"Yes, it is." "Is it one of the numbers you'll be donating to the charity today?" Someone else called. Lisa laughed. "Obviously you guys have been misinformed. I'm donating the total proceeds for the first three months' worth of sales of my line to the charity...not the actual outfits." She smiled. "I doubt that cancer patients would really be interested in a Lucky original." The crowd laughed as she moved on.

As usual, Lara was waiting right inside the doors. Lisa frowned when she saw her. "I buy you a gorgeous outfit and you won't wear it?"

"I was saving it for something special," Lara said defensively, looking down at her navy blue pantsuit.

"Whatever. Lead me to the food. I'm starving." Lisa followed Lara to the buffet table. Lisa groaned when she saw Reggie devouring some hors d'oeuvres. "What's HE doing here?"

"Guess he snuck out of a garbage can somewhere and stole an invite," Lara replied in a low voice, making Lisa giggle.

"Lucky, 'bout damn time." Reggie grabbed her arm. "Need to introduce ya to some people."

Lisa shrugged him off. "Come on, Lara." She grabbed Lara's arm and they followed him through the crowd. Five handsome young men were standing by the bar, drinking various soft drinks and alcoholic beverages.

"Lucky? These are the Backstreet Boys. Backstreet Boys, this is Lucky." Reggie smiled his greasy smile.

"And this is my assistant, Lara," Lisa said, yanking Lara forward and giving Reggie an evil glare.

"Hi...I'm Brian." A short man with sandy hair and bright blue eyes gave Lisa and Lara a big smile. "That's AJ on the end, this is Howie, the blondie who isn't paying attention to us is Nick, and this is my cousin, Kevin."

Lisa considered herself a mature woman. When Kevin turned his bright green eyes on her, however, she felt about ten years old. "Hey," she said softly. He smiled at her.

"So, you're the big guest host, huh?"

Lisa rolled her eyes. "Hardly. I kinda got thrown into this and..."

"Be right back, babe." Reggie gave Lisa's arm a squeeze and dove into the crowd.

"Thank God," Lara murmured.

Howie smiled at her. "Take it you don't think much of him?"

"We try not to think of him at all, if we can help it," Lara replied, making everyone laugh. Lisa stared at her. Was she flirting? She didn't know Lara had it in her.

"You were saying?" Kevin said to her.

"Uh...well...this wasn't really my idea, it was Reggie's...and since I have a sucky contract, I don't have much of a choice."

"We know ALL about sucky contracts," Brian told her. AJ, Howie and Kevin nodded in agreement.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to thank you all for coming." A man stepped up to the microphone. "The cancer wing of the hospital will benefit greatly from your generosity. I would also like to especially thank Lucky, who has agreed to donate to our hospital the entire first three months' profit from her new clothing line." There was a spattering of applause, and Lisa blushed.

"Entire profit...very generous." Brian tipped his glass to her and she smiled.

"Oh! I almost forgot to tell you!" Lara turned to Lisa. "Some PR people from Blockbuster called...you're nominated in their awards thingy...best actress in a drama."

"You're kidding!" Lisa laughed. "That's pretty cool."

"To Lucky...best actress in a drama..." Kevin raised his glass as well.

"Okay...now what?" Lisa asked as they climbed into the ever-waiting limo at around three in the afternoon. Lara stared at her. "You truly don't know your own calendar?"

"That's what I have you around for, silly," Lisa said with a smile.

"Usually I'm better, but this week I can't keep anything straight."

"Nothing...you actually have a free afternoon and evening," Lara said with a smile.

"Yes!" Lisa shouted. "I know what I'm doing. I am gonna lounge around the pool with bags of Fritos and chips, and YOU are gonna lounge around with me."

"I don't know, Lisa, I..."

"I'm your boss and I order you to be my friend today," Lisa said with a teasing grin. She gave the driver Lara's address before her assistant could protest.

"Okay...if this is what being famous is all about, I am SO there," Lara said with a sigh as she and Lisa floated around Lisa's pool on big blue rafts.

Lisa looked at her over a pair of big sunglasses. "You of all people know it's not all like this."

"Yes...yes, I do," Lara replied. "Is it worth it?"

"When I come home to a gorgeous home like this, yes, it is. When I see someone's eyes light up just because I stop to pose for a picture, yes, it is. When I stood in front of the world to give my acceptance speech for the Oscar, yes, it is. When I drive home from some shindig at two in the morning and arrive here to an empty house, no...it isn't." Lisa took a sip of her iced tea and sighed. "When I started acting in plays and things back in my hometown, I never thought I'd even make it to California. When I made it here, I never thought I'd get even a walk-on part. When I got the walk-on, I never thought I'd get a part with lines...and so on. Now, I sometimes wish I was back at home, doing community theater." She waved a hand in the air. "This isn't the real me."

"I know that," Lara said gently.

"I just wish that someone else did...I mean, I get lonely. I would give anything for someone to just call me up and ask me out just because they liked me, Lisa, and not because they met Lucky." Lisa frowned. "I'm sorry...you don't need to hear my pity party."

"It's okay...that's what friends are for," Lara said with a smile. Lisa floated over so she could grab a hold of Lara's raft. "What about you? Why aren't you with anyone?"

"I'm waiting for Reggie to notice me," Lara said with a straight face. Lisa made a gagging noise. "I don't know," Lara said seriously. "I just haven't found anyone who's willing to look past the surface...kinda like the boat you're in. I refuse to change the way I am just to please someone else."

"Good for you," Lisa told her, giving her ankle a squeeze. "Shit...I shoulda brought out some magazines...I have a stack in there and I never get the chance to read them."

"I stuffed some in my bag over there," Lara told her. Lisa paddled their rafts to the edge of the pool and reached into Lara's canvas bag. As she pulled out four or five magazines, she started to laugh. "Lara, what the hell are these?"

"Shit," Lara mumbled, blushing. Lisa held copies of the most current teenybopper magazines. "I...uh...well...I figured that one of us should do research," she stammered.

"Bullshit. You were drooling, weren't you? It's Howie, isn't it?" Lisa said, amused. "Not that I blame you...he IS a cutie."

"It's NOT Howie," Lara said defensively. "It's Nick."

"Nick? The blond one? He hardly said three words to us. He seemed kinda stuck up, if you asked me."

"Well, I DIDN'T ask you, first of all...and secondly...he's shy. All the magazines say so," Lara said, then smiled at the way she was defending a total stranger.

"Whatever." Lisa grabbed a magazine with a big picture of Kevin Richardson on the front and started reading as the phone rang.

"Meez Lucky! Phone!" Anna called from the kitchen window. Lisa paddled over and picked up the cordless by the pool.

"Who is it?" Lisa called back.

"I dunno!" Anna called back. Lisa sighed.

"Hello?"

"Lucky? This is Kevin...Kevin Richardson."

Home
Hosted Stories
Chapter Two
Chapter Four

© 2000 Lucky ~ Britney Spears