I was so tired I slept on the plane. The goodbye was heartbreaking, but I knew I would be back in mid-September. I missed my puppy dog. I missed warm arms hugging me. I missed the hectic life. Good god I was only gone for two hours and I was already missing it all.
All I could think about were those few moments before I had to board the plane. It felt like I wouldn't be seeing them all for a year or two. Four weeks apart from the guys I had grown to love like brothers as well as my two best girlfriends would be lonely. I realized it as I began to wave goodbye to everyone. Amanda was practically urging me to leave. Dani was too. Kevin watched me with a huge smile on his face and his arm around Danielle. AJ was calling out "good luck" to me, along with "break a leg" and "tell Fatima I said hey!" Emily looked at him in bewilderment. Nick and Amy gave me a hug and said bye. Brian was holding Tyke and Chachi in a backpack, beside Amanda. Howie....well...Howie was happy for me. He knew I had needed this and that it would broaden my work experience, but I knew he didn't want me to leave. I didn't want to leave either. He kept telling me how fun it would be as we walked through the airport, hand in hand. How it would be so good for me to get out and dance for other people. How Fatima would really love having me there. How exciting it would be in LA. I told him I didn't have to go, but D wouldn't let me miss such an opportunity. Never. He had always been the most supportive person of my career.
Mainly because he was on the same boat. We had both gone into entertainment, a very competitive business, and he knew what it was like having all those auditions and try-outs for spots in dances and acting. Only, his career was a lot more...profitable I guess...than mine was. Yet, we were both doing what we had a passion for, and we were doing it together. And that was all that mattered. As my flight was called, Howie pulled me aside.
"I promise you'll hear from me on my birthday. I couldn't pass it by without at least talking to you. It wouldn't be the same. Maybe I'll come down to LA or something and we can spend the whole day together. I don't know yet. But I'll make sure we at least get to talk on Sunday, okay hun?" he promised. I smiled.
"Definitely. If I don't hear from you, I'll mope around all day because the tradition will be ruined. And Fatima will hate herself for it," I joked. D grinned softly. My flight was called again.
"Four weeks? What will I do...." Howie whined.
"Shut up you big dork. It's hardly anything," I told him. We laughed a little. "Now if I don't go now I never will, Hoowwwiiiiee."
"Fine fine. Go," he finally sighed, sarcastically. I began to walk away, but was stopped when he grabbed my hand as if on impulse. "Don't forget..." I stood there, waiting. "I love you." My heart hit my throat. That was the first time he had said that to me.
"I love you too, Howie," I replied, overjoyed at hearing those three words. I went back to D and gave him another kiss, then waved goodbye to everyone as I disappeared through the terminal.
As I slowly woke up, I found that we were on our way over Nevada. That meant that we had about a half hour left. I grabbed my bottle of water and guzzled some of the clear liquid down. A young child sat beside me. He was about four and stared up at me. I looked over at him and smiled.
"What's your name?" I asked politely. He bashfully turned away, knowing he shouldn't talk to strangers. His mother nudged him.
"Eric," he answered shyly.
"Cool! I'm Stephanie. Are you going to LA like me?" I started a little conversation. His eyes lit up.
"I'M GOING TO DISNEYLAND!" Eric cried excitedly.
"NO WAY?!" I exclaimed, slapping my hands down on my legs.
"Yeah! And we're gunna see Mickey and Goofy and Donald!" he continued.
"Who's your favorite?" I inquired.
"Mickey!" Eric replied with a big smile.
"Really? Mine is Goofy. Will you tell Goofy that I said hi when you see him?" I wanted to know.
"Okay!"
"Thank you very much! It was nice meeting you Eric!" I said, shaking his hand. His smile stayed the same as we shook hands. Then he turned away and smiled at his mom. She gave me a pleasant grin. I laughed softly, then grabbed the magazine in front of me. It was a dumb flight magazine, which didn't hold much of my interest. Suddenly, I felt a small, warm hand on my arm. It was Eric.
"Why are you going to LA?" he wanted to know.
"I'm going because I am going to dance in a music video," I explained to him. His mother's face showed some surprise, as well as suspicion.
"REALLY?!" Eric practically yelled.
"What video are you going to be in?" Eric's mom asked me.
"Uhh...it's a Britney Spears video. I don't know the name of it though," I told her. She was somewhat shocked.
"I have a 14-year-old daughter who likes to listen to Britney Spears. We just recently bought her the cd. She's up a little ways in the cabin. Tell me, what else do you do?" she politely urged me to tell more. It was typical of me or the boys to lie at about this time, but the woman and her young son were just so sweet that I couldn't do it.
"I dance for the Backstreet Boys. I just got a call a few weeks ago to be in the video, so I had to take time off the tour to come here," I informed the woman.
"Oh my daughter loves the Backstreet Boys. Especially Nick. Are you good friends with them?"
"Yes of course. We're all buddies," I said. The woman smiled. I could sense a little bit of doubt in her composure, so I dug around in my backpack for some pictures. I didn't have any in my wallet, because none of us took any wallet sized pictures. I did have Howie's graduation picture though, despite how out of date it was, and decided to get it out. I handed the woman my wallet and flipped to the picture of Howie.
"That's Howie. He and I have been best friends since I was born," I explained. She studied the picture, then handed the wallet back to me, which I stuffed back in my backpack. Then I searched around inside for a few polaroids of me and the guys. I showed Eric's mother a picture of me, Nick, and AJ, Kevin holding me, Brian playing with my pigtails, me and Howie backstage and in costume, me, Kevin, Tae, Kristin, and Nef in costume backstage, me, Tommy, Mindi, and AJ backstage, and two more of me and Howie.
"May I show these to my daughter?" Eric's mom wanted to know. I usually wouldn't allow someone to cause hysteria but I sensed some type of trust in this woman so I said she could. Leaving Eric with me, his mother took the eight pictures up to the front of the cabin we were in. Soon after, I heard a short yelp and before long, the woman and her 14-year-old daughter were walking towards me. I smiled at the young girl and waited for her mother to introduce us.
"This is my daughter Kristy. She's a big big fan of Nick's. Kristy, this is Stephanie, one of the Backstreet Boys' dancers," the woman said. Kristy had tears in her eyes and was shaking because she couldn't believe that someone who knew Nick personally was right in front of her.
"You...know...Nick...Carter?" Kristy slowly asked.
"Oh yeah. Nick is crazy. He's a funny guy and he and I get along like brother and sister. The rest of the guys sometimes say we're like twins," I told her. "Where are you from?"
"Madison, Wisconsin," Kristy voice quivered as she spoke.
"So you were at the concert a few days ago, right?" I continued.
"Yeah...oh my god it was sooo awesome," she warmed up to me.
"Well ya know that dancer with Kevin?" I asked.
"Yeah. The tall one with the curly brown hair," Kristy described me.
"That's me," I let on. Kristy gasped and looked up at her mom while she covered her mouth. I blushed. Her mother handed me back my pictures and I stuffed them in my bag.
"Stephanie would you mind showing her that picture of...Howie is it?...that you have?" the woman politely asked me. I said no problem and got it back out.
"OH MY GOD. My best friend is so in love with Howie. He is her favorite! We think she's going to marry him. How old is he here?" Kristy cried. I didn't want to hurt any feelings or get on bad terms, so I kept my mouth shut about being D's serious girlfriend.
"That's his high school graduation picture. He's changed a lot since then. A LOT," I explained, tucking the wallet back into the backpack. Just then, the pilot announced that we would be landing soon and everyone needed to go back to their seats.
"Can I get a picture with you?" Kristy suddenly blurted out. It was not usual for me to get offers like that, so I didn't decline. Kristy dug out her camera, thrust it into her mom's hands, and came over by Eric and me so she could get the picture taken. Then she thanked me again and raced up to her seat as the seatbelt lights started flashing.
When the plane landed, I grabbed my backpack and carry-on and made my way through the plane and into the terminal. There was such a crowd of people around that it was hard to recognize anyone at first. Just as the people died down, I spotted Fatima. She had gotten smart and was wearing her cowboy hat so that I could find her easily.
"Hey Stephie!!!" she cried as I walked over and gave 'Tima a hug.
"It's great to see you again Fatima!" I replied.
"I know! How's the tour going? The show looking okay?" she wanted to know.
"Yeah. Pretty good. We've had to change dancers a few times, but the guys are comfortable with it. Right now, Danielle and Amanda are dancing in the place of me and Shivani, who took Niki's place because she had to go be with her mother, who was very sick," I explained.
"Wow. A lot's been going on I see," Fatima sighed.
"Oh yeah. But we're having tons of fun, all the same. AJ moved into the band's bus because our bus got to be so crowded. I think he relates more to the band anyways. So it's better for him," I informed her. "But anyways, what have you been up to?"
"Well, I've had a few dance workshops around the states. Just last week, I started working with Britney and her crew of dancers. So I have gotten some ideas for the dance. We're starting practices today at around two. There are quite a few people in this dance. You'll have fun though. They're all really nice," Fatima said as we walked to where the conveyor belt for the luggage was and waited for my suitcases to show up. I hadn't packed much stuff. Just a bunch of dance clothes and a few other things in case we went anywhere.
After locating my suitcases, the two of us left LAX and headed down La Ceinega Boulevard, where her main office was located. A quick lunch at Paco's kept us from getting hungry. As soon as we got to the office, Fatima explained to me what would be going on and how much I was getting paid and whatnot and I signed some contracts so I could work on the set. Then, we left for her apartment, where I got my things situated because I'd be spending the four weeks living with Fatima.
"So how are things between everyone over there?" Fatima wanted to know once everything was situated in the spare room.
"Really good actually. Howie and I are still together. Manda and Brian are...basically everyone's still with each other. Kevin and Dani...oh my gosh! Kevin..he gave Dani his ring on a chain and inside it had a line from that Billy Joel song, "To Make You Feel My Love"...oh Fatima it's so cute! They're so cute!...Ummm...Reggie and Kristin are going out now. Hmmm...I got a gash in my calf in Minneapolis because someone threw something at me. Uhhh...what else...oh we all got to meet Amanda's parents and they have this really cool lake house. Like, every night we would wander off to the lake. Howie and I fell asleep out there twice. Kevin and AJ have done some shopping, but we won't allow them to buy too much stuff because then there will be no room for anything," I told her. I reached over for my backpack and began to dig through it for the polaroids when I felt a small box. I instantly realized what it was and nearly shot myself in the head for it.
"DAMN! I completely forgot to give Howie his birthday present!!! OH MAN!!!" I cried out. I got the box out and looked at its contents.
"What did you get him, Gilli?" Fatima asked. I handed her the box and she looked inside. "Oh that is so cute! He's gunna love it."
"Yeah I know. That's why I got it," I sighed. "MAN."
"Give him a call, Steph," Fatima suggested.
"Nah. I don't want to raise your phone bill Fatima," I declined.
"Oh I don't care. It's just Howie. He'll probably pay me back anyways, knowing him," she replied. I smiled gratefully at my friend and grabbed the phone to dial the number of Howie's cell phone. I knew they would be traveling that day, so I didn't have to worry about calling while they were busy.
"Yo," that sweet voice answered.
"Oh stop it!" I cried. I could almost hear the excitement overcome my boyfriend.
"STEPHANIE! Sweetie! I've missed you! The bus is just too settle without you," Howie exclaimed.
"What? Oh you mean it's not shaking?" I joked. He laughed.
"That too. I just miss seeing you bounce around the bus whenever a song is on. Today, this Beach Boys song came on the radio and I completely expected to turn around and see you dancing around, singing at the top of your lungs. It's lonely without ya Gilli. Too quiet," D explained.
"Well yeah. Without me AND AJ, I can understand that," I teased. "Hey what song?"
"Uhhh...Surfin USA I think," he thought.
"Oh! One of my favorite songs!"
"Yeah I know. Chache keeps jumping into your bunk, looking for you. He and I...we mope around together," Howie said. I busted up.
"Hoh really?!"
"THEY DO! THAT'S THE SAD PART!" I could hear Danielle yelling in the background.
"How are Dani and Manda doing with learning their parts? Are they ready to go on stage in front of 50,000 in two days?" I asked. Howie turned away from the phone and repeated what I said to Danielle. I could hear rustling as she grabbed the cell from him.
"HELL NO!" she cried. I laughed. "Actually, I am. But I'm not so sure about Amanda. I think she'll find it not so bad cuz it will be like a football game or competition ya know?"
"Yeah I do. Hey I hate to cut you off, but I don't want to make Fatima's phone bill huge and I have one last thing to say to Howie. Talk to you later Dani!" I replied.
"Bye Steph. Love ya!"
"Love ya too!"
"Hey Gilli. What's up?" Howie had the phone again.
"I forgot to give you your birthday present at the airport! It's with me, but I still have to give it to you," I told him.
"Oh don't worry about it. We'll figure something out," Howie brushed the thought aside.
"Really?"
"Yeah no problem."
"Okay. Well I gotta go. I'm on Fatima's line here," I told him. "So I'll talk to you later."
"Okay. I love you," Howie said.
"I love you too," I answered back. "Bye." D said bye and we hung up. It felt so good to finally hear those words I had waited all my life to hear directed at me. To be able to say them was even better.
"Ooohhhh somebody's in love," Fatima joked. I looked at her and gave her a goofy smile, my face glowing with redness. "Okay. We gotta get down to the dance studio. You wearing that?" I told her I wasn't, and got out a pair of dance pants and a tank top to wear, along with my dance sneakers.
Three days had passed with swiftness. On August 22nd, I woke up and instantly wondered what Howie would be doing. It was two hours later, where they were, so they were probably eating lunch by the time I was awake. In my bedroom, I turned on my side and hit the radio to turn it on. An oldies station blasted out a tune I quickly recognized to be "Unchained Melody." I groaned and threw my head back on the pillow. Just then the phone rang. I didn't grab it because I was just a guest in the apartment. Not five seconds after the phone stopped ringing, Fatima's head peaked through the door.
"It's for you Steph," she informed me.
"Thanks 'Tima," I said, picking up the phone.
With the notes of Howie's favorite song playing in the background, I answered with a sleepy "hello?"
"Hey hey hey! Is that my song I hear in the background?" A HUGE smile swept across my face.
"Hey yourself! Happy Birthday D!" I cried happily.
"Thanks! So when do you want to pick me up from LAX?" he quickly got to the point.
"WHAT?!" I exclaimed.
"Well do you want me to walk to the apartment?" he asked. "I'll be there in about an hour."
"Well how long are you staying for?"
"Just the day. I gotta fly back tomorrow morning," D told me.
"Howie I can't believe you're doing this. It's so expensive," I replied.
"Not with my budget it isn't. Besides, it's a special occasion. I think I can spend money ridiculously for just this once," Howie explained.
"Okay okay. Well, hmmm...We'll be at the airport in an hour then. How's the flight?" I pondered.
"It's great. No one knows it's really me because I'm supposed to be on tour right now. I've had a few people come up and tell me 'do you know you look EXACTLY like a Backstreet Boy?' or 'You look soooo much like Howie from the Backstreet Boys.' It's funny! This teenager next to me won't stop staring at me," he said. I giggled.
"Are you in the bathroom right now?" I wanted to know. Howie laughed, recognizing the comment as one of my infamous random thoughts.
"Yeah I am actually."
"That's what I thought. Well, you better go then. Don't want anyone pukin' in the aisles now," I joked. Howie cracked up.
"Then I'll see you in an hour," he sighed.
"Okay. I loooooovvveeee yooou Sweet Deeee," I cried.
"I love you toooooo Gilliiiii," Howie answered back, in the same tone. I giggled, then said bye and hung up. Fatima was sitting at the end of the bed. She laughed the entire time, watching the expressions on my face.
"You two are so perfect for each other," Fatima informed me. I smiled.
"Well Howie's coming down today, so we gotta go pick him up at LAX in an hour."
"You two wanna spend the whole day together? You don't have to come in if you don't want. You catch on quick and besides, I can teach you what I taught today tomorrow morning. Your only problem is the way you learn. You're such a perfectionist at dance Steph," Fatima told me.
"Well that's a good thing isn't it?"
"Yeah, but it takes forever to teach you something because you refuse to go on until you've got what you know down pat."
"Okay well let's stop talking and get dressed so we can get down there in an hour okay? I hate to keep the boy waiting," I stopped the conversation.
"Okay. I'm gunna hop in the shower. It's all yours when I'm done," Fatima replied, getting off the bed and walking out of the room.
We had just found out that Howie's flight was delayed a half hour. What fun. We had gotten there exactly an hour after he called and we would have to wait a half hour longer. Some type of windstorm had kept the plane from taking off in Nevada, where it had made a stop. I was going to bring Howie's present, but Fatima told me to leave it at home and give it to him later on that day, when we were alone. I agreed with her on that one. So, we had a half hour to find some way of entertaining ourselves. We went to a music store and danced for whomever cared to watch. Some threw money into my hat that had landed in a corner by the cash register when it flew off my head during a move. Me and 'Tima kept on dancing, till my watch told me a half hour had passed and Howie's plane was now due to make its landing. So, we left the store and rushed towards where the passengers boarded off the huge airliner.
Within minutes, we had made our way through the crowds working against us and began to look for Howie. I quickly spotted him, standing around with a lost look on his face as he scanned the faces of everyone around him. As his form of disguise, he had on...one of my baseball caps actually. I pushed my way through the crowd, leaving Fatima behind, and watched his face light up as D found me. I broke away from the crowd and threw my arms around Howie. He kissed my nose and we stood there, waiting as Fatima finally made her way over to us.
"Just look at you two. It's been two days and you can hardly stand it. What will you do for a whole month?" she cried. I laughed.
"Don't worry Fatima. I'll pay you back for your phone bill," Howie chuckled.
"Yeah I know you will, but it's not THAT that I'm worried about. I'm just not sure how the hell Steph will be able to concentrate on dancing if she misses you too much," 'Tima pointed out.
"Yeah well sometimes you just gotta choose between the two loves of your life," I blurted out unexpectedly. Fatima's eyes widened with shock and Howie reacted by wrapping his arms back around me in a tight loving hug as he kissed my forehead. My face was all red. "Okay, well let's get going. 'There's much to do and...less time to do it in'." I pulled away from Howie and grabbed his hand after he picked up his backpack, and the three of us walked out of the airport.
As we were driving back to Fatima's apartment, I asked how everyone was since I had left.
"They're all doing great. The dog misses you. This morning before I left, the guys and Amanda and Danielle took me out to breakfast for my birthday. Dani...she got me a vest...it was so funny! She said I needed a new one. The guys all gave me some really nice shirts and Amanda got me a pair of Tommy boxers because she got sick of seeing 'the Backstreet Boys' on my waist. My band and dancers all said they have stuff for me tomorrow," Howie explained. I laughed. Dani and Manda really had grown accustomed to the nature of everyone else on the bus. We pulled into a parking spot and climbed out of Fatima's car and to her apartment. Once we got inside, she told us she had to go to the dance studio for practice and the two of us could do whatever we wanted because she wouldn't need me. Before long, our friend was gone and we had the place to ourselves. It was about lunchtime.
"Okay, what do you want to do? Go to lunch? Ed Debevic's is just down the road," I suggested my favorite restaurant for lunch.
"Sounds great," he agreed.
"Okay then I'm gunna go get ready to go because I look like a mess and then we can leave," I said, walking into my room. Howie said I looked fine but didn't want to argue so let me go. I shut the door and snuck the box into my little Gap backpack I used instead of a purse, then put my hair up in a high ponytail. I opened the door and called out, "Ready to go?"
"Yeah. We just gotta wait a few minutes for the ride," Howie told me. I said okay, then sat down on the couch and closed my eyes as I leaned back against the cushions to relax. D sat across from me in a chair, his elbows on his knees as he leaned forward and watched me with those brown eyes that I loved. A few minutes later, he said we should go, so I got up and the two of us walked out of the apartment and I locked up with the spare key Fatima had intrusted me with.
In front of the apartment building sat a white stretch limo.
"Why are you doing this? It's your birthday. You shouldn't be paying for stuff like this!" I exclaimed as we walked towards the limousine.
"I know, but I can. That's why I do it," he told me. I rolled my eyes. Howie was pretty smart with his money, but it was on such occasions as these that really made me wonder which ear his brain had leaked out of. I thought it was sweet and all, but he knew quite well that I hated special treatment. We climbed into the limo and sat back. D pushed the intercom button and told the driver to take us to Ed's for lunch. It took about ten minutes to get to the restaurant, for it was not far from where the apartment building was located.
Inside Ed Debevic's, we sat down at a booth and waited as the most popular waitress on roller skates, Crash, rolled over, chomping her gum. She cocked an attitude with us, spitting out the specials while playing with the gum. The menus were thrown on the table and we opened them as she rolled away to go yell at the young kids in the booth next to us. Oldies music was being spun by the DJ in the corner of the restaurant. He almost immediately called a "blue light special" and before long, all the waiters and waitresses were on the counter in front of the kitchen. "Do You Love Me?" came on and all of the employees began to lip synch and dance for everyone. We watched them and laughed. Now this was entertainment. After the performance, Crash came rolling back to us and sat down beside Howie at the booth.
Chomping her gum (which by now was probably getting really tough), she barked out orders for us to tell her what we wanted. We did, and she soon was off again. As soon as she left, another woman, this one on flatfoot, came over with a polaroid.
"Come on. Let's get a picture. Aw you look so cute together. Lemme capture the moment. Come on. Five bucks. And you get it in this pretty little holder," Trainwreck said.
Howie started to decline, but I cut him short and cried, "SURE!" Then I turned to him. "And I'm paying. My birthday present to you."
"Birthday? We got a birthday in the house eh?" Trainwreck barked. "HEY CRASH! WE GOT ANOTHER BIRTHDAY HERE!"
"WE DO! WELL I THINK THAT CALLS FOR A PARTY!" Crash yelled from the opposite side of the restaurant. "WHAT'S THE NAME?" I told Trainwreck it was D, so that no one fans would, perhaps, be in the place and realize who it was.
"SAYS HIS NAME IS D! YA KNOW, LIKE THE LETTER?" Trainwreck hollered back.
"COOL! WELL HOLD ON A SECOND D! WE GOT A LITTLE SURPRISE FOR YA!" Crash called. His face was beet with embarrassment. Then Trainwreck told us to lean in for the picture, which we did. She stuck the polaroid in the white holder, signed her name and kissed it, then exchanged the picture for my five dollars. A few minutes later, our lunches came, as well as the entire staff of waiters and waitresses from the restaurant. They made literally everyone in the place sing to Howie, then Trainwreck wanted to take a picture of all of us, which she did, for free this time.
Ed Debevic's was a restaurant that seemed to come right out of something like Grease. It was a diner, with decor dating back to the 50's. All of the employees were dressed in clothes that looked like they had just come straight out of my grandma's closet. Whenever we came to LA or Beverly Hills, I almost always made us go to this place. It was so cool and really transformed one back to the good ol' days.
After we finished eating, Howie paid the bill and we left. The next destination was downtown LA, for shopping. We hopped into the limo and sat back for the half hour drive to the busy streets. I made sure music was playing and opened the sun roof.
"So. How's the practices going?" D attempted to strike up a conversation.
"Britney does not talk to ANYONE. she mainly stays with herself and her friends. All she said was hi to me, then went to her little corner to play kiddie games with her friends. It was kind of annoying. Then, when we were practicing, she asked a million questions and pushed her way to the front and stood right in front of another girl. She's kind of obnoxious if you ask me," I told D. It felt so great to be able to look into those eyes that I had missed so much within the course of two days. I unexpectedly sighed. Howie gave me a weird look. "Oh! You want your birthday gift?"
"Yeah sure. What'dja get me? It better not be a shirt or something. I already have too many of those," he joked.
"I promise you it's not that. Now, close your eyes," I instructed. Those brown eyes disappeared under those droopy eyelids and I got out the box and placed it in his hand. "Okay. Open your eyes." He did. Howie wrinkled his brow as he looked at the white object. Then, he delicately opened the box and lifted up the cotton layer to find a sterling silver ring sitting in the box, on another layer of cotton. he picked it up and examined it. Engraved on the outside was "Dork & Dancer Girl 4-ever." Howie looked up at me with such kindness in his eyes.
"Nineteen years we've been friends. I think it's time we had a friendship ring," I lightly replied. Howie's eyes were still locked on mine. They were so soft, full of appreciativeness and kindness. He sat beside me and wrapped his arms around me tighter than he ever had before, then gave me a kiss.
"Thank you soo much Steph. This is the best present I've ever gotten," He practically whispered into my ear. I smiled, happy that my best friend loved his gift. He let go of me and stuck the ring on his finger. It fit perfectly. "I wonder why I never thought of something like this."
"Because then everyone would think we're engaged or something," I replied.
"True. But it doesn't matter. You already have the rings you wear. They wouldn't notice."
"Nah. Just the ones that hate me would." We sat in silence listening to the music. He didn't move from his spot beside me. It was so weird. We didn't talk or anything, just sat there, glad to be together because we knew that it would be the last day we'd see each other for four weeks. It felt great to be with him on his 27th birthday, alone. It was weird because for my birthday he had gotten me a car and before that a house, but such a little, insignificant thing as an engraved friendship ring meant more than words could express. We sat together, his arm around me and my head resting on his shoulder as we listened to the music, while the limo drove through LA. It finally pulled to a stop and the door was opened. We were stopped right in front of a large store called "Wild Stylz." I looked up at the funky sign and laughed to myself.
"This is definitely a 'me' store, that's for sure," I chuckled.
"That's why we're here. Come on, let's go inside. AJ highly recommended it," Howie said, pulling me into the store. One step through the front doors made me gasp.
"Can I just buy this whole store?" I asked as soon as I caught a glimpse of what was inside.
Hats. Wild hats. Original hats. Hats no one would find anywhere else. AJ hats. Gilli hats. Hats neither of us had ever seen before I gawked at everything. The first one I went to was a leopard print bucket hat. I stuck it on and turned to Howie, smiling.
"How does this one look?" I wanted to know.
"Get it. It is totally you!" he told me. I couldn't put it down. The hats were so awesome and I wanted to buy every one. I had to limit myself to one though. I went to the cash register and set the hat down. The lady rang it up and I paid her.
As she handed me the receipt, I asked the clerk, "Is there a way I can contact the designer?"
"Um we don't usually give out her phone number, but there is a company line you can contact," the clerk told me.
"No. I want to talk to the designer. For a possible job on music videos and for wardrobe for a musical group," I cut her short. The woman looked at me. Then at Howie. Finally, she dug out the card and handed it to me.
"Thank you!" I cried. Then, we left the store before I could check out any more hats and get the urge to have them.
Once outside, I stuck on the hat. It was kind of big, even though it was a small/medium. Which meant the hat drooped a little over my eyes. Howie looked at me and laughed. We walked down the streets, looking at stores yet not buying anything because both of us were picky shoppers.
We walked around for a good three or four hours. At the time the chauffeur was given, we met up with him in front of Wild Stylz once again. It was around five, so we found another restaurant and had some chinese food, since we were both yearning for some. Soon after, we left for Beverly Hills. As we reached it, the sun had begun to lower. Instead of going to Fatima's apartment, Howie asked the chauffeur to take us to LAX. So we drove there and the limo was parked alongside the road beside the runway. Howie and I got out and sat on the back of the limo and watched the planes go by for about two hours. The driver was probably getting really bored with us...
At around 10, we got back in and Howie asked the chauffeur to take us to the best 18 and older dance club in the area. So, within 45 minutes, we were back on our feet, dancing. We danced at the club till about two in the morning. By the beginning of the next day, we were both drained of our energies and ready to fall asleep. So we left.
"Steph, this has been THE best birthday I've ever had. You are and will always be my Dancer Girl," he sighed.
"And you'll always be my Dork, Howie," I told him. We gave each other a kiss as the limo drove down the street