The group filed into the club one by one, each passing by the bouncer and getting their hand stamped. The club was already crowded, and everyone was moving on the tightly packed dance floor. The strobe lights and disco balls were in full effect, as the techno music pounded through all of their ears. Jen looked back on the six of her friends and smiled widely.
“This is gonna be wicked fun!” she yelled. The guys and Ashlee all smiled back in return and nodded, scoping out the dance floor.
“What time is it? Should Emily be here now or what?” Ashlee asked, looking at all of them.
“There she is…wow,” JC said, spotting her from across the club. His eyes wandered down her frame slowly, taking her in. She had her long, red, curly hair cascading down her shoulders freely, touching the straps of her silver and black tank top that was also backless, which grazed her short black skirt. To finish her outfit, she was sporting black leather go-go boots.
JC let out a low whistle and smiled appreciatively. He raised his arm up, trying to get her attention. She finally spotted the group and started to make her way over. Ashlee and Jen smiled widely and ran up to her and hugged her, complimenting her outfit.
“Chicks, why do they do that squealing shit all the time?” Chris asked, looking at them in wonder.
“And they always compliment each other…hugs and kisses and what not…” Lance added. The guys stared at them and all sighed collectively.
“But LOOK at how good they look, damn we need to compliment them so they will dance with us,” Joey said, taking in Ashlee’s appearance. She was wearing a simple orange sundress that accented her tanned figure, and chunky brown sandals. Her hair was swept up in a simple twist, making her look elegant yet playful.
Justin took the time again to take in Jen’s outfit. She was wearing a leopard print spaghetti strapped tank top with her black leather pants and black boots. She also had this fuzzy leopard handkerchief tied in her hair, keeping it out of her face. He allowed his eyes to roam up and down her body several times, lost in his thoughts. The rest of the guys were talking, and had noticed that he had not heard a single word of the conversation.
“Yo J, come on, earth to Justin. She’s gonna be wearin’ that all night ya know, so get used to it OK?” JC said, patting him on the shoulder. Justin jumped, surprised from the touch and shook his head.
“But dude, do you realize she is wearing leather pants? I mean, damn she is torturing me here,” he whined, not tearing his eyes from her.
“Justin, do you realize that she is yours? Jen. Is. Yours. She is dating YOU, no one else. What is going on with you two anyway?” Chris asked, folding his arms across his chest waiting for an answer. He did not get one though; the girls came back over to where they were standing.
“Hey guys! How are ya tonight?” Emily asked, camera in one hand and purse in the other. She snapped a few pictures, and the guys and Jen and Ashlee posed for the camera, acting goofy and silly.
“Just need some pics to remember probably one of the most fun nights of my life!” Emily said, putting the camera back into her purse and smiling genuinely.
“We’re fine, but enough talking lets dance! Would you dance with me?” JC asked, not waiting for an answer and sweeping her towards the middle of the dance floor. Jen glanced at the rest of the guys and saw them looking around, checking out who was all at the club.
“OK guys, go find people to dance with already, have some fun!” Jen yelled, shooing the guys away. They did not waste any time, grabbing girls and hitting the dance floor breaking down. Jen turned around and saw Justin staring at her, smiling evilly.
“Let’s dance JJ, we haven't danced in a LONG time girl,” he said, grabbing onto her waist and pulling her out to dance with him. She smiled wide and looked at him questioningly.
“You want to dance with me, you need to ask me,” she said playfully.
“Oh I do huh? Why can’t I sweep you off your feet?” he asked back, pulling her close to him, his hands gently on her waist.
“When you put it that way…” she trailed off, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him even closer to her. He smiled wider and inched his face closer to her. They danced to the quicker song, their minds not really listening to what was playing, they were only aware of each other, how close they were dancing, and the feelings that were raging inside of them.
“Look at those two, they are so cute,” Ashlee said to Joey, her current dance partner.
“Yeah, they have been friends for years, very close, you know? But that was it. We were the ones that wanted them to hook up; Jen is just perfect for Justin. We know Justin is Jen’s match too, they are both so stubborn but so much alike, its cute. Anyway, yes, they grew up and started *ahem* noticing other things about each other. They both found each other attractive, and it was funny hearing each of them come to us after a fight or an argument. I feel like a proud parent or something!” he explained, laughing and twirling Ashlee in a circle.
“So there’s a lot of history huh?” she continued. Joey looked at her sideways and tilted his head.
“What’s with the twenty questions? I’m sure J will spill to ya if you ask her, she loves talking about the boy, and believe me, she doesn’t get to tell many, consider yourself lucky…actually, consider yourself cursed, because she’ll go on and on and on…” he added. She laughed and danced up closer to him to a slower song.
“Forget about it, lets dance some more, you still wanna be my partner?” she asked coyly. Joey gripped her waist tighter and nodded, forgetting about the conversation and getting lost in the music and his free time while it still was available.
“Got any questions for me?” he asked in a low voice, smiling wickedly.
“I can think of a few,” Ashlee quipped, flirting back.
Jen and Justin had danced together all night, slow songs and fast, not sitting down or taking a break. Another set of fast techno songs ended, and then a familiar song blasted out of the speakers, immediately stopping both Jen and Justin.
“You’re all I ever needed…yeah…”
Jen glanced at Justin and read his eyes quickly. He glanced around and caught some questioning looks from random people, and then looked back at Jen.
“Why don’t we go take a walk? Its really nice outside,” Jen suggested, and grabbed Justin’s hand and walked off the floor quickly but subtly. They exited the club and the cooler air hit Jen and she shivered, but quickly covered it.
“Jen if you’re cold we can go sit inside, its not a big deal,” Justin said, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. Jen sighed at the welcomed warmth and snuggled close to him as they walked down the sidewalk.
“I’m good now,” she answered, smiling up at him. He leaned down and brushed his lips against hers, sending shivers of warmth into her lips and down her body, making her tingle all over. He pulled away and she breathed out onto his lips, and smiled happily. He laughed and looked up, squeezing her to him and continuing walking. They were both content with each other’s company that they did not notice they were being followed by someone with a camera.
“So I don’t know if I told you, but you look amazing tonight JJ,” Justin said, breaking the silence after gathering his thoughts.
“Thanks sweet, you don’t look so bad yourself, “ Jen replied, slipping her arm around his waist and leaning into him.
“Mmmmm, I know that, “ he quipped back, spotting a bench a few feet ahead of him. Jen snapped her head up at his comment and swatted his stomach with her free hand.
“Ego maniac,” she said, rolling her eyes and smiling.
“I know, let’s sit huh? Your legs must be tired from trying to keep up with me,” he answered, his eyes twinkling.
“I think you have it backwards. You just can’t keep up with my mad dancing abilities,” she said, sitting down first as Justin just stared at her unbelievingly.
“Besides Stin, who taught you all of your wicked dance moves?” she added, patting the seat next to her on the bench.
“Janet Jackson,” he shot back, crossing his arms.
“Who was standing next to you trying to teach you Janet’s moves because you couldn’t pick them up Mr. No-Rhythm-white-boy?”
“OK, noted,” he said, giving up and sitting down next to her.
“I still had you beat out on the dance floor though,” he added in at the last second, not giving Jen the satisfaction of winning.
“Boy I swear-“ she started to say, but was interrupted as Justin leaned down and captured her lips in a sweet kiss. Once she realized what was going on, she gave into his kiss and began to kiss him back, placing a hand upon his cheek and grazing it lightly. His hands moved up from her waist to her back and pulled her closer to him. They kissed for a few minutes, gently and playfully before they pulled away. Justin smiled and Jen caught the evil twinkle in his eyes.
“So what were you saying?” he asked, rubbing her arms with his hands. She rolled her eyes and slid over onto his lap, sitting sideways across him and stretching her legs out along the rest of the bench.
“Nevermind,” she answered, wrapping her arms around his neck and smiling. She then looked up into the sky and sighed. Justin took the time to take in her appearance again; now her hair was a little windblown and her cheeks were rosy from the cooler air outside. Her lips we a little red, evidence of the kiss that they just had. He had one arm across her lap and the other around her waist across her back.
“What are you thinking about huh?” he asked, breaking into her thoughts. She snapped out of it and looked down at him with a smile.
“That I haven't been this happy in a long time,” she said in a soft voice. His features brightened and he just nodded understandingly.
“I was trying to remember the last time we went out Justy,” she added, playing with the hair on the back of his neck.
“Way too long Jen. Hmm, it was before the last tour…wow, do you remember what we did?” he questioned, a smile appearing on his face. Jen looked at him thoughtfully and tried to think back.
“It was summer of last year, right before my freshman year of school…you surprised me and we played mini-golf,” she said, reminiscing. They continued to talk about old times and realized how close they were, and how much closer they were going to get.
In the shadows, a person with a camera continued taking pictures, watching the two intently. An evil smile crossed their face as they moved to another position, capturing pictures from all angles.
“Now we’ll see how happy they will be,” the person muttered to themself, as their camera ran out of film and began to auto-rewind. They backed away and wandered back into the club, pocketing the camera and mingling into the crowd.
Jen and Justin headed back into the club, they didn’t want the rest of the guys to worry about where they were, even though the both of them were sure that the others were too busy to notice they were missing in action. The two wandered to their table and sat down, checking the dance floor for the others. They spotted JC dancing with a random girl, Chris and Joey were talking to a few females, and Lance was dancing with two girls, having a blast.
Chris and Joey saw the two sitting in the booth and excused themselves from the girls, walking towards the table smiling.
“So where were you two all this time?” Chris asked, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. Justin snickered and Jen replied casually, “We were outside, it was getting a little warm in here.”
“But it got warmer outside eh?” Joey teased. Jen threw her hands up in the air, and Justin busted out laughing.
“You are both nuts, go flirt already,” Justin giggled, trying to catch his breath.
“Have you seen Emily or Ashlee? I danced with Ashlee for awhile but then she found a new dance partner and I haven't seen her,” Joey asked, looking over his shoulder.
“I’m here, sorry guys, some random guy wanted to dance, and I had to bail with a bathroom excuse,” she said, shivering at the thought. Jen nodded sympathetically and the guys winced.
“Hey guys, are we leavin’ now?” Lance asked, joining the group. Soon after JC walked up to the booth with Emily in tow.
“Well, whatever you guys want!” Jen said, looking at everyone. They all looked at each other and back out to the dance floor, which was clearing up.
“It looks like this place is dying, we probably should,” Justin added, starting to stand. The guys all agreed and they started gathering their things. They all began to walk out of the club, laughing and talking about what had happened throughout the night. JC came up next to Jen and whisked her away from Justin, lagging behind the group a bit.
“How are things going with Bounce?” he asked, throwing his arm around her shoulder. Jen smiled up at JC and wrapped an arm around his waist, squeezing him tight.
“Really well Papa, we danced all night and then sat outside and talked, it was so sweet,” she answered. JC smiled down at her and then looked up at Justin, who seemed to be getting teased by Chris and Joey again, leaving Lance with the two girls.
“Good to hear. Let me just tell you he would not stop talking about you all week, gave me the biggest headache…but it was nice to see he finally realized what he was feeling. I can say the same for you girl, took ya long enough you know,” he teased, chuckling a bit.
“ANYWAY, did you have fun tonight?” Jen said, changing the subject. JC nodded and said, “Yes, I sure did. We don’t get to go out too often, and with the new tour coming up soon, we are trying to rest and take advantage of our freedom.”
The two talked briefly until they reached the car. They walked Emily to her car and said their good-bye’s, then piled into their own car and headed back to the house, starting to tire from the night’s events. They reached the house quickly and filed in, moving slowly. The girls got into the bathroom first, getting ready for bed. Joey had offered his bed to Ashlee and said he would sleep on the couch, and Jen would just sleep with Justin like she always had. They all fell asleep relatively quickly, very comfortable in their surroundings and happy to be amongst friends, the guys feeling like their family was really back together again.
