Date: Mon, 16 Aug 1999 21:27:24 -0700 (PDT)
From: Chase Donovon <chase_donovon@yahoo.com>
Subject: Pop Star

    ***Note: This story is completely fictional. I've
never met any of the real life versions of any of the
people mentioned, so I can't honestly speculate on
their sexualities, but the events I'm portraying all
come from my mind and nowhere else.
    
  This is the beginning of a series that follows my
first series, "Vida Loca", which can also be read on
the archive. This is a spin off, really. Enjoy!***


     I looked around the room, amazed. Who would ever
have believed that I'd end up at a party like this,
surrounded by so many celebrities? How was it
possible?
     Of course, I knew how it had happened. I just
still couldn't believe that it was reality and not a
dream I was having. My life had always been so dull
and so normal! How had I managed to become someone who
was standing in a place like this? With Madonna just
across the room? Half of the people at the party had
been people I was watching on MTV (during the ten
seconds a day they actually show music videos!) just a
few months earlier.
     One chance encounter can certainly change a
person's entire life. I'd never really believed that
until the day I met Ricky Martin in a men's room. That
had been the very instant my life had changed for
ever, though I hadn't realized it at the time.
     One night of great sex. That's all it was ever
supposed to be. How could one night of hot, passionate
sex with a gorgeous pop star really change the entire
course of a life?
     But it had. Not the sex, of course, though that
had been amazing. It was Ricky himself who'd changed
my attitude towards my life. The morning after our
incredible night together (and after a very nice round
of wake-up sex), Ricky had said something to me while
he was getting ready to leave to continue on his
promotional tour.
     "Life is short, man. I could be living in Puerto
Rico still, dreaming about singing and being famous,
but I'm not. I'm here. Sometimes I wonder what would
have happened to me if I'd never tried, if I'd given
in to doubts."
     Reality check. That made me think, really. I'd
always toyed with the fantasy of singing, but I'd
never really done much about it. I'd always figured
that those people who made it big in the music
business (or at anything, really) had been born
knowing that they were meant to do that, that they'd
never been uncertain about what course to take, that
it had been all worked out in advance somehow and
there'd been no doubts.
     After leaving the hotel that day, I took with me
more than the memory of really great sex with a really
hot guy. I went away with a new determination to make
things happen in my own life, even if I wasn't certain
I'd be a success.
     Now, here I was. Not that I was a success yet, of
course. I'd managed to get my foot in the door, that
was all. I'd made a demo that had got me a meeting
with a few record industry people and now I was in the
midst of recording my first album, having left college
behind to come to L.A.
     It hadn't been an easy road, though it was going
much faster than I'd expected, or had any right to
deserve. Still, the process of choosing which songs to
record, of writing a few of my own, and doing the
actual work in the recording studio was hectic and I'd
been glad when I got the invite to this party for some
executive or another. It gave me a chance to relax and
take a break from things.
     What I hadn't expected was the magnitude of stars
who were in attendance. I certainly hadn't been
prepared to travel in this circle so quickly. Not, to
keep myself grounded in reality, that any of them knew
who the hell I was- yet!
     Then, through the crowd surrounding Madonna, I
spotted him. Ricky. I made my way slowly towards him,
feeling a little hesitant since it had been months and
he probably wouldn't remember a guy from a one night
stand. He was a star, after all, he'd probably had
several such nights. Mostly, though, I was amused,
wondering what he'd think if he did recognize me. 
     "-in Malibu for the weekend," Ricky was saying to
Madonna as I walked up. There was no need to worry
about intruding on a private conversation, since the
two were surrounded by many people, some of whom I
recognized easily.
     I felt a small jolt when Madonna turned her eyes
towards me for a moment and looked me up and down, but
she didn't linger. After all, I wasn't exactly her
type, from what I'd heard. She preferred Latin men.
Smart woman!
     Ricky followed her gaze, as did several others.
The only eyes I met, though, were Ricky's. I smiled as
I saw hesitation cross his face. Obviously, I struck
some chord in his mind, but he couldn't place me. He
turned back to his conversation with Madonna, but
every once in awhile his eyes would flicker back
towards me for a moment or two. I could see from his
eyes that he was still trying to place me.
     Finally, I turned and made my way to the bar for
another glass of champagne. If Ricky wanted to talk to
me, he'd find me, I figured. I continued looking
around the room, recognizing more and more stars with
each turn of my head.
     "Hey," I heard a voice say next to me, almost in
my ear. I turned and smiled at a good looking guy with
black hair and a very attractive five o'clock shadow,
wearing a gray sweater and khaki pants. Very casual
for a formal party, I reflected, but then most of the
people in the room were dressed similarly. In fact, I
was starting to feel a little too dressed up myself. 
He didn't look familiar, really, but in an odd way I
felt I should know who he was.
     "Hi," I smiled back. 
     "Some party, huh? I hate these things," he
sighed, shaking his head.
     "So why come?" I asked, raising my eyebrows
questioningly as I took a sip of my drink.
     "It's an obligation. Goes with the territory,
like signing autographs and doing those pathetic guest
shots on MTV," he grinned. "Isn't that why you're
here?"
     "Yeah, I guess. But I'm still new at all of this,
so I haven't reached the jaded stage yet," I laughed.
     "Oh, that explains why I've never seen you
around. What's your name?"
     "Chase Donovon. I'm working on my debut album for
RCA," I explained.
     "Oh? Congratulations, then. Welcome to the rat
race," he smiled.
     "Thanks. Um... I didn't get your name?" I said.
He looked surprised, and I knew then that he
definitely was someone I  should have recognized.
     "Oh, sorry. I'm Jordan Knight," he smiled,
sticking out a hand. I shook it and smiled inwardly.
Ah, the former New Kid on the Block who'd made a
recent comeback! I flashed back to all the times I'd
made fun of the New Kids, my sister's favorite group,
as a child and suppressed a laugh when I remembered
sneaking into her room to look through some of those
cheap 'biography' books she had on the band for some
hot pictures of the guys.
     "Nice to meet you. Now I recognize you," I
smiled. He was very good looking, that was certain.
And, from the looks of things, he had a great body. He
hadn't broken eye contact, either, and had let his
hand linger in mine a second longer than was called
for. All good signs, I reflected.
     "So, you sing? Or are you a musician?" Jordan
asked. 
     "I sing. I think I'm being described as a
Backstreet Boy meets Elton John. Something like that,
anyway. I don't know, I just sing. Hopefully someone
out there will want to listen," I grinned.
     "I'm sure you'll have all the pre-teen girls
swarming the stores for your CDs. Ready for that?"
Jordan smiled, his eyes taking in my looks. I fit the
description of a blonde California surfer boy, though
I'd never even been on a surf board. For a second I
didn't answer him, I was too busy looking back into
his eyes and realizing just how sexy they were.
     "I guess. Maybe you could give me some pointers
on how to deal with it?" I suggested, giving him an
opening I hoped he'd take. 
     "I'd love to. We'll have to get together and talk
about it some night," Jordan said, taking a gulp from
his drink without taking his eyes from mine. 
     "Sounds great. If you're not too busy, of
course," I replied. Before Jordan could answer, I felt
a tap on my shoulder and turned around. It was Ricky.
     "Excuse me. Can I talk to you for a moment?"
Ricky asked. I felt a slight flutter in my stomach,
having those eyes looking directly into mine once
again and being close enough to smell the warm, soft
scent of his body so close to mine.
     "Sure. I'll catch up to you in a little while,
Jordan," I called over my shoulder, smiling. Jordan
nodded, but I noticed a slight look of disappointment
in his eyes. 
     I followed Ricky to an empty table in a corner of
the room and sat down in the chair he pulled out for
me. He sat next to me and looked at me with open
surprise.
     "Chase?"
     "You remember my name," I smiled, surprised
myself. "How've you been?"
     "Fine. And of course I remember your name. That
was an incredible night. But what.." Ricky stopped and
looked a little at a loss for words.
     "What the hell am I doing here?" I laughed,
supplying him with the right phrase. "I was invited,
don't worry. I haven't tracked you down to stalk you
or anything like that."
     Ricky grinned and shook his head. "Of course you
haven't. So what are you doing here, though?"
     "I'm recording with RCA."
     "That's great! Congratulations," Ricky said.
"Wow. This really is a surprise. I didn't think I'd
ever see you again, unless maybe I got booked at that
mall sometime."
     "Look, Ricky, if you're worried that I think
we're going to have a relationship going on just
because of that night, don't." I came to the point,
seeing the worry in his eyes.
     "Oh, I wasn't thinking that!" Ricky said quickly.
     "Yes, you were. You thought you'd never see me
again, and now suddenly here I am. I know exactly what
you're thinking, because I'd be thinking the same
thing. But don't worry about it. Like you said, it was
a great night. Maybe we can do it again sometime. But
it doesn't have to be anything more than that. I'm
certainly not ready for anything serious. Especially
now that I'm bound to have groupies!" I joked.
     Ricky laughed and I could see the relief in his
face. "Yeah, I'm sure you'll have plenty of those.
Especially if they knew what you were like in the
bedroom."
     "Thanks."
     "So, I guess I'll be seeing you around then? I've
got a date tonight or we could have-"
     "Don't worry about it. I think I've got a date
tonight, too," I said, searching the crowd for Jordan.
There he was, right where we'd left him, and looking
in our direction, too.
     "Well, have fun then. And I'll definitely be
seeing you around," Ricky stood up and winked before
shaking my hand formally.
     "Yeah. I'll look forward to that," I said
honestly. I watched Ricky walk away, mingling in with
the crowd. I was flattered that he'd remembered me at
all and very pleased with the thought of continuing a
casual relationship with him now that we were
co-workers of sorts.
     "Hey. Mind if I sit down?" Jordan asked. I jumped
a little, surprised to find him standing next to me.
     "Not at all!" I said, indicating Ricky's vacated
chair.
     "So, you and Ricky old friends or something?"
Jordan asked as he sat down. I noticed that he sat on
the edge of the chair so that his legs were almost
touching mine and our faces were close together.
     "We met a few months ago," I said, giving no
further explanation.
     "So I have no chance with you, then?" Jordan
asked softly. I smiled, happy to have my suspicions
confirmed.
     "Ricky's just a friend. In fact, he's got a date
tonight." I said, meeting Jordan's eyes.
     "So I do have a chance with you?" I looked at
Jordan and suddenly found myself laughing. He looked
surprised and leaned back a little in his chair.
     "Does that mean no?"
     "No! I'm sorry, Jordan. It's not that. I just had
this image of my sister's face if she ever found out
that her favorite New Kid, the one she was going to
marry, was trying to pick up her brother!"
     "Imagine her face if her favorite New Kid succeed
at picking up her brother," Jordan smiled. "Is he?
Succeeding, I mean."
     "Oh, most definitely, I'd say," I smiled and
touched his hand gently under the table.
     "Should we get out of here?" Jordan asked, his
warm breath on my face, smelling faintly of mint.
     "Unless you want to put on a floor show," I said.
     "Why should we make everyone that jealous?"
Jordan laughed. "Come on, let's go."
     As I followed him across the room towards the
exit, my mind was filled with many things. One, as I'd
said, was that I was about to make one of my sister's
teen dreams come true- for me! Mostly, though, I was
thinking how much I was going to love my attempt at
pop stardom, and all the perks that came with it.


 **** To be continued. I hope all of you who've been
writing me about continuing Vida Loca won't be too
disappointed with the new direction I've taken the
story in. Ricky will still feature in this series, he
just won't be the focus. There are lots of hot guys in
the music biz, though, so why limit ourselves? 

	Please send ANY suggestions about the story
(including any stars you'd like to see in the
following parts!) to chase_donovon@yahoo.com. Thanks!!