AN: Yeah, an update!  Wahoo... LOL.... Leave me love (ie: feedback).  Kisses for all cause 
I was productive and wrote something despite the brain freeze I've been sporting all day.  
Yay me!  LOL

Watched 'Wannabe the Backstreet Boys' the other day on MTV.  Laughed so hard I nearly peed 
my pants.  Fourteen year old boys without strong facial features CANNOT pull off Kevin's 
'long' hair look.  Hell, Kevin can barely pull it off.  God, I miss the spikes.  And the 
bandannas... omg... matching pink bandannas almost killed me.  And the dancing...  The poor 
boys tried hard but... *laughs hysterically*  They have guts.  I'll give'em that and 
Howie's sister seemed really cool.  



************************* Crossing Enemy Lines: Chapter Nine **********************


So Laina settled into a routine.  She spent time with *NSYNC and went on dates with Howie.  
Then she spent time with the Backstreet Boys and dated Howie.  Started college back up again 
and dated Howie.  Studied and dated Howie.  Shopped with AJ and dated Howie.  Talked long 
distance with Lance and dated Howie.  Howie was a very dateable individual.  

Very dateable.  

And each and every date found Laina falling further and further in love.  She never told her 
beautiful pop star boyfriend though.  Didn't expect him to love her back but she didn't close 
herself off from him either.  She didn't care what happened in the hazy future of what if.  
Didn't care as long as she was happy and, one thing Laina had found out over the weeks and 
months, was that she was happiest when Howie was holding her.

Unbelievably sappy but true.

Besides, she planned on keeping her promise to Lance.  No super mushy and frictional stuff 
until he got a chance to fly his Mississippi butt home and meet the love of her life in person.  
He was her best friend.  

She'd do stuff for him that she would never do for Trace and JuJu.  If her Lansten wanted to 
be a bit overprotective then she'd let him.  

Or so she thought until one very special night...

They were dancing in Howie's backyard, his arms around her, her head resting lightly on his 
shoulder as she inhaled his clean, masculine scent.  That familiar mix of cologne and soap 
and fabric softener.  Low, sultry Latin music was cooing softly from the speakers of the cd 
player he had dragged out onto the deck and his entire yard was lit up with lanterns until 
everything was tinged burnished gold.  

It was incredibly romantic and so very Howie.  

He was humming softly along with the lyrics Laina didn't understand but she liked to feel 
him against her, almost purring but not quite.  His hands trailed lazy patterns up her back 
and then down, gentle and light, butterfly kisses through his finger tips.  She shivered and 
felt him smile as they moved gracefully together.  

"Cold?" he asked, lovely voice lower than normal.  And sexy as hell.  

"Not as long as you're holding me," Laina replied tartly before tilting her head up to plant 
a firm kiss along his jaw line.  It was his turn to shiver and she laughed.  "Cold?" Laina 
teased.  

Howie chuckled and looked down at her, brown eyes warm as they gazed into her hazel.  "No," 
he replied simply as a half smile twitched at the corners of his expressive mouth, "in love."  

Laina blinked.  

And swallowed.

And blinked again.  

"Could... could you repeat that last part again?" she asked breathlessly.  

They stopped, wrapped in each other's arms and lit gold by a hundred softly glowing lanterns, 
as Howie reached up to cradle her soft face in careful hands.  He brushed her cheeks with the 
pads of his thumbs, an affectionate caress, as he stared down at her, hungry, lithe, handsome, 
and freaking serious.  "I..." he leaned down to brush his lips against her captive ones, 
"love," another burning kiss, "you."  

He leaned back and smirked a bit as she looked up at him, glazed and shocked.  

"Wow," Laina Marie Ayala said, awestruck.  And she smiled up at him with heartbreaking 
sweetness.  "Big wow.  Good wow.  Wow, wow."  

Howie chuckled and leaned in to kiss her again.  "You're rambling Angel," he murmured as they 
shared their warmed breath. 

Laina laughed weakly and smiled.  "I... I lo..."  Her smile fell and she cursed darkly.  
"Dammit!  Come on..."  And before he knew what was happening Laina was dragging him into the 
house.  

"Laina, baby, what are you doing?" Howie asked with amused, if exasperated, indulgence as 
she continued to mumble to herself and dove for his phone.  "Laina?"

She glanced up, eyes burning.  "We're calling Lance."  

His brows shot up.  "Why?"  

Laina snorted as she started to dial.  "Because I've been waiting MONTHS to tell you three 
little words and... and I want to tear off all our clothes and have hot monkey sex.  Right 
now!"  

Oh.  

Howie blinked.

And swallowed.

And blinked.  It was suddenly very, VERY hot in the living room.  "Umm, Angel, not that I 
mind but why do you have to call Lance to do what sounds like a very good idea?  And isn't it 
like some ungodly hour in Russia?"  

"Don't care.  I promised.  No saying the l-word and no getting frictional until Lance had a 
man to man talk with you and dammit, I've been good and virginial and perfectly content with 
making out and not pretending to be head over heels with you but I am NOT waiting for him to 
get his skinny ass back from Russia.  You're WAY too yummy and sweet and why isn't he 
answering!"  

Howie stared at her.  She was insane, and adorable, in a 'he wanted to have hot monkey sex 
with her' sort of way.  In a 'he really loved her' sort of way.

"Oh good, hi Lansten, talk to Howie, NOW.  Because he's perfect and I can't be good and wait 
until you get home to play.  I don't care that you had plans.  Talk to my horizontal tango 
partner now.  No, now!  Yes, all protected, stop worrying."  

She shoved the phone at him, kissed him on the forehead, and trotted off.  "I'll be waiting in 
the bed room!" Laina called over her shoulder as Howie took the receiver in numb hands and 
said hello to an equally confused Lance Bass.

************************************************************************************

Laina looked up from the bed as Howie appeared in the doorway, looking shell shocked.  "So?" 
she demanded.  

He ran his hands through long, perfect hair and shook his head ruefully.  "He told me to tell 
you 'eww', that you have his reluctant but heartfelt blessing, and that if I ever make you 
cry he'll break both my legs and shave me bald."  

Laina beamed up at him.  "That's my Lansten."  

"Angel, with friends like yours, who need enemies?"  

She climbed out of bed and wrapped herself around him.  "Am I worth it Sweet D?"  

Laina watched as his eyes darkened and he subtly backed them towards the bed.  "Depends, 
what were those three words you wanted to tell me earlier?"

"Humm..." she pretended to think for a long minute before snapping her fingers and smirking 
up at him, her very own Backstreet toy.  "Oh yeah.  I love you."  

Howie smiled as he kissed her before murmuring, "Totally worth it Angel.  Totally worth it..."  

They hit the bed and fell back on it together and neither one said anything for quite some time 
after that.