Part 564

Normally, Sarah didn’t get nervous before a show but tonight, she couldn’t stand still and she’d made several trips to the bathroom to throw up. To add to her nerves, Howie wasn’t anywhere to be found and she was just minutes from going on stage. In fact, none of the boys were anywhere to be found. She had begged them to be where they could see the beginning of her set because she had a surprise for them.

Kevin was standing off behind an equipment box watching her dancing from foot to foot. She’s more nervous than ‘D’ was the night he met her, thought Kevin to himself but he also saw the perfect opportunity to get in a practical joke on her.

Quietly, he stole his way through the underworld to stand behind Sarah and whispered, "BOO!"

Sarah practically cleared the floor. "SHIT! What are you trying to do to me?" she swore as she came down off the ceiling. Her nerves were so raw that Kevin had actually scared her. "It’s NOT nice to scare a pregnant woman you know."

"It’s not like I’m gonna do any more harm than YOU are. I swear, you’re gonna jostle them out of you dancing around," teased Kevin as he held her arms to keep her from slapping him.

"Oh!" she said narrowing her eyes at him. "You can be so MEAN!"

"But I still love you! Seriously, you need to calm down, baby, so you don’t get sick."

Sarah rolled her eyes as she settled into his embrace. "What do you mean ‘GET SICK’? In case you missed it, I’ve already thrown up three times and there was NO ONE around to hold my hair or wipe my head for me. Where is my husband?"

Kevin knew exactly where Howie and AJ both were since they’d told him their plans to introduce her. In fact, he was there to help them with their plan. "Don’t worry, baby. He’s around. You know he’s not gonna let you perform without giving you a kiss. Besides, you asked for us to watch your set."

A hush fell over the crowd and they both could tell the house lights had gone down. From above the music began to play and Sarah panicked.

"That’s NOT my first number!"

"Baby, just listen," said Kevin as he led her over to a lifter.

Sarah listened only to hear that sweet voice she loved so much.

Kevin signaled to Todd to start the lifter as he said, "Going up, baby."

The next voice as Sarah lifted through the stage was AJ.

As she came to a stop on stage, she was greeted by both men, each with a rose in their hand…AJ, red, and Howie, white. Tears glistened as the spotlight shown on her and each man gave her a kiss.

Howie picked up with his part as he took Sarah in his arms and danced slowly letting his hands wander her body. He caressed her stomach tenderly feeling the babies move with the music. There was no mistaking the love the couple shared and the fans hungrily devoured every second of it.

On AJ’s part, he took Sarah’s hand and they danced next. To anyone who didn’t know them, they’d think they were lovers the way they moved together suggestively.

With the song over, Howie took Sarah’s hand. "KBNHA Records proudly presents ‘Sweet D’s Angel’."

Sarah had to wait for several minutes for the crowd to calm down before she said, "Ya know, those two are absolutely THE BEST!!"

The crowd went crazy again as AJ and Howie blew her kisses and the camera caught them.

Looking around, Sarah saw that Kevin, Brian, and Nick had joined Howie and AJ in the wings like she’d asked. Turning back to the audience, Sarah said, "I need to do something right now before I start my set. All my life, I dreamed of performing but my first husband and his friends continually put me down and told me I wasn’t any good…that a woman’s place was in the home so I gave up my dreams of performing, along with finding the man of my dreams. Then, two years ago, I moved from my home in northern Florida to a city you guys might have heard of…Orlando and five amazing men came crashing into my life…five men who shared that same dream as children of performing for thousands every night. Those five men had already set their dreams in motion and now they wanted to make other’s dreams come true too. Each one played their own special part in breaking down the wall piece by piece that I had built to protect myself from being hurt again by people like my ex-husband. Piece by piece, just like they tore down the wall, they built me up again, to the woman that I was destined to be. They have been my best friends, my confidants, my tormentors, my teachers, but most of all, they’ve been my dream makers."

The camera cut to the guys standing in the wings listening to Sarah. They had soft smiles on their faces that conveyed the love they felt for her.

"As a little girl, along with dreaming about performing, I also dreamed of my one true love and last May, I married him. In just a few days, my very first single and video is set to debut on TRL. In November, my very first CD is set to be released in Japan and then in the United States and Canada in December. In February, these little bundles of joy will make THEIR debut into the Backstreet world and ALL my dreams will have come true…thanks to those five amazing guys."

Sarah turned to the wings. "Kevin, Brian, Nick, Alex, ‘D’…. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for making my dreams come true. This song is for you."

The lights dropped and the screen lit up with a shot of all five guys with Sarah and Becca. As the music began, a video began to play one that Sarah had spent several weeks working with the Boys’ sound techs to put together. She had taken all their home videos and carefully edited them to make this video. It was from various parties, rehearsals, and simply hanging out together…Howie, Kevin, AJ, Brian, Nick, Becca, and Sarah. It was a special look at their private lives that very few people got to see.

Knowing the song was almost over, Sarah motioned to the guys to join her on stage and they complied with her request. Each one had their head mics on and joined in singing the chorus to the song.

As the closing strands of the song faded away, Sarah gave each one of them a hug, ending with Howie.

"Guys, I can’t tell you just how much it means to me that you have always believed in me and not just because I was Howie’s girlfriend. And I can’t say ‘Thank you’ enough for believing in me."

"Baby, we know a good thing when we see it," teased Kevin. "Now, get on with your set and sing the songs we’re PAYING you to do."

Howie gave Sarah a kiss, whispered, "I love you," and headed off stage to get ready for their show after Sarah’s.

Part 565       Index