Sighing happily Rowena closed her book and rolled onto her back. Enjoying the warmth of the sun on her skin she shut her eyes to relax. Taking part in that competition sure had been a good idea! Six days in Puerto Rico for free! What more could you ask for? She was glad that she had come on her own instead of bringing a friend as she had been offered. Not that she didn't want her friends to have a great time here, but time to herself was scarce and she enjoyed the peace and quiet. Besides, she had some thinking to do and that's hard when you have someone around you constantly.

She moved into a more comfortable position and let her thoughts drift. On the whole her life was going very well. She had a good job, lots of friends, a nice home. But still there was something missing. The problem was, that she couldn't figure out what it was. "Oh well," she thought, "I've got all of six days to find out what's up." Well, not quite six days. Three days were already over and she still hadn't come to a conclusion. Not that she was all that bothered. In this perfect little paradise real life seemed so far away. It was like being in a movie.

She sighed again and sat up reaching for her water bottle, when she saw him.

Tall, dark and handsome with an athlete's body he was everything a girl could dream of. If you like Latino men, and Rowena certainly did! At first she had noticed him in the hotel bar the day before, more because he was surrounded by a crowd of girls than his looks. Then he had turned round and smiled at one of those girls and Rowena's heart had skipped a beat. He was more than just good looking or handsome, he was beautiful. And here he was again, engulfed by women trying to get his attention. Rowena chuckled. Poor man, he was trying so hard to get rid of them and be polite about it, but those women weren't having any of it. "So being good looking isn't always fun. Good to know," she thought. The longer she looked at him, the more she felt she should know that face from somewhere, but try as she might, she couldn't put a name to it. A sudden thought flashed through her mind. Maybe he was what was missing in her life!

"Oh, don't be ridiculous woman!"

"Excuse me?" The woman lying next to her looked up from her magazine.

"Oh, nothing. I was just talking to myself. Sorry." Rowena smiled apologetically and shrugged her shoulders. The woman smiled and lay back down. Definitely time to get out of here Rowena decided, packing up her stuff. She looked at her water bottle and realised that she hadn't had a drink yet. Might as well wait 'till she got back to her hotel room.

As she passed the group of girls on her way back, she heard one of them say, "Please Howie, can I have your autograph?" and only just managed to stop herself from laughing out loud when she caught a glimpse of his face. Now that was what you call despair!

Howie groaned inwardly. He loved the fans, he really did, but when all you want is to relax and get away from everything fans can get a little trying.

He watched a young woman walk past him towards the hotel. He'd seen her before and wondered who she was with. She'd been with some English girls at dinner last night, but they obviously had only just met. He still wasn't sure why she had caught his eye. She wasn't what you would call beautiful or even attractive. But there was something about her. Different, that was the word he had been looking for. She was different. He heard her unsuccessfully stifle a laugh as she passed him. "God, I hope she isn't laughing at me!" he thought. "Howie?" A small voice brought him back to reality and he looked down at the pretty twelve year old standing in front of him. What was it she had asked for again? Oh yes, an autograph. "Sure you can sweetie, what's your name?"

"O.K. and what are we going to wear tonight?" Hands on hips Rowena stood in front of her cupboard scanning its contents. Oh, the trials of being a woman. Hundreds of blouses, skirts etc. and nothing to wear! She picked out her favourite, a long, pale green dress with straps. She'd had it for at least four years now but she never got tiered of it and it was perfect for this weather. Nice and light and extremely comfortable. Plus it made her feel good. She knew she wasn't beautiful, but in this dress she felt pretty, no attractive, no pretty. Laughing at her mirror image she let herself fall back onto the bed and heard something crack.

"Oh great!" she thought. "Now I've gone and broken my sunglasses!"

But it wasn't her sunglasses, it was one of her CD's. Her Backstreet Boys CD to be precise. She looked at the cover to see how badly she had damaged it and collapsed laughing. No wonder she thought she'd seen that guy somewhere before.

"Howie D., huh? Angela is going to love this one!"

She very nearly called up Angela to tell her just who exactly she was sharing a hotel with, but she didn't in the end. That was going to have to wait until she got back to work. She slipped on her sandals and went down to dinner humming Everybody.

"You did what?" Rowena could feel her chin drop. "You told Professor Millings to get stuffed?"

Jenny joined in the laughter. "Oh yes I did and he didn't like it one tiny little bit!"

"You should have seen his face!" Helen said wiping away tears. "He looked like a stranded fish."

Rowena vividly remembered what Professor Millings looked like when one of his students dared talk back to him and "stranded fish" was the perfect description.

Professor Millings, lecturer for Journalistic writing at the Manchester Metropolitan University was probably one of the most hated men on campus. He was a dinosaur, extremely strict and if you started arguing with him, you'd had it. Rowena had taken lectures with him for three years when she had been in Manchester working on her Communications degree. That was ten years ago but she had never forgotten good old Professor Millings.

She had heard Jenny and Helen talk in that familiar Mancunian dialect last night and immediately approached them. They hit it off straight away despite the age difference. Rowena enjoyed talking about places she hadn't been to for years, hearing about changes and finding out what had happened at the Met. Both Jenny and Helen and were studying Communications there and, like all students, where having their problems with Professor Millings.

"So he's still alive and kicking. I thought they would have put him in a Zoo or something by now."

Helen giggled. "Not yet, but he'll be retiring at the end of the year. I'm going to miss him though. Life just won't be the same without having him to slag off at lunch."

"Well, when you get back tell him I said hi. If he doesn't remember my name just say it's that terrible American student who couldn't get the English spelling right."

Rowena could hardly speak, she'd been laughing so much. Still chuckling the girls promised to do so.

"We're going to a techno club tonight. Want to come?"

Rowena waved her hands. "No thank you. That's definitely not my type of music."

"Right, we'll see you tomorrow then." The girls waved good-bye as they made for the exit.

Rowena made her way to the bar. "The usual?" Carlos the barkeeper asked.

"Yes please," she smiled and before she knew it she had her Vodka and Lemon.

"You've been waiting for me!" Carlos just smiled and moved to the next customer.

Walking towards the terrace, Rowena thought about how she was going to tell Angela about her BSB experience.

Angela Brown, her boss, believed that the sun rose and set with the actions of Howard Dorough. She was the biggest Backstreet Boys fan Rowena had ever met and she knew quite a few. It was amazing how much of an appeal those five guys had on women her age and older. She liked their music too, but she'd never been to one of their shows, nor did she spend her money on travelling after them and buying every single magazine that might have something on them. Angela on the other hand had her office walls plastered with Howie's pictures and drove her employees nuts with her obsession. "I dread to think what her apartment must look like." What she did know was that Angela was going to murder her simply for being in the same hotel as Howie and probably have her admitted to a mental institution for not taking the chance to talk to him.

She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't see him coming when she stepped out onto the terrace.

Howie had picked a table right in the corner of the terrace behind a huge palm tree, because he thought he'd be hidden from sight there but no such luck. The Backstreet Secret Service Agents, as he and the other boys called the fans, had found him anyway. As if he'd seriously expected anything else! So here he was confronted with a mother from California (or was it Ohio?) and her twin daughters. Putting on his best show-biz manner Howie had his picture taken with the girls and signed their autograph books. Then, mumbling something about having to make an urgent phone call, he moved off in the direction of the terrace door. He lowered his head to avoid any eye contact that might provoke another unwanted encounter, and consequently didn't see her coming either. With a heavy thud they bumped into each other.

"Ouch!" Rowena felt the breath being knocked from her lungs as a dark head slammed into her chest. Her glass shattered into a million pieces on the stone floor.

"Ow!" Howie stumbled back and involuntarily raised his hand to his forehead. "Damn!" he cursed silently. "That's exactly what I needed now."

Rowena gasped heavily to get some much needed oxygen back into her system. "Can't you look where you're going you stupid idiot?" she snapped.

"Sorry, I..." before he could say any more a waiter appeared to clean up the mess Rowena's glass had left.

"Thank you," she said turning to the waiter, who smiled up at her.

"Could you get the lady another...?" Howie turned to Rowena for help.

"Vodka and Lemon," she supplied. The waiter nodded and disappeared. She turned back and took a closer look at whoever it was that had bumped into her.

"Angela is definitely going to kill me!" she thought, realising who it was. She suppressed a smile and raised her eyebrows, waiting for an explanation.

It was her again. The Different Girl, as he called her. From close up she was actually quite pretty. She had long, dark curls cascading down her back, a cinnamon tan and was looking at him expectantly out of big brown eyes. God, those eyes were huge! For some strange reason he felt as though she was towering over him, even though her head only just came up to his chin. "Must be the way she's looking at me," he decided. Realising that she was waiting for him to say something he desperately searched his brain for an intelligent remark.

But the only thing he could come up with was "I'm sorry!"

She laughed and shook her head. "That's o.k. I don't think any of us sustained any major damage," she replied, rubbing her chest.

"Thank God! She seems to be seeing the funny side here." Howie was very relieved. He opened his mouth, but before he could say anything the waiter appeared with the drink.

"Wait please." Rowena caught him by his sleeve before he had a chance to leave. She turned to Howie. "What about you? Don't you want anything?"

"Uh..." He honestly hadn't expected that.

"The same?" she suggested smiling.

"Uh, yeah. That's fine by me."

"What is up with you D?" He wasn't usually that inarticulate with women. Maybe he was just a little shaken by the bump. "That's got to be it," he reassured himself.

"Shall we sit down?" he asked before she had a chance to take over again. He'd made a fool enough of himself for one night! Her smile deepening she nodded.

"Alright Angela, I can see why you like this guy." The pictures on her office walls certainly didn't do him justice. He looked amazing in his black trousers and white shirt with the first two buttons open. His dark hair fell loosely onto his shoulders in light waves. Straitening it obviously hadn't quite worked. Well, she knew all about that. He seemed a little embarrassed. "Good!" she thought. Served him right for not looking where he was going. She discreetly looked around to see if she could figure out who he had been running from but there were too many possibles around, so she gave up.

As she sat down opposite him she suddenly realised that she had no idea what to say to him. "What's wrong with you Rowena?" she chided herself. "He's only human and the fact that Angela is going to kill you when you get back isn't exactly his fault." Thankfully the waiter appeared at that point. Howie turned to her after accepting his drink and Rowena came out with the first thing she could think of.

"I'm sorry, I'm forgetting my manners here. My name is Rowena, pleased to meet you. "He took her outstretched hand in his (it was unbelievably soft) and smiled.

"Hi. I'm Howie."

"Well Howie, you certainly know how to knock a woman off her feet."

He wasn't sure whether she was joking or not, but one look gave him the answer to that question. Her big brown eyes were twinkling mischievously and there was that lovely smile again. He relaxed.

"Thank you, but I didn't quite succeed. You were still standing as far as I remember."

"Yes, but only just. If you keep on practising you'll get there."

He laughed. "I promise I'll do my best. God, I am so glad you're seeing the funny side."

She shrugged her shoulders. "Not really much point in getting worked up about something that was as much my fault as it was yours. Anyway, accidents happen to the best of us."

As the conversation moved along they both relaxed in each others company. "Are you on holiday here Rowena?" Howie asked.

"Yes. I took part in a competition back home and won this trip. Not bad for something that cost me nothing."

"Congratulations! Where are you from then?"

"Orlando."

"Really? So am I."

Rowena smiled. "I know."

The alarm bells started ringing in his head. "Oh please, no. Not another one." he thought.

Out loud he said, "What do you mean, you know?"

Rowena was beginning to wonder what was wrong with him. Surely he must have assumed that she knew who he was. There could hardly be anyone on the face of this earth who didn't know. "You're Howie D. of the Backstreet Boys right, and last I heard they are from Orlando."

Howie closed his eyes. So it had happened again. He'd been tricked. And just when he thought he'd found someone he could get along with.

He fell silent for a while before he asked, "Are you sure you didn't bump into me on purpose?"

He hadn't meant it to sound like an accusation, but as soon as he said it, he realised that it had come out all wrong. Immediately Rowena stiffened. The smile vanished off her face as if someone had tripped a switch and her eyes turned cold. He'd never realised that brown could be such a cold colour. Her voice was sharp as a razors edge when she spoke.

"This might come as a shock, but not everybody who starts a conversation with you is digging for gold. There are a lot of other people on my 'Who-I'd-like-to-talk-to-list', whether you believe it or not. Now if you'd excuse me Mr. Dorough, I will leave you to your admirers."

With one single, flowing movement she had risen from the table, picked up her glass and walked half way to the terrace door. All he could do was stare after her. "You are such an idiot!" he said to himself ignoring the looks he was getting. She had never said that she didn't know who he was and she obviously considered him a human being before a Backstreet Boy. There was no other way - he had another apology to make. Sighing he took his glass and followed her inside.

Rowena was fuming. How dare he ask her something like that! For crying out loud, she was a twenty-eight year old woman, not some swooning teenager! Who did he think he was, the Emperor of Japan? Not likely! She slumped down on a bar stool and stared darkly into her drink. "You o.k.?" Carlos asked. Rowena smiled weekly. "Yeah, I'm fine thanks."

If you looked at it rationally, it must have seemed as if she had bumped into him on purpose. All those women following him around must be enough to make anyone paranoid. But on the other hand, what was she supposed to have done? Pretend that she didn't know him? That would have been a lie and Rowena despised lying.

"So who is on your 'Who-I'd-like-to-talk-to-list' then?"

His voice broke into her thoughts. Rowena refused to look at him but she did give him an answer.

"Loads of very famous people."

So she was at least talking to him. That had to be a good sign. "Like...?" He could see the corner of her mouth twitching.

"Oh, Nelson Mandela, Kofi Anan, the Dalai Lama..."

He had to laugh. "Alright, I get it." He sat down on the stool next to her. "I've made a fool of myself twice tonight. Can we start this again?"

She looked at him for a second thinking, then said, "Hi, my name is Rowena. Pleased to meet you."

"Hi, I'm Howie."

She grinned, "I know."

"I thought you might."

Without warning Rowena burst out laughing. She had the most infectious laugh he had ever heard. Very light and very real. He joined in.

"So Howie, I presume you were trying to get away from everything by coming here?"

He nodded. "Yep. But where ever I go to, there always seems to be someone who knows who I am and wants something from me."

He sounded sad. Rowena's heart went out to him and she laid her hand lightly on his arm. He looked at the slim hand comforting him and smiled.

"It's o.k. I guess. You get used to it."

Those big brown eyes looked into his and right through to his soul.

"No, I don't think you will ever get used to it." Howie returned the gaze.

"You've seen right through me, haven't you?"

Her smile reappeared. How could he ever have thought she wasn't beautiful?

"I'm a witch, didn't you know?"

He grinned. "You know, I actually believe that."

"Thank you. I take it that means you think I'm some ugly old woman with a wart on her nose and a black cat on her shoulder." That mischievous twinkle was back in her eyes again.

He feigned surprise. "Really? I always thought witches were these incredibly beautiful and seductive women who could get a man to do anything they wanted by simply looking at them."

She only just managed to keep her jaw from dropping. For once she was lost for words. Had anybody been around who knew her, they would have congratulated Howie on having accomplished the impossible.

"Gotcha!" he grinned. It still took Rowena a few seconds to recover.

"Just you wait!" she threatened. "I'll get you back for that one." She slapped his arm lightly, then withdrew her hand. Howie felt a strange sensation of disappointment.

Unnoticed by them a band had set up on the stage at the back of the bar. Eight men, somewhere between thirty-five and forty started playing Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin songs. Music that was very suitable for the environment they were in. The hotel was one of the most expensive on Puerto Rico and the average age of its guests was probably about fifty. Howie and Rowena, as well as Helen and Jenny were exceptions.

The Girl from Ipanema was the first song for that evening and both Howie and Rowena turned towards the band. A few couples were on the dance floor, swaying to the gentle rhythm. Suddenly Howie jumped from his stool and bowed before Rowena.

"Would you care to dance Madame?"

Rowena graciously offered him her hand and replied," Certainly Sir. I would love to dance."

He placed her hand in the crook of his arm and led her onto the dance floor. Gently he pulled her close and began to move in time to the music. She followed immediately, leaning gently against his chest. She danced well, responding to the slightest touch. "This isn't the first time she's danced like this," he thought to himself. Suddenly he caught a whiff of her perfume. It was heavier than he'd expected but it suited her. It was nice.

He was a good dancer. She had seen him in the videos but that was different. Never in a million years would she have expected him to be this good at ballroom dancing. Not that she would ever have thought she'd be dancing with him at all, in whatever way. This whole evening was like...

She started laughing. Howie could feel her shoulders begin to shake.

"Everything alright?" She looked up at him, her eyes shining with laughter.

"Yeah, everything's just fine."

What's so funny?" He had no idea what she was laughing at, but he could feel himself joining in.

"Nothing." She hid her face against his shoulder, trying to contain herself.

"Come on, tell me. I won't laugh, I promise," he giggled.

"I was just thinking this whole evening is like..."

"Like some old Cary Grant movie?" he finished.

"Yes. I mean, first we bump into each other, then we have a row and now..."

"And now we're dancing. I know what you mean. No one is going to believe me when I tell them about this."

He could almost hear AJ going, "You've been watching too many videos D!"

"Angela is going to fire me for this!"

"Angela?"

"My boss. She's you're biggest fan."

"Perhaps you shouldn't tell her then. I don't want to be responsible for you losing your job," he laughed.

"Oh, you bet I'll tell her. It'll be worth it just to see her face!"

"Well, if you have any problems just call me and I'll sort her out."

"Be careful what you say, I might just take you up on that."

The song ended and they applauded the band. Leaving his hand on the small of her back, Howie guided Rowena back to their seats. They sat there until two o'clock in the morning talking about everything and nothing. They probably would have stayed longer if Carlos hadn't insisted that barkeepers, like vampires, disliked daylight and therefore had to be in bed before sunrise. Laughing, Howie and Rowena made their way through the lobby to the elevators.

"I had a great time tonight!" Rowena said.

"So did I," Howie agreed. "Listen, I hired a car for tomorrow to take a trip. Want to come?"

"Isn't it going to be a little dangerous for you to venture outside this place?" she joked.

"Don't worry. I've been here before, so I know where I can go without getting mugged. I think. No, seriously I was going to go down to a little beach I found last year. It's pretty secluded and not many people know about it."

Rowena was both surprised and thrilled that he asked her to go with him. There was something very appealing about the thought of being alone with him on a secluded beach. "Angela is so going to kill me for this," she thought for about the hundredth time that night.

The elevator doors opened and they stepped in.

"Sounds great to me. When do we leave?"

Howie was a little taken aback. He'd half expected her to say no.

"How about we meet for breakfast at nine? Or is that too early for you?"

Rowena laughed. "You must be joking. I'm used to getting up at a quarter to six every morning. Nine sounds like heaven to me."

"Man, I'm glad I don't have your job!" he grinned.

The elevator stopped at her floor. As the doors opened he said, "I'll see you tomorrow then."

"See ya later." She waved as she stepped out into the hall.

"Don't forget your bikini!" he called after her just before the doors closed. "End scene one," he thought as the elevator began to move again.

Scene 2
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