Lucky

By:  Lara

 

 

This is a story about a girl named Lucky…Early morning she wakes up ,knock knock knock on the door…It’s time for makeup perfect smile, it’s you they’re all waiting for…

 

 

 

“Meez Lucky!  Meez Lucky…Eet’s seex o’clock…your makeup call eez seex forty-five!”

“Okay…okay…I’m up, Anna!”  Lisa buried her face in the pillows and groaned.  She stretched and slowly sat up.  Six a.m.  Somehow that didn’t seem quite legal.  She sighed and padded over to the shower.

 

“What you want for breakfast, Meez Lucky?”  Anna asked when Lisa entered the kitchen.

“Just juice.  No time for breakfast.”

Anna plunked down a glass of orange juice and a bottle of vitamins.  She eyed Lisa critically.  “Meez Lucky, you can’t go to the interviews like that!”

Lisa looked down at her University of Kentucky sweatshirt and old blue jeans.  “Why not?  Lara will have clothes waiting for me there.”

“Your fans will see you and…”

“Too bad.  I love my fans, Anna, but they will just have to realize that Lucky is a real person who wears jeans.”  Lisa glanced at the clock on the wall and jumped up.  “The limo will be here any minute.  Thanks for worrying about me, Anna.”  She kissed her maid’s cheek then went to find her shoes.

 

Lisa moodily stared out the window of the limo as they sped to the television studio.  She normally didn’t mind doing the Today Show, but she just wanted to veg by the pool and eat junk food all day.  She snorted to herself.  Here she was with a Supporting Actress Academy Award on her mantle, an album in the Billboard top twenty, and her own line of designer clothes about to be released…and her idea of a great day was chomping on potato chips by her pool.

“Here we are, Miss Lucky.”  The chauffeur opened her door.  Lisa sighed.  Five years earlier the one-name identity had sounded like a good idea.  “Think Cher…think Madonna,” her manager had insisted.  Now Lisa was dying to hear her real name just once…once a day…that was all.

“Thank you,” she replied, taking his hand.

“Lucky!  Lucky!  There she is!”  Three teenage girls squealed.  Lisa pasted on her best smile and went to sign autographs.

“Lucky, are those jeans from your new line?”  One girl gushed.

“Nope…just plain old Levis,” Lisa replied with a smile.

“Wow!  I wear Levis, too!”  The second girl said.

“Thanks, Lucky!”  The third girl called as Lisa headed for the studio.

“Sorry about that…we tried to clear them out but they were pretty persistent.”  A young woman held the door open while holding a clipboard.

“It’s okay, Lara.  They were harmless.”  Lisa looked at her assistant’s silk blouse and dress pants.  “Do you SLEEP dressed up, too?”

Lara frowned at her.  She patted her long ponytail, making sure every hair was in place.  “ONE of us should look decent,” she pointed out, poking her glasses back up on her nose.

Lisa held up a hand. “Talk to it, Lara.”  They headed down the hall to makeup.  “Anything I should know?”

“They agreed NOT to talk about your absence at the Grammies, but refused to back down about the Tom Cruise thing,” Lara told her.

“Dammit…heaven forbid that male and female costars JUST be friends,” Lisa pouted as she sat down on the makeup chair.  “Anything else?”

“Reggie wants to see you as soon as your butt hits this chair later…no excuses.”  Lara flopped down on a chair across the room, carefully crossing her legs.

“Grr…” Lisa mumbled.  She hated dealing with her manager if at all possible.  Her contract was too tight to get out of, and she hated the man’s guts.  She looked at Lara.  “Do we have time to go shopping later?”

“Shopping?  For what?  Your line goes out into the stores next week and…”

“Not for me.  For you.”

“I don’t need anything!”  Lara exclaimed.

“You’re what…a size ten?  Why in the world do you dress like you’re a size twenty?”

“Why in the world won’t you let my wardrobe alone?”  Lara retorted.

“You’re twenty-seven, cute, funny and smart…you should have a man,” Lisa said sternly, closing her eyes as the foundation was placed on her face.

“I could say the same about you,” Lara said gently.  Lisa puffed out an exasperated breath.

“Yeah…like that could happen.  Every date starts with me thinking “is it me or is it Lucky?” and ends with me wanting to slap the guy across the face because it’s ALWAYS Lucky.”

“I’m sorry,” Lara said softly.  Lisa shrugged.

“It’s okay. I have totally given up on finding any man as long as I have a career.  It’s been so long since I’ve had sex that I wonder if they’ve changed it.”  The makeup person burst out laughing and even Lara had to smile.

“Ten minutes, Miss Lucky.”  A stagehand poked her head in the door.

“Thanks,” Lisa called out.  She quickly pulled on the pantsuit that Lara handed her, taking a few deep breaths as she buttoned the front.  She was soon out of the room and on her way down the hall, turning on the Lucky charm as she confidently strode down the corridor.

 

Lisa’s behind was hardly in the makeup chair before a short man wearing a baseball cap hurried into the makeup room.  “Could you knock, Reggie?  God…she could have been changing,” Lara said angrily.

“Seen it all before.  Listen, kid, I have a proposition for you, and you can’t say no.  It’s the biggest thing since sliced bread.”

“No,” Lara and Lisa said at the same time.

“Fuck off, Four Eyes,” Reggie said casually to Lara.  She blushed and said nothing.  Lisa bit her lip, knowing that scolding him did no good.  He sat backwards on a folding chair, facing Lisa.  “Your next gig is gonna be on TV.”

“TV?  What…a mini-series?  Movie of the Week?”  Lisa said.

“Nope…variety show?”

“Variety shows went out in the seventies,” Lisa reminded him.

“Yeah, well, egos are actually starting to get smaller again, and one of the networks contacted me about having you host a new kind of variety show.  Mostly music with a little comedy thrown in.  You’ll be one helluva draw, and the money is excellent.”  He quoted a sum that made Lara sit down hard in her chair, but Lisa merely blinked.

“If this thing bombs, it could ruin my career,” Lisa pointed out.  “And you’d lose your meal ticket.”

“Hey, there are other Luckies in the sea, babe.”  He dropped a folder in her lap.  “Show tapes in two weeks.  Here are your first guests.  Learn ‘em.  LeAnn Rimes, Charlotte Church, and the Backstreet Boys.”

 

After they clambered into the back of the limo, Lara silently handed Lisa the folder on the stars of her new show.  Lisa sighed and opened it, beginning to flip through the pictures and bios.  “What the hell do I know about hosting anything?”  Lisa grumbled.  “I hate being nice to people I don’t like.”

“Maybe you’ll only have to talk to people you DO like,” Lara said hopefully.  Lisa sighed again, staring out the window.  She turned to Lara.

“I’m sorry, ya know, about what he called you and how he treats you.”

Lara smiled at her.  “I don’t mind.  I’d prefer it if he acted like I was part of the woodwork, but I can’t possibly get that lucky.”

Lisa smiled back.  “Downtown,” she told the driver.

“Lucky, we have a signing at the record store in an hour,” Lara reminded her.

“We’ll make it…what I have in mind won’t take long.”  Lisa settled back against the seat with a smile.

 

“That was NOT necessary,” Lara grumbled as she hurried after Lisa into the record store.

“Of course it was.”  Lisa smiled and waved at her fans as she settled into her seat.  “You needed a new outfit…and I felt guilty for the way Reggie treated you.  End of story.  Hello, everyone!”  She shouted to the crowd.  They screamed their reply.  Lisa tugged on Lara’s shirt until she bent down next to her.  “Pick me up all the Backstreet Boys CDs they have in this place.  I should at least SOUND like I know their music.”

 

Isn’t she lucky, this Hollywood girl…and they say she’s so lucky…she’s a star…but she cry cry cries in the lonely dark thinking…if there’s nothing missing in my life then why do these tears come at night?

 

Lucky dropped Lara off at her apartment at eight o’clock that evening, much to Lara’s protest.  “I coulda took the bus,” her assistant said.

“I didn’t mind…besides…it’s not so lonely then,” Lisa finally admitted.  Lara gave her a long look.

“Would you like to come in? We could watch a video…make popcorn…” she gently suggested.  Lisa sighed.

“That sounds SO wonderful, but I can’t.”

“Right,” Lara mumbled, moving to get out of the car.  Lisa stopped her.

“And it’s NOT because I’m the big star and you’re the assistant.  You know better then that.  You’re the best friend I have.”  Lisa ran a hand through her dark hair.  “It’s just that I have that freaking magazine shoot thing tomorrow, and Anna will be jumping up and down on me at five.”

“I understand,” Lara said softly.  “You sure you don’t need me for that?”

“Nah…sleep in.  I’ll see you at that luncheon thing.”

Lara climbed out and the limo slowly moved down the street.  Lisa leaned her head back and sighed, finally allowing the tears to fall.  They had been hovering inside her eyes all day and it had taken every bit of acting ability she possessed to keep them back.  She had been feeling so lonely lately.  She enjoyed her work, loved singing, loved acting, but she wanted nothing more then to stay up late with a friend, or go to the movies, or go shopping without it being a big production number.  She stared out the window, watching the lights of the city go by.

 

Lost in an image…in a dream…but there’s no one there to wake her up.  And the world is spinning and she keeps on winning but tell me what happens when it stops…

 

Lisa strode through the mob of photographers, smiling and waving as if her life depended on it.  She looked as if she had stepped out of a fashion magazine, hair perfect, dress immaculate.  It was hard to believe that she had been up since five, spending most of the morning at a grueling photo shoot with one of the most ill tempered photographers in the business.

“Lucky!  Is that dress from your new line?”  A reporter called.  Lisa stopped walking and slowly did a runway turn.  Everyone chuckled.

“Yes, it is.”

“Is it one of the numbers you’ll be donating to the charity today?”  Someone else called.

Lisa laughed.  “Obviously you guys have been misinformed.  I’m donating the total proceeds for the first three months’ worth of sales of my line to the charity…not the actual outfits.”  She smiled.  “I doubt that cancer patients would really be interested in a Lucky original.”  The crowd laughed as she moved on.

As usual, Lara was waiting right inside the doors.  Lisa frowned when she saw her.  “I buy you a gorgeous outfit and you won’t wear it?”

“I was saving it for something special,” Lara said defensively, looking down at her navy blue pantsuit.

“Whatever.  Lead me to the food.  I’m starving.”  Lisa followed Lara to the buffet table.  Lisa groaned when she saw Reggie devouring some hors d’oeuvres.  “What’s HE doing here?”

“Guess he snuck out of a garbage can somewhere and stole an invite,” Lara replied in a low voice, making Lisa giggle.

“Lucky, ‘bout damn time.”  Reggie grabbed her arm.  “Need to introduce ya to some people.”

Lisa shrugged him off.  “Come on, Lara.”  She grabbed Lara’s arm and they followed him through the crowd.  Five handsome young men were standing by the bar, drinking various soft drinks and alcoholic beverages. 

“Lucky?  These are the Backstreet Boys.  Backstreet Boys, this is Lucky.”  Reggie smiled his greasy smile.

“And this is my assistant, Lara,” Lisa said, yanking Lara forward and giving Reggie an evil glare.

“Hi…I’m Brian.”  A short man with sandy hair and bright blue eyes gave Lisa and Lara a big smile.  “That’s AJ on the end, this is Howie, the blondie who isn’t paying attention to us is Nick, and this is my cousin, Kevin.”

Lisa considered herself a mature woman.  When Kevin turned his bright green eyes on her, however, she felt about ten years old.  “Hey,” she said softly.  He smiled at her.

“So, you’re the big guest host, huh?”

Lisa rolled her eyes.  “Hardly.  I kinda got thrown into this and…”

“Be right back, babe.”  Reggie gave Lisa’s arm a squeeze and dove into the crowd.

“Thank God,” Lara murmured.

Howie smiled at her. “Take it you don’t think much of him?”

“We try not to think of him at all, if we can help it,” Lara replied, making everyone laugh.  Lisa stared at her.  Was she flirting?  She didn’t know Lara had it in her.

“You were saying?”  Kevin said to her.

“Uh…well…this wasn’t really my idea, it was Reggie’s…and since I have a sucky contract, I don’t have much of a choice.”

“We know ALL about sucky contracts,” Brian told her.  AJ, Howie and Kevin nodded in agreement.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to thank you all for coming.”  A man stepped up to the microphone.  “The cancer wing of the hospital will benefit greatly from your generosity.  I would also like to especially thank Lucky, who has agreed to donate to our hospital the entire first three months’ profit from her new clothing line.”  There was a spattering of applause, and Lisa blushed.

“Entire profit…very generous.”  Brian tipped his glass to her and she smiled.

“Oh!  I almost forgot to tell you!”  Lara turned to Lisa.  “Some PR people from Blockbuster called…you’re nominated in their awards thingy…best actress in a drama.”

“You’re kidding!”  Lisa laughed.  “That’s pretty cool.”

“To Lucky…best actress in a drama…” Kevin raised his glass as well.

 

“Okay…now what?”  Lisa asked as they climbed into the ever-waiting limo at around three in the afternoon.

Lara stared at her.  “You truly don’t know your own calendar?”

“That’s what I have you around for, silly,” Lisa said with a smile.  “Usually I’m better, but this week I can’t keep anything straight.”

“Nothing…you actually have a free afternoon and evening,” Lara said with a smile.

“Yes!”  Lisa shouted.  “I know what I’m doing.  I am gonna lounge around the pool with bags of Fritos and chips, and YOU are gonna lounge around with me.”

“I don’t know, Lisa, I…”

“I’m your boss and I order you to be my friend today,” Lisa said with a teasing grin.  She gave the driver Lara’s address before her assistant could protest.

 

“Okay…if this is what being famous is all about, I am SO there,” Lara said with a sigh as she and Lisa floated around Lisa’s pool on big blue rafts.

Lisa looked at her over a pair of big sunglasses.  “You of all people know it’s not all like this.”

“Yes…yes, I do,” Lara replied. “Is it worth it?”

“When I come home to a gorgeous home like this, yes, it is.  When I see someone’s eyes light up just because I stop to pose for a picture, yes, it is.  When I stood in front of the world to give my acceptance speech for the Oscar, yes, it is.  When I drive home from some shindig at two in the morning and arrive here to an empty house, no…it isn’t.”  Lisa took a sip of her iced tea and sighed.  “When I started acting in plays and things back in my hometown, I never thought I’d even make it to California.  When I made it here, I never thought I’d get even a walk-on part.  When I got the walk-on, I never thought I’d get a part with lines…and so on.  Now, I sometimes wish I was back at home, doing community theater.”  She waved a hand in the air.  “This isn’t the real me.”

“I know that,” Lara said gently. 

“I just wish that someone else did…I mean, I get lonely.  I would give anything for someone to just call me up and ask me out just because they liked me, Lisa, and not because they met Lucky.”  Lisa frowned.  “I’m sorry…you don’t need to hear my pity party.”

“It’s okay…that’s what friends are for,” Lara said with a smile.

Lisa floated over so she could grab a hold of Lara’s raft.  “What about you?  Why aren’t you with anyone?”

“I’m waiting for Reggie to notice me,” Lara said with a straight face.  Lisa made a gagging noise.  “I don’t know,” Lara said seriously.  “I just haven’t found anyone who’s willing to look past the surface…kinda like the boat you’re in.  I refuse to change the way I am just to please someone else.”

“Good for you,” Lisa told her, giving her ankle a squeeze.  “Shit…I shoulda brought out some magazines…I have a stack in there and I never get the chance to read them.”

“I stuffed some in my bag over there,” Lara told her.  Lisa paddled their rafts to the edge of the pool and reached into Lara’s canvas bag.  As she pulled out four or five magazines, she started to laugh.  “Lara, what the hell are these?”

“Shit,” Lara mumbled, blushing.  Lisa held copies of the most current teenybopper magazines.  “I…uh…well…I figured that one of us should do research,” she stammered.

“Bullshit.  You were drooling, weren’t you?  It’s Howie, isn’t it?”  Lisa said, amused.  “Not that I blame you…he IS a cutie.”

“It’s NOT Howie,” Lara said defensively.  “It’s Nick.”

“Nick?  The blond one?  He hardly said three words to us.  He seemed kinda stuck up, if you asked me.”

“Well, I DIDN’T ask you, first of all…and secondly…he’s shy.  All the magazines say so,” Lara said, then smiled at the way she was defending a total stranger.

“Whatever.”  Lisa grabbed a magazine with a big picture of Kevin Richardson on the front and started reading as the phone rang.

“Meez Lucky!  Phone!”  Anna called from the kitchen window.  Lisa paddled over and picked up the cordless by the pool.

“Who is it?”  Lisa called back.

“I dunno!”  Anna called back.  Lisa sighed.

“Hello?”

“Lucky?  This is Kevin…Kevin Richardson.”

 

“Kevin…Richardson?”  Lisa gasped, almost falling off her raft.

“Yes…from the Backstreet Boys?”

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

“Kevin Richardson?”  Lara screamed in a whisper.

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

“What did you have in mind, Kevin?”

“I know you’re used to fine things, so I thought we could take you out to dinner or something.”

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

Kevin laughed, a sound that made shivers run down Lisa’s back.  “That does sound great…I’m sorry I misjudged you.”

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

“Wow…that sounds great.  Are you sure we won’t be intruding on your day off?”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

“Meez Lucky!  There’s someone here for you!”  Anna called up the steps about ninety minutes later.  Lisa came trotting down the steps, wearing a flimsy sarong over the bottom of her bathing suit.

“Hey!”  She said with a smile as she saw who was waiting in her foyer.  “I’m so glad you guys could make it.”

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

“Lead me to the grill…I’m in the mood to char something,” Howie said.  Brian rolled his eyes.

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

“Wow, this house is something,” AJ said.

“I got it for a miracle price, believe it or not.  At first I thought it was a little too much to be me, but it’s grown on me.”  She opened the sliding glass door out to the patio.

Nick stopped to admire the Academy Award that sat on the living room mantle.  He turned and headed for the hallway, running smack into someone.  “I’m sorry,” he said immediately.  He looked down into blue eyes framed by stylish glasses.

“N-no…I wasn’t looking where I was going,” the girl said shyly.  He gave her the once over.  She was kinda cute, in an understated way.  She wore a sheer blue cover-up over a blue bikini, but from what he could see she had a decent body.

“Have we met before?”  Nick asked her.

“Earlier at the luncheon.  I’m Lara, Lucky’s assistant.”

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

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

“Yes,” Lara said softly as Brian, AJ, Kevin and Howie said hello.  Her sad eyes flicked over to Nick, and Lisa realized that they had met inside.

Brian and AJ started a water battle as Kevin, Lisa and Howie sat on the edge of the pool talking.  Howie looked up at Lara, who stood uncertainly a few feet from the edge.  “Sit down.”  He patted the cement next to him.  Lara paused, then slowly sat down.  Howie looked over at Lisa and Kevin, who were deep in conversation.  “So…how’d you get this job working with Lucky?”

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

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

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

Howie laughed.  “Don’t worry.  No offense taken.”

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

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

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

“I’ll talk to you later.”  Howie dove in and took off after Nick.

“So, where are you from?”  Kevin asked Lisa.

“Kentucky…and don’t make any jokes about it,” she ordered.  His mouth fell open.

“You’re kidding.  You’re from Kentucky, too?  Me and Bri are from Kentucky!”

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

“If you really didn’t want to do it…”

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

“Why don’t you get rid of that slimeball?”  Kevin asked, placing a hand on her arm in concern.  Lisa fought off the shivers.

“Well, the contract is airtight, and I still have about ten more months to go.  As soon as the time runs out, though, I am on my own.  Between Lara and I we know enough to get me what I want at a decent price.”

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

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

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

“I think so…and she’s not one for mindless crushes…she’s responsible and serious.”

“Responsible and serious…sounds familiar,” Kevin mused, and Lisa laughed.

“I worry about her.  She’s alone all the time.  I wish I could find her someone to go out with.”

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

“I…uh…I better check on Anna.  Don’t want to waste any good grilling time.”  She hopped to her feet and ran inside.

 

Lisa closed the door with a sigh.  “Well, I’d say that was successful, wouldn’t you?” 

“Yeah, if you call Kevin Richardson hanging on your every word a success,” Lara said with a smile, going upstairs to change back into her clothes.  Lisa ran up after her.

“Was he really hanging on my every word?”  Lisa asked eagerly.  Lara stopped and looked at her.  Lisa’s eyes were sparkling and her cheeks were flushed.

“Definitely,” Lara told her. 

“He IS something, isn’t he…that body…and those eyes, wow…they were beautiful.”  Lisa flopped down onto her messy bed.  Lara swallowed a grin.  She may have been the beautiful starlet on the outside, but Lisa was starlet who never made her bed.

“Eyes…they were what, brown?”  Lara teased.

“No way! Green…emerald green…sparkling emerald green,” Lisa sighed.

“You’ve got it bad,” Lara said, laughing.

“I know.” Lisa grew serious.  “And that bites.  It is almost impossible for two famous people to date.  Everyone gets in your business and messes everything up.  Not that we’ll ever date or anything.”

“Trust me.  You’ll date,” Lara told her.  “He’ll call you before the week is out.”

 

“Lucky?  This is Kevin.”

“Kevin?”  Lisa sat straight up in bed and glanced at the clock.  Eleven-thirty.

“Yes…is it too late?  Were you sleeping?”

“Um…well…I was in bed but not sleeping,” she said honestly.  “I have an early call tomorrow for some TV thing.”

“I’m sorry!”

“It’s okay…what’s up?”  Lisa snuggled back down and smiled.  Her heart was beating so hard she was afraid he could hear it. Something had really clicked between them at her little impromptu cookout and she had been hoping he would call.

“I was wondering if you were busy day after next…I know it’s short notice but I thought maybe if you had the afternoon free we could go out to the beach or something.”

Did he sound nervous?  “The beach?  You mean…uh…like a date?”  Lisa was almost afraid to say the words.

“Um…yeah…if that’s okay.  I thought maybe so people wouldn’t get the wrong idea or something, you could bring Lara and I could drag one of the guys along…maybe Nick.”

Well, if she couldn’t get him alone having just Lara and Nick there was second best.  “Kevin, there is nothing I would like more.  And it just so happens that I have a really light schedule the rest of the week.”

 

“I need you to clear my schedule for Wednesday,” Lisa told Lara as they drove to the studio.  She was shooting a commercial for her new clothing line.

“What?”  Lara flipped through the ever-present calendar.  “Well…you do have this lunch thing at a bookstore, and then…”

“CLEAR MY SCHEDULE, Lara, and clear yours, too.”

“Mine?”  Lara squeaked.  She studied her boss carefully.  “What’s going on?”

“Kevin called last night.”  Lisa could not keep the grin off her face.  “He called and asked me to have a picnic on the beach with him on Wednesday.  And he wants you there, too, so people won’t talk so much, and he’ll have another one of the guys come along, too.”

“Another one of the guys?  Like…maybe…Nick, or something?”  Lara turned white.

“Maybe…or Howie or Bri or something…” Lisa looked at Lara.  “Forget it.  You’re coming.  Quit looking so ill.”

“But Nick…and I’ll be in a bathing suit…and…”

“He saw you in a bathing suit at my house,” Lisa reminded her.

“But it’s different at a beach…there are all those beautiful women and…”

“You’re coming along.  I need you.  End of story.  And if you bitch one more time, I’ll fire you,” Lisa said only half-jokingly.  Lara leaned back against the seat and sulked.

 

Filming the commercial was actually fun, and the time flew.  It was situations like this that made Lisa totally love her job.  The crew made her feel at ease and Lara even loosened up for five minutes.  Lisa almost hated to leave when the director yelled cut and print.

“We have a few hours to kill until you have to get ready for that dinner thing tonight,” Lara told her.  “Do you want to just go home?”

“Nope…I need to go shopping.  I need the perfect beach outfit.”  Lisa told the driver to head downtown.  Lara sighed.

“Lisa, you have closets full of clothing at home, clothing that Kevin Richardson has never seen and…”

“Lara, what I have at home are dresses and designer gowns and silk pantsuits. I have almost NO casual clothing.  And while we’re down there, we are taking YOU to the eye doctor to get your eyes tested for contacts.  No more hiding those baby blues behind glasses.”

“Excuse me?”

“Listen to me.”  Lisa took Lara’s hand in hers.  “I have a good feeling that Kevin and I are going to be seeing a lot of each other.  I need you around to keep things on the QT.  If I can get Nick to stick around, YOU’LL be more comfortable.  I think you are wonderful just the way you are, but you being able to flutter those eyelashes free and easy will keep Nick’s attention.”

“That makes no sense whatsoever,” Lara told her, trying not to smile.  “But I have always wanted contacts.”

“Good.  Settled.  And after that we can hit the hairdresser and…”

Lara held up a hand.  “Whoa.  Wait a second.  I…”

“Lara, making you over will keep me from drooling over Kevin.  Besides…I think I wanna have a party sometime before this variety show thing, and we need to start planning.”

Lara sighed and pulled out her notebook, wondering how in the world she had gotten pulled into all this.

Wednesday

 

 

“Meez Lucky?  Is that you?”  Anna called down from the deck.

“Who else would it be, Anna?”  Lisa asked, pulling herself from the pool and drying off vigorously.

“Eet’s your day off, right?”

“Yes.”

“How long you been out here?”

“Um…I think I came down at six-thirty.  What time is it now?”  Lisa started up the steps.

“Almost seven-thirty.  You got up at six-thirty on your day off?”  Anna stared at her in amazement.

“I felt like swimming laps,” Lisa said simply.  Anna didn’t need to know that Lisa had hardly slept a wink all night.  She was too excited about spending the day with Kevin.  She sighed happily.  She felt sixteen again.  “Can you make me a really yummy breakfast?  Pancakes, maybe?  I’m gonna go soak for a while in the hot tub.”

“Pancakes?  You sure you feeling alright, Meez Lucky?”  Lisa never asked for a big breakfast.

“I’m fantastic.”  She kissed Anna on the cheek and bounded inside.

 

“I’m here…” Lara called when Anna answered the door.  “Hi, Anna.”

“She’s upstairs.  She’s acting all crazy today, let me tell you,” Anna said, shaking her head.  Lara smiled.

“She has good reason to be.”  Lara trotted up the steps.  “Lees?”

“In here!”  Lisa called from her bathroom.  Lara flopped onto the unmade bed.  “What do you think?”  Lisa came out of the bathroom in a very cute sky blue halter and shorts set.

“Adorable.  Your legs look about twenty feet long,” Lara observed.

Lisa looked at Lara and did a double take.  “Where did you get that outfit?”

“I found it in the back of my closet,” Lara said worriedly.  “Why?”

“Stand up,” Lisa ordered.  “Turn the hell around.”  Lara stood and slowly turned.  Lisa slowly started to smile.  Lara wore a pair of short denim shorts and a purple sleeveless button-up blouse that knotted at the waist, showing a slight bit of her slender waist.  Her hair was pulled back by a bandanna.  The hairdresser had cut most of the length off but left it long enough to do things with.  “Talk about legs being twenty feet long.”  Lara blushed.  “Nick is gonna flip.”

“It’s not gonna be Nick,” Lara told her.  “I’ve already convinced myself of that.  And if it isn’t, I have ordered myself to enjoy the day no matter what.”

“Good for you!”  Lisa gave her a big hug.  “Okay…they should be here in about fifteen minutes.  I…”

“Meez Lucky!  Someone to see you!”  Anna announced.

“If that is Reggie I will most certainly kill him,” Lisa told Lara as she walked to the steps.

“And I will hold him down for you.  I refuse to let him destroy the first fun day we’ve had in ages,” Lara added.  She followed Lisa down the stairs, almost running her over when Lisa stopped short.

“I know we’re early…I’m sorry,” Kevin said, smiling in a way that proved he was in no way sorry.  Nick’s blond head peered over Kevin’s shoulder, and Lara couldn’t help but smile.

“No need to apologize,” Lisa told him.  “Hi, Nick.”

“Hey,” Nick said almost shyly.  He looked from Lisa to Lara and almost did a double take similar to Lisa’s earlier.  She blushed prettily.

“Where are the bodyguards?”  Lisa asked teasingly.

“The same place yours are,” Kevin shot back.  “We brought Nick’s Explorer, figuring we’d need room for the huge picnic basket you packed for us.”

“And what made you think WE packed lunch?”  Lisa said over her shoulder as she led Kevin out to the kitchen.  Nick and Lara lagged behind, just looking at each other.

“Um…thanks for coming,” Lara said finally.  “This day means a lot to Lucky.”

“Yeah, well, Kev promised I’d have a good time…” Nick looked Lara over.  “…and now I think he may be right.”

 

“How in the world did you get Nick to come along?”  Lisa asked Kevin later as they watched Nick and Lara splash around in the ocean.

“I threatened him,” Kevin said with a straight face.  Lisa’s mouth fell open and Kevin laughed.  “Kidding…kidding.  I just asked him to come, and told him he’d have a nice time.  I also stressed how much it would mean for me to get to spend some time with you.”

“R-really?”  Lisa almost stammered, then kicked herself for sounding like a teenager.

“Yes.  I wanted to get to know you better, and I knew that if Nick and Lara were along and the press found out, they might not make such a big deal of it.”

“And would it be a big deal if they DID find out?” Lisa asked cautiously.

Kevin looked at her for a long moment.  “Let’s take a walk.”  He stood up and brushed the sand off his legs, then held a hand out to Lisa.

 

“Look.”  Lara grabbed Nick’s arm and motioned towards the shore.  They watched their friends slowly stroll down the beach.

“’Bout damn time,” Nick muttered.  Lara looked at him strangely.  “Ever since we met you guys at that lunch, it’s been “Lucky this” and “Lucky that”.  He’s sounded like a teenager or something.”

“And is that a bad thing?”  Lara asked him.  He shook his head and smiled.

“Nah…of course not.  Kev’s been alone too long.  It’s hard finding someone when people totally judge you for what you appear to be instead of what you are.”

“I totally understand,” Lara said, blushing slightly.  She shivered and Nick noticed.

“Come on.  Let’s go in for a while.”

 

“So, what made you come to LA?”  Kevin asked Lisa.

“Well…it’s the basic American fairy tale.  I got rave reviews for doing “Our Town” in high school, then when I graduated I didn’t community theater and my ego got inflated so much I moved to California…and quickly found out that I wasn’t as good as I thought I was.  So, I studied hard, waitressed to pay the rent, and then I got my big break.”

“Wow…is acting hard?”

“Is performing hard?”

“You perform,” Kevin pointed out.

“No…I just sing a little and act a lot.  You guys perform…you put one hundred percent into everything you do and that is something to be proud of,” Lisa told him.

“You’ve seen our show?”

“Um…no…Lara rented some videos for me.  I wanted to be prepared once you came on my show.”  Lisa winced at the words.  “My show.  That sounds so egotistical.”

“What will you call it…The Lucky Show?”  Kevin asked.  Lisa swatted at him.

“God, I hope not.”

They walked in silence for a moment.  “I’m so glad you agreed to come along today, Lucky,” Kevin said finally.  “I mean, I know we just met like last week, but I really feel comfortable with you.”

“Must be the whole Kentucky thing,” Lisa teased, though her heart was doing jumping jacks.

“Must be,” Kevin agreed with a smile.  “Lucky, I…”

“Kevin, could you do me a favor?”  She interrupted.

“Sure.”

“Could you call me by my real name?  Lucky gets so old.”

“Of course.  I’m sorry, I didn’t even think to ask what it was.”  Kevin actually looked ashamed.

“It’s Lisa.”

“Lisa…I like it.  Fits you much better then Lucky.”  Kevin took Lisa’s hand in his and swung it between them.

 

“So…Lucky’s having a party sometime between now and the show…think you’ll come?”  Lara asked Nick shyly as they sat on their blanket.  “I mean, I’m sure she’ll invite you.”

“What kind of party?  Some black tie cocktail dress thing?”

“Knowing Lucky the way I do, I highly doubt it,” Lara told him.  “I see a DJ instead of a band, kegs and liquor instead of champagne, and no one over the age of forty invited.”

“Excellent!”  Nick exclaimed.  “Will you be there?”

Lara rolled her eyes.  “Be there?  Also knowing Lucky the way I do, I’ll be the one running the damn thing.”

“Bet your boyfriend won’t like that,” Nick said, his blue eyes dark.

“I…I don’t have a boyfriend,” Lara said quietly.  Nick ran a finger up her leg and she shivered.

“Guess you’ll need a date then, huh?”

“Guess so,” she replied even more quietly.

“Well, if she DOES invite me…can I be your date?”

“Of course,” Lara said, trying not to smile too big.

“Great.  Hey, put some suntan lotion on my back, would ya?”  Nick handed Lara the bottle and turned his back to her.  She allowed the smile to fill her face as she squirted lotion on her hand.

One Week Later

 

 

“The caterer?”

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

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

“When’s my next vacation?”

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

“Has everyone RSVP’d?”

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

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

“Perfect, luv!  We’re done!” The photographer announced triumphantly.

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

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

“Yes…I have everything all ready.  I have planned a fantastic party!”  Lisa gushed.  Lara stopped walking and turned to glare.  “I…I mean…Lara and I have planned a fantastic party!”

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

“I can’t wait either.  Bye, Kev.”  Lisa hung up, her smile quickly fading as she saw the tears that threatened to fall from Lara’s eyes.  “Let’s go.” She hopped up, said thank you to the makeup artist, and dragged Lara out to the limo.  “Don’t…don’t…wait…” she mumbled to Lara as they pushed through some eager fans.  “Don’t let them see it.”  She shoved Lara into the backseat of the limo and quickly signed some autographs before plopping down on the seat.  She had her arms around Lara before the car even started to move.  “Okay…go ahead.”  Lara immediately began to sob.  “What is it, sweetie?”

“It’s n-n-nothing, really.  St-st-stupid.”

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

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

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

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

Lisa smiled.  “They don’t make many of ‘em that great.”

 

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

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

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

“But I wanted to try something different,” Lisa wailed.

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

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

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

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

“See?”  Lisa raised an eyebrow.  Lara sighed and rolled her eyes.  She went back to Lisa’s vanity table to plug in the hot rollers.

Lisa looked at her mail and frowned.  The usual…letters from her family, bills for this and that.  When she caught sight of the last envelope on the pile, the frown deepened.  She shoved that envelope in her nightstand drawer as Lara walked back into the room.  “I guess it would be piggish to ask Anna for something to eat, since this barbecue thing starts in just a few hours,” Lara said cautiously.

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

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

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

Lara sighed again.  “You’re so lucky, if you’ll excuse the pun.  Gorgeous house, gorgeous clothes, gorgeous boyfriend…”

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

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

“He is pretty special, isn’t he?”  Lisa sighed.

“Definitely,” Lara agreed.  The hot rollers beeped and she went back to start on her hair.

 

Lisa paced in front of the bedroom door two and a half hours later.  Everything was ready downstairs but she was still nervous.  This was her first real outing as Kevin’s girlfriend, and she wanted him to be proud of her.  What if it was a nightmare?  What if it was a fiasco that went down in Hollywood history as the worst party ever?  What if…

“Excuse me, is there a sexy woman in here?”  A dark head poked around the bedroom door.

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

“Wow…Lisa…I…wow…” he stammered.  “That’s not like any picnic outfit I’VE ever seen.  You look incredible.”

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

“You stand out no matter WHERE you are, baby,” Kevin said softly, pulling her towards him for a passionate kiss.  His hands found the bare skin of her back and lightly trailed his fingers up and down.  She shivered, as he knew he would.  She finally pulled away, a bit breathless.

“You don’t look so bad yourself,” she told him, looking at his dark red shirt and khaki pants.  He had the shirt open almost to the waist and she raised an eyebrow.

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

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

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

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

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

 

“You have done a great job!”  Lisa yelled over the music an hour later. Lara blushed but said nothing.  Everything was going fantastic…so far.  All the guests seemed to be having a good time, and Lisa was ecstatic, playing the room with Kevin never far from her side.  Brian and AJ were there with their Amandas, but Nick and Howie were nowhere to be seen.  Lara sighed and made a trip back to the kitchen to check on things.  She chatted with the caterers as she glanced over everything with an experienced eye.  If for some reason Lisa ever fired her, she decided, she would make one hell of a banquet coordinator. 

Lara returned to the deck, looking at the mass of people who had congregated on the patio and around the pool.  This party definitely would go down in history.  She looked down at her new outfit and sighed once more.  All that time…all that work…for nothing.  She had just known Nick wouldn’t show.  All that talk about wanting her as his date…the sun must’ve gone to his blond brain or something.

“Excuse me, I was wondering if…” she heard a voice at her elbow and slowly turned around.  She saw Howie’s dark eyes widen.  “Lara?  Is that you?”  She nodded and smiled, blushing from the admiration in his eyes.  “Wow…I didn’t recognize you!  I saw this incredible hottie across the room and finally got the nerve to come over, and it was you!”  It was Howie’s turn to blush.  “I mean…not that you weren’t a hottie to begin with…I mean…not that you looked bad before…I mean…” he stammered.

“It’s okay, Howie,” Lara said.  “No need to apologize…and I know I wasn’t a hottie before.  But thank you for the compliment.”  She looked behind Howie.  “Is…uh…is Nick with you?”

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

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

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

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

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

 

“Remind me again why I had this party,” Lisa grumbled as she shut the door behind the last guest at one in the morning.  This was early by Hollywood standards, but she had pretty much ordered everyone out at one.

“Because you like having people around and you like having fun?”  Nick suggested from his seat next to Lara on the sofa.  She was snuggled up next to him and he was tracing little designs on the side of her stomach.

“Because you like putting me through hell every six or seven months?”  Lara added.

“Because you wanted to show off your fantastic boyfriend?”  Kevin asked, coming up behind Lisa and putting his arms around her waist.

She snapped her fingers.  “Yes.  That is exactly it.”  She smiled up into Kevin’s green eyes and Lara and Nick groaned as one.  Lara stood. 

“That is definitely my clue to leave,” she said.  She hugged Lisa and gave Kevin a kiss on the cheek.  “Don’t stay up too late, kids.”

Nick shook Kevin’s hand and gave Lisa a hug.  “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

“That doesn’t leave us much,” Kevin said teasingly.  Lara quickly glanced at Nick, wondering how true that was.

“Thanks for a great party, Lucky,” Nick said to Lisa.

“Don’t thank me.  I just let people in the house.  Lara did all the work,” Lisa said generously.

“Oh, I plan on thanking her later,” Nick said devilishly, and Lara felt her knees buckle.  They said good night and walked out to their cars, parked at opposite ends of the private driveway.

“So…um…when will I see you again?”  Lara asked, trying not to sound too eager.

“How about tomorrow morning when we wake up,” Nick whispered, running a hand down her jawbone.  Lara swallowed deeply.

“Nick…I really really like you, but I can’t do that.  I can’t just jump into bed with you.  I really want to, and I know that I may be chasing you away by saying this, since you can get women into bed with you at the drop of a hat, but I just can’t move things that fast.”  Lara was afraid to look at him.  Nick gently tilted her face up to his.

“It’s okay,” he said softly, kissing her nose and cheeks.  “I understand.”  He pulled her against him and began passionately kissing her.  His hands moved down to caress her back while her fingers ran up through his blond hair.  When they finally pulled apart, she was breathless.  “Sure I can’t convince you?”  Nick asked, slowly moving his body against hers.

“I will kick myself for this later, but no, you can’t convince me,” she said in a quivering voice.  Nick laughed. 

“Are you busy this weekend?”  Lara shook her head.  “How about I come around for you around nine Saturday morning…we could go for a drive up the coast.”

“Really?” Lara almost squeaked.

“Yes, really.  I want to get to know you better, Lara.”

“Um…okay…that sounds great!”  Lara said.  She went to her car to grab some paper, and quickly wrote down her address.  When she reached out her arm to hand Nick the paper, he pulled her to him for another passionate kiss.  This time he was the first to pull away, and he buried his face in her hair.

“Damn…Lara…you make me want to just throw you into the back of my car and take you away somewhere,” he groaned. 

“Another time,” she promised, bravely kissing the hollow of his neck.

“I’ll call you in a day or two,” he told her.  He gave her one last hug and trotted down the driveway to his car.  Lara watched his headlights zoom down the street, then allowed herself to skip back to her car joyfully.

 

“I didn’t even do anything and I’m worn out,” Lisa said as she and Kevin trudged up the steps.

“It’s all the stress of worrying.  I know you were worrying about everything going just right,” he said as she walked ahead of him into her bedroom.

“You know me so well already?  That’s scary,” she said.

“It is, isn’t it?  I just feel like I’ve known you forever instead of a few weeks.”  He pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head. 

Kevin kissed his way down Lisa’s face to her lips.  When their mouths met Lisa felt her body melt against his strong arms and chest.  That’s how it always was when Kevin kissed her.  She sighed against him.  They had vowed to try and wait before sleeping together, agreeing that sex often ruined relationships instead of making them stronger.  It was getting harder and harder for her to pull away, though, and she knew it had to be twice as hard for Kevin.  His tongue danced with hers and she moaned.  Lisa finally pulled back.

“I don’t know how much longer I can put up with this,” she admitted in a whisper.  Kevin leaned his forehead against hers.

“Your bathtub is big, right?”

“Um…yeah…” Lisa said slowly, wondering how the conversation had wandered to her bathtub.  “It could seat like four people.  It’s one of the big splurges I made when I bought the house.”

“Well, why don’t you go start the water…throw in some of that smelly stuff you girls like…and then come back here.  I will slowly unwrap this gorgeous dress from your gorgeous body, and then you, Lucky, are gonna get lucky.”

 

Lara hummed as she placed her roses in a vase in the dining room of her tiny apartment.  Lisa paid her handsomely, but she still enjoyed her tiny two-bedroom apartment.  Even for all she had done that day, she wasn’t close to tired.  She wanted to stay awake and enjoy the idea of Nick wanting to get to know her better.  Lara stared into space, remembering the feeling of his lips on hers.  She sighed happily, jumping when the phone rang.  She stared at it for a moment.  She never answered the phone after eleven at night; there were too many crazies who somehow got her number and called about Lucky.  For some reason, however, she felt compelled to answer.

“Hello?” Lara said cautiously.

“Hey, you…I like the Tigger pjs,” a male voice said on the other end.

Lara gasped.  “Who…who is this?”  She took a step back and almost fell over a chair, visions of the movie “Scream” running through her head.

“It’s Nick.”

“Oh, thank God,” she said weakly, falling into the chair.  “You scared the shit out of me, Nick!”

“I guess that was kinda stupid, huh?  I apologize,” Nick said sincerely.  “But you just look so damned cute in those shorts and that tank top.”

“Where ARE you?”  Lara asked, walking to the balcony outside her dining room.  It overlooked the small alley that ran behind her apartment building.

“Look down,” he said, and she saw him leaning against his car.  She burst out laughing.

“Nickolas Carter, what the hell are you doing here?”

“Saying goodnight.  I kinda feel like Romeo, though, with Juliet up on the balcony.”

Lara blushed.  “How did you know which apartment I was in?”

“I counted up and over, and the you turned on the dining room light.  It’s not safe, baby.  You really should close those drapes.”

“You’re right…sorry,” Lara said.

“Hold on a second,” he said, and suddenly threw his cellphone through the open window of his car.  He walked across the alley towards her building, and she couldn’t see him anymore.  Suddenly he popped up in front of her and she almost screamed.  “Gotta love fire escapes,” he told her with a smile.  He cupped her face in his hands before she could say anything.  “Sweet dreams, Juliet.”  He gave her a sweet tender kiss and then nimbly climbed back down.  He hopped in his car and drove away before she could do anything.  Lara slowly turned and went back into the apartment, carefully closing the drapes behind her.

 

“How the HELL does this thing work?”  Kevin yelled in frustration, fumbling with the ties on Lisa’s dress.

“Oh, let me do it, or we’ll be here all night,” Lisa said, turning her back to him.  She quickly undid the strings and it began to drop from her shoulders.

“But I wanted to unwrap you,” Kevin pouted.  Lisa looked up at his adorable pouting face and pressed her body against him, unable to resist his cuteness.

“It’s not off yet,” she whispered huskily.  He slowly pushed the fabric from her body as she undid the two buttons that held his shirt together.  He swallowed deeply as her body was revealed to him.

“All this time you had nothing underneath?”  Kevin almost squeaked.

“I couldn’t, not with this kind of dress.”  Lisa slowly undid his belt and very very slowly slid the pants down his legs.  He wore nothing under the pants and she almost gasped out loud.  Was there any part of this man that was NOT perfectly formed?  She reached out one finger and gently ran it along his already hard cock.  He hissed in a breath.

“Not…yet…” he murmured.  He took her by the hand and led her into the bathroom.  The whole room smelled like roses and steam filled the air.  He stepped into the tub and helped her in as well.  He sat her in front of him, pressing his chest against her back as he placed a leg on either side of her.  He grabbed a sponge and began to slowly dribble water down her chest and stomach.  She sighed and closed her eyes, leaning back against him.

“Mmmm…” she moaned as the sponge began to rub slow circles around her breasts.

“You are like no one I’ve ever met before,” Kevin said softly.  “I’ve never been drawn to someone so fast.  You’re talented, beautiful, kind, sweet, sexy…I could go on forever.”

“Well, don’t stop,” she said quietly, and Kevin laughed, his laughter shaking them both.

“Save that particular phrase for later,” he replied, and it was Lisa’s turn to giggle.  “Lisa, I just…I…oh, hell.  I think I’m falling in love with you.”

“What?”  Lisa turned to face him.

“I know…it’s too soon…and I’m sorry.  I just wanted so much to get out of that party and be alone with you tonight, because I just wanted nothing more to spend hours and hours telling you I loved you, and showing you I loved you.”

“I thought I was the only one that felt that way,” she said softly, and Kevin’s eyes lit up.

“Really?  You’re not mad at me for telling you how I feel?”

“How could I be mad?  The most perfect man in the universe telling me he loves me and wants to make love to me all night long?  Yes, that would make the average woman furious, I guess.”  

“You are definitely NOT the average woman, Lisa.”  Kevin pulled her against him.  “I love you.”

“I love you, too, Kevin,” Lisa said with a smile.  He continued to slowly wash her body until she was ready to scream. He stood her up and carefully toweled down her entire body, making sure that she was completely dry before quickly drying his own body.  He led her to her bed, and proceeded to show her how much he loved her…all night long.

 

Lara bounced down her steps and out to Nick’s car.  “Hi!”  She said with a smile, throwing her bag into the backseat.  Her stomach was doing flip-flops but she was determined not to act nervous.

“You coulda waited…I woulda come up to the door for you,” Nick said with a smile.

“It’s okay, I’ve been ready for a while,” Lara admitted.

“You mind the wind in your hair?”  Nick asked as he pulled out onto the highway.

“No,” Lara replied, then squealed with delight as Nick pushed a button and the top of his car started to retract.  “I didn’t even know this was a convertible!”

“Yeah, it’s hidden pretty well.”  Nick turned on the CD player, then reached over and held Lara’s hand.  “So…did you tell Lucky you were going for a drive with me today?”

“Uh…no…” Lara said slowly, wondering why he asked.  “I haven’t talked to her hardly at all since the party.  She’s had a lot of free time lately, and she’s been spending it all with Kevin.”

“Now THAT’S a big surprised,” Nick said teasingly and she laughed.  “I just want us to keep this on the lowdown, ya know? I don’t want photographers and reporters jumping all over us.  I want us to have special us time.”  He picked up her hand and kissed it.

“Well, Lucky wouldn’t tell anyone,” she replied.  His blue eyes sparkled at her.

“But it would be so romantic, don’t you think?  Just like Romeo and Juliet…” he reminded her.  He stopped at a red light and kissed her cheek.  “Please?”

“Sure, Nick, if it’s what you want,” she replied, unable to say no to him.

“Great!”  His gorgeous smile spread over his face as he hit the accelerator.

 

“I love you, too,” Lisa called as Kevin sped out of her driveway.  She threw him one more kiss, then finally went back into the house.  He had spent the two days since the party holed up at her house, and they had been together constantly, swimming in the pool, snuggling on the sofa watching TV, or making love for hours. 

Lisa sighed as she went up the steps to take a shower. The house seemed so empty without Kevin there.  She had given Anna a few days off, wanting to show Kevin that she really was a “normal” person who could take care of herself as well as him.  As she started the water, she wondered how Lara was doing.  She hadn’t heard from her friend since the party, and she felt kind of guilty, since they normally talked every day, even when there were no appointments or things to do.  As usual, Lisa had been so caught up in Kevin that she didn’t even notice what else was going on.  When she walked back into the bedroom to undress, she looked at the nightstand, remembering what was in it.  With a deep sigh she sat on the edge of the bed and pulled the envelope out of the drawer.  As usual, there was no return address, and the postal address on it was smudged.

“Lucky…guess you really are lucky now, aren’t ya?  Ya caught yourself a big rich hunk in that Backdoor Boy, Kevin Richardson.  What he sees in you I don’t hardly understand…just like I don’t know what I see in you either.  If you was my woman, you’d be home where you belong, taking care of me and my house, not off gallivanting and spending all your money.  Sooner or later he’ll realize what a no-talent waste you are, and you’ll be all mine.  I’m just biding my time, waiting for my moment.  While I wait, though, it’s getting kinda expensive.  I lost my job again, and I have no savings.  Maybe you could help me out?  What do ya think about that?  I’ll be in touch.”

Lisa sighed as she folded the letter and shoved it back to the envelope.  Walking over to the closet, she shoved aside some blouses and ran her fingers over the wall.  She found the notch in the paneling and opened the hidden door.  She quickly turned the numbers of the combination and opened the safe.  She pulled out a stack of envelopes about two inches thick and placed the new envelope on the top.  She had been receiving this letters for about two months and they were always the same.  This person insulted her beyond belief, and yet continued to profess their love and yearning for her.  This was the third time money had been mentioned, but no request had yet been made.  There was no name, no signature, no way of tracing the letters.  Lisa was sure that the police or postal service could find them, but she was too ashamed to call.  The letters embarrassed her beyond belief, but they also frightened her.  She’d wait and ignore them…maybe they would stop.

Just as she was about to step into the shower, the phone rang.  She picked up the bathroom cordless.  “Hello?”

“Hey, Lucky, it’s Brian.”

“Hey, Cuz,” she replied, using Kevin’s nickname for him.  “What’s up?”

“I wanted to talk to Kevin.”

“He’s not here,” she told him.

“SURE he isn’t. No one has been able to find him for days, his cellphone is off, he won’t answer his pages and YOU don’t know where he is?  Yeah, right,” Brian said with a laugh.

“No, seriously, Bri…”

“Come on, Lucky, I need to talk to him.  It’s important business stuff,” Brian said seriously.  Lisa frowned.  She really liked Brian and was getting to be pretty good friends with him, but at this moment he was pissing her off.

“Littrell, will you shut the fuck up for a second?”  She finally yelled.  Silence filled the airwaves.  “Good.  Thank you.  God, what is it with your family?  You cannot shut up sometimes,” she said with a sigh.  “Kevin WAS here, but he’s not NOW.  He left about fifteen minutes ago and should be home any minute now, okay?”

“Okay.  Sorry.” She could almost see Brian pouting like a little boy who had just been scolded.

“It’s okay.  And stop pouting.”

“I’m not pouting,” he pouted, and she laughed. 

“Is everything okay?  Businesswise, I mean.”

“Everything’s great, but I’m gonna have to give him some news he might not like.  I’m sure you’ll hear all about it.  Hey, wanna have lunch with me and Amanda sometime next week?”

“I’m not sure of my schedule; I haven’t talked to Lara in days.  I’ll get back to you, okay?”

They chatted for a moment and then hung up.  Lisa finally got in the shower and tried to wash away the memory of the hateful letter.

 

“Oh, Nick, this is fabulous!”  Lara took a deep breath and sighed.  “I can never EVER get used to living this close to the ocean.”

Nick spread out a blanket and flopped down.  “I love the ocean, too.”

“No, it’s not like that.  I lived three hours from the closest beach back at home.  This is like a dream come true.” Lara sat down next to him and looked out at the water.  Nick scooted over to lay his head on her lap.  His blue eyes smiled up at her and she sighed, unable to resist the urge to run her fingers through his hair.

“Mmmm…I’ll give you about twenty years to stop that,” he murmured, almost purring like a cat.  Lara continued to play with his soft hair as she glanced around the deserted beach. 

“Where in the world did you find a beach this secluded?”

“I have my ways,” he said devilishly and she laughed.

“And I’m sure I don’t want to know any of them.” They sat in silence for a while until Nick’s stomach started to grumble.  “It’s only ten-thirty!”  Lara protested.

“I’m a growing boy…I get hungry early.”  He reached over for his bag and pulled out some cookies.  He took one, then reached up to feed her one.  She sighed again. She couldn’t help it.  She would never have believed that she would ever be laying around on a beach being fed by someone as wonderful as Nick Carter.

“Something wrong?”  He asked her.

“Absolutely not.  Everything is so right,” she told him.

“Did you bring along a nice dress like I told you to?”  Nick asked.

She nodded.  “I wasn’t sure why I’d need it, but I did.”

“We are going out to dinner.  There is this gorgeous old hotel up the road a bit with a wonderful dining room.  I wanted to take you somewhere nice, Jules.”

Lara smiled. On the way up in the car Nick had started calling her Juliet, which he quickly abbreviated to Jules.  “That sounds perfect.”

“Good. I want this to be a perfect day for you.  No people, no photographers, no nosy fans, just us.”

“You run a good game, Carter,” Lara said.  Nick stared up at her.

“Wh…what do you mean?”

“If you are trying to seduce me, it’s working,” she teased.  His eyes grew stormy but quickly cleared.

“I don’t have to TRY to seduce anyone,” he said cockily, and she laughed.  He sat up and tugged at her tshirt until she lay down next to him.  He leaned up on one arm and began to lightly caress her cheek.  “You’re so beautiful,” he said quietly. 

“No, I’m not,” she replied.  He started to say something, but she continued.  “You hear people say you’re ugly enough times, Nick, and you start believing it,” she said softly.  She saw something strange pass through his eyes.

“I don’t believe it, and I would never say it,” he told her.  He lay back down and pulled her over to snuggle against his chest.

A Few Days Later

 

“So?  Which one?  The black one or the green one?”  Lisa asked, holding first one outfit up, then another.  “Which one?”

“Huh?”  Lara snapped out of her reverie.  “Oh, uh, the blue one.”

Lisa put the hangers down.  “Lara, there IS no blue one.  Will you pay attention for fuck’s sake?”

“Excuse me for living!”  Lara snapped.  “I’m sorry if your wardrobe is NOT the only thing on my mind right now.  I have about a hundred interviews to chose from before this damned show starts, and I apologize if it is a little more important to me then what you’re gonna wear!”

“You know what?  You have been a total bitch all day, and I’d LOVE to know why.  If you’re not gonna help me, go back to your mousy little life, sitting in front of your computer all night and never seeing the light of day!”  Lisa yelled before she thought.  Lara turned bright red.  “Lara, wait, I’m sorry, I…”

“I’m sorry I’m such an embarrassment to you,” Lara said, trying not to let the tears fall.  “I’ll call you with the interview schedule.  Have a nice dinner with Kevin.”  She hurried out of Lisa’s bedroom and Lisa heard the front door slam.

“Fuck,” Lisa muttered, tossing the clothes onto the bed.  She hadn’t meant to sound so harsh, but Lara HAD been a bitch all day.  She didn’t think Lara was a mouse by any means, but it was the first thing that had jumped into her head.

 

Lara tried to stop crying as she drove home.  The tears were making it hard to see the road, and the last thing she needed was to drive into a guardrail.  Actually, she thought to herself, that might be a good idea.  No one would notice if she were gone.  Lisa obviously thought she was a waste of space, and Nick, well, she hadn’t heard from him since their trip up the coast.  That day had been wonderful.  They had laid out all day on the beach, and then stopped at a small pay-by-the-hour motel on the highway to shower and change.  It had been an experience, that’s for sure.  There was a lot of kissing and fondling before they got ready, but Nick had not pushed her.  The hotel where they ate dinner was everything Nick had promised and more, and Lara had felt like a princess.

She sighed as she put the key in the lock of her front door.  She had thought that they really had something…but obviously it was all in her mind.  She was just a little diversion until…

Lara gasped as something hit her in the face.  She put up a hand and the something gave way.  She stood in the doorway, frozen with shock.  Hundreds of blue and silver helium balloons filled her living room, taking up every available space they could.  She carefully closed the door, leaning back against it.  Nick.  It had to be.  When they were driving up the coast, they had passed a car on the highway that had a backseat full of helium balloons, and Lara had commented on how much she loved balloons.  Well, here were balloons, a whole apartment full.  But how?

Lara carefully picked her way towards the bedroom, giggling as the balloons bounced and danced around her.  When she got to the bedroom, she almost fainted.  Vases of white roses, her favorite flower, filled every flat space, filling the room with a sweet aroma.  She sighed, burying her face in the closest bouquet.  She had not thought Nick capable of something this sweet.  “How in the world?”  She said out loud.

“I conned your landlord. It’s amazing what a hundred bucks can get you.”  She whirled around to see Nick leaning against the doorframe, a sexy smirk on his face.  She threw herself into his arms.

“Oh, Nick, thank you!  I have had the most awful day, and this…” the events of the day finally caught up to her and she burst into tears.  He rubbed her back, kissing her forehead.

“It’s okay, baby…it’s all over now.  I’m here.”  He gently wiped her tears away with his thumb.  “I have some bad news, though.”  Lara looked up at him questioningly.  “We have to do this huge Euro press tour thing for two months.”

“When do you leave?”  Lara asked sadly.

“Two days after Lucky’s show.”

“That’s the beginning of next week!” Lara exclaimed.

“I know.  I hate it, too.”  He kissed her nose.  “Why don’t you go soak in a bubble bath and I’ll run out for videos and pizza, okay?  We’ll hole up here all night.”

“Okay,” Lara said with a sigh.

Nick held her chin gently.  “No long face, okay, or I’ll make you eat anchovies on your pizza.” Lara wrinkled her nose and he laughed.  “That’s what I thought.  Be right back.”

 

“Two months?”  Lisa gaped at Kevin across the table.  “You’ll be gone two months?”

“Lisa, I thought that you of all people would understand this,” Kevin said earnestly.  Lisa started to reply, but was interrupted by two young girls asking for her autograph.  They had chosen to eat at a less than fashionable diner, and fans were constantly interrupting them.

“I DO understand, Kev, but it doesn’t mean I have to like it,” she told him when they were alone again.

“Believe me, Lisa, I don’t want to go.  I’d rather stay here and work on this new album.  We have to go promote it before it’s even finished!”  Kevin grumbled.

Lisa sighed.  “This has been one hell of a day.  First I lose my best friend, and now I am losing my boyfriend.”

“You’re not losing me, Lisa.  I’ll be back before you know it, and I’ll call all the time. Maybe you could come…”

“I can’t,” she reminded him. “The show.”

“Right,” he said, taking her hand and rubbing his fingers over her knuckles.  “And don’t worry about Lara.  You two are too close for her to just stop talking to you.”

 

“She said that?  No wonder you’re mad at her,” Nick said, his mouth full of pizza.  Lara handed him a napkin.

“I’m not mad, really, just hurt.  I didn’t realize that’s how she saw me.  I mean, I know I’m far from glamorous but…”

“You are quite glamorous.  You really have done a one-eighty from the girl I met at that luncheon,” Nick told her.  Lara felt as if someone had punched her in the stomach.

“Was I really that awful?”

“No, of course not!”  Nick said quickly.  “You weren’t bad.  But now…wow…I’m almost afraid to leave you alone here.  Everyone will be after you as soon as my dust clears.”  He leaned over and kissed her cheek.  “I’ll be reading in the tabloids how my girl was seen here and there with this guy and that guy.”

“Your girl?”

“Sure…you are my girl, aren’t you?”

“Yes, of course, but we’ve never, you know, gone out and really did anything.  You know, hung with Kev and Lisa, or Amanda and Brian…”

“We don’t need them.  We’re the perfect couple just being us.”  Nick finished off his fifth piece of pizza. “Okay.  Onto the videos.  I picked out three but I think I know which one you’ll want to see.”

“Oh, Nick, this is great!”  Lara exclaimed, picking up the latest version of “Romeo and Juliet” and examining the box.  “I love this version, even better then the first one.  I didn’t think you were into Shakespeare.”

“I’m not,” he replied with a shrug.  “But I thought maybe I could pick up some lines to use on you later.” He wiggled his eyebrows and made her laugh.

Nick stretched out on her sofa and Lara leaned back onto his chest with a sigh.  He began to lightly massage her neck as the movie started, but soon he maneuvered so her head was right next to his.  Nick softly kissed her neck and earlobes occasionally, and by the time Juliet first meets Romeo they were in a heavy makeout session. 

“Oh, Nick, do you really have to go?”  Lara whispered as he flicked his tongue against her ears.

“I do.  I goddamn hate it but I do.”  He moved his hand up to gently massage her breast.  “Lara, please, let me make love to you,” Nick pleaded.  “We only have a few days…and I want to be able to pleasure you every single one of them.”

Lara had a weird feeling that it wasn’t right…that it was too soon…but suddenly she didn’t care.  “Yes…oh yes, Nicky…I want you, too,” she murmured.  He stood and led her by the hand into her bedroom.  He slowly pealed off her tank top and shorts, and when they were both naked he began to kiss every square inch of her body.  She forgot Lisa, forgot the show, forgot everything but what Nick’s mouth and hands were doing to her body. 

 

Lara’s phone rang at ten the next morning.  “Hello?”  She muttered angrily.

“Lara?  It’s Lisa.”

“Yes?” Lara almost snapped.

“Oh, were you in bed?  I’m sorry!”

“Who is it?”  Nick whispered.

“Lucky,” Lara whispered back.  “Yes, I was in bed.  What do you need?”

“I…um…I wondered if you wanted to come over for breakfast.  Anna could make omelets.”

“I hate eggs, remember?”  Lara was not in the mood for anything but lying around in Nick’s arms, and she wasn’t about to forgive Lisa for her words the day before.

“Oh, yes, right…well, how about brunch…like sandwiches or something?”

“I’m busy this morning,” Lara said simply.

“Dinner?  We need to talk, Lara.”

“Can you hold on one second?”  Lara muted Lisa before she could answer.  “Lucky wants me to come over for dinner.  Guess Kevin must be busy.”

“Oh, FUCK!”  Nick groaned into the pillow.  “We have a meeting with management tonight.  I’m glad you said something.  We’ll be done around eleven or so.  Will you be here?”

“Will you?”  Lara asked flirtatiously. 

“Definitely.  Could you get a late dinner together?”

“Definitely.”  Lara kissed his full red lips and sighed.  She clicked the phone back on.  “I can be there around six.”

“Great.  See you then.”

Lara hung up and stretched.  She looked at Nick, who was lying on his back with his eyes closed.  She swallowed a moan as her eyes trailed down his smooth chest to where the sheet fell right above his hips.  “Like what you see?”  Nick asked without opening his eyes.  Lara blushed.

“If you only knew,” she said, drawing a finger down his chest.  He suddenly grabbed her, pulling her close to him.  She squealed with laughter.

“Show me,” he growled, nipping at her shoulder with his teeth.

 

“She sure didn’t sound too happy about it,” Lisa said to Kevin as she actually straightened up her bedroom.  She knew she was gonna have to royally kiss up to Lara, and she was nervous about it.  She didn’t kiss up well.

“Honey, you hurt her feelings.  If someone you trusted hurt YOUR feelings, you wouldn’t be able to forgive very easily.  I know you.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Lisa sighed into the phone, amazed at how well Kevin really DID know her.  “I miss you already.”

“Lees, we’re not leaving for days.  Quit talking like that,” Kevin ordered.  “Now sit down for five minutes and quit cleaning.  Love you.”

“Kev, how did…” Kevin had already hung up.  “How in the world did he know I was cleaning?”  Lisa wondered out loud.  “Yet another talent: ESP.”

 

“I had Anna make spaghetti and garlic bread.  Hope that’s okay,” Lisa said as she led Lara back to the dining room.

“I don’t think I’ll have the bread, but it sounds fine.”  Lara slipped into her chair.  Garlic was the last thing she needed before another night with Nick.

“Um…okay…wine?”

“No thanks…driving and all,” Lara said simply.  She also knew that a special bottle of champagne was waiting at her apartment, and she didn’t want to drink anything until then.  “Water will do.”

Lisa went back to the kitchen and returned with two glasses of water as Anna brought out the spaghetti.  “Hello, Meez Lara.”

“Hi, Anna,” Lara said, smiling at the maid.  Her face grew stony once more as she looked up at Lisa.

“Thanks, Anna.  You can go home for the night.”

“Okay…good night Meez Lucky, Meez Lara.”  Anna returned to the kitchen.

“Look, Lara, I want to apologize.”

“Okay.”  Lara looked at Lisa.

“Damn, you’re not gonna make this easy, are you?”  Lisa sighed.

“Not if I can possibly help it,” Lara replied coldly.

Lisa sighed again.  “Okay, look, I’m sorry, okay?  I didn’t mean to say what I said.  You were just making me so mad, paying no attention to what I was saying, and it pissed me off.”

“Now you know how I’ve felt every time you even THINK about Kevin,” Lara pointed out.  “But you still had no right to say what you said.  It really hurt my feelings, Lisa.  I know I’m just the lowly assistant next to beautiful Lucky but I’m still a human being,” Lara said in a hurt tone.

“Whoa, wait a minute.”  Lisa moved to sit next to Lara.  “You are not “just a lowly assistant” at all, Lara.  My life would be a nightmare if it weren’t for you. I wouldn’t know where I was supposed to be at what time on what day.  I could never keep the movie stuff and music stuff and fashion stuff separate.  You make my life livable.  And don’t even act like we are just employee and employer.  It’s much more then that… isn’t it?”  Lisa actually looked worried, and tears started to form in the corners of her eyes.  “You’re my best friend, Lara…my only friend in this world that I can trust besides Kevin.”

Lara’s lip quivered.  “But you said…”

“Oh FUCK what I said!”  Lisa said in exasperation.  “You are a beautiful, sensuous, alluring, intelligent woman, and if Nick Carter can’t see that, then we’ll find someone who can.”

“N-Nick Carter?”

“I know you still have a thing for him, Lara, and I can have Kev talk to him if you…”

“No!  Not necessary!” Lara said quickly.

Lisa looked at Lara for a long moment.  “I really am sorry, Lara.  I have missed you so much, and it’s just been since yesterday.”

“I have missed you, too!”  Lara finally broke down and the women hugged.

 

Lara sashayed over to her door, patting her hair one last time before she opened it.  “Oh, God, what a night!”  Nick burst into the room and flopped down onto the sofa.  “What a fucking NIGHTMARE!  No one is listening to us and they’re planning the whole thing without our feedback.  Just like old times.  I think Howie was gonna…” Nick finally stopped talking and stared at Lara.  “Oh my.”

“Why don’t you go wash up, and I’ll put dinner on the table,” Lara said, smiling seductively.  She smoothed down the short satin skirt of her midnight blue nightie. Nick flew down the hall to her bathroom.

When he came back out to the dining room, Lara had two pork chops, mashed potatoes and corn on his plate. Next to the plate was a glass of milk.  She sat across the table from him, silently watching him devour the food.  “This is good.  I’m starving,” he mumbled.  He had never eaten so fast in his life.  When the last drops of milk were drained from the glass, Lara took the dishes back into the kitchen, feeling Nick’s eyes on her back.  “Go wash your face!”  She called from the kitchen.  “You ate like a pig!” 

When he came back into the dining room, Nick almost slipped on an M&M.  He followed a trail of M&Ms down the hallway to the bedroom.  Lara was lounging naked on the bed, gracefully picking at a pile of candy.  “Dessert?”  She asked huskily.

 

“I cannot believe how nervous I am,” Lisa muttered as she sat in the makeup chair.  “It’s only television.  What’s the big deal?”

“You’re nervous because Kevin is gonna be watching you,” Lara teased with a smile.

“A million viewers will be watching.  What’s the big deal about one more?”  Lisa retorted.  Lara leaned close to whisper in Lisa’s ear.

“Those million viewers don’t fuck you ‘til they scream, do they?”

Lisa gasped and stared at Lara, who burst into hysterical laughter.  Lara had been in such a good mood lately, and Lisa could not figure out for the life of her what was causing the sudden mood swings.  She herself seemed to be getting further and further into the dumps, with Kevin leaving and another letter arriving every week. She knew she had to tell someone about the letters, but she was still hoping the person would get tired and stop.  “You frighten me, Lara, you really frighten me,” Lisa said, closing her eyes and leaning back in the chair.

“I’ll be standing right on the side of the stage.  You need anything, you let me know,” Lara told her. 

“How many screaming teenyboppers are out there?”  Lisa asked.  “I knew I shoulda used canned laughter instead of a live audience,” she grumbled.  She knew that dating a teen heartthrob would be difficult, but this was impossible.  She was well liked enough by the teenybopper set that there hadn’t been TOO many evil threats or rude insults, but it was still hard.

“Let’s see…the studio holds about one hundred and fifty people…” Lara checked her clipboard.  “Um…about one hundred forty teenyboppers.”

Lisa groaned and closed her eyes again.  “Hey, listen, Kevin and I were gonna go out tonight and celebrate tonight after the show.  Wanna come?  Nick will be there probably.”

“Um, no thanks,” Lara said quickly, knowing quite well exactly where Nick would be.  “I don’t think I’d feel comfortable.”

“Lara, listen, I think he’s been seeing someone,” Lisa finally confided.  “Kevin says he never wants to hang out with the guys, but he also refuses to tell where he goes or who he’s with…even the tabloids haven’t been able to keep an eye on him.”

“Oh, well,” Lara said with a sigh, practically sitting on her lips to keep from smirking.  “Guess I’ll just have to find someone else to drool over then…Kevin available?” 

Lisa threatened to throw a powder puff at her.  “Don’t even think about it, wench.”

“Miss Lucky, you all ready?”  The stage manager knocked politely and then stuck his head in.

“Just about,” Lisa said with a sigh.

“You’ll do great,” Lara said encouragingly.  “Charlotte and Christina are sweethearts, and, well, you know that the guys are gonna do everything they can to make this show a success.”

 

“Okay, ladies, I know you’ve patiently sat through my first two guests waiting for this moment,” Lisa said about forty minutes later.  Screams resounded through the room and she patiently smiled and waited.  She had the audience in the palm of her hand, and she was actually having a good time.  “I know I’ve been waiting.  These guys are about to take off to Europe for a two-month press tour, but for the next fifteen minutes, they’re all ours.  Welcome the Backstreet Boys!”

When the five men strutted onto the stage, Lisa gasped and Lara covered her mouth to stifle the hysterical giggles that threatened to fly out.  AJ, Brian, Howie and Nick had on “We Love Lucky” tshirts and Kevin wore a large version of one of the first dresses from Lucky’s new line of clothing.  Lara knew this was in retaliation for Lisa’s twenty-minute tirade about how awful he had looked in the skirt he wore to the Men Strikes Back show. 

Lisa stared at Kevin, not able to believe that he would actually do something like this on her show.  She was almost mad at him, then she looked up at the way he was smiling at her, crinkling his eyes and nose in the special way he did when he was trying not to laugh.  She smiled up at him.  “Kevin Richardson, is there something I should know?”  Lisa asked sweetly, and the audience roared.  Kevin sashayed over to her. 

“Unzip me, please,” he said in a feminine voice, and Lisa helped him out of the dress.  Underneath, he wore black pants and his own “I love Lucky” tshirt.

She asked a few predetermined questions, then started the questions about their love lives.  Lisa really didn’t want to ask those kind of questions, and she knew they hated answering them, but Reggie had insisted, saying it was what the public wanted to know.  AJ and Brian briefly mentioned their Amandas, and Howie noted that he was single once more.  Girls screamed at that, and Lisa had to laugh.  She looked up at Kevin.

“What about you?”

“Well…there was this one girl I was seeing, but I dunno…I think she’s too much woman for me,” Kevin replied.  “Know anyone available?”  Lisa smacked him. She couldn’t help it.  The audience chuckled, obviously loving the chemistry between the two of them.

“Nick?”  Lisa asked.  Lara held her breath.

“Well…” Nick stared into the camera, then down at his feet.  “There is someone I’ve kinda been seeing…not too serious…she’s great though…my Juliet.”

The girls in the audience “awwww”ed, and the guys rolled their eyes.  Lisa glanced over at Lara, who was looking everywhere but at the stage.  “Sounds great,” she said simply.  “So, what are you guys gonna sing?”

“Well, we were planning on singing The One,” Brian began, and the room was filled with screams once more.

“But then we decided we’d sing whatever YOUR favorite Backstreet song is,” Howie finished.

“How sweet,” Lisa said with a smile.  “Let me think.  What do you guys think?”  She turned to the audience, and girls started screaming out song titles.  Kevin knew her favorite song but wasn’t about to suggest it without her okay.

Nick looked towards the side of the stage and barely gave Lara a wink.  He was wearing baggy black dress pants with his tshirt and Lara sighed unconsciously at the thought of his long legs in the black pants.  He reached up and ran his hand through his hair, letting his fingers linger at the back of his neck for a moment.  She shivered, knowing he was doing that just to drive her crazy.  She had told him how she loved watching him run his long fingers through his hair, and he had taken to doing it at least once every time they were together, just to make her squirm.  “Why don’t we do All I Have to Give?”  Nick said over the screams.  Lara turned pink.  He knew this was her personal favorite.  The other guys nodded.

“I think that’s a good idea,” Kevin said, smiling down at Lisa.  She walked off the stage and headed right for Lara.

“You okay?”

“Wonderful,” she sighed, trying not to look at Nick.  “I love this song.”

 

“Sure you don’t wanna come along?”  Lisa asked Lara as she was almost ready to leave to meet Kevin and the other guys at the restaurant.  “If he’s there, you can sit by me.”

“No, it’s fine.  I really don’t care if Nick Carter is there or not,” Lara told her.  “I’m just gonna veg at home.”

“Okay.”  Lisa smiled.  “It went good tonight, didn’t it?”

“It was fantastic.  It will be all I can do to keep the monsters at bay for the next two days.”

“Huh?”  Lisa asked, confused.

“Like Reggie said, this is the best thing since sliced bread,” Lara told her.  “Everyone’s going to want to be on your show, not to mention all the interviews you’re going to be asked to do.  But I am going to keep everyone away until Kevin leaves.  I think we will have a two-day vacation until then.”

Lisa squeezed Lara tight.  “Thank you!”

“I’ll talk to you Wednesday morning.  Go!”  Lara shoved Lisa towards the door.  As soon as Lisa had disappeared, Lara grabbed her bag, ran out the door, and went home to wait for Nick.

 

Just as Lara had predicted, the media went crazy.  They loved the show, loved Lucky, and loved the way she and Kevin had interacted. Some people were even suggesting a Lucky and Kevin show. 

“So, can I be your cohost?”  Kevin asked as they snuggled in Lisa’s bed the next morning watching Regis and Kathie Lee discuss the night before.

“No way.  This show is ALLL about me,” Lisa said, grinning at him.  “Go promote your album.”

“Selfish bitch,” Kevin said, poking her.

“Excuse me?  Selfish?  Who’s the one that sleeps sprawled all over the bed so that I fall off every half hour?”  Lisa asked.

“Do I really do that?”  Kevin asked, horrified.

“Well, maybe I don’t exactly fall off…but I get pretty damn close.”

“I’m sorry, baby.”  He kissed her passionately.  “Stay in my arms next time, and maybe that won’t happen.”

“No place I’d rather be,” she told him, snuggling closer.

 

“No…Bri…don’t tell me that,” Kevin moaned from his seat at Lisa’s kitchen counter.  She was puttering around putting sandwiches together for lunch. “But I don’t…can’t you…do you really need me?”  He sighed deeply.  “All of us.  They need all of us.  Whatever.  I’ll be there.”  He hit ‘end’ on his cellphone and slammed it down on the table.  “Fuck.”

“Kevin Scott Richardson…language!”  Lisa admonished with a teasing smile.

“You’re one to talk, potty mouth,” Kevin retorted.  “I seem to remember all kinds of swear words coming out of your mouth last night when I was…”

“Okay, point taken,” Lisa interrupted quickly, making Kevin laugh.  “Seriously…what’s going on?”

“Oh, since the show was such a great success, we have to do some kind of big meeting with management before we leave tomorrow…namely…tonight.”

“What?”  Lisa gasped, dropping the bread.  “Like when?”

“Like tonight around eight,” he said softly.  “I’m sorry, babe, our night is gonna be way cut short.”

“No,” she moaned, tears filling her eyes.  It just wasn’t fair.

“Lees, don’t, please.  Don’t cry.”  Kevin walked over and took her in his arms.  “I hate it, too.”

“I finally find someone, and I’m gonna lose them.”

“For two months!” Kevin told her.  “It’s not like it’s forever.”

“It will feel like it,” Lisa whined, sniffling in a very unladylike way.  He tilted her head up to look at him.

“Lisa, I love you.  I will not forget you in two months.  You’ll be sick of me, I’ll be calling and emailing so much.  You’ll be busy with the show and you’ll hardly notice I’m gone.  But do NOT forget I love you, and I’ll be counting the days until I’m back here with you.”

 

“So, Jules, what do you want me to bring you from Europe?”  Nick asked Lara as they lounged in her bed eating poptarts.

“Prince William,” she said immediately, and Nick poked her.

“Fat chance, baby.  He wouldn’t give you the time of day.”

“And why not?”  Lara said, slightly hurt.  Nick saw it in her eyes.

“Because, fair angel, I will be filling his ears with gossip about how awful you are, so he will not be interested and I will have you all to myself.”  Lara rolled her eyes and poked him back.  “Seriously…anything you’d like?”

“I dunno…you choose,” she told him.  “You know, Nick, I could get some time off and come over to visit you in Europe,” she said cautiously.  This was an idea that had been running through her head ever since he had told her about the press tour.  “Maybe for four or five days.”

“Not a good idea, Jules,” Nick said quickly.  “We’ll be bouncing from city to city like crazy, hardly getting unpacked before we need to hit the road again.  Tour life is not something you’d enjoy.”

“I just…I just thought, you know, that we could be together and everything.  I’m really gonna miss you, Nick,” she said softly, fighting back tears.

“I’m gonna miss you, too, my Juliet.”  Nick kissed her cheeks.  “No crying, okay?  That’s an order.”

“Yeah, who are you to order me around?”  Lara asked, but she wiped away her tears.

“I’m the one who knows just how to drive you crazy!”  Nick said, tossing the poptarts to the floor and beginning to tickle her.

 

“It's not that I can't live without you, it's just that I don't even want to try…every night I dream about you…ever since the day we said goodbye…” Kevin sang softly to Lisa as they stood at her door.

“I love you so much, Kev.”  Lisa put his arms around him and squeezed hard.

“I love you, too, Lisa.”  He kissed her deeply and passionately.  “I’ll call the minute we are in the hotel in London, okay?”

“Please…I don’t care what time it is here.  I will have my cellphone on if I’m not here.  I wanna know you’re okay,” Lisa told him.  Kevin leaned his forehead against hers.

“Love you.”  He quickly went out the door before she could get any more upset.

 

“What?  Howie? Wait…I’m losing you, man.”  Kevin swore as he darted through traffic on the highway and finally pulled over to the side of the road.  “I know I’m late…I apologize…and…what?  What about Nick?”  Kevin swore again.  “They never got a hold of him?  No one knows where he is?  His cell…oh…not turned on…pager?  No reply?”  Kevin swore a stream of profanities.  “What a fucking child,” he grumbled.  “No, Howie, don’t call the police or anything.  I think I can find him.  Gimme a half an hour.”  Kevin hit end, then dialed another number.

 

“Hello?”  Lara answered breathlessly.

“Get rid of them,” Nick said quietly, letting his hands race across her body.  She tried not to moan into the phone.

“Lara?  This is Kevin.  Is Nick there?”

“Nick?”  Lara sat up quickly, shoving Nick’s hands from her stomach.  “Why would Nick be here?”

“Look, Lara, I know he’s been seeing someone in secret and I just guessed that it might be you. This is really important.  We have a really big meeting with management in about ten minutes, and if his ass isn’t here he will be in deep shit.”

Lara handed Nick the phone without another word.  “It’s Kevin.”

“Kevin?  Why did you tell…” Nick began angrily.

“I didn’t fucking tell anyone.  He guessed,” Lara snapped, getting up and throwing on a robe.

“What, Kev?”  Nick growled into the phone.

 

Twenty minutes later, Nick and Lara were standing by the front door waiting for Kevin to pick Nick up. “I’ll have someone come over and pick up the car,” he told her.  She nodded.

“Fine.”

“Look, Lara, I’m sorry I snapped upstairs.  I was just really surprised, that’s all.”  Nick cupped her face in his hands.  “Don’t be mad.”

“Why are you so ashamed of us?”  Lara finally asked the question that had been hounding her.

“I’m not ashamed!” Nick protested.  “You’ve seen how everyone hounds the Amandas, and even Lucky catches some shit because of Kevin.  I don’t want you to have to deal with that.”

“I’m gonna miss you, Nick,” Lara said, turning her face up for a kiss.  He complied, giving her slow, tantalizing kisses.

“Miss you, too, baby,” he told her, hugging her close.  They heard a knock at the door and he quickly pulled away.

“Hey…sorry to interrupt your last night together.  I know what it’s like,” Kevin said grimly when Lara opened the door.

“It’s okay,” Nick said quickly.  He kissed Lara’s cheek.  “I’ll call you.”  He trotted out to the car, leaving Lara standing open-mouthed by the door.  Kevin took pity on her.

“I think he’s pissed at me,” he said with a smile.  He gave Lara a hug and hurried out to the car.

“I’d appreciate if you wouldn’t say anything about this to the guys, or anyone else, for that matter,” Nick said as soon as Kevin had his seatbelt on.

“Mind if I ask why?”

Nick shrugged.  “No one’s business.”

 

“Hello?”  Lisa said with a sigh when her phone rang an hour after Kevin left.

“Lucky?  It’s Brian.”

“Hey, cuz,” Lisa said, sighing again.

“Hey, can you tell Kevin to shake a leg?  He’s late.”

“He left here an hour ago, Brian,” Lisa said worriedly.  “What’s wrong?”

“Oh, nothing!”  Brian said cheerfully, not wanting to bring up Nick and his eternal tardiness.  “I’m sure he stopped for gas or something.  I’ll make sure he calls you once he gets here, so you know everything’s okay.  Talk to you later!”

“Have a save trip,” Lisa said, her mind whirling with confusion as she hung up.

 

“I don’t believe this!” Kevin growled at the traffic snaking along ahead of them.  “Why don’t these damn tourists learn how to drive…then they wouldn’t get in accidents on MY highway?”

“Chill out, Kev.”  Nick said, laying back against the seat with his eyes closed.

“Shut up, Nick.  This is all your fault, anyway,” Kevin griped.

Kevin’s cellphone rang and Nick answered it.  “Yo.”

“Nick?  Thank God!  Where the hell have you been, Frack?”  Brian asked.  “Are you with Kevin?”

“Yeah, we’re on our way over there now,” Nick replied, ignoring the question of where he had been. “There’s an accident on the highway and we’re going at a snail’s pace.”

“Gimme Kev,” Brian said.  Nick handed Kevin the phone.

“What?”

“You’d better call Lisa, Kev.  She was kinda worried when I called looking for you.”

“You called looking for me?  Brian, didn’t you talk to Howie?  Howie knew how to reach me,” Kevin said angrily.

“No, I didn’t talk to Howie.  He and AJ ran to McDonald’s for some food.  I’m sorry, Kev.”

“It’s okay.  I’ll give her a call once we’re out of this mess.  Later.”  Kevin hung up.

 

“Hello!”  Lisa pounced on the phone thirty minutes later.

“Hi, baby,” Kevin said.

“Oh, thank God.”  Lisa weakly sat down.  “I’ve been worried sick.”

“You do know that you’re not going to know my whereabouts every second of every day,” Kevin gently reminded her.  “I’m fine, Lees.”

“Well, when Brian didn’t even know where you were, I got worried.”

“I know.  There was a horrible accident on the highway and traffic was backed up FOREVER.  I’m fine and I love you, okay?  I gotta get into this meeting.  We’re already way late.  I’ll call you from London.”

“I love you, too, Kevin.”  Lisa hung up and laid back on her pillows, failing at her attempts to keep from crying.

 

The first month seemed like an eternity for both Lisa and Lara.  Lisa went through the motions of being Lucky, going to charity events, posing for cameras, and hosting the new television show that was now number one in the country.  It was doing so well that they extended the taping to nine weeks, and she’d be done with it right before Kevin returned from Europe.  True to his word, Kevin called every day from whatever city they were currently in, and emailed every night before he went to bed.  Lisa couldn’t help but miss him, though.  She hadn’t realized what a big part of her life he had become.  Stories about them still ran rampant in the magazines, and tabloids kept coming up with girls that he was running around with in Sweden, in Austria, in Iceland, but she knew the truth and was able to laugh at the rumors.

Lara, on the other hand, was not dealing with the situation very well.  She was lucky if she heard from Nick once a week, though when he DID call it was for hours at a time.  She worked hard during the day, keeping Lucky’s schedule and getting her where she needed to go.  Lara found that the harder she worked, the easier it was to forget about Nick for five minutes.  And every time she convinced herself that she was just a fling for him, that he had totally dumped her, he would send her a special present or flowers.  She didn’t know WHAT to think.  So she worked hard during the day and then sat by the phone at night.

 

“I cannot believe that Kevin will be home tomorrow!” Lisa gushed for the tenth time on the way back from the television studio after the last taping.  “I’ve missed him so much!”

“Really,” Lara said sarcastically.  “I hadn’t noticed.”

“No need to be a bitch about it,” Lisa replied, only half joking.

“I’m sorry, Lisa.  I’m just not feeling well.  I haven’t been feeling all that good for the past week or so,” Lara confided.

“I’ll call my doctor tomorrow,” Lisa promised.

“No…it’s okay.  If it keeps up I’ll call my own doctor.  Thanks anyway though.”

Lisa practically ran out of the limo, eager to start getting the house ready for Kevin.  They had already agreed that he would stay with her immediately after his return.  Lara sat alone in the backseat, wondering what would happen when she saw Nick…if she saw him.

 

“Oh, baby, you look good enough to eat!”  Kevin was barely inside Lisa’s house before he had her in his arms.

“Oh…Kev…” Lisa tried to say something, but all she could do was cry.  She had missed him so much.  It had felt like an eternity instead of two months.  “I…damn, I missed you,” she sobbed.

“I missed you, too, babydoll.”  Kevin rocked her in his arms.  He finally pulled back and led her into the living room.  He sat her down on the sofa.  “Okay…before I take you upstairs and ravage your body, I have something I need to ask you.”

“Um…okay,” Lisa said.  Move in…he wants us to move in together, Lisa thought excitedly.

“You know how much I love you.  It’s been kinda crazy, with us hardly knowing each other and then me having to go away, but the time away made me realize how much I do love you…and how much I hate to be away from you for even one moment.”  Kevin’s green eyes watched her carefully.  “I never want to be away from you like that again if we can help it.  I know our careers will pull us apart a lot, but I think we can work through all that.”

“I think so, too,” Lisa said quietly.

Kevin pulled a small velvet box from his pocket.  “Lisa, will you marry me?”

 

Lara sat on her sofa hugging a pillow and crying.  Leonardo DiCaprio had just drunk the vial of poison, and Claire Danes was waking up and realizing her true love had killed himself.  The cry that escaped from her lips and echoed through the church was a copy of the cry that was screaming out of Lara’s heart. She was grateful for the movie; she could tell herself that the tears streaming down her cheeks were because of the sad story and not because of the sad life she was living.

Someone knocked at her door, and she considered not answering.  Pulling herself to her feet, she plodded over to the door.  She gasped when she looked through the peephole.  “Nick?”

“Juliet, your Romeo has arrived.”  Nick burst through the door and picked her up, whirling her around in circles.  Lara could only stare at him.  “Were you crying?  Baby, what’s wrong?”  His blue eyes were concerned.

“I was…uh…just watching a video,” she said, still shocked.

“Miss me?”  He smiled his lazy smile and she shivered.

“More than life itself,” she told him.  He smiled bigger.

“Good.  Then you wouldn’t mind if I just threw you over my shoulder and carried you off to the bedroom?”  Lara barely had time to shake her head no before he did just that.

 

"Have I mentioned how much I don't want to go to this thing?" Lisa grumbled as she and Kevin got in her car. "You've only been home three days, for God's sake."

"Yes, you have mentioned it about nine hundred times, love," Kevin told her. "But this is Howie...it's rare that he entertains at home, so we have to make an appearance." He picked up her left hand and kissed it right below the sparkling diamond solitaire. "Besides, don't you want to show this off?"

"Damn skippy I do," Lisa muttered, and Kevin laughed. "I really want to show it to Lara. I have totally been unable to talk to anything but her machine since you've been back, not that I've really been very social." She leaned over and kissed his cheek. "It's lucky I'm on vacation and have no commitments."

 "She's on vacation, too," he reminded her, knowing quite well why Lara hadn't been answering her phone. He was not able to get a hold of Nick, either. While in Europe he had drawn Nick aside and tried to ask about his relationship with Lara, but Nick continued to be secretive. Kevin finally drew the conclusion that Nick was pretty much using her for sex until something better came along...and he really hoped he was wrong with his conclusion. He really liked Lara and hated the idea of Nick breaking her heart. "But you'll see her today."

 "Right," Lisa said, settling back in the seat.

 

 "Engaged? Really?" Lara shrieked, hugging Lisa then Kevin then Lisa again. "That's incredible! God, I'm so happy for you!"

"Thank you," Lisa said, beaming. Kevin kissed her cheek.

"I'm gonna go find Howie. Be right back." He disappeared in the general direction of the kitchen.

"You totally had no idea?" Lara asked, trying not to obviously watch the door for Nick.

"Not a clue...and before you say a word I know it's soon and I know it's kinda crazy but I love him, Lara...more than anything."

 "I know you do, sweetie," Lara said, hugging her friend. They chatted for a moment, then Lara saw Nick slip in the door. "Excuse me, Lisa. I'm gonna see if Howie needs help." She started towards the kitchen, catching Nick's eye. He caught her glance and followed her.

 She ducked into Howie's study and turned on a light. Nick soon joined her. "Hey, how's my sexy lady?" He pulled her towards him for a passionate kiss but she pushed him away.

"We need to talk, Nick. You'd better sit down." Lara began to pace as Nick fell onto a sofa.

"Okay...talk...what's up? You dumping me or something?" He gave her a sexy smile.

"No...nothing like that. I'm pregnant, Nick

"You're WHAT?" Nick was on his feet in an instant.

 "Keep it down, please. I don't want anyone to hear," Lara pleaded. "I'm pregnant. We're having a baby."

"WE'RE not having shit!" Nick told her angrily. "How do I even know it's mine?" Lara stared at him.

 

Kevin wandered down the hall, looking for Lisa. He assumed that she and Lara had joined the other guests out by the pool. Howie, AJ and Brian were in the kitchen and he had no clue if Nick had even arrived yet. As he passed the study, he heard loud voices.

 

 "You think you were the only person I've been sleeping with all this time? Fat chance, honey. This baby could belong to anyone. I was gone for a while." Nick glared at her.

 Lara didn't even try to stop the tears that streamed down her face. "Nick...there was no one else. Only you. I love you."

 "You LOVE me? We hardly know each other."

"You sent me all those gifts...presents from Europe," Lara sobbed.

"Yeah, well, I send all my FRIENDS gifts," Nick pointed out. "There's no way I believe this baby is mine!"

"Nick, what the hell is your problem?" Kevin slipped in the door before either of them could protest. "What's going on in here?"

"Nothing," Lara said hurriedly.

 "Nothing," Nick mimicked. "She's just trying to fucking ruin my life, that's all. I'm twenty years old. What the hell do I want with a baby? And don't think about telling anyone else, or I'll ruin your career so fast your head will spin!"

Lara took a step back from the anger in his voice. "Nick, please...we can..."

"Don't talk to me, okay? I will never accept this baby, and you will not get a red cent from me."

 

"Howie...any idea where Lara or Kevin are?" Lisa reappeared in the kitchen.

 "No, Lucky, I haven't seen them. We're about to go out anyway," Howie replied. AJ, Brian, Howie and Lisa started walking down the hallway. Loud voices made them stop.

"Who is that?" AJ wondered.

"It's coming from the study," Howie said, walking ahead of the others.

 

"Nick, quit being a dickhead!" Kevin snapped.

"Kevin, this baby will ruin not just my life, but everyone's in the group, and you know it," Nick said. "Backstreet Boy gets girl pregnant...the media will have a field day." He looked at Lara suddenly. "How much will it take for you to get rid of it?"

Lara gasped in horror. "There is NO way I am getting rid of this baby!" She yelled.

 Lisa practically fell in the door, followed by the other three Backstreet Boys. "What baby?" She asked.

Kevin looked from Nick to Lara to Lisa, weighing the options he had before him. Nick was right...this could ruin the group and everything that the five of them had worked so hard for. "My baby," he said quietly.

 

 

Everyone but Kevin gasped, even Lara and Nick.

 Lisa turned white. "Excuse me?" She asked quietly. Lara swallowed deeply. She knew that when Lisa got extremely upset she got quiet instead of loud.

"The baby is mine," Kevin repeated.

"Yours? Kevin…" Brian began, but his voice faded away.

Lisa looked from Kevin to Lara, whose face was covered with tears. "Was this an ongoing thing or a onetime fling?" Lisa asked Kevin.

"Lucky, I…" Lara started.

"Shut…up." Lisa said without looking at her. "Well?"

 "I've only been to her home once," Kevin said truthfully.

"Only at her home once…I see…" Lisa tried to think and a light bulb went off. "Did you go to her apartment the night before you left for Europe?"

"Yes," Kevin answered, telling the truth once more.

"I see." Lisa finally looked at Lara. "I cannot believe this. My boyfriend…and my best friend?"

 "I'm sorry," Lara finally whispered. "You don't have to fire me. I quit now." She gave Kevin a searching look, trying to figure out why in the world he would put his career before his future with the woman who loved him so much. "And you won't be hearing from me again…don't worry." She gave Nick a look filled with so much pain, so much agony, that he had to look away. "Goodbye." She ran from the room before anyone could stop her.

Kevin couldn't look up. He couldn't face anyone. He tried to desperately tell himself that this was better for everyone. Better for Nick, obviously, and better for Lara. If everyone thought they baby was his she would have to leave and she wouldn't have to see or hear anything about Nick Carter. The only people it wasn't better for were he and Lisa.

 "Come on, guys, let's go out and start this party…make everything seem normal." Howie slowly herded AJ and a shocked Brian out of the study.

"Lisa…"

 "Don't." Lisa held a hand up. "Let me ask you one thing. Why? What wasn't I giving you?"

"No, Lisa, it's not like that, I swear. You gave me everything I needed…everything I could wish for," Kevin pleaded.

"Well, obviously that wasn't enough. Goodbye, Kevin." Lisa walked out the door of the study, never looking back.

 

When Lara arrived at her apartment, she hurriedly began to throw things into her suitcases. As she packed, she made plane and hotel reservations. She was getting as far away from Nick Carter and the Backstreet Boys as she possibly could.

 

Lisa sat on the floor of her bedroom, tucked into a ball. She tried to make sense of this all, tried to make it fit, but nothing did. Kevin had betrayed her. Lara had betrayed her.

 

Kevin went for a long drive, finally stopping at a cliff overlooking the ocean. He climbed up onto a rock, staring for hours at the water but only seeing the pain in Lisa's eyes.

 

Nick went back to his large empty house and opened the minibar. He drank for five hours straight until he finally passed out.

Two Months Later

 

"Good evening and thanks for joining us. The big story in Hollywood is still the mystery of Lucky. Where has she disappeared to? What's going on with her relationship with Kevin Richardson? This and more on this edition of Extra."

Lara sighed as she turned off the television. The last thing she needed was to hear about how miserable Lucky was and how everyone's life was falling apart because of her. She slowly got up and went to put on her sandals. Time for her evening stroll.

 

"Meez Lucky…Meez Lucky?" Anna called through the big house.

"In here," Lisa called from her seat on the sofa. She was aimlessly flipping channels, trying not to pay attention to the fact that her total withdrawal from social life was plastered all over the television.

 "You didn't open your mail," Anna said accusingly.

"Not interested," Lisa replied, her eyes never leaving the television. She kept expecting some kind of whiny apology letter from Lara and/or Kevin, and she wasn't ready to deal with that yet

"Well, I'll lay it here." Anna carefully placed the stack of mail on the top of the big screen TV. "Good night, Meez Lucky."

 "Good night, Anna," Lucky replied, realizing that the only two people who ever called her Lisa were totally out of her life. She flipped off the TV and sighed, deciding to go do her nightly set of laps in the pool. She picked up the stack of mail and idly flipped through it. Her body stiffened as she saw the familiar handwriting on the envelope. She tore the envelope open.

"Lucky, ya dumb bitch, ya sure screwed up now, didn't ya? Ya lost your man, ya lost your assistant, lost it all. And just imagine how you'd feel if the whole world knew that your man was fucking that assistant! Yep…I know…I know all about your precious Kevin and the baby that your buddy Lara is carrying. Of course, guess she's not your buddy now, is she? Anyway, I think this is worth something. Not that it would ruin YOUR career, but it would ruin your precious Backdoor Boy's career, not to mention make you look like a total ass. I see a beginning figure of fifty thousand dollars. How's that sound? I'll contact you some time next week."

 

"You up for going out?" Nick poked his head into Brian's hotel room.

"Again? This is the fourth night in a row, Frack," Brian said from his comfortable spot on his bed.

 "Please…Bri…I don't wanna be alone tonight," Nick pleaded.

Brian stared at him. "Um…sure…want the other guys to come along?"

"Just Howie and AJ. I don't have the patience for Kev tonight. Meet you downstairs in twenty." Nick went back to his room.

 Brian sighed as he walked to the shower, wondering for the thousandth time just what the hell was going on. They had finished the press tour as scheduled, but Kevin kept finding reasons for them all to stay in Europe…not that Brian blamed him. He wouldn't want to go home and face everything, either. What he REALLY couldn't understand why Nick and Kevin were at each other's throats ninety percent of the time they were together. They had once been as close as blood brothers…now they were mortal enemies. His phone rang as he was drying his hair.

 "Yo, this is B-Rok."

"Hey, Cuz, it's Kevin. What are you doing tonight?"

"Um…well…uh…" Brian faltered.

 "It's okay. He got to you before I did. That's cool. I'll just go catch a movie or something."

"Kevin, I think we need to talk," Brian said finally.

"We'll talk later."

"No, Kev, NOW. You've been putting this off and I'm…"

"You'll be late. Talk to you later." Kevin hung up.

Brian swore, tossing his cellphone to the bed angrily.

 

"That one's kinda cute," Nick observed, waving his glass in the general direction of a table of girls to their left.

"Which one, Nick? There are four of them?" AJ said with a grin.

 "Four? I see seven…no…eight…" Nick slurred.

 "I think it's cutoff time for someone," Howie said, placing a hand on Nick's shoulder. Nick shrugged it off.

"Fuck you. I can hold my liquor."

 "SURE you can, Nick," AJ said, laughing as Nick almost fell off his chair from the momentum of the shrug. "Which girl is cutest?"

"The brunette, of course," Nick said seriously. "The one with the blue eyes. Blue eyes ALWAYS reel me in…damn blue eyes," he muttered into his glass.

"Rok, you okay?" Howie asked Brian.

"Huh? Oh, yeah…sorry…lost in thought there for a moment." Brian gave him a smile and tried to pull his thoughts away from Kevin and into the present situation.

"Nick, why the hell have you insisted on getting trashed every night for the past four nights?" AJ asked. "You look like shit, man."

"Thank you, AJ. When I want an opinion on fashion and appearance, you are the LAST person I would ask, okay?" Nick snapped. AJ glared at him but said nothing.

“Whoa…Nicky…you'd better just calm down and start to sober up, okay?" Howie asked gently, lightly ruffling Nick's hair.

 "Get your fucking hands off me, ya fag!" Nick snarled. Hurt filled Howie's brown eyes, and AJ and Brian could only stare. "Always touching me…only want girls touching me…"

"Nick, he's concerned. We all are. What's going on with you?" Brian asked.

"Baby…fucking baby…like it could be mine…I mean…it COULD be mine…but I doubt it…" Nick continued to ramble. "She WAS a nice piece of ass though…all mine…maybe it IS my baby…don't want it though…don't want any part of it."

"Nick? What the hell are you talking about?" AJ asked in confusion.

"Not my baby…that's for sure…couldn't be…but really NOT Kevin's baby." Nick waved his glass at the waiter who eagerly ran over, enjoying the fat tips Nick had been laying on his tray. "Another. Maybe two."

"He's done," Brian told the waiter, handing the man a tip twice the size of Nick's. "And don't come back to this table again."

 "WHAT baby, Nick?" Howie demanded, fearing the answer.

"Lara's baby." The other men looked at each other.

 "Lara's baby? Yours?" Brian whispered. "When? How?"

"For a while…yes, I was doing her…often…and good, too." A smirk crossed Nick's face. "Said she loved me…must have been doing her TOO good." Nick laughed alone at his own joke.

"You pretty much told her to fuck off, didn't you?" AJ asked Nick sadly.

"Hell, yeah, I did! I don't want anything to do with the kid. I mean, I'm not ready to be tied down like that. Too much living to do." Nick slurped the last drops from his glass.

"Then why in the world did Kevin say it was HIS?" Brian whispered.

"Because he knew it would ruin us all if she went public about it, saying it was mine."

"Lara wouldn't do that," Howie said sharply.

 "Oh, the fuck she wouldn't. She's a woman, isn't she?" Nick said. "Kev must've figured that she would be so shocked by him saying it was his that she wouldn't do anything. Didn't figure she'd run, though."

 "Oh, God," Brian said, running his hands through his short hair. He could not begin to imagine how Lara, Lucky and Kevin were feeling in all this. And here was Nick, getting blasted in some tiny pub in England, acting like it was no big deal. "I need to go find Kevin. We need to get him home to America, so he can talk to Lucky."

"Yes, go home. Make everything all better, just like you always do, Frick," Nick said sarcastically. He stood up, weaving on his feet, but quickly hit the floor as a fist came out and slammed into his face.

 

“Why I didn’t pick a bungalow with laundry service is totally beyond me,” Lara said out loud to herself as she struggled down the long staircase with her basket of laundry.  Socks and underwear kept dropping off the top, and she cursed as she reached down to get them, still not used to the ever-growing mass at her abdomen.  “I really don’t…” her sentence to herself ended with a scream as her foot hit a sock she hadn’t seen and she began to tumble down the staircase.

 

“…I played with your heart…got lost in the game…oh baby baby…” Kevin sang as he let himself back into his hotel room after the movie.  He hit the lightswitch and almost screamed.  “What the HELL are you guys doing in here?  Does a man have NO privacy?” 

“Sorry, Kev, but we’re gonna talk NOW.”  Brian grabbed Kevin’s arm and yanked him to the bed while AJ locked the door and stood in front of it.

“I’m small, but I could definitely kick your ass if so inclined, Kev,” AJ told him solemnly.

“What the hell is all this?”  Kevin asked, trying to laugh it off.

“You’re going to tell us all about Nick and Lara, and exactly why you ruined the love of a lifetime by lying about Lara’s baby,” Howie said calmly.

“Nick and Lara?  You mean, they were…” Kevin asked weakly.

“We know, Kev,” Brian said gently.  “Nick told us.”

Kevin sighed and closed his eyes.  “Okay.  What do you want to know?”

 

An hour later, Kevin finally stopped talking.  He had actually told the whole story in fifteen minutes, but he had continued to ramble on, trying to justify his actions.  Tears were streaming down his face unashamedly by the end of the hour.

“Kevin, we understand that you were doing this for us…for the group…but you didn’t have to,” AJ told him.

“Didn’t you even think what this would do to Lara…to Lucky?”  Howie exclaimed, pacing back and forth.

“I know…I KNOW, Howie, you don’t have to tell me what I’ve already been beating myself up about,” Kevin said angrily.  “It’s too late to fix it now.”

“No, it’s not.  You have to go back and talk to Lucky,” Brian ordered him.

“I can’t…she’ll hate me,” Kevin moaned.

“Of course she fucking hates you, Kev!”  AJ yelled.  “I would!  Get your sorry excuse for an ass on a plane now!”

“No…it’s too soon.  I need time to think about this.  What would I say to her?”  Kevin wondered.  “Get out of here please.  Leave me alone.”

The three men sighed and did as he asked.  As soon as they were in the hall, however, Howie said.  “Get packed.  You’re going back to America to talk to Lucky.”

“What about you?”  AJ asked.

“I’m going to talk to Nick.”

 

“Howie, go AWAY!”  Nick moaned from his bed.

“Dammit, Nick, let me the fuck in or I will break down this door!”  Howie yelled.  Nick crawled to the door and let him in.

“WHAT?”

“Where is Lara?”

“How the hell would I know?  I’m sick…go away…” Nick moaned.

“You know her better than anyone except maybe Lucky.  Where would she run to?”  Howie demanded.

“The beach…she likes the ocean…” Nick mumbled before he passed out.

 

“Shit.  FUCK!  Dammit to fucking HELL!”  Lisa screamed, digging through the cabinets under the sink.  “Anna, you are FIRED!  As soon as you come back from the vacation I let you go on, you’re fired,” Lisa mumbled, leaning back against the cabinets. “Tequilla.  I ask for tequila and you can’t do this one freaking thing.  Your native DRINK for fuck’s sake!”  Lisa screamed through the empty house.  She ignored the empty tequila bottles in the sink and slowly stood.  “Store…liquor store…tequila is there!”  She realized happily.  She headed for the living room, where she had left her shoes. 

The pile of threatening letters lay on the floor of the living room with the latest letter on top.  The person had a time and place for the drop off of the money, and Lisa stomped on the letter as she went to the door.  She screamed when she opened it.

“Lucky!  God, I’m sorry!” AJ exclaimed.

“AJ? Brian?”  Lisa was confused.  “What the hell…”

“Come on…you’re not going anywhere.”  AJ put an arm around Lisa and guided her inside.  Brian stared at the mess on the living room floor. 

“Aje, take her up and get her into a tub of hot water.  I’ll start some coffee.  She needs to be perfectly sober for what we have to talk about.”

AJ led Lisa upstairs while Brian slowly got to his knees to pick up the letters scattered across the floor.  A piece of paper slipped out of one of the envelopes and Brian scanned the first few lines.  He gasped and sat down hard.  He quickly put the letters in order by date and began to read.

 

AJ came bounding down the steps about twenty minutes later.  Brian was still seated on the floor, staring into space.  “Where is she?”  Brian asked.

“Passed out.”

“Okay.  You stay here, and keep your cellphone free in case Kevin decides to call.  I have to go.”  Brian stood and went for the door.

“Go? Go where?”

“The police.”

“WHAT?  You are not taking a step out that door until you tell me what’s going on.”  Once again AJ took his macho man stance in front of the door.

Brian sighed.  AJ could be so overdramatic.  “THIS is what’s going on.”  Brian waved the stack of letters in AJ’s face.  “Someone has been writing Lucky threatening letters, and now they are demanding money to keep the whole Kevin and Lara baby situation quiet.  How they even know about it I haven’t figured out yet, but I’m getting to the bottom of this…for her sake AND Kevin’s.  You keep an eye on her.”  Brian shoved AJ out of the way and hurried out the door.

AJ stared after him.  “Keep an eye on her?  Why ME?”  AJ grumbled, flopping onto the sofa and turning on the TV.  He sighed.  He was used to being the drunken person being taken care of…not the caretaker.

 

“Okay…thank you.”  Howie hung up his cellphone and sighed, just imagining how high the bill would be this month.  Calling all over America from a plane over the Atlantic was not cheap.  He HAD to find her…had to make sure she hadn’t done anything drastic…had to make sure she was okay…

“Another drink, sir?”  The attractive stewardess smiled at Howie, who shook his head.

“No, thanks, two is my limit.”  Howie glared down at the map of the west coast sitting in his lap.  Why in the world were there so many damn beaches in the United States?

“Going on a trip, Mr. Dorough?”  The stewardess asked.

“No…not really…looking for someone.”  Howie finally smiled back at her. “All I know is that she likes the beach.”

“That IS a tough one.”  The stewardess thought for a moment.  “Where is she from?  Are there beaches there?”

“Um…hold on…” Howie flipped through some paperwork that Jive had mysteriously procured for him when he asked if they could get background information on someone else in the business.  “She’s from the eastern part of the country.”

“Try beaches there.  Like, say, Jersey.  Most people from Ohio, Pennsylvania and around there usually end up on the Jersey Shore somewhere,” the woman suggested before moving on.

“Jersey Shore…right…” Howie mused, staring out the window.

 

“Gone?  What do you mean, gone?”  Kevin asked Nick angrily.

“Man, I’m as clueless as you are.  I checked all their rooms and no one was there, so I called the desk.  Howie, AJ and Brian all checked out of the hotel yesterday morning.”

“And you’re just finding this out now?  Must’ve been one hell of a binge this time, Nick.”  Kevin ran his hands through his hair and moved aside so Nick could enter his hotel room.

“Yeah, well, you didn’t know either, now did you, so shut up!”  Nick snapped back.

“This is all your fault, you loser.  Not just the whole situation in general, but if you’d learn to keep your drunk ass quiet they…”

“They never woulda known?  Oh, they woulda figured it out sooner or later,” Nick interrupted.  “You’ve been moping around for weeks now, missing your precious Lucky.  Why don’t you quit being such a chickenshit martyr and get your ass back to LA?”

“Excuse me?”

“I’m sick of feeling guilty because YOU decided to jump in and play the hero.  You win, Kevin.  Like I wasn’t already at fault to begin with, you made me look worse by jumping in there.”  Nick said with a sigh, flopping onto a chair.  “No matter what, I will be in the wrong, so just go back and tell her, okay? I DON’T CARE.”

“How could you be such a prick, Nicky?” Kevin asked quietly.  “I mean, I feel like I’ve partially raised you.  Have your parents and I taught you nothing?”

“Guess not.”  Nick stared up at him solemnly.  “Look, Kevin, it’s been hard enough for me to live up to your expectations as it is…don’t make me feel like even more of a loser now.  Get your ass packed and back to America.”

 

Lisa opened her eyes slowly, trying to ignore the trumpet of elephants that filled the air.  “Elephants?  Who took me to the circus?”  She mumbled, trying to slowly sit up.  “Oh, fuck.”  Her head spun and she laid back down.  She heard a snort, and then the elephants were silent.

“Lucky?  You up?”  A drowsy voice said.  She looked over and saw AJ McLean sleepily smile at her.

“AJ? What the hell…”

“We are here to rescue you and rearrange your life,” AJ said cheerfully, stretching long and hard.  “Bri’s at the…I mean…he’s out, but he should be back any minute now.”

“God…what time is it?” Lisa asked, not even trying to figure out what was going on.

“Ten at night,” he told her.

“Shit.”  Lisa moaned.  They heard the front door slam. 

“Up here, Rok!”  AJ yelled, and Lisa smacked him.

Brian burst into the room, panting for breath.  “We’re gonna find him, Lucky.  We’re gonna find who did this to you.”

“And the baby isn’t Kevin’s,” AJ burst out.  Brian glared at him.  “What?  I couldn’t wait any longer.”

Lisa shook her head.  “Huh?”

“I found the letters on the floor downstairs, and I was just at the police station.  They’re gonna trace them…and find this asshole.”  Brian said, smiling broadly at her.  Lisa didn’t smile.

“Brian, that was my personal mail!  You had no right…”

“You’re practically related…he had every right.  Besides, he cares about you.  We all do,” AJ said, smiling at her.

“Related?  Um, in case you missed it, I no longer am engaged to his two-timing cousin,” Lisa snapped, finally pulling herself to a sitting position.

“That’s something else we need to discuss with you,” Brian said softly.

Four Days Later

 

Lara sat at her usual spot, throwing bread up to the seagulls, who gracefully caught the food in midair.  She was at the same spot every day at nine in the morning.  The locals had started calling her “The Lady with the Big Hat”, because she always wore a floppy straw hat to keep her face from getting sunburned.  She sighed and stood once the bread was gone.  She looked down at her bag, making sure that the three envelopes were carefully placed on top.  One was a letter to Lisa, one was a letter to Kevin, and one was a letter to Nick.  She sighed as she absentmindedly rubbed her hand over her stomach as she had fallen into the habit of doing…except now the stomach was flat.  The tumble down the steps had made her lose the baby, and she couldn’t decide if she was thankful or not.  The doctors had assured her that she was quite lucky; not only did she get to the telephone just in time to keep her from losing a lot of blood, but she was going to be able to have more children in the future.  Lucky.  That word made her smile.  She had to be the most unlucky woman on the planet.

She took two steps into the ocean that she loved and shivered.  The water was abnormally cold for this time of year, even this early in the morning.  Maybe that would make it easier.  She took two steps more, staring calmly at the breaking waves.

“Would you like to know what I’ve had to go through to find you?”

Lara screamed and whirled around.  “Howie?  What the hell are you doing here?  How did you find me?”

“It wasn’t easy, let me tell you, but it’s amazing what money and some good friends can get you.”  He took her hands in his.  “It’s so good to see you, Lara, I was so worried and…” he stared down at her stomach. She looked at him defiantly.  “Lara, you didn’t…you couldn’t have…”

“No.  I didn’t.”  She snapped.  “As much as I didn’t want the baby I could never end an innocent life like that.  There was an accident.  I lost it.”

“Oh, God, sweetie…I’m so sorry.”  Howie reached a hand up to cup her face in his hand.  She pulled away. 

“What are you doing here?”

“I came to take you back to California.  You need to patch things up with Lucky.”

“Did you miss the part where she hates my guts for sleeping with her boyfriend?”

“I know the truth, Lara.  We all do…and by now I’m sure she does, too.  AJ and Brian were on their way out to California to tell her.”

“You…you know?”  Lara stuttered.

“Yes.  We know.  Nick got drunk and told us.  We know what he did to you.”  Howie’s dark eyes were sad.  “I’m so sorry…I wish I had known…I would have warned you what a snake he can be…but…”

“It’s okay, Howie.  I guess I should have seen it, too.  I was just so stupid.”  Lara started to cry before she could help it, and Howie quickly gathered her into his arms.  She felt relief pour off of her as she finally cried with someone to hold her, instead of all alone at night in the dark.

“You weren’t stupid.  You loved him.  It’s not your fault,” Howie whispered.  “It’s okay.  I’m here now.”  He slowly started to walk her back to the shore.  He helped her pick up her things, and stooped down to pick up an envelope that fell out of the top of her bag.  “Nick?”  He looked at Lara questioningly.  She blushed and look away.  He pulled out two similar envelopes.  “Kevin?  Lisa?”  He stared at her.  “I’m assuming Lisa is Lucky?”  Lara nodded.  “I’m not going to go into how stupid THAT would have been,” Howie told her angrily, putting two and two together.  “I’m just glad I got here when I did.  Let’s get back to your house so you can pack.”

 

 

Howie sat on the window seat watching Lara hurriedly pack.  “You pack like AJ,” he said with a grin.  “Quick and messy.”

She stuck her tongue out at him, smiling a real smile for the first time in months.  “Somehow I can’t quite take that as a compliment.”

“Well, how’s this?”  Howie came over to Lara and gently kissed her forehead.  “You are looking very good for all you’ve been through, and I am really glad I found you.”

Lara stiffened and pulled back.  “Don’t…Howie…please…” Howie looked at her in confusion.  “I can’t do this kinda thing right now.  Too much has happened.”

“I was just being a friend, Lara.  Is that too much for me to do?”  Howie lied, trying to keep from revealing how he really felt.

“Right…a friend…sorry,” she whispered, knowing full well that someone like Howie would never be interested in her.  “Howie, can I ask you a question?”

“Sure.”  Howie pushed her suitcase aside and sat on the edge of the bed, motioning for her to sit next to him.

“Do you…I mean…do I…I mean…” Lara grasped for the right words as tears filled her eyes.  “Did I really look so desperate?  I mean, was it really obvious that Nick could just lure me in and get sex and attention from me just by paying attention to me?  Was I so awful that it looked like I’d take whatever I could get?”

“Oh…Lara…baby…no.”  Howie ignored his better judgment and pulled her into a hug.  “HE is the bad one here…not you…you did nothing but be your wonderful self, and he abused that.  Yes, you changed a few things about your appearance, but that only made you more beautiful.  I thought you were attractive the first time I met you.”

“Stop it!”  Lara snapped, pulling back.  “You guys are NOT going to pass me around!  Sweet talk isn’t going to work this time.”

Howie stared at her, awestruck.  “Lara, what are you talking about?  I’m telling the truth.  That day at Lisa’s pool, when you and I were talking, I could have sat and talked to you all day, except Nick ruined it by splashing us.  And then at Lisa’s party, I would have loved to have danced with you, but Nick stole you away then, too.  I would never try to sweet talk you…especially after all of this.”  He stood, hurt and insulted.  “I’m going to wait downstairs.”

Lara fell back on the bed after he had left the room, mentally punching herself in the head.

 

“Hello?”  Brian answered his cellphone with a mouth full of scrambled eggs.  “Oh, hello!” He quickly swallowed, trying not to choke.  AJ and Lisa stared at him from across the table.  They were seated in her sunroom, eating a breakfast that AJ had actually thrown together.  “You did?  They found him?  Where was the scumbag?  WHO was the scumbag?”

“Shut up and let them talk, Rok,” AJ mumbled, reaching for another piece of toast.  Lisa hid a smile, happy that they had decided to stay overnight with her.  She needed to be surrounded by friends right now.

“I…I see…and he was arrested?”  Brian’s blue eyes never left Lisa’s face.  “Yes, she will stop by, with her attorney.  Today at two?  Sounds great.  Thank you very much, sir.”  Brian hung up and calmly took another bite of eggs.  AJ swiped his plate away before he could eat any more.

“Well?”

“They caught the bastard.” Brian swiped the plate back.  “It’s interesting, actually.”

“Brian, please,” AJ begged.  Lisa said nothing, just looked at Brian expectantly.

“Remember how we couldn’t figure out who could have possibly overheard everything about the baby?”  Brian looked at AJ.  “Remember that new guy from Jive who was at Howie’s shindig?  That Larry guy?”

“Yeah…an assistant to an assistant to an assistant or something,” AJ remembered.  “We couldn’t figure out how the hell he had gotten an invite.”

“Well, he’s the one who eavesdropped on the situation,” Brian said.  “Ends up he doesn’t work for Jive at all, and some major strings were pulled by someone to get him into that party.”  He watched Lisa carefully.  “The strings were pulled by Reggie.”

Lisa gasped.  “REGGIE?”

AJ slapped the table with his fist.  “I KNEW he was a weasel!”

Brian ignored him.  “He knew that you would be dropping him as soon as your contract was up in a few months, and he wanted to get some extra money from you.  He’s the one that’s been writing the letters, and he planted that twerp at Howie’s party to pick up any good information.  He got more than he bargained for that day, though.”

“Reggie…damn…” Lisa said softly.

“You need to get an attorney and go down to the station today.  They need to take a statement, and some legalities need to be finalized.  I believe that you will very easily be able to slip out of your contract now.  He can’t very well represent you from prison.”  Brian smiled his sweet smile at Lisa.  She jumped to her feet and hugged him for a long moment.

“Thank you so much, Brian.  For everything.”

“Hey…remember me?  The one who made breakfast?”  AJ announced loudly.  Lisa laughed and hugged him as well.

 

“Wow…some plane,” Lara remarked as they boarded the private jet Howie had borrowed from Jive.

“Yeah…more strings that I pulled,” was his reply as he followed her up the steps.  She sighed and said nothing.  Lara flopped into a chair near a window with Howie sitting across the aisle from her.  She stared at the clouds until way after takeoff, then she finally turned to look at him.

“I’m sorry.  For what I said.  I’m just…afraid.  I feel so dumb…I listened to everything he said, everything he told me, all the compliments, and I was stupid enough to believe them.”  Lara’s blue eyes were big as she spoke.  “And now I’m afraid that I will never be able to trust another man again.  All you were doing was being the friend I so desperately need right now, and I apologize.”

“It’s okay,” Howie said gently, coming to sit next to her.  He slowly placed his arm around her and she laid her head on his shoulder.  “You’ve been through a lot.”

“And unfortunately there is more to come,” she replied, thinking of facing Lisa and Kevin again, not to mention Nick.

“You’ll be fine.  You have lots of friends to help you out, like me, and Brian, and AJ.”

“But I hardly know them,” she protested.

“We’re all on your side, Lara.  We feel guilty, like we shoulda seen this coming.”

She shook her head.  “I don’t think anyone but Nick saw this coming.”

Lara closed her eyes and sighed, letting herself relax and slowly drift off.  Just as she was almost asleep, she heard Howie say, “I punched him, ya know.”

Lara’s head flew up.  “You WHAT?”

“Punched him.  Punched Nick.  That night he was drunk and blabbed about everything he was being really rude to the three of us.”

“Like how rude?”

“Called me a fag, told AJ he would never consult him on fashion, and accused Brian of always trying to fix every situation that went wrong.  So I punched him.”

“Hard?”

“His eye looks like an Easter egg,” Howie said, smiling in satisfaction.  Lara laughed at the smug look on his face as well as at the thought of Nick with a black eye.

“I don’t like violence, but I’m glad you did it.”  She grew serious. “I’d never have the nerve to.  I’ll probably never have the nerve to even face him again.”

“You will.  You won’t have to do it alone.”

 

“Your attorney is meeting us here?”  Brian asked as Lisa came down the steps.  She had showered and changed and looked like a new person at the prospect of putting Reggie away for a while.

“Yes.  She said she was going to be in the area this afternoon and…” the doorbell interrupted her.  “That must be her.  AJ, can you open that while I find my bag?”

“Sure, let ME be the one to make small talk with a stuck up smartass lawyer,” he mumbled as he opened the door.  His mouth dropped open before he could recover.

“Hello, I’m Kelley Leffler, Lucky’s attorney.  Is she ready?”

AJ stared at the petite redhead who stood in the doorway.  Her dark green suit was tasteful and expensive and brought out the green of her eyes.  “Um…uh…yeah.  Come on in.”  He moved aside, trying to get a hold of himself.

“Hi.  I’m Brian Littrell.  We talked earlier.” Brian walked over and shook Kelley’s hand.  “This is our friend, Alex McLean.”

“Alex.”  Kelley held out her hand.  AJ just stared at it for a moment.

“Oh, yeah. Hi.”  He shook it, mentally telling himself to snap out of it.  He saw pretty girls all the time, but this woman had blown his mental picture of a female lawyer right out of the water.

“Hey, Kel, glad you could make it on such short notice.”  Lisa came trotting into the living room.

“No problem.  When Brian told me what was up, I jumped at the chance to slam Reggie’s ass in jail.” She looked at Brian and AJ.  “He’s kind of a notorious slimeball in this town.  I still don’t see why she signed with him.”

“Young, stupid and desperate.  Let’s go.”  Lisa headed for the door.

“We’ll see ya in a while,” Brian told her.  Her face fell.

“Y-you’re not coming along?”

“Well, I thought you’d want…” Brian began.

“Please, Brian, I need you,” Lisa whispered, not wanting to admit to herself that having Brian there was the closest thing she could get to having Kevin there.

“Okay,” Brian conceded.

“I’ll just stay here,” AJ volunteered. “In case anyone call…I mean…in case,” he finished weakly.  “Nice to meet you, Ms. Leffler.”

“You too.”  Kelley strode out the door ahead of the others.  They climbed into her waiting black Lexus.  “I scared the shit out of him, didn’t I?”  She asked Brian with a smile.  He roared with laughter.

“No woman catches AJ McLean off guard…until now. That was priceless.”

 

Howie frowned as the cellphone he had left in his jacket across the aisle started to ring.  He carefully snuck his arm out from under Lara and put a pillow in his place, leaning her carefully against the wall of the plane.  He grabbed his phone and went to the far back of the small plane.  “Hello?”  He whispered.

“D, cool, where the hell ya at?”

“In the air.  I found Lara and we’re on our way back.”

“Classic!  We found out who was sending Lucky the nastygrams and we…”

“Whoa…wait…AJ…hold on.  WHAT nastygrams?”

AJ took a deep breath and rapidly explained what was going on.  “And that’s where they are now.  You should see this lawyer, D, she is AMAZING!”

“I’m sure she is,” Howie said, smiling at the thought of AJ being dumbstruck just from taking one look at this lawyer.  “Have you heard from Kevin?”

AJ grew serious.  “No…I was hoping you had.”

“Nope, not yet.”  Howie looked at his watch.  “We should be landing at LAX in about an hour.  Come pick us up?”

“Sure.  See ya then.”

 

“The look on his face was priceless!” Lisa said cheerfully as she and Brian walked back into her house two hours later.  “I really wish they still dressed convicts up in those striped suits.  Brand him for life!”

They stopped short when they saw who was standing in the living room.  The eyes of both Lisa and Brian fell to Lara’s flat stomach, then tried to look everywhere else  “Hey, D!”  Brian came over and hugged Howie, then turned to Lara.  “Hello there.”

“Hi,” she said shyly, but smiled when he hugged her.

“You did quite the disappearing act there,” Brian said to Howie.  “We didn’t have a clue where you were.  We got a little worried.”

“Sound familiar?”  Howie said, playfully glaring at Lara, who had the grace to blush.

“I’m hungry,” AJ said suddenly.  “Guys, let’s go prove to these women that we’re not totally clueless in the kitchen.”  After squeezing Lara’s hand one last time, Howie followed AJ and Brian into the kitchen.

Lara quickly sat down on the sofa and suddenly found the strap of her purse very interesting.  Lisa sat on a recliner across the room.  “You’re not pregnant,” Lisa stated in a lifeless tone.

“I…there was…there was an accident.  I fell down some stairs.”  Lara finally looked up at Lisa miserably.  “I lost the baby.”

“And how do you feel about that?”

“At first I was actually grateful.  Sick, isn’t it?  An innocent life is ended and I am grateful.  Then it began to hurt.  It hurt BAD.  This baby was Nick’s, yes, but it was also mine.  My baby.  Someone that wouldn’t care how I looked, whether I wore glasses or contacts or had the face of a hyena…someone that would love me just because I was in their world.”  Lara didn’t even notice the tears that fell down her face.  “But all of a sudden that baby was gone, and I have no one now.”

“Oh…sweetie…you do have someone!”  Lisa was beside Lara in an instant.  “You have me.  You have me and Anna and Howie and Brian and AJ.”  She cried with Lara as she put her arms around her.

“I’m so sorry, Lisa.  I had no clue Kevin was gonna do what he did.  I had every intention of telling you about my relationship with Nick after I told HIM about the baby…then Kevin burst into the room and everything went to hell,” Lara sobbed.  “I’m so angry at myself for believing all of Nick’s lies.  He never said he loved me, but I heard it in everything else he said and did.  I was so stupid.”

“No…honey…you weren’t stupid.  You loved him.”  Lisa brushed hair from Lara’s cheeks and smiled.  “Love makes you hear things that aren’t there sometimes.”

“That’s what Howie said,” Lara said with a sniffle.

“Anyway…what’s up with you and him?”  Lisa said with a smile.

“Nothing,” Lara told her solemnly.  “I’m not jumping into anything right now.”  She looked at Lisa long and hard.  “Can you ever forgive me?”

“For what?  What did you do wrong?  Nothing.  YOU have to forgive ME.  I’m the one who just snapped out on you without letting you explain…not that Kevin left much room for explanation.”

“Have you talked to him?”  Lara asked.

“No.  Not yet.  I don’t think I could right now.  Maybe in a little while, but not now.”

“Lisa, do you have a fire extinguisher?”  Howie yelled from the kitchen.  The women looked at each other and laughed.

 

Get the Lowdown

LA Gossip from the one in the know

 

 

“Entertainment’s reigning Princess is back on the throne.  Television, movie and music star Lucky was back in the public eye today at a charity auction for the children’s wing of a local hospital.  She cheerfully signed autographs for an hour, then made a point of visiting every child in the hospital, as well as stopping by to coo over the babies in the nursery.  Is there something we should know?  Lucky’s recent beau, Backstreet Boy Kevin Richardson, has been mysteriously absent from her side, but our Lucky girl is taking it all in stride.  Welcome back, Lucky…we missed you!”

A Week Later

 

“You’re rich and famous!”  Lara panted as she and Lisa struggled with the box containing Lisa’s new bookcase.  “You could have hired someone to buy this and put it together.”

“Nope.  I wanted to be “normal” for once,” Lisa told her, setting her end down with a thud.  “I didn’t get to go into the store to pick it out, I left that to you, but I was definitely going to be the one putting it together.”

Lara looked at her watch.  “Oh, look at the time!  Gotta run.” She made an exaggerated dash for the door, but Lisa held her back.

“Nice try, baby.  You’re gonna read the directions to me.”

“Saved by the bell!”  Lara said triumphantly as the doorbell rang.  She ran to the door and threw it open.  “Um, hi!” She gasped as she saw Howie standing there. Her mouth fell open when she saw who was with him.

“Who is it?  Do they know anything about tools?” Lisa called as she walked towards the doorway.  She froze.

“Come on in,” Lara said softly, moving aside so Howie and Kevin could come in the door.  She and Howie slipped away to the kitchen, leaving Lisa and Kevin standing and staring at one another.

“Whatcha doing here?”  Kevin said, glancing down at the box on the floor.

“Bought a new bookcase for the study.  Decided I wanted to put it together myself, but those directions are quickly making me change my mind,” Lisa said, staring at her shoes. 

“Well, why don’t you hold and read directions, and I’ll do the putting together,” Kevin said, stooping to open the box.

“Um, okay,” Lisa said softly.

 

“It’s quiet,” Howie said hopefully from his seat at the counter.

“Too quiet,” Lara replied as she poured them each a glass of iced tea.  “Remember what happened that night?  The quieter Lisa is the angrier she is.”

“I’m sure Kevin will yell if he needs us,” Howie joked.  Lara stirred her iced tea and said nothing.  “Look…Lara…I was wondering…um…” Howie blushed and then continued.  “Would you like to go out sometime? Like for dinner next week?”

“You mean like a date?”  Lara asked, surprised.  Howie had been the ultimate in friends, never making any unseemly moves.

“Um, yes.  I would like to show you that not all men are snakes,” he replied firmly.

Lara looked into his kind eyes and smiled.  “Let me think about it, okay?”

 

“So, I hear that you guys caught the asshole who was sending you those letters,” Kevin said, his eyes never leaving the screwdriver in his hand as he attached the back to the frame of the bookcase.

“Yes…yes we did,” Lisa replied.

“You should have told someone…me…Lara…anyone.  We would have figured out a way to solve the problem.”

“Yeah, well, I was ashamed of the problem,” Lisa said, never looking up from the directions.  “No…now it’s that part over there.  The dark one.”  Kevin picked up the shelf and continued to put the piece of furniture together.  “You’re not exactly one to lecture me about keeping secrets,” Lisa said finally.  Kevin slowly looked up at her.  “Why did you lie for him, Kevin?  Why?”

“I didn’t think it would hurt anyone in the long run. I…”

“Kevin, you didn’t think it would hurt?  Even after the truth came out, I was still hurt.  You chose your bandmates over me.  You were more worried about their future than ours,” Lisa said softly.

“You’re right.  You are absolutely right.”  Kevin carefully laid the bookcase down and sat back.  “I thought I could make it better.  It’s always been my job to make it better…clean things up…”

“Nick’s a grown man.  He needs to start cleaning up after himself,” Lisa said gently.  Kevin nodded.  He looked at her, his green eyes full of emotion.

“Can you ever forgive me for this, Lees?  I still love you so much…I’ve been dead inside since this all began.  Can you let me make it up to you?”

As much as she wanted to throw herself into his arms, Lisa made her heart harden against him.  Kevin had wounded her deeply, and she wasn’t going to let him get away very easily.  “We will be taking this slow, Kevin,” she told him.  “You will have to earn my love back.”  He nodded slowly.

 

“I’ll call you next week,” Lara said to Howie as he and Kevin were leaving.  He nodded and said goodbye.  Lisa closed the door after them.

“That was strange,” Lisa remarked as they went to clean up the box and papers from the bookcase.

“Did you take him back?”

“I told him he’d have to earn his way back.  I don’t want to have my heart broken again.”

“Me either.  Howie asked me out on a date…I told him I’d think about it.”

“Go,” Lisa told her, placing a hand on her arm.  “Howie’s worth it.”

 

“She said she’d think about it,” Howie said as they drove down the road.

“She said I’d have to earn my way back,” Kevin replied.  They glanced at each other and smiled in satisfaction.

 

 

“Howie called me today,” Lara told Lisa as they rode in a limo to the Blockbuster Awards.

“And?”  Lisa checked her makeup for the ninety-seventh time.

“And he wants to take me to dinner tomorrow night.  I told him I would let him know tonight after the awards.”  Lara fidgeted nervously.  “I still can’t believe you made me come to this thing.”

“You needed to get out of the house…we both did…and I needed a date.  Plus I needed someone to model that new outfit.  Once people see you in it, it will sell like hotcakes.”

“What a lameass excuse,” Lara told her, laughing as she glanced down at her outfit. It was one of the new dresses in the “Lucky” line of clothes; a dark blue and silver sheath of a dress that clung to every curve.  The stomach area was almost completely bare, with the top attached to the bottom by little silver chains.  Her hair was piled high with a few ringlets falling down.

“You might outshine me…hmm…maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all,” Lisa said, glancing down at her sexy black dress.  Lara shoved her.

“Hardly.”

“You told Howie you’d call him after the awards?  That could be two in the morning!” Lisa realized.

“I told him that.  I said I’d call tomorrow and he said he couldn’t wait that long.”

“He’s so sweet,” Lisa said with a smile.  Lara poked her.

“Stop it.  I need to remain objective,” Lara retorted.  “I don’t know why we had to get all gussied up like this anyway.  No one dresses up for this thing.”

“I do.  It’s a great way to show off the line, as well as draw mega attention to ourselves…and every now and then mega attention is good.”

As they pulled into the long line of traffic that approached the auditorium, the driver opened the separator window and handed Lisa a note.  “A gentleman asked me to give you this as we arrived, Miss Lucky.”

Lucky opened it curiously and read it aloud.  “Lisa…can I talk you into dinner tomorrow?  I will pick you up at seven…dress to impress.  Kevin.”

“That’s weird,” Lara remarked.

Lisa smiled.  “Weird and sneaky.  He knew it was such short notice that I couldn’t possibly say no.”  She carefully tucked the note into her purse.

 

Nick took one look at the television and almost dropped the piece of pizza he was carefully guiding to his mouth.  There was Lucky, walking into the auditorium for the Blockbuster awards, with Lara by her side.  A very beautiful, sexy Lara. The dress slithered around her body seductively, and she smiled and posed with Lucky, even though she seemed to want to move out of the way to allow Lucky to have all the attention.  Nick smiled slightly.  That was just like her.  Soft ringlets framed her face, and silver earrings jauntily bounced from her ears.  His eyes kept going to her stomach.  Flat as a board.  Had the pregnancy been a lie all along? 

Nick thought for a moment.  No…it had been the truth. As much as he would like to believe it was a lie, he knew that Lara wasn’t that kind of person.  He sat back on his sofa, watching her walk up the red carpet, following the curves of her body with a knowing eye.

 

“Okay…that was fun,” Lara said five hours later as they exhaustedly fell into the back of the limo.

“Yeah…fun…” Lisa pretended to pass out against the window.  She had won the award she was nominated for, and had insisted that Lara come up on stage with her to accept.  Suddenly everyone had wanted to know who this Lara was, and why she and Lucky were so close.  In her interview after accepting the awards, Lisa had explained that Lara was her assistant and soon to be managerial partner.  She had been released from her contract with Reggie, she said, and she and Lara would be working together to manage her career from now on.  Lara had been floored.  She expected to help Lisa out, not be her partner.

As soon as they reached the after awards party, reporters and photographers had practically accosted Lara, demanding to know everything about her.  She was grateful for all the times she had watched Lucky the pro at work, and she was able to easily answer their questions.  Lisa smiled at her from the sidelines, happy to see Lara in such a good mood.  She had figured the outfit would knock the press on their asses, and she had been absolutely right.

“I changed my mind,” Lara said as she gratefully kicked off her high-heeled sandals.  “I don’t want your life.”

“Too late now, baby.  LA loves you, and you will have to deal with it.”

“Wonderful.  Hey, gimme your cellphone.  I need to call Howie.”  Lara quickly dialed the number he had given her.

“Hello?” A voice said sleepily.

“Howie?  Um, it’s Lara.  You said I should call no matter what time…” she said.

“Lara!  Hi!”  She heard him instantly wake up.  “Of course!  I’m glad you called.  Did you have fun?  I saw Lisa win…and I saw you onstage with her.  You looked incredible.”

“Thanks,” she said, blushing.  “I was calling to say yes to your offer.  I’d love to go to dinner with you tomorrow.”

“Great!  I’ll pick you up at six forty-five, okay?  And wear something really nice.”

Lara hung up and looked at Lisa, who had a blissful smile on her face.  “What?”

“You woke him up, right?”

“Yes…I guess so.”

“Bet he sleeps naked.  Bet he was just barely covered by a sheet, and that gorgeous torso of his was all stretched out on the sheets and…”

“Oh great. Thanks.  Not like I'll be thinking about all that the next time I see him or anything now,” Lara grumbled.

Lisa smiled in satisfaction, closing her eyes.

 

Lara paced in front of her door, checking her blue silk sundress one more time for any stains or wrinkles.  She put on the matching jacket, then took it off, then put it on again.  She jumped when her doorbell rang.  She opened the door with a smile, but her smile faded when she saw a chauffeur on the other side of the door.  He handed her a long-stemmed white rose with a smile.

“Hello, Miss.  Mr. Dorough asked me to come for you.  He’ll be meeting you at the restaurant.”

“Um…okay,” she said worriedly, wondering if he was planning on standing her up.  She took the rose and followed the driver out the door.

 

“Miss Lucky, Mr. Richardson sent me to pick you up…he will be waiting for you at the restaurant,” the chauffeur told Lisa when she opened the door.  He handed her a tiny nosegay of purple and pink miniature roses.

“Hmmm…all right.”  She threw her wrap over her shoulders and followed the driver to the car.  He opened the door to the backseat and she gasped.

“Lucky?  What are YOU doing here?”  Lara said, shocked.

Lisa climbed in before answering.  “Kevin sent this guy to bring me to dinner.”

“Howie sent him to pick ME up.  He said we’d have to make a stop, I had no clue…” Lara was confused.

“Double date?”  Lisa guessed.

“No way…do you really think…” Lara trailed off as the driver handed them a piece of paper.  Lisa grabbed it and read it out loud.

“By now you guys are wondering what the hell is going on.  We decided that the best thing would be for us to take things slow.  What could possibly be slower than a double date?  Tonight the date was Howie’s idea…Kevin’s idea will come this Friday night.  We’ll see you soon.  Love, Kev and D.”

The girls looked at each other.  “A double date?”  Lara wrinkled her nose.

“Is a date with me such a bad idea?”  Lisa teased her.

“No, but you’re so glamorous…Howie will forget about me and try to work his magic on YOU,” Lara pouted.  Lisa shoved her.

“Puhleeze.  Howie would not have chased you all over the seashores of America if he even had tiny thoughts about me.  He is all yours.”

 

Flashbulbs popped as soon as the chauffeur opened their door.  “Lucky!  Over here!”

“How in the world do they find us?”  Lara wondered.

“This is one of the best restaurants in town, remember?  They hover here like vultures.  Just smile and wave,” Lisa murmured, doing just that.

“Meeting anyone special tonight, ladies?”  A photographer asked.

“You could say that,” Lara said shyly.  The maitre ‘d let them in the door while two large doormen kept the hounds at bay.

“Ah, Miss Lucky…Miss Lara…right this way.”  Another host led them to a table where Howie and Kevin were waiting.  The men instantly stood.

“You look incredible,” Howie told Lara, his dark eyes drinking her in.

“That color is fantastic on you,” Kevin told Lisa as he took her wrap and handed it to the host.  She wore a royal blue dress that ended at her ankles.

“Lara let me borrow this color tonight,” Lisa joked. “Ever notice how I NEVER wear blue?  She’s laid claim to it.”

Lara blushed, turning even redder when Howie said softly, “You look good no matter what color you’re wearing.”

“You look good, too,” she said shyly.  Both men wore black suits, Howie with a black silk shirt underneath and Kevin with a wine red shirt underneath.  Kevin quickly ordered a bottle of champagne and Lisa looked at him curiously.

“Celebrating something?”

“Second chances,” he whispered to her, and she shivered.

Lara looked around the room at all the famous people, and she felt a bit nervous.  Yes, working in LA all this time had gotten her accustomed to seeing movie stars and music stars and television stars, but she never thought she would actually BE with one of them.

“Are you okay?”  Howie asked, concerned.

“Yes…just a but nervous.  This is kinda of overwhelming,” she replied.

“You SHOULD be nervous,” Kevin said from across the table.  “You’re the new “it” girl around town now.  Hope you don’t mind being replaced by your best friend, Angel,” he said to Lisa, his favorite nickname for her falling off his lips unconsciously.

“No way.  I could never replace Lisa.  I’m just an assistant,” Lara said quickly, blushing again.  “All I did was show up with her last night.”

“Did I miss something?”  Howie asked, confused.

“D, where have you been? Didn’t you watch the news or any of the gossip shows?”  Kevin asked him.

“I slept late today…I was awakened last night by a phone call,” he said slyly, making Lisa laugh.

“Well, Lara here was the talk of ALL the morning shows today,” Kevin told him. Lisa nodded in agreement.  Howie turned to Lara and smiled.

“Guess people will soon be asking for YOUR autograph instead of mine, huh?”

Lara shook her head.  “Doubtful.”

 

“Oh, please, roll me out to the car,” Lara groaned two hours later.  “I feel like a heifer.”

“You always think you’re a heifer,” Lisa told her.  “Get over it.”

“I will escort you out, but I refuse to roll you out,” Howie told Lara, helping her into her jacket.

“Where to now?”  Lisa asked Kevin.  He and Howie exchanged glances.

“Part two of your romantic double date,” Kevin told her.  As they approached the door, he turned to Lisa.  “Um, I know we are taking things slow and everything, and that I’m earning your trust back…however, when we walk out that door together, the press is gonna jump on us and assume things are back to normal.”  He looked her in the eye.  “Is that okay?”

“Fine,” she told him, smiling.  His heart leapt at her words, but he simply took her arm and placed it through his.

“Time to face the vultures,” Howie mumbled to Lara, plastering a smile on his face as they led the way out of the restaurant.

 

“Okay, I really need a life,” Nick muttered as he flipped channels once again.  He had tried calling everyone he knew, or at least liked, and no one was available.  AJ was spending the evening with Amanda, Brian was out of town with HIS Amanda, and Howie just wasn’t home.  He didn’t even bother calling Kevin.

“Thanks for joining us.  We’re continuing our week-long camp out in front of Visaggio’s, interviewing the rich and famous and digging into what makes this restaurant the most popular spot in town,” the anchorwoman said.  “We’re live in front of this downtown hotspot, and…well…there are two of the most popular women in Hollywood right now.”  The woman’s face brightened at the prospect of a short interview.  “Here comes Lucky, once again on the arm of Kevin Richardson, and her new partner in crime, Lara, looking quite comfy with Howie Dorough, Kevin’s bandmate.  Lara!  Lucky!  Could we have a minute?”

Nick almost fell off his chair.  So THAT’S where Howie was…out with Lucky, Kevin, and Lara.  His eyes never left Lara’s smiling face.  She looked good.  He was beginning to damn himself for fucking things up so royally.  She was everyone’s sweetheart now…and she should be HIS sweetheart as well.

“Hello, Angelica,” Lisa said smoothly to the interviewer.

“Is this a double date?”

“No, just an intimate dinner…four friends enjoying each other’s company,” Lisa answered quickly.

“Is there something we should know about this little foursome?”  The interviewer asked sweetly, and Lisa wanted to claw her eyes out.

“Only that the team of Lucky and Lara is going to take Hollywood by storm, and that we are fortunate to have good friends like Kevin and Howie to support us,” Lara said with a smile, turning away from the woman as soon as the words left her mouth.  “Excuse us.”

Nick turned off the TV, staring at it for a long while.  He then went up to take a long, cold shower.

 

“That was great!”  Lisa shrieked as soon as they were in the back of the limo.  “You handled that wench like a pro!”

“I learned from the best,” Lara said, and Lisa blushed slightly.

“Where are we going?” Lisa asked Kevin.

“It’s a surprise.  You might want to take off your stockings, though,” Kevin told her.  One look up into his green eyes made her want to rip off ALL her clothes, but she sedately did as he asked.  They drove up the coast for about fifteen minutes, then the limo pulled over to the side. 

“An hour?”  Howie asked Kevin.  He glanced at Lisa.

“Better make it two.”

“Cool.  Catch you two later.  Come on, Lara.” He got out of the car and held out his hand.  She threw Lisa one desperate glance, then followed Howie out of the car.  He shut the door and it zoomed up the street.

“What’s going on?”  Lara asked warily.

“We thought a nice way to end the evening would be a moonlit walk on the beach.  Moonlit walks are not double date material, however, so Kevin and Lisa will be walking a few miles up.” Howie looked down at her anxiously.  “If you don’t want to do this, I have my cellphone.  I could call the limo back and we could just drive around.”  He took his hand in hers.  “I just know how much you love the ocean, and I thought a walk would be nice.”

“It sounds wonderful,” Lara said, grateful that her skirt was knee-length, unlike Lisa’s.  They picked their way down to the wet sand near the water’s edge.

 

“You could have told me,” Lisa grumbled as Kevin helped her across the dunes on their way down to the water.  “I would have worn a shorter dress.”

“But then I couldn’t do this.”  Kevin swept Lisa up into his arms and easily carried her the last yards.  She wished he would never let her go, but he finally set her down carefully.  He took her hand and swung it between them, reminding her of their first date.  “Is this okay?  Walking, I mean.”

“It’s fine,” she replied.  She sighed, feeling more relaxed then she had in weeks.

“That’s how I feel, too,” Kevin said, smiling at her warmly.  “I missed these kind of moments most…where we would just be together and not have to say a word.”

Can this man read my heart or what? Lisa asked herself.  Those were her exact feelings.  “I missed it too,” she replied.

“Lisa, I mean it when I say I will fight tooth and nail for you.” Kevin stopped walking and faced her.  “I was an idiot for placing my career in front of our future.  It was wrong.  I will do anything I can to make it up to you.”  He lightly caressed her face with his fingers.  “I have missed you like crazy.”  His voice was thick with emotion.  “Ask anyone.  I’ve been a wreck.  I hate myself so much…and I…”

“Don’t hate yourself, Kevin.”  Lisa smiled up at him.  “You did what you thought was the right thing…and it was very brave of you.  It just hurt.”

Kevin nodded slowly.  He took her hand and they continued walking.

 

Lara stood and stared at the water.  Howie stood a few feet behind her, saying nothing.  “My first outing with Nick was at the beach,” she said slowly.  “Kevin and Lisa asked us to come along to give their date credibility.  It was the first time he asked me out…asked to be my date at her party.”

“I’m sorry,” he said softly.  “Maybe this was a bad idea.”

She turned to face him.  “No, Howie, it wasn’t.  This whole night has been a dream come true…the dinner…now this walk…it’s wonderful.”  A piece of hair came free from his ponytail and she gently tucked it behind his ear.  “And besides, our first real outing was at the beach…back on the East Coast, remember?”  He smiled and nodded.  “And I’m sure it won’t be our last.”  She continued walking up the beach.  Howie stood where he was, smiling.  Maybe there was hope after all.

Friday

 

“Do you have any idea what’s going on?” Lisa demanded as soon as she walked through Lara’s door.

“Nothing.  All Howie said was that I should dress down…something I was really comfortable in, and that I didn’t mind getting dirty in.”

“Getting dirty with Howie…hmmm…” Lucky’s voice trailed off and Lara smacked her.  They had both been dying of curiosity all week, but the men refused to give them a hint.

“Well, I dressed down, like he said.  Do I look okay?”  Lara turned around in front of Lara.

“You look so damn cute when you wear those little blouses that tie in the front,” Lisa observed.  Lara wore a sleeveless button-down denim shirt that tied at the waist, with matching short denim shorts.  Both were blue, of course.  The shirt was unbuttoned to the knot at the waist revealing a dark blue sports bra. Lisa arched an eyebrow.  “However, you don’t normally show that much skin while wearing those little blouses.”

Lara blushed.  “Well, I noticed that Howie seems to have a problem glancing at my cleavage, if there is cleavage showing. I figured I’d help him out a little.”

“Tease,” Lisa replied.

“YOU’RE one to talk,” Lara replied, glancing at Lisa’s short shorts and tight tank top.  Lisa stuck her tongue out. 

“Finally!”  Lisa exclaimed twenty minutes later when someone knocked at the door.

“If that’s another driver, I will freak,” Lara said, following her to the door.

“Ladies!  Your chariot awaits,” Kevin announced, waving his hand at the jeep parked in the driveway.  Lisa took one look at him and almost fainted.  He wore tight blue jeans and a button-down short sleeved dark green shirt.  Three buttons were unbuttoned, and she wanted to rip them all off.

“A jeep!”  Lara squealed, running past them.  “I’ve always wanted to cruise around in one of these…weird fantasy, I know, but it’s the truth.”

“Well, then I’m glad I bought this little baby today,” Howie said, getting out of the driver’s seat.  “I'll have to teach you to drive it…I know you can’t drive stick.”

“It’s yours!  Cool…” Lara tried not to stare at him.  If she and Lisa had dressed carefully, it looked like Howie had done the same.  His legs were poured into his black jeans, and his tight black tshirt was stretched across his muscular chest and stomach.

“Let’s plow.” Kevin helped Lisa into the back, and took his place beside her.  Lara climbed into the front next to Howie.

“Where are we going?”  Lisa yelled as Howie turned up the CD player.

“You know that tiny town up on the coast?  We passed it the other night and you commented on that huge hotel.”

Lara swallowed deeply, remembering her date there with Nick.  She swallowed deeply and looked out at the road.

“Yes, I remember,” Lisa replied.

“The town is having a huge carnival tonight, and I thought it would be fun if we just bummed around there.  You did say you preferred that kind of thing to a fancy dinner every night,” Kevin said, praying he had been right.  Lisa’s beaming smile rewarded him.

“That sounds GREAT!  Thanks so much, Kevin.”

“Okay with you?”  Howie asked Lara, concerned with her sudden quietness.

“Yes, it sounds fun,” she said, smiling at him.

 

“Think we can get away with no disguises tonight?”  Howie asked Kevin in a low voice as they walked from the car to the carnival.

“I hope so.  It’s dark out, and it’s not like anyone would expect us to be here,” Kevin replied.  He took Lisa’s hand and swung it once more.  She sighed happily, trotting along beside him.  Howie looked at Lara, then took her hand in his.

“This okay?”  He gently rubbed her knuckles with his thumb and she could hardly nod.

“S-sure.”

They walked around for a while, looking at the games and rides, then the men decided it was dinnertime.  “Sit here,” Kevin ordered, finding an empty picnic table.  “We’ll bring dinner.”  He and Howie took off.

“Do you feel a caveman vibe here?”  Lisa asked Lara.

“Definitely.”  She rolled her eyes.  “You…woman…stay.  Me go hunt and gather.  Grr.”  Lisa burst out laughing.  She jumped when she felt a tug on her arm.

“Lucky?  Can I have your autograph?”  A little girl asked shyly.  Lisa smiled down at her.

“Of course.”  She quickly scribbled her name on the napkin offered to her.  “I can get you some Backstreet Boy autographs, too, if you’d like.”

“No, thank you.  I like NSYNC.  Thanks!”  She skipped away and Lara and Lisa laughed.

Kevin and Howie soon returned with hot dogs, pierogies, french fries and gyros.  The girls gaped at all the food.  Kevin came back with a second armful of drinks.  “How hungry do you think we are?”  Lisa asked Kevin.

“Oh…this is OUR dinner,” Kevin said with a straight face.  Howie laughed at the shocked look on Lisa’s face.  “Just kidding.”  He fed her a french fry.

“Anything special you want to do?”  Howie asked Lara as Kevin and Lisa teased each other.

“Not really.  I enjoy just walking around, really, and watching everyone.”  Lara looked around.  “Mostly kid rides, it looks like.”

“We could go on that?”  Howie pointed at the Ferris wheel.  Lara turned white.

“No way.  Wheel of Death?  No, thank you.”  She took a long drink of soda.

“Wheel of Death?  It’s only…” Howie stopped when he realized she was serious.  “No problem.  Walking is good.”  He finished the rest of his hot dog and jumped up.  “Let’s walk.  Talk to you two later.”  He grabbed Lara and they disappeared into the crowd.

“Up for the Ferris wheel?”  Kevin asked Lisa as he threw away their trash.

“Sure,” Lisa said, trying to keep up with his long legs.  Kevin paid for two tickets and they plopped into the first available car.  Kevin sighed and looked out over the carnival as they rose into the air.  The wind was slightly tousling his hair, and he grabbed her hand slightly as the car jerked to a stop.

“Having fun?”  He asked her.  She nodded.

“I’m more relaxed than I’ve been in a while.  We’re out in public and not getting mobbed, doing things that regular people do.”

“Things that regular people do…hmm…” Kevin looked at her, his eyes sparkling in the colored lights that ran along the spokes of the Ferris wheel.  “Do regular people kiss on the Ferris wheel?”

“Yes, I think regular people do that a lot,” Lisa said softly, sighing with pleasure as his lips met hers.

 

“When can we see each other again?”  Howie asked Lara, then blushed.  “I mean, I know you want to move slow, but I’d really enjoy spending time together just the two of us.”

“I like spending time with you, too, Howie,” Lara said, feeling suddenly shy.  They stopped in front of a cotton candy stand.

“Want some?”  He didn’t wait for her to answer, but bought a large bag of blue cotton candy.

“Jeez, I haven’t had this in ages,” Lara said, laughing as she tried to pull some off the big puff of sugar.

“Here.  Let me.”  Howie pulled some out and started to hand it to her.  Lara moved her hand away and opened her mouth.  He paused and then carefully fed her the candy.  She licked her lips, laughing again as some of the sugary cotton stuck to her mouth.  “You look like you ate a Smurf,” Howie remarked, laughing as well.

“Do you like Smurf?”  Lara asked softly.

“I don’t know…let me see…” he leaned forward and softly kissed her.  When he finally pulled back, his lips were blue as well.  “Delicious.”

 

“Lisa, if you ask me that one more time I will drive over to your house and smack you,” Lara said from her comfortable seat on her living room recliner.  She wore her favorite Little Mermaid nightshirt and her hair was already set in curlers for the night.  She and Howie were spending the next day together, and she wanted to try something new with her long hair.

“What if it’s awful?  What if I poison him?”  Lisa wailed.  Lara laughed at the usually ultra-confident Lucky whining about a simple pasta dinner.

“Lisa, I have seen you cook.  I have tasted your cooking.  I’m still alive.  Doesn’t that say something to you?”

Lisa sighed.  “I know…I just want it to be perfect.  I want him to know how much I love him and how much I need him in my life.”

“He knows, Lisa, trust me…he knows.  Go get ready.  It’s six o’clock already.  Isn’t he getting there at six-thirty?”

“Oh, yeah, shit!  Talk to you later.”  Lisa hurriedly hung up and went to shower.

 

“Hi,” Lisa said, unable to keep from smiling as she opened the door.

“Hi, yourself,” Kevin replied, looking her over from her softly curled hair to her bare feet that peeked out from under her long purple sundress.  “You look pretty.”

“Thanks,” she said softly, burying her face in the bouquet of pink roses he handed her. She moved aside to let him in.

“I would have brought wine, but I wasn’t sure what kind you wanted,” he said as he followed her down the hall to the kitchen.

“That’s fine.  I have a bottle chilling here anyway.” She reached up to try and get a vase from a high cupboard.  Kevin walked up behind her and easily reached the vase. 

“Here you go.”  She turned around slowly and took it from him, her body pressed between him and the kitchen counter.  She swallowed deeply, thankful that she was not a man.  If she were a man, her attraction and desire for Kevin would have been quite obvious at that moment.  From the way he quickly pulled back from her, she knew he was experiencing the same feelings. 

“Go ahead and sit down.  I'll be right in.”  She handed Kevin the bottle of wine and an opener, and gave him a gentle shove towards the dining room.  As he popped the cork on the bottle, she brought in a loaf of French bread and a huge bowl of pasta.  When she sat down across from him, she was suddenly shy.

“This looks great.  I am RAVENOUS.”  Kevin served Lisa first, then gave himself a healthy portion.

“I hope you like it,” she said softly.

“I’m sure I will,” he said, smiling at her.  He took a few bites and nodded.  “Excellent. However, it’s missing something…” he stared into space.  “Parmesan cheese.  Do you have any?”

“Of course.  I’m sorry,” she said.  She had been hoping he would say that.  Lisa jumped up and walked into the kitchen.  She got the cheese out of the fridge and carefully walked it back.  “Here you are.”

“Thank you.  I…” Kevin stared at the cheese shaker.  “What’s this?”  He picked up a diamond solitaire ring from the top of the container.  Lisa slowly got down on one knee next to his chair.

“Kevin, I love you so very much, and I cannot bear one more moment without you.  We don’t have to get married right away, but will you marry me?”

Kevin swallowed the bite in his mouth and almost choked.  He took a huge gulp of wine, then looked down at her.  Lisa began to shake slightly.  What if this was stupid? What if he said no?  What if…

Strong hands grabbed her arms and pulled her to her feet.  His fingers were running through her hair as his lips grazed her cheeks.  “Yes…oh, yes, Lisa…I will marry you.  I love you so FUCKING much.”  Before she knew what was happening, she was in his arms and he was carrying her up the stairs.  She buried her face in his neck, enjoying the smell of his cologne, his soap, his aftershave…basically the smell that was Kevin.  He carefully set her down by the bed, then began to quickly unbutton his shirt.  As soon as his upper torso was bare, he pulled her into his arms once more, passionately kissing her.  She ran her fingers over the muscles she knew so well and sighed deeply against his mouth.

As Kevin pressed Lisa’s body against him, his hand slowly pulled at the zipper on the back of her dress.  The dress puddled at her feet, and he moaned deeply as he realized that there was nothing underneath the dress but Lisa. He fell to his knees before her, caressing her breasts with his fingertips before eagerly taking a nipple into his mouth and torturing it with his tongue.  She moaned, grasping his head to keep herself from falling.  His hands trailed up and down her back, tracing every indentation of her spine.  When his tongue moved down to dip into her navel, she lost all control and tumbled back onto the bed.  Kevin made short work of his pants before joining her on the bed.  Their warm bodies pressed together, and Kevin hissed in a breath as Lisa’s hands found his erection, gently tracing, then firmly stroking.  His large hand cupped her face as he sucked on her bottom lip, then that hand slowly danced down to settle between her legs. 

Lisa cried out as Kevin’s long fingers explored inside of her.  Her hips moved against his hand of their own accord and she was soon begging him to stop teasing.  “Kev…please…I want you so bad…”

Kevin took her hands and placed them above her head.  He positioned himself above her, but before he made a move, he tenderly kissed her lips.  As Lisa returned his sweet kisses, he slowly slid himself inside of her, making them both groan.  He slid an arm underneath her, pulling her up to meet his thrusts.  “Lisa…God…I’ve missed you so much…missed this…missed being so close to you…missed showing you what you mean to me.”

Lisa’s tongue flicked out at Kevin’s neck, savoring the salty taste of his skin.  “I love you, too, Kevin…ah…” Lisa’s orgasm washed over her before she knew what was happening.  He released her hands and she wrapped her arms around him, pulling him closer as he thrust into her one…two…three more times before releasing himself inside of her.  He rolled to the side, keeping her in his arms.

“Angel, I have missed you so much.  I promise never to betray you again…never to put anyone else before you and me.” He tenderly kissed her cheeks, her nose, her eyelids.

 

“I’d rather have thirty minutes of wonderful then a lifetime of nothing special,” Julia Roberts insisted to Sally Field.  Lara sniffled and reached for the tissues.  She loved Steel Magnolias.  A knock at the door made her jump.

“Figures,” she mumbled, glancing at the clock.  Ten-thirty.  She looked through the peephole and gasped.  “One second!”  Lara yelled, running back to the bedroom.  She threw a robe over her nightshirt and yanked the curlers out of her hair as fast as humanly possible.  “Fuck.  Oh fuck.  Oh holy fuck.  Ouch!  DAMMIT!”  She yelled as a curler got stuck.  She finally pulled the last one out and ran a brush through her hair, turning it into a mass of wavy curls.  She ran back to the door and took a deep breath.  Leaving the security chain in, she opened it a crack.  “Yes?”

“Lara, hi, um, can we talk?”  Nick asked nervously.

“It’s ten-thirty at night, Nick. Couldn’t this wait?”  Lara said, proud of her calm demeanor.

“I was in the neighborhood and…no…it can’t wait.  Please?”

Lara sighed.  “Stay here.  I’m in my pajamas.”  She slammed the door in his face and slowly walked back to change.  She was in no hurry to talk to him.  She put on a pair of shorts and a Penn State sweatshirt.  After taking a few more breaths, she slowly walked back out, hoping that he was gone.  She wasn’t that lucky.  “Come on in.”  She moved aside and let him in.

“Thanks.”  He sat down on the edge of the sofa.  She curled back up on her recliner.  They looked at each other for a long moment.  “Um, how have you been?  I saw you on TV the other night.  You looked beautiful,” Nick said finally.

“What do you want, Nick?”  Lara asked, trying not to notice how nice he looked in his dark green hooded sweatshirt and black sweatpants.  Nick thought for a moment before answering her.

“I wanted to apologize, Lara, for how I treated you.  I was in shock after you told me about the baby…I mean…I’m only twenty years old.  What do I know about kids?  I was scared, and said things I didn’t mean.”

Lara looked at him skeptically, but his blue eyes seemed to shine with sincerity.  “Nick, the way you treated me really hurt.  You acted like I was some kind of slut who was just saying you were the father to get money out of you.”  Her blue eyes filled with tears at the memory.  “I loved you, Nick.  More than anything.  You were the center of my world…and then you made it quite clear that I was only on the fringes of YOUR world.”  She looked him in the eye.  “How many other women were there?”

“A few…not like a hundred or anything…a few…five, maybe six,” he mumbled, having the decency to blush.  Lara took a deep breath and stood.

“Nick, I accept your apology.  Now, I’d appreciate it if you left.”  She opened the door and stood beside it.  Nick’s mouth fell open but he quickly recovered.  This was not what he had expected.  He approached her slowly and she backed up against the wall near the door.

“Lara, can’t we talk some more? Maybe we could go out sometime, have dinner…” Nick smiled down at her, pushing a curl back from her face. 

Lara swallowed the lump in her throat. “Nick…no.  I…”

“You said you loved me.  Is it still past tense?”  He cupped her face in his hand, letting his thumb stroke her cheek.  “We had some really fun times together.  It clicked between us…more than any other woman I’ve been with.”

“Nick…don’t…” Lara whispered, desperately trying to fight the way he was making her body react.

“Don’t what?” Nick whispered, letting his lips graze over her earlobe.

“Don’t…do…that…” Lara said.  “I don’t love you anymore.”

He pulled back and took her face in both hands, forcing her to look at him.  “Look me in the eye and tell me that.”

Lara opened her mouth to answer, and gasped when she saw Howie pop his head in the door.  Howie took one look at Nick pressing Lara up against the wall and turned around.  He walked back down the steps without a word.  “Howie!  Wait!”  Lara squirmed out of Nick’s hold.

“Lara…it’s for the best.  Now he knows how we really feel about each other,” Nick said soothingly.  Lara elbowed him in the side, doubling him over in pain.  She ran down the steps.

“Howie!  Howie!  Wait!”  She didn’t notice the pouring rain, even after she stood in it for ten minutes.  She watched helplessly as taillights zoomed off into the distance.  She saw Nick walk to his car but she ignored him.  She watched Howie’s car drive away from her and fell to her knees, weeping.  Rain flowed off her now straight hair, sliding down her skin in little streams, but she didn’t care.  Howie thought she loved Nick…she chased Howie away.  Wonderful Howie…Howie, the man she felt she could truly love.  He was gone.  She sat down hard on the sidewalk and continued to sob.

 

Lara pulled herself out of a deep sleep to answer the phone.  “Hello?”

“Lara!  It’s me!  Guess what…I proposed and Kevin accepted!  Isn’t that wonderful?”

“That’s great, Lees…listen…I'll call you later.”  Lara tried to calm the pounding in her head.  She noticed that it was about six hours after Nick had left.  She didn’t even remember coming in to bed.

“Are you drunk?”

“No, I’m not drunk!” Lara snapped. “Just sleeping…tired…cold…”

“Well, I planning on getting good and wasted!  Me and Kev are gonna go to bed with a nice bottle of bubbly.  Talk to you later!”  Lisa cheerfully hung up.

Lara made herself get up and go to the bathroom. The room spun and she had to hold onto furniture to make it across the room.  She moaned as she looked in the mirror.  That made the room spin more.  She went to the bathroom and then actually crawled back into the bedroom.  She pulled out her warmest flannel pajamas and then crawled under all the covers, even though it was seventy degrees in her bedroom.  She shivered herself to sleep.

 

The phone rang and rang. “Dammit, I just went to sleep!” Lara croaked when she answered it.

“Lara? It’s two in the afternoon…are you still in bed?”  Lisa asked.

“Yes…tired…cold…” Lara wiped the sweat from the back of her neck, throwing back the covers.  Her teeth chattered and she yanked the covers back up.  “Go away…call later.”

“Lara, what’s going on?  Are you okay?”

“No…go away.”  Lara hung up then took the phone off the hook.

 

“Something’s weird, Kev.  She sounds sick,” Lisa said, staring at the phone in her hand.  “She hung up on me.”

“Well, sometimes I want to hang up on you, too,” he teased.  She smacked his bare leg and snuggled back down next to him.

“Something’s not right, Kevin, I…”

“Honey, relax.  She might have a cold or something, and you waking her up all the time isn’t helping.”  He pulled her against his chest.  “Come here.  I’ll distract you.”

 

“Sorry…did I get you out of bed?”  Howie asked when Kevin opened Lisa’s door three hours later. He couldn’t help but smile at Kevin’s disheveled appearance.  His hair was tousled, his tshirt was on backwards, and he had on a pair of old boxer shorts.

“Um…kinda…we got engaged again last night.”

“That’s great, man!”  Howie gave Kevin a hug. “I’ll come back later.”

“No, stay.  Lisa won’t mind.”  Kevin let Howie in, wondering about the sadness in his friend’s dark eyes.  “What’s up?”

“It’s Lara,” Howie said as Lisa came bouncing down the stairs, wearing another tshirt of Kevin’s.

“What?  Have you been able to get through?”

“Get through?”

“Her line’s been busy since early this morning.   I called and she said she was sick and hung up on me.  She sounded like shit…all feverish and stuffed up.”

“Sick?  Oh, no…I let her out in the rain…it’s all my fault.”  Howie jumped up.  “Gotta go.”  Lisa and Kevin stared as he ran back out the door.

 

Lara felt the covers pulled off of her and she reached down for them.  “Cold…s-s-s-so cold…” her teeth chattered.  Strong hands gently fought her until she ran out of steam and laid back.  “Go away…sick…cold…”

“You need to change clothes, sweetie…you’re sweating right through these pjs,” a male voice said.

“Can’t…tired…”

She heard drawers opening and closing.  “Here…put this on…can you do that?”  She opened her eyes enough to see a long nightgown being held in front of her.  It was long sleeved but not the heavy flannel of her pajamas.

“Maybe…” she slowly sat up and began to try to unbutton her pajama top. 

“Let me help you.” Fingers started to undo the buttons but she slapped them away.

“Don’t touch me, Nick.  Don’t fucking touch me ever again.”  The hands moved away and the person turned around as she unbuttoned the shirt and pushed down the pants.  She pulled the nightgown over her head, and immediately felt cooler.  Lara fell back onto the bed.  “Thirsty…” she whispered.

“Lay back down and get under the covers.  I’ll get you some water.”  She slowly did as she was told, and it wasn’t soon before a glass of cool water was being tipped to her lips.  “Drink slowly, baby.  Don’t choke.” 

Lara took a few sips and then lay back, trying to focus her eyes on the person in front of her.  All she could see was a pair of hands arranging the blankets, and then gently stroking her hair.  “I hate you, Nick,” she said, starting to cry.  “I hate you so much.  I hate you for leaving me.  I hate you for being such a prick.  I hate you for chasing Howie away!”

“Lara…Lara…relax.  You’re very sick,” the voice said soothingly.

“I hate you.  I don’t want you.  Howie…want Howie…he went away…” Lara trailed away into sleep.

 

Lara yawned and stretched, groaning as she did so.  The person laying across the foot of the bed instantly sat up.  “Lara?”

“Howie?”  Lara gasped.  “What the hell are you doing here?”

“You really don’t remember?”  Howie moved up to sit next to her, taking her hand in his.

“I remember you driving away,” she whispered.  “That’s all I remember.”

“That was three days ago,” Howie said gently.  “How long did you sit out in the rain?”  Lara stared at him and he blushed.  “I saw you…I saw you in the rear view mirror.”

“I don’t know…an hour, maybe.”

“No wonder you were so sick.  You’ve been pretty much delirious for three days now.  If you didn’t snap out of it today I was going to take you to the hospital.”

“Three days?”

Howie nodded.  “I stopped by Lisa’s the next day and she told me you had hung up on her when she called, and that your phone was off the hook.  I came over here right away and saw that your door was unlocked.  You were burning with fever so I stayed and took care of you.”

“You did?”  Lara was amazed. “Howie, I swear, nothing happened between Nick and I.  He wanted it to, and I was trying to fight him off when you came in that night.”

“Did he…was he trying to…”

“No, nothing like that.  He was just trying to convince me that I still had feelings for him, but that is impossible.”  She smiled at him shyly.  “I couldn’t possibly, since I only have feelings for you.  I think I’m falling in love with you, Howie, and if I wasn’t getting over some kind of nightmare flu, I would kiss you.”

“Kiss me anyway,” Howie ordered, leaning down to put his lips on hers.

Two Months Later

 

“A private beach location was the setting for the sunset wedding of Backstreet Boy Howie Dorough and LA’s sweetheart, Lara.  Fellow Backstreet Boys AJ McLean and Brian Littrell were in attendance, while youngest Backstreet Boy Nick Carter was noticeably absent.  The couple took their vows barefoot on the beach as the sun set on the waves.  Lara wore a simple white sundress while the groom chose a navy blue Armani suit.

“In related news, rumor has it that Howie’s bandmate and friend Kevin Richardson said ‘I do’ on a secluded island in the Bahamas, taking superstar diva Lucky to be his bride.  Locals proclaim to have seen the couple standing in a bungalow church before a local member of the clergy.  Kevin wore a white tank top and khaki shorts; Lucky wore a white bikini under a sheer white sarong.  That night they were seen dancing the night away in a tiny village pub, though they slipped away early for their own private performance in their large rented villa.  Best of luck to both couples!”

The End

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