Part 27
A Week Later
A week passed in a blur, and Ashley and I had now been back at home for a couple days. Our mams had done a great job of looking after Coco and Buster, as well as the rest of the house. Anyway, we were getting back into work now. I had tour rehearsals with Girls Aloud, and Ashley was back at training. As I walked into the rehearsal studio, the girls turned to me, grinning.
“You're back!” Nicola squealed, throwing her arms around me. I hugged her back, gently kissing her cheek.
“Yeah babe, I'm back.” I said. The other girls came over to me, hugging me as well.
“So how was your holiday?” Nadine asked as we sat down in the floor together.
“It was good. We really enjoyed spending time together, and it helped us get over everything that was going on. It really brought us closer together.” I answered, hugging my knees to my chest.
“Aw sounds lovely. So is there another little baby waiting in there now?” Kimberley asked, winking. I giggled.
“No, I highly doubt it.” I answered.
“Oh so didn't get up to much while you were gone?” Sarah asked, winking as well.
“I didn't say that.” I said, winking back. The girls burst into giggles, throwing their arms around me again. I hugged my best friends back, knowing that we'd missed each other like crazy. Soon, our choreographer, Beth, wandered in.
“Alright girls, let's get these rehearsals started.” she said....
******
An hour passed and we were now taking a break from rehearsing. Me and the girls were sitting round in a circle, when we heard the door open. We looked up to see Ashley wandering in, dressed in his casual jeans and t-shirt.
“Hi Ashley!” the girls greeted. I giggled, getting up and wandering over him. I gently kissed him on the lips, stroking his arm.
“Hello mister.” I greeted. Ashley grinned, kissing my lips again.
“Hello you. I finished with training early so I decided to come down and watch.” he explained. I hugged him tight, breathing in his scent. Even though we'd only been apart a few hours, it still felt like forever.
“Right girls, come on, let's get back into rehearsing.” Beth said, wandering back in. I kissed Ashley's cheek, then went over to the girls. We went over a few of the songs, including Close To Love, Fling, Girl Overboard, and some others. This went on for another hour and a half, then it was break time again. I wandered over to Ashley and sat in his lap, cuddling up to him.
“I'm tired now.” I said, giggling. Ashley moved the hair away from my face, kissing my forehead.
“Just think, it'll all be worth it when you get out there on stage, and do what you love the most.” he said, gently caressing my side. He kissed my head again, then my lips. The girls were giggling.
“Aww, look at them!” Nicola squealed.
“Chezley!” Nadine squealed as well. Kimberley and Sarah were in fits of laughter.
“Are you a fan now, Nadz?” Kimberley asked. Nadine nodded.
“Yeah, I'm a fan. I'll call them what the fans call them.” she answered, giggling. I laughed at my best friends, honestly wondering what I would ever do without them. We continued to chat for a bit, until Beth called us for rehearsals again. I lightly kissed Ashley's lips, then went with the girls.
“What song next?” Sarah asked.
“How about With Every Heartbeat?” I suggested. We were covering the song for the tour, and personally, it was one of my favorites.
“Okay, let's do that one then.” Kimberley agreed with me. The music started up, we started singing...
******
After rehearsal, Ashley and I went off home. I was exhausted, so I went off to the living room, laying down on the sofa. Ashley soon came from the kitchen with two cups of tea. He handed one to me, then sat down beside my feet.
“You okay?” he asked. I nodded, taking a sip of my tea. I then put it on the table and sat up.
“Yeah I'm fine, just a bit tired, but I'm okay.” I answered, smiling at him. Ashley put his own cup of tea on the table, then wrapped his arms around my waist and pressed his lips to mine, pulling me on top of him, I wrapped my arms around his neck, sitting so my legs were on either side of him. He soon pushed his tongue into my mouth, gently caressing my lower back.
“I love you so much.” he said, pulling away from me. I smiled, kissing him once more.
“I love you so much too.” I grinned. I kissed him once more, gasping into his mouth when I felt him begin to pull at my tracksuit bottoms....
******
Later that evening, Ashley and I decided to go out for a bite to eat. After showering, I went into our room and opened up my wardrobe, trying to decide what to wear. Ashley came up behind me, wrapping an arm around me.
“Gosh I can't wait till we come back here.” he said, kissing my neck. He tugged at my towel, making me giggle as I playfully nudged him in the stomach.
“Wait till we come back.” I said, turning around. I kissed him again, then slapped his bum. He took the hint and went off to the bathroom. I continued to look through my wardrobe. I finally found a black one shoulder dress that stopped just below my thigh tattoo. I slipped that on, then slipped on my heels, feeling confident as usual. I then put on some concealer, as well as lip gloss, eye-liner, and eye shadow. I fixed my hair so that it flowed down around my shoulders. Then sprayed on a little body spray and deodorant. Ashley soon came from the bathroom in just a towel. I was facing my mirror, but still saw him.
“Sexy!” I grinned, giggling. Ashley laughed.
“Thanks, I think.” he said. I giggled and continued to finish up my make up, while Ashley got dressed. Once he was finished, he came over to me, kissing my head.
“You ready gorgeous?” he asked. I nodded, standing up and grabbing my clutch. After making sure that my phone, some make up, and gum was in, I zipped it up and took Ashley's hand.
“Let's go.” I said....
******
Once at the restaurant, Ashley and I decided on sitting next to each other. We got a booth seat away from the windows, so the paparazzi wouldn't be able to see us. We sat next to each other, as I wrapped my leg around his.
“Watch the heels, bub.” he said, kissing my head.
“Sorry, babe.” I said. I kicked them off, them wrapped my hands around his arm. We ordered our drinks first, then looked through the menu.
“What are you having then?” Ashley asked.
“Hmm, I don't know. Spaghetti bolognese maybe.” I answered. Ashley grinned at me, knowing it was my favorite.
“Not surprised.” he said, kissing my nose. I giggled, then kissed his cheek.
"Shush it you. What are you having?" I asked.
"Hmm, just some pizza. I'll share with you." he answered, stroking my hand. I grinned.
"Yay, 'cause you just love me so much." I joked. Ashley laughed and lightly kissed my lips.
"Yes, I do. You love me so much, right?" he asked, half-jokingly.
"Well, sort of." I joked. He gasped in mock shock.
"I'm messing babe." I said, giggling again. I kissed his lips, enjoying our night out together....
******
After our lovely dinner, we went on back home, enjoying the ride back. We just talked, and laughed, just enjoying each other's company. Once we got back inside, we went straight to the living room. Ashley got out of his jacket, and I kicked off my heels. We cuddled up together on the sofa, under the blanket that was across the back of the sofa.
"I love you so much, and I had a really great dinner out with you." he said, looking down at me. I looked up and gently kissed his lips, gently stroking his arm.
"I love you too, and I had a good time too." I said, smiling back. He kissed me again, and it wasn't long before I opened my mouth, allowing him to gently push his tongue inside. I gave his bottom lip a little nibble before finally pulling away.
"Ashley, I don't think we're still quite done making up." I said, winking. He winked back, then stood up, picking me up in his arms.
"I don't think we are either." he said. I put my hand on the side of his face and gently kissed his lips.
"I'm all yours, mister." I whispered, as he took me upstairs into our room....
art 28
Few Weeks Later
A few weeks passed and now, the tour was starting. Though we all loved our partners dearly, me and the girls stuck to our..'No men on the bus' rule. The only men allowed, were the dancers. Anyway, since we had to leave our partners home, that meant I wouldn't be seeing Ashley for a couple weeks.
“Ashley, wake up.” I whispered as I wandered back into our room. I was dressed in my yellow Girls Aloud tracksuit, and my bags were already downstairs and ready to go. Ashley soon opened his eyes, smiling at me.
“Good morning babe.” he said. I smiled, gently kissing his lips.
“Morning. Erm, today's the day.” I said. His smile slowly faded.
“I know. I'm gonna miss you so much.” he said, pulling me into his lap. I turned so that I was sitting with my legs on either side of him, then I wrapped my arms around his neck, gently kissing his soft lips.
“I'll miss you more.” I whispered. I kissed his lips again, then rested my forehead against his. He gave me a couple gentle pecks on the lips, staring into my eyes.
“I'll come see you when you guys are at the O2.” he promised me. I giggled, seeing an opportunity to joke.
“You better.” I said. Ashley laughed, holding me tight.
“I shall.” he said. He gently kissed my lips again, giving my bum a gentle squeeze. My phone soon buzzed, so I pulled it from my pocket, looking at the screen. I had a new text from Nadine.
We've pulled up outside. Let's get this started -Nadz x
Okay I'm coming babe -Chez x
“Baby, the girls are outside.” I said, climbing off of him. He pulled on a shirt and followed me downstairs. I grabbed my bags, then he walked me to the door.
“Well, I'll see you at our O2 show, in a couple weeks.” I said as I opened the door. He pulled me into his arms, kissing my lips. I kissed back, pushing my tongue into his mouth. I gave his bottom lip a gentle nibble, then pulled away from him.
“I love you.” I whispered. He gave me a gentle peck on the lips.
“I love you too.” he whispered back. He smacked my bum, making me giggle. I then walked off to the car, getting my stuff into the back, then getting in with my girls. After a quick wave, we were off....
******
That night, we had our show in Belfast. I was excited, because it was the first show, and we had been working so hard for it. As we stood around backstage, we chatted away while getting ready.
“So, what shall we do after this show?” Sarah asked, applying some eye-liner. Kimberley turned away from me and looked over at her.
“And what exactly do you have in mind?” she asked. Sarah flashed a grin.
“You know exactly what I have in mind, Kimba. Drinks people!” she squealed. We all just looked at her, giggling away.
“Is that all you think about?” I had to ask as I sprayed my hair with a bit of hairspray.
“No, but that's what we're going to need after this show.” she answered, throwing her arm around me. I giggled, looking at her. She grinned at me, lightly kissing my cheek.
“Come on then girls, let's get this going.” she said. We finished up getting ready, then walked towards the stage. The butterflies began to flutter around in my tummy, and I knew the girls were feeling the same. We grabbed hands with our dancers and the band, saying a little prayer, like we always did. We went up the stairs to the top of the arena, and got strapped to our harnesses.
“One more prayer.” Nadine said, grabbing my hand. I nodded in agreement, and we all grabbed hands, saying one more prayer. Soon, we were ready. Our little cape things were attatched to us, and we were ready to go.
“Ready?” asked our tour manager, Drew. We nodded.
“Good luck.” Hilary said. We smiled at her.
“Thanks.” we said together. Now, it was time. The band started playing the first song...Sexy! No No No. This was it, this was the moment, as they slowly began to lower us down....
It was time to show what we were made of...
******
The show breezed on by, and before long, we got to our ballads....Whole Lotta History, With Every Heartbeat, and I'll Stand By You. I was so excited for those songs, and our costumes for that were amazing. We had these colorful dresses, and mine was blue and orange. As we walked onto the stage, singing Whole Lotta History, I couldn't help but smile. On this stage, was where I belonged. We breezed through With Every Heartbeat, then finally, it was time for I'll Stand By You. This song, always seemed to effect me in some weird way.
“I'll stand by you, I'll stand by you, won't let nobody hurt you, I'll stand by you. Take me into your darkest hour, and I'll never desert you, I'll stand by you.” we sang together, leaning against each other. My free arm was around Kimberley's waist and hers was around mine. Nicola's free arm was around Nadine's waist, Nadine's free arm was around her waist, and Sarah's free arm was around hers. We all stole glances at one another, proud to be standing together as the best friends we were, and glad to be standing up here on this stage together. The crowd went wild as we finished....some were cheering, some were crying. We waved and wandered backstage to change into our little gold dresses, eager for the next part of the show.
******
“Cheryl, you ready? This is the part with the Trick Me song.” Nadine pointed out. I nodded.
“I'm ready, trust me.” I said. We were doing Control Of The Knife, but also with a bit of the song, Trick Me, by Kelis, in it. We all loved the song, and put it in earlier in the year, when everything was going on with me and Ashley. Though he wouldn't be hearing it tonight, I couldn't wait until he did. Maybe he'd think twice before doing me wrong again.
“Might trick me once, I'll never let you trick me twice.” I whispered to myself, as we headed towards the stage....
******
The rest of the show passed quickly, with everyone loving every single last second of it. As we wandered backstage with our little hooded leotards on, we were buzzing.
“That was amazing!” Nicola squealed. We all got in a huddle, hugging and jumping up and down.
“I had so much fun! So glad we're doing this again tomorrow!” Kimberley squealed as well. I agreed with her.
“I'm excited for tomorrow now!” I said. We wandered off to our dressing rooms, changing into our jeans and t-shirts, then got our jackets on. We grabbed our bags, meeting back up in the hallway.
“I think we should go have drinks!” Sarah squealed. We giggled, just looking at her. Drinks were always on her mind.
“Fine, let's go.” Nadine said...