"Okay! Okay! Break it up! Give each other some air here!" Zoey Bryant called as she approached her best friend Tessa Connors and Tessa’s new boyfriend Brian Littrell. The couple had been making up since Brian’s group, the Backstreet Boys, had ended their concert a half-hour ago.
Tessa pulled away from Brian and laughed, her blue-green eyes twinkling. "Zoey, you are so subtle and quiet, it’s amazing," she said.
Zoey smiled and patted her on the back, her own purple-tinted eyes also twinkling. "Well, you know, what can I say? I’ve been mingling for half an hour now, and I have yet to talk to Mr. Wonderful here."
"Hello, Zoey. So, does this mean that you’ve finally forgiven me?" Brian asked as he swept his blondish-brown curling bangs out of his face.
"Yeah, I have. But, man, do I wish Billie had come backstage instead of running off to the bus. I really wanted to talk to her."
"Yo, B! Hey, you finally came up for some air. Now you can formally introduce me," a tall, skinny guy with dark, curly hair, dyed red, and wearing a pair of sunglasses said as he pushed through the crowd. When he reached Brian, he patted him on the back.
Zoey regarded this strange-looking guy. He was kind of handsome, but his ears stuck out and his arms were covered in tattoos. It took her a minute, but she finally recognized who he was. He was the guy who had been standing behind Billie. He was also the one who had sung that incredible song. What was it called? Oh, yeah, "Lay Down Beside Me."
"Ladies, this is my friend and fellow Backstreet Boy, AJ McLean," Brian said. "AJ, you remember Tessa Connors, and this lovely dark-haired lady is her friend Zoey Bryant."
AJ smiled. "Yeah, it’s nice to see you again, Tessa." He then took Zoey’s hand and held it a bit longer than he should have. "Zoey, hello. You know, that’s a lovely name. Wait a minute, you were the girl who was standing behind Tessa when Billie confessed, weren’t you?"
"Uh, thank you, and yes, I was," she answered trying to pull her hand away from AJ’s grip. She finally succeeded and crossed her arms. AJ stuck his hands in his pockets.
"So, what do you say to us leaving these two love birds alone, and I could show you the tour bus," AJ suggested, his dark eyes peering over the top of his sunglasses.
Something about this guy made Zoey rather uncomfortable. He reminded her of someone, but she couldn’t quite figure out who. She tossed her long, dark hair over her shoulder and raised an eyebrow. What a pick-up line?! She shook her head. "I can’t. I’ve got an early radio show tomorrow," she answered.
"Zoey, I’ll be right back. Brian wants to introduce me to the other guys," Tessa interrupted. Before Zoey could protest, she and Brian were gone.
Zoey turned back to AJ as he moved closer. "Well, it looks like your friend will be a while. You sure you don’t want to see the bus?" he asked.
Zoey glared at him. Was this guy for real? "Are you so full of yourself that you honestly think that all you have to do is lower your sunglasses, and I’ll fall all over you?"
AJ’s smooth demeanor disappeared as he pushed up his sunglasses. "You know, a simple no would’ve been fine. You don’t have to cop an attitude with me," he said.
"An attitude? You’re the one who’s making a pass at me," Zoey answered. She had already dated many a jerk, and she wasn’t about to add another one to her list.
"Well, excuse me for finding you so attractive. What was I thinking? I’m leaving," AJ argued back. He smoothed down his red tips and left.
Zoey stood there for a few minutes, watching him leave. She softened a little bit and regretted snapping at him. Past experience had made her harsh towards guys.
Realizing that she had to go to the bathroom, she pushed her way out of the backstage area. She sauntered towards the ladies’ room, then stopped. The line was at least a mile long. It had been a half-hour since the concert ended, but young girls were still waiting in line for the bathroom.
Zoey stood there and watched the line. She then had an idea and walked back to the backstage area. She found Brian introducing Tessa to a tall, dark-haired man whose name, she remembered, was Kevin Richardson. She tapped Brian on the shoulder.
"Oh, hey, Zoey! Have you met my cousin Kevin yet?" he asked when he turned around.
"Yeah, I met him earlier. Nice to see you again, Kevin," Zoey said as she nodded. She then turned her attention back to Brian. "The line to the ladies’ room is real long. You wouldn’t happen to know of any other bathrooms around here, would you?"
"Yeah, there’s a one-person one located in the same hallway as our dressing room," he answered. He pointed to a door in the back of the room and continued, "Just go through that door, and it should be the third door on your right. But don’t close the door all the way; it’s kind of old and it’ll get stuck."
"Thanks, Brian," Zoey smiled as she headed for the door. She entered the hallway and started counting doors. She found the third one and noticed that it was ajar. She opened it and walked in.
"What do you think you’re doing?! Get outta here!" a male voice yelled.
Zoey looked up to see AJ quickly trying to zip up his pants and flush the commode. He startled her so much that she backed into the door, and it closed. Both Zoey’s and AJ’s eyes went wide when they realized what had just happened.
They lunged for the door at the same time and pulled and pulled on the handle until they were both out of breath. It was official…they were locked in.