We get back and as we walk in I see the guys are all standing around, all except Nick. That's going to be weird, seeing him for the first time in so long, we haven't even talked in a couple of months. The guys all looked over at me, curious as to who I was, I obviously wasn't a dancer decked out in a pair of jeans.
"Come on." I followed Eric whispering,
"Where are we going?" He slapped hands with AJ and Kevin,
"Hey guys, remember Quinn?" I smiled slightly, ready to ease their minds about not rememebering me,
"It's been a long time." I commented as they seemed to try and place my face,
"Remember a long time ago you spilled your drink on me in the mall and bought me a new shirt?" I smiled as Kevin nodded his head and snapped his finger,
"Yeah, oh man I felt so bad." he chuckled,
"How are you doing?" I smiled,
"Great.." We spent the next minute catching up before Howie announced Nick's arrival,
"Nicky's here." He walked in with a cute petite blonde and handed her his backpack, she smiled as she waved to him and stood off to the side to watch. I separate myself from the group letting Eric know I was going back to my spot by the wall to watch, leaving before Nick made it over. Fear that I would make eye contact with him caused me to look in every direction but in Nick's until they were distracted by rehearsing their routine. Out of the corner of my eye I see Nick's friend making her way towards me but I hope she will just pass right on by; no such luck as she gracefully sits beside me,
"Hi." I look over and smile at her,
"Hi." Her toss of her long straight blonde hair made me weary of her automatically,
"Are you here with Howie?" My eyes stretched and I didn't try to hide the fact that her question threw me off,
"Uh no...Eric." I could see her running through the group trying to remember if there was an Eric,
"He's one of the dancers." She sighed,
"Oh." The sound of disappointment dripped from her voice, as if Eric was some second class citizen, I am not going to like her, I know this already,
"I'm here with Nick." Maybe if I don't show any interest she'll be quiet,
"We met last week, I'm from Tampa and he invited me out here for the week." Ok, fat chance of her shutting up,
"That's nice. I'm from Florida...Miami." She brigtened up,
"Cool, I want to move to Miami once I'm finished with school." That caught me off guard, I admit, so Nick didn't hook up with a bar rat,
"You go to USF?" She shook her head as she pulled a compact out of her purse,
"No, I go to cosmetology school." I smile lightly but mentally I'm shaking my head, I should have known better. This is Nick we're talking about, so why am I surprised,
"I figure I'll have a lot better chance in Miami than Tampa. Miami has celebrities and people have more money." I nodded,
"There's no shortage of salons and spas in Miami." What the hell, curiosity has gotten the best of me,
"So where did you and Nick meet?" She smiled,
"At a club." I close my eyes because I had to roll my eyes,
"I'll introduce you to him." I opened my eyes and looked over at her,
"Thanks." She smiled as she looked in the mirror running her hand through her hair,
"No problem." Yeah, I'm not going to like her and I have no intentions of trying. Unfair? Maybe, but oh well. We watched them go through their new routines, I was definitely more entertained than she was,
"I'm going to get Nick's keys and we can go to the mall." I turned to look at her and my lack of words must have given her the idea that I was all for it.
"Take ten and we'll get started again." I watched her get up and walk over to Nick, her hand rubbing his back as she talked to him. He looked over at me and my attention quickly turned to Eric as I stood up and walked over to him,
"Hey." He smiled,
"Hey, you bored yet?" I shook my head,
"Actually I'm not but..." I looked over and realized I didn't know my new best friend's name,
"Nick's friend wants to take me to the mall." He laughed,
"You? Shopping? Are you in the mood?" I smiled as fake a smile as I could while shaking my head. Lisa, a dancer with dark skin and long braids looked across the room,
"Who is she?" No one knew as they looked over and watched Nick introduce her to the other group members. Kelly shrugged,
"Whatever flavor of the week he's into. " I smiled at Kelly, her red hair pulled in a high ponytail, she was Brian's dance partner. My attention always landed on her more than any of the other girls, I loved her style when she danced; the expressions she made like she was completely into what she was doing. Andre laughed,
"That boy. Hell, you can never tell which one is getting played. Him or them." They laughed and Shannon spoke up,
"They both are...the question is who is getting played more." Eric draped his arm on me and I squirmed away and made a face,
"Eww gross you're sweaty." I looked over to see her waving me over,
"Looks like you're being beckoned." I groaned,
"Be right back." I make my way over, looking down in an attempt to not make eye contact,
"Nick this is..what's your name?" I smile as I look at her,
"Quinn." She flipped her hair again,
"Nick this is Quinn, she's here with one of the dancers. My name is Tori by the way." Nick looked over at me and smiled,
"Hi." I can't believe this, his smile fades as he notice I have no intentions of returning it,
"I'm gonna go back over to Eric. Nice meeting you Nick." I walked away, not giving anyone time to respond making my way back over to the gang,
"What was that about?" I shook my head,
"She wanted to introduce me to Nick." Eric frowned,
"You've known Nick longer than she has." I shrugged,
"She wanted to feel important so I let her." Just as I finished talking she came over dangling the keys,
"I got the keys...ready to go?" I looked over at Eric and he nodded his head,
"Yeah, I'm ready." She smiled,
"We'll get directions from the security guard out front." What he heck am I doing? Maybe she won't be so bad.
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Mixed Feelings
Chapter 24