If You Knew What I Knew

@ @ Jessica smiled into the sleeping face of her boyfriend AJ McLean. She kissed his lips softly and rolled over, intending to get out of bed. As she moved to sit up strong arms tightened around her thin waist, pulling her back into the warmth of the bed and his embraced.

@ @ “You’re up,” she said softly placing another kiss on his lips.

@ @ “Yeah. It would be an awful day if I didn’t see your lovely face smiling at me in the morning,” he said chuckling, kissing her more forcefully this time.

@ @ When they pulled back she looked lovingly into his brown eyes, “Babe, I really have to get up. I have to work in about an hour, and you know it takes a half hour to get there.”

@ @ “Can’t you call in sick?” he asked playfully with an undertone of pleading in his voice.

@ @ “I did that last week,” she said playfully swatting his hands off her, “They’ll start of suspect something if I am sick again.”

@ @ This time she did successfully crawl out of bed, take a quick shower and proceed to get ready in a hurry. All the while AJ watched her. With every passing moment the realization became clearer to him that she was ‘the one’. At the moment she clipped her gold hoop earring into place he knew that he needed to ask Jessica to marry him.

@ @ “Hun? I’m leaving. And remember, stay out of trouble,” Jessica said kissing him once again and heading for the door, breaking AJ out of his reverie.

@ @ “I love you!” he called after her.

@ @ “Love you too,” he heard before the door to the garage slammed shut.

@ @ AJ lay there for some time planning how, when and where to ask Jessica. He couldn’t just ask her, it had to be perfect, just like her. The timing would be at sunset, after a day at work and dinner at a nice restaurant, maybe on their one-year anniversary as a couple. That was coming up in three weeks. Next came the possibility of the ring. Questions ran through his head a mile a minute and before he had a chance to answer them all a loud insistent ringing took him back to the real world.

@ @ “Yeah?” AJ asked the caller.

@ @ “Hey, it’s just me,” Kevin said into the phone.

@ @ “Hi Kev. What’s up?”

@ @ “You’re needed at the studio in about an hour, I figured I’d call you to make sure you actually remembered.

@ @ “Thanks bro. I would have forgotten about it if you hadn’t called me,” AJ said gratefully. He’d been late or not there a total of five times this month already and it was only the 20th.

@ @ After throwing on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt AJ made his way to his car and headed through the rush hour traffic into down town Orlando where he was scheduled to record a song that Brian had written for his mother.

@ @ “Not to worry, I’m a minute early,” he called cheerfully to the guys who were gathered around the lyrics sheet Brian had carefully printed up.

@ @ “I think the world has ended,” Howie said sarcastically giving AJ a friendly punch on the shoulder.

@ @ “Hey now, no AJ bashing today. I made it on time. Now hand me lyrics!” he commanded in a kingly voice. Today was a good day, and he intended to keep it that way. With the realization that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Jessica he was walking on cloud nine.

@ @ “Here you crazy,” Nick said tossing a pile of papers at him.

@ @ The recording went well, meaning that with only about a week more of hard work, the guys would have all they needed to complete the track. Actually, they didn’t but Brian had to do the work with the choir, and that was a different story since the rest of the Boys wouldn’t be involved in that.

@ @ Over the course of the week AJ began to make plans with the jeweler, the manager of Jessica’s favorite restaurant, a local seamstress to make the perfect dress, and the florist. He needed this moment to be perfect and nothing would spoil it. The constant phone tag he played with the different places meant he had to be careful when, and where they called him. AJ tried to make sure that he was done with all his calls by a half hour before Jessica was home from work.

@ @ Jessica came home early one day later in the week when AJ was on the phone in their bedroom discussing an appointment with the jeweler to come and see the best stones and settings for engagement rings and he didn’t hear her come in the door. She came up the stairs hearing AJ saying, “… Tomorrow at ten? Yeah I’ll be there. I wouldn’t miss it for the world. See you then. Oh about the--” he stopped dead with Jessica walked into the room. “See you at ten. Gotta go. Bye,” he said hastily hanging up the phone.

@ @ “What was that all about?” she asked sitting down next to him.

@ @ “Nothing babe,” he said pulling her into a reassuring hug, “Just business.”

@ @ “OK,” Jessica said, trying to sound satisfied although her mind was running a mile a minute trying to figure out whom he was talking to. A nagging voice told her it was another woman but she brushed it away thinking about all the times AJ had told her he loved her. No, she thought forcefully, it couldn’t be that.

@ @ “What do you want to do tonight?” he asked looking at her somewhat troubled face.

@ @ “How about we stay in and watch a movie? I haven’t seen Casablanca in years,” she said referencing a movie he’d often mentioned as one of his favorites, but they’d never watched.

@ @ “Sounds good to me. No,” he started, “it sounds perfect to me.”

@ @ Jessica smiled a walked into the living room to find the movie hoping the nagging sensation that something was going on would leave.

@ @ They quietly watched the movie each lost in their own thoughts. After it finished AJ glanced to the angel who lay fast asleep in his arms. He smiled fondly at her, pulling her tighter into his embrace. After using the remote to turn the television off AJ leaned into the couch and let sleep overcome him.

@ @ The next morning AJ woke with a start. He frantically searched for a clock, a watch, something to tell him the time. He sighed, 8:30, great. He still had time to make himself look presentable before hauling his ass into town. Sitting up a little piece of paper fell off his chest and floated to the floor.

@ @ ‘Dear AJ,’ it read, ‘you looked so sweet sleeping there I couldn’t wake you. I left at about 7:30 and I have to work late tonight. Expect me home around 8. Love ya lots, Jessica.’

@ @ Humming a tune that had been haunting him for a while AJ meandered upstairs to the shower, running through the actions of his daily routine. When he had finished he had a few moments to just sit and ponder his life. It was all so perfect, like a dream really. The career, the house and most of all the girl of his dreams, wholly in love with him. Whistling pleasantly to himself he locked the door and headed around back to his black Jaguar convertible.