Chapter 6

When they entered the meet and greet room, the band was nowhere to be found. "Damn, they must be showering," said Molly. "I was hoping I'd get to meet them while they were all still hot and sweaty."

Long tables lined the walls, and couches and chairs were scattered about. There were a lot fewer people there than Keira had expected. She couldn't decide if that was a good or bad thing. There would be nowhere for her to hide if she wanted to.

"Hey look, a bar!" exclaimed Molly. "What can I getcha?"

"Let's do a shot. Tequila," Keira said impulsively. Molly looked surprised but impressed at the same time.

"Coming right up," she said, and made a beeline for the bar. She returned a few minutes later, balancing two shots and two beers. "We needed a chaser," she said with a wink.

They sat side by side on one of the couches and raised their shot glasses in a toast. "To 'one wild night' - I hope," giggled Molly.

Keira smiled. "I'll drink to that," she said, and they clinked their glasses.

With a deep breath, Molly said, "Through the lips, over the gums, look out tummy, here it comes!" and they both threw their heads back and downed the tequila shots, following them quickly with long swallows of beer. Within seconds, Keira could feel herself beginning to relax.

Suddenly the noise level in the room intensified, and they realized that Tico and Dave had walked in. Sucking in her breath, Keira murmured quietly, "David Rashbaum." The two men began working their way slowly around the room, greeting their male fans with handshakes and most of the females with hugs. They spent time talking with each person, occasionally signing autographs.

"So, do we just wait here for them to come around?" questioned Keira.

"I guess so," said Molly, scanning the room for any sign of Richie. That's when she noticed Jon entering the room.

Fresh from the shower, he was wearing faded blue jeans and his favorite "Tell your mom I said hi" t-shirt. His hair had been towel-dried but was still damp. He looked sexy as hell.

With everyone else in the room still watching Tico and Dave, Molly was the first person to notice Jon. Seeing her chance, she jumped up and yanked Keira up with her. "Follow me," she said, and strode purposefully across the room.

Following her friend, it took Keira a minute to realize that Jon had made an entrance, and that they were headed straight for him. Her heart skipped a beat. There was no turning back now.

Jon saw Molly approaching, and smiled at her. "Hey, Molly!" he greeted, shaking her hand. "I'm glad you made it."

Molly was flattered that he'd remembered her name. "I just wanted to thank you again for the tickets. The show was incredible," she said. Gesturing at Keira, she told Jon, "This is my best friend, Keira Farrell. Keira, this is Jon."

Keira steeled herself as Jon turned toward her. Holy shit.

For a few seconds, everything seemed to happen in slow motion. He turned in her direction, smiling -- and then froze when he saw her. His blue eyes seemed to darken as recognition -- and memories -- washed over him. He felt the same way that Keira had felt when she'd seen him come out onto the stage: like the wind had been knocked right out of him. He couldn't tear his eyes off of her.

The seconds seemed to stretch into minutes, and Keira suddenly remembered that they weren't the only ones in the room. Realizing that Molly was starting to look at them strangely, she thrust her hand out to Jon and said, "Nice to meet you, Jon."

Regaining his composure somewhat, he followed her lead and reached his hand out to shake hers. "Nice to meet you too, Keira," he said, smiling gently.

The buzz in the room became louder again as Richie and Hugh walked in. Immediately, Molly said, "If you two will excuse me..." and took off like a shot across the room. Keira and Jon were left standing alone together.

His blue eyes hadn't wavered once from her hazel ones. For a few seconds they just stared at one another. Finally he broke the silence. "Hi, Kathryn." His face broke into a genuine, warm smile, and it felt like the sun had just come out after days of rain.

She smiled back at him, feeling a weight lift from her shoulders. "Hi, Jonny."