Several weeks later.....
“I am so glad it’s finally time for spring break,” Destiny said. She was walking with a classmate named Maria.
“So am I,” she agreed. “I am so ready for a vacation. Is Alex here to pick you up?”
“No, he has tour rehearsals until the 15th. Then he’ll leave for about a month,” Destiny told her.
“Aren’t you going with him?” asked Maria.
“No, not this time. It’s only a month. It hardly seems worth missing school for. I mean, it’s great touring with him, but now that I’m almost through with my junior year, and I’m four months pregnant, I don’t think I’ll be travelling with him for a while.”
“Wow,” Maria said, amazed. “I can’t believe that AJ McLean of the Backstreet Boys is going to be a father. And you’re going to have his baby. You don’t understand how many girls would love to be in your position right now. Hell, I’d love to be in your position.”
“I’m very lucky to have Alex,” Destiny said. “But I didn’t marry him because he’s a Backstreet Boy. I love Alex and he loves me, too. There are so many things about him that the fans don’t get to see.”
“Yeah, but he is a Backstreet Boy. He’s rich, he’s famous all over the world, he’s sexy beyond belief. Surely that has it’s perks. Maybe you could become a singer, too. I’ve heard you sing. You have a great voice.”
“The last thing I want to do is be a famous singer. I’ve seen what happens behind the scenes. All the trouble the Boys had with the lawsuits they had with their record company, their former managers, their distribution company. That was really hard for them to deal with. And there’s another lawsuit going on right now between the guys and their former manager, Lou Pearlman.”
“Still, even if you don’t get a job, worry about how you’re gonna make money, you don’t even have to go to school. I don’t know why you’re here when you could be in Orlando just relaxing in front of the TV all day.”
Destiny stopped and looked at Maria. “Listen to me. I married Alex because I love him, not because he’s rich, famous, and sexy beyond belief. I didn’t even know he was a Backstreet Boy when I met him. If he had been just a regular guy with a regular job, I’d still love him.”
“But you do understand that he’s not just a regular guy,” Maria said. “He’s a.....”
“I know, I know,” Destiny said, walking again. “He’s a Backstreet Boy.”
They continued walking to Destiny’s house in silence. When they reached it, Destiny took out her keys and opened the door. The two girls threw their books on the couch and Destiny turned on her stereo system with the remote, hitting the play button for the CD player. The last part of ‘I Wanna Love You Forever’ came on. Maria listened for a minute, then realized it wasn’t Jessica Simpson singing. She turned to Destiny.
“That’s you on that CD,” she said.
“I know,” Destiny said.
“When did you do this?”
“A couple weekends ago. Alex wanted a CD of me singing so he could listen to it while I was gone. I recorded my favorite songs on Jessica Simpson’s album, ‘Sweet Kisses’.”
Just then, “Where You Are”, the duet between Destiny and AJ, came on. Maria sat quietly and listened. Destiny pretended she was looking through one of her books. Neither said anything until the song was over.
“That was so good,” Maria said. “Wow, you guys sound great together.”
“Thanks,” Destiny said. “Jessica did it with her boyfriend, Nick Lachey, from 98 Degrees.”
“Well, I’m sure you and Alex sound better than those two.”
“I doubt that, but thanks for the compliment.”
Maria smiled. “No problem. Now, let’s get to work on these assignments. Tomorrow is the last day of school and I intend have all my work done by Saturday so I can party my spring break away.”
Destiny laughed. Then she sat next to Maria on the couch and they got to work.