“I can’t do this to a Backstreet Boy, Kerstin!” Alex mumbled through a spoon full of Cheerios. “I mean, a deadline on Friday would be fine for any normal subject, but a Backstreet Boy? And why the hell was he interested in me? I mean, me of all people?”
“Honey, could you please eat your breakfast and stop worrying,” Kerstin rolled her eyes and shook her head. “I’m sure things will all work out.” Alex rolled her eyes at Kerstin’s motherly instincts.
“Yeah, whatever,” Alex sighed. “I highly doubt things will work out. I mean, knowing I was going to have to get a hot guy to date me was hard enough to do. But now I have to get a Backstreet Boy? And the worst part about it is that I can’t go back on it. Mr. Reynolds was so sold on the fact that Nick’s in a boy band. This has to work out.”
“And it will,” Kerstin sighed and shook her head. “Call him and see if he wants to meet up or something. You can do this. You, yourself, said you could.”
“That was before I realized I would be dating a famous person,” Alex muttered and dumped the remainder of her soggy Cheerios down the drain. She slumped into an oversized chair and thumbed the crumpled napkin Nick had given her the night before. “Here goes nothing.” She mumbled and dialed the number.
After seven rings, someone at the front desk of the hotel answered. “This is Amanda with the front desk at the Iroquois. The person you were trying to reach isn’t available. Is there a message I can take for you?” She asked politely.
“Um,” Alex looked around and bit her bottom lip. To leave a message or to not leave a message? “Sure,” she finally decided. “Can you just tell Nick that Alex called. Can I leave my number with you, too?” She asked. The lady agreed and Alex decided to leave her cell. She wasn’t planning on him calling her back.
“Any luck?” Kerstin asked hopefully from the kitchen as she heard Alex hang up the phone.
“Not at all. He’s probably not answering his phone, Kerst,” Alex sighed and rubbed her temples. “This is useless. I was so stupid to think this would actually work. I mean, come on? Pretend to fall in love with a superficial guy and then make a joke of it? It’s absolutely ridiculous…”
“Would you chill out? Maybe fate hasn’t taken it’s course yet. Maybe you’ll run into this guy somewhere down the road,” Kerstin shrugged, ideas running wild in her head.
“Yeah, right,” Alex shrugged and shook her head. “I’m getting in the shower.” She mumbled and pouted her way into the bathroom. How could she have been so stupid? She hadn’t had a date in years; how in the world had she thought she could pull off meeting some random guy and getting him hooked on her? She was an idiot when it came to the dating world. Besides reading romance novels and watching a Lifetime movie every now and again, she was clueless.
With Nick
“Do you think that was her?” Nick asked worriedly as Brian had entered the room and heard the phone ringing. Brian shook his head in laughter.
“How the heck am I supposed to know?” He frowned. “I didn’t actually meet the girl. But it probably was. Who else would be calling our rooms?” As soon as he finished his sentence, the phone rang again. Both men just stared at it. “Well, are you going to answer it?”
“Hell no,” Nick shuddered at the thought. Why would she think he was interested? Besides the fact that he had practically been all over her there for a while…Wasn’t she embarrassed? She had blown chunks in front of him, for Christ’s sake.
“Fine,” Brian muttered and picked up the phone himself. “Hello?” He asked. Nick stared wide-eyed at his best friend and waited for some kind of response. He watched him scribble something on the pad of paper by the phone and waited. “Okay, thank you.” He said and hung up.
“Well?” Nick stared at him blankly.
“It was her earlier,” Brian laughed. “She left her number with the woman at the front desk. Alex was her name.” Brian couldn’t control his fit of laughter anymore. He dodged the blow from Nick and headed towards the only exit. “You should call her!” He yelled before the door was slammed in his face. Nick sighed and fell back on his bed once more. He glanced down at the number. Instead of throwing it away, he shoved it into his jean’s pocket. Maybe it would come in handy? It would be an easy lay…
With Alex
“Hi, my name’s Kerstin Andrews,” Kerstin tried to say as softly as possible, yet still audible, in fear that Alex might hear. “I was wondering if Christy is in today?” She asked, referring to one of her good friends from college.
“Yes, she is. One moment,” the woman on the other line said.
“Hello?” The young girl, Christy Adams, answered.
“Christy, it’s Kerstin,” Kerstin smiled. Maybe this would work out after all. “I have a huge favor to ask of you. I know you’re super busy and everything, but are you by any chance working with the Backstreet Boys this week?” She asked. Christy worked for a big time magazine in New York. It wasn’t necessarily big nation wide, but for New York and the Syracuse area, it was fairly big.
After getting the needed details for her master plan to work out correctly, Kerstin hung up with her old time friend. She was determined to help Alex get through this. As much as she truly wanted her friend to go out and get a life, she hoped that working on this novel would be step one. Step one was as good as anything, and hopefully she could help.
“Kerst, what are your plans for the day? I think I’m going to hang back and work on making up some kind of story…” Alex trailed as she exited the bathroom area. Kerstin was slightly disappointed to see that she was wearing a baggy t-shirt and shorts with her glasses back on. “Why do you look pissed?” Alex frowned.
“What happened to the Alex from last night?” She asked her.
“Ah, the Alex from last night didn’t really enjoy puking up her insides in font of a celebrity and then suffering a mad hangover this morning, which, by the way, still isn’t full gone,” Alex rubbed her temples some more from the pounding headache growing there. “So, if you don’t mind, I’m going to work on my fictional skills and try to pull a story out of my ass, okay?”
“Ah, no need,” Kerstin smiled. “We, my dear, are going to a Healthy Hearts Benefit tonight.” She smirked. Alex stared at her blankly. Kerstin rolled her eyes and plopped down on the couch in the living room, motioning for Alex to sit across from her so she could explain. “One of my old college friends works for that tabloid magazine in Syracuse, so I called her up figuring that she would have an idea as to where the boys would be tonight and she did. Apparently Brian, one of the guys in the band, is also the creator of the Healthy Hearts Club or something and I got us two tickets to the concert and dinner.” Kerstin smiled. She waited for her friends thanks or approval. “Go ahead…tell me how much you love me…” She got worried when she saw Alex’s blank expression.
“We’re going to have to see him again?” Alex whined. Kerstin frowned and leaned forward to stare at her friend long and hard.
“Have you lost your mind? Isn’t that what you wanted? To make this story work?” Kerstin questioned. Alex sighed and stood up from where she was sitting.
“Well…yeah, but,” she couldn’t find the words she wanted to say, “I mean…I don’t know, Kerst. Thanks for trying to help but I just don’t see this working.”
“Well I do,” Kerstin said firmly. “So get off your ass, put on some clothes that make you look as beautiful as you are and get ready because we’re going shopping.”
“Shopping for what?” Alex sighed with a tint of whine seeping from her words.
“Clothes, honey! Do you honestly think we can show up in summer dresses? We have to find sexy, beautiful gowns,” Kerstin explained as she slipped on a pair of black flip flops and grabbed her wallet.
“And where do you suppose we’re going to find the money for these sexy, beautiful gowns?” Alex asked. She removed the glasses and began going through Kerstin’s closet to find some non revealing clothes to wear on their little outing. She hated spending Kerstin’s money and borrowing Kerstin’s things. If there was one thing in this world she was jealous of, it was the fact that Kerstin came from a very wealthy background. Her father had been a prestigious doctor in Lancaster and her mother was a politician for the state. They brought in more money in a month than Kerstin would typically see in a year.
“Honey, do you even have to ask?” Kerstin giggled and held up one of the credit cards her father was still paying. With a roll of her eyes, she finished getting ready and the girls went out on a mission.
Author's Chapter Notes:
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