Charlie placed a hand on JC’s shoulder and motioned towards her.  “Whit and I are old friends.”

She tried to hide the guilt from her face as she recovered from being caught off guard at their interaction.  It had never occurred to her that JC and Charlie would end up crossing paths, let alone on a night like this.  She tried to recover and smiled, “Charlie and I used to work together.”

Jake finished a sip of his drink and nodded, “That’s where I recognize you from.  You were working on their tour.”  She nodded, now recalling that he looked familiar because he had worked on publicity campaigns for the same record label.

Charlie chuckled.  “Well, ain’t this a small world!  So, you’re the new boss, huh?  You hooked a good one here, better not let her go.”  He turned from JC and winked at her.

JC nodded, taking in the relations between the two of them, wondering if Charlie was the Charlie.  The Charlie that she was texting back and forth with all the time.  The thought that their relationship had been a working one and not a personal one was somewhat of a relief, especially noting the wedding band on Charlie’s finger.  His thoughts were interrupted as Bianca approached him. 

She pulled at his tie playfully.  He swallowed nervously as she took his drink from his hand and placed it on the bar counter behind him.  “JC, come with me,” she said, pulling him.  He followed her reluctantly, looking over his shoulder at Charlie and Whitney lost in conversation with each other.

“What’ll it be folks?” Mark asked, standing behind the bar and tapping his hands on the counter.

“How did you even get back there?” Jake asked, shaking his head.

“I went around to the other side.  Turns out that nice girl over there is a fan of my work,” he said, pointing to the female bartender on the other end. 

“Riiight, you’re work.” 

“Thanks, wiseass.  Just for that, you’ll settle for whatever I can mix together back here.”  There was clanging around as Mark seemed to be pulling out different liquor bottles, garnishes and glasses.

Seeing that Jake was distracted by Mark, Charlie leaned in closer to Whitney.  “So, what time do you get out of here tonight?”

She shook her head, “I’m not really sure.  We all came in the limo together, so I guess as soon as they’re all ready to leave.”

Mark broke them out of their conversation as he slammed five drinks on the bar.  “Order up!”

“What is in this?” Charlie asked, staring into the glass tentatively. 

“Oh, there’s a little of this, a little of that.  Where’s our third amigo?”  Mark looked up and down the bar.  Jake responded by looking out into the crowd to see if he could spot JC and Bianca.  Whitney and Charlie turned to take tentative sips from the glasses in front of them. 

“Sorry, that’s disgustin’ y’all,” Charlie said, pushing the glass away from him. 

“No, that’s disgusting,” Jake said, motioning out into the crowd.  Bianca and JC were sitting alone together on a plush sofa across the room, her lips pressed against his. She had her hands cupped around his chin as she pulled him closer to her, engaging in more lip lock. 

Whitney felt a knot of jealousy in her stomach as she took the drink in front of her and gulped it down, ignoring the burning feeling as the liquor moved through her. 

Mark chuckled.  “Maybe JC should be the actor around here.”

“I don’t think he’s acting,” Jake muttered. 

“Isn’t that his girlfriend?” Charlie asked.

“Well, no.  Yes?  It’s complicated…” Whitney shook her head, feeling a headache coming on from the alcohol and the events of the evening. 

Jake shook his head, “He better be careful.  I hear if you look her directly in the eye, you’ll turn to stone.”

Charlie laughed, “That was pretty good.”

“Hey,” Jake looked at him curiously, “Where’s Cassie tonight?”

Charlie cleared his throat nervously, “She…she ain’t into this sort of thing.”

Whitney pointed to her empty glass.  “Mark, I’ll have a refill.”

**

JC’s eyes wandered back away to his group of friends.  Mark had somehow made his way behind the bar and was serving drinks to the crowd.  Of course he would.  Whitney was still sitting at the bar with them and he felt a pang of guilt for not spending more time with her this evening.  Bianca was on her phone so he took the opportunity to make his way back towards his friends and check up on her.

“How’s everything going?” he asked.

“Oh, Mark’s poisoning all of us.  Looks like you could use some,” Jake slid a drink towards him.

Charlie stood up.  “Alright y’all, I’m gonna call it a night.  It was nice meetin’ you JC.  Have a nice rest of your evenin’ Whitney.”  He squeezed her shoulder as he walked away with a wave.

Bianca soon returned.  “Hey, I just scored you an invite to accompany me to an after party up in Malibu.”

“Oh, what do you guys say?” JC asked the group.

Bianca shook her head, “No, I could only get an invite for you and me.  No riff-raff allowed,” she pointed to Jake, who rolled his eyes at her.

“I can’t just leave everyone,” he said, looking over at Whitney.

“But, it’s really important that we make an appearance,” she tapped her heel with impatience. 

“Go on, we’ll get Whitney home,” Mark offered.

Jake shot him a stern glare in response.  Whitney tried not to react.

Bianca clapped her hands, “Alright, I’m just going to say some goodbyes.”

JC sighed, “Are you guys sure?”

Whitney nodded, “Yeah, I am ready to call it a night anyway.  Have a nice time, JC.  I’m just going to use the rest room and I’ll be right back.” 

Jake nodded as she headed off.  “You know you’re an idiot, right?”

JC frowned, “Why?”

“You’re not going to win over the real girl that you should be with while you are busy traipsing around with the fake one.” 

Before JC could respond, Bianca returned.  “Ready?”  He nodded, following her through the party out to the limousine.

Mark leaned over the bar.  “I think Whitney likes him.”

“Yeah, I think she does, too.  But we have a slight problem.”

“What?  Bianca?”

“Well, Bianca is a major headache. But, I’m talking about the fact that Whitney is sleeping with Charlie.”

“Whaaat?  Isn’t he married?”

“Yeah…”

“Wow, that little minx.”

Jake pushed his empty glass towards him. “Okay, get out from behind there.  I’m ready to call it a night.”

“But, I have to rinse the glasses and wipe down the bar.”

“Seriously?  Are you method acting right now?  Get out from behind the bar.”

**

Whitney yawned as she made her way to her apartment from the parking lot.  The night had hardly been what she had expected.  On the one hand, spending time with Mark and Jake had been fun and she felt like she was getting to know JC better on a personal level.  On the other hand, seeing him with Bianca was getting under her skin.  And then seeing Charlie brought up old feelings…

“Charlie?”

He stood outside her door holding a bottle of sparkling wine and a paper shopping bag.  “I was hoping you’d get home soon.”

She couldn’t help the smile that formed on her lips.  “What’s all this?” 

“Well, I figured you might want some dessert.  I hope that’s not too forward of me.”

She slipped her key into the door and opened it, gesturing for him to follow.  “It’s sweet, actually.”  She sat down on the sofa as he made his way next to her, placing the items on the coffee table.  He slowly settled beside her, running his fingers through her hair.  “It’s kind of funny how we ended up at the same event tonight.”

“Maybe it happened for a reason,” he smiled as he leaned in.

“Maybe,” she said, inhaling the familiar scent of his cologne as she brought her lips to his.