Chapter 16: I’ll Never Break Your Heart
I didn’t say much for the next few minutes. After all that back in the courtyard, my head was spinning. Howie and I went inside and Joined Leighanne and AJ. I showed Leighanne my new locket while AJ teased Howie and I mercilessly about disappearing. AJ was kind of a funny guy. It was nice to get a chance to talk to him without that fuck head of a friend standing next to him. Speaking of, where the hell was Nick anyway? I hadn’t seen him yet.
Ya know? It’s funny how your brain will think something and then all the sudden it happens, as if you willed it to be, or something. I sure as hell didn’t mean for Nick to appear behind me right as I thought about him, but that’s what happened. Almost the instant I wondered where he was, he was there, and he was asking me to dance. “Excuse me?” I said trying not to laugh.
I could see a hint of annoyance in his face, and frankly that brought a smile to my lips, but he was holding out his hand my direction. I think he was being serious. “You’re not scared are ya?” He spat as if calling me to a challenge.
“I just don’t feel like getting molested tonight, thanks.”
I looked around the table to see AJ failing at an attempt to stifle a laugh, but it was the look on Howie’s face that startled me. He was smiling but his eyes seemed sad. He urged me with just a look to accept Nick’s offer. I couldn’t believe that Howie would want me to have to dance with that man, but he did. Dancing with Nick wasn’t exactly high up on my list of priorities but if it was important to Howie then I figured it wouldn’t kill me.
AJ and Leighanne watched us with curious eyes. Howie’s face brightened as I slowly placed my hand in Nick’s and he pulled me too my feet. As he led me to the dance floor I glanced back to Howie one more time almost like a plea for help but he nodded his approval.
When we reached the middle of the floor Nick pulled me into his arms. God it felt… strange. Foreign…Wrong. It was the opposite of what dancing with Howie was like. I looked up at Nick and I could see that he was feeling just as awkward as me. “What’d you do?” I asked, “Lose a bet?”
Nick’s jaw clenched slightly and his eyes narrowed at my comment. For an instant I felt bad because he was working very hard to not say something rude. Maybe I shoulda been nice, I mean he was trying to be civil I guess, but I’ve never been good at letting go of grudges. I’m too fucking proud. I’m also a bit of a bitch sometimes, but hey? I’m not the one who claims I’m “amazing”.
“No.” he finally said swallowing an insult, “I didn’t lose a bet. I just thought that we should at least try to get along, for the others’ sake.”
“Thinking huh? Don’t hurt yourself.”
Damnit! There I go again. So much for being nice. “Shit woman!” Nick grumbled, “Dou have a chemical imbalance or something?”
“Sorry.” I spat sarcastically.
“Look, I owe you an apology ok?”
“Several actually.”
Nick grunted in frustration and I figured he’d had enough torture. I was about to back down and cut him a little slack when he said, “I don’t get you! Howie’s a really smart guy. He’s always been sensible when it comes to women. And then there’s Brian! He adores you. Usually he’s a really great judge of character but I can’t figure out what either of them sees in such foul-mouthed sarcastic bitch.”
“And I don’t understand how such kind and humble men can be best friends with such an arrogant ass hole!” It was the strangest conversation to be having while you were dancing but we didn’t stop. We kept twirling.
“You’re unbelievable!”
“Me? You were the dick first!”
We were about ready to start a brawl right then and there, when a hand was placed on both our shoulders. We were both startled by it and surprised to see AJ smirking at us. “From over there it looked like you two were about to kill each other. Nicky, would it be all right if I cut in?” he asked.
“Fuck AJ, I’d pay you to take her from me! This bitch is impossible!”
“Your friend’s a fucking bastard!” I said to AJ as Nick stormed off to the table where Leighanne was now sitting with her husband.
I was angry but the strong pair of arms holding me close was quickly calming me down. AJ was laughing and I knew it was at my expense but for some reason it didn’t bother me all that much. Guess I used all my anger up on my previous dance partner. “Seriously, I don’t understand how y’all are such good friends with him.”
“Well it’s kind of like the way we all like you so much.”
AJ laughed when he saw the look on my face. “You two are a lot alike.” He chuckled.
“Excuse me?”
AJ momentarily stepped back with his hands in the air, “Don’t kick my ass or anything.” He said and when it was clear that I wasn’t going to hurt him, at least for the moment, he pulled me back into his arms. “I just mean that you’re both really stubborn.”
I shrugged. He was probably right there. “And prideful.” He continued, “And aggressive.”
“Aggressive?” I questioned and he gave me a playfully dangerous look.
If I didn’t know better I would think he was thinking about – “If we left the two of you alone for too long you’d either kill each other or have a good romp.”
Shit! Don’t blush! Don’t blush! God! If he only knew! I can’t say it was good but there was definitely some “romping” going on the last time we were left alone together. Whatever I did, I couldn’t freak out. I had a feeling that of all of them AJ would be the one to see right through me and figure out what happened and I absolutely didn’t want that! “A good romp, huh?” I teased trying to keep my cool. “So that’s where your mind is.”
AJ grinned and then gave his head a shake. “Can you blame me?”
I looked AJ up and down, and not subtly. I smirked remembering that’s what I’d been thinking about since the first time I saw him. “I guess not.”
We had a good laugh until he said, “If only my best friend wasn’t madly in love with you…”
Well he said it in a teasing way, and I knew what he meant, but I just couldn’t make myself laugh. Madly in love… Could Howie really be “madly in love”? I guess so, I mean, I’m pretty sure that’s where I was heading, if I wasn’t there already. But for some reason hearing him say it like that made my stomach jump. I practically flinched at the words and my face became heated. I tried to cover up my reaction but all that did was tense the muscles in my body and AJ felt my grip of him tighten. He immediately stopped laughing. Good one Cin! He was staring at me with questioning eyes. What? A girl can’t get a little nervous sometimes? “I sure hope you’re not talking about Blondie.” I said with a nervous laugh hoping AJ would move on.
No fucking luck. “Howie’s been my friend for over a decade.” He started. Oh great! Here comes a lecture. “Trust me when I say it’s a little more than casual for him. So if you’re not serious, you should tell him that.”
What was I supposed to say to that? Was I just supposed to spill all my feelings? AJ’s practically a stranger. Yeah, I was serious about Howie. I was seriously contemplating moving to Florida for him. I shrugged not knowing what to say. I forced an awkward smile. “Look, I’m just saying that because you seem like the type of girl that…”
The type of girl that what? AJ stumbled for a moment trying to choose his words carefully. I was beginning to wonder if he was a little more like Nick than I thought. “Well I can imagine that you go through relationships a lot like I do.” He finally said.
Ok, that wasn’t so bad. In fact I’m sure he was right and I’m sure that Howie didn’t have that in common with the two of us. Suddenly I understood what he was getting at and I smirked. He was looking out for Howie as if he was his fucking little sister or something. It was kind of cute in a really weird sort of way. Just how close were these guys?
“You’re right, I do.” I finally admitted. “Yet I’m standing here in the arms of a fine-ass mother fucker who, under normal circumstances, I would have run off to a supply closet with by now, but I’m wishing it was Howie who was holding me.”
AJ gave me an understanding smile. I think he looked a little relieved by my answer and you know the weird thing was I felt a little relieved to admit it. After AJ gave us his blessing and I promised not to break his best friend’s heart, our dance came to an end and we made our way back to the table to join the rest of our party.
I found my seat between Howie and Leighanne just as dinner was served. I wasn’t expecting to like all the fancy looking shit that was placed in front of me but most of it was excellent. There was this shrimp something or other in some kind of cream sauce that was to fucking die for.
As we ate our dinner that night I couldn’t help but sit back and take a good look at what was going on around me. I was having an elegant dinner dressed like a fucking princess sitting next to a man I was pretty sure I’d fallen in love with. Was this a fairy tale or the Twilight Zone? Everything about the moment went against everything I’d known my entire life and these people were practically strangers. The term fish out of water was the fucking understatement of the year and yet as I looked around the table at all the happy faces I smiled. Something about it just felt right.
Fairy tale, the answer was fairy tale, not the Twilight Zone.
I must have been in a daze for a moment because Howie grabbed my hand under the table and gave it a gentle squeeze. I was startled back to the present and looked over to see Howie smiling at me with concern. “Everything ok?” he whispered quietly.
God I was done for! I swallowed a lump in my throat and fought back a few surprise tears. I gazed into his entrancing eyes again and squeezed his hand tightly back. “Everything’s perfect.” I whispered, and I meant it. I glanced around once more and tried not to wrinkle my nose too much when I saw Nick sitting across the table for me. Well, 99 percent perfect anyway, but I could live with that.
As they brought out dessert Brian excused himself. “Speech time.” He announced rolling his eyes yet he was grinning as if he loved the spotlight. I could see that in him.
Brian spoke to the group for a while talking about the charity and the various things they’d accomplished. I was surprised at how well he did in front of an audience. “You husband’s quite the charmer.” I whispered to Leighanne. “He’s funny.”
“I use the term goofball.” Leighanne laughed.
As Brian’s lecture came to an end he called Nick, AJ and Howie up to join him in the spotlight. “He promised us a nice relaxing evening.” AJ addressed the crowd when he was handed a mic. “He never said anything about putting us to work.”
The audience laughed and it appeared I was the only one in the room that didn’t know what was going on. I watched curiously as they were all handed microphones and I didn’t put it together until Leighanne literally spelled it out for me. “You guys knew you weren’t getting out of here without a song.”
“A song?” I asked.
I don’t know what I said but Leighanne’s eyes nearly popped from her head. “You mean, you don’t know?” she said utterly shocked.
“Know what?”
“You don’t know who they are?”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
I would have thought she was just messing with me, but the reaction was just too genuine. Leighanne pointed at the guys with a confused look. “You mean none of them told you? This whole time?”
“Told me what?” I asked beginning to get annoyed.
A wicked grin spread across Leighanne’s face. “I think you’re gonna like this.” she said making herself comfortable in her chair.
I followed her eyes back to the guys. “Like what?” I asked just as the music started.
Leighanne just giggled and watched her husband dreamily as he practically made love to her through the microphone. He sounded incredible. All of them did! All I could do was watch curiously and then when AJ took over the lead vocals I remembered the song in the restaurant. “I knew that was his voice!” I said more to myself than anyone.
Leighanne giggled again. “Fun isn’t it?”
I have to admit, it was kind of fun to watch them up there. Even Nick didn’t seem so bad at the moment. When the song ended I joined everyone in a round of applause. They guys took a bow and then began setting their microphones down. Howie’s eyes met mine before he put his down and he stopped. He put the mic back to his lips and said, “Uh, guys?”
Everyone looked at him and he grinned. God he was so cute. “I kind of feel like doing one more.”
The other guys looked at him curiously and he turned to the room. “What do you guys think? Should we sing one more?”
The people cheered and the guys resumed their places in front of the room. “Howie’s in the mood to sing.” Brian said shrugging his shoulders dramatically.
Howie winked my direction and the act didn’t go unnoticed by Nick. His eyes began to flip back and forth between me and Howie and his face lit up like he had an idea. What the fuck was that fucker gonna do? I felt my heart race as Nick playfully moseyed over to Howie and threw an arm over his shoulder. If I didn’t dislike the guy so much I might have thought the act was kind of cute. As it was, I was just worried. “You know, it’s usually Brian that can’t ever seem to stop singing…” he said really turning up the charm for the audience.
“That’s true.” Brian agreed with a giggle.
“And what do you always tell me when I ask you why that is?”
Brian grinned and threw his arm around Howie’s other shoulder. I think at that point Howie was as confused as the audience. He had this look on his face that kind of seemed like he knew he was about to get it but didn’t know what he’d done. “Well Nick,” Brian drawled, “I’m just so crazy in love that I can’t help bursting into song.”
I think Howie and I realized where this was headed at the same time. His cheeks began to turn pink and I sank low in my chair hoping to whatever God Brian seemed to always be praying to, that they were not going to point me out or shine a spotlight onmes or some shit. “Love?” Nick repeated accusing Howie with a single look. “Could it be that our little Latin Lover has fallen victim to his own game?”
All eyes were on Howie now, including mine. Even though I already knew it, I found myself dying to hear the answer. Howie forced a small laugh and glared into the faces of the men that were practically holding him hostage for an answer. “Did you ever stop to think that maybe I just enjoy singing?” he said.
There was silence for a moment and then AJ, Brian and Nick simultaneously burst into laughter. They were nearly rolling on the floor while Howie stood frozen on stage, the redness in his face continuing to deepen. He looked fucking guilty as charged. “Millions of hearts the world over are breaking right now.” Brian teased.
AJ had now pushed his way between Nick and Howie in order to join in on the fun. “So Loveryboy?” he snickered, “Was there a certain song you had in mind? Something you wanted to sing for a certain senorita?”
From where I was sitting it looked like Howie was glaring daggers at AJ but I couldn’t be sure. Then he scanned the sea of intrigued faces looking every direction but mine. Poor bastard. I would not want to be in his shoes right then. “I think you mean a princess.” Nick said to AJ and then directed the spotlight to Leighanne and I.
FUCK!
“Everyone say hi to Howie’s new woman.” Nick said and then flashed a fucking smirk the size of Texas my direction. “Come on Cindy, honey, stand up and take a bow. Howie wants us to sing a song to ya. So how about it? Any requests?”
He waited for an answer but I didn’t give him one. Aside from the fact that I was frozen dead in the spotlight and fucking pissed, I didn’t have a request. I didn’t know who they fucking were, much less the names of any of their fucking songs. I don’t know if Leighanne realized my predicament or if she could just feel the anger and embarrassment radiating off of me, but she stepped in like a fucking guardian angel and put a stop to the torture. “Nicky?” she said earning the attention of everyone in the room.
She smiled at me and I just looked at her hoping she could see the gratitude behind my stare. “I have a request.” She said with a giggle. “I wanna hear my husband sing, I’ll Never Break Your Heart.”
Brian didn’t miss a beat. “You know I won’t Baby!” He said receiving a few laughs.
“I love you honey.” Leighanne laughed and the guys all took their places.
The light was once again pointed up front, thank GOD! “Thank you.” I whispered to Leighanne.
“They spend so much time in the spotlight that they sometimes forget how scary it is.” Leighanne said apologetically.
Too bad that ass hole knew exactly what he was doing the whole fucking time. If I wasn’t wearing a dress that probably cost more than I’d ever see in a lifetime, I would have kicked the shit out of the fucker right then. I’d say remind me to do it later, but a reminder won’t be necessary. I can’t wait to get my hands on the little bastard.
I sat in my chair fuming until the moment they started singing and I recognized the song instantly. My hand found it’s way to the locket around my neck and a smile crept into my eyes. I looked at Howie who’d had his eyes on me for while now and my anger vanished. Everything vanished. The entire world was shut out in an instant and it was just Howie and I, and he was singing promises to me that I knew he intended to keep. I was so pulled into his world that I didn’t hear Leighanne’s phone ring. I didn’t notice when she answered it and I never heard the fear in her voice. I didn’t know what was going on until she was shaking my arm and shoving the phone in my face. “It’s your mother.” She said with desperation.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Woot! Finally! I updated something! Go me! -lol SOOOOO, If you haven't had the chance to see it yet, be sure to check out the new fanfic series 00Carter!!! We've finally launched the web site and the first episode is posted! I'm having a blast working on it! chech it out!
http://www.dreamers-sanctuary.com/00carter
oh, and... enjoy the new chapter! :)
http://www.dreamers-sanctuary.com/00carter
oh, and... enjoy the new chapter! :)
