CHAPTER 81

What in the hell is he doing?

Jeffrey glanced down at this watch. They were halfway through the show and it was time for the solos – something they hadn’t put into their act in a few years now. Brian would be up first, doing a little audience participation schtick before moving into his song – a self penned ‘family, friends and faith’ ditty that was sure to appease the grandmothers in the audience along with those who had rose-colored glasses permanently attached to their eyes. All of the Boys would perform original compositions, giving them some individual time in the spotlight before they re-formed as a group and completed the show. This entire segment would last 20-25 minutes. Kevin was number four on the list and Nick would finish out the set.

Jeffrey needed to have a word with Kevin before he went on and urge him to ‘get it together’. He had agreed to keep his relationship with Connie on the d/l, yet he had just called attention to her in front of the entire audience. It was part of Jeffrey’s job to know the show and predict fan response and he was certain that Kevin’s little communiqué would not go unnoticed. Connie had not only stood and begun to wave, she had then turned and literally stomped out of the theater. Stage placement had shifted and now Kevin seemed more interested in the exit sign over the side stage door than he did with the show. The manager was contemplating the situation when a voice boomed over his shoulder, causing him to jump.

“What the fuck’s wrong with Richardson? Is he drunk or something? Is this the way he reacts when his piece of tail is in the audience?”

Jeffrey released a labored sigh. Just what he needed. Placating Jive was not part of his job description but that’s what he seemed to spend a considerable amount of his time doing. He turned his head and looked into the scowling face of Jive’s tour rep, Arch Panzetta.

“He’s doing okay,” Jeffrey said over his shoulder, trying to sound light and unconcerned. “He’s just excited.”

Arch wasn’t buying it. “I knew this would happen! You tell your client to get himself ‘unexcited’! He looks pissed, like he can’t wait to get off that stage. These people paid plenty for their tickets and expect his undivided attention! We’ve sunk plenty into this tour and don’t need Richardson’s pissiness spread all over the net or in tomorrow’s reviews! Get it?” With that, Arch Panzetta turned and disappeared into the darkness, allowing no rebuttal.

Shit… Jeffrey tried to refocus on the show. The group was being chatty with the audience again. Well, four of them were. Nick kept trying to include Kevin in the banter but Kevin remained stoic and fairly unresponsive. The situation was becoming awkward and Jeffrey wondered if the audience was picking up on any of this. Sometimes people ‘behind the scenes’ saw a different concert than the paying customers did.

Now – finally…. Brian was moving the show into the solo segments and the others would be leaving the stage. Kevin looked like an Olympic runner at the block, ready to take off. Jeffrey shook his head. Time to try and get his ass unpuckered…

*****

Connie leaned against the gray cement-block wall, trying to be unobtrusive as tour personnel suddenly filled the corrider. When Nick appeared, she began to panic. Although she hadn’t seen the show, she knew how it was supposed to play out and assumed that the solos were beginning. Why else would Nick be offstage? That would mean Kevin would be out of the spotlight, too. Connie glanced quickly up and down the hallway but could find no place to go so she moved down a little to a spot out of the way of the overhead lights. The lights were dimmer here but not dim enough. Her only alternative was to try to be ‘at one with the wall’, but try as she might, she couldn’t press her body into the gray block. She crouched a little, hoping that the flurry of activity around her would camouflage her presence. No such luck. As Connie kept her eyes fastened on Nick, wondering if Kevin would soon be appearing behind him, he spotted her, grinned, pointed and then turned slightly to someone who was wearing a tee-shirt with the words ‘Security’ plastered across the front. She winced as she watched Nick’s mouth form the words “tell Kevin…” as he waved in her direction.

“Con! Why’d ‘ya leave?” Nick waved as he pushed through stylists and hangers-on. “Whatsa matter? Too loud for you in there?”

Some might have been offended at Nick’s off the cuff remark but Connie found herself smiling a little, happy that Nick felt comfortable enough around her to tease. She had grown very fond of this barrel-chested blond who, despite reports to the contrary, was not as clueless as he was often portrayed. What he might lack in academic knowledge, he made up for with a guileless sensitivity that Connie found endearing. He reminded her of her younger brother. Connie knew that Hanna was fond of Nick, too, and that the two often exchanged emails. Many thought that Kevin merely tolerated the youngest band member, but their relationship went much deeper than that although she doubted that either of them had ever stopped to analyze it. Sure, Nick seemed to piss Kevin off plenty but who didn’t? The fact was that Nick didn’t really often make Kevin angry – just exasperated. Many might not notice the fact that when Kevin wasn’t guarded, he usually referred to Nick as Nicky and that when the group was together, Kevin often looked over his shoulder, looking for Nick as a mother hen might look for a wayward chick.

“I didn’t expect a public scolding, Nick,” Connie explained with a frown. “I mistakenly though he might be happy to see me.”

“Are you shittin’ me?” Nick laughed. “He was just worried, that’s all. He’s been speed dialing the hotel every ten minutes, wonderin’ where you were…”

“Well, here I am!” Connie hissed, fingering herself in the chest and speaking a little too loudly. “He needs to pull that stick out of his ass!”

“Uh, Connie…” Nick’s eyes had widenend as they focused over the rehead’s shoulder. Kevin was marching down the corridor and was only a few feet away.

“I mean it, Nick! He’s not the boss of me!”

“Uh, Connie…”

“What was that all about? Tapping his wrist like I was late for homeroom or something… “

“Con…”

“It’s night like he’s been crying himself to sleep every night! In fact, from what I’ve read and seen, it’s been party time in Backstreet Land!”

The hairs on the back of Connie’s neck stood at attention as she finally noticed that Nick wasn’t focusing on her. A shadow had appeared across half of his face, Someone was blocking the overhead light and from the sick smile that had formed on Nick’s face, she knew immediately who stood directly behind her. She swallowed slowly, drew a deep breath and turned. Kevin didn’t speak. He just… seethed. Connie’s cocky monologue screeched to a halt. After a moment, Kevin spoke to Nick although his eyes continued to lock with Connie’s. She only saw his half of their brief conversation.

“Nick, I’m going last tonight. You’ll be number four…… I know. I’ll be along in a minute……. I’ll be there…. Howie’s just coming up. I figure I have about twenty minutes. Go.”

There was another pause and Connie risked a glance over her shoulder only to see Nick hurrying down the hallway. Others standing close by were staring. Connie faced him again, this time with a look of apprehension.

“I-I sure am good at making you mad, aren’t I…” She tried to plant a diffusing smile on her face but her lips didn’t seem to be capable of movement. Her throat was suddenly parched.

“What you’re good at,” Kevin growled as he grabbed her forearm, “is making me crazy. Come on. We’re gonna have a few words….”

Chapter 82

She found herself hopping down the hallway, taking about four steps to each of his giant strides.

“Where are we going? Kevin? Where are you taking me? You have to sing! You’d better…”

Kevin’s head turned for a split second as he pulled her down venue corridor behind him. “Shut up, Connie….”

He stopped in front of a door marked ‘Electrical’ and tried the knob. It was locked.

“Shit!”

Kevin hurried down to the next steel door. This one had ‘Audio Visual’ painted across the front. He tried the knob. It turned easily in his hand and he pushed the door open, felt for a light switch and pulled Connie in behind him – none too gently. Before Connie had another chance to speak, she felt herself pushed up against another cement block wall – this one pale yellow. When she opened her mouth in protest, Kevin flew in for the kill. His mouth covered hers and his tongue blocked any sounds she might have made. It wasn’t so much a kiss as it was a passionate assault.

Finally, he broke away and faced her. They were both out of breath and practically panting.

“Why did you leave like that?” he demanded to know, fisting his hands in her hair. “You ran out in front of everybody!”

The glaze that had settled in Connie’s eyes after his kiss suddenly sharpened into fiery sparks. “Why do you think I left?” she spat. “You hurt my damn feelings!”

“My fuckin’ feelings have been hurtin’ for nine damn days!” Kevin shouted back angrily. “All I hear from you is chit=chat shit!”

Connie watched as his eyebrows shot up and his head began to bob with his words. She knew he was speaking in a falsetto voice, mimicking her.

“Dear Kevin…. How’s it going? I hear the tour is doing really well. That’s great! I’m taking a class now. I’m so excited…Blah, blah, blah…”

“I wrote you every day, Kevin! How did that hurt your feelings? I wasn’t out partying like you! I wasn’t dancing the night away with groupies!”

“Neither was I!” Kevin yelled. “I stopped at a couple of parties to see friends! Then I went back to the hotel or the bus and played with my goddamn self like a thirteen year old boy! Every fuckin’ time I checked my email, I got a weather report or local news update! You think I give a flying fuck about some new program you bought for the computer or whether or not it rained in Orlando? “

“What did you want? “ Connie huffed. “Email isn’t exactly intimate, you know…”

“You could have told me you love me….you need me….you want me….”

“I did!”

“No, you didn’t. You said you missed me. You said you were thinking about me. You said you couldn’t wait to see me. Then, finally, our nine days are over. Are you with me? No. Do you come to the hotel? No. Can I even fuckin’ find you? Hell, no….”

“And when I do get here, you berate me in front of a theater full of people!”

Kevin sighed and dropped his arms. He knew that things would be hard sometimes between him and Connie and cursed the fact that simple telephone conversations would ease so much of his frustration – long distance conversations that they would never have…. everyday intimacies that they would never share.

I’m sorry. I really am. I was lonely, worried, frustrated and…well…”

“Horny?” Connie finished with a hesitant smile.

That tiny sparkle in her eyes undid him. Twenty seconds ago he was mad as hell. He had wanted her to feel bad for causing him such anxiety. Now, he just wanted her.

“Yeeeeeah….” He admitted, weakened by the unexpected change in her tone combined with the wave of sexual energy which had suddenly permeated the room.

“Are you horny now?” she asked in mock innocence.

“God, yes…” Kevin exhaled. “Just look a little south of my belt buckle if you need some proof….”

“You’re standing too close for me to see…” she responded coyly. “I may have to use one of my three remaining senses.”

Kevin dropped his forehead against hers, eager to participate in this sexual game. “Well, he ain’t learned to talk yet, so you don’t have to worry about hearing him anyway…”

“Oh, I think ‘he’ speaks quite eloquently, Kevin – without saying a word….” When Connie pushed her hand down between their bodies, she discovered that ‘he’ was doing more than just speaking. She watched Kevin’s eyes close as she stroked his length through the thin denim and knew that he was groaning. A tiny bead of sweat trickled down the side of his face. “I think he’s screaming, baby….”

It should have been one of those ‘time stands still’ moments. Unfortunately, they didn’t have that luxury. Connie could feel Kevin murmuring into the side of her face, his breath scrolling across her skin in warm waves. He was pushing his hardness rhythmically against her hip, He was turned on. Way on…..

“How much time do we have?”

Kevin raised his arm and took a look at his watch.

“Ten minutes..” he sighed as he bent to her face and moved his tongue along her jaw line. "Twelve, tops..."

“Do we have enough time?”

Kevin’s groin was throbbing. He would find the time.

“If we use eleven minutes and leave me one minute to run back to the stage, I think we can do it. I know I can do it but allotted time for foreplay will be cut and recovery time…”

“Jesus, Kevin! This isn’t the Science Fair! Do you want to do it or not?”

For a moment Kevin looked a little stunned. He really hadn’t meant to sound so clinical but there was the show…..

“Hell, yes!”

Connie glanced around the room and then ran across the tile to a large speaker that was pushed against an opposite wall. Kevin just stared as she threw herself across the top of the large box and lifted her skirt. Creamy mounds of flesh were divided by a thin strip of dark green silk. He stood, fascinated, as Connie spread her legs slightly and looked back at him over her shoulder. The crotch of her narrow panties were already darkened by a sexual dampness. Foreplay wouldn’t be a factor.

“Well, come on!”

She didn’t have to say it twice….