For three days she had put the thoughts of their fight to the back of her mind only thinking about it when she got a quiet moment like just before she fell asleep and she knew that he was way to bogged down with the start of the tour to be even contemplating it, his promise of “working on it,” probably long forgotten. Not that she could really blame him at the moment and the more she thought about it the more she saw that he was right in what he was saying, having a baby now was not the right time.
She had the idea in her head, right from when she was little, that the father of her child would be there throughout the pregnancy, go to OBGYN appointments with her, be there at the first sonogram, to feel when it kicked for the first time but that wouldn’t happen. Well not unless she gave up work to travel with him but that idea didn’t appeal to her much either, in fact she couldn’t think of anything worse and she had no idea how her sister was going to do it.
It didn’t stop her craving a child though.
“So what happened between you two the other day?” Rachel asked, linking her arm with Adie’s as they strolled down Harajuku street taking in all the sights and shops.
“Just some stupid fight,” Adie shrugged trying to play it down.
“About what?” Rachel asked sucking on a lolly pop, apparently they were they only thing that kept the morning sickness at bay.
“Stuff.”
“Stuff yeah me and Alex fight about stuff all the time too, makes me leave for three days as well,” she said knowingly with a frown.
“How do you know about that?”
“Overheard Nick talking to Howie,” she told her, “So what was it about? The whole commitment thing?”
“Maybe,” she said stopping outside one of the shops to look at the merchandise hanging in the window hoping that Rachel would get the hint that she didn’t really want to talk about it. She heard her sister crunch obviously on the rest of the lollypop all the while thinking about how they would have to visit a dentist if she broke her tooth.
“It didn’t go well? He still against the idea of marriage?” She asked.
“What gave that away?” Adie sighed.
“So what are you going to do about it?” Rachel asked as the wondered into the shop and started looking at the clothes on the racks.
“There’s not a lot I can do, I can’t force him to marry me,” she said picking up the leather jacket and trying it on.
“That looks good, you should get it,” Rachel commented, “You’re not happy though, you can’t stay like that, it’s not fair.”
“Yeah well things are just a bit crazy at the moment what with this tour, maybe when it’s finished we can talk some more about it.”
“So you are going to put your life on hold for the next ten months? That really doesn’t sound like you Adie,” she said sceptically rolling her eyes when her sister eyed the price tag on the jacket she had just tried on and placed it back on the rail.
She kept quiet knowing full well that what Rachel was saying was true, it wasn’t like her, when she wanted something she worked damn hard to get it, never just rolling over and forgetting about it. This was huge too, it wasn’t like a job or a hobbie which she had to be the best at this was the rest of her life, her plan to see her into old age with someone that she wanted to be with and loved. So why was she just going to put all that to the back of her mind for the next year? A Year was a long time, a lot could happen and she was just going to waste that precious time? Half of her was screaming that it was just too long, she was compromising with him being away so why couldn’t he compromise a little too? The other half knew why she was doing it though, because deep in her heart she knew that he was the one, even if he wasn’t sure she was and she knew that he would be worth waiting for.
***
When she returned back to the hotel a few hours later she found him sprawled out in their bed, the TV blaring but he was quite clearly not playing any attention to the cartoons that were on if his light snores were anything to go by. She smiled at his peaceful face before turning to TV off and dropping her coat and bags on the chair by the window. She looked at the face of her watch and decided that while he was sleeping it would be a good idea to take a bath before they met up with the others for dinner.
She sunk into the tub, the water soothing and relaxing and she grabbed for the book that she remembered to bring in with her. This by far was one of her favourite past times, a long leisurely bath where she could soak away all the stress from the day, try to forget about the things bothering her and just engross herself in a totally different world. Currently it was the world of Jodi Picoult nineteen minutes, the story of a high school shooting and of a mother realising how little she knew about her son, someone she apparently loved dearly. Well she could relate to that because the more she thought about it, the more she realised how little she really knew about Nick.
Yeah she knew his birthday, the names of his parents, siblings and friends. She knew what sports he liked, which teams he supported, what music he liked to work out to, to listen to in the car, his favourite foods, how he told Howie he was a child for reading the Harry Potter books when he had secretly watched all the movies. That stuff she knew, it was the other stuff he was closed off about, like his childhood, why he was still so distant from his Mother, why he didn’t attend his own Father’s wedding, the reason behind only seeing his half brother once, why he didn’t trust her enough to share how he felt, to share his fears with her. He had once told her that thing he loved about her the most was that he knew she loved him for him but how could she possibly know the real Nick when he had never opened up to her and bared all?
She didn’t really have time to contemplate it further because she noticed him leaning against the door, his eyes still sleepy, his hair a mess, his mouth open mid yawn.
“Nice nap?” She asked and he just nodded making his way further into the room, hobbling a bit a dead give away his knee was still playing up. “Is it still hurting? She asked with a frown, knowing that it would probably only get worse what with all the dancing he was going to be doing.
“Yeah,” he replied hoarsely as he perched on the edge of the tub, massaging it lightly. “That bath really helped it last night,” he told her suggestively.
She got the hint and moved across slightly nodding her head in agreement. He slipped of his jeans and t-shirt, just leaving them in a messy pile on the floor before gently easing himself into the warm water, sighing when he was finally comfortable. She watched as he rested his head back and closed his eyes.
“Don’t fall asleep again,” she told him with a small giggle.
“Why? I’m exhausted. I think I’m getting too old for all this,” he told her making her laugh even more.
“Too old? You’re not even thirty yet,” she said splashing him with some water.
“Well my knee is about ready to give out on me,” he whined.
“If you make sure you warm up and then warm down properly and wear the knee support it will be fine,” she told him rubbing his calf.
“That feels nice,” he complimented as she added more pressure. “Can we be unsocial tonight? I really don’t feel like going out for dinner.”
“Sure I’m not in much of a socialising mood myself, too tired from all the shopping,” she told him.
“How much did you buy?” He asked.
“Not much, few souvenirs for people, a pair of boots but I’m too tall for anything else here, Japanese women are too tiny,” she told him making him laugh at her. “What?” she asked.
“You’re not exactly Shaq though are you I mean you’re a five foot midget,” he said wincing when she grabbed hold of his knee in retaliation. “Ow that hurt,” he whined.
“Oh please I barely touched you,” she said rolling her eyes, “and I’m five foot and a quarter!”
“Yeah because that quarter makes all the difference!”
“It would in some areas!” She bit back jokingly making him scowl at her comment.
“That was below the belt,” he grumbled.
“I thought this was below the belt?” She coyly said as she wrapped her hand around his shaft making him moan and the sudden contact. She smiled and shook her head playfully at his expression, feeling him grow hard in her hand. “Should we be doing this? Do you guys have the no nookie before a big show rule?” She teased as she added a bit more pressure.
“Fuck no, we aint that stupid,” He almost panted, “Jesus.”
She smiled again before pulling her hand away and standing up so she could reach for the towel. His eyes immediately snapped open in disappointment as he watched her step out of the tub and wrap the towel around her sopping body.
“Where are you going?” he asked as she began to head towards the door, the few hairs that had escaped her messy bun now wet.
“We tried sex in the tub before remember? It didn’t end well.”
When he finally made it out of the bathroom, after quickly rough drying himself and flinging the damp towel on the floor along with messy pile of discarded clothes, he found her sat naked on he bed, phone clutched in her hand as she made their excuses.
“Yeah, his knee isn’t feeling great, probably a better idea if he keeps off it tonight and ices it. Yeah…okay we’ll see you guys in the morning…talk to you later…bye,” she said as she hung up, smirking at him when he looked at her curiously, “What? It wasn’t a total lie.”
“How can you read my mind like that?” he asked as he made his way to the edge of the bed where she was sat. She reached up and grabbed both of his hands in hers, pulling him down, spreading her legs so he could rest comfortably between them, their damp torsos touching.
“I just can, I’m very skilful like that,” she said before leaning up so she could make contact with his mouth, parting his mouth quickly with her tongue. He sighed blissfully into her mouth as he rested most of his weight on his elbows, one of his hands gently caressing her cheek. She slid her hands down under his arms, snaking them back up to clutch as his masculine shoulder blades, feeling his muscles contract as he intensified the kiss, slowly starting to grind against her.
She pushed her own hips up against him causing a long deep moan to escape from him as he pulled away from the kiss, his hand trailing down her body lightly, coming to rest at the crook of her knee, hooking his hand underneath it he gently lifted it round his waist pushing inside her quickly making her breath catch in her throat at his sudden action. He kept still for a moment his eyes closed in concentration as he revelled in the feel of being surrounded by her once again, she was so tight and warm around his throbbing cock and he wanted to make the moment last.
“Nick,” she moaned thrusting her hips up towards his making him moan with her as she interlocked their fingers. He slowly pulled out of her before sliding back in causing her to arch her back and call out throatily again. He kept the pace as slow as possible, knowing that it was the best way to torture her, to make her moan his name loudly, to make this last. She quickly raised her other leg wrapping it eagerly around his waist pushing him deeper, moaning every time he thrust hardly back into her, begging for him to go deeper and faster. He hissed when he felt her finger nails scratch down his back after she pulled her hands from him, he knew he was going to be marked from that but he didn’t care, it could go along with all the other faint trails that she had left on his back from their other escapades. Her hands came to rest at the nape of his neck, her fingers curling into the short hairs that were there as she bought his face to hers so she could kiss him, mimicking the actions of their hips with their tongues.
He felt her begin to loose control, her nails once again digging into his skin, her breathing becoming more ragged and then he felt the all too familiar feeling of her walls pulsating around him and before he knew it she was screaming his name as she rode out her orgasm, squeezing him so hard from within that he had no choice but to also loose control and so he let himself go coming hard inside her with a strangled cry.
He rested his head in the crook of her shoulder as he tried to catch his breath, her hands gently massaging his back as she too relaxed after their feverish love making. He felt her legs drop down from around his waist as she gently planted a few kisses to his head and he finally made himself pull out of her as he rolled to the side so he wouldn’t crush her.
“Definitely much better then being social,” she said also rolling on to her side so she could rest her head on his chest, slinging a leg across his in an effort to get even closer.
“Who needs friends?” he agreed with a chuckle, his arm wrapping protectively around her.
***
She awoke the next morning with a smile on her face it quickly fading to a pout when she turned and found his side of the bed empty, a small note resting on his pillow. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes before sitting slightly and grabbing at the crinkled piece of paper, pulling it open to read his scrawled note.
Hey Sexy,
Left for the venue earlier then planned, some problem with the mics. Thought that after last night you might like to lie in for a bit! : P
Josh is going to head back to the hotel around midday to pick up Rach, Leigh x 2, Baylee and you. See you later.
Your incredibly gorgeous boyfriend! ( who is AGAIN scarred!)
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
She laughed at the note, he wrote them exactly like he would talk, god she had a box full of notes like these from him at home, they weren’t even really love letters, just ones that he had left if he wasn’t going to home when she got back from work, if she had still been sleeping but she just hadn’t been able to part with them. She folded the small note back up and slipped it onto the bed side cabinet before stretching out in the comfy bed, the sheets messily draped over her naked body, before closing her eyes and contemplating going back to sleep.
Her stomach had something to say about that though and she knew that some breakfast was in order so she opened her tired eyes once again and spotted the bathrobe lying on the chair by the window, throwing that on she headed into the small living area and found the room service menu, ordering a light breakfast of toast and cereal with a large black coffee. Hanging up the phone she knew she would have at least ten minutes if not longer to wait and headed in the shower, hoping that the water would erase what was left of the sleep.
It seemed to work its magic because when her breakfast arrived twenty minutes later she was refreshed, rejuvenated and ready for the day ahead, knowing that it was going to be a long one. It was sixteenth of February 2008, the very first night of the Unbreakable Tour and considering that Nick had left before nine AM she knew that the day was going to be busy. She had no idea what to expect, she had never really toured with him before, when they first started dating he had been heading towards the end of the Never Gone tour, in fact she had only been to two shows, the frst being in Nashville when he sent her the tickets as a thanks and the second being the last night of the tour in Melbourne. She hadn’t been with him through the stress of trying to organise a tour, had no clue what had to be going through his mind today and she doubted that she ever would, their jobs were completely different.
She finished her breakfast quickly, piling up the plates and leaving them just outside the room wondering what she was going to do to keep herself occupied for the next few hours, she didn’t really no either of the Leigh’s that well and she figured her sister would still be sleeping so she headed back into her room and found her phone, jumping when it began to ring as soon as it was in her hand.
“I thought you would be to busy with the microphone catastrophe to talk to me today,” she teased when she answered.
“I would call it a catastrophe more like a minor hiccup. You get my note then?” he asked.
“Yep. I didn’t even feel you get out of bed.”
“That’s because I’m sly, I move swiftly, almost cat like,” he joked making her laugh at his obvious good mood and excitement about this evenings events.
“Cat like huh? Is that why you like to be scratched behind the ears?”
“Yeah ears are nice, back not so much, you actually made me bleed you evil wench,” he whined.
“You weren’t complaining when I was doing it,” she informed making him try and retaliate but he knew what she was saying was true, he had been enjoying it, just the after sting was a bitch now. “So what are you doing now the minor hiccup has been sorted?” She asked as she stretched out on the couch.
“Sound check, might actually do a full run through, not sure yet I just know I’m bored,” he said.
“So that’s why you called me huh? Just something to do to pass the time because you are bored not because you love me and miss me?” She said feigning being hurt by his comment, knowing at that precise moment Nick would be kicking himself for what he just said thinking that she was begin serious.
“No…I didn’t mean…I…” he heard her chuckles and clicked, “You almost had me there. Are you dressed?” he asked.
“I am not having phone sex with you, you’ll only get pulled at way at the worst possible timing,” she told him knowing full well what would happen like it had so many times before.
“And you call me horny all the time! I wasn’t even thinking about sex, don’t roll your eyes I wasn’t,” he said freaking her out when she did actually roll her eyes at his last comment. “I just wanted to know if you’re ready because if you are you can come now.”
“I’m ready,” she told him.
“Cool I’ll get Josh to come and get you,” he replied happily.
“Nick we are staying the Tokyo Dome Hotel which is like two minutes from the Dome itself I don’t think I’m going to get lost when I can actually see where I’m headed, unlike you I do have a natural sense of direction.”
“Fine like to see you make your way through the throng of fans who will know exactly who you are in one piece,” he told her knowingly.
“There are fans there already?” She asked surprised, it was barely even ten am the gates didn’t open for at least another eight hours.
“Yep they were here when we arrived at eight, so do you still want to come by yourself or should I send Josh?” He asked again.
“Send Josh. I’ll see you soon,” she told him.
“Okay I’ll probably be annoying someone, just follow their frustrated yells,” he said making her laugh.
“By someone you mean either Howie or Jen don’t you?”
“Yep. Love you,” he said.
“Love you to,” she said before hanging up and making sure she had everything she needed as she knew she wouldn’t be heading back before the show was over, it was certainly going to be a long day.
***
She sat with Rachel and Howie’s Leigh in the green room and just took in the scenes around her, everyone back stage was busy, doing something and everywhere she had tried to stand she had been in the way. Even when she had been sat in his dressing room she had caused problems laughing at his ridiculous vocal warm up, the sounds coming from his mouth causing her to laugh, making him in turn laugh with her and if she had stayed with him she knew he wouldn’t have been able to finish.
They had twenty minutes before they were due to go on, and she could tell as soon as he walked into the green room that he was nervous. He was biting his nails for one thing, and when his eyes locked with her he flashed an awkward smile which she returned, standing up to go to him.
“You okay?” She asked when she reached him as Jake, one of the sound techs, wired his mike to him, he nodded unconvincingly and took her hand in his, pulling her from the room when his mike was in place. “Are you sure you’re okay?” She asked again when they found themselves in an empty hallway.
“I’m fine,” he shrugged.
“Nervous?” She asked knowingly.
“Maybe,” he admitted with a small blush.
Adie smiled warmly and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pulling him down to her level for a hug, whispering, “You are going to kick ass,” before placing a kiss to his cheek.
“Thanks Babe,” he smiled wrapping his arms around her tightly lifting her off the ground slightly making her shriek. “You’re going to watch from out front right?” He asked when he let her go.
“Of course I am.”
***
How she wished that she had watched from the Green Room, or had thought about sneaking out when they lights went dark because she hadn’t been prepared for fans. She was a nobody, no one special, not famous, just plain boring Adrianna from Nashville yet they were so interested in her, flashing cameras at her, asking her questions, thrusting paper and pens at her for autographs. Sure when she had been with him to events and partied the paparazzi had been flashing pictures of them, calling out his and her name and she was no stranger to ending up in trashy tabloids but this was different, she had had very few encounters with his fans when she was by herself. On the occasions where she had met them they had been more interested in Nick then her but now? Well it was totally different.
She watched as Leigh and her Sister chatted easily with the fans, signed autographs and posed for pictures. Rachel chatted with ease, talking about the wedding, about Alex’s solo stuff, Leigh pretty much doing the same how could neither of them find it a bit weird, after all these girls were only interested in them because of their husbands, it was all so false. She played along anyway because she knew how Nick’s fans could be, one bad run in and it would be posted on every internet site across the world, tarnishing her name forever.
When the lights finally went out and the decibels of the screams increased to fever pitch she sighed in relief, god her cheeks had never hurt so much from all the smiling then again she supposed she would have to get used to this, after all it was his job.
Her cheeks were only going to hurt more though because once the show started she found herself grinning like a Cheshire cat at him. She hadn’t really seen any of the rehearsal stuff, hadn’t been able to go to the dress rehearsal in Florida as she had been working and she was glad that she didn’t because watching it for the first time with the mass of fans behind her was the only way she wanted to see it. All the rehearsals, the sweat, the blood and tears had certainly paid off because he was flawless, they all were. Not a note missed, not a dance step out of time not that she thought any of the fans would have noticed with all the noise they were making, it was amazing that even though English was not the first language they still knew every word, hell any one of the guys could have held their mics out for the whole show and the crowd would have stood in for them.
He looked so comfortable up on stage, so at ease and relaxed and she had no idea why he had been so nervous because he was an excellent show man, a very polished and professional performer, giving his all to every move and note.
She had realised long ago though that Nick Backstreet was not Nick Carter.
They were as different as night and day, as chalk and cheese. The more she thought about it, the more it dawned on her that even she did not fully know Nick Carter.
Author's Chapter Notes:
It's the start of the tour and Adie realises actually how little she knows Nick
