"How dare that little shit have the guts to set foot here again?" Naila
demanded fiercely as she violently swung the door open to her hotel room. "I ought to
knock his teeth in!"
"Chill baby-chill!" Kevin hushed, attempting to sedate his rambunctious
girlfriend before she could give herself a heart attach "Just calm down. He only came to
wish her a happy birthday... The boy does have a right to see his girlfriend on her
birthday"
Naila turned around and glared at him spitefully "Don't you even dare take
his side on this! I strictly forbade him from seeing her again- and what does he do? He
shows up without warning, and I'm left with one heck of a predicament on my hands! I'm
gonna have a hell of a time trying to pry them apart now..."
With a sly grin on his face, Kevin stepped up to the wrathful girl and in one
swift move, swooped her up in his strong arms. Her eyes grew wide with worry as she clung on to his
neck for dear life. "No worries, ok?" he whispered before taking her in for a feverish
embrace.
His tongue wildly exploring the inside of her mouth, Kevin began to stumble
backwards; pushing her down to the bed. "You're so sexy when you're mad" he
breathed passionately before once again engulfing his lips in her own.
Losing track of all her senses, Naila let out a pleasured moan as his hands savagely
roamed her body. With all her recent mood swings, it had been some time since she'd last let him make love to her. She'd almost forgotten how good it felt to have his strong body pressed against hers.
She could feel the cold of his hands filter through her dark denim flares
as he began to unzip her pants. Before she knew it, they were off, and in a crumpled heap
on the floor.
"God I love you" Kevin panted huskily, as his free hand traveled up his lovers shirt,
messaging every inch of her smooth bare skin.
Just as he was about to reach around to remove her lace bra, Naila's eyes
flew open.
"No" she panicked, grabbing hold of his hands and restraining them.
Kevin looked at her oddly. "What is it?" he asked, bewildered.
"I'm not in the mood" she lied, rolling out from under him.
He watched her button up her blouse, his jaw practically hanging on the
floor. Hadn't she heard of giving a man blue balls?... He didn't even bother asking why.
"All right" he sighed, combing his fingers through his lengthening charcoal locks.
Naila forced a grin on her face, before shamefully lowering her eyes. "I'm
gonna go freshen up" she murmured, stepping in to the washroom. Within seconds, she
burst in to tears and collapsed on the toilet seat. It's not that she didn't want Kevin, but
how could she possible let him see her in this condition? She was far from being satisfied
with her physical appearance- which only created psychological barriers so painful, that
she couldn't even bear to watch her own reflection in the mirror. She was just plain
disgusted with herself.
"I'm phoning room service- is there anything you want baby?" Kevin's voice
blared across the walls and into her thoughts.
"No!" she hollered back. The last thing she needed now was food...
**Meanwhile**
Still in shock, Laurel paced around the room nervously biting her nails.
She couldn't believe that Michael would just show up like that! Just pop up, 'poof', out of
the blue! God, she could kill him. She'd almost entirely forgotten about him, and she
figured he'd done the same. Well, at least that's what she thoughts until now...
"You seem so happy to see me" he chortled sarcastically. "I thought you'd be
pleased to know I remembered your birthday."
"Michael, I am happy you remembered" she guarantied, trying to act
as rational as possible "But-ugh!"
Sighing, she plopped down next to him on the couch and warmly placed her hand
on his leg "It's just that I've been so busy lately, and things have been chaotic, and I
haven't even had any time for myself, and..."
"And I'm not important enough to fit in to your busy schedule, is that it?" he
said coarsely, interrupting her babbling.
Laurel shook her head "Mike, you know that isn't true" she said, knowing full
well how right he actually was.
"That's Ok" he snapped, standing up and grabbing his duffel bag and
swinging it over his shoulder "At least we know where your priorities lie"
Those words hit Laurel like a ton of bricks. He sure knew how to hit em'
where it hurt.
"That's not true" she denied again "Naila wo-"
"What about Naila, huh?" he yelled, getting more and more infuriated by his suposed girlfriends behavior "You never cared what Naila thought before, why care now?"
"But Mike-"
"Just drop it!" he snarled, reaching for the handle and throwing the door
open. Before he stepped out, he turned back and looked her up and down with an
venomous glare "Happy Birthday" he spat, slamming the door as he walked out of her life
forever.
A lump built in Laurel's throat as the impact of his departure resonated in her
mind. She never would have imagined for him to react this way. Michael had
always been to apathetic about anything and everything... For a person as impassive as
him to be so upset, she must really have crushed him!
"Wait!" she yelled, jumping to her feet and dashing for the door.
"Mike, wait!" she pleaded as she morosely watched the elevator doors slide shut.
She blinked hard, feeling her delicate heart shatter in to a million pieces. She
choked back tears as she glumly began making her way back to her room.
"Is anything the matter?"
Hearing an unexpected voice, Laurel looked up from her keys only to meet
the most mesmerizing pair of sapphire eyes she's ever had the privilege of gazing in to.
"Hey, are you Ok?" Rick queried, taking a few worried steps forward and
placing a concerned hand on her shoulder. He had heard some yelling in the hall earlier
and came out to investigate what he expected to be a brawl. Instead he found Laurel-
Regaining her composure, Laurel quickly pushed down any sign of
melancholy that she might have been displaying. "Nothing- I'm fine" she croaked "It's
Ok"
"Good! You had me worried there for a sec" he winked sweetly. Laurel
grinned, and was about to open her mouth to speak when she was cut off.
"Oh geez, I almost forgot" he exclaimed; smacking himself on the forehead.
Laurel's brow arched "Forgot what?"
Grabbing her wrist, Rick pulled Laurel in to his room and kicked the door
closed with his foot.
"What's going on?" Laurel asked, sitting down on the bed, watching him
scurry around like a chicken with his head cut off.
"I remember now!" he cried, quickly disappearing to the washroom, only to
reappear a few seconds later.
His hands were kept behind his back, and he tried not to act too anxious as he
walked over to her.
"I-um-I wanted to give this to your earlier, but I-um-I never got around to it" he
said, hardly managing to stammer out those few words. "Here"
With an intrigued smile on her face, Laurel reached out a took the parcel
that was being extended to her.
"You really shouldn't have..." she said, eagerly plucking out the silky sheets from
the petite bag.
Her hand reached in, grabbing hold of something soft and fluffy. With out hesitation, she
pulled it out and gasped "Oh my God!" she gushed adoringly at the adorable Teddy-Bear
"It's so cute! I love it! Oh, Rick. Thank you!"
"Read the note" Rick insisted anxiously.
Laurel giggled, delicately removing the small card from the bear. He had sure
gone to a lot of trouble for this... Her finger slipped in, rapidly cutting open the envelop.
She quickly took out the card, not even taking the time to glance at the cover before unfolding it.
"Rick..." she trailed, her voice catching in her throat. Her eyes glissened as
they traveled down the page; Laurel breathlessly continuing to read the letter.
If I could count times I've dreamt of something else;
Something I didn't know or couldn't know.
If I could believe in dreams,
Then dreams would be so different,
I'd dream a dream of you.
I never knew I could feel this way,
Or want something to believe,
I didn't believe it was true
Until the day I met you
(Authors Note: Once again, this was written by the real Rick.
Bravo!)
Laurel fought back tears as the beautiful poem replayed itself in her head. No
one had ever done anything like this for her...
"Like it?" he inquired optimistically.
"Oh Rick" Laurel sighed dreamily "It's absolutely magnificent!... Th-"
Before yet another word of praise could leave her lips, Rick came up to her and
hugged her tightly.
"I'm so glad you like it" he said with relief.
Just as she was going to rest her head on his shoulder, he let go.
"I'm proud of it myself" he confessed modestly, taking back the note from her.
"It just came to me earlier, and wanted someone else's approval. I haven't had the
time to finish it yet but-"
"Approval?" Laurel echoed, still not fully grasping what he was trying to
communicate.
"Yes!" he smiled enthusiastically, "Miss. Miller gave me a deadline for my
demo-tape, and so I had to rush- I figured you'd be the perfect judge. Thanks."
Laurel just nodded, still dazed over what happened. Clearly Rick was
completely oblivious to her misinterpretation of the situation, and she intended to keep it
that way! What a fool she had made of herself! She looked down at her watch: 12:01 AM.
At least God had been good enough to keep things well up to the end of her Birthday...
**The Next Day**
With a fatigued groan, Sheridan tensed her muscles like a prowling
feline and, letting out a boisterous yawn, awoke from her peaceful slumber.
"Sleep well?" inquired the virile voice laying at her side.
"Mmmmm" she moaned, curling cozily up against his warm body.
Feeling his soft finger tips graze her flesh, she couldn't help but reminisce on last
nights events.
..."The party's canceled, but we can still do something" suggested
Justin with one of those trademark grins. Never being one to turn down a date, Sheridan
didn't hesitate agreeing.
They returned to his hotel room, and it didn't take long before the two engaged in a
heated make out session. Clothes started pealing, hands started feeling... And before they
knew it, the bed was pounding so hard against the wall, they could almost wake the dead!
..."I'm going to take a shower" Justin announced, rolling out from the
mangled sheets.
"Okay" Sheridan said, pulling the cover over her nude body and snuggling in
to the cushy pillow.
Justin smiled. God, she was so damn sexy! Her aura alone was enticing
enough to make him wanna fuck her all over again... "Feel free to order room service" he
said, walking in to the washroom "Sex always makes me hungry. Especially good sex!"
Sheridan laughed "Good. Then I'll ask em' to send in the cavalry"
"Good idea!" joked Justin, before turning on the water.
Sheridan was extremely tempted to join him as the thought of hot water
cascading down his perfectly chiseled frame penetrated her mind. But she quickly dismissed the
idea, convincing herself that it might just be a little too frisky for the first date. She
giggle. First date?! She could hardly believe it! I mean, she wasn't usually like this. It
generally took a few months of official boyfriend/girlfriend status before she would
even consider going this far. Not that she had any regrets... Justin was
undoubtedly the best she'd ever had! All those years of pelvic thrusting up on stage had
certainly paid off wonderfully...
She giggled again. It had been a while since she'd last felt so relaxed. Her constant
bickering with Nick had completely drained her of all her energy; rendering her cold and
antagonistic. The absolute opposite of who she really was. A constant feel of dejection
swallowed her whole whenever she found herself in the same room as her former-best
friend. She still blamed it all on Felicity! Nick always gets like this when he's in a
relationship, and with Felicity's constant smothering, it only got worse. She only hoped
that Nick would soon come to his senses and realize just how wrong their being together
really was...
She checked her watched "Oh crap!" she gasped. It was 9:04 AM, and the
buses were leaving for the next venue in 56 minutes. Quickly, she garnered up her
discarded clothes and rapidly dressed herself. As she grabbed her purse, she realized that
Justin was still in the shower.
So she reached in her bag, and pulled out a small piece of paper.
"Dear Justin," she wrote
"I had to go back to the hotel before they left without me. (Believe me; they
would)
Thanks for the great time. I hope we can do this again soon.
Gimme a call, or a page whenever you can.
Kisses,
Sheridanxxx"
And with that, she disappeared.
Moments later, Justin emerged from the bathroom with a towel wrapped
around his waist. He spotted the note and read it. Shrugging, he walked over to the chair
and picked up his cell.
"Hello J?... Yeah, she just left..."
**The Previous Night**
"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow Kristy! I had a blast..." I hollered back
in to the now empty hall. Due to Michael's unexpected visit, our plans of going out to a
restaurant for dinner had to be put on hiatus. And seeing as how our evening was now free, Kristy
and I decided it would be nice to just go out and get a bite to eat on our own. And so we
did...
"Baby, I'm back" I sang as I shut the door behind myself.
I turned around, and to my utter astonishment, the room was pitch black.
"Nick?" I called out, cautiously depositing my keys on the table "Nick? Are you
here?"
I felt chills of terror run up my spine as I took one uncertain step forward.
A damp hand set itself on my shoulder; making me jump five feet in the air
as I let out a high pitched shriek powerful enough to shatter glass!
"Jesus Nick!" I yelled, breathing heavily as I frantically reached for the
switch "You scared the daylight out of me!"
The room filled with light, and I heard Nick let out a loud, irritated grunt.
I turned to look at him in dismay.
His forearm covered his eyes; his shoulders arched; his forehead wrinkled, and, in
his right hand, he held a small shooter.
"Nick!" I gasped "Have you been drinking?"
Still squinting, Nick let his arm fall from his face. His eyes were beet red and
his pupils were but small black specks.
"You were out damn long"
I looked at him oddly. What did it matter how long I was out? "Nick, go to
bed! You're drunk"
"Shut up!" he barked, unexpectedly jerking forward; sending my heart
leaping in to my throat. "Don't lie to me. I know who you were out with? I...."
Before he could say anything else, my phone went off and I thanked God for it. I
really had no clue what had gotten in to him, but I sure as hell wasn't looking forward to
finding out.
"Hello?" I answered, creating prudent space between myself and Nick.
"Hey Felicity, it's me..."
With a bittered glare, Nick watched as Eli completed her call. She appeared
awfully excited about something, and it didn't please him. Somehow, the thought of her
being happy about anything didn't thrill him all that much...
"...Oh my gosh... Thank you... Thank you so much...."
Dropping the phone, I spun around and ecstatically threw my arms around Nick's
neck.
"Baby, you'll never guess what?" I squeaked, squeezing him tightly.
I felt his hands come around and place themselves on my stomach.
"What the hell was that all about?" he demanded, shoving me off of him.
Slightly losing my balance, I stumbled back a few steps and looked at him in
complete astonishment. He'd actually pushed me! His eyes were glacial and unapologetic.
The impact of his gesture refused to sink in, and I somehow managed to stammer out my answer.
"It- It was Dawn" I began, my eyes still aimlessly probing his for any sign of
warmth "Dawn just called to say that she booked Rick and I to present at the Much Music
Video Awards in Toronto after tomorrow. It's a little last minute, but the spot just opened up
and...."
"Okay- That's fine!" Nick butted in rudely.
He turned around and headed for the mini-bar; popping open yet another bottle of
hard liquor.
His face scrunched as his lips parted from the bottle top "Hope you have a ball!" he
slurred "I'm going to bed."
I watched him maneuver around the bed, only to plop down on it moments
later. He was still fully dressed when he dozed off in to a deep sleep. His behavior
towards me that evening was somewhat out of the ordinary. He just seemed so mad, and I
hadn't the faintest idea why! Perhaps something had happened to upset him, and I was the
only one around he could lash out at.
Either way, it worried me. Things had been looking up for the both of us lately, and the
last thing I wanted now was to have yet another problem on my hands.
**The Next Morning At 10:08 AM**
The whole crew was assembled in the hotel lobby as we all impatiently
awaited our missing "member". No one knew where Sheridan was. The last anyone
had heard from her was the night before, when she informed us about her date with
Justin.
"I say we just leave her here" Nick declared, still angry with her; his slight
hangover only aggravating his temper "That would teach her"
"We'll give her a few more minutes" Howie proposed with a vacuous
expression on his gentle face. He was observing Dawn as she spoke privately to Eli and
Rick. The woman had been acting bizarre lately, and she absolutely refused to let him in
on it. Every time he attempted to ask how she was holding up, she immediately shot him
down like a clay pigeon! And it worried him, because she was using denial to shield
herself from reality. And there's nothing worse than to forgo the truth...
On his part, A.J was attentively watching Lyss slip her juice fruit between her
crimson lips, and slowly begin to chew. Feeling his watch, she turned to look at him. He
strived for a smile, but she just humphed and crossed her arms angrily over her chest as
she looked away.
'Ouch' he thought. She sure knew how to grab a man by his balls!
Summing up all his courage, he walked stalwartly over to where she was sitting
"Is there anything I can do for you?..." Alyssa asked snootily as she got out of
her chair and turned her heals on him. She was still upset with him for acting so absurdly
jealous over her friendship with J.C.
Before she could walk away, A.J grabbed her arm and pulled her to his chest.
"What are you doing? Let me go Al-" before she could compete her sentence,
A.J took her face in to his palms and lustfully pressed his lips against her own, parting
them fiercely with his tongue. Her resistance fizzled within seconds, and she once more found
herself under his mercy.
"I'm sorry" he said as they split apart "I'm sorry I've been such a jerk. Forgive
me?"
Alyssa pretend to think hard. "Well, I don't know..." she trailed, wrapping her
arms around his neck, as he placed his on her waist "Maybe if you kiss me again, I'll
consider it"
"Anything my baby girl wants" A.J grinned, before once again taking her in
for a deep embrace.
"DING!"
Hearing the elevator doors open, everyone spun around.
Sheridan emerged from it with her luggage's pilled under her arms
"God, I'm so sorry I'm late you guys" she apologized, passing her items to the bus
boy "My alarm didn't go off, so I slept in"
"That's Ok" Brian smiled. He was the only one that didn't seem bothered to
wait.
He looked away and his eyes got a glimpse of Kristy. She was trying to lift all her bags so
that they could leave. But since girls aren't exactly renown for packing light, he walked
over to her.
"Here" he offered, removing one of the parcels from her hands "Let me help you
with those"
"Thanks" she smiled, as the two followed their body guards out to the buses
through the private exit so that they wouldn't be mobbed by fans.
"I'm going to have one heck of a trip" Kristy sneakered as she watched Brian
store her belongings. He sure did look good doing physical activity.
"What do you mean?" he asked, slamming the cargo lid shut.
She rolled her eyes "Kev's coming on board with Naila, A.J too... Possibly
Dawn, since she wants to talk to us about some business, and Howie will most likely
fallow... We'll be swamped, and I'll be stuck in the middle"
"Well why don't you ride with me?" Brian suggested, then blushed at his
inappropriate choice of words. "Uh, I mean, on our bus" he chuckled, trying to laugh it off.
"That'd be awesome. Thanks" Kristy accepted eagerly.
Soon after, they departed with only Brian, Kristy, Nick, Eli and Sheridan
traveling in the Backstreet bus. They were off to the next venue. But the question was;
would either be able to survive the voyage?...
