Kevin lay back on the bed. He was completely exhausted. He had gone to the press conference, and once that was over then over to the arena for preparation for the show, then a meet and greet with fans, then the concert. After the concert they had all gone out to a club. It was their last night in Chicago, and they wanted to make the most of it. It was once again 4:00 a.m. by the time he returned to his room. The only difference was that now all he could think about was Kelly.

He wanted to talk to her. He couldn't wait till he had a chance to call her. He knew it was too late tonight, but he reached in his pocket and pulled out the piece of paper with her number on it. He hadn't even looked at it since she had given it to him. He hadn't had time. But now he pulled it out and began to unfold it. As he did, he noticed some writing on the other side. What was this? It looked like a poem or something. 'Song for the Road' it said at the top.

Kevin realized that this was Kelly's song! He wondered if she knew that she had given it to him. He was pretty sure she didn't. He hummed the tune he now knew so well as he read the lyrics. It was pretty good. She definitely had some undeveloped talent. Tommy and the band could really do something with this, he thought. With a little polishing, it would be a perfect Backstreet Boys song. He could already hear the harmonies and the vocal arrangements in his head. Of course, he would get Kelly's permission before he showed it to anyone else. He would never betray her trust by showing it to them without her knowledge.

Once again he thought about calling her. But since he couldn't, he opted for trying to sleep instead. They would be leaving in a few hours, and heading to Minneapolis for the next concert.

The last thing going through his mind as he drifted off to sleep was Kelly's song.

The next morning was very hectic as they packed and headed out. It was an eight hour drive to Minneapolis on the tour bus, and the guys passed the time in a number of ways. Nick liked to play Nintendo, or watch TV. AJ hung out in the band bus and played cards or just goofed off. Brian sometimes played Nintendo with Nick or made phone calls. Howie used the time to catch up on business. He owned a few pieces of property and also had a lot of other interests in the entertainment field that he kept up with.

Kevin usually slept on the bus. He loved to sleep, and that was something he never got enough of when they were on tour. But today, it was impossible. He seemed to have too much pent-up energy. He went from one thing to the other, but just couldn't concentrate.

"Kev, will you find something to do. You're driving me crazy," said Howie, as Kevin walked by him for what seemed like the hundredth time.

Kevin sat down and smiled apologetically. "Sorry D. I just can't seem to concentrate on anything today."

"Just the fact that you're awake tells me you're not yourself," Howie commented, laughing.

"You're right," said Kevin. "I think I'll go lay down for awhile."

Kevin went back to his bunk. The problem was, all he wanted to do was talk to Kelly. He looked at his watch. It was now 11a.m. central time, which meant it was 9 a.m. in California. She was probably at work, but he thought he'd try anyway. He pulled out the piece of paper with her number on it, and dialed. The phone rang four times, and then he heard her beautiful voice.

"Hi, this is Kelly. I'm sorry I can't come to the phone right now, but please leave your name and number, so I can call you back. Thank you."

For a moment, Kevin was silent. He hadn't realized how much of an effect her voice would have on him, even though it was only a recording. Then he heard the machine beep. He said, "Hey Kel. It's me, Kevin. I'm really sorry I missed you. If I get a chance, I'll try again later." He hung up.

He lay there for a while longer, absentmindedly playing with the folded piece of paper in his hand. He noticed what he was doing and once again unfolded the paper to look at the song lyrics. Then he had an idea. He would work on an arrangement of the song while it was fresh in his mind. He loved experimenting with different arrangements of songs. He kept a small keyboard on the bus for that very purpose.

He pulled the keyboard from under his bunk and got out some fresh staff paper. He wrote out the melody on the paper and then went back and started adding in the different fillers. Now that he was involved in doing something he loved, the time flew, and before he knew it they were in Minneapolis and checking into their hotel.

Of course, the usual teenage mob was there, having somehow discovered which hotel they were staying in. Kevin had to laugh at how they were always found out, despite the assumed names they used. However, he realized that the crowd would probably be 3 times the size, had they checked in under their own names. They spent the next half hour signing autographs and having pictures taken before they headed to their rooms for a quick change, and then over to the arena.

Another night, another concert. But for Kevin, it was just a way to pass the time until he could talk to Kelly.

Chapter 7
Chapter 5
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