As they followed him to a large booth in the back, Justin glanced over and gave Lindsay a smile as if to say ‘see, I told you so.' He knew all along that she had nothing to be worried about. When they reached the table, there were seven other men sitting there, sharing four pitchers of beer and watching the various television screens.
"Does she look familiar? She looks familiar. I think I went to high school with her." One man was starting a woman on the TV intently.
"Scooter! You don't know that girl, keep dreaming," Justin smiled.
The man looked up and grinned at him.
"Hines, you asshole, where have you been hiding out?"
"I've been around."
"Yeah, with the red necks and chicken farmers. Who's this?"
"Farmers daughter."
Lindsay shot Justin a look and leaned forward to offer her hand.
"I'm Lindsay, the City Girl."
"Oh yeah, Trace said you were coming. You can come over and sit by me."
Justin stepped in between them before Lindsay could move.
"Uh uh, Scooter's got wandering fingers. We'll sit over here by Matt."
They scooted into the booth with the other guys, and Justin poured them two beers.
"So how's country life been treating you Hines?" Someone asked.
"Judging by the girlie on his arm, I'd say pretty good. Let me know if you ever need a room mate," his buddy Ryan answered.
"I thought your last name was Timberlake," Lindsay turned to him.
"It is."
"So why do they call you Hines?"
Trace and Scooter exchanged a look before stifling giggles.
"Why do we call him Hines? Don't you know about-." There was a pump under the table, and Trace grimaced as he reached down to hold his leg.
"Ow, you dipwad."
"Know what?" Lindsay asked.
"About his being a-." There was another bump and this time Matt grabbed his leg.
"About my highschool basketball record." Justin said, spinning his beer mug on the table. "That's where the nickname Hines comes from."
Lindsay nodded, pretending to understand. She didn't. She looked to Trace, who glanced away nervously, and then to Justin who was taking a long swig of his beer. Suddenly everything was uncomfortable.
"So," Justin cleared his throat, "Trace, how does it feel to be 25?"
"Feels like I need something stronger than this beer. Will someone buy my sober ass a shot?"
Lindsay raised her hand.
"Just because you let me tag a long with Justin here, I'll buy the table their first round."
Justin smiled proudly while the boys cheered loudly. Then he reached up to gently ruffle her hair.
"I think you'll fit in around here just fine, City Girl."
The night continued on uneventfully. The boys sat and drank beer, gossiping about each others private lives. Lindsay mostly watched, soaking it all in. Justin was different with them. Not better, not worse, just different. He was trying to put off the impression that he was a real man's man and not the romantic sweetheart who liked to cuddle at night. His friends were interesting, to say the least.
Trace was drooling over a woman dancing in her underwear on the TV screen. Matt had run off to his pickup truck with some girl. Justin was playing poker with two other friends at a table near by, and Scooter; well, Scooter was attached to her hip.
"So, tell me about yourself Leslie. Where are you from?"
"I prefer Lindsay, actually."
"Sorry," he let out a loud drunken laugh. "My bad. Lindsay. Well, you're very cute Lindsay."
"Thanks."
She glanced at the table where Justin had been, hoping to give him a ‘help me' stare. He was gone.
"Not like normally pretty, but like, abnormally pretty." He scooted closer to her side. "The minute I saw you I was like, ‘wow! She's sexy.'"
Lindsay smiled politely and scooted over, but he moved with her, this time getting ever closer. One more centimeter and he might be in her lap.
"So, what are you doing with Hines anyway?"
There was that weird nickname again.
"Justin's nice," she supplied.
"Yeah, he is," Scooter agreed. "But, I can be nicer. I can be much, much nicer."
As he spoke, his hand smoothed over her leg. Lindsay removed his fingers, placing his hands in his own lap.
"Scooter, I'm sure you're a nice guy normally. But right now you're drunk, so why don't I get you something to help you sober up?"
"Alright," he pouted.
"Okay. What do you want? Coffee?"
"Water, to douse this fire you've set in my heart."
Her eyes rolled automatically. Was he serious? It was only in the backwoods where you'd find someone saying cheesy stuff like that. And that's when she realized he was leaning in for a kiss.
"Scooter. No," she said, leaning back.
"Come on." He pulled at her waist, trying to bring her closer.
"No." Lindsay stood and held a hand out to keep some distance between them. "Scooter, stop."
Scooter stood up in front of her, and looked ready to say something, but then he paused. Lindsay felt a protective presence surround her, and then a hand on her back. She spun around to find Justin, looking a little concerned, and a little angry.
"I'm gonna run to the bathroom," she stated, moving past him and down the hall.
She went into the room and locked the door. She needed a moment alone, not that there were a whole bunch of women waiting to break the door down. She'd only seen two other girls since she got there. She knew Scooter was drunk and therefore, deserved a little leeway with his actions, but still some men were just jerks. After taking a deep breath, Lindsay unlocked the door and stepped back into the bar. She headed for the booth, passing other tables and ignoring the various looks and cat calls she got from them.
She shuts the room down
The way she walks and causes a fuss
The baddest in town
She's flawless like some uncut ice
I hope she's goin' home with me tonight
Justin was standing there, his back to her as he spoke to Trace and Scooter. His shoulders looked rigid, he was visibly upset. She stopped a few feet away, and couldn't help but eavesdrop on their conversation.
"Justin, don't get so bent up over it. He's drunk dude," Trace defended.
"I know he's drunk, but he still needs to learn to control himself. If you can't drink and handle your shit, don't drink."
"Alright dawg, I get it. I didn't know she was so important to you."
"Well, she is," he confessed quickly.
Then he realized where he was and cleared his throat.
"She's special, and I like her, and I want to keep her around for a long time. I don't want you weirdos scaring her off."
Trace and Scooter saluted him.
"Best behavior, sir."
Then she caught Matt's attention, and the boys' conversation was over. Matt tapped Justin on the arm and nodded his head. When Justin laid eyes on her he blushed, wondering how much she'd heard.
"Hey," he said.
"Hi."
He stepped over to her and stuck his hands in his pockets, rocking back on his heels. He looked back at the boys, and they pretended to not be paying attention to the couple. Matt quickly turned back to the TV, and Trace and Scooter both began to walk away, first running into each other, and then heading for the pool tables.
"You ready to get out of here?" Justin turned to her.
"Yes." Her shoes were killing her feet. "But we can stay longer if you want."
"Naw. I'm exhausted, and I've succeeded in getting Trace completely plastered. My work here is done."
After saying goodbye to the boys, Justin led Lindsay back through the bar and out the front door. The bikers were still there, and they nodded once again as the couple headed for their car.
Thinking back on what she'd over heard Justin saying, she couldn't help but smile. He really cared about her, not that she exactly doubted his feelings before. In fact, she hadn't really thought about his feelings. They'd never discussed it before. But it was sweet, and it held a lot of meaning that he liked her enough to admit it to all of his buddies like that.
They stayed pretty quiet on the ride home. Lindsay barely held onto her consciousness most of the way. It was late and she was tired. When they exited the highway and headed down the dirt road their homes sat on, she perked up and spoke.
"So, did I pass the friend test?"
"With flying colors," he smiled. "Buying the shots was a nice touch. Good thinking."
"Thank you."
"I'm going to pay you back," he mentioned.
"You don't have too."
"Yes I do. I can't invite you as my date to a party and then have you pay for the drinks. It's rude."
"It's not a big deal."
"I'm paying you back," he ordered.
But the playful gleam in his eyes showed her he was kidding. Lindsay raised her hands and submitted.
"Fine, fine. Pay me back. I accept cash, no credit."
When they pulled into her driveway Justin shut off the car and they walked hand in hand to the door. Justin liked to look around and make sure she was alright before headed up the road to his own home. Especially on nights like these where they didn't get back until late.
Just as she opened the door the phone began to ring. She walked over to it without hesitation and put the receiver to her ear and Justin inspected the living room.
"Hello?"
Silence.
"Hello?"
Nothing. It was silent again, like it had been every time before. She stood there, listening to the haunting breathing on the other end. It was like something out of a horror movie, the killer lured the victim into the kitchen, messing with them psychologically before they jumped out of the broom closet with a knife.
"Hey."
She jumped ten feet in the air, whirling around to find an amused Justin. He raised his hand and let out a laugh.
"It's just me. Are you okay?"
She blinked, coming back to reality, and trying to calm her racing heart.
"Yeah. I'm fine."
"Who's on the phone?"
"Wrong number," she hung it up.
The thought of Adam overhearing Justin's voice and getting even more upset briefly crossed her mind.
"Well, everything looks good here, I'm going to head home, okay? You should get some sleep too."
"I will," she nodded.
He leaned down, kissing her gently before turning his back and heading for the door. Lindsay stood there, staring blankly into the space where he had just been. Then she looked up at the phone on the wall.
"Justin," she rushed out to the porch, catching him on the steps. "You know, there's a big bed here, incase you ever wanted to sleep over one night. Like, tonight for example."
Justin turned to look at her, one of his eyebrows cocked. Then he grinned slowly, letting out a low whistle.
"Finally giving into the charm huh?"
Her eyes rolled and then she blushed and grinned.
"To sleep, Justin. Just to sleep."
He chuckled and headed back into the house, pulling off his black blazer.
"Whatever you say, City Girl. Whatever you say."
Author's Chapter Notes:
I didn't realize the chapter cut. Duh! Here's the rest of it.
Chapter End Notes:
Spacey1141@hotmail.com - Traci
jcsdirtylilchica@hotmail.com - Coffee
jcsdirtylilchica@hotmail.com - Coffee
Story Tags: southernj lyricsj
