Lucky

Chapter Five
By: Lara
© 2000

Lisa closed the door with a sigh. "Well, I'd say that was successful, wouldn't you?"

"Yeah, if you call Kevin Richardson hanging on your every word a success," Lara said with a smile, going upstairs to change back into her clothes. Lisa ran up after her.

"Was he really hanging on my every word?" Lisa asked eagerly. Lara stopped and looked at her. Lisa's eyes were sparkling and her cheeks were flushed. "Definitely," Lara told her.

"He IS something, isn't he...that body...and those eyes, wow...they were beautiful." Lisa flopped down onto her messy bed.

Lara swallowed a grin. She may have been the beautiful starlet on the outside, but Lisa was starlet who never made her bed. "Eyes...they were what, brown?" Lara teased.

"No way! Green...emerald green...sparkling emerald green," Lisa sighed.

"You've got it bad," Lara said, laughing.

"I know." Lisa grew serious. "And that bites. It is almost impossible for two famous people to date. Everyone gets in your business and messes everything up. Not that we'll ever date or anything."

"Trust me. You'll date," Lara told her. "He'll call you before the week is out."

"Lucky? This is Kevin."

"Kevin?" Lisa sat straight up in bed and glanced at the clock. Eleven-thirty.

"Yes...is it too late? Were you sleeping?"

"Um...well...I was in bed but not sleeping," she said honestly. "I have an early call tomorrow for some TV thing."

"I'm sorry!"

"It's okay...what's up?" Lisa snuggled back down and smiled. Her heart was beating so hard she was afraid he could hear it. Something had really clicked between them at her little impromptu cookout and she had been hoping he would call.

"I was wondering if you were busy day after next...I know it's short notice but I thought maybe if you had the afternoon free we could go out to the beach or something."

Did he sound nervous? "The beach? You mean...uh...like a date?" Lisa was almost afraid to say the words.

"Um...yeah...if that's okay. I thought maybe so people wouldn't get the wrong idea or something, you could bring Lara and I could drag one of the guys along...maybe Nick."

Well, if she couldn't get him alone having just Lara and Nick there was second best. "Kevin, there is nothing I would like more. And it just so happens that I have a really light schedule the rest of the week."

"I need you to clear my schedule for Wednesday," Lisa told Lara as they drove to the studio. She was shooting a commercial for her new clothing line.

"What?" Lara flipped through the ever-present calendar. "Well...you do have this lunch thing at a bookstore, and then..."

"CLEAR MY SCHEDULE, Lara, and clear yours, too."

"Mine?" Lara squeaked. She studied her boss carefully. "What's going on?"

"Kevin called last night." Lisa could not keep the grin off her face. "He called and asked me to have a picnic on the beach with him on Wednesday. And he wants you there, too, so people won't talk so much, and he'll have another one of the guys come along, too."

"Another one of the guys? Like...maybe...Nick, or something?" Lara turned white.

"Maybe...or Howie or Bri or something..." Lisa looked at Lara. "Forget it. You're coming. Quit looking so ill."

"But Nick...and I'll be in a bathing suit...and..."

"He saw you in a bathing suit at my house," Lisa reminded her.

"But it's different at a beach...there are all those beautiful women and..."

"You're coming along. I need you. End of story. And if you bitch one more time, I'll fire you," Lisa said only half-jokingly. Lara leaned back against the seat and sulked.

Filming the commercial was actually fun, and the time flew. It was situations like this that made Lisa totally love her job. The crew made her feel at ease and Lara even loosened up for five minutes. Lisa almost hated to leave when the director yelled cut and print. "We have a few hours to kill until you have to get ready for that dinner thing tonight," Lara told her. "Do you want to just go home?"

"Nope...I need to go shopping. I need the perfect beach outfit." Lisa told the driver to head downtown. Lara sighed.

"Lisa, you have closets full of clothing at home, clothing that Kevin Richardson has never seen and..."

"Lara, what I have at home are dresses and designer gowns and silk pantsuits. I have almost NO casual clothing. And while we're down there, we are taking YOU to the eye doctor to get your eyes tested for contacts. No more hiding those baby blues behind glasses."

"Excuse me?"

"Listen to me." Lisa took Lara's hand in hers. "I have a good feeling that Kevin and I are going to be seeing a lot of each other. I need you around to keep things on the QT. If I can get Nick to stick around, YOU'LL be more comfortable. I think you are wonderful just the way you are, but you being able to flutter those eyelashes free and easy will keep Nick's attention."

"That makes no sense whatsoever," Lara told her, trying not to smile. "But I have always wanted contacts."

"Good. Settled. And after that we can hit the hairdresser and..."

Lara held up a hand. "Whoa. Wait a second. I..."

"Lara, making you over will keep me from drooling over Kevin. Besides...I think I wanna have a party sometime before this variety show thing, and we need to start planning."

Lara sighed and pulled out her notebook, wondering how in the world she had gotten pulled into all this.

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