Chapter Selection:
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Chapter 1

woke up to the sound of her alarm going off. She hit the 'off' button and sat up in her bed. The sun was shining through the window. It was probably going to be a nice day. She considered going for a jog later in the afternoon. It had been a while since she had been jogging. was a trained, professional dancer, at least she had been. Two years ago she made her living performing in shows all over the world and teaching people of varying ages how to dance. Then, she was in a car accident with a drunk driver and she broke her left leg in several places. The doctor's told her she'd probably walk with a limp for the rest of her life. She went to physical training every day and worked hard to get her leg back to the way it was. Slowly, but surely, she was progressing. Six months prior, she resumed teaching. She taught only part time. In the morning, she taught a ballet class for children and in the afternoon, she taught ballroom dancing for beginners.

She climbed out of bed and went into the bathroom to brush her teeth. She showered the night before to save herself time in the morning. After brushing her teeth, she pulled her hair back into a tight ponytail and went back into the bedroom. She rummaged through her closet for something to wear and settled on a pair of black dress pants and a white button down shirt. She pulled on a pair of black boots with heels and went downstairs. She wasn't very hungry, but she knew if she didn't eat something, she'd be starving by lunch. She grabbed a granola bar and a bottle of water and headed out the door.

As she drove down the street towards town, she reflected on the current direction her life was taking. She was grateful to have her health after what had happened to her. Her best friend, , was always there for her when she needed it. She was making a living doing something she loved. But there was something missing in her life. She had been dating a fellow dancer before her accident who left her when she found out she might never be able to dance again. Through the experience, she learned that he was using her to help him climb the ladder of dancing success. She was glad to be rid of him if that was all he wanted. was ready to settle down and find someone to spend her life with. Every man she met seemed to want one thing and that one thing was never a commitment.

She sighed as she pulled up outside of the dance studio. She would have time to think about how lonely her life was after her classes. Before she walked through the door, she made an attempt to wipe away all of her negative thoughts. One thing she had learned about working with children was that they fed off of your mood. If she was depressed or angry or upset, the children would know it, and their behavior would reflect it.

The morning class went well. Her children were really improving since they had started taking lessons. They were working on a recital that would take place in about a month. She had an hour to kill between her morning class and her afternoon class, so she decided to run a few errands in the mean time.

“I can't believe I'm doing this. complained to himself as he drove down the road toward town. “I don't even know what purpose this serves.” He was more annoyed than anything else. He could think of about fifty other things he could be doing on a Tuesday afternoon, especially a Tuesday when the weather was so beautiful. “Oh well!” He surrendered to himself. “I better make the best of this.” He groaned. He pulled into the parking garage beside the small studio and turned the car off. He noticed that there were only two other cars in the parking lot. When he walked through the door, he stepped into a large room with mirrors covering the walls. There was a couple standing on one side of the room talking quietly to each other and a young woman on the opposite side of the room, fidgeting with an mp3 player that was hooked up to a speaker system. He assumed she was the instructor of the class and walked in her direction.

“Excuse me.” His voice must have startled her because she jumped and turned around quickly. Her eyes gave him a once over. They showed a slight look of acknowledgment and about fifteen other expressions that couldn't decipher. “I'm the new guy.” nodded at him. She knew he had signed up for her class, because his agent had called and told her, but she was still startled by his presence. He was a successful pop star. Surely, he had a choreographer who could teach him to dance. He didn't need to take lessons at such a small studio from such a mediocre instructor.

“So you are.” replied, trying not to let her nerves show. She had almost forgotten he was starting the class today. “Well, I figure most of my female students are going to have one hell of a time focusing on the lesson with you hanging around. I think it's best if the two of us are partners.” She insisted. “Then I won't have a dozen or more women fighting over who gets to dance with . Is that okay with you?” appreciated the fact that she was in control of the situation and knew what she wanted. He nodded at her. “Great.” While the two spoke, the room started to fill with other students. “Try not to draw too much attention to yourself. Maybe they won't notice.” and shared a laugh. Of course they would notice.

“I hear you're a great instructor.” 's words flattered . “The best.”
“Maybe I was, before my accident.” knew exactly what she was talking about. He had done research on all of the schools that taught ballroom dancing in the area. “But now I'm just trying to make a living.”

“I'll be the judge of that.” replied. He leaned against the wall where he was standing. continued fidgeting with the mp3 player until she had achieved whatever goal she was working towards. By the time she had finished, the class had arrived. At exactly two o'clock, she clapped her hands together to gain the attention of her students.

“Good afternoon, everyone!” She announced. Several of the people in the room mumbled replies. “We have a new student today.” decided that she might as well get it out in the open to avoid any outbursts in the middle of class. “Most of you will know who he is. Class, say hello to Mr. .” chuckled and stepped forward, bowing his head to the rest of the people in the room. There were a few gasps and a lot of whispering. “He's here to learn to dance, just like the rest of you, so let's try to get through the next hour treating him like he's not a superstar. We're starting with the Waltz.” She tried to look cool and collected as she assumed the appropriate stance for the dance with . She wasn't used to being in such close proximity to such a gorgeous man, famous or not. She had to try extra hard to focus on the dance. She pointed out the steps to her class at first, going through the motions rather slowly. After a few minutes, she and picked up their pace and were joined by the other couples, who also had to struggle to focus on their own dancing and not 's. “I'm not so sure you need dance lessons.” said to as he led her around the room in a perfect Waltz. grinned at her.

“It's my Tango that needs some perfecting.” He assured her and smiled.
“I'm sure.” replied. “We'll get to the Tango tomorrow, then.” She promised him. was beginning to feel slightly uncomfortable. He knew it was only sixty degrees outside at the hottest yet he felt very warm and slightly dizzy. Surely the young woman who held onto him so gracefully at that very moment couldn't be causing such a reaction from him. He tried to shake her from his mind as he continued dancing.

When the class was over, quite a few of the other students stuck around to ask questions and request an autograph. obliged, said his goodbyes, and disappeared. cleaned up the room and waited until all of her students had gone before she left the studio and headed home.

“So, let me get this straight.” 's best friend, , was sitting across from her at 's kitchen table. usually visited 's for dinner and either would cook or would bring take out. This particular night, had shown up with Chinese, because told her she was too exhausted to cook. “You're teaching , THE of THE Westlife, how to ballroom dance?” couldn't believe what her best friend was telling her. nodded. “And YOU'RE his dance partner?” nodded again. “I don't believe you.” protested and leaned back in her chair. laughed.

“Fine.” surrendered. “I almost couldn't believe it myself.” She admitted. To say she was a fan of Westlife might be a little of an overstatement. She didn't mind their music and she had a few of their songs on her mp3 player, but she didn't own any of their CDs and had never been to one of their concerts.

“Is he just as hot in person as he looks on TV?” asked excitedly. Nothing interesting had happened to either of the girls in quite some time. This was big. grinned at her friend.
“Way hotter.”
“Well, said, taking a bite of her food, don't be surprised if I show up at one of your classes this week.”
“I won't be.”


Chapter 2

sat quietly on a bar stool in the small bar. His three friends and band mates were off in another corner of the bar, putting quarters in an old fashioned juke box. As he finished off his beer, he couldn't remember if it was his fifth or sixth. Either way, he ordered another one. He had spent many nights the same way drinking until he couldn't remember anything, until he couldn't feel anymore. “!”
slapped playfully on the shoulder as he sat beside him at the bar. “Cheer up. You're not much fun anymore.” suddenly looked serious. He could tell was deeply bothered, even more so than usual. “What's up, ?” asked sincerely.
“It's not any different than any other day.” shrugged, chugging from his mug of beer.
“Sure it is.” insisted. “I know you, . This isn't the usual 'I'm angry and depressed because I don't really love my fiance and I'm only marrying her because it's safe and comfortable' oblivion that you're drinking yourself into. Besides, I'm tired of trying to convince you not to marry her. If you're okay with a miserable marriage, who am I to stop you?” looked at and rolled his eyes. “Are you going to argue the fact?” challenged him. sighed and shook his head. When he first met his current fiance almost a year prior, things seemed perfect. She was young and beautiful and... well, she was young and beautiful. She seemed eager to progress the relationship and was ready to settle down. His wasn't getting any younger and it was becoming harder to figure out which women were after his money and which really loved him. He wanted his mother and father to have grandchildren before they passed away, and they weren't getting any younger either.
“She's making me take ball room dancing lessons.” groaned, finishing his drink. burst into laughter and glared at him.
“Oh, come on! If it were me, you'd be laughing, too.” was laughing so hard, tears escaped the corners of his eyes. continued to glare. “Okay, okay.” tried to suppress his laughter. “What's the big deal?”
“First of all, it's one of her more annoying qualities. Just because she wants me to learn to be a better ballroom dancer for the wedding, I have to take classes. It doesn't matter that I had absolutely no interest in learning to dance.” It was very much like her to make decisions for . nodded understandingly. ordered another beer.
“I think you've had enough.” said loud enough for the bartender to hear and take the hint. He didn't bring another beer. “I don't want to carry you home again tonight.” silently agreed. “Out with it, what's the 'second of all'? If there was a 'first of all' there has to be a 'second of all', and I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that you said you 'had' no interest in learning to dance instead of you 'have' no interest in it.” annoyed . He paid entirely too much attention to detail. It was hard for to talk his way out of anything when it came to .
“There's a second of all.” nodded. “I think I have a...” He mumbled the rest of the sentence. rolled his eyes at and elbowed him in the ribs.
“English, please?”
“Fine, fine. I think I have a crush on my teacher.” fought hard not to laughed. He looked at thoughtfully.
“You feel guilty because you want to shag your dance instructor?” asked, trying to get a better understanding of what it was exactly that was bothering his friend. shook his head.
“I didn't say I wanted to shag her.” spat.
“Ooooooooooooooooh!” A light bulb seemed to have gone off in 's head. “You feel guilty because you like your dance instructor.” He didn't ask this time because he was sure he understood his friend. nodded his head. “ , you only spent one hour with her.” reminded him, as if wasn't already aware of that fact.
“That's what's got me feeling so guilty.” The more that came out, the more understood.
“Well, what are you going to do?” asked curiously.
“I'm not taking any more dance lessons. That's for sure.” rested his face in his hands.

woke up the late the following morning. She rushed to get ready for work, nearly forgetting to brush her teeth. She barely had time to think about anything and she completely forgot about . It wasn't until her afternoon class began that she realized he was missing. She felt a little disappointed, but she knew he wouldn't be taking her classes forever. He probably just had some special event to get ready for. Besides, maybe he was just out sick or busy with something else. She pushed the thoughts of to the back of her mind and continued teaching her class.

The guys decided to get some shopping done on one of their very rare days off. Since had canceled his lesson, he had the afternoon off, too. His fiance was furious with him when he told her he wouldn't be taking the lessons anymore. He hadn't shared his reasoning with her. She wasn't likely to let him live this down. She insisted he would ruin the wedding when he showed up unable to Tango with her. The thought nauseated him.
Once they had grown tired of shopping, the guys decided to stop into a small, local diner for a late lunch.
“You look preoccupied, .” said to as he shoved a few french fries into his mouth. “Something on your mind?” shook his head and peered out the window. The conversation at the table went on around him.
“ ... ?!” He snapped back to reality when he heard called his name. He realized at that point that had been talking to him for several minutes.
“Sorry, what were you saying?” He asked, looking over at .
“Seriously, , what's gotten into you?” asked, narrowing his eyes at his friend. shrugged.
“ ...” looked at him oddly. “You're not still thinking about your dance instructor are you?” rolled his eyes and shook his head, all while avoiding eye contact with his friends. “You are, too!” accused him. “I don't believe it.”
“Well, what do you expect?!” snapped. “You know I'm not happy. Of course I enjoy a beautiful young woman who actually has a personality.” His three friends all looked at him with shock in his eyes. He tried as often as he could not to talk badly about his fiance, but apparently he was at his wits end. “Get over it.” said to them. “It's not like you all can't tell I'm fed up.”
“Why don't you just leave her, then?” asked. “I've never seen you as unhappy as you are now.”
“I'm tired of doing this.” sighed. “I'm tired of dating and looking for someone to spend my life with. I'm going to be thirty years old. I don't want to be a thirty year old single guy.” shook his head. He hated discussing the issue with his band mates. They always told him that he should leave and he knew they were probably right, but it was easier said than done. “Listen, I'd rather not talk about this right now.”
“Fine, if that's what you want. agreed.

When went home that evening, he wasn't surprised that his fiance was there, waiting to start an argument with him.
“You promised me you would take those classes! Why am I going to marry someone who won't keep their promises to me?!” His fiance, , screamed at him. shook his head as he hung his jacket in the closet.
“You didn't even ask me if I wanted to take the classes to begin with. It's what you want. You don't care what I want.” argued. He had a really hard time ever getting to understand where he was coming from.
“You're right, , I don't care what you want. You're going to ruin my wedding!”
“YOUR WEDDING?!” screamed. “YOUR WEDDING? It's supposed to be OUR wedding. Besides, you and your family aren't paying one cent for the damn thing. It's not like you don't have the money. You just think that because I happen to have money, I should pay for everything.”
“Don't turn this into a money issue.” growled at him.
“This whole argument is ridiculous.” didn't feel like arguing anymore. “I shouldn't have to take dance lessons if I don't want to.”
“Fine, , fine. Sleep in your studio tonight.” laughed loudly and headed upstairs to his small studio. The sound of the door slamming behind him could probably be heard from England. He plopped down onto his leather sofa. He wanted to scream, but he didn't want to give her the satisfaction. At first, their relationship seemed perfect, but the honeymoon didn't last very long. Soon after proposed to , the other side of her came out. The two fought almost every day. She was selfish and wanted to submit to her every and call. She treated more like a trophy than a lover or a partner, but as he told his friends earlier in the day, he was simply tired of the search for someone. If there was someone out there for besides , he would have met her already. By now, his family and 's family were as used to each other as they were going to get. 's parents weren't very fond of , but they had grown to tolerate her for 's sake (That didn't stop them from giving their honest opinion when wasn't around). It was too late to turn back now. The wedding was paid for and would take place the following week. fell asleep thinking about a beautiful young woman. That woman was not his future wife.


Chapter 3

slept in the following morning. When he finally opened his eyes, which burned in the sunlight that shone in through the window, he realized that he had slept in a very uncomfortable position. His neck was stiff. He sat up and turned his next as far as it would go in one direction and then the other. When his neck still hurt, he headed into the bathroom. He rummaged through the medicine cabinet until he found some pain killers and tossed three of them down his throat. He turned on the faucet and used his hand to bring some water to his mouth. It took him a while to realize that he had never showered the night before. He undressed and turned the shower on. He let the water run until it was scolding hot and climbed in. The water felt good on his neck and by the time he was done showering, his neck felt better and he felt rejuvenated. Just as he began drying his hair with a towel, there was a loud bang on the front door. tied the towel quickly around his waist, making sure he was completely covered up, and dashed down the stairs. There was another bang just before reached the door. He pulled the door open to find standing in front of him, grinning wildly.
“Look at you!” nodded towards 's towel and winked. rolled his eyes at . “Aren't you going to let me in?” asked, pushing past into the house. closed the door behind . “I tried calling before I came over.” shrugged. “But apparently you're just getting up.”
“I didn't sleep well last night.” replied. “Let me go get dressed. I'll be right down.” went upstairs and dressed quickly in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. He put a blue hoodie on over the t-shirt and pulled on a pair of sneakers. His hair was still wet when he joined downstairs once again. “Want something to drink?”
“No thanks.” replied. sat on the arm chair opposite where sat on the sofa. “What are your plans for this afternoon?” asked excitedly.
“I don't really have any plans.” replied. He had planned on spending the day at home, maybe writing some songs, and avoiding .
“Good.” nodded. “I came to cheer you up.”
“How exactly are you going to do that?” asked nervously. grinned at him.
“Don't you trust me?” asked. had to answer the question carefully. In most cases, he trusted , but in this particular case, he knew was up to something and didn't exactly know how to respond. “Come with me.”
“I don't really feel like going out.” shook his head and sat back.
“Come on!” insisted. He stood up, grabbed by the arm, and pulled him to his feet. “I promise you won't regret it.” promised . “Let's go.”
“I will probably regret it.” sighed as he gave in and followed out the door.

smiled when she saw coming through the door just before her afternoon ballroom dancing class was scheduled to begin. Despite her telling that hadn't shown up to the class yesterday, insisted on coming just in case. pretended to be uninterested in anything going on around her, though she kept looking frantically around the room for any sign of . She frowned as she walked up to .
“He's not here.” pouted. shrugged.
“There's still ten minutes before the class starts. Be optimistic.” assured her friend. She had to admit that she was also a little disappointed at 's absence. His presence has given her a fuzzy feeling inside, something she hadn't felt in a while.
“What are you trying to do, ?!” complained as pulled into the small parking lot beside the small dance studio. was annoyed with the stupid grin that was plastered across 's face.
“You're not really mad at me.” insisted. “I'm doing what's best for my friend, you can't blame me for that.”
"I told you why I didn't want to come back here." shook his head. "What good is this gonna do?" knew that spending more time with his beautiful, funny dance instructor would make him like her even more, which was a huge problem since his wedding was only a week off.
"It'll do a lot of good." replied as he opened his door and stepped out of the car. He leaned down and spoke to who still sat inside. "It's been a long time since I've seen you happy. After you took that class, you were happy. I want to see you happy again. Plus, I wanna see what's so great about the woman that has you ready to cancel your wedding." shot a surprised look at .
"I never said anything like that!" protested. If was anything, he was a nice guy. Nice guys did not leave women at the alter for women they hardly knew.
"Either way." shrugged. "Either get out and go inside with me, or I WILL drag you out. And you know I will, so let's go." had done far more embarrassing things to in the past. He was likely to drag out of the car and into the studio, kicking and screaming. consider jumping into the driver's seat and taking off, but he wouldn't be fast enough, especially because 's body blocked him from closing the driver's side door. sighed heavily and stepped out. He shoved his hands deep in his pockets. "That's the spirit!" said as he slammed his door closed and walked beside into the studio. When they stepped inside, class was getting ready to begin. Everyone in the room stopped dead in their tracks to stare at them. Now two members of Westlife were in the classroom. tried not to look too happy to see . struggled to remain composed as she laid eyes on the most gorgeous man she had ever seen. was one of the most eligible bachelor's in Ireland and he was a man that often fantasized about.
"Please tell me that's not ." whispered to , prying her eyes off of the two men. shrugged. "You didn't tell me HE was in your class, too." would have dressed nicer if she knew he was going to be there.
"He wasn't here last time." replied. "I didn't know." The two men walked towards the girls.
"Which one?" asked as they approached two women on the far side of the room. "The one in the red." replied. He could feel his stomach doing somersaults. He thought that must have been the butterflies in the stomach feeling that all of those sappy people always talked about. He couldn't understand why he didn't feel that way about his fiance. His eyes took in the lovely woman in front of him. She wore a black skirt that was knee length and shaped to fit her body. Her shirt was similar to the white one he had first seen her in, except it was red instead of white. The top two buttons were undone and the sleeves stopped three quarters of the way down her arms. She also wore a pair of red leather boots with high heels. She had to know that dressing like that would make every man around her trip over their own feet to get her attention, or at least that's thought.
"Nice." approved of the beauty in front of him. She looked less high maintenance than , but was naturally more beautiful. , however, couldn't help but stare at the woman next to her.
“You should have a conversation with her." suggested. "Did you know it's possible for a woman to have a personality?" asked sarcastically. chuckled. He often remarked that had the personality of a door knob.
"Who's her friend?" asked.
"I don't know." replied. "Ask her yourself."

" !" exclaimed as the two men approached. "I thought you'd quit on me." She smiled politely and winked at him. found her smile to be far sexier than he thought she intended. He laughed nervously. He had quit, but he would be lying if he said that he regretted being there. Seeing was enough to cheer him up.
"I wouldn't dream of it." lied. He took her hand in his and brought it to his lips, kissing it lightly. She let her hand linger for a few seconds before pulling it away. "This here is my friend ." pointed towards . "This is ."
"It's a pleasure, ." said to him.
"According to here, the pleasure's all mine." chuckled and elbowed him in the ribs.
“You'll have to excuse him." apologized for . "He hasn't had his medicine today."
The two girls laughed. "I'm sorry." gestured towards . "I don't believe we've met."
"I'm , 's best friend." grinned.
"I don't mean to cut this short, but we better get started. If you two are going to join us," she said, looking from to , "I suggest you two be partners."
"Well, I wasn't going to..." began.
"You damn sure are." spat at him.
"In that case, I'd love to be your partner." bowed at and the class begun. After several minutes, decided that was a fine dancer and didn't need classes at all, but she wouldn't object to his presence.
"Your Tango is just fine." said to as they danced around the room.
“Some people would argue with you." mumbled. "But thank you. You're much better at it than I am."
"That's why you're paying me." grinned and laughed. "So, how much longer should I expect you to grace us with your attendance?" She asked , trying not to sound too interested in his response.
"Just until the end of next week." replied, trying to hide the sadness in his voice.
"Oh." If had said anything else, would have been able to tell she was disappointed.
She enjoyed his presence. It was nice to dance with a nice, attractive man who wasn't grabbing her body parts or asking her if she gave private lessons. She glanced over at and who appeared to be having a grand time, despite the fact that they were tripping over each others feet. Before they knew it, the hour was up and class was over. went over to the stereo to unhook her mp3 player. " ." jumped as walked up behind her. "Sorry." He hadn't meant to startle her. "It's just... well... our choreographer is on maternity leave and we're looking for someone to help us with our upcoming tour.”
" , I'm flattered, but I'm not good enough for a job like that." Funny AND modest. was shocked.


Chapter 4

"You are. Listen, I'm not asking you to agree to it right now, but at least meet with Louis. We have a tour meeting on Sunday morning. Will you come?" mulled it over for a few minutes. A job like that could be a once in a lifetime opportunity.
"I'll come, but I'm not guaranteeing anything."
"Great!" In his excitement, picked up and spun her around. He put her down quickly. "Sorry, I got caught up in the moment."
"It's okay." blushed.
“The meeting is at the Sony BMG studio. It's a little far away. I can arrange for a driver to come pick you up.” He offered.
“I'll google it.” insisted. “I like long drives. Is it okay if I bring along?” and both glanced over at their friends who were in the corner speaking quietly and what appeared flirtatiously. grinned.
“That shouldn't be a problem.” replied. He thought might enjoy spending some more time with . “Let me give you my mobile number in case you get lost or can't make it or something.” Reluctantly, handed her Blackberry so he could program his number. She wasn't sure any of this was normal. She now had the cell phone number of one of the members of Westlife and was invited to their tour meeting. That wasn't how she was used to spending her Sunday mornings. “Okay.” said, handing the phone back to . “Now, send me a text so I have your number, too. Just in case.” A few seconds later, 's phone beeped. He opened the message which said 'Hi =]'. He smiled and stored 's number. “The meeting's at ten. Just give your name at the front desk. They'll be expecting you.”
“Great. Thanks .”
“Sure.” He replied. “See you Sunday.” When and left the studio, hurried over to .
“Please tell me I didn't just see give you his phone number.” She squealed. laughed.
“You did, but it was business related. He wants me to be the choreographer for their new tour.” frowned briefly at the lack of any personal reason for the exchange, but grinned once she realized what had said.
“That's so exciting.” practically jumped up and down. “Oh, and guess what?” She grinned excitedly at her best friend. looked at her curiously. “ gave me his phone number, too.” 's jaw dropped. She practically started jumping up and down, too.
“THAT is so exciting!” exclaimed.

“What's gotten into you?” asked as she walked up behind and wrapped her arms around his waist. He was standing in front of the mirror, combing his hair. He tried not to make a sour face at her presence. “You're all smiles this evening.”
“Just going out with the guys for a few drinks. We're celebrating the upcoming tour. We have our first tour meeting on Sunday.” rolled her eyes.
“Sounds fun.” She enjoyed when was on tour because she could be alone to do what she wanted. She had feelings for when they were started dating, but over time it became clear to her that they were not in love. She kept up the facade because marrying would be the smartest thing she ever did. “I'm going out with the girls tonight, too.” said simply. She didn't feel the need to tell there would be some men there as well. knew wasn't the greatest person in the world, but he has never suspected her of cheating.
“Alright, I'll see you later.” said as he finished with his hair. He kissed quickly on the cheek and headed down the stairs and out the front door.

“Drinks are on me tonight, lads!” said as he and his three friends ordered their first round of drinks at the pub. and gave him strange looks. wasn't known to spend money on others if he didn't have to.
“Why?” asked.
“Do I have to have a reason to buy my best friends drinks?” replied.
“Yes.” replied. “You do if you're name is . Especially after the mood you've been in lately.” laughed. reached over and placed his hand on 's forehead, feeling for a fever. slapped his hand away. “Something must be wrong with you.”
“There's nothing wrong.” replied for him. “There's something right. Well, maybe, I guess there is something wrong. 's got a crush and I'm NOT talking about .” and 's eyes widened. expected to glare at him and get angry when shared his secret, but just grinned.
“It's true.” sighed.
“What are you going to do about it?” asked.
“Nothing.” shrugged and pouted a little. “I can't do anything about it. I'm getting married.” He faked a smile and then rolled his eyes. His friends laughed.
“Sure you can.” insisted. “You can ditch that parasite you call a fiance.”
“I can't. There's too much invested in this wedding. All the press and everything. What'll it make me and us look like if I suddenly call of the wedding because I have a crush on my dance teacher? It's ridiculous.” glanced over at the waitress who was approaching with their drinks. “Look, our drinks are here.” When the waitress handed his beer, he drank half of it quickly and wiped his mouth. pulled his phone out of his pocket when he felt it vibrate. He had a new message from . The message read: Staying at Viv's. Won't be home tonight. Xo. deleted the message and grinned. It'd be nice to sleep alone in his bed without hogging the blanket.
“Give me that!” grabbed 's phone and began scrolling through the address book.
“What are you doing?” tried to grab the phone, but backed away. He pressed the send button and held the phone up to his ear. A female voice answered.
“Hello?”
“Hey, ? It's .” narrowed his eyes at .
“Hi , this isn't . It's . wouldn't answer when she saw 's number on the screen.” smiled.
“Is that so?” asked, raising his eyebrows at .
“What's she saying?” asked, suddenly interested in what was doing. held up a finger, telling to wait a minute.
“Yep.” replied.
“Well, what are you ladies doing?” asked curiously.
“Absolutely nothing.” replied.
“We're at the pub Dawson Street, so get dressed and meet us here. See you soon.” He hung up the phone before she had a chance to reply. snatched his phone from . “It was . wouldn't answer when she saw your number.”
“Well, are they coming?” asked, trying not to sound too anxious.
“She didn't say, but I didn't give her a chance to reply. What does it matter to you anyway?”
rolled his eyes. “You're engaged.” punched in the arm. “I guess we'll just wait and see if they show up.”
“I can't believe I'm doing this.” shook her head as she and stepped out of the car. “You better believe it.” insisted as the two women headed into the bar. They scanned the crowd until they found who they were looking for. All four of the men sat at a table in the far corner of the room. They were laughing and appeared to be having a great time. “Let's go.” said as she grabbed by the hand and marched towards the table. spotted the girls first.
“Here comes your girlfriend, .” said, nodding in the direction of the two girls. 's back stiffened, but he didn't turn around. “Hey ladies!” jumped out of his seat when the girls arrived at the table. “We're so glad you could make it.” It was then that turned around. He had butterflies in his stomach again. He wasn't sure exactly why he reacted the way he did to the young woman, but he did, and he liked it. She wore a simple white sundress and her hair was down in ringlet curls.


Chapter 5

“Hi .” stood up and gave a hug. He brushed her cheek lightly with his lips. Afterward, his lips felt like they were on fire. felt her cheek tingle when pulled away.
“Hey .” She replied.
“This is and .” said, pointing to each of the men. “This is and .”
He pointed at the women. The four of them exchanged hellos. turned to .
“I'm gonna go to the bar to get a drink.” She smiled.
“I'll come with you.” suggested and the two headed off in the direction of the bar. sat down beside in the seat had abandoned.
“Well, I can see why 's gone head over heels.” said, nodding towards the empty space where the two had just stood. looked from to and smiled. was obviously surprised to find out that fancied because she knew felt the same way. wondered if had any suspicion at all that he might be starting to take an interest in her.
“Yeah.” agreed. “But he better hope doesn't find out.” added. and both drew in sharp breaths. obviously hadn't considered the fact that and might not know about .
“ ?” asked curiously, looking at . “Who's ?” couldn't muster the courage to lie to the beautiful woman who was sitting beside him.
“She's 's fiance.” tried his best to mumble the end of his sentence, but caught on. She frowned.
“I'm not telling her, but someone better.” shrugged. “Preferably Mr. Head Over Heels.”
Several things crossed 's mind. Either liked so much that he was willing to risk his upcoming marriage to spend time with her and get to know her better or he was the kind of guy who felt like he could hide his engagement from someone and try to juggle both relationships. She would give the benefit of the doubt and hope he told by the end of the night or back off. If she saw him showing interest in and he didn't disclose his secret, would tell her.
“You look lovely tonight.” grinned, putting his arm around 's shoulder. She laughed at his blatant attempt to change the subject. She really was worried about 's feelings, but she wasn't sure if and when was planning on telling . It wasn't her place to interfere unless things got more serious.
“Thanks.” She blushed. “You don't look too bad yourself.” flagged the waitress and ordered a round of drinks and shots for everyone.
“What will you have?” asked as they approached the bar.
“Whiskey on the rocks.” She grinned broadly at him and he raised his eyebrows. Most people were impressed when told them what her favorite drink was.
“Two whiskeys on the rocks.” said to the bartender. “And two shots of vodka.”
“Trying to get me drunk?” teased . He chuckled.
“Trying to get myself drunk is more like it.” He said. The bartender placed one shot and one glass in front of each of them.
“Drowning your sorrows?” She asked.
“More like... saying goodbye to them.” He grinned. “What should we drink to?” He asked her, picking up his shot glass and nodding towards hers. She picked it up and thought about his question for a second.
“We can drink to you.” suggested. “For buying me all of my drinks tonight.”
“I planned on it.” He laughed. couldn't help but notice that dimples appeared in his cheeks when he smiled. He raised his eyebrows and they both threw back their shots. wiped her mouth and picked up her glass, drinking the entire thing without stopping. 's eyes widened. “Wow.” He picked up his own glass and mimicked her action. “Two more whiskeys!” He called to the bartender.
“So, tell me , I know is the one who called and asked us to come out tonight. Did you want me to come, or were you annoyed that invited me?” thought of the best way to answer this question. It wouldn't be proper for him to say 'I wanted you to come more than anything in the world because when you're around I feel like I can do anything and you give me the strength I'll need to leave my fiance and start over.'
“I would have asked you to come myself.” assured her. “But you seem like you're all about business. I didn't know if you fraternized with your students.” nodded.
“Not usually.” She shook her head. “All of my students are either gay, married, or just trying to get into my pants. Which are you?” She asked, looking at him curiously. could feel beads of sweat forming on his brow.
“None of those.” He replied. Technically, he wasn't married, he was just engaged to be married. He planned on telling , but it wasn't exactly an ice breaker. He felt like he needed to get to know her a little better before he told her about . At that moment, the bartender returned with their drinks. smiled at him and picked up his glass. He and drank these drinks in the same fashion as they had the last drinks. and stayed at the bar knocking back drinks and talking while sat with doing the same. At some point, the patrons of the bar had started doing karaoke.
"These people are awful." complained.
"Can you do better?" asked with a challenging tone in his voice. He knew that she could dance like a pro - considering she was one - but he was interested in finding out if she had any hidden talents he should know about. glared at him playfully.
"As a matter of fact, I can." She replied with her hands on her hips. Neither one of the two was completely drunk at this point, but both had started to feel the effects of the alcohol. could feel every thought and feeling about leave his body. He didn't know if it was due to the alcohol or to spending time with , but either way, he liked it. "I'm gonna go sing one for you baby." touched 's arm lightly when she spoke to him. He felt a jolt of electricity race through his body and suddenly an image of popped into his head, and it wasn't a good one. He was seeing her for the first time as an ugly and miserable person. He didn't know how to react so he just continued smiling at the beautiful young woman in front of him. smiled back and rushed over to the stage. She talked quietly to the dee jay while the other person finished singing. She had to stand close to the Dee jay in order for him to hear her and felt a pang of jealousy at seeing her stand so close to another man. What was happening to him? In a week he would be married. The entire world knew about the wedding - except apparently. ! He had better tell her about . He didn't know why he had such a strong connection with her, but he did and he knew he had to be honest with her. She might never talk to him again when she found out he was engaged, but he owed it to her to tell the truth. His attention was called to the stage when he heard 's voice on the microphone. "This one's for you. You know who you are." and looked up when they heard speaking. put her head in her hands.

"Oh no!" groaned when the first few notes of the song played.
"What's wrong?" asked, placing his hand on the small of 's back.
"This is like her anthem. She sings it around the house all the time when she starts falling for a new guy. I'm assuming your friend hasn't told her about his little problem yet."
"Let me listen, but don't worry, I know 's conscience won't let him not tell her." stayed on his stool at the bar watching. As silly as it seemed, he was upset that the woman he was about to marry had never done anything like sing to him in public.
"Clock strikes upon the hour and the sun begins to fade..." She began to sing a song that recognized as I Wanna Dance With Somebody by Whitney Houston. Her voice was nice. "Still enough time to figure out how to chase my blues away." She danced as she sang. Her dancing was flawless despite the amount of alcohol she had in her system. She wasn't trying to be particularly sexy, but it was like she couldn't help herself. noticed that her eyes were on him and they stayed on him. He blushed and smiled almost bashfully. "I've done alright up 'till now and it's the light of day that shows me how. And when the night falls, my lonely heart calls." tried to pay close attention to the words as she sang. He felt guilty that was singing these words to him. "Oh I wanna dance with somebody, I wanna feel the heat with somebody, yeah I wanna dance with somebody, with somebody who loves me." thought she was beautiful. This was the first time in a long time that he had felt this way in the presence of a woman. had confided in him that all of the men she met wanted things that she didn't. He wanted those things, but it was wrong for him to want them. He shouldn't want them. A thousand thoughts raced through his mind. As soon as she was finished singing - singing to him - he would tell her about . If only he had the balls to leave . He couldn't do it, not for a woman he just met. He had no idea if there was even any chance at all for something between him and , but the fact that he was even thinking these things had to mean something. He was so lost in his own thoughts that he had stopped paying attention to . When he looked up she was standing directly in front of him, singing directly to him. "I need a man who'll take a chance on a love that burns hot enough to last, and when the night falls, my lonely heart calls." couldn't look away from her. He felt something that he didn't think he'd ever felt before, and if he did it certainly hadn't been for a long time. He had to fight the urge not to reach out for her. She sang the rest of the song to him while dancing. When the song finished, she handed to microphone to a nearby waitress. The bar erupted in cheers and applause. blushed and looked away from as if the lack of music suddenly made her vulnerable. reached out, wrapping an arm around her waist and placing his hand on the small of her back. He pulled her body close to his and she smiled.
“That was..." He paused, unsure of a word to describe what had just happened. "Well, I don't know what it was, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. “Thank you."
"My pleasure." replied. She didn't know a lot about , but she enjoyed his company and he was nice to look at. That was enough for now. and had started to make their way over to their friends.

"Listen- we need to talk about something." hoped that telling about wouldn't make run away screaming. After all, he wasn't married yet. The wedding was a week away and maybe to his relief, would call it off. could hear talking, but she didn't care what he was saying at that moment. The alcohol was allowing her to let loose in a way that didn't often happen.
"We can talk later, baby." loved the sound of her calling him that. He could feel her breath oh his skin and he could hear her heart beat. His blood was on fire.
"Shit!" said as they had almost reached their friends. Just as he was about to call out to , his lips were on 's. 's whole body was on fire now. He completely forgot about anything else in life. He wanted nothing more than to deepen the kiss and let his hands roam all over her body.


Chapter 6

" !!!" A female voice screamed from a few feet away. and separated quickly. knew exactly whose voice it was. He turned to look at her. She didn't look sad or hurt. She looked mad and almost crazy. She completely ignored and grabbed by the arm. She pulled him to her. "If you're gonna pull this shit, wait until after the wedding when the prenuptial agreement goes into affect and I can get out of this and get your money."
"It's nice to know you care." growled at her.
"You know I don't." She spat back at him. "I don't care what you're doing. Don't screw this up ."
"We will talk about this later." said to her. "Go home. I'll be there shortly."
"I'm not coming home tonight, I told you that already. If you want that bimbo you can have her. Just don't get caught – yet."
"Watch it!" warned her.
"Aw, you're being protective. How cute. Later." She joined her friends who were waiting for her near the door and they left the bar. didn't dare turn to look at . The mere thought of the look that was probably on her face made him weak with guilt. When he finally turned around, was gone. was following her in the direction of the bathroom.
"I take it you didn't tell her?" asked. shook his head.
"I'm gonna go talk to her." and both headed in the direction of the bathroom. It was a small bathroom with only one toilet. knocked on the door. "Can I come in?" He yelled through the door. pushed the door opened and he stepped inside. He expected to be crying, but she wasn't. She looked disappointed which was a million times worse.
"I guess that's what you wanted to talk about?" asked him. Now she wished she had let him finish when he said he wanted to talk earlier. nodded his head. "Well, you said you weren't married. I guess it's my fault I didn't ask if you were in some other form of a serious relationship."
shook his head.
"I should have told you." He didn't want to look her in the face but he knew it would be impolite of him not to.
"So when's the wedding?" asked.
"Saturday." mumbled.
"Wow." shook her head in disbelief.
"There's a lot to it." glanced around at . "Could you give us a minute?" nodded her head and left the bathroom. She could heard yelling at some people outside of the bathroom and telling them it was occupied. "I don't love her." confessed. narrowed her eyes at him. That was what men always said. She didn't respond. "I really like you, , a lot. I haven't felt this way about someone in a long time."
"The rock on her finger says otherwise." remarked.
"I used to love her." admitted, but it's been a long time.
"Then leave her and we will see if there's something between us."
"I can't." He shook his head. "Not until after the wedding."
"So you think I should be okay with you marrying another woman and pursuing a relationship with me? Or am I to assume you just wanted to bed me after all?" hadn't gotten that impression from . It'd be easier for her if she turned around and walked out on him right now, of she skipped the job interview on Sunday, but she couldn't. Something about was honest and sincere. She wanted to believe him. looked hurt by her remark.
"If I could leave her right now and ask you out on a formal date, I would. I have no intentions of sleeping with you and never seeing you again. But I can't leave her. If you'll just let me explain."
"I believe you baby." sighed. "But I'm not in the mood for any explanations right now. I just want to go home and get some sleep."
"Can I give you a ride?" asked. thought about it. had driven her to the bar and from the looks of things, she would like to leave with . She could take a taxi but then the taxi driver would try to engage her in small talk which she was not in the mood for.
"That would be kind of you." She replied.
"Will you give me a chance to explain everything?" asked her hopefully.
"Sure baby, but not today."
"I love when you call me baby." winked at her. laughed. That was exactly the reason why she liked so much.
"I won't have a practically married man talking to me like that." She said, taking a step closer to him. "What are you doing to me, ?" She asked him. "I'm a good Christian woman and you're practically a married man, but here I am." She took another step. "You smell so good." moaned. "You're gonna be the death of me."
"Sorry." laughed. He grabbed her by the hand. "Come on, I'll take you home."

The ride to 's place was quiet. Each of the two young people had a lot of thinking to do. Despite the events of that evening, couldn't help but want to be around . He was eager to explain everything to her, but she really didn't need an explanation at that time. She just wanted some time to rest. She liked and enjoyed his company. She may not have kissed him had she known he was engaged, but she couldn't be sure. His fiance sure seemed like a bitch to . He definitely deserved someone better. was thinking almost the same thing. He hoped that what had happened that evening wouldn't drive away forever. He didn't know how long things would last between him and once they were married, but he hoped would wait around for him. It wasn't like he would enjoy the marriage. He and weren't intimate with each other anymore. They only spent time together when they had to for publicity. He wished he didn't have to go through with the wedding, but he knew there was no way out of it. All he could hope for was that it would be a quick divorce, and that she would be the one who would break the terms of their prenup and he wouldn't lose everything. sighed when he pulled up outside of 's place.
“Are you gonna invite me in?” asked hopefully. shook her head.
“Not tonight. I still don't know how I feel about all of this.” She admitted.
“Can I call you?” asked.
“I'd be upset if you didn't.” She smiled at him.
“Can I kiss you?” He asked, raising his eyebrows. laughed.
“From the small kiss we had earlier, I can tell you're very good at it, and I'd love nothing more than to kiss you again, but I think for now until we get this all worked out, we should just be friends.” The words cut through like a knife. He was actually surprised and grateful that was still giving him the time of the day. He expected her to smack him in the face or turn around and walk away or cry or something along those lines when she met so unexpectedly at the bar, but she didn't. She remained composed and stayed. She agreed to here 's side of the story, even if she wasn't ready to hear it just yet. She wanted to keep in her life in some capacity. She was understanding. She was everything that wasn't. knew that it was going to be very hard for him to be friends with . He wished he had met her years ago. He was sure she would have been the woman he'd be marrying, but he had gotten himself into this situation and he'd have to see it through to the end. He just hoped that would be there when the dust settled.
“I'll settle for friends, for now.” agreed. “I'll call you.”
“Goodnight baby.”
“Are friends allowed to call each other baby?” asked her, his blood began warming quickly. shrugged.
“I don't know what friends are allowed to do because I've never had a friend like you before.”
grinned at her. “But that's what I want to call you. If it's a problem...”
“It's not a problem.” interrupted her. “I like it.”
“Call me.”
“I will.” climbed out of the car and went into the house. She sighed heavily when she closed the door behind her and a big grin spread across her face. was like a drug to her and she was already addicted. This whole situation was something she'd never allow herself to get involved in, but now she was. She didn't know why, but she was going to put up with all of this just to be close to . She'd be annoyed and angry and upset about him marrying , but hopefully she could keep in mind that maybe he really did want to leave for her.


Chapter 7

had a hard time falling asleep that night. The house was quiet. It was nice to be home by himself - without , although he could think if someone he'd like to be sharing his bed with. He usually wasn't the kind of guy to fall for someone so quickly, but there was something different about . He and had gotten in too deep and he just wanted it all to be over. He finally drifted to sleep.

was awakened the next day by a loud knock on the door. He lay there quietly, hoping whoever it was would go away. They knocked again. He groaned and climbed out of bed. He pulled on a pair of sweatpants and headed for the front door. He wasn't surprised at all to find standing there. didn't wait for an invitation. He pushed past . closed the door and went over to sit on the sofa.
"You okay?" asked. He, , and his band mates were left in the cold last night about what went on between and . nodded, surprisingly with a smile on his face.
"I wish I didn't have to deal with this shit with , but I do. She'll ruin me ." knew that there were reasons why stayed with that he hadn't shared with anyone and he didn't push to disclose them. He felt it was better that they didn't know.
"How'd take it?" asked.
"She wants to be friends." replied.
"Ouch." knew that line pretty well.
"Yeah, but I expected worse. She didn't yell or anything. She said we can talk about it. I don't know what's going on with me man, it's like I'm falling for her. Do you know how bad it sucks to feel like this and not be able to do anything about it?" shook his head. Fortunately he didn't know what that felt like. "I feel completely out of control."
"Well maybe if she is understanding of your situation, you two can get to know each other better while you sort everything out. You know, like an affair." chuckled. He had already considered it.
"First of all, I can't do it. That's one of the big issues. We both signed a prenup saying if one of us cheats once we're married, the other gets everything. Now that it's signed, she won't let me leave.
She says the wedding is on no matter what because she knows I have to show up then. Can you imagine the bad publicity if I stand up my fiancé at the alter? She has me by the balls man and the only thing I can hope for is that she gets caught cheating on me. If we get a good old fashioned annulment, I get to keep my money. She won't go for that. If we divorce, she gets half of everything. She won't go for that either. She wants my money and apparently she's wanted it all this time." stared at with his mouth hanging open. He knew was in deep but he hadn't known how deep. He felt sorry for at that moment. He knew that had loved and wanted to marry her at one point and now he knew that was after his money all along
"Well you have a week before the wedding. You can get close to now.”
"Believe me, even after the wedding, can't stop me from seeing her, but if it gets too deep and I get caught, I'm screwed so I can't let that happen. And I guarantee that already expects me to live it up this next week and will be following me around like it's her job." He sighed heavily. "Just to make me miserable.”
"She's awful.”
"I know." agreed."I wanted to know if you wanted to go to the gym with me and work off some of the calories we consumed last night."
"Sure let me get dressed." went upstairs and got ready. Before he headed out, he sent a text message that said: I'm sorry about everything. I'm heading to the gym with . I'll call you tonight. xo .

When woke up and went into her kitchen to get a cold glass of soda - her drink of choice the morning after drinking - was sitting at the kitchen table waiting for her. had given Stay the key in case of an emergency or to let herself in while was out or sleeping.
"Morning sunshine." grinned.
"You had a good night, huh?" asked. just blushed. "Had to have been better than mine."
"What have you gotten yourself into?" asked.
"God only knows. I mean, I should forget about him, right? Move on with my life?" That was certainly the logical, the rational thing to do. shook her head.
"You two make a really cute couple." told her.
"We can't be a couple though. He's getting married."
"Yeah, what's the deal with that? She's a bitch." made a disgusted face at the thought of .
"He says he doesn't love her or even like her for that matter. He says he likes me a lot. He wants me to give him a chance to explain himself. What do you think I should do?"
"I would hear what he has to see. I mean, he's hot." rolled her eyes at . "Let's go shopping and buy something nice to wear for the audition on Sunday." agreed and went upstairs to get dressed. Her phone buzzed and she picked it up to find that she had a new text message from . She read it and hit reply. She wrote: The thought of you working out makes me want murder your fiancé. Can't wait to talk to you baby. xo .

While worked out and shopped, they texted each other. thought was the perfect combination of funny and sarcastic. stopped by the gym to make sure and were alone which ruined 's mood. He really couldn't wait to call . After he and had parted ways for the day, got into his car and drove into town for some fast food. As usual, he ordered his food and parked in the parking lot to eat. Before he started eating, he pulled out his phone and dialed . She had just finished eating dinner and was preparing to climb into bed with a book when she heard her cell phone ringing. Butterflies occupied her stomach when she saw 's name flash across the screen.
"Hey baby." She answered.
"I feel like I should have a Nick name for you, too." acknowledged when she used her pet name for him.
"I'm sure you'll think of something." She replied. "You're the first guy in a long time to actually call when you said you would. Too bad you're taken." She heard sigh on the other end. She laughed. "Sorry that was a low blow."
"It's okay. Care to hear my side of the story now?" He asked.
"Sure baby. Go ahead." went on to tell her everything he had told earlier about how he had fallen for and proposed and then they signed the prenup and how he had grown unhappy with how treated him and when he tried to end the relationship, she had revealed her plan to take him for everything he was worth. There was no way out, no way that wouldn't leave flat broke and with a career. felt sorry for him. "You really know how to pick 'em baby."
"I know." agreed with her. "So where does that leave us?”
"Is there an us, baby?"
"I want there to be an us. I'd love that. But I don't expect you to be able to sit around and wait for me."
"What if I want to?" She asked.
"You'd be making me the happiest man in the world. Well, as happy as a man can be when he's ready to marry the anti Christ." laughed. "I wish I could see you." confessed. "She's an awful person though and I don't want you to have to deal with her."
"I can be pretty awful myself. She doesn't scare me." would risk an altercation with to see . She'd love to her hands on her to get her back for everything she'd done to . "Feisty." chuckled.
"You'll see me on Sunday baby. Maybe we can hang out after my audition."
"I'd love that. And we will be away from here so there won't be any chance of her showing up."
"Good. I'm gonna get some rest baby."
"Can I call you tomorrow?" asked hopefully.
"You better baby." loved the sound of that.
"Sleep tight and dream of me."
"You do the same."


Chapter 8

Both and slept really well that night. decided that the next day, Saturday, she would go running a few miles to make sure she was in shape and ready for audition. She would spend the rest of the day practicing and getting her routine ready. Her leg was a little sore after her run, but once she started practicing her moves, she felt a lot better. texted her several times to tell her how he couldn't wait to see her the following day. She was too busy to reply. In the late afternoon he sent her another message: Are you okay? laughed. He was worried. She took a minute to text him back: Sorry baby. Getting ready for tomorrow. I'm doing my sexiest routine because I know you'll be watching. xo . She hoped would be satisfied and she went back to practicing. When she was satisfied that she was ready for Sunday, she took a hot shower and got in her car to go buy herself a salad. She didn't want to over eat the day before such an important audition. When she was on her way home, called.
"Hey baby." couldn't believe how excited he became at the sound of her voice.
"Hey. Sorry for bothering you earlier." had grown anxious when hadn't answered his text messages.
"You're no bother. I thought it was kind of cute." She admitted.
"I can't wait to see you tomorrow." confessed. He had been considering their options for after the audition. He wanted to be alone with her and that was all that mattered to him.
"The feeling is mutual." assured him. "I'm nervous about the audition though." sighed. It had been a long time since she had choreographed anything.
"It's not really an audition. Louis googled you. You already got the job. It's just a technicality."
"Oh, baby, really? This is so amazing! Thank you so much." could hear her tearing up and he wished he was there to hug her.
"You're very welcome." replied. "You deserve it."
"My thank yous are much better in person, you know?"
"Well you can show me tomorrow."
"Baby, I'm just pulling up to my place now. I'm gonna eat and then get some rest for tomorrow."
"Okay. I'll see you in the morning."
"Okay baby. 'Night."
"Night."

met early Sunday morning. was dressed for an audition in a pair of tight fitting black yoga pants and a red tank top. She wore a black hoodie on top. She had printed directions to the building and was well on her way when she realized that she hadn't heard from all morning. When she reached into her bag for her cell phone, she realized it wasn't there. That would explain why she hadn't heard from . She felt lost without her phone. She and listened to Westlife all the way to the audition. When they arrived at the building, they went inside and approached the receptionist.
"I'm . Louis Walsh is expecting me." said politely. The woman smiled back at her.
"So he is. He's in suite 712. Take the elevator to the seventh floor and go left."
"Thank you." and waited for the elevator and got in. When it reached the seventh floor, they stepped off and went left. Louis's suite had a plaque with his name and the sweet number engraved in it. knocked lightly on the door. A few seconds later, the door opened and stood in the opening. He gave a pitiful look and stepped aside for her to enter. When walked in, she saw Louis sitting behind his desk and standing near him. looked up at her. His eyes seemed to drink her up, but he didn't look happy. Louis looked thrilled. scanned the room. and sat in chairs near Louis's desk. Then she saw the reason for the look from and the unhappy look on 's face. Sitting in a chair near the door, was . She wore a smug look. She glanced at , rolled her eyes, grinned, and looked at . looked towards Louis. “Louis, this is .” had no time to take in what was going on around her. She walked towards Louis' desk. He grinned broadly at her. She stuck her hand out to him and he took it in his own, giving it a shake.
“It's very nice to finally meet you.” Louis said to her. “ has told me great things about you.” Nonchalantly, glanced at , smiled, and looked back towards Louis.
“The pleasure is most certainly mine.” stated politely.
“Let's not waste any time here.” Louis insisted. “Let's see your audition, shall we?” He glanced at and at . “Ladies, since you're not really needed for this process, I'm going to ask you to step outside.” nodded and stepped outside of the room. knew better than to argue with Louis, who was not a fan of hers, and rolled her eyes extravagantly as she stepped out and closed the door behind her. This was time for business. Both and felt that they desperately needed to talk to each other, but it would have to wait for some other time. walked over to the desk where the CD player was sitting. She slipped her CD in. 's eyes widened when II Wanna Dance With Somebody began to play. She had chosen this song on purpose. He thought she looked amazing in her outfit, as simple as it was, and when she began to move, it took every ounce of restraint he had not to throw himself at her. Her routine subtly sexy. Louis was impressed and so were 's band mates. When the song ended, bowed slightly and smiled. “That was great.” Louis smiled at her. “I'd like to discuss your future role with the guys before I make any decisions. Would you step outside please?” didn't think he wanted and both outside together, but nodded and left the room. While the boys discussed the audition with Louis, took a seat beside on a bench in the hallway. sat on a bench opposite them. could feel glaring, but she ignored her.
“You'll never have him.” said. It took a few seconds to realize she was addressing her. “I will. Even with things being the way they are, he wouldn't leave me for you. There's no comparison.” thought carefully before she replied.
“That's cute. Although, if I remember correctly, said that comparing sleeping with you to sleeping with me was like comparing a lit match to a fireworks display.” began snickering. looked flabbergasted. hated lying, but the look on 's face was worth it. Just then, the door opened and beckoned . She followed him into the room.
“Let's get straight to the point.” Louis began. “We need you. You'll choreograph the tour, and you'll tour as one of our dancers.” considered what Louis was saying. It had been a long time since she had performed in front of people, but she'd get to spend time with .
“I'll do it.” She replied. 's face lit up. He needed to time to tell what had happened. Why had shown up to her audition.
“Fantastic. Now, we'll sort out the details and we'll make up a contract. Thank you so much Miss .”
“My pleasure.” She shook Louis's hand. “I guess I'll be going then. She hugged , , and . “Hopefully I'll see you all soon.” She tried to look casual as she turned to hug .
“I tried to call.” His whispered.
“I forgot my phone at home.” She whispered back. “Call me when you can. And you owe me.”
“I know.” pulled away from him and smiled once more at Louis.”
“Thanks again.”

“I can't believe you said that to her!” laughed as she and drove home that afternoon. “Did you see her face?” nodded. She was proud of herself for not letting get the best of her. She knew that couldn't have invited her. He looked so disappointed. So, must've been up to something. “Wait...” glanced at . “You and had sex?” burst into laughter and shook her head.
“No. If I had sex with that man, you would know.” shook her head. “But now thinks that we did and she thinks that thinks I'm better in bed than she is. I'm under her skin.”
“That was awesome.”
“I know.” shrugged. “I'm pretty annoyed that she was here, though. and I were supposed to hang out today. I'm starting to think he and I will never be alone together.”
“Everything will work out.” tried to encourage . “And if not, I can always kill her.”
“My thoughts exactly.”


Chapter 9

wasn't surprised that night to receive a call from just as she was settling into bed. She smiled as she answered the phone.
“Hey baby.”
“I'm so sorry.” apologized immediately. “She went through my phone and found all of our messages. When she saw the ones where I told you I couldn't wait to see you on Sunday, she decided to rain on my parade. She's ridiculous. She doesn't want me – not that I want her – but no one else can have me. She thinks if someone sees me with another woman, the wedding will have to be called off, which she doesn't want.”
“It's not your fault, baby. I could tell you didn't want her there.”
“What did you say to her while you were in the hallway? She hasn't spoken to me since we left.” He could hear giggling on the other end. He thought it was absolutely adorable when she giggled like that. A light bulb went off in his head. He would call her giggles.
“I told her, and I quote, that you said comparing sex with her to sex with me was like comparing a lit match to a fireworks display. So, she thinks you said I was better in bed than she is.” laughed.
“Hmmm...” sounded thoughtful. “I'm sure you are.” Both and wanted desperately to find out if that statement was true. There was no use hiding that fact. They were two adults and thinking about sex was healthy.
“So...” said, trying to break the tension. “Have you come up with a nickname for me yet?”
“As a matter of fact, I have, giggles.” giggled. “See. That is so adorably sexy when you do that. I can't take it.”
“I wish you could come see me baby.” sighed. “I feel like we're talking a good game. Despite what I said about us being just friends, I'd like to know what it feels like to be a real mistress.” thought about that for a moment.
“I can't ask you to do that giggles.”
“You're not asking me to.” She assured him. heard her gasp.
“What's wrong?” asked her.
“I just remembered that I have to teach my new class tomorrow afternoon. It's a beginners jazz class.”
“You better get some sleep then. I'll try to get out of here tomorrow.”
“Okay baby. Goodnight.”
“Night.”

met at the dance studio the following morning to help her prepare for her class. She brought a huge diet soda which was very grateful for. informed that she and had planned their first official date. Unfortunately, that date was to 's wedding. had mixed feelings about attending that wedding, but eventually she decided that she'd rather have her best friend there to make sure things went smoothly than to have her not go. Just minutes before 's class was scheduled to begin, called her.
“Baby, my class is getting ready to start.” said quickly.
“Can't you put it off for a few minutes. I want to see you.” pleaded. would tell everyone in the studio that she had the black plague if she thought they'd believe her and leave.
“I can't baby. I'm so sorry.” hung up on her. pouted. He couldn't be mad at her, could he? Not for having to work. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw and walk through the door. All of 's students stared in awe. hugged and planted a kiss on her cheek. wanted to do the same to , but there were too many onlookers.
“ and will teach the class for a few minutes.” grinned, but looked bewildered. “ already agreed.”
“If you were capable of teaching this class,” said, turning towards , “then you wouldn't need me to choreograph your tour.” shrugged.
“It'll be fine. I'll smile, sign autographs, kiss babies. Just hurry up.” grabbed by the hand.
“Is there some place where we can be alone?” asked her. nodded and led to the storage room/office. It was a large room, almost the same size as the studio. It was separated from the dance area by a one way mirror. To the dancers, it was a mirror, but to those in the storage area, it was a window. There were different pieces of equipment scattered around and a few chairs and a desk. looked eagerly at . “They can't see us?” He asked, nodding towards the people he could clearly see on the other side. shook her head and was immediately on her. His mouth was on top of hers. His arms were around her. His hands roamed all over her. couldn't stop himself and wouldn't stop him. He lifted so that her legs were around him and he pressed her body between his and the window. Things progressed quickly. It was only a matter of minutes before they were finished. breathed heavily, resting his forehead on 's shoulder. He set her down on the floor to button his pants and readjusted herself as well. “I'm sorry, that's not why I came here.” pulled close to him and held her.
“So, was I right?” She asked. furrowed his brow. “Am I better than she is?” winked at him and giggled. laughed and kissed her on the forehead.
“Way better.”
“I really have to get back to my class baby. When will I be able to see you again?” She asked. “She's going home Thursday night to be with her family and friends before the wedding. She won't be back until Saturday morning. Friday's my bachelor party. It's just going to be me and the guys... and you?” He asked hopefully. nodded. “Can I come stay with you on Thursday night?” He asked her. He wouldn't invite her to his place where slept.
“You don't have to ask baby. You're always welcome at my place.”
“I'll try to come see you before then. If not, I look forward to Thursday.”
“Me too.”
“I'll text you giggles.”
“Bye baby.” walked through the door, hoping he hadn't forgotten to zipper his pants. followed after him. She was sure her students couldn't tell what had just happened, but judging from the look on her best friend's face, was well aware.

Over the next few days, and talked a lot but they didn't have any time to see each other. Before left for her trip, she watched like a hawk. She didn't care if he was with another woman. She didn't want him. But she wanted to make miserable and she really hated . Plus, being seen with another woman would be bad for their facade. ran around like a mad woman trying to get things ready for . For the most part, her place was already clean. She washed the sheets and blankets and went grocery shopping. She had decided to make a home. cooked meal. He was scheduled to arrive around six. By five forty five, was setting the table. She made a roasted chicken and roasted potatoes and vegetables. For dessert she made a cheesecake. She wasn't the greatest cook in the world, but what she did make, she made well. She wore a black sleeveless dress that came down to her knees. She was still barefoot when the doorbell rang. She didn't have time to put on shoes before she answered the door. When she pulled it open, was standing there. eyes him carefully. He wore black dress pants, a gray button down shirt, and a black tie. He carried a bouquet of red roses.
"You look lovely." said to her. He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. "These are for you." He said and handed her the bouquet.
"Thank you baby." said as she stepped aside so could enter. glanced around and saw how had gone out of her way to make a candle light dinner.
"It smells wonderful." noted as he sniffed the air.
"So do you." giggled. put the roses in an empty vase that she had sitting on the mantle. As she finished, she felt 's hands on her hips. She turned to look at him.
"I missed you so bad." almost whispered.
"I missed you, too." leaned forward and kissed her softly on the lips. "Are you hungry?"
asked him when he pulled away. nodded. They settled in at the table to eat.
"This could end very badly." said as he ate.
"I've considered that." agreed with him. "But I think it's worth it."
"I was hoping you would say that." grinned at her. "I wanted to give you something."
took a small box out of his pocket. He opened it and held it in front of . She was speechless. It was a platinum diamond ring. didn't know a lot about diamond rings, but she could tell this one was a lot of karats. It was beautiful.
"What is this baby?" She managed to say when she caught her breath.
"It's a promise ring. It's my promise to you that no matter what happens and no matter how long it takes, when all this is over, I want to spend the rest of my life with you."
"Wow." had to take a minute think about what was saying.
" ... The rest of your life? You've only known me for like two weeks." frowned.
"I know. But I'm falling for you fast. If you don't want to wear it, I understand."
"Baby, I wanna wear it. I just didn't know you were that serious." slid the ring on 's finger. He leaned over and kissed her.
"The food is delicious." said to her. "Maybe one day you'll be cooking for me on a regular basis." laughed at him. She was overwhelmed by all that was saying, but she knew that she felt strongly for him, too. She was so used to rushing into things with men who were using her that she had built a wall around her heart. She could hardly believe how quickly she was falling for despite this. When they were finished dinner, gave the grand tour, ending with the bedroom. walked in and sat on 's bed. She didn't want to bother with her thoughts about their relationship or lack thereof. She walked over and sat beside him. "What are you thinking about?" asked . "You look thoughtful." sighed.
"This whole thing is very overwhelming." She replied. "Don't apologize." She knew well enough to know that was what he was about to do. "I like you a lot . I don't regret what I'm doing or what I've done. I don't regret what I'm going to do. I just think the situation is going to take some getting used to."
"I don't want you to be stressed out because of all this. This is one of those situations where we're two people who met at the wrong time, but then again, maybe it is the right time. If I hadn't met you, I might have just stayed miserable with forever."
"The timing is fine. You're definitely a ray of light for me. We'll get through all of this." smiled and kissed her. They kissed passionately. As the kiss deepened, laid back on the bed.

When they had finished, they curled up together in the bed and fell asleep.


Chapter 10

The next morning, woke up in 's arms. It was the greatest feeling she had felt in a long time. kissed her on the forehead.
"I could do this every day for the rest of my life." He whispered into her ear.
"Wishful thinking." complained. "Shouldn't I feel guilty about doing this?"
"I don't think so." shook his head. "You know you're the one I want to be with. I'm not physically involved with anyone else. You're the only woman I'm being with. My heart's with you. My thoughts are with you."
"Maybe her plane will crash."
"We can only hope. What do you want to do today?" asked her.
"I don't care baby."
"We can pack lunch and go on a picnic." suggested. "Then we can go shopping for something to wear tonight."
"I don't know if anyone has ever had a date to their own bachelor party before." stated.
"I'm not sure." shrugged. "But I'd rather be with you than be a bachelor."
"Stop trying to flatter me baby." giggled.
"I can't help myself." replied. "Come on, let's go take a shower together."

After they had finished showering, the two got dressed. dug out her old fashioned picnic basket, which she wad very proud of, and they packed lunch and headed out. When they reached their destination, they unpacked and began to eat.
" said she's going to your wedding." tried to sound nonchalant. looked at her face, trying to read her expression.
"It'll be nice to have another friend there." tried to make the best of it. He was pretty sure he shouldn't invite , but he wondered if maybe that's what she was waiting for. "I know how much this is bothering you."
"I'm sorry." sighed. "I know you're the one with the real problem. I just can't help but feel a little selfish right now."
"You have the right to feel that way."
"Let's just enjoy our time together." suggested. "I'm sure things will fall into place."
"You're the best." exclaimed and kissed on the lips.

and thoroughly enjoyed spending the day together. For some time, almost forgot that was getting married the following day. She felt like she was in a relationship, a really good one, for the first time in a long time. She and shopped and joked with each other and held hands. They were careful not to be too affectionate in public. Paparazzi could be anywhere. The bachelor party was being held at a bar owned by one of 's uncles that the boys frequented. While they didn't necessarily know the bar patrons, they were regulars and respected the family enough to give the boys their privacy. The plan was for and to meet up with the others at 's house and a driver would take them all in a stretch limo to the bar. When they walked into 's living room, , , , and were all waiting for them.
“You HAVE to let me take a picture of the two of you!” practically jumped up off of the sofa. was wearing a tight fitting, strapless yellow dress and was wearing black dress pants, a black button down shirt, and a yellow tie. As she raised her camera to them, wrapped his arms around and held her tight. The flash went off. “How cute!”
“This is the strangest bachelor party of all time.” said as he walked over and stood beside . “However, we are one sexy group of people.” winked. “Let's get this show on the road.” They group of them all piled into the limo and got on their way. The music was already loud and the dance floor crowded when they arrived at the bar. Most of the patrons were already intoxicated and the presence of the small group was hardly noticed. They sat at a large table together. ordered a round of shots and several pitchers of beer. When the waitress brought the order over to their table, ordered another round of shots and told the waitress to keep them coming.
“What'll we drink to?” asked his friends, picking up his shot glass. “And no jokes about this being my last night as a single man. I am not single,” He glanced adoringly at , “and tomorrow signifies nothing except for a small piece of my happiness dying.”
“Way to kill everyone's buzz before it starts.” groaned.
“Yeah , relax.” agreed. “We're just trying to get your mind off of all of this. Enjoy the evening with your friends and your lady. We're not going anywhere. We're in this for the long haul, even if one of us has to give a pair of concrete shoes and take her for a swim in the ocean.” Everyone at the table burst into laughter.
“I say we drink to .” suggested. “Despite the chaos in this small circle of ours, she's made smile which is something no one has been able to do in a very long time. Thank you for bringing the old back.” raised his shot glass. Everyone joined him and drank their shots quickly. turned towards and he kissed her. The waitress was back with more shots. Everyone drank the second shot and started to work on the beer.
“Baby.” tried to whisper, but had to speak louder than she liked in order for to hear her over the bar noise.
“Yes?” asked, moving closer to her.
“Are you going on a honeymoon with her?” She asked. Her face looked worried. took her face in his hands. He shook his head.
“Absolutely not.” breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. “I won't actually be spending too much time with her at all. We start tour practice next week and Louis is very strict about who is allowed to attend. Staff only.” overheard and looked upset. “Don't worry.” spoke over 's shoulder to . “We'll make up some job for you so that you can be there.” beamed and continued talking to . “They seem to be hitting it off pretty well, huh?” asked, nodding towards and .
“Yeah, 's head over heels for him.” replied. “I'm happy for her. She usually has the same luck I do with men.”
“And now look what's happened. You've both found the men of your dreams.” nodded. “I guess we have.” They all continued to drink themselves into oblivion. Everyone was having the best time they had had in a while. They were talking, laughing, drinking, and dancing. decided that since they hadn't hired a stripper for , he would give a lap dance. Much to 's relief, interrupted and finished the dance herself. reveled in the evening. She knew it would probably be a very very long time before she would be able to act like 's girlfriend in public again. took a lot of pictures. As the night went on, every single one of them became drunker and drunker. None of them had even brought car keys with them. They would all be taking taxis home. At almost two in the morning, they decided to have one last drink and dance before they called it a night.
“Would you spend tonight with me?” asked as they danced. They hadn't talked much about what their plans would be for that night. felt strange going to bed with a man who would be waking up in the morning and leaving her to marry another woman. When it was put like that, it sounded horrible, but that was obviously simplifying the issue. The truth was, she wanted to spend every possible second with .
“Of course baby.” She replied. “Baby,” she looked up into 's eyes and he felt intoxicated by her, “what's going to happen to us?” She asked.
“I don't know exactly how it's going to be for us in the near future. You just say the world and I'll give it all up for you.” was surprised to hear say this. “I'll leave her at the alter and never look back.”
“That'd ruin your career, and theirs.” She said, glancing at 's friends who were all dancing close by. “The bad press would ruin you.”
“I'll do it for you. Or I'll let her catch me cheating the second the marriage is legal. It'll be annulled and she'll get all of my money and all of my assets. I don't care, I'll do it.” smiled at . She didn't care if the only reason he was willing to give everything up was because of the alcohol. The gesture meant a lot to her. She would never ask him to give up everything, including his dream. She could have left him when she found out his situation, but she didn't and now she would deal with it.
“No baby.” kissed him gently. “We'll deal with this. It's worth it to me.”
“Me too.”


Chapter 11

and laid in bed together for a while, their intoxication wearing off only slightly. asked not to wake her when he left in the morning. She knew it would be hard for her to handle saying goodbye to him on his way to his wedding. Before they got ready to go to sleep, began stroking 's hair.
“ , can I tell you something?” kissed her on the lips after he was finished asking.
“Sure.” She replied, kissing him back. She yawned and battered her eyes.
“I love you.” was slightly taken aback by this. She giggled at .
“I'm sure that's just the liquor talking.” She said, snuggling close to and yawning again.
“But I love you, too baby.” Within minutes, both and were asleep.

When awoke the following morning, was still sound asleep. He wanted nothing more than to stay in bed with her. It took every ounce of restraint he had not to stay. He climbed out of bed and got dressed. He found a piece of paper and a pen and scribbled a note for . He left it on the bed in the spot where he had been laying. He kissed her softly on the head and left.

woke up in a fantastic mood, with a huge grin on her face. She sat up and stretched, but when she looked down at the empty space beside her, the smile faded. was on his way to his wedding. couldn't bare to think about it. Tears immediately began to form in the corners of her eyes. She wiped them away and tried to stop them from flowing. She noticed the piece of paper where had been sleeping and picked it up. The note read:

,
I'm so sorry I had to leave you. You know I'd rather be with you than anywhere else. Hopefully this will all be over soon. Rehearsal for the tour starts next week and I cannot wait. I promise you that I'll try my hardest to see you today. I will definitely call and text you as often as I can.

With love,


P.S. I love you so much!
P.S.S. I am NOT drunk now.

After reading 's note, could no longer fight the tears. She cried until she couldn't cry anymore. She was crying because she was so happy to have met a man like , and because she was so upset that she couldn't be with him the way she wanted to, and because she was so angry that he was marrying another woman. She decided she needed to get out of the house and keep herself busy. She took a shower, got dressed, and went shopping.

felt sick to his stomach. He had heard of people feeling that way on their wedding day. He didn't have cold feet. He felt sick to his stomach for a totally different reason. He was about to do the stupidest thing he would ever do in his entire life. He hoped and prayed that something would happen soon to break him free. He couldn't believe that he was marrying . The woman he really wanted to be with was probably sitting at home, crying, and missing him just as badly as he missed her. He told himself to think about all day. Thinking about her would surely get him through it. He would imagine it was he was marrying instead of . Deep inside he wished had asked him to give everything up for her, but he knew that would be a burden that she would bear forever. She would blame herself if gave up his career, or the possibility of having one, for her.
“Are you ready to do this?” asked, walking up beside . looked at . thought looked terrified.
“As ready as I'll ever be.” shrugged. “This feels so wrong.”
“I know.” put his hand on 's shoulder, trying to comfort him. “I'll tell you what.” said to him. “If you and can make it though this, I'll be the best man at that wedding, too, and I'll be a lot happier about it.” forced a smile. “Let's get this over with.” went through the motions the way he knew he was supposed to, but it felt like he was an outsider, watching himself. It was unreal to him. He took his place beside the minister. He could see his mother and father and other relatives sitting in the pews and his heart broke. He wished he was marrying the woman of his dreams in front of his family, but he wasn't. They had to know wasn't happy. His mom smiled the best she could. She had never been fond of , but she supported . thought that his mom would really like . When Here Comes the Bride began to play on the organ, tried to imagine it was walking down the aisle towards him, but he was unsuccessful. All he could see was walking towards him with that smug grin on her face. She planned on taking for every cent he had or ruining his life and career, whichever came first. He felt one thing at that moment, and it was pure unadulterated hatred. The ceremony seemed to go by in a flash. Before he knew it, the priest was telling him to kiss his bride. He fought to keep from vomiting. He was relieved when the ceremony was over. Now, he just had to make it through the reception. At least there would be alcohol. rode to the reception in a limousine with , , and . rode with her bridesmaids. He wondered if they knew about what was going on between him and like his groomsmen did. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed 's number.
When saw 's number flashing across the screen, she felt a lump rising in her throat. She had managed to fight back the tears through her entire shopping trip, but now she could hardly control herself. She took a second to try and compose herself and then answered the phone.
“Hey.” She answered. could tell by the tone in her voice and her lack of using his pet name, that she was upset. He completely understood. He was upset, too, but had been forced into this situation that he and had created.
“I can't stop thinking about you.” said to her. “This is the worst day of my life.”
“Yeah, mine, too.” agreed. 's heart shattered into a million pieces. The last thing he wanted to do was cause her pain.
“I'm so sorry. Somehow I'm going to make this up to you.” He didn't know how he was going to do it, but he would.
“We'll see.” replied. “When am I going to see you again baby?” She asked. She didn't mean to push him, but she wanted to see him badly. “I really miss you.” sighed. The feeling was mutual.
“I miss you, too, and I really need to see you right about now. I'm going to try to see you tonight, but I don't want to make any promises I can't make. Believe that if I don't see you tonight, it is NOT because I don't want to.”
“I know, baby.” replied. “I got you a present.” She said, perking up a little bit. Yet again, was showing him just why he liked her so much. Even in a time like this, she could make him feel better. “Well, two actually.”
“I can't wait. I have to go, we're almost at the reception. I'm sure I'll be texting you a lot while I'm there. Thank you for being so patient with me.”
“Of course, baby. I'll talk to you soon.”
“Okay. I love you.” said. He waited a few seconds and didn't reply. That was the first time he had actually said it to her while sober. “I'm not drunk now.” He tried to lighten the mood. smiled to herself.
“I love you, too baby.” hung up the phone and put it in his pocket. His friends all looked at him. Each one of them secretly thanked God that they weren't in the same position as .


Chapter 12

When they arrived at the reception, took the first opportunity to start drinking. A lot of alcohol might get him through this night. As far as he and went, the night was pretty uneventful. They made it look like they were happy to be there, but in reality, each of them was just happy the night was almost over. Once all of the scheduled dances had taken place and dinner had been served, the atmosphere became a little less tense. sat at the bar with . They were going shot for shot. 's mom, , walked over and sat on the stool next to him.
“ , you're drinking a lot.” She said to him. immediately felt guilty. He nodded. “This is supposed to be a happy day for you, but you don't seem very happy.” frowned.
“I can say the same for you. You should be happy that your son is getting married, but you don't look happy at all.”
“You're right .” She replied, patting him on the shoulder. excused himself and walked away. “But you've known for quite some time that I'm not thrilled with your decision to marry .” couldn't help it. He was growing more and more intoxicated with every drink he had. He had no control when tears started to well up in his eyes. “Come on, baby, let's find some place to talk.” That line triggered him. His mom called him the same name that the girl of his dreams called him. He began to cry. took him by the arm and lead him to the coat room. She closed the door behind them and began to tell her all of his problems. Once he started, he couldn't stop. His mother almost wasn't surprised to discover 's plot to practically steal 's money. She was disappointed that hadn't done more to stop all of this from happening, but he was in too deep now that he had gone through with the marriage. He pleaded with his mother to be understanding of his situation and not to try and take matters into her own hands. He assured her that he had spoken with lawyers and he was bound now. The only way for him to get out of the relationship with his pride and his money, was for to get caught being unfaithful. He had also told his mom all about . tried her best to comfort , but there was only so much she could say. In the end, it felt good for to be able to confide in his mother. She promised that she would only interfere insomuch as allowed her, that she would help him however she could, when asked for help. When they were finished talking, gave a big hug and told him to wipe his face before he returned to the reception. Once he had gathered himself, he headed back into the ballroom to find and . They were dancing amongst many other people.
“May I cut in?” asked. He grinned at them. could tell that was nearly hammered, but whatever the reason for his sudden pleasure, it was good enough for . He stepped aside and took in his arms and began to dance with her. “Thanks for coming.” said to her. “You remind me of , so your presence is comforting to me.” blushed.
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” She grinned. “Besides, I’m trying to shag your friend.” She joked. She was trying to add to ’s sudden good mood. laughed. “But don’t tell him I said that.”
“Your secret’s safe with me.” winked. When the song ended, it was time for the last dance of the evening. To ’s relief, had chosen a fast paced song for the last song and she danced with her bridesmaids. saw approach and a few seconds later she went over to . “I told that you’re too drunk to drive. She said she and her bridesmaids are going out for drinks and dancing after this, so I told her you were going to spend the night with me and your father. Is that okay?” She asked. looked overwhelmingly relieved.
“Of course. Let me make my way around to say thanks to everyone for coming and then we can go. As was finishing his goodbyes, his phone began to ring. He was surprised when he pulled it out of his pocket and found ’s name flashing across the screen. She never called him because she didn’t want to cause any problems for him, even though he insisted she could call him when she wanted to. “Hello?” flipped open the phone. was crying on the other end.
“I’m so sorry for calling you, but I didn’t know what else to do.” She sobbed. could hear a lot of background noise on the other end.
“Sweetie, try to calm down. What’s wrong?” He got his mother’s attention with a wave of his hand and headed outside. Not long after, his mom and dad had joined him outside. followed his parents towards the car as he talked to .
“I was feeling really bad for myself so I decided it would be a good idea to go out and get drunk. I barely even know where I am and the bartender won’t give me my car keys. And I don’t carry cash on me and I spent the little I had, so I can’t take a taxi because they won’t take my credit card.” She continued sobbing.
“Where are you sweetie? Do you know the name of the bar?” asked.
“It’s called O’Toole’s.” almost laughed at the irony of what she just said. “I was just on my way to my parent’s house and that bar is like three blocks from there. We’ll pick you up. Go sit at the bar near the bartender and don’t talk to anyone. We’ll be there in about half an hour.”
“Okay baby.”
“I love you.”
“Love you, too.” ’s father, , looked at him oddly as he hung up the phone. grabbed by the hand and patted it softly with her own.
“ will explain on the drive.” She assured him. “ , you just tell us where to go.” was blessed to have such caring and understanding parents. On the drive, explained the whole situation the way he had explained it to . disliked even more than had. He was angry at his son for letting things go as far as they did, and he insisted that let him handle it. In the end, though, he agreed just as had, to let get himself out of this situation. Considering the fact that could barely walk without falling over himself, when they arrived at the bar, went inside. She saw a young woman sitting by the bar alone. She resembled the description of that had given her. approached and put her hand on ’s shoulder, startling her.
“I’m sorry dear.” smiled politely. “Are you ?” nodded. “I’m ’s mother, . He’s in the car, come with me honey.” retrieved ’s car keys from the bartender and held ’s arm, guiding her outside. opened the back door, allowing to climb inside. Once she was in the car, the tears came flowing from her eyes again. She had sobered slightly since she had talked to on the phone. Drinking away her sorrows hadn’t turned out to be a good idea. She had surely caused and his parents a huge inconvenience. started the car and drove in the direction of their home. moved over and put his arms around .
“I’m so sorry.” She cried. kissed her on top of the head.
“Don’t apologize. This is my fault anyway.” After just a few minutes, they had arrived at the ’s house. “Mom,” began as they all got out of the car, “is it okay with you if we stay out here and talk for a little while? We won’t be long.” He promised. smiled.
“Of course. You two can stay in your room, . We’ll be in bed, but I’ll make you breakfast in the morning.”
"Thanks mom." said and kissed his mom quickly on the cheek before she went inside. "Come here." said to . She went over to him and he wrapped his arms around her, holding her body close. She looked up at him and he down at her. "I wish you would quit apologizing to me." stated. "You have nothing to be sorry for. It's I that should be apologizing to you. I'm sorry for how today made you feel. One day it's going to be us walking down the aisle together." sighed. "I don't know how you can be so sure of that." said to him. "You hardly know me at all." "I know you well enough." replied.
"Well enough for what?" asked.
"Well enough to know I want to be with you. In the short time I've known you, you've shown me that you'll be there for me through anything and that you care about what I want and that you're not after my money."
"I'm only after what you've got in here." She said, tugging on the waist of his pants. laughed at her.
"I can live with that." He shrugged his shoulders. "So what'd you get me?" He asked, remembering that said she had gotten him a present.
"It's a surprise and it's at home. You'll get it soon enough though."
"Fine." sighed.
"Your parents must thing I'm evil or something."
"I told them everything that's happening and they already hated . You make me happy and that's all they care about. I know it sounds cheesey, but it's the truth. And now that they know about you, this is sort of a safe haven for us. thinks my parents fancy her quite a bit so she'd never expect me to be seeing you when I'm coming here. Between that and tour practice we'll be able to see quite a bit of each other and hopefully will slip up while I'm tour."
"We are gonna go to hell for all of this lying and deceiving." reminded .
"At least we will be going to hell together." winked at her. chuckled.
"I'm getting sleepy, baby." yawned.
"Me too." said. "Let's go to bed."


Chapter 13

The following morning when awoke, was smiling at her.
"What?" groaned. She wasn't exactly a morning person.
"I can't wait for the day when I can wake up next to you every morning." blushed. sniffed the air. "Smells like breakfast is almost done. You hungry?" asked.
"Starving." She replied. laughed.
"I love a girl with an appetite." gave a pair of sweatpants and a tshirt that he had in one of the drawers and pulled out something similar for himself. When they went into the kitchen, there was already a plate of food and a tall glass of milk on the table for each of them. They both took a seat and began to shovel food into his mouth. had to muster a giggle. sat down at the table.
"We weren't properly introduced last night, Mrs. ." said.
"Please, call me mom." insisted. nearly choked on his food. had insisted that call her Mrs. .
"Okay." smiled nervously. "I'm . I'm 's..." She trailed off when she couldn't decide what word to use to describe her relationship to . 'Mistress' was the only word that came to mind. She had stuck her foot in her mouth. She began to eat instead of finishing.
"She's my fiancé." finished for her. rolled her eyes. eyed the ring on 's finger.
"First of all," began, "you didn't ask me to marry you." She reminded him. "Second of all, how can we be engaged if you're already married?" seemed to shrug her off.
"Don't get technical." teased her. "I'll ask you when the time is right. And you'll say yes." He insisted. could sense a chemistry between and that she had never sensed between and at all. She really liked . She silently cursed for not having met her sooner.

and spent the rest of the afternoon at his parents' house. drove to the bar in the early evening to pick up her car and she headed home. She had a lot to do that week to get ready for tour practice and the tour. She would teach her usual Tuesday and Thursday classes that week and then the school would be on hiatus while Westlife used the studio to rehearse for the tour. Somehow, managed to visit during both of her classes that week and brought with him to babysit the class while he and snuck off. They talked several times on the phone that week, but didn't get any alone time. warned that was on the prowl, trying to catch being unfaithful so that she could end the marriage, take 's money, and move on. encouraged to go out, hoping he would go straight to , making seeing her impossible.

Monday was the first tour rehearsal. They had finished nailing sound and would do their last sound checks at each of the stadiums where they'd be performing on the tour. For this reason, only the four guys, , and were at the rehearsals. woke up Monday morning feeling like it was Christmas. He dressed in a pair of track pants, a white tshirt, and a baseball cap. When he arrived at the studio, he saw 's car in the lot, and began to grin immediately. When he went inside, he dashed over to where was tying her shoes.
"Love me." insisted. looked up and smiled at him. She stood up and took her in his arms. They kissed for a few seconds before pulling away. noticed that had all of the curtains pulled down. When stepped through the door at that moment, told him to lock the door.
"Just in case." She shrugged. "Did you miss me baby?" She asked .
"Of course I did." replied. "I can't get enough of you. Did you decide when you're going to give me my present?" asked hopefully. nodded.
"I'll give it to you the first night of the tour. I'm going to convince Louis to get us rooms right next to each other that have that extra door so you can go from one room to the next and I'll give it to you then."
"Louis better book us a room like that every night of the tour." stated.
"Now that everyone is here, let's get this show on the road." suggested. The rehearsal went smoothly. Once they had called it quits for the day, the guys and all hung around a little longer so that and could spend some time together. locked the studio and got into her car after everyone else had gone. Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw someone step out from behind a car on the other side of the street. When she turned to look, no one was there. 'Great.' She thought to herself. 'Now I'm going to have a constant case of paranoia.'

Later that night, when called her, she told him about her suspicions. told her that she probably was just being paranoid, but if they continued to be careful like they had been, everything would be alright.

Friday, brought flowers to rehearsal for . He had been married for almost a week and so far, there seemed to be no end in sight. He decided to make an extra effort to show how much she meant to him. Their inability to see each other in private on a regular basis made their relationship appear to be based mostly on sex, which they enjoyed almost every day thanks to the storage room at the studio. The last thing wanted was for to feel like their relationship was merely physical. The sneaking around and secrecy of their relationship was taking more of a toll on than he thought it would. When he was at home with , he yearned for . When he was with , he was the happiest he had ever been, but when he was , those were the darkest hours of his life.

The weekends proved to be the hardest on the young couple. They barely saw each other. Occasionally, would invite the two over for lunch and dinner. would tell he was going to dinner at his parents' house and would meet him there. continued to feel as if she was being followed to and from rehearsal. It made her feel uneasy, but she was sure she and were being careful enough. On the last day of rehearsal before the tour started, 's suspicions were confirmed.

She decided to go early to set up a small surprise party since it was their last day of rehearsal. When she arrived, there was a strange car in the parking lot. She walked over to the car to find a young woman fast asleep. rapped on the window and the woman jumped up. She quickly tried to gather a stack of papers and photographs that were clearly of and , but none were of the two of them together. glared at the woman who was obviously a private investigator.
"Can I help you?" snapped at her. The woman rolled down her window. It was the first time she had been discovered.
"You can make yourself a little easier to catch in the act." The woman shrugged.
"I don't need to bother asking you who hired you, but I have to ask you if she told you exactly why you're following us."
"Just that you're sleeping with her husband." chuckled.
"You might want to start investigating the people who hire you."
"Look, I don't care what her motives are. She pays and she pays well. I'm going to get something on the two of you if it's the last thing I do." rolled her eyes.
"That's fine." surrendered. "You're in love?" asked, motioning towards the engagement ring on the woman's finger.
"As a matter of fact I am." The woman replied with a tone of annoyance in her voice. She didn't feel the need to explain herself to a girl she was investigating.
"Good. Now while you're in the bushes stalking me and , just remember that you are helping a woman to ruin the lives of me and the man I love. That you're helping her to ruin his career and take him for every cent he has. And that she doesn't care about anything, but his money. But that's all you care about, too. So I guess the two of you have a lot in common." When had finished, the woman started her car and revved her engine. rolled her eyes and stepped out of the way. She decided to go inside and start setting up the party. She honestly was not surprised at all to find that had hired a private investigator. It didn't matter anyway, she and had never been caught. But maybe the private investigator was right. They probably would get sloppy because they had become too comfortable not getting caught. And then when they did get caught, the private investigator would provide with the proof she needed to sever the marriage and gain all of 's assets and it would be all her fault. As decorated the room with balloons and streamers and set out some food and drinks that she had purchased, she thought long and hard about that. She really did love a lot, but she wouldn't be able to live with herself if she caused to lose everything he had. Just as she finished setting up, everyone filed in the door. First came and . They were followed by , , and then . locked the door after he entered. He strolled over to and leaned in to kiss her. She turned her face so that his kiss landed on her cheek. looked at her curiously. took by the hand. “We have to talk.” She pulled him over to the table where she had set up the refreshments. She tried to speak quietly. “I was right. Someone has been following me. Actually, somebody has been following us. I met her this morning. hired a private investigator.” sighed.
“Are you okay?” He asked. shrugged.
“She doesn't have anything on us.” replied.
“That's good.” breathed a sigh of relief.
“No it isn't . This woman is probably getting paid hundreds if not thousands of dollars an hour by to catch us together. She may not have anything yet, but she will. It's only a matter of time.”
“Don't think like that.” put his hands on 's hips.
“I can't help myself. Our entire plan relies on the fact that is being unfaithful to you, if you can call it that, but you don't even know for sure that she's seeing someone else. We've been walking on eggshells. It won't work forever. And when that day comes, when she gets proof that we're together, you'll lose everything.”
“If that happens, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.” assured her. shook her head.
“Don't you get it baby? I don't want to go anywhere near that bridge. I love you . I love you enough to know that if I cause you to lose everything, I will not be able to live with myself.”
“Sweetie, what are you trying to say?” asked her.
“I don't think we should see each other anymore.” could hardly believe she had spoken those words. It was extremely hard for her to do so. She wanted to be with more than anything in the world.
“Don't say that.” protested. “You don't mean that.”
“I do, too baby. I think we'll save ourselves a lot of heartache if we end this now.”
“Save ourselves a lot of heartache?” began to raise his voice, drawing the attention of those around them. “I don't know about you, but my heart is aching a lot right now. Not seeing you isn't going to do anything but make me feel worse.”
“I'm sorry baby.” was sincere in her apology, but she felt like this was the decision she had to make. “I'm gonna go. I'll see you in Dublin.” She kissed on the cheek and ran out of the studio before he had a chance to do anything. The boys kept their distance from , but ran over to him. She could see shock and horror in his face.
“ , what happened?” She asked him. shrugged.
“She said we had to end things before we got caught because she couldn't live with herself if I lost everything because of her. Why doesn't she understand that being with her is the most important thing in the world to me. I'd rather be poor and homeless and unemployed than be without her.” placed a friendly hand on 's shoulder.
“She's just confused.” assured him. “This is a lot for her to deal with. She thinks she's doing what's best for you. She'll come around.” was crushed. He had to do anything in his power to get back and try to get himself out of his predicament at the same time.


Chapter 14

When left the studio, she didn't know where she was going. She drove her car until she couldn't drive anymore. She tried to convince herself that she had done the right thing, but it didn't feel right. When she finally drove home, the sun was setting. She hadn't looked at her phone since she left the studio. As she pulled up outside of her house, she pulled out her cell phone. She had four missed calls. Two were from and two were from . She also had three text messages from . The first one said 'Please come back =[ I need you.', which nearly broke 's heart. The second one said 'I miss you already.' The third one read 'I love you.' She admired 's persistence. She sent him a text that said 'I love you too baby.' and went inside. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she closed the door and saw someone sitting on the sofa. Once she realized it was , she breathed a sigh of relief. "You know, you nearly gave me a heart attack."
"What the hell is wrong with you?" snapped. was surprised at how her friend was acting. "That man is in love with you. You understood this whole situation before you let things get deep between you. Why would you just leave him like that?"
" , you don't understand, he could lose everything."
"Is it really that hard for you to believe that someone would actually give up everything to be with you?"
"What's gotten into you?" asked. "Usually you're saying that all men are the same and they only want one thing and not to trust any of them. Now you're standing here telling me that love is more important than money and everything else in the world."
"Money and everything else in the world aren't worth anything if you can't be with the person you love."
"Wow, , what's gotten into you?" asked again. 's sudden change of heart on the issue of love had taken by surprise.
"I guess you have to really find someone who loves you before you can believe in love after all." That was when first realized that whatever there was between and was more than just puppy love.
" , I've been so wrapped up in what's going on in my life that I've failed to notice what's going on with you. I'm sorry."
“It's okay." assured her. "You need me a lot more than I need you right now."

was not in a good mood when he got home that night. was sitting on the sofa watching television.
"Evening honey." She mocked him.
"Back off." warned. "I've had enough of you. When are you going to give it up with this game?"
"It isn't a game, . Although, it is pretty fun and I will win. Okay." She shrugged. "Maybe it is a game then."
"I forfeit then." said. "I give up. I'll write a check. How much do you want? I just want you out of my life."
"Forget it. You're not getting out that easy. I won't be satisfied until I've taken your money, ruined your career, and destroyed your relationship."
"What did I ever do to you?" couldn't understand what fueled .
"This isn't about you . It never has been. It's about the thrill. Do you think you're the first person I've ever done this to?" She started cackling.
"I'm going to my parents' house." turned and walked out the door before could even reply.

spent a lot of time at his parents over the following weeks. He moped around far more than he had before he met . He talked about her constantly and kept pictures of the two of them hanging around his parents' house. spent a lot of time with and at the gym getting in shape for the tour. Every night when she walked through her front door, the loneliness took a toll on her. Even though she and had never had a normal relationship, she had treasures every second she was with him. Each day after she told him she didn't want to see him anymore, she realized more and more that she had made the wrong decision. Either way, she needed to see . She had missed him too much since she walked out on him. It was Saturday evening. The first date of the tour was Monday. They were scheduled to play in Dublin. knew that had been spending most of his weekends at his parents, so she got in her car and drove there, hoping that's where he'd be. She parked outside, walked up to the door, and rang the doorbell. It was who answered. She was thrilled to see standing there. She pulled into a hug.
"I'm so glad to see you." exclaimed.
"Same here." grinned. "Hey, is here? I know he probably doesn't want to see me, but I missed him." smiled at her. Just then, heard 's voice as he walked down the stairs into the living room.
"Mom, who's there?" He asked and walked over. His heart skipped a beat when he saw standing there. He nearly pushed his mom aside to hug . "I know you're probably mad at me baby, but I've missed you a lot." spoke into 's shoulder. He was still hugging her. When he finally stepped back, he shook his head at her.
"I'm not mad. I could never be mad at you. It was an honorable thing you did, leaving me so that I wouldn't lose everything because of you, but when you left I did lose everything, so I'm afraid your plan failed."
"Can I come in?" asked. stepped aside. He closed the door behind her.
"Can I make you some tea?" asked.
"That'd be wonderful. Thanks mom." was ecstatic when spoke and hurried into the kitchen. and sat beside each other on the sofa.
"You look like you're losing weight." frowned at . "Have you been eating?" thought it was cute that was concerned about her.
"Yeah baby, I've just been working my ass off to get ready for the tour." She assured him. leaned back to look at her rear end.
"I hope not. That's one of your best assets." laughed at him.
"That's not what I meant and you know it." noticed that was still wearing her promise ring.
"I'm glad you haven't taken that off." said, taking her hand in his and caressing her finger with his.
"I can't." She admitted.
"Because you loooove me." He teased her and she giggled. It was nice to have her sitting in front of him like everything was okay.
"I do baby." She nodded. "I hope you never doubt that."
" ," 's tone grew serious, "I miss you like crazy, but I don't want you to be miserable because of me. Won't you at least wait for me? I can understand if it's too much for you now, but I'll figure a way out of this and then we can be together." frowned and shook her head. looked down at their hands and tried to fight back the knot that was forming in his throat. placed her hand under his chin and raised it so that he was looking at her.
"I will not wait for you until you figure this out." was completely confused. The pain in his eyes almost made cry. "I will stand by your side and we'll figure this out together." It took a minute for her words to register with . His face lit up.
"Do you mean it?" He asked hopefully.
"Of course baby. If you'd rather have me than everything else, then I'm a lucky woman."
"Don't ever do this to me again." breathed a sigh of relief. smiled sweetly at him. "I love you so much." He leaned in and kissed her. watched from the doorway between the kitchen and the living room. and went into the kitchen to have tea with . They discussed plans for the following morning. Their flight to Dublin was scheduled to take off at seven. They agreed that it'd be a bad idea for to stay over and ride to the airport with him. They called and decided that would stay over at 's with and ride with them. had to leave after she finished to tea so she could do the last of her packing. She was in much higher spirits. Once she finised packing, she got in her car and drove to 's. As finished packing that evening, assured him that just because he was on the road didn't mean she wouldn't know what was going on. He and had already assumed as much.


Chapter 15

, , and awoke at four and loaded the car. They were tired and quiet on the way to the airport. By the time they had checked their bags and gone through security, , , and had also arrived and security was rushing them into the first class cabin. and exchanged smiles, but were careful not to appear more than friendly. demanded that she sit next to . sat beside . sat beside .
"I don't know what you see in ." teased as the plane took off. "He's packed on some weight recently." elbowed him playfully on the ribs.
"I happen to enjoy his love handles, thank you very much." replied and laughed. and were sitting two rows in front of and . decided to send him a text message. She typed 'Boxers or Briefs?' and hit send. She heard laugh when he read the message. A few seconds later, she got his reply. It read 'neither ;)'. She replied 'Tease'. They sent each other texts back and forth for the duration of the flight, most of which were too dirty to read aloud. They all piled into a car that had been sent to pick them up and drop them off at the hotel. Each of them had their own room except for and who would share one. went up in the elevator by herself to her room. She hoped that Louis had met her request. She dumped her bags on the bed. There was a door on the wall of the room. She walked over, unlocked it, and pulled it open. There was another door. She smiled. Now to see if Louis had listened. She banged on the door. She waited a few seconds and there was no answer. She pouted and turned to walk away when the door flew open.
"Honey, I'm home!" practically knocked down when he grabbed her. He kissed her on the lips. "I can get used to this."
"Me too baby." replied. "I wanted to make sure it was you over there and not or something."
"Just me over here." He grinned.
"Good. You're gonna get your present tonight baby."
"I can't wait. I'm gonna get a shower and get ready before the show. Wanna join me?" He winked at her.
"Mmm. Definitely." said. "Let me grab my stuff." It was the best shower either of them had ever had. They wound up having to shower again when they were finished. Once they were dressed, they met the others in the hotel restaurant to get something to eat. After they ate, they got into the tour bus and headed for the venue. The show was a great success. After the finale, they all gathered backstage to celebrate. was overwhelmed with excitement. When joined the celebration, couldn't help but give her a hug and kiss her on top of the head.
"You were amazing." He whispered into her ear. looked at him and blushed. "I am so turned on when you dance." rolled her eyes at him. "I'm being serious." He insisted.
"Well I am so turned on when you sing." told him. "And I am definitely being serious." looked at her with hunger in his eyes. He wanted to grab her and kiss her but he knew he couldn't. They all had a few drinks before they went back to the hotel. As they left the tour bus, sent a text message saying she would knock when she was ready for him. Each of them went their separate ways.

wasn't sure what to do while he waited for . They had spent other nights together. They had been together physically countless times, but this was different. While they were on tour, they'd be together all night and day. They wouldn't have to rush their time together. The setup they had with their rooms would make their lives much easier. He wasn't sure whether he should get changed or not. He decided to change into a pair of jeans and a white tshirt. He knew that liked him when he dressed casually. He was a little startled when he heard the knock on the door. He took a deep breath and pulled the door open. He literally felt every bit of air leave his body. stood in front of him. She was barefoot. Her legs were bare. She wore a tiny pair of lace boy shorts. Her stomach was bare and she wore a black lace bra. Her hair was thrown up into a messy ponytail. He was speechless.
"Do you like?" She asked, spinning in a circle so that could get the full effect.
"To say I liked it would be a gross understatement." replied. He grabbed her and pulled her into the room. "This is the best present I've ever gotten in my life."
"It's only part of your present." winked at him and stepped into his room. She backed him toward the bed until his knees buckled and he laid backwards on it. He stared up at as she climbed on top of him and sat on his stomach. She pulled his shirt up over his head. She leaned down and kissed him harshly. He kissed her back eagerly. She massaged his shoulders with her hands as she kissed him. She allowed her hands to roam down his arms, resting on top of his hands. She sat up suddenly and took his left hand in hers. He felt the cool metal of his wedding ring sliding off of his finger. He didn't protest. He heard the ring hit the wall as threw it across the room. 's forcefulness was really turning on. He felt the cold metal of another ring being slid onto his finger. sat up and smiled at him. sat up, too so that he and were sitting chest to chest. He held his hand up and examined the band that was now on his finger. He looked at curiously.
"Do you think she'll notice the difference?" asked.
"She doesn't get close enough to me to notice. Care to explain?" He asked.
"Now the band on your finger won't be a constant reminder of her. It'll be a constant reminder of me. And it's my promise to you, to stand by your side no matter what happens, and to love you forever." It was 's turn to blush. "If you don't like it, I can go get the other one." moved to get up. grabbed her and held her in place.
"You better not. I love it and I love you. Thank you so much." He kissed her again.

The following morning, the pair of them were awakened by a knock at the door. almost forgot that she was in 's room and rose to get the door. pulled her back down, kissed her on the cheek and went to get the door. He pulled on a pair of sweatpants before opening the door. The hall was empty. There was no one in sight. Just as turned to go back into the room, he noticed an envelope on the floor by the door. He picked it up and went inside.
"Who was it?" asked.
"No one." replied sitting on the edge of the bed. "Someone left this." He said as he opened the envelope. He pulled out a photograph and a note. The photograph was of and the evening before when hugged and kissed after the show. That private eye was better than had thought. read the note allowed.
"I told you you'd get sloppy. I need more before I can give this to her, but you're making my job easier. Thanks." crumpled the piece of paper and threw it across the room. sat up and wrapped her arms around 's neck. He turned to face her and kissed her softly. "Sorry." apologized as he remembered his lack of control after the excitement of such a good first show.
"I'm not worried about it." comforted him. "I'm almost ready to say screw it, let's just get caught and let this all be over with.”
“Really?!” asked hopefully.
“No.” laughed and shook her head. “I think we can stick it out a little longer, baby.” She kissed him on the cheek.


Chapter 16

The tour continued to go smoothly. didn't see , which was a blessing and he saw a lot of , which was a blessing as well. The young couple grew a lot closer. The secrecy of their relationship put a slight strain on it. They couldn't go on dates or even do anything together in public for fear that their most intimate moments would be caught on film and used against them. was surprised one evening to find an envelope taped to her door when she entered her room after a concert. She removed the envelope and went inside. was already sitting on her bed waiting for her, having entered through the connecting doors that had been left open earlier that day. sat down on the bed beside and opened the envelope. She pulled out a slip of paper that simply said 'Hotel restaurant, 7am. Be there.' She handed the note to .
“Is this from your other boyfriend?” asked playfully.
“You are hilarious!” mocked him. “Do you think it's from the investigator?” asked . He shrugged. He wasn't sure, but it seemed likely that it was her.
“It could be. You'll have to go alone. Do you want to do it? I'd prefer if you didn't. You don't know who the note is from and it could be dangerous.”
“Thanks dad.” She teased him. “But I think I should go. I have your number on speed dial in case I need you.” She curled up next to and kissed him on the neck. “I've never met someone who took care of me as good as you do.” said to him. “I don't know what I did before I met you.”
“Don't make me cry.” said. “Now, come lay next to me and tell me how much you love me.” had a hard time falling asleep that night. Deep inside she knew it was the private investigator who wanted to see her. She assumed that her and had been found out and that the awful woman wanted to tell her in person. She wasn't sure exactly what this would mean for her and . Sure, they joked about hoping this day would come so at least they could be free to love each other, but she was sure that it wouldn't turn out to be such a great thing after all. She pictured growing to resent her. He told her that none of this was her fault, but she knew otherwise. It was possible that 's career could survive the publicity blow of having been caught cheating on his wife, but could survive the blow of losing every cent that he had worked so hard to earn? Surely he would grow to resent her. stared at the man laying beside her. He had fallen asleep some time ago. couldn't bare to think about the consequences any longer. Finally, she drifted asleep. When she awoke the following morning, she climbed out of bed quietly, leaving to sleep a little later. She dressed casually in a pair of jeans and a Westlife tour tshirt. She kissed on the forehead and stared at him for a few seconds.
"No matter what happens, I love you baby." She said and left the room. She made her way to the restaurant. When the hostess asked if she could help her, gave her name and said that she was supposed to be meeting someone. As the hostess led her to a table in the back, once again had her suspicions confirmed. She saw the same woman she had seen in the car that morning at the studio sitting at a table by herself. sat in the chair across from her.
"I'm ." The girl introduced herself. "I ordered you a diet soda." She motioned towards the glass that sat on the table in front of .
"You don't miss anything, do you?" asked. She took a long drink from the straw. She could use the caffeine. smiled and shook her head.
"Let's get straight to the point." reached into a bag that was sitting on the floor beside her. She handed a stack of photos. 's heart sank as she flipped through them. Each and every one of the pictures was of and sneaking a quick hug or kiss, some a little more intimate than others. and thought they'd been careful. They probably had been. This was clearly good at what she did. must have hired the best. kept her face indifferent, fighting the urge to cry. She put the photos on the table and shrugged. "I told you you'd slip up."
"I guess you were right." tried hard to sound like she wasn't fazed by any of this. "I'm assuming that if had seen these already, she would have busted down 's door. What are you waiting for?" searched for a sign of emotion. She couldn't stand not knowing how this was effecting her.
"I'm giving this up." confessed. "My fiancé isn't a fan of my chosen career path and he asked me to give it up. So, that's what I'm doing. I just figured I'd finish my last job before I did. You know, sort of like a last hoorah." didn't know why was sharing this information with her. She wanted to reach across the table and punch her in the face, but she refrained. Was rubbing it in? She was choosing love above her career, above everything else and didn't see making such as a choice as a possibility. "Anyway, pays me by the hour. I've already made a ton of money working for her. I stand to make a large sum when I turn these over to her."
"Congratulations." replied, not so enthusiastically.
"However," began, rising to leave the table. rolled her eyes. What was with this women? She delivered such a blow to and now she was going to leave her stuck with the bill. "I met a client who was willing to pay much more." She picked the photos up from the table and handed an envelope. watched as walked towards the door, dumping the photos of her and in the trash can. was more than confused. She was almost afraid to open the envelope. Who was this other client she referred to? Slowly, she tore open the envelope. When she looked down at the pictures she held in her hand, her jaw dropped.

" !" shouted as she walked through the door to his room. had been in the bathroom brushing his teeth. He appeared in the bedroom as quickly as possible. "What do you know about these?" She demanded, shoving the photographs in his face. was very confused as he took the photographs from her. She watched his eyes widen as he flipped through them. She was sure had been behind whatever was going on, but judging from the look on his face, he was just as shocked as he was.
"I know nothing of this." He insisted. He grabbed his cell phone and quickly dialed a number. "Family meeting." He said. "My room. Now. No, call them for me." He hung up the phone and got dressed quickly.

In a matter of minutes, the room was full. , , , and had rushed to the room after getting the family meeting call from .
"You know it's something serious if I'm calling a family meeting." stood in the middle of the room with his arms crossed over his chest. "Someone in this room has a lot of explaining to do." He didn't point any fingers or raise an eyebrow at anyone in particular. He wanted them to confess.
"I'm assuming you're talking about me." piped up. narrowed his eyes at him.
"You're correct. And before I jump to any conclusions, I think you need to explain yourself."
nodded.
"I couldn't stand seeing you the way you were all the time. And even worse, I knew how much was hurting. Sure, you're seeing each other now, but what about when the tour's over? I'm a pretty good actor." He grinned. breathed a sigh of relief. He had hoped what he was seeing in the photographs wasn't what it seemed and had just confirmed that.
"Does somebody want to explain what's going on here?" asked with a tone of annoyance in his voice. handed the photographs to and everyone leaned in for a closer look. Everyone let out a gasp, except for as they looked down at photographs of engaged in a very intimate lip lock with .
"She's easy." laughed. "All I did was bad mouth you a little, sweet talk her a little. She tried to get me in bed but I didn't let it get that far."
"You're the best!" exclaimed, planting a big wet kiss on 's cheek. "And the private eye was a nice touch.”
"Yeah!" agreed. "Which one of you hired her?" and exchanged looks of confusion.
"You mean, you didn't hire her?" asked. shook his head. looked around the room. None of them had hired her. "Well who cares at this point. We have the day off. I'm going to see my lawyer."


Chapter 17

drove to see the lawyer himself. It wasn't much of a visit, the second the lawyer saw the photos, he told he would file for the annulment. told him he'd give him a bonus if he rushed it. had his lawyer relay a message to 's lawyer that she could keep the house and he called his brothers to go over and get all of his things from the house. On his way back to his hotel, 's phone rang. It was .
"Yes?" He answered.
"So, you won, huh?" She sneered.
"It seems as though I did." He replied. "I'm changing my phone number after I get off of the phone with you."
"That's fine." spat. "But this isn't over. Not yet. Tell your girlfriend to watch her back." hung up the phone.

sat on the bed in 's hotel room, folding his clothes. She had decided to get a head start on packing while saw his lawyer so they would be ready to go in the morning. Her phone went off and she had a text message from telling her to meet him in the lobby. She headed down. When she saw him standing there, she walked over to him. Suddenly, he lifted her and kissed get passionately.
" ," blushed, "we're in the middle of a crowded lobby."
"Sorry. I just wanted to kiss you in public." He grinned.
"What does this mean for us baby?" She asked as put her down.
"It means that we can love each other openly now. That we can move our relationship to the next level."
"And what would that next level be?" She asked curiously.
"I've got some things in mind." He winked.

and 's relationship flourished once they could be together openly. They went on real dates and visited 's family. Their relationship had been put to the test and they had survived it. decided that it was time to officially ask to be his wife. He wanted it to be special. Since they had had to keep their relationship a secret for such a long time, he wanted the proposal to tell her and the world how much he loved her. The last show of the tour was scheduled to take place at Croke Park in Dublin. He would propose to her on stage. He was a bundle of nerves that day, but tried hard to disguise it in 's presence. To distract while worked out some last minute details, asked her to go out for a jog with her before the concert. There was a track near the arena. The girls put on their sweatpants and sneakers and headed out.
" .." began as they jogged. "I have the feeling 's been acting a little distant lately. I hope he isn't losing interest in me." sounded worried.
"You're probably overreacting. Either that or he's been stressed about tonight's show. You know how important Croke is to them." thought about it for a few minutes and decided was probably right. thought she heard a sound behind them and glanced behind. Nothing was there. She shrugged and kept running. A few seconds later, felt a crushing blow to her leg. She crumpled to the floor. She looked up to see taking a swing at and then she blacked out.

recognized the smell of the hospital as soon as she gained consciousness. She opened her eyes slowly, adjusting to the flourescent lights.
"She's waking up." The familiar sound of 's voice was like music to her ears. She suddenly felt his hands go over hers. She looked over to find him gazing at her.
"How long have I been out?" Was the first question she could think of.
"About eighteen hours." replied. "You would have woken up sooner bit they gave you anesthesia so they could operate." The events of the day before slowly came back to her. She had only recently begun feeling like her old self from her leg injury and now she would have to recover all over again. If she even could recover. How could her leg possibly withstand two severe injuries? She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"What's the prognosis?" She asked, preparing for the worst possible response.
"Good old fashioned broken leg." tried to smile to make her feel at ease. She breathed a sigh of relief. She'd heal in a matter of weeks if she rested properly.
"The Croke show?" She asked.
"We postponed. We are going to do an extra hour at the show to make up for it." frowned. "Don't worry about any of that stuff. Aren't you curious at all about what happened to ?"
" knocked her out." laughed a little.
"True." nodded and smiled at her. "And she went to jail. And as it turns out she's had a warrant out for her arrest. I really wasn't the first guy she'd ever done this to." seemed to stare past . "What's wrong?" He asked. "Well, besides the obvious."
"I've been feeling a little lately like you're drifting away from me." couldn't believe she was saying this. His feelings for her were growing stronger day by day. Apparently in his preparation for the proposal he had been acting a little withdrawn.
"Never. I'm sorry for making you feel that way. I've been a little stressed with the tour ending. Plus I'm temporarily homeless." He laughed. He had to find a new place to live since he had given the house.
"You're right." knew was stressed but she had needed to hear it from his mouth.
"I know you're probably not up for visitors but my parents came all the way here. They want to see you." couldn't believe how wonderful 's parents were to her. She nodded her head and left to get them. When returned with his parents, was in tears.
“I'm so sorry!” She cried, moving to 's side. “This is all my fault.” looked curiously from back to . shrugged. He had no idea what his mom was talking about. “I hired that private eye. If I hadn't done that, none of this would ever have happened.” and looked shell shocked. Neither one of them would have suspected of hiring . “I just, I thought that if was caught being unfaithful to , you two could be together and everything would be right. Now it's all wrong. I'm sorry.” moved toward and hugged her.
“That's the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me.” said, fighting back tears. “I'll have a broken leg for quite a few weeks, but I'll have for the rest of my life. Thank you so much, mom.” wiped her eyes. She thought would blame her for what had happened, not thank her. bent down and kissed on the forehead.
“You two are welcome to come stay with and I while you recover and look for a place.” offered.
“That's awful nice of you, but I have a place.” smiled. She and hadn't yet talked about moving in together and she didn't want to rush things because his mother had jumped the gun. frowned at her.
“I don't want you to be alone.” interrupted. “You should stay at my parents' with me.” insisted. looked at him oddly at first and then smiled.
“Okay.” She nodded. “I will.”

settled in well at the 's house. She insisted on using crutches even though the doctor had recommended she use a wheelchair for a few weeks. was able to convince to attend the Croke show. She was really disappointed that she wouldn't be able to dance. She and sat just off stage on two stools. swelled with pride when the boys performed her favorite song, Something Right. Just as they finished, the music ceased and took his microphone off of the stand. When the applause died down, spoke.
“If it's okay with all of you, I'd like to bring someone special onto the stage.” The crowd cheered and turned toward . Her face turned beat red. “I'd like to introduce you all to the love of my life, .” Even more applause and cheers arose from the crowd. silently cursed as she started to hobble onto the stage. met her and helped her reach center stage. “ , you and I have been through a lot in the short time we've known each other.” He began. The crowd grew silent, realizing the importance of 's speech. “And if there's one thing I've learned, it's that I want to spend every day for the rest of my life with you. I love you.” 's heart began to race as got down on one knee in front of her. He pulled a small box out of his pocket and opened it, revealing a ring with an even bigger diamond than the one she already wore. “Will you marry me?” Before she had a chance to respond, the crowd erupted.
“Of course I will!” beamed. slid the ring onto her finger, stood up, and hugged her tight. “I love you baby.” She said as kissed her.
“I love you, too.” He turned once more towards the crowd and spoke into the microphone. “Ladies and gentlemen, the future Mrs. .”


THE END



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