Nicole arrived back home quickly. She made her way upstairs to her apartment to find her security screen closed but the front door wide open. Her heart raced a bit. A flash of a thought entered her mind. Kike is back to finish what he started. She shook her head. Don't be crazy, she thought to herself, but still she was pretty sure she closed the door and locked it when she left. She wedged the two largest keys on her key ring between her fingers and made a fist. She took a deep breath and pounded on the screen with force. 

"Who's in there! What are you doing in my apartment!" She yelled. 

"Nic! Where have you been?" She heard Joel's voice call out. 

Nicole sighed and opened the door. "I told you not to come." She walked into the hall and stepped into her living room. Joel was standing by the door that led to the balcony. 

"I needed to see you. Make sure you were okay." He took a few steps towards and opened his arms. 

Nicole rolled her eyes and turned away. Joel swiftly walked up behind her and circled his arms around her and kissed the top of her head.

"Joel, I am fine. I was at the Stache, like I told you I was going to do."

She looked up in time to see Kaylee, Joel's fiancé walk from the hallway into the living room. "Oh, you are here." Kaylee mumbled. 

"Nice to see you too, Kay-lee" she grumbled as she struggled from Joel's grip. 

"So your string of one-night stands landed you in a predicament. I expected an STD before an attempted rape, but--"

"Kaylee, that's enough," Joel ordered and walked over to her. He placed his hand on the small of her back, turned her around, and began to lead her to the other room.  

"Relax, Joel, I am not taking the bait." Nicole laughed and plopped herself down on the couch. "I'm safe. Still in one piece. You can go home now," she called over her shoulder. 

She could hear their voices in the other room, but couldn't make out what they were saying. She assumed it was something along the lines of how Kaylee needed to be nicer to Nicole. It was a conversation she had overheard numerous times before. Kaylee hated Nicole. For 5 years she had been dating her friend, Kaylee, was never once nice to her. Kaylee could not believe that a relationship between the opposite sex could be platonic. It used to drive Nicole crazy, but over time, Nicole and Joel could ignore it. Kaylee thrived off getting under Nicole's skin, and when Nicole realized feeding into it just made it worse, she just stopped paying attention, most of the time. 

The couple eventually reentered the living room, and Kaylee took a seat on the chair across from Nicole, while Joel took a seat on the opposite end of the couch. Joel grabbed the TV remote off of the coffee table and flipped to the golf channel. It was day one of the Masters. Nicole rolled her eyes, but let him take control of the TV.

"You guys want something? Water? I think I have beer."

"I'll drink your beer," Joel answered. 

Nicole got up and headed toward the kitchen, turned promptly, "Kaylee?"

"No."

"I won't poison you, I promise," Nicole laughed and continued her path to the kitchen.

Joel glared at Kaylee, who then sat back deep into the chair with a pout. 

Nicole returned with a glass of water for herself and Kaylee, and a beer for Joel. "So, what's up?"

"Just wanted to see you," Joel replied. 

"Here I am," she stood up and turned around, arms out.

Joel threw a throw pillow at her and she sat down. 

****

JC sent off some work emails from his phone. He thought he'd be happier since he had been so busy since the first of the year, but really the busyness didn't make him happier, it just allowed him less time to dwell on the negative. He really had no idea why he wasn't happy. Things seemed to be going well. He had a surprise performance coming up at Coachella next week. He and the guys had rehearsed a couple of times, and he thought the nostalgia of it all would wake up the fire in his belly. He thought helping out his friend with this convention would also bring some satisfaction to his life. Hell, his longtime girlfriend had just uprooted her life completely to move in with him here in Los Angeles. He even had some recording sessions booked with a young new artist in the coming weeks. And, just yesterday, he made a new connection with a local Long Beach recording studio director. He was even able to tour the studio. It had a great vibe, and a history that included Eric Clapton and the Beach Boys. With so much going right, it was hard for him to understand the pervasive black cloud that hung over his head. He couldn't remember the last time he had actually been happy. He tried not to entertain that thought, though. It usually spiraled all the way down into whether or not he had ever been happy. A spiral he was not trying to go down before he gave a speech. 

He scrolled through his recent calls and saw an unfamiliar missed call. He smirked as he realized it must have been Nicole. She had said she tried calling him earlier. To thank him. He scrolled past it and tapped "Jenny," hoping that a brief chat with his girlfriend would lift his spirits before his talk. The phone rang, but she didn't pick up. He left a message. "Hey baby. Just killing some time before I present. Wanted to say hi. Going to probably grab dinner with Mitch again tonight, so I'll see you in the morning. Love you," and ended the call and returned the phone to his pocket. 

He leaned back in the chair, interlocked his fingers behind his head, extended his legs out, feet casually crossed at the ankles, closed his eyes, and took a few relaxing breaths. He tried to clear his mind, but flashes of the night before and his interaction with Nicole early in the day kept popping up. Her Birkenstocks for some reason held a prominent image in his mind. He laughed. What girl looking to get laid wears Birkenstocks to the bar? A girl who clearly doesn't give a shit. Eyes still shut, he smiled to himself and laughed a little. He wished he could give zero shits about things, but everything seems to matter too much to him these days. He felt the spiral of thoughts coming on, and sat up quickly. 

He pulled out his phone again to check the time. The phone unlocked and opened to his call history. Again, he flashed over the missed call from Nicole. She was pervading his thoughts anyway, so he figured he'd call her. Before he could tap the missed call on his screen, he thought better of it. He was concerned that he had just left her only maybe 20 minutes ago. It would be weird to call her. Call her to do what? Say hi? He put his phone back into his pocket. Maybe a text would be less weird. He sat back up, reached into his pocket, pulled out his phone and watched it unlock. He copied the missed call number and opened a new text message. He pasted her number into the application and then contemplated what he should text her. Again, he locked his phone and this time placed it on the table next to the index cards Mitchel had given him. He picked up the index cards and began to read through them again. Thinking about how he'd address these talking points. But his thoughts were sidetracked by dinner. Dinner! Of course. Perfect reason to text her. He and Mitchel were surely going out to dinner. They aren't familiar with the area, but she lives so close, of course she would know of some places to eat. He picked up his phone and shot off a text message:

Hey Nicole, it's Josh. Thanks again for the ride. I should have asked you in the car for some restaurant recommendations. Mitchel and I are going to grab a bite. Any places in the area that you like?

He waited for a reply, but nothing came. No dots showing that she was typing, no "read" message. Just his blue message bubble with "Delivered" printed underneath. He put the phone down and resumed reading the index cards. Hoping to hear the ding. But when nothing happened. He grew more and more disappointed. He unlocked the phone again to see if the status of the message had changed, but it still appeared the same. He sighed, placed the phone on silent and returned it to his pocket. He stood to leave when he felt a vibration on the side of his hip. He reached in and pulled out his phone. She replied.

Maybe Nicole 5623546804: After last night you trust me with your going out plans! That's brave. There's an indian place on 4th and Long Beach Blvd. 

JC: Great minds! We went there last night. You got anything else?

Maybe Nicole 5623546804: So many restaurants. Are you staying close to the convention center?

JC: yes

Maybe Nicole 5623546804: Federal Bar has a great happy hour! There is a street called promenade, between Pine and Long Beach Blvd. All the places there are good. Congregation Ale is a beer place, but the food is good, and they have trivia there tonight. 

JC: trivia?

Maybe Nicole 5623546804: Yeah you know like pub trivia, you and your team answer questions you win a free round. It's fun. My friends and I play there sometimes. 

JC: You playing tonight?

Maybe Nicole 5623546804: nope

JC: you want to play tonight?

Maybe Nicole 5623546804: are you kidding?

JC: sounds fun. 2 seems like an odd number for trivia though. 

No reply. What was he thinking, inviting her out? He hadn't even talked to Mitchel about even going to get dinner yet, and he was sure the last thing she wanted to do after her night out yesterday was go to a bar. He looked back at the message, still no reply, and still no damn dots! He noticed the time at the top of the phone. He picked up the index cards off the table and headed out of the office he had been waiting in. He didn't return the phone to his pocket. As he walked he kept looking down for a reply. As he entered the exhibition hall C, he glanced down, and finally he saw the dots!

Maybe Nicole 5623546804: I mean I'm down, but I have a couple of friends here. We were talking about dinner. Can I bring them? 5 is a good team size. 

Maybe Nicole 5623546804: And you have to let me buy!

He smiled to himself as he read the message. He was getting ready to tap out a response when he was startled by Mitchel, who slapped his back and asked if he was ready, and why he was smiling.

"We're going to go to dinner with Nicole and some of her friends. At a place that has trivia." 

"We are?"

"Yeah, she said the food was good and trivia sounds fun."

"You save her from impending danger, and now you are best friends?"

"WE saved her from impending danger, and she wants to thank us. What else are we going to do tonight?" 

Josh: Well that sounds like an offer we can't refuse. 

Maybe Nicole 5623546804: sweet! see you around 715, Congregation Ale House