AJ picked up the phone and dialed the number slowly. He prayed that she would talk to him. It'd only been a couple of days since he'd heard her voice, since he'd seen her smile, since he'd kissed her or touched her, but it felt like years. He missed her so much he almost doubled over with the pain. He listened to the ringing and sighed, hanging up the phone. "Dammit," he whispered. Glancing at the clock, he walked into his bedroom to get ready to go out for the evening.
"I can't believe I let you talk me into doing this. I'm going to make a fool of myself," Kyndall complained as she stepped out of Catlyn's Mustang.
"Oh shut up," Catlyn said rolling her eyes. "You are not." They walked up to the door, and Catlyn rang the bell. Kyndall was fidgeting with her skirt, smoothing it down, making sure it wasn't too short, playing with the waistband. "Oh knock it off. It looks fine," Catlyn shook her head. "You're driving me crazy."
"I don't even want to do this," Kyndall whined.
"Catlyn! Kyndall!" Howie smiled as he opened the door. "Wow," he said staring at Kyndall. "You look…beautiful," he said pulling her into a hug. He glanced over at Catlyn and smiled and mouthed "Thank you" over Kyndall's shoulder.
Catlyn smiled. "Well, I'm off. Don't want to keep Frick and Frack waiting. Heaven forbid they were late for their comics," she grinned.
"Have fun," Howie waved.
"You too," she smiled at them. Giving Kyndall a quick hug she whispered, "It'll be okay."
Kyndall smiled. "I know. Have fun," she whispered back.
Catlyn waved at them as she walked to her car, climbed in, and pulled out of the drive. Howie looked over at Kyndall and smiled. "Thank you for coming."
"You should be thanking Cat," she said. "I didn't want to. She made me feel bad. That's really the only reason I did."
Howie smiled. "Well, whatever works. Got you out of the house. Come on. Let's go inside. I have to grab some stuff and then we'll go," he said opening the door and letting her in.
"He would have to live in freaking BFE, now wouldn't he?" Catlyn grumbled. She was speeding through the quiet residential streets of Orlando trying to find the private community that Brian lived in. She'd only been here once, and she only vaguely remembered the directions. Singing along softly with the loud music of KoRn blasting from her stereo, she almost didn't hear her phone ringing. Reluctantly turning down her beloved Jonathan's voice, she picked up her cell. "Hello?"
"Where the hell are you? Stan's waiting," Nick exclaimed.
"Oh hi, Nick. I'm doing wonderful. Thanks for asking. My drive was great, but I think I'm kind of lost. I'm so glad that you're concerned," she said sarcastically.
Nick sighed. "How long are you going to be? It starts in -"
"30 minutes, I know," Catlyn finished for him. She turned the corner and seen the gate to Brian's community. "I'm at the gate. I just…don't know the code to get in."
"Is the guy at the booth?" Nick asked.
Catlyn looked closely as she drove up. "No."
"Hey BRok! What's the code for the gate?" Nick yelled away from the phone. Catlyn heard Brian's muffled voice in the background. "8253," Nick said to her.
Catlyn punched the code in and watched the bar lift and the gate open. "Right or left?" she asked as she came to an intersection.
"Uhh…right," Nick said. "How are ya?"
"Huh?" she asked. Seeing Nick's Durango in the driveway of the house at the end, she sped up a bit. "Oh, I'm doing okay. Thanks. You?" she asked pulling in.
"Oh, going crazy waiting for your -" Catlyn hung up on him as he was in mid sentence. She climbed out of her car and walked to the door. She rang the doorbell, turning around and surveying the neighborhood as she waited for someone to answer.
"Well, that certainly was rude," Nick said as he opened the door.
"I'm here," she grinned up at him. She laughed as she looked at what he was wearing.
"Well, well. Looks like we have Twinkies," Brian grinned walking to the door. "Did ya'll plan that?" he asked eyeing Nick's green wind pants and white T-shirt.
"No, we didn't," Nick said looking at Catlyn with a twinkle in his eyes.
"Hmm. Well, are we ready?" Brian asked looking at the two of them strangely.
"What? Yeah," Catlyn said smiling at him.
"Well, let's go then," he said locking the door and walking towards Catlyn's car.
"What? I have to drive?" she said.
"Well, you ARE blocking our vehicles," Nick pointed out.
Catlyn sighed. "Fine," she said as she unlocked the doors and they climbed in. Brian got in the back and stretched his legs out across the seat. "Keep the feet off the seats," she warned him, glancing over her shoulder.
"They are," he said grinning at her.
Nick laughed. "Touchy about the car, are we?"
Catlyn nodded. "I love my 'Stang," she grinned. Starting the car, she saw Brian cringe as KoRn blasted through the speakers. "Sorry," she said turning it down.
"Where we going?" Kyndall asked, looking over at Howie as they sped through the streets of Orlando.
"Oh, a comedy club on the other side of town," he said maneuvering his 'Vette through the busy streets.
"Hmmm…" Kyndall said. "What makes you think that I'd like to go there?"
Howie shrugged. "I don't know that you will. Just thought it'd be good to get you out and about," he winked at her.
"You are hopeless," she smiled at him.
"I just worry about you," he said touching her softly on the arm.
"I know you do, and I appreciate it. But I'm okay really," Kyndall said softly. "I just feel like an idiot for letting myself fall for him all over again."
Howie sighed. "And I feel like an ass for pushing for it to happen," he murmured. "I just honestly can't believe he'd do such a thing."
Kyndall shrugged. "Well, I hope that he's happy. I'm sure he'll go back to his comfortable existence with Miranda and not give me another thought."
"Well, I'm not sure that he and Miranda are together anymore. He hasn't done anything to go looking for her. And he doesn't want to. At least, that is what he told me the last time I talked to him. He said he was in love with you and that he didn't want anyone else," Howie pulled into the parking lot of the club and parked the car. Turning towards Kyndall he smiled softly. "Can we do something tonite, or at least try to?" he asked.
"What's that?" she asked.
"Can we pretend that there was never an AJ in either of our lives. Just have fun. You and me. No bad memories to prevent us from having a good time?" Howie asked, his eyes begging for her to agree with him.
Reaching out, Kyndall placed her hand on his cheek, caressing it softly. "Sounds wonderful," she said softly looking deep into his eyes and smiling.
AJ glanced into the mirror, making sure everything about him was in place. He tugged the collar of his black button up dress shirt, making sure it was straight. He pulled at the hem along the bottom making sure it was laying flat. He played with the white tank top underneath, making sure it wasn't bulging out anywhere. He glanced down at the black slacks he was wearing making sure there wasn't any wrinkles in them. Looking down at his black shoes, he sighed as he noticed a scuff on them. Walking over to his dresser, he grabbed the shoe brush and ran it across the toe a couple of times. He smiled as it came out quickly. He walked to the door, he grabbed a black fedora. "May as well add this for effect," he mumbled pulling it on his head. Glancing into the mirror by the door, he smiled, liking the way it sat on his head. Locking the door behind him, he climbed into his BMW and sped off into the night.
