Yea! I finally got this fixed, so happy reading. And please write me or sign the guestbook and tell me what you think. I really want some feedback! Peace out, Po
Lindsay Price sighed as she gazed out the window to the ground far below. She glanced at her watch: 10:43 am. Back in Fresno, California, she would be just waking up and getting ready, maybe to hit the mall with Katie or go see a movie with the rest of the group. Instead, Lindsay had been awake for four hours and she was now sitting in an uncomfortable seat in coach, on her way to Florida. She had been dreading the trip ever since May, when her grandmother called from her new home in Ruskin. She had suggested that Lindsay fly out for a couple of weeks, to keep her company and help her finish unpacking. Her parents had enthusiastically agreed, saying this would be a perfect time to visit, due to the fact that next year, she would be preparing to begin college. Since she had been dreaming of a perfect summer spent with all her friends, Lindsay was sorely disappointed by the plans her parents made. She sighed again, shifted in her seat, and willed the flight to go by as quickly as possible.
Lindsay's grandmother was waiting at the airport when she arrived, slightly behind schedule. She approached her granddaughter, admiring the way she had grown, and embraced her enthusiastically. Lindsay returned the hug hesitantly, unsure by the brazen show of emotion. "Oh honey, it's so good to see you," said the little woman, whose salt and pepper hair was cropped short and blue eyes, so much like Lindsay's own, shone with unshed tears. "It's good to see you too, Nana." They stood in the middle of the airport, until Lindsay's grandma broke the awkward silence by suggesting that they retrieve her luggage from the baggage claim. After picking up Lindsay's bags, they departed the building and drove to Ruskin, a small town located outside Tampa Bay. Lindsay breathed in sharply when her grandmother pulled into a gated community, filled with huge homes. "You live here?" she asked, awe in her voice. "Yes dear," Nana answered nonchalantly. She drove into the driveway of one of the homes. "Do you like it?" Lindsay nodded, struck speechless by the sheer enormity of the houses. As she stepped out of the car, she noticed how warm it was and that her long red hair stuck to the back of her neck. She pulled her luggage out of the trunk and then followed her grandmother into the house. Furniture was present in most of the rooms, but other belongings were still in boxes. Nana walked upstairs and led Lindsay to a room down the hall, where she would be sleeping. Although the rest of the house was in disarray, she had set up a full bed, dresser, and desk, and decorated the room in her granddaughter's favorite colors: blue and green. "Thanks Nana," Lindsay said, trying to ignore her feelings of guilt, as she set down her bags. "You're welcome. Thank you for coming to visit me. I know we're going to have an enjoyable time," the old lady smiled, then turned and left the room. Lindsay immediately crashed on the bed and fished through her backpack for paper to write Katie a letter.
The next morning, Lindsay arose from a restless sleep. Even though it was fairly early, she could already feel the sweat beginning to form on her forehead. It's hot back home, but never this humid, Lindsay thought. She changed into a pair of cutoffs and a blue crop top, and pulled her hair back into a ponytail. After wandering downstairs to find her grandma still asleep, she decided to explore the backyard. She stepped out onto the covered patio and was delighted to see a large body of water close by. Lindsay walked down to a dock, took off her sandals, and dangled her feet in the water. As she shielded her eyes from the sun and gazed across the bay, she noticed a boat heading her way. She quickly stood up and moved closer to the shore as the boat came closer to the dock. It halted and off stepped a tall guy with blond hair. He was wearing a white tank top, flowered board shorts, and flip flops; he smiled at Lindsay, revealing a set of straight, gleaming white teeth. "Hey," he greeted her. "Are you new here? I haven't seen ya around before." "Um... no.. I'm just visiting my grandma," Lindsay replied nervously. Suddenly self-conscious of her appearance, she tugged at the frayed hem of her shorts and crossed her arms to cover her bare midriff. "Cool," he said. "I'm Nick. I live in the house over there." He pointed to a large home across the bay. When he turned back around, she noticed his eyes were a startling blue. "I'm Lindsay," she introduced herself. "Nana's house is the one right near the water." Nick nodded. "So how long are ya visiting?" "2 weeks." "Well, maybe I'll see ya around," he smiled again, and took off in the direction of his house. "Bye," Lindsay whispered. She stood there for a moment, pondering what had just happened, then walked back to Nana's. When she entered, she found her grandmother awake and in the middle of preparing breakfast. Lindsay's stomach growled and she realized just how hungry she was.
After a filling meal, Lindsay and her grandma began going through the boxes still in the living room. It was hard work and they hadn't made much progress, when the doorbell rang. "Will you get that honey?" Nana said, occupied with sorting through the stack of books she had located. "Sure," Lindsay stood up, pushed a stray hair out of her eyes, and opened the door. There, to her surprise, stood Nick. Lindsay was so shocked that she just stared at him. "Lindsay! Aren't you going to let him in?" her grandmother1s stern voice brought her back to reality. "Oh I'm so sorry," she said, blushing furiously. "Come in." Nick walked in, unfazed by Lindsay1s lack of social grace. "Hi Mrs. Johnson," Nick greeted his neighbor. "I met Lindsay this morning and I came by to see if she wanted to go grab some lunch with me." "It's noon already?" Nana wrinkled her forehead and gazed at the clock. "My, time must have gotten away from us. Oh, I'm so glad you two met! Lindsay, did you know he's..." At this, Nick frowned and shook his head slightly and Nana halted in the middle of her sentence. Lindsay saw the exchange and asked suspiciously, "He's what?" "Uh...," Nana struggled for words. "He's ... um... close to your age!" "Oh," Lindsay said, then turned to Nick. "I'd love to go out to lunch. Just let me change real fast." She began to walk toward the stairs when he grabbed her arm. "I just thought we'd go to McDonald's. You look fine. Bye Mrs. Johnson!" Nick took Lindsay's hand and led her out the door before she could protest. They walked to the driveway where his truck was parked. They climbed in, Nick put on his sunglasses, and drove to the nearest McDonald's.
Inside the fast food joint, Nick asked Linsday what she would like to eat. She scrutinized the menu closely. "I think a Chicken McNuggets value meal." He nodded and ordered their food, while Lindsay sought out a seat. A few minutes later, he arrived at the table where she sat, carrying a tray filled with their food. "Thanks for lunch, Nick," Lindsay said. "You didn't have to pay for me, you know." "Yeah, but I wanted to," he replied and took a bite of his cheeseburger. She noticed he was still wearing his sunglasses. "Is it too bright in here or are you just trying to be cool?" she teased. "I... uh.. have sensitive eyes," Nick said. "This kind of light bothers me." "Oh, I'm sorry," Lindsay apologized, embarrassed by her display of insensitivity. "Don't worry about it," he smiled and then began asking her questions about herself. After talking for about ten minutes, Lindsay pointed out, "Well, now you know everything about me, but I don't know hardly anything about you." "True," Nick agreed. "What do you want to know?" "Do you go to college or what?" "Nope," he answered. "I work." Lindsay sprinkled salt onto her fries. "What do you do?" Nick wrinkled his nose. "Umm.. I work with a bunch of my friends. It's kinda hard to explain, but it's something I really love, so I'm happy." Disappointed with his evasive answer, Lindsay was about to ask another question, when Nick glanced at his watch. "Oh crap," he said. She looked at him inquiringly. "I'm late for...um...an appointment. I better get you back home." They threw away their trash and departed from McDonald's. A few minutes later, Nick pulled up into her grandmother's driveway and Lindsay stepped out of his truck. "Thanks again," she said. "No problem. I had fun. Hey, are you going to be home later?" Lindsay sighed. "Yeah. We still have a lot of unpacking to do. Nana wants to finish the living room today." "If I have time, I'll stop by and help. See ya later, Lindsay," he waved goodbye and drove off before she could tell him that wasn't necessary. She watched his truck until it was out of sight, then turned and walked inside. "How was your date?" Nana asked as soon as she walked in. "It wasn't a date. And I had a good time," Lindsay answered, then ran upstairs before her grandma could comment further.
Although he drove way above the speed limit, Nick still found himself running ten minutes late. When he arrived at the rehearsal hall, the rest of the Backstreet Boys were already there and waiting for him. "Hey guys," Nick said. "Sorry I'm late." "Where were ya, man?" Kevin wanted to know. "We've been waiting here forever." "I took Lindsay out to lunch and lost track of time." The other guys immediately began teasing him. "Ooo, Nick-ay's got a chick," AJ said. "Who's Lindsay?" Brian asked. "She's from California, visiting her grandmother, who happens to be one of my neighbor's," Nick replied. "And AJ, she's not my ‘chick'. I just met her today. We went to lunch, that1s all." "So where'd you take her?" Howie inquired. "McDonald's." AJ slapped his forehead. "Nick! If ya wanna impress the girl, you gotta take her somewhere better than Mickey D's, ya know what I'm sayin'?" "Yeah, that's not a very classy place to take someone on your first date," Brian agreed. "Well, I knew we had rehearsal, so I didn't have time to take her anywhere fancy," Nick defended himself. "Besides it wasn't a date." "Sure it wasn't," AJ snickered. "Okay guys, you can talk about Nick's love life later," Fatima clapped her hands. "But now it's time to rehearse. Get in formation for ‘Everybody'." The guys ceased their conversation and the grueling practice began. While they were dancing, Nick tried in vain to think of ways to tell Lindsay that he was a Backstreet Boy. He finally concluded, with the help of Brian, that he would enlighten her later, when he was confident that she liked him for who he was.
Two days later, Lindsay received a phone from call from Nick, inviting her to dinner. "Where are we going?" she asked him. "It's a surprise." "Well then how am I supposed to know what to wear?" "Oh," Nick said, but he refused to budge. "Just wear something nice. I'll see ya at 7." "Okay, bye." Lindsay hung up and then immediately began rummaging through her clothes, searching for a decent dress. When she found nothing satisfactory, she convinced Nana to make an emergency trip to the nearest mall, where she found a blue dress with sparkling butterfly clips attached to the spaghetti straps. Lindsay insisted it was perfect and her grandmother purchased the dress, then they returned home in order to allow her enough time to prepare. Lindsay was just finishing her hair when she heard the doorbell rang. "Nana, could you get that?" she called from upstairs. "I'll be down in a few minutes." Her grandmother opened the door and let Nick in. They made small talk as he waited for Lindsay to put the finishing touches on her ensemble. When she walked downstairs the stairs, Nick sucked his breath in sharply. "Wow," he said. "You look.. you look..." "Stunning?" Lindsay's grandmother supplied him with an adjective. "Yeah that's it," he offered Lindsay his arm and she noticed that he looked gorgeous. Dressed in a black suit with a silver shirt underneath, his hair was gelled, but a few strands still fell into his bright blue eyes. "You don't look half bad yourself," she teased him. They said goodbye to Lindsay's grandmother and walked outside. Instead of Nick's truck, there was a shiny purple Corvette parked in the driveway. He unlocked the door to the passenger's side and held it open. She climbed in, feeling like a princess. Nick went to the other side of the car, slid into the seat, and pulled out of the driveway. "So where are we going?" Lindsay wondered out loud. "I told you, it's a surprise," he smiled smugly. "Oh come on Nick," she whined. "It's not like I would know what you were talking about anyway." "My lips are sealed." Lindsay sighed and leaned back into her seat. Fifteen minutes later, they pulled up to a fancy-looking Italian restaurant in Tampa. They stepped out of the car and Nick handed the keys to the valet. He then took Lindsay's hand and led her inside. "Reservations for Carter," he told the host, who promptly led them to a secluded booth in the back of the restaurant. They perused the menus and finally decide what to order. After they ate and Nick paid for dinner, he asked Lindsay if she had to be home soon. "No, I don't think so," she answered. "I don't really have a curfew." "Cool. I know where we can go then."
A half an hour later, Lindsay found herself on an empty beach with Nick, staring up into the full moon and twinkling stars. She sighed contentedly and leaned back into his arms. "Oh Nick, this is so beautiful." "I know," he said softly. "This is my favorite place to be in the whole world. And I wanted to share it with you." She started to speak, "That's so" but he interrupted. "Lindsay, I'm not really good at expressing myself, so let me get this all out. I love being with you. I know we only met a few days ago, but I've never felt like this before." Before she could reply, he bent his head to meet her lips. He pulled away and Lindsay found herself, for once in her life, speechless. They sat there in silence, enjoying the beautiful scenery and each other's company, until Nick finally suggested that they return home. Lindsay reluctantly agreed and they departed from the beach. When they arrived at Lindsay's residence, Nick walked her to the door and kissed her again. "I'll call you tomorrow," he promised. "You better," she smiled. He turned to leave and she called out, "Nick?" "Yeah?" He faced her again. "Thanks... I had a great time," Lindsay said, then walked into her house. Nick watched her until she was inside, then let out a loud "Yesss!" and drove to AJ's to return the car and let the rest of the guys know that his first official date with Lindsay had been a success.
Although Nick and Lindsay spent time together every day, he still hadn't told her the truth about his occupation. At a loss, Nick decided to call Brian to ask his advice on the subject. "Why don't you invite her to our concert on Monday?" Brian suggested. "Good idea," Nick agreed. "Wait, what am I going to say to her? ‘Hey I'm a Backstreet Boy, wanna go to our concert?'" "No dimwad," Brian said, exasperated. "You just invite her to go and then tell her you gotta go to the bathroom and boom... you're on stage!" "Okay. Wait a minute." "Now what?" Brian sighed. "I don't want her to sit there by herself," Nick whined. "Invite Leigh Anne or something. Please." "Fine. I think she was going to come anyway. I'll let her know that Lindsay doesn't know about you, so she won't say something that would give it away." "Thanks man," Nick said, relieved. "I owe you one."
The weekend went by agonizingly slow for Nick and he was overjoyed when Monday finally rolled around. Brian and Leigh Anne picked him up on schedule, then drove a couple of blocks to Lindsay's. When she got into the vehicle, Nick introduced her to his friends. "Lindsay, this is my buddy Brian and his girlfriend Leigh Anne. Guys, this is Lindsay." "Nice to meet you," Leigh Anne said from the front seat. "Yeah. Nick's told me a lot about you," Brian informed her. She laughed nervously. "Good things I hope." "Oh of course," Brian said, then winked at her in the mirror. "So Nick, who's this group we're going to go see?" Lindsay asked. "Oh, just a few of my friends. They're a local band," he answered vaguely. "Cool." She stared out the window.
The group soon arrived in Orlando, where the concert was being held. After parking in a VIP section, they headed for their seats, which were in the front row. Lindsay was taken aback by the size of the venue. This is big for a local band, she thought. After talking for a couple of minutes, Nick said that he and Brian needed to go help set up, but they would be back before the concert started. Lindsay and Leigh Anne began talking and discovered that they had much in common. About an hour later, the show began. Nick and Brian still hadn't returned, but Leigh Anne hadn't seemed to worried, so Lindsay decided to relax and enjoy herself. The announcer stepped up to the microphone, "And now... the Backstreet Boys!" The crowd went wild. The Backstreet Boys? Lindsay thought. They're not a local band! Fireworks went off and the five Boys suddenly appeared on stage. A spotlight shone on the guy standing in the middle of the stage and Lindsay gasped. It was Nick! She turned to Leigh Anne, who was grinning. "Yes that is Nick. He didn't know how to tell you, so he thought this was the best way." At first, Lindsay was dumbfounded, but then a smile slowly spread across her face. When they sang "I'll Never Break Your Heart", each guy selected a girl from the audience to serenade. Nick immediately headed in Lindsay's direction and he grabbed her hand to pull her onstage. "Surprised?" he whispered into her ear. "Shocked is more like it," she said. "Well, I didn't know how to tell you. Plus I was afraid that you would only like me for what I do, not who I am. You don't hate me, right?" "Hate you? No way! How could I hate a Backstreet Boy? Or a sweet guy like you?" she laughed and he joined the rest of the guys in singing their hit song.
After the concert, Lindsay and Leigh Anne headed backstage to chat with the guys. Nick saw Lindsay and waved her over to him. "So how did you like our show?" "It was amazing!" Lindsay exclaimed. "I never realized how talented you guys are. Of course, I think I'm biased now." He grinned. "Well, now I have a surprise for you," she said. "What?" he looked questioningly into her eyes. "I'm staying in Florida longer! I called my parents last night and they said I can be here a whole month," Lindsay's face shone with excitement. "Wahoo!" Nick cheered loudly, then gathered Lindsay into his arms. She smiled and their lips met, in perfect bliss. "I was wrong about something," she said when they separated. "I thought this summer was going to be horrible, but it's turned out halfway decent after all." Nick threw back his head and laughed, then bent to kiss her once again.
