“This is so sucking ass right now! How is it that the best and hottest Backstreet Boy is left to play Mom for the night? It’s a damn conspiracy, you know that? The guys are getting back at me for getting the most thongs thrown to me during a single show! But, that’s not my fault! How can you blame me for being so damn good looking, right? Besides, I’m the one that should be out on a hot date,” Nick grumbled with annoyance, settling down on the soft carpet with his banana split that the boys had actually bribed him with for the evening. Though, Nick was still upset with his circumstances since the group had arrived in Georgia and had the evening off. And Kevin, obviously being the first to settle into his room, had offered to take Stevie and Keveney out to a special southern dinner. AJ then had formulated a quick date with a lovely woman in the hotel lobby to get out of babysitting Jillian for the night. And, when those four disappeared, Brian and Howie suddenly disappeared after leaving quick instructions in between Nick’s long winded spurts of whining. So, the aftermath had slowly settled and Nick glanced to his lady of the night – Jillian.
“Mmm?” Jillian mumbled with an innocent smile, glancing up from her bright colored blocks. Her beautiful green eyes glistened with curiousness as her tiny button nose wrinkled at Nick’s venting frustrations. She had been playing quietly for the entire evening since Keveney settled her on the special infant activity mat. Though, Nick’s soliloquy of annoyance had dragged her away from her child’s play and enticed her into playing with Nick instead.
“No offense, Jillie,” Nick laughed, scooping another spoonful of ice cream. He popped the spoon into his mouth, withdrawing it to mumble another sentence to the infant as the coldness settled into his mouth. “It’s not you, Baby. It’s me.”
“No!” Jillian replied, pointing a tiny finger toward her babysitter.
“Excuse me?” Nick mused in surprise, watching Jillian reach for the couch as if she were moving to strike him. With a brief struggle and a grunt of determination, she managed to pull herself up into a standing position. Nick then watched as she tottered toward him while holding tight to the cushions.
“Mmmnah!” Jillian gurgled, reaching to hold onto Nick’s shirt for balance instead of the couch.
“You think we can work this out, huh? Me with the mixed up schedule of a musician and you not even being able to go anywhere without a diaper bag? Honestly, Jillie, what kind of life is that?”
“Bah,” Jillian continued, nodding toward Nick as she stepped into his lap. She grinned with amusement as his lips contorted into an ‘o’ of surprise, spurring her antics forward to elicit another funny face. She bounced slightly as she held on, giggling as Nick made various faces with the changes in pressure from her tiny feet against his groin. She seemed completely delighted with Nick’s actions, until her emerald eyes settled back onto Nick’s bright blue ice cream bowl. Without warning, she reached for the bowl and tugged hard to discover the sticky contents inside.
“Jillian!” Nick squawked in disbelief as the bitterly cold, slightly melted ice cream sloshed against the pair, covering them with a dark, sticky shower of sweetness before Nick could react. The cold substance seeped quickly into his expensive shirt as Jillian plucked the banana on his chest to nibble on as she squished it between her pudgy fingers. She seemed completely unmoved by the attack of ice cream, more pleased with the sweet treats she discovered from her babysitter’s clothing. Though, Nick was less than amused, making a face of pure disgust as the liquid seemed to soak every single pore along his body, chilling him to the bone. “You’re like every other woman in America! Only after me for my goods! Next thing you know—”
“Jillie Bean?”
“Oh shit! The jig is up!” Nick cursed in horror, recognizing Keveney’s melodious voice as the door leading to the joining rooms opened. Not wanting to look utterly foolish, he leapt up with a sticky Jillian nestled in his arms. He hadn’t a clue where to run to, pausing for a slight moment. Quick planning was never a forte in his genetic makeup. So, when he attempted to get away, he ran straight into Keveney and Stevie’s curious stares instead. Immediately, Nick held Jillian away from him as if she were an illegal item that he was offering to the police. “This isn’t what it looks like!”
“So, a sundae didn’t explode like the Fourth of July on top of your head?” Stevie mused with a wicked grin.
“She did it!” Nick whined with a furious blush, feeling as if his manhood had been severed from his body as the girls laughed harder.
“Then I hope she got the cherry to herself for all that effort,” Keveney laughed as Jillian squirmed within Nick’s arms, babbling for attention. She wiggled her tiny fingers toward Keveney as she continued to lick at the chocolate ice cream covering her messy, but still angelic face. She was an absolute mess from Nick’s babysitting disaster, covered with a thick chocolate, strawberry, and peanut butter syrup, a mixture of Neapolitan ice cream, splatters of whip cream, a sprinkle of nuts, and mashed bananas. But, Keveney thought she was adorable as she took her from Nick without any hesitation about the mess. “You’re definitely in need of a bubble bath, Sugar Pie.”
“No!” Jillian giggled, offering a bit of the banana between her fingers to Keveney.
“Trust me, you’re still sweet as honey, no matter what’s coating your little face! But, Daddy will be furious if he comes home to see the bees stealing you away from us!”
“Mmm,” Jillian cooed, pressing her sticky hands to Keveney’s cheeks as she offered several open mouthed kisses.
“Guess I need one, too,” Keveney groaned ruefully, kissing Jillian’s whip creamed forehead.
“Wait! I’m dirty too! Don’t I get to join the bubble bath? Make it a threesome?” Nick asked with a devilish grin, wiggling his light brows with delight.
“Not until I get another three zeros added to the back of my paycheck,” Keveney declined, playfully licking Nick’s fudge covered cheek with a seductive smile. “But you’re sweet…”
“Damn tease!” Nick hissed in pain as Keveney disappeared, only to hear a snort from Stevie. Slowly, he turned to notice the same glitter in the older sister’s eyes that frequently visited Keveney’s violet eyes. Immedaitely, he knew his disaster was going to be used against him in a bitter tale of blackmail. “You’re not…”
“Oh yes, I am! Every single word!” Stevie announced, snapping a photograph from her small digital camera of Nick’s catastrophe.
“Damnit! What is wrong with you women? Do you guys have a different Bible that says Thou shall torture those men more beautiful than thou?!”
“I… I just can’t believe you asked Stevie out after only knowing her for—”
“Only two days!” Brian finished, glancing toward Howie with a bemused smirk. It wasn’t much of a surprise for Brian to finish that specific sentence from Howie’s mouth. After all, during the entire evening, Howie continued to comment on Brian’s goof fortune with Stevie. Most men would have taken Howie’s commentary as offensive, but Brian knew better. Howie was absolutely thrilled with Brian’s whirlwind romance, but overly mournful over his own lack of confidence. Brian could only hope that Howie might follow through with his heart and actually ask Keveney into his life as more than just a friend. But, until then, Brian would continue to run circles with Howie about his love life until Howie got one of his own. “I really like her.”
“That’s obvious!”
“What?”
“I’m sorry, B,” Howie sighed, immediately backing down from the potential fight. Instead, he averted his eyes to his wallet, plucking out the keycard for their penthouse suite. “I’m just envious, y’know? It’s already obvious that you and Stevie are perfect. Yet, here I am—”
“Six months down the road knowing she’s the perfect woman, but having no clue how to just get the words into the right places to reveal your heart?”
“Why would you automatically assume that it’s trouble with Kevie?”
“I never said it was…”
“But…” Howie stared in disbelief, wondering how he managed to fall into that trap so easily. It just seemed typical that whenever Keveney was on his mind that it was easier for the boys to torment him. And, unable to finish his thought without falling deeper into the embarrassing pit, Howie pushed himself into living room. He hustled quickly to get away from Brian, thankful and somewhat disturbed by Nick’s presence and lack thereof of Jillian. “Nick!”
“What’d I do now?” Nick grimaced.
“Where’s my daughter?”
“You mean our daughter?”
“Don’t get cute!”
“She’s getting a bath—”
“And you left her—”
“With Keveney!”
“You…”
“She’s getting a bath with Keveney, I swear!”
“Then I’ll go help her,” Howie decided, telling himself more so than Brian and Nick. He was taking full advantage of the situation. He really wanted to get away from Brian and Nick’s usual torture, though seeing Keveney was far more important than the two knuckleheads. He had missed her during their separate evenings, only able to think about her when Brian started another conversation about how beautiful Stevie was. That’s why he had rushed directly into the bathroom, not bothering to knock upon the door since it was just Jillian’s bath time. “How are my two favorite…”
All the words left Howie’s brain when he realized that both of his favorite girls were settled in the bubbly tub instead of just the little girl. The color drained from his face as he gazed upon Keveney’s gorgeous silk skin that was accentuated seductively by the lighting of the expensive bathroom. Her blonde locks were tossed into a high messy bun, tender locks falling to compliment her heart shaped face and long, slender neck. The bubbles swirled just along the tips of her breasts, causing Howie’s heart to pound with excitement. He could only imagine his lustful dreams and a warm sweat immediately broke out onto his clammy skin.
“There’s Daddy!” Keveney cooed, acting as if nothing were awry.
“Oh, God! I’m so sorry!” Howie breathed, turning sharply to knock his forehead against the door. Only, the pain was nothing compared to his embarrassment. “I should have knocked! I had no idea that you were naked…er…nude...or... bare--no! Damnit! I’m so sorry! I just… Nick said you were bathing with Jillie. But he never said that you were bathing with—”
“Do you want to join us?”
“I beg your pardon?” Howie squeaked.
Impishly, Keveney smoothed away the bubbles to lift a bright purple bikini strap from her delicate shoulder, causing Howie to explode in humiliation and curses all over again.
