The heat in Manhattan had reached a high of 101 degrees for the first time in 5 years. All around people could be seen trying to find ways to get relief. Children had opened fire hydrants. Sidewalk vendors were making a bundle on cool drinks. And many people could be seen with umbrellas without a sign of rain in sight.

Lacey Chamberlain was sitting on her front stoop on W. 54th St. waiting for the cab that she had called almost an hour ago. Her long blond hair was thrown up in a sloppy ponytail, and sunglasses affixed to catch the rest that had fallen along her neck. Along side her was her duffel bag filled with her dance attire, and of course her numerous Cd's which took up the most space. This is the day she had been anticipating for a month. Her love of dance had brought many things to her life. The awards from Juliard, her first look at Broadway that she had dreamed of, since she was a little girl back home in Philadelphia, and especially the love that she had found with Jacob Taylor. Jacob had been her first real love. She had met him at a try-out, an aspiring dancer himself. They had shared their hopes and dreams of stardom together. Until he got his break, and Lacey was left in the wings.

He had made trips all over Europe with the touring troop from New York City. That is when he met her She could still recall the phone call she got from him that cold December night.

"Lacey, It's Jake." The machine had just picked up the call when she opened the door.

"Jake", "How are you"? "I almost missed your call" Lacey said. Almost out of breath. "It just started to snow for the first time tonight, it's beautiful, you should see it".

"That's nice" Jake answered. "Actually, that is why I am calling". He said. "I don't know when I am going to make it home".

"Well I was hoping you would make it home for the holidays". Lacey had replied.

"Lacey, I don't know how to say this to you, but to say it". Jake said.

There had been a moment of silence. Lacey was pondering what he might have to do, that would delay him from coming home. They always enjoyed their time together at the holidays. "Is they're a conflict with scheduling?" she asked him.

He was silent. "No, Lacey", He began. "I'm not coming home because," "I've met someone".

Lacey had been lost in her daydream when the sound of a horn returned her to reality. "You call a cab?" asked the scruffy older man behind the wheel.

"Yea, about an hour ago" Lacey said as she looked at her watch.

"Well when it's hot, nobody wants to walk". The driver said. "Including you". He continued. "So if you don't mind, I have a busy day ma'am."

Lacey stood up, grabbed her bag, and opened the door of the yellow taxicab.

"Need any help?" asked the driver. "Nope, I've learned to travel light. Lacey replied.

She hopped onto the cab, and closed the door. "Where to?" asked the driver.

"JFK". Lacey replied.

The traffic of Manhattan in midday was always bad. Even on a good day, you could be stuck in traffic on the same street for half an hour.

"Which terminal are you leaving from?" the cab driver asked. Lacey rummaged through her bag, and found her ticket. She pushed her sunglasses onto her head, and looked at the boarding pass. "Um, American Airlines terminal, gate12." She said.

The taxicab pulled up to the curb, and Lacey opened the door. "That'll be $12.50." the driver stated. "$12.50?, That's highway robbery. Lacey exclaimed, as she pulled a twenty-dollar bill from her wallet. "Well somebody has to keep New York in business". He replied. "Yea" Lacey said as she got out of the cab. "Have a good trip". The driver said to Lacey. "Thanks" she said, and smiled at the old man.

Lacey made her way to the terminal. She went to the ticket counter, and hoisted her bag onto the baggage rack. "Identification please?" the clerk asked. She handed over her ID, and took a look around at everything that was going on around her. She spotted a little shop and decided to go find something to read. "Your flight will be start boarding in thirty minutes Miss." the clerk said and handed Lacey back her ID. "Flight 4425 to Orlando."

Lacey looked through all the magazines. She finally decided on the latest editions of Cosmo, and Rolling Stone. Lacey paid for her purchases, and was exiting the store, when she heard the call for her flight. "Now boarding at gate 12, Flight 4425 to Orlando Florida." The loud voice boomed over the airport loudspeakers. "Finally". She said to herself.

Going to Orlando was the change that she needed. After the breakup with Jake, she lost herself, and her passion for dancing. Till one day when her old choreographer stopped her in the hall of the Beacon Theater after a performance.

"Lacey!" Bobby Shaw yelled, as he caught up with her. "What the hell is wrong with you?" "What kind of crap was that?" he said.

"What are you talking about?" Lacey said to him seething with anger.

"You call that dancing?" Bobby replied with sarcasm. "You used to be able to dance!" he exclaimed.

"What is that supposed to mean?" she asked him.

"Nobody I know was as ever as good as you, now people can dance circles around you." Bobby replied.

"You're crazy" she snapped back at him."

"No, I think you are the crazy one."He said. "I know that the whole thing with Jake hurt you, but you have a talent like no one else." He continued. "Don't waste it on him, he's not worth it." He finally said.

It was those words that made her realize that he was right. She decided to forget about him, and throw herself into her dance with everything she had. She went on countless numbers of auditions, and decided if she was going to do it right, she had better get an agent. Bobby had offered his services to her. She trusted him, and they were friends.

That is how Orlando came into the picture. Bobby had made many friends in his years in entertainment, and knew quite a few people at record companies, and had managed to get Lacey an audition for a music video. It was her forte' and Bobby knew it.

Lacey picked up her backpack, and magazines, then made her way to the gate. She stood in line forever it seemed, when they opened the walkway to the airplane. She boarded and started to look for her seat. She pulled out her boarding pass, and looked at the seat number. 16f. She sat down, and made herself comfortable.

"Excuse me, but I think you are sitting in my seat."

Lacey heard a voice and looked up. All she saw were two piercing green eyes looking down at her.

"Are you sure?" she said to him.

"I'm pretty sure." He said to her. "I sometimes get airsick, and I always request a window seat". He said with a little smile.

"Oh, I see." she replied, and got up so he could move in next to her. "Well I hope you don't have to travel too much" she said

"Actually I do" he said, "But as long as I have my window seat, I'm pretty OK." He answered with a little of a chuckle.

Lacey noticed how good-looking this man was. He had short thick black hair, a very strong chin, and the greenest eyes she had ever seen on a man. He was obviously tall because she had to look up to answer him. His voice fit his looks. Very sexy and very kind with a bit of a Southern accent she thought.

"My name is Kevin." He said as he extended his hand. She took it, and replied. "My name is Lacey."

Welcome to flight 4425 non-stop to Orlando, Florida. The voice of the captain came over the speakers in the cabin of the airplane. It is now 2:45, and we should be arriving in Orlando at 4:00. Thankyou for flying American Airlines, and enjoy your flight.

"Yea, the captain said 4 o'clock." The passenger next to Lacey was talking into his portable phone. "Just don't forget about me this time" he said to the person on the other end.". He closed his phone. "This always happens to me when I fly." He said.

Lacey was busy with her nose in a magazine. "Oh, I'm sorry." "Did you say something to me?" She asked looking away from her magazine.

He laughed. "No, I was just talking to myself." He said. "What are you reading?" he asked her.

"Oh nothing really." She replied. "I was just reading this article about the big Woodstock fest." "It was crazy, with all the things that happened."she said.

"Yea, it was crazy." He said to her.

"I mean it really makes ya think." Lacey said. "You have to be afraid to even go to a concert." She said.

"Well, I don't think most concerts turn out like that." He said to her. "I have a friend that works in the business." "That one got way out of hand too quick." he said to her.

"Yea, you may be right." She conceded.

"So what takes ya to Orlando?" he asked her.

"Work." Lacey said. "I'm a dancer, and I 've got an audition tomorrow.

"Wow, that sounds interesting. He said to her.

"And what about you?" Lacey asked questioningly.

"I'm going home." He said.

"I've never been to Florida." Lacey said. "I'm looking forward to it." "It's a beautiful place."

He said with smiling eyes. "Well let me be the first to welcome you." he said to her.

"Thankyou!" she said to him. "What was your name again?" she sheepishly asked.

"Kevin". He said. "Kevin Richardson".

The flight to Orlando was a long one, and Lacey had drifted off to sleep Her thoughts drifted back to a time when she and Jake were happy.

"Lacey, I love to watch you dance" Jake said to her. "The way you move, the emotions you pull out of yourself." He reached out, and took her hand and pulled her closer to him. "I could do nothing all day, but watch you." he said as he looked into her eyes.

"I love you," she said to him.

"I love you too." He said to her. "But I have to tell you something."

"What is it?", "You can tell me anything." She said lovingly to him.

Kevin was listening to his Walkman, and writing on a pad of paper. When he noticed that Lacey was asleep. He removed his headphones, and heard her talking in her sleep.

"Lacey, I don't know how to say this, I..." Jake started. She looked at him.

"What is it?" she asked him, starting to get worried.

"It's just that I, I've met someone."

Lacey started to shake. "What do you mean that you've met someone?" she asked him. "Who did you meet?" she asked him more forcefully this time.

Lacey started to thrash in her seat. Kevin noticed again, and wondered if he should wake her up. But he didn't have too. Lacey opened her eyes.

"Are you alright?" Kevin asked her.

"Yes, I am fine?" "Why do you ask?" she replied.

"Well you looked like you were in the middle of a bad dream, and I overheard you talking in your sleep." He said.

"What did I say?" She asked him, with bit of defensiveness in her voice.

"Nothing really, you just mentioned a name." He said.

"Jake" she said softly to herself.

"Yea, I think that was it." Kevin said. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked her cautiously. "I've been known to be a good listener, at times." He said. "Or that's at least what I've been told."

Lacey thought to herself, for a moment. She would probably never see him again, and she hadn't really talked about this to anyone."

"He used to be someone special in my life at one time." Lacey said to him.

"I've been there myself". Kevin said to Lacey. "When you love somebody, and you think they feel the same same thing, then to be betrayed by them." He continued. "It's the hardest thing in the world.

"That is another reason, I am going to Orlando." Lacey said. "Not to run from my past, but to start a future" she said.

As Lacey had made her statement, the captain came over the speakers. "Ladies, and Gentlemen, we are on our final decent to Orlando International Airport, and we should be arriving shortly." "The temperature in Orlando is 84 degrees, and sunny. Again Thank you for flying with us, and enjoy your stay in Orlando.

The 747 came to a standstill. Lacey unbuckled her seatbelt, and stood up. "It feels so good to stand up" Lacey exclaimed as she stretched. Lacey opened the overhead compartment to get her bag.

"Here, let me get that for you." Kevin said to Lacey.

"Thank you" she said to him.

Kevin had noticed how her blue eyes sparkled when she smiled. They gathered their things and exited the airplane.

"I hope your audition goes well" Kevin said to Lacey. They had walked up the corridor to the doors of the airport.

"Me too" she said to him.

"Well if ya ever need a guided tour of O town," Kevin said. "Look me up".

She gave a little laugh "I will" she said. "And thanks a lot for listening to me."

"My pleasure" he said, and offered his hand.

She took it, and said, "Goodbye."

"Now where is Bobby supposed to be?" Lacey said out loud. She scanned the airport looking for Bobby. He had gotten there a few weeks before to find them someplace to live. "I know I told him my flight was coming in at 4 o'clock." She looked at down at her watch. Just as she was about to give up hope. Bobby came into sight.

"Hey, Over here." Lacey yelled.

Bobby came up to her and gave her a hug. "I thought that I missed your flight" he said to her.

"This place is huge." She said to him.

"I know" Bobby replied. "How was your flight?" he asked her.

"It was nice." She said thinking to herself about her seatmate Kevin. "I sat next to the most handsome man, " she said.

"Tell me all about him girl". Bobby said to her.

That was another thing about Bobby. They could talk about men. They found their way out of the airport, and headed towards the apartment complex that Bobby had found for them. They walked in, and Lacey could not believe her eyes. The walls were the whitest that Lacey had seen. The windows were enormous. Lacey laughed to herself. It was such a difference from living in an apartment in New York City. The cathedral ceilings made it seem even bigger than it was. Art deco covered the walls, and abstract colors abounded.

"This is beautiful" she said to Bobby. "How can we afford it?" she asked him.

"Hey, not a problem." I called in a favor." He said.

"I should have known" she laughed.

"Well let's get you settled in, and we can get down to business." Bobby said in his most authoritative voice. Lacey knew that voice, it meant they had things to talk about.

"I can't believe the view from my bedroom." Lacey said as she came down the spiral staircase. "It's beautiful."

"Yes, it is" Bobby said. "Well, I made you a little something to eat then we can get down to business."

"I'm starved" Lacey said with a smile. "Well what time do I have to be there?" Lacey asked Bobby.

"9:00 AM " he replied.

"Well I am going to stretch, and do a little practicing, before I turn in." Lacey said. "Bobby, I have to thank you for everything you have done for me." Lacey said.

"Lacey, you don't have to thank me." Bobby replied. "You just needed a little push." He smiled at her. "Now get going girl." He said.

Lacey arrived at the Starlight Pavilion where the auditions were being held. There already was a line forming into the building. Lacey could feel a bit of apprehension as she entered. Could she live up to her own expectations? As she entered a woman handed her a folder.

"Hello, and welcome." The lady said, and warmly smiled at her.

"Is this the way to the audition?" Lacey asked her sheepishly.

"Yes" she said to Lacey. "The Backstreet Boys video shoot audition is that way."

"Thank you" Lacey said and took the folder from the woman. She started in the direction the woman pointed her to. The hallway was lit up with bright lights. Along the walls were pictures of actors and musicians that had performed there.

As she walked Lacey opened the folder that she had been given. It had explained the process of the audition, and what criteria had to be met. "This is ridiculous" she said to herself as she kept on reading. "They sure do things different here". She had brought her duffel bag that was starting to weigh heavy on her shoulder. "Oh, this thing". She said as she stopped walking and put it down. She opened it, and shifted things around to lighten the load. She picked it back up and heaved it onto her shoulder.

"Woah". She heard somebody say, as she turned around. "Whatcha got in that thing?"

She turned around startled, as the bag hit the ground with a thump. "Oh my god!" she said. "Did I hit you?" she asked the person concerned.

"No, It was a close call, but I'm O.K" he said.

He was a rough looking man with tattoos down his arms, and even though they were inside, sunglasses were affixed to his face. "My name is Alex," he said. But you can call me A.J." as he held out his hand.

"Lacey", she said as she took it. "Are you here for the audition?" She asked him.

"Well yes, and no" he said. Lacey looked at him puzzled. "I mean, the audition is for my group."

"You mean you are in that group?" she asked him sounding startled herself. "Great" she said. "I almost killed you, now I have to dance in front of you."

He laughed at her reply. "I won't hold it against you." he said.

"Really". "I was worried for a moment there." She said.

"Actually, it's not up to me, I was just here to talk to a few people. He said.

"Well that makes me feel a little bit better." She said. "I would hate to turn around for New York after 2 hours." "A.J, I would love to keep chattin', but I have that little audition thing." She said as she pointed down the hallway.

"Well good luck to ya." He said. "Maybe I'll see you around sometime."

She laughed at his comment. "Maybe " she thought to herself.