIS...all of this crap right now," I said sadly with a sigh.
"I missed talking to you ya know...every time I picked up the phone to call, someone would tell us that we had to go to a meet-and-greet...or a press conference...or a radio appearance...or a photo shoot...well, you get the drift..." he said after he finished eating. "I really DID want to talk to you...so much...I don’t think you know how much I missed you."
I turned and met his gaze as he stared at me looking for some emotional reaction. When I saw the longing look on his face, I gave him a small smile.
"Let’s go somewhere and catch up on the last four months," I suggested as we stood up.
He nodded with a smile as I reached in my pocket for some money to pay for our food.
"This one’s on me," he said as he put a few bills on the table.
"I know somewhere peaceful that we can go," I said quietly as we walked out the restaurant doors and headed to the sidewalk outside.
* Chapter 31 *
"This place is nice," AJ said as we both sat down on the bench overlooking the small pond. "How did you find out about it?"
"I was walking around early yesterday morning...actually I was only trying to get away from you and Kevin...What were you doing at 6 in the morning anyway?" I said.
"So that was you then," he said as he pulled me a little closer. "We were going to the grocery store to get some stuff...there’s no teenyboppers even awake at that hour."
It was still a little chilly from the cold night before, but the sun was starting to warm things up.
"’ Naw man...that isn’t her’ is what you said I think..." I joked while I poked him playfully in the side. "You must have missed me a whole heck of a lot if you couldn’t even remember what I looked like," I said sarcastically.
"Well I wasn’t really expecting you to be here in LA ya know..."
"I know. That’s the way I wanted it."
"Why?"
"So I wouldn’t get caught up in the whole emotional roller coaster mess again."
There was a small pause.
"You sounded great last night when you were singing with Meg. She’s lucky to have you to sing with," he complimented me.
"Thank you. It’s kind of funny how so many people know who Meg is, but they don’t even know my name and I’m the one who sings the song with her," I said.
"No one else could have done it better though," he said as he wrapped his arm around my waist.
"Mmm...I bet you could’ve done it better..." I trailed off as he gently laid his head on my shoulder.
"Nope. I think it’s perfect the way it is," he said while I laid my cheek on his forehead as he looked up at me.
We sat there for a while as the swans came out on the small pond and began swimming around. After AJ dozed off, I closed my eyes as well and took in all the sounds that the park had to offer me. I opened my eyes instantly when I heard the muffled sound of my cell ringing. I pulled it out and pushed the send button.
"Talk to me," I said quietly as not to disturb AJ.
"Hey Ellz. How come you’re whispering?" Meg asked.
"The person next to me is asleep and I don’t want to disturb them," I explained as I watched AJ sleeping peacefully on my shoulder.
"Oh. Howie, the other guys, and I are going out for lunch if that’s ok with you...we want you and AJ to come," she said.
"That’s fine with me," I replied.
"What’s fine with you?" AJ whispered, keeping his tired eyes shut.
"We’re going to lunch with Howie, Meg, and the other guys," I whispered back.
"Meet us in the lobby at 12:30...and don’t be late or you’ll be left," Meg instructed.
"Okily dokily," I said before I hung up and put my phone away.
"Wake up sweet cheeks. We have to get back to the hotel," I said quietly before I kissed his forehead lightly.
"Only if I get one of those right here," he said pointing to his lips playfully as he sat up.
"Fine," I said before I leaned over and gave him a quick peck on the lips.
"No fair," he pouted.
"Oh come on you big baby," I teased while I stood up and tugged his hand.
"I’m coming...I’m coming," he replied as he got up slowly and gently took my hand in his warm one.
I pulled my jacket tighter around me as we walked through the park to the archway together. I let go of AJ’s hand so I could put my own cold hands in my pockets when we got to the sidewalk. We walked down the street side by side as we quickly headed back to the hotel.
"You know...when I saw you up there on the stage last night at the show, my breath got caught in my throat and my heart was pounding like a million times a minute," he said quietly after we walked into the lobby and sat down on one of the secluded couches in a far corner. "When I saw you at the party dancing and flirting with those guys, it was almost like a slap in the face. It hurt so much," he continued sadly. "I wanted to dance with you so bad, but I didn’t want to upset you even more."
I was silent. I was hurt deep down inside for what I had done the night before. I had done things that were very hurtful to all of them and I knew that I had to make things right again.
"Oh AJ...I’m so sorry for hurting you like that," I said as my eyes started to water. "I am soooo sorry. I was so torn apart inside these last four months and I totally lost it yesterday. I can only hope that you will forgive me," I said in a shaky voice as a few stray tears fell down my cheeks.
"I already forgave you," he said as he moved over and sat next to me.
I leaned over to him as he welcomed me in a warm embrace.
"At least one out of five doesn’t hate me," I said sarcastically as I sat there in his arms.
"What’s that supposed to mean?"
"Well...let’s see. I told Brian that he was a stuck up prick and that he should screw himself. I told Nick that he makes me sick and basically to stay away from me. I told Kevin...well, you heard what I said to Kevin. Howie just thinks I’m some psycho male-bashing womanizer or something. Oh my gosh..."
The reality of what I’d done to Nick hit me when I looked down at my hands and saw the finger where the ring would be. My eyes went wide because I knew that I had screwed up big time.
"Oh my gosh...what have I done?" I asked while the panic rose in my voice. "What have I done?"
"Ssshhhh...It’s ok," AJ said calmly as I sat there, numb of what was going on around us.
My mind was racing as we both sat there in silence. The smell of AJ’s cologne took me back to that night in Orlando when he dropped me off at Meg’s apartment. The memory of feeling his skin against mine brought a smile to my face. I remembered the spark of emotion that I felt when I tasted his sweet lips against mine. It all felt so right, so why was I fighting against it so hard?
"AJ?" I whispered softly.
"Hmmm."
"I forgot something in my room. Do you mind if I go get it?" I asked.
"No, I don’t mind. Hurry back," he replied while I stood up.
"I will," I said before I headed to the elevator.
When I got to the right floor, I hurried to our room and unlocked the door quickly before walking in to find Meg, Cynth, Mel and Arti talking and playing around in the adjoining room. The door between the two rooms was only open a sliver so I could hear them, but I doubted that they knew I was there in the next room. I shut the door quietly and then walked over to my backpack that was sitting up against the small table by my bed. After hunting through the bag for my planner, I pulled it out and grabbed some of the money that I had stashed in one of the many pockets. I put the planner back in its place and as I stood back up, something on the table caught my eye. It was the picture of Nick and I from the manila folder sitting on the table with the silver ring and a small note. I picked up the picture and looked at it for a few seconds as I plopped down on my bed. I set the picture down on my pillow and picked up the ring and the note. I held the ring tightly in my right hand as I opened the note and read it softly to myself.
‘Liz: I don’t really know what I did to make you so upset, but I want you to know that I am truly sorry. Please forgive me! It would mean so much to me if you took this ring back...I don’t want to end our friendship like this. Meet me on the roof at 9 tonight so we can talk. If you don’t show up, I’ll understand. Your friend always, Nilo’
I sat there for a few minutes just staring at the note before I finally slipped the ring back on my finger where it belonged. After shoving the note into the pocket of my jeans, I stood up and walked over to the door. I took a look around the room before shutting the door behind me. As I walked down the hall to the elevator I couldn’t help but think of what I would say to the other 4 guys at lunch. I was kind of relieved when I found the note that Nick had left for me, but I was also scared at the same time. ‘What if I go up there tonight and he’s not there? What if he’s just playing one of his stupid pranks on me?’ I thought to myself. I argued with myself on whether or not I really would go up to the roof later that night the whole ride down to the lobby. When I walked into the quiet lobby, I saw that AJ had his head leaned back on the large couch cushion with this eyes closed. He looked so relaxed and carefree as he sat there peacefully.
"I’m back," I whispered as I slid onto the seat next to him. "Sorry I took so long."
"Don’t worry about it," he replied with a smile after he opened his eyes.
He wrapped his arm around me and pulled me close so that I was leaning my head on his shoulder. I smiled a little as he gave me a little squeeze. After a few minutes of waiting for the others to join us, I closed my eyes and laid there in the comfort of AJ’s arms. He leaned his head comfortably against mine and covered my hand with his.
"Aaaaww! Those two make such a cute couple!" I heard Arti say quietly from somewhere in the lobby.
"They look so perfect together," Mel added.
Cynth and Meg giggled at the mushiness of the comments coming from Mel and Arti.
"We should take a picture," Howie suggested in a hushed voice. "Meg...go get your camera."
"Ok. I’ll be right back," she replied.
"I’ll come with," Arti said. "I wanna get mine too."
It was silent in the lobby again for a few minutes until we heard the ding from the elevator. After another couple of minutes, I sensed that they were watching us, so I just sat still while they had their fun. The first two flashes went off without warning and we could hear stifled giggling coming from our observers.
"Don’t even..." I said.
"Think about it," AJ finished.
We opened our eyes to find them getting ready to take another picture.
"Oh come on guys. Just one more?!?" Meg pleaded.
"Fine," I gave in.
"Good! Smile for the cameras," she said cheerily.
We smiled happily as they took another set of pictures.
"Now that you are all fully entertained...where are the rest of them?" AJ asked after we stood up.
"They should be here soon," Meg said while looking at her watch. "They still have 5 minutes."
As if on cue, Kevin, Brian, and Nick walked in the lobby doors and made their way to where our group was already gathered.
"Big group," Kev commented when he saw how many people were already there.
"Ok...AJ, Kevin, Howie, Brian, Nick...this is Arti, Melanie, and Cynthia...three of my bestest friends in the whole wide world so you better be nice to them. Oh yeah...we can’t forget MEG!" I said as I gave a hug to each of my friends when I said their name. "Mel, Cynth, and RT, you already know who they are so do you want me to introduce them anyway? Didn’t think so," I said with a smile before any of them could say anything. "Let’s get this party started."
They all watched as I walked past them and headed towards the doors.
"You all coming or are you just going to stand there looking at me like I’m a complete idiot?" I asked when I turned around to find them all staring at me. "Nevermind...don’t answer that."
I knew that one of them would say something stupid so that’s why I told them not to answer.
"Alexander James, Kevin Scott, Megan Teresa, Howard Dwaine, Melanie Rae, Cynthia Lynne, Brian Thomas, Nickolas Gene, and Arti~Arti...let’s get a move on!" I said as I tapped my foot impatiently.
"Yes mother!" Arti said sarcastically before she broke in a fit of laughter.
"You are sooooo gonna get it!" I said to her.
I ran up and tackled her so that we both landed on one of the couches before I tickled her non-stop. She rolled onto the floor, but I continued tickling her anyway.
"Uncle! Uncle! Uncle!" she screamed in-between big breaths and long periods of laughter.
Everyone laughed at us as we both stood up and straightened our clothes with huge grins on our faces.
"Let’s fly," Howie said.
"You shouldn’t have said that," Cynth warned.
"Why?" he asked curiously.
Meg and I exchanged looks. We knew what each other was thinking at that moment.
"Riprok...A.G....Yo, turn me up...I wanna be heard. See, I’m here with the future y’all," I started.
"If you wanna fly...Come and take a ride, take a space ride with the cowboy babay! If you wanna fly...Come and take a ride, take a ride with the cowboy babay!" Meg and I sang loudly as we all walked out the doors to the waiting double stretch limo.
All ten of us finally squeezed into the limo and we were on our way. I sat down next to AJ on the seat at the front of the limo.
"I thought you said that you didn’t like *Nsync," AJ said, sort of confused at our little karaoke version of a song from *Nsync’s newest CD.
"That was before their newest CD release," I said with a smile. "It’s ok."
"OK? OK?!? It’s the bomb!" Meg exclaimed with a goofy look as she sprawled out on Howie, Kev, and Nick’s laps.
"I don’t know if it’s that good. You know? They’re not as hot as..." I caught myself saying. "As...as they think they are. Yeah...We were sitting right behind them at the show."
I looked at Meg to see her reaction. She flashed me a knowing smile that meant she knew what I was about to say. ‘Dang! I just about embarrassed myself completely!’ I thought to myself.
"Digital, digital get down..." Meg sang out. "Just you and me...You may be 20,000 miles away, but I can see ya and baby...baby you can see me," she sang as she played with Howie’s hair.
"Get comfortable Meg...ok?" Kev said sarcastically.
"Thanks, I will," she replied with a cutesy smile that made her seem innocent.
AJ had his head leaned back and I could tell that he was trying to have a catnap. Kev and Nick started tickling Meg, which in turn caused Cynth and Mel to laugh too. Arti was talking quietly with Brian ‘cause they were sitting next to each other.
"Where are we going anyway," I asked in a serious tone when things settled down.
"You wanna tell her?" Meg asked Howie.
"Nope, that’s what Kev’s for," he replied with a smile.
"Nick’ll tell ya," Kev said as he pointed to Nick, who was playing with Meg’s feet that were in his lap.
"You’ll see soon enough," Nick said simply as he stared out the window that was on the other side of the limo by Mel’s head.
I watched Nick as he stared out the window for a few minutes. I thought that he’d at least make eye contact with me, but instead he turned and looked out the back window. ‘He must be really hurt because of me’ I thought sadly as I shut my eyes and remained quiet for the rest of the ride.
"Come on Ellz...We’re here," Arti said as she poked her head inside the limo door.
When I opened my eyes, I saw that I was only one in the limo, so I got up and headed for the door that she held open for me.
"Thanks," I said as I climbed out and took in my new surroundings.
* Chapter 32 *
"Where exactly are we?" I asked as I stared at the huge three-story mansion that was shaded with a few large trees.
The lawn was huge and it was surrounded with a large majestic cement fence that matched the house perfectly. Arti didn’t answer as she walked past me and up to the open front door. I stood there and watched her disappear from view.
"LIZ!!!!" I could hear someone scream as I looked out over the huge lawn at the ocean in the distance.
I turned my head in time to see a flash of blond hair running towards me. I was tackled from the front and stumbled to keep my balance, along with his.
"Aaron?!? What are you doing here?" I asked happily as he took my hand and pulled me towards the house.
"What are you talking about? I live here," he replied.
"You live here?"
"Yeah. Remember? I told ya that we were moving to LA?" he asked as we walked up the path to the large pine doors that adorned the front entrance of the house. "This is our house."
Jane met us at the door with a big smile.
"Hi Mrs. Carter," I said as I rushed by with Aaron still pulling me along anxiously.
"Hi," she called after us as we headed through the large living room.
Everyone was in the living room sitting and talking happily.
"Hi," I said with a timid smile and a wave with my free hand before Aaron led me to the stairs.
"We can play MarioKart and Tekken and Mortal Kombat and..." he trailed off happily while we headed to his room.
"How about a tour of the house first?" I suggested with a smile when we stopped in front of his closed door.
"Ok."
He led me back down the stairs to the main level and past the living room, through the kitchen, and into a room that looked like a study. After we went through all of the rooms on the first floor, we progressed up to the second floor.
"This is Leslie’s room. I don’t think she’ll let you in," he said, pointing to a closed door.
I walked over and knocked on the door softly. After a few seconds, a girl with shoulder length brown hair opened the door a few inches.
"Hi Leslie. I’m..."
"You’re Liz. I know," she replied as she opened the door all the way. "Nick talks about you non-stop and he worships the picture of you two that he has at his house. By the way, I loved your performance with Meggie D on MTV...it was awesome," she said with a smile as she motioned for me to come on.
"I’ll be right back," I told AC before Leslie shut the door behind me.
The room was decorated in various pink and purple tones, just like any other girl’s room. She walked over and plopped down on her bed.
"I hate these stupid things that my parents put together. There’s always the same old boring people at them..." she said as she stared at the ceiling.
"You haven’t met my friends yet..." I replied with a little laugh. "You can go downstairs and meet them if you want."
"Ok...I’ll go make my appearance while you get stuck wandering the house with Airboy," she said with a taunting smile as she walked over to the door.
"See ya later Leslie," I said happily as she went towards the stairs and AC and I headed towards the other rooms.
After my tour of the house was finished, I convinced AC that it was almost time to eat instead of playing video games all afternoon. We went down to kitchen to see what was going on because no one was in the living room anymore. Jane was in the kitchen looking flustered so I decided to stop and see if I could help.
"Hey blondie, you can go outside. I’m gonna see if your mom needs help," I said to AC before he scurried off to the door leading to the back patio.
"Hi," I said happily as I walked in the kitchen to find food and things scattered on the counters. "Need any help?"
"Actually, yes!" Jane replied with a relieved look on her face.
"Ok. What’re we making?"
"Umm...sandwiches, salads, grilled chicken and steak, drinks."
"Ok. I’ll take care of the grilled chicken, steak, and I’ll make my mom’s awesome potato salad," I said as I found a pot of potatoes on the stove that were peeled and cooked.
"That would be great! But...are you sure you want to run the grill? I could get Bob or one of the guys to do it."
"No. I’ll be fine. See, what they don’t know is that I worked as a cook in a restaurant for a while so I actually know how to run a grill the right way," I said with a smile. "But that’s our secret."
"Our little secret," she replied with a smile before she started working on making the sandwiches.
I went over to where the potatoes were and started cutting them into half-inch cubes. Jane got a large bowl out for me so I would have something to make the salad in. After I finished with the potatoes, I cut up the celery, pickles, and eggs before putting everything into the bowl. I spooned out some salad dressing (not mayo) and squirted in a good amount of mustard before mixing it all together.
"Perfect," I said after I tasted a fork full. "Try this."
She tried a little fork full when she came over to grab the dressing from the counter.
"That is pretty good," she said with a smile before she turned back to the counter that was covered with bread slices.
I put the large bowl of salad in the fridge before starting my next task.
"Where are your spices and stuff?"
"Over there in that cupboard," she said, pointing to a small cupboard by the large fridge.
"Found ‘em. Thanks."
I pulled out a bottle of lemon pepper seasoning, a container of meat tenderizer, and a large bottle of BBQ sauce before making my way to where the meat was sitting out on plates. I picked up the plates and waited for Jane to show me where the grill was on the patio. As I stepped out onto the patio, I saw everyone else enjoying a fun game of volleyball on the back lawn.
"It’s over here," Jane called out to where I was standing.
I looked over to where she was and a saw a grill that was built into a brick structure.
"Wow!" I said as I made my way over to the table to set the plates down. "Now that’s what I call a grill!"
It was a large grill with two different sides to it...one with a grill and the other with a flat grill for cooking hamburgers and things like that. It reminded me of an old chuckwagon style grill from the way the dark red bricks looked around it. Jane had already lit the thing by the time I got over to it so it was well on its way to being hot enough.
"If you need anything else, just holler," Jane told me before leaving for the kitchen.
There were small cutting tables built into either side of the grill and there was even a small bucket-like thing where the clean cooking utensils were kept. I quickly brought the plates from the table to the cutting boards. I put the steaks on first because it would take the longest to cook. After dousing them with BBQ sauce, I headed down to where everyone was playing VB.
"Sorry to bother your game, but how do you all like your steaks?" I asked loudly.
"We get steaks?" AJ asked in a weird voice.
"Yeah..."
"I’ll cook ‘em," Kev said out of nowhere.
"Sorry...no can do...that’s already taken care of," I hollered back to Kev.
When I was finally told how they liked their steaks cooked, I went back up to the grill and checked the meat. It wasn’t quite ready to turn yet, so I decided to get the chicken ready. I opened up the chicken breasts and sprinkled them with some lemon pepper seasoning before putting them on the large grill too. I was totally consumed in cooking the meat, so I didn’t hear Brian when he came up behind me.
"Houston, we have a problem," he said while he watched me poke at the steaks to see if they were done on that side yet.
"What’s that?" I asked as I turned the steaks over gracefully.
"YOU are cooking the steaks that WE have to eat," he joked playfully.
I turned the chicken over and sprinkled it with more lemon pepper seasoning.
"Brian...you are something else," I said with a laugh as he leaned on the brick next to where I was standing.
"Liz. About yesterday on the elevator...I am soooo sorry for what I did and I totally deserved everything you said to me," he said quietly so only I could hear what he was saying.
"No...I’m sorry that I totally flipped out," I said as I turned to face him.
"It was all my fault. You reminded me so much of my ex-girlfriend all dressed up like that that I just couldn’t help myself...I know that sounds stupid, but I’m sorry," he said sadly while he looked down at the ground.
"Brian..." I replied as I grabbed his hand and gave it a light squeeze. "I said it’s ok...now go have some fun," I told him while pointing to the others playing VB.
"Thanks Liz," he said with a smile before he headed off to join back in the game.
I turned my attention back to the meat on the grill. I turned the gas off after a few minutes. When all the meat was done, I put it on two clean plates that Jane had brought out and took them back in the kitchen. She had put all the food and things on the huge dining room table as a buffet style meal.
"Time to eat!" I yelled out the door at everyone.
* Chapter 33 *
After everyone else had gotten their food, Jane and I were the only ones left to get ours. I picked up a bowl and filled it with green salad and then headed to where the grilled chicken was. After slicing one of the perfectly cooked breasts into thin strips, I set them on top of my salad and then poured ranch dressing over the entire thing. I was rather amused at how the guys and even the kids had gone nuts over the steaks. There was only one left and it was reserved with Jane’s name on it.
"This looks soooo good," Jane said as she picked up the last steak and put it on her plate.
"Mmm...Chicken is for me. I never really was a steak person," I replied before I went outside to find a place to sit.
"My compliments to the chef," AJ said to Jane with a smile as she followed me out.
"Yeah mom...I didn’t know you knew how to cook steaks like this," Nick said.
Brian couldn’t hold it anymore. He burst out laughing at Nick’s comment.
"I don’t," Jane replied happily.
"Who cooked ‘em then?" AJ asked curiously.
"That would be me," I said with a smile as I walked past them all and didn’t stop until I got to the stairs that led to the beach.
"Whoa...she cooked these?" Kev asked. "Are you sure?" he asked Jane.
Jane laughed a little as she nodded her head.
"I saw it with my own eyes," Brian burst out with laughter.
"You guys are weirdo’s...she’s always been a good cook," Mel said before she took a bite of food.
"Yeah Mel’s right. I remember one time when she came to visit for Thanksgiving...remember that Mel?" Cynth asked.
Mel nodded her head in agreement.
"Well, she insisted on giving our mom a break so she cooked the entire meal herself, complete with the fresh baked rolls. It was great! She says that cooking takes her mind off of her problems momentarily," Cynth explained.
"Yep...the guys that work with her at the station have been enjoying the last few months while she was ya know, wallowing in her pain...she made cookies and junk everyday for them," Mel said nonchalantly.
The guys all exchanged worried looks at what Mel had just said. Meg, Mel, Cynth, and Arti all exchanged glances of their own. The younger kids were totally oblivious as to what was going on.
"You guys aren’t talking about me are you?" I asked sarcastically as I made my way over to the nearest garbage can.
"Uh...no," Kev said almost too quickly.
I looked at him disbelieving for a few minutes before I shrugged it off.
"That’s ok...I don’t mind people talking about me. I’m sort of used to it," I said sadly before heading into the house to clean up some of the food mess.
I picked up the soiled dishes from the table and set them in the kitchen sink gently. ‘What in the heck is wrong with me?’ I asked myself as I leaned over the sink like I was going to throw up. I didn’t need to throw up...I just needed a few seconds to clear my head.
"Liz? You ok?" I heard Howie call from the kitchen door.
I stood up too quickly and then whirled around too far.
"Crap," I said as I banged my head into one of the overheard cupboards. "Geez monkey that hurt like a mother!"
I fell to the ground so that I was sitting with my legs spread out on the floor while my head was propped up against the cupboard behind me.
"Howie! You scared the freakin’ crap out of me!" I yelled.
He walked over to where I was and crouched down in front of me.
"You ok?" he asked gently.
"I think I’ll be ok," I replied as I stood up. "Ouch...I feel a massive headache coming on," I whined as I held my hand up to my forehead.
"Hang on...I’ll be right back," Howie said before he left the room.
I sat back down on the floor and closed my eyes. He was only gone for a few minutes and when he came back, he brought AJ and Jane with him.
"Liz?" AJ asked when he got to where I was sitting. "Are you alright?"
"No," I said with a small whimper before I opened my eyes slowly to see AJ crouching so he was at me eye level.
"Here take these," Jane said as she gave me two pills and a small glass of water.
After I took the pills and gave Jane the cup, AJ helped me up to my feet and into the living room to one of the couches. The pills made me a little tired so I just sat on the couch with my eyes closed until someone sat down next to me and put their hand on my leg just above my knee.
"You want me to take you back to the hotel?" AJ asked in a hushed whisper.
"Would you?"
"Of course," he replied as he stood up and then helped me to the door.
"You can take our car," Jane said as she walked in the door and tossed AJ the keys.
"Thanks Jane," he replied.
"He’ll be back," I insisted as we walked out the door and headed to the dark metal flake green Suburban (author’s note ~ I have no idea what kind of car they have) that was parked in front of the garage.
I was pretty much out of it the whole way to the hotel because whenever I take pills (any type of Tylenol, Ibuprofen, or Aspirin) for a headache, I get drowsy for no reason.
"Don’t pass out on me," AJ said as he drove down the road. "We’re almost there."
"I won’t pass out," I replied with a little laugh.
When we drove up to the hotel pull-in, AJ turned the car off and walked with me up to my room. I lay down on the bed almost instantly after we turned the light on and walked in the room.
"Are you going to be ok here? I don’t want to leave you by yourself," he said as he sat on the bed next to me.
"AJ...I’m almost twenty years old. I think I can handle being alone for a few hours while I’m asleep," I told him with my eyes already shut.
"Ok...ok," he gave in. "Just thought I’d make sure."
He leaned over and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek before he was out the door. It didn’t take long before I was asleep and off wandering dreamland. I slept for a few hours before waking up feeling much better than before. My head didn’t hurt anymore, so that was a good sign. I opened my eyes and stared at the ceiling for a few minutes until I moved my head to look at the alarm clock on top of the dresser by the bathroom that Arti had plugged in. The lamp next to my bed was still on, so I could see across the room.
"Feeling better?" asked a voice from the opposite side of my bed.
I jumped a little in surprise and then turned to face the wall where the door was. There, sitting in the chair that was about 10 feet from my bed was Kevin. He looked up momentarily from my Mary Higgins Clark book that was in his hand.
"Geez Kev! You scared me," I exclaimed as I sat up.
"Sorry," he said apologetically before returning his attention to my book.
"Where’s everyone else?" I asked while I swung my feet off the bed.
"AJ, D, Bri and the girls are taking a dip in the pool," he replied without looking up.
"Oh."
I stood up, walked over to the dresser and picked up a scrunchy that was sitting next to the clock radio. After I pulled my hair up into a messy bun, I went back over to my bed and sat facing Kev while he read. He looked so serious and concentrating deeply.
"Kev?"
I looked at my hands nervously.
"Hmmm," he replied, still reading.
I kept my eyes on my hands for a few seconds before looking up to meet his gaze.
"I...uh...I just wanted to say that I’m...I’m sorry for what I said to you last night," I said softly. "I am so sorry."
My gaze was lost in his green eyes as I waited for a response. When he didn’t say anything, I moved my eyes back to look at my lap.
"I was being a total idiot last night. I’ll understand if you...ya know...never want to see my face again after I leave and go back home," I said sadly while I stood up and walked over to the dresser with the elegant mirror hanging on the wall above it.
He didn’t say anything as I stood there looking at myself in the mirror, even though I could feel his eyes watching me. My eyes welled with tears as I turned around, grabbed my jacket from the chair sitting next to the dresser, and headed for the door.
"I truly am sorry," I said before I walked out the door and down the hallway to the elevator with my eyes on the ground.
"Hi Liz," Howie said as he walked towards me from the elevator doors. "I was just coming to check on you."
"Hi Howie," I replied while I looked up to find him dripping wet with a towel around himself.
I couldn’t help but to laugh a little at that site. It’s not that he looked funny or anything, it’s just that I never really pictured seeing him like that. I mean, he’s Meg’s boyfriend...that and the fact that I would never EVER like him besides being friends.
"Am I that repulsive?" he asked with a weird look.
"Oh Howie...you know that you need to work out some more..." I joked with a straight face.
He gave me a frown and followed me to the little lounge by the elevator.
"Geez! I was only kidding," I told him while I sat down in one of the large chairs with really comfy cushions.
I watched as he stood in front of me a few feet. He stared at me while I looked off down the hall as if I was waiting for someone to come and rescue me from his gaze.
"Ya know...Meg told me about what happened yesterday...I want you to know that I don’t hate you," he said sincerely as I sat there staring off into space.
A small smile crept up on my face when I heard him say that.
"Thanks Howie..." I said before the smile faded from my face. "These last couple of months have been really hard on me, as I’m sure you’ve heard from Meg."
"Yeah. I feel really bad that I didn’t keep in touch. Meg would always gave me updates as to what you were up to, but I really wasn’t expecting to see you here," he replied.
"I wanted it that way."
"Oh."
"Howie...thanks for being a great friend. I know that Meg really cares aboutcha and I’m happy for you guys. Y’all are so cute together," I said with a small smile while I stood up.
"Did you just say *y’all*?" he joked with a silly grin.
"Yeah well...ya know...I’ve been around my oldest sister and brother-in-law too long," I replied. "They’re true cowboys at heart...Wrangler’s, hats, horses, boots, and all."
"Tell me about it...I have to be stuck with two of them too," he said sarcastically while I headed to the elevator.
"Thanks Howie!" I called out to him after I walked onto the empty elevator.
He gave me a smile before the doors closed and he disappeared out of view. I rode up to the top level and got out so I could walk up the last flight of steps to the roof. It was 8:35 already, so I just decided to go relax a little and enjoy the fresh air. When I opened one of the doors at the top of the elegant marble steps to the roof, I was amazed at the site. There were trees and flowers everywhere with a few strategically placed street-lamp type lights and benches here and there. The lights were only bright enough so you could see where you were going. It looked as if someone took a picture of a quaint little park and transported it to the top of the majestic hotel. The scene was absolutely beautiful. There were little paths weaving in and out of the ‘botanical garden’ and there were a few vine-covered archways over a couple of the paths.
I walked out onto the marble stone path and wandered around, taking in the beautiful surroundings. I stopped every once in a while to smell flowers and look out over the edge at the ocean water churning in the distance. After exploring nearly every different path that I could find, I finally sat down on one of the benches that was close to the marble pillared railing on the edge. I was lost in the moment and didn’t notice when someone walked up behind me. I was startled when I saw Nick walk past me over to the railing. He stared out at the ocean for a few minutes before turning to where I was sitting on the bench with my legs crossed.
"You decided to come..." was all he said as he stared off into space.
He didn’t even look at me as I watched him shift uncomfortably. He leaned backwards against the railing and folded his arms across his chest. He acted more mad than anything else.
"Mmmm. I guess I couldn’t bear to hurt you anymore than I already have," I said sadly while I turned my eyes to look at the stars that were shining brightly in the sky, hoping with all my might that I wouldn’t start crying again. "I can’t believe I said those things to you last night..."
There was silence as he thought about what I had said.
"Ya know...I didn’t really realize how upset you were about us not keeping in touch until today at my parent’s house during lunch. I just figured that I did something stupid, but now I understand how much it hurts..."
I didn’t move.
"I felt the same pain that you did when you gave the ring back to me last night."
"I feel so horrible about doing that to you," I said in a hushed voice as he stood up and walked over to the bench where I was sitting. "I hurt inside so much for hurting everyone else like that. I feel so foolish. It hurts so much," I said quietly as I closed my eyes and brought my head down in shame.
He sat down next to me and pulled me into a friendly hug as tears welled up in my eyes and threatened to fall.
"It’s ok to cry," he whispered when he heard me sniffle a little.
‘Haven’t I heard you say that before?’ I asked myself as tears fell down my cheeks. ‘Freaky! He said that in the dream on the plane ride home...woah...déjà vu...’
I was all cried out after a few minutes. I wiped my eyes and sat there for a few more minutes, listening to his steady breath as we sat in silence.
"So where did you go today? I didn’t see you after lunch was over."
"Well...I kinda hit my head on the cabinet in your mom’s kitchen so I had a major headache. I came back here and slept while everyone else was still there," I replied as I sat up and looked him in the eye.
"Oh..."
"I feel much better now. My head’s still a little tender on the spot where I hit it, but other than that, I’m fine."
"Sounds like you had as much luck as I did today. I fell into the pool...and then I had to search in the attic for some old ugly clothes to wear. I was too tall for the attic ceiling so whenever I took a step I had to stoop over...I forgot to duck a few times and ran smack into the beams. We should be more careful," he said with a little laugh and a smile.
"I guess," I replied with a smile in return.
There was a small pause.
"Liz...please don’t ever tell me that we can’t be friends...I don’t think I’d be able to handle it again," he said while he grabbed my right hand and playfully fingered the silver ring that was on my index finger.
"I won’t," I promised.
"Good," he said with one of his famous million dollar smiles in return before he stood up.
I stood up too and followed him over to the railing where he was standing before. We turned our eyes to the black ocean water below and stood there in silence. He pulled me into a loose hug for a few seconds before he pulled back.
"It’s getting a little cold out here...I’m gonna head inside now," I said while he gave me a smile. "Thanks for talking...I needed it."
"You’re welcome."
I gave him a quick friendly peck on the lips before leaving him standing there by himself. I hurriedly made my way to my room and opened the door cautiously, hoping that Kev had already gone to his own room. I opened the door and walked in to find the room empty. I turned the light on before I took my jacket off by the door.
"Els?" I heard before I reached out to shut the door.
I turned around and found Kev standing down the hall a little, watching me getting ready to close the door.
"Hi Kev," I said solemnly as I turned back around and walked away from the door, leaving it open.
He approached the open door and watched me sit down on my bed in exhaustion.
"I thought about what you said earlier," he said in a gentle voice. "I want you to know that I don’t think of you any less now than when I met you. I was just a little surprised at how you were acting last night is all...and I understand that you were only trying to ease the hurt that was in your heart," he continued while he walked in and sat down in the same chair as before. "I think you surprised AJ more than the rest of us."
"Yeah...I know," I replied sadly while I stared off into space.
I thought about the conversation that AJ and I had earlier. ‘I already forgave you’ were the words that stuck out the most.
"I can’t believe I’ve been given these opportunities. Why are you all so good to me? I don’t deserve any of this..." I trailed off as AJ’s words replayed in my mind.
"Stop...don’t say that," Kev said. "You can’t put yourself down like that. You deserve all the happiness that life has to offer you. And we’re so good to you because you are special to us."
I snapped my gaze into space and looked him in the eye. He gave me a comforting smile before he stood up and left. I sat there on my bed for a few minutes thinking about what he said until someone broke into my thoughts.
"Hey...I missed ya," AJ said while he sat next to me on the bed. "Whatcha thinking ‘bout?"
"Wondering why a millionaire super star such as yourself is interested in a boring blah kind of nobody like me," I told him honestly.
"You’re not a ‘boring blah kind of nobody’ to me...and I’m interested because I want to be," he replied while he gave my hand a little squeeze. "Does that answer your question?"
"Somewhat," I answered with a small smile in return. "So...what now?"
"I dunno...I’m happy with just sitting here next to you," he said flirtatiously.
"Oh really?" I asked slyly.
"Mmm hmm."
"I’m hungry...what’d you guys eat for dinner?"
"I haven’t had anything yet...I think the others went out to eat a little bit ago," he replied. "I’m rather hungry myself...want me to go pick something up for the both of us?"
"Sure...that would be nice," I said with a smile as he got up and headed for the door. "No fish...and no tomatoes..."
"Ok. I think I can remember that," he called out before he walked out into the hallway.
I was left with the perfect opportunity to get online and check my e-mail, so I pulled out my old trusty laptop and hooked it up. I hadn’t really checked my e-mail for the last two or three months due to the immense workload at the station. They had assigned someone else to handle the e-mails from the station’s website, but now I was the one who made all of the updates on the site so I didn’t need to check my e-mail as often, if at all. I plugged in my modem and waited patiently while it dialed up and connected to a local server.
‘Your mailbox has hit maximum capacity’ an error message said when I opened the program that I use for my e-mail. I clicked on ‘Ok’ and waited while my pooter downloaded my messages from my mail server. It took about 10 minutes to download all of my messages because there were so dang many. While I waited, I got up and flipped on the TV to find ‘Sleepless in Seattle’ playing on the local movie station. I slowly sifted through the large load of newsletter lists, SPAM, work-related e-mails that were way out of date, and other miscellaneous forms of e-mail. After I had read...deleted, read...deleted, read...deleted, and so on for about 10 minutes, I was left with about 10 e-mails from various recipients. 4 of the ten were from ‘bsbphantom@sprocket.com’, 3 were from ‘airboyunlmtd@ACinc.com’ (AKA Airboy), 1 was from ‘Pknholder@myname.com’ (Court), 1 was from DaBaSiC1@aol.com (Tina), and the last one was from ‘genethediver@myworld.com’. (author’s note ~ NONE of these e~mail addies are real so DON’T try to e~mail them...you won’t get very far if you do. The names are merely a figment of my wild imagination...LOL)
I opened the message from Tina first.
‘Hey...It’s been a while since I’ve talked to ya so I decided to drop you a line...here’s your line: _______________ Ok, ok...J/K I saw you on the tuberator the other night...Call me girlie! By the way, how are Cynthanie and Mellia? Anywho, I’ve got to be going now...Kameron calls...he’s so fine! Call me or consider yourself dead! See ya, Batina’
‘I guess I better give her a call when I get done here’ I thought to myself as I opened Court’s e-mail and began reading.
‘Hey Ellz! Congrats on the nomination...’
"Oops! I guess these are a little outdated..."
‘I haven’t talked to you in what seems like ages. How’s the new job title treatin’ ya? I hope everything is in the up and up for ya. Oh, by the way...Have you talked to Tina lately? Just wonderin’ cause she said she needs to talk to ya for some unknown reason. Call me when you get a chance...I’ll most likely be home any time... Punkin’
I made a mental note to call her too before moving to the next message. It was from airboyunlmtd@ACinc.com also known as Airboy.
‘Hey Liz. It’s been a little while since I’ve talked to you so I decided to write you an e-mail from my so-called ‘official’ e-mail address. *grins* We’re pretty much packed up and ready to move out to LA soon. I can’t wait to see what living on the other side of the country is like. Well, mom wants me to go to bed now, so I guess I gotta go. Talk to you soon! AC’
‘Liz!!!! I can’t wait until we get to see each other again...no one around here ever wants to play videogames since Nick and the other guys are gone so I’m really bored. We finally got all our stuff into our new house and I got to pick which room I wanted before BJ, Leslie, and Angel did! Anyway, I have to go cause I have rehearsals today to go over some new music and blah stuff. Hope to talk to ya soon! AC’
‘Liz! I saw you on MTV tonight! You were absolutely awesome! Can’t wait to show you the new house. AC’
"Oops! I guess I should check my e-mail more often from now on," I said out loud to myself as I continued on.
I opened the one from ‘genethediver@myworld.com’ next.
‘Hey Els. It’s been a while, I know. Everything is so busy and hectic and well...down right chaotic! Maybe that’s cause I’m here. *grins* Naw...the other guys are off doing who knows what while we have a little break...little as in like 30 minutes. Oh well. That’s what I get I guess for being in the music business. I sure hope that I get to talk to you soon! Gotta go...we have a sound check in a few. Forever friends, Nilo’
I hit the reply button.
‘Nilo, I’m sort of relieved that we got through this little ‘storm on our picnic’ so to speak cause it was really tearing me up inside. I just want you to know that I’ll always be grateful that we were and still are friends. It means the world to me that you didn’t give up on me during the time that I was being emotionally retarded...*laughs a little* I hope you understand that you are very special to me and everyone who knows you! Forever friends, Els’
I read over what I wrote a few times before I hit the send button and then moved on to the next message. It was from ‘bsbphantom@sprocket.com’.
‘Hey chica! What’s up? I just wanted to tell you how wonderful you look! I can’t wait to see you again. I love to run my fingers through that long blond hair of yours...it always smells so good! Your eyes put me in a trance where my heart takes over my mind and I lose all control. Mmm...I hope we can meet again soon cause I don’t think I can stand being away from you for too much longer. Laterz, Phantom’
"Woah...this is too weird," I said to myself before I opened the next message.
‘To my girl, Every time I look at the sky above and see the stars at night, I think of you. It gives me strength thinking that you could be somewhere else on the planet looking at the same exact stars shining brightly in the heavens. I wish you knew how much I think of you each day that we are apart on our different courses in life at this very moment. You are my angel in disguise and I always hope to know that you’ll be there for me. Much Love, Phantom’
‘My girl, Straight from the words of my favorite poet...’I wish I may, I wish I might...be that certain someone you wish for every night.’ I know that I wish we would meet again and I can only hope that you feel the same way. You haven’t written back, but I know that you read these messages, so I’ll keep writing them as long as I need to let you know how much I miss you. ‘7 A.M....thinkin’ ‘bout you. Wondering if the thoughts I’m feeling you’re feeling too. Like a newborn child, soft to the touch. Baby is it possible to love someone so much?’ Another one of my favorites. Phantom’
"This is like waaaaaay psycho!" I said out loud as I opened the last message that was dated with today’s date. "No one has ever written things like those to me before...it’s probably just a joke."
‘Ellz, I can’t hold back anymore. I have decided that I need to tell you how I feel in person. Come to the dock on the beach by the hotel that Meggie D is staying in...meet me there at midnight, no sooner, no later. I’ll be waiting with open arms, Phantom’
"Holy crap! This psycho person wants me to meet him/her/it tonight at the dock on the beach?!? That is insane!"
I picked up my cell and dialed the number to Tina’s private phone line. ‘I hope she’s home’ I thought to myself as I waited while it rang. She finally picked up after about 5 rings.
"What do you want?" she asked quickly.
"Caller ID comes in quite handy doesn’t it..." I responded.
"Yeah...So, how’s LA?"
"Oh, ya know...good shops, great food, and psychos running loose...nothing unusual," I replied.
"How do you mean?" she asked, totally confused.
"Some weird person keeps sending me these really weird e-mails and he or she or whoever talks like they know me and all this junk," I explained as I heard the door open and AJ walked in with his arms full. "Hey AJ...took ya long enough."
"AJ!?!"
"Uh....yeah..."
"Who’re ya talking to?" AJ asked in the background as he put the food down on one of the dressers.
"One of my sisters...hang on..." I said to him before I turned my attention back to Tina.
She was freaking out and I couldn’t tell what she was saying.
"Hello? Are you still there?!? Let me talk to ‘em," she said.
"Oh...you wanna talk to him?" I barely had a chance to say before AJ stole my phone from my hand.
"Bone speaking..." he said as he jumped on the bed to get away from me.
"Give me my phone back!!!" I hollered as AJ jumped up and down on my bed.
"I suggest that you run like the wind," Tina said seriously to AJ on the other end.
AJ took Tina’s advice and ran out the door and down the hall with me screaming behind him. When I reached the elevators, I was too late to catch the one that AJ was on, so I went up the stairs instead. By the time I made it to the next floor, he walked calmly out of the elevator as if nothing was wrong. When he realized that I was almost right behind him, he dashed in the first door in sight. I figured it was his room, but I couldn’t be sure since I hadn’t been up to this floor yet. I ran in after him and there was Kev laying on the bed with his eyes glued to MY Mary Higgins Clark book. My book?!? Suddenly I saw my purple phone sailing across the room.
"Noooo!!" I screamed while it was in the air.
Kev looked up just in time to catch the phone in midair. He suddenly realized what was going on and bolted for the bathroom before I could reach him. I was too shocked that AJ would give KEV...Kev of all people...MY phone. I rushed over to the bed and snatched up my book before I headed to the bathroom door.
"KEV!!!! Give me my phone back!! I’m not kidding!" I hollered through the locked door. "KEVIN!"
"Ya know...it’s no use. He’s not going to come out until he wants to," AJ pointed out as I pounded on the bathroom door.
"That’s what I’m afraid of," I said in return. "I have to pay that bill ya know...he is sooo gonna get it! You...YOU are sooo gonna get it," I said pointing to AJ with an accusing finger.
I lunged at him and tackled him so he was laying on the bed face down. He yelled in surprise when I started tickling him with no mercy. I tickled him for a few minutes until he suddenly rolled over and pushed me off the bed.
"Umph," I whined as I fell to the floor with a loud thump. "What in the...Oh no...NO!" I screamed as AJ pounced on me and began to tickle me out of revenge.
He didn’t ease up at all so I started screaming louder.
"KEV!!! KEV HELP ME!" I screamed between bursts of laughter and gasps of air. "KEVIN!"
"Ssshhh," AJ said as he held my wrists to the floor.
I tried with all my strength to wriggle out of grasp, but he’s obviously stronger than I am. I gave up my fight and lay there motionless with my eyes closed for a few seconds. After a few seconds I felt something on my lips so I opened my eyes to find his finger against my lips to keep me quiet. He leaned down as if he wanted to kiss me, but he didn’t get the chance. When he was least expecting it, I sat up a little on my elbows and kissed him first. He was totally oblivious to my plan. As he tried to deepen the kiss, I rolled over on him and pinned him to the floor.
"I gotcha...I gotcha," I taunted him happily.
I leaned over and gave him another little kiss before I sat up again.
"I know I’m good," I boasted playfully while wiping my nails on my shirt like I was some hotshot.
"Can I get up already?" AJ whined from underneath me.
"Not until I get my phone back," I said with a pout as I folded my arms across my chest.
"Kev...give me the phone back already," AJ hollered out.
Kev opened the bathroom door and walked over to where I was sitting on top of AJ. I gave him the evil eye as he talked to Tina on the other end.
"I have a hostage," I said to him as he listened to something Tina was saying.
"Hey Tina...Liz wants her phone back. Maybe I’ll talk to you again sometime," he told Tina.
He listened to something that Tina was saying to him and laughed before he said his goodbye and handed me the phone.
"Tina...hang on. I have to free AJ," I said as I put the phone of the bed and stood up slowly.
Before AJ or Kev could do anything else, I grabbed my book and my phone before rushing out the door. I practically ran down the stairs to my room and hurriedly told Tina that I had to go so I could eat my dinner.
"Dinner at 10:45 at night?!?" she asked in an unbelieving voice.
"Hey...I would’ve eaten sooner, but someone had to steal my phone...so a certain someone could talk to Kev...ya know," I pointed out to her.
"Yeah...yeah..." she replied.
We said our good-byes and hung up before I turned my whole attention to the salad that AJ had gotten for me from Mickey D’s. I munched on my salad as if nothing was wrong when AJ burst through the door suddenly.
"I see that you found the food," he said playfully.
"Yep."
"Is the salad ok? I didn’t know what kind of burger or anything to getcha and I figured ya liked salad cause you had one for lunch."
"It’s great," I replied as I took another bite.
I was just finishing my food when he started working on eating his. I turned my thoughts back to those weird e-mails that I had read earlier.
"Ya know what?" I asked to make conversation while he ate.
"What?"
"I’ve been getting these really weird e-mails for a couple of months...they’re kinda freaky. This person acts as if they know me and have gone out with me and weird crap like that," I replied.
He gave me a comforting smile and then went about finishing his food.
"Well, what do these e-mails say?" he asked as he threw his garbage in a trash can.
"Hang on...I’ll read one for ya," I said while I opened the lid to my laptop.
I opened the first e-mail that I came to from this ‘bsbphantom’ person and began reading out loud.
"To my girl, Every time I look at the sky above and see the stars at night, I think of you. It gives me strength thinking that you could be somewhere else on the planet looking at the same exact stars shining brightly in the heavens. I wish you knew how much I think of you each day that we are apart on our different courses in life at this very moment. You are my angel in disguise and I always hope to know that you’ll be there for me. Much Love, Phantom," I read out loud. "It’s just so freaky! No one has EVER written anything like that for me before...I don’t know whether to be really flattered or extremely scared. And he or she or whoever is sending them to me wants me to meet them at midnight...I seriously don’t want to go...what if it’s some psycho serial killer?"
"Liz...calm down! I’m sure everything will be fine," AJ said while he walked over to where I was sitting on a chair by the bed with my pooter in my lap.
"If it’s not ok then I’ll make sure they come after you when I’m dead somewhere," I joked with him and he put his arms around me in a loose hug.
I looked at the alarm clock on the dresser that said 10:52 in bright red numbers.
"I’m going to go see what the other guys are doing and then I’m going to head to my room," he said as he held me in his arms.
"Ok."
He kissed my neck lightly and went on his way. I turned the TV on after he left and counted the minutes passing by until it was finally 11:55. The girls had told me that they were going to go clubbing tonight so I shouldn’t wait up for them. I put my jacket on before heading out to the steps from the lobby that led to the beach below. I walked lazily through the warm sand and headed to the dock that was dark with only the light of the moon providing light. I walked to the edge of the empty dock and leaned against one of the posts holding the dock up that was sticking about 5 feet straight up in the water.
* Chapter 34 *
"Why am I here?" I asked myself out loud as I looked at my watch.
’11:59’ it read. I looked out over the dark water in front of me and thought of whom I would meet in the next couple of minutes. ‘AJ better be right...I better be more than fine when I leave this little rendezvous...’ I thought to myself as I stared at the massive amounts of water ahead. Just when I was about to shift positions, someone put a hand over my mouth to keep me from screaming.
"You’re here because I asked you to come," the voice from behind me whispered softly in my ear. "I wanted to tell you how much I missed ya."
I stood there silently as his other hand wrapped around my waist. I froze with fear when I felt his hand sitting on my side. ‘Please don’t hurt me...please don’t hurt me...please don’t hurt me’ I pleaded silently. He pulled me closer to him as he kissed my neck a little.
"I’ll never find someone like you," he whispered in a low voice before he started singing softly. "Girl you take my breath away and when I’m with someone new, I’d rather be here with you...baby forever. My heart belongs to you cause I think about you all the time. I know my love is true when we’re together..."
I knew that voice anywhere. I leaned back into him as he sang quietly in my ear. He moved his hand from my mouth and put it on my waist opposite of his other hand. He wrapped his arms around my waist and I set my arms on his. We just stood there like that until he finished singing. When he was done, I turned around so I was facing him.
"I was hoping with all my heart that it would be you meeting me here tonight," I said with a smile. "All those things that you sent to me were well...I can’t even explain how good it felt to know that someone cares about me that much."
"That’s what I wanted you to know," AJ replied while he pulled me close again.
My eyes were lost in his gaze as he stared at me in his arms. His fingers played with the ends of my hair as he leaned closer to give me a much-anticipated kiss. We locked lips and exchanged a passionate kiss...more intense than one I’d ever experienced before. Memories of our first ‘real’ kiss flooded my mind after we broke apart. I wrapped my arms around his middle and laid my head on his shoulder with my forehead on his neck.
"You done?" I asked as I pointed to his glass.
"Yeah. Thanks," he said as I grabbed his glass along with mine and turned to put them in the sink.
I swiftly went over to the sink and turned my back to AJ as I set the glasses in the right side of the sink. ‘I wonder why Meg always has to have the dirty dishes put in the right side’ I thought to myself while I turned to walk back to the table. I was still lost in my thoughts.
"Umph," I said as I walked into AJ. "Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you standing behind me," I said looking at his face as he brushed back a piece of hair that had fallen into my face.
"It’s ok," he replied as one of his hands traced my jaw line before stopping to hold my chin in his hand.
He slowly leaned closer and closer to me. I closed my eyes in anticipation as his lips met mine. Butterflies seemed to arise in my stomach as the kiss progressed. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and started running my fingers through the hair on the bottom part of his neck. I was almost absolutely sure that I wasn’t as experienced at kissing as he was, so I just let him lead the way. After about a minute, we finally broke apart.
"Wow!" AJ exclaimed as he backed up a step.
I kept my eyes closed for a few seconds, still savoring the memory while it was fresh in my mind.
"That was well...wow!" he said again as I opened my eyes to see his silly smile.
"Ya like?" I asked sarcastically.
"What kind of question is that?" he asked me as if I was crazy.
"Just wonderin," I answered.
I remembered it as vividly as if it happened only a few moments before. The ocean waves beating against the sand in the distance blended in with the sound of AJ’s heart beating wildly in my ear. It was as if my heart was beating in time with his while we stood there in the comfort of each other’s arms. It seemed as though no person or thing could break us apart. He brought his hand up and stroked my cheek a few times as I took in the smell of his ‘oh-so-famous’ cologne.
"Ya know...no one’s ever done or said anything like that to me before," I whispered to break the silence.
"I’m glad I was the first," he whispered back happily.
I looked up at his face and saw the same silly grin that I had remembered a few seconds before. I laughed a little at the dreamy look on his face and gave him another little kiss on the lips before I grabbed his hand. I pulled him back to the beach and we walked along in the sand until we got to the steps of the hotel. AJ followed me up to my room and came in to watch some TV with me until I was tired enough to go to bed.
"Leave it here," AJ called from his sitting position on my bed as I turned on the TV and found ‘Ghost’ playing for like the ten-billionth time in the last 3 days.
"Fine," I said with a sigh before I went in the bathroom to change into my pajamas.
I had replaced my worn pajama bottoms and thermal top after my little Orlando encounter with a dark purple silk long sleeve button up shirt/pant set that I absolutely fell head-over-heels for when I found it on sale at one of my favorite stores. I washed my face, brushed my teeth, and combed through my hair a few times before I headed back out to take a seat next to AJ on my bed.
"This is the ultimate chick-flick," AJ said, not breaking his eyes from the TV screen.
"Really?" I asked as I rubbed his shoulder a little.
"Yep...it’s one of my favorites. Right here," he said sweetly with a smile as he pointed to the bottom of his neck where his neck and shoulders met.
"I always thought of you as a ‘Can’t Hardly Wait’ type of guy," I said sarcastically as I gave him a mini neck massage.
"’Can’t Hardly Wait’...THAT is a funny movie..." he replied with a little laugh.
"I liked it! Come on hun...get up so we can both sit on the bed...I can’t see," I whined while I stood up on the opposite side of the bed.
After he got up, I lay down across the bed the short way on my stomach and watched as he laid down next to me.
"There! Now we can both see and we’re nice and comfy too," I said after he was settled into a comfortable position.
It wasn’t even twenty minutes later that I found him sound asleep next to me. I carefully got up off the bed and shifted him so he was laying down in the right sleeping position with his head on one of the pillows. After turning off the TV, I threw a blanket over him before I crawled under the sheets next to him. He was on top of the covers covered with a blanket so that he wouldn’t have to sleep on the floor and I was underneath the covers so I didn’t feel weird with him sleeping on the same bed as me.
"Goodnight AJ," I said softly before I reached over and flicked the lamp off.
"Night Liz," he whispered back before he gave me a little goodnight kiss.
He soon drifted off and I lay there watching him sleep peacefully for a few minutes. He looked so helpless and innocent while he lay there sleeping oblivious to the fact that I was watching him. I moved a little closer and leaned in so that our foreheads were touching a little. I closed my eyes and thought about what he’d done for me in the last hour or so. I drifted off to sleep with the thought of the e-mails on my mind.
‘Hey chica! What’s up? I just wanted to tell you how wonderful you look! I can’t wait to see you again. I love to run my fingers through that long blond hair of yours...it always smells so good! Your eyes put me in a trance where my heart takes over my mind and I lose all control. Mmm...I hope we can meet again soon cause I don’t think I can stand being away from you for too much longer. Laterz, Phantom’
‘To my girl, Every time I look at the sky above and see the stars at night, I think of you. It gives me strength thinking that you could be somewhere else on the planet looking at the same exact stars shining brightly in the heavens. I wish you knew how much I think of you each day that we are apart on our different courses in life at this very moment. You are my angel in disguise and I always hope to know that you’ll be there for me. Much Love, Phantom’
‘My girl, Straight from the words of my favorite poet...’I wish I may, I wish I might...be that certain someone you wish for every night.’ I know that I wish we would meet again and I can only hope that you feel the same way. You haven’t written back, but I know that you read these messages, so I’ll keep writing them as long as I need to let you know how much I miss you. ‘7 A.M....thinkin’ ‘bout you. Wondering if the thoughts I’m feeling you’re feeling too. Like a newborn child, soft to the touch. Baby is it possible to love someone so much?’ Another one of my favorites. Phantom’
‘Is it possible to love someone so much? I dunno... Maybe... Maybe not... I certainly haven’t loved anyone that much...until now...’ I subconsciously thought to myself before I was all the way asleep.
* Chapter 35 *
It was about 7:15 when I opened my eyes the next morning. I could feel one of AJ’s arms draped over my side as I was lying there facing the wall with the TV. After I rolled over carefully, I saw that he was still sound asleep so I laid there watching him for a few seconds. I lifted his arm from my side before I slipped out from under the covers, grabbed some clean clothes from the dresser, and headed for the bathroom.
"Where ya goin’?" AJ called out quietly as I approached the bathroom door.
"Taking a shower," I whispered back before going in and shutting the door behind me.
I let the warm water dampen my hair as I stood under the showerhead. After I was done with my shower, I hopped out and quickly got dressed and ready to go for the day. When I stepped out of the bathroom I saw that Arti was still sleeping in her bed and AJ was no where to be found. The blankets and sheets on my bed were made neatly and the pillows were sitting perfectly in place against the headboard. I smiled to myself as I slid some shoes on and went out on the small balcony to enjoy the sunrise. I leaned up against the white marble railing and looked out over the water below as the sun started to peak up from its hiding place under the horizon. A few people were out surfing on the tide that was coming in as the sun began to warm the earth below. I could hear a song playing faintly on one of the stereos that was sitting next to a small group of people on the beach.
‘I knew I loved you before I met you, I think I dreamed you into life. I knew I loved you before I met you, I have been waiting all my life’ was heard in the fresh morning air coming from the beach below.
I closed my eyes and let the words sink into my soul as the ocean breeze blew small strands of my hair in my face. I listened as someone opened the sliding door and joined me on the balcony.
"Hey," Arti said when she was standing next to me against the railing.
"Morning," I replied while I opened my eyes and turned my head to see her fully dressed with her hair and make-up done. "Did you guys have fun last night?"
"Yeah! You should’ve come with us!" she said with a grin.
I turned around so I was facing the sliding door to our room before I said anything.
"Let’s go tonight," I suggested with a sly smile. "I want to see the party side of this town before I have to leave and go back to my boring blah life."
"Sure thing!" Arti replied happily before we went back inside.
"I’ll talk to..." I started to say before I looked up to find everyone lounging on our beds, in the chairs, and on the floor. "Them..." I said, pointing to Mel and Cynth sitting comfortably on my bed.
"Hey everyone," Arti called out before she ducked into the bathroom to get some lotion for her hands.
AJ was sitting up against the foot of my bed, Brian and Nick were lounging on Arti’s bed, Howie was sitting in the chair by my bed with Meg on his lap (how cute!), and Kev was sitting on the floor leaning up against one of the dressers.
"We know that you and the girls are leaving tomorrow so we want to spend the day with y’all before ya leave," Brian explained as I took a seat next to Cynth on my bed so that my feet were sitting next to AJ on the floor.
"Ok...so what’s the plan?" I asked while I played with AJ’s neon purple tipped hair a little.
"Yeah...what’s the plan?" Mel asked as she reached over and played with AJ’s hair too like she was mocking me.
I could tell that she was teasing me so I playfully swatted her hand away from AJ’s head and tickled her in the side. She let out a yelp in surprise and continued laughing as I tickled her mercilessly. When I didn’t ease up at all, AJ, Meg, and Kev pulled me up off the bed away from Mel and set me down on the floor before they started tickling me.
"Stop!!!! I can’t breath! Stop!" I yelled out as everyone else laughed at me. "Uncle!"
They finally stopped to give me a breather for a few seconds before AJ continued without warning.
"AJ!!!! STOP!!! Aaaaahhhh!!!" I screamed as everyone gathered around us in an amused circle of onlookers. "Cynth help me!"
"This one is between you two," she replied with a laugh before she grabbed Mel and headed for the door. "We’ll meet you two in the café for breakfast."
Everybody else followed them out as AJ continued tickling me until I was completely out of breath. My face was red and my eyes were watering when he finally let up.
"Geez AJ...I am gonna be so worn out by the end of the day..." I said as I lay there on the floor with my eyes closed, trying to take deep breaths to calm my racing heartbeat.
He only gave me an evil smile as he stood up and then offered me a hand. He pulled me up and then waited patiently while I fixed my hair that was all messed up thanks to our little ‘tickle war’. When I was done putting my hair into a ponytail, he took my hand in his and led me to the door.
"Today is going to be great!" he said happily while he opened the door.
"I sure hope so...I don’t wanna leave tomorrow," I replied sadly as we walked to the elevator. "I don’t want to but I know that I really have no choice."
"Don’t worry," AJ leaned close and whispered in my ear. "I’ll come to visit you sometime."
"No...you are going to be WAY too busy to worry about me. I’ll keep in touch with YOU. That way, we won’t have to worry about BOTH of our jobs being on the line," I said with a smile.
"Ok...but that doesn’t mean that I can’t come visit," he replied with a sly smile in return.
"Don’t even think about it mister...I don’t want you spending all of your hard earned money on me."
He gave me a warm hug before the elevator doors opened at the lobby level. We made our way into the restaurant to where everyone else was sitting at one of the ‘bigger’ corner booths. Kev, Arti, Mel, Brian, Cynth, Meg and Howie were all squished into the ¾ circle booth while AJ, I, and Nick sat on chairs that we pulled up to the open side of the table.
"Let’s eat...I’m starved," Nick said after AJ and I sat down in the chairs beside him.
"You’re always ‘starved’," Brian teased.
"Nu uh," Nick replied as the waitress came to help us.
"It’s ok Nilo...He’s just pickin’ on ya cause you’re the youngest..." I said as I gave Nick a sympathetic look. "Wait! I’m the youngest..." I continued in a worried voice.
"Are not! I am!" Mel boasted happily.
Mel slapped Arti ‘five’ before she smiled innocently at the rest of us. After everyone told the waitress what he or she wanted, we continued with our weird conversation.
"So, y’all are coming with us to a club tonight?" I asked with a hopeful smile.
Howie couldn’t resist the weirdness of the moment.
"I’d go anywhere for you..." he sang in a silly voice while we started cracking up.
"You are a goof!" I told him. "Maybe I should lend you my pretty white jacket...you’ll be able to give yourself a hug and you’d be able to visit this room where the walls are covered with pillows!"
"And you would know because?" Kev said to tease me a little.
"I was informed...by...a...by a friend...yeah that’s it," I said with an innocent expression.
"Are you so sure about that?" AJ asked slyly.
"Yeah...you would know..." I joked. "Remember? Oh, I guess you wouldn’t. You can’t remember what you say in your sleep."
Out of the corner of my eye I could see him moving his hand towards my side with tickling fingers. I didn’t move my gaze from the salt shaker in the middle of the table that I was looking at.
"Alex...don’t even think about it," I warned slowly while I moved my chair a few inches away from him and closer to Nick. "My bodyguard here will have to hurt you..."
I leaned on Nick’s shoulder sideways so I was facing AJ and watched curiously as the smile slowly fell from AJ’s face. He seemed almost upset at the sight of me leaning on another guy even though it was only Nick.
"Aaaawww come on! I was only kidding," I said while I moved my chair back to its original position. "He *pointing at Nick* probably wouldn’t be able to hurtcha anyway *laughs*!"
"Gee thanks," Nick said, slugging my right shoulder playfully.
"Ouch!" I yelled out before I doubled over the table and pretended to cry.
My act didn’t last for long though...I couldn’t hold the laughter in any longer.
"You sure are a wimp!" I said to Nick between giggles.
"You’re just noticing that now?" Bri joined in on the teasing.
"Naw...I knew that all along," I replied with a smile.
The food came and we ate our food with a little conversation here and there. When we were done, we sat there and tried to decide what we’d do for the rest of the day. Nick, Mel, and Bri decided that they wanted to go play in the ocean water for a while before the beach got too crowded and there were no protests so we all went to our different rooms to change and get ready.
"Ya know...I think he really cares aboutcha," Arti said as she walked over to one of the dressers and looked for her suit. "I don’t know how you two are going to deal with being so far apart."
"Me either," I replied sadly as I sat down on my bed and lay back on the pillows. "I noticed that you were getting cozy next to Kev though..."
"He is such a nice guy," she replied with a dreamy look on her face before she snapped back to reality. "Well...if ya must know, we talked the whole time yesterday at the Carter’s."
"Oh really?"
"Yep."
"Anything else that I should know about?" I asked sarcastically.
"Uh...no," she said with a playful shrug.
"Sure...I believe you," I replied with an evil grin.
She paid no attention to my silliness and continued hunting for her suit while I grabbed mine and headed for the bathroom to change. I wasn’t really in the mood to go swimming so I wore a pair of shorts and a tank top over my dark green suit. We grabbed a few towels, sunscreen, my cell, book, and Discman before heading down to where the others were already waiting on the warm sand of the beach. I watched them put their towels and things on the beach from behind my dark purple-tinted sunglasses.
"Let’s go!" Mel exclaimed after everyone had set their stuff down and got situated.
"Have fun," I called out after everyone before I lay down on my towel and pulled my Discman out.
It had my ‘Mandy Moore’ CD in it so I put it on random before I slipped the headphones on and closed my eyes. I laid there in the comfort of the warm sun for a while until I felt a pair of freezing hands on my warm arms.
"Holy freak!" I screamed out as I opened my eyes to see Nick sitting beside me. "What was that for?"
"Wanted to make sure you’re still alive!" he said sarcastically with a silly grin. "How come you’re up here all by yourself?"
"I’m not a huge water person...plus I needed to work on my tan," I replied as I sat up. "And you are proof that the water is freezing cold."
"It’s not that cold," he said while wrapping his wet arms around me in a hug just to get me wet.
"Oh my holy heck! You’re freezing! Let go of me...you feel like a wet dog," I joked.
He only hugged me a little tighter when I tried to push him away. At least he was succeeding at getting me wet as well. When I looked up, I saw AJ staring at us from behind the almost-black lenses of my sunglasses. He turned his head away in disgust before he dove back into the churning ocean tide.
"Ok, ok...Can you let go of me already? I think I’m wet enough..." I told Nick with a half-hearted smile.
"Naw...you should come in the water with us," he said as he pulled away and stood up.
I watched them playing happily in the water for a while until they decided to come up on the beach for a little break. AJ wasn’t with them, but I figured he was getting a drink at one of the little stands set up along the beach in various locations.
"I’m going to go get a drink," I told everyone as grabbed some money that was clipped onto the back of my cell and stood up. "Be right back."
I wandered off in the direction of the nearest beverage stand that was about 100 yards from where we were on the beach. The line at the stand was already a few people long, so I strolled up behind the last person in line and waited patiently. After a few seconds of waiting, I moved a few feet closer to the stand and waited again as the next person in line was helped. I got bored after a little while so I looked around to see what was going on out on the beach.
"Oh...my..." I gasped when I saw AJ sitting on a large boulder that was a little ways further down the beach with a busty bimbo box-bleached blond sitting happily on his lap kissing him.
My first instinct was to run up to him and start screaming, but my feet wouldn’t give in to that idea. I immediately turned around and ran back to where my towel was as fast as I could. When I got there, I scooped up my things before anyone could ask what was going on and hastily ran back towards the hotel. I was too shocked and upset to talk to anyone so I just went straight to our room, locked the door, and then locked myself in the bathroom. I slumped down into the large Jacuzzi tub that was opposite of the shower and curled up into a ball before I broke down in sobs.
"Liz?"
Arti called out my name as she let herself into our room. When she heard me crying she knew something was wrong.
"Liz hun...what’s wrong?"
I tried to answer her, but the tears kept coming as the horrible scene scorched my mind.
"Let me try," I could hear Kev say.
I buried my face in my hands and let the bitterness and sadness flow through my falling tears.
"Els...please talk to me...come and open the door," he said calmly through the door.
My ears didn’t hear anything that was being said because I was too emotionally withdrawn to let myself hear what was being said. I only sobbed harder every time someone new tried to coax me into opening the door. It seemed that I cried and sobbed and let all my emotions show for at least an hour before I finally calmed down enough to talk to someone. I could hear the others talking in our room as I pulled myself together and put my ear up to the door.
"Cynthia...Melanie..." I called through the door softly.
The room grew quiet as I waited for a reply.
"Can I talk to you two?" I continued.
"Sure," Mel replied empathetically.
I stepped behind the door so everyone else couldn’t see the horrible shape that I was in and opened the door to let Cynth and Mel in before I locked it again.
"Oh hun..." Mel said as they both gave me a warm hug. "What happened?"
"That’s not important right now," I replied with no emotion. "I need you to talk to Arti and find out which club we’re going to and when. I at least want to have a little fun today..."
Tears formed at the corner of my eyes as I said the last three words.
"I’ll talk to her," Cynth said before they headed for the door.
"And Cynth...could you bring me some clean clothes? I’m gonna take a shower to freshen up a little bit."
"Sure thing," she replied.
I waited until she brought me some clothes and then I hopped into the shower. I made it a quick shower and took even less time getting dressed. When I was done putting my socks and shoes on, I blow dried my hair and put it into an elegant French-braid so it fell down my back to keep it out of my face. I put a little more make-up on my more-than-usual pale face, making sure that I didn’t look like I had been crying for the last two hours. When I had my eyes and cheeks done, I added a little extra lipstick and glitter to my eyelids before I finally turned towards the door to enter the room where everyone else (minus AJ) was hanging out. I did look a little more chic than I usually do because of the extra make-up, but that was the look I was going for. The black eyeliner that I added really made my eyes stand out with a 'mysterious' type of feel that they normally didn’t have. The black pleated skirt which fell right above my knees that Cynth had picked out went perfectly with the white button-up shirt with the large designer-style cuffs that she had paired it up with. I gave myself a fake smile in the mirror before I opened the door and strolled over to my bed with all eyes staring at me in wonder.
"Wow," I heard Nick say to himself as I walked past him and picked up my cell phone and backpack from the table by my bed.
I rolled my eyes at the immaturity of his reaction before I turned my attention to Arti. She handed me a small piece of paper and watched me as I studied it carefully for a few seconds before shoving it in to a pocket in my small backpack.
"I’ll meet ya there," was all I said before I walked out the door...alone.
* Chapter 36 *
I stepped out of the cab after it pulled up in front of the club and paid the driver before he sped off down the street. I had spent most of the last five or six hours walking around the city, staying out of the ‘public eye’ so to speak and just trying to come to terms with myself. I had completely lost my appetite since that morning so I was feeling a little weak from not getting anything to eat, but I would manage for a few more hours.
"Hi," I said to the bouncer with a smile.
"Are you...are you Ellz? That sings with Meggie D?" he asked curiously.
"In the flesh," I replied happily.
"Say...I’ll make you a deal. You can get in free if I can get an autograph for my girlfriend," he reasoned.
"Sure! No problem!" I said as he led me in the doors past the long waiting line.
After I signed a little note and my name on a piece of paper for him, he told me that if I needed anything, I should come find him.
"Thanks," I said with a smile before I turned and headed for the dance floor area.
I stood on the edge of the dance floor before I spotted Arti and Meg sitting at one of the private tables in a dark corner with AJ, Howie, and Kev sitting with them. Arti and Kev were off in their own little world talking about who knows what and the others were trying to carry on a light conversation.
"Oh well," I told myself as I danced off towards the middle of the floor.
After I danced for a while, I took a seat at a far end of the bar and watched as a guy approached Arti at the table. She smiled happily as she stood up and went off to dance with him. Kev didn’t seem to mind much, but I knew he cared at least a little bit. I turned back to the bar and ordered a bottled water (I always drink water!) from the female bartender. I sipped on my water and sat there staring ahead in silence as someone sat down next to me.
"Where ya been?" AJ asked.
When I didn’t answer, he turned to look at me and put his hand on my shoulder.
"Alex, don’t," I said quietly.
"Please don’t be mad at me..." he said.
"I’m not mad. I want you to leave me alone."
"But..."
"I said, leave me alone," I said bitterly with my voice growing louder by the second.
"Excuse me Ellz. Is this guy bothering you?" Marco (the bouncer that let me in free) asked.
"Yes," I said angrily as I hopped off the stool and walked towards where the buff bouncer was standing.
"Follow me ma’am," Marco said as he led me to a secluded area.
"Thanks. I think I’ll be going now," I told him.
"Ok. It was my pleasure," he replied before he led me to the door so I could leave.
I walked out into the warm LA night and began walking toward the hotel. We weren’t really that far from it, so I just opted to walk and try to calm my angered nerves a little. I stopped on the street corner and walked over to one of the payphones that was unoccupied. After I found the page in the phonebook with the airline numbers on it, I ripped it out and started walking again. It took me about an hour and a half to get back to the hotel because I stopped every once in a while at a shop or stand along the way to look at some of the local ‘LA’ fashion. I bought a few cowboy hats and some new shades to go along with the few other pairs that I had.
"Yes I’d like to change my flight..." I said into my cell phone after I got into my room. "Yes. My current flight leaves tomorrow at 12:34 in the afternoon and I’d like to change it to the next possible flight to Salt Lake City."
I pulled the rest of my things into my suitcase as I was speaking to the airline agent on the phone.
"4:23 this morning...that would be great. I’ll take it," I said while I stuffed the last of my clothes in my luggage and attempted to close it. "Just one ticket. *pause* Yes. First class is fine. *pause* Ok. Thank you."
I hung up and began searching the room for any items that I might have left out by mistake. When my luggage was ready to go, my carry-on was packed up, and my small backpack was done, I lay down on the bed and took a deep breath. After lying there for a few relaxing minutes, I got up and wrote a short note to Arti and then another note to Mel and Cynth.
‘Arti ~ I had the time of my life with you these last couple of days! Come and visit me in Salt Lake before you fly back to England.
* Chapter 37 *
The flight from LA to Salt Lake wasn’t that long so I arrived at the Salt Lake International Airport at around 7:30. By the time I got my bags from the baggage claim and got a cab back to my apartment, it was already 8. My cell phone rang the whole way home in the cab and I finally pulled it out and turned the power off to silence the annoying ringing. After I pulled all of my bags out of the cab trunk, I slung them over my shoulders and grabbed my mail before heading up to my place on the third floor.
"Hang on...I’m coming," I said out loud while I put my key in the door.
I could hear the phone ringing inside so I hurriedly dragged my bags in and dropped them on the floor inside the door. It said ‘Unavailable’ on my caller ID so I was skeptical whether to pick it up or not. The ringing didn’t stop after like 8 rings so I reached out and picked it up.
"Hello..." I said in an agitated voice.
"Liz! You’re there," Cynth said in a relieved voice. "Is everything ok?"
"Ummm...things are ok now," I replied, careful to not give away any information. "I can’t talk for long though...I need to call the station."
"Alrighty. I just wanted to make sure you got there ok," she said.
I said goodbye before I turned my attention back to my bags. I unpacked everything and put things back where they belonged. When I was done, I didn’t really have anything to do that day so I decided to go to the station and catch up on all the work that I’d missed the last couple of days. I grabbed my ‘moon man’ award with my name on it and jumped in my truck to be on my way.
"Hi Jay," I called out to him as I passed the open door to his office before I continued down the hall to my tiny room that they called an office.
My ‘office’ was barely big enough to hold a desk, but it was all mine and I didn’t have to worry about anyone bugging me ‘cause there wasn’t any room for visitors. I put the award on top of a file cabinet that I had in the corner and sat down at my desk to get to work.
"Hey Ellz. Congrats on winning the award," he said happily from his position in the doorway.
"Thanks," I replied with a smile. "I just thought I’d come and catch up a little," I said as I started looking through the piles and mounds of papers on my desk.
"You have gotten literally hundreds of e-mails and letters in the last couple days. Have fun," he told me.
"Gee thanks."
I watched him disappear back down the hallway before I turned back to my ‘once clean’ desk. I sat there at my desk reading paper after paper after memo after paper until it was almost 5:30 that evening. A local pizzeria had brought free pizza for lunch so I wasn’t hungry at all. I glanced at the clock on the wall by the small window next to my desk and ruthlessly continued sorting through papers. There was a knock on my semi-open door.
"Come in," I said without looking up from the memo that I was reading.
I hardly paid any attention to the figure that stood in my doorway, watching me busily reading the paper in my hands.
"You look busy," the voice said.
"I am VERY busy," I replied.
My eyes slowly moved from the paper to the body of the person and finally to his face.
"What are you doing here?" I asked with an angry glare. "I thought I told you to leave me alone."
I hastily straightened the messy pile of papers on my desk before I stood up, grabbed my small bag and jacket, turned off the light, and walked out into the hallway, leaving him behind. I quickly walked down the hall towards the stairs to the parking lot.
"Night Jay," I called out as I passed his office on my way out.
"Night," he replied.
I hopped into my truck and left the building hurriedly. After stopping at Wendy’s for some food, I drove down the road towards my place. I pulled over for a few minutes when I heard my cell phone ringing from inside my bag.
"Speak to me."
"Liz...where are you?" Nick asked.
"I think I should be asking you that..."
He didn’t say anything.
"Since I know you guys are in town, I’m going to visit my sister and her family for a little while. At least I know I won’t be bothered there," I said with a sigh.
I could hear Mel say something in the background.
"Are you in my apartment?!?"
"Uh...yeah," he replied in a hesitant voice. "Melanie let us in."
"Mental note to self...change the locks..." I said out loud. "Look...I am really busy with all the stuff that I missed at work...and I’m tired...and I’m not really in the mood to deal with this whole stupid situation right now. I’ve got to go."
I hung up, turned my truck around, and headed for the southbound freeway. When I reached Provo, I pulled off the freeway and quickly went to Mel and Cynth’s place. I grabbed some of the extra clothes that I always kept there and was gone as quickly as I had come.
Traffic on the freeway going south was unusually busy as I drove into the canyon that separated the Utah Valley area from Sanpete County. I blared the ‘Dixie Chicks’ CD that was playing as I drove along the windy road. When I finally pulled into the tiny city of Mount Pleasant the familiar setting surrounded me. It was a small town that I visited frequently, mostly just to visit my sister, brother-in-law, and their two kids. They lived in a quaint little ‘storybook’ looking house that was delicately placed on one of the city’s quiet streets.
"Oh crap!" I said to myself when I remembered that my sister and her hubby were out of town on a cruise trip for a week.
The kids were staying at a neighbor’s house so I just decided to pick them up and tend them at their home for a few days to ‘relieve the neighbors’. By the time I pulled up to the neighbor’s to pick them up, Stets was already asleep and Kalee wanted to stay the night.
"She can stay for tonight, but I’ll take him with me," I said as I pulled the sleeping boy from the neighbor’s tired arms.
I took Stets home and held him in my lap on the couch until he was asleep again while I watched the TV. He looked so peaceful and innocent while he was sleeping, but I knew that while he was awake he could be a holy terror! After the local news was over I took him up to his bed before I went to bed myself.
I was at my sister’s house for two days without interruption from any unwanted people and I was actually enjoying my little ‘vacation’ so to speak. Kalee was back at her mother’s house (my sister and brother-in-law have joint custody with her biological mom) and Stets was content with watching movies all day long so it was pretty quiet on the home front...for now.
* Chapter 38 *
"Let’s go to the park," I suggested to Stets while he was eating his Spaghettio’s on the floor in front of the TV/stereo. "You wanna go to the park?"
"Yeah!" he yelled out happily.
"Ok! Finish eating your lunch," I instructed from my position on the couch.
I watched him as he excitedly ate his soup and finished off his drink. ‘Roly Poly Oly’ was playing on the TV and he was watching it avidly while I got up and searched the rooms on the main level for his two coveted ‘blankies’. When ‘Oly’ was over I wrapped him up in his blankies and gathered him in my arms. I carried him up the stairs to his tiny room and tucked him in.
"We’ll go to the park when you get up from your nap," I whispered to him before I kissed his cheek.
"Ok," he replied.
After I turned the mobile on above his bed (he can’t get to sleep without it going), I walked to the door and smiled at him as I watched him from the doorway.
"Love you!"
"Wuv you too Wiz," he replied.
I smiled to myself as I shut his door and proceeded down the stairs to find something relaxing to do while he was sleeping. After I fixed myself something to eat, I went back up the stairs to my sister and brother-in-law’s room ‘cause I decided I’d get online and check out how things were going with the station’s site and to check my e~mail. I logged onto one of the many messenger programs that I had and went about my other business, not really paying attention to the messenger until someone IMed me.
blueeyediver: Hi.
elsabeth99: Hi...do I know you?
blueeyediver: Yes.
elsabeth99: I do?
blueeyediver: Yes even though you don’t realize it.
elsabeth99: Oh.
blueeyediver: You should know me...I’m on your computer.
elsabeth99: You’re what?
blueeyediver: I’m on your computer in your apartment... :o)
elsabeth99: Funny Nick...
blueeyediver: Oh no! You blew my cover... ;)
elsabeth99: Funny...*sighs*
elsabeth99: You’re still at my place?
blueeyediver: Yeah. The guys are at a hotel, but I was bored and Melanie let me borrow her key.
elsabeth99: Ugh.
blueeyediver: What?
elsabeth99: I can’t believe you are sitting in my apartment, probably going through my stuff... *rolls my eyes*
blueeyediver: I’m not going through your stuff...unless you want me to... ;)
elsabeth99: Just...don’t touch ANYTHING!
elsabeth99: Not even the papers that you’re looking at on my desk...I know you are looking at them so DON’T!
blueeyediver: Ok ok...geez!
elsabeth99: Hey...don’t even give me that crap! You’re the one in MY apartment.
blueeyediver: I know.
elsabeth99: :oP
blueeyediver: So, when are you coming back?
elsabeth99: *shrugs* When you-know-who is gone.
blueeyediver: Oh come on...you’ve got talk to him sometime!
elsabeth99: I don’t HAVE to do anything...
elsabeth99: And believe me...I won’t.
blueeyediver: Will you at least tell me where you are.
elsabeth99: I already did tell you where I am.
blueeyediver: You did?
elsabeth99: Yeah...remember? I told you I was going to my sister’s...Duh!
blueeyediver: Yeah well...that doesn’t help me much.
elsabeth99: So...
blueeyediver: I don’t know where your sister even lives.
elsabeth99: I know. That’s the whole point!
blueeyediver: Why are you doing this to me?
elsabeth99: ME doing this to YOU? LOL
elsabeth99: I don’t know what you’re talking about.
blueeyediver: Come on Liz...Since you won’t tell me where you’re stayin’ will you meet me somewhere for lunch tomorrow?
elsabeth99: Sorry...can’t. Maybe on Saturday.
blueeyediver: Saturday it is then. What are ya going to be doing tomorrow that you can’t do on Saturday?
elsabeth99: Can’t tell you that.
blueeyediver: Why not? You’re not going to be breaking the law are you?
elsabeth99: LOL...far from.
elsabeth99: Let’s just say that I finally got the opportunity to do something that you used to do on a daily basis when you were younger in Florida.
blueeyediver: Huh?
elsabeth99: Hahaha! I bet you won’t have it figured out by our little lunch date on Saturday.
blueeyediver: Maybe...maybe not... :o)
elsabeth99: I’ll rely on maybe not.
blueeyediver: One question...does it have anything to do with sports?
elsabeth99: Mmmmm...maybe.
blueeyediver: So that’s a yes.
elsabeth99: I didn’t say that.
blueeyediver: :o)
elsabeth99: Don’t look at me in that tone of voice...LOL
blueeyediver: Huh?
elsabeth99: Nevermind.
blueeyediver: Ok.
elsabeth99: Well, I have to go...have to practice for tomorrow. :o)
blueeyediver: Don’t go...
elsabeth99: Have to. Sorry!
blueeyediver: Liz! Stay for a few more minutes!
I closed the IM and logged off before he could IM me anymore. After going downstairs, I turned on the TV to see what was on. Nothing of particular interest was on so I put a few CD’s in the stereo and played them rather loudly. I sang along half-heartedly as the music blared from the large speakers placed on each side of the entertainment center that held the stereo and TV. The time passed by quickly as I cleaned up the things that were scattered all over the floor.
"Wiz! Wiz! Let me out!" Stets called from his room as he tried to open the locked door.
Heidi and Shane had to put eyehole locks on the three doors upstairs because Stets had been known to get into things. I went up and unlocked the door for him and carried him down the stairs in my arms.
"You still wanna go to the park?"
"Yeah! Let’s go outside ok?" he exclaimed.
"Ok! We have to get some shoes and socks on you first."
I sat him down on the couch while I went upstairs to get his socks and shoes from his room. I put them on him and we hopped in my truck and headed to the park that was on the same street about 6 blocks down. The kids from school were already gone for the day so it was only us.
"I’n gonna get you," Stets warned me as we approached the small structure made of a tunnel, a few platforms, and a few slides.
"Oh no!" I said in a high pitched voice so it seemed like I was scared while I ran up one of the ramps.
He chased me around for a few minutes until I turned around and started chasing him. He seemed to like that because every once in a while when he’d turn back and see me lagging behind him a little he’d stop and say ‘You can’t get me...’ before he started laughing and screaming as he ran off. After he was all pooped out from running around, I picked him up and went over to the swings. I sat down on one of them and put him on my lap in the ‘spider’ position so he was hugging me while we swung back and forth.
"Weeeeeee!" he squealed in delight even though we weren’t going very high.
A car honked as it passed so I told him to wave.
"There’s Audree. Wave," I said when I noticed who’s car it was.
He waved excitedly as the car passed by. The park was right along the street so every once in a while a car would pass by and he’d wave to it even if he didn’t know who it was. We stood up and I watched him as he played on the playground for a few more minutes until he came back up to me.
"Let’s go silly," I told him after he wrapped his arms around my legs in a hug.
"Look..." he said as he pointed to a limo that passed by on the main street of town. "Big car."
"Yep. That’s a big car," I said with a laugh as I picked him up and carried him to my truck.
It was starting to get dark by the time I got him in and was ready to go back home. I wasn’t really in the mood to fix dinner or anything so I opted to go to one of the two fast food places in town. When we pulled up to ‘George’s’ (author’s note ~ I changed the name) he insisted on going in with me.
"I wanna Pooh bear," he said after we went in the tiny building.
He pointed to a stuffed Pooh bear that was in a claw machine along with a Blue’s Clues stuffed dog.
"Blue skadoo...I can too," he sang happily as he admired the toys while I ordered our food.
"Do you wanna eat here?" I asked him after he ran up and grabbed my hand when a man walked in the door.
"Yeah," he answered.
"For here," I told the girl behind the counter.
With Stets in my arms I walked over to the claw machine and let him point out all the different stuffed animals to me.
"You want one?"
"Yes," he replied with a cute shy smile.
"You’re such a QT!" I told him while I set him down and fished in my pocket for two quarters.
After two tries, I finally managed to get one of the Blue dogs that he had been eyeing before. I handed it to him, set him down at one of the few tables, and went to get our food from the counter. When I walked back to the table, I could hear him singing softly to himself.
"Here’s the mail it never fails it makes me wanna wag my tail..."
He stopped singing and put his hands over his face in embarrassment when he saw that I was watching him.
"Silly kid!" I said as I set the food down on the table and took a seat on the opposite side of him.
He smiled at me and dug into his food after I set it in front of him.
"Sanks..." he said while he picked up a fry and stuck it in his mouth.
"Welcome."
* Chapter 39 *
"Don’t go in the road," I called to Stets.
He ran across the grass and stopped at the edge to wait for me to catch up. ‘He looks so cute with that backpack on...just like a big boy’ I thought to myself with a smile as I walked up to him and stuck out my hand. I was taking him to the neighbor’s house while I was gone for a little while.
"Testing...testing...1...2...3..." a voice could be heard saying over the PA system at the High School’s football field that was a few blocks away.
Since the house was only a few blocks away from the High School (and the fact that we were in a VERY small town) everyone could hear the speakers from the field whether you lived next door or across town (which still wouldn’t be that far).
"It’s loud enough already," I said sarcastically as I walked with Stets across the street.
We walked up to the house that was across the street and down the road a little from ours.
"Hi," Audree said when she opened the door and saw us standing on the porch.
"Thank you soooo much Audree! I owe ya one."
"Oh, it’s no problem," she replied.
"He’s got a change of clothes in his backpack...just in case. I shouldn’t be gone for too long. The game starts at 7 so I should be around no later than 8-8:30," I told her.
"Ok."
"Thanks again," I called out as I walked across the grass and made my way home.
The principal of the High School was one of the neighbors up the street and she had called me two days ago, hoping that she’d either reach me or talk to my sister so she could talk to me. She said that the group that was going to perform at the game canceled at the last minute and they needed a replacement. I told her that I’d be more than glad to do it. She had informed me to be there about 30 minutes early to meet in the choir room to warm up.
The school door was unlocked right where she said it would be so I headed to the choir room quickly because I was already a few minutes late. The room was empty so I walked in and turned on the light before I went to the piano. I played a few simple scales and did some exercises to warm up and relax at the same time. Luckily I had brought a pitch pipe so I wouldn’t have to pick a note out of the blue when I got out on the field. After I felt like I was ready, I wandered out to the stands and up to the press box.
"Here’s the mic. Flip this switch to ‘on’ when you get out there and back to ‘off’ when you’re done. I’ll be down on the track waiting so you won’t have to try and come up here to give it to me," one of the tech guys explained to me as people started filling the stands.
The student band began playing and the crowd was getting into the whole mood of the night right away. I walked down onto the track to where the principal and a few teachers were waiting for the players to come out. After the players were lined up on either side of the field, the principal turned to me and gave me a smile.
"You’re up."
I smiled back before I broke through the line of football players and coaches. When I got to the middle of the field on the 50 yard line I stopped and turned around so I was facing the flag that they had hanging on a pole by the score board. I turned on my mic and held it down to my side as I gave myself my pitch on with my other hand. I watched as the crowd on both sides of the field stood and put their hands over their hearts.
"...Oh say, can you see, by the dawn’s early light what so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming... e "
I could hear my own voice echoing in the distance as I sang.
"...O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave."
The crowd went wild when I was finished. I turned the mic off and walked off the field in the same direction that I had come while the referees and team captains met on the field for the coin toss. After I gave the mic back I headed across the parking lot and started walking back. The slight breeze blowing through my hair was making the temperature seem colder than it really was as I walked along the quaint row of houses on the desolate city’s streets. Everyone was at the game so there really wasn’t much going on rather than the sound of the band playing school spirit songs and people cheering players on. When I finally reached Audree’s house I was kind of cold so I hurried up to the door.
"Thanks again," I told her after she handed the sleeping boy over to me.
"You’re welcome," she replied as I started across the lawn towards the house.
‘What the...’ I said to myself when I saw a black limo parked on the 5 feet of gravel that was between the grass and road in front of the house. I walked over to the driver’s window and lightly knocked on the glass.
"Yes?" the driver asked after he rolled down the window a little.
"Um...this is my house and I want to know why you’re parked here," I said as nicely as I could.
"I’m not in liberty to discuss that," the driver replied politely.
I gave him a confused look and decided not to try and get any more info from him. I shifted Stets in my arms so he was laying with his head on my shoulder and walked around the back end of the limo towards the back door of the house.
I put Stets to bed and went downstairs to the small bedroom that was in the front corner of the house. After I switched on the small stereo that was sitting on one of the shelves, I found my Mandy Moore CD and turned the volume down a little. I listened to a few of the songs until the song came on that expressed exactly what I felt. I sang along with the quiet music as I leaned up against the wall and felt the breeze coming from the open windows.
"You were my first slow dance...thought that we had a chance, but together was too hard for you. Hanging out with your friends and I accept these things, all I need is for you to be true," I sang while I remembered scenes of the last few days. "I know you care, but it’s just not fair. When you’re not around, I want you there. And you need to stop breaking my heart. Quit breaking my heart. It’s tearing apart. All I need is for you to be true..."
My eyes filled with tears. I leaned up against the wall and slid down so I was sitting against it with my knees up to my chest.
"Baby I don’t feel this way ‘bout everyone. Something about you boy, nothing seems to be quite like this. Holding your hand touching my face, standing here waiting for our first kiss. I know you care, but it’s just not fair. When you’re not around, I want you there. And you need to stop breaking my heart."
I couldn’t even finish the chorus because it hurt to think about hurting. The lonely feeling set in and I sat there wondering what went wrong. I cried while the song played on and then went to another when it was done.
"Liz?" a voice said softly from outside.
I looked up at the blind-covered window that faced the street, paralyzed with fear. I quickly stood up and shut the other open window before I reached my hand around the blinds and closed the window where the voice was coming from. The light in the room was off so the only thing that was on was the music. After I turned the CD off, I left the room and locked the front door before I went and sat down on the couch. It was quiet for a few minutes as I sat there, listening for whatever or whoever was outside. I jumped when the chimes of the doorbell from the back door echoed in the house, breaking the eerie silence. ‘Who is it?’ I asked myself as I slowly got off the couch and went to the back door. I lifted one of the blinds and peeked outside.
"How did you find this house?" I asked after I opened the door.
"Simple. I called Courtney, but she wasn’t home so I talked to someone else...I think it was Tina...yeah that’s it. She not only told me the address, but she also gave me directions," Nick explained.
I wiped underneath my eyes with my hands as he talked.
"You ok?" he asked.
"No."
He moved closer to the door and put his hand on my shoulder.
"Wanna talk about it?"
"No."
"Ok."
"I guess you can come in," I said as I stepped back and opened the door a little more.
"That’d be good," he replied as he followed me in the door.
I walked into the living room where the couch was and waited for him to follow.
"I guess you’ll be staying here tonight cause you won’t want to go all the way back to my place," I said while I gestured for him to have a seat on the couch.
"That’s fine with me," he replied.
"Look...I’m tired so I’m gonna go upstairs and go to sleep. You can watch TV or whatever until you’re ready to sleep. You can use this," I said after I went and got a dark green down comforter from one of the closets.
"Ok. I’m just going to go tell the driver real quick," he replied as he stood up and headed for the back door.
I headed upstairs and took my shoes off at the end of my sister’s high waterbed before I climbed up on it and lay down. Instead of borrowing some pajamas, I just decided to sleep in my clothes and then change the next morning. When I heard the sound of the door opening and closing, I knew that Nick was back. I could hear footsteps coming up the stairs so I just figured that he was saying goodnight before he went back downstairs. When I looked up, I could barely see when two figures walked in the dark room. The taller of the two was standing by the door and I could tell that it was Nick. I sat up and let my eyes adjust to the darkness so I could see who it was that just took a seat in the chair at the computer desk.
"What’s going on?" I insisted when I finally figured out that AJ was the one sitting in the chair looking at me.
I started to panic and hopped off the bed towards the door but I was too late because Nick had already walked out and shut it.
"See you in the morning," Nick called from the other side of the door as he locked it from the outside so we couldn’t get out.
"Nick? Nick!? Let me out of here!" I yelled while I pounded on the door. "Nick!!!!"
Tears ran down my cheeks in frustration as I started to panic again.
"Nick...please let me out," I pleaded through the door.
I could hear his footsteps going down the stairs when he didn’t respond.
"No...NO!!! Come back!" I screamed as I started to hyperventilate.
I was kind of loud and I instantly regretted it when I heard Stets trying to open his door.
"Wiz...wiz let me out wiz..." he called out in his cute three-year-old dialect.
Nick came up and opened his door ‘cause when Stets saw that it wasn’t me he screamed his head off. I moved away from the door when I heard Nick unlocking it. He opened it and Stets practically jumped out of his arms and into mine when he saw me standing by the door.
"I’m sorry...it’s ok," I said to Stets as I held him in my arms to calm him down a little.
The door shut and Nick locked it again. Stets wrapped his arms around me and lay his head down on my shoulder as if to tell me that he wanted to go back to sleep. I got up on the bed and laid him down next to me. He was asleep within a few minutes, but it took me a little bit longer to fall asleep than it did for him.
My head hurt from the light when I opened my eyes the next morning. I sat up and found Stets still asleep next to me and AJ still sitting in the chair covered with a blanket with his head leaned against the back. I quietly got off the bed and reached for a change of clothes that I brought with me from Cynthia and Melanie’s place. ‘I can’t believe Nick left me in here with him...’ I thought angrily as I unfolded the clothes and set them on the bed. AJ opened his eyes and lifted his head from the back of the chair to see me standing by the door watching him.
"Turn around so I can get dressed," I said when he looked up at me.
I waited until he was facing the other way and then I changed from the clothes that I was wearing from the day before into an old pair of faded jeans and a grungy looking T-shirt. After I slipped on my shoes, I gave Stets a kiss on the cheek and went to check the door. When I found it unlocked already I opened it hastily and practically flew down the stairs towards the bathroom, not even noticing that Kev, Bri, Nick, Howie, Mel, and Meg were sitting on the couch and floor watching some show on the TV.
I walked out of the bathroom a few minutes later and headed straight for the back door, only stopping long enough to grab the saddle and stuff that was right inside the door. I walked out the door with the saddle in my arms and headed for the back of the 1.5-acre lot to where the horses were in their ‘homemade’ corral. I didn’t look back when I heard the door open behind me.
"Where ya goin?" Nick called out to me.
I didn’t even bother answering but instead continued walking until I got to the horses. When the horse was ready to go for a ride I led her out of the corral and over to the dirt ‘road’ that went from the back of the property to the front. I hopped on her back into the saddle and started her off walking until we got to the road.
* Chapter 40 *
The ride was a refreshing one due to the chilly early morning breeze that blew through my hair as I rode around town. Everyone once in a while someone would come up and pet the horse and make small talk before I kept going. I was gone for about an hour and a half before I turned around and went back. I put the horse back in the corral and carried the saddle back towards the house, stopping at my truck on the way to get some CD’s.
"Hey Kev...when you were working at Disney, which ninja turtle were you?" I heard Meg ask Kev in the other room as I walked in the door.
"Uh...the purple one...Donnatello I think it was. Why?" he replied.
"It might sound weird, but I met you before when I was younger...Mr. Ninja Turtle. We went to DisneyWorld and I met the purple turtle...it’s funny that never occurred to me before now," she explained with a laugh.
"That’s pretty freaky," Howie teased.
"Oh be quiet," Meg playfully replied.
I walked into the room and opened the glass door of the entertainment center where the stereo was. After I turned it on, I put the CD’s in the player and turned the volume up so I would be able to hear it while I took my daily shower. The room grew quiet when I had walked in and it stayed that way until I walked out again. I gathered some clean clothes and a towel before heading to the bathroom.
‘I’m doing this tonight. You’re probably gonna start a fight. I know this can’t be right...hey baby...come on. I loved you endlessly and you weren’t there for me so now its time to leave and make it alone. I know that I can’t take no more, it ain’t no lie. I want to see you out that door baby bye bye bye’ played through the door while I took my shower. ‘Don’t wanna be a fool for you, just another player in your game for two. You may hate me but it ain’t no lie...baby bye bye bye. Don’t really wanna make it tough. I just wanna tell you that I’ve had enough. Might sound crazy but it ain’t no lie. Baby bye bye bye. Just hit me with the truth now, girl you’re more than welcome to so give me one good reason baby come on. I live for you and me and now I’ve really come to see that life would be much better once you’re gone. I know that I can’t take no more...’ (Bye Bye Bye by *NSync)
‘Subtle hint? Naw...’ I thought to myself as I stepped out onto the heated marble-tiled floor. Another song came on as I got dressed and did my hair.
‘An empty room...A broken fairytale...A hollow girl with empty arms. From an angels tears God made the stars. Why can’t he make me an unbreakable heart? In my blue world you shone like heaven’s fire and left me cryin’ in the dark. How could anyone be so hard? Did you think I had an unbreakable heart? I suppose I should know sometimes love just comes and goes, but I believed, foolish me, we’d go on and on. One day someone will come to you and rock you tightly in her arms. Please remember this when you drop your guard...nobody has an unbreakable heart. From an angel’s wings to a fallen star, God makes everything but unbreakable hearts.’ (Unbreakable Heart by Jessica Andrews)
When the song was finished I opened the door and headed to the kitchen to get a drink of water. My hair was still wet, but I put it up into a bun so it wouldn’t bother me all day. I was all dressed and ready to go when I came out. Everyone was talking in hushed voices in the other room so I knew they were probably talking about me. I got a drink from the tap and turned towards the living room where everyone else was. Stets was sitting on the couch in-between Mel and Nick and he seemed to be having a good time. I stood in the doorway for a few seconds before anyone noticed that I was standing there. Nick was about to say something to me, but I didn’t really give him the chance. I turned around and went through the kitchen and up the stairs to gather my things together. It only took about five minutes to put everything in my truck. When I came back inside, I stood at the doorway again and watched Stets sitting on Nick’s lap playing with Nick’s spiky blond hair.
"Come here Stets...it’s time to go see Coltin," I said after a few seconds.
"Coltin!" he screamed as he clapped his hands excitedly.
He jumped off Nick’s lap and ran into my arms. I picked him up and walked over to the couch by where Nick and Mel were sitting and grabbed his blankies.
"I need a luv," I whispered to Stets.
"I wuv you," he said as he gave me a big 3-year-old bear hug.
"Thanks. I love you too."
He pulled his blankies up to his chin while I carried him through the house and out the door.
"Mommy and Daddy will come pick you up tomorrow," I told Stets before he ran off into Audree’s house to find her son (Coltin).
"Thanks Audree. I guess I’ll see ya next time I’m in town," I said before I left.
I walked in the house to find everyone still sitting in the same seats as before, talking avidly in their weird conversation.
"Sorry to break up this party, but we have to leave now. I’m leaving so that means you all have to leave too," I told them when they looked up to see me standing in the door.
After locking the front door, I waited for everyone to go outside before I locked the back door as well. Kev hopped into the driver seat of a Suburban that they rented and started the engine. AJ, Howie, Brian, Meg, and Mel all hopped in too. Kev rolled down his window.
"Sorry Nick...no room," he said with a shrug.
Kev rolled up the window and turned to make sure everyone had their seatbelts on before he backed the truck up and left.
"You guys rented a Suburban...I mean gas hog...just to drive down here?!? You guys are crazy," I said as I walked over to my truck and unlocked the doors. "Guess you’ll have to ride with me."
"Yeah well...you wouldn’t want me to walk back to your place wouldya?" he teased.
"Actually..." I started to say before I pushed the ‘unlock’ button to let him in.
I waited until he got in and shut the door before I continued.
"I can’t believe you did that to me last night," I said with a mad face.
He shrugged his shoulders.
"Did you guys talk at all?"
"Hmph...I told him to turn around so I could change this morning...does that count?" I asked as I started the engine and backed up.
"No, that doesn’t count."
I drove down the road for a few minutes, thinking of something to say.
"I told you I wasn’t going to do anything unless I WANTED to," I said in slightly annoyed voice.
I turned the radio on and adjusted the volume so it was loud enough to be heard probably a block away. It was a nice day so I rolled my window down and kept driving until we caught up with Kev and the others going about 5 under the speed limit.
"Hurry up slowpoke," I hollered at the windshield as I honked the horn a few times. "Geez..."
When the coast was clear on the other side of the road, I sped up and passed him. After I pulled back into the left lane, I didn’t exactly slow down much so within a few minutes the Suburban had disappeared from the view of my rearview mirror.
"Who taught him how to drive?" I mumbled to myself as I switched radio stations to find a good song while I kept my eyes on the road.
"I think we should be asking who taught you how to drive..." Nick replied.
I glared at him before I turned my attention back to the road.
"I got a 96% on my driving test thank you very much... Besides, I’m not breaking the law...they can’t pull you over unless you’re going 7 or over the speed limit anyway."
He gave me a skeptical look.
"I had a neighbor that was a police officer and he told me."
"Oh," was all he said.
"Ya know what?"
"Hmm..."
"I bet they’ll drop Mel off on their way through," I said.
"So..."
"Wanna wait for ‘em there? I mean, it might be a little while, but we could wait inside and all ‘cause I have a key," I suggested.
"Sure...but only if you’re sure they won’t mind."
"I know that they won’t mind. I basically live at their place when I’m in town and they live at mine when they come to visit me," I said, keeping my eyes on the road.
We had just come out of Springville canyon when I remembered something silly that Meg had told me a few weeks before. ‘Well...boy bands? You wanna know what I think about ‘em? That’s a silly kind of question...ummm. Let’s see. Let’s put it like this: Cuties with booties and hotties with bodies!’ she told me one afternoon when I was talking to her on the phone for some exclusive interview questions for my radio show. ‘Let’s just hope Howie didn’t hear that...he might get jealous’ I teased her. I giggled at the memory that played in my mind as I drove down the freeway.
"What?!?" Nick asked. "What’s so funny?"
"Nothing..." I said happily with a smile.
We pulled up to Mel and Cynth’s place after about twenty more minutes of driving.
"Let’s just sit out here and wait," Nick said after I pulled into the driveway.
"Ok," I said in a confused voice.
I watched as Nick leaned his head back on the headrest and closed his eyes. I put the truck in park and turned the engine off, but left it on ‘accessory’ so we could listen to the radio. ‘Back at One’ played through the speakers as we sat in silence.
"So...where are we going for lunch?" I asked after the song changed to a more up-beat one.
He opened his eyes and looked at me for a few seconds before he said anything.
"I dunno. I’ve only been to Salt Lake a few times, so maybe you should pick somewhere to eat."
"Eeeewwww! Goody! My choice..." I exclaimed with a cheesy smile. "Whatdya have a hankering for?"
"Something good," he replied with an innocent smile.
"Duh!"
I playfully smacked his arm before I noticed the Suburban pulling up next to us in the driveway.
"Pretend like you’re sleeping," I whispered to him before I leaned my head back and closed my eyes.
Nick softly laughed as he pulled a sweatshirt that I had sitting between the two seats over his head so his laughing face wouldn’t be visible to everyone outside.
"Ssshhh! They’re coming," I whispered.
A few seconds later someone tapped lightly on the window of my locked truck door. We could hear what they were saying even though none of the windows were open. There was another few taps on the window when we didn’t respond.
"Uh...guys?" Kev said to Howie, AJ, and Bri.
Howie was the first one to walk over next to where Kev was standing outside my door looking in.
"Wha...huh?...geez she looks like she passed out or something," Howie teased before a worried look appeared on his face.
My head was slumped to the right on my shoulder and the seat with my mouth open a little and my hands lying limply in my lap.
"You don’t think..." Kev suggested in a worried voice. "Oh no..." he began to say over and over again in a worried voice.
Someone tried to open Nick’s door but found it locked as well. Kev frantically pulled on my handle a few times only to come to the conclusion that we were locked in. I could hear Nick softly giggling underneath my sweatshirt and I fought to keep myself from moving. ‘Oops! I Did It Again’ was playing softly on the radio as everyone outside began freaking out. I opened one of my eyes a sliver and saw that no one was looking in. I turned the radio up loud so the bass from the pair of two foot woofers under the seats was vibrating the glass of the windows and resumed my same slumped over position.
‘I think I did it again. I made you believe we’re more than just friends. Oh baby...it might seem like a crush but it doesn’t mean that I’m serious. ‘Cause to lose all my senses, that is just so typically me...ooooh baby baby. Oops! I did it again. I played with your heart, got lost in the game. Oh baby baby... Oops! You think I’m in love...that I’m sent from above. I’m not that innocent.'
"What the..." I barely heard Bri say.
Someone lightly pounded on the window again, but neither of us stirred.
"I think they’re playin’ us..." Bri said.
"Ya think?" Howie inquired as if he was unsure.
I slowly moved my left hand to the auto-window button on the door and apparently none of them saw me moving. I rolled our windows down about a half an inch and smiled as the music filled the air in and outside of the truck. I sat up and ripped the sweatshirt from Nick’s head and started mouthing words to the song.
‘I cry watching the days...Don’tcha see I’m a fool in so many ways, but to lose all my senses that is just so typically me baby. Oops! I did it again. I played with your heart, got lost in the game. Oh baby baby... Oops! You think I’m in love...that I’m sent from above. I’m not that innocent. Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah...’
"But I thought the old lady dropped it into the ocean in the end," I said along with the radio edit.
"Well baby, I went down and got it for ya," Nick said the guy’s part.
"Awww! You shouldn’t have," I continued with a fake swooning girl’s voice.
"I know..." Nick grumbled sarcastically as he rolled his eyes.
"Hey!"
I smacked him lightly upside the head and then we both burst into laughter.
"You two are gonna get it!!!!!" Kev yelled from outside my door.
I laughed harder when I saw his angry face staring at us through the window. After I started the engine again, I rolled up the windows and playfully stuck my tongue out at him. That just made him even madder than he already was.
"Look at Gramps here...he looks pretty mad," I said to Nick, pointing at a very angry Kev.
Nick stopped laughing when he saw the ‘death glare’ the Kev was giving him. Mel had already gone inside so she had no idea what was happening on the driveway of her place. AJ walked up next to Kev and watched what was going on. Bri and Howie were standing in front of my truck talking to Meg in their own conversation as Kev and AJ watched Nick and I talking and laughing.
"Pssst!"
I motioned for Nick to lean over.
"Why are they watching us like that?" I whispered in his ear.
He shrugged slightly as he looked over my shoulder at Kev and AJ.
"AJ’s probably jealous and Kev’s mad..." he answered.
"Ok...I know Kev’s mad, but why would AJ be jealous?" I whispered back. "Like he even cares what I do...I don’t care what he does anymore so why should he care what I do?"
"Because he cares aboutcha."
"Apparently not enough," I replied before I sat up straight and folded my arms in protest.
It was silent for a few minutes as I sat there looking at the dials and gauges of my dashboard.
"Ready for some lunch?" I finally asked.
"Shouldn’t we get them *points at the other guys* back to the hotel or at least your place first? I know Kev would get totally lost otherwise."
"Fine...but you talk to them," I said while I stared at the display on my CD player.
"Ok."
"And Nick?"
I paused for a second.
"Thanks," I said as I gave him a little hug.
"Welcome," he replied before he opened his door and hopped out.
I watched him as he walked around the front end of the truck past Bri, Howie, and Meg and continued on to where AJ and Kev were standing.
"Nice prank," Kev said in an annoyed voice.
"Yeah...what were ya trying to prove?" AJ chimed in.
Nick put his hands up in defense.
"Hey...it wasn’t my idea. I was just playing along..."
I zoned out on their conversation and turned my eyes back to the other three in front of my truck, but only found two there. I saw Bri walking towards the passenger door so I reached down to push the auto-lock button, but didn’t quite make it in time. He opened the door and climbed in before he locked it again.
"Ya know...that wasn’t very funny. You really had us scared there for a little while."
He spoke in a serious voice as he stared at me with his ice blue eyes.
"Well...I didn’t think that you’d, ya know, have a heart attack," I replied.
He cracked a smile at my stupid remark.
"I couldn’t have done it better myself!" he exclaimed. "It really looked like you were unconscious."
I laughed at his silliness and watched him as he climbed out and shut the door behind him. Meg inched her way past Kev and the others towards the driver’s seat of the Suburban where Kev had left the keys in the ignition. I laughed when she hopped in and locked the doors. No one noticed that she was in there until they heard the sound of the automatic door locks being locked. I leaned over the steering wheel and laughed as Kev scrambled to the driver’s side where Meg was and pleaded with her to open the door. I rolled down my window and hollered to Kev.
"Just let the poor girl drive! I’m sure she’ll get there faster anyway."
Nick and Bri laughed at what I had said.
"She can’t drive...the only other people on the papers are Bri and AJ...And AJ’s not driving cause, well, to put it bluntly, he’s a crazy-lunatic..."
"No duh..." I said a little too loud.
AJ looked at me with a shocked expression as Kev continued.
"If Bri wants to drive I’m fine with that," he finished.
"Fine...I’ll drive," Bri finally gave in. "Even though I’m not really looking forward to it."
Meg unlocked her door and got out so Bri could get in. Kev hopped in the front seat while Nick, Howie, and Meg jumped in the back.
"Sorry AJ...no room..." Nick called from inside the half-empty Suburban.
I put my truck in reverse and quickly backed out of the driveway before AJ would have a chance to get in. I hurriedly drove around the block and pulled up beside the big Suburban that was waiting along the sidewalk when I came back around. They obviously had no choice but to let AJ ride with them. I rolled down the passenger window while Bri rolled down his window.
"Follow me Mario..." I joked before I pulled out onto the road and headed for the freeway.
* Chapter 41 *
We were about halfway between Salt Lake and Provo on the freeway when Bri pulled into the slow lane next to me. I was driving with the windows open, including the back window, and the radio playing my favorite station...mine! I rested my left arm in the window of the door and drove with my right hand on the ‘6’ position (bottom) on the steering wheel ‘cause I always drove that way. I laughed when I saw Meg roll down the back window behind Bri and started hollering at me.
"Help me!!! They’re driving me insane!!!!" she yelled with crossed eyes and a goofy expression.
Howie leaned over and yelled out the window next.
"Don’t mind her...she’s hallucinating again!" he hollered before he rolled the window back up.
My cell was sitting up on the dashboard so I picked it up and pushed speed dial #4.
"KBEE 98.7, this is Jay! You’re on the air."
"Hey Jay!!! What’s up? It’s Ellz."
"Ellz! What can I play for ya hun?"
I glanced over at the Suburban in the next lane to see Nick through Brian’s window pointing at himself with and nodding with a smile. I shook my head at him with the same smile before I turned my attention back to the road.
"Well, I’m kinda in the mood for some BS...Britney Spears that is...how ‘bout ‘From the Bottom of My Broken Heart’ going out to well, going out to...uh...all the lonely people out there in radio-land," I said.
"Aww Ellz. Has someone got ya down?" he asked sympathetically.
"I guess you could say that," I replied, keeping my eyes on the road while I talked. "Thanks Jay~J."
I hung up and listened to his intro to the song.
"This song goes out to all the lonely people out there from our very own Ellz H. We just want you to know that you’re loved," he said as the music faded in.
‘Never look back we said. How was I to know I’d miss you so. Loneliness up ahead, emptiness behind. Where do I go? And you didn’t hear all my joy through my tears, all my hopes through my fears. Did you know still I miss you somehow? From the bottom of my broken heart there’s just a thing or two I’d like you to know. You were my first love, you were my true love from the first kisses to the very last rose...’
I was silent as the music filled the air around me.
‘We could’ve worked things out, taking time is what love’s all about. But you put a dart through my dreams, through my heart. And I’m back where I started again, never thought it would end. From the bottom of my broken heart, there’s just a thing or two I’d like you to know. You were my first love, you were my true love from the first kisses to the very last rose. From the bottom of my broken heart even though time may find me somebody new, you were my real love, I never knew love ‘til there was you from the bottom of my broken heart. You promised yourself, but there’s somebody else and you made it so perfectly clear. Still I wish you were here...’
By the time the song ended I was crying from the way the words reflected how I felt to a perfect tee. Some of the other motorists on the road gave me funny looks as I passed them, but I didn’t care because I couldn’t hide how I felt. I cried until we finally pulled up to my apartment building about twenty minutes later. When I was parked in my spot in the parking garage under the building, I grabbed a few things from the floor and headed inside before everyone could come and get me. I didn’t wait when I got into the lobby either before going up. Once I got to my door, I unlocked it and went inside to find things exactly the way I left them (besides the things that Nick had left). I put the stuff on the table in front of the couch before I walked into my room and shoved the door shut carelessly. I shuffled over to my bed and threw myself onto it before I curled up into a ball and sobbed some more. The room felt a little cold (or maybe it was just me) so I pulled a blanket over my body and lay there facing the two full length curtain-covered windows that looked over the busy city streets. The front door opened in the other room and I could hear the guys and Meg admiring the look of my place.
"Aaaawww look! She had our pictures framed," Bri gushed happily as he looked at the wall surrounding the entertainment center covered with the pictures that Howie had ordered in Orlando. "But where’s Bone’s picture?"
"Aaaahh! Look at that goofy picture!" Meg exclaimed when she saw the one of us back to back. "Too cute!"
"This place is pretty nice," Kev commented as he walked over to the kitchen.
"Where’d she go?" Howie asked from where he was standing by my desk.
"Maybe she’s in the bathroom or something," Meg suggested.
It was almost unbearable knowing that AJ was only in the next room, probably sitting on my couch watching my TV or reading one of my magazines. My eyes were wet from my tears as I listened to the muffled sounds coming from the other rooms of my small apartment. I was lying on my side with my eyes closed when I heard someone knock lightly on the door before it slowly opened.
"Els?" Meg called out quietly as she opened the door to see me curled up on my bed.
"Please don’t come in..." I said as the tears moistened my cheeks.
I lay there and listened as she shut the door and went back to the other room. It was quiet for a few minutes before everyone started talking and playing around again. I pulled the blanket up around my shoulders and shivered from my body being a little cold. After lying there on my bed for what seemed like a little while, I sat up with my feet on the floor and put my hands over face, trying to muffle my sobs. I put my hands on my lap and sat there with my eyes closed to try and calm myself down a little.
The door opened, but I didn’t open my eyes to see who it was, knowing it was most likely Nick or Meg. Whoever it was kneeled down in front of me and wrapped their arms around my shoulders in a warm embrace.
"I’m sorry," the person whispered in my ear as he rubbed my back a little. "I’m sooo sorry."
I didn’t say anything. When he pulled back a little I hung my head as the tears came back to my eyes. He took my hands in his and looked at me for a moment. I turned my head and opened my eyes to look at the small picture of the guys, Court, and me that had been taken in the hotel lobby on our first night in Orlando.
"Liz...please look at me."
"I...I...I can’t," I replied, not moving my gaze from the picture.
He didn’t know what to say. I shook my head slightly as I closed my eyes and lowered my head again.
"I can’t...every time I see your face I see HER..." I whispered sadly. "I see her...and you...at the beach..."
I pulled my hands away from his and swung my feet up onto the bed so I was facing the bottom of my bed instead of him.
"You saw that?" he asked in a sad voice.
"Yeah I saw THAT," I said, my voice growing angrier by the second.
He had a look of shame on his face. I stood up on the other side of the bed.
"What? You think I wouldn’t find out or anything?"
I looked at him as my words stung him.
"Why didn’t you just tell me that you didn’t want me around?" I yelled at him before I turned and headed for the door.
I slammed it shut behind me and then stormed right past everyone to my desk. I sat down in the chair and began typing feverishly on my laptop keyboard.
June 9th
One day before my 20th birthday and I feel like I could curl up and die! Things have gone from bad to worse to horrible to nothing at all. It turns out that things weren’t meant to be between us. I guess it’s better this way. Aaaahhh! I’m so mad (and extremely hurt) right now that I could just go and do something not very nice...Ugh! It was only a kiss, but kisses are supposed to be special...with someone special...only given for a special reason. They should be saved and shared with that ‘one’ true person that means everything to you. Well, maybe that’s where I screwed up... Oh well. I’ve got to go blow off some steam. You’ll hear more from me later. I’m outtie. >:ol
I stood up and hastily walked over to where my jacket was lying over the back of the couch. After I put it on, I grabbed my keys from the table inside the door and left.
"We’re going to lunch...we’ll be back in a little while," Nick told everyone before he ran out the door to find me waiting by the elevator.
I stood there waiting for the elevator to get to my floor so I could leave. I impatiently pushed the arrow button a few more times as I pulled my hair out from inside my black ‘KBEE’ insulated jacket.
"Hey...wait up," Nick called out as the elevator doors opened.
I held the door for him until he was standing next to me.
"Sorry...I’m just a little pissed right now," I said angrily as the doors closed.
He put one hand on my right shoulder.
"Don’t worry. Things will be ok," he said as he pulled my keys out of my hand. "I’m going to drive so ya don’t try and run someone off the road."
He gave me a little smile while he tilted my head up so he could look me in the eye.
"Ok," I replied.
He must have been surprised at how much hurt, confusion and anger he found in my eyes when he stared into them.
He wrapped his arms around me in a loose hug. "It’ll be ok."
* Chapter 42 *
Nick watched the road carefully as I gave him directions on where to go. I was still feeling hurt and disgusted about the things that had happened earlier and felt that I still needed to blow off some steam.
"Wait a minute...pull into this parking lot," I instructed as we approached one of the ‘sports parks’ that was in the area.
"Why are we stopping here?"
"Because this is where I wanna go," I said stubbornly while Nick put the truck in park and turned the ignition off.
I hopped out and waited for him to lock the doors before he followed me.
"Besides...they have pretty good food at these places. It’s better than your average ‘sports park’."
I sounded like a commercial.
"You sound like a promotional add!" Nick laughed.
"Hey...you forget...that’s what I do for a living!" I teased back.
He looked relieved that I sounded like my old self again, even if it was just to make him feel better. He followed me up to one of the little walk-up type booths where food was sold.
"How bouts you tell me what you want. I’ll order and you can get us a table...preferably shady," I suggested.
"Ok. Hmmm...I guess I’ll have a cheeseburger...extra cheese...an order of fries, and a Mt. Dew to drink."
"Got it. I’ll be right there," I called out to him as he walked away.
When I turned to the booth, a nice older woman greeted me with a smile.
"What can I get for you?" she asked warmly.
"Mmmm. He *pointing over my shoulder in Nick’s direction* wants a cheeseburger with extra cheese, an order of fries, and a large Mt. Dew...Ummm...Make that two Mt. Dew’s."
"Coming right up," she replied with a smile before she turned to a worker behind her and relayed the order to him.
I waited patiently at the window because there wasn’t anyone else behind me. After a few seconds I turned around and propped my elbows up on the ledge of the booth window and watched as Nick happily signed an autograph for a girl that was only about 5 years old.
"He seems like a nice young man," the woman spoke up, referring to Nick.
"Yes, he is," I replied with a smile.
"You’re very lucky," she said after I turned around to face her again.
"Oh...uh...we’re not together. He’s just a friend," I told her.
The woman gave me an understanding smile before she turned around to pick up our finished order.
"Here you are," she said while she put Nick’s food in front of me. "You two have a great day!"
"Thanks! You too!" I replied with a smile before I wandered off to the table that Nick had chosen.
Nick gave me a cheesy grin as I walked up to the table and set his food down in front of him. I took the seat across from him and sipped on my Mt. Dew as he took a bite of his burger.
"Where’s yours?" he asked as he picked up a few fries and dunked them into his pile of ketchup.
I shrugged my shoulders and took another sip of my drink. "I didn’t get anything."
"What do you mean you didn’t get anything?"
"I’m not hungry," I replied as I played with my straw.
"Here...have some of mine," he said, trying to give me a piece of his cheeseburger.
"I said I’m not hungry ok? Dang it! I’M NOT HUNGRY!!!!!"
I stood up angrily, threw my half-empty drink in a trash can, and made my way to one of the ticket selling booths and slapped a five down on the countertop.
"Five minutes...cage number 7," the man said as he handed me an aluminum bat.
"Thanks," I hissed before I walked off.
It was a warm day so I decided to wear a pair of shorts and an old white ‘cowgirl’ T-shirt that I borrowed from my sister. The warm rays from the sun peaked through the leafy treetops that hung over the batting cages. I shut the cage door behind me before I stepped up to the plate. When the first ball came hurling towards me, I swung and watched it sail back into the net beyond the pitching machine. I swung and swung and swung until my arms started aching.
"You could play for a living with a hit like that."
I turned my eyes for a split second and saw Nick standing outside the cage door leaning against the chain-linked fencing that protected him from getting hurt.
"When you’re pretending it’s someone’s head it’s not that hard..."
He didn’t say anything to that.
"And no...Its not yours."
He let his breath out in relief as I swung again. The ball clipped the tip of the bat and went backwards, smashing into the cage by where Nick was standing with a loud crash.
"Geez! Don’t try to kill me," Nick whined as I waited for the next ball to come my way.
"Then don’t stand right there," I replied. "Besides, I’ve only got like another minute or so."
He just watched as I took my last swings and then stepped out of the cage carrying the bat in my right hand.
"I feel much, much better now," I said before I walked over to the booth and gave back the bat.
The hair around my forehead was wet with sweat. I pulled my hair out of the elastic and combed through it a few times with my fingers before I put it up into a ponytail again.
"Ready?" Nick asked when I stood up from tying my shoe.
"Yeah. Let’s go," I replied.
We walked out to my truck and I waited on the passenger side while he tried to figure out which key it was again.
"Give me those...goofball," I teased him as I grabbed the key ring that was full of keys and opened the doors. "I think I can drive now."
I hopped in and waited for him to do the same. He fastened his seatbelt and watched as I started the car and then turned the radio off.
"There’s a CD in the glove box. Could you get it for me please?" I asked as we drove through the mostly empty parking lot.
He handed it to me and I shoved it into the CD player, put it on random and pushed pause. I waited patiently as it queued up the first song.
"What’s on the CD?" Nick asked.
I didn’t exactly answer because I knew he’d answer his own question within minutes. We were on our way home by the time I pushed play.
‘I guess you didn’t understand just what we had. Either that or you were just too afraid. Why’d you have to go and leave me cryin’ all alone on this cold lonely night? I needed you here with me, but you had other things in mind. Guess that’s what I get for falling like a fool.’
Meg’s voice sang through the speakers as I watched the road ahead.
"It’s called ‘Like a Fool’ and it’s one of the songs that’s on her CD. I sang back-ups on this song...I never really thought that anyone could...ya know...hurt someone so much. And I certainly didn’t think it’d happen to me," I explained sadly as the music continued to play. "Oh goll...I’m sorry. I don’t want you to get all protective of me or anything...I just wish things weren’t so full of chaos right now."
"It’s ok. No one should have to keep their emotions bottled up inside. God gave us emotions so we could show them," he said in a reassuring voice. "I know that things are kind of a mess right now, but you have to believe me...things ARE going to be JUST fine."
I gave him a half smile just as the song ended. We didn’t have a chance to listen to another song because we pulled into the parking garage at my building.
"I sure hope you’re right. I don’t think I could handle you guys leaving on such bad terms..." I said before I was interrupted by my ringing cell phone that sat on the dashboard.
Nick picked it up and answered it happily.
"Liz Holder’s answering service. This is Nick. May I help you?" he said into the phone.
I laughed at his silliness.
"Yeah...hang on...she’s right here," he said before he handed me the phone. "Meg..."
"Thanks." I took the phone from his hand. "Hey Meg. *pause* Yeah. We were just gonna head up there. *pause* She’s flying in?!? Yay! *pause* Mmm hmm. What time’s her flight? *pause* Okies. You’re coming with right? *pause* Good! I’ll send Nick up then. See ya in a few," I said before I hung up the phone.
I was all smiles as Nick looked at me, wondering what was going on.
"Sorry Nilo, but you’ve got to go now. Meg and I are leaving for a little ‘girl’s outing’. No boys allowed," I told him.
He pouted a little. "But I’m not a boy...so can I come too?"
"No boys...or men...Sorry!" I replied with a sympathetic smile. "Maybe next time."
"Hmph..." he pouted some more.
"We’ll only be gone for about an hour...when we get back, we’ll just have to make sure that the basketball court’s in good working order," I said with a smile.
"Ok...but only if you promise to play when ya get back."
"I promise...cross my heart, hope to die. Stick a needle in my eye," I said as I made an ‘x’ over my heart. "Now GO!!!!"
I shooed him out the door when I saw Meg walking into the garage towards my truck.
"Bye," he said as he slid out of the seat.
I rolled my eyes.
"Bye," I told him before he shut the door.
~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ About 20 Minutes Later ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~
"I’m happy that Arti will be here with us," Meg said happily as we drove down the road towards the airport.
"You’re telling me..." I said as I rolled my eyes at her comment. "You and her will be the ones keeping me from doing something totally stupid and irrational."
She laughed a little at my expense.
"I know it sounds funny, but I’m serious. I don’t think you have any idea how hurt... No...disappointed... No...depressed? No...well...hurt...I’m extremely hurt. How could he do that to me? Things were going so well."
I stared ahead as we pulled up to the tollbooths for the incoming airport traffic. I rolled down my window and pulled a ticket out of the machine.
"Things will work out like they are supposed to. These next couple of days are going to be one big party!!!!" she exclaimed as we pulled into the short term parking.
Arti was already waiting at the curb with her bags sitting on the sidewalk beside her.
"There she is!" Meg yelled in delight.
I pulled the truck up the curb in front of where she was standing. Meg hopped out before I even had a chance to stop completely.
"Hope ya don’t mind...you’ll have to ride back here ‘til we get to my place," I said as I picked up a few of her bags and carried them to the back of my truck.
I lifted the back window to reveal the carpeted inside underneath the cover. It had benches built into the sides and the floor was covered with padded panels so it was rather comfortable to ride in.
"It’s only like a 25 minute drive," I said after she climbed in.
Meg and I put the rest of her bags in the back with her before I closed the lid and went to the cab. The ride home was a fun one. Meg opened the window between the two sections of the truck so we could talk to each other on the way.
"I love it here in the states!" Arti exclaimed happily. "I’m gonna move here one of these days!"
"Hopefully sooner rather than later?!" I hinted.
"Hopefully!" she answered with a smile.
When we got to my place, we each carried a bag or two and headed up to the third floor. I put a finger up to my lips to silence the girls as we walked down the hall to my door. They were quiet as I slowly turned the handle and peered in. Music was blaring from the speakers and all five guys were spread throughout the living room area doing Tae Bo along with the tape that was playing in the VCR. I pushed the door open a little bit further so Meg and Arti could see.
"AAaahHHhaaAAaahhhh HAhaHAhaHAha!!!!" I laughed when I couldn’t contain it anymore.
I fell to the floor and laughed until my head and stomach hurt. Arti and Meg were obviously amused as well because Arti was doubled over in laughter trying to catch her breath and Meg almost choked on the gum that she was chewing a few seconds before. I closed my eyes as I lay on my back on the hard wood floor inside the door, laughing like a crazy woman.
"What’s so funny?"
I opened my eyes to see Nick standing over me with a fake hurt expression on his face.
"You...you guys...you guys were doing...doing Tae Bo..." I said in-between laughs and breaths.
"So..." he said.
"It’s funny!!!!!" I replied as I sat up. "Where’d you find that tape anyway? I’ve been searching for it for months!"
I stood up and picked up a few of Arti’s bags before I walked over and set them by the couch.
"Well...Nick was snoo..." Kev started to say when Nick shot him a death glare.
"Snooping. You were snooping weren’t ya?" I asked, seeing the ashamed look on Nick’s face.
"I was looking for the basketball..." he lied with a questioning smile.
"Nice try genius...It’s over there," I said as I pointed to the ball that was sitting in a chair on the balcony.
I walked a few steps.
"Howie..." I said with a smile as I walked past him. "Kev..." I did the same as I passed him too.
I gave Bri a smile as I headed towards my room.
"Grab the ball Nick. I’ll be back in a sec and then we can go play," I told him with a smile.
I went into my room, closed the door, and changed into a light purple sleeveless shirt. I took my hair out of its messy ponytail and brushed it back up into a high ponytail. I changed my Doc’s into some black high-top sneakers. When I couldn’t find my chap-stic, I finally resorted to putting some shiny lip-gloss on my lips.
"Let’s get ready to ruuuuuummmmmblllllle," I said after I walked out my bedroom door again.
Howie, Meg, and Arti were sitting on the couch watching something on TV. AJ was sitting at my computer desk doing who knows what. Bri was goofing off with Nick, who was twirling the basketball around on his finger. I snatched the ball from Nick’s finger and headed to the door.
"Food’s in the kitchen if y’all get hungry. Otherwise, order out. We’ll be back sometime before tomorrow morning," I teased before Nick and I walked out the door.
We were almost to the elevator when my apartment door opened. Bri and AJ walked out and noticed that we hadn’t gotten far.
"Mind if we join ya?" Bri asked.
"No..." Nick called out before I could say anything.
He gave me a stern look after we walked in the elevator. The court was behind the building, set in the small field of grass. The three surrounding buildings all shared the court and the playground that was about 100 feet away from the cement basketball court. I was relieved to find that it was unoccupied when we stepped out the back entrance to the lobby of the building.
Nick and Bri were arguing about who should be on whose team so I walked out and began shooting some hoops. They walked to the edge of the court after a few minutes and watched me shoot a few times.
"What?!?" I hollered.
"Nuthin’," Nick and Bri replied in unison as all three of them walked out to where I was standing on the court waiting for them.
* Chapter 43 *
"SHOT!" I yelled out just as AJ shot the ball towards the basket.
I laughed as it hit the rim and bounced to the ground. Nick grabbed the ball and dribbled for a few feet. I was already halfway to the other basket so he threw me the ball and cheered me on as I made a perfect lay-up shot.
"Woohoo! That makes the score *counting on his fingers* 15 to 8!" Nick exclaimed. "And the first to 30 baskets wins...we’re already halfway there!"
He did a little victory dance and I laughed before he called a time-out.
"Team huddle," he said with a laugh as he tackled me from the back.
"Umph...get off me! You’re all sweaty!" I teased him as he pulled me towards the basket on the other end of the court.
AJ and Bri shot some practice hoops while Nick and I talked about our ‘game plan’.
"Sooo...since we’re ahead and I know we’ll win, how ‘bout we make a little wager?" Nick asked with a mischievous grin.
I rolled my eyes and brushed back a few loose hairs from my forehead. "Like what?"
"Mmmm...nothing big," he replied with the same sly grin. "I get a kiss for every shot that you miss."
I gave him a ‘what-are-you-talking-about-weirdo’ look and rolled my eyes again.
"Only if I get fifty bucks every time YOU miss a shot."
I really didn’t think he’d actually say yes, so I turned around and walked a few steps.
"Wait! We have to shake on it," he said before he walked up to me and shook my hand. "There...now it’s official."
"Whatever..." I said as I headed towards where Bri and AJ were.
We started playing again and within ten minutes Nick and I were up to 21 shots while AJ and Bri were only at 12. Nick was dribbling towards me (I was already down by our basket) and I was waiting to set up a ‘pick’ for him. Brian walked in front of me as if he was blocking me (LOL) and I made a silly face at him to distract him. AJ was watching Nick when he ran smack into me, falling on top of me on the ground.
"GET OFF ME!!!!" I screamed before AJ scrambled to his feet. "How freakin’ clumsy are you?" I said as I stood up.
I walked up to AJ and shoved him.
"Watch where you’re going," I hissed at him before I walked off to where Nick was standing.
We continued playing our game as it got started to get dark out. The streetlights came on making it easy for us to see. AJ stayed clear of my way the remainder of the game so he wouldn’t upset me anymore. Nick made the last shot as I stood at mid-court and watched.
"Ha ha ha," I sang in a taunting voice. "We won...we won...we won!"
"Fine...whatever. We’re going to go up and get some food," Bri said.
They left while Nick and I continued shooting hoops. I rebounded the ball and instead of shooting it again, I handed it to Nick and watched him shoot.
"So...back to our little wager..." Nick held the ball in his hands and walked up to me.
"What about it?" I asked.
"Can I have my kiss?" he asked with a sly smile.
"My 250 bucks..." I replied as I stuck my hand out, waiting for him to pull out the money.
"Mine first..."
He smiled to himself when I shrugged my shoulders and rolled my eyes. I laughed at his silly smile before I gave him a tiny peck on the lips.
"Now mine..."
I stuck my hand back out.
"Aww man...that kiss sure wasn’t worth 250 bucks..." he whined as he took out his wallet.
"A deal is a deal no matter what," I reminded him as he thumbed through his wallet looking for some money.
"Yeah...but I was hoping..." he started to say with a silly grin.
"Don’t even think about it. I’m not going to kiss you like that..." I said before he could finish.
"Aaww fine then. Anyway, you’ll have to wait ‘til I get back to the hotel ‘cause I don’t have any more money on me."
I headed for the lobby door and went to the elevator with Nick trailing behind me. When we got back to my place, Nick put the ball back on the balcony while I went and took another shower. After I was finished, I got dressed and pulled my hair up into a scrunchy before I wandered to the kitchen. Arti was sitting at the kitchen table reading a magazine and everyone else was in the living room sitting on the couch, at my desk, or on the floor.
"Hey RT! Whatcha doin?" I asked as I pulled a cup out of the cupboard and filled it at the sink.
"Lookin’ through this magazine..." she replied without looking up.
"Anything interesting in there?" I asked while I walked over to where she was sitting.
She hurriedly closed it and stood up before I could see anything.
"Not really...mostly just gossip and junk about celebrities...nothing that’s really true anyway," she said before she walked out the doorway with the magazine in hand.
‘Ok...that was strange’ I thought to myself as I drank the rest of my water and set the cup in the sink. When I walked into the living room, I found Arti sitting on the arm of the couch next to where Kev was sitting. Bri and Howie were also sitting on the couch with Meg in Howie’s lap. Nick was looking at some of my books that were on a bookshelf on the opposite wall as the entertainment center and AJ was yet again sitting at my desk staring blankly at the screen of my laptop.
"Don’t even touch those," I said when I saw Nick eyeing a few of my photo albums that were sitting on the very bottom shelf.
"Why not?" he asked in a sly voice.
"Because I said so," I insisted while I walked over by the entertainment center and straightened one of the pictures on the wall that was lopsided. "Did you all get something to eat?"
"Yeah. Meg made us some sandwiches," Howie replied with a smile.
"You want me to make you one?" Meg asked happily.
"Umm...no thanks," I replied as I straightened another lopsided picture. "I’m not hungry."
I didn’t see the worried look that Nick gave me when I turned around to face the couch. Everyone was concentrating on the show that was on the TV so I walked past them and went out onto the balcony. There was a nice breeze that made it seem cooler than it really was. The summer air was warm as the stars started to shine in the sky above. The lights of the city were glowing brightly in the stillness of the night. I turned to go back inside after a few minutes and found that AJ had moved from his place at my desk. He left a piece of paper on the keyboard of my laptop that caught my eye.
‘I will NOT let things end like this. You mean too much to me to let you slip through my fingertips. You were right...it was ONLY a kiss and not a very special one at that because it wasn’t with you. YOU mean everything to me! Every moment that I spend with you is precious to me...even if you’re not exactly talking to me. I want things to work out between us and I’ll do everything in my power to make sure they do. My love always, AJ’
"Oh no..." I whispered to myself as I saw what was displayed on my computer screen. "Oh no...oh dang! Oh no!"
I shut the screen off and stared at the note that was in my hand.
"NO!" I yelled out to Nick.
He was sitting on the floor by the bookshelf looking at one of the photo albums that I told him not to touch.
"Put that book back!" I yelled as tears came to my eyes.
"Why?" he asked in a scared voice.
"Because..." I stood up and walked past him towards the door. "Because I hate those stupid things!!! Pictures are only reminders of how ugly the past really was."
I stopped and turned to face him. He stared at me in confusion for a few seconds along with everyone else. Kev was about to say something when I walked back to where Nick was sitting. I grabbed the album from his hands, along with the other two from the shelf and stuffed them into the small garbage can that was inside the front door before I walked out into the hall. The door shut behind me as I moved a few feet down the hall and slumped down to the floor. Hot tears were flowing down my face as I sat there against the wall sobbing in the lonely hallway. The sounds of my saddened heart echoed in the empty space as I sat there by myself.
"He wasn’t supposed to see that..." I said to myself between sobs.
I felt totally and completely foolish for leaving my computer on and open for all to see. I was in the hallway crying for about 5 minutes when both Arti and Meg came out to find me. They were surprised that I hadn’t gone far at all.
"Oh hun come here..." Arti said in a gentle voice.
Meg helped me up and I fell into their friendly arms. We went back inside the door and they led me to my room. I couldn’t see because my eyes were blurry from the tears that were falling.
"I’m sorry...I’m sorry...I’m so sorry..." I mumbled between sobs as we walked past the living room to my bedroom door.
I lay down on my bed and sobbed as Meg and Arti went to tell everyone that it was time to go. I needed some time by myself, but I was also glad that Arti would still be here with me. My head pounded with a headache as I soon drifted off to an uneasy sleep.
* Chapter 44 *
I ran down a dark and dreary alley and prayed that they wouldn’t find me. There was an open door a few feet ahead so I ran in and found that it led me to a hallway that was lit with a few scarcely placed fluorescent lights hanging from the ceiling. My feet made loud thud sounds against the linoleum-tiled floor as I ran down the hallway. There was another hallway that jutted out of the existing one, so I turned and ran down the newly found escape route. The footsteps coming from behind got louder and I knew it was only a matter of time before they caught up with me.
I saw a flight of stairs at the end of the hallway, so I hurriedly rushed over to it and took the stairs up two at a time.
‘She went up the stairs’ one of the man said in a deep voice.
I continued running up the stairs about 4 flights until I ran into the door to the roof. I pushed it open and continued running until I couldn’t run anymore. I stepped out onto the low ledge of the roof and looked over. The lifeless bodies of my seven friends lay on the sidewalk below in one gigantic puddle of blood. They killed all five guys and two girls right before my eyes and I barely missed the bullet that was meant for me.
‘There she is’ one of the large men dressed in black yelled to the others.
I turned head just in time to hear the loud gun shot echoing among the rooftops of the surrounding buildings. The wind was knocked out of me when the bullet hit me in the back just below my right shoulder blade. The force of the blow caused me to lose my balance and I fell forward off the ledge. I kept falling and falling and falling...
I jerked awake and sat straight up in bed. My forehead was damp with sweat and my hands were clammy. The room was still dark and when I looked over at the red numbers on my digital alarm clock it said ‘3:57’. I fell back onto my pillow and laid there for a few minutes trying to remember exactly what was in my dream. All I could remember was seeing the lifeless bodies of Meg, Arti, and the guys lying on the sidewalk in a pool of blood. I couldn’t get the horrific scene out of my head so I slid out of bed and went into the living room without turning any lights on. After my eyes adjusted to the darkness I could see Arti lying on the floor sleeping peacefully. She had pulled the cushions off the couch and lay down on them with blankets and pillows as if she were on a bed. I was careful not to wake her as I walked past her and went out on the balcony. The temperature had gone down since I had been out before, but it wasn’t at all cold. A cool breeze teased the ends of my hair as I leaned against the railing and gazed up at the stars. When I had had enough, I went back into my room and slid back under the thin blanket that I had on my bed. I fell asleep and didn’t wake back up until Arti knocked on my door quite a few hours later.
I rolled onto my back from my side position and slowly opened my eyes to look at the ceiling. Arti opened the door and I heard her catch her breath when she looked in.
"What? Is something wrong?" I asked before I sat up.
My eyes nearly popped out of my head at what I saw. My entire room was COVERED with flowers...mostly roses and carnations of all shades of pinks and whites. The botanical aroma smelled sooo good as the air circulated from the living room through the door that Arti held open.
"Oh...my..." I started to say as I pulled the blanket and sheet back and stood up to see how many flowers were actually there.
"Gosh!" Arti took the liberty to finish for me.
Just then the phone rang and I slowly picked it up.
"Helllllo," I said, still speechless from the initial shock of the state of my room.
"Morning Baby Girl!" Jay said cheerily into the phone.
"Oh...hey Jay..." I said into the phone.
"I have a proposition for you...well, it’s actually an assignment from the boss," he explained happily. "There’s a Jazz game that starts at 1:00 pm and he needs you to come on location with me for the pre-game broadcast. You’ll get two tickets to see the game from our station press box after we’re done on-air so there’s no reason for you to say no."
"What time do I need to be there?"
"Be at the Delta Center around 10:30 in front. I’ll give you the tickets when you get here."
"Okies. I’ll be there."
"Good!" he replied. "The boss thanks you."
"You’re welcome...to both of you," I said with a laugh before I hung up.
As I hung the phone up on the cradle, I saw the vase sitting on my bedside table. It had a single crimson red rose in it with an envelope propped up against the base. I smelled the rose before I reached to the envelope to open it.
‘Roses are red. Violets are blue. Just wanted to say that I need you! ‘
A small smile crept up on face as I put the card back in the envelope and smelled the rose again. I stood up and walked along the little path around my bed that wasn’t covered with flowers.
"We’ve got a fun day ahead of us," I told Arti as I got into my dresser to get some clothes to wear. "We’ve got to go on-location for a little while...then we’ll go to a basketball game...then we’ll go shopping for something when we’re done."
"Sounds good to me," she replied before she went back into the living room to change also.
I put on a pair of flare leg jeans and a ¾ sleeve yellow shirt before I went to do my hair and make-up. When I walked into the kitchen, I poured myself a glass of ‘Splash’ (juice that’s made of carrots ~ like V8 juice) and sat down at the table. Arti strolled in a few minutes later wearing a cute pair of khaki shorts and a gray ‘Old Navy’ baby tee. She poured herself a bowl of cereal and sat down next to me so she could eat it.
"Come and grab a bunch of these flowers," I called from my room after I had gone back to grab my planner before we left.
She picked up three of the bundles of flowers and carried them down to my car while I had two bundles in my own hands. We stopped at one of the hospitals on the way to the Delta Center and distributed the flowers among three floors of patients, most of them being children, new mothers, or elderly people. We even gave some of the nurses flowers ‘cause we know that they don’t get very much credit for the great job that they do.
"Hey J," I called out to him as Arti and I walked up to the make-shift booth that was set up on the sidewalk in front Delta Center.
"Hi Baby Girl!" he hollered back from his crouching position. (He always called me Baby Girl since the day he met me ‘cause I’m so much younger than he is.)
He was hooking up the technical stuff from the station van. He gave me a warm smile and I introduced Arti to him.
"She’s going to be staying with me while she’s visiting town," I explained.
"That’s good!" he replied before he stood up.
He gave me a half hug (he always does).
"Happy birthday," he whispered in my ear before he pulled away.
I gave him a questioning look. ‘How does he know that it’s my birthday?’ I wondered to myself. I didn’t bother asking, but instead got ready for the show. Jazz fans were stopping by every once in a while during the show and we had a ton of fun! Arti even jumped in on a few of the conversations.
"Here we are at the Delta Center waiting for the BIG game to begin and we have a winner for those courtside tickets that we are giving away," I announced into the mic. "What’s your name?"
"Jordanna Hodges," the winner replied.
"Well congratulations Jordanna! Who sets you up with the best prizes in Utah?" Jay said.
"KBEE 98.7 Salt Lake City!" the girl replied happily.
"And that’s all we have here from the Delta Center today! We had a blast and I hope you did too! And as always, have a GRRRRREAT day!" I said before we cut transmission.
"That was fun!" Arti said as we started to help Jay put things back into the van.
"Hey...don’t worry about that. I can get it. You girls go and enjoy the game for me!" Jay said when he saw what we were doing.
"Thanks Jay! You’re the best!" I called out before Arti and I made our way inside the huge arena.
~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ Half-time During the Game ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~
"They are on a roll today," I exclaimed happily as the Jazz players left the floor after the buzzer rang, signaling that it was half time.
I stood up and walked over to the buffet table that was set up along the wall by the door. I grabbed a can of orange pop and walked back to where Arti and I were sitting. Our seats were really great so we could see everything that happened on the court below with ease. I looked up from the glass separating us from the rest of the crowd below when the door opened and a man wearing an expensive black suit walked in.
"Excuse me. I need to borrow you for a few moments," the man in the suit said nicely after he walked up to where I was sitting.
"Ummmmm." I looked at Arti and she just smiled and nodded her head towards the door.
When I stood up, the man led me to the door and opened it for me.
"Thanks," I said before I walked out.
He led me down to the main floor of the arena to where the locker rooms were. We walked out one of the hallways and out to where the team chairs were. They were empty because all the players and coaches were in the locker rooms during the small break. He instructed me to stay there for a few minutes while he went to check on something.
"How’re you all doing today?" a man asked excitedly in the microphone that he was holding.
He was walking around in the middle of the court trying to hype the crowd while a few people setup a few instruments and things behind him. He raised his hands up and down to ‘raise the roof’ when the crowd cheered loudly to show how much fun they were having.
I laughed when the cheerleaders stood up and did a quick cheer from their seats.
"The roof...the roof...the roof is on FIRE!"
They promptly sat back down and laughed when half the crowd copied their action.
"The roof certainly will be on fire tonight...BBMak are going to be performing here in concert!"
He paused and let the fans scream at the mention of BBMak.
"Yeah! That’s right! They’ll be performing right here in our very own Delta Center!"
I was so amused in watching the bubbling excitement of the announcer that I didn’t notice when someone walked up behind me.
"Hi," a male voice said with an English accent.
I turned around to find three guys standing behind me. Two were holding guitars and the other was smiling cutely.
"Uh...Hi! I’m Liz," I said as I shook their hands.
"We know," one of them said.
I was caught off guard at that, but didn’t get a chance to say anything else before they rushed on the court to where their band was ready and waiting.
"And here they are! Everyone please..." the announcer said before he was interrupted.
"WAIT. Wait...hold up..."
The deep voice echoed in the space of the large building. I looked around, but didn’t see anyone with a mic. I thought I knew who it was, but I needed to hear more of his voice to be sure.
"It’s my turn. BBMak is here to perform their latest hit ‘Miss You More’ and I want to personally dedicate this song to someone very special to me. Baby Girl, I love you and I don’t ever want you to forget that! You are the one for me and I don’t want to let you go."
The voice was definitely who I thought it was and I looked around as if I’d see him somewhere in the crowd, but didn’t find him around anywhere. There was a few seconds of silence.
"Hit it guys!"
The band started playing and I stood there and listened to the whole song. When they were done playing, the three guys rushed over to where I was standing. The announcer was babbling on in the mic again.
"That was great!" I said when they walked up to me.
"Thanks!" the blond one said.
"We’re glad you liked it," another one said.
The other one leaned close and put his head near mine.
"He really cares a lot about you. Don’t throw it away," he whispered before he stood up and left with the others.
"Can I get you all to do me a BIG favor?" the announcer asked happily.
The crowd made lots of noise to show their support.
"Let’s sing happy birthday to a very special girl! It’s her birthday today and we’re going to sing to her on the count of three."
The man in the black suit led me out onto the court to where the announcer was.
"Everyone show your love for Ellz H! 1....2....3"
My ears were overwhelmed at the sound of the whole arena singing ‘happy birthday’ to me as I stood there in the middle of it. I didn’t really know what to do, so I just stood there and smiled.
"We’ve got a little contest for our birthday girl! If she can beat 5 other players in a game of speed, she can have a birthday present courtesy of all the guys on the team...signed and everything."
Five pre-picked people walked out onto the court and stopped at the free-throw line. I walked over and chose to start second rather than first. The teenage boy in front of me shot and missed so I shot while he tried to make his own shot. He got his ball in the net before I did, but I made mine before the next person in line had a chance to shoot. It went on like that for another couple of minutes until I was left with the teenage boy and a woman in her early thirties. The boy got the woman out so it was now only him versus me. We went back and forth a few times until he was one up on me. I got to the line to shoot and he retrieved his ball from where it was by the net. He accidentally ran into me when he headed for the line and knocked me off my feet. He didn’t hit me that hard, but I was winded from running and I was weak from not having a full meal for who knows how many days. The wind was knocked out of me and I couldn’t breath. My head hit the floor pretty hard and I blacked out after a few seconds of lying there in pain.
The next thing I saw when I opened my eyes was a bright light above me as I lay there in pain. I moved my head a little and saw Arti and AJ sitting on some chairs talking to each other. We were in one of the medical offices outside of one of the locker rooms and tears stung my eyes when I saw the worried looks on their faces. A doctor walked in the room and both Arti and AJ stood up and walked over to him.
"What happened?" Arti asked.
"Well, it appears that she is very weak from not eating properly. I have talked to her previous physicians and it appears that this has been a reoccurring problem. When she gets stressed out physically or emotionally, she doesn’t eat," the doctor explained to them before he walked over to the padded table that I was laying on.
His voice was coming from next to me when he spoke again.
"I need you two to watch her and make sure she starts eating properly. Don’t let her skip a meal and you should maybe even make sure that she eats snacks between meals."
I slightly opened my eyes again and listened to what the doctor was saying. There was a knock on the door and then it opened.
"Is she ok?" Nick asked as he walked so he was standing by my side.
He had come down to the arena when AJ had called him and explained what had happened.
"She will be fine," the doctor assured them all before he turned for the door.
"I AM fine," I moaned in pain as I sat up and swung my legs off the table.
"I suggest you take it easy for a few days Ms. Holder," the doctor said before he left.
I closed my eyes and slowly rubbed the spot on my head where it had hit the floor.
"Geez girl! You had me scared to death!" Arti said before she wrapped her arms around my shoulder.
"Sorry...I couldn’t really help it ya know. He ran into me."
"How many days have you been starving yourself?" AJ asked from his sitting position across the room.
He had his head in his hands as he squatted against the wall.
"I’m not starving myself," I said angrily.
"Ok...how long have you NOT been eating?" he rephrased his question.
I didn’t really want to answer that question, but I felt like I didn’t have a choice with three people staring at me waiting for an answer. I turned so that I wasn’t looking at any of them before I even attempted an answer. When I did it was in a voice so soft that I was almost whispering.
"LA...since the Carter’s house..."
Everyone sat in a stunned silence and I couldn’t bear it anymore so I stood up and walked out the door. I walked slowly at first, but picked up my pace until I was running. If anyone was around, they would’ve thought that I was running in a race for life at how fast I was trying to get away. The door of the office opened and I could hear footsteps following me.
"Liz...wait! Don’t do this! Come back!!!" AJ yelled after me.
I continued running until I got to my truck. I pulled out the keys from my pocket and got in before I locked the doors, slumped over onto the steering wheel, and bawled like a baby. I was still feeling weak and I knew that I couldn’t drive with the nauseating feeling that was creeping up inside me. I jumped in surprise when someone tapped on the window after a few minutes. When I didn’t move, there was another tap on the window.
"Liz...please open up," Meg said.
When I lifted my head, through teary eyes I saw Meg, Howie, AJ, and Nick standing outside my truck. I put my head back onto the steering wheel, put the keys in the ignition, and started the engine. Nick grabbed onto the handle of my door and tried to open it again.
"No! You can’t leave," he said with a sad face. "You can’t leave! Don’t do this!!!"
He put his hand on the window and watched me put the truck in reverse.
"I’m sorry," I replied as I put my hand up to his on the inside of the window before I backed the truck up. "I’m sorry."
I pulled out a few feet before I put the truck in drive and headed towards the street. I had this sick feeling in my gut that something bad was going to happen so I slammed on my brakes and gripped the steering wheel as my truck skidded with a loud squeal to a halt right before I reached the exit to the street. Just as I came to a full stop, a large semi-truck slid across the road in front of me. The large truck was skidding on its side and sparks flew as the metal of the trailer it was carrying scraped at the asphalt underneath it. My knuckles were white from gripping the steering wheel so hard and I was a little relieved when I looked in the rear view mirror and saw everyone running to see what had happened. Bri, Kev, and Arti had joined the others by now. I opened my door and stepped out.
"What happened?!?" Kev yelled from where they were running.
* Chapter 45 *
My face was pale and my hands were shaking as I walked a few feet away from my truck and then stopped. I stared at the ground with wide eyes realizing that if I had continued driving, I would probably be critically hurt in the accident, if not killed. I think I was more scared than I was shocked as my body shook with fear. I felt numb, like I was going to involuntarily slump to the ground at any second.
"LIZ!!!!!" AJ screamed after he heard the squealing coming from my truck tires.
He reached me first and immediately pulled me into his arms. I sobbed into his shoulder hysterically as the fear overwhelmed me once again. No one said anything as they observed the scene on the street in front of us. Spilled cargo from the trailer was scattered all over and police cars had already blocked off the road. Nick shut the engine of my truck off and then walked over to AJ and I. AJ loosened his hold of me and looked at my face. My eyes were red and puffy from crying so much and my body was cold to the touch.
"I...I’m so...I’m sooo scared..." I managed to say between sobs.
My legs gave out. If it weren’t for AJ and Nick catching me, I would have fallen to the ground.
"I...that...I..."
I tried to say what I wanted to, but it wouldn’t come out. After I stopped crying, I tried again.
"I don’t know what happened...I had a bad feeling so I stopped," I explained as tears came to my eyes again. "If I hadn’t have stopped, I would’ve probably been...been..."
I couldn’t finish the sentence.
"Don’t say it," Nick said in a comforting voice. "Everything’s ok."
Kev was comforting Arti. Bri was silent as he looked from the semi to me and then back to the semi again. Meg and Howie went to get the Suburban so we could leave as soon as possible. AJ hopped into the driver seat of my truck while Nick helped me into the passenger seat.
~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ Later the same night ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~
"Are you feeling better?" Howie asked from across the table.
"Yeah...thanks," I replied as I gave AJ a small smile.
We were now sitting in a restaurant waiting for our order to arrive. When we got back to my place earlier, AJ and I sat on my couch and talked while everyone else did something to pass the time.
"Why haven’t you been eating?" he asked gently as he placed his hand on mine.
"I don’t know...it just happens. It’s been going on for a long time now...longer than I’ve known you. It first started about a year and a half ago. I never had time to fix anything between my job and school so I just didn’t eat."
"Are you sure it’s not because you weren’t comfortable with yourself?"
I sat there for a few minutes thinking about his question.
"You saw the pictures?" I asked with a sad voice as I turned my gaze from his and lowered my head.
He nodded slightly.
"Nick showed them to me," he replied as he gave my hand a squeeze. "You don’t have to do that to yourself. You were and still are a beautiful person inside and out. It doesn’t matter how other people see you...it only matters what you think about yourself."
I looked at AJ and saw the sincere look on his face.
"You’ll always be beautiful to me," he continued as he took my hand in his.
I snuggled against him as his fingers intertwined with mine.
I exchanged glances with Arti as she happily talked to Kev. He was sitting next to her. Arti was sitting right across from me and Kev was sitting across from AJ. Meg was next to Kev with Howie sitting on the end of the table next to her. Bri was next to AJ and Howie. Nick was sitting next to me on the end of the table. Our food came after a few minutes so we ate.
"So...What are we doing after this?" Arti asked everyone after we were done eating our food.
"We can go back to my place and play games or watch movies..." I suggested.
Arti gave me a sly smile and raised her eyebrows up and down a few times. I giggled at her response to my suggestion. She obviously thought it was a good idea...anything to spend time with Kev. I knew what she was thinking and I knew that she wanted him to be around for as long as possible. AJ must’ve seen her gesture too because he looked at me with a confused expression on his face.
"I’ll explain later," I whispered into his ear before we stood up to leave.
"Ok," he whispered back as he wrapped his hands around my waist while we waited to pay at the counter.
I leaned into him while the cashier processed our check. When we were done, AJ took my hand in his and led me to my truck.
"Follow us," I said to Kev through the open driver’s side window of the rented Suburban.
On the way to my place, we made a short pit stop at a video store. Nick, Arti, Meg, AJ, and I all went in to pick out some movies for us to watch.
"How ‘bout this one?" I asked AJ as I picked up a box to read the splurge on the back. "I heard it’s pretty good."
"That is a good one...for a chick flick," he teased me with a sly smile.
I wrapped my right arm around his waist and put the box back with my other hand. I picked up the video that was behind the box and we continued scanning over the wall of movies. Nick was busy checking out the video game selection. Meg and Arti were looking together in the ‘drama’ section of the store while AJ and I looked at the new releases.
We both turned our heads when we heard a few girls squealing in delight. I giggled when I saw what was happening. Nick was standing at the counter waiting for the clerk to check on a game for him when one of the girls from a group of about 5 teenage girls recognized him.
"OH M’GOSH!!!! Are you NICK CARTER of the Backstreet Boys?" she squealed in a high pitched voice.
He pulled his hat a little further over his eyes and shot us a worried glance. The girl followed his gaze over to us.
"Look! There’s AJ!!!!" one of the other girls said while pointing to AJ.
By this time, Nick had quietly slipped away from the hyper girls when they turned their attention to AJ and I.
"Who is that girl that he’s with?" one of the girls asked rather loudly.
I turned my head back around towards the wall of movies with a worried look on my face as the girls walked up to AJ’s right side.
"I’ll be over there," I whispered to AJ while pointing to Arti and Meg.
He nodded before he turned to the small group of teenagers.
"Can I have your autograph?!?" one of them exclaimed as I walked away.
AJ took the paper from her and signed it before he signed another.
"Isn’t that Meggie D!?!" one of them pointed over to the three of us.
Meg turned slightly to see the girls talking to AJ and pointing at her. She shrugged her shoulders before she walked up to the small group and joined in signing autographs.
"Come with me Arti," I said as I grabbed her arm and pulled her away.
We walked up to where Nick was hiding out in the far corner of the small building still looking at the video games.
"See anything you like?" I whispered to him.
He looked up and smiled at Arti and I before he looked back to the shelves.
"Yeah...you have a Playstation right?"
"Uh huh," I replied.
"Good. I think I’ll get this one," he said while he picked up one of the games.
He continued looking at them with Arti and I right behind him. I was kind of surprised when I felt a light tug on my pants. I looked down and saw an adorable little girl with blond hair in pigtails. Her hair was curled into perfect ringlets and she smiled at me with a toothy grin. I smiled back at her as I bent down to her level.
"Hi," she said shyly.
"Hi. What’s your name?"
"Bethany," she replied happily.
"Hi Bethany. I’m Liz," I said while I shook her tiny hand.
"Are you the girl that sings with her?" she asked as she pointed to Meg.
"Yeah, I am."
She smiled her toothy grin even more when Nick started to say something to me.
"Liz...Do you mind if...Oh...uh...sorry," he said when he turned around and saw that I was talking to someone.
He bent down to Bethany’s level and smiled at her.
"What’s your name cutie?" he asked.
"Bethany."
"Bethany...Bethany where are you?" a woman’s voice called from the next aisle over.
The woman that was calling out for her daughter turned into our aisle and walked up to Bethany.
"Honey...you shouldn’t bother these people," the woman said in a gentle voice.
"No...it’s ok," I said with a smile. "We don’t mind."
Bethany grinned at Nick while I stood up and talked with her mother for a few seconds. Before I excused myself to where Meg and AJ were chatting to the group of teenage girls.
"Here," he whispered to the little girl as he pulled the hat off his head. "You can have this."
He took a black marker from his pocket and signed the new hat that he had gotten earlier that day as a souvenir from the Jazz game.
"Thanks!" Bethany exclaimed before she gave Nick a big bear hug.
I bent down to her level again and handed her a piece of paper that I had Meg and AJ sign and then I signed it myself.
"Come on Bethany...we’ve got to go now," her mother called to her.
"Have a good day cutie," Nick told her.
"Thanks Nick," she said with a huge grin before she skipped off to where her mother was waiting.
She turned and waved to me before they walked out the door of the store.
"What a sweetheart!" I said happily after I turned to Nick and Arti.
AJ and Meg were now walking over to where we were so we met them halfway at the counter.
"Ready?" I asked.
Meg handed me a few movies. I paid for the movies and Nick’s games and then we headed out.
"’Bout time!" Kev teased from his open window.
"Sorry...Code red emergency signing session..." I joked back with a shrug before I hopped in my truck.
We were back in my apartment within 5 minutes. Kev, Arti, Meg, Howie, and Bri all squashed onto the couch with the TV playing MTV.
"How can you all breath?!?" I asked as I headed into the kitchen to grab some snacks and pop some popcorn.
AJ followed me into the kitchen and wrapped his arms around my waist while I stood facing the counter and poured some candy into a big bowl.
"I’m breathless and I’m not even in there," he said flirtatiously as he lightly set his chin on my shoulder.
I patted him playfully on the top of his head before he lifted it so I could turn around. I set the bowl down on the counter and stared into his big brown eyes. He gave me a kiss, but pulled away after a few seconds when the microwave went off.
"I’m addicted..." he said in a dreamy voice. "Can I have another?"
"Maybe later," I teased before I walked over to the microwave and pulled the bag of popcorn out.
I put another bag in to pop and opened the finished bag before I dumped it into another big bowl and then set it on the table.
"So what’s with Arti?" he asked as he took my hand and pulled me close again.
"Oh...she’s really, really liking Kev," I said with a smile. "She’s falling for him pretty bad."
"How cute...Kev needs some fun in his life anyway. She’ll do him some good," he said sarcastically with a silly face.
"That’s what I told her," I replied while I picked up the two bowls and walked through the doorway with AJ following behind me.
Meg and Howie were tickling each other while Nick and Bri were playing a game on the Playstation. I looked over and saw Kev and Arti on the balcony together.
"Look," I whispered to AJ while I pointed to the balcony.
Just as AJ looked, Kev gave Arti a quick kiss on the lips and then stood straight up as if he was embarrassed. Arti leaned over and pulled him down for another kiss, making it a little more intense than the last one. Kev didn’t seem to mind as he kissed her back with just as much feeling.
"They look cute together," AJ whispered back before I set the bowls on the coffee table.
"Yep," I agreed before I sat down on the couch next to Howie.
Meg was sitting on Howie’s lap, playing with his hair that was now down to his ears. AJ sat next to me and watched Nick and Bri playing some game. I looked at AJ’s haircut and then back to Howie.
"Hey Curly D...I think it’s time for another haircut," I teased.
"Nu uh...he’s not cutting his hair..." Meg insisted with a smile. "I like it this way."
I shrugged my shoulders and then turned my attention back to AJ. He was watching the screen intently so I leaned back onto the cushions and closed my eyes. The balcony door slid open and Kev and Arti came in laughing happily. After a few seconds, the room was suddenly silent. I opened my eyes and saw that Bri and Nick had turned the Playstation off and they were waiting for us to decide what we were going to do. AJ was watching me while I sat there with my eyes closed and he smiled when I opened them again. I smiled back and then glanced at Kev and Arti. They were sitting on the floor just a few feet away from the coffee table waiting for our decision on what to do.
"Ok...we can play a game...watch a movie...comedy or drama or chick flick..." I said happily without moving from my comfortable position.
"How ‘bouts a nice game of truth or dare?" Bri asked mischievously.
I laughed at the mention of that game.
"Oh geez...I haven’t played that game since...since like high school!" I replied.
"It sounds like fun," Kev said as he gave Arti a sly grin.
"Ok...I’ll play," Arti replied with the same grin.
"Us too," Meg chimed in, meaning her and D.
I looked up at AJ and he gave me a puppy-dog face that made me melt.
"Ok, ok. We’re in too," I gave in.
Everyone got comfortable as I went and got the other bag of popcorn. After I threw away the now empty bag, I sat back down on the couch and snuggled up to AJ. He wrapped his left arm around me and I lay my head on his shoulder.
"Who’s first?" Nick asked.
"Whoever’s youngest," I replied.
All eyes turned to Meg.
* Chapter 46 *
"Okies...I pick..." she looked around the room at each person for a few seconds. "Nick..."
She pointed at Nick and grinned evilly. "Truth or Dare?"
"Truth," he replied in a skeptical voice.
She glanced at me for a few seconds and I gave her a sly smile with one raised eyebrow. She knew exactly what I was thinking...major humiliation! She returned the look and turned her attention back to Nick.
"Ok then...What’s a prank you’ve pulled that no one figured out that it was you?"
He lowered and shook his head a few times before he looked at her and sighed.
"When we were in Germany like 3 years ago, I sprinkled a whole bottle of methane-blue on a pizza and let the guys eat it. It worked for like 3 days..."
I burst out laughing when I heard that. Arti and Meg gave me weird looks like I was a psycho...they obviously didn’t know what methane-blue does.
"It makes ya pee blue..." I informed them and they laughed too. "It’s sold in pet shops for animals, but it doesn’t hurt humans."
"That was you?!?" AJ asked in Nick’s direction. "We should’ve known..."
"Oh my gosh...that IS good..." I said between bursts of laughter.
Nick looked up and flashed me a smile and I gave him a thumbs-up sign.
"D...truth or dare?" Nick asked from his spot on the floor.
I grabbed a handful of popcorn and settled back into the couch as I looked at D, waiting for his choice. He studied Meg’s face for a few seconds before he replied.
"Truth."
I stood up promptly and walked off towards my room.
"Go ahead without me...nature calls," I informed everyone.
Arti laughed at my abruptness.
"What was your first impression of Liz?" Nick asked when I was out of the room.
I heard Nick mention my name so I stopped and listened to what was being said.
"Do you even have to ask?!" Howie answered with a chuckle. "When I first saw her, she seemed like a really nice girl...very mature for her age. I thought that she was a few years older than she actually is, but that’s because she acts older. She started to get to know us for who we are and not what we do, which was really nice for once. She’s got a great personality."
‘Brownie points for Howie...’ I thought to myself with a smile before I went to the bathroom.
"Did I miss anything good?" I asked after I sat back down on the couch.
I already knew what was said while I was gone, but I figured I’d ask anyway.
"Just truth or dare stuff..." Nick said as he shrugged his shoulders.
"K," I replied.
I turned my eyes to Howie.
"Hmmm...Kev...you’re up. Truth or Dare."
"Well, since everything so far has been truth, I’ll pick..." he waited for a second to keep everyone in suspense. "Truth."
He laughed a little at the disappointed expression on Meg and Nick’s faces. Howie went to Meg for ideas. She whispered something in his ear and I watched his face light up while she was telling him. He gave her a silly grin and then turned back to Kev.
"How long have you been interested in Arti?"
Kev looked almost shocked at that question.
"Uh...well..." he didn’t know what to say. "I’ve...uh...sorta been interested since Liz introduced her to all of us at the hotel lobby in LA."
His face went red and he gave Howie a look of death for asking a question like that. Arti gave Kev a warm smile before she turned to give me a look that said she was very pleased with his answer. I smiled back.
"So...who’s next?" Kev asked while he scanned the room. "AJ...I think you need a turn. Truth or dare?"
AJ grinned at me with a naughty look in his eye and then turned back to look at Kev.
"Dare."
Kev looked at AJ for a few seconds before he spoke again.
"Here’s what ya gotta do...with the help of the girls of course...you have to dress up as a drag queen and go roaming downtown. Liz’ll go with ya with a camera or camcorder to make sure that you actually do go," Kev explained with an evil smile.
I giggled at the thought of AJ wearing a dress and bright make-up in downtown Salt Lake. Things like that are NOT seen in this city. Meg and Arti jumped up excitedly and I followed their lead. I grabbed AJ’s hand and pulled him off the couch and headed for my room to look for some appropriate clothes for him to wear.
Half an hour and a full outfit overhaul later, AJ walked out of my room wearing a long black dress that had a slit up past the knee on one side. His hair was gelled back into a bunch of small glittery clippies and his make-up looked almost natural enough that it was scary. Of course we could still see his goatee, but that’s ok...after all, he’s supposed to be a drag queen!
"Aaahhhh! Look at Alexandria...hahaha..." Nick called out when he saw AJ and then broke into a fit of laughter.
AJ shot Nick a disgusted look before he turned to me and pulled me close to him.
"Let’s please get this over with!" he whispered in a pleading voice in my ear.
I retrieved my borrowed camcorder and we were on our way. We walked out the door and went down to the elevator. It was only about 8pm so the malls were still open.
"We’ll just go to one of the malls for a little while and then we’ll head back," I said while we were driving down the road.
"Fine..."
I stole a glance at him, but couldn’t help but to laugh at how silly he looked.
"Don’t laugh at me," he said in a mock pouting voice with his bottom lip sticking out.
"Aaawww I’m sorry," I said as I grabbed his hand left hand with my free one. "You just look too cute."
"Yeah well...you should be the one wearing this dress," he said in a sly voice.
"Hmmm," I said with a little laugh. "I haven’t worn that dress since my friend’s wedding. That’s what I got it for."
"Maybe it’s time for you to wear it again..."
"Not unless I have a good reason to."
We pulled into a parking lot and I turned off the engine after we found a spot pretty close to the building. I turned the camcorder on and made sure that it was working before we got out and headed for the mall entrance. A few people gawked and stared on the sidewalk, but no one actually came up to us and said anything.
"Stop!" I said to AJ when we got to the entrance doors by the mall sign.
I videotaped AJ posing next to the sign so everyone would know that we were actually there. He grabbed my hand and led me inside. We walked through the halls for a few minutes before we stopped outside a sports store. I sat down on a bench in the middle of the hallway and recorded AJ as he walked in and started looking at shoes, hats, and jerseys. People were giving him funny looks and one couple took one look at him and promptly left the store. After about ten minutes of him roaming the store, he came back out and sat next to me on the bench. I set the camcorder in my lap, but left it recording on purpose to catch the reactions of the passersby.
"Have fun?" I asked him with a smile.
"Oh yeah..." he said slowly as he wrapped his arm around my shoulder.
People were walking by and staring at us with shocked expressions before they hurried on their way. I giggled when AJ leaned over and whispered something in my ear.
"Wanna get some really funny looks?"
His warm breath tickled my ear, but I smiled and turned my head to look him in the eyes.
"Oooooohhh yeeaaahhh," I replied with a sly smile.
He leaned over and kissed me right there in the middle of the mall hallway. It wasn’t a very long kiss, but it was long enough to get people’s attention.
"I wonder what it looks like having a girl kiss a guy that’s dressed up like a girl..." I whispered to him in a quiet voice.
He smiled back and gave me another quick peck before we stood up and left. I stopped recording and we went back out to my truck. I turned to look at him before we pulled out of the parking lot.
"One thing is for sure...dressed as a guy or girl, you’re kisses are always great!"
He gave me a sly smile. I drove us back to my place. AJ stopped in front of my door and turned around to look at me. He wrapped his arms around me in a hug for a few seconds before he pulled back a little.
"I’m glad you had fun at my expense," he said with a silly smile.
I looked down with a laugh, but when I looked back up to his face, he had a serious look again.
"I’m glad that you’re here with me...that you didn’t give up on what we have going for us," he said in a soft voice before he buried his head into my hair when he hugged me again.
"I’m glad too," I whispered back.
We stayed there for a few moments before we pulled apart a little.
"Hey...I’m going to go get my mail real quick ‘cause I didn’t get it earlier. I’ll be right back," I told him with a kiss on the cheek before I walked off down the hallway.
He waited until I was in the elevator to go back inside my apartment. I smiled to myself happily the whole ride down to the lobby. I pulled my mail out of the little box that had my apartment number on it and went back to the elevator. I flipped through the envelopes carelessly, but stopped when I came to a green envelope with my name written in a child’s messy handwriting.
"Cute..." I said to myself before I glanced at the return address in the upper left corner. "AC! I haven’t gotten a letter from him in a while."
I stepped out of the elevator when it got to my floor and I ripped the envelope open before I started walking down the hall towards my door. I read it out loud quietly to myself.
"Hey Ellz! What’s up?"
‘Everything’ I thought to myself.
"Well, since our shows in Salt Lake were cancelled and I feel really bad about not getting to visit, mom says we might be able to stop by on our break! I’m soooo excited!"
I walked up to my door as I read the last sentence over again. I turned the handle and pushed the door open while still reading.
‘We’re going to have SO much fun! D’ya think we can go to a Jazz game too?’ I read to myself as I took a few steps inside.
I turned around slightly and pushed the door shut before I turned towards the living room, still reading.
"SURPRISE!!!!!!"
"AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!"
A blood-curdling scream escaped my mouth because I definitely was NOT expecting that. I looked up to find my apartment filled with people. There was a large banner across the sliding door to the balcony that read ‘Happy 20th Birthday!’ and there were balloons and crepe paper strewn everywhere. I had dropped the letter that was in my hand so I bent over to pick it up when I was tackled from the side.
"Surprise! Happy Birthday Els!"
All I could see was a blond head of hair from the figure that was hugging me ferociously.
"Hey...that’s my letter..." he said happily when he saw the green envelope in my other hand.
"Aaron!?! What’re you doing here?" I asked as I returned the hug.
"Like I said right here..." he said pointing to his writing on the letter. "...Mom said we could stop by while I’m on break..."
I smiled at him and looked up to see who else had ‘invaded’ my apartment.
"Hey Baby Girl! Happy Birthday!" Jay said as he walked up to me and gave me a half-hug.
"Thanks Jay~J," I replied with a hug and a smile.
Cynth and Mel both walked up and gave me hugs.
"So how does it feel to be 20?" Mel asked curiously.
I gave her a silly look before I answered.
"Well...to tell ya the truth...I’m technically not 20 yet."
They both gave me silly grins.
"11:56pm...that’s the cursed moment..." I joked in a whisper.
I looked over Cynth’s shoulder and saw Jane, Nick, and Bri looking at the pictures on the wall where the entertainment center was. Jane was smiling at the pictures on the wall while Nick and Bri explained when we had them taken. I excused myself from Mel and Cynth and then walked over to my desk. From the top left-hand drawer I carefully pulled out the framed picture of AJ and I before I walked over to the entertainment center where Jane, Nick and Bri were.
"Excuse me," I said as I walked around them and set up the picture on top of the low entertainment center between a couple of candles that I had up there. "Sorry."
I apologized before I turned my full attention to the stereo. I pushed the power button and slipped a few CDs in before I set it on random. I smiled happily before I danced off to the tune of Christina Aguilera’s ‘Don’t Make Me Love You (‘Til I’m Ready)’ from the ‘Next Best Thing’ soundtrack. I giggled happily when I saw AC doing a cute little lip-synching performance for whoever was watching.
"Why you wanna rush into my life? Don’t you wanna stop and get to know me better? We’ve got all the time in the world tonight and if we’re meant to be, we’ll be...together. Stay ‘round...just slow it down ‘til we find out if we’ve got what it takes. Don’t make me love ya ‘til I’m ready...don’t make me give you more than my kisses. I needya to go slow and steady. Don’t make me love ya ‘til I’m ready..."
I sang along with the poppy upbeat music as AC did his little act. I ruffled his blond hair before I went off in another direction to where Jay, Curly, Meg, and AJ were sitting on the couch. They laughed when they saw they silly dance moves that I did while I was blurting out the words to the song with heart felt emotion.
"Let’s spread a little bit of mystery...let’s wait ‘til we have a little bitta history..." I sang with a sly smile in AJ’s direction. "...behind ourselves. We don’t have to be in such a rush. We can live for the moment if we trust we’ll be right here tomorrow."
I smiled at AJ who was now in his regular clothes and hairdo before I walked off again. This time I went over to where Kev and Arti were sitting together on chairs that were set up by the front door.
"Happy birthday," Kev said to me with a warm smile before he turned to smile at Arti.
"Yeah...Happy Birthday Ellz Angel!" she added before she stood up and gave me a huge hug.
She let go and sat back down next to Kev. He gave her hand a squeeze and then smiled happily at me.
"Thanks guys! " I said as joyful tears moistened my eyes.
Kev looked over my shoulder for a split second and I saw him do it. When he did it a second time, I took the hint and turned around to see who was standing behind me.
"Hey Cutie," AJ said as he wrapped his arms around me in a warm hug.
I leaned into him with a smile on my face.
"Happy birthday," he whispered into my ear after I pulled back a little.
He stared into my eyes as if he was looking into my soul, wanting to see my feelings reflecting his own.
"This is definitely one of the best birthdays I must admit," I said quietly as AJ leaned his head closer to hear what I was saying.
He smiled when he heard what I said and then gave me a sweet birthday kiss right there in front of everyone. I giggled after a few seconds when I heard someone whistling at us. We broke apart and my face went red with embarrassment so I buried my face in AJ’s shoulder while I laughed a little. Everyone happily laughed at my reaction before someone stepped up and said something.
"Present time!" Nick called out to everyone.
AJ led me over to my desk chair that they had pulled over by the TV so it was facing the couch. I sat down and watched everyone sit down on the couch or the floor.
"Us first!!!" Mel hollered from my room where she was getting a box that was wrapped in metallic purple wrapping paper.
She handed me the box and I smiled as everyone looked on in anticipation. I let the box sit on my lap for a few minutes just to see how long they would be able to stand it...not very long obviously.
"Open it already!" Meg exclaimed.
I pointed a finger at her and gave her a sly smile.
"Ssshhhhttt!" I did my Dr. Evil impression. "I’ve got a whole bag of Ssshhhhttt for you!"
She laughed at my cheesy attempt at humor.
Nick was about to say something when I did the same thing to him.
"Ssshhhhttt!" I said as I put my hand up in a ‘talk-to-the-hand-‘cause-the-face-ain’t-listenin’’ position.
Airboy laughed loudly at my way of silencing his older brother. I playfully winked at him and then picked up the box to unwrap it. When I got the wrapping off, I was left with a white box sitting on my lap. I carefully lifted the lid and peered inside.
"Aaaaahhh!" I exclaimed in delight before I broke into a fit of laughter.
I opened the lid and peeked in before I shut it again. I laughed until someone spoke up.
"What’s in it?" Curly asked.
I opened the lid once again and this time I looked at the contents for a few seconds before I shut the lid and put my head back while I tried to stop laughing. By that time Mel and Cynth were both laughing with me at the weird reaction that I was giving to their present. When I finally got my giggles under control, I opened the box and pulled out a card that had a little poem on it. I already knew what it said cause I’d seen one of these items in Mel’s room before. I handed the card to Jane and tried not to laugh while she read the card.
"You might think I’m just a weird looking toy, but I’m here when you’re having troubles with a boy. You can pull my hair or wring my neck...punch my face ‘til I look like a wreck. When you’re done you’ll feel a lot less pissed...and you’ll be happy ‘cause I’m easy to fix."
Jane gave me a confused look so I pulled the doll out of the box. It looked like one of the ‘crash dummies’ but it was ‘dressed’ in a tux and the head, legs, and arms were attached with Velcro. I demonstrated by pulling a leg and arm off. Meg and Arti both busted up laughing and I couldn’t help but join in with them. Jane chuckled at the weird looking stress reliever doll and when she saw the confused faces on the boys’ faces she laughed too.
"How didya know?" I asked Cynth and Mel.
"You only say that you want one every time you see mine..." Mel replied with a laugh.
I tossed the doll to Arti and watched as she played with it and laughed at the funny expression on the doll’s face. Meg got up and pulled out a box from a bag by the kitchen doorway.
"Here ya go...from D and me," she said with a smile while she handed me a box that was about 3" inches wide and 4" long.
I brushed back a piece of loose hair that was hanging in my face and then pulled off the blue ribbons followed by the nice white paper. I held the shiny black box in my hands while mentally wondering what could be inside. I lifted the top of the box off with my right hand. At first all I could see was soft white cotton in the box, but once I had the lid all the way off, I saw the contents.
"It’s perfect!" I gushed with teary eyes as I picked up the silver chain with the small heart pendant.
The heart had a small diamond in the center with music notes engraved around it while the pendant hung perfectly on the delicate chain. I shot Meg and D a warm smile as I set the necklace carefully back in the box. I set the box on the floor on the side of the chair and stood up to give Meg a hug. She stood up too ‘cause she knew what I was going to do next.
"Thanks Meg," I managed to say as we gave each other a sisterly hug.
I wiped a tear away as Howie stood up to give me a hug too.
"Y’all are makin’ me cry," I said sarcastically as I sat back down.
Howie gave me a funny look and I saw that he was about to say something so I cut him off.
"And yes Curly...I did just say *y’all*."
Everyone laughed at my comment and I just smiled sweetly. After I opened a few more presents, I looked over at AC who was sitting next to Jane by my desk.
"Come here blondie," I said to AC while I motioned him to come over to me. "I’ve got somethin’ for ya."
When he was standing next to me, I took his hand in mine, stood up, and led him to my room. I told him to sit on my bed while I looked in a bag that was sitting on the floor by the massive windows on the other side of the room. After looking through a few bags, I finally found what I was looking for.
"Here we are...this is for you," I said as I pulled an orange and blue Bronco’s football from the bag that I was holding. "It’s personally signed by none other than THE John Elway."
I giggled at the shocked expression on his face as I handed him the football. He looked the thing over for like five minutes and finally looked up at me with a huge grin.
"Thanks!!!!"
"No problem. It was really easy to get actually...ya know...’cause I’ve got connections," I teased.
"Well I’ve got connections too, but I’ve never been able to get one of these," he replied happily as he stood up and headed for the door.
I followed him to the door and walked out slowly before I shut it behind me. Everyone was talking in hushed voices and as I walked up I could hear Meg talking quietly.
"Liz’s got a job and stuff here. Have you guys told her yet?"
I only heard the last part of what she said. Everyone was silent as I walked up and sat back down in my seat.
"Told me what?" I asked with a confused look on my face.
Meg gave Howie a look that said she was sorry and Howie then turned to look at AJ. I followed Meg’s glance to Howie and then on to AJ.
"We...uh...well, our...uh...management has asked Meg if she would be our opening act on the next leg of our tour," AJ said nervously.
"That’s great!" I exclaimed happily with a smile. "I bet she’ll have fun going crazy from you guys being around her all the time."
Meg laughed nervously at my comment because she knew it wasn’t exactly far from the truth. There was an awkward silence in the room as everyone but me was trying to think of the right words to say. I decided to break the ice.
"So...who is the other opening act?"
"Me!" AC hollered as he did his ‘macho manly-man’ stance.
"You are tooooo much," I told him with a laugh.
Everyone stared at me as I laughed at AC. Meg finally said something after a few seconds.
"And...I...I mean we...were wondering if you would kind of maybe possibly join us?" Meg asked in a timid voice.
I sat there not really knowing if I heard her right. A laugh escaped from my mouth and I sat there for a few seconds with my mouth open, but with a smile.
"What did you say?" I asked with the smile still on my face.
Jay was the one to break the awkward silence that once again followed my question.
"Baby Girl...they want you to go on tour with them..." he said in a calm voice. "And you better say YES or else I’m going to have to disown ya," he added sarcastically.
"Aaawww! You all know that I would love to!" I said with a huge grin as I stood up and walked past everyone towards the sliding glass doors to the balcony. "BUT...I do have a job...and how in the world am I supposed to leave everything behind? I can’t just get up and leave my apartment...I have a lease contract for at least another three months..." I trailed off as I stared out the glass in the gap of the curtains.
I wrapped my arms around myself in a hug as I stood there and stared out into nothing. I truly did want to go with them because it would be the opportunity of a lifetime, but I couldn’t just drop everything that I had worked so hard to achieve so far. No one said a word as I stood there with thoughts running through my head.
"When are you leaving?" I asked in almost a whisper.
"Noon tomorrow," Kev answered.
My throat welled up at the thought of them leaving tomorrow...without me. I slid the glass door open and walked out the open gap that the curtain left before I shut the door behind me.
"What should I do?" I asked myself as I leaned up against the railing and looked out over the city. "What am I supposed to do?"
I pleaded with no one that I would come up with an answer...and soon. I lowered my head and closed my eyes as the cool breeze brushed my hair away from my face as if to comfort me from all my questions and worries. The door slid open a few minutes later and I didn’t look up to see who it was, but only listened as it slid shut again.
"Are you ok?" Jane gently asked from her position standing next to me.
"Yeah...I think so," I replied as I lifted my head and looked out over the city again.
"You know, if you decide to go, all of this will be here when you get back."
"It’s not that easy. I’m in the middle of going to college...I won’t exactly have an income to pay the bills if I have to quit my job..."
"You will get paid for the time you are on the road so you won’t have to worry about that. And as for going to college, you will only be gone for a few months...I’m sure you can take a break for one semester," she replied with a motherly tone in her voice.
"How do you do it?" I asked earnestly. "How do you send your son on tours that keeps him away from home for so long?"
"To tell you the truth...I don’t know. I just know that he’s doing what he loves. I know that I can’t stand in his way from his one true passion," she replied honestly. "And that’s music."
She was quiet for a few minutes while I thought about what she said.
"You shouldn’t let ANYTHING stand in the way of your dreams either," she said before she turned to go back inside.
I watched her walk back inside and then shut the door. Her words echoed in my mind and I wanted to scream out with the frustration that I was feeling over this huge decision that would ultimately effect my life. After a few seconds, I slid the door open and went back inside. I knew that everyone was watching me, but I didn’t really pay any attention to the worried and questioning looks that were coming my way. I picked up my cordless phone from my desk and dialed a very familiar number as I turned towards the glass while it connected.
"Dad? *pause* Yeah...it’s me," I said into the mouthpiece. "Yeah, I know it’s been a while. *pause* You know when you told me I should go into computers instead of music for a career?"
I turned around and walked past the couch towards my room. I saw a few of the worried looks that Arti and Meg threw at each other as I walked by. When I was about to walk by Arti, I reached out and gave her shoulder a gentle pat to let her know that I was ok before I continued on my way to my room.
"Yeah dad...I know. *pause* I know that you think music is never going to get me anywhere except into a lot of debt... *pause* Dad...no...I need to talk to you about something important. *pause* Yes it’s more important than SportsCenter!!!! *pause* Yeah. You know that song I told you about that’s doin’ pretty well on the charts? *pause* Yeah, that one."
I pushed my door open with one hand before I walked in and shut the door behind me. I plopped onto my bed and stared at the ceiling as I started a very long talk with my dad even though he was 500 miles away.
* Chapter 47 *
My hand turned the handle on my bedroom door and swiftly swung it open. I had just finished talking to my dad and I was now going to take a short walk to try and calm down. No decision that I had had to make before was ever this hard, but that was because they weren’t going to change my life completely. My eyes were a little red and I sensed everyone’s eyes on me as I briskly walked to the front door, but stopped in front of it while facing the handle. I stood there for about 10 seconds before I turned around to speak.
"Cynthia...Melanie...will you two come with me for a few minutes?" I asked in a quivering voice.
They stood up, grabbed their jackets, and followed me out the door into the hallway. I didn’t say anything to them until we were in the elevator with the doors closed.
"You two have known me since we were little and I need to hear what you two have to say because I value your opinions very much. Do you think I should go?" I asked with a pleading face.
Cynth spoke first.
"You know that I love you like a sister and I always want what’s best for you...I know how important music is to you. I think I always knew that you’d do something that had to deal with music," she explained with a comforting face. "I think this could be the single best thing you could ever do to start down the road to your dream."
The doors opened and we walked out into the car garage that was under the building.
"I have to say that I totally and completely agree. You’ve always been the one that has pushed me to fulfill my dreams and now I wanna do the same for you. This is the perfect opportunity for you! Please take advantage of it," Mel said as we walked over to their car.
"Thanks guys! Hearing what you had to say really helps me out A LOT!" I thanked them before I gave them both hugs.
I watched them climb into their car.
"We’ve got an hour drive ahead of us so we’re going to head home. Happy birthday!" Mel explained.
"Thanks again...for everything!" I told them before they shut their doors and took off.
I went back up in the elevator and slowly walked to my door. Everyone looked up from what they were doing when I walked in the door. I gave them a half-hearted smile before I walked into the kitchen.
"Jane...do you and Airboy have a place to stay tonight?" I called out while I filled a cup at the tap.
"Well, I was just going to get a hotel room at the place where the boys are staying," she replied from the living room while I took a drink of the water that was in my hand.
"You can stay here tonight if you want to. It’ll be a little easier than trying to find a room."
"That sounds nice. Thanks," she said from her new position in the kitchen doorway.
I turned around and gave her a smile and then headed to my room to get some spare blankets and pillows to use with the spare blow-up bed with a built in pump that my parents gave me a while back. I carried the pile of stuff into the living room and dumped it on the empty spot on the couch. The TV was on and the tape that I had made of ‘Alexandria the drag queen’ was playing. AJ walked up behind me and wrapped his arms around my sides before he started lightly kissing my neck a little.
"Stop...that tickles," I whispered.
I shouldn’t have said anything, ‘cause instead of stopping, he did it more. I pulled away and sat down on the couch with AJ plopping down next to me. Kev and Arti were out on the balcony AGAIN. Curly D was sitting at my desk with Meg on his lap while they both typed something on my computer. Nick and AC were sitting on the floor between the coffee table and the TV, watching the home-video attentively.
"Have fun?" my voice came from the TV
"Oh yeah..." AJ’s voice responded.
The looks that were recorded on the tape were priceless! It was a few seconds before we heard anything else.
"Wanna get some really funny looks?" could barely be heard in AJ’s low raspy voice.
"Oooooohhh yeeaaahhh," my voice replied quietly.
Nick and AC burst out laughing at the outrageous looks that were coming from people walking by the camera.
"Geez...what’d you guys do to make ‘em look at you like that?" Nick asked curiously with a sly smile.
"That’s for us to know and for you never to find out," I teased.
"Yeah..." AJ chimed in. "What she said."
Bri walked out my bedroom door and started singing...
"That’s what she said..."
"No man...that’s not what I said..." AJ told him with a laugh.
Bri shrugged his shoulders and walked over to the bookshelf by my desk. Kev and Arti walked in the sliding door a few seconds later.
"Listen guys...I think we should be heading back to the hotel. We’ve got to get up in the morning and pack," Kev said as he stood in back of the couch with Arti by his side.
Nick and Bri followed Kev to the door. Howie and Meg got up from my desk and went to the door too. AJ gave me a kiss on the cheek before he stood up too. I stood up to give him a goodnight hug before he left.
"I’ll call you before we leave in the morning," he said as he pulled me into his arms.
"Ok," I said as he walked towards the door where the other guys were standing.
Jay had left a little while before so the guys and Meg were the only ones leaving. AJ stopped when he got to the door and turned around to look at me. I couldn’t stand it anymore so I walked up to him and he enveloped me in a tight hug. He didn’t say anything as I buried my face in his shoulder and took a deep breath of his cologne. I pulled back after a few minutes and looked at his face for a few more minutes, trying to memorize every detail of it. He leaned in and gave me a sweet innocent kiss on the lips before he let go of me and walked out the door. I stared at the door until I was sure they were gone, not wanting to move in hopes that they would come back. I knew that they wouldn’t come back so I turned around and walked over to the couch, pulling the airbed off the couch before I plugged it in. When it was full of air, I spread a blanket on it and told Jane that it was done. Airboy got up and sat down on it before he swung his legs onto it and laid down.
"This is kinda comfy," he said in a happy voice.
I smiled at him and then turned back to talk to Jane.
"I think I’m going to go to bed now. There’s blankets and stuff on the couch for you and AC to use. Arti’ll be sleeping in my room so you won’t need to worry about her," I explained while I let out a sigh of exhaustion.
"Ok hun," she said with an understanding smile. "Good night."
"Good night," I called out to them as I walked to my room, closely followed by Arti.
I quickly changed into my pajamas and hopped into bed. I had pulled the extra mattress out from under my bed earlier so Arti could set up her bed. She climbed under the covers and laid there while I turned off the light.
"Good night," Arti whispered.
"G’night," I replied before I closed my eyes and rolled onto my side.
~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ The Next Morning ~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~
I sleepily rolled over and opened my eyes a sliver as the sunlight poured in through the thin curtains that covered the windows on the other side of the room. When my eyes were adjusted to the light, I sat up and brushed my hair back from my eyes before I got out of bed. I walked around to the other side of the bed expecting to see Arti still sleeping on the extra mattress, but instead all I saw was the bare floor. The mattress had already been put away and the blankets were folded up neatly into a pile by the wall. Her bags were gone along with all of her stuff. I quickly changed into some clothes before I headed to see if AC and Jane were awake yet.
"Everyone up yet?" I called out before I walked into the kitchen.
I didn’t hear a response so I walked out and looked into the living room to find everything put back and again the blankets and pillows were in a neat pile on the couch.
"They left without saying good-bye?" I asked myself in a sad voice.
My eyes caught sight of the note that was sitting on the table inside the door so I walked over and picked it up. Jane had left a note and Arti had added a message of her own on the bottom.
Sorry we didn’t wake you, but we felt that you needed the extra sleep. Thank you for letting us stay in your apartment last night. Please think about the tour and call me at the phone number below if you need to talk about anything. Jane
I glanced at the number before I went on to read Arti’s note.
Thanks for letting me stay with you Liz...I had a blast! Please consider coming on tour with us. Yes...I will be going too. Kev asked me to come and help Denise out with some of the promo stuff and of course I said YES! I mean, how could I not?!? Anyway, promise me you’ll think about it...it’s going to be the opportunity of a lifetime. I’ll miss ya, Arti
I set the paper back on the table and looked up at the clock that was on the wall by my desk.
"Geez...11:19 already?"
I went in my bathroom and finished getting ready for the day when I suddenly remembered that AJ said he’d call. I walked out of the bathroom and out to my desk. The red light on the base of my phone was blinking so I knew I had a message. I pushed the ‘play’ button and listened.
"You have one new message. *pause* Thursday, June 11th...10:22am."
There was a short pause before the message played.
"Hey Liz. I’m missing you already," AJ voice said. "Listen, our plane leaves at noon so will you come and see us off? Gate C39. I’ve got to go...the guys are waiting for me in the lobby. Love you...bye."
‘Noon? Crap!’ I thought to myself as I ran to the door after I grabbed my truck keys from the table by the door. I practically ran all the way to my truck, hoping that I would make it to the airport in time. The drive to the airport seemed to take hours when in reality it only took about 25 minutes. By the time I parked my truck in the short-term parking lot, got past security, and then made my way towards the gate, I was too late.
"No..." I cried out softly with my head up against the glass as the plane started to pull away from the gate towards the runway. "I missed them by like two minutes..."
I sat there looking out at the plane as it pulled away and then eventually turned and ran down the runway. A lonely feeling came over me when I realized that I was alone...again.