Two months ago, I had abandoned my hopeless existence, packed my bags and moved all around the country with him, sleeping in hotels and eating take-out food. I was on hand as his main squeeze, sexual release and muse in times of despair or frustration. I hadn’t had much of a life before I left so doing the tour with him was the high point of my existence; it gave me reason to live, it gave me light at the end of my already darkened tunnel. I couldn’t imagine anything better.

A note on my door that evening had alerted me; it asked that I go down stairs to the hotel bar, that my boyfriend needed me. When I got down to the bar, the waiter had denied seeing him but my mind had been ticked off when I saw his glasses on the bar counter, and something told me that the only place he could be would be the bathroom. Terrified, and unsure of what to expect I had opened the door to the male bathroom to behold AJ and some girl who could not be a day older than my 18, grinding on the wall, her legs sprawled around his narrow frame.

On seeing him, I didn’t say a word I could hardly breathe let alone move. Most people agonize over their reactions on catching their boyfriend in the act of cheating. Some would say confront him; let him have it the best way you know how. Confront him and do what; ask him why he was fucking this girl in the bathroom without my knowledge or ask the girl why she was fucking my boyfriend without my knowledge. What would I ask her? She didn’t force him and from the look on his face she certainly didn’t break his leg to make him stick it in her. He, on the other hand, didn’t force her either. They were two consenting adults who had agreed to have an amorous, uplifting episode in the bathroom. No one was to blame but my self for leaving him alone so long that he could have time to do this. So I chose the easier option; I chose to walk away.

I had made it to the hotel lobby when Nick grabbed my hand and stopped me. “Where you going, miss?” He smiled.
I looked at him from head to toe, my eyes blazing red with fury, “I have to see to something,” I mumbled, breaking loose of his hold.
He asked if he could come with me. I said no. He asked again, “Would you rather come up to my room to lay down or something, we could talk about whatever,” he offered. I looked at his eyes pleading and suddenly they ignited a fire in me that would have made me more than pleased to go up to his room for wild, liberating pity sex.

I thought within my self that this would be a very good opportunity to play out some revenge on AJ for what he had done to me, for disrespecting me, for hurting my feelings. Then I thought if I wanted to do this, going with Nick would not be the best way to register my disapproval. It would only hurt their friendship and hurt my reputation with Nick and the rest of his band mates. I had to decline the offer.

I took his hand and smiled, “No thanks, perhaps some other time.”
I ran up to our hotel room and packed my things. I had nothing and no one to go to, but even if I ended up on the side of the road it would feel better than playing footstool girlfriend to a crazed, unemotional man like AJ.

I put together the few clothes I had accumulated within our short stay together, the designer shoes he had bought me and the Raymond Weil wristwatch he had used to appease me one night when he had come home drunk. These were the few things I had achieved while we were together, that and a whole lot of heartache.

A few minutes later, a disheveled AJ walked into the room, accosting me just before I could leave him a goodbye note.
“Going somewhere?” He asked referring to the bags on the bed. His hair was in a mess, his fly had been hurriedly zipped and his shirt was missing a couple of buttons.
“Yeah, I’m going home.” I avoided his gaze as I walked towards my bags on the bed.
He looked apologetic and struck by my rash decision. In his mind, he must have thought I was in this for the long ride. “Was it something I did?” he asked.
“No…it was rather something you fucked,” I blurted.
“Wow…look who’s upset.” He grinned, put aback by my outburst. I had always been the naïve teenager who lacked the guts to face up to him. Today was different; today I was angry, livid and intolerable, and I didn’t want him to mess with me.
 
“You’re damn right I’m upset. What is this, your way of letting me go home without putting it into words? Well, you succeeded cos I am off. I am leaving you.” I lifted the bags to my shoulder and proceeded towards the door.
“It’s not been working for a while,” he muttered.
“And it has not been my fault at all. I left everything to be with you, but it seems everything is not enough.”
“You didn’t leave everything, you had nothing to stay home for. You said it yourself that your stepfather had turned you into his punching bag.”
I growled under my breath, gritting my teeth. He didn’t have to go there, he could have just let me leave without mentioning my horrid best-forgotten past. “And you knew this yet you chose to hurt me just like he had hurt me, you’re no different from him,” I yelled in agonizing pain.
“It’s no big deal we can work it out.”
“This still doesn’t explain why you fucked her…am I not groupie enough for you?”
“Is this about her...the tramp in the bathroom? You shouldn’t have seen that?” He scratched at his forehead.
“But I did…and… I don’t want to take it anymore. I know it’s not your first time cos’ I’ve heard things from the other guys, but this is the first time I am catching you at it, ring side seats and all.” My voice was shaky with exasperation.

“Honey, that’s a fucking lie, she’s the first time I’ve cheated on you. You know I would never do that to you, you know how much you mean to me.” He said, hinting a weak sign of remorse.
I didn’t reply. I stood frozen like his words had congealed my blood circulation.
He continued, “What do you want me to do? You want me to beg you to stay?” he asked, grabbing a hold of my hand at the door. He let my bags fall to the ground. “Honey, don’t go, don’t do this to us? I didn’t mean it…” he begged, his brown eyes peering down my face. He moved closer to me, his breath brushing past my neck. “She’s a nobody, I just met her, she followed me into that bathroom and before I knew it she had her mouth on me. It was not me, I swear to you.”

“You should have resisted it when you had the chance…you messed up AJ and I’m gonna have to leave.” Coldly, I broke free of his grip, picked up my bags and launched to the door. He just stood there staring at me, watching as I walked away.

Alone in the elevator, I bent down my head to fight the tears that had been building up since I first caught glimpse of my so-called boyfriend in the arms of another. A couple of floors down, a young man joined me in the elevator. He was on his way down to the ground floor as well. As we alighted from the elevator, he offered to carry my bags to my car and before I could object he had taken hold of the heavier one.

“Do you have a car waiting?” He offered.
And for the first time I looked up at his face before I replied. “No, I don’t.” He was young, piercing green eyes, and courteous toothy smile. I had no idea who he was at the time.
He said, “Common, mine’s out back, I’ll take you where you’re going.”
He led me to the garage and straight to his Ford Mustang parked in the VIP spot. He put my bags in the trunk and opened up the passenger door for me to get in, “Thanks.” I said.
In the car, he introduced him self, “Hi, My name’s Lance, Lance Bass, what’s yours.” He held out his small slender fingers for a handshake.
My head did a double spin for his face when he said this, my mouth dropped open and suddenly everything sort of fell into place. He was Lance Bass from AJ’s rival music group. I had heard AJ and the boys talk about their group and the words they had for them were not kind to say the least.
“M..M.My name’s Nikki. Nice to meet you.” I shook his hand giving it a soft shake.
“So, Nikki...” He started to rev his engine, “Where you going?” he asked casually.
“Nowhere really.”
“Really nowhere. So you won’t mind if I kidnapped you for a little while, do you?”
I shook my head, with a smile. Nope, I wouldn’t mind at all. In fact, I’m all yours, I said to my self. “No, not really. I hope it’s a far way from here. I need to get as far away from here as possible.”
“Yeah, it is, far, far away.”
My mind was made up; I would exact my revenge on AJ by eloping with his rival band mate, Lance. It couldn’t be that hard and it couldn’t be as painful as the relationship with Nick, instead it would be more hurtful knowing that it might have been my intention.

...