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Chapter 6.

As the girls walked back to their cabin the sun was about to set. They tried to figure out what exactly the boys were doing here and what kind of problems they could be having. “I hope it doesn’t mean their vacation will be cut short.” Avery said, “I will be so depressed if they have to leave early. This vacation is perfect.”

“I’m sure they won’t have to leave early.” Natalie said not entirely convinced herself. “What should we do tonight? Want to drive into the city or stay here? I brought Jerry Maguire.”

“Let’s stay in tonight. Movies and Junk food sounds perfect.” Avery said.

“Hey let’s order pizza,” said Natalie.

The girls turned around and walked back to the lodge. They ordered a pizza, half pepperoni and half plain cheese. Then they went back to their room. They went into sleepover mode when they got there, blankets, pillows, and all the Mountain Dew they could drink. “The only thing missing is the gummy bears.” Natalie said.

“We can’t do this without gummy bears.” Avery said. “I’ll go down to the gift shop and see if they have any.”

“Perfect, I have to jump in the shower before the pizza gets here anyway.” Natalie said. “Then we will be all set for a Tom Cruise all-nighter!”

Meanwhile, back at the lodge the guys were gathered around a table in the conference room. “They had just received the bad news. “So,” Lou was explaining, “This is going to set us back at least 2 days, maybe 3.”

“So what do we do now?” Kevin asked.

“You don’t worry about a thing. James will be here tomorrow afternoon, and we will go from there into town to see if we can find a casting agency or something. For now you guys take the day off.”

All five of them stared at Lou in disbelief. They thought they were imagining things. Did Lou just give them a day off? That couldn’t be right. “Come again?” A.J. said.

“There’s not really anything you guys can do except wait now. We already have all of your solo shots. Can’t do any more without models, so… This is a beautiful resort. Go, play, relax and take a day off. You guys deserve it.”

They boys sat in silence afraid if they said anything, that he would take it back. Lou smiled, “No wake up call tomorrow boys.” He said getting up from the table, “but I have to be going now. I’m not as lucky as you.”

Lou left the room and the boys sat around the table looking at each other. “Did that really just happen?” Nick asked.

“I think so.” Kevin said.

“Sweet!” Nick said, “Who’s up for some x-box?”

“Dude! You owe me a rematch.” Brian said.

Kevin, Howie, and A.J. shook their heads. “You boys and your video games.” Kevin said.

“Let’s go play some pool.” A.J. said and Howie nodded.

Kevin shook his head and said, “I think I’m going to go back to my room and take a nap, I’ll catch up with you guys in a while.”

A.J. and Howie walked off in the direction of the pool hall and Kevin, Nick and Brian walked back through the main lobby. “Uncle Jerry!” Kevin said when they saw him going out the front door. “You still here?”

“Oh man, that smells good!” Brian said referring to the pizza he was holding.

“One last thing before I take off for the evening.” He said holding up the pizza.

“You’re gonna eat it all by yourself?”

“No, I’m going to drop it off.” He said.

“Who’s it for? If it’s for Lou, I want a slice.”

“It’s for a couple of the sweetest girls in the world. The only other guests here right now.”

“You mean Natalie and Avery?” Nick asked.

“So you have met them?”

“It’s not tofu is it?” Kevin asked.

“Pepperoni and cheese.” Jerry replied.

“Girls who eat pizza?” Brian asked confused.

“They’re cute too. You should meet them.” Jerry said smiling. “I feel bad for them. They came all this way and ended up in an empty resort.”

“Maybe they need company.” Nick said.

“Maybe they need help eating that pizza.” Brian said. The others stared at him. “What?” he shrugged, “I love pizza.”

Jerry handed Brian the pizza. “Why don’t you take it over there for me. Maybe they’ll share it with you.”

The boys looked at each other and headed to the presidential suite.

Back in the cabin, Natalie had just slipped out of the shower and into her nightgown. She had put on a facemask when she heard a knock at the door. Since Avery wasn’t back from the gift shop, Natalie assumed it was her. She was really caught off guard when she opened the door and saw Brian holding a pizza with Nick standing right next to him. She stood there surprised. Brian stood there surprised to see Natalie in a nighty. He swallowed a lump in his throat. Nick stared at the mask. “What’s that?” he asked Natalie, pointing at her face.

“Huh?” Natalie said startled.

“On your face?” Nick said.

Natalie reached up and realized she was still wearing a mask. “Did we come at a bad time?” Brian asked.

“Uh, no.” Natalie said asking her head, “I just wasn’t expecting…”

“We brought you your pizza.” Brian said holding up the box.

“Thanks.” Natalie said still a little flustered.

“We came to see what you’re up to tonight, but if you’re busy we’ll go.”

“Oh no.” Natalie interrupted, “I mean, we would love some company.”

Natalie stood there trying no to freak out. Brian Littrell was standing on her doorstep wanting to hang out! She wanted to pinch herself just incase, but she couldn’t seem to move. Brian and Nick stood outside. “So, can we come in?” Nick asked.

Natalie snapped out of her trance. “Of course!” she said jumping out of the way.
Brian and Nick walked in and looked around. “I think Jerry’s been holding out on us.” Nick said checking out the entertainment in the front room. “I’m sleeping in a hotel room. This is a palace.”

“Nice place.” Brian agreed.

“It was so nice of Jerry to put us in here. I think he feels bad about the place being so empty. But it’s not that empty, really. I mean, we’ve run into you 3 times today. That’s all the company we need. We’re not much for big crowds.” Natalie explained.

“Where’s Avery?” Nick asked looking around.

“She went looking for gummy bears. You can’t watch a movie without gummy bears.”

“So what are you guys doing tonight?” Brian asked.

“Pizza, movies, and pajamas? Sleepover.” Nick said. “My sisters have them all the time.”

“I’ve heard of those.” Brian teased. “Am I too late for the pillow fight?”

Natalie just smiled still a little too flustered to think straight. “You guys make yourselves comfy. I’m just going to…”

She pointed to the bedroom. She went into her bathroom to wash off her face. Brian and Nick checked out the room. Brian picked up the remote and turned on the TV. “High def and surround, nice!”

Nick opened a CD case that was lying on the floor next to the stereo. “I wonder if they have anything good?” he said. “Whoa, didn’t see that coming.”

“What?” Brian asked.

“Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Bing Crosby…”

“Classic taste.”

“Here we go.” Nick continued, “Ben Folds 5, Our Lady Peace, Stroke 9. They like rock.”

Brian laughed. “It’s no wonder they don’t know who we are. They’re not exactly our demographic.”

“You have to admit,” Nick said, “It was kind of nice having normal conversations for once.”

“Yeah,” Brian agreed, “It’s nice to Brian and not ‘That Backstreet Boy’ for a change.”

Nick flipped the page again, “Now that’s what I’m talking about! Steve Miller Band and Journey. These girls are awesome.”

“There is something different about them, but I can’t figure it out.” Brian said.

“Hey, check it out.” Nick said holding up the CD case. The last few pages were filled with every Backstreet Boys CD ever released. “Are those our Canadian albums?” Brian said surprised.

Nick nodded his head. “I wonder why they didn’t recognizes us.”

Brian laughed. “They have every CD we’ve ever released in there. They know who we are. I just wonder why they didn’t say anything. You should turn one on, see what she does when she comes back.”

Nick put in one of the Canadian albums. “I haven’t heard this one in a long time.”

The music began to play. Nick hit the wrong button and the music played throughout the whole cabin. Natalie came out of her room and out of habit yelled, “Hey Avery, skip it to number 9!”

Nick and Brian exchanged confused looks as Natalie walked back into the front room. It wasn’t until she saw them that she realized what was going on. Nick said, “Which one is number 9?”

He skipped through the tracks and played the ninth song. “It’s my favorite.” Natalie said blushing.

The song “That’s What She Said” started playing. Brian looked at Natalie surprised. He seemed to get lost in his thoughts. Nick looked at Brian, almost like he was expecting something to happen. Natalie wondered what was going on. She broke the silence, “I’ve always wondered if singers listen to their own stuff.” She said.

“You do know who we are.” Nick said.

Natalie nodded her head. “Why didn’t you say anything?” Nick asked.

“Why didn’t you?” Natalie replied. “I guess we just figured that you get tired of talking about it. We wanted to meet you. Not the Backstreet Boys.”

“We didn’t mean to be so surprised,” Nick said, “It’s just that, well, that doesn’t happen very often.”

“I can imagine, but we must have not been too far off since none of you mentioned it.” Natalie said and smiled at Nick. “Anyway, now that’s out of the way, where’s Avery? She should be back by now.”

Nick put the CD back in its case. He wrinkled his nose as he looked at his picture on the CD. “Do you have a favorite?” he asked Natalie.

“A favorite what?” Natalie asked.

“Backstreet Boy.” Nick replied.

Natalie smiled devilishly, “Every Backstreet fan has a favorite boy.”

“Who’s yours?”

Natalie shook her head. “I could tell you but then I’d have to kill you.”

Just then there was a knock at the door. Natalie opened it and Avery walked into the kitchen. She didn’t see Nick and Brian. “Forgot my key.” She said, “Sorry it took so long, I kind of got lost on the way back. Avery dumped out a bag full of gummy bears onto the kitchen table. “Nice.” Natalie said.

“You have to see this.” Avery said holding up what looked like a rolled up poster. “There was a whole bunch of Backstreet stuff in the gift shop. They had this poster of my Nicky, I just couldn’t resist.”

Natalie cleared her throat to get Avery’s attention. She glared at Avery and nodded her head toward the boys sitting in the other room. Avery’s mouth dropped. She must have turned 8 different shades of red. “Oh my heck!” she whispered. “What do I do?”

Natalie shook her head. She had no idea. She was almost as nervous as Avery. The girls turned around to face Nick and Brian. Nick just smiled awkwardly while Brian failed at his attempts not to laugh. “I guess we know who Avery’s favorite is.” He said.

Avery blushed even more. She wanted to die! She looked at Natalie with a confused look asking her if she had told them. “P.S. They know we know. They found my CD’s.”

“Hi.” Avery finally said.

“We came by to see if you wanted to hang out tonight.” Brian said.

Avery nodded still not able to look at Nick. “You going to watch the movie with us?” she asked.

“We have lots of pizza.” Natalie said.

“And gummy bears?” Brian said looking at the pile of candy on the table.

“Pizza and a movie sounds perfect.” Nick said.

Now that the awkward moment had passed, everyone was able to relax a little bit. Natalie dished up the pizza while Avery put the gummy bears in a big bowl. “We got pepperoni and plain cheese.” Natalie said.

“I love pepperoni.” Brian replied.

“And you?” Natalie asked Nick.

“Nope, for me it has to be cheese. Definitely cheese.”

“How about you Chris? Oh, wait. I forgot. You don’t eat meat.”

“You’re a vegetarian?” asked Nick.

“No!” Avery protested, “I like pork chops.”

Nick was sitting in the really big chair and Brian was sitting on the couch when the girls walked into the room. Natalie sat at the other end of the couch and Avery turned on the movie. “What movie are we watching?” Nick asked.

“Jerry Maguire.” Natalie answered, “Ever seen it?”

Both Nick and Brian shook their heads. “It’s Tom Cruise.” Avery said all giddy.
“You better watch out, Nicky. It sounds like you might have some competition.” Brian teased.

“Avery has a huge thing for Tom Cruise.” Natalie explained.

“I love him.” Avery accidentally said out loud.

“But it’s really a great movie too.” Natalie assured them.

Avery turned on the movie. She looked over at Brian and Natalie on the couch and then started to sit on the floor. “There’s plenty of room here.” Brian said patting the couch next to him.

“You could come sit with me.” Nick chimed in, “It might be a little squishy, but this is the biggest chair on the planet. And after all, when’s the last time you called him “My Tommy?” he said pointing at the TV.

Avery was so embarrassed, but the man had a point. She couldn’t resist and she cuddled up right next to him. “What about you?” Nick asked, “You have a thing for Tome Cruise too?”

“I love the movie,” Natalie replied, “But Tom Cruise really isn’t my type.”
“What is your type then?” Brian asked.

Natalie thought it was quite ironic that the man she based her type on was asking her what her type was. “Other than you?” she thought. “I don’t know.” She answered. “I don’t really have a specific type.”

“Sure you do.” Avery teased, “Lying, cheating, married, punks.”

“That is so not true!” Natalie protested.

“How else would you explain Paul?”

“Like you’re one to talk! Brent? Liar! Cheater! Punk! You have me on the marriage. That would take some form of commitment so, you know…”

“Whatever!” Avery said, “Truce! Let’s just watch the movie.”

They turned off the lights and the movie started. For a while they watched in silence. Natalie was sitting on the end of the couch closest to the TV, so she didn’t notice that Brian kept looking over at her. After a while, Natalie’s neck started to get sore. Brian saw her reach up and rub the back of her neck. “Is your neck bothering you?” he asked.

“It’s not bad, just sitting a little too close to a really big TV.”

“Come sit back here by me. It’s not as bad at this end of the couch.”

Natalie scooted back by Brian and sat sideways, putting her feet up on the couch. “Can you see alright?” Natalie asked making sure she wasn’t in his way.

“I have a perfect view.” He said looking straight at Natalie.

Natalie smiled nervously and looked back at the TV. As she settled into her seat, she reached up and rubbed her neck again. All of the sudden she felt a chill run through her entire body. She closed her eyes and took a long deep breath as Brian placed his hand on her neck. “Is this where it hurts?” He said.

Natalie was barely able to answer him. “Um, uh-huh.” She said, her voice shaking.

It literally took every ounce of her strength not to freak out. Brian rubbed Natalie’s neck for a few minutes but was soon caught up in the movie again. His hand came to rest on Natalie’s shoulder and his thumb rubbed the base of her neck. Brian hadn’t even realized he was doing it until Avery broke the silence. “Pause it a minute.” She said.

Brian was startled by her voice and realized what he was doing. He quickly pulled his hand back and smiled nervously. “Bathroom break.” Avery said.

“Me too.” Natalie said as she stood up and stretched.

“Hurry back.” Nick said to Avery, “You’re keeping me warm.”

Natalie walked back into her bathroom. She looked in the mirror and she saw that she was all flushed. She struggled to calm herself down. Avery stood in her doorway and mouthed, “OH MY HECK!”

“I KNOW!” Natalie whispered back.

Avery walked back out into the front room. Nick held his arms out and Avery sat down next to him with her legs across his lap. He held his arm around her almost cradling her. Natalie came out of the bedroom and grabbed a handful of gummy bears from the kitchen. When she came back into the front room she saw Brian lying stretched out on the couch. As she walked in the room Brian started to sit back up. “Oh, you’re fine. Don’t get up.” Natalie said.

She grabbed a blanket and started to sit on the floor against the couch. “Would you mind sharing that blanket with me? It’s getting a little chilly in here.” Brian asked scooting as far back against the back of the couch as possible. “There’s plenty of room.”

Natalie lied down on the couch with Brian and the movie resumed. Avery began to doze off. Her head dropped onto Nick’s shoulder. He glanced at her from the corner of his eye and smiled. He brushed the hair in her face behind her ear. “Eat your heart out Tom Cruise.” He whispered.

After a little more time had passed, both Natalie and Nick had fallen asleep too. Nick rested his head against Avery’s. Natalie had leaned forward and her arm was hanging off the edge of the couch. All the sudden, Brian burst into laughter. “Did you hear that? Did you hear that? That was funny!” He said not realizing the others were asleep.

The noise startled Natalie and she almost fell of the couch but Brian caught her. He pulled her close to him and left his arm wrapped around her. There was no way Natalie was going to fall back to sleep now. Finally the movie came to it’s, sweet, dramatic, oh so romantic, ending. No matter how many times Natalie watched this movie it always made her cry. She tried not to let Brian notice the tears in her eyes but when her nose sniffled, he looked down at her. “Are you OK?” he asked.

Natalie laughed. “It’s a stupid habit really. I don’t think I’ve ever made it through this movie without crying.”

Brian reached over and wiped a tear from Natalie’s cheek. ‘It’s not stupid.” He said, “I think it’s kind of cute.”

“Thanks.” Natalie said.

Brian squeezed her tightly. Again Natalie took a calming breath inhaling the sweet familiar scent of Brian’s cologne. She was reminded of Paul and sighed heavily. “What is it?” Brian asked.

“It’s nothing,” Natalie replied.