Vivian woke the next morning to the sound of Brian snoring softly beside her. She brushed a lock of hair out of his face and watched him sleep. She felt grateful to have him in her life. It had been a long time since she'd had these feelings about a man.
She loved him completely, and she knew he loved her. She felt safe with him, and felt like he would protect her. As soon as thoughts of what she would do if she lost him started to creep in, she distracted herself with going to the bathroom. She didn't want to think about that.
He stirred as she climbed back under the covers, turning on his side to face her.
"Good morning," she said, placing a hand on his cheek and kissing him.
"Good morning. Have you been awake long?"
"No, just a few minutes. Did you sleep well?"
"I did. Did you?"
"I slept great. Do you wanna get out of here today? We could walk around, check out downtown. There are paths along the river. We could scope those out."
"We can do that. Do you mind if I ask Sal to join us? I think he really wanted me to go out last night."
"Not at all."
He picked up his cell phone and called Sal. It wrang several times before Sal's sleepy voice answered.
"Hello?"
"Salvatore! Were you still sleeping?"
"Yeah. What time is it?"
"A little after 10. Late night?"
"I think it was after 2 when we got back."
"Did you win any money?"
"I have no idea. I lost track. I think I drank a gallon of alcohol."
"I'm guessing you don't want to venture out today then?"
"No. I need more sleep."
"Alright buddy. Well we're gonna go out and grab some food and walk around. I'll call you later when I know the dinner plans."
"Ok."
They hung up and Brian put his phone back down on the nightstand.
"Hungover?" Vivian asked.
"Big time."
"Do you want to shower first?"
"Doesn't matter to me. But we aren't getting up yet."
He moved swiftly, rolling her over onto her back and pinning her hands above her head. He stared into her eyes and she waited for him to kiss her. Instead he tickled her, causing her to squeal.
On their way out of the hotel they stopped at the front desk to inquire about places to eat. The receptionist gave them a few options and they ventured out.
They ate at a diner a few blocks from their hotel then walked along the river, stopping periodically to take in the view. After that they strolled around the streets, checking out a few shops and a book store.
As they were walking back to the hotel Brian's phone buzzed.
"It's Joe. He says they've narrowed it down to Mexican or ribs. Do you have a preference?"
"No. I'm good with either."
Brian texted Joe back and when his phone buzzed again he said "We're doing Mexican." He texted the information to Sal then slid his phone back into his pocket. "We're meeting in the lobby at 5:00."
When they got back to their hotel room they cleaned up and changed their clothes then headed back down to the lobby to meet the other guys. They took a van to the restaurant then over to the theater.
Vivian watched the show from the side of the stage again. She felt proud watching Brian perform, watching the crowd responding to him, hearing their laughter. After the show there was another meet and greet with some of the fans and again Vivian stayed out of the way, watching from a chair in the corner of the room.
She knew this wasn't Brian's favorite thing to do. In fact, he had tried many times to get the other guys to stop doing the meet and greets. But the way he interacted with everyone, the way he made everyone feel welcome and like they were old friends, really touched her.
The fans were broken up into two groups and when the second group came in Vivian noticed the same young woman from the last meet and greet, the one who had kept staring at her. She watched as the woman scanned the room, and was taken aback when she locked eyes with Vivian.
After a few seconds she looked away and made her way over to Brian. Vivian kept an eye on the woman, who looked back at Vivian several more times. The woman and her friend were the last ones to leave, and before they left Vivian heard her ask Brian if he wanted to go hang out at the casino. He politely declined, stating that he was tired. After throwing Vivian one last glare she and her friend left.
"Do you know that woman?" Vivian asked him as they headed out of the theater. "The one who asked you about going to the casino?"
"Not personally. She's just a fan. Why?"
"She kept giving me the stink eye. She's the one I mentioned the other day."
"I wouldn't worry about it. I'm sure you'll never see her again."
"I guess. It's just odd."
"When we get back to the hotel I'll make you forget all about her," he said, throwing his arm around her.
Once they got back to the hotel Vivian headed up to the room while Brian hopped on the bus to grab them some bottles of tea. She changed into a tank top and pajama shorts and flipped on the tv. It was nearly a half an hour before Brian came in.
"Sorry," he said as he entered the room. "I stopped by Jeff's room for a minute to talk about the show tomorrow night then Joe came in and well, you know."
"I do know. And it's fine."
She took a bottle of tea from him, opened it and took a drink.
"This needs ice," she said, getting up.
"Grab some extra so I can use it on you."
"Ooooh. I will."
She grabbed a room key and the ice bucket and set off. The ice machine was down the hall in an alcove with a couple of vending machines. As she filled the bucket she peered into the snack machine. She was startled when the silhouette of a figure appeared in the glass.
She spun around to see the woman from the meet and greet standing there. The ice bucket fell to the floor with a clatter, scattering the ice.
"Who are you? And what are you doing here?"
The woman didn't speak, but took a step forward, a blank expression on her face. Vivian suddenly felt as if she had been punched in the stomach. She wanted to ask why but she couldn't find her voice. She looked down to see that her tank top was turning red.
When she looked back up she saw the woman smiling at her.
"I warned you. I told you you weren't good enough for him. I told you to leave him. But you wouldn't listen. Maybe this will convince you."
The last thing Vivian saw before her legs buckled was the smirk on the woman's face.
