“You’re grounded!” Keveney heard her older sister shout with contempt as she closed the door to their luscious apartment. Keveney briefly lifted her eyes from retrieving her keys in the lock to eye her older sister. Stevie heatedly pushed her tortoiseshell-rimmed glasses up the bridge of her nose, looking none too pleased with the younger sister’s delayed entrance into their home. She appeared to be a nervous wreck as she fumbled with the hems of her stained shirt and frayed jean shorts. Her short, pixie-styled, light brown locks fell dramatically into her faint gray eyes while her velvet red lips pursed with displeasure. Her small hands finally dropped down to perch against her slimly curved hips. She was several inches shy of Keveney’s stature, but held a temperamental flare of fire not to be teased.
Yet, Keveney seemed to fear no such flames as she pulled off her jean jacket. She tossed it to the nearby chair before kicking off her worn sneakers, then padding quietly across the thick, soft carpet of their living room. She decided to speak once she was seated comfortably on the plush couch, only seeming to egg her sister’s agitation further. “Evie, I’m twenty-one and, for the last time, you’re not Mom. So, just take a breath and tell me about your day.”
“Where were you?” Stevie continued to fire instead, seating herself primly beside her sister. She folded her silky legs in a prim, lady-like manner, offering an unusual enhancement to her usually punk-modern style. Though, Keveney looked beyond that for a moment to see the worry flicking in the depths of her sister’s beautiful irises. It was obvious that Stevie was deeply concerned about her sister, even if she were not truly linked by blood. The Moore family had adopted Keveney when Stevie was merely three years old. She had been so fascinated with the small baby and made a pact to always protect her. And Stevie had always been true to her word, even twenty-one years later.
“I had to help a patient,” Keveney explained simply. She always kept a discreet confidentiality for all her patients and their families as guided by the medical HIPPA regulations. She lived all portions of her life in that code of respect, finding it rewarding to keep such simple practices. Gossip had always gotten other women her age into too much trouble.
“At ten in the evening?” Stevie skeptically asked.
“He’s a new father and interested in striking a friendship with me.”
Stevie arched her pierced dark brow in uncertainty, but her lips finally curved into a light smile. She gently pushed on Keveney’s shoulder, her gray eyes lightening dramatically to prove that the storm of emotions was indeed over. Stevie was a brilliant woman, but always flitted around to topics like a delicate butterfly deciding on her favorite flowers. “Guess what’s up with my fantastic career that has to do with a new Daddy?!”
“Huh?” Keveney deadpanned in confusion.
“Howie Dorough of the Backstreet Boys just had a baby daughter. There have been a few reports here and there on the news and in various magazines. Some people got a few blurry pictures of him with the child, but nothing substantial. And no one knows the full story since he broke up with his long-time girlfriend, Roxanne Fields. So, Mr. Howie Dorough himself calls our magazine to offer us the full exclusive with up-close photographs. And, I’ll be the one completing the article!!” Stevie explained with a ripple of excitement.
“Backstreet Boys?” Keveney repeated, feigning a true look of innocence.
“Don’t be so naïve! You know, the group that Lil and Lind listen to every single day!”
“Oh… Wait, you have their CDs in your Explorer… Don’t tell me you’re infatuated with the same music group as Ley and Lilly!” Keveney teased with her infamous giggle, using her own nickname for their twin sisters.
“No! I’m a mature fan!” Stevie protested with a sharp snort, her cheeks blushing a furious red.
“With one of the guys’ pictures in a heart shaped frame sitting in your underwear drawer, right beneath those shimmering red thongs—”
“His name’s Brian Littrell and he happens to be quite religious and… You were snooping through my things again, Keveney Marie!” Stevie spat with fury when she drawled a quick conclusion about her sister’s sentence.
“I was looking for some boxers!”
“I don’t wear boxers!”
“Oops?”
“Keveney Marie—”
“Sorry?” Keveney whimpered with an infectious pout that always melted her family’s hearts.
“If you weren’t so damn cute, Keveney Marie.”
“I know!”
“Anyway,” Stevie gritted at Keveney’s pleased expression that caused annoyance to seep through Stevie’s form. “Aren’t you happy for me that I scored the interview? Mr. Lowe said everyone volunteered me for the assignment, saying I was the best and brightest on the team!”
“I’m so ecstatic for you, Evie!” Keveney snorted, still somewhat amused by the entire situation. Keveney had already established a somewhat confusing relationship with the man that struck stars all of her sisters’ eyes. Yet, the girls were none the wiser to their sister’s secret. Keveney curved her lips into a mischievous smile, alerting Stevie to the bout sarcasm about to appear. “I just can’t wait to see you fawn over one of the men of your dreams. Will you bring your heart shaped frame—”
“KEVENEY MARIE!” Stevie screeched, finally fed up with Keveney’s antics.
“Take me now, you gorgeous Pop-star! Oh! I’m so hot! I’m yours! Yours and only yours! Please! Ravish my body in any way you see fit!” Keveney declared with a scream of overly fabricated passion.
“You’re dead!” Stevie growled, tackling her sister with embarrassment.
“So, we’re all dying to know, how was your night with Jillian?” Kevin asked with a keen interest as he walked into the Dorough household ahead of the others. The oldest man instantly jogged to Jillian’s playpen, crouching down to scoop up the wide-eyed infant. She offered a sweet gurgle of a hello, causing Kevin to smile. Surprisingly, the man who had been so against little Jillian from the start had fallen the hardest in love with the small infant. It seemed perfectly natural as he cradled the child to his chest before resting on the couch.
“Interesting,” Howie replied, summing up his night in one word as the others filtered into to take their usual spots in his living room. Howie hadn’t been expecting them, but then again, the boys were always known to pop into each other’s houses without little to any warning. Each even had an extra set of keys to the others’ homes for the just in case scenarios. Though, now Howie was faced with an unusual dilemma. He really didn’t know how to bring Keveney up to his friends. And he was still enjoying the memories, envisioning Keveney’s nurturing smile as she soothed Jillian last night. It was an instant attraction between the two adults, but obviously both were shy to initiate the passion.
“Define interesting,” Brian requested, collapsing next to his cousin. He peered over Kevin’s broad shoulder, cooing down to the small newborn. Jillian’s emerald eyes fixated on Brian’s moving mouth for a moment, before sighing and closing her eyes. Brian snorted a small laugh, realizing that Jillian seemed more interested in dozing for the moment.
“What do you mean?” Howie played, feigning innocence to any possible misjudgment.
“Did you call for help?” Nick blurted plainly, unable to hold his patience. He stood above Howie with keen interest. His dark blue eyes glittered with a roguish glint, alerting Howie to deeper possibilities.
“Why do you need to know?”
“Just answer the question,” AJ demanded.
“Yes… Jillie was a little fussy last night and nothing I did seemed to calm her down. She was miserable and I got a little scared. So, since I couldn’t calm her down, I called someone to help,” Howie confessed, unable to concoct a lie without being found. He didn’t know why it was of such great importance anyway. If anything, the boys should have praised Howie for his quick wits in finding another to help.
“Hell yes! Cough it up, choirboys! Two-fifty each!” Nick rejoiced with a whoop of delight, startling Jillian. Not that it mattered, he seemed fixated on Brian and AJ’s wallets, unaware that Kevin had to soothe Jillian back to sleep.
“Wait a damn minute, Pillsbury! D, who’d you call? Your sisters or your mom?” AJ asked, smacking Nick’s eager hands away from his thick wallet.
“Neither.”
“BOO-YAH! Come to Papi!” AJ delighted, launching up from his seat. Nick howled with a raw pain, collapsing beside Brian in a fit of curses. AJ didn’t seem to mind as he hurriedly danced around until Nick and Brian delivered several crumpled bills.
“Wait, you betted on me?”
“And won!” AJ whistled, crushing a few bills into Howie’s palm. “Get yourself an expensive razor, because damn, you need it. Jillian’s already got you looking like a scurf-ball.”
“You bast—”
“Who’d you call?” Kevin interrupted in a soft tone, gently patting Jillian’s back to soothe her into a peaceful state. Jillian offered a meek cry of displeasure, but quickly started to suckle on her hand. Kevin kissed the side of her small face, her eyes finally drooping closed again.
“A woman that I met at the baby store,” Howie explained, watching his friends grow somber. Howie shifted uncomfortably, noticing the frowns finally settling upon three of the men’s faces. Howie, in turn, frowned slightly when he realized how ridiculous it sounded aloud. “Wait—”
“No, hold on,” Brian interrupted, deciding to speak for the group, the protective side obviously flaring amongst the men. “You let a strange woman into this house?”
“With the only Backstreet daughter?” Kevin scorned.
“Guys wait—” AJ tried to defend, realizing it was Keveney whom Howie was referring to.
“She could have been Michael Myers with a butcher knife!” Nick exclaimed, growing thoughtful for a moment. “Guess she would been a Michelle Myers instead of a Michael, right? ... Unless, are you sure it was a chick, D? No weird bulge in her jeans—”
“Shut up, Nick,” the group groaned as the doorbell chimed.
“Guys, cut me some slack,” Howie protested as the doorbell chimed yet again. He listened to the boys continue to berate him before turning to bicker amongst themselves. Howie sighed as he walked to the door, no one truly realizing that he was missing. He threw it open and his heart instantly fluttered at the sight. “Keveney! Hi!”
“Hey—”
“Howie! Get back in here! Don’t think you can just scurry away! We’re not done with this! I mean, honestly, how did you know she wasn’t crazed? She could have hurt Jillian! Or she could have kidnapped Jillian! Then what would we have done, huh?!” Kevin continued to rant within the depths of the living room.
“Bad time?” Keveney asked with a lighthearted smile, noticing Howie grimace.
“Not at all,” Howie quickly objected, leading Keveney into the living room. The boys complained for only a few short moments until they caught sight of Keveney’s glory. “Guys, this is Keveney Moore, the woman from the store. She’s a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner and going to help us take care of Jillian. How’s that sound?”
The men exchanged looks of approval, their hearts quickening at the raw sexual passion flooding from Keveney’s delectable body. She seemed to glow with appeal in her form-fitting top displaying her busty top and the snug, black capri’s detailing the sweet curves of her lower half. She playfully tossed her honey colored locks behind her shoulders, before smoothing her hands down the length of her body. Each man’s eyes grew with intense interest, following the length of her hands before returning to her sweet face. Her violet eyes then seemed to hold the men like a siren’s voice. She offered an individual smile to each man, submitting his heart to jelly.
“Guys?” Howie called again, faintly jealous.
“Fantastic!” they burst, rushing to be the first to welcome the lovely Keveney into their clan.
