So that's basically how the rest of the tour went. We roomed in different hotels, sang, and hung out in the little free time we had. After the tour, our career's skyrocketed. "Follow My Heart" became the #1 hit single in England, Germany, France, and the US. Our self-titled album became #2 on the charts, not far the Backstreet Boys' #1 album, Millennium.
In the one and a half years that went by, a lot happened. Brian proposed to me and, of course, I said yes (our wedding date should be sometime this February, between our two birthdays. Mine is February 14th, Valentine's Day, and his is February 20th). We moved in together a little less than a year ago. Maribeth and AJ are also engaged and have been living together ever since the tour ended. Joanne and Kevin just moved in together about a week ago and seem to be doing great. Rachel and Nick, who started out living in neighboring houses and moved in a few months after Nick's twentieth birthday, are doing great, and Jamie and Howie seem pretty content living in the same house. Though it was a tough decision, and an even harder transition, we all seem to be pretty happy with the move from Philadelphia to Orlando.
It was late November when it happened. Maribeth was driving me home from a recording session with the girls. We were supposed to meet the guys for dinner at seven, but the session had ended early and I wanted to pick something up. When we got there, the house was dark. Figuring Brian was out with Kevin or something, the two of us got out of the car and walked up to the door. I tried to unlock it, only to see that it was already open.
"What the-" I said, looking at Maribeth confused. She just shrugged and we walked in. There was soft music playing from the stereo. Candles were spread throughout the room, illuminating the steps. The two of us quietly walked up the steps and headed for mine and Brian's bedroom. I heard faint noises from inside and opened it a crack. I gasped.
"What is it?" Maribeth asked, putting a hand on my shoulder. She pushed the door open and had the same reaction I had had. There, in our bed, was Brian and another woman. When they both looked up, I saw that the other woman was Tracy, a friend of ours. My knees went weak.
"Alex!" Brian exclaimed in surprise. "I can explain." He got out of bed and came towards me, only then realizing he had no clothing on. He grabbed a blanket to cover himself up. Finally regaining moment in my legs, I turned and walked calmly down the stairs. "Alex!" Brian called from the top of the steps "Please!" I stopped and turned to face him.
"How could you?" I whispered, unable to find the rest of my voice. Turning on heel, I ran out the door and down the street. Maribeth ran after me, only catching up to me when I fell down, crying, on the sidewalk. She bent down and hugged me.
"Shh," she said. "Everything's going to be okay."
"What do you mean 'everything's going to be okay'?" I yelled, standing up. "Nothing's okay anymore! Nothing!" Hearing my screaming, Kevin came running out of his house, which we just happened to be in front of.
"What's going on?" he asked.
"Your dumb*ss cousin's what's going on," Maribeth said, hugging me as I cried on her shoulder.
"What'd he do now?" Kevin asked. He ushered us inside his and Joanne's house. Maribeth led me to the sofa.
"What the hell is going on?" Joanne asked, coming down the steps. Maribeth told them the entire story.
"Excuse me while I go make a phone call," Kevin said. He went into the kitchen and picked up the phone. After a few seconds, "someone" must have picked up because he started yelling into the phone. "What the f*ck is wrong with you?!? I cannot believe I am related to you . . ." He continued to ramble on and on.
So, that's pretty much what happened. After a short while, everyone knew the Brian and I had broken up, yet only me, Brian, Maribeth, Joanne, and Kevin knew the real reason why. All the others just thought we got sick of each other. The next day, I made a phone call to our manager, Diane Lear, and asked her to book a tour to promote our second album, "Shoot For the Stars," until the Video Music Awards, which were in March. She did as I asked and it was in every newspaper, magazine, news broadcast, and radio talk show the next day. We departed to Europe on December 1st. I hadn't talked to Brian since the "incident" and I wasn't planning to. He didn't come to the airport to see us off, though the others did.