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Chapter 6: JC
I jump out of the shower and wrap a towel around me as I start to blow dry my hair. Tonight is the last night I will see Kate and I want to look my best. The restaurant we are going to is Italian so it will most likely be semi-formal. I look into my closet and pick out the new slacks and sweater I had bought at Structure just a few days ago. After I am changed, I give Justin a call to see if he wants a ride but I guess he already left. I grab my keys and head for my car.
Once at the hotel, I park it right outside the entrance and hop out to go pick Kate up from her room. Danielle answers the door and looks beautiful in a shiny blue dress that probably falls an inch above her knee.
"Hi Danielle. Lance is a lucky guy."
"Thanks JC, you always say that yet I have yet to hear him say that. Come on in. Kate should be ready soon."
"Lance isn't here yet?"
"No, he's coming. He just stopped over next door to talk to Ben about something."
"Danielle, is JC-" Kate begins as she walks out of the bathroom. "Wow, you look really handsome tonight JC."
I give a little whistle in appreciation and say, "Not bad looking yourself there. You should wear that shade of red more often."
I watch in delight as she slowly starts to blush and feel Danielle punch me lightly on the arm. When I look at her, she just smiles and leads the way out the door. Kate grabs her purse and follows Danielle, all while I just helplessly stare at this beautiful creation of a woman. I manage to pull Lance, Ben, and Ryder all out of that room and pile into two different cars. Ryder and Kate ride with me while Ben goes with Danielle and Lance. When we arrive, I see that Justin, Joey, and Chris are already seated around a big table in the corner of the room. I help Kate take her seat and sit down next to her on her right.
The dinner is delicious but the desert is even better. Kate and I share a brownie sundae that we manage not to get on ourselves. It's funny how no one has even noticed that things have changed between Kate and me. Oh well, they'll soon find out tonight.
"So, JC, when do you want to start being my slave for a month?" Justin asks.
I nearly choke on my food. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me. You lost the bet buddy."
"Justin, please, not now," Lance pleads.
"What? I didn't say what it was. JC lost though, and I was just wondering."
"That is so inappropriate right now Justin," Chris adds.
"Fine, I'll talk to him about it later."
He just walked right into our trap. "What bet?" Kate asks innocently.
"Nothing," Chris, Joey, Lance, and Justin say.
"Oh really? Now that sounds totally truthful... Not! Come on, what are you guys talking about?"
"It's nothing sweetie, really," I say, placing a hand on her arm.
She looks at me and asks, "What is this bet JC?"
"Really and truly, it's nothing. Just something Justin had challenged me on. I won though."
"You did?" Justin asks.
"Yes, I did."
"What did you win JC?" she asks.
"You Kate," I say, planting a light kiss on her cheek.
"Aww... Kate, why didn't you tell me that you two got together?" Danielle exclaims.
"I was unsure of it and didn't want to give you false hope that your matchmaking had worked out successfully. JC, what was the bet about?"
"It was silly. Justin bet me that I couldn't admit my feelings to you and end up dating you. That's all, nothing big."
"Nothing big? This is straight out of a movie. Something like She's All That. Remember what happened in that one?"
"They lived happily ever after."
"Before that."
"Umm..." Uh oh... This is not looking like our plan anymore. Could it be that she is possibly really serious about this? She looks it and there is no laughter in her eyes anymore. "She blew him off."
"You don't think you deserve that?"
"No, I don't. Kate, this was before I even knew you, when all I cared about was your ability to act and your looks. I like you for a lot more important reasons now."
"Wait! JC, you and Kate are really and truly dating as in girlfriend, boyfriend?" Justin interrupts.
"We were," I hear Kate announce.
I forget about the others at that moment and give Kate my full attention. "What do you mean were?"
"It's over JC. I never want to see you again!" I barely realize what she is doing before I feel the water hit my face and start dripping down. I reach out my hand to grab her but she eludes my grasp and runs out of the restaurant.
"I don't believe all of you! How could you do that to poor Kate? Especially you, Justin and JC. She really did have a big thing for you, JC. Too bad you blew it. I'm going after her," Danielle says, exiting the same way Kate did.
"What is with all of you musicians? You meet all these wonderful girls and women every day and you manage to hurt the best of them. You all are the type of guys that give the rest of us bad reputations," Ryder says, getting up.
"Lance, if I were you, I'd stay away from Danielle right now. I don't think she will be wanting to see you for a while," Ben says.
"Me? What did I do?" Lance asks.
"You didn't tell her about a bet that hurt one of her close friends. Trust me on that. It is enough to get her really mad."
The two walk out, leaving me wiping up my face, looking around at my friends who were all looking at Justin and me.
"What?" Justin asks.
"Why did you do that? That was so stupid J!" Chris says.
"I wasn't going to say what it was about. JC did that. How was I supposed to know that they had gotten together anyway? It's not like they made it known!"
"Like that is any excuse. Justin, that really was immature of you to even bother bringing that up at all in front of poor Kate. I hope that she's okay and that she will get back together with JC. She's probably the reason he has been so happy lately," Joey deducts.
"You can't be more right Joey. I'm going to go after her. I'm not about to lose her so easily." I get up and exit the restaurant, getting into my car and taking off for the hotel after scouting around the area for any signs of Kate. I spend an hour or more searching the hotel once I am there but she is nowhere in sight. I go to her room and check with Danielle and she basically cold-shoulders me. Poor Lance. He got caught in the middle of this all.
I look up at the sky and can't help but make yet another wish on the first star I see. This time for a fair chance of having a happy ending out of all of this mess. I decide to give up and pray that I will be able to see her again before she leaves tomorrow. When I arrive at my house though, I unlock the door and find someone lying down on the couch. Who could that be?
I make my way over to the couch carefully and turn on the lamp next to it. What the hell? There, asleep on the couch, is Kate. What is she doing here?
"JC?" she murmurs, slowly waking up.
"Yeah. Kate, I've been looking for you everywhere! Have you been here all this time? How'd you get in?"
"I found your spare key. Where have you been? I've been waiting for you for hours it seems."
"Man Kate! I thought that I had really lost you tonight. I've been scouting around Orlando for you. I even faced a cold Danielle to try to figure out where you have been and all this time, you were right here!"
"JC, come here."
I do what she says and sit down on the couch, looking down at her. "Does this mean that the whole dinner was an act?"
"Of course it was! It was all part of the plan, with a little added to get even with you and Lance."
"So Danielle was in on it too, huh?"
"Yep! I told her all about us and that bet. She thought you needed to be taught a lesson. There's no way I'd really give you up that easily or that quickly."
"I'm glad to hear that. I know it has been only about a week that we've been together, but I have to admit that I'd be lost without you."
"You mean that you would want me, no matter what?" Kate asks me with a tinge of something I can't identify in her voice.
"Of course sweetheart. Nothing could change how I feel about you," I reply.
She smiles up at me and pulls me down to her for a kiss. Without me having to say anything, Kate moves over to make room for me. I lie down beside her and wrap my arms around her, pulling her closer to me. We share a few kisses but then I realize that it's late and that I should get her back to the hotel.
"Kate, I better get you back to your hotel. It's late."
After a little hesitation, she agrees and lets me lead her into my car. Once at the Beach Resort, I valet my car and help a sleepy Kate into her room. To my surprise, Danielle isn't there. She must be at Lance's place.
"JC, stay with me here."
What? I couldn't have heard her right.
"Please JC? Danielle isn't here and I'll be so lonely in here by myself. I don't mean for us to do anything."
"What do you mean?"
"It's our last night together. Can I maybe sleep in your arms?"
"Definitely."
She pulls off her shoes and crawls under the covers. I quickly follow her lead and pull the covers over us. Immediately, she snuggles up to me, placing her head under my chin, as I wrap my arms around her waist.
"Good night JC."
"Sweet dreams Kate."