“That’s me,” I tell Brian as flight 167 to San Diego is called.
“Great,” he mutters and we start walking to the gate. He’s wearing a dark blue K cap, pulled low over his face and nobody has bothered us yet. His fingers are wound round mine and we walk so close that our bodies are touching. We reach the gate and turn to hold each other tight.
“I’ll call you when I get there,” I tell him.
“I’ll miss you,” he whispers and we kiss deeply, our tongues meeting.
“I’ll miss you more,” I giggle slightly as we finally separate. “I love you B-Bear.”
“I love you too Pookie,” he responds and steps back as I walk through the door of the gate. “Miss you already!” he yells and I turn around, blinking back my tears, to smile and wave before walking onto the plane. I find my seat and sit down, wiping away my tears quickly. It’s only a month for God’s sake Jade! And it WAS your decision.
“Ma’am?” asks a flight attendant. “Are you Jade Greene?”
“Yes,” I say and she hands me Brian’s dark blue K hat.
“Your boyfriend asked me to give you this.”
“Thank you,” I smile and she walks away. It is Brian’s favourite hat and I can smell his scent on it. Pinned inside is a note.
Hope you appreciate my sacrifice Jady! I want it back though! Have a good flight and call me when you land safely. I love you baby.
Your very own B-Bear
PS: I’d never let anyone else call me that ya know…
I giggle and then cry a little after reading the note. I pull my hair back and put the cap on low over my eyes, the way Brian wears it, and hope nobody mobbed him after he took it off.
A few hours later, I’ve reached the hotel where Britney is staying. I get my room key and head up to unpack. I call Brian the minute I get in the room.
“Hello?” he answers quickly.
“Hey baby,” I smile. “I’m in San Diego.”
“Hey Jady!” he says happily. “Good flight?”
“It was ok. Thank you for the hat.”
“I figured you might need it.”
“I’ll look after it,” I giggle and he laughs.
“You better.”
“You didn’t get mobbed or anything after takin’ it off?”
“Nup, I had another in my pocket,” he says and I laugh.
“Figures.”
“So, what’s the hotel like?”
“Seems ok. Not as classy as you guys get.”
“I should think not!” he exclaims and we laugh. “Seen anybody yet?”
“Nup. I’m meeting them all for dinner in about an hour.”
“Cool. Say hey for me.”
“Sure will. Anything new over there?”
“Nup. We got a fan conference in twenty and then it’s SHOWTIIIIME!” he says in a Jim Carey voice.
“Smokin’,” I giggle. “I should go unpack. Call me after the show?”
“Sure. Have a good night. Love you.”
“Ditto,” I hang up and start to unpack.
I take a quick shower and get dressed quickly. I go for the casual look and wear dark denim hipsters, a dark purple Abercrombie T-shirt and tie my damp hair back loosely. I head down to dinner in the hotel restaurant. Britney is sat on a table with four other people and I head over.
“Hey,” I greet and she smiles.
“Ya got here,” she stands up to give me a quick hug and then sits down again. “I saved you a place.”
“Thanks,” I sit down and smile around the table. “Hi y’all. I’m Jade Greene.”
“Jade Greene?” repeats a dark-haired guy with killer sideburns. I nod and he tries not to snicker.
“Yeah, yeah, I know,” I roll my eyes and he laughs.
“Sorry.”
“Jade is gonna help me write my tour book,” Britney says. “These are my dancers Jesse, Gabriel and Nancy. And this is my personal assistant and friend Felicia. We all call her Fe.”
“Good to meet y’all,” I smile and study them as a waiter comes to take our orders.
Jesse is the guy who had laughed at my name. He has jet black hair which is dyed reddy at the spikes – it looks cool. His sideburns enhance his dark eyes and cheekbones and give him a wolfish look. Kinda like the way Brian looked in the Everybody video I guess. Only I think Brian is way cuter. Of course. Gabriel is a blonde all-American, football captain kinda looking guy. Real popular with the girls I would guess. Nancy has wild red curly hair, dark eyes and a big smile. Fe has her tousled brown hair pulled up into a bun, strands framing her face and giving her the image of a bit of a goof. But her sharp brown eyes show a look of intelligence in them and I notice she’s sizing me up as well. I would guess she’s about 40 and the other three are mid-twenties.
“What ya havin’ Jade?” Britney snaps me out of all my analysing and I give the menu a quick once-over.
“Uh, the fish sounds good,” I smile at the waiter who nods and walks away. “Sorry, I was in another world,” I grin at her.
“Lemme guess, Backstreet world huh?”
“Kinda,” I grin and she laughs.
“Hey, I’m usually in *NSync world myself,” she says. “I feel kinda bad for splitting you guys up.”
“Ah, it was my choice,” I tell her with a shrug. “And I needed a break from the tour.”
“Outta one tour and into another huh?” she laughs.
“Ok, I’m confused,” says Jesse who is sat by me and has been listening to our exchange. “Backstreet world? Tour? Split? Break?”
“Nosy?” adds Britney with a giggle. “Ok, Jade just finished writing a tour book for the Backstreet Boys.”
“ALMOST finished,” I correct. “I’m goin’ back to their tour in a month.”
“Ah, I see,” Jesse nods slightly. “What are they like?”
“The Boys? They’re cool. Real good guys and they’re my best friends now,” I smile.
“Cooler than *NSync?” asks Jesse with a grin at Britney.
“Uh, I don’t know *NSync that well,” I respond and Britney laughs.
“Very diplomatic girl.”
“I try,” I giggle.
“You missin’ Jade?” AJ slumps in a seat next to Brian.
“Yeah,” Brian fiddles with his cell. “I can’t figure out how to get more memory for texts.”
“Huh?”
“I don’t wanna erase Jade’s messages,” Brian explains. “But the thing keeps flashing at me.”
“Ya gonna have to bro,” AJ laughs. “Or get a new cell.”
“Not a bad idea,” Brian jokes.
“Hey guys,” Lou, the sound techie, walks into the room. “You both got a visitor.”
“We have? Who?” AJ asks.
“Dunno but she said ya both knew her. She’s out front.”
“I’ll go see,” AJ stands up.
“Me too,” Brian says and the two guys head out of the room and down the corridors leading to the main door of the arena. Two security guys are standing by the door and they can see a blonde woman sat down on the curb with her back to them. “That must be her,” Brian mutters and they walk around to her front. She looks up just as they reach her. “Holy…” Brian says.
“Fuck,” mutters AJ.
“Hi guys,” she smiles and stands up slowly, tossing her blonde hair back from her face as she smiles at them both. “Long time no see huh?”
“Hi Farrah,” Brian finally manages to say.
“Yeah, hi,” stutters AJ.
“Don’t I get a hug?” she pouts.
“Uh, sure,” Brian gives her an awkward hug and AJ follows suit.
“God, you both look good,” she smiles.
“You too,” AJ says.
“Yeah,” Brian agrees quietly.
What is Farrah doing here? He hasn’t seen her since the day she left both him and AJ. Seeing her again brought back all his feelings of hurt, betrayal, anger and…love. No, more like lust. But still, she was the girl he never got to fall out with. Sure, she dumped him for his best friend but he always wondered if maybe she was the one girl for him, and perhaps he should’ve fought more for her. She still looks so good to him. But he has Jade now, he shouldn’t be feeling this way. But Jade’s not here. And Jade doesn’t love him the way he loves her…
“You wanna come backstage for a coffee?” AJ is asking as Brian shakes himself away from his thoughts.
“Oh sure! I would love that,” she smiles and slips a hand through each of their arms. “Lead the way.”