Tom left Atlanta that week and Laney continued to seclude herself. Although it was not nearly as painful, she felt as if she were going through the breakup all over again. As their time in Atlanta came closer to an end everyone wanted to hang out as much as possible and Laney found herself out having pizza and beer with Chris and Tommy one evening.
"You guys heading back to LA after this?" Chris wanted to know as he took a huge bite of his pizza.
"No actually we're going to New York for a week." Laney replied.
"Hey! Me to!"
"You're going to New York?" Laney looked at Chris.
"Yeah I've got some things to do and then I'm going to Boston before back to LA."
"You should come to Laney's cousin Zoey's party." Tommy jumped in.
"What?" Laney whipped her head around to look at him.
"It's a huge roof party! You should come."
"Nah, I don't want to impose." Chris looked from Tom to Laney unsure.
"You're not. Right Laney?" Tom looked to Laney.
"No of course you're not. I'll text Zoey and see if she can get another ticket to her last show. And then the party afterwards is at the Rooftop.....um Magic Hour I believe it's called. It is going to be pretty amazing. They're going all out. And you'll probably know a lot of people."
"Are you sure? I feel like a party crasher."
"Of course I'm sure!" Laney laughed. "You know Zoey, she'll be thrilled to see you."
Chris had met Zoey briefly before while he was doing a play in New York. Before their breakup Laney and Tom had been in town and the 4 of them had gone out for drinks. Both Zoey's parents were in the entertainment industry as well, so Chris had met them before.
"Ok, if you're sure. I'm always up for a good rooftop party." He winked at Laney.
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3 weeks later Tom and Laney were flying out of Atlanta to New York to her aunt and uncles home in St James New York. It was a few hours outside of Manhattan and they would be driving into Manhattan for the show and spending a few nights with Zoey before heading back to St James for the remainder of their trip. Chris was flying out a day later but would be staying in the city.
Laney's uncle was a well-known director and her aunt was actress. They owned a beautiful estate with a few acres of land in St James. Once Tom and Laney arrived her Aunt Lea greeted them wasting no time showing them to their rooms which were connected by a Jack and Jill bathroom. She then served a huge lunch where they ate so much they were sure they'd be unable to eat dinner.
"I LOVE New York! It's bloody fantastic." Tom came through the adjoining Jack and Jill bathroom flopping down on Laney's bed the next day. They were about to head into Manhattan for Zoey's show and meet Chris at the theater.
"You're so bloody British it hurts mate." Laney looked up from the mirror where she was carefully applying her makeup.
"No Tom's so bloody British it hurts. I'm so British it's endearing." He winked.
"Is that what you're wearing?" Laney eyed Tom's shirt and pants.
"Yeah." He looked down, "It's all I have. I thought you said it wasn't fancy."
"I said it wasn't too fancy. Do you have a tie?"
"Do I look like I have a tie?"
"My uncle has one I'm sure you can borrow."
"Are your parent's coming to the show?" Tom fussed with the buttons on his shirt.
Laney nodded swiping another coat of mascara on her lashes, "And Mike and Courtney."
"So your entire family, me of course, and Chris."
Laney nodded again looking at Tom through the mirror.
"And you 2 are still just friends?"
"We are. After what happened with Tom in Atlanta I just figured I needed more time to myself."
Tom cocked his head to the side. "How long do you think that's going to last?"
"What's that suppose to mean?" Laney frowned.
"It means I know that Tom has been calling and texting you non-stop. And I know that Chris doesn't want to be just friends with you."
"A guy and a girl can be just friends, look at me and you."
"We don't count. We have some kind of weird relationship. And Chris doesn't look at you like a friend and you don't look at him like a friend.....unless Tom's around."
"Ok – new rule." Laney spun around facing Tom. "No more speaking of Tom. Period. At all. He doesn't exist."
Tom leaned back in the bed against a pillow, his hands comfortably behind his head. "Ok." He said simply.
"Ok." Laney repeated. "Now let me finish getting ready please."
"As you wish." He smiled.
The ride into Manhattan turned out to be a lot more fun then Laney had thought it would be. Tom proved to be a worthy road-trip companion. She had rented a car and the GPS ended up giving bad directions causing them to get turned around. Rushing through the streets of Manhattan they were 10 minutes late. Chris was standing outside the theater dressed in black slacks, a sea-foam green dress shirt and a black sports coat. Laney's heart flip flopped when she saw him.
"You made it!" He called, "I was beginning to think you stood me up."
"We got lost." Laney admitted practically out of breath.
"You look beautiful." Chris smiled sincerely as he gave her a hug.
"Thanks mate!" Tom grinned slapping Chris playfully on the back. "You clean up pretty nice yourself."
Chris rolled his eyes with a grin and shook Tom's hand. "I just talked to Mike and Courtney."
"Oh they're here already? Good!"
"Everyone's here Laney." Tom said flatly.
Laney stuck her tongue out at him. "Shall we?"
"After you." Chris pulled the theater door open for her.