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Just wanted to thank Ayleen, frackandbonechick and Anastacia for reviewing 18. Enjoy 19! Can't wait to see what ya think!!!

Chapter Nineteen

Alaura sat on the couch in the living room of her small house, bouncing up and down lightly out of nervousness. This was the day that she’d decided to have her talk with Devin and A.J about what was on her mind. It had taken two weeks for her to conjure up enough courage to bring the sensitive topic up, but she had called A.J. to meet her and Devin at her house. It was time to talk to them about this, because time was running out more quickly than she would have liked it to. The longer she waited, the harder it would be to talk to them about too.

Standing up, Alaura started pacing the living room restlessly, back and fourth, over and over again. She couldn’t sit still, as much as she wished that she could. It was impossible. She was terrified of what the outcome of this talk would be...she was terrified that the conversation would end in two grown men physically fighting each other right in front of her, leaving blood stains on the carpet to show for it. Alaura shuddered at the thought of that, momentarily thinking of calling the whole thing off. She shook her head though, having faith that the two would be mature enough to handle the situation like adults. It was too late to turn back now anyways. She was expecting A.J. at any moment. She couldn’t turn him away, telling he’d come for nothing.

“Babe, slow down before you wear holes in the carpet,” Devin joked, walking in to the room, “When we move in together, and if we want to try and sell the place, nobody’ll want floors with boards showing through.”

Alaura paced the last few feet before plopping down in to the couch again. She looked at Devin helplessly as she burried her face in her hands, shaking it roughly. She let out a low, stifled groan, it sounding like a mourning cry.

“Babe,” Devin stated in concern, rushing to her side and sitting down next to her. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder, rubbing her comfortingly, “You can’t stress like this. It might harm the baby...you might miscarry it. You might hurt yourself.”

Alaura brought her head up, not liking the idea of a possible miscarriage, but then again, she wondered if maybe that would be for the best. That way, A.J. wouldn’t feel burdened by a child that was his, but he wasn’t in a relationship with the mother. That way, she and Devin could start over and try to have kids of their own...once they were married. But then again, Alaura wanted the baby, no matter what. A.J and Devin both seemed to be fine with it, so what was the use in working herself up for?

“I know,” she replied miserably, “I’m trying not to stress...but I can’t help it. There...there’s just so much on my mind.”

“Care to tell me?” Devin asked, “I can try to make you feel better.”

Alaura shook her head, “No..A.J needs to be here too. I don’t want to have to repeat myself again when he comes. Besides, it is something that all three of us need to talk about together. It concerns both of you.”

Alaura turned her head, looking sadly in to Devin’s eyes. He didn’t like the look. It made him slightly paranoid of what her intentions were. Devin looked away quickly before he could catch any more bad vibes from Alaura. He slowly took his arm out from around her, letting it fall freely to his side. The worst possible thoughts were coming to his mind, the main one being that maybe Alaura and A.J. had talked and decided to get together, for the babies sake...and she was leaving him. Before Alaura could have the chance to humiliate him like that with A.J. there, he decided to enquire on it.

“You...me and you are okay, right?” he asked, looking pleadingly into her eyes, “I mean, you aren’t going to leave me for him, are you? Since he is the father...you might want him in your life rather than me.”

Alaura let out a small laugh, “No...no, of course not. I don’t look at A.J. in that way, and same goes for him. I love you. It..it’s something else.”

Devin let out a groan of frustration, immediately regretting letting his impatient side out in the open for Alaura to see. She was obviously having a hard time with this. His attitude, he knew, wasn’t helping much. He wanted to know what was going on though, his curiosity getting the better of him.

“Care to give me a hint?” he asked.

“No..not until..”

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.
Alaura knew that it had to be A.J. Taking a deep breath, she stood up and headed towards it. He couldn’t have had better timing. Now, Devin could quit bugging her to tell him before the other man got there. Now, she could get the whole conversation out of the way and over with. Here went nothing. Alaura opened the door to reveal A.J. standing there in drawstring sweat pants and a t-shirt. She couldn’t deny that he looked amazing right then, not even trying to dress up a little.

“Hi,” Alaura greeted, “Come in.”

She held the door open wide for the man as he stepped inside of the house. His expression told her that he was clueless as to why he was there.

“What’s this all about?” A.J. asked, then his eyes filled with concern and worry, “Is everything okay?”

“Why do ya’ll keep asking me that?” she joked with a forced laugh, “Just, follow me and then I’ll tell ya.”

A.J. followed Alaura back in to the living room where Devin was still waiting semi-patiently. He breathed out a sigh of relief as the sight of A.J. All he wanted to know was what Alaura was making such a huge deal out of. Now, he would find out. A.J. went and sat down in the leather, reclining chair, sitting on the edge, leaning back in to it comfortably. Alaura sat back down next to Devin. Nobody said anything for a minute. She was beginning to lose her courage, freezing up. She was afraid that she wouldn’t be able to find her voice even if she tried to speak.

“Well,” Devin asked, cringing at his tone. Her procrastination was making him nervous though, as he thought the worst possible thoughts. Maybe she had a miscarriage, or possibly she had cancer, and he would lose both her and the baby. Devin wanted to block out those types of thoughts, but his girlfriend wasn’t doing much to ease his worries.

Alaura closed her eyes, taking in a few deep breaths, letting them out slowly. When she opened them again, she felt she had enough courage to go on. It had go come up sooner or later, and either way, one of the men was going to end up hurt, unfortunately.

“Well...as you know, I’m pregnant,” she began, cringing at how dumb she sounded. She didn’t even want to know how A.J and Devin were looking at her yet what the two men were thinking, “Anyways, during the next tour, LFO,” she stated looking at Devin, “And Backstreet,” she added, turning her head to A.J, “Will be going different places nowhere near each other, and maybe even at different times all together.”

“Yeah, probably,” Devin said, drawing Alaura in close to him, “That’s a good point....so what’s the problem?”

“Well, I don’t know what to do when the tours start up again,” Alaura stated, looking downward, avoiding making eye contact of any kind.

“What do you mean?” A.J. asked her.

Alaura didn’t say anything for a second. This was the part that she’d been dreading. The part that could cause a fight. Alaura picked her head up, forcing herself to go on and at least look at the to men sitting before her as she spoke.

“Well...I have to chose what I’m going to do...continue to dance for Backstreet or quit and go with Devin from here on out.”

All fell silent at that moment. Devin and A.J. both froze in place, not moving a single muscle. A.J. put his elbows on his knees, burying his face into his hands. At that moment, they knew exactly why she had called upon them to talk to. Even they, being male, couldn’t not understand what she was getting at. Their quietness was making her nervous, it causing an eerie, haunting feeling to overcome her every emotion.
“Oh,” Devin stated finally, after a long pause, then conjured up enough courage to ask, “Well, what do you want to do, honey?”

Alaura shrugged, honestly not knowing what she wanted to do. It was probably going to be the hardest decision she would ever have to make.

“I dunno,” she started, “I mean, there is a positive and a negative attribute to each side of things, ya know?”

“Which would be what?” Devin pressed as A.J. finally lifted his head back up, composing himself enough to hear what she had to say about the matter.

“Well, I’ve known Aje and the Boys for going on five years now. He is the father...and well, I love dancing and touring. But Devin, you’re my boyfriend, and I love you. I’m not sure if I could go months on end without speaking to you. Then again, I’d miss dancing, and Aje would never get to see his child.” Alaura let out a low groan, putting her head into her hands and shaking it, “I don’t know what to do.” she murmured, the words coming out muffled and almost not understandable. Another negative of leaving which she purposely failed to mention was that her two best friends would be staying with the Boys to continue their career. She wasn’t sure if she could leave them. The three of them had gone through so much together. They’d laughed, cried and talked about nearly everything with one another. Without them there, she’d feel like a major part of her life was missing.

A.J. really wanted to be a part of the baby’s life, since he had taken part in creating it. He was looking forward to being a father, even if he wasn’t romantically in love with Alaura. But he knew if she decided to go with Devin, he couldn’t deny Alaura her wish. She was an incredible dancer though, and the Boys would be losing a huge part of their act if she did leave.

“Alaura,” Devin stated, taking her hand in his and rubbing it comfortingly, “Look at me.” Alaura didn’t look up, if anything, she slouched lower to avoid his gaze, “Look at me,” he said again, his voice firm but kind. Alaura looked up, and Devin could see tears of stress in her eyes.

“I...I don’t know what to do. Whatever I chose, I’ll be letting somebody down...” she sobbed, afraid of hurting either man.

“You do what I think is right,” Devin stated, trying to soothe her worries, “You won’t be letting me down if you choose to stay.”

“And if you decide to leave, I’ll understand completely,” A.J added, hoping that it would help to subside her fears.

Alaura looked at both of them for a moment before letting out a little bit of an over-exaggerated sigh. She knew exactly what she wanted to do and what she was going to choose. It was what her heart told her was right. It was the thing that she knew would make her happy. She knew that later on down the road, she wouldn’t be regretting what she’d decided.

“I..I think that I’m going to stay,” she stated timidly, searching both guy’s for their approval of the matter.

Alaura could see a pleased grin spreading across A.J’s face. She could also tell that he was trying to wipe it off and hide it, trying to look like he remained neutral and didn’t care either way. She could also see disappointment in Devin’s eyes, and as much as he tried to hide it, she knew that he couldn’t. Alaura felt bad, knowing that she had, in fact, hurt him, but knew that she was doing the correct thing for her.

“Does this mean that you’re breaking up with me?” Devin asked, stating his worst fear out loud, “Are...are we over?”

“No,” Alaura laughed, “Of course not. When I have breaks, I’ll go see you....when you have breaks, you can come and see me. If we’re both on break, we’ll live together and everything. It won’t even really be like we’re apart.” she said, trying to convince Devin that everything would be fine between them.

“And while Alaura is on tour with us, I’ll help take care of my baby. When you guys are together, I’ll step aside and Devin can take over that role.”

Alaura forced a smile, glad that they were trying to work things out in a mature matter. She was thankful that Devin hadn’t gotten in to a jealous rage, accusing her of having feelings for A.J. based on her decision.

“This can work,” Devin stated, nodding his head as he got used to the idea. He drew Alaura as close to him as he could get her, kissing her on the forehead, “We can make this work...and everything will be fine between us.”

“Perfect, like always,” Alaura assured him.

The conversation had gone better than she’d thought it would. Alaura just hoped that things would turn out to be as easy as she thought that they would. All she knew that they all had a good year before touring would begin again for anyone. Until then, she would make the best of her time with Devin and cherish every moment of it. After that, only time would tell what would happen.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Where do you want me to put this?” Brad asked, holding up a medium sized cardboard box.

Dulcia rolled her eyes, “Well, what is in the box?” she asked him, her tone dripping with sarcasm, “Ya know, you moved in two full weeks ago, and you’re just now unpacking your shit”

Brad just shrugged his shoulders sheepishly, knowing that his girlfriend was right. He’d had two weeks to unpack all of his belongings and everything besides his clothes was still in boxes, lining the walls of the living room. He lifted the lid up from the box, taking a peek at what was inside of it. Dulcia rolled her eyes again.

“It would help if you labeled the boxes, ya know,” she stated, “That way, you wouldn’t have to open them all up to see what the fuck you packed in them.”

Brad ignored her comment as he answered her first question, “It’s pots and pans and stuff like that.”

“Well, in most houses, pots and pans would go in the kitchen, which is downstairs.” Glory informed him.

“Shut up,” Brad laughed, “I’ll just put these in the kitchen then, okay?”

“You do that,” Dulcia told him, “Be my guest.”

Dulcia watched as Brad’s sexy body left the room. She found him irresistible in many ways. Sure, he was a little clueless when it came to moving, but other than that, she had a feeling that them living together would be a very positive thing in the direction that their relationship was headed. Never in her life had she ever felt this confident about relationship. She had a feeling that this time, things would turn out different than every other relationship she’d ever been in. In the months that she’d been with Brad, she could already feel that this time, things would be different. Minutes later, Brad was back in their bedroom, smiling down at her.

“Okay, unpacked and put away.”

“Great, that’s one box less that we have to worry about...only a hundred left to do,” she joked, as she reached up to run her fingers through his thick, dark hair, “What are we going to do about the extra furniture though? I mean, we can’t have two sets of everything lying around.”

“Sell whatever we like least out of everything,” Brad stated simply, “Or donate it to poor families, or save it for our children someday.”

Dulcia let out a loud laugh, “Bradley, what kids are you thinking about? By the time they are old enough to use it, it will be like, twenty something years from now...and what we have will be totally out of style that not even their grandparents would want to use it any longer.”

Brad shrugged, “Just a thought.” he walked over and picked up a larger box, seeing that it was filled with DVD’s and video games, plus his Dreamcast game console, “Guess this will go in the rec room, huh?”

Dulcia walked over and glanced inside of the box, “Yes, one would think that. God, who moved for you before?”

“This is egotistical abuse,” Brad joked, taking the box away with him. He had to admit that for Dulcia living alone, her home was enormous. She had four bedrooms, a living room, family room, kitchen, dining room, rec room, den, pool house, gazebo, and an inground pool, among other leisurely things. Yes, she definitely lived a good life, and now they could together.

He set the box down, then walked over to the large window, looking out to the garden. It had flowers of every sort planted, making it look like something off of Martha Stuart, not that he watched the show or anything. Dulcia definitely worked hard to keep her place looking nice, or her hired help did. Either way, he was impressed, and in awe every time he looked around.

After another few moments, Brad finally drew himself away from the window, making his way back to Dulcia.

“All done?” she asked.

“Yep,” Brad stated, walking over to Dulcia and wrapping her into his arms, planting a loving kiss on her lips, “All done.”

Dulcia reached up, rubbing his shoulders. He seemed tense, and she wanted to do something to ease that. She knew just the right thing.

“Wanna do a little something?” she asked seductively, wiggling her eyebrows a little, hinting at just what she wanted to do.

“When have I ever refused?” Brad laughed.

Dulcia shrugged as they took no time to undress one another, drawing the blinds closed and turning out the light. They got underneath the covers, Devin inserting himself inside of her gently yet quickly all at the same time.

“You know, maybe this is why we never get any unpacking done,” he cracked.

“Just shut up and fuck me,” Dulcia moaned, pulling his body down closer to her own.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Rich, what do you think of this?” Adonica asked, pointing out a place in a magazine she’d been looking at.

Rich took a glance at what she was looking at. He assumed that it was places to get married at. They were, after all, at a special place which specialize in booking weddings. This one in particular was by a waterfall, surrounded by flowers. Next to it, writing, it stated that each wedding was private, and no public could capture what was going on. It was completely exclusive, which Adonica found to be appealing in itself.

“It’s nice,” he stated, ‘What’s wrong with just traditional, in a church or something?”

Adonica stuck her tongue out, “Traditional is boring. I want something unique and elaborate. Something that is gorgeous and all. The reception can be at a nice restaurant, which is traditional, but for the wedding...I’d like something more...I don’t know...I mean, other than location, it will be just like a real wedding. White dress, flowers lining the rows of chairs that we, ourselves picked out, tuxedo, hired priest. Everything,”

“Hmm,” Rich stated, giving Adonica the impression that he didn’t really care, then looked to get a better idea of what she was talking about, “Yeah, that is really pretty,” he admitted, looking up and grinning at her, “You chose...I want you to be happy.”

Adonica smiled. Over the last couple of weeks, Rich really had tried to be better about how he acted, and surprisingly was succeeding.

“I like this one. The others are nice too...but this one just sticks out to me,” in all honesty, it took her breath away. She could only imagine how it looked in person.

“Then let’s book it so we can get married there,” Rich told her, standing up and taking the magazine to the front desk.

“May I help you,” the woman, who went by the name Monique, asked.

“Yes,” Rich answered, “We were wondering when the openings for weddings at Cascade Falls were.”(A/N: I don’t really know if there is such a place as Cascade Falls even exists. If there is, then it is merely a coincidence!!!)

Monique turned to her computer, typing something into it. After a few minutes, she turned back to them.

“We have an opening for the third Saturday in March, the fourth Saturday in April and the second Saturday in June. After that, pretty much everything is booked until February of two-thousand and five.”

Adonica’s eyes widened, “Wow,” she said, “Well, the whether in Hawaii is nice all year round, so that isn’t a worry. But we’ll have to wait at least six months.”

“You’re very lucky that six months is your shortest wait...most years, you need to book it at least a year and a half in advance. Cascade Falls is very popular.”

Rich and Adonica looked at one another, silently talking with their eyes. To Adonica, six months was a long time, and Alaura would be expecting at any given day if they went with the March opening.

“What do you think of March,” Rich asked, as if reading Adonica’s worries.

“Sounds great to me,” she answered, “Alaura might be worried about being a bridesmaid going on nine months pregnant, but I think everything will be okay”

Rich turned back to Monique, “Okay, we’ll take the March opening.”

“Perfect choice,” she muttered, typing something back in to her computer, “Okay, all set. You’ll receive some brochures in the mail and you’ll need to arrive a few days early to start setting up and arranging where you want everything to be.”

“Thank you,” Rich and Adonica murmured at the same time, staring deeply in to one another’s eyes. This was the biggest step in to planning their big day. There were still so many more things to do to prepare. Adonica hoped that there was enough time to do so. She and her bridesmaids still had to fly back to England to get the alterations done on their dresses. She was confident though, with the right timing, that everything would get done on time.

“We’re really going to get married,” Adonica whispered, smiling up at Rich, tears of happiness streaking her cheeks. Saying the words aloud made it all the more real.