Marissa, on Joey's arm, hesitated as they stepped into the ballroom.
"You're sure it's okay that we're here?" she asked softly.
"Yes, I'm sure," he told her. Anika and JC stepped up next to them, and Anika gave her a tense smile.
"Relax," JC said. "These things are a breeze."
"Did you think so your first time?" Marissa asked.
"He doesn't remember his first time," Joey said with an amused glance at his friend. "I didn't my first time. But by the end of the night, we were all fine with it."
"Sure, but you were there because of who you were," Anika said. "You belonged. We...."
"Belong as well," JC said firmly. "Dance or drink first?"
She smiled. "Drink, please."
"And for you?" Joey asked Marissa as the other two swept off.
Marissa grinned nervously at him. "You tell me."
"There you are," Lance said, joining them. "You look lovely."
"Hi," Marissa said.
"Thank you," Joey said with a half bow.
Lance scowled at him. "You couldn't look lovely, Joe. It goes against all my upbringing."
Joey grinned. "Yeah, I know...."
"Do we have a home base yet?" Marissa asked.
"This way." Lance ushered them to a table with a small card that said "*N Sync and guests'.
"Oh, hey, they included us," she said, noting with a smile that the 'and guests' had been added in pen. She set her purse on a chair.
"Of course they did," Joey said, sounding almost affronted. Then he turned to Lance. "Who's here?"
"Justin and Trish showed up earlier." Lance shuddered. "She hasn't changed at all. Chris is here somewhere."
Joey nodded. "And JC and Anika came with us. Who else?"
Lance grinned. "What am I, your press correspondent?" he teased. "I noticed Britney around; Kevin Richardson is here at least, but I didn't notice anyone else. Lot's of high ups; I think Lou came, and Johnny and Donna are here somewhere."
Joey nodded. "Great. Thanks." He turned to Marissa. "You want a drink?"
"Root beer, thanks." she said.
"Don't have it." Lance smiled apologetically. "Just Coke, Diet Coke, and Sprite, if you don't want anything harder."
Marissa scowled. "That's gotta suck for you and Justin," she said. "And me. Um... Orange Juice with some Sprite in it?" she asked.
"I'll see what I can do," Joey said, and left.
"You're nervous, aren't you?" Lance asked.
"Yes." She glanced down. "Are you sure this dress is okay?"
He chuckled a little. "Yes. It's perfect." She looked at him, almost disbelieving, and he pulled a chair out and had her sit down. "Riss, you don't have a lot of experience with formal stuff, do you?" he asked, sitting next to her.
She scowled faintly at him, and shook her head. "Not since prom, and that was a long time ago."
"Okay. Be nice, be polite, and learn all you can."
Marissa laughed. "Where did you get that?"
He shrugged. "Justin's mom, actually. She's a smart lady." He tilted his head to the side. "Would you like to dance?"
She took a deep breath. "Maybe something so mundane as dancing would be a good thing," she said, and took his offered arm.
When Joey got back to the table with Marissa's drink, he was surprised to find it deserted. Her purse was in one seat, so she'd be back. He'd just decided to set the drink down when a petite woman stepped up to him, calmly took the juice from his hand, and took a sip. She gave it back with a smile. "Sorry," she said in a light voice. "I just needed a drink. Thanks." She turned and walked away, leaving him stunned.
She was a couple of tables away before he realized it, and went after her. He caught her fairly quickly, and tapped her shoulder. She turned and smiled at him. "Yes?"
"Here." He gave her Marissa's drink. "I'm not sure she'd appreciate having this now, with your lipstick on it."
"Oh." She took the glass, and set it gently down on the tray of a passing waiter. Joey just stared at her.
"Why did you give that away?"
She smiled. "I took the sip just to catch your attention. Did it work?"
"Yes. Although, to be honest, that dress would have done it. You look great." He nearly hit himself on the head. ‘Great? You could have at least said lovely!'
She gave him an appraising look. "Really? Well, if the dress got you to talk to me, I'll have to wear it more often."
He lifted an eyebrow. "Are you from Orlando?"
She shook her head. "No. But I'll be here for the next two weeks, and I can wear this dress a lot in that time. Care to give me a reason?" she added coyly.
He grinned. "I think I can come up with something."
She offered her hand. "By the way, I'm Clara."
He took her hand, and raised it gently to his lips. "Joe Fatone. Nice to meet you, Clara." She flushed slightly, and pulled her hand from his. "Care to dance?" He offered his elbow, thanking Lance silently for his lessons in dancing etiquette.
"No, I don't dance. Not even a little bit."
It surprised him, and he looked stumped. "Why not?"
"Because I'm sure you value having feeling in your toes."
Joey laughed. "You couldn't possibly do any more damage than some of my friends." His thoughts turned immediately to both Lance and Chris. "Please?" He gave her his patented pleading puppy dog eyes.
"Don't say I didn't warn you..." she said, grinned slowly, and took his offered arm.
Joey smiled cheerfully and lead her onto the floor. "Where are you from, Clara?" he asked, pulling her gently into standard dance position, one hand on her waist, the other holding hers.
"Some where far far away," she told him.
"Does this far far away have a name?
"Yes. Portland." She grinned. "So, Mr. Joe Fatone, where are you from?"
"Here in Orlando. I know some people from Portland, but I also know just how big that place is."
"Who do you know?" she ask, sounding intrigued. He noticed rather belatedly that she hadn't stepped on his toes once, but didn't say anything.
"Well..." He turned and pointed to where Anika was dancing with JC. "That's Anika, and... that's Marissa, who's drink you took." He pointed her out, where she was dancing with Lance. So that's where'd they'd gone! He was going to have to thank Lance later for that.
She frowned slightly. "So you and Marissa are... going out?" she asked, almost hesitantly.
Joey laughed. "Hardly. I asked her on a date, and she told me nothing would happen because I was too young. She's here to accompany Lance, Chris and I. JC brought his own date, and so did Justin." He pointed Justin out to her, noticing that he wasn't dancing with Trish. Where had she gone? And who was that?
"Ohhh. I see. So there's enough of you to share?" She certainly seemed happier with that.
"And to spare, I'm sure," he grinned, not entire sure what she meant by it. "What brings you to Orlando?"
"This benefit. My dad was supposed to be here instead, but some things came up and he handed me the ticket. He's been trying to get me to take a vacation for months now."
Joey looked interested. "I wish we had people looking out for us like that. We have to fight tooth and nail for vacations. So you're here on your own?"
"Yes, for now at least. My parents might join me in a week or so." She tilted her head up at him, confused. "What do you do that has you fighting tooth and nail for vacations?"
"We had the last four weeks off, and had to threaten everyone not to book us for anything." He grinned a little evilly as he realized he had totally misheard her question. "What exactly do you know about this benefit?"
"I know that my dad told me I'd like it. And that some bands are supposed to perform. That's about it. Why?" she asked warily.
Joey relaxed a little. "Just curious. How do you like Florida?"
Clara smiled. "It's a lot warmer than Portland, that's for sure."
"So Marissa and Anika tell me. Is that good or bad?"
"A little of both, I guess. I like the cold weather, it reminds me of, well, some things." She flushed faintly again, and he decided she looked charming when she did that.
"Like what?" he asked gently.
"I don't want to bore you." She smiled a little, and he decided she was just as enchanting when she smiled.
"Right now, you don't have a prayer. Please, tell me."
"Oh, it's just little things. Like when my dad first taught me to ski, and my first snow day from school. Small things, but happy memories." There was a quiet lilt to her voice, and he leaned his head down a little to catch her words.
"Yeah. I get homesick sometimes." He laughed. "Not that it snows much in Orlando, but snow brings back memories."
"Now it's my turn," she said with a smile, the nostalgia gone from her voice. "Like what?"
"Like snowball fights with my brother and sister, and hearing mom trying not to curse while navigating the streets. She hates to drive."
"So does my sister. She makes it seem like such a chore..." She laughed a little.
"Mom loves to drive," he said, not even realizing he'd just contradicted him self. "Just not in New York City."
"My sister just hates to drive. Period."
Joey grinned. "That is her loss."
"No, it's more like mine, cause who do you think has to drive her everywhere?"
He nodded. "Are you older or younger?"
"Five years older," she said.
"Really? How old is she?"
"Seventeen," she told him. He paused a minute, trying to calculate it all out, and smiled to himself. Not bad on the age thing....
"So, what do you do, that your father has to force you to take a vacation?"
"I work," she said. "Quite hard, in fact."
He chuckled. "Doing what?"
"I teach second grade, if you must know."
Joey paused a minute. "Second grade? Wow... But doesn't that mean you get summers off?" She thought she detected a bit of wistfulness in his voice.
"Yeah, normally. Sometimes I get stuck in summer school though." She shrugged it off.
"But not this year?"
"Most definitely this year. We have two sessions, and are in between one right now. So here I am!" She laughed and twirled around, breaking his hold on her. As soon as she stopped, he recaptured her. She was excited, and he wondered how long she'd been teaching. Remember that question, Fatone, he thought to himself.
"So, there's a two week break, and your dad sent you to Florida." He nodded with a grin. "I like your dad."
"I like my dad too, but shh, don't let that get out. I fought with everything I had against coming here..."
He tilted his head a little. "Why's that?"
"Because I didn't want to come."
"Why not? Florida is wonderful! Nice weather, great beaches, tons of stuff to do, me...."
"Maybe I was scared that I'd run into someone like you..." Clara hinted, and laughed a bit.
Joey gasped in mock disgust. "Maybe I should just leave you standing on the dance floor!" he said, but didn't let go. He knew better than that.
"Kidding... Kidding, dear Joey."
"Yeah, yeah," he grumbled, but ended up smiling anyway.
"Seriously though, I didn't want to come because I had made plans with some people that I wasn't in the mood to break."
"What plans?"
"You really want to know?"
Her question mystified him. "Why wouldn't I?"
"Just wanted to make sure. A friend of mine was supposed to fly in from California."
"Ouch. So are they here? he, she, it?"
"He couldn't come at the last minute. A group needed him in Cali."
Joey's eyebrows went up. "A he. What group, and what does he do in California?"
"Ben, that's his name, is a song writer. Some group needed some songs, so he decided to stay."
That peaked his interest. "Did he say who?"
"Yeah, but I forgot." She thought a minute.
He shrugged. "Ben, eh?" He got confused. "I don't know anyone over there who'd be looking for songs...." Time to end that subject. "How long have you been teaching?"
"Something... Boys, I think," she blurted.
Joey choked. "In California?"
"Yeah. Why?"
"Backstreet Boys, maybe?" What would they be doing in California?
"Yeah, that sounds about right. You know them or something?"
Joey nodded. "Yeah, I do." He started looking around.
Clara looked confused. "Who or what are you looking for, Joey?"
"Kev, I just saw him...." He shrugged. "Never mind. You never did tell me how long you'd been teaching."
"For a while. A whole two years.... Before that I worked with Ben."
That confused him. "Chris' sister is getting her teaching degree. When did you graduate from high school?"
"When I was 16. I was home schooled." she paused. "She is? What college is she at?"
"Hrumph. Don't tell Justin that. He was tutored and it took him forever. I think he even graduated late." He paused. "Um... you know, I haven't got a clue. Somewhere in Pennsylvania, I think."
"I don't know either. And I won't mention that to Justin, assuming I'm going to meet him. Why was he tutored?" Neither really noticed the change in song, and Joey never saw the amazed faces of his group mates every time they looked in his direction.
"Busy doing other stuff. We lived in Germany for a while." He shrugged a little. "What made you decide to be a teacher?"
"I always liked little kids, so I decided to teach. Why'd you live in Germany?"
Joey laughed. "I like little kids, and nothing in this world would ever convince me to be a teacher. You must be a saint!"
"No, I just have a lot of patience with little kids. And I like them. They're so.... honest."
"Ah, which in my terms means saint." He nodded. "Honest. You should have seen Taylor's reaction to my hair. She went and hid."
"Who's Taylor? And your hair isn't that bad. It just needs a little getting used too."
"Chris' littlest sister. She's... six? And she wasn't used to it." He chuckled. "She's still not entirely sure how to take it."
"Oh. That's cool. Do I get to meet this Chris? And Justin? And Kevin did you say?"
"Most certainly Chris and Justin. Kevin if I can manage it..." He glanced around, looking for the others. "But I don't see any of them at all right now." He looked back at her and smiled. "Besides, call me selfish, but I'd like to keep you to myself a while longer."
"I'd like to be kept to yourself a little longer, but do you mind if we sit down? We've been dancing for a while... at least."
"Oh, yeah, of course." He offered his arm and escorted her off the floor. "Where's your table?"
"In the back. Where's yours?"
He shrugged. "There." He pointed to an empty table just off the dance floor. "Which means we can't fall asleep while the people are talking." He began to walk her towards her table, where they could see three older couples sitting at it, talking amongst themselves.
"What if I wanted to hear what those people were going to say?" she protested lightly.
"The sound system is good enough to reach back here." He pointed to a spot on the wall, the one Chris had marked with mashed potatoes when they'd found the speakers. "There are speakers there."
"Fine fine fine, if you really want to nap, go ahead. I'll just take your seat up front. 'Cause Joey, dear, there aren't any speakers back here." She looked up at him defiantly. "Get your eyes checked."
"We were back here a couple of years ago. They are there, trust me. We must have investigated every inch of the wall." He paused. "Okay, so it was Chris, but I helped."
"Why were you here then, and now?
He grinned slyly. "That's a surprise."
She pouted. "What if I don't like surprises?"
Joey grinned even wider. "Doesn't matter. I do, and I'm in charge of this one."
She nodded shortly. "Fine. I'll live with one surprise, cause I have one for you, too."
Already? he thought, then got a little worried. "Good surprise or bad one?" he asked warily.
"Not telling."She grinned evilly.
Joey relaxed a little, and grinned. "Very well... but I don't react well to nasty surprises. Just warning you." As long as she was playing, he could do the same. Needed to do the same.
"Should I be worried, or scared?"
He grinned as evilly as she had. "Take your pick."
"Ohhhhh," she said in comprehension. "I think I'd pick worried, or petrified. Oh wait, I know, completely fine with it."
Joey laughed. "That's a good choice." He glanced at the front as the music ended. "And here I must leave you; it's time for dinner. Save me a dance for afterwards?"
"Maybe, if your lucky," she said coyly.
He smiled. "See you then. And I think I'm going to be lucky." He kissed her hand again, seated her in her chair, and left her to the excited comments from the ladies at the table.