Late December, 1999
JC sat on a stool in a bar somewhere in Orlando. When he had hopped into his Jeep and drove away, he had no idea he'd end up here. The truth was, he didn't even know where here was. Some bar... Orlando. There were a lot of bars in Orlando. This one was filled with angry, old men, a few women, and a lot of empty glasses.
He wasn't a big drinker, and was only halfway through his first beer when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around to see a pretty woman wearing clothes that were obviously a little too tight and makeup that was on a little too thick.
"Hey, sugar," she purred in his ear, making his shoulders tense.
He was only trying to be polite when he gave a small smile and said, "Can I buy you a drink?" After all... he DID have a girlfriend.
The woman quickly sat down on the stool next to him, and grinned a seducing grin. "That would be great."
He smiled back, and then signaled for the bartender.
When her drink was placed in front of her, she took a sip, and then looked back over at JC. "What's your name and what brings you here?"
"JC," he told her. "To be completely honest with you, my girlfriend called me a few hours ago and told me that she wasn't coming down for Christmas. I understand how she wants to be with her family and all... but, you know, she could have at least invited me to join her. My family is down here so it's not like I'm alone, but it's not the same without her, you know?"
She raised an eyebrow, giving him a confused look.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I shouldn't have dumped that all on you five seconds after we met. Let's start over. My name is JC. What's yours?"
"Emily." She smiled, then turned to the bartender. "Get my friend here another drink. Something strong this time."
JC leaned back a little when a little shot glass hit the bar and the bartender filled it to the top. The bartender looked at him with sympathy written all over his face.
"Is it a woman?" he asked.
JC pushed the shot glass away. "No thanks. I DO need to drive home."
Emily wrapped her fingers around his arm. "I'll drive you home, honey."
Maybe that was when it all started. He never had mixed well with alcohol. That was for sure, and after he woke up in a strange bed, he vowed that he'd never drink again. And after everything had happened, his first thought was of his girlfriend. How could he do this to Carrie? She'd be so hurt that she'd never speak to him again. He felt so completely dirty, and all he wanted to do was leave Emily's apartment, find his way home, take a long, hot shower and forget that anything had happened last night.
Quietly, he crept out of the bed, grabbed his clothes and shut the door behind himself. Good, she was still sleeping and if he was lucky, he could get out of there before she woke up.
In the living room, he slipped his clothes back on, ran his fingers through his hair and reached into his pockets for his car keys. When he didn't feel them, he began to panic. Where were they? Besides, last time he'd seen his car was in the bar parking lot... and he didn't even know the name of the bar or which street it was on.
The keys had to be in Emily's bedroom. Dare he go back to look for them? What if she woke up?
"I need my keys..." he mumbled to himself.
Carefully, he crept back to her room, and slowly opened the door. He looked around, and saw them right away, sprawled out on the floor. He quietly tiptoed over to them, and tried to pick them up without making too much noise.
The keys jingled and he froze, looking at Emily to make sure she was still asleep. When her unconsiousness was confirmed, he let out a breath he hadn't even realized he'd been holding, and continued to make his way toward the door. Once outside, his next task was to find his car. That's when his phone rang, and he thanked God that it hadn't rang when he was inside. He reached into his pocket, and pulled it out, snapping it open. "Hello?"
"JC..." a scolding voice started. "Where ARE you? We've been sitting here at the studio waiting for you for TWO hours! This guy insists that we can't start recording without you."
JC frowned. "Why in the hell are we recording on Christmas Eve anyway? How dumb is that?"
He heard Justin sigh. "It's dumb, but we've gotta do it. Now get your ass over here so we don't have to be here for too much longer! I've got family to get to and so do the rest of the guys."
"Okay, now, don't get mad, but... I lost my car."
"You LOST your CAR? How in the hell did you do that?"
"It's a really long story, and maybe I'll tell you later, but for the time being, I have no way to get to the studio."
"Call a cab."
JC pulled out his wallet and looked inside. "With no money?"
"God, JC... what happened to Mr. Responsible?"
"I don't know, Justin, just send someone over here to pick me up."
"Where's here?"
"That's just the thing..."
"What is?"
"I don't know where I am."
"How can you not know where you are? What did you DO last night, JC?"
"Well, I'm in Orlando... I think. At least it looks like Orlando..."
"Oh, God!"
"Can't you just tell everyone to reschedule the recording? It might take me a while to get there."
"Tell me a street name... anything! Someone will find you."
JC looked around and spotted a street sign at the corner of the block. "Checkered Street," he said. "Do you know where that is?"
"No, but someone will pull out a map and be right there. Is there a cross street?"
"Stread Avenue."
"Okay, JC, just hang tight. They'll be there as soon as they can."
"Justin?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm sorry... I really am."
"Okay, okay. Don't worry about it. We're all your friends. We don't mind waiting here a little longer."
"Thanks, Justin. See you in a few."
"Hasta luego."
He turned off the phone and walked to the corner. How in the hell could he let himself get caught up in such an awful situation? How could he stand up his friends... and most importantly, how could he betray Carrie?
Chapter 3
Not A Day Goes By
JC {Fiction}
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I'll Never Stop {Fiction}
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