"What?" Angela asked with a surprised look on her face. She laughed when she realized what he'd thought and assured him, "I hear a car, Nick. I hear a car."
As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Nick watched as a car pulled in beside them on Angela's side. It was his turn to jerk away, and he moved like lightning to the other side of the car. "Shit!" he exclaimed, looking away. "Angela, "Who is that?"
Fixing her hair and wiping her mouth off, Angela turned to see who it was. "Oh, my, God." she muttered, squirming in anxiety. "It's Ann."
"Ann?" asked Nick. "Who's Ann?"
"Kenneth's wife," she replied, slowly rolling down her window as Ann approached. She was hoping she hadn't seen anything, though she knew she probably had. Casually, she greeted her. "Hi, Ann. What are you doing here?"
Nick was surprised at how attractive Ann was. He'd figured Kenneth would have a dud for a wife with his boisterous personality and quirky flaws. But there she was: an attractive woman with a tall, curvy build, long brown hair, and a wonderful smile. When she leaned into the window, Nick looked away, embarrassed at the position in which he'd been caught.
"I was gonna ask YOU that, Angela," Ann said, laughing. "I see you're working hard.....just not on the house."
Angela blushed and looked down. "It's okay, sweetie," Ann added, laughing. "I think I'd be tempted myself." She laughed again when she saw Angela and Nick's surprise at her remark. But then her expression turned serious and she leaned in and asked Nick, "So where's the People guy? That's the one I want to meet."
Nick smiled and pointed towards the house. "He's in the house. Oh.....he just walked out the door."
Kevin and the others had gotten to the kitchen in their mad rush before it dawned on them that it wasn't Kenneth....he was driving Nick's Durango, not a red sports car. Still, they continued outside to see what Ann had to say about Angela and Nick.
Ann glanced at the house quickly and turned back to Angela. "How do I look? Do I look okay?"
Angela was shocked at Ann's behavior. Never, in all her days had she seen Ann act any less than calm and reserved. "Um, you look great, Ann."
"Yeah, great!" added Nick. He was relieved that he'd gotten off the hook so easily with Angela.
Ann blushed and giggled, which was even more uncharacteristic of her. "I just want to get my picture taken with him. The girls at the office will DIE!" She leaned back into the car window and asked, "Hey, Nick, do you think he'd give me a kiss?"
Nick pondered the possibility and Ann added, "Not like you and Angela, for God's sakes, just a little kiss. You know..." She puckered and made a little kissing sound. "Just a little one." She glanced back nervously again as Kevin and the group approached slowly. "Angela, do you think Kenneth would get mad?"
"Ummm ....I wouldn't tell him." Angela didn't quite know what to say. She couldn't believe what she was witnessing. The power of the Backstreet Boys in action. Wow.
"Okay, okay." Ann said, whispering. "Here he comes. Shhhhh." Ann stood up and fixed her hair nervously, then turned to greet the others.
Kim Ann and Sandra ran ahead and rushed to Ann. "HI!" they said in unison. Kim Ann looked Ann up and down and added, "You look extremely beautiful today." She hugged Ann closely and released her so Sandra could move in for her hug.
"Hi, Sweeties!" Ann said, beaming. "I had a feeling you two might be showing up for this!"
"Hell, yeah!" said Sandra. "I didn't believe it! You know? When Angie called me last night I thought she was high. I mean it is so UNREAL!"
Ann laughed. "Well, every now and then, Kent's good for a surprise......he's gonna freak out, though, when I tell him you're here. He wanted it to be a secret." She turned to Kim Ann. "And he'll come UNGLUED when he knows you're here. Can we hide you, dear?"
"Yeah," Kim Ann replied, grinning. "Howie's gonna hide me in his sleeping bag tonight. Aren't you, Howie?" She looked at Howie demurely and batted her eyes. Howie grinned and looked down at the ground.
"Sleeping bags?" asked Ann. "You mean you aren't staying at the house?" She was disappointed and it showed in her voice.
Kevin stepped forward, the trooper that he was. "Well, we just thought it would be nice to camp out here, kind of hang out amidst the cleaning."
"Oh....I see," Ann said, looking at everyone for the first time. "I don't know how Kent will take that. He's not happy about the McDonald's thing this morning. He's worried about your safety."
"It'll be okay," Kevin said, reassuringly. He then held out his hand to her and said softly, "My name's Kevin."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Ann said blushing like a school girl before reaching out for Kevin's hand. "My name's Ann. I'm...I'm Angela's foster mother."
Angela looked at Kim Ann and wondered if she'd caught how cleverly Ann avoided mentioning that she was Kenneth's wife, despite the fact that everyone knew it anyway. Kim Ann raised one eyebrow at her to let her know she had, before she nudged Sandra, too.
"It's nice to meet you, Ann," said Kevin. "Kenneth should have sent YOU to greet us. We could've used a warm welcome when we got here." He could tell that Ann liked him and couldn't resist flirting with her subtly in front of everyone.
"Oh, Kent," Ann said, "He's just uptight about all this." She pulled her hand from Kevin's shyly, extremely aware that he'd held it too long for a casual greeting. "He just wants everything to go smoothly and he can't handle it when one little thing goes wrong."
"Like I said," Kevin responded, blinking slowly and maintaining steady eye contact to fluster her further.
Ann smiled, looked away, and passed her hand through her hair nervously. Her focus fell on Angela and Nick, still in the car. "I see.....I see that Angela and Nick are getting along well together."
"Yeah, we noticed that too," observed Kevin, leaning down to peek in at Angela and Nick directly. "Are you two just gonna sit in there all day or are you gonna come out for air?"
Angela got out of the car slowly, eyeing Kevin the entire move. He finally smiled at her, smugly and she looked away. "Nick?" he asked, waiting for Nick to get out as well.
Nick got out of the car and avoided eye contact with all of them. Instead, he focused on pulling the knots out of his bandanna so he could put it back on. When everyone stayed silent, he finally looked at them and said. "WHAT?!"
Brian stepped up to Ann and said. "And I just want to apologize for Nick preying on Angela like that. In fact, we were rushing out here to rescue her when you showed up, thank God." He put his hand on his stomach as if he were sick to think about what could've happened.
Nick rolled his eyes, crossed his arms, and cocked his head at Brian, glaring playfully. "Whatever."
"And you are...?" Ann asked.
"I'm Brian," he replied, smiling angelically.
"Well, Brian, I'm very thankful that you're watching out for Angela like that," Ann said, going along with it.
Nick's jaw dropped and he looked at Ann as if she had knifed him in the back. Ann winked at him, yet ignored him. "And you are, Howie, right? Kim Ann's fella?"
Kim Ann smiled proudly and Howie ignored it completely, trying to keep the heat off himself. "Yeah, I'm Howie." No admittance, no denial. Middle ground.
"And AJ...." Ann said, studying him. "Kent told me about you."
"Yeah, I'll bet he did," AJ replied.
Ann tried to both apologize to AJ and defend Kenneth. "Don't worry about Kent, AJ, he doesn't understand the concept of...of...individuality. He saw your tattoos and panicked. He's very reserved. Very reserved."
"As in, uptight?" Asked AJ.
Ann thought for a second, and agreed. "Yes, I guess you could say that."
"And you?" asked AJ.
"I bring a little balance to his life." Ann smiled warmly at him. She couldn't help but notice his beautiful eyes.
"Yeah, we could've used your welcome when we got here," said AJ. "Kenneth kind of freaked us all out, man."
"I'll keep him in line, AJ." Ann said reassuringly. She meant it, too. She thought AJ was quite charming, herself.
"So, Kevin," Angela interrupted. "Ann, here, was wanting a picture with you. Yes, a picture and a..." she put her hand up to her chin and feigned deep thought. "….and a....What else was that, Nick?"
Nick grinned and stepped up to Kevin. "She wants a kiss, man."
Ann covered her face with her hand to hide herself and Kevin actually....blushed.
"Well...." Kevin answered, surprised at the request. "There are plenty of cameras floating around, Ann. Let's take a picture."
"Oh, I have a camera," said Ann, overcoming her shyness. "I want to use my camera so the photo doesn't get lost in the others." She walked to the car, pulled out her Canon Rebel and handed it to Angela.
"I get to do the honors?" asked Angela, jokingly. "I'm touched."
Kevin smiled and moved in beside Ann, putting his arm around her and pulling her close. Ann put her hand on his chest and hugged back, leaning her head slightly onto his shoulder.
"SMILE!" Angela said. They both smiled widely and Angela snapped the picture. "Now, kiss her, Kevin! I want to take a picture of it."
"ANGELA!" Ann said loudly. "He doesn't have to..."
Kevin pulled away and looked at Ann. "It's okay, Ann, I can spare a smooch for you." He leaned in and gave her a soft kiss as Angela snapped another picture.
"Okay, okay..." interjected AJ. "NOW! Get a picture of Kevin undoing her blouse."
"AJ!" shouted Brian, Howie, Nick, and Sandra in unison. Angela buckled over, laughing hysterically.
"Gawd..." added Howie, making sure to express to Ann that he had no association with AJ's behavior.
Ann could've cared less what AJ said and giggled and thanked Kevin several times. She took the camera from Angela and held it close to her, as if she were afraid that someone might try to steal it. As she walked towards her car to put the camera away, Kim Ann said, "Wait a minute! Wait a minute! I want my picture taken with Howie."
"Oh..." Ann said, surprised. She hadn't even thought about the others getting their pictures taken. "Yes, we must have pictures of the rest of you."
Kim Ann moved in on Howie like a hawk. "Okay! You ready, Howie?"
Howie ran his hand across his pulled-back hair for a quick style and put his arm around Kim Ann.
"SMILE," said Ann before snapping the picture. It wasn't as snuggly for Kim Ann and Howie as it was for Ann and Kevin because both were the same height, but Kim Ann made sure her face was close to Howie's for the picture.
"And now, for the kiss," said Kim Ann, as Howie pulled away and looked at her in mock fear. "Come on, Howie, show me your Latin Lovah-ness." His expression turned semiserious and Howie leaned in and gave Kim Ann a soft, sweet kiss as Ann snapped again.
"Next?" Ann asked, looking at Sandra. "Which one do you want?"
Sandra ducked behind Kim Ann as if she could hide from the spotlight. "Oh come on, sweety," gushed Ann. "This is your chance." She noticed that Brian was looking away, but still wasn't positive that he was the one Sandra favored.
"Come on, Sandra," said Kim Ann shoving her to center stage. "Get over there."
"Bri-i-i-an, " taunted Nick. "Sandra needs a hu-ug."
Brian grinned and moved in, double-checking with his eyes that Sandra did, indeed, want her picture taken with him. "I feel like such a piece of meat," he said, jokingly.
Sandra laughed and moved away from him, shyly. "Hey now!" said Brian in a forceful tone. "Get your BUTT over here and take your picture with me." She giggled and moved in beside him. Brian jumped and pulled her into a headlock as Ann snapped the picture. He then kissed her on the cheek and Ann snapped another picture.
"No, no, no!" argued Nick. "You have to kiss her on the lips, man! ON THE LIPS!"
"Yeah, on the lips, B." added Howie.
AJ started chanting "Kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss," and was soon joined by the others.
Brian shrugged at Ann and pulled Sandra to him and kissed her long and hard. When he finished he yelled out "Wooooooo!" as if he'd made a touchdown.
Everyone was laughing and Sandra couldn't hide her surprise when it was over and done with. She'd expected a smooch just like everyone else.
When things quieted down, Ann spoke. "That was a fabulous kiss, Brian, but I didn't get the picture." Brian looked at her exasperated. "I was laughing too hard!" she said defensively. "You caught me off guard!"
"He caught YOU offguard!?" exclaimed Sandra, still reeling from the kiss.
"You mean I have to kiss her AGAIN?" Brian whined, looking forlorn, as he moved in to Sandra for yet another kiss. He acted like he was going to grab her several times just to make her tense up in preparation before he leaned forward and puckered with his eyes closed. Sandra laughed and leaned forward in pucker position, too.
It looked more like a Norman Rockwell painting than the first passionate movie-style kiss, but Ann was satisfied and snapped the picture. "Awwwwwwwww! How sweet."
When Brian pulled away the second time, Ann looked at the camera and said. "Wait! I didn't get the picture...."
Brian looked at her with a dead stare as if she were stupid, and Ann quickly said, "Just kidding. I wanted to see if you'd kiss her again." Brian smiled, indicating that he would if need be, but Ann was already looking at Nick and Angela expectantly. "Nick, Angie." She motioned for them to move together for the hug picture.
Angela moved slowly, suddenly feeling subconscious about having been caught by everyone in the car, kissing Nick the first time. Nick moved slowly as well.
"Nick, take that damned thing off your head, too," added Ann. "We want to see your hair. You've got pretty hair."
"Yes, Rapunzel, we MUST see your hair," said Brian mockingly in a feminine voice. "You've got SUCH pretty hair."
Nick glared at Brian and reluctantly pulled his bandanna off once more, throwing it at him. He fluffed his hair, but to no avail. It was sticking up in several places.
"Angie, honey," said Ann. "Fix his hair. It's sticking up on the one side."
Angela reached up cautiously to fix Nick's hair, still self-conscious about the watching audience. Nick playfully snarled and pretended he was going to bite her. "Will you just STOP it?!" Angela said, embarrassed that she had actually jumped back in surprise.
"That's how I treat all my hairdresser's," answered Nick.
As Angela fixed his hair, smoothing it down, Nick jerked his leg like a dog and she started laughing again. He was putting on quite the show for everyone.
"There!" Angela said firmly when she finished. Nick winked at her and stood up straight beside her. He put his arm around her and then pulled it back to make a peace sign behind her head.
Ann snapped the picture before she realized what he was doing. She pulled the camera down and frowned at him. "Quit clowning, young man. I want a good picture."
"Geesh," said Nick. "YOU'RE not demanding." He pulled Angela close again and leaned his head on her head, smiling cutely.
Ann snapped the button again. "Much better. Thank you, Nick." She moved towards the car to put the camera away and the group started dispersing.
Angela was let down that everyone had forgotten her kiss picture, but she wasn't going to bring it up. Nick was relieved. He looked at Angela smugly, thinking she'd be happy, too, but noticed the disappointment in her eyes. He then turned to everyone and asked loudly, "HEY! Where's OUR kiss picture?!"
"You mean you haven't had ENOUGH?" asked Brian.
"Oh, yeah." Ann said, looking at Angela apologetically. "I'm sorry, honey, I forgot." She held up the camera and waited for the kiss.
Nick took Angela's face in his hands and pressed his forehead against her's, looking her in the eyes. "Are you ready?" he asked softly, smiling at her.
"Yeah," she said, giggling a little.
Nick moved in slowly and brushed her lips softly with his, as Ann snapped the picture. He then moved back and swiped her hair once, affectionately. "There. There's your picture."
Everyone else was looking at each other uncomfortably at this point, feeling like intruders on a personal moment. Brian couldn't take it anymore and asked, "What about AJ?" Everyone looked at AJ and Brian added, "You mean NOBODY wants to kiss that face?"
AJ smiled. "I thought Kevin was mine for the week." He looked at Ann. "Until you came along and stole my man."
Ann laughed loudly and handed the camera to Kevin. "Okay, girls," she said moving towards AJ. "I think we can all spare a kiss for cute little Brown Eyes here, can't we?"
"Su-u-u-u-u-ure!" said Kim Ann, jumping at AJ.
"I'm in," said Sandra, joining Kim Ann and Ann beside AJ.
Before Angela could move, Nick nudged her towards AJ. "It's okay," he said quietly, for her ears only. She walked over to AJ slowly and positioned herself amongst the other gals. As she leaned in and kissed AJ on the cheek for the picture, she couldn't help but feel odd about Nick's last comment. It was flattering to her that he felt compelled to give her permission to kiss AJ, but it also upset her that he actually thought she needed his permission. After all, in his own words, he could only give her "four days."
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Four
Story Index
