Part 6
Marcus escorted the three to a room filled with people who appeared to be fans and handed them ‘All Access’ passes.
"Who are these people, Marcus?"
"Contest winners. After the meet and greet, they’ll leave but you three can stay for dinner. Your passes are different from theirs."
"Where’s AJ?" asked Annie after she had looked around the room.
Marcus scooped her up in his arms. "Is AJ your favorite?"
"Yes sir, but I like Howie and Kevin too."
"Well, all five of them are doing a radio interview right now and then they’ll come in here with you. I’m SURE AJ, Kevin, and Howie will give you plenty of attention and if you ask really nicely, I’m sure they’ll take you to the game room."
"Cool!"
Marcus set Annie down and watched as she scurried away to play with one of the kids in the group.
Seeing Chelsea was deep in thought and knowing how confused she was about this whole situation, Monique offered, "I’ll keep up with her, Chels."
"Thank you," she replied softly.
Chelsea watched the two join the group and then became lost in her thoughts again. Maybe she could pull this off without him realizing Annie was his child. Who did she think she was fooling thinking that? Annie had his eyes, there was no missing that, and as outgoing as she was, she was bound to tell him her full name.
Marcus said gently, "He’s going to love her."
"I never doubted that."
"Then relax. He’s not gonna be that mad and if he is, he’s gonna have to deal with me. One question though?"
"Do I still love him? Even if I did, nothing could come of it. He’s married and I’m not going to be responsible for breaking up a marriage. And I’m not at all sure how involved I want him to be in her life."
"But you’re gonna tell him she’s his, right?"
"I don’t want to but I don’t see a way around it."
Looking at his watch, Marcus said, "Let me go check on the guys. They should almost be done. I’ll be back in a couple of minutes."
Spotting a quiet corner with a couch, Chelsea went over and took a seat. She was glad Marcus had come out to get her because she was not looking forward to waiting on the sidewalk for another three hours for the show. It also gave her a chance to get away from the prying eyes of the fans. They all had seen AJ write something on her hand and a few had asked about it. There was definitely a bright spot…AJ was interested in her and she could DEFINITELY get into spending time with him…she just didn’t want to get involved. What would one night of talking and having a good time hurt?
Monique plopped herself down on the couch beside her best friend. "So how do you know Marcus?"
Smiling, Chelsea said, "He use to work security for my grandfather when he first got into the security business. He had just joined Backstreet when he introduced me to Kevin."
"You never really talk about Kevin….and meeting him."
"He hurt me when he walked away without saying good-bye."
"So how did you meet him?"
"I was at a show and Marcus spotted me in the crowd. He told me to meet him after the show so I did. That’s when he introduced me to Kevin. At the time, Kevin and Dianne were having problems and were split up. He asked me to join him for the after-party so I went with him."
"So you’ve meet the other guys too?"
"No…just Howie. Kevin didn’t really want to be there in the first place. His comment was, ‘If I have to go at all, I might as well have a beautiful date with me’. We left before AJ, Brian, and Nick got there."
From the door, Marcus spoke, "Ladies, the Backstreet Boys will be here momentarily. Please, do not rush them as they get in the door. We’ll start with a single file line so that everyone gets a chance to meet them and then there will be time for them to simply mingle with you. They have about an hour."
"Moni, do me a favor."
"Okay."
"Take Annie through the line."
"Aren’t you going to go through?"
"Depends on where AJ is. If he’s before Kevin, I’m going through last so we can talk. I don’t want him blind-sided by Kevin because I’m sure he will find me soon enough."
"Are you going to take him up on after the show?"
"I don’t want to get involved, Monique. I’ve been hurt once by someone who travels. I can’t do it again."
"Maybe….."
The two were interrupted by a buzz of excitement and they looked up to see the Backstreet Boys entering the room.
