"I still can't believe you ran into him!" Amie exclaimed Saturday night.  She shook her head as she lifted the shot glass in front of her to her lips.  She tipped her head as she threw back the alcohol, hissing slightly as the liquid burned on its way down.  She set the glass back on the table and looked over at Kristen.

"Me, either." Kristen replied.  "Talk about making a great first impression." She added dryly as she rolled her eyes.  She looked around the bar as she lifted the beer she'd ordered to her lips and took a drink.  Amie's "great place" to do Karaoke had turned out to be Sullivan's, a fantastic Irish pub downtown.  Kristen had never been there before but had immediately fallen in love with it.  This was her kind of place.  Comfortable and laid back and enough anonymity that she felt free to just be herself.  She didn't know anybody here and they didn't know her.   What did it matter if she got up on stage and made a fool of herself singing some ridiculous song?

"Who did you run into?"

The girls looked up as they were suddenly joined at their small table by a third person.

"Kris here ran into a local celebrity Thursday night." Amie supplied as Heidi--a mutual friend of both of the girls and Amie's roommate from college--slid into the booth across the table from them.  "Literally."

Heidi looked at Kristen in question, her dark eyes burning with curiosity.  "I ran into someone in the parking lot of the grocery store." Kristen explained.  "Turns out, the guy's famous." She shrugged.

"Turns out the guy's Chris Kirkpatrick!" Amie all but squealed. 

"Shh!" Kristen shushed her friend, her eyes traveling around the bar.  Luckily no one had paid Amie any mind. 

"Chris Kirkpatrick?" Heidi asked in sudden interest.  "From N SYNC?" She questioned.  Kristen nodded.  "You ran into Chris Kirkpatrick at the grocery store?" Heidi asked, her brows lifting in question.  Again Kristen nodded.  Heidi laughed.  "You have all the luck." She teased.

Kristen rolled her eyes again and sighed as she took another drink.  "Don't remind me." She grumbled--still embarrassed to think about the whole situation.  Sure, she'd gone to bed last night with a smile on her face--thinking about those incredible brown eyes and his adorable smile--but she was also extremely horrified over the fact that she had wrecked his car.  Who does that?! She questioned, though it really didn't come as much of a surprise to her that something like this had happened.  After all, she had felt from a young age that the fates were conspiring against her.  This was just one more situation to add to her growing pile of evidence to back up her theory. 

"I still say you should call him." Amie said as she reached for the plate of nachos the girls had ordered.

"Call him?" Heidi asked, her hand pausing midway to her mouth--a chip dangling in mid air.  "You got his number?" She asked, looking at Kristen in shock.

"Yeah." Kristen nodded.

"Girl!" Heidi tisked.  "Get your phone out right now and call the boy!" She commanded, her voice rising dramatically.

"Shh!" Kristen replied with a chuckle as a few of the other patrons this time turned to look at the three girls sitting in the corner. 

"Don't shush me!" Heidi replied.  "You've got that man's number and you haven't called him?  What's wrong with you?!"

"I ran into his car." Kristen stated.  "Remember?  Not really the best first impression to make on a guy, no matter who he is!"

"So?" Heidi replied with a shrug.  "May not be the best, but its lasting, that's for sure." She teased with a grin.  "He's not going to be able to look at the car without thinking about you." She said, pointing a chip at Kristen before placing it in her mouth and chewing.

"That's what I've been saying!" Amie jumped in.  "Call him, call him, call him..." she began chanting, Heidi soon joining in as well.

"Stop." Kristen insisted with a laugh.  "Stop!"

"Call him, call him--hey!" Amie said, as a waitress appeared, setting a glass down on the table in front of Heidi.  "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure." The woman smiled.  Kristen put her elbows on the table and buried her face in her hands in embarrassment.  I have not had enough to drink yet for this to be happening. She thought.

"If you were in a minor car accident," Amie said, talking to the waitress.  "And it turned out the guy you hit was a well known musician and you ended up getting his number..." Amie paused.  "What would you do?"

"Call him." The woman answered.

"Call him!" Amie and Heidi echoed in celebration as they both lifted their glasses--clinking them together before they each took a drink. 

Kristen laughed.  "You guys are ridiculous!" She exclaimed, taking another drink of her own beer.  "And I'm not nearly drunk enough yet to call him." She told them, voicing her earlier thought aloud. 

"Girl, you need to let go!" Heidi said with a shake of her head.  "Have some fun and do something crazy for once in your life."

"I do crazy stuff all the time." Kristen insisted as she reached for and ate some more of the nachos.  Heidi and Amie both gave her a disbelieving look.  "What?" She asked with a laugh.  "I'm crazy."

"Oh, we know you're crazy." Amie replied and Heidi giggled.  Kristen nudged Amie with her shoulder as she laughed.  "You haven't been the same since--" Amie stopped as Kristen gave her a pointed look. "Don't look at me like that." She insisted.  "This isn't Harry Potter, Kris." Amie continued.  "Kevin isn't Voldemort.  It's not going to kill you to say or hear his name spoken out loud."

Kristen couldn't help the chuckle that escaped at Amie's comparison between the fictional villain and her estranged husband.  "I just..." she sighed as she slumped back against the booth and looked down at the table.  "I don't want to think about him." She told her friends.  "It hurts to think about him."

"He's a jackass." Heidi stated authoritatively.  "Let him go, Kris.  Don't let him hold you back from living your life and moving on." There was silence between the girls for a few moments.  "So when are you going to call him?"

Kristen laughed.  "As soon as I'm drunk." She replied, lifting the bottle in her hand and taking another swig. 

"You don't want to be drunk when you call him." Amie stated.  "What if you say something stupid?"

"That's probably going to happen regardless of how much I've had to drink." Kristen teased, making fun of the fact that she always somehow managed to make a fool of her self-no matter who she was talking to.

"Well, that's true!" Amie replied with a wink.

"Gee, thanks, Ames." Kristen replied dryly.  Amie giggled as she leaned over, putting her arm around Kristen's shoulders in a hug.  "I just want to have fun tonight." Kristen said.  "I want to drink more than I should, eat stuff I shouldn't, and not think about any guy-jackass or celebrity."  The girls all raised their glasses to each other.

"And sing!" Amie insisted.  "You promised you'd get up and sing tonight." She reminded Kristen of the promised she'd made earlier that afternoon when they'd been firming up their plans for the evening.

"After another one of these." Kristen said, finishing off her beer.  She lifted the bottle, signaling to one of the waitresses standing by the bar to bring her another one. 

"So tell me about this concert you guys are putting together for the hospital." Heidi said.  Kristen and Amie looked at each other then began filling the other girl in on their ideas and plans.  They spent the next hour talking and laughing, killing time until the karaoke officially started--completely unaware when the subject of their earlier conversation entered the bar.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Chris pushed the sleeves of the long sleeved T-shirt he was wearing beneath his black and white plaid shirt--his eyes scanning the crowd at Sullivan's.  A few of the regulars saw him and greeted him with smiles and handshakes.  This was what he loved about living in Orlando.  He had been around the world and had once been chased--literally--by girls, but when he was home he was just Chris.  Orlando was full of great bars and clubs and he was a frequent visitor to many of them--not because he was a celebrity and they treated him as such, but because when he was there he was allowed to just be himself.

"You gonna get up and sing tonight, hot stuff?"

Chris smiled as Denise, one of the women who had been waitressing here as long as he'd been coming here asked him.  "You don't want to hear me sing." He said.  "I can't carry a tune in a bucket." He finished, making a face as if he had tasted something bad.

Denise laughed, pushing at his shoulder playfully as she picked up a tray of drinks.  "Didn't your Mama ever tell you, you'll go to hell for telling lies like that?" She asked.

"She did." Chris nodded.  "But that's not the reason I'll be going." He replied with a devious grin.

Denise shook her head as she laughed again.  "It's a good thing you're so damn cute." She told him. 

"You think I'm cute?" He asked in exaggerated excitement.

"Always have." Denise replied with a wink.

"Why have you been holding out on me?" He asked putting his arm around her shoulder.  He kissed her cheek.

"Because I'm old enough to be your mother." She replied with a chuckle. 

"I've always had a thing for older women." Chris told her in a conspiratorial whisper, his brows wiggling suggestively.

"Oh, you are a smooth one." Denise remarked with a smile and a shake of her head.  "But don't waste that smile on someone like me."  She told him, patting his cheek.  "There are more than a few girls closer to your age here tonight.  Use your charm on one of them."

Chris smiled as Denise walked away.  He turned back to the bar, ordered a beer then turned back around as the karaoke DJ got up on the small stage set up in the far corner and greeted the small crowd that had gathered.  Chris leaned back against the bar, occasionally lifting the glass in his hand to his lips as he watched and cheered on--along with the rest of the bar--those brave enough to get up.  He grimaced as one guy got up and began to completely butcher Michael Jackson's Billy Jean.  Chris turned back to face the bar, praying for the song to end but, that was the risk with karaoke.  Most of the people who got up couldn't sing to save their lives and for a professional musician it was torture-plain and simple-having to listen to them. 

"Thank, God." He muttered as the song finally ended.  He tipped his head back as he downed the rest of his drink.  He signaled to the bartender for a refill, wondering what the next song would be.  Another bad singer and he was prepared to get up there and show them how it was done.  He perked up when he hear the starting measures of the next song and looked over his shoulder.  His brows rising in surprise.

If I could escape I would but,
First of all, let me say
I must apologize for acting stank & treating you this way
Cause I've been acting like sour milk all on the floor
It's your fault you didn't shut the refrigerator
Maybe that's the reason I've been acting so cold?

If I could escape and recreate a place that's my own world
And I could be your favorite girl (forever), Perfectly together
Tell me boy now wouldn't that be sweet? (sweet escape)
If I could be sweet, I know I've been a real bad girl (I'll try to change)
I didn't mean for you to get hurt (whatsoever)
We can make it better, Tell me boy wouldn't that be sweet? (sweet escape)

Turning fully, Chris watched-his lips twitching upwards slightly as he watched the woman up on the stage.  He'd always had a crush on Gwen Stafani, he'd made no secret of that fact over the years.  However, as he stood there watching the girl up on stage--listening to her clear voice-he was suddenly having a hard time remembering what Gwen looked like. 

Kristen looked great!

She had pulled most of her hair back from her face-the rest of it falling down her back.  The simple black tank top and jeans she was wearing were nothing special but, for some reason, they looked fantastic on her.  Chris found he had to swallow back the sudden excess moisture in his mouth as he watched her hips sway seductively as she moved up on stage--singing her heart out and having fun.  He was reminded once again of the first time he'd seen her, singing in her car, and he felt his smile widening.  The crowd was getting into her performance and Chris found himself moving to the beat as she continued singing.  She had a great voice and excellent stage presence but what really impressed him was the fact that she wasn't looking at either of the monitors for the words. 

She knew the song word for word.

Beer and pizza are her comfort foods and she knows Gwen Stafani by heart? Chris mused.  Where have you been all my life? He chuckled to himself as he lifted his glass to his lips and took a drink--his eyes riveted on her. 

You held me down, I'm at my lowest boiling point
Come help me out, I need to get me out of this joint
Come on let's bounce, counting on you to turn me around
Instead of clowning around, let's look for some common ground
So baby, times get a little crazy
I've been gettin' a little lazy, waitin' on you to come save me
I can see that you're angry by the way that you treat me
Hopefully you don't leave me, wanna take you with me

If I could escape & recreate a place that's my own world
And I could be your favorite girl (forever), Perfectly together
And tell me boy now wouldn't that be sweet? (sweet escape)
If I could be sweet (sorry boy)
I know I've been a real bad girl (I'll try to change)
I didn't mean for you to get hurt (whatsoever)
We can make it better
& tell me boy now wouldn't that be sweet? (sweet escape)

Everyone clapped as Kristen finished and Chris watched as she bounced off the stage--a huge smile on her face-and slid into a corner booth.  He stood, transfixed for a moment longer--trying to figure out what exactly was going on.  He couldn't remember the last time a girl had captured his attention so completely in so short a time.  For all intents and purposes he didn't know Kristen anymore than he knew half the people in this bar.  He'd only spent about twenty minutes in her presence but for the last two days he hadn't been able to stop thinking about her. 

Quickly, before he could talk himself out of it, Chris signaled to one of the waitresses closest to him and turned back towards the bar.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"That was fantastic!" Amie squealed as Kristen slid back into the booth beside her.  She threw her arms around Kristen.  "Did you see how everyone was getting into it while you were up there?" She asked.

"Yeah, that was awesome." Kristen laughed as she pushed back a few errant curls that had escaped her clip as she had been up singing and dancing.

"Girl, you could be recording albums, I swear." Heidi supplied as she took a drink of her beer. 

Kristen rolled her eyes at her friends' gushing.  She chuckled.  "You guys are drunk." She replied.  "Everyone sounds good to you right now."

"That may be true." Amie said pointing at Kristen.  "About being drunk." She giggled.  "But you sound great all the time, Kris."

Kristen smiled.  "Thanks, Ames." The girls continued watching and listening-along with commenting and laughing-at the people who got up to sing after Kristen.  The girl that had been their waitress all night appeared suddenly, sliding another bottle in front of Kristen.  "Oh, no," Kristen shook her head.  "I didn't--"

"It's from the guy at the bar." The girl said with a smile then left.  Amie and Heidi both immediately sat up and turned to look behind them at the bar.  Both girls quickly turned back to Kristen, excited giggles coming from both of them.

"Is he good or bad?" Kristen asked, afraid to hear their answer.  She grimaced.  She'd had a few guys in the past buy her drinks after she'd gotten up to sing.  More often than not they were the ones she wasn't attracted to and she felt bad accepting the drinks--giving the guys any kind of false hope. 

"Good." Amie and Heidi exclaimed at the same time-both girls nodding their heads excitedly.   They both looked at each other. 

Kristen narrowed her eyes as she saw a look pass between her two friends.  "Wha--" she glanced over her shoulder, a gasp escaping her lips as he lifted his glass and smiled towards her.  "Oh my gosh!" She exclaimed as she quickly turned back to the table.  Her heart beating out of her chest.  She rung her hands, her chest rising and falling rapidly as her breath came in shallow gasps.  "What do I do?"  She asked.  "What do I do?!" 

"Go talk to him!" Amie exclaimed, pushing her out of the booth.  "Go, go, go."

"Amie!" Kristen replied, trying to keep from being moved.  "Amie, I can't...Amie, stop..."  Kristen grabbed on to the edge of the table, but Amie was surprisingly strong and Kristen soon found herself with no option but to stand.  It was either that or find herself sitting on the floor.  She pulled at the hem of her tank top, tugging it over her hips, and gave Amie a death glare. 

"Go."  Amie said, shooing Kristen with both hands.  "Go."

Kristen looked over at Heidi, but she was no help.  She did the same thing.  Amie held out the bottle the waitress had brought over.  Kristen looked at her friends for a second longer.  "I hate you both." She whispered.  Amie and Heidi just grinned at her. 

Finally,wWith a sigh, Kristen took the bottle, squared her shoulders, and turned to face him. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chris straightened as Kristen began walking towards him and couldn't help the grin that slowly spread across his face.  He had chuckled to himself as he'd watched first her friends and then her turn around and look at him after his offering had been delivered. 

"Hi." She said, smiling hesitantly as she came to stand in front of him.

"Hi." He grinned. He looked over her shoulder and could see the two girls she had been sitting with watching them closely--excited smiles on both of their faces.  His eyes turned back to the woman in front of him and they stayed focused on Kristen.  "You didn't call." He stated.  "I was beginning to wonder if I'd ever see you again."  She blinked up at him, clearly caught off guard by his teasing and he chuckled as he took a drink from the glass in his hand. 

"I..." she hesitated.  "I wasn't sure you ever wanted to see me again." She replied.  "After the way I plowed in to you the other day."

"I gave you my number, didn't I?" He asked, watching as a smile slowly spread across her face. 

"Only after I gave you mine." She replied as she lifted the bottle in her hand.  Chris watched as she pressed it to her lips and took a quick swallow.  "You could have called me." She told him, looking up at him through her lashes--smiling coyly. 

"Touche." He acknowledged, clinking his glass against her bottle.  "You were great up there." He told her, nodding his head towards the stage. 

"You saw that?" She asked, her smile faltering slightly.  He watched as her cheeks warmed slightly.  Her eyes dropped as she looked down at the floor.  "Another great impression." She muttered under her breath. 

"What was that?" He asked though he had heard what she'd said. 

Kristen looked back up at him-rolling her eyes as she sighed.  "Nothing.  I just..." she shrugged.  "Can't catch a break, is all." She said.  "I swear I'm not really this messed up.  I don't usually get in car accidents and make a fool of myself singing karaoke."

"Why not?" He asked as he watched her closely, trying to figure her out. 

"Why not, what?" She asked, looking at him in confusion.

"Why don't you usually make a fool of yourself singing karaoke?" He clarified.  "It looked like you were having fun up there."

"I was." She agreed, her smile coming back.  "But it's not really something...I'm kind of too old to be up there doing stuff like that."

"You're never too old to have fun." He replied.  "Take it from me." He grinned, leaning towards her as if to impart some secret pearl of wisdom.  "Life's too short to not have fun."

She nodded.  "So..." she drawled as she stepped around him and sat down on the bar stool beside him.  Chris turned slightly, leaning his side against the bar as he watched her.  She placed her beer on the bar then turned to look at him.  "Do you come here often?" She asked a teasing sparkle in her brown eyes. 

Chris laughed. 

"Not as much as I used to." He said.  "But if there's a chance of possibly running into you again, I'll be here every night." 

Kristen laughed.  "Do you always flirt this shamelessly?" She asked.  "I thought Joey was supposed to be the playboy of the group."

"He was." Chris nodded.  "Till he decided to have a kid and get married."

"Ah." Kristen nodded as she took another drink from the bottle in front of her.  He watched, mesmerized as the muscles in her neck worked while she swallowed.  "And you decided to pick up the torch?"

"It was the least I could do." He replied with a causal shrug, his eyes meeting hers once more.  She laughed again and he decided he liked the sound of her laugh. 

"Are you going to get up there and give it a whirl?" She asked, looking over her shoulder at the karaoke stage. 

"Nah." He shook his head.  "Don't want to give anyone an inferiority complex."  He stated.

"That's very kind of you." Kristen chuckled.

"What can I say," he shrugged, a grin spreading across his face.  "I'm good like that." She smiled then turned to look at the bottle sitting in front of her.  His eyes roamed over her profile and Chris found himself wanting to reach out and touch her hair--to see if it was a soft as it appeared to be.  Instead he turned, placing both hands against the bar as he leaned against it and cleared his throat. 

"Did you call the insurance company yet?" She asked.

"No." He shook his head.

"Why not?" She questioned.  He turned to look at her, their eyes meeting. 

"I'm still trying to decide if I want to get the car fixed or just trade it in and getting something new." He told her.  "Have you, uhm..." He paused, surprised at the thought running through his head.  Figuring, what the hell, he continued.  "Have you eaten yet?" He asked.  He watched as her brows furrowed slightly as she looked at him in question then shook her head.

"I mean, I ate something before we came tonight, but..." she looked down at her watch.  "That was four hours ago."

"Do you want to go get something to eat?" He asked.  "I'm starving." He stated as he pushed away from the bar.  "I know this is kind of out of the blue, but...do you want to go with me to get something to eat?" He asked again, hating the fact that he sounded like a broken record.

"Yes." She nodded. 

"Great." Chris replied, smiling.  "But, I'm driving, okay?" He winked at her and she laughed.

"Okay." She nodded again.  "Give me a second." She said, getting off the bar stool and standing.  "I'll be right back."

He watched as she walked back to the table she had been sitting at.  One of the girls handed her her purse then with what he assumed was a whispered promise to fill them both in on what transpired between them for the rest of the evening, Kristen turned and began walking back towards him.  He smiled as she stood in front of him again then turned and held out his arm, indicating she should proceed in front of him.  His eyes fell to the back pockets of her jeans as she began walking towards the door and he could help but admire the way the material hugged her just right.  He wanted to reach out and touch her.  Instead, he reached out for the door, holding it open for her and she smiled as their eyes met.  She was certainly beautiful, this Kristen he found himself intrigued with, and he suddenly found himself excited about the prospect of spending the next little while in her company. 

He hoped this evening would work to help in getting her out of his system.  Surely, once he got to know the girl some of the mystery and intrigue that surrounded her would wear off and he could get on with his life--move past her.  As they walked out to his car, though, and he helped her up into the cab of his Escalade, Chris couldn't help noticing how her hand seemed to fit perfectly in his.  Their eyes met and he wondered if he would be able to move past her. 

Something whispered no and suddenly he was scared.