***
"Uh oh, them there's the trouble causing pants," Jen said as she walked into Sam's room, waiting impatiently for her friend to finish getting ready.
"Yeah, well you helped me pick them out," Sam replied, still trying to achieve that tousled look with her shoulder length hair. The two were referring to the maroon, snakeskin patterned, leather-like pants that Sam had picked up while the pair were in Las Vegas. The very same ones Sam was wearing for the infamous table-dancing incident. "Besides, I was feeling kinda sassy today so they fit my mood."
"That they do. And I'm sure that it has nothing to do with wanting Lance to see you in them right?"
"Not at all," Sam said shaking her head, trying to resist the smile forming across her lips.
"Riiiight," Jen teased. "So what is going on with you two? You've been very friendly ever since that hug yesterday."
"Nothing," Sam answered. She and Lance hadn't spoken about the hug but the easiness in their relationship had returned. "We've always been that way with each other."
Just as Jen was about to speak again, there was a knock at the door. "I'll get it, and for goodness sakes girl, hurry up," she ordered before walking out of the room. As she opened the door and saw Lance and JC standing in front of her, she burst into spontaneous laughter.
"It's nice to see you too," JC grinned as they entered the room. "Are you ladies ready?"
"I am. Sam's still in her room," she said still laughing.
"I'll get her," Lance said looking at Jen strangely.
"Care to tell me what's so funny?" JC asked, as Lance disappeared into Sam's room.
"You'll see in a minute," she answered, wiping the tears from her eyes.
"Wow, you look...WOW," Lance said as he appeared in the open doorway of the bathroom, staring at her as she stood in front of the floor length mirrors checking over her attire one last time. Sam could see his reflection as he stood behind her and blushed at not only the compliment but also the way he was staring at her.
"Thanks," she said quietly as she slipped a silver bangle over her wrist and reached for her necklace. "Can you give me a hand with this please?"
Lance went to her, taking the necklace from her small hands not bothering to mention that he had seen her do it herself on several occasions without the help of a mirror, much less someone else. "There ya go, all set," he said laying the silver metal against her neck, his fingers gently grazing her skin as he did so. She shivered slightly at the unexpected contact. He smiled at her in the mirror, once again admiring how beautiful she looked. The silver of her jewelry perfectly offsetting the small shimmering specs of metallic in her black, sleeveless shirt.
"So have I ever told you how much I like you in reds," Sam said smiling back at him as she turned around and tugged on his deep-wine colored leather jacket. He was wearing a snug charcoal shirt under it with a pair of black jeans. "Ha, look at us, we match," she said turning around and standing next to him in front of the mirror.
"You're right, we do," Lance said looking at their image in the mirror. "Oh, I bet that's what Jen was laughing about."
"Come on you two, we're waiting out here," Jen yelled from the other room.
"How was that for timing?" Sam asked chuckling as she and Lance made their way to the main room of the suite.
"Okay, now I get it," JC said smiling as the two of them walked out together.
"Oh geez, it's even better when you're standing next to each other. I really hope you two dorks didn't plan this," Jen said laughing heartily.
"Nope, not at all," Lance said putting his arm around Sam. "I guess it just proves how in sync we are."
"Did he really just say that?" Jen asked JC.
"Yes, indeed he did," he answered.
"And on that note, shall we go now?" Sam asked, saving Lance from further taunting.
As the four of them walked down the hall to the elevator Lance was watching Samantha walking ahead of him when a thought entered his head. He quickened his stride to keep pace with her as he spoke up. "So tell me something Sam. How do you plan on dancing in those pants?" he asked, arching his neck and stealing a quick glance at her backside.
Sam smacked him playfully on the arm before she responded. "They're not that tight, and besides, the more I move, the more looser they get. With my luck, they'll probably be falling off me by the end of the night."
"And that would be bad because?" he asked coyly.
Sam just shook her head. "So we're going dancing?"
"Oh I have no idea, JC wouldn't tell me. I still don't understand why he wants it to be surprise for everybody."
"Me either but I guess we'll find out," Sam said before taking off running towards the elevator. "Race you," she shouted back at Lance.
"No fair, you got a head start," he whined.
"Aww, poor baby. Do you wanna call your mommy?" With that Lance took off in her direction, easily catching up to her. He wrapped his arms around her from behind and lifted her off the ground. "Uh, I never should've tried to out run you in these pants," she said out of breath.
"Now who needs to call their mommy?" he teased. "And I thought you said they weren't that tight."
"Yeah, well they're not stretched out yet. Are you gonna put me down?"
"I suppose," he said sitting her down after they walked into the waiting elevator.
"I don't know if those two are gonna need as big of a push as we thought," JC said as he and Jen were trying to catch up to them.
"No kidding. They are truly scary," the tall brunette said. "I mean come on, they're dressing alike and they aren't even a real couple yet."
"Good point. I can just imagine what it'll be like when they actually are together. Are we sure we want to do this?" he asked smiling crookedly.
"Yeah, cuz they're gonna drive us crazy either way and I'd rather have them together and driving us crazy," Jen reasoned.
"Another good point," JC said, his sparkling blue eyes fixated on her as they entered the elevator with Sam and Lance.
***
"So should I take Joey's absence as personal insult?" Jen asked as the six of them sat in the car, now on the way to the second location of the night. They had just come from dinner at a local pizzeria.
"No. He's got some stuff of his own going on right now, but normally he'd be Mr. Friendly. Maybe even a little TOO friendly," JC explained chuckling.
"Trust me, with the mood he's been in most of the time lately, it's probably better he's not here," Justin added just as the muffled ringing of a cell phone sounded. Instinctively the four men reached for their phones; one by one realizing the noise wasn't coming from any of theirs. Sam and Jen sat laughing at the group as they recognized it was actually Samantha's phone ringing.
"Haha, Sami's more popula' than you guys are," Jen said, causing her and Sam to double over in laughter.
"Did we miss something?" a confused Justin asked Chris.
"Oh you know how girls are with they're silly little inside jokes," the dark-haired man answered rolling his eyes.
"Hello," Sam answered the phone, still laughing.
"Sami baby!" a cheerful voice shouted.
"AHH! Mel!" Sam shrieked. "What's up?"
"Not much, just chillin' in your apartment. You and JenJen need to grocery shop more often."
"Sorry, I've been busy lately, but I'll be sure to add it to the list," Sam answered sarcastically. She and Jen had asked Mel to stay at their apartment while they were away; they didn't feel safe leaving it empty for so long, not to mention the small matter of their cat needing food and water. "I don't think you're in a position to complain considering you're living rent free right now," she teased.
"Hey, I'm taking care of your cat aren't I?" Mel responded laughing.
"Right, sorry."
"So anyways, where are you at?"
"Well, right now we're in a limo on our way to...somewhere," Sam said giving JC an evil look but also a wink to make sure he knew she was only playing.
"Sounds...interesting. Everybody's there?" Mel asked.
"Everyone but Joey."
"So, he's still on the anti-social trip eh?"
"Yep, maybe you should come and pull him out of it," Samantha teased her friend, referring to the crush Mel had on Joey.
"Hmm, maybe. So any news to report on the Lance situation?" she asked.
"There is no situation. End of story," Sam said, unconsciously glancing at Lance.
"Uh huh, sure. Let me talk at Jen for a second please."
"Hey woman," Jen said taking the phone from Sam.
"So have you made any progress in your efforts to get those two fools together?" Mel asked.
"I'm working on it," Jen said sticking her tongue out at a staring Sam.
"Oh, is that what y'all are up to tonight? The devious little plan you told me about yesterday?"
"Yes ma'am."
"Ooh, somebody better call me and let me know how it turns out," Mel ordered.
"Of course we will," Jen reassured.
"Good, put Sami back on."
"What are you two talking about?" Sam asked.
"Just the usual. You know, how Lance needs to shit or get off the pot," Mel said nonchalantly.
"Well, that's probably the most romantic comparison I've ever heard," Sam said laughing.
"Hey, you're the hopeless romantic, not me."
"This is true," Sam agreed. "Well, I think we've reached our destination. I'll call you when I get back to the hotel if its not too late."
"Well, with any luck you'll be too pre-occupied to think about me," Mel said cryptically.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Samantha asked confused.
"You'll see soon enough my dear," Mel giggled as she said goodbye and hung up the phone.
Sam turned to Jen as she spoke. "You two scare me."
"Me?" Jen asked smiling innocently. "Why?"
"Because you're up to something."
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Jen insisted.
"Come on slow pokes," Chris hollered, already standing outside the car. Sam stumbled as she was stepping out of the car and Lance's idea of helping her was to playfully push her in the other direction, causing Sam to retaliate as soon as she regained her balance. Her and Lance took turns swatting at each other as they all walked to the entrance of the building. "Listen, if you two don't behave I'm gonna turn this car around," Chris said narrowing his eyes and shaking his index finger at the whimsical pair.
"Umm, Chris I think that only works when you're still IN a car," Justin pointed out.
"Oh right, well then you two crazy kids do whatever you want," Chris said shrugging his shoulders as they entered the door.
***
Joey sat in the dimly light room, the florescent glow of the street lamp outside his window providing the only color in the room besides the black of darkness. He had reached for the phone at least a dozen times already, each time sitting it down before he completely dialed the number. This time he was determined to see it through. He held the receiver in his left hand and nervously punched out the numbers with his right, his heart pounding with fear as he heard the first ring. After the fourth sound, there were beads of sweat forming on his forehead. He was almost relieved when her answering machine clicked on, but at the same time disappointed that he wouldn't get to speak with her after working up the nerve to make the call. After the beep sounded, Joey took a deep breath and began talking.
"Hey it's me," he paused, not sure where to start. "I know I'm probably the last person that you want to hear from right now. I just wanted to say that I miss you and that I'm...I'm so sorry," he said his voice beginning to crack and tears filling his eyes. "I was an asshole that night, and every night since then for letting all this time pass without any contact between us. I was just scared and I know that's no excuse. I'm not trying to make excuses, just to explain. I know that it is completely unfair of me to ask for your forgiveness, but if there's any way you can find it in your heart to forgive me, I'm begging for it," he said, wiping away the tears that were spilling over his lashes. "You have my numbers, I don't know what I can do to convince you to use them. I know that you've heard me utter too many empty promises, but I swear that if you give me this one last chance, it'll be the last one...ever. I love you."
He hung up the phone and lay back on the bed, letting the tears run down the sides of his face, while running his hands through his short brown hair. The sudden ringing of his cell phone caused his heart to skip a beat. He reached next to him and grabbed it, praying that it was her as he answered.
"Hello," he said, with his voice wavering.
"Joe? Is that you? It's Steve. What's up with your voice?" his brother asked.
"Oh, I think I'm catching a cold or something," Joey answered, clearing his throat. "What's going on?"
"Not much, I was just gonna see if you wanted to go out."
"No I better not. Like I said, I'm not feeling too well so I'm just gonna stay here."
"Wow, you must be feeling bad if you'd rather stay in a hotel room than hit the town," Steve joked.
"Yeah, I feel horrible," Joey said, not completely lying. He did feel sick to his stomach but not because he was catching a cold.
"Alright, get some rest. I'll talk to you later bro," Steve said hanging up.
Joey spent the rest of the night staring aimlessly out the window and hoping against hope that he would hear from her soon.