It was a warm day for February, but Texas wasn’t known for its great amounts of snowfall. Brian put his cell phone down on the bedside table and slid back to lean against the headboard. His father was on his way back outside in Kentucky to shovel some more snow off the driveway. He apologized to Brian for not being able to be there for his birthday, but with the last minute snowstorm that had only just passed through his hometown, all flights were grounded.

Brian sighed and reached for the remote. “There’s got to be something on,” he muttered as he flicked through the channels. But it was time for the midday news and all reports were on the upcoming Backstreet Boys concert to be held the next day.

“And sources have confirmed that the Boys and their entourage have arrived a day early and are staying holed up in one of San Antonio’s finer hotels.” Brian groaned as the perky newscaster was shown standing outside their hotel. “Girls, don’t try to get into the hotel because these are five heavily guarded Boys.”

A quick knock at his door and then Nick was flying into the room with his girlfriend in tow. They slammed the door and Amy was locking it while Nick wiped his brow and grinned at Brian. “Hey, Bri! What’s up?”

“What are you two doing?” Brian turned off the television.

Amy tucked a wayward strand of her long hair behind her ear. “Nick got the bright idea of going down to the gift shop when that stupid news lady saw him and charged after us.” She stepped up to the mirror and tried to tame her hair. “So Wonder Boy over there grabs my arm and we run across the lobby and into an elevator. A broken elevator. So we’re stuck in there with this woman tossing questions at us.”

Nick shrugged. “I got us out of there, didn’t I?”

“By telling her that I was your Spanish love slave! I’m not your love slave and I’m certainly not Spanish.” Amy glared at him. “My mother is not going to be pleased when she sees this. You know she’s not too happy with us even dating because of all the security issues.”

Brian jumped off the bed and stepped between them. “Nick, that was so wrong on so many counts. But we’ve got bigger problems.”

“What?”

“My parents can’t come down because of that snowstorm up north, Leighanne is in Los Angeles filming her new movie, and thanks to that reporter we’re stuck in this hotel. And tomorrow is my birthday!”

Both Amy and Nick had to stifle their laughter at Brian’s expression.

“Well, Brian, we could always have your party here at the hotel,” Nick suggested.

He shook his head. “Nah, we did your birthday in a hotel. I am so tired of hotels. I do not want to turn 26 in a hotel.”

“So call Faye,” Amy said. “She lives near here and would probably know where we could all go.”

Brian’s eyes lit up. He and Faye had always been close friends, despite the nine years between them. Grabbing his phone, he scrolled through the directory until he recovered her number and hit send.

“It’s busy.”

“So she’s probably online,” Amy grinned. “Why don’t you IM her? I believe that Jacquie has her laptop set up in her room.”

“Don’t you mean AJ’s room?” Nick countered with a grin.

Brian ushered them both out into the hallway and down to room 410. “Who cares? It’s a suite with way too much room for just one person.”

“Uh-huh, sure, Brian.” Nick winked at Amy as they stopped at the door and knocked.

AJ came to let them in. “Hey guys, Amy.” Explaining their mission, AJ led the way out onto the balcony where Jacquie was sitting in front of a laptop computer, typing furiously away.

“What are you doing?” Amy peered over her friend’s shoulder.

Jacquie looked up and grinned. “AJ and I are creating rumors and posting them on different fan sites. Did you know that Kevin still microwaves cats?”

“That’s disgusting!” Brian said as he pulled up a chair. “Are you talking with Faye by any chance?”

She nodded and closed out that window. “She’s on Yahoo. Did you want to use your own name or use mine?” But Brian was already pulling the computer closer and opening up a chat window.

JacquieBSBFan: Oh Faye!
BratTexasGirl: What now Jaqs?
JacquieBSBFan: It’s not Jacquie. It’s Brian.
BratTexasGirl: Hi Bri! Getting excited for tomorrow?
JacquieBSBFan: NO! My parents aren’t coming and the hotel is surrounded.
BratTexasGirl: LOL. I saw the newscast.
JacquieBSBFan: Amy said that you’d know what we can do. Any ideas?
BratTexasGirl: Um… go visit the gift shop?
JacquieBSBFan: Nick already tried that… Ask Amy for details.
BratTexasGirl: heh heh. I will.
JacquieBSBFan: So what are you doing?
BratTexasGirl: Just hanging out at my house, working on my website.
JacquieBSBFan: Need help?
BratTexasGirl: Are you serious?
JacquieBSBFan: Very. I need something to do.
BratTexasGirl: Um, okay.
BratTexasGirl: Put Jacquie back on.

Jacquie got up from the couch where she was curled up with AJ and went out to the balcony and started chatting with Faye, Brian looking over her shoulder.

Ten minutes later, Brian came back into the room, a huge smile on his face. “Okay, everyone. Get ready to leave. We’re busting outta this joint!”

“How do you plan on doing that?” Amy asked. “There are fans and reporters out there.”

Jacquie brought her laptop inside and set it on the desk. “No worries, kiddo. Faye and I have it all figured out.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fifty minutes later, Faye looked in the rearview mirror of the car she was driving and sighed in relief. “Okay, everyone. The coast is clear.”

“Like they could see us anyway, Faye,” Nick grumbled as he pulled some baby’s breath out of his hair. “There aren’t any windows back here.”

Jacquie turned from where she was in the passenger seat and grinned. “At least you’re out of the hotel, Nick.”

“We could have gotten a limo or something a little more comfortable that all of us sitting in the back of a florist delivery truck.”

“It’s not so bad,” Amy said from her spot on the floor. “And I’m sure it smells better in here than in your limousine, sweetie.” She was taking the small flowers off the floor and making a small bouquet. “How on earth did you get this truck, Faye?”

The tall brunette laughed. “Sheer luck. My grandmother owns a flower shop and she asked me to run a few deliveries for her this morning.” She shrugged her shoulders. “And who knew it was going to take me six hours to drop three bouquets off at the church?”

Brian laughed and stretched. “I don’t care how we’re traveling. I’m just glad we’re out.”

AJ shook his head. “So now that we’re out, what are we going to do? I did not just defy death to travel around Texas in the back of a van smelling like roses.”

“Defy death?” Faye looked at him in the mirror. “It wasn’t that bad. You had to walk across all of five feet from the door to the van in the parking lot. Nobody even saw you.”

Jacquie turned around and picked up her cell phone. “Does someone want to call Nikki and Howie to let them know where we are?”

Amy grabbed the phone and started dialing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nikki picked up the ringing phone on the console between the seats and started talking to Amy. “Okay, kiddo. We’ll meet you there in a few.” She hung up the phone and turned to smile at Howie who was driving. “Change of plans.”

“What now?”

She shook her head in amusement. “Somehow Faye and Jacquie got everyone out of the hotel and they are all going to Faye’s place for the afternoon.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me!”

“Nope!” Nikki adjusted her sunglasses. “Brian was determined not to spend the day in the hotel, and you know that the others are always up for an adventure, so they decided to leave.”

Howie grinned. “So everyone’s going to be at Faye’s house? Bodyguards and all?”

“Faye, Jacquie, Brian, AJ, Nick, and Amy only. Well, us too. I think Kevin was out at some promotion or something for his foundation, but they called him. So if he can make it, it will just be the nine of us.”

His smile dropped slightly. “Um, ten. Remember Gloria?”

“Who?”

“I didn’t tell you about her?” When Nikki shook her head, Howie swallowed nervously. “Gloria is like a cousin. I’ve known her forever.”

“Like a cousin? How can someone be like a cousin?”

Howie indicated and turned left off the road they had been on for nearly an hour. “Her mom was good friends with my mom when they were younger, so when they realized that Glo and I were the same age, they assumed that we’d be friends.”

Nikki shrugged. “What does all this have to do with today?”

“I kinda made plans to meet up with her today.” He scratched his arm. “We’re actually on our way to pick her up right now.”

“And when were you planning on telling me about this?” Nikki looked out the window. “I thought that we were actually going to have a day to spend with just the others and with just us. You know we haven’t had a chance to just relax with our friends since Nick’s birthday.”

“So what does it matter if she comes along?”

“Other than you’re the only one who knows her, so she’s going to be spending all her time with you.”

Howie shook his head. “Glo is really outgoing, so I know she’ll fit in just fine. And it’s just for the afternoon. I promised her that I’d stop by to see her when I was here and today is going to be the only day I can.”

Nikki sighed. “Alright, Howie. I just wish that you had told me about her before now.”

“I’m sorry, Nikki. I’ll make it up to you, I promise.” His look was intense and she couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across her face.

“I’m sorry, too. I don’t mind sharing you with all your fans, but when it comes to other women, I’m very protective. Does that make sense?”

“Perfectly.” He pulled into the driveway of a low stucco house. Leaning over the console, he touched his lips to hers. “Trust me, you have nothing to worry about.”

Settling back in her seat, Nikki watched as Howie climbed out of the car and walked up to the house. Before he got to the door, a small curvy redhead came running outside and flung her arms around Howie, pressing her body against him and attaching her mouth to his.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Okay, folks. Kevin said he can’t get out of the hotel because security has discovered that we’re gone and they won’t let him out of the place.” AJ dropped his cell phone in his bag. “But he’s not complaining because Kristin was able to get an earlier flight in and will be there in about an hour.” He walked over to the stereo where Amy was trying to decide what to play.

Brian looked up from Faye’s computer with a grin. “We can put that on the page, right, Faye?”

Faye laughed. “Sure, Bri. How’s this: ‘Backstreet Boy Gets Some’? Great headline.” She started typing furiously on the page as Brian leaned over her shoulder, making comments all the while.

“What are you two doing?” Jacquie peered at the screen. “Making a new site, Faye?”

The younger girl nodded. “I decided to start over and create a basic fan site, but with insider help this time.”

“We’re not actually saying that I helped her make the site, but this will most likely dispel any thoughts otherwise,” Brian said as he pointed to the web cam attached to the top of Faye’s computer.

“You’re actually going to put pictures on the site from tonight?” Jacquie asked.

Brian grinned. “Yes and no. We will put some pictures up, but we even have this active cam page set up. Faye said she’d take it down after tonight, but who knows who might be watching.”

Nick’s ears perked up. “Is it on right now?”

“Not yet, but give me a second.” She clicked a few screens and typed something in and the green light on the camera came on. “It’s a go everyone! Whoever visits the page can see us, but there’s no audio.”

Nick immediately pulled Amy away from the stereo and over to stand in front of the camera. “Hi world. This is Amy, my girlfriend.” Then he wrapped his arms around her and planted a big kiss on her lips.

“Nick!” Amy buried her face in his sweatshirt. “Thank goodness they can’t hear you.” She started laughing as he slid his hands up her ribcage, tickling her incessantly. “Stop! Nick! Isn’t that the doorbell?”

Faye jumped up from the computer and went to go let the new arrivals in.

Nikki stormed through the room and went directly into the kitchen. Howie followed Faye into the family room with Gloria in tow. He made introductions all around before going after Nikki.

Trying to cover up the awkward silence that surrounded them, Jacquie sat down near Gloria. “How do you know Howie, Gloria?”

The redhead smiled broadly. “Oh, please call me Glo. Howie and I have known each other forever. We grew up together because our moms were close friends.” She accepted the can of soda Faye offered her. “He was one of my closest friends growing up. So close that we even nearly got married.”

“WHAT?!”

Glo laughed quietly. “We dated off and on throughout high school because it seemed like the thing to do since we were so close. So after we graduated, we thought we were destined to be together forever, so I asked him to marry me.” She smiled wistfully. “But he was already in the group and he was so focused on his music, he turned me down. Luckily, my stupid mistake didn’t ruin our friendship.”

Both girls turned toward the kitchen when the voices in there escalated. Glo frowned. “How serious are Nikki and Howie?”

“They’ve been friends for awhile now,” Jacquie said. “Not as long as you and Howie have, but it took them a long time before they decided to start dating. It’s been hard because they lived states away from each other and neither one wanted a relationship. But I guess Cupid snuck up on them.” She looked up and smiled when her eyes drifted across the other guys playing football, still obsessed with that web cam. “Then when Nikki moved down to Orlando, they saw each other even less because her work occupied so much of her time. And you know how available Howie is.”

“And then I show up.” Glo dropped her head into her hands. “I hope I didn’t ruin things between them.”

Jacquie shook her head. “I’m sure Nikki realizes that you’re just a friend to Howie.”

“Not after she saw the way I greeted him.” Glo grimaced. “It’s been three years since I’ve seen him in person. We email every once in awhile and of course our moms are still in touch, but it’s been so long since I had him nearby that when he showed up I was more demonstrative than I should have been.”

Jacquie’s grimace matched Glo’s. “I think I understand what’s going on just a bit more. But what I don’t understand is why Howie didn’t even mention you were coming tonight.”

“He didn’t even mention me?” Glo shook her head and stood up. “Thanks so much for talking with me, Jacquie, but I think I need to be going. Is there a phone I can use to call a cab?”

“You’re leaving?” Howie walked out of the kitchen. “Glo, please don’t go.” He looked very tired as he sat down next to her on the couch. “I could really use a friend right now.”

Glo and Jacquie exchanged puzzled glances before the redhead sat down next to Howie and Jacquie went after Nikki.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tired of playing football, Brian collapsed on the floor at Faye’s feet. Nick staggered over and sprawled on the floor next to Amy. AJ looked up from the photo album he and the girls had been looking at and grinned. “Well, that will give those people online something to look at. Backstreet Boys who can’t make it through a pickup game of football in a family room. So much for stamina.”

Nick laughed and peered over Amy’s shoulder. “What are you looking at?”

“Faye put together these awesome scrapbooks from all her travels with the rest of us,” Amy showed him. “Any of these look familiar?”

“Hey! That’s us on the Rosie O’Donnell Show!” Nick exclaimed and turned to look at Faye. “Wasn’t that when we first met you guys?”

She nodded. “We were in New York for my sixteenth birthday.”

“And our lives have never been the same since,” Nick moaned.

“Now we’re in San Antonio for my twenty-sixth birthday,” Brian smiled. “So what are we going to do next?”

Nick rolled over on his back and something outside caught his eye. “Basketball!” He clamored to his feet and pulled Amy up. “Let’s go!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Howie and Glo looked up to see Faye and Brian follow the couple out the door and into the backyard. “Do you want to join them?” Glo asked hesitantly.

He shook his head. “I really don’t like basketball that much.” His attention went right back to the kitchen doorway. “This day is just getting worse and worse.”

She put her hand on his knee. “Do you want me to go and talk to her?”

“No!” AJ looked up at Howie’s shout. “No, she’s fine with Jacquie. Hopefully, we can work things out.”

“I’m really sorry, Howie.” Glo smiled. Her smile dropped off when Jacquie led a very solemn Nikki out into the family room.

“Nikki?” Howie stood up but she just held up her hand at him.

Jacquie stood quietly behind her friend and shrugged when AJ looked at her.

“Gloria, I’m sorry for overreacting.” Nikki began hesitantly. “I’d like to blame all this on being surprised,” she looked at the other girl sitting on the sofa next to Howie. “But there’s more here than just that. I don’t blame you at all.”

She held up her hand when Howie started toward her. “I can’t do this.” The tears glistened in her eyes. “I thought I could handle sharing you with all your fans, and that was hard. I thought I could handle being separated from you all the time, but it’s getting to be too much. I thought I knew you, but you’re hiding things from me.” Her hands clenched. “I realized that I want a whole lot more than you are willing to give me right now, Howie.”

Forcing herself to relax, Nikki smiled softly at him. He walked over to stand in front of her. “But I love you, Nicole.”

The tears in her eyes slid down her face as her eyes closed. “I love you too, Howie. But it’s not going to work.” Her breath was shaky. “I’ve been hurt before and I vowed to never let anyone do that to me again. That’s why we need to stop seeing each other.”

Howie stood up straighter and his eyes hardened. “If that’s what you want, then fine.” He turned to Gloria. “Do you want to get out of here?”

Glo sent Nikki a sad glance. “Sure.” She smiled at Jacquie. “Please tell everyone goodbye and wish Brian a happy birthday for me.” And she followed Howie out the door.

Unable to move, Nikki watched as the redhead walked out after him. “I think I’m going to lie down.” And walked upstairs to the guestroom she was using while at Faye’s.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Back in the family room, AJ and Jacquie could only stare at each other in shock. When she frowned, he stood up and took her hands in his. “What is it?”

She shook her head. “I can’t decide if I want to cry at the futility of it all or throw something.” She looked down at their interlocked hands. “They just seemed so happy together and then, poof! It’s gone.”

“They’re both very stubborn.” Jacquie nodded. “They’ve both been hurt badly, too.” He sighed and wrapped his arms around her. “Promise me that if I ever treat you like that, you’ll beat it out of me?”

She pulled back and looked at him. “I would certainly hope you wouldn’t lie to me, but it’s not like we’ve made any promises to each other.”

He shrugged. “So what if we did make promises to each other?”

“Like what?”

“Like that I’ll always be there for you. That I’ll always take care of you.” He ran his hands down her arms. “That I’ll always love you.”

She laughed. “Don’t tell me you’re writing love songs again, Alex.” Her laughter died as he shook his head. “You’re serious?”

“Yeah,” his voice was soft.

“Oh, wow.” Jacquie head started to spin. “Oh, my.”

“So what do you think?”

“About what?”

“About us.”

She stared at the chain hanging around his neck. “I don’t know.” Shrugging, she continued. “I guess I’ve never really thought about it-us seriously.” A thought occurred to her and she looked him in the eye. “This isn’t because Nikki and Howie split up, is it?”

“No, I was planning on asking you about it this weekend.”

“Why this weekend?”

He smiled. “I just thought that with Kristin and Leighanne and you girls all being in town, it would be a good time to tell everyone.”

She paused and sent him a look. “To tell everyone that you’re taken?”

“Yeah, so?”

“So? So why are you being all serious when we decided a long time ago that we were just going to keep things light between us?”

AJ ran his hands through his hair. “Things have changed.”

Stepping back, Jacquie stared at him. “Thanks for letting me know.” She shook her head. “I don’t think this is the right time to discuss this, AJ. Not while my best friend is upstairs and miserable. Not while Howie is off with Glo when he should be here working things through with Nikki.”

“Wait a second! Nikki’s the one who threw the fit and then dumped him. Don’t go blaming him,” AJ said.

“He screwed up royally this time,” Jacquie retorted. “Nikki’s been going crazy trying to make things work while Mr. Latin Lover can’t keep his pants on.”

“That was completely uncalled for! Howie isn’t like that.”

She laughed bitterly. “Then why didn’t he have the balls to admit that he had a girlfriend when he was on TRL last week? It’s not like they haven’t been serious about each other for months.”

AJ shrugged. “You know that we don’t talk about our personal lives on camera.”

“Bullshit!” Jacquie pushed him away from her. “How hard is it to admit that you’re involved with someone? Brian and Kevin got married and that didn’t affect the group. So what gives?”

When he didn’t respond, she stepped closer. “You’ve been so on edge whenever anyone talks about Kevin or Brian’s marriage affecting the group. And ever since Amy started dating Nick and Howie’s been with Nikki, you’ve been the last one.”

AJ’s eyes were dark as he met her gaze. “You want to know why I’ve been ‘on edge’ as you put it?” When she nodded, he grabbed her arms and hauled her closer for a bruising kiss. “Because I’m jealous. Freaking, stone-cold, out-of-my-mind jealous of them. They’re happy and in love with women who love them back. I saw that kind of seriousness in Howie when he was with Nikki. And it scared me.” He looked up at the ceiling. “Hell, even Nick’s settling down with someone normal.”

“Every day we are surrounded by people who just want to know us because we’re celebrities. We can accept that because this is the life we’ve chosen. But even though we are always in a crowd, we never really have someone who’s just there for us because they truly love us. Leighanne loves Brian. Kristin has been with Kevin forever. The rest of us have just had to fight to find that someone special.”

His eyes traveled to the front door. “Admitting to having someone in our lives isn’t the issue here. Howie’s scared to death because he’s completely out of his element. He’s finally found his someone and he’s lost – he has no idea what to do.”

Jacquie put her hand on his arm, her lips still tingling from his earlier kiss. “Then what about us?” Her voice was soft.

His attention was back on her again as he slid his arms around her waist and pulled her flush against him. “When I realized how I really felt about the other guys settling down, I realized how I really felt about you. Do you remember when we first met?”

She smiled. “In that restaurant in New York.”

“Do you remember when we first hung out together?”

“At the basketball game?”

“No,” he started slowly dancing with her on the plush carpeting. “I was going to say during the game of pool in Chicago. You were so horrible but so determined to win that bet.”

“And then of course there was ‘Britney’.”

AJ smirked. “Yeah, I definitely remember that. Didn’t you get a better outfit for your birthday that year?” She nodded. “And when do I get to see it?”

“Any time you want,” her smirk matched his. “It’s hanging in my closet at home.”

“Dork.”

“Punk.”

“Brat.”

“She’s outside.”

“Good.” AJ leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. “So what do you think?”

“About us?”

“Yes.”

She was quiet for a moment. “I would say that you’re definitely one of my closest friends. And I love you for that. But to be honest, I had never given any thought to having our friendship develop into something more. I’m going to need some time to think about this.”

Smiling, he cradled her in his arms. “That’s good enough for me.”

“You sure?”

“Yep.” He started waltzing. “I’ve loved you as a friend for a long time. And I think it’s because you never wanted to be more than my friend that made me fall in love with you.”

“Thank you.” Jacquie smiled. She stretched to press a kiss to his lips. “Now I’m going to go and check on Nikki.”

Reluctant to let her go, he let his fingertips trail down her arms as she turned to go be with her friend. Once she was upstairs, Brian slid through the sliding glass door.

“Did you do it?”

AJ swung his head around to see him. “I told her how I feel.” Sitting down on the leather couch, he slid his hand into the dark bag on the floor. “But it wasn’t the right time to give her this.” He opened the dark velvet box and Brian’s eyes grew as he saw the glittering diamond ring nestled inside.

Letting it sparkle in the sunlight for a moment, AJ sighed as he snapped the lid closed and tucked it away again. “Jacquie wants to take things slow, so we’re going to take as long as she needs.”

Clasping his hand on AJ’s shoulder, Brian smiled at him. “It will all work out, AJ.” Looking around the room, he frowned. “Where did Howie, Nikki, and Glo go?”

He just shook his head. “Long story, Rok. Let’s go outside and I’ll tell everyone at once.”

The two men walked outside to share the news with the rest of their friends. A few minutes later, Amy and Faye raced inside to go be with Nikki and Jacquie. Nick got on his cell phone and called their security team to coordinate their trip back to the hotel. Most of the group met up in the family room to say goodbye. The three Boys sat around waiting for their ride. Amy rode back to the hotel with them. Jacquie kissed AJ goodbye before going back up to be with Nikki. Faye closed up the house and cleaned up a bit before her family got home.

It wasn’t until she went to the desk to shut the computer down that she noticed the little green light still shining brightly from the web cam on top her monitor. Casting a glance at the empty room behind her, she shrugged and then clicked ‘end transmission’.