Chapter 47
"Sorry that we got mobbed by fans at lunch today" AJ said as he took Sarah’s hand and helped her out of the car. "It usually happens with the younger fans. Most of the older fans are really cool; they see you and smile, maybe ask for an autograph and then move on. It’s like they respect your feelings and don’t want to bother you too much."
Sarah smiled sadly. "It’s okay. I’m sure it must be hard though. I can’t imagine living in the public eye all the time" she said, then added, " When Kristina was killed, we had to deal with reporters for months. It was pure hell."
AJ squeezed her hand gently, wanting to avoid the subject of Kristina. He felt so guilty knowing that she was alive and Sarah tortured herself with the memories.
"Wanna go swimming?" he asked changing the subject quickly.
"In what?" Sarah asked. "Does it look like I have a swimming suit on under here?"
"We can go skinny dipping" AJ said as he unlocked the front door and waited for her to enter.
Sarah paused and smirked. "I don’t think so, McLean. You are not getting THAT lucky just yet!"
"Yet? So there is hope?"
Sarah laughed at his comment as she made her way into the living room and began to look around. "Wow, this place is beautiful."
"Thanks. Make yourself at home while I go find you a bathing suit."
"Not to be rude, Alex – BUT – I’m not going to wear one that some groupie wore. I would be more than content to sit and dangle my feet in the water before that happens," she said flatly.
"I wouldn’t do that to you baby. Since I’m a bachelor, I keep a supply of brand new bathing suits in my pool house."
Sarah cocked an eyebrow at him. "You are kidding me, right?"
Looking more than pleased with himself, he smiled. "No. I’m serious. You never know when you might meet a beautiful woman and want to bring her home."
Rolling her eyes, Sarah said to herself, but loud enough for AJ to hear her. "Oh god, what have I gotten myself into?"
As Sarah wandered throughout the house, she noticed that AJ had many of the same pictures hanging on the walls that Howie had in his office at Tabu. One particular picture caught her attention as she entered his music and entertainment room. It was a picture of AJ, Kristina and Howie together at a formal dinner or party of some kind. AJ and Howie wore tuxedo’s and Kristina was in a beautiful black sequined gown. Kristina stood in the middle of the two men, Howie holding her hand as the three of them carried on a conversation. Each of them were smiling brightly and it was apparent that they cared for each other deeply.
AJ had turned the corner in the hallway and stood back to see what she was doing. He soon realized that she had found his favorite picture of him, Kristina and Howie together and wanted to see how she would react. What he saw broke his heart.
"God I miss you, Kris" she said as she took the picture from the wall and stared at the best friend she had lost. " Things just aren’t the same without you."
AJ slipped out of sight and went back into the living room where he picked up the phone and called Howie, praying Kristina wouldn’t answer the phone.
"Hello?" Howie said quietly.
"Hey, ‘D’. It’s Bone."
"Hey bro, what’s up?" Howie asked.
"Man, you have got to tell Sarah that Kris is still alive. She’s beating herself up over it and she’s obviously in a lot of pain. I can’t stand it, dude. I want to tell her."
"NO!" Howie said furiously. "Something about this whole thing makes me uneasy. I want to make sure that Stephen isn’t following her or anything like that. What if she leads him right to Kris?" he whispered. "I can’t take that chance!"
AJ sighed heavily. "I understand your concerns, but this isn’t fair to her. The girl is seriously blaming herself for Kristina’s death and she deserves to know the truth."
"What about Kristina’s parents? Don’t you think they deserve to know the truth too? But, until Stephen is behind bars, we can’t take that chance, AJ! I can’t risk putting her in danger. It’s just too DAMN risky."
"Okay, ‘D’. I’ll respect your wishes for now, bro. But I’m scared this is going to backfire on you in the long run" AJ said.
"I’ll just have to cross that bridge when it happens. In the meantime, I hope you aren’t beginning to fall for her. Personally I think she’s trouble."
Understanding Howie’s stand regarding Sarah, yet, being attracted to her at the same time, AJ decided to let it go and end the conversation. "Look bro, I’ve gotta go. Are you still taking Kris to your parents house tonight?"
"Yeah. We’ll call you tomorrow. Okay?"
"Alright. Talk to you then" AJ said as he hung up the phone.
He turned around just in time to see Sarah wander back into the living room, wiping a tear from her face and still carrying the picture.
"Hey! I found you the perfect bathing suit," AJ said as he held up the suit for approval.
"That’s fine," she said nonchalantly before turning her attention and the conversation back to the picture she held. "When was this picture taken?"
AJ took it from her, smiling. "About two weeks before she left. We had so much fun that night."
"You guys were really close, weren’t you?" Sarah asked, seeing the love in his eyes.
"Yeah" he said.
"And Howie didn’t mind?"
"God No! He was so in love with her that he wanted everyone to love her as well" AJ said as he handed the picture back to her. "He knew that she and I were alike in many ways and that we were JUST good friends."
Sarah giggled. "Kris said that when she met you, it was like meeting herself only with tattoos instead of boobs."
Kristina’s comment caused AJ to laugh. "That’s an interesting way to put it."
"She truly was happy, wasn’t she, Alex?"
"Yes, Sarah. She was."
Sarah handed him the picture as she took the bathing suit from him. With a deep sadness in her eyes, she said, "I really miss her! Sometimes I pick up the phone and start to dial her number to tell her what happened during the day, then I realize that she won’t be there. She’s gone and I’ll never see her again."
"Sarah, there’s something I’ve got to tell you..." AJ started, but was interrupted by the ringing of the phone. "I'm sorry. Excuse me, I’ll be right back" he added.