Chapter 6: Genie In A Bottle
"God dammit Kaylee, get the fuck out of here before I have
security throw you out!" I yelled.
"Are you getting in my way of a story?" She threatened.
"What kind of journalist are you?"
"One that cares about other people," I muttered. I
turned around and stormed off. I couldn't handle this. Just
forget the whole thing. Forget Nick, forget Kaylee. I walked back
down the corridor and out of the double doors. I was determined
to just got home and forget the night ever happened.
"Taxi!" I yelled.
"Don't call a taxi," I heard a voice say from behind
me. I turned around to see Nick. I didn't know what to say to
him.
"I'm sorry for yelling at you. I talked with Phil. He told
me it was Kaylee's story and her plan," he said quietly,
looking at the ground, then back at my eyes.
"Nick -" I started. He put his finger up to my mouth.
"Brian's going to be okay. He has to stay the night here. I
want to come with you back to your car. It's across town. I don't
want you going by yourself," he offered. "Don't say
no."
"I guess I don't have a choice then," I said with a
smile.
~TEN MINUTES LATER~
A taxi had arrived. We hoped in. As we headed back up town we
discussed Kaylee and the newspaper.
"Why does she hate you so much?" He asked.
"Well, it's kind of a long story. We used to be
friends," I said with a slight laugh.
"Well, I've got all the time in the world," he said,
putting his arm around me and pulling me close.
"Ehem, we'll have to get to that another time..." I
started quietly.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know..." He began.
"No, it's okay. I'll tell you sometime. Well that is if you
stick around," I teased as we pulled up to the place where
my car was parked. Nick tipped the driver as we exited the car.
"Do you have a place to stay?" I asked. "Cause I
have a couch," I offered with a hopeful tone.
"Well I do, and I know it's late, but I'd like to chat with
you some more if you don't mind," he shyly asked.
"Get in Carter," I said smirking as I hit the disarm
and unlock button on my keyring.
~AT THE SAME TIME~
"Man, just wait until every teen bopper sees this in
tomorrow's newspaper. They have a concert and then Brian goes out
and gets hammered and passes out! Oooo I can't wait!" Kaylee
said, practically getting an orgasm as she watched her quickly
typed story being prepared to be sent to the printing press.
~TWENTY MINUTES LATER~
I opened the door to my apartment and punched in the code to my
alarm. Shania and Mutt greeted me at the door as they stared up
at Nick inquisitively. They immediately began smelling his shoes
and pants and looking at me with questions.
"Well, these are my animals, and this is where I live,"
I said, staring at the clock. It was almost four in the morning.
"Let me ring A.J.'s cell to tell him where I'm at, I'll just
be a second, do you mind?" He asked, pointing towards the
phone that was sitting on the desk in the entry way. I shook my
head.
I walked into my bedroom. I peered into the living room, Nick was
still on the phone. I proceeded to my closet and pulled out a
nightshirt. I unbuttoned my shirt and tossed it on the bed.
"Kate, I, uh - oh sorry," he said as he ducked back
into the other room. I quickly put the shirt on and took off the
remainders of my clothes.
"It's okay, what's up?" I asked, searching through the
lining closet for a blanket and pillow.
"A.J. talked to our tour manager tonight. We can go wherever
we want since we don't have a week until our last concert at
home. So, I was wondering if you want to go out to dinner
tomorrow night? Or should I say tonight," he nervously said,
putting his hands in and out of his back pockets. His eyes traced
my body carefully as I wore my beat up college t-shirt that hung
down about mid-thigh.
"I'd love to," I said, socking him in the chest with a
pillow.
"Looks like you're camping out here," I concluded.
"It does, doesn't it," he said, reaching over to take
the blankets out of my arms. His hand brushed my breast softly. I
gasped slightly. The feeling was amazing. It sent chills up my
spine and vibrations through my heart. I knew he felt
uncomfortable by the accident so I signaled him to follow me back
out to the living room.
"Right down there is the bathroom. Of course that's the
kitchen, help yourself, IF there's anything in there," I
pointed around the room.
"Well I think I will use your bathroom," he said,
slightly smiling and heading back towards my room. I sat down at
the desk in the living room and turned on the computer. I placed
my glasses over my eyes and read some of my E-mail.
I searched through my box to find nothing important. I opened up
a few and read them, but I was far too tired to respond.
"Whattcha readin'?" He asked from behind me. I turned
around.
He was wearing a tight white wife beater and a pair of white
boxer shorts. The wife beater revealed every inch of his body.
His muscles were shaped perfectly as I studied the band around
his upper right arm. The boxer shorts were loose, only revealing
his tanned and well built legs. His smile bent up into the right
corner of his mouth as he saw my eyes widen as I studied his
body. I couldn't move. I gulped hard and turned around to finish
reading my mail.
"Umm
I closed my eyes and saw him touching me. What was I thinking? I
stood up abruptly and switched off the computer screen.
"Do you want something to eat or drink?" I offered,
walking into the kitchen.
"A glass of water will be fine, thanks," he said,
following me in there. My feet tapped against the cold kitchen
floor.
I took a glass out of the cabinet above the counter top. I turned
around to find him right behind me. His body smelled good and he
looked so sweet. We stared at each other for a moment. I was
almost pinned against the counter top. He leaned in closer. I
closed my eyes. I needed his lips against mine.
"MEEEEOOOOOOWWWW!!!!" Shania yelled as she jumped up on
the counter next to me.
"Oh sweetie, I'm sorry, are you hungry? Mommy didn't feed
you today," I said, taking my cat into my arms. Nick backed
off with a giggle.
"What? Maine coon cats talk a lot!" I said in a high
pitched voice.
"Here, feed kitty," I said, handing him Shania and
pointing to wear her food was.
"Man, my dogs are as big as your cat!" He exclaimed,
studying her fur as he set her down on the ground and pet her. He
went to the pantry and took out her food.
"Is that enough?" He questioned, as he poured the food
into her bowl. I nodded. I set his glass of water on the counter
as I fed Mutt. He then seated himself on the couch with his
water. He sipped at it slowly. I shut off the light in the
kitchen and turned on the desk lamp. It wasn't too bright,
actually quite dim. I sat down on the couch next to him.
"So, what's the secret to Mr. Carter?" I asked, getting
comfortable on the couch.
"There is no secret to me, but there seems to be to
you," he said, reaching up and pushing my hair out of my
eyes. I shifted uncomfortably.
"Looks like it's going to rain," I said, staring out at
the clouds.
He stared at me for several minutes, making me even more
uncomfortable.
I let out a slight yawn.
"I guess I'll head to bed. Do you need anything?" I
asked, standing up from the couch. He shook his head and smiled.
"Well good night then," I quietly said.
"Good night Kate," he said, before laying down on the
couch and covering himself with blankets.
That night I tossed and turned. All I could dream of was him
lying next to me, holding me.
~THE NEXT MORNING~
I rolled over to see the sun peering through my shutters. I
looked over at the clock. It was almost ten. Even though I had
lack of sleep, I still felt rested. Working for a newspaper and
all I didn't need very much sleep. I wiped the sleepy from my
eyes and brushed my hair and teeth. I strolled out into the
living room and saw Nick sleeping like a baby on my couch. I must
have stood there and admired him for at least ten minutes. I
studied his face and his body carefully.
I reached over and covered him up a bit. It didn't rain like I
had thought, but there were some clouds scattered amongst the
sky. I went into the kitchen and made some coffee and fed the
animals. I was taken by surprise when he came up behind me.
"Good morning," he said, his eyes drooping and his hair
a bit of a mess. I just had to let out a slight giggle because he
looked so damned cute.
"Good morning. Coffee?" I asked, handing him a cup.
"Well I don't usually drink it, but it looks good this
morning," he said, taking the cup from my hand.
I walked out of the kitchen and to the front door. I opened it up
and sure enough, there was the newspaper.
I walked back into the kitchen, unraveling it.
Nick looked up from his coffee when I set it down on the table. I
flipped carefully to the "Entertainment" section,
scared to see what was there.
The first thing I saw was Nick, Brian, Kevin, Howie and A.J. in
their stage outfits and headsets on stage.
"Everybody, Backstreet's Back," the headline read. It
was my concert review. Underneath it said "Story by Kate
McBride." I smiled proudly.
"Well, look at that," Nick said, picking it up from the
table.
"Wow you gave us a pretty good review," he added as he
read along. At the bottom of the story was another headline. My
heart sank deep into my chest. "Lead Backstreet Boy
Collapses," the headline stared back at Nick and I. Under it
read Kaylee's name. I quickly read the short briefing and in
disgust threw the paper down.
"Brian Littrell, 30, collapsed last night at a local night
club shortly after the Backstreet Boys performed their sold out
show at Madison Square Gardens. Fellow Backstreet Boys Nick
Carter, 25, Alexander McLean, 27, Howie Dorough, 32, and cousin
Kevin Richardson, 33, all rushed to his side at County General
Hospital in Manhattan last night." Nick and I read on in
disbelief.
"I'm sorry," I quietly said to Nick.
His eyes soft, he looked up at me from the newspaper.
"It's okay, this isn't your fault," he reassuringly
said.
But somehow I felt like it was. I didn't think it was an accident
Kaylee showed up at the same club as us last night. There's
hundreds of clubs in New York City and Manhattan, why the exact
one we were at? I didn't know the answer, but I knew it was
connected to me.
~AT THE SAME TIME~
"I've read it three times! Talk about being in the right
place at the right time. I knew something would happen with that
snide little bitch McBride around," Kaylee hissed as she
showed her best friend Ashlee the newspaper over and over again.
"Okay Kaylee, I've seen it a dozen times," Ashlee
annoyingly said, pushing the paper out of her face. Ashlee was
tall and perfectly built. Her hair was long and dark brown with a
slight wave running through it. Her green eyes always seemed to
sparkle and drew in much attention from her male admirers.
"Are you ready to shop now, or do you still want to drool
over this?" Ashlee said, standing up from the table at the
local cafe they were sitting at.
"Fine, I suppose," Kaylee reluctantly said, standing up
from her seat.
~ONE HOUR LATER~
I was already cleaned up and dressed when Nick came out of the
bathroom. He was wearing the same pants as the night before, but
I had many of my brothers' clothes at my apartment, so he
borrowed some of those.
"I guess I'm lucky him and his new wife haven't come to get
them yet, huh?" I teased, pulling on his halfway buttoned
black shirt. I loaned him a pair of boxers and some socks. He
looked quite handsome considering we threw together his outfit in
under five minutes.
He called A.J. before we left. Brian went back to the hotel that
morning. Brian and Kevin were flying back to Florida that day
considering Brian still wasn't feeling too well, while Howie and
A.J. wanted to stay and check out the shopping scene. They all
agreed to meet back home in Florida this coming weekend and do
some brush up rehearsals for their homecoming concert.
Minutes later we jumped into the car. I turned on a local pop
station that played music from the past decade. We were going to
go to lunch and then take it from there. We sang along to some
songs on the radio when an old, but familiar song came on.
"You know this song?" He asked as I sang along.
"Yes!" I shockingly said as I hit him in the arm.
"Do I look music illiterate to you Carter?" I asked,
laughing.
"True," he said, raising his eyebrows and remembering
my profession.
"If you wanna be with me, baby there's a price to pay, I'm a
Genie in a Bottle, you gotta rub me the right way, if you wanna
be with me, I can make your wish come true, just come and set me
free baby and I'll be with you...come, come, come, on in, meow.
My body's sayin' let's go, but my heart is sayin' NO..." I
sang along with power and emotion.
We came to a stoplight.
"Really?" He asked, turning down the music.
"Really what?" I asked, playing dumb.
"But your heart is saying no?" He asked, looking at me
inquisitively. The light turned green as I sped off.
"Where do you want to eat?" I asked, now turning the
station on the radio.
"Well?" He asked.
"Well what?" I shot back.
"Well, what are my three wishes?" He asked, smirking
confidently.
"What are you talking about?" I asked, now getting
annoyed that he was so damned persistent.
"Well you're a genie in a bottle, so what's my three
wishes?"
"You tell me!" I said, pulling into the parking lot of
a cafe.
"Well one is that I get a good lunch cause I'm starved. I'll
tell you the other two later," He said, stepping out of the
car.
"Hey! I want to know them now!" I demanded as he walked
around to my side and helped my out of the car.
"You gotta rub me the right way honey," he said smartly
and shut my door.