Once You've Tasted Love

Chapter 63

*A few weeks later*

Gary and I woke up to the sound of my phone ringing. We both groaned in unison as we didn't get much sleep last night, which was down to two reasons.
First one, Gary and the others had a gig at the O2 last night so we did get home late and second one, Gary and his ego couldn't do without a bit of cherishing.

I stretched my arm out and answered the call without looking at who it was "Barlow?" 

"Morning! Oh I'm sooo excited for this evening! You looking forward?" Anna squealed through the phone which made me pull the phone away from my ear. 

I took a deep breath whilst Gary pulled the pillow over his head trying to get more sleep, before answering "Anna calm down...You've woken us up..." 

"It's 9 o'clock!" 

"Yeah and considering the fact that you are in such high spirits I suppose you got some sleep last night?" 

"Oh...yeah, actually Holly did sleep through." 

"Wonderful. And it is very nice to hear that you are excited for today, I am too and I'm really looking forward to seeing you again, but in contrary to you I fell asleep at about 2 in the morning and would really appreciate at least one more hour of sleep." 

"Sure! See ya later!" And with that the line went dead. 

I plunged the phone back onto the nightstand and turned to Gary "We still have an hour. Good night." 

Gary mumbled "Love you."

A few hours later we got back to the arena. Gary had his own dressing room which was really nice. Gary and I were just chilling on the sofa when I suddenly felt hungry "Gary I'm a bit hungry..." 

He looked at me and smiled "Now that you mention it, I am too. Wanna head over to catering?" 

I nodded and was pulled up to my feet by Gary in a flash. We headed down the hall towards catering and sat down at the table with a few other people of the crew.
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Just as we were finished Jonathan came in "Gary, Clara, your guests have arrived." 

Gary nodded "Cheers mate, we're coming."

We headed back and Anna and Louise were already standing outside Gary's dressing room. They had big smiles covering their faces.

I smiled "You two look excited..." 

"Oh we are Clara." 

We all hugged each other and then Gary let us all inside.

"Ladies you can leave your bags here, if you want" Gary said to the other two.

They nodded and put them down. 

"So what's the plan then Gaz?" I asked seriously. 

He shrugged "We are quite early today, the other lads haven't arrived yet, sound check starts in about an hour. If you want to we can take a little tour through the arena. Later you two girls can meet the lads, attend sound check and enjoy the show with Clara. The only thing you won't get to see is the ice bath just to be clear." 

Both Louise and Anna nodded and I chuckled "Oh come on, the ice bath is the funniest thing!" 

Gary raised his eyebrow and strolled towards me poking me in the ribs "Normally we wouldn't even allow you to watch so consider yourself lucky." 

We all shared a laugh before getting outside again. Both Anna and Louise were really excited to see the backstage area. For me it wasn't that exciting anymore, but it was amusing to see them being so excited though. Gary showed them everything and allowed them to eat something later on in the catering.

When we came to the arena itself the faces on Louise and Anna were hilarious. Their jaws dropped as they entered the empty hall and saw the stage. I chuckled to myself and took Gary’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

As we got back to the corridor of the dressing rooms Gary stopped in his tracks and I could hear voices and laughter coming from Howards dressing room.

Gary knocked and then opened the door, gesturing for us to follow him.

Mark turned around and smiled immediately "Oh hi Gary, Clara. And I see we have some company?" 

He strolled towards Anna and Louise and hugged them "Nice to see you both again." 

Howard and Jason followed suit and I could have imagined it, but especially Jason seemed very delighted to see Louise again. 

I turned to Gary and whispered "What do you think of Jay and Lou?" 

I was met with a chuckle "They do seem to like each other. Noticed it at our wedding too. But she has to be cautious, he isn't really the type for serious stuff." 

I nodded "Thanks, I'll talk to her.“

We continued to chat until a knock at the door interrupted us. 

"Come in!" Howard yelled. 

The door opened "We're ready for soundcheck." 

We all got up and while the boys headed towards the stage, I took the girls into the audience. 

"Clara this is crazy!" Louise commented and Anna added "And you get to see this every day! You lucky one!" 

I blushed and looked towards Gary just in time to see him winking at me which made me blush even more. "I know. It is crazy. But what can I say girls? I'm in love with my prince charming, who just happens to be a popstar. But I'd love him even if he was a garbage man." 

I stood in between Anna and Louise and we had our arms around each other and swayed to the music. As Gary started to sing I suddenly felt something kick into my belly. My hands instantly grabbed my bump and there it was again.

Anna and Louise both looked at me in shock at my sudden movement but as I realised what had happened a huge grin crept over my face. 

"Everything alright?" 

"Yeah...I just...I just felt the baby for the first time." 

Both of them smiled at me "Aww..."

When we met the boys again backstage Gary walked straight over, to me a concerned look on his face "Oh god, Clara, what happened? I just saw you holding your bump and I...I...thought the worst." 

I laughed "Gary calm down...It was something wonderful! The minute you started singing I felt the baby for the first time." 

Gary's lips curled into a smile "Really?" 

I nodded and he put his hands onto my bump, as if he wanted to feel it too. 

"Gary you can't feel it. You'll have to have a bit more patience. I can only feel it on the inside at the moment." 

He pouted at me "At least he recognizes his fathers voice and obviously likes it already." 

I laughed "Arrogant bastard...What if he recognized it but didn't like your singing voice?" 

"Oi, you cheeky bitch, wait till we get home later!" We laughed and kissed each other.