“Hi!” She smiled brightly.
Nick couldn’t help himself. He leaned down and kissed her cheek. “Hi.”
Allyson climbed into her seat and waited for Nick to join her inside the vehicle. When he got in, she leaned over and kissed his cheek. Nick grinned and they headed off to AJ’s house. There weren’t a lot of cars in the driveway, and she wondered how many people were coming. Nick grabbed the cookies and helped Allyson out of his SUV, then escorted her to the house. He opened the door and ushered her inside.
“Honey, I’m home!”
The dogs came racing into the hallway, yapping and woofing around their feet. Nick rubbed Stasi’s head as the dog sat down next to him. He looked at Allyson and said “friend” to the large dog.
Stasi obediently held out her paw, and Allyson looked at the dog then looked at Nick.
“Shake her paw so she can imprint you.”
Allyson reached out and shook the proffered paw, giggling at the lick swiped against her hand.
When she had rubbed the German Shepherd’s head and scratched behind her ears, Allyson bent down and picked up the puppy.
“Aren’t you adorable?” She cooed as the puppy licked her face.
“That’s Jack Daniels.” Nick patted the puppy before Allyson set him back down.
“Interesting name choice.” Allyson looked around the house as Nick led her towards the kitchen.
As they got closer, they could hear the laughter of several people. The pair stopped in the doorway to watch as AJ and Irene dueled with barbeque tongs. Meredith and Kevin were working on the hamburgers as their respective mates played around the kitchen.
Meredith caught sight of Nick and Allyson, nodding her head in greeting. She opened her mouth and raised an eyebrow. Kevin looked at her in confusion, then turned and saw Nick. The young man just opened the bowl and broke a cookie apart, placing it in her mouth, offering the other half to Allyson.
Meredith sighed in delight, causing AJ and Irene to look up. AJ came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, leaning in to kiss her.
He grinned when they broke apart. “Mmm, butterscotch.”
Allyson watched the whole thing with a smile on her face as she ate her cookie. Nick held out his hand and pulled her forward when she placed her hand in his.
“Irene, Kevin, this is Allyson Devereaux.”
“Hi, Allyson.” Irene smiled as she leaned against Kevin’s back, her arms wrapped around his waist, while he finished patting out hamburgers.
“It’s nice to meet you.” Kevin smiled at the young woman, and she nodded at the pair.
“The same.”
Meredith and Kevin finished with the meat, setting the patties in foil until it was time to cook them. They washed their hands so they could socialize, then turned to face the other four. She took the cookies from Nick, letting everyone get one before she took another one for herself. Sealing the container, she tucked it in a cabinet out of sight.
“I thought I made those for the cookout.” Nick watched her with a bemused grin on his face.
“Did I ever say they were for the cookout?” The older woman grinned at the young man.
He thought for a minute. “No, I don’t think so.”
She smiled blithely and ushered everyone towards the patio where a cooler was filled with drinks. Everyone grabbed something as they waited for the last two members of the group to show up.
“Anyone here?” Howie walked outside, practically dragging Lumien behind him.
“Hi, D. Hi, Lumien.”
Lumien dropped into a chair and just waved before laying her head against the cushion.
“Rough day, dear?” Meredith tried to stop the laugh that bubbled in her throat.
Lumien raised her head and stared at her friend, then looked at Howie. “Howie decided I needed to see more of Orlando’s nightlife. I didn’t get into bed until four this morning.”
Meredith looked at Howie, smiling at him. “I always knew you were a party animal.”
Howie raised his hands. “Hey, don’t look at me. She’s the one who practically drank everyone under the table. Then, she proceeded to dance on it.”
Lumien shot up in her chair. “I did not.”
“How do you know? You said you couldn’t remember.” Howie grinned at her.
“You didn’t really let me dance on a table, did you?” She stared at him, aghast at the possibility.
He patted her arm. “It’s cool.”
When Lumien got up to get a bottle of water, Howie began to sing %Shake Your Bon-Bon% under his breath. The young woman whirled around and slapped his upside the back of his head. He ducked and rubbed at the sore spot, grinning at the rest of the group, who dissolved into laughter.
When they finally regained their composure, Howie looked around at his friends. “So, anyone met Rok’s girlfriend?”
“Does she qualify as a girlfriend? Have they ever been out?” Irene reached over Kevin and grabbed some peanuts out of the bowl sitting next to him, letting her chest rest on his thighs.
“I would have passed you the bowl.” He smiled at her.
“But this is more fun.” She smiled back.
Nick rolled his eyes. “Oh, please. You two need to get a room or something.”
“Thanks, we’ve got one.” Irene popped some peanuts into her mouth. “Back to the question. Has anyone met her?”
They shook their heads, still surprised that Brian had managed to keep her a secret from them and their fans.
Lumien looked at the woman sitting beside Nick, narrowing her eyes. “Do I know you?”
Allyson shook her head. “I don’t think so.” She held out a hand. “Allyson Devereaux.”
Lumien shook it. “Lumien Washington. It’s a pleasure.”
“So what do you do, Allyson?” Irene continued to lounge against Kevin, who stroked her back as they talked.
“I’m a math teacher.” Allyson took a sip of the Coke she held, really hoping that they wouldn’t ask too many questions. She was afraid that if they found out more about her background, everyone would be uncomfortable, and the atmosphere would become stilted.
“What grade?”
“Freshmen all the way through seniors.”
Lumien nodded before lying back against the cushion. She swiped Howie’s sunglasses out of his pocket, settling them on her face.
“Hey!” He stared at her.
She pulled the glasses to the end of her nose and stared over the rims at him. He just shook his head and turned back to talk to AJ. She smiled and pushed the glasses up to cover her eyes.
“Where is everyone?” Brian’s question echoed through the house, and several heads rose at the sound of their friend’s voice.
“Out back.” AJ yelled toward the door.
The missing member of their group appeared in the doorway holding the hand of a lovely young woman. Eight heads turned and looked them over, and Serenity fought the urge to step back into the relative safety of the house.
Brian squeezed her hand as he looked at her, and she squeezed back in response before they stepped outside.
“Everyone, this is Serenity Bluefeather.”
“Serenity, this is AJ, Meredith, Kevin, Irene, Howie, Lumien, Nick, and…” He looked at the young woman. “Allyson, right?”
Allyson nodded. “Hello, Brian. Hello, Serenity.”
Serenity smiled. “Hi. It’s a pleasure to meet all of you. Brian’s told me a lot about you guys.”
“Well, you’re one up on us, then. He’s kept you locked away tighter than Fort Knox.” AJ reached out to shake Serenity’s hand. “Would it be too insulting to ask what tribe you’re from?”
“Cherokee.” She shook his hand, another hand taking its place as she soon as she released it.
“O-si-yo {Hello}.” Meredith held out her hand to the other woman.
Serenity was shocked. “Hi-tsa-la-gi-s {Are you Cherokee}?”
“U-s-ti tsi wo-ni tsa-la-gi {I speak a little Cherokee}.” Meredith switched back to English. “Irene and I grew up next door to a family that was half Cherokee. We got to go on trips with them sometimes to visit relatives. We learned some of the culture and some of the language.”
Nick reached over and slapped his hand over Meredith’s mouth. “No more. No Italian, no Spanish, no French, no Russian, and no Cherokee.”
He looked at her for a moment. “Have I covered all of the languages?”
Meredith half shrugged, half nodded. Nick nodded his head and let her go.
“Ma si rivolge a me {But does that apply to me}?” Irene looked at Nick.
“Ou moi {Or me}?” Allyson turned to look at him, too.
“Oder ich, für das Stoff {Or me, for that matter}?” Lumien never lifted her head from the cushion.
Nick groaned and sank down in his chair. “Now you’ve got them all doing it.”
Meredith smiled, pumping her arm in victory. “My work here is done.”
Brian looked at Serenity. “You got anything to add?”
“Only if you’re talking C++ or Visual Basic.”
Brian turned back to the group, looking at Nick and Allyson. “So, Allyson, how’s UCF these days?”
“Busy.” Allyson turned to Serenity to keep him from asking any more questions.
“What do you do, Serenity?”
The other woman stopped in the process of opening her beer. “I’m a programmer. Work for a company called CSI. We do a lot of office application stuff.”
“Another number cruncher.” Lumien turned to look at the two women.
“Pardon me?” Serenity was confused by the statement.
“Allyson’s a math teacher. Aren’t all computer programs just ones and zeros in the end?” Lu sat up in her chair and took the beer Howie handed to her.
“Yeah, I guess they are.” Serenity looked at Allyson. “Math teacher, huh?”
Brian opened his beer. “Professor at UCF.”
Allyson cringed as everyone except Meredith, AJ, and Nick looked at her. “Yep.”
Meredith stood up, clapping her hands. “I’m now looking for volunteers to help finish getting the food ready.”
“Don’t you mean victims?” Howie looked up at his friend.
“Don’t push it, D, or I’ll make you do the dishes with a toothbrush.” She looked around at the group.
“Can I drive the CD player?” Irene sat up, rubbing Kevin’s thigh.
“I suppose.”
Irene leaped off the chair and headed for the kitchen. Kevin watched her go. “Why am I afraid?”
“She’s your girlfriend.”
“And she’s your sister.”
They shrugged at each other before Meredith walked into the house. Allyson got up to follow, patting Nick on the knee.
“I’m going to be a good guest and go help.”
He nodded at her, squeezing her hand gently as walked by him. Lumien looked at Serenity.
“Shall we join the others and talk about the guys?”
Serenity smiled. “Sounds like a plan to me.”
“I’ll tell you all the things I’ve learned about Brian while we’ve been on this promo tour.”
“I can’t wait.” Serenity linked her arm with Lumien’s, and the two women disappeared into the house.
“This could be bad.” Brian watched as various heads moved past the kitchen windows.
“This could be very bad.” Nick followed his friend’s line of sight and shivered when he saw all of the women laughing.
*****Backstreet Boys*****Backstreet Boys****Backstreet Boys****Backstreet Boys***Backstreet Boys***
Irene popped a CD into the player and hit shuffle. Roll With It began to play, and Meredith turned to look at her sister.
“What?!?!”
“I am not involved.” The older woman turned around and pulled potato salad out of the refrigerator.
“Is there something we should know?” Lumien grabbed some spoons out of the silverware drawer and began inserting them into bowls.
“This is their first CD.” Irene grinned as she moved to the music.
“It is? I’ve never heard this song.” Allyson opened up a pack of buns and laid them on a plate.
“Oh, this CD was only released in Europe. My favorite song is #13. It’s Kevin’s solo.” Irene grabbed a pickle spear off the plate she was arranging and bit into it.
As if by magic, Let’s Have a Party began to play, and Irene started laughing.
“What?” Serenity looked up from stirring the baked beans.
“Allyson, you’ve got to listen to this song.” Irene turned up the music.
The young woman listened to it, wondering about the child singing. She smiled. “Who is that?”
Irene winked at Meredith before turning back to Allyson. “That’s Nick.”
It was a good thing Allyson wasn’t holding a bowl or she would have dropped it. “Nick?!”
Meredith shook her head and looked at her sister. “He’s going to kill you for this one.”
“He has to get through Kevin first.” Irene smirked.
Meredith turned to face Nick’s date. “He was 15 at the time. The song you heard before…”
Allyson nodded.
“That was Nick singing the first verse.” Meredith bumped her sister with her hip as she set out the hamburger patties and hot dogs for Kevin to grill.
Irene leaned out the back door. “Hey, babe, the meat’s ready for you to cook.”
Kevin stood and walked to the back door. When he opened it, he heard himself singing Nobody But You.
Irene was dancing around the kitchen, singing into a spoon, as the other women finished laying out the side dishes for the meal. He shook his head and picked up the platter of food. Carrying the meat out to the grill, he laid out the patties and hot dogs to cook. As he did it, he looked over at his friends and slowly shook his head.
“Oh, God, what’s she done now?” Brian raised an eyebrow.
“The indoctrination has begun.”
“Indoctrination?” Nick looked up at the older man.
“Irene was introducing Serenity, Lumien, and Allyson to our first CD.” Kevin started turning hot dogs.
“So?” It took Nick a minute. “You don’t mean…”
“Oh, yes, I do. They were listening to Nobody But You when I picked up the meat.”
Nick sank down into the chair. “No, no, no. I’m going to kill your girlfriend, Kev.”
“No, you’re not.” Allyson appeared behind Nick’s chair.
He leaned his head back and looked up at her, his blue eyes pitiful. She smiled down at him, impulsively dropping a soft kiss onto his lips. “You sounded adorable.”
He cringed at the word. She came around beside him and sat down on the arm of his chair, draping her arm across his shoulders.
The rest of the food was placed on the buffet table set up on the patio. When Kevin finished grilling, he laid the cooked meat on a clean platter and set it next to the buns. Everyone went through the line and fixed their plates, spreading out across the desk to eat.
AJ looked at Meredith’s plate, eyeing her baked beans. She looked at him, waiting for him to look into her face.
“Wanna bite?”
He considered the question then nodded. She tucked a bite into his mouth and watched as he ate it, a look of surprise crossing his face.
“That’s not bad.”
“I told you.” She grinned at him.
He held up a bite of potato salad to her lips. She grimaced but accepted the bite, chewing slowly. “It’s okay. I’m still not fond of it.”
“But you tried it, and that’s the important thing.” AJ took a bite of potato salad.
When the couple realized no one was talking, they looked up to find everyone watching them.
“What?” AJ looked around at his friends.
“You guys are weird.” Howie shook his head as he bit into his hamburger.
“No, we just decided to be a little more open about trying things.” The young man shrugged as he bit into his burger.
Brian started choking on his drink, and Serenity patted him on the back. When he recovered, she looked at him and gave him a slow wink.
“You okay, Rok?” AJ looked at his friend.
“Oh, yeah, I’m fine.” He smiled back before leaning closer to Serenity.
***Backstreet Boys******Backstreet Boys*****Backstreet Boys***Backstreet Boys***Backstreet Boys*****
The warm weather and a heated pool made for a perfect opportunity to swim. After they cleaned up the remains of lunch, people spread out all over the house to change into swimsuits before meeting at the pool. Five couples settled on lounge chairs to enjoy the beautiful Florida sunshine and get to know each other better.
When the phone rang, disturbing the laughter, AJ sighed as he answered it. “Hello?”
Raising an eyebrow, he turned and looked at Meredith. “Hang on a minute.”
Handing her the phone, he shrugged at her questioning look.
“Hello?”
Listening to the person on the other end of the line, she walked into the house and shut the sliding glass doors.
“And how did you end up there?”
“Uh huh, yeah, okay.” Clicking off the phone, she stood there and wondered how she ended up being the den mother to boy bands everywhere.
Meredith stepped into the utility room and pulled on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt over her bathing suit. Slipping her feet into a pair of slides, she walked back out to the pool. Sitting down on the chaise beside AJ, she looked at him.
“Guess you’re going to bail them out?” He pulled his shades down to the end of his nose.
“I guess so. How I ended up in this position, I’m not sure.” She shook her head.
“Two words, love: Sierra Ramon.” AJ brushed his index finger over her lips.
Sighing, she kissed his finger before leaning in to kiss him. “I’ll be back in a little bit, okay?”
“Be careful, okay?”
“Always, mine.” She grinned at him as she stood then headed back to the house.
“Where’s Merry going?” Nick swam over to the edge and leaned on it as he watched her leave.
“Off to save the world again.” AJ chuckled and took off his sunglasses before diving into the pool.
Table of Contents
Chapter Twenty-Seven