Leah’s Point of View

Brian met me outside the club; he had a sheepish look on his face. He walked over to me. I was feeling guilty about kissing AJ. I prayed that it didn’t show on my face. I wasn’t ready to confess about my indiscretion. I wasn’t exactly sure what to think of the situation with AJ.

“Leah, I’m sorry. I acted stupidly and I shouldn’t have said that.”  Brian looked me in the eye and smiled at me. He was being sincere, which made me feel even worse.

“I accept your apology. I didn’t mean to be so harsh, but without AJ, I wouldn’t have Eden. So, I’m thankful for that time in my life.” I told him the truth. AJ might have been a pain in my side, but he gave me the most important thing in my life.

Brian pulled me into his arms. He held me close against him. He treated me so good. Anytime we fought, he made sure we made up before bedtime. When I was sick, he was there taking care of me. Brian had a heart of gold. I was blessed to have him in my life. He placed a soft kiss on my mouth. I leaned against him and deepened the kiss.

“Were you smoking?” He asked as he broke away from me.

“Yes. I was pissed and needed a smoke.” I said irritably. I knew he was disgusted that I tasted like smoke.

“Babe, I really didn’t think that comment would cause you to smoke. It wasn’t that big of a deal.” He held out his hand. “Give me the cigarettes.” I hated when he treated me like a child.

“I don’t have any. I smoked one cigarette Brian. It’s not a big deal.”

“It is a big deal. That’s not the way to deal with a misunderstanding.” He moved away from me. “Who gave you the cigarette?”

“Brian, I’m an adult. I don’t need to tell you, you’re not my father.” I couldn’t believe he was starting a fight over a damn cigarette.

“Was it Alex?” Brian questioned me. I started to walk away. “Don’t walk away. I wasn’t finished talking to you.”

“This conversation is over. I’m not a little girl, don’t treat me like one.” I got into the car. Brian followed me inside.

“You’re acting like a twelve year old. You’ve been a bitch since you got here.” He raised his voice.

“I’m sorry I’m not Miss Perfect right now. I have a lot of shit going on and you could give two fucks about it. I’m sorry I’m here for my daughter and not to kiss the ground you walk on.” I screeched. Every time he spoke he pissed me off even more.

“That’s because you won’t let me get involved. Suddenly AJ’s involved in his daughter’s life and I’m chopped liver when it comes to Eden. I’ve been there every damn time he’s screwed her over.” Fuck, I didn’t realize that I was putting Brian on the back burner in Eden’s life because AJ finally stepped up. I was a bitch to the man I loved. No wonder he was pissed at me and AJ.

“Bri, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to push you out of Eden’s life. She looks at you like a dad. I was so pissed because AJ was able to figure out what was wrong, and I couldn’t. I thought I knew my daughter but apparently not well enough.”

“Whatever.” He looked out the window.

“Are you going to pout the rest of the night?” I questioned. It was late and I didn’t feel like playing games.

“Maybe I am.” He replied sarcastically. Brian was acting childish. The car stopped in front of the hotel. We quickly got out.

“Grow up Brian.” I said as I followed him inside. “You’re the one that has the rule of not going to bed angry. You can’t even follow your own damn rules.”

“I really don’t feel like discussing this in the middle of the lobby with the fans watching.” He hissed at me.

“Yeah, you care more about how you look in front of your precious fans. I don’t give two fucks about them and what they think.” I turned around and took the stairwell up to our room on the eighth floor. I needed to get away from Brian.

I didn’t feel any better when I got to my room. In fact, I was so upset I didn’t want to see Brian for at least forever. We never went to bed mad. This would be the first time Brian and I didn’t work out a problem. We didn’t always agree, but would agree to disagree to show that our love was the most important thing.

“Is everything okay, Leah?” Nick asked from the couch.

“Oh fuck! You scared me.” I sat down in a chair. “I thought you would be tucked in your bed fast asleep.”

“Nah, I took a shower and was wide awake. I spent time talking with Eden. How was your night?”

“Horrible.”

“Why is that? I saw Brian come in looking agitated.”

“He’s mad at me.”

“You want to talk about it?” Nick sat up.

“Not really. He’ll be pissed if I discuss his faults with anyone. He thinks he’s so perfect and does nothing wrong.”

“You sure are feisty tonight.” Nick smiled at me. I started to laugh.

“God, Carter any time I’m pissed you call me feisty. It’s like a turn on for you.” I teased him.

“Actually it is. There’s something sexy about your cussing someone out because they pissed you off.” He smirked at me. “It’s always turned me on.”

The slamming of the door caused me to jump. AJ quickly went to his room and slammed that door, too. Apparently something angered him, but there was no need for him to take it out on the door.

“What’s his problem?” Nick asked me.

“Knowing him, he’s ticked at me. He’s jealous because I was talking to you.” I commented dryly. I was so sick of the men in the Backstreet Boys. Howie was starting to become my favorite. He was quiet and nice all the time. AJ and Brian were suffering from PMS, and Nick was the world biggest horn dog when it came to me.

“That’s because he still loves you.”

“He needs to get over me. I’m getting married to one of his friends.”

“Him and Brian haven’t been friends since he found out you two were dating. Wonder what he would say knowing we hooked up?” Nick spoke softly, so AJ wouldn’t hear.

“He would kick your ass. What ever possessed me to hook up with you all of those times? No wonder I am still in therapy.” I made plenty of mistakes when it came to guys and sex. After years of therapy I was learning not to fuck up and have a real relationship. “I think J knows about us. He mentioned something a few days ago, but I pretended to ignore it.”

“You didn’t write about it in your journal, did you? I don’t think I want Eden reading about that.”

“Gosh, I would never let her read about that time in my life. She would end up hating me.” I stood up. “The journal I gave her was when I met AJ until I gave birth to her. Things fell apart for me after that. I was a mess back in the day. Good night Nicky.” I quietly walked to my room. Hopefully Brian was asleep. I didn’t want to deal with his shit.