"DANI!!!!!!" Manda and I screamed when I caught a glimpse of our best friend walking through the terminal. We broke away from everyone and walked as fast as we could to get to her. Then we noticed Kevin jogging past us as he weaved through the small crowd to get to her. As soon as Kevin got to Dani, she set her duffle bag and backpack down and they enveloped each other in a huge hug. Kev lightly kissed her forehead. Manda and I got up to the two of them and she broke away from him to give us hugs as well. Then, Kevin picked up Danielle's things and we walked back to where the rest of the gang was.
Everyone gave Dani more hugs and we quickly made our way back to the buses outside before anyone would recognize the boys. The airport was one in Louisville because it was the only last minute flight she could book for an incoming plane to Kentucky.
"So how's the tour been so far?" Danielle asked once we had resituated ouselves in the bus. (We transferred the Hershey Kiss to the band's bus because we didn't want to give it to Dani until we got to Florida.)
"It's been great so far I guess. A little boring, but also a little wild," Kevin answered. It was soo obvious that he was stoked about Dani's presence.
"None of you are, like, mad at each other right now are you?"
"Well....Nicky's starting to get on my nerves but...ya know..." AJ joked. "You get used to it after a while."
"HEY!" Nick cried. He elbowed J, who busted up laughing.
"Yeah yeah. Well Nick, you know you're the easiest to tease soooo...how could you get on these guys' nerves?" Dani remarked. Then she jumped. "Steph! I gotta see that tattoo. Like, in person!"
"In person? What? Do you have to be introduced to it now or something?" Brian wise-cracked. Amanda smacked him upside the head, causing him to kiss her nose delicately.
"BE NICE!!! We haven't seen her in a long time!" Manda cried. I pulled down my sock and showed Dani my tattoo. She couldn't believe it.
"Ya know, somehow I just had this feeling you'd end up doing something wacky like that one of these days..." Dani told me. Then she gasped again, remembering something. Danielle reached for her backpack and took Teen Beat, BB, Tiger Beat, and Bop magazines out of it. She handed them to us and told us to look through them until we got to the sections with little news briefs.
Howie found the section in his magazine first. It was a picture of the two of us kissing at Putt-Putt Golf. He hit his forehead with the magazine.
"Oh no," was all D said. I looked over his shoulder at the picture and the caption underneath it. "Sorry girls. Looks like Howie D is taken. His girlfriend, sources say, is a back-up dancer for the boys."
"Dang it!" followed Nick. Manda took the magazine from his hand and looked in it. It was a picture of Nick and Amy in a restaurant with the caption "America's favorite teen heartthrob has found himself a date. Nick Carter and his girlfriend, a Florida native, took a little time off on the tour for a quick snack."
"Hey Hun check this out. I'm Superman," Brian held up his magazine. It was a picture of Brian carrying Amanda to the bus as we ran from the hotel in New York. The caption said "Brian 'B-Rok' Littrell saves his girlfriend, the band's publicist, from the crowd of fans as he rushes to the bus." All but AJ were talking. I turned my head and looked at him beside me. He was rubbing his forehead roughly, with his right hand, as he gripped the magazine tightly.
"Damn. I hate this!" J broke out, throwing his magazine on the ground and storming to the bathroom. I picked up the magazine he was looking at and turned to the page. Instead of just a picture and a caption, there was a picture of AJ and Emily and a small article.
"What is it Steph?" Brian asked me.
"Let me just read it to you. It's called "Are there really Backstreet GIRLS??" and it says 'As the boys are out and about, they need a little female companionship. We caught up with them and found that many of them have girlfriends. Nick, the youngest and most favored by fans, is dating a young girl of the same age named Amy. Brian appears to be involved with the Backstreet Boys' new publicist, Amanda Gage. Howie, surprisingly, is involved with one of the back-up dancers, Stephanie Jones, who has been with the group since they were spanking new. AJ, the wild one, is in a serious relationship with a Florida native named Emily. Kevin has been dating, but sources say he has a girl back home that he keeps in touch with named Danielle. Sorry girls, but the boys all seem to be taken.' And it has this picture of AJ and Emily kissing over it," I read. I passed around the magazine. The picture was one of AJ and Emily, deeply involved in a kiss. He was gripping her head and she had her hands on his waist.
"Oh this is great," Kevin sighed.
"What? That they said you and I are dating?" Dani asked.
"No. I don't mind that. It's the whole fact that they're taking these pictures and publishing them without our consent," Kev answered. Dani blushed, hearing his reply.
"Well, so much for keeping it secret. But let me say this now girls. Please do not let the tabloids get to you. Most, if not everything, in them is a flat out lie," Brian spoke up.
"And we don't want this crap to come between us, okay?"
"We love you too much and can't lose you to something like this," Howie added. Manda and I smiled and kissed our boyfriends. Then I got up and walked to the bathroom and knocked on it.
"J? Are you okay? Can I come in?" I asked through the door. It opened a crack and I managed to smash myself in it with him.
"The one thing that broke us up is even worse!" AJ complained to me. I rubbed his knee.
"You need to tell her. Tell her that she's known and how to deal with it and stuff. But Emily needs to know that fans know about her now. And you need to tell her how things are gunna be between the two of you. That way if you two aren't as close as she wants you to be, she'll know why. Just...tell her AJ," I told J. "And don't feel bad. Just imagine what they think about me now. Everyone probably thinks I'm a slut because I'm your dancer and have been for years now. They'll just hate the other girls. Me? They'll start rumors about me sleeping with all you guys and D not knowing it. I'll be all over the internet now." Upon listening to myself, I got quiet. What had I gotten myself into??
"No. Steph. Don't even BEGIN to think that," AJ spoke up, reading my expression perfectly.
"You and Howie have known each other for a long time. This was bound to happen sooner or later. Don't regret it. Your relationship was unavoidable, and if you break up with D over this little thing, you'll leave the band. And we'd die without you. You know that. Don't think like that." I looked up at Bone and grinned. He and I got up and I led the way out of the bathroom.
When we got back out to the front room of the bus, everyone was laughing and joking, a different attitude from when I left them to see about AJ.
Right as we walked in, the two of us heard Dani say, "Yeah. You should be talking, BOUNCER BOY!" Kevin laughed and looked at her beside him.
"WHAT?" he cried through his chuckling, eyebrows raised high.
"Oh don't try to hide it. You KNOW you bounce around more than AJ does! Even STEPH for that matter!" Danielle teased him. "Just watch yourself in the music videos! Like, 'Quit Playing Games With My Heart!' You go crazy in that one!"
"Girl, what do you DO in your spare time?" Kev asked. His brow was now wrinkled. Brian, Amanda, Nick, and Howie were cracking up at his reaction.
"Bouncer Boy? I like it....it's a new nickname for Kevy Boo!" AJ cooed, mussing Kevin's hair up. At the feeling of someone touching his hair, Kev shot a glance up at J, making him back off. Just then, a phone rang. Brian grabbed it and answered it on the first ring.
"Hello? What? Oh wow. I'm terribly sorry Niki. Yeah, we'll let you leave as soon as we get to Lexington. Sure. We'll be fine. Emily can fill in your spot and we'll have Steph call up one of the backup girls from her studio that she's trained. You just need to go be with your family right now. Yes. You're welcome back whenever you can. Our prayers are with you. Love ya. Uh huh. Don't worry. Bye." We were all hushed as we listened to the conversation.
"What's wrong with Niki?" I asked, worried.
"Her sister just called her and her mother is really really sick so she needs to go be with them," Brian informed us. Howie and Kevin gasped. D had gone through the same exact thing a few years ago, when his sister died of Lupus, so he was a little shaken up over it. I went over to him, put my arm around his back and pulled him into a tight hug. Howie didn't let go for a few seconds. He still had a tough time sometimes, because he had never had the time to properly heal after Caroline's sudden death. After we let go of each other, I looked over at Brian. Kevin sat there in silence, remembering his own father's battle with cancer. He and Howie had really had a rough life, but they helped each other get through with it.
"I'll call my friend Shivani over in Florida and see when she can fly down. The concert is still a few days away and if she can fly down tonight or tomorrow, then we won't need Emily to take her place," I told them. We remained silent for a few more minutes, before we heard the bus driver yell from his seat in the front that we were in Lexington. Kevin and Brock immediately shot their glances out the windows and their sullen expressions turned into bright smiles. The two began to call out all the places they grew up in happily.
"Look over there babe! That place is where I'd go everyday after school to hang out with my friends. We shot pool and ate pizza and stuff. That was my favorite hang out!" Amanda laughed as she looked at the old building that had a few bikes parked in the front.
"There's our school Brian! Look at that old place. All the bad memories," Kevin joked, pointing it out to Dani.
"I wonder if my history teacher is still there. I can go in and ask him if he remembers the day I left," Bri pondered. We passed a Long John Silver's. "WAIT! STOP! I gotta go there! We just gotta!"
"I take it that's where you used to work, huh babe?" Amanda asked.
"YES! I loved it! I wonder if anyone broke my record!" Brian said.
"What record?" Amanda wanted to know.
"My hushpuppy making record." Amanda laughed. His enthusiasm for such dumb things was unbearable.
"Yeah Brian. Wouldn't THAT be funny if we had Long John Silver's cater your wedding?" Nick snickered. Brian gave him a bewildered look. Nick shrugged. "Hey! I was just sayin'!" The bus stopped in the parking lot of the restaurant and the eight of us paraded up to the drive-thru window.
The window opened and a young man look at us and said, "I'm sorry, but we cannot serve you if you are on foot." Brian laughed.
"Ya don't think I know that?" he cried. The employee was a little confused, so Brian continued to talk. "Hey who has the hushpuppy making record in there?"
"WHAT?!" the young man asked.
"Aw come on. Haven't you worked anything besides the drive-thru window? Don't you say anything besides 'hello and welcome to Long John Silver's. My name is....Jacob and how may I help you?"
"Well, no sir. I just got this job a week ago."
"Okay. Well, look over there on the wall to your right, right around the corner. There's a little plaque with an inserted picture for the record for making hushpuppies. Who's in it?" Brian drilled the poor boy. The worker leaned over and looked where Brock told him to. He quickly looked back at Brian, then at the plaque again, then at Brian once more.
"Whoa. Is that you?" the employee asked. Brian laughed and told him "yup!" "WOW! That's soo cool! You used to work here?"
"Yeah, before I hit it big," Brian informed him.
"What? Wait. wait.....aren't you...you're one of those Backstreet Boys aren't you?" the worker replied. We all laughed. Brian reached in and shook his hand.
"At your service."
"MAN! All the guys do in here is talk about how you used to work here! And I heard we get millions of little girls who come in just to see where you worked!" the boy cried, excitedly.
"Yeah well, I can't stay. I just wanted to see if I still held the record. Thanks for helping us out man!" Brian said. Just then, the worker shoved a napkin and a pen out the window. Brian took it and signed it, then handed it to Kevin, AJ, Nick, and finally Howie. Once they were finished signing, Brian told the man thank you and we left.
"Wait. Where's the bus?" Nick wanted to know, when we realized that it was gone.
"Told him to go ahead of us. Brian and I want to show you guys the town and we're gunna walk home to my house, just like old times," Kevin explained. Dani was a little flustered at that. She was going to meet the man she still loved's family and she didn't even get to look nice! She tried to shrug the thought away as we made our trek down the road, a few cars honking as we drove by. Brian and Kevin saw quite a few old friends and became quite ecstatic about being home. We walked by a park and a group of guys playing football. Suddenly, they all stopped and jogged over to us.
"B-Rok! Kevin! How you been doin'?!" they yelled as they made their way over to us. They all shook hands and hugged each other. The rest of us stood back and looked on.
"We're doing great, if you haven't been watchin the news. We want to introduce you to the rest of the gang, okay?" Kevin told them. The troop of 6 men, plus the Brock and Kev, walked over to us.
"Whoa, who are these mighty fine ladies you got here?" One of them men asked. The three of us blushed and smiled at them.
"Cool it Jimmy. This is Amanda. We've been going out for about 5 months. That there is Stephanie. She's one of our best friends. She's dating Howie here. And this is--" Brian introduced us.
"This is Danielle. Good friend of ours," Kevin said, giving Dani a hug. I could tell she was a little annoyed. I couldn't help being a little annoyed myself. "That's Nick, and that's AJ. Guys, that's Jimmy, that's Chris, that's Rick, that's Greg, this is Kevin, and that's Luke." We all shook hands and exchanged hellos.
"Brian, you got yourself a perfect little woman don't you? You guys look great together!" Chris remarked.
"Yeah. Don't forget to invite us to the wedding okay?" Luke added.
"Dude! What is this?" Brian mumbled under his breath. Manda, the closest one to him, was the only one who heard it and looked up at him with a weak smile. She could tell he was a little ticked off at all the mentionings of them getting married. "Well guys, it's great to see you again, but we gotta be on our way. We're walkin' to Kev's house right now." We all said bye and continued on our way.
Besides the occasional call of hello from old friends, the walk became increasingly silent.
"Brian, are you okay with all this joking around about marriage?" Amanda's soft voice broke the silence. Brian stopped abruptly and looked at her.
"Baby, I'm okay. It just surprises me that's all. No one's ever joked with me about a girl like that before. It's not that I don't love you. I do..." he trailed off. We had all continued walking, letting the two be alone for a few minutes. Bri gave Amanda a reassuring hug and they walked to catch up with us. Something just told me that Amanda wasn't really believing what her boyfriend was saying.
"We'll be there in a few minutes," Kevin spoke up. We followed his lead and turned a corner down a street full of houses. They were cute houses, small and sort of old fashioned. Unlike the new, manufactured ones that were made nowadays.
Finally, after an hour long stroll through Lexington, we began to walk up the driveway of a nice looking, homey, blueish-gray house.
As we neared the front porch, Kevin (knowing the front door was always open) called, "Hey Mom! I'M HOME!!!" Suddenly, a very pleasant looking woman peeked out the front window and a huge smile gracefully made its way across her face. She disappeared and almost immediately opened the front door, waiting for Kevin to greet her. He ran up to his mom and wrapped his arms around her, picking her up in the air. Then, he gave his mom a kiss once he set her back on her feet.
"Why didn't you call, hun?" Ms. Richarson wanted to know. Kevin gave her a confused look, then his expression relaxed.
"I left a message on the answering machine this morning. You must not have received it yet," Kev realized.
"Aunt Ann!" Brian cried, finally deciding to break away and sneak a hug in.
"Why hello Brian! Good to see you again too! Does your mom know you're in town so early?" Ms. Richardson asked.
"Yeah." Then, he whispered, "We're settin' up a surprise barbeque for my girlfriend." Ms. Richardson laughed and whispered back, "oh."
"Well, why don't you introduce me to these young ladies you've got in tow?" Kevin's mom continued, after receiving a kiss on the cheek from AJ, Howie, and Nick.
"This is Stephanie--you've talked to her on the phone millions of times. I think you met her awhile back...That's Danielle...Dani, this is Mom!" Kevin introduced her, grabbing Danielle's hand and pulling her towards his mother so they could shake hands.
"This is Amanda, my baby!" Brian eagerly interjected, putting his arm around Manda's shoulders. She smiled.
"Nice to meet you, Ms. Richardson," Amanda calmly said, holding out her right hand.
Ms. R. gladly shook it, answering, "Likewise. And after all I hear too!" Amanda laughed softly. Silence broke through and Ms. R. added, "Well, let's go inside and get you something to drink! You look a little tired!"
"Maaaa..." Kevin whined as he followed her into the house, slump-shouldered. Dani, Manda, and I took a stroll into the living room while the boys sat in the kitchen. The three of us admired all of the pictures on the walls.
"He looks so much like his dad!" Dani cried.
"All the boys do," Manda added. "AWW...now look at that one!" She pointed to one of Kevin and his brothers in the bathtub when he was about two. We awwed over it, until Kevin came in to see what the commotion was about. He rolled his eyes.
"Ma, maybe you should've checked the answering machine this morning..." he called into the kitchen. Just then, Ms. R. walked over to the desk where the machine was and played back the messages. After one from a friend and another from Jerald, she came across Kevin's. He plopped in a big fat chair and threw a pillow over his face.
"Hey Mom. The guys and I are in town early. We're gunna stop by the airport in Louisville, then hop on by to visit you and Jerald and Tim, 'kay? Oh, and don't leave any of those embarrassing pictures up, please. We've got a few girls with us. Love ya." The machine beeped three times, indicating that it was the last message.
"Oh Kevy. Don't want the girls to see you nake-y!" Nick cooed. Everyone laughed. Kevin growled into his pillow.
"Hey girls, wanna see Kevy's room?" Brian asked eagerly.
"Sure! THIS oughta be interesting!" I cried in reply. Amanda, Danielle, and I followed Brock down the hall to a closed door. Bri opened it and stepped inside.
The walls were white, almost bare. A bed in the corner was adorned with a cream-colored spread and had a baseball and glove lying across it. A picture frame hung directly over the bed with a picture of Kevin and his dad surrounded by trees in it. It must've been taken at the camp Mr. Richardson once ran. Another picture by the bed was of Kevin, Tim, and Jerald sitting on their horses. By the closet door there was a picture of Brian and Kevin together when they were 8 and 11. (Brian clarified the ages for us.) Another frame enclosed a picture of Howie, Nick, AJ, Kev, and Brian when they were first starting out. I must've taken the picture because I remembered it really well. Below a big window facing the backyard was a small keyboard with a stool before it. By the door there was a large mirror hanging over a tall dresser.
"His first singing career started here!" Brock proudly announced. We girls rolled our eyes, giggling. Just then, an old cat meandered in. Brian picked it up gently and stroked its back with his large hand. "Hey Ol' Quincy," he said to the cat, which was purring rather loudly. Amanda went over to her boyfriend and began petting the ancient animal as well. Just then, Kevin walked in.
"Likin' my room girls?" he asked. "This is the largest group of girls Mom has ever let me have in my room at ONE time!" We laughed.
Dani walked over to his desk and checked out the pictures on it. Hanging over another, shorter dresser was the boys' first gold record. They had allowed him to take it home because he was the oldest, the most responsible, and he had been going through some really tough times. Each of the guys had an encased gold record at their house as well as a few platinum ones. By now everyone was in the room. Nick was sitting on the bed, tossing the ball up in the air and catching it with the glove.
"Well, what do you girls want to drink?" Ms. R. broke the silence.
"I would love some iced tea Ms. Richardson. Kevin always tells us how good yours is," I said.
"Oh please. Call me Ann!" she added quickly. I smiled.
"I'd love to try the iced tea as well!" Dani replied.
"Water's fine for now, thank you," Amanda included. Ann ducked out of the room to go to the kitchen. Not two minutes later, she came back with our glasses. We thanked her and guzzled the drinks down. The tea was probably the best I had ever tried. The second she took a sip of hers, Dani looked at me wide-eyed. She must've been thinking the same thing I was. I smiled at her as Kevin led us out of his room.
Back in the living room, Kev phoned Jerald, then Tim. Within a half hour, the whole family was reunited and it was quite a tearful one. Kevin was able to play with is one-year-old niece and goddaughter, Amy, and touched up on the lives of his brothers. The second they got there, there was a whirlwind of hugs.
"Hey Kev! What's up?" Jerald called as he made his way up the front walk. Kevin opened the screen door and they embraced in a tight hug. "Great to see you in person again!"
"Yeah I know. I miss you guys too much!" Kevin began to sob. Dani and Manda watched him, shocked. They had never seen such a strong man cry like that before. I did not know him when his father passed away, but I remembered seeing him break down before performances every so often in the beginning...and when they got their first gold record....hoh that was a comedy. Brian and Kevin were bawling their eyes out and hugging each other while trying to pose for the cameras. When they wiped tears away, the makeup they had on went with it. As their families and I watched, we were hugging each other, comforting each other, and laughing at the two of them. They were softies at heart.
"So am I coming to the concert or what?" Jerald wanted to know.
"Why of course! You always do, right bro?"
"Yeah yeah...hey Brian! How's it goin' man?" Jerald continued into the house and gave his cousin a hug.
"Pretty good! how bout you? Got yourself a woman yet?" Brock joked.
"Naaahhh....not yet. Who's your latest girl? I mean, ya got these three here but I know her and she's known you too long to even think about dating a nut like you," Jerald remarked, speaking about me. I said hi to him and gave Jerald a quick hug.
"HEY! I haven't had that many girls!" Brian quickly defended himself.
"Yeah well...there was that one girl...the one who always had that ugly dog of yours..." Jerald replied, remembering Leighanne. Brian put his arm around Amanda's shoulders again and kissed the top of her head. "Ohhh....so you got her now. How long?"
"Yeah, me and Amanda. It's been about five months," Brian told him. Jerald held out his hand and Amanda shook it.
"And how about this other young lady over here. I'm sure she's not crazy enough to follow you guys around just because," Jerald added.
"This is Danielle. She's a really good friend of mine--I mean ours--" Kevin blushed.
"Did you guys date?" Jerald asked mischieviously. He was so good at reading his brother's actions.
"Well, yeah..." Kev trailed off. Dani smiled weakly.
"Well, Kev, I think you've finally caught on. Stop dating them before I come and steal them away from you!" Jerald joked, laying a hand on his little brother's shoulder. Dani blushed. He said hello to her and shook her hand.
"Jerald! Be nice to our visitors!" Ann cried. Jerald laughed and apologized. He was giving the rest of the guys hugs and saying hello to them when the screen door opened again. Kevin ran to it and found Tim, his sister-in-law Tracy, and his niece Amy. Kev and Tim gave each other a brotherly hug and the tears came spilling out once more. Tracy had Amy on her hip. Kevin embraced Tracy and said hi to Amy. The last time he had gotten a chance to see her was her first birthday, on which Kev flew down to Kentucky for the party, and he was really hoping she would remember him. So he held out his arms for his niece. With a huge smile on her face, Amy fell into the grip of his strong hands. He brought her to his chest and gently hugged his niece. The boy loved kids and now that he had one...sorta...he regretted that he couldn't spend time with her. Tim set the diaper bag on the ground by the sofa and gave his mom, then Brian a hug.
After the rounds of hugs were made once again, Dani and Amanda were introduced to Tracy and Tim.
"Hey Mom, got any steaks in the freezer outside?" Kevin called from the kitchen. By now, it was nearing late afternoon and he had wanted to have a barbeque.
"No, but there's plenty of beef if you want to make hamburgers. You just need to go to the store and get buns. Oh, and I made a batch of chili yesterday for this weekend," Ann told him. Jerald jumped up and dug the keys out of his pocket. Kevin smiled and thanked his mom for making his favorite thing.
"I'll go get 'em. Anyone wanna come with me?" he asked. We all declined, so he hopped into his truck and left.
Amanda was having a great time playing with Amy, while Danielle and Tracy got to know each other. I was standing around with the guys, so I went over to
Amanda and said hi to the little girl. She was absolutely adorable with her big green eyes, dark brown hair, and huge smile. Amanda tickled Amy, causing her to reduce to nothing but giggles. Tracy turned around and glanced at her daughter, smiling. Tim and the guys were talking in the kitchen while Kevin made hamburger patties and Ann cut up the tomatoes, lettuce, pickles, and onions.
Jerald came back and lit up the barbeque as we all joined him in the backyard to lounge in the warm sun.
The hamburgers were scrumptious. The chili couldn't have been better. Everything Kevin and Brian and told us about was certainly not a lie--Ann could whip up a mean mean batch of chili. We had just finished eating them when I checked my watch. It was around 3:45. Just then I realized I had to be at the stadium to rehearse with the dancers. I gasped and jumped up.
"Jerald can you give me a ride to the stadium? I gotta go rehearse with the rest of the dancers!" I cried. Jerald got out of his seat and placed his napkin on the plate in front of him.
"Sure Steph. We'll be back in a few guys," Jerald told everyone. I said my goodbyes, nice-to-meet-yous, and thank-yous and gave the Richardsons all hugs before Jerald dragged me out of the house. We hopped into his truck and took off down the street.
"How long will you be here in Lexington?" Jerald wanted to know.
"Only until Monday. We have to leave right after the concert because of the long break we taking over here," I explained.
"I see. So, what's up with you and the guys? Are they being nice to their little sister?" he asked, sarcastically.
"HEY! I've grown up! They treat me okay, now that I'm old enough to boss them around. For my nineteenth, they bought me a Mustang. Last year I got my condo that D let me design. And I have a crazy chihuahua as well. He's cuter than Tyk though." I winked at Jerald, making him laugh.
"Is the concert better than it was last year? Any improvements?"
"Well yeah. I'm dancing in it this time, Jeraaaaallllld!" I joked.
"Yes cuz you just have that way of lighting up the stage, Dancer Girl," he remarked.
"Now, do tell me why Kevin broke up with Danielle and she's with you guys still. I think there's still something going on between those two, if you ask me."
"You know your brother a little too well, Jerald. Shouldn't he be scared of you?" I said. Jerald chuckled.
"You would think that by now he would, wouldn't you?" he pondered. I smiled. "Well the boy didn't want to build a relationship while he was on tour so he figured the best thing he could do was break it off before it got too in depth."
"I see. I guess I'll stay out of it this time," Jerald sighed.
"Hey!" I cried.
"Now how about little ol' you? How's your love life?"
"Geez. You're just as bad as Nick was the other night. Are you sure you're not younger than Kevin?" I asked. Jerald laughed again.
"Well?"
"Well, Howie and I finally started dating."
"FINALLY? How long did it take you? Ya know, I was the first one to point out that you'd end up dating him," Jerald replied.
"Oh really? Well thanks for letting me know. I'll remember that..." I told him. Just then, we pulled up to the stadium. Jerald and I climbed out of the truck and walked around to the gated area in the back, where all the buses were, and waited for one of the guards to come around. He wasn't part of our travelling crew, for the guards were always employed by the venue we played at, so he didn't recognize me.
"But I'm one of the dancers. My name is Stephanie Jones and I need to get back there to rehearse with the rest of the dancers! I'm late and I need to get back there!" I cried.
"I'm sorry ma'am, but unless you have some source of identification, I cannot allow you to pass through these gates," the guard sternly replied. Jerald flipped out his wallet and showed the guard his license.
"I'm the brother of Kevin Richardson. I'm escorting Stephanie here. Can you please let her in?" Jerald tried to help.
"I left all my identification on the bus and we don't have a cell phone to call anyone back there. Could you please allow me to get through?" I begged, nervously. There was no one around who could identify me as part of the Backstreet Crew, so I was stuck.
"I'm sorry miss. Unless you have a pass or identification, you are not allowed back here. It is restricted area and only authorized personnel are allowed back," the guard continued.
"But I am authorized personnel!" I cried back. I was getting very flustered and Jerald was losing his patience. The guard stood his ground and refused to unlock the gates.
Suddenly, I noticed a few guys from the band walking by.
"Tommy! Dennis!" I yelled as loud as I could, because they were far away, making their way towards their bus. Dennis turned his head a little and waved at me. I waved frantically, indicating I needed help. Tommy ran into another bus, looking for Q, and Dennis walked over towards the three of us.
"Is there a problem here officer?" he wanted to know.
"Yes sir. Do you know this young woman?" the guard inquired.
"Well YEAH. Why aren't you allowing her back here?" Dennis asked, confused.
"Dennis, I left all my identification on the bus so I have no way of getting back there!" I whined. Dennis looked a little worried. Just then, Tommy and Q approached us.
"Excuse me officer, I believe you must let this young lady backstage. She's late for practice!" Q stated in this dark, booming voice that he liked to put on whenever he wanted to look macho. I shot Q a gratifying look as the guard unlocked the gate, then reached up and gave Jerald a hug.
"Thanks for waiting with me Jerald and trying to help! Oh and tell the guys to call me before they leave!" I said.
"No prob. Good luck on Monday okay? I'll see ya then," Jerald replied, walking back towards the truck. I waved goodbye and walked through the gates. I threw my arms around each of the guys, thanking them for getting me through the gates.
"Now Gilli, don't go leaving your ID in the bus anymore okay? We can't have problems like this anymore!" Tommy joked. I nudged him playfully.
"Yeah. Then you'd have to go digging through our stinky bus, looking for it!" I replied, happy that I was backstage. "But now I really have to go and get ready. The girls will kill me!" I said bye and ran over to my bus. I jumped through the open door and climbed on two stairs at a time. Inside, I tore off my regular clothes and put on my dance pants and a tanktop, dug out my old dance sneakers and pulled them on. Then I realized I hadn't called Shivani. I grabbed the first cell phone I could find, grabbed Shivani's number from my phone book, and dialed her up. I explained that we would need her to fly down to Lexington as soon as possible so we could get practicing together. Shivani was excited and said she would immediately call to schedule a flight out either that night or the next morning. As soon as I set the phone down, I darted out of the bus and towards the back entrance. I could hear the cd player goin in the distance and knew I was late.
"Hey guys!" I called as I ran across the stage. Tae, Kristin, Nef, and Emily all stood still, staring at me. Tae was tapping her foot angrily. Nef looked at me and thrust her wrist at me, flashing her watch. I smiled weakly as my cheeks deepened in color. "I'm sorry! I was with the Richardsons and we were having a barbeque! Then Jerald drove me here and I forgot to get my ID out of the bus and the guard wouldn't let me through and Q had to convince the guard to let me in and ugh!"
The four looked at me, then busted up laughing. I was overcome with anger. Unfortunately, knowing me I couldn't hold it in and joined them in the laughter.
"Gilli, what in the world are you doing? Get dancing!" Amy shouted from the audience. She had a videocamera in hand. I looked down at her, all alone in a 60,000-max-capacity seating area, and waved cheerfully at the camera. Then I blew it a kiss.
"We're practicing 'Larger Than Life' right now okay?" Kristin told me. Em turned the cd player back on and we got in our beginning positions. In the middle of practicing the dance, we heard barking. Suddenly, the five of us found ourselves tripping all over the two chihuahuas chasing each other across the stage. Emily stopped the cd player and the five of us watched them. Then, I began to run after my black dog, trying to get him. When I finally caught up to him, I scooped him up and walked over to the edge of the stage, with Muchie still barking at Tyk, who had ran and hidden behind the bass drum. I handed Chache to Amy, who let him loose in the audience. The dogs had become accustomed to stadiums and the other venues and always stayed nearby, fearing that they would get lost again like they did in Europe one time.
"So are you ready Em?" I asked her.
"Huh NO!" Emily cried. "I'm nervous as hell! I've never been in front of an audience of nearly 60,000 people before!" Kristin walked up and patted her on the back.
"Just imagine you're dancing with the Backstreet Boys, who have nothing but underwear on. Then you'll be less worried because most of the eyes are focused on them and their...bare chests...and it will be easy!" Kris joked. Emily giggled.
"Works every time!" Teresa added, winking at our inexperienced fill-in.
"Yeah, dancing with the Backstreet Boys...that's a task!" Emily cried.
"Well, I'm sure you and AJ do a lot of dancing anyways..." Nef muttered.
"NEFFF!!!!!!!" Kristin, Emily, Amy, Tae and I all screeched. We couldn't believe what had just come out of her mouth. Emily blushed.
"No comment. No comment," she brushed it aside.
"I see Denise has prepped you for the reporters!" I replied. "Speaking of Denise, where is that woman anyways?"
"Out with Tish, getting the clothes and things ready. Oh. I think they're ordering the catering right now, so it's ready by Monday..." Kristin told me.
"Yeah--" Nef started up again.
"No! Don't say another word! You are not permitted to speak for the rest of the night!" Tae cried.
"But--"
"Shh!" Tae began to imitate Dr. Evil in Austin Powers, doing the whole hand thing.
"Wait--"
"Shh!" Nefertiti folded her arms and sat down, pouting. As if timing were planned, Tyk sauntered down from his spot by the drums and into Nef's lap, where he fell asleep.
"Oh this is good! Now I can't even dance! I got the Prince Dog sitting in my lap!" Nef said, throwing her arms up in the air.
"Throw the dog off!" I yelled. "It's about time he realizes he's not the greatest thing since sliced bread!"
"Ya know, what was the greatest thing before sliced bread?" Amy pondered.
"Uhhh...peanut butter?" Emily suggested.
"Aw yeah baby!" Kristin shouted, giving Em a high five. Nef got up and put Tyk on the ground. He looked up and gave her a very unhappy look, then found another spot by the stairs to sleep at.
"Okay. Don't you think you guys oughta get some work done?" Amy called from her seat. We all turned around and looked at her, cluelessly.
"Oh I guess..." Tae sighed. Kristin turned the music back on and we began to dance again, fixing choppy spots and cleaning up the dancing. Ro Ro, Ed, Swoop, Sleepy, and Reggie were due to come in a half hour and we needed to finish rehearsing by ourselves before they invaded our privacy.