This was it.

Tonight was the night.

All her embarrassing teenage dreams were coming true.

Tonight she would shed her responsible, adult veneer and dive head first into hormonal angst and dance her butt off.

In Tempo was back in concert.

The tickets had been expensive. Almost impossible to get. But now, she could afford it.

Jessica had been waiting to see her favorite band play forever. Ever since she was thirteen years old. Money for a ticket had been far out of her reach then, just like having a ride to take her, or a friend to go with.

It had been so far from reality, those concerts might as well have taken place on the moon. By the time she was old enough to go someplace by herself, let alone afford the cost of a ticket, the band had broken up.

That was more than seven years ago. A lifetime. Time enough for her to grow up and finally move out, as far away from home as she possibly could.

Home.

Even the word was a joke. She could have laughed. But there was no other word for the place you grew up in, no matter how dismal it had been.

Anyway, she wasn’t one to dwell. She was on her own now. Just the way she liked it.

Yeah, growing up had sucked. But she was well and truly grown.

There was so much she’d missed out on. Fun stuff like doing your nails or shopping for a prom dress. Fun stuff like first kisses.

So now, she was making up for lost time.

Because now, she was a fully fledged Doctor of Veterinary Medicine.

It was finally her chance to see her favorite band. Seeing Kendall, Davie, Gerald and Tom live in concert had long since passed her by.

Technically she could have seen them. Some of the guys had solo careers now but in her opinion it wasn't the same.

Besides, she hadn't kept up too much with their newer stuff. She didn't have time to listen to music that much now. But back then, it had been a lifeline.

Those songs had literally saved her life. Those videos had been her friends. Those teen magazines had been her hopes and dreams.

Jessica pretty much ignored pop culture these days, spending most of her time at work or volunteering at the Los Feliz Animal Shelter near her apartment. But when they'd made the announcement a few months ago, even she had noticed.

In Tempo was getting back together.

It was just for a limited reunion tour, true. And probably just to make some money. She wasn’t an idealistic teenager anymore. She knew that most of their careers were lagging, other than the lead singer Kendall Jackson. He was an even bigger star than he'd been before and always linked with one starlet or another.

The man was incredibly talented and freaking gorgeous, so it wasn’t a surprise that he was more famous than ever.

Okay, so maybe she paid attention a little.

She grinned at herself. She knew she was being ridiculous. She was a grown woman now. She was over her school girl crush on the lead singer of In Tempo, the biggest boy band in the world at one time.

Mostly over it anyway.

So what if she was only interested in guys who looked like him? Who could blame her for liking tall guys with gorgeous sandy blond hair and green eyes? It was always a pale imitation though. Nobody really came close to Kendall in the looks department.

Jess sighed dreamily, unable to stop the tiny flutter at the thought of him.

Kendall looked like an old-school movie star with his mop of wavy hair and impossibly green eyes. They practically glowed. Never mind all those muscles.

And the tattoos he’d gotten since the band broke up.

Hmmm… the tattoos….

She shook her head at herself.

Things were different now. Much different.

This time she had friends to go to the concert with. And this time, she could afford the ticket. The good seats even.

It had been years since she was that lonely, frightened teenager with nothing but lint in her pockets and an empty stomach. They had been so poor that the electricity being on meant it was a good day.

Still, she could hardly believe it. She was finally going to see the band that had gotten her through those difficult years, hiding in her bedroom with her Diskman turned up.

God, she'd been a disaster.

A late bloomer, and dirt poor with a drunk for a mother. She hadn’t had a chance in hell with a cute boy from a good family. Hell, she hadn't had a chance with anyone.

She’d even hated herself.

Jessica tugged the neckline of her top up. It was tighter than she remembered. She rolled her eyes, wondering when the last time she’d been out on the town. It wasn’t a habit, although her girlfriends did drag her out for karaoke once in a while.

She wore scrubs so much of the time that she hadn't been shopping in forever. This top must be five years old at least.

And she was falling out of it.

The bright blue v-neck fit well everywhere else. It fit her waist and her shoulders. Plus it looked great with her light blue eyes. It was just… her boobs. Her big, gigantic boobs were drawing attention to themselves. As usual.

Ugh.

She’d gone from pimply and scrawny to what was commonly referred to as ‘stacked.’ Her boobs had their own zip code. She’d skipped the dewy, slender, gazelle like phase that most teenage girls went through.

She’d gone straight from child to blow up doll. During medical school too. Not when it would have been actually helpful to look like sex on wheels.

Well, there was no hope for it. Her other clothes were all in the laundry. Unless she wanted to wear the scrubs with little bunnies on them to a concert on a Friday night…

Yeah, no. Not going to happen.

She pulled on her favorite pair of tight fitting jeans and a pair of ankle boots with high wedge heels. She was short so heels were her one concession to vanity.

The truth was, she wasn't just short.

She was tiny.

Until her boobs had made an appearance, Jess was often mistaken for a child. Even now, her new clients often reacted with shock when they found out that yes, she was the doctor who was about to treat their precious pets. Each time they quickly realized she was a damn good doctor. Her clients were very loyal to her after just one visit. Still, it was annoying as hell.

It also kept her from dating too much. She tended to attract creeps with little girl fetishes. Well, lately she'd been getting asked out a lot, by all kinds of people. She hoped they weren’t all gross.

But she had to keep her guard up. God knows, she'd learned early not to trust men.

Not to trust anybody really.

She applied a thin line of black liner to her upper lids. A little mascara, some lipgloss and she was done. There was no use in trying anything with her hair other than running a brush through it. It was naturally big and buoyant.

She'd tried everything over the years before giving up. Serums, gels, you name it. She pressed her hands down on it briefly but it was no use.

Yeah, Jess had been born with the hair of a country western singer.

Jess grabbed her bag and ran out the door into the warm Los Angeles night.