Chapter 9:
The Introduction
"Oh, Sammy..." sing-songed the
group. "We’re done." They smirked as their stage manager came to give
the once over. "You could eat off this floor," commented Howie.
"I’m sure you have," Nick
smart-mouthed.
Kevin, for one, was tired. "Are we
done? I just want to leave and take a nice hot shower."
Brian seconded that. "Sounds good to
me."
Sam shrugged and looked around for the
publicity manager. "Richard! Richard!" he yelled and noticed him
talking to the bodyguards. Richard craned his neck around and noticed Sam
beckoning him to come over.
"What’s up, Sam?"
"You done with these guys for
today?"
Richard nodded. "Yes, do you all have
the scheduling notes for this week? Good. Remember,
"All of us?" moaned Nick. He was
hoping he didn’t have to go and could sleep in.
"Nick, what does the schedule
say?" patronized Kevin. "All of us. This is the beginning of the new
tour. In our hometown. It’s important."
"Yes, Dad."
Richard held up a hand as he saw the boys
turn to leave. "Guys, before you pack up, I want you to meet the new
bodyguard we just hired." He motioned for Xavier to come over.
"Holy shit, would you look at
him?" whispered Howie to AJ as Xavier came down the aisle. "I pity
the poor fan who meets up with him."
AJ elbowed his friend in the side,
watching as the bodyguard came into better view, suddenly curious about the
dark-haired man who walked confidently up onto the stage.
"Guys, I’d like you to meet Xavier
Delgado. He hired on just recently, so don’t scare him off too quickly,
okay?"
The boys smiled, knowing full well that
Richard was serious. A lot of former guards had quit after experiencing the
rigors of being a bodyguard for the Backstreet Boys. Kevin stuck his hand out toward
the new recruit. "Hi, I’m Kevin. Glad to meet you." Xavier grabbed
the tall man’s hand and sized him up. Even intensive studying was not as good
as meeting face-to-face and Xavier noted several things. He was definitely the
tallest, and Xavier sensed a calm surrounding him, a sureness that didn’t exude
conceit. Xavier noticed the grip in his handshake, the strength of his body and
made a mental note to remember it.
Xavier smiled, letting go of Kevin’s grip.
"Xavier."
"Hey X, welcome aboard." Xavier
stiffened at the hated nickname but looked straight into Howie’s brown eyes as
he shook his hand. His hand was warm and friendly and Xavier felt true
enthusiasm in the shake. It startled him to realize he was without guile, and
what you saw was pretty much what you got. For being rich and famous, he seemed
down-to-earth.
Xavier turned to greet the next one.
"Xavier," he said softly, reaching to shake AJ’s extending hand.
"Xavier," repeated AJ. "Hi,
I’m AJ." Xavier felt the hesitancy in AJ’s grasp and sensed that he was
the one being sized up, not the other way around. Xavier gave him a warm smile
that did not reach up to his eyes. Here was someone to be reckoned with and it
interested Xavier that perhaps AJ could be so perceptive. He made another
mental note to himself.
Brian and Nick were the only ones left to
acknowledge and he turned in their direction. "Hi. I’m Nick, the most
popular one." The guys groaned but Xavier grinned as he shook the young
singer’s hand. The kid was large, strong, but untrained. Nevertheless, Xavier
felt the confidence of this young man and realized that Nick had potential.
Brian was the last to introduce himself.
"Hi, ya." Brian’s southern twang
came through. "Nice to meet you." The blond man’s friendliness was
contagious and Xavier relaxed for the first time as he felt the singer shake
his hand with sincerity and ease. Brian turned to Nick who was searching for
his duffel bag.
"Well, gotta go. Nick, are you riding
with me or what?"
"Coming." Nick shoved Brian’s
bag at him as he hoisted his own over his shoulder. Both waved at the others.
"See you guys tomorrow."
"Later," came the reply.
They all began to walk off the stage but
Brian stopped and turned around. "Hey Richard!"
Richard, deep in talk about the next day’s
events with Sam, looked up. "What?"
"Who is Xavier going to be
guarding?"
Richard looked at his clipboard and
flipped a few pages.
"You."
Brian flashed the bodyguard a wave of his
hand as he left the stage and Xavier stood rooted there, a strange feeling of exhilaration
overcoming him, the same one he felt the first time he saw him on TV. His hands
clenched and unclenched unconsciously in anticipation.
***
