Chapter Twenty-three

The concert was a blast. Aside from suffering from the bruises covering her body, Megan truly enjoyed herself. The energy in that arena was almost tangible. She didn’t know all the words to the songs, but that didn’t matter. She stood off to one side of the stage with Dana and Leighanne, near the exit they would use at the end of the show. Leighanne was recognized and chatted with fans. Dana did her best to hide behind the security. Megan talked with some girls who had seen her on the news. They all asked if she was with Kevin, to which she adamently replied no.

Before the last flame died from the explosive finale, they were being rushed outside to meet up with the Boys at the bus.

“You mean we don’t even get to see the ending?” Megan whined.

“You can next time, we’ll make arrangements for you to stay,” Brian said, wiping sweat from his brow.

“Great show, baby,” Megan whispered to AJ.

He just shrugged and broke open a bottle of water, gulping down half of it in one swallow.

Megan was puzzled at his lack of interest in her. When had this started?!

They arrived back at the hotel and went their separate ways. AJ showered and changed into a jersey and shorts. Megan waited patiently in the bed for him to join her. Wordlessly he kissed her cheek and then tucked the blankets around her, an unreadable expression on his face. That expression had shown up sometime during dinner, and it had stayed there the entire evening. She was positive it had something to do with what happened earlier.

He finished fluffing her pillow and started to move away. She reached out and grabbed his arm, stopping him. He paused, but didn’t look at her.

“AJ, what’s wrong? Have I done something?” she asked softly.

He squeezed his eyes shut and swallowed.

“AJ, please talk to me. I can tell something’s bothering you, but I don’t know what.”

He opened his eyes and sank down onto the bed beside her. “I was so scared today. . . “

Megan leaned closer and rubbed his arm. “I was too. But I’m okay. I wasn’t seriously hurt, thanks to Kevin.”

As soon as she said Kevin’s name, she felt him tense imperceptibly. He looked away, a scowl forming on his features.

“Meg, I’ve got something to ask you.”

“Sure, what is it?”

He gulped and turned to face her, hurt evident in his big brown eyes.

“You care about me, right?”

“Well that’s a silly question. Of course I do.”

“And you know that I would do anything to protect you, to keep you safe.”

“Yes,” she answered, not understanding.

Very slowly, AJ turned towards her, his dark brown eyes showing hurt and rejection. “Then why did you call out for Kevin? And not me?”

Megan inhaled sharply. So that was it!

“AJ, I was so caught off guard that I just yelled for the first person I saw, which happened to be Kevin,” she explained, moving closer and rubbing his back. “Trust me, he’s not my idea of a knight in shining armor.”

“So it’s not because you thought he could save you better than I could?”

She almost giggled and poked his forearm. “Now come on, look at this muscle compared to Kev’s. You probably would have been ripped apart by the fans if you’d come after me.”

AJ smiled a little. “I know.” He sighed and kissed her hand. “I just felt so. . . inadequate compared to Kevin. I couldn’t even save my own girlfriend. And then everyone was talking about it, praising him. . . “

“You have nothing to worry about. Look at it this way. What if you had been in my place, and you called out for Dana? Would I be jealous?”

“Would you?” AJ asked.

“Well, duh! It’s a natural emotion. Though I doubt Dana would have saved your scrawny butt.”

AJ growled and lunged for her, pinning her down and kissing her. Kevin was forgotten.

Dana trailed kisses up Kevin’s chest and stopped at his collarbone when she got no response.

“Kev?”

“Hm?” was his short reply.

“Is something bothering you?”

Kevin looked down at her, at her beatiful blue eyes gazing up at him and he instantly felt bad.

“I’m sorry. I was just thinking.”

Dana sat up in the bed and asked, “About what?”

Kevin shrugged. “I don’t know. Stuff.”

“Megan?”

He jerked. “What?”

“You’re thinking about Megan, right? About what happened today?”

“I, I. . .”

“It’s okay. I’ve been thinking about it too.”

“You have?”

She nodded and rested her head against his chest. “Megan’s my best friend. I really love her, and I love you. And I’m just glad that neither of you were seriously hurt.”

“Yeah.”

Kevin chewed thoughtfully on his lower lip.

“Dana?”

“Mmm hmm?”

“What exactly is Megan’s story?”

“What do you mean?”

Kevin slid lower in the bed so he was snuggled next to Dana.

“I mean, she’s so, different. But in a good way. I don’t know, one minute she’s all strong and ready to fight you, and then the next, she’s all emotional. I don’t understand her!”

Dana burst out laughing. “Don’t feel so bad. I think I’m one of three in the world that actually does. Megan’s just Megan. By the end of this tour, you’ll know her like I do. Don’t worry about it.”

Kevin sighed. “I’m sure I will.”