Chapter 17:
Tara was in her room getting dressed for the 4th of July party that Lynn and Paul were throwing. She got dressed in a pair of jean shorts and a tank top before slipping on some sandals. Her hair was wavy but she stuck it up in a ponytail so it would be out of her face.
After she put on her make up, she grabbed a light jacket and headed out into the living room. Hannah was sitting on the couch looking through her phone. She was dressed in a pair of white capris and a blue T-shirt, her hair was down, her curls framing her face but it was being held back by a white head-band.
Tara stopped in her tracks and looked at her.
Hannah looked up. “What?” she asked. “Do I look bad?”
Tara shook her head. “No, you look nice,” she said with a smile.
“Thanks,” Hannah replied with a smile.
“Are you ready?” she asked.
Hannah nodded and got up, reaching for her purse.
“Renee is gonna meet us at the car,” Tara said as she took the car keys out of her purse.
The two walked out of the bungalow, and Renee was just walking out of hers and they met at the rental. The three girls climbed in and headed on their way.
After the little horse ridding lesson on Sunday everyone headed to Mike’s for a drink and a little dancing. It gave them all a chance to catch up and hang out off the clock. Kyle and Connie got to know Justin a little more, and Justin in turn got to know a little bit more about the people Tara was spending most of her time with
On their drive to Lynn and Paul’s, Renee talked their ears off about anything that came to mind. Soon they reached their house, there were cars parked all along the road, and music and laughter could be heard coming from the house.
They spotted Randy running around with a group of kids, while Justin, Trace and Andrew were standing on the front porch talking and drinking beer.
Renee rushed toward them once she saw them, while Hannah and Tara took their time.
“It’s about time you girls showed up,” Trace said with a smirk.
That just caused Hannah to roll her eyes once they stepped up the steps. Tara immediately went to Justin, and wrapped her arms around his neck hugging him close. He chuckled as his arms held her waist bringing her closer to him.
“Well hello,” he said before leaning down to kiss her lips lightly.
Her hands went to his hair on the back of his head, holding his face in place as she kissed him back.
“Okay guys enough with the PDA,” Trace said.
They broke the kiss but kept their arms wrapped around each other.
“Green is not a good color on you Trace,” Tara said with a smirk.
He rolled his eyes and laughed. Tara went inside with Justin to say hello to Lynn and Paul while the others stayed on the porch and talked. After talking with them for a while they grabbed a plate of food and headed out to where the rest of the group was eating.
They were enjoying their meal and talking amongst each other when Randy came running over. He was all sweaty from running around in the hot sun, but he was having a blast.
“Hi guys!” he said kind of out of breath.
“Hey buddy!” Tara said with a smile as she put down her drink and he made his way over to her and hugged him tightly. “Whatcha doin?”
“Playin’ tag,” he said his breathing coming back to normal.
“Are you having fun?” she asked.
He nodded. “You’re gonna sit with me when we watch the fireworks right?” he asked Tara.
She nodded. “Of course,” she said. “I’d love too.”
“Okay,” he said. “I gotta go now, I’m it.”
Without another word he took off again. Tara laughed as she turned back to the group and they continued eating. They finished eating before going off their separate ways once again. Trace and Hannah went off to say hi and talk to his family while Andrew did the same with Renee and his family.
Justin took Tara around introducing her to people she hadn’t met yet, some family friends, as well as some of the parents of the kids Randy played around with. Susan was around also, talking with her parents as well as Andrew and Renee.
Justin ended up telling her about the trip to New York that Monday. She wasn’t too thrilled with the idea and tried to convince Justin otherwise. He had made his decision though and nothing was really going to change that.
He had explained that he was going either way and if she didn’t want to take Randy that weekend that his parents would take him. In the end, Susan had agreed that she would watch Randy for the weekend.
After a while, they decided to all head out toward the lake where the fireworks would be. They piled into cars and trucks and headed out there. Since Trace and Justin drove together, Tara and Trace switched places and Trace drove the rental back to the bungalows by the lake while Tara drove with Justin and Randy.
Once they got there, everyone piled out with their blankets and lawn chairs getting their spots ready. Justin brought a fuzzy blanket and he and Tara made themselves a spot next to Trace and Hannah, who were sitting in lawn chairs. Renee and Andrew were sitting together a little farther down the lake.
Randy was running around with his friends with sparkler fireworks that Justin had bought them to play around with until the real fireworks started.
As the four of them talked, waiting for the fireworks, Tara was leaning back against Justin, much like the way she was laying when they had the movie night at his parent’s house a few weeks before.
She was leaning back against his chest as his arms were wrapped around her pulling her closer to him. His chin was resting on her shoulder, but every once in a while he would nuzzle his face into her neck and kiss it softly. Tara had closed her eyes at the feeling leaning as close to him as she could.
Leave it to Trace to ruin a sweet moment like that.
“C’mon guys, there are kids present!” he yelled to them when he noticed Justin’s face buried in Tara’s neck.
Hannah smacked his arm shushing him, as Tara and Justin turned to look at him. Tara giggled watching them bicker at each other, before she turned to look up at Justin who had been watching them too.
“Those two need to stop fighting it,” she said quietly.
Justin laughed. “No kidding,” he agreed.
Randy came bouncing over, all the sparklers were gone and he was ready for the big fireworks to start. He made himself comfortable in Tara’s lap, and she smiled as she leaned down and kissed the top of his head before hugging him close to her.
“Are you excited?” she asked.
He nodded. Before another word could be spoken there was a loud whistling noise and the night sky became illuminated with brightly colored fireworks. As they popped into the sky, Randy grabbed onto Tara’s arm tightly, jumping anytime a loud bang would ring out in the night sky.
There were a couple of loud whistling ones that made Randy cover his ears and buried himself into Tara’s lap. Justin smiled as he watched them, and he reached over rubbing Randy’s back, letting him know it was okay.
Tara felt like a kid again as she watched the colors dance across the sky, she couldn’t remember the last time she had sat and actually watched fireworks. She turned and looked at Trace and Hannah who were kissing under the bright lightened sky.
She giggled and nudged Justin who turned to look at his best friend and couldn’t help the chuckle that left his lips.
After a lot of “oohs” and “ahhs”, the finale took over the sky with an eruption of colors and whistles. It lasted about two minutes before the final flash of light fell from the sky and everyone started clapping.
“Did you like that?” Justin asked as he rubbed Randy’s head.
He nodded as he climbed out of Tara’s lap and yawned before turning to look at them.
“Uh oh, someone is sleepy,” Tara teased.
He pouted. “No,” he said before yawning again.
They laughed.
“C’mon, we should get home, you have school tomorrow,” Justin said. “Go say good-bye to everyone.”
Randy pouted but got up and headed across the grass towards his grandparents to say good-bye.
Tara yawned herself and leaned back against Justin, sinking into his arms. Justin laughed as he hugged her close.
“Someone else is tired,” he said, kissing her cheek.
She smiled. “I am,” she said. “I don’t know why either.”
“You’ve been busy,” he said. “It’s normal.”
“I can’t wait for a break from all this,” she said as she closed her eyes.
“What are we going to be doing exactly?” Justin asked.
“Well, there are a few appearances,” she said. “Some autograph signings, and then I think I have a radio spot.”
Justin remained silent as he held her close, his arms still wrapped around her.
“If there is anything you want to do in New York let me know,” Tara said as she turned and looked up at him. “Go to a play, or a game or something.”
“I just don’t want to be in the way,” he said as he looked down at her.
She smiled and leaned up to kiss his lips lightly. “You won’t be in the way,” she assured him.
When he didn’t say anything, she spoke up again.
"It's gonna be fun," she said. "My mom is very excited to meet you."
"Is she?" he asked, giving her a questionable look.
Tara smiled. "Of course," she replied.
When he didn't say anything, she looked up at him again. She reached up forcing him to look down at her. When their eyes met, she could see the insecurity in them.
"Are you nervous?" she asked.
He shrugged. She smiled and moved out of his arms turning her body so she was sitting cross legged in front of him.
"Do you not wanna go?" she asked.
He shook his head. "I do," he started. "I'm just..."
Before he could finish, Susan and Randy came walking over. Randy immediately rushed over to sit in Tara's lap hugging her close. She laughed and kissed the top of his head.
"Good bye Tara," he said.
She smiled. "Good bye Randy," she said with a smile.
After hugging him, they all stood up and Justin folded the blanket they were sitting on.
"Do you think you can put Randy in the truck for me while I say bye to my folks?" Justin asked Susan, who was now holding Randy, who was resting his head, on Susan's shoulder.
Susan nodded. "It was nice seeing you again Tara,” she said.
"You too Susan," Tara said with a smile, "I'll see ya later Randy," she said rubbing his back.
"Bye," he said with a sleepy smile.
Susan made her way toward Justin’s truck, while Justin grabbed Tara’s hand and they made their way to where Lynn and Paul were.
After hugs and good-byes to Lynn and Paul, as well as a few people they met they made their way to Justin’s truck that was parked outside of Tara’s bungalow.
Susan spotted them making their way toward her so she waved before leaving the truck where Randy was sleeping soundly in the backseat. They reached the truck, and Tara hugged him tightly.
“Are you going to come for lunch tomorrow?” she asked.
“I’m gonna try,” he said breaking the hug and looking down at her.
She leaned up and kissed his lips lightly.
“I had fun tonight, thank you for inviting me,” she said with a smile.
He smiled. “I had fun too,” he said. “Thank you for coming.”
“Of course,” she said.
She could tell that after she discussed the trip with him, he was starting to get nervous about going to New York.
“Are you okay?” she asked him, watching him as he looked everywhere else but at her.
He finally turned and looked at her then, his bottom lip going into his mouth as he started to bite on it.
She smiled. “Don’t be nervous,” she started. “It’s gonna be fun.”
“I should get Randy to bed,” he said changing the subject. “It’s late.”
She nodded. “Okay,” she said. “Try and come over to lunch,” she reminded.
He nodded. “I’ll try,” he said. “I’ll text you.”
“Okay,” she replied.
He leaned in and kissed her lips lightly, hugging her close. Tara wrapped her arms his shoulders tightly, her hands going into his hair holding onto it as she deepened the kiss. They broke the kiss looking at each other as they tried to catch their breath. Justin leaned forward and kissed her forehead lightly.
“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he replied.
She smiled and nodded before breaking away from his embrace. She made her way up the porch steps and reached the door before turning around. Justin had been watching her make her way to the door. Since she had been watching him, she didn’t notice the front porch light turn on and the door opened quickly. Trace came rushing out almost running into Tara as he did so.
“Woah, hey, sorry,” he mumbled before rushing down the steps of the porch.
Tara looked at him as he walked away before turning to Justin who was watching the scene obviously dumbfounded. Tara put her hand over her mouth and started to laugh, but trying to keep it quiet.
Trace rushed toward Justin and got into the passenger side of his truck and shut the door. Tara held up her hand to her ear making a ‘call me’ gesture. Justin nodded and waved once more before get got into the truck and started it up.
Tara walked into the bungalow and saw Hannah sitting curled up on the couch watching TV. She looked up as Tara walked into the bungalow.
“Hey,” Hannah said.
“Hey,” Tara said kicking off her sandals. “Uh, Trace rushed out pretty quick.”
“Yeah, he had to be at work early,” Hannah replied.
Tara walked around the couch and sat down next to Hannah facing her, a bright smile appearing on her face.
Hannah saw her out of the corner of her eye and noticed the big smile on her face.
“What?” she questioned as she turned to her.
“What’s goin’ on?” Tara asked.
“What do you mean?” Hannah asked.
Tara didn’t say anything, she just smiled. Hannah rolled her eyes.
“I saw you guys during the fireworks,” Tara responded. “Did he finally get to you?”
Hannah sighed and sunk deeper into the couch, pulling one of the pillows over her face and groaned. Tara giggled before moving closer to her and pulling the pillow from her face.
“He did, he did,” Tara giggled.
“Stop it,” Hannah said starting to get annoyed. “Please.”
“Okay, okay,” she said and sat back on the couch trying to contain her giggles.
There was silence as the girls stared at the TV for a while before Tara spoke up again.
“So are you gonna invite him to New York?” Tara asked.
Hannah laughed. “Uh, no,” she said.
“Aw, you should he and Justin would have fun,” Tara replied.
“Maybe next time,” Hannah said.
Tara smiled at her remark. She figured she wasn’t going to get anymore information out of her so she got up.
“Well, I should get some sleep,” Tara said as she grabbed her purse.
“Good night,” Hannah said.
“Night,” Tara said as she walked into her bedroom.
Tara walked into her bedroom and closed her door. She put her purse down and changed into some pajamas before lying down on the bed and waiting for Justin to call with the dirt on Trace.
-*-
Trace looked out the window as Justin drove through the quiet town. Justin kept looking at him out of the corner of his eye. After a couple of minutes, Trace spoke up.
“What?” he asked as he continued to look out the window.
“What was that about?” Justin asked.
“What?” Trace asked.
“You and Hannah,” Justin said.
Trace didn’t respond.
“Tara and I saw you during the fireworks,” Justin continued.
“So,” Trace replied.
Justin chuckled. “Okay, fine don’t talk to me about it.”
Trace rolled his eyes. Justin continued to drive toward Trace’s house in silence, but spoke up again.
“You should meet us in New York,” he said.
Trace chuckled. “I’m good,” he replied. “You just don’t want to be alone with Tyler.”
Justin chuckled. “Maybe,” he said. “It’s gonna be fine though.”
Trace laughed. “Keep telling yourself that,” he said.
Justin rolled his eyes. He did end up telling Trace about their little spat that they had at the barbeque that past weekend.
“I just can’t believe Tyler weaseled his way into this trip,” Trace said. “You better watch yourself.”
“I’m not worried,” Justin replied.
“Sure, okay,” Trace replied with a chuckle.
Justin sighed. He knew what Trace was doing. He was trying to get Justin to think about himself so there would be no focus on him. They reached Trace’s house a few minutes later and he left with a mumbled goodbye.
Justin reached his house and got Randy out holding him against his chest as he walked into his house. He got Randy into his bed, tucking him in and turning on his nightlight.
He then made his way into his own bedroom. He took off his clothes and got into a pair of pajama bottoms before climbing into bed. He reached for his cell phone and quickly called Tara’s number.
“Hey,” Tara’s quiet voice came over the line after one ring.
“You weren’t asleep were you?” Justin asked.
“Nope, just layin’ in bed,” she said.
He could tell she was smiling.
“Did you find out anything?” she asked.
He chuckled. “Not really,” he said. “He wasn’t very talkative.”
“Hmm,” Tara replied. “Hannah wasn’t either.”
“We should probably just let them be,” he suggested.
Tara sighed. “Yeah, I guess you’re right,” she replied. “I told her to invite him to New York, but I don’t think she will.”
“Well it doesn’t hurt to suggest,” he replied.
“I guess,” she said. “I wish she’d see what was in front of her though.”
Justin smiled.
“Did you get Randy into bed okay?” Tara asked.
“Yeah, he was out like a light and didn’t wake up once.” Justin replied.
“Are you gonna miss him?” she asked.
Justin smiled. “I will,” he said. “But I’ll be fine, I’ve been away from him before,” he continued. “It’s not my favorite thing though.”
Tara smiled. “Are you packed?” she asked.
He chuckled. “Not really,” he said. “I don’t know what to bring.”
“Bring whatever you want,” she said. “Like I said, it won’t be too exciting.”
Justin sighed. Tara could tell he was still nervous about this trip but she was going to show him a great time.
She yawned as she got deeper into the covers, pressing her phone against her ear tightly.
“You sound tired,” he said. “You should get some sleep.”
“I know,” she said. “But I don’t want too.”
He chuckled. “I’ll come by for lunch tomorrow okay?” he said.
“Can’t I meet you in your office?” she asked teasingly.
Justin laughed. “Text me when you find out your lunch ok?” he asked.
“Okay,” she said and yawned once more. “Love you, night.”
“Love you,” he replied back. “Night.”
They both hung up, and got comfortable in their beds drifting off to dreamland in no time.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Sorry! I've been having a little bit of writers block :( But here is the next chapter. Thanks for stickin' with me as always. Also, I'm currently working on a short story featuring Robert Pattinson :) I know, but blame Christine ;) Haha. Jk. Anyway, if you are interested I'll let you know. As always, thanks for sticking with me during this story. I can't believe it'll almost be a year since I started writing it. Crazy. Let me know what you think! :-D
Chapter End Notes:
Comments? Questions? E-mail me at Spacey1141@hotmail.com
Story Tags: Be the first to add a tag to this story
