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When Nick knocked on Annie’s door the next morning, Brian was right beside him. “Annie Morgan!” Brian yelled playfully through the door. “This ship docked hours ago and there are two Backstreet Boys standing right outside your door. What are you doing still cooped up in your room?” Seconds later, the doorknob turned and the door swung open, but instead of Annie standing in the doorway, there was nothing but an empty room. Both men peeked their heads inside and crept into the small suite. The bed was unmade and a large suitcase lay open on the floor beside it with various items of clothing strewn about. Brian tripped over a black satin bra and blushed as his foot got tangled in it and he struggled to kick it away with his bright red high top sneaker..

“Annie?” Nick called out.

“In here!” They followed her voice to the open bathroom door and found Annie standing on her tiptoes in front of the vanity, on top of which her cosmetic bag had apparently exploded, with her face close to the mirror, her mouth agape as she applied mascara to her long eyelashes. Nick wondered why it was that women always held their mouth open while they were putting on mascara and decided to put it in the “questions to ask AJ later file.” This would be one of the more normal questions in an otherwise pretty scary place. He watched as she continued to primp in front of the mirror. Her hair was piled on top of her head in a bun with a few wispy curls hanging down framing her face and neck, and she wore a dark pink, strapless sundress over what he assumed must have been a strapless swimsuit of some sort. The dress stopped several inches above her knees, and he realized that this was the most of her skin that he’d seen so far. The thought of her potentially taking that sundress off at some point to reveal a swimsuit and even more skin underneath got him a little excited.

“So, uh.... you know we’re going to the beach today, right?” he asked her.

“Yes...”

“So what’s with the makeup?”

“Kevin’s coming!” she squealed excitedly. Nick dropped his shoulders in defeat. That was enough to put a damper on his excitement.

“For the record, Leighanne’s wearing makeup, too,” Brian told him. “And it’s definitely not for Kevin. Or me either, for that matter.”

Annie was a bundle of nerves as she attempted to eat brunch in the ship’s dining room with the Boys and their entourage. The majority of the other fans had already made their way out to the beach to scope out their places next to the stage for the beach party. It felt so surreal to her that instead of having to work for the attention of one of the Backstreet Boys, she was dining with all four of them, and instead of having to stake her claim on a spot next to the stage for the beach party, she could hang out with the wives and bodyguards as close or as far away as she wanted. Kevin, though, he was another story. While she was extremely comfortable with Brian and even Nick, and becoming friends with Howie and AJ as well, Kevin eluded her, even though she was very close to his brother. “Mr. Hollywood,” as Tim called him, always seemed just a little bit out of reach, and here she was, just a mere couple of hours away from meeting her ultimate teen idol. She felt as if she were going to wake up at any minute and the entire past three months of her life would turn out to be just a dream.

“Annie, are you still feeling bad?” Leighanne asked with concern.

“What? No. I feel great!” she assured her.

“Well, it’s just that you haven’t eaten anything,” Leighanne pointed out.

Annie looked down at her plate. Sure enough, there was just as much food on it as there had been when she sat down with it fifteen minutes ago, though it had been pushed around on her plate a little. “Oh. I guess I’m just a little nervous,” she admitted quietly.

“Why would you be nervous?” AJ interjected curiously from across the table.

“Because she’s meeting KEVIN today,” Brian teased playfully, while Nick took a hasty bite out of his banana and fumed silently.

“Ah...your favorite, right? Well, besides me, of course.” Howie winked at her from across the table and she laughed.

“Right.”

“What’s so special about Kevin, anyway?” AJ asked. “And why am I not your favorite Backstreet Boy?”

“You’re awesome, AJ,” she assured him. “I don’t know. I guess it’s mainly the whole tall, dark, and handsome thing. Plus, personality-wise, he always seemed to be the most like me, I guess. No offense, but you’re just not my type.” She shrugged with a guilty smile.

“Oh, none taken, Annie,” AJ laughed. “You’re not my type, either. I just wanted to harass you a little. Truth be told, from what I know of you so far, you’re probably more Kevin’s type than any of the rest of our types.” Nick practically buried his face in his cereal bowl and scooped spoonfuls of Cheerios into his mouth while Howie kicked AJ under the table. “What?!” Howie nodded his head in Nick’s direction. “Oh,” AJ grinned sheepishly. “Sorry. So anyway, as I was saying, Kevin’s great, but you know, sometimes he’s bit of a fuddy-duddy. If you’re looking for tall and handsome, maybe Nick’s your man.” This time, it was Brian who kicked him under the table.

“I am right here!” Nick hissed, slamming his hands on the table as he stood up. “Come with me, Annie.” Everyone, including Annie, just stared at him. “Um...please?” Annie gulped and stood reluctantly. “Bring your muffin,” he ordered.
Clutching a bran muffin in one hand and a bottle of water in the other, Annie followed him out of the restaurant, down the hallway, down a set of stairs, and out of the ship. “Nick? Where are we going?”

“To meet Kevin.”