You know, I've been at Great Oak Landing every summer for my entire life (the past 22 years) and I have never once been able to look at the sunset without being in awe. The way the reds, oranges, pinks, and yellows blend together is mesmerizing. That's what I saw the moment I stepped off the boat and I don't think the evening could have started out more perfect.
Actually, it was pretty funny. I walked out of the boat and saw that the sun had already begun to set. I paused for a moment, just watching the trees blow in the wind. It was all so mystical . . . until I heard the morons down the dock wolf whistling at me. Now, I know I looked sharp (just kidding!) in my black leather pants, dark-gray, short-sleeved, satin button down shirt, that reaches just to the waistline of the pants, and four inch black heeled sandals, but do you actually think I would take that? Like I would let anyone treat me like a piece of meat! So, knowing me, I started to climb off the boat and go over to them to have a little chat.
"Don't even think about it," a voice behind me warned. "You know just as well as I do that they're drunk."
"Ah, damn!" I whined, turning to face Rachel. "And it would have been so much fun."
"Just think of the fun we're going to have tonight and you'll forget all about those losers," Rachel said, her brown eyes shining. Her green, spaghetti strap shirt and white, nylon pants made her eyes even brighter than usual.
"Ooh!" I said, my eyes widening.
Just then, I heard another wolf whistle from up the dock. As I turned around to give them a piece of my mind, I saw the Backstreet Boys walking towards us. I turned around to see if the three creeps were still there, and saw that they had gone inside. I turned towards the Backstreet Boys, mocking a venomous look.
"Okay, which one of you wants to be hit first?" I asked, looking from one to the other.
"What in the world are you talking about, Alex?" AJ asked, feigning an innocent look.
"Thank you for volunteering," I said to AJ as Rachel fell onto the seat in a fit of laughter (yes, AJ's innocent look is that bad). Stepping off the boat, I came face to face with AJ, though he is taller than me, I was wearing heels that made us eye to eye.
"You wanna piece of me?" AJ asked, stepping a little closer (which is probably as close as he could get before stepping on my toes).
"Yeah, I wanna piece of you!" I said.
"Nobody's gonna get a piece of anybody until we get some introductions!" Nick said, edging his hand in between our faces.
"Yeah," Howie chimed in, "I think we deserve to know the names of the people we're going to dinner with."
"Oh," I said, feigning innocence. "I thought we were just gonna to play the guessing game. Silly me!"
"Well," Rachel said, "we should get to know one another, but you have to be patient with our friends," she pointed towards the sliding door of the boat. "They don't exactly know who you are."
"What do you mean?" Kevin asked.
"She means," I said, "that they think we're going out to dinner with five ordinary guys."
"But we are 'five ordinary guys'," Nick argued.
"We know that, but don't expect them not to get star-struck. We kinda-sorta kept your identities a secret from them."
"To avoid disaster," Rachel said.
"Oh, well . . ." Howie started to say, but was cut off by another voice.
"Hey, who are you guys talking to out there?" Jamie asked, climbing up the steps. "Are the guys . . ." Looking up as she spoke, she trailed off.
"Umm, Jamie? These are our dates for tonight and I'm pretty sure they don't want to be looking at the inside of your mouth," Rachel said, pushing Jamie's jaw shut. As soon as she let go, her jaw just flopped right back open. I was sure she was going to start drooling on her white, boat-neck, three-quarter sleeved shirt and black Capri pants.
"Okay, I haven't heard Jamie for more than five seconds. What's wrong?" Maribeth asked, coming out of the boat with Joanne on her heels.
"Yeah, you know something's wrong when . . ." Joanne started to say. Jamie tapped her on the shoulder, cutting her off, mid-sentence. Rachel and I studied the scene for a moment. With Joanne standing in the middle of Jamie and Maribeth, they stared at the five guys on the dock. Okay, so I knew they'd be star-struck, but I never expected speechlessness. Especially from Jamie, who never shuts-up!
"Well," I said, breaking the awkward silence, "that's three for three. You guys must feel honored."
AJ laughed. "And why should we feel honored?"
"Because Jamie never shuts up," Rachel said. "She even talks in her sleep!"
That seemed to break Jamie out of her stupor. "I do not!" she protested. The guys laughed, making Jamie blush. Maribeth and Joanne seemed to wake up at that moment, too, because they were giggling.
"Well, I think now's the time to do the formalities so we can get to the restaurant," AJ said.
"Yeah," Brian said. "It looks like you know who we are, but I think we'll introduce ourselves anyway. It's more fun that way. I'm Brian Littrell."
"I'm AJ McLean. Alexander James is my full name," said AJ, bowing slightly.
Nick almost pushed him in the water as the others groaned. "I'm Nick Carter," he said, waving.
"I'm Kevin Richardson," Kevin said. Leave it to Mr. "High-and-Mighty" Richardson to take the fun out of formalities.
"And last, but not least . . ." I said.
"Howard Dorough. You can call me Howie," he said. "Nice boat. Do you all own it?"
"No, it's hers," Rachel said, pointing to me.
"And you are?" Brian said, smirking.
I laughed. "My name, kind sir, is Alexandria Emerichian," I said, curtseying while holding out my make-believe skirt. "Some people call me Ace."
"I'm Rachel Samond," Rachel said, smiling at them.
Jamie just stood there looking around, so I poked her in the ribs. "Oh!" She said, blushing again. "I'm Jamie Turcich."
"People call her Jay-Jay," I said, cutting her off.
"But please don't," she said, nudging me in the ribs to shut me up. "I don't like it."
"I'm Joanne Herstan," Joanne said. "Everyone calls me Jo-Jo."
"And I'm Maribeth Gresher," Maribeth said. "Sorry about my little staring thing a few minutes ago. I was in kind of in shock. Our two friends here didn't bother to tell us who are 'dates' were."
"I know," Kevin said. "They warned us, so don't worry."
"Well," AJ said, "now that every one's acquainted, I suggest we get going." He turned to me. "And where, may I ask, are we going?"
I turned to Rachel and we smiled at each other. "You'll see, just follow us."