"How could I sleep anymore? You've got that stereo up so loud. I thought you were blind, not deaf too," Misty said, jokingly of course. Laura laughed. "Well, you know I just love these guys, I can't get enough of them," Laura said, turning down the stereo a bit. "Besides, it wasn't that loud, not as loud as you listen to them sometimes!"

Misty smiled. She knew Laura was right. After all, Laura was listening to the Backstreet Boys, and they were both big fans. Of course, Misty wondered if she should mention that Kevin, whom she met last night, was in fact, one of the Backstreet Boys. How could she keep it from her? She had to tell her.

"Laura, I've got something to tell you," Misty started, turning the stereo down even lower. "What is it, Misty? You sound serious. You feeling OK?" Laura sounded worried, but Misty reassured her. "No, no--nothing like that, Laura. This is something incredible, something that you may not even believe when I tell it to you, but you have a right to know," she said, the tone of her voice becoming more and more excited.

"Well, now I'm intrigued! Tell me, I can tell you're damn near dying to tell me something now," Laura said, urging Misty to go on. "Well," Misty continued, "you know that guy, Kevin, you were talking to last night? Well, his last name is Richardson..." Misty paused to see if Laura would pick up on what she was trying to tell her, and of course, she did.

"Richardson? Why, that's the last name of Kevin in the Backstr--" Laura paused mid-word. "Oh my God! Are you trying to tell me that Kevin Richardson was talking to me last night?? Kevin Richardson the Backstreet Boy?"

Misty laughed. "Trust me, I'm in just about as much shock as you are. Because, Howie--you know he's my favorite--he was talking to ME! And you remember my friend, Whitney, right?" Laura nodded numbly as Misty continued. "Well, it turns out she's AJ's new girlfriend I've been hearing about!!! They were all at the bar last night! AJ and Whitney, Nick and his girlfriend Patti, Brian and Leighanne, Howie, and Kevin."

Laura was in disbelief. Not that she didn't believe Misty, I mean, she trusted her with her very life. But it just seemed so strange to know that a guy that complimented her and her singing was a professional singer himself! Laura was actually speechless. "Uhhh, you gonna say something Laura? I don't think I've ever seen you so quiet!" Misty joked. Laura smiled. "Smartass... I'm just a little star-struck I guess," she said, smiling still.

"Well, now that I've stunned you for life, I think I'm gonna go run some errands. Got anything you need done?" Misty offered. Laura smiled, still in shock of what Misty had told her. "Nah, you go ahead. If I think of something I'll call your cell phone." Misty grabbed her purse and keys, and headed to the door. "OK, I'll see ya later, Laura. Have a good daaayyy," she chirped as she strolled out the door.

Laura sighed as she turned up the stereo again and laid back on the couch. Wow, she thought, drowning in the music, I met Kevin Richardson, and he thought I was good... wow... Just then Laura's thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. She turned the stereo down. "Just a minute," she yelled. With Buck close behind, Laura made her way to the door. "Who is it?" she asked.

"It's Whitney, is Misty here?" Whitney said. Laura undid the lock and opened the door.

"Hey Whit! You just missed Misty not even by 5 minutes. She just ran to do some errands," Laura said. "Well, as long as you're here, c'mon in! Stay a little while. I could use a visitor."

"How about 4 visitors? AJ, Howie and Kevin are here too."

Laura suddenly felt herself get nervous. Just calm down, he's still the same person you talked to last night, she urged herself. "Sure, that's not a problem! The more the merrier, come in!"

Everyone came in a sat down in the living room. "Would anyone like something to drink?" Laura offered, standing up and heading to the kitchen, Buck following close behind. "Sodas sound great, thanks Laura," Whitney said, then motioning to Kevin to go help Laura in the kitchen, but he was already following a couple feet behind her. Kevin nodded at Whitney then disappeared into the kitchen with Laura.

"So who's in here with me?" Laura said, opening up the refridgerator. She may not have been able to see, but her other senses were so much sharper because of it. She knew she wasn't alone, and hoped that Kevin was the one that followed her. Her hopes were answered.

"It's me, Kevin," Kevin said, taking the sodas Laura was holding out for her 'helper' to take from her.

"Ahhhh, Mr. Richardson," Laura said, trying to be non-chalant. "How are you today?"

Kevin smiled. "Great, how are you today?? Because you called me 'Mr. Richardson,' I guess I'm safe to assume that Misty told you who I was..."

"Yeah," Laura said, her voice trembling a bit. "Yeah she did. I'm a little embarrassed now," Laura said, blushing a bit. Kevin got some glasses and filled them with the ice Laura had taken from the freezer. "Why embarrassed? Embarrassed because you met a guy and had a nice conversation with him?"

"Well, when you put it that way, I feel a little silly now," Laura laughed. Kevin smiled listening to Laura's laugh, and seeing her smile. He also sensed her nervousness. "Don't worry about it, Laura. If anything, I'm flattered that you're nervous. Even though I meet lots of fans, it still sometimes surprises me, as it does the rest of the guys too, that fans freak out so much when they meet us. We're just 5 normal guys that have a very 'un-normal' existence. I kind of enjoyed knowing that you didn't know who I was. Kind of made me feel 'normal,' you know what I'm saying?"

Laura smiled. "Yeah, I guess I can see your point. Well, I am extremely happy that I've met you, and the rest of the guys too. I'm a big fan. But now, with that said, you can rely on me treating you like a 'normal' guy, deal?" she said, extending her hand.

Kevin took it and they shook hands. "Deal!" he said. Laura released his hand, and handed Kevin 3 of the soda glasses. "I suppose we better get these out there, then!" she said, grabbing the other 2 glasses as she and Kevin walked back out to the living room and sat down on the couch.

Misty was surprised to arrive home to a living room full of guests. Just as soon as the door opened and she walked in carrying a bunch of bags, Howie jumped up to help her. "Thank you so much for helping, but you don't have to do that," Misty said, placing some bags on the table. "It's not a problem, Misty, glad to help," Howie said, flashing his smile at her. Misty was thankful her knees didn't give out.

After one more trip out to Misty's car with Howie's help, her car was unloaded. In just a few minutes, Misty and Howie had rejoined the little party going on in the living room. "How long have y'all been here?" Misty asked.

"Ohh, about 2 1/2 hours or so," Whitney replied. "The guys were supposed to have a short recording session this morning but it got cancelled, so Brian spent the day with Leighanne and Nick with Patti. I thought I'd come with the rest of the crew to just say 'hi,' and Laura was here, so we stayed and kept her company."

"Yes, and she's been the most lovely hostess," AJ added, kissing Whitney on the cheek.

Laura smiled. "Well, thanks, AJ, I try," she said modestly. "But it's the great guests that make a great hostess," she added, as she reached over and squeezed Kevin's hand. He was startled, but definitely knew he enjoyed Laura's company as well. He hoped that she and he would become really great friends, as it looked like they were becoming.

"Well, I think we should get going," Whitney said. "After all, Misty and Laura both have to work again tonight, so they are probably wanting to get rested a bit before that." Everyone taking the hint, stood up, although Kevin and Howie reluctantly did so. They knew Whitney was right, but didn't want to leave anyway. "We'll see you both tonight, OK?"

"Sounds great, Whit. Thanks for stopping by," Misty said, hugging her friend. Whitney smiled. "It was no problem. Plus it was nice getting to know Laura too," she said, then turning to hug Laura. Kevin was standing in back of Laura and Whitney winked at him as she hugged her. Kevin just rolled his eyes.

"Well, see y'all later," Misty said. Everyone said goodbye and left Misty and Laura's place.