CHAPTER 11
"I can't believe we're going to Paris," Zoe breathed as she looked out the window of the plane.
"Yeah, Paris is wonderful. You're going to love it," Ayla assured her. Ayla had been to Paris on different modeling assignments but now she was going for fun. Lance had arranged for their bodygaurd House to pick the girls up at the airport. They didn't want to meet them there themselves for fear of a fan attack.
"It's gonna be good to see the boys again. Two months is a long time."
"I completely agree," Zoe said with a nod. "Ayla, I have to ask you a sort of stange question. Did Lance sound......I don't know.......distracted when he called yesterday?"
"Now that you mention it, he did. He seemed like he was really busy. Talking like his pants were on fire or something."
"Well, if he was thinking about you, they probably were," Zoe joked as Ayla giggled. The plane landed a half an hour later. The girls unloaded and found their luggage. As they searched for House, Ayla spotted a magazine rack. Staring back at them on the cover was *NSYNC. The boys were smiling, wearing winter clothing and playing in the snow.
"Isn't that cute?" Ayla commented as she walked over and grabbed the magazine. Flipping through it, she found the article on the guys and started to read.
"OH MY GOD!!!" she yelled.
"Ayla, what's wrong?" Zoe asked, concern evident in her voice. People around them began to stare. Zoe smiled back at them comfortingly. She grabbed Ayla's arm. "What's the problem?" she asked again.
"Zoe, they're talking about us!!!" Ayla replied in an excited whisper.
"WHAT??" Zoe questioned, snatching the magazine from Ayla's hands.
******
INTERVIEWER: So, do you boys have anyone special back home?
LANCE: As a matter of fact, I do. Her name is Ayla and she's wonderful.
INTERVIEWER: How long have you two been together?
LANCE: Oh, a while.
INTERVIEWER: What about the rest of you?
JUSTIN: Well, I can't speak for the other guys but I have an amazing girl to go home to.
INTERVIEWER: Can I ask what her name is?
JUSTIN: I think you just did, but her name is Zoe.
******
"I don't believe this," Zoe whispered, finishing the article. She placed the magazine back on the rack and looked at Ayla. "Why didn't they tell us they were going to say something?"
"Maybe they wanted it to be a suprise?" Ayla shrugged.
"I'm here girls," a voice came from behind them. Zoe twirled around and faced House. "Ready to go?" he asked.
"Yeah, I think so," Zoe responded quietly. "I hope so."
******
The girls arrived at the hotel and placed their bags in their room. The group had already left for the arena about three hours before that. Ayla went to quickly use the bathroom and Zoe flopped herself, face down, on the bed.
"Ayla?" she yelled, her voice muffled from her face being in the covers.
"Yeah?" she replied from the bathroom.
"I've got one of those feelings." Zoe heard the door to the bathroom open, then close, and heard Ayla's feet as they shuffled across the carpet.
"What kind of "one of those feelings?"
Zoe turned over on her back and sat up on her elbows. "It's not scary," she realized aloud. "It's more like, exciting. Maybe even a little nervous. I think something great is going to happen tonight. I just don't know what it is. With my luck, it'll happen to somebody else. I've never had one of these feelings happen to me before."
"Maybe your luck will change tonight," Ayla countered. Zoe was always getting these feelings. In high school, their friends had nicknamed them the "psycho feelings." Zoe knew if something bad or good was going to happen, but more often than not, it didn't happen to her. Which could be good or bad, depending on the situation. Most of the time, it had to do with one of their friends or aquaintances. Ayla shook her head. "Let's go to the show," she said, jumping up from the bed and grabbing the tickets and backstage passes.
******
House took them to the arena and escorted them to the groups dressing room. He knocked on the door quickly.
"Everybody decent??!!" he yelled. Before he had time to reach for the knob, the door swung open and Lance and Justin came barreling out. They tackled Ayla and Zoe to the floor.
"Gee, we missed you too, guys," Zoe laughed, as Justin helped her to her feet. She kissed him quickly and hugged him tight. "How are you holding up?" she whispered in his ear.
"Well, I started falling apart but now you're here and I think I'm getting much better," he teased with his lopsided smile.
"That sounded pretty good. Maybe you should write it down and turn it into a song," Zoe retorted.
"Now, there's an idea," he said, grabbing her again.
"They're all yours guys," a man said, wiping his sweaty face with a towel. Behind him were three men, similarly incapacitated.
"Thanks," Justin replied graciously, his arms still around Zoe's waist.
"No problem," the first man spoke again, winking in Zoe's direction. She gave him a tight smile.
"Who were they?" Ayla asked as the four men entered another room.
"They're the opening group. Pretty decent voices, actually," Lance responded.
"I didn't like the first guy," Zoe said. Immediately she wished she hadn't.
"How can you say you don't like Ethan?" Justin asked. "You didn't even talk to him."
"I don't know. He gave off a bad vibe."
Justin laughed. "What am I going to do about you and your vibes?"
"Well, I have a few ideas....." Zoe's voice drifted off as she traced the collar of Justin's shirt with her finger.
"Hmm, I'll have to find out about those later. Right now, I do believe we have a show to put on."
Lance nodded. "Let's go." He kissed Ayla, then followed the other men to the stage. As they walked past, the girls waved and said hello to the other three men. They didn't say anything, but they smiled and waved quickly. Zoe heard them chuckle as they got towards the stage.
"What was that all about?" she asked Ayla. "They didn't even say hello."
"I don't know, but something very strange is going on and I'd really like to know what it is."
******
After the concert, Zoe and Justin went back to the hotel with the rest of the group, while Lance borrowed one of the group cars and left with Ayla.
"Where are we going, Lance?"
"It's a suprise."
"Oh. I like suprises. The last time you suprised me turned out quite nicely. Should I be expecting more of the same?"
"Yes. Maybe even a little bit more," he hinted.
"A little more huh? I'm gonna have to think about this one," she laughed. The car stopped and Lance ran around the other side of the car to open Ayla's door. He took her hand as she gasped.
"Lance, this is beautiful."
They stood beside a majestic fountain, the water bubbling and spurting from the top. It trickled down the side and ended up in a clear, reflecting pool. He took Ayla's hand and led her to the edge of the fountain. They sat down and stared at themselves in the water for a moment.
"That's a great sight you know," Lance said.
"What is?"
"Us. Together. Reflecting in the water." He paused, then looked up at her. "What time is it Ayla?"
"12:37 A.M. Why?"
"Happy Valentines Day," he said with a smile. Ayla grinned back.
"Happy Valentines Day," she replied.
"I have a present for you," he said, reaching into his pocket and holding something, hidden from sight, in his hand.
"Oh, Lance! I left your present back in the hotel. I'm sorry. If I would have known we were doing this now I......."
He pressed his finger to her lips to quiet her. "That was the point darling. You didn't know. I wanted to suprise you. I have something very important to say and hopefully I can get it right." He inhaled slowly, then looked deep into her eyes.
"Ayla, I'm in love with you. That's a given. I tell you that every time we talk. But I don't think that's enough. I want to tell you I love you every morning you wake up and every night when you go to sleep. Twenty years from now, I want to buy you a Valentine's Day card that you'll keep forever. I want you to keep me forever. I want to grow old with you. I want to be eighty years old and wake up next to you."
Ayla laughed through the tears streaming down her face. Lance reached up and wiped her cheek gently. Then, he got off the side of the fountain and down on one knee. Opening the case he held in his hand, he asked her shakily.
"Will you marry me?"
Ayla felt another flood of tears rush down her face. She dropped to her knees.
"Yes," she whispered quietly as Lance slipped the diamond on her finger. Looking at the immense rock, she let out a little sniff, then threw her arms around his neck. "Yes, yes, yes," she chanted softly, over and over again in his ear. He smiled in her hair and hugged her tighter.
"I love you," he said faintly.
"I love you too," she replied, attempting, and failing, to swallow the next flood of tears.