Behind the Sound
I was in the bathtub when I received the call that we would be replacing the Bellas, which was not surprising after their ridiculous failure on live television. Ever since becoming the leader of Das Sound Machine I keep my phone on me at all times, yes even in the bath, it comes in handy. The moment I heard we would be heading to America I pulled myself out of the tub, wrapped myself in the towel and hurried into the bedroom where Pieter was laying. He hadn't moved since I got in the bath, he was still lying down and scrolling on his laptop.
"Pieter," I called excitedly.
My excitement apparently was not enough to have him shut the laptop, but at least he looked over the lid.
"Yes?" He smirked, raising an eye brow.
"We are going to the United States of America," I raised my arms for emphasis. The brisk movement caused my towel to fall. I am not sure if it was the news or my suddenly naked bosom that caused him to shut his computer.
"That is epic," he smiled, standing to his feet and wrapping his strong arms around my thin, taught body.
"I must call the others," I said, reaching down to collect my towel.
"I'm sure they can wait..." Pieter whispered, kissing my jaw.
"But Pieter," I blushed.
"Shh," he said as he pulled me in and kissed me.
Yep, it most definitely was my towel falling down that caused him to shut his laptop.
This was it; we were all here at the airport. We dedicated two solid weeks to rehearse before flying out. It was late and cold but we were all pumped and ready to go. Our gate number was called and we gathered our carry-on luggage and headed for the plane.
Das Sound Machine took up quite a bit of space in economy, but the others didn't complain. In fact, we were even able to use this time for a bit more practice. We had a few new people this year that we needed to break in especially.
"DSM," I shouted as we stepped off the plane and into America.
"DSM!" The others chanted.
We gathered our bags and headed for the bus that was waiting for us. Pieter drove while the rest of us caught up on some sleep. The hotel wasn't too far away but we were all tired from the early flight. Thank god we had a day to relax before our concert.
Bidding goodnight to the others, Pieter and I carry our bags into our room.
"This is so exciting Pieter," I gasped as I threw my arms around him.
"We are in America," he finished my sentence and placed a kiss on my lips.
"This group wouldn't have made it here without us," I smile at him.
He smirked back; we both knew I was right. Das Sound Machine was nothing without Pieter and Kommissar.
"We absolutely killed out there," I jumped excitedly back stage.
"And that exchanging of words was so good," Pieter placed his hands on my waist.
"You're so witty," I scrunched up my nose and smiled.
"And so are you." He kissed me softly and pulled me close into him.
"So do we continue back to our hotel?" I whispered, running my tongue along his bottom lip.
"Oh das," Pieter smirked as his tongue met mine.
"What are you waiting for then?" I teased.
"Kommissar!" A strange voice said.
Turning to face the voice I was met by many flashing lights and hard to see faces. There were many voices shouting my name, microphones were being pushed in my direction.
"How does it feel to be in America finally?" Another voice called.
I did my best to answer, shielding my eyes from the flashing bright and unexpected lights.
I felt Pieter's strong grip on my arm as he pulled me back, away from the small but pushy group of paparazzi.
"People are crazy," I exclaimed, rubbing my eyes.
"Who knew so many people cared for Acapella," Pieter teased, placing a firm hand on my butt.
At the hotel we lay side by side in bed, his arm around me and his laptop open between us.
"I still cannot believe they have registered for the Worlds." I sighed, resting my head against his strong chest.
"It is quite funny really; they will bomb in front of even more people." Pieter joked.
"It is sad though, how can one group fail so many times."
"They're American, the spotlight is on them so they fail more...they cannot handle the pressure," Pieter smiled down at me and drew me closer to him.
"I think we should celebrate with the group." I suggested.
Pieter and I invited the rest of the group to our large room. We jumped, sang, ate and drank. The night ended pretty much how it began, Pieter and me cuddled up together. Only with many more people passed out on the floor.
We had been in America for a few days when the concierge brought in a stainless steel trolley with a platter on top. I was in the shower at the time, so Pieter accepted it. As he stepped into the bathroom I heard him say something about a letter.
"What does it say?" I called out, poking my head out of the shower and smiling at him.
"It's quite fancy," Pieter commented before opening it. As he opened the envelope a tune began to play.
"It's an invitation, with only a password and address."
"Perhaps we should check it out," I smile and open the shower curtain, inviting him in.
My Pieter never had to be asked twice, his shirt and pants were off before I could blink, next thing I knew he was stood in front of me and my back was against the cold, tiled wall.
Finally our time to leave America had come. We would travel to Copenhagen to compete on the World Championships. As fun and exciting as America was, I was looking forward to winning the World Championship title again. Pieter and I were the first on the plane and the last off. We were the ones to ensure all our luggage was answered for. Frankly I did not trust any of the others to keep my bags safe.
Copenhagen was wet when we arrived but nothing that I'm not use to. We got to the grounds early to scope out the stage and set up our dressing rooms. We practiced for a bit before the other teams arrived, then after the audience got settled we sat in the back and awaited our turn. Pieter and I took turns rubbing each other's back until we were five minutes away from going on stage.
And then our names were called.
"DSM! DSM!" The crowd chanted as our group spilled out onto the stage.
"Oh Pieter I cannot believe we lost to the Americans," I sighed on the drive home from the airport when it was just he and I.
"It was a fair competition; I had never seen someone sing like that." He shrugged, keeping his eyes on the road.
"I know, it's just odd not having the trophy with me."
We pull up in our drive way, and as we gather our bags and walk to the front door Pieter stops me.
"Now, I was going to do this after winning the finals...but seeing as that didn't happen," he smiles.
Before I could factor what was happening he drops to one knee, grabs my hand gently and slides a beautiful diamond ring onto my finger.
"Will you marry me?" He asks, looking up at me and biting his bottom lip.
"Oh Pieter!" I cry, "of course I will marry you."
He stands up so I can wrap my arms around him, his strong arms encircling my waist and pulling me into him.
"Ich liebe dich," he whispers into my ear.
"Ich liebe dich auch." I smile back, kissing his lips.