| She shivered. It sure was cold in the Ballroom, maybe even colder than the lounge had been. She wished there was just one warm spot somewhere in the hotel. If she could find it, she�d camp out there and let the party come to her. Kat decided that if something truly earth shattering didn�t happen within an hour, she was going to head back up to her suite to thaw out. Annie was clearly interested in Greenpeace boy, so Kat scanned the crowd, hoping to glimpse someone famous. It all happened so fast. Lisa yanked her elbow hard and spun her around, then jabbed her index finger toward the center of the room. �Hey! Isn�t that one of the Backdoor Boys?� Kat squinted in the dimness, wishing silently that she had not been so vain and had worn her glasses. �Sure looks like him, K. Come on!� Lisa pulled her friend into motion as they began squeezing through the crowd toward the tall man with the mohawk. Why did I wear such damned high heels, Katrina chided herself. There�s Kevin, right there�not 20 feet away from me, and I�ll probably break my ankle before I ever get to meet him. The girls were knocked around like rag dolls, being pushed, prodded and squeezed all the more with every step they took toward Kevin. At one point, Kat was lifted entirely off her feet. She was surprised when she landed so softly. At another point, she felt pretty confident that someone had intentionally run a hand down her backside. She wished she knew just who to curse out. To her, this felt much more like a rock concert than a fundraising benefit. She�d almost reached her goal when she felt the sudden, sharp, searing ache of a wanton elbow jabbing mercilessly into her left breast. She gasped and dropped her pager when the pain hit, and Lisa lost the grip on her elbow as Kat stooped to recover her costly gadget. When she got down to floor level, she saw not one, but two identical shiny, silver pagers. One had come to rest near her own foot, the other lay near a pair of very expensive looking boots. She scooped up the equipment closest to her as he heard the raspy-voiced apology. |
| �I am so sorry - are you ok?? Damn�that HAD to hurt. Listen, you can�I dunno�kick me back, or something�� A man�s hand, somehow familiar, and decked out in silver bands on every finger, snatched up the remaining pager. She watched the hand as it moved from the floor and into the pocket of a pair of low-riding, loose fitting jeans. Kat�s heart nearly stopped when she realized from whose crotch her face was mere inches away. It took a moment to register. First one arm full of tattoos: the �Laugh Now�. The tribal. She moved her gaze to the other arm that was attached to the hand that was now helping her up. It really says �poopy� she marveled as her eyes continued upward. A neatly trimmed soul-patch, mustache and sideburns. There was only one man alive who was this creative with facial hair. The next thing she knew, she was gazing directly into the eyes of AJ McLean. Well, not directly. He was, of course, wearing his trademark: a pair of funky sunglasses. Kat grinned widely, then bit her lip hard to make herself stop. �Please tell me I didn�t seriously injure something - you�re ok, right?� he pleaded. �Fine, I�m fine. Didn�t hurt, just�ok, it kinda hurt. But I�m ok, honest.� At that moment she wanted to take her hand, press it hard to her aching breast and massage the pain away. She thought better of it, however. AJ lowered his glasses slightly and eyed her as candidly as he was able. �You look fine to me,� he muttered almost inaudibly. Her jaw dropped open briefly as she mulled over his comment and how he might have meant it. A split second later she again felt herself being yanked away from him. �Come on!� Lisa scolded, dragging her forcefully. �You wanted a close encounter with a Backstreet Boy, now here�s your chance!� Kat glanced helplessly back toward AJ. He shrugged slightly and was immediately engulfed by the crowd. Her head was spinning. |
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