Some Kind of Bliss
Intro: Hi everyone and thanks for reading! You know what would make me love you even more? If you wrote to me, and told me what you think about the story, and maybe told me what I could do to make it better? I promise you'll get a letter back from me, so, what have you got to lose?
My authorial recommendation goes straight to 'Brian and me' by DLS. It really is an excellent story, by far the best around IMHO. I am honoured to share the same directory as him. Go read it right now. Another brilliant story is 'Twist of Fate' by Jeff (who is now my proof reader! Thanks Jeff!). I tell ya, folks, despite the fact that it's about N Stync, it's an excellent story! :b Hatemail is welcome, and can be sent to the address given below. :)
Be sure to email me with any suggestions/comments/helpful criticism. Or to enter the Interactive promotion, which IS still running. This episode, the winners are Rick, author of 'The One'; his word, 'synecdoche'. The other winner, for the word 'ubiquitous', is Jwlfan112. The address is braan90@hotmail.com
Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction. It is not meant to imply anything about the sexuality of Nick Carter or anybody else, myself included. If you are under 18 then sorry, kids, come back later. If you aren't meant to be reading this for other reasons, well, you should be more aware of that than I. If you are offended by material of this nature, go away, but jeez, get a grip! There isn't anything offensive in this story! Except for some fairly gratuitous swearing.
Some Kind of Bliss Part 4
To my surprise, and mild annoyance, I was still asleep when the phone rang at 10 the next morning. I picked up the handset and cleared my throat only to have a woman's pleasant voice confirm my worst suspicions: this was, indeed, my wake-up call.
I carried my annoyance into the bathroom - annoyance since I wanted some extra time to kinda get on top of things on what was, after all, my first day on the job - but a second under the warm shower was enough to clear my head of all but the most pleasant thoughts.....No, not that! God, get your mind out of the gutter!
After I rinsed, repeated, and rinsed again, then rinsed and repeated again since I'd lost track of exactly where in the process I was up to (see footnote), I stepped out of the shower and did some mental planning for our tour in the afternoon. I groaned as I realised that the guys would inevitably want to see the Opera House. Then I told myself to shut the hell up, thinking of how many million men and women around the world would give their left arm to be in my place. Properly chastised, and dried, I checked my watch then shaved quickly before dressing equally quickly in navy drawstring shorts and a checked mustard button-up shirt. Not wanting to appear over-dressed at breakfast, I shunned shoes and set off down the hall to Kevin's room.
I knocked on the door and from within heard a garbled
"Come in!"
So I did.
Kevin and AJ were sitting in the room's two armchairs, happily munching away on some toast. Kevin pointed to the cart, laden with food, with his half slice of toast, making a show of chewing and swallowing before saying "Morning, Drew. Help yourself."
"Thanks." I moved over to the cart and poured some cereal into a bowl with some milk. I also poured a glass of OJ, then sat down on one of the couches in the room.
"So, how did you guys sleep? Still jet-lagged? Oh, and thanks for keeping me company last night AJ, I'm sorry I kept you from your bed so long."
"Hey, no problem. I slept like a log last night, so I'm fine now. Ask me again in 6 hours time, though," AJ replied.
"I'm alright, I guess. I've felt better," was Kevin's response as Nick walked into the room. We all exchanged 'good morning' s as Nick piled up a plate and came and sat on the couch next to me. We soon branched off into our own conversation about.....I don't know. Who remembers these things? Just know that it wasn't anything important.
We all fired off another round of greetings when Howie arrived, then a final salvo a few minutes later when Brian finally made his entrance. AJ immediately got a huge grin on his face, and Kevin too was trying, unsuccessfully, to suppress a smile.
When all were seated and eating, AJ waited for the perfect moment. When I took a spoonful of cereal, he sprang into action:
"Hey, Brian - Drew told me he thinks your voice is sexy."
I sprayed my mouthful of milk and cereal over the few square feet of carpet in front of me (not a pretty sight at the best of times, but positively disgusting when there are solids involved) and coughed and spluttered as I looked over at Brian. I almost lost it all over again when he looked up from his plate, smiling widely with a gleam in his eye. AJ and Kevin were both laughing out loud, while Nick and Howie looked on in a state of confused/amused shock. While I desperately tried to regain composure and explain myself, Brian beat me to it.
"Wow.....you really said that? Gee, shucks, I'm flattered....." he said, turning the Kentucky up to 11. Actually, when he spoke like that......
I cleared my throat a final time. "Umm, no I did NOT say that," I stated, sending a death stare AJ's way. This only set him laughing harder. "What I did say was that your accent is very alluring, and I stand by that claim, I'm not afraid to admit to it."
"What's the difference?" Kevin asked. I blushed even deeper.
"Well, really, my comment needs to be put into context. You see, AJ had just finished telling me he thought my accent was cute," I grinned in triumph.
There was silence for a couple of seconds.
"Yeah, well, it is!" Nick spoke first.
"What?" I turned to him.
"Yeah!" "He's right!" Howie and Brian spoke at once.
"So you're all agreed, then?" I asked, crestfallen.
They all nodded, and I swear you could have lit the Olympic flame from the light being reflected off AJ's grin. I set my food aside, muttering, "I think I've lost my appetite."
"Ah, he can dish it out, but can't take it in return!" Nick laughed.
"And just for that comment, Nick, you'll be helping me get AJ back!"
We finished up breakfast and cleared up the room, deciding at the same time to meet downstairs in a half hour to start the little tour I had planned.
I went to my room and selected a pair of shoes that wouldn't drive me crazy walking all over town in them. I then phoned the restaurant and made a booking for our dinner, requesting a table near the window (!) and one a little more private, if possible. That done, I kicked back and switched on the TV, since I had time to spare. After a few minutes there was a knock on the door, and Nick came in.
"You ready already?" I asked.
"Yep. Got my wallet, my camera, my room-key," he replied, patting each pocket, and heading by me to the window as he did so.
I checked my own pockets in time with him and found everything to be in order.
"Wow, look at all those sails down there," Nick mused.
I nodded in agreement, then perked my head up. "And by 'sails', you really mean 'boats', don't you?"
Nick spun around to face me, perplexity written all over his face. "Yeah, I guess so. Why are you asking?"
"Well, amigo, you just used a figure of speech called synecdoche."
"Come again?"
I giggled. "Synecdoche. That thing with sails/boats."
Nick nodded slowly, backing away from me as if I were some kind of nut. Pfft! As if!
"Um, can we go now? I'd kind of like to meet up with the others now. You're starting to freak me out here."
I agreed, and we set out, chatting about today's coming attractions. I didn't want to spoil any surprises, so I just left him guessing. Kevin joined us while we stood waiting by the lift, and while he too tried with the questions, I wasn't going to be telling him anything when I had already refused to spill to Nick. By the time the lift doors dinged open and we exited into the lobby, they had both given up, and we walked over to a cluster of armchairs and took a seat, joining Brian, who was talking softly into a mobile phone. Brian looked up and gave us a wave and a smile as we sat down, then returned all his attention to his phone conversation. Nick and Kevin fell silent for a moment, I guessed in order to eavesdrop to determine who it was Brian was talking to.
A moment's wait proved me right, as Nick rolled his eyes dramatically, adding: "Ugh, I should have known it would be her."
Kevin nodded and smiled over at his cousin, who didn't lift his gaze, merely gave us all the finger. We all laughed, but I couldn't let it drop, I needed to know.
"Who is it?" I asked Nick.
"Who else would it be? It's his girlfriend, LeighAnn. Gee, it must be almost a day since he spoke to her last, that's gotta be a record!"
"So what's she like? You know, I've seen stuff on the Internet regarding her, but this is stuff coming from insanely jealous 14 year-olds, so I do take it with a grain or two of salt."
"Actually," Nick quietened, ensuring Brian couldn't hear him, "and don't let Brian know I said this, but she's really nice. She suits Brian. They make such a sweet couple, it makes the rest of us wanna hurl. They're so devoted to each other I can't figure out why Brian hasn't proposed yet. Hey, that's right! You'll actually get to meet her. She's joining us for the last week of the tour, when we're spending a few days off up in Queensland."
"Cool, I look forward to it. I mean, both the days off and meeting LeighAnn. I'm sure if you like her....."
"Shhh!" Nick leapt forward, putting a finger to his lips and grabbing my forearm with his other hand. He turned around quickly to face Brian, but looking past Nick I could see that Brian hadn't noticed. In fact, I don't think he had moved a muscle since giving us the bird a few minutes earlier. Nick turned back around, his face a picture of relief. "Don't EVER say that out loud. Brian would be unbearable if he heard that."
Despite Nick's seriousness, the cloak-and-dagger theatrics, combined with Nick's face, were more than enough to have me laughing. Nick sat back in his chair, finally releasing my arm, and allowing Howie and AJ to pass between us and grab a seat.
I quit laughing, as Howie asked Nick:
"Who's Brian talking to?"
Nick simply raised his eyebrows and pulled a slight smile in response, and in the body language of the Backstreet Boys, that was all that was required. AJ and Howie both groaned and rolled their eyes, causing Nick, Kevin and I to break out laughing again. When the joke had run its course (i.e. pretty soon) Kevin stood up and pointed to the door, questioning. I nodded and tried to stand up when the others did, but my feet slipped out from under me, sending me deep back into the armchair.
To add insult to.....insult, I was now unable to get up at all! I gathered what little dignity I had left and threw it away entirely. "Can someone please help me up?" I pleaded, holding out my hand.
Nick turned and, laughing at me for just a little while, took my hand and yanked me to my feet with an almighty jolt that ended in our right shoulders clashing heavily.
"Oww...." we both laughed, rubbing our shoulders. We began walking to the door, until I realised we were already one man down. I stopped and turned around to see Brian still curled up in his chair, deep in conversation with someone half a world away. Nick had also seen him, and he called out across the lobby to his friend:
"Brian? We're leaving now!"
Brian jumped up from his chair, looked around him to get his bearings, saw us, and jogged over, still engrossed in his conversation. Nick's eyes met mine as Brian walked between us, and we both started laughing all over again. We made our way to the door, and exited into the sunshine beyond.
Once on the street, we turned left, heading into The Rocks, a historic part of Sydney. We basically just wandered around aimlessly, looking at buildings. It was more interesting than that, of course, what with the company I was keeping and all. Nick stuck pretty close by me throughout, which was cool, since he seemed to be fairly interested in what he was looking at - he certainly asked questions, that's for sure.
Just when I thought I was completely lost in amongst the narrow streets and lanes, ready to admit humiliating defeat, a familiar set of stairs jumped out at me. We climbed them, and then I saw the much larger set of steps that would bring us up to the footpath over the Harbour Bridge.
Nick twigged much sooner than I expected.
"Hey, I know where we're going, guys!"
I smiled at his excitement. "Well, you nearly do. We're actually going to climb the pylon. There's an excellent view from the top, and since we're dining tonight in the tower, I thought we'd come up here in the day."
We made our way up the dingy staircase from the roadway up to the museum level, where we paid the entry fee, and continued up the stairs. We reached the top after a few minutes climbing to find it nearly deserted, which was most unusual. We walked around the perimeter, allowing me to point out landmarks. When we had done a lap, my photography skills were put to the test, as the guys wanted pretty much every possible combination of them in a photo. Still, I wasn't stressing too bad. I don't think any of them could have taken a bad photo if they tried.
By now, hunger was beginning to dictate my agenda, so when the boys were all done, we climbed back down all the stairs, back to The Rocks, where we had lunch in a small cafe. It was a fairly drab establishment, actually, but the service more than made up for the decor. Our waiter, Rick, was always hovering around, ready at a moment's notice. Actually, I'm pretty sure Rick had a crush on Kevin, but if Kevin noticed, he didn't let on. It certainly amused the rest of us at the table, though.
With lunch behind us, we set off again, walking around Circular Quay. I caught up to Howie to tell him:
"Here's where we'll be coming tomorrow to catch the ferry to Manly. This is the main ferry terminal for the whole city."
Howie nodded in agreement as Nick grabbed me by the shoulder to ask me about something.
"Hey, Drew! Umm.....what's that building over there?"
"It's the Museum of Contemporary Art. Why, you interested in going?"
"Yeah, I guess that might be cool. Have you ever been?"
"No, I haven't, actually. But if I had someone to go with....." I hinted, making it a little less than subtle.
"How about a tall blond American?" Nick grinned.
"Sure! Who is she?" I enjoyed my reply.
Nick laughed back. "OK, wise guy. When did you want to go?"
"How about we just leave it for now, and work it out when we have time to kill?"
Nick nodded in agreement, allowing us both to get back to the serious business of dodging bad street theatre acts, appalling buskers, helium-balloon vendors, and guys selling multi-packs of dodgy little clip-on koalas. Made in China, every last one of them, I guarantee you. It makes me sick to think of the factories they must have churning out these little pieces of crap, with their eyes more often than not on their stomach, or their arms (the `clip' part) glued together.....sometimes I just think capitalism has gone TOO FAR!
When I drew clear of the final wharf, I veered to the side of the path and stopped to make sure I still had my full complement of pop stars. Nick had obviously hopped right in behind me and followed through the crowd in my wake, and Brian and Howie were about five steps behind. I could see Kevin not too far away, and he waved as he saw us and made his way over.
Which left AJ the notable absentee. We waited a couple of minutes, then just as we were about to go back and look for him, he emerged from the throng breaking open what looked remarkably like......a multi-pack of dodgy little clip-on koalas. He threw one to each of the others, then finally one to me, but since my arms were crossed, the thing bounced off my chest and fell to the ground, rolling to rest at AJ's feet. As I looked around to see Kevin and Howie happily clipping and unclipping their new toys, and Brian and Nick already engaged in a koala-wrestling match, I was completely unaware of AJ bounding forward, scooping up my koala from the pavement, and clipping it onto my earlobe. Now, whatever my gripes about the shoddy workmanship in these things, I was in no doubt of the quality of the springs inside them, cos -
"DAMN, AJ, that hurt!" I cried as I ripped the thing off my ear, scratching myself with the plastic claws as I did so. AJ grinned, but then as he saw I was serious his smile vanished.
"Shit, man, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you."
"I know, I know. It's OK, I was probably more annoyed by you buying those damn things. They are one of my pet hates. I guess you weren't to know. Well, let's move on, I don't know about you, but I'm looking forward to some air-conditioned comfort. Follow me, gentlemen," I tried on my butler voice as I set off around the eastern side of Circular Quay to the Sydney Opera House.
We arrived just in time to tack ourselves onto a regular tour of the building, and since the group was almost exclusively Japanese tourists in their 40s and 50s, I was pretty confident that we could make it though without any trouble. Our guide, Sandra, was a well-dressed brunette in her mid-30s, and after greeting us in English, did the same in what I guess was Japanese, impressing everyone.
I pretty much tuned out from then on, following the group around without paying much attention to anyone. Howie, I did notice, was quite the eager beaver, asking question after question until even Sandra began to get a little peeved. I just smiled and went back to my orbiting position, somewhere in the vicinity of Alpha Centauri.
I was brought back to our solar system by a sharp jab in the ribs as the group was rising to leave the concert hall. I looked up to see Nick laughing as I coughed and rubbed my side.
"Where the hell were you?" he continued laughing. "How can you walk like that without bumping into stuff?"
I scowled. "Well, Nicky, I guess that's just one of my many talents you're only now discovering."
"Uh-huh. what others do you have hidden away in there?" he poked me again.
"Well.....I'll think of some and then let you know. OK?"
"Sure thing. Say, I was wondering - where are we going after we're done in here?"
"Are you bored in here, too?" I looked over at him.
Nick returned the look. "No, it's not that. I could never be bored in here. How do you manage to be bored by one of the world's most beautiful buildings?"
I explained my inside-the-building vs outside-the-building concerns, and Nick nodded thoughtfully. At that moment we arrived in the drama theatre, so all conversation was put on hold as Sandra spoke to us again. From there the tour wound its way through the other two halls, and some of the backstage area, before popping us out, conveniently, right in front of the souvenir shop, which, to my surprise, all of the guys bypassed.
We walked back outside, and I indicated which direction we were going before asking "So, what did you think?"
"That was awesome. The architecture of that place is just amazing," Brian said eagerly.
"And wasn't Sandra a fantastic tour guide? Boy, she knew so much!" Kevin added.
I laughed. "It's OK, I won't take that one personally."
There was silence for a second until Kevin blushed a little and the others laughed. "Drew, I didn't mean....." Kevin began.
"It's OK, I know you didn't, Kevin." I smiled and then opened my mouth again: "Anyway, that's her job, I mean, she's PAID to know stuff like that....." and in went the foot! "Umm.....", right to the ankle. "You know, that sounded like such a convincing argument back when it was in my head."
Brian snickered and quickly replied: "You mean your brain came up with that?"
The others laughed at this, as did I. That, I was discovering, was the problem with Brian. As much as I wanted to be pissed at him, that darn toothy grin was just too infectious. I recovered myself and put on my `offended' face, for the sake of form, but as soon as that grin passed through my line of vision, it dissolved back into a smile again.
I steered us down to Macquarie Street, on the eastern edge of the city proper. I pointed out some of the more interesting buildings, like the State Parliament, the State Library, and a couple of other historic buildings. We by-and-by made it down to Hyde Park. I've never been able to warm to Hyde Park. It's pretty, I'm sure, and the trees and fountains are all quite nice, but there's an underlying seediness I just can't shake. Even on a Sunday morning, with hundreds of people about, all I can think of is the urine that a few homeless alcoholics must have splashed about recklessly a few hours earlier.
I kept these images to myself as we strolled briefly around the park. It's not so big, only a couple of blocks really, so after a few minutes we headed back to Elizabeth Street, which we crossed, walking down Park Street. This brought us to Town Hall, which I pointed out, and to the Queen Victoria Building, which we entered. I explained how the building was going to be knocked down, but had (thankfully) been saved and turned into a very expensive shopping mall. The guys had a look in a few shops, but my Scottish blood runs strongly, and my wallet remained firmly buttoned in my pocket.
Brian and I sat down in a cafe to rest our weary limbs, while the others continued looking at all the stores. I started to ask Brian if he was tired yet, but before I could, Nick arrived. Followed a couple of minutes later by Howie. Then Kevin. Then AJ.
"Well," I started, " as I've tried to say three times now, are you guys tired yet? It's nearly 4.30, so if you want we can just head back to the hotel."
"Did you have anything else to show us?" asked Howie.
"I was thinking I'd take you down to Darling Harbour. It's a short walk - and downhill, too - and we could just wander around. There's a whole pile of shops and restaurants and stuff down there - it's very touristy, but it is still a nice place. Then, when we're done, we can catch the monorail back up the hill and go back to base."
Everyone nodded in agreement. AJ was the first to stand up, and, weirdly, all 5 of us still sitting extended our arms for a pull-up. That set us all laughing, and we all got ourselves up.
And so we `did' Darling Harbour. There wasn't a lot going on, particularly this late in the afternoon, but it was still quite busy, with people gathered around ice cream stalls, slightly better bad street theatre acts, and an ubiquitous crowd of seagulls kept entertained (and entertaining) by three little kids throwing pieces of bread into their midst. When we were all done, we made our way to the closest monorail station.
The monorail, as a more worthy Australian than I has said, goes from the middle of downtown Sydney to the middle of downtown Sydney, passing through the middle of downtown Sydney. This was a good thing for us, as our destination was the middle of downtown Sydney. When one came, we hopped into one of the tiny carriages, which we thankfully had to ourselves. And so we made our way back to the city centre, admiring views which, from ground level, have been ruined by the monorail itself. Looking out at people who, if they noticed us, were almost certainly mentally shaking their fists at us for riding in the monstrosity and thus supporting its continued existence.
So it was with a feeling of some relief that I led the charge out of the carriage at Park Plaza station - one of those lovely misnomers. The nearest park was several blocks away, and if Sydney has any plazas, I'm yet to see one. I toyed with the idea of hopping a bus down to the hotel, but decided against it. I had to maintain the rugged, go-anywhere, do-anything, Aussie bloke image.
As I stood waiting at a pedestrian crossing, I heard Kevin's voice call out - "Hey, Drew!" I turned to see him in a taxi, already pulling away from the curb. "See you back down there!" he cried as the taxi went by, hands waving out of every window. I overcame a strange and sudden urge to throw something at the car as it sped off, and resigned myself to a long walk down a busy footpath. Still, as long as I could get into `Bittersweet Symphony' mode, there was no reason this couldn't be fun.
Just as I was taking a pre-emptive step out onto the street, a hand grabbed my shoulder, making me jump I don't know how high. When I hit the ground again, I saw Nick holding back a laugh, resulting in a wonderfully photogenic smile. The light turned green, and we both stepped onto the street without further incident.
"Thanks for deciding to walk back with me, Nick."
"Oh, um, really......"
"No, I mean it. It was very thoughtful of you, very selfless."
Nick bit his lip, wrestling with something. "No, I can't do it. I don't want to lie to you, Drew. So.....um.....well. I didn't choose to walk back with you. I was just slowest off the mark when Kevin hailed the cab. There wasn't any room left when I got there," Nick explained.
I stopped in the middle of the footpath. "Well, that's it." I said, determined.
"What?" Nick appeared to be concerned.
"We are SO taking a bus. Screw the macho image, my feet hurt!"
I spotted a bus going our way just a few metres in front of us, so we ran the few steps required, I handed a few coins to cover our fares to the driver, whose name I noticed was Jwlfan112, and we set off. As it was peak hour, we couldn't get a seat, and only Nick could get a handhold of any sort. So, despite spreading my feet wide and actually concentrating on staying upright, every time the driver so much as sniffed, I was thrown back into Nick. The first couple of dozen times it was fine - I just said "sorry" and we laughed it off. After that, it became downright awkward. I was pleading for a better sense of balance, and Nick was doubtless thinking of the bruises that he'd probably get all over his chest.
The bus finally reached the hotel, and I jumped off immediately, with Nick one step behind. We walked in silence through the lobby and into a waiting lift. I pushed the button for our floor, and the doors closed. I glanced at Nick in the mirror beside me. He was looking at me in the mirror on his side of the elevator. We both dropped our gaze to the floor.
I was damned if I knew why everything was so uncomfortable all of a sudden. The only thing it could have been was the repeated bumping into him on the bus, but surely no-one could be so protective of their `personal space' as to complain about that? I mean, it wasn't like I had any control over it. At any rate, Nick was definitely uncomfortable around me right now, and his discomfort was making me feel uncomfortable. I really didn't want this, we'd seemed to have been getting along so well. Already I felt I could count Nick among my close friends.
"Do you want to do something after dinner?" Despite his invitation, there was still the strange tension between us.
"Yeah, I guess. Maybe go and see a movie?" I suggested.
"How about we stay in and see a movie? I really don't want to go out again after dinner, and I can guarantee the couch in my room will be more comfortable than the seats at any cinema." This was said with a smile, but I knew that unless I could see teeth, I was only getting his fake smile. No teeth visible here.
"Sure," I nodded. At that moment the elevator dinged and the doors opened, to my great relief. I immediately set off down the hall to my room, directly across the corridor from Nick's. I unlocked my door, as I heard Nick do behind me. I pushed my door open, then turned to Nick.
"See you before dinner then. I suppose."
"Yup."
I nodded and walked into my room, pushing the door shut gently behind me. I heard Nick's door click shut as I leaned back against the door thoughtfully. I wasn't sure what had just happened between us, but whatever it was, it had left me feeling like Nick and I were as good as strangers again. Of course, I knew that wasn't really true, but it certainly was how I felt.
I pushed myself off the door and started undressing for a shower. No, I decided, I wasn't going to let this happen. For some reason, I really valued Nick's friendship, more, much more, than the other guys'. I resolved then and there to forget about whatever it was that had passed between us and hope (please God!) that Nick would do the same. Yes, that seemed the most sensible way. Act like nothing had happened. Then we could hopefully resume our friendship where we left off before boarding that accursed bus such a short time ago. I turned the shower taps on and after a moment's wait, stepped under its soothing warmth.
###How did you like it? Drop me a line, the address is braan90@hotmail.com. Don't be shy, all you need to say is `Hi, I'm reading your story, and it's not yet made me vomit.' Down with the silent majority!
Note: DLS insists I give him proper credit for using the 'Rinse, repeat, rinse' line, which we came up with independently, but at around the same time. If you're a regular reader of his, like you should be, then you'll probably recognise it. I've changed it sufficiently though, I think, to make my usage of it a little better! Or am I only kidding myself about that?