the last 4 hours. Talia was in her second year of university. She was studying to be a teacher.
Right now she was writing a paper for her ‘non-violent crisis intervention’ course. It was
mandatory she take it. It’s not that she didn’t like the class, she just didn’t like writing papers
about it. She thought there was a big difference between being able to write three pages about
what you’d do in a confrontal potentially violent situation and actually applying that
knowledge in the situation. But she did what she had to. She had wanted to be a teacher for a
long time. SO far university was going fairly well. It was a little harder than she had expected,
she studied a lot more than she ever did in high school but it was also a lot more interesting.
She alot of her classes to be very engaging, which was what she always thought university
should be like.
“All right this is as good as this paper will get tonight, I quit for now” Talia thought as she
clicked on file then print, she would review the paper later when she was thinking a little
clearer. Right now she was very tired. She placed the paper on her desk and took a few
minutes to organize the other papers scattered on the desk into somewhat organized piles.
She walked into her kitchen, poured herself a glass of orange juice and slowly sipped it. She
thought about tomorrow. She had her first class at 9, it was a child psychology class, it was
her second favorite. Then at 10:45 she has her NVCI class, which was O.K., at least it was
applicable. Then she had lunch, where she would be meeting her best friend at an on-campus
diner. Then she had her favorite class which was social psychology. So she had to have her
paper ready for her second class. That would mean she’d have to review it in the morning and
print a good copy. She also had a bunch of extra things she wanted to get done tomorrow but
she have to fit those into the afternoon. It was 1:00 am when she finished her OJ, rinsing the
cup and placing it in the dishwasher. She walked up the stairs to her room. Turned on the
light and went into the bathroom. She brushed her teeth and hair, washed her face and went
to the bathroom. She then went back into her room. Tals took took off her clothes and
dropped them into her hamper. She then put on an old T-shirt and a pair of boxers. Tals
turned off the light, set her alarm and climbed into bed. She let out a sigh as her tired body
finally got to rest. She fell asleep quickly. The next morning she woke up to the sound of her
radio alarm clock, Ricky Martin’s “Shake Your Bon Bon’ was playing, she didn’t like that
song at all, it’s not that she hated Ricky she just didn’t like the song. She got up slowly, got
dressed, went to the bathroom and then headed downstairs for breakfast. She had a English
muffin with peanut butter and bananas and a cup of hot chocolate. She finished her breakfast,
cleaned up, brushed her teeth, applied some make-up, grabbed her bag, printed her essay and
headed out the door and into her car. She drove to school.
Talia had an O.K. day. She was very glad it was Friday, she had had a long week. The university year had only been in progress for three weeks. Talia had just moved to Orlando 2 months ago, so she was still learning her way around. Talia had grown up and lived in LA, California until she was 19. She too her first year of university at UCLA while still living at home with her parents. But after her first year she had decided that that was not what she wanted or needed her university experience to be like. She needed some independence and freedom. So she decided to move to Orlando. Her best friend from elementary and junior high had moved with her family to O-town when she was 13. So Talia had meet up with Emily again when she got there, so despite them being apart for 6 years, they instantly rebonded, as they had still been corresponding via letters and e-mails since Emily had moved away. So it was 3:00pm by the time Talia got all her stuff together, the books she needed for the weekend and got into her car. She drove to the supermarket and picked up some groceries then headed home. She unpacked the groceries and placed her back pack on the table. Tals ate a snack, some vanilla yogurt, an apple and two cookies. By that time it was 4:15 pm, she went upstairs to her room and took a nap. She had a night shift at the restaurant where she had just starting working at, about 3 weeks ago. But their was no way she would survive her shift if she didn’t take a nap. She had been up since 7, so she needed sleep sometime. She awoke from her nap at 6:30, feeling surprisingly refreshed. She quickly showered, put on her uniform, a pair of black flares and a white T-shirt, grabbed her purse and headed out the door. She arrived at the restaurant at 7:15, she dropped her purse in her locker, quickly put on some make-up and pulled her hair into a French twist thing on the top of her head. She was ready to start her shift at 7:30, this was O.K. because she had missed the beginning of the dinner rush. She started by cleaning a few tables and then was assigned to table 14, it was a family, 5 people, 3 kids. She took their orders and then brought them all there drinks. Six hours later she had waited on 18 tables and cleared a bunch of them. She had missed her break due to a rush in customers but now the restaurant was slow. She sat down at an empty table and drank a diet Pepsi and ate some ice cream. It odd having ice cream at 1:30 in the morning, but she didn’t really care. Twenty minutes later when her break was over 2 guys walked in. She politely greeted them, showed them to their table, brought them their menus, took their drink orders: two beers, and said she’d be back in a few minutes to take their meal orders. She then walked into the employees lounge and took a deep breath. She could not believe she had just served two of the backstreet boys!
She had been a fan for about 2 years. She liked the backstreet boys, but she didn’t adore them or anything, well except one. The whole reason she liked them was for one person: AJ McLean. She thought he was the most amazing man. And unbelievably he was sitting at a table 65 feet away from her. She thought she would remain calm, no matter how hard it would be. She checked her hair and reapplied some make-up. She then walked out to their table. AJ was sitting with Kevin Richardson. She walked up to the table and as calmly as she could smiled and said:
“Hi, are you both ready to order yet?”
“Uh..yeah O.K. I’ll have a chicken sandwich and fries” Kevin responded first. Tals wrote this
down.
“And you sir?” Talia directed this toward AJ.
“Umm... I’ll have a hamburger and fries, thanks” AJ replied.
“all right I’ll be back in a while with your orders just call me if you need anything else before
then” Talia told them.
“all right, thanks” Kevin said
“No problem” Talia said then walked away. She told the chef their orders and went to fold napkins at another table. Seeing as the two Backstreet boys were the only customers in the restaurant. AT Kevin and AJ’s table
“So are you still disappointed we came to this restaurant instead of the usually McD’s?” Kevy asked his friend.
“Actually no, our waitress over their makes it worth it for me, kevy!” AJ replied smiling over in Tals direction, yet she didn’t see it as she had her back to them both.
“You got the hots of her too? Bone, you seem to like every girl you meet!” Kevin replied.
“No, I don’t! But there’s something about her, don’t you think? She has this.. I don’t know.. vibe around her that seems so caring and sweet!” AJ replied.
“Yeah whatever J, Well why don’t you ask her for her number then?” Kevin asked.
“Maybe I will!” AJ replied.
Just then Talia came walking up with their food. She sat it in front of them. Told them to enjoy it. Just as she was about to walk away she couldn’t resist.
“I’m really sorry, and I was really trying to act above this but I’m not, so I’m sorry to ruin your peaceful meal but AJ could I perhaps please have your autograph?” Talia asked slightly embarrassed.
“Hey, of course! Don’t be sorry I love signing autographs. I didn’t know if you recognized us.” AJ replied.
“Well I was trying to act normal and not acknowledge the fact of who you both were, but I couldn’t, the fan in me seemed to win out.” Talia said as she handed AJ a peace of paper and a pen.
“Oh don’t worry about it, I’m actually really glad this happened, and to think I could’ve near met you had we have gone to McD’s like I had wanted! Thanks Kev!” AJ responded.
“Oh yeah, your welcome, it was more for me than you AJ, I just couldn’t stand eating their food once more today! This is really good actually!” Kev said to Tals.
“Thanks, I’ll tell that to the chef.” Talia responded to Kev. Just then AJ looked into her eyes. Talia felt as if she would fall down, her knees were so weak with the look he was giving her. He handed her back the paper. She took it and put it in her pocket without looking at it.
“Thank you very much, sorry again for disturbing you both I'll let you get back to your food.” Talia said.
“Hey, it was no problem at all, actually I was glad to do it!” AJ replied.
“Oh O.K. well thanks still.” Talia said and walked away. Tals walked into the lounge again. She pulled the paper AJ had given her out of her pocket. It read:
You know I don’t know your name, perhaps you could call and tell me it!?! Please!?! I’ll be waiting. 485-3844,
AJ ‘Bone’ McLean was signed at the bottom.
Talia practically dropped the paper as she read it. The man she had fantasized over actually wanted HER to call HIM? When did the situation get so reversed like this? Talia walked back out to there table. She was there to inform them the restaurant was closing in 15 minutes. It was 2:45, they were just finishing their meal and the last of their drinks.
“So did you read the note?” AJ asked Talia smiling.
“Yeah I did actually, Talia, my name’s Talia.” She offered.
“Nice to meet you Tals, mind if I call you that? I’m AJ.” He took her hand and kissed it lightly. She blushed.
“No I don’t mind if you call me Tals, mind if I call you Alex?” She asked him.
“No, actually I’d prefer it! Thanks” AJ replied.
Talia took away their dishes, placing them in the sink. The chef had already gone home, the three were the only ones there. She gave them their bill, They paid it.
“So what are you doing after work Tals?” AJ asked her, she was sitting at their booth, beside Kevin. AJ had invited her.
“Umm... I was planning on going home and sleeping actually.” Talia replied.
“Well, I was thinking, perhaps instead of a tip you would let me take you out somewhere, you know, we could get to know each other, talk, have a drink. somewhere were you don’t have to serve me?” AJ said and laughed, as did Tals.
“Are you kidding?” She asked him.
“No, of course not why would I be?” AJ asked.
“Well this just seems a little surreal to me, I actually can’t believe I’m sitting her with AJ McLean and well Kevin Richardson of course, sorry were we ignoring you? I’m sorry!” She directed towards Kevin.
“No it’s O.K., actually AJ told me to shut-up that he wanted to talk to you!” Kevin and Tals laughed while AJ kicked him under the table.
“No, Talia I wasn’t kidding, so what do you say?” AJ asked
“I say O.K., of course, sounds fabulous actually, but I need to go home and change first, is that O.K.?” Talia asked.
“Yeah, All right, Umm.. me and Kevy came in one car so how about I drive Kevin home, you follow me and then I’ll follow you to your place you can change and do your thing then we’ll go out somewhere?” AJ proposed
“O.K., sounds good!” Talia said as she got up grabbed her purse from her locker, placed her apron in it grabbed the keys and walked out of the restaurant following AJ and Kevin. She locked up and jumped in her car. AJ and Kevy did the same. She followed them to Kev’s house, they both said good-bye to him and they drove to her place. She lived in a 5 story apartment, on the third floor. It was a medium sized apartment, it had two bedrooms, one storage room which doubled as her music room, a living room, kitchen and two bathrooms. She gave AJ the tour and told him he could sit in the living room and watch TV if he wanted. She changed into a pair of faded flare jeans and a gray halter top and threw a black knit cardigan on top, she put on her favorite pair of shoes, funky black canvas low platforms. She took out the twist in her hair, brushed it a few times and out it back in to a bun with a few strands falling down around her face and back. Then she went into the bathroom washed her face and brushed her teeth, then went to the bathroom. She applied some make-up, putting an emphasis on her eyes, while leaving her lips relatively plain with just some light brown lip gloss. She walked out into the living room to find AJ watching MTV.
“Ohh... you look nice!” AJ said letting out a low whistle. He then turned off the TV and got up.
“Thank you very much! So do you, then again, I’ve always thought you looked nice no matter what you were wearing!” Talia replied.
“Well thank you too, you are a very good at flattery, so you wanna go now?” AJ asked her.
“Alright” she grabbed her purse and keys.
“So you wanna go in my car or do you want to take separate cars?” AJ asked her as they walked out of her apartment, she locked the door.
“Umm... Why don’t we take separate cars just incase you start to hate me or find someone else you’d rather be out with that way you can go where ever you want and I won’t be stranded.” Tals said and laughed.
“O.K but I’d never do that to you just so you know.” AJ said sincerely
“Well that is nice of you, where are we going?” Tals asked as they had arrived at her car.
“Umm... I don’t know where do you want to go?” AJ asked her.
“Ahh.. I don’t know, I don't really know many places here, I just moved here 2 months ago.
“Oh really, well then how baout we go to ‘Eclipse” it’s this hole-in-the-wall coffee shop I discovred a few years O.K, it’s very small and quiant and probably pretty empty now, it’s open all night. So that way I don’t have to worry about fans interrupting us, what do you say?” AJ asked.
“Sure sounds cool!” Tals replied.
AJ gave her the directions, which she ended up not needing as she just followed AJ’s explorer the whole way there. They both parked beside one another. They walked into the shop. AJ put his arm around her waist. She turned to him and smiled, as did he. He was right about the coffee shop it was small, yet cozy. there was only one other couple there, and 2 waitresses. The atmosphere was very pleasant. The decor was eclectic, the floor was black, the walls a light blue, with silver trim. AJ showed them to a table, it was in the back, the whole place was dimly lit. There was a candle burning in the center of the table. AJ pulled out Talia’s chair for her, she smiled and thanked him. Then he sat down. They both ordered a cappuccino. They talked while slowly sipping their drinks.
“So where are you from?” AJ asked her.
“I’m from LA” Talia replied
“Oh yeah, cool, so why did you move here and did you come by yourself?”
“Umm... I moved here because I got kinda tired of LA, I mean it was great when I was a kid, I had a wonderful childhood, but as I grew older I found it very fake. I also needed some freedom and independence, like I wanted to prove to myself that I could make it on my own, you know?” Talia replied.
“Yeah, wow, that’s very impressive. Coming here all by your self when your so young, you old are you by the way?” AJ asked
“I’m 19, actually, it’s not that young, half the time I feel old!” Tals replied and laughed.
“hehe, ahh 19 ain’t old at all, wow, it’s feels like I was 19 so long ago. I mean so much has happened to me since then” AJ said
“Yeah, I know, I mean I know you’ve been through a lot, although I probably don’t know the half of it, I always wondered if you’d be the same in person as you were portrayed by the media.” Talia responded.
“What do you mean?” AJ asked
“While, I mean when I didn’t know you 4 hours ago! hehe, I had an image of you in my head which was formed by how you are portrayed in the media, so I always wondered if you were really like what I thought you were, or if you were just portrayed a certain way for publicity and in reality were very different” Talia said
“That’s actually very interesting, so what’s your answer now that you’ve meet me?” AJ asked her.
“Well, I don’t really know you that well, but my initial impression is a little different than what I thought, not bad though, just different, let’s just say the reality is always better than the fantasy.” Talia explained.
“I see, that’s good, I think here So what are you doing, like I know what restaurant you work at, which by the way I plan on visiting a lot more often now! But do you go to school?” AJ asked her
“Yeah I’m going to university here, taking education and majoring in psychology, I’m in my second year of the program, the first year I took at UCLA, what about you, you just finished the tour right?” Talia asked.
“Yeah, we just finished so now I have time off, for a while umm... I think I have about 3 more months, since I’ve already been off for a month, then we’re going back to the studio and recording some songs.” AJ replied.
“Oh yeah, that’s good. What do you think of recording, I mean do you like, I know you like performing, I heard if in an interview.” Talia said.
“Yeah your right, I love performing, it’s one of my favorite things, and definitely my favorite part about being a musician, but recording I don’t mind, I mean I don’t hate it but I don’t love it.” AJ said.
“Oh I see, so what’s it like being as famous as you are, I mean it must be incredible to know that you can make an arena of hundreds of people smile and scream your name just by your presence and the sound of your voice I mean people pay hundreds of dollars just to see you, watch you perform for two hours, and they do incredible things to meet you, to touch you? It’s completely unbelievable to me.” Talia said “It is astonishing actually, I can’t even believe I don’t think it’s something I'll ever get used to or settled with. So most of the time I love it, it brings me joy and happiness that I could never imagine. But sometimes it gets tiring, to constantly have to tell people where your going. what your doing because you need security, and to not be able to take a walk or go out without signing 20 autographs, but don’t think I'm complaining I do genuinely love this life.” AJ relied, he spoke truthfully.
“Wow, that must be wonderful, I actually still can’t believe I'm sitting here with you, I’ve idolized you, dreamt of meeting you and now I'm sitting face to face with you, I really don’t want this to end.” Talia said slightly embarrassed.
“It doesn’t have to” AJ said and smiled
“What do you mean?” Talia asked.
“Well follow me and you’ll see!” AJ said as he got up left and 10 dollar bill on the table. AJ walked out into the parking lot, he instructed Talia to follow him in her car. If she trusted him, he was going to take her somewhere great. So she did what he said, having no idea where they were going.
They drove for about 20, Talia had no idea where they were. Finally AJ pulled into a parking lot. This parking lot was adjacent to a park. It was 6:30, so the sun was low in the sky, their was more light. AJ got out of his car and walked toward Talia. He gently grabbed her hand, squeezing it in his own. He lead her to a set of 5 swings, he sat down and motioned for her to do the same. He pointed to the sun which was just rising, they watched it, holding hands gently swinging. It was beautiful. 15 minutes later AJ was the first to speak.
“So what do you think?” AJ asked her.
“Wonderful, very nice Alex McLean, do you come here often?” She asked him.
“Yeah, when I need to be alone or want to be outside, it’s very peaceful here late at night/early in the morning, that’s when the kids aren’t here!” AJ replied and smiled.
“Yeah, so I told you a lot about me what about you?” Talia asked.
“O.K. ask me anything, Tals!” AJ replied.
“O.K. I’ll start with the tattoos, when did you get your first one? What was it like? Why did you get it? Do you plan on getting more?” Talia asked him.
“I got my first one when I was 18, on my birthday actually, I did it because I thought it was cool, and I have also liked tattoos, so I had thought about for about a year before I actually got my first one, it was weird, getting it done I mean, I was kinda scared but I was trying not to show it, so I walk in and say what I want and this guy says to lift the arm of my shirt up, so I do, he takes the drawn deign which is on some sort of sticky paper and then sticks it on my arm, asks me if this is how I like it and if I’m still sure I want this, I say yes so they he starts with the outline first, the tattooing pen makes this buzzing noise, so when it firsts hits your skin it hurts, and i’m thinking, fuck, I can’t handle this for 45 minutes, it’s kinda like a painful burning sensation, but then after like 5 minutes it kinda subsides, I mean it still hurts but not nearly as much cause your body releases endorphins which dull the pain some. Umm.. I have no plans right now to get another one but you never no, it’s not out of the possibilty.” AJ answered her.
“I see, that’s interesting.” Talia replied.
“Yeah so now I get to ask you something, umm.. tell me about your family and why you decided to move to Orlando, I mean I know why you moved from LA but why O-town?” AJ asked
“Well, I don’t have any siblings, my parents are divorced, when I was 5, I have a dog, but she’s at home in LA. that’s about it, you?” Talia replied
“Well, I am also an only child, my parents divorced when I was two, I have two dogs, that’s about it.” AJ said
“O.K. well following this system it would be my turn to ask something.... do you take every girl you meet to that coffee house and this park?” Talia asked with such honesty, she needed to know if this and she meet something to him cause this and him definitely meant something to her. Actually it meant a lot to her, more than he would ever know.
“No, I don’t actually, I’ve never taken anyone here, it’s where I come when I want to be alone so I don’t want others to know about it, well except you I don’t mind if you know about it.” AJ also spoke with raw honesty in his voice. He knew exactly how she felt, for he had fallen for someone who he thought cared, he thought he could trust yet it turned out he couldn't and being a celebrity it was even more important for him to protect himself.
“Thank you” Talia said quietly.
“For what?” AJ asked looking deeply into her eyes.
“For this, this place, this night your company, if I never see you again, never hear your voice or feel my hand in yours, I will still be extremely grateful for this time with you.” Talia
“Your welcome but I feel I should thank you too, you see most girls I meet want me for what they’ve seen, AJ the backstreet boy, but you wanted to know who Alex truly was and not the way AJ was just portrayed in the media. But it seems you’ve been hurt before?” AJ asked her
“Yeah, I was, but I don’t really want to talk about it right now, I’m sorry, I’ll tell you sometime if you want but not tonight I don’t want to ruin this night thinking about someone I’d rather not think about.” Talia replied.
“Hey I understand completely, don’t feel pressured to talk about anything you don’t want to. But anytime your ready or want to talk, I’ll always be here, I know we just met but I mean it, call me anytime.” AJ said.
“all right I might just hold you up on that Alex, but maybe I should go, I’ve been up since 7 and it’s now 7 the next day.” Talia said smiling slightly.
“All right, I’ll follow you home to make sure you get in O.K. and everything.” AJ said then got up, he took Talia’s hand in his own and pulled her up from the swing he lead her to her car and opened the door for her. He then went to his own car and drove to Talia’s house with her following him. They both got out of their cars, AJ walked Talia up to her apartment and she offered for him to come in, but he refused.
“It’s probably better if I just go, I’d like you to get at least some sleep, you still have my number?” AJ asked
“Yeah I do thanks, do you want mine?” Tals asked him
“Actually why don’t you just give me yours when you phone me?” AJ asked
“All right, is it O.K. if I call tomorrow or is that too soon?” Talia asked.
“There’s no such thing as too soon and you’d better call tomorrow” AJ said and laughed. AJ slid his hand around Talia’s waist. She did the same so they were facing each other. Then she put her hand up to his neck, gently running her nails across it, he moaned very softly, they stood hugging one another for a few minutes, then AJ gently leaned in to kiss her, she responded by opening her mouth slightly. AJ took this as an invitation for his tongue, which he proceeded to gently insert in her mouth she did the same. There tongues gently and slowly messaged one another’s. A few minutes later AJ broke away. He smiled sweetly, as did Tals.
“Goodnight, my lady” AJ said and brought her hand up to his lips kissing it lightly.
“Goodnight Alex, drive safely” Talia said.
“I will” AJ said and left, looking back once at Talia standing in her doorway. Talia entered her apartment. Dropping her keys and purse on the table then going to the bathroom and putting on her PJ’s. She fell asleep almost immediately, thinking of AJ as she dreamt.
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