"It's pretty big," JC agreed. The door to the limo opened and they all stepped out, blinking profusely when the flashes of cameras became immediately overwhelming. Almost mechanically, they smiled and waved at the fans, and the screams became almost deafening when Justin blew a kiss out there.
"it's just like one of our concerts," Chris muttered through his teeth. They all nodded in agreement and headed towards the front door of the restaurant, where the President of the MAW Foundation was there to greet them. JC's pulse accelerated as they came closer to going inside.
"Where are you from?" Mikayla asked Brian. They were already into the second song that they had danced to, but neither was complaining. They both enjoyed each other's companionship.
"Kentucky. Can't you tell by the accent?" He asked, exaggerating it a little. Mikayla laughed.
"A little bit." He twirled her around, making her laugh under her breath.
"How about you?"
"I lived in Florida for a bit, but then I moved here like six years ago. My brother and I co-own this restaurant." She told him.
"No boyfriends?" He asked.
"Nope. Why, Mr. Littrell, if I didn't know better I'd say you were interested in me." She joked.
"What if I am?" He challenged. His question stopped her laugh.
"I would say no." She answered firmly. "I'm not looking for a relationship right now." She glanced towards the front door, and her feet nearly froze when she saw JC and the rest of the guys standing there, talking to the MAW Foundation President.
Brian nodded in understanding. "I know what it's like," he admitted, "I broke up with my girlfriend a while back and I'm not really looking for anyone right now, either. But let's just say that you’re my dance partner, and I’m yours? It only makes sense since we're both here alone." Mikayla looked up into his eyes, and was happy that she had found a friend there.
"Sure. I'd love that."
Taylor had been talking to Freddie Prinze Jr. when Britney Spears had appeared at his side.
"Aren't you going to introduce me, Freddie?" She asked, sweetly.
Freddie tried to hold down a grimace at her voice, but smiled back. "Brit, this is Taylor Watson. Her family owns the restaurant. Taylor, Britney Spears."
"Nice to meet you," Taylor said, extending her hand.
Britney accepted it, and Freddie took this chance to slip away. "Watson? I remember a friend of mine stayed here with a couple of friends by that last name."
"Really? Maybe I know them."
"Well," She giggled, "he's actually my boyfriend. Justin Timberlake?" Taylor froze at the mention of Justin's name.
"Justin Timberlake is your boyfriend?" She asked, numb.
"Yes! He's such a dreamboat, isn't he?" Britney asked her, her eyes dreamy.
"Oh yeah," Taylor said dryly.
"There he is now!" Britney squealed happily. "if you'll excuse me?"
"Of course." Taylor answered politely, watching Britney as she made her way through the crowd to Justin. He looked as gorgeous as ever, she thought, and looked as if he hadn't had thought about her as much as she had thought about him. She clenched her hands. Danny had come to check up on her, and immediately asked her to dance when he had seen her looking at Justin.
JC didn't know how he was supposed to react when he saw Mikayla. He and didn't know how the hell he was supposed to react when he saw her dancing with Littrell. The two of them seemed to be particularly close, he noted, watching them continually talk and laugh as they danced. She seemed well, and looked beautiful in that black dress of hers. For a minute, she seemed to have seen him and he thought he had capture her gaze, but a second later she moved her eyes back to Littrell.
What the heck was she doing dancing with that guy? He thought. Didn't she even care about him a little bit? But at that last thought, he realized how hypocritical he was being. He had been the one to leave without saying goodbye, and he had been the one who had never called to talk, because he had been to afraid to hear what she thought of him.
"Justin!" Justin groaned inwardly when Britney's annoying voice called his name.
"Hi Brit." He said, forcing a smile. He ignored the rest of the guys, where were unsuccessfully trying to hide their smirks. She laced her arm through his, and he cringed.
"I was just telling this girl that we were a couple," She told him. "I think you know her."
"Really?" He asked, trying to sound interested, "who is she?"
"Oh, her name was Taylor something. I'm not even sure." Britney laughed, flicking her wrist.
"What?" Justin asked, his eyes narrowing. "She's here?" He roughly pulled his arm away from Britney and scanned the restaurant, searching for Taylor's face. He hadn't thought she would be there that night. He finally spotted her on the dance floor, dancing with her cousin. Determined, he headed over towards her.
"And so we tossed Nick out of the dressing room in his underwear," Brian laughed, ending his story.
"Really? I bet he must have been mad!" Mikayla said, trying to look stern but failing as her grin shined through. She had decided to stop looking at JC, and Brian's jokes and stories weren't making that very difficult.
"He was, but there was nothing he could do back then since he was smaller. Now, he'd try to sit on us if we did something like that," Brian replied, gesturing towards Nick, who was at least six feet tall, and by far the largest Backstreet Boy. Their third dance ended.
"You want to go and sit down for a little while?" Brian suggested, "we can always come back."
"Okay." They headed to Brian's table and took a seat. Mikayla sneaked a peek at JC, who was talking to some middle-aged men at one table. He seemed to sense her gaze, and looked right back at her. His eyes seemed to be trying to tell her something, but she couldn’t decipher the message.