“Calypso, what time are the beds gonna be delivered?” Lorelie asked, as she poured herself a cup of coffee.
“Ten,” Calypso replied. “God damn, it’s too fucking early.” She dropped her head into her hands, as Circe pulled open the curtains and opened the blinds. “Damn it Circ, close the blinds.”
“She hates the morning,” Circe told Lorelie.
“I can see that.” They both laughed.
“I don’t hate the morning,” Calypso corrected. “Dawn is one of my favorite times. I just hate the sunlight at eight in the morning, with no form of caffeine to get wake me up.”
“Calypso, you’re gonna kill yourself, sleeping the way you do,” Lorelie began. “You go to bed at what, five in the morning? And then you’re up at nine or ten. That’s not enough sleep for anyone.”
They all heard her unspoken words: let alone you.
It was true for all of them. They never ate enough, or slept enough.
“It’s life, Lorelie. I’m used to it.” Calypso looked up at her. “I can live on five hours of sleep. It isn’t the best thing for me, but I can survive.”
“Well, this is gonna change all of that,” Circe said. “First thing today is grocery shopping. We’re gonna get food. Lots of it. Tons of sugar-filled candy. Greasy chips. Ice cream. Like a hundred gallons of it. Soda. And tonight, we’re going to have fast food.”
“We’re going to gain weight,” Lorelie stated.
“And you’re complaining? Personally, I’d love to have some more meat on my body.” Circe was 5’5”, and a size 0. Gaining weight wouldn’t hurt her. It would probably be good for her. “Same goes for you two. Lord knows we all need to gain weight.”
“I hate not being able to eat all I want to,” Lorelie sighed. “I’m always starving.”
“Me too,” Calypso said.
Lorelie was 5’6”, and a size 1. Calypso was 5’8”, and a size 2.
“So we’re agreed on food?” Circe asked.
“You bet,” Lorelie said.
“Then I’m going shopping. Calypso, I’m taking your car.” Circe grabbed the keys to Calypso’s car off the counter. “Laters.”
“Circe,” Calypso called just before Circe walked out the door. “We HAVE to start calling each other by our new names.”
“Right,” Circe said. “So, bye, Alice, Alissa.”
“Have fun, Veronica,” Calypso returned.
Circe returned two hours later, laden with food.
“Chips, soda, candy,” she laughed, taking it all out of the bags. “Oh god, lots of candy. Ice cream. Cereal. Some fruit, but not a lot. TV dinners. Frozen pancakes, waffles. Cookies, cakes, mixes. Steaks. Potatoes. Chicken. And, oh, barbecue sauce, marinades, ketchup, mustard. Mayo.”
“God, I love her,” Lorelie said, digging around in the bags filled with candy. “She got chocolate.” She pulled out a Snicker’s bar and ripped off the wrapper. “I’ve died and gone to heaven,” she moaned, taking a bite and slowly chewing it.
Calypso had found the Skittles and Starbursts. “I love this,” she murmured, savoring the fruity taste of the Skittles.
“I could live like this forever.”
Circe had a half pint of chocolate ice cream and a Twix. “You know, I’m gonna miss this all when we go back.”
“What other types of ice cream did you get?” Lorelie asked.
“Vanilla, strawberry, caramel, caramel swirled coffee, and coffee.”
Lorelie stood up and grabbed a container of strawberry ice cream. “Cal- I mean, Alissa, want some?”
“Um, I want the caramel,” Calypso replied. Lorelie handed it to her and tossed her a spoon.
“To us,” Circe said, holding up a Coke. “To the best months of our lives.”
They found jobs that very day, at a mall near their apartment. Alice worked at a clothing store that mainly sold designer dresses, Veronica found a job at a store that sold things such as CD’s, video’s, and DVD’s, and Alissa worked for an accessories store.
“Work can be tiring,” Veronica complained, as they drove home together after their first day. They all worked days, and their schedules were pretty much the same, so they could go to work together.
“I know,” Alice said. “But it was so much fun.”
“Gotta agree with you there.” Veronica yawned. “See any cute guys?”
“A few,” Alissa told her.
“The only ones I saw were with their girlfriends,” Alice pouted.
“I saw dozens of hot guys.” Veronica licked her lips. “Damn, I can’t wait until we start hitting the beaches. Am I ever gonna get the hook-ups.”
Alice and Alissa laughed. Veronica was guy obsessed.
“You look familiar,” the guy told Veronica. They had been in Tampa for little over a week.
Veronica looked up at the guy. “I don’t know why. I don’t think I’ve ever met you.” She looked him over. “I’d remember a guy like you.”
He grinned, his eyes hidden by dark sunglasses and his hair by a hat. “You remind of this chick I met two weeks ago at a party.” He placed the two CD’s he was buying on the counter.
Veronica rang up his purchase. “Is that all for you?”
“No. I’d like to have your number, too. And I’d love it if you could go out with me.”
Veronica laughed. “I’m not sure if I’m free. Let me check my schedule.”
“Cancel whatever you have planned Friday.”
“Oh, demanding, aren’t we? And in the age of feminism, too. Not a good thing.”
He smiled. “Ok then. Will you do me the honor of going out with me Friday night?”
“I was planning on watching movies with my sisters, but since you asked soo nicely, I guess I’ll change my plans and go out with you.” Veronica heaved a sigh.
“I feel so flattered.” He laughed. “So may I have your phone number and address....? Oh, by the way, my name’s Joey.”
“My name’s... Veronica.” She had to pause for a minute to remember her fake name. “Here you go.” She scribbled her name, address, and phone number on a piece of paper and put it in his bag. “Please come again.”
“I plan on it.” The sexual connotations were clear.
Veronica laughed. “I didn’t mean it that way.”
“Sure, babe. See you later.”
“Hey, Joe, what’s this?” Justin Timberlake asked, holding up a scrap of paper with a name, address, and phone number written on it.
Joey Fatone grabbed the slip of paper. “My date Friday night.”
“Hot?” Justin inquired.
“Hell yeah,” Joey told him. “Can’t wait until Friday.”
“Gonna get laid?” Chris Kirkpatrick asked, walking into the room.
“If all goes as planned, yep.”
“You’re not planning on sleeping with this guy, are you?” Alissa asked Veronica after Veronica told them about her date Friday night.
“Hell no. I’m not gonna risk anything. I might be a flirt, but I don’t sleep around.”
“Watch yourself,” Alissa warned. “We don’t need everything to fall through right now.”
“Don’t worry, Alissa. Nothing’s gonna happen. Trust me.”
Veronica pulled on the tight black pants she’d bought for her date. Then slipped on the one-shoulder green shirt with rhinestones on it over her head. She left her shoulder length hair down, and applied her make-up. She’d just finished when the doorbell rang.
“Ready to go?” Joey asked, leaning against the doorjamb.
“Yeah. Just let me say bye to my sisters.” Circe turned around. “Laters, Lis, Ali. I’m leaving now.”
“Bye, Ronnie,” Alissa said. “Have fun.”
“Don’t cause too much trouble,” Alice told her, laughing.
Veronica walked out of the apartment, closing the behind her. “So where are we going?”
“I figured we’d go to dinner, then go to a club,” Joey told her, as they walked to his car. He held the door open for her, then walked around to the driver’s side. “That cool with you?”
“That’s fine. But we have to go to an 18 and older club, since I’m only 18.”
“Only 18, huh? When were you born?”
“November 23, 1983. Why you wanna know?”
“I want to know all about you. Where are you from?”
“What makes you think I’m not from here?”
“I would have found you if you were from Tampa.”
Veronica laughed. “I could have been hiding.”
Joey looked at her. “And I also could have been blind. But I doubt it. So, where are you from?”
“California. Alice, Alissa, and I moved out here about two weeks ago.”
“Alice and Alissa are your sisters?”
“Yeah. Alice is a year older than me, and Alissa is actually my half-sister. My dad had an affair with Alissa’s mom, but she gave her up. She’s two weeks younger than me.” Sorry Mom, Dad, Auntie Mari, Uncle Connor. Please forgive me.
“Sounds like you have an interesting family. What made the three of you decide to move out here? Are you really close to your sisters?”
“They’re my best friends, especially Alissa. We know each other better than we know ourselves. And we moved out here because, well, we need a change of scenery.” Both of those things are true. I mean, Alissa is my best friend. And we did need a change of scenery. I wish I didn’t have to watch everything I say or watch how I act. I wish I didn’t have to lie.
She needed the conversation to switch from her to him. So she began interrogating him. “I never learned your last name, Joey.”
“I didn’t want to frighten you away.”
“Nothing could frighten me away from a guy like you.” Veronica threw him a sultry glance from beneath her lashes. “What’s your last name?”
Joey pulled up in front of the restaurant. “I’ll tell you when we get inside.”
They were shown to a secluded corner in the restaurant. They told the waiter what they wanted to drink, and then Veronica turned to Joey. “Well?”
“My name’s Joey Fatone.”
“Fatone, Fatone,” Veronica muttered. “I’ve heard that name before.” Then her eyes widened. “Oh, I remember now. “ She looked at him. “Why did you think telling me your name would frighten me off?”
“I didn’t want you to not go out with me because of who I was, nor did I want you to go out with me because of who I was.”
“I see.” She understood perfectly. It was the same problem she’d had.
“Are you a fan?”
“Not really. I’m more a fan of rap, hip-hop, and R&B.”
“That works to my advantage, I suppose. You’re not a crazy fan who will go psycho on me if I decide not to go out with again.”
“Whatever makes you think you’ll be the one deciding that? I might not want to go out with you again.”
“We’ll just have to wait and see, then, won’t we?”
Veronica laughed. “I’ll have to make sure you get interested in me.”
“I already am.” His eyes burned with lust as he watched her.
Veronica ran her tongue over her lips, looked him in the eye for a moment, then allowed her eyes to drop. “I’ll just have to keep you interested.” She met his gaze again. You’re wrong if you think I’m gonna sleep with you tonight.
He understood what her eyes were telling him, and accepted it. He was hoping she wouldn’t sleep with him. He needed a challenge.
Veronica rested her head on Joey’s shoulder, their bodies swaying to the music.
“Tired?”
“Yeah.” She smothered a yawn. Usually, she could stay out all night and party, and frequently had. Weekend long parties where everyone partied all night and slept all day had been the norm. But now, she could barely stay up past one. Eleven had been her bedtime for the past week.
“Then I’ll take you home, Veronica.”
“Um-hm.” She yawned again. “Sorry I’m so tired.”
“No problem.”
Fifteen minutes later, Joey pulled up in front of her apartment. “Will I be seeing you again?” he asked, as they walked up the stairs together.
“If you want. I’d like to.”
“Here’s my number.” Joey handed her a slip of paper. “I’ll call you tomorrow, see when you want to do something together again.”
“I’ll be looking forward to it.” Veronica unlocked the door, but didn’t open it. She turned to face Joey.
Joey wrapped his hand around the nape of her neck and tilted her face up to his. His lips descended to hers. Veronica leaned into him, wrapping her arms around him. After a minute, she pulled away. “’Night, Joey.”
“’Night, Veronica.” Joey watched her walk inside, shutting the door behind her.