The concert was sold out and Jennifer was having a great time for once just watching and enjoying the show. She had watched the first half from the skirts of backstage, but now she had moved to the secured area right in front of the stage. They had just started their new release off their album, and the crowd was going crazy.
Not meaning to, but sub-consciously doing it anyway, she stopped in front of Brian. She stood, mesmerized by the passion she saw in his performance: the way he closed his eyes, the way he spoke with his hands, the way he seemed to be singing just to her. “I’d go anywhere for you, anywhere you ask me to. I’d do anything for you, anything you want me to.”
Suddenly, his eyes were on her, the words he sang coming directly to her and Jennifer was moved to tears. They were singing one of her favorite songs, ‘Anywhere For You’. As she listened to the words and watched Brian watching her, she knew he was pleading with her to let go of her misgivings about starting a relationship with him. They had talked about it, tried to reason it out, but in the end she had refused to get involved with him while they were on the road.
The tears continued to fall, streaming down her face as she was once again swept up by Brian’s singing. “I know you’re afraid to let your feelings show. And I understand, girl, but it’s time to let go. I deserve a try, honey just once, give me a chance and I’ll prove you’re wrong . . .” There was no doubt that Brian was singing this song to her. His eyes bore into hers and she knew that if she didn’t leave, she wouldn’t be able to resist him any longer!
As she stepped away and started back towards the side stage, Kevin was suddenly there. During the concerts, the guys usually came down from the stage into the secured area in front of the stage and shook hands with the fans. As she stepped to the side to let him pass her by, he grasped her hand and walked her back to where she had been standing in front of Brian, the whole while singing this song that meant so much to her. ‘Baby, I know you’re hurting. You feel like you could never love again …’ She looked from Kevin back up to where Brian stood, his eyes on her and she immediately knew they were doing this on purpose. Kevin continued walking, leaving her where she stood and she looked up at Brian once more before she started back for the side stage, determined to get away from his piercing gaze.
This time she ran into Nick and she almost burst into tears as he took her hand in his and led her once more to where Brian stood on stage, directly up and in front of where they stood. She could hear the crowd screaming over and over but all she could see was Brian and once more she was drawn into the words. ‘I’ll never let you go. I’d rather die than live without you . . .’ She closed her eyes, her resolve melting to keep their relationship platonic while they were on the road.
Nick moved on, shaking hands and picking up a gift here and there as he made his way back up onto stage. She glanced back up once more to find Brian’s eyes on her and she knew she had to get away. This time she tried going the opposite direction but this time it was A.J. that she ran into. She stopped suddenly, not sure what to do this time. It was obvious what they were trying to do and she couldn’t help but smile at their efforts. Suddenly A.J.’s hand was covering hers and instead of walking her back to the spot in front of Brian, he was pulling her towards him. She followed him and then balked as she saw where he was taking her. He was taking her up onto stage!! Her heart raced inside her chest as she stopped, pulling back. There was no way she was going onstage!! She wouldn’t be able to resist Brian onstage in front of thousands of screaming fans, not while he was singing this song!
“Alex, no!” she said to him as he continued to sing, all the while pulling her onto stage. “Alex …” Suddenly they were onstage and she knew the fans could see her because they were going crazy!! She stopped fighting him and walked slowly to where Brian stood, his hand reaching out for hers. The crowd was shouting their approval and Jennifer was suddenly swept into the frenzied atmosphere as she watched Brian walk towards her, all the while singing . . . begging her to give in to him and she knew in her heart that she would!
“Hey!” Jennifer looked up from the couch to see A.J. come into the room.
“Hey,” she answered, smiling up at him.
As he walked in front of her and sat on the nearby chair, he asked, “What are you watching?’
“Oh, I don’t know. I’m just flipping through the channels really.” The room was dark except for the light from the television and a small lamp on the table in the kitchen. “You want to watch something?”
“Nah,” he answered, looking over at her. He watched her for a few minutes and then said, “Jen, I want to apologize to you.”
She looked over at him, a questioning look on her face. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, I’ve been a real jerk to you since we started this tour and I owe you an apology.”
“No you don’t,” she answered, smiling at him.
“Yes I do,” he answered, shaking his head at her. “I doubted you and I was wrong. I admit when I’m wrong.”
She smiled at him, reaching over to take his hand. “I appreciate that Alex, I do. But I know you were just looking out for the band. You weren’t sure and that’s okay. I knew I had a job to do and you helped me do it well. If I hadn’t, you wouldn’t have accepted me, and now you have.”
He smiled at her, squeezing her hand. “Well, I just wanted to apologize. You’ve proved yourself over and over again on this tour and I appreciate all you’ve done for us.”
Jennifer just smiled and squeezed his hand before she released it. “You’re a sweet guy, Alex … no matter what anyone says.” They laughed for a moment as they watched the tube.
And then suddenly, he asked, “So, the concert went great today, don’t you think?”
She looked over at him, surprised at the sudden turn of conversation. “Yeah . . . right up to the part where you drug me on stage,” she replied, giving him the best evil expression she could muster.
“Yeah, well . . .” he laughed, looking over at her. “Did it work?”