Chapter One........Eyes Of A Stranger
Katrina Richardson screeched to a halt in her new red convertible and began walking briskly towards the entrance to the mall. The cold winter wind tugged at her hair and she tried to keep it looking halfway decent, not really paying attention to where she was walking. Suddenly, her foot hit a patch of ice and she closed her eyes, waiting for the cold, hard ground to hit her. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Katrina was surprised to open her eyes and find herself standing up. She realized two warm hands were gripping her waist. She looked up and immediately fell into sea green eyes. After staring for a few seconds, she realized she was pressed against the body of a complete stranger and his hands were still tightly around her waist. She quickly pulled away flustered. "Uh-thanks for catching me," Katrina said, trying to avoid the man’s startling green eyes. "You’re welcome," the man said, his deep voice hinting at a Southern accent. She noticed him staring at her and said, "Well, I’ll see you later," and began walking towards the mall. "Hey wait!" he called. She stopped and turned around to face him. "Yes?" she said. "Well, can I walk with you?" he asked. "What?" she asked, shocked. "You want to walk with me?" He smiled at her. "Is that such a bad thing?" She found herself smiling at him in spite of herself. "No. It’s just-I don’t even know your name." The guy looked genuinely confused. "You mean you don’t know me?" Now Katrina looked confused. "Should I? I mean you do look sort of familiar but I can’t place your name." He laughed a little. "That’s alright. I’m Lance. Lance Bass," he said, shaking her hand. "Hi," she said. "I’m Katrina Richardson." "Well, Katrina," Lance smiled. "Ready to go?" "Sure," she replied. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Katrina and Lance had been walking around and talking for nearly an hour. She really enjoyed his company. He was the only guy she ever met who could really make her laugh. They were just passing by Blockbuster Music when it finally hit Katrina where she had seen Lance and she gasped. "What?!" Lance said, startled. "I know who you are!" Katrina said loudly. "You’re Lance from ‘N SYNC!" Gasps and screams filled the air and girls began running their way. Lance clamped his hand over her mouth and pulled her into the bathroom. As soon as they were inside, an old lady screamed and ran out of the bathroom. When she left, Lance and Katrina began laughing hysterically. "You know," Katrina said between giggles, "if you cause that kind of reaction everywhere you go, the girl’s bathroom isn’t the best place to be." "You’re right," Lance said, breathless from laughing as he reached over to lock the door. Lance and Katrina stared at each other for awhile before Lance said, "Well, listen I have to get back before the guys have 40 heart attacks. But listen, we rented out the pool hall for tomorrow if you want to come by." "OK," Katrina said. "Is it okay if I bring a few friends?" "Sure," he said. "Alright Bathroom Boy," Katrina said, grinning. "I’ll see you tomorrow." She leaned over and gave Lance a quick kiss on the cheek and hid her smile as he flushed a bright red. "See ya," he replied softly.