Chapter One

“Are you ready to go yet?” Gianna Smythe yelled into the back room of the apartment she shared with her best friend Elise Baker.

“Yeah I’m ready.” Elise said as she walked out of her bedroom lugging a gigantic gym bag behind her.

“Finally girl. What did you pack? The closet??” Gianna asked as Elise went back into her room and dragged out yet another bag.

“Hey I only packed the bare necessities.” The 20 year old said brushing a few stray strands of her jet black hair out of her bright green eyes.

“Bare necessities? What to you call the 15 boxes of shit we sent up to the beach house two days ago??”

“That shit is the...other things we needed. The um...not so bare necessities, but uh...wanted necessities?” Elise offered shrugging her shoulders.

“Lee! You never cease to amaze me. We’re staying for a month in a fully furnished beach house. You have managed to pack up our entire apartment."

“Puh-leese. We will be living with five guys. Do you honestly think that they will consider buying women’s toiletries??? Potpourri? The ‘good’ shampoo??? No way. They will probably buy a box of condoms and a few razors. They will completely forget about our needs.”

“Elise! You packed the microwave!!” Gianna said muffling a giggle.

“Okay, so maybe I over-packed. Shoot me.”

“I am almost positive one of the guys will personally kill you once we set foot in Florida. They have probably already received all our boxes, gone through them, and officially declared us insane. Then we shall be placed in the same genre as AJ!”

“AJ, my dear is not insane.” Elise stated to the blond haired, baby blue eyed girl standing next to her with her arms crossed.

“He is!” Gianna screeched. The AJ spoke of was the infamous AJ McLean of the Backstreet Boys. Gianna had managed to snag backstage passes to a concert performed by BSB in her home town of Miami, Florida a few years back. She hauled Elise along who had grown to be a big fan. The two had met and became acquainted with the guys and now were extremely close to them. All nine, including Gianna, Elise, the guys, and Brian and Kevin’s wives had planned to rent a beach house in Florida for the summer break and just hang out and get to know each other better. Make new friends.

“Oh sure. The tattoo, lip piercing and the funky colored hair make him a member of the norm.” Gianna continued as Elise shook her head.

“Oh will you shut up!”

“Lee...”

“Alright, I caught the warning tone. No need to get all PMSing on me.”

“I am not PMSing.”

“Sure.”

“What time does do you want to get there?” Gianna asked as she checked her watch.

“Few hours. We better get going, now that I think about it.” Elise stated as she stood up and placed the straps for her bag on her shoulders, one on each. She began to stumble her way to the apartment door, but only made it three feet before she began to lean backwards. She flapped her arms in the air and Gianna came up behind her to hold her up.

“Drop the bag.” Gianna said calmly. One bag dropped to the floor and Elise regained balance.

“Thanks.” Elise said happily as she bent down, grabbed the strap on the fallen bag and headed for the door again, dragging her bag behind her. Gianna tossed her bookbag on her back and grabbed the carry-on bag that Elise had forgotten and headed out the door, following her slow moving friend towards the elevator. Elise, moving the speed of a snail, finally made into the elevator which Gianna had been patiently holding for her.

“Thanks!” Elise said cheerily. Gianna nodded before rolling her eyes.

The two piled into the Mustang convertible the guys had rented for them and their stay in Orlando.

“Orlando here we come!” Gianna stated.

“Backstreet here we come!!” Elise said happily. The two glanced at each other before erupting in a fit of giggles. It was unbelievable. The two twenty year olds were driving to spend summer break with the biggest pop group in the world.

“What do you think is going to happen this summer?” Elise asked Gianna excitedly as Gianna pulled their car out of the driveway.

“Not sure, but I definitely want to meet a guy. I am in desperate need of romancing.” Gianna stated matter-of-factly. “You know...one of those tall, good-looking, preppy guys.”

“Why would you want to meet a guy like that?” Gianna asked scrunching her face.

“Scues me? Why not?! What is wrong with a guy like that?”

“Maybe the fact that he has no mystery about him. Come on! You need a guy that you have to dissect!!”

“Dissect? What is this Biology?”

“Eck! Please, no mention of Biology! I left that behind five years ago. Not a good time in my life. Let’s just leave it buried.”

“Sorry, but still. Mysterious men are way too complex. They have all those hidden secrets, facts about them that nobody knows. I don’t want to take the time to get inside his head. I want a relationship.”

“But mysterious men do give lots of excitement. Just agree.”

“Yeah I guess.”

“Besides, don’t you want to get to know that guy before you jump into a relationship with him?!”

“Sure...I see where you’re coming from.”

“Finally.”

“So what about this summer for you?”

“Ah...kind of the same idea. I want to meet the man of my dreams on the sunny beaches outside of Orlando and be totally swept off my feet.” Elise said leaning her head back on the seat rest closing her eyes.

“Fairy tales...”

“Don’t mock.” Elise said opening her eyes to glare at Gianna.

“Wasn’t mocking...just commenting.” Gianna said as she drove the car up a ramp getting on the highway.

“Yeah right. That was a total mock...but it’s true. I am anticipating a fairy tale.” she said shaking her head.

“Yeah sure...being swept off you feet on a beach by Mr. Mysterious. Sounds just like a daydream.” Gianna stated, voice dripping with sarcasm.

“I can dream can’t I?” Elise said giggling.

“Of course. I am too. Where the heck am I going to meet a prep in Orlando? They are all beach guys.”

“Hey, anything can happen!” Elise the all time optimistic said nudging Gianna lightly.

“Sure, sure.” Gianna said as she made herself comfortable in her seat, preparing herself for the drive. Elise pulled her CD player out of her bag and untangled the mangled headphones. Slipping the earpiece into her ear she was greeted with the sweet sound of AJ’s solo ‘Lay Down Beside Me’. Closing her eyes she pictured AJ, the intriguing, crazy, and ‘mysterious’ man she secretly dreamt of.

Awhile later Gianna pulled into a rest stop just outside of Orlando. Gently shaking Elise awake she climbed out of the car. Elise shook the sleep out of her eyes and looked around bewildered.

“Where are we?”

“Uh...Orlando?”

“Already?” Elise asked astonished.

“Yes...you’ve been sleeping forever.”

“Wow..easy drive, and I thought I was going to be bored.”

“Do you maybe want to get moving?” Gianna asked quickly. She wanted to get in and out of the rest stop quickly and into Orlando to begin her summer vacation. She was on summer break from Harvard. Which she believed should be renamed to ‘Hard’ vard. The classes she had just finished were the most difficult she had ever experienced in her entire educational career. She was majorly needing a vacation.

“Hold your horses lady!” Elise said with laughter glistening in her eyes. She quickly took off her headphones and climbing out of the car to follow Gianna who was already half way to the door. “Where to?”

“Food.” Gianna said as she made her way to the Burger King. After grabbing some food to last her and Elise until dinner that night she turned around to face her friend. Elise looked as Gianna with raised eyebrows.

“Let’s go!” Gianna said heading for the exit.

“How far are we from the beach house?” Elise asked as the two of them climbed back into the car and got back on to the highway.

“About 30 minutes from the city, but I don’t know how long it’s going to take to get to the beach house. Hey...can you get the directions from the glove compartment?” Elise retrieved the sheet of paper with Gianna’s scribbles on it and tried to make heads or tails of it.

“G, where the hell did you learn to write? This looks like a five year old wrote it.”

“Hey, AJ was talking fast. I tried to copy them down as fast as possible to keep up with him.”

“Well, you’re going to have to read and drive at the same time because I have no idea what this even remotely says.”

“Oh jeez, give it to me.” Gianna said sighing. Elise handed the paper over and Gianna squinted at it while periodically watching the road. Minutes later the car pulled out onto the main street leading to downtown Orlando. Traveling on that road they eventually found a side street that led towards the rich luxurious mansions lining the beach.

“Look at this neighborhood!” Elise said gaping at all the huge houses they past. Making a left onto a somewhat deserted road they traveled down that half a mile before a gigantic house came into view.

“Holy...” Gianna uttered as she gazed at the house.

“What? Is that it?” Elise asked excitedly.

“Uh-huh.” Gianna said nodding her head slightly. The house was beautiful. It was a two story beige house with huge picture windows and a slanted roof. Pulling into the driveway they saw the big four car garage connected to the side. A few trees lined a fence surrounding the property. Gianna pulled the car into the garage in an empty space and climbed out. Not bothering to look for the guys, she and Elise walked around back to check out the view. It was breathtaking. The dark green lawn stretched back housing a large in-ground pool complete with a diving board and slide. Beyond the pool lay a basketball court lined with benches. Grass went on for about 75 yards before running into the sand. Beyond the beach, ocean stretched on forever. The sun sprinkled the water with yellow and orange, reflecting the clouds on the wet surface. Seagulls glided over the salty water and beach landing occasionally to peck at the ground or catch a fish. Gianna stood in the middle of the lawn and closed her eyes lifting her face to the sky. Peace. The wind was gentle and a feeling of calmness over came her. Heaven...

“Gianna!!!” a loud masculine voice called breaking Gianna’s moment of serenity. Turning around she saw Kevin Richardson, the tall, dark, handsome, older brother Backstreet Boy bounding towards her and Elise.

“Kev!” Gianna said as she was pulled into a hug.

“I haven’t seen you in over a year!”

“I know! None of you have.” Gianna commented. Kevin pulled away and looked her up and down.

“I am sure that some of the others will be pleasantly surprised.” Kevin said winking at Gianna. She blushed slightly at the comment. She had always been told she was beautiful with her slim form, blond hair, and eyes the color of the sky. The fact that it had just been hinted at by People’s Sexiest Pop Star was inconceivable though. “Hey Elise!” Kevin said letting Gianna totally go as he made his way over to Elise who was still admiring the view.

“Hey Kevin, nice to see you again!” Elise said as she was also pulled into his embrace.

“Kev, where is that wife of yours that we have yet to meet?” Gianna asked interrupting Kevin welcoming Elise.

“Inside getting some stuff unpacked. By the way...what the hell was all that crap that you mailed up here??”

“Oh um...” Elise said blushing a little.

“Ah...I see, your doing.” Kevin said pointing a finger at Elise.

“I thought I might need it.”

“Sure. It’s okay. We’ll find places for everything. It’s a big house.”

“We noticed.” Gianna said glancing up at the monstrosity of a house she would be living in for the next two months.

“We had a lot of people and this was the prettiest house we found to rent.” Kevin explained.

“Yeah, it is beautiful. The view is gorgeous. I have a feeling that this summer is going to be peaceful and completely relaxing.” As the words left Gianna’s mouth music began to blare from her new abode. The glass began to vibrate and she heard another male cheer loudly.

“Hey, AJ’s back with the beer!!” Kevin yelled over the music. “Oh, another reason we got this house out in the middle of nowhere...no neighbors to complain about the noise level!” Kevin said as he ran for the house.

“Peace....” Gianna mumbled as she shook her head which had already begun to hurt and headed for the house and a summer of migraines.

Chapter Two
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