“Man, where are you? You certainly aren’t here. You haven’t heard a word we’ve said for the past twenty minutes.”
Kevin grinned sheepishly. “Sorry, guys. It’s 2:30 and she should have been here by now.”
“Relax. She’ll be here soon. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this excited about a girl visiting,” Brian told him.
“I can’t wait to meet her. Wonder what she’ll think of us?” Nick mused.
“That you’re really immature,” Howie said, glancing up from his magazine.
“Hey,” Nick shot back, “I resemble that remark!”
“Exactly. You’ll probably scare her off and then Kevin will be so pissed at you, he’ll mess up every set you do onstage!”
Kevin smiled at their friendly banter. He had really missed hearing that. Hell, he had really missed them.
“You won’t scare her, so don’t even try it,” he warned, pointing a finger. “She’s not just a girl, Brian. She’s a lady. That reminds me. Try to tone down your usually colorful language. She doesn’t use it, so it would be nice if you didn’t either.”
“What the hell kind of a broad doesn’t use damn profanity?” Nick asked, testing to see if the old Kevin was really back.
“The kind who you should associate with more often. We’re not talking the road-trash you’re so fond of. She’s an actual person. I think her last class was full of people like you.”
“That’s right, she’s a teacher. Ewww,” Nick said, making a face. “Does she wear those shapeless dresses and her hair in a bun?”
“Nearly every day. Of course not, smart-ass! She’s not from ‘Little House on the Prairie’!”
The phone rang and Kevin snatched it from its cradle. “Yes?”
“Mr. Richardson? This is Angel from the front desk,” the nasal voice came through the line.
“Yes, Angel. What is it?”
“There’s a woman here who says you know her. What’s your name again, Hon?”
He could hear Maggie’s voice in the background.
“Tell her to stay right there. Someone will be down for her,” he instructed, hanging up without waiting for a response.
Standing up, he crossed the room in three long strides. Flinging the door open, he told one of the bodyguards to go to the lobby and bring her up to the room. Closing the door, he felt almost giddy with anticipation. His four friends noticed and found it amusing.
“Jeez, bro. Take it easy,” AJ told him. “If you don’t calm down, you’re going to explode. Then how would you explain that to her? What did you say she was, a sex-ed instructor?”
“Funny. Watch it, OK? Just for a while,” he asked, looking each one of them in the eyes.
Opening the door before the first knock was completed, he swept Maggie into a bear hug, swinging her into the room. She laughed as he held her tight.
“I can’t breathe,” she gasped, making a face over his shoulder.
“Oh, sorry! I’m just so glad you’re here!”
“Well, me, too!” She responded as he again picked her up in a hug.
The sounds of throats clearing behind him gently reminded him the others were still there.
“Oh, Maggie. These are my partners, brothers, and friends. This is Brian, my cousin. He called your house that day.”
“I remember. Nice to meet you,” she said, smiling charmingly and shaking his hand.
“Nice to meet you, too.”
“Over there you have Howie. Then, there’s AJ.”
AJ took Maggie’s hand and placed a light kiss on it. She raised her eyebrows suspiciously at him, causing the others to laugh.
“Ah, I see my reputation has preceded me. If it’s any consolation, everything Kevin told you about me is probably true,” he teased, holding her hand a second longer than was necessary.
“Anyway,” Kevin continued, gently knocking AJ’s hand away, “the big blonde over there is Nick. He’ll probably be the one you connect with best. After me, of course.”
“For some reason, I don’t think that was meant as nice as it sounded,” Nick said, screwing his face up in mock consideration.
“Come on in and have a seat,” Howie told her. “How was the trip?”
“Oh, it was nice,” she said, sitting down and smoothing out the legs of her black pants.
Kevin claimed his spot beside her, stretching an arm across the back of the sofa. “I didn’t think you were ever going to get here. I was beginning to wonder if you had changed your mind.”
“I almost did,” she confessed.
“Then I would have had to come back and persuade you again,” he said, his voice a low growl in her ear.
Maggie blushed, remembering. She brushed back a stray strand of hair from her face, a nervous habit that had recently re-emerged. She suddenly felt tired. “Kevin? Where’s my room? I’d like to freshen up, if you don’t mind.”
Glances went around the room from the other four. They all stood up at the same time.
“I think it’s time for us to go to our rooms, too. You are coming to the show tonight, aren’t you?” Brian asked as they were leaving.
“Of course she is. You’re going to love it,” Kevin gave his assurance.
After the others had left, Kevin kissed Maggie. He wrapped his arm around her, pulling her in close.
“That’s nice,” she sighed, resting her head against his shoulder. “But really, I would like a chance to shower.”
“I think that’s what brought on their hasty exit. I planned for you to stay in my room. With me. Now, if you want, I can get you another room. You always said that we never spent the entire night together. This is our chance to change that.” He looked at her hopefully.
“All right. It might be fun. I need to warn you, though, I’m a bed hog.”
**************
That night, Maggie enjoyed her first ever Backstreet concert. She was amazed at their energy and passion in the performance. Each one exuded sexuality on stage. No wonder the girls found them so fascinating. Their talent was overwhelming. If the show is this good from the side of the stage, she wondered, it must be something else from the audience. She smiled, realizing how many people, ages unimportant, would like to be in her place at that moment. She could see the entire stage and feel the floor vibrate with the loud music.
After the show, all five ran offstage and quickly showered to ready for the meet and greet backstage. Kevin had told her how some of the fans would be those who had won passes from the local radio stations or had acquired them through various fan clubs. Almost embarrassed, he also told her some of the girls would be groupies. As the meet and greet session began and wore on, he made sure he never strayed far from her side.
Never having actually seen someone who would be classified as a groupie, Maggie spotted them almost immediately. She watched with interest as the girls in tight leather skirts, one size too small shirts, spiked heels, and bleached hair teased high slithered on the guys. She saw pieces of paper slipped into pockets and hands. Must be the teacher in me, she mused as she viewed a particularly busty young woman in black boots and black stockings laugh loudly at something Nick had said.
The evening ended and the fans slowly made their way from backstage. Maggie walked outside and climbed into the shuttle van that was waiting. One by one, the guys made their way out of the arena. Nick was the first one out, hopping into the van and claiming the back seat as his own, stretching his long legs across it.
He rolled down the window and stuck his head out. “Hey! Come on!” He yelled impatiently.
“Take it easy, Nick. You’d think it was your first time or something. She’s not going anywhere,” Brian said, sitting behind Maggie.
“I hope not. Man, did you see her?”
“Who?” AJ asked as he climbed in and sat in front of Nick. “That blonde twit with the big boobs? Ah, she’ll be too much for you.”
“You’re just jealous she picked me instead of you. She likes her men big and healthy,” he teased, knocking AJ’s arm off the back of the seat.
“You prick,” he retorted. “She’ll be with me later, anyway. Just saving the best for last.”
“Where the fuck is Kev and Howie?” Nick demanded, impatiently. “I got something to do.” He stuck his head out the window again. “HURRY THE HELL UP!”
Kevin slowly ambled towards the van. Maggie had been quiet, wondering if they even realized she was in there. It’s not like they hadn’t seen her when they got in. Kevin sat beside her as Howie slid in beside Brian.
“What were you doing, yelling out the window like that? The whole damn town knows we’re here without you adding to it,” Howie told him.
“He’s got places to go and someone to do,” AJ said, moving before Nick could hit him.
“What?” Kevin asked, turning around as the vehicle began moving.
“Yeah. You know, I gotta do the deed. Get my groove on. Do the nasty. Get freaky. Do the wild thang. Lay the pipe down. Throw that d. Tap that ass. Wax that ass. Hit it one good time. Get some pus…”
Maggie had heard enough and spun around in the seat. Before she realized it, she blurted out, “Three pages, mister. Front to back, top to bottom, side to side, and don’t even think about crossing the margins!”
“What the hell are you talking about?” He asked, confused.
“What you were saying. That was crude, rude, immature, obscene, and just plain offensive. A gentleman does not speak of a lady like that. Especially in mixed company. Didn’t your mother raise you with any better manners than that? What would she say if she heard you say something like that? You are just plain repugnant!”
AJ threw his head back and laughed. He laughed so hard that he couldn’t get his breath. Brian’s eyes grew wide at her sudden lashing at Nick.
Howie nodded, then said, “I told you what she’d think.”
Nick decided if he hadn’t been in the very back of the van, he would have gotten right in her face and told her what he thought. Fortunately, he couldn’t get out. He was incensed at her accusations of him. Who the hell did she think she was, telling him something like that?
“Oh, Nick,” AJ gasped, finally breathing again. “Let me tell Maggie that part of what she said was wrong. The girl with the big tits is not a lady. She's just some dumb blonde. So he wasn’t totally in the wrong.”
“That’s enough,” Kevin interrupted, a hand on Maggie’s arm. He could feel her trembling beneath his touch. “I thought we agreed to try harder this time.”
"It’s your girlfriend’s fault,” Nick accused, a hint of whine in his voice.
Maggie opened her mouth to respond and saw Kevin ever so slightly shake his head. She closed her mouth and sat back against the seat, her arms crossed across her chest. The ride back to the motel couldn’t end fast enough. As soon as they were there, Nick stomped up the aisle and slung open the door. He disappeared into the night before anyone could say anything else to him.
The others filed out and Howie placed a hand on Maggie’s shoulder.
“Don’t worry about it,” he consoled. “Nick knew better than to say something like that. He just forgets sometimes that not everybody has the same thoughts he does. You’ll learn to ignore him. We do. He’s really funny once you get to know him.”
Kevin took Maggie’s hand as they entered the motel. He stopped with Brian, Howie, and AJ to sign autographs and talk with the fans that were waiting on them in the lobby.
“Go on up to the room. I haven’t been doing this for a long time and it’s the right thing to do now,” he whispered to her. “I’ll be there in a little while. Don’t go to sleep. I got something to show you.” He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, finally eliciting a giggle and smile from her.
Maggie rode the elevator in silence with one of the bodyguards. She opened unlocked the door to the suite and sat down. Through the walls, she could hear voices raised, but the words were indistinguishable. Realizing that the room next door was Nicks, she knew that it was for the best that she couldn’t understand what was being said. She jumped as a loud thump shook the picture slightly on the wall. Shaking her head, she closed her eyes and laid her head back, waiting.