Joehl pulled her red Ford Escort up to the stoplight and continued singing with the song on her radio. It was a bright, sunny day and Joehl was enjoying every minute of it. As she sang, she glanced around her at the other cars. She stopped singing abruptly when she looked to her left and realized that she was being watched. And there was definitely something familiar about the guy next to her in the purple Corvette. When he smiled, and then winked, Joehl knew exactly who he was.

Before she had time to respond, the light had changed and he had driven away. Joehl was frozen a moment until she heard the horn of a car behind her. She pushed the accelerator, still in a daze, and drove the rest of the way to the mall. As she pulled into an empty parking space, she suddenly snapped back to reality. She put her car in park, and screamed, "OH MY GOD! THAT WAS �OWIE!"

When Joehl had moved to Orlando a few months before, she had thought about the remote possibility of meeting one of the Backstreet Boys. But she'd known how unrealistic that was in a city this size. Her friends back home would be so excited, and she didn't even really meet him.

Joehl gave herself another minute to calm down before going into the mall. She had some major errands to run this morning.

She was about halfway through her list when she thought she saw Howie turn a corner just ahead of her. By the time she got there, he was nowhere to be seen. Joehl shook her head. I must be seeing things, she thought.

While she finished her shopping, Joehl caught glimpses of someone who she thought was Howie three or four more times. Each time, she convinced herself that it was all in her head. There was no way that Howie Dorough was shopping in the same places as she was. It was just too unreal.

There was just one last place to go before Joehl was finished so she headed quickly to that store. She rounded the aisle that she needed and gasped. There he was directly in front of her. I wasn't imagining it. He was really here. Joehl realized that she was staring and turned to look at the shelf beside her.

"Hey," Joehl heard the voice beside her and tried not to jump.

"Hi," She sounded calm, but inside all her energy was spent trying to keep herself from trembling.

"Didn't I see you earlier? Singing, at a stoplight?" Joehl nearly fainted. Of all things, she meets a pop star, and he remembers her for singing in her car. She felt her face turn an unnatural shade of pink.

"Uh, yeah." Joehl paused, wondering if she should state the obvious. Fortunately, she didn't need to.

"Hi, I'm Howie."

"I know." Her face turned pinker as she realized how quickly she had said that. "Oh, I'm Joehl." Howie smiled and just seeing that, made her feel much more relaxed. "I really like your car, really cool color."

"Thanks." Joehl breathed, and realized she couldn't' think of anything else to say. Howie looked at his watch. "I've got to go. Nice meeting you Joehl." She nodded, thinking how she was losing the moment she had longed for since moving here.

"Nice to meet you too, Howie. Really." Joehl nearly died. She was sure he thought she was a bimbo. But then what did it really matter, she'd never see him again anyway. She realized that her heart was pounding, so she took a deep breath to calm it, while she watched him walk away. She was about to turn, when he looked back over his shoulder and smiled. Joehl waved, and turned, humming softly to herself.

She picked up her last few items, paid for them and headed out to her car. As she spotted her own car, her walk slowed, because she recognized a purple Corvette that was parked beside it. She got closer and realized that Howie was standing between the two vehicles. Joehl tried to mask her confusion.

"Hi, again."

"Glad I got the right car. I was wondering something." Joehl stopped in front of Howie, next to the driver side door of her car.

"You were?"

"See, I've got this barbecue to go to and well, I wondered if you'd like to come with me." Joehl's heart stopped.

"Me?" She managed to squeak out, and she saw him nod, not truly realizing what that meant. "I ... guess .... sure." She paused, as what he had asked sunk in. "But, why? You'd never met me until a few minutes ago. Isn't there somebody else? Not that I don't want to go. But ..." Joehl realized she was talking herself out of the invitation and stopped.

"Why not you?" She sighed, and tilted her head while she thought.

"Alright, then."

"Good, I've got to go to an interview, so I'll let you go home. Can I pick you up?"

"Oh, of course, you need my address." Joehl unlocked her car and grabbed the pen and paper that were inside. "Here. So, um, what time? And how do I dress?" She felt Howie's eyes scan her.

"You're perfect. How's six?"

"Whatever, great. See you then." Joehl collapsed into the driver seat of her car, as Howie got into his and drove off. When she knew for sure that he was gone, she took a deep breath and screamed.

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