I check my watch and speed up. I am going to be SO late for my interview with Robbie Williams. And my head really hurts after all that tequila last night. And had Ali and I REALLY performed our spoof of All I Have To Give? I don’t remember too much after that. I think AJ treated us to his version of Like A Virgin and then I just remember waking up sprawled across Howie and Brian on the couch. Ugh, I was never drinking again… Well, not tequila anyways. We had all made the flight to Houston with literally minutes to spare. I had only had time to drop my bags in the hotel room, get changed and run out to make the interview with Robbie. Brian and the guys went straight onto the venue. I have interviewed Robbie Williams twice in the past and I really love him. He always makes me laugh and it never seems like work. He says the same, so I guess he’ll make me some gross hangover cure… Yuck. I giggle at the thought and almost run round the hotel corner. Nick is running the other way and we collide. I hit the floor with a yell.
“Owch! Shit!” I hold my ankle.
“God, I’m sorry Jady!” he kneels next to me and touches my ankle gently. “You ok?”
“No! My ankle really hurts… Jeez Nick, look where you’re goin’!”
“Hey YOU weren’t,” he protests.
“I can’t see round corners,” I retort, struggling to my feet as he slips an arm around me.
“And I can?! Jeez, who do ya think I am – Superman?!”
“Sorry,” I concede. “Owch.” We hobble towards the elevators.
“You probably just twisted it.”
“Hope so.” I look at him, “What’re you doin’ here anyway?”
“I needed a shower.”
“Oh.” I check my watch as Nick presses the call button, “Oh man, I’m officially late.”
“For Robbie?”
“Yup,” we go inside the elevator and Nick presses for the ground floor. “Maybe if I get a fast cab driver…?”
Nick laughs. “Jady, you need medical attention.”
“I’m fine,” I look at him. “Really.”
He gives me a look. “Oh so that’s why you can’t stand up alone? Don’t be dumb Jade. I think there’s a clinic over the road.”
I wince and look at my watch again as the elevator doors open and Nick guides me out. “God, I am SO late.”
“Me too. Now c’mon!”
I go with him across the road, “You’re late?”
“Yup. I got a sound check.”
“You better go then.”
“Nuh uh,” he chuckles. “Y’know how I LOVE sound checks…” he rolls his eyes. “Plus I kinda feel responsible.”
“Yeah.”
“What? That’s where you’re supposed to disagree with me so I feel better.”
“Well you ran into me.”
“Hey you ran into ME actually.”
“So why am I the one who got hurt?”
“Cos you were runnin’ faster.”
“Huh? Great logic.” We giggle at each other and go up to the clinic’s reception desk. “Hi.”
The nurse looks us both up and down. “What’s the problem?”
“I think I twisted my ankle.”
“Ok. Fill out this form and take a seat.”
“Thanks.” We sit down. “I’m ok now. You should go.”
Nick grins. “Hey I’m ok here.”
“You’re already late.”
“Yup, so I might well stay here and wait for my cell to ring.”
“Kevin,” I chuckle.
“Kevin,” he agrees, rolling his eyes. I start filling in the form. “Is your ankle still hurting?”
“It’s kinda throbbing now.”
“That’s gotta be better.”
“I guess.”
Nick’s cell phone rings and he pulls it out. “Right on time. Yup?” He grimaces as Kevin yells him out. “Yeah Kev, sorry but I kinda RAN into Jade…” I smother a giggle as he continues. “Yeah, medical clinic… Nah she’s fine… Ok… Bye Kev,” he hangs up and pulls a face at his phone. “You saved me Jady.”
“I did?”
“Yup, he calmed down after I told him why I was late.”
“But you gotta go?” I grin.
“If my butt ain’t there in ten minutes I’m SO dead,” he imitates Kevin’s drawl and stands up. “You gonna be ok?”
“Sure. Bye Nick… Have fun…!”
He rolls his eyes at me and heads out of the door.
Nick runs through the arena doors, rebounds off a trolley, falls over a power lead and trips up the steps onto the stage, landing in a heap by the drum kit.
“I’m here!” he says breathlessly to an amused AJ.
“Hey Nicky, ya missed your vocation. With your athleticism you shoulda been a stunts guy.”
“Shadup,” Nick stands up and brushes himself down. “So where’s the dictator?”
“Kevin’s out back gettin’ a drink with Brian and Howie.” On cue, the three guys wander into the arena. They head towards the stage. “You missed Nick’s amazing display of clumsiness,” AJ tells them.
“You must be havin’ a bad day,” Kevin tells Nick dryly.
“Hey, what’s this I hear ‘bout you beating up my girl?” Brian walks up to Nick, doing an impression of a hard guy and then giggling.
“Whoa Bri, you ALMOST scared me. If I was a 3 year old girl and you’d taken my icee,” Nick grins at his friend. “I ran into Jade in the hotel and she went over on her ankle. So I took her to the clinic over the road and stayed until I got the summons back from Mr Master over there.”
Brian grins at the mention of Kevin. “So, how is Jade? She didn’t break it?”
“Naw, probably a sprain. But I left before she saw the doc.”
“I better call her,” Brian heads off outside with his cell phone.
“Brian?” Kevin calls after him and then looks at Nick exasperatedly. “Where’s he gone?”
“To call Jade.”
“Oh jeez! If this sound check gets done, it’ll be a friggin’ miracle.”
“Hey Jady,” Brian says softly when she answers her cell phone. “Are you still at the clinic?”
“Nup, I’m in a car on the way to my interview. I called Robbie from the clinic and he was cool ‘bout me bein’ several hours late.”
“That’s good. So, what did the doctor say?”
“I sprained it. Nothin’ too bad. He offered me a pain shot but…” she pauses and Brian laughs, remembering last time. “Exactly.”
“Aw honey. Do you feel ok?”
“Yeah. It only hurts when I walk. So I plan on bein’ as lazy as possible this week.”
“We’ll get you a zimmer frame,” he teases and she laughs. “But I’m glad you’re ok.”
“Is the sound check over?”
“Naw, we’re about to get started.”
“You better go then.”
“Yeah. What time will you be back at the hotel?”
“No idea. I guess around 5.”
“Ok. See you then,” Brian turns his phone off and ambles back inside and up to the stage.
Kevin is sat swinging his legs furiously on the edge. He watches Brian’s lazy walk.
“Take it slow Bri, no rush, we’re only waiting for ya…”
“Chill, I’m here now,” Brian climbs the steps to the stage and stands in the middle. “Y’all couldn’t have started?”
“Nuh, you’re kinda the lead on our first songs…” Kevin stands up and throws Brian a sharp look. “Ok, we all ready? No phone calls to be made? No girls to trip up?”
Nick and Brian exchange grins. “Nup!”
I dash into the venue twenty minutes after I had promised to meet Nick. Much to my disappointment, they’ve already started the sound check and are up on stage doing a song. I take my seat in the front row and wave flirtatiously at Nick. He winks and gives me a small smile. They get into their next song and my cell phone rings. The music cuts off and the waves of people in motion come to a halt.
“NO distractions during a sound check please, THANK YOU,” Kevin bellows, and he rolls his eyes dramatically for added effect.
“I’m sorry,” I mouth, and turn off the ringer. Nick looks at me apologetically and sticks his tongue out at Kevin’s back. I giggle softly and turn on my phone. “Ali speaking.”
“Ahh, my favourite person in the world!” exclaims Ashton.
“What now?” I ask sarcastically.
“I have another favour to ask of you. I’ve got some clients coming in next week, but Damien has decided to quit. So I’ve got eight models, no photographer.”
“Well, I wasn’t too fond of your last client-”
“I know, doll. I’m really sorry about that, he won’t do it again.”
“What?! He’s going to be there?” I yell, receiving a sharp glare from Kevin.
“We’re doing a cover on the top ten sexiest male actors in our next issue,” he explains.
“But you said eight models?”
“Two can’t make it. But I can give you a list of names of those we’re doing, so you’ll know who you’re dealing with.”
“That would be great.”
“Okay, where is that damn list?” he mutters.
“Probably in the second drawer, behind the advertisement files.”
“You know me too well, babe. Alrighty then. We’ve got Joshua Jackson, Paul Walker, Heath Ledger, Ryan Phillippe, Shawn and Marlon Wayans, Mark Wahlberg, Josh Hartnett, Matt Damon, and Ben Affleck.”
“Hmm, you have my approval. As long as you don’t tell me that Matt Damon and Heath Ledger are the ones that WON’T be able to make it.”
“Sorry to disappoint, but Matt will be out of the country with Ben that day.”
“Oh well, I still got Heath and Paul! Whoa, wait a minute. What day is that?”
“It’s two months next Tuesday. Is that alright?” he asks hopefully.
My birthday. Oh well, no one here knows about it. Except for Jade, of course, but she knows how I hate to make a big deal about stuff like that.
“Well, I’m out of town right now but I’m sure I can fly down there for a day or two. When is Matt coming in?” I ask casually. He’s been my favourite actor ever since Mystic Pizza all the way up to Bagger Vance and I’m dying to meet him.
“Sorry babe, not until the Tuesday after that.”
“Aww man! Promise to get me an autograph okay?”
“So you’ll do it?!” he asks, almost pleading.
“Would I let you down?”
“Whoa Jade, 3 hours late. That’s gotta be a record – even for you!” Robbie Williams greets me with a grin.
“Hey, I didn’t MEAN to twist my ankle,” I moan as he pulls me close for a quick hug. “And it hurts like hell.”
“I bet,” he says leading me over to a couch. We both sit down and he pushes a cold drink my way. “I had this delivered for you.”
“Thanks,” I take a sip and glance around his hotel room. “Very smart.”
“Of course. I may not be BIG over here but I certainly am in England so if I get a crap suite, they get fired!”
I giggle. “Oh boy, I’m glad I don’t work for you.”
“SO fired!” he chuckles. “So Jade, what are you doing in Texas? Last I checked, you lived in Tampa.”
“You remembered?” I clasp a hand to my heart. “I’m so honoured…”
“Shut up!”
“Sorry,” I laugh. “I’m following my man across the country. We started in Tampa and now we’re here. It’s Louisiana next week I think.”
“Aw, following your man to the ends of the earth… Well, America anyways. That’s sweet. Bob innit?”
“Brian!” I correct with a chuckle.
“I knew that!” he grins. “Backstreet Boys. Hey, maybe I can check ‘em out one night? Are they here for long?”
“Tonight and tomorrow. Want me to call Bri and see if he can get you in?”
“Sure. Beats staring at my hotel walls.”
I laugh and pull out my phone. I dial Brian’s number and get his answer phone. So I try Ali’s. She answers after a few rings.
“Hey.”
“Hey Ali. How you doin’?”
“Just fine Jady. I just got to the arena and I’m watching our guys tripping up,” she giggles. “Kevin is pretty pissed.”
“Yeah?” I laugh. “I’m with Robbie Williams…”
“Ooh, tasty,” she giggles.
“Very,” I mutter. “Anyways… He kinda wondered about comin’ to the show tonight. So can you just ask someone about tickets?”
“Sure. Lemme just grab AJ…” I hear a muffled discussion and then Ali comes back on the line. “Yup, AJ’s put Robbie down on the list now so he can come in. Tell him to get here for 7pm and somebody’ll show him his seat.”
“Ok, great. Thanks Ali.”
“No prob-” she suddenly bursts out laughing.
“What?”
“Nick tripped Kev during The Call and Bri burst out laughing. So Kev just tripped Bri who fell into Howie who fell off the stage…” she giggles. “I think that hurt.”
“Poor Howie!” I laugh. “Well, gotta go. Laters.”
“Bye girl,” she hangs up and I turn to Robbie.
“All fixed. Just be there at 7 and somebody’ll sort you out.”
“Cool,” he grins. “Should be fun.”
“How’s Nicole by the way?” I ask, pulling out my notepad.
“Ugh, don’t ask,” he groans. “We split up a few months ago and I always kinda thought that maybe…”
“Yeah?”
“Well, she’s pregnant by this other guy now. Liam Gallagher from Oasis.”
“Him?! But he looks like the missing link!”
Robbie looks at me and bursts out laughing. “I didn’t like to say that but thanks!”
Just as I set my phone back into my purse it rings again. I answer it as fast as I can but I press the wrong button, turning the ringer’s volume up louder.
“This is what vibrators are for!” Kevin yells, throwing down his headset and walking to the edge of the stage.
“Fine Kevin. Chill, I’m leaving,” I grab my bag and run out the door.
“Way to go, KEV!” I hear AJ yell.
Obviously I’m not wanted in there, so I decide to hang around backstage. I walk around a bit until I spot Vanessa, warming up her soprano sax.
“Hey Vanessa!”
“Alicia! What are you doin’?” she puts her sax down.
“Well, my cell phone went off three times during their sound check and Kevin got mad at me and threw me out.”
“Kevin’s like that. But he can be fun to work with,” she explains, nodding to her sax.
“Oh yeah, you do that solo thing with him don’t you?”
“Yeah, it REALLY makes me nervous. I mean, thousands of people listening to me. But it’s cool ‘cause no one knows the song, so how will they know if I mess up, right?”
I laugh at her logic. “True. I could never do that. Actually, I’ve done something SORT of like that before.”
“What was it?” she asks, and pats the seat next to her on a giant speaker. I plop down and recite my story.
“I was like seventeen I think, and I was in a talent show. I was singing the song I Will Always Love You.”
“Wow! That’s a really hard song!”
“You haven’t even heard the whole story! Okay, so I get to the part where it goes, ‘But above all this, I wish you love,’ and RIGHT after I say love I made some hand motion and the cord in my microphone falls out!”
“Oh my gosh! What did you do?”
“I was humiliated! And I heard this huge gasp sweep over the audience, and then the drumbeat that led to the next part of the song. So, I dropped my microphone to the floor, opened my mouth, and as loud as I possibly could sang, And I will always love you-ou-ou, I….I will always love you!” I repeat my performance by singing the song at the top of my lungs. Her eyes widen and her mouth curves into a smile. I finish the song and fall back onto the speaker, panting.
“Who the hell WAS that?” asks Kevin, coming into the room followed by the rest of the guys.
“Alicia here. Turns out she has a hidden talent.”
“I’ll say,” AJ agrees, dumbfounded.
“It’s nothing,” I hop off the speaker while swiping up my purse.
“Ali, wait. I’m sorry about yelling at you,” Kevin says, touching my shoulder.
I smile. “I know, but I shouldn’t have been a pest. I apologise. But now I have to go pack.” I throw my hair over one shoulder and retreat to the door. The rest continue about their business except for Nick.
“Pack?! Where are you going?” he asks, stepping in front of me to block my path to the door.
“Tampa, Nick.”
“I thought you were gonna stay!” he says, panicky.
“Nick, calm down. I’m doing a photo shoot Tuesday, and since today is Saturday I figured I’d leave Monday and just stay at the apartment for a couple of nights and come back Wednesday.”
“That’s great!” he says, picking me up and swinging me around.
Not quite the reaction I had expected, or hoped for.
“Great? Umm, why great? What’s…great?”
“We get Tuesday and Wednesday off! I can come with you.”
Oh great. I get to be in a room with eight incredibly sexy guys, and my boyfriend wants to tag along. Whoa, shouldn’t I be happy? I mean, at least I have somebody who cares about me, and would take time away from his busy schedule just to be with me. There’s this part of me that is ecstatic that I’ve got love and a feeling of security, but that other side of me that wants to run away from it faster than you can say commitment.
“Nick, I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”
He immediately sets me down and frowns, “I can’t come with you? What’s that about?”
Putting on my most seductive smile I sit on his lap and put a hand on his chest, casually running it up and down. “Baby, it’s business. I’m doing this for my job, I can’t have you distracting,” I gently nibble on his earlobe, “me, now can I?” I ask, purring in his ear.
He shakes his head, letting a small moan escape from his luscious lips. “No, I guess not. But how do you expect me to live without you for a whole three days!?” he whines, running his hand up my thigh.
I giggle and turn his head toward mine. “If it helps any, I promise to give you the time of your life when I get back.”
“You promised that once and almost left me handcuffed to the bed with the biggest hard-on I’ve ever had!”
“Ali, I didn’t know you were that kinky!” pipes up a bewildered Howie. He shakes his head and continues on to the wardrobe room, leaving Nick and I rolling in laughter.
“You talked me out of it, didn’t you?” I remind.
“Yeah, but you promise you won’t pull any stunts like that this time?”
“Promise.”
“Swear?”
“Didn’t we go through this last time?”
“Just swear!”
“Fine, I swear. Sealed with a kiss,” I bend down and let his lips take over mine, before having to pull away. “Keep that up and I won’t want to leave.”
“My plan exactly,” he smirks.