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.: Chapter VIII :.

((PART 1))

"Are y'all hungry? I'm hungry," Lily stated as she, Cat and Natalie made their way through the still busy streets of Atlanta.

"I'm always hungry," Natalie declared. "You hungry there, 'bitch'?" she directed at Cat in the back seat. She was referencing the insult offered to Cat a few minutes earlier.

Busy drafting a text message to her sister, Elena, Cat raised her head slightly. "What's that?"

Natalie and Lily laughed. "Food?" Lily questioned from the drivers seat. She caught eyes with Cat through the rearview mirror.

Nodding fiercely, Cat's eyes lit up. "Yes! I would love to drown my irritation in something greasy."

"From a greasy man to greasy fries!" Natalie belted. "That guy was a jack-ass. You should have stayed with Justin!"

Cat frowned and pounded the back of her seat. "You don't 'stay' with someone you're not with." That was definitely true but Natalie, in her own drunken way, did have a point. At least Justin hadn't disrespected her when she was rude to him. That had to say something about his character, didn't it?

Cat made a vow that if she saw him at her Gran's again, she would apologize for having been so rude. And maybe she'd actually sit down and talk with him. That couldn't hurt anything. Plus it would be fun to throw it in her friends' faces.

"Earth to Cat," Lily called, snapping Catalina from her thoughts.

"Oh. Sorry."

"I bet she's thinking about Juuuuustin!" Natalie cooed.

Cat pounded on the back of Natalie's seat again. "Girl, shut the hell up! We need to get this drunk bitch something to soak up that alcohol."

"Yes I'm drunk. And so what! Plus," corrected Natalie, "I believe you're the bitch, if memory serves."

All three ladies laugh as Lily pulls her car into the parking lot of a Wendy's.

* * *

"Mmm, cheeseburger," Trace moaned, taking another bite of his sandwich.

Justin chuckled as he munched on his french fries. Not one to partake in fast food on a regular basis, Justin's secret passion was and had for years been, Wendy's french fries and frosty's. Now, in the sparsely inhabited restaurant, he chomped happily on a large order of the greasy potatoes after greedily scarfing his frosty.

"So, what are we doing tomorrow?" Trace asked between bites.

"I thought we'd hit 'the Underground' and do some shopping. I need bed sheets and extra towels."

"Sounds good, Martha Stewart. Maybe we'll see that chick…what's her name? Catherine? She can act like a bitch some more. That was fun to watch," Trace offered.

Before Trace could even laugh at his own joke, he felt a sharp pain in his already bruised calf as Justin's foot made contact.

"Ow. What the fuck, dude?" Trace winced.

"Sorry. Reflex," Justin smirked, shoving several more fries into his mouth.

He laughed as Trace mumbled insults at him, but immediately began coughing and choking as he spied Catalina and two other women enter the restaurant.

"You ok?" Trace inquired, concern on his face.

Justin reached across the table and grabbed Trace's Coke. Taking several sips, it was another ten or eleven seconds before he was able to answer his friend.

"Cat," Justin gasped, bringing the straw to his lips once more. Sipping fiercely, he repeated, "Cat."

Trace stared at Justin, confused. "What?"

"You've got to be kidding me," Justin breathed.

"Do you mind filling me in on what the hell you're talking about?" Trace pleaded with aggravation.

"Cat. She just walked in."

Trace's head whipped around and there she was, looking way too hot to be an elementary school teacher in a maroon, knee length, empire dress; hair resting loosely around her shoulders.

"Damn, she is too fine," Trace breathed.

"I hope you realize how much I'm resisting the urge to kick you again," said Justin, his eyes never leaving Cat and her friends.

"I've known you my entire life and have never seen you like this," Trace stated, intrigued.

"What do you mean?" Justin asked, eyes still on Cat.

"I mean you know jack shit about this chick, but you're sitting here 'eye-stalking' her. Every time I say anything negative about her, you kick me - which by the way is real-fucking-gay - and to top it all off, she seems to be every fucking place you are."

Rolling his eyes, Justin sighed heavily. "Your point?"

"My point is that I think she's stalking you. And out of the millions of women you've come in contact with in your life, why does this one make you act like a pussy?"

This time, Justin resisted the urge to resist the urge and kicked Trace once more.

"Damn it, Justin!" Trace shouted, much louder than he had wanted. The commotion attracted the attention of all the six people in the restaurant, not including the staff in the back. And this time, when Justin looked over at Cat, he was startled to see her looking back.

* * *

Lily pulled into a parking spot and cut her engine. The three ladies piled out of the car and made their way inside the restaurant.

"I'm sooo hungry," Lily moaned, holding her stomach.

"For someone who eats so damn much, where does the food go?" Cat questioned. She'd asked this question before but her confusion remained as Lily, a barely five feet tall Taiwanese American woman always ate more than anyone - including men - and still remained petite.

"All I have to do is smell food and I gain two pounds!" Cat continued.

"Oh please!" Lily challenged. "I'd love to have curves like yours. And tits!"

At the sound of the word, "tits," the elderly couple nearby, looked up at the women in disdain.

Lily avoided their glare as Cat and Natalie fought back laughter.

The three approached the counter and one at time, placed their orders. From there, they moved to the condiments.

"Would you like some food with your ketchup?" Natalie asked Lily, who was busy filling her third mini cup with the red sauce.

"La la la, I can't hear you," Lily answered.

"She does have a point," Cat defended. "I've never seen an adult with so much ketchup."

"Still not hearing you," Lily stated again.

"Damn it, Justin!" Everyone in the restaurant, including Cat and her friends, turned their heads to the commotion.

Mouth dropping open in surprise, Cat saw Justin (and Trace, of course) sitting at a booth in the corner.

"You've got to be kidding me," Cat breathed. Just as those words escaped her, Justin's eyes locked places with her own.

"What's up?" Natalie asked, approaching Cat. She followed her eyes and nearly dropped her tray in the process.

"Wow. Is that…?" Natalie began.

"Yeah." Cat stated, flatly.

"And he's…?" Lily began.

"Yeah."

It could not have been more than ten seconds that Justin started at Cat and Cat and her friends stared at Justin. Natalie, still quite intoxicated, broke the tension.

"Hi, Justin!" she called. Cat's head flew around to stare at her "friend"

"Nat!" Cat hissed through clenched teeth.

"Yeah, Nat. What are you doing?" Lily chimed.

But Natalie ignored the other two women, lifted her tray and walked hastily toward Justin's table. Cat and Lily shared an uneasy look and followed.

"Hi, Justin!" Natalie said again, once she reached the table.

Justin and Trace shared a confused glance.

"Um…hi?" Justin greeted uneasily.

Natalie's smile grew, even while Cat seethed with embarrassment and Lily offered as much silent comforting as she could muster.

Catalina groaned internally. A mildly religious person, Cat believed that God had a purpose for everything and apparently His current purpose was to force Cat to be nice to this man. How else could one explain why Justin was everywhere that Catalina was all the time?

"How are you tonight?" Natalie continued her questioning.

"Apparently not as good as you're doing," Trace piped in taking note of her obviously inebriated condition.

Everyone chuckled nervously, save for Natalie who scowled at the comment.

"You know, I never get drunk. The one time I do, people don't let me live it down. Fuck that!" she declared, sitting down beside Trace.

Surprised at Natalie's gall to invite herself to sit, Trace muttered, "Why don't you ladies have a seat."

Lily pulled a chair to the table, sitting on the other side of Trace, leaving the only available seat beside Justin. Cat sighed deeply, audible to everyone present.

Justin, who had remained silent through this entire show, became irritated at Cat's sigh and sucked his teeth. "You don't have to sit next to me. I can move."

Cat then realized that the sigh had come off wrong and hurried to explain. "No. No…I wasn't sighing because of you." She paused and rethought her statement. "Well, actually I am. Can I talk to you for a minute?"
Justin glanced at Trace, who nodded slightly. Sighing himself, Justin stood and met Cat's eyes.

"Lead the way."

* * *

Justin stood and followed Catalina out of the small restaurant. As he trailed her, he could not help but appreciate her curvaceous form. Built similar to Kim Kardashian, but without the "porn star" quality. His eyes traveled the length of her frame from her head to her feet and back up.

As his eyes finally returned to her head, he found Cat staring at him in irritation. "You'd think you'd never seen a woman before," she quipped.

Justin blushed and grinned shyly. "Sorry."

For what seemed to Justin like the thousandth time that evening, Cat sighed. She tucked a few loose strands of hair behind her ear before speaking. "Look…Justin…I'm sorry for my attitude yesterday and today… It's nothing personal." Justin stayed silent and stared intently at the woman in front of him. She was so pretty. And she seemed really smart, which he found refreshing. Still, though, he was irritated and intrigued both at the same time.

Cat bit her lip and twiddled her thumbs nervously. She looked out over the parking lot as a car pulled around to the "drive thru."

"Um…I just…you make me nervous," Cat continued. Justin blinked in surprise.

"Why?"

Cat scoffed and threw her hands up in the air. "You're not serious."

Justin rubbed his hands together and nodded slowly in realization. It was his celebrity that made her nervous. He was surprised. She seemed so confident and mature, which he didn't see much of when in the company of women who didn't know him.

"I see," he stated simply.

Cat shrugged. "What can I say. You are…well, you know who you are."

Justin smirked. "Yeah. I know who I am. But you don't."

Confused, Cat raised an eyebrow. "I don't understand."

Justin folded his arms across his chest. "I mean, yeah, I'm famous. But music is my job. Like being a lawyer or a doctor. I'm a guy like any other guy and you don't know me. I tried to be nice and talk to you but you immediately judged me as someone you couldn't know because of my job."

Cat looked uneasy and scratched her neck. "Seems to be a trend for me lately."

Justin rolled his eyes and turned back toward the door. Cat reached out and touched his arm lightly. Both stopped. Justin looked over his shoulder to see Cat biting her lip again, nervous.

"Um," she began. "I…I don't want you to think I'm some crazy bitch."

Justin wanted to say, "too late," but held back and grinned lightly. "Well prove you're not and be cordial when I try to talk you…"

His hand came up and touched hers which rested still on his arm. Catalina cleared her throat and drew her hand from his.

"Fair enough," she replied simply.

"Ok, then." Justin nodded and opened the door.

Stepping aside, he gestured for her to enter ahead of him. Still looking uneasy, Cat moved ahead and into the restaurant, Justin trailing behind.

Justin held the door for Catalina as they reentered the Wendy's. Catalina approached the table, wringing her hands nervously.

Lily, Natalie and Trace seemed to be having a grand old time, laughing about…whatever they were laughing about.

Natalie looked up and smiled at Cat, while munching lazily on a french fry. "Hey! Welcome back. Did you two make out, yet?"

Trace and Natalie guffawed as if it was the funniest thing either of them had ever heard. Justin appeared unaffected by the comment, while Cat blushed furiously.

"This lady's fucking hi-larious," Trace announced.

Ignoring him, Justin slid into the booth. Cat hesitated ever so slightly before sliding in next to him. She began unwrapping her cheeseburger, the entire time, her eyes pleaded with Lily's across the table. She found nothing but amusement staring back.

"So," Trace began, his eyes fixed on Cat. "Why have you been so rude to my friend, here?"

As the words exited his mouth, Trace instinctively jerked his legs away from Justin. Surprisingly, Justin made no move to kick him and instead reached for one of his long cold fries, the faintest of grins playing across his lips.

"I make her nervous," he answered. His face was serious but there was teasing in his voice.