- Text Size +
Carly soon became an unwilling co-conspirator in Jennifer and Nick's affair, covering for Jen when Kevin would come by the room looking for her and she wasn't there. "I'm getting really sick of doing this," she told them in frustration, yet another morning when Kevin had come looking for Jen.

"One more month, once we're back in Florida, we'll tell him," Jennifer reassured Carly, following her out of Nick's room and back down the hall. "Thank you for getting me."

"I can't believe what a lucky girl you are that he hasn't figured it out yet," she shook her head, watching as Jennifer quickly changed her clothes. "Or smelled Nick on you, even."

"Very funny," Jennifer quickly ran a brush through her hair before heading back out to Kevin's room, knocking on the door.

"Hey," Kevin waved her in with a smile. "You were in the shower? Your hair's dry."

"Blowdriers do wonders," Jennifer shrugged, sitting down on the couch and looking at him. "What's up?"

Kevin sat down next to her and took her hand, looking at her closely. "Are you mad at me or something?"

"What do you mean?" She asked, eyes wide in surprise.

"You haven't been staying with me very often lately..." he said softly, his green eyes growing sad as he spoke. "I feel like we're growing apart."

"Oh, Kevin..." Jennifer's eyes filled with tears, and she pulled him into a hug. "Not at all..." she'd just been spending more and more time with Nick...

"I know I really pissed you off when I freaked out on Nick and AJ like that, but you know it's just because I think you can do so much better," Kevin told her softly, his arms wrapping tightly around her back. "I don't want to see you hurt by one of them, I know how they treat women. I would kill them if I saw them doing that to you."

Jennifer bit her lip and fought back a sob, wishing the tour would hurry up and end so she could tell him the truth. "I know," she said softly, "I acted pretty stupid then too."

"Kissing Nick and AJ both? You definitely surprised me," Kevin chuckled softly. "I think I was even a little jealous."

"Oh, now you flatter me," Jennifer laughed and smacked at his chest. "I was just trying to get you mad. I seem to do stupid things to piss you off a lot, don't I."

"You always have, and you always will, Jenny Lynn," Kevin was glad nothing seemed to be wrong. Things still felt wrong, but he couldn't figure out why... "Are you sure everything's ok?"

"Yup." Jennifer snuggled closer into his arms, smiling when he pulled her legs up onto his lap. "Some time off will be nice, though."

"What are you going to do? Have you decided yet?" Kevin asked, rubbing his hands over her legs with a smile.

"Not sure yet," Jennifer replied nonchalantly. She'd discussed a few possibilities for the break with Nick, all of which involved the two of them together. They just weren't quite sure when they were going to tell Kevin about them, which limited where they could go. "I kind of want to go home for a while, spend some time in Kentucky." And she'd wanted to show Nick the place where she grew up.

"Now that would be great," Kevin grinned from ear to ear. "Kristen and I are gonna be there, we can try to convince Brian and Leighanne to come, have a big old fashioned family barbecue."

Jennifer was unable to stop from smiling at the happy expression on Kevin's face. All he ever wanted was his family and friends around him, happy. Why couldn't he understand that nothing would make her happier than being able to be with Nick? "Sure, it'll be fun." Actually...a family barbecue, huh? "You going to invite your mother?"

"Mom would love to see you, if you'd promise to come," Kevin said hesitantly. His mother had been one to Jennifer as well when they were children, but as she'd grown up, the two had become friends. Over the last few years, they'd often conspired to find new and cruel ways to teach him some lesson or another. Anne Richardson, of all people, understood the frustrations Jennifer felt from being Kevin's best friend.

"Oh, I'll come." Jennifer nodded for emphasis. And she'd bring Nick. Anne would be on her side, she was sure about that...and Kevin wouldn't dare take a swing at Nick with his mother there...would he?



"They're revolutionaries, Brian," Nick groaned, trying yet again to unsuccessfully explain to Brian the various factions involved in Gundam Wing. "But they're working from the inside..."

"So we're rooting for them?" Brian asked, his eyes narrowing at the battle taking place on screen. "I thought we liked her?"

"There are, what, 5 different groups, Brian," Jennifer tried to explain, "you can't hate them all."

"Exactly," Nick tightened his arms around Jen, laughing when she squirmed. "Relax."

Jennifer couldn't relax. Snuggling up with Nick for Gundam had become traditional for them, but her conscience was still bugging her about her conversation with Kevin that morning. As much as she loved Nick, Kevin was her best friend in the world, her family, and she prayed the day would never come when she would have to make a choice between them. If it happened, she didn't know what she would do... She saw Nick pick up a blanket and spread it over them, shooting a warning glance at him as his legs wrapped around her waist. "Watch it, Nicky," she whispered.

"Brian's sitting right here, I'm not gonna do anything," Nick whispered in her ear. "Just this..." his hands slid under her shirt, his palms hot against her bare skin. "I just want to touch you..."

Jennifer leaned back against Nick's chest, crossing her arms over his on her stomach. It did feel so good...just his hands touching her skin...she sighed happily and concentrated on the television, blocking out Nick's running commentary to Brian.

Nick traced circles across Jen's skin with his fingers as he talked to Brian, wishing his friend would leave them alone. They'd gotten surprisingly good at keeping quiet, he was going to have to bronze this blanket someday in effigy or something. "You don't like this in the slightest, do you?" he finally asked, wondering why Brian had spent the entire tour trying to hard to understand something he clearly didn't like.

Brian started laughing and shrugged. "But you and Jenny do, and it's something to do on the bus, right?"

"Nick likes a lot of strange things, Brian, I wouldn't try to figure it all out," AJ warned, tossing a magazine at him. "Rolling Stone's a lot easier to understand."

"Gundam's not so bad!" Jennifer piped up, smiling when Nick's hands tightened around her waist in reaction. "Although, now, Swamp Thing, you could pick better comics..."

"Hey! What's so bad about Swamp Thing?" Nick's eyes widened, and he looked at her in surprise. He didn't know Jenny knew anything about comics.

"Swamp Thing was good in the 80's, but now, Nicky, come on, it's just overwith. Read one of the thousands of Batman comics if you need to read something superheroish, but not that. Or even better, ever read The Tick?"

"Good cartoon," AJ offered, accepting his magazine back from Brian, who was still trying to watch the television.

"It was a comic first and foremost, and a better comic than cartoon," Jennifer told AJ with a sigh. "So was The Maxx...they ruin comics, I swear."

"That one I've never heard of," Nick frowned. "What's that?"

"I'll lend them to you when we're in Kentucky, I have them all in storage at my parents place," Jennifer replied, before clasping her hand over her mouth in horror. That had just popped out....

"You're going with Jen to Kentucky?" Brian's head whipped around to stare at Nick, he hadn't missed hearing that.

"For a couple weeks, yeah...I don't want to be anywhere near my family or Florida, you know that, Brian," Nick made up the lie quickly, hoping his friend would believe him.

"So you're going to stay with Jenny?" Brian looked at Jen, not quite buying the story. Nick had become amazingly closed mouthed about his relationship with Jennifer ever since he'd slept with her months ago, and he had no idea what was going on.

"Why not, I have comics and computer games even Nick doesn't have," Jennifer forced a smile onto her face, feeling a knot form in her stomach. So many lies...

"I guess," Brian shrugged, shaking his head. He hoped Nick and Jen knew what they were doing... "Ok, so back to Gundam, who's this Shenlong?"

"Maybe when I'm in Kentucky I'll lock you in a room with the entire series, B-Rok, finally catch you up," Nick grumbled. "Then you won't ask me stuff like this..."

"Oh, you love explaining it to me. Now, again, who's Shenlong?"



"I'll see you in Kentucky in a week then, right?" Kevin confirmed, watching Jennifer apply lipstick as she dressed for the show.

Jennifer couldn't believe it, their last show of the tour. This leg, anyway, it was finally over. "Yup, I just need to do some stuff in Orlando for a week," like stay with Nick in Tampa, "and then I'll be flying to Kentucky." She looked herself over in the mirror one final time and turned to Carly with a grin, "Ready?"

"BACKSTREET! WHAT TIME IS IT?" Carly hollered, receiving a loud groan from Kevin in response. "What? Come on, what time is it?"

"It's time to sleep," Kevin replied with an exaggerated yawn.

"What kind of sleep?" Jennifer quipped, "Hard sleep, uh!"

"Doesn't quite work, darling," Carly rolled her eyes at her friend.

"I try, I try," Jennifer smiled and grabbed Kevin's hand, pulling him out of the dressing room. "Come on, let's go make your fans drool one last time."

"WHAT TIME IS IT!" Carly shouted again as they walked to the stage, frowning when AJ asked to see her watch as they passed. "You all are pathetic."

"What, I got a flight in a couple hours," AJ shrugged. "I have a right to want to know the time."

"You're not flying out tomorrow morning like the rest of us?" Jennifer asked him curiously.

"Nope, I gotta get home, Johnny No Name's got some concerts lined up during the break," he waggled his eyebrows at the two women flirtatiously. "I expect to see both of you at the Florida shows."

"We'll be there," Jennifer slung her arm around Carly's shoulder with a grin. "Right?"

"Assuming I remember what time they are," Carly smirked, poking Jennifer in the stomach. "You gonna be in Florida then?"

Jennifer made a face and shook her head, not wanting to discuss that subject further with Kevin around. They had decided to tell Kevin about her and Nick as soon as they arrived in Kentucky, so if he overreacted, they could return to Florida, and leave him there to cool down. "Dunno."

"AJ's gonna play my club, right?" Howie said to AJ pointedly, a grin on his face.

"Sure, you got it, D," AJ shrugged. "Wherever they'll give me a microphone and a stage, right?"

"Ok kids, let's go, one last show, then you all can play," Kevin waved with his hands towards the stage.

Jennifer looked around for Nick and grabbed his hand, leading him onto the stage with a grin. One last show, then they could relax for a while. She felt his hand slip around her waist for the start of the show, and spun into the dance, smiling from ear to ear. They'd made it to the end of the tour...things could only get better from here. Right?