It was no wonder Jade found it hard to believe that he was still in bed now. What the heck was going on there? A gnawing doubt was eating her alive, an inner voice was shouting that he probably spent the night with Danny. Yet, Jade found that hard to believe. Danny would never willingly talk to Nick, no matter how attracted she was to him. Danny was the most selfless person Jade had ever met. If that's the case, then why won't that insistent clamoring stop?
Jade had been in control her entire life, she had to be in control, lack of control unnerved her, frightened her. It meant that she was incompetent. Despite all appearances, deep down inside, Jade was an insecure child. From the moment she had met Danny, she had always felt inferior. Always felt that no matter what she excelled at, Danny always managed to outdo her. At studies, at sports, even when it comes to dating. Most of the guys Jade dated went out with her because she was Danette Wilson's best friend. They wanted to know what made Danny ticked and Jade was just a means to that end. Jade hated not being the focus of all that attention. She hated the fact that whenever Danny and her were together, whether intentionally or not, Danny always outshine her.
Jade was a pretty child, but when Danny came along, it was always Danny the adults invariably fussed over. All her life, all Jade heard was Danny this and Danny that. Everyone was singing her praises sky high. Why? Just because she had managed to survive relatively untainted from the circumstances surrounding her mother's death and her father's near fatal spine injury.
Jade was so sick of all this. For once, she would like someone acknowledge something she had done, something that Jade Cassady had done. She didn't want to live in her best friend's shadow anymore. They had no idea how hard it was to live up to Danny the Paragon, to be the tiny fraction of the person Danny was. Jade had tried, but the truth was plain, Jade was Jade, she couldn't be Danny, no amount of wishing and hoping could make her Danny, no amount of pennies dropped into so-called wishing wells could accomplished that feat. God knows Jade had tried, millions of times.
When she had met Nick, she had to admit that all she wanted with him was a fling. She wanted to be with him so that she could tell people that she had been with Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys. She, not Danny. Her well-laid plans were ruined when Nick met Danny that night. Suddenly she knew she could never let Nick go. Nick was hers. Would always be. She won't let Danny have him. Danny can have all the others' admiration, Jade didn't care about them, but Nick was hers. Danny can't have him.
Danny had stole one too many things from Jade, Nick wasn't about to be her latest conquest. Not if Jade had anything to say about this. < Snap out of this, Cassady! > Jade shook herself mentally. < Thinking never got you anything, you're not Danny, who only has to think something and that something would be done for her. You're Jade, the girl who always had to work for what she wants. Now you want Nick. You want him with you forever, so get off your lazy butt and work towards that goal! >
With renewed determination and a single-mindedness that she had never possessed before, Jade calmly picked up her car keys and headed towards her garage to collect her car. "It's been a some time since Brian and I had a nice long talk," she murmured to herself. Brian was Nick's best friend. It stands to reason that he would know everything about Nick. And whatever he knows, Jade would soon know too.
AJ eyed himself critically in the mirror. He looked well enough to himself. A baggy pair of black pants hid the legs that he secretly thought was a little too lean, a plain white sleeveless shirt that stretched taut over his well-toned stomach muscles and a pair of shades which swallowed his eyes completed his outfit. The shades was a trademark and AJ knew what suited him and what did not. He flaunted what he knew he had to flaunt shamelessly. He carried himself with a cocky self confidence that made his average looks above average.
No one could accuse AJ of being a pretty boy like Nick, but there was no denying that he was cool. Once, a long time ago, he was a scrawny weirdo, and now, he was a scrawny pop star who could drown anyone in the millions he earned.
"The mirror's gonna crack if you keep staring at it so intensely," Howie quipped dryly, eyeing his friend in amusement in the doorway of his bedroom.
AJ turned hastily from the full-length mirror, a little embarrassed that he had been caught indulging in a bit of vanity. "What's the big occasion? Or should I ask who?" Howie asked as he took in the deliberate sexy casualness his friend had tried so hard to create. Howie only knew it was a painstakingly put together assemble because the white shirt AJ had on was not soiled and reeking of what AJ called his unique male scent. He had even gone to the trouble to comb the unruly nest he calls his hair. The most amazing thing was that he had on some of the cologne that Nick had given him on his birthday several years back and which he had never used, until now.
"Has the Martians kidnapped the real AJ McLean and replace him with a clone?" Howie's voice smacked of astonishment and disbelief.
AJ took offense at the tone Howie was using. "Hey, watch it. I'm allowed to dress like a human once in a while, all right. You don't have to kick up a fuss about it."
Howie held up both hands and shook his head, an amused smile hanging on his mouth. "All right, all right, but it's rare to see you playing dress up, in fact its been several years since I've seen you even bothering to clean up your act. So," Howie plunked down on AJ's bed and watched him expectantly. "Who's the lucky girl?"
AJ's stomach fell away and for the briefest moment, he felt unbalanced and uneasy about the bet he made with Nick. But the moment passed and he forgot everything about the guilt he was feeling a second ago. "Danette Wilson."
Howie looked lost and baffled, "Danette who?"
AJ shook his head, "Jade's friend, you know, tall, silver eyes, golden hair." Howie still looked lost. "Great legs?" AJ prompted and finally got a reaction.
"Oh!" A smile washed over Howie's face. "That Danette, yeah, I remember. But," he gave AJ a quelling look when he suddenly remembered something important. "she's a kid, just seventeen, AJ."
"Yeah and I'm in my fifties," AJ snapped. "For God's sake, I'm only twenty-two, five years older than her. I don't consider a five year age gap unbridgeable. Besides, you've dated girls way younger than you," AJ slanted Howie a look, "what's a mere five years?"
Howie squirmed inwardly, knowing that AJ got him there. Howie did date a girl eight years his junior a while back, he had no right whatsoever calling AJ a cradle-snatcher. But something about this Danette girl's name reminded him vaguely of something that hovered at the fringes of his mind. Howie knew it concerned Nick, but for the life of him, he just couldn't remember what was the thing that connected Nick with Danette.
"You have a date with her?" Howie ignored the nagging feeling and conceded defeat to AJ.
AJ gave Howie an enigmatic smile, "No, but I'm going to."
A black brow rose swiftly, "Tell me what drew her to you, besides that gorgeous long pair of legs."
"Well," AJ hedged, "she's... nice."
Howie snorted, "Nice? You don't go out with nice girls, in fact you avoid them like plague. For some inconceivable reason, you're attracted to girls who are bad for your health and if I remember correctly, that Danette Wilson you're about to trap is about as innocent as a lamb and she looks," Howie gave AJ a scathing look, "like a goddamn angel, complete with dainty wings and golden halo."
AJ stared back at Howie unflinchingly. "Maybe I've changed my mind about angelic innocents like her. They could be fun, adds variety to the same old stale menu I've always chose from."
"Yeah, and did you notice that the sun rised from the west this morning? Try again, buddy."
"Hey-"
"Cut the crap AJ, tell me the truth, why the hell are you after her like a starving hound after a plump rabbit?" Howie demanded.
"What's the matter with you?" AJ's eyes glinted dangerously behind the ever present shades as he fought to keep his temper under control. "Can't I date a girl without you interrogating me about it?"
Howie jumped up from her perch on the bed and glowered at AJ, "I just want to understand what is motivating you to do something this crazy." His eyes narrowed as he zoomed in on the nagging doubt on the fringes of his mind. Realization exploded on him. AJ. Nick. The bet.
"The bloody bet!" His words hissed out in an angry breath. He advanced on AJ in a menacing manner. "Brian was grumbling about a bet between you and Nick yesterday, it is about Danette Wilson isn't it? That's why you doing all this."
"So what if it is?"
"Then you should be shot!"
AJ threw his hands up in the air, "This is stupid, why are we having this argument? Why are you so concerned about that girl?"
"This had nothing to do with the girl and everything to do with you and your conscience. Do you know what you're getting yourself into? You are betting with Nick the brainless over a girl, a girl, dammit! Not some other mundane thing. Have you thought of what she would feel if she ever found out about this? Think beyond your swollen male ego, AJ!"
That gave AJ pause. Howie was right, AJ knew that, but AJ also knew that he couldn't back down. Not now. What was done couldn't be undone. The most he could do was make sure that Danette never knows about this foolish bet he made with Nick on the spur of the moment.
"What she doesn't know won't hurt her," AJ said softly. Howie stared at AJ in disbelief, "You're still going to go through with the bet? Are you nuts?!"
"Howie! Listen to me, I can't back out now, but she doesn't have to know that my wanting to date her has anything to do with a bet. She doesn't need to know about the bet."
Howie crossed his arms across his chest and glared at AJ icily, "What if she somehow finds out about it?"
"The only people who knows about this little bet are Nick, Brian, you and me. Brian definitely won't tell, and I won't too. So unless either you or Nick spill the beans, she's not gonna find out about this. I intend to make sure Nick shuts his huge mouth so that leaves you." AJ gave Howie a pointed look over the rim of his dark shades.
Howie glared stubbornly at AJ for a long moment.
"Nothing I say will convince you to stop this farce before it's played out, will it?" Howie sighed, shooking his head, asking himself why he was letting himself be talked into something so unconscionable. AJ smiled, nodding in total agreement, knowing that he had won- as he had in all their arguments.
Chapter Nine
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