HOW DO YOU KEEP THE MUSIC PLAYING?
©Mirandagk@aol.com
CHAPTER 16
"Wow...You look great."
"Thanks. You too." Laura said as she walked outside and began to lock her front door.
Justin opened the door for her before walking around the back of the car to fix something that was in the trunk. Laura leaned over and unlocked his door.
"Ahhh...very nice."
"Oh don't start with that 'A Bronx Tale' stuff again please, Justin. Laura joked.
"I need to stop by JC's real fast and drop this synthesizer off before we go. Is that okay?"
"Why are you asking me? It's your car."
"I was trying to be a gentleman."
"I know...I'm just playing. I don't mind." Laura didn't want Justin to know that she felt uncomfortable showing up over there with him.
When they turned the corner Laura could see JC outside waxing down his convertible. JC turned his head and saw her sitting in the passengers seat and tried not to let his emotions show.
"I'll be right back."
"K." Laura slightly waved.
Justin took the synthesizer up to the house and JC opened up the door for him. While Justin was inside, JC walked over to the passenger side of the car and leaned down with his arms draped over the door frame. "You look pretty." he commented.
"Thank you."
"You don't have to do this you know. I wasn't trying to piss you off when I said what I said earlier."
"I know, JC. Why do you look so worried?" she asked as she lightly tapped JC's cheek with her palm.
"I'm not. I...Please...Just...Just have a good time."
"I will." Laura smiled. "Is that look of worry because you don't think you can trust me?" she joked.
He hesitated. "...No..."
"Why the long pause, JC? I didn't think you would need to think about the answer to that question."
JC could see her face turn slightly red and knew that she was getting upset.
They were both soon jolted when they heard the car door open and Justin getting inside. "Ready?"
"Yeah." Laura said slowly trying to regain her thoughts.
"You're all set, JC."
"Thanks, Justin. Have a good time guys."
"We will!" Justin said as he waved and began to slowly back out of the driveway. Before putting the car in drive, Justin looked over at Laura and noticed her staring down. "Are you okay?"
"Huh? Yeah...I'm fine...So where are you we of to?"
"Up to you really. I don't know where you would want to go and get your dress so I left it up to you."
"Let's just go by Epifanos'. I'm sure I will be able to find something there. I'm not really trying to go all out for this since its not a really big media event.
~~~~~
"Ah, Ms. Charles, how are you this afternoon. I'm OK Mr. Antonio. This is my friend, Justin."
"Nice to meet you. You look very familiar." the short gray haired man said as he squinted his eyes to get a better look at Justin.
"He's part of that group, Mr. Antonio."
"Ahh...Back in my day we would listen to Franky Sinatra, Mario Lanza, Louis Prima...I don't know what all this other stuff you kids are listening to these days...That rap sh--"
Laura could see where the conversation was heading and decided to interrupt before it got out of control. "You were telling me about a dress you thought would be perfect for me Mr. Antonio?"
"Oh yes, my dear. Let me go and get it from the back. I took it off the rack and saved it just for you."
"Thank you."
Justin smiled as he watched the man disappear behind the curtain. "He seems nice."
"He is. I usually come in here because he doesn't watch TV much so he treats me like I'm a normal human being."
"yeah I know what you mean."
"You get it about 10 times worse than I do, so I don't know what I'm complaining about."
"Yeah but we are basically in the same boat where that is concerned." he commented.
"True."
Mr. Antonio came out with the dress. "Here it is."
"Oh its gorgeous! Can I try it on?"
"Of course…" Mr. Antonio told Laura to make sure she came out and showed him the dress once she had it on. He wanted to make sure that he documented all the alterations that would have to be made before the ceremony. Justin and Mr. Antonio continued to talk while Laura was changing. "Well, my mom used to play all of those around the house when I was little and I like a little Sinatra every now and then." Justin smiled. "I even used to listen to the Crew Cuts a lot...toooo..." Justin hesitated as he saw Laura walk into the room wearing a long white dress that had a long V opening in the front that ran down the middle of her breasts to just an inch above her naval.
"Just lovely....Is it too long?" Mr. Antonio asked as he stood up and walked over to Laura standing in front of the mirror.
"Just a tad, but I am going to wear heels anyway, so it should be fine with the shoes I have." she said as she continued to talk to him about the dress. In the corner of her eye she could see Justin sitting there gazing at her. Her face began to turn colors and she dawned a quick smile before retreating back in to the dressing room to change back into her clothes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Okay so where are we and why did I have to be blindfolded to get here?" Laura asked as she held onto Justin's arm tightly as he led her down a path into a clearing.
"Trust me."
"You are the wrong person to be asking anyone that." Laura responded.
Justin laughed. "Come on, stop. You are messing up my whole plan here."
"Okay okay, my bad." Laura said catching her breath from laughing so hard.
"Stand right here...Ready?"
"Yes." she said anxiously trying to peek through the scarf that was covering her eyes. Justin stood behind Laura as he untied to blindfold. Laura slowly opened her eyes and saw the sight in front of her. A large open field out in what seemed to be the middle of nowhere with a blanket and picnic basket. Two plates and all the utensils were set up with two small lanterns on each side of the blanket to give them light. There were no wandering eyes anywhere for miles and that was just how she liked it. "Oh wow...This is beautiful, Justin." Laura started to feel guilty because he seemed to have gone through a lot of trouble just for her.
"Hopefully this will make up for our spoiled first date."
Laura was speechless. She had no idea what to say. "I thought you weren't listening to me that day."
One their first date Laura and Justin had talked about how their fantasy dates. She had mentioned wanting to have an evening picnic in a secluded area where she could see the stars at night. And that's exactly what he gave her.
"I'm always listening."
"This is amazing. Thank you so much." Laura said as she reached up to hug him.
CHAPTER 17
JC paced the floor and kept looking out the back window and over at the clock.
"Why the hell isn't she home yet. Its almost 12am, Buddy." he said to the dog who was following him as he continued to paced.
JC decided to call Laura's cell phone to make sure things were okay. It went straight to voicemail.
"Hey, its me. Where are you? I'm just worried and hoping that you are okay. Please give me a call when you get in so I know you got home safe. Bye."
As he hung up the phone he heard the doorbell ring. "That must be her now." JC said as he picked Buddy up into his arms to go and answer the door. "We are going to have to spank her for getting back so late aren't we?" He asked the dog.
"Where the hell were-....Rachel?" JC asked with a puzzled look on his face.
~~~~
"Oh..I know exactly what you mean!!" Laura exclaimed. She couldn't believe how much fun she was having with Justin...Just talking. They had eaten and laid out on the blanket to look up at the stars and talked about everything under the moon.
"So let me ask you something...Seriously."
"Okay." Laura responded as she continued to look up at the stars.
"You would never get with JC?"
Laura turned and looked at Justin and then back up at the sky. She hated lying to him, but she had to. "I'm not saying that...It's just that things are too complicated in our lives these days. Focusing on a relationship with him, would take a great deal. I would have to consider losing most of my privacy, other people's reactions to the relationship, friends and family, etc. But it would be the same way if it was you too, you know?" Technically, what she said wasn't a lie.
"So you've thought about it huh?" Justin smiled.
"Yeah it passed through my head a couple times. But then I would hang out with you and I would remember why it would never work." she laughed.
"Why?" Justin asked.
"I can't compete with the millions of girls that want your attention. I'm a very jealous person when it comes to relationships. So I know that would definitely not go very far."
"Ahhh...I see. I'd have to pull you off of 14 year olds huh?" he laughed.
"Hell yeah! I'd be quick to knock a bitch out if she even looked at me wrong." Laura laughed. Justin began to yawn and stretch his arms. Laura could see his watch's blue fluorescent light shining and noticed it was 3am.
"Oh my God. I can't believe we have been sitting out here talking for all this time, Justin. I gotta get up early in the morning!" she groaned as she got up to clean up everything before they headed home.
Justin took the quickest route back to Laura's house. They had to pass JC's on the way up the street.
"Damn, I see someone else is having a late night like us too." Justin said as he noticed Rachel's car in JC's driveway. Laura noticed that there weren't any lights on inside the house, but all the cars were there.
"Thanks for the wonderfully evening Justin. I had a great time."
"I'm glad. Maybe we could do it again some time?"
"Yeah. That would be nice. We'll see." Laura leaned up and gave Justin a hug and a light kiss on the cheek before he left. When she got into the house, she slowly took off her dress and laid on the bed. She checked her voice mail and listened to the message from JC. She laid in complete darkness and thought to herself. She desperately wanted to call JC to find out what was going on but was scared that she would find herself interrupting something and wanted to shield herself from it.
Curiosity was eating away at her, and she quickly picked up the phone and began to dial. She took a deep breath as the phone began to ring. It rang 8 times and Laura hung up. "What the fuck is going on? He always answers on the 2nd or 3rd ring. Even in the dead of sleep he will get up and answer the phone. The only time he won't is if we are together and he turns off the ringer." she said angrily as she chucked the cordless phone across the bed.
CHAPTER 18
Sunlight began to sparkle across the water in the pool. Laura looked over at the clock and noticed it was 8 am. She hadn't been able to sleep all night. She wanted to go over to JC's so badly, but was terrified of what she might find. Once she worked up the courage, Laura went and changed and slowly walked across the backyard. JC's backdoor was unlocked like it usually was. The house was silent as Laura crept through the kitchen. As she turned the corner to walk towards JC's bedroom she stopped and rethought her decision. 'The nerve of him acting like he didn't trust me! That lousy fucker! What am I going to do if I walk in on the two of them? I can't act hurt. Fuck it...I just want him to know that I caught him. I'll think of something later.'
Laura took a deep breath. She suddenly jumped at a noise coming from behind her in the living room. She quickly turned around and saw a body lying on the couch.
As she inched closer to the sofa she could see Rachel sound asleep with a blanket covering half of her body. She noticed Rachel was fully clothed and a smile slowly crept on her face as she looked towards JC's bedroom. She tiptoed over and pulled the blanket up on her best friend and walked to JC's room. She slowly opened the door and could see buddy standing there waiting to jump on her. Laura quickly pet the dog and locked the door behind her. As she inched her way onto the bed a voice quickly rang out, "How was your date?"
"It was nice. How was yours?" Laura teased.
"What do you mean? Rachel? She came looking for you and hung out waiting on you. I didn't expect you to be gone all night. She got a little toasted and I said she should sleep it off instead of driving home."
"I wasn't gone all night." Laura defended. "I got home at around 3:30," she said as she climbed onto the bed behind him.
"What were you doing that you needed to be out till almost 4am? JC spat back, quickly lowering his voice so he wouldn't wake up Rachel.
"Talking." Laura answered as she ran her fingers through his hair. JC pushed her hand away from his head never turning around to look at her, "Is that all?"
"Yes!" Laura said as she grabbed JC's shoulder to make him face her. "I would have come over as soon as I got back, but you had company." Laura and JC both looked at each other and sighed.
"Laura, what the hell are we doing?"
"I have no idea...It's scary that we both don't trust one another." She replied as she looked down at Buddy who was lying on his back waiting for a stomach rub.
"I trust you...I just know my friend can be rather persuasive." JC said as he moved Laura's hair back over her shoulders.
"Mine too." Laura smiled.
"I don't want you to think that I don't trust you. I didn't mean to make it seem that way before you left with him and I regretted the hesitation when you asked me. I have no reason to not trust you Laura. You have never kept anything from me, or lied to me all the time that I have known you." His words were like a punch to her gut.
'If only he knew how much of a hypocrite I really am,' she thought to herself as he continued to speak, "My main concern last night was whether or not you were okay, Baby. I didn't know if you two had gotten into an accident or something. You weren't answering your phone and neither was Justin. It just scared me because you always answer when I call. And I'm not going to lie and say that your safety was my only concern. I had a hundred visions of you and him together and I feel like such an asshole for even thinking that." Laura laid her head down on JC's chest and looked out the window as she ran her hand across his body. "I just need to get used to this whole idea of being secret lovers and having to put on an act in front of other people." he said as he kissed her head.
"Well I am sorry that I thought you and Rachel were together...But on my side I don't think you can blame me," she said as she lifted her head to meet his gaze. "You two almost got married. I told myself I would stop when I made a fool out of myself the last time I tried to play spy with you two. I'm just very insecure where she is concerned. I'm trying. I think I will just have to try harder though." she smiled. JC ran the back of his hand gently down her shoulder to touch her soft skin as she leaned in to kiss him on the lips. The kiss grew more passionate and soon JC's hands were engulfed in her long flowing brown hair as he tried to pull her deeper into his kiss.
"Ahhh….Fuck...I want you." JC said with a sigh of frustration as he placed his hands on Laura's shoulders to stop her kisses.
"I want you too." she said between gentle pecks on his chest as she tried to make her way back up to his mouth.
"We can't, baby. Rachel is in the other room. You know she is more deviant than Justin." he joked as he let his head fall back against the pillow before looking up at the ceiling in pure frustration.
Laura chuckled as she let her head fall onto his chest feeling even more defeated. "I guess we better retreat to our opposite corners before we go crazy, sweetie...Which means I probably will not see you until later on at the hall during the ceremony."
Laura dragged herself out of JC's bed and slid her feet back into her sandals as he sat up to speak. "Why aren't you riding with us in the limo?" he asked.
"I'm riding with Rachel...Plus you already know why. I don't want to get into another argument about it, so let's just leave it."
"I wasn't arguing. I was just curious." he said as he pushed the covers off of his body and stood up.
As Laura was fixing her hair into a ponytail she immediately noticed something and her face turned red. JC looked at her quizzically as he saw the direction of her gaze and he quickly smiled. "I'm sorry. I'm about to take care of it in the shower since I'm not going to be able to get any satisfaction from you today."
An idea quickly sprang into Laura's mind. "Don't!"
"Why not?"
"I want to see how long you can go without playing with him." she tease as her hand brushed by his boxers. JC didn't understand what she was up to, but he agreed. As Laura was walking down the hall she heard the water running in the nearby bathroom and figured Rachel was finally up. She went into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of juice before sitting down and waiting on Rachel to come out.
"Hey, girlie." Rachel groggily said as she walked into the kitchen yawning.
"Sleep well?"
"I have the worst headache right now. Did JC tell you I had a few too many?"
Laura nodded her head and slid the bottle of aspirin to the other side of the table for Rachel. "Thanks. You actually went out with Justin last night? Were you high or something?"
Laura laughed as she handed Rachel her glass of juice to wash down the aspirin. "No, he asked and JC talked me into it."
"So how bad was it?" Rachel asked as she laid her head down on the table.
"Actually, I had the best time."
"Get the fuck outta here?!" Rachel asked loudly.
"Shhh....I don't want to broadcast it nationwide, Rach."
"Yeah, Rach, she doesn't want us all the know the dirty details of her all night rendezvous with Mr. Timberlake." JC interrupted as he walked into the kitchen. JC had on sweat pants and a t-shirt along with a towel around his neck to catch the water that was dripping from his freshly washed hair.
Laura suddenly felt uneasy with the conversation, but knew she had to act as though he were immaterial to the topic of discussion. "Whatever, JC." she said.
"Sooo? What happened?" Rachel impatiently asked.
"He came and picked me up for a lunch date, which turned out to be dinner..." Laura told Rachel the events of the day before while trying not to make JC's blood boil. Every now and then she would look over at him and would find herself trying to figure out whether his nonchalant attitude were real or put on for show because Rachel was around.
"So are you?"
"So, am I what?" Laura asked.
"Are you going to go out with him again?"
"I don't know."
"What do you mean you don't know? I remember a time when you used to tell me that you would have to change your thong after one conversation with him because he would make you so wet...And that was only with the hello and how are you's, Laura!"
CRASH!! Laura and Rachel immediately turned their heads towards JC who had dropped a plate onto the floor. He was finding it hard to listen to them speak so bluntly. They had always spoken candidly before, but it was different hearing it now because of his involvement with Laura. Rachel turned back to Laura, whose face was the same color as a ripe tomato and continued to speak, "You mean to tell me that when he is finally sitting there trying to actually get in your pants you didn't get horny at all? You are fuckin full of shit!" Rachel laughed.
"Yes." Laura said, trying to motion her to stop.
"What? Why are you suddenly shy with this topic? Is it because of you and JC?"
Both Laura and JC looked at her quickly and simultaneously asked, "What do you mean?"
Rachel turned and looked at him and then back at her. "Jesus...What's wrong with you two? No need to bite my head off. I was just wondering if she felt weird talking about it because you might go back and tell Justin...Damn!" Rachel said as she stood up and handed JC her glass.
Laura tried to recover, "Yeah, I guess I feel a little strange about it, but I know he wouldn't say anything…" Laura needed a way out of this conversation and fast. "What time is it? Don't you think we should get going so we are not running late for the ceremony? We have to get our hair and nails done and I still need to stop by and pick up my dress, and do a whole bunch of other things before we leave."
Rachel rushed to get her things as Laura tried to sneak a kiss to make sure things were still okay between she and JC. He smiled and whispered that he was fine. Laura leaned up to quickly kiss him before Rachel returned. JC took his index and middle finger and kissed them right before he placed them on her forehead before walking away over to the table to eat his cereal. Laura un-puckered her lips and looked away trying to figure out what had just happened, but was soon distracted by Rachel pulling her arm to leave.
CHAPTER 19
Hundreds of lights were flashing as Laura stepped out of the limo. She looked around and noticed the reporters lined on both sides of the red carpet. She looked ahead and could see Lance. She desperately tried to spot JC but could not see him in the crowd of people lined up to go inside.
"I didn't think it would be this crowded here tonight, Rach."
"What are you worried about? You look fantastic. I'm going to have to borrow that dress from you."
As they walked down the red carpet towards the entrance to the theater reporters called out to Laura for pictures and questions.
"…Tonight I can at least relax. There is no anxiety over whether I am going to win or not because I am not up for an award tonight. I'm just here to support my friends." Laura smiled as she continued with interviews. She glanced over and could see JC talking to an E! reporter and almost as if he could read her mind he turned around and looked directly at her. She slightly smiled as he continued with his interview.
"Ms. Charles! Is it true that you and JC Chasez are teaming up to write for the new pop sensation Michael Stewart?"
JC heard his named being mentioned and turned to Laura. She was stunned at the question because no one was suppose to know that they were working together on the album until the press release which was a month away. "--Yes that's right. Ms. Charles and Mr. Chasez are exclusively working with Virgin Records on this album. Its sure to be a smash hit." Jerry chimed in. "Hey JC, why don't you come over and get in a few pictures with me and Laura!" he yelled.
JC immediately knew who leaked the information and tried not to let his anger show as he walked over to Laura and Jerry and dawned a smile for the camera's.
As they were posing, Laura could hear reporters competing for JC's attention with tons of questions, "Are you going to be a featured guest artist on the album, Mr. Chasez? Have you and Ms. Charles worked together before? Have you and Mr. Emerson reconciled your differences since recent events involving Ms. Stafford?" Laura knew JC could hear the questions and how much the last one must have hurt, but he continued on as though they didn't exist. JC smiled as he spoke to Reba McEntire who had been walking down the carpet to go inside as well.
JC tried his best not to hear the press dig into Laura next. He was used to it, but Laura had been a rather private person. People would know and love the songs, but they never wondered who the person behind the music was until she had co-written a few songs for Christina Aguilera. "Ms. Charles, is it true that you and Ms. Stafford are close friends? How do you think that will affect your work with JC? Do you think there will be a possible romance with you working so closely with Mr. Chasez?"
While smiling for pictures with his teeth clenched, JC leaned sideways closer to Jerry and said, "If you fuck this up for us, you'll live to regret it."
Laura didn't know if JC's comment to Jerry was about their deal or if he was referring to their relationship. He wanted to turn and comfort Laura but knew he couldn't with all the spotlights on him.
Laura felt her face becoming hotter and hotter. She wanted to run away but knew she was trapped. Hundreds of questions coming from every direction. Flashes of light that never seemed to end. Just when she thought she couldn't take anymore a hand grabbed hers. "Hey Laura! How have you been, girl?" a voice rang out loudly. Laura looked up and Justin was smiling down at her. He continued to smile as he talked to her. "This is how you work it, hun. Continue to smile and laugh like you are enjoying yourself out here, but at the same time we can talk about all these freaks who are snapping pictures like we were zoo animals."
Chris soon joined Laura and Justin in their conversation. "See this geek over here snapping photos. No wonder he is behind the camera instead of in front of it." Chris joked. Laura began to chuckle as Justin and Chris laughed hysterically towards the cameraman who began to laugh along with them out of mere confusion as to what was going on. Through a wide smile Justin looked at her and asked if she was OK. Laura just smiled back and nodded her head and said thank you as they continued with interviews before finally proceeding inside to take their seats.
JC and the rest of the guys were seated up front. Laura, Rachel and Jerry were seated almost at the back of the theater. Laura was beginning to regret her decision to sit with her best friend. "Had I known we had the nose bleed seats, I would have taken JC up on his offer to sit with the guys."
"Oh hush, Laura." Rachel smiled.
Laura and Rachel continued to joke around all evening. The ceremony had become long and drawn out like the Oscars and they were trying their best to keep themselves interested as they sent each other text messages about the people in the rows ahead of them. Jerry had to play baby-sitter as he continuously told the two women to behave themselves.
They would pause every now and then when the guys would receive awards. The loudest voices in the back hooting and hollering would be none other than Rachel and Laura pretending to be fanatical teenagers. "Marry me, Lance!" Rachel yelled.
When the nominees for Outstanding Achievement in Song writing were announced, Laura immediately became silent and sat up. She had received the award the year previous so she was not eligible for it this year. JC had been nominated in the category and she was crossing her fingers for him. When he was announced the recipient of the award, JC dropped his face into his hands in surprise.
His first instinct was to find Laura and hug her, but she was no where in sight. Laura sat up in her chair and watched him with a deep grin on her face. As he took the award and shook the man's hand he stood there and looked down at it and let out a long sigh and smiled, "Wow...I just want to thank those who voted for me. I was up against some of the best songwriters around. I don't think of myself as the best of the bunch by any means. I just think I had an angel on my shoulder," he smiled as he looked out into the crowd towards Laura. "I want to first and foremost thank God and my parents. I want to thank the guys...Justin, Chris, Lance and Joey. You're my brothers. And that's eternal...No matter what anyone else tells us, we've managed to stay strong...TOGETHER. That bond can never be broken between us...NEVER. To Rachel, Jenny, Laura, and Rich...I hold you guys right here in my heart."
Upon hearing their names Rachel squeezed Laura's arm and smiled at their honorable mention in his speech. JC continued to thank the record producers and management until finally concluding his speech. "And last but not least I want to thank a very special person. You know who you are. You amaze me. All those times when I would want to throw my hands up and quit, you never let me...You pushed me to keep going. Every time I thought the battle was just too hard to fight, you gave me the strength I needed to win. Every time I told myself that I couldn't do it, you told me I could…And that I would. You've been there for it all. The great, the good, the bad, and the ugly...no matter what."
Rachel's smile grew deeper as she listened to JC speak. He had her complete attention. Laura was also sitting there smiling focusing her attention to JC while he concluded his speech, "I know that things haven't been easy and I know that they will only get more complicated, but if you give me the chance, I promise that I will be that solid rock for you, that you have been for me. Thank you so much for everything. I Love You...This is for you...Thank you." he said as he lifted the award up in the air as he tried to hold back the tears that were beginning to form in his eyes.
As they were clapping for JC while he walked off-stage, Laura quickly wiped the tears from her face and looked towards Rachel who was also wiping her eyes. Laura figured she was emotional because of the speech and smiled at her. "That was beautiful wasn't it?" Rachel asked Laura. Laura nodded and smiled. Her smile faded as she thought of the repercussions of what JC had just started.
CHAPTER 20
Who were you talking about when you made that speech on stage, dude?" Joey asked as the guys sat in the limo.
"Who do you think?" JC asked.
"I couldn't tell. I am guessing it was for Laura, but then you said 'I love you' and I didn't know if you meant Laura or Rachel…Or Whether that 'I Love You' was the platonic 'I Love You Pal' or the romantic 'OOHH Baby I Love you,'" he stated.
JC was sitting next to Lance who slightly turned his head to speak. "Yeah, man, I thought the same thing."
"It was for Laura. When has Rachel been there for me lately?"
"You just sidetracked us with the 'I love you' because it seemed genuine." Justin defended.
JC rolled his eyes before speaking. "She's my best friend. I love her. You're my best friends…I love you all too. I don't see you guys confusing that one up so why this?" he stated sarcastically.
Chris' head was in the gutter, "Sometimes I do get confused when you say you love me…But I'm okay with your alternative lifestyle."
"Shut up!"
"Damn, I'm starving. What are they serving at the hall we are going to for the after party?" Joey asked as he grabbed JC's program from the ceremony for some clue to the menu at the banquet hall.
Justin looked at Joey and made a comment about Joey's endless appetite while he took his phone out of his pocket. "I wouldn't even consider it a real party. It's basically just dinner and some music…It's not our usual scene, Joey." he stated as he retrieved a number from his phone's memory.
~~~
The limo ride to the hall was silent as Rachel, Laura, and Jerry were lost in their own thoughts.
Jerry suddenly broke the silence. "Look Laura, it's just P.R."
Laura looked over at him and rolled her eyes before turning her gaze back outside.
"Why are you and JC getting so upset about this? You know how this business works!" he defended.
Just as Laura turned to tell Jerry off, her cell phone began to ring. "Hello?"
"What cha doin'?" Justin asked as he scooted down in his chair to get more comfortable.
"Arguing with Jerry."
"Oh well that explains why you looked pissed as hell." he smiled. Laura looked around and noticed limo's on all four sides of theirs. "Where the heck are you that you can see me?"
Justin pushed the button to roll down his window and poked his head out. "Look to your left."
"Laura looked and saw Justin smiling back at her with the phone to his ear. JC looked over at him and tried to lean to see her.
"When you gonna to let me see what's under that cloak?" he smirked.
JC tried to focus on something else other than Justin's flirtations with Laura.
Laura burst out with laughter. "Why? It's just a dress, Justin…You already saw it yesterday."
"Yeah but you were just trying it on. Now that it actually fits your curves more…I want the full effect."
JC blood was boiling and all he could think about was lunging across the limo and punching Justin in the face. "Plus I was talking about it so much that everyone else wants to see it too." he continued.
Chris pushed Justin's head out of the way to yell out the window to Laura. "Yeah, he said that it looks like that white thing Kylie Minogue wears in her video."
Chris, Lance, and Justin immediately began to sing, "Girl, I can't get you outta my head. Your lovin' is all I think about!" All three men paused and looked at each other before, as if on cue, Joey joined in with them, "La La La…La La La La La La La La."
Rachel immediately interrupted. "Ya'll are going to get arrested for disturbing the peace with that racket you call singing!"
Chris moved back away from the window as he said, "Shut Up, Bitch." making sure he didn't say it lound enough for Rachel to actually hear him.
The guys immediately began to laugh. Rachel looked towards the car wondering what was so funny. Laura tried not to laugh when she heard Chris through her phone. She just smiled and shook her head at Rachel. Traffic was backed up for blocks in route to the banquet hall. "Before I forget, I want to thank you for earlier." she stated.
"What do you mean?" A group of girls walking down the street spotted Justin and began to scream out their names. Laura laughed and motioned for him to put up his window.
"On the red carpet...With all the reporters. I was about to go nuts before you came over and helped me relax."
"My pleasure. So are you going to eat with us later at our table?" he asked.
Laura sat and thought about it and turned and look back at Rachel and Jerry and then back towards Justin, who had rolled his window back down.
"Well I don't know. It all depends on if its okay with certain people we know."
Justin squinted his eyes and tried to figure out what she was talking about and suddenly smiled when he got her point. "Let me find out." Justin looked towards JC who was staring out the opposite window. "JC."
"What!" he angrily answered.
All the guys were startled. Justin quickly leaned back and put his hand up, "Yo, you better chill with all that!"
JC tried to downplay his reaction, "Sorry…That didn't come out right at all."
"Do you think you will be able to survive a couple hours with Jerry and Rachel at our table?"
"Rachel is cool. As long as Jerry doesn't sit near me, we're straight."
"Aight, babes. We're cool. I'll work it out before we get there. Save me a dance?"
"Sure." she smiled as traffic began to let up and Justin's limo started to pull away in front of them.
The guys arrived at the hall first and waited in the lobby for Laura, Rachel and Jerry. When they pulled up Laura stepped out first and waiting on Rachel and Jerry to follow. The guys noticed that she was standing outside alone, tapping her foot with a look of frustration on her face. She looked inside and saw them wondering what was going on. She put up her hand and moved her fingers up and down connecting them with her thumb while she mouthed that they were arguing. Lance motioned for her to come inside without them. "What are they arguing about?" he asked as she walked into the building.
"I don't know. Right before we pulled up they were talking low to one another. When I get out of the car Rachel tells me to wait a second and Jerry shuts to door behind me and then I hear yelling."
JC looked out the window and wondered what was going on. "You comin' man?" Justin called out. JC turned around and noticed that they all had started walking. Laura looked back at him and saw his attention focused on the car.
As they walked to the coat room JC stood behind Laura and offered to help her out of her long flowing white satin cloak. As she stepped out of it and turned around, JC almost dropped the coat along with his jaw. She smiled and took it out of his hand and she handed it to the woman behind the counter who handed her a numbered ticket.
"What made you buy that?" he whispered in her ear while the guys were talking amongst themselves.
"It was pretty."
"Pretty isn't the word for it." he mumbled. Where's the rest of it?" he asked as his cock began to stir as he looked down at the exposed areas of her body.
Laura looked at him and smiled and tapped his cheek lightly with her hand. "Chill. I'm sorry if you don't like it…But I do. And that's pretty much all that really matters here."
"I never said I didn't like it. You look amazing....I just-"
"Are we ready?" Justin interrupted. Whistles began to echo in the hallway from Lance, Joey, and Chris cooing after Laura. Her face immediately began to turn colors as she smiled. "Guys…stop."
"Yeah…really…Stop." JC said with a serious look on his face. The remaining four men looked at each other wondering to themselves. Laura shot JC a glare to remind him to take it easy.
As they walked into the door they were immediately surrounded by visions of large extravagant crystal chandeliers. All the tables were setup perfectly with large flower arrangements and small lit candles to add a touch of warm atmosphere for those around. There was a stage and dance floor in the front of the room. Everyone's breath was taken away as they all starred at the domed glass ceiling over the stage. It made it feel as though you were dancing underneath the stars. Their table was up front by the dance floor. When they were seated, JC went to hold the chair for Laura, but she proceeded to sit in between Chris and Justin on the other side of the table where the two extra chairs were placed for Rachel and Jerry.
Fifteen minutes later Rachel walks into the dining area with Jerry following behind her stopping to say hello to people he knew. Laura could see Rachel had been crying. Lance stood up to pull out her chair as she sat down. JC looked over from his conversation with Joey to see that Rachel looked upset and her face was flushed.
"Are you OK?" Laura asked her friend.
"No. Not at all." She replied before looking across the table at JC and saying, "We need to talk later, JC."
"Ummm…Okay. About?" he asked puzzled.
"Later." She firmly stated.
"Fine." JC replied and went back to talking to Joey.
"What's going on, Rach?"
"Jerry can go out and play Mr. Big shot out there in public, but he isn't going to play that shit with me."
"Ooookkkaaayyy" Laura responded as she turned her head the other way and sipped her drink. Laura knew better than to try and get into her best friends line of fire when she was pissed off.