"Are you sure you are going to be able handle this?" Lori asked, looking over at Rebecca.
Rebecca nodded. She was sitting in the back seat of Alesha's car, staring at a picture of Howie that Alesha had taken. "I'm going to meet him."
Alesha laughed. "Ummm…yeah. I think you've mentioned that…at least, what? A thousand times now? Sure you're gonna be okay?" They had arrived in Tulsa the night before after a 20-hour drive from Florida. After getting to Lori's house, they slept for a few hours and then headed out to Dallas.
"Yes, I'm sure," she said getting out of the car. Grabbing her overnight bag out of the backseat, she looked at Alesha and almost squealed. "I'M MEETING HOWIE!!"
Lori laughed as she came up behind them. "He's nothing special. A little bit on the goofy side…a lot on the dorky side," she grinned.
"So says you, who is dating Kevin," Alesha said, opening the trunk so they could get their bags out of the back.
"Oh, look who's talking FrackLover," Lori laughed.
The girls walked into the hotel and up to the desk. There were girls everywhere. The hotel staff looked worn out trying to keep them under control. Rebecca looked around her, eyes wide. "Is it ALWAYS like this?"
Alesha nodded. "It gets worse sometimes," she said handing the desk attendant her ID.
The guy looked at her picture, looked at her, handed her a book to sign and gave her a key with a note attached to it. Alesha looked at it funny and then up at the guy. He shrugged and took Lori's ID. He handed her the key and then looked at Rebecca. "Are you expected?" He asked finally speaking.
"Ummm, she's with me," Alesha said.
"So, she's staying in your room?" the guy asked.
"Ummm…yeah, she's staying with me."
"Okay, I'll need to call up to the room and make sure the other occupant is okay with that. He's only got two people listed here. This is highly unusual. I'm -- "
Lori sighed. "Oh for gods sakes. I'll pay for her own room if it'll make it better."
"No, she can stay in my room," a soft voice said from behind the girls.
Alesha turned around and almost laughed at the poor guy. He was short and had a fisherman's hat pulled way down over his long, curly blonde hair. "Ummm, and you are?" the desk attendant asked.
"Just give me the papers for room 608."
"608?" the desk attendant looked closely the at the guy and almost laughed. Shaking his head, he handed the guy the paper.
Signing the paper, he looked at Rebecca. "What's your name?"
"Rebecca Hill."
He wrote her name down and had her sign it and then handed it back to the desk attendant. "Guess we can go now."
Alesha nodded and grabbed her bags and started to follow him, realizing that Lori and Rebecca were still standing at the desk. She turned around and said, "Are you going to just stay down here, or are you coming up?"
Lori looked at her and then at the guy who was holding the elevator open. "Who's that?" she pointed.
Alesha laughed and went back over and whispered, "Howie."
Rebecca's eyes grew wide and she squealed. "I'm…staying with…" Lori clamped her hand over Rebecca's mouth, looking at the group of teenage girls milling about the hotel. Nodding her head and pulling Lori's hand off, Rebecca whispered, "I'm staying in Howie's room?"
"Come on," Alesha said as the elevator started making a crazy buzzing noise.
The girls got on the elevator; Rebecca staring as Howie took off the wig and the hat. Smoothing his hair down with his hand, he smiled and winked. "Hey there. Sorry about that. Hope you don't mind having to stay in the same room as me," he said looking at Rebecca. "I'm the only one with a free room." He smiled.
"Who's with AJ?" Lori asked quickly, her voice shaking.
Howie blinked. "Ummm…some of his friends are visiting him…or at least they were…don't know now though…he's been a royal pain in the ass since St. Pete." He looked back at Rebecca, who smiled shyly.
Lori nodded. Alesha looked at her funny and shook her head. "So, what were you doing in the lobby?" She looked at Howie. "HEY D!" she said tapping him on the shoulder.
"Huh? What?" he asked, looking at her.
"Oh my god," Alesha said laughing. "Quit staring," she whispered to him.
"I'm not staring," he whispered back, his face turning red.
Alesha grinned and shook her head. "What were you doing in the lobby?"
Howie blinked. "Oh, checking to see if ya'll had gotten in yet." He looked at the button panel as it made a "dinging" sound. "Well, it's our floor," he said holding the door open for the girls. "Our room is this way," he said grabbing Rebecca's suitcase. Rebecca looked at Alesha and Lori helplessly. They both laughed and waved, walking off in the direction of their rooms.
