"Pop
Life"
Chapter 87
"So, did you watch the VH1 special?" Brianna asks me.
I'm sitting in my hotel room in Houston looking at someone putting up Christmas decorations on the street below.
"Yeah, I caught it," I laugh. "What's all that bull you gave them?"
"What?"
"All that stuff about wanting to join the Peace Corp?" I laugh.
"What? You don't think they could tell I was kidding?"
I shake my head even though she can't see me on the other end of the phone.
"Maybe I'll write about the Peace Corp one day."
"Yeah, maybe."
"I talked to your mom the other day. She sounds good."
"Yeah, she's doing well."
"She told me about those weird letters."
"She should keep her mouth shut."
"Heyyyy, she's just concerned."
I sigh. "Yeah, I know. Brad doesn't know about them yet."
"Isn't he going to be there any minute now?"
"Yes," I laugh. "But things are better now. Security has gotten tighter so I don't see those things anymore."
"Well you be careful."
"I will."
There's a knock on the door.
"Ohhh he's here. I'll talk to you later Bri."
"Okay. Have fun, but not too much fun."
I laugh. "Okay...mom. Bye."
"Bye."
I hang up the phone and run to the door. When I open it I jump into Brad's arms and start kissing his face.
"I missed you, I missed you, I missed you," I say over and over again.
He holds me and laughs, trying to kiss me back. He sets me down and holds the back of my head.
"I missed you too," he says as he slowly leans down and kisses me. Instantly our tongues meet - there's no hesitation. I wrap my arms around his neck and try to pull him closer.
We move a little bit so he can shut the door, our mouths never leaving each other. Before I know it, the back of my legs hit the couch and I fall back onto it and hit my head on the arm of it.
"Ow," I say, leaning up and little and rubbing the back of my head.
He leans over me and laughs. "Oops, sorry. I didn't realize we were still moving."
I sit up a little bit and pat the spot next to me. He sits down and takes my hand.
"I saw your thing on VH1."
"What did you think about it? Do you believe Brianna is joining the Peace Corp?" I ask as I tuck my legs underneath.
He laughs. "For a second I did."
I laugh too.
"She's her daddy's daughter...a good actress. She really should have pursued acting instead of writing."
"I thought they did a good job with your story. The pictures your mom let them use were priceless."
I smile. "There's a couple I wish she hadn't let them use." Then I laugh.
He studies my hand. "I can't wait to see your show again tonight."
"I'm having so much fun with this tour. There's a part of the show where I talk, remember?"
He nods.
"Well I added a few things to say in there. I actually make people laugh."
He laughs. "Well you're a funny girl."
"I try," I shrug.
I look over at him and stroke his cheek. He kisses my fingers.
"You probably meet a ton of girls, don't you?"
He scrunches his eyebrows together. "What makes you ask that?"
"I don't know. You're in a band now...a high profile band. You'll have groupies."
He chuckles. "I don't know about high profile."
"Well it will be soon."
"What about you? I see all those guys hanging out around the hotel lobby and stuff. Aren't those your groupies?" he kids me.
Suddenly my face grows serious.
"What?" he asks, caressing my cheek.
"Nothing," I say, trying to shake it off.
There's a knock on the door to the adjoining room and Tony enters the room.
"Hi Brad," he says.
"Hey Tony...how's it going?" he asks, standing up and shaking his hand.
"Not bad. Ana, time for the phone call to the radio station."
I groan. "I almost forgot about that."
"But I didn't...that's my job," he says smiling at me.
"I'll be right back," I say as I stand up and follow Tony into the other room.
Tony walks back into the suite and grabs a bottled water.
"I heard the song you sent Adriana. It's good," he says, nodding his head.
"Thanks," Brad replies. "I'm proud of it."
"You should be. You wrote it, didn't you?" he asks before he takes a sip of water.
"Yeah. Derek, the lead singer, wrote most of the lyrics, but I wrote the music and the chorus."
Tony nods. "Well, it's beautiful."
The two sit in silence for a moment before Brad speaks up again. "Is everything going okay? On the tour, I mean?"
Tony stares at him for a minute. "Things are going really well. Security is tighter."
"Yeah, I noticed," Brad chuckles. "I had to show my ID about three times. What's up with that?"
"She's getting more popular."
"And that's it? I feel like there's more."
"There were some letters and gifts from the same person, night after night. It just got us a bit concerned."
"Was?"
Tony looks down at the bottle in his hands. "Is. Andre's very capable of keeping her safe."
Brad sits back and takes this in.
"Well, let me go check on her. She's only got a couple more minutes," Tony says, checking his watch.
Brad thinks about what Tony just said. He never thought it could be like this...for some reason it never crossed his mind.
In a few minutes I join Brad in my suite.
"See, that wasn't so bad," I say skipping into the room. I plop down on the couch next to him. "Tony is going out for lunch, isn't that nice of him?"
He smiles at me and nods. "Yeah. Why didn't you tell me about the letters you've been getting?"
I swallow. "I didn't want to worry you."
"What about yourself? Don't you worry about yourself?"
I sit back a little. "Yes, of course. That's why I have more security now."
He shakes his head and leans forward. "This is a lot to take in."
I gently rub his back. "It's okay. I'm okay."
He turns to face me and wraps his arms around me. "Just be careful and do whatever they say, okay?" he asks, into my hair.
"Yes...I always do."
Slowly I rub his back.
"Do they have any idea who it is?" he asks as he pulls away.
"I don't know. We don't talk about it anymore. It was happening on the West Coast though. I don't think the guy lives close to Texas," I chuckle.
He just stares at me. "What?" I ask.
"It's still going on."
"What do you mean?" I ask, my voice shaking a little bit.
"Tony mentioned to me that the letters are still coming."
"Oh. I didn't realize that. But we were pretty sure he had been to the shows on the West Coast. How can he afford to come out here too? I'm sure it's just letters now."
Brad shrugs. "I don't know. I just don't like it."
"What else am I supposed to do? Quit and go back to Orlando?" I ask, throwing my arms up in the air.
He looks at me. "No, of course not."
"I have to keep going. I can't let him win."
He gives me a gentle kiss. "I know...you're right."