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Chapter 12
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"Hey man, are you ready?" Jess asked as she walked into the living room showing less skin then she was earlier. Nick was pleased although he still wondered why Justin was here and why he was staying with her. Jess had her hair up in a half ponytail with a blue beaded barrette that matched her baby blue shirt and blue jeans. She walked over to the door and put on her sandals that showed off her toenails that were painted with a light pink hue, only visible when you saw them in a certain light. She caught Nick looking at her out of the corner of her eye but she didn't say anything. Why is he here? She thought to herself as she grabbed her jacket.
"Do you even have to ask if I'm ready when there's food involved." he remarked opening the door and holding it open for Jess. She just smiled and stepped out.
"Dumb question. I guess it's just been so long since we've done anything together that I forgot some real important details." Ooh. Do I need help taking the foot out of my mouth or can I do it on my own? She scolded herself in her mind realizing what she said after the fact that she said it.
"I guess some things never change." he said stepping into the elevator.
"Huh?" she said.
"You still have a way of making me feel bad even though you don't mean to." He glanced down at her and placed his hand on her shoulder for a second then felt rather uncomfortable.
All the way down to the lobby they were silent. Neither of them knew what to say. Jess finally broke it when she took a trip down memory lane.
"Isn't this insane? I mean, we are so quiet right now, I remember when no one could shut us up." She giggled at her comment. Nick cracked a smile and added to it.
"Yeah, you remember when we went to Much Music when we were going out? You kept making faces and mouthing things to me. Rick asked me a question and I didn't even hear him. Brian had to nudge me a couple times before I started paying attention."
"Yeah, then they wouldn't let me out on the floor when you guys were giving interviews." Nick laughed remembering many things now. They were headed out the door and getting into Jess' truck still reminiscing.
"Oh," jess began. "What about when we were in Vancouver and went on that cruise at night. It was so beautiful. The moon was full and the stars were out." She went silent but continued to smile as if remembering every detail that night in secret. Nick smiled also.
"Yeah, I remember. It was our one year anniversary. I thought we'd be together forever." he said accidentally. " I mean,"
"I know what you meant Nick. I was so in love with you, I thought the same thing. I thought nothing would ever come between us, but something did, in more ways then one for you." She pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant and parked. Nick didn't say anything. Jess apologized. "Nick, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that. I don't even know where it came from." Nick waved his hand and interrupted her.
"Jess, it's okay. I mean, I don't blame you. What I did was completely wrong and I learned my lesson. You don't know how much I regret my decision now. Especially now that Lucy is...nevermind" Jess shut off the car and pulled out the key.
"Now that Lucy is what? You can so not leave me hanging here, especially after what she said to me." Nick snapped his head to look at her.
"What did she say?" Jess shook her head.
"Nuh-uh. You have to tell me what you were going to say."
"Jess..." he whined
"No."
"Argh, fine. But let's go into the restaurant first, okay?" Jess shook her head and they headed into the restaurant.
"A table for two please." Jess asked the hostess, a young blond haired female who looked no older than 18. She showed them to their seat then told them the waitress would be by shortly. They took their seats and Jess watched the hostess walk quickly, trying not to run, to one of the waitresses, Probably her friend, Jess thought. She watched the hostess excitedly tell the red head something and then point over to where they were sitting. She turned to Nick and motioned with her head towards the girls. "I think you have some admirers." Nick turned his head to look then swung it back around. He just shrugged his shoulders. "So, what's up with you and Lucy? What were you going to say in the car?" Nick put down his water he was drinking and smiled.
"Well, you've changed a bit haven't you? You just get right to the point."
"Eh, I've learned that if you want a straight answer you have to be forward." Nick placed his arms on the table and Jess leaned back in her chair. She started to take off her jacket and place it on the chair when the waitress the hostess was talking to came over. She was dressed in mandatory uniform of the restaurant, white blouse, black slacks but Jess couldn't shake the feeling she'd seen her somewhere. She dismissed the idea, thinking she must have seen her here, since she used to come to the restaurant often with Mark.
"Mark." She said out of nowhere.
"Pardon me?" The waitress asked confused.
"Do you know Mark O'Connell?" When Jess mentioned Marks name the waitress smiled.
"Why yes, I do. He's my boyfriend. We'll be going on 2 years next week." Jess was taken aback. 2 years?
"2 years?" The waitress nodded and pointed to a table in the corner of the room. There was Mark, sitting by himself obviously waiting for the waitress to take her break Nick turned his head to look at the man that broke his friends heart and was hurting her even more now then Nick ever could
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