"Are we watchin' a movie tonight?" Justin asked, leaning on Chris' doorframe. Chris tore his gaze from what he was typing and looked at him, somewhat dazed.
"Huh?"
"Tonight? Movie?" Justin prodded.
"Sure. Call Joey. I think he might have plans." His focus was already back on the laptop. With a sly smile, Justin went to find JC and Lance.
"No, I'm staying in," Joey said when Justin called. "What movie?"
"Does it matter?"
"No," Joey laughed. "Not at all."
"Great! Call Marissa and Anika and tell them you'll pick them up."
"You called them?" Joey asked.
"No. Saw them at dinner with Mom." He smirked. "Chris is writing. All he knows is that we're watching a movie tonight."
Joey chuckled. "We'll be there shortly."
Justin hung up. "Are you going to want food?" Lynn asked him.
He turned and smiled. "When don't we?"
Anika and Marissa waited in the lobby for Joey, pleasantly weary. "It's been a good day," Marissa murmured.
"Definitely," Anika agreed. "There he is."
They left the hotel and climbed into the suburban. "Hello, ladies. Justin said he met you at dinner," Joey said.
"Considering the size of this city and how few of you there are, not to mention that you shouldn't be out much, we didn't think we'd see you again until Friday," Marissa said.
Joey snickered. "That's not likely."
"We're beginning to see that," Anika said with a smile.
Justin was on the porch when they pulled up, and he waved as they got out. "I'm going to kill him," Marissa groaned as they walked to the front door. "I didn't want to walk any more."
"That's easily fixed," Joey said, and gently took her elbow to stop her. She turned to look at him, and he scooped her up. She shrieked in surprise as he lifted her off her feet, cradled in his arms.
"That's not exactly what I had in mind," she told him as he strode up the stairs and past Justin, into the house. Joey gently set her down on the couch, and she buried her burning face in her hands. "I'm such a dweeb," she mumbled.
Joey sat next to her with a grin, and lay an arm across her shoulder. "Maybe, but a cute dweeb," he said. She elbowed him in the ribs and laughed.
Halfway down the stairs, Chris heard the laugh and stopped. "Oh, no, no way," he muttered, then someone propelled him the rest of the way down the stairs and into the TV room. He was completely unprepared for the jealousy that stabbed through him at the sight of Joey and Marissa sitting cozily on the couch.
"Hey, Anika!" he heard JC behind him, and he turned to see his friend hug the petit girl. He felt a stab of envy, seeing them together.
"Hey, Chris," Marissa said, pulling his attention back around to her.
"Hi," he managed. "Welcome."
She flushed slightly. "Thanks. What are we watching?"
He shrugged. "I was writing when Justin asked."
"We don't know yet," Joey said, and got up to look through the video cabinet. Marissa slipped off the couch and stretched out on the floor, sighing a little as she got comfortable. Lance stepped over her and sat on the couch, and JC and Anika joined him.
"Writing what?" Anika asked abruptly, watching Chris. He glanced at her.
"Huh?"
"You said you were writing," she repeated patiently. "What were you writing?"
"Oh." He sat down in the chair and relaxed a little. "Music. Songs."
"Do a lot of that?" Marissa asked from the floor.
"Yeah." It crossed his mind that it was refreshing that she didn't know a lot about him already. What were the odds? He pushed the thought away.
"Cool. Writing songs is something I can't do at all." She turned to smile up at him. "That's really cool."
"Thanks," Chris said, oddly pleased.
"All right, what are we watching?" Joey asked.
"Blade?" Lance suggested.
"Oh, that'd be cool," Marissa said. "Are you a closet Vampire fan?"
"Closet vampire fan?" Justin repeated, incredulous.
"No," Lance told her.
"Oh." She lay her head down again.
"Blade okay with everyone?" Joey asked. There was no dissenting vote, so he stuck it in and started it. Lights went out around the room.
JC couldn't keep his mind on the movie. He'd seen it plenty of times, anyway. Ever since their shopping trip, he hadn't been able to get the vision of Anika in that green dress out of his head. She'd looked really good in it. It didn't help, either, that she was snuggled next to him, eyes wide as she watched the movie. He hadn't really paid much attention to either woman until Chris had blown up at Marissa, and he'd wound up talking to Anika as a screening process. Her fierce protection of her friend had caught his attention, once he'd had a chance to think about it.
She squeaked and nestled closer; he slipped his arm around her and smiled. She was a nice woman, and that was good for him right now. And who knew what the future held.
Marissa hadn't moved for the last fifteen minutes when Chris stepped past her to grab a snack from the kitchen. He paused, then knelt by her. "Marissa?" he asked softly. She didn't respond. "Hey, JC. Give me that blanket behind you."
Anika giggled a little as JC grabbed the blanket and gave it to him. Chris lay it gently over Marissa, and went on into the kitchen. Joey went after him, peeking over his shoulder as he looked for a drink. "What do you want?" Chris asked.
"Um... That cream soda. Grab me one?" Joey said innocently. Chris glanced at him, then handed it over. "Thanks." He popped it open and took a drink, and started back. Chris watched him go, then turned his attention to the fridge.
"You okay, Psycho?"
He started and his head met the top of the fridge. Wincing, he turned to scowl at Justin, rubbing the back of his head, and closed the fridge. "I was until you said something."
"You're preoccupied."
Chris snorted. "As if you hadn't complained about it before, J. The stupid song isn't coming easy."
Justin nodded. "Need help?"
Chris sighed and leaned against the fridge door. "No. I'm gonna let it sit for a while. I just might not make that dead line." He grinned. "Oh, well. There will be another time." He opened the fridge again, grabbed blindly at something, and started back to the movie. Justin shook his head and followed.
"Are you sure she's okay?" Marissa heard someone ask as she slowly became aware of her surroundings.
"Yes. She's just tired," Anika's familiar voice said. Marissa shifted and pushed the blanket away groaning a little, then she stretched.
"Life, there's life! She's alive! Bwahahaha!" Joey announced.
"Ugh. Thanks." Marissa ran her hand through her hair and sat up. "Is the movie over?"
"Yep. You slept right through it," Justin said, nudging her with his foot. "You and JC have got to be related."
"Nope, I'm a pure bred commoner," she said, and reached up in Joey's direction. "Help me up?" He pulled her to her feet, and she straightened her clothes a little. "Dang it," she muttered, pouting slightly. "I wanted to see that movie."
"Maybe another time," Justin said, without thought.
Marissa laughed. "Like when?"
He looked stumped. "Nice try," Chris grinned, clapping his friend on the shoulder.
"Joey, I'm about to drop," Anika said sleepily. "Can you take us back?"
"Yes. Come this way, your chariot awaits."
The next week passed quickly for both women, helped partially by the fact that they kept running into the guys. Marissa was fairly certain that most of the time it was on purpose, but twice they ran into Chris - well, he nearly ran into them on his roller blades - just walking around the city.
"How late does this thing go?" Marissa asked Joey on the phone Thursday evening.
"Depends on how long we want to stay out," he replied. "And even if we leave early, we can go out and stuff. We mostly play it by ear."
"So, go to bed early and take it easy tomorrow?"
He chuckled. "If you can. We'll be in rehearsal."
"Oh, that's right," she said. "Your vacation is over. Well, so is ours."
"That's right," he said, musing. "So it goes. We'll be there to pick you up around 5:30."
"Okay. I'm off to bed, then. Night, Joey."
He laughed. "Good night."
"Well?" Anika asked as she hung up.
"They'll be here at 5:30, and it goes until we're done." She shrugged. "I'm thinking I'll go to sleep early."
"We have appointments tomorrow, right?" Anika asked.
"Yeah, we'll be done by 4:30. Then we can get dressed." Marissa flopped down on the bed. "Let's go get in the hot tub for a while and relax."
Anika grinned. "I'm there. Let's go."
The evening flew; they slept late and took the day slowly. They were ready by the time Joey and JC arrived.
Anika opened the door and stared in disbelief. "Wow," she gasped. "Um. Come in."
Marissa came out of the bathroom, struggling with her earring. "Is that them?" she asked, and looked up. "Whoa, who are you and what did you do with Joey Fatone?" she asked, and smiled. "You guys look awesome."
Joey cleared his throat. "Thank you. You ladies look..." He paused, searching for a word.
"Lovely doesn't quite cover it, does it?" JC asked. "Are you ready?"
Anika flushed and nodded. He offered her his arm and she took it, still speechless. Marissa, after realizing that Anika was very dazed, found the room key. She took Joey's proffered arm, and they followed JC and Anika.
She was surprised to see a nice Sedan, and she glanced at Joey. "What, you expected the Suburban?" he asked.
Marissa blushed. "Well, it had crossed my mind," she said.
"Lance and Chris are already there," he told her, "and Justin went with his date. I didn't think you'd like it in JC's open Jeep, so we're in my car. It's a little classier."