Chapter 16

AJ and Rachel had left "The Mix" in AJ's car about an hour or so after the two had met up. Rachel had left the keys to her convertible with Lauren, and she hoped they would be able to find their way home.
Rachel leaned against the door of her apartment as AJ kissed her passionately. Their breathing was heavy and Rachel could feel her body heating up. She reached for the door knob, and slowly turned it, letting them into the apartment.
They walked together, lips not parting, Rachel walking backwards, and AJ watching forwards, in sync with her steps. Rachel, finding it hard to walk, broke away from his embrace and pulled him into the kitchen. They walked over to the fridge together and AJ began kissing her again, but this time on the back of her neck.
"Are you hungry?" she asked, giggling as his lips tickeled the hairs on her neck.
"For you"
Rachel grabbed a bowl of strawberries from the top shelf of the refrigerator, as AJ lifted her onto the counter. They began kissing again, but Rachel suddenly pulled away.
"What's wrong" AJ asked, his lips still hovering over hers.
"I just thought, we left Mary at home before we left. What if she is in the guestroom"
"We won't be loud"
"AJ!" she whispered, and pushed weakly at his chest, "I better go check if she's asleep"
Rachel hopped off the counter and headed toward the guest room, leaving AJ waiting impatiently for her to come back. She opened the door softly, and was surprised to find the bed made, and untouched."Where could she be?" She walked to the bottom of the winding staircase and called up it "Mary?...Are you up there?" When no answer came she returned to the kitchen where AJ was seated at the table popping some strawberries in his mouth.
"Mary's not here"
"So maybe she went out. She was probably bored ya know?"
"Well when we left her she was all depressed and in her pajamas. I don't know where she would have gone at this time of night."
"Well I'm sure she's fine. She's what? Almost 22?"
"Yeah I know, but I can't help but worry. What if she's at some bar drinking her brains out?"
"Don't worry about it Rachel."
"I'll try not to"
"Now where were we?" he said, standing up and putting a strawberry into her mouth. He kissed her lips again. They slid down the wall, and Rachel en-twined her legs with his. About 5 mins passed, and they were getting quite into eachother, when they heard the front door open. It didn't quite register in their heads what was going on, but when they began to hear two familiar voices, they jumped up from their spot on the floor, and tried to compose themselves, just as Howie and Mary made their way into the kitchen. Both couples were surprised to see the other and were silent for a minute.
"Hey D, uh what are you doin at Rachel's?" AJ asked Howie.
"I was just going to ask the same of you"
AJ didn't want to actually say why they really had come back to the apartment, so he made something up from the top of his head."Well we met up at the club, and we decided to go back to my place, but when we found out that there was no food, we came back her to get.......some. Some meaning strawberries that is" AJ stuttered, and quickly picked up the bowl of fruit behind him, to serve as a visual aide. Mary and Howie, accepted this story, though just barely. "Well we got a movie, did you guys want to stay and watch?"
"Naw, we got what we needed, I think we'll head back to my place"
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, but thanks anyways" Rachel said calmly. She could tell they knew something had been going on before they got there. Mary kept eyeing Rachel's disorderly shirt, and AJ's loose belt.
"So yeah, let's get going huh?" AJ said quickly, before they had the time to ask anymore questions.
"Bye guys have fun tonight!" Mary called after them.
"Hey AJ" Howie yelled down the hall where they were looking for a free elevator.
"Yeah?"
"Your zipper's undone"
AJ's face went beat read and he adjusted himself promptly.

While AJ and Rachel were on their way to his place, Kevin and Lauren were on their way to a restaurant.
"Are you sure this place will be open now?"
"Yeah, Tony's doesn't close until the last customer has left"
"What if the last customer already left?"
"Don't worry, I called in advance. They won't be closing for a while"
Lauren didn't know what to say so she looked out her window. "He kept the restaurant open just for us?" she thought to herself "How sweet."
"So do you like Italian food?" he asked, hoping she wasn't still uncomfortable in his presence. They were now sitting at a table for two in the restaurant waiting for their food to be served.
"I'm more of an Asian cuisine type of girl, but I could definitely go for some Italian right now"
"You like Asian too? Not many people I know like that type of food. Except for Howie, but he likes anything that's Oriental."
"What's your favorite dish?"
"Hmmm" Kevin thought carefully about this for a moment, biting his bottom lip as different meals flashed through his head. "I'm definitely a fan of anything Thai. Probably my two favorite would have to be Thai Shrimp and Sesame Noodles or Thai Meatballs and Noodles. How bout you"
"Umm my favorite is Vermicalli with Pork, minus the pork, cuz I'm vegetarian"
"So basically just Vermicalli then."
"No it has to have the pork. It adds flavor. But I have them remove the meat before they serve it"
"What a demanding woman you are"
"Yeah well my career requires demands"
"Really? I'd like to know how your job is more demanding than mine" he played.
"Well.....on top of being a professional model for Versaci as well as an occasional touch of Gucci, I, at only 22 years of age, run my very own interior decorating business. This means everyday I get up at 5:00, go down to the office in LA to see what new projects are coming up, fly back to New York where my agent at Versacci is based and then work from there. I normally put in a 60 hour work week. Well at least I did. Now I've got 5 personal assistants aswell as a PR advisor, and a personal masseuse. And I finally got my hands on an up-graded lap-top, which means I normally don't have to go into my office in LA. I just check my stuff from where ever I am. So actually come to think of it, my life has slowed down a little in the past few months. But I'm planning on going back to LA tomorrow morning before anything goes wrong and I'm trapped in a load of work"
Kevin's heart sunk when he heard her say this. Just as he thought he had her where he wanted her, she was leaving. But he didn't want his frustration to show, so he continued with the conversation happily. "Wow. You really do have a busy schedule"
"Yeah, but I love my work, especially with Versacci"
Kevin's eyes filled with awe. "I did some modeling for Versacci once. I loved it. I think if I weren't doing what I was doing right now, I'd definitely want to be in the field of modeling"
"Well you certainly have the figure" Lauren commented, but blushed when she saw the smile on Kevin's lips.
"Ya think?"
"Well when you have millions of screaming fans after you, I kind of got the idea that's what they were screaming about" Lauren said, cleverly flipping the comment around.
"Eh, I'm not bad" Kevin said, playfully flexing his bulging bicep at her. They finished eating their dinner and after for talking a little bit longer Kevin suggested they dance. A pianist, Kevin had ordered Lauren presumed, was playing a soft song, and there was a little hard wooden floor, just meant for dancing on, in the middle of the restaurant. Kevin lead her out to it, and they locked hands, Kevin's free hand resting on the side of her waist, and Lauren's other hand resting on his broad shoulder. He looked into her eyes, trying to read her thoughts, but she looked away quickly when she noticed his gaze.
"Why are you so shy around me?" he asked, smiling.
"I'm not"
"Yeah you are. You can't even look at me"
"Of course I can"
"Then look at me"
Lauren looked up at him just above his eyebrows."See"
"No, I mean look at ME"
When she wouldn't look up Kevin stopped dancing and guided her chin up with his hand, so that they were looking directly into eachother's eyes. Kevin knew it was now or never, so before she good break the embrace, he let a kiss fall on the lips he had waited so long to touch.
Lauren's mind was spinning as his hands found the small of her back and he pressed her closer against him. The kiss seemed to last forever, not that Lauren really minded it, but she was wondering if he was ever going to let her go. He did about 30 seconds later. His lips rounded into a smile and he basked in his victory.
"It's getting late Kevin. I think we should go"
"Yeah, I guess" They started walking towards the exit but Kevin pulled her back. "You don't mind that I kissed you, do you?"
"Of course not. It was a beautiful way to end our evening. But I'm so tired from dancing tonight. God knows I wouldn't want to faint from exhaustion. Then you'd have to take care of me, like you did last week"
"I enjoyed that actually. You look so beautiful when you're sleeping"
"You watched me sleep?"
"Just for a little while. You were restless when I first put you to bed, and I wanted to make sure you had a good sleep."
Lauren's heart melted as he said this. She couldn't resist her desires and pulled him in for another spine tingling kiss.
"Don't leave tomorrow" he said, as there lips parted.
"I have to"
"No you don't. You said you can bring your work wherever you go."
"But I really should be in the office" she said, cursing the fact that she had to work.
"Just stay until touring starts. There are so many things that we haven't discovered about eachother."
"I don't know"
"Will this help?" He kissed her again, and in that instant, Lauren knew she would be hooking on the extra week to her already extended vacation.


Brian and Katie still hadn't left the club yet, but were now outside in the courtyard talking. Kevin and Lauren had left hours ago in Rachel's convertible, after Shannon had wanted to go home early to sleep, and had taken Kevin's truck.
Brian was tugging on his blue silk shirt, trying to think of what say next. They had gotten a really good conversation going, but were not faced with one of those "awkward pauses."
"So Katie" Brian started, scratching his dirty blond hair, "What do you do for a living?"
"Well right now, I'm putting myself through college by working at a restaurant called "Pomadoro" I waitress there every night from 4-12. The tips are good, and the checks pay the bills, so I'm not complaining. But I'm hoping to go into the field of teaching. Preferably kindergarten. I love little kids"
"Me too. I hope to have some little Brian's running around someday. Maybe you could help me out with that dream"
Katie eyes got big. "I can't belive he just said that!" she thought to herself.
Brian kept a straight face, but burst out laughing, when he couldn't contain his laughter anymore."I'm only kidding Katie"
"Well it isn't funny" she said, all of sudden very serious.
"I'm sorry, if I offended you. My humor sometimes does that to people"
"Yeah well it offended me. Especially since..."
"Since what?" Brian asked suspiciously.
"Since........ I'm pregnant. Congratulations Brian, you're going to be a daddy" she cried patting her stomach. "Pay up honey, cuz child support ain't gonna be cheap" she added, with a southern slur.
A look of remorse washed over Brian's face. He sat there, dumbfounded, and didn't know what to say.
Now it was Katie's turn to laugh. "Ohhh Brian, you're so damn gullable"
"Whew" he said laughing, and pretended to wipe sweat from his brow. "You really had me there for a minute"
They laughed a little bit longer and then stopped again. Although Katie and Brian were having a good time talking, something was still nagging him in the back of his mind, and he knew what it was. He folded his hands and leaned forward. "Look Katie. Although I said that we should just put the past behind us, I really think we should at least address what happened."
Katie knew he was right, so she nodded, and let him continue.
"First I want to say that I have never done that before"
Katie's eyes got wide again, and she put her hand over her mouth."You mean I was your first?"
"No no," Brian said, shaking his head and laughing."I meant, I have never, done that sort of thing...get drunk and slept with someone I don't know"
"Oh. Well neither have I"
"And I think we both know it was a big mistake. But there is nothing we can do about it now. I apologize for being so....irresponsible, and I hope you will accept my apology"
"Well I do and I also apologize for being such an idiot" Katie looked at her watch. It read 3:00 am. "Wow, well Brian, I really have to go, I have to catch a flight in 9 hours, and I have to get some sleep in"
"I wish we didn't have to part on such bad terms. I really like you. And I just want you to know that if I could have made things different I would" As Brian said this he looked at her very closely. He had never realized how pretty she was. Her blond hair fell lightly on her shoulders, and her brown eyes sparkled, although they were trying desperately to avoid his. The dim moonlight accented her curvy figure and her creamy complexion glowed. "Well, I'm just glad we got it out in the open. No hard feelings. I'll just make sure I'm not so stupid when I drink from now on."
"So in other words, you regret what happened?"
Katie considered this. "I never regret anything I do"
"Oh really?"
"Really"
"Would you regret this?" Brian leaned in and kissed her softly. When she didn't pull away he wrapped his arms around her waist and held her tighter.
"Brian, we shouldn't do this" Katie finally said pulling away.
"Why not?"
"Because look at us. We don't even know eachother. You're this amazing singing celebrity and everybody and their mother know yours name. You don't even know my last name."
"Yes I do"
"What is it?"
Brian laughed and looked down "Ok so I don't know it, but you could tell me"
"Just, I think it would be better if we didn't see eachother like this"
"I just don't understand. I thought you liked me to, but I guess I was wrong"
"I do like you Brian"
"So then what's the problem?"
"I just don't know you. I'm leaving this morning to go home all the way to Northern Canada. That's thousands of miles away from here. And besides, how do I know that you don't do this often. Just pick up any girl from a party or club"
"But I didn't pick you up. You came to me. You came to me because of another girl. Now how ironic is that? You were in the right place at the right time. I don't think it was just a coincidence. Please stay a few more days. Please give you and me a chance"
"Brian there is no us. I'm sorry, the whole thing was just a big mistake. I'm sorry"
"At least let me drive you home"
"No I think it's better if I take a cab. But thanks. Goodbye Brian" Katie walked out of the courtyard and over to a payphone nearby. She didn't want to leave Brian there, wondering what he had done wrong. But she just didn't think it would work out. She knew people who had long distance relationships, and they just didn't last. And Brian already had a really busy schedule. It just wouldn't work out.
Back in the courtyard, Brian stood for a minute, and wondered what he had done wrong. When nothing came to him, he slid his hands in his pockets, and walked over to the end of the garden area that overlooked the ocean. He kicked the stones on the path as he walked. He hated it when he couldn't understand a situation. And this one had him stumped. Moments ago, Katie had been wrapped in his embrace returning his unexpected kisses, and the next minute she was on her way home. He couldn't just let her leave. Or should he? Why did he have such a fascination with this woman anyways? Why didn't he just let her go on her way, and forget about him? Because simply he wasn't like that. He had to find a way to see her again, and soon.


The next morning Nick stretched and climbed out of his king sized bed. He loved having his own house. After living with so many siblings, it was nice to have some of his own personal space. He walked into his bathroom and rubbed his eyes with his fists. He ran his fingers through his thick blond hair and turned on the shower. "What to do today?" he thought to himself. Maybe he would go to the beach and surf, or scuba dive. He definitely wanted some alone time, after his hectic night. The phone rang just as he was stepping into the shower. He had a feeling he knew who it was, and normally he would run and grab the telephone, but he decided not to this time. "It can wait Korrie, it can wait" He yawned as he stood in the shower and let the water refresh him. On a hot day like today he loved to take cold showers, the ones that sent goosebumps all over your skin. When he had finished washing, he dried himself off and slipped on some baggy red basketball shorts and a big white t-shirt, his favorite attire. He pulled his hair back into a little pony tail on top of his head, something he did often when he planned on doing anything athletic. He grabbed his basketball and was about to head out to the courts, when the phone rang."Damnit Korrie. Fuckin leave me alone for two seconds!" He swiped up the cordless and pressed the talk button. "What?" he shouted.
There was silence for a minute and then Brian's voice came on."Uh hey Nick, is everything ok?"
"Oh, sorry B-Rok, I thought you were someone else"
"Yeah, I guess so. Well I was wondering if you wanted to play some b-ball today, before that group meeting at Jive. Sound like a good idea."
"Shit, I forgot all about that. But yeah, that's what I'm just about to go and do"
"Well hold up, I'll be over in ten minutes"
"Whateva" They hung up the phone and Nick plunked down on his sofa to wait for Brian. He reached for the remote and flicked on the tv. He kept it on the golf channel, and watched as a guy he'd never seen before shot a hole in one. The phone rang again, and this time he didn't pick it up with so much rage."This is Nick"
"Hey baby, what are you doing right now. Thinking of me I hope."
He cringed as Korrie babbled on.
"Naw I'm watching a golf tournament right now."
"You're such a sports freak, you should focus on something more educational, like politics"
"K" he mumbled, immediately dismissing what she had just said.
"So when are you going to be here to pick me up?"
"Huh?"
"We had plans to go shopping at the mall today remember?"
"Well I remember you making the plans, but I don't remember agreeing to them"
"Excuse me? Who do you think you are? I don't care if you ARE a Backstreet Boy, noone treats me like that!"Korrie huffed.
"Sorry" he said dryly.
"When you get your priorities straight, you call me! For today we're through" And with that, Korrie slammed down the phone.
"How about we're through for forever?" he thought outloud. He gave a big sigh, and laid his head back against the couch.
"Are you sure you're alright buddy?"
Nick was startled, and nearly jumped out of his seat. He was relieved to see it was Brian standing in his basketball clothes holding a waterbottle.
"I showed myself in. Didn't mean to scare you"
"Don't worry bout it. Come on let's go" Nick said, picking the basket ball up off the floor. They headed down the hallway and out the kitchen door into the hot sun, and on to the asphalt court. Chapter 17
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A Story is a Wish your Heart Makes