Nicole led Joel and Kaylee down the promenade, a pedestrian only street, heading towards the restaurant. She started to make the turn toward the entrance when two men walking toward her, but still across the street, caught her eye. One was in shorts and a light sweater, the other in black jeans and a Hawaiian patterned bomber jacket and a hat. Though she didn't quite recognize either man, she knew right away it was Josh. She changed trajectory and walked to the crosswalk. JC saw her from the other side of the street and waved with a smile. His hat was pulled down low over his face, but even in the dusk of the evening, his blue eyes were clear and bright. She waited for the two men to reach her. Josh formally introduced her to Mitchel. She immediately pulled him into a hug and thanked him for helping her last night. She apologized profusely for causing them trouble, but he shook off the compliments and told her he was happy to see her in better form this evening. She led them to Joel and Kaylee, who were waiting at the entrance of the restaurant, and made introductions.
"This is Joel and Kaylee." She nodded to her friends. "And, this is Mitchel and Josh."
Joel embraced them both, catching them off guard. He thanked them again for helping his friend.
Josh turned to Kaylee to shake her hand. "I'm sorry, your name again?" He asked, and he held out his hand.
The look of shock on her face was hard to miss. She stared, mouth slightly open. "It's Kaylee," Nicole announced loudly in her stead.
"Kay-Kaylee, sorry," she finally reached for JC's outstretched hand.
Nicole led the group into the restaurant, wasting no time finding a table on the outdoor patio. She explained that it was such a nice spring night, there was no point sitting inside. The waitress came promptly, and they ordered a round of drinks. While everyone pondered the food menu, Nicole went to get a trivia form and quickly returned to the group.
"Okay, so we need a team name," she smiled.
"We aren't going with the usual," Joel asked.
"Well, we have new people on the team, so it's like a new team."
"What's your usual team name, we can go with that, it's fine," Mitchel asked.
"Multiple Scoregasms," Joel dead panned.
Kaylee rolled her eyes, but JC and Mitchel both found it quite amusing.
"How about Multiple Scoregasms with Strangers?" Mitchel laughed.
"Perfect!" Nicole immediately wrote down the team name on the trivia forms.
They were two rounds of trivia in, and they weren't doing so poorly. Between rounds, the group of strangers got to know a bit more about each other. Nicole was a high school English teacher, Kaylee a hairstylist, and Joel a mechanic. Mitchel explained his new role as president of the National Association for Music Education. JC tried to remain as vague as possible, explaining he dabbled in all parts of music and recording, but nothing big. Just that he had a small studio and often worked with new artists. Joel shared that he and Matt had been in a band and that they recorded an EP once that only maybe five people bought. Nicole did not need to hear Joel recount the glory days of his youth, so she excused herself to the restroom. Kaylee quickly followed behind her.
Once, safely in the confines of the restroom, Kaylee grabbed Nicole by the arm, and spun her around before she could enter the stall. "Nicole, do you know who that is?" She asked excitedly.
"Who who is?" Nicole shook off Kaylee's grip and entered one of the free stalls to do her business.
Kaylee continued talking through the stall door, "Josh."
"Um, he's Josh, music guy."
"No, he's JC from *NSYNC."
"Who?"
"Shut up, don't pretend you don't know *NSYNC. You know Justin Timberlake, the boy band."
It hit Nicole suddenly. He was familiar, but not because she remembered him from the night before, but because he was a staple on MTV when she was younger. His face had filled out some, and he looked a lot older and less clean-shaven, but those eyes were unmistakable. She laughed to herself as she exited the stall and rejoined Kaylee at the sink to wash her hands.
"Dang, that is him! He looks a lot different. Did we age like that? I mean, I still feel like I look how I did when I was at least 27!"
"Are you sleeping with him?"
"Kaylee! Contrary to your perception of me, I don't fuck anything with a dick."
"He didn't tell you who he was?"
"No, I mean yes. He said he's Josh. You were there, he told us he's in music. I mean, it's not like he's lying. But c'mon, don't call him out on it. He probably wants to leave the past where it belongs. In the past." Nicole dried her hands, turned promptly on one foot and exited the bathroom. Kaylee, again, not far behind.
Nicole resumed her place at the table. It was the middle of the third trivia round: literature. Awesome, that was her category. She tucked into her salad and waited for her team to fill her in on the questions she had missed. They did not have a single answer:
1. He goes on a date with Sally Hayes. It ends in an epic fail. Answer: Holden Caulfield.
2. He's painting the fences white. Answer: You should know this one, Tom Sawyer.
3. The Others is a film adaptation of what novela? Answer: Turn of the Screw. Easy Peasy.
4. He tears out this man's eye in King Lear. Answer: Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Gloucester.
"Damn!" Mitchel laughed as he watched Nicole shovel salad into her mouth in between answers.
"Double this round!" Nicole laughed as little bits of salad spilled from her mouth.
"Pure class, girl." Joel clasped her shoulder.
She successfully answered each question, and Kaylee went to turn in their answers.
Josh decided to fill the silence with a question, "You going to go see your friends' gig in a couple of weeks. Joel was telling us about it. I live right by there, thinking I might stop by."
"What gig?" Nicole asked.
"Matt didn't tell you?"
Nicole shook her head.
"Remember Brian and Scotty's band."
Kaylee returned to the table, and chimed in. "She remembers Scott intimately."
Joel turned sharply to his fiancé and gave her a warning look.
"We never fucked, but since you're so obsessed with my love life, he loves to lick pussy."
"Nicole!" Joel turned his attention away from Kaylee.
Mitchel stifled a laugh and JC stared at her slack jawed.
Joel continued, "They are calling it quits. Brian is doing his medical residency or whatever in Atlanta."
"Good for him. His wife going too?" Nicole asked.
"Yeah. They are doing a show at the Troubadour in a few weeks. Asked us to come play some songs with them. You know, how they do some of our old stuff. I think we're gonna do it. We're rusty, but it will be fun. So, I think you have to be there."
"Hard pass." Nicole turned her focus back to her salad.
"Nic, c'mon." Joel urged.
"Nope. I'm sure you'll have a good time, and you guys will be great, and I'll hear all about it. Look, it's time for the next round. Music," she tossed the paper and pen at Mitchel. "Mr. President, this sounds like a round for you."
"I knew Matt wasn't going to say anything to you. This is dumb. C'mon, Nic, just come."
"No, thank you." She watched as Joel opened his mouth to speak again. She interrupted before he could begin, "I love ya, but I am done talking about this."
****
The team started off strong, but fizzled out when the category turned to Emmy Award winners. No one in the group seemed to watch that much current television. Joel and Kaylee were the first to leave, but Nicole, Josh and Mitchel were finishing their third round of drinks.
"How do you guys know each other?" Nicole asked JC.
"Grew up together in Maryland. Near DC." He replied.
"Nice of you to do this gig for him."
"No biggie." JC shrugged.
Nicole took a final pull from her pint glass. "Well," she yawned. "I'm gonna close out the tab. I'll be back."
"You don't have to pay," JC reached for his wallet.
Nicole stood, reached over the table and clasped JC arm, "Please, stop. It's my pleasure," then turned and walked inside.
JC and Mitchel finished their drinks while she settled the tab, then rose to meet her as she returned to the table.
"Shall we get out of here?" Nicole smiled.
Nicole led the way out of the bar, the two men close behind. When she stepped outside, she reached into her purse and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. She shook them a few times until the butt of a cigarette peaked its way out of the soft pack. Then reached back into her purse for a lighter. She lit it and took a drag. She turned away from them to exhale. "Well, It was a really nice meeting you guys. I hope you had more fun tonight than last night." She laughed softly and allowed her gaze to drop toward her feet. She moved the cigarette back to her mouth and took another drag.
"How are you getting home?" JC asked.
"Walking." She smiled.
"You want company?"
"No, it's fine. I'm going in the opposite direction." Again she took another puff.
"I can't let you walk alone. Especially after last night. Mitchel, you can head back. I'm going to walk her."
Mitchel smiled to himself, stepped closer to Nicole and opened his arm. "It was nice meeting you," he told her as she walked into his embrace. "Stay safe, okay?" He looked at her, much like a father would look at their child.
"Yeah. But you guys know, I don't need saving all the time. Josh, you don't need to walk me," she smiled.
"Well, I could use the exercise."
Nicole nodded and started down the street, JC behind her, while Mitchel walked back to the hotel in the opposite direction.
"You know those things will kill you," JC warned as Nicole continued to smoke.
"Eh, I'm not that lucky."
JC paused at the odd response. Nicole did not notice him fall behind her until a few steps later, and she turned around to check on what had stalled his progress.
"That's morbid!" He called out.
"I'm reckless! Haven't you figured that out yet?" she smirked, stared straight at him and took an exaggerated puff from her cigarette.
JC held her gaze and walked directly toward her. He had conviction about his movements. He was mere inches away from her, looking down at her with the cigarette still between her lips. He slowly raised his arm, pulled the cigarette from her lips, and still holding her gaze replied, "Good thing you have me here to save you." He waited a beat before he flicked the cigarette out into the street, turned sharply, and continued his walk in the direction they had been headed.
Nicole was slightly paralyzed. She wasn't sure if she should be mad, or turned on. Those eyes were pools of intense blue. He was so close to her that she could smell him. It was a clean but masculine scent that added to his dominance at that moment. Was he flirting? He just might be. Why did he send Mitchel back to the hotel and walk her home by himself? He was totally flirting. Right?
"Where am I going?" He called back to her, breaking her out of the spiral of "what if" thoughts swimming around in her mind.
She quickened her pace to catch up with him, and they fell into step. She remained quiet. Not sure what she should talk about. It was the first time all night that there was a lull in the conversation. Which she immediately started to obsess about. They had gone two blocks without speaking, and now she was starting to fret about the awkward silence. She just blurted out the first thing that came to her mind.
"So, were you serious about checking out Joel and Matt at the Troubadour?"
He shrugged in response.
"I mean, you said you were going to; Joel's gonna expect fans!" She giggled in spite of herself.
"I live near there. It's not out of the realm of possibility. Better question, why aren't you going to be there? Those are your friends."
She thought about how to respond to that question for a few steps. There were plenty of reasons she didn't want to go, but none worth discussing. "Eh, I don't like living in the past as much as they do."
"I see." He didn't look at her.
"What do you see?" She laughed.
"Demons from the past? Let me think." He stopped her from walking, put both hands on her shoulders and stared down at her. "What is it? A dream unfulfilled. No. A man. An ex? Someone's broken heart? Who's there you don't want to see?"
"You don't have a fucking clue what you're talking about." She broke from his grip and started walking.
JC laughed out loud from behind her and again started to follow her as she continued down the street. "I struck a chord! Is it Pussy Licker? Scott?"
She raised her middle finger and aimed it at him back behind her. He laughed some more. He caught up to her as she waited for the light to change on the corner. He stopped right behind her, a little too closely. She didn't seem to mind.
They walked the final three blocks in silence. When they reached her apartment complex, she turned and thanked him for making sure she got home safely. She came close to asking him to come in, but thought better of it.
"Thanks for dinner. Trivia was fun. Hopefully you change your mind about the Troubadour in a few weeks, and I'll see you there," he said and flashed a charming smile.
"Yeah, we'll see." Nicole mumbled.
They hugged, and then he stood waiting for her to enter the security door of the building. Once safely inside he waved, turned and headed back down the street.
