Claudia checked herself in her mirror one last time before bouncing down the stairs. She was wearing black stretch pants and a fuzzy gray sweater. Her hair was pulled back in a clip and twisted upwards, the ends flowing freely from the top of the clip and a few stray curls framed her face.

        “Just where are you going?” Nicole asked from the kitchen table, eyeing her friend suspiciously.

        Claudia sighed. “I knew I wouldn’t be able to get past you,” she teased, knowingly.

        “Are you going out with Josh?” Nicole asked, the excitement rising in her voice.

        Claudia blushed as she reached for her coat. “It’s none of your business.”

        “You are, aren’t you?” Nicole cried jumping from the table.

        “He invited me over for dinner, that’s all.”

        “Ooh, a dinner date! Sounds romantic!”

        “Oh, get off my case Nicole! He just wants to thank me for the Christmas dinner I made for him and his friends.”

        Claudia slipped on her black heels and grabbed her keys from the counter.

        “I want all the details, Claudia. I mean it!”
 
        “All right, all right.”

        “Have fun!” Nicole teased in a singsong voice as Claudia walked out the door.

        She had known it would be impossible to get out of the house without Nicole interrogating her.

        She climbed into her silver Honda Civic and pulled out of her complex. She was a little nervous about going to Josh’s tonight. It would be the first time she had been to his apartment since they had met that day in studio seven.

       
        “You’ve introduced me to your life, and its about time I show you a little about mine,” Josh had said the previous day in the studio. That was when he invited her over for dinner.

        It was a big step for him. It had been a long time since he had invited someone into his apartment, other than the landlord or some girl he met in a club and made the stupid decision to spend one lust filled night with.

        He had spent nearly the whole afternoon giving his place a good cleaning, which it desperately needed. In the depths of his depression, he had completely ignored the sight of his filthy apartment. Dirty dishes constantly filled the sink, clothes were scattered on the floor, dust collected on the shelves and the garbage was always overflowing. The floors needed to be swept and vacuumed, the sink needed to be scrubbed and the counters needed a good wipe down. It had almost become unsanitary.

        Despite the cold, Josh opened the windows to let fresh air in, and fluffed and arranged the pillows on the couch. Standing in his living room with his hands on his hips, he looked around his now clean apartment. He hadn’t seen it this clean in almost two years. It felt good. It almost felt as if he had cleaned up his life, or at least a small part of it.

        He turned to the small round kitchen table where two empty plates sat next to silverware and empty wineglasses. Biting his lip, he wondered if he should have a centerpiece. He looked around the apartment for a candle.

        Would a candle seem like I’m trying to be romantic? He wondered. Okay, forget the candle, what about some flowers?... I haven’t had any live flowers here since I moved in. What am I missing? Should I put on some music? Music is good.

        He went to his CD rack and began sifting through it. What could we listen to? Jazz? She likes jazz, I like jazz…but would that be too romantic too? She might think I’m trying to seduce her or something...

        He turned away from the CD rack and bit his lip.

        It had been a long time since he had invited a date over and this wasn’t even a date, Claudia was just his friend. He wasn’t quite sure how to act. He didn’t want to be too casual and make it appear as though he didn’t care, but he also didn’t want to come off as too romantic or else she might feel awkward.

        Just then the intercom buzzed. That was Claudia.

        “Is that you, Claude?” Josh asked into the speaker.

        “Yeah, it’s me,” her voice replied.

        “Come on up.”

        Josh hurried to the kitchen and pulled out some air freshener from under the sink. He sprayed it through the apartment for good measure then shut the windows to keep the cold out. A knock sounded at the door and he quickly put away the air freshener before opening the door.

        Claudia smiled at him as he opened the door. He looked nice. Nervous, but nice. He wore khaki pants and a blue sweater vest over a white dress shirt. His hair was gelled and the smell of cologne drifted from him.

        “Hi, come on in,” Josh greeted, opening the door wider.

        She entered the apartment shyly and shrugged off her coat. “It smells good in here,” she commented.

        Josh stopped in his tracks to look at her, hoping he hadn’t sprayed too much air freshener. He didn’t want to make it obvious that he had cleaned every inch of his apartment.

        “Is that tomato sauce I smell?”

        He silently sighed with relief. “Yeah, I’m making spaghetti for dinner. Let me take your coat.”

        “Nice place you’ve got here,” she said, walking into the living room.

        “Thanks,” he said hanging her coat in the front closet.

        “I must say, it’s rather clean for a single bachelor; too clean. Where is your maid hiding?” she teased.

        He chuckled. “She and Alfred went home for the night.”

        “Alfred?”

        “My butler,” he explained with a nod.

        She laughed. “Oh, I see.”

        Josh went into the kitchen to check on the sauce and popped some garlic bread into the toaster oven.

        “You’re not allergic to garlic, are you?” he asked.

        “Well, let’s hope not.”

        “This will be ready in a few minutes.”

        “You didn’t have to do this, you know,” Claudia told him.

        “I know,” he said stirring the sauce. “Just like you didn’t have to throw me that party and invite all of my family and friends into town.”

        “I know, but I wanted to.”

        “And I want to do this,” he retorted.

        Claudia walked into the kitchen and to the stove where Josh stood. Peering into the large pot, she took the wooden spoon from Josh’s hand and stirred it for a moment.
Josh looked at her and chuckled.

        “What, wasn’t I stirring it the correct way?” he asked.

        She didn’t answer and instead, took the wooden spoon from the large pot, and brought it to her lips. At that moment, Josh’s eyes were locked on her lips. They were smooth and small; Josh could almost feel the texture of them. Almost as if in slow motion, her lips formed a circle to blow softly on the sauce to cool it down. Josh watched as she brought the tip of the spoon into her mouth and guided the hot sauce into her mouth using her lips.

        “Does it um, does it meet your…um standards?” he asked snapping out of his thoughts.

        She thought for a moment. “It could use some pepper.”

        Josh hurried to a cabinet and pulled it out to shake some pepper into the pot. At that moment, the pot of noodles began boiling rapidly, water splashing out of the pot. The water began rising and overflowing onto the stovetop.

        Acting quickly, Josh turned off the burner and grabbed the pot to drain it into the sink. He acted so quickly, he forgot to use potholders.

        He yelled out as he dropped the pot into the sink and grabbed onto his burning fingers. Realizing what had happened Claudia hurried to him.

        “Come here, run it under some lukewarm water.”

        She turned on the faucet and adjusted the water to almost air temperature. Claudia took him by the wrists and put his hands under the running water.

        “Ow!” he yelled again.

        “I know it hurts but it will help, trust me.”

        He groaned and bit his lip as the water ran over his throbbing fingers.

        “Keep your hands there and I’ll be right back,” Claudia instructed.

        She disappeared down the hall and found the bathroom where she raided the medicine cabinet for some triple antibiotic ointment. Inside she found sleeping pills, prescriptions and several anti-depressants. Trying to ignore them, she pushed around bottles until she found some Band-Aids and the ointment.

        Returning to the kitchen she found Josh where she had left him. She took his hands out from under the faucet to inspect them. Blisters were already forming.

        “Here, come sit down,” she said, ushering him to the table. He sat down and she pulled the other chair close to him so that she could look at his fingers closely. She uncapped the ointment and dabbed some onto her fingertip.

        Josh watched her as she lightly blew on the burned spots of his fingers. Suddenly, he wished that she would kiss the burns; he wanted to feel her soft lips against his skin. He shook his head to push the thoughts away.

        Using her fingertip, Claudia applied the ointment to his burns and proceeded to wrap them in Band-Aids.

        “There,” she said when she was finished. “How does it feel?”

        “It stings,” he answered.

        “You’re a big boy, do you think you can tough it out?” she teased.

        “Yeah, I can try,” he winked.

        “Let’s try to keep the firemen at home tonight, okay?” she joked.

        He just laughed and returned to the sink to drain the noodles.

        Claudia turned down the burner as the sauce began to bubble and splatter onto the stove. “I think the sauce is done.”

        “Why don’t you go sit down? I can take care of this,” he insisted.

        “Are you sure?” she asked.

        “Hey, it’s only spaghetti and meatballs…I think I can handle it.”

        “Well, you couldn’t handle that pot of noodles just a minute ago,” she said under her breath, jokingly.

        “I heard that!”

        Claudia just laughed and sat down at the table. A few moments later dinner had been served and they were both digging in.

        “Mmm, these meatballs are delicious,” Claudia complimented.

        “Thanks, it’s a secret recipe that’s been passed down for generations,” he told her.

        “Oh really?”

        “Actually no. I read the directions off of the box,” he admitted.

        They both laughed.

        “Have you talked to any of your friends since they left last week?” Claudia wanted to know.

        “Yeah, we exchanged email addresses and I’ve heard from all of them already. It’s really nice keeping in touch with them again.”

        “Where would we be without email?” She laughed.

        “Before they left we were talking about taking a trip down to Orlando, just the five of us,” Josh told her.

        “Orlando?”

        “It’s where we got our big start, where we all met. It would be fun, you know? We could go to Disney World and visit Universal Studios again. I haven’t been there in ages.”

        “That would be fun.”

        “Yeah, I can’t wait. We’re thinking of going in the spring, once the weather changes.”

        “When is Justin getting married? In February, right?”

        “Valentine’s Day,” he answered. “I’ll be flying down to Memphis for the wedding.”

        “Oh really? That’s nice.”

        “Justin invited us all to go. He said he had wanted to call us up and invite us months ago, but he was a little nervous. I guess I can understand, I would be nervous too.”

        “What, did he think you guys would say no?”

        “He was afraid it would be awkward, since we hadn’t seen each other or talked in so long,” Josh explained.

        “That’s true,” she agreed. “But then again, you guys used to be best friends, how awkward could it be?”

        “Well, it wasn't awkward at all. It’s almost as if time never even passed. I wish I had kept in touch with them all along.”

        Twenty minutes later, they had finished their spaghetti, salad and garlic bread and the table had been cleared.

        Claudia went to his CD rack, scanning the tittles. “Oh, Frank Sinatra!” she cried, pulling out a CD.

        “You a Sinatra fan?” he asked from the kitchen where he put the last few dishes into the drying pan.

        “Who isn’t?”

        She put the CD into the stereo and pressed play. A moment later a jazz introduction sounded, and Claudia turned up the volume. Immediately she began tapping her foot to the rhythm and snapping her fingers along as “I’ve Got you Under my Skin” began.

        She swayed into the kitchen and began singing the words as Josh watched from where he stood at the sink. Grabbing the now clean wooden spoon, she held it to her mouth as if it were a microphone. Josh couldn’t help but laugh at her playful nature.

        “I’ve got you…under my skin. I’ve got yooooou …deep in the heart of me. So deep in my heart…that you’re really a part of me.” She giggled when she couldn’t reach the low notes. She sang the next line in the higher octave so that she could reach the notes. “I’ve got you…under my skin.”

        Smiling, Claudia began dancing around him. “I’ve tried so… not to give in. I said to myself this affair never will go so well. But why should I try to resist when baby I know so well… I’ve got you… under my skin.”

        She danced her way out of the kitchen and Josh followed her, leaning on the doorframe to watch her antics.

        “I’d sacrifice anything, come what might, for the sake of having you near. In spite of a warning voice that comes in the night and repeats, repeats in my ear. Don’t you know little foooool you never can win? Use your mentality, wake up to reality. But each time that I do just the thought of you makes me stop before I begin. But I’ve got you…under my skin.”

        A jazz interlude began and Claudia stopped singing and dancing as the music quieted.

        “You’re crazy,” he said shaking his head at her but he wore a smile on his face.

        She shrugged. “Maybe a little bit.” Claudia slyly approached him. “Do you swing dance?” she asked.

        His eyes widened in surprise. “Can't say that I do,” he answered with a shrug.

        A devilish smile spread across her face. “You do now!”
 
        He opened his mouth to respond, but he didn’t know what to say. The music got louder and without waiting for an answer, Claudia grabbed his hand and twirled herself into his arms.

        “Whoa!” Josh cried out with surprise as their bodies slammed together.

        Claudia tipped her head back and laughed as she began leading him across the floor. Before Josh could argue, they were swing dancing across the living room. Claudia led the way, swaying back and forth to the beat, twirling them both around for several minutes. Josh laughed, as he struggled to keep up.

        The interlude ended and the words began again, and Claudia broke away from him to dance by herself and continued singing into her wooden spoon.

        “I would sacrifice anything, come what might for the sake of having you near. In spite of a warning voice that comes in the night and repeats, how it yells in my ear! Dooon’t you know little foool, you never can win. Why not use your mentality? Step up, wake up to reality. But each time I do just the thought of you, makes me stop just before I begin.” She stopped to look at him as the music paused and then began again. “Cause I’ve got you…under my skin. Yes, I’ve got you…under my skin.”

        As the song ended, Claudia posed and made “jazz hands” in the air as if to put a finishing touch on her performance

        Josh laughed. “Impressive.”

        She shrugged. “Yeah, I do that all the time at home. Just ask Nicole, I bug the crap out of her with my dancing.” She chuckled as she flopped onto the couch with exhaustion.

        Josh sat on the opposite end of the couch. “So you’ve never seen a Star Wars movie, huh?” Josh asked with a mischievous grin.

        “Oh no you don’t. There’s no way you’re going to convince me watch Star Wars!” she cried.

        “Aw come on, why not?”

        “I’ve avoided it for the last twenty-seven years of my life, why should I give all that up now?”

        “Come on, Claude. What, are you scared you might like it?”

        “No, that’s silly.”

        “So then you wouldn’t mind if I just happened to pop in the DVD, would you?”

        She groaned. “You’re going to make me, aren’t you?”

        ---Two Hours Later---

        “I can’t believe I just watched Star Wars,” Claudia said in disbelief as the credits rolled across the TV screen.

        Josh laughed. “So what did you think?” he wanted to know.

        She shrugged nonchalantly. “It’s was fine.”

        “You liked it, didn’t you?” he asked, grinning knowingly.

        Claudia couldn’t stop the smile from creeping across her face.

        “Oh my gosh! You did like it! It’s a miracle!”

        “Shut up, I hate you,” Claudia growled, trying to be angry with him for forcing her to watch the movie. “You made me!”

        “Did I put a gun to your head? I don’t think so.”

        “Well, no, but you might as well have!”

        “Since when is innocently playing a DVD in my own apartment, anything remotely close to holding you hostage and forcing you to do something?”

        She folded her arms over her chest and sighed. “Let’s face it, I’m not winning this argument.”

        Josh leaned back on the couch and put his feet up on the coffee table in satisfaction. “Yep, that’s because I’m right, and I made you like Star Wars.”

        “Just getting me to watch it is pretty impressive.”

        Josh turned off the TV, then went to the kitchen and poured them each a glass of red wine.

        “Only one glass,” Claudia said as he handed her a wineglass and sat next to her on the large couch. “I have to drive home tonight, remember. And I’ve got a nosey roommate waiting for me at home who will be dying to know what happened between me and the pop star.”

        Josh chuckled. “She’ll be impressed by the juicy details…we ate dinner and then…” He paused dramatically. “Had a passion filled night of watching Star Wars.”

        “I know, how exciting. Maybe I should embellish the story a little bit, just to give her some satisfaction.”

        “Hmm, that could get interesting.” Josh laughed.

        “Maybe it would get her off my case for a while…”

        They both looked at each other and spoke at the same time: “Yeah right!”

        Claudia’s eyes landed on a shelf full of pictures on the far side of the room. She couldn’t help but stand up to get a closer look.

        They were pictures of his family, and they were absolutely adorable. Josh’s toothless grin smiled back at her from one photograph that made her laugh out loud.

        “You were so cute when you were younger,” she said.

        “Yeah, and look at me now,” he joked.

        “It’s amazing how little you changed. You still have that same gorgeous smile, and those sparkling blue eyes…”

        She moved on to another picture of Josh on stage.

        “That was my first public performance,” Josh explained. “Can you tell I was nervous?” He laughed.

        “It’s kind of noticeable.” She laughed. “What did you perform?” she wanted to know.

        “Richard Marx, one of the greatest songwriters of all time.”

        Before she could ask which song, he began singing it. “Wherever you go, whatever you do, I will be right here waiting for you. Whatever it takes, or how my heart breaks I will be right here waiting for you.”

        She smiled at the sound of his sweet voice. She was shocked by his sudden openness, surprised that he had openly sung without any prompting.

        “Where’s a piano when you need one? I can play that one by ear too.”

        “I have a keyboard hiding in my bedroom…let me go get it.”
 
        Without letting her object, Josh was off of the couch and had disappeared down the hallway. When he returned, he was struggling to balance a large keyboard in one hand, and its stand in the other.

        “That must weigh a ton! Let me help you,” she insisted, hurrying over to him.

        “Just take the stand and unfold it there in front of the sofa.”

        Once the stand was set up, Josh set the keyboard down on top of it. He blew away the cobwebs and began dusting it off.

        “It’s been a while, huh?”

        “Yeah, I put it away for a while but…I’m ready to take it out now.”

        Claudia sat on the armrest of the couch with the keyboard in front of her. She pressed a few buttons and pressed on the keys. She hummed to herself, trying to remember the correct notes.

        “You ready?” she asked a few minutes later.

        He nodded. She began with the sweet piano introduction, recalling the notes flawlessly even though she didn’t even remember the last time she had played it. Her heart nearly stopped when Josh began singing.

        “Oceans apart, day after day. And I slowly go insane. I hear your voice…on the line, but it doesn’t stop the pain. If I see you next to never, how can we stay forever?”

        As the chorus began, the whole world slipped away. It was just Claudia and Josh, surrounded by the beautiful music. Claudia watched Josh, his eyes closed, deeply absorbed in the music. Claudia nearly forgot that she was playing as she watched him sing.

        Time passed and the night continued in much the same way. When they weren’t making their own music, they were listening to their favorite tunes and singing along as if they didn’t have a care in the world. Hours went by and before they knew it, it was almost three a.m.

        “Oh my gosh, I can’t believe how late it is!” Claudia exclaimed when she saw the time on her watch; the watch that Jacob had given her for Christmas last year.

        “Why what time is it?” Josh asked after a yawn.

        “It’s nearly three o’clock!”

        “Three o’ clock?” Josh repeated in disbelief. “How did it get to be that late? I swear we finished watching the movie not even two hours ago!”

        She stood up from the couch. “Well, apparently it was a few more hours than that. What in the world am I going to tell Nicole in the morning?”

        “That is, if she isn’t waiting up for you,” Josh added.

        Claudia groaned at the thought as she slipped on her coat. “And going to work will be a blast.”

        “Yeah, I have to get up in four hours.” He laughed.

        She stopped to look at him and silence filled the room. “Thanks for having me tonight. The dinner was great.”

        “No problem. I still feel like I haven’t thanked you enough for what you did for me.”

        “Don't worry about it,” she assured him. “So I guess I’ll see you in a few hours.” She chuckled.

        Awkwardness filled the air as they stood across from one another for a long moment. It was almost as if something was supposed to happen next, but they weren’t sure what. The silence continued as they each debated over what to do or say next.

        “Goodnight,” Claudia finally said as she opened the door. After taking one last look back at him, she smiled and closed the door behind her.

        Tiredly, she drove through the dark, vacant streets, thinking of the fun she had had. She had never been friends with someone who had as much passion for music as herself. When they were together, they could enjoy their love of music together, and that wasn’t something she had ever been able to share with another person.

        It was such a wonderful experience. Just listening to music, singing your favorite songs and sharing something that you love with another person. It was fulfilling and exciting. Something Claudia hadn’t fully felt in a long time.

        She yawned as she unlocked the front door several minutes later and walked into the dark apartment. Quietly, she closed the door behind her, then took off her shoes and coat as silently as she could. Just as she began to creep up the stairs, Nicole’s stern voice startled her.

        “Claudia Marie Jenkins.”

        “Jeez, Nicole, you scared the crap out of me. Where are you?” she asked searching through the dim apartment.

        Through the dark, Claudia could see Nicole’s figure sit up on the couch and tap the touch lamp onto it's dimmest setting.

        “You waited up for me?” Claudia asked going over to her.

        “Do you realize what time it is?” Nicole asked firmly.

        “I know it’s late. We just lost track of time---”

        “Lost track of time?” Nicole cried. A smile spread across her face and her tone changed. “You sly little dog.”

        Claudia shook her head, knowing where this was going. “Trust me, it’s not what you think.”

        “Not what I think? Come on! It’s three in the morning, you’ve been with him all night, your hair is all messed up and your lipstick is smeared…you don’t have to hide anything from me. I won’t tell your precious little Jacob.”

        “You can’t even see my lipstick in the dark,” Claudia pointed out putting one hand on her hip.

        Nicole tapped the lamp again to make it brighter and looked Claudia over. “Okay so maybe I was assuming on that one but I was right about the rest of it. Did you have fun?”

        Claudia sat down and leaned back into the comfortable cushions. “A blast. We didn’t even really do anything. We just watched a movie and listened to music all night, but it was so much fun.”

        “No action, huh? Well did he at least kiss you good night?”
 
        Claudia thought of the long moment where they had stood in front of his door before she had left and the awkwardness that filled that long moment.

        “Of course not. It wasn’t even a date and besides, you know I could never do that to Jacob.”

        “Not even for my sake? Come on, let’s make things interesting!”

        “Forget it,” Claudia said firmly, pushing herself up from the couch. “I’m going to bed.”

        “Rats,” Nicole murmured when Claudia had reached her bedroom. “I thought there was going to finally be some action between those two.”

        With a disappointed sigh, Nicole turned off the lamp and went to bed.

---