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Everything Your Heart Desires Chapter 33 The next morning Kristy and Cheryl waited in the elegant lobby as the Boys finished a meeting with their management team. �You�re Kristy, right?� Kristy and Cheryl turned to see a woman approach them. Kristy gave her a friendly smile as she recognized her from the evening before. She was stunning, Kristy admitted without reservation. Her dark black hair and light mocha skin contrasted her light amber eyes. �Yes, but how...?� Kristy wondered aloud. Something in the woman�s eyes made Kristy pause. �I thought it was you last night, so after we left, I checked you out on the internet.� �Internet?� Kristy glanced at Cheryl who seemed as confused as Kristy felt. �Yeah. There�s not as much about you as Leighanne or Amanda, but � luckily for me � there are a few other people out there who already hate you as much as I do.� Kristy�s eyes widened. �Hate? These women don�t even know me... why would they hate me?� Cheryl could see the obvious shock on her friend�s face. She correctly suspected Kristy had never heard that word directed at her before. While it was hard for Cheryl to imagine anyone who actually knew Kristy disliking her, Cheryl guessed some fans wouldn�t care how nice of a person she was. �What really bothers me,� the woman continued, �Is why those Kentucky boys seem to always go for the little blond sluts.� If possible, Kristy�s large blue-green eyes widened even further. �Excuse me? Where do you get off saying something like that � about Leighanne or me?!� Cheryl could see that the initial shock had passed, and while Kristy was generally very sweet and non-confrontational, she was not the type to sit idly by and let herself be slandered. Just then, the Boys entered the lobby and Cheryl saw the spiteful look in the woman�s eyes change to one of adoration as they approached her. Kristy, on the other hand, did not recover as quickly. Cheryl could see she was still fuming. �Good morning, Boys,� the woman practically purred. Cheryl unconsciously grabbed Howie�s hand and pulled him to her. Kevin walked up to Kristy and smiled at the woman standing next to his girlfriend. �Renee, right? From last night?� Kevin kissed Kristy on the cheek, noticing she seemed a little upset. Brian however, saw Kristy and Cheryl�s body language. He glanced at Renee and, seeing her ogle Kevin, quickly surmised the situation. Renee nodded up at Kevin and flashed him a brilliant smile. �So, you�ve met my friend Kristy, right?� �Friend?!� Brian and Cheryl both cringed as Kristy�s eyes widened once again. Cheryl held back from reaching her hand out to her friend as she saw the unmistakable sheen of tears fill Kristy�s eyes as Kevin continued to chat with the awful woman. A.J. shook his head. He couldn�t take it anymore and directed the group � minus Renee � out to their waiting limousine. He had to restrain himself from smacking Kevin upside the head. Between Howie and Kevin, the two oldest members of the group could really have stood to learn a little more from him over the years. As they piled into the limo, Kristy sat back against the seat and looked out the window. She turned only to give Kevin a squelching look when he patted his lap. By this time, the other Boys had clued in to what had transpired and sat stiffly, waiting for the fallout. �Kris, what�s wrong?� Kevin sighed as he once again tried to pull her to him without success. He inwardly cringed from the look he received as she sat with her arms crossed stubbornly in front of her. �I�d rather not talk about this right now,� she said softly as she glanced at the sympathetic faces around the car. �Well I would. You�re upset � and I want to know why!� Everyone else in the car tried to blend into the leather interior as Kevin�s voice grew louder. Kristy was the one person who didn�t back down. If anything, she sat up straighter. �Fine. I didn�t appreciate my encounter with that fan � Renee,� Kristy sneered her name. Understanding began to dawn on Kevin. �Did she say something to upset you?� �Oh, only that she � and what sounds like a growing constituent of fans � hated me.� �Is that all? Kris, I�m afraid you�re going to have to get used to it. It sorta comes with the territory.� �Well, excuse me if I�m not used to people hating me!� Cheryl could see Kevin�s dismissal was not making Kristy feel any better. �No one hates me... NO ONE! Least of all someone who only knows me because of you.� A.J. and Brian bit back smiles. They knew Kristy was pissed, first about the woman�s comments, then by Kevin�s stupid �friend� comment, and now by his attitude. The Boys were used to Kevin�s temper, but they had a feeling Kevin had met his match with Kristy. Who would�ve thought that behind that sweet face would lie such a stubborn streak? �Angel,� Kevin tried to soothe her with his voice. �Don�t let some fan get to you.� �Some fan who�s name you remembered,� Kristy shot back, causing Kevin and his four friends to all cringe. Nick shook his head. Even HE knew Kevin had messed up on that one. �Go Kristy,� Cheryl and Brian silently cheered. �Princess...� �She called me a slut.� �She did what?� �Actually, it more along the lines of �why those Kentucky boys seem to always go for the little blond sluts�.� Kristy looked pointedly at Brian, seeing that she now had his attention too. �That bitch,� Brian said, his blue eyes narrowing. Kristy nodded. Kevin could see she was still very upset, and had a feeling it wasn�t just about the fan. �Angel, anyone who knows you, knows you�re NOT a slut... far from it.� Normally Kristy would�ve appreciated Kevin�s comment - even laughed - but in her current state of mind, it felt like another attack. �Oh great! You�re saying everyone thinks I�m a prude?� �No. Shit. Baby, that�s not what I meant...� �But I guess we don�t have to worry about THAT anymore, considering I�m your 'friend'.� Kristy had reached her breaking point and her voice cracked as she repeated the word that hurt her more than anything any fan could�ve called her. Brian and Cheryl had been waiting for that. Everyone in the car could see that Kevin was honestly surprised by Kristy�s words. �What do you mean, my 'friend'?� Kristy frowned as a tear escaped down her cheek. �That�s what you called me when you were talking to... her.� Kevin shook his head in denial. �I said �girlfriend�... didn�t I?� He looked around the car, his heart sinking as everyone shook their heads. He�d screwed up. Big time. Kristy couldn�t handle the silence or the looks of pity being sent her way. �Cher, would you mind terribly if I bailed on shopping this morning? I�m not really in the mood anymore.� �No hon, not at all.� She looked at Kevin, praying he�d do something, but he just sat there, staring out the window � numb. The guys were supposed to do a couple of appearances that morning before soundcheck at the FleetCenter, where the girls were going to rejoin them that afternoon. �We�ll just drop the guys off and head back to the hotel.� Kristy nodded and stared out the window, tears streaming down her face, but not making a sound. What had happened? She�d just assumed that since Kevin had told her that he loved her and had introduced her to his friends and family that he wouldn�t hide their relationship from the fans. Guess she�d been wrong."Are you sure you�ll be okay?" Cheryl asked a couple of hours later. She had stayed with Kristy every second since the incident with the fan earlier in the morning, trying her hardest to assure her friend that everything would be alright. "Yeah, you need to go. It�s not like you can leave Howie to deal with your mother and sister alone," the blond answered, smiling through the drying tears. She couldn�t believe how un-PC she was being. No other man�s actions could ever affect her in the way that Kevin�s did. "Okay. When the guys get back, give Nick, A.J., or Brian a call. I don�t want you to be here alone." Cheryl had a revelation. "I know how much you like shopping with A.J. Take him to Newbury Street and watch him spend his money." Cheryl turned toward the door. "Now don�t let any strangers in while Mommy�s gone." Kristy had to smile again. "Oh and wish Howie luck."Next: Chapter 34 |