Several minutes later, Howie and Brenna walked into the restaurant where they were supposed to meet AJ. Right away Howie spotted him across the room, looking around somewhat impatiently. Grinning Howie led Brenna over to the table where AJ sat, restlessly flipping through a menu.
"AJ." Howie called when they were a few metres away. AJ's head snapped up at the sound of his name. He looked around for a second before catching sight of Howie and Brenna.
"Dude, took you long enough to get here. I've been here for fifteen minutes. I thought I was the one who was always late." AJ stood up, a wide grin on his face. "So this must be the infamous Brenna."
"Hey AJ. It's good to meet you." She smiled, taking AJ's outstretched hand.
"Great to meet you, too. Couldn't wait to meet the girl who snagged Howie's heart."
Brenna's cheeks flushed bright pink.
"AJ, quit embarrassing my girlfriend." Howie admonished. "Although, you are right about my heart." He looked down at Brenna, his feelings apparent in his eyes.
Brenna looked up at him, her eyes mirroring his. "The feeling's mutual." She whispered.
AJ rolled his eyes in amusement. "So, are we gonna have breakfast or not, you two?" He asked, breaking the contact between them.
"Sorry, AJ." Howie said ruefully. "But you did start it."
"You’re right, I did." AJ agreed. "But enough about that, I'm starving."
Howie pulled out at chair and motioned Brenna to sit down. She blushed, murmuring a thank you as she sat down. Howie slid into the seat next to her.
"So Brenna, where are you from? All Howie told me was that you were Canadian. And you're 22."
"I'm from North Vancouver. I just graduated from UBC with a Batchelor of Fine Arts. I'm a photographer."
"Cool. I'd love to see some of your pictures some time." AJ grinned. "Maybe you could do some for us. Don't you think that'd be a good idea, Howie?"
"Yeah, I do. I was thinking about that this morning before you woke up." Howie squeezed her hand gently.
"Are you serious?" Brenna asked incredulously. "I haven't had the chance to do much serious stuff so far. Just a friend's wedding, some pictures of a band I know in concert and my best friend, Niki's modelling portfolio. Are you sure you'd want someone as inexperienced as me taking pictures of you guys?"
"Brenna, just because you haven't done much professional work yet doesn't mean you're an inexperienced photographer." Howie exclaimed. "How long have you been taking pictures seriously?"
"I don't know. I got my first camera for my eleventh birthday. I guess I've been taking pictures since then, but only seriously since I was 16 or so."
"Well, that's six years, girl." AJ pointed out. "That's quite a lot of pictures as far as I'm concerned. How about you let us check out your work before we say you're inexperienced?"
"Okay. I have some of my stuff with me. I've been working on my own portfolio when I wasn't skating." Brenna smiled, glancing at Howie. He grinned.
"Well then, I guess we better have a look when we're done here. Sound like a good idea?" Howie asked.
"Yeah. It sounds great." Brenna smiled, still amazed that she could have the chance to photograph for the Backstreet Boys.
