Part 187

"Oh god, D! They’re gonna have an orgasm right here," whispered Sarah.

Howie had pulled Sarah to him as his part had played and had his arms around her waist holding her close. Pressing his lips to her ear, he asked, "Is this better than when she saw ‘Quit Playin’ Games’?"

"Much better…Nick’s legal and HERS," laughed Sarah. Grabbing a couple towels the studio had for the guys, Sarah threw them at Nick. "Here…you two dry off!"

"Hey!" yelled Nick as the towels hit him in the head.

"Nick…you need to get to wardrobe and get out of those wet clothes," called Brian.

"Wonder if they have any for Becca," cracked Alex. "Sarah, you got any extra clothes for Bec?"

Sarah laughed, "Shit, Bone! I had to borrow D’s clothes myself."

Trying to ignore them all, Nick whispered to Becca, "Go to my dressing room and wait for me."

Becca moaned from the warmth of his breath on her ear. "How long?"

"Oh, yeah, Nick…you also need to go to make-up for a touchup too," said Brian.

"Aren’t we done?" whined Nick not taking his eyes off Becca.

"Nope!" smirked Howie. "We’ve got one more shot to do for the commercial for the CD."

"Bec, need another towel?" asked Sarah seeing the frown on Becca’s face.

"Uh…Sarah…."

"Yes, Becca?"

"BITE ME!"

Everyone laughed and Nick headed off with Brian after giving Becca one last kiss.

As the group waited for Brian, Kevin, and Nick to return, they talked about the video. Howie and Alex explained how they’d piece together all of what they’d done for the final video with the computer graphics included.

Brian and Kevin were the first to return and then Nick wearing only a bathrobe but his hair dry now.

"Damn, ‘Frack’! You didn’t learn the last time you paraded around in a bathrobe, did you?" teased Alex.

Nick turned red remembering how embarrassed he had been when his robe had come untied and Sarah had gotten a free ‘look’. It had been right after she had started dating Howie and she’d joined them on tour. They were backstage and he’d forgotten she was there. He said now, "It’s tied tight. Besides, I don’t have any DRY clothes."

Becca looked confused. "Where’s what you wore here?"

Nick looked around at the group, "I DON’T KNOW!"

Nick was usually the prankster in the group so whenever the guys saw a chance to get even, they did. Now it appeared that one of them had decided to take his clothes.

Sarah grinned, "Gee, Nicky! I know you’re a slob but that’s ridiculous that you can’t find your clothes. Bec, you really should make sure he keeps his stuff straight."

Before Becca could respond, Jesse came bounding from Howie’s dressing room carrying her birthday present to him. "DADDY! DADDY! You haven’t opened your birthday presents yet."

Sarah groaned watching her daughter bouncing from the sugar high she was on and the others laughed.

Howie let go of Sarah to take the gift from Jesse as Alex said, "Yeah, D! You haven’t opened ANY of your gifts…or have you? And what special ‘wrapping’ have you got this year for him, Sarah?"

Sarah laughed, "It’s black and lacy this year, ‘Bone’."

"Mommy…there aren’t any gifts wrapped in black," said Jesse innocently.

Everyone laughed at Jesse’s innocence but it only served to upset her. Stomping her foot and crossing her arms across her chest, she cried, "STOP LAUGHING AT ME!"

Sarah realized that Jesse was tired so she picked her up. "Baby, they aren’t trying to be mean, I promise. And you’re right, there isn’t anything wrapped in black. It’s a special present for Daddy that I’ll give him when he and I are alone."

Jesse rested her head on Sarah’s shoulder playing with Sarah’s ponytail. "Can I watch Daddy open it?"

Everyone had to put their hands over their mouths to stifle the laughter as Alex smirked, "Yeah, can I watch too?"

Howie cut his eyes at Alex as Sarah said, "Baby, no…." looking at Alex…"NO ONE can watch. It’s a very special gift for Daddy from me."

"Come on, D. Why don’t you open your gifts while we wait for them to get ready for the final shoot?" suggested Brian.

Howie took the gift that Jesse had brought him and opened it. Inside the box was a pair of light brown leather pants and a baby blue long sleeve shirt. He gave Jesse a kiss, "Thank you, Princess. This is perfect."

Howie took his time opening his gifts from the rest of their friends. Among the gifts were an inspirational book on fatherhood from Becca and Nick and the picture from his dressing area of Sarah and Jesse framed from Brian. The most touching one however came from Alex.

The last gift Howie had was from Alex. He typically saved Alex’s for last because it was usually something to embarrass him. "Bone, should I open this here? You know, there are little eyes watching?"

"No, it’s cool," said Alex softly.

Howie opened the gift to find a poem written in Alex’s handwriting about being brothers. It was centered in the frame and around it were pictures of the guys from different stages of their eight years together…some silly and some serious.

Sarah saw the tears in Howie’s eyes as he read the poem and then looked up at Alex. "This is awesome. Thank you."

Alex blushed, something very uncharacteristic of him. "You’re welcome. It comes from the heart," he said hugging Howie. In a quiet voice, he said, "You don’t know how much your support meant."

Before letting go of him, Howie answered, "You’re my brother, Alex. We stick together through thick and thin."

Alex stepped back, "So, what did you give him, Sarah?’

Becca cracked, "Can’t you see the matching earrings?"

That’s when everyone noticed but when they saw Howie pull Sarah into a protective embrace, comments were withheld. "She also gave me the ring I was looking for and a cross."

"Sounds cool," said Kevin.

The head of wardrobe came out to get Brian and Nick while the others headed to makeup for touchups leaving the girls alone to talk. Sarah took Jesse back to Howie’s dressing room to keep her out of the way of the final shoot and then rejoined Becca.

Sarah sat beside Becca and asked, "Are you okay?"

"I’m fine."

Sarah smile, "I’d hate to have seen you with the other video."

Becca laughed, "I’d never have been like this. God…NONE of them realize just how damn sexy they are. Sarah, you should have seen them. You’d have melted over Howie."

"I saw Howie’s tape a little while ago before Nick got started."

"I know you liked his hair long, but Sarah…"

Sarah laughed, "Don’t go there! He is incredibly sexy no matter what he does and I get to see him now. You might want to go to the bathroom before they get started. Howie said the ‘rain’ is gonna be in this last shot too."

"Come with me?"

"Sure."

The two friends made their way to the restrooms talking. Sarah reassured Becca that other than being drained, she was okay. She also told Becca that Howie had made it perfectly clear that she was going straight to bed when they got back to Kevin’s.

"So you’re gonna miss just hanging out?"

"Afraid so. Don’t worry…we’ll be able to hang once we hit the road."

"I was thinking more along the lines of someone to be on my side. Thanks for not teasing me so much."

As they headed back, Sarah grinned, "No problem. You know, you make it SO easy for them. Plus, Nick’s the youngest. They are ALWAYS gonna give him a hard time."

"I know," sighed Becca watching as the guys took their places.

"Besides, I think it’s cute. None of his other girlfriends ever cared enough to even want to be at a taping."

"Okay guys," called the director. "It’s been a long day. Let’s get it on the first take so we can go home."

The music started and all five girls had their eyes glued on their guy. Sarah locked eyes with Howie, singing silently with him as the music played. As the simulated rain began, she felt like she was floating away, forgetting all about watching Becca’s reaction to Nick. All she could think about was Howie and seeing him wet.

When the final ‘cut’ was called, Howie made his way to Sarah where she practically jumped into his arms. She didn’t care that he was wet…all she wanted was to be in his arms. He leaned to her claiming her mouth in a lustful kiss as her hands went into his wet hair, tangling in the curls.

Part 188        The Dance Index(2)