Brian and I were riding on AJ’s bus; we were sitting in the back in the recording studio. Brian and AJ were working but I was staring out in space. My life was so good; I was in such a good place that it was hard for me to believe. It was like I was finally able to enjoy my hard work and our success, to a certain degree. I still didn’t get to live at home as much as I wanted but when I was there it was great. Spending time with my crazy family was a lot more fun than it had been in years past. Every now and then my dad would come out on the road with me for a couple of cities. I finally convinced Leslie to come out on tour and visit me. When it was going to happen was beyond me but at least it was a start. Before, she just flat out told me no. There was something about that girl; I’m not sure what’s the deal with her. Maybe my mom was hooking up with the milkman because there doesn’t seem to be a lot of Carter blood running through her veins. She doesn’t have enough drama or issues in her life to be one of us, but then again she does look like me with a wig on so I guess she is a Carter. I’ve finally got my close-knit group of friends and it’s the most awesome feeling. They don’t travel with me, sometimes they come for a visit but I’m on my own more than ever on this tour. It was about time I learned to be alone and it started with doing for myself a little more than I had been doing. All my friends have jobs and are totally into their own lives, I’m not Nick Carter their celebrity friend; I’m one of their friends, that’s all there is to it. It sounds all so hokey to me. The celebrity who can’t trust anyone finally got his life together and found all the right people but it was true. My life truly is some Hallmark made for TV movie. I jumped when something soft hit me in the face,
“Wake up.” I looked over to see AJ and Brian laughing at me,
“What the hell are you smiling about over there?” I shook my head,
“Just happy.” AJ rolled his eyes,
“Yeah, well be happy when we get this song finished.” I nodded as his cell phone rang,
“Hello?” Must be some chick, he stood up and walked away from us. Brian sat down next to me on the couch and smiled,
“So, you’re happy huh? What’s her name?” I shook my head,
“There is no her.” He smiled,
“I saw her leave the other morning. Are you in love now?” Yes, I had a tendency to let people get too close to me and a couple of times I thought it was more than it actually was; and the girls’ actions let me know that I was definitely wrong. It’s different now; a girlfriend is the last thing on my mind right now. I have had enough with relationships for the time being. I’m on a five-year plan; that’s how long I plan on being single. I figure that’s enough time to have fun, by the end of five years I should probably know what kind of woman I want, if not, I’ll just keep on having fun. I, by no means, am perfect. I still sneak junk food; I still have a foul mouth, still have one-night stands, still drink and party. It’s just that it’s all in moderation now.
“I’m not in love, her name is Colleen, she’s a sweet girl and nothing happened.” He looked at me with disbelief and I shook my head,
“Nothing happened. We talked that’s it. She grew up like me, kind of. She didn't grow up with much. Her mom walked out on her, her dad and her brother. She’s in graduate school getting a Master’s in Psychology and her brother is in the Air Force.” I could tell he was impressed, probably more about the fact that I knew so much about her than her life. He nodded his head slowly and placed his hand on my shoulder,
“I just want you to know that I am so very proud of you.” I rolled my eyes and he shook his head,
“No seriously for a while there I didn’t know what was going to happen with you. You were out there and I thought you were going to end up just like AJ, actually worse. In fact, I know you know I thought you should have went to rehab with AJ.” I nodded, I wasn't very happy about that to say the least.
“Your wild partying, your drugs, always seeing you with a drink in your hand and a girl on your lap whenever someone took a picture of you, it scared me. You didn't talk to us and you were on the outs with your family again, I was scared. And I don’t know what happened or who got to you but you just changed. No more bad friends, no more hard partying and you and your family are back together. I’m proud of you, more than you’ll ever know.” Jesus, he’s about to cry and he’s leaning in for a hug. I allowed him to hug me but I couldn’t take it for long,
“Ok man, enough with the times of our lives moment ok?” He laughed as he pulled away from me and gave me a playful shove on the shoulder,
“Thanks man, I know and it means a lot to me that you’re proud of me. More than you’ll ever know.” He smiled at me for a moment longer and went back over to the keyboard.
I started thinking about Colleen. I had every intention of giving that bracelet I bought in her store to my sister but I knew she liked it a lot; just by the way she immediately picked it out when I asked for her opinion. When I tried to give it to her, at first she wouldn’t take it but I insisted. She was really grateful and I’m happy she accepted it; it made me happy to be able to give it to her. At first I think she thought I was trying to buy her for the night, that if I gave her the gift she would sleep with me. That never entered my mind before I gave it to her but once I saw the look on her face and the hesitancy in her voice I figured it out real quick
AJ was flipping through a magazine when he called out,
“Man, vamp looks hot.” Brian frowned,
“Who?” I was with him; I had no idea what the hell AJ was talking about,
“Dude, Brehan. We can’t get away from this broad, she’s everywhere now.” I leaned forward,
“Let me see.” Brian nodded,
“She’s probably always been around. We’ve just never had a name to go along with the face.” He turned the magazine around so Brian and I could see and we both seemed to be blown away,
“Wow, she looks nice.” Brian looked at me,
“What? You have nice things to say about her now?” I looked over at AJ. Did Brian not know that Brehan and I had been talking lately? I find it hard to believe that AJ hasn’t told him this. Maybe Brian was pretending so they could try to get more information out of me. No, they aren’t that clever, now I’m being paranoid. But I still find it hard to believe that AJ hadn’t told him.
“Oh man, they’re friends now.” Brian frowned at AJ,
“What?” AJ nodded,
“Yep, vamp calls him, he calls her. Dude, remember when we went to the movie awards?” Brian nodded,
“Yeah.” AJ pointed at me,
“They hung out afterwards at her place, he practically spent the night baby.” Brian looked at me and smiled,
"You little shit. Why didn't you say anything?" I knew they would all believe that something happened but I couldn't blame them. If someone spent the night with a chick like Brehan I would automatically assume something went down. There was a time, before Brehan, that I believed that you could never be friends with someone who looked like her but I was proving myself wrong. I was all about being friends with Brehan, hell, she intimidated the hell out of me I know I don't have a chance in hell of getting with her so it makes it that much easier to be friends.
"Nothing happened man. We just hung out and that was it." Brian stared at me for a moment,
"I don't believe you." I sighed and nodded my head,
"I know, I wouldn't either but nothing happened."
Chapter 42
Stranger Than Fiction
Stories
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