Forced - by JC

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With the meeting less than fifteen minutes away…time was counting down. Emma was frantically pacing the floors…back and forth, back and forth. Everything was set, the plan was in motion and there was no going back. Closing her eyes, she wiped the sweat from her forehead, took a deep breath, counted to ten and said a quick prayer. She was so nervous that she could taste the bile rising in her throat.

The most important thing was taken care of yesterday…returning the tapes and original paperwork to the bank and placing them back inside her safe deposit box. She wanted to make sure they were locked away. That was imperative.

The camcorder was set…sitting in an inconspicuous place along the kitchen counter, propped up with towels and surrounded by knick-knacks. She admired her work from afar – even she wouldn’t notice the camcorder amongst the other items. Smiling to herself, she took a seat and waited.

And waited, and waited and waited…

She jumped straight up to her feet when she heard the knock at the front door. Quickly, she went to the camcorder and turned it on. Taking a deep breath, she headed to the door.

Before opening it, she let out a deep breath and forced a smile. “Lou, you’re late.”

Not saying a word, he walked into the living room, sat down and crossed his arms.

“Okay, I can see you’re not in the mood for small talk…so, let’s get started.” Walking towards him, she held up her finger. “First things first…I know about my inheritance.”

She met his gaze head on and refused to let herself blink. She wanted to give him the impression that she wasn’t nervous…even though, she’d never been so nervous in her life. And with Kevin…she was always nervous.

“Huh?” Lou folded his legs and sat there arrogantly.

“Don’t huh me…you know exactly what I’m talking about.” She grabbed the copies she’d made that afternoon from the table and handed them to him. Taking a seat next to him, she studied her copies. “Let’s start from the top, shall we?”

Lou’s smile quickly faded as he glanced over the paperwork. “What is this shit?”

“This shit…as you like to call it, is my bank account. If you see here, there was an original deposit made of $500,000 dollars.” She pointed out the initial deposit on his copy and continued on, “My parent’s life insurance policies. Now, what happened to that $500,000 is where you come in…isn’t it?”

She grabbed the second sheet from Lou’s hand and placed it on top of the others. “Let’s see here…it looks like you withdrew quite a bit here on account of me. There was surgery when I was thirteen years old, glasses and braces at fourteen along with my horrendous acne treatment and boarding school…” She stopped and coughed on purpose. “Boarding school…that one gets me every time. Aunt Bet’s outrageous salary…shall I continue?”

“No need too, I can read.” Lou took a few minutes to look them over and then placed them down next to him on the couch and looked over at her. “This doesn’t prove anything Emma.”

Angry, she stood up. How could he possible deny anything when it was in black and white? “Bullshit. I have a lawyer working on this already Lou; don’t even start that crap with me. Every single withdrawal made on this account is bullshit…you know it, I know it and pretty soon, so will every one else.” Emma crouched down to meet him eye level. “I’ve never had braces, I can easily get doctors to attest to that. And I don’t have any acne scars either, and with what you withdrew for acne treatment…” she trailed while pointing to her face and jabbing it into her cheek. “I should have some serious scars. Then there was my schooling…boarding school, well unless they have my records somewhere, that can easily be proven too.”

Lou interrupted her, “Are you threatening me?”

“I’m promising you that if you make this difficult for me…I’ll make it difficult for you. You used almost all of my money…MY money and you used it for what? You?” She threw her arms up in the air and stood back up. Walking away from him, she stopped and quickly turned around. “Oh, I know…you used it to get The Backstreet Boys started…didn’t you? So, by all accounts then, I actually own them…right?”

Lou chuckled, “You wish darlin’.”

“The bottom line is that I have less than $25,000 left in my account. That’s a hell of a lot of money you used. You owe me close to $800,000 Lou…do you understand that?”

“I thought you said the policies were for a total of $500,000 Emma.” Lou snickered under his breath and lunged his head forward. “Get your damn story straight here.”

“I’m taking into account all the interest Lou,” she shot back. “As well as my lawyer is, so my story is straight.”

He didn’t say anything.

Emma paced the floors, “And then there’s the fact that you took my letter from the bank, that was addressed to me, from the mail. The letter explaining that since I was twenty-one now, I had full rights to my account. You took it so I wouldn’t know about it…about the account, didn’t you?”

“Betty gave it to me.”

Shit, she had him. She needed to keep this going, no matter what it took. She turned around and forced herself to cry. It wasn’t hard…all she had to think about was the fact that she trusted him with her life and he betrayed her. And once the tears started falling, she turned back to face Lou. “You didn’t even want me in the first place…did you? You were awarded guardianship and all you cared about was the money.”

Lou got up off the couch and walked over to her. “That’s not true Emma. I cared about you too.”

“Why?” Emma questioned him while wiping away the tears that were streaming down her face. “Why did you use my money then?”

“I had to Emma.” Lou grabbed her by the shoulders and changed his tone. “You wouldn’t understand…but I didn’t have a choice.”

Lou fell for her crying act…hook, line and sinker. She remained silent, hoping he would elaborate further. And when he didn’t, Emma forced the tears to start falling faster. This couldn’t stop here, she couldn’t let it. She needed him to elaborate.

“I needed the money,” he stated and then started to walk away when she put her hand on his shoulder.

“You’re right I don’t understand. You’re a rich man…what’d you need my money for?”

Didn’t he realize that after all these years…he owed her the truth?

“Gambling debts,” Lou stated while dropping his head.

She smiled to herself; it was finally over. “Gambling debts?”

Lou paced around until finally settling on the couch. Sitting down, he sighed. “Yes, gambling debts. They stemmed from a long time ago, when you were still a young child. Your father and I gambled quite a bit back then and well, we went a little over board.”

Emma cleared her throat. “My father?”

“Yes Emma, your father. I used this money to pay off a gambling debt that both he and I accrued.”

She sat there silently. Her mind was racing – this couldn’t be true, could it? Her father didn’t fit the picture of someone with a gambling problem. But if truth were told, she was only a young teenager when he died, maybe she didn’t see the signs then.

She must have looked pretty dazed, because Lou continued talking to her, confusing her even more. “Look Emma, your father knew about this debt and he would’ve wanted his life insurance money to cover it.”

“How…how…much was the debt…debt…for?”

“Four hundred thousand plus change,” Lou stated matter-of-factly.

Emma’s eyes were as wide as saucers now. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. There was no way on earth that her father would’ve gambled away that much money. Now, Lou on the other hand, would. Her parents were not wealthy at all – her father worked at a small tool –n- die shop and her mother worked part-time at a flower shop.

If her father gambled, she couldn’t imagine that he blow that kind of money. She closed her eyes and rubbed her face with her hands. What was going on here? Could this whole plan of hers actually be stopped in their tracks…and all because her father was actually involved in it?

It was at that exact moment, she opened her eyes just barely, but enough to see the smirk on Lou’s face. She knew, right then and there, that he was lying to her. “Lou, it doesn’t matter if what you’re telling me is true or not, that money was for me. It was my inheritance and you used it on other things, not on me. That, my dear Uncle Lou, is what we common folk refer to as stealing.”

All Lou could do was laugh. “No judge on earth is gonna believe you over me. I have lawyers that will rip your story to shreds.”

Emma stared him down. She had what she needed to make a deal with him. Now, she needed him to leave so that she could prepare for the next step. A step that she needed to do in order for her husband to finally be free of Lou. “Listen, you need to go now. I have a meeting with my attorney in an hour and I can’t afford to miss it.”

“Your attorney?”

She smiled. “Yes, my attorney. After my meeting, I’ll call you so that we can make arrangements to meet again.”

Lou walked to the door and stopped. “There isn’t anything more we have to discuss. In fact, why don’t you have your attorney call mine and maybe we can work out an arrangement?”

“Arrangements to pay back the money you owe me?”

“I’m not paying back one single cent to you. You have a rich husband now, you don’t need it,” he shot at her with a smirk so big on his face, she wanted to smack that living shit out of him.

Emma jumped to her feet and charged him. When she was standing only inches from him, she took her hands and pushed him out the door. “We’ll see about that. I’ll be in touch.”

Emma spent most the day lounging around and getting things in order for her next meeting with Lou, which was to take place in less than one hour. She didn’t meet with her lawyer, like she told Lou she was going to, but she did call Lou back within a day of their initial meeting and arranged for this one. She had been in Arkansas for a total of three days now and needed to get back as soon as possible. Kevin was growing more and more suspicious by the second.

Everyday and every night that he called her, he asked the same questions over and over. “What’s going on? Another bid? When’s your appointment? Are you sure you’re okay? Is Drake bothering you?”

And everyday and every night, Emma lied to him. “Nothing. Yes, another bid. Not until the 25th, remember? Yes, I’m okay. No, he isn’t bothering me…I haven’t even seen him.”

In her gut, Emma knew that Kevin knew she was lying. Why he wasn’t calling her bluff on everything had her wondering. Unless, of course, he really was buying it and in that case, she felt even worse.

Hearing the phone ring, Emma’s heart started pounding at a rapid speed. She hated this feeling. Jumping to her feet, she grabbed the phone quickly. “Hello?”

She heard the person on the other end sigh heavily into the phone. “You haven’t left yet?”

Emma sighed as well; she wasn’t expecting to hear from Kevin. “No, I won’t fly out of here until tomorrow sometime. I told you I’d call you with the details.”

He sighed again. “It’s your birthday tomorrow and I want you to be here.”

“I know and I said I would be.”

Kevin remained quiet for a moment and the quietness started to make Emma panic. More than anything, she didn’t want him mad at her.

“How’d your appointment go yesterday?”

She rubbed her temple…appointment? “Ah fine, why?”

“Did you get your prescription refilled?”

Oh…that appointment. God, she almost blew that one. “Yes I did.” She paused and then quickly changed the subject. “So, what’re we gonna do for my birthday?”

Kevin laughed. “Well, I’m not sure yet…you know we got a show and who knows what time you’ll get in, so we’ll have to play it by ear.”

The loud rapping at the front door startled Emma. She looked at the clock and swore under her breath. He was early. God damn it! Lou was early. “Kevin, I gotta go. I’ll call you tomorrow with the specifics.”

“What’s the rush?”

Suddenly, Lou came charging through the front door. “All right, what’d ya want now?”

“Emma? Who’s there?”

She covered the mouthpiece with her hand, “Shhhh…sit down.” Removing her hand, she replied calmly. “No one…it’s the TV you’re hearing.”

“Emmmmmaaa,” Kevin drawled out. “What’s going on?”

“Sorry, gotta go.” She hung up the phone and then quickly took it off the hook again. Emma didn’t want him to call back and just to be on the safe side, she retrieved her cell phone from her purse and turned that off as well.

“What in the hell are you doing child?”

Without answering him, Emma walked over. “You’re early.”

Lou huffed, “You bitched when I was late the other day, now you’re bitching because I’m early…are you ever happy?”

I’m about to be real happy Lou… Wasting no time, she walked over and grabbed the tape off the counter. Placing it in the VCR, she sat down on the couch and told Lou to do the same. Once he was firmly seated next to her, she smiled at him and started to play the tape.

No words were spoken as they watched the tape. It was of their meeting the other day, where he admitted that he used her money.

For nearly fifteen minutes, it was completely quiet except for the sound of their voices penetrating from the television set. When it was finished, Lou got up and ejected the tape out of the VCR. “I’m not that dumb Lou…I have copies.”

He turned sharply to face her. “What the hell do you want?”

“Simple,” she replied while staring directly into his eyes. “I want you to leave Kevin alone.”

He laughed and walked towards her, taking a seat. “You can’t be serious.”

Emma jumped up, grabbed the box from the kitchen counter and then sat back down beside him. “Oh I’m very serious.”

“What the hell is that?” Lou asked while staring at the box she now held in her hands. He knew exactly what it was…it was his box. He’d recognize it anywhere.

“I know what you have over Kevin, Lou. I have the tapes, I have the pictures and I have my account statements…I have everything I need to bring you down.”

He tried to hide the shock, but it didn’t work. She could see him sweating. “How is that possible?”

“Haven’t you been missing this box for over a couple years now?”

Lou didn’t answer her nor did he even look at her…his eyes were fixed on what she had in her hands.

“Well, Betty found it amongst her things in the basement and God bless her soul, she did the right thing and hid them. Now, they’re in my possession…” Bringing her hand up, she pointed her finger into his chest. “Which means, you have nothing to use against him any more Lou.”

“I have copies!” He slapped her hand away, stood up and smiled at her triumphantly.

Emma threw her head back and let out a little laugh. “You don’t have shit Lou…if you had copies, you wouldn’t have been looking around this house for the originals like you did.”

Without even arguing her point, Lou sat down.

“I can’t believe what you’ve done to Kevin…the guys trusted you and you used them. Now, it’s my turn.” She stood up and put the box on the table. “It’s over Lou, it’s finally over. You can’t blackmail him any more.”

He still didn’t say a word.

“It’s over Lou. You have nothing on him anymore.” She grabbed the box again and handed it to him. Feeling pretty proud of herself, she sat down next to him on the couch and watched as he stared at the empty box in silence.

She had him cornered and he knew it. “Now, there is one small problem.”

“And what’s that?” he croaked out.

“My money. If you should so happen to decide to ever rehash this to anyone…I’ll see you in court. I will go to my grave fighting for every last fucking cent you owe me. If you don’t think I’m capable of it, just try it and see.” She took a deep breath and looked over at him with tears in her eyes. “You don’t have anything on Kevin anymore, so just get it out of your head now that you’re gonna use him somehow to get out of this.”

Lou was stunned; she had read his mind. She was also right, he didn’t have anything on Kevin without those pictures and tape in his hand. “You watched the tape?”

“How can you even look at that man knowing that he slept with one of his best friends mother?”

Emma remained guarded while answering him. She wanted to be careful not to say anything she might regret if he ever decided to repeat anything. “What Kevin did is none of my business or your business. He did what he did and he’s the one who has to live it…not you or not me.”

He stumbled for words. “His best friend’s mother Emma…how could you trust him after that?”

Without hesitation, Emma defended her husband. “They were drunk. You don’t think AJ would recognize that the minute he saw it?”

Lou grunted. “You don’t know AJ very well. It wouldn’t matter to him if they were drunk or not.”

“Well, it’s water over the bridge now, isn’t it?” She paused and then began speaking sarcastically, “I don’t know what the hell your talking about Lou, honestly. I never saw any tape or pictures of Kevin or Denise.”

Lou grunted while standing to his feet.

“Lou, stay out of my life…forever.” Emma followed his lead by standing up as well. “I don’t want to see or hear from you again. Stay the hell away from me, Kevin and anyone else I know.”

He stood there in silence…looking dazed and confused over what’d just happened.

“I promise you that I’ll let this money issue drop too. I don’t want my money back, I never did. I don’t give a shit about the money. All I care about is you leaving Kevin alone.”

Lou smirked and walked towards the door. “Why the hell would you do that for him?”

She held her head up high and spoke clearly, “Because I love him…bottom line.”

He stopped and turned around, shaking his head. “That’s pretty pathetic.”

“You can think what you want. Money isn’t everything Lou…just remember that.” Extending her hand out, Lou didn’t acknowledge it. “Well…it was nice doing business with you. Now, get out of my house and don’t ever try to contact me again.”

He walked out the door.

“Oh Lou?”

He turned around. “What?”

“One more question…do you think you can answer it honestly?”

He shrugged.

“Why’d you force Kevin into marrying me?” Emma knew he couldn’t be trusted with giving her an honest answer, but she had to ask anyway. “Why was it for two years and what was in it for you?”

Lou laughed. “Very simple Emma. Why? Why don’t you ask your husband what he did to me when he rallied the other guys to get out from underneath my wing…that should explain it all.”

She stood her ground. “From what I understand…you were robbing them blind. Why wouldn’t they want to get out from underneath you? You cheated them out of money.”

Evidently that wasn’t the thing to say to Lou because as soon as the words left her lips, she noticed the color red making it’s way up his neck and to his face. Instantly, he began yelling back at her, “I took what was rightfully mine young lady! I made them what they are today…without me, there would be no BACKSTREET BOYS!”

She replied calmly, “That doesn’t give you the right to steal from them.”

Lou turned and started down the sidewalk again. He wasn’t going to waste his breath with her. No one understood him, no one. From his perspective, all the pop-bands that he formed over the years, owed him their lives. He made each and every one of them what they are and they all stabbed him in the back. He truly could not see where he was in the wrong…

Did she dare to question him further?
What the hell…she had nothing to lose now.

“That still doesn’t explain why you choose me and why it was for two years?”

Lou stopped mid-stride and turned only his head. “I choose you because you were my ticket to a free meal dear. I took a gamble on that one.” Turning fully around, his eyes made their way up and down the length of her body. “You weren’t Kevin’s type and I knew he’d probably never last the two years with someone like you. I banked on the fact that he’d weasel out of this deal before the two years were up and again, there would be a big pay off for me.”

“It looks like you gambled and lost Lou.”

Lou didn’t answer her; only shrugged and kept walking. Getting into his car, he leaned out of the window. “Oh and by the way…you still aren’t Kevin’s type…don’t let him fool you. He’ll get bored with you and move on to the next one.”

Emma slammed the front door.

By the next evening, Emma was firmly planted on Backstreet ground. And she couldn’t have been any happier. When she finally arrived at the venue, there was only a little over an hour left until show time. Walking towards the green room, she suddenly felt funny how about she was dressed.

Stopping, she reached up and ran a hand through her hair. After Lou’s comment about her not being Kevin’s type…she went off the deep end and had her hair cut and highlighted that morning. She was now sporting a shoulder length do, barely shoulder length. And while she felt sassy, she wasn’t sure what her husband would think about it.

Grabbing her mirror out of her purse, she took a good look at herself. Her makeup was put on, full tilt and her lips were a shocking red. Not the color she was used to seeing on her lips, but a color the salon makeup artist insisted she have.

Emma put away the mirror and bent over to get a good look at her outfit. Another questionable thing as to whether Kevin would like it or not. She was wearing tight leather leopard skin pants and a little black tee…a quick get up that she had actually purchased on the way to the airport.

Her high-heel shoes were killing her and being barely able to walk in them didn’t help. They also felt like they were two sizes too small and she was beginning to wonder whether or not her toes were actually going numb. Moaning loudly, she looked up and spotted Sarah. “SARAH!”

Sarah turned around and smiled. Walking up to her, she embraced her. “So, did you sell the house?”

Emma lied, “No, refused the offer.”

“That bad huh?” Sarah’s head dropped for a moment and then slowly made it’s way to Emma’s face again. “Wow…you look great.”

“Really?”

Sarah hugged her again. “Yes, really…and by the way, happy birthday too.”

Emma smiled while stepping back from her friend. “Why thank you. You were the first one to wish me that today.”

Without warning, she felt someone grab her from behind and Emma let out a little yelp. “Hey…I’m not that frightening, am I?” AJ laughed and squeezed her. “Happy Birthday little lady. Are you twenty yet?”

AJ turned her around quickly and when he did, his mouth flew open. “You are our Emma…right?” Pushing her away from him, he had to do a double take. “Wow, what’s gotten into the birthday girl? Did Sarah take you shopping?”

“Very funny AJ…I’m twenty-six now.” Eyeing herself up and down, she frowned. “And no…Sarah didn’t take me shopping. What’s wrong…you don’t like?”

Sarah laughed while AJ smiled. “Are you kidding me? It’s the type of outfit I would’ve picked out myself…of course I don’t know how Kevin’s gonna feel about it though.” Leaning over, he whispered in her ear, “He’s not very fond of my taste of clothing.”

“He needs to loosen up a bit,” Emma retorted. “Where is he anyway?”

“Probably fussin’ with his hair…” AJ laughed.

Laughing, Emma started to walk out of the room. “Which way’s his dressing room?”

AJ made a funny face and pointed. “Second door on the right and have fun!”

When Emma reached the door to Kevin’s dressing room, she just walked right in. She didn’t even think about knocking. And because she didn’t knock, standing there in front of her was Kevin…naked as a jaybird.

“Oops…sorry.” She stepped out quickly and shut the door.

She could hear Kevin laughing from the other side of the door. “Just a sec.” Wrapping a towel around his waist, he opened the door. “I guess I should probably lock it next time…God forbid if anyone else just happened to walk in on me like…”

Emma smiled when Kevin’s sentence stopped short. “Sorry…next time I’ll knock.” She shut the door and turned around to face him. “Do you want me to leave while you get dressed?”

He shook his head and she watched as his smile faded slowly when he checked her out. Staring at her shoes, the only word to escape his mouth was, “Wow.”

Emma’s smile faded quickly too.

“Wow Emma,” he said again while bringing his gaze back to her face. “What’s gotten into you?”

She sighed. “AJ didn’t think you’d like it.”

Kevin’s eyes widened. “Did AJ pick it out for you?”

“No,” Emma retorted. “Get real.”

Kevin walked over to the table and smiled at her through the mirror. Bringing his water bottle to his lips, he stopped short of taking a drink. “It’s different…not used to seeing my wife look so…so…”

“Slutty?”

He choked on the water he just took a drink of and had to wipe away the slobber from his chin. “That wasn’t exactly the word I was looking for.” Setting his water down, he sat down in the chair and instantly started playing with his hair. “You look nice.”

“Thanks for lying to me,” Emma said while walking over to him. Watching him work on his hair for a moment, she sighed. When God made Kevin Scott Richardson…he knew what he was doing. In her opinion, God’s best work was sitting just inches from her. “AJ said you were probably fussing with your hair.”

Kevin sighed. “Yeah, well AJ thinks he knows it all.”

“Doesn’t it get hot up there on stage with all that hair of yours?” Emma’s hands instantly reached up for his hair and softly, she started playing with the flowing mane.

Kevin’s hands wrapped around hers and together, both their hands were getting tangled up in his hair. When Emma looked into the mirror, she smiled at seeing her husband staring right back at her. “Yeah it does. Any suggestions?”

“You could cut it.”

“Besides that?” he moaned.

“Baseball cap?”

Kevin laughed and mumbled a little, “You and your damn baseball caps…” while swiveling around in the chair. When he was facing her, he pulled her legs closer so that she was trapped between his muscular thighs. “By the way…I love your hair.”

“I didn’t think you noticed.”

“Oh…I noticed alright, but once I saw your outfit…I just kinda forgot about the hair.” Smiling, he winked at her. “It really does look nice.” With his eyes glued to hers, he sighed. “Hey…so, what happened with the house?”

Emma’s heart sank. Why did he have to start on this now? She hated all this lying. “Offer was too low, and so the realtor suggested that I not even bother to counter bid.”

Kevin got up from his chair and slid his towel off. Grabbing his boxer briefs, he started putting them on. “Too bad.”

God…Emma just stood there, frozen. She couldn’t take her eyes off him. He was positively the most gorgeous man she’d ever laid eyes on. Was there even anyone else on earth that came close?

She watched as he skillfully maneuvered into his first costume for the evening and when he had it all on, she sighed. She loved that black cape…absolutely love it.

“Something wrong?” he asked while looking at her questionably.

She shook her head and kept on staring. “You look good in that cape.”

Kevin raised his eyebrows and lowered his voice. “Want me to wear it to bed tonight?”

When Emma’s eyes met his, she blinked. Was he serious? “Could you?”

He had the most devilish little grin on his face. “Are you serious?”

Fighting the urge to scream “hell yeah,” she settled for a more subtle approach. “Maybe.”

The knock at the door startled Emma and Kevin laughed when he saw her jump. “You are serious, aren’t you?” he whispered close to her face as he breezed past her and walked over to open the door. “Yep, I’m coming.” Turning around to face Emma, his look said it all. Showtime.

“Gotta get my hair touched up and then we’re up,” he said while leaving the door open and walking over to the couch. Picking up a wrapped present from the couch, he handed it to her. “Have fun tonight and try not to drool too much.”

“I’ll try not too,” she mumbled back sarcastically while looking down at the gift.

Before Kevin completely shut the door, he leaned in. “Oh and Emma?”

She looked up from the gift. “Yeah?”

“Happy birthday.”

She smiled. “Thanks.”

The show was just about over and Emma was thankful. She couldn’t wait to get back on the bus and be alone with Kevin. Watching him dance on stage all night had gotten her pretty riled up and the sheer thought of him wearing the cape to bed had her envisioning all sorts of profane things.

When the boys disappeared back stage, the fans started going nuts. They knew as well as every other fan out there that there was one more song…Shape of My Heart.

“Why do they even bother pretending that they aren’t coming back when everyone here knows damn well that they are?”

Sarah looked over at Emma and laughed. “Every band does the same thing, trust me.” Pointing to her friends shirt, she smiled. “Okay…you wanna tell me what’s up with that shirt you’re wearing?”

Emma looked down and laughed. “It’s my birthday gift from Kevin.”

“It’s an inside joke,” Emma replied while running her hand along the front of it.

Emma’s smiled faded when Kevin was the only one who came up on stage. Normally, all five of them reappeared at the same time. Hearing him clear his throat, she looked over at Sarah. “Where’s the rest of them?”

Sarah shrugged. “Beats the hell outta me.”

“Okay…we’re gonna do things a little differently tonight,” Kevin’s voice blared throughout the venue.

The crowd started cheering.

“There’s someone here tonight that’s pretty special to me…”

The crowd started booing.

“Ah…now come on guys…you’re booing my wife here.” Kevin put his free hand on his hip. “That’s not very nice y’all.”

The crowd fell silent.

“Emma…” Kevin walked over to the edge of the stage and crouched down. “Can you come up here a minute?”

Emma sat there, speechless. Holy crap…I am NOT going on the stage! She turned to Sarah when she felt her nudge her. “I’m not going up there…he’s out of his mind.”

Sarah nudged her again. “Get up there.”

She stood up slowly but only when Carlos walked over and grabbed her hand, forcing her too. Emma could barely walk in those damn high-heeled shoes and now she had to do it while thousands of people watched. She silently said a prayer that she wouldn’t fall and make an ass out of herself.

Once she was safely on the stage, she froze when she looked into the crowd.

Kevin walked over to her and winked. Putting the microphone down by his side, he smiled. “I won’t let you faint…don’t worry.” Together, hand in hand, they walked to the middle of the stage. When he stopped, he leaned over and whispered in her ear, “Pretty surreal huh?”

She nodded while he continued walking to the very front of the stage. Bringing his microphone back up, he looked into the crowd. “It’s my wife’s birthday and I wanted to be the first one to sing happy birthday to her.” Laughing, he pushed her in front of him a little. “Hey y’all…take a look at the big screen up there and tell me what you think about her shirt.”

Emma shot him a look while he grabbed her shirt by the bottom and pulled it taunt. Laughing, he read it out loud. “Property of a Backstreet Boy.” Turning her around, he did the same so that the crowd could read the back. “Kevin Richardson’s wife…do not disturb.”

The crowd erupted in laughter along with some “boos” thrown in there as well.

Kevin let go of her shirt and turned her back around so that she was facing the crowd. “That’s just in case any of you guys out there get any ideas about…”

He was interrupted by a loud voice echoing through the venue. “Hey Kev?”

“Yeah?” Kevin turned around to see where it was coming from. “AJ…is that you?”

“Yeah,” AJ said while laughing. “Are you sure there’s even any guys out there?”

Kevin laughed and walked to the edge of the stage. Holding his hands over his eyes, he scanned the crowd. “Hmmm….don’t see too many of them now that you mention it.” Pointing into the first few rows, he laughed. “Well, hang on…I do see a couple of them.” Turning his back, he looked for AJ but couldn’t see him. “You know AJ…we do have a few male fans out there.”

The crowd started cheering again.

Emma’s eyes were completely fixed on the crowd. She couldn’t imagine how the guys could get up there, night after night, and perform in front of a crowd of this magnitude. It made her nervous just standing there.

“Once I get done singing, how about if we all sing then?”

The crowd cheered loudly as Kevin started singing Happy birthday. As much as she tried to enjoy it, she couldn’t. She was too damn nervous.

When he was finished, he immediately started back up again and soon the crowd joined in. The rest of the guys came up on stage shortly after and joined in as well. When they were all finished, Emma silently thanked them and turned to walk away. She wanted off that stage. And as soon as she took her first step, Kevin pulled her into a hug and kissed her on the forehead. “Happy birthday.”

"Forced" is a work of fiction.
The characters and events portrayed are fictitious,
and any resemblance to real people or events is purely coincidental.

Used with Permission
Copyright ©2002
All Rights Reserved
No part of this text may be copied or reprinted
without the author's permission.

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Fiction by JC