The song was over, but Kristy and Kevin still sat together in front of the piano, their heads turned towards each other, eyes locked. They heard the sounds of people clapping, but it seemed to be in the distance. Kristy thought she heard her name, but didn't look to see where it was coming from. She was pretty sure she wouldn't have been able to move, even if she'd wanted to. She was afraid to blink, afraid to breathe, for fear of breaking the spell. Kevin leaned towards her slightly, a faint smile played on his lips. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest. Kevin started to bend his head down, their faces mere inches apart...
"You guys were absolutely incredible!" Jeff exclaimed as he stood over the pair. They broke their gaze; the moment was lost. Kevin took a deep, calming breath. He couldn't believe the attraction and the connection he felt towards her.
Kevin stood and offered his hand to Kristy as she rose. Jeff resumed his place at the piano, "Guess I should earn my keep, huh?" He started in on "It Had To Be You," and Kevin joined the others as they headed back to their table. The seating arrangements shuffled a bit, placing Kevin between Kristy and Jess, and across from Heather.
Kristy's friends continued to complement the pair on their performance as the drinks and food arrived. As Kevin was ordering a drink, Mike leaned forward, placing his hand on Kristy's, "Hon, you never cease to amaze me!"
Kevin raised his eyebrows in question, "'Hon?!' What's that about?"
Kristy looked across the table at Mike, clearly confused by his behavior. "Really, I owe it all to my wonderful partner," she said with a smile and a shrug of her shoulders. She looked back to Kevin, her smile warming as her eyes met his.
Kevin felt his breath catch in his throat as he returned her smile. "May I propose a toast?" He asked after the waiter brought his drink, "To great partnerships!"
"And new friendships," Kristy added.
************************************************************************
"So how long are you guys going to be in Orlando? What have you got planned?" Kevin asked the group. They'd been talking, laughing and listening to Jeff sing and play for over an hour. "How long do I have to get to know Kristy better?"
"Well, most of us flew in yesterday," Heather said as she flicked the wadded up wrapper from her straw at Chris. "The conference started this morning and goes through Wednesday, but Kristy and I are staying through Sunday, using some of our vacation time."
"Great! I mean, there's so much to see and do here, you should take advantage of it while you're here," he covered. "A whole week."
"Jess and I were just here in April and we did most of the Disney World stuff then," Kristy clarified. "But I've been seriously in need of a vacation, and since I was going to miss most of the week anyway, I figured I might as well just take the whole week off and get some sun! Besides, I can never get too much Disney."
"Basically, Kris would probably be happy to give up her job and work here." Chris teased.
"Hey! Some pretty cool people have worked here!" Kevin said in mock indignation.
Kristy laughed, but saw that the rest of the group didn't get the joke. She explained, "Ya see, Kevin used to work here, at Disney-MGM, before he moved on to bigger and better things!" All that information she'd read about the band, and Kevin in particular, just might turn out to be more useful than she'd ever expected.
"What'd you do?" Mike asked. "Food services? Store clerk? Or did you get to run one of the rides?"
"Actually, I started as a tour guide for the back lot tour, then I got into some of the shows and parades and stuff."
"Did you ever get to be one of the characters?" Heather giggled.
"Yeah, I did 'accessory characters' and a couple of 'key characters'," Kevin started. He looked at Kristy, to see if she knew which characters he'd played. He saw her smile and the twinkle in her eyes. "Yep, she knows."
Kristy grinned, "Wanna guess which key character he played?"
"Mickey?" Heather guessed.
"Minnie?" cracked Chris.
"A human character," Kristy hinted.
"Hercules?" Heather asked.
Kevin shook his head, "Nope, before my time."
"One of the singers in the Lion King show?" Jessica suggested. "The one who's name means 'Good Looking'?" She winked at Kristy.
"Hardly," Kevin protested and blushed slightly.
"Come on you guys. Who does he look like?" Kristy prompted.
"Let's see..." Mike looked thoughtfully at Kevin, "Tall, dark..." Kristy nodded him on. "Jafar?" Mike grinned as Chris snickered.
"Close," Kevin smiled, but thought to himself, "Looks like someone's jealous. But until Kristy tells me she's with one of you guys, I'm not going to back down."
"Prince Charming?" Heather offered, catching Kristy's eye.
"Very close!" Kristy laughed.
"Hmmm, Aladdin?!" Jessica pronounced.
"Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner!" Kristy exclaimed. "And Prince Eric, right?" Kevin nodded. "Although it took you guys long enough."
"Sorry, not all of us own every Disney movie ever made," Chris rolled his eyes.
Kevin turned to Kristy, "You too?"
"Actually, just all the animated ones, and then a few others like 'Parent Trap' and stuff." Kristy smiled back at Kevin. From all she'd read about him, she'd always thought they would have a lot in common. Now that she'd met him, she knew it was true.
Although Kevin didn't know anything about Kristy from before, everything he'd seen and heard over the last couple of hours made him want to learn more. He had a good feeling about this week. A very good feeling.
