Lois nervously drummed her fingernails on the while linen tablecloth. She looked around the restaurant almost frantically, her eyes unable to focus on a single object. Her leg bounced uneasily, her mind racing, her mouth dry and palms sweaty.
And they had only been there for less than ten minutes.
"Lois, for the love of God and all the is holy," Justin spoke up. "Would you please stop that before I am forced to open the biggest can of whoop ass known to mankind!?"
If she had heard him, she didn't indicated it. Instead, her fingers continued their assault on the tabletop, her knee bouncing more rapidly.
Justin rolled his eyes, before turning to Lauren. "I swear, if she doesn't stop I'm gonna kill her!"
"Justin, shut up." Lauren scolded. "You know how nervous she is, now get off her back."
A sly grin came to Justins lips. "Mind if I get on yours?" he asked suggestively.
Lauren giggled. Damn it, she giggled! She hated it when he made her giggle. She was an intelligent woman, and here she was, in a classy restaurant, looking like a million bucks. And she was fucking giggling!
And Justin loved it.
"Lois, calm down." Brian said, placing a soft hand on her knee. She almost bounced it right off again. "If you keep it up, he's going to know that something is wrong."
Her knee stopped bouncing immediately.
"Ugh, where is he?" Lois asked, looking at the entrance to the restaurant for the millionth time that minute.
"Don't you mean they?"
Lois turned and looked at Justin. A look that would melt a normal human being. But as Justin mentioned in the past, he was anything but normal.
"I'm just saying," he began to defend himself. "That she is coming to. And if you don't acknowledge and at least be nice to her, then that wont exactly get you anywhere with Joey."
Slowly, Lois' icy stare warmed into one of understanding.
She hated it when he was right, which wasn't very often. But occasionally, even Justin Timberlake could be right.
Hell must have frozen over, she thought.
"He's right, you know." Brian said, bringing Lois' attention back to him.
She looked at him, and nodded. "You're right."
"What?" Justin said, almost disbelieving. "You agree with him, but when I say it, you look like your trying to decide whether to bite my head off, or rip it off and shove it up my ass!"
"Well, it is a hard decision to make. Since sometimes you tend to talk out of your ass, I have to decide if I wanna kill two birds with one stone by plugging it up." Lois shrugged.
She smiled at herself. Even at a time like this, she was a smart ass. God, she was good.
Justin mumbled to himself, something about how no one appreciated him. As usual, no one was paying attention
"So, have we decided what we want to do?" Lauren asked, placing her elbows on the table.
"About what?" Lois asked, her knee slowly beginning to bounce again.
"About what we are going to do about your little problem." Lauren stated plainly. "He's going to show up here, with her, and your going to have to handle it. Now, normally, you are the queen of cool and confident, but lately you've been a little--"
"Floopy." Justin added.
Lauren shot him a look before continuing. "I'm just saying maybe you should have some sort of plan on how you are going to handle this, before they come walking through that door. I mean, are you ready for this?"
Lois sighed, looking at her hands which were now fisted together tightly. "I don't know." she shrugged. "I mean, I don't have much choice, do I? I have to act like I'm fine, until I can figure out a way to tell him that I'm not fine. If that even makes sense." she laughed. "I cant tell him yet. Not yet. I have to figure out exactly what it is that I'm doing, and what I'm going to do, before I go and blurt something like this out. This is something that will change our entire friendship. Our entire lives, and I want to make sure I do it for the right reasons, and in the right way." Looking up to Lauren, she smiled weakly. "I don't want to screw this up."
Lauren smiled at Lois.
She was proud of her. She could only imagine how hard this was for her, and giving all considered, she was handling it well. So far, anyway. Joey wasn't there yet, and Lord only knew how she was going to handle seeing him walk in with another woman, but she seemed to be understanding how important it was not to rush something like this. That it wasn't right to just blurt out, to your best friend of the last few years, that you were in love with them.
This needed to be handled carefully, and with the best interests of everyone involved.
And Lauren could only hope that it would work out the way she thought it should.
"Lolo," Justin said, giving her a smile. "No matter what happens, remember. I got yo back, girl!"
Everyone laughed. Even Lois.
Trust Justin to make light of a less than perfect situation.
Looking at Justin, she noticed his eyes raise towards the entrance, and her eyes quickly followed the direction of his.
Focusing on what Justin was fixated on, her heart stopped.
Never, had Joey looked that good. Ever. Or at least she never noticed him looking that good. But then again, she was all too aware of him at that moment. She noticed a lot of things about him over the last few weeks that she never noticed before.
During those long nights that she would sit awake, pondering her feelings and thoughts, she would analyze him. Even though he wasn't there with her, somehow, over the course of their friendship, he had become ingrained in her memory. Every line of his face, every smile and every word, she remembered.
She remembered how she loved it when he would sing on stage, his solos, and somehow he would always make it seem as if he was singing right to her. That no one else was in the stadium. Just him. And just her.
She remembered the first time he had taken her to Europe for the MTV Europe Music Awards. She had been so nervous, because it was her first time having to do the red carpet entrance. She was his date, and there was no way around having to deal with the cameras and the publicity. And she remembered how, as they stepped out of the limo into the bright flashes of light and shouting questions, she felt him squeeze her hand. Not too hard. Just enough to remind her that he was there, and that he would always be there.
She remembered Christmas, two years ago. She had been called in to redo plans for a new office building going in downtown, and she was not going to be able to make it for her flight home to Memphis to be with her family for the holidays. She was so upset, and so frustrated. She hadn't seen her family in months, and it killed her to know she was going to miss everything. She was planning on catching another flight in a couple days, but knew that she was going to miss the dinner at her grandmothers. The Christmas Eve present fiasco at her aunts, and her drunk uncle Al trying to pinch her sisters butt thinking it was his wife.
Late Christmas Eve, she was stuck at the office, staring at the same images she had been working on all day. When suddenly, the door opened. She figured it was the janitorial staff, and didn't even bother to look up. When she heard Joeys voice, she jumped.
"Come here." he said, holding his hand out to her.
"What?" she gawked. "Joey, what are you doing here? You should be at your parents."
"Just come here." he repeated, motioning for her to take his hand.
Reluctantly, she took his hand. Coming up behind her, he wrapped his arm around her waist, covering her eyes with his other hand.
She was unsure, but trusted him enough not to kung fu his ass like she did last time Justin tried to do this. She allowed him to guide her out of her office and into the main foyer of her floor.
He stopped, and slowly came around to her side, his hand still covering her eyes. Removing his hand, Lois kept her eyes closed.
"Okay," he said, his smile evident in his voice. "Open your eyes."
Slowly, almost painfully, she opened her eyes. And what she saw, would be forever her favorite Christmas memory.
He had brought a tree up to her floor. A huge tree, decorated with more tinsel than any tree should be allowed, and more lights then were used to decorate the tree in Rockefeller Square.
Below the tree, were a few simply wrapped presents. All addressed to her.
She looked at the tree. Then Joey. Slowly, a smile came to her face.
"I figured since you were going to miss this part at your parents, that I could try and bring it to you." Joey said, wrapping his arms around Lois' waist from behind.
She couldn't respond. All she could do was stare at this beautiful tree. And smile. Smile like a fool.
Kissing her cheek, Joey bounced happily up to the tree, reaching down to pluck one of the presents from underneath. Striding up to Lois, he handed her the long, rectangular box.
She took it from his hands, and after much persuading from him, began to unwrap it. When she lifted the lid of the box, she felt her breath suck in.
Inside, was a diamond necklace.
"I cant believe you remembered." she whispered.
"Well, contrary to what you tend to believe, I do listen when you talk." he smiled. "Sometimes."
She couldn't believe he remembered. Months ago, they had been shopping at a mall in Los Angeles, when they had passed Tiffanys. She browsed casually, knowing there was no way she would be able to afford anything in there. Even the lint from the rug probably cost thousands. Looking in one of the glass cases, she smiled. Inside, was a necklace. Simple, but breathtaking. She had told Joey that it reminded her of one her late grandmother had when Lois was a child. Giving the necklace one last look, she stood up and left.
She never thought for a minute that he would actually buy it for her.
Looking up at him, she was about to protest.
"Don't bother," he said, raising a hand at her. "I know you're going to tell me its too expensive or too whatever." Smiling at her, he sighed. "But you're worth it."
Her heart melted. He was the biggest part of her life, and always would be. Forever, he held a special place in her existence, and no other man would ever compare.
Even if they were just friends.
"Wait," he said, rushing over to the tree again. "There's one more thing."
Still in shock from the necklace, Lois continued to stare at it.
Suddenly, the lights became brighter, and Joey illuminated the foyer.
"Surprise!"
Lois almost fell on the floor. Flowing into the room, were the last people she expected to see.
Her family.
Her mother. Father. Aunt Cheryl. Even drunk uncle Al, drink in hand, were all standing by the tree, smiling at her.
Joey stepped up to her side. "I flew them in." he smiled. "I knew how much you hated the thought of not being there, so I brought them to you."
"And there was no way in hell we were sayin' no to a trip to Orlando!" Uncle Al shouted.
Everyone laughed, as Lois continued to stare in disbelief.
Turning to Joey, she shook her head. "I cant believe you did this."
"Well, what can I say." he grinned. "I aim to please."
Standing on her toes, she reached up and kissed him quickly on the lips.
"Well, you hit right on target this time." she smiled.
Everything she remembered about him, helped her realize just how important he was to her. To her life. To her happiness. And most importantly; to her heart.
She wasn't whole without him. She wasn't herself when he wasn't around. She didn't know how, and she didn't know why. But it seemed like he had touched her life like no one else. He was in her heart, and in her dreams.
And now, here she was, looking at the same man responsible for most of the happiest moments in her life in the past four years. The man she knew better than she knew herself.
The man she loved.
Here she was, watching this man walk towards her.
With another woman on his arm.
