"Just when everything was starting to go right…" Terri whined later that night as she and AJ sat in their bed, listening to music.
"Yeah, I know. It sucks. But if she didn't have a car once she abandoned the one she stole, she's still around Jacksonville." AJ told her, pulling her body against his as they cuddled.
"Yeah. But if she's gotten a car she's already here…if she's coming here." Terri thought for a moment.
"I wonder how Andy ever figured out where we were…-" AJ thought aloud.
"I figured that it was because you all didn't book your flights to New York on a different name and he found them." Terri replied.
"Damn…how did you figure that out?" AJ asked.
"Long hours of nothing to do…I need a job…" Terri sighed, "And I'm perfectly capable…it just…" She trailed off, looking at her covered feet.
"What do you want to do?" AJ asked her.
"Sing…but the media will get to my past and…well, you know what would happen." Terri sighed. "Trying times, trying to get the best of me. I'm still finding times to show I care…" she sang softly along with the CD that was playing.
"You definitely are capable of singing…Remember when we met in the church?"
"Ha ha, yeah." She giggled.
"I remember the whole day…
FLASHBACK
"Time to get up guys!" Brian's father, Harold, called through his house in Lexington, Kentucky. A few minutes later the guys still hadn't gotten up. Harold sighed and walked up the stairs to the second floor.
"Brian, get up!" he told his son, opening his door where Brian, Nick, and AJ were sharing a room. Brian looked up groggily at his father groggily and then put his head down when he read the clock.
"Dad, its 7:30!" Brian whined, Howie and Nick began to stir.
"We have church, get up!" Harold again ordered, moving on to Kevin and Howie's room.
"Kevin, AJ, get up, we have church." Harold told them, poking his head through the door.
"Awe, let us sleep Uncle Harold." Kevin begged, still mostly asleep.
"Nope, get up." He replied and then headed down stairs. The guys eventually got up and headed down stairs, the smell of eggs, bacon, and pancakes filled the house and got stronger as you entered the kitchen.
"Hey Mom." Brian greeted his mother and gave her a kiss.
"Hey honey, whew! Morning breath, go eat." She urged. Brian gladly obliged and sat down at the table.
"Hey Mrs. Littrell." Howie, Nick, and AJ greeted, waddling in.
"Call me Jackie, for goodness sakes, how long have I known you?" Jackie laughed, the others also laughing lightly as they sat down. Kevin was the last one in, stumbling the whole way.
"Morning Aunt Jackie." Kevin greeted and gave her a hug.
"Morning Kevin, sit down and eat, there won't be anything left if you wait much longer." Jackie joked, leaving the kitchen to finish getting ready for church. There wasn't much conversation during breakfast, considering all of the guys were still mostly asleep. About twenty minutes later the guys were all rushing to get in the car and go to church.
"Why the rush to get to church?" Brian asked from the backseat of his dad's Suburban. His father and mother laughed, but none of the guys knew why.
"Because it's the church's anniversary, Seaver." His mom teased.
"I hate that name." Brian mumbled, leaning his head against the window so he could snooze.
"Oh, that's cool." Howie commented truthfully. Soon they arrived at the church; Brian was forced into being social because he hadn't been at the church in so long. As soon as he could he sat with the guys in the third row. The service soon started, but it was long and drawn out, not very interesting at all. The same thing was said in every other Baptist church, every year, and got old.
"And now you will hear the choir sing "Lean On Me." The preacher announced. "Lean On Me" wasn't a usual piece for the anniversary, but oh well.
"Sometimes in life, we all have pain, we all have sorrow, but if we are wise, we know that there is always tomorrow. Lean on me, when your not strong, and I'll be your friend, I'll help you carry on, for it won't be long 'til I'm gonna need somebody to lean on. Cause I just might have a problem that you'll understand, we all need somebody to lean on." The choir cut out and one girl had a solo.
"So just lean on me brother when you need a hand, we all need somebody to lean on." The choir went on with the chorus as the girl carried the melody. "So just lean on, lean on me. Lean on me brother! Just lean on, lean on me." The girl was phenomenal! Suddenly the guys popped out of the Twilight Zone and paid attention. After the service the guys stayed around to help move the decorations to the back room. After they were done moving a large cross that was covered in flowers, they walked out to the sanctuary, where the grand piano was. Kevin sat down and began to play "On Bended Knee." The guys began to sing around the piano, thinking that no one was around.
"-Oh God give me a reason, I'm down on bended knee," The guys sang, but then stopped.
"What's the next verse?" They asked each other.
"So many nights I dream of you, holding my pillow tight I know that I don't even need to be alone-" A voice sang behind them. The guys turned to see the same girl from before, this time with a friend.
"When I open my eyes to face reality, every moment without you seems like eternity, I'm begging you, begging you, come back to me." AJ and Kevin sang.
"Yep. I love that song." She replied.
"I'm Nick," Nick introduced himself to her and shook her hand.
"I'm Terri, this is Becca." She replied and Nick shook Becca's hand.
"I'm AJ, this is Howie, Brian, and Kevin is the one at the piano." AJ greeted and shook the girls' hand.
"I love your hair!" Terri exclaimed, at the time it was blue and spiky.
"Thanks." AJ laughed, "We heard you sing today, you have a great voice." AJ told her sincerely.
"Thanks, you all do to." She replied.
"Yeah, I love your current single." Becca told them. The guys laughed, not realizing the girls knew who they were.
"Oh, you know who we are?" Howie asked, walking towards where the girls were standing.
"Yeah, who doesn't?" Becca asked with a smile.
"Thanks for not freaking out." Kevin joked.
"Psh, we aren't mental…at least not in that context." Terri corrected herself, causing everyone to chuckle.
"Terri, Becca! Come on!" One of three girls called from the entryway to the sanctuary.
"Well, we have to go, nice meeting you." Terri told them.
"Wait! You all want to do something tonight, with your friends too?" Nick asked them as they headed out.
"Uh, sure. How about we meet up at TGIF at…7, ok?" Becca replied.
"Got it!" Nick called back to her. After the girls had left, the guys went looking for Jackie and Harold.
"Those girls were really nice." AJ commented.
"Talented, nice, AND gorgeous." Howie sighed, "You don't find many like that." He added.
"That aren't psychotic? Very rare." Brian laughed as they walked.
"Is the date set for seven or seven-thirty?" Kevin asked.
"Uh…seven." Nick replied, taking a moment to remember.
"Sooner the better." AJ muttered, chuckling.
"Hey, Brian, guys, come on!" Harold called to them from the car as the guys stepped outside.
"Coming!"
END OF FLASHBACK
"Yeah, but do you remember when we met you at TGIF?" Terri asked.
"Nope…" AJ replied, blushing because he did remember.
FLASHBACK TO THAT NIGHT
"Can I get you a drink?" The waitress asked the guys once they had sat down at TGIF.
"No, thanks. We are waiting on some people." Howie replied.
"Did you see that girl this morning with the big blue-gray eyes? Wow!" Brian gushed after a moment of silence.
"Oh, yeah, I think her name was Becca." Nick informed then focused on another girl. "That one girl with the long dark hair was drop-dead gorgeous!"
"Whatever… did you guys hear that babe singing?!" AJ asked dreamily.
"Yeah. Man, what a voice! But, myself, I prefer the one with the shoulder-length hair. She had curves like a race track!" Kevin exclaimed.
"Oh, do I?" Kevin heard a voice from behind him say. Kevin turned bright cherry red as the five lovely ladies walked up, giving each of the guys looks that said "yeah, we heard."
"How much of that did you guys hear?" Nick asked, wondering if he should be the same color as Kevin.
"Eh… somewhere around my big gray eyes." Becca laughed, as the girls sat down.
Suddenly, all the men turned crimson, trying not to make eye contact.
"Guys, the one with the curves is Amber, the one who is drop dead gorgeous is Lexi, and Erin, wasn't mentioned because of our little interruption." Terri introduced.
"Hi, I'm AJ, this is Brian, Nick, Kevin, and Howie." AJ replied, standing up to shake hands.
"We know." Explained Amber with an easy, confident smile.
As the waitress passed by, Brian called her over, "Miss!"
"Yes, sir?" She replied, rushing over.
"I think we're ready for our drink order." Brian replied.
"OK." The waitress replied, whipping out her pen and pad. She looked expectantly at Erin.
"I'll have a diet coke."
"Could I please have a raspberry iced tea?" Terri requested.
"A peach tea, please." Amber also requested.
After all the orders were taken, (including dinner orders) conversation switched to each of the girls, starting with Lexi.
"So, what do you do for a living?" Nick asked, curiously.
"Well… um…" Lexi stuttered…
"She's a dancer." Becca saved her. Lexi was really a stripper. She hated it, but she needed the money.
"Really? What kind?" asked Nick.
"Hip hop." Lexi was trying to get off the subject, but found no way to do so.
"That's cool." Kevin commented, "what about you?" he directed at Amber, letting Lexi relax (though he didn't know it).
"Terri and I own a little coffee shop in the mall. Also, I am a free-lance poet and I teach private flute lessons."
"Really? Think you could give me some private flute lessons?" Kevin asked suggestively.
"Sure," Amber began, "anytime." She replied with a lustful glint in her eye.
"So Terri, you own a coffee shop?" AJ asked.
"Amber and I do." She replied. "And I sing. I get small gigs here and there."
"That's awesome." AJ replied, flirtatiously taking her hand from under the table.
Terri smiled and blushed lightly. Yet no one but them knew what was going on.
END OF FLASHBACK
"Good lord, I thought you were going to try to lay me on the first date!" Terri exclaimed.
"I don't move that fast!" AJ told her defensively.
"Not in that context." Terri smiled up at him with a devilish glint in her eye.
"Whew, is it getting hot in here?" AJ asked with a chuckle.
"Nope, just being nice." Terri replied. "Hey AJ?"
"Yeah babe?"
"What exactly made you finally decide to ask me to marry you?" Terri asked curiously as she eyed her ring. AJ chuckled and kissed her head.
"A few things…first being that you are the only girlfriend I've ever had that actually understands me enough that I can come to when I need someone to listen." AJ told her. She smiled and gave him a light squeeze; "The second reason is that I'm madly in love with you. And the third and final reason is what you told me in the hospital, about someone still needing you…I knew it was me, and you did too. And the angel never gave you a hint to who it was, but I knew in my heart that I needed you and I still do." AJ told her softly. She looked up and him and looked into his eyes.
"AJ?"
"Hmm?"
"I'll never break your heart, I'll never make you cry. I'd rather die than live without you, I'll give you all of me, honey that's not lie." She sang in her low jazzy voice and reached up, kissing his lips softly. "I have a surprise for you." She told him.
"What might that be?" He asked with a grin.
"I'm pregnant."
Chapter 14
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