Chapter 1


After being out of the dating game for the past twelve years, I really didn’t know where to start. Times had changed and I wasn’t sure it was for the better! These days just about all the singletons I knew had tried online dating. How did that even work? You didn’t know the person behind the keyboard, they could be using a photo of someone else, or a really old picture, or they could be stringing you along with a pack of lies about who they were…or worse. Serial killer came to mind.

“Bri, give it a go! You never know until you try” Nick advised as he typed in the address of Match.com and hit enter.

“It’s been two years since the divorce; you need to get over it. Don’t I always say that the best way to get over someone is to get someone else under you?” He laughed at his own saying, but it seemed to work for him. Nick had never had a problem when it came to women. That didn’t mean he’d been lucky in love though, on the contrary, he’d also had his fair share of heartache. But at least his wife hadn’t run off with a younger and more current boy band member.

“But I’m not like you, Nick.” I shook my head at him. I sometimes wished I was more like him.

“Well now’s your chance to change.” Nick turned the laptop towards me.

“It’s worth a try at least. Look, there are thousands of women to choose from, there’s got to be someone here who catches your eye!”

“I don’t even know where to begin,” I complained. It all looked a bit daunting to me.

“Well, let’s start with a fake name…just until you get talking to someone you’d like to meet.” Nick grinned and grabbed the laptop back and began typing.



Nick was always trying to talk me into online dating since he had tried it years ago. Of course I will never forget the girls he ended up with, some actually turned out to be fans....some were less than satisfactory.

"It all boils down to trust. Trust that you have better judgment than me." Nick said with a knowing smile.

"Nick, I think it is safe to say we ALL have better judgment then you. I wouldn't end up with a girl that has a prosthetic leg." I laughed as I watched him type. Nick picked out my name and I raised an eyebrow.

"Ok so she had one sitting in her living room. She liked to collect stuff like that, I thought it was cool."

"You would. What was her name?"

"Um.....Julie? I dunno. She was a freak." Nick winked as I watched him type. I shook my head at him. Nick always liked the strange ones. What was wrong with a nice, normal girl?

"Really? Steve? I think you can come up with a better name for me than that." I laughed.

"So why don't you?" he retorted, crossing his arms. Good point, I thought as I stared at the computer screen. There was only one name that I could possibly think of.


"Luke?" Nick giggled.

"Yes, Luke. You don't like it?" I asked. Luke Stevens sounded like a good alibi. I had always liked the name.

"Luke as in Skywalker? Are you for real, Rok? That's so unoriginal." Nick said, laughing in my face. I ignored him and kept typing. I was Luke Stevens, single and ready to mingle.

"So we need to give you a job, don't we?" he continued, still typing up my bio on the website. I can't believe I'm trusting Nick Carter with my future love life.

"How about a teacher? I'd like to be a high school teacher or a youth pastor." I said with a smile. Again he made a face. What was so bad about me doing this my way?

"Nah, we need to spice it up....make you interesting." Nick muttered. He leaned back in the chair and scratched his chin, rubbing his long fingers over the stubble he was sporting that day. Personally I didn't like how he looked with facial hair, he looked like a 70's pornstar with his mustache.

"Ok so how will you do that? We can't say I'm a Backstreet Boy." I snapped.

"Ooh. How about a police officer?"

"Nah, too messy." I said. I didn't like the idea of law enforcement. My mind was still set on teacher.

"Massage therapist?" he rambled.

"Well, I can give a good rubdown."


Nick grinned and kept typing, a grin on his face. What have I gotten myself into?



I went a few days on the site with not a lot of action. I'd check it after shows, before shows, and during my down time on the bus Nick and I were sharing. Not much had happened but I was getting some responses. The problem was I was afraid.

"Bri, you can't be a chicken shit your whole life. Just coz she left you for that guy...."

"That's not the point. I don't want to get hurt again. I was with her for a long time. She dumped ME." I snapped bitterly, closing the laptop. He and I spent the rest of the night in awkward silence. Once tour had ended I was more free to pursue the site. I spent a long time trying to talk to some of the girls but nothing seemed right until I found....Melissa. We got along great, she and I had a lot in common, but I didn't like lying about who I was. Would she accept me?

My phone began ringing and I shook my head, smiling. It never fails.


"So how's the search going?" Nick asked me on the phone one night. I could hear a porno on in the background and rolled my eyes.

"Dude turn that crap off when you're talking to me.". I hissed. I was chatting to Melissa as I talked to him, we were trying to set up a date.

"It's a good one. There's these three girls and..."

"I don't wanna know. Looks like I got a date tomorrow with Melissa." I smiled. She told me about an Italian restaurant that she wanted to try, I was all for it. In fact, I was positively GIDDY.

"So, you gonna put it in?"

"Are you joking? Nick you don't have sex on the first date!" I said, almost dropping the phone.

"Well, I do." he replied casually, the porn music still playing in the background. I decided to end the conversation and go to bed, excited for what would come tomorrow.



I showed up an hour early, wearing a nice pair of slacks and a button down shirt, with a jacket. Keeping it casual was something I'd always had in mind since I had talked to Melissa. I was very nervous even after Nick's pep talk that morning. While I waited for her I sat in the bar, I ordered a drink to keep myself occupied. Time went by and I didn't see anyone that looked like her. I checked my phone, thinking maybe she'd called.....but she hadn't.




"Man, I can't believe she never showed up." Nick said when we hung out a few days later. I hadn't gone on the site since, feeling discouraged. Maybe this wasn't for me.

"That's never happened to me before. I don't think I'm cut out for this." I told him, falling back onto the couch.

"Just try it again. She's out there.....maybe try a different site?" he suggested. I considered this....it sounded like a good idea. Another site and another name might do the trick.....

Chapter 2


I had waited a few weeks before trying the other site I found....Ok Cupid. This time my name was Nathan Crawford. I browsed some profiles and messaged a few but one girl caught my eye. Her name was Bridget. We began chatting and found out we had a lot in common. I realized Valentine's Day was coming so I asked her to meet me at a diner. I didn't want a repeat of the Melissa incident, so I chose something small where I wouldn't be recognized, a place a bit out of the way.

I had told her to wear red so I could notice her better without thinking that on Valentine's Day every girl would be wearing the same color. However, by the time I'd realized it was too late. I showed up to the diner at quarter to seven.....I wasn't expecting her for another fifteen minutes at least. Not many people were in the diner itself, just an older couple and a mother with a crying baby....it was definitely a small place. I stopped looking around and decided to have a seat. I chose a booth and a smiling young waitress named Hannah took my order.

"What'll ya have, sir?" she asked, popping the piece of gum in her mouth.

"Iced Tea with lemon, please." I replied.

"Are you expecting someone or will that be all for now, sir?"

"She won't be here for a while. Just the drink for now will be fine, miss."

After Hannah walked away I tapped my fingers together and adjusted my tie again, checking my reflection in the side of the metal napkin holder. It wad blurry but I looked okay enough to sit back into the cushion of the booth. I wasn't sure why I was so nervous, I'd been on dates before. I wasn't that out of practice.


The door of the diner jingled softly and I looked up to see the older couple leaving hand in hand. I smiled at them, wondering if I'd ever be like that one day. Hannah brought me the iced tea and I sipped at it, smiling until she left. When she was out of view, I grabbed some sugar packets and began to dump them in....I liked my tea very sweet. I looked at my watched as I stirred the iced tea, the straw racing rapidly against the edge of the glass.

She was running late now.


I sighed as I heard the door again and looked up. This time it was a man in a business suit. I began to get impatient and took a napkin....tearing it into bits out of boredom. It was a habit I had acquired during meetings with the fellas, something Howie was always annoyed by, but I didn't care. Howie wasn't here.

Neither was Bridget. Hannah had come again and I told her to wait a bit longer for my order, she seemed annoyed this time.

"This is stupid." I muttered. I had Hannah bring me the check and I paid the bill, deciding I'd wait a few more minutes. It was going on 7:30 and she hadn't shown yet. It was happening again. Maybe I wasn't meant to be in love again. Was I doomed to troll the internet for other desperate singles for the rest of my life?

As this last thought occurred to me, the door jingled once more. I was surprised to see Nick walking in. He smelled faintly of chili dogs and cigarette smoke, his hair untidy. He wore jeans and a black shirt, a denim jacket over it.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he asked, looking mildly surprised.

"I was gonna ask you the same. I thought you had a date tonight too. What are you doing here, Nick?" I wondered. He sat across from me, a smirk playing at his lips.

"I'm meeting someone here, but she never showed."

"Nick Carter, stood up? Never thought that would happen." I replied, raising an eyebrow at him. I figured by now he and his date would have their clothes scattered across some random hotel room floor.

"I was thinking the same about you. I thought any girl would jump at the chance to date you. You would think she'd show up on time." he muttered.
"Guess I was wrong, huh?" I said angrily, resting my hand under my chin in defeat. Nick copied my actions in a sarcastic manner, that grin on his face again.

"What was her name?" he asked as he batted his eyelashes at me.

"Bridget."

I took out another napkin and was halfway through tearing it up when he began giggling like an idiot.

"What's so funny?"

"I'm Bridget." he said, holding out his hand for me to shake.

"Excuse me?"

"I'm Bridget Larson. Brian, you're Nathan....aren't you? On Ok Cupid?" he chuckled. I was livid, what the hell had he been thinking?

"How do you know this? I didn't tell you about Ok Cupid." I said in disbelief. He glanced behind me before continuing. It then occurred to me he had chosen my initials and I'd chosen his....NC and BL....it was too ironic.

"I made a fake profile on there to fuck with AJ at New Year's when he and Ro were fighting. Remember, when they'd broken up for like two weeks? I was screwing around." he explained quickly. I thought about this and decided he would be the one to pull off such a prank.

"So now what? Am I supposed to date you?" I asked, smirking.

"You know you love me. I'm irresistible."

"Okay, Romeo. Where are we going?" I asked, hitting him playfully as we left the diner. Part of me wondered if Bridget had been real if we would have hit it off. Nick and I began talking about our plans for the evening and I decided it wouldn't be so bad hanging with him instead. Maybe I could be single for a little longer. There was plenty of time for relationships.