Chapter Fourteen

Kevin and AJ were laughing about something as they made their way up the driveway towards Megan’s door. Megan had been watching and waiting for AJ to come back. She hadn’t expected him to bring along the browed one.

“Shit! I look like crap,” she muttered, moving away from the window and back to the couch. She finger combed her hair and tried to look presentable. “What the hell am I doing?! Am I trying to look pretty for Kevin?” She messed up her hair and flopped down on the couch.

“We’re ba-ack!” AJ sang as they came inside. “I hope I got the right stuff. Oh man, did I just say that?” he muttered, shaking his head. “I even got you some ice cream.” He sat down beside her and hugged her. “Are you feeling any better?”

Megan grabbed the bag from his hand and rifled through it. “Tylenol! Yesss! I needed some of that. And...” She held up the tampons. “Oh how sweet, you even got my brand. How did you know? Did I tell you?”

“Nope, thank Kev for that.”

Kevin stood awkwardly just inside the door, half in and half out of the house.

“Oh,” Megan said, blushing at the idea of *him* picking out tampons for her. “Um, thanks.”

“Yeah, sure.” He twisted the doorknob and coughed. “Well, I just wanted to say hi. AJ told me you guys had plans so...I’ll just take off.”

“Hey, thanks for the help, man,” AJ said, grinning at his friend.

“No problem. I’m gonna go now, so...have fun.”

“Thanks,” Megan said, nodding her head at him.

He half smiled at her and then turned around and left, closing the door behind him. AJ was glad he was gone.

“He’s one of my bestest buds, but I really don’t want him around tonight, do you?”

“No. All I want is you.”

“Oooh, is that a promise?” AJ wiggled his eyebrows at her and she giggled.

“Maybe. Now let’s go dish out this ice cream, shall we?”

They walked into the kitchen where AJ got bowls, spoons and an ice cream scoop. “Which flavor do you want?”

Megan pointed at the chocolate swirl. “You really are a great guy, you know that?”

“I vaguely recall being called that a few times in my life.”

Megan leaned on the counter and watched him scoop out ice cream. “How many girlfriends have you had tell you that?”

“Uh oh. We’ve progressed that far already?”

“What do you mean?”

“Discussing our pasts.”

“Oh. I guess. If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine.”

He stuck a spoon in a bowl and passed it to her. “No, I can talk about it. I’ve really only had two serious relationships.”

Megan’s mouth dropped. “Excuse me? Only two?”

He nodded and finished serving himself. Then he put the ice cream into the freezer. “I’m serious. I’m not the sex crazed maniac that everyone thinks I am.”

They took seats at the table and Megan laughed. “Oh really?”

“Really.”

She stared at him for a full minute before he cracked a smile. “Okay, I like sex, there’s nothing wrong with that. But I don’t sleep with every woman I meet.”

“That’s comforting.”

AJ reached across the table and covered her hand with his. “Megan, I really like you. I do. And I hope you don’t think I’m being too bold when I ask you this next question.”

Megan froze. “No, I will not marry you.”

A look of shock and surprise crossed AJ’s features, and then he noticed how she was just barely grinning. “Ah, funny. No, I’m not proposing. You know how we go on a small two month tour in a coupla weeks, after our publicity spots around the area...”

“Yeah, what the hell am I gonna do without you around to have fun with?” she asked, taking another bite of ice cream.

“That’s why I want you to come with us,” he said quickly.

Megan choked. She began sputtering and dropped her spoon on the table. AJ was out of his chair in a flash, patting her on the back. After a moment, she waved her hands in the air and motioned that she was okay.

“I’m fine,” she gasped. “It’s just, you caught me off guard, that’s all.”

“I’m sorry. That didn’t come out the way I’d practiced at home.”

“You’ve been practicing to ask me to come out on tour with you?”

He nodded sheepishly. “Kevin’s gonna ask Dana, so I figured, what the hey? I want to spend more time with you, get to know you better. And I don’t want to leave you behind for that long.”

“But, you could come visit me, right? I mean, you’re not onstage all the time.”

“I know, but...” His voice trailed off and he moved back to his seat where he started to fiddle with his rings.

“Do you need a cigarette?” Megan asked.

“What?” He looked down at his hands and stopped. “Oh. No.”

Megan chewed on her lower lip. “So you want me to come on tour with you?”

“Yeah. It’s not that bad, and you could go sightseeing and hang out with Dana, it’d be like a vacation. And you look like you need a vacation.”

“Oh hells yes. I haven’t had a real vacation in almost two years. My partners seem to think that because I love my work so much, I can do it all the time.”

“So will you come with us?” he asked hopefully, throwing in the puppy dog eyes for good measure.

“Shit, don’t give me that look,” she said, laughing. “Can I think about it?”

“Oh, sure. You have until the day before we leave to decide.” He lowered his voice and leaned closer. “But I’d like to know as soon as possible, please.”

Megan burst out laughing and leapt from her chair over to him, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him. He did his best to keep his balance, but didn’t succeed. The chair began to tip, and then Boom! They hit the floor together, a tangle of arms and legs.

“Owwww!” AJ moaned, rolling over. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, how about you?”

“My back hurts a little.”

Megan helped him to sit up and then started rubbing his back. “Better?”

“Hmmm...a little lower...”

Megan moved her hand lower.

“Lower...”

Megan moved her hand from his back to his front. AJ was quite enjoying himself when suddenly he yelped out loud.

“Too low!” he cried.

“Oops, sorry.”

They stood up and went back to their ice cream.

“You really want me to come along? I can be kind of handful on car trips,” she informed him.

“This isn’t a car, it’s a bus.”

“Even worse. More wall space for me to bounce off of.”

He looked her square in the eye. “I really want you to come. Everyone loves you, and admit it. You’d have fun.”

“I’m sure I would,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Sitting on a bus for hours on end, with five guys and my best friend. Heads would definitely roll before the trip was over.”

“The only head I’m concerned about is yours,” AJ said.

“Ha, I’d have thought differently.” She gave him a sly grin.