Part 4
[May 17th, 2010 5:10p.m.]
The sound system
blasted through the large rehearsal room and the heavy bass vibrated against
the parquet floors. AJ along with the remaining three of the Backstreet Boys
walked through their dance steps. Their feet dragged as they held microphones
and tiptoed through dance steps.
“Come on fellas!”
Roe, their choreographer called. “Come on, I need to see some energy.” He
yelled. Finally the song faded and the men collapsed on the floor. “Nice work
that is until the end” Roe smirked.
AJ held his chest
and focused on his breathing. It had been years since he had been able to
breathe normally without wheezing and gasping for additional air. He smiled to
himself, feeling pride set in.
It did feel good
to be sober. He looked over at Brian who
was on bended knee catching his breath.
“You alright, B?”
“Yep.” He wheezed.
“Old man.”
“Look who’s
talking gramps.” Brian chuckled.
Howie and Nick
both grabbed bottles of water while Roe had stepped out of the dance studio
then reappeared.
“Alright fellas,
we are gonna take a break. Your caterer is here to go over some meal options.”
he grinned. The men exchanged glances; a wave of raised eyebrows directed
themselves toward Roe.
“Why the face?”
Nick quizzed. Roe shook his head slowly, biting down on his bottom lip.
“I know that
move,” AJ perked up. “He’s biting his lip.”
“What does that
mean?” Nick chimed in.
“It’s a woman.” AJ
and Brian answered. Roe nodded his head quickly.
“Man, she’s…ooh
baby.”
“Our caterer?”
“Yes!” he replied.
“She looks like she should be in a video.”
“Like that?” Howie
smiled.
“Oh yes.”
“Well let’s see
this woman and see if she looks as good as Roe thinks.” Nick said.
“Forget that, I
wanna make sure she can cook if she’s gonna be on the road with her for eight
months.” Brian said before he led the group out into the hall.
A sweet aroma
danced through the hallway; it traveled the length of the long corridor, acting
as an invisible guide for the men to follow. The corners of AJ’s mouth watered
and reminded him of a distant memory.
French toast,
turkey bacon, soft scrambled eggs, orange juice and Xavier.
Every Sunday
morning she would make breakfast for the two of them; he would wake to the
delicious fragrance of vanilla and cinnamon. The scent would lead him to her in
their large kitchen, cooking in nothing but one of old shirts and singing
whatever was playing on the radio. He remembered the passion in her eyes when
she grated fresh cinnamon sticks and the focus in her eyes when she beat an
egg.
He always admired
her appreciation and love for cooking.
The closer they
came the sweeter the scent and the more familiar AJ became with it. He glanced
at Brian; his blue eyes were already on him.
“What?’ AJ asked.
“Nothing.” He said
quickly but his face read something else. He saw Brian shake his head and
looked ahead.
Roe led the men
into a small banquet hall where a round table was set up with five chairs, a
white linen tablecloth and five wine glasses filled with ice water. In front of
the round table was a rectangular table, like the round one it was covered with
white linen but trays of food filled the table.
To the left of
them, a plump man and a slender woman stepped from another room, followed by
another woman. AJ made out the curve in her hips against her red chef’s coat
that clung to her body; his eyes scanned the rest of the thick frame and
stopped.
“No,” he
whispered. Brian looked at him quickly.
“AJ…” he started
but noticed AJ shaking his head. “AJ?”
“It can’t be.” He
said.
Xavier spotted him
out of her peripheral; he stood to her left but appeared not to notice her.
Yet.
She knew that she
couldn’t keep her back to him and the rest of the men forever; Xavier sucked in
one last breath then turned to face the group.
“Hey boys!” she
smiled.
“Oh my God!” Howie
exclaimed. “X! You’re our chef?”
“Yep.” She exhaled
softly as she moved around the table to greet them. AJ kept his eyes on her
while she approached them. “Hey Howie.” She said.
“Look at you,
woman!” He beamed, taking her hands and examining her closely. “Man, you look…”
he trailed off and looked at AJ. “You look…great.”
“Thanks D. Give me
a hug.” She wrapped her arms around Howie, sharing a brief embrace before Nick
broke in.
“Alright quit
hogging my lady friend now,” he joked before pulling Xavier into his arms.
“Hey Nick.”
“Hey gorgeous! How
you been?”
“Good.” She replied
once they parted. “Very good.” Brian cleared his throat and Xavier giggled.
“B, what’s up?”
“My favorite
girl.” He smiled.
“Your second
favorite that is. How’s LeighAnne?”
“Wonderful. You
know she still talks about that red velvet cake you made for our wedding.” He
pointed out.
“Well I will have
to make another one for you guys then.”
“We would love
that.”
“Cool and I have
something for the lil guy too.”
AJ watched as
Xavier and the rest of the group reconnected almost instantly; her eyes never
met his and he knew why. There was too much pain between them and apologizing
couldn’t settle the history that lingered between them. He wanted to reach out
for her hand, take her into his arms and whisper everything that he had held
inside for the last three years. Just a chance to hold her, take in her scent
and devour her warmth was all that he wanted.
“AJ?” She called
his name cautiously. He couldn’t stop the smile that spread across his face
like a virus.
“X, you….” He
stopped. “Man, you look…”
“Yeah. You too.”
She replied, finishing his thought process. He opened his mouth to speak but
she beat him to the punch. “Are you guys ready to eat?”
“Yes.” Nick
exclaimed. “It has been a while since I had some of X’s infamous cooking.”
“Well you all have
a seat and I will give you guys a feast,” Xavier beamed.
“Let’s do this!”
Howie cheered.
The men, including
Roe took a seat at the round table while Xavier and her two person team
prepared to serve them. AJ watched her talk to the plump server; her eyes met
his for a second then she spoke to her female server. She had evolved and he
saw it; her light brown skin glowed and her shimmered with pride.
She was doing what
she loved.
But he couldn’t
help but wonder…was her other love, for him gone?
***
