|
10,000 Kisses : Chapter 3
"This is exactly what I don't need", Suzanne thought, looking out at the
clear blue sky while standing next to her overheating car. And
nevertheless, this was in 90 degree heat! See, Suzanne and her best
friend, Rachel, had decided to take a much needed vacation. They had
decided to go to Suzanne's uncle'sFlorida condo in Orlando. In order to
save money, Suzanne offered to drive to Florida from Philadelphia
instead of flying. Plus, Suz and Rachel could enjoy Suzanne's brand new
1999 Mustang. But now, here was Suz, on some deserted long, hot and
humid stretch of road with a broken down car while Rachel waited at the
condo in air conditioning no less! Suzanne cursed at the car outloud,
"You stupid piece of crap...why did I buy you? Only a month old and
something goes wrong!" "Oh, geez, like this is going to do any good
cursing at the car!" she thought. "Why did I ever let Rachel talk me
into coming done here and why did I offer to go to the store? She knows
how I really distaste heat - especially the humidity!" Suz wondered
though she really knew the answer. What was it that Rachel had said?
Oh, yeah...to get off my butt and stop feeling sorry for myself and do
something about my lovelife. Suz had angrily retorted, "What lovelife?"
and Rachel had answered, "You just answered my question!" Now don't get
me wrong...my life was wonderful -- I had a great job interacting with
people and a loving family and friends but was lacking majorily in my
lovelife and always was! Lately, I had been feeling quite lousy about
having no one to love. Most of that was due to two things: One, I am
not exactly one of the skinniest girls around and this seemed to draw
more insults then compliments to me. Rachel and I had vowed that this
wouldn't stop us from having a lovelife but it seemed to stop ME! I was
sick of the catcalls and insults from the guys that I met (when I do
meet guys!). Not once have I been kissed let alone on a date! And I was
24 years old, nevertheless. And here I was now in the middle of an
unfamiliar area in a VERY bad mood! Up until a few weeks ago, I had
been quite happy not going out with anyone. Even when Rachel finally
meet her online boyfriend, Larry, and it blossomed into more, it didn't
bother me. Hey, I was happy that one of us had found love! And boy,
was she in love! And Larry was a great guy...I couldn't be happier if I
had picked him out myself for her. These feelings of loneliness weren't
as strong as before. Now, that is all I think about. Not having
someone to share my day, my troubles, my feelings, my life, and most
especially, my body (that is if anyone would want me!) But this didn't
bother me until a few weeks ago...which is something I never told
Rachel. Now, here I am stuck in Orlando on some god forsaken road
(which I didn't even know the name of!) with no car in sight! As the
seconds ticked by and Suzanne continued to ponder what Rachel had said,
she wondered when another car might come by. Lord knows, this is
probably a road no one ever uses! But wait,what was that? It was a car
coming down the road...Would it stop?
10,000 Kisses
Chapter 2
Realizing the driver of the car was a very fine guy, Suzanne bet that he
wouldn't even slow down. None of them did when they got a look at her!
Suddenly, jolting Suzanne out of her thoughts, the car passed her with
the driver not even batting an eyelash. "How typical", Suz commented out
loud. Another 15 minutes or so went by while she sat looking at her
surroundings -- all the trees, birds, clouds, and the sound of the iguana
lizards. "How
beautiful it actually was," she said to no one in particular. Maybe
Rachel was right -- a change in scenery is what I needed but right now, Suz
was
hot, thirsty, hungry and cranky. She didn't know how much longer she was
going to last -- geez, she didn't even get to the store so she didn't have
anything to eat or drink with her. "Remember to always carry a water bottle
from
now on" she said talking to herself. Who knows how much longer she had sat
in
the blazing sun when another car sped down the road. Figuring the person
would never stop, Suz didn't even look up, much less get up. Jolting her
out
of her thoughts, a shadow suddenly fell across Suzanne. She jumped up in
hurry, having been quite frightened, and almost fell over when I hand reached
out to steady her. Working her gaze upwards, Suz's eyes started to trail up
this person who was holding her arm at the elbow. Noticing it was a guy, she
realized the guy was incredibly gorgeous and slightly familiar to her.
Finally, after what seemed an eternity, he spoke -- "I'm sorry miss, I
didn't mean to scare you. I saw your car and thought you might need some
help." Well, of course, I do -- she thought! All the while this guy is
talking, Suzanne is staring into his ocean blue eyes. Now, that is something
I
wouldn't mind drowning in, Suz thought while laughing silently to herself.
Even
more amazing where the diamond stud earrings that he wore in both ears. Wow,
what men with earrings did to her!!!! Interrupting her thoughts, Suz
realized that she was beginning to become lightheaded and dizzy. Suddenly,
everything
started to fade away -- sounds, lights, and the heat. "Oh my God!" she
cried, reaching for the nearest thing -- the mysterious stranger. As her
body
fell, she felt him catch her, then everything went black...
Chapter three
10,000 Kisses
When Suzanne finally opened her eyes against the blinding sun, she was
embarrassed to note that she was laying the strangers arms. "How did
I get here?" she wondered when suddenly he started to lift her up and take
her
to his truck. Frightened, she asked what he was doing! "I am taking you
into the air conditioning -- you need to cool off" the stranger replied
looking at her curiously. I wonder who she is, he thought to himself
looking at
her pretty face. Once she sat in his truck, he handed her a chilled water
bottle. Not knowing what to say, Suz mumbled thank you and started to drink
like
the water was going to disappear. "Whoa" the mysterious stranger said
attempting to grab the bottle from her. "Slow down, you don't want to get
yourself
sick" he continued. Angrily, Suz turned her head away, peering out the
window, so he couldn't reach. Didn't he see what she just went through?
Feeling
bad, Suz realized that he was only trying to help her. After 2 or 3 minutes
of sitting there, she realized that she had no idea what time it was by
then. Lord knows how much time has even passed. It was 10am when I left the
condo, she thought. It has to be at least noon she realized. Thinking of
everything that has happened in the past few weeks, and especially today,
Suzanne
burst into tears surprising the stranger sitting beside her. "I'm sorry," the
stranger said thinking he was the cause of her tears. "No, you didn't
do anything - you were just trying to help me," she said while turning to
get a better look at the guy. She knew the guy looked very familiar but she
couldn't place it and didn't say anything. She studied his face which
had a light hint of a mustache and goatee and also noting that he was wearing
a Tommy Hilfiger shirt and shorts with Nike sneakers on. Oh man, does he
look good or what? Suz thought. Suddenly, it dawned on her who it was...
Chapter Four
10,000 Kisses
Oh Geez, she thought but then realized that she had said it out loud.
Suzanne had realized that the guy sitting next to her was Kevin Richardson.
He was in a world famous music group known as the Backstreet Boys. She had
heard of them briefly because her cousin, Nicole, liked them. Suz seemed to
remember that Nicole liked the one who was known as B-Rok. Oh, what was his
real name? Oh, yeah, Brian! From what she remembered, Brian received the
name because he loved basketball. Anyway, it was just her luck that this
stranger was some famous, gorgeous guy. And he was the one she liked best
(of the Backstreet Boys) because of his feelings toward family, friends, the
music group, and life. Suddenly, she remembered what Kevin had said about
his father that really touched her. He had said that if he could be half the
man his father had been as a father, a husband, and as a friend, then Kevin
would consider himself to be successful. That had struck a chord in
Suzanne's heart. Also, considering that Suz didn't have a wonderful
relationship with her father and had always wanted more out of it but he
didn't want to listen, Kevin’s words meant a lot to her. She felt envious of
the relationship that Kevin had had with this late father. Thinking of all
this caused Suz to start sobbing again but this time it was just silent tears
running down her face. And nevertheless, she was staring at Kevin who was
giving her this bewildered look probably thinking she was some nut! Here was
this nice generous guy who decided to help someone in need (and boy, was I in
need of many things LOL) on this scorching hot day and she kept crying like a
nutcase. Finally, Kevin spoke to her, "Are you sure you are fine?". "Yes, I
am," she said but not sounding too sure, "I am ok but don't ask why I keep
crying because I don't know." At which, she started sobbing AGAIN! The next
thing she knew, she was pouring her whole heart out to Kevin about her
weight, guys, Rachel, and this vacation. After about 10 minutes of babbling
on, Suz stopped talking, drained of all energy. She felt like she just want
to crawl into bed after spilling everything that was bothering her to a
complete stranger...well, not a totally complete stranger. Not realizing
Kevin was reaching for her, she felt his arms go around her and pull her
close to him, shushing her and rocking her in his arms. Kevin could barely
hold the pain in that he felt for all her hurting. He knew, in a way, what
it felt like to be hurt. But what could he do about this? he thought. I
will have to think of something...it doesn’t matter that I just meet her!
Chapter Five - 10,000 Kisses....
Ah, I could stay in his arms all day, she thought. I never knew what this
felt like until now. But what a minute! Suz just meet him even though she
sort of thought she knew him from TV and magazines. Well, it didn't matter
to her who he was...only that he seemed to care this much about a stranger
like her. He must really be such a wonderful person to help her like this.
After finally calming done, Suzanne didn't want to face looking at Kevin.
But Kevin wasn't really looking at her at the moment and she didn't notice.
"What has happened to her to make her feel this way," Kevin thought to
himself. I can't believe that men would treat her badly like she just told
me. What guy wouldn't want her? She seems nice and she is very pretty.
Just because she doesn't look like Kate Moss doesn't mean she isn't
attractive. All these things starting running through Kevin's mind all at
once. "I am going to have to take her out to have some fun" Kevin thought.
"I can't let this vacation of hers go to waste" I will have to get the rest
of the boys to meet her, and her friend Rachel that she mentioned, to see
what they think...maybe they can take her mind off things. But wait, Kevin
realized that this girl never gave any indication of who he was. Not that
Kevin was conceited and thought that everyone knew who the Backstreet Boys
were. But usually, down here in Florida, everyone DID know who they were.
Especially in Orlando and Ruskin! Oh, well, maybe it is good that she
doesn't know who he was Kevin realized. "I am really sorry," Kevin said to
Suzanne. "I hate to hear of men treating women that way". "That is ok" Suz
replied, "I am pretty used to it but it wasn't until recently that it started
to bother me." "Maybe it was Rachel finding her true love that made me wish
for what I was missing" she continued. "Yeah, I know what you mean"said
Kevin. Suz looked at him in astonishment. She couldn't believe that he
wasn't married or didn't even have a girlfriend. "You mean to tell me that
you haven't found your true love?" Suzanne said to him. "No, I haven't found
her yet though I think I am getting close" he replied, "really close" gazing
at Suzanne's beautiful face. Oh, Suz thought to herself. Well, I guess
there goes that idea of maybe getting the guts up to ask him out! At the
same time, Kevin was admiring her sparkly hazel eyes and long brown hair that
she had seemed to sloppily pulled into a ponytail. How cute she looks, he
thought! Ask her now...he kept saying to himself. What was he afraid of, he
thought? He never really had many girls turned him down before but this
time, he was scared she would say no. He really wanted to get to know
Suzanne more. He wanted to make right what the other guys had did to her.
"I have something to tell you and ask you" Kevin said. "Ok" she replied.
"First, my name is Kevin...I realized that i had never introduced myself" he
said. "Oh, yeah, my name is Suzanne but you can call me Suz or Suzy but
please NOT Susan. I don't like that name!" she said laughing. "Ok, well, you
can call me Kevin or Kev" he replied. "Now, for the thing I want to ask
you..." Oh, geez, Sue thought, he just wants to know where I am staying so he
can drop me off. Kevin continued while watching Suz closely, "I want to know
if you and Rachel would like to get together with me and my friends tonight?
I think you need to have a little fun." Surprised as hell, Suzanne looked at
him wondering if he was serious. Kevin could tell that she was hesitent to
answer him. Finally, she opened her mouth and started to say "Well....
Chapter Six
10,000 Kisses
"Would you like to come hang out with some friends of mine tonight?" Kevin
asked almost pleadingly while looking at Suzanne's fact to see her reaction.
"You are most welcome to bring Rachel, your friend that you mentioned," he
continued. Suzanne stared at him wondering if he was serious or just felt
sorry for her. Kevin could see in her eyes that she wasn't sure of what he
asked her. Why would he ask me to hang with his friends, she wondered. He
had just met her and he didn't even know her! Well, maybe that was a good
thing, she realized or either he did feel sorry for her but she really didn't
even want to think that right now. She had to stop thinking negatively! He
didn't really know her so maybe there was a chance. Breaking into her
thoughts, "Come on" Kevin said. "We'll have lots of fun and I am sure you
will LOVE my friends" he continued, if she didn't already know which friends
he was talking about. Suz assumed that he was referring to the rest of the
group-Brian, Howie, Nick and AJ-when he mentioned his friends. Of course she
would like them! Who wouldn't like five hot guys like the Backstreet Boys?
She sorta had a feeling that Kevin and the rest of the guys were apprehensive
when it came to girls who approached them. She really couldn't blame them.
Some of these girls were so pathetic! How can you claim to love someone when
you don't really even know them? Suzanne was never that kind of fan when it
come to artists, whether music or movies. She admired them for the art they
created. Noticing that Kevin was waiting for her response, she finally said
that she would go out with him and his friends that night. "Just let me
check with Rachel" she said suddenly remembering that Rachel was probably
worried about her. Kevin noted her change in her expression. "What is
wrong?" he asked. "I just realized that Rachel is probably really worried
about where I am!" Suz said. "Well, I have a cell phone if you would like to
call her and tell he what happened" he offered. "Ok, let me call her
then...I don't want her to send the police out for me," she said laughing.
Kevin handed her over his phone. "When you are done, I will call my friends
to let them know about tonight, ok?" Kevin replied. "Ok" Suzanne said. "I
will go check your car while you are on the phone with Rachel" said Kevin,
while getting out of his truck. Dialing the phone, Suz watched Kevin
approach her car and lift the hood. "Rachel?" she asked. "Suz, where the
hell have you been!?" Rachel demanded to know. "OH, you won't believe what
happened to me! I have good and bad news" Suz replied. "Well, tell me the
bad news first" Rach said. "Well, my car broke down on some highway while
going to the store" Suzanne said. "Oh my god...are you all right? Where are
you now and how are you calling me if you are some deserted road?" Rachel
wanted to know. "Well...you are never going to believe this" Suz said while
continuing to watch Kevin fiddle with her car. "Some guy stopped to help me
and I am in his car using his cell phone while he looks under the hood of my
car" Suzanne said. "Suz, you know how dangerous it is talk to strangers!"
Rachel yelled. "Wait, Rach!" Suz interjected. "I didn't even know that he
had stopped. I was sitting on the ground next to my car when a shadow had
fallen over me but when I went to get up, I fainted from the heat!" Suz
continued. "You didn't!" Rachel said while laughing even though it wasn't
funny that Suzanne had fainted. "Yes, I did and you want to know what the
best part is? I know who this guy is too!" Suz said excitingly. "Who??"
Rachel demanded to know. "Do you really want to know??" Suzanne said
teasingly. "Damnit, yes, you know I do!" Rach shouted. "Ok...here goes..."
Suz replied....
Chapter Seven
10,000 Kisses
“Well, the guy that stopped it help me is one of the Backstreet Boys,” Suz
replied. “The Backstreet Boys??” Rach asked. “Yes, don’t you remember,
Rach? They sing that song Everybody that you love so much!” Suz shouted
excitingly but quickly quieting down because she didn’t want Kevin to hear
her. “Oh, my God…You have got to be kidding!!!” Rachel said. “Would I lie
to you…you know that I would be laughing if I was pulling a prank on you,
Rach” Suz said. “Well, are you going to tell me which on it is?” Rach wanted
to know. “Or do I have to pull it out of you?” “Well, it isn’t the one that
you like” Suzanne told Rachel. “Oh, so it ain’t AJ, huh?” Rachel had spoken
with disappointment. “No, it isn’t him but who do I like?” Suzanne voiced.
“No way…Kevin?” Rach asked “Uh huh…yes, he was the one that stopped to help
me.” Suz said. “Anyway, I can’t talk much longer…I am using his phone and I
think that he is almost done with my car. I just wanted to let you know that
I was fine and that we have plans tonight.” “We do?” Rachel asked Suzanne.
“Yep, Kevin asked if we wanted to hang with his friends” Suz replied, “but I
don’t know which friends though I suspect I knew who he is referring to.”
“Well, what exactly are we going to do?” Rachel asked. “I don’t know yet…but
in the meantime, Kevin is going to call his friends and then he is going to
drive me home. So, I should be seeing you soon, ok?” Suzanne said. “Ok,”
Rach said, “but be careful and try to find out who his friends are, ok?”
“Will do but I have to go now…he is coming back” Suz whispered. “Ok, bye”
Rachel said. “Bye, Rachel…See ya soon” Suzanne replied. At that, Suzanne
hung up the phone as Kevin opened his door and climbed back in the truck.
“Well, it only looks like a radiator hose broke so it should be simple to
fix. I know a place you can take it. I will have the guy come and pick up
your car tonight, ok?” Kevin said. “Sure, and thank you very much for
helping me” Suzanne said. “No problem…are you feeling better now?” Kevin
said as he watched her face. “Yes, I feel much better now and I want to
thank you for listening to me babble on…I don’t know what got into me for a
second there” Suz said embarrassingly. “Aw, don’t sweat it, we all have days
like this…even I do, believe it or not” Kevin said, “now, did you talk to
Rachel and what did she say?” Suzanne replied, “Well, she was worried but
she is glad that you stopped to help me and she said that going out tonight
was a good idea”. “Well, I am glad to hear that…so lets get a move on here,”
Kevin said as he started the truck and pulled onto the road forgetting that
he wanted to call the guys to tell them what was going on tonight. “Which
way, miss?” Kevin said in a phony chauffeur’s accent. “Uh, go north and I
will tell you the rest as we go along,” Suz said. As Suz continued to direct
Kevin where to go, he had a sneaking suspicion where they were going. Soon,
with a look of surprise, Kevin was pulling into the condo development and
parked in front of Suzanne’s condo. “Uh, Suz?” Kevin said with a question
while looking around the condo complex, “I have something to tell you.”
“What is that?” Suz answered. “Uh, well…” Kevin started to say as he noticed
Nick and Brian, with Donnie and Val soon following them, walk out of the
condo across the street from Suz’s condo and headed to the basketball court
in the middle of the courtyard. Damn, Kevin realized that they would all
probably pass his truck and notice it was him. There was nothing he could do
but to tell Suzanne where he lived. As Suzanne looked at him questioningly,
she noticed these two other guys approaching Kevin’s truck.. Realizing that
it was Nick and Brian, Suzanne wondered what they were doing at the condo
complex. “Hey, Kevy Kev, where the hell have you been bud?” Nick shouted
running over to the car, “we decided to go play b-ball without you!” “Uh, I
was helping someone” Kevin said defensively. It was then that Brian and Nick
realized someone was in the car with Kevin and it was a girl. Just then,
Donnie and Val walked up to the car. “Hey, Kev,” Donnie and Val said at the
same time. “We have been waiting for you to come home forever!” Brian said.
“Home?” Suzanne said looking among the five people. “Yes, home” Kevin said,
“that is what I wanted to tell you. It wasn’t until I pulled up that I
realized where you lived Suzanne. My friends and I live right across the
street.” Everyone then turned to look at her wondering what she was going to
say…Kevin most of all. He really hoped that she wouldn’t be mad that he
didn’t tell her before.
Chapter Eight
10,000 Kisses
“You live here?” Suzanne asked again with a smile. “Yes, along with AJ and
Howie” Brian replied. “And Val and Donnie here practically live here” Nick
said with a laugh looking over at them. Donnie and Val looked down
sheepishly. “Sorry, we just love it here guys” Val said. “It is boring at
our place especially when Joe and Jordan never drop by” Donnie added. “Oh,
well, no big deal” Brian said looking over at Kevin finally. “So, Kev, are
you going to tell us who this pretty lady is and why she is in your truck.
You owe us an explanation since we have been sitting here waiting for over 2
hours!” Nick voiced. “Oh, ok…sorry” Kevin started, “this is Suzanne”
gesturing over to her. “It seems that her car broke down on route 43 so I
decided to stop and help her” Kevin continued. “Well, what the hell were you
guys doing that took you over 2 hours to get home?” Val demanded with a
twinkle in her eye. Kevin looked over at her with a warning in his eyes not
to start her teasing. Val saw it and promptly shut up wondering what was up
with Kevin. “Well, we had a little medical problem” Suz finally said.
Everyone turned and looked at her. “What was that?” Brian asked concerned.
“Well…” she started to say hesitantly, not knowing if she could continue
telling them what happened since she was embarrassed. Kevin saw the distress
in her face and decided to tell them what happened but left out her crying to
him. “Well, it seems she was sitting in the sun so long that when I went to
help her, she didn’t know I had stopped and she jumped up so fast that she
fainted” Kevin explained very quickly, too quickly that the group picked up
that that wasn’t the whole story. Nick and Brian looked at each other
knowing that Kevin wasn’t telling them the whole story which means that he
must have a good reason not to. “Are you all right?” Donnie asked looking at
Suzanne. “Yes, I am fine now” she said feeling stupid for what happened.
“Well, let me introduce myself formally” Donnie said. “I am Donnie and this
is Val, my fiancee” he said gesturing to Val. “Yes, I know you are, Donnie”
Suzanne said. “You do?” Donnie said wondering why she didn’t say anything
before. “Of course, and I know who Joe, Jordan, Jon, Danny, and Mark are
too” She said with a laugh. “Oh, ok…” Donnie said with this bewildered look
on his face. “See,” Val said, “people still know who you are Donnie!” “Yeah,
I have seen all your movies” Suzanne said. “You have?” Donnie once again
asked. “And listened to all your music!” she added, “and still do.” “Well,
guys,” Kevin interrupted, “I think Suzanne needs some rest especially if we
are all going out tonight.” “We are going out?” Nick, Brian, Donnie, and Val
asked at the same time. “Yes, we are going out with Suzanne and her friend
Rachel,” Kevin said, “and you can bring Joy too” he said to Brian. “Who is
Joy?” Suz asked. “Oh, that is my girlfriend,” Brian said, “and who is
Rachel?” “That is my best friend” Suz replied. “Oh, well, we have lots of
fun tonight then!” Nick said happily. For once, he thought, they weren’t
alone and bored! Suzanne noticed that Rachel was walking out of the house
looking around and wondering where she was at. She should have been here 15
minutes ago Rachel thought. Damn! I hope nothing happened again. Just
then, she noticed Suzanne getting out of a black truck parked across the
street. She started to get up to run over to her when she noticed the people
surrounding the truck. No, it can’t be! She thought. Am I seeing things???
Just then, Suz looked up and saw Rachel. She ran over to Rachel and grabbed
her hand and pulled her into the house. “Have I got something more to tell
you!!!!!” Suzanne shouted. “What, what?” Rachel wanted to know. “Guess who
lives across the street from us??” Suz said with a glow in her eyes. If
looks didn’t deceive Rachel, she would think that Suzanne was in love! It
then dawned on Rachel who she was talking about. “No way!” Rachel shouted.
“Yes, way,” Suz said. “The people who live across the street are…”
|
||