Ally Giovetti slipped out of her boyfriend, Craig’s arms and rolled out of bed, careful not to bump the tender bruises on her body. Shivering, she pulled on some panties and a bra from the floor before opening the large wooden dresser she and Craig shared. After grabbing a pair of dark blue denim flares and a tight black v-neck sweater, she silently got dressed.
“Where are you going?” Craig asked.
Ally jumped, startled. “I’m just going downstairs to have breakfast. Do you want me to bring you anything?”
“No, I’m not hungry,” Craig replied. As Ally opened the door, he stopped her. “Go easy on the fatty stuff. You’ve been gaining weight lately, and I don’t want a whale of a girlfriend.”
Ally nodded. Normally, she would have cried at a comment like that, but she knew he was just telling the truth. Besides, what boy band wonder would want a fat girlfriend? He had every right to say it.
Just as she got downstairs, the phone rang. She picked up the cordless and opened the refrigerator. “Hello?”
“Is this Alexandra Giovetti?” It was a woman.
“Yes, it is. Who’s calling?” she asked as she grabbed two eggs.
“This is Fatima Robinson, the Backstreet Boys tour choreographer. You auditioned two weeks ago,” the woman replied.
“Yes, I remember you,” Ally said quickly, nearly dropping the eggs.
“I wanted to offer you a job. You would be an ideal dancer for the tour,” Fatima said.
“Oh my God!” Ally squeaked. Then the realization hit her that Craig would never let her do it. “Uh, I’ll have to talk it over with my boyfriend. Is there a number where I can reach you, Miss Robinson?”
“Yes, and please call me Fatima. The number is 555-1526. Just get back to me as soon as you can.”
“Okay, thank you.” Ally hung up and began separating the egg whites from the egg yolks when she felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist and a pair of lips kiss her neck.
“Hey, baby. Who was that on the phone?” Craig asked.
Ally hesitated. “Uh, well, that was the choreographer for the Backstreet Boys tour. I auditioned for that a few weeks ago, you know. She, um, offered me a position.”
Craig turned her around to face him and snickered. “You’re not going to take a crap job like that, are you?”
“Well, actually, Craig…”
“Alexandra, you’re scaring me. You can’t work for my competition. That would look terrible!”
“Craig, this is a huge opportunity for me. If I take this job, I can get any job I want after it. This will look damn good on my resume!”
“You can’t be serious,” Craig muttered. Her expression didn’t change. “You are. You’re serious. I’m not comfortable with you around those guys all the time.”
“You don’t trust me, Craig?” Ally whispered, tears glistening in her eyes. “I would never cheat on you!”
“Okay, fine,” Craig sighed. “I don’t know why I’m so worried about those Backdoor Boys anyway.”
Chapter 2
Confidently, Ally stepped into the Jive building, her black heels clicking on the marble floor. Today was the day she met her coworkers: the Backstreet Boys and the other dancers. She walked down the hall until she found the room, took a deep breath, walked in, and gasped.
“Hello, Ally,” Fatima greeted warmly.
Ally could only nod in response; her eyes were fixated on the youngest Backstreet Boy. Even at age twenty-four, Nick Carter was the baby in the group, and in Ally’s opinion, he was definitely the cutest. After a few moments, her voice returned. “Hi.”
On the other side, Nick stared at this goddess. Her straight, dark brown hair flowed loosely over her shoulders, and her large, gray eyes studied him, standing out against her fair skin. She wore a knee length black skirt and a white three-quarter length sleeve blouse that fit her beautiful body perfectly. Her heavenly voice brought him back to the room. He murmured a nervous hi, then looked down at the table.
Shortly after, the other dancers, Shannon, Joanna, Maureen, and Michelle, arrived. Ally tried not to say too much in fear of humiliating herself, and stared at Nick through most of the meeting.
Eventually, rehearsal times were worked out, and everyone left the boys alone. As soon as the room cleared, Nick shook his head. “Wow.”
“You really fell hard, Nicky Boy,” Kevin stated. “But get it out of your head! That girl is bad news!”
“What makes you think so?” Nick asked defensively. “I think she really liked me.”
“Whoa, buddy!” Brian exclaimed. “That’s Craig Miller’s girlfriend!”
“WHAT?” Nick cried.
“I didn’t like her,” AJ whispered to Howie, trying not to let Nick hear. He failed.
“What’s wrong with her?” Nick demanded.
“Craig Miller is an asshole. I’d bet any money that whatever dirt she gets on us and our tour, it’ll go straight to him, and he’ll take it to the press. I just don’t trust her,” AJ answered honestly.
“Just because she goes out with Craig does not mean she’s a spy!” Nick exclaimed. “She seemed to be a very nice girl, and I’m sure there’s a good reason she’s with that slimebag.”
“Fame, fortune, sex, shall I continue?” AJ said skeptically.
Nick rolled his eyes. “I was thinking more along the lines of she doesn’t know what he’s really like?”
“How about you don’t know what she’s really like?” Brian pointed out. Nick sighed, temporarily defeated, and dropped the subject.
Chapter 3
“Jo!” Ally called as her best friend stepped off the plane. They hugged, then pulled away to look at each other for the first time in a year. “Josie, you’ve changed so much!”
It was true. Jo’s once shoulder-length, straightened blonde hair was now down to her lower back, and naturally curly. She’d gotten rid of her black glasses to show off her wide, almond-shaped, brown eyes. To finish, she’d grown an inch to become five foot eight and lost some weight to become about a hundred and twenty pounds.
“I missed you, Ally!” Jo exclaimed. “It’s great to see you again!” She turned to Craig. “And you must be Ally’s love, Craig. I’m Jo.” She held out her hand.
Instead of shaking it, Craig brought it to his lips and softly kissed it. “It’s nice to meet you, Jo.”
Jo giggled softly, then looked at Ally and nodded in approval. She and Ally had been friends since they were toddlers, and, being a year older, she had always been very protective of Ally. When she graduated from high school, she left Ally behind and went to college in New York City, but they stayed in touch. After Ally graduated a year later, she took off to Orlando to start her dancing career. Their jobs kept them apart for months at a time, but still, they remained best friends.
“Josie, hello, are we going to get your stuff? I want to go clubbing!” Ally’s voice brought Jo back to the present. Though she was too young to drink, most of Orlando’s big clubs knew her as Craig’s girlfriend and didn’t bother to card her.
“Oh, sorry. Yeah, let’s go!” Jo answered.
Craig downed his fifth beer and looked at Jo. “Sho, how did you and Ally meet?” he slurred.
“We lived next door to each other and our parents used to take turns babysitting for us,” Jo replied as Craig scooted closer to her.
Ally watched as Craig and Jo talked, glad they were getting along. “Babe,” she said.
Craig didn’t take his eyes off her best friend. “Yeah?”
“Do you want another beer?”
“Yeah, sure,” Craig replied. As soon as his girlfriend was out of earshot, he said to Jo, “Are you shingle?”
Jo shook her head. “I’m going to the bathroom,” she muttered, standing up and following Ally over to the bar. She grabbed her friend’s arm and pulled her into the ladies’ room. “Your boyfriend is an asshole, Ally.”
“What?” Ally replied, confused. She wasn’t drunk, but Jo’s anger wasn’t making any sense. “I thought you liked him.”
“Ally, he’s ignored you all night. As soon as you left, he asked if I was single!” Jo snapped.
“He hasn’t ignored me deliberately! He was just getting to know you, and I’m sure he wasn’t asking if you were single for his purposes. He does have single friends,” Ally explained.
Jo grabbed Ally’s arm again, causing her to squeal in pain. “Sorry, didn’t mean to hurt you,” she said sincerely. Then it hit her. She pulled up Ally’s sleeve to reveal a nearly all purple arm. “What the hell! Did he do this to you, too?”
“No, I…I fell,” Ally lied unconvincingly.
“You know you’re a terrible liar, Al. What is he doing to you?”
“Nothing! You’re just jealous because I’m with a guy from Your Fantasy and you don’t even have a boyfriend!” With that, Ally stomped out of the bathroom. Craig wasn’t at the table, and Ally assumed he had gone home. She took a cab after him.