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Ellena was shocked at the amount of energy that five men could emit. The chemistry between them on stage was electric. Lacey danced for part of the concert and sat on Ellena’s shoulders so she could see when she got too tired. It felt so good to see Lacey happy. She had had so many disappointments in her short life. After three encores, the lights came up in the arena and fans started to file out of the building. Ellena remained in her seat until the crowd had dwindled a bit. The last thing she wanted to happen was for Lacey to get lost in the sea of people. Grasping Lacey’s hand firmly in her own, Ellena made her way towards the backstage area. Security was understandably tight and Ellena nearly had to empty her entire wallet of ID before they let her through. As soon as she got past them, she spotted Kevin talking to a group of twelve-year-olds. She smiled as she watched him pose for photos with them and hug each one. She found an empty piece of wall and leaned against it until he was free for her to talk to. That didn’t happen for another hour. Lacey quickly became restless and grouchy.
Kevin had seen Ellena from out of the corner of his eye but every time he tried to get over to where she was, he was intercepted by another fan. Internally cursing the amount of backstage passes that were issued, he signed yet another pinup and posed for another picture. Finally, there was a window of opportunity and he took it.
“Ellena!” Kevin walked towards her and held out his hand. “I’m glad you could make it.”
Ellena pushed away from the wall and extended her hand to him. “Yes, me too. Thank you so much for the tickets.” She smiled. “And for the flowers. I can’t remember the last time I got flowers sent to me.”
“You’re welcome.” Kevin smiled warmly and then dropped to one knee in front of Lacey. “Hi Lacey. Did you like the show?”
Lacey wrapped her arms around Ellena’s leg and buried her head against Ellena’s thigh. “She’s really tired.” Ellena apologized. “It’s been a big night for her.” She picked up Lacey in her arms. “Honey? Can’t you say hi to Kevin?”
Lacey turned her head away from Kevin and pouted. “No.” She replied to Ellena.
“Why not?”
“I don’t like him.”
Ellena’s eyes shot up in surprise. She looked at Kevin and then back at Lacey. “Lacey, that’s not a very nice thing to say. You have to be polite.”
“He said he knowed my mom and he tricked me.”
Ellena closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. Kevin groaned inwardly. One small assumption on his part yesterday had really caused grief on Ellena’s part. Ellena tried to change the subject quickly. Kevin could tell that the subject of Lacey’s mother was not something that either Ellena or Lacey took lightly. He immediately felt bad again, for dredging up these feelings for Ellena and wished there was something he could do to make things better.
Ellena hugged Lacey close to her and replied to Kevin. “She danced for an hour and a half. The show was great. Your choreography is really impressive.”
Kevin smiled. “Thank you. That really means something coming from a dancer. Me and the rest of the guys are going out after we get out of here. Do you want to join us?”
Lacey closed her eyes and snuggled closer to Ellena. “You know what? I’d love to but I can’t. I have to get Lacey home to bed and I don’t suppose you would be going somewhere that I could bring her along anyway. She didn’t bring her fake ID with her. Besides, I have an early morning tomorrow.”
“Six o’clock practice again?”
“Yes. Although the girls are going to be useless because they were all here tonight.”
“You can hold me personally responsible.” Kevin chuckled.
Ellena laughed with him. “I will!”
Nick walked up behind Kevin and slapped him on the back. “Kev-man! Did you see that girl that just threw herself at Brian? Whew! She was h-o-t! I was thinkin’ that I would – Oh sorry, didn’t realize you were busy gettin’ bizay.“ Nick paused for a moment and looked Ellena up and down. He looked from Kevin back to Ellena and then at Lacey.
Kevin turned to Nick and then to Ellena. “Ellena, I’d like you to meet Nick Carter. Nick, this is Ellena O’Ryan.”
Ellena shifted Lacey’s weights and held out her hand to Nick. “Nice to meet you, Nick.”
Nick shook her hand quickly and pulled away. “Nice to meet you too. You look really familiar. Have we met before?”
Kevin grinned and nudged Nick with his elbow. “Nice pick up line, Nick. Try another one that’s a little more original.”
“No, I’m serious.” He turned back to look at Ellena again. “I’ve seen you somewhere before…where did you and Kevin meet?”
“We met yesterday at the record store signing.” Ellena replied.
Nick pondered for a moment and then his eyes lit up. “Oh! You’re the one that leaned on the table and – ow!” Kevin elbowed Nick hard in the ribs. “Ahem, you’re the one that shocked the almighty Kevin Richardson with mere words. What was it that you said to him anyway?”
A tinge of pink crept into Kevin’s cheeks and Ellena fought the urge to laugh. “I can’t think of anything I said that was out of the ordinary.” Ellena thought out loud.
Nick laughed. “Well when you remember what it was, give me a call. I’d like to know what it could have been to render him speechless for the rest of the afternoon. That could be a very valuable weapon.”
Ellena laughed. Kevin thought her laugh was so light and feminine. “I’ll do that.”
“Well gotta go, there is a nice looking honey over there standing all by herself. She needs someone to keep her company.”
“Hmm and you’re just the person to do that?” Kevin grinned.
“You bet!” Nick replied. “Nice to meet you Ellena.” Kevin shook his head as Nick sprinted down the corridor.
Lacey murmured sleepily as Ellena shifted her onto her other hip. There was a brief silence between them. Neither on knowing what else to say. Ellena craned her neck to see if Lacey was sleeping, which she was. Kevin wracked his brain for some recollection of his schedule for the next few days.
“Ellena, would you like to go out with me sometime?”
Ellena hid the shock on her face quickly. “I would really like that Kevin.”
“How about tomorrow night?”
“Tomorrow night…I can’t. I have to work from seven to eleven.” Ellena suddenly regretted agreeing to the extra shift at the club.
Not one to give up, Kevin suggested an alternative. “How about after you’re finished? I can pick you up from work.”
Ellena felt uneasy at him picking her up at work but she already had a sitter for Lacey for the night and it would be at least a week before she got the opportunity again. “Yeah, that would be great.”
Kevin clapped his hands together. “Awesome. I’ll pick you up at eleven o’clock.”
“I’m looking forward to it already.”
“Me too. I really gotta go though. Security is going to start rounding us up to get on the bus. I’ll see you tomorrow night.” Kevin turned to follow Nick through the door.
“Kevin, aren’t you forgetting something?” Ellena called after him. Kevin turned and gave her a funny look, then walked back towards her.
“Oh yeah, um…okay.” He leaned down and brushed his lips across her cheek. He then turned back towards the door and hurried away. Ellena started to laugh out loud. She called after him again.
“Kevin!” He stopped and turned around to look at her. Confusion was obvious in his expression. “Aren’t you still forgetting something?”
Kevin thought for a moment and then shook his head. “No.”
“Um…well, Where are you going to pick me up tomorrow?”
“I thought I said I’d pick you up at work didn’t I? Maybe I didn’t say…okay so I’ll pick you up at work at eleven and….oh yeah, um I guess an address would be good.” He grinned sheepishly and blushed.
Ellena giggled and tried to reach into her purse without dropping Lacey. “Could you….?” She held Lacey out for him to take. Lacey whimpered from being jostled around and tried to get comfortable in Kevin’s arms. Ellena fished a scrap of paper out of her purse and wrote down an address. She gently took Lacey back from Kevin. He took the paper from her and read it aloud.
“Barbie Dahl’s. I thought you said that was a strip joint downtown?”
Ellena became uncomfortable. “It is but it’s not what you’re thinking. I’m a waitress there and that’s all.”
Kevin smiled and shook his head. “No, I didn’t think – “
“Yes you did.” Ellena said with a smile and a wink. Once again she had managed to render Kevin speechless. “You’d better get going. I just saw the security ogres coming this way. See you tomorrow night, Kevin.” She tucked her jacket around the sleeping Lacey in her arms and headed towards the exit, leaving Kevin staring after her in wonderment.