* 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.