* 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.
