I spent most of the party hanging around with Roz and trying to make myself known to the people with the connections that might help me. As one conversation was ending, I felt someone standing just behind me and I turned to be face to face with Brian.

"Having fun?" I immediately smiled and glanced down at the glass of champagne in my hand and then around the room.

"How could I not be? I'm meeting people I never dreamed I'd meet, you included, and making connections and . . . well the simple answer is Yes, definitely!" I watched as the grin on his face widened.

"Great!" We were standing beside the sofa and chairs so I slouched so that I was sitting on the arm of one of the chairs. "So, how long have you been in Tampa?" I glanced at my pasty white arms and smiled sarcastically.

"How could you tell I'm not from here?" I paused to think and then continued. "I guess I've been here long enough that I really ought to have gotten some sun. Even at home I used to have a better tan than this."

"Where is home?" I was trying not to analyze why he was asking all the questions. It was strange, but I felt like I'd known him forever.

"Originally I'm from a small town in Ontario, Canada. Then I lived in St. Catharines, and then Windsor, right across the border from Detroit, Michigan for a bit. Finally I got to move someplace warm."

"I thought you sounded Canadian." I guess I gave him an odd look. "It's not a bad thing, really. People say I have an accent to." He shrugged. "I never noticed." I laughed.

"Who knew, eh?" I realized right away that I had used the most stereo typically Canadian word, but I couldn't take it back. Brian either didn't notice, or decided, gracefully, to ignore it. I glanced around the room to keep an eye out for Roz, while there was a minor lull in our conversation.

"How long have you known Roz?" That question made me stop and think.

"I guess it depends on what you mean by "knowing" her. I've talked to her on the �net for about 4 years now, but we never actually met until just over a year ago. I went out to visit her on my vacation last year. And now she's visiting me." Brian looked puzzled.

"You're not from the same area? You seem like you've known each other forever." I quickly shook my head.

"Nope, she's from Alberta. She's actually going back there at the end of August to go to college. That's the plan anyway." Then I laughed. "Roz and I have a lot of coincidences between us. I graduated from college on her 16th birthday." I stopped, deciding if I should go on. "And I was born 22 days after her original favorite Backstreet Boy." Brian grinned but looked a little puzzled.

"Which one of us is that?"

"You." Brian raised his eyebrows, and looked as if he wanted to laugh. There was a slight pause in the conversation before he spoke again. "So, do you miss Canada?" I shrugged. I'd never really thought about it.

"I don't miss the country and I definitely don't miss the weather. But I miss the people I left behind. Like my best friend works so much that she can't visit me at all, and my parents are still there. And my �boys'. It's harder to see them, living this far away too." He looked a little bit puzzled.

"Your �boys'?"

"Oh, yeah! I call the Blue Jays my boys. Some of the Detroit Tigers too, but mainly the Jays." Suddenly he realized what I was talking about.

"Baseball! Oh right! You said you're a big fan, right?" I nodded. "Have you been to Tropicana field to see the D-rays yet?"

"Yeah, I have actually. It was one of the first things I did when I got out here. It's not as much fun when you're alone though."

"Do you want to go to a game? Before I go back to Kentucky?" I was totally stunned by the invitation. And then mortified because I had to turn it down.

"I would seriously love to, but my boys are in town this weekend and I told Roz we'd go see them. She's never been to a major league game, so I'm thinking about dragging her to the whole series to make up for lost time. If she can handle all 3 games, that's my plan anyway." I smiled, hoping he understood.

"Hey, no problem. What if we all go?" It only took me a moment to accept this time. I knew Roz would freak.

"That would be so cool." He smiled.

"Okay, then. Don't worry about the tickets, I'll take care of it." I felt my eyebrows raise.

"Ooo. You have special privilege to get us great seats or something?" But he didn't really answer.

"You'll find out on Friday." I couldn't help myself.

"Ugh, a surprise. I'm definitely not a fan of surprises."

As the party began looking as if it were about to end, Roz wandered up to me. "I've got to talk ... " she started just as I said, "I have some news ... " We both laughed. "How about if we wait until we get back to the apartment for the discussions." She nodded. "You havin' fun?"

"Of course, but I saw you talking to Brian for so long." I gave her a look that said we'd discuss it later because as she spoke I noticed a commotion coming from towards the front doors. With only a scattered few people left in the building, it was easy to get a look at the group that was coming in, and I froze as I realized who was in the center of that group.

"Lex . . . oh my gosh . . . Lex!" I couldn't answer her. I could only look in the direction of the group as it slowly moved into the open area. "Lex, do you see who that is?" Of course I had seen who it was, I wouldn't be having such an extreme reaction if I hadn't seen him. I had thought he was gorgeous a few years before but he had certainly improved with age. As I started to realize my reaction, I was suddenly embarrassed by it. I had always thought I would be calm, and act normal if I got the chance to meet famous people that I had followed. So far, I hadn't done too badly. Hell, I hadn't even recognized one of my favorites. But this was totally different. I felt Roz's hand on my arm. "Are you going to move soon?"

"Oh, of course. I. . . I don't know what happened." She grinned and glanced at the small mob that Kevin, Brian and Howie had gone over to.

"I know exactly what it is, and you better get over it soon, before you get introduced. You can't just stand there like a moron then, you know?" I must have glared at her, but as I turned I heard Brian call to us.

"Lisa, Roz. Come over here, got somebody else for ya to meet." Then he said quietly to me "It's your favorite," emphasizing favorite to tease. I wanted to hit him, but instead I rolled my eyes at Roz, and then we went toward the group. Brian parted the small crowd and herded us both into the center where I was suddenly much too close to AJ. My stomach flipped, and I was sure my every thought was apparent on my face. "AJ, this is Lisa, she writes for Tampa Beat. And her talented friend, Roz."

I managed to say a quiet hello, when AJ smiled, and said hello to both of us. He was clearly enjoying being the center of attention. As other people clamored to get his attention, I got a chance to just commit his image to memory.

I started by quickly admiring the simple dark suit he was wearing. So incredibly different from the extremely baggy and nutty clothes during Backstreet. From there I noticed that all but one tiny gold hoop had disappeared from his ears, leaving several semi-grown in pierced earring holes. His hair was the natural dark brown that I had longed to see more often, after it had been a multitude of colors. Most mesmerizing of all though, and somehow I always knew they would be, were his eyes. Darker than I had imagined, I took the chance and stared for just a moment, out of the tiny fear that I'd never have quite the same chance again.

I started to come out of my semi-trance as I felt people moving around me. Roz touched my arm and I turned to her. I knew what she was thinking by the look on her face, and I was sure she could tell what was going on in my mind. All I could do was mouth the word, "wow." She nodded, and whispered.

"Mm hmm. I know. All we're missing is one." I couldn't help but smile.

"Yeah, I guess we are. Who would have known?" I shrugged, never, in my wildest imagination had I ever thought that this could happen to me.

I think Roz waited half expectantly all night for the missing "boy" to arrive, but he never did. At around 2 am we both decided that it was time to go. We said goodbye to a few people before Brian and Kevin caught us near the door.

While Kevin pulled Roz aside to discuss her singing career, Brian and I confirmed the baseball date.

"So, we'll meet at around 5 on Friday? We can do dinner or something first."

"Actually, I have a friend who does sports for one of the Toronto newspapers, that I want to say hi to, while she's in town. Mind if we go straight to the park?"

Brian shrugged. "Sure, whatever." Kevin and Roz finished their conversation and Brian turned to Roz, "Nice to meet you." Roz only smiled, as Kevin turned to me.

"I hope you enjoyed yourselves. I was telling Roz that I expect to see her in here recording before she goes back to Calgary, and I hope you'll come with her." I smiled and nodded.

"Hey, if the place is this popular all the time, you'll never get rid of me."

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