The concert was over.

It had been over for a while, but he wasn't ready to go to his room yet. There was no point since he wouldn't be able to sleep anyway. He never could at the end of the night. He needed time to unwind first. Sometimes he went out, and sometimes he just went to his room and watched a movie or something. But tonight he didn't want to do either. He wished he had someone to talk to; someone he could really talk to, not just a starry-eyed fan who would hang on his every word as if he were some kind of god.

At 28 years old, Kevin Richardson was living a dream. He was a member of the hottest pop group around, and had won award after award. He was recognized everywhere he went and had even recently been named Sexiest Pop Star by People Magazine, an honor he could still hardly believe. He knew he was attractive to women; even in high school he was named Best Looking. And with his 6' 1" athletic frame, his dark black hair and green eyes, he turned heads quite often. But to be named Sexiest Pop Star....that was something he never imagined.

Kevin shook his head, as if doing that would help him make a decision. Whatever he was going to do, he needed to decide fast because the buses were waiting to take them back to the hotel. As he stood in the backstage hallway of the arena, a voice spoke behind him.

"Hey Train, you gonna stand there all night? Come on, the buses are waiting."

Kevin turned to see band member Howie Dorough standing behind him. "Oh Howie, sorry man. I guess I was lost in thought."

Sensing Kevin's mood, Howie decided to refrain from the smart comment that came to his mind. "Hey, it's okay, bro. You gonna hit the clubs with us tonight?"

"No, I don't think so. I'll probably just chill at the hotel for a while." he answered.

"You okay?" asked Howie.

"Yeah, it's all good. I'm just feeling a bit...pensive I guess. I'm sure I'll be back to normal by morning." Kevin said smiling.

Howie laughed. "You mean noon, since you're never up before then anyway."

"Very funny. Come on D, let's go." Kevin put his arm around Howie's shoulders and they headed out.

Back at the hotel, the others went to their rooms and got ready to go out for the night. Kevin also headed to his room, but with no further plans. He sat down on the edge of the bed and turned on the TV. Maybe he could find a movie to take his mind off things. He quickly scanned through the channels, but nothing caught his eye. He started over, this time flipping through more slowly, but still didn't see anything that interested him. He turned the TV back off, threw down the remote, and lay back on the bed. Staring up at the ceiling he tried to figure out what to do next. He was too restless to just lay there.

He glanced at the clock on the nightstand next to the bed. 12:30 a.m. He decided to walk down to the lobby. It was late enough that the autograph seekers should be gone by now. There might be a few hanging around, but he could deal with them. And if he was lucky, maybe he could even pass by without being spotted.

Too bad I didn't go down when Nick did, he thought wryly. They would have never bothered me then. When Nick was around, Kevin was barely noticed, which was not always a good thing. He rather enjoyed the attention at times. Sometimes he even purposely sought it. What single guy wouldn't enjoy being mobbed by females of all ages?

But not tonight. Tonight he wanted to get away from all that.

Suddenly a thought occurred to him. When they were coming in, he remembered seeing a small lounge area off to the side, which held a baby grand piano. That was just the thing for the mood he was in. He always felt better after tinkling around with the piano for a while. He grabbed his key, and headed downstairs.

Chapter 1
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