Brianna got a little sleep on the plane, but not much. It was early morning in Dallas, but when she got to the hotel she noticed that there were quite a few fans already there even though the boys weren’t due in for another hour or more. Nick, much of the time, checked into hotels under an alias. But this time, he wasn’t checking in at all. Instead, the room was registered in Brianna’s name. That should really confuse all the fans. Actually, most of them probably wouldn’t even realize anything. They’d either think he was in under a name they didn’t know or they’d recognize Brianna, those that knew her, and would automatically assume they were together under her name. However, checking in this particular morning, no one recognized her. More than likely it was just because the fans that were there didn’t really know Brianna. And, even above that, Brianna got the impression that most of the fans there were AJ fans, so it didn’t really matter who she was, and that was just fine. She just hoped that it was just fine with AJ.

After checking in she found her way up to the room and settled in. She didn’t do too much unpacking as they were traveling the next day. It had been some time since she had been on the road with Nick, since well before AJ went into rehab, but she still remembered how things worked. She decided since she had been going all night and then traveling that she wanted to take a shower before Nick got there. She figured there was no telling once the Boys arrived how busy things were going to be and when she might have a quiet opportunity like this again. So, she climbed into a steaming shower and drifted off for a short, unplanned nap.

When she woke up, she had no idea how long she had been asleep, but figured it had to be quite awhile since the water, while not cold, was much cooler than when she started. Drying off she wrapped the towel around her, walked into the bedroom, and froze. There on the bed was Nick.

“Well hello there.” He smiled turning his head to her. He was lying on his back and at first she thought he had been asleep, that is until he spoke. She didn’t know what to say. The last time they had been in the same room together things were a bit awkward. And now, here she was standing in front of him in nothing but a towel. And things still felt awkward. She had so many thoughts running through her mind. “Aren’t you going to say hello?” He stood and walked towards her.

Clearing her throat she managed to softly say hello before he pulled her into a hug. They stood there for several minutes just hugging and not saying anything. He was the first to speak. “I’ve missed you. I didn’t realize how much until just now.”

“I’ve missed you too. Sorry I didn’t hear you come in. I hope I didn’t keep you waiting.”

“Nah. Don’t worry about it. I guess you probably needed the shower to wake up after the flight, huh?”

“Yeah, besides I didn’t get any sleep last night, and barely any on the plane.” She was looking at him. She couldn’t decide if he looked good or not. He seemed a bit more rested than usual, but there was worry in his eyes, and maybe even something else. Wrinkling her forehead she was reaching up and cupping his face in the palm of her hand without even thinking about it.

“What? What’s the matter?”

“Hmm? Nothing. Just looking at you. Just making sure everything is okay. Is everything okay?”

“Yeah. As good as could be expected anyway. But why didn’t you get any sleep?”

Brianna suddenly felt a chill and realized he must have turned the thermostat down when he came in. She went to her suitcase to pick out something to wear. She answered him on her way back to the bathroom. “I had a date last night and didn’t get in until after 3 this morning.”

“A date?”

She peeked out the bathroom. What was that in his voice? “Yeah, a date. Dinner and a play. Nothing much. Just a friend I met not long ago.”

“Oh.” There was a pause before he continued, “Well, did you have fun?”

“She kept the door cracked a little so they could talk while she was getting dressed, but kept it shut enough that he couldn’t see into the bathroom. “Yeah. He’s a bit odd at times, but then again, who isn’t. Megan likes him. Thinks he’s much better than John ever was.” Why did I bring him up?

“So, is this serious like you were with John?”

Pulling her shirt over her head she grabbed her comb and walked out of the bathroom. She waited until she was seated next to Nick before answering. Pulling the comb through her hair she went on, “No, nothing serious. We just met. Just someone to hang out with.” She looked over at him and he had his hands folded in his lap and was looking down at them.

“Well, that’s good. I mean, that you have someone nice to hang out with.”

She nudged him with her shoulder, “Well, he’s no you.” He looked up at her and they both smiled. Yes, things were just a little off between them. Again, she wondered just what had happened, what she had done to make things change.

Just then his cell phone rang. “Hello?” She could only hear his side of the conversation but knew that is was one of the other Boys. “Yeah, she’s here. She got her before us. Are you kidding? I’m starving!” He laughed at something who ever was on the other end said and then turned to Brianna, “Bree, you hungry?”

God, it was good to hear him calling her Bree. She missed that so much. “Oh yes. Haven’t had breakfast yet and it’s almost lunch time.”

“Yeah, man. Sounds good to me. Give a few minutes. Brianna just got out of the shower. Yeah. Yeah. See you there.” After he hung up the phone he again turned his attention to Brianna. “That was Brian. The fellas are all meeting for lunch. Seems Kevin got us one of the banquet rooms reserved. They want us to join them when we’re ready. I just want to brush my teeth and stuff.”

“Okay, you do that and I’ll finish with my hair and get my shoes on. I’ll hurry.”

“No hurry. Take your time baby.” He smiled at her as he disappeared into the bathroom. Fifteen minutes later, Brianna’s hair was pulled back in a headband, her tennis shoes were on, Nick was ready and they were out the door.

<~ Chapter 61 or Chapter 63 ~>

In the End

Karina 2003