I stagger out of bed and check the clock. It’s 3pm. I rub my eyes and yawn. I stayed up talking to Jay until about 5am so I don’t feel so bad about sleeping so late. I head out into the kitchen and fix myself a glass of juice and toast before joining Jay on the ‘Pink Monster’.
“Finally,” he teases. “I was just contemplatin’ paying you a visit with a bucket of cold water.”
“Oh you should’ve done,” I say seriously. “I mean, it’s not like you’d miss your head.”
“Probably not,” he chuckles. “I mean, they say us guys think with our dicks anyway.”
“Very true,” I grin and take a bite out of my toast.
“Sleep well?” he reaches out and wraps an arm around me.
“Uh huh. You?” I rest my head on his shoulder and close my eyes. I love being this close to him.
“I always sleep well,” he laughs. “I’m mr sleepy!” he reminds me of mine and Jade’s nickname for him. He can fall asleep any time and anywhere. It’s kinda funny but I can see it being frustrating if you were dating him or something.
“Of course,” I smile and snuggle closer to him. He kisses my head softly and rests his other hand on my thigh gently. “What are your plans today?”
“Nothing planned. I have tomorrow free too but I have a flight back to Atlanta at 7pm.”
“Aw, tomorrow?” I pout.
“Yeah. I have to lead a briefing.”
“That sucks! I just got here.”
“Well I didn’t know you were coming!” he laughs.
“I guess,” I admit.
“We can do somethin’ together before I go.”
“Anything?” I ask wickedly and he slaps my leg lightly. “Ow!”
“Drag ya mind outta the gutter Alicia McNamara.”
Brian spends the entire day sleeping. Jade comes in and out of the room to check on him but he’s pretty much dead to the world. His temperature gets down to almost normal by the evening and he eats a little food before falling asleep again. He wakes up at 10am the next day and hears the shower running. He figures Jade is already up and stretches his body gingerly. All his muscles had been aching the day before and they feel fine now. His doesn’t hurt anymore and his throat feels a lot smoother. He smiles and sits up slowly. He feels a lot better and figures he will be able to do the concert tonight.
“Oh hey sleepy,” Jade walks out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her. “You finally woke up,” she sits beside him and feels his head. “How do you feel? You don’t have a temperature.”
“A lot better,” he tells her.
“Well take it easy huh?”
“Of course,” he agrees and kisses her. “Thanks for looking after me.”
“You look after me,” she smiles and stands up to start getting dressed.
“I’m gonna take a shower,” he says and gets out of bed slowly. He’s a little unsteady on his feet and Jade watches him into the bathroom worriedly. A few minutes later the water starts running and there’s no bang to suggest he’s lost his balance so she gets on with getting dressed.
After a long shower Brian gets dressed and has breakfast with Jade. He still feels weak and tired but a lot better than he did before. He’s relieved that he can do the concert because it was weighing on his mind a little. After breakfast, he heads back to his room and falls asleep while Jade goes shopping with Kristen. The other guys do a series of print interviews, apologising for Brian’s absence and collecting get well wishes from various journalists. He eats lunch and dinner, sleeping in between, and heads to the concert venue at 7pm. He’s greeted heartily by the other guys and the band.
“Hey there stranger!” AJ hugs him. “It feels like MONTHS not days since I saw ya.”
“It does,” Brian agrees with a grin. “And I spent most of it asleep.”
“Lucky you,” Nick whines. “I am exhausted! I had to be FUNNY all day to make up for you not bein’ there.”
“Sorry,” Brian laughs.
“Funny?! Is that what you call it?!” AJ exclaims. “I call it dumbassness.”
“Shaddup!” Nick responds and Brian leaves them arguing.
“It was real good spending today with you,” Jay murmurs as we hold on to each other tightly. A car is waiting to take him to the airport and I don’t want him to go. We had an amazing two days together – just talking, shopping and laughing. He’s my best male friend and I don’t realise how much I miss him when he’s not around. If I could put him and Nick in a mixing bowl, I’d have my perfect guy for sure.
“Ditto to you,” I tell him, burying my face in his warmth and breathing in his cologne.
“I gotta go.”
“Ok.”
“Uh, so you gotta let go of me,” he chuckles and I let go of him grudgingly.
“I hate it when you leave.”
“Leaving does suck,” he agrees.
“Thanks for bein’ with me these two days. I needed you. And thanks for not dissin’ Nick and stuff.”
“Hey, I want to be with you Ali. I’m not gonna deny that. But if it ever happens for us, it has to be because we both want it. Not because somebody else hurt one of us.”
“I know,” I smile and reach up to kiss his cheek. “Thank you.”
“Bye Ali,” he kisses my hand and walks to the car.
I watch him climb in and drive away before heading back into the apartment. It’s dumb but it seems so much bigger and colder without Jay. I flop down on the couch and close my eyes. Being with Jay always seriously confuses me. I feel stuff for him, stuff I shouldn’t feel if I’m really in love with Nick. I love Nick, I really do. But when I catch Jay looking at me with those deep brown eyes of his, something inside me just shivers like crazy. And I feel so safe inside his arms. Nick can make me feel safe too, but not lately. Lately it’s felt like Nick is saying goodbye with every touch and I hate that.
Brian unlocks his room door and walks in. He’s pretty tired after the night’s show and is looking forward to having the next two days off. Jade is curled up on the couch and he walks over to her with a wide grin.
“Hey baby,” he murmurs and then realises she’s crying. “Jady? What’s wrong?” he kneels in front of her and takes hold of her arms so that she looks at him. “Honey, what happened?”
“Brian!” she cries and throws her arms around him. She cries against his chest as he holds her. “Nothing’s wrong. I’m just bein’ dumb…”
“You’re upset. That’s not dumb,” he tells her. “Why are you crying?”
“You’ll think I’m stupid,” she sits up and sniffs.
“I won’t,” he wipes her tears away gently.
“Ok. I was watching Beaches and…”
“A movie?!”
“See! I knew you’d think I’m dumb.”
“I don’t,” he smiles. “It’s kinda cute. Why did Beaches make you cry?”
“Have you ever SEEN it?! It’s a total blubfest. It’s about these girls and they’re total opposites and they meet when they’re like ten and become best friends, and then they grow up and they fall apart and stuff. But they end up being friends again and then one of them dies of cancer and Bette Midler has to look after her daughter and she sings Wind Beneath My Wings and it’s so SAD!” Jade finishes with a wail, burying her head in Brian’s shirt again.
“I never realised you were so soppy,” Brian strokes her hair with an amused grin.
“Well it’s a sad movie!” she defends.
“Sounds it,” he chuckles.
“How are you feeling?” she looks up.
“Tired but a lot better than yesterday.”
“Good. So you got through the concert ok?”
“Yup,” he tells her. “I took it a little slower than usual and it was fine.”
“Cool,” she stands up and heads into the bathroom to splash her face with water.
Brian pulls his boots off and stands up, unbuttoning his shirt and unzipping his pants. He steps out of them and pulls his boxers down. He heads into the bathroom naked and shuts the door behind him. Jade is standing in front of the mirror with a towel and he walks up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her neck. Jade smiles at him in the mirror and he returns the smile.
“Wanna take a shower with me?” he asks.
“I thought you were tired,” she giggles.
“I’m never too tired for you baby,” he grins and starts to unbutton her shirt. Jade giggles as he peels off her shirt and lets it drop to the floor. She turns round to face him as he unhooks her bra and lets that drop as well. Jade wraps her arms around his neck and leans in to kiss him deeply.
“Sure I won’t tire you out?” she asks wickedly and he laughs, picking her up and carrying her into the shower.