Chapter 61:
A Surprise
Brian came out of the bank, hurriedly
checking his watch for the time. He hefted the heavy bag into the waiting taxi,
waving off the driver's assistance to help. He was late and he nervously bit
his fingernails as the taxi weaved through heavy traffic. He knew that the guys
were going to be pissed, but he couldn't help it. Xavier's sudden request for a
late withdrawal at the bank, and an expensive one at that, had him troubled.
Always accompanying him before, this time Xavier had demanded Brian go alone.
Something was up and it set Brian on edge, trying to figure out what Xavier's
little game might be.
He closed his eyes for a moment, wanting
to savor what little time he had alone. The past days had been a nightmare, the
only thing that had kept him going was the thought of flying home for the
holiday to see family. Of course, Xavier had canceled that at the last moment
and Brian was furious to find that the bodyguard "had other plans"
for them. He tensed at the phrase, wondering exactly what Xavier meant. To his
immense relief, none of Xavier's veiled sexual suggestions had come to pass,
but that didn't mean it couldn't, as indicated by Xavier's constant taunting
and subtle touching.
The cab came to an abrupt stop and Brian
opened his eyes to discover their arrival at the arena. Grateful for the taxi
driver's speed, Brian tipped him generously and hurried into the cool confines
of the arena's side entrance, jogging as best he could with the heavy duffel
bag to the dressing rooms.
Brian caught sight of Kevin and gave him a
cautious nod of hello, trying not to notice Kevin's sour glance as he jogged
past. Brian could only wonder what his cousin would say as soon as he
discovered that he would not be flying home with him. He hit the dressing room
door with his foot a bit too hard and it slammed with a solid thud against the
wall, causing Nick, Howie, and AJ to jump in surprise. Embarrassed, Brian
muttered a quick sorry as he heaved the bulky duffel bag into a corner. He knew
he should apologize for being late, but realized it would fall on deaf ears, so
he began to change, quickly and quietly as he could.
He heard AJ rumble his throat several
times, cough, then aahh in the mirror as Howie and
Nick looked on.
"You'll be fine, Bone," advised
Nick, "it's just one more show." Curious, Brian glanced up from
untying his shoes to watch AJ massage his throat.
"Well, it's not allergies, I can tell
you that," he moaned. "So its gotta be the beginning of something
bad. Damn! I had planned to spend all next week in bed and not with a cold, if
you know what I mean!"
Howie patted his friend unsympathetically.
"Yeah, yeah, poor baby, we know."
"Whose poor?"
Nick turned to see Kevin and Xavier enter,
the dark-haired singer holding an expensive-looking gold-wrapped box.
"AJ," informed Nick. "He
thinks he's sick. What's that?" he questioned, pointing to the square box
Kevin had placed on the table.
"Chocolate. Flown in specially from
"Congratulations on your successful
first half of the tour." Kevin ignored AJ's snort of sarcasm and carried
on. "Good luck to all and enjoy." He tossed the card away. "It's
from Backstreet Management."
Nick eyed it eagerly. "Well, open it
up! Hey AJ! Maybe your throat will feel better."
AJ shrugged. "Whatever. I'll try
anything." He accepted a dark chocolate and popped it in his mouth, trying
to savor it slowly. He made a face as he finished it, watching as the others
sampled the large box. "Kinda gritty. Gimme a Hershey kiss over that
anytime," he commented and Nick agreed.
"Yuck. The Swiss have weird
tastes."
Brian waited until the other guys had
finished then strolled over to view the selection. He reached down to pluck one
out of the box only to find Xavier's hand clamp down firmly on his.
"No chocolate for you,
remember?"
"Yeah, he shouldn't lose his girlish
figure," wisecracked Nick.
Brian ignored Nick, startled by Xavier's
sudden interference. He looked up to see Xavier imperceptibly shaking his head,
his dark eyes glowing with hidden meaning. With a sickening flash of
realization, Brian stepped away, terrified by Xavier's warning. He pleaded with
his eyes, desperate to know what Xavier had done, but the bodyguard just smiled
mysteriously. Shaken, Brian found it hard to breathe and rushed from the room,
scared he was about to have another anxiety attack. Howie, AJ, and Nick
exchanged glances, Howie shaking his head resignedly as he watched Xavier
follow him out. He licked the rest of the chocolate off his fingers. "Man,
Brian gets weirder every minute."
"Tell me about it," grumbled
Kevin. He raised an eyebrow at the others, curious if there were any more
takers for the strange-tasting candy. Shaking their heads no, Kevin threw the
remaining chocolates in the garbage and reached for the door.
"Coming?"
Nick and Howie followed, AJ holding up a
hand. "Go on, I'll be there in a sec." The bitter aftertaste of the
chocolate still lingered and AJ glanced around irritably in the strange
dressing room, trying to locate the room's mini refrigerator.
He found it tucked back into a corner and
yanked open the handle, only to find Brian's duffel bag blocking entry.
Swearing under his breath, he kicked it away. It wouldn't budge. Now thoroughly
pissed, he reached down to shove it away, amazed by its weight.
"Dammit!"
AJ gritted his teeth as he knelt down,
ripping open the zipper to see what the hell was so heavy. A soft hiss of
surprise escaped from him as he slowly pulled out a sealed packet of money and
stared at the contents, dumbfounded. Sitting cross-legged the ground, he pulled
out another packet, touching it gently in awe, then withdrew another and
another, each identical as the first. Holding the money up for a closer look,
AJ fanned the pack. There must be thousands here! Confused, he stared at
the bag for several minutes, trying to make sense of it. What was Brian
doing with so much money? And why was he carrying it around in a duffel bag?
AJ glanced around, suddenly nervous. He
stuffed the money back in, quickly zipping the bag closed. Standing abruptly,
he felt a sudden rush of warmth overwhelmed him and swayed a little, feeling a
fascinating wave of pleasure coursed through his body. Puzzled, AJ shook his
head as another intense flow wove up and down his spine. He knew he should
concentrate, a slight nagging in the back of his mind screamed to think about
the money, but the euphoria he was experiencing felt so incredibly good it
seemed to block out all reason. AJ walked over to view himself in the mirror,
sure he would see something that would explain his elation. So preoccupied with
his feeling of goodwill and friendliness he hardly noticed Xavier come in, but
managed a warm smile as he watched Xavier bend down to pick up Brian's duffel
bag. Xavier studied AJ for a moment and gave him the slightest twitch of a grin
back. As he left, AJ could have sworn Xavier knew just how he felt.
***
