Part 24
The trip to LA was the first official public appearance for AJ and Stormy and AJ had tried to prepare her the best he could but was HE fully prepared for this? He was so full of mixed emotions about all this. On the one hand, he was looking forward to showing off Stormy to the world but on the other, the prospect of having to face Sarah one last time was making him a nervous wreck. He needed a drink. As the plane winged its way closer to a part of his life that he’d just as soon forget, he watched the new part of his life. She was a breath of fresh air that had become his new addiction.
Addictions…that’s why he’d been with Sarah in the first place…he needed her approval even if it was simply to further her career. He’d thought she’d stuck by him when he went into rehab because she loved him but he’d been wrong. It was the same old story…she wanted something from him.
Stormy sat beside AJ thumbing through a magazine as she listened to the headphones. Her hair was tucked behind her ears and as the sun shone through the window, it made it appear as if she had a halo. AJ smiled watching her.
Feeling his eyes on her, she looked up slipping the headphones off. "What are you doing?"
"Watching you," he blushed at being caught. "What are you listening to?"
"Promise not to laugh?"
"Cross my heart."
"The ‘Black and Blue’ CD. The only other choices were classical stuff and I didn’t want to go to sleep." AJ fought back a giggle and she frowned. "I KNEW you’d laugh."
"I didn’t mean to, baby," apologized AJ, his eyes twinkling with merriment.
A stewardess stopped at their seat. "Can I get you two something to drink?"
"I’ll take a Jack and coke," stated AJ.
"We’ll BOTH have just cokes, please." Stormy eyed him closely as the stewardess reached in her cart to get the drinks. When she’d moved on to the next passengers, she asked, "What’s wrong?"
"Nothing’s wrong. I just want a drink," mumbled AJ.
"And mess up being sober? Is she THAT bad?"
AJ wasn’t surprised that she knew what the real reason was and he gratefully took her hand in his. "Yes and no," he whispered as he laced his fingers with hers. "It’s just that the time I spent with her is a time in my life that I’m not exactly proud of and she hurt me really bad."
"If you take a drink now, you’ll be going back to that. I’ve seen the pain in your eyes when you talk about that time in your life and you don’t want to go back to it, do you?"
"What I want is you and all you give me," answered AJ shyly.
It struck Stormy that AJ was just as inexperienced in relationships as she was. Yeah, he had a past where he had dated women and slept with them but he had told her himself that all the girls had wanted was his name and position. He’d never been in a real relationship before and it touched her heart deeply. Leaning her head onto his shoulder and said, "You’ve had me… from the very first night you found me."
AJ put his hand under her chin lifting her lips to his. Softly, like a whisper on a wind, they met and parted. His tongue searched for hers, caressing hers tenderly as if afraid she’d break.
Breaking apart, AJ made her sit back and he put the armrest between them up so she could be closer to him. Putting his arm around her, he pulled her next to his body.
"Alex, if seeing Sarah is going to upset you so much, why not let me get your stuff? I can take Marcus with me to help."
"I don’t want you anywhere near her," said AJ firmly.
"Then let Marcus do it. You don’t HAVE to see her."
"Yeah, I do but I’ll be okay…as long as you’re gonna be waiting for me."
"You know I will be. When are you going to see her?"
"When we get to LA. Howie’s gonna meet us at the airport and I’m gonna let him take you to the hotel while I go handle this."
"When is the movie premiere?"
"Tomorrow night. I promise, tonight, after I get my stuff…we’ll go do whatever you want to do."
"What if I told you all I wanted to do is be with you?"
"THAT you’ll have," promised AJ.
The rest of the flight was peaceful as AJ and Stormy talked quietly about their plans for LA and then Virginia.
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