Lucky

Chapter Four
By: Lara
© 2000

"Kevin...Richardson?" Lisa gasped, almost falling off her raft.

"Yes...from the Backstreet Boys?"

"Of course! I mean, I remember you...I was just surprised." Lisa tried to keep her voice calm.

"Kevin Richardson?" Lara screamed in a whisper.

"This is incredibly short notice, but I was wondering...I think it would be a good idea for you to get to know me...I mean...us...better before this TV show thing. I know it's not for another month and all..." Kevin trailed off. Lisa smiled, trying not to get too excited at the way he said "me" instead of "us."

"What did you have in mind, Kevin?"

"I know you're used to fine things, so I thought we could take you out to dinner or something."

Lisa sighed. Of course he would think something like that. "Kevin, you seem like a nice guy, so I'll let you in on a secret...I prefer the less than fine things. Right now Lara and I are lounging around in my pool eating junk food and reading magazines, and I have not been more comfortable since I don't know when."

Kevin laughed, a sound that made shivers run down Lisa's back. "That does sound great...I'm sorry I misjudged you."

"It's okay. Hey, why don't you just grab the guys and bring them over here? I have a grill that I haven't used yet, and I know there's enough testosterone between the five of you to get some steaks done. I'll send my maid out to the grocery store."

"Wow...that sounds great. Are you sure we won't be intruding on your day off?"

"Of course not." Lisa made a face at Lara who was vehemently shaking her head no.

"Cool. I'll round up the guys and we'll be over within an hour or two. Thanks, Lucky."

"Lisa, are you out of your FUCKING mind?" Lara shrieked as soon as Lisa hung up.

"What? He wanted us to all get to know each other better, and it will be a lot less stressful here then at a restaurant." Lisa pulled herself out of the water and went to towel off.

"Lisa, this is my OLDEST swimming suit! I look like shit! My face is sunburned!" Lara began rattling off reasons why the Boys shouldn't come over.

"You can go up and wear one of mine. I have this dark blue bikini that would just look killer on you." Lisa reached down and helped Lara out of the pool.

"WHY did I eat all those chips? I look like a heifer," Lara moaned as Lisa shoved her into the house and up the steps.

"Meez Lucky! There's someone here for you!" Anna called up the steps about ninety minutes later. Lisa came trotting down the steps, wearing a flimsy sarong over the bottom of her bathing suit. "Hey!" She said with a smile as she saw who was waiting in her foyer. "I'm so glad you guys could make it."

"Thanks for having us," Kevin told her with a smile.

"Lead me to the grill...I'm in the mood to char something," Howie said. Brian rolled his eyes.

"This way. Lara, get your ass down here!" Lisa called up the steps as she led the men out to the pool.

"Wow, this house is something," AJ said.

"I got it for a miracle price, believe it or not. At first I thought it was a little too much to be me, but it's grown on me."

She opened the sliding glass door out to the patio. Nick stopped to admire the Academy Award that sat on the living room mantle. He turned and headed for the hallway, running smack into someone. "I'm sorry," he said immediately. He looked down into blue eyes framed by stylish glasses. "N-no...I wasn't looking where I was going," the girl said shyly. He gave her the once over. She was kinda cute, in an understated way. She wore a sheer blue cover-up over a blue bikini, but from what he could see she had a decent body.

"Have we met before?" Nick asked her.

"Earlier at the luncheon. I'm Lara, Lucky's assistant."

"Right. Nice to meet you." Nick headed out to the pool, leaving Lara standing in the hallway.

Lisa looked up at the house as Nick hurried down the steps and did a big cannonball into the swimming pool. She watched a dejected Lara slowly pick her way across the deck and down the steps. "You remember my assistant, Lara, right? Lara, you remember everyone."

"Yes," Lara said softly as Brian, AJ, Kevin and Howie said hello. Her sad eyes flicked over to Nick, and Lisa realized that they had met inside. Brian and AJ started a water battle as Kevin, Lisa and Howie sat on the edge of the pool talking. Howie looked up at Lara, who stood uncertainly a few feet from the edge. "Sit down." He patted the cement next to him. Lara paused, then slowly sat down. Howie looked over at Lisa and Kevin, who were deep in conversation. "So...how'd you get this job working with Lucky?"

"I was a personal secretary for this jerk of a producer, and he got pissed because there wasn't enough cream in his coffee and he fired me. Lucky was working on that picture and hired me on the spot. She's pretty something," Lara said, smiling as she watched her friend talk animatedly.

"Yes, she is." Howie splashed his feet back and forth in the water. "Are you a performer, too?"

Lara almost snorted. "Hardly. My job is keeping things together. I'm not good at a life where everything falls apart on a regular basis, and that's what a performers life is," she said without thinking. She blushed. "I mean...well...not that YOUR life falls apart...I mean..."

Howie laughed. "Don't worry. No offense taken."

Suddenly a wave of water drenched them both. "D, get your ass in here. I need you to dunk Brian for me while I kill AJ," Nick told him. Howie glared at him.

"Grow the hell up, Carter." Howie turned to Lara. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, just wet...I should have expected it, sitting by a pool and all," Lara said with a smile.

"I'll talk to you later." Howie dove in and took off after Nick.

"So, where are you from?" Kevin asked Lisa.

"Kentucky...and don't make any jokes about it," she ordered. His mouth fell open.

"You're kidding. You're from Kentucky, too? Me and Bri are from Kentucky!"

"That IS pretty cool...at least we have that to make jokes about on this dumb show if nothing else," Lisa said.

"If you really didn't want to do it..."

"Well, it's not that I mind, I mean, I will get to meet people I don't know yet in the business from a variety of fields. On this first show, the guests will be you, Christina Aguilera and Charlotte Church. That's a variety. I just wish I wasn't being pushed into it."

"Why don't you get rid of that slimeball?" Kevin asked, placing a hand on her arm in concern. Lisa fought off the shivers. "Well, the contract is airtight, and I still have about ten more months to go. As soon as the time runs out, though, I am on my own. Between Lara and I we know enough to get me what I want at a decent price."

"And what DO you want, Miss Lucky?" Kevin asked in his best interviewer voice. Lisa smiled, then looked down at the water.

"I want happiness without having to give up something I believe in...and I want someone to share that happiness with me." She looked up at Kevin, who nodded in understanding. Lisa glanced over at Lara, who was sitting a few feet away watching Nick and Brian do tricks off the diving board. "What's Nick like?"

"He's still a kid, pretty much. I still feel like I have to look after him ninety percent of the time," Kevin said, rolling his eyes. "He's like my brother, though." He followed Lisa's gaze and smiled. "Your friend has a crush?"

"I think so...and she's not one for mindless crushes...she's responsible and serious."

"Responsible and serious...sounds familiar," Kevin mused, and Lisa laughed.

"I worry about her. She's alone all the time. I wish I could find her someone to go out with."

"I'll see what I can do about Nick, but I can't guarantee anything. I don't think he knows the meaning of the word serious," Kevin confided. Lisa looked up into Kevin's smiling green eyes.

"I...uh...I better check on Anna. Don't want to waste any good grilling time." She hopped to her feet and ran inside.

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