Part 11

Kevin had more questions…questions that only Chelsea could answer so he was waiting for AJ and Chelsea to return from dinner. They came in laughing and talking and holding hands. They were completely wrapped up in each other.

"Looks like you two had fun," drawled Kevin as he leaned against a box.

Both looked up as Chelsea said, "It was nice."

"Nice? NICE?" questioned AJ indignantly. "You just had dinner with the hottest, sexiest Backstreet Boy and all you can say is ‘It was nice’? Geez, what’s a guy got to do to get more than ‘It was nice’?"

Kevin couldn’t help the smirk that danced across his lips as he watched AJ ranting knowing they were both playing. He’d seen that look in Chelsea’s eyes before, when they’d been together. She was totally smitten with AJ.

"Okay! It was wonderful," replied Chelsea as she placed a light kiss on his cheek.

"MOST fans would have said it was heavenly."

"Maybe next time, ‘J’," laughed Kevin. "Can I steal Chels from you for a few minutes?"

AJ looked down at Chelsea to see what she wanted to do. "I do need to get ready for the show. Are you gonna be okay."

"I’ll be fine. I’ll meet you back here?"

"Right here. Oh, and get Marcus to go with you to get your phone and camera from the car."

"Okay."

Kevin watched as AJ touched his fingertips to her cheeks and kissed her tenderly before rushing off to get ready. Jealous coursed through his veins and he had to look away. Why was he feeling like this? He was married and loved his wife a great deal. He also wanted Chelsea to be happy.

"What did you want, Kevin?"

"I….uh…I just wanted to talk to you."

"Where’s Annie?"

"She and Monique are with AJ’s mom and step-dad. Come on, I’ll walk with you to get your stuff from the car."

"Have you lost your mind? The fans will go nuts if you go out there."

Kevin grinned, "Probably but that’s okay. Come on. We don’t have much time before we need to be in place."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. Lets’ go." Kevin led Chelsea out the side entrance of the building followed by one of their security guards and as they came into sight of the crowd, screams could be heard and the security stopping the girls from rushing after the couple.

As they walked, Kevin asked, "Things seem to be going pretty good with AJ."

Chelsea heard the jealousy in his voice but decided to ignore it. "So far. He scored major points by being concerned about Annie getting knocked down but we just had dinner, Kevin. I don’t want to jump the gun."

"Are you two going to meet after the show?"

"After I take Annie and Monique home." Chelsea looked sideways at him and saw him wipe a tear away. "Kevin, why are you upset that I’m meeting Alex?"

"I still love you, Chels."

"You made your choice seven years ago, Kevin. You can’t have it both ways and I’m NOT going to be the other woman. Besides, YOU were the one who convinced me to give Alex a chance."

"I know. I do want you to be happy, Chels….I swear, and I think AJ will make you happy. He’s a good man."

"Is this what you wanted to talk to me about…Alex?"

"No, actually, I wanted to talk about Annie. I called Dianne after dinner and told her about Annie."

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah, it is. She’s really happy and wants Annie….and you…to visit, maybe spend the summer with us."

"Aren’t you and the guys getting ready to out on tour in July?"

"Yes."

"Then how…."

"I want her to join me." Seeing that Chelsea was reluctant to agree to this, he added, "It would give you a chance to see AJ more."

They had reached her car and before she opened it, she said, "I don’t know, Kevin. I don’t really want her to be gone from me for the whole summer."

"You’d be with her."

"I can’t afford to take that much time off from work."

"Then how am I going to spend time with her?"

"I don’t know," mumbled Chelsea as she opened the car. Grabbing her stuff, she said, "I really haven’t had time to think about all this."

"Chelsea, do I need to get my attorney involved?"

Standing up and slamming the door, Chelsea fired, "NO! I haven’t had time to think this through, Kevin. God…I came here tonight so my daughter could see her favorite group. I didn’t intend for you to find out we were here or to have to deal with this!"

"Maybe not but I did find out and now we have to deal with it. You have to be willing to compromise, Chels. You can’t have it all your way."

"I AM willing to compromise, Kevin, but I can’t afford to hop on a plane every time YOU get the urge to see her and I DO NOT want her on tour with you the whole time. I remember the stories you told me about being on the road and I really don’t want her exposed to that. I can’t make a snap decision about all this. I have to think it through."

"I know it’s going to be difficult to adjust to and even more so with you being on the east coast and me on the west coast."

"Just give me time to think and so we can talk."

"Okay. One more question."

"Just one?"

"For now. Did you put my name on her birth certificate when she was born or did you leave it blank?"

"I put your name on it along with all the paperwork at school." Chelsea leaned against her car and began to cry. "God, Kevin! I never meant for it to get this complicated."

Kevin wrapped her in his arms and pulled her tight. "I’m sorry, Chels. I shouldn’t have pushed this but…I just want to know everything about her. I mean…when we pulled into Virginia, I had no clue I was a father and now…."

"I know."

"I called the airlines and changed my flight. I don’t leave until Friday so we can talk and I can spend time with Annie."

Forgetting about AJ’s plans to hang around a little longer, Chelsea asked, "Are you going to stay at the hotel?"

"Try to and Marcus is getting me a car."

Pulling away and looking up at Kevin, she asked, "Why don’t you stay with us? We’ve got a pull out couch you can sleep on."

"I’d love to," smiled Kevin. "Come on, we need to get back. AJ’s gonna think I stole you from him."

That got a laugh out of her as he wrapped his arm around her. "You DO know that if I’d met AJ back then, we wouldn’t be having this conversation?"

"Yeah, I do know." As they walked, Kevin had still another question. "When your dad kicked you out, why didn’t you let me know…so I could help you?"

"Pride. Daddy told me I’d never be able to make it on my own and called me a two-bit whore. I had to prove it to myself that I could do it."

As they walked, they talked more about Chelsea’s father and how she had made it on her own over the last few years. When they reached the theater again, screams and cheers and girls reaching out to touch Kevin as he headed back inside again greeted them.