Chapter 31
The peace and quiet of the early morning was Howie’s favorite part of the day. He was frequently up by four so that he could spend the time working on songs or just having time to himself, especially when they were on tour.
This morning though was different. The peace and quiet was shattered by Tyler’s screams waking the others and scaring Howie. He rushed to his cousin’s room followed closely by AJ, Nick, and Brian. The four of them found Tyler in the middle of the bed and Kevin trying to talk to her.
"Baby! It’s me, Kevin...Come on, Tyler. It’s okay!"
The look on Tyler’s face was sheer terror that scared the guys, especially
Nick. He asked, "What’s wrong with her?"
Kevin said calmly, "She’s had a nightmare and she’s still asleep."
"How do you know she’s still asleep?"
Howie said, "She’s not responding to Kevin’s voice and she doesn’t realize where she is."
Kevin was still talking to Tyler and she finally realized where she was. She collapsed into his arms crying and he held her close, stroking her hair and talking to her softly. The others sat on the bed with them.
When Tyler had calmed down, AJ asked, "Ty, what was the dream about?"
Tyler looked at them and then up at Kevin. "The usual," she said softly, "Joey."
Kevin asked, "That night?"
"With a new twist. You were there and you walked away saying Joey could have me."
Nick said, "I’d kick Kevin’s butt for that."
Tyler smiled, "Thanks, Nicky, but Kevin would NEVER walk away...not for that reason anyway."
Kevin hugged her tight, "You’re right about that, baby."
Howie asked, "Ty, when are you having these dreams?"
"Every night but they’re worse when I know I have to deal with Joey."
"But you don’t have to deal with Joey," said AJ.
"Not directly, hopefully, but I have to deal with this whole situation."
Brian put his hand on Tyler’s and said, "We’ll help you through it."
"Thanks, Bri! You guys go on back to bed. Kev’s here and I’m okay...now that I’m awake."
Each of them gave Tyler a kiss and headed back to bed. Howie hung back to
talk to his cousin. "Ty, are you okay, really?"
Tyler shook her head ‘no’ and Kevin said, "She’s going to get some
help dealing with what Joey did to her."
"Good. Maybe it will help you get rid of these dreams."
"You mean nightmares," corrected Tyler. "I have dreams about Kevin and our future but anything involving Joey is a nightmare."
Howie smiled, "Whatever! I just want you to get over it. I’ll leave you two alone."
Tyler gave Howie a kiss, "Hey, Howie D, I love you."
"I love you too, Ty!"
Howie left the couple alone and they lay back down. Tyler put her head on Kevin’s chest and her hand on his stomach. Kevin put his arms around her and pulled her close to him.
"You haven’t said much, ‘Boo’."
"Not much to say, baby. I don’t like the idea of you being alone for the
rest of the month."
"I won’t be alone, ‘Boo’. Sonja will be there with me."
"Is she going to hold you every night when you go to sleep?"
"No! I’ll be okay though, ‘Boo’."
Kevin looked at her and gave her a kiss. Then he asked, "Are you being tough for me so I won’t worry?"
Kevin never got his answer because Tyler had fallen asleep again. He relaxed too and fell asleep easily listening to Tyler’s breathing.
Tyler woke a couple hours later still in Kevin’s arms. She watched him sleep and thought about how lucky she was to have Kevin and the guys in her life. As she watched and thought about Kevin, he began to wake up. When he was awake, he looked down at Tyler.
Sleepily, Kevin said, "Good morning."
"Good morning, ‘Boo’."
"What time is it?"
Tyler propped herself up on one elbow to see the clock. "Ten after seven."
There was a knock on the door and Brian stuck his head in. "Hey, you guys awake?"
Kevin looked at his cousin, "Yeah, Bri. We’re awake. What’s up?"
"Linda’s here with our schedule for today."
"We’ll be out in a few minutes."
Brian left and Tyler said, "I guess that mean making love is out."
Kevin grinned, "For now but that doesn’t mean we can’t find time later today."
Kevin got up thinking Tyler was getting up too but she lay back down burying her face in Kevin’s pillow and pulling the covers over herself. Kevin looked back at her and laughed. He pulled the covers off her.
Tyler whined, "Leave me alone."
"You can’t hide in bed all day," laughed Kevin.
"Why not?"
Kevin went to her and sat beside her. He got her to roll over to face him and he saw the same terrified look in her eyes that she’d had after the nightmare. He gently brushed her cheek with the back of his hand. "Baby, you can’t hide from this and you don’t NEED to hide from this."
"Promise me you’ll stay with me?"
"You know the answer to that."
"Yeah, I do but I just wanted to hear you say it. You know, I’m not as tough as you think I am."
"No, you’re tougher. You stayed with Joey for at least three months protecting us and you’d still be there if I hadn’t come to my senses. Baby, now it’s time for you to let us protect YOU and let us be tough FOR you. You’ve got the five of us, Linda, and a whole group of people supporting you. Stop blaming yourself for what’s happened and focus on the future. We’re getting married in just over a month and WE are having a baby. Now, get your cute little butt out of bed and let’s go see what Linda has us scheduled to do."
Tyler looked up at Kevin but before she could say anything, AJ came in. "You two come on! Linda’s getting anxious."
"Okay! Okay, Bone! I’m the one keeping Kevin," laughed Tyler. Then to Kevin, "Boo, go on out. I’m going to get dressed."
"You don’t know what to wear though," protested AJ. "Come on now and get dressed later."
Kevin grinned, "Yeah, baby! You ARE looking extremely sexy."
Tyler laughed and reached for Kevin’s hand. He helped her up and then gave her a kiss. The three went into the living room of the suite where Linda, Jaime, Brian, Nick, and Howie were waiting for them.
Nick looked up at Tyler and dropped his glass.
Brian said, "Damnit, Kaos!! Be more careful. You spilt juice all over
me."
Nick mumbled, "Sorry."
Kevin saw the way Nick was looking at Tyler. Neither one of them had given much thought to the fact that Tyler was only wearing her gown but Nick had noticed. Kevin said softly, "Baby, maybe you should get a robe on after all. I didn’t realize Jaime was here."
Tyler had seen Nick’s reaction too and knew what Kevin’s REAL reason was. She acknowledged him by giving him a kiss and went back to get a robe.
When Tyler returned, Linda was saying, "You’ll be playing golf with the mayor of Las Vegas this morning after having breakfast with him and his family. Lunch will be at the arena and then the press conference."
Tyler said sarcastically, "Oh good! I can throw up all over the press after telling them I’m pregnant by Joey."
The guys laughed but they knew Tyler was nervous about the whole thing.
Linda went on. "Once Tyler has made her statement and answered questions, we want to shift the focus to the tour. Next is the run through and then you’ll have a couple hours before you need to get ready for the show."
Tyler asked, "I can go with the guys this morning, can’t I?"
"Of course! I need someone there to look out for them."
"Where are you going to be?" asked AJ with a mischievous gleam in his eyes.
Jaime said, "I’m taking Linda away for the day."
"We’ll be back in time for the show tonight."
"What about the press conference?" asked Brian.
"Christine will be there," said Linda. "Along with someone from the Firm and Billy will have the entire security staff on hand."
Tyler asked suspiciously, "Why does the ENTIRE security crew have to be there?"
Linda looked at the guys first then at Tyler. "’NSync will be there."
"What about the restraining order?" asked Howie. "Joey’s not suppose to be near Tyler or us."
"Both groups of management have discussed the entire situation and they feel like the only way to stop all the rumors about the fighting between Backstreet and ‘NSync is to have the two groups together," said Linda. "All 6 of you need to BEHAVE. That means no hitting Joey."
Everyone laughed and agreed to be on their best behavior.
Linda said, "I’ll meet you guys downstairs for breakfast with the mayor."
After Linda and Jaime left, the guys went into their rooms to get dressed. When Brian and Nick were away from the others, Brian said, "Have you lost your mind?"
Innocently, Nick asked, "What do you mean?"
"The way you looked at Tyler. If you do that around Fiona often, there’s no wonder she got jealous."
"I don’t know what came over me, Brian! I swear! But when I saw her in that gown, I couldn’t help myself."
"I know. Tyler’s a beautiful lady but we’ve all seen her dressed like that."
"I know! What am I going to do?"
"Get a grip on your hormones!"
Meanwhile, Tyler and Kevin were getting ready too. Tyler looked at Kevin and could tell he wasn’t bothered by Nick’s reaction earlier. She hesitantly asked, "Kevin, what’s going on with Nick?"
"I don’t know."
"Does it bother you...his reaction, I mean?"
Kevin said casually, "Not really. You’re a sexy lady and he was reacting to that. You do need to be more careful what you wear around the guys though."
"You aren’t jealous?"
Kevin looked up at her from tying his shoes. "Should I be?"
"NO!"
"Then no, I’m not."
Kevin stood up and straightened out his pants. He was wearing a pair of white slacks and a blue polo shirt with a baseball cap. Tyler couldn’t believe how he looked and her heart was full of love for him. She went to him and put her arms around his waist. She had to stand on her toes to give him a kiss.
Kevin put his hands on the sides of her face, his fingers in her hair, and he looked into her eyes. "The look in your eyes right now, baby, tells me that I have absolutely no reason to be jealous."
"Nick’s cute but he’s my little brother. He’s DEFINITELY not my knight in shining armor."
"Are you ready, baby?"
"Let me get my shoes on. I’m starving."
The couple went out to the living room where the others were waiting. They went down together to the dining room where Linda was waiting for them. She introduced everyone and while the guys said hello, Linda pulled Tyler off to the side.
"What’s up, Linda?"
"I wanted to give you a heads up on something."
"Other than the fact that Joey will be here?"
"Yeah. Fatima had to hire two more dancers."
"That’s cool but why tell me?"
"Because the two dancers she hired are Kristen and Amanda."
"Kevin’s and AJ’s exs?"
"Yeah."
"Wow! I thought they didn’t like all the touring."
"It doesn’t bother you that Kristen is back?"
"No, but it might bother Lex. Thanks for telling me."
"If it were me, I’d be worried. Kristen could be a problem."
"Kevin’s over her. Sure, they were high school sweethearts and everything but when she walked out on him, he swore he’d never give her a second chance. She didn’t understand how important his career was to him."
Linda smiled, "And you definitely do. Have fun today."
"Thanks. You too! You know, Jaime is REALLY hot."
"Thanks. I’ll see you tonight."
Tyler rejoined the guys and they went to the table reserved for them. Kevin held the chair for Tyler and then sat beside her. Howie was on the other side of her and Nick, AJ, and Brian were across from her.
They all talked throughout breakfast and Tyler noticed that Nick avoided eye contact with her and wouldn’t talk to her either. She knew that Brian probably had said something to Nick but she felt a little guilty. She decided to talk to Nick before they left the restaurant.
After breakfast while Kevin was talking with the mayor, Tyler grabbed Nick by the arm and pulled him away from the group. "I’m sorry about this morning, Nicky."
"It’s not your fault, Tyler."
"I shouldn’t have come out with just my gown on."
"I’ve seen you in less. I don’t know what came over me this morning. You just looked so good."
"Thanks, Nicky! You do know that I love you like you were my little brother, don’t you?"
"Yeah! I do and believe me, I couldn’t ask for more."
As Tyler and Nick were talking, Fatima and the others dancers came off the elevator headed to the arena. That’s when Tyler saw Kristen and Amanda.
Kristen looked in Tyler’s direction and their eyes met. Kristen had never liked Tyler very much and the feeling was mutual. Tyler had hated the way Kristen had always whined about how much time Kevin spent with the guys.
Nick said, "Oh, wow! Is that who I think it is?"
"Yep! Linda told me Fatima had hired Kristen and Amanda."
"Does Kev know?"
"Not yet."
About that time, Kevin and the others came out and Kevin put his arms around Tyler from behind kissing her on the neck. Tyler glanced over at Kristen who had seen the whole thing. Tyler saw that it bothered her and she was glad. Maybe Kristen would get the hint and stay away.
