At New York's Kennedy Airport, Matthew, with his modest luggage, emerged from the terminal and immediately powered on his cell phone. After exiting the airport building, he got into a taxi and headed directly to a hotel in Brooklyn.
This was a budget hotel that Matthew had booked in advance while still in Los Angeles. Although he was in town for the premiere of the music video, the record company was covering his accommodation for just the night before the event.
Since he had arrived early, Matthew needed to handle his own accommodations for the additional time.
Upon arriving at the hotel, Matthew smoothly checked in at the front desk and found his room on the second floor. It was a standard single room facing the street, which, when booked in advance, cost only fifty-nine dollars a night. The facilities were somewhat outdated, and the window facing the street occasionally let in various street noises.
Such discount rooms didn't come with high expectations, but it was still a slight upgrade from the apartment Matthew was renting back in Los Angeles.
After settling in, Matthew sat on the chair by the window and checked the time on his phone—it was mid-afternoon.
"Are you at the event?"
He composed a text message and sent it to Britney.
It took about ten minutes for Britney to reply as she was probably busy, "Just taking off my makeup."
Then she sent another message, "I miss you, Matthew."
Matthew replied, "I miss you too, Bubu."
"I really want to see you," Britney seemed to be in a low mood, "Aren't you coming tomorrow?"
Ignoring her question, Matthew asked, "Have you finished the event? Heading back to the hotel after makeup?"
"Yeah, it'll probably take another half-hour before I can leave."
After thinking for a moment, Matthew typed, "I've mailed you a gift. It should arrive at your room at the Waldorf Hotel before 6 PM. Remember to sign for it."
"What gift?"
"A secret!"
They exchanged a few more sweet words, then Matthew put away his phone and spent some time reading newspapers he had bought at the Los Angeles airport. When it was about time, he tidied himself up in front of the bathroom mirror, went downstairs, and hailed a cab.
"To the Waldorf Hotel," he told the driver, who nodded and drove towards Manhattan, but they soon encountered heavy traffic.
Traffic jams were a common occurrence in New York.
Back at the Waldorf Hotel suite, Britney checked the time and decided to take a bath first, as she had sweated a lot during her energetic performance at Times Square.
After the bath, she changed into more comfortable clothes and, barefoot, sat on the sofa to check her phone. Matthew's last message was from two hours ago.
What gift could it be? Britney wondered idly, leaning her chin on her hand. Over the past period, Matthew had arranged for flowers, postcards, beverages, and snacks to be delivered to her.
A sudden knock on the door made Britney jump up and rush to open it, only to find her agent standing there.
"Why is it you?" Her spirits plummeted instantly.
"It's almost 6 PM," her agent said, "Shall we go to dinner?"
Britney shook her head, "I'm not hungry, go ahead without me."
After closing the door, the agent stood confused; Britney had been so upbeat during the ride back, what had changed so suddenly...
Probably just being silly again, the agent mused sarcastically before leaving.
Inside the suite, Britney slumped on the sofa, aimlessly watching the clock on the wall as the minute hand crept towards six o'clock.
She reached for her phone and dialed Matthew's number. The call was cut off after one ring.
"Busy working?"
Britney threw the phone aside and got up, pacing back and forth on the carpet, indistinguishable from a lovesick girl.
"Why hasn't he arrived?" She tugged at her blonde hair, looking impatient.
Knock—knock—
The sound of knocking suddenly came again. Britney, too eager to even put on shoes, ran barefoot to the door and yanked it open.
And then, she froze.
Matthew stood there, asking, "Don't recognize me anymore, Bubu?"
"Matthew!" Britney exclaimed, throwing herself into his arms, "How did you get here! How did you get here!"
"You missed me." Matthew hugged her tightly, "So I came."
He reminded her, "Aren't you going to let me in?"
Britney, arms wrapped around Matthew's neck, legs clamped around his waist, exclaimed, "I want you to carry me."
Matthew carried Britney into the room, kicked the door shut, and they passionately kissed each other.
Having not seen each other for so long, and at an age where hormones ran high, passion quickly overcame everything else. Matthew and Britney made their way into the
bedroom, clothes scattered everywhere...
And then, indescribable sounds filled the room, only subsiding after a long while.
Knock—knock—
The knocking resumed, and an extremely annoyed voice from Britney came, "Who is it? So annoying!"
Dressed in a long nightgown, she staggered from the bedroom, crossed the living room, and angrily asked at the door, "Who is it? What do you want?"
"It's me, Miss Spears," came the assistant's voice from outside. "The agent sent me to remind you to rest early tonight; you have a show early tomorrow."
Britney impatiently responded, "I know, now leave."
After sending the assistant away, she turned around and found Matthew, wrapped in a blanket, already seated on the suite's living room sofa.
"Such a temper?" Matthew asked from the sofa.
"It's your fault," Britney walked over, glaring at him accusingly, "You were too much! You hurt me!"
Quickly, Britney sat beside him, leaned on him, and murmured with an outstretched hand, "Where's my gift?"
Matthew kissed her on the face, "Aren't I your gift?"
Britney didn't respond, seemingly upset.
"Am I not a good enough gift?" Matthew tweaked her ear, "Don't you like it?"
"Not good, not good at all!" Britney said playfully, "Too muscular, too strong, too rough, legs too long, and also..."
She glared at Matthew again but said nothing.
Matthew laughed, lifting Britney onto his lap, "Can I take that as a compliment?"
Britney leaned against him, humming, "Whatever you want."
She shifted to a more comfortable position, then suddenly said, "Matthew, everything I said earlier was nonsense, don't take it seriously."
"I know." Matthew pinched her nose, "You were joking."
He wasn't so naive as to not understand that.
Britney seemed worried Matthew might misunderstand, "Good that you know."
Matthew was somewhat speechless but fully realized that Britney had a very unique way of thinking. She seemed to easily complicate simple things and oversimplify complicated matters.
He reached for Britney's long blonde hair and slid his hand down it. From what he knew, without prolonged experience, Britney would struggle to mature.
Britney wrapped her arms around Matthew's neck, clearly enjoying this intimacy, "I'm so happy you came!"
She grabbed Matthew's hand and held it up to her face, disregarding the calluses, and placed his hand against her smooth cheek, "Matthew, do you know how happy I am right now?"
Matthew gently caressed her cheek, "As happy as I am."
Britney suddenly shouted, "I want the whole world to know how happy I am!"
"Don't!" Matthew shook his head, "Let's not go public for now."
"Why?" Britney looked at him in surprise, pressing, "Why?"
"Going public won't do you any good."
Like he had previously refused Helen Herman, Matthew's career was gradually getting on track; there was no need to publicize such matters. "Bubu, going public won't benefit you at all; it'll only bring you trouble..."
Britney stood up, "But I..."
Matthew also stood, "Let's just let things happen naturally, okay?"
Britney bit her lip, looked at Matthew for a long while, and then nodded, "Okay."
Before Matthew could speak, she seriously added, "But there's one condition!"
"Go ahead," Matthew played the part of the resigned man, "As long as you don't sell me to the paparazzi."
"Don't leave, okay?" Britney pleaded, "Stay with me tonight."
Matthew couldn't possibly refuse such a request, "Okay. But I have one condition too."
Britney quickly urged, "Say it, say it, hurry up and say it."
Matthew rubbed his stomach, "I'm hungry; you have to treat me to dinner."
They didn't even leave the room, ordering dinner by phone and eating together. Afterwards, they sat on the balcony, enjoying the Manhattan night view until nearly five in the morning, when Matthew quietly left Britney's room and exited the Waldorf Hotel.
The next day, Britney continued her promotional activities in New York, while Matthew toured Manhattan, visiting Wall Street, Times Square, Central Park, and even the Empire State Building for the first time.
As for the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, Matthew kept his distance, as anyone who knew a bit about current events was aware of 9/11.
Before sunset, he picked up his luggage from the hotel and met up with Helen Herman, who had arrived in New York. Together, they checked into the room prepared by the record company at the Waldorf Hotel and attended a small briefing session where the organizers explained the details of the next day's activities.
The event itself was straightforward and centered around Brit
ney, with Matthew, the so-called male lead of the MV, understanding his role as essentially a decorative presence.
The next morning at ten o'clock, the premiere of the music video officially commenced at the media center of the Waldorf Hotel.