Chapter Seven
On the trip back, there was an awkward silence at first. But it was broken we Brian switched on the radio and 'As Long As You Love Me' was playing. They both laughed.
"How does it feel to hear yourself on the radio?" asked Tanna. "Or are you used to it by now?"
"Oh, I dunno. Pretty mundane, I guess." Brian joked.
"Yeah, right. That's like saying Drew and Nick only like each other a little bit. A total understatement!"
"True, true. But honestly, it's pretty great."
The rest of the ride to Tanna's house, they talked about the career of the Backstreet Boys, and the relationships of Drew/Nick and Mackenzie/Kevin. Occasionally, Tanna would jump in with directions. Finally, they pulled up in front of her house, and stopped.
Tanna turned to him, "Thank you very much."
"My pleasure." Brian replied. It seemed so absurdly formal.
Tanna placed a hand on his forearm and squeezed gently. With a small smile and, "I'll see you tomorrow", she was out of the car and across the street.
Nick knocked on the door connection his room to the one that Kevin and Brian were sharing. He heard Kevin tell him to come in, so he opened the door.
"Hey guys. What're you doing?" he asked.
"Nuthin'." Replied Brian.
"Where did you go?" Kevin was lying on his back on the bed. "We got here and you holed up in your room."
"I had to make a phone call." Nick avoided the eyes of the other two.
Brian and Kevin looked at each other, "Drew!" They laughed, and Nick blushed.
"So you two are getting hot and heavy, eh?" asked Brian.
"Yeah, we're getting serious, but don't say it like that when Drew's around, okay? I don't want to scare her off." He looked at Brian and Kevin, waiting for them to agree. When they nodded, he continued, "Speaking of?" he gave a pointed look at Kevin.
"What!?"
"What's happening with you and Mackenzie?" Nick sat down on the end of the bed.
"And what do you expect to happen?" Kevin raised his eyebrows. "I may be in love with her, but I'm also 11 years older than her. It's just illegal!"
"Touch�! We were just asking." Nick held up his hands in defense.
"We!? You asked. Don't bring me into this!" Brian protested. Kevin and Nick looked at each other, and, with unspoken agreement, walked toward Brian and sat one on each side of him. Confused, Brian swiveled his head back and forth.
"So?" Kevin let the word hang in the air between them. Brian lifted a questioning eyebrow.
"You?Tanna??" Nick gestured for Brian to make the connection.
"She's a sweet girl, but?" he paused. "I don't think she's into me." Brian shrugged.
"You'll just have to woo her then." Said Kevin, as if there was nothing left to say about the matter.
"Yeah, that's the answer! Why didn't I think of that before?" Brian's voice was filled with sarcasm. "Kevin, what do I know of wooing?"
"He's got a point Kev." put in Nick, wryly. Then he ducked as Brian swung at him.
"Well, one popular option is to buy her gifts." Kevin said.
"Or take her out for dinner or a movie." Interjected Nick. The suggestions went on for a while longer, while Brian made mental notes. Eventually they gave up and went to bed.
The next morning, around 11 a.m., Tanna met up with the boys and Mackenzie and Drew in the lobby of the hotel.
"So what's the plan for today?" asked Drew as she joined the group and stood beside Nick, who put his arm around her.
"I dunno. How about going swimming?" suggested Howie.
"Why? Just so you can take off your shirt again?" Drew asked, and everyone laughed while Howie's ears turned pink.
"That's a good idea! I haven't been to the Water Park in a long time." Mackenzie agreed. The boys all agreed.
"Umm? I don't have either my bathing suit or my contact stuff here." Tanna interrupted. They all made sounds of disappointment.
"Okay, what should we do then?" asked Howie.
"You guys go swimming, and I'll meet you later. I'll go window shopping, or something." Tanna encouraged. "Really. I don't mind." She added when Kevin began to argue.
"Well, if you're sure you don't mind?" Nick left it open for her to refuse.
"Of course! You go ahead. We'll meet here at say, 2:30 p.m.?" When everyone agreed, Tanna waved and walked off.
As the group stood in line to get into the Water Park, Drew leaned over to Brian and said, "You better hurry, or you'll never find her."
It took him a moment to figure you who Drew had meant, but when he did, he nodded and hurried off. Drew smiled.
Brian walked in the direction that Tanna had gone. As he passed each shop, he peered in, just in case she had stopped. Then, as he passed a women's dress store, he saw her. She was browsing through skirts and dresses. He quietly moved closer to her. She hadn't noticed him, yet. He watched as she picked up a dress and held it up in front of her. As she looked critically at herself, she was humming 'That's What She Said'. He smiled.
"Looks stunning." Brian said. Tanna jumped and turned.
"Oh! You scared the living daylights out of me!"
"Sorry. But I meant what I said about the dress." He moved toward her and fingered the sleeve.
"Thanks. I think it's good, too. Unfortunately, it's also out of my price range." Sighing, she turned to go put it back on the rack.
"Here, I'll do it. Why don't you look around some more?" Brian lifted the dress from her fingers. Tanna smiled her thanks, and turned away.
As soon as she wasn't looking, he hurried to the salesclerk. "Excuse me? Could you put this on hold for a while under the name Littrell?" When she nodded, he thanked her and walked back to Tanna,
"Are you looking for a dress for any particular event?" he asked.
"Yeah, my cousin is getting married this summer." She turned to look at him. "By the way. Why are you here? Shouldn't you be swimming with the others?"
"You don't want me here?" Brian tried his best to look hurt.
"I never said that!" Tanna hastened to assure him. "Of course I want you here. I'm just surprised, that's all."
"I thought that it was wrong for you to have to spend the day alone, when you came to spend it with everyone."
"That's so sweet!" she laid a hand on his arm. "Thank you very much. This will be more fun than if I'd been by myself. Shall we go look at other stores? All of this is way out of my league."
"Sure. So where's this wedding you're going to?" Brian asked as they walked out of the store and into the mall.
"It's in Kelowna. My uncle runs a farm near there, so they'll use their back yard for the ceremony and the reception. It's going to be quite cool."
"Where's Kelowna?"
"Oh, southern British Columbia. I've spent summers there, it's so beautiful out there." Tanna paused to look at a pair of shoes.
"Do you have a date for it yet?" Brian asked.
"No. I'm not sure if I'm going to find one, either. I don't have a boyfriend, and all of my guy friends wouldn't be caught dead at a wedding." She shook her head ruefully. "I'll probably just hang out with my fourth cousin, Thomas."
"Won't that suck?" he asked.
"Not too much. He's a tall, good-looking hockey player. It wouldn't be too bad." Tanna said slyly.
"Oh, really!? Look, there's a Second Cup. Wanna get a coffee?" Brian pointed out, to change the subject.
"I don't drink coffee, but if you want one, I'll get a hot chocolate."
They sat down at the table with their drinks and talked. Brian asked Tanna questions about her life, and vice versa. All the while they flirted mildly.
Nick and the other three guys stood waiting for Drew and Mackenzie to come out of the change room. Howie was beginning to get impatient. Just as he looked at his watch, the girls walked out of the doorway. Drew had a green T-shirt over her black bathing suit, and Mackenzie was wearing a navy and white two-piece. Drew walked over to Nick's side with her eyes down.
Nick raised her chin and looked into her eyes. "You are so beautiful, I hate to share you with these louts."
Drew met his eyes and could tell that he had meant every word that he'd just said. It barely registered when AJ, Howie, Mackenzie, and Kevin left. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him briefly.
"Come on, let's go swim." She took his hand and started toward where the other four were waiting and deciding which slide to go on first.
"Hey, love birds!" called Kevin. "Where to first?"
Nick and Drew looked at each other and said, in unison, "The wave pool!"