Introduction: Our Story Begins
Ah, peace and quiet...Kate Nicoletti thought. It was hard to find on a tour bus
with five men under the age of thirty. Music played. Videos were watched.
Computerized games made all sorts of strange noises. Add that to more than
one voice chattering and you had a cacophony of sound that would drive a
lesser soul insane. Luckily, in the many months she had traveled with this ‘boy
band’ she had learned to tune out most of it. Right now, they were unusually
quiet and she had to wonder if it werepossible they had all fallen asleep.
“It’s Kate’s birthday in a few weeks,” Lake announced when all five gathered in
the compartment of the tour bus not occupied by Kate. “We really should do
something special for her.”
“Like?” Josh didn’t know what Lake had in mind.
“I don’t know. Something. Last year, she stayed in her room.”
“We could take her to dinner,” Joe offered.
“A date of six?” Josh queried.
“We could throw a party for her,” Lansten offered.
Lake grinned. “A non-alcoholic party.”
“Yeah, communion wine is her alcohol consumption,” Joe laughed. “I can call
Mama Maggie and ask for a hint of what to get Kate.”
“Mama Maggie?” Josh asked.
“Kate’s mom. She’s a great older lady. Sharp and funny. A lot like Kate.”
Serious business-like Kate could be fun?
Kate found her peace short lived. About ten minutes after she had the thought,
all five men entered the compartment where she had taken refuge.
“Hey, Kate.” Lake the youngest of the group plopped down next to her. Lake
was the ‘sex symbol’ of the group, Kate mused. Yeah, if you were twelve. His
blonde curls, big blue eyes, and boyish grin could make an eight year old
swoon.
“What’re you doin’?” Joe asked. He was her first friend of the group. They
shared an Italian heritage. Being an unabashed flirt, he was outgoing and made
a large friendly presence for Kate. Joe knew her best.
Lansten, her absolute favorite, sat on her other side. Though he had a sexy bass
voice, Lansten had a sweet look of boyishness about him. And his country
gentleman manner never ceased to please.
Chris sat next to Joe. He was known as the crazy one -- and he was known for
his zany antics. Kate knew Chris had a serious, sensitive side many people
never suspected. When Chris hurt, he hurt deeply and in silence.
Then there was Josh. Except for his public bio, Kate couldn’t say she knew him
at all. Words like serious, focused and shy had been used to describe him, but
on stage he lost all self-consciousness. He didn’t call on her services as much
as the others. He had never tried to befriend her as the others had. She had
very little interaction with the blue-eyed singer. To the others, she was
combination sister, mother, and gopher.
Kate indicated her laptop. “I’m making sure you all have a place to sleep
tonight.”
“Do we?” Joe asked.
“Have I ever failed you?”
“Never,” Lansten replied.
“And I never will.”
Josh couldn’t understand why everyone else was so enthralled with Kate. She
had been part of the entourage for some time. She took care of details, made
things run smoothly. They only time he was aware of Kate Nicoletti was when
she wasn’t there doing her job, when things got bogged down.
Lansten and Lake thought of Kate as a well-loved older sister. She listened to
their problems, girls or whatever, dispensing advice if asked. They hung out with
Kate when the older guys went clubbing.
Lake had a girlfriend but Lansten didn’t. Ever more serious-minded and quiet,
Lansten chose Kate’s company over less inviting past times. And she liked the
country music Lansten had grown up on.
Joe, well, his admiration seemingly came from his stomach. Kate was Italian. Her
mother was Italian. When Kate invited Joe home for dinner, he never turned
down an invitation.
Chris, too, enjoyed Kate’s company, saying she was easy-going for the most part
- sometimes, zany, if the circumstances were right.
Kate was okay in Josh’s book. Being petite, she was practically pocket-sized.
She wore her dark brown hair a little below her shoulders. Sometimes, she
pulled it back. Half the time, her amber-brown eyes were hidden behind glasses.
He had heard she was athletic - into jogging and aerobics. Kate wasn’t a
clothes-horse, mainly wearing slacks and blouses with blazers.. She wasn’t one
for jeans and tee-shirts. All together, she was pleasant enough to look at, he
supposed.
Kate looked up to find Josh looking at her, almost studying her. She glanced
down to see if anything had spilled on her shirt. Nope. Pristine as always. What
in the world could he be pondering? Probably looking through her - as he tended
to do. Deciding, she was merely in the line of his gaze, she went back to her
laptop.
Josh had gotten to the studio where the group was to practice a little early. He
was presented with several woman doing aerobics to some fast paced music.
They had their backs to him and not one of them looked like they needed to lose
weight. He especially appreciated the little brunet in the skimpy red leotard. She
had gorgeous legs and dynamite curves. He couldn’t see her face and wondered
exactly who she was. She must know someone in the crew to be in this
studios.
Kate pushed herself hard. She had a lot of extra energy to burn off. The dreaded
three-oh was looming large ahead of her, mere weeks away. No one was
pointing it out to her. It was her own biological clock ticking away. She hadn’t
dated since she had taken this job. She had ended a dead-end relationship and
had wanted a change - She had gotten a change! She was too busy to have a
relationship, since she was never in one place long enough to meet anyone! She
sincerely hoped her birthday would pass without notice.
Joe entered the room moments behind Josh. He teasingly let out a
wolf-whistle.
The women turned to see who had whistled. Surprisingly, none of them seemed
to take offense. In fact, the woman in red laughed.
Kate! Josh snapped his mouth shut once he realized his jaw had dropped. He
never suspected Kate could look so good beneath her usually very proper
clothes.
Walking over to Joe, Kate patted his cheek. “Control yourself, sonny boy.”
“Then go put some clothes on!”
“What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?” she challenged.
“There isn’t anything to it.” Joe tapped his chin thoughtfully. “Or maybe you
should dress that way more often. Think of the impression you’d make.”
Josh couldn’t believe how his friend taunted their assistant.
Kate snorted. “In your dreams.”
“Don’t you know? You’re always in my dreams, Kate.”
Kate grabbed her throat and made a gagging sound.
Joe merely laughed.
“Ladies, our time is up,” Kate announced to her group and the women headed
out the door.
“You could stay and join us,” Joe offered Kate. “You could dance on our
video.”
“Oh, yeah, right.”
“Sure. JC, doesn’t she move like a dancer?” Joe asked the other man.
Until today, Josh had never given any thought to the way Kate moved.
“Uh...sure.”
“And with that ringing endorsement, I’ll take my leave.” Kate went to get her
gear.
Joe watched her leave, then turned to Josh. “You could try being nice to
her.”
“I’m not un-nice to her, “ Josh defended.
“You might even try being friendly,” Joe suggested. He knew Kate believed Josh
ignored her for some vague reason. “She’s a nice person.”
“I’m sure she is. I’m not Lake or Lansten. I don’t need a big sister. I’m not
particularly fond of Italian food---”
“You like your schedule on track. You like your room the way want it. Who do
you think makes sure that happens?”
“It’s her job. I also assume she gets compensated well for her trouble.”
Shaking his head, Joe went to warm-up as the guys trailed in. He was closest to
Josh in age, but he couldn’t say he understood Josh’s ambivalence when it
came to Kate.
“Kate loves dancing and singing according to Mama Maggie,” Joe announced
when the subject of Kate’s birthday came up. “She was sure Kate was going to
make music her life.”
“In a way, she did,” Lansten pointed out.
“Mama Maggie said Kate won all sorts of awards for singing and dancing in high
school and college. There was even talk of her trying out for Miss Wisconsin.”
Joe shrugged. “Then everyone said she was too small to be a good
candidate.”
It was generally agreed around the room that height shouldn’t have
mattered.
“I know she’d won a couple of karaoke contests,” Lansten added. “She and her
best friend in college used to be partners. Marie broke up the duo when she
entered the convent.”
Chris laughed incredulously. “Kate’s best friend became a nun?”
“I remember Kate telling me about some of their youthful escapades,” Lake said.
“Pretty tame stuff. Marie always knew she wanted to be a nun. Kate was always
‘the good girl’. They were tagged the Nun and the Virgin.”
Josh listened in amazement. The others knew so much about Kate. He hadn’t
known she was from Wisconsin - or that she liked music - or that she was a
‘good girl’. In fact, he didn’t know anything about Kate Nicoletti. He hadn’t
bothered to learn. He had told himself he merely hadn’t sough her out. If he was
truthful, he had avoided her for the most part. Josh was beginning to wonder
why.