Chapter 36:
Revelation
The door opened with a
resounding smash and Brian sighed, wishing for the millionth time that just
once his friend could enter a little more quietly. "Nick," he
growled.
Ignoring him, Nick
sauntered into the room, intently reading a small booklet. He walked over to
the chair and slouched into it. He looked up to give Brian a victory grin.
"Got it!" he crowed. "I completed all the levels." Brian
gave him a confused look and Nick tossed him the guide. He glanced at it
quickly, suddenly realizing what Nick was talking about. A sudden pang of
jealously shot through him, envious that Nick has so much leisure time.
"You couldn’t wait
for me?" he grumbled.
Nick rolled his eyes and
shrugged. "I can never find you. What were you doing today?" Nick
watched, curious, wondering if he saw Brian blush.
Brian turned away from his
friend, suddenly interested in locating a misplaced tennis shoe.
"Nothing," he mumbled.
Nick, familiar with
Brian’s mannerism of being evasive, sat up intrigued. "Okay," he
said. "Now I’m really interested. What’s up with you?"
"Something was
definitely up with Brian, only Claire took care of that, didn’t she?" Nick
turned to see AJ grinning, standing by the door. He came in and sat next to
Nick, giving him a wink and a nudge.
Brian having found his
lost shoe pointed it at AJ, shaking it threateningly. "Don’t," he
said with a warning frown.
"Don’t what?"
All three turned to see Howie and Kevin entering the room, their hands full of
Cokes and bags of chips. They tossed the extras to Nick, AJ and Brian. Howie
stood near Brian, taking a sip of Coke, his eyes questioning.
"Dear God, doesn’t
anyone here respect privacy?" fumed Brian, yanking the metal tab from his
drink. Nick, Kevin, Howie, and AJ glanced back and forth at each other.
"Nope," they
answered in unison.
Brian gave an exaggerated
sigh. "Didn’t think so. Well go ahead, AJ. I know you’re dying to tell
them."
That was all the
permission AJ needed. He jumped up theatrically, placing his arms around
Brian’s shoulders. "Bri did the nasty with Claire!" AJ gave whoop of
victory, pumping his fist into the air. Brian cringed, watching with some
trepidation for the guys’ reactions.
Nick, his hand halfway to
his mouth with a chip, froze. "Claire, you mean AJ’s Claire?"
AJ nodded proudly. Nick
looked unhappily at Brian and AJ. "Wait a minute. You mean to tell me
Claire was here, and nobody told me?" He looked at all four, waiting for
an explanation, but Kevin butted in.
"Hey, does she still
have the hots for me?" AJ nodded and Kevin smiled contentedly. "Too
bad I’m taken," he commented jokingly and AJ laughed.
"That’s exactly what
she said."
"Hey,"
complained Nick, frustrated, "why didn’t someone let me know?" Kevin,
Howie, and AJ completely ignored him, each excitedly talking at the same time
about Claire and her talents.
"Man, she said I was
a freebie, cause I’m so fine!" bragged Howie. AJ swiped a hand
half-heartedly in Howie’s direction.
"Only because she
felt sorry for you, D!"
Howie made a face back,
arguing the merits of himself over AJ and Kevin’s loud boasts of who was a
better lover. Nick tried to get anyone attention, irritated at not being
informed, and Brian watched them all with astonishment, a smile beginning to
form as he tried to listen to all four argue simultaneously, not one comment
being thrown Brian’s way. He shook his head in amusement, wondering why he
worried. These were his friends, his brothers, competitive as hell, and he
should have know that when it came to talent, games, or sex, no one could admit
to being a loser.
Brian took another sip of
his Coke, enjoying the comraderie of his friends. He
watched AJ mimic some sort of crazy thing he had done with Claire, the others
roaring with jeers of disbelief; viewed Kevin, whose was still bragging to
anyone who would listen about Claire’s uncontrolled lust for him; saw Nick wave
his arms at Howie, complaining that he wasn’t a kid anymore and shouldn’t be
treated as such; and looked as Howie, ever patient, trying to calm Nick down
with promises of "next time."
Brian’s memory took him
back to when they were barely starting out, the good times and not so good
times they had all experienced together. The five had stuck it out, solid as
ever, and as he watched them an anguish so intense that it made him want to
weep washed over him. He turned away, unable to watch anymore. Tonight, right
now, they were the Backstreet Boys, and he wanted to remember them that way.
Tomorrow, it would be the beginning of the end.
***
