The Way You Said Hello ~ Chapter Twenty-Four

"I know that she wants you, she wants you, she wants you!" I sang along at the top of my voice. I was speeding down the highway, the top of my convertible down, the wind in my hair. It was Friday afternoon, and I was let loose for the weekend. I drove home with the radio on, singing (or shall I say yelling) along to Billie's new song.

Suddenly my cell phone rang. "Crap!" I said as I grabbed it with my right hand and pressed SEND. "Becky speaking," I yelled into the phone.

"Hey Becks, this is Ryan," someone said on the other end.

"What? I can't - hold on, I can't hear you," I yelled and turned down the radio. "That's better."

"Where ARE you?" Ryan asked amidst the crackling of cell phone static.

"Right now I'm on the expressway," I said, trying to steer and talk on the phone at the same time. "I'm about to get off at my exit." I still had to raise my voice in order to hear myself over the rushing wind.

"Well, I just wanted to let you know," she said, "Party at Club Joy tonight."

"What time?" I said, glancing at the clock in the car. It was about four thirty now.

"We're all getting there at nine. Beat the crowd, ya know?" Her voice broke down in another burst of static.

"I'm there," I said, pressing the END button and throwing the phone back down on the empty passenger seat next to me. I turned the radio back up and resumed my completely off-key singing. Ten minutes later, I was home. I ran inside the house, let the dogs out, and turned on the TV. I relaxed for a few hours… I just needed to unwind after the long school week behind me.

At seven o'clock I jumped in the shower to start getting ready. It was an off-and-on tradition of ours to go out to Club Joy, a local club, on Friday nights. This was the first we'd gone in a few months, and it would definitely be the first time the guys would be accompanying us. I anticipated an exciting evening, and I just couldn't wait to hit the dance floor with AJ.

I hummed absently to myself as the hot water beat down on the tense muscles in my back. After standing there for ten minutes, I shut the water off and stepped out, wrapping a towel around my wet hair. I wandered back into my bedroom and flung open the closet doors, searching for something striking to wear.

After narrowing it down to a few different outfits, I finally decided on black pants and a crimson tube top by Versace - one that I really only wore on special occasions. I put those on, and then blow dried my long, dark brown hair out completely straight so that it hung to the middle of my back. Not too shabby, I thought to myself as I put on a bit of lipstick that matched my shirt exactly.

I left a note for my parents to let them know where I'd be for the night, and then left the house again. I swung by Eilene's house to pick her up, since I promised her I'd give her a ride.

"Hey Becks," she said as she got into the car beside me. "You look great!"

"You too," I said, accelerating and pulling onto the highway. Eilene was wearing a short black skirt and sheer white shirt. Her short, thick brown-blonde hair was put up into a simple twist that looked very chic.

"What are you doing this weekend?" she asked me while fixing her makeup in the vanity mirror.

"Tomorrow I don't have any plans," I said. "Sunday I'm at home all day writing my English paper. Damn."

"Same here," Eilene said, flipping the mirror back up. "I don't know what Rothstein was thinking when he assigned us that."

We chatted idly for a few more minutes before we pulled up to the club. I swung my car into the valet parking area, but instead of a valet attendant, AJ appeared out of nowhere and pulled my door open. He reached into the car, removed my hand from the steering wheel, and kissed it gently, all the while staring into my (amazed) eyes.

"What a lovely surprise," I murmured, smiling. I stepped out of the car and looked around me. Of course AJ was there, wearing extremely baggy black pants and a dark blue muscle tee with a black design on it. Eva was standing alone, arms crossed over her chest, wearing black leather pants. Why did AJ bother bringing her? I wondered. She looks like she's in an awful mood.

My spirits fell slightly as I saw that Brian and Jenna were waiting on the other side of the car. He shouldn't have brought her, either… but it was too late now. At least I'd try to get to know her, since I was the one who was partially trying to break up her and her boyfriend. Brian looked great, though, in khaki pants and a blue button down shirt.

Howie and Gillie were also waiting outside, lost in their own world of happy conversation. They were both smiling and seemed fairly immersed in each other…so I turned my attention where it belonged: to AJ.

"A lovely surprise for a lovely lady," he had said, laying on the charm as thick as it could go. I merely rolled my eyes and grinned. There was something in the air that night…it hung around us as we stood outside the club. Lights twinkled from inside the windows, as well as from above…the sky was clear and the stars were out in full force. A cool breeze whipped over my bare shoulders, but I welcomed it.

"So who are we waiting on?" I asked as I slipped my arm through AJ's. "Just Kevin and Anne, and Nick and Ryan?"

"Yeah," Eva cut in. "Kevin…" Her voice trailed off and she looked around, as if simply saying his name were enough to make him appear.

I looked back to AJ. "Well, there's really no use waiting on Nick and Ryan. They're probably too busy making out to show up," I laughed.

However, just as I was saying that, Ryan's Porsche pulled into the valet parking area, and she and Nick stepped out. They held hands and walked over to where the rest of us were standing around. Nick was wearing baggy jeans and a nice light blue shirt that matched his eyes…which were glued to Ryan for most of the night, I might add.

"Hey guys," Ryan said in greeting.

"Sorry we're late," Nick said cheerfully. "Ryan and I got a little carried away when…" Ryan elbowed him sharply in the ribs and gave him a reprimanding look.

"I knew it," I muttered under my breath to AJ, who chuckled.

We chatted in groups for a few minutes before Kevin and Anne finally arrived, totally into each other as usual. Eva gave Anne a few nasty glares before we all decided we were ready to head into the club.

As our large group started for the door, I walked behind Jenna. I had to say, I wasn't too impressed with my first impression of her. She was very pretty, of course, but she had a look on her face like she was perpetually pissed - kind of like Eva. Then I thought of the look I saw on Brian's face when Eilene stepped out of the car looking gorgeous - it was a look of pure admiration. Something would happen between them tonight. I could feel it.
Eilene, of course, tried to avoid Bri as much as possible. She ran over to Gillie and Howie to walk in with them. Soon she was her normal self again: spouting out random comments and acting crazy.

"Your hair is so slick," she giggled to Howie. "Can I touch it?"

"Uhh…sure," he said, smiling.

Eilene ran her hand over the top of Howie's head. "This is soooo cool!" she exclaimed.

Meanwhile, AJ and I were walking arm in arm next to Kevin and Anne, who always had to be touching each other, at least in some small way. It was very sweet. Eva walked behind the group, eyeing Kevin. That girl needs to learn to be more subtle, I thought to myself as we approached the door.

Nick walked in front of everyone and stopped in front of the doorman, who was collecting money to get inside. Nick had a huge smile on his face and tapped the doorman on the shoulder.

"Excuse me, sir," he said, being ignored. "I'm famous, and, um, I think my friends and I should all get in for free."

"Nick, what the hell do you think you're doing?" AJ whispered to him loudly.

"I mean, I'm sure you've heard of me." A goofy grin was pasted all over his face, and I was extremely close to cracking up. "I'm Nick Carter." The doorman's face remained totally blank and expressionless.

"You know, THE Nick Carter," Nick tried again, his smile fading. "Oh, forget it," he muttered, pulling out his wallet and handing the doorman a wad of dollar bills. Ryan and I looked at each other and started laughing as quietly as we could, trying to hide it from Nick. He heard us anyway, though, and got a very offended expression on his face.

Our group of twelve finally got through the door and inside the building. As we made our way to find ourselves some seats at the bar, Anne, Gillie, Eilene, Ryan and I all gave a little shout and high-fived each other.

"Oh yeah," Ryan said eagerly. "I'm ready to party!" She and Eilene started doing a happy dance while Gillie and Anne started laughing excitedly.

"Me too," I said softly, a sly grin on my face. I shot AJ a sideways glance, and he approached me with a wicked look in his eye. "Me too," I whispered.

~

Continue to chapter twenty-five

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