Part 5
[May 17th 10:47 p.m.]
Roe had called it
a night after four hours of choreography and blocking; AJ and the rest of the
men stayed behind.
“I am beat,” Brian
sighed. “Roe know he killed us tonight.”
“Of course he
did.” Nick replied “We had to work off all that delicious food X made.” He
rubbed his stomach and grinned. “I can still taste that beef wellington with
the carrots. Man, I am gonna need to hit the gym every night.”
“That chicken
marsala was fire too.” Howie added. He looked over at AJ. “What did you think,
AJ? Bring back some memories?”
“Yeah.” He
answered. AJ stood up walked toward his black Puma duffle bag just as one of
the studio doors opened. Xavier stood in the door, stripped of her chef’s
jacket and dressed in dark denim skinny jeans, a white slouched v-neck tee
shirt, black cardigan and black flats. Her raven black hair fell over her
shoulders in soft curls. Once again their eyes locked but Xavier broke contact.
“Practice over?”
she asked, directing her question to the group.
“Yeah,” AJ
responded quickly. “You…you’re still here?” There was a hint of joy in his
voice.
“Umm…yeah, I
thought you guys might like some dessert, for the road.” She smiled, holding up
a plate of cookies. “Chocolate chips and pecans…” she said.
“My favorite.” He
said.
“I never forgot.”
She added with a smile teasing the corners of her full lips.
“That is why you
are the best, X.” Nick raced over to the door, followed by Brian and Howie. He
grabbed three cookies and took a bite from one. “Still warm too. Thank you.” He
said with a mouthful of cookie.
“You didn’t have
to do this, X.” Howie explained.
“It’s alright. Oh
yeah, Brian, I made some for you and the family. The ones with the M&Ms are
for the little guy.” She handed Brian a small red Tupperware container.
“Thanks X. I am
forever in your debt.”
“Stop.” She
replied.
“I think I better
get going.” Nick spoke up. “But first I wanna take another cookie to go.” He
swiped two more cookies and winked at Xavier. “This is gonna be one hell of a
tour. Later guys.” He said before walking past her and trotting down the hall.
Brian looked down at his cell phone then looked from AJ to Xavier.
“I should get
going too. I’m sure Leigh’s wondering where I am. Howie, you ready man?”
“Well I was going
to go over that last routine and…” Brian cut him off.
“Let’s go man. I
need to give you that money I borrowed from you.”
“What money?” He
asked quickly.
“You know that two
hundred I borrowed.” Howie tilted his head. “Come on!” Brian yelled.
“Alright.” Howie
picked up a small blue bag and headed to the door. Brian stepped out into the
hallway and he looked at Xavier.
“Howie take some
cookies for the road.” Xavier suggested. He looked over the plate then picked
up two.
“Thanks, X. It was
good to see you.”
“You too, D.” she
smiled. She held his gaze for a second then looked back at Brian. “B, save some
for the family.”
“I will. Later,
AJ.”
“Later, man.”
Howie took one
last look at Xavier before Brian playfully shoved him against a wall. Xavier
shook her head then looked back at AJ.
“I should head out
myself.” She said. “I gotta be at the restaurant first thing in the morning.”
“So you have a
restaurant?” AJ asked.
“Yeah, I do.
Cherry Boo. A fusion of Japanese and urban cuisine. It’s my baby.” She
said. Her eyes lit up when she said the
name of the restaurant; AJ loved it.
“It’s been a long
time, Xavier.” He finally said.
“It has.” She
sighed. “You look great though. You really do.”
“I should hope
so.” He chuckled. “Getting healthy and sober cost me over fifty grand.”
“Looks like money
well spent.” She smiled. AJ looked down at his shaking hands and reached for
hers. Xavier shifted her stance which disrupted his initial move.
“X…”
“Yeah?” She rested
her hip against the door and looked at him.
“I’m…I’m sorry.”
“You’re sorry.”
She repeated.
“Yes. I never
wanted to hurt you. I just wanted to love you.”
“So sleeping with
other women, drinking yourself stupid, stealing money from me and degrading me
was showing how much you loved me.”
“X, I had a
problem and I…” He trailed off. He heard and felt the pain in her voice as his
apology forced her to remember the past.
“I know this must not have been easy for you, accepting this job and
everything but I want you to know that I never stopped loving you. The night
you left me was the worst day of my life.”
“Was it, Alex?”
She was the only one who could call him that and make AJ feel like a simple and petty stage name.
“Yes. I tried to
go after you.”
“Bullshit,” she
spat. AJ was shocked at her forward response. Tears shined in her eyes and with
a quick blink, they raced down the apples of her cheeks. “You didn’t come after
me. I know you didn’t. You stayed back in that suite with that bitch, Sasha.
You know the one you said that was just a ‘groupie’? Remember her? Do you miss her too, AJ?” Her voice was shaking but
she continued. “I know you didn’t come after me ‘cause when I saw Brian in the
hallway, I gave him that ring and told him to tell you that it was over. After
that, I waited in the lobby for three hours, foolishly thinking that you would
come looking for me.”
“X, I…” she shook
her head and continued.
“I ran into Sasha,
she said that she had slipped out of bed when you passed out in mid stroke.” He
should have been embarrassed but instead he was defeated and wounded. His
selfish lust and drunken greed had gotten the best of him that night and he
failed to realize that the woman he asked to marry him just a minute after
midnight had offered him one last chance.
And once again, he
let her down.
“Good night AJ.”
She said softly. She handed him the plate with one cookie left on it. “Enjoy
it.” She tried to smile but the tears were overwhelming her silently. She
pushed away from the door and walked down the hall.
The door closed
gently, leaving AJ alone with his thoughts. He closed his eyes and counted
backwards.
10.
She loved me.
9.
She took care of me.
8.
She was my strength.
7.
My real when the world was fake.
6.
I lost her.
5.
Her love slipped from my hands.
4.
How could I have been so cruel to her?
3.
She gave me love.
2.
She was my happiness.
1.
And I lost her.
***
