Chapter 4

"…but my love is all I have to give."

"If only real guys were like that," Tana said to no one in particular as the new Backstreet Boys song ended.

Just then, Tana heard a knock at the door. Opening it revealed Alex.

"Hi."

"Hello," Tana greeted, wondering what he had up his sleeve.

"I came by cuz we need to talk," he said, "Can I come in?"

Tana let him in and closed the door behind him. They went into the living room and Alex sat down on the sofa while Tana perched on the arm of the recliner. "What can I do for you?"

"Um," Alex stammered, "I'm not sure how to… What I mean is… Well, I haven't been totally honest with you."

"Oh?" Tana said, "How's that?"

"Well, um…" he struggled for words, "You know that night after the concert?"

"Yeah?"

"And we were comparing the pros and cons of stardom. You asked if I had a friend in the business."

"And your reply was, 'I guess you could say that.'" Tana recalled. "What did you mean by that?"

"I'm getting there. See, I'm kinda in the business myself."

"So you're a singer or something?"

"Or something. You ever heard of the Backstreet Boys?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, I'm one of them."

"Hold up. I know enough about pop music to know that there's no Backstreet Boy called Alex."

"But my full name is Alexander James. I'm-"

"-AJ." Tana finished. "I do not believe this." Tana wasn't star-struck so much as she was just stunned.

"Yeah. I didn't say anything till now cuz it's easier to be friends if people don't know who I am."

"I see… Now what?"

"Actually, we've gotta go to the Billboards next week and, unfortunately, I've been left dateless."