Part 26
“So you’re not a transvestite?” Andrea asked, looking at Alex with wide eyes.
“What?” Alex looked appalled.
Andrea giggled. “I’m totally kidding. You looked so tense just now that I had to poke a little fun at you.”
Alex felt her body relax at the sound of Andrea’s laughter. She had been worried that Andrea would have freaked out on her but Andrea had listened without voicing any condemnations. She couldn’t have been more relieved.
“Seriously though, I still can’t believe you did all that. You’re really brave,” Andrea said in amazement.
Alex could feel her cheeks go red. She had never felt brave at all during those moments. Afraid, cowardly, guilty definitely, but never brave. Even now, guilt dogged her every movement. For months after the whole thing she had felt some guilt for not telling the guys that she was a girl but it was JC’s letter to her that had made her feel the worst.
His letter hadn’t been cold or mean in anyway. It hadn’t been full of questions or accusations. It had just said simply that he hoped that Alex was okay and had a nice life. This on its own had been gut wrenching. It had taken JC five months later than the other guys to write to her and those words seemed like a send-off.
However, his next words had refuted what she had thought because in them he had said, “If you ever need someone, I’m here. I’ll always be there for you.” The words showed her that he still cared for her and it made her feel horrible because she had left him still lying. He didn’t know the most essential truth about her and that was the worst feeling in the world.
She wanted to tell him the truth but she didn’t know how. They hadn’t been in contact with each other in almost six months, hadn’t seen each other in a year, and for her to send him a letter now saying “Surprise! I’m a girl” didn’t seem all that appropriate.
It was nice though telling Andrea the truth and the fact that Andrea was being so cool about it made her feel that maybe one day she could tell JC and he would be okay with it too.
“Alex?”
She looked up and saw that Andrea was watching her, puzzlement written clearly
on her face. Alex suddenly realized that she hadn’t responded since Andrea had
called her brave.
“Brave?” she finally said. “No. Not really. I was afraid a lot. Sometimes I was afraid that my dad would find me but mostly I was afraid that everyone on tour would discover that who I was, was a lie.”
“How did your dad find you?” Andrea asked.
Alex gave a short, unamused laugh. “He tapped Becca’s phone. For weeks he was listening in on our convos and one day, he heard me telling her to come here, to Vegas, where I was going to be for three days. Not only that, stupidly, I had told her and inadvertently him that we were there for Challenge so he knew exactly where and when to find me.”
“That is insane. I’m so glad he’s out of your life for good. He sounds totally scary.” Andrea fell back in her seat and shook her head. ”All this time … all this time everyone thought you were a boy. And me. Oh God!” she screeched suddenly. “I threw myself at you. You must have thought I was the biggest idiot ever!”
“Uh … no. Not
really,” Alex gave her an uncomfortable smile.
Andrea covered her face with her hands and groaned. ”You did! I’m so
embarrassed.”
Suddenly Becca poked her head into the room they were in. She had been
distracting Sarah for the last twenty minutes while Alex had been telling
Andrea the truth. “Sorry to interrupt girls but I can’t distract Sarah much
longer. Is everything right and tight?”
Alex glanced at Andrea before looking back at Becca. “I think so.”
Andrea looked up and gave them a sheepish look. “Yeah. I’m fine. Sort of.”
Alex still couldn’t believe Andrea had taken it so well. “Thanks Andrea. For not freaking.”
Andrea shrugged. “You don’t have to thank me. I think it’s
so cool what you did. And I’m sure the guys did too. How did they take it?”
Becca snorted and Alex gave her a grim look before she turned back to Andrea.
“Umm, well, they don’t know. Actually Chris knows but he hasn’t said anything
to any of the others as far as I know.”
”What?” Andrea looked shocked. “You mean, you haven’t told the guys? You
haven’t told JC?”
Alex blinked. “What does JC have to do with anything?”
“Uh, hello! You guys were totally into each other. Anyone could see that.”
Now it was Alex’s turn to look shocked. “You’ve got it all wrong, Andrea. He wasn’t into me at all.”
Becca and Andrea snorted simultaneously and then giggled at each other. “Right. He was always talking about you when you weren’t around and when you guys were together his attention was always focused on you. It was a little weird actually, because he’s always been into girls but when you came along, he was all about you,” Andrea said.
Becca nodded. “Yeah, I was only with you guys for a few days and I could see that he liked you.”
Alex looked at the two girls as if they were crazy. “Yeah, he cared for me. Like a friend. But--“
“Then why did he kiss you?” Becca interrupted.
Andrea gasped. “No way! JC kissed you?”
Alex glared at her best friend and Becca had the decency to blush. “My birthday. That night on the balcony.”
Andrea’s face reddened a little as she remembered what had transpired between the two of them that night but she didn’t let embarrassment deter her from her cause. “And you don’t think he likes you? JC doesn’t just go around kissing chicks, umm, anyone he’s not into.”
Alex knew that they had a point but she was still unsure. JC hadn’t really treated her any differently after the kiss and he’d called it meaningless. Maybe he was the type of guy to kiss people for the hell of it. Besides what did it matter? JC’s life was light years beyond hers. Their paths would probably never cross, so this he likes you/he doesn’t like you stuff had no real relevance.
She looked at Becca and Andrea and shrugged. “It doesn’t matter guys. I’m just
a tiny blip on JC’s radar. He probably barely thinks about Alex Greene, that
annoying boy he used to hang out with on tour.”
Andrea looked at Alex and gave her a soft smile. “I wouldn’t be so sure Alex. But that does remind me of something.”
Before she could say anything the door opened and Sarah came walking into the room. She looked at the three of them, a look of confusion on her face. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing,” Andrea said jumping up from her seat. “I was just about to tell your friends, Becca and Alexandria here, that a couple friends of mine are having a party tonight and I thought it would be fun if we all went.”
Sarah raised a brow. “Oh? Where?”
”Light,” Andrea said with a grin.
Sarah’s eyes widened. “How do you plan on getting in there?”
“I’m on the list. I just need to call my friends and let them
know that I’m bringing a couple extra people. It should be fine. That is, if
you guys are into the idea.”
Sarah’s eyes sparkled. “Are you kidding me? Yes! Yes, we’re into it.” She
turned to Alex and Becca who had been watching the two with perplexed looks on
their faces and said quickly, “You guys are into it right?”
Becca shrugged. “I’m cool with whatever. Al?”
They all turned to look at her and Alex frowned at them. Partying in Vegas hadn’t been part of the plan. She really wasn’t in the mood for going anywhere tonight. But she was up against three girls who didn’t understand the word no. She had a feeling that even if she said no they would still drag her out kicking and screaming.
So she turned to them an ironic smile on her face and said, “As if I even have a choice. Count me in.”
…
Becca was grabbed by the hand and shoved into a bathroom before she knew what had happened. She stared at Andrea in bewilderment as Andrea closed the door behind her.
“Andrea, what--?”
“Shhh,” Andrea hissed at her.
Becca lifted both eyebrows in bemusement before lowering her voice. “What’s with the cloak-and-dagger routine?”
Andrea grabbed her hand and pulled her to the window on the other side of the room. “I don’t want Alex or Sarah to hear this. Alex will totally freak.”
Becca kept her brows lifted and waited.
“The guys are going to be at Light tonight,” Andrea said, her voice hushed.
“The guys … as in *NSYNC?” Becca asked quietly, brows finally in repose.
Andrea nodded. “Yeah, they’re in concert tomorrow night and Saturday night so they’re in town. Linda, my aunt - she works for them - got me tickets to both shows and made sure I knew about Light and everything.”
Becca ran her hand through her hair and blew out a shallow
breath. “Well we can’t go then. JC doesn’t know about Alex being a girl and
Alex would be completely uncomfortable with the guys there.”
”Listen, I know that it could be risky bringing Alex to the club but I think
she and JC need to see each other again. Don’t you?”
“She really cares about him and I think he really cares about her,” Becca said with a sigh.
“Then we have to get them to talk. She needs to tell him the truth.”
“I don’t know Andrea--“
“Don’t you think he deserves the truth?” Andrea asked, interrupting what Becca was about to say.
Becca sighed again. “Yes. But Alex is my best friend and I
don’t want her hurt.”
Andrea bit her lip. “This is for her as much as him. What are the chances that
they’ll ever talk to each other again? They don’t run in the same circles. They
don’t even live in the same city and considering the lives they each lead -
well they might as well be oceans apart. I can’t, like, pretend I know Alex as
well as you, cause I don’t, but I think it would be totally good for her to
talk to him again and maybe when she’s ready tell him the truth.
“You’re good,” Becca said with a slight smile on face.
“Okay you have me convinced.”
Andrea grinned. “I’m so glad to hear that because I’m going to need to you talk
Alex into dressing to the nines tonight - that is if she needs convincing.”
Becca snorted. “Oh she’ll need convincing all right but hey, I am the one who
talked her into dressing up as a teenage boy. I think I can handle getting her
to dress like a hot woman.”
Andrea laughed. “Good. The hotter she is the less angry JC will be. I mean, he is a guy.”
Becca wasn’t sure how accurate that statement was but they could at least give it a try. She hoped that she was doing the right thing.
Andrea walked with her to the door and before they left the bathroom gave Becca a quick hug. “This is totally going to work out, Becca. Just wait and see.”