“Howie gave you two months notice about this tour. Yet, here you are, half an hour before leaving, and still stuffing your luggage—”
“Evie! Why should you expect anything different from me?” Keveney grunted, staring at her bulging suitcase with annoyance. Howie was due to arrive at any moment and she was still wrestling with her large piles of luggage, clothing, and necessary items for the tour. Keveney had always been a procrastinator when it came to packing for trips. She usually brushed off the massive task till the midnight before leaving. And, nothing had changed in twenty-one years of life. At midnight, the previous night, Keveney’s room exploded with a fury of packing, even if the largest portion of the packing had been stuffing wrinkled clothes into various compartments.
Besides, packing kept Keveney’s mind focused for the most of the evening. She hadn’t exactly had a good night’s sleep in two months, because when she drifted, she tumbled into endless possibilities for this extended tour with a man she had come to truly cherished. She never had felt this way about a man before. Howie was the first to evoke such passion into her wildly impish streaks of nature. The two months of waiting had been filled with romantic hopes as to why Howie truly wanted her on tour. But, her cynical nature about love and relationships always seemed to pop the dreams when she recalled Jillian. She was just a babysitter for the infant while Howie was busying wrestling with the fans. It was silly to think that he would be interested in her.
“Keveney! Hello! What’s the use of scolding you when you have the attention span of a goldfish—”
“Shh!” Keveney halted, crouching down on all fours just to the side of her large bed. She cocked her head to the side like a curious feline ready to pounce, studying the open suitcase with a keen sense of stealth. Slowly, her tongue poked from the corner of her mouth with concentration as she pressed her body low to the ground. Then, without warning, she sprang to her bed with a growl of determination. She tackled the suitcase in hopes to close it, but miscalculated. With a grunt of surprise, she rolled off the bed, causing the suitcase to topple over her, spilling the contents of her hard work. “The Keveney Curse of Packing remains thwarted!”
“You’re hopeless, Keveney Marie!” Stevie snorted with laughter, watching her sister pop up from the small crevice between the bed and wall. She was already immune to her sister’s quirky natures, but not too immune to laugh with hysterics. And she seemed to only laugh harder when she noticed the bright purple bikini briefs hanging from Keveney’s right ear like a gaudy earring that their deceased grandmother would wear.
“It was purely the suitcase’s fault!” Keveney huffed, throwing her underwear at her older sister in attempts to silence her giggles. Usually, Keveney would provoke the situation to make her sister laugh, but now it seemed too petty. She was honestly frightened about this tour, overtaking her sister’s serious personality for that moment. “Don’t make me rue the day I invited you along on tour, Evie”
“Rue the day? Are we backing into the Renaissance, Little One?” Stevie mused, tossing the underwear back to the bed.
“Excuse me?” Keveney countered, not expecting such a quip from Stevie.
“Excuse me? Did the blonde hair dye seep into that big brain of yours?” Stevie mimicked sarcastically.
“Damnit, you know I’m a natural bl—” Keveney snorted in surprise, “Did we switch brains? Because usually I play the annoying sister!”
“True, but you’re a bundle of nerves right now. So, I decided to lighten the situation.”
“Oh, really?” Keveney grunted, heaving the empty suitcase back to the bed. She tried to act unfazed by Stevie’s declaration in hopes to ward her off, but Stevie was a reporter. So, Stevie was nosier than the average older sister. Sighing with defeat, Keveney then dove back to the floor, hurdling her clothing to the bed. “How so?”
“Because of a certain man—
“Who? Ben or Jerry?” Keveney quipped, popping back up into sight. She noticed the familiar glint in her sister’s old gray eyes, causing her to snort with annoyance. Some things never changed within the structure of a family. Stevie always loved to play mother.
“Stop playing dumb. I’m talking about a man that gave you a coral rose and invited you on tour. Do you know that the color of that rose means desire?” Stevie scolded, sitting down on the messy bed. She noticed all of the familiar symptoms in Keveney. The goofy smile, glimmering violet eyes, constant humming, and, the tell-tale signature of infatuation in Keveney, running clumsily into walls after even mentioning Howie’s name sent flare-like signals into Stevie’s brain. Still, Keveney played coy with her emotions, afraid of becoming attached to another person. Being abandoned as an infant had profoundly disrupted Keveney’s social relationships, even if she had a loving adopt family. The Moore’s loved Keveney as if she were actually born from Mrs. Moore’s womb, but that didn’t erase the damage that Keveney’s birth-mother caused. Keveney would always wonder why she was thrown onto a deserted street and left to die by the woman that was supposed to love her unconditionally. And Stevie found it frustrating, watching Keveney miss so many opportunities for love.
“What’s dumb? Any man that can make a profit of an ice cream named Chunky Monkey deserves my bundle of nerves—”
“Kevie—”
“Doorbell!” Keveney chirped, hearing the distinctive twinkle of their door much to her relief.
“Quite the intelligent Chunky Monkey—”
“Just go get the door, butt-munch,” Keveney demanded, hurriedly balling the clothing to stuff into the suitcase. She didn’t want Howie to think she was stalling to leave, nor did she want to get left behind. She was halfway through thinking that she didn’t have time for Stevie’s quips when she shuddered violently.
“What’s the matter?” Stevie questioned with skepticism.
“I just imagined that I was you for one horrifying moment.”
“So, who did she invite again?” Brian called, watching Howie practically leap from the back of the limo. Howie hadn’t even waited for the limo to fully stop before he flung the door open to race up the stairs, making Brian’s heart stop for just a moment. Brian had never seen Howie so exuberant before, but he quickly reminded himself of the source – Keveney. Howie had keenly laid a plan to invite Keveney on tour as a “nanny” in front of the boys during their initial meeting two months ago. But, Brian knew better than to assume Howie wanted her strictly for the care of Jillian. The tour lasted for six months, which meant Howie would have Keveney all to himself for six long months. Or so he thought, Brian mused with a delighted half-grin. Keveney was a very beautiful woman, which meant that it was every Backstreet Boy for himself. Of course they knew not to step onto Howie’s marked territory of romantic interest, but the boys were truly bastards to one another after several years of friendship. They had no qualms about exploring the options and pushing the envelope till Howie exploded with his true feelings.
“She invited Stevie,” Howie answered absentmindedly, hopping up the steps to the quaint home. He had spent many nights over at this home, curled beside Keveney watching a movie while Jillian slumbered in her playpen. He also recalled many fond dinners with both sisters after Stevie’s nagging for Keveney to invite Howie over. It all seemed worth it in the end, knowing how close he was to getting Keveney alone. He flexed his index finger, hurriedly depressing the doorbell in attempts to stir the girls into a faster pace.
“Stevie?” Brian murmured with surprise. “I thought you said she was single—”
“She is.”
“Then why is she bringing some dude—”
“Hey, Howie!” a sultry voice interrupted, causing Brian to hush in awe. He blanked in surprise as Howie enveloped the dark beauty with a friendly squeeze. Brian just stared for the longest moment, unable to recall a lovelier image. This mystery woman was a few inches shy of his height and exploding with personality as she wrapped Howie into a delighted conversation about her “insane” sister. Her short locks were spiked with a messy precision, red highlights catching against the golden sun. Her warm gray eyes crinkled beneath her sophisticated glasses with the affectionate smile she offered at Howie. Her outrageous figure wrapped in tight black jean shorts and a white, ribbed tank top reading “Rockstar Groupie” in glitter. Brian was floored.
“Hey, Stevie,” Howie enthused, extremely aware of Brian’s foolish expression. After getting to know Stevie over the course of two months, Howie anticipated Brian’s very reaction. He had already guessed that Brian and Stevie would connect deeply during the trip, giving Howie yet another opportunity to prove himself to Keveney. Diversions were always key.
“That’s Stevie?!” Brian wheezed.
“Yeah, Stevanie Moore, Keveney’s sister,” Howie introduced as Brian stepped inside. He then glanced to Stevie who seemed petrified with sheer delight, complimenting Brian’s dumbfounded state. “Stevie, I’m sure you already know Brian.”
“Yeah…” Stevie trailed, licking her dying lips. When Stevie’s magazine had started following the group’s career, she had been instantly drawn to one member. His light blue eyes, squared jaw, dark blonde curls, sleekly toned body, and the ball of energy that represented his kind personality warmed the depths of her soul. That’s why her coworkers gave her the heart shaped frame of him in a pair of boxers that had accidentally started slipping from his hips. The paper had paid for the photograph from one of the leading paparazzi journalists, but only for the purpose of teasing their best interviewer. And she couldn’t believe he was actually at her doorstep. “Hi…”
“Hey, it’s nice to meet you,” Brian greeted.
“Yeah…” Stevie murmured, every other word melting from her brain.
“Hey, Stevie, where’s Kevie?” Howie questioned, glancing around the apartment as the conversation seemed to drop between Brian and Stevie. If anything, the nonverbal cues were bouncing across the room in a smoldering heat that made words useless. But, Howie was all too anxious to really care about breaking the moment. He wanted to find Keveney and get going.
“Yeah…”
“Huh—”
“Right here!” Keveney announced, dragging the suitcase from the hallway. She grunted with annoyance, stumbling back as the suitcase toppled to its side. She went to kick it with a string of valuable curses, but heard Howie chuckle with admiration. She whirled to catch the look of amusement upon his handsome face. She tensed with frustration, arching her light brows toward him. “What?”
“Duct tape?” Howie questioned, pointing to the suitcase layered in several rounds of sticky, strong, gray tape.
“It wouldn’t shut!” Keveney pouted innocently.
“Makes sense,” Howie laughed, drawing her close for a hug. He inhaled the soft scent of her J-Lo perfume, sighing with delight as he made a mental image of this moment. He remembered Keveney rambling off a fact that smells were the closest sense associated with memory. He still couldn’t believe she was going on his six month tour. “Ready to go?”
“Yeah, where’s Jillie Bean?”
“With Kevin loading the buses.
“Making her a grunt worker when she’s not even half a year old?”
“Technically, she is half a year. She is six months old.”
“Not until the twenty-forth of this month.”
“Like I said, technicalities. Besides, Kev wants to build up her muscles. I said no to the steroids though. I don’t like those over-muscled women that tend to look like Vin Diesel in a skirt.”
“Oh, Lord,” Keveney laughed, pulling from Howie’s embrace. She wanted to comment about him being her favorite actor, but noticed a possessive look within his dark eyes. It was almost as if he were waiting for her to make some sly remark about the handsome actor, which would invariably damage his pride. So, she glanced around and brightened when she noticed Brian admiring her sister. She had briefly recalled Howie stating what a handsome couple Brian and Stevie would make. And, anything that dragged Stevie from breathing down Keveney’s throat was a welcomed diversion. With Brian around, Keveney was free to cause chaos. “Hey, Brian.”
“Hey, Kevie,” Brian murmured, his eyes never leaving Stevie’s form.
“Let’s get going,” Howie chuckled, kissing her cheek as a look of offence melted to her beautiful features.
“Okay, let me get—”
“The driver’s got the luggage.”
“Oh…” Keveney trailed with an impish smile. “I could get used to that.”
“I figured,” Howie mused, guiding her to the door.
“Wait!” Keveney blurted, turning back to Brian and Stevie. She quickly whistled loudly for her sister’s attention, tossing the infamous heart shaped frame. She had stolen the frame from her sister’s underwear drawer for this very purpose – when Stevie had first been introduced to Brian. “Figured since you packed your king-sized vibrator, you’d also need your favorite picture for imagery of the pumping python of love.”
Stevie’s heart stopped as she caught the frame, feeling Brian glance over her shoulder. She winced when he gasped in surprise at his image within the romantic frame. He caught her gray eyes and smirked. “Quite the handsome guy, huh?”
Stevie burned with humiliation, ‘”KEVENEY MARIE!!!”
