Lore glanced at Cat, “You really don’t care that we met Nick this weekend, do you?” she asked. They were almost back in Denver, Cat behind the wheel, concentrating on driving.

“I will if he proves to not be a jerk, but time will tell,” Cat said honestly.

Lore sighed and stared out the window, sitting in silence for a few seconds. She glanced back over to her friend, “I don’t think he was a jerk. I mean, he meets thousands of girls each tour, how many does he ask for phone numbers from?”

“The better question might be how many girls he doesn’t ask. He is Nick Carter, after all,” she said, starting to see the Denver skyline, finally.

“What will make you realize this was a remarkable weekend and lose the a ttitude?” Lore asked, finally at the end of her rope. She put up with a lot of shit from her friend, but this was too much. Yes, Cat was the only one willing to shell out the money for the concert and a girls’ weekend retreat, but she had hoped her friend would have at least attempted to have fun!

“When Nick is still texting you in six months… Only then will I know he’s genuine and not a jerk. And I will be happy for you, promise. Until then, I’m just your skeptical best-friend who hopes you don’t get hurt,” Cat explained. She was worried for her friend; of course she wanted her friend to be happy, but she also didn’t want to see her hurt. “Besides, you would think something was wrong with me if I spent the entire time gushing over the Backstreet Boys. Seriously, when have I ever gushed over anyone? No, love, you’re the gusher, not me,” she chuckled. She found the exit that would get her home, slowing down.

Lore looked over, perking an eyebrow, “So, in six months, you will give Nick an apology if we’re still talking?” she asked.

Cat nodded, “Yes, gladly. And if he is still a jerk after six months, I get to tell you ‘I told you so.’ Deal?” she asked, starting to drive through the city.

“Deal,” Lore said. She glanced down at her phone when she heard it chirp, telling her she had a message.

Hope you had a safe drive back home. –Nick

“Well there’s one day down,” she chuckled before reading the text to Cat. Lore quickly hit reply, Yeah, almost at Cat’s house. How was your drive?

Uneventful. Bailey joined me today and we had Mario Kart wars the entire trip.

Sounds more eventful than our ride, Lore replied. We left our gaming systems on the other luxury bus. There just wasn’t any room when we decided to downsize to the corolla for this trip. Lore snickered as she hit send, causing Cat to glance over at her.

“What’s so funny?” she asked, making the final turns into her neighborhood.

“Just giving Nick a hard time,” Lore explained, starting to put her things back in her bag.

Cat nodded, not wanting to say anything and risk upsetting the other girl, deciding to stay silent as she parked instead.

The girls spent the next several minutes unloading Cat’s car, sorting out what bags belonged to who, before Cat helped Lore load her bags into her own car. Cat smiled and hugged her friend, grinning softly, “Thanks for inviting me on the trip.” She really did enjoy herself, even if she didn’t show it.

Lore nodded softly, “Just promise me next time you won’t be so cynical.” That was all she was going to say now that they were back home. She knew that would resonate with Cat and the two didn’t need to dwell on it anymore.

Cat nodded, “If Nick invites us to another show, I promise to enjoy myself and give the kid a break. Hell, I might even gush, just for him,” she smirked. “Scout’s honor,” she finished, holding up three fingers like the Girl Scouts do.

“Yeah, yeah, you were never a scout,” Lore said, hugging her friend.

“Actually, I was. For eight years. See? The things you don’t know about me before we met,” she laughed. “I even had newspaper articles written about me for how many cookies I sold,” she explained.

Lore laughed softly, “I love that you’re bragging about that at the age of thirty.”

“Twenty-five,” Cat corrected her quickly.

Lore rolled her eyes, “Bite me you thirty year old bitch.”

Cat laughed and walked back up to her door, waving to her friend, “Call me!”

Lore nodded and climbed into her car, reaching for her phone to see if Nick had responded yet. Sure enough, there was the little message icon.

Touche… Teach me not to complain about long bus rides again ;)

Lore chuckled at his response before hitting reply on her phone, Just giving a little perspective, it’s a talent of mine. She quickly hit send, then began driving to her place.