-Two weeks later-

“It’s crooked.” Alexa said to Brian, who was standing on a ladder in the living room setting up their first Christmas Tree. “Pull it more to the left.”

“Are you sure?” Brian replied. “It doesn’t look crooked to me.”

Alexa laughed. “How would you be able to tell? You're on a ladder at the top of the tree.”

Brian chuckled. “I guess you’re right.” He started to move the tree over to the left slowly. “Tell me when.”

Alexa watched closely. “Now. Stop. It’s perfect!”

“Are you sure?” He asked, grinning. “Once I get down, I’m not coming back up.”

“I’m positive.” Alexa smiled. Together, she and Brian had picked out a beautiful 10-foot-tall Evergreen tree from a lot just down the street from Brian's house. It was a gorgeous Christmas tree that neither of them would be able to enjoy for long, because both Brian and Alexa were leaving to visit Brian's family the next day.

“Are you ready to get to decorating?” Brian asked with a smile as he descended the ladder and walked over to where Alexa was standing, admiring the tree.

“Definitely.” Alexa sighed contentedly. It had been a long time since she had shared the holiday with someone that she cared about so deeply. She turned to Brian and wrapped her arms around his waist. “I love you.”

Brian smiled and kissed her forehead softly. “I love you, too.”

Alexa leaned into Brian and inhaled deeply. She loved the way that he smelled. He seldom wore cologne, but somehow he still had a sweet perfumed scent. Alexa closed her eyes, wishing that she could stay wrapped in his arms forever. How many times had she told herself that she was going to be forthcoming and tell him the truth behind how she had come to live across the street? Brian hearing it from her had to be better than hearing it from anyone else. Now wasn't the right time. The moment was too good to ruin. Still, Alexa knew that there was never going to be a right time. Please God, Alexa prayed silently, don't let AJ recognize me.

“What's the matter?” Brian asked, sensing that something was wrong.

“Nothing.” Alexa shook her head and tried to smile. “I'm just kind of bummed that Brooke and Lance decided to go to Lance's parent's house this year. Not that I don't love your family, but I haven't seen my sister in months.”

“Not that this is going to make up for missing your family,” Brian replied, smiling,“but I've got an idea.”

Alexa smirked. “What's that?”

“How about we decorate this tree and then you get out of here. Book a spa day, go shopping, whatever you want to do. Meanwhile, I'll stay here and get everything set up for the most romantic night that you've ever had in your life.” Brian smiled and kissed the top of her jaw line, close to her ear.

“Like that's going to be hard to do, or something.” Alexa joked, while pushing him away.

“Gee,” Brian started, feigning hurt. “You know how to make a guy feel good.”

“Aw,” Alexa soothed, with a playful pout on her lips. “I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I'll go to the spa if that's REALLY what you want me to do.”

“Oh,” Brian replied, playing along. “I do, just to get you out of my hair if nothing else.”

Alexa laughed. “Then it's settled.” She kissed his softly. “Now hand me those tree-lights so that we can get this party started.”

-------

Hours later, Brian was still rushing around the house. He wanted to make sure that everything was perfect. Knowing that he wouldn't be able to cook a whole Christmas dinner while Alexa was gone, if at all, Brian called a local homestyle delivery service. He ordered turkey, vegetables and corn bread stuffing--all Christmas favorites. In the dining and living rooms, he lowered the lights and plugged in the Christmas tree. The tree alone was enough to keep the room romantically lit, however, for a special touch Brian set the table with a cream-colored table cloth that his mom had left for him during one of her trips to visit and he lit two red candles.

Earlier in the day, Brian had stepped out to pick up some special things for Alexa including a bouquet of red and white roses. He set the roses in the middle of the two lit candles. He knew that Alexa would be back soon, so he ran upstairs to change his clothes quickly and then rushed into the kitchen to take the turkey out of the oven, where it was warming. He then began carving.

Alexa walked in a moment later and was stunned by how much Brian had done. “Brian?” She called as she walked further into the house.

Brian rushed out of the kitchen and kissed her quickly. “You're early. I'm not ready yet.”

“No.” Alexa replied, shaking her head. “You've done too much.”

“It's not enough.” Brian replied with a smile. “Not that you don't look beautiful already, but you go upstairs and change into the pretty little red number you've got hanging in the closet and I'll be ready by the time that you get back.”

Alexa nodded slowly. “I love you. You know that?”

“I do.” Brian replied. “And I love you.”

Alexa kissed him again before running up to Brian's bedroom. She pulled the dress that Brian had suggested out of the closet and slipped it on quickly. She hurried into his large bathroom and plugged in her curling iron. Alexa swept her hair into a quick updo, slipped on a pair of high heels and started back down the stairs to where Brian was waiting.

Plates heaping with food were now set on the table and there was soft Christmas music playing in the background.

Brian was singing along softly “Have yourself a merry little Christmas. Let your heart be light. From now on,” Brian turned around suddenly hearing Alexa approaching. He continued singing softly in awe by how beautiful that she looked. “Our troubles will be out of sight.”

“Hey.” Alexa said lamely.

“Hey, yourself.” Brian replied. He pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her waist. Without saying a word, they both started to sway slowly to the music. “You look beautiful,” Brian finally spoke.

“Thank you.” Alexa replied, blushing. “This is all really amazing. I can't believe that you went to this much trouble.”

Brian shrugged. “I wanted to make it special.”

Across the room, a glowing ornament caught Alexa's eye. She pulled away from Brian slowly and took the brass ornament between her fingers. “Brian and Alexa's first Christmas.” She read aloud. In the middle of the gold-ish surrounding was a silly picture that Brian and Alexa had taken not too long before.

Brian walked up behind her. “It's for all of our Christmas trees. We'll have it forever.”

Alexa turned around and smiled with tears in her eyes. He really did love her. He wanted to be with her for as long as they could possibly last. “You are the most amazing person that I've ever met.” Alexa whispered seriously.

Brian smiled and leaned in slowly. He pressed his soft lips against hers. They had kissed thousands of times by now, but still, the feeling of her lips on his caused him to melt every time. He pulled away slowly. “Alexa, I know that we haven't been together for that long, but I love you more than I'll ever be able to show you. I owe you so much.”

Alexa shook her head and pressed a finger to his lips. “You don't owe me a single thing. Whether you know this or not, you saved me in unimaginable ways.”

Brian shot her a confused look, but assumed she was talking about her family issues. “How about we go eat this great dinner that I cooked for you,” Brian joked. “The next thing that I need to save you from is starvation.”

Alexa laughed, already knowing that he'd ordered the food. They sat at the table together and ate their first private holiday meal by the glow of candlelight.

Brian could sit back and watch Alexa for hours. He was mesmerized by her sweet laughter and the intense way that her blue eyes twinkled. He had never felt this way about someone so quickly. Whether Alexa knew it or not, she had him eating out of the palms of her hands and he loved every minute of it.

--------

The next morning came quickly. The alarm sounded promptly at 6 a.m. Alexa groaned as she swatted at the clock next to her, desperate to stop the incessant buzzing. She rolled over and slung an arm over her eyes.

“Is it really 6 a.m. already?” Brian moaned, miserably. “It feels like we just went to sleep.”

Alexa laughed, softly. “That's because we did.”

Brian wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close to him. “How about we just stay here? I don't have to go, you don't have to go. We don't have to worry about my parents or AJ.”

“Aw, you're not fooling me. You want to see your friend.” Alexa replied as she rolled over and placed her head on Brian's chest.

“Yeah.” Brian replied with a smirk. “I guess that I do.”

Alexa groaned again and pulled herself out of bed. “Come on. We need to get ready to go. We have a long drive ahead of us.”

“Ugh.” Brian replied and threw the comforter over his head. “No.”

“Brian,” Alexa started as she climbed back onto the bed next to him. “We promised your mom that we'd be there by lunchtime. Leaving here at seven already puts us an hour behind.”

“I know.” Brian sighed and pulled himself up. “You're going to have to stay up this time and keep me awake.”

Alexa smiled. “Fine, I'll meet your friend with dark circles under my eyes.”

“Great,” Brian replied. “You're going to look like you have black eyes and they're going to think that I'm a woman beater.”

Alexa laughed. “First off, thanks for letting me know that I look so terrible.”

Brian rolled his eyes. “That's not what I meant.”

“Secondly,” Alexa continued. “It's doubtful that your mom, at least, would think that I let you put your hands on me, mostly because she knows that I'd just kick your ass.”

Brian laughed. “Yeah and I have the bruised shins to prove it.”

“Whatever.” Alexa grabbed onto Brian's hands and attempted to pull him out of bed. “Come on.”

Brian laughed. “Fine, you win. I'm up.”

Both Brian and Alexa showered and changed quickly. By 7 a.m., the car was packed and they were headed back to Kentucky.

They drove in silence for a while, both trying to become acclimated to the limited amount of sleep that they'd gotten the night before. Finally, Alexa turned to Brian and smiled. “So, how's this gonna work?”

Brian smiled back and gently took her hand into his. “How's what going to work?”

“Well,” Alexa shrugged. “We promised your mom that we'd stay at her house this time around. So, does that mean separate bedrooms across the house from each other or what?”

Brian laughed. “Are you kidding?”

“No I'm not kidding.” Alexa smirked. “Is that a bad question?”

Brian shook his head. “No, but trust me, my mom's go glad that I'm having sex again she might lock us in a room together, just to make sure that we still do.”

“Ew,” Alexa said as she swatted Brian's arm. “You talk to your mom about our sex life?”

Brian laughed out loud. “No! I'm just saying. She's so happy that I've finally moved on, that she's happy to accommodate us in any way possible.”

Alexa sighed and nodded with a smirk on her lips. “We're not having sex at your parents' house.”

“What?” Brian asked, seemingly astonished. “Why not?”

“Brian!” Alexa exclaimed. “Between your parents being there, Harold and Leslie being around and AJ... just no.”

“We're going to be there for a week.” Brian replied playfully.

“You'll be fine.” Alexa rolled her eyes and laughed. “Can I tell you something and you promise not to laugh?”

“You can tell me anything, but I'll never promise not to laugh.” Brian replied with a smile.

Alexa rolled her eyes. “I'm nervous about meeting your friend.” Little did Brian know that they'd already met. What she was really nervous about was how big of a first impression that she'd made on AJ just by carrying a basket of bagels into a boardroom.

Brian smiled over at her. “You weren't nervous about coming up to me. What's different about AJ?”

“I didn't know who you were at first.” Alexa shrugged, though she knew good and well who he was when she approached him. The only reason that she had was because he looked like he was going to faint.

“You said that you were never a fan, so it shouldn't matter.” Brian shrugged simply, hoping that she hadn't had his picture on her wall when the Backstreet Boys were at their peak.

“I wasn't and that's not why I'm nervous anyway.” Alexa replied slowly. “He's the first real friend of yours that I'm meeting. I just want him to like me.”

“You worry too much.” Brian replied, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. “He may like you too much. AJ and I always had a thing for similar women.”

“Well,” Alexa said, wiggling her eyebrows playfully. “Maybe it's you that has something to worry about, huh?”

Brian laughed and shook his head. “We'll see.”

Hours later, the couple arrived to Lexington, Kentucky. Alexa, of course, had fallen asleep in the passenger seat. Brian slowed the car in his parents' driveway and stopped gently. He took Alexa's hand into his and kissed it softly.

Alexa stirred and looked over at him with a smile. “We're there already?”

“You know,” Brian replied with a smile playing on his lips. “You are the worst travel partner, ever.”

Alexa laughed. “I'm sorry. I don't do well in cars. I told you to wake me up if I fell asleep.”

Brian shrugged. “I couldn't do that. You looked too peaceful over there.”

“Well, thank you.” Alexa smiled and leaned over to kiss him softly. “Now at least one of us is refreshed.”

Brian laughed. “Hang on a sec and I'll grab the door.”

Brian walked around the car and opened Alexa's door. Hand in hand, they walked through the chilly December air toward the house. Once inside, they followed the boisterous laughter to the living room where everyone was sitting around the fireplace.

“Well look who finally decided to show up.” AJ remarked when he saw Brian and Alexa enter the room. He stood from where he was seated at the sofa and glanced at the beautiful woman on Brian's arm. There was something familiar about her that AJ couldn't place.

“What are you doing here already?” Brian replied, grinning from ear to ear. “You're supposed to be coming in tomorrow.”

“I decided to come by a day early so that I could spend some time with my boy and his girl. Come 'ere,” AJ grabbed Brian and the two men hugged tightly. He then turned to Alexa and pulled her in for a hug also. “Hi, I'm AJ.”

“Oh,” Alexa laughed and hugged him back. “I'm Alexa it's nice to meet you.”

Brian's mom stood and joined in on the greetings. She hugged her son and turned to Alexa, hugging her as well. “It's so good to see you both.” Jackie replied as she squeezed. “I've missed you.”

“Mom,” Brian replied, rolling his eyes. “You saw us less than a month ago.”

“That doesn't mean anything.” Jackie argued. “I talk to AJ more than I talk to you and I didn't give birth to him.”

“Yeah, but we've already talked about that. Right AJ?” Brian replied, glancing over at his friend who was gazing curiously at Alexa. “AJ?”

AJ shook his head and turned back to Brian. “Huh? Oh, yeah. Yeah. Brian gets a little bit jealous that you like to talk to me on the phone sometimes.” He then turned back to Alexa, who was desperately avoiding making eye contact with him. “You look so familiar. I feel like I know you from somewhere.”

Alexa shrugged. “I just have one of those faces, I guess. Besides, you've seen thousands of girls. I'm sure that I look like at least a handful of them.”

AJ nodded his head. “Yeah, that must be it.”

“Well,” Jackie broke in a second later. “I know that you all must be hungry. I've got some deli sandwiches waiting to be cut up in the kitchen.”

“If you don't mind. I'm going to go outside and grab a smoke real quick.” AJ replied and turned to Brian. “Want to keep me company?”

“Yeah, sure, even though I'll be watching you die slowly.” Brian replied, smiling.

“Yeah, yeah.” AJ and Brian walked through the living room and out the front door.

Jackie turned to Alexa and slung an arm around her. “I guess that it's just you and me, Kid.”

“That's fine with me.” Alexa laughed. “I'm getting a little tired of your son anyway.”

“Bite your tongue, Miss.” Jackie joked. “You can't ever get tired of us. You're done too much good for him.”

“I don't know about all that, but I'm not going anywhere. I love him too much.” Alexa replied sincerely. She'd stay for as long as he would have her.

“That's what I like to hear. Now, let's go get ourselves something eat, shall we?”

Outside AJ was puffing away slowly on his cigarette. “She's really beautiful.”

Brian looked down and smiled softly. “Yeah, she really is.”

AJ watched his friend. He couldn't remember the last time that he'd seen him that light and free. “You look happy.”

“I am.” Brian replied, finally looking up at AJ. “I'm completely happy. She makes the world a better place. She's doesn't take my bullshit. She tells me like it is. She doesn't let me feel sorry for myself. She's amazing.”

AJ nodded and couldn't help but to feel slightly jealous. He wanted to find what Brian had found twice. “That's really good man.”

“Yeah, it really is.” Brian sighed happily and looked up at his friend. “So, what's been going on with you? Dating anyone?”

“I've been dating, but have I found anyone special? No, not particularly.” AJ shrugged. “I hang out in the wrong crowds. I need to hanker down in Georgia with you.”

Brian laughed. “You're welcome anytime.”

AJ smiled and took a puff of his cigarette. “So, speaking of Georgia, we've finally got a date for that Atlanta show.”

“Oh yeah?” Brian replied. It was going to be much harder to turn AJ down when he was staring him in the face.

“Yeah. It's January 17.” AJ flicked his almost finished cigarette to the ground. “Do you think that you'll be able to make it?”

“Yeah, you know, I don't think so.” Brian replied jokingly, though he was mostly serious.

“Brian, this isn't about the music or bringing you back. It's about the support of your friends.” AJ stared over at Brian. “We would really like to see you there. You haven't see Nick, or Howie or, hell even Kevin in forever.”

Brian nodded and sighed. He knew that he had to go. What kind of excuse could he possibly give for not showing up to their show when it was minutes from his house. “I know. I'll make every effort to be there. That's all that I can do right now.”

AJ nodded and smiled, knowing that he had Brian. “I'll take it. Now come on, let's go get some grub.”

Brian laughed and followed AJ through the house and into the kitchen where Jackie and Alexa were already sitting at the table eating. Brian walked up behind Alexa, took a quick bite of her sandwich and then kissed her cheek before whispering in her ear, “hey Beautiful, how would you like to go to a Backstreet Boys concert?”