Promises Kept

By: Stef

Setting the bags of groceries down on the table, Stef turned to see where AJ was, but of course, he was nowhere to be seen. Letting out a small sigh, she walked out of her apartment, back down the two flights of stairs, and onto the sidewalk in front of her apartment building. And there he was, signing autographs, taking pictures, and flirting with his fans, her groceries left forgotten by the door. She leaned against the wall and waited. Waited for him to get done, waited for an asteroid to hit and destroy earth and all life on it, either one would work for her.

“I’ll be right there, hun,“ she heard him say, and nodded mutely. She knew what him “being right there“ meant. This could take another two minutes, or another two hours.

Picking up the grocery bags, she said, “I’ll go upstairs already.“

“‘K,“ he answered, distracted by a girl with an especially low cut shirt on. When she was almost in the building, one girl came up to her and asked, “Are you his girlfriend?“

“No, we’re just friends,“ Stef answered automatically, and smiled back at the girl just as automatically. How often had she heard this question in the past 10 years? A million times? Maybe more? She didn’t know, but one thing she did know was that if she’d gotten a dollar each time someone asked her that question, she’d be rich now. Maybe not as rich as AJ, but she’d definitely have a lot more cash in her account than she had now.

AJ and Stef had been friends ever since they could remember. Well, since they were 6 and started elementary school. They lived very close to each other, rode the same bus, were in one class, and even while all the other kids went through the whole phase of hating the other sex, Stef and AJ were inseperable. They spent most weekends together, either at his or her house. When they were 11, they shared their first kiss, just to see what the big fuss was all about. Later, when they were 13 and their mothers didn’t let them spend the night in each other’s rooms anymore, there had been some heavy fondling, just to see what it was like again. But that was it, they were never more than friends. Maybe if AJ hadn’t started touring the world before they made it to high school, something could’ve happened. But it hadn’t, and neither one of them ever really wasted a thought on that. They were best friends, and that was better than a little high school fling ever could have been.

By the time he made it upstairs to her one bedroom apartment, Stef was done putting the groceries away, and was sipping on a mug of freshly brewed coffee.

“Sorry it took me so long,“ AJ apologized, pouring himself some coffee as well. “This one girl wouldn’t stop talking.“

“Did she give you her number at least?“ Stef wanted to know, and by the way AJ looked down into his mug, she knew he’d gotten the number. “The one with her tits falling out of her shirt, huh?“ she asked with a small chuckle, biting her bottom lip when AJ looked at her over the rim of his sunglasses.

“Her name is Cassie, and I think it was a very nice shirt.“

“Cassie, huh?“

“Yeah. Or was it Jessie...? Let me check.“

Stef laughed out loud. “Alexander James McLean, you are terrible. I thought one of your rules was to know names.“

“So many names, Stef, it’s hard to memorize them all.“

Shaking her head, Stef turned to pick up the list that was on the kitchen counter.

“Well, I hope you remember that it is my birthday in two days.“

Letting out a fake groan, AJ threw his hands in the air. “You won’t let me forget, woman!“

“Hey, YOU offered to help me plan this party! Actually, YOU are the one who insisted on throwing a party in the first place, my dear Alex.“

“It’s your 25^th, Stef. That has got to be celebrated.“

“Like you did, huh?“ she asked, pushing herself up to sit on the kitchen counter. AJ’s birthday bash for his 25^th had been bigger than any of his other parties ever had been. There had to have been at least 200 people there, two dancefloors, gallons and gallons of booze, and Stef tried to figure out how he was ever going to top that.

“It’s impossible to throw a party like that here,“ AJ remarked, nodding his head in the direction of her living room.

Looking up from her list, Stef shot him a glare. Not that again, please, she thought. Her silent plea didn’t help.

“You know you could’ve thrown your party at my house, but nooooooo, somebody had to show how independent she is!“

“I AM independent, Alex!“ she answered calmly. But just by the way she said his name, he knew she was very close to getting pissed off at him. She barely ever called him Alex anymore, usually, it was Aje, or just hey you.

“I know that you are, Stefanie.“ He put special emphasis on her full name, knowing how angry that made her. “But I still think it would’ve been nice if you had celebrated your birthday at my house.“

“Your house is in Orlando, and I live in New York, in case you hadn’t noticed.“

“So?“

“SO?!“ Stef hopped off the counter and went to pour herself another cup of coffee, just to keep her hands busy. One of his special talents, other than singing, had always been getting her irritated in less than three minutes. Turning back to him, she raised her eyebrow. Now, he knew she was angry. “My friends are here. I want to celebrate with my friends. Hence, I have to celebrate here.“

“I’m your friend,“ AJ replied. “Audrey is your friend. Jeremy is your friend. Hell, Kevin, Brian, Nick, and Howie are your friends. And we are all in Orlando.“

“Audrey couldn’t come because of her baby anyways. And Jeremy is coming up here on business next week, so we’ll go out for dinner. And the other guys, well, they are flying in. So where’s your point?“

When AJ didn’t say anything, Stef shrugged her shoulders, gave him a grin, and said, “That’s what I thought. Other than you guys, all my good friends are here. I haven’t seen everyone else in so long, I don’t even know them anymore.“

“And that is partly your fault.“

Letting out a sigh, Stef shrugged once more.

“Maybe it is. But this is my home now. Did you make sure to let the guys know not to let anything about this party slip? I don’t need crazy fans on my doorstep.“ AJ chuckled at the sudden change of subject, but didn’t say anything about it.

Later that night, they were cuddled up on the couch in Stef’s living room, watching Dirty Dancing for the millionst time. It was part of the ritual when they got to spend some quiet time alone.

“Remember how we drove our mothers crazy by listening to that soundtrack over and over and over and over?“ AJ asked with a laugh, twisting a strand of Stef’s hair around his finger.

“Oh man, my mom still rolls her eyes when she hears Time Of My Life on the radio.“ Stef chuckled. She and AJ had snuck into the movie even though they were not old enough to see it at the time, and as soon as they’d walked out of the theatre, they’d thrown all their money together and bought the soundtrack. Then, they’d listened to it non-stop, and tried to dance dirty like they did in the movie.

Johnny’s and Baby’s first night together flickered across the screen, and Stef heard AJ laugh softly once more.

“What’s so funny?“ she wanted to know, and froze when she heard his answer.

“Oh, I just remembered how we made that promise that if we turn 25 and are still virgins, we’ll sleep with each other. What were we thinking, Stef? First of all, we were what, 10? We shouldn’t have thought about that in the first place. And then, 25? We shoulda made it 21. Then again, that wouldn’t have worked out, either.“ He laughed again, and Stef forced herself to laugh with him. She had totally forgotten about that stupid promise. And now here she was, two days before her 25^th. And a virgin.

“I was 16,“ AJ continued, while Stef prayed who would just shut the hell up and watch the damn movie. “And you were what, 18?“

Sitting up, Stef gave him a confused look.

“Why do you think I was 18?“ she asked, wondering why he was saying that. They never talked about their sex lives. Well, they did, but Stef had never told him that she was still a virgin. She never went into detail, and AJ never pushed her about it.

“You and Eric did it, didn’t you?“

“No, whatever gave you that idea?“

“Eric told me.“

“He WHAT?!“ Stef sat up straight. Eric. That asshole just kept haunting her. Like it wasn’t bad enough she’d left Orlando because of him, no, he’d gone and told everyone lies about her!

“He told me he was your first. What, he wasn’t?“

“Oh hells no!“ Stef exclaimed. “Eric was the biggest mistake of my life, who knows what I would’ve caught if I had slept with him. He fucked everything with a skirt, why do you think I left him?“

AJ stared at her in shock for a moment. “Why didn’t you tell me? I never knew about that!“

“Aje, you were on tour in Europe, and you were just making it here, and you were so busy, I didn’t want to bug you with my shit.“

“Your shit?“ AJ half yelled. “Stef, you’re my best friend, you’re SUPPOSED to bug me with your shit!“

He leaned back on the couch and crossed his arms over his chest. The movie was forgotten, and AJ was pouting. Sighing, Stef knelt next to him.

“Alex...“

“No!“

“Come on, listen to me, please...“

“Oh no, please, don’t bug me with your shit,“ he said, his voice thick with sarcasm. Leaning close to him, Stef kissed his temple. It was their way of saying sorry, but obviously it didn’t work this time as AJ pulled away.

“Alex, look, it was all very hard on me back then...“

Once again, he cut her off. “That’s why you should’ve talked to me!“

Now, Stef got angry as well. Couldn’t he at least let her finish? “Alright, let me see,“ she started, glaring down on him. “You were in Europe, and it was important that you were there, right? But I knew that if I told you about Eric, you’d be on the next flight home to kick his ass. And don’t say that’s not true, Nick told me how you almost came home to go to prom with me when Eric and I got in a fight a week before.“

“Well, you could’ve told me when I was home,“ AJ replied, still pouting, but beginning to forgive her.

“I didn’t want to talk about it anymore, it hurt too much. I’m sorry I never told you.“

A moment of silence passed. When AJ looked at her with that grin on his face, Stef knew he’d forgiven her.

“So if Eric wasn’t your first, who was? Don’t tell me that slimy Mikey guy!“

Sitting back down, Stef shook her head. He wouldn’t shut up about this now. So should she lie? Tell him the truth? Or just pray he would give up?

“No, not him.“

“Hm.... Craig!“

“Nope.“

“Oh... What was that other guy’s name... Randy!“

“Wrong.“

“Okay... HA! I know!“

Stef stiffened, but knew he couldn’t possibly know the right answer, so she only gave him a questioning look.

“You and Jeremy were more than just friends and hooked it up that first summer I was gone.“

“No,“ Stef answered, laughing out loud. It was so cute how AJ was trying to find out the answer.

Throwing his hands up in the air, AJ let out a fake sigh of frustration. “Alright, I give up! Tell me who the lucky guy was.“

“Why do you have to know, Aje?“

“Because, I just want to know.“

“So you won’t give up until I tell you?“

“Nope.“

“And if I lie to you just so you shut up?“

“You know you can’t lie to me.“

Stef took a deep breath. She really couldn’t lie to him, and he couldn’t lie to her. It didn’t take five minutes before they felt so bad about it they just had to tell the truth.

“Okay... And you are not gonna laugh?“

“Why would I laugh? Oh no, it wasn’t that guy who was obsessed with you, was it? Darren?“

Shaking her head, Stef laughed out loud.

“Definitely not Darren. And if you laugh, you die. I, uh, well, how do I say this...“

“Straight out I guess,“ AJ told her when she stopped in the middle of her sentence. Giving him a glare, Stef took another deep breath.

“I’m a virgin,“ she finally blurted out, and stared at her hands.

AJ didn’t say anything for a moment, but then, he laughed.

“Yeah right, Stef, funny. Now tell me the truth.“

Looking up, Stef met his eyes.

“Shit...“ AJ mumbled. He could see it in her eyes that she was telling him the truth.

“But, I mean, why?“

Now, it was Stef’s turn to laugh. “Do you really want me to get technical about it?“

“No, but Stef! You always had boyfriends!“

“That doesn’t mean I slept with them.“

“But why not?“

“Because I wasn’t in love with them.“

“But...“ AJ cut himself off. Yeah, he didn’t have to be in love to have sex. But he knew Stef, and he knew that to her, sex and love were inseperable. And he also knew that Stef had been madly in love before. He’d thought it was Eric, since her behavior had started changing a couple of weeks before they started dating. She’d even told him she was madly in love with a great guy. Eric, there had been no question about it to him. Could it be...

“You weren’t in love with me, were you?“ he asked straight out. There was no sense in beating around the bush.

“What?!“ Stef exclaimed, almost laughing. “No, Aje, I don’t want to hurt your ego, but no.“

“Then who was it when you told me you were so in love you couldn’t see straight?“

Stef was silent, and turned her attention back to the TV. After thinking about asking her until he got an answer for a moment, he decided to leave her alone. He’d pushed her enough for one night.

When AJ got up the next morning, or noon rather, he found a note from Stef on the kitchen table, telling him she’d meet him at the airport to pick up the guys later. AJ turned on the radio, and started the coffee. A smile crept over his lips when the song was over, and he heard Stef’s voice.

“Now, for Sarah from Brooklyn, I Want It That Way by the Backstreet Boys. It’s been a while since I heard that song, maybe I’ll get the deeper meaning behind it now. Enjoy!“

AJ’s grin grew bigger when she said that. When he first played the song for her over the phone, she’d told him she loved it, but didn’t get the lyrics. For a while, that had been their only topic, until he admitted that they really didn’t make sense.

Now that he heard her on the radio, doing her job as a DJ, he could understand how she’d felt when he and the guys first started appearing on TV. An idea popped into his head, and he picked up the phone to dial the number of the studio.

Stef jumped a little when one of the lamps on the phone next to her started blinking. No one had told her they’d actually put callers through to her today, but since the song was over anyway, she said, “I have a caller, so let’s see who this is. Hey, this is Stef, who are you?“

“Hey Stef, this is Alex.“

Stef froze. How could he do this? He had something up his sleeve, and she knew it.

“Hello Alex, where are you calling from?“ she asked, knowing very well it was her apartment.

“Manhattan, but I’m really from Orlando, like you.“ She could tell by his voice he was trying to tease her, and that feeling he was up to no good got stronger.

“That’s cool. So what can I do for ya?“

“I only want to remind my best friend of a promise we made years ago, and I want to dedicate a song to her.“

Squeezing her eyes shut, Stef asked, “What song’s that?“

“Like A Virgin by Madonna.“

“ALEXANDER!“ Stef yelled, clamping her hand over her mouth when she realized they were live on the air.

“Yes, Stefanie?“ he asked with a chuckle, and Stef sighed. She knew she had to say something about this now, or her boss would be pissed for yelling at a listener.

“Well everybody, what can I say, this is my best friend, and you all know him. AJ McLean from the Backstreet Boys. Aje, are you trying to get me fired?“ she asked, seeing how one of the audio engineers chuckled.

“Would you come back to Orlando if you got fired?“

“No.“

“Then I’m not trying to get you fired.“

“Thank you, you’re too kind.“

“I know, I know. So Stef, you do remember that promise, right?“

“You’re not letting me forget, dear.“

“Your birthday is tomorrow.“

“I know that. So anyway, are there any plans for a new Backstreet album in the near future?“

AJ laughed before he answered. “You know that there are, I told you last night.“

“Funny, AJ. Care to let the listeners know about those plans?“

“We’re planning on starting to record this summer, and hope to be able to release it around spring next year. About our promise, Stef...“

“AJ, please stop. You know everybody will be all over me already because you had to go and dedicate that song to me.“

Stef closed her eyes, and rubbed her hands over her face. This was just great, just the kind of story tabloids and Internet mailing lists would love.

“I could tell everyone about our promise...“ she heard AJ say, and her eyes flung open again.

“NO!“

“Come on, you know everyone will want to know, so I can just as well them now. Here’s the deal, everybody. When Stef and I were little, she was obsessed with Madonna. I mean, OBSESSED. And she was constantly singing Like A Virgin. Somehow, I don’t remember exactly, I made her promise me that if I’m a rich and famous star by the time we both turn 25, she’ll record that song. She’s turning 25 tomorrow, and I think I’m a star...“

“You’re stuck up, that’s what you are,“ Stef told him, amazed at how he’d come up with that story so quickly. “And by the way, the promise was about both of us being rich and famous by the time we’re 25, and you know that I am far from that.“

She heard AJ chuckle, and knew he was getting her drift. How could he not? They could probably talk for hours, and no one would have an idea what they were really talking about. It had been like that since they were little.

“You are getting famous though, look at you, being on the air in the middle of the day.“

“Can we discuss this later please?“ Stef asked, biting her lip to keep herself from laughing out loud. He was just too much for her, but in a good way. Someone waved a Madonna CD at her, and she quickly put it in the CD player.

“You have to keep your promise though, Stef,“ AJ whined, and Stef sighed.

“Oh just stop being such a big baby,“ she told him, seeing that all the engineers were laughing like crazy by now. This was probably a first, a DJ telling a Backstreet Boy off, and kicking him off the air. “Now here’s your song, and I’ll see you later.“

“Bye, bye, baby,“ AJ half sang, and Stef laughed before she turned on the CD player.

Before the show was over, Stef had a note from her boss on the table. He wanted to see her before she left. This can’t be good, she thought, and only reluctantly left the small studio when her show was over.

Trotting down the hall, she already said goodbye to her job inwardly. This was it. She hadn’t been professional enough. When she knocked and stepped into her bosses office though, she was in for a big surprise.

“Stef!“ he called happily, and offered her a chair and something to drink. Once they were both sitting, Stef played with her coffee mug nervously before she asked, “So, uh, why did you want to talk to me?“

“Your show was great! You know, two minutes after you started talking to AJ, we had 100% more listeners than before! This is great! How come you never told us he’s your friend?“

Stef sighed. This was why she’d never told anyone. She didn’t want everybody to treat her different because of who her best friend was, she wanted to get this job because she was a good journalist and DJ. Most certainly, she didn’t want to have to call AJ every day just so people would listen to her show. Of course she couldn’t tell her boss all that though.

“I, uh, I don’t know, I don’t really tell many people,“ was all she said, and he nodded.

“Yeah, I can see why I suppose. But this was great! I loved how it was so easy to hear you two are very good friends. How long have you know each other?“ he wanted to know.

“Since we were six,“ Stef mumbled, slouching back in her chair. This was the point where he’d ask her to call AJ more on the air.

“Great,“ he said. “I can imagine you don’t want your private life dragged into this. But that promise, if you really do it, we would love to have AJ on the show, and to play what you recorded.“

Stef groaned inwardly. This was great. Now everyone would be on her back about AJ’s made up promise, and AJ would not stop hounding her about the real promise. His call during the show had only proven he was serious about it.

“Sure, I could talk to him about it,“ she finally answered, not making any promises. There had been enough of those already.

Grinning when he saw Stef storming towards him in the First Class waiting lounge, AJ waited for her to tell him off. The look on her face clearly showed how angry she was.

“YOU!“ she hissed, sitting down next to him. Oh, she wanted to yell at him. She wanted to kick his ass the way she did when they were younger. But they were in a public place, so that was impossible. “What the fuck were you thinking?“ she asked instead, barely managing to keep her voice low.

“Well did you want the whole world to know about the real promise?“

“No one would’ve known anything about anything if you hadn’t called! What were you, drunk?“

“Determined,“ he replied.

“Stupid!“ Stef leaned back in her chair and threw her hands up in the air. “What am I going to do with you, Aje?“ she asked, resignation in her voice. Leaning closer to her, AJ smiled before answering.

“The question is, what am I going to do with you?“

Sitting up straight again, Stef pushed him away from her hard.

“Nothing,“ she hissed, and turned away from him.

“It WAS a promise, and you never broke one of your promises to me before. Except for that one time when you promised you didn’t like Wesley Crusher on Star Trek, and then I had to find out from Audrey you had a huge crush on him. I still don’t see what you ever saw in him.“

“Alex, do you even know what you’re talking about here?“ she asked, turning to face him.

“Yes, I know exactly what I am talking about here,“ he answered softly.

“You’re my best friend. We didn’t know what we were saying when we made that promise.“

“We know now though,“ AJ groaned in that husky voice that made millions of girls and women in the world swoon. It failed on Stef though. Well, almost.

“Yes, and that’s why the mere thought of it is ridiculous.“

AJ took her hand in his, and brought her wrist up to his lips.

“Is it?“ he murmured, and then kissed the inside of her wrist gently.

“That’s unfair,“ Stef whispered. “You know what a turn-on that is for me.“

“I do. And I know about this, too.“ He reached up and ran his fingertips from her shoulder up to her ear, letting it linger on that spot right behind her earlobe for a second. Leaning closer, AJ whispered, “I know your weak spots, Stef. I could make it perfect for you.“

It took a lot of Stef’s willpower to push his hand away. She was actually feeling turned on, and hated herself for it. How could he make her feel like this? This was AJ!!

“No, you couldn’t,“ she managed to say without her voice shaking. “It’ll only be perfect when I share it with the man I love. And I love you, Aje, but not like that.“

“Who do you love?“

Stef shook her head, and before AJ could start nagging her about it, they heard a voice behind them say, “Excuse us for interrupting your conversation, but we are here now.“

“Rok!“ AJ exclaimed, jumping up to hug his friend while Stef hugged Howie hello.

“Gee, he hasn’t seen you guys in what, a week? He’s acting like it’s been a year,“ Stef told Howie, who laughed and shrugged. More hugs were exchanged, and Stef managed to forget about that stupid promise for a little while.

When AJ was done greeting his friends, he stepped back and watched Stef tease Nick about his new tattoo. Kevin smiled at her when she stepped closer to him, and AJ drew in a sharp breath when he saw Kevin and Stef hug. This couldn’t be, he had to be seeing things! But when he looked into her eyes, he knew it. Nobody else would’ve noticed it, but he did. Kevin was the man she was in love with.

Stef gave AJ a surprised look when he talked Kevin into not taking the limo, and go with him and Stef in her car instead. AJ was sitting in the backseat, something he usually just wouldn’t do, and went through the CD’s Stef had in her car.

“So, uh, you’re staying at the Marriott on Times Square?“ Stef asked, glancing at Kevin. He just looked too damn good for words.

“Yeah, the other hotels didn’t want us this time,“ he answered in that low voice. The voice that had made shivers run down her spine ever since she was 17. She couldn’t remember how it had happened, she’d known him for a pretty long time by then after all. But then one night, when the guys were home on vacation from Europe for a couple of days, it happened. She’d sat outside on the porch with him, and he, the almost 24-year-old, had listened to her 17-year-old ramblings about high school as if it really mattered to him. Then he’d hugged her, and told her everything would be alright, and that had been all it took. Since then, since 8 years, she was in love with him. Her feelings for him ran so deep by now, sometimes, she wondered if maybe it was just comfortable for her to think she loved him so she wouldn’t have to bother with really getting to know other men. Sure, she dated, but it never went deeper. Eric had been the only guy where she’d actually tried to make it work, but after that... She just didn’t want to bother anymore.

Feeling AJ lean up between her and Kevin, she took a deep breath. She couldn’t think like this about Kevin. He and Kristin had gotten divorced the year before because they’d both cheated, and it just hadn’t worked out the way they’d thought it would. He’d started dating a girl he’d met at home only two months ago. And wasn’t she supposed to think bad of him because he’d cheated on his wife anyway? She couldn’t get herself to think bad of him though.

AJ popped a CD into the CD player, but didn’t let Stef see what it was.

“Put it on number 4,“ was all he said, and Kevin leaned over to do so. Stef could smell his aftershave, and felt herself melt inside. Hearing the song start, Stef turned around for a second to shoot AJ a glare.

“Oh no you didn’t!“ she hissed, pressing stop when she realized it was Feellin‘ Love by Paula Cole.

“Hey, I wanted to hear that!“ AJ protested, and Stef shook her head again.

“No you didn’t!“ she repeated, glaring at him in the rearview mirror.

“Yes I did! I still do actually!“

“Alright!“ Kevin spoke up. “Stef, what’s wrong with that song? The beginning sounded like something you’d like.“

“She loves the song, actually,“ AJ told him, and Stef gave him yet another death look in the mirror.

“So where’s the big deal?“ Kevin turned the song back on, and Stef decided not to fight anymore. If she did, AJ would only spill the story behind the song.

“Oh, she just gave me a lap dance to that song for my 21^st birthday,“ AJ said calmly from the backseat.

Stef started coughing, and actually swerved the car for a second. How could he dare to tell anyone about this? The only people who knew about that lap dance were AJ, Audrey, Jeremy, and herself. And nobody else was supposed to ever find out.

“ALEXANDER!“ she snapped once she stopped coughing, blushing a deep red when she realized Kevin was staring at her with his mouth hanging open.

“It was a bet,“ she tried to explain, wanting to die right there on the spot.

“Yeah,“ AJ piped up from the backseat once more. “You know how you guys got strippers for my birthday party, Kev? On tour? I told Stef about it, and she said she wouldn’t get strippers for the party she, Aud, and Jeremy had planned for me. I told you the four of us had a small party when I got home, right?“

“Alex,“ Stef interrupted him, trying hard to concentrate on traffic with Kevin still staring at her. “I don’t think Kevin wants to hear this.“

“He does. Right, buddy?“ AJ didn’t wait for an answer before he continued. “So I told Stef she could strip for me, she said in your dreams, and I said that I think she probably can’t strip as well as a pro anyway. Of course that got her pissed off, I told Jeremy about it, he pissed her off more, and we had a bet.“

“Which you lost,“ Stef threw in, hoping this was all just a bad dream.

“Yeah, I lost,“ AJ admitted. “You WERE as good as a pro.“

“Thanks, I think,“ Stef said with a chuckle. “And since you are ratting me out here, I will rat you out. AJ and Jeremy had to stand outside his house for 30 seconds. Naked. And there were fans there They all got to see the little bone.“

“LITTLE?!“ AJ exclaimed, and finally, Kevin laughed.

“You two are too much,“ he said, shaking his head. “Don’t start a bet on the size now, please.“

“Well, we have something planned there,“ AJ stated.

Stef blushed furiously once more. Why was he doing this? And in front of Kevin no less! Had he noticed something after all?

“We have nothing planned, you idiot,“ she willed herself to say calmly.

Ignoring her comment, AJ said, “You know, I do have her lap dance on video. It’s at her apartment, you guys should come over later.“

“ALEXANDER! I think you should sleep at the hotel tonight, I think my couch is a AJ free zone from now on.“

“I’ll sleep in your bed then.“

Kevin chuckled, and shook his head again. It was funny to watch those two together. Strangers never knew wether they were brother and sister or longtime lovers. Looking at Stef from the side, Kevin wondered where time had gone. She was turning 25 tomorrow... That meant he’d known her for 10 years already. He would never forget the first time he met her. They had all met at AJ’s house for a barbecue, and Stef had opened the door. He could even remember what she’d worn that day. Denim shorts and a bikini top. Her curly hair had been pulled up in a ponytail, and she’d been laughing about something when she opened. She’d been a little shy at first, especially around him since he was so much older than her, but AJ had soon gotten her to open up to the other guys. It didn’t take long before she became part of the Backstreet family. But especially during the time when he, AJ, and Howie had lived together, he’d started seeing a little sister in her. The last couple of times he’d seen her though, his feelings towards her hadn’t been very brotherly at all.

A satisfied smile on his face, AJ leaned back in his seat. Kevin was studying Stef’s face intently, and that look he’d noticed a couple of times before was there. If the look meant what AJ thought it meant, he would hopefully not have too much trouble going through with his plan.

Knocking on Nick’s door a little later, Stef stepped inside after she heard him yell something that sounded like “Come in!“

Nick was sitting on the bed fumbling with something, and looked up when he heard the door open.

“Stef!“ he yelled. “I thought it was one of the guys! You, uh, turn around.“

Stef did, even though she’d already seen the wrapping paper Nick had been fumbling with. Obviously, this was her birthday present.

“‘K, you can turn back around,“ Nick finally said, and Stef only grinned when she saw a piece of wrapping paper sticking out from under the bed. Nicki had turned from the cute little boy she’d met years ago into an attractive young man with a boyish charm. She could see why all the girls were after him. To her, he was just Nicky though.

“Thank you, dear,“ she said, raising her eyebrow. Nick raised his eyebrow too, and asked, “May I offer you a drink, Miss?“

“Why sure, kind Sir, a Martini would be nice.“

“Of course. How’s the husband and the kids?“

They started giggling, and Nick got a can of Diet Coke out of the minibar for her before they both plopped down on his bed. When Nick had first joined the Backstreet Boys and lived with AJ for a little while, he and Stef had become very close as well. They’d spent many a night just playing Nintendo, and talking about their dreams. AJ had even been a little jealous at first, but he soon got over that.

“So are you ready for your birthday?“ Nick asked, rolling over on his side so he could look at Stef. Sometimes, he thought she hadn’t changed at all in all the years he’d known her. A lot of times, the two of them still acted like the annoying brats that used to drive everyone insane with the practical jokes they played on everybody that would fall for one. For a while, he’d had a huge crush on her. But now, she was one of his best friends, someone who accepted him no matter what he did.

“I don’t know, Nicky,“ she finally answered with a sigh. “I mean, 25! Sometimes I feel like I’m 45, and sometimes, I think I’m 15 again. And sometimes, I just think my life plan didn’t look like this a couple of years ago, you know?“

“I think so. I feel like it sometimes.“ Pausing for a moment, Nick questioned, “What were your plans for 25?“

“Oh I don’t know. I thought I’d be in school to be a lawyer, and married, or engaged at least... And now here I am, single as can be. I think I’m having a midlife crisis.“

Chuckling, Nick shook his head.

“You still have so much time, Stef. Don’t worry.“

“Now YOU sound like you’re 45,“ Stef stated, and they started laughing.

They talked about everything that had happened since they’d last seen each other until the door was flung open, AJ ran in, and threw himself on the bed next to them.

“Kids,“ he started, and was met with groans by Stef and Nick. Since they were always the youngest when they went somewhere, Kevin had started calling them the kids years ago. It still stuck. “We are going to your place, Stef, and we’ll order pizza, drink some wine, and wait until midnight so we can be the first to congratulate you on your birthday.“

“Oh, we’re doing that, huh?“ Stef asked. “What if I don’t want you in my apartment after that litte thing you pulled earlier?“

“Nonsense. Let’s go.“

AJ was off the bed and out of the room before Stef could say anything else. She only shook her head. He’d acted like he was on Speed since first grade, so she was used to it.

“What did he do?“ Nick wanted to know, pulling Stef up off the bed.

“Oh, he just... Told a story I didn’t want anyone to know.“

Nick gave her a questioning look, which she chose to ignore. Knowing AJ, Nick would find out soon anyway.

Nick did find out soon, along with the other Backstreet Boys. Just when Stef had thought AJ had forgotten all about it, he disappeared for a moment, and came back with the tape, which she had carefully hidden in her bedroom. Popping it into the vcr, he turned to Stef and said, “You hid it in the same place where you used to hide your diary. You should know I remember that shit.“

“Alex, I do not want them to see it,“ Stef protested, but AJ held her when she tried to get the tape back out of the vcr. Before Stef had another chance to try and get the tape, she could already hear Jeremy’s voice say, “Well, here we are, waiting to see if Stef can give Alex a lap dance and strip as well as a pro does. This should get interesting.“

“AJ, please,“ Stef tried to plead one last time, but he held her tightly, and fighting was senseless. It was too late when she heard the song start. Knowing he’d won the fight, AJ pulled her over to the loveseat with him and pushed her down to sit on it. Stef only hid her face in her hands, and hoped this would be over soon.

The guys all stared at the TV in shock. That was Stef right there? They had never ever expected her to know how to dance like this!

“Damn,“ Kevin muttered under his breath when he saw Stef stradle AJ, and grind into him as she took her bra off. He completely missed the look AJ shot him. He was too busy not to let it show how much seeing her like this excited him. He only snapped out of his trance like state when the other four started applauding wildly as soon as the video was over.

Finally getting the tape out of the vcr, Stef hissed, “I hate you people.“

Jumping up, Brian hugged her, saying, “Awe, but we love you.“ Letting go of her, he grinned before he added, “And girl, you sure know how to strip.“

The other guys started laughing hysterically while Stef tried to catch Brian to slap him, knock him upside the head, anything. She hunted Brian around the living room for a while, then she stopped abruptly and sat down on the couch.

“People, I’m turning 25 in a couple of hours. I’m too old for this shit,“ she announced, pretending not to care anymore.

“So? I’m getting closer and closer to 30, do you see me care?“ Brian asked, walking over to her. Before he knew what was happening, Stef had tackled him to the floor and was tickling him. She didn’t let go until he started begging for mercy.

“Almost 30,“ she said, straightening her clothes, “and you still don’t know that I never give up.“

This time, Stef was tackled to the floor before she knew what was happening by Nick, and he and Brian tickled her until she was begging for mercy.

AJ looked from Stef, who was squirming on the floor, to Kevin, who had an unreadable expression in his eyes as he laughed. AJ nodded to himself. He wouldn’t sleep here tonight, he had to talk to Kevin. This had to work.

After Stef assured Nick and Brian they were the greatest men in the universe, and every woman, herself included, loved them, they finally let go of her. They ordered pizza, and the rest of the night was spent rather calmly.

At midnight, they serenaded Stef with Happy Birthday, and as usual when they sang for only her, Stef got teary eyed. No matter how many times she’d heard them sing, she would never get used to it. Then they gave her small presents, CD’s and books, which surprised her a little. Not that she didn’t love the presents, but usually, they gave her huge presents. Maybe they’d finally gotten the point she didn’t want expensive stuff from them.

AJ was the last one to hug her when they left.

“You can stay, Aje,“ she told him, but he shook his head with a mysterious smile on his face.

“No, rest up for your big day, baby,“ he answered. Stef looked after him, wondering wether or not he’d ever mention that stupid promise again.

The doorbell rang at 11 sharp the next morning, waking her up. She grabbed the sweater she’d worn the day before from the floor, and pulled it over the tank top she’d slept in as she made her way to the door. The bell was already ringing again.

“Alright, hold your fucking horses already!“ she mumbled under her breath, vowing to herself that if this was the strange old lady from down the hall, she’d kill her. Opening the door a small crack, she croaked, “Yeah?“

“Stef!“ she heard a cheery, distinctively male, voice exclaim. Slamming the door shut, she decided that no one would send her to jail for killing AJ right now. It was her birthday AND her day off. Every jury would agree she’d done the right thing.

The doorbell rang again before she could even unfasten the chain.

“You are going to die!“ she snapped when she opened the door for him again, and turned away to storm to the kitchen. Coffee. She NEEDED coffee.

“I brought you Dunkin‘ Donuts coffee,“ AJ sang behind her, and she twisted around. Holding the cup over his head, AJ said, “Apologize for being so bitchy or you won’t get the coffee.“

“Give me the coffee,“ Stef replied, trying to grab the cup from him.

“Apologize!“

“No! You woke me before noon on my day off, I have every right to be bitchy!“

“No apology, no coffee.“

A hand appeared over AJ’s head, grabbed the cup, and a voice Stef knew too well said, “She’s right, she should kick your ass for waking her so early. Here’s your coffee, Stef.“

Giving Kevin, who had appeared out of nowhere it seemed, a thankful smile, she took the coffee and greedily took the first sip.

“Gee, figures YOU would understand, Kev,“ AJ mumbled, and followed Stef to the kitchen, where she started more coffee.

“So why are you here so early? And AJ, get an ashtray, would you?“

Rolling his eyes, AJ stepped away from the window, where he’d been flipping the ashes at by-passer two floors down, and grabbed an ashtray from the cupboard.

“Why you own those is a mystery to me,“ he told her, “You don’t smoke.“

“But you do. Do you guys want to eat something?“

AJ gave her a naughty grin, at which Stef only rolled her eyes.

“What brings you two here so early anyway?“ she wanted to know.

“We want to invite you to brunch, and then AJ has a little something planned,“ Kevin told her.

Looking at her best friend, Stef waited for his answer.

“Yeah,“ he finally said after a moment. “Helena Rubinstein Spa. You’re there all afternoon.“

“I am WHAT?“ Stef exclaimed. “Alex, do you realize I have a party for 30 people tp prepare here?“

“Catering service,“ he answered simply, taking another drag of his cigarette.

“Are you nuts?“ Stef asked, shaking her head at the rethorical question. “Aje, I can’t afford this. And I already did all the shopping, and...“

“Stef, shut up,“ AJ told her, giving her a loving smile. “It’s our treat, this whole day is. All five of us are giving this to you as your birthday present. You need a whole day to get pampered, okay?“

Stef took a deep breath, and AJ knew she was contemplating wether or not she should accept this. But finally, she shrugged, and simply said, “Thank you.“ She hugged him tightly, and then hugged Kevin before grabbing a new cup of coffee and going to take a shower.

Kevin stared after her. He wasn’t supposed to want to go through with that crazy little plan AJ had told him about. But seeing her in nothing but those tight boxers and a sweater... He wanted her. It was simple as that.

“So?“ AJ asked, as if reading his friend’s thoughts. They’d agreed that Kevin would make a decision before brunch, and AJ could tell he’d come to a decision.

“Alright,“ Kevin answered slowly. “I still think this whole thing is insane, and I think she’ll kick us out, but...“

He didn’t have to finish. The smile on AJ’s face told him he understood.

Standing in front of her closet after she got out of the shower, Stef sipped her coffee and tried to decide on what to wear. Where were they taking her to brunch? AJ had looked like... Well, like AJ. But he went everywhere, even to the most expensive restuarants, looking as if he was about to rob a bank. Kevin... He’d been in dark blue jeans and a black turtleneck, and that winter coat he’d been wearing... Shaking the thought of how damn good he’d looked out of her head, she looked out of the window. It was only March, and it looked as if it was about to snow. Smiling to herself, she grabbed a black skirt that went down to her knees, and a soft, aquamarine turtleneck, knowing the color would bring her eyes out. The knee-high boots would make the outfit look perfect. It was her birthday. She had every right to dress up.

Obviously, her choice in clothes had been good, as the guys all complimented her on the outfit. AJ, Kevin, and Stef met the other guys at a nice small restaurant near Central Park, and after a wonderful brunch, AJ led Stef outside to the limo that took her to the Spa. She felt a little out of place at first, seeming to be the only working woman among all the rich ladies who lived on 5^th Avenue, but then, she decided she was obviously the only one who really deserved this. The whirlpool felt wonderful, the massage felt better, and after a make up artist asked her what she’d wear tonight and did her make up in matching colors, she felt great. This was definitely one of the best birthday presents anyone had ever given her.

By the time she got back to her apartment, there was only one hour left until the party. Not that she cared, she only had to throw her dress and some other shoes on, and she was ready. And if the catering service was as good as AJ had promised, she really didn’t have anything to worry about.

Walking into her apartment, she could smell delicious food cooking, and saw that her living room looked completely different than it had before she’d left this morning. She’d cleaned last weekend, but this... All the furniture had been moved aside so there was enough room to dance, and flowers were everywhere.

Howie came running from the back, calling, “Stef!! You weren’t supposed to be here yet! We didn’t expect you yet!“

“Oh, so that’s why the limo driver wanted to drive in the opposite direction of where we had to go,“ Stef answered with a chuckle. “You look great, How,“ she complimented him, and he gave her a small grin. He did look great in those black slacks and the dark green silk shirt, the perfect picture of a Latin Lover.

“You don’t have to compliment me, you’re still early.“

“And you still look great.“

“Thanks... So do you.“

“And I haven’t changed yet. Where is everybody?“

Passing the kitchen, Stef saw the people from the catering servie putting the finishing touches on the buffet.

“Stef, you really shouldn’t go...“ Howie tried to keep her from walking into her bedroom, but it was too late. She’d already opened the door.

“What the...“ Stef started, but she couldn’t finish. Her voice left her completely.

Nick jumped out in front of her, and covered her eyes. That made her snap out of her shock, and she quickly drew his hands away from her face.

“Nick, do you know what you guys paid for this make up?“ she asked, and then stared at her room in awe again. There were red, soft pink, and white roses everywhere. Even her bed was covered in rose petals.

“It was AJ’s idea,“ Nick started to explain. “He said you always wanted a room full of roses.“

“I did...“ Stef stammered. Tears were brimming in her eyes. In all these years she’d known the guys, they had made her feel special at many occassions. But never like this.

“Do you like it?“ Nick asked, and she nodded slowly.

“You guys...“ she finally brought out. “This has got to be the best birthday of my life!“ She hugged Nick first, since he was standing right next to her, and then the rest of the guys. What a perfect day, she thought. And AJ hadn’t mentioned the damn promise all day.

When she finally got to change, it was almost time for the first guests, other than the guys, to arrive. Zipping the short dark green silk dress she’d bought only two weeks ago up, she smiled at herself in the mirror. This dress had cost a fortune, but it was well worth it. It stopped about 3 inches above her knee, and when she moved, the skirt flowed around her thighs. The neckline did dip a little low for her standards, but the dress just hugged her body so perfectly she hadn’t even cared about that in the store.

A soft knock on the door made her look up, and she smiled when Kevin stepped inside after she told him to come on.

“Hey, someone just got...“ He stopped in midsentence and stared at her. He’d thought she’d looked amazing earlier. But now... Finding his speech again, he finished his sentence. “Someone just got here.“

“Thanks, Kev,“ she said, and sprayed some perfume on before she walked out of the room. Taking her hand as she passed him, Kevin murmured, “You look great.“

Stef felt hot flushes go through her when she heard him speak like that. Raising her head to meet his eyes, she whispered, “Thank you.“ She cursed herself for losing her voice like some kind of obsessed fan, but didn’t have much more time to think about it when she heard Brian call for her.

The party went perfect. Alcohol flowed freely, the food was great, the music was great, and everyone had a wonderful time. It seemed to Stef that AJ drank less than usual, but she was too busy with her other guests to really give it a second thought. She danced a lot, and when Kevin took her hand after she’d danced with Nick, she felt nervous for the first time that night. She didn’t know why he made her so nervous all of a sudden. She’d been in love with him for so long, and it wasn’t exactly the first time they danced together. Hell, they’d danced at his wedding! But when they’d danced before, his hand had never put so much pressure on the small of her back, he’d never held her so close, she’d never felt his heart beat against her chest. When the song was over, she stepped away from him slowly. Something was going on here, something was different, and it made her panic. Luckily, a guy she worked with came up to her right then and askled her for the next dance.

Kevin went to the small bar that had been set up in the corner and grabbed a bottle of whiskey, but then he put it back down. He didn’t want to be drunk later. But damn, he needed a drink badly right now! Turning around to watch Stef and that guy dance, he inhaled deeply. AJ’s plan had to work. It had to, or he’d go crazy.

It was almost 3 am by the time everyone but the Backstreet Boys had left. Throwing her high heels into a corner, Stef let herself plop down on the couch next to Nick, who was rather drunk. He leaned against her, and Stef ran her hands through his hair.

“You okay, Nicky?“ she asked softly, and he grunted.

“Why don’t you ever get drunk?“ he slurred, making her laugh.

“Because I’ve seen all you guys drunk so many times, I know how unattractive that is.“ Knowing that one got him everytime, she grinned when he sat up.

“I’m not una... I’m cute, ask the girls who write those stories about me on the int... online. They want me.“

“Yeah, they all want your body bad, I know, Nicky. But now, you should get that cute body of yours to the hotel and to bed. Okay?“

“‘kay,“ he answered, letting her pull him up from the couch. Brian, who was buzzed but not drunk, helped her carry him to the door. Leaning him against the wall, he called, “AJ, Kevin! We’re leaving!“

Howie was already standing next to Brian, ready to help him carry Nick downstairs, when AJ appeared.

“Kevin passed out in the bathtub,“ he announced. “I think we’re staying here. If that’s alright with you, Stef...“

Shrugging, Stef nodded.

“Sure, whatever. As long as I get to sleep in my bed, I don’t care.“

AJ nodded, and disappeared again.

Stef helped Howie and Brian with getting Nick into the limo, and then hurried back upstairs. It was freezing out, and her little dress didn’t exactly keep her warm.

The living room lights were off when she got back upstairs, but Stef didn’t really waste a second thought on it. She only wanted to make herself some tea, get that make up off her face, and go to bed. She put on the electric kettle, told AJ, who was in the kitchen, to watch it, and then went to the bathroom. The shower curtain was closed, and since she thought Kevin was passed out anyways, she quickly stripped out of her dress before she started washing her face and brushed her teeth. She grabbed a sweatshirt from her dresser and pulled it over her head before she went back into the kitchen.

AJ pushed past her wordlessly, but Stef didn’t care. He got weird when he drank, and even when he wasn’t drunk, she was used to strange behavior from him. Adding some honey to her tea, she heard footsteps behind her, and asked, “Why did you run out now, Aje?“ Turning around, her breath caught in her throat. Standing before her wasn’t AJ. It was Kevin.

“I, I thought you... AJ said you... I...“

“I’m not drunk,“ Kevin cut off her ramblings. “I was only looking for an excuse to stay here.“

“But...“ She didn’t get any further. Kevin pressed his lips to hers, and kept her from saying anything else.

“Kevin, what...“ she started again when he broke the kiss, but stopped when she felt his one hand on the side of her face, while the other reached down to cup her behind.

“Do you even know what you’ve been doing to me all night?“ he asked, his voice as low as it had been earlier. “First that dress, and now nothing but those cute panties and the sweatshirt... I gave that shirt to you long time ago.“ Staring into her eyes, a groan escaped him, and he pressed his lips to hers once more. Stef had been too confused to kiss him back the first time, but this time, it just felt too good. Starting to kiss him back, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed herself against him. This was what she had been dreaming about for years. She didn’t care he had a new girlfriend, she didn’t care about anything but his lips on hers, hit tongue tangling with hers.

Running his hands under her sweatshirt, Kevin moaned when he felt her soft skin for the very first time. How could he not have seen what was right in front of him any sooner? When AJ had told him last night that Stef was in love with him, he’d thought AJ had finally lost it. And when AJ had told him about the promise and his plan, he’d been about to call the white coats. But then, he’d thought about it a little more. Maybe there had been little signs all along, and he’d only misinterpreted them. And he had to admit he’d thought about her as more than a friend lately, even when he first met Diana. AJ’s plan... His friend had convinced him that Stef would either go along, or kick them out. Right now, it seemed as if she was going along... Feeling her fingers run through his hair, he moaned again. Maybe the plan wasn’t so good after all. He wanted her to himself. But that was not AJ’s plan.

Stef froze when she felt hands on her hips. That was not possible, Kevin’s hands were on her back, under her shirt...

“Relax,“ she heard a voice she knew too well whisper next to her ear. Breaking the kiss with Kevin, Stef took a deep breath before asking, “What the hell is going on?“

Pressing himself against her from behind, AJ kissed that spot behind her ear, smiling when he felt her shiver lightly.

“Our promise, Stef. We’ll keep our promise. And you will share your first time with the man you love.“

Staring at Kevin, Stef shook her head slowly. They couldn’t mean this. There was no way! Feeling AJ turn her around to him slowly, she shook her head again.

“You trust me, right?“ he asked, and she nodded mutely. “And I have never made you do anything you didn’t want, right?“ Stef nodded again. AJ’s fingertips found the spot on her neck, and he softly whispered, “If you want to stop at any time, just let us know, and we will.“ Nodding once more, Stef felt as if any intelligence had left her mind. She wasn’t even able to form a sentence. She knew that the right thing was to kick those two out. But feeling Kevin right behind her, his hands under her shirt, caressing her stomach, and AJ right in front of her, placing soft kisses all over her neck, she didn’t care what was right and was was wrong. This FELT right, and that was all that mattered.

Kevin pulled Stef tighter against him when he felt that her knees were about to give out. Turning her face to him gently, he caught the sigh that escaped her with his lips.

“Let’s take this to the bedroom,“ they heard AJ say, and before Stef had the chance to protest, Kevin had picked her up and carried her down the hall.

Her head was spinning. She didn’t even really know if this was a dream or if this was reality. Kevin softly lay her down on her bed, in the middle of the rose petals, and then, she felt AJ lay down beside her. He smiled at her, and reached behind her to undo her ponytail. Twisting a curly strand of soft hair around his finger, he pulled her face closer to his.

“Aje...“ Stef whispered, shivers running down her spine as her lips brushed his when she spoke. “Are you sure?“ That was all she could get out. A million questions were on her mind, but are you sure was the only one she could ask.

“I am,“ AJ murmured, and lowered his head to kiss the base of her throat. Stef felt someone lay down behind her, and closed her eyes when she felt Kevin’s hand on her waist. “Kevin is,“ AJ continued, his voice nothing but a low whisper. As if to underline his friend’s words, Kevin pushed Stef’s hair aside and kissed the back of her neck, stopping to nibble lightly.

AJ looked into his best friend‘s eyes again and cupped her face in his hands before saying, “The question is, are you?“

She felt AJ’s breath on her face, while Kevin’s fingertips were tracing small circles on her skin, and his lips were still caressing the back of her neck. She knew she was probably insane for wanting this as much as she did right now, but it didn’t matter when she breathed her answer.

“I’m sure.“

AJ smiled and ran his thumb over her lips before he kissed her. It was a strange feeling at first. They often kissed each other on the lips, but this was different. It had been over 10 years since they had kissed each other like this. The tip of his tongue traced her lips, and with a soft moan, she opened her mouth and let him deepen the kiss.

Kevin pressed against her tighter when he saw the kiss AJ and Stef shared. It was slow, sensual, and he could tell that those two trusted each other completely. This wasn’t the first time he and AJ had shared a girl. But it was the first time that he saw AJ getting completely lost in a kiss. Running his hand down Stef’s stomach and to the wasitband of her panties, he drew in a sharp breath when Stef covered his hand with hers and guided him to where she wanted to feel him the most right now. He moaned when he felt the already soaked front of her satin panties.

Hearing his friend moan, AJ reluctantly broke the kiss.

“Where did you learn to kiss like that?“ he asked Stef huskily, and she gave him a lazy smile.

“You were my first kiss, Aje.“

After kissing her again, AJ whispered, “And I will be your first man. I will have you. I want to know what it feels like to be buried deep inside of you.“

Stef groaned, and pushed back against Kevin. It was only now that AJ realized his friend had pushed Stef’s underwear down her hips by now, and his hand was slowly moving between her thighs.

When AJ made no attempt to kiss her again, Stef rolled over and pulled Kevin’s face to hers. Somewhere in the back of her mind she noticed that AJ had gotten off the bed, but soon, she felt him behind her again. Sucking on Kevin’s tongue, she smiled when she felt his hardness press against her.

She was going to protest when AJ pulled her away from Kevin, but all protests died when she realized AJ was naked behind her.

“You’re still wearing too much,“ he groaned next to her ear, pulling her up into a kneeling position. He pulled her sweatshirt over her head and tossed it to the floor quickly. Her already hard nipples hardened even more when the cool air hit them, and a shiver ran down her spine.

“Better,“ AJ breathed, his eyes locking with Kevin’s for a moment. When the eye contact broke, AJ ran his hands down her body until his fingertips found her clit. Stef arched against him, and he grinned when he saw Kevin lick his lips.

Moving to kneel in front of Stef, Kevin cupped her breasts before leaning down to take her one nipple in his mouth while rolling the other in between his fingers gently. Stef let her head fall back against AJ’s shoulder, and just let the sensations take over her body.

Holding onto Kevin’s shoulders for support, she felt his shirt under her fingers.

“Kev,“ she said softly, making him look up at her. The sight of him kneeling in front of her like this, his face flushed, his lips moist, was almost enough to make her cum right there. “You’re the only one who’s still dressed,“ she whispered. “That’s not fair.“

“I guess it’s not, huh?“ he asked with a smirk, his voice husky. He kissed her deeply before climbing off the bed.

AJ’s hands roamed her body while Kevin stood in front of the bed, stripping for her. The whole situation was so erotic, Stef couldn’t believe it was really happening.

“Leave the boxers on,“ she suddenly heard AJ say from behind her, and turned to look at him. “I said I will have you,“ AJ explained, giving her one of his famous half smiles. “Just to make sure, he has to keep his boxers on.“

Stef frowned, but when Kevin got back on the bed and pressed his naked chest against her back, the frown was soon replaced by a content smile.

Sitting down at the head of the bed, Kevin pulled Stef down so she lay half on his chest, half between his legs.

“It’s alright,“ he whispered into her ear. “I can still have you later.“ He picked up one of the rose petals and started tracing wild patterns on her skin with it, and Stef relaxed completely.

The sight before him made AJ even harder, and he knew he couldn’t wait much longer. Laying down in between Stef’s legs, he smiled when he saw how wet she was. His hands massaged her thighs when he leaned down, and ever so slowly licked up and down her slit. Stef moaned loudly, her back arched, and AJ’s smile grew bigger.

Stef just stopped thinking. Kevin was kissing her neck and shoulders, his hands played with her breasts and massaged her stomach, and AJ’s tongue was playing with her clit. Every so often, she felt him trace his tongue piercing over her clit, making her moan every time. When AJ pushed a finger into her wetness, she let out a low scream. Never in her life had she expected it to be like this.

Her eyes flung open when AJ just stopped, and she got a little nervous when she saw that he had gotten a condom out. Kevin moved so her head was resting on his stomach, and AJ covered her body with his. Pushing two fingers back inside of her, AJ softly asked, “Are you still sure?“

All she could do was nod. She had never been more sure about anything in her life. AJ kissed her, and then entered her carefully. It stung for a second, but then, the feeling of being so filled by him sent jolts of pleasure through her like never before. Not moving, AJ covered her face with small kisses and let her get used to the feeling.

Moaning when Stef moved her hips against his, AJ grabbed her and held her tight.

“Don’t,“ he brought out hoarsely, “Don’t, or I’m gonna cum right now.“ Being inside of her was amazing. She was so tight, and hot, and wet, and he could feel her inner muscles trying to milk him; he knew he wouldn’t last too long. Hearing a desperate groan from above him, AJ looked up and met Kevin’s eyes, and knew his friend didn’t feel much different.

“I need to touch her,“ Kevin whispered. Nodding, AJ wrapped Stef’s legs around his waist and stood up on his knees. Starting to thrust in and out of Stef slowly, he clenched his eyes shut when she picked up his rhythm immidiately. When he opened his eyes again, he saw that Stef had her eyes closed, and dug her fingers into Kevin’s thighs while Kevin was teasing her nipples.

Hearing Stef whisper his name, Kevin leaned down to hear her better.

“What, baby?“ he asked softly, and she took his hand in hers.

“I need you to help me cum,“ she answered, her voice merely above a whisper. He understood. His fingertip found her clit, and she let out a loud moan. Matching his rhythm with AJ’s, he knew it wouldn’t be long before Stef exploded.

And it wasn’t. AJ felt her tighten around him even more, and it was too much for him. Letting out a low scream, he leaned down and kissed her, hard, pounding into her like a madman as he came. Stef bit down on his lower lip, clinging to him as her own orgasm shook her.

Kevin moved out from under Stef and lay next to her and AJ, his erection still throbbing while AJ looked as if he’d passed out, and Stef was trying to start breathing normal again. He started staring at the ceiling, trying to figure out what to do now.

“I want candy,“ he suddenly heard Stef say, and looked at her.

“You what?“ he asked, thinking he hadn’t heard right.

“I want candy. Chocolate.“

AJ, who hadn’t passed out after all, chuckled and got off the bed.

“And I suppose you want something to drink, too, huh?“ he asked, and Stef nodded. There was that best friend sparkle in their eyes again, nothing like the pure lust between them only minutes ago.

“Yes. Something to drink and candy.“

“I’ll go get it,“ AJ said, and pulled on his boxers before he left the room.

Stef rolled over, and looked at Kevin. Her eyes wandered down his body, and she involuntarily licked her lips when she saw that Kevin was still hard. Pushing against him, she whispered, “You poor thing. Had to watch the whole time, and no one cared about you.“

Their lips met, and a groan formed in the back of Kevin’s throat when her hand wandered down his body, and pushed down his boxers. Before he really knew what was happening, she felt her fingers wrap around his hardness.

“Stef, we...“ he started, but her lips on his silenced him. She started jerking him off slowly, sucking on his tongue, and rubbing her breasts against his chest. When he felt he was about to come, he held her hand for a second and gave her a questioning look. She only smiled, and started moving her hand up and down his shaft again.

“I’m gonna cum...“ he muttered, and moaned into her mouth when they kissed again. Spurting into her hand moments later, he felt like a teenager all over. Cradling her in his arms, he pulled her to him and closed his eyes.

Moments later, the bed bounced, and they heard AJ say, “What did I miss here?“

Kevin and Stef exchanged a look, grinned, and at the same second, they said,

“Nothing.“

Taking a drag of his cigarette, AJ raised his eyebrow. He pretty much had an idea of what had happened, he’d heard Kevin all the way to the kitchen after all. But that was none of his business.

Holding out a plate with chocolate cake and a glass of milk, he laughed when Stef reached for both greedily.

“Happy birthday, Stef,“ he said, and kissed her lips softly before Kevin took the plate with the chocolate cake and started feeding it to her.

Waking up the next morning, Stef froze for a second when she felt herself sandwiched in between two warm bodies. Then she remembered the night before, and let out a deep sigh. It had been wonderful. Now she only had to wonder if this would ruin their friendship or not.

Opening her eyes when she felt someone placing soft kisses on her spine, she sighed and opened her eyes. She was facing Kevin, who was still holding her as tightly as he had when she fell asleep.

“Morning, Aje,“ she whispered, and felt him chuckle against her skin.

“This is weird, huh?“ he asked, but didn’t stop kissing up and down her spine.

“What’s weird?“ a sleepy Kevin asked, and AJ chuckled again. Kevin didn’t even have his eyes open, so Stef studied his features closely. She’d never seen him as relaxed as right now before – He looked more beautiful than ever.

“This whole situation,“ AJ answered, and turned Stef’s head lightly so he could lean over her and kiss her.

“Eeeeeeewwwwwww!“ Stef exclaimed, pushing him away. Kevin’s eyes flung open, and both men stared at her in shock.

“What?!“ AJ wanted to know.

“You taste like a fucking ashtray! Go brush your teeth before you try this again! Smoker morning breath is a killer.“

Climbing off the bed, AJ pouted and mumbled something incoherent under his breath. Stef stretched, and grabbed something from the nightstand before she turned back to Kevin. He gave her an amused look when she held something up to his lips, and said, “Here, take this.“

“What’s that?“

“Breathsaver.“

Kevin laughed out loud, but took it from her before pulling her close to him again. He’d been a little afraid the situation would be awkward in the morning. But Stef was just the same as always. Except for the fact she was lying naked in his arms... And he wanted to kiss her bad.

“Did you get one?“ he asked softly. She shook her head, making him smile. “We can share,“ he murmured before he kissed her. They started playing with the mint, pushing it back and forth until it was gone. That didn’t make them stop kissing though, instead, their kiss grew even more passionate. Soon, Kevin had rolled her over on her back and was grinding his hips into hers. His hands were roaming her body, while Stef caressed the back of his neck, his spine, or played with his hair.

Suddenly though, Stef stopped and looked up, almost as if she’d felt AJ’s eyes watching them. Metting his eyes, she simply said, “Come here.“

But AJ shook his head. He knew he didn’t belong here anymore. He knew that from now on, he and Stef were best friends, and not lovers, again. But she and Kevin... They could be good together, he thought.

“I’ll go to the diner at the corner. You can join me for breakfast later.“

He nodded and smiled when Kevin gave him a thankful look, and left the bedroom.

Staring down into Stef’s eyes, a smile spread on Kevin’s lips.

“I’ve been wanting to be alone with you since last night,“ he whispered, kissing her lips softly. Stef’s heart skipped a beat. Why did he want to be alone with her? Just for a fuck? Or could it be that he... No, she thought. There’s no way he cares about me like that.

“You need to stop thinking and worrying so much,“ she heard Kevin whisper, and met his eyes. He was still smiling down on her, his fingers tangled in her hair.

“I’m not,“ Stef tried to protest, but he chuckled and shook his head.

“I’ve known you too long to believe that. I know that look you get. When you worry, there’s a line right here.“ He kissed the spot in between her eyebrows, and then continued to nuzzle her face. “And your chin gets that determined look.“ He bit her chin lightly, and Stef let out a deep sigh.

“My chin gets a determined look?“ she asked teasingly, and he met her eyes again. This was all so unbelievable. How did she end up here? Wrapped tightly in his arms, under him – Naked under him.

“Very determined,“ Kevin answered. “And you know what I’m determined to do?“ He leaned down to kiss her neck, and then slowly kissed a path down to her chest.

When he reached her breasts, he looked up at her again. “I’m determined to make you moan and groan like you did last night again.“

Stef bit her lower lip to keep herself from moaning right then, and got an amused look from Kevin in return. He started kissing and licking her breasts, but soon, his mouth wandered down further. Stef stopped him before he reached her center though, and pulled him back up to face her. Looking deeply into his eyes, she whispered, “No. I just want it like this, simple, and slow, and now. With you.“

Groaning, Kevin kissed her hungrily. The times where he’d wondered why he hadn’t seen that she was much more than just his little sister were countless by now. So much time wasted...

Stef made him stop thinking when she wrapped her legs around his waist, and pushed against him. Sinking into her slowly, he let out his breath in a long hiss. He started thrusting in and out of her very slowly, but soon picked up the pace when she met his every thrust eagerly. Her fingers were in his hair, on his neck, his spine, her lips were on his, all his senses were just on her. He didn’t know how much time passed when he felt her bury her face in the crook of his neck, biting him lightly as she came. A strange feeling overcame him when their eyes met, but when she slammed her hips into his hard one last time, all thoughts left his head as he came inside of her.

“Kevin... Kevin...“ Her voice slowly made him open his eyes. Meeting her gaze, he smiled.

“You need to let go of me so I can get in the shower,“ Stef told him softly, running her hands over his forehead before kissing it softly.

Leaning down, Kevin nuzzled the spot in between her breasts and inhaled the scent of her deeply.

“I want to shower with you,“ Kevin mumbled, wrapping his lips around her nipple. It immidiately hardened when he raked his teeth over it carefully, and he smiled against her when she let out a little moan.

“But... But AJ is waiting for us at the diner, we have to hurry,“ Stef murmured. Her body belied her words by pressing against Kevin. Kissing a path down her body as he slowly crawled out of bed, he smiled down on her once he stood in front of her.

“You’re so beautiful,“ he stated softly. He let his eyes wander over her flushed body, saw the love mark one of them had left above her right breast, and a small bruise on her hip where AJ had held onto her last night.

Stef started feeling uncomfortable under his gaze, and stood up in front of him.

Wrapping her arms around his waist, she kissed his neck, and let her tongue flicker across his skin for a second.

“We were pretty rough with you I’m afraid,“ Kevin whispered, surprised to hear Stef chuckle.

“You weren’t,“ she replied. “It was wonderful. And guess what I left here.“ She licked the spot on his neck where she’d bit him earlier. Groaning, Kevin picked her up and carried her to the shower.

AJ was sitting in a booth in the far back of the diner at the corner, the one he and Stef went to all the time when he was in New York. The waitress came to his table and re-filled his coffee mug for the sixth time, and AJ smiled and thanked her like the five times before. Then, looked back down on his book. He wasn’t really reading, he just didn’t want anyone to bother him right now. And he wanted to make himself believe he was busy with something. But he couldn’t concentrate on the book. Where the hell were they? It had been at least an hour and a half since he left the apartment. I’m jealous, he thought, and shook his head. He wasn’t jealous. He was worried. Kevin was dating someone after all. Not that AJ had ever liked Diana too much, he didn’t worry about her. He worried about Stef. When he saw her with Kevin this morning, he realized how deep her feelings for him were. The way she looked at him said it all. And he was pretty sure that Kevin felt something for her, too. Maybe his whole plan had been stupid after all... He shook his head at that. Last night had been amazing, and he was glad he’d been able to share it with Stef.

“Hey you, are you still on this planet?“ Stef’s voice made him look up. She gave him a bright smile, and leaned down to kiss his cheek before Kevin pulled her into the booth next to him. AJ had to grin when he saw them. Stef’s smile was radiant, he’d never seen her like this before in the 20 years he’d known her. Kevin wrapped his arm around her and pulled her to him tightly, kissing the tip of her nose gently. AJ had seen Kevin like this before. It was when he and Kristin had first been married, before the problems started.

“Took you two long enough to get down here,“ AJ said gruffly, but the look in his eyes gave him away.

“We both had to shower, Aje,“ Stef said innocently, trying hard not to grin.

“Shower, huh? What’s that on your neck, Kev?“

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,“ Kevin answered, pulling his shirt up over the hickey Stef had left on his neck.

“My ass you don’t,“ AJ said teasingly, his smile growing bigger when he saw how Kevin intertwined his fingers with Stef’s. I’m just going to enjoy this breakfast and the time with my best friend now, and be happy because she is, he told himself, and waved the waitress back over so they could order.

AJ’s cell phone rang halfway through breakfast. While he fumbled it out of his pocket and answered, Kevin used the chance to steal a kiss from Stef. They only broke apart when AJ called, “Hey! Earth to Kevin and Stef!“

“Yes?“ Kevin answered calmly, while Stef blushed. She didn’t really know what to think right now, but on the way to the diner, she’d decided to just go along with it for the day, and then, she would think about what to do next.

“We have to get going. Brian was freaking because he hadn’t heard from us, and our plane is leaving soon. He said he packed your things, and we have an hour to get to the airport, or they’re leaving without us.“

“Sounds tempting,“ Kevin chuckled, and shot a side glance at Stef.

“I’ll drive you,“ she mumbled, getting up while AJ got his money out to pay.

Stef was already outside when Kevin caught up with her. Pulling her into his arms, he asked, “Are you alright?“

“Yes... No... I dunno.“

“Clear answer.“ Curling a finger under her chin, he made her look up at him. “What’s wrong?“

“I don’t know, Kev. I mean, yesterday, I thought I would always be something like your little sister, and now, I mean, and AJ, and what will the others say? I mean, you, and I, and look at how we’re acting, and...“

Kevin cut off her ramblings by kissing her deeply.

“You’re cute when you ramble,“ he told her with a small laugh.

“Kevin, this is too fast,“ Stef said when she thought she was was able to form a complete sentence that actually made sense. “I mean, after last night, saying it’s too fast probably sounds crazy, but I don’t want the others to know, so...“

Kevin was silent for a moment, and only studied her face closely. Finally, he nodded.

“I understand,“ he said. “But I want you to know last night meant so much to me, you don’t even understand. And I don’t want to go back to being just your friend again.“

Stef was speechless. This was not been what she’d expected. Not that she had any idea of what she’d expected, but this had certainly not been it.

“Say something,“ Kevin murmured when she didn’t speak. “Say you want to forget last night, say you want to be friends, but say something. Please.“

Meeting his eyes, Stef wasn’t able to hold back a smile.

“God, Kev. You don’t know how fucking sick I am of being just your friend.“

Their lips met, and they only broke apart when AJ started pulling them down the street to get to Stef’s apartment.

Almost as if it was a silent agreement, once they got to the airport, AJ got out of the car, saying, “You got two minutes.“ Then, he walked into the terminal to find the others. They hadn’t talked about it, but it was clear that the other guys weren’t supposed to find out anything about last night. And they weren’t supposed to find out yet that there obviously was something between Kevin and Stef, either.

A silence fell over them as soon as AJ was out of the car. Staring at the steering wheel, Stef tried to figure out what to say, but she couldn’t come up with anything.

“I’ll call you tonight,“ Kevin finally broke the silence. “And I’ll talk to Diana, and...“

Turning to him, Stef pressed a finger to his lips and shook her head.

“No promises, Kev. You can’t break promises that you don’t make in the first place.“

“Almost ten years ago, I promised you I’d always be there for you. Did I break that promise?“ When Stef shook her head, Kevin cradled her face in his hands. “See,“ he whispered against her lips. “So why won’t you let me promise you something now?“

“Just don’t, please,“ she whispered back.

“I will always be there for you, no matter what.“

Closing her eyes, Stef fought back her tears when she felt his lips on hers. She didn’t know how long it would be until she would kiss him again, if ever. All she knew for sure was that no matter what happened now, she would never regret what happened between them.

Only thirty minutes later, Stef sat in her car again, just that she was alone this time. Saying good-bye had been quick as usual, and also as usual, she’d shed a tear or two. None of the other guys had noticed anything. Swallowing her tears down, she started the engine of her car and pulled out of the parking lot. Somehow, she had to make it home before she broke down sobbing.

Kevin awoke to someone shaking him. Thinking it was Stef, he turned his head and opened his eyes with a smile.

“WHAAAAA!“ he yelled, half jumping out of his seat. “Damn Nick! Do you have to come so close to my face when you wake me up?“

Leaning back in his seat, Nick gave Kevin a look. In any other situation, he would’ve been hurt. But he’d heard Kevin whisper in his sleep, so he knew his friend had obviously been having a nice dream. That was why he’d woken him actually. There was no need for the other passengers on the plane to hear Kevin talk or moan in his sleep, as he did everytime he had a very, well, nice dream.

“Sorry I’m not Diana,“ Nick said, his voice a bit edgy though he knew Kevin hadn’t meant it.

“Diana?“ Kevin questioned, shaking his head.

“Well, you were whispering in your sleep, so I figured you were, you know, dreaming about Diana.“

Rubbing his neck, Kevin shook his head. He didn’t notice how he pushed down the turtleneck of his shirt.

“What’s that?“ Nick asked, and Kevin let out a sigh. What was up with Nick today?

“What’s what?“

Nick leaned over to him again, and pulled Kevin’s shirt down a little to point at something.

“That!“ he said a little loudly, catching the other guys‘ attention. Brian turned around in his seat in front of Kevin, and leaned over the back to see what the two behind him were talking about. Howie mirrored his motion, and even AJ got out of his seat across the aisle to see what was going on.

“Is that a hickey?“ Nick wanted to know, and leaned a bit closer to examine the mark on his friend’s neck. Slapping his hand away, Kevin pulled his shirt back up.

“Bullshit,“ he snapped.

“That did look like a hickey, Kev,“ Brian remarked, getting a death look from his cousin.

“It’s not though,“ Kevin answered sharply.

“Sure looked like it,“ Howie added, catching Kevin’s next death glare. Only AJ stood in the aisle, grinning, and biting his lower lip to keep himself from commenting.

“Now where the hell would I get a hickey, huh?“ Kevin asked, trying to sound calm. He couldn’t keep the edge out of his voice though.

“Hot chick at the party last night?“ Nick suggested, glad the others were backing him up.

“Did you see me with a hot chick?“

“No.“

“See!“

“I saw a hickey, yeah,“ Nick told him, smiling ever so innocently.

“Look, I...“ Kevin stopped. How in the world was he supposed to explain this to them? And how in the world could he have been stupid enough to let anyone see this? He ran to a store and bought this turtleneck sweater after they left the diner in the morning so no one would see it, and now, because of his own stupidity, all the other guys had seen it. Looking up to meet AJ’s eyes, he hoped his friend would help him out. But AJ only grinned and shrugged.

“I, uh, when I got up this morning,“ Kevin finally started to explain. “I slipped. In the tub. You know, since I slept in the tub and all.“

“And the tub gave you a hickey?“ Brian questioned, not buying the explanation at all.

“It’s not!“ Kevin exclaimed, and then lowered his voice. “It’s not a hickey. I slipped. And fell. Right onto one of the candles Stef keeps by the tub.“

“So the candle gave you...“ Howie started, but stopped when Kevin looked at him angrily.

“You know those glass candle holders she has? I fell right on one. With my neck. And it broke.“

“And you didn’t cut yourself?“ Howie asked, not buying the story, either.

“No, lucky me, huh?“ Kevin laughed nervously. They didn’t believe it. Hell, even in his own ears, it sounded absolutely stupid.

“Yeah, LUCKY you,“ Nick commented, giving the older man his best innocent smile again. Howie and Brian exchanged a look with Nick before they turned back around in their seats.

“Hot chick,“ Howie murmured so only Brian could hear him.

“AND a hickey,“ Brian added, trying hard to keep himself from laughing.

6 weeks later.

“No!“ Kevin yelled into the phone, and got looks from the other guys who were sitting around the studio, listening to something they’d just recorded. He didn’t care though. “Look, Diana, I told you it‘s over. I’m not going to change my mind. No! Stop stalking me!“ He threw his cell phone across the room, but it landed on a couch and didn’t even break.

“Maybe you should get a new number,“ Howie remarked from the console. They had started working on some new songs shortly after they came back from New York, just the five of them and nobody else. Everything was coming out pretty good so far.

Running his hands over his face, Kevin shook his head.

“I don’t know how that woman does it, she finds out every new number I get,“ Kevin said, sounding defeated. He’d broken up with Diana the day they got back. He wanted to start a relationship with Stef, and it was only fair to both women to end one thing before he started another. Now Diana called him day and night, wrote him letters, and one time, he’d found her sitting naked on his doorstep.

“You know,“ AJ told him from his seat on the floor, “that’s what you get for starting something with a psycho.“ When Kevin only looked at him, AJ shrugged. “Come on, Kev. Diana told you the story of her life the moment she met you. Everything, including how she cried for a week straight when you and Kristin got married, then when you got divorced. I always told you stay away from psychos, but no, you didn’t listen.“

“I...“ Kevin began to say, but his cell phone across the room started ringing again. Running to get it, he yelled “Listen, do not call me anymore! How often do I have to tell you that?“

“Uhm, this is the first time I hear this.“

“Stef!“ he exclaimed happily before he went to the small kitchen in the back. The others only looked after him and rolled their eyes before returning their attention to work. Even though neither Kevin nor AJ nor Stef had admitted to anything, the other guys were pretty sure that something had happened between Kevin and Stef the night after her birthday party. It was just a tad bit obvious that ever since they got back, Kevin got that dreamy expression on his face whenever Stef was mentioned, or that he was constantly on the phone with her.

“How are you?“ Kevin asked, smiling big when he heard Stef sigh.

“I’m alright. Too much work. Ever since AJ made me sing that damn song on the air, the show has a higher rating, so I have more guests, and... Don’t let me bore you.“

“You don’t bore me at all,“ Kevin replied. As cheesy as it probably was, he was interested in everything she did, even when she tried a new coffee flavor.

“So how are you guys doing?“ Stef wanted to know, and Kevin’s smile faded a bit. They talked everyday, something they never used to do, but Stef always sounded as if nothing had changed. She always asked about the other guys. Whenever Kevin tried to talk about him and her, and their very strange relationship, she told him she wanted to do this face to face.

“We’re good,“ Kevin finally answered. “Work quite a bit too. But that’s alright.“

“Well...“ A moment of silence passed, and Kevin wondered what was wrong. Finally, Stef continued. “Would you mind if I came down to Orlando for the weekend? It’s been raining here for the past week, and I just saw this really good offer on a flight, so... Kev?“ She got nervous when he didn’t answer right away. What she heard next made her laugh though, even if he wasn’t talking to her.

“Hey, Stef is coming down this weekend, I just wanted to let you guys know I’m not working.“

“That means it’s okay?“ she asked anyway.

“More than okay!“ Kevin told her happily. “AJ looks happy too.“

“Good. I can’t wait.“

“Me either.“

“I’ll be there Friday night... We need to talk then...“

“I know.“ Kevin paused for a moment before adding, “I wish it was Friday already.“

“Me too.“

They talked a little while longer and planned their weekend before they hung up, both with huge grins on their faces.

Friday came faster than anyone had expected. Walking out of her gate at the airport, Stef looked around for Kevin or AJ. She only hoped Kevin had gotten her message and was here already. She’d been able to catch an earlier flight and had left a message on his answering machine, but since she didn’t see him anywhere, she guessed he probably hadn’t gotten it. Or maybe he was waiting in some corner so he wouldn’t get mobbed.

“Stef?“ a female voice next to her asked, and she turned her head to see a youg woman around her own age standing next to her. She was at least four inches shorter than her, and her brown hair was hanging down her back all the way to her waist.

“Yes?“

“I’m Diana,“ the girl said, extending her hand. Shaking it, Stef nodded. Diana. Kevin’s girlfriend. Or rather, ex-girlfriend. At least that was what Kevin had told her. “Kevin asked me to pick you up. He got hold up at the studio.“

“Oh... Uh, thanks.“

“No problem. Do you have any luggage, or is that it?“

Stef looked at her small duffle bag, and nodded.

“That’s it, I’m only staying two nights,“ she answered. What the hell was Diana doing here? Kevin had said he’d broken up with her as soon as he got back from New York, and that he didn’t want to have anything to do with her anymore. That he couldn’t wait to see Stef again.

“Right,“ Diana said. “Let’s go get some coffee, than I’ll take you to Kevin’s.“

Nodding, Stef followed her. Her head was spinning. This didn’t make sense. No sense at all. AJ would’ve told her if Kevin and Diana were still dating, but he hadn’t.

They found a small coffee shop, and Diana got them coffee while Stef sat down at a table. Kevin had sounded so happy when she told him she’d come down, he’d talked about nothing else the past few days. He’d been making plans for them as if she was staying two weeks instead of two days.

Looking up when Diana sat down opposite her, Stef tried to smile as she took a sip of coffee.

“I’m glad you’re here,“ Diana stated.

“Uh, thanks. I mean, we’ve never met, but...“

Diana cut her off. “Kevin will be a lot calmer again after you leave, I mean, it is a little hard on him to have to wait to sleep with me until we get married.“

Stef almost spit out her coffee. What the fuck was that woman talking about? Diana raised her eyebrow and looked at Stef coldly.

“Oh, he didn’t tell you?“ she asked. “He told me about the two of you. I’m glad he found someone where he can get rid of that energy, you know? Makes it easier for us to wait until the wedding. Thank God it’s only a couple more months. We’re getting married on Christmas Eve, did he tell you that yet?“

“He.. I... What?“ Stef stuttered, feeling like someone had pulled out the carpet under her and she was falling.

Diana let out a sigh and looked at Stef as if she was a dumb child.

“I’m glad you let him fuck you,“ she explained very slowly. “He is so much calmer since he came back from New York. I want to wait with sex until we’re married, and it was a little tough on him before he was with you.“

Jumping up from her chair, Stef felt as if she would fall any second. But she struggled to stand up straight, and hoped her acting talent was enough to make her appear calm as she said, “I’m taking a cab. Bye.“ She found the next bathroom, locked herself in a stall, and started sobbing.

Instead of a cab, she took the next flight home. Home, to New York. Orlando was no longer her home. Her parents had moved to New Jersey, where her grandparents were, two years ago. The rest of her family was scattered all over the country, but nobody was left in Orlando. Audrey, Jeremy, AJ, and the rest of the guys had been the only people she still cared about there. And AJ and Kevin had obviously lied to her. All of Kevin’s talk about wanting to start a relationship with her, about how much what they’d shared meant to him, had been a lie. And then, he had the nerve to send his girlfriend to pick her up!

“Lady, do you want that cab or not?“ she heard someone call, and quickly jumped into the cab. She hadn’t even noticed that she was in the front of the line. She gave the driver her address, leaned back in hear seat, and let the tears fall again.

Walking into her apartment later, she dropped everything to the floor and let herself fall on the couch. After a while though, she got up and grabbed her purse from her backpack before she left the apartment to go to the store on the corner.

Kevin was pacing AJ’s kitchen while AJ was waiting for Stef to pick up the phone. It had taken two hours to get Kevin to leave the airport, and go to AJ’s house. When Stef hadn’t been on the plane, the guys had thought she’d missed her flight. After AJ did some heavy flirting with one of the girls at the counter of the airline though, they had to find out Stef had been on an earlier flight... Only to take the next flight back to New York. Kevin had been convinced it was a mistake though, so he’d stayed glued to the spot until AJ had convinced him they should go home and find out what was going on.

“Is she answering?“ Kevin asked, and AJ shook his head. Just then though, he heard how someone picked up the phone. It took a moment before Stef’s voice could be heard though.

“Helllllo?“ she slurred. AJ instantly knew she was beyond wasted.

“Stef!“ he called, and frowned when he got a groan in return. “Where the hell are you?“

“On my couch,“ she answered slowly.

“And why the hell are you there and not here? What are you doing?!“

“Oh, I’m sitting here with, uh, with my friend Jack from Tennessee and my friend Jim from Kentucky.“ She giggled at her silly joke before adding, “Oh, and this guy from Mexico is here, too. His name is Tequila.“

“Stefanie, you’re drunk!“ AJ stated the obvious. She never drank hard liquor. And now, she talked about three different kinds.

“Yes, Ale-Ale-Alexander, I am. And I had just stopped thinking about what fucking assholes you and your friend Kevin are, and now you had to call. Thanks!“

AJ was too shocked to answer. What was she talking about?

When AJ didn’t talk anymore, Kevin grabbed the phone from him and desperately asked, “Stef, why did you go back? I was so looking forward to seeing you, and I thought...“

“And you thought you could fuck me again, I know,“ Stef spat bitterly. “After all these years Kev... After all these years, I really thought I could trust you. Now I know I can’t.“

She hadn’t stopped slurring, but instead of angry, she only sounded sad now. Hearing her like this was breaking Kevin’s heart.

“Stef, what did I do?“ Kevin wanted to know. He had no idea what she was talking about.

“If you don’t know... Just forget it. I don’t want to see you again, ever. Goodbye.“

Staring at the phone in his hands, Kevin shook his head. What had happened? He really had no idea what he could possibly have done to make her this angry. He didn’t know why she’d been on an earlier flight, either. Why hadn’t she called and left a message?

“What did she say?“ AJ wanted to know. Giving him a blank stare, Kevin shrugged before he gave his simple answer.

“Goodbye.“

Only a few minutes after she’d gotten off the phone, the doorbell rang. Groaning, Stef pulled herself up off the couch and stumbled to the door. She was as drunk as never before in her life. All her friends thought she was in Orlando, so who could be at the door?

“Craigy!“ she yelled when she saw the tall man outside the door, and tried to hug him, but stumbled over her own feet instead.

“Whoa, slow, girl!“ Craig said, and caught her in his arms before she could fall. Helping her into the living room, Craig raised his eyebrows when he saw the coffee table. It looked more like a liquor table right now. Craig was Stef’s upstairs neighbor, a very good looking, but gay, dancer, who’d made friends with Stef the day she moved in.

“I thought you were on tour in Asia,“ Stef slurred when Craig sat her down on the couch. Sitting down next to her, Craig shook his head.

“The theatre where we were booked burned out completely, can you believe that?“

When Stef only stared at him in her drunken stupor, he shook his head.

“I don’t think you can believe anything right now. What happened?“

Stef was silent for a moment, but then, she started sobbing. Even though it took her a while, and Craig had to ask her to repeat some things, the whole story spilled out of her. Craig only stared at her in disbelief. He knew all about Stef’s non-existent sex life, so her having a threesome with her best friend and the man he knew she was in love with came as quite a shock to him.

“And she said they’re getting married?“ he asked softly, holding her against his chest so she could cry.

“Yes, and, and, he even had the nerve to ask me what he did!“

“Men are such pigs!“ Craig said whole-heartedly. There had been so many times where the roles had been reversed, and he had cried to Stef about a guy, he could imagine how she felt. “He’s not worth it, Stef,“ he told her. “I’m gonna go make you some coffee and try to sober you up, alright? And then we’ll order unhealthy food, I don’t have to work the next two weeks.“

Nodding, Stef watched him go. As soon as he was out of sight though, she grabbed the still half full bottle of tequila off the table and started drinking straight out of the bottle. It didn’t even burn anymore. And she never even felt how she passed out.

Her head was throbbing when she woke up. She could hear low voices, but she couldn’t comprehend what they were saying. Trying to open her eyes, she let out a groan of pain when bright light hurt her eyes. Instantly, she felt someone at her side, feeling her pulse.

“Well, at least she seems to wake up now,“ a voice she didn’t know said, and she was glad she could finally understand what was being said. “How much did she have?“

“I’m not sure, she was drunk when I got to her apartment. There were two almost empty bottles of whiskey on the table, and she tried to finish the tequila when I was out of the room.“ That was Craig’s voice, and she let out a sigh of relief. But even that hurt, so she didn’t try opening her eyes again.

“Good Lord,“ the other voice commented. “Does she drink this much often?“

“No, no, she hardly ever drinks alcohol. Two cocktails a month is a lot for her. She had a fight, and seemed heart broken, so I guess that’s why she drank.“

“People should work out when they have relationship problems, not drink,“ the other voice mumbled. Then, louder, the voice said, “Stefanie, if you can hear me, you need to open your eyes.“

She struggled for a moment, but finally managed to open her eyes. In front of her was a doctor who looked like he was in his mid-fifties, and he gave her a half concerned, half angry, look.

“Well good morning! You were out all night, young lady. You’re very lucky your friend was there when you passed out and brought you to the hospital right away.“

“I just had a bit too much to drink...“ Stef mumbled, but immidiately started coughing because it hurt so bad. Craig held a glass of water to her lips, and after drinking greedily, she gave him a thankful smile.

“Well, in any other situation, a good night’s sleep might’ve been enough. But in your condition, you know you shouldn’t be drinking. You’re lucky, it seems nothing happened to the baby.“

It took a moment before the words sank in. When she realized what the doctor had told her, she sat up straight, forgetting all about how much her head hurt. Her eyes shot to Craig, who looked as shocked as she felt.

“Ba-baby?“ she stuttered, trying to make herself believe she’d misheard.

“Yes. Oh goodness, you didn’t know you were pregnant?“ When Stef shook her head, the doctor took her hand. “I’m sorry, I didn’t... I thought you knew. Sorry to break the news to you like this. But yes, Stefanie, you’re pregnant. About six weeks along.“

Stef still only stared at the doctor. This couldn’t be! She couldn’t possibly be pregnant!

“When was your last period?“ the doctor, his name tag read Mayer, asked softly. He sensed Stef’s shock and confusion. He figured the fight her friend had told him about had been with the father of this baby.

“Oh, I, in March, I... I didn’t even pay attention.“ Taking a deep breath, she met Dr. Mayer’s eyes. “I can tell you the exact date it happened, doctor. March 31^st.“

“Are you sure?“

Letting out a bitter chuckle, Stef nodded. “It’s the only day I had sex, so yeah, pretty sure.“

Dr. Mayer examined her again before he let her leave. He’d given her the name of a good ob-gyn, and a prescription for vitamins.

Craig led her to the parking lot, saying, “I took your car, I hope it’s okay.“

“Sure,“ Stef answered weakly. Pregnant. With Kevin’s baby. It could only be Kevin’s. AJ had used a condom, but in the morning, she and Kevin had forgotten all about it.

“I’m so fucking stupid, Craig,“ she said once she was in the passenger seat of her car. “Safer sex. I always preach to everyone about safer sex. And what do I do? I have sex for the first time in my life, forget the condom, and get knocked up.“

“It’s too late to beat yourself up for it now,“ Craig told her softly as he pulled into traffic. “Let’s go get your prespcription, and eat something, alright?“

Stef only nodded. Whatever he suggested right now, she agreed as long as she didn’t have to think for a little while.

A bit later, they were sitting in Central Park. They’d gotten sandwiches, coffee for Craig, and herbal tea for Stef, and were now sitting on a bench in Shakespeare Garden, Stef’s favorite spot in the park. The wild flowers were in full bloom, the scent was almost intoxicating. Not too many people were ever there though, so Craig and Stef were basically alone.

Stretching her legs, Stef leaned back and ran her hands over her stomach thoughtfully. Hearing Craig laugh softly, she turned her head to look at him.

“That was such a typical gesture for a pregnant woman,“ he told her, giving her a bright smile.

“Well, it explains a lot.“ Now that Stef thought about it, there had been symptons. She’d just chosen to ignore them.

“Morning sickness already?“ Craig wanted to know, but Stef shook her head.

“No, not that. But I’ve slept worse than usual lately... And I had this sudden urge to eat beets the other day.“

“Beets? Gee, you really are pregnant.“ One of the few things Stef refused to eat were beets. So her pregnancy really did explain a lot.

A couple of minutes of silence passed before Craig asked, “Are you keeping the baby?“ Stef thought about it for a minute, but then nodded.

“I should’ve been more careful. Now I have to live with the consequences.“

“Stef, if you don’t want the child, it might be better if...“

“No. Craig, you know I love kids. It’s not the baby’s fault the father is a complete jackass. We’ll be alright.“

Craig nodded. He knew Stef would be alright – And he would always be there to support her, too.

The next few weeks passed faster than anyone would’ve expected. Stef only told her closest friends about her pregnany; She didn’t consider AJ or Kevin one of them anymore. Even if her guilty conscience sometimes told her that Kevin had a right to know, she just couldn’t tell him. By now, she had some doubts about who the father was, too. What if the condom simply hadn’t worked, and AJ was the dad after all? She knew that eventually, she’d have to tell both of them, and get a praternity test done. The child would want to know who the father was someday.

Coming home from work one day, she threw a stack of books about child birth she’d just bought on the coffee table before she listened to the messages on her answering machine. The last one made her freeze.

“Stef, it’s Aje,“ she heard, and her heart skipped a beat. He’d given up calling about two weeks ago, so why was he leaving a message now? “I know you still don’t want to talk to me for some reason, and I still don’t know what reason that is. I think that’s pretty unfair, you know? Kev thinks so too. So we’re coming to see you next week. If you try to pretend you’re not home, we’ll camp out in front of your apartment and in front of the station. I’m sure your boss would love that. See you next week!“

She listened to the message a second time, shaking her head wildly. They couldn’t come to New York! She was 4 months along now and was starting to show, people were starting to ask her about her belly, they could not come see her! AJ would be the first to notice that something was different about her. Only one thing came to her mind. She picked up the phone, and dialed the phone number of someone she hadn’t talk to in weeks.

Nick grabbed the phone without taking his eyes off the TV screen. He was just trying out his new PlayStation game, and he really didn’t want to be disturbed right now. He dropped the control pad when he heard who was on the other end though.

“Stef!“ he yelled, glad he was home alone. If the other guys had been there, they would’ve been all over the phone now. Everyone was worried about Stef. Kevin had found out that Diana had somehow found out his answering machine code and always listened to his messages, so he figured Diana had something to do with Stef being angry. But of course, Diana denied everything.

“Hey Nicky,“ Stef answered. He could tell she felt uncomfortable.

“How the hell are you? Do you know how worried everyone is about you? Why haven’t you called? Kev...“

“Nicky, I have to ask you for a favor,“ Stef cut him off.

“Okay... What’s that?“

“First of all, promise me not to tell anyone that I called today. No one, do you understand, Nick?“

She sounds so serious, Nick thought. And she had never asked him for a favor before, except for “Get me some Diet Coke, please!“

“I understand, and I promise,“ he finally answered.

“Nick, I... I really hate to do this, but I have to. I need to ask you to loan me some money.“

“Stef, are you in trouble?“ Nick wanted to know. It wasn’t like Stef to ask for money. So this had to be more serious than he’d thought.

“No, I’m not in trouble. I just want to get out of New York for a while... For a couple of months.“

“Months?! Stef, tell me what’s going on. Are you sure you’re not in trouble?“

Stef smiled to herself. This was the Nick hardly anyone knew. He was so caring, concerned, and grown up, a lot of people would’ve been surprised.

“I’m not in trouble Nicky, I promise. I just... I need a break.“

“How much money do you need?“

“Fifty grand.“ Hearing him gasp, she added, “I swear I’ll pay every penny back, but Nick, I... I really need the money.“

“Only if you tell me why you need it.“

Taking a deep breath, Stef nodded, even if Nick couldn’t see it. He had a right to know. But she also knew Nick, and knew he couldn’t keep her pregnany a secret. At least not for long.

“I promise that it’s nothing illegal, I promise that I’m not in trouble. I want to move to a different city for a couple of months, and need money so I can rent a house and stuff.“

Nick closed his eyes and rubbed his temples once he got off the phone with Stef. The money was not the problem, he could have that transferred to her account first thing in the morning, and he knew Stef would pay him back as soon as she could. But what if she was in trouble? What if someone was after her? The mafia! You watch too many movies, Carter, he told himself, still rubbing his temples. If he did this and AJ found out about it much later, he would be terribly pissed off. And Kevin... He’d probably skin him alive. Kevin wasn’t himself anymore since that weekend Stef disappeared. AJ was at least acting half normal, as normal as it got for him, but Kevin was always edgy, ready to snap. Opening his eyes, he came to a decision. Stef had sounded so desperate, like she really needed to get out, and he’d help her. No matter what his friends might think.

The bank called her the morning after her talk with Nick to let her know 100,000 dollars had been transferred to her account by a Mr. Nick Carter. Stef had to grin when she heard that. It was so Nick to give her twice as much as she’d asked for. She would pay every cent back, she’d promised him that again before they’d gotten off the phone. Her smile faded when she thought of the meeting with her bosses she had in only a couple of hours, after her show. She had to tell them that she had to quit her job – And that she was pregnant.

All through her show that day, she was a nervous wreck, but managed not to let it show. Walking into the conference room twenty minutes after the show, she smiled at Moira, one of the secretaries, and asked her for orange juice instead of coffee. Moira gave her a strange look. Everyone was talking about how Stef wasn’t drinking coffee anymore, it was ridiculous how big a topic it was. But since Stef was usually the coffee addict, everyone just noticed it more.

Marshall, one of her bosses, came over to her to say hi.

“The other two will be here in a minute,“ he told her. “Any hint on why you asked for a meeting? The show is doing great Stef, you don’t need to worry about that.“

“I know,“ she mumbled, not daring to meet his eyes. He’d been the one to give her the job at the station right after she got out of College. Only six months after she started working there, one of the DJ’s got sick two minutes before the show, and Stef was the only one who had the guts to do his show. Again, it had been Marshall who’d convinced the other bosses to give her her own show. Ten months of the graveyard shift followed, but then, she’d gotten her own afternoon show. It had been such an amazingly fast career that Stef sometimes still thought she’d wake up from a dream soon. And she was about to throw it all away right now.

“You’re alright, aren’t you?“ Marshall asked, concern obvious in his voice. He was the editor in chief, and the oldest one working at the station with his nearly 60 years. He was always the fatherly friend to everybody, and Stef felt so bad for doing what she was about to do.

“I’m good,“ she answered, and tried to give him a reassuring smile. Luckily, the other two got there just then.

Marshall motioned for Stef to sit next to him, while Jake and George sat opposite them at the conference table. Stef was nervous, and began to feel nauseous.

“Why did you want to see us today, Stef?“ Jake asked, and Stef took a deep breath.

“I, well...“ She decided to say it straight out, and took another deep breath. “I’m pregnant. I’m due on New Year’s Eve.“

The room was dead silent for a moment, and then, the three men started talking all at once.

“QUIET!“ Marshall finally yelled, and turned to look at Stef as he took her hand in his. “It would help if we don’t all talk at the same time, #1 radio rule,“ he said. Stef tried to chuckle with him, but right now, she had to concentrate on not crying.

“Stef, that’s wonderful,“ Marshall told her softly. Then, he added, “But you don’t seem too happy about it.“

“I have to leave the city until the baby’s born,“ Stef brought out after the first couple of attempts of speaking failed. She felt Jake sit on the table in front of her, while George knelt next to her.

“Why? You know you can keep your job, and after the baby is born, you can even bring it to work if you want. Moira did it, you know that,“ Jake said calmy, but Stef shook her head.

“It’s not that,“ she began to explain. “The baby’s dad doesn’t know I’m pregnant. And I don’t want him to know. But I’m starting to show, so I have to get away... At least for a while.“ Without looking up, she swallowed hard before saying, “I totally understand if you give somebody else my show and don’t want me back once I come back to New York.“

The men exchanged looks over Stef’s lowered head. They had no idea what was going on, but Stef sounded as sad as none of them had ever heard her before. Marshall nodded slowly, and the other two immidiately knew what he meant. After they nodded as well, Marshall started speaking again.

“We will always have a job for you, no matter when you come back.“

That wasn’t what Stef had expected, not at all. Looking up at Marshall, who was smiling at her, she gave him a questioning look. Nodding, Marshall pulled her into a tight hug, and Stef felt a couple of tears roll down her face. Just that those were happy tears.

Her last show only three days later was very emotional. The official story was that there was somebody in her family she had to take care of – It wasn’t even really a lie.

On Saturday, “Mission Move“ as Craig had started calling it was in full effect. Some friends had been helping her pack the past days, and now, they were loading everything into a truck. Micki, Vikki, and Shelley were doing all the work, while they made Stef sit on the couch the whole time. Craig had bought some of her furniture since he was moving from his studio apartment into Stef’s apartment. She’d need a bigger one when she got back anyway.

When Shelley even wanted to answer the phone for Stef, she caught a death glare and grabbed another box before disappearing.

“Hello?“ Stef answered.

“Hey there, little momma,“ she heard Craig say, and smiled. “How are you?“

“They’re driving me nuts. I’m not allowed to lift anything. Shelley was even going to answer the phone for me just now. They have to learn I’m pregnant, not sick.“

Craig chuckled. He wasn’t much better, but he knew how much Stef hated being treated like she was handicapped or something.

“Listen,“ he said, “I found you a house. It’s so cute, you won’t believe it, and I got an awesome deal on it.“

“Did you have to sleep with him for it?“ Stef asked dryly. One of Craig’s ex-boyfriends was a real estate agent in Boston, where Stef was moving. She knew he usually only sold terribly expensive houses though. Finding a small house, and that for rent only, was something he usually didn’t waste his time with.

“No, I slept with him for fun purposes only,“ Craig answered, acting insulted.

“You are terrible, Craig!“ Stef exclaimed, laughing about her friend. It was such a typical thing for Craig to sleep with his exes. Then he fell in love with them all over, and it all ended up in a big heartache. But at least he can’t get pregnant, Stef thought, and sighed.

“Sighing is not allowed,“ Craig told her softly. “In a couple of hours you’ll be in Boston, and you’ll get your clam chowda, and you’ll finally be able to relax a little.“

After she hung up with Craig, Stef looked around her apartment. Walking into the bedroom, where she’d spent the most beautiful hours of her life, she fought back her tears. Rubbing her growing belly, she wondered if she would ever be as happy as during those hours she shared with Kevin again.

Craig had given them perfect directions, but of course Micki, who was driving the truck and had those directions with her, got lost anyway. Climbing out of her car, Stef gave her friend a look.

“You know, if you had turned left when I wanted to, we would’ve been here twenty minutes ago.“

“Bullshit!“ Micki shot back. “Two minutes at the most!“

The others gave her looks, but decided not to comment.

“This is a cute house, Stef,“ Shelley commented, and for the first time, Stef looked at her new, temporary home. Cute was the perfect word to describe it. It was painted blue and white, had a tiny front porch, and Stef shrieked when she saw a white rocking chair nestled in the corner of the porch.

“A rocking chair on the porch!“ she exclaimed, running up the steps.

“I thought you would like that,“ she heard Craig say, and flew into his arms.

“If the inside is only half as cute as the outside, you went and outdid yourself.“

Taking her hand, Craig led her inside, where his ex Nathan was waiting for them. Nathan hugged her, and then showed the women around the house.

The house really was perfect. Small and very comfortable. The living room downstairs had a beautiful open fireplace, a plush, very colorful sofa and two huge overstuffed chairs. Stef already saw herself curled up on the sofa with a good book, while a nice fire was blazing in the fire place. The kitchen was big enough for a table where four people could sit, and when Stef saw that there was a seperate laundry room and she wouldn’t have to go to the laundromat anymore, she let out a sigh of relief.

Upstairs were three very comfortable bedrooms, and Stef immidiately picked the bedroom with a huge four-post bed to be hers. The bathroom wasn’t huge either, but the big, old fashioned tub looked very inviting. All in all, Stef couldn’t have asked for more.

“And I get this beauty for 1,500 a month?“ she asked disbelievingly. “What’s wrong with it? No heat? Why isn’t it for sale? Or why don’t I have to pay more?“

Nathan chuckled. He dated Craig when Stef first moved in downstairs, and he’d made friends with her as well.

“When I heard about your situation, I told the people who own the house about it and they decided to help you out. They were going to sell it, but they don’t need the money badly. Their grandmother lived here, and they said she would’ve loved to help you out, so they did it for her,“ he explained, smiling when he saw the tears in her eyes.

“You’re the best, Nate,“ she whispered, hugging him. Things were starting to look up. She had this beautiful house, and paid not even half as much rent for it as it was worth. Vikki, who was working on her next novel, was going to stay with her, and the others would come up to visit as often as possible. Maybe things would work out after all.

AJ had trouble keeping up with Kevin as he ran up the stairs to Stef’s apartment. His friend had been a nervous wreck the past weeks, but ever since they’d decided not to take this any longer and go to New York to talk to Stef, Kevin had gotten even worse.

When AJ got upstairs, Kevin was already ringing the doorbell like a madman.

“She has to be home,“ he mumbled, more to himself than to AJ. “That fucking flight was so fucking late, she has to be home by now.“

Kevin’s face dropped when the door opened, but it wasn’t Stef standing in front of him.

“Craig!“ he exclaimed. “I need to talk to Stef.“

“We need to talk to Stef,“ AJ corrected, stepping out from behind his friend.

“She’s not here,“ Craig answered, looking down at the men in front of him coldly. He was a good three inches taller than Kevin, and he loved that height difference right now.

“When will she be back?“ AJ wanted to know. He could smell food cooking, and why would Craig cook in Stef’s apartment if he didn’t expect her back anytime soon?

“She doesn’t live here anymore.“

“Yeah, sure!“ Kevin pushed past Craig, into the apartment. “If she moved, then why is her funiture still here?“

“I bought it from her,“ Craig explained, his voice still as cold as ice.

“Yeah, whatever you say, man. Stef, come out!“ Kevin started yelling, and Craig stepped closer to him.

“Listen, Richardson,“ he hissed. “Stef moved. She moved away from New York so you and your tattooed friend over there can’t find her. Now get the fuck out of my apartment before I call the cops on you."

“Where is she?“ Kevin asked, meeting Craig’s icy stare with one of his own.

“Like I am going to tell you that,“ Craig answered with a bitter chuckle.

“Craig, we need to know,“ AJ said from the door – He only got the same cold stare Kevin got seconds before.

“All you need to know is that Stef wants nothing to do with you anymore. If she ever decides to want to talk to you again, she will get in touch with you. Now leave.“

Since Craig’s attention wasn’t on him at all, Kevin decided to sneak away and see if Stef was hiding in the bedroom.

“Kevin!“ he heard Craig yell, but before Craig could catch him, he was already standing in the middle of the bedroom.

“Where’s the bed?“ he asked puzzled. Stef’s bed had been replaced with a black, very modern futon. The Keith Haring prints on the walls were gone as well, and had been replaced by very zen looking motives.

“I told you I live here now,“ Craig told him. He was actually starting to feel sorry for Kevin. He looked so lost. But then he remembered what had happened, and how hurt Stef still was... And that she was having a baby without a father. His anger came back, and he grabbed Kevin by the arm. “I also told you to get the fuck out of my apartment.“ With that, he pushed both Kevin and AJ out into the hall. “I never want to see you here again, you understand?“ he asked harshly, and slammed the door shut in their faces.

Sitting at the diner on the corner later, Kevin and AJ didn’t even speak. They were both completely lost in their thoughts. A waitress re-filled their coffee mugs, and AJ realized it was the same waitress who’d worked the morning they’d been here with Stef. She recognized him too, and with a smile, she asked, “Are you visiting your friend again?“

“No, uh, she moved,“ AJ answered, glancing at Kevin who was staring out the window blankly.

“Oh did she?“ The woman in front of him was obviously surprised. “I saw her only last week.“

That part snapped Kevin out of his little world, and he stared at her.

“Are you sure?“ he wanted to know.

“Yeah, but now that I think about it, she did say something about moving out west.“ Her boss yelled for her, so she quickly excused herself and left Kevin and AJ alone again.

“Out west, great, that only covers a couple of states,“ Kevin mumbled, starting to stare out the window again. A couple of minutes of silence passed before AJ said, “We should hire a private investigator.“

Kevin only shrugged. He knew that if Stef didn’t want them to find her, there was no way they would.

The next weeks showed that Kevin was right. The private investigator he and AJ had hired got different information from everyone. Some people told him she’d moved out west, some said she’d gone back to Florida, some even said she was in Canada. The people who really did know where she was wouldn’t talk to anyone about it.

AJ had started snapping at everyone. It was obvious how much he missed his best friend, the one person besides his mother who always told him exactly what she was thinking. It was harder than usual for the others to work with Kevin and AJ, but especially Kevin had started writing some great songs. Sometimes, Kevin thought that Nick watched him with a strange expression on his face, almost as if he knew something nobody else knew. But even when both he and AJ questioned him about it for an hour straight, Nick only kept saying he had no clue what they were talking about. Little did they know that inside, Nick was dying to tell them the little bit he did know. But he’d promised Stef not to say anything, and he was going to keep that promise.

While the guys were working on the album in Florida, Stef was keeping herself busy with Lamaze classes and baby shopping in Boston. Time seemed to fly, and before anyone knew it, it was December. Vikki had finished her novel, but was waiting to send it in until the date her manager had set for her so she could stay with Stef longer, and not go on a promotion tour for the book. Vikki was Stef’s Lamaze coach, shopping partner, room mate, everything during that time. Micki came up to Boston whenever her job as a NYPD Detetive would let her, and Shelley usually came up with Craig on the weekends. Everything seemed to be going great. Only Vikki knew that Stef often cried herself to sleep at night, and how much not having Kevin or AJ there hurt her.

Christmas came and went, just like New Year’s. The baby never decided to make an appearance though.

On January 3^rd, exactly three days past Stef’s due date, Vikki walked into the house to find her friend asleep on the couch. She’d had trouble sleeping since the baby decided to kick everytime Stef wanted to go to bed, so Vikki wanted to let her sleep at first. But then she looked down on the flyer in her hand, and sat down next to Stef. Shaking her shoulder lightly, she called her name until Stef opened her eyes.

“What time is it?“ she asked, sitting up as fast as she could. She was huge by now, sometimes she joked about having triplets instead of just one child.

“Five,“ Vikki answered, waiting until her friend was fully awake before she continued speaking. “I thought you’d like to know Aaron Carter is going to be in town next week.“

Taking the flyer out of Vikki’s hands, Stef stared at the picture for a moment. Little Aaron, the boy she’d known basically all his life. He wasn’t so little anymore, as the picture proved clearly.

“And why do you think I want to know?“ she asked a bit harshly. Vikki shrugged.

“I don’t know. I just thought you would.“

“Thanks. Did you get more popcorn at the store?“ The subject Aaron Carter was dropped, at least for now.

Later that night though, Stef sat in her bedroom and stared at the phone. She’d been thinking about calling Nick for a while now, just to let him know she was doing alright. And if Aaron was going to be in Boston, maybe Nick would be there with him, who knew? But did she really want Nick to know about the baby?

After staring at the phone for at least an hour, she finally picked it up and dialed Nick’s number. When she only got the answering machine at his house, she was going to get up and go back to the living room, but then, she dialed his cell phone number instead.

Holding his phone up, Nick called, “Mine!“ He caught a glare from Kevin since the ringing of the phone had interrupted him when he explained how he wanted his new song to go, but Nick didn’t care. Kevin was nothing but moody lately, he was used to it by now.

“Hello?“ he answered, walking out of the studio slowly.

“Nicky, don’t say my name.“

He froze and gasped when he heard Stef’s voice. He saw Howie and AJ glance at him, but only plastered a fake smile on his face and walked down the hall to the kitchen.

“Stef!“ he exclaimed in a whisper. “Where the hell are you? Did you know Kevin and AJ hired a private investigator to find you? How are you?“

“I’m fine,“ Stef answered, ignoring the first two questions. She’d figured AJ would sooner or later want to hire someone to find her, so hearing it didn’t surprise her.

“Are you sure?“

“Yeah, doing good. Gained a little weight.“

“O-kay... So where are you? We’re all so worried about you!“

When a long pause followed, Nick already suspected that she’d hung up the phone. But then, she started speaking again.

“Can you keep a secret?“ she wanted to know.

“Of course I can! They’d kill me if they knew I lent you that money!“

“Aaron is going to be in Boston next week, the day before AJ’s birthday,“ Stef said, totally out of context, or so it seemed to Nick.

“Yeah, so?“

“Go with him.“

“Why would I... Oh...“ Finally, what she was trying to say dawned on him. “That’s where you are? In Boston?“

“I will be next week,“ Stef answered, not wanting to give everything away yet. “Can we meet?“

Brian walked into the kitchen, and Nick hoped Stef would catch on to his little game.

“Sure I’ll go with you Aaron!“ he said, smiling brightly. “No problem, buddy.“ He heard Stef chuckle, and knew that she knew what he was doing.

“You can’t talk, right?“

“Exactly, we’ll have a blast.“

“Okay, I’ll call you before you get here so we can set something up. Thank you, Nicky.“

“You’re welcome, bud. I love you.“

“I love you too.“ Tears rolled down her face when she hung up the phone. Now, she couldn’t wait for next week to arrive. She even forgot about her crankiness for a little while.

“Was that Aaron?“ Brian asked. He’d heard Nick say his little brother’s name, but something about Nick’s behavior was strange.

“Yeah. He asked me to go to Boston with him next week, he has a show there.“

“Oh. How come?“ This was getting even stranger now. It had been ages since Nick just went somewhere with Aaron when he had a show. If he did do it, it usually happened as a surprise, not just like this.

“I don’t know,“ Nick answered, not meeting Brian’s eyes. “He just asked if I wanted to join him, and I said yes. It’s been a while.“

“Yeah... Just don’t miss AJ’s birthday, you know how he gets.“

“I know, I’ll be there.“ Nick could tell that Brian sensed something was wrong. Wanting nothing more than to escape this right now, he asked, “So, uh, I’m really tired, is Kevin done explaining yet?“

“He wants to record his piano part now,“ Brian told him.

“Think he’d mind if I go home?“

“No...“ Now, Brian thought, it was REALLY strange. Nick never left early unless he had to, and especially not only because he was tired. Something was going on here.

“Well, I’m outta here then. See ya tomorrow!“

Nick didn’t even bother telling the other guys bye. Once he was in his car, he called Aaron to let him know he was going to Boston with him. And if anyone asked, it had not been Nick’s idea.

Stef called him the day before he got to Boston, and they agreed to meet at a small cafe on the outskirts of town. So here Nick was, nervous as if this was a date. He didn’t know what to expect, Stef had sounded so strange on the phone. He saw the door open out of the corner of his eye, but didn’t take a closer look when he saw an obviously pregnant woman walk in. Seconds later, he heard Stef’s voice.

“Hey Nicky...“ she said, and he froze when he saw her. She was the pregnant woman who’d walked in.

Stef smiled when Nick was too shocked to speak. She took her gloves, scarf, and hat off, and by the time she was ready to get out of her coat, Nick snapped out of his trance and helped her taking it off. Moving in to hug her, Nick stepped back when her stomach got in the way.

Laughing, Stef sat down. “I told you I gained a little weight,“ she teased. Nick couldn’t answer since a waiter came up to the table to take Stef’s order, but when they were alone again, his first question was, “Whose baby is it?“

Chuckling sadly, Stef shook her head.

“Let’s get to that later, k? How are you? I love your new haircut!“ She reached across the table to ruffle his short hairdo affectionately, succeeding in making him smile.

“Thanks. I’m fine. But...“ He glanced from her eyes to her stomach again. “How are you?“

Leaning back in her chair, Stef rubbed her belly before she answered.

“I’m fine. WE are fine. Thank you so much again for giving me that loan, Nick. I don’t know what I would’ve done without you.“

“You’re welcome,“ Nick mumbled when the waiter got back and put a cup of steaming hot chocolate down in front of Stef. His thoughts were swimming. She was pregnant?! Was that why she ran? Or why did she run? If she had problems with the baby’s father, wasn’t AJ supposed to be the one to help her? A thought hit him. Did her pregnancy have something to do with AJ and Kevin looking for her all over the country?

“So...“ Stef started, snapping Nick out of his thoughts. “Anything special going on lately?“

Nick shrugged, and watched her take a sip of her hot cocoa.

“Not really. Just working on the album. Stef, AJ and Kevin are looking for you like crazy, why did you just run and not tell anyone where you were?“

“Oh, they’re looking for me?“ Stef asked, trying to keep the bitterness out of her voice. “Isn’t Kevin busy with his new wifey?“

“What wife?“ Nick asked, and Stef’s mouth dropped open. It took her a couple of minutes before she could speak again.

“Well, I, when I, at the airport, Diana, and she told me that...“ She couldn’t finish. Suddenly, it all made sense. Diana had lied to her to keep her away from Kevin. And by letting her succeed, she’d not only hurt herself, she’d hurt two of the people she loved the most. Because of her own stupidity, she had to go through this pregnancy without having Kevin by her side.

Feeling a sharp pain shoot through her abdomen, she drew in a sharp breath. Nick took her hand in his across the table, and she heard the concern in his voice when he asked, “Stef, are you okay?“

“Yes... No... Nicky, you need to take me to the hospital.“

Nick drove like he was possessed, and screamed at every other driver on the road. Stef was the one who kept trying to calm him down. She even called Vikki from her cell phone before they got to the hospital, and told her to bring her clothes there.

Once they got to the hospital, Nick yelled at everyone in his way until someone took care of Stef. They wheeled her off for a hot bath, and Nick started pacing the waiting room. Where the hell was Vikki? Didn’t Stef say it would only take her fifteen minutes to get there? By now, it had already been... Seven minutes. He sighed. Time seemed to creep by, it was unbelievable. His eyes fell on the payphones in the corner. He’d left his cell phone in the car since he couldn’t use it at the hospital anyway... He didn’t have any change on him...

A couple of minutes later, AJ barked, “This better be damn good if you call me collect, Nick.“

“AJ, stop bitching and listen.“

“What is it, man? I’m eating, and...“

“I know where Stef is.“

AJ choked on his pizza, and started coughing. When he could finally stop, he said, “You better not be shitting me.“

“I’m not, this is much too serious.“

“Why? What‘s wrong? Where is she?“ AJ was running around his house by now, ready to pack up and leave for wherever she was.

“In Boston... I’m at the hospital with her right now.“

“HOSPITAL?!“ AJ yelled, and Nick held the phone away from his ear for a moment. “Is she alright? What’s wrong with her?“

“Nothing, she’s fine, but...“

“If she is fine, then why the fuck is she at the hospital?“ AJ shouted, making Nick hold the phone away once more.

“Listen AJ, grab Kevin, and hop on the first flight up here.“ Nick was surprised at himself for talking like this, usually, he didn’t give the others orders. But he had to get AJ here without having a long discussion right now.

“Never, never, ever again am I having sex in my life!“ Stef yelled, and Vikki bit her lower lip to keep herself from laughing. Stef had been cursing Kevin ever since she got here. “Three times. I had sex THREE times in my life, and this is what I get for it! I haaaaaaaaate him!“

Vikki let out a yelp when Stef squeezed her hand so hard she thought her friend would break it. It was 5am by now, and Stef had been in labor for almost 10 hours. Even Vikki was exhausted, so she could imagine how Stef felt.

Last time she’d checked, Nick had been asleep in the waiting room. He’d called Craig, Micki, Shelley, and Stef’s parents. She was pretty sure he’d called AJ as well, but she hadn’t asked. If she didn’t know it, she didn’t have to tell Stef, simple as that.

“Not much longer, Stef,“ Vikki heard the doctor say, and prayed he was right. Her poor hand was at least badly sprained by now.

Not even an hour later, Vikki walked into the waiting room and crouched down in front of Nick, who’d gotten as comfortable as possible on a love seat in the waiting room. He bolted up when she shook him, asking, “Is she okay?“

“She’s fine,“ Vikki told him with a smile. “They both are.“ Looking down on her hand, she chuckled. “My hand’s not. Kevin owes me for this I tell ya.“ She bit her lower lip when she realized what she’d said. The expression on Nick’s face told her he hadn’t known that Kevin was the father until now.

“K-Kevin?“ he stammered, sitting back down. “I mean, I figured something like that. But damn... And they’re on their way here...“ he rambled without looking at Vikki.

She only sighed. So she’d been right when she thought he’d called them. But it was probably only for the best if Stef was confronted by them now.

“Stef’s sleeping,“ she told Nick softly. “But we can go look at the baby.“

Nick was waiting for AJ and Kevin at the reception. He didn’t know how to tell them what had happened. Hell, how do you tell someone that the woman he’d been searching for the past couple of months just had his baby?

He saw AJ first. He stormed into the hospital without even noticing the looks he got from everyone. His hair was yellow, he was wearing green shades, he just looked... Like AJ. So it was no wonder everyone recognized him. Kevin followed at his heels.

“Where is she?“ AJ yelled at Nick without even saying hi. “How is she? Is she hurt? Nick talk to me!“

“Let me get a word in, damn!“ Nick exclaimed, glancing at Kevin, who was pale already. How would he react to the news?

When AJ and Kevin only looked at him expectantly, Nick took a deep breath before saying, “She’s fine. And happy birthday, Aje.“

“What?“ AJ asked, only now remembering it was his birthday. “Oh, yeah, thanks. Can we see her now? I’m gonna fucking kill her for running away like that!“

“Killing her is not a good idea,“ Nick told him, and motioned for the two of them to follow him. Kevin still hadn’t said a word – Nick was seriously worried about his reaction.

Stef looked up with a tired smile when someone knocked on the door. She was sure it was Vikki, who’d gone home to shower, or the others who had finally arrived from New York.

“Come in!“ she called, and her smile grew bigger when she saw Nick step in.

“Nicky!“ she said happily. “Come here and... Oh my God...“ She stopped breathing for a second when she saw who walked into the room behind Nick, and held her son against her a bit tighter. The nurse had brought him in a couple of minutes ago, and he was sleeping peacefully in her arms now.

It didn’t even register on AJ’s brain that Stef was holding a baby in her arms.

“Stef, where the hell have you been? What were you thinking?!“ he yelled, and only stopped when he felt a hand on his arm.

“AJ, stop yelling at her,“ Nick said softly. He gave Kevin a concerned look. His friend seemed frozen to the spot, his facial expression one of complete and utter shock. “You’ll wake the baby,“ Nick finished, and now, AJ finally seemed to realize why Stef was in the hospital as well.

Kevin ran down the hall and to a window. Yanking it open, he took some deep breaths of the cold winter air. Stef had a baby. Was that why she’d run? He felt tears form in his eyes, and squeezed his eyes hut. Could it be his child? The timing was perfect. But if it was, how could she not have told him?

“Don’t be angry with her,“ he heard Nick’s voice behind him.

“You knew where she was the whole time,“ Kevin accused him. “You knew, and never told us.“

“I didn’t know, Kevin!“ Nick defended himself. “I knew nothing! She borrowed some money from me, and that was it. I was as shocked as you last night.“

“You can’t possibly have been this shocked,“ Kevin answered, his voice gravel. What was he supposed to do?

Meanwhile in Stef’s room, AJ sat down on the bed and looked at her, then at the baby sleeping in her arms.

“Is it... Is it a boy or a girl?“ he whispered, wanting to reach out to touch the baby’s soft skin. It was still all pink and wrinkled, but he thought he’d never seen a more beautiful baby in his life.

“He’s a boy. His name is Jamie. Well, James really... James Scott Nickolas.“ When AJ didn’t speak, only swallowed hard, Stef softly asked, “Do you want to hold him?“

“I don’t know if I... Stef...“ She didn’t listen to his protest, and soon, he held Jamie in his arms. The little boy never even woke up, he only made a small gurgling sound.

“He’s so beautiful,“ AJ whispered, getting choked up. “Is he...“

“Kevin’s?“ Stef finished for him. “Yes. But he shares your birthday.“

AJ took Jamie’s little hands in his and counted his fingers, then counted his toes. He was in complete awe, and Stef didn’t disturb him.

“Why did you run?“ AJ finally asked without looking at Stef. He only heard her sigh.

“Aje, I’m so sorry,“ she finally answered. “But when I got to Orlando that day... Diana was there. She told me she and Kevin were getting married. I felt so... Used, and I was so hurt, and then I found out I was pregnant. It was all too much for me.“

“But I’m your best friend,“ AJ said, the pain so raw in his voice that Stef felt tears shoot up in her eyes. “You should’ve known she was lying. And if you didn’t, you should’ve talked to me about it at least.“

Leaning closer to him, Stef kissed his temple softly. Holding Jamie on one arm, AJ pulled Stef close to him with the other, and they cried on each other’s shoulder.

AJ didn’t know how long he and Stef had cried when Jamie made himself be heard.

“What’s wrong?“ AJ asked, panic written all over his face. “Did I hurt him? Oh man, why is he screaming like this?“

“He’s thirsty I guess... Aje, I’m new to this job, too.“

AJ chuckled when Stef took Jamie out of his arms. “So do you want me to call a nurse so she can get him something to drink?“ he wanted to know. Now, it was Stef’s turn to chuckle.

“What do you want her to get him, a Jack Daniels?“ she teased, and started unbuttoning her shirt.

“Wha- What are you doing?“

“Nurse him, what do you think?“ When his face dropped, Stef only shook her head. “My dear Alexander, you have seen a lot more of me than this.“

“Yeah, but you weren’t a mom then!“ AJ exclaimed. “I’m outta here, see you later.“

Shaking her head, Stef watched him go before she ran a hand over her son’s head and held him to her breast so he could start drinking. It was a strange feeling, but amazing at the same time. Watching her son, she felt tears shoot up in her eyes.

“I think I meesed up big time, baby,“ she whispered to Jamie. “Your daddy is out there and he’s really mad at me, and you know what? He has every right to be.“

Of course Jamie didn’t care. He was wrapped in warm blankets, was drinking, and his world was just perfect right now. Stef only hoped that Kevin would want to at least see him.

Not a word Nick was saying could convince Kevin to go in to see Stef and his son. Nick had the feeling he wasn’t even listening. Seeing AJ walk down the hall, Kevin pushed himself away from the wall, and said, “There you are, let’s go.“

AJ and Nick stared at him for a moment before AJ carefully asked, “Don’t you want to go see them?“

“See who?“ Kevin wanted to know, his voice and eyes icy.

“Kev, there’s an explanation...“ AJ started, but Kevin cut him off.

“Save it for someone who wants to hear it,“ he snapped, and started his way down the hall, to the exit. “I’m leaving, if you want to go with me, you better move right now.“

“Go with him,“ Nick urged when AJ looked from him to Kevin, who was almost at the exit now. “I’ll call you and let you know how she’s doing.“

After hesitating for another moment, AJ nodded and ran after Kevin. Someone had to talk some sense into him, and AJ had the feeling he was the only who could do that right now.

When Nick came back into her room alone, Stef couldn’t hold back her tears anymore. Nick tried to comfort her as best as he could, but he knew that nothing he could say could make her feel better right now. Vikki and Aaron got there after a little while, and around noon, Stef’s parents, Craig, Micki, and Shelley arrived, too. Stef tried to smile and laugh with them, and Nick knew that she really was happy. But he could also see that little bit of sadness never leaving her eyes on the day that should’ve been one of the happiest in her life.

Rolling over, Stef grabbed her watch from the nightstand. 2am. She should be out like a light by now, and she knew it. Her whole body was sore and tired, but her mind was working overtime and wouldn’t let her find any rest. Crawling out of bed, she slipped into her sneakers and robe before she quietly opened the door and snuck out of her room. A nurse had kicked everyone out of her room earlier, brought Jamie from the room, and gave Stef the strict order to sleep. That nurse wasn’t someone Stef wanted to meet in the hall right now.

A proud father walked past her with a bunch of polaroids of his newborn in his hands, and Stef gulped. This was the way it was supposed to be – But Kevin hadn’t even called all day. Not that she blamed him, hell, she wouldn’t even blame him if he never talked to her again in his life.

Seeing someone standing in the hall, she stopped dead in her tracks. The man was standing right in front of the “baby window“ as Micki had ever so lovingly called it earlier. His forehead was leaning against the glass, and he seemed absolutely lost in thought.

“Kevin.“ He looked up when he heard Stef softly say his name. It wasn’t a question, it wasn’t a statement, it was nothing really. Just his name. He turned to walk away, but felt her hand on his arm.

“Don’t go. Please,“ she whispered, and there was so much emotion in her voice that he turned around to meet her eyes.

“Why?“ It was such a simple question, yet so hard to answer. Stef knew he didn’t mean why he shouldn’t go, he just meant... Why. Why everything.

“I thought you were going to marry Diana.“

Kevin let out a bitter chuckle. “And you couldn’t have asked me if that was the truth?“

“I... I was so hurt.“

“Oh, and I wasn’t? How do you think I felt earlier when I had to find out you had my son, and never even bothered to tell me about it.“ When she didn’t answer, Kevin took a deep breath. “Tell me one thing, Stef,“ he said. “Were you ever going to tell me about him?“

“Of course.“

Before Stef knew it, Kevin had grabbed her upper arms and started shaking her.

“When were you going to tell me, Stef?“ he hissed. “On his 21^st birthday? Were you going to send me an invitation to his wedding?“

“I don’t know!“ Tears were streaming down Stef’s face. In all the years she’d known Kevin, she’d never seen him like this.

Finally realizing he was still holding her upper arms tightly, Kevin let go of Stef as if he’d burned himself. He kept staring at Jamie when Stef started talking again. He couldn’t bear looking at her. If he saw her tears, he knew he’d break down and forgive her everything right now.

“Kevin, listen, I know you probably don’t wanna hear this, but... I’m sorry.“ When she got no reaction from him, Stef decided to take that as a good sign and just kept talking. “You don’t even know how sorry I am. But when I got to Orlando and Diana knew about my earlier flight, and then told me that she’s going to marry you... I freaked.“

“She listened to my answering machine messages, she knew the code“ Kevin answered without looking at her, his voice void of any emotion at all.

“I... I didn’t know that. So when she told me she knew about us and was glad you finally got your rocks off so to say since she wanted to save herself for marriage, I just freaked. I felt so used, like such a slut, and... I went home and drank until I passed out. Craig took me to the hospital, and the doctor yelled at me, and told me I was lucky nothing happened to the baby. That’s how I found out about my pregnancy. I was so confused... And so hurt... I didn’t know what to do anymore.“

“Calling me would’ve been a good start,“ Kevin stated, and Stef sighed.

“I know... But don’t you understand why I did it? I’m not asking you to forgive me, just to understand.“

A couple of minutes of silence passed. Stef was trying to figure out how she could’ve been stupid enough to believe Diana, while Kevin was trying to figure out if he could forgive her or not. Looking at her from the side, he sighed deeply. Her eyes were still shining with unshed tears, and she looked incredibly tired. His eyes wandered from her to Jamie and back, and he sighed again. He loved her. No matter what she’d done, he loved her with all he had inside. And he loved Jamie. He wanted to be a part of his life. And a part of Stef’s life, too.

“I understand,“ he finally said. Stef looked up to meet his eyes, unsure of what to say. Luckily, Kevin didn’t want her to say anything right then. “I understand,“ he repeated. “And I forgive you. But you have to promise me one thing. If you ever get scared again, you have to talk to me. I never want to go through what I’ve been through these past months again. Never.“

“I promise,“ Stef whispered, her tears threatening to fall once again. Kevin pulled her into his arms, and let out a deep breath when he felt her body against his.

“God, I missed you so much,“ he mumbled into her hair, closing his eyes when Stef wrapped her arms around his neck.

They just stood there holding each other for the longest time.

“Mrs. Richardson!“ they suddenly heard somebody call, and both turned around. Kevin saw that Stef was going to protest the Mrs. Richardson, but he gave her a grin and shook his head. “Did I not tell you to get some sleep?“ the nurse from earlier asked Stef. “And Mr. Richardson, how can you let your wife stand around in this cold hallway in the middle of the night when she needs to recover?“

“I’m very sorry, nurse...“ Kevin checked her name tag before finshing, “Harper. But we were admiring our son.“

“You have the rest of your lives to do that,“ the nurse answered, her voice a little softer now.

“Isn’t there any way you could let him sleep in our room tonight? I promise I will make my wife sleep then.“

Stef gave him a look for the wife, but he only squeezed her hand.

Nurse Harper let out an aggravated sigh, but then shrugged.

“You young parents, really. I hope he at least has his own room in your house, it is not good to have the children sleep in the same room! And nannies are not good at this young age, either, I know how often you are on tour, Mr. Richardson.“

“He has his own room, and no nannies,“ Kevin told her, giving her his best smile. She sighed again, and then said, “Fine. Go back to your room, and I will bring you your son in a few minutes. You need sleep, Mrs. Richardson.“

“I will go to sleep now. Thank you.“

The older woman smiled, and watched how Kevin and Stef disappeared down the hall, Kevin’s arm wrapped around Stef’s shoulders tightly.

Climbing into bed next to Stef, Kevin thought that the whole situation was so strange. They’d shared one night and now, they had a baby together and people thought they were married. Feeling Stef put her head on his chest, he made a decision.

“Marry me,“ he blurted out, and Stef sat up to meet his eyes.

“What?“ she asked, thinking she’d heard wrong.

“Marry me.“ When he saw the look on her face, he took her hands in his. “I love you, Stef. I loved you before that night, and I wanted to ask you to marry me before I knew we had a son. I... Marry me. Please.“

Stef couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “After all that’s happened, you still want me?“

Kevin pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled. “I never wanted anything more in life.“ Their lips met in a soft kiss, their first kiss in 9 months and nine days, and it was the best answer Stef could’ve given him.

Nurse Harper walked in, clearing her throat when he saw them kissing. She let Stef take Jamie from her arms, and disappeared from the room without saying a word.

Kevin held his breath when he saw his son up close for the first time.

“He’s so beautiful...“ he murmured, leaning closer.

“Jamie, meet your daddy,“ Stef said softly, and put the baby in Kevin’s arms. Now, it was Kevin who couldn’t hold back his tears. He’d dreamed of being a father for so long, and now, he was holding his son in his arms.

Leaning back against the pillows, he felt Stef cuddle up close to him. She was asleep in no time at all. Kevin was awake all night though, just watching her and Jamie sleep.

Placing small kisses on the back of Stef’s neck, he smiled when she groaned and rolled over to wrap her arm around him. She buried her face in the crook of his neck as she always did, and only pulled away and opened her eyes to look at him when he whispered, “Breathsaver?“

“Wanna share it?“ she asked, and he could feel her smile against his lips when they kissed. His hand slid down her side as the kiss got more heated, and he put a hand on her hip to pull her closer to him.

“MO-HOM!“ The yell made them jerk apart just as the door flew open, and Jamie took one huge leap into the bed, right in between his parents. He started jumping up and down, singing, “It’s my birthday, it’s my birthday!“

“Jamie, it’s six o’clock in the morning, give us another thirty minutes, please,“ Stef pleaded, sitting up to catch her son when he let himself fall down on the bed.

“But it’s my birthday!“ he stated, a small pout on his lips. “Uncle AJ said on my birthday, I can do whatever I want, and he can too, because it’s his birthday, too.“

“Well maybe you should sleep at your Uncle AJ’s the night before your birthday next year then,“ Kevin told him, and Jamie immidiately got back up to start jumping on the bed again.

“Can I, can I? I LOOOOOOOOVE sleeping at Uncle AJ’s, he’s so funny!“

“He’s on Speed,“ Stef mumbled under her breath, thinking Jamie wouldn’t hear her. She should’ve known better though.

“What’s Speed?“ Jamie asked, and both he and his father gave her very interested looks. An evil grin spread on her face.

“Why don’t you call him and ask?“ she suggested.

“Right now?“

“Sure, he won’t mind. It’s your birthday.“

“YAY!“ Jamie shrieked, and hopped back off the bed to go and call AJ. “Uncle AJ, what’s Speed?“ they heard him ask a minute later, and started laughing.

“He’s going to kill you,“ Kevin chuckled, pulling Stef back to him.

“Well he shouldn’t spoil Jamie so damn much. This is what he gets for it.“

Stef snuggled up close to Kevin and let out a content sigh. Today was Jamie’s 5^th birthday, and everything just seemed to be going perfect. She and Kevin had gotten married when Jamie was 6 months old, and since then, they seemed to be living in a fairytale. She’d moved back to Orlando, and started working as a freelancer for some magazines. Kevin really did cut down on the touring a little, or he simply took Jamie and Stef with him everywhere he went. Jamie was the most beautiful little boy, with his father’s green eyes, and his mother’s curly hair.

“He’ll have another niece or nephew to spoil in June,“ Kevin said against her hair, and let his hand brush over her stomach.

Leaning up on her elbow to meet Kevin’s eyes, Stef asked, “Have I told you lately how happy you make me?“

“I promised you I would.“ Their lips met, but as earlier, Jamie came storming into the room just as the kiss grew more passionate.

“Mommy, I just called Uncle Nick and he said that you have to take me to McDonald’s for breakfast. He said that every birthday kid gets to have breakfast at McDonald’s.“

Laughing, Kevin got out of bed.

“Let’s go get you dressed, birthday kid,“ he said, throwing Jamie over his shoulder to carry him to his room. Hearing Jamie shriek happily, Stef let herself fall back into the pillows. She didn’t know if she could ever get this perma grin off her face. Not that she really wanted to.

The End

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