~chapter twenty-six: everything grammy night holds
Brian held the tape, and waved it around. "Here it comes, the most important part of today."
"And you know I'm gonna win," Dana said with a self-assured grin. "Green Bay is so gonna kick Tampa's ass."
"How can you be so sure?" he questioned.
"I just know," Dana shrugged.
"How be if we put a little wager on this game, hmm?" His eyes twinkled mischeiviously. "A little bet to put the pressure on?"
"I have no money," she declined. "Sorry."
Brian shook his head. "Not a money bet, just a little 'loser does whatever winner says' bet."
She arched her eyebrow, intrigued. "Sounds like you have something in mind for me to do."
He smiled sexily. "What if I do?"
"I think I can handle this bet... you still up for it?"
"Of course," Brian nodded. "Wanna?"
Dana stuck out her hand. "Shake on it?"
"Naw..." he shook his head.
"I knew you were a chicken!" Dana declared with a laugh.
"I'm not chicken," he contradicted. "I just think we should kiss on it."
"Oh? I think we can do that..." Dana trailed off, and grinned.
++later++
She clutched the bowl of popcorn religiously. "No..."
Brian's eyes were wide. "Yes!"
Dana moaned, "Noooo."
"YES!" He jumped to his feet and pumped his fist in the air. "YES, YES!!"
Dana buried her face in her hands, and let out a groan. "No, no, noooo."
"And the Tampa Bay Buccaneers score a touchdown with only four seconds left in the fourth quarter, managing to edge out the Packers with a 28-27 win!"
Dana's eyes dropped. "Uhhh," came the quiet whine.
Brian danced in a little circle, wiggling his butt in front of her. "Who won? Who won? Oh yeah!"
Dana didn't look at him, only scowled. "Just barely," she pointed out glumly.
"I do believe you have to do something for me," he said with an excited expression.
"What am I doing?" Dana asked quietly. She was in total shock that she'd just lost with four seconds left. So close to winning and she'd just lost.
"Well, my first thing," he began.
"First?! You only get one," Dana said firmly.
"Since when? We never made any rules."
"Bu-" She froze when she realized he was right. They hadn't set any rules for the bet, so Brian could have as many things as he wanted. 'Stupid, stupid, stupid,' she thought to herself.
"Exactly," Brian said after a few seconds. He had a triumpant grin on his face. "My first thing is I get a kiss... not just anywhere though... I think my feet are in need of a little lovin'."
"NO," she shook her head adamently. "No way."
"You have no choice," he pointed out smugly.
She wrinkled her nose. "That's absolutely disgusting!"
"You promised," Brian shrugged. "I didn't make you do anything." He paused. "Well, maybe my feet is a little bit much."
"Just a little bit." Dana was sickened at the thought of kissing his feet.
Brian outstretched his arms, and pulled her close. "I'll think of something for you," he told her calmly, with an anticipatory smile. "Believe you, me."
++a few days later++
"Nervous?"
"No, you know, I'm only headed for the Grammy's, nervous? Not me."
"Don't be so sarcastic."
"Sarcastic, me? Neverrrrr."
"Stop it!"
"What?"
"Being so sarcastic."
They both smiled.
"So are you nervous?"
"SHUT UP!"
Dana admired Kristen's blue dress. She looked rather like a princess. The spaghetti-strap upper half was designed to fit snug to the curves of her body, but the bottom was a billowy skirt that went swish-swish when she moved. Dana's dress was a shimmery off-white satin that filled her out and added bulk in all the right places, and left everything else in it's naturally slender state. The strapless dress made Dana feel exposed, and she was constantly pulling at the top to make sure it didn't fall down. "Kristen?"
Kristen looked at Dana to the best of her ability. The stylist was holding a very hot curling iron within inches of her face, and too much moving around would result in a hot metal rod scalding her skin. "Yeah?"
"......"
"Yeah?"
Dana shook her head. "Nothing," she said at length, shrugging. "I'm really scared."
Kristen looked at Dana, surprised. "What for?"
She managed a weak smile. "I don't know. I'm just really, really terrified about going tonight."
"Don't be," Kristen instructed. "There's nothing to be afraid of. It's a bunch of people going to get awards... just pretend it's a highschool awards banquet. Brian is really anticipating tonight, I know he's super excited about having you come with him. You look great, you're beautiful, and there isn't a thing in the world that deserves to make you nervous," she soothed.
"I am anyway." She pulled at one of the ringlets in her hair.
"Don't do that," Julia, the stylist, said with an aghast face. "You have no idea how sensitive semi-dry curls are. Just leave 'em alone for a while, or they'll go limp and you'll look like a Viagra deprived senior citizen."
"Oh God," Dana scoffed in disgust. "Grosser analagy, please."
Kristen laughed. "Yeah, Ju that was kinda sick."
"It's true though," Julia exclaimed defensivly. "Too much handling without fully setting, and those beautiful curls will go limp faster than you can say blue scrotum."
"Ew," Kristen interrupted. "No more making us want to throw up, please."
"Yeah, you might want to stop with the stomach turning thoughts..." Dana patted her belly with affection. "This thing isn't too sturdy and I might just puke all over my rented gown."
++in the limo++
Brian held an irriplaceable grin painted across his mouth. The night had progressed smoothly, with no bumps or falters. Unlike every other awards night on the planet, they were actually going to arrive at the right time for the Grammy's. They were to be sharing a stage with one of the greatest singers alive, plus performing their own set. The most amazing people were in the audience. Stars from around the planet; people whom Brian never imagined would see him sing, not even in his wildest dreams. It was rumoured that the Prince of Monaco was watching through a live satellite feed. Both his parents were seated across from him. Kristen was coming, Rachel was watching Florida. Kevin was talking to his mom, AJ was whispering something to Amanda. AJ's mom was perched like a bird, observing the scene around her. Claudia, Dana, and Kristen had opted to ride in the second limo with Nick's parents.
Because his limo had left first, and she was still in with the stylist, Dana hadn't yet met his parents. Brian was eagerly waiting for them to arrive so he could make introductions. His mom had seen the photo, and raved about how "cute" she was. His dad gave a gentle nod of approval; "She's good lookin'," came the soft-spoken, Kentucky-accented comment. "Seems really nice and sweet."
Brian resisted ticking off all the fantastic things about her. His parents were wanting to talk about how he was, and how everybody was doing, feeling, looking, sounding, acting, etc., etc. Dana was just one part of everybody, and it had been a long time since he'd seen either his mom or dad. He wanted to give them as much attention as possible, and do whatever they wanted him to.
There was one worry in the pit of his stomach though. Before leaving the hotel, he'd gone to see Dana, and she'd told him that she had never been more nervous in her life. He'd tried to soothe her nerves, but was in such a rush that he'd left her just as nervous as when he'd arrived. This was one of the most important nights of his life so far; if she was nervous, it made him feel bad for her. He longed to make everything okay, but the night would be so busy that he wasn't sure if he'd have enough time to. There was so much going on, everything was rushing around him like a blur of colours... sort of vibrant and unfamiliar, but at the same time it was the routine and like an old shoe.
++at the grammy's++
They were standing, calmly waiting for the line to progress so the five guys could have their photo's taken infront of a wall that said Grammy 2000 all over it. "They look really good together," Jackie commented. She and Harold stood and watched the couple. Brian was telling Dana something, most likely reassuring her that there was nothing to worry about. "I like her, she's nice."
"Mmm hmm," he murmured. "I can tell Brian likes her a lot."
"I know," Jackie agreed. "He could talk a mile a minute about that girl, just give him the chance."
They watched their son fondly. He had this expression that was unfamiliar to them, but it was clearly a happy face. He was smiling, with crinkles in the corners of his eyes, and his cheeks were all flushed and glowing in the lights. He didn't look rushed, or occupied, or bored, or unhappy. He seemed intent on the moment, on easing Dana's fears, and on making the most of the night. There were certain expectancies for the Boys. Everybody expected Santana to take the awards he was nominated for, and it was the fact that they were in an underdog position that was driving them. It would be simply fabulous to exceed the predictions.
He massaged her palms. "Don't worry. Who cares about it, huh? Just calm down and have the time of your life, okay?" When she didn't answer, Brian prompted: "Promise me."
"Promise you what?"
"After every time they announce us on the speaker, I get a kiss. Every time you're nervous, I get a kiss. Every time you feel the slightest bit out of place, I get a kiss."
"Basically, every waking moment I have to give you a kiss?" She smiled fondly. His jokes were soothing her nerves.
Brian laughed quietly. He was doing his best not to attract attention to them. You can never be too sure where the cameras are, but he and she were learning to ignore the flashes. Dana and Brian had ended up on more than one website. They'd spent an afternoon with mugs of cocoa laughing at the terrible pictures and chuckling at the assumptions and declarations of the legions of fans ("Leave her alone, she's super nice!" "Brian deserves the best, and only he can say who is the best." "She looks like a dirty slut.") People will pry, it's human nature to be inquisitive about what one isn't aware of, and they were both trying very hard to accomadate the questions that were arising. He still refused to name her, or give 'official' pictures (ie. photos of the couple taken with his consent), but the old, publicly "off the market", "I have a girlfriend", "I am dating" Brian Littrell was back in the public eye. And though it was usually a burden to have the constant stream of questions prying into his life, he didn't mind it this time around. There was something different about explaining Dana. "I'm serious, though. If you kiss me each time you're nervous, then you won't be nervous anymore."
++later on that night++
"Backstreet Boys," the voice boomed.
It was headed straight for them, ready to show the world what was going on in those eleven seats. But Dana saw it before it got there, and just as the name was announced, a tell-tale little red light turned on. She would have kissed him, but not with a camera there. So Dana simply squeezed his hand.
"Hey," Brian protested quietly. He examined her face, but Dana remained looking straight forward until the red light turned off.
She faced him quickly, and gave him a sweet kiss. "The camera was watching," Dana explained. "You don't want the whole world watching us kiss, do you hun?"
Next to her, Brian's dad laughed. "She's got you there," he whispered.
"And the Grammy goes to..."
Dana held her breath. The whole entourage was frozen, not breathing, praying that the name Backstreet Boys would be said.
~chapter twenty-seven~
~chapter index~
