Birds In Your Garden: Chapter 9
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The crowd was screaming wildly as Rachel and Jana sat in the pit looking up to the stage as the boys were lifted up in their hydraulics. This was a whole new perspective for Jana, being on the other side of the routines, knowing exactly where everyone was waiting, anticipating and seeing it all fall into place as it played out in front of her. She was glad for Rachel's company because she was able to sit back with someone instead of think that she should still be up there. Just watching them made her muscles ache to follow the steps.

However, she did like being able to keep her eye on Kevin and just how well he did move across the stage with total appreciation. There was something to be said for this view and wasn't altogether sure this wasn't the best view. The opening sequence made her smile in their perfect timing and the distinctive, direct moves, saluting the audience to every direction in perfect unison without missing a beat and she definitely noticed both Nick and Kevin hitting the moves more swiftly tonight. She glanced over to Rachel and nudged her. "I think they're showing off," she giggled.

"Let's hope so!" Rachel laughed, reaching into the inside pocket of her jacket and pulling out a small flask. She took a quick sip and looked over her shoulder before offering it to Jana.

"Damn, Fatima is brilliant," Jana said with a shake of her head and a wide smile, taking the flask and taking a drink before handing it back to Rachel slyly.

"Lookit his little butt shake!" Rachel giggled, nudging Jana.

"Which one?" she giggled in return.

"At least they're standing next to each other," Rachel said as Kevin strutted across the stage near Nick. "It's easier to watch them both."

"I am so stealing that coat after this tour," Jana said.

"It's twelve sizes too big for you!"

"Yeah, but I can make him wear it. Just to watch it flutter around when he struts across the room." She covered her mouth and laughed. "God, I sound like one of the fans!"

"It's hard not to when they're up there," Rachel admitted, sneaking another sip. She poked Jana, handing the flask to her again. "Look, that's my boyfriend!" she teased, pointing to Nick.

"Look, there's mine!" Jana giggled back, sneaking another sip. "He may hate learning the dances, but shit, he makes them work."

"Economy of movement," Rachel agreed with a wide grin and a nod. "Kev's all about economy of movement."

"He moves like liquid, doesn't he?"

"You tell me," Rachel said, turning to lift an eyebrow at Jana playfully, making Jana break into laughter. When she looked back up on stage, she could see Nick pass Kevin a question in a look and Kevin looked over to them.

"Next time they look over, what do you say we flash 'em?" Jana giggled into Rachel's ear.

"Oh, God, Nick would fall flat on his face!" Rachel howled, watching them finish 'Larger Than Life' as the stage went dark.

Each song was filled with laughter and playful teasing, each of them breaking up whenever one of them would come by and sing to them. Both Jana and Rachel had the sleeve that was torn off from their costumes in 'Not For Me' tossed at them with a smirk. They pointed and made alluring gestures to each of them as they came out in their white suits before falling over into giggles.

~

AJ was at the edge of the stage, singing his heart out to the end of 'I'll Never Break Your Heart', driving the audience on. Kevin stepped back across the stage and glanced over to Nick, lifting his eyebrow to him and nonchalantly nodding to Rachel and Jana still giggling in the pit. Nick responded with his own eyebrow lift and took a few steps towards Kevin and they both headed up to the front of the stage as the band jammed out three, solid, straight chords of the next song.

This was where they drove the audience wild by tossing their jackets, shirts and cummerbunds out into the pit in front of them. Both Kevin and Nick stood directly in front of Jana and Rachel and each of the caught the eyes of the girls, staring hard and directly down to them as they threw the articles of clothing off in their direction. Rachel grabbed Nick's shirt and held it up to her face in an over-excited teenage fan manner, jumping up and down and tossed it back carelessly - knowing she'd miss the stage but make her point.

Jana grabbed Kevin's cummerbund and wrapped it around her neck, pulled it in front to cover her breasts and lifted her eyebrows to Kevin, still staring at her as he tried to hide the laugh. She then wrapped it around her head and gave him a peace sign with her hands before handing it to the wardrobe person collecting the clothes.

There would be reports of this all over the place within an hour of the show ending, he knew. It didn't seem to matter. When she was up on stage with him, he hadn't been able to do any of this regardless of how much he had wanted to. He made a point of not paying too much attention to them, knowing this was for the fans, not himself, but when he did get the chance to catch her watching him, he couldn't help but like the fact she was down there and not on the stage with him. She wanted to be there and dance. He sensed it and knew it, watched it when she made certain hand gestures or kicked her foot out in some dance step she was doing in her head. But he still liked to be able to look down and see her looking back at him. He liked performing for her. He liked that she was just like the other boys' girls now. Not different. Not special. Perhaps it was selfish, but he liked seeing her there, supporting him. He liked watching her joke around with Rachel and laugh, just kicking back and letting herself enjoy it all. He hadn't seen her have so much fun since the beginning of the tour - since before this all got so involved.

There would have to be more laughter. More people that accepted this whole situation to balance out those that didn't. Right now, as he glanced over to Nick doing his verse, thrusting his hips in Rachel's direction as he sang 'sexuality' and wanted to hug him for bringing Rachel back into the fold - even if it was just for these next few hours because they were clearly having fun together.

As the song finished, Kevin went center stage with AJ, checking out one of the gifts thrown on stage for them. Nick peeked his head through, wrapping an arm over their shoulder and holding a water bottle, which AJ promptly took hold of and started shaking in Jana and Rachel's direction. Commenting "it's hot in here, isn't it? Isn't it?" with a look into the camera. "I know who else needs cooling off," he said, turning on Nick and pouring the remains over his head as he backed away. "Sorry, Kev, none left for you!" he said mischievously at Kevin's smirk. "So, Portland, I have a question for you all. Do you, or do you not like what we are wearing?"

Kevin hung back, letting the rest of them disappear through the wardrobe box, closed the lid with his usual commenting of "Finally, it's just me and you" and played out the rest of the lead in to the video tape. As he climbed through the box and gave the signal to roll tape, he jumped down the rest of the way and started changing quickly to make his way to the center stage in time.

"Yo, man, what the heck are they laughing at?" Nick asked him with a smile.

"Us, you freak," Kevin answered with a grin.

"I'm tellin' ya right now," AJ said, "whatever they're laughing at is all about them comparing notes. You know how girls are. Talk-talk-talk-talk-talk…" He joined his fingers to his thumb in the universal sign for 'babble.' "Nothing is sacred after tonight."

"Probably not," Kevin agreed with a laugh. "How confident are you, little man?" he asked, poking Nick in the shoulder.

"Confident?" Nick asked, buttoning his shirt as they walked. "Very."

"Oh, so she is a wanton sex goddess?" AJ asked, wrapping his arm around Nick's shoulder.

"Wanton more and more," Nick beamed with a smile.

~

"Okay, Nick is good and all," Rachel said to Jana as 'If You Stay' started, "but this song is all about Kevin." Jana looked up, unable to keep the smile from her face as she watched Kevin's fluid movements. "Has he ever been a lap dancer?" Rachel asked, nudging Jana with a giggle.

"I can't answer that on the grounds that it may incriminate me," Jana laughed, taking her turn at the almost empty flask and dropped her head against Rachel's shoulder. "But I've seen this act a bit more privately once or twice," she said, making them bust out laughing again.

"I may have to envy you," Rachel teased, taking back the flask.

"You should," Jana said with assurance as Kevin swiveled his hips around.

"I should," Rachel said with a slow nod, also catching the move.

Jana felt her chest tighten, knowing the next song coming would be where she felt the most desire to be on stage. 'Shining Star' had been her favorite dance to do, and she had always had so much fun with Nick and AJ. She'd never really noticed Kevin in the first half of the song because she'd been concentrating on her steps while he disappeared to change mid-song.

"This one is all about Nick," Jana said to Rachel, watching Nick strut around the stage. He stood directly in front of Rachel in his verse and kept his eyes directly on her as his hands motioned down his torso and he thrust his hips quickly before strutting over to the other side. He glanced back over his shoulder and gave her his special grin with a wink. This song was all Nick's confidence to a Latino beat, playful and exuding a raw sexuality that she didn't even think the audience understood as well as Nick did.

Rachel sighed and shook her head. "Think they'd mind if I dragged him down here for a quickie?" as Nick lowered to his knees and pointed to her as he wailed his harmony of 'you're my shining star…'

"They might notice, yeah," Jana laughed. "I wouldn't suggest it unless you want to be stoned or ripped limb from limb by the jealous ones out there."

"Defeats the purpose, I think," Rachel agreed. "I'll wait."

"Good plan."

A bit later Kevin appeared, wearing a tight fitting white tank top and white cotton pants to introduce the band, and Jana reached over to grab Rachel's arm. "Does he always have that build or does this outfit just…"

"The outfit is amazing," Rachel said, patting her hand with a laugh. "Yeah, he pretty much always looks like that when he's in a snug shirt."

"Remind me to toss out his baggy clothes, okay?"

"Not a problem." As Nick and Kevin traded places in introducing the band, Rachel giggled. "How cute is he? He's such a boy sometimes it kills me!"

"But he's a cute boy!" Jana laughed.

"I know, and I have to leave!" She glanced down to her watch and back up to the stage. Nick was in the back introducing the keyboardist and not watching, but she couldn't wait for him to look up. She had to catch her plane and meet with her band. She turned, hugging Jana with a giggle. "Tell him I said bye for me when you see him?"

"Absolutely. I'll try to console him, but I doubt it'll work."

She watched Rachel disappear as she headed across the front of the stage before her attention was brought back to the show. She could feel her hand tingling and her throat getting sore with her cheers for the band and the dancers. Most of the dancers had made eye contact or motioned to her during the show at some point. She loved the response she got, but it also tugged at her, wishing she could still be with them all, taking her moment in the spotlight.

~

"Not very sneaky were you?" Kevin asked knowingly after Jana jumped into his arms and kissed him backstage.

"Sneaky about what?" she asked innocently.

Kevin grinned down to her and licked his lips. "Rum? In a flask?" he asked. "Little tipsy, are we?"

"Little buzzed, yeah," Jana admitted with a silly grin.

Kevin turned to Nick, already heading down the hallway towards his bus. "Hey!" he called after him. "First diner we find we're stopping!"

"Yeah!" Nick called with a wave of his hand, heading off alone.

"I mean it!" Kevin called after him, knowing he was already missing Rachel and hoping the company would cheer him up slightly.

"In that case, we don't have much time, do we?" Jana chuckled, taking his hand.

"What happened out there?" he laughed, calling to Brian, AJ and Howie to stop at the first diner as well.

"Good vantage point makes all the difference in the world," Jana told him as he paused to kiss her against the wall. "And that's not helping. Damn, you're fuckable when you're hot and sweaty."

"You toured with us. Why wasn't I this irresistible then?" he asked, pulling his head back.

"Don't be losin' the star power here, Kevin." She shook her head at him pointedly. "Catch up, Kentucky-boy. Go with the flow."

"I'm goin'! I'm goin'!" he laughed, taking her hand and starting down the hall again towards the buses.

~

By the time they were on the bus, Jana had pulled Kevin's robe most of the way off and was leading him towards the back of the bus by the towel wrapped around his neck, laughing. She walked backwards, kissing him in between steps, pausing briefly so he could tell the driver to stop at the first diner before being pulled to the back.

Once the door was closed, she was kneeling on the bed, ready to pull the white tank top he was wearing over his head. His skin was still glistening from performing and his hair was damp and curling at the ends when she reached up to put her hand on the back of his neck, pulling him down onto the mattress in a kiss.

"Dayum, Jan," he chuckled, before she kissed him again.

"How many times do I have to tell you I want you before you catch the clue, Kevy?" she giggled, reaching down to undo his trousers and push as much of the material as she could over his hips. "There's condoms in the front pocket of my bag," she directed as she sat up and pulled her tee shirt over her head.

He stood up, tugging the rest of his clothes off and getting the condom as she undressed. He knelt on the end of the bed watching her with a playful smirk, rolling the condom over his erection. All she had to do was tell him she wanted him and he was hard. Watching her undress just helped him along that much further, but when she pushed herself up towards the headboard, looked him in the eye and started touching herself, he nearly reached his orgasm.

"I'm waiting," she giggled, stretching a hand out for him. "I didn't drag you back here so fast to do this by myself, you know."

"But you're doing such a good job," he told her in a deep voice, climbing over the bed and running his hands up the inside of her legs.

"I'm sure you can do a better job," she said, taking hold of his erection and running the tip along her clit several times, watching him close his eyes and take a staggering breath before guiding him inside and lifting her hips to greet his thrust. "A much better job," she sighed, biting her bottom lip.

~

"And here we have the freshly fu… erm, newly romanced old man himself!" AJ called across the diner as he led Jana over to the table. "So, tell us, J, has old age made a difference in the old dude?"

"I'll never tell," she laughed, hugging Kevin's arm with a sly smile.

"She's smilin'," Howie said, nudging AJ. "Maybe his body hasn't caught up to his mind yet?"

"There is absolutely not a single, solitary thing wrong with Kevy's body," Jana proclaimed with a lifted eyebrow, leaning over to run her hand over Kevin's chest. "Not a one."

"Yeah, but I don't think you're a very bi-partisan judge on this now, are you?"

"Wow, you know the definition of bi-partisan?" Kevin asked calmly, sitting back in the chair smugly as he draped his arm over the back of Jana's chair.

"Nyah-nyah!" AJ snickered with a scowl.

"I rest my case." Kevin nodded with a slow smile. "I'm thirty, boys, not 130," he said as the rest of the table groaned with 'oooh's and 'ouches' and playful winces of pain at the mention of thirty.

"What?" Nick asked coming up to the table with Rachel.

"Rachel!" Jana exclaimed in shock along with the others.

"Her plane was cancelled," Nick beamed happily. "She came back!"

"What were you all groaning at when we walked in?" she asked, kissing Kevin's cheek with a happy birthday.

"Thirty!" Howie cringed as Nick winced and plopped himself down next to Kevin.

Kevin turned to look at him and Nick stood up, offering the chair to Rachel and shifted over one. "What is it, little man? Aging isn't contagious."

"No, but I was in striking range, dude," Nick laughed. "Then again, isn't strength one of those things that goes when you get old, man?" Kevin stood up slightly and leaned around Rachel, smacking Nick in the back of the head as Nick lifted his shoulders and ducked. "Hey! He's pretty dang quick for an old guy!" He pointed his thumb at Kevin.

"Watch it, Punk," Rachel said, elbowing Nick. "Age does not discriminate, you know."

"Can you define discriminate?" Kevin leaned over asking Nick.

"I can spell old. K-e-v-i-n."

Kevin reached around and smacked his head again and looked to Rachel. "He's not a very fast learner, is he?"

"Doesn't have to be," she replied. "He's cute."

"Hey!" Nick whined.

"How the hell did you get here so fast?" Brian asked, walking in with his bodyguard. "Arthritis meds working, are they?"

Kevin rolled his eyes and dropped his shoulders. "All right already! Enough with the old jokes!"

"They've just started, dude!" AJ laughed.

"Know what comes with age, boys?" Kevin asked, looking around the table as Brian sat down at the table. "Wisdom."

"Oh, geez," Howie groaned.

"Know what that means?" Kevin asked.

"Blah-blah-blah-blah-blah-blah," AJ said rolling his eyes.

"Translated for the outsiders," Nick laughed, "Kevin lectures. 'You should…why don't you…don't you listen?'"

"And how many times have any of you listened?" Kevin asked, pointing around the table.

"It's a wonder we're still alive," Brian said in his Donald Duck voice, widening his eyes at Kevin with a laugh.

"Fuck off, all of you!" Kevin chucked.

"Oh, poor baby!" Jana pouted at him and patted the top of his head. "What they'll never have, dear? Your smoldering sexuality." She turned his face towards her and kissed him.

"Dang, did you have more rum than Rache?" Nick asked. "Are you blind, girl?"

"No, blond flirty one," she said, shaking her head at him, "just observant. Sexuality comes with age. You're just barely starting, my dear child. Just a baby."

"Hey! Rache! I'm sexy!" he squealed, nudging her as Rachel turned her head sideways to check out Kevin with an appreciative nod. "Hey! Stop that!"

Rachel leaned forward to look at Jana. "You might have a point."

"I know I do," she giggled

"What was that? Blah-blah-blah-blah-blah?" Howie interjected. "Can we order before Kevin turns another year older?"

"Aw, Howie," Jana pouted at him. "We love you too!"

"Love-fest!" AJ called, wrapping his arms around Brian and Howie and pulling them into him, tousling their hair.

"Don't mess with the hair, dude!" Howie exclaimed, pushing AJ away and smoothing his hands over his waves with a sharp look.

"Ooh! The hair!" AJ teased, tousling it again for good measure and earning a smack.

"Hi," the waitress said coming to the table with a huge smile. "What can I get you?"

Once the orders were placed, AJ turned to Kevin. "So? What'd she get you?"

"Get me?" Kevin asked, looking to Jana.

"Oh!" she exclaimed. "It's on the bus. Wait right here!"

"Sex toys?" AJ called after her hopefully.

"You are such a boy!" Jana called back to him with a shake of her head. "And if they were, do you really think I'd bring them into the restaurant?"

"If you were secure in your sexuality, you would!" Kevin laughed, looking over his shoulder at her with a smile.

Jana stopped and turned, placing her hands on her hips, and lifted an eyebrow at him. "Uh, excuse me, old man?" she asked as the table broke into laughter. "Do you have some kind of problem with my sexuality?"

"I love all nine letters of your sexuality, baby," he replied in a deep voice, looking at her with a drop of his chin and seductive look.

"Hmm," she scoffed and headed back out. Rachel stood up and followed her quickly with a giggle as the rest of the table looked at Kevin with amused expressions.

"What?" he asked.

"Suck up," Howie chastised playfully.

"Wimp," Brian coughed into his hand.

"Whipped, dude!" AJ howled.

Kevin turned and looked at Nick expectantly. "I'm not sayin' a word. You'll smack me again."

"It's love," Brian said easily with a shrug.

Kevin nodded and closed his eyes briefly without denial. "Can't deny that."

"Whipped!" AJ teased again.

"Yeah, should I talk to Sarah?" Kevin asked.

"Whipped," Brian coughed into his hand again, nudging AJ.

"Dude!" AJ said, looking to Kevin. "You're fuckin'…like, thirty, dawg! How'd you get so friggin' old? I can't believe it's been…this long. You were only twenty last week, weren't you?"

"Feels like it, doesn't it?" Kevin grinned, rubbing his chin. "Dang, ten years looking at your mugs… Hell!"

"Here we are!" Rachel said, returning with the waitress and Jana.

Kevin's pancakes had a candle stuck in them, and everyone broke out into the 'Happy Birthday' song as Kevin shook his head, looking at his plate before glancing up to Rachel. "You?" he asked, pointing to Rachel as the waitress placed the rest of their orders on the table.

"It's not a birthday without blowing out candles!" she giggled, sitting back down.

"Yeah, dawg, and if we lit thirty of 'em, they'd have to call in the fire marshall to douse 'em!" Nick cackled, ducking behind Rachel as Kevin reached over again. "Missed me!"

"Go on! Make a wish!" Rachel encouraged, and Kevin took a deep breath, looked up to the ceiling in thought and blew out his candle.

"And?" Nick asked.

Rachel shook her head quickly. "You can't tell! It won't come true!"

"So, how do you know if it does?" Nick questioned.

"I'll let you know, little man," Kevin chuckled.

"Okay, here it is," Jana said, lifting a large, wrapped box up and handing it to Kevin as he pushed his chair back, bugging his eyes.

"You didn't hide this on our bus," he said, pointing to the box.

"No, I hid it on Nick's, under the disaster he's already made out of it," she said with a wink to Nick.

"So!" Howie said impatiently. "Open it!"

Kevin started ripping the paper apart and handed the shreds to Jana and Rachel until he got to the large clothing box and glanced to Jana curiously before taking off the lid. His eyes bugged out as he pushed the tissue paper aside and his mouth dropped open, looking back to Jana in complete shock. "No fucking way!"

"Way!" Jana laughed as Kevin sat back further, letting the box fall to the floor and holding up a blue sports jacket in amazement. "Thank my mom, actually."

"What is it?" AJ asked.

"His football jacket from high school," Brian said, his voice light in shock. "Where the heck did you find that?"

"He gave it to me," Jana said. "And when he left, I put it in a box with a bunch of other stuff. Mom sent me the box a few days ago and there it was."

"Dude, there's no way that ever fit you!" Nick exclaimed.

"It did," he said, staring at the blue and white jacket, slowly shaking his head in shock. "Dang," he muttered softly, turning to kiss Jana before looking back at the jacket.

"You were a little thang!" Nick exclaimed with a laugh, pointing to the jacket.

"So were you, you little toothpick!" Brian pointed out to him.

"I can't believe…" Kevin stammered.

"I figured you might want it back now," Jana said with a shrug.

"Wow," Kevin said, unable to find anything else to say. He leaned over and kissed her again before shaking his head at the jacket once more.

"God dayum, Kevin's speechless! Where's that damn video camera now?" AJ said.

"Your pancakes are getting cold," Jana prompted Kevin with a smile. "Put it back in the box and eat."

"You amaze me sometimes," he said to her as she picked up the box and took the jacket from him, folding it back up neatly.

"You told me that about an hour ago," she giggled.

"Aw, man, some of us are eating!" Howie moaned jokingly.

"Oh, get your mind out of the gutter!" Jana chastised, tossing a French fry at Howie. "I happen to be amazing at many things, not just sex, thank you very much."

"Another Wanton Sex Goddess?" AJ exclaimed excitedly.

"Hey!" Nick and Rachel chimed in.

"Not another, no," Kevin clarified quickly, lifting his hands. "And why don't we change the topic away from how amazing sex is with my girlfriend so Howie here can finish his food, huh?"

"But that's no fun," AJ whined. "I already know how amazing sex is with my girlfriend. And I've personally heard how good sex is with Nick's. So, come on, Kev! Share! Open up!" His voice softened into a more therapeutic tone. "Tell us all about it."

"You know, AJ," Jana said, reaching over and patting AJ's hand, "some things even you aren't able to handle. That conversation would be one of them."

She smiled and released his hand as Howie dropped his fork on the plate and blinked at them. "Okay, enough," he teased. "Check?"

"Please, Mister Latin Lover!" AJ scoffed.

"There are girls present," Nick said. "This isn't proper table conversation, is it, Kevin?"

"Good boy," Kevin said proudly. "Only took ten years but you finally listened to something I had to say about manners and good graces."

"As he feels me up under the table," Rachel added, giving Nick a stern look as everyone else burst into laughter.

"I give up!" Kevin exclaimed, lifting his hands up and shaking his head towards the ceiling. "I've tried! God, I've tried but there's only so much I can do here!"

"He was doing just fine," Rachel said as Nick buried his head into his folded arm, caught between laughter and embarrassment.

"And you're going to be turned off by AJ asking about good sex?" Kevin asked Howie.

"This whole thing has just gotten way out of hand," Brian said, quickly lifting a finger to Rachel before she could make another comment. "UH! No! Not another word out of that corner of the table."

"I'm done," Howie announced and stood up. "See you in Boise."

"Yeah, me too," AJ said standing up, but Brian grabbed his belt loop and pushed him back into his chair. "What?"

"Kevin is not paying for this," Brian said. "Howie's paid your share enough, so it's your turn. Kevin, Jana, have a good night. Nick, don't even think it." He pointed Nick back to his chair as he stood.

"But AJ owes me too, dawg!" Nick whined.

"One fortune at a time," Brian said.

"Thanks, fellas," Kevin chuckled, waiting for Jana to stand up and putting his box under his arm. "See you in Boise."

Birds In Your Garden: Chapter 9
Page 36 | Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39

Birds In Your Garden Disclaimer | Email Coriander

Read the companion story:
Oreos for Breakfast (Nick Fanfic)
by The Pumpkin Coach & Paperbag Princess

c. 2001, 2002 by Coriander
Some content not suitable for children. You have been warned.