Chapter 2
“Man,” Joey remarked back at the table. “That girl is something else. She is just hot, and funny, and man, can she ever sing! I mean did you notice just how completely into it she was? It was like she was in her own world. She completely owned the stage. Not to mention the fact that she's damn hot. And that cute little accent. If she says y'all one more time, I'm either going to drop down and propose on the spot, or jump her,” he said smiling.
“Down, boy,” JC said with a hearty laugh. “Though, I have to agree. She does have a definite stage presence. But you wanna talk about hot; whew Cassie is too damn hot.”
“Ya know man, I was thinking we could ask them to come hang with us at the hotel” Joey said as JC nodded in agreement.
As the girls approached the table the men were so completely engrossed in the conversation that they almost failed to notice their return. Both girls sat down and Joey began to speak. “You know,” he said tentatively, “JC and I were just talking about how much fun we have had tonight and we were wondering if the two of you wanted to come by the hotel-just for a drink or whatever, and to meet the guys.”
Melissa smiled, replying, “Actually, we were just discussing that, but we were thinking maybe y'all would want to come over.” This prompted Joey to raise his eyebrows, evoking a giggle for Melissa. “In fact,” she continued, “We were gonna see if you all wanted to stay over, or whatever.”
“We wouldn't want to impose,” JC said.
Melissa nodded, replying, “Well, Amarillo isn’t tiny, but it's small enough that if one person realizes who you are, it will be around, and then the Ambassador will be swamped.”
“How did you know we were going to stay there?” Joey asked, a look of confusion upon his handsome face.
“See what I mean? You see, sweetie, as I said, it's a small town. It's always where celebrities stay because it's the most secure hotel in town. I used to work there.”
“Are you sure you have enough room?” JC questioned.
“Oh sure,” Melissa replied and Cassie nodded. “It's a huge house, and only Cassie, my sister and I live there.”
“Great,” Joey said. “Well, is everyone ready to go?”
They all nodded as Cassie picked up her cell phone. She spoke quickly and then hung up. “Alright, the cab will be here in just a minute.”
“Well, we gotta do a shot of Jose, guys. Since we're leaving and all, we just gotta,” Melissa said as she bounded over to the bar. She came back with four shots and handed one to each man and one to Cassie. “Shall we say to unknown possibilities?” she said with a wink.
“Sounds good to me,” Joey responded and they all slammed the tequila shots. Both men made faces and the girls giggled. “My God,” Joey said when he recovered. “That is strong stuff.”
“Can't handle it, huh?” Melissa teased. “They don't water down Cuervo here. That's sacrilegious.”
“Man,” JC coughed. “Whew! Damn!” They all laughed, as the door slammed open of its own accord and snow began to blow in.
“It's getting pretty bad out there,” Joey observed.
"Yeah, but you're in the Texas panhandle now. If you don't like the weather, just give it five minutes,” Melissa giggled. “It may get pretty bad, but even if we get a couple of inches, it will have melted by Monday.”
Just then, the door opened again. This time, however, a little old man was the intruding force. “I got a cab here for a Lambert.”
“Ladies,” Joey said as he pulled out Melissa's chair and held out his hand, “your chariot awaits.”
They quickly made their way out of the front door, bracing their bodies against the chilling wind. They quickly located a maroon van, which read “Bob & Son's Taxi Service,” and Joey held the door open as the two girls jumped inside. Once they were settled, he climbed into the van as well and sat down beside Melissa, almost sitting directly on her. JC piled into the very back with Cassie. He placed his arm around her shoulder to warm her.
“Where to?” the voice from the front seat questioned.
“IHOP,” Melissa said cheerfully as Joey cuddled in more closely to her.
“Man, I guess I need to call the others and let them know where we are gonna be. But I'll have to kick Justin's ass if he tries anything,” Joey teased referring to Melissa's mock confession. Joey picked up his cell phone and dialed Chris's phone. After a moment, he began to speak. “Hey Chris, change of plans. We met some girls at the bar who have some extra room, and have offered to let us stay. JC and I thought that it might be safer” Melissa pinched his muscular arm. “Ow, you're worse than my mom. Okay, okay actually Melissa thought it might be safer for us to stay there.”
“Oh, ok. So, these girls, are they hot?” Chris queried.
Joey laughed, “Hell yeah,” he confirmed as he eyed Melissa hungrily. She felt his eyes upon her and shifted in her seat, feeling a little uncomfortable, not to mention more than a little turned on. “Anyway, we are about to head to IHOP for some breakfast. So if you guys want to meet us there, we can get an extra table.”
“Cool,” Chris replied. “This place sucks anyway. Give us a few and we'll meet you there.”
“Aight,” Joey said, “See ya there in a few.”
“So are they planning to stay too?” Melissa asked. In all honesty, she loved a full house. It had always been her dream, and it was why she loved holidays so much. The house was far too large for her alone. When Cassie and Melissa’s younger sister, Brandi had moved in, it had been a relief.
“Oh, well I mentioned it, but I guess I forgot to ask,” Joey said
The cab pulled into IHOP and JC paid the driver as the rest of the gang ran into the restaurant. “Man,” Cassie commented, surveying the nearly deserted building. “Must be the weather keeping everyone in. Wimps!”
They all laughed as the waitress walked up. After asking how many in their party, she escorted them to the back of the restaurant. As they were getting settled in, a loud laughter was heard from the front of the building.
Suddenly, a young, attractive man ran into the room and screamed, “They're back here guys. And they have girls with em.” He was average height and had broad shoulders. He had brownish blonde hair, which was shaved. Melissa recognized him immediately and began to laugh. Joey smiled and rolled his eyes as the others made their way back to the table.
“Hey guys. Okay, this is Melissa and that's Cassie. Ladies, Lonnie & Tiny,” he said motioning toward two giant men. “They keep us out of trouble. That's Chris, Lance. And I believe you know Justin, Melissa.”
“You know me?” Justin asked, a slight look of consternation upon his handsome face.
“No, I...” Melissa offered, but Joey cut her off.
“Oh, man. You should hear her. She wants you bad,” he interjected, earning a well-placed kick to his shin.
“Oh yeah?” he said as he attempted to squeeze between Joey and Melissa.
“Back off, Curly, it's a joke. I just had to give her hell,” Joey said lightheartedly.
“Oh,” Justin pouted playfully, as he walked over to the other side of the table. He smiled and sat down.
“So, what do you guys think of the Piranha Room?” Melissa asked,
“Eh, it's ok,” Chris shrugged. He looked more than a little annoyed and Melissa had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing.
“What's wrong, Chris? Did they ID you, hun?” Melissa asked, smiling.
Justin began to laugh heartily and said, “No, he's just pissed because some girl asked him...” he dissolved in laughter. Lance chuckled as well, but stopped cold as he noticed the daggers in Chris's eyes pointed toward Justin. “Oh, man, sorry, it was funny. She said 'so which one are you? Howie or AJ?' Oh man, it was...”
“Oh,” Melissa smiled. “Sorry, but that is funny.”
“Yeah, I guess,” Chris conceded.
“That's okay sweetie. It just goes to show she has no taste. You are much cuter than either of them,” she said with a wink.
“Aww, shucks. Thanks,” he grinned.
“Man, I can't take you anywhere,” Joey teased as he grabbed Melissa's hand. “Here you are, flirting with all my friends. You sure you don't have anything to say to Lance?” he said, motioning to the other side of the table.
“Nah, actually I thought I'd just whisk him away for a quickie while you weren't looking.”
With this, Lance raised his eyebrows in surprise. They all began to laugh heartily and Joey started to tickle Melissa, who began to shout loudly, “Stop it, Fatone. I'm... gonna... kick... your... ass...in a...minute.”
The approaching waitress rolled her eyes before taking their orders. After she had left, they started talking again. The men fell into an easy conversation with the two girls and immediately knew that they liked them.
“Okay,” Chris said, suddenly attempting to be serious, “I talked to Johnny earlier and he said we’ll just fly in tomorrow, since our equipment is already there. Do you girls wanna go?”
“Well, let me think. Hell yeah!” Melissa shouted.
Chris grinned as he dialed their manager to let him know the girls would be coming along.
“Wow,” Cassie marveled, “This has been quite a day. I meet this very cool guy-and his friends and we get to go to an Nsync concert?! Does it get any better than this?”
JC whispered in her ear, his lips against her skin, “You bet it does.” She trembled lightly as his warm breath fell upon her neck.
“Alright, Thanks” Chris said, as he hung up the phone. “Johnny is getting everything set up as we speak, so you ladies had better get packed. We leave tomorrow at 1:15”
The food arrived shortly thereafter and everyone at the table consumed their orders as if they had not eaten in days. “Man,” Lance said between bites of pancake, “Is it just me, or is this the best food you guys have had all day?”
“Well,” Melissa giggled, “It's just IHOP. I think it's just that anything tastes better at 12:30 in the morning after a night of drinking.” They all nodded in agreement as they chuckled. “So,” she continued, “Are you guys gonna stay with me, or are you going to brave the Ambassador?”
“Well,” Lance said, “Are you sure we wouldn't be intruding? I mean it's not a problem to stay at the hotel. We're used to it.”
“No, I love company, and we have PLENTY of room. I might even cook for y'all if you ask real nice,” Melissa answered with a wink.
“Oh man, you guys are definitely in for a treat. This girl is a gourmet chef,” Cassie bragged.
“Well, thanks sweetie,” Melissa said, blushing. “I don't know if I would go that far, but I do love to cook and there are a few things I can make.”
“Boys, seems we've found my Superwoman,” Joey teased. “She has the voice of an angel, and she cooks!”
Melissa blushed heavily. “Cut it out. You guys are gonna give me a big head. But I don't care how nice you ask, no one gets room service”
“No one?” Joey asked with a pout upon his face, pushing out his bottom lip.
“Well, I guess it all depends upon my tip,” she said raising an eyebrow.
Once everyone had finished their food, they decided to head home. Cassie called the cab again, telling them there were now eight in their party. They all bundled up and JC went ahead of them to pay the ticket.
Soon, two vehicles pulled up and everyone scurried in. They decided that they would need a change of clothes and a few personal items, so the first stop was at the hotel. The girls went to the rooms with them quickly, meeting Johnny and giving him all of their pertinent information in case he needed to contact them. Upon many promises that they would call if they needed anything, Lonnie and Tiny decided to go ahead and stay at the hotel.
The roads were getting somewhat slippery, so it took longer to get to the house than it normally would. As they reached their destination, Joey looked out his window toward the large dwelling. “Wow, this is a beautiful home.”
“Thank you,” Melissa said graciously. “I always thought it was gorgeous when I was a kid and we drove by, so when it went up for auction a few years ago, we jumped on it. I have a friend who was a realtor, so she bought it and we bought it from her at cost.”
It really was a beautiful home. It was a Victorian-style, two-story brick home, which was built in the early nineteen hundreds. In the center of a walk way leading to the front door, was a slate fountain with a cherub, holding a bowl, which poured water in the summer months. A large, white column stood on either side of the enormous front door, each guarded by a small lion.
The van pulled into the circular driveway, and the other vehicle occupied by Chris, Lance, and Justin pulled in behind them. Melissa hopped out, and not thinking of the slick ground beneath her, went directly down on her rear. She screamed loudly, and then sat on the ground, holding her head in her hands, her body convulsing. Joey intuitively jumped out after her, almost tumbling to the ground as well. He stood beside her and put his arms around her shaking shoulders. “Are you ok, Melissa? Are you hurt?” he asked with concern.
As, Melissa took her hands away from her face and Joey could see his answer. She was laughing so hard she could scarcely speak. “I'm ok, I'm ok,” she cackled, as he grabbed her hand and helped her up. “Just call me Grace.”
The two were so caught up in the moment that they hadn't noticed the other cab unload and the others head toward them. Echoes of “Are you ok? Oh man. Are you alright?” were heard coming from the other men.
“Yeah, I'm ok. The only thing hurt is my pride,” she said
“Man, that was pretty good. I give it an eight,” Chris laughed.
“Yeah, keep it up, funny guy. You'll be eating macaroni tomorrow,” Melissa barked playfully, still laughing at her folly.
After convincing Joey she could walk on her own, Melissa and Cassie made their way up to the front door as the guys grabbed their bags.
“Wow, this is pretty dope,” Justin said as they walked through the front door, into the large foyer. Melissa smiled at him. Gazing up toward the lofty ceiling, he looked more like a child than the lead singer of the biggest pop group in existence. “Payments on a place like this must cost a pretty penny.”
“Oh, actually, I own it. Free and clear,” Melissa responded with a wistful smile. Sometimes, she couldn't believe it herself.
“Man,” he continued, laughing, “Who'd you have to kill for this sweet pad?”
Suddenly the expression on Melissa's face changed completely. Her face turned ghostly white as the color drained from her rosy cheeks. She attempted a smile and said in a cracked voice, “Uh, I...sorry.” At once, she burst into tears and fled the room.
“Justin, you dick, look what you've done,” Joey fumed as he followed Melissa.
“Oh man, what the hell did I say?” Justin questioned as he mentally replayed the conversation.
“Oh my God,” Cassie replied as the men looked at her for some explanation of what had just occurred. “Geez, that was...OK, let's sit down. I'll explain,” she said as she led them to the couch.