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Everything Your Heart Desires Chapter 53 Kristy laughed with the animated group around her then tried to compose herself to answer the ringing cellphone in her purse. "Hello?" "Hey, it's me." "Hi!" Kristy excused herself from the table to a quieter corner of the room. "How's he holding up?" Kristy smiled at Cheryl's curiosity. "He hasn't even started yet� His flight was delayed, so me and `the fam' are killing some time in the airport lounge." Just as she said this, Cheryl could hear the sound of distant laughter. "That them? Sounds like more than just `the rents'," Cheryl commented as she smiled to herself. Last Cheryl had heard, Kristy's parents were picking her up, then waiting for Kevin to arrive as he flew in ahead of the rest of the tour so he could spend more time in Oregon. The airport served as a way for all parties to meet on "neutral ground." After Howie survived his last "test" he'd joined the other Boys in tormenting Kevin about his upcoming trip to Portland. Cheryl couldn't help but wonder how Kristy's family would react to Kevin, knowing what a tight knit group they were... and the fact that Kristy's siblings were NOT BSB fans. Kevin had dismissed the other guys' teasing, at least by outward appearances. Cheryl knew, however, that he really was worried about making a good impression. Cheryl reassured him that he had nothing to worry about... save a little ribbing from Kristy's brother. "Yeah. There was a slight change in plans�" Kristy half-laughed, half-sighed. "Erin, Mark, and Rebecca decided to join Mom and Dad, as did Steph," she said, referring to her younger sister, brother, and brother's fianc�e, and one of her long-time friends who was considered the family's "fourth child" � or fifth, if you counted the dog! "Oh really? What prompted this?" "Mark� Probably so he could get started harassing Kevin sooner. Rebecca... `Cause Mark's here. Erin� Curiosity would be my guess." Kristy and her sister were very close and Cheryl assumed Erin would be dying to meet the man who'd captured her sister's heart so quickly and so completely. "And Steph� Well, back when I first `introduced' her to BSB, she agreed with me that Kevin was a babe!" Kristy chuckled. "Worried about her moving in on your man?" Cheryl teased. "Nah. Even if he wasn't completely in love with me � which he is! � Steph isn't his type. She'd probably scare him." "Oh?" "Think `female A.J.' � without the tattoos� Well, without as many tattoos!" Kristy giggled. "OH!" Cheryl giggled with her friend. "So, how do you think he'll do?" "It is a little bit like `baptism by fire' with this group, but I think he'll be fine� Once the initial shock passes." Kristy sighed again. "But that's not what I'm worried about." "Is he meeting the extended family TOO?!" Cheryl gasped in mock-horror. "No� Well, at least not to my knowledge," Kristy giggled. "It' just� well, we haven't been together for several weeks." "So?" "Cher," Kristy spoke rather deliberately, "We haven't `been together' for several weeks�" "Oh! Got it!" Cheryl held back her laughter at the frustration she heard in her friend's voice. She knew Kristy and Kevin had resolved the issue of balancing the physical and emotional closeness in their relationship, and were back to their usual lovey-dovey selves. She correctly guessed that both would be missing the physical part quite a bit since their last weekend together. "So, lemme guess� You're driving down to your family's house in one car?" "Uh-huh." "And you're both staying with them till the rest of the guys all get into town?" "Uh-huh!" Cheryl could practically see Kristy's pained expression. "Oh, that's� just�" Cheryl wasn't able to hold back her laughter any longer. "Awful!" Kristy could almost see the humor of the situation � almost. "Cher!" "I'm� sorry�" Cheryl said between giggles. "Oh my God!" "What?!" Cheryl heard some commotion in the background and Kristy groan. "Guess what video just came on the TV?" "I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess something by the Boys? And there's only one that could get this kind of reaction from you� Quit Playing Games, right?" "Yes," Kristy whined. "Uh, Kee Kee?" Cheryl heard a deep male voice. "Kee Kee?" Cheryl snickered as Kristy turned her attention somewhat towards her father. "That is never to be repeated, got it?" Kristy heard Cheryl giggle again. "I'll talk to ya later� Now I get to try and explain the video concept behind my boyfriend standing in the middle of a playground � in the rain � with his shirt half off." "Is this where you tell them his nickname is Sexy?" "Ha ha." Cheryl heard another strangled laugh from Kristy. "Oh man� I gotta go. Bye." Kristy approached the table and braced herself for the worst as she was met by a combination of smirking, shocked, and smiling faces. Kristy's mom started, smiling at her eldest child. "So who's who again?" Kristy patiently ran through the guys as they each came on screen � Kevin coincidentally was the last identified� right about the same time the "rain" started. Mark rolled his eyes and shook his head. He started to open his mouth, but stopped as Kristy raised a hand and shot him a squelching look. "Lemme just say that this was one of their first U.S. videos, so they were trying to get attention � young female attention � but after the guys saw it, Kevin wanted to reshoot it because he hated the image it portrayed." Kristy took a deep breath. "I don't know Kris, I kinda like Kevin's� ahh, `image'!" Stephanie cracked. Kristy bit back a smile and sent her friend a look that said "thanks a lot!" Erin looked from the video to her "responsible" older sister. "You're actually serious about this guy?" She had never understood her sister's interest in the group and would never have imagined her sister with some guy from a "boy band." Kristy smiled and nodded. "How serious?" This time her dad asked the question. Kristy looked him straight in the eye. "Very serious." Her dad looked back at the TV screen as Kevin and his half-dressed bandmates danced, sang, and got rained on. "This could get interesting!" Mark cracked, causing Kristy to cringe slightly and roll her eyes.Kristy stood at the gate as the passengers from Kevin's flight began to enter the boarding area. He was one of the first off the plane, and as soon as she saw a glimpse of him, she ran forward to greet him. Kevin hugged her tightly, lifting her off the ground and claiming her lips in a soft, leisurely kiss. Kristy sighed and leaned in for another kiss, as Kevin hesitated. "Uh, Angel? I think we have an audience." Kristy smiled sheepishly at the look of surprise and nervousness on Kevin's face. She took his hand and led him to the waiting group. "Mom and Dad, this is Kevin Richardson." Kristy's parents smiled at the handsome man who held their daughter's hand � and heart. They could tell from the way she looked up at him as she introduced them to him, her eyes filled with love and affection. "Kev, these are my parents, Tim and Joanie." "It's a pleasure to finally meet you� Kristy's told me so much about you � all of you." He glanced at the others around him. "And the curiosity-seekers are Mark, Rebecca, Erin, and Stephanie." Kevin smiled as he detected Kristy's exasperation with her siblings and almost-siblings. Joanie took her husband's hand and led them back through the airport. "Kevin, do you have bags to pick up?" "No ma'am, I just have these ol' duffel bags." Kristy smiled as Kevin's usually non-existent drawl surfaced, as it did whenever he was nervous. Mark also picked up on the drawl and couldn't resist quoting one of his favorite Jeff Foxworthy routines � a common occurrence for the family's comedian. "What, no Igloo coolers with duck tape?" Kristy and Rebecca both smacked him at the same time. Mark snickered and shot off another line, "It was pandelerium!" Kevin chuckled and winked at his girlfriend. She'd warned him about her brother's smart-ass comments. What she didn't know was that he'd prepared himself. "We coulda been killed� or even worse!" Kevin didn't know who looked more surprised at his "redneck" impression, Mark or Kristy. The rest of the family laughed as Kevin had stolen the rest of Mark's routine. Kristy grinned and couldn't stop herself from kissing him soundly on the mouth. Erin patted Mark on the shoulder. "He got ya. Ya know, he just might have potential." Mark smiled resignedly as they watched Kevin kiss Kristy back. "Looks like we're stuck with the `Boy'!"Dinner went off fairly smoothly as Kevin continued to win his way into Kristy's family's good graces and heart - even the anti-BSB fraction. Kristy said goodbye to Stephanie and promised to spend some time with her while she was back in town. Kristy and Kevin walked with her family along the waterfront of the Willamette River that ran through downtown Portland. The Christmas lights in the trees reminded the couple of Disney World and they smiled as Kevin draped his arm around her shoulder and protected her from the slight fall wind with his body. While Kristy had always been a very cheerful person, no one in her family had ever seen her quite this happy. As they approached her parents' Chevy Tahoe, they started discussing the seating arrangements. "Erin's in the front with `the parental units,'" Mark smirked as Erin rolled her big brown eyes. Rebecca smiled innocently at her fianc�e. "But that still leaves four of us in the back." She sent Kristy a mischievous smile. "Guess we'll have to sit on the guys' laps." Kristy pressed up against Kevin and smiled seductively, as Rebecca did the same to Mark. The guys groaned in unison, making the girls giggle and kiss them lightly.Joanie glanced over her shoulder at the quiet backseat passengers as they approached their destination. Mark and Rebecca had long ago fallen asleep, while Kristy and Kevin were snuggled together and talking quietly. Kristy ran her hand across Kevin's chest as he whispered in her ear, "I've missed this." He caressed her back as she rested her head on his shoulder. "I've missed a lot of things," she said and kissed his ear. Kevin took a deep breath as she continued to lavish kisses on his neck while running her hands over his muscular chest and stomach. He clenched his jaw while she ran her tongue along the sensitive spot under his ear that she knew drove him crazy and shifted on his lap. He swallowed hard, and used his hands to stop her restless movements. "Kris... Angel... Please stop." His plea was barely audible, but Kristy heard him and understood. She rested her head back on Kevin's shoulder. "Damn," Kevin muttered. "Looks like I'm back to cold showers." Kristy giggled and snuggled in closer to him as they pulled into her parents' driveway.A couple of days later, the rest of the Boys got into town and Kristy and Kevin went back up to Portland to join them. Kristy's family and a couple of friends were planning on going to the concert and joining the group for some of the other activities Kristy had planned. The guys noticed that Kristy and Kevin seemed a lot happier and... well, more content than they would've expected. Brian smiled as Kristy sat on Kevin's lap. The guys had all gathered in their room before they headed out to Nike Town for some serious shopping. "So, how's the fam?" Kevin smiled warmly at Kristy. "They're great... salt of the earth. No wonder Kristy turned out like she did." "You mean they're warped, stubborn, and oversexed, too?" Nick teased. He'd missed picking on his "big sis." Kristy shot Nick a mischievous grin. "Yeah, pretty much... my brother being the worst." Nick laughed then suddenly stopped. "Wait, I thought you said I reminded you of your brother," Nick whined. "So I did!" "Speaking of oversexed..." A.J. smirked. "Why aren't you two more `frustrated'? You WERE staying at your Mom and Dad's, right?" "Mhmmm." Kristy smiled innocently. "You didn't..." "No! Tim and Joanie had a full house since Erin and Mark decided to stay for a couple of days too, so I DID get to stay with Kristy... but we were on our honor." Kristy nodded in agreement with Kevin. "Right. You still didn't answer my question." "And we're not going to." Unlike A.J., Kevin did not share the details of romantic life with anyone... except Kristy. The guys smiled. They really didn't expect Kevin and Kristy to say much, but the way they looked at and touched each other told them enough. The group headed out the door and Kristy lingered behind, tugging on Kevin's shirt to hold him back for a second. "Thanks for not telling everyone..." Kevin cut her off with a kiss. "It's no one's business but ours. Besides, who would believe the ever-responsible Kristy and Kevin would sneak out for a roll in the hay?" Kristy giggled as she remembered back to their somewhat frequent walks around the farm � especially their occasional trips to the barn! "You know," Kevin continued, his voice suggestive in her ear, "I'm never going to be able to think of a hay loft in the same way again."Next: Chapter 54 |