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Chapter 10
Nick
"Go B!" I smiled as Brian hung up the phone. "Pulling out the big guns."
Brian only slightly smiled. "I guess." He turned over in his bed to look at me. "I think I like her."
"No duh Bri, I could have told you that." I shook my head. They say I say stupid stuff!
"No. I mean I really like her. She's…She's wonderful. She doesn't hide things from me. She tells me to get to the point, but shows concern. I like that." He laughed.
"What are you talking about B?"
"I'm talking about when I asked her out. I was rambling on, getting no where fast. She was like move it Bri or we'll be home, but after I got it out she…she just looked at me. She almost couldn't believe that anyone could want her. Then she smiled. Have you noticed her smile?" He paused his story for my response.
"Yeah Bri. I saw."
He smiled. "Anyway, she smiled and I felt…I don't know, I didn't think she could ever hurt me. I never felt that way before. Like she'd never say or do anything to break my heart. She's caring about me. And she cares, like we do, about what people think. That's a big help. She know we have to live up to what people think about us and I really think she understands that."
Man he's head over heals! "You know B, that's nice and all, but you're getting a head of yourself you know. I mean she deals with computer nerds all day. I don't think she has too big of a problem with people disliking her."
"I don't know. I'm trying to hold my feelings back, just for a little while longer. She's…she's even HOT!" Brian laughed.
So did I. "I agree with you there. She defiantly can dress to show of what her mama gave her!"
Brian laughed harder. "Yeah." He calmed his laughter after a few minutes. He sighed and yawned. "Night Nick. I'm beat."
Maranda
When I woke up I packed my things and headed for Brian's hotel.
The hotel was a jumble of hotel staff members, the guy's crewmembers and teenyboppers.
I scanned the room for Brian. He could have been anywhere. I heard about 4 girls' screeched his name and I smiled absently.
"Brian." I called once I was closer.
"Veronica." He smiled.
Brian
Veronica walked over in denim pedal pushers, a black tee with some hot pick words on it that showed her mid drift. I couldn't read the words on her shirt because she was wearing my denim jacket.
"I'm glad you came." I smiled and signed a few more autographs before slipping away.
I walked her to a more secluded area so that we could talk more privately. Though, it didn't seem to help. We didn't say any thing.
Maranda as Veronica
"Is it always like this?" I decided to break the ice. I knew the answer to it, but I figured he didn't know that.
"No, not always. We over slept so we're rushing to keep on schedule."
I couldn't help but laugh. "Sorry." I put my hand over my mouth to cover my laughter.
"Don't do that." He put his hand over mine.
I froze.
"I like to see you smile." His hand still on mine he pulled it away from my face.
I swallowed hard. Is it getting a little hot, or is it just me?
I gently took my hand back and started to shrug off his coat. "Thank you." I never took my gaze off him. I tried and tried again, but I couldn't look away. And neither was he.
"Your welcome. " His hand covered mine as he was taking his coat back. "Can I kiss you?"
"Excuse me?" He did not just ask to kiss me, did he?
He didn't ask again, though. He took two steps forward and crashed his lips over mine.
I wanted to retreat to my car, but I couldn't. The longer my lips stayed on his lips I wanted to banish the thought of ever leaving.
I released his hand and circled my arms around his neck as he wrapped his arms around my waist.
His fingers trailed over my stomach touching my belly ring. It felt like my skin would burn off with his touch.
"Hey Brian…" Aj's voice trailed as he saw us.
I parted immediately and stared at Aj.
He started to laugh.
I looked at Brian and he at me. We didn't see what was so funny.
"I've got PMS and a gun. What was it that you wanted to ask me?" Aj laughed even harder.
I finally realized he was laughing at my tee shirt.
I looked down at my shirt and was smiling when I looked back up.
"You are one of a kind. When did you get here? Not that you had much time to breathe." He looked over at Brian as he hugged me.
"I got here about 5 minutes ago." I smiled.
"Are you going to hang with us again sometime?" Aj obviously didn't see the distress in my eyes.
I needed to get out of there fast! I just kissed Brian…my subject! I could get in so much trouble for that!
"Sure. I don't know when, but I hope so." I smiled my best fake smile.
"Great." He turned to Brian. "If you're done we got one more interview to do before we can skip town."
"Yeah, yeah." Brian laughed. "I'll be there in a second. And Aj, maybe for once you'll let me tell the guys about my personal life."
Aj just laughed and it was just Brian and me again. I wanted to scream for Aj not to leave us alone, because I wasn't suppose to fall in love with Brian.
"Whoa!" I scolded my self. "Love?" I questioned. "Never. I'm just now getting to know Brian on a level other than work. I'm still working too! I don't love him."
I looked over to a set of blue eyes that were studying my intently. It made my whole body shudder.
A smile crossed his face. "What are you thinking about?"
"The kiss." I said with out thinking and immediately regretted it.
"Me, too." He walked over to me again.
I knew what was coming. I could feel it. He was going to kiss me again.
He leaned towards me, but he didn't kiss me on the lips like I thought. He merely placed a tender kiss on my cheek.
"My cheek?" I thought. I should be grateful and jumping for joy, but I wasn't. I felt hurt, furious and confused all at once. "Why didn't he kiss me on the mouth?"
"Here. This way I know I'll be seeing you again. I'll want my jacket back." He placed the denim on my shoulders and an arm around my waist.
I smiled. I couldn't help but like the feeling that I was doing something wrong. I felt serge of electricity run through me. I was deifying orders, but my bosses didn't know that. They couldn't read my mind. For all they knew I was a wonderful actress who got paid by Uncle Sam.
We walked over to a group of girls. They weren't teen-agers though. I read the back of one of the girl's jackets. "Backstreet Dancers." Well that explains that one.
The girls weren't the only one in this huddle of people. The rest of the Backstreet Boys were there too.
"V!" The rest of the guys chorused and swarmed her with hugs.
Kevin was the last to hug me and he whispered in my ear. "Can I talk to you a sec?"
"Me?" I swallowed. Why did he intimidate me?
He didn't know about the kiss…wait! Aj was one who couldn't keep a secret very well. But that doesn't mean anything. Why would Kevin want to talk to me? To warn me against hurting Brian? That if I did he'd get me for it?
"Maranda!" I scolded. I was letting my mind run away with me.
I nodded at Kevin and, regretfully, slipped away from Brian to talk privately with Kevin to the hotel bar.
"OK, I'm sorry about this, but I need your advice. You'll give me your thoughts straight out and that's what I need right now OK?"
"Uh, Kevin? Where's this going?" I felt a little calmer realizing that it wasn't about me.
"Well I'm taking Mandy to meet Justin before we leave. I don't know how do deal with it." He sat on a barstool.
"Kevin, why are you so worried? You know Mandy more that I do, but I can tell she feels for you. I don't want to say love, because I don't even know if I know the meaning of that word. But I do believe she cares."
"I see." He sounds as if he came to that conclusion himself, I thought.
"OK Kevin you want my opinion?" I continued before he could answer. "She's got a crush on him, yes. She's got more than a crush on you, defiantly. After she meets Justin she's find out what a pompous, wanna be, loser he is, I'll bet money on it."
He looked at me with a smile on his face. That's what he wanted to hear.
"Thanks." He got up and hugged me.
After that I said my good-byes and headed to the airport.
During the flight to Washington I thought about the kiss Brian and me shared. It was wonderful.
I touched my fingers to my lips. I could almost still feel the warmth and soft touch of his lips on mine.
I laid my head back on the headrest and drifted off to sleep with a smile.
Later I was walking through the small corridors to my office. I tossed my brief case on the desk and walked over to a small closet.
When I opened it up I had a smile on my face.
There was a black leather cat suit, matching leather trench coat. There was also a black helmet made to cover my head that had a visor that covered my face sitting on a shelf above the outfit. Black boots and gloves next to that. There was a black double gun sling hanging on a hook with two loaded pistols hanging inside. In the center of the shelf there were a set of keys.
I smiled and sighed. "Hello there."
"You know talking to yourself is the first sign of insanity." My boss entered the room behind her and made himself comfortable behind her desk. He was looking at papers, but knew me all too well. "You'll have time for your joy ride later. We have 3 meeting and a lot to accomplish before you go on air in a few weeks."
"I think I need more time." I shut the doors to the closet and locked it.
"We don't have more time. You've had eight years to get over your TV jitters."
"I didn't know I was going on TV and you know that." I walked over to a small mini bar and took out two beers. "I was never told that I'd go on TV or the radio. I thought that spies were never meant to be seen or heard and here I'm doing both." I handed my boss a beer.
"Look we have a lot to accomplish. You can handle a gun so why can't you handle a little airtime?"
"Because I have control of a gun. I don't have control on TV or the radio. I'm not the TV type. I don't do that sort of thing. I'm a shadow. That's one of the reasons I accepted this job so long ago."
"I know you have been getting e-mails from Charles and I know it still hurts, but you've got to realize you're not Maranda Hunter any more. You're who we want you to be. You got that?" He looked at her sternly.
"Yeah I got that."
I turned to keep from glaring at him.
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