"You guys can go ahead and set your stuff in the living room. I'm moving all--where's Chachi?!" I suddenly noticed there wasn't any crazy yipping like usual. This panicked me.
"You left him outside when we left, Steph," Amanda informed me. I freaked out. What if my poor puppy had drowned or run away? I dropped all my stuff and ran to the sliding glass door and opened it, disregarding the closed curtains.
"SURPRISE!!!!"
The back patio was decked out completely. Ed, Sleepy, Reggie, Swoop, Ro Ro, Howie's family, Nick's family, AJ's mom, the other dancers, Fatima, some other girlfriends of mine, and my boys were all standing out in my backyard. I ran out and gave the first person I saw a hug. It was Curly D. Everyone surrounded me.
I spotted Chachi...in the arms of little Angel Carter. I soon forgot about my doggie when I felt the Big Green Thing (the crazy hat's title) being placed on my head. I turned around and threw my arms around AJ. Eventually, I hugged everyone.
"So THIS is your promotional thing?!" I teased Howie. He laughed. "You should've seen us at the mall today! We were doing all the promoting you could want!"
"Hey well! When you're famous, it's easy to lie about something. One day, Gilli, you'll learn," Brian assured me. I looked at him, wrinkled my brow, and said, "Sure." Suddenly, I heard my KNOTB tapes playing. I shot my head back around to Brian. He shrugged, then laughed. Then, I located Kevin.
"Still up for the dinner?" I asked, jokingly.
"Hey! If I still have room in me!" he replied, patting his stomach. I patted it, then walked around to say hi to the Carters. They had just gotten back from LA and were exhausted. I talked with them for awhile, then went to the assorted Doroughs and gave them all hugs. We chatted, until it all became hushed.
The girls were walking out with a cake. On the cake was She-Ra! Nick had found a picture and drawn her on there. Everyone gathered around me and sang Happy Birthday while Kevy videotaped it all. I blew out the candles (secretly wishing that I would find the perfect guy soon) and smiled while everyone clapped. Tae cut the cake while everyone surrounded me with presents. From the Backstreet Crew, I got new jazz sneakers (had been complaining about mine for a few months now), and a few cute dance outfits. Fatima gave me a brown cowboy hat that was completely identical to hers. From the Doroughs, I got ten photo albums. From the Carters, I got a really nice Hard Rock Cafe Hollywood jacket. From AJ's mom, I got a crazy hat that I had never seen before. From my good friend Lacey, I got a $50 gift certificate to the Warehouse and some purple fuzzy dice. From Amy, Amanda, Danielle, and Emily, I got a new, state-of-the-art discman (my last one broke) and every one of the NKOTB tapes on CDs. Then came my final gift.
The surprise from my boys. They always gave me their gift last. AJ pulled out a handkerchief and tied it around my eyes. Then they led me somewhere.
After walking for five minutes, we stopped and they took the blindfold off me.
"It's my house," I exclaimed, bluntly.
"Geez, you're dumb!" AJ teased, under his breath. He and Howie turned me around to face...
A fully-restored, shiny yellow, 1967 Mustang!!!
I gasped and turned to hug J. I gave him a kiss on the cheek. Then, I turned to Howie and hugged him and kissed him on the cheek. Then Kevin. Then Nick. Then Brian. I LOVED THOSE BOYS!!!!!!!!!
"Told ya you needed a car so I didn't have to transport you everywhere!" Howie told me. Lacey brought the fuzzy dice and handed them to me. Then, Nick handed me the keys to the Mustang. I looked at the keys in disbelief. I couldn't believe it was mine...I also couldn't believe there was a Backstreet Boys keychain on it! I looked at Nick questioningly.
"We thought you needed a picture of us hanging with you always. Did you look at the dog tag?" Nick pointed out. I brought it closer to my eyes and examined it. Inscribed in the metal was:
Stephanie -- Official Backstreet Girl
Owner of this '67 Mustang -- from the
Backstreet Boys -- '99
(on the other side was:)
BE CAREFUL! -- NO ACCIDENTS!
I laughed and hugged them all some more. Then, everyone urged me to get in the car. I jumped in and hung the fuzzy dice on the mirror. I stuck the keys in the ignition and turned on the car to hear the engine revvin' up. It was music to my ears. I was very near tears. Brian climbed in next to me and we sat there. Then, he pushed play on the tape player and turned up the volume.
"JAM ON CUZ BACKSTREET'S GOT IT. COME ON NOW EVERYBODY. WE'VE GOT IT GOIN' ON FOR YEARS -- ALTHOUGH LONELINESS HAS ALWAYS BEEN A FRIEND OF MINE, I'M LEAVIN' MY LIFE IN YOUR HANDS. PEOPLE SAY I'M CRAZY AND THAT I AM BLIND, RISKIN' IT ALL IN A GLANCE -- QUIT PLAYING GAMES WITH MY HEART (QUIT PLAYIN GAMES WITH MY HEART, BEFORE YOU TEAR US APART, QUIT PLAYIN GAMES WITH MY) I SHOULD'VE KNOWN FROM THE START -- BACKSTREET'S BACK ALRIGHT! -- IF YOU WANT IT TO BE GOOD GIRL, GET YOURSELF A...BAD BOY -- BUT MY LOVE IS ALL I HAVE TO GIVE -- I'D GO ANYWHERE FOR YOU...ANYWHERE YOU ASKED ME TO -- I'D RATHER DIE, THEN LIVE WITHOUT YOU, I'LL GIVE YOU ALL OF ME, HONEY THAT'S NO LIE -- SET ADRIFT ON MEMORY BLISS OF YOU -- I COULD TELL WHEN I STEPPED IN THE ROOM, AND I SAW YOU STANDING THERE, AND I THOUGHT BY THE WAY THAT YOU MOVE, COULDN'T HELP THE WAY I STARE -- YOU'RE THE ONE FOR ME YOU'RE MY ECSTASY, YOU'RE THE ONE I NEEEEEEEEEEEDDDDDDD!" (Then, Howie's voice came on.) "Hey Stephanie, Stephy, Steph, Gilligan, Curly G, Gill, Dancer Girl, Gilli, AJ 2, and any other name we've called you! It's your birthday and you think we're working on promotional stuff. Ha! We lied! Backstreet got the best of you!!! HAHAHAHAHA! Well, we got you this nice car and...you gotta take care of it now...and you'll be hauling us around for awhile, to make up for all the gas mileage...just kidding." (Then Nick came on.) "Hopefully, this car won't end up the way your car on Mario Kart always does. That would be UUUUGGGGGLLLYYYY!" (Brian came on.) "Shut up Nicky...but on a real tip--" (he mimicked his "AIH2G" convo mix)
"keep up with the payments on this thing cuz we're not digging you out of the hole! Hee hee!" (Then AJ came on.) "And make sure you got a hat in the back window, in case it ever gets to where you need one. Make sure the music is plenty loud, but not loud enough to burst your eardrums." (Kevin's voice boomed on.) "And watch all the signs and don't get the old people mad, cuz they might die that day and you don't want to be the last person they're mad at. Just kidding. Be a good girl on the road and--" (They all chimed in on this next part.) "FOLLOW THE RULES!!!" (Then Nick and AJ came back on.) "NOT!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!!" Then, "HIT ME BABY ONE MORE TIME!" came on. I turned it down and turned the car off. I reached over and hugged Brian. Then, I got out and gave the boys more hugs. Still couldn't believe it. I even gave Kevin's camera a kiss.
"Oh my gosh you guys! I swear I have the best friends IN THE ENTIRE WORLD!!!!!!" I cried. They all laughed. The boys were beaming from ear to ear. "How long have you had this thing?"
"Ummm...how long has it been Kev?" Brian asked his cousin.
"I think about 4 months. We hid it at Lacey's house, knowing that you would have no clue if you saw it," Kevin explained to me.
"So that's why you got the fuzzy dice, right Lace?" I asked her. She nodded her head. I laughed some more. "I feel so loved!!!"
"That's cuz you are," Howie told me, giving me a hug and kissing my forehead. Then, AJ came up and stuck a hat on my head. It wasn't the St. Patrick's Day hat. I reached up and took it off.
"IT'S A 'FREAK' HAT!!!! THANKS J! That's just what I needed for my collection!" I said. I gave him a hug. He was wearing his matching hat. I had loved it ever since I had first spotted it on him during a photo shoot for Entertainment Weekly. My hat was olive green. His was blue.
"Always remember: keep it in the back window, in case you ever need it, ok?" J reminded me.
"Gotcha Freak." Then, Nick came up to me and handed me an envelope that was decorated with caricatures of me and the boys. I opened it delicately, so as not to tear any of the drawings.
"It's allll good baby!" I yelled out, looking at the bumper sticker Nick had bought me. He always said that and I loved to tease him about it, so he got the sticker to remind me. Next, Brock came up to me and handed me an even bigger gift. It was quite heavy.
"From me, Kev, and Howie. It's something every car needs," Bri explained to me, as I tore the wrapping paper. It was one of those things that sits on the dashboard and the head bobs up and down. Only it was of Goofy. I loved it. I climbed back into the car and placed Goofy on the dashboard and got out and smacked the bumper sticker on the bumper.
"For dinner, I'm drivin', boys," I declared. Everyone laughed. Then we all went back inside and I got a phone call. It was my parents. I talked to them for a few minutes, then put on the speaker phone and everyone hollered a 'hi' and then separately held conversations. Then, my sister called. I let her talk to each of the boys (which she went ecstatic over, considering she had never met any of them except Howie).
Everyone hung out for a little while longer, went swimming, and chilled out, eating and drinking. Eventually, everyone left and I was able to get ready for dinner. The girls had picked out a gorgeous green dress for me to wear tonight, so I dug it out and put it on my bed. I had to take a shower to get the green coloring out of my hair, since I couldn't possibly go to a nice restaurant with green hair. They'd kick me out! By the time I was ready, Brian had called and told me they were waiting at Nick's house. I grabbed my jacket, purse, and keys and jetted out of the house, making sure Chachi was inside before locking it.
The instant I sat in my new car, I was surrounded by the fresh smell of new leather. I opened up the glovebox to throw my purse in it and found an air freshener. I chuckled to myself and hung it around Goofy's head. Then, I turned on the engine and listened as it revved up. I adjusted the mirrors and the seat and turned on the stereo and went through it until I found an oldies station (when you're in a classic car, you just GOTTA listen to classic music!) and was on my way.
I got to Nick's house and parked on the drive-way, where the boys had left an empty spot for me. They all came out, wearing green suits with matching St. Patrick's Day ties (I had bought them for the boys a few years back, when I made a trip to Dublin, Ireland). I laughed so hard.
"Okay. Let's see how we're gunna do this...." Brian said, studying the car.
"Ok. So, if we throw Nicky in the trunk, then it should work..."
"Hey! I'd be crammed! I'm too tall stupid!" Nick cried. AJ rubbed his goatee, thoughtfully.
"How 'bout if one of us drives and then Steph can sit in the back, on our laps," he suggested.
"Ok sure! But I only trust Kevin to drive it, so you two tall ones can sit in the front and us four short ones will squeeze in the back, ok?" I instructed.
The guys agreed, and we all climbed in. Then, Kevin drove us to the only Irish restaurant in town, O''Malley's.
O'Malley's was decked out in shamrocks, green, and leprechauns. We got in the lighted lobby and I noticed that J had dyed his hair and goatee orange. I questioned him on it.
"I've got to look like me Irish lepreechaun, lassie," J spoke out in an Irish accent. I playfully pushed him and we all sat down in the chairs. The receptionist checked us in and we were immediately showed to our reserved seats.
Our table was a semi long one, with a seat at each end and little shamrocks and leprechauns lined up in the middle. The guys made me sit at the end, and Howie and Kevin sat next to me. Next to Howie was Nick, with Brian across from him and AJ at the other end. Our waiter was one of the true Irishmen who worked there. His accent was as crisp as his red hair and green eyes. He was about my height and was wearing this green top hat and a light green shirt with dark green pants.
"Good evening, lads and me dear lassie. And a Happy St. Patty's Day to ye all. Me name is Eric and I will be your waiter. Tonight, we are celebrat'in' with ye traditional green beer, on us. The specials are listed on the menu, in green, for we have so many, ye know," the waiter explained. I looked at AJ and he and I stiffled laughs. "To start ye all off, may I ask if ye would like anything to drink?"
"Uh water's fine for now, thank you," Kevin spoke up.
"Ahh...I will be back shortly with your waters. Excuse me." The waiter left.
"That little man is soo precious!" I cried, as soon as he was far from earshot. "We get a leprechaun for a waiter!!!" The guys laughed. We all looked at our menus and each decided what we wanted. A few minutes later, Eric the lepre--I mean, waiter--came back with our waters. They all had little green straws in them. Instead of lemons, limes were floating in them.
"Are ye ready to order?" our darling waiter asked us. We all looked at each other and nodded our heads.
"I think we are," Howie replied, with a cute little smile on his face. "We'll start with the Birthday girl over here." I blushed.
"A birthday, lassie? In me town of Dublin, it's a gift to be born on the day of the Irish. Happy Birthday to ye, me dear lass!" the waiter suddenly said. I blushed even more.
"Umm...I'll have the calamari with the soup," I asked, telling him what I wanted.
"Sure. And to drink?" he inquired.
"Can I get some green milk? It's been a tradition for me aome for my birthday and I haven't had any today yet," I told him.
"Sure!!! We always give the children green milk on St. Patty's Day! With a straw bent like a shamrock!" Eric the Leprechaun winked at me. I thanked him and handed the waiter my menu. Eric went on to the boys and got their orders, before leaving. Kevin even ordered the house's Irish wine for us. None of the boys were beer drinkers, but AJ succombed to his curiosity and ordered the green beer. AJ: the lover of freebies. If there was something free, he'd get it. No questions asked.
"This is one of the best birthdays ever!" I declared. "Ever since I got together with you guys, my birthdays have been awesome. You five spoil me to death! If you don't stop, I'll never be able to fend for myself!" They all chuckled.
"Well hey! We're your big brothers, we gotta do our job!" Brian shrugged. I smiled at him and blew him a kiss. He reached up, 'caught it,' and 'stuck it' on his cheek. Then he winked at me. I crossed my eyes at him. It's one thing to be immature, but to be immature with these guys was a completely different thing. We all liked to act immature in dumb, playful, mature ways.
Our salads and soups came and we talked between eating.
"So, 'Manda tells me you were pestering clerks about us. Care to elaborate on that?" Brian began. I began to laugh so hard I nearly choked on my soup.
"Well, considering there were ten of us girls, we sang and danced for the clerk at the Warehouse. We asked how many of your CDs were sold on a typical day at Sam Goody. Then, Emily went up to a clerk at the GAP and asked if she had seen a Backstreet Boy lately. She told her she saw Howie, and Emily pretended to freak out! We were busting up laughing. As usual, a couple hundred girls came up to us, giving us St. Patrick's Day gifts to give to you. But Niki scared them off by yelling at them for not giving me anything for my birthday. I got a Happy Meal from the girls. We had a blast!!!" I told them. "You guys really got yourselves good girls! Well, except you J. I had to find Em for you." I looked up at AJ across the table and laughed. He knew I was teasing him. "You guys should disguise yourselves one day and come with us. It would be sooo funny!" I suggested.
"Yeah...funny till about a million girls come chasing after us!!!" Nick sulkily replied.
"Oh cheer up Nicky," I said to him. We all finished our soups and salads and pushed them aside. Then, we waited for our dinners to come. Eric, our Leprechaun Waiter, came back with our drinks and plates. Everyone (even Nick and me) got to have the wine, because in Ireland, anyone can drink liquor. I tried AJ's beer and thought it tasted really gross, but the wine tasted better than ours in America. The boys and I quickly devoured our food and spent spare time playing with the decorations.
"No, that's ME pot of gold. I found it first!"
"NO! It's ME pot of gold! I found it many a year before ye!"
"If ye found it so long ago, why didn't ye take it then?!"
"I had nowhere to store it, ye bloody fool!"
"Why don't we split it, then?"
"No, lad! It is mine!"
AJ and Nick took two leprechauns and a pot of gold and were 'bickering' over who's gold it was. The four of us all stopped what we were doing and sat and watched our little show. The leprechauns began to get in a big battle. Finally, Brian grabbed another leprechaun.
"Stop it, ye fools! This here pot of gold belongs to neither of ye! This is where I keep me gold I find! This pot of gold belongs to me, and I'll kill both of ye if ye don't stop fighting over something that's not ye's to fight over!" 'the leprechaun' cried. He 'walked' over, 'mumbling' "Ye bloody, selfish fools. I should kill them all anyways." Kevin, Howie, and I busted up. Right then, our Leprechaun Waiter came by. AJ, Nick, and Brian quickly put their leprechauns and the pot of gold back and smiled at the waiter.
"Ah...I see ye have finished. Is there anything else ye need?" Eric the waiter asked.
"Nope. That'll do, sir," Kevin, Big Brother, answered for us all. He knew none of us would've been able to say anything without laughing anyways. Eric took our plates and left to get the check. "You guys are so bad!" Kevin yelled in a whisper, trying hard to keep from busting up. "We go to a decent restaurant and you goof off! Will you ever grow up?" By the end of his sentence, Kevin couldn't contain himself any longer and began to laugh harder than the rest of us. We all laughed at his reaction. At that moment, we noticed that a whole crowd of leprechauns were walking up to the table. I hid my face on Howie shoulder. He patted my back.
"Well, lass, we always showcase our St. Patty's Day birthdays in the restaurant. So, here's ye hat-" (Eric handed me a really nice, green, velvet top hat) "-and here's ye birthday cake-" (a waitress placed a green cake with a green candle in front of me)
"-and here's the camera. So, if the rest of ye wouldn't mind, please come over to stand around the lass and we will snap a picture for ye and the showcase of pictures in the lobby!" Eric explained. The guys all got around me and we smiled for the camera. Then, a waiter lit the candle and they all sang Happy Birthday to me. I blew out the candle and made a wish (same as the last one), thanked the waiters and waitresses, and ate my cake. I fed each of the boys a small piece of the delicious cake, then ate the rest of it by myself. Eric, the Nice Leprechaun Waiter, even let me keep the hat! I was ecstatic because it was one more hat for my collection! The boys paid the bill and we all gathered our stuff and left. But not before leaving an address for them to send my picture to me.
We all climbed into the car again, and made our way back to Nick's house. At Nicky's, we pigged out on mint chip ice cream and Nicky and I played Mario Kart, while we all listened to the radio. Then, Kevin quietly excused himself from the room.
Suddenly, I heard "This is Kevin. On behalf of the rest of my boys--AJ, Nick, Howie, and Brian--and myself, I would just like to give a shout out and a Happy 19th Birthday to our little dancer, Stephanie. I would also like to request 'As Long As You Love Me,' cuz Steph loves that song." I stopped what I was doing and looked at the boys. They were all gleaming.
"And here it is. From Kevin, AJ, Nick, Howie, and Brian, to Stephanie, it's the Backstreet Boys singing 'As Long As You Love Me,' " the DJ announced. I had to laugh at how ironic that sounded. 'From the Backstreet Boys, it's the Backstreet Boys.'
"Thank you sir," that deep voice played over the airwaves. Those special notes played over the radio as Kevin came out of the guest room. I got up and rushed to him and wrapped my arms around him.
"THANK YOU!!!" I cried. Then, I hugged Brian, AJ, Howie, and Nick. Then, Howie came back up to me.
"May I have this dance?" he asked, holding out his hand.
"Why certainly!" I obliged, grabbing it. Howie and I goofed off, while all of us sang the song. When the song was over and Brian and Nick closed it with those last notes and I gave Howie a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you for such a wonderful dance!" I replied. He bowed.
"Anytime, my love," Howie teasingly answered. As he bowed, I pushed him over, laughing. We all busted up more. Then, Brian and AJ joined in mine and Nicky's car race. AJ and I kept rolling off the sides, we were laughing so hard.
Kevin yawned. He looked at his watch.
"Ok. It's officially not your birthday Steph. Hope you enjoyed it! I gotta go, though. Danielle and I are gunna do something together tomorrow," Kevin announced, getting up. He playfully rubbed my head and said goodbye, before walking out. Not long after, Howie left. Then, Nick called it quits and kicked the rest of us out. Yawning, I gathered my stuff and walked out to my Mustang.
When I got home, I barely had enough energy in myself to put on pjs. I sleepily got into bed and was asleep within seconds.