�Better Than Best� Chapter 4: Radio Chat & Ex-Girlfriend

�So what do we wanna eat for lunch?� Trevor asked.

�I dunno, whatever,� I said. �No where too loud though because my ear hurts.�

�OK, how about we find a nice restaurant. I have a feeling Lou�s buying,� Jacob took out his credit card.

We laughed. �Italian sounds good to me,� Ashley said.

By that time we were at the SUV. Dan sat in the driver�s seat so the rest of the guys got in back. I sat up front with Dan.

�So we�re going to the Italian place by our house?� Dan asked the rest of us.

�Sounds good,� we replied.

Dan pulled out and turned on the radio. *NSYNC�s �Pop� was on. We groaned.

�Of course, this song would be on,� Jacob said.

�Have we heard �All or Nothing� lately?� Ashley asked.

�I heard the end of it last week,� Dan said.

�I haven�t heard it for weeks,� Trevor told us.

We all stopped when we heard the DJ�s next words. �And now the most requested song on the radio. Here it comes, O-Town�s �All or Nothing.� O- Town, if you�re listening, the fans love ya here on 101.9 KIIS FM.�

�Oh. My. Gosh,� I said. �He did not just� did he� where�s my cell? I�m going to call in.�

I dialed the radio station�s number. The DJ picked up on the third ring. �Hello, KIIS FM.�

�Hi. This is Jenna from O-Town. I was just calling to say thank you for playing our song.�

�Well you are certainly welcome. Will you talk on the air for all your fans?�

�Sure, I�d love to. I�ll see if the other guys will too.�

�That would be great. Hold on for a second.�

�Sure,� I said into the phone. To the guys I said, �I�m going to put the phone on speaker. Let�s give them some a cappella.�

�Sounds like fun,� Jacob agreed.

�All or Nothing chorus?� Trevor suggested.

�OK. Jenna can lead us into it by singing Dan�s part at the end,� Ashley said.

�That sounds awesome. One time through,� Dan said.

�And then we�ll go around and do our stuff,� I said.

�Cool,� Trevor said.

The DJ came back on. �And that was �All or Nothing� from O-Town who we just happen to have on the phone with us. Go ahead guys.�

�We just want to say thanks for requesting our song. You guys are the best! Now we�d like to do a little a cappella for you,� I said. �One, two, cause I want it all or nothing at all. There�s nowhere left to fall. It�s now or never.�

Jacob, Dan, Ash, and Trevor sung the chorus with me. When it was over I said, �This is Jenna.�

Dan took over, �I�m Dan.�

Then Trevor, �And I�m Trevor.�

Jacob was next, �Jacob here.�

And finally Ashley, �And this is Ashley.�

Together we said, �And we�re O-Town. You�re listening to 101.9 KIIS FM.�

I finished off by saying, �Keep it locked here.�

�Wow! That was awesome! Thank you guys so much for being with us. We must take a commercial break, we�ll be right back,� the DJ paused and pushed a few buttons. �Thanks again. Can we be expecting a call from you soon?�

�Sure. We�ll talk to you then,� I said and hung up.

Dan was pulling into the parking lot. We got out and walked up to the door. The hostess was there.

�Table for five,� Ashley said.

�Right this way,� she must have recognized us because we got a great table kind of away from everyone and great service.

Once our food was ordered, there was no lapse in our conversation. We talked about everything.

�So are you guys going to stay together?� Trevor asked Dan.

�Of course we are. I couldn�t let Jenna go if they made us,� Dan smiled.

I smiled back. �Ditto that,� I said.

�I for one am glad you guys aren�t letting Lou influence you. I think you guys are great together. You are truly happy and have so much fun that the people around you are happy too,� Ashley said.

�I love being around you because it�s not all mushy. It�s just fun,� Jacob said.

�Well thanks guys. You are the best. We love hanging with you too,� I said.

Our food came up and the waiter set our plates in front of each of us. It looked awesome. My spinach fettuccini was piled high on the plate in front of me.

�Yummy!� Trevor exclaimed.

We laughed. �I think this is the best lunch Lou has ever bought us,� I said. �Not like that McDonald�s stuff we usually get.�

In between bites of our food our conversation kept going. �I am so excited for our concert tonight,� Ashley said.

�It�s going to be great,� Jacob said.

Dan�s cell phone rang. �Sorry guys,� he said before he answered it. �Hello?�

We kept talking about the concert while Dan talked. During a lapse in the conversation I turned and looked at Dan. His face was dead serious. I caught his eye. He looked at me with a sad puppy dog expression on his face. I took his hand and held it in my lap. I turned back to Jacob, Ashley, and Trevor.

�I hope Lou doesn�t try to be all buddy buddy with us tonight,� Jacob said.

�If he is, the worst he can do is say �break a leg�,� Ashley said.

�Yeah, but then I will break a leg,� I giggled.

Dan slammed his phone down on the table. I jumped. The other guys were shocked. Dan, usually the calm levelheaded leader was angry. This could not be good.

�Dan, what�s going on? Is everything alright?� I asked.

�That was Cindy, my ex-girlfriend. She says she misses me and wants me to come home and be with her again,� Dan said to nobody in particular.

�What did you say? Did you tell her that you�re in the middle of a string of important concerts?� Jacob wanted to know.

�Yeah, I tried to. She wouldn�t listen to me,� Dan was avoiding my eyes. He let go of my hand.

�Did you tell her that you have a girlfriend?� Trevor asked.

�Yes, but I think it was hard for her to hear. I don�t think she understood. To her I�m the same person I�ve always been. The guy that she fell in love with,� Dan turned his head away from me.

I was in total shock. I guess it was hard for me to hear him say those words and not tell me that it was going to be OK. That he was always going to be there with me.

Ashley knew what I was thinking. He turned to me and smiled. �It�s OK,� he mouthed to me.

I shrugged like I didn�t care, but deep down I was fighting back the tears that I knew I was going to cry.

Ashley spoke next. �Are you going to get together with her?�

�I don�t know,� Dan said. He finally turned back toward me. His eyes were starting to fill with tears, the tears that I wanted to cry.

We finished our lunch in silence. When the check came, Jacob took out Lou�s credit card and gave the waiter a nice tip. We left the restaurant.

Dan got in the back of the SUV, so Jacob got in the driver�s seat. He motioned for me to get in the back with Dan. Ashley followed me back while Trevor sat in front. The ride home was tense. I don�t think that Dan was purposely trying to distance himself from me, but he certainly was.

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