"Pop
Life"
Chapter 71
"Hi, I have
reservations," Brad tells the maitre de.
"Name, sir?"
"It's under Rowe."
"Yes, table for two. Right this way," he says grabbing two menus and
walking toward the restaurant.
I look back up at Brad.
"Come on," he says holding out his hand for me to take.
"I thought this was a big dinner thing," I say as we wind our way
through the restaurant back to a table for two.
The maitre de holds out my chair for me and I thank him as I sit down.
"This is a big dinner thing," Brad says, taking the menu.
"No, I mean with other celebrities and lots of people," I say waving
my hand around.
He smiles. "So, Tony misled you."
A slow smile spreads across my face. "So this dinner is just for us?"
He nods.
"Wow…I don't know what to say."
"You don't have to say anything…just enjoy."
"So he ends up falling flat on his face…broke his nose I think," Brad
says as we continue laughing.
I hold my stomach, I'm laughing so hard.
"Oh God, that's priceless. I never would have pictured George like
that."
Brad nods and continues smiling. "He's a riot when he wants to be."
"Here's the check," the waiter says as he places the check down next
to Brad.
As Brad pulls out his wallet I say, "I had a really great time. Thank you
for taking me away like this."
He places his credit card in the small book with the receipt and looks back up
at me.
"Thank you for letting me. We never really went out on a formal date so I
thought now would be a good time."
I laugh. "No, we've pretty much stuck to casual dates, haven't we?"
He nods as he takes my hand. "The night isn't over, though. I don't want
to give you up just yet."
"This is Central Park, isn't it?" I ask as the limo pulls into the
Park.
"Yes, it is."
We stop by a horse and buggy. I look at him with wide eyes.
"Ohhh a horse and carriage ride? I've always wanted to go on one of
those."
He laughs as he helps me out of the limo. "Well I'm glad I could fulfill
that dream."
We climb up into one of the carriages and are on our way.
"Having fun?" he asks me as I snuggle in closer to him.
"I'm having a great time. This is so cool. I don't want it to end," I
say, letting my words trail off.
"It's not going to end," he whispers. "We won't let it
end."
I look into his eyes. "You sure?"
"Yes. I think we can make this work," he says lifting my hand up and
kissing the back of it.
I lean my head against his shoulder and think about what he said.
After a few minutes I say, "What do you consider me?"
"Give me a little more to go on," he chuckles.
"Am I your girlfriend or a good friend…or what?"
"I don't kiss good friends the way I kiss you."
"Soooo, I'm your girlfriend?" I ask with a hopeful tone to my voice.
He laughs almost quietly. "Yes, I consider you my girlfriend. You consider
me your boyfriend, right?"
"Of course." I play it off like it's something I haven't worried
about before.
"Good."
He leans down and gives me a tender kiss.
"So, we can make this long distance thing work," I say, trying to
convince myself more than anything.
"Yes, we can. Because we want to make it work."
"I am going back to school for a few weeks you know?"
"Yeah. Are you excited?"
I move my head against his shoulder so I can look at him. "I'm a little
nervous. When I was last there my record hadn't even come out yet. I don't want
them to treat me any differently."
"Well they will. They're not used to having someone who's been on MTV in
their school."
I laugh. "Well it's going to weird me out so I hope they don't act that
way."
"You're going to have fun. You'll get to go to the football games and
homecoming…"
I gasp. "What if someone asks me to the dance? Will you go with me? That
way I'll have someone to go with."
He laughs. "I don't even know where I'll be."
I try to hide my disappointment. "I guess you're too old for that kind of
stuff anyway."
"I didn't say that," he says softly.
"I know you didn't. You probably didn't even think it but you're out of
high school now. It would be strange for you to go back for a dance."
"I'd go with you, if you really wanted me to. Besides it would keep you
from going with someone else."
I laugh. "I'd never go with anyone else…you're my boyfriend and I'll be
faithful to you," I say looking up into his eyes.
He smiles and kisses me. "Me too. I won't look at ANY of those half naked
girls in the next Electric video."
I laugh and slap at his arm, playfully.
"You better not."
He turns a little so his body is facing mine. "Why would I need to look at
them when I have you?"
He starts to stroke my face with his thumb.
"Don't make me cry," I say softly.
He smiles and touches his forehead to mine. "I'll try not to. We're here
to have fun…not be sad."
"Right," I say taking a deep breath.
I move in just a little so our lips touch. My tongue touches his bottom lip so
he opens his mouth a little wider. The kiss lasts a minute before we realize
there is a driver sitting in front of us.
"I'm sure he's used to this kind of thing but we should slow down," I
whisper to Brad.
He looks up at the driver's back and laughs. "You're probably right."
As we wind our way through Central Park we talk more about our childhoods.
"I'm really surprised you had an almost normal upbringing," he tells
me.
"Well it was normal for me. I mean aside from being on the road, living on
a tour bus for the first few years of my life, my mama and daddy have been very
supporting, loving parents. They've been that way for all of us and they'll be
that way for the new baby," I say before I can catch myself.
His eyes widen. "New baby? Your mom is pregnant?" he asks softly.
I smile, nod and put a finger to my lips. "They aren't going to go public
with it for awhile but the family knows."
"Wow," he says leaning back into the cushion. "That's great. I
guess everything is good? Her health and all?"
"Yeah, as far as I know. She was really really tired today so I hope she's
okay but other than that, they're doing great."
"Well congrats to them."
"Yep, I'm so happy for them. They're actually giddy about it."
The carriage slows down and stops in the place we started.
"It's over?" I ask, almost pouting.
"I'm afraid so," Brad says as he steps down onto the pavement.
He holds his hand out so I take it. When I reach the top step of the carriage
he reaches for my waist and lifts me down.
"Thank you," I smile at him.
He pays the driver and we start walking toward the limo.
"Where next?" I ask as I grab his hand.
We get in the limo and he looks at his watch.
"Home I'm afraid."
"Noooo."
"I have to get you back. I was told no later than midnight."
"I can't believe daddy…"
He stops me. "It wasn't your dad…it was Tony. When I arranged this he
wanted to make sure you got enough rest for tomorrow. You have a lot of
interviews to do. Starting with the Today show."
"Oh…right."
"Sorry," he shrugs. "I don't want to see you on the show
tomorrow morning with suitcase sized bags under your eyes."
I laugh. "You're right."
We reach the apartment building and walk into the lobby. When the door to the
elevator closes I wrap my arms around his waist and rest my head against his
chest as he leans back against the wall.
"Thanks for tonight."
His hands rub up and down my back.
"You're welcome for tonight. You look beautiful…have I told you
that?"
I smile. "Yes, but thank you. And you look very handsome in this
suit," I say tugging on the lapel of his jacket.
"Why thank you."
The door opens and we reluctantly walk off.
"Would you like to come over for dinner tomorrow? I asked daddy and he
didn't think it would be a problem."
"Sounds great."
"I'll call you tomorrow to tell you what time but it might be later since
I have all that stuff to do."
"Okay."
We stand in front of the apartment door.
Before I can say anything he leans down and kisses me. I instantly grab his
hair and pull him closer as his hands rest on my waist. The kiss is slow and
sensual. I've never been kissed this way before. Like it's a kiss that will
have to last us for awhile.
"You have to go in," he says when he breaks away from the kiss.
"I know," I moan.
"Good night," I say giving him a quick kiss on the lips.
I open the door and don't look back.
"Good night," he says to the closed door.
When I walk in, mama is sitting on the couch reading a book. She looks up and
smiles.
"Hey baby, how was your evening."
I kick off my shoes and sit down next to her, tucking my feet up under my legs.
"It was very romantic. We had a nice dinner and then he took me on a
carriage ride in Central Park."
"Oh, that sounds sweet."
"Mama, did you know about this?"
"About Brad taking you out tonight? No honey, I can't keep up with your
schedule so I don't even try. I thought you had a dinner party to go to
too," she laughs.
I smile and nod. "I'll have to thank Tony tomorrow as he's dragging me
from interview to interview. How do you feel?"
"I feel fine."
"You sure because you took an awfully long nap today."
"Yes, I took a nap because yesterday took a lot out of me. The baby and I
were tired," she says rubbing her very small protruding stomach.
"Okay. Well, I'm going to go to bed. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Good night. I love you," she says as I lean over and kiss her cheek.
"I love you too."
As I lay in bed I think back to the date tonight. Probably the most perfect
date. I smile as I roll over and drift off to sleep.