I walked through the doors and went directly to my favorite part of the store, the sales racks. I turned and looked at him as he chuckled,
�What?� He shook his head and shrugged,
�You don�t have to�you can get whatever you want.� I smiled when I realized what he was saying,
�It�s a habit�hard to break even if it is on someone else�s plastic.� He nodded his head and looked at a shirt,
�I understand.� I laughed as I looked for something my size,
�Oh you do?� His hands stopped and he looked at me,
�I didn�t always have money.� I felt like an ass,
�True�sorry.� He smiled and my stomach dropped,
�It�s ok.� I can�t believe I am shopping with a Backstreet Boy. It was his fault and it was only going to be for a few minutes but still. I noticed Carlos was gone and looked around until I saw him sitting on a bench outside the store. It was still early and quiet so I guess he was taking advantage of the break. We were both walking around when he asked the question for some reason I was dreading,
�So, are you a fan?� Am I a fan? I feel like I�ll be stoned if I say yes, or put on some list of possible psychos to watch out for,
�Yeah�yeah I am.� I have nothing to say, that�s rare. Usually I�m mute if there is no interest in another person or I don�t like them but this time I was just shocked. Yep, no more picking at those girls on MTV. He nodded and if I didn�t know better he was waiting on me to go through whatever it was I was going through in my mind. He must be used to this. He continued looking through shirts,
�So, you going to the concert tomorrow night?� Wish he wouldn�t have brought that up, as much of a fan as I was I had never been to a concert. I usually told myself it was because I didn�t like the crowds and the loud noise. I never attempted to buy a ticket or go. Ugh, somehow I would feel better right now if I could tell him I had been to seven concerts and rattle off my proof of loyalty. At least I would have something to talk about; he would probably be offended. I shook my head and smiled weakly,
�No.� He nodded,
�Couldn�t get tickets huh?� That was a tempting out but why lie? I would feel bad about it later, I mean lying to Kevin Richardson. I giggled silently,
�Well, actually I didn�t try.� He looked over and I could see the curiosity,
�I don�t know many people and the ones I do, the ones I work with are all pretty much older and it�s not their type�so I wouldn�t have anyone to go with.� He nodded and smiled slightly,
�Understand�so would you like to go?� I looked over at him, a little shocked,
�Uh yeah, but-� He held up his hand,
�Uh nothing�I�ll leave you two tickets.� I smiled, no use in arguing and I really wanted to go,
�Ok.� He took a little notebook and a pen,
�Here put your name on this and I�ll have the tickets waiting for you.� This is unreal; I am talking to Kevin Richardson. Why do I keep saying his last name? I smiled and shook my head a little as I held out a shirt to inspect,
�I don�t like that one.� I looked over at him with an amused look he really is bossy huh? I figured it was greatly exaggerated by the others in interviews just to give him a hard time. He looked down and smiled weakly,
�Sorry.� I shrugged and laughed,
�No, it�s cool. It�s your dime.� I put it back; it wasn�t something I could wear with the pants I was wearing anyway. I had gotten off track, I was supposed to be looking for something I could wear at this moment. Small talk is not one of my strong suits but what the heck,
�So, what are you doing here waiting on me?� He shrugged as he looked around the store,
�I don�t have anything better to do.� For a guy who spends most of his time talking he sure sticks his foot in his mouth often,
�Wow, thanks.� He laughed uncomfortably,
�What I meant was Howie and Brian are doing something for the fan club and AJ and Nick did radio this morning. I kind of had the morning off.� It was so weird to hear him say their names. Almost as if him saying their names made them real,
�Cool�I was just giving you a hard time�I think I found one, I mean, if it�s ok with you.� He laughed and rolled his eyes,
�Yes�I approve�why don�t you give me the tag and I�ll pay while you change.� I nodded,
�Ok.� I came out of the dressing room with my new shirt on and looked around but I didn�t see him. I walked over to the counter,
�Hi, did someone pay for this shirt?� The cashier smiled that smile only a Gap employee could,
�Yes, you can put that in here.� She handed me a bag and I put the other shirt inside, I don�t know why, I was pretty sure the shirt was ruined. I smiled and walked out of the store. I stood there and looked around but he was gone. I can�t believe this. I just hung out with Kevin from the Backstreet Boys. Ok, Richardson sounds a lot better. I wanted to call someone but who? I can�t believe this, I just talked to a celebrity and no one I know really even knows who the hell he is. That�s my life; even exciting things are reduced to nothing.
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Chapter 3