It had been a few days and the newly engaged couple had gotten hardly any peace from the press or friends. Everyone wanted to know if the newspaper was accurate. Since the paper had more than perfect timing, they couldn't deny it, but it was just so unfortunate that Brian and Amanda couldn't tell friends and family themselves. We threw an engagement party for them, though it was kind of a spur of the moment thing. Kevin, Howie, AJ, and Brian admitted they had gone Christmas shopping together, hence all the diamond gifts. We were all so happy for Brian and Amanda. Inside our little cloud of "normalcy," we were so excited that one of the guys had finally decided to go all out.
It was like finally growing up and out of the clean cut, baby boy image they had started at. Outside our cloud, we were being faced with the harsh reality that fans were going to hate this event. The couple was going to be bombarded with mixed opinions and tons of questions. Their lives leading up to the wedding would not be too private at all. They were going to have to officially tell the fans somehow, unsure of how they would react. They were faced with...
"OH MY GAWD it says here that four girls committed suicide because of Brian's engagement!" Kristin read. We girls were sitting around, chilling for awhile. It was New Year's Eve Day and Danielle and Kevin had flown off to New York.
AJ and Howie were busy getting ready for a party and Brian and Amanda were just beginning to make plans on how they were going to go about doing this and what day they wanted the Big Day to be on. We knew that we couldn't expect to see them very much at all. Nick was in LA. Amy was with him for the holidays. Emily was with AJ. In fact, AJ and Howie were the only ones who had seen each other at all over break, except for the impromptu engagement party. Howie was scheduled to fly out to LA with Polly right after New Years. A few days before Christmas, he had a chat with girls from his message board. He said it was a lot like a press conference. I pitied him. That night we had dinner at his parents' house with Angie and her kids. Chelsea was there to help him get everything set up. Then, he spent time reading and answering a few emails. Niki would be flying down from LA in a few weeks, to join us on the tour again.
"Oh please tell me that isn't true!" Tae cried.
"Well my friend said it was from a newsletter she received online. Who knows. Let's hope it's not true!" Kris answered. I checked out the time.
"Anyone wanna go with me to go check out a watch store?" I asked, out of the blue.
"Huh? Why?" Red wanted to know.
"It's for Howie," I told her.
"Oh gosh...fine, let's go," Kris declared, grabbing her stuff. We all climbed into Teresa's car and were off.
We stopped at a nearby watch store and wondered into it.
"Sometimes I wish I had been blessed with the skills to have some taste in classy things," I groaned. Kris and Tae laughed. Apparently the employee on hand had heard me because she walked up and asked if we needed any assistance. Her name was Alesha and she was like a god-send.
"Yeah I'm looking for a watch for my best--er boyfriend. But, lucky me, I have no frickin' clue what type of watch to get
him!"
"Uh huh...tell me a little about him. Maybe I can get a picture of what type of
watch he would wear," she instructed, politely. I must've had a look of reluctance because she then changed her words. "Well um why don't you tell me what he wears."
"Well...heh...unlike me he's a pretty classy person. He likes to wear the slacks and nice shirt get-up," I tried to describe.
"Hmmm....he loves getting dressed up....that enough?"
"He is a little latin lover here. Pretty cool, sweet, sometimes quiet, sometimes loud. Romantic, fun to be with. Not one to wear jeans and a t-shirt too often. More of the khakis and polo shirt type of guy. He doesn't wear lots of jewelry. A necklace, a ring, and and two earrings," Kristin interrupted me. I gave her a bewildered look.
"Thank you Red!" I said. She smiled at me. Alesha laughed. She was around our age, so began to act more comfortable and friendly around us.
"Well then...if I'm picturing him correctly...and you'll have to excuse me, I kind of have a singer who would fit that description in my head right now, but I'm thinking along the lines of a Seiko Kinetic watch...or a Citizen Eco-Drive...they're really classy but not overbearing. And they are at a really reasonable price. They can range anywhere from $150 to $600," Alesha explained. The four of us had to contain our laughter when we heard Alesha imply that she had Howie on her mind.
"Well I'm sure that guy in your mind isn't too far off from the one we're talkin bout," Kris muttered. I elbowed her.
"Why don't you show me the ones around the $200 dollar range," I asked. Alesha led us over to the Seiko case and unlocked it to pick up a few watches. The girls hovered over me and we checked out the three Alesha was holding.
"I like that one," Teresa replied, pointing to the one in Alesha's right hand.
"Yeah it looks like something How--he would wear," Kristin agreed, catching herself before she said Howie.
"Really? 'Kay now let's see those other ones," I declared. Alesha put the watches back and walked over to another case. She pulled out a Ditizen Eco-Drive and showed it to us. Kris and Tae hovered over the counter, studying the watch. I looked at my company and laughed. "Oh what would I do without you guys?"
"Who knows? Probably pick out some ugly watch. Knowing you and your taste for classy things," Red teased. I glared at her, jokingly. "I think I like that Seiko one."
"Yeah. So do I," Teresa backed her up. Alesha put the Eco-Drive back in its display case and locked the door before walking back over to the Seikos. She grabbed the one that Teresa liked and showed it to us again. I didn't have an argument against it, and the price was pretty reasonable and within my range, so I decided to get it. I never carried credit cards or a checkbook, because I hardly ever bought anything that was extremely high-priced, so I paid for the watch in cash. I would have to sacrifice a few hats for this watch, but it was worth it.
"So, you guys having a big party tonight?" Alesha asked as she rang up the watch.
"Not together, at least. We're all doin our own separate thing," I explained. "What about you?"
"Oh I'm just gunna hang out with my friend and watch Backstreet Boys videos. We really have a great time bumming around and watching those suckers repetitively," Alesha confided in us, giggling. We all laughed.
"Oh yeah those boys are a crack-up to watch when they perform!" Teresa noted.
"You like em too?" Alesha wanted to know, a bit bewildered.
"Oh totally. We love those boys!" Kristin answered.
"We should get together sometime. You want my number?" Alesha asked. I had begun to like her already.
"Oh sure! I'll be by myself in a few days so you can keep me company on the days when I'm bored and have nothing to do," I smiled.
"Groovy..." Alesha said as she wrote her number on a piece of paper. "Umm...I don't know why I'm giving you my number and I don't even know your names..."
"Oh! Sorry! I'm Stephanie, this is Kristin, and that's Teresa," I introduced us. The girls said hi and we got reacquainted. Alesha handed me her phone number along with the box that contained the watch. We said goodbye and nice to meet you, then walked out.
********************
"Hey babe, ready for the Millennium?" Howie asked me.
"Yes, Cheesehead!" I answered him. D winked at me. We were in the middle of a huge party at some person's house. It was somebody AJ and Howie knew, so they were there with Emily and myself. On MTV, their video for "Show Me The Meaning," which was videotaped not long after they had gotten home from tour, was going to premiere. The boys had to fly back out to LA for the taping. We were going to put MTV on the big screen TV for a little while, check out the video when it came on, then go back to partying. Howie had promised me he'd let me have some champagne, even though he knew that no matter what he said, I'd probably have sparkling cider anyways.
Halfway through the night, Howie ran up to me and a few other girls who were talking and thrust a cell phone in my face. I couldn't say anything, so I just grabbed it and said "hello?"
"STEPH! LISTEN TO THIS!" I could hear Danielle yell into the phone. She must've held the phone up in the air because, before I knew it I heard the lyrics, "I'll bet she never had a back street guy" being sung by not only Billy Joel himself, but the fans that were in attendance at his concert in Madison Square Gardens. I busted up, listening to the man sing Dani's, Manda's, and my favorite lyrics to the song "Uptown Girl."
"Havin' a good time?" I asked in a loud voice, once she had the phone back to her ear.
"HUH? Oh a blast! Kevin got to meet Billy before the show. He was practically dying just from that! We're having so much fun! Kev sang 'To Make You Feel My Love' to me while Billy was on stage performing it for us! There are sooo many people here!" Danielle continued to holler over the noise.
"That's so awesome Dani! Hey I'll let you go! It's hard to hear you and I don't want to take any attention away from your guys' favorite singer!" I told her, cutting the conversation short. I said goodbye and hung up.
"Having a good time?" Howie asked me, about Danielle and Kevin.
"Oh totally, Dani had to share some of the concert with me," I said. Howie laughed, taking the phone out of my hand. We departed, going back to our separate conversations.
Eventually, midnight made its way around the corner. As the countdown began, Howie pulled me over to the middle of the huge crowd and held my hand as we counted down. I had one a funky hat just for the occasion. At the stroke of the new millennium, we exchanged a nice, long kiss. At that moment, I felt the box in my purse (yeah I had one! It was a sporty type purse though. Nothing girlish!) calling to me, so I pulled away from Howie and walked away, telling him I'd be back in a second. I rushed into a room and took the watch out of the purse, then I made my way back out to where my boyfriend was.
"Hey dork, Happy New Years," I surprised him, holding the box. He gave me a confused look, then took the object in my hand. I smiled bashfully as he opened the box and stared at the watch. D gave me a kiss and thanked me, then stuck the watch on his wrist.
"Aww did the little latin boy get spoiled by the crazy dancer girl?" AJ cooed as
he walked up, wrapping his arms around our shoulders. I looked at Bone and sighed, shaking my head.
*************************
Howie had just left on the plane with Polly for LA. They would be there throughout most of the break. Meanwhile, Nick was in LA with his family and Amy, the rest of the guys were their girlfriends, and I had three weeks to practice and get to know a few of the new dancers and co-choreograph an entire opening show for Courteney. My schedule would leave me very little time at home and many hours in a dance studio.
We were losing Nef, Swoop, and Ro Ro this time around. A blonde named Melanie would be in for our dear Nefertiti. Ro was being replaced by a dude named Fly and Swoop was having a guy named Tone dance in his spot. Ed was going to leave but I wouldn't let him because he was too important to us and I would just be too darned upset if he left. He had another job though, which included being on Aaliyah's video with Ro and Swoop, so once he and Swoop were done with the choreography for Courteney, they were flying back to LA. Whisper would come in Emo's place.
The first day of practice with Courteney's group had fallen upon us. Swoop and Emo had spent the weekend working on the first dance. I was supposed to be there early so they could teach it to me before the girls got there. Courteney was already not going to dance at all. But Theresa, Lindsay, Shivani, and Yvianna were due to show up two hours after I would.
"Hey guys what's goin on?!" I called as I strutted into the studio, an old pair of dance sneakers on. My hair was in a ponytail that stuck out the adjustable hole in my Nike dance hat and I was carrying a large water bottle. Two more were packed in my backpack.
"Dude are you making a trip to the Amazon or somethin?" Swoop teased. "You'd think you were about to trek across a desert with all those water bottles!" I scrunched my nose at Swoop.
"You gunna show me what'cha got?" I asked, throwing everything on the ground. Emo walked up.
"What is that a threat?" he jokingly asked. I looked at him and put my arms out.
"Show me what'cha got, fool!" I snapped, gesturing that I was reading to fight him. Ed came closer to me, jerking his head from side to side like a homie would if he was trying to get in a fight. We stood chest to chest, staring each other in the eyes, then broke down into fits of laughter.
"Y'all are hopeless!" Swoop sighed.
"Hopelessly devoteeeeedddddd to you!!!!" I busted out in the Olivia Newton-John song.
"Girl I hope you never EVER THINK to start a music career," Swoop complained.
"Yeah yeah yeah don't rub it in!" I joked. "Okay! Let's get down to business now!" I had warmed up my muscles before I got in the car and made my way over, so I didn't need to do any type of stretching. Emo and Swoop got on either side of me and they began to explain things. The moves were pretty simple, as three of the four girls had never performed in front of a huge audience and would need easier steps so they wouldn't flip out and forget them. I learned the steps quickly, then we put them together and tried the dance with the music. It was such a cute dance, and I began to jump around with excitement once we were done. Almost immediately, Ed started imitating me.
"WHAT?!" I screeched, my hands on my hips.
"Huh? That's what you look like!" Emo confessed.
"You know what, you are really mean to me--" I started, but was cut off by the sound of an opening door. In walked Theresa and Lindsay. Theresa instantly ran up to me and threw her stuff down at my feet.
"GUESS WHAT?!" she exclaimed.
"What?!" I answered with a joking tone to my voice.
"Joe gave me a puppy for Christmas!" Theresa cried. Her eyes lit up. "It is soooooo cute. She's a sheltie and she's only three months old and ohh she's so cute! We named her Panda!"
"Awwww how sweet! You'll have to tell me all about Christmas later on, once we've got these dancers done!" I cried, just as Yvianna and Shivani walked in.
"Hey Jammer! Bunni! Linds! You guys all ready to learn this really really cute dance that Swoop and Ed choreographed?" I asked energetically.
"Yeah! Are you guys ready? Huh?! Huh?!" Swoop inquired, bouncing around just like I had seconds before. I turned my head and glared at him, causing the boy to laugh. "Okay. In all seriousness now..."
"Yeah right," Ed mumbled.
The girls had gotten use to our swing of things really quickly. The guys were a bunch of goofballs. I was their little sidekick. Their senses of humor were perfect for our gang. They were hard workers, good dancers, and talented girls. The dance was to "New Direction," the title track. A lot of the moves were repeated from a few of Swoop's other works, as well as Fatima's. They always recycled each other's choreography.
After the girls learned the dance, we discussed placing.
"Uhh...Mouse. I need you on the right of Steph, a little behind her," Swoop instructed, trying to remember Theresa's name. I was standing in the place of Courteney.
"Wait. Swoop, Courteney is going to be singing. She won't be doing any of this
with them. Why...why don't you just let them go wherever they want?" I suggested. Emo and Swoop thought about it, then agreed to have that happen.
"But Olive Oil over there can't get in front of Mouse or Bunni. In fact, guys, try not to get in front of each other. Do the box thing, but arrange yourselves accordingly, kay?"
"Olive Oil?! Oh hmph that must mean me!" Lindsay sarcastically retorted. Swoop shot a worried glance at her.
"OH! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to offend you!" he apologized. Lindsay smiled and told him it was okay. We practiced the dance a few more times, to make sure that the girls knew exactly what they were doing, then said they were free to go because we had no more for them to learn. Before they left, however, I made sure they were all invited to AJ's surprise Birthday Bash that night, considering it was AJ's birthday.
***********************
"Haven't you guys come to expect the surprise party at Stephanie's house now, since you guys do it so often?" Lisa asked Brian and me.
"Well yeah that's why we're doing something different this year. We're going to have it at AJ's house instead. But he doesn't know it. We're all meeting here, then we'll drive over there in as little cars as possible, and hide out in his living room," Brian began to explain.
"Yeah and Emily will bring AJ over here and I'll answer the door and be like 'what? there's no party!' and then I'll ask if I can go over to J's house with them and we'll go and surprise him," I finished for Brian. Lisa laughed.
"Bone is the party boy! The whaaaaaaallllldddd one!" B-Rok cried in his drawl.
"Wild thang! Duh nuh duh nuh nuh You make my heart sing! Duh nuh duh nuh nuh You make evvvveeeerrrrything...groovay! Wild thang..." I sang. "Ohh if only Nicky were here to share the moment with me." Brian and Brighty both gave me crazed looks. I walked away, mumbling "whatevah..."
I soon found myself in my hat room with Kristin.
"Which hat should I wear?!" I excitedly asked. Kris looked at my outfit and thought for a second. Then she pulled out a rainbox beanie. I took it from her and put it on my head, then adjusted the thing in the huge mirror that covered one wall. The hat room had been transformed into a dance room when two large mirrors were placed side-by-side on an empty wall. D and I really liked it because it allowed us to practice whenever we wanted, instead of running to my studio. "You wanna wear one?"
"Nah. I don't think all my hair could fit under a hat without me looking like I got electrocuted!" Red joked. I saw her point. Just then, the doorbell rang. I jetted out of the room, only to be beat by Kevin, who took liberty to open the door for me. Lindsay and Shivani stood on the other side of the door. Kev welcomed them in, then asked how Bunni was doing. He hadn't seen her since she left the tour in September. Swoop, Theresa, and Yvianna had yet to show up, then everyone would be on their way to AJ's house. J and Emily had left to go out to dinner a half hour ago, so they would be due to arrive at my house anytime soon. The party consisted of Brian, Amanda, Kevin, Danielle, me, Lisa, Ed, Swoop, Yvianna, Shivani, Tae, Theresa, Kris, Lindsay, and Niki, if she got in early enough. Her plane was flying in tonight and one of her friends was going to pick her up and take her to AJ's house. Theresa, Yvianna, and Swoop showed up soon enough, and I ushered everyone out of the house.
Once I was alone, I let the dogs in and sat in front of the TV, pajama bottoms
and tank top on, with my feet snuggled warmly in my leopard print slippers. Before long, the doorbell rang, and Muchacho ran toward it, yapping like crazy. Oreo Thingy followed me as I walked to the front door and opened it.
"Oh hey guys what are you doing here?" I asked, pretending to be tired.
"Hey Gill, Em said that we had to stop by and see what you were doing, since you're allllllll alone right now!" AJ said, adding a teasing tone to the last half of his statement. I wrinkled my nose at him.
"Yup, just me and the dogs. Happy Birthday AJ!" I smiled, picking up Chachi so he could lick J's face. Bone laughed and gave the dog a pat. I put Chache down and asked where the two were off to next.
"Well we're just gunna go home if there's nothing to do over here," Emily replied. "Wanna come?"
"SURE!" I cried. "Lemme go get my flip-flops and we can go." AJ looked over at Em, disappointedly, as I ran back into my room.
"No party? Man I thought I was good to you!" he whined.
"Oh hush!" Emily snapped. "You big baby..." She smacked his stomach playfully, as I saw when I walked past them, to let the dogs out. After locking everything up and setting the alarm, I dashed out of the house and into AJ's Expedition.
Ten minutes later, we arrived at AJ's house, I could tell Bone was a little upset that there was no surprise party at my house as he had thought. Our plan was working perfectly! AJ unlocked the door and opened it to his two dogs. He picked them up and said hello, then put them back down and turned on a light. The second he did, he saw sixteen people sitting around in his living room.
"SURPRISE!" everyone yelled. A smile spread across J's face.
"Now this is what a call a party!" he replied with content, as he turned back to Emily and me. Then, Bone went around to greet everyone. I immediately caught a glimpse of Niki and ran over to her.
"Nikiiiiii!! It's sooo good to see you again! How are you?!" I asked, happy to see my gimp once more.
"I'm doing good. Steph, you remember Lyn right?" Niki said of her friend beside her. I looked at Lyn and smiled. She was the old girlfriend of Ro's that had stopped by to visit us during a concert.
"Yeah! Lyn, how ya been, girl?" I cried, extremely bubbly due to the activity around me.
"I'm great! How's everything with you and Howie?" Lyn wanted to know.
"Awesome. He just left for LA a few days ago. Got some business to attend to down there with his sister," I explained. "Are you going to be joining us for any part of the tour?"
"Yeah Niki brought me down with her to spend the whole time with you guys if I want. She's given me permission to ditch you guys whenever I get sick of you," Lyn joked. Just then, AJ walked up.
"GIMPY!! I'm so glad you showed up to see me!" he exclaimed. Niki smiled, stood up, and gave AJ a hug, wishing him a happy birthday. "And who is this fine young lady beside you? Haven't I seen you before, hun? Lyn right?"
"Wow....you actually remembered my name...now that is a miracle!" Lyn joked around. I wanted to check on my other dancer friends, so I told the three that I was going to walk around a bit, and took off for the pool table for Theresa.
"Hey Trish. How's your game going?" I teased, as she was playing by herself.
"Oh awesome. I think I'm winning this one!" Theresa sarcastically answered. I laughed.
"Finish up this game and I'll give you a little one-on-one," I said.
"What? You think we're going to have a little three-on-three here?! Yeah let's get the dogs. Maybe they will play!" Theresa joked. I laughed and wrinkled my nose at her.
"So, tell me bout you and Joe. I promised you I'd listen," I finally stated, starting up our conversation from the previous hours.
"Okay so did I tell you we moved in together?" Theresa asked me.
"No....when did that happen?"
"Around November. We decided he'd move into my apartment and then he moved in before Thanksgiving. Thennnnn....he gave me my doggie!" Theresa's face lit up as she gave a huge smile. I laughed and told her to shoot. "But I can't leave Panda at home while I'm gone, so I'll have to take her. That's okay, right?"
"Yeah we have two dogs on our bus. Just as long as the rest of the girls are okay with it and the dog doesn't get big," I explained. Then I unexpectedly giggled. Trisha gave me a strange look. "I can just see it now...Theresa trying to pottytrain her dog on a tourbus...HAHAHAHAHAHAA!" Theresa laughed and poked me in the stomach with her cue stick, leaving a blue mark on my shirt.
"HEY!!!" I cried back. Just as we were about to start a cue stick war, AJ popped up. He wrapped his arm around my neck and pulled me in for a hug as I blurted out a "happy birthday" to him.
"You guys really caught me off-guard this time!" he exclaimed.
"That was the point, loser," I teased. AJ pulled my hat over my eyes and then turned to the person he had never met before.
"And who am I blessed to be aquainted with tonight?" he asked. Theresa blushed and told him her name. AJ grabbed her hand and sweetly kissed it. I made a point to slap his shoulder.
"AJ...be careful. Might have to start calling you the Womanizer..." I warned him.
"Ain't nothin wrong with that Gilli!" he smoothly brushed off. I could tell he was just teasing me. "You comin on the tour with us?"
"Yeah. My name's Theresa. I'm a dancer for Courteney," she explained, trying to hold back giggles and at the same time trying to refrain from flipping out. AJ answered that trivia with an interested half smile, shaking his head.
"Well it will be my pleasure to have you on the tour with us, my lady," AJ said to her, before blurting out a "till then" and walking away. Theresa looked at me and began laughing her little, pleased laugh, blending over, then doing a little turn. Her reactions always cracked me up.
"You, calm down. You have a serious boyfriend and he's got the same, so chill!" I told her.
"Oh he's got a boyfriend too?!" Theresa teased, catching on to my mistake. I rolled my eyes.
"You know what I mean!" I stood watching as my little "mouse" of a friend giggled nonstop.