Chapter Forty-five

It was 5:30 in the afternoon on a cold, drizzly day in Ohio that Megan came to a decision. She and AJ were curled up together on a leather couch in the Boys’ dressing room at the arena they would be performing at later that evening. Rehearsal and soundcheck had gone perfectly, and now it was quiet time for the guys to just sit and relax, or listen to the opening acts rehearse. They were the only two in the room when Megan tapped AJ on the shoulder, causing him to look up from the song he’d been working on.

“AJ, I have to go home.”

“What?”

“I have to go home, to Orlando.”

AJ sat up, setting aside his pen and paper. “Why? Is something wrong?”

“It’s not working out, me on the road,” she said. “I’m tired all the time, and I can’t keep up.”

“I think you’re doing just fine.”

“There’s so much work I have to do, now that I’ll be setting up my own clinic. I have to get my stuff out of my old office. I have to find a place --”

“Wait, wait. There’s something else, isn’t there? Something you’re not telling me.”

“No, there isn’t, AJ.”

He took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair.

“Megan, um, if this is about Amanda, I um, I meant to tell you...”

Megan’s eyes narrowed. “What about Amanda?”

“Kevin didn’t tell you?”

“No. Kevin didn’t tell me anything.”

“She was in my room, the night you left for Phoenix for Charlene’s funeral. Nothing happened, but Kevin jumped to conclusions. I didn’t want to tell you because I knew it would upset you, but I meant to, honestly.”

Megan took his hand and kissed it. “I believe you. I’m not mad. I’m glad you’re still friends.”

She couldn’t be mad. Talking with an old girlfriend was nothing compared to sleeping with your boyfriend’s best friend.

“So why are you leaving?” he asked, his voice soft.

“I can’t stay on the road. My job, my career is animal medicine. I have to go back and work. As much fun as this has been, it’s just not for me. I don’t see how you guys can do this for months at a time.”

“It’s hard,” AJ admitted. “Having friends and family along helps make it easier.”

“I know, and I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s okay. I understand. I’ll just miss you, that’s all.”

Megan smiled. “You’ll be home soon, in a few weeks right? We’ll have plenty of time to spend together then.”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“You’re not going to pout, are you?” she teased, giving him a nudge.

“Would it get you to change your mind?”

“Sorry, but no.”

“Damn.”

AJ sighed and rubbed his nose.

“So when are you leaving?”

“I think I’ll head out tomorrow evening.”

The sooner I get the hell out of here, the better! she thought.

“Everyone’ll be sad to see you go,” AJ said, pulling her into his arms and resting his chin on her shoulder..

“Yeah, I’m sure,” she snorted.

AJ chuckled and hugged her tighter. They were still holding each other when the door opened and in walked Kevin and the others. He didn’t react to seeing them together, but Megan did. She moved away from AJ, not enough to make him wonder, just enough to break the contact.

“Hey guys, bad news,” he said, getting everyone’s attention. “Meg’s goin’ home.”

This got a reaction from Kevin. His eyes widened when he looked at her, and she could see the questions forming in his mind.

“Why?” Nick asked, frowning. “Don’t you like it on the road?”

Megan stood up and went over to Nick, tickling him under the arms a bit.

“It’s fun for a few days, but I can’t do it like you guys can,” she told him.

“Sure that’s the only reason?” Kevin asked softly, dropping into an armchair and raising a brow.

Megan forced herself to look him in the eye.

“That’s the only reason,” she said firmly.

Nick picked up on her tone and studied the two. They seemed to be squaring off.

Kevin didn’t say anything more, he just nodded his head and turned his attention to the floor. He would talk to Megan later, away from everyone else.

“You’re leaving because of me.”

Megan jumped at the sound of Kevin’s voice, whirling around and knocking her half-filled suitcase off the bed. While the others were relaxing in the hotel jacuzzi’s and pools after a long, hard show, Megan had decided to pack. She found that her things had ultimately gotten mixed in with AJ’s, and she was busy reclaiming them when Kevin came into the room.

He closed the door and came over to stand beside her, reaching down to pick up the suitcase. As he set it on the bed again, he noticed she was trembling.

“What are you doing in here?” she hissed. “If AJ catches you in here --”

“He’s busy trying to dunk Nick’s head under water.”

“You should leave --”

“Like you are? Megan, please don’t go because of me.”

Megan averted her gaze away from his piercing eyes. She tossed a pair of jeans into the suitcase, realized they were AJ’s and pulled them out.

“I don’t want you to go,” Kevin said, his hands coming towards her and resting on her shoulders, gently turning her. “Please don’t go.”

“I have to. I can’t stay here, not after what happened between us.”

“What we did, Megan, it was beautiful.”

“It was wrong.”

Kevin sighed, a heavy sigh that Megan hated to hear.

“I have to go, Kevin,” she said. “If I stay...” She looked up at him, allowing herself to wrap her arms around his waist. “If I stay, it may just happen again.”

“Would that be so bad?”

“Yes, it would be very bad. AJ doesn’t deserve this --”

“What about you, Megan?” Kevin demanded, pulling her closer and tilting her head up. “What about what you deserve?”

The kiss wasn’t completely unexpected to Megan, but she hated herself for opening her mouth to take it. Part of her wanted so much to be with Kevin, to show him exactly how she felt about him. And yet another part of her wanted her to not be like her mother.

“Megan, are you done packing yet?”

Megan ripped her lips from Kevin’s, her eyes wide with fear as she recognized Nick’s voice. She hastily backed away, just as Nick poked his head in the door. Water dripped from his blond hair, into his eyes, but he could still see clearly enough to know he’d interrupted something.

“Sorry, I, um, AJ was wondering if you were going to join us,” he said, looking from Kevin to Megan.

“I was just asking Megan to give Dana a message for me,” Kevin said smoothly, hooking his index fingers into the belt loops of his jeans. “I didn’t want the others to hear it.”

“Sure, okay,” Nick said, nodding uncertainly.

“I’ll be down soon,” Megan said, picking up some clothes and placing them in her suitcase. She couldn’t bring herself to look Nick in the eye.

Kevin cleared his throat and said, “Well, I’ll see you later. Good night, Megan.”

“Yeah, good night.”

He made a quick exit, leaving Nick and Megan alone. After a moment of uncomfortable silence, Nick announced he was going back down to the pool.

Once he was gone, Megan sank onto the bed, thanking the heavens he hadn’t come in a second earlier than he did. What she didn’t know was that Nick had seen and heard everything, having decided to follow Kevin when he left the pool area.