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"Okay, people! I need EVERYBODY'S attention. A.J., that includes you and Nick."

"Screw you. I've got more important things on my mind!" A.J. laughed.

"Umm, not on your life," Bianca said with a roll of her eyes. "Anyway. Back to the task at hand. Brianna and Kevin will be here in less than half an hour. Get off your lazy butts and move!"

"But, Bean, I'm tired!" Nick whined.

"Yeah, and I really believe that. You've put up, like, two streamers and you're tired."

"Yes, Hitler!" A.J. saluted. "You--"

Aaron’s yell cut A.J. short. "They're here! They're here!" he shouted excitedly.

""Okay, everybody get ready!" Bianca yelled.

Just then they came walking in holding hands, with Brianna pulling Kevin behind her.

When he looked up everyone yelled in unison, "SURPRISE!!"

Kevin was completely shocked. He had thought that everyone had completely forgotten about his birthday except Brianna. Then, his eyes rested on a very special person in the front of the crowd. "Mama!"

Kevin rushed to his mother and put his arms around her. His eyes watered up as he told her how much he had missed her.

"Brian called and told me about the party your girl-friend was throwing for your birthday, and--"

"Brianna did all this? Have you met her yet?"

"No, hun, but you've told me all about her. I can't wait to talk to her."

**********************************************************

Bianca was standing next to the punchbowl talking to Brianna when she felt arms go around her waist. "Hey, baby," someone breathed into her ear. "Let's go take a walk."

Bianca turned to stare into Nick's ocean-blue gaze. Without a word, she turned and left with him.

"Great," Brianna said aloud. "Now I have to stand her alone." A voice directly behind her startled her.

"Not necessarily, gorgeous. I'll keep you company." Brianna turned and vaguely recognized the guy standing before her as Kevin's friend Matt. They had met at the club Kevin took her to on their first date. "I just thought that maybe you wanted to dance, since Kevin's busy with people and all."

Brianna looked him up and down. "Sure. Why not?" Matt led Brianna to the dance floor and put his arms around her waist. The more they danced, the lower Matt’s hands slid. When Brianna moved his hands back up to her waist, he looked at her dumbly. "What's wrong, baby, you don't like that?"

"Don't flatter yourself, Matt," Brianna said pulling from his grip. "Believe me, you're no Kevin Richardson." She walked away leaving Matt staring stupidly after her.

**********************************************************

Kevin finally spotted Brianna talking to A.J. in a corner. "Hey, baby," Kevin said walking up to them. "Why are y'all huddled up over here? You two are usually the life of the party."

A.J. avoided Kevin's questioning. "Kev, have you seen Cassie anywhere?"

"No, A.J. Why?"

"She promised she'd be here, but she hasn't shown up yet. She's not home and she won't return my pages. I'm worried about her."

Brianna rubbed A.J.'s arm in a comforting manner. "Awww, sweetie. It'll be alright. She's fine."

"I hope so. I'm gonna go try and call her again." He stopped to hug Kevin's mom.

"Happy birthday, man," he said stopping to give Kevin a half-hearted punch on the arm before leaving.

Kevin pulled Brianna in and kissed her deeply before whispering in her ear, "Remind me later to thank you again for my little surprise gathering." Brianna just smiled up at him sweetly.

Kevin turned Brianna to face his mother and slid his hands around her bare waist.

Brianna, baby, this is my mom, Anne. Mama, this is my little wild child, Brianna Chambers."

"I can see that," Anne said while looking Brianna up and down disapprovingly.

Brianna held out her hand for Anne to shake saying, "Nice to finally meet you," but Anne shook it for only a brief second before dropping it completely. Brianna hid the disappointment the best she could, but Anne's attitude had hurt her badly. She had only wanted Kevin’s mother to be approving of her, but she felt like Anne hated her already.

Kevin, noticing the tension, spoke up. "So, mom, didn't Brianna have a nice idea with the party and all? She put a lot of thought into it, huh?"

"Yeah," Anne answered, glancing around nervously. "Listen, sweetie, I think I'll go find Brian and your brothers." With that she walked off.

Kevin immediately turned to Brianna. "Baby, she just needs time to get to know you like I do. I promise she'll love you once she gives you a chance and I'll make sure I tell her that."

Brianna just nodded; Kevin’s words had helped calm her doubts a bit. "Let's dance, Kevin. This is a beautiful song." Kevin nodded and kissed her lightly on the forehead.

It's in the way you walk in... Kevin took Brianna's hand and led her to the dance floor.

It's in the way you hold me; the way you show me just what love's made of...Kevin pulled Brianna’s body tight against his as her arms circled his neck.

It's in the way we make love... Kevin kissed Brianna slowly and deeply; a kiss that lingered between them, reflecting the depth of their feelings for each other and drawing cheers and whistles from the crowd on the dance floor.

Oh, how I adore you like no one before you... "Brianna, I love you. This has been the best birthday I've ever had." Kevin tightened his arms around her waist. "Thank you for being here to make it so special, boo."

"You're welcome, Kevin. I love you, too." Brianna put her hand on the back of Kevin’s neck and tangled her fingers in his thick hair.

Closing her eyes, she continued to sway in his arms, losing herself in the music and imagining that she and Kevin were the only two people alive at that moment. Right then, she could care less what Anne or anyone else thought of her or her relationship with Kevin.

I love you just the way you are...

**********************************************************

Nick and Bianca walked quietly side by side around the beautiful country club. "Brianna did a great job, didn't she? Kevin was really surprised," Bianca spoke quietly.

"Yeah," he answered turning Bianca to look at him. "Look, I know you're still upset; we apologized, but everything still seems weird; are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I was just thinking about everything that happened today. I don't know why I got so mad. I guess...I...never mind."

"No. You what?" he asked.

"I guess I just kinda wished that that could have been us this morning," she muttered looking down at her hands.

Nick lifted Bianca's chin so she was looking into his eyes. Smirking a little, he asked, "So you were jealous."

"Well, I wouldn't exactly say...yeah, okay. I was jealous," she smiled.

Kissing her nose, Nick pulled Bianca to the basketball courts. "C'mon, I'm gonna whoop your ass."

"Out here in public? That's tacky!" she grinned as they began their game.

**********************************************************

"I just do not think that is an appropriate outfit for something like this," Anne said as she watched Kevin and Brianna walk around talking to friends. "And their little display just now on the dance floor? Please! It's no secret what they do in their spare time!"

Gerald, Tim, and Brian sat with Anne as she complained about Brianna's outfit for what seemed like the hundredth time.

"Mama, don't you think you're being a little too harsh? I mean, you aren't even giving her a fair chance," Tim said in Brianna's defense. "She seems like a nice girl."

"Oh, Tim, she probably acts the way she dresses," Anne snorted.

"Aunt Anne that was really uncalled for," Brian immediately cut in. "She's one of the sweetest people you could ever meet. You at least owe her a chance. I mean, she must be special to Kevin."

Brian stood up. "Look, I'm gonna go find Nick." As Brian walked he wasn't watching where he was going and he banged right into someone.

"Damn!" he exclaimed. "I'm really sorry I--" he stopped as he met a pair of warm green eyes.

"It's okay. I wasn't watching where I was going either," she brushed herself off and stuck her hand out. "I'm Nicole."

"Brian. I'm Kevin's cousin. I don't believe I've ever seen you around. How do you know Kev?"

"Oh, I'm here with his friend Steve," she replied with a slight southern drawl.

"Steve, huh?" Brian asked, a little disappointed. He looked at Nicole a little more closely. She was on the short side, five feet tall at the most, with shoulder-length brown hair and green eyes with small brown flecks. 'She's cute,' he smiled to himself.

"You know, you're cute," Nicole smiled. She had read his mind.

Brian blushed and said, "I can say the same about you. So, are you and Steve serious?"

"What?" she asked in a fit of laughter. "NO! I'm just here 'cause he didn't wanna show up alone. He said he needed a date so he wouldn't look dorky, but he's dorky regardless. There's no help for him."

Brian burst out laughing at her comment. "So I guess you wouldn't mind dancing with me then, would you?"

"Nope, I wouldn't mind that at all."

**********************************************************

Howie stood in the corner by the phone. Digging deep in his pocket, he pulled the small slip of paper with the 7 numbers that he found so terribly hard to dial.

"Okay, I can do this," he said and began punching them in slowly.

"Hello?" a deep-voiced man answered.

"Umm, is Ivy home?" he asked, slightly confused.

"Who's this?" the man's voice boomed suspiciously.

"Uh, just a friend."

"Hang on," he said impatiently. "IVY!!!" Howie heard him yell.

"Hello," came a weak voice.

"Ivy? Is everything okay?" Howie asked concerned. "Who was that?"

"Oh, I'm fine. That was my brother, but--"

She was cut off my Howie. "I was just wondering if you'd like to come to a party. It's for a friend of mine. I can come pick you up if you want. You know, so you wouldn't have to bother your brother."

"NO!" she said quickly. "No, um, I can't. I, uh, I need to stay here. Look, Howie, I really can't talk right now. Um, I'll talk to you later," she quickly recovered. Before hanging up she managed to whisper, "Call me tomorrow, after 12."

Howie stood there for a moment not quite sure of what happened. Deciding against calling her back, he walked back to where everyone else was enjoying the party.

**********************************************************

A.J. sat moping at a table by himself. He still hadn't been able to get in touch with Cassie.

"Where the hell is she?" He pounded his fist on the table.

"A.J., are you all right?" Brianna asked quietly from behind him.

"I'm just fine. Everything is peachy fucking keen!"

"You've seen 'Jawbreaker' one too many times." She put her hand on A.J.'s arm. "C'mon, let's go dance.

A.J. got up and took Brianna to the dance floor, grinding against her to Montell Jordan's "Get It On Tonite."

"Uh, look at her," Anne said in an irritated tone. "Does she even care that Kevin might be watching her?"

"Mama," Gerald began. "Just let it go. She's just dancing. Why would she want to hurt Kevin? It's obvious they love each other."

"Hey, y'all," Brian greeted as he walked over to the table. As soon as he looked around he immediately noticed the tension.

"Look at everyone's sweet little Brianna now, Brian." Anne replied harshly. "I really wouldn't be surprised if we looked up and she and A.J. were leaving together to go somewhere private."

Brian was about to defend Brianna but stopped when he heard her voice.

"Excuse me?" Brianna asked angrily. "Why would I be leaving with A.J.? Just forget it. I’m gonna go find Kevin." She turned and walked away after giving Brian a very hurt look.

"Brianna, wait!" Brian jumped up and followed her.

"What?" she snapped impatiently. "Listen, I'm not going to sit and let Anne or anyone bad-mouth me. I heard her comments, and you lack of them."

"No, Brianna. You didn't hear mine because you walked up before I had the chance to tell Aunt Anne that she's wrong about you," Brian gave her a hug. "I'm sorry, sweetie. It's hard on her because Kevin's her youngest son. She just needs some time to realize you're not taking him from her."

"I doubt she'll ever like me. I mean, she's already decided that she doesn't like me and I'm gonna go with A.J. and do who knows what," she said. "I was really looking forward to meeting her and I had hoped we could actually get along."

"I know, but just give her a little more time," Brian smiled.

"Okay," she sighed reluctantly. As she walked back to her table she thought 'I just hope you're right, Brian.'

**********************************************************

Bianca sat down in the middle of the court and watched Nick make a perfect shot.

Smiling she said, "You know, you're cute when you concentrate like that."

He turned and walked over to where she was. He stood looking at her for a minute before saying anything. Finally, he sat down with her and said, "I love you."

"I love you, too," she replied moving so she was sitting on his lap with her legs around his waist. "I'm glad we aren't fighting anymore." Nicks arms circled Bianca's waist and he gave her a long, sweet kiss. "Baby, me too. I've had fun today."

Bianca slid her arms around Nick’s neck and he began kissing her shoulder and collarbone.

"Mmm, Bean, you know what they say the best part of a fight is, don't you?" he grinned slyly.

"What would that be?" she asked tilting her head a little more to the left to give him better access.

"The part where we make up."

"Oh, well, we've already made up, baby," she breathed into his ear. "Don't you think we should go back to the party?"

"Bean, we haven't formally made up. The party can wait." He kissed up her throat to her jaw line. "Nobody has even noticed that we've been outside this long. What will a few more minutes matter?"

"Well, if you insist..." she grinned and kissed him deeply.

"Good, cause I do." Nick slid his hands inside her shirt and rested them on her waist.

After a second he resumed his goal of giving Bianca the biggest hickey she'd ever had.

'I'm good,' he thought, smiling triumphantly to himself.

********15 minutes later********

Brianna and Kevin sat at a table holding hands. They hadn't really talked that much.

"Baby, are you all right?" he asked concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine sweetie."

"Hey, Kev, mom said there's a few people who want to talk to you. And we're about to leave in just a little while," Tim replied. Smiling at Brianna he said, "I'll have him back in just a few minutes."

Kevin kissed her sweetly and told her, "I won't be long."

"Kay," she said forcing a smile. Just as Brianna was about to get up, a voice came from behind her and she felt hands on her shoulders.

"Wanna dance again?" She turned to find A.J.

"Yeah. Why not?" She let him lead her to the dance floor. 'Back At One' was playing; Brianna knew that was one of A.J.'s favorites. Brianna's eyes grew wide when she saw Bianca and Nick walking to the dance floor.

"Hey," Bianca greeted. When she saw Brianna’s wide eyes, she asked, "What?"

"Well, we all know what you two were talking about," A.J. smirked and patted Nick on the arm.

"What?" Bianca asked again.

Brianna leaned over and whispered. "Have you seen your neck?"

"No, why?"

"Nick has left a huge hickey; I guess he wanted everybody to know who you're with. Nobody but Nick has a mouth that damn big," Brianna laughed. "This is the funniest thing that's happened all night," she thought a little glumly.

"What!" Bianca shrieked. "Nick, I am so gonna kill you!"

Just then everyone was rudely interrupted. And it was something no one would ever expect.