Irene Mitchell had devised her plan well. It was simple: if Mandy was dating Nick, than she, Mandy’s best friend, could get closer to Howie Dorough, Nick’s good friend and fellow Backstreet Boy. Irene had met Howie about a year earlier at a Christmas party thrown by AJ McLean. Mandy had gone as Nick’s date, and she had brought Irene along. Irene had fallen hard for Howie, but at that time he had been dating that girl Claudia. Now that he was finally free, Mandy was no longer dating Nick, which was a major problem, because Nick was Irene’s only link to Howie.
Irene decided that first, to get Mandy back with Nick, she must cause problems between Nick and his new girlfriend. Irene knew from checking up on the Internet that Gretchen Jones was in Los Angeles recording her new album until early next year. Irene and Mandy both lived only about 20 minutes away from Nick, and so getting to him would not be a problem.
The problem was figuring out what to do. Should she send pictures of Nick with another girl to Gretchen? First, she would actually have to find a way to get him with another girl. Then, she’d have to find out Gretchen’s address in L.A… so that would be too difficult. ‘What can I do?” Irene wondered. The plan would come soon enough. And when it did… Gretchen Jones could say bye-bye to Nicky, and Irene could say Hel-lo to Howie Dorough.
“Are you okay?” Kevin asked Lynnsey as she stared down at her coffee.
She looked up, her eyes wide. “Yeah, I’m fine!” she said, with a fake smile. “Why do you ask?”
Kevin eyed her. “If you’re feeling down, you can talk to me about it…” Kevin said.
“I know,” Lynnsey said with a small smile.
The two were in the hospital cafeteria, and conversation was weak.
“It’s just that…” Lynnsey started. “I…”
“Yes?” Kevin asked. Just then, they were interrupted.
“Lynnsey?!” a male voice called.
Lynnsey turned her head in the direction that the voice was coming from, and her eyes widened. “Ross!!???” she cried, standing up.
Kevin turned to see a tall, muscular blonde guy holding a suitcase, in the entrance of the caf.
Lynnsey practically ran towards the guy and jumped into his arms. “I thought there was no chance of you getting a flight down here!” she said.
‘I made some arrangements,” this Ross guy replied. Kevin started to walk over, thinking that maybe Ross was a relative, when he saw something that sickened him.
Ross leaned down, and started kissing Lynnsey in front of everyone in the caf.
Kevin felt his stomach drop, and he tried his best to smile. “Introduce me?”
Lynnsey looked at him, surprised, as if she had forgotten that he was there.
“Oh, I’m sorry Kevin! Kevin Richardson, this is Ross Maddox. My boyfriend from Colorado.”
Kevin shook Ross’s hand, and faked a smile.
“Ross and I have been dating since our senior year of high school, and have had a long-distance relationship since college started. He goes to Boulder University,” Lynnsey said.
“On a football scholarship,” Ross said proudly.
Kevin nodded. “I played football in high school,” he said.
“What do you do now?” Ross asked.
“Ooh, let me tell him!” Lynnsey said excitedly. Kevin nodded, and listened as Lynnsey told Ross what Kevin did and how they had met.
“So you’re one of those Backstreet Boys, huh? Wow, can I get your autograph?” Ross joked.
“Ha…” Kevin said.
“Ross is a musician, too,” Lynnsey said.
“Well… I do play guitar and write songs. Do you do any of that, Kevin?” Ross asked.
Kevin raised his eyebrows. Was Ross trying to patronize him?
“Well, I don’t play guitar, but I do write songs and play piano or keyboards. My cousin, Brian Littrell, who’s also in the group, plays guitar.”
“Oh,” Ross said. “So… do you have a girlfriend?”
“I just got out of a long relationship a few months back with a girl named Kristen, so I’m not exactly shopping around,” Kevin lied. He was shopping around!
“That’s too bad,” Ross said glancing at Lynnsey. “At least I don’t have to worry about you stealing my girl, huh?” he said, laughing.
Lynnsey playfully pushed Ross away. “Steal me away? That’s funny.”
Kevin silently fumed. Why did they have to act so chummy? Then he realized something.
“Well, I’m sure you two have some catching up to do, so I’m going to go back to my hotel. I’ll be back tonight to visit with your father, Lynnsey,” Kevin said.
“OK, Kevin. See you later,” Lynnsey said.
“Nice meeting you, Mr. Backstreet Boy,” Ross said, smiling.
‘Screw you too’, Kevin thought. He grinned. “Nice meeting you too, Mr. Guitar Player,” Kevin said.
Kevin stood up and walked away, out of the hospital, into the parking lot. So it was obvious to him now that he liked Lynnsey, and was jealous of her and Ross. She hadn’t even mentioned a boyfriend!
Of course, it was inevitable that she had one. She was intelligent, funny, kind, not to mention beautiful… Why had she not mentioned Ross? If he was so important to her, and such a big part of her life… Kevin had no idea. All he knew was that he didn’t want to be around much longer to watch her and Ross at it.
Brian looked through the latest Cosmopolitan magazine, and smiled, remembering the grocery store cashier’s face when he had bought it. No, he wasn’t trying to get in touch with his feminine side or anything. Michelle had done a photo spread in the magazine. She had been really nervous about it, as she had confided in him, but he was very impressed. As he looked through the pictures, he realized that maybe he really was almost over Leighanne. Michelle was totally different from Leighanne, and she was helping him forget about her.
Brian turned to a picture where Michelle was clothed in a soft lavender sun dress, with her hair down and smoothed back. She was lying on a bed of purple flowers, smiling up at the camera. The sun shone down on her face. She looked like a goddess.
Brian carefully tore the picture out of the magazine, and put in the drawer of his bed table. Anytime he started to think about Leighanne, he would take that picture out and stare at it until all he could think about was Michelle, he decided.
Kayla Norman came out of dance rehearsal pumped. The Backstreet Boys tour was over a month away from starting, but she was already super excited about it. The exposure would be absolutely phenomenal, and she could tell that she would become good friends with all of the guys. Especially Kevin, the oldest of the group.
If he was up for some female company, she would gladly oblige, and take some time off of his hands.
She already knew that he and his long-time girlfriend had broken up about 6 months ago, and that he had been single ever since. She also knew that he played piano. So did she! They already had something in common!
‘Maybe this tour will expand not only my career, but my love life too,’ Kayla thought, smiling.
“I didn’t know who else to call,” Claudia sobbed over the phone.
Howie nodded sympathetically. “It’s OK, Claud. I’m your friend, I’m here for you.”
“What am I going to do for money?” she asked. “How am I going to pay my rent? After four years with that company, they just fire me, out of the blue. I can’t believe it!”
“Maybe I can lend you some money until you find a new job,” Howie suggested.
“No! No, Howie. I don’t want your money. I don’t want anyone’s money. I just want a job… I don’t know what to do. There aren’t any other clothing manufacturers hiring in this city. What am I going to do, Howie?”
“Maybe I can find you a job,” Howie suggested.
“How?”
“I don’t know… Wait, I do know! Do you want to come on tour with us? You could be one of our wardrobe girls!”
“I don’t know, Howie…”
“Claud, you could be paid in advance to keep your rent paid this month, and then go on tour with us after Christmas! You’d be paid a LOT of money, and you could get your mom to find you job openings while you’re away. As soon as she finds you a job at home, you can leave the tour. The money from the tour will just be to let you keep your apartment. What do you say?”
“Are you sure this would be OK?”
“Yes! Just let me talk to my management, and work it out. I guarantee you that they will give you the job.”
“I’m still not sure…” Claudia said.
“Claudia… I know you wouldn’t mind being around Kevin for a few months, right?”
Howie could practically feel her blushing! “What! What are you talking about?” she tried to play it off.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. So you’ll take the job?”
“Yes. Thank you so much Howie!”
“You’re welcome. You deserve it. I’ll get back to you with more details later, OK?”
“OK. Thanks a MILLION!” she exclaimed.
Claudia hung up the phone, feeling a hundred times better. She’d be able to pay her rent until she found a new job, and have time to spend with Kevin. Who knows? Maybe this new job would help out her love life too!
Kara Kimball couldn’t stop thinking about Howie. It had been over a month since the camping trip where she had run into him, but it was still fresh in her mind. She didn’t know why she was drawn to him- he wasn’t her type at all. That was why she hadn’t given him her number the first time he asked. He was too sweet, too nice. She would probably just end up hurting him. She was more wild, more outgoing, and their personalities clashed. Still… something told her not to forget about him.
They had exchanged numbers at the camping grounds, and he had called her twice. She could tell that he didn’t want to scare her off. Ha! She could never be scared off by a guy. She was always the one that scared the guy off.
‘Maybe I’ll give him a call for a change…’ Kara thought. Yes, she decided. She would. And it was that one call that would change her and Howie’s lives forever.
AJ wallowed in his depression over Amanda. He watched horror movies and listened to happy music to try to take his mind off of his sadness, but nothing worked. His only choice was to lie in bed and think. About everything. Of course, the thought of starting a new relationship was never far away. Finding another woman was always the perfect cure to the pain caused by getting dumped. One night, he decided to give in to that cure.
AJ thought of his options. He could go clubbing and have a meaningless fling with someone he met there, or he could start something real with someone he already knew, and take it slow.
Hmmm…. AJ chose the fling.
5 hours later…
AJ left the hotel room, drunk and tired. His new female friend he had met 3 hours earlier lay asleep in the bed. He doubted he would ever see her again.
Strangely, he still felt empty, still felt sad. That was the first time that sex hadn’t made him feel any better emotionally. He obviously needed something more than that now. Maybe he had matured. Maybe he had gotten over the phase of not caring about anything.
Maybe it was time grow up.
In the early hours of the morning, Gretchen woke up, shaking. She had had a nightmare, and it scared her.
In her nightmare, it was 2 years earlier, and she was still with Brandon.
Brandon was telling her that if she didn’t sleep with him, he leave her for his other girlfriend.
“Other girlfriend?” Gretchen.
“I have quite a few,” Brandon replied.
And in the dream, Gretchen looked down for a minute and started crying, and when she looked back up, Brandon had turned into Nick.
“You thought you were the only one, didn’t you?” Nick said, laughing. “That’s a joke! You’re not special enough!"
“But why?” Gretchen cried to him.
“Why? I can have any girl I want, and you dare to try and tie me down? I’ve never had one girlfriend at a time, why should I start with you?”
Gretchen just sobbed as Nick walked away.
Now awake, Gretchen sighed. Why couldn’t she trust Nick? She wanted to trust him so badly, but she was just so insecure when it came to that.
‘How can I ever trust anyone again?’ she thought, shaking her head.
Kevin stood along with Lynnsey and Ross next to Mayor Parker’s bed in the ICU room. Kevin had met Mayor Parker the first time he had been to the hospital, and the mayor had grown quite fond of Kevin.
“How much longer are you staying for?” Mayor Parker asked, somewhat weakly.
“I don’t know. Thanksgiving is in a week, so I’ll probably leave soon.”
“You’ve been very good to my family,” Mayor Parker said. “Thank you, Kevin.”
“Oh, it’s been my pleasure,” Kevin said, earnestly.
Lynnsey smiled at Kevin. Kevin tried to ignore his heart.
“Don’t worry, Mr. Parker,” Ross said. “After Kevin leaves, I’ll be here to take care of things.”
“Yes. Please keep my daughter company, both of you. I know how she worries,” Mayor Parker said, smiling at Lynnsey. Lynnsey squeezed his hand.
Kevin was saddened at the bond of the two. When or if Mayor Parker died soon, Lynnsey would be inconsolable. That, Kevin was sure of.
“I’m taking care of her,” Ross said. Kevin noticed how he said ‘I’m’ and not ‘We’re’.
“I’m going to go get your mom,” Kevin told Lynnsey. “Bye, Mayor Parker. I’ll be back at the next visiting time.” People in ICU could only be visited at certain hours.
Kevin left, and Mayor Parker looked at Lynnsey. “He’s a good kid,” he said to her.
“Yeah, he is,” Lynnsey replied.
“Me too, huh, Mr. Parker?” Ross asked.
Mayor Parker just laughed.
Kara dialed Howie’s cell phone number and waited nervously as it rang.
Howie answered it on the fourth ring.
“Hello?”
“Hey. This is Kara.”
“Kara? Hey! What’s up?”
“Nothing… I was just thinking about you, and… decided to call.”
“Really? I was thinking about you too. I haven’t talked to you in a couple of weeks.”
“Yeah, I noticed. Um… how are things down in Florida?” Kara asked.
“They’re great. And in New York?”
“Everything’s fine. I’m going to be down in Florida next week though, for Thanksgiving.”
“Your family lives down here?” Howie asked.
“Yeah. I never told you that?”
“Nope.”
“Well, maybe I’ll see you when I come down,” Kara said, hardly able to believe that she had said it.
“What city are you going to be in?” Howie asked.
“Tampa…”
“That’s only 30 minutes away from Orlando. Maybe we could meet somewhere?” Howie suggested.
“OK. How about that French restaurant, La Madeleine ? It’s in Riverview, which is in the middle of Tampa and Orlando. We can meet the day before Thanksgiving, at noon for lunch. Is… is that OK?” Kara asked.
Howie could hardly believe she was agreeing to this. “Yeah, that sounds great. I’ll see you then.”
“OK. Bye Howie.”
“Bye.”
It was a date.
~~~~~~~