Part 19
The guys were about to hit the road for the 'Millennium' tour and it was their last night at home. They'd been doing shows in Florida and Howie had elected to come home after each show knowing he and Sarah would be apart soon enough.
The night before the guys were to leave, Howie surprised Sarah. He had gotten Becca to get her to go shopping and while she was gone, he had prepared her favorite meal. He had also put candles everywhere in the apartment along with a single red rose on her plate at the table and on her pillow in the bedroom. He had also made sure he song he'd written for her was done and Kevin had helped him record it in the studio.
As Sarah walked through the door, she heard the music playing and Howie met her in the hall. He took her in his arms as he began to sing to her. "When winter comes in summer/ When there's no more forever /That's when I'll stop loving you /That's when I'll stop loving you /I'm sure you've heard these words before/ And I know it's hard for you to trust once more /You're afraid it all might end /And a broken heart is scared of breaking again/ But you gotta believe me, I'll never leave you /You'll never cry long as I am there/ And I will always be there/ You will never be without love/ When winter comes in summer/ When there's no more forever /When lies become the truth /Oh you know, then, baby/ That's when I'll stop loving../ That's when I'll stop loving you/ That's when I'll stop loving you /That's when I'll stop loving you (yea)/ Long as sunlight lights the sky/ Light of love will be found with these eyes of mine (these eyes of mine)/ And I will shine a light for you /You're the only one I'll ever give this heart to/ What I'm trying to say is nothing will change this/ There'll be no time you won't find me there/ Cuz I will always be there/ You will always have all my love/ When this world doesn't turn anymore/ When the stars all decide to stop shining/ Til then I'm gonna be by your side/ I'm gonna be loving you forever/ Every day of my life/ Well, you know, then, baby /That's when I'll stop loving /That's when I'll stop loving/ That's when I'll stop loving you." (words from 'NSync).
Howie finished the song by kissing her tenderly.
Sarah wiped the tears away and said softly, "That was so beautiful."
"I meant it, Sarah. I'll never stop loving you. I don't care how far apart we are, you'll always be my 'angel'."
The two spent a romantic evening together; dinner, a walk on the beach, and making love. They took their time, exploring each other's body, memorizing every little detail. They eventually fell asleep in each other's arms just before dawn, content with the knowledge that they were very much in love.
Sarah took Howie to meet the others later that morning. Neither anticipated the reaction they'd have to saying goodbye but as Sarah leaned against the truck, tears began to flow freely.
Howie was leaning against her and he reached up to wipe them away. Softly he begged her, "Please, don't cry, 'Angel'. I love you."
"I didn't plan on it being like this, 'D'. I thought I'd be fine with you leaving."
"I know. Look, it's only two weeks and then you'll meet me in Boston. I'll call every night between now and then. It'll fly by. I promise," said Howie trying to convince himself as much as he was trying to convince Sarah.
"I wish I could go with you to North Carolina though."
"I know but you need to take care of the center. You're going to be so busy the next couple weeks, you won't have time to miss me."
Kevin hollered, "Come on, 'D'. We're going to be late."
"Yeah, say good-bye already and come on," echoed Nick.
Howie waved them off and looked into Sarah's eyes. He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her. Their tongues danced a fiery tango of passion that aroused every sense in Sarah's body and she could tell it did the same to Howie.
Howie pulled away, grabbed his bag, and ran to the bus. He didn't want Sarah to see his own tears. At the door of the bus, he looked back and called out, "I love you, 'Angel'" and disappeared into his bus.
Sarah stood watching the five buses pull away, each of the other guys hanging out of a window waving good-bye to her as they left. When the last one pulled out, Sarah turned to get back in the truck. There on the seat was a single red rose with a note attached. Sarah picked them both up and read the note. It simply said, "I love you" and had the words to 'their' song on it.
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The tour seemed to last forever but it flew by too. Sarah joined Howie every other weekend and was always amazed by the intensity of their performances and the fans' reactions. The guys adored their fans and made it a point to let them know it every chance they got. They also made it a point to thank Sarah for all that she did. Whenever she was with them, she would help out with getting autographs for fans or let the fans know when the guys were being held up if they were suppose to sign autographs. She never complained if the fans' time cut into her time with Howie either and the guys made sure that they had time alone whenever she was with him.
When the tour ended, the guys were exhausted so they made plans to go to the Bahamas to relax. They were also going to start working on material for their next CD. Howie took Sarah along so they could be together. it was on this vacation that the dreams started.
After a night of dancing and partying with Kevin and AJ, Howie and Sarah went back to their room where they made love and fell asleep in each others' arms. During the night, Howie woke to Sarah's moans. Thinking she was having a bad dream, he did like he always did; he reached over to her pulling her close to him. It worked.
The next morning, Sarah woke feeling extremely guilty. She remembered the dream vividly...she had made love to Kevin and AJ. What made her feel worse was the fact that she enjoyed it. Sarah avoided the two men for the rest of the vacation not knowing how to deal with the dreams or how to deal with Howie if he found out.
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Several days before the charity benefit, Howie and Kevin were together working on some music when Howie decided to show Kevin the ring he had bought Sarah. "You think Sarah will like this?"
Kevin looked at the box and the ring. "You're going to propose?"
"Yeah. Sarah is THE one I want to spend forever with, Kevin. She's everything to me and I want to spend my life making her happy."
"I know exactly what you mean," Kevin thought to himself. He handed the box back to Howie. "Sarah will love it. So....when are you going to do it?"
"I thought after the benefit. She's really worked hard to pull it together for me and then there's the party at 'Tabu'. She'll be so pumped that when we get home, she won't want to go to bed. I figured we'd go watch the sunrise and I'd ask her then."
"Sounds romantic. Sarah will love it."
Howie put the ring back into his pocket. He never imagined what lay ahead of them.
To find out more, read 'The
Dark Side Trilogy'