Believe
By: Lara
One
Made a promise to myself…locked it way down deep
inside…told my heart we’d wait it out…swore we’d never compromise…
“Will there be
anything else tonight?” Lara asked as she placed the check in the middle of the
table. “More coffee?”
“I’m good, thanks,” the blond said,
smiling at her. She blushed and looked
away from his green eyes.
“Thank you,” his dinner partner said
brusquely, picking up the check. His
blue eyes darted over it, and he reached for his wallet. They began to squabble over the check, and
Lara left the table.
“Two more hours,” she said,
stretching as she went back to check on her orders. The restaurant closed at eleven, and she had been there since
five-thirty. There was still a lot of
work to do before she’d be able to leave, however.
“Hey, Lara!” The host yelled into the kitchen. “One of
the customers is asking for you.”
“Oh, NO!” Lara moaned to
herself. She had only been working at
the restaurant for three weeks, and though she knew she was a good server, it
was hard to adjust to a new job, let alone a new life in a new town.
When she came out into the dining
room, the brunette from the table she had just left was standing by the
door. He smiled when he saw her. “Here. This is for you.” He folded up a bill
and shoved it into her hand.
“Oh…thank you, Sir, but you could
have left it at the desk,” she said, always embarrassed when a customer handed
her a tip personally instead of leaving it at the front desk or on the table
itself.
“I wanted to give it to you.” His smile was charming. “My name is JC.”
“I, uh, know who you are,” she
stammered slightly. “I have all your CDs.
You guys are great.”
“Thanks. Hey, what time do you get outta here tonight?”
Lara was so shocked she forgot how
to speak. “I…um…well…we close at eleven, but I’ll probably be here until at
least twelve.”
“Wanna get together for a drink or
something?”
“I’ll need to shower and change,”
she said. “It will be late.”
“Not too late for me,” JC said,
looking her over. “Should I pick you up
here?”
“That’d be fine,” Lara said, still
in shock. “I live only a few blocks away…I can walk back in five minutes.”
“Okay, then…should we say around
one?”
“Okay,” Lara said, suddenly not at
all tired. “See you then.” She smiled at him and slowly made her way
back to the kitchen.
“Hi, Harley, give me love.” Lara picked up her kitten and smothered him
with kisses. He sniffed her eagerly,
always happy to be held when she came home smelling like food. “Sorry, baby, but I don’t have time to play.
Mommy has a date.” Lara tore off
clothing as she headed for the shower.
She thought about JC Chasez as she
quickly showered. She knew he was
wealthy and talented, and she did indeed own NSYNC CDs, but that was about all
she knew. Lance, Chris and JC
frequented the high-class restaurant where she worked, but she had never seen
Joey or Justin there in the short time she had worked there. She hadn’t waited on them before this night,
and she couldn’t believe her luck.
“What do you think, Harley?” Lara
asked, pawing through her closet.
“Could he be the one? God, he
HAS to better than Charles,” she said, referring to the boyfriend she had
dumped before leaving Pennsylvania for Florida. “Anything is better than that.”
She dropped the outfit she had chosen and picked up Harley. “We’re gonna find someone to love us,
Harley. We’re not gonna settle. We’re
gonna find someone to treat us good, and do things right by us.” She gave him
one last hug and finished getting ready.
“Hi there,” JC said, flashing a
smile as she climbed into his sports car.
“Am I late?”
“No, early,” Lara said. “Um, what did you have in mind?”
“I figure you might be hungry…I
thought we could grab some carryout and head back to my place.”
“Oh.” Lara swallowed deeply.
“Can you even be hungry?”
“I could have dessert,” JC said,
wiggling his eyebrows.
“Well, I am hungry,” she said,
sighing.
“Okay. What do you want?” JC put the car and drive and pulled out onto
the road.
They ended up stopping at an all
night diner. Lara told him that nothing carryout appealed to her, and they
spent an hour in the tiny booth, talking about this and that. “Thank you,” Lara said as they went out to
the car. “It was good.”
“No problem,” JC said, leaning
against his car door. “How about
dessert, back at my house?”
“I’m really not hungry,” Lara said
softly.
“I wasn’t really talking about
food,” JC said just as softly, rubbing his thumb across her lips.
“Look, JC, I’m flattered and all,
but I don’t even know you,” Lara began.
“So?” His hand slid around to cup her neck. “You’ll know me after tonight.”
“No, THANK you.” Lara slid out of his embrace. “I think you
should take me back to the restaurant."
“You’re saying no?” JC asked in
disbelief. She nodded. “Do you realize
who I am?”
“Knowing who you are doesn’t change
my mind, JC. You being rich and famous will mean absolutely nothing when I wake
up tomorrow feeling used. Please take
me back.”
“Fine.” JC unlocked the door and threw himself behind the wheel. Lara barely had her seatbelt on before he
had the car in motion.
He squealed to a stop in front of
the restaurant. “Look, JC…”
“Get out!” JC snapped.
Lara sighed and got out of the
car. She slowly walked up the steps to
her apartment as he roared away. She
unlocked the door and Harley greeted her with a meow. “Cross him off the list, Harley.
It’s just you and me…alone again.”
Oh, I’d rather be alone, like I am tonight, then
settle for the kind of love that fades before the morning light…
