Part 9
Kevin and Chelsea returned to the meet and greet only to find all the children and AJ missing and Monique was off in a corner talking to Nick.
Howie greeted Chelsea with a hug and a kiss as he said, “It’s good to see you again, Chels. You’re looking fantastic!”
“Thanks, Howie!! You look pretty good yourself…except for the extremely short hair.”
Howie laughed, “Sorry!”
“God, I can’t tell you how good it is to see you five together again.”
“It feels good too! Did you two work everything out?”
Kevin and Chelsea looked at each other and smiled as Kevin said, “Most everything. We still need to work some details out.”
“Where is my daughter anyway?” asked Chelsea looking around.
“AJ took a group of kids to the game room. In fact, Bob just went to get them.”
“I’m gonna go mingle some. Chels, I see you have ‘All Access’ passes. Does that mean you’re gonna hang out backstage and eat dinner with us?”
“Sorta. I promised AJ I’d have dinner with him so we could talk. Annie and Monique will be with you guys.” Seeing Kevin’s disappointment, she added, “We’ll have time before the show…or after….to talk and I’ll be sure to give you my number so you can call. We still need to tell Annie.”
“Okay.”
Chelsea stayed with Howie talking while Kevin went off to talk to the fans. Eventually, Brian joined them and Howie introduced the two. Then Nick found his way to them when Monique spotted Chelsea.
It had been almost twenty minutes since she’d returned with Kevin and she found herself just as distracted now as she was before she’d talked to him. She was standing off by herself as she watched Kevin talking to the fans and she’d catch him watching her causing her mind to wander to all the times they’d made love. She’d never realized just how much she missed having a man in her life. Now she ached to be held, touched, kissed and AJ was definitely someone she could enjoy having do all those things. Kevin had given the indication that AJ would be willing to change his plans to leave tomorrow. Maybe she should take a chance. She’d promised Kevin she would after all. What the hell? AJ was definitely a good catch and he obviously adored Annie. And now that Kevin knew she was his daughter, seeing AJ would be more likely. Maybe this could work.
Chelsea was brought out of her daydream by Annie rushing to her.
"Mama! Alex took us to the game room and helped us play video games! I even BEAT him!"
"That’s wonderful, baby," beamed Chelsea as she watched her daughter dancing with excitement. God, her eyes were just like Kevin’s when he was happy! She couldn’t help but look in the direction where Kevin was talking to a fan.
Annie saw that her mom was looking at Kevin and asked, "Mama, do you know Kevin?"
Looking down at her daughter, she said, "Yeah, baby, I’ve known Kevin for a while now but it’s been some time since we’ve seen each other."
"Why was he so mad at you?"
"Because I didn’t tell him something very important," she answered as she looked back at Kevin to see AJ standing with him now talking.
Monique joined Annie and Chelsea. "Did you have fun with AJ, ‘Half Pint’?"
Matter-of-factly, Annie crossed her arms and said, "His name is Alex!! AJ is his stage name."
"Well excuse me!" laughed Monique.
"Mama, can I go talk to Kevin and Howie since I haven’t yet?"
"Sure, baby."
Following Annie as she bounced towards Kevin, Chelsea realized AJ wasn’t talking to Kevin and after scanning the room, he wasn’t in the room either. Her heart dropped thinking that she’d blown her chances because of Kevin.
Monique laughed, "Thought you weren’t interested in getting involved with AJ?"
"What do you mean?"
"I saw you look around the room and then you got a disappointed look on your face."
"Who’s to say it’s because of AJ?"
"Because he’s the only one not in the room at the moment. I take it you’re going to take a chance."
"Yeah, I am," smiled Chelsea. "Moni, he’s everything in a man I want."
"And you can tell in the few minutes you’ve talked to him today?" asked Monique with raised eyebrows.
"Okay…no but he definitely scored points when he was concerned about Annie getting knocked down and offering to go with me because he knew Kevin was pissed. Both were really sweet and anyone who cares that much about my daughter is worth a hell of a lot in my book. How can I NOT give him a chance?"
Seeing AJ return, Monique said, "It’s about time! I’m gonna go join Annie."
"Fine! Look, if AJ comes back, he’s asked me to dinner…alone. Would you…"
"Watch Annie! God…would you chill with the over-protective parent syndrome! She’s perfectly safe here with her dad watching over her and you KNOW I’m not going to let anything happen to her." Walking away with a smile, Monique rolled her eyes, mumbling, "Geez! Some people!"
Chelsea laughed as she watched her best friend. She had definitely gotten lucky in the best friend department. Monique had been by her side from the very beginning with Annie helping her raise her.
He slipped behind her placing his hand on her waist as he reached around with the other to present a rose. "A beautiful rose for a beautiful lady," he cooed.
Oh dear god! He had just turned her insides to mush. Taking the rose, she said demurely, "Thank you."
"Ready to go eat?"
"Can you leave now?" she asked looking over her shoulder.
"Probably not but I got us a table at The Backstage Tavern and I want to spend some time alone with you."
"How much time do you have?"
"A couple hours."
"Let me tell…."
"Kevin already knows and he’s gonna look out for Annie."
Realizing that he’d left to make the necessary arrangements, Chelsea smiled as she said, "Then I guess we’re wasting time, aren’t we?"
With his arm around her waist, AJ led Chelsea out amid hoots and hollers from his band mates and security.
