Part 10
The couple was shown to a quiet, out-of-the-way booth where they sat across from each other. They were given menus, their drink order taken, and then left alone. As they studied their menus in silence, AJ stole glances at Chelsea. How he wanted to touch her, hold her…just BE with her.
Still looking over her menu, Chelsea asked, "Do you see anything you want?"
"Uh huh."
Chelsea looked up to see that AJ was staring at her and she blushed, "I meant to eat."
AJ looked back at his menu then set it down. "A burger and fries."
"Sounds good….with sweet tea."
"You don’t need anything to make you any sweeter."
Chelsea blushed once more but managed to counter by saying, "Neither do you. It meant a lot to me that you made it a point to check on Annie."
"I hate it when the crowds rush us like that. We're all afraid someone’s gonna get hurt. So, is Annie a fan because of you or are you just being a super mom and bringing her to see her favorite group?"
"I don’t know about the super mom thing but I’ve been a fan for a while now…since I was thirteen."
"How old are you now?"
"Twenty-five."
"WOW! That means you were a fan of ours when we were in Europe."
Chelsea smiled. "I LOVED the song, ‘Boys Will Be Boys’. You were so adorable then."
"What about now? Am I still cute?" questioned AJ with a smirk on his face.
As the waitress returned to take their order, Chelsea said, "Cute is for babies, puppies and kittens."
"We’ll have the Kelly’s cheeseburger with American cheese and fries," said AJ handing their menus to the waitress. When she was gone, AJ asked, "You said I was cute."
"No, I said ‘adorable’….you said cute."
"Okay. Am I still adorable?"
With a mischievous gleam, Chelsea replied, "No!"
"Oh! That hurts!" gasped AJ clutching his heart.
Chelsea laughed, "What if I told you I thought you were good-looking?"
"A little better!"
"Gorgeous?"
"Getting closer."
"Hot and sexy?"
"That’s it…just need one thing to finish it off," smirked AJ.
Coyly, she asked, "What would that be?"
Leaning across the table, AJ put his hand in her hair to pull her closer as he closed the distance. "A kiss," he whispered as his lips touched hers in a gentle caress.
Swept away by the kiss, Chelsea leaned back and stared at AJ unable to speak. That was definitely not enough. Her memories of Kevin had woken her desires and now AJ was stirring them.
The fact that she hadn’t pulled away was a good sign so AJ decided he could make another move to get closer to her. Getting up, he moved to her side of the table and slid in beside her. She made room for him and when he put his arm around her, she moved to be a little closer to him.
"How did you see us when we were in Europe?"
Unfortunately, his moving wasn’t a good idea. He had been sitting so that no one could see him but now, the rest of the restaurant had a clear view of him and as Chelsea was about to answer him, a group of excited teenage girls approached the table to ask for an autograph. He politely signed their posters for them, took pictures with them, and chatted until the waitress arrived with their dinner.
“I’d really love to talk to you more but I need to eat and get back to get ready for the show. Enjoy yourselves tonight.”
“AJ, before we go…are you going out tonight and would you mind if we caught up with you?”
AJ looked to Chelsea as he said, “Not sure what my plans are just yet. Depends on the beautiful lady and what she would like to do.”
“Okay, well….thank you.”
Alone again, AJ said, “I’m really sorry about that.”
“It’s okay, AJ. It’s a part of your job and I got kinda use to it with Kevin so I knew what to expect.”
“Do me a favor.”
“Sure, if I can.”
“Call me Alex. AJ is the Backstreet Boy they are in love with and it’s who I am on stage. With my family and friends off stage…and with you….I’m Alex.”
“Alex then.”
AJ leaned to her and gave her a quick kiss and as they started to eat their dinner, he asked, “What do you want to do tonight?”
“I don’t know. What time are you leaving tomorrow?”
“I’m not. I’ve already called management and told them to cancel my seat. I’m staying here for a while so I can get to know you.”
“Don’t you have other commitments for the group?”
“Sure but not for a while. Now, what do you want to do after the show?”
“Well, I really should run Annie and Monique home.”
“Okay, so I’ll go with you and after we get Annie tucked in, we can sit and talk if you want or we can….”
“Slow down,” laughed Chelsea. “First, give me your cell phone.”
“My cell phone? What…?”
“Just give it to me, please.”
AJ pulled out his phone and handed it to her. “I don’t know what my cell phone has to do with what we’re going to do after the show.”
“Just wait and see. Can you download special ring tones?”
“Yeah, here,” answered AJ as he reached to show her where to download the ring tones. “What are you looking for?”
“You’ll see,” she smirked. She worked quickly and when she was done, she handed him his phone back. “Here. When I get back to the hotel, I’ll use my cell phone and call you. I programmed my cell and home number into your phone and they both have a special ring tone so you’ll know it’s me.”
“What’s the ring tone?”
“You’ll know when you hear it,” she smiled.
“Okay, so give me YOUR cell phone so I can do the same.”
“Can’t. I had to leave mine in the car because it’s a camera phone and they don’t allow cameras into the theater.”
“Well that sucks. How were you gonna get pictures of the hottest and sexiest guy at the show?”
“Oh, I have plenty of pictures of Howie at home,” teased Chelsea.
“You’re mean!”
“Nah…just having fun with you. Monique has a disposable camera and she was supposed to have been here earlier but she couldn’t get away from work. I was HOPING we’d be able to catch you after the show too and get pictures. I had no intentions of telling Marcus or Kevin that I was even here so I didn’t plan on being backstage.”
“You know Marcus too?”
“He’s the one who introduced me to Kevin. I promise, tonight, I’ll tell you everything. I just want to enjoy dinner and the show for now….and having you to myself for a little while.”
“My beautiful lady, if I have anything to say about it, you’ll have me to yourself for a LONG while,” promised AJ.
Over their dinner, the two talked about the show and the fans, nothing serious even though questions were burning in AJ’s mind. He wanted to know everything about Chelsea but she’d promised to answer all his questions after the show so he resolved himself to wait until then. No sense pushing her.
