Kim Ann's jaw dropped and she started laughing. "You guys heard all that?!?"
"Yes, we heard all that." AJ looked at Nick with a "you're screwed" expression on his face, but softened it a little when he saw that Nick was upset.
"You guys heard everything?!" Nick asked again, knowing the answer.
"Everything, dude," replied AJ.
Nick closed his eyes in anger and frustration. "SHIT!" he muttered loudly as he clenched his fists. His mind was going a hundred mph trying to figure out what to do and he lost all interest in trying to hide his feelings from everyone. "Is she pissed? I mean, REALLY pissed?"
"Well," said AJ, thinking. "Put it this way. You've got some major ass-kissing to do, buddy."
Nick clenched his fists again. "SHIT!" He hadn't spent the major part of the day flirting with Angela to blow it in one egotistical moment.
Kim Ann smiled widely and said, "Wow, you're really worried about what she thinks with her not being your type and all."
Nick rolled his eyes and glared at her. It was HER fault for prying so much, not HIS for denying so much. "Well...." he said, sighing. "I've gotta go talk to her. Where's she at, AJ?"
"Downstairs, man." AJ gave Nick a pat on the back as he headed out.
Kim Ann called out to him. "It's not like she'll sleep with you anyway, Nick."
Nick stopped and turned around. "Well then, I could always default to you, then, couldn't I?"
The remark caught everyone off guard because it wasn't like Nick at all. Kevin laughed for the first time in a long time and Sandra turned her head away from Kim Ann to hide her smile.
Nick walked out the door and Kim Ann yelled out "IN YOUR DREAMS, LITTLE BOY!" after him. When he was plodding down the stairs she turned to everyone and laughed. "I can't believe he just said that to me. I may have to kill him in his sleep."
Kevin was still laughing softly, somewhat proud of Nick for standing up to Kim Ann. It made him more at ease for some reason, about the stay over idea, and he softened his stance on the idea. "Okay, here's my opinion on the whole group thing y'all want so much tonight. We'll need some ground rules. First off, girls in one room, guys in the other."
Kim Ann cocked her head a little and held up her hand. "Yeah, RIGHT, Kevin. THAT sounds fun. Can't we negotiate a little bit on this?"
"No!" Kevin said, firmly.
Kim Ann put her hands on her hips and Kevin looked at her expectantly for the argument she was about to start again. "Okay," she said, "This is how I feel. I feel that if Nick came bawling to you about make-up sex or something RIGHT NOW, you would let him and Angela sleep in the same room. Am I right?"
Brian spoke up. "Is that all you think about is sex? Why does everything tie in to sex with you? That's what's freaking him out, Kim Ann."
AJ interjected. "Not that there's anything WRONG with sex." Brian shook his head at him and laughed.
"Seriously," Brian added.
"Oh puhleeze, you guys. I'm not TOTALLY serious here. You guys just take everything so literal. And, it's your OWN faults that women think of you like that. I mean, what's the video with the water and stuff and all the six-pack shots? Kevin?" Kim Ann was half-smiling, but she was waiting for an answer from Mr. Six-Pack himself.
"That's just a video, Kim Ann. You need to get in touch with reality," Kevin replied.
Kim Ann grabbed Howie by the shoulder and pulled his shirt up, revealing his stomach. "I AM in touch with reality, Kevin. THIS is reality. Right here, right now."
Howie pulled his shirt down and looked at Kevin. Kevin could tell he was loving the compliments and attention that Kim Ann was giving him and he knew it was a lost cause. "All I'm saying is that the sex thing isn't going to happen. Not here, not in this house. If you two want to hook up later and negotiate a roll in the hay, that's your business. Just not here, okay?"
Howie added. "Do I have any say in all this, or am I just a pawn in this whole deal?"
"Sure," answered Kevin. "Shoot…."
Howie explained his position. "I won't have sex, Kevin, but I would like for Kim Ann, Angela and Sandra to stay here, and whether or not we end up in the same room is really no big deal, given the fact that we've established that no-one is having sex. Right?"
"There ya go, Kev." Kim Ann said, perfectly comfortable with Howie's sentiments, which Kevin found surprising.
"I'm not planning on having sex either," Sandra said shyly. "I just want to have fun. I mean, how often do you get the opportunity to party with the Backstreet Boys?"
"I get that opportunity a lot," said AJ.
"Well I wasn't worried about you and Brian," Kevin said, ignoring AJ's sarcasm.
"KEVIN!" Sandra whined at him. "What are you talking about?"
"Sorry," he said, smiling as he realized she was trying to lay low about Brian.
"Well," responded Brian happily. "I had no idea that I was part of this sex topic. I was feeling a little left out."
"You?!" said AJ. "All I get is Kevin, and his blow jobs are the worst."
Kevin laughed. "AJ, I'd choke on a bone that small."
AJ grabbed his crotch at Kevin. "You bite too hard anyway."
"All right, all right," interceded Brian. "That's enough you two. There ARE ladies present.
Kevin returned to the topic of the sleepover at Brian's persistence. "With all this established, I'm okay with the big slumber party." He thought momentarily before adding. "I just want to know how to explain it all to Tori so she doesn't freak out."
Kim Ann put her hands on her hips and eyed Kevin suspiciously. "Who's this Tori chick again and why does she have any say in what you do?"
Brian stepped up before Kevin could get riled again. Tori was a sensitive issue with him. "Tori's our PR lady. She handles how the public sees us. If something bad or negative happens, then she has to work overtime trying to play it down."
"Oh." Kim Ann replied. "I could talk to her."
"No." Kevin stated. "You're NOT talking to Tori. That would NOT go over well at all. I'll talk to her. She trusts me."
Kim Ann considered making a jab at Kevin, but she was too pleased with the fact that she'd actually gotten her way. She wasn't going to bring up the beer issue again either. As far as she was concerned, that was part of the deal. "So you can talk to her, since she trusts you so much."
"Actually, I don't think I'm gonna say anything unless she actually finds out about it. But we DO have a deal here on the fooling around issue?"
Everyone nodded in agreement, but Kim Ann whispered to Howie. "What exactly is Kevin's definition of fooling around?"
Howie whispered back. "Don't ask, then it can be by OUR definition."
Kim Ann jerked back in surprise and looked at Howie intensely before smiling. "Wow. And I thought you were a dud for a minute there."
Howie broke into a wicked grin and Kim Ann wanted to hug him, but she opted to let things go for the time being.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-One
Story Index
