It was meant to be uncomplicated, passion without love.
But when someone else offers you romance and love without passion theres decisions to be made, and maybe a little fun to be had along the way.
The sound of the snooze on my alarm brought me back to the present, leaving the memory of those first encounters with Niall in the soft cotton sheets and his lingering scent on my bed.
I took a deep breath and slowly stood, feeling the weight of Niall's watch slip down my arm as I lifted them to the ceiling, stretching out my weary muscles, we weren't even halfway through the American leg of the tour yet and I could already feel the effects. I really needed to control myself and actually get some sleep now and again.
I did a couple of star jumps, jogging on the spot, shaking my limbs out to get the blood flowing, show days were all ways insanely busy and full on and I needed to get started, but I took a moment as I tried to every morning to stand at the window of my hotel room, and look down at the city. Whichever window it was, and whichever city it was.
I take a moment to watch the people below, business people in suits rushing off to start their daily grind, heads down filled with thoughts, I'd watch the couples strolling hand in hand exploring the city and their love, I'd watch the parents hurrying their children now late for the school run, I'd just take a snapshot of the moment and try to appreciate where I was and how lucky I was to be travelling the world again, doing something that I loved before the day had a chance to step in and the madness started. It was all to easy to get swept up in the stress of it all and I loved having these moments to hold on to, to ground me.
Less than 30 minutes later I'd had to tear myself from the window but I'd quickly got ready, pulled my hair back into a pony and thrown on some jeans and a T-shirt , comfort being key on show days, grabbed a coffee from the hotel bar and I was on my way to the venue.
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On the rare occasion that I was in a new city or I was visiting one I hadn't been to for years, and I wasn't travelling with one of the boys I always allowed a little extra time in my schedule so that I could walk to the venue. It gave me a chance to quietly reflect on my tasks for the day, it would be the last moment of quiet of my day and meant when we jumped in the bus early tomorrow to head to the next city at least I'd have seen a few of the sights and sounds of where we were.
Thankfully the walk from the Omni William Penn hotel in downtown Pittsburg was only about a 30 minute walk to Heinz Field Stadium and I enjoyed the stroll through the streets, pausing to take some pictures by river while I finished my coffee, and was thankful as the quiet was gone the second I arrived.
***
I'd spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon ensuring everything was ready for the show, I was basically a firefighter at this point, working with every department, every crew member and the venue anytime there was any unexpected issue or question that would crop up.
The tour was intricately planned out down to every fine detail, what each of the boys would be wearing, their hair, what they would be eating, where they would be standing, obviously the arrangement and set list and configuration of the music and previous tours had meant planning even down to the jokes and silly games they would play.
