Chapter 10
"So, I guess you won't be home until later tonight huh," Kristin said to Rachel, who was fixing her hair.
"Yeah, I guess. It depends on what Brian wants to do."
The phone rang and Kristin went to go pick it up. "Hello?"
"Hi, is Kristin there?" It was Nick.
"This is she."
"Hi, Kristin, this is Nick."
Kristin smiled in excitement. "What's up?"
"Nothing much. I was just . . . Uh . . . wondering if you wanna come over to my place and watch a movie. That is . . . if you aren't busy."
"No, I'm not busy."
"So, you want to come over?"
"Yeah," Kristin said.
"OK, I'll come pick you up in an hour or so," said Nick.
"OK I'll be ready to go."
"I'll see you later."
"Bye."
"Bye."
Kristin hung up the phone in a daze. Rachel came out of the bathroom and looked at Kristin.
"Who was that on the phone?" Rachel asked.
"Nick," Kristin said as she casually walked passed Rachel and into the bathroom.
Rachel followed her. "Oh really? What did he want?" she asked with a smirk.
"Must you be so nosey?" Kristin said jokingly.
Rachel grinned. "Okay, smart ass."
"All right, if you must know, Nick invited me to his place to watch a movie."
"Did he really?"
"Yeah," Kristin said while brushing hair.
"You go girlfriend!" Rachel said with a laugh. "And you thought he didn't like you."
Kristin blushed. "I never said that."
"No, but you sure as hell were thinking it. Weren't you?"
Kristin stopped brushing her hair, turned around and looked at Rachel. "What if after tonight he doesn't like me?"
Rachel gave Kristin a sincere look. "If he doesn't like you then he's an idiot. You are a wonderful person and any guy who doesn't like you isn't worth it."
Kristin hugged Rachel. "Thank you."
Just then, there was a knock at the door. "That must be Brian," Rachel said. She went to answer it. There, outside the door, stood Brian. "Hi," she said with a smile.
"Are you ready to go?"
"Just about. Come on in." Rachel said as she headed to her room. Brian stepped in and followed her. Rachel went and got her tennis shoes. Brian looked at the poster of himself hanging above Rachel's bed and smirked.
"That's a good picture of me."
Rachel looked up at Brian and blushed. "Yeah," she said as she finished tying her shoes.
"Hey, Rachel do I look OK?" Kristin said as she came out of the bathroom.
She was wearing a pair of light denim jeans with a light blue tank top. Her shoes were white with yellow flowers on the side.
"You look cute," Rachel said.
Kristin sighed as she looked herself in the full length mirror on the bathroom door. "I do?"
Rachel got up and grabbed a black hair clip from the drawer. "Let me fix just one thing" she said as she started to fix Kristin's hair. She put it up in a pony tail.
"There, that looks good," Rachel said as she admired her work.
Kristin looked at it and smiled. "Thanks."
"No prob," Rachel said.
Brian was standing behind them. He fluttered his eyelashes. "Oh, I just can't seem to do anything with my hair," he said with a laugh. Rachel elbowed him in the ribs. "Ouch! Watch it!" he said as he rubbed his ribs.
Rachel giggled. "Well, you deserved it."
Brian stood closer to her. "Oh really?" he said with a smirk.
Rachel was looking into his blue eyes. She almost died. "Yes, really," she said softly. Rachel looked away and cleared her throat. "Are you ready to go?" she asked Brian.
"I'm ready if you are," he said.
"Okay, then let's go."
Rachel said bye to Kristin and left. Leaving Kristin by herself in the apartment. She sighed as she went into the bathroom and double checked her hair and make up. She gave her lips gloss and final touch and sprayed on a little strawberry body spray. With one last look at herself in the mirror she turned the light off and sat on her bed. She looked up at the poster of Nick and sighed in anxiety.
Don't be nervous. Just be yourself, Kristin thought. She jumped when there was a knock on the door. Kristin slowly got up and answered the door. Outside the door stood Nick. He was wearing black shoes, Tommy jeans, and a bight green button down shirt. God he is so gorgeous, she thought.
"Are you ready to go?" Nick asked.
"Yeah," Kristin said as she stepped outside. She noticed Nick had his hands behind his back. "What are you hiding?" Kristin asked with a grin.
Nick blushed and shyly handed her a rose. "This is for you."
"Thank you," Kristin said as she took it.
"Shall we go now?" Nick asked with a smile.
"Yeah," Kristin said softly.
Nick shyly took her hand in his and they walked to his car.
Chapter 11
"Yeah! Two points for me!" said Rachel as she did a little victory dance.
Brian stood there in shock. "How the heck did you manage to steal that ball from me?"
Rachel laughed. "It's like I told you before, I rock in b-ball."
"No one is better than the B-Rokster," Brian said with a smirk.
"Looks like you got competition B-ROK," Rachel said as she passed him the ball.
Brian dribbled the ball passed Rachel and she quickly swept it away from his hands. She dribbled it down the court and did a graceful lay up. She cheered and walked up to Brian. He was standing there with his jaw dropped. Rachel put her hand on his bottom jaw and shut his mouth.
Brian smiled. "You're amazing."
Rachel blushed. "Well, you're not too bad yourself, bud," she said as she punched him on the shoulder.
"You wanna play another game?"
Rachel laughed. "You just can't stand the fact that I beat you can you?"
Brian smiled and brushed a piece of hair off of Rachel's face. "Come on, let's go get some ice cream."
"Okay, but losers pay," Rachel said as she walked toward Brian's BMW.
"Oh, so now I'm a loser."
"You make it sound like such a bad thing."
Brian unlocked his BMW. "Next time we play basketball I'm gonna cream you."
"In your dreams," Rachel said as she got in the car.
Brian started the car and they went to the nearest Dairy Queen. They went inside and looked at the menu.
"What are you gonna get?" Brian asked.
"I'm thinking of a pineapple sundae."
"Yuck! Pineapple?" Brian said with his nose crinkled
"You don't like pineapple?"
"Yeah, but not on ice cream. I think I'll stick with my vanilla ice cream cone."
Rachel laughed as she stood up to the cashier to order. They ordered their ice cream and sat down at a booth. Rachel took a bite of her pineapple sundae.
"Mmm," she said. "This is good."
Brian gave her a disgusted look "You're the first girl I've seen that eat like that."
"It's not bad." She scooped up a spoonful and handed it to Brian. "Here try it."
"No way! You're asking the wrong Backstreet Boy."
Rachel grinned. "Well, you're the only Backstreet Boy around. Try it, you'll like it." Brian shook his head. "Damn it, don't be so stubborn," Brian just grinned and licked his ice cream cone. "Don't make me shove this spoon down your throat. Now try it."
Brian laughed. "All right all right! I'll try it." He took the spoon, put it in his mouth, and smiled. "It's not bad."
"See, I told you."
Brian put the spoon back in Rachel's bowl. "I want some more."
Rachel slapped his hand. "Hey, get your own."
Brian laughed. "Sorry."
Rachel smiled as she finished eating her pineapple sundae. The both finished eating and got back in Brian's BMW.
"You wanna go to the beach or do you wanna go back to your apartment?"
Rachel shook her head. "Let's go to the beach," she said as she stood up.
"All right cool," Brian said as he followed her out.
Brian drove to the beach and they both walked along the shore. Rachel stopped and looked at the ocean. Brian looked at her. She looked deep in thought.
"A penny for your thoughts," Brian said gently.
Rachel looked at Brian. "Huh? Oh...it was nothing."
"You sure? You looked like you off in another world."
Rachel was silent for a moment. "Yeah....can you take me home?"
Brian looked at her in concern. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm just tired that's all," she said softly.
They got back in the car and Brian drove back to her apartment. Rachel was silent the whole way back. She felt a chill go up her back and she shivered. Brian looked over at her.
"Are you cold?"
"A little."
Brian got a jacket out from the back seat. "Here put this on."
"Thanks," Rachel said and she slid it on.
The scent of Safari reached her nose. She breathed it in and smiled. Suddenly she felt Brian grab her hand. She jumped a little but then relaxed her hand in his. They arrived at the apartment a few minutes later and Brian walked her up to the door. He grabbed her hand and looked her deeply in the eyes.
Rachel shyly unlocked the door. "Do you uh. . .wanna come in for a few minutes? I don't think Kristin's back yet."
"Sure," Brian said with a smile.
Rachel opened the door and the two went inside then sat on the couch. Brian sat next to Rachel and put his hand on her cheek. "I had a really good time tonight," he said softly.
Rachel shyly smiled. "I did too." A tear came to her eye.
Brian looked at her with concerned eyes. "Are you sure you're okay?"
Rachel wiped the tear away and sniffled. "Yeah, I'm...I'm fine," she lied.
Brian wrapped his arms around her and gave her a warm hug. He let go and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek. "Good night."
"You're leaving?" Rachel asked in bewilderment.
"You just seemed a little upset. I figured you wanted to be alone. I can stay if you want."
Tears were trickling down Rachel's face. "Could you please?" she whispered.
"Yeah. . .sure," Brian said as he sat back down. Rachel scooted over and laid her head on Brian's shoulder. Brian gently wrapped his arms around her. "Do you want to talk about it?"
Rachel sat up and looked Brian in the eyes. The tears were still coming down. "It's really kind of difficult to talk about."
"So, you don't want to talk about it?"
Rachel sighed. "Not right now. It's still kind of hard for me talk about."
"It's okay I understand."
"Let's just say you know where I'm coming from. And you've been through what I might have to go through." Brian looked at her in confusion. "I've lost you haven't I?"
Brian let out a soft chuckle. "I think you did."
"Sorry," Rachel said then sniffled.
Brian wiped a tear off from her face. "It's okay. Sometimes thing are best unsaid until the time is right."
"Do you always talk like a Hallmark card?" Rachel said with a slight grin.
Brian laughed. "I have my moments." Brian looked at Rachel for a moment and smiled.
Rachel brushed her hair from her face. "God I must look like a mess."
Brian shook his head. "No. . .you look beautiful."
"Yeah. . .sure," she said while blushing.
"Come here," Brian said with his arms open.
Rachel scooted closer to him and relaxed herself in his arms. "I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"For ruining your time."
"No, you didn't ruin anything. I had a really good time."
"You did?"
"Yeah, I mean you beat me at basketball. How much fun can a guy have?"
Rachel laughed and smacked him playfully on the face. Brian searched her lucious blue eyes for a moment, and slowly moved closer to her. Their lips lightly brushed together then pulled in to a light kiss. Brian shyly pulled away.
"Sorry," he said softly.
Rachel smiled. "No, it's okay. . .really," she said then gave him another kiss. She settled back into his arms and sighed. "Thank you," she whispered.
"For what?"
"For being you."
Brian kissed her on the top of her head. "You're welcome," he said as he held her tighter.
Rachel snuggled closer and closed her eyes. Before she knew it, she was asleep. Brian watched her while she was sleeping, then grew tired himself. The two laid on the couch in each other's embrace for the rest of the night.
Chapter 12
Kristin was sitting on the couch while Nick was going through his collection of movies.
"Do you like scary movies?" Nick asked.
"Yeah," Kristin said softly.
"Okay, cool. Have you seen Scream?" Kristin shook her head.
"Okay, we'll watch that then." He popped the video in the VCR. "Come on let's go make some popcorn before we watch the movie." Kristin shyly took his hand and they walked into the kitchen. Nick opened up a cabinet and handed Kristin the package of popcorn. "Can you put this in the microwave for me?"
"Sure," Kristin said as she took the package and put it in the microwave.
Nick opened the refrigerator. "Do you want Sprite or Pepsi?" he asked.
"Sprite," Kristin said as she opened the microwave. "You wanna put this in a bowl?"
Nick got out two Sprites and then went to a cabinet and got out a big plastic bowl. "Here,
put the popcorn in this." Kristin put the popcorn in the bowl. "Let's go watch the movie," Nick said as he walked back to the living room.
They made themselves comfortable on the couch and watched the movie. Sometime in the middle of the movie Kristin and Nick found themselves holding hands in the popcorn bowl. Kristin was the first to notice and shyly pulled her hand away. Nick blushed and quickly looked away.
"Boo!"
Kristin screamed and grabbed onto Nick.
"What the heck?" Nick exclaimed.
They could hear giggles coming from behind the couch. Out popped Nick's younger siblings Angel and Aaron. They giggled hysterically. Kristin sighed of relief and let go of Nick.
"Did we scare ya?" Aaron asked.
"What are you two doing out of bed?" Nick asked.
Just then, Nick's mom, Jane, came downstairs. "What is going on down here? I heard a scream."
Nick pointed to Angel and Aaron. "The Rugrats are awake. Need we say more?"
Jane looked over at Aaron and Angel then laughed. "Come on you two. Back to bed."
"Aww man," Aaron whined. "I don't wanna."
"But you're gonna. Now get upstairs."
Aaron and Angel grumbled and went upstairs. Nick looked over at Kristin and smiled.
"Now, let's watch the rest of the movie."
Kristin smiled and made herself comfortable on the couch. Nick nervously looked at Kristin from the corner of his eye.
Go ahead Carter go for it! Put your arm around her. You know you want to, Nick thought to himself. He moved his hand closer to her and noticed Kristin crossing her legs.
Ugh just do it! Nick slowly raised his arm and carefully placed it around Kristin's shoulders. She smiled and cuddled closer to him.
Score! Nick thought with a grin and continued watching the movie.
"What did you think of the movie?" Nick asked, when the movie was over.
Kristin smiled. "I really liked it."
"So, what do you want to do now?"
"I don't know. What do you wanna do?"
Nick thought a minute then smiled. "Lets play Mario Kart."
Kristin laughed. "How did I know that you were gonna say that?"
"So, you wanna play it?"
"I don't know. It depends."
"Depends on what?"
"On you." Kristin said coyly.
"What about me?" Nick said as he got closer to her.
"If you can handle being beat by a girl."
"You think you can beat me?"
"Sure, and I'm gonna kick your butt."
"Oh, is that so?" Nick said with a grin.
"Yeah," Kristin grinned back.
"So, what if I lose?"
"Then I get the reward."
"And if I win?"
Kristin gave Nick a seductive smile. "Then you get the reward. It's a win win situation. Either way we're both gonna be happy."
"What's the reward?" Nick whispered.
Kristin smirked. "You'll see."
Nick laughed and sat down on the floor. He handed Kristin her controller. "Let's play."
Kristin giggled and sat down next to Nick. The two of them sat on the floor battling each other to a game of Mario Kart, but they both knew it was more than just a game.
Chapter 13
Soft music was playing and the lights were turned down low in Amanda's apartment. They were sitting at the table eating the shrimp angel hair pasta that AJ had made.
"How does it taste?" AJ asked softly.
Amanda smiled. "It tastes great. I really like it."
"Good, I'm glad you do."
"So, what's all been going on with the group and stuff?"
"Well, we've been rehearsing for the tour. We've also been working a little bit on the new album."
Amanda nodded. "So, when does the tour start?"
"We leave in two weeks." Amanda's face grew sad. AJ got up and wrapped his arms around her. "Babe, please don't be sad. We'll be okay."
Tears came to Amanda's eyes. "How long will you be gone for?"
"We'll be gone for a month then, we'll come back for two days due to Thanksgiving."
"And after that?"
"We won't be back until the week of Christmas."
"Then I suppose you won't be back until the spring after that."
"Unfortunately, yes."
"Oh, God," Amanda said as she began to cry.
AJ held her tighter. "Everything will be just fine. It won't be as bad as it seems." AJ stood up and led Amanda to the couch.
"I'm gonna miss you so much," Amanda said softly. A single tear trickled down her cheek. AJ lightly kissed it off.
AJ looked her deeply in the eyes and softly began to sing. "I'll never break your heart. I'll never make you cry. I'd rather die, then live without you. I'll give you all of me honey that's no lie."
"I love it when you sing that to me," Amanda said as she leaned against AJ.
"I know," AJ said softly then wrapped his arms around her. He kissed her lightly on the forehead. "Don't worry, we'll be just fine. Maybe we can work something out to where you can tour with is for a little while. Would you like that?" Amanda nodded. "I'll see what I can do."
Amanda looked up at AJ and kissed him lightly on the lips. "I love you," she whispered.
AJ smiled and kissed her back. "I love you too," he said.
They were about to kiss again, but the doorbell rang. AJ groaned and rolled his eyes.
"I wonder who that could be."
"I don't know but I'm gonna kill them," AJ said with a chuckle. "I'll get it." He got up and answered the door. Outside the door stood Nikki, Howie, and Kevin.
"What are you guys doing here?"
"We were on our way to the mall and we stopped by to see if you guys wanted to join us." Kevin said.
Howie peeked into Amanda's apartment. "Are we interrupting something?"
"You could say that," AJ said flatly.
Amanda came to the door. "Hey, guys. What are you doing here?"
"We just wanted to know if you two wanted to come with us to the mall."
Amanda looked at AJ. "Do you want to go?"
"Sure, why not."
They all drove to the mall and met up at the food court.
"So, where do we want to go first?" Nikki asked.
"Lets go check out that new store called Ocean Pacific," said Howie.
"All right, let's go," said Kevin.
They all walked over to the store and looked around. Howie and Nikki headed to the shirts. Kevin went and looked at the hats. AJ and Amanda tried on some sunglasses.
"Hey, these are cool!" AJ exclaimed as he put on a pair of black sunglasses with oval shaped frames.
Amanda laughed. "You look like a bug with those things on."
AJ grinned as he looked in the mirror. "I think I'm gonna buy them."
"Don't you have enough pairs of sunglasses?" Amanda asked.
"I can always use another pair," AJ said as he walked to the cashier.
Amanda laughed and wrapped her arms around his waist.
Howie put on a bright colored Hawaiian shirt. He turned to Nikki and smiled.
"How do I look?"
Nikki bursted out laughing. "You look so stupid."
Howie pretended to be hurt. "Oh, thanks so much, babe," he said looking into her eyes.
Nikki quickly looked away and picked up another shirt. "Maybe this one would look better."
Howie grinned and took the shirt from her. Kevin walked up to them. He looked at Howie and laughed.
"A little early for Halloween don't ya think?"
Howie gave Kevin a sarcastic laugh. "Funny, Kev."
"Sorry, I had to say it. I'm gonna go down to the bookstore. I'll join you guys later."
"All right, cool," said Howie.
Kevin left and walked down to the bookstore. He headed straight to the self help section. While searching through books, he accidentally bumped into a ladder. He heard someone gasp and looked up. On the ladder was a girl. He caught her before she hit the ground. He set her back down and blushed in embarrassment.
"I'm sorry, are you okay?"
The girl dusted off her clothes. "Yeah, I'm fine." She looked up at Kevin and froze. "Oh my..."
Kevin looked straight into her brown eyes.
Wow she's really pretty, he thought. The girl began to hyperventilate.
"Are you sure you're okay?"
"You're. . .you're," the girl stammered.
"Kevin Richardson from the Backstreet Boys," he said in almost a whisper.
"Yeah," the girl said.
"What's your name?"
"Sarah."
Kevin smiled. "Nice to meet you. I'm really sorry for bumping you off the ladder. I wasn't paying attention."
"No, it's OK really. It happens all the time."
"Really?"
"Well. . .no not really."
"Sarah, get back to work," yelled a man.
"Sorry, I gotta get back to work."
"It's okay, I understand. Maybe I'll see you around."
"Yeah. . .maybe," Sarah said, then went back to her work.
Chapter 14
"Ha! Take that, Mario!" Kristin said to Nick.
"No fair! You blew me up!" Nick pouted.
Kristin laughed as she ran her fingers through his hair.
"Aww, poor Nicky got beat by a girl."
Nick smiled. "So, what's the reward?"
Kristin drew closely to Nick. "What reward?"
"The reward you said that no matter who won, we'd both be happy."
"Did I say that?"
"Yes."
Kristin sat on Nick's lap. "You want your reward?" Nick nodded. Kristin got even closer. "Guess what?" she whispered in his ear.
"What?" Nick asked with a grin.
Kristin smirked. "I lied," she said with a laugh.
"Oh, really now?" Kristin nodded. "You are such a tease."
Kristin smiled. "I know."
"You know? I'll show you," Nick said as he began to tickle her sides. Kristin giggled. "Uh oh, someone's ticklish." Nick attacked her and pinned her to the ground. He tickled her until tears came out of her eyes.
"Okay, stop!" Kristin said in between laughs.
Nick let her up and she caught her breath. She gave Nick an evil eye and attacked him, causing him to fall to the floor. Kristin looked Nick deeply in the eyes. Slowly their lips moved toward each other. Nick put his
hand on her cheek and kissed her lightly. Kristin ran her fingers through Nick's blonde hair. After a few minutes, Nick finally pulled away. Kristin shyly got off Nick and sat back down on the floor.
"Sorry," she said softly.
Nick caressed her face. "What are you sorry for?"
"I shouldn't have kissed you."
"Can I let you in on a secret?"
"Sure."
Nick stared into Kristin's bright blue eyes. "You can kiss me anytime, anywhere."
Kristin smiled and Nick kissed her gently on the lips. He slowly moved to her neck and wrapped his strong arms around her waist. Kristin linked her arms around his neck and kissed him back. Nick caressed her cheek and stared into her eyes.
"What time is it?" Kristin asked.
Nick looked at his watch. "Almost midnight."
"I better get back to my apartment. I have class in a few hours. I need my sleep."
Nick pouted a little then got off the floor. He took Kristin's hand and they went out to his car. Neither one of them spoke a word on the way to the apartment. They just held each other's hand in silence. When they arrived at the apartment Nick looked at Kristin and smiled.
"I'm glad you came over tonight."
"I am too. I really had fun."
Nick kissed her gently on the lips. "You're coming to the concert tomorrow night aren't you?"
Kristin smiled. "Of course I am. I wouldn't miss it for the world."
"Good," he said softly. Nick got out of the car and walked Kristin up to her door. "I'll see you tomorrow night."
"Okay," Kristin said and wrapped her arms around him.
Nick kissed her on the lips. "Good night."
"Good night," Kristin said, then went inside. She found Rachel laying on the couch fast asleep with Brian's jacket wrapped around her. Kristin smiled and gently shook Rachel awake.
"Rachel, wake up," Kristin whispered.
"Mmmm, Brian let me sleep," Rachel mumbled and rolled over.
Kristin covered her mouth to keep from laughing.
"Rach, get up!" she said a little bit louder.
Rachel sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Brian. . ." she said while rubbing her eyes. Rachel pulled her hands away from her eyes and looked around, noticing
Brian was gone. "Oh. . .hi, Kristin," she said in a yawn.
Kristin laughed. "Good morning sleepy head. Why did you think I was Brian?"
"He was here earlier. I must have fallen asleep. I guess I bored him to death. What time it is anyway?"
Kristin looked at her watch. "It's almost one. We better get to bed or we'll be falling asleep in class." Rachel just stared off into space and nodded. Kristin noticed her eyes were swollen as if she had been crying. "Rach, are you okay? You look like you've been crying."
"I'm. . .fine," Rachel said avoiding Kristin's eyes.
"Rachel don't lie to me. You know I hate that."
"I don't want to talk about it right now," Rachel said as she got up and walked toward her room, still wearing Brian's jacket.
"All right, but I'm going to keep bugging you until you do," Kristin said as she followed her.
"Fine with me," Rachel commented as she changed into her pajamas.
Kristin let out a snicker. "Are you going to sleep in that jacket?"
Rachel grinned as she climbed into bed. "It smells good."
"Weird girl," Kristin said as she walked to her own room. "Good night."
"Good night. . .and I'm not weird!" she shouted.
"Whatever you say," Kristin yelled back and crawled into bed, dreaming of Nick.