****
Lance gripped Sam’s hand strongly as he led her off the crowded dance floor before they parted ways. He heading to the bar and she making a beeline for the ladies room. A few moments later, Sam sunk into an empty chair next to Justin at their table. Carelessly wiping away the small beads of sweat that had formed on her forehead as a result of her heavy dancing, she picked up her glass and sipped at the last few drops of the vodka-laced orange juice with the slim mixing straw.
“Where did Lance go?” Justin asked leaning in closer to her so she could hear over the loud music.
“Refills,” Sam answered with a devilish grin, raising her empty glass. “Why didn’t Britney come with you?”
“She just wanted to stay in tonight and relax. Spend some time with her family,” he explained before taking the last gulp of his own drink.
“And you wouldn’t have rather stayed in with her?” Sam half-shouted above the boisterous atmosphere.
“I thought it’d be nice for all of us to be together again,” Justin replied, shrugging his shoulders with a boyish grin plastered on his face as Sam burst out laughing. “Why’s that funny?” he asked, his voice elevated an octave or two.
“I’m sorry,” she apologized, halting her giggles. “I’m only laughing because when I asked him earlier tonight why he wanted to go out after such a grueling day, Lance said the same exact thing.”
“What did Lance say?” the handsome man wondered, returning to the table with his girlfriend’s drink in hand.
Sam took the full glass from Lance’s hand gingerly as she recounted the conversation for him while the rest of their friends rejoined the three of them at the large table.
“Hey, if you keep drinking them that fast, you’re gonna start getting them on your own,” Lance teased as Sam consumed nearly half of the glass with one prolonged sip.
“I’m a thirsty girl,” she smirked at him.
“Speaking of thirsty, where’s my refill man?” Justin asked pointing his to his emptied glass.
Lance’s green eyes sparkled with mischief as he spoke. “You’ve already felt up my girlfriend, what more do you want from me?” he asked dryly.
“Did he just say what I think he did?” Jen gasped, stopping the conversation she and Mel were having mid-sentence as Sam spit her mouthful of liquid all over an unsuspecting JC.
“I am so sorry,” she apologized, quickly grabbing a napkin and reaching over Lance to help him clean up.
“It’s okay,” JC smiled, laughing slightly as he dried his shirt. “I seem to be a magnet for these sort of things. And the blame for that one is all on Lance.”
“What?” the blonde man shrugged, furrowing his brow. “I thought it was funny, in a twisted sorta way,” Lance chuckled.
“It was funny,” Chris agreed. “But it was just…”
“So not something I expected to hear come out of your mouth,” Mel finished his thought.
“I think that makes all of us,” Sam said, her voice still showing signs of her obvious shock as she wiped the remaining drops of liquid from her mouth with a paper napkin. “I guess it’s good to know you’re really okay with everything though,” she mused, not able to contain a radiant smile as she looked into his eyes.
“Justin, you alright guy?” Joey asked nudging the younger man beside him as he sat still dumfounded, his mouth a gape as he stared at Lance.
“WOW,” Justin finally exclaimed, shaking his head bemused as he ran his hand through his cropped curls. “And now I definitely need a drink,” he stated pushing his chair away from the table as he prepared to stand.
“Get me one while you’re at it,” Jen ordered. “And I’m not talking about one of those sodas that you boys have been sipping all night. I want something that packs a little punch.”
“Why don’t you get it yourself woman!” he taunted with his cobalt blue eyes wide and a huge smirk lighting up his attractive face, his composure seemingly regained.
“Well I would, but seeing as how I’m not a pop icon, I doubt they’ll serve me,” Jen shot back.
“Did you forget your I.D.?” Chris jumped in.
“No, I have it,” Jen said looking at the five men strangely. “But I don’t think they’ll be impressed by it given the fact that it clearly says I’m underage,” she stated as if it were something she was reminding them of, when in actuality she was breaking the news for the first time.
“What!?” four of the men chorused as JC sat silent, his head spinning as he tried to process this new information.
“Are we talking not legal as in you can’t drink? Or not legal, you can’t vote?” JC asked, nervously awaiting her answer.
Jen smiled coyly at him. It was the first time they’d really spoken since their argument earlier in the day and she decided to have a little fun with him. “Not legal as in I can’t drive,” she replied, her hazel eyes dancing with laughter.
JC’s jaw dropped as Lance spoke up. “No way. Johnny would never hire someone that young,” he argued as JC finally started to think rationally, realizing the holes in her answer.
Jen laughed. “I just turned 20 morons.”
“Really? That means you were still a teenager when Johnny hired you? Did he know that?” Lance questioned.
“Yes he knew,” Jen scoffed. “It’s not like what I do is rocket science or anything. I’m basically just a glorified errand girl,” she explained. “It was just perfect timing that one of the other girls quit and Johnny was kind of in a bind when Sami gave him my name,” the brunette finished with a shrug.
“You’re just a baby,” Justin teased.
“I’m still older than you, little boy,” she reminded. “And Mel, she’s only 19 too!” Jen revealed.
“I suppose you knew that already, didn’t you Joe?” Chris chided.
“Oh, you just had to pull me into to it didn’t ya?” Mel asked squinting her eyes at Jen as the guys’ focus turned to her. “What? I’m young. Deal with it,” she stated plainly.
“Wait a minute, does that mean there’s a chance that I might actually be older than someone?” Justin asked hopefully.
“Sorry to burst your bubble kiddo, but I’m exactly one month older than you,” Mel notified the younger man.
“Exactly one month,” Lance began. “That means your birthday is on…”
“New Year’s Eve,” Joey interjected, smiling proudly. “I knew that.”
“Damn,” Justin cursed with a smile before turning to his close friend. “I can’t believe you never mentioned this before Sami.”
“I was thinking the same thing,” Lance said waiting for her explanation.
“It never crossed my mind,” she replied. “I have a hard time remembering they’re both younger myself,” the petite brunette shrugged.
“I would’ve never guess that Mel was the youngest,” Chris spoke up. “Or that Sam was the oldest for that matter.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Sam asked, her head cocked slightly to one side as her hands rested on her hips.
“I think he meant because of the way you and Jen are so afraid of Mel,” Lance answered, quickly coming to his friend’s aide. “And you always do what she tells you to do.”
“That’s because they’re both smart girls,” Mel smiled.
“What I find really odd is that your age never came up last month when we were both celebrating,” JC recalled, speaking for the first time since Jen had made her revelation.
“Why?” she asked turning to face him. “We didn’t spend the whole night talking about how you were turning 24 did we? It’s not like 20 is a real exciting birthday in the first place either.”
“And it’s obvious that age isn’t a big factor when it comes to you five,” Sam piped up. “There’s a ten year gap in your ages and you’re still all attached at the hip.”
“Hey!” Chris protested. “It’s not quite ten years. I was born in late ’71 and Justin was born in early ’81,” he quipped.
“My mistake,” Sam said with an amused grin.
“So,” Jen said, directing her attention on JC as scattered conversations began to break out among the rest of the large group. “You really didn’t know?”
“I honestly had no idea,” he returned, staring intently into her hazel eyes, his lips pursed.
“Does it make a difference to you for any reason?” the young woman asked, still speaking in general terms in case anyone overheard.
JC mulled her question over in his thoughts before answering. The truth was that her age did make a difference. After learning just how young she still was, it made everything he knew about her all that more amazing.
“Well, I’m… we’re already pretty attached to you,” he corrected himself quickly, as he admired her beautiful face. “And age is just a number,” JC ended with the cliché phrase and a warm smile.
Jen met his baby blues in a dreamy gaze and smiled vibrantly. Both of them realizing that they’d found everything they needed to forget about their earlier disagreement. The young woman cleared her throat, forcing herself to turn away from JC.
“So Justin, how about that drink?” she asked with a smirk. “We’re not getting any younger here.”
****
Just around two hours, and many cocktails, later the three women were out on the floor moving their bodies enthusiastically to the beats of a recent dance club favorite. As the song came to a close and seemingly melted into the next, Sam glanced over at the table and caught a glimpse of Lance yawning widely as he sat tiredly with four other lifeless heaps. Although it wasn’t extremely late, she motioned over to the five men and their protective bodyguards skirting them, suggesting to Mel and Jen that it was time to be leaving. The guys had put in a full day of grueling rehearsals and they needed to get back to the hotel and seize some much-deserved rest before more practicing tomorrow morning and finally the actual awards show in the evening. The two women agreed and the three friends began to make their way over to their companions in mini-conga line as they sang the infectious hook of the song that had just played loudly throughout the club.
“Shake ya ass… But watch ya self… Shake ya ass… Show me whatcha workin with!” the women chorused energetically, mimicking the sound of the Mystikal tune.
The bodyguards’ boisterous laughter revealed their enjoyment with the three girls’ current state of intoxication and even the five guys seated at the table seemed to liven up a bit as they approached. Mel walked around to her seat, slugging Joey in the arm as he stuck his foot out, purposely trying to trip the tall brunette. Jen immediately plopped into the first empty chair she could decipher through her hazy vision, stealing not only Sam’s seat but also her beverage as she lifted the clear container in front her and gulped the last refreshing drink.
“Excuuuuse me!” Sam protested as Jen smoothly grabbed Justin’s cup out of the unsuspecting man’s grasp.
“Eww, what is this crap!? Just plain soda?” she frowned after taking a large sip.
“Yes. I have to work tomorrow,” he stated, snatching the glass back. None of the guys had drank more than one or two alcoholic beverages all evening. They all wanted to be at their best tomorrow, besides they were having plenty of fun being entertained by their drunken female friends.
“HA! I don’t,” Jen teased in a singsong voice as Sam stood beside the chair, her hands perched on her hips. “Why are you standing there?” she asked furrowing her brow at her annoyed friend.
“Hello! You’re in my seat dork!” Sam huffed.
“Ya snooze, ya loose sista,” Jen shot back, laughing at her own reply.
“Just sit over here,” Mel suggested, pointing to the empty chair on that side of the table.
“I don’t wanna walk all the way over there,” Sam whined. “Besides, I wanna sit next to Lance!” she pouted, stomping her foot much like a defiant toddler would.
“Okay fine, stand over there and act like a fool then,” Mel chuckled, rolling her dark eyes. “Whatever floats your boat.”
“Screw you both!” Sam said sticking her tongue out at the two women as the guys laughed. “I have a better idea,” she informed with a snooty tone before climbing very ungracefully into her boyfriend’s lap.
“Ya know, for someone who wasn’t even sure she was gonna be drinking tonight, you’re pretty wasted,” Lance teased, sliding a steady hand around her back.
“I am not drunk. I’m soberly challenged,” she corrected, her words slightly slurred.
“There’s a difference?” he smirked.
“Yes Poofu, there is,” Sam retorted dryly causing his groupmates to bust up laughing. “Would you like me to explain or would you rather just shut up and kiss me?”
“Ha ha, she broke out Poofu on you man!” JC exclaimed through his giggles.
“Ah, the classic zinger, gets ‘em every time,” Chris smiled.
“I’m not kissing you after you uttered that word,” Lance refused, pretending to be offended by the reference to a job he once held masquerading as a stuffed dog.
“Oh quit being a baby,” the brunette sighed rolling her eyes. “It’s not like I asked you to sing the freaking song or anything. Now kiss me damn it,” Sam ordered.
Lance gave in to her demands, pulling her mouth against his in a warm embrace as Chris loudly imitated the cracking of whip.
“Ugh, I’m gonna be sick,” Mel grumbled.
“Too much to drink?” Joey snickered, nudging her arm.
“No. Too much visual disturbance,” she quipped balling up a paper napkin and throwing it at the back of Sam’s head.
“That’s it! I’ve finally figured it out!” Jen shouted loudly, startling Sam enough to make her pull away from her lip-lock. “Listen, listen to me,” the young woman stammered, placing her hand on Lance’s shoulder as Sam stared at her oddly.
“Okay, I’m listening,” the blonde man returned. He wasn’t sure if she had set her hand on his shoulder to get his attention or to steady herself as her hazel eyes fluttered repeatedly. She had arrived at the club a good while before the other two girls and gotten a head start on her alcohol consumption for the evening, so as a result she was visibly more intoxicated. “Jen?” Lance asked as she sat silent, JC shaking his head in amusement as he watched her across the table.
“Oh, right, as I was saying,” she slurred, snapping out of her haze for the moment. “So anycrap, there’s always been something that bothered me about seeing you two kiss but I could never really put my finger on it until just now.”
“Do you mean how they’re so disgustingly, sickeningly, giddily, corny, mushy, sappy, happy in love?” Mel interjected, garnering blank stares from the table. “Hmm, I guess that’s just me,” she shrugged.
“No, no, no, my reason is MUCH better, trust me,” Jen insisted, pausing briefly to recollect her thoughts. “Yeah, so the whole being weirded out by you two kissing thing, at first I thought it might just be because I had never really seen Sami kiss anybody, not in anything more than a friendly way that is. OH! Wait!” she exclaimed, suddenly recalling a memory. “This one time we were at a party and I looked over and she was just kissing some random guy. I nearly fell off my chair!”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Sam denied with an innocent smile.
“Right. So back to what I saying,” Jen started again, a look of concentration heavy on her pretty features as she tried to formulate the words floating through her thoughts into coherent sentences. “I’ve realized tonight that it’s not Sami that freaks me out. It’s you buddy,” she said to Lance, slapping his shoulder. “Ya see, I think your approach is all wrong,” Jen declared as the rest of the group chuckled.
“Aww, don’t listen to her,” Sam comforted squeezing his cheeks. “I love the way you kiss.”
“But I’m sayin’, if I can give the boy a few tips then it’ll be even better right?” Jen suggested to her friend, wiggling her eyebrows. “So here, so here’s the thing Lance,” she stuttered, slapping her free hand to her forehead. “Shit, where was I?” Jen mumbled trying to remember her point. “Oh yes! You open your mouth WAY too soon,” she blurted out. “And WAY to wide,” she added as everybody laughed wildly. “Seriously, like I’m afraid sometimes that you’re gonna swallow her whole, like a big mouth bass, if you will. And you,” Jen turned, pointing to JC as she noticed his high-pitched giggles above everyone else’s. “Well ya know, I don’t really have any complaints when it comes to you, which is strange, cuz I’m the complaining kinda girl,” she said thoughtfully before breaking into an unwarranted laugh.
“Well you wouldn’t have a complaint with him, considering you’ve never witnessed him in a romantical-type setting right?” Mel urged, kicking her friend under the table.
“Exactly!” Jen agreed slamming the palm of her hand on the flat surface of the table, quickly regaining her composure before she gave away her own secrets. “So back to you fishy,” she cracked, once again focusing her attention on Lance. “I guess what I’m asking is that you just ease up on the full-mouth attack a bit. I mean I know if you did swallow Sami she could live comfortably in that spacious Adam’s apple of yours, but I’d miss her. And although I love her, I’m not sure the love goes deep enough for me to go digging around for her in one of your bodily orifices.”
“Are you finished?” Lance asked with an arched eyebrow as the hearty laughter among them all slowly began to subside.
“Yes,” Jen answered with a nod of her head. “You’re welcome.”
“I don’t remember saying thank you,” he grinned.
“I know. You’ve got some horrible manners for a southern boy,” she scolded before swiping Justin’s drink again.
“Its just Coke remember?” the blue-eyed man chided as she gulped down the remaining contents of the glass. “By all means Jen, go ahead, I didn’t want anymore of it,” he said sarcastically as she finished.
“Thanks,” she smiled brightly. “I was parched. Dispelling my wisdom makes me extremely thirsty.”
“Man!” Chris laughed. “You’re the funniest, stupid drunk I’ve seen in a long time. You should do this more often,” he kidded. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you like this.”
“Yes, this is definitely a side of you I’ve never seen either,” JC confirmed with a playful grin.
“Aww, that’s so sweet,” Jen cooed. “Thanks Chris!”
“All right,” Mel spoke up as Joey sat leaning wearily against her. “Since I’ve had to sit through this whole kissing discussion, I have something that I’ve been dying to hear the answer to for months now. And since I think I should get some enjoyment out of this conversation as well, besides just laughing my ass off at you of course,” the dark-haired beauty directed at Jen, prompting a cheerful thumbs up from the inebriated woman. “I’m just going to ask it myself,” she explained, a devilish gleam in her brown eyes as she continued. “Sami, tell me, who’s the better kisser, Justin or Lance?” Mel questioned, causing Sam to seek refuge, burying her face against Lance’s neck as she felt her cheeks burning. Mel would have never asked such a scandalous question if it weren’t for her slightly tipsy state of mind, at least not in the presence of the two men in question, let alone the entire group of friends.
“YES! Somebody finally asked THE question,” Chris squealed pumping his fist in the air.
“Now that I think about it Sam, I think you are the first girl to ever REALLY kiss two of us. I think it’s your duty to share your knowledge,” Joey reasoned.
“Well I’m not sure I believe that,” Mel scoffed at Joey’s comment before turning her attention back to Sam. “Come on, we’re all waiting ya hussy,” she taunted her friend as Justin sat shaking his head, fighting back a grin.
Sam finally sat up, revealing her totally reddened face as Lance prodded at her sides. Clearing her throat she finally spoke. “Weren’t we gonna leave?” she proposed, completely dodging the question and prompting a round of boos and jeers from the table of friends.
“Oh what is the big deal?” Jen sighed loudly, rolling her hazel eyes. “If I had kissed two of them I’d answer the stupid question,” she stated just before a mischievous grin slid across her rosy lips. “In fact, hold that thought for just a moment,” Jen said cryptically. Turning to face Justin, she caught the young man completely by surprise as she placed her hand behind his head and drew his face to hers, kissing him full on the lips as the remaining six at the table shared looks of disbelief. “Hmm, not bad,” she mused finally pulling away after holding the kiss for longer than anyone had expected she would. “I’ve always wanted to do that Fro,” Jen giggled, noticing the group’s shocked expressions.
“Is that so?” JC inquired, doing his best to keep his tone even as he folded his arms across his chest while sitting back in the wooden chair.
“Oh shut up. You knew he was my favorite,” she reminded. “It was just a kiss. Big baby didn’t even really kiss back.”
“Well okay then,” Justin said cocking his head to the side as he wiped the corners of his mouth with his thumb and forefinger, still quite dumfounded.
“Oh stop trying to act like you’re all offended or something,” Jen ordered as the younger man ran a careless hand through his mess of curls. “It’s not like random girls don’t come up and do that to you all the time.”
“Actually, the bodyguards usually keep the more psycho fans like yourself away from us,” Justin taunted with a wide grin.
“How boring for you,” Jen retorted. “So isn’t anybody curious about who the better kisser is?” she prompted the bunch of friends.
“Yes. I know I’m VERY curious as to which one of the others you’ve kissed,” Sam replied as Jen stared at her blankly. “You would’ve had to have kissed another one to compare,” she further clarified for her friend as Mel and Chris shared a knowing glance.
“Pssh, details,” Jen said waving her hand in the air, brushing off the subject. The rest of the group just laughed it off, figuring that she was just talking nonsense thanks to her heavy doses of alcohol consumed over the course of the evening. JC decided it was time to bail her out before she said something he knew she would regret in the morning.
“I think it’s time to get back to the hotel. We’re exhausted and Jen is drunk,” he chuckled.
“Yes, Jen is,” she agreed with her blue-eyed boyfriend, plopping her head heavily onto the table. “Check please!”
“Speaking of the check,” Lance started as Sam slipped down from his lap.
“I got it,” Justin interrupted as he stood from his seat as well.
“J, are you sure? It’s gonna be huge,” JC stated, surveying the empty glasses on the table.
“Yes, it’s my treat,” he insisted as Lonnie radioed the drivers on the walkie-talkie instructing them to bring the cars around. “It’s the least I can do,” Justin shrugged at Lance and Sam with a smile before heading to the bar with a bodyguard in tow to take care of the sizable tab.
Once Lonnie got word that their transportation was securely waiting at the back entrance and Justin had returned to the table, he gave the okay to leave.
“Jen, aren’t you coming?” Sam asked grabbing her purse off the back of the chair where her friend still remained. Jen had sprawled her entire upper body over the table, her head cradled in her arms. She said nothing. “Jen? Can you walk?”
“Of course I can, don’t you see me? I’m walking,” she mumbled barely coherent.
“Hey Randy, would you mind?” JC asked the bodyguard near his disabled girlfriend.
“No problem,” the bulky man replied, gently pulling her upright in the seat before lifting her into his arms as she instinctively wrapped her hands around his neck.
“I’m sorry Randy,” Jen apologized softly, resting her head on his shoulder. “I’m sorry that JC is such a twig that I’d snap him in half if he tried to carry me,” she joked.
“It’s okay sweetheart,” he laughed as the large entourage filed out of the secluded entrance and safely into the waiting vehicles.
****
The eight friends were unusually quiet as they sat comfortably in the luxurious limousine as it navigated slowly through the heavy New York traffic, their bodyguards in the car trailing them. Jen studied JC as he sat in the side seat in front of her, his head leaning back against the black leather interior and his eyes nearly closed. Sighing loudly, she pressed the button on the armrest, rolling the tinted window down until it disappeared. Jen rested her head against the frame as she shut her eyes tightly, willing the cool night wind to wash away the thoughts weighing heavy on her clouded mind.
Feeling the burst of air blow across his tired face, JC opened his eyes. Turning his gaze to the woman on his right his heart tugged at his arms to reach out and comfort her, to push away the strands of chestnut hair resting on her pretty face, to rub a calming hand down her back, but he couldn’t. Jen wasn’t ready for their relationship to become public knowledge and as much as he disliked the arrangement, JC respected her wishes. And for that reason only, he resisted his impulses.
Opening her hazel eyes to find JC’s steady gaze upon her, Jen was quiet as she slid onto his lap, curling up against his strong chest like a baby. JC instinctively cradled his arms around her and Chris nudged at Mel motioning to the embraced couple as Jen began to speak.
“I’m sorry I kissed Justin,” she apologized to JC, her voice wary. “I was just trying to prove a point. It didn’t mean anything,” Jen stated earnestly.
“I know,” he replied simply, his tone sincere, soothing, his crystal blue eyes piercing her soul while the rest of the passengers looked on confused.
“Okay, I realize my normal level of comprehension is a bit altered at the moment,” Sam said looking up at Lance as she rested cozily against him near the other door. “But why is she apologizing to JC for kissing Justin?”
“Good question,” the green-eyed man responded looking to Jen and JC for an answer.
JC waited for Jen to reply, hoping that she would just give in and reveal their secret. She had other plans however. “What! You mean you’re not Justin?” she exclaimed, feigning surprise as she slid her hands over the chiseled features of JC’s face and then up to his hair. “Nope, you’re not Justin are ya?” Jen giggled, running her hand through his straight tufts of brown locks as he smiled widely. “Sorry, my vision is a bit hazy tonight,” she shrugged before crawling out of his arms across the seat to the next man’s lap. Slapping clumsily at his face before slipping her hand into a crop of tight curls, Jen found her target. “Justin! There you are,” she raved.
“Yes, hello again Jen,” he greeted her with a chuckle.
“So tell me Fro, did you hear all that stuff I just said to the other one over there?” Jen asked, nudging JC with her foot. Justin nodded his response. “Good. Just copy that and you have what I meant to say to you. Can you ever forgive me?” she questioned, mockingly batting her hazel eyes at him.
“Don’t worry about it. I can think of far worse things than getting mauled by a hot, drunken chick,” he cracked.
“Well now that that’s all settled,” Jen paused squeezing into the corner of the leather seat between Justin and Chris, apparently having discovered her second wind. “I’m hungry!”
“Oh no,” Chris said shaking his head. “No food for the drunk.”
“Actually, food has this really weird sobering affect on her,” Mel informed. “That one’s the puker,” the dark-haired woman added motioning towards Sam.
“Thanks for the warning,” Lance giggled.
“Hey, it hasn’t happened once since we’ve been together has it?” Sam said in defense of herself, jabbing him in the side with her elbow.
“Consider yourself lucky,” Mel cracked. “Can’t you just order something from room service when we get back to the hotel?” she asked Jen through a wide yawn. “I’m tired.”
“No,” Jen refused. “I want some good old fashioned, cheap, comfort food. Not something from a stupid ritzy hotel.”
“What do you mean? Like McDonald’s or something?” Joey inquired.
“Eww! No,” Jen shouted crinkling her nose. “Burger King,” she corrected.
“That sounds good actually,” Chris agreed.
“I could eat,” Joey chimed in.
“It doesn’t really matter to me,” Justin shrugged. “I’m sure Sexual Chocolate wouldn’t mind grabbing a bite to eat either,” he added, using the nickname they’d coined for their group of bodyguards. “What about you guys?” Justin asked JC, Lance and Sam. They all conceded.
“Oh Lonnie,” Jen called out, turning around and tapping on the window separating the bodyguard and the driver from the back of the car. “Pit stop,” she smiled at the man as the partition opened. After Jen explained the change of plans, Lonnie looked passed her to one of the guys for conformation. Justin smiled and nodded a yes just before Jen discovered the control panel and sealed the window again. “Okay,” she said turning around and plopping back into the seat. “Who was playing with my ass?” Jen wondered as the two men beside her smiled innocently. “Chris? Joey?” she prodded, as they remained silent.
“Oh fine, ya got me,” Mel huffed. “I was playing with your ass,” she quipped enticing laughs from everyone.
****
“I just have to say, I’m very impressed with you,” Joey praised wrapping his arm around Mel’s head, pulling it down a little to give her a rousing noogie with his other hand as they walked through the restaurant parking lot.
“Why is that?” she scowled, smoothing down her raven-colored hair after breaking free from his clutches.
“Because I saw you drink just as much as Sam and…” he paused to correct himself before the words had even left his mouth. “Okay as much as Sam, Jen wasn’t gonna give anyone a chance to out-drink her,” Joey chuckled before continuing. “But you and Sam had pretty much the same amount of drinks from what I saw and you’re barely tipsy and she’s…” the brown-eyed man stopped short, turning around to find the source behind the ruckus that had distracted him.
Sam and Jen were playfully struggling with each other, attempting to exit the car through the same door simultaneously. Lance still sat inside the vehicle laughing as the two women pushed and pulled at one another until finally landing on the asphalt tangled and giggling.
“Can I assist you ladies?” Justin offered extending his hands as he stood over them.
“No. Do we look like a couple of cripples?” Jen retorted slapping at his outstretched hand.
“Well…” Justin smirked.
“Watch it Kid,” Sam warned as she and Jen stumbled to their feet.
“And Sam’s like that,” Joey finished as he and Mel watched the two girls as they linked arms and began skipping in their direction.
“Yes, I hold my liquor like a man,” the tall beauty agreed, mockingly flexing her muscles just as her friends approached her.
“Bathroom break!” Sam and Jen shouted, grabbing Mel by either elbow as they zipped through the entrance dragging her along.
“Ugh, these are enough to make anybody hurl,” Sam quipped noticing the posters featuring the Backstreet Boys and their recent advertising pairing with the popular restaurant chain as the three woman emerged from the restroom minutes later.
“Oh my goodness!” Mel shrieked snatching a golden paper crown off of a counter. “I didn’t even know they still made these!”
“This is very fashionable if I do say so myself,” Jen said adjusting the crown as she checked her reflection in one of the large windows of the nearly empty dining area. “And I do!” she laughed.
“I have the overwhelming urge to sing a little jingle,” Sam grinned fastening the paper ring around her head as she filled her friends in on her plans.
The guys and their bodyguards were gathered near the counter still placing their orders as the three women appeared from around the corner. Dancing in line formation, complete with hips thrusts and swivels, Sam, Jen and Mel began singing the lyrics to a Burger King commercial featuring the Backstreet Boys that had been saturating the television market as of late.
Hold the pickles
Hold the lettuce
Special orders don’t upset us
All we ask is that you let us
Serve it your way
Receiving hearty laughter and applause from the group of men, the girls bowed graciously, blowing kissing to their newfound fans as Justin spoke up, a mischievous sparkle in his blue eyes. “All I have to say is, we did it first,” he cracked, a joking reference to the supposed ongoing feud between the two popular groups.
“Sam, what are you doing?” Lance asked, watching carefully as his girlfriend stood on the wooden bench in one of the nearby booths.
“Invoking my rights to artistic freedom,” the brunette answered retrieving a black ink pen from her purse. “Ah, much better,” Sam said with a satisfied nod of her head as she stood back to admire her handiwork on the large poster hanging from the window.
“I can see the headlines in tomorrow’s paper already,” JC said as Sam jumped down to the floor. “*NSYNC and disorderly friends trash local Burger King, defacing the Backstreet Boys,” he stated, eyeing the newly sketched black eyes, horns, and blackened teeth on the picture.
“That’s *NSYNC and girlfriends,” Sam corrected walking up to where Lance stood leaning against a counter.
“Oh, I’m not a girlfriend. I’m just a whore,” Jen stated bluntly, garnering strange looks from everyone. “Duh, the whole beck and call girl thing?” she reminded.
“And I’m a princess,” Mel said with a childlike tone as she spun into a round of pirouettes around the seating area.
“Oh yeah,” Chris piped up, grabbing the paper crown off of Sam’s head and placing it on his own. “Well I’m a pretty, pretty princess,” he countered, leaping through the air like a very ungraceful ballerina.
“Sami, tell…” Jen paused, squinting to read the small lettering on the nametag of the flustered man behind the counter. “Tell Paul here what you want to eat.”
“I don’t want anything,” she groaned placing her hand on her stomach. “The smell in here is making me sick.”
“What’s wrong with the smell?” Joey asked taking a big sniff of the air around him. “Smells like French fries and grilled burgers to me.”
“Exactly. This place smells like food,” Sam agreed.
“Funny thing about restaurants, there usually is a food aroma of some sorts in the air,” Justin teased.
“Uh oh, I told you about that puking thing,” Mel hollered from the other side of the small room where her and Chris were now prancing around together. “This one time we went to a Caribbean themed party… jerk chicken… that’s all I’m sayin’.”
“If you didn’t want to eat then why’d you say yes?” Lance questioned as she leaned against him.
“I thought you were hungry,” she shrugged, her face beginning to lose its color.
“I’m not. I only came in because I thought you were,” he explained.
“Since neither one of us is going to eat, would you mind if we waited outside in the car?” she asked apologetically. “I really don’t feel like getting sick tonight.”
“Since I really don’t feel like watching you get sick tonight, I think that’s a great idea,” Lance said wrapping a steadying arm around her upper body as they turned for the exit.
“I’ll walk you guys out there,” Mike said opening the door.
“No. Stay and eat your food,” Lance asserted. “We’ll be fine. You can see the car from here.”
“Oh that wasn’t obvious or anything,” Joey smirked. “Nothing like a little backseat lovin’.”
“Eww! I’m not getting in that limo after you two do naughty things in there,” Chris whined, wrinkling his nose in disgust.
“Yeah, like Lance wants to get it on with the pukey girl,” Mel cracked causing Sam to break into giggles.
“If the car’s a knockin’, don’t come a rockin’” Sam said suggestively wiggling her eyebrows before realizing her mistake. “Err… oh forget it. You know what I meant,” she huffed as Lance just smiled while leading her outside.
“SOY BOMB!” Chris and Mel shouted at their friends as a shower of small, white, plastic containers holding liquid coffee creamer sailed through the air pelting their unsuspecting targets.