Lucky

Chapter Seven
By: Lara
© 2000

One Week Later

"The caterer?"

"Called and confirmed yesterday. A full barbecue set up where we will have to do nothing but provide space for the tables and grills," Lara told Lisa. Lisa sighed from the sofa where she lounged gracefully for a hyper Australian photographer.

"Lucky, baby, I need ya lookin' here, luv," the man begged as he hopped around snapping pictures. Lisa sighed again and focused on the camera.

"When's my next vacation?"

"You know better. Once this show starts next week you won't get a vacation until the six weeks of shooting are up," Lara reminded her.

"Has everyone RSVP'd?"

"Lucky, the party is tomorrow. Anyone who's decent responded at the beginning of the week. I mean, you did kinda just throw this thing together." Lara frowned as she checked her notebook. "A few last minutes ones DID arrive today though. A regretful no from Tom and Nicole, a definitely yes from Goldie and Kurt, and a we'll-make-an-appearance from Charlotte Church and her parents."

"Good. I really want them to stop by," Lisa replied. "I haven't gotten to talk to her much since we did all the initial meetings for the show."

"Perfect, luv! We're done!" The photographer announced triumphantly.

"Thank GOD," Lisa mumbled, stretching as she stood. Her cellphone rang and Lara tossed it to her. "Hello?" A smile brightened her long face.

"Kevin!"

"Here we go again," Lara grumbled as she gathered their things. Lisa followed Lara back to the makeup room, chattering animatedly to Kevin.

"Yes...I have everything all ready. I have planned a fantastic party!" Lisa gushed. Lara stopped walking and turned to glare. "I...I mean...Lara and I have planned a fantastic party!" Lara sighed but didn't say anything. When Lisa talked to Kevin, Kevin was all that mattered. Not that he didn't feel the same way. They talked constantly, emailed constantly, and tried to see each other for at least an hour a day, if their busy schedules allowed it. Lara flopped onto a chair in the makeup room and pulled out her Entertainment Weekly magazine. There was a huge section on new celebrity romances, and she was eager to see what the press thought about Kevin and Lucky. They had finally "come out" about their romance, but not too many articles had appeared yet, though Lara was sure the press had jumped on it immediately. She sighed with relief. This reporter, at least, seemed to think that Lucky deserved a wonderful man, and that Kevin Richardson was exactly that man. The article went on to discuss the other Backstreet Boys and their women...AJ and Amanda, Brian and his girlfriend, also named Amanda, Howie and a girl he refused to name, and Nick Carter and one of the various women he had been seen with lately. Lara's heart sank as she looked at the gorgeous redhead on Nick's arm. He had called her twice in the last week to confirm the party time, but when she got nerve enough to call him back, he was never in. "I can't wait either. Bye, Kev." Lisa hung up, her smile quickly fading as she saw the tears that threatened to fall from Lara's eyes.

"Let's go." She hopped up, said thank you to the makeup artist, and dragged Lara out to the limo. "Don't...don't...wait..." she mumbled to Lara as they pushed through some eager fans. "Don't let them see it." She shoved Lara into the backseat of the limo and quickly signed some autographs before plopping down on the seat. She had her arms around Lara before the car even started to move. "Okay...go ahead." Lara immediately began to sob. "What is it, sweetie?"

"It's n-n-nothing, really. St-st-stupid."

Lisa grabbed the magazine from Lara's clenched fist. She smiled at the picture of she and Kevin at a gallery opening, then frowned at the picture of Nick and some red-haired tart. "Honey, she's probably..."

"She's probably some supermodel who just HAPPENS to be Princess of Europe or something," Lara sniffed. "Who am I? Some assistant who happens to be arranging the killer party of the season. Of course he kissed up to me."

"Lara, look at me." Lara slowly looked up. "If he can't see how awesome you are, he is a loser, okay? There are tons of men in the sea, and you have the fishing rod, okay? Tomorrow you are gonna wear that knockout dress, slap those contacts in, get a gorgeous hairdo, and Nick Carter is gonna fall on his ass. You understand me?"

Lara nodded. "I just wish I could find someone as great as Kevin."

Lisa smiled. "They don't make many of 'em that great."

"Meez Lucky! Your mail!" Anna knocked on Lisa's bedroom door three hours before the party was to get hopping.

"Come in," Lisa said through a mouthful of bobby pins. "Lara, you have the most annoying hair in the universe!"

"Just forget it." Lara shook her head, making the carefully arranged hairdo fall to her shoulders. "I'm leaving it down."

"But I wanted to try something different," Lisa wailed.

"This IS different...for me, anyway. I never wear my hair down. I'll throw in some hot rollers and actually give it curl...will THAT satisfy you?" Lara grumbled, sick of having her hair pulled, twisted and turned.

"Fine," Lisa snapped, grabbing the mail from Anna. "I was just trying to help."

"There IS no help for me," Lara told her. "He won't notice I'm alive, anyway. You invited enough of the beautiful people to keep him quite occupied."

"Meez Lara, you EEZ beautiful," Anna told her as she walked out the door.

"See?" Lisa raised an eyebrow. Lara sighed and rolled her eyes. She went back to Lisa's vanity table to plug in the hot rollers. Lisa looked at her mail and frowned. The usual...letters from her family, bills for this and that. When she caught sight of the last envelope on the pile, the frown deepened. She shoved that envelope in her nightstand drawer as Lara walked back into the room. "I guess it would be piggish to ask Anna for something to eat, since this barbecue thing starts in just a few hours," Lara said cautiously.

"Oh, puhleeze. Live a little. It's two in the afternoon...way past lunch." Lisa went to the intercom and buzzed Anna, asking for some veggies and dip. She began to carefully put her hair up into a simple bun. Even though this party was suddenly being talked about as the impromptu event of the season, Lisa preferred to do her own hair. She had makeup artists and hairdressers all over her the rest of the time.

"I love this dress," Lara sighed, running a hand over the fine silk of the Indian sarong dress that hung on the closet door. "The colors are perfect."

"It is gorgeous, isn't it?" Lisa asked, her eyes wandering over the red and gold fabric. "I couldn't resist it when I saw it in the window the other day. It was like it called to me."

Lara sighed again. "You're so lucky, if you'll excuse the pun. Gorgeous house, gorgeous clothes, gorgeous boyfriend..."

"You can borrow the house and clothes anytime you want, but the boyfriend is off limits," Lisa teased.

"Oh, yeah, like I could ever dream of tearing him away from you," Lara said, smiling.

"He is pretty special, isn't he?" Lisa sighed. "Definitely," Lara agreed. The hot rollers beeped and she went back to start on her hair. Lisa paced in front of the bedroom door two and a half hours later. Everything was ready downstairs but she was still nervous. This was her first real outing as Kevin's girlfriend, and she wanted him to be proud of her. What if it was a nightmare? What if it was a fiasco that went down in Hollywood history as the worst party ever? What if... "Excuse me, is there a sexy woman in here?" A dark head poked around the bedroom door.

"Kevin!" Lisa carefully walked over and carefully threw herself into Kevin's arms. He pulled back to look at her.

"Wow...Lisa...I...wow..." he stammered. "That's not like any picnic outfit I'VE ever seen. You look incredible."

She tilted her head so her gold dangle earrings danced. "That's just the point. I'm the hostess. I have to stand out."

"You stand out no matter WHERE you are, baby," Kevin said softly, pulling her towards him for a passionate kiss. His hands found the bare skin of her back and lightly trailed his fingers up and down. She shivered, as he knew he would. She finally pulled away, a bit breathless. "You don't look so bad yourself," she told him, looking at his dark red shirt and khaki pants. He had the shirt open almost to the waist and she raised an eyebrow.

"My concession to the fact that this is supposed to be like a picnic," he told her. "Lara told me the color of your dress, so I tried to match."

"You are too cute," Lisa replied, squeezing his face and making his lips pucker. "How's she doing? She is a lifesaver, planning all this shit for me."

"A very gorgeous lifesaver, I must admit. If I didn't have you, I might have to check her out. She looks fantastic! Almost like a new person."

"Do me a favor. Tell her that. She has been flipping out for days about this thing, and thinks she looks like a heifer."

"I promise to deheifertize her," Kevin said, making Lisa laugh.

"You have done a great job!" Lisa yelled over the music an hour later. Lara blushed but said nothing. Everything was going fantastic...so far. All the guests seemed to be having a good time, and Lisa was ecstatic, playing the room with Kevin never far from her side. Brian and AJ were there with their Amandas, but Nick and Howie were nowhere to be seen. Lara sighed and made a trip back to the kitchen to check on things. She chatted with the caterers as she glanced over everything with an experienced eye. If for some reason Lisa ever fired her, she decided, she would make one hell of a banquet coordinator. Lara returned to the deck, looking at the mass of people who had congregated on the patio and around the pool. This party definitely would go down in history. She looked down at her new outfit and sighed once more. All that time...all that work...for nothing. She had just known Nick wouldn't show. All that talk about wanting her as his date...the sun must've gone to his blond brain or something.

"Excuse me, I was wondering if..." she heard a voice at her elbow and slowly turned around. She saw Howie's dark eyes widen.

"Lara? Is that you?" She nodded and smiled, blushing from the admiration in his eyes. "Wow...I didn't recognize you! I saw this incredible hottie across the room and finally got the nerve to come over, and it was you!" It was Howie's turn to blush. "I mean...not that you weren't a hottie to begin with...I mean...not that you looked bad before...I mean..." he stammered.

"It's okay, Howie," Lara said. "No need to apologize...and I know I wasn't a hottie before. But thank you for the compliment."

She looked behind Howie. "Is...uh...is Nick with you?"

"Nope. He had a stop to make on his way here." He looked her over once more. "You really do look incredible."

"Thanks," she said again. She looked down at her outfit and smiled, thankful that she had let Lisa talk her into it. It was a short dark blue shirt made of a gauzy material, with a matching short jacket. Underneath she wore only a dark blue bra, so her entire stomach was bare and showing. Her hair was a mass of ringlets, and the long-awaited contacts were in her eyes.

"Save me a dance when the DJ starts?" Howie asked her. She started to reply but was interrupted.

"Sorry, D, but she's my date for tonight." Lara looked down at the bouquet of peach roses that were thrust into her hands. "Sorry I'm late, Lara. I had to stop and get my date some flowers." She looked up into Nick's blue eyes and tried to make her stomach stop doing cartwheels. He grabbed her hand. "I'm starving. Let's get those into some water and you can show me what's yummy here besides you. Later, D."

"See you later, Howie!" Lara called over her shoulder as Nick dragged her towards the kitchen. Howie sighed and shook his head, walking over to the bar.

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