Finally after waiting for what seemed like hours the doctor finally comes out.

The doctor says, “Mr. Tyler. I’m doctor Hashen. I examined Amanda completely.”

Steve asks, “Is she going to be okay?”

Doctor Hashen says, “Well, she was raped. She has a concussion, and some scrapes and bruises. Other than that she will be fine. Her mental and emotional recovery will be the hardest part of all this. You are a close friend I assume.”

Steve says, “She works for me and my group when we are on tour. But she means more to me than just an employee. I care for her a lot. That’s why I went looking for her when she didn’t return to her room. I found her outside the arena we had performed at earlier tonight. When can I take her back to the hotel?”

The doctor says, “She can leave as soon as she’s ready to. She’s awake but you have to be careful with her concussion. She has to be woken up every couple of hours tonight, but after that she can sleep fully. Here are some pamphlets that you can look through in how to help her through this. Just give me a couple of minutes to look her over again and you can go see her.”

Steve says, “Okay, thank you doctor. I appreciate all your help.”

The doctor just nods and walks into Amanda’s room to see how she is doing. Steve just waits not sure how to talk to her after what she had gone through. He guessed it would come to him when he sees her. He sees the doctor leave the room and he starts towards the room. He hesitates before opening the door, his eyes immediately landing on her. His heart went out to her and just wanted to make everything go away, but he knew that was not going to happen right away. He slowly walks towards her bed feeling the sorrow fill him.

He reaches the side of her bed and says softly, “Amanda.”

I look at him and his heart breaks even more at the look in my eyes. I just look at him and just break down when I see him. He wraps his arms around me just holding me as I cried hard.

After a little while I finally stop crying so hard and ask, “Why did this happen to me? Did I do something to someone or deserve to have this happen for some reason?”

Steve replies, “Oh Amanda. You didn’t deserve to have this happen. No woman deserves to have this happen.”

I asked, “How did you know where I was?”

Steve sighs and says, “I didn’t know where you were. I was in my hotel room when I noticed what time it was and I didn’t hear you come back yet. I started to worry and thought that maybe you had made up with Lenny so I went to his room but he said he hadn’t seen you. I just had this sinking feeling in my stomach that something had happened to you. So I drove back to the arena and started walking towards the entrance when I heard a noise in a dark corner of the building. When I got there I saw you on the ground unconscious.”

I say, “I didn’t even think about Lenny. Does he know?”

Steve says, “No, I wanted to wait until I spoke with your doctor before calling him to let him know what happened.”

I look him in the eyes and say, “Please don’t tell him. I don’t want him to know.”

Steve says, “Amanda honey, he’s going to see the bruises on you and know something happened.”

I reply, “What I mean is please don’t tell him I was raped. There is no reason for him to know. The only one who knows is you and I want to keep it that way. Please don’t tell anyone else. I feel so embarrassed about it.”

Steve says, “Honey, there is nothing to be embarrassed about. If you don’t want anyone else to know that’s your choice and I will abide by it. At least you have me to come to if you ever want to talk, cry, scream or whatever. I promise you Amanda, I will be here for whatever you need. I want to help you through this.”

I look at him and see the sincerity in his eyes and I just want to cry that he wants to be there for me. All I can see in his eyes is the fact that he cares for me, not sympathy or pity, but real caring. I hug him and let his arms protect me.

After a little more time I say, “I think I’m ready to leave. I just want to go back to the hotel and take a shower.”

He says, “Okay hun. The doctor said you could leave whenever you were ready. They brought you some scrubs to put on so you could leave. I’ll leave so you can change, I’ll be right outside the door just let me know when you are ready and we’ll get out of here.”

I give him a small smile as he walks out the door so I could change.

The drive back to the hotel was quiet. He parks the car and helps me out of the car and heads into the hotel. We get to the elevator and I’m just standing there looking down at the floor. We get into the elevator and finally reach the floor that our rooms are on. Steve leads me to my room and he opens the door. I just stand in the doorway not moving, just staring into the room afraid to go in.

Steve asks, “Amanda, are you okay sweety?”

I say softly, “I can’t go in there. I’m so scared of what might be in there.”

Steve puts his arms around me and says, “That’s okay sweety. Listen, do you want me to get you a different room.”

I reply, “No. I just….I don’t want to be alone.”

He says, “Okay hun. Would it make you feel better to stay in my room. I have two beds, you can sleep in the spare one.”

I just nod at the suggestion. He leads me to the next door which is his room. He leads me in and I head to the bed and curl up on my side.

He says, “I’m just going to get your bags from your room. I’ll be right back. Will you be okay for a few minutes.”

I reply, “Yes, but please hurry back.”

He says, “Why don’t you take a shower while I get your stuff. I’ll be back in a few.”

He sees me stand up and head towards the bathroom as he heads out the door to my room to get my stuff.

Driving down the road Steve was getting more and more anxious. He just had this bad feeling that something was wrong with Amanda and knew he had to get back to the arena as fast as possible.

After 15 minutes passed by he finally got to the arena. He pulls around to the back where he knows she was parked. He starts to panic when he sees her car still there. He doesn’t see anyone else around and the lights at the arena are shut off pretty much telling him that they closed it up for the night. That also telling him she couldn’t be inside knowing that the place is usually checked to make sure no one is still inside. Steve parks right next to Amanda’s car and gets out. He looks in the drivers side window and doesn’t see any evidence that she was even in her car. He starts to walk towards the door of the arena then stops thinking he heard something. Thinking it was his imagination he continues to the door hoping that a security guard or someone may be inside, even though it was a long shot, to let him in to check if she was in there somewhere. He hears something again and he looks towards where he is hearing the sound. It’s a very dark corner of the parking lot and he slowly starts walking towards it. He stops to go back to his car to get the flashlight he has in the trunk. He grabs it and turns it on moving towards the dark corner again. As he’s getting closer he hears the sound getting louder and it sounds like a person. He starts walking faster, fear driving him to the corner of the parking lot. What he sees almost makes him fall to his knees.

He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He drops down next to the body and slowly rolls it over.

He gasps, “Oh god!” when he sees it’s Amanda.

He doesn’t need a doctor to tell him what happened. Her clothes were torn leaving her bare to his gaze. He lightly smacks her on the cheek trying to wake her up more.

He says frantically, “Amanda! Please baby, wake up for me. I need you to wake up honey.”

I hear a voice next to me and at first I cringe inside thinking it’s my attacker again. But then I recognize the voice and relax. I just want to throw myself into his arms but I couldn’t get my body to move.

I open my eyes finally and see Steve leaning over me. I say, “Steve, is that you?”

He says, “Oh god Amanda. I’m not even going to ask if you’re okay because I can see you aren’t. Can you sit up for me sweetheart? We need to get you to a hospital.”

With his help I was able to sit up. Then eventually he gets me to a standing position but I start to sway when everything starts to spin. He holds on to me as he walks me to his car. He carefully puts me in the passenger seat. He runs around to the drivers side and gets in. He rushes to the nearest hospital after calling the hotel desk to find out where it is. He pulls up to the ambulance entrance leaving his car there as he carries Amanda inside.

He yells, “I need help here. Please, she’s been hurt and I think she’s been raped.”

A nurse runs over, sees me in his arms and says, “Follow me.”

He follows her to one of the examination rooms and just holds her hand not wanting to leave her.

A doctor rushes in and says, “We need to examine her. I’m sorry, you have to step outside.”

He slowly backs out of the room, runs out to park his car and as he’s making his way back inside he think about calling Lenny to let him know what’s going on. He decides to hold off until he knows what the full extent of her injuries are. Now, he just had to wait for some kind of news from the doctor.

The following week was really hard, especially since I saw Lenny every night. He refused to speak to me so I couldn’t even try to explain and try to get him to see that he was being unreasonable. I couldn’t even get him to stay in the same room with me for more than a few minutes.

It was the end of another successful concert and I was cleaning up the room when I see Lenny standing there for a couple of minutes, then turning and walking out. I sigh as I come to the realization that he’s got his foot up his ass and won’t talk to me. I finish up the room and leave heading towards the parking lot where my rental car was. I just wanted to go to the hotel and take a nice hot bubble bath to wash my worries away.

As I’m heading to my car I take notice of my surroundings and see that there isn’t anyone else around. I felt like someone was watching me, looked around but didn’t see anyone. I continue to my car walking a little faster, just wanting to get to it so I could feel safe. Just as I get to my car I feel someone grab me from behind. I was about to scream when I feel their hand cover my mouth. I struggle trying to get away but they have a good hold on me, dragging me to a corner of the parking lot that I noticed was dark and secluded. I continue to struggle trying to get away and I could tell that who ever had me was getting angry by me struggling against them. He gets me to the dark corner and slams me up against a brick wall making me hit my head. I literally saw stars when my head hit the wall. He could tell hitting my head affected me so he did it again knocking me unconscious.

----At the hotel----

Steve had a room next to Amanda’s and he was getting worried because he hadn’t heard her come back yet. He knew the past week had been hard, he noticed how Lenny was acting and figured that their relationship was over. Maybe he was wrong, maybe it had just been a fight and Amanda was in his room now. To help cure his anxiousness he leaves his hotel room arriving a few minutes later in front of Lenny’s. He knocks and waits for the door to be answered.

Lenny answers the door, “Hey Steve. What’s up?”

Steve asks, “Is Amanda here with you?”

Lenny says, “No. Why would she be here? I haven’t been with her in a week.”

Steve says, “I thought something was wrong but I didn’t want to stick my nose in where it didn’t belong. I was actually hoping she was here with you. She hasn’t gotten back from the arena yet and I’m starting to worry.”

Lenny asks, “How do you know she isn’t back yet?”

Steve says, “My room has always been next to hers. I didn’t hear her come back yet tonight. I already called down to the hotel bar and she isn’t there either.”

Lenny says, “Maybe she went somewhere else.”

Steve says, “I’m kinda hoping she did. If you hear from her please just let me know that she’s okay. I’m going to wait a little longer and then if she isn’t back I’m going to go look for her.”

Lenny replies, “Okay, if I hear from her I’ll let you know. Same goes for you. Even though we aren’t together doesn’t mean I don’t care about her.”

Steve just nods and walks back towards his own room. He had twisting knot in his stomach that was telling him something was wrong. He decided not to wait any longer and headed down to the parking lot to his rental car. He just keeps hoping that she’s okay as he drives towards the arena.

I woke up the next day to someone knocking on my door. I open my eyes and look at the clock. The clock said 9am and my wake up call wasn’t until noon. Some heads were going to roll if that was housekeeping. I get up out of bed and stagger tiredly to the door. I open it to see Lenny standing on the other side.

I say, “Hi baby. What are you doing up so early?”

He walks in and says, “I’m not up early, I’m up late because I never went to sleep last night. I want to know what’s going on Amanda?”

I close the door and go over to where he is sitting on my bed. I ask, “What are you talking about Lenny?”

He says, “I want to know what’s going on with you and Steven Tyler?”

I look at him confused and say, “What are you talking about. There isn’t anything going on with me and Steven.”

He says, “Well it sure seemed like something when I saw him leave your room.”

I look at him and ask, “Are you spying on me? What, don’t you trust me? How could you think that I would do anything with someone else while I’m seeing you.”

He says, “No, I wasn’t spying on you. I was getting ice from the ice machine and I saw him leave your room. I also saw you kiss him when he was leaving. What the hell was that about?”

I say exasperated, “Oh my god. You see that and you automatically think I’m cheating on you. For your information I didn’t kiss him, he kissed me. Also it was just a friendly kiss goodnight. It didn’t mean anything and you know why it didn’t mean anything, because he knows about us.”

He asks, “What. How did he find out about us? I thought we weren’t going to say anything for a little while.”

I explain, “He saw me leaving your room last night. He’s fine with it too.”

He says, “But we agreed to keep it quiet. You could have denied it.”

I reply, “So what if he knows. I wasn’t all that comfortable sneaking around anyway and you know that. And how could I have denied it if he saw me leaving your room in the middle of the night. What’s the problem here? What, you wanted to keep me your little secret for the whole tour? There was no way in hell that was going to happen. Someone would have either seen us eventually or if they didn’t then we would have told them. Is that what the problem is? That’s it isn’t it? You had no intention of telling anyone about us did you? And I bet you expected me to just go along with it. Well, I hate to break it to you baby, but I wasn’t going to keep us a secret for the rest of my life.”

He says, “Well, then I guess there isn’t anything left for us to talk about. I wanted to keep it quiet because my personal life is just that, personal. I wasn’t going to keep it a secret forever but definitely until the end of the tour. I really didn’t care if the others found out or not but it also isn’t their business. I sure as hell didn’t want your boss to find out whether he had a problem with it or not. So as far as I’m concerned its over. You can do whatever or whoever you want to now. I’m gone.”

I gasp and say, “Lenny! Wait! You’re just going to throw away the time we’ve had together because Steve found out about us. What about what you said to me last night, that you were falling in love with me?”

He says, “Yeah I was falling in love with you. It’s too bad he found out about us because we could have a great life together. Have a nice life Mandy.”

With that said he leaves my room with me just standing there in shock at what he said and ending it.

When I finally realized what was happening I pulled away and stood up walking to the other side of the room to lean on the dresser. I was trying to get control of my breathing when I feel him come up behind me. He puts his hands on my waist softly caressing my sides up and down. I could feel goose bumps pop up all over my body just from his touch. He puts his chin on my shoulder and I can feel his hot breath on my neck.

He smirks knowing exactly what he was doing. No way was Lenny going to have her. She was his, he just hadn’t gotten around to asking her out. Well, now was his chance to make his intentions clear.

He asks, “What’s wrong Amanda?”

I reply, “Nothing. I’m…I’m tired so I should get some sleep. You should too, it’s traveling day tomorrow.”

He says, “Yeah I know we have to travel tomorrow. But we don’t have to leave until the afternoon. So, we have some time to ourselves right now. I’ve wanted to be with you for quite some time now Amanda. I just never had a chance to talk to you about it until now. Every time I’ve asked you to go out with us you refused. I’ll be straight with you. The times I’ve asked you to go out with us, the rest of the guys weren’t going to be with us. They know I’ve been interested in you for a while now but thought you would be uncomfortable just going with me so we thought it would be better to tell you that all of us were going. We would have all gone somewhere but they would have left us alone to be by ourselves.”

I say, “I don’t know what to say. I…I just can’t right now. I want to concentrate on my work.” knowing that I was lying through my teeth. I had no idea that he was interested in me that way. It kind of shocked me to hear him say that to me.

He turns me to face him and says, “I know why you can’t right now. Did you think I wouldn’t find out eventually.”

I reply trying not to show my panic, “Find out what?”

He says, “I know why you can’t go out with me. Although, if he’s like that and won’t let you hang out with us then I guess he doesn’t trust you.”

I say, “Him who? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

By this time I was really trying to keep myself form panicking. There was no way he could know about me and Lenny.

He says, “I saw you leave his room before. I don’t know why you couldn’t just say you were seeing him. I don’t have a problem with it just because you work for us. Although I’m disappointed that you aren’t available and that you thought you had to hide it from the rest of us.”

I look down embarrassed and say, “I’m sorry Steve. We weren’t sure how you would react to it. We both thought it would be best to keep it quiet for a little while. I was going to tell you, but I didn’t know when. Are you sure you don’t have a problem with me seeing him?”

He says, “Like I said, I wish it could be me but if you’re happy then I’m happy for you. Lenny’s a good guy, I hope he treats you well.”

I reply, “Yeah he does. Can I tell you something?”

He says, “You can tell me anything you want.”

I take a deep breath and say, “I didn’t know you were interested me in that way. If I wasn’t seeing Lenny I would jump at the chance to be with you.”

He smiles and says, “Well, if for some reason it doesn’t work out with Lenny, I’ll be here if you still want me. Go to sleep honey. I’ll see you tomorrow, or rather later.”

I say, “Okay Steve. I’ll see you later.”

I walk him to my door. As he’s leaving he softly drops a kiss to my lips and walks to his own room. What I didn’t know was Lenny was in the hallway after having gotten some ice from the ice machine.

I had been in my room for a few minutes when I hear a knock on my door. I look at the clock in my room noticing the time not sure who it could be. It could be Lenny, but I just left his room so I didn’t think it was him. I hear a knock again and make my way to the door. I open it to see Steven standing there.

He smirks and says, “You know you shouldn’t open your door to just anybody. It could have been someone that you don’t know.”

I ask, “Steven, what are you doing here?”

He smiles at the use of his first name and says, “I just wanted to make sure that you were okay. Did you get to relax tonight like you wanted to?”

I say, “Yeah I did. Is there any other reason you stopped by so late?”

He asks, “Is it okay if I come in?”

I open the door all the way allowing him to enter my room. He sits down on the edge of my bed as I close the door.

I start to get a little nervous being in a room with him alone. I had no idea what it was he wanted to talk to me about this late at night, or should I say this early in the morning for him to come to my room.

He pats the spot on the bed next to him saying, “Come sit down. I just want to talk for a little bit. I’m not going to bite. Well, that is unless you want me to.”

I blush at the insinuation but sit next to him on the bed making sure not to get too close to him. I didn’t smell any alcohol on his breath so I knew he wasn’t here because he was drunk.

I ask, “So, why are you here? It is kinda late isn’t it?”

He replies, “I’m a night person anyway. Have to be in this business. Let me ask you something.”

I say, “Sure, go ahead.”

He asks, “You like working for us right? I mean we don’t treat you badly do we? We try to be courteous to your needs and anything that you want don’t we? I mean have me or any of the rest of the band done something that they shouldn’t have?”

I was shocked at hearing the questions coming from him. I say emphatically, “I love working for you. I wouldn’t want to do anything else or work for anyone else. I love touring with you guys and none of you have ever done anything bad to me. Why are you asking me this Steven?”

He sighs and says, “Just wanted to make sure that you were happy with us. I know we can be pains in the asses sometimes but we don’t know what we would do without you.”

I laugh and say, “Yeah I’m happy with you guys. As for what you would do without me. Hell all you would have to do is find another maid that would be willing to travel. That’s all I am anyway.”

He says strongly, “You are more than just a maid to us Amanda. You are more than that to me. I really don’t know what I would do if you decided to just up and leave us, leave me.”

I sit there surprised for a couple of minutes before saying, “What do you mean?”

He says softly, “This is what I mean.”

He leans in to me and kisses me. I was so shocked that I didn’t respond at first. When I didn’t stop him he took that as his cue to deepen the kiss. I was so lost in the kiss nothing else existed.

I was part of the road crew for this tour. I have been with them since they started touring earlier in the year. Right now I was cleaning up the room that they stayed in between sets. I seemed to be more of the clean up crew backstage than actually helping on the road. They said I was part of the road crew but I knew I was more of a personal maid to them while on the road. My duties didn’t end backstage, I kept things clean and straight in whatever hotel room they were staying in for the night.

My name is Amanda and I work for Aerosmith when on tour. They were onstage right now so I finished up what I needed to do and sat down waiting for them to come backstage.

I hear, “Hi Mandy. How’s it going?”

I turn to see Lenny Kravitz heading in my direction. He had been on this tour opening each show. Since the second week of the tour he and I had been secretly seeing each other. I didn’t like sneaking around but I wasn’t sure how my boss would react to it.

I reply, “Hi Mr. Kravitz.” Looking around seeing some of his band members milling about the room.

He comes over to me and says softly, “So are you free tonight after the show?”

I smile and say, “Nope, sorry to say I can’t because I have made plans already with this hot sexy musician. So, what do you have in mind tonight?”

He says, “Oh I don’t know. I was thinking a late night dinner in my room. Candles, champagne, roses that can’t even match your beauty.”

I smile and say, “I’ll be there with bells on and maybe not much else.”

He gives me a big smile and walks away, not letting anyone get a clue as to what was really going on. I couldn’t wait until tonight to be with him, he wasn’t like anyone I had ever met before. He was so sweet and romantic treating me like a princess when we were together. I hear the band come backstage while the crowd was yelling for more and knew that was the cue for them to change their clothes and go out for one more song. They came in talking up a storm with each other changing their clothes as if I wasn’t even in the room. I was so used to it that it didn’t phase me anymore. Although I would be lying if I didn’t admit seeing their lead singer Steven Tyler taking his clothes off didn’t get me a little hot under the collar. I turn away as they change pretending to be cleaning something when I feel someone behind me. I turn my head to see Steven standing behind me.

I ask, “What can I do for you Mr. Tyler?”

He laughs and says, “Amanda, how many times do I have to tell you that you can call me Steven. When you call me Mr. Tyler I keep looking for my father.”

I reply, “Sorry, just used to calling my bosses by their proper names. Nothing personal but that’s the way I am. So, you didn’t answer my question. What can I do for you?”

He says, “Well, I was wondering what you were doing after the show. The guys and I are going out for a little while afterwards. I would love it if you went out with us.”

I say, “Thanks for the invite but I think I’m just going to head back to the hotel after the show. I just want to relax and stuff.”

He thinks for a few minutes before saying, “Well, how about we all hang out at the hotel then. We don’t have to go out anywhere we can just relax in the room.”

Out of the corner of my eye I can see Lenny not too far listening to the exchange. I reply, “Thanks, but I’m really tired and I really just want to go back to my room after the show. You guys go out and have some fun, you deserve it.”

He looks disappointed and says, “Okay, maybe another time.”

After they go back out on stage Lenny makes his way slowly over to me. Looking around to make sure no one was paying any attention to us he says to me, “If you want to hang out with the band tonight it’s okay with me.”

I say quietly, “No, I don’t want to go out. I want to spend time with you tonight. I’ll see you later in your room. “

He smiles and says, “Okay, I’m going to head out now so I can have everything ready. I’ll see you later.” He winks as he heads off.

I think about the invite from Steven. If it had been anytime before I started secretly seeing Lenny than I would have jumped at the chance to spend time with him and the others.

----A few hours after the show----

After a romantic dinner and a couple of rounds of sex I was just laying there in Lenny’s arms with my head on his chest listening to his heartbeat. I feel his hand caressing my back softly.

He says softly, “Can I tell you something?”

I reply, “You can tell me anything you want.”

He says, “I’m so glad to have met you. I have never known anyone like you. I know it may seem too soon to you but if I don’t get this out I’m afraid I may never say it.”

I ask, “What is it?”

He looks right into my eyes and says, “I’m falling in love with you.”

I gasp a little and say, “You are? You know, I never thought I would ever hear those words from anyone. I’ve been falling in love with you since I first met you.”

After another round of, not sex this time, making love I get dressed to make my way back to my room. Unfortunately we knew that we had to keep it a secret for a little while longer. Neither of us liked it but knew we had no other choice at this time. I gave him one last kiss before opening the door and leaving heading off to my room. What I didn’t know was that Steven had just gotten off the elevator and saw me coming out of the room heading towards mine. He walks to the room I had just left looking at the room number knowing immediately whose room it was.

I stand there at his door nervously waiting for him to answer. What if he wasn’t happy to see me? What if he was with someone else? I shake my head and say to myself, no he wouldn’t do that. If he was going to he would have told me. No I couldn’t think that way. I put a smile on my face as I hear him coming to the door and the door beginning to open. I just look at him as he opened the door and brought his up to look at who knocked on his door. I wish I had a camera so I could preserve the look on his face when he saw me standing there, it was priceless.

He rubs his eyes and asks, “Shayla?”

I just nod as he continues to look at me. He pulls me into his arms hugging me to him. He pulls me into the room and just stares at me.

After the shock finally wears off he asks, “Shayla, what are you doing here? I mean, I’m glad you’re here but…damn you know what I mean.”

I reply, “Well, we had a two week hiatus starting yesterday so I decided to come and surprise you. I thought maybe, if you didn’t mind, that I could travel with you the next two weeks.”

He looks at me and says, “If I don’t mind! Baby, you can travel with me anytime you want to. I’ve missed you so much this past month. How did you know where we were?”

I say, “Well, I had a little help from Amy letting me know where you were going to be today and which hotel. Then after you checked in she left me a message letting me know what room number you were in.”

He laughs and says, “That little sneak. I thought something was up when she was asking me where I was staying. I’m glad she kept it a secret though. It is definitely a wonderful surprise. So we have two weeks together all alone. I can’t wait to spend this time with you.”

I say, “Well, I didn’t exactly come alone. I brought Shelly with me. I figured since she helped bring you to me in Paris that the least I could do was bring her with me for a vacation.”

He startles and says, “How did you know she helped me?”

I giggle and say, “It wasn’t that hard to figure out. I’m not mad. How could I be mad when it brought you to me when I was so miserable. Chris, there’s something I want to say to you.”

He says, “What is it baby? Is something wrong?”

I smile and say, “No, nothing is wrong. Since you left a month ago I thought of nothing but you and missing you so much. I love you so much Chris. You are my first everything. My first love, my first lover. I will never forgive myself for leaving you the way I did all those months ago. I know it’s done and over with but I don’t blame you if you never forgive me or forget what I did.”

He interrupts and says, “But baby, I do forgive you. I forgave you before I even got to Paris. All I thought about was getting to you and making you realize that no matter what we belong together.”

I reply, “Well, that’s one of the things I wanted to talk to you about. Chris, I love you so much and what I want to say to you is, Yes.”

Chris looks at me confused and asks, “Yes, to what?” Then he thought about what I said and then says, “Do you mean yes to what I think you’re saying yes to?”

I smile and say, “Yes Chris, I would love to be your wife. After you left that’s all I thought about. Then what you had said made a lot of sense. We could make it work but then I thought it would be too difficult. So I made a decision. I’m not going back after the hiatus. I want to stay with you and be your wife.”

Chris says, “Wait a minute. I love the fact that you want to be my wife, but I don’t want you to give up your dream. I don’t want you to hate me for giving it up.”

I reply, “Chris, I could never hate you. It took me some time to realize that my dream is already coming true and it has nothing to do with dancing. All I’ve dreamt about since you asked me is you and me being married and having children. That’s what my dream is right now. I can dance anywhere. I can go back home and teach at the dance center I was with when I met you. They told me I was always welcome back there. So I called them and I start there in two weeks. So until then I am all yours to do with as you want to.”

Before he had a chance to say anything else I take him in a passionate kiss leaving the both of us breathless.

It had been two weeks since Chris had gone back to the states. He had called as often as he could, practically everyday. If I wasn’t able to answer my cell phone he would leave me a message that I would listen to constantly wishing he were here with me. I had been listening to his latest message when Shelly walks into my room. After I hang up my phone she sees the tears in my eyes and without a word comes over and hugs me.

She says, “Why don’t you go and see him. I can see how much you are missing him and I hate seeing you like this.”

I reply, “I can’t, I have the show and everything else that I have to do. I wish I could go see him just to hold him.”

She smiles and says, “Sweetie, did you forget. Starting next week we have a two week hiatus. We can do whatever and go wherever we want. And I say you are going to get on that phone, call the airline and go see your man.”

I say, “I could do that if I can find out where they will be on Tuesday morning. I could fly out to wherever they will be on Monday so I at least have a day of rest before seeing him.”

Shelly asks, “What about your friend Amy? Can she keep a secret?”

I laugh and reply, “No, which is how Chris got my cell phone number a couple of weeks ago. But she probably would this time since I want to surprise him. Let me give her a call and see what’s going on.”

I call Amy and find out what I needed to know. She was so excited and swore that she would keep it quiet.

I say, “Okay they are going to be in Dallas on Tuesday, Amy even gave me the name of the hotel they will be staying at. Now, let me see if I can get a flight out on Monday for Dallas. Oh, wait a minute. I got a great idea. Shelly, how about you go with me. You don’t have anything planned for the two weeks do you?”

She says, “Not if you call sitting around this place for two weeks plans. I would love to go with you. Just let me know how much it is and I’ll give you the money right away.”

I say, “Listen Shelly, if you go with me it will be my treat. If it hadn’t been for you then Chris never would have come here to see me. So I owe you for getting us together again.”

Shelly replies, “No honey, I didn’t do anything. I mean I did but I had a feeling eventually you would have given in and called him. So, I want to pay my own way or I don’t go at all. Besides, maybe I’ll find my own hotty wrestler while I’m there.”

I concede and say, “Okay, but I still owe you for what you did for me and Chris.”

I call the airline and I was able to get two seats on a flight out on Monday afternoon. We would arrive in Dallas late Monday night. I then called the hotel Amy told me about and with a little bit of luck we got the last room that was available.

After hanging up I look at Shelly and say, “Well, it’s all set. We leave Monday afternoon. We were lucky, we got the last room at the hotel they are staying at. Now I have to call Amy and tell her to leave me a message with what room number Chris is going to be in so I can surprise him.”

I called Amy again and told her everything was all set. I asked her to leave a message on my cell phone when she finds out what room Chris is in. She said it wasn’t a problem and to have a safe trip.

----Monday morning----

Shelly and I were all ready to leave for Dallas, we were just waiting for the taxi to take us to the airport. I was so excited I had no idea how I would make it through the trip. We finally get to the airport and board our plane. A few hours later we’re landing in Dallas and my excitement grew. We get to the hotel and to our rooms to sleep. I’m sure it was only because of all the traveling that I was able to get to sleep at all. In the morning when I woke up I checked my cell phone and saw a text message from Amy letting me know what room Chris was in. I got myself ready and decided to let Shelly sleep while I went to see Chris. I get to his door and hesitate briefly before knocking on the door. After knocking on the door I wait anxiously waiting for Chris to open the door.

Chris says, “I know this is kind of sudden but I had this planned when I decided to come here to see you. If you need time I understand, but I don’t want to live my life without you in it. I don’t want to lose you again.”

I just look at the ring. I reply, “Oh Chris, it’s beautiful. I…I just need some time to think about it.”

He says, “I understand Ayla. I…I guess I’ll hold onto this until you know what you want to do. I do love you Shayla.”

I say, “I love you too Chris. But, there are things that stand in our way. I’m here in Paris for 3 years, you travel all over the world most of the week. We would hardly see each other if at all. What kind of relationship would that be. That’s why I left in the first place. I didn’t want to hurt you and I didn’t want you waiting around for me. I want you to be happy.”

Chris says softly, “Don’t you know I’m only happy when I’m with you. It doesn’t bother me if we don’t see each other every day. I can deal with being separated from you until you finish your job here in Paris. I may ravage you like an animal when I do see you but that will make it so much better, the anticipation.”

I don’t say anything for a few minutes. I then reply, “Can I give you an answer tomorrow before you leave?”

He smiles and says., “That’s fine baby. You can take as much time as you need to decide. I’m not going anywhere. I don’t want anyone else but you. Just remember that before you make your decision.”

I say, “Okay, Chris. I’ll think about everything before making a decision.”

He kisses me softly on the lips and says, “That’s all I ask baby.”

We continue seeing other sights and end the day at a romantic dinner. I know I had a lot to think about, but nothing was in my mind but having a good night with Chris. We get back to the house and go up to my room. As soon as the door closes he wraps me in my arms kissing me deeply. WE spend the night making love numerous times. I just couldn’t get enough of him and wanted him as much as possible. I had no idea when I would see him again, if at all

The next day I borrow a car and take him to the airport. I knew I had to give him my decision and I was afraid to.

While we are waiting for his plane to board I say, “Chris, I made my decision.”

He smiles and replies, “So, what decision did you make baby?”

I look at the hopefulness in his eyes and I can feel the tears starting to build. I say, “I’m sorry Chris. I can’t accept this right now. I thought about everything and I can’t make you wait for me. I know what you said but you will soon regret going through this.”

He says, “But baby, I told you I want to be with you and I would wait for you for however long I need to. I don’t want to lose you.”

I say, “Chris, I’m not leaving you. I just can’t accept your proposal right now. I do love you. I don’t think I could ever love anyone the way I love you. I’m sorry if I hurt you, but right now is not a good time to get engaged.”

He looks sad and says, “I understand baby. Yeah I’m hurt, but I’m glad you aren’t breaking it off with me totally.”

I say, “I don’t think you would let me even if I tried. I mean you did come all the way here to make me realize what I left behind. I’m not saying never, I’m just saying not now.”

He kisses me softly and goes to his gate as they call his flight. I watch him go through the gate to his plane waving until I couldn’t see him anymore with tears in my eyes. I wondered when I would see him again.