It�s early, way too early but I guess there is no sense in complaining about it because I still have to do it. Not only do I have to wake up but also I have to be dressed and coherent, what kind of crap is this? Get over Priscilla; you wanted to make sure celebrities never said the wrong thing so now you have to suck it up. Luckily, I don�t have to be as corporate as I do at the office; so today I had already decided it was going to be the yellow ribbed shirt and a pair of black pants. My hair is back in a ponytail and the makeup is minimal. Once I make it down to the van its seven o�clock. I climbed inside and noticed I was the only one there. I looked at the driver,
�Where is everyone?� He smiled at me in the rear view mirror,
�My guess is still in bed. You�re not a star huh?� No, I�m not a star and I�m not in the mood for his none too funny in my opinion comments either. I sighed,
�No, how could you tell?� He laughed,
�Because I�ve been driving these celebrities around for years now. They�re probably still in bed Miss.� Probably still in bed they better not be. I sat in the van for twenty minutes listening to some country station before I stepped out. Just as I was about to enter the hotel I saw Nick, AJ and Howie walking out with a couple of the bodyguards. AJ was the first to see me,
�Prissy, what�s up baby? I didn�t know you were going to be with us.� I nodded, still too tired, grumpy or whatever to speak. Howie stepped to the side as his cell phone rang and began to talk. Because he did that, I ended up sitting between AJ and Nick in the first seat. One of the bodyguards sat in the front seat and the other, who was standing next to Howie, would be in the very back with him. I sighed loudly but quickly stopped breathing as Nick leaned over,
�Yellow is my favorite color. You look good in it.� Yellow was his favorite color? Whose favorite color is yellow? I smiled and quietly responded,
�Thanks.� Thanks, that�s all I could muster up. I had a Bachelor�s degree and all I could say was thanks. I�m beginning to think I�m not very worthy of this job. God help these guys if I had to speak on their behalf if something major happened to them. He leaned in closer and I stopped breathing all over again,
�You smell great too. What are you wearing?� I licked my lips and summoned the courage to look at him, only to see him licking his own lips and I had to hastily turn away from him,
�Chanel.� He nodded as if he was filing that away in his brain and then he leaned over me and began to talk to AJ. Just like that, disrupt my breathing, halt my life, make me question if I needed to put on more deodorant and then drop me to talk to AJ. I smiled at Howie as he climbed in the van,
�Good morning Priscilla.� He squeezed my shoulder and I patted his hand,
�Morning Howie.� The door was closed and we were on our way. I looked down and I wanted to run my fingers through Nick�s wet hair as he leaned over me, his chest on my thighs. I wanted to rub my hand up and down his broad back. He was such a big guy, the kind of guy that I would love to have hold me in his arms. Like a lightning bolt, an image of him and his friend struck in my mind and I wondered how he held her, how he kissed her, how he made love to her. I could see them in my mind now, him slowly removing her clothes as he looked in her eyes but I could easily see him ripping her clothes from her body as he told her how much he wanted her and how much she turned him on. I don�t know which one I wanted him to be, sensual or steamy. I jumped as I felt his hand on my leg but he didn�t falter in his conversation with AJ and I was more uncomfortable than ever. I know it meant nothing, he was probably just bracing himself, probably didn't know he was doing it. I breathed an inaudible sigh of relief when he sat up. I was hoping that he wouldn�t say anything to me but at the same time I wished he would show me some more interest. It was like a tennis game in my head, back and forth, that was my feelings towards Nick.
Of course we were late getting to the radio station. We were supposed to be there at a seven thirty and it was eight ten when we walked through the doors of the building. There were fans outside waiting but we quickly bypassed them as the guys promised they would sign autographs and take pictures when they were finished. One of the bodyguards entered into the studio with us as the other sat outside in the waiting room down the hall. The guys settled in their seats and I sat in the back with a pair of headphones in my hands as we waited for the commercial to be over. The radio station and I had already gone over the interview, basically there wasn�t anything they couldn�t talk about but I reminded the program manager of proper etiquette and what was and was not acceptable to involve the Backstreet Boys in over the airwaves. I smiled at the intern; I suppose she was, when she placed a bottle of water in front of me. She did the same for the guys and a knot formed in my stomach when Nick smiled at her and briefly placed his hand on her arm. He was a friendly guy, that�s all it was, he just liked girls, a lot and whatever moments we had, or I thought we had, were nothing more than him being the girl loving guy he is. For the first five minutes of the interview everything was adequate and I zoned out, hoping that they didn't stray from the standards we agreed upon.
We made it back to the hotel just after ten that morning and I collapsed in my room. It was unbelievable that I felt like so much had been done before breakfast was over. Kevin and Brian did an interview on one of the adult contemporary stations; accompanied by Peter may I add. I am, as they say, paying my dues. I was with the young wild ones with the crazy fans and Peter got the old married men with the calmer fans. Well, calmer in comparison, at least they didn�t have names on their foreheads. Just as I kicked out of my boots there was a knock on the door and I was reminded of a phone interview I had to oversee with Nick. I opened the door to see him standing there,
�Hi.� I smiled and held the door open as he walked through and sat down on my bed,
�Who is this interview with?� I pulled out the itinerary from my briefcase,
�Bop.� He rolled his eyes,
�Damn, give me a break. Why the fuck do we have to keep doing these dumb ass interviews with these stupid magazines?� I think that was the first time I�ve ever heard him say a bad word. It was weird and amusing all at the same time. At least he didn�t have some warped sense of morality sleeping around but too pure to say fuck. It always blew my mind when someone would say how something was immoral but would turn around and say something racist or sexist. I didn�t know what to say to him and I don�t think he was particularly interested in any words of comfort, I think he was just venting. I watched as he kicked off his shoes and lay on my bed, he has a lot of nerve no doubt about that. It must be that right of passage once you become a star that makes you think you can do whatever you want, wherever you want. I wonder what would happen if I told him to get out. He'd probably have me fired immediately, wouldn't even get a ticket back to LA. I'd be stranded, humiliated and jobless. Maybe the other four would stick up for me. They like me, I guess. He just fucks with me for the sake of amusement I'm sure. I went out on the balcony with my cell phone, I needed to call my brother and make sure my apartment was still there and more important, make sure I hadn't been evicted...yet.
Chapter 15
Total Control
Stories