~*~Michelle’s point of view~*~

I was nervous. I kept reminding myself that this was just a cook-out. With a group of people. The event would be very laid-back, only lasting a few hours. And it wasn’t a date.

AJ had come out and said that. Not a date.

So why was I stressed?

I wondered who else would be there. I didn’t know these people. Sure, I’d served Brian at the coffee shop. And then seen his wife and her friend once. But what were we supposed to talk about? Heck, what were AJ and I supposed to talk about? The longest I’d ever been around him was what? Fifteen, twenty minutes tops?

It was warm outside, so I settled on a tank top and my favorite pair of shorts. Then I put my hair up in a loose ponytail. I wanted to look cute without seeming like I was trying. God. I wanted to look cute? I was in trouble. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d poured over the contents of my closet like this.

Oh, right. Never.

I headed outside right at two o’clock. He was parked out front. I cursed my heart rate for speeding up as I headed towards him. AJ was leaning against the car. He had a new pair of sunglasses on, but for once, it was understandable. The sun was streaming down on us. He looked casual: jeans and a t-shirt. But the jeans were well-fitted and the shirt was on the tighter side, displaying the logo of some band I’d never heard of.

I couldn’t help but smile a little. He’d been even more calculating in his wardrobe choice than I’d been. He looked sexy, and he knew it.

“You haven’t been waiting long, have you?” I asked, a little worried.

“Nah, I just got here,” he opened the door for me. “I didn’t think you’d be ready for awhile, though.”

Once he was sitting in the driver’s seat, I said, “Not all women need an hour to get ready, you know.”

He laughed. “No need to be so defensive. I was just saying…”

“So I wasn’t supposed to bring anything to this, was I?” The thought hadn’t occurred to me until now.

“Oh, no,” he said. “You’re good.”

We drove in silence for a few minutes, passing by my work as we went.

AJ kept glancing at me. “You nervous?”

“No,” I lied and raised my eyebrows, as if I thought the idea was ridiculous.

He still looked skeptical. “Don’t forget I said this wasn’t a date,” he said, putting that smug smile of his on his face.

“Are they able to fit any of your bandmates on CD covers with you, or does your ego take up all the space?”

AJ laughed. “Figured that would get you talking.”

I opened my mouth to say something else, but instead, I laughed with him. Maybe he was getting to know me a little better than I’d thought. “Where are we going?” I asked after another minute. We seemed to be heading out of Orlando.

“They live a little bit out of town. Both of them wanted more privacy.”

I could understand that. I wondered if fans just showed up at their doorsteps. It was probably hard to keep their location a secret sometimes. And Orlando could be really crowded. There were so many tourists, the houses were too often built close together…

We talked a little on the way there, but the silence was also comfortable. He turned on the radio, so we sang along to the songs we knew. The view gradually changed, becoming a little more scenic. More grass and palm trees, less concrete and cars.

Finally, we pulled into a nice neighborhood. The houses were beautiful, the yards expansive for this area of Florida. AJ drove up the long driveway. A row of bushes were planted along the road in front, giving it an added bit of privacy. Several cars were already parked out front.

“Come on,” AJ said, once we’d gotten out of the car. He’d grabbed two two-liters out of the backseat. I took one from him to help carry. He led me around the back of the house. I could already smell hamburgers and hot dogs as we rounded the corner.

I recognized Brian manning the grill, which was at the corner of a huge deck. There were built-in wooden seats along the edges of one side of it. That end was circular, with a matching wooden table in front of it and a white umbrella shade. The seating extended around the corner just as far as the table. The driveway seemed to wrap around from the other side of the house. I could see a basketball hoop, a ball lying in the grass. The backyard was fenced in, making it even more private than the front.

“Wow,” I said. “This is beautiful.”

“Hey, man,” AJ waved at Brian.

Brian looked up, grinning. “About time you got here, AJ.”

“Well, I had to pick up our guest of honor.”

I blushed. One more thing from today to add to the list of things that was unlike me.

“Nice apron,” AJ continued.

As we got closer, I noticed that it was light shade of pink, with white lace along the top.

“Real men wear pink,” he said proudly, a huge grin on his face.

“Looks much better on August,” AJ commented. “Anyways, you’ve met Michelle.”

Brian nodded, wiping a hand on his apron and extending it to me. “Not formally. I’m Brian.”

The way he introduced himself, you wouldn’t know he was world famous. There wasn’t any air of expecting anyone to know who he was.

“Brian Thomas Littrell, if you get grease on my apron…” August appeared.

“And there’s the missus,” he laughed. “August, this is Michelle.”

She turned around, looking a little embarrassed. “Oh! I didn’t know you were here yet… Hi! It’s nice to meet you. Again. Sort of…”

AJ laughed. Putting a hand over his mouth, he turned to me in a mock whisper. “Two of a kind, aren’t they?”

August rolled her eyes. “Here, I’ll take those,” she grabbed the two-liters from us. “I’m glad you could make it, Michelle. Make yourself at home.”

“Thanks,” I said.

“Have you met everyone else?”

“August, we literally just got here,” AJ said.

“Yo, Brian! You want to play basketball?” someone had appeared near the hoop. He was tall, with blonde hair. Even from a distance, I knew who it was: Nick Carter. If I had a nickel for every girl I’d ever met who’d wanted to marry him, I’d be living in a house like this, too

Brian’s eyes lit up. “Sure…”

“Brian,” August said. “Forgetting something?”

He looked at the spatula in his hand. “Oh, right… In a few minutes, Nick!”

Nick looked a little disappointed. “How about you, AJ?” he asked, spotting him.

“Not right now,” AJ said.

Nick set the ball down, looking a little defeated. He started to head over to us, but stopped and picked up the basketball again, instead. I wondered what has caused his change of heart.

“Hey guys,” someone else appeared. I turned around to see Carmen. She was wearing an outfit similar to mine, but looked much more beautiful in it than I did. August introduced the two of us, though we had, sort of, already met as well.

She went inside with August, to bring the rest of the food out.

Brian kept glancing over at Nick while he grilled. “Food’ll be ready in a few, guys.”

AJ laughed. “You want me to finish up so you can go play?”

Brian looked hopeful. “Really?”

AJ grabbed the spatula from him, shoving him away from the grill.

Brian started to run off, but I told him to wait. I took the apron off of him, and he sprinted to join Nick.

“Oh, no,” AJ read the expression on my face.

“So you’re not a real man like Brian is?”

“I’m not a gay man…”

I rolled my eyes. “He's the one with the wife. You have no proof.”

He started to shake his head, but I put the pink apron on him, anyway.

“Aww, look how beautiful you look,” I smirked.

“Yeah, keep laughing. See if you can find another ride home…”

“Wow, AJ… I’ve seen you in some interesting outfits through the years, but this is something else.”

“Shut up, Howie,” AJ took the apron off and threw it at him.

Howie caught it and set it on the deck railing. “Good to see you, too. And you must be, Michelle?”

I nodded and shook his hand. It was so odd that everyone here knew who I was. I wondered what AJ had said about me. The three of us chatted for a few more minutes, as August and Carmen brought out everything else we needed.

I couldn’t believe how long Howie and AJ had known each other, even before being Backstreet Boys. It must’ve been nice to have friends you’d known for that long.

“Brian, where are the buns?”

“Of steel? Where?” AJ joked, pretending to look around. I smacked him on the shoulder.

“Huh?” Brian wiped his brow, as Nick and he came back from playing basketball.

“I asked you to get a hot dog buns this weekend...”

Brian’s eyes widened. “Oh…”

August looked mad, but she didn’t say anything.

“I can run to the store real fast,” Howie offered.

“You wouldn’t mind?” August asked.

“No problem. Anyone wanna come?”

“I will,” Nick volunteered. They left. The rest of us munched on chips, and they were back shortly after. The food was great. I was stuffed afterwards.

Later, I was sitting with AJ, Brian, Howie and Nick: the Backstreet Boys, it hit me. I laughed when they mentioned the name of a song they were working on because, to me, this really was an unsuspecting Sunday afternoon. Of course, they didn’t seem like pop stars right now. They seemed like any other group of friends, hanging out on a weekend.

August and Carmen were sitting in camping chairs in the yard, talking and laughing. I got the feeling that August was still annoyed at Brian. I also noticed that Nick and Carmen were avoiding each other, though I didn’t know why. I’d have to remember to ask AJ later.

“So could Kevin not make it today?” Howie asked when the conversation had lulled.

“What?” Brian asked, looking surprised.

“I’d thought he’d be here, too…”

“Why?” Nick asked. “This is for the group.” He glanced at me and added, “And the girls of the group members…” This time he glanced at Carmen. “And for the girl’s group members... best friends…”

“Wow, take a breath, Nick,” Brian was laughing at him. Howie was still looking at him expectantly. “We just didn’t invite him.”

“Oh,” now Howie seemed surprised.

“Well, like Nick said… we’re making some headway in the studio. This was kind of a group thing for all the hard work we're putting in right now. And Kevin’s… not in the group anymore.”

“So he’s banned from our events now?” AJ asked. He didn’t seem angry, but the question wasn’t light either.

Suddenly, I wished I was sitting with August and Carmen. They were enjoying whatever conversation they were having, whereas this one was getting tense.