July 1998

Chris - "Okay the address is 5894 Kings Way."

They were driving up a very long road along the ocean in Florida. When I say they I mean Jessica, Chris, Amy, the make-up girl, and Tim the sound guy, who is also driving. They had rented a SUV like always it's the easiest way to carry all the equipment. They were down in Florida to interview the Backstreet Boys. Their management had invited the crew to this house so that they could get a chance to interview them with out girls screaming outside the window.

Tim - "Wait there it is." They pull up to these huge gates and he pushes the intercom button. After a security check he drives up and park in front of the house. A rather large man comes out and greets them.

Lou - "Hi how are you all doing? Did you have any trouble finding the house?"

Chris - "Oh no, the directions were easy enough."

Lou - "Well come on in I'll introduce you to the boys and show you where to set up."

Everyone goes in, and the entrance is like this huge atrium. Kevin is at the top of the stairs. He sees Jess having trouble with her case so he comes down to help.

Kevin - "Here let me get that for you."

Jess - "Thanks."

Lou - "Oh well this is Kevin, and here comes Howie and Brian." They all come in a handshakes are exhanged. "Where's AJ and Nick?"

Howie - "They're on the deck tanning." They all head out that way. Jess notices how tired the guys all look. It's like they haven't gotten any sleep in a couple days. AJ was actually asleep and did not appreciate being waked up. Lou told them to set up on the deck or down beside the pool. They elected the pool. While the crew was setting up they went in to get changed. Amy made sure that Chris wasn't shiny and Jess set up the camera. She was just screwing it to place when Brian came up behind her.

Brian - "Aren't you kind of little to be running a big camera like that?" She turns around ready to argue when she sees he wasn't trying to be smart he was just asking a question.

Jess - "No it's not that heavy once you get it on the stand. See I can swing it with one hand."

Brian - "Oh okay. I'm Brian."

Jess - "I know I'm Jessica. So are you guys about ready?"

Brian - "Yeah I think so." He goes and sits down on one of the chairs that his manager Donna arranged. The rest of the guys come out and Chris does the interview. Every now and then one of them looks at the camera and makes a funny face. Jess and Amy are really trying not to laugh. Tim just doesn't see any humor in the situation. Finally the interview part is over and everyone can breath normally.

Chris - "Okay guys that's that."

Nick - "Cool now we can take you out on the boat."

Chris - "Boat?" He is afraid of boats.

Nick points to this huge boat tied to the dock. The house is next to a private bay that is shared by about five houses, including this one.

Jess - "Tim and I can go. You don't have to."

Chris - "No I'll go." They pack up for the boat. Jess starts lugging the camera down and this time Howie takes it from her.

Howie - "Here let me. So you're Jessica right?"

Jess - "Yeah." Where they talking about me when I wasn't paying attention, she thinks.

Howie - "Ever been out in the ocean?"

Jess - "Kind of, I'm from New York and we once to a mini cruise at school that took us down to Baltimore."

Howie - "That doesn't count you could still see the shore."

Jess - "I wouldn't go out that far Chris will freak." He looks at her kind of weird.

They get to the boat and Chris gets pale as soon as he steps on the deck. Jess notices and takes him up to the front where no one can hear them. "Uncle Chris are you okay?" He shakes his head. "Now listen this is a big boat it's very modern I'm sure that they have all kinds of neat little gadgets in there to keep everyone safe. If you get to where you can't do it just say something and we'll go back." He nods and they goto the back with everyone else. Brian and Howie were whispering to each other they both stop when they saw Jess. What is going on with those two? she thought.

Heading out Chris has a death grip on the railing. He does okay for awhile, the guys are more relaxed out here. Nick keeps looking at the water like he could just jump in, he tells Chris that he's a license Scuba diver and asks if he wants to go some time. Chris shakes his head no and Jess can tell he's ready to go back.

Jess - "You know what we have to go back I need a new tape." Chris looks at her thankfully.

Nick - "we've only been out here maybe ten minutes."

Jess - "Sorry. I forgot to grab an extra one." When they get back to the dock and Chris practically runs off the boat. Everyone else gets off more slowly. "You okay."

Chris - "I'm not feeling so good I think I need to go back to the hotel."

Jess - "Okay we'll go."

Chris - "No if they'll let you I want you to stay here and get some more footage."

Jess - "Okay." Lou comes down to the dock and Chris talks to him. It's decided that Jess and Tim will stay to get some shots of the guys goofing around on the boat and Amy's going to take Chris back to the hotel. They're on the boat and ready to go when Tim's equipment starts acting
up. "Well what's wrong with it?"

Tim - "I think it's all the moisture. It is like shorting out."

Jess - "Can you fix it?" he shakes his head. "Okay well I guess that's it then. Thanks for your time but I think we're done for the day."

AJ - "Well what if you just used a regular camcorder."

Jess - "I guess I could. Do you have one." He goes under the deck and gets one. "Okay are you still coming out with us?"

Tim - "No I better get this stuff back to the hotel and get it dried out."

Jess - "Okay. I'll call a cab to get back." He gets off the boat and so does the guy that has been driving it. "Wait where are you going?"

Driver - "I'll be right back."

Jess goes sits down and starts doing some test shots with the camera, great the battery is like almost dead. She starts to say something when she notices they're pulling away from the dock.

Jess - "Hey what's going on?" She stands up and see Lou running as fast as he can back to the dock. From the laughter behind her she guesses that her and the boat have been hijacked. "Ha Ha very funny now let's go back and get the driver."

Kevin - "what I'm perfectly capable of driving this thing." AJ takes of his shirt and stretches out.

AJ - "Relax we just needed a break. We'll go back later."

Jess - "Chris is going to kill me."

Howie - "What is it with you and that guy?"

Nick - "Yeah any way is he your boyfriend or something cause he seems a little old for you."

She laughs - "Yeah he is a little old for me. He's my uncle." they all go oh.

Kevin - "I knew that."

Brian - "you did not."

Kevin - "Well I knew it was some thing like that. So are you going to start using that thing or what?"

Me - "I'd love to but the battery died as we were pulling out."

Nick - "Well we're not going back."

AJ - "there might be another one down stairs you could check."

Jess goes down and there is no battery so she plugs in the one to charge. When she gets back up Kevin had stopped the boat, and Nick is putting on scuba gear.

Jess - "What are you doing?"

Nick - "I'm going down wanna come?"

Jess - "Thanks but I don't exactly have scuba gear."

Nick - "There's probably an extra suit down stairs."

Jess - "okay let rephrase that. I have no idea how and I'm freak out enough about this whole situation."

Nick - "Okay maybe next time." He falls back off the side.

Jess - "Should he be doing that by himself."

Kevin - "Probably not but he would never get to go any other time."

Howie - "Don't worry he's been doing this since he was like 11 he knows what he's doing."

Jess shrugs her shouldrs and goes sits down. She's starting to get a little warm. She had worn black shorts and tee shirt and her feet were starting to sweat in her chucks. There is a little platform off the back to you can get in and out of the water from. So she takes off her shoes and sticks her feet in the water. She was lost in her own thoughts when Brian came up behind her.

Brian - "Want some company?"

Jess - "Sure, have a seat." he sits and sticks his feet in the water.

Brian - "That feels good. So tell me about yourself."

Jess - "What do you want to know?"

Brian - "You grew up in New York what was that like."

Jess - "okay I guess. My brother and I went to a private school so I was kind of sheltered. I wasn't allowed to so anywhere by myself until I was 15 and then I always had to take my brother. Where did you grow up?"

Brian - "Kentucky."

Jess - "Oh that's where the accent's from."

Brian - "How come you don't have an accent."

Jess - "Well neither of my parents are from New York, and my school actually taught you to talk properly."

Brian - "Did you go to college?"

Jess - "yeah I started at NYU and graduated in 96 form UCLA. Where did you go?"

Brian - "I didn't get a chance to go. I join this group when I was 17. I didn't even get to walk across the stage at my graduation." She feels kind of bad for him.

Jess - "You could still go." He smiles a kind of sad smile.

Brian - "I'm 23, I think that's a little late even if I wasn't busy with all of this. It's a trade off. A lot of people would love to be doing what I'm doing now. They probably won't believe that I want to go to school. Sorry you probably don't want to hear all of this."

Jess - "No it's okay, I don't mind. You obviously need some one to talk to."

Brian - "thanks, it is nice..." Nick grabs her foot and pulled her in the water. She came up screaming. Brian and him are pulling her out. Jess starts hitting Nick.

Jess - "why did you do that?"

Nick - "I'm sorry, I thought you were Howie."

Jess - "How could you possible think I was Howie. I'm a girl dammit."

Nick - "yeah I know that." He looks at her chest. Her wet shirt was cling to her body very tightly. She hits him one last time and goes downstairs. Howie gives Nick a look and then follows her.

Howie - "I think there might be something in this closet over here for you to put on." He pulls out a huge shirt. "This must be Lou's." He hands it to her. "Put this on and we'll put your shirt and shorts out to dry." He left and Jess took off her clothes. Then she thought about her underwear. Not in a hurry to let complete strangers see her unmentionables, and the thought of being completely naked under the shirt was not appealing either. She decided to keep them on and just let them dry under the shirt. She goes up and lays her clothes on the deck to dry.

AJ - "Hey why don't you come sit by me it's safer."

Jess - "Some how I doubt that." But she joins him any way. She stretchs out next to him to tan. "You know I'm suppose to be working."

AJ - "So are we but I'm just too tired." They lay there and fall asleep. The hot sun does that to you. Nick, who Jess is still mad at, wakes her up.

Jess - "What?"

Nick - "Um I think you might be burnt." She had been laying on her stomach and yeap managed to burn the back of her legs. "I'm sorry we were eating and forgot about you." Jess gets up and feels her legs.

Jess - "Ouch. Great."

Nick - "I've got some aloe." he gets it and hands it to her. "Need help."

Jess - "No I'll manage." Jess goes down out of the sun. The shirt is too big to get the back of her legs so she took it off. She's trying to get the top of the burn when Brian comes down. She sees him and grabs the shirt to cover herself. He lowers his eyes.

Brian - "Sorry I thought I'd see if you needed help."

Jess - "I can manage."

Brian - "Jessica I saw you can't reach the top. I've already seen you let me help."

Jess - "Okay. Let me put my shirt back on." She pulls it over her head and turns around. He takes the aloe and starts to put it on. His touch is very gentle and it makes the hair on her arms stand up.

Brian - "Lift the back of your shirt up. It's really bad up here maybe you should go to the doctor."

Jess - "No I have to get burned at least once every summer." he puts the aloe on and then blows on it. "What are you doing?!"

Brian - "Sorry I thought it would help it feel better."

Jess - "Well don't do it again." He smiles wickedly at her. "I mean it."

Brian - "Okay. There all done. I think your clothes are dry I'll toss them down."

Jess slowly pull her shorts back on thank god they were cotton otherwise they would not have gone on. Then she joined them on the deckand got a very strong feeling that they were talking about her. They decide it's time to head back. She grabs the camera quick and got some footage so they don't all get it too much trouble. Lou is absolutely furious with them but he doesn't say anything while Jess was there. Brian and Kevin both offered to drive her to the hotel but Lou told them that Donna was going to take her. The whole way back to the hotel she filled her in on typical band info. Like she cared until she said that her husband use to work with NKOTB.

Jess took a good look at her. jess was thankful that Donna didn't recognize her. She was at the not-wedding as it was called it. Jess could not get out of the car quick enough. She went up and told Chris everything that happen well except for Brian blowing on the back of her leg. The next morning they were on a plane back to NYC.

Chapter Fourteen