Drink in hand, Jake manoeuvred himself back to the corner of the ballroom to people watch. There weren�t as many celebrities here as he thought there might be. But there were lots of big money names, people he recognized from his somewhat privileged youth. Strangely, there were also lots of young girls, hanging around in groups, occasionally letting out shrieks and giggles. Taking a sip, he caught a glimpse of a tall blonde man, dressed very similarly to him, making the rounds of the room. Jake smirked at the sight of the man glad-handing the bigwigs, as groups of girls swooned behind him, the shrieks more pronounced than before. He wondered briefly who the guy was and how the guy even got in the door. As he watched the guy make the rounds of the ballroom, he began to think that he knew the guy from somewhere. The girls certainly knew who he was. Jake shrugged and figured it would come to him sometime, probably out of the blue. Before he could think anymore about the guy, he showed up in front of him, hand out and huge smile on his face.

�Hey, I�m Nick Carter. Thanks for coming out to support Heal the Bay. It�s a great charity, they do a lot of great sh�stuff.�

Jake sucked back a breath of surprise; the guy had almost scared the shit out of him, just popping up like that out of nowhere. He looked him up and down, now realizing why he recognized him. He certainly looked different now.

�No problem man, I�m happy to help.� Jake took Nick�s offered hand and shook it firmly. �You�re with the Backstreet Boys, right?�

�Yeah, we�re on another break though. I�ll be doing some solo stuff later tonight.�

Jake grinned, �My sister used to love you guys. She�ll be jealous.�

Nick turned away slightly and then turned back. �You were great in that movie. I loved it.�

Jake raised an eyebrow and merely nodded. He knew which movie and was just mildly surprised that Nick �loved� it. He�d heard it often enough over the past few months. It wasn�t surprising anymore to find men expressing their delight over one of his latest roles. He�d never heard any rumours about Nick being �that way� though. Interesting.

�The chick I took with me, she thought the kissing was hot, you know?� Nick grinned and punched Jakes shoulder lightly. �I guess if we can like the ladies together, they can like watching the guys.�

Jake nodded his head in understanding. �I know what you mean.�

�But, seriously, it was a great movie.�

�Thanks man. I�m proud of it.�

�You should be, it was awesome.�

�Thanks again.�

�Nice meeting you.� Nick stuck his hand out once again. �Hope you stick around for the show.�

They shook hands and Nick bounded off to his next victim. Jake watched him go, a small smile playing on his face. The show? Jake had really wanted to get out of here and just go home to sleep. But�maybe the show would be fun. He just might stick around.

After a few more drinks, Jake was feeling nicely buzzed when one of the big shots from a local bank appeared onstage to introduce the �entertainment�. A few guys came out strumming guitars and pounding on drums. Now more than ready to leave, Jake stood up and prepared to do just that. He liked music but he wasn�t really a huge hard rock music fan and he didn�t need the headache he knew he was going to have in the morning any larger. Just then Nick strutted out on the stage and Jake stopped in his tracks. Nick had changed into a tight, sleeveless shirt and leather pants and was working the crowd that had magically appeared in front of the stage like a master. Jake watched him, mesmerized, for a few moments. The guy that had seemed awkward to him just a short while ago was now like a king. He was enthralled at the transformation. Nick pointed and waved at him from the stage. Jake stumbled back to a chair and watched the rest of the show closely. Drunk or not, the evening had ended up being quite entertaining

Nick stepped out of the makeshift dressing room, having changed back into his original clothes and went back out to make the rounds. He knew there would be plenty of girls waiting for him- he'd seen them all gazing up at him adoringly during the show. He'd been trying to watch the crowd, gauge their reactions to the music since it wasn't his usual crowd. He'd caught a glimpse of a few faces beyond the sea of girls gathered around him. One in particular had surprised him - Jake. with the crazy last name.

He wasn't sure why it had seemed unusual - Jake was a young Hollywood guy. and they were all about being seen. But when he stuck around for the show, well, he didn't know what he thought about it.

Nick had pointed him out and waved - to show his appreciation for him sticking around. He'd seen Jake take a seat, like he'd changed his mind about wanting to head for the door. Nick wondered if he should talk to him again. he wasn't sure exactly how that initial conversation had gone. Good enough, but maybe the compliments had been too much? Nick figured he needed to give respect where it was due. and he admired guys who took risks and got it right. He was kind of hoping to run into him again - ask what he'd thought, maybe.

Nick turned a corner, headed toward the bar, and stopped short, seeing Jake leaning against the wall, looking in his direction. Nick gave him a little smile and went to the bar, grabbing two beers and walking back over to Jake, handing him one.

"So...what do you think about all this?" Nick asked, taking a sip of his beer.

Jake grinned, "I'm interested."

Nick put his beer down on a table and reached in his pocket for his cigarettes. He pulled them out and asked Jake, "You mind?"

Jake shook his head, "Hell no. I was just thinking the same thing."

Nick lit up and asked, "So are you into environmental stuff?"

"I've done some stuff with Future Forests. I have a few other organizations I work with the ACLU and College Summit, but I wanted to do a little more. I just recently heard about this one. I was out surfing on one of the clean-up days and got interested." Jake told him, grabbing his own cigarettes.

"You surf?"

Jake nodded, taking a drag on his cigarette. "Yeah, you?"

"Oh yeah."

A little smirk flashed across Jake's lips, "You go alone...or...?"

"Depends. I love having people to go with. if I can find anyone."

"You found me. Let me know when you're up for a ride." Jake said, taking a long swig of his beer.

Nick chuckled, "Who's bringing the sex wax?"

Jake laughed, too, "We'll take turns. it's only fair. give and take."

"Right on." Nick was distracted by one of the event organizers waving frantically at him. "Dude, it looks like I gotta go. Great talking to you."

"Yeah, definitely. Hey. can I get your number, talk some more about this Bay stuff so I know what I'm talking about if someone asks me?" Jake asked.

"Sure, man." Nick fished through his pockets, grabbing the only paper he could find - a schedule of events for the evening - and swiped a pen from the table his beer was sitting on. He scribbled down his number, "Talk to you soon."

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Nick slid into the driver's seat of his car, reaching for his cell phone. He debated which of his sisters he should call first. He'd had to listen to all three of them swooning over that Jake character when they'd watched "Day After Tomorrow". At least he seemed like a good guy. Hell, maybe he'd be a surfing buddy. They say it's always better with a friend.