Whew, it was the day of reckoning... the day that would change the rest of my life. I was sitting on the bus with the morning paper in my hands, staring at it but not even paying attention to the words on the page. My mind was racing with a plan I had concocted the night before, but it had to be executed in the most strictest of confidence.
"Hey man, you wanna go get some grub?" Joey asked as he walked towards the front. I held up the styrofoam coffee cup and smiled.
"I'll go with you, Joe!" Hannah shouted. She emerged from the bathroom, a smile as bright as a cloudless Mississippi sky.
"Yes, a date!"
"Uh nuh-uh, nice try Joey." I replied, giving him a look, to which he shrugged. Once they were gone, I got up and went to the back where JC was watching the tube.
"Hey JC, can I talk atcha?"
He set down the remote and adjusted his baseball cap before nodding, "Sure man, what's on your mind."
"Well...uh, this is hard for me to say..." I sat down on the floor, my back against the closed door and sighed deeply, "I think I want to ask Hannah to marry me."
I saw his ears perk up," Dude, I'm not your parents, you don't need my permission." he laughed, leaning his head back against the couch.
It was true, I wanted to say goodbye to the single life and settle down. I think the whole attack shed new light on our relationship. I came close to losing her once with the meningitis, and then nearly again with the attack... I didn't want to lose her again.
"Yes I know that... I wanted your OPINION, but if you don't want to come with me to look for a ring, well then..." he was on his feet within seconds.
"Have no fear, ring man is here!"
"Okay, I already found a few jewelry shops in town, but now the question is... how do we get there without getting the third degree from everyone?" there had been fans crawling all over the place since we rolled into town that morning.
"Easy, you just walk out." He gave me a look like I had a third eye or something.
"Yeah, but..." Before I could get a word in edgewise, JC was already halfway across the parking lot, headed towards downtown Roanoke.
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"Okay do you know what kind of ring you want?"
There were cases upon cases upon displays of rings laid before us. I didn't even know where to start. The saleslady came out from the back, a faker than fake smile plastered across her face. As she approached us, I cleared my throat and explained what I wanted, or an idea of what I wanted.
"So you're the one who was looking at Modern Bride in the bathroom." JC chuckled as I followed the lady towards a display.
"Shut up." I whispered, lowering my eyebrows at him. There is a time and a place…
"Here is one of our most popular models. As you can see the cut of the diamond is very clean and sharp, any woman would love to have this ring on her finger." she said, smiling.
"Uh, I was looking for something more original." the last thing I wanted was a ring that 'everyone' had. She gazed at a point on the wall, lost in thought for a few seconds, then snapped her fingers and grinned. Okay enough with the smiling already!
"I think I have just the thing." she held up a finger and disappeared into the stock room. I let out a sigh and leaned against the wooden counter.
"This is a lot harder than I imagined."
"Here we are!" she said in a sing-song voice. I rolled my eyes at JC, who snickered as the lady came back over to us, a black velvet box in hand. "Feast your eyes on this little beauty."
The box opened in slow motion, and there was a shimmer as the overhead lights bounced off the pear cut diamond that was nestled in a blanket of charcoal gray velvet.
"Holy..." I sucked in a breath at the sight. It was the most exquisite thing I had ever laid eyes on. JC let out a low whistle and gave me a nudge. I looked back and he nodded, his eyes wide, "Uh I'll take it."
"Wonderful! Let me go and get the proper paperwork, I'll just be a minute."
"Dang, that is a rock." JC said as he brought the box in for a closer view. Then an idea hit me.
"JC, pretend you're gonna propose to me."
"Uh excuse me?" he asked, dumbfounded.
"No, come on, trust me on this one. P-pretend like you're gonna propose."
"Dude I'm not gonna do that!" he protested, taking a step back like I was on crack or something.
"Then I guess I'll have to ask Justin to be the best man." I replied, throwing my hands up. JC's eyes got really wide just then. He looked down at the box still in his hands, then back up at me. I grinned.
"Will you marry me?" he said between clenched teeth, spitting out the words as if they had a bad taste.
"That's it, I'm sold!" I slapped the counter and laughed. JC stood there. If looks could kill...
"Alrighty, here is the insurance papers, and if you could just... sign here... and here."
I took the pen and scrawled my name down at the bottom. It was official! I was on cloud nine as we walked out of the store, ring in hand. Well, actually it was in pocket. I didn't want Hannah to see it just yet. With the late autumn sun beating down on the pavement, I got the urge to do a little dance.
"I'm a big fine woman why don't I back that thing up."
"Uh... okay, there something you want to tell us here, Lance?" JC questioned, a sarcastic grin spread across his face.
"What can't a man be happy?"
"Happy yes, delirious no. Save that for the stage." he mused, slapping my shoulder, "So am I really your best man?"
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San Diego, our last stop on the No Strings Attached tour. It had been a wild ride, but I know all of us were looking forwards to spending Christmas with our families. With the other guys spread out within the bus and Hannah and Cody playing scrabble up front, I had lured our production manager Tim into the back.
"Would it be possible for us to pick the girls who are in 'The Klub' during Got Paid?" I asked hopefully.
"You know a lot of girls in San Diego there, Lance?" Tim laughed.
"No... but I do know two." I motioned towards the giggling hyenas.
"Ahh, I see. That's fine with me, but you'll have to discuss with the other guys."
"They won't care. Thanks man."
When I brought up the issue to the girls, they were slightly less than ecstatic. As a matter of fact, I remember Cody bouncing down the aisle for about five minutes, squealing and giggling... I thought her head was going to pop off at one point.
"Can we wear hootchie clothes?!" she asked, her green eyes sparkling.
"Uh, define hootchie clothes."
"You know, low-cut shirts, leather pants... sparkly shit, that kind of stuff."
Knowing full well that the guys would love it, I told her yes, which only made her squeal and giggle some more. Hannah, on the other hand, remained in her seat and merely smiled.
"What's wrong, baby?"
"Huh? Oh... nothing, I'm just having fun watching my best friend make a complete ass of herself."
"Guess what, it's gonna be ME." Cody sang, finishing with a disco move. Someone has been spending too much time with Chris.
Soon it was time to hit the stage, or rock the show as JC would say. We were all backstage, listening to the roar of the audience as the laser lights started to dart around the arena.
"It's all you... go!" Anthony, the stage manager bellowed as the five of us rushed to get into the harnesses.
Before the curtain dropped, I glanced down towards backstage and saw both Hannah and Cody, but because it was so dark I could only see them from the neck up. Oh well, guess their outfits will have to remain a secret for a while longer.
"Get money, money money... get paid, y'all!"
It was one of our best shows to date... at least I thought so, anyway. The crowd was more hyped up than usual, which in turn got us more hyped up. With the facade of 'The Klub' to our backs, JC debated with Lonnie about the guest list before he opened the fake doors. There, in the middle of the crowd, was Hannah. She had on a pair of hot pink leather pants with a matching tank top and her hair in pigtails. Cody was busy grinding with Justin, dressed in black leather and a leopard print tank top.
"Hey you." I shouted, lowering my mic as the song went into the instrumental.
"Hey! This is so much fun!"
Yeah, wait til we get home, I thought.
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