"I'll make you a deal." he said.

"AJ, I don't feel like playing games with you tonight!" Kevin snapped, glaring at him.

AJ's face broke into a wide smile. There was an impish look in his brown eyes that I could see even behind his sunglasses.

"Make you a deal" He repeated, "unless you're chicken."

"What?!"

"Chicken, chicken, Kevin is a chicken." He sang out.

Kevin looked like he was about to strangle AJ. Not many people would provoke Kevin when he had that look. It had been a long, tiring day and it was obvious that Kevin just needed some time to relax and unwind. He was wound up tight.

"AJ" I warned.

AJ looked at me innocently and laughed. Then he shrugged. "I was just trying to offer him a deal - we play a little game, winner gets the bed, loser gets the couch" he grinned widely "or the floor. It's the only fair way to decide. Only one bed." and he burst out in singsong "Kevin is a chicken, Kevin is a chicken."

I looked at Kevin. His teeth were clenched and his hands were on the table tightly gripping his soda. If looks could kill, AJ would be six feet under at that moment. I gently touched his arm while I flashed AJ a look hopefully warning him to back off before Kevin exploded.

"WHAT?" Kevin exclaimed. "What will it take to SHUT YOU UP?"

"Hey, not my fault YOUR bus broke down and I'm stuck with you guys riding MY bus til we get to the hotel tomorrow. If you want to be cranky, Chris and I will go take the bed and you can sleep on the floor. ALONE!"

"AJ", I warned him as Kevin unconsciously threaded his fingers with mine and tightened his grip. "Don't get any ideas, AJ" he growled.

AJ leaned back in his seat looking like he owned the world. He had Kevin right where he wanted him now and was pulling his strings, teasing him with ease and pushing all the buttons that he knew would work from them being together for so long.

"Chicken" he whispered as he took a long sip of his soda.

Kevin glared at him. AJ pushed his sunglasses up on top of his head and smiled sweetly "Chicken" he mouthed. "Whatcha afraid of?"

"Come on, AJ, let's just relax." I said "How about we watch a movie or something?"

AJ's mocking brown eyes were locked with Kevin's enraged green ones and the heat was almost visible. "OK" he said without breaking Kevin's stare. "Something!" he smirked "I chose something. Wanna make a deal, Kev, or are you chicken?"

"Damn it, AJ!" Kevin snarled "I'm not in the mood for this!"

"Whatcha in the mood for, Kevy?" AJ sang out. I rolled my eyes at him and shook my head. He just laughed.

"To be left alone!" Kevin shot back.

"Cool!" AJ grinned at me. "Chris, you come play with me. Kevy wants to be left alone."

"That's it, AJ!" Kevin yelled, slamming his fist on the table

"OK, Kevin, Truth or Dare time" AJ quickly shot back, "What are you so pissed at tonight, the fact that your bus broke down and you're stuck with me or the way that interviewer from the radio kept asking Nick all the questions after the concert and drooling over him like she was some teenybopper with out of control hormones?" AJ stared at him as though there was no doubt that Kevin would answer him.

Kevin's stare would have been enough to melt most people but AJ just took another leisurely sip of his soda and stared back with a satisfied look on his face. I was holding my breath. This might be his way of getting Kevin to open up and talk about things but it was not my idea of a good plan. I had much better plans for helping Kevin to relax before the bus broke down.

Kevin let out the breath he was holding, "Damn it", he repeated. "She just made me so mad. She never asked anything about the group, just about him personally."

"Don't let it get to you, Kev." AJ consoled.

"A couple of question about the group! Is that too much to ask? He could have done the interview solo!" Didn't that piss you off?" Kevin demanded.

"Is this my Truth or Dare?" AJ smirked. "OK. I chose truth. Yeah, it was annoying but it's all just part of the business. I made up my mind it was not going to bother me tonite. And you have to admit, he did a really great interview."

Kevin's deathgrip on my hand relaxed. "Truth," he sighed "He did a fantastic interview. He charmed her right out of her microphone." A smile slowly crept across his face "Wonder if he charmed her out of anything else? I dare you to call him and see what he's up to right now?"

AJ jumped up from the table with a huge grin, grabbed his cell phone off the counter and dialed Nick's number laughing softly to himself. "Hiya, Nicky-Boy" he yelled. "Whatcha UP to?" He covered the phone to prevent Nick from hearing us laugh while motioning us to be quiet. "Sleeping?! Not alone?! Oh, now that's better. Don't wake her then. No, nothing really. Just wondering what you were up to...I'm stuck here with Kevin and Chris...BORED....Yeah,you too... See ya in the morning."

He barely clicked off the phone before he slid to the floor in a fit of laughter. "Nick...reporter...on his bus...SLEEPING...NOT LIKELY...shit!" We all dissolved into a fit of laughter at the thought of Nick and his reporter friend sitting there wondering why AJ had called at this unearthly hour. Just as we started to regain some control, AJ blurted out "What a story that will make! I can see it now! The charming young Mr. Carter" he was laughing so hard he couldn't finish his sentence.

Kevin got up from the table and tried to pull AJ to his feet but somehow wound up laughing on the floor with him instead.

"Come on, AJ. Surely he is not the only one of you who has used his fame for some personal pleasure. Bet you have, too. Truth or Dare?" I taunted. Kevin laughed at the idea that AJ was now the one on the spot. Before I knew what hit, AJ grabbed my legs and pulled me onto the carpet with him and Kevin.

"Truth" AJ laughed without missing a beat "I can't deny it. Wouldn't want to either. Although I'm still trying to get Carmen Elecrtra on my bus. Bbut, hey, it's a two way street. They wanna be with a Backstreet Boy, too. I'm nothing but a souvenir." He threw his hands up in mock despair. Then he raised his eyebrows at me "My turn. Truth or Dare?"

"Truth" I answered holding my breath and crossing my fingers. I could only imagine what a dare from AJ would be like. Kevin lay on his back, stretched out fully on the floor. He slid his arm around my waist and pulled me across his chest, finally relaxed and definitely enjoying the thought of teasing AJ.

"Have you ever told Kevin no to sex because you were afraid of getting caught in the act"

Whew, easy one. "Sorry to disappoint you" I grinned "He's the sensible one. We'd have been caught a hundred times by now if I had my way." Kevin was laughing and shaking his head. "I'll take Truth," AJ quickly came back. He was intent on continuing this game.

"So what was the craziest place YOU ever did IT?" I asked him.

"Amusement park. The ferris wheel wasn't open yet that day. We snuck into one of the cars. I can't believe we didn't get caught."

"Truth" Kevin blurted out "is that you had some guardian angels watching over you" At Kevin's words, AJ's head snapped around and he pushed himself up on his elbow to look Kevin straight in the eye, their faces inches from each other "What?!" AJ gasped.

Kevin was struggling to keep from bursting into another laughing fit. "You can't possibly think that with all the noise you two were making that no one knew! We were just telling people you were the maintenance crew fixing the car and that the ride would open soon."

AJ's mouth hung open and his eyes were wide with surprise. He had not known this before. But he recovered quickly and came back with a totally unexpected shot "So, Chris, Truth for you. Kevy here ever scream out someone else's name while you were making love?" Kevin's breath caught in his throat and his arm tightened around my shoulder.

AJ knew he had the upper hand again and smirked at how quickly he had turned this fun little game his way. And although he was directing the question to me, he was staring at Kevin intently, without flinching "or would you rather have a dare?"

Kevin stiffened and pulled me down to him, taking a deep breath and holding it. I had the uneasy feeling that AJ wanted me to take a dare. He had no idea how far that question put him into dangerous territory.

"No fair!" Kevin argued.

"All's fair in Truth or Dare"

"That's a question for me, not her. Game's over!"

"Are we chicken, Kevy? Or is it that embarrassing? What are you trying to hide? Truth or Dare?"

Kevin knew AJ would never let him live it down if he gave up and Kevin's pride did not take well to losing. He could not let AJ win the game but he could not let me honestly answer this question. And there was no doubt that AJ would know if I lied.

"Take the dare" Kevin whispered in my ear, "please." For a second I wondered if AJ knew the name Kevin had screamed out was AJ's ex- girlfriend who had tried to cheat on him with a drunken Kevin, but I was fairly positive that the only ones who knew about that night were her, Kevin and me. Kevin insisted that he had been too drunk for much to happen and she had never let him forget just how totally incompetent she thought he was. Although I knew what a wonderful, sensitive lover Kevin was, she had made him truly doubt himself. I had finally made him believe in himself again but still, on the rare occasion when he had too much to drink, that doubt rose up again and her name was bound to cross his lips. Kevin was filled with guilt that he had let this happen and would never hurt AJ with this information.

"Baby, please" Kevin begged me, his voice low and desperate in my ear. I looked AJ straight in the eye, his face only inches from mine, and took a deep breath. "Dare"

AJ's eyes lit up and he licked his lips. I had no doubt that this was the direction he had hoped the game would take. "I get to kiss you." He stared directly at me, dark eyes full of lust and desire. "A real kiss. Not just a peck on the check"

I looked at Kevin and he nodded. "Are you sure you want me to go through with this?" I asked. He nodded again. "Yeah, it's cool." I still hesitated. I wasn't so sure about this but Kevin rolled out from under me and guided me toward AJ. Surprisingly, AJ was the timid one, obviously not expecting Kevin to go along with this dare. He was suddenly looking at the floor speechless. Kevin gently prodded me toward him. "Well, AJ. If you're gonna kiss her, you'd better do it before I change my mind."

AJ looked up at me with soft brown eyes and I smiled at him. He wrapped his arms around me and slowly brought his lips to mine. His eyes fluttered closed as I reached behind his head and stroked the back of his neck with my fingernails. As soon as my tongue touched his lips, he moaned softly and then allowed himself to respond, exploring my mouth with his tongue as I caressed his cheek.

I had tried to will myself not to feel anything when I kissed him but his kiss was so sensual and full of passion that I felt myself rapidly losing control. "Damn," I thought, "if he's this good just to kiss, no wonder all these women chase him."

Breathless, I pulled back from AJ and opened my eyes to make sure Kevin was still ok with all this, and realized that I had totally misjudged the situation. Kevin had moved behind AJ and was kissing AJ's ear. His hand was running up and down AJ's bare back, eyes closed in pleasure and desire.

AJ moaned Kevin's name causing Kevin to catch his breath before his tongue traced down from AJ's ear to his collarbone. I knew this was a fantasy coming true for Kevin and I started to back off so he could enjoy it but he grabbed my shoulder. "Don't stop, please." His voice was a husky breathless whisper. He pulled me back toward AJ and this time there was no hesitation on AJ's part. His tongue was in my mouth as soon as our lips touched and his desire was evident as his tongue intensely stroked mine. Kevin was kissing and biting his neck as AJ reached back and wrapped one hand in Kevin's long hair to hold him tight.

Kevin reached his arm over AJ's hip to unbutton AJ's pants and pulled them down over his hips before pushing him onto his back.

"I dare you to let her." AJ panted breathlessly. Kevin obviously knew what AJ was talking about. One look in Kevin's eyes and I knew what AJ wanted. "Please, baby," Kevin begged in a husky voice "Please do this."

I kissed AJ's lips once and then slowly licked and kissed my way down his chest, Kevin's hands on my shoulders encouraging me to go lower. AJ was consumed with desire, moaning as he tangled his fingers through Kevin's long hair, unable to keep his hips from trying to press against me. I hesitated and looked up at Kevin silently questioning if this was what he really wanted. His eyes were dark and half closed, desire consuming any other thought. "Baby, please do this!" he was barely able to whisper before AJ pulled Kevin down by his hair to bring their mouths together into a heated kiss, both of them moaning low and deep.

Kevin pulled back away from the kiss and his hand behind my head guided me to AJ's erection. AJ gasped when I began licking and kissing him, running my tongue up and down his length and across the tip. He was incredibly hard and aroused. "God...damn" he screamed as I took him deep into my mouth, letting him set the pace. "Fuck!" he screamed as I let my teeth lightly graze him "Fuck...damn...fuck...". He was frantically thrusting in and out of my mouth, too far gone to last much longer. I ran my fingernails up the inside of his thigh before squeezing his balls and he thrust one last time before he came, screaming Kevin's name in a strangled cry.

Kevin leaned down to kiss him again and then whispered just loud enough for me to hear..."Sorry, man, don't mean to win and run, but we're getting the bed now. I have my own personal game of Truth and Dare to play" Before AJ could object, Kevin grabbed my hand and we ran off to play our own private game.