Howie stared at me with his mouth hanging open. My heart felt like it was literally going to pound through my rib cage. “Yes? Really?” He was shell-shocked.

“Yeah. Really.”

He licked his lips and placed his hands on my hips. “What if we did it again?” His face was nearly touching mine and my eyes looked directly into his as my breath hitched in my throat.

“It would scare me.” I paused and grasped his hands in mine, giving them a squeeze. “But maybe it’s a good kind of scared.”

He smiled. Then he kissed me. It was short. It was sweet. It left me wanting more. I’d kissed him before, but this time it meant something. “We’ll take it slow, okay?” One of his hands stroked my cheek and I shivered in the warm breeze. “Go on a date with me.”

Suddenly, I wanted to turn and run in the other direction. I had no idea if I was making the right decision, but Howie was just so perfect. How could I turn him down after all the things he’d just said to me in the kitchen? “Okay.”

“We’ll go to lunch. I’ll pick you up at noon?”

“Yeah. See you then.”

He kissed me softly on the cheek and gave me a warm smile. “See you then.”

I tossed and turned all night long, barely sleeping any more than a few minutes at a time. When the doorbell rang at 7:45, I was already out of bed, had showered, and was working on my makeup. I could hear the shower running in Amelia’s bathroom, so I jogged to the door to let Kevin in. I’d contemplated telling him about Howie, but Kristin walked into the condo in front of him, quickly slamming the brakes on that idea. “Oh, uh...hi Kristin.”

“Hey, Em!” I raised an eyebrow. Em? Really? I liked her, but I didn’t like her enough to be on abbreviated names yet.

“Are you going to the doctor with Kevin and Amelia?” It was a little weird to me that she was there, especially since she and Kevin had only been back together for a couple of months. Was she really this gung-ho about him having a baby with another woman?

“Actually, no. It’s still a little weird for me.” Kevin caught my eye and nodded. Her honesty made me like her even more. “There’s a mall next to the doctor’s office and Kevin’s going to drop me off there, then bring Amelia over after their appointment to buy some more maternity clothes. Are you coming with us?”

“Actually, no. I have um...plans.” I turned to Kevin. “Tell me you’re taking a bodyguard if you think you’re going into a mall during Christmas break when all the teenage girls are going to be out and about.”

“Absolutely,” he answered.

“You’re not finished with your makeup, are you?” Kristin interrupted.

“What? No...”

“Oh, good.” She placed her hand over her chest and breathed a sigh of relief. “So, do you know you only have one eye done?”

I laughed. “Yes, I know.”

“I’m sorry if that seemed a little forward, but I just couldn’t let another woman go out in public like that, you know? Actually, that would make a killer picture. ‘The Power of Makeup’.” She held up air quotes. “You have really great eyes. I love how that subtle purple plays up the browns and greens. Kevin, honey, is my camera in the car?” I blushed and turned to Kevin with my eyes wide in bewilderment.

“She’s into photography,” he declared. “And she’s right about the eyes.” I could feel myself turning even redder. “No, Kris, I think it’s back at my house on the dresser.”

“Too bad.” I shook my head and chuckled, taking the opportunity to duck back into my bathroom to make up my other eye before going to see if Amelia was ready to go.

After the three of them had gone on their way, I made myself a cup of tea and went out on the balcony. December in Florida was hit or miss temperature-wise. Today, there was a balmy breeze, and though it was only 8:00, it was probably already 75 degrees outside. I sighed and watched the palm trees planted by the sidewalk sway. I loved this weather, but my Christmas back home had been unseasonably warm, and it had been over a year since I’d seen snow. It just didn’t feel like the holiday season at all. I thought about my family, who always had a huge New Year’s Eve party. I’d never missed one, but couldn’t justify spending money on another round-trip plane ticket to go home for another couple days. We were going to New York on January 2nd to debut the video for our second single on TRL, and after touring for so long, I knew that staying put for a few days would be best for me. It didn’t change the fact that I was homesick, though.

I must have fallen asleep on the chaise lounge, because the next thing I remember is hearing the condo phone ringing and faint knocking on the door. The knocking got exponentially louder when I jumped up and opened the patio door to go inside. “Crap!” I whispered to myself as I whizzed by the clock on the wall. It was 12:04. Howie was at the door, and knocking hard.

When I flung the door open, Howie’s shoulders slumped sadly. “Oh. You’ve changed your mind.”

“What? Why would you say that?”

“Your, um....clothes.” He pointed at my outfit and I looked down. I was still in my pajamas. Had this been any man other than Howie, I would have been so embarrassed, but Howie had already seen me at my worst, and at least I had makeup on.

“Oh. No, Howie. That’s not it at all. I just fell asleep.”

“Before noon?”

“I didn’t sleep very well last night.”

“Hmmm...” I knew that he was contemplating that whole “not sleeping well” scenario. His reputation for being able to sleep anytime, anywhere was totally spot on. If I wasn’t so sure that he was going to be swept up into heaven, I could imagine that the man would sleep through the Apocalypse. I had this funny mental image of him waking up on a bed of clouds in front of the pearly gates with St. Peter standing over him, looking confused.

“Well, I called you..... nine times!” Howie held up his cell phone.

I picked my phone up off the kitchen counter and looked at the screen. Yep. Nine missed calls. “Sorry. I was out on the balcony.” I grinned sheepishly.

He rolled his eyes. “You should keep your cell phone with you. That’s what it’s for.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t intend to be out there but for a few minutes. Let me go get dressed.”

Half an hour later, we were settled into a corner booth near the back of a local Mexican restaurant. “This is the strangest first date I’ve ever been on,” Howie remarked.

I raised an eyebrow. “Oh, really? How’s that?”

“Well...” Howie reached across the table and pulled one of my hands into his. “For starters, there’s none of that awkward getting to know you stuff. I feel like I already know everything about you.”

“You don’t know everything.”

“Okay. Try me.”

“What’s my favorite color?”

“Turquoise.”

“Favorite movie?”

“Grease. No, Dirty Dancing. It’s a toss-up between the two.” He grinned. “Am I right?” I nodded. He was good. “Now quit giving me easy ones.”

“Hmm..... favorite childhood memory?”

“Opening presents at your grandfather’s house on Christmas Eve. He used to sit by the tree and give out the presents surrounded by your entire family--17 aunts and uncles and 16 cousins-- all piled into one living room.”

I smiled wistfully and felt a little pang in my heart. “You’re absolutely right. We don’t even do that anymore since he died a few years ago. I’m the baby of the family, so a lot of my cousins have families of their own. We always have our New Year’s Eve party, though.”

“Are you going?”

I sighed. “I’d like to, but....it’s just too much traveling while we’re supposed to be on a break. Besides, I don’t really have the money for a plane ticket.”

He squeezed my hand. “I could pay for your plane ticket if you want to go...”

“That’s really sweet, Howie, but I can’t let you do that.”

“Well, then you should come to the concert. I’ll get you backstage passes and front row seats. Bring Amelia. I’m sure Christina will be there, too. It’ll be fun.” He smiled excitedly. They were doing a big show in Orlando for New Year’s Eve, which was going to be taped and sold to the masses.

“Well, I never have really experienced a Backstreet Boys concert as just a fan.....”

He frowned a little. “I kind of thought you were going to say you’d never experienced a concert as a Backstreet girlfriend.” My breath hitched in my throat. “You’re so much more than just a fan, Em.”

I gulped back the lump in my throat. A Backstreet girlfriend? Was that what I was? Already? “Howie, I...... I just need a little time to get used to it, I guess.”

He smiled. “Take all the time you need, okay? I’m not going anywhere.” We finished lunch, played putt-putt golf (he had arranged it so that we could play while the course was closed so we didn’t get bombarded by fans and paparazzi), then we watched a late matinee in the back row of a dark theater. Howie even did the whole “pretend I’m yawning and drape my arm across her shoulders” thing. It was adorable. When the movie was over, he asked if I wanted dinner. He took me to this questionable little food stand in the park across the street from my condo for hot dogs. They were delicious. After a little stroll in the park, he dropped me off at my door.

“I had a really good time today, Howie,” I said honestly as I turned the key and opened the door. “Aren’t you going to come in?”

He laughed. “How about we keep it at least a little bit like a first date, okay?”

“Okay,” I nodded with a smile as Howie leaned in and kissed me on the cheek. Then he enveloped me in a hug and placed a slow, luxurious kiss on my lips before pulling away with a big, goofy grin on his face.

“I’ll call you later. I love you.”

“I love you too.” It felt so natural that I didn’t even consider the implications until he walked away and I closed the door behind me. So much for taking it slow.