November 26th, 2000. Los Angeles, CA
Over the past week, Gina and Justin had been hanging out daily, whether it was two or three times a day for about ten minutes, or if they had a gap in their schedule at the same time it was that much longer. They were racing against time though; they each had their own extremely hectic schedules, and they were also in their second to last stop of the tour.
Their conversations brought them closer together and they were quickly becoming friends. Something lingered over their heads though, and each of them had a few questions to ask the other that could definitely break the few bonds they had created. Both were hesitant and skirted around issues that they really wanted to know about, but neither thought they were close enough friends to ask such personal things.
Justin had been talking to Rachel a lot lately, and she had been telling him all sorts of things about Gina. He had to believe her; she was Gina’s cousin and she knew everything that had occurred in Gina’s life since they were so close. Justin had made the mistake earlier of judging Gina from what he had heard, so when he did talk to Rachel, he took everything with a grain of salt. That was why he wanted to ask Gina the question that had been burning in his brain for the past week now.
“So Charlie is an ex-boyfriend. Break-ups are never nice,” Justin said, his thoughts briefly going back to his split with Britney.
Rachel watched his eyes cloud up and thought he was thinking about Gina. “Yeah, but it’s bad when its because people are cheating on their significant other.”
Justin’s head snapped up and he stared at Rachel. “He cheated on her?”
“Not quite…”
“She cheated on him?”
“Let’s just say that she got famous and met lots of stars and ‘beautiful people’.”
Justin’s face fell. How could she cheat on someone? That was one thing he just could not stand for. Ever.
Once again Rachel watched and could almost taste a victory. “It ended up being messy as hell…I probably shouldn’t be telling you this you know…”
Justin nodded and blinked a few times. “Ok then. Well, I should probably get going. We have this group meeting and JC will pitch a fit if I'm late.”
With that, Justin rose from his seat and walked out of the cafeteria, thinking about what Rachel had said...and the fact that she had told him, rather bluntly, about something so personal. He pushed it to the back of his mind and walked through the venue, trying to focus on other things.
Justin sat on the bus in the back room, going over the conversation he had had with Rachel once again. They were almost to LA, where they would be spending three days and doing three shows. As soon as they reached the city, they’d have a chance to check into the hotel and rest for about an hour before going to do promotional work and an autograph signing. He wondered if Gina would be staying in her home or in the hotel with the rest of them.
“What’s up Justin? You look deep in thought,” Lance said as he wandered into the room.
“Just thinking about some things.”
“That’s cool. Mind if I watch some TV?”
“Sure go ahead,” Justin answered as he tossed him the remote. He then looked down and fell back into his thoughts.
Lance watched him for a few seconds, just holding the remote. He then put it down and fully turned towards Justin. “Wanna tell me what you’re thinking about?”
Justin glanced at Lance and shrugged. “I don’t know…”
“Is it about Gina?”
“Damn am I like an open book or something?”
“Not really. It’s just you guys have been talking so much and have gotten kinda close over like, the span of a week. I'm sure she’s wondering what the hell is up with that too, ya know? It’s weird but totally cool at the same time.”
“OK, so I'm not losing my mind. Except there’s this thing. Ok Lance, what would you do if you heard something about someone from one of their close friends, but you didn’t want to believe it or you thought that judging people from what other people say is just not right because you’ve done it before and that’s what has gotten you into a mess in the first place?”
Lance stared confusedly at Justin. “Um…run that by me again.”
“Nevermind…”
“If someone offers up information really easily that is potentially harmful, then that person is probably not who you think they are,” Lance said and then stood. He patted Justin’s shoulder and started heading towards the door of the room.
“Damn Justin, I’m leaving now to go take some Advil because in the span of 2 minutes, you gave me a headache.”
“Eric I love promos and autograph signings and meeting my fans, I really do…but I think I have met every single person in LA at least twice!” Gina complained as they left the Beverly Center after a three-hour autograph signing in a record store. She had just enough time to take the limo back to the hotel and get her things together to head to the venue for sound check.
“I’m sure you haven’t,” was Eric’s simple remark as he helped Gina into a waiting limo. He motioned for the driver to go and smiled as Gina flopped across the whole side of the limo.
“I want to go to my HOME, E. I'm sick of hotels…especially when I can be staying at my HOME. Do you know that Sharlene is probably at my house at this instant, lounging on MY couch watching MY TV and eating MY popcorn?” She whined.
“Can you be any more dramatic?”
“Can you be any less sympathetic?”
“Don’t make me give you the, ‘you chose this career’ lecture, Gina.”
Gina sat up and pulled her crazy curls back off of her face. She stuck one hand out towards Eric and he rolled his eyes, digging his hand into his jacket pocket. He pulled out a pink rubber band and handed it to her and Gina quickly tied her hair up. She then smiled evilly at the head of her security.
“So, a pink rubber band huh E? It’s not the most manly color.”
“If you want to be protected from screaming girls and groping males when we get to the hotel, I suggest you shut it down quickly,” he answered very calmly. Gina nodded in defeat. She would have to tease him later. She then looked out the window, her mind drifting to other things.
Namely, Justin.
He seemed to have done a total one hundred and eighty-degree turn in the personality department. For two months he had been nothing but…well, an asshole, and all of the sudden he’s Mr. Charming and Suave. He was actually fun to hang out with, and believe it or not he and Gina had a lot in common, from what she could tell of their conversations.
That was another thing that baffled her. He would come strolling to her dressing room at random times of the day, and they would just talk. Or they would go get something to eat. Or they would talk for five minutes in between sound checks on stage before getting yelled at by Tim Miller to get back on task. They were actually to the point where they would pick on each other, but they treaded lightly. No one could believe that these were the same two people that had almost torn each other apart in an elevator about a month ago.
Out of all the people she thought would appreciate the turn of events, Rachel seemed to be acting the least favorable to it. Gina knew her cousin hung out with Justin a lot, and she also knew that Rachel knew her extremely well. She had been talking to Sharlene about the new friendship she had created with Justin, but Sharlene was so into getting them together that Gina had to ask for another opinion. The logical person was Rachel. However, what Rachel had to say was something that made Gina think. And remember things she didn’t want to.
“So seriously, who would have thought that Justin and I would be talking civilly, let alone actually conversing on a regular basis?” Gina asked as she sipped on a mocha from Starbucks.
“Not me, that’s for sure. You two seemed so anti each other that we thought it was a lost cause,” Rachel answered, picking up her muffin and biting into it.
“I know right? He is kinda cute though. Oh Lord did I just say that? I mean like, I can’t say he’s unattractive. Not that I think he’s hot or anything, God ew.”
Rachel almost spit her muffin into her napkin as she looked up at her cousin. “You mean to tell me you think Justin is hot?”
“Keep your voice down! No I am NOT saying that. At all. He’s just not an ugly person. Period. Get your mind outta the gutter Ray,” Gina said, looking around frantically, hoping no one had heard Rachel’s comment.
“Liar.”
“Hypothetically…say I got involved with…him. I can’t believe I'm saying this because um, NO. Anyway, do you think it would work?”
“Gina. Be logical for one time in your life, please. Think about it. Mr. Ladies Man will be on the road touring…with millions of girls wanting to touch him. More than touch him, but I’m not getting into that-“
“But he’s a good guy Rach. I couldn’t see him running off with the first twelve year old who has ‘I heart Justin’ magic markered on her face totally decked in baby blue…” Gina interrupted, a mental image popping in her head causing her to smile.
Rachel reached over the table and grabbed Gina’s hand. “What about the first twenty year old hoochie mama with long bleach blonde hair and a ‘Baywatch’ body? You don’t want another ‘Charlie’ on your hands girl.”
Gina’s smile dropped off her face and she stared at Rachel. She pulled her hand away from her cousin as if it had burned her. “It wouldn’t be the same. Justin isn’t a cheater,” she said forcefully.
“You don’t know that Geen. Why do you think he and Britney broke up?”
“I don’t know, she didn’t tell me and I'm not going to ask him…do you know? Did he cheat on her? You know what, I don’t want to know. He isn’t Charlie, no one could hurt me like that rat bastard did.”
“You never know. You can’t believe in fairytale happy endings Gina. Anything with him would be a long shot and you’d only get hurt…he’s a freakin’ phenomenon…and he could cheat without you even knowing it.”
Gina and Eric pulled up to the hotel and Gina snapped out of her thoughts, looking at the screaming people outside. She saw the young girls with signs and bright smiles, and she also saw the older fans wearing practically nothing, trying to play it cool. It was LA though. Maybe Rachel was right after all.
Not that it mattered, because getting involved with Justin was only a hypothetical.
November 27th, 2000. Los Angeles, CA
**Side Note: I have never been to Magic Mountain in Los Angeles, so I will use Six Flags Great America located in Gurnee, IL, as the actual theme park. So, just swap the two parks and bear with me :)**
“Biv! Are we gonna go sometime today or what?” Justin yelled through the door of Gina’s hotel room. He was standing in the hall, glancing at his watch as Lonnie stood a few feet back, laughing. Justin twisted his head around and raised an eyebrow.
“Give me a second already! Damn raving lunatic!” Gina yelled back through the door. She glanced in the mirror and fiddled with her fisherman’s hat, tucking some of her curls beneath it. She shrugged at her own reflection and grabbed her purse, slinging it over her shoulder while grabbing her hotel key off the dresser.
“Are you sure you don’t want to come Sharshy?” she asked her best friend, who was lounging on the couch in the room.
Sharlene looked at Gina and shook her head. “Nah, you go on without me. Magic Mountain is something we do every time I come to visit you anyway. I think JC and I are going to catch a movie around noonish.”
“You and JC eh? WHO would have thought THAT would happen…I'm SURE I'm the only one that notices the pile of drool that lands at your feet whenever he’s in a ten foot radius.”
“Like I could have bet the farm that you and Justin would be going out for a day on the town to a theme park like long lost buddies.”
“You don’t even have a farm, Shar.”
“Exactly my point!” Sharlene said, smiling widely. The two then turned towards the door as Justin banged on it and yelled something unintelligible. They looked back at each other and burst into laughter.
“It’s like the kid has never been on a roller coaster before. How did I get myself into this…and how did I know that all the rest of you would have a convenient excuse to get out of it?” Gina wondered.
“You better get going before he breaks down the door,” Sharlene laughed.
“I’d like to see that…” Gina trailed off, tilting her head to the side and waiting for a comment from Justin through the door.
“DON’T TEMPT ME BIV!”
“Geen, why does he call you ‘Biv’?”
Gina blushed a deep crimson color and shook her head. “You don’t wanna know…trust me.”
Sharlene rose up off the couch and walked to the door, dragging Gina behind her. She opened it to see Justin standing with his hands on his hips, an expectant look plastered across his face. She threw Gina at Justin and waved them off before closing the door behind her. Gina glanced at Justin’s still questioning face and rolled her eyes.
“Oh please. Like you have never been late or kept people waiting.”
“As a matter of fact I-“
“I’m not even letting you finish that Justin. Eric is meeting us in the lobby,” Lonnie interrupted, ushering the two towards the elevator. Gina smiled at Lonnie, and then turned towards Justin and stuck her tongue out at him.
In a random conversation, Gina and Justin had recognized their shared love for roller coasters and thrills in general. Justin talked about his sky diving experience while Gina countered with the fact that she had been on every ride at Magic Mountain more than she could count, and most likely more than anyone else ever. Justin promised to take her sky diving sometime as long as she took him to the best coasters when the tour hit LA, and that is exactly where the two were headed.
They planned on making a big group trip out of it, but everyone else conveniently had an excuse or some way to back out of it. It didn’t matter though, security thought that watching over two people would be less conspicuous than trying to protect a group of seven. The pair didn’t mind though; they figured that they would end up hitting more rides as two and they wouldn’t take as long trying to contemplate which ones to try and which ones to leave behind.
Justin couldn’t stop hopping up and down in his seat on the way there. It had been awhile since he’d been away from the guys at all, from the tour in general and today seemed like an absolute perfect day. Most of the kids would be in school and they had several hours to kill, just having a good time. He was actually surprised that Johnny and Mark let them go to a theme park because they would most likely be screaming and yelling, which isn’t the best way to preserve your voice when you have a show.
Gina was excited as well. It had been months since she’d been on a coaster and none of her friends really enjoyed them as much as she did. True, Sharlene loved them, but Gina and Sharlene were on opposite ends of the country most of the time so it wasn’t like she could call her up and ask her to hang out at the drop of a hat. However, this new budding friendship with Justin was proving to be a very good thing, especially if he loved thrill rides as much as he said he did. The fact that they were going out just the two of them made her heart race just a bit faster. He intrigued her for some odd reason, and the fact that they could just let loose for a few hours made her smile.
They arrived just as the park was opening, accompanied by Eric and Lonnie. People exchanged glances with one another when they saw the four walk up to the gates. Gina was almost giddy as she pulled her season pass out of her tiny wallet and placed it in the machine. Justin had gotten a ticket the night before at the hotel when he and Gina decided on going, and so did the two guards. Before they knew it, they were in the park and Gina grabbed Justin’s hand.
“Come ON come ON let’s go! We don’t have all day!”
“Easy there killer. The rides will still be there, I promise they aren’t going anywhere,” Justin teased as he pulled back on her hand, trying to slow her down. The fact that she grabbed his hand in the first place threw him for a loop. How could this person have cheated on someone? The question raced through his head out of nowhere, and he tried to push it away and concentrate on what was in front of him.
Gina rolled her eyes and tugged harder, causing Justin to stumble. She looked back and smiled evilly. “Whatever Slick. We only have so many hours here ya know. I propose we go on ‘Batman’ first. Tell me cool guy, do you like having your feet dangle on a coaster?”
The two stood in what seemed to be a short line while Eric and Lonnie hung back surveying the scene. Justin and Gina looked back at them and motioned them over. Lonnie and Eric shook their heads and kept their eyes moving over the crowd.
“They are having no fun,” Gina said, not realizing she was still holding Justin’s hand.
“We need to get them on this ride…or at least some today,” Justin answered, looking back at the two guards. Gina nodded as the two made their way through the line, eventually dropping hands. As they made it to the front, they both agreed that the front row was the best and got on the ride, pulling down their safety bars and jabbering away.
“This ride is so fun…I love Batman…” Gina said absentmindedly, as the floor lowered beneath them and let their feet dangle.
“Who was your favorite Batman?” Justin asked as the coaster started to slowly move forward.
“Val Kilmer. He’s God-like,” Gina answered without hesitation. Justin stared at her and was about to say something, but didn’t have the chance as they went through their first drop. The ride was fast and wild, shooting them through loops and corkscrew turns in the span of about forty seconds. They pulled back into the “bat cave” and slowed to a stop. Gina was grinning wildly and looked over at Justin. His curls were a mess but he had the same grin on his face.
“Did you like it?” she asked in an almost child-like voice. He turned to look at her and just smiled. She looked radiant; her cheeks were flushed from the ride and she was swinging her legs back and forth like a little kid.
“It was fun,” he said as the ride automatically unlocked and they pulled the bar up over their heads. Gina stared at him ready to protest as she stood up, but started to stumble. Justin quickly reached out and grabbed her as she fell into him, off balance. He laughed and she looked up, her hands resting on his arms. His laughing quieted down and they just stared at each other for what seemed like minutes, but were only short seconds.
“Excuse me you need to clear the ride,” a worker said, snapping them out of their trance. Gina blushed and stood up quickly, pulling her hat low and straightening out her clothing. Justin stretched his arms over his head quickly and nodded, placing his hand on Gina’s back and ushering her out as fast as he could. The last thing either of them needed was a scene where people could recognize them.
Gina quickly walked out down the queue with Justin close behind her. She didn’t take a breath until they had made it out back by Eric and Lonnie. Once they had, Justin just cracked up. Gina looked at him incredulously and that made him laugh harder.
“Oh man that was funny, ‘excuse me, you need to clear the ride’. I was just trying to help you Miss Bivins get your balance so you wouldn’t splatter all over the floor! I was trying to be a gentleman while that guy was just watching, waiting for you to fall!”
“Excuse me? I think you just pulled me into you, claiming that I was going to fall! Plus you only said the ride was ‘fun’…hello, were you not on the same ride that I was?” Gina countered, still flushed from the embrace the two held. It was the oddest feeling she had experienced in a long time, but it was odd in the way that she wanted it to occur more. She liked it, even though she really didn’t want to admit it.
“You were probably thinking I was Val Kilmer or something, falling into me like you needed to be saved from like, the Joker.”
Lonnie and Eric just stood by and watched the two bicker in a flirty way as they headed out to the next ride. Justin kept touching her shoulder or putting his arm around Gina and she would smack his stomach or pull on one of his curls. It was pure comedy for the two security members, although they were definitely keeping an eye out on their surroundings and who may be watching.
“The Joker wasn’t even IN ‘Batman Forever’ with Val Kilmer. It was the Riddler and Two Face smartass.”
“Excuse me if I don’t sit around and watch old grown men dress up as bats in black rubber. Not my favorite past time but hey, whatever floats it.”
“Yeah, because you like watching young sweaty guys rub up against each other trying to put a ball in a hole.”
Justin stopped and twisted his face in disgust. “That was the grossest thing I’ve heard! You’re making basketball dirty!” he yelled, pointing his finger in her face.
“It’s true though! Think about it oh-singing-one. Looky here, we’re at the next ride.”
Justin mumbled something unintelligible, and Gina snickered. He was so easy to pick on at times. The two were at ‘Raging Bull’, which was a newer ride at the park. It was a hypercoaster where a pole rested between the rider’s legs and pressed a bar-like object on their lap. The first drop was a 200-foot dive and this coaster was one of the smoothest rides made.
Justin stared up at the ride and cocked his head, trying to take it in. He had never seen anything like this before, and it made him apprehensive, though he would not admit it. Somehow Gina and Justin had talked Lonnie and Eric into going on the ride, since it sat four across and had individual security features, so their bigger bodies wouldn’t raise everyone else’s lap bars as they would on other rides. The four stood in line talking, not really paying attention to the curious stares of others.
“Nervous about this one cool guy?” Gina asked, knocking her shoulder into Justin’s playfully. He looked down at her and rolled his eyes.
“Nope, this is child’s play. It looks wild.”
“You’re full of it, you know that? I saw you looking up at the ride thinking, ‘damn, what has this chick gotten me into?’. It’s ok to be scared, J,” she patronized, patting his shoulder. He smirked; she didn’t even realize she was using nicknames for him, and she was touching him a lot more.
“Now you know what goes on in my head huh? When did this start happening?”
“Well I’ve always known, Justin. Even when we were fighting I knew what you thought of me,” she said, trailing off and moving her hand off of his shoulder. She didn’t mean to say that, it just sort of came out. It was one of those subjects that they tended to stay away from, and of course she had to bring it up on their day of fun.
Justin’s smile slid off of his face slowly and he turned around to fully face her. He put himself between Gina and the bodyguards so they could have at least some privacy. “You really don’t though, Gina. You only think you know,” he said softly, his hand running from her shoulder down her arm, and then he grabbed her hand and held it.
She bit her lip and looked up at him, raising her eyebrows as her dark brown eyes met his soft blue ones. “Sorry…I didn’t mean to get all serious and dwelly about the past…”
“Dwelly? Is that a word?” Justin asked, pulling her forward in the line still holding her hand.
She laughed and shrugged. “Sure it is, I just made it up. You should use it in a sentence sometime.”
“Sounds like something from ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’. I could see THAT happening. I would get so much shit for that Geen.”
“I know, it would be funny!”
“Ok people, let’s get this show on the road. Gina I swear this ride better be safe,” Lonnie said, pushing the two into the row they were designated to sit in. He pulled the lap bar down on his thighs and shook his head. “How is this supposed to hold me in here?”
Gina glanced at Justin and smiled evilly, then turned towards Lonnie with a straight and innocent face. “Well, I think that there’s a weight requirement, now that I actually think about it. Tell me Lonnie, are you over 275?”
Lonnie’s face went ghost white as the ride began moving and Eric rolled his eyes. He quickly calmed Lonnie’s apprehension and Gina got a death look from the large security guard.
“How do you put up with her?” he asked Eric as the ride began its long trek up the to the top of the drop.
“Probably the same way you put up with him,” Eric answered as the two looked over at Gina and Justin who were in deep conversation as if no one else were with them.
The ride was wild and not as quick as the other one, but it was over before everyone knew it. The car pulled up to let the passengers off and every single person on the ride was coming off of an adrenaline rush.
“Now THAT ride was PHAT. We have to do this one again girl!” Justin called out with a big grin on his face. Gina smiled as everyone hopped out of the ride and walked down the twisted walkway to exit. Gina ran to the area where their pictures that were taken during the ride would pop up, and Justin followed quickly.
“Oh my GOD Justin look at that hair!” Gina yelled out, drawing everyone’s attention to the two.
“Girl please! You’re hair would be wild too if you weren’t wearing that hat!” Justin said, patting down his hair as he examined the picture. The two didn’t notice the knowing glances of many of the bystanders and the sudden whispering that was going on around them.
“Look at Lonnie’s face…good grief we have to buy this picture!” she added, pushing her way up to the front to buy a few. Justin just stared at her and looked around. Their bodyguards were finally making their way towards the picture area, just as a few fans approached Justin and asked for his autograph. He quickly signed the pictures they had purchased and answered questions about being in town, and who he was with. Lonnie gently grabbed his arm and they waited for Gina a bit further away from the pack of people.
Gina smiled at the pictures in her hand as she looked at them closely. Both her and Justin were sticking out their tongues with their arms thrown up high in the air. Lonnie was hanging on for dear life, and Eric had his hands up with his mouth wide open. The funniest part of the picture was Justin’s hair; his fro was sticking straight up in the air.
She looked up and noticed Eric standing not more than a few feet away from her, but Justin was gone. She was quickly on alert and glanced around to see people beginning to recognize her and look at Eric suspiciously. She raised an eyebrow at Eric and he nodded in the opposite direction. About twenty feet away from him Justin and Lonnie were standing up against a building talking, distancing themselves a bit. She quickly went to Eric’s side and acted like nothing was wrong as she showed him the pictures and they made their way over to Justin and Lonnie.
“Were we spotted?” she whispered to Justin casually as they walked away from the ride and Lonnie and Eric fell back behind them some.
Justin nodded and leaned down close. “Well, I was spotted…since you were extremely wise in drawing attention to us Biv.”
“What-EVER. There are a LOT of guys named Justin ya know, not just you. You could have put something on your extremely noticeable curls.”
“Oh, you mean a hat…like yours?” he said, yanking her hat off of her head and putting it on top of his own.
Gina was still holding the pictures in her hands, so only one could go up to her hair quickly. “Oh my God Justin give it back! What are you doing?!” she screeched, totally frazzled. Justin just watched her as she tried to get control of her hair. The way he had pulled the hat straight up off of her head made her hair spring out everywhere.
“What was that? I thought you said I needed a hat?”
“You piece of sh-“
“Careful, there are kids around and you are exposed,” Justin warned playfully.
“I swear Timbersnake I’m going to KILL you for taking my hat…ERIC!” she called back, whining to her bodyguard.
“Timbersnake eh? That’s not very original. Hey, I think this hat looks good on me, don’t you think Big E?” Justin asked, pretending to model it for him.
“Well you look great Justin. Nice and feminine.”
Justin ripped the hat off his head and slammed it back down on Gina’s, reaching for his own curls. Gina and Lonnie started laughing loudly while Justin rolled his eyes and excused himself to the nearest bathroom to check the damage. The rest of the crew hung out nearby while Gina tossed the hat up in the air repeatedly.
“Gina!”
Gina turned around as her voice was called, looking to see whom it was. She forgot about her hat and it hit the ground when she recognized the person approaching her. She stood frozen and unable to blink as everything seemed to move in slow motion. The person picked up her hat and dusted it off, looking at it carefully, almost as if they were reminiscing.
“What are you doing here?” she managed to force out of her mouth, trying to regain her composure.
“Can’t a guy ride some rollercoasters? I didn’t know this place was off limits. I think the real question is what are YOU doing here? Without security?”
“Eric is here.”
In the meantime, Justin made his way out of the bathroom and saw Gina talking to some guy who was holding her hat. He arched an eyebrow and looked back at Eric and Lonnie. He found them deep in conversation, looking at Gina and the guy so he decided to make his way over to her to see what was up.
“Gina! Oh hi! Who is this that we are talking to?” Justin said with a bright smile on his face. If this guy knew Gina somehow, she would be teased from now til Christmas about it, Justin thought to himself.
“Well do ya want the short version? Ok good, I’ll tell it,” Gina snapped, suddenly becoming very vocal once Justin joined the conversation.
“Justin, this is Charlie. My ex-boyfriend. Oh yes, I'm sure you’ve heard talk about it. Charlie, this is my friend Justin Timberlake. Anyway Justin, Charlie here was practically the love of my life…whatever, I’ll go into it later. Basically? I caught him sleeping with another girl in OUR apartment. When I was dropping by for a surprise visit. Imagine my surprise eh? I’m OUT,” with that, she turned her back and walked away from the two with her head held high.
Charlie stood there staring at her, as did Justin. He then looked at the man in front of him and had the urge to beat the living shit out of him. Once Gina began walking away, Lonnie was quick to get to Justin’s side. He knew how his young charge defended his friends and he didn’t want anything to go down with emotions so high.
Justin looked back and forth from Gina’s retreating figure to Charlie standing there holding the hat.
“What about your hat, Love?” Charlie called out to Gina sarcastically.
Gina ignored him and kept walking away from the situation with Eric. Justin leaned over and snatched it from Charlie’s hand. Charlie looked at Justin with a cocked eyebrow and shook his head with a knowing smirk.
“You’re the new plaything huh? It’s about time she got around after me. I mean, I know it’s hard getting over someone like me, but hey, you could be a good rebound guy. You’re in the business, you know how it goes. I’m surprised she’s all about someone so high profile…she hated all the celebrities, thought they were fake. You must really give it to her…but if I wanted her back, I could take her from you.”
Lonnie took a step closer as he saw Justin’s face getting redder and redder. “Justin, let’s go,” he coaxed, placing a hand on the young man’s shoulder gently.
“Yeah Lonnie, I’m getting sick of listening to this pure shit. It’s starting to stink,” he said, shaking his head and turning around to walk away. After a few steps, he looked over his shoulder at the other man and then turned around.
“See ya around Justin.”
“Not likely…I don’t associate with trash,” he said and walked away, leaving Charlie standing alone in the middle of the theme park.
“Get me outta here fast Lonnie. Actually, hold my arm ok? I have to check on Gina. Just keep talking to me or I’m going to think about it and go back there and do some serious damage,” Justin said through gritted teeth as the image of Gina’s pained face was engrained into his memory.
