Part 175

Sarah sat backstage in her dressing room staring at herself in the mirror. She hated this part about performing…the time just before going on stage. So far, the only time she’d actually performed, she’d been pregnant and the morning sickness always seemed to be intensified. It was amazing to her that she didn’t get dizzy onstage and fall flat on her face.

Glancing over her shoulder, she smiled as she watched Jesse coloring happily at the table. ‘This is how it’s suppose to be,’ she thought. ‘If I just had Howie here with me…wish he’d come back from Kevin’s dressing room.’

The door opened slowly and a big bouquet of flowers appeared. Jesse and Sarah both looked to see who it was.

"Mama…the flowers are dancing," laughed Jesse.

"I see that. Now, the question is…who’s making them dance?"

Kevin stuck his head in and Jesse squealed, "UNCLE KEVY!"

Jesse ran to Kevin and he scooped her up in his arms, "Hey, ‘Squirt’! Are you keeping Mama company?"

"Yep! Kinda. Who are the flowers for?"

"Your mother…from Uncle Alex."

Sarah took the flowers and read the card. "I wish he could be here tonight. He WILL be here in time for the video shoot, won’t he?"

"Yeah, he wanted to take tonight to regroup before we start back to work…get his head straight," said Kevin. "Now, I’m gonna take this beautiful little girl so YOU can finish getting ready."

Jesse giggled as Kevin tickled her and Sarah said, "Would you PLEASE tell my husband I need him?"

"Sure, baby," said Kevin giving her a kiss on the cheek.

Kevin and Jesse left closing the door behind them and headed down the hall to his dressing room where Howie, Brian, and Alex were hanging out.

Alex looked up, "Does she suspect anything?"

"Nope! The flowers were a nice touch," said Kevin setting Jesse down.

Jesse skipped over to Howie. "Daddy," she said as she hugged him.

"Hey, Princess! I want you to meet someone."

Alex looked at Jesse in awe. "God…this is Jesse, isn’t it?"

"Yeah…Jesse, this is…"

"Uncle AJ!" finished Jesse happily. She squirmed out of Howie’s arms and ran to Alex. She wrapped her arms around his neck hugging him tight.

To say that Alex was stunned was an understatement. Tears came to his eyes as he held on to the little girl and looked at Howie. "She’s JUST like her," he whispered.

"Yeah, she is."

"D, your wife said to tell you that she needs you."

"Is she okay?"

Kevin shrugged his shoulders, "I guess so. She was working on her makeup and hair when I went in there."

"Princess, you gonna stay here?"

Jesse had gone to Brian and was playing with him when he asked. She looked up from Brian’s arms, "Sure, Daddy."

"Don’t go ANYWHERE without one of your uncles. Understand?"

"We’ll take care of her, D," said Brian.

"Thanks, guys."

Howie gave Jesse a kiss and headed to check on Sarah.

Alex watched as Jesse played with Brian and commented to Kevin, "She’s a carbon copy of Sarah…from her eyes to her smile."

"Yeah, it’s amazing," said Kevin letting his tall frame settle into a chair. "And wait until you see them together."

"How’s D with all this?"

"Oh man…he’s GREAT. In fact, he’s the one who found Jesse."

"What’s the deal with that? We all thought she was dead."

"We’ll explain it later. It’s a long story."

"Man…there’s so much I have to catch up on. Where’s Nick and Becca? I thought for sure they’d be here by now. And Ali?"

"They’ll be here. Nick wanted Becca to rest as long as possible and the other girls are coming soon."

"Man…I can NOT wait to see Ali."

Kevin laughed, "Been a month and a half…a new record for you."

In Sarah’s dressing room, Howie found her in the bathroom throwing up. He chuckled softly as he grabbed a wash cloth, got it damp for her, and waited. As soon as she was finished, she stood up and took the cloth from him gratefully and washed her face.

"Better?"

Looking at him in the mirror, Sarah pouted, "NO! You’re mean…laughing at me!"

Howie wrapped his arms around her, "Angel, I’m not laughing AT you. It’s just that your morning sickness seems to hit at VERY bad times."

"Don’t remind me! Where’s Jesse?"

"With Kevin and Brian. Come on. You need to finish getting ready."

Howie helped Sarah finish and then they sat together going over the play list. The songs Kevin had agreed to do with Sarah were near the end of the set and the Boys’ band was backing Sarah up. Little did Sarah know that Alex would be taking Kevin’s place or that they had worked another song into the set…one that Alex would sing to her.

In the other dressing room, Alex asked, "What’s the play list?"

Kevin went over it quickly and said, "She’s gonna do ‘Love Don’t Cost a Thing’ and then it’s ‘I’m Real’…that’s where you come in."

"She’s gonna freak seeing me."

"Nah…She’ll be okay," said Kevin. "She’s expecting me stage right…"

"But I’m coming in stage left."

"That’s right. Then you two will do some of our stuff after ‘I’m Real’. She’s not expecting ‘Hey, Mr. DJ’ but Mook knows. Then it’s ‘If You Want it Good Girl’ which for her part, she’s changed a few words to fit her. Then ‘We’ve Got It Going On’ and ‘Quit Playing Games’…."

"Just like we discussed?"

"Yeah…we’ll end with ‘Get Down’ and that’s when Howie and I’ll join you two."

"What about the choreography?"

"Just follow her for ‘I’m Real’…it’s not hard. You two dance together pretty good and on our stuff, it’s the same as what we do. After, ‘Get Down’, Brian’s gonna bring Jesse on stage so we can sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to D."

"I’ve even practiced…wanna hear?" piped up Jesse.

Alex sat down, "Come here and sing for me, ‘Little One’." Jesse went to stand with Alex and sang for him. "That’s awesome, Jesse."

"Mama and Aunt Becca taught me," she said proudly.

"You had two awesome teachers," laughed Alex. "So, why’s Sarah singing to him tonight and is she doing more than sing?"

"Howie’s expecting something tomorrow so Sarah wanted to surprise him by singing to him tonight," said Brian.

"What IS the plan for tomorrow?" asked Alex.

"Mama’s gonna get a cake for Daddy."

"Yeah, and she’s bringing it to the studio," said Kevin. "But I have a feeling it’s gonna be Sarah who gets the big surprise tomorrow."

"What’s THAT suppose to mean?"

Kevin laughed, "Howie’s talking about cutting his hair. He hates the way it looks when it gets wet with it long so he’s made arrangements to cut it before we start shooting."

"OH SHIT! Sarah’s gonna be pissed!" said Alex.

"You’re telling me," laughed Kevin. "I’m not sure I want to be around for the explosion."

There was a soft knock on the door and Howie stuck his head in. "It’s time, Kevin."

"Where’s Sarah?"

"Talking to Mook and Krystal. Brian, take Jesse with you and I’ll join you in a few minutes."

"Daddy, can I give Mama a kiss first?"

"Sure, but, Jess…remember, not a word to Mama about Uncle Alex. It’s a surprise."

"Okay, but Daddy…it’s gonna make her cry," sighed Jesse.

All four men laughed at Jesse and Howie said, "You’re probably right, Princess, but she’ll like the surprise."

"You guys go on before Sarah gets suspicious," said Alex.

Jesse wove her way through the guys’ legs and took off down the hall. They all laughed and followed her catching up with her as she was hugging Sarah.

"You look awesome," said Brian giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Knock ‘em dead."

"Thanks, Bri," smiled Sarah.

"Come on, ‘Squirt’. Let’s go find Uncle Nicky and Auntie Becca out in the audience," said Brian as he picked Jesse up and put her on his shoulders.

Sarah watched Brian leave with Jesse and then turned back to Howie and Kevin. She was wearing a white form-fitting top that stopped just above her belly button, white skin-tight hip huggers, and white boots. Her hair was in a ponytail and she was wearing the angel earrings and necklace that Howie had given her.

Howie put his hands on Sarah’s hips pulling her to him. He kissed her deeply, his tongue parting her waiting lips and touching ALL the sensitive spots. "You’re gonna be awesome, Angel," whispered Howie breathlessly.

Touching her forehead to his, she said, "You’re prejudiced too. I’ll wait and see what the crowd thinks. You know, not too long from now, I’m not gonna be able to wear stuff like this anymore."

Howie stepped back and together, he and Kevin gave Sarah an appreciative once-over. They had the same lustful look in their eyes and smirk on their faces.

Sarah shook her head laughing at them. "You two are incorrigible. Such NASTY thoughts."

"Yep, but I’m ALLOWED to act on them," purred Howie as he pulled her back to him and ground his hips into hers.

"Get out of here, D…before we have to delay the show so we can finish what you started," laughed Sarah.

Howie kissed her sweetly on the lips. "I love you."

"I love you, too, D."

Howie left to sit out front leaving Kevin and Sarah alone.

"You ready?" asked Kevin.

"Yeah, I guess so. Are you gonna change?"

"You don’t like what I’m wearing?" asked Kevin pretending to pout.

"I thought…"started Sarah but stopped when she saw the look in Kevin’s eyes. She could tell he was playing with her. "Oh…stop it!" she pouted.

Kevin laughed, "You’re just like Howie before going on."

"How do you figure?"

"You’re nervous but the minute you hit the stage, you’ll be fine. Now take a deep breath."

As Kevin was trying to get Sarah to calm down, the owner came over. It was time for the show to begin and the band went to take their places.

"Kevin…is this Sarah?"

"Yeah. Tim, this is Sarah Dorough…Sarah, Tim Curry."

Taking Sarah’s hand in his, Tim said, "You’re Howie’s wife? I’m surprised Kevin let you get away."

"I didn’t have much of a choice. He met her first," laughed Kevin.

"Is this your first time performing?" asked Tim.

"No, it’s not."

"She’s done some shows in Orlando and she was the opening act for Nick’s brother Aaron in Baton Rouge."

"Getting in the swing of things, sounds like. If you’re half as good as Kevin says, you’ll do fine. You ready?"

Sarah took a deep breath, "Let’s get on with the show."

Tim looked at Kevin. "You ARE gonna perform with her near the end?"

"Yeah, Howie, Nick, and Brian will join us eventually before the show’s over."

"What about AJ? The deal included AJ," said Tim.

Sarah missed the look Kevin gave Tim as she said, "Alex needed some time before they go back to work."

"Uh…okay," answered Tim seeing Kevin’s look. "Let me go introduce you."

Tim headed out and Kevin gave Sarah a kiss. "You’ll be fine, baby. Remember, I’ll be coming from right here."

"Okay," said Sarah as Kevin started to leave. She grabbed his hand, "Kevin….thank you."

Smiling sexily, Kevin said, "You’re welcome, baby. Now go show them you know how to work that beautiful booty!"

Kevin watched Sarah make her way out on stage to thunderous applause as the music started. She started into her first song and Kevin knew she’d be okay.

From behind him, Alex spoke up, "Dayum… she REALLY is good."

Kevin looked at him, "Yeah…she is!"

Becca grinned as Sarah worked the crowd like the pro that she was fast becoming. "Nick, this is amazing!" she whispered. "She's got them eating out of her hand."

"She's come a long way in such a short time, baby."

Sarah worked the crowd taking all the pointers the guys had given her and doing it better. She found the group in the audience and teased each one of the guys, especially Howie. On the love songs, she would make eye contact with him, sing to just him, and then walk

away when the guys would tease him.

When she got to ‘Love Don’t Cost A Thing’, Sarah spotted Kevin still sitting at the table purposely ignoring her. He was deep in conversation with Howie and Vanessa and Sarah began to panic. ‘What IS he doing?’ thought Sarah as she finished the song and Kevin was still sitting at the table.

"Kev, don't look now but Sarah's giving you the evil eye," Nick grinned.

"Ya'll are SO bad," Becca laughed. "She's convinced you've screwed up and are going to leave her hanging."

Kevin kept his head turned away from the stage. He knew if he looked at Sarah now his eyes would give it away and he'd worked too hard planning this surprise to have it all fall apart. "Be patient, you two. A couple of minutes and it'll be all over with."

The band started with the intro to ‘I’m Real’ and Sarah walked over to Mook. She whispered, "Kevin’s not in place."

Mook grinned, "Just do it, Sarah! Kevin’s not gonna leave you hanging."

Sarah looked at Mook but couldn’t question him and she said, "What’s the mother…"

From stage left, Alex responded, "Miss Mary Jane, I’m analyzin’ the game…"

Sarah spun around almost losing her balance to see Alex strutting on stage and the girls in the crowd going crazy. She beamed, "And the game done chose me…"

"To bring pain to pretty women and fake thugs they one in the same," responded Alex as he worked his way to her.

‘Damn…no freakin’ shirt and black leather pants,’ thought Sarah. "Ever since you told me…"

"There’s only room for two, I been makin’ less room for you…"

"Now only God can hold me…" replied Sarah as she turned her back on Alex.

He wrapped his arms around her waist from behind…"Hug me, love me, judge me, the hugs is above me, The only man that hovers above me…holla…"

Sarah sang, "I’ve met so many men…And it’s like they’re all the same…"

Together, Sarah and Alex finished ‘I’m Real’ moving together as if they’d done it a million times. They were at ease together, comfortable, and it came across in their singing and dancing. As they sang and moved together, Sarah caught Kevin's eye and almost forgot the words to the song when he grinned at her, scrunching up his nose the way she liked. She shot him a glance that said 'I'll get you later' and turned back to Alex to finish the song.

At the end of the song, Sarah hugged Alex tight as she whispered, "I didn’t think you were coming."

Alex gave her that smile that melted her heart as he said, "And miss this? NEVER!" The band started with ‘Hey, Mr. DJ’ and he whispered, "Just dance with me…I’m doing this song."

The crowd went nuts as Alex sang and they danced sexily together. Their movements were perfect; their timing impeccable and it was the same for each of the following songs.

By the time Howie and Kevin joined the two, the crowd was on their feet. None of them had ever seen a crowd like this and Sarah knew what they really wanted. She also remembered what Tim had said about the guys performing as a part of the deal so at the end of ‘Get Down’, Sarah stepped up to the front of the stage and held her hand up to quiet the crowd.

"I know what you REALLY want! You’re not gonna be satisfied with just three of the Backstreet Boys, are you?"

The crowd screamed, "NO!"

Sarah laughed, "Nick! B-Rok! Come on!"

The crowd began to cheer and chant ‘Backstreet’ over and over until Nick and Brian joined the other three and Sarah onstage.

"Okay…so, what are we gonna do, Sarah?" asked Brian.

"How about ‘Everybody’?" suggested Mook.

The crowd cheered and Sarah said, "Here’s what you wanted…THE BACKSTREET BOYS!" and she backed offstage. The music started and the crowd was hysterical as all five guys danced and sang.

At the end of the song, Sarah came back out with Jesse and took her microphone. "For those of you who are Backstreet fans…and I know there are quite a few out there…you know what tomorrow is…"

"Howie’s BIRTHDAY!"

"And I have someone here who wants to do something REALLY special for him…but you need to do me a favor. See, this is our daughter and she’s only four and this is her first time in front of a big crowd, so I need you to be really quiet while she sings."

The crowd got deadly quiet and Howie knelt down in front of Jesse, holding his mic for her. She hesitated and Sarah nudged her, ""It’s okay, Jess…go ahead."

Howie whispered, "Just look at me, Princess."

Jesse took a deep breath, looked around at Sarah who softly prompted her and she started, "Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Daddy, Happy Birthday to you," and she handed him the paper she had in her hand.

Howie had to wipe the tears as he looked at the home-made card Jesse had given him. It had a stick family drawn on it with a mama, daddy, and little girl. Then behind them were all the ‘uncles’ and ‘aunts’. He took Jesse in his arms hugging her tight as the audience ‘oohed’ and ‘ahhed’ the scene.

Then, Sarah said to the audience, "It’s your turn…the guys will start you."

Nick said, "One…two…one, two, three," and everyone in the club sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to Howie. At the end, Howie who was standing up with Jesse in one arm, reached to hug Sarah close.

Whispering, Howie said, "This is the best surprise, Angel. Thank you."

Kevin said to the crowd, "Come on, you want to hear the ‘birthday boy’ and his beautiful wife sing, don’t you?"

The crowd cheered their approval and the guys exited the stage taking Jesse with them after wishing Howie a ‘Happy Birthday’. Sarah and Howie ended the night with ‘How Did I Fall In Love with You’…. A definite crowd pleaser.

Becca stayed down front as they sang, smiling at the depth of love that Howie and Sarah shared. It was truly a blessing that they had survived all that had been tossed in their path. As she fumbled for a tissue, one was pressed into her hand as an arm slipped around her shoulders. Wiping her nose, she looked up to see Nick sitting next to her, an equally sappy look on his face.

"I love you, Bec," he mouthed.

"I love you too," she answered as he leaned closer to kiss her gently.

Sarah spotted them and nudged Howie, who glanced their way and smiled. As they finished the song, they were standing so close together that their foreheads were touching. The last phrase was sung softly, one mic cradled between them.

The final chord died away and as the crowd stood to applaud, they never even heard them. Following Nick's example, Howie closed the tiny distance between them and pressed his lips to Sarah's, affirming all that they had found together.

Part 176            The Dance Index(2)