Date: Fri, 20 Aug 1999 16:35:57 -0400 (EDT) From: EG <bsbwriter@altavista.net> Subject: Adam, Zach and BSB, Part 25-27(gay/boy bands/Adam Zach and BSB) Legal Note: Plese don't read this if you are under the age of 18 years or the particular age of permission where ever you live.The story below is in all parts fictional. All portayal of the Backstreet Boys and other persons mentioned is in no way based on fact. All other characters are completely fictional. All names, songs, events, and other liscensed material remains so. Thank you. Hey...School's fast approaching and I'm getting a little burnt out. It'll probably be at least week before another installment is added. But I want to thank the readers-Matt, that guy, Rich, yuli, Denny, Jim, Ricky, Ed and Rye (who I am impressed with because he read all of my installments in one sitting). As always, thanks to DLS for being my impromptu editor. Check out Brian&Me, his excellent story. I also want to thank Gene for being my Orlando "tour guide." Lemme know what you think! bsbwriter@altavista.net Thanks, and enjoy. EG part 25 I got dressed for clubbing, in a tight white t-shirt and tailored black slacks. When I was all ready, I knocked on Kevin's door. "Kevin?" I called. "Hey, I'm not quite ready yet-if you want, you can go to B-rok and Nick's and see if they're ready-its the beige house." "Okay-you mean Nick's coming?" I asked, surprised. "Well, I couldn't get a committed yes, but he did say maybe." "Cool-I'll meet you there." I left Kevin's and found the beige house about fifty feet away. I rang the doorbell. Brian answered with a towel wrapped around his waist. For some strange reason-I didn't pay any particular attention to what was sure to be an impressive torso-maybe that reason was love-aww. I make myself sick. "Hey! How long ago did you get in?" "Hey yourself. This afternoon." "Why didn't you come say hi?" "I went swimming with Kev." "No kidding?" "Yeah-that's a really nice pool you guys have there." "Well, the place is only rented out until mid-September. Its just sort of a crash-pad that's near the studio where we do rehearsals. Now that we're on break though, its a good central location for all the stuff going down around this town." "Cool, but, um-something tells me though, you need to get ready," I said, looking down at his towel. "Oh-yeah. I forgot. Sit yourself down on the couch, or, if you want, you can go upstairs and bug Nick into coming!" "Sounds like a good chance to make some trouble," I said, and bounded up the stairs as Brian went to finish getting ready. The upper level was a mess. It instantly reminded me of the scene in Zach's room when I had returned from France. I was surprised, but thinking about it, it made sense. I guess because I had never seen the two together, they just weren't a couple, or rather, ex-couple in my mind. I shook my head and called to Nick. I heard a grumble in the next room. I walked in to find Nick laying on his back on a weight-lifting bench watching cartoons on the TV directly in front of him. All the blood had rushed to his head. "Hi!" I said. "Adam! I didn't know you were coming! Kevin finally groveled, didn't he?" He got up and shook my hand. Instantly, I saw his hair, which looked horrible. It was in pony-tail on the top center of his head. It was greasy, and the shaved part showing was grown out into a awkward length. He saw me looking at his hair. "I know, I need a haircut. I got hell from Kevin going on MTV with it like this." I laughed, "It doesn't look too bad. It just needs a wash and a little trim. Tell you what-I'll take you out tomorrow to get it done, on one condition." "What condition?" "That you go clubbing with us tonight." "I'll think about it." "Okay. One more thing, though, that I have to tell you." "Yeah?" "Zach came with me to Orlando." "Is he coming tonight?" "Yeah." "Then I'm not." "Stop being such a baby." "A baby?" "Yeah-you said yourself you must have cared for him or you wouldn't have punched him when you found out he cheated on you. He's really sorry, and can't stop sulking about it. Aren't you curious to find out if there really was something besides the sex?" "Not really." "Are you sure?" "No." Nick sat back down on the bench. "Its so hard. First I found out I was gay-then I got rejected by Kevin-then I lied to him to make him love me-then Zach came to confront me and then-I kissed him. Why did I kiss him?" "I don't know, but Zach's been asking himself the same question." "Really?" "Yeah, actually. Can't you at least talk to him?" "Maybe." "So will you go clubbing with us?" "Uhhh-okay!" "Get ready-we're leaving in twenty minutes." "Ack! That hardly even gives me enough time for my facials!" he faked a scream. For the time being, he seemed back in the swing of things. "Okay, an-y-way, Kev and I'll be back to pick you up then. Bye!" Nick had disappeared into another room and I heard the shower start to run. I took this as my exit cue and went back to Kev and AJ's house. When I arrived, I saw AJ and Howie sitting on the couches talking. When they saw me, both went ballistic. I was the subject of a tornado of hugs, high-fives and pats on the back. I emerged, five minutes later, a little disheveled. "Hey stranger," Howie said, sitting down on the couch. "Hey," I said back. "We didn't know if we were ever gonna see you again, especially after that tabloid fiasco," AJ said. "I didn't know either," I said, joining them to sit. "I did," said Howie, "Kevin told me last week." "And you didn't tell me?" AJ said, looking unconvincingly hurt. Howie shrugged. "So anyway, down to the real dirt-have guys even gotten it on yet?" AJ asked. "I never kiss and tell," I said, with a grin. "Is that a yes or a no, Romeo?" AJ asked. "What do you think?" "Hmmm," Howie said, sucking on his index finger and putting it into the air, as if to test the wind. "a No." "What? Why not?" I said, faking surprise. "Cuz your boyfriend told me you guys have only kissed." Howie said triumphantly. "Oh." I said sarcastically dejected. There was a little silence, when AJ got this mischievous look on his face. "So, Howie," he said, "What do you think?" "What do I think about what?" Howie asked faux-innocently, catching on to whatever joke AJ had in store. "Do you think Adam is-" "What?" I asked, confused. AJ continued. "Do you think he's more sex-flavored ice-cream or ice-cream flavored sex?" Howie was about to answer when I heard footsteps. I looked up and it was Kevin lookin' fine in a dark blue dress shirt and khakis. "How about--you wait for me to find out?" he said. It was a grand entrance and we all broke out in laughter. "Hey there Mr. Body Beautiful," I said, remembering an old nickname from a magazine interview. In the mood for flirting, I sashayed up to him and traced a finger from his navel to his lips. Then I pulled in for a kiss. Our lips were about to touch when we heard a knocking on the front door frame and then some clapping and catcalling. We both straightened (poor choice of words) up and looked to see Brian and a rejuvenated Nick laughing in the front doorway. I was glad to see Nick hadn't backed out. "Okay, let's go. Adam, Howie, let's go in my car and we'll go pick up Zach. Brian-you take your car with Nick and AJ," Kevin said, ever paternal. "We'll meet at the club in 20." I gave him credit for putting Nick and Zach in different cars-they should talk-but they didn't need to be thrown together in a uncomfortable situation. We all jumped in our respective cars. "So," I said to Kevin, "Where are you taking me?" "Club Firestone. Its a cool place." "Firestone, as in the tire shop? Ooo," I said, "So now when my parents ask, `Hey Adam, where did that nice boy take you on a date?' I'll respond, `We went to get our tires rotated.'" "Chill!" Kevin said, laughing. "They converted it. Now its a really nice dance club." Howie piped in. "It's a world-class night club with 13,000 square feet of entertainment housed in and on two levels and a quiet lounge and deck." "Okay Mr. Tour Guide. No more peeking at my magazines." Kevin said. "What do you mean?" I asked. "Kev's been searching for the right place to take you. He went to Border's and bought, like, every entertainment magazine in the store. He's been angsting for a week on where the perfect place was to take you. Its actually very adorable," Howie volunteered. "It certainly is!" I said, squeezing Kevin's knee. It caused him to swerve, and Howie and I laughed at him once he regained control. "This is going to earn you major brownie points, mister," I said. We pulled up to Zach's hotel, and Howie volunteered to summon him from the front desk. I was surprised he was so willing to be friendly to Zach. After all, I thought, think about the last time he saw him-the band was falling apart, in some ways, because of Zach. In a few minutes, Howie and Zach came running out. "Some girls spotted me!" Howie yelled. "Drive!" I turned to see about seven girls come running out and look to see where he had gone. Luckily, they weren't maniacs, and gave up when they saw the getaway car. We arrived at Club Firestone in no time. It was the perfect place, apart from being public, which just meant we had to be careful. For a moment, I worried about getting in, but hey, I thought, I was with two of the Backstreet Boys. Sure enough, the bouncer let us in with out so much as a reference to our ages. As we entered, I saw Brian, Nick and AJ already on the dance floor. I leaned over and whispered in Kevin's ear. "I don't really like to dance much..." "Well," he said, whispering back, "I would tell you that I don't like dancing either, but hey, half the civilized world knows I do." "The whole civilized world." "Well, you'll just have to learn to like it." He laughed and I followed him onto the dance floor. Everyone was sort of dancing independently anyway, so we didn't worry about "correct" gender partners. I drew in my breath when I saw Nick notice Zach and vice versa, but calmed when I saw Nick smile and Zach motion to the bar. They both left the floor. I got into the music, and enjoyed dancing for once-after all, it was with Kevin. I was learning that anything with Kevin could be fun. Besides, its not that I'm a bad dancer-I'm pretty good if I do say so myself-I'm just more likely to be the one in the corner having a deep conversation rather than out breakin' it down on the dance floor. I think a lot of it had to do with my closeted status during high school. I didn't let that part of me show, so I guess I was more cautious about letting other parts show, if that makes any sense at all. I remembered this dance step we used to do at camp dances in middle school. I whispered to Kevin to ask if he knew it. He nodded, so we readied ourselves. Kevin put up three fingers and counted down. At one, we dropped to the floor. Along to the beat of the music, we met in the middle grasping and letting go of each others hands, and bracing ourselves with the other arm to pop back up again. I guess it created a lot of attention, partially, because it was just a slick and well-performed blast from the past dance move and also because one of the people doing it was a Backstreet Boy. A circle formed around us. We continued on, flipping back and forth, starting some other break dancing moves, until the beads of sweat began to drip in our eyes. Both of us stopped right before it was too late and we would have screwed up, spoiling the effect. We headed over to the bar and ordered to ice waters. I knew enough not to drink after the terrible episode last week. "Nice moves," the bartender said, serving us. We thanked him, and sipped the water slowly. I looked around for Zach and Nick. Kevin must've know who I was looking for, because he said, "They're probably on the deck." I nodded. We finished our drinks in silence, and then Kevin led me towards the deck to find Nick and Zach. part 26 We found them sitting on the edge of the steps of the deck. Zach was holding Nick's hand, and Nick was looking up at Zach. It was most definitely a touching scene, but luckily, it could have been friends comforting each other to the stranger passing by. Nick noticed Kevin and I approaching and motioned for us to come over. "Hey you," Kevin said to Nick, "Look who made up!" Nick blushed. "Well, we're on speaking terms." "We decided," Zach said, and sighed, "to try and make it work and to-" "And to take it slow," Nick finished. "Aww!" I said, "Look it, they're already finishing each other's sentences." Zach hit me and we herded the newly reunited couple to the dance floor. Before, I forgot to mention anything about Zach's dancing. Its not that he's bad, but while he's dancing he jumps a lot and sort of moves his body to the music whatever direction it goes. Sometimes the effect is super cool. Sometimes its not. I was glad to see when it wasn't looking oh-so-cool, Nick calmed him down, and was teaching him to dance a little more traditionally. We all danced until about midnight, but left right before the deejay was going to ask the guys to do a song. Everyone else wanted to keep going. Kevin and I agreed we wanted to go back to the house. While Nick, Zach, AJ and Howie continued to cruise via Brian and his wheels, we headed back to the complex. The entire way back, I just stared at Kevin. It was dark out, and the stars were even visible. In Washington, the city lights and pollution make the night sky ruddy, and hide the stars. It was nice to be in a place where you could pick out the different constellations. I wanted to be an astronomer in sixth grade, so I memorized all the constellations, in English and Latin. I mumbled the names as we went zooming down I-4. We went through the gates and got to the house. Kevin parked and I followed him up to the front door. As he fumbled with the unlit lock, and I hugged him from behind. Kev got the door open, and he turned to return the hug and kiss me. I closed the door behind me and our lips met. I put his jaw in both my hands, and his arms wrapped around my waist. We walked, in this fashion to the bedroom. We carefully maneuvered up the two-stepped platform. Kevin pulled me down on top of him to lie on the bed. We ground into each other and I started to unbutton his shirt, but he stopped me. He sat up and slowly took off his shirt. The combination of the moonlight filtering in the window and his already perfect body was just too much. I pulled him back down and ran my fingers up his ribs. He lifted my t-shirt off and flung it across the room. His fingertips ran up my sides and I kissed him again. I looked into his eyes, and there was not only passion, but love, and trust. Pulling back, I kissed him lightly down his jawline and then down the side of his neck. I continued down the center of his torso, rubbing his abs and sides. I got to his navel, and licked round it slowly and lightly, hardly touching his skin. I began to resume my descent, but Kevin stopped me, and shook his head. "Not yet," he said. We kissed gently but passionately for quite sometime. His hands massaged my ba! ck as we laid on the bed together. I felt so secure. Resting my head on his stomach, I fell asleep as he stroked my hair. ------------------------------ I woke up, and for a moment I thought I was still in Provence. The light was just starting to come through the venetian blinds. The slats of light fell across Kevin's face. He was sleeping lightly, softly breathing. I stood there, my head on his chest, feeling the rhythm of his breathing bring my head slowly up and down. Man, I was lucky. I lifted my head carefully, and then the rest of my body. Quietly, I tip-toed to my room. The clock said it was six a.m. I pulled off my pants and went into the bathroom. It was a nice bathroom, and soon I was in a nice hot shower. The water woke me up and as soon as I was done washing my hair and body. I got out of the stall and dried off. Wiping the mirror condensation, I studied my jaw which was covered with stubble. I debated whether I should shave, but decided if I was going to have a boyfriend with a goatee, I was allowed to have some stubble. My hand slicked back my hair, and I decided I was going to need a haircut too. I found some boxers and nice vintage acid-wash jeans and pulled them on-no shirt-such were the joys of having no chance of the media showing up. I went to the kitchen and found it was fully stocked. I set up all the ingredients for my world famous pancakes, and set about starting. I got lost in the art of making the perfect golden brown pancake and the perfect sized slice of orange. Pancakes are the only thing I'm actually good at making-we're learned how in sixth grade home-ec and its stuck with me, (yes, girls AND boys had to take home-ec). Anything else cooked by me requires a microwave, a take-out menu, or, in the worst of attempts, a fire extinguisher. It was seven when I heard footsteps behind me. I turned, thinking it was Kevin, but instead, it was AJ, looking quite sleepy in his clothes from last night. "Morning," I said in a purposely sing-song voice. AJ just grumbled under his breath. "So how late were you guys out last night?" "I dunno," he said, rubbing his eyes. "Something like three. I'd still be asleep if your pancakes didn't smell so damn good. How long `til they're ready?" "Like, ten minutes," I said, putting the done pancakes in the oven. "Do me a favor and get some syrup and set the table for three-" "Four, actually." AJ corrected, sheepishly. "Oh," I said. "A conquest from last night?" AJ nodded and I went to my room and pulled on a shirt. Girls who have one night stands with Backstreet Boys cannot have that great judgment, no offense to her. What would stop her from telling the media that Kevin was, in actuality, in a gay relationship with the infamous Adam of the tabloid picture? I just hoped that AJ would cover for us. Walking into his room, I saw that Kevin was still asleep. I used my trademark wake-up kiss on the ear, and his eyes opened dreamily. "Morning, lover," I said. He smiled and kissed me on the lips sweetly. "Mmmm. Good way to wake up. What smells so good?" "My cologne?" "Your cologne smells like pancakes?" Kevin, said joking. "Oh, that-no, that's breakfast." "You made breakfast?" I nodded. "What a guy. He cooks, but does he clean?" "Don't push your luck!" "Okay, let's eat!" Kevin lifted himself up, but I pushed him back down. "First, I have to tell you something." "Sure-but can you make it quick? I'm hungry!" "Yeah-AJ brought a little friend home last night, so ixnay on the public displays of affection, k?" "I guess I can suffer through," he said, pulling me towards him. "One more for the road?" I nodded and we kissed. "Ewww! Morning breath!" I laughed and pulled him to stand up. I waited while he brushed his teeth and changed in the bathroom, behind closed doors. He emerged, and I led him to the kitchen. AJ had set the table, and the pancakes looked done. Kevin waved good morning to AJ, who winked back. "Can help with anything?" Kevin asked. "Yeah, actually. Could you pour some orange juice for everybody?" I asked. As Kevin took the orange juice out of the huge stainless steel fridge, a feminine figure wrapped in a white sheet appeared from the steps to AJ's floor. "Hey, babe," AJ said and motioned for the girl to sit at the table. He motioned to us. "This is Kevin, and that's our friend Adam who helps us with concept designs for all of our commercial stuff," he finished. It was a pretty nice excuse, I have to admit, so I waved and said, "Hi." Kevin glared at AJ. I could tell he wasn't all that happy. "And this is Amanda." "Nice to meet you guys," Amanda said. She smiled. I could tell, even through the mussed hair and up-all-night skin, she was actually very pretty. I smiled back and said, "Nice to meet you too. Will you join us for breakfast? I made pancakes." "Absolutely. I'm soo hungry." I served the pancakes and they disappeared pretty quickly between Kevin, AJ, and I with our growing boy appetites. Amanda came in a not to shabby fourth, eating impressively more than I had thought possible for someone with a waist that thin. She was actually really a nice, polite girl. She asked about my job, and I made up a whole lot of b.s. that sounded very official about the Millennium cover and she seemed satisfied. Kevin's hackles went back down, and he relaxed in her presence. I could tell he still wasn't happy, but at least he wasn't uncomfortable. We finished breakfast and I told them all about my plans for the day-how I was taking Nick to get a haircut. "That's good, cause he needs it." Kevin laughed. "Yeah, heard you weren't too happy about his public appearance with the `do." Kevin snorted. "He blows everything out of proportion. I just told him he could keep his hair like that if he wanted to look like a damn fool." "Oh, okay. I'm gonna get dressed. I'll say goodbye before I head out." I said, and headed back to my room. I heard AJ excusing himself and he ran after me. He tapped me on the shoulder. "Hey, Adam, thanks for playing along back there." "Welcome-anything to allow you to sack a beautiful young thing like that." "Hey-we didn't sleep together." "You didn't?" "Nah, she slept on the bed, I slept on the floor. Her ride deserted her at the club and I couldn't have just left her there. She's visiting from Connecticut and didn't know how to get back to her hotel, and it was getting late. I just offered my pad for the night. She accepted on the condition of no funny business. We'll find her hotel and all will be right with the world, okay?" "Okay," I said, patted him on the back, and went to get dressed. I kept on my jeans and found a red t-shirt that looked particularly nice with the jeans. I had just pulled it over my head when I heard a knocking on my door. "AJ?" I said, "What is it now?" I opened the door. It was Amanda. "Hey," she said, giggling. I mocked uncertainty. "You're not AJ, are you?" and then broke out laughing. "So how long have you guys been a couple?" she asked. Dammit. "What are you talking about?" I lied. "You and Kevin." "We're not-" "Well if you're not, maybe you should-because you two would make a damn cute pair." "Whatever," I said. "Okay, well, anyway, thanks for breakfast," she said, and walked away. I hated lying in general, but especially to such a nice girl. I felt pretty crappy for doing it, but grabbed my watch and wallet and tried to forget about it. I went by the kitchen, and saw Kevin doing the dishes. I sneaked up on him and kissed his neck. "Thanks for doin' the dishes. Where's AJ and Amanda?" "They left for her hotel about five minutes ago." "You know, Amanda knew about us," I said carefully. He spun around. "What? How?!?" "I dunno. Maybe she's just perceptive." "Maybe so, but we need to be careful from now on." "Wait-I thought we were being careful." "We need to be more careful," Kev said firmly. "If we ever want this to work on the long term we have to do it out of the public eye, you understand, right?" "I guess," I said, saddened. "What are you doing today?" "Actually, I have a meeting with the tour promoters, so its good you made other plans. How about dinner tonight?" "Yeah, if you don't think its too brazen," I said harshly. "Come on, we knew it would be like this, but for our love, I'm willing to make it work." "Okay," I said quietly. "I love you," Kevin said, kissing me on the forehead and giving me a hug. "Love you too," I replied. I disengaged, and said, looking at my watch, "Its eight! I gotta pick up Nick! Dinner tonight, though, right?" "Right!" "Call me later, okay." "Okay," he smiled. I ran across the lawn and got to Nick and Brian's door. Part 27 I knocked on the door and Brian answered. "Can Nick come out and play?" I asked sweetly. "I don't know young man, he has to does his chores first." Nick appeared at Brian's shoulder and said, "Aw, come on Dad, pleeease?" "Okay," Brian conceeded. It took about five seconds before we all broke up laughing. "Come on!" I said. Nick ran past me and jumped in the car in front of the house. "You driving?" "Better beleive it! Where are we going?" I gave him directions. We got there in about twenty minutes and parked. I led him to a store front dominated with frosted glass. Above the windows, in large, stylish lettering, the sign read "Spa Vida Aqua." Nick saw it and began to whine, "You're taking me to this pansy place?" "Shh," I said, "if the tiara fits..." "Hey!" Nick said, and punched me in the shoulder. "If you're going to be gay," I sighed and smiled, "you're gonna have to get used to sterotypes, okay, tough guy?" Nick sulked for a millisecond then opened the door to the spa and bounded in. I followed him and we found oursleves in the main entrance greeting area. We were greeted by a blonde man in all white clothes. A quick look around, and we saw that all the employees wore nothing but white. I approached the desk. "Hi. We have double haircut appointment for Adam Miller, at eight forty-five?" The man nodded and said, "Yes. Welcome to Spa Vida Aqua. I'm Vance. Would you care for something to drink?" "No thanks-but could you tell me if Alexa is in?" "She'll be in around twelve-thirty." "Okay thanks." "If you'd like to sit down, I'll arrange shampoos." Vance left and we sat down on the clear plastic molded mod chairs in the greeting area. "Who's Alexa?" Nick mouthed. "You can talk normally in here, you know. Um, Alexa's a cousin of mine. This is her place. She's been begging me to come visit her for a few years-so, I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone, if you don't mind?" "No," Nick said, relaxing visibly. Vance appeared and motioned for us to follow him. We were lead to a room with several hair-washing stations. Two women washed our hair and then wrapped our heads in towels. They led us to another room with lots of windows that looked out to a small park with fountains. A man approached us. He was tall, with olive coloring. He introduced himself in an Italian accent. "Hey, I'm Dominick. I understand you're Adam?" He asked me and I nodded and put out my hand. "Alexa's kin doesn't visit everyday, you know!" he joked. "And who is this?" he asked me, motioning to Nick. Nick offered his hand. "I'm Nick." "Nice to meet you. Does Nick have a last name, or is it like Madonna or Cher?" "Its just Nick," Nick giggled. Domick turned and exaggeratedely whispered to me, "Do you think he'll sign my CD?" Nick heard him, of course, which was the intention. "You know who I am?" "I don't live under a rock, okay?" "Okay." "Now let's get down to those haircuts. Its pretty obvious which one of you needs it worse!" He pointed at me, unsure, then spun around and pointed at Nick, "ding ding ding!" Nick laughed and said, "Is it that obvious?" "Obvious? Its more than obvious-its-its-well, very obvious. You know, I was watching MTV the other day and I saw this disasturous hair, and I thought to myself, `Dominick, what you could do for this poor boy!' and voila! There you are! Let's get started. Is there anything in particular you want me to do?" "Not really, whatever you want-something fairly normal, you know, sorta classic but stylish?" "Okay, we can do that!" We spent the next four hours with Dominick, and in the end, we both looked pretty good. Nick's hair was cut with a razor, and fell about his face nicely-and was significantly shorter. It had this little-boy-just-got-out-of-bed look that was absolutely adorable. My hair got a trim, and the front was left a little longer, with it all spiked up. With my wary acceptance, Dominick had bleached a few streaks in the front. It made me look sort of stylish-wild. I couldn't wait to see what Kevin thought. Just as Dominick was brushing the hair off of our shoulders, Alexa appeared in the door. "Adam!" she screamed and attacked me with hugs. "Hi there," I said, muffled. "That's Nick." "Nice to meet you!" she said. Alexa is in her mid-thirties, has wild red hair and can be quite overwhelming at times. "So how do you guys like your haircuts?" "Lots." I said. "Its really nice, thanks." Nick said politely, and meaning it. "So are you two..." Alexa trailed off and pointed her finger at me than at Nick. "Oh! Oh. No. He's just a friend." I said. "Oh, okay," Alex shrugged her shoulders. "You guys want to go to lunch?" I started to protest because of the time, but then saw that it was almost one. It was my turn to shrug. "Whatever you want," I said to Nick. "Absolutely," he said. "Okay, now that that's settled, let's go show off those great haircuts!" Alex said, and took both of us by the hand. She ended up taking us to a small cafe. We talked, but Alexa did the most talking. She told the story of how she got started in the salon business, and how the spa had been on E! Fashion Emergency, and a million other things. When we finished, she footed the bill, and we thanked her. She only let us go on the condition that we would be back to visit her before the boys left for the tour. We promised, and Nick drove me back to the complex. Nick went to meet up with Brian to shoot some hoops. I told him I'd join them after I changed into a more sporty outfit. The door to the house was open, so I ran on in, figuring Kevin had gotten out of the meeting early. Just as I got in, it started to storm, raining pretty hard. Something wasn't right, I thought immediately. This fact was confirmed when I heard moans of pleasure coming from Kevin's room-promoter's meeting my ass. Legal Note: Plese don't read this if you are under the age of 18 years or the particular age of permission where ever you live.The story below is in all parts fictional. All portayal of the Backstreet Boys and other persons mentioned is in no way based on fact. All other characters are completely fictional. All names, songs, events, and other liscensed material remains so. Thank you. Hey...School's fast approaching and I'm getting a little burnt out. It'll probably be at least week before another installment is added. But I want to thank the readers-Matt, that guy, Rich, yuli, Denny, Jim, Ricky, Ed and Rye (who I am impressed with because he read all of my installments in one sitting). As always, thanks to DLS for being my impromptu editor. Check out Brian&Me, his excellent story. I also want to thank Gene for being my Orlando "tour guide." Lemme know what you think! bsbwriter@altavista.net Thanks, and enjoy. EG part 25 I got dressed for clubbing, in a tight white t-shirt and tailored black slacks. When I was all ready, I knocked on Kevin's door. "Kevin?" I called. "Hey, I'm not quite ready yet-if you want, you can go to B-rok and Nick's and see if they're ready-its the beige house." "Okay-you mean Nick's coming?" I asked, surprised. "Well, I couldn't get a committed yes, but he did say maybe." "Cool-I'll meet you there." I left Kevin's and found the beige house about fifty feet away. I rang the doorbell. Brian answered with a towel wrapped around his waist. For some strange reason-I didn't pay any particular attention to what was sure to be an impressive torso-maybe that reason was love-aww. I make myself sick. "Hey! How long ago did you get in?" "Hey yourself. This afternoon." "Why didn't you come say hi?" "I went swimming with Kev." "No kidding?" "Yeah-that's a really nice pool you guys have there." "Well, the place is only rented out until mid-September. Its just sort of a crash-pad that's near the studio where we do rehearsals. Now that we're on break though, its a good central location for all the stuff going down around this town." "Cool, but, um-something tells me though, you need to get ready," I said, looking down at his towel. "Oh-yeah. I forgot. Sit yourself down on the couch, or, if you want, you can go upstairs and bug Nick into coming!" "Sounds like a good chance to make some trouble," I said, and bounded up the stairs as Brian went to finish getting ready. The upper level was a mess. It instantly reminded me of the scene in Zach's room when I had returned from France. I was surprised, but thinking about it, it made sense. I guess because I had never seen the two together, they just weren't a couple, or rather, ex-couple in my mind. I shook my head and called to Nick. I heard a grumble in the next room. I walked in to find Nick laying on his back on a weight-lifting bench watching cartoons on the TV directly in front of him. All the blood had rushed to his head. "Hi!" I said. "Adam! I didn't know you were coming! Kevin finally groveled, didn't he?" He got up and shook my hand. Instantly, I saw his hair, which looked horrible. It was in pony-tail on the top center of his head. It was greasy, and the shaved part showing was grown out into a awkward length. He saw me looking at his hair. "I know, I need a haircut. I got hell from Kevin going on MTV with it like this." I laughed, "It doesn't look too bad. It just needs a wash and a little trim. Tell you what-I'll take you out tomorrow to get it done, on one condition." "What condition?" "That you go clubbing with us tonight." "I'll think about it." "Okay. One more thing, though, that I have to tell you." "Yeah?" "Zach came with me to Orlando." "Is he coming tonight?" "Yeah." "Then I'm not." "Stop being such a baby." "A baby?" "Yeah-you said yourself you must have cared for him or you wouldn't have punched him when you found out he cheated on you. He's really sorry, and can't stop sulking about it. Aren't you curious to find out if there really was something besides the sex?" "Not really." "Are you sure?" "No." Nick sat back down on the bench. "Its so hard. First I found out I was gay-then I got rejected by Kevin-then I lied to him to make him love me-then Zach came to confront me and then-I kissed him. Why did I kiss him?" "I don't know, but Zach's been asking himself the same question." "Really?" "Yeah, actually. Can't you at least talk to him?" "Maybe." "So will you go clubbing with us?" "Uhhh-okay!" "Get ready-we're leaving in twenty minutes." "Ack! That hardly even gives me enough time for my facials!" he faked a scream. For the time being, he seemed back in the swing of things. "Okay, an-y-way, Kev and I'll be back to pick you up then. Bye!" Nick had disappeared into another room and I heard the shower start to run. I took this as my exit cue and went back to Kev and AJ's house. When I arrived, I saw AJ and Howie sitting on the couches talking. When they saw me, both went ballistic. I was the subject of a tornado of hugs, high-fives and pats on the back. I emerged, five minutes later, a little disheveled. "Hey stranger," Howie said, sitting down on the couch. "Hey," I said back. "We didn't know if we were ever gonna see you again, especially after that tabloid fiasco," AJ said. "I didn't know either," I said, joining them to sit. "I did," said Howie, "Kevin told me last week." "And you didn't tell me?" AJ said, looking unconvincingly hurt. Howie shrugged. "So anyway, down to the real dirt-have guys even gotten it on yet?" AJ asked. "I never kiss and tell," I said, with a grin. "Is that a yes or a no, Romeo?" AJ asked. "What do you think?" "Hmmm," Howie said, sucking on his index finger and putting it into the air, as if to test the wind. "a No." "What? Why not?" I said, faking surprise. "Cuz your boyfriend told me you guys have only kissed." Howie said triumphantly. "Oh." I said sarcastically dejected. There was a little silence, when AJ got this mischievous look on his face. "So, Howie," he said, "What do you think?" "What do I think about what?" Howie asked faux-innocently, catching on to whatever joke AJ had in store. "Do you think Adam is-" "What?" I asked, confused. AJ continued. "Do you think he's more sex-flavored ice-cream or ice-cream flavored sex?" Howie was about to answer when I heard footsteps. I looked up and it was Kevin lookin' fine in a dark blue dress shirt and khakis. "How about--you wait for me to find out?" he said. It was a grand entrance and we all broke out in laughter. "Hey there Mr. Body Beautiful," I said, remembering an old nickname from a magazine interview. In the mood for flirting, I sashayed up to him and traced a finger from his navel to his lips. Then I pulled in for a kiss. Our lips were about to touch when we heard a knocking on the front door frame and then some clapping and catcalling. We both straightened (poor choice of words) up and looked to see Brian and a rejuvenated Nick laughing in the front doorway. I was glad to see Nick hadn't backed out. "Okay, let's go. Adam, Howie, let's go in my car and we'll go pick up Zach. Brian-you take your car with Nick and AJ," Kevin said, ever paternal. "We'll meet at the club in 20." I gave him credit for putting Nick and Zach in different cars-they should talk-but they didn't need to be thrown together in a uncomfortable situation. We all jumped in our respective cars. "So," I said to Kevin, "Where are you taking me?" "Club Firestone. Its a cool place." "Firestone, as in the tire shop? Ooo," I said, "So now when my parents ask, `Hey Adam, where did that nice boy take you on a date?' I'll respond, `We went to get our tires rotated.'" "Chill!" Kevin said, laughing. "They converted it. Now its a really nice dance club." Howie piped in. "It's a world-class night club with 13,000 square feet of entertainment housed in and on two levels and a quiet lounge and deck." "Okay Mr. Tour Guide. No more peeking at my magazines." Kevin said. "What do you mean?" I asked. "Kev's been searching for the right place to take you. He went to Border's and bought, like, every entertainment magazine in the store. He's been angsting for a week on where the perfect place was to take you. Its actually very adorable," Howie volunteered. "It certainly is!" I said, squeezing Kevin's knee. It caused him to swerve, and Howie and I laughed at him once he regained control. "This is going to earn you major brownie points, mister," I said. We pulled up to Zach's hotel, and Howie volunteered to summon him from the front desk. I was surprised he was so willing to be friendly to Zach. After all, I thought, think about the last time he saw him-the band was falling apart, in some ways, because of Zach. In a few minutes, Howie and Zach came running out. "Some girls spotted me!" Howie yelled. "Drive!" I turned to see about seven girls come running out and look to see where he had gone. Luckily, they weren't maniacs, and gave up when they saw the getaway car. We arrived at Club Firestone in no time. It was the perfect place, apart from being public, which just meant we had to be careful. For a moment, I worried about getting in, but hey, I thought, I was with two of the Backstreet Boys. Sure enough, the bouncer let us in with out so much as a reference to our ages. As we entered, I saw Brian, Nick and AJ already on the dance floor. I leaned over and whispered in Kevin's ear. "I don't really like to dance much..." "Well," he said, whispering back, "I would tell you that I don't like dancing either, but hey, half the civilized world knows I do." "The whole civilized world." "Well, you'll just have to learn to like it." He laughed and I followed him onto the dance floor. Everyone was sort of dancing independently anyway, so we didn't worry about "correct" gender partners. I drew in my breath when I saw Nick notice Zach and vice versa, but calmed when I saw Nick smile and Zach motion to the bar. They both left the floor. I got into the music, and enjoyed dancing for once-after all, it was with Kevin. I was learning that anything with Kevin could be fun. Besides, its not that I'm a bad dancer-I'm pretty good if I do say so myself-I'm just more likely to be the one in the corner having a deep conversation rather than out breakin' it down on the dance floor. I think a lot of it had to do with my closeted status during high school. I didn't let that part of me show, so I guess I was more cautious about letting other parts show, if that makes any sense at all. I remembered this dance step we used to do at camp dances in middle school. I whispered to Kevin to ask if he knew it. He nodded, so we readied ourselves. Kevin put up three fingers and counted down. At one, we dropped to the floor. Along to the beat of the music, we met in the middle grasping and letting go of each others hands, and bracing ourselves with the other arm to pop back up again. I guess it created a lot of attention, partially, because it was just a slick and well-performed blast from the past dance move and also because one of the people doing it was a Backstreet Boy. A circle formed around us. We continued on, flipping back and forth, starting some other break dancing moves, until the beads of sweat began to drip in our eyes. Both of us stopped right before it was too late and we would have screwed up, spoiling the effect. We headed over to the bar and ordered to ice waters. I knew enough not to drink after the terrible episode last week. "Nice moves," the bartender said, serving us. We thanked him, and sipped the water slowly. I looked around for Zach and Nick. Kevin must've know who I was looking for, because he said, "They're probably on the deck." I nodded. We finished our drinks in silence, and then Kevin led me towards the deck to find Nick and Zach. part 26 We found them sitting on the edge of the steps of the deck. Zach was holding Nick's hand, and Nick was looking up at Zach. It was most definitely a touching scene, but luckily, it could have been friends comforting each other to the stranger passing by. Nick noticed Kevin and I approaching and motioned for us to come over. "Hey you," Kevin said to Nick, "Look who made up!" Nick blushed. "Well, we're on speaking terms." "We decided," Zach said, and sighed, "to try and make it work and to-" "And to take it slow," Nick finished. "Aww!" I said, "Look it, they're already finishing each other's sentences." Zach hit me and we herded the newly reunited couple to the dance floor. Before, I forgot to mention anything about Zach's dancing. Its not that he's bad, but while he's dancing he jumps a lot and sort of moves his body to the music whatever direction it goes. Sometimes the effect is super cool. Sometimes its not. I was glad to see when it wasn't looking oh-so-cool, Nick calmed him down, and was teaching him to dance a little more traditionally. We all danced until about midnight, but left right before the deejay was going to ask the guys to do a song. Everyone else wanted to keep going. Kevin and I agreed we wanted to go back to the house. While Nick, Zach, AJ and Howie continued to cruise via Brian and his wheels, we headed back to the complex. The entire way back, I just stared at Kevin. It was dark out, and the stars were even visible. In Washington, the city lights and pollution make the night sky ruddy, and hide the stars. It was nice to be in a place where you could pick out the different constellations. I wanted to be an astronomer in sixth grade, so I memorized all the constellations, in English and Latin. I mumbled the names as we went zooming down I-4. We went through the gates and got to the house. Kevin parked and I followed him up to the front door. As he fumbled with the unlit lock, and I hugged him from behind. Kev got the door open, and he turned to return the hug and kiss me. I closed the door behind me and our lips met. I put his jaw in both my hands, and his arms wrapped around my waist. We walked, in this fashion to the bedroom. We carefully maneuvered up the two-stepped platform. Kevin pulled me down on top of him to lie on the bed. We ground into each other and I started to unbutton his shirt, but he stopped me. He sat up and slowly took off his shirt. The combination of the moonlight filtering in the window and his already perfect body was just too much. I pulled him back down and ran my fingers up his ribs. He lifted my t-shirt off and flung it across the room. His fingertips ran up my sides and I kissed him again. I looked into his eyes, and there was not only passion, but love, and trust. Pulling back, I kissed him lightly down his jawline and then down the side of his neck. I continued down the center of his torso, rubbing his abs and sides. I got to his navel, and licked round it slowly and lightly, hardly touching his skin. I began to resume my descent, but Kevin stopped me, and shook his head. "Not yet," he said. We kissed gently but passionately for quite sometime. His hands massaged my ba! ck as we laid on the bed together. I felt so secure. Resting my head on his stomach, I fell asleep as he stroked my hair. ------------------------------ I woke up, and for a moment I thought I was still in Provence. The light was just starting to come through the venetian blinds. The slats of light fell across Kevin's face. He was sleeping lightly, softly breathing. I stood there, my head on his chest, feeling the rhythm of his breathing bring my head slowly up and down. Man, I was lucky. I lifted my head carefully, and then the rest of my body. Quietly, I tip-toed to my room. The clock said it was six a.m. I pulled off my pants and went into the bathroom. It was a nice bathroom, and soon I was in a nice hot shower. The water woke me up and as soon as I was done washing my hair and body. I got out of the stall and dried off. Wiping the mirror condensation, I studied my jaw which was covered with stubble. I debated whether I should shave, but decided if I was going to have a boyfriend with a goatee, I was allowed to have some stubble. My hand slicked back my hair, and I decided I was going to need a haircut too. I found some boxers and nice vintage acid-wash jeans and pulled them on-no shirt-such were the joys of having no chance of the media showing up. I went to the kitchen and found it was fully stocked. I set up all the ingredients for my world famous pancakes, and set about starting. I got lost in the art of making the perfect golden brown pancake and the perfect sized slice of orange. Pancakes are the only thing I'm actually good at making-we're learned how in sixth grade home-ec and its stuck with me, (yes, girls AND boys had to take home-ec). Anything else cooked by me requires a microwave, a take-out menu, or, in the worst of attempts, a fire extinguisher. It was seven when I heard footsteps behind me. I turned, thinking it was Kevin, but instead, it was AJ, looking quite sleepy in his clothes from last night. "Morning," I said in a purposely sing-song voice. AJ just grumbled under his breath. "So how late were you guys out last night?" "I dunno," he said, rubbing his eyes. "Something like three. I'd still be asleep if your pancakes didn't smell so damn good. How long `til they're ready?" "Like, ten minutes," I said, putting the done pancakes in the oven. "Do me a favor and get some syrup and set the table for three-" "Four, actually." AJ corrected, sheepishly. "Oh," I said. "A conquest from last night?" AJ nodded and I went to my room and pulled on a shirt. Girls who have one night stands with Backstreet Boys cannot have that great judgment, no offense to her. What would stop her from telling the media that Kevin was, in actuality, in a gay relationship with the infamous Adam of the tabloid picture? I just hoped that AJ would cover for us. Walking into his room, I saw that Kevin was still asleep. I used my trademark wake-up kiss on the ear, and his eyes opened dreamily. "Morning, lover," I said. He smiled and kissed me on the lips sweetly. "Mmmm. Good way to wake up. What smells so good?" "My cologne?" "Your cologne smells like pancakes?" Kevin, said joking. "Oh, that-no, that's breakfast." "You made breakfast?" I nodded. "What a guy. He cooks, but does he clean?" "Don't push your luck!" "Okay, let's eat!" Kevin lifted himself up, but I pushed him back down. "First, I have to tell you something." "Sure-but can you make it quick? I'm hungry!" "Yeah-AJ brought a little friend home last night, so ixnay on the public displays of affection, k?" "I guess I can suffer through," he said, pulling me towards him. "One more for the road?" I nodded and we kissed. "Ewww! Morning breath!" I laughed and pulled him to stand up. I waited while he brushed his teeth and changed in the bathroom, behind closed doors. He emerged, and I led him to the kitchen. AJ had set the table, and the pancakes looked done. Kevin waved good morning to AJ, who winked back. "Can help with anything?" Kevin asked. "Yeah, actually. Could you pour some orange juice for everybody?" I asked. As Kevin took the orange juice out of the huge stainless steel fridge, a feminine figure wrapped in a white sheet appeared from the steps to AJ's floor. "Hey, babe," AJ said and motioned for the girl to sit at the table. He motioned to us. "This is Kevin, and that's our friend Adam who helps us with concept designs for all of our commercial stuff," he finished. It was a pretty nice excuse, I have to admit, so I waved and said, "Hi." Kevin glared at AJ. I could tell he wasn't all that happy. "And this is Amanda." "Nice to meet you guys," Amanda said. She smiled. I could tell, even through the mussed hair and up-all-night skin, she was actually very pretty. I smiled back and said, "Nice to meet you too. Will you join us for breakfast? I made pancakes." "Absolutely. I'm soo hungry." I served the pancakes and they disappeared pretty quickly between Kevin, AJ, and I with our growing boy appetites. Amanda came in a not to shabby fourth, eating impressively more than I had thought possible for someone with a waist that thin. She was actually really a nice, polite girl. She asked about my job, and I made up a whole lot of b.s. that sounded very official about the Millennium cover and she seemed satisfied. Kevin's hackles went back down, and he relaxed in her presence. I could tell he still wasn't happy, but at least he wasn't uncomfortable. We finished breakfast and I told them all about my plans for the day-how I was taking Nick to get a haircut. "That's good, cause he needs it." Kevin laughed. "Yeah, heard you weren't too happy about his public appearance with the `do." Kevin snorted. "He blows everything out of proportion. I just told him he could keep his hair like that if he wanted to look like a damn fool." "Oh, okay. I'm gonna get dressed. I'll say goodbye before I head out." I said, and headed back to my room. I heard AJ excusing himself and he ran after me. He tapped me on the shoulder. "Hey, Adam, thanks for playing along back there." "Welcome-anything to allow you to sack a beautiful young thing like that." "Hey-we didn't sleep together." "You didn't?" "Nah, she slept on the bed, I slept on the floor. Her ride deserted her at the club and I couldn't have just left her there. She's visiting from Connecticut and didn't know how to get back to her hotel, and it was getting late. I just offered my pad for the night. She accepted on the condition of no funny business. We'll find her hotel and all will be right with the world, okay?" "Okay," I said, patted him on the back, and went to get dressed. I kept on my jeans and found a red t-shirt that looked particularly nice with the jeans. I had just pulled it over my head when I heard a knocking on my door. "AJ?" I said, "What is it now?" I opened the door. It was Amanda. "Hey," she said, giggling. I mocked uncertainty. "You're not AJ, are you?" and then broke out laughing. "So how long have you guys been a couple?" she asked. Dammit. "What are you talking about?" I lied. "You and Kevin." "We're not-" "Well if you're not, maybe you should-because you two would make a damn cute pair." "Whatever," I said. "Okay, well, anyway, thanks for breakfast," she said, and walked away. I hated lying in general, but especially to such a nice girl. I felt pretty crappy for doing it, but grabbed my watch and wallet and tried to forget about it. I went by the kitchen, and saw Kevin doing the dishes. I sneaked up on him and kissed his neck. "Thanks for doin' the dishes. Where's AJ and Amanda?" "They left for her hotel about five minutes ago." "You know, Amanda knew about us," I said carefully. He spun around. "What? How?!?" "I dunno. Maybe she's just perceptive." "Maybe so, but we need to be careful from now on." "Wait-I thought we were being careful." "We need to be more careful," Kev said firmly. "If we ever want this to work on the long term we have to do it out of the public eye, you understand, right?" "I guess," I said, saddened. "What are you doing today?" "Actually, I have a meeting with the tour promoters, so its good you made other plans. How about dinner tonight?" "Yeah, if you don't think its too brazen," I said harshly. "Come on, we knew it would be like this, but for our love, I'm willing to make it work." "Okay," I said quietly. "I love you," Kevin said, kissing me on the forehead and giving me a hug. "Love you too," I replied. I disengaged, and said, looking at my watch, "Its eight! I gotta pick up Nick! Dinner tonight, though, right?" "Right!" "Call me later, okay." "Okay," he smiled. I ran across the lawn and got to Nick and Brian's door. Part 27 I knocked on the door and Brian answered. "Can Nick come out and play?" I asked sweetly. "I don't know young man, he has to does his chores first." Nick appeared at Brian's shoulder and said, "Aw, come on Dad, pleeease?" "Okay," Brian conceeded. It took about five seconds before we all broke up laughing. "Come on!" I said. Nick ran past me and jumped in the car in front of the house. "You driving?" "Better beleive it! Where are we going?" I gave him directions. We got there in about twenty minutes and parked. I led him to a store front dominated with frosted glass. Above the windows, in large, stylish lettering, the sign read "Spa Vida Aqua." Nick saw it and began to whine, "You're taking me to this pansy place?" "Shh," I said, "if the tiara fits..." "Hey!" Nick said, and punched me in the shoulder. "If you're going to be gay," I sighed and smiled, "you're gonna have to get used to sterotypes, okay, tough guy?" Nick sulked for a millisecond then opened the door to the spa and bounded in. I followed him and we found oursleves in the main entrance greeting area. We were greeted by a blonde man in all white clothes. A quick look around, and we saw that all the employees wore nothing but white. I approached the desk. "Hi. We have double haircut appointment for Adam Miller, at eight forty-five?" The man nodded and said, "Yes. Welcome to Spa Vida Aqua. I'm Vance. Would you care for something to drink?" "No thanks-but could you tell me if Alexa is in?" "She'll be in around twelve-thirty." "Okay thanks." "If you'd like to sit down, I'll arrange shampoos." Vance left and we sat down on the clear plastic molded mod chairs in the greeting area. "Who's Alexa?" Nick mouthed. "You can talk normally in here, you know. Um, Alexa's a cousin of mine. This is her place. She's been begging me to come visit her for a few years-so, I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone, if you don't mind?" "No," Nick said, relaxing visibly. Vance appeared and motioned for us to follow him. We were lead to a room with several hair-washing stations. Two women washed our hair and then wrapped our heads in towels. They led us to another room with lots of windows that looked out to a small park with fountains. A man approached us. He was tall, with olive coloring. He introduced himself in an Italian accent. "Hey, I'm Dominick. I understand you're Adam?" He asked me and I nodded and put out my hand. "Alexa's kin doesn't visit everyday, you know!" he joked. "And who is this?" he asked me, motioning to Nick. Nick offered his hand. "I'm Nick." "Nice to meet you. Does Nick have a last name, or is it like Madonna or Cher?" "Its just Nick," Nick giggled. Domick turned and exaggeratedely whispered to me, "Do you think he'll sign my CD?" Nick heard him, of course, which was the intention. "You know who I am?" "I don't live under a rock, okay?" "Okay." "Now let's get down to those haircuts. Its pretty obvious which one of you needs it worse!" He pointed at me, unsure, then spun around and pointed at Nick, "ding ding ding!" Nick laughed and said, "Is it that obvious?" "Obvious? Its more than obvious-its-its-well, very obvious. You know, I was watching MTV the other day and I saw this disasturous hair, and I thought to myself, `Dominick, what you could do for this poor boy!' and voila! There you are! Let's get started. Is there anything in particular you want me to do?" "Not really, whatever you want-something fairly normal, you know, sorta classic but stylish?" "Okay, we can do that!" We spent the next four hours with Dominick, and in the end, we both looked pretty good. Nick's hair was cut with a razor, and fell about his face nicely-and was significantly shorter. It had this little-boy-just-got-out-of-bed look that was absolutely adorable. My hair got a trim, and the front was left a little longer, with it all spiked up. With my wary acceptance, Dominick had bleached a few streaks in the front. It made me look sort of stylish-wild. I couldn't wait to see what Kevin thought. Just as Dominick was brushing the hair off of our shoulders, Alexa appeared in the door. "Adam!" she screamed and attacked me with hugs. "Hi there," I said, muffled. "That's Nick." "Nice to meet you!" she said. Alexa is in her mid-thirties, has wild red hair and can be quite overwhelming at times. "So how do you guys like your haircuts?" "Lots." I said. "Its really nice, thanks." Nick said politely, and meaning it. "So are you two..." Alexa trailed off and pointed her finger at me than at Nick. "Oh! Oh. No. He's just a friend." I said. "Oh, okay," Alex shrugged her shoulders. "You guys want to go to lunch?" I started to protest because of the time, but then saw that it was almost one. It was my turn to shrug. "Whatever you want," I said to Nick. "Absolutely," he said. "Okay, now that that's settled, let's go show off those great haircuts!" Alex said, and took both of us by the hand. She ended up taking us to a small cafe. We talked, but Alexa did the most talking. She told the story of how she got started in the salon business, and how the spa had been on E! Fashion Emergency, and a million other things. When we finished, she footed the bill, and we thanked her. She only let us go on the condition that we would be back to visit her before the boys left for the tour. We promised, and Nick drove me back to the complex. Nick went to meet up with Brian to shoot some hoops. I told him I'd join them after I changed into a more sporty outfit. The door to the house was open, so I ran on in, figuring Kevin had gotten out of the meeting early. Just as I got in, it started to storm, raining pretty hard. Something wasn't right, I thought immediately. This fact was confirmed when I heard moans of pleasure coming from Kevin's room-promoter's meeting my ass.