“So tell me about this Veronica girl,” Lindsey spoke breaking the silence they had ever since they received their food and started to munch.  “I mean that was the reason we were supposed to have drinks the other night right? You wanted to talk about her with someone?”  She asked smiling.

“Of course, she’s great!” He quickly thought about everything he could tell Lindsey.  She would not want to know the details of all the nights spent together, that would be a conversation better suited to have with one of his other, male, friends. 

“She’s fantastic,” He started still trying to figure out what he could tell her.  “We have a lot of the same ideals and thoughts on topics.  She and I like a lot of the same things.  Did I tell you, that night I stood you up; it was because she invited me over for a video game night.  I can’t let this girl slip through my fingers.” His smile broadened as he talked about her, Lindsey continued to smile though Nick noticed it appeared more plastered than genuine.  

“What does she do for a living?” She asked before taking a bite of her fry.

“She works in retail.  I believe the lingerie department.”

“Bonus for you,” Lindsey interrupted with a chuckle.

Nick laughed.  He agreed with her though he wasn’t going to say that most of the time Veronica just wore silk robes with nothing underneath.   He decided to swerve around that subject matter. “We just really seemed to connect online and then when we met even more so.  She is perfect.”

Lindsey raised her eyes and looked at him. “Perfect? You don’t believe that anyone can be perfect do you?”

Nick shrugged then moved the conversation away from Veronica. “Are you excited to visit the recording studio?” Nick wondered.  He knew that many girls would find it a privilege to get to sit in on recording time with him but Lindsey never acted like she knew who he was, he just assumed she didn’t know that he was a member of The Backstreet Boys.

“Like I said, I’ve never been to one so that experience will be cool.  What are you recording?”  She asked as she pushed her plate away and continued to sip her drink.

“I am currently working on a solo album, it will be my second solo release and I want it to be perfect.” He beamed just thinking about what songs he’d been working on for the album. He knew his fans would listen and perhaps purchase it because of who he was, but he really wanted them to enjoy it for the music, not just because he sang the songs.

“Second?” She asked with a glint in her eye.

Nick took a deep breath now was the time to tell her about who he was. He hoped that she wouldn’t freak out.  He couldn’t be that lucky to find two women that he enjoyed spending time with that didn’t know who he was.

“Lindsey, I have several albums released, just not all solo.” He looked down at his plate and then back up to her.  She was grinning broadly as she watched him. 

“Really?” She started to hum a tune waiting for him to continue speaking. 

“Yes,” he replied playing with his hands.  Why was he so nervous confessing this?  He was about to speak when he caught on to the song she was humming, she was humming ‘I Want it That Way’, probably their most well known song.

“You know?” He asked her and she stopped humming.

She nodded the grin still on her face.  “I’ve known the entire time who you are.” She confessed.

“Why didn’t you tell me that you knew?” He asked, he could feel the heat rise in his cheeks, he was upset.

“Would that have made a difference? You hit my car remember?” She threw the words at him, he guessed she could tell that he was upset she hid the fact that she knew from him.  He couldn’t blame her for being upset back.

He shook his head and stood up.  “Are you enjoying your fifteen minutes?” he asked her throwing his napkin on the table.

“Why are you getting this upset?” She asked standing up blocking him from making an easy escape.

“I talked to you about private things that you have probably sent all over the internet through twitter and facebook.” He moved to step around her but she stepped in front and blocked him.  

“Will you please sit down so we can talk about this?” She asked him calmly.

Nick looked around at the faces of the other customers looking their way, Gretchen’s eyes, even from across the room, were boring into his head.  He sat back in the booth and crossed his arms waiting for the lies she would spew to cover this up.

“Nick, you hit my car.  You came to my hospital room.  You took me to lunch and then home.  We ran into each other at that same restaurant where I reluctantly gave you my number.  We ran into each other at the Farmer’s Market where we talked.   You called me for drinks. You stood me up.  You took me to lunch.  We are here now because you asked me to dinner and to watch you record.”  She stated the nature of their entire relationship and he saw where she was going.  She never forced herself upon him; she did not initiate the friendship they now had.

Nick sat and thought about their time together. She hadn’t acted like a fan trying to get close to him so that she could tell the world that she was hanging out with Nick Carter.  He hadn’t really seen anything about the accident except for the initial news coverage that he’d been in an accident.   That didn’t mean much though, he wasn’t big on social media, and his manager tweeted most of the time for him.

“You didn’t say anything, why didn’t you say you knew me?” He asked.

Lindsey shook her head.  “You hit my car.  If you recall I wasn’t the most cheery person to be around.  Did you want me to turn into a rabid fan in the hospital and ask for your autograph then?”

“Are you… a rabid fan?” He asked seriously. 

“If I was don’t you think I’d lie anyway?”  She laughed uncomfortably. Nick had to admit she had a point.

“Look, I know who you are.  I have your albums, I am a fan.  I admit I was flattered you wanted to hang out with me so I continued to hide that I knew who you were because I didn’t want you to react, well, like this.” She shrugged.  “I am sorry you think that I was trying to deceive you.”   She slid a piece of paper across the table with a couple of names scratched on them.   

“What’s this?” He asked holding the paper up.

“Those are my internet names for twitter and facebook, so you can see what has, or hasn’t been said about you.” She stood and grabbed her stuff.  “Nick, I enjoyed hanging out with you for what it’s worth and I hope you and Veronica work out, you deserve to be happy.” She smiled at him and then waved to Gretchen as she exited the diner.

Nick sat in the booth a while longer staring at the piece of paper in his hand.  As he cooled down he muttered to himself.  “Shit.”  Did he really just overreact because she was a fan? He felt like shit.  He threw money on the table to pay for the food and stood to leave.

“Your money is no good here.” Gretchen shouted at him. 

“Are you going to yell at me now?” He asked under his breath as she started to pick the plates up off the table.

“No, I think Lindsey handled herself.  You just don’t owe anything. Lindsey already took care of the bill before you two even showed up.”

“How did she know what we would have?” Nick questioned out loud.

“Hun, she didn’t pay with money.  She helped cover my shift so I could have some time with my husband.” She smiled at Nick and walked away.  Nick cursed under his breath, he might have just fucked up a good friendship, whether she was a fan or not.