Once AJ was gone, I reached over and ran my hands through Krystal's dark, wet hair. "Krystal," I whispered.
"Come here," she said, pulling my hands and lying me back on the bed. She rolled over on her side and looked in my eyes. "What baby?"
"I don't know if I can do this."
"Do what?" she asked, stroking the side of my face.
"You know how I said I got a promotion?" She nodded her head. "Well, I didn't get it because of my own merit. I got it because they don't like the fact that I'm dating you."
"What do you mean?"
I reached over and traced the "K" tattoo on her left arm. "They put me in the midnight to six time slot. This way the people who are listening to me want to be listening." I paused as she looked at me. "Plus it's been hell the past week. I've had notes left on my car, parents pulling their kids away from me and I've even been in the tabloids too."
"But I thought we took care of that with Andre?"
I sighed. "My ex-boyfriend was talking to them and it was in the paper this week."
She pulled me into her arms and kissed the top of my head. "Aw, I'm sorry Babe."
"It's not your fault, Krys." I felt hot tears stream down my face. "I always seem to get into trouble for following my heart."
Krystal wiped a few tears away from my face and kissed my lips before asking, "What do you mean?"
I sat up slowly. "I dropped out of college to pursue radio. I didn't want to get the degree in media arts. I didn't want to have to learn about television and graphic stuff. I just wanted to do radio. When I landed the job at the station as a paid intern working the front desk and helping with remotes, I quit school. I was on my way. I knew I would get promoted sometime," I said. "I just didn't know when. When I dropped out of school, my parents flipped. Just like they did when they found out I was dating a rock star. It wasn't the fact that I was dating a girl that scared them, it was the fact that you were this celebrity who was gone all the time. I guess they think it would be different if you didn't have to travel so much." I sighed and sat up on the bed. "And now this. I get bugged because I've come out to people and said that I'm a Christian but that I love a woman. They call me a hypocrite and a sinner. And now I get my own show, my dream job, but all because I'm dating a rock star who happens to be well known."
She pulled me into her chest and whispered, "Aw, Becca. I know you're upset over this. You're afraid that people aren't accepting you for who you are. You're having doubts about following your heart. And now your dream is tainted because of me. I don't know what to do to comfort you."
I sniffed. "Just hold me." And hold me is what she did, all night long. We eventually crawled under the covers because we were cold but we stayed in each other's arms till the break of day, not really sleeping.
As dawn broke, we got up and wrapped terry cloth robes around our bodies and headed out onto the balcony. Pulling up a chair, Krystal slid me down into her lap and we held onto each other as the sun rose above us. Krystal's hand slid between my thighs and she rubbed her fingers over my clit. I quickly pulled away and got up. Krystal was shocked, and so was I. I had never pulled away from one of her advances before. "Becca..."
"Don't Krystal." I walked over and gripped the edge of the balcony railing. "This whole idea scares me. Maybe we shouldn't be together."
Krystal came up behind me and wrapped her arms around me. "Okay, we'll back off a bit. I can't exactly hide you from the public."
"I know," I replied, leaning back in her arms. I looked over into her eyes. "I'm sorry," I said.
"For what?" she asked, kissing my forehead.
"For not making this weekend more special for your birthday."
She smiled at me. "I knew you hadn't forgotten, and don't worry about it. I had fun. And the whole AJ thing, well, I know he liked it. By the way, I liked the flowers." I grinned cheekily at her. I had made sure to send her a dozen yellow roses for her birthday just because I couldn't be there. She ran a hand through my hair and kissed my forehead again. "Let's get dressed and go to breakfast. I don't want the guys to come. It'd be too dangerous for them."
I turned around in her arms and kissed her lips. "Let's stay together, okay?"
"You got me for the rest of your life, okay?" she said.
I just nodded and took her hand heading inside the room. We went to breakfast and over the French toast and orange juice we discussed my upcoming show and I asked her to be the guest on Monday morning. She agreed and I told her that I wouldn't tell anyone about it because no one was in except the on air talent during the weekend.
As we were leaving the restaurant, about a dozen fans cornered us. I hadn't realized how popular Krystal had become since the VMA's. Yeah she was everywhere it seemed, but I had thought the public announcement of our relationship had killed anything she had going for her, but it hadn't. Surprising to me, the fans wanted my autograph too and wanted pictures of Krystal and I together as well as pictures with them. It was neat to say the least. I had never had that happen before. Sure fans had come up to me and asked if I was Krystal's girlfriend, but then again we hadn't really been seen together so I knew these pictures were going to be all over the Internet.
When we got back to the hotel, the guys were just starting to move. I jumped on Nick's back, messed up his hair even more and told him he was a lazy bum. He gave me a piggy back ride to the bedroom and tossed me on the bed, telling me that he needed to catch up on his sleep. I just messed with his hair some more and told him he was a big baby. That day we all went out exploring in and around town. I tried to keep them away from hot spots where I knew fans would be. AJ and Brian went golfing. Everyone else took in a movie or hung out. By that evening, everyone was exhausted, except Krystal and I; they all went back to the hotel and Krystal came back to my apartment. Once she was there I pulled her into my room and stripped her naked in a matter of moments. "Is someone a little impatient?" she asked me giggling as she stood there naked in my bedroom.
I smiled at her as I stripped out of my clothes. "No, well, yes. But I just wanna give you your birthday present."
"You already did that," she said, talking about the flowers.
