NEVER SAY NEVER
By Sarah Wartman
PART SIX
Josh slapped his hands together in victory and said, “great. Our friend in this apartment complex, the one I told you about, will be there too. Her name is Carrie, by the way.”
“What apartment number?” I asked in curiosity.
“Sixteen. Go see her sometime, she knew I was gonna sucker you into this. She’s really cool. Anyway, she’ll give you all the details if you want. A limo will be by here about eightish to pick you up.”
“Wait a minute, a limo?”
“Yep. Oh, and it’s formal. Okay, well, we better run. It was nice seeing you again.”
“Yeah,” I mumbled. “Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.”
They laughed at my comment and were gone. I turned around and stomped my foot. “Damn. I can’t believe this.”
I slumped down into a nearby chair and replayed what just happened. I guess I should’ve been happy. I mean, I was meeting people and I actually had a date on Friday. Not to mention how unbelievably cute those guys were.
But then the fact that they were totally annoying and unbelievably cocky played a part too. They reminded me of guys I went to high school with, which was a very bad thing. Plus, I didn’t even know them! For all I knew, they could be some psycho stalker killer guys.
Unsure if I had made a good decision or not, I called Nicki.
“Girl, what is it now?” she answered, obviously reading her caller i.d.
“You won’t believe what just happened.”
“Probably not,” Nicki responded.
“Well, after I hung up with you, I started dancing around the room, no biggie, right? Well, I look up and Josh is standing there. With a friend.”
“You’re kidding,” Nicki interjected.
“Afraid not. To keep a boring story short, I got suckered into going on a date with one of their friend’s this Friday. Now I’m wondering if I did the right thing.”
“Sarah!” Nicki screamed so loud, I had to hold the phone away from my ear. “What in the fuck are you thinking?”
“Dude, I know. I can’t believe I agreed to it either. It’s just”
“No! How can you think you made a mistake? What could possibly be wrong with this?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” I started. “Besides the fact they’re annoying, cocky little shit heads, they could be some psycho killers Nicki. This is New York City, afterall.”
“Oh, unclench Sarah. Geez, quit sounding like your mother. Let your hair down and have some fun, for goodness sakes.”
“How did I know I was gonna hear that?”
“You know me better than anyone else, that’s how. Now what are you going to wear?”
I sighed loudly. “What should I wear?”
“The little strappy black dress.”
“Fine. And my hair?”
“Umm…. definitely down. You don’t want to look like you tried to hard, yet you still want to look good.”
“Oh geez,” I whispered.
“Look, Sarah, you asked and that’s what I’m here for. So quit you’re sighing and”
Before she could go on, there was a loud knock on the door.
Nicki heard it and asked, “who could that be?”
“After today, I’m afraid to look.”
PART SEVEN
“I’ll talk to you later, Nicki,” I said quickly and hung the phone up. I placed it on a nearby table and slowly walked to the door. I took a deep breath and opened it.
There stood a girl, about my age and height with long, brown hair. She was dressed in a pair of jeans a tiny white shirt. Her smile was warm and inviting.
I smiled and asked, “can I help you?”
“Yeah, you’re Sarah, aren’t you?”
“Yeah,” I said softly.
“Oh, well hi! I’m Carrie. JC- I mean Josh and Justin came over here, didn’t they?”
“Unfortunately,” I mumbled under my breath.
“Huh?”
“Nothing, yeah, they did.”
“Good, are you gonna come then?” Carrie asked excitedly.
I sighed and mumbled, “guess so.”
“Oh, yeah,” she said, clapping her hands together.
“Uh, would you like to come in or something?” I asked her.
“Yeah, sure,” she said and walked past me into the messy apartment.
“You’ll have to excuse the mess,” I told her, kicking things out of the way. “I’m still unpacking.”
“Oh, that’s cool with me,” she said, plopping into a nearby chair.
“Would you like something to drink?” I asked her, taking a can of Sprite out of the refrigerator.
“Yeah, sure,” she said. I handed her a Sprite and sat down on a barstool.<>p> “So, how long have you been here?” she asked as she opened her can.
“Just a couple of days,” I told her.
“So, you’re all by yourself too?” she asked.
I shook my head as I took a quick sip. “No, my best friend Nicki is going to live here too, she’s not moving up here for a week or so though.”
“Moving from where?”
“Well, I’m from Kansas, but she’s from Illinois.”
“Oh, wow, long ways from home,” she commented.
“You bet,” I said.
“So, what do you think of Josh and Justin?” she asked with a grin.
“They’re….interesting,” I said and took a drink.
“Aren’t they the cutest though,” she asked and I had to smile. “JC is just so….geez, Josh I meant. Sorry, I’m not used to that yet.”
“Used to what?” I asked her.
“Used to calling him Josh. He went by JC for some many years it’s hard to readjust.”
“Oh, he did?”
Carrie looked at me with a weird expression. “Yeah, he did, didn’t you know that?”
I shook my head, “no, how would I?”
Carrie smiled widely and gasped. “You have no idea who those two are, do you?”
I slowly shook my head in confusion. “No, I don’t.”
“Oh, wow, girl! I have so much to tell you!”
PART EIGHT
“Tell me what?”
She took a drink of her Sprite and sat it down beside her. She looked up at me and took a deep breath.
“Do you remember a musical group, ‘N SYNC?”
“Yeah, sure,” I said.
“Well, they were in that group together, along with three other guys.”
“Were? You mean they still aren’t together?”
“No, they had a lot of problems with managers and stuff. It’s 2003 Sarah, boy bands aren’t popular anymore. Plus, I think they just kind of grew tired of each other and decided to go their separate ways. But they are still really good friends. Justin and Josh are working on solo careers. Chris, the oldest one, went and got married. He owns his own clothesline and is pretty well off. Joey, the crazy one, is working on his acting career, which isn’t going so well, but I don’t think he’s too worried about it. And Lance, they guy you’re going to the party with, manages a few country stars.”
“Wow,” I muttered. “How old are they?”
“Chris is thirty-one, Josh is almost twenty-seven, Joey is twenty-six, Lance is twenty-four and Justin is twenty-two.”
“Wow, you must know them pretty well. Which one are you going with?”
“Josh. He, Justin and I are like the three amigos, we do everything together.”
“That’s so cool. You said that Chris is married, are the others single or anything?”
“Well, Lance is, obviously. And Joey is, he can’t seem to keep a girl for longer than a week. I don’t think they can tolerate him longer than that,” she explained and I laughed. “Chris is married to Danielle, but everyone calls her Dani. She’s so nice, you’ll love her. Justin isn’t though, he’s dating a girl named Beth. You’ll meet her too, she’s really cool. And Josh is single at the moment.”
“Why don’t you go for Josh?” I asked her.
“Josh? Please girl, he’s a like a brother, that would be just plain scarey.”
“Yeah, I guess I could understand that. So, where exactly are we going on Friday?”
“They didn’t tell you?” Carrie asked.
“No, they told me it was formal and they’d be here at eight, that’s it.”
“Oh, well, it’s just some random charity benefit. Anybody who’s anybody is there.”
“How exciting,” I said, thinking about all the famous people I was gonna meet. “Nicki’s gonna freak on me when she hears this. Have you gone to a lot of these things?”
“Oh yeah, I’ve been friends with the guys since they started out in, let’s see, 1995 I think it was. I went to high school with Lance.”
“Oh, wow, that’s awesome.”
“Yep.”
“So, tell me about Lance. Is he cute?”
Carrie laughed. “Yeah, he is. He’s got the most gorgeous green eyes and the sexiest voice.”
“Awesome,” I mumbled.
“He’s just a really sweet guy, I think you’ll like him.”
“And the others?” I asked anxiously.
Carrie smiled and stood up. “I guess you’ll see. I probably better go, I’m expecting a phone call. Come by and show me what you’re gonna wear sometime.”
“Will do,” I told her as she closed the door. I grinned widely and picked up the phone to tell Nicki everything I had learned.
PART NINE
I looked in the mirror one last time and readjusted my dress. The buzzer rang and I ran to the door, grabbing my purse on the way out. I slowly descended the stairs and saw two guys standing before me.
“Hey Sarah, you look nice,” Josh told me.
“Thanks,” I said, smiling warmly at him.
“This is Lance,” Josh told me. Carrie was right, he did have the most beautiful eyes I had ever seen.
“Hello,” he said, taking my hand and kissing it.
‘Oh my gosh, that voice,’ I thought to myself.
“Hi,” I whispered.
“You look beautiful.”
“Thanks,” I said. I looked into the limo to see a couple other bodies in it. Carrie stuck her head out and waved.
“So, are you guys gonna stand out there all night or are we going to go?” she asked us.
“Coming dear,” Josh answered with sarcasm. I climbed into the limo and was greeted with seven pairs of eyes on me. I smiled nervously at them as Lance slid in next to me.
“You look so good,” Carrie whispered in my ear.
“You too,” I whispered back.
Everybody sat there for a second, analyzing me. I quickly looked at Carrie for help.
“Gosh you guys, chill out, you’re going to scare her off. Okay, introductions, let’s see….you know Justin, that’s his girlfriend Beth, Chris, Dani, Joey and Kristina. Guys, this is Sarah.”
“Hi,” they all said. I looked over at Lance and smiled. Maybe this night would be more fun than I thought.
~*~*~*~
As the limo slowly pulled up to the building, I gasped. There were so many cameras and people out front. I looked over at Lance and he smiled reassuringly at me. All the others started climbing out of the limo and Lance leaned over.
“Don’t worry, they’re harmless. Just smile and walk next to me. Act like you’re used to it,” he whispered.
“I’ll try,” I whispered back. I slowly ducked out of the limousine, with Lance right behind. Lights started flashing and I squinted. I felt Lance’s hand wrap around mine and he pulled me into the building quickly. The second we were inside, he released my hand and smiled.
“There, that wasn’t so bad, was it?”
But I didn’t hear him. I was too busy gawking at all the famous people that walked past us. Lance saw my wide eyes and laughed.
“Come on, let’s go,” he said and I followed him into the large ballroom. There were so many people, standing around talking and dancing. Several tables lined the back of the room. I recognized Justin and Beth dancing out on the dance floor right along side Chris and Danielle. Josh and Carrie were busy talking to some people near a table where Joey and Kristina sat. It struck me as odd, Joey sat there like he was completely bored while another guy sat next to Kristina, flirting and talking to her. But my thoughts were interrupted by Lance.
“Who would have thought they’d sit us by them….”
PART TEN
“Sit you by who?” I asked him.
He looked down at me and grinned. “Let’s see if you recognize them,” he told me. Lance grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the table.
The second we approached, Joey stood up and smiled at me, but Kristina was too busy talking to who ever it was she was talking to. Neither of them had even noticed Lance and I were standing there. Lance cleared this throat loudly and the guy turned around and I gasped.
It was Nick Carter. One could never forget that face. After his short career with the Backstreet Boys, he took on a solo career, only he didn’t sing, he rapped. His first rap album was a big bust and he never recovered. He had gained a lot of weight and it looked like he never washed his long, stringy blonde hair.
“Nick?” I heard a girl yell.
I turned to see a cute blonde walk up to him and she didn’t look happy. Kristina glared at her from her chair. I could just see the fireworks about to happen.
“Nick, there you are, what are you doing?” she asked.
“I’m talking,” he told her, waving his hand in her face to dismiss her. I could tell she was hurt and I felt my heart go out to her. She raced from the table into the bathroom and I decided to follow her.
“Excuse me, miss, are you okay?” I asked her as she stared into the mirror.
“Do I look okay?” she snapped.
“I’m sorry, I’m Sarah,” I told her, extending my hand.
“Ginger. God, can you believe him?”
“Are you two….”
“Yes, we’re dating. Or at least I thought we were, but after tonight, I’m not so sure. Who was that girl anyway, do you know?”
“Come on, let’s go back out there,” I told her and we slowly walked back out to the table to find Kristina and Nick had disappeared. Joey and Lance were sitting there, just talking.
“Where did they go?” Ginger asked them.
Joey shrugged. “Who knows.”
“But, isn’t she your date?”
“I suppose so. She’s just all show though,” he told us. I sat down between Lance and Joey and Ginger sat on the other side of Lance. We just sat there, watching people dance and talk.
Lance leaned over and whispered, “do you mind if I ask Ginger to dance?”
I looked over at him and smiled. “Oh, are we developing a crush on Mr. Carter’s date, Lance?”
“You don’t mind, do you? Cause if you don’t want me to I”
I giggled. “Lance, go, it’s fine.”
“Thanks,” he whispered and escorted Ginger out onto the dance floor. I leaned back and smiled, just enjoying where I was.
“So, are you having fun so far?” Joey asked me.
I shrugged and smiled, “yeah, sure.”
Joey laughed. “Yeah, sure? That’s convincing.”
“What would you like me to say?” I asked him.
“Well, actually” he said, but Josh and Carrie walked up to the table and Joey didn’t finish his sentence.
I looked over at him to see what he was going to say. He just grinned and winked at me.
“What were you going to say?” I asked him.
He leaned over and whispered, “I guess you’ll never know.”
TO BE CONTINUED