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Chapter Thirty Six – Utah

I’ve got to be honest with you; I guess I never really thought of Utah as an important state. Maybe it’s because it’s so far from my hometown. Maybe it’s because it’s surrounded by states I’ve heard a lot more about. Either way, I was surprised to find out just how beautiful it was. I stood on the stage of the outdoor pavilion, staring around at the beautiful landscape. The venue was surrounded by golf course.

“How you feeling Liv?” Howie said, walking by me. James clung to his shoulders, babbling in his own little language.

“Much better,” I said with a smile. “Why aren’t you golfing?” I asked. He frowned.

“I was,” he said. “But the other guys were kicking my ass so I cut it short.”

I took out a pair of binoculars, training them out on the course. As I zoomed in on the golf cart, I could see Nick, AJ, and Brian making their way to another hole. Leighanne and Baylee were in a golf cart behind them. Leighanne’s sister had flown in with Baylee that morning.

“I’m almost glad I was on the bottom,” Howie added coming up next to me. “Nick’s a sore loser. He actually teased me for quitting early; I reminded him that he’s done that the last three times we’ve played. Then he goes on Twitter and complains to the world how much he sucks.”

I smiled at him. He winked at me. “I’m just warning you about what you’re getting yourself into,” he said before walking off. James bounced along with him, happily saying “bah, bah, bah.”

I went back to the binoculars. Nick was wearing golf shorts and a polo shirt. He pointed out some landmark with his finger, smirking at AJ. I saw him do the “golf stance” and with a fierce swing, took his shot.

I wasn’t close enough to hear the laughter; but I saw AJ double up, his shoulders shaking. I zoomed in as far as my binoculars would take me. Nick had completely missed the golf ball. He kicked angrily at the divot he made in the ground. I laughed out loud.

Finally remembering that I wasn’t getting paid to watch a golf game, I grabbed my camera and headed out to find out what scoop I could get. As I entered the parking lot, I saw a group of girls wearing Backstreet Boys shirts. Walking up to them, I smiled.

“Ready for the concert?” I asked. They turned around, nodding eagerly.

“I was wondering if I could do a quick interview for the fan club website,” I said, holding up my camera.

“Sure,” the girl closest to me said. She looked at me. “Hey, you’re the media chick,” she said. “OMG, I just saw the interview with you on the fanclub page,” she added.

I smiled. “Yeah, I—“

Another girl cut me off. “Nick’s mine, you know.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

“I’ve heard the rumors that you’re Nick’s new girlfriend,” she said. “Nick’s mine.”

I laughed. “No, we’re just good friends,” I said. I saw three pairs of eyes narrow. They took a step forward.

“How good of friends?”

“I’m friends with all of the guys,” I said, taking a step backwards. “And I just wanted to ask you some questions from one fan to another,” I said, motioning between myself and the girls. They shared a smile between them.

“If you're such good friends,” one of the girls said. “Let us on Nick’s bus.”

I laughed. I had done some incredibly stupid things before; but no way was I going to let these lunatics on one of the guy’s busses.

“I can’t do that,” I said. They started to close in on me like hyenas.

“Have you been on the bus?”

“Have you spent the night on the bus?”

I opened my mouth to speak. I ducked just in time to miss as one of the girls reached out to claw me. I thought of AJ’s black eye. If these types of girls did that to someone they were infatuated with, what were they going to do with someone they hated?

“COMING THROUGH!”

The girls scattered like flies. I jumped aside just as Nick flew through on a golf cart. Baylee was sitting on his lap, steering like a maniac. Nick clung to him as he slammed on the brake. Nick’s arm draped over the steering wheel and he gave one of his million dollar smiles.

“Everything okay here, ladies?” he asked. Baylee peeked out around Nick’s arm smiling.

“I drove,” he announced, pointing to the wheel.

The girls were too shocked to see Nick Carter sitting only feet away to say anything. Nick motioned to me with his head. Without a word, I climbed on the back of the golf cart.

“Enjoy the concert ladies!” Nick called, taking off towards the green. When we were out of earshot, I let out a sigh of relief.

“What were you trying to do? Feed yourself to the lions?” Nick asked.

“I wanted to get some fan interviews!” I said indignantly.

“I love our fans. We have the best fans in the world,” Nick explained. “But some fans, especially ones that arrive five hours early for a concert are the ones to watch out for.”

I let out a little “oh.” We bounced along the grassy fields until we were back to where the guys had left off. They were on the 17th hole.

“We’re almost done,” Nick said. He placed Baylee on the ground, then hopped out. “Stay and watch me kick some ass.”

“I don’t know how he’s going to kick ass,” AJ said, smiling my way. “He’s in last place, well, besides Howie. But, Howie quit, so by a technicality he’s in third place.”

I laughed. Leighanne came and sat next to me; we watched the guys tee off. Nick missed the ball for the second time. Ignoring AJ’s laughter, Nick looked my way.

“If I may say so,” he said. “It’s not easy golfing with one hand in a cast.”

I nodded sympathetically. On the second stroke he made contact. The ball sailed over the green.

“How are you doing?” Leighanne asked as we watched Brian step up for his turn. I looked at her and smiled.

“I’m doing okay. Thanks to you,” I said. She leaned into me, nudging me gently.

“This old lady knows a thing or two,” she teased.

“You’re not old,” I admonished. She laughed.

Brian turned around and looked at us. “She gets prettier every year. I’ll be ninety with no teeth and no hair and she’ll still be a blonde bombshell.”

Leighanne blew him a kiss.

I thanked God that I hadn’t ruined such a perfect relationship.

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I mostly steered clear of the fans during sound check and the concert. I took some photos and videos; but not my usually plethora of goods. I wanted to save the best for last during our two days in San Francisco. Tony and Anderson had told me they would be there; I wanted to make my best impression.

After the concert was over, the stage was quickly disassembled and the busses once again roared to life.

“Don’t you ever get tired of the bus?” I asked Nick as he closed the hatch on the bus’s luggage compartment. He leaned against the black exterior, his face thoughtful.

“This has been normal for me since I was twelve years old,” he said. “I love it when I’m home, but after a few months the itch returns.”

Taking my hand, we climbed onto the bus. I didn’t care who saw me with Nick; all pretenses were gone.

Earlier, Andrea had come up to me and asked me how I was feeling. After I assured her I was fine, she looked around to make sure no one was within earshot.

“What’s going on with you and Nick?” she asked. “Is he a better bus mate than I am?” she teased. I smiled.

“I don’t know what to tell you about me and Nick,” I said. “Six weeks ago I never expected I’d be standing here contemplating more than just an acquaintance with him. But now…”

She held up her hand. “Nuf said. Life’s confusing. Just jump on and go for it.”

Andrea had never been mean or spiteful to me. The times we had roomed together she was nothing but sweet and funny. Her simple words meant the world to me. As I followed Nick up the steps, my heart panged sadly. I hadn’t been touring on a bus since I was twelve, but I knew that I would miss it. By the time the Canadian leg rolled around in August I knew without a doubt I’d be ready to come back.

As the bus made its way to San Francisco, I sat by Nick on the carpeted floor of the living quarters, playing game after game of Mario Kart on the Wii. I poured my aggression and frustration from the last several weeks out on the poor Koopa Troopas and Toadstools that dared pass me. Nick seemed to do the same; I could almost see Aaron’s face on every single one of those turtles that were blasted off the road by Nick’s surprise bombs and banana peels.

Even so, it felt good, really good.