“Hey Chris! What’s up?”
“Nothing much…are you here to see Joey?”
“Of course…I have missed him so much since he has been on tour!”
“Yeah I bet you have.” Chris gave his best attempt at a smile before turning and walking towards the back of the bus. He felt a dull ache in his heart at the thought of her. Naomi was everything he had ever wanted. She had started off as a friend to all of them, becoming their publicist a few years back. Chris had felt an instant attraction to her the moment he laid eyes on her, but had never acted on it. He was always seen as the zany one in the group anyway. He knew that if he even tried to tell her how he felt, his words would get all jumbled and he would sound like a fool. So he never bothered. Eventually, business had mingled with pleasure, and Naomi and Joey had started dating. When Chris found out, it had ripped at his heart, but he had pretended he was happy for the both of them while he was dying inside.

“The face of an angel;
Pretty eyes that shine
I lie awake at night wishing you were mine
I'm standing here holding the biggest heartache in town
Whenever you come around…”

“Hey bud…can I join in on the fun?” Naomi plopped down on the floor beside him and picked up a controller to the Nintendo 64 game that Chris was playing in the lounge.
“Well…I would let you…but I already know that I am going to cream you.” Chris ducked as she playfully slapped his head.
“Come on…please?” She gave him the most pathetic look and he obliged.
“Fine…but you have already been warned.” Chris restarted the NFL game he had been playing and proceeded to kick her butt as he had promised. As he turned off the game he gave her a cocky grin.
“Don’t say a word, boy. I let you win!” She arched her eyebrows, enjoying teasing him the way she did.
“Yeah, uh huh. You are the sorest loser I have ever seen in my life!”
“Okay that’s it…it’s payback time.” With that, she lunged at him, tickling him unmercifully. Hardly anyone knew just how ticklish Chris was really was, and Naomi managed to find every one of his tickle spots. Finally, after several minutes of attack, she backed down. Chris laid flat on his back, wiping the tears from his eyes and trying to catch his breath. Slowly sitting up, he smiled at her.
“You know you shouldn’t do that. I’m an old man you know.” Their eyes locked a moment too long and an uneasy silence followed. Naomi finally broke the silence.
“I should get into bed…I hear tomorrow is going to start pretty early. Good night, Kirkpatrick.” She smiled at him and squeezed his shoulder before getting up and crawling into her bunk. Chris watched her and after she was securely in bed, he let out a sigh. God, how he wished he was the one she loved.

“I get weak in the knees;
And I lose my breath
Oh I try to speak but the words won't come
I'm so scared to death
And when you smile that smile
The world turns upside down
Whenever you come around…”

Chris uneasily watched out of the corner of his eye as Naomi slowly dressed. The rest of the guys had gone out for breakfast, but Chris and Naomi had not wanted to get up so early, so they both stayed behind. The door to the bathroom was slightly open and from Chris’s seat on the couch in the living room, he got a clear view. He felt bad looking at her at first, but then decided there was no harm in it. He was only looking, not touching. His heart beat faster and faster as he watched her slip her long tan legs into a pair of jeans. She removed the T-shirt she had worn to bed and quickly replaced it with a black halter-top, but not fast enough for Chris to get a good view of her upper torso. She pulled her long brown hair up into a ponytail and applied some lip-gloss to her full lips before walking out to where Chris was, clueless as to what he had just seen. Chris swallowed hard and smiled up at her.
“You look nice.”
“Thanks. It’s a hot day so I decided to dress kind of light. Joey needs to hurry up and bring me my breakfast. I’m starved!” Chris had to peel his eyes away from her bottom as she bent over and looked in the refrigerator, grabbing a bottle of juice. He quickly resumed reading the book that he was trying to read. Naomi sat down beside him and looked over his shoulder.
“What are you reading?”
“You. I mean Catcher in the Rye.” Chris prayed she hadn’t heard his slip up. If she did, she didn’t notice.
“Good book.” Just then, the guys came pouring back onto the bus with to go boxes full of food. Chris sighed before putting down the book and getting up to eat breakfast with the rest of the guys.

“I feel so helpless
I feel just like a kid
What is it about you that keeps my feelings hid
I wish I could tell you,
But the words can't be found
Whenever you come around…”

Time and time again Chris pondered the thought of telling Naomi how he felt about her. He knew it would more than likely hurt Joey and it would probably shock the hell out of Naomi. To her, Chris was her buddy. Her best friend. It had probably never even crossed her mind that he could also be her lover. Chris jealously thought that he would be better for her than Joey anyway. He would love her more than Joey did, maybe even pay more attention to her than Joey did. But he always disregarded his thoughts as pure envy. He knew Joey loved Naomi, and he also knew that he showered her with both attention and affection. He wanted to be with her so bad that it hurt. It was worse than a high school crush. He had let his feelings get too out of control and he almost felt as if there was nothing in the world that could make him stop loving Naomi the way he did.

“I get weak in the knees;
And I lose my breath
Oh I try to speak but the words won't come
I'm so scared to death
And when you smile that smile
The world turns upside down
Whenever you come around…”

Chris sat at a picnic table at one of the many venues their tour hit, quietly thinking to himself. Sound check was still an hour away, and he had nothing to do but think. Naomi surprised him as she sat down beside him.
“Why are you so serious?” She pouted at him and he half-heartedly grinned.
“Just thinking.”
“About what?”
“You.” Chris had once again slipped up, but this time he said it plainly enough for Naomi to catch it. He silently cursed himself for letting the cat out of the bag.
“Me? What about me?” She smiled coyly at him, nudging him in the arm.
“Oh…It’s not important. Just silly thoughts running through my head.”
“Oh come on, tell me…I want to know.” She pouted once again and Chris gave in.
“Okay…well it’s silly, really. I was just thinking what it would be like if…well…” He paused for a minute, but deciding it was now or never, continued. “Well if me and you were ever, you know, together.”
“Me and you? As in a couple?” Naomi laughed at the idea.
“Yeah…silly, huh?” The hurt was evident in his voice and Naomi picked up on it. It was then that the realization hit her.
“Oh, Chris…I didn’t know you…well you liked me…”
“Surprise, surprise!” Chris tried his hand at humor, but this time it wasn’t working.
“How long have you felt this way?”
“Ever since I first met you. So I guess four years now.”
“Oh man…why didn’t you ever tell me? You know, I was free for a couple of those years!” She playfully nudged him again.
“I don’t know…but hey, it’s just a crush…nothing I won’t get past.” He smiled at her.
“Well hey…you know what they say…Relationships come and go, but friendships last forever. This way we will go on and on…never have to worry about breaking up and hating each other’s guts…or getting married and finding out fifty years down the road that it was the biggest mistake we ever made.” She laughed and it was highly effective. The lighter side of Chris managed to escape.
“Yeah…I wouldn’t want to pick up your dirty laundry anyway. Living with you would be a pill, to say the least.” He laughed heartily as Naomi playfully slapped him. He turned his head as Joey called over to Naomi, signaling for her to come over to him. Naomi looked at Chris and gave him a peck on the cheek.
“See ya later…buddy.” Chris watched her walk off with Joey, but this time, he felt no envy. Naomi was right. He did have the best part of her. He had her total friendship and loyalty. And who knows what might have happened had they of gotten together? They could have completely detested each other and then he wouldn’t have her at all. He smiled to himself at the thought. His day had started out rather crappy, but now that he had talked to Naomi and gotten it off his chest he felt tons better. All she had to do was smile and it made him feel supreme. That was how it always was with Naomi. Whenever she came around, the world was a happy place. Chris got up from the table and walked towards the backstage area, whistling to himself.
“You know it’s gonna be…alright…alright…alright…yeah!” Finishing off one of his favorite songs by The Beatles, he smiled and jumped in the air, happy that he had Naomi in his life…even if it was just as a friend.

“And when you smile that smile
The world turns upside down
Whenever you come around
Whenever you come around.”

Lyrics Copyright—Vince Gill