| Chapter 3 |
| After he dressed in a pair of faded blue jeans and a nice shirt (as nice as he owned that is) JC headed back into the kitchen for a quick bite to eat. He made himself a toasted bagel, buttering it only slightly to make it last. They couldn't go food shopping until Lance got his paycheck, and that was still a few days away. Grabbing a dirty cup from the sink, he gave it a quick wash and rinse before pouring himself some coffee. Grabbing the morning newspaper and his breakfast, he flopped down on the small couch and began searching through the help wanted ads while he ate. Twenty minutes later, he hadn't found anything that had jumped out at him, but he had circled a few prospective part time jobs anyway. Glancing at his watch and seeing he had a set at the shop soon, he licked the butter off his fingers and downed the last of his coffee, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand as he got up off the couch. He slipped on his favorite and pretty much only good jacket, the denim one Lance had saved up for months to buy him for Christmas, working extra hours at the diner and saving every crummy tip. JC smiled and hugged it to him. It was the little things like this that made him realize that whatever happened with money and work, he and Lance would always have each other. Looking back at the newspaper on the couch, he grabbed the page with the circled jobs and folded it, shoving it in his pocket for later. Money did help things after all, and he was determined to get Lance out of this hell hole if it killed him. Grabbing his keys and backpack, he slipped out of the apartment, locking the door behind him and heading for the parking lot. He ran his hands up the smooth curves of the fire engine red sports car, parked in-between two spots so no one would scratch the paint job, and then moved beside it to the old beat up jeep with the peeling paint job and loose tail pipe. "Hey old girl," JC said soothingly, petting the hood of the jeep almost tenderly as he tossed his back pack in the passenger seat and climbed in. Sliding the key into the ignition, he glanced at the sports car and shook his head. "Don't worry girl," he said, patting the dashboard, "one bird with an upset stomach is all it's gonna take to ruin that perfect paint job. You have real style. Class." Holding his breath while he turned the key, JC waited for the familar growl of the engine and the way the car shook like a mild earthquake before he relaxed. He really didn't need it to stall and quit on him today. He had a lot of things to do, and paying to have the jeep fixed, again, with money he and Lance didn't have was not on his list. He rolled down the windows to make up for the broken air conditioning. Living in Florida was bad enough without having hot air blown in his face during the spring and summer time. Shifting gears, the jeep lurched backwards and then forwards slightly, made a few putt putt putt sounds, and then drove off towards the coffee shop. ~*~ Chris Kirkpatrick sat alone in his office, slumped over his desk with one cheek resting on his closed fist and a bored look in his eye. He dragged the small rake through the tiny sand box on his desk. After that got old quick he sighed and pushed it away. He didn't even know why he bought the stupid thing, but in the movies all of the big wig executives had them so he figured what the hell. Chris sat up, loosening his tie as he stared at the phone. Ring, damn you. Give me something to do besides sit here and rot. Give me somebody with some talent for once. Is that so much to ask? The phone didn't ring, and nobody came bursting through his door with a guitar and tape saying "I'm your next hit star," so Chris declared it break time. Grabbing his jacket, hr slipped it on as he buzzed his secretary out front through the intercom. "Dani?" The machine buzzed again, and then a sweet but strong female voice floated out. "Yes, Chris?" "Hold all my calls and cancel any meetings I might have today," he said, buttoning his cuffs, "I'm just going to head out for a little while." Dani sighed and Chris grinned at the obvious annoyance in her voice. "And just where the hell are you going now?" she asked. "Chris, you're a talent scout and a partner in a huge talent agency. You can't just skip out on things." She paused. "What about your meeting with Johnny tonight? You already canceled the last two meetings and he'll go nuts if you call this one off." Chris cringed, thinking of his business partner. Dani did have a point. Johnny would be pissed if he didn't show up. Then again, it's not like he had much to show for it anyway. All of the tapes he had listened to had practically made his ears bleed they were so bad. Chewing his bottom lip, Chris rubbed his chin in thought. "Stop biting your lip," Dani said firmly, and Chris rolled his eyes at how well she knew him. "How do you know I'm even doing it?" he asked tauntingly. She laughed. "Oh please Chris, I know you inside and out. I know you chew your lip when you think, or try to anyway," she mumbled, but Chris still heard her and grinned, "and it's a bad habit you need to break." "No thanks," he said simply, waiting for Dani's reaction. She growled through the intercom and spoke in a whisper, "It's times like these I'm glad you're gay." Chris let go of the intercom button and roared with laughter. After calming down, he pushed it back on and mumbled, "That makes two of us." "What was that?" "Nothing!" he sing-songed, turning off the intercom and grabbing his briefcase. He exited the office, shutting and locking the door behind him, and came out into the waiting room to the sound of Dani yelling into the intercom. "Chris! CHRIS! You better not have turned that off while I'm talking or I swear I'll-" "Or you'll what?" he asked right next to her ear, and Dani screamed, jumping in her seat and holding a hand over her heart. Chris put his hands on his knees, bowing his head as he laughed. Dani glared at the top of his head and tried willing it to explode. "Ass," she mumbled, "you better leave now or else you'll be shipped out in pieces." Chris grinned and patted her hand, which she effectively yanked away and stuck her tongue out at him. He chuckled and shook his head. "So mature," he winked, heading for the door. Grabbing the handle, he looked at Dani over his shoulder. "If anyone asks, I'm out scouting for talent." Dani waved the folder in her hand in response, already engrossed in her files again, and Chris blew a kiss as he left the office. Dani was a feisty one all right, but she was one of his best friends and sometimes he wasn't sure what he'd do without her. "Hey Lonnie," he said as he exited the building, greeting the large doorman with a smile. "Morning Chris," grinned Lonnie. "You out to um, scout again?" Chris grinned, clapping the much larger man on the back. "You know it." He took a deep breath, breathing in the crisp morning air, and turned back to other man. "Hey, do you know any places to get some good coffee in this town?" Lonnie nodded. "Yeah actually there's a place a couple miles down Broadway Avenue that serves a mean cup. Got good pastries too." Lonnie licked his lips and Chris grinned. "But anyway it's called Big Shots, and they've even got live entertainment. Now you don't have to lie about scouting this time," he grinned. Chris ignored the comment, giving Lonnie a bored look, and then nodded. "All right, thanks man," he said, backing up as he slowly headed for the parking garage. "I think I will go there and SCOUT. Maybe grab a cup of coffee too." Lonnie grinned. "Yeah right," he chuckled as Chris disappeared around the corner, "tell them Lonnie sent you! You'll get a free bear claw!" Chris sighed as he entered the garage, spotting his silver Mercedes tucked safely away in the corner. Sometimes it really did pay to be successful. Extracting his keys from his pocket, he pushed the unlock button when he was a few feet away from the car, watched for the lights to flash indicating it had worked, and opened the door. Tossing his briefcase in the passenger's seat, Chris loosened his tie and slouched in his seat slightly, biting his lip as he thought about the up coming meeting. He didn't have any new talent to show off, and Johnny was going to be pissed about that. But hey, maybe he would get lucky and find the next hit star at the little coffee shop. Yeah, and maybe I'll find the perfect boyfriend today too. Chris rolled his eyes as he backed out of his spot and peeled out of the parking garage. He just wasn't that lucky. |