Lucky

Chapter TwentySix
By: Lara
© 2000

Lara paced in front of her door, checking her blue silk sundress one more time for any stains or wrinkles. She put on the matching jacket, then took it off, then put it on again. She jumped when her doorbell rang. She opened the door with a smile, but her smile faded when she saw a chauffeur on the other side of the door. He handed her a long-stemmed white rose with a smile.

"Hello, Miss. Mr. Dorough asked me to come for you. He'll be meeting you at the restaurant."

"Um...okay," she said worriedly, wondering if he was planning on standing her up. She took the rose and followed the driver out the door.

"Miss Lucky, Mr. Richardson sent me to pick you up...he will be waiting for you at the restaurant," the chauffeur told Lisa when she opened the door. He handed her a tiny nosegay of purple and pink miniature roses. "Hmmm...all right." She threw her wrap over her shoulders and followed the driver to the car. He opened the door to the backseat and she gasped.

"Lucky? What are YOU doing here?" Lara said, shocked. Lisa climbed in before answering. "Kevin sent this guy to bring me to dinner."

"Howie sent him to pick ME up. He said we'd have to make a stop, I had no clue..." Lara was confused.

"Double date?" Lisa guessed.

"No way...do you really think..." Lara trailed off as the driver handed them a piece of paper. Lisa grabbed it and read it out loud. "By now you guys are wondering what the hell is going on. We decided that the best thing would be for us to take things slow. What could possibly be slower than a double date? Tonight the date was Howie's idea...Kevin's idea will come this Friday night. We'll see you soon. Love, Kev and D."

The girls looked at each other. "A double date?" Lara wrinkled her nose.

"Is a date with me such a bad idea?" Lisa teased her.

"No, but you're so glamorous...Howie will forget about me and try to work his magic on YOU," Lara pouted. Lisa shoved her.

"Puhleeze. Howie would not have chased you all over the seashores of America if he even had tiny thoughts about me. He is all yours."

Flashbulbs popped as soon as the chauffeur opened their door. "Lucky! Over here!"

"How in the world do they find us?" Lara wondered.

"This is one of the best restaurants in town, remember? They hover here like vultures. Just smile and wave," Lisa murmured, doing just that.

"Meeting anyone special tonight, ladies?" A photographer asked.

"You could say that," Lara said shyly. The maitre 'd let them in the door while two large doormen kept the hounds at bay.

"Ah, Miss Lucky...Miss Lara...right this way." Another host led them to a table where Howie and Kevin were waiting. The men instantly stood.

"You look incredible," Howie told Lara, his dark eyes drinking her in.

"That color is fantastic on you," Kevin told Lisa as he took her wrap and handed it to the host. She wore a royal blue dress that ended at her ankles.

"Lara let me borrow this color tonight," Lisa joked. "Ever notice how I NEVER wear blue? She's laid claim to it." Lara blushed, turning even redder when Howie said softly, "You look good no matter what color you're wearing."

"You look good, too," she said shyly. Both men wore black suits, Howie with a black silk shirt underneath and Kevin with a wine red shirt underneath. Kevin quickly ordered a bottle of champagne and Lisa looked at him curiously.

"Celebrating something?"

"Second chances," he whispered to her, and she shivered. Lara looked around the room at all the famous people, and she felt a bit nervous. Yes, working in LA all this time had gotten her accustomed to seeing movie stars and music stars and television stars, but she never thought she would actually BE with one of them.

"Are you okay?" Howie asked, concerned.

"Yes...just a but nervous. This is kinda of overwhelming," she replied.

"You SHOULD be nervous," Kevin said from across the table. "You're the new "it" girl around town now. Hope you don't mind being replaced by your best friend, Angel," he said to Lisa, his favorite nickname for her falling off his lips unconsciously.

"No way. I could never replace Lisa. I'm just an assistant," Lara said quickly, blushing again. "All I did was show up with her last night."

"Did I miss something?" Howie asked, confused.

"D, where have you been? Didn't you watch the news or any of the gossip shows?" Kevin asked him.

"I slept late today...I was awakened last night by a phone call," he said slyly, making Lisa laugh.

"Well, Lara here was the talk of ALL the morning shows today," Kevin told him. Lisa nodded in agreement. Howie turned to Lara and smiled.

"Guess people will soon be asking for YOUR autograph instead of mine, huh?"

Lara shook her head. "Doubtful."

"Oh, please, roll me out to the car," Lara groaned two hours later. "I feel like a heifer."

"You always think you're a heifer," Lisa told her. "Get over it."

"I will escort you out, but I refuse to roll you out," Howie told Lara, helping her into her jacket.

"Where to now?" Lisa asked Kevin. He and Howie exchanged glances.

"Part two of your romantic double date," Kevin told her. As they approached the door, he turned to Lisa. "Um, I know we are taking things slow and everything, and that I'm earning your trust back...however, when we walk out that door together, the press is gonna jump on us and assume things are back to normal." He looked her in the eye. "Is that okay?"

"Fine," she told him, smiling. His heart leapt at her words, but he simply took her arm and placed it through his. "Time to face the vultures," Howie mumbled to Lara, plastering a smile on his face as they led the way out of the restaurant.

"Okay, I really need a life," Nick muttered as he flipped channels once again. He had tried calling everyone he knew, or at least liked, and no one was available. AJ was spending the evening with Amanda, Brian was out of town with HIS Amanda, and Howie just wasn't home. He didn't even bother calling Kevin.

"Thanks for joining us. We're continuing our week-long camp out in front of Visaggio's, interviewing the rich and famous and digging into what makes this restaurant the most popular spot in town," the anchorwoman said. "We're live in front of this downtown hotspot, and...well...there are two of the most popular women in Hollywood right now." The woman's face brightened at the prospect of a short interview. "Here comes Lucky, once again on the arm of Kevin Richardson, and her new partner in crime, Lara, looking quite comfy with Howie Dorough, Kevin's bandmate. Lara! Lucky! Could we have a minute?"

Nick almost fell off his chair. So THAT'S where Howie was...out with Lucky, Kevin, and Lara. His eyes never left Lara's smiling face. She looked good. He was beginning to damn himself for fucking things up so royally. She was everyone's sweetheart now...and she should be HIS sweetheart as well. "Hello, Angelica," Lisa said smoothly to the interviewer. "Is this a double date?"

"No, just an intimate dinner...four friends enjoying each other's company," Lisa answered quickly.

"Is there something we should know about this little foursome?" The interviewer asked sweetly, and Lisa wanted to claw her eyes out.

"Only that the team of Lucky and Lara is going to take Hollywood by storm, and that we are fortunate to have good friends like Kevin and Howie to support us," Lara said with a smile, turning away from the woman as soon as the words left her mouth. "Excuse us."

Nick turned off the TV, staring at it for a long while. He then went up to take a long, cold shower.

"That was great!" Lisa shrieked as soon as they were in the back of the limo. "You handled that wench like a pro!"

"I learned from the best," Lara said, and Lisa blushed slightly.

"Where are we going?" Lisa asked Kevin.

"It's a surprise. You might want to take off your stockings, though," Kevin told her. One look up into his green eyes made her want to rip off ALL her clothes, but she sedately did as he asked. They drove up the coast for about fifteen minutes, then the limo pulled over to the side. "An hour?" Howie asked Kevin. He glanced at Lisa.

"Better make it two."

"Cool. Catch you two later. Come on, Lara." He got out of the car and held out his hand. She threw Lisa one desperate glance, then followed Howie out of the car. He shut the door and it zoomed up the street.

"What's going on?" Lara asked warily.

"We thought a nice way to end the evening would be a moonlit walk on the beach. Moonlit walks are not double date material, however, so Kevin and Lisa will be walking a few miles up." Howie looked down at her anxiously.

"If you don't want to do this, I have my cellphone. I could call the limo back and we could just drive around." He took his hand in hers. "I just know how much you love the ocean, and I thought a walk would be nice."

"It sounds wonderful," Lara said, grateful that her skirt was knee-length, unlike Lisa's. They picked their way down to the wet sand near the water's edge.

"You could have told me," Lisa grumbled as Kevin helped her across the dunes on their way down to the water. "I would have worn a shorter dress."

"But then I couldn't do this." Kevin swept Lisa up into his arms and easily carried her the last yards. She wished he would never let her go, but he finally set her down carefully. He took her hand and swung it between them, reminding her of their first date. "Is this okay? Walking, I mean."

"It's fine," she replied. She sighed, feeling more relaxed then she had in weeks.

"That's how I feel, too," Kevin said, smiling at her warmly. "I missed these kind of moments most...where we would just be together and not have to say a word."

Can this man read my heart or what? Lisa asked herself. Those were her exact feelings. "I missed it too," she replied.

"Lisa, I mean it when I say I will fight tooth and nail for you." Kevin stopped walking and faced her. "I was an idiot for placing my career in front of our future. It was wrong. I will do anything I can to make it up to you." He lightly caressed her face with his fingers. "I have missed you like crazy." His voice was thick with emotion. "Ask anyone. I've been a wreck. I hate myself so much...and I..."

"Don't hate yourself, Kevin." Lisa smiled up at him. "You did what you thought was the right thing...and it was very brave of you. It just hurt."

Kevin nodded slowly. He took her hand and they continued walking.

Lara stood and stared at the water. Howie stood a few feet behind her, saying nothing. "My first outing with Nick was at the beach," she said slowly. "Kevin and Lisa asked us to come along to give their date credibility. It was the first time he asked me out...asked to be my date at her party."

"I'm sorry," he said softly. "Maybe this was a bad idea."

She turned to face him. "No, Howie, it wasn't. This whole night has been a dream come true...the dinner...now this walk...it's wonderful." A piece of hair came free from his ponytail and she gently tucked it behind his ear. "And besides, our first real outing was at the beach...back on the East Coast, remember?" He smiled and nodded. "And I'm sure it won't be our last." She continued walking up the beach. Howie stood where he was, smiling. Maybe there was hope after all.

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