As soon as the guys were out of sight, the girls started to go crazy. They were all taking at the same time, about how great their time with the boys was and how hyper they felt. Only Sarah was silent, but no one noticed because none of them actually paid attention to anything. They were too lost in their dreams and the memory of that wonderful day.
"GUYS?! What are you waiting for? Open your presents!" Molly said enthusiastically, after their first excitement was over.
"I'm so nervous - I've no idea what he got me!" Araysa said. Then she turned to Mandy: "You open yours first! Then I will."
Mandy shrugged her shoulders and nodded. "I'm nervous, too, but I'm so curious to find out", she said with a smile. She took the package out of the bag it was in and her smile widened into a grin, as she realized what it would be. "Oh no, he didn't...oh geez!" She laughed.
"What?!" the other three asked, not knowing what was going on because Mandy hadn't even opened the package.
Mandy opened her present and laughed even more: she had guessed right! Molly and Araysa looked inside the package and exclaimed: "Cool!"
"He got you blue sneakers?" Molly laughed.
"He bought the same today", Mandy explained, "and I must've been babbling about how cool those sneakers were for at least...I don't know. I think I mentioned it every fifteen minutes! Well, no, I wasn't THAT bad, but... He's so cute!" She laughed again.
"He sure is! It's your turn, Race!" Molly said.
Araysa breathed in deeply. "I haven't been babbling about any of his clothes. What the hell did he get me?"
"Open it and you'll know", Mandy smiled.
Araysa took another deep breath, then opened her present. "The dress! He bought the dress for me!" she exclaimed, taking the short green dress out and showing it to the girls. "I had been looking at it when we started shopping and he had told me it would look wonderful on me! Oh Nick..."
Mandy smiled at the dreamy look on Araysa's face.
"That's so sweet of Brian and Nick", Molly sighed happily.
"Oh well, what about the sunglasses on your head? I remember AJ wearing them three hours ago", Araysa laughed.
Molly just answered with a big grin. Then she asked: "Hey, Sarah! How was your time with Kev and Howie?"
"It was great. We had a lot of fun", Sarah began. "They said they didn't know whether to be happy or sad about meeting you and me again."
"What?! Why?" Molly asked shocked.
"Don't worry, it was just a joke", Sarah laughed. "They ARE happy. They just wondered if Nick will finally stop talking about me constantly. And Brian about you, of course."
Molly knit her brows, looking at Mandy and Araysa with a confused look, who shrugged their shoulders. She didn't like the way Sarah had said that. She noticed that Sarah wasn't as happy as the rest of them and Molly figured it had to do with Nick. She decided to talk to Sarah about it later. But now she changed the subject: "Ladies, I gotta tell you something! I just have to get it out!" She let out a squealing tone.
"You fell in love with AJ?!" Mandy laughed.
"Could be", Molly joked, laughing with her, "and...ummm..."
"Spill the beans!" Araysa demanded, also laughing.
"He asked me out", Molly replied.
"WHAT?!" the others chorused.
"Oh my god!" Mandy added excitedly.
"Well, not really, but he wants to see me again and he's gonna call me tonight!...I hope...", Molly sighed.
"Of course he will", Araysa assured her. "Why would he say that if he didn't mean it?! Geez, you lucky duck! Oh, I hate you!" she whined, only joking of course.
"Why would you?" Molly laughed. "You don't think Nick bought you that dress for nothing, do you? I bet he wants to see you in it - only lighted by the candle-light of a dinner-table!"
"I bet he wants to see her out of any clothes", Mandy laughed.
"MANDY!" Araysa yelled, but then sighed laughing: "I wish you two were right! I hope I'll see him again."
"Yeah, it was so hard to tell Brian good-bye", Mandy said.
"I'm sure you'll see them again", Molly cheered them up. They smiled at each other. Each of them started dreaming about "her" guy, until Cher's "Believe" was played on the radio and they all sang along.
"Talk to me!" Molly, still feeling happy and excited had just answered the phone. "Hey AJ! Yeah, it's me!"
The other girls freaked out when they heard his name. Mandy almost knocked her glass of juice that she was reaching for off the table, Araysa wildly motioned for the others to be quiet and Sarah pressed a cussion on her face, so that AJ didn't hear her laugh and squeal with excitement. They've been waiting for that call since they got to the Wolsburn's home, where they hung around in Sarah's and Molly's room. But now that AJ had actually called they couldn't help freaking out.
Only Molly stayed calm, but then again she had to. She didn't want AJ to know just how happy she was about his call and of course she didn't want to make a fool of herself. So she acted all cool, although the butterflies were giving her a hard time. The other girls curiously followed her side of the conversation: "Yeah, me too!....Sure!....Tonight? Well, what did ya have in mind?....Oh!....Wait, there's a little problem. Sarah's aunt and uncle have prepared a barbecue tonight, especially for us girls, but we could - AJ, just a sec!" Molly covered the receiver with her hand, after a cussion, thrown by Sarah, had hit her. "What?!" Molly asked.
"Tell him and the guys to come to the barbecue, if they want to!" Sarah smiled.
Molly's eyes sparkled and she gave Sarah a thunbs up. "AJ? Sorry!
Sarah just told me you and the guys are invited to come - if you want
to?!" Molly's smile was answer enough for the others to know that the
boys would come.
"Yeah, that would be great! I don't even have to ask", Molly laughed,
making the girls even more curious because she was obviously talking
about them. Molly then gave AJ the address of the Wolsburn's house.
They talked some more after that, laughing a lot and Molly even blushed
hard once. "I sure will. Alright, see ya later! Bye!" She hung up the
phone.
"Are they really coming?" Araysa asked.
"Yeah! Wow!" Molly replied happily. "Only Kevin can't come, but he and his girlfriend will join us in the club later!"
"His girlfriend?!"
"In the club?!"
"Oh my god!"
They all laughed. Molly informed them about what AJ and her had planned for that night: "He wanted to ask me out for dinner tonight, but since we'll all be having dinner together and the guys wanted to take the chance of going out, while no one knows they're in town, we decided to go dancing later!"
"Cool, there are some great clubs around!" Mandy said.
"Oh wait, we need time to get ready, girls! How much time do we have 'til they're here?" Araysa wanted to know.
"They'll be here in about two hours", Molly answered.
"Now what about that gilfriend thing?" Sarah asked with a grin.
"I don't know more than you. Only that she'll arrive at the airport tonight. Guess we have to wait and see!" Molly smiled. Then she added: "Oh, by the way: Nick wanted to ask you out, Race!" She said that matter-of-factly, then grinned at Araysa. "But since they're invited anyway..."
"OH GEEZ!" Araysa exclaimed, getting all hyper.
Sarah just turned away to find some clothes to wear that night...
Half an hour before the guys would arrive, the girls had finished getting ready. They put on the last touch of make-up, then looked at each other and themselves in the mirror.
Araysa, of course, wore the dress Nick had bought for her. She didn't
have too much make-up on, only a bit eye-shadow that emphasized her
dark, beautiful eyes, and some lip-gloss.
Mandy had borrowed a dress from Sarah. It was short and velvety. Its
blue color perfectly matched her eyes and the new sneakers, that she
also wore. Knowing that Brian liked natural girls, and being one of
those, she had little make-up on, too.
Sarah had decided to wear a black short skirt and a green tight top.
She had her hair up in a pony tail. Because of Nick she had decided to
put on dark green eye-shadow.
Molly wore grey pants with a matching short top. The top was of a
smiliar fabric as Mandy's dress. Her reddish-dyed hair was loose. She
kept it out of her face with the sunglasses AJ had given her.
Mokka-colored lipstick and eye-liner in the color of her eyes completed
the look.
The girls were satisfied with what they saw and gave each other the thumbs up. They decided to go downstairs to see if they could help Dawn and Mike with the barbecue. Just as they entered the kitchen, the doorbell rang.
Dawn saw that the girls got nervous, so she said: "I know you're only waiting for your boys, but it could be someone else too, k?" She laughed, as the girls looked at her desperately. "Ok, I see - I'm gonna have to open the door myself. Could someone finish the dressing for the salad?" With that she left the kitchen to welcome the new guests. The girls were a little bit disappointed, when they saw it were only friends of the Wolsburn's from down the street.
There were already about fifteen people in the backyard: neighbours, friends and family. The girls were introduced and everyone was in a great mood.
Suddenly Mike appeared around the corner of the house, followed by seven people - four of them were Backstreet Boys! AJ carried some roses in his hands, Nick had a single red rose, Brian had a whole bouquet of flowers and Howie carried a bowl of fruit salad. Along with Mike came two women in their fourties and sixties, and a girl.
There was a big hello from everybody. The girl was introduced as Kaylee, the older women were her mother and her grandma. Kaylee's mom was Mike's sister-in-law. Kaylee's mom had also made the fruit salad, but Howie had been so kind to carry it for her, when they had all met in front of the house.
"Now that's what I call well-bred boys - the girls get flowers!" Dawn smiled.
"Actually, these here are for you!" Brian said, handing Dawn the bouquet he had carried.
"Oh, how beautiful, thank you", she said happily. Then she put one arm around Brian's shoulders, hugged him and asked laughing: "Hey Mike, can I keep this one?!"
Everyone laughed, except Mandy, who only forced a weak smile. Deep inside she had hoped that he would give the flowers to her. It seemed she hadn't impressed him as much as she wished she had. "He only likes you as a friend", she thought. For Molly and Araysa things seemed to turn out just right, like they had imagined so many times. But unfortunately this wasn't another dream with another happy ending, this was reality. "Of course he only likes you as a friend - he's happily in love with Leighanne! Damn, remember that..."
The guys walked over to where the girls were. Brian hugged Molly first, while Nick went straight to Araysa. He gave her the rose and smiled. "I knew it would look wonderful on you!" He was talking about the dress.
"Thank you", Araysa said quietly and smiled, taking the rose from him. Suddenly AJ handed her a second rose, but his was white. When Araysa looked at Sarah, she saw that she also had one. "Wow, AJ, thank you!" she said.
"You're welcome!" AJ said, flashing her a smile, before handing another white rose to Mandy, who was also happy.
"A real gentlemen!" Mandy said grinning, who wasn't as sad anymore because Brian had just hugged her.
Brian stood beside her and started laughing. He patted Nick's shoulder and joked: "Well, my man, it seems you still have a lot to learn." He pointed at AJ, grinning: "See, that how you do it right!"
Nick just laughed and said: "He's got more experience than me - he's two years older, damnit!"
Molly and AJ didn't pay attention to the others' conversation at all. They just stared into each other's eyes. The last one of AJ's roses was for Molly, of course, but this one was red. "Hi", he breathed, as he gave her a light kiss on her cheek. His voice and the light touch of his lips sent a shudder through her body. But it was a cosy shudder, a nice feeling.
"Hi", she whispered back. They smiled at each other.
"COME AND EAT, FOLKS!" Mike yelled across the backyard. Everyone claimed a place at one of the tables and benches and sat down. AJ naturally took Molly's hand and together they followed the others. They sat down at a table with Brian, Mandy, Araysa, Nick, Sarah and the Wolsburn' neighbors, an older couple.
Sarah was kinda busy the whole time because she was introduced to other family members and they of course wanted to spend some time with her to get to know her better. Sarah was happy to meet them, but at the same time wished she could've stayed by Nick's side. She didn't like the thought of him and Araysa being alone, or at least being without her near. So she kept an eye on them all the time, a piercing feeling shooting through her every time she saw them laughing together. She had to do something about it...
When everyone started eating, the girls talked to the boys about the band for the first time. They told them that they loved the new song and that they would definitely go and buy the album when it came out!
AJ was soon involved in a conversation with the Wolsburn's neighbours, who - now that they had recognized the boys - couldn't stop telling him how much they liked their music. They also couldn't stop eating, it seemed, but they were a cute old couple, that's why AJ had fun talking to them.
Howie asked, if Mandy and Araysa were fans, too, like Molly. Araysa then told him all about the girls' story, how they only got to know each other because they all loved the BSB's music and that they had never met each other in the flesh before.
"By the way - this would be the perfect time to say 'Thank you'", Mandy said grinning. She raised her glass and added: "Boys - in the name of all your fans I'd like to thank you for uniting people all around the world! Your music is the reason why many strangers become best friends, just like we have!"
Araysa also raised her glass: "Thanks for all you've done! A toast to the Backstreet Boys!" They all (meaning the four BSB, Mandy, Araysa, Molly and the old couple) raised their glasses.
"And to the power of music", Molly added.
"To the power of love", said Howie.
"To your youth", laughed the old couple.
"To peace on earth", said Nick.
"To new friends", said AJ.
"And to AJ, because without him we wouldn't be sitting together today - thanks, Bone!" Brian smiled. They all laughed, drank and returned to their previous conversations. Molly was confused...
Sarah returned to their table, asking what was going on there. Of course she had seen the toast and felt left out. "You drank a toast without me?!" she whined. She sat down next to Nick again and slyly said to him: "Well, guess we have to drink another one later!" She jumped up again, saying: "I'll get you a new drink!"
Molly quickly followed her into the kitchen. It was time to have a
serious conversation.
"Sarah? What the hell do you think you're doing?"
"What?" she asked innocently.
"Damnit, Sarah, stop that show, k?! You know exactly what I'm talking about. Can it be any more obvious that you're trying to flirt with Nick?!"
"Trying??" Sarah said annoyed. "Yes, we are flirting, both of us, so what?!"
"Yeah, both of you - just that Nick's flirting with someone else!"
"You mean Araysa?"
"Oh - well I see you noticed it yourself."
"SHE is just a flirt, but he knows that I love him", Sarah said angrily.
"What are you talking about? The last time you met was half a year ago and you didn't even tell him then that you liked him. He knows nothing, Sarah, and he doesn't care!"
"Who's side are you on? Now that you met your perfect friends Mandy and Race there's no place for me anymore, or what?! And it's alright if she tries to get to Nick, but whenever I try you tell me I'm crazy!"
"That's why you're pissed? Let me tell you something - first: if I had ever seen a chance for you and Nick I would've helped you, you know that. But please be reasonable: he obviously is interested in Araysa, not you! Second: I never made you feel left out in purpose, or ever prefered Mandy or Race to you in any situation since we're here. But damn, I don't know what's up with you lately?! Is this how we'll spend the rest of our holidays? Fighting and pissing each other off? Get your head out of the clouds and face it that - even if it wasn't for Race - Nick wouldn't wanna be with you. I know I'm a bitch right now, but someone had to tell you - and you don't seem to get it another way!"
"F**k you!" With this Sarah stormed out of the kitchen.
Molly stayed there to calm down again. She had already had fights
with Sarah, so she knew that things would be alright again, but she was
worried somehow. She had never seen Sarah acting like this. Was it just
because of Nick or was she also jealous of Mandy and Araysa because of
theirs and Molly's friendship? Right now Molly couldn't think of a way
to prove to her that nothing had changed between them because of the
two other girls. Yes, it was true that Mandy and Araysa were her best
friends, but that wasn't new to Sarah, it had been like that for months.
Just because Molly had met them in the flesh didn't mean that she liked
Sarah less now.
Oh boy...as if there wasn't enough on her
mind right now: AJ! He was sitting in the backyard, probably waiting
for her (Oh how she wanted him to miss her already!), and here she was:
thinking about stupid problems in the kitchen instead going out there
and being with him!
Suddenly Brian came in. "Hey...earth to Molly! Is everything alright?"
"Hey B.! No, not really, but it's gonna be ok! No need to worry."
"You had a fight? Sarah looked like she was angry."
"Yeah, she's just freaking out, I'm used to that. Maybe it's my fault, I don't know. ...I just can't think of what I've done wrong. I guess it isn't that easy to come here and face your best friend's best friends, know what I mean?! I think she's a bit jealous."
"THAT's what it's about? Oh, I thought it was 'cause of Nick!" Brian said.
"HUH?!" Molly was totally surprised. "Damn, you're good! You didn't study psychology or anything like that, did you?!"
"No, I'm just a good observer!" They smiled at each other.
"Hey, by the way: how's Leighanne?" Molly asked.
"You didn't hear about it?"
"Hear about what?"
"What kinda fan are you?" he said, forcing a smile. Then he turned serious again: "We broke up two months ago!"
"Oh! I thought it was just another rumour. I...whoa, I'm kinda shocked."
"Yeah, me too." He starred at the floor. The next moment he was smiling again, saying: "Oh c'mon, let's get out again."
"How do you do that?" Molly asked fascinated. "Whatever happens you never forget to keep your head up high and smile again. Are you just a good actor or is all this happiness real?"
"It's real, don't worry. I've experienced so much in my life that
things don't get me down that fast. I've learned to enjoy every day and
be thankful for every day of my life, whether it be good or bad.
Without the bad things you wouldn't know the good, right? And pain
always tells you you're still alive. That's all that matters 'cause
sunshine always follows rain. And besides - I have enough love in my
life that makes me happy and cheers me up when I'm down. I have my
family, my friends..."
Molly was about to cry and Brian saw that. He laughed out loud and
hugged her. "Alright, that was enough seriousness for a whole month.
Let's get out there again and have one hell of a time or we might end
up with another jealous person. AJ's probably wondering what we're
doing in here so long!"
"Can I ask you just one more thing?" Molly said.
"Sure!"
"What did you mean when you said we wouldn't be together here today without AJ?"
Brian looked at her surprised: "He didn't tell you?"
"Tell me what?"
"Actually it was AJ who recognized you in the car today. Without him he would've probably just driven past you."
"Brian, how can AJ have recognized us? We've never met before!"
"Well, babe - you never met, but he SAW you. He's seen you in and around the hotel back then, but he never had the chance to talk to you."
Molly swallowed hard. "He remembered us from seeing us in the hotel a few times??"
"No", Brian laughed, dragging her out of the kitchen. "He remembered YOU!"
Back to chapter 9
On to chapter 11
Back to Close...index