September 1, 1999
“Alright everyone!” Fatima called as she clapped her hands together. “I hope you guys had a nice break. We need to do a few things today. First off, I have been working with Erin and Becca for the last two weeks and they both pretty much have all the routines. Next, we’re going to rearrange partners a little it. Third, we’re going to learn the new version of Larger Than Life for the VMA’s.” Fatima glanced around the room at everyone, trying to decide who everyone should be partnered up with. After consulting with Krista, who was going to be helping her out, since she could no longer dance with the rest of them, they had everything arranged.
“Okay guys,” Fatima began. “Let’s have Becca and Kevin, Howie and Ang, Erin and Nick, AJ and Brooke, and Brian and Alyssa.” Everyone got together with their respective partners and Fatima and Krista began rehearsals.
“Fatima,” AJ whined, around 12:30. “We’ve been practicing for three hours. I’m hungry. Can we please stop and go to lunch?”
“Stop whining, Bone,” Nick scolded.
“Excuse me, oh King of Whiners?” Aj asked, incredulously. “You’re telling me not to whine?”
“Shut up,” Nick grumbled.
“Both of you shut up!” Fatima yelled, exasperated. “Go to lunch and be back by two and ready to work.
“Yes sir!” Brian saluted.
Fatima glared at him, playfully. “Watch it, Littrell.”
Ang grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the room. “Come on, smartass. I’m starving.”
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“Hey Nick,” Becca said, sweetly, as she sat down at an outside table with him. The entire group had gone to a deli just down the street from the studio for lunch.
Nick looked up from his meal. “Hey Becca. What’s up?”
“Not much,” She shrugged. “How have you been?”
“Alright, I guess,” Nick sighed. “I still haven’t heard from her. I’m just about ready to give up.”
Inside, Becca sighed in relief. For the past few weeks, she had been trying to get Nick to notice her but he had always been so preoccupied with thoughts of his ex-girlfriend. She decided, since he finally admitted that he was going to give up, that she would be bold. “What are you up to tonight, Nick?”
Nick shrugged. “Nothing really. Why?”
“You want to do something?” Becca asked. “Maybe go to dinner or catch a movie or something?”
“I don’t know, Bec,” Nick said, slowly. “I don’t know if—“
“I’m not asking to get married, Nick,” Becca interrupted, laughing. “I just wanted to hang out. You need to stop beating yourself up about this. If she doesn’t realize what a great guy you are, then it’s her loss.”
Nick took a deep breath. “You know what? You’re right. How about I pick you up around eight and we’ll go grab a bite to eat.”
“Great.” Becca grinned.
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Brooke excused herself from the table and walked towards the ladies room. “Psst…Brooke,” she heard. She turned around in a slow circle, her eyes widening when she saw that it was Alex. She grabbed his arm and pulled him down the hall towards the bathroom. “What the hell are you doing here?!” She hissed, quietly. “What if Kevin sees you?”
“I just wanted to let you know that I received your first payment,” he explained, smugly.
“And you couldn’t have called me on my cell?” She glared at him, her hands on her hips.
“You still have a lot more to go, Brook-ee” he warned.
“Yes I know,” she rolled her eyes at him. “I hope you’re happy to know that I’m stealing from the man I love.”
He shrugged. “How you get it is your own business. You have two weeks to get me the rest. I’ll be in touch.” Alex turned around and walked away while Brooke leaned against the wall and tried to steady her racing heart.