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Howie threw the door open before I even finished knocking. “Is he still breathing?” he asked seriously.

“Yeah...”

“Oh. Then we’re not done yet.” He started rolling up sleeves as he squeezed past me and out into the hallway.

“Howie, don’t.” I grabbed his collar and pulled him back into the hotel room.
His shoulders slumped in defeat. “Fine.” A warm hand touched the side of my face. “You okay?”

 

I shrugged him off and turned to look into the hotel room. “It’s way too quiet in here. Did she kill him?” Avoidance was good.

 

“Almost.” He chuckled lightly. “He was literally on his knees begging for forgiveness, and....” I raised an eyebrow skeptically. That didn’t sound like the Kevin I knew at all. “Remember he’s drunk. Very drunk,” Howie reminded me.

“Okay. So he was on his knees begging for forgiveness, then...?”

“Then he noticed that she’s starting to show. He stood up on his knees and put his hands on her belly. I think they had a ‘moment’.”

For some reason, this prompted me to start crying again. “That’s adorable.” I sniffled and wiped a tear away with the back of my hand.

“Well, right after that he passed out.” I peered across the room to find Kevin laying spread-eagle on his back and snoring on top of my bedspread. Amelia was curled into a ball under the covers in the opposite bed. Howie squeezed my hand. “Let’s get out of here.” He nodded his head toward the door.

“But they’re--”

“Having a child together. Surely they can handle her morning sickness and his hangover in the morning. Come on.” He pulled the overnight bag off my shoulder and put it over his own, then grabbed my hand that was still clutching my cell phone. He examined the crack in the screen carefully. “Please tell me his head did this.”

I laughed. “No, but that was my target.”

“Good.”

Howie ended up taking me back to his condo, which was just a ten-minute drive away. He unlocked the door and held it open for me, pressing his free hand against the small of my back as I entered in front of him. He flipped the light on and tossed his keys and wallet on the kitchen counter. “The bed has fresh sheets on it, and you know where the towels are if you want to take a shower or something,” he said as he walked me down the hall towards his guest bedroom. “I’m sure you’re exhausted, and I’m not going to make you talk about it if you don’t want to, but is it safe to assume that you and Joey are over?”

I nodded and blinked back the tears that had started stinging my eyes again. “I’d say that’s a pretty good assumption.”

Howie nodded back. “Let me know if you need anything.” He brushed a tear away with the pad of his thumb, gave me a quick hug, then turned and started walking towards his bedroom, which was directly across the hall from the guest room.

“Her name’s Kelly,” I said to the back of his head.

He turned around and put his hand on the door frame, then dropped his head. “I know.”

“What? How do you know that?”

He looked up at me. “Joey and I went to high school together. I didn’t know him very well. I mean, I was a senior when he was a freshman, but we were all in choir together. They used to get caught almost every day making out in the closet where we kept our sheet music. I recognized her. They’re pretty good at that, I guess. The getting caught thing, I mean.”

I cocked my head to the side and studied him. “Why didn’t I know you two went to high school together?”

He shrugged. “It just never came up in conversation. Like I said, we didn’t know each other very well, and it was only for a year.”

“Hmm. That’s interesting. And they were together when they were freshmen?”

“Um...yeah, and I guess for a while after that, too?” He fidgeted nervously.

“They had just broken up when he asked me out the first time.”

“Wow. Really?”

“Yep. Apparently, I was the rebound guy.” I wiped more tears from my cheeks.

“The rebound guy?” He raised an eyebrow.

“You just don’t hear the term, ‘rebound girl’ all that often.”

“I guess not.” He laughed.

“I gave him my virginity.”

“Oh, yeah?” He blushed and stepped back and forth uncomfortably.

“And I was just the rebound girl! He says I was more than that, but how am I supposed to believe him after tonight? That was only a week ago. Why couldn’t this have happened before I did that with him? I can never get that back!” I buried my face in my hands and sobbed. He closed the gap between us and pulled me into a hug.

“I’m so sorry, Em,” he murmured against my ear. “I would never hurt you like that.”

“Of course you wouldn’t, Howie. You’re my best friend.”

He put his finger under my chin and lifted my head so that I was looking into his eyes. and gazed at me intently. “No. I mean..... I. Would never. Hurt you. Like. That.”

 

My mouth dropped open. I didn’t see that one coming at all. “Howie, I....”

 

“Shh. It’s okay. I’m not expecting anything from you right now.” His eyes never left mine as he put a hand on the side of my cheek and smiled. “I just wanted you to know.” He kissed me on the cheek and went back into his room, shutting the door behind him.

 

Ordinarily, something like that would have kept me up all night tossing and turning because I couldn’t turn off my thoughts, but after the night I’d had, the exhaustion took over, and I awoke to the sound of my cell phone ringing just a few short hours later. Yeah, the screen was cracked from its collision with the wall the night before, but it was still functional. Cell phones in the late nineties were built like tanks. It was Amelia, who had been awakened by her morning sickness, and realized I wasn’t there. I gave her the abbreviated version of what had happened with Joey and assured her I was fine (I really wasn’t) and that Howie would have me there in time for our interviews.

 

At 7 AM, Howie dropped me off at the conference room we were scheduled to meet in. “You let me know if you need anything, okay?” He pushed a piece of hair behind my ear as he spoke to me.

 

“I will, Howie.” I actually wasn’t sure if I would. He’d kind of spooked me the night before. Until a few hours ago, I was completely oblivious to the fact that Howie thought we might ever be more than friends.

 

“Are you sure you don’t want me to finish him off for you? He may be bigger than me, but I’m an angry Puerto Rican. I could probably take him.” I laughed as he imitated a boxing stance and threw a couple punches into the air.

 

“Thanks, but no thanks, Howie. It won’t solve anything, and I really just want to put all of that behind me.” At that moment, Joey ducked into the door we were standing by, and his right eye was nearly swollen shut.

 

Howie’s eyes widened in surprise. “Did you do that?”

 

“No! You didn’t put out a hit for him, did you?”

 

“As much as I’d like to take credit for that, no.”

 

“Oh well. Not my problem, anymore.” I shrugged and gave Howie a hug. “Thanks for everything. I’ll call you.”

 

“You better.” Howie smiled and waved as he walked away. As I pushed the door open, there was a little tap on my shoulder. I spun around to find Kevin and his swollen, purple jaw, compliments of AJ, staring down at me with concern.

 

“Hey,” he said. “I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.”

 

“Did Amelia tell you what happened?”

 

“Actually, no. I uh...had a little run in with Joey this morning.” He grinned sheepishly and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

 

“And?”

 

“I asked him where you were, and he started spouting off about how he figured I would know where you were and wondering if you were okay after what happened. Of course, I asked him what happened, and he didn’t have a choice but to tell me. I’m really sorry, Em.”

 

I grabbed both of his wrists and pulled his hands out of his pockets. He winced as I did so, and I noted that the knuckles on his right hand were red and swollen.

“Did your fist run into his face?!”

 

“So you’ve seen him already, then.”

“Yeah, Kevin. I have.” I glanced down at my watch. “Our first interview is supposed to start in ten minutes. I’ve got to go. Get some ice, okay?”
The rest of the day went as smoothly as could be expected. We did interviews with Entertainment Tonight, E!, and several teen magazines, some with N’Sync and some without. When Joey was asked about his eye, he only responded with “I deserved it,” which I appreciated, and when the two of us were asked about our relationship, I got to be the one to break the news that we were no longer together.

“Joey and I have actually decided that we’re better off as friends. The split was amicable, and there are no hard feelings.” I lied through my teeth, but I wanted to be the bigger person and handle it with some class. He mouthed a “Thank you” in my direction, but I chose not to respond to. I might have wanted to be the bigger person, but a girl has her limits.