AJ smiled and nodded his head. “Okay then Dana. I dare you to kiss Brian.”
Dana rolled her eyes. “To kiss Brian. And I thought that you were pathetic before That’s easy.”
“You didn’t let me finish,” AJ interrupted. “I dare you to kiss Brian’s feet.”
“Oh my God AJ, you’re kidding me,” Mackenzie said with disbelief.
“Oh hell no!” Dana screamed again. “That’s just disgusting! Everyone knows that Brian’s feet smell like he stepped in something that died, no offense Brian…”
“None taken,” he laughed as he removed his shoes and socks.
“And,” continued Dana. “He’s been wearing those shoes since before tonight’s show and that was hours ago. Please AJ…please change the dare.”
“No,” AJ pouted. “You called me pathetic.”
After about five minutes of arguing back and fourth, Dana finally gave in and kissed Brian’s feet although extremely disgusted. “Now someone is really gonna get nailed and trust me AJ, if it weren’t against the rules, you would be so dead.” AJ just smiled to himself as Dana looked around the room to make her decision. “Okay…Nick.”
“What did I do to you?” Nick asked pleadingly.
Dana pretended she didn’t hear him. “Truth or dare?” she asked.
Nick looked over at Mackenzie for help like a sad little dog. Finally, he decided. “Dare.”
Dana thought for a moment before a smiled came across her face. “Okay Nickers,” she smiled deceitfully. “I dare you to give your fiancée a little dance…”
“A little dance,” Nick repeated with uncertainty. “Right…”
“A little strip dance,” Dana laughed.
Nick turned pale and then bright red. “In front of all these people?” he asked, motioning over to the group of about 12 people sitting in a circle. “No, not on your life…no!”
“You heard me,” Dana said. “Just thank AJ…he made me kiss Brian’s feet.”
“Thanks AJ,” Nick said through gritted teeth.
“Oh shut up Nick…it’s not like Mackenzie hasn’t seen you naked before. I’ve heard you guys…” AJ stopped as he noticed that Mackenzie was shooting him a look of warning.
Nick fought the dare for more than 15 minutes before finally giving in. Luckily, he was allowed to keep his boxers on and to Nick, that was a huge plus. He walked up to Mackenzie who was sitting on the floor and grabbed her hand, pulling her from the floor. Mackenzie looked at Nick in some sort of strange but laughable awe as he had her slowly unbutton his shirt. Playing along, Mackenzie licked her lips and shot Nick a sexy smile. While everyone else was laughing, Mackenzie and Nick were both thoroughly enjoying this moment.
“Nickolas Gene!”
Nick stopped dead in his tracks. He turned to face a very aggravated Kevin, who by the look he was giving Nick, was not happy. “What?” Nick asked solemnly.
“Oh my God Nick, you should know what. We’re a high profile musical group and we are staying in a very nice luxury hotel and you are playing truth or dare and dirty dancing around your fiancee…do you know how bad this could be if it got to the tabloids?”
“Kevin, she’s my fiancee…I doubt they would have that much of a problem with it.”
Kevin rolled his eyes. “You know damn well that that’s not true Nick.”
After long, uncomfortable seconds, Kevin turned and left the room. When he was gone, the rest of the group followed him out the door and returned to their hotel rooms until only Nick and Mackenzie were left alone.
“That went well,” Nick said softly.
“No kidding,” Mackenzie said, not knowing what to say. “Things will work out though. You and Kevin normally average about 20 fights a tour, this is just one of them.”
“I know what you mean,” Nick agreed. Ten minutes or so later, Mackenzie left Nick’s hotel room and headed down the hall for her own. She had almost reached the room when she began blacking out. She couldn’t stand up, she couldn’t see straight, she couldn’t walk. The last thing that Mackenzie remembered was seeing a familiar face as she collapsed against a door and completely blacked out.
“AJ! She’s coming back,” Mackenzie heard Kevin’s voice though the haze. Seconds later another face was looking over her.
Mackenzie recognized this as AJ’s. “Mackenzie, are you okay?” he asked.
Mackenzie’s only response was a soft moan.
“C’mon girl, you’re scaring us. What’s wrong?” AJ asked again.
Kevin began taking Mackenzie’s pulse and other stats. It was then that he came across a bottle of pills in Mackenzie’s jean pocket. Without the knowledge of either AJ or Mackenzie, Kevin extracted the bottle out of Mackenzie’s pocket and turned it over and over in his hands. Silently, he opened the top and peered inside the bottle. He recognized the pills he was seeing…for some reason, Kevin knew that he should know what they were for. It was then that reality hit. Kevin had seen these pills before. Kevin’s dad had used them in his second go around with chemotherapy…they were used to ease the side effects. “But why would Mackenzie have these?” Kevin asked himself. “AJ,” Kevin asked. “Get some water for her to drink from the cooler on the bus” AJ did as he was told. Once Kevin was alone with Mackenzie he became very stern with her. “Mackenzie, what are you doing with these?” he asked, holding up the pill bottle.
“They are for…”
Kevin cut her off. “...Chemotherapy side effects. I know these pills Mac. My dad took them for two years of his life. Now why do you have them?!”
The emotional dam of lies, secrets, deceit, and pain finally broke open and Mackenzie spilled her entire story to Kevin.
“You have to tell Nick,” Kevin instructed. “You have to tell him now. Don’t worry about his stress. You’ve worried about that for too long. Tell him now.”
“I can’t Kevin,” Mackenzie cried, holding a cup of tea in her shaky hand. It was nearing four in the morning. “What happens if he can’t take the news…he’s gonna be so mad that I didn’t tell him before…I was scared.”
“He’ll be fine,” Kevin said. “You have to tell him.”
Mackenzie rubbed her temples feeling a headache coming on. “You really think so?”
“I’m not kidding you.”
An hour later, Mackenzie left Kevin and AJ’s hotel room with only Kevin aware of what was going on. She had been found out, her secret had been revealed. Now she had only one thing on her mind…telling Nick that cancer was slowly consuming her life.
Mackenzie got only an hour and a half of sleep before Fatima knocked on her door. “Rise and shine sweet Mackenzie. It’s 10 o’clock…time to get a move on it.”
Mackenzie moaned and crawled out of bed. She looked over at her roommates’ bed to discover that Eve was already packed and out the door. Quickly Mackenzie showered, dressed and packed and found herself in the lobby at exactly 10:45. The bus pulled away from the hotel at 11:00.
Chapter Fifteen
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