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Everything Your Heart Desires Chapter 44 Kristy and Cheryl stood in line at the Delta Airlines ticket counter. Both were excited about their trip to New York to see their guys. It seemed liked forever since their romantic weekend on the island, although it had only been a few weeks. Both couples cherished their time together since it was so little now that the Backstreet Boys were back on tour. The two women were chatting happily about their plans for the weekend when Cheryl heard her cellphone ring. �Hello� hey� actually I�m at the airport. I�m headed to New York to see my boyfriend for the weekend� you�re kidding� no, this needs my attention� sure� I can do this another weekend� yeah, I�ll be there in a few minutes." Cheryl clicked off. �Damn, damn, DAMN!" "What?" "There�s an emergency with one of the projects at the office. They need me there now." Cheryl sighed and blinked back the tears. "I�m sorry, Kris. I can�t go with you." "Oh God, Cher. I�m so sorry. Listen, I�ll cancel�" "Don�t. No way. I�m not going to be responsible for two Backstreet Boys being miserable. You�re going. I know how much you�ve looked forward to this. I can�t have you hate me, too." Kristy hugged her. "Howie�s going to be heartbroken." "And he is going to hate me," Cheryl lamented. "Please tell him I�m sorry and that I miss him. I�ll call him later tonight." "Okay." "I�ll pick you up on Sunday night."Each holding the appropriate flowers � a single red rose for Cheryl and a small bunch of light peach tulips for Kristy � Kevin and Howie paced near Gate 63 at Newark International Airport impatiently awaiting the arrival of their girlfriends. They were thankful that a couple of bodyguards had agreed to go with them and not made them wait at the hotel. "Now arriving at Gate 63, Flight 907 from Orlando," a woman�s voice announced. The two men stopped walking and stared at the door to the jetway. Passengers began to file through it when it opened 10 minutes later. "Kris," Kevin called as he saw her blond head emerge. She ran into his embrace and the two shared a long welcome kiss. Howie craned his neck to see around and above the other people departing the plane and felt his heart sink when he discovered Cheryl wasn�t in their midst. Over Kevin�s shoulder, Kristy saw his face fall. She stepped out of Kevin�s arms and walked over to him. "D, she received an emergency call from work while we were at the airport. She couldn�t come. I�m so sorry." Howie glanced up from looking at his feet and swallowed. "She�s not coming?" Kristy bit her lip and nodded. Kevin placed a hand on his friend�s shoulder. "I�m sorry, D." "She really wanted to come. She did say she�d call you later." "Yeah, thanks." Howie gazed at the rose he held, then at the couple walking toward the baggage claim hand-in-hand, and back to the rose. He turned to follow them and sadly shoved the flower into a nearby garbage can. At the hotel, the rest of the group each gave Kristy a hug when she walked into their suite. "Where�s Cher?" asked Nick. "She had an emergency at work and couldn�t come," Kristy answered, glancing at Howie. "I�m going to my room. I can�t miss her call." He left the room, but A.J. trailed him. "D�yo, Howie!" His friend paused. "You okay?" He shook his head dejectedly. "But I�ll be okay. I just need to rest." "If you�re sure?" A.J. sounded skeptical. "I�m sure."Howie had just closed his eyes when he heard the shrill ring of his cellphone. Not wasting a moment, he bolted across the room. "Hello, Cher." "No, it�s Polly. Wait a minute. Cher? Isn�t she supposed to be with you this weekend?" Howie sighed. "The mouse called in a 911. She had to work." "I�m sorry. I know how much you were looking forward to her visit. Are you okay with this?" "Not really. I guess." "Well, I don�t doubt that she isn�t thinking about you. I�m sure she feels as miserable as you do." "I know. It just never seems to happen to the other guys. Kristy�s here. Kevin's happy. Don�t I matter to her?" His voice held a tinge of anger. "Of course, you do. But she has her own life to live. You should be proud that she is so successful." "I am. She is very intelligent and dedicated." "And those are just some of the reasons that you love her, right?" "Yeah� you�re right, Pol. It�s just hard." "I know." "But she is worth it." The two siblings continued to talk about his tour, her class and the family. "Thanks, P.A." "No problem, Howie. I�ll talk to you soon." "Bye." The phone rang again a few minutes later just as he stripped his shirt off and climbed under the sheets of his bed. "Hello." "D�" "Cher." "Sweetie� I�m so sorry," she began, her voice breaking slightly. "Hey, I�m not going to say I�m not disappointed. In fact, until a little while ago, I was pretty upset and frustrated. Polly set me straight." "Y-you were angry with me." It was a question and statement at the same time. "I wanted you here, not in Orlando. I didn�t want to believe your job meant more to you than I do." "You know that�s not true. You just have to understand that, as much as it is a dream come true to have a man like you in my life, I�m also working at my dream job. I�m not about to quit or jeopardize that just to follow you around." "I don�t want that. I don�t want a groupie; I want a girlfriend. Cher, I�m so proud of what you do, of how successful you are. I�d rather not see you as often if it means you�re happy." "Howie�" "I mean it. We�ll see each other soon � I promise. Until then, remember that I love you." Cheryl felt a tear slide down her cheek. "Dammit, you�re making me cry." "Uh-uh, that�s not allowed unless I�m there to hold you and make it better." "If you were here, I�d have no reason to cry." Howie sighed. "Sometimes this job is curse." "But you love it and I could never ask you to give up any of it. I guess I saw this coming." "I warned you how hard a relationship is in this business." He glanced at the tour itinerary that sat atop the desk. "I�ll come see you in a few weeks okay?" "I�ll be counting the days." "Love you, Sparky." Cheryl smiled. "Love you, too, Sweetie." Once he had hung up the phone, Howie called the concierge downstairs. "I�m looking for a florist that can deliver tomorrow afternoon� yeah� thank you." He placed the call ordering a dozen red roses then went to take a shower. Next door, Kristy and Kevin cuddled on his bed while "watching" MTV. "Do you think Howie will be okay?" she asked with concern. "He�ll make it." "He just looked so upset earlier. I think I�ll go check on him." Kevin smiled. "See, that�s why I love you� but I�ll only let you go if you come right back." "Like I could stay away from you for too long?" She kissed him quickly then exited.Next: Chapter 45 |