The question hit me like a sudden blow to my head.
"Wh... wh.. what?" I studdered, hoping I hadn't heard her right.
"When are you going to tell the fans that you have a girlfriend?" she asked.
There was no question about it. I had heard her correctly. Of course, I had always been hoping that I could slip by that subject easily. It really wasn't something I was up to doing. I didn't really want to cause any problems. Besides, things were peaceful the way they were. No one was being hurt.
So why did I have any reason to tell the fans that I had a girlfriend of my own? Why did it even matter anyway?
"I dunno, Jen. But really, do we have to?"
"Taylor, think about it. This secret stuff can't go on forever. It isn't fair to us or the fans. Things would be a lot easier if everyone knew the truth," she whispered.
I wanted to agree with her, but I couldn't. It didn't feel right. She must have seen the look in my eyes.
"Look," she continued. "I know how much you care about the fans, and believe me, I know exactly how they would feel if they discovered you were taken. I was a die-hard fan myself once. Remember? The thing is, the fans trust you, and it isn't fair to lead them on and tell them sometime in the future. Then, once they find out how long things have been going on, everything could backfire."
"I understand," I started to tell her, "but... see.. well, I want to live my own life. I don't want anyone controlling me. I want to tell the fans, but if I do, I don't think I could handle feeling guilty about hurting anyone..."
My voice trailed off. I really didn't want to be forced to make a decision right then. As usual, the romantic moment was spoiled. Something had come up.
"Maybe we can tell them eventually, but not now. Not while everything is so perfect," I whispered to finish off my thoughts.
Jen let out a deep sigh.
"Look, just forget I ever said anything. Let's just drop the subject, okay? I'm sorry..."
"No, that's okay."
"No it isn't. I don't want to force you into anything. I know how you feel about this and I know how uncomfortable you are with the subject," she apologized.
Even though Jennifer sounded sincere, I could sense some disappointment in her voice. And suddenly a wave of guilt spread over me. Now I was feeling like I'd done something wrong. Maybe I wasn't being fair to Jen. And maybe I was just being too hard on myself.
"Jennifer, really, you have every right to say something like that. You don't have to apologize. I-"
"Shhh..." she quieted me calmly and softly.
We kissed one more time before we discovered my dad jingling the keys in the front door. Ike woke up in a flash, rubbing his head like he'd slept on a rock or something hard like that.
I burst out laughing. His hair was a poofy mess.
"Oh, hush up, Taylor! That isn't funny at all!" he said grumpily in his sleepy voice as he climbed into the pasenger seat.
Dad got into the car and started up the engine. By this time, Jennifer and I had already gotten out of our comfy position and were siting side by side, with my arm around her, of course.
Fortunetely, we were ready to head back for the hotel, full of food. There were just two people missing...
"Um, Dad... where's-"
"Zac and Rayma?"
"Yeah," I said, looking around the parking lot.
"They're still inside. Zac said he would catch up in a second," Dad informed us all.
Jen elbowed me and giggled. We both knew what was really going on.
Another minute or so went by before Zac and Rayma appeared from inside the restraunt and made their way back to the van. They were both smiling. Zac's nose was lifted high in the air - well, not literally, but you could just tell by his face that he was beaming with pure pride. I was suspecting what his girl's answer had been.
Rayma's face was flushed with a red color, but she definitely looked happy! Her smile looked like it was worth a million dollars! The two of them weren't holding hands, but you could just imagine how much they wanted to.
"Aww, such a cute couple," Jen beamed. She also had her head turned and was looking back at the lovebirds.
"I think that means Zac's results were better than he thought," I suggested and added with a laugh, "Thanks to me!"
Jen made a fake snorting sound. "You? what could you have possibly done?"
"Why, I went out of my way just to convince him he had a chance with her. I was the one who gave him the guts!" I told Jen proudly.
"Well, good for you," she replied sarcastically and gave me a pat on the head.
"Yes, good for me! I am the champ! I rule all! Woo!" I screached.
"Tay, shush up!" Ike snapped from the front seat.
"Oh, you hush, you big grump of a poof ball!" I yelled back.
"Why don't both of you just keep quiet for the ride back," my father said, as if settling the entire problem.
Zachary and Rayma both climbed into the seat behind us and pretty soon, we were entering the parking lot for our hotel.
* * *
It was the cell phone that made me fling off my headphones and toss them down on the bed in a rush to answer before the caller hung up. On the fifth ring, I managed to turn it on and gasp out a breathless hello.
"Woah! Taylor, are you okay?" came a familiar female voice.
"Oh, hey Nancy!" I yelped out excitingly. I hadn't heard from her in a while. "How'd you know it was me?"
"Oh, gee, Tay. You in distress is pretty hard not to pick up easily. Now, tell me why you're out of breath," Nancy insisted calmly.
"Bad time to call. I was listening to my music!" I accused. "I didn't know of any other way to get to the phone before you hung up!"
She laughed.
"But anywho, it's good to hear from you. Why did you call?"
"Well, actually, I was wondering if I could talk to Jennifer?"
"I'd let ya, except she's not here right now," I said.
"She isn't? Oh.. why not?"
"She went with Rayma to a friend's house. I think her name was... oh yeah, Amber. She went to Amber's house. Amber is a friend of hers."
"Oh, okay. Do you know when she'll be back?" Nancy asked hopefully.
"Couldn't tell ya. Wish I could, but can't."
"I guess I'll just talk to you for a while then," she decided.
"Sounds good to me. So, tell me, how has your summer been so far?" I asked and tried to start up a conversation.
"It's been great! The only problem is that Jennifer is missing out on so much! Everyone here misses here - thanks to you, Taylor!" she sneered.
"So everything is my fault now?"
"I was just kidding!"
"I know," I added with a laugh.
Nancy laughed as well. "How has your summer been?"
"A very, very busy time. The schedule I have is jam-packed full of tour dates and appearences and all that junk. But so far, everything's been fun I guess. Jennifer has been great company!"
"Cool! Oh yeah, Tay, I forgot to tell you! I bought tickets for the North Carolina concert in three weeks! I'll be able to go to the show! Emily and I are both going."
Nancy's voice was as happier as I've ever heard it. The news made me happy too. I'd get to see here again soon! And so would Jennifer for that matter.
"That's awesome!" I yelled into the phone. "I'll be sure to save you and Em a backstage pass! Jen is going to be so excited when she finds out. I just know it!"
"So, I guess I'll be seeing you in three weeks, ok?"
"Definitely! Oh yeah, guess what? I've got a surprise for you too!"
"Really?"
"Yup! After the Charlotte concert, we'll have 3 days to kill and Jen and I decided that we'd spend them in Blacksburg. So, that means that I'll get to hang with you also. I'm sure we can work in something cool to do sometime while we're there. I'm sure Jennifer wouldn't mind."
"Yay! That is so nifty, Taylor! I'm so glad!"
"Great! Geez, if only Jennifer were here. She's missing out on the 'big news' about the concert."
"No kidding. So, anywho, my parents want me to get off the phone now so I guess that means I have to say chow, okay?"
"Yeah, alrighty. Good idea. Well, I'll talk with you another time. I'll mail you the backstage passes, okay?"
"Gotcha! Tootles!" Nancy said her good-byes.
"See you later.. bye!"
I waited a second before I heard a click at the other end and I turned off the phone. It was always fun to hear from friends that you haven't seen or talked to in a while. Nancy was a cool friend. I thanked Jen silently, because without her, we never would have even met unless some magical miracle took place.
I ran back to the bed and stuck my headphones back on. I was listening to an Aerosmith CD from my collection. Getting bored after a while, I headed to the kitchenette for a snack.