I heard my footsteps hit along the slick floor as I was walking towards the cafeteria room. I pushed the coffee colored wooden door to enter the room. I sighed as I was looking for Trace and Justin. My eyes bounced around the room hoping to find them. I was about to give up in defeat, when I saw a flash of hand waving at me. I realized that the hand’s owner was Trace. I smiled with gratefulness. One thing I hate is eating alone. I strolled towards the two figures sitting down.
“Hey, guys.” I grinned at the two men.
“Hey, Dina. ‘Sup?” Trace welcomed me.
“Hey.” Justin tried saying as he was stuffing himself with some spaghetti. I chuckled at the sight.
“What?” Justin questioned, crinkling his forehead.
“You have some sauce right there.” I answered him pointing at the corner of his mouth.
“Oh, thanks.” Justin wiped his mouth.
“Anyway, I’ll be right back. Let me just get some food.”
“Sure.” Trace replied back, and immediately took a bite of his burger.
I turned around and marched away to get some food. I was getting sick of this stuff. I missed homemade food. This stuff was just too unhealthy. I finally decided on a Roasted Turkey Sandwich and a salad.
“I see you got your usual.” Trace laughed as he pointed at my food.
“Yeah, everything else was just too disgusting and oily.” I made a face. It had been about a week since I met Trace. I don’t know what it was about Trace, but he just made me feel comfortable to be around him. Most of the time he actually wanted my opinion about things. I always felt at ease with him. He just seemed like a nice guy, and potentially a good friend. I looked at the other man seating next to Trace. I’ve been around Justin for more than two weeks now, and I still awkward around him. He doesn’t seem like a bad guy, just one with a big ego. But being who he is and what he does, I can understand how he gets his big head from. But he never did anything for me to dislike him or feel uneasy being around him. But for some inexplicable reason, I get the feeling that he isn’t too fond of me either. I sighed.
“So how your day?” I said before I took a bite of my sandwich.
“Tiring.” Justin groaned as he rubbed his back.
“Great. I met some great women today!” Trace licked his lips.
“Shut up, Trace.” Both Justin and I simultaneously said.
“What did I do? I get no love here, man. No love at all.” Trace shook his head.
“Unlike you, Justin and I actually had stuff to do, as in work.” Justin nodded with agreement. “So, excuse us for hating your guts right about now, for rubbing at our faces with your carefree days here.” I accused him playfully.
“Exactly.” Justin repeated.
“Oh, yeah Justin. That reminds me. I talked to Johnny. And he agreed to let you have the night off today. So, you can go out today and have fun.”
“Yes!” Justin exclaimed excitedly.
“Dude, we are going to have so much fun tonight.”
“Yeah, dancing, girls, drinking, and some good lay…”
“Uh, but not too much fun.” I intercepted. “Sorry, guys, but Johnny strictly told me to tell you, Justin, that a good night at the club is alright. But not too much drinking…. And you can’t do absolutely anything that might get in the tabloids.” I gazed hard at him.
Justin groaned. “I know, I know. Dina, you’re just as bad as Johnny. Don’t worry about it, I won’t do anything stupid.”
“Dina, you should come with us. It’ll relax your nerves and all the stress you’ve been feeling.” Trace remarked.
“What!?” I almost spitted out my soda. “I mean, what?” I calmly repeated.
“Why don’t you come with us?” Trace said again.
I quickly glanced at Justin, and he seemed as surprised as I was.
“No, that’s okay. I’m not really into clubs that much.” I declined Trace’s offer.
“Oh, come on, it should be fun.” Trace whined. “Shouldn’t she come with us, J?” Trace asked Justin.
“Yeah, you should join us. You’ll have a lot of fun. Everyone needs a breather from work and tour life once in awhile.” Justin said.
“Yeah, besides we don’t take no for an answer.”
“Excuse me?” I said shocked.
“Yeah, we’ll pick you up at around nine tonight at your hotel room.” Trace ignoring my answer.
“Trace, I really don’t want to go…”
“Justin, you wanna help me on this.”
“Really, you do have to go now. Once Trace sets his mind on something, he doesn’t back out. Besides if you’re uncomfortable with the whole club scene, we’ll be right there with you… We’ll watch your back.”
“And besides, aren’t you supposed to be following Justin around and everything? So it’s basically your job to do this. Anyway, will you look at the time, I gotta do something. I’ll see you at nine.” Trace dashed off.
“What?” I was still shocked with disbelief.
Justin started laughing. “Don’t worry about it. It’s going to be fun.”
I frowned. “I don’t know. I really hate clubs. It’s not me.”
“Look, by the end of the night, you’ll be glad we took you. You’ll really enjoy it. And besides, it’s your real first break from work. You gotta do this.”
“This seems like high school all over again. Peer pressure. Always hated that aspect of the whole teenage thing.” I said I crunched on the last few pieces of the salad.
“Man, you make us sound like those drugies, who force you to smoke and take drugs.”
Justin and I started laughing at the idea. “No, but still…”
Justin shrugged his shoulders. “Just go, and if you still don’t like it, just come back to the hotel room. Either ask one of us, or I’ll send you with one of my bodyguards.”
I sighed. “Alright.” I finished my soda, and started standing up with Justin. “Ready for sound-check?”
“Yeah. Let’s go.” Justin and I headed out the cafeteria. I then had to pause myself when I realized that this was one of the first few relaxed conversations that I had with Justin.
“Everything okay?” Justin asked.
“Uh, yeah.” I started walking along with Justin again.
