When I Dream at Night by: DreamKiid
Disclaimer: The story involves a relationship, between a member of the Backstreet Boys (who? You'll have to read and find out), and a rather charming fellow. Yes, two guys. If that comes as a shock to you: 1. Your a complete moron. 2. You need not procreate. 3. Press ALT and F4 at the same time right... NOW! Its a love story.. and that means there will be sex in it. That is if I can bring myself to writing it. I think sex is very much a part of a loving relationship, and that is why I want to include it.
Finally, this is fiction and not meant to imply anything about the true sexuality of any member of the Backstreet Boys . If you are underage.. yadda yadda... you shouldn't be reading this.. yadda.. ::mumbles:: (don't get caught). ::mumbles::
Extra Note: For the introduction and background info, small description of Jonathan, the main character, please check out Chapter 1.
Comments, Concerns, Criticisms, Praises: E-mail me at dreamkiid@yahoo.com
Chapter 3:
"There you are. We were wondering where you had gone off too," Kevin said as Brian walked into his room followed by Nick. AJ and Howie were already in Kevin's room. Howie was sitting in front of the TV, while AJ sat on the floor looking through some papers.
"I found him hanging out with Jonathan," Nick informed everyone.
"Well, take a seat. I want to talk about the next few days and what management is going to need from us."
Kevin went on for about half an hour talking about the coming week. Kevin talked to the guys about where their focus needed to be and what was expected of each of them. If he didn't talk to them, management would have an even tougher time trying to get each of them to where they needed to be on time. Everyone's attention spans were pretty short, so Kevin did all he did to keep them in check. Once Kevin finished talking, the guys just sat around for a while.
"So what did you all night, Brian?" Kevin asked, taking a seat on his bed.
"I didn't do much. I went to find Jonathan after dinner and found him still sleeping in his room. I decided to keep him company while he ate dinner and then we just chilled out for a while," Brian replied.
"He's a pretty cool guy, isn't he?" AJ joined the conversation.
"He seems to be a nice guy," Howie spoke up, "He doesn't seem like the type to kiss our asses just because we're the bosses."
"He does seem like his in awe of us just because we're the Backstreet Boys sometimes though," Kevin added. "You guys shouldn't trust him too much just yet. You can never expect people's real intentions."
"Kevin, you are always so negative! If Jonathan had bad intentions, in using or something, he would be all over us. You've noticed how apprehensive he has been when Nick has invited him to do things with us."
"Yeah Kevin. Give him a chance before you label him a 'user.' For all he knows he is heading back home once the tour is over and returning to his everyday average life," Nick spoke up. He walked over to Kevin and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You shouldn't be so quick to judge people."
Once the conversation was over, everyone made their way out of Kevin's room and headed towards their own bedrooms to call it a night. Everyone was tired and they knew they had a busy next few days.
I was getting ready for bed again. I was incredibly exhausted, even though I had taken a long nap before Brian came knocking at my door. Just as I was getting into bed, my phone rang.
"Hey Jonathan. What's up?" The voice on the other side of the line said before I could even say 'hello.'
"Hey..." I responded knowing exactly who it was. "Don't get too exited over there!" "I'm sorry. I'm doing pretty good." "What are you doing?" . "Nothing, I just got back from dinner a little while ago." "What did you do all day?" "Oh you know, nothing interesting. We made it to St. Louis pretty early and I came to my room and ended up falling asleep."
"How are they treating you out there?" "Great." I answered, agitated by the line of questions. "Why didn't you call me last night? I thought I told you to call me?" "I'm sorry but we had to board the busses pretty late and I was just too tired." "But I thought I made it clear I wanted you to call me?" The person raised his voice. "I know, but like I said, I was just too tired. I'm really sorry." "Don't let it happen again, ok?!" "How are thing in New York?" I tried changing the conversation. "As good as they can be without you here." "I'm sure your doing fine," I said. "You've never been one to stay at home sulking." "I'd be better if you were here with me or, if I was there with you like we had talked about." "You know that wasn't possible. Plus, you couldn't get time off work yourself." "Listen Jonathan. Someone is at the door so I better get going." "Who is it?" I asked. "Don't worry about it. What time is tomorrow night's concert over?" "I'll probably be back at the hotel at 11." I answered. "Well, I'll give you a call at 11:30. I hope to find you in your room." "You will," I said, not wanting to argue, for I knew I'd lose the argument. "I'll talk to you tomorrow."
The person on the other side of the line ended the conversation without so much of a goodnight. 'I don't know why I put up with him!' I thought as I hung up the phone. I walked back over to my bed, kicked my shoes off. I sat at the edge of my bed, thinking. 'Things cannot stay the same way any longer! I can't continue to live like this.' I finally forced myself to decided on making a decision on something I had been avoiding for quite some time.
In another room of the hotel, Brian Littrell, was having his own phone conversation. This conversation, was a pleasant one though.
"Hello?" "Hey cutie!" Brian cooed into the phone. "So what's up with you and this kid you were talking to me about yesterday?" "Nothing, nothing's up," Brian said coyly. "Yeah right! Come on Brian, you're going to tell me eventually so just spill it now," Tyler said.
"Well, I..." "You really like him," Tyler spoke up, interrupting Brian. "Here we go again." "That do you mean, 'here we go again,' Tyler?" "Just what I said, here we go again. It just seems like you fall in love with at least one boy every tour!" Tyler said. "I do not fall in love with every boy!" Brian said getting defensive. "I can't believe you think that!"
"Brian! I know you better than anyone else. I can tell when you like someone just by the tone of your voice." "Oh please! You cannot!" "Give me some credit Brian. I've known you for close to 7 years now. I know you better than anyone else, and I can certainly tell when you are interested in someone."
"Well, this time its different Tyler!" Brian said, not bothering to argue any further with Tyler over how well he knew him. After all, Brian knew that Tyler knew him better than anyone else. Tyler knew Brian better than even Kevin, who had grown up with Brian and spend almost every day with him being in the Backstreet Boys.
"I hope your not getting your hopes up over this guy Brian. We both know how these things usually turn out."
"Who knows, really. I'm really not expecting anything at all. I know not to get my hopes up by now. Lord knows you remind me every time not to. I just hate being alone, you know? I've been able to handle it in the past but I don't know how much longer I can keep it up. You say it is all great being on the road and all, and not that I'm complaining, but it gets too be too much sometimes."
"I know its not all great being on the road, but don't tell me you didn't know when you joined the Backstreet Boys that you were going to have to make a lot of sacrifices," Tyler said. "You were told from the very beginning from everyone that it wasn't going to be easy."
"I knew I was going to have to make a lot of sacrifices. Everyone made it extremely clear to me. I just didn't expect to sacrifice my happiness Tyler," Brian said in a desperate tone.
"I understand that you are getting to a point in your life where your career isn't the most important thing on your list, but its still up there Brian. You can't be thinking of throwing everything away just because your personal life isn't where you want it to be right now."
"Tyler, I'm not thinking of throwing everything away! I just want something more, something more substantial in my life. Platinum records and sold out shows are great and all, but they don't compare to having love."
"Well, you are only 25 years old Brian. You are still young. There is plenty of time for you to find love, more than enough. It just takes time."
"You know that with my schedule I can't afford to take my time."
"And that lack of time is the reason why you are always falling for someone on tour with you guys!" Tyler said, trying to lighten the conversation. "More specifically, you are always falling for very straight guys!"
"I can't help it! A lot of cute and sweet guys end up coming on tour with us! I can't help the fact that they are straight. Lord knows I've tried to change that! I especially can't help liking them. I'm only human," Brian said.
"All I am saying is to be careful. I hate seeing you get hurt when you realize things just can't work out. This guy is probably straighter than an arrow, just like the rest of them, and I don't want you going head over heels over someone you can't have."
"I know, but still. I'm allow to dream, aren't I? All I have is my dreams right now. I'm sure not getting any real loving."
"Yeah, well keep on dreaming but just don't go acting out your dreams. Let us not forget who you are, Mr. Backstreet Boy! Don't forget that not everyone is as accepting and as trustworthy as that one guy you came out to."
"Thank you for reminding me once again about that guy, Tyler. Especially about being a Backstreet Boy. Its not like I get reminded about that every waking moment."
"Just remember what I told you. You knew what you were getting into! So enjoy it Mr. Backstreet Boy! Go have some fun and stop moping around! Anyway, I need some rest so I will talk to you tomorrow since I'll probably be getting a call from you around this time."
"Thank you, Tyler." Brian said before Tyler ended the conversation. "Thank you for what?" "Thank you for always being here for me. I miss you, ya know? "I miss you too Brian, and there is no need to thank me. That's what friends are for."
"Goodnight Tyler." "Night."
Brian hung up the phone and rolled over on the bed so he could face the balcony. He lay there for a while just thinking about what Tyler had said to him. 'Lets just hope Tyler is wrong this time.' Brian yawned a few times before rolling over and drifting to sleep. 'God, please let him be wrong this time.'
"Jonathan, make sure you get in touch with the MTV person I told you about. The phone number is in the folder I gave you earlier today. I'm sure they will give you some hell over the Boys not showing up on Monday but you can handle it," Leila yelled as she ran past me, backstage at the Raleigh concert.
"I was just getting to that right now Leila," I yelled back.
I made my way towards a back room assigned for the press crew. Computers, faxes and phones were all set up all around the room. I took a seat in the back of the room and dialed the MTV representative number.
"Hello? May I speak with a Dan O'Neil?" I placed my feet up on a desk and relaxed a little while on the phone.
"Yes, this is Dan speaking."
"Hi, my name is Jonathan Bratts. I am calling on behalf of the Backstreet Boys. I think you talked with Leila Kilcher a couple weeks ago?"
"Yes, Leila the press coordinator, right?"
"Right .Well, I'm calling because the Backstreet Boys will not be able to make it to the TRL Grammy show on Monday. A scheduling conflict arose and its simply impossible for them to make it."
"You're not serious are you? We had discussed this at great length with the Backstreet Boys reps and now your canceling? The Backstreet Boys were the biggest TRL act this past year and they were going to be the main focus in our photo shoot for the TRL poster!" The man sounded very agitated and was losing his cool.
"I'm sorry Mr. O'Neil but the Backstreet Boys will be rehearsing for their Grammy performance. I don't know if you are aware but the Backstreet Boys are going to come off this weekend having performed 4 concerts in 4 days. With the Grammy's on Tuesday, it only leaves them Monday to rehearse. Their rehearsal slot has been moved to the morning to accommodate all the artist. I'm sure you understand. The Backstreet Boys themselves send their apologies and are upset over not being able to participate in the TRL photo shoot."
"There is no way we can work around this?" The man made one last attempt.
"I'm sorry but it just doesn't seem possible. Even if you were to move the shoot to the middle of the night, they wouldn't be able to make it. You'd have 5 sleeping guys on stage."
I ended my conversation with the MTV producer and went on to the next thing on my list of things to do. A few minutes later, Leila came walking into the room.
"So how did it go with the MTV people? I hope they didn't freak out too much," Leila said taking a seat next to me.
"Well, the producer seemed to be just a little upset. He understood the problem so he didn't give me much trouble," I informed Leila.
"Oh, I'm sure they are on the phones with management right now trying to work something out! They don't give up as easily as you think. Even if the Boys had time to do the photo shoot, they need their rest. Wednesday is a very big day for them and we can't afford to have them sleep through it!"
"I hope they win an award. I really think they deserve a Grammy this year with Millennium. It was a great CD, and considering out of all the CD's that came out this past year they don't really have a lot of competition other than Santana."
"We are all hoping they win at least one. It will be a big reward for all the hard work they have put in this past year and after everything they went through," Leila added. "How about we make our way out to the stage arena. I feel like catching the show tonight since we don't have much to do." Leila and I got up and made our way out into the backstage hallways. Just as we were coming out of the 'press crew room,' we bumped into Brian.
"Hey Jonathan! You going to catch the show tonight or are you heading back to the hotel?" Brian asked.
"I'm going to stay and watch. Leila over here wants some company and who am I to say no to such a lovely lady," I said, grinning at Leila.
"Complimenting your boss will get you nowhere... but up," Leila laughed, and take my arm in hers.
"Stop by my room when you get back to the hotel, ok?" Brian asked me as we made our way through the hallways. Brian looked at me and gave me a smile and went turned towards the warm up area.
"You guys are starting to become good friends, aren't you?" Leila questioned me as we made our way out into the arena.
"Yeah, they've taken a liking to me apparently, and who am I to deny them the pleasure of hanging out with me?" I said while trying to keep a straight face
"You're right, none of the Backstreet Boys, or anyone else for that matter should be denied the pleasure of spending time with you Jonathan," Leila played along. "But I was talking specifically about you and Brian."
"Brian? We have hung out a couple of times and talked, but I wouldn't say we are friends."
"Why wouldn't you say you're becoming friends?" Leila turned to face me. We had already taken our seats near the stage to watch the concert.
"I don't know. I just don't see myself becoming best friends with celebrities. They have extremely busy schedules, I'm trying to live my life. How can a friendship develop under circumstances like that?"
"Just because they are busy, don't think they make for bad friends. Those guys know how to work at keeping a friendship. Years on the road has taught them well. I think they've found a good friend in you. You don't see them as 'The Backstreet Boys." " Leila asked.
"Yeah. Sometimes I forget they're the guys who get up on stage every night. Who they are backstage are completely different to who they are offstage."
"Let me tell you, those guys have gone through a lot of difficult things being in the Backstreet Boys, but nothing more difficult than getting used by people. So many people have used those poor guys just because of their fame and that has made each of them to become very weary of who they chose to invest their time and energy with. They have had to learn the hard way, but they have learned to not trust most of the people that come into their lives," Leila said.
"I'm not most people."
"I'm pretty sure that the guys have realized that already." Leila said just as the lights started to dim. "I'm sure it didn't take them long at all."
I didn't hear the last thing Leila said because the arena was quickly filled with incredibly loud screams from the thousands of fans. The screams only got louder when the Backstreet Boys started their decent towards the stage on their futuristic surf boards.
"ARE YOU WITH US RALEIGH?!!!!" Echoed through the arena.
"Hey Jonathan, come on in," Brian said, waving me inside. "So what's up? Did you need something?" "Need something? No, not at all. I just thought you might want to chill for a while." Brian said. "Oh ok. Sounds like a plan to me. I got all my work done earlier today so I have nothing to do."
Brian's hotel room was pretty big. It was actually two rooms, a bedroom and a living room. The bedroom was to the right of the front door. The bedroom had a huge king sized bed, a dresser across from it and a desk. The living room had 2 big plush couches, a leather massaging chair, and entertainment system. A balcony stretched out from 2 big sliding glass doors that overlooked the city.
Brian walked over to one of the couches, the one directly across from the TV, and stretched out. He looked very comfortable in his blue jogging pants and white Nike T-shirt. I was just as comfortable in my gray sweats.
"So did you enjoy the concert tonight?" Brian asked ushering me to sit down on the couch across beside him.
"Just like the first time," I said. "You guys put a lot of energy into it tonight though, more than I've seen in other cities."
"Yeah, well Raleigh has always been a great city to perform in. The crowds here are always incredibly supportive and loud, as you saw tonight."
"If it wasn't for my ear plugs I would probably not be able to hear you right now."
"So you've enjoyed being on tour with us so far?" Brian asked. "I definitely have. Its been incredibly fun and exiting. This is the first job I've ever really enjoyed," I said looking straight into Brian's crystal blue eyes. "God knows I've hated all the other ones I've had."
"I'm sure none were as bad as having to work at 'Long John Silvers,' believe me," Brian said.
"Can't say I've worked at a fast food restaurant, but I have worked in a restaurant. It wasn't a pleasant experience, to say the least."
"Well, now we both have a job we like, so it all worked out in the end, huh?" A grin came across Brain's face.
"I would say so."
"I know I enjoy my job. Its hard work but I can't imagine not being able to get on stage and performing for fans." Just at that moment the phone rang. "Give me a second Jonathan while I see who it is."
"No problem." I watched as Brian jumped off the couch and made his way over to the other side of the room to pick up the phone.
"Hello?... Hey, what's up?.... I'm just hanging out with a friend.... hold on a second." Brian removed the phone from his ear and looked over at me. "Jonathan, I'm going to take this in my room. I won't take too long." Brian pushed the hold button on the phone and hung it up. He walked into his room, leaving me sitting on the couch.
"Why do you have to know?...... What?! That is so ridiculous!.... Whatever, I really don't need this right now.... I'll talk to you another time ok?.... No! I'm not going to talk to you right now.... Bye!"
I didn't mean to eavesdrop on Brian's conversation, but I couldn't help but overhear Brian's side of the conversation. He had left the bedroom door wide open, allowing me to hear his yelling. As soon as I heard Brian slam the phone down, ending the conversation, I turned my head and acted as if I had been watching the television.
"I'm sorry for keeping you waiting here all by yourself," Brian said walking into the room again . "Don't worry about it," I said, looking over at Brian.
He still seemed a little stressed out. He sat down in the same place he was before and tried to relax. "I don't mean to be nosy but, are you ok? I couldn't help but overhear you on the phone."
I caught Brian off guard. "Oh yeah, I, um, I'm fine," Brian stumbled to answer my question. "I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to stick my nose where it doesn't belong." I really felt bad. "I just had to answer, I mean, explain what, um, what I was up to and..." Brian was at a loss for words.
"Brian! Really, you don't need to explain. I shouldn't have asked you anything." I reached my hand out and placed it on Brian's barefoot and gave him a smile. "Don't explain."
Brian shot me a smile and relaxed. We sat there in silence for a while just watching TV. After about an half an hour of chilling out, I said goodnight to Brian and made my way to my room.
Saturday we woke up in Atlanta, Georgia. It was a beautiful day, the sun shinning bright with no clouds in site. Everyone didn't need to be at the venue until 6 that evening, and it was only 8 in the morning. I figured I would catch up on my e-mail and phone messages when someone came knocking on my door.
"Look who's up and about so early." Standing in front of me was Brian, dressed in his gray sweats and white T-shirt.
"Morning Jonathan," Brian rubbed his face, looking a little tired. "I couldn't get back to sleep after we got kicked off the busses so I figured I'd come bug you."
"Well, bug away." I opened the door more and stepped aside to let Brian in.
"You think you might want to go out and do some shopping and stuff," Brian said, turning to face me once he was in the room. While he waited for my answer he shuffled his right foot back and forth across the carpet, out of nervous habit, I figured.
"Yeah, I'd love to! I've been meaning to go and spend the money I've earned." He could have asked me to shine his shoes and I would have said 'Yes!'
"Great! I really need to get away from everyone for a while, you know?"
"But you won't really be getting away from everyone if you have me tagging along." I said.
"Well, you aren't tagging along Jonathan! I asked you to come, didn't I?" He looked a little frustrated.
"Yeah, you did."
"Good, its settled then. I just need to go get changed and I'll sneak back down here." Brian stepped towards the door. "Don't tell anyone where your going to ok? They might track us down."
"No problem."
About half an hour passed until Brian returned to my room. He was wearing really cool dark denim dress jeans and a white, very soft looking, turtleneck sweater. I was in my usual black attire: black pants, boots, v-neck shirt and coat. It was pretty chilly outside and I imagined we would be walking around. By the way Brian was dressed I figured I was right.
"Ready to go and spend some money?" Brian gave me one of his goofy smiles, making me laugh hysterically.
"Yeah, I'm always ready to spend the green," I said, once I finished laughing.
We quietly made it down the hall towards the back elevators. Once we were downstairs and out on the street, Brian breathed a sigh of relief.
"I really expected to get caught by one of our bodyguards. I really didn't want to have to spend the rest of the day being followed by one of them. They end up bringing more attention to us."
"I guess they all figured everyone would be sleeping. I'm surprised we got out, undetected, especially the way Marc keeps an eye on you. You would think he was somehow attached to you."
"Yeah, Marc doesn't let me out of his sight! He's great though cause I always feel protected with him, but sometimes it gets to be a little too much." Brian said, as we made our way down to the corner.
"Let's catch a cab and head to the fancy stores. I'm in the mood of giving management a heart attack when they see my credit card bill." Brian stepped out onto the street and hailed a cab.
"Remind me why management will be seeing your credit card bill?" I didn't really see how Brian's bills were any of The Firm, their management company's business.
"Oh, we don't use our own personal credit cards. Jive supplies us each with a company credit card. That way it makes it easier for our accountants to keep track of our finances, and it helps us not get recognized at stores when we hand the cashier our the credit card.," Brian explained. "Plus, the company's credit limit is incredibly high, which allows us to buy a car or expensive jewelry. Whatever our hearts desire."
"Sounds reasonable, I guess." I still found it weird that the record company and management had access to everything the guys did.
"I also forgot to mention, Jive pays for most of the bill," Brian added with a smirk.
"What? They pay for whatever you spend on this credit card?"
"Yeah, but technically the money they use to pay part of the bill comes from the money we generate. Us musicians don't get our fair share of the profits, so to compensate for it, the record company gives us an extra 'allowance' in a way."
"Your still lucky bastards!" I said lightly punching Brian in the arm.
"Lucky? Its not like we sit on our asses and just have money rolling in!" Brian said.
"You're right, I'm sorry. You guys do work hard, so you deserve all you have."
"Well, since you apologized, I might just have Jive pay for whatever you buy today too."
"Ooohh, now there is an offer I won't turn down!"
Brian and I spend around 3 hours going in and out of designer store after designer store, in Atlanta's extremely lavish shopping district. For the most part Brian went unnoticed, except for in a couple designer stores. Brian was quickly recognized in the Versace and Armani stores, where he, and I, were treated like kings. We were taken to an upper level and lead into the private shopping area. Racks of clothes were brought into the room and extended in front of us as we sat on incredibly comfortable couches. The service we received was incredible, and this was a clothe store! I had never imagined in my wildest dreams that I would get to experience all this in my life, (well, maybe I did dream it once or twice). We were even given drinks and snacks while we looked at all the clothes, including the private collection, held especially for celebrities. In the Armani store, the manager even got Georgio Armani himself on the phone to greet Brian and personally thanking him for shopping. Needless to say, Brian spent a lot of money in the store, and as we were leaving the manager handed Brian and myself an extra bag with a wrapped box inside each one. The manager simply said, "A gift from Mr. Armani to show his appreciation, and next time you are in Milan he insists both of you stop by, along with the rest of the Backstreet Boys, and visit him."
After exchanging good-byes, Brian and I hopped into a town car, which the manager of Armani ordered for us, and headed to have something to eat.
"Wow. I am just amazed at the privileges you guys receive! I had heard of the private shopping rooms and personal assistants at those kind of stores, but I never imagined it would be like that." I said as we made our way to one of Brian's favorite restaurants in Atlanta.
"Well then, you had everyone fooled, including me." Brian said looking at me.
"What do you mean?"
"It didn't seem like it was your first time receiving service like that," Brian said. "They all figured you were some rich model friend of mine."
"They did not! They probably thought I was your assistant!"
"They definitely didn't think you were my assistant. One of the ladies, the one who brought us the coffee, even asked me if you were a model!"
"A MODEL?!? HAHAHA!"
"What are you laughing about? She really asked me who you modeled for," Brian was getting a kick out of this too.
"What did you tell her?" "I told her you were signed with some agency in New York." "That is just too much. I can't believe they thought I a model." "Why can't you believe that? I think you could be a model." "Me, a model? Get real!" I pushed Brian gently, and turned to look out my window. Before I could move my arm away from Brian he grabbed me by the wrist.
"What?" I turned to look at Brian as he held my arm in his hand.
"You amaze me." Brian's deep blue eyes were locked with mine. I could have felt uncomfortable, having Brian stare into my eyes so intensely, but I didn't. I felt at ease.
"I amaze you? How so?" .
Brian blushed when he noticed he still had a hold of my arm. He let me go and turned in his seat and stared out his window. "You just really don't see yourself as you are, do you?" Brian asked, not really looking for an answer. I just sat there, bewildered by Brian's comments.
I amazed Brian? I didn't understand him at all at that moment. The way he spoke made it seem like he was talking about much more than my physical apperance, but I just didn't understand. Maybe I didn't want to understand him, who knows.
"Here we are," the driver annouced and we pulled up to the restaurant.
"I'm starving," Brian commented as he opened the door and stepped out. "Yeah, me too. They better have some good chicken!" I said as I followed Brian out of the town car.
We walked into the restaurant and were greeted by the hostess.
"Two please," Brian said to the hostess. "And can you please give us a private table."
"Sure, right this way gentleman." The hostess lead us towards the back of the restaurant and sat us in a small booth which was hidden behind some plants.
"May I take your drink orders now?"
"Yeah, I'll have a tall glass of ice tea please," Brian ordered first. "I'll have a glass of lemonade please." I smiled at the hostess, who couldn't have been more than 20 years old.
"That's weird," I said. "What is?" Brian turned to look at me. "She realized who you are as soon as she saw you, yet she didn't make a fuss." "Maybe she just doesn't care for the Backstreet Boys," Brian said. "No, I could tell by her eyes that she wanted to scream." "Actually, the employees here are under strict rules to not make a fuss over celebrities. I'm pretty sure they get fired if they ask for an autograph or something."
"I see. But I'm sure, being that you are a sweet and incredibly giving person, you are going to sign a napkin for her anyways, right?"
"Um yeah, that is exactly what I was planning on doing," Brian replied, stumbling on his words. I guess I didn't leave him a choice after what I had said.
"What a gentleman," I added. Brian only smiled and blushed.
Lunch was great. The food was incredible and the conversation between Brian and I was even better. It was a simple conversation, but we both enjoyed it tremendously. The best conversations between two people are usually when they are just getting to know each other. Every word is interesting, every story exiting.
We made it back to the hotel after lunch and secretly made our way back up to my floor. Luckly, Brian had thought to leave all our shopping bags at the front desk and have them bring them up later, or else it would have been impossible to make it to my room without getting caught.
"Whew! We made it!" Brian let out a sigh of relief. "No fans, no security and no management to deal with. Just a fun afternoon out in the city."
"Yeah, I can't believe we made it out of here without being tracked down. You would think that having a tall built man in a suit follow you around wouldn't look weird."
"You're telling me! Management insist we take bodyguards everywhere we go! They don't realize that having huge guys follow us around brings more attention to us. We usually get surrounded by fans when we have bodyguards with us and left alone when we don't."
"But it is risky going out without security Brian," I added. "You might not always be so lucky to be left alone. If someone was to recognize you in the middle of a mall and you had no security with you, it wouldn't be a pretty site."
"I guess," Brian said, not really wanting to admit to me being right. "We wouldn't want to have Brian pulled apart by a mob of teenage girls, now would we?" "No we wouldn't. We wouldn't want that at all!" Brian shook his head side to side like a little kid.
"You are just too much!" I couldn't help but laugh at Brian's faces. "Am I?" Brian became serious again and looked me straight in the eyes. "Um no, not really. You're just enough." "Just enough?" "Oh, you know what I mean." I blushed, probably turning bright red. "I had a really good time with you today Jonathan," Brian said, not losing eye contact with me. "I did too Brian. Thank you for such a fun day." "Don't even mention it. It was nothing." Brian said. "You really don't need to thank me. Next time you better not turn down me buying you stuff! I really wanted to."
"Believe me Brian. I wouldn't feel right having you buy me things. I certainly can buy my own clothes. You guys pay me well enough." I said with a smile. "I hope we can do this again soon?" "Definitely, I'd... I'd really like that," I stumbled out. I looked into Brian's blue eyes again and I felt at ease.
"Great. Maybe I can give you a call later tonight, after the concert?" Brian asked, looking away a little.
"Sure, that sounds good." I answered simply. "Ok, I'll talk to you later tonight," Brian walked towards the door and opened it. "Talk to you later."
"Talk to you later, Brian." I said, as Brian closed the door behind him.
"Thank God this weekend is over! I didn't think I could make it through it. I thought I was going to pass out somewhere in the middle," AJ fell backwards onto the coach in the back of the Boy's tour bus.
"Yeah, 4 concerts in four days in four different cities is something we are never doing again!" Kevin added as he entered the back room.
"So tell me, who's genius idea was it to add a fan conference to the already crazy schedule?" I said, taking a seat next to AJ.
"You can thank Leila and management for that one," Kevin answered.
"Okay, I don't want to hear anymore complaining from any of you!" Brian came running into the room. "I can't take it aymore!!!!"
Brian's less than subtle entrance was greeted with 3 pillows hitting him in the head.
"All right, who threw the last one?!"
"WHAT? You're only going to hold the last one responsible?" I shouted in protest, and out of stupidity. Brian just grinned at me and gave me a 'you dumb ass' look, along with AJ, Howie and Kevin. "I... I mean... hey, you tricked me! No fair!"
"Well, since you are the only one man enough to admit it, I'll let it slide this time."
"Aww, beat his ass!" Nick decided to grace us with his presence. "I want to see some serious butt whopping."
Everyone finally calmed down, just as we arrived at our hotel. The guy's adrenaline rush from performing that night finally started to come down. Nick, AJ, Kevin and Howie made their way towards their rooms and called it a night. They were extremely tired and we had a 7 o'clock flight to Los Angeles for the Grammy's the next morning. Brian and I trailed behind and made it into the bar.
"You want a drink?" Brian offered. "I would but I'm underage remember?" "Ah, they won't care, believe me. Most places even serve Nick, who not only acts but looks 12." "Well, I guess one won't hurt. I have been craving one."
Brian called the waitress over and ordered a screwdriver for me and a beer for himself.
"I'm not much of a hard liquor kind of person," Brian conceded. "Beer is about all I can handle." "Oh, can't hold your liquor huh?" "Not very long, no." "No details please," I pleaded. "Believe me, I'm not willing to embarrass myself by sharing those stories."
The waitress brought over our drinks. We sat there in silence while we sipped at our drinks. We were perfectly content to sit there and just relax. I could tell Brian hadn't come down from his adrenaline rush from performing, so sleeping was out of the question for him.
"Thank you." I blurted out out of nowhere. "Thank you? For what?" Brian raised an eyebrow and looked me dead in the eye. "You know, for going out of your way and making me feel welcomed and stuff," I said, staring down at my napkin. "Jonathan, I haven't gone out of my way to make you feel better," Brian said. "Oh?" I looked up at Brian.
"What I mean is that I haven't forced anything to try and make you feel like part of the Backstreet family. You are part of the Backstreet family, and you are now a friend. I knew you were going to make a good friend to not only me but the rest of the guys the first day we met." Brian said.
"That's nice of you to say. I just want to tell you that I really have enjoyed hanging out with you guys. Its like icing on the cake. Not only do I love my job but I actually like my bosses!" I said with a laugh. "And I also want to tell you that I haven't enjoyed hanging out with you guys because..."
"Jonathan, you don't need to tell me," Brian interrupted before I could continue. "After years in this business its become real easy for us to tell who genuinely like us for the people that we are and not the job we have. We all talked about how cool you were after you hung out with us the first time. I mean, even Kevin who is usually impossible to convince on letting anyone into our tight circle, realized you could be trusted. We all trust you." Brian said.
By this point we were on our third drink. I guess the drinks helped us talk and be honest about what was on our minds. Without the drinks I think both of us wouldn't have admitted as much as we did. To me it seemed like it usually took a long time before friends admitted to each other how much they trusted each other. Everyone is always looking out for themselves and protecting themselves from getting hurt and admitting to someone that you trust them and consider them a good friend is like an open invitation to get backstabbed.
"I think we should head upstairs cause we have an early wake up call tomorrow," Brian pulled his wallet out to leave the waitress a tip.
"You mean, later today. Its 1 in the morning Brian." I informed Brian. "Oh wow, time flies when we talk, huh?" "Yeah, it does seem to fly by."
We made our way over to the elevators and waited patiently for one to come down. We got on the elevator by ourselves. Brian pushed the button for our floor and leaned back against the wall. We rode up in silence. This time almost everyone was staying on the same floor. Usually the Boys stayed on a different level than the rest of the crew either because of security issues or they stayed in suites.
We exited the elevator and made our way down the hall.
Brian's room was around the corner from mine so we both stopped in front of my door.
"Anyways, thanks for the drinks. Its on me next time," I said. It sounded like Brian was going to protest the idea but I guess he figured it was better not to. "Okay, I'll hold you to your word." "You always can," I added. "Goodnight Brian." "Goodnight Jonathan."
I had just turned towards the door to insert my card key into the door slot when Brian put his hand on my shoulder and turned me back around. Then he did something that really threw me off. He leaned towards me, as his eyes closed. Just before he could reach me, I turned away, and tried to open my door.
"I umm, I don't...." Brian stumbled out, his face turning a little red. "I had a really good time Brian, a really good time." I smiled at him. I placed my hand on his shoulder and pulled him into a hug. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"
"Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow. Have a goodnight." Brian turned away, looking a bit confused and embarrassed, and walked towards his room.
I walked into my room, closed the door, and leaned up against it. My mind was spinning. I didn't know what to think. The last thought on my mind that night was what exactly I had just gotten myself into.
To Be Continued.