She tapped her fingers against the base of the laptop that was sitting on her lap, waiting for the person on the other end to pick up. Her eyes scanned the computer before her, humming along to the pop-oriented song that was coming out of her computer.

Finally someone picked up on the other end and before the person could speak she let them have it. “Dude, it’s about time you pick up! I was about to think you were dead or something, I mean I called you, like, two times! Are you avoiding me or what?”

“Hey, you do realize that I’m busy, right? My life can’t revolve around you,” the person on the other end replied.

“Whatever, bitch, you know I work harder than you. I had three exams today. Three! I swear, college should be a new torture device,” she groaned, scratching her forehead.

“You wanna hear torture. Mr. I-Don’t-Have-a-Girlfriend-So-I’m-Going-To-Make-The-Rest-Of-You-Suffer is torture. He whines and groans all the damn time. I want to punch him in the teeth but then we’d kinda be screwed.”

“Too bad we can’t set him up.” Silence was on the other end. “Oh no, I smell rubber burning. Spill the deets, man. What’s going on in that head?”

“We’re going to be in Atlanta in the next…two days.”

“So?” She lifted an eyebrow, not seeing the point he was making.

“Isn’t that where you are now?” He asked.

“Not for long. Four more days and I’m done with my freshman year, thank God,” she replied.

“Wouldn’t you want a way to celebrate finishing your first year?” He asked, growing even more mysterious by the second.

“Sure,” she shrugged. “I need to blow off some steam.”

“Good. Have a girl’s night out. At a club. With a few of your single friends,” he said, putting emphasis on a few words.

It clicked. “Can you get time off?”

“I’ll make sure we do.”

“Good, I know the perfect girl to bring.”

“Is she a fan?” He asked.

She hesitated but answered. “Yes, but not one of those crazy fourteen-year-old ones that cry and want your babies. She’s great, believe me.”

“I believe you. It’s about time she finds out too. How long have you kept this secret, four years?”

“Yup, which made me realize that she’ll be fine once she finds out. See you in two days.”

“See you, partner-in-crime.”

Mayra sighed and let out a breath as she pushed her feet against the railing, gently rocking herself in the chairs that were scattered along the porch of the Main Building. Has four years really gone by so quickly? She remembered the day she set foot on campus, ready to start a new part of her life and welcome everything that was thrown her way. (Well, not everything, Psychology was a bitch).

The years flew by in a blur that she couldn’t believe that she would be walking across the lawn, graduating the next Saturday. It all felt surreal. She was excited but anxious at the same time. She wanted to stay in that time period forever, where everything was done and she didn’t have to move on into the unknown.

“Hey! Hey, girl guess what? Guess what? Guess what?” a cheery voice broke through her thoughts as a girl ran over to her, excitement coming off of her like a radiator.

“The school decided that you were smart enough to let you graduate with the rest of us so we can move into an apartment together?” Mayra suggested as she watched the girl run up the small set of stairs and drop into the rocking chair next to her, almost falling out of it.

“No.” She paused. “They should, but no.”

“Ok, so what’s gotten my little Mackie so excited?” Mayra asked.

Mack made a face. “I hate it when you call me that?”

Mayra grinned and said cheekily. “It’s the perks of being your ‘big sister’.”

“Yeah yeah,” Mack said with a wave of her hand. “Ok, you know how I’ve been telling you about my friend Justin?”

“Yeah, I remember you don’t say much about him,” Mayra replied, squinting slightly. “Every time I ask about him you change the subject and you won’t even let me see pictures of him or anything.”

“He’s not very photogenic. Anyway, you get to meet him tonight.” Mayra lifted her eyebrows but didn’t say anything. “What?” Mack asked.

“What’s the catch?” Mayra questioned.

“There is no catch. You need a break from studying. I need a break from studying. We’ll have a girl’s night out.”

“Ok, now I know that there’s something wrong with you,” Mayra said, flicking her friend on the arm. “You don’t like going out. You’re like a hermit; you’re locked in your room all the time. The only time you come out is when I have to drag you out, which doesn’t use much effort with how light you are.”

“I’m not the light, you’re just freakishly strong,” Mack pouted, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Whatever,” Mayra laughed. “But I’m not in the mood to go out.”

Mack let out a very loud very fake gasp. “You, Miss Mayra, are not in the mood to go out? And why not? Who are you?”

Mayra laughed and kicked at her. “I’m still me, you freak. I just don’t want to go out  on my last couple of days here, that’s all.”

“But…I suggested it. And I hate going out. It’s a club, dancing, decent food, getting drunk off our butts. Come on, you love doing that,” Mack urged.

“I don’t like getting drunk,” Mayra pointed out.

“No, but we always end up that way somehow and you always take care of me when it happens. Let me take care of you by taking you out for fun. We won’t even drink then. What, do you not want to meet Justin? He’s really nice and funny and great to be around. You have to meet him, I all ready told him you would. And he’s bringing a friend.”

“Oh, I get it,” Mayra suddenly said, sitting up. “You’re setting me up.”

“No, his friend’s just been in a funk and he wanted to take him out. He came all the way from California, come on,” Mack begged. “I can’t just ditch him.”

“You won’t be ditching him, you can still go. I’m not going,” Mayra replied.

“Please? Please? Please?  My friend’s really excited to meet you. I talk about you all the time. He feels like he knows you all ready. He wants to put a face to the person. Please?” Mack begged, sticking out her bottom lip.

“Don’t you dare,” Mayra growled. She stuck her lip out further. “Stop with the pout! I mean it! Stop…ok fine! I’ll go, God!”

“Yes! Thanks. You won’t regret it,” Mack said as she jumped out of the chair and ran back in the direction she came.

“Eres una zorra,” Mayra called after her in a joking tone.

Mack stopped and looked at her. “I don’t know what you said, but back at cha,” she called back. Mayra laughed and shook her head, thinking things over. ‘Maybe this won’t be too bad. I haven’t been out in a while and I do need a break from studying. What could go wrong?’

“Mayra, come on! Get yer feet in the damn stilettos and get your ass out of the bathroom! You’ll look amazing no matter what you wear,” Mack called from the dorm room, yelling at the bathroom door.

“Now how is it you can yell at me but still deliver a compliment at the same time?” Mayra’s muffled voice came back through the other side of the door.

“Practice.” She looked at her watch and let out another groan. She loved her “big sister” to death but sometimes she could spend a little too much time in front of the mirror. She sat up and finger combed her hair down to its normal position. I guess I can’t blame her. I did tell her it was Girl’s Night. Heh, she’s gonna hate me once she finds out what I’m doing…

An evil grin split across her face as she looked at her watch again and then checked her phone for any voice messages. She had one from Justin telling them that they were all ready at the club and that he wanted to jump out of a window from the pessimism that was being thrown his way.

Mack turned off her phone and rolled her eyes. He could be a damn baby sometimes… “Careful, you’re gonna set off the sprinklers,” she commented when Mayra stepped out of the bathroom, fluffing her hair with her fingers.

“And ruin this makeup? No thank you,” she said as she slipped heels onto her feet. “Where are we going again?” She asked, looking for her purse.

“A club,” Mack replied, grabbing her keys.

“Right, so why am I dressed up and you aren’t?” Mayra asked suspiciously.

“Do you honestly think I own anything girly?” Mack asked with raised eyebrows, leading her friend out of the room. Mayra grumbled something in Spanish under her breath as Mack smiled to herself. Usually Mayra would be all over why Mack was being so secretive but she guessed the idea of graduation had her mind in a different place. They were halfway across the parking lot when Mayra finally spoke again.

“Tell me again: why am I dressed up and you’re not?” Mayra asked as she and Mack walked to her car. Her silver heels clacked against the ground as she adjusted her black, glitter fused dress. Ordinarily she stayed away from glitter or sequins on a dress, especially as obnoxious as that one was, but Mack wouldn’t let up until she put it on.

“Pfft, like I own anything girly,” Mack scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Besides, I’m not trying to impress anyone.”

“And I am?” Mayra demanded, putting her hands on her hips. “What’s going on here?”

“Nothing,” Mack sighed with an eye roll. “We’re meeting my friend and your friend now get your ass in the car. I promise I won’t swerve to freak you out again.”

“Wait, you did that on purpose? I thought you were high or something,” Mayra grumbled as she got in the passenger seat.

Mack laughed. “High on life.”

Mayra settled into her seat as Mack peeled out of the parking lot and sped forward. ‘This is why I don’t let her drive,’ Mayra told herself as Mack sped through traffic, as if in a rush to get somewhere. Add onto her speed demon rep that she had road rage and Mayra always feared for her life.

As they got closer to the club the more nervous she felt. She tugged at the hem of her dress, crossed and uncrossed her legs, licked her dry lips more times than she could count. Why was she nervous? She was just meeting her friend’s friend. But for all she knew he could be a serial killer or something. She hasn’t divulged much information except that she had met him two years prior, he was Mack’s age (19), and he liked to play basketball. And he was bringing a friend. If that wasn’t some sort of setup then a pig just flew overhead.

“You can let go of the door handle now. We’re parked, you’re safe,” Mack commented dryly, noticing the way her friend had been clutching at the door as if it were a life preserver. “I’m not that bad of a driver.”

“Even traffic cones jump out of your way ‘cause they’re so scared.”

“Shut up.”

Mayra let out a long breath, forcing herself to relax as she followed her friend across the parking lot and into the club. She even chuckled when Mack started spitting words of outrage for having to be carded while Mayra got to go on through. “I guess now you hate being short and looking younger than you actually are, Kiddo,” she said as she patted her friend on the head.

Mack swatted her hands away and scowled. “Let’s find a table.” Without bothering to hear her friend’s respond she started pushing and shoving her way through the crowd. Mayra looked around at the club as she followed her friend. Pulsing beats rocked her body, strobe lights made it a little hard to see where her friend was headed since she was moving so quickly. The air was thick with many mixtures of perfumes and men’s cologne but it made a strange intoxicating scent instead of an obnoxious disgusting one.

When she looked around again she groaned when she noticed she couldn’t find her friend. “Man, where’d she go?” She whispered to herself. She stood on the tiptoes of her four inch heels, trying to see over the crowd, but stopped after a few seconds, about to tip over when a hand grabbed her arm.

“Careful. Have you been drinking tonight?” An amused voice asked laced with concern. Mayra barely heard the question over the loud techno music but managed to catch a little bit of it.

“No, I was looking for my friend, she kind of ditched me once we got here,” Mayra replied, continuing to look around the club. It suddenly hit her that she should thank whoever it was who had stopped her from falling. Pushing her hair back over her shoulders she turned around as the hand let go and came face to face with the most handsome man she has ever seen.

Then she blinked as realization dawned on her. He’s on your dorm room wall…

“You’re—” She stopped herself at the last second. Don’t sound like those teenies that you feel the need to slap silly. She cleared her throat and licked her lips as his blue eyes twinkled in amusement. “What’re you doing here?”

“Um, I’m making sure you’re ok?” He replied slowly.

“I mean here in Atlanta. Your show’s not until next Thursday and Friday,” Mayra managed to get out. Stop staring at his eyes you freak! But she couldn’t help it. She always thought that he had the most beautiful eyes on the planet and she couldn’t help but get lost in them.

He actually laughed out loud. “You know where I’m going to be before I even know?”

“Well, that’s Lance’s job isn’t it?” Mayra asked, lifting her eyebrows.

“You know a bit too much about us. I think I should be scared.”

Don’t be! “Are you?”

“I said I should be, not that I am.” He then lightly hit himself on his head. “Where are my manners. You know who I am, it’s only fair to know who you are, miss…?”

What’s your name? C’mon idiot, what’s your name? It starts with an M! She mentally yelled at herself. “Mayra. It’s Mayra. Mayra Velez” she said with a big smile, holding out her hand. He took her hand and she was surprised at how soft his grip was and how soft and warm his hand was. It felt…right holding his hand.

“Interesting name,” JC commented. “Is it Spanish?”

“Thank you, and yes. Most people can’t figure that out.” As JC lifted his head to scan the room Mayra took a good look at him.  The sharp cheekbones, the pouty lips, the strong jaw. She couldn’t believe she was standing in the presence of Pop’s Adonis. “Are you looking for someone?” She asked, hoping the answer was no—even better—that he had come by himself.

“I am, actually. I came with one of my friends but I seemed to have lost him.” He turned his blue eyes back to her and grinned, his eyes crinkling in the corners. “I guess we’re lucky to have run into each other, huh?”

“Yeah, I guess,” she replied coyly. Uh, duh!!

“Well, I’m not in the mood to look around for my friend in a town I don’t know.” He lifted his eyebrow as he waited for a response from her.

“I know this place pretty well. Been here for the past four years. I could show you around f you want…” Mayra offered.

JC held out his arm. “I thought you’d never ask.” He grinned.

And that smile was just for her.

She turned to goo.

------

“Well? Is it working?” Mack asked, leaning over the rail, trying to get a good look at the couple that was moving towards the exit.

“Yup. Phase two is a go,” Justin replied with a grin.

Mayra felt like she was on cloud nine, but she knew how to hide it well and stay calm. She’s been in close proximity of him before, having been to a few *NSYNC concerts here and there over the past two years, but never in her wildest dreams did she actually think she’d be on a date with JC Chasez of *NSYNC.

Well, it wasn’t really a date. She was just showing him around Atlanta. That’s all.

She blinked when he waved a hand in her face and blushed at being caught not paying attention to what he had been saying. She couldn’t help it, it was his damn gorgeous blue eyes that made her brain turn to mush.

“I’m sorry, what did you say?” She asked.

“I asked why women from Georgia are referred to as Georgia Peaches. It’s never made sense to me,” He repeated, sticking his spoon in the ice cream dish. That they were sharing.

She looked up at the awning above her head as she thought. “To be honest I don’t even know. I always thought it was because we’re southern and us southerners are known to be hospitable.” She shrugged.

“Too bad the whole world’s not on the same mind frame,” he sighed. “The world would be a better place, don’t you think? No wars. No fighting. Everyone would accept each other.”

“Only in a perfect world, I guess.”

He made a face. “Even then the world would be a scary place.”

She lifted her eyebrows. “How so?”

“What if…randomly everyone in the world became nice to each other, more hospitable. Say tomorrow, for instance. A lot of people would be without jobs. Policemen, army men, the air force. They’re here to protect us, right?” She nodded. “If everyone was nice, there were no wars or anything they’d be out of jobs. There’d be a surge of over population at some jobs and then some other people would lose theirs to accommodate the space. Then it would be a large group of people unemployed and that snowball would only get bigger and bigger.” He paused and added, “In theory.” Then he let out a sheepish smile. “Sorry, I always get off on weird tangents like that.”

“No, it’s ok. It’s hard to find someone to have an intelligent conversation with,” Mayra replied.

“Ignorant people at college?” JC questioned.

“You could say that. Let me put it this way, sometimes I wonder how many times their parents dropped them.” Mayra smiled when JC burst out laughing. She loved the way his eyes crinkled in the corners and his eyes shone when he laughed.

Once JC’s laughter subsided he cleared his throat. “Can I ask you a question?”

She nodded and folded her hands in her lap. “Go ahead.”

“You’re a fan, right?”

She nodded again. “A big one, in fact.”

“So…why haven’t you asked for an autograph or something?”

A small smirk came to her face. “Because I know that you guys are actual people and must be bothered by it sometimes.” She tucked her hair behind her ear again and lightly slapped herself on the hand under the table for her nervous habit. “The other fans, the young ones especially, I don’t believe they grasp the fact that you’re actually people, not exhibits at a petting zoo or something. I’m a fan of yours because I love the place where your music comes from and that you’re real.”

JC leaned back in his seat, hands clasped behind his head and Mayra could see the outline of his stomach muscles through the pull of his shirt. “I have to say that’s the most refreshing thing I’ve heard in a while.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re very welcome. I also have to say this was the best fan encounter I’ve been through in a long time.”

She frowned. “I hope you don’t only think of me as a fan.”

“Of course not, I think of you as a person who just so happens to like the music I make, which is what I live for so it’s all good.” He then chuckled.

Is he laughing at me? “What?”

“It’s just…if Justin hadn’t convinced me to come out here I would’ve never had the best night of my life.”

She blushed at the comment but then something in the back of her head ignited a thought. “Wait a minute, you’re here with Justin?”

“Yes. Well, I was. That’s the ‘friend’ that left me. I didn’t want to say his name in case you were one of those rabid fans that try to get a piece of our DNA or something. I’m glad you’re not.”

“And he dragged you here?” Mayra demanded.

“Well, in a way. He said he wanted me to meet a friend he’s been talking to the past two years,” JC replied, sitting straight up, a look of concern in his eyes. “Why?”

A sudden look of realization came to her face. “Oh, that little…voy a conseguir su vez que la veo de nuevo. No me importa si la veo con todas las sonrisas que hará que se lo coma por tratar de sacar algo como esto!” She rattled off.

“Um…what?” JC asked, tilting his head like a curious puppy.

Awww! “We’ve been set up,” Mayra told him. The confused look didn’t drop her face. “Really, it’s not a coincidence that we were both there and we both lost our friends at that club. It’s a set up. Mack—my friend—knows that I got over a bad break up a few months ago.” She shook her head. “Que el pequeño demonio!” A sudden evil look crossed her features.

“What?” JC asked.

“I have an idea to get back at them if you’re willing to go along with it,” Mayra replied.

JC leaned forward. “I’m listening.”

She shivered when his warm breath grazed her lips.

-----

“Ouch!” Mack grunted when the corner of the door dug into her spine. “Do you mind?”

“What the hell are doing on the floor?” Mayra asked, pushing the door open further once Mack rolled out of the way. She closed the door and, with her free hand, tosed her heles into the corner of the room.

“Better question, what the hell are you doing coming back at—“ Mack paused and looked at her watch “—three freaking am!?”

Mayra shrugged. “I was out with someone.”

“Someone who?”

Mayra looked at her pointedly. “You know who. You set me up with Justin, who actually is Justin TImberlake whom you never told me about, missy.”

“Don’t turn this around on me,” Mack said, getting to her knees. “I didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Except keep a huge secret from me and ditch me.”

“Ok, the secret part was a bad idea but i didn’t ditch you,” Mack said with an eyeroll. “You’re being over dramatic. It’s not like JC would’ve raped you or anything.” She shuffled over to her friend and smiled. “So what’d you do? DId you have fun?”

“Yeah, i did,” Mayra said nonchalantly as she changed into her pajamas. “But i’m tired, i’m going to get some sleep.”

“What? That’s all i get?” Mack demadned.

“Yup,” Mayra said simply, getting under the covers. “Goodnight.” She turned out the light and rolled onto her side.

“I don’t even get any details at all?” Mack’s response was silence. “Mayra, you don’t go to sleep that fast!” Once again her response was silence. “Bitch,” Mack uttered, albeit in a joking tone.

Mayra wanted to reply “back at cha” for what her friend did, but really she knew she should be thanking her friend. She had fun and she got to know a really sweet guy who wanted to keep in touch with her. She smiled in the dark and snuggled deeper under the covers, still feeling the way his arms was wrapped around her in a hug. Damn that guy can give good hugs. Then her smile got a bit wider.

He’s a pretty damn good kisser as well.