Millennium Love Brian 46

After our hugs and 'goodbyes' to my Dad at the airport, we settled down for the long flight to Seattle. It was going to take nearly six hours, putting us in the city in mid afternoon. I had managed to get out of rehearsal and sound check, so once we landed we went directly to the hotel.

Once in the room, I crashed, trying to get in some extra sleep before the concert.

The last concert in Seattle was incredible. The fans knew they were getting the last Backstreet Boys concert for at least a month and a half. The rest of us knew it might unfortunately be longer. We were all hyper but also a little sad. Afterwards, the entire Backstreet family gathered at a banquet room in the hotel for a late dinner and simply to hang out together before everyone went their separate ways.

Howie was flying to LA to meet up with Melissa while Kevin was going to New York to spend time with Sheri. Even though she was finished school for the semester, she was staying in the city until Christmas to work on a large project. They were planning on flying to Kentucky together. Nick and AJ were going back to Orlando with Scott and I. Nick was going to visit his family before heading to Kentucky to spend Christmas with Nora and her family. Which coincidentally put him close to the farm. AJ was planning on taking a couple of days off before throwing himself into rehearsals for the Johnny tour. I'd found out that he was going to fly into Kentucky for Christmas and to see Drew before going back to Toronto with Drew for a week before his mini tour started.

Scott and I were going to look at the potential condos we'd found and hopefully choose one before flying to Orlando for Christmas.

It was early morning before the gathering finally started to break up. Crew members and dancers stopped by to wish everyone happy holidays. Eventually there were only eleven of us, us five singers, our bodyguards, and Scott. Since we all had very early morning flights out, we hung around the banquet room for a while longer then went up to the rooms to pack. We arrived at the airport just after six and split up as everyone went to their respective boarding gates.

Nick, AJ, Scott and I, and the three guards, Marcus, Tom and Greg, boarded the Orlando bound flight. Thankfully we were the only ones in first class, so we were all able to get a few hours of sleep before the plane landed in Orlando. Someone had obviously been planning ahead because there was a limo there to pick the seven of us up. AJ took credit for the car.

The limo made its way through the city, dropping off people until it was just Scott, Marcus and I.

"Well, you guys know where I am if you need any help," Marcus said as the car stopped in front of my building. I'd already invited him to the commitment ceremony and he'd promised to be there. But Scott didn't think he'd see him for a couple weeks, as Marcus was going to escort us on New Years.

"We'll see you at New Years Marc," I said continuing the charade. "Have a good Christmas."

Marcus smiled. "Same to you guys! Be good and be careful," he admonished us as we got out.

"No promises, but we'll try," Scott said to him with a grin before the door closed.

Scott and I picked up our luggage that the driver had pulled out, and walked inside. We dumped the bags inside the door and crashed onto the couches.

"Oh this is nice," I murmured. "Can we just sleep the rest of the day?" I asked.

Scott grinned and turned to look at me. "Whatever you want," he agreed. "Although I want to call the real estate agents and set up times for tomorrow if we can," he added. I perked up upon hearing that. We were both excited about buying a new place and moving.

I sat up and looked at the clock. "Okay, why don't we both take a phone and some files, and call. See if you can schedule your places for the morning or the next morning and I'll get mine for the afternoon," I suggested.

Scott got up and walked back to the luggage to pull out the folder. He sat down and spread the files on the coffee table, quickly sorting them by location. It only made sense to group the places close together. He handed me a stack of five places and he took the other five. I wandered into the kitchen to use my cell phone while Scott used the phone in the apartment.

In about half an hour we had managed to schedule a visit to each of the ten places we'd picked. By starting early, we scheduled one location for each hour with a break for lunch and dinner. We figured about forty-five minutes at each place, or less, since we already had a good idea about what each place had to offer. With the help of my mom and dad, Scott and I had a written list of questions to ask at each location.

It was only mid-afternoon but Scott and I were both exhausted as the constant travel over the past few weeks finally caught up to us. We called in a large order of Chinese take out then showered while we waited. Once the food arrived, we sat in the living eating and watching TV. When we were both stuffed, I put the remaining food in the fridge for later, and Brian took our suitcases to the bedroom. Then we crashed on the bed, quickly falling asleep.

As it turns out, we both slept nearly twelve hours. I woke up and glanced at the alarm clock to find it was five thirty in the morning. We had gone to bed just after six the night before. I reluctantly crawled out of the warm bed to answer nature's call.

As I crawled back on the bed Scott turned towards me and smiled. "Morning," he whispered.

I grinned and wiggled closer so our faces were only inches apart. "Morning Scott," I whispered back then leaned forward to kiss his nose. "I think I'm finally slept out," I commented softly.

Scott grinned. "Me too!" he kissed my cheek. "We don't have to meet the first realtor until eight so we need to leave about seven thirty," he said quietly.

I laughed softly. "Hmm, whatever should we do to fill the time?" I asked. I moved suddenly and rolled over on top of Scott. I stared down at him intently. "You know, I don't think I ever paid you back for that incident at my parents place," I commented with a wicked grin, watching his emerald eyes widen in surprise. He knew he was in trouble, but knew too that it was trouble he would enjoy!

We were almost late meeting the realtor. And it was all Scott's fault! He was so open and responsive; I couldn't help myself as I drove him crazy. I had to drag him into the shower and wash him as he stood there like a fool. I wondered just how out of things he was, so I tried to trick him, pulling out some old costume belonging to Kevin. Scott snapped back to reality pretty quick upon seeing that hideous thing! He finished dressing, then grabbed the toast I had made, as we ran out the door.

The first place was quickly scratched off our list. We got there ahead of the realtor and simply walked into the building. It turns out that the security door regularly didn't work. When the agent arrived, late, neither Scott nor I were impressed. For some reason he didn't take our concerns for security seriously.

The second place was with the same real estate agent. The building was better and it was a fairly nice place, but Scott and I had already decided during the short drive over that we didn't want to deal with that particular agent. We thanked him for his time, and left, having no intention of calling him back.

Number three was quite nice. The building was fairly new, and well kept. The apartment we were looking at was on the eighth floor. While Scott wandered around looking at the walls, electrical outlets and plumbing, I asked some questions. One of the questions we'd thrown into our list was simply to ask if any other celebrities lived in the building. We weren't asking for names, but if other famous people lived there then the building was probably secure. In fact, if the agent did give us names, that would make us hesitant because it would indicate a lack of respect for privacy.

We added number three to our list of definite possibilities. It was a little smaller than we would have liked, but everything else about it suited our needs.

Number four was our last stop before lunch. It was also scratched from our list when the landlord of the building appeared and started telling us about all the famous people living in his building! Scott and I wanted privacy and discretion, not advertising.

We stopped for lunch at one of my favorite restaurants. After ordering, we discussed the apartments.

"It's a little discouraging, don't you think?" I commented.

Scott sipped his wine and nodded. "Yeah, it is," he agreed. "But this is just our first round Bri. If we don't find something today, we'll keep looking. But I think we'll find the perfect place this afternoon," he added.

I smiled. "You do, do you? Are you psychic?" I asked.

Scott shook his head. "Nope, the ghost in the kitchen told me!" he said with a straight face. I couldn't help but burst into laughter. The ghost in the kitchen was a story Howie had told Scott once about the apartment Howie, Kevin and I had shared, and that Scott and I were still using. He told Scott that at odd hours the cupboard doors rattled and creaked. He said the noises, were caused by a ghost, frustrated because he could get a good cup of coffee. When he first started telling Scott the story Scott listened intently. When he reached the end, the rest of us were all laughing at his seriousness.

We had finally figured out that the three people in the apartment above worked all different shifts, yet each one worked out on the little trampoline after work, directly above the kitchen!

We were both in a better mood when we started our afternoon visits. Number five was adequate but didn't really grab either of us. Number six was the best of the day, so far. It had secure doors with alarms and key only access as well as security guards twenty-four hours a day. The apartment itself was spacious, although it only had two bedrooms; there was another small room off the living room that would work as an office. It moved to the top of out short list.

Seven and eight were like number five. Both had the features we were looking for, but neither the buildings nor the apartments appealed to us. At dinner we tried to remain upbeat, but both of us were getting frustrated. On paper, each place sounded great, but reality was definitely different. Dinner was eaten quietly and once done we drove out to location number nine.

Number nine was on the outskirts of the city. It took about thirty minutes to get from near downtown, out to the subdivision. Scott and I both sat up as we approached, noting the cleanliness of the area.

The building was 11 stories, but from the floor plan we'd seen, we knew each condo was two floors, so there was only 5 true floors. The building had underground parking, which was an added bonus. We pulled up to the parking attendant and gave our names. He gave us a visitor's pass to put in the car window, and told us what section to park in. The realtor was already there to meet us.

She greeted us with handshakes, then talked about the building as she led us to the elevator. "Both the elevator and stairwell are key activated from down here. If you have visitors, they either have to go to the end of the parking lot," she pointed in one direction, "where the attendant signs in the guest and directs the elevator to the specified floor, or you can bring the elevator down here yourself to pick up your guest."

Scott looked at me and smiled. This was starting out pretty good. The realtor, Sandra, used her key to call the elevator and turned to us as we waited. "You two are lucky. The condo I'm showing is on an inside corner of the building, which is the most sought after side," she explained. I wasn't too sure what she meant, but figured I would find out. We stepped into the elevator and she pushed the button for the fifth floor. The elevator rose quickly and in a matter of seconds it stopped at the 'fifth' floor. We stepped out and looked around. There was a hall that went completely around the elevator and stairwell, forming a rectangle. Sandra walked down the hall, around the corner, and then around another corner.

She stopped at the end of the hall in front of #506. It was a corner suite, which meant a lot of windows. Sandra turned to us. "Now, I could tell you all sorts of facts and numbers and other information, but I really think the condominium speaks for itself. I will tell you, that this particular suite was custom built when the building was converted from an old military building into residential. It is unique for the building. So I'll let you two have a look around. If you have any questions, just shout out to me, okay?"

I smiled. "Sounds good Sandra, thanks!"

With that, she opened the door and let Scott and I walk in. The door opened into a hall, which surprised me. To the right, behind the door was a closet. We turned left and walked down the hall, about eight feet, where it ended. We stopped there and took in the sight. The apartment was massive! From where we were standing, if we turned right, or south, we faced the sunken living room with two story high windows! The second floor only covered half the apartment leaving the entire place very open and bright. Straight ahead of us were the kitchen, and a hallway that curved off to the right. Scott walked towards the kitchen while I took the two steps down into the living room.

I paused right in the living room, turning around, stunned by the size of the room. It was about 25 by 40 feet and appeared larger because of the high ceiling. I walked towards the stairs and noticed the wet bar that followed the curve of the stairs. At the top, I found a door to the right. To my left was a hallway with one side simply an open railing overlooking the living room. I turned right and opened the door. Inside the room was a small area, that flowed into the main part of the room, all the way over to the windows which bordered both the south and east sides. A balcony ran around the corner of the building. I knew this had to be the master bedroom. Again, the room was large. I walked into the main part of the room and turned around again, trying to picture furniture. It could handle almost anything we wanted. At the end of the room were two doors.

Entering the one on the right, I found the large ensuite bathroom. It had a huge whirlpool tub, a separate shower, toilet and two sinks. I walked back into the bedroom and to the second door. It was a huge walk-in closet. It would easily take all of Scott's and my clothes. I loved it.

After a last look around the master bedroom, I returned to the hall and followed the railing towards the back of the condo. I noticed another small bar up here as well. More doors to my right revealed the second bedroom, quite a good size and another large bathroom. Beside the bathroom was an open area where some chairs and a table could go. Reaching the end of the hall and another door, I was surprised to find another bedroom. It was a strange location, but an indoor window, overlooking the living room, made it brighter than expected. I slowly walked back along the rail, looking out the windows at the grass beyond.

I walked down the stairs shaking my head again at the sheer size of the living room. I noticed Scott standing there watching me and I smiled. He smiled too. I grabbed his hand, forgetting about the real estate agent, and led him past the bar beside the stairs and out onto the balcony, closing the door behind us. I stayed by the door but Scott walked over to lean against the rail and look around. There was a building opposite us, about a football field (end zone to end zone) away from us. In between were grass, a tennis court and a pool. Scott turned to look at me.

I was grinning wildly and Scott knew why. He took the folder from me and opened it to the last place we were scheduled to see. After finding the realtor's number, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed. When the man answered Scott apologized and told him we wouldn't be able to make it. He let him know we couldn't set up another time, but would call when and if we were able to view it. I knew we wouldn't need to. We'd found our new home.

Then Scott pulled out the information sheet for where we were. Because it was a condo, there was the initial purchase price then the monthly 'maintenance' fees. The purchase price was extremely reasonable considering the size of the condo and the monthly fees were good considering all of the amenities.

"I haven't even seen upstairs yet but I'm willing to sign," he said with a grin.

I laughed and stepped forward to hug him. "Me too! This place is incredible!" I enthused.

"Did you see the pond?" he asked.

Pond? I shook my head. Scott laughed and grabbed my hand, pulling me back inside. He walked us around the bottom of the stairs and pointed to the pond with its small waterfall and plants.

"It can be taken out if you want," Sandra spoke from behind us. We both jumped and turned, having forgotten she was there. She grinned. "Do you want to finish the tour or would you like to know more about the place?"

"I'd like to know more," I said. I was afraid that the place was almost too good to be true.

"Okay. The development is about fifteen years old. One of the original developers and owners was a very large man. He wanted to live in the building so, as it was being renovated he selected the space he wanted and had it custom constructed, which explains the large doorways and rooms. He and his lover lived here until earlier this year, when he died of a sudden heart attack. His lover decided he didn't want to live here alone and put the place on the market."

Neither Scott nor I missed the 'he', realizing the previous owners were a gay couple.

"Because it's a purchase not just rent, the owner has the right to refuse offers. He is pretty restrictive about who he wants to own the place." Sandra looked at us seriously. "I'll be honest, I think he really wants to see another gay couple in here so I think there is a very good chance your offer will be accepted."

"What do we have to do?" Scott asked.

"Well if you seriously want the place, I'll call the owner. I think he'd probably like to meet you both, if that's okay?" she asked.

Scott looked at me and shrugged. I knew he was leaving that part up to me.

"Okay," I agreed. "Why don't you do that, while we finish looking around?" Sandra nodded. Scott released my hand with a smile and started for the stairs.

I walked up the two stairs near the front door and along the hall to the kitchen. The kitchen was wonderful. Lots of counter space and cupboards. A counter created a half wall, looking out to the living room. We could put stools there and eat, looking outside. The other side of the counter was a large area for a dining table. I knew it would take a table for twelve easily, maybe larger! I noticed a door along the south wall and peaked around the corner. It was a small library with floor to ceiling shelves. Not very big, but enough for a couple of chairs or a desk. Instead of crossing and exiting the other door that I could see, I walked back through the kitchen and into the hall.

I walked down the other set of two stairs, and looked through the doorway to my left. It was a third bathroom. Even this one had a large shower stall, toilet and sink. Continuing forward, I walked past the stairwell and stopped. Underneath the window in front of me, was a nice size hot tub, probably large enough for six. To my left were double glass doors opening into a room drowning in the last glows of the sunset. Windows covered both the south and east walls. It was a good-sized room, about 12 x 18. I noticed the door, which I assumed led back to the library, but took a quick look to be sure. I looked around the large room again. It was like a solarium. We could use it for a number of things. I left the room and paused to look in the hot tub. It looked new and clean. We could have fun with that! I walked through the doorway under the stairs and back into the living room.

I looked up as I heard Scott walking down the stairs from the second floor. "A hot tub!" I said excitedly.

Scott laughed. "I know!" He was just as excited.

We noticed Sandra standing by the window, smiling at us. "Well, I have good news! I told Peter about the two of you. I hope you don't mind that I gave him your names, but he would have found out anyway. He was pleased that you were interested. I am to tell you, that if you can meet the list price, minus $5,000, the place is yours!"

I couldn't believe it. If he recognized my name, he knew we could pay for it, but he still dropped the price. Scott looked at me and started to grin. I began laughing and pulled Scott into a hug. I kissed his cheek.

"Welcome home, Angel," I whispered.

Scott returned the kiss and the greeting. "Welcome home, Love."

We separated and turned back to Sandra, but didn't release our clasped hands. "We'll take it!" I announced.

Sandra grinned and stepped over to shake our hands. Scott had to let go of my hand for that, but immediately grasped it again when we were done. "Wonderful!" she exclaimed.

She provided information about the owner's lawyer, so our lawyer could contact him. We walked to the door and took one last look around our new home.

"Sandra," I said, before we left. "Would you do us a favor?" I asked.

Sandra nodded. "If I can."

"Well, as you've probably figured out, our relationship isn't common knowledge yet. But it will be, come the New Year. We'd really appreciate it, if you wouldn't tell anyone before that," I said.

Sandra smiled. "You don't need to worry Mr. Littrell. I've had many celebrity clients and know how to keep things secret."

"Thanks," Scott and I said simultaneously.

We went back to the apartment and I opened a bottle of champagne. We talked late into the night about all the things we wanted to do with our new home. When we finally crashed, we slept late into the morning.

The next morning was crazy. We called our families and friends to tell them the news. Then I contacted my lawyer. Scott didn't have a lawyer in the city, but my lawyer suggested one from his firm, which would make things simpler. Tuesday afternoon we went to the lawyers' and started signing papers. Our offer for the condo was accepted, so we had to sign joint ownership forms for that.

My lawyer, Steven, handed Scott's new lawyer, Craig, some other papers. Craig read them over then looked up in surprise. Steven nodded and Craig handed Scott the papers. I watched in anticipation. They were papers I'd asked the lawyer to write up, while we were in Seattle.

"Scott, these papers do a number of things. They give you power of attorney if anything ever were to happen to Brian, and he couldn't make decisions for himself. And they name you executor of his will," Craig explained.

Scott looked at me in shock. "Brian!" he protested.

I smiled and leaned closer, reaching out to stroke his cheek, not caring about the other two men. "Scott, we may not be able to get married legally, but all of these papers will give you nearly the same rights as if we were," I said gently. I thought about the commitment ceremony coming up. It would be basically a marriage ceremony I hoped, and even though Scott didn't know it yet, I wanted the paper work to go with it.

"Okay," Scott acceded. "But I want the same papers drawn up giving Brian the same rights!" he insisted.

Steven smiled, and pulled out another stack of papers. "I'm an optimist," he said with a smile, handing the papers to me.

Scott and I signed the papers giving us joint ownership of the condo, and giving one another power of attorney. Scott decided to go all the way and asked to have a new will written, naming me as his executor and one of his beneficiaries.

The lawyers left to make copies and Scott looked at me.

"Are you angry?" I asked quietly.

Scott shook his head. "No. It just surprised me. And I don't like thinking about anything happening to you. But I'm glad we did it," he added.

I grinned. "Can I suggest one more thing?" He nodded. "What would you think about opening a joint bank account? I mean we can still keep our own accounts, but set up a joint one we use for things at home."

I waited anxiously for his response. "Okay, but..." he paused. "We put in an equal amount of money. We'll use the joint account for day to day expenses and the maintenance fees. I know you have furniture and I have some up in my place that I want to bring down. Anything else we can talk about." Scott picked up my hand. "I'm not trying to be difficult, but I do want to make things as equal as possible. That doesn't mean if you want to buy us a new king size bed, I'm going to say no!" he added with a grin.

I laughed. "Okay. You'll have to tell me if I get carried away Scott."

Scott leaned forward to kiss me. "I will!"

When the lawyers returned they told us we could take possession almost immediately, with a closing date immediately after Christmas. The timing was perfect. I'd hoped we'd be able to take a honeymoon of sorts at the cabin after Christmas, before the interview with Oprah. Once the interview was done we could return here and start to move. We thanked the lawyers and left.

A stop at the bank, and we had our new joint chequing account. We both transferred five thousand into the account initially and set it up to transfer a thousand dollars from our other accounts, if it fell below five thousand. That way we wouldn't have to worry about expenses, and the maintenance fees could be withdrawn automatically.

We spent the rest of Tuesday and all day Wednesday making lists and plans. The condo was in great shape with hardwood floors and nicely decorated rooms, so we didn't have to do any painting. We listed the different pieces of furniture we both had, then listed the things we would like to purchase. The living room would require a lot of furniture so it didn't look too empty. At close to 35' x 24', it was massive. We used the floor plans and decided where existing furniture would go, and where new pieces were needed. We even went through some furniture catalogues we'd been given. We ended up ordering a new king-size bedroom suite, and two complete living room sets, giving us two couches, two loveseats and two large chairs. We even ordered ten side or end tables for different locations throughout the place. We'd decided to use our existing furniture for the two spare bedrooms, the library and sun room, although, Scott was going to sell much of his belongings instead of shipping them here.

Thursday, we spent packing. Howie was going to keep the apartment for a few more months, even though he had basically been living with Melissa for the last two. So we left his belongings, but packed as much of my things as we could.

I managed to sneak away from Scott for a few minutes and call my tailor. He ran an exclusive men's clothing store and I wanted to arrange for a tuxedo for Scott for New Years. I gave him Scott's size and a general idea of what I wanted. I told him we'd be in on the 30^th.

We stopped working late in the afternoon, had some take-out, then showered, changed and grabbed our suitcases for our trip to Kentucky. Being the day before Christmas Eve, the airport was crazy. We arrived early and checked in, then waited for our flight. I could feel my excitement growing, not only about our new home, but also about my plans for the next day. I hadn't had a chance to talk with Mom in a few days, but I knew she would have contacted me somehow if there were any problems.

Our flight was finally called and we boarded the plane. After a short ninety-minute flight we landed in Kentucky. My brother was waiting to drive us to the farm. By the time we got there, it was late and we were exhausted. Scott and I managed to greet Mom and Dad, before excusing ourselves to go up to our bedroom and crash.

To be continued...

Email me at kenitra_canada@hotmail.com