"You what?!" I whipped my head around from my mirror in the dressing room.
"I got a modeling contract… Last week," Mary Beth said. "Oh my God! Why didn't you tell me! That's awesome!"
Mary Beth had done little modeling jobs here and there since high school, so this was BIG news. "I leave for Paris in a week," Mary Beth said after I finished hugging her.
"Are you joking?! What about school?" I asked, stunned.
"I guess I'm taking time off. This is what I've dreamed of for so long. I mean, I'm gonna be walking the runways in Paris, and…"
I stopped her, "Say no more, girl. I totally get the whole opportunity of a lifetime deal… I mean look who you're talking to…" I smiled.
"But… now I have to break it to JC that I'm leaving in a week," she said.
"Oh yeah… Damn. He's gonna be crushed," I realized.
"Yeah I know."
"When will you come back?" I asked, turning to continue getting ready for the show.
"April," Mary Beth said.
"More than a month?!" I exclaimed
"Yeah… Which means I have to make this week with JC meaningful…" she grinned.
"And just HOW meaningful were you planning on?" I laughed, reading her mind.
"Have you seen the boy lately?! DUH! DAMN MEANINGFUL!" She plopped down on the small sofa that faced the closet on the other side of the medium-sized room. "You wanna know the best part about all of this?" she asked, smiling and twirling her hair around her first finger.
"What?" I asked.
"Whenever I'm in America, I can be with you guys… or at least I can for this week, and when I get back in April," she said.
"How come?" I questioned.
"Well, I let school know the deal already, and I'm pretty sure that, if everything goes as planned in Europe, I'll have the summer free when I get back… Well, aside from small projects every so often. The point is, if Europe gets me started like I hope it will, people here will come to ME… not the other way around," she smirked.
I walked over to her and sat down on the couch. "Do you realize how much we rock?" I laughed.
"I know… here we are, a pop star and a model… Now, who would have thought?" she said, gloating.
"How my girls doing?" JC poked his head through the door.
We immediately stifled our laughter, knowing JC would want to know the deal. I threw my head back on the couch, looking upside-down at JC's figure in the doorway.
"What's up JC?" I said.
"Well, the show for one thing… its about to start, woman!"
"Oh shit," Mary Beth and I said at the exact same moment, looking at each other with the same goofy look of fear. This only made us burst into laughter again. We stood up from the couch.
"You better go get your seat," I said to Mary Beth, turning red from our giggles.
"Yeah, I will…" Mary Beth coughed, stopping her laughter. "Good luck!" she quickly hugged me.
She moved towards the door, and JC led her out of the room with a child-like grin spread across his face. I fixed a few last minute things on my outfit and headed towards the stage entrance to meet everyone else.
Justin stood in his usual spot, near the rest of the dancer/singers and Eric, waiting for me.
"Hey," he said, kissing me softly.
"Hey baby," I replied to him, moistening his lips with my own.
"All the guys wanna go clubbin' after the show… You wanna?" he asked.
"Do I ever turn down the invitation to go to a club, boy?" I asked, sarcastically.
"Well, no, but I wasn't sure, with Mary Beth here and all…" he said.
"No, ol' girl's a party animal… plus it'll be good for JC to have some fun with her before she leaves," I said.
"You mean before WE leave, right?" Justin looked puzzled.
"No, I mean before SHE leaves for Par-… Oops… umm," I stopped myself.
"Paris? She's going to Paris?" Justin said loudly.
"Shhhh!" I covered his mouth with my hand. "Shit… I shouldn't have said anything. I don't want JC to hear it from anyone but Mary Beth," I kept my hand over Justin's mouth, and he raised his eyebrows in question. "She got a modeling contract… finally. And she leaves for Paris in a week to get started… She'll be back with us in April… but… you CAN'T say ANYTHING to JC, baby… he's gonna be hurt as it is… He should hear it from her." I felt him grin underneath my fingers, and then felt his slippery tongue brush over my palm. I curled my fingers away from his mouth.
"You're secret's safe with me, girl," Justin smiled slyly.
"So I'll see you on the bus after the show?" I wrapped my arms around him, standing on my tiptoes.
"Yeah…" Justin kissed me slowly, "It's 'bout time we partied a little, baby… isn't it?" he said when we had pulled back from our kiss.
"Mmm-hmmm…" I leaned back in and kissed Justin again. The lights went out, and it was time to run out onto stage.
"Go kick some ass, as always, girl," Justin smiled.
"You too… make JC thrown in a few extra thrusts for my girl!" I laughed, walking away from him.
"You bet… I love you," Justin said as our arms stretched apart, our hands still clasped together.
"I love you too," I replied, as I followed the others out onto the stage.
