Chapter 33
"Go to hell, Tyler!"
"Been there for the last four months. Strange though, didn’t see you there but I did hear your name a lot."
Fatima said, "Kristen, you and Amanda will practice with us but you won’t go on tonight. Go on out and get ready."
When the two girls were gone, Tyler asked, "Why in the hell did you hire those two?"
"Honestly, I didn’t have anything to do with hiring them. Believe me, when they told me I had two new dancers to try, I wouldn’t have agreed if I’d known it was Amanda and Kristen."
"Well, as long as they stay away from Kevin and AJ, everything will be fine."
Tyler and Fatima went out on the stage where the dancers were waiting for the guys. Tyler was talking to the them when Kevin did arrive and he went to her putting his arms around her from behind.
"Hey baby! Miss me?"
Tyler laughed, "You’ve only been gone for a few minutes!"
"I know, but I missed you," said Kevin with a hurt look on his face."
Tyler couldn’t resist him and she said, "Of course I missed you, ‘Boo’."
Kevin grinned. "I knew you would. We’re going to play some b-ball after rehearsal. You gonna watch?"
"Nope!! I’m going to play. AJ, Nick, and I will take on you, B-rok, and Howie."
AJ said, "Yeah! And we’re skins!!"
Everyone laughed and Kevin said, "I don’t think so!!"
"Let’s get this going," said Tyler.
Everyone took their places and the rehearsal got started. Kristen and Amanda were on the opposite side of the stage but they kept watching Tyler, Kevin, and AJ the entire time. Kevin and AJ weren’t paying attention but Tyler was very aware.
During one of the breaks, Kevin was standing with Tyler who glanced over at Kristen who was staring at Kevin. She said through gritted teeth, "I swear, I’m going to have to hurt her."
Kevin looked back at Kristen and then at Tyler. "Baby, don’t let her bother you. I love you and only you."
Tyler smiled up at Kevin. "I’m sorry, ‘Boo’. It’s just that she keeps watching you. I REALLY don’t trust her."
Kevin laughed, "I know."
After the run through, the six headed out to play basketball. As Kevin shed his shirt, Tyler put her hands on his waist. Kevin put his shirt around her neck and kissed her.
"How am I suppose to concentrate with you looking so damn sexy?" asked Tyler as she put her hands on his.
"That’s part of our strategy," teased Kevin touching the end of her nose. "I’m going to keep you distracted with my sexy body while B-Rok and Howie destroy AJ and Nick."
Nick said, "Nope! I’m taking you, Kev. Ty, you take Howie, and AJ will take Bri."
"Who gets the ball first?" asked Brian.
Kevin said, "Well, they ARE at a disadvantage with a girl on their team so I guess we should let them have it first."
"Oh, you’re going to eat those words, Richardson!" said Tyler. "We’re going to kick your butts all over the court."
Kevin hugged Tyler, "Yeah! Yeah! Let’s play ball, baby. Losers have to
fix breakfast tomorrow morning."
"That sounds like a deal!" said Tyler. "In bed!"
AJ and Nick said, "No! We aren’t having Bri and Howie serve us ANYTHING in bed!"
"Fine! Just Kevin has to serve me in bed."
"Who says you’re going to win?" asked Brian.
"Let’s play then instead of talking!" said Tyler.
The six played ball and they played hard. One of the things Kevin loved about Tyler was she was just as competitive as he was and now wasn’t any different. She played just as hard as the guys.
Half way through the game after Tyler had scored her fifth basket, Brian said, "Damnit, Howie! Stop her!"
"It’s not as easy as you think!" shot back Howie angrily.
"Yeah, BABY!" said Nick as he and AJ gave Tyler high fives.
Some of the roadies and security guys were watching and Tommy said, "What’s wrong, Littrell? Don’t like getting skunked by a girl?"
Kevin said, "I’ll take her, Howie."
Brian said, "NO! You’ll be just as easy on her as Howie!"
"Man! I’m not LETTING her do this! She’s doing it on her own!" whined Howie.
Brian said, "I’ll take her!"
Tyler laughed as she tossed the ball to Brian. "Let’s go, B-rok! I had Howie for dinner and now I’m going to have you for dessert!"
Kevin said, "Damn, and I thought you were going to have ME for dessert!"
"Yeah, with whip cream," teased AJ.
Billy said, "Hey, Kev, did you know your future bride was so vicious?"
Kevin looked at Tyler and grinned, "Yeah, I knew!"
Tyler blew Kevin a kiss and he caught it placing it next to his heart. Then they went back to the game. The first thing Tyler did was steal the ball from Brian and scored a basket. Nick, AJ, and Tyler danced around giving high fives as Brian hit the post of the goal.
Kevin laughed as Howie said, "Hey, Bri! Why don’t you stop her?"
‘Bull’ said, "Looks like Littrell is going to get his butt kicked by a girl."
The game went on and when it came down to the game winning point, Kevin pulled Brian and Howie off to the side. "Look, guys! The only way we’re going to win is if we take Tyler out."
Howie looked at Kevin. "You don’t mean hurt her?"
"NO! I mean, when they throw her the ball, I’ll grab her by the waist to stop her. Bri, you get the ball and take it in!"
Off to the side where they had their water, Tyler, Nick, and AJ were waiting for the other three when Tyler spotted Kristen and Amanda sitting with some of the other dancers.
Tyler nodded in their direction, "Look who’s watching."
AJ said, "I saw them."
Kevin went over to get his water and Kristen picked it up to hand it to him. "Here you go, Kevy Kev."
That made Tyler cringe as she said, "I always did hate it when she called him that."
Kevin took the bottle of water and looked at Kristen. "Don’t EVER call me that again. Those days are over and I’m going to marry Tyler."
"You didn’t say you loved her though. Are you marrying her out of pity because she’s pregnant?"
"You don’t know what you’re talking about, as usual."
Tyler said, "Hey, Richardson! What ‘cha trying to do, avoid the butt kicking that you’re about to get?"
Kevin looked back at Tyler and grinned, "Let’s go, baby!"
The game resumed and AJ stole the ball from Howie. He passed it to Tyler and as she made her way to the basket, Kevin grabbed her by the waist picking her up. Brian grabbed the ball and scored the basket.
Tyler yelled, "FOUL!! TECHNICAL!!"
Kevin held on to her as everyone laughed.
"You cheated!" laughed Tyler.
"You really didn’t think I was going to let you score, did you?" asked Kevin.
Tyler turned her head to him, "OH, but I already have! I got you, ‘Boo’."
Kissing her, Kevin said, "Most definitely."
"Let’s finish the game," said Brian.
"Yeah, and that basket doesn’t count," said Nick.
Angrily, Brian said, "Yes, it does."
"No, Bri! We cheated," said Kevin.
Tyler said, "Well, out of SYMPATHY, we’ll let you keep the points. After all, you ARE at a disadvantage. You don’t have a girl on your team."
They finished the game with AJ, Nick, and Tyler winning. As they danced around the other three, everyone laughed. Brian was furious that he’d lost but Kevin was laughing at Tyler.
"Breakfast in bed, ‘Boo’! I want orange juice, scrambled eggs, French toast, and bacon!" said Tyler.
Kevin grabbed Tyler and kissed her.
Playfully pushing him away, Tyler said, "YUCK!! You’re all hot and sweaty!"
"Oh, baby! You know you love it! You don’t mind when we’re making love."
Putting his arms around her neck, Tyler kissed Kevin again. Then she said, "No, I don’t."
"Awesome game," said Billy. "Ty, I had no idea you were so good."
"I’m not. It’s just the relief of having the whole ordeal with Joey and Lou over with except for the trial."
Howie asked, "You didn’t do too much, did you?"
"Nope! I feel great!"
Christine said, "You guys need to get ready for dinner and the show."
"How much time do we have?" asked Kevin as he continued to hold Tyler.
AJ said, "You only need five minutes, Kevy Kev!"
"I don’t know, AJ. If it were me with Ty, I’d definitely need more than five minutes," said Nick.
"Both of you need to get over yourselves!! said Tyler.
Christine laughed, "They just need Lex and Fiona with them. You have about an hour but I need to talk to Tyler first."
"Okay, but don’t keep her long," said Kevin. "She’s got to get ready too."
Kevin kissed Tyler and headed to the bus to get ready.
"What’s up, Chris?" asked Tyler.
"The Firm wants you to come to work for the guys."
"What about the baby?"
"They know there will be some time when you won’t be able to go onstage but you can still handle the rehearsals and backstage aspect. You and Fatima will be equal."
"How long do I have to give them an answer?"
"End of April."
"Do Fatima and I get FULL control of hiring and firing?"
"That can be arranged," grinned Christine. "You know, the only reason they were hired was to convince you to come to work for the guys."
"All they had to do was ask," said Tyler rather irritably.
"Fatima has been asking you for going on four years now. They had to stoop to desperate measures."
Tyler laughed, "At least they didn’t try blackmail. I need to talk to Kevin about this but I’ll give you an answer before I leave tomorrow."
"Cool, and I hope your answer is ‘yes’!"
