Nick couldn’t help the huge smile that graced his features as he looked into the audience. You would have to be an idiot not to enjoy the attentions of thousands of fans night after night, especially when they are mostly female fans. He pointed to a girl in the front row and blew a kiss to another before noticing her.

                She definitely caught his eye, wearing a plunging purple dress that screamed, “No, don’t bother looking in my eyes!” and dark hair pulled to one side, revealing blonde hair with what looked like cheetah print colored into it.

                However, it wasn’t her cleavage or her hair that caught his eye… No, it was the fact he was staring straight at her, and she didn’t appear to give a shit. Hell, even the woman holding the “I <3 Howie!” poster right behind her appeared to be screaming his name, trying to get him to wave at her, which he eventually did.

                He had to move quickly to get to his next spot in the choreography, but he glanced over his shoulder, finding her again. Nope, she honestly didn’t care.

                He made it through the rest of the show, his eyes still drawn to cheetah print hair, but trying not to vie for her attention. There were plenty of girls who were there for him; he needed to focus on them instead of some ice cold bitch in front row.

                Where the hell did that come from? He wondered as he headed backstage to change and shower. He had never called a fan a bitch before, no matter how psycho or rude they were. What was it about this one that had him so riled up?

                He tried to justify several scenarios in his head, including the fact she shouldn’t have taken a front row seat if she didn’t care, and left it to a fan who would appreciate the view.

                He ducked his head under the spray of the shower, closing his eyes, and just trying to wash the tension away. He had never let a fan get to him like this… He seriously needed to stop dwelling because now he needed to be able to focus on that now, and not be “moody” as some fans called him.

                Nick eventually finished getting ready for the after party and caught up with Howie, “Hey, ready to go?” he asked.

                Howie glanced up from his phone, “Yeah, was just texting Leigh to say good night… Ready whenever you are…” he said, following Nick out of the arena. “Did you want to grab a bite to eat on the way?”

                Nick nodded, “Yeah, something quick though,” he said softly, following Justin through the halls out of the arena. “Do we even know where we are going this time?”

                Howie nodded, “Mum, Voodoo? Something witchdoctory,” he said with a shrug.

                Nick chuckled, “Witchdoctory? Really?”

                Howie shrugged, “Shut up,” he said before shoving his friend away, laughing softly.

                The younger man just chuckled and headed outside, still following Justin to the car they were going to be in for the night. He ruffled the shorter man’s hair before climbing into the car, laughing as Howie reached up, “Seriously?! Was that really necessary?”

                Nick nodded and looked out the window, “Yep, absolutely necessary…” he said watching the scenery as Justin began driving to the club they were appearing at tonight.

                The three men made small talk throughout the ride, stopping for food at Taco Bell before making their way to the club. Nick chugged a bottle of water and began sucking on a breath mint, not wanting any sort of atomic breath, though he doubted the fans would even notice or care. He just never wanted to see a picture of him on a gossip site with the caption “Atomic breath” beneath it.

                Justin climbed out and made his way to the door to figure out where they were going and all that before returning to Nick and Howie, “Ok, ready guys?” he asked. The two nodded and climbed out before following Justin through the crowd of screaming girls and flashes going off, girls trying to capture that first look of them in the club. He tried to keep his eye on Justin’s back but out of the corner of his eye could’ve sworn he saw cheetah print.

                Nick did a quick double take and sighed in disappointment when it was only a girl’s bra that had been revealed when her dress started slipping off her shoulders. He focused back on Justin and went behind the velvet rope and had to lean over to hear the manager explain what was going to happen. He was used to the meet and greets being first, so this wasn’t anything new, really, but it was still polite to at least act like the manager wasn’t an idiot.

                The manager finally got out of the way and the first girl came through, a cute red head that could not stop smiling, which made her endearing to him. He pulled her closer to him for the picture and had a huge smile on his face until he saw it.

                Cheetah print hair…

                And there was no mistaking it this time.

                Nick tried to smile again but couldn’t focus on anything other than following the girl through the crowd.

                Again, she was the only one who didn’t give a damn that he and Howie were within reach.

                He sighed, “Sorry, Justin, one more” he said, trying to find the same smile he just had for the girl and for all the others going through the line.

                It was probably only fifteen minutes later, but it felt like an hour, and Nick was able to make his way to the bar. Yes, he could have just told Justin to get something but he’d seen the dark hair and cheetah print on her way to the bar. He finally found her again in the crowd and walked up to the bar, getting the bartenders attention. He placed his order then looked at the girl, “What are you drinking?” he asked, figuring most people liked free alcohol.

                “I’m not,” was all she said before she began walking away.

                Nick’s eyes just followed her through the crowd until she finally managed to blend in.

“Was that Nick just talking to you?” Lore asked, as her friend approached her again.

Cat looked over her shoulder and shrugged, “Was it? I wasn’t paying attention….”

Lore sighed and rolled her eyes, “Leave it to you to not notice a Backstreet Boy talking to you…” She looked at her friend, “I’m really starting to regret asking you to come.”

“No you’re not, I’m the only one who would’ve paid you back for the tickets, whether I listen to the band or not,” she said, smiling sweetly. “Besides, I’m having fun and I bought you a drink,” she said with a sweet, innocent grin before handing her friend the drink.

“This doesn’t mean I forgive you… Cheers,” she said, smiling a little at the other girl.

Cat chuckled and lifted her glass before hugging her friend and taking a sip of her drink. She looked around the club for a few seconds before looking back at Lore, “Not a lot of people here…”

“It’s still early…” Lore said, “Are you going to be that annoying negative person all night, or are you going to enjoy yourself?”

“I promise… I’m about 3 drinks away from a good time,” Cat said, grinning with a chuckle at her friend.

Lore nodded, “We shall see…” she said, sipping her drink, “But you’re right… I would’ve thought an after party would have been busier…”

“You said you didn’t hear about it until only a couple days ago… Maybe there just wasn’t a lot of advertising for it?” she suggested.

“Who knows… But let’s just try and have fun? I don’t want to regret you coming…” Lore said softly, looking at her friend.

Cat held up three fingers, “Scouts honor, no regrets allowed!” She smiled and finished her drink then felt someone tap her shoulder. She turned around and perked an eyebrow at the tall beefy looking guy, “Yes?”

“Come with me,” he said in a gruff voice.

“I think you have me confused with my friend,” she said, pushing Lore behind the guy.

Lore looked back at her with a deer caught in the head lights look and Cat simply took her friends drink and shooed her after the guy. The guy was about to say something but decided not to fight the girl. He couldn’t force anybody to meet Nick; after all, he just wasn’t sure what exactly he would say to Nick. He didn’t have to wait long because as soon as he escorted the red head behind the velvet ropes, he noticed Nick’s perked eyebrow and simply leaned over, “She said no and shoved her friend my way…”

Nick nodded softly and tried to hide his look of surprise as he extended his hand out to the other girl, “Hi, I’m Nick…”

Lore shook his hand and smiled softly, “Nice to meet you… Lore.” She surprised herself with being able to actually form words, and thought that was a good sign.

Nick lifted the girls hand to his lips and kissed the back of it, “It’s a pleasure, Lore…” he said, a plan forming in his head. If he remembered correctly, this was the girl he saw Cheetah Print talking with, and he figured he could use that to his advantage. “So where are you from?”

“Denver,” Lore said simply. “Well, Parker, to be exact…”

“Ah, Denver…” he said softly, “I love that place…” he said, smiling, thinking he might need to go there at the tour now… If he could get either of the girls numbers, that is.

“Wish you guys came to Denver more often,” she said honestly. “We miss you every time you don’t tour there…” She chuckled softly, “And no, I’m not trying to give you a guilt trip… Unless it’s working and you promise to come every tour now…”

Nick laughed softly, “I’ll see what I can do, how’s that?” he asked, reaching for a couple beers and handing one to the girl.

“Mmmm, I guess I’ll take it,” she smiled, accepting the beer from him. “Thank you,” she said, opening the beer then lifting it up to her lips as she looked around the club.

“Any time,” he said, grinning. He leaned back in his seat, relaxing, watching the girl, “So what do you do?” he asked, trying to make small talk.

“I’m a writer, actually… mostly freelance stuff for magazines, but I’m working on the next great American novel,” she shrugged; “As all writers are…” she joked.

Nick nodded, not sure if she was being sarcastic about the last part or not, “I’m sure whatever you’re working on is good, though…”

Lore chuckled, “It’s honestly crap… I keep erasing it all and starting over… The damn Twilight craze is throwing my writing off. I mean, good, quality books are not being recognized anymore, it’s all about the fluff-“ she trailed off. She glanced her way and noticed his gaze had glossed over and chuckled, “Sorry, I’ll shut up…”

“No, that’s fine… everyone has their passions, right?” he asked, smiling at her. He liked that this girl was opening up, but just had to figure out how exactly to get her friend back here.

His hopes were dashed completely when Rob, his bouncer, returned, “Nick, the DJ’s ready…” Nick nodded and stood up, “I have to go… can I get your number, though?” he asked.

“Why?” Lore asked, shocked.

“You seem interesting… I would like to get to know you more…” he explained, pulling out his phone.

“Umm, sure…” she said, telling him her number, and then wondering why she was giving him her number. It wasn’t like he would ever call her. However, this did give her bragging rights for her friends back home.

Nick saved the number in his phone and leaned over, hugging her, “Feel free to have your friends join you back here… Drinks are free” he smiled. He hugged her again then headed to tell Rob she and her friends could stay in VIP all they wanted, drinks were on him. Rob nodded and made a mental note of the girl so she wouldn’t have problems the rest of the evening.

Lore sat in VIP a few more minutes before realizing VIP was incredibly boring alone. She stood up and headed back to the crowd to find Cat, who was the only person sitting at the bar while everyone else had swarmed the stage to watch Nick DJ.

“Sorry,” Rob said, escorting Nick to the stage.

“For what?” Nick asked, looking over his shoulder at the body guard before starting up the steps on the side of the stage.

“It wasn’t the cheetah print girl…” Rob said, following after Nick.

Nick just shrugged and spoke to the dj for a few minutes, getting a feel for his system and hearing where he needed to be careful and all. He asked the DJ his name, simply so he could hype the audience at the end, thank him, and all that… One thing AJ’s mom instilled in all them when she toured was the need to be gracious, no matter what, and that usually meant learning people’s names and remembering them.

“How’s DJ Stubbie treating all you fine ladies tonight?” Nick asked into the mic, looking into the crowd. His eyes were trying to scan for either the cheetah girl or her friend, but he didn’t see either of them in the mob surrounding the stage. He scanned the rest of the room while he spoke about a special treat for the crowd tonight before he started to spin to the Ting Ting’s “Great DJ” “Who’s ready to party?” he asked, his eyes scanning the crowd again.

There she was, back at the bar.

Of course.

Why did that even surprise him? He couldn’t figure out why he was even still thinking about this girl, considering he couldn’t even remember the girls from today’s sound check, but he remembered this one girl from the concert.

He laughed to himself, remembering one fanfic he’d read years ago about a girl who supposedly caught his eye in a show and he remembered not being able to read the rest of the story. He could barely remember a girl in the audience five minutes later, let alone long enough to think about her the rest of the night and obsess about her for a year until they returned back to the town. The likelihood of that was so incredibly tiny, it was laughable that a girl would think she made that much of an impact.

But Cheetah Girl… She actually DID have that effect on him.

It was probably the fact that she was the first person in months that he had seen that could not have been more bored at the concert.

However, that wasn’t the reason. He’d seen bored girls before at shows, and they’d never fazed him before… He really needed to get to know her to figure out why she had such a hold on him. And in order for that to happen, he would have to get to know her friend, Lauren, and hope she could lead him to Cheetah…

Wait, was it Lauren? He knew it started with an L… When he got back to the bus, he would text the girl and figure out the girls name again.

Was it terrible that he was simply using her to get to know someone else?

He had to admit, he did feel a little guilty, but not enough to stop him from asking Rob to make sure they stuck around to hang out with him after he was done on stage.

“Tell me what they say, please,” he said, looking at the man who was more than just his security guard. “And say whatever you need to get both of them back there and to stay…”

“Anything?” Rob asked, perking an eyebrow.

“Well, within reason, of course…” Nick said, chuckling at the other man.

Rob nodded and headed back to the bar to the two girls, raising his hand to the bartender, signaling more drinks for the ladies before smiling at the red head, “Have any plans for the rest of the night?”

Lore looked between Rob to Cat then back, “Not really… just have to get to the hotel to sleep at some point.”

Cat nodded, “Yeah, have to sleep before checkout time…” she said, shrugging.

“Well do you ladies want to hang out with Nick after he’s done?” Rob asked, handing the drinks to them when they were placed on the counter. “I know he would really like it…”

Lore nodded, without looking at Cat, “Yeah, we can for a little bit…”

“We can?” Cat asked, perking an eyebrow.

“Yes, we can,” Lore said with a look that said shut up and don’t ruin this like you did the concert.

Cat shrugged, “I guess we can…” she said, sipping her drink, “Thanks for the drink.”

Rob nodded, “Anytime… Feel free to go hang out back there unless you’d rather be closer to the stage…”

Lore looked at Cat and nodded towards the stage which rewarded her with a shrug.

Rob headed back to Nick to tell him the report while both girls found a spot near the stage to watch the rest of his performance.

Nick grinned, waving at Lauren- or whatever her name was- as he continued to perform on the stage, eventually taking the mic and singing his latest single. He leaned over and smiled, shaking girls hands, blowing kisses to a few of them before pointing to Lore- THAT was her name!- and winking before finishing his song. Howie came up behind him and made sure to thank the club and reminded everyone to tip their bartenders.

Nick climbed off the stage and headed back to the VIP area, figuring he probably had about 30 minutes with Lore and the mystery girl to try and get the mystery girl to warm up to him

As he walked to the bar to get everyone some drinks, he saw the girl shooting daggers his way and realized it would take longer than 30 minutes. He sighed and carried the tray of drinks over, plastering on a smile, “Anyone thirsty?” he asked.

Lore smiled softly, “Thank you,” she said, reaching for the drink Nick was handing her.

Cat didn’t say a word, just held up her glass that was almost full before taking a sip.

The message was loud and clear to Nick. He set the drink tray down and sat next to Lore, making small chat with her, trying to ignore her friend since she wanted nothing to do with him, but his eyes were always drawn to her.

Finally, his eyes caught hers and he offered a small smile.

He was rewarded with a perk of the girl’s eyebrow. Hey, at least she didn’t roll her eyes or look away.

“I’m sorry; I just realized I’m being rude. I’m Nick,” he said, extending his hand to the other girl.

When Cat didn’t say anything, Lore introduced her to Nick, “Her name’s Catherine, but we all call her Cat.”

Nick dropped his hand. “Pleasure,” he said, hoping it sounded sincere. “What type of music do you like?” he asked, trying to make small talk.

“Anything but this shit,” Cat said, looking everywhere but at him.

“Well, tell me what you want to hear, and I’ll make it happen,” he said to Lore’s friend.

“Don’t bother, she just wants to have a bad time. I’m sorry, Nick, but nothing you can do will help her to have a good time tonight.” Lore looked at Cat and scowled, wondering why her friend was being difficult.

Nick nodded softly and looked around, “You ladies want to go someplace quieter?”

“Yes,” Lore said, the same time Cat said no.

Lore huffed and looked at her friend, “Fine, enjoy your time here listening to music you hate, and I will see you at the hotel.” With that, Lore stood up and looked down at Nick, “Where did you have in mind?”

Nick looked over his shoulder at Cat as he and Lore began to leave the club. “Are you sure it’s cool to just leave her?” He knew a lot of girls usually went to clubs with pacts of not letting the other do something stupid, leave with an idiot, etc. He was honestly worried about the other girl, now, since they had mentioned the hotel, which meant they were in unfamiliar surroundings.

Nick had to stop himself because he quickly realized if it was the other girl with him right now, he wouldn’t even be bothering with those thoughts, he would be taking Cat to his bus, show her around, drive someplace romantic, and…

And what? He wasn’t a kid anymore, he didn’t need to sleep with girls the first night, was that what he was really going to do if Cat were dragging him out of the club?

He looked at the redhead who was still holding his hand and smiled, “Hungry?”

Lore glanced up at him, “Honestly? Starving, we haven’t eaten anything since breakfast. The one chance we had to eat, we forgot.” She chuckled softly, “I honestly didn’t even realize I was hungry until you said something.”

Nick nodded softly, “All right, where would you like to go?” he asked, smiling as she explained the lack of food. He’d forgotten what it was like to have a normal conversation with someone, and not have them screaming and asking for a picture or his baby.

Lore looked at her watch and frowned, “What’s open at two in the morning, aside from Taco Bell?”

Nick laughed softly, “What’s wrong with Taco Bell?” he asked, leading her to a town car, holding the door open for her.

“Nothing, except when they are about to close and the food is all congealed and nasty,” she explained, climbing in.

“All right, no Taco Bell,” he smiled. “Trust me?”

“Of course not, I only met you tonight. How do I know you’re not a serial killer rockstar that kills a different girl in every town?” Lore said seriously.

Nick gave a hearty laugh and realized she wasn’t laughing, “Oh, umm, I’m sure after 18 years of touring, the police would have figured out the pattern and pinpointed the tour at least, and let’s be honest: I’m not smart enough to frame anyone else for my dirty work,” he said, grinning over at her.

“Well, yeah, you have a point,” she said, adjusting her glasses. “So, no, I don’t trust you, but yes, I’m hungry. Do what you will- but you can’t kill me, Cat is a police officer, and she knows I left with you,” Lore said, completely straight faced.

Nick nodded, “Fair enough.” He smiled and pulled out his phone, texting Justin, the tour photographer, and asking where he could go to eat. His phone chirped a few seconds later and Nick smiled, showing Lore the text.

Anywhere, you’re Nick Fucking Carter, remember? Tell me where you want to eat and I’ll make it happen, you know I always do.

“So, Lore, where do you want to eat?” Nick asked, hitting the reply.

Lore shook her head no, “Star power doesn’t impress me, where’s the closest Denny’s?” she asked, figuring they were pretty much all open 24 hours.

Nick sent a quick response to Justin, letting him know star power was unnecessary before looking at the driver, “Hey, mind taking us to Denny’s?” he asked politely.

The driver nodded, and soon the car was on its way to the late night restaurant.

“So star power doesn’t impress you, what does?” Nick asked, curious.

Lore shrugged softly, “Sincerity, I suppose. I mean, it’s hard to fake sincerity, and I like people who aren’t afraid to be themselves.” She looked over at him, “Why?”

Nick shrugged and glanced out the window, knowing he was the farthest from sincere with this girl. The only thing he was sincere about was he sincerely wanted to use her to get her friend Cat to open up to him. He looked back at her, “Honestly? Most girls I meet on the tour are all after my star power. They want the opportunity to throw a glass of water at a waiter and know nothing will be done because I am Nick Carter. They want me to call a restaurant and make them open just for us at two in the morning. It gets old, but that’s what I’m used to.”

Lore nodded softly, “Star power is like Spiderman. Great power comes with great responsibility. You shouldn’t use your power just to make waiters come back to a restaurant at two just to cook you a couple dishes when they are trying to see their kids for a few seconds while they sleep. Abusing your star power just makes you look like an ass hole. Star power can be used for good and not evil, you know,” she finished, looking at him.

“Oh yeah?” He grinned, “What is this good you are speaking of?”

“Use your power to bring light to injustices. Whatever your cause celeb is, make people know about it. Volunteer, lend your name to events, show up at events, donate money, have charity challenges, whatever you can do, do it for good,” she said, suddenly feeling stupid. “I mean, I know you have your ocean charity, but what have you done for it lately?”

Nick looked and felt like he’d been slapped. “Nothing since before I sobered up,” he admitted after a few seconds.

“Sorry,” Lore said softly, looking down at her lap.

“Don’t be, you’re absolutely right about star power. You’re also right that I should be doing more.” He looked over at her and offered her probably the first sincere smile of the night. “Now, if I’m not mistaken, there’s food to be had,” he said, pointing out the window as they pulled into a parking spot of Denny’s.

“Thank God, I’m starving!” she said, waiting until the car had parked before climbing out and heading inside with Nick following behind her.

Lore groaned softly around noon the next day. Her phone was chirping incessantly and she finally reached for it, opening just one eye. Her vision was blurry and she started slapping around the nightstand for her glasses, holding them up so she could read the text message.

“Good morning, red. What are you and cat up to 2day?”

It was from Nick. She smiled softly and threw a pillow at Cat to wake her up. “Nick wants to know what we’re doing today,” she said when her friend fell off the bed.

Cat rubbed her ass and peaked over the bed at her friend, “Why does he care? You guys abandoned me last night, so why does he want to know what I’m doing? Besides, shouldn’t we be checking out and driving home?”

Lore sighed, knowing her friend was right. She sent Nick a quick text, “Checking out then heading back home. You?”

Cat climbed in the shower, taking a quick one before she threw all her stuff in her bags, “I’m going to try and make sure we’re not charged another day for over sleeping…” she said and started to take her bags out to the car and plead with the concierge.

Lore stayed back, taking her time to get ready. She hadn’t gotten back to the hotel until nearly six in the morning, and she was still exhausted. The adrenaline had worn off and now all she had were memories of the concert and meeting Nick. And text messages from Nick.

She heard her phone chirp again and went to see what he said, disappointed when it was just Cat, “No charge for checking out late. Thank God I’m cute!”

Lore rolled her eyes, not responding before she jumped in the shower. She met her friend about 30 minutes later, “Shall we?” she asked, starting towards the car.

Cat nodded and heard her friends phone chirp again. “What’s he want this time?” she asked, reaching for her car keys.

Lore checked her phone quickly, “Lunch before we go. Are you okay with that?”

“If I have to be,” Cat responded. “Where are we going then?” she asked, reaching for her Tomtom, waiting on Lore to tell her the address so she could plug it in.

Lore sent a quick text to Nick, waiting for a reply. When she got it, she told Cat the address and the two girls were soon off to find the restaurant. Cat drove in silence, not wanting to admit she was upset her friend had left her at the club last night. Yes, she knew she was being a bitch, but really, celebrities thought they owned the world and everyone should just fall to the ground and kiss their feet. Cat was the last person to even think about doing that, and she thought her friend was better than that, too.

“So what happened between you and Nick last night?” she finally asked. She’d been asleep when her friend got back to the hotel, so hadn’t heard anything.

“We just went to get some food,” Lore said honestly. “We were at the restaurant for over 3 hours, talking. He’s a nice guy, you know.” Lore looked at her friend, “You should have come along. You would have enjoyed it.”

Cat shrugged softly, “I like their music, but I don’t want to get to know them.”

“Liar, growing up, that’s all you dreamed of!” Lore laughed.

“Yeah, and I grew up. We’ve been listening to them for what, fifteen years? What if something happens that proves they’re really assholes, then we don’t listen to their music ever again? I’d rather dream about what they’re like than know for sure.” Cat said softly.

Lore shrugged, “Well that’s you. I know for a fact that Nick is a good guy-“

“Based on one meal… It could all be an act,” Cat said.

“I will not let you ruin this for me,” Lore said, looking at her friend. “He’s a great guy and if you drop a few of your walls, you might see that.”

Cat sighed and parked in a spot before turning her engine off, “Ok, I will try… for you…” she said before climbing out of the car and heading inside. She let Lore look around for Nick, as she was too busy trying to see where the nearest exits were, just in case she needed to drag her friend out for a quick escape.

Lore raised her hand to Nick and waved when she spotted him and started towards the table, looking back at Cat, “He’s over there.”

Cat nodded and headed over with her friend, surprised as Nick stood up and reached to hold Lore’s chair for her. She would not have assumed he was such a gentleman, so maybe there was more to him than just being a spoiled celebrity. She sat down as Nick held her own chair for her, looking over at Lore, not sure what to say.

“Sleep well?” Lore asked Nick as she reached for her menu.

Nick nodded, “Yeah, it was a decent night’s sleep. What about you ladies?”

“Like a baby. I even slept through her snores,” Cat said, her face buried in the menu.

Lore rolled her eyes before glancing at Nick, noticing the smirk on his face. “Yeah, when I finally got into bed, I did.” She smiled softly before deciding what she wanted and closed her menu.

The waitress came around for all of their orders, and Nick tried to keep the conversation running smooth. He tried not to be too conspicuous in the fact he was trying to get to know Cat more since he’d spent last night getting to know Lore. At least he remembered her name this time. He did, however, try to make sure Lore was still a part of the conversation, not wanting to leave her out.

When the meal was finally over, Nick stood up and gave Lore a hug, then turned to shake Cat’s hand. “We should all hang out again,” he grinned.

“Yeah, sure, call us and we’ll hop in our private jet and meet you wherever you are,” Cat said, putting her purse over her shoulder. She noticed the glare from Lore and sighed, “I’m sorry, you have no idea how long we were saving up for this road trip, who knows the next time we will be able to go anywhere.” She hoped the explanation didn’t sound so bitchy and looked at Lore.

“Maybe next time you’re in Denver,”Lore suggested. “Unless it’s been so long you’ve forgotten about us,” she chuckled.

“Trust me, I could never forget you ladies. I honestly don’t know the next time I’ll be in Denver, but I’ll make sure my management team gets me there soon. Lore, I’ll be in touch,” he smiled, hugging her again. He then reached for Cat’s phone, “Just in case she forgets to text me sometimes, you can, too,” he said, plugging his number into Cat’s phone, then quickly sent himself a text.

Cat shrugged softly, not wanting to say something else rude and earn the silent treatment from Lore for the ten hour drive home. “Thanks,” was all she said before pocketing her phone. She turned to Lore, “We should get going, or we’re both going to miss work tomorrow.”

Lore nodded and waved to Nick before starting towards the door. “See? He’s not that bad,” she said. She hoped her friend had a good time, but was glad that Nick had asked them to go to lunch. She felt like she might just be able to be friends with him, if he kept little things like that up.

“Of course he’s not, he’s just like any other normal guy with millions of dollars,” Cat said, climbing into the car and starting it up before starting the long drive home.

Lore glanced at Cat, “You really don’t care that we met Nick this weekend, do you?” she asked. They were almost back in Denver, Cat behind the wheel, concentrating on driving.

“I will if he proves to not be a jerk, but time will tell,” Cat said honestly.

Lore sighed and stared out the window, sitting in silence for a few seconds. She glanced back over to her friend, “I don’t think he was a jerk. I mean, he meets thousands of girls each tour, how many does he ask for phone numbers from?”

“The better question might be how many girls he doesn’t ask. He is Nick Carter, after all,” she said, starting to see the Denver skyline, finally.

“What will make you realize this was a remarkable weekend and lose the a ttitude?” Lore asked, finally at the end of her rope. She put up with a lot of shit from her friend, but this was too much. Yes, Cat was the only one willing to shell out the money for the concert and a girls’ weekend retreat, but she had hoped her friend would have at least attempted to have fun!

“When Nick is still texting you in six months… Only then will I know he’s genuine and not a jerk. And I will be happy for you, promise. Until then, I’m just your skeptical best-friend who hopes you don’t get hurt,” Cat explained. She was worried for her friend; of course she wanted her friend to be happy, but she also didn’t want to see her hurt. “Besides, you would think something was wrong with me if I spent the entire time gushing over the Backstreet Boys. Seriously, when have I ever gushed over anyone? No, love, you’re the gusher, not me,” she chuckled. She found the exit that would get her home, slowing down.

Lore looked over, perking an eyebrow, “So, in six months, you will give Nick an apology if we’re still talking?” she asked.

Cat nodded, “Yes, gladly. And if he is still a jerk after six months, I get to tell you ‘I told you so.’ Deal?” she asked, starting to drive through the city.

“Deal,” Lore said. She glanced down at her phone when she heard it chirp, telling her she had a message.

Hope you had a safe drive back home. –Nick

“Well there’s one day down,” she chuckled before reading the text to Cat. Lore quickly hit reply, Yeah, almost at Cat’s house. How was your drive?

Uneventful. Bailey joined me today and we had Mario Kart wars the entire trip.

Sounds more eventful than our ride, Lore replied. We left our gaming systems on the other luxury bus. There just wasn’t any room when we decided to downsize to the corolla for this trip. Lore snickered as she hit send, causing Cat to glance over at her.

“What’s so funny?” she asked, making the final turns into her neighborhood.

“Just giving Nick a hard time,” Lore explained, starting to put her things back in her bag.

Cat nodded, not wanting to say anything and risk upsetting the other girl, deciding to stay silent as she parked instead.

The girls spent the next several minutes unloading Cat’s car, sorting out what bags belonged to who, before Cat helped Lore load her bags into her own car. Cat smiled and hugged her friend, grinning softly, “Thanks for inviting me on the trip.” She really did enjoy herself, even if she didn’t show it.

Lore nodded softly, “Just promise me next time you won’t be so cynical.” That was all she was going to say now that they were back home. She knew that would resonate with Cat and the two didn’t need to dwell on it anymore.

Cat nodded, “If Nick invites us to another show, I promise to enjoy myself and give the kid a break. Hell, I might even gush, just for him,” she smirked. “Scout’s honor,” she finished, holding up three fingers like the Girl Scouts do.

“Yeah, yeah, you were never a scout,” Lore said, hugging her friend.

“Actually, I was. For eight years. See? The things you don’t know about me before we met,” she laughed. “I even had newspaper articles written about me for how many cookies I sold,” she explained.

Lore laughed softly, “I love that you’re bragging about that at the age of thirty.”

“Twenty-five,” Cat corrected her quickly.

Lore rolled her eyes, “Bite me you thirty year old bitch.”

Cat laughed and walked back up to her door, waving to her friend, “Call me!”

Lore nodded and climbed into her car, reaching for her phone to see if Nick had responded yet. Sure enough, there was the little message icon.

Touche… Teach me not to complain about long bus rides again ;)

Lore chuckled at his response before hitting reply on her phone, Just giving a little perspective, it’s a talent of mine. She quickly hit send, then began driving to her place.

Hey Stranger, Nick texted to Cat. It had been a week since he had met the girls and he hadn’t heard from Cat. Not that he was surprised, mind you. He had spoken to Laurie in some form or another pretty much every day, and he had to admit, he was enjoying their talks more and more.

But there was still something about Cat that intrigued him, and he wanted to find out what.

Who’s this? Was the response he got a few minutes later.

Nick, he sent back quickly. He held his phone, watching the screen, waiting for the reply. When the screen went black a minute later, he quickly hit a button, turning it back on. The pattern repeated several times before his phone finally chirped, alerting him to a new text.

Hey man, whatcha doin?

Nick sighed in frustration, seeing the text from AJ.

About to go golfing, he replied. It was their first real day off in almost two weeks- no travel, no shows, no interviews, just doing whatever they each wanted to do for the day.

Care for some company? Came the quick reply. Nick knew that meant he was bored, otherwise it would have taken AJ almost an hour to get back to him.

Love some, leaving in thirty.

See you downstairs, then, AJ sent back.

Nick set his phone down, giving up on hearing from Cat. He changed into some khaki’s and polo shirt before grabbing a hat and calling the tour manager. He requested that his and AJ’s clubs be found and a van be called.

His phone finally chirped, letting him know he had a new text.

Nick who? was Cat’s reply.

Carter… we met a week ago? He chuckled, wondering if meeting him was really that terrible that the girl had blocked out the memory.

Oh, right, was all she sent back.

Nick sighed again. She definitely wasn’t making this easy.

How’ve you been doing? He replied, hoping she would send back a reply he could work with and get a conversation going.

Busy. Did you need something?

Nope. Nick rubbed his forehead in frustration as he tried to figure out where to go from there.

I was just checking in on you and Laurie, he sent back, pretty much giving up.

Her name is spelled Lore, she corrected him.

Right, thanks. He hit the reply button then put his phone away, deciding he had enough for now. He gathered his wallet and slipped on his shoes, making his way downstairs to meet Jay. Maybe he would have a little perspective.

The guys both climbed in the van that would take them to the golf course. Nick glanced over at AJ, wondering how to start the conversation. Finally, he cleared his throat, “How’s Rochelle?”

“Oh, she’s great. She’s spending the week with her family and says she’s all ready going insane,” AJ laughed. “I don’t know if she’s talking about the fact she’s not doing anything productive, really, or if her mom is just that crazy,” he smirked.

Nick nodded softly, “Families can be tough to deal with sometimes.”

AJ nodded, knowing his friends’ family history well. “Yeah, so what’s up with you?” he asked.

Nick shrugged, looking out the window. “I got myself into a situation, Jay. I know what I should do, but I just can’t bring myself to do it.”

“Wow, I’ve never heard you refer to anything as a ‘situation.’ This must be serious,” he teased. In reality, it seemed like everything was a situation to the youngest Backstreet Boy. “Come on, man, clue me in.”

Nick scowled, knowing his friend was making fun of him. He figured he really needed his friends’ advice, though, so he ignored the taunting. “I met a girl,” he started. He glanced at AJ, who was grinning like an idiot. “What?” he asked, obviously irritated.

“I knew it had to do with a girl,” he smirked. “Continue…”

Nick rolled his eyes and drew another deep breath. “Well, this girl looks amazing. She’s not my usual type, but with how she carried herself, I just couldn’t help but notice her.”

“And how did you meet said girl?” AJ asked, needing all the details.

“I actually noticed her in the audience, then she came to one of the after parties with her friend,” Nick explained. “Here’s the thing: She hates all things boy band, but her friend-“

“Is her friend cute?” AJ interrupted.

“Yes, her friend is probably more my type, if I’m honest, but again, there’s something about the girl…”

“So what’s the problem?” AJ asked.

“Well, I thought it would be smart to get to know her if I schmoozed up to her friend,” Nick started.

“But?” AJ prompted.

“But it’s been a week, and the girl still wants nothing to do with me,” Nick confessed to his friend.

“And the other girl? The one who’s more your type?”

“She and I talk almost every day,” Nick said.

“Well it sounds complicated enough, that’s for sure. You really know how to get yourself into sticky situations, Nicky,” AJ said as the van pulled up outside the golf course.

Nick scowled at the nickname the others wouldn’t let him outgrow. He climbed out and checked in, paying for their round as well as a caddy to help them navigate the course. As they were walking to the first green, Nick looked over at AJ, “So what should I do?”

“Well, first of all, what do you think you should do?” he asked, since the younger man had all ready said he knew what he should do.

“Forget about them both- plenty of fish, ya know?” Nick asked.

AJ nodded, “Yeah, I know. So why isn’t that an option?”

“I don’t want a jaded fan, I mean there’s no harm in talking with a fan, right? And we can’t afford any more bad press, even if it’s a fan bad mouthing us. There’s all ready that bsbsecrets website out there, they don’t need another pissed off fan adding to their shit. Then there’s her friend. I honestly can’t stop thinking about her. Every time I try, Lore texts me or emails me, and there’s her friend again, front of my mind,” Nick explained, sounding frustrated.

“So, tell me again, how did you meet these two girls, exactly?” AJ asked, thinking Nick had left something out.

Nick told him all the details about asking Cat into the VIP area, but Lore being the one who showed up instead, and how he thought if he and Lore became friends, then he could get to know Cat as well.

“So you seriously thought you could use one to get to the other?” AJ asked, simplifying the story.

Nick nodded, “Yeah, pretty much.”

AJ shook his head no, “Didn’t I teach you better than that? You can’t use friends, Nick. Chicks before dicks. Bro’s before hoe’s. It’s a rule. When you start talking to one, you pretty much give up on the other. Hate to say it, but you screwed yourself as soon as you started talking to her friend.” He patted his friend on the back before going to tee off. “Sorry, buddy,” he said before taking a swing.

Nick knew his friend was right, but didn’t want to believe it. He waited patiently, then when AJ came back, he looked at his friend, “I see what you’re saying, AJ, but-“

“Not buts,” AJ interrupted. “You can either take the easy road and keep talking to the friend you’ve spoken to daily, and have at least a new friend that could become more; or pursue the other and lose them both and have your name plastered all over bsbsecrets by the both of ‘em. It’s up to you, though, man,” AJ said, stepping back so his friend could take a shot.

Nick sighed yet again before teeing off, trying to concentrate on the game and not on his predicament.

“What are your plans this weekend?” Nick asked into the phone. He was now halfway through the tour, and a month had passed since he’d seen Lore. He was currently in his hotel room, waiting for Brian to bring Baylee over so he could babysit while those two went on a date.

Lore sighed, laying back on her bed and staring up at the ceiling. “I don’t know. It’s Cat’s denial birthday, so either watching her cry, or out at the clubs.”

“Denial birthday?” he asked, laughing.

“She’s turning 30, though she tells people she’s 25. She’s even trying to convince her mom her birth certificate is wrong,” Lore explained with a soft chuckle.

“Well, I’ll be in Vegas all weekend. You guys should come on down… I miss you,” he said softly. It probably would backfire on him, but he would say anything to Lore to get her- and Cat- to Vegas that weekend.

Lore gave a short laugh. “Yeah, because we can afford two vacations in a year,” she answered sarcastically.

“You won’t need any money, Lore. Everything’s on me,” he said, glancing up as a knock sounded on the door. “Hold on a sec,” he said before setting the phone down. He answered the door and smiled as Baylee wrapped his little arms around his legs, giving Nick a quick squeeze before going to find the video games Nick was sure to have.

“We’ll be back in a few hours,” Brian said, smiling as he watched his son.

Nick nodded, “Have fun.” He closed the door and went back to where he dropped his phone. “Lore?”

“Yeah?” she asked, focusing on him again.

“So are you going to meet me in Vegas?” he asked. It took him a heart beat to realize he was holding his breath.

Lore let out a deep sigh.

                “Fine. We will be there.”

                Nick couldn’t help the huge smile that crossed his face at the thought of seeing Cat again. And Lore.

                The next morning, Cat blinked slowly at her friend over her coffee cup. “Wait. We’re what?”

                “Going to Vegas tomorrow,” Lore said, smiling. “My birthday present to you.”

                Cat shook her head no, “You’re insane.”

                “Maybe, but I’m your insane friend who is going to make sure you have an amazing birthday celebration. All expenses paid…” Lore trailed off, trying to bribe Cat. “Besides, we will be too busy for a pity party in Vegas,” she smiled innocently.

                “Oh, that’s what this is about, you just don’t want me to cry,” Cat said, still eyeing her friend suspiciously.

                “Well, it’s actually Nick’s suggestion. You will have to deal with going to their concert while we are there. Cat, he said he missed me,” she said softly

                Cat finally took a sip of her coffee, still studying her friends’ features. She knew, thanks to all the late night phone calls she got from Lore after talking to Nick how much her friend liked him. As much as she didn’t want to sit through another concert, she knew she couldn’t tell her friend no.

                “Fine,” she said, finally looking away.

                “Cat, please, Nick really-“ Lore stopped, blinking. She had expected more of a fight from her friend. “Wait, did you just say fine?”

                “Uh-huh. And if this weekend blows, you’re throwing me a do-over party next weekend,” Cat said. “So, when are we leaving?”