Chapter Twenty-Five
I'm back! Don't be TOO scared, now. lol. And this is my "I'm back! Woohoo!" present for everyone. To Jess, who was the first one that noticed I was back (at what, two in morning?), and to Jenn, who said that I was missed, to Patty, who I'm going to annoy after awhile with my "In Toronto..." stories, and of course, to Paula, who I thought was going to have a heart attack, she was so happy to see that I was back. And yes, sweetie, you're getting the whole she-bang of when I was out there. The rants, the raves, and the "Oh my God, he was soooo cute". My thanks to everyone that welcomed me back and told me that they missed me, and I hope that you enjoy this!
The smile on her face couldn't be erased. There was no way that it was going to leave. Her green eyes, which were covered with a pair of dark sunglasses to hide them from the world and probing reporters and photographers, were busy looking out the tinted window of the limo she was riding in. From the corner, the radio was playing a country song so low that she could barely hear it. If she listened closer, she would have heard her song, but her mind was elsewhere.
Her mind was on JC. Not that it was a big surprise at all. Her mind always seemed to go to him and it never wanted to leave once it got to that point. And every time that she had thought about him today, her eyes always moved down to her watch, checking the time. Half an hour, she thought, as she sighed and looked out the window again.
For the moment, the limo was at a complete stand still, hidden somewhere in the depths of a traffic jam. It wasn't the only limo, because there was one beside her. A white stretch limo, with the same tinted windows, while she was riding in a regular black limo. Brooklyn had the strangest urge to roll down the window, knock on theirs (because it was close enough in the lane beside her) and ask them a ridiculous question, like she had done the first time that she had gotten into a limo. Of course, she was graduating from high school that day, and they never knew if one of their friends was in the limo beside them. It had been a great time, and one that she didn't want to forget, though she seemed to be forgetting a little more about that with every passing year.
"Is this thing ever going to move? Jace is going to kill me if we don't get there on time," she muttered, even though she knew it wasn't the truth. She just wanted to be the first one that he saw when he got off the plane. She wanted her smiling face to be the first thing that he saw.
Her eyes darted to the left and looked at the dry cleaner's bag sitting on the seat across from her. Her dress was waiting in there, for that night, but it wouldn't be the only night that she would see him. They had two nights together, before they both had to go back on tour. From the planning stages of his leg of the tour, JC made sure that he had these two days off to spend with Brooklyn after she asked him.
The only problem was, they had to get to the airport on time. She had said that she was going to give him a ride back to the hotel, so that they could get ready (though he didn't know what exactly he was getting ready for). Brooklyn had mentioned, one day, in passing, that they were going to be going to a party, but that was second on the agenda. They had something else to attend to first.
"Come on, come on," she muttered, tapping her finger on the door beside her, just as the limo started to move. She let out a sigh of relief and looked out her window. Even though no one could see her in the other limo, she put her middle finger in the air anyway. "Eat my freaking dust, you idiots," she said gleefully, as they passed the front of the limo and got up to considerable speed.
Once the traffic got going, it didn't take long for them to get to the Dallas airport. As soon as the driver opened up the door and extended his hand to help her out, Brooklyn thanked him quickly before running to the automatic doors. They weren't quick enough for her, so she pushed it open with her hands before running to the baggage area, staring at the television screens at each carousel before running to the next. She finally found the screen that had "St. Paul, Minnesota" written on one before grinning and diving into the crowd. Her eyes scanned all the people, looking for the familiar red baseball cap she knew that JC was wearing.
In a sea of baseball caps, mainly black Nike ones, she found his red one sticking out like a sore thumb. Something close to a giggle escaped her mouth as she pushed past a few people, apologizing, before she jumped at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and hanging off of his back. "Hello there, sexy. How was the flight?" she asked, practically whispering in his ear.
His head turned around so that he could look at her, and she frowned when she saw his black sunglasses. With one hand, while still hanging off of him, she carefully lowered them a little so that she could see his eyes but no one else could and started to laugh. "Oh, I get it. You're still not awake," she laughed, before pushing them back on.
JC nodded without a word and groaned under his breath when his suitcase, with a tell tale New York Rangers sticker pasted on the front, came around and he lifted it to rest beside him before he leaned over and unzipped a pouch on the top, pulling out his handle.
Brooklyn took his free hand, as dangerous as it sounded with so many people around, before she lead him out of the gathering of people and started towards the exit where the limo was parked. Neither of them spoke as the driver put the suitcase in the trunk and they slipped inside, closing the door to the hustle of the world outside. "Yeah, I'm traveling in style today. The academy offered this up for the day for me." She caught his look and shook her head slowly. "Nu uh. I'm not explaining, but you'll understand in a few hours, I'm sure."
A strange expression covered his face, and he folded his arms across his chest while staring at her. When she stared back, he pulled off the sunglasses and the hat, tossing them on the seat across from them. He gave the dry cleaner's bag a look before turning back to her and settling back, his eyes not moving from her face. "Uh....JC? Take a picture. It'll last longer. Why aren't you talking, anyway?"
He raised his eyebrows and continued to stare at her. She just shook her head and turned towards the window. "Fine, if you're going to be in this mood all day, you might as well fly back to Minnesota. I'll just call up someone who'll appreciate me...like Doctor Brian," she finished with an evil grin that he couldn't see as the limo started moving.
His finger tapped on her shoulder, and she turned to see a piece of folded paper in his hand before he handed it to her, sitting back again as he watched her. She unfolded the paper and sighed, bringing it a little closer to her face to read it without her glasses. She heard his snicker and whirled around to look at him. "Oh, he can't talk, but he can sure as hell snicker his ass off. Whatever."
Her attention went back down to the note, and she started to smile as she realized what he was trying to tell her.
New York,
I knew that you were going to forget about our "deal", so I wrote this up as soon as we got off the phone. Now, if I remember correctly, and I know that I do, because it's only been five minutes since we talked about it, I remember something about what we were talking about this afternoon...or a week and a half ago, if you want to get technical (which I know you will). You said that when I landed at the airport, you were going to greet me the way that someone dating someone would normally greet the other someone. If you don't...I recall something about not speaking to me until you do what you said you would. If you got this note, that means that you didn't remember, and I'm not uttering one word until you pay up.
JC
A smile filtered onto her face as she realized what he meant. Very slowly, she folded up the note and stuck it in her back pocket, looking back to the window. She just knew what his expression was, and she was going to pull this out as long as she could. It was almost as if she could feel the frustration coming from him, and she sighed softly, closing her eyes.
Her head leaned against the window and she sighed one more time before shifting to make herself more comfortable. He sat there for a little while, tapping one hand on the cushion between them, as she tried to get some sleep. "If I were you, I'd get a little more sleep, because we have an incredibly late night tonight," she murmured, not opening her eyes.
Yet she could feel him looking at her, and she let herself smile a little. There was no doubt in his mind that she knew what he was talking about, but he also knew that she wasn't going to admit to it for a little while yet. With a shrug, mainly for her benefit, he leaned forward and changed the station that the radio was on.
When she heard a non-country song coming out of the radio, and something that sounded suspiciously like two cats in heat, she slapped his hand with an annoyed look before changing the station back. He gave her a half grin before shrugging one more time and leaning back on his seat.
Brooklyn suddenly turned to him, and smiled brightly. "Hey, did you notice what I'm wearing?" she asked sweetly. When his head shook, she pointed to her shirt. A white tank top, with blue glitter that spelled out "New York". "I thought that it was cute, so I had to buy it," she explained.
He opened his mouth to comment on it, before she slapped her hand across it. "Not allowed to speak, sweetie." With a satisfied smile, she let out her breath and winked before biting her lip. JC groaned lightly under his breath. "No groaning, either, Joshua Scott Chasez. That's a way to express yourself through sounds."
He fought not to talk when she used his full name, and instead, settled on biting the inside of his cheek as he continued to stare at her. As if it was the most comfortable thing in the world, she picked up his hand and laced her fingers through his before turning back to the window.
The ride to the hotel was silent, and free of traffic jams, and before long, they stopped at the front of the hotel. JC looked at it incredulously, when he saw that it was one of Dallas's most prestigious hotels. She shrugged and let go of his hand, reaching for the dry cleaner's bag. "I'm forced to stay here. Come on," she beckoned as the door opened. There wasn't a place that he wouldn't follow her, and he got out of the limo, trailing after her up the stairs to the entrance. The doorman opened the door with a smile, and a soft, "Hello again, Miss Turner," before they entered.
Bypassing the registration desk, Brooklyn took him to the elevator and pulled a key card out of her back pocket. "Austin left this morning, so instead of fighting to get another room, since there are none, you get to stay in his old room. It's already been cleaned and everything, so you don't have his mess everywhere." She pressed the button for the sixth floor and tapped her foot patiently as the elevator got to their floor. When the doors opened, she took his down to her room. "Yours is right beside mine, on the left."
Opening her door, she tossed the bag onto the bed and then faced him before putting her key card down on the ground. With an evil grin, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down so that he was at her level. Her lips pressed against his, and he quickly let go of the handle of his suitcase to wrap his arms around her waist.
They stayed in the embrace until Brooklyn broke away and pushed him away with the palm of her hand on his chest. He stumbled over his suitcase before finally getting his footing. She smiled brightly and shut her door. "Hey, New York! I missed you!" he shouted through the closed door before laughing and going to his own room.
Brooklyn started to laugh, falling down on her bed. "Oh, I absolutely love that guy."
She glanced in the mirror a final time and sighed. There was one piece of very persistent hair that didn't want to go where it was supposed to. With a groan, she pulled out the pin, and wrapped up the hair a few times before pushing it against her head and pushing the pin in again. Finally, it stood where it was supposed to. She sprayed some hair spray across it lightly before smiling at her reflection.
Her hand blindly reached out for the lip stick she was wearing that night, and applied it with a skilled hand, before turning away. Now all she had to do was put on her shoes and she was done. A knock sounded on the closed door. "New York, you know that I would do anything for you, right?" She made an affirmative sound. "Well, I've been sitting here, for the past half hour in a tuxedo, waiting for you to finish fighting with your hair. A suit, I don't mind, but this is a tuxedo. Do you think that you could hurry it up a little," JC asked, a whine entering his voice.
While he was speaking, she had sat down on the edge of the bathtub and put on her shoes, buckling them tightly before standing up and brushing down the skirt of her dress. "I'm done, I'm done. I never knew that you were this impatient. Now, move back so that I don't hit you with the door."
She heard his feet move backwards before she unlocked the bathroom door and opened it, stepping out. With a giggle, she spun around in a circle and the light pink skirt of her evening dress came out like a flamenco dancer's skirt. "What do you think? Am I ready for the cover of Vogue?" She stuck a pose before laughing harder.
JC let out the breath he was holding, before reaching for her hand and bringing her closer to him. "Wow, New York. I...you...um..."
"You're speechless? Great, now let's go. The limo's waiting downstairs for us." She stopped and looked critically at his bow tie before straightening it, and taking the arm that he offered her, they went into the hallway. JC closed the door for her and slipped her key card into his pocket when he realized that she didn't have anywhere to put it. "Thank you," she said sweetly, as the doors to the elevator opened.
"Okay, I think I found the words that I was looking for," he finally said, looking down at her. They had the elevator to themselves, and didn't have to worry about anyone hearing them. "I've only seen you like this once before. You look incredible, New York. I'm going to be fighting off every guy when they see you."
She smiled her thanks, even though a blush crept up into her cheeks. "When did you see me like this before?"
There was a slight pause before he began to speak again. "The night that the guys tricked us to go out with each other. It wasn't when I first saw you walk out on the roof, even though you looked stunning then. It was right after you told me that you would never forgive me for doing what my heart was telling me to do." She looked a little confused, but she clued in, and suddenly smiled. That was what she had said right after their first meaningful kiss. Now she knew what he was talking about. "The look on your face, and your eyes...it was just incredible. And that's what you look like now. Actually, it's how I've seen you ever since that night."
A smirk started to grow on her face. "Even when we were fighting with each other?"
"More than ever then. Because you showed me what I was telling myself to give up, though I never really wanted to. It was definitely a confusing time." Leaning forward, he placed a soft kiss on her cheek. "I wouldn't even dream of messing your lipstick or your hair," he told her with a wink. Brooklyn laughed softly while rolling her eyes before they stepped out of the elevator and headed for the doors. There were a row of limos in the front, and Brooklyn headed to the front one immediately. The driver was waiting with an open door, and smiled as both of them slipped in.
"So, where are we going anyway?" JC asked her.
Brooklyn studied her nails, which were done in a pearly pink. "Oh, did I not tell you that tonight is pretty big? We're making a personal appearance." She smiled over at him. "See, I've been nominated for an award or two at the ACM's, and I was hoping that you wouldn't mind escorting me. It's like any other award show. We do the media circuit, and then go inside, sit through the awards, and go join the after party at the hotel. Hope you don't mind," she finished with a giggle.
He didn't mind at all. His eyes narrowed, however. "Just how many awards are you nominated for?"
She shrugged and let out a deep breath. "If you count all the awards that the album is nominated for, there's nine of them. We already one three for producing, mixing, and vocal arrangement. I'm nominated for four myself. Best Album, Best Record, Best Female Singer, and Best Live Performance."
"Oh, is that for the concert that you did on television?"
"Not...exactly. It's for the concert that you guys surprised me at. See, it was filmed by CMT that night, to be played during their Diva month. So...in reality, it's you, me, and the rest of the guys that are nominated, but it's only under my name, because you guys weren't even supposed to be there." She grinned and leaned back. "No big deal. I've done it all before. Just follow me lead, if you're nervous, JC."
He shook his head and they watched in silence as the hall where the awards were being held came closer and closer. She let out a deep breath when they pulled up to the red carpet, staring at the photographers and reporters. The doors opened, and everyone watching in anticipation to see who was coming out. The driver held out his hand and helped Brooklyn out while she smiled and waved at the crowd. The door was still open, and they were looking at it curiously to see who was going to be coming out next. Brooklyn could hear all of the names that were being thrown around. Faith Hill and Tim McGraw. Brad Paisely (since the two of them were being linked together a lot, even though he was married). Garth Brooks, even though he was retired. Lance Bass, since he had taken her to the last award show. Austin, since he had always taken her to the ACM's. No one mentioned who it was.
JC came out from the limo, and the fans that were gathered outside started to scream when they realized who Brooklyn was with. The whispers of names about who it could be turned into questions of why they were together, and to the photographers, "Are you getting all of this?" She smiled and took his arm again before they stepped a little further onto the red carpet. Entertainment Tonight, as always, was at the front of the line, only this time, it was Mary Hart who was doing the mini interviews.
They started over there, and smiled while they greeted each other. She motioned for the camera man to get started, and smiled. "Now this is a surprise. For the longest time, both of you have said that you're not dating, and you're only friends. You've never gone to anything public together...is there something that you're not telling us, Brooklyn? JC?"
They should have expected the question, but they didn't even think that they were going to get it. Their eyes turned to each other, and they tried to figure out what they were going to say. Brooklyn raised her eyebrows in question, and JC nodded slowly. This was definitely a gamble, but one worth taking.
With a smile, she turned back to Mary Hart and let it turn into an evil grin. "What ever could you mean?" she asked in the most innocent voice she could muster. "I thought that we had done something together before."
JC took over, knowing what game she was playing. "Well...no...that doesn't count," he said slowly, looking up as if looking for the answer. "We did come to one of your concerts. Two, actually."
She snapped her fingers. "That's right. You sang at one, and you were there for a televised one. See, we've done something together before."
Mary Hart started to laugh at the two of them and hurried to regain her composure. The two standing in front of her started to chuckle. "Seriously, is there anything between the two of you? You're one of the most rumored about couples, or not yet couples, in the media right now. People are taking bets on you in Vegas. Magazines have polls and are speculating when and where you're first date will be."
He looked over at Brooklyn before leaning forward again. "Sorry to disappoint all those people that are thinking of where our first date would be, but we've already had it," he said with a smile. "Actually, we've been on a few. We've been out to dinner a few times, and we were tricked into one date, which turned out to be one of the best of my life, I would think."
"Most definitely," she said with a smile. She knew that Mia was inside, and she wouldn't be able to hear any of this until later that night. "If you want the truth," she started, taking a deep breath and looking back at JC. He nodded again. "We started dating a few months ago, but something happened, and it just sort of...ended."
Hs eyes rolled playfully. "She got cold feet and we had to start from the beginning again."
With a playful frown, she hit him softly. "The day after the televised concert special, when I was admitted to the hospital, was the day that we decided to try it again, and it's going pretty good so far. So, for those people that have been wondering when the two of us were finally going to open our eyes and actually see the person in front of us, we have, and yes, we are dating. All you people that put bets on us in Vegas can collect now," she finished with a laugh.
"And just quickly, how are you doing, Brooklyn? I'm sure everyone's heard that you had emergency surgery that night of the concert special."
She nodded. "I'm fine now. I had my appendix taken out, which was almost ready to burst, but I'm perfectly fine now, and I'm better than ever."
The interview didn't last much longer, and they continued down the red carpet, catching almost everyone but The National Enquirer when Brooklyn recognized one of them. Instead, she held her head high when they called out to her, and walked right past without even looking. By the time they got inside, a soft rain was starting to fall, and they entered the crowded lobby.
Like the time that Lance took her to an awards show, JC never knew how many people Brooklyn actually knew and how many cared for her. He had never been big on country music, but when some of the most recognizable names came up to ask how she was doing, and teasing her about something, his mouth almost dropped to the floor. George Strait, of all people, came up to Brooklyn and twirled her around before giving her a fatherly kiss and asking if she knew anything about a new guitar that had just come on the market.
He managed to pull his now official girlfriend away from the throng of people and they started down for their seats . Brooklyn paused when she saw Mia sitting up a little further and bent her head down. "Hey, Mia? You can call Vegas and collect your money now. What is it, four hundred dollars?" She paused one more time and looked back at her. "Congratulations."
Mia sighed and turned her eyes towards the singers. "Yeah, you, too." It didn't even register in her brain, as the two of them started down towards the second row. Suddenly, she shot up and looked back at them. "What the hell are you talking about? BROOKLYN ARIZONA TURNER, YOU GET YOUR BUTT BACK HERE!" She didn't even care that everyone was staring at her like she was crazy.
But now she was four hundred dollars richer, and her best friend had finally found the man of her dreams. Plus, Mia could admit that at times, she was a little crazy. But not much.
"New York, when you said that you were only going to win one...you were crazy," JC said with a laugh, nudging her. She groaned and stopped her progress to the waiting limo. "Do you need some help? I've never heard of anyone winning so many awards that they can't carry them all."
She let out a sigh and blinked when another photographer got in her face and set off his flash. "Yeah, if you wouldn't mind," she said quietly. He grinned and took two out of her arms, leaving her to carry two. "Gee, Jace, I thought that you were going to take all of them, not just two," she said with a grin as they started to walk away.
Both of them turned deaf ears towards the reporters that were begging for an exclusive from the two. Brooklyn rolled her eyes when she heard people asking for the "real" scoop. "Can we get out of here...quickly?" she asked while smiling. "It wasn't even this bad when I said that I was engaged."
He laughed and took her by the arm, guiding her to the right limo. "Yeah, well, you can't help it that I'm so well known and just so drop dead gorgeous that they can't help taking pictures."
Her laugh rang through the cool and slightly wet night. "You are so full of yourself. Now, come on, we have an after party to go to." They slipped in, and settled down, putting the awards on the other seat. "Hey, why do you have a cell phone with you?" he asked her.
"Hm? Oh, security precautions. I don't know what's up, but security isn't saying a thing." As if on cue, the cell phone started to ring. A second later, the sound of JC's cell phone started to match it. They looked at each other with wide eyes. "Oh, God, we're about to get the lectures."
Closing her eyes, Brooklyn picked up the phone she had been given, and pressed the talk button, gingerly bringing it up to her ear. "He...Hello?" she asked softly, already wincing. It was a good thing that she was, too.
"BROOKLYN ARIZONA FREAKING TURNER. WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU THINKING? ARE YOU COMPLETELY OUT OF YOUR MIND?" Mia screamed. JC groaned softly beside her before trying to speak to whoever was on the other line.
She let out a deep breath. "Mia, please, calm down. Remember that it's good to breathe, please." A snicker sounded beside her, and she turned to grin at JC.
"OH, NO, YOU CAN TELL HER TO CALM DOWN ALL YOU WANT, BUT YOU'RE NOT TELLING ME TO CALM DOWN AT ALL. YOU ARE SO DEAD WHEN YOU GET HOME, IT'S NOT EVEN FUNNY," another voice said. Her mouth dropped open when she realized that it was her brother that was yelling at her now. "Yeah, that's right, Brooke. Welcome to the twenty first century. Ever heard of three way calling?"
"No, no, please no. Not tonight, guys. Just...we have the after party, and I would like to enjoy myself. Please, can we talk about this tomorrow or something? We'll have a meeting. We'll get JC's publicist to fly out, right, JC?" He nodded quickly when she mouthed the names of the people that she was talking to. When she mouthed Austin's name, he paled so deeply that his tan completely disappeared. "Yeah, that's what we'll do. And we'll sit there and talk it over like the four very reasonable adults that we are...five, if Austin is going to fly in. We'll figure it all out then. PLEASE, Mia."
An exasperated sigh came from the other end. "You know, as soon as you told me, my cell phone went off. It was Joe. Joe who is not too happy with you right now. He doesn't like the idea of this, and I don't know why, but I can somewhat understand it, Brooke. You never talked to us about this. You always said that you would talk to us first before making any decisions."
"Damn it, I'm twenty five years old. If I want to say that I'm dating someone, I can. I can understand that, but come on. This is nothing THAT big. Don't give me that look," she finished in a teasing tone when JC mock glared at her. "Okay, so it's a big deal to us, but-"
"I have a million calls to get back to now," she said slowly. "I have millions upon millions of calls. Are you guys giving an exclusive, or not? I need to know who you're going to choose, because everyone wants a double interview from both of you. How are we going to cover that one."
Brooklyn dropped her head a little. "Look, JC is going to ask his publicist to fly out and be here tomorrow for a meeting at...two in the afternoon. He's talking to his publicist right now, and Austin, you fly out and I'll pay you back for the plane ticket. We'll meet in my room and have a talk about it, and settle it. Thank you, guys." She hung up the phone and sighed, dropping it into her lap.
"Yeah, two in the afternoon. We're staying at the Regency in Dallas. No, we're not sharing a room." He rolled his eyes. "Uh huh. Room 634. No, we're not going to skip the meeting. If the guys want to come, they're more than welcome, but that's a lot of people to push into a hotel room." Nodding a few times, he rolled his eyes again for Brooklyn. She covered her mouth to stifle her giggle. "Okay, I understand. Thank you. Bye." He hung up and took her phone and his before throwing them on the other side. "Just...don't touch them, all right?"
She nodded thankfully and bent her head down on his shoulder. "Did we do the right thing?"
"Are you going to question every single little thing that we do? Granted, this wasn't little, but you're going to have to trust me and stop asking if what we do is right all the time," he said quietly before looking down at the honey brown hair that was resting against the side of his neck. "We knew that there was going to be at least a little backlash from the press, and of course, some fans may not think that it's great, but we can deal with it, New York. You just have to trust me a little, all right?"
As he said that, he put his hand in his pocket and sighed when he felt the small box inside. His fingers played with it for a little while before he shook his head and pulled his hand out. It wasn't the right time. Actually, by his watch, it was a few hours early, but he thought that he could hold off until then.
Still there was something that was nagging JC in the back of his mind, and he couldn't figure out what it was. It had been bothering him ever since he had woken up that morning and thought about the flight that would take him to Brooklyn. It wasn't the usual nagging sense that he got from his little lie about the coin, because he had yet to tell her about that. It was something else altogether.
But it had to be forgotten for the time being. Nothing could ruin this night.
"Where are we going, anyway?" he asked, looking out the window to see an unfamiliar building.
"Welcome to the after party," she whispered in his ear with a laugh when she pulled away. The limo stopped and they waited for the limo driver to come and open the door. "Don't worry. As soon as you get in, just follow everyone's lead. I'm sure that as soon as three quarters of the guys got in there, they took off their ties and jackets. It happens every time. This is a group of people that would much rather be in jeans and old tee shirts."
He grinned and took her hand. "Well, then, let's make our second public appearance, shall we?" She grinned and took his hand to help her out, before she stood beside him and looked around. The press had followed them here, and they were already waiting. This time, however, they bypassed them and went straight inside. JC started to laugh when he looked around. There wasn't one woman who was wearing a pair of shoes, and the men were nothing but a sea of white shirts. "Told you," she said with a smile, leaning down to unbuckle her shoes. She tossed them under a nearby table, grinning when someone complained that she hit him. "Let it go, Toby. You still owe me from the LAST awards show."
They moved a little closer and made their way to the dance floor. Brooklyn, who had seemed tired before, was nothing but a bundle of energy. He could barely keep up with her, as she was holding conversations and dancing at the same time. Suddenly, a voice over the speakers got their attention. "Ladies and gentlemen, would you please welcome the big winner of the night, with all four awards that she was nominated for, Miss Brooklyn Turner!" She laughed and waved at the DJ, as a round of applause came through the air. He introduced a few other people, winners or not, before the two of them snuck off to the bar, ordering two waters.
"So, THIS is a country music after party," he said, looking around. She nodded, and took a sip of her water. "Wow, this is nothing like the after parties at other award shows."
"I usually don't go to them. I like these, because...well, I don't really know. This is sort of like prom all over again. You know, the whole, I fee free and I know every person in the room, sort of feeling. These are the best."
She turned when someone nudged her from behind. "Hey, Brooke. I heard that you got in trouble with Mia."
With a smirk, she wrapped her arm around the man's neck. "Better me than you, Tim, right?" she asked with a laugh. He nodded happily before asking for two glasses of white wine. "Ooh, you and Faith are going kind of pricey tonight, aren't you? White wine? I thought that you were a Budweiser kind of guy."
He grinned. "They don't have any beer back there. It's all mixed drinks and wine." His eyes rolled. Then he turned to look at JC. "Congratulations, man. You got the second best woman in the room." As they were shaking hands, Tim leaned forward a little. "And if anything happens to her...let's just say that her brother won't be half as bad as I am." With a final grin, he took the two glasses and walked away.
Brooklyn covered her mouth with amusement as she watched him walk back to his wife. "I'm telling you...that guy has some problems." They both looked up suddenly, when they heard a familiar tune coming out of the speakers. They stared at each other for a moment before smiling.
"What is this? The first song that actually meant something to us?" he asked her in a whisper.
She put her glass of water down and smiled back. "Remind me to write Carolyn a note later on, okay?" JC took her by the hand and brought her back out to the dance floor, smiling to himself when she wrapped her arms around his neck, resting her head against him. His arms encircled her waist and his hands rested on her lower back, making her sigh, just barely audible over "Complicated" playing on the sound system.
Everything has changed from the first time that they listened to the song together in his car. There were no more feelings of confusion between the two of them, and it made them both reflect to the time, not that long ago, when they weren't sure what to do. Now they knew exactly what to do.
What they didn't realize was that someone had turned one of the spot lights on them, and quite a few people moved off of the floor when they saw what was happening. She raised her head and smiled at him, her eyes sparkling in the light. There was nothing in the world that could have stopped them, as the song was nearing the end, and as JC lowered his head closer to her.
Their lips met, but they never heard the soft sighs coming from most of the women in the room, or the chuckles and comments from the men. They were completely lost in each other, as she used her arms to bring him even closer to her, sighing lightly herself. They were so close that you wouldn't have been able to slip a single sheet of the thinnest paper in the world between them.
Finally, as the last note of the song filled the air, they pulled away to look at each other. Very slowly, the slowest that he had ever moved before, JC raised his hand and brushed it across her cheek, at the same time moving a piece of stubborn hair that had fallen out of her arrangement. A blush covered both of their faces when the clapping started in the very back of the ballroom until it made it all the way to the people right by them. Brooklyn bit her lip and looked up at him, trying not to laugh herself.
"Now THAT'S how you do it, Brooke!" a female voice called from near the back. She laughed and nodded, recognizing the voice immediately.
"Thanks!" she shouted back. "But it's all him!" she added, pointing to her boyfriend.
JC started to laugh at the next comment. "Man, she's going to have you whipped in two days. I guarantee it!"
"Wanna put some money on that?" he shouted into the crowd, making everyone break into laughter.
Even the DJ decided to get into a little, making sure that his voice was the loudest in the room. "Hey, maybe I should start to play that song again. Who wants another show?" Brooklyn shook her head with a laugh.
With a quick move, JC looked down at the watch he was wearing, and smiled. He had been waiting anxiously for this time to come around, but he couldn't ignore the butterflies that were starting to grow in his stomach. The last time that he had done this, they weren't together. He had been in Orlando, and she had been in Tennessee. Now, for the first time, they were standing side by side, and he knew that it would be harder to find the words that he needed.
"New York, let's go get some air," he whispered, gesturing to one of the open side doors. She nodded, and they joined hands before walking towards the door, saying hello to people that they knew and people that they didn't (though there was few that Brooklyn didn't know). They finally made their way outside and started towards the white benches in the back of the property, where they could sit and have a little privacy. There was no one outside at the moment but they both knew that that would change eventually. Especially considering the Academy of Country Music had decided to have a small fireworks show, for some reason that no one could figure out, before everyone left the party.
She sat down and crossed one leg atop of the other, looking out into the distance. "It's beautiful out here," she said softly, a smile starting to grow on her face. JC bit his tongue, not wanting to come out with some sort of corny line that would make her start to laugh and ruin the moment. He had to make sure that this was all perfect. He had played it out millions of times in his mind, but this time...it felt different. Because he was actually doing it now, not just thinking about it.
"Uh...New York, do you know what today is?" he asked quietly, turning to look at her. A deep breath got rid of some of his nervousness, but for some reason, he couldn't find the strength to let that breath out. It was harder than he had ever thought. Before, all he did was send her a note. This was something that had to be done in person.
Her lips pursed as she thought about it, and he held onto the back of the bench even tighter, so tight that he thought the wood was going to split from the force that he was putting on it. "Uh....it's August 17th." He shook his head. "It's a Saturday." He shook his head again, a smile growing. "Okay, fine, let's see. It's two weeks before the wedding...which, by the way, please make sure that Chris AND Joey had suits in regular colors, that have no frills, no lace, no fur, and no leather other than a belt, please."
"I'll be sure to remind them that you'll beat them up if they don't do what the all-mighty Brooklyn Turner says, but you're still wrong."
"It's not my birthday. Not even close. Your birthday was on the 8th...a whole nine days ago. Austin's birthday isn't until next month. The guy's birthdays have either passed or not come up yet. Mia's birthday isn't for a long time now....what am I missing, JC? I'm completely lost here."
He snapped his finger, acting dismayed. "And I thought that it was the females that were supposed to remember important dates."
Confusion etched her pretty face as she turned back to him. "Um...I have no idea what 'important' date that you're thinking of, but I can't think of anything special on the...17th of August." Now she was beginning to get it, and it showed clearly in her eyes. "There's something about this day, but I can't figure it out...it's like it's at the tip of my tongue, but I can't get my mouth to form the words."
Nodding slowly, his hand slipped into his pocket and he played with the object nervously. "Mm hm. On this day, in exactly nine hours, you and I met for the first time at Curb of Nashville." Her mouth dropped open. "I know, it's hard to believe that it's been a year since we met."
"Well, a lot has happened in that year. You and I have been in some of the biggest ups and downs of our lives. It was definitely a bumpy ride to get to this point."
"And thankfully, it's ended since then." They smiled at each other before JC took another deep breath. "You know, the day that I met you...my life totally changed. I never thought that one person could have that much of an impact on me, and it surprised me. As soon as I flew back to Orlando, everyone was asking me about what you were like, and I told them all the truth. You were the most incredible woman that I have ever met in my life."
He chuckled softly and cleared his throat. "My friends, especially Justin, thought that I was completely crazy. They could see what I couldn't, or what I didn't. I remember how you made that sly comment about your boyfriend, just in case, you know? I took the hint. I knew that you were happy in your relationship, and I told myself that I just didn't see you that way, but I did. Everyone saw it but you and me."
Brooklyn swallowed thickly and blinked back the tears in her eyes. "We've definitely come a long way, JC, and this past year...I'll never forget any of it, only because every memory that I have, good or bad, you've been part of it. I don't want to forget anything, only because you were always there for me, and I could depend on you, whether you were near me or not. And I thank you for that, because no one has really done that for me before."
Another nod came from his direction. "We've gone from being complete strangers, to friends, to best friends so close that people were beginning to think that we were attached at the hip, to semi-dating, to pretending to hate each other, to where we are right now. That's a lot of change for one year."
"I have a feeling though, that nothing is going to change that dramatically this coming year. We're right where we want to be, so why would anything change?"
"Exactly. When I was...when I was thinking about how I was going to bring this up, something kept coming into my mind. Something that I wanted to tell you, but I couldn't remember it all. See, when I was a kid, my mom had a whole collection of poems and sayings, and she used to say something to me, telling me that I should remember it when I was older. The only thing is...all I can remember is one line of the poem. I don't even remember who wrote it. This is the best I could do, though."
Her eyes followed his hand, as he brought out what he had been playing with before. "The day that...everything happened, you went upstairs, and you said that your jewelry was all over the place, but you didn't think that anything was missing. Then, you called me about a week later, and told me that your mom used to have a silver bracelet that you just absolutely loved. She used to let you wear it when you were a kid, and you told me that it used to have an inscription. It was something that your father knew and only him, but it meant something to him, and he wanted her to wear those words on her wrist. Their initials and the date that they met were also on there."
Her head nodded slowly when she listened to him speak, but she couldn't take her eyes off of the silver bracelet that was in his hand, gleaming in the moonlight. "You showed it to me one time, I remember that. It was a little after we met, and I was helping you move your vanity table, and you're jewelry box fell off of it. That's when you told me the story of the bracelet. I...uh...tried to find one that was the closest to the one that I could find, and I think I did okay, but I'm not really sure."
"It's exactly right," she whispered.
"Like your father, I put a phrase from the poem that means something to me, but you don't know about. I made sure that our initials were on there, too, including the day that we met. It's...uh...not much, but..." He couldn't find the right words to explain it to her, and it was beginning to get to him.
Her eyes raised to his and her head shook as one tear managed to spill out of her eye and go down her cheek. "It's everything to me. JC, I can't even believe that you remember that day, or what I told you about it. You could never entirely understand what this means to me. That bracelet...it was the only real thing that my mom and I shared, the only thing that brought us together like a real mother and daughter. The original meant so much to me, but the fact that you did this, that you remembered and did the same...that means the world to me."
Wordlessly, he put the bracelet in her hand so that she could read the inscription. She raised it and turned it a little, trying to read the delicately written script words on the silver.
Do more than touch-feel. JSC/BAT. August 17th.
Her head shook softly, and she looked back up at him. "It's beautiful," she said in a whisper, so quiet that he had to strain to hear it. He took the bracelet back and opened it, slipping it over her wrist. Carefully, trying not to pinch the delicate skin of her wrist in the clasp, he pushed it back together, and smiled. "Are you ever going to tell me what that means?" she asked softly, as he wiped away the second tear that started its way down her face.
"Did your father ever tell your mother what he meant by his words?" Her head shook mutely. She couldn't find her voice to say no, and shaking her head was the best that she could do. "Then I'm not telling you, either. As soon as I can find that poem again, I'm going to show it to you, but I'll never explain what it means."
A smile covered her face. "Everyone has to have a few secrets, right?"
But he seemed to have more than he wanted, and he never wanted to keep anything from Brooklyn.
In the silent, almost pitch black room, JC sighed before he hit a few more keys on the laptop that he borrowed off of Brooklyn, searching through yet another database of poems. He had to find the whole poem, just to show her, let her know what it said. It had meant so much to him when he was a kid, and it meant so much to his mother, that he had to share it with her.
The screen was the only thing illuminating the room, as he, with tired eyes, typed in the same phrase that he had been typing in for the past hour. If he didn't find it at this one, he was going to give up for the night, and try again in the morning. Once more, the phrase that he had inscribed on the bracelet went into the available space, and he pressed search. He was becoming an expert on the computer in the past few minutes.
As usual, a list of authors came up that had similar lines in their poems, and he searched for a familiar name. His eyes widened when he did see that familiar name that he was looking for and clicked on the link quickly, waiting for the page to load. Once it did, he started to read, a smile growing on his face, bright enough to light the room. Because they hadn't hooked up the printer that went with the computer (and JC wasn't even going to ATTEMPT to put it together), he grabbed the notebook that he used mainly for writing down snatches of new songs that ran through his head, and scribbled down the poem, scrawling the poet's name at the end of it.
Standing up, he walked over to the adjoining door, and then stopped in mid step. Brooklyn would be asleep by now. She could barely keep her eyes open enough to set up the computer for him when he asked to use it. The last thing he wanted to do was wake her up. They had had a long day, a late night, and they were going to have an even longer day when they had their meeting. He was almost sure of that.
Instead, he shut down the computer, one of the few things he did know how to do with it, and shut it, before going over to his bed in the dark and climbing into it, staring at the ceiling. That nagging feeling was still in him, just not as strong as it had been a few hours ago.
But it managed to come back full force, and he sat up straight in bed when he realized what he was supposed to be remembering. He had been so caught up in the moment that evening, that he never even thought of the REAL backlash of the two of them announcing that they were dating. He had thought about the press, he had thought about the fans. He had thought about everyone, but the one person that he should have been thinking about.
Tim Croft.
He had said that if Tim stopped what was happening, or tried to, then he would stay away from Brooklyn. He had never thought of staying away from her for a long time, but just long enough to the point that Tim couldn't do anything about it. Yet the two of them stood there, about seven hours ago, and said, "Yes, we're finally dating." On camera. For the world to see. Not only that, but even if Tim missed the opening of the awards, or Entertainment Tonight, he wouldn't have missed the actual awards. Brooklyn was going to be there, so he would be sure to watch.
And when she went up to get her award and make her speech, each time, the two of them shared a quick kiss in front of the camera that showed that they were definitely not just friends. And every time that she thanked everyone that had helped her along the way, she always thanked JC, and the camera always went to him at that point.
There was no way that he could mistake him for anyone else, and he was more than screwed at this part. How was he supposed to explain what happened? JC had told himself that once the wedding was over, he would be fine to be with Brooklyn again, but it was two weeks until the wedding was supposed to take place. It was too early.
Why did he have to be such an idiot sometimes? What was he supposed to do, tell Brooklyn that they both need to stay away from each other because he went to visit her ex fiancé, and told him that he would leave Brooklyn alone if Tim would leave her alone. That wouldn't work with her, and he knew it. She liked honestly, plain and simple. Yet, he keeps coming out with more and more lies, and he was going to have to lie even more.
This wasn't what he expected at all, and he was beginning to get a little sick of it, but there was nothing that he could do now. He had to play Tim's game, but it was about damned time that he started to play by his own rules. All he had to do now was make sure that everything was perfect before he uttered the words "checkmate" to the rat bastard.
Chapter Twenty-Six
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