Chapter 05:
Justin walked into Mikes and looked around for any familiar faces. He spotted Trace at the other end, drinking a beer and playing darts with a few guys he went to high school with. He sighed once more before he made his way towards his friends.
He reached Trace and put a hand on his shoulder standing next to him as Trace took a drink of his beer.
He turned to face Justin. “You came!” he said, surprised.
Justin chuckled. “Shocked?” he questioned.
Trace nodded.
“You guys remember Justin right?” Trace said as he turned to the group of guys he was playing darts with.
Justin rolled his eyes as he greeted each of the guys Trace was standing with.
“It hasn’t been that long,” Justin said.
Trace chuckled. “You want a beer?” he questioned.
Justin nodded. “Sure, I’ll get it though, you guys need anything?” he asked.
The guys shook their head no, and Justin made his way towards the bar.
-*-
Tara, Renee and Hannah made their way into the bar laughing and talking. As they stepped in Renee stood on her tip toes to look above the crowd for Andrew. She spotted him talking to a group of guys by the dart board and leaned over to talk to Tara.
“There’s Andrew,” she said. “Go get something to drink and I’ll be right over.”
Tara shook her head but smiled. “Be careful please,” she warned.
Renee winked at her before making her way toward the group of guys. Tara watched her go before sighing and turned back to Hannah.
“Ready for a drink?” Tara questioned.
Hannah looked around the dimly lit bar before looking at her, her face full of concern before she nodded hesitantly. Tara giggled at her expression before taking her arm and they made their way towards the bar.
“What do you want?” Tara asked. “I’m buying.”
Hannah shrugged. “Just get me a Long Island Iced Tea,” she said.
Tara nodded before she leaned against the bar, waiting for the bartender to notice her. After 15 minutes, no one had been over and she sighed before leaning over the bar once again trying to get his attention.
“Excuse me!” she called.
“He’s actually deaf in one ear, you have to pound on the bar,” a male voice said from behind her.
Tara turned to look at the owner of the voice. He was leaning against the bar too, his arms crossed on the surface as he leaned against it. His longish brown hair looked like he just ran his hands through it the ends starting to curl, his dark blue eyes glowing in the dim bar light.
Before Tara could respond, he pounded against the bar loudly and as if magic happened the bartender turned and made his way towards him, smiling.
“What did you want?” he asked.
It took a minute for Tara to break her eyes away from his before she responded.
“Oh um, a Long Island, and a rum and coke,” she said with a smile before reaching into her purse to take out the money.
He turned to the bartender and gave him the order before ordering himself a beer. He turned back to Tara but shook his head when she handed him some money.
“Don’t worry about it,” he said, taking out his own wallet from his back pocket.
“Are you sure?” Tara questioned.
He nodded. The bartender came back with his beer and the two other drinks and took the man’s money with a smile. He pushed the two drinks down the bar towards Tara and Hannah.
“I’m Justin by the way,” he said, his hand reaching out.
Tara shook it with a smile. “Tara,” she said. “This is Hannah.”
Hannah looked up when her name was said and smiled shyly and gave a small wave.
“Nice to meet you,” Justin said before taking a drink of his beer.
Hannah nodded before she began to mix her drink with her straw before turning to look around the bar once again. Tara took a drink of her own before turning back to look at Justin who was watching her.
“So, you new in town?” he questioned.
Tara smiled before she nodded. “I’m going to be in the movie they’re filming.” She said.
Justin nodded in understanding. “I thought you looked familiar,” he said.
Tara looked at him confused.
“Oh I mean,” he chuckled. “I’m a basketball coach at the school, and my team and I were out there today and I thought I saw you walking around the PE field.”
Tara nodded. “That was me,” she said with a smile. “My co-star and I were taking a walk.”
Justin nodded in response before taking another drink of his beer.
“Thanks for the drinks by the way,” Tara said with a smile.
He nodded. “No problem,” he said. “Now you know about his ear, so it shouldn’t be hard to get another drink,” he winked.
Tara giggled. Before their conversation continued, Renee came bouncing over all smiles and giggling as she drug Andrew behind her.
“Tara!” she said with a bright smile. “You remember Tara don’t you?” turning to Andrew.
Andrew nodded. “Of course, nice to see you again Tara,” he said.
Tara smiled.
“Who is this?” Renee asked looking Justin up and down with a smile.
Tara rolled her eyes, “Renee this is Justin,” she said.
Justin stuck his hand out to her, “Nice to meet you,” he said.
Renee shook his hand smiling before turning back to Tara giving her a look. Tara shook her head and laughed.
“How’s it going Justin?” Andrew asked him. “Glad you decided to show.”
Justin nodded. “Had some free time,” he said.
“You two know each other?” Renee asked looking between the two men.
“We um…” Justin started.
“Went to high school together,” Andrew finished, giving him a wink.
Justin nodded before taking a drink of his beer. The group chatted a while before Andrew had to make his way toward the stage to set up with his band. Everyone else made their way to a small booth on the side of the bar and waited for the music to start.
As they were talking, Trace came over to talk to Justin and after he was introduced to everyone, they headed to the bar together to get another round of drinks for the table.
“So, Justin is cute,” Renee said with a smile.
Tara laughed. “He’s just being nice, stop it,” she said.
“Uh huh, nice, I’m sure,” Renee said before taking a drink of her own beer that Andrew had bought her.
“Have you seen Tyler?” Renee asked as she looked at Tara.
Tara shook her head. “No, not since I got here,” she replied.
They all were quiet for a minute as they looked around the bar.
“Andrew looks adorable up there doesn’t he?” Renee questioned as she looked at Andrew, who was on stage conversing with his band mates.
Tara took a sip of her drink as she glanced up at Andrew quickly.
“Musicians are not what they seem Renee,” she warned. “Just remember that.”
Renee turned to her, her expression filled with concern. “What do you mean?” she questioned.
Tara glanced at Hannah who was pretending to look around the bar curiously, and then sighed before turning to look at Renee once again.
“Just trust me,” Tara said.
But before Renee could say anything else, Andrew’s voice broke out over the bar and everyone’s attention turned toward the stage.
“Thank you all for coming,” he began. “This one’s for some visitors in town, hope you have a blast here.”
He winked at Renee before he started playing the guitar that was hanging from his neck and his voice broke out over the crowd as he began singing. Renee’s smile brightened as she watched him play and soon she got up to dance around with the crowd that was forming in front of the stage.
Tara sighed as she watched her before turning to look at Hannah who was sucking on her straw and looking at the bar. Tara turned to see who she was staring so intensely at and noticed Trace and Justin talking at the bar.
Tara smiled before nudging her. “Does someone have a crush?” she questioned.
“Huh?” Hannah asked turning to look at Tara.
She giggled. “He is kinda cute in that country boy kinda way,” she said.
Hannah smiled. “I just think he’s cute, please do not try and set me up,” she begged.
Tara laughed. “Just don’t tell Renee,” she said.
Hannah laughed. “She’s crazy isn’t she?” she questioned.
Tara watched her friend bounce around on the dance floor before sighing and leaning her chin on her arm.
“She just has no fear,” she responded.
Hannah remained quiet as she sipped her drink and they continued to watch Andrew’s band play. A few minutes later, Tyler made his way towards the girls.
“Hey girls, how’s it going?” he said as he stood in front of their table.
Tara looked up at him. “Hey!” she smiled. “Where have you been?”
“There’s a pool table in another room, we were having a competition,” he explained.
“Who won?” Tara asked.
Tyler smiled and winked. “Me, of course,” he said.
She laughed.
“You wanna dance?” He asked Tara.
Tara looked at him then turned to Hannah, before looking back at him once again.
“I would but, I don’t want to leave Hannah by herself,” she explained.
Hannah turned to look at her. “Don’t worry about me, go,” she insisted.
“Are you sure?” Tara asked.
She nodded. “I got my drink, I’ll be fine,” she said.
Tyler turned to her again, holding out his hand.
“Shall we?” he questioned.
Tara smiled before standing up and taking his hand as they made their way to the dance floor.
-*-
As Justin and Trace waited at the bar for their turn, Trace turned to Justin.
“So, Tara seems nice,” he commented.
Justin nodded, but didn’t say anything else making Trace chuckle.
“C’mon man,” Trace continued. “You and Susan have been done for years.”
Justin shook his head. “This is not about her,” he insisted.
“Yeah it is,” Trace said. “If it wasn’t you’d be making the moves on her already.”
“I just met her,” Justin defended. “We all don’t sleep with people the first time we meet them.”
Trace turned to him. “You’re my friend, so I’m going to pretend you weren’t talking about me.”
Justin chuckled before shaking his head.
“All I’m saying is that you’ve found someone who is obviously interested in you and who you find attractive,” Trace began. “So don’t screw it up.”
Justin groaned as he leaned his head onto the bar, hitting it a few times. Trace watched him and chuckled before patting him on the back. He hadn’t actually dated or even shown an interest in someone in such a long time. How was he going to start a relationship with an actress?
A few minutes later the bartender came over and they got their order for the table before turning back to look at the table.
“Where’d they go?” Justin questioned.
Trace shrugged. “Hannah’s still there,” he replied. “She’s cute too huh?”
Justin sighed. “Control yourself Romeo,” he warned.
“Don’t worry about me,” he gave a wink.
Justin sighed before thanking the bartender and paying for the drinks and they made their way back towards the table with the tray of refills.
“Where did everyone go?” Trace asked.
“Dance floor,” Hannah said pointing in that direction.
Both men turned to the dance floor. Justin spotted Tara dancing with who appeared to be the co-star she was walking with earlier that day.
“You wanna take a spin?” Trace asked Hannah.
Hannah looked up at him, her eyes big in surprise.
“Me?” she questioned.
Trace chuckled at her expression, “Yeah, you,” he winked. “C’mon.”
Hannah looked up at him, still confused. Trace smiled and reached over taking her hand, pulling her up from her seat.
“C’mon!” he said again.
Hannah got up from the table quickly, and Trace dragged her onto the dance floor. Justin chuckled as he made himself comfortable in the booth, and began to finish off his beer that he bought.
Andrew’s band played a few songs before taking a break, so everyone came back to the table. Renee and Andrew came walking over, Renee’s arm wrapped around his waist as she looked up at him laughing at what he was saying.
“So how’d I do?” Andrew questioned as he reached for a beer sitting on the table.
“Fantastic!” Renee squealed. “Do you write your own stuff?”
He chuckled as he took a drink before looking down at her. “Most of it yeah, Justin’s helped me out once or twice.” He said with a wink.
Justin shook his head as Renee gave him a glance. “You should have come out and danced with us,” she said with a smile.
Justin shook his head. “I’m good,” he replied.
“Aww, c’mon next time,” she said.
Justin sighed. “We’ll see,” he said.
Trace and Hannah were coming back from the dance floor, and Trace had her giggling like a school girl as she reached over for her drink, Trace’s arms wrapped around her waist.
“You sound great out there Andrew,” she complemented him.
Andrew nodded. “Thank you, I’m glad you liked it,” he replied.
She took a sip of her tea, finishing it off as Trace finished off his beer.
“Where’d Tar go?” Renee questioned.
Hannah glanced at the dance floor. “Tyler came over and asked her to dance, I haven’t seen her since,” she said.
Trace cleared his throat; his foot giving Justin’s a little nudge under the table. Justin looked up at him his expression full of confusion before he kicked his leg back. Trace hissed as he stood up on one leg and rubbed the other with his hand, Hannah turned to him.
“You ok?” she questioned.
He nodded giving her a smile. They talked a little bit before Andrew went off to finish his set. Renee finished the last of her drink, putting her empty glass onto the table. She then turned towards Justin.
“C’mon, let’s dance,” she said taking his hand.
Justin shook his head. “I’m really ok,” he said.
She pouted. “Please?” she questioned.
He sighed and looked up at her. He finished off his beer before getting up and taking her hand onto the dance floor. Hannah opted to sit this one out while Trace went to get another beer. As she was sitting watching Trace talk with people in the bar, she spotted Tara coming towards her.
“Where were you?” Hannah asked.
Tara smiled. “I was playing pool with Tyler,” she said.
Hannah watched her as she sat down next to her, taking her drink and sipping on the straw.
“Where’s everyone?” she asked.
“Renee dragged Justin onto the dance floor,” Hannah said waiting for her reaction. She knew that she liked Justin, but also knew she didn’t want to get hurt.
“Oh,” Tara said. “And Trace?” she questioned winking. “I saw you guys on the dance floor.”
Hannah laughed. “He’s getting another drink,” she said.
Tara nodded as she peeked out onto the dance floor spotting Renee and Justin dancing. After a few more songs and drinks, the night was winding down. Hannah was feeling no pain as she had a few more Long Island Iced Teas, and continued dancing the night away with Trace. After Andrew’s set though, they mostly just stayed around the table drinking and talking like they were old pals.
“You guys have an early day tomorrow?” Andrew asked his arm around Renee’s shoulders as she leaned into him.
Renee groaned as she leaned her head on his shoulder. “We do,” she admitted. “You gonna cater lunch again?”
Andrew nodded. “As far as I know,” he said with a wink.
“What about you Justin, you workin’ too?” Renee asked.
Justin looked up at her from his drink. “I’ll be in the gym, do you guys have any idea where you’re filming?” he asked.
“I think we’re doin’ some library scenes,” Tara said.
“Oh library scenes,” Renee said with a smile and a wink.
Tara laughed and covered her face. Andrew watched her reaction and smirked.
“What?” he questioned.
Tara gave Renee a serious look and shook her head. Justin and Andrew watched the girls’ expressions before looking at each other.
“Is this the make-out scene??” Andrew asked, his eyes lighting up.
Tara’s cheeks turned red before she covered her face with her hands, and Renee let out a loud laugh.
“We totally have to catch this scene tomorrow!” Andrew said with a laugh.
Renee nudged him but smiled. “Don’t be mean,” she pouted.
He chuckled. “So how steamy does this movie get?” he questioned.
“It’s a teen film Andrew,” Renee said. “Don’t be perverted.”
“Perverted? Me?” Andrew said shocked.
Renee rolled her eyes. Tara was watching the dance floor, keeping her eye on Hannah who was dancing with Trace. Justin noticed the worried expression that was on Tara’s face as she watched them.
“She’s in good hands,” he said.
Tara turned to look at him, and smiled before looking back at them on the dance floor.
“I know,” she said. “She’s usually not one to just relax and hang out.”
Justin nodded in understanding before finishing off his beer. He had about reached his limit, or else he wouldn’t be able to drive home.
“Can I get you another?” she asked, noticing his empty bottle.
He shook his head sitting back in his chair. “No, I’m done for the night,” he said. “I won’t be able to drive home if I drink another.”
“Are you sure?” she questioned.
He shook his head. “I’m fine, really,” he replied. “Some other time.”
Tara watched him for a minute; did that mean they were going to see each other again? He hadn’t exactly been outgoing in his attraction to her, so she didn’t really know if he had any interest. She really wasn’t planning on getting involved either, but there was something about him that fascinated her.
“Did you just ask me what I think you did?” she teased.
Justin looked at her confused, his mind replaying what he had just said to her.
“Oh I mean-“ he started.
Tara only smiled. But before Justin could explain himself, Hannah came bouncing over with Trace following her.
“Did you see me?” she questioned her eyes big.
Tara looked up at her and smiled. “I did,” she said.
Hannah reached for her glass sipping the last of her tea.
“Do you want another?” Trace asked.
Tara shook her head at her. “Hannah, I think you’re done,” she said.
Hannah put the cup down and pouted.
“C’mon, one more won’t hurt her,” Trace said.
“No, I think we should get going,” Tara replied. “We have an early day tomorrow.”
Hannah sighed but nodded. “Alright,” she said then turned to Trace.
He was writing down his phone number on a piece of paper as Tara got up, gathering their purses before turning to Renee.
“You gonna come with us?” Tara questioned.
Renee looked at Tara and knew exactly what she had to do; she sighed and leaned to rest her head on Andrew’s shoulder.
“I should go,” she said. “I do have an early morning.”
“Can I walk you back to the hotel?” Andrew asked.
Renee smiled and nodded standing up grabbing her purse. Tara got her purse, as well as Hannah’s as Trace walked her towards the door, with everyone else following. They all filed out of the smoky bar and began their walk down the dirt road toward Main Street where the hotel was located.
Hannah and Trace ahead of them, as he tried to keep her on a straight path down the road, while Andrew and Renee in the middle, his arm wrapped around her shoulder as her arm was wrapped around his waist. Tara and Justin were at the end of the line following them.
“So, you coach basketball?” Tara asked as they made their way down the dimly light road.
Justin nodded. “I was just promoted to the varsity team,” he said.
“You like it?” she asked.
Justin chuckled. “I do, I know it sounds kinda lame compared to what you do, but-“
Tara shook her head. “I never said that,” she said. “I would love to stay in one place and do what I love,” she continued. “Unfortunately, there are only so many jobs in New York.”
“Is that where you’re from?” He asked.
Tara nodded. “Born and raised,” she said. “What about you?”
“I’ve lived here my whole life,” he commented.
“I bet that’s fun,” she said. “Everyone knowing who you are.”
“Yeah and your business too,” he chuckled.
Tara smiled. They continued their walk when they finally reached the lighted Main Street and made their way to the hotel.
“Listen, about before,” Justin started.
Tara shook her head and smiled. “I’m gonna hold you to it,” she said.
“I was just-“ he started again.
Tara giggled. “Its fine, besides it looks like our friends will be spending a lot more time together.”
Justin chuckled. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
They were standing in the front of the hotel, the two couples hugging goodbye before Trace passed a barely standing Hannah to Tara who was trying to keep her up right.
“We’ll see you guys tomorrow!” Renee said with a smile and a wave.
The three men waved before turning and making their way back towards the bar where their cars were parked.
All six of the having a night they never expected to have.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Thanks to everyone who is reading and reviewing! I'm glad you're enjoying the story. Now the good stuff starts :) Let me know what you think!
Chapter End Notes:
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