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I had a lot on my mind for the rest of the evening. I was
very quiet
... AJ seemed to notice. Finally, he tapped me on the shoulder.
“Are you
okay? Do you want to leave?”
“No ... really. I’m fine.” He’d finally started having
conversations
with his friends again; I didn’t want to ruin that.
I shoved him back towards Brian and Nick, who were in the midst
of an animated conversation, and sat back in my chair. The same
thoughts
kept whirling around in my brain. Going on tour with him.
What would
that be like? Would I want to? What about everyone back
in Kansas City?
My parents in Wichita? What would everyone say if I called them
up and
said, “Hey, guys, I’m going on tour with the Backstreet Boys.
See you in a
couple of months.” God, my mother would have a fit. My
father, if he
knew the truth, would start hunting AJ down with a shotgun. Sarah
... well,
Sarah would think it was cooler than shit. And Steve and Heather
... I
didn’t know what they would think. I didn’t even know what they
were
thinking now. Did they feel guilty? Responsible for me
leaving? Or, were
they just shaking their heads and feeling sorry for poor, over-emotional
Victoria, stomping off and having a dramatic hissy fit.
That thought made me pause. Was that really what my road
trip had
been all about? I’d run off in anger, making a terribly dramatic
change in
my life over some idiot guy who thought with his dick instead of his
brain.
Suddenly, I wondered if leaving Kansas City had been the most mature
thing to do ...
Then, there was AJ. Could you really fall in love with a
person in
less than a week? I knew my feelings for him were complicated
... never
before had a person made me feel so comfortable, yet at the same time,
so
nervous and excited. The sex was great, the conversations better
... but this
life of his scared me, to be honest. I wasn’t sure I could deal
with it.
To quiet my racing mind, I grabbed another drink from the waitress.
There was nothing like alcohol to get logic to shut up.
Two glasses of rum and Coke later, I’d numbed my brain enough
to
make the debate go away. A pleasant heat spread through my body
... I
wasn’t exactly drunk, but I was buzzed enough to feel really good.
I tugged
on AJ’s shirt. “Hey ...”
He turned to me and smiled. “Hi there ...”
“I’m feeling neglected,” I pouted. I wasn’t, actually, but
it sounded
like something fun to say.
“I’m sorry, baby ... how can I make it up to you?” He leaned
over
and put a hand on my knee, sliding it slowly up my thigh.
Oh, that felt good. I giggled. “Take me back to the hotel.”
“Your wish is my command ...” AJ downed the last of his
beer and
stood up, offering his hand to me. I took it, and he led me out,
shouting his
good-byes to everyone at the table.
When we arrived back at the hotel, we stopped outside.
Through
the glass, we could see a group of girls sitting in the lobby.
There was only
one reason they would be there ... AJ sighed. “Damn, don’t these
people
ever sleep?”
“Apparently not.”
“I do *not* want to have to sign fifty autographs tonight.
You look
too damned good in that dress for me to wait that long,” he growled
in my
ear.
I squealed when he bit my neck lightly. “Stop that!
Come on, let’s
go in and get this over with. Maybe it won’t be so bad.”
AJ shook his head. “You’ve never done this before.”
Sure enough, he was right ... the minute we walked in the door,
the
girls were out of their seats and surrounding us. “AJ!
Stop for a minute?
Can I get a picture? Do you remember ...”
Suddenly, I was pushed aside as more teenagers rushed up.
I
stumbled, only to feel someone catch my arm. I looked up to see
a woman
hanging on to me. She was older than most of the crowd, somewhere
in her
twenties. “Are you okay? This is just insane ... they’re
so rude. Don’t pay
any attention to them,” she whispered.
“Yeah, it is ... I’m not used to this,” I confessed to her.
“Who would be? By the way, I’m Maria.”
“I’m Tori ... nice to meet you.”
Another girl jostled me as she tried to get close to AJ.
She turned to
see who she’d run into, an apology half out of her mouth, until she
saw me.
After looking me up and down, her eyes narrowed and she whirled back
around to tap AJ on the shoulder. I heard Maria mutter behind
me. “How
rude ... god, I hate teenyboppers.”
I shrugged, turning back to her. “I guess I’ll have to get
used to it
eventually.”
“Just don’t think that all Backstreet Boys fans are like that.
Some of
us are mature adults, really ...” Suddenly, she grinned.
“Ah, there’s my
friend.” I turned to see another woman posing for a picture with
AJ.
“She’s going to be so happy -- meeting AJ was her goal for this whole
trip.”
“And you?” I asked with interest. “What’s your goal?”
“To meet Nick,” she told me candidly.
I smiled. “Are you staying in the hotel?”
“Yeah, my friends and I have a room here.”
I made a mental note to keep my eye out for her. It might
be fun to
do something nice for a *sane* fan.
At that moment, I heard AJ. “Sorry, guys, I’ve gotta go
... I’ll see
you later ...” He found me in the crowd and grabbed my arm.
“Come on
...”
I waved at Maria as he dragged me off. Suddenly, I didn’t
care that
all the teenyboppers were glaring at me. I felt kind of superior
... after all,
who was the one going up to his hotel room? Maybe I could get
used to this
life after all ...
