I’ve been given a lot of amazing opportunities in my lifetime, and I’ve had many chances to do things that some people only dream of.  I guess I can get a little desensitized to some things, just because I’ve seen and done a lot. 

But for the record, I am so incredibly excited about this tour I can’t even believe it’s really mine.  I’ve been waiting to be able to put something like this together, it’s a dream come true.

“Holy shit.”  Abbey’s voice sounds beside me and I take it she’s excited about this too.  “Justin…this thing is…”

“Amazing, incredible, awesome?”  I supply some words for her, but by the look she’s giving me it’s not the direction she was headed in.

“Huge!”  She scans across the arena again.  “Seriously, I’m going to lose 50 pounds just walking to the other side!”

“Thanks, I think.”  She runs across the stage and jumps up onto the upper section.  I’m enjoying her excitement because I’ve worked really hard for this tour and I’m happy to share it with someone else.  I’m worried about how she’s going to handle the audience size and the overall massiveness of this tour, but I’m sure she’ll get it over time.  She’s got talent, that’s for sure.

“Hey, does this thing move?”  She’s standing in the center of the stage, obviously pointing to the circle in the middle.

“Actually, most of the stage moves.”  I point out the other sections that’ll slide around too, and I’m tempted to pick up the jaw that’s fallen to the floor.

“Holy shit.”

“You said that already,” Trace has made his way up to where Abbey is standing, and he takes his finger and taps her mouth closed.  I knew we were best friends for a reason.  “You’re going to catch flies, girl.”

“I just can’t believe how massive this stage is.  Not to mention the arena itself…there are going to be thousands of people here!”  She twirls around for a moment before getting too dizzy and dropping to the floor.

I laugh a little before scanning the room for the rest of the people with me.  I spot Rachel sitting with Mick on the edge of the stage.  She’s laughing at something, and I have a feeling that it might be partly due to the pitch of his voice.  He’s been with me for years now and I still catch myself wanting to chuckle.

Jill has parked herself in one of the stadium seats and she’s not looking very happy.  I had told her we were going to go out to lunch, which we sort of did.  It just happened that Rachel wanted to tag along, and then Trace decided to join in, so it became a group thing.  Then I got a call from management telling me that the stage was ready for me to check out so I wanted to get Abbey and bring her along.

That didn’t sit very well with my girlfriend.

I’ll have to make it up to her later.  Maybe tonight I’ll make her dinner and kick everyone else out of the house so it’s just the two of us.  She’d like that.

“Boss man!”  Abbey screeches and I’m moved from my thoughts.

“Hey Jude.”  I jog over to where she and Trace are standing, still a little in awe from the view.  This tour is going to kick ass.

“Where is the backstage?”  She spins again, a puzzled look on her face.

“There is no backstage.”  I grab her arm and pull her over to the stairs, pointing into the dark.  “We hang out under the stage.”

Her mouth forms into an ‘o’ but she doesn’t say anything.  I slap her on the back and grin at her.

“Tomorrow they’re going to be setting up all of the electrical components, so we’ll be able to move the stage and see what all that looks like.  At the end of the week we’re starting rehearsals on the stage so we have plenty of time to get used to it.”

“Boss man…”  She turns to me, slightly pale in the face.  “If I wasn’t scared shitless before, you’ve certainly done it now.”  I have to laugh because I know she’s telling the truth.

“All right, I think you’ve had enough torture for the day.  Let’s get out of here, I’ve got to go home and tend to my lady anyway.”  Abbey turns a little and sneaks a glimpse at Jill before grimacing at me.

“She doesn’t look to happy with you, Boss.  You might want to go fix that scowl, or she might end up looking like that all the time.”  There’s a pause and I know that she’s not finished.  “Come to think of it, though…she does seem to look like that--” I cut her off before she can say anything too damaging.  I’m not sure how well sound can carry in this place and I don’t want anything to be overheard.

“Enough out of you, peanut gallery.”  I raise my voice to catch the attention of Rachel and Mick, “We’re moving out.  Let’s go.”

We all shuffle back out into the parking lot and jump into the SUV and I make sure to sit next to Jill and try and sweet talk her.  She seems to relax a little and I wrap my arm around her shoulders and pull her to me.  I can hear Trace and Abbey making noises that resemble kissing in the back and I turn around to send them a steely glare.  The last thing I need is my girlfriend to hear and get pissy all over again.  She’s usually really relaxed and laid back, but for some reason being around Trace or Rachel or Abbey makes her uncomfortable.

“Hey Mick,” Abbey’s voice sounds in my ear and I cringe a little.  “Can you drop me at the studio?  My car is there.”

“That’s where I was headed.”  She thanks him and sits back.

“Finally get your car back, Jude?”  I’m surprised that John’s car is finally fixed, it seemed like every time she was about to get her car back something new would come up.  Although, I’m under the impression that he just liked driving around in a girly car.  I’ve always thought he was a little…fruity.

“Yes!  It’s about time too, I was really tired of not having my wheels.”  Trace makes a comment about her taste in vehicles, causing her to slap him upside the head.  “Leave my car alone!  So what if I like pink, I am a girl.”

“Really?  I never would’ve guessed.”  Trace earns another slap with that one.  No wonder he always seems a little slow, it’s because he’s constantly getting beat up by women.  Idiot.

We pull into the parking lot of the dance studio and Abbey crawls her way over the seat and climbs out, knocking me in the head in the process.  I swear, she is not the most graceful person I’ve ever met.  “Hey!  Watch it, twinkle toes!”  I get a cheeky grin in response.

“Rach, give me a call tomorrow.”  She jumps out and we all say goodbye before finally getting back on the road.  I love Abbey, really, and I love Trace and Rachel, but I’m so ready to just be alone with my girl and I can’t wait for everyone to leave.  I sense that Jill’s ready to be alone, too.

When we reach my house I send Jill inside and grab Trace and Rachel before they can go in and make themselves comfortable.

“Guys, I need you to leave for the night, ok?  I want to be alone with Jill.”  They don’t look really happy about this, but I don’t care.

“Dude, your house is big enough, you won’t even know we’re around.  You can be alone with her anytime you want.”  For a man that considers himself pretty smooth with the ladies, he’s not catching on here.

“It doesn’t matter how big my house is, I want to be alone.  I want to be able to run around naked if I want to, and I just want you guys out for the night.”  This time I get a look from Rachel, but it’s probably more from the naked comment.

“Don’t worry, Justin, we’ll be out.  I need to grab some stuff, but we’ll be gone in ten minutes.”  Even though I know she doesn’t care for Jill, she’s really great about knowing what I need and when I really want to be alone.  I do love my cousin.

“Thanks Rach.”  I turn to Trace who doesn’t look happy, but he’s not making a fuss about it.  Good, I’d have to kick his ass if he did.  He waits out by the cars as Rachel and I go into the house.  She promises me again that she’ll only be a minute and she runs to my office.  I leave her be, knowing that her word is good, and I go in search of my girlfriend.  I find her laying on the couch in the entertainment room, a pillow clutched under her chest and her eyes shut tightly.  She looks upset, and really I can’t blame her.  I had promised her a day out together and it ended up about work. Again.

“Hey baby.”  I speak softly so I don’t startle her, but she seems to know I was already there.  She doesn’t open her eyes or say anything to, instead she shifts over so I can sit down on the edge of the couch next to her.  “I’m really sorry about today.”

This time she opens her eyes and shrugs a little.  “It’s OK.”  I don’t believe it, but she’s trying.

“No, it’s not OK.  I was supposed to take you out to lunch and it ended up being about work and everything else.  I’m sorry about Trace and Rachel, too.  They don’t seem to understand that taking you out to lunch isn’t an invitation for them too.”

She shrugs again, rolling over so she’s on her side, the pillow still clutched to her chest.  “I know that you have a lot to do before this tour starts, I just…”  She let’s out a breath and her bands flutter from the air.  It’s kinda cute, actually.  “I want to see you as much as possible before you take off.  We don’t have a lot of time together.”

I’m confused for a minute.  “I don’t leave for a month, and you said you were coming out with me for the first week or so.”  Now I’m a little worried that she’s backing out on me.  I want her there as much as she wants to be there, or so I thought.

She shakes her head a little.  “I can’t.  I have to be on set in two weeks.” 

Wait, what?  On set?  This means…

“You got the part?”  My discouragement is being replaced by excitement for her when she nods in the affirmative.  “Seriously?  How long have you know?”

“I found out yesterday.  I was going to tell you at lunch today, but…well…”  She trails off, a small smile creeping its way onto her face.  This news would explain her behavior and why she seemed really thrown off when our lunch date turned into a group thing.

“Jill!  This is so exciting!”  I reach for her and move her off the couch so I can properly pick her up and spin her around.  “Congratulations!” 

She’s been waiting for a role like this for a long time, and while it’s not the movies like she wanted, she landed a part on “General Hospital” and I think it’s a pretty big deal.  Now, I certainly don’t spend my time watching soap operas (I am a little bit more of a man than that) but my Mom talks about them all the time, and Rachel and Abbey are constantly speaking another language when they discuss the drama in Port Charles.  Yes, it makes me sick that I even know that much.

“You’re not mad that I can’t go on tour with you?”  I’m brought back from my reverie to see apprehensive brown eyes starring at me.

“Mad?  Baby, why would I be mad?  This is what you’ve been working so hard for!  I’m really happy for you.”  I kiss her to let her know I mean it, and I can feel her relax underneath my hands.  This does mean that I won’t be getting to see my girlfriend for any significant amount of time until I get back from the tour, but I’m just happy that she’s finally getting some substantial work.

“I’m really excited too, Justin.  The writers say they’ve got some big plans for my character and I just…” She’s starting to gush and it makes me happy to see her excited about something.  She’s been a little moody lately because she’s been out of work and no one seemed to have any roles for her.  This will be good, I think.

“Well, we need to celebrate.”  I announce, moving toward the kitchen to grab whatever alcohol I have in the fridge.  Luckily, there is a bottle of champagne, but before I can open it her hands stop me.

“Can we just hang out and watch a movie or something?  I don’t need a celebration, I just want to be with you.”  I put the bottle down and pull her body into mine, wrapping my arms around her waist tightly.

“Sure we can.  I just thought you might want to do something a little more exciting than hang around with me.”  She looks up at me, her chin resting on my chest.

“Being here, with you, is all the excitement I need.  I’ve been waiting all day to get you alone and I don’t want to cloud it up with alcohol or anything like that.  I just want you to hold me tonight.”  Her words are soft and I realize just how much I’ve neglected being with her over the past couple of weeks.

I gently kiss her forehead and propel her toward the stairs.  “That sounds wonderful.”  I lead her to the bed and make her sit down before I turn on the TV and pop in a movie.  A relaxing night actually sounds like a really good idea.  “What movie?”

“I don’t care,” she gives me a shrug when I turn to look at her.  “Nothing too violent, please, I don’t want to have nightmares.”  I laugh a little, knowing full well that she’s somewhat serious. 

“How about ‘101 Dalmatians’?”  She grins at me and I pop in the DVD.  Unfortunately for my man card, this happens to be my favorite Disney movie, but for my masculinity’s sake, I pretend that it’s really Jill’s.  It makes me feel better to tell people that the collection of girly or sappy movies belong to my girlfriend, even though most of them don’t believe me.

I strip down to my boxers and crawl onto the bed next to Jill.  She’s already changed into one of my t-shirts and slid down under the covers, so I climb in and pull her to me.  I have to say that I love these moments between us, when we’re really not doing much of anything.  They’re becoming few and far between, and I hope that we don’t lose them completely when I take off on tour and she starts filming, but I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

“Thanks, babe.”  She smiles up at me for a moment and I take the opportunity to kiss her softly.

“Hey, this is your night, no need to thank me.”  She adjusts herself so her arms are around my torso and her head is in the crook between my neck and shoulder.  I give her a squeeze and turn my attention back to the movie, content with things as they are.  I only wish that they could stay this way forever, even though I know they won’t.