Chapter
47: Making Plans
“Aquarius!”
Deaq yelled as they entered Ryde. Sara was a little hesitant about being at the
place where all this had started, but with Van’s arm wrapped around her, she
walked into the club with a little more confidence. They made their way through
the empty dance floor to the back where major renovations where happening from
the bust that had gone bad two weeks prior.
“Back
here,” someone called from behind a plastic curtain at the back of the club.
Deaq headed towards the voice as Van and Sara followed close behind. “Van,
Deaq, always a pleasure, even though what you did to my club the other week did
take away some of my profit,” Aquarius said when he saw the three approach.
His eyes immediately went to the woman he didn’t recognize.
“Hey,
didn’t we say we’d pay you back?” Van replied.
Aquarius
merely nodded, never once taking his eyes off the girl standing next to him.
“So, who’s this lovely creature?”
“Aquarius,
I’d like you to meet the newest member of the Candy Store, Sara Pezzini. Sara,
this is my boy, Aquarius,” Deaq introduced.
“Please
to meet you,” Sara politely replied as she held out her right hand.
“Believe
me, the pleasure is all mine,” he said, taking her hand and shaking it
lightly. “How did someone as beautiful as you end up with two guys as dumb as
these two?” She merely laughed at the comment, her left hand covering her
mouth as she tried to hide her blush as well. That’s when he noticed the ring.
“My, that’s some impressive ice. Who’s the lucky man?”
“Um…”
Sara started to say as her eyes fell upon Van for a moment, silently asking him
what to do.
Slowly
raising his hand, he said, “Me.”
Aquarius
gave him a shocked look as he replied, “You?!? Why didn’t you ever tell me
you were dating someone?”
“Because…
Because…” Van didn’t know what to tell him. Whatever he came up with would
probably sound lame, so he turned to Deaq with pleading eyes, silently asking
him to explain.
“They’ve
only been going out for two weeks! The idiot proposed last night,” Deaq
finally answered in an angry tone, indicating he was still a little irritated by
Van’s actions. He got a swift jab in this side from his partner a few seconds
later, reminding him that Sara was standing right next to them. “Ow! Sorry.”
“We
didn’t come here to discuss my engagement!” Van growled, giving them all
that angry and flustered look. “We have shit to do other than gossip about our
personal lives.”
A smirk
came across Sara’s face as she tried to hold in her laughter. This was
definitely one side of Van she hadn’t taken a close look at, but now that it
had appeared, she couldn’t help herself. It was just too funny. Being this
serious about work was something she never expected, especially after all that
time they had tried to avoid it.
“Alright,
so, what’s up?” Aquarius asked as he led them back towards the dance floor
away from the area where renovations were still going on.
“Trent
Weaver,” Van replied.
“Trent
Weaver, whoo! Tall order.”
“He’s
tried to wet the CEO of a sports equipment company the other day, and we wanna
make sure that doesn’t happen again. We want you to get us a meeting with him
and soon. Tell him we’re one of the best hit teams to ever set foot in LA and
we’re looking for a contract,” Van explained.
“I
don’t know, Van. He’s a bit out of my reach. Besides, he likes to setup the
meetings himself. All I can do is kick your names around and get you noticed,”
Aquarius answered. “The rest is up to
“How
will we know if he does or not?” Sara questioned, finally getting in her own
two cents about the idea.
“Believe
me, you’ll know,” he replied. “
The three
cops looked at each other in bewilderment, then Van nodded his head. “Thanks,
man. We’ll be seein’ ya.” With that, they all left, heading to the Candy
Store for a few minutes to talk to Billie, then going home for some rest after a
very eventful day.
*~*~*
As Sunday
morning rolled around, Sara awoke to the smell of coffee floating around in her
room. As she stretched out and looked around, she realized that Van hadn’t
spent the night and that Vicky was probably the one already up making coffee.
After rising from her bed, Sara walked into the bathroom for a quick shower,
grabbed some of her more revealing clothes, like the white lace shirt in the
back of her closet and a pair of black leather pants, and headed to the kitchen
for her morning caffeine jolt.
Vicky was
sitting on one of the chairs at the kitchen table when Sara walked in. She
looked up, smiled, and returned to reading the paper she had in her hand.
“Morning,”
Sara said as she grabbed herself a cup of coffee and sat down across from her.
“Morning,”
Vicky replied, her eyes never moving from her paper.
Sara began
to wonder what was keeping her friend from having a conversation with her and
asked, “What’s so interesting?”
“The
comics,” Vicky simply answered.
Taking a
closer look, Sara noticed that she was no where near the comics and that her
eyes weren’t even staring at the paper. “Okay, out with it. What’s on your
mind?” she immediately ordered.
“Nothing,”
Vicky protested as she started flipping through the pages of her paper looking
for the comics section.
“Vicky,” Sara chimed. “You’re head’s in the clouds and you eyes are certainly not on the paper. There’s something on you mind. What is it? Come on, we’ve been friends ever since I can remember when. You can tell me."
Vicky
looked up at her and just stared for a few moments, her eyes quickly falling
down across her paper once more when a look of complete frustration came across
her face. “I don’t know how to tell you this, Sara…”
“Well,
you can try,” she replied.
After a
few moments of changing facial expressions and emotions brooding in her mind,
Vicky finally said, “I have the biggest crush on your partner.”
“Which
one?” Sara asked, feeling a bit confused by the way she had been talking about
Van for the last few days.
“Deaq,”
Vicky shyly answered, her cheeks turning a slight shade of rosy red.
“Really?”
Sara said, a smile gracing her face. She could see the bond beginning to form
between the two ever since she had gotten here. She was glad that Vicky was
finally coming forward with the information.
“Do you
think he likes me?”
Sara had
to stifle the laugh that was about to erupt from her lips as she replied,
“Yeah, I mean, why else would he drag you around everywhere with him?”
“I
dunno, company,” Vicky tried to shoot down any idea that Sara was about to
give her. “To keep me out of trouble at the Candy Store. To keep me out of
Billie’s hair. To keep me from making an ass out of myself. I dunno, Sara, you
tell me.”
“Then
why did he take you with him to see that little street race between me and
Van?” Sara reasoned.
Vicky
shrugged her shoulders, “I dunno.”
The two
sat in an awkward silence for a few minutes before Sara finally spoke up and
asked, “So, what do you like about him?”
Vicky’s
face turned bright red as her dull smile turned into a wide grin. “He’s so
cute!” she cooed, immediately spacing out as she continued. “He’s got the
hottest body, the greatest eyes, the sweetest smile, and the perfect
personality. He’s your all around Mr. Wonderful.”
Sara bit
down hard on her lip to keep from bursting out laughing. Was this the way she
sounded talking about Van? ‘Oh, God… If I do, somebody please slap me,’
she thought, the metallic taste of her blood quickly dissipating over her
tongue.
“What?”
Vicky asked, realizing Sara had an ever growing smile on her face and that
devious look in her eyes.
“Nothing,”
Sara replied, unable to wipe the smug grin off her face. “It’s just that
I’m listening to the way you’re describing Deaq and wondering if I sounded
that silly talking about Van.”
Vicky gave
her a mock look of shock and retorted, “You sure did, and it was a whole lot
worse than me!”
Both girls
burst out giggling as they tried to contain their excitement. Today was
definitely shaping out to be one of those carefree days that Sara hadn’t
experienced in a long time, well, what felt like a long time. Once their fit of
laughter was over, she looked over at Vicky, that devious look still on her
face, and said, “You know what we should do tonight?”
“What?”
Vicky giggled.
“We
should have a girl’s night out,” Sara answered.
“Oh,
yeah! Then you can dish about how Van proposed!” Vicky exclaimed. “And
we’re definitely bringing along Billie. She really needs to loosen up a bit,
even though I think Ian might have been able to do that for her last night, if
you know what I mean.”
“Oh,
shut up!” Sara grumbled as she stood from the kitchen table and headed back
into the bathroom.
“Hey,
where are you going?” Vicky yelled, watching her friend as she made her way
back into her room.
“I need
to do my hair!” Sara shouted back as she kicked the bathroom door closed with
her foot and looked in the mirror, the towel around her head falling to the
floor as she picked up a brush.
‘She has
changed,’ Vicky thought, getting back to her morning paper, something she
could finally do now that she had confided her feelings for Deaq to someone she
trusted.
*~*~*
All was
quite at the Candy Store early that Sunday morning, save for the murmured voices
coming from the upstairs lounge where Van and Deaq were trying to start a
conversation that didn’t end with an argument about Van’s engagement to
Sara. Van was ready to make one more attempt at a sensible conversation when he
remembered something… Vicky. The two of them had been making googly eyes at
each other ever since she arrived. Why the hell not explore his feelings for
her? It would definitely make for an interesting conversation and detract
attention from his own little girl problem.
“So,
about Sara’s friend… She seems like a nice person. She’s pretty cute too.
What do you think is her best feature?” Van asked, a smirk ready to appear on
his face if Deaq answered the questions the way he was expecting.
“I
dunno,” Deaq replied. “What do you think is her best feature?”
“Her
ass,” Van shamelessly replied, a grin appearing on his face as he glanced over
at his partner to see his reaction. Just what he expected, dumbfounded and
utterly befuddled. “How ‘bout you?”
“Um…”
Deaq stuttered, “her enthusiasm…”
Van was
ready to stand up and yell, “BULL SHIT!” but restrained himself from the
outburst. He knew his friend was timid about his feelings towards women, except
when it came to Van, then he’d go all out, hounding him for the way he felt
about the opposite sex. But it was never about Deaq. Still, Van stayed quiet as
his grin grew.
“What
the hell are you smiling about?” Deaq asked, noticing.
“Oh,
nothing… absolutely nothing,” Van answered, still unable to wipe the smug
grin off his face.
“It
better be nothing,” Deaq mumbled.
“Ooh,
getting all defensive, aren’t we?” Van replied.
“What
the hell are you talking about? Besides, you shouldn’t be staring at another
girl’s ass if you’ve already got a fiancé,” Deaq scolded, ready to slap
Van in the back of the head if he made one more lame ass comment about Vicky and
her body.
“I’m
sorry; it’s just hard not to stare.” Van knew he was pushing it, but hell,
this was a lot of fun!
“Do you
really want me to call Sara right now and tell her what you said?” Deaq warned
as he pulled out his cell phone and got ready to dial his partner’s number.
Van began
to laugh. “I’m just messing with you!” he answered. “Come on, I know her
enthusiasm isn’t the only thing that’s gotten your attention. I’ve seen
the way you’ve been looking at her. Admit it, you think she’s hot!”
“What
guy in his right mind wouldn’t think that Vicky was hot?” Deaq retorted,
ready to end this conversation quickly.
“Only a
gay one,” Van replied. “But I still think you got the hots for her.”
“No, I
don’t,” Deaq defensively shot back.
“Yes,
you do.”
“No, I
don’t.”
“Yes,
you do!”
“No, I
don’t!”
“Yes,
you do!”
“Alright!
Enough verbal volleyball! This is something I’m supposed to be doing to you!
It’s not supposed to be the other way around!” Deaq finally had had enough.
“Quit
changing the subject and tell me the truth because right now, my bull shit meter
is on code red. Come on, Deaq, you like her. Don’t deny it!” Van was being
really calm about this. He was still pushing his friend’s buttons, but this
had now become his mission. He was determined to find out Deaq’s true feelings
towards Vicky, and wouldn’t stop until he had all the details.
*~*~*
Sara
stepped out of the bathroom, her hair up in a French twist with a few loose
strands falling around her face, her mind continuing to bug her about pestering
Vicky for more of her thoughts on Deaq. As she walked back into the kitchen, she
noticed that her friend had changed into some modest clothes and had put down
her paper for a bowl of cereal.
“Now,
why are you so attracted to my partner?” Sara asked as she sat down at the
table again, grabbing her now cold cup of coffee and taking a sip of the liquid.
“You gave me a really crappy answer the first time. I want details.”
“You’ll
get them,” Vicky coyly replied as she grabbed another spoonful of her cereal.
“Tonight…”
“Oh, you
suck!” Sara playfully whacked her shoulder. “So, little Ms. Mysterious,
where do you wanna go tonight?”
“Dinner
then clubbing. I hear Van’s got the hook up to some of the hottest clubs here
in LA.”
“And
where’d you hear this?”
“From
Deaq.”
‘Of
course,’ Sara thought, a smile crossing her lips. “I’m gonna go give
Billie a call to see if she’ll come tonight, then I’ll call Van and ask him
to hook us up,” she said aloud, heading for her “office” where she had
plugged in her phone to charge. She picked it up and started to dial her
boss’s number, hoping and praying that she wasn’t in the middle of anything,
or asleep.
“Hello?”
came Billie’s groggy reply after three rings.
“Hey,
Billie, it’s Sara. Did I wake you?” she politely asked, hoping that she
wouldn’t get on her bad side.
“Yeah,”
Billie answered.
“Another
wild night with Ian?” Sara replied, unable to hold back the hint of jealousy
in her voice.
“No, I
was completely and utterly alone last night,” Billie responded, not noticing.
“Hmm… What time is it?”
“Almost
ten; you should be out of bed by now.”
“I
don’t wanna get out of bed.”
“What if
I told you we were going out tonight for a girl’s night out?”
“Where
and what time?”
“I
dunno, but probably around nine. Vicky wants to go to dinner then clubbing.”
With a big
yawn that Sara could hear over the phone, Billie said, “Great. I got the
perfect place for dinner, but I gotta ask Van if he’ll call Johnny and have
him put us on his VIP list tonight.”
“Actually,
I was just about to do that,” Sara replied.
“Oh,
then please be my guest.”
“Alright,
then, I’ll see you later, bye.”
“Hmm…”
Billie hung up. Sara knew she was probably going back to sleep, but she didn’t
care. Everyone was a little exhausted from the last few days at the Candy Store.
She was still a little nervous about how
“We’re
on for tonight!” Sara yelled over to Vicky as she started to dial Van’s
number.
*~*~*
“Come
on, Deaq, tell me!” Van was whining like a little girl, still trying to get
the details about Deaq’s feelings for Vicky when his phone began to ring.
“Saved
by the ring tone!” Deaq exclaimed as he got up and headed back downstairs just
to get out of Van’s line of questioning. The last thing he wanted to do was
tell his partner her had a huge crush on his fiancé’s best friend. Who knew
what Sara would do to him if she found out?
“Yeah,”
Van answered without looking at his caller ID.
“Hey,
babe,” Sara replied.
“Sara,
hi,” he said, feeling like he had been caught a little off guard, but more
relieved than anything. It was nice hearing her voice again after a night of
separation.
“I
missed you,” she almost whispered. “I wish you were here.”
“I know.
I missed you too,” Van sighed. He closed his eyes, picturing that she was
sitting there next to him instead of being on the phone. “Can I see you
tonight?”
“I’m
sorry, baby, but Vicky and I already have plans with Billie for a girl’s night
out,” Sara answered, sounding a little heartbroken as well. “Could you do me
a big favor?”
“Sure,
anything,” he replied.
“Could
you get us on the VIP list at a really hot club tonight? Billie tells me you
have some great connections,” she said.
“Yeah,
no problem,” Van told her.
“Thank
you.”
Just
before Sara hung up, Van asked, “Can I see you today?”
“I
don’t know, baby. I think Vicky and I are going exploring,” she replied.
“Where are you at right now? Maybe I can stop by for a few minutes.”
“I’m
at the Candy Store with Deaq,” he responded.
“Oh,
alright,” Sara said, sounding a bit defeated. “I guess I’ll see you later.
I love you. Bye.”
“Love
you too, bye,” Van replied, hanging up. This was the first time they’d be
apart for a whole day. He began to wonder how bad his longing would get if she
left for
Deaq sat
down on the seat he had occupied previously and found that Van was staring off
into space. Waving his hand in front of his face, he realized there was no way
he’d be coming back to earth any time soon. He knew he’d have to do
something drastic in order to get him out of his trance, so he yelled,
“VAN!”
Van nearly
jumped out of his chair when he heard Deaq call out his name. “Don’t DO
THAT!” he growled, giving his heart a little time to calm down from the scare.
“Sorry,
it’s just that you were really far out there. It seemed like the right thing
to do,” Deaq replied, holding back his urge to laugh. “So, who was on the
phone?”
“Sara.
She, Vicky, and Billie are going out tonight,” Van answered, calming down
considerably as he started to feel comfortable in his seat again.
“Where
are they going?”
“I
dunno. Sara wanted me to put them on the VIP list at IVAR.” Deaq’s face went
slack, something Van noticed immediately. “Deaq, fess up, you don’t want
Vicky going there, do you?” Slowly, he shook his head. “HA! I knew you like
her!” Van nearly yelled as he hopped off his seat and nearly did a happy
dance.
“Fuck
off, Van,” Deaq grumbled as he got up and headed back downstairs again. This
really wasn’t the time for him to be discussing his feelings for her with Van.
“So, you
afraid she doesn’t like you?” Van asked, following him down the stairs.
“What
part of ‘fuck off’ don’t you understand, Van?” Deaq retorted as he made
his way outside to his car.
“Loosen
up, man. They’re just doing a girl’s night out. It’s not like they can
really go guy hunting, especially since Sara’s engaged to me and Billie has
Ian,” Van tried reason as he watched his friend slam the car door closed.
“Whatever,
Van,” Deaq mumbled as he started the engine and drove off.
‘Ooh, he’s pissed,’ Van thought, getting into his own car and heading back to his apartment. Maybe he’d catch Sara if she wasn’t already gone with Vicky.