“Grande Java Chip Frappuccino for Ari!” Yells a chesty, red headed barista to no one in particular in a bored tone.

“Thanks…” A softer voice says while a hand reaches forward to grasp the cold plastic cup from its place on the counter. Swiftly moving away from the standing crowd waiting for their own drinks, the girl walks over to the self-serve area and grabs a straw. Sticking it into the frothy drink, she takes a luxurious sip and smiles. This is her treat. She isn’t one to buy expensive frothy drinks but once in a while the craving comes on and all she can think of is the whip and the sugar rush.


I’m going to regret this later.

Oh well.

As she straightens the messenger bag hanging from her shoulder, she lifts her head and takes a look around the mostly full café. The initial plan was to take her drink and go to a nearby park to take few pictures but as she had walked in, a few sprinkles of rain had started to fall. It is strange how she used to think of rain as a bummer but now sees it as a thankful reminder that not every day is the same. This feeling of sameness often comes on in this gleaming metropolis of a city where the weather never seems to change and people seem to blend into one another. It’s so different from back home where a common saying is “If you don’t like the weather; wait a few minutes”.

Home.


The thought grips her from inside for a moment. She shakes her head and takes a deep breath as she moves a few feet forward. She’ll get home eventually; right now she needs to focus on her work.

Focus on making sure she can pay the rent in 2 weeks when her landlord comes knocking.

Might as well just find a seat at a table here and wait for the rain shower to end. It can’t last long, this is LA after all. There are probably women that are going to start melting if it were to rain for more than a few minutes at a time.

Hah.


She half smirks to herself as she glances around the room, thankfully spotting an empty stool behind a bistro table. She hikes her bag up a little closer to her side as she weaves through a few people in order to get to the back corner to claim the lone empty table and chair. Placing her drink down on the table, she take her bag off, her blonde hair which had started in a pretty braid this morning gets mostly stuck around the strap of her bag and causes it to tug at her scalp uncomfortably.

With a wince she sets the bag on the table and climbs up onto the stool before she pulls the hair tie from the bottom of her hair and runs her fingers through the soft tangles.

Might as well get a little work done.

She slides her laptop from her bag and sets it onto the table. As it starts to boot up, she takes a moment to loosely braid her hair again and then leans back against her chair with a sigh and a sip of her drink. She looks around the café a few moments, her eyes settling on different people for moments at a time. She enjoys people watching; it’s part of her job and her inspiration. Deciding to not waste anymore time, she pulls up her photo editing software and starts to click through her last few shots.

No. No. Nope. What is that!? Hell No.

Frustrated, she crosses her arms and looks around the room aimlessly again. Inspiration. Why can’t she seem to find people with interesting faces, actions or quirks anymore? That’s what she needs. When she first moved to LA, there was inspiration everywhere: the water, the people, the architecture, the food. Everywhere. Now it seems as if she’s run out of inspiration. People and sceneries are blending into one another. Nothing seems to…spark.

Maybe it’s just time to give it up and go home.

“Shit!” She hears someone close to her grumble in a soft, frustrated voice which pulls her from her own frustrated reverie.

She turns her head toward the sound and sees that it must have come from the guy sitting next to her, the closest table to her right. She’d been so caught up in her own thoughts that she hadn’t noticed him sitting there.

“Um...is everything okay?” She asks tentatively as her blue eyes dart to his downcast face.

Bam!

A surprised, and familiar, pair of cobalt blue eyes meet her own as the man turns his attention to her. His cheeks are slightly red as if he is embarrassed.

“Uh…Yeah. I guess that came out louder than I intended it to.” He chuckles and nervously swipes the edge of his nose with his finger. “My laptop is about to die and I’m not done saving something. I meant to charge it last night but I must have forgotten.” He shakes his head slightly and scratches the back of his neck.

JC Chasez.

Fucking JC Chasez is sitting next to me and talking to me.

What. The. Fuck.

“I…I…” She stutters for a moment before she gets herself together and takes a deep breath. “Maybe I can help,” she says, finally able to put together a decent sentence. Was it coherent? Hopefully.

She glances at his laptop and sees that it is the same type as hers, with a smile she reaches into the side pocket of her bag and pulls out her power adapter. Offering it to him, she raises her eyebrows questioningly and is rewarded with a dazzling smile.

“Awesome! You don’t mind if I use it for a little while? Just enough so that I can recharge my battery a bit and save my work? I really don’t want to lose anything.”

“Nah, go ahead I don’t need it right now.”

Nodding he stands up and looks around his table and chair for a place to plug in the adaptor. She can’t help but check him out as he does this: he is wearing what seems like an expensive pair of dark blue jeans (the ones that cost an extra hundred bucks for that slightly used look); an uncreased, soft looking black hooded sweatshirt and slightly scuffed leather shoes. The look is deceptively casual and relaxed but at closer inspection seems more calculated and precise.

She completes her once over of his outfit as he triumphantly finds a place to plug in and bends down.

Arrg.

This is wrong.

Stop staring like a hormonal teenager.

With all of her might, her eyes dart up from the slight peek of skin that formed between the band of his jeans and the red t-shirt he seems to be wearing underneath the hoodie.

Hormonal? Check.

She looks back at her screen.

Teenage fantasy? Check.

Looking like a total creepy stalker girl that wants to have his babies?

Will become a check if I don't get my ass in gear.

Taking another pull from her drink she smiles at him as he takes a seat next to her again.

“You’re a life saver,” he says kindly as he leans a little closer and offers his hand. “I’m JC, by the way.”

I know who you are.

“It’s my pleasure,” she answers him as she reaches forward to slide her hand into his larger one. “I’m Arianna.”

“Arianna." He seems to test her name on his lips before he smiles. "I like that. Are you from around here?” He questions as he grabs his own drink and takes a sip.

“Not originally. I've been out here about 6 months,” she answers and leans back against her chair.

“Oh? Where are you from? How do you like our little city?”

“I come from the Great Frozen North of Canada.” She laughs and sips her drink. “And you have a nice city. Lots of things to do, lots of people to see. Very different from back home,” she finishes softly, her eyes lowering to her hands for a moment.

“Different good or different bad?” He asks, his tone somehow automatically matching her soft one.

“Both, I think. It’s beautiful here, the weather is great and fruits and veggies are always in season. I just sort of miss…this will sound stupid,” she says making a funny face and shrugging her shoulders.

“Nah, go ahead I won’t laugh,” he says quietly, his eyes meeting hers and making her instantly feel at ease and unjudged.

How does he do that?

She plays with her fingers as she answers. “I miss…seasons you know? You always have something to look forward to like, when it’s snowing you always tell yourself that spring will come. When it’s raining in the spring you tell yourself the sun will come out in summer. When it’s too hot in summer, you can’t wait for fall to come.” Her eyes remain downcast for a moment as she runs the tip of her index finder along the condensation of her plastic cup.

He’s not laughing.

She risks raising her eyes to his once more and is pleased to find that they are soft and smiling, and not in a <i>you’re crazy, honey</i> sort of way, but in a way that makes her feel as if he is pleased with what she said.

“Yeah, I get that. I sort of miss the cold and the snow when it’s hella hot out here. I think back to when I was a kid in Maryland during winter and it would snow a little bit. It made outside seem so peaceful, like all you wanted to do was go out and play in the snow and then come in to have some hot chocolate and cookies your Mom made you.” He smirks, a slight chuckle ends his sentence.

“Do you go back often?” She asks, bringing her straw to her lips once more.

“Nah, just once in a great while. My parents have a house in Florida where they spend most of their time and where my family gets together. Whenever I go back and it starts getting cold I start wondering why the hell I left LA or Florida.” He chuckles again and takes a sip from his coffee. Making a face he swallows and squints his eyes, “Talking about cold…Ew.” He shakes his head and pushes the cup toward the edge of the table as if it suddenly has become contagious.

Laughing she presses the spacebar of her laptop to bring it back to life, “I don’t know how you drink that stuff,” she says nodding toward his cup.

“Well I don’t know how you drink that stuff,” he rebuts looking at her mostly empty cup which still has about an inch of whipped cream hanging around. “Won’t your teeth fall out? Or are you going to be running a mile around the block with your sugar rush?”

Laughing again, she arches a brow and looks at him pointedly. “You mean like after shooting 6 pixie sticks at once?”

A real laugh comes out of him and it makes her smile grow wider, its hearty sound pleasantly surprising.

“I haven’t done that shit in years, lady,” he answers, his smile just as wide as hers as he sits back against his chair and crosses his arms over his chest.

This is pleasant.

She eyes him for a moment before she starts to feel her cheeks warm and looks back at the screen of her laptop. Feeling the slightly uncomfortable silence creeping in, she starts to type a few things into her browser, purposely not looking at him. She hears him do the same and the sound of a cell phone vibrating on the wooden table. She glances up high enough to see his large hand wrap around the phone, flipping it over to check what it had vibrated for. She watches his thumb smoothly slide over the screen and his index tap a few things before putting the phone back down.

His hands. He has beautiful hands, strong and large although the fingers are long and thin. Musician’s hands. Lover’s hands.

Biting her lower lip, she shakes her head slightly as if to clear it, willing herself to stop blushing around him. He really is going to think that she is a love sick, stalking fan girl.

“Excuse me? Are…are you JC? From *NSYNC?” A soft, shy voice breaks through her thoughts and she looks up to find a tall brunette with hipster glasses step forward, a red headed shorter and slightly plumper friend trailing behind her.

“Yeah. That’s me,” he answers smoothly, leaning forward a little and smiling patiently at the apparently tongue twisted girls. “Nice to meet you.”

“Can…can we have a picture with you?” The red headed girl asks thrusting a smart phone in front of her.

“Uh, yeah. Sure,” he says as he stands up and straightens his dark hoodie. Moving closer to the girls, he lifts his arms so that each girl can get underneath one shoulder. “You mind taking the picture for them Ari?” He asks, his eyes flicking to hers.

Ari.

“Yeah…no problem,” she answers, standing up and grabbing a smart phone from each girl and snapping a picture for each. “These look great!” She smiles and hands the phones back before moving out of the way so JC can give them each a quick hug.

The girls giggle softly as they say goodbye and start to turn away but one of them swings a hip a bit excitedly and accidentally nudges the small table. As if in slow motion JC’s earlier cold cup of coffee goes flying and splashes over the front of his hoodie and part of his dark jeans. Both girls blanch instantly, mutter apologies and move away quickly, leaving him to look down at the mess that is now his clothing.

“Damn it,” he groans, grabbing a few loose napkins that were on his table and dabbing at the bottom of his hoodie and the front of his jeans. “I have a meeting in an hour and a half with another producer…I don’t have time to go home in this traffic. Fuck!”

Rooted to the spot, Ari tries really, really hard not to laugh.

Why should she be laughing?

Because she always laughs when she is nervous.

As his eyes meet hers, she breaks and a nervous giggle comes out of her lips although she is biting her lower lip hard enough to leave marks.

“You think this is funny huh?” He asks her softly, dangerously, although his eyes don’t seem angry.

“A little…yeah,” she answers before breaking out into an all-out fit of giggles, no longer able to contain her reaction.

After a pause, she hears him start to chuckle and unbelievably both of them stand there for what must be a solid 2 minutes just laughing at each other laughing.

“Well…now I’m going to have to walk out of here and find a store to buy new clothes before my meeting.” He runs a hand over his hair and takes a deep breath to stop the laughing.

“You don’t have to…I, I live only about 2 blocks away. It would only take max an hour to clean your clothes and then be on your way. If you want…” She says, her sentence dropping off towards the end as she starts to realize that she is asking JC Chasez to come home with her and take his clothes off.

To clean them.

Come on, Ari.

“Actually…that’s not a bad idea. You wouldn’t mind?” He questions, pulling the bottom of his hoodie away from his stomach and shaking it a bit, “This is kind of uncomfortable”

“At least it wasn’t hot anymore…” She smirks as she gathers her laptop and phone, slipping both into her messenger bag. “And of course I wouldn’t mind, I wouldn’t have offered if I did.” She slings her bag over her shoulder and watches him gather his things, also sliding them into a dark messenger style bag. He grabs the now empty coffee cup off of the floor and wipes a few of the remaining puddles with some napkins and stands up.

“Lead the way.” He says, nodding toward the exit door and dropping the soiled cup and napkins in the nearby trash bin.

Stepping outside of the coffee shop Ari motions JC to turn left and starts walking beside him down the sidewalk leading to her studio flat not far from there. The weather had returned to its normal sunny state; the rain shower long gone. Turning her head to look at her silent walking partner, she notices that he has slid his hands deeply into the pocket of his hoodie and that his head is tipped forward, his eyes downcast to the paving stones below as he walks. People are walking by, apparently catching up on things they were avoiding while it was raining.

“You okay?” She asks softly leading them down a side street that has considerably less people milling around. “We’re almost there.”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just…don’t really want to be recognized right now. I don’t like to say no to fans asking for pictures…but when I look like I've just soiled myself, I’d rather just not deal with that.” He turns his head to look at her, a crooked smile on his lips.

Chuckling, she shakes her head and points ahead toward an apartment building entrance about twenty feet away. “That’s me. Just up a few…uh…” She mumbles as her steps falters, her eyes finding a familiar silver car as it pulls up to the front of the building.

“What’s wrong?” He asks, stopping his step as he notices that she has stopped moving.

“I just…we’ll take the…other way up,” she answers, grabbing his elbow gently and pulling him toward an adjacent alleyway.

“The other way up?” He questions, his voice sounding extremely uncomfortable as she pulls him into the alleyway.“You’re not actually a rabid fan that has some fantasy of tying me up in an alley and doing unspeakable things to me before stuffing my body into a dumpster are you? Cause if you are, I swear my Mom will start looking for me within a few weeks.”

“What? No, of course not…” She answers, shaking her head and looking at him for a moment “I just…my neighbor just pulled up and I’d rather not deal with him when I can.”

“So we’re…climbing up some flower trellis to make it to your apartment on the…5th floor?”

“Just the 3rd…and there is a fire escape,” she indicates grabbing the rung of the rusty ladder hanging a couple of feet off of the ground and pulling it down. “I promise it’s safe…I do this more often than I care to admit.” Her cheeks warm at her admission as she starts to climb the ladder, after a few feet she looks back down at him, she smirks. “Chicken?”

Groaning, he shakes his head with a laugh and grabs the rungs, climbing behind her until they make it to the third level balcony which is nicely full with varied potted flowers and plants. His nose picks up the scent of various herbs as well.

“Is this how you bring all of your men home?” He questions with obvious humor in his voice as they both climb through the large window of her apartment and step onto the worn hardwood floor.

“Just the ones that I really like.” She teases back with a smile, setting her bag onto a kitchen table that has varied sizes of photographs scattered upon it. “I mean, if they can’t make it up the ladder that doesn’t bode well for their stamina, you know?” Hearing no reaction from him, she looks up and notices that he has stopped short and is looking down at her table.

“Jesus, you’re not a Pap are you?” The humor is his voice and face has disappeared as he eyes the pictures and various pieces of camera equipment scattered around the room.

“Nah. If I would have been any kind of good paparazzi I would have snapped a picture when you were dabbing at your crotch in public earlier.” With a giggle at his stunned expression, she shakes her head and reaches forward to pat his shoulder gently. "I’m a photographer, I do take pictures for a living but not of celebrities.”

“Right.” His entire body seems to relax again as he releases a small breath he’d apparently been holding. “What kind of photography do you do then?” He questions as he steps forward and starts picking up a few prints and looking through them. “These are cool.”

“Um…anything really. I’ve been having to do a lot of weddings, graduations, special occasions you know. That’s what pays the bills right now. Honestly though, I rather do more creative…artistic work but I’ve been having a hard time getting inspiration lately. Usually my favorite thing is when I can catch something in motion or just part of a scene where without knowing what else is in it you really have to wonder what is going on. Like what emotion is shown, what the end result of the scene is…it kinda leads you to make up a story in your head. Everyone sees something different usually.” She answers, watching him nod as she speaks.

“Yeah, I get that. Sort of like when I write a song. To me it is clear what it means, who it is about, what emotion I am feeling…but to someone else listening to the song they could get a total different meaning out of it, different emotion.”

He totally gets it.

This is why I came out here, to find other creative people that think like me.

Open minds.

“How bout we get you out of those clothes eh?” She says as she walks further into the studio and toward an area that is blocked from view by a modern looking silk dressing screen.

The studio is a nice mix of industrial and modern where every surface gleams with stainless steel, worn wood or brick. The kitchen and living areas are small but the incredibly high ceiling makes the place feel open and airy. She’d fallen for it as soon as she’d stepped foot into the apartment, loving the new and old feeling of the converted manufacturing plant. The walls and floors all had their own scars and stories for her to imagine. Since everything was an open room, she’d added the silk screen she’d found at a thrift store to block off her bed area from the rest of the room somewhat. It gave her a small semblance of privacy when they only actual door was the large white one a few feet from her bed which leads into her bathroom.

As she steps behind the screen, she pulls open a drawer from a wooden dresser and pulls out a pair of gray sweat pants and an old white Nike t-shirt.

“I don’t know what you’ve read lately, but it’s been a while since I’ve just met a girl at a coffee shop and taken off my clothes for her within a few minutes…” She hears him say wryly as she steps back into the main area of the studio, clutching the clothes.

“I was going to offer you these clothes while your other ones get washed…but if you are offering to walk around in your underwear…”

Laughing heartily he steps forward and accepts the clothing, inspecting them for a moment to try and gauge their size.

“They’re my brother’s. He came to visit a few weeks ago and he forgot some of his gym clothes that were in the laundry pile when he left. They'll be...baggy on you but I guess it's better than nothing...”

“This’ll work. Thanks. In there?” He points to the white door that he correctly assumes is the bathroom. After a nod from her, he walks towards it and pushes open the door.

“Just hand me the dirty clothes out of the door when you’re done and I’ll put them in the washing machine.” Stepping away she adds, “I’m hungry. You want a BLT?”

“Yeah, sure! Thanks!” She hears his reply muffled by the door. Soon it cracks open and his arm reaches out with the jeans, the hoodie and the t-shirt. Grabbing them, she makes her way to the little area near the kitchen where she was able to install a small apartment sized washer and dryer. Since all of his items are of dark color, she adds the proper amount of detergent along with the clothing to the washer and shuts the lid.

In her kitchen area, she starts pulling things from the refrigerator to make the sandwiches; slicing up some tomatoes and lettuce, toasting some bread and warming the bacon in the microwave. She hears the sink running in the bathroom and figures he decided to wash up a little bit.

“That’s much better.” He says from close behind her a moment later, she turns to find him dressed in the casual clothing and she can’t help but smile.

Is this what you look like at home?

Just hanging out?

Just delicious like that?

Biting her lower lip, she returns to the task at hand putting together the sandwiches, leaning down to grab a bag of chips from a cabinet to hide her blush.

“I like this place.” He says quietly, taking a seat at one of the three bar stools in front of the kitchen island. “Are those all yours?” He asks, pointing to the varied pictures printed on canvas and framed in glass encasements either hanging on the walls or leaning up again one.

“Most of them. I put up my favorites, ones I never want to sell you know, just to keep for my enjoyment.” She sets a plate with a sandwich in front of him and places the open bag of chips on the island between them.

“Thanks. This looks great.” He smiles as he reaches down to grab the sandwich and takes a bite, chewing slowly as his eyes keep roaming around the room, resting on different pictures for a moment then moving around again.

Knock, knock, knock.

“Damn it.” She groans and runs a hand over her face quickly.

He must have heard me moving around in here.

Knock, knock, knock.

“Are you going to ans-” He starts to ask cautiously but his voice quiets with the withering look that she gives him.

“No. Shh. He’ll go away.” She whispers, her eyes downcast at her sandwich.

“I know you’re in there Arianna! I just need…some sugar!” She hears a loud voice coming from the outside of her locked front door.

“Go away Kenny! I don’t have any sugar.” She yells back at the closed door.

“Aw, come on honey! I’m sorry about what I said the other day! I’m sure you can get some other guy to date you other than me…but right now I’m all you’ve got. It’d just help if you put out once in a while….”

Oh my god…he did not just say that in front of JC.

Great.

She instantly feels her cheeks warm and her teeth start digging into her lower lip. As hard as she tries, she is unable to keep the slight sheen of tears from welling up into her blue eyes.

Hearing the bar stool JC was sitting on screech backward, she looks up to see him making his way quickly to the front door, taking his t-shirt off on the way there. He throws the shirt onto the nearby couch then slides the lock on the front door and pulls it open.

“Just so you know, she does put out. Just maybe only to guys that don’t talk to women like shit and come around looking for sugar, you hear me?” He asks calmly, looking up into the face of the larger man leaning against the door frame who is obviously taken aback by his sudden presence at her door.

Kenny doesn’t seem to know what to do next, his eyes dart over JC’s bare chest, the low riding sweat pants and then above his shoulder into the apartment, trying to look in. Apparently he assumes exactly what JC is trying to convey with his appearance and his words.“Now, how about you go to the corner store and get yourself some of that sugar? Cause you certainly aren’t getting any from her.” JC finishes, grabs the door, slams it shut and slides the deadbolt back into place with finality.

I can’t believe I just did that, he thinks as his eyes focus on the door in front of him.

Turning around to face the room once more, he nervously runs a hand through his hair and swipes at his nose with his index finger.

“I can’t believe you just did that…” She echoes, still rooted to her spot in front of the kitchen island.

“I know…Are you angry?” He asks hesitantly walking forward. “I don’t know what got into me, I was just sitting there boiling because he was being an asshole…and I just reacted,” he finishes, crossing his arms over his chest as he stands a few feet away from her.

What the fuck Chasez?

Why do you always go 1-800-HERO around pretty girls?

“No,not at all. That was…awesome!” She finally gets out, hopping around for a moment in a silly dance.

Huh?

At her words his eyes move up from the floor to meet hers which are obviously full of laughter at the moment.

“..Y..Yeah?” He stutters, uncrosses his arms and walks toward the kitchen island once more.

“Yeah! Now he thinks that I actually can meet and be with some hot guy other than his conceited ass!” She laughs again and moves toward him quickly, he feels her arms wrap around him in a hug.

Hot guy huh?

He smirks to himself, returning the hug for a moment and stepping back to look at her.

“I just hate it when nice girls let those kinds of guys walk all over them. You don’t deserve that. I know we’ve only just met, but I can tell you’re a kind person and I guess my…protector instinct came out.” He shrugs, a smile still tugging at his lips.

Watching her bright smile, he gets lost in it for a moment, taking in the features of her face that make her look so beautiful…but normal. Normal in a way that her skin hasn’t seen hours upon hours of sun on the beach or below the harsh rays of a tanning bed: skin that looks sun kissed but healthy and glowing. Her hair which doesn’t seem to want to stay in the braid she had put it in, catches the light in different shades of blonde. One particularly light strand of it cuts across a crystal clear blue eye and he is completely oblivious to the moment his hand reaches forward to gently push it away from her face and behind her ear. He sees her blink for a moment, taken aback by the action but obviously not repulsed by it.

Cool it Josh. You like this girl.

Don’t screw it up.

Absentmindedly reaching up to scratch at his left shoulder, he licks his bottom lip for a moment and chuckles. “Maybe I should put my shirt back on,” he says as he walks back toward the couch and grabs it from where it landed earlier.

“You weren’t hearing any complaints from me,” she teases, moving back to the island and taking a bite out of her sandwich.

“So…you obviously knew who I was when we met earlier,” he says, pulling the shirt over his head for the second time that day. “Can I ask if you were a fan? Or?”

“I guess you could say that…” She smiles, picking a chip from the bag and munching on it slowly, her eyes following him as he takes his seat on the stool once more. “Although were, are…”She shrugs. “I’m embarrassed to say because I don’t want you to think I’m like freaking out inside and just want to fulfill some teenage fantasy, you know?”

“Nah, I get what you mean. I figure that if that were the case you would have tried to jump me in the alley way earlier or just now when I was walking around half naked.” Winking at her, he grabs a hand full of chips and starts eating them.

“So yeah, I quite enjoyed you boys back in the day. Posters, recreating dances at talent shows, you know the usual hormonal teenage girl reaction.” She grins and gets up to grab two bottles of water from the fridge.

Sliding one across the counter to him, she moves to the washing machine as she hears it stop its cycle. Pulling the clothing out of the washer, she stops for a second. “Uh…can I put these in the dryer? I sort of have to so that they are dry for your meeting…but I’m sorry if it ruins them or something…they look expensive.”

Shrugging he turns to watch her, “Go ahead, I don’t have a choice. I have a million of each in my closet probably, so it’s not a problem.” He unscrews the cap off of his water bottle and takes a sip. “I’m sorry, I feel like a jerk. I should have taken care of that. You were nice enough to offer, you didn’t have to do my laundry too.”

“I don’t mind. Just takes a minute.”

Is it wrong to think I wouldn’t mind her doing the laundry at my house?

Every day?

Yes, totally wrong.

And sexist.

“So you said that you have a brother? Any other siblings?”

“Nope. Just my brother and I. And Mom and Dad. Mom is a school teacher and Dad owns a construction company. My brother is 2 years older than I am and he works with Dad. He’ll take over the business when he’s ready and when Dad decides to retire.”

“You weren’t interested in staying the family business I guess?”

“Not really, I mean I’ve been around it my whole life you know? I can swing a hammer and do some basic stuff but it’s not the type of life I want to have. I think my Dad was hoping I’d take care of the business side one day, but that is just so…dull. I had to tell him that after he’d paid for a business degree and I was completely unhappy. I just couldn’t do it. I wanted to, I wanted him to be proud of me and to have both of his kids carrying on the family business and legacy but…I just couldn’t.”

Nodding, he wipes his hands on the sweat pants and leans onto the counter, crossing his arms.

“Yeah, I get that. So...you decided to go into photography?”

“I’ve always loved it, never thought I could make a living out of it. I was just floundering in the business world, trying to fit in, trying to like it but it was driving me mad. I would just go out with my camera and take pictures. Create my own stories, a different life. It made me happy.”

Sighing, she motions him over to the living room area and takes a seat on one end of the couch.

“I had met a guy in college, he was an art history major and he blew my mind. He brought me to all these galleries and studios, it made me realize that some people made a living out of their passion. That it was all possible. So I went home one day, sat Mom and Dad at the table and told them that I would not be in the family business. Patrick had offered me to come visit him in LA where he was opening a gallery with his boyfriend. They were moving in together and I could rent his studio flat for as long as I wanted to. So…I packed up and left. Now I’m here.”

“And now you’re here. How did your parents take it?” He asks, settling in more comfortably into the couch, crossing one leg over the other.

“Um, it was tough for a few weeks. They were scared that their little girl was all alone in this massive city where people don’t talk to their neighbors and you don’t know who lives down the street, you know. No one to trust.” She shrugs and picks at the bottom of her shirt,

“They got over it though, they had met Patrick a few times and then they met his boyfriend. They are both really great guys and have promised to keep an eye out for me. I’ve been doing well…just not that I’d ever admit it to my parents…but I miss home a lot.”

“I’m sure you’ll find your groove. You have your two friends and now you have me.” He smiles, catching her eye. “I have a lot of connections here and I’d love to be able to show you around…maybe bring you to places you never knew existed. It could help with your inspiration.”

Smiling, she reaches over and pats his arm gently. “Thanks JC. I appreciate that, though I really, really would never ask you to use any of your connections. Those are a result of your hard work, your sweat and tears. I’ll make some of my own one day; it’ll just take a little time.”

“You don’t have to ask, I offered. I owe you anyway for helping me out today, I appreciate this.” He smiles, hearing the dryer buzz loudly. “I’ll get those.” He gets up and makes his way to the dryer to pull out his clean clothes. Clothing in hand he returns to the bathroom andvshuts the door.

Who is this girl?

She’s witty, funny,sensitive…not to mention beautiful.

“All shiny and new?” She smiles as he walks out of the bathroom with the clothes he was first wearing today.

“Yep, all better!” He hands her the folded pair of sweatpants and t-shirt. “I’m sorry to just leave like this, but if I want to make it to my meeting I better start making my way there.”

“I understand. I’m just happy I was able to help.”

Walking over to the kitchen chair he’d left his messenger bag on, he pulls out his cell phone and checks to see if any messages have popped up since they’d started talking. Nothing.

“Hey, can I see your phone?” He asks with a nod to her own bag that is still sitting on the table.

Reaching into her bag, she pulls out her phone and hands it to him after unlocking it. Taking it from her, he pulls up her contact list and adds his number and his name to the list. “Um...Text me something later if you want me to have your number. Maybe we can get together sometime again? I’d love to see more of your work.”

He doesn't often give out his number to someone new but for some reason he feels that it would be okay this one time. 

Might as well risk it. It wouldn't be the first time I'd have to change my number. 

“Yeah...yeah, sure.” She smiles, taking her phone back from him and setting it on the table. “I’d like to show you some things too.”

What kind of things?

Chuckling to himself he looks up at her and realizes that she has caught onto his train of thought.

What?

She said she’s a fan, she know that most of my songs revolve around one thing…therefore my brain works a certain way.

“Good luck at your meeting.” She adds, walking him to the door and pulling it open, leaning against it.

“So one last question before I go…I know you said you liked the group back then…” He walks through the door and leans against the opposite door frame. “Was I your favorite?’ A goofy smile spreads across his lips.

“Oh…” She says softly, her face falling for a moment. “No…I’m sorry JC, but I’m more of a Brian Littrell girl…” Her eyes meet his with no trace of laughter in them. “I’ll see you around?” She adds with a smirk and shuts the door quickly.

Rooted to the spot, he takes a second to process what happened and bursts out laughing, shaking his head as he starts to walk away and down the nearby set of stairs toward the exit door onto the street.

That girl will be the death of me.

About twenty minutes later, he is taking a seat on a fancy swivel chair at a solid mahogany table. He feels his phone vibrate against his thigh. Pulling it out of his pocket, he swipes his thumb over the screen and opens a new text message from an unknown number.

So I lied. You have always definitely been my favorite.

Grinning like a fool, he closes the message and slides the phone back into his pocket as his friend Jimmy walks into the room.

“What’s the goofy grin for?” His friend asks, taking the chair beside him and placing his stuff on the table.

“Inspiration.” JC answers, pulling a file folder closer so he can open it, still unable to make that grin go away.

Buzz.

Ari reaches for her cell phone which is resting on the table amidst pictures she took earlier this morning, barely glancing at the screen before opening the text message. After reading it quickly, she actually takes the phone and brings it closer to her eyes to make sure she’d read it correctly.

What do 20 year old girls like?

She sits there for a minute, re-reading the text another 3 times.

What the hell does he mean? Like…what do they like like?

Um. Well…first of all, that is totally creepy as you are looking at your 20’s in the rearview mirror. Secondly, shouldn’t you be like an expert at that? Having been in a boy band and all? Anyway…I’m not sure exactly what you’re asking…but I seem to remember liking…guys with blue eyes and longish tousled hair that licked and grinded at glass stages?

Her phone starts to ring and she smirks knowing without having to check the caller ID that it’s him.

“Hello?”

“Jesus Christ…that’s not what I meant.” She can hear him half laugh and half sigh; “I’m never going to live that down am I?”

“Nope! You did that while fully knowing that HBO cameras were following you around and it would be recorded for generations of horny teenagers to come…”

“Ari…” He groans into the phone in a warning tone and although she can’t see his eyes, she imagines them lit up with amusement. “Now really, I have this group of 20 year old girls that always seem to be in a bad mood and therefore get on each other’s nerves. I just want to…you know; get them something to cheer them up a bit.”

“Well…what are they into? Makeup? Spas? Movies?” She asks, leaning back against the chair she is sitting in, running a hand through her loose hair. “How much are you looking to spend?”

“At this point anything: it’s driving me insane. I literally turned around in the van earlier and yelled at them that if they weren’t going to get along I was going to cancel this whole thing and turn the van back.” He pauses and sighs softly, “What has my life become Ari? I used to be on magazine covers calling me a heartthrob and now I’m chastising teenage girls like I was their father...and my hair is turning grey.” His last words have turned into a whine.

Chuckling softly, she shakes her head and crosses her arms over her chest. “Just go to a spa and get some gift cards for some mani-pedis or something. Most girls like that.”

“Yeah? Okay, that sounds like a good idea. What are you up to anyway?”

“I’m just playing around. Patrick asked me if I would put on a show at their gallery in a few weeks…”

“Seriously? That’s awesome!” He cuts in.

“Yeah…I didn’t answer yet. I don’t know if I have enough material to show in a gallery you know? I don’t know. I’m just looking through some stuff seeing if I can find a common theme.”

She shrugs her shoulders and pushes her laptop away from her on the table, leaning her elbow on the edge and resting her forehead on her hand. “I’ve got a few jobs in the next weeks, a couple weddings and a commercial shoot…I guess we’ll see.”

“I’m sure you’ll get something.” She hears some commotion in the background and the muffled sound of his voice as he obviously covers the microphone of his phone, “Hey, I’m sorry to cut this short but I have to go. Are we still on for the beach this weekend?”

“Yeah, sure. I’ll see you Saturday morning.” She smiles into the phone as they say their goodbyes and she hangs up, putting her phone back down on the table.

As she straightens up in her chair, she looks around her apartment and sighs a bit. She’d been feeling lonely lately but meeting JC had really helped. They’d been texting back and forth for the last few weeks: just random stuff about their days and what they were up to.

One time he’d sent a short video of himself in what seemed to be the studio softly banging his forehead against the keys of a piano with the caption “Frustrated.” A few days later she’d sent him a picture of one of her potted plants turned over on the floor of her balcony, its flowers scattered and the ceramic container broken with the caption “Guess my neighbors’ cat didn’t like my flowers”.

They were gradually building a friendship that was comfortable and easy. They’d seen a movie and gone out for burgers, they’d walked his dog on the beach. It was easy to admit that she had been attracted to him for years, had been a fan of his when he was JC from *NSYNC. It was even easier to admit that she is even more attracted to the real man that he is today: the guy that is completely focused and passionate about his work but is totally down to earth and friendly.

She’d heard about people in the business developing egos and personalities that were out of this world, making them the sort of people she would never want to be around…but not JC. He was kind and funny, caring and thoughtful. 

You need to be careful girl; you can’t be falling for him.

What if he’s not interested? He’s been with plenty of beautiful and famous women.

What would he want with you?

Try as she may to quiet those thoughts, they are always nagging at the back of her mind. Sure he’d made comments that were just as suggestive and downright dirty as she’d had. That was their thing though, they give as good as they get.

Did he mean them though? Was he as attracted to her as she was to him?

With a soft sigh, Ari pushes away from her work table and absently shrugs her shoulders.

Whatever is to happen will happen, let’s leave it at that.

Needing to clear her mind and think about something other than JC and the gallery show, she decides to grab her bag and go to the nearest hardware store to get some supplies. She’s been meaning to paint her small bathroom, change the dark masculine color that made her feel claustrophobic for a lighter color.

Guess today is the day!


*****


“Pretty sure that’s not the right f-word I sing in that song…”

Ari yelps as she turns around clutching at her chest, her paintbrush held up in the air as if she’s going to defend herself with it.

“For God’s sake JC!” She pants, lowering the paintbrush and leaning against the counter still clutching at her chest, “You scared the hell out of me!”

She reaches over and turns down the volume of her Ipod dock. She had been dancing around and singing along to the shuffled songs on her Ipod.

Of course he had to walk in as See Right Through You was playing and she was making a fool out of herself singing at the top of her lungs, making a very natural adjustment to the lyric “Does he freak you the way that I do?”

“Come on, you can’t expect us to not change that word when you used to do that little shimmy as you sang it. We all know you were thinking it.” She smirks at him and turns the tap on to rinse her hands.

He chuckles softly, winks at her conspiratorially and leans against the doorframe. “Anyway…the door was unlocked, I knocked and called your name of few times…I could hear the music blaring so I decided to investigate.”

She wipes her hand on a nearby towel. “It’s okay. My hands were full earlier; I must have forgotten to lock it after I got in. What are you doing here anyway?”

“Just finished a meeting and figured I’d stop by. Hungry?” He asks, lifting his arm and showing her the two paper bags he is clutching in his hand which she had not noticed before.

“Starving actually…I wanted to finish this before I made anything. Pretty much done now.” She smiles proudly as she rests her hands on her hips and looks around the newly painted bathroom.

“The bathroom or you? I think there’s more paint on you than the walls…” He grins and quickly moves out of the way of her incoming swat.

Both laughing they make their way to the kitchen where they take a seat at the island and eagerly dig into the fish taco’s he’s brought by.

“These are incredible!” She mumbles between bites, wiping her lips with a napkin.

“They’re my favorite. They’re from this little food truck that comes around a few times a week not far from here. Always get them when I can.”

She watches him lean back and push away the left over wrappers of his tacos. He doesn’t say anything for a few moments and then swipe at his nose with the edge of his finger.

“What is it?” She asks as she raises an eyebrow and looks at him questioningly.“You always do that when you’re nervous.”

He seems surprised at her observation and his cheeks redden slightly.

“I…I guess I’ve sort of been wanting to ask you about something.” He pauses and looks up. He seems to mull something over in his head before he asks softly, “You’re not dating anyone are you? I mean, we haven’t really discussed this before and I never really asked about Kenny…”

“Oh my gosh.” She shakes her head quickly. “No. There’s nothing with Kenny and has never been. When I moved in he helped with a few boxes, you know being neighborly. I bought him a case of beer as a thank you and he asked if I would want him to show me around a few places near here as he’s been here a few years. We went out twice, I never considered those dates but I guess he did. After the second one he started coming on strong and I just wasn’t feeling it. I’m…I’m not the type of girl to get taken out on a few dates and then sleep with a man. As corny and old fashioned it may sound I need something more...a connection you know? Anyway, maybe he’s not used to being turned down or something so he got frustrated, yelled at me that if I didn’t loosen up I’d never find any guy from around here to date. You know, just crap to make me insecure and want even less to do with him.”

She watches him nod and grabs the discarded remnants of their dinner, bunching them up and walking them to the trash.

“Um…so can I ask about you? Are you seeing anyone right now?”

“I’m not. It’s actually been a few months since I’ve even been on a date. It’s just hard to find someone who is…normal I guess.” He shrugs, looking up at her.“I have a habit of getting into things one hundred percent when it comes to work and I’ve been working really hard at making sure the other sides of my life don’t suffer because of it. I just haven’t found a girl that would be willing to work with me on that yet, you know give me a chance to get better at it.”

He looks down at his hands for a moment as his voice drops, “I’m a little scared to get into something right now…everything I’ve gotten excited about lately has sort of blown up in my face.”

They’d never really spoken too much about his latest projects; his music, the cancelled Jesus Christ Superstar tour, Girl Radical. She never wanted to pry and he seemed okay with just talking about other things. She liked that he was opening up to her now and felt humbled that he would make himself so vulnerable to her. She takes a seat next to him again and scoots forward slightly, setting a hand on his arm.

“JC.” She says softly, his eyes lift to meet hers, “What I’m getting here is…maybe you…like me?” He nods slowly. “Well…I like you too…so with that in mind let’s just…take this as it comes? Let’s not define this as anything or give labels." She bites her lip and then sighs. "I'm a little hesitant as well...my last relationship ended...roughly. So um, how 'bout we just be two people that are getting to know each other and like each other’s company? And if something eventually happens, it does and we’ll deal with it then. What do you think?”

He stays quiet for a moment and reaches out to push a strand of hair away from her face, she smiles at him and it seems to give him the courage to answer quietly.“Yeah, I think it’s a deal.”

What the hell?

JC shifts in his bed and rubs a hand over his eyes, taking a moment to wake himself up. He’d finally fallen asleep after tossing and turning for over two hours, unable to turn his mind off. He wasn’t sure what had woken him but a moment later he hears his cell phone ring: that must be it. Groaning he reaches over to the night stand beside his bed and grabs his phone.

Who is calling at…

He looks over at the clock: 2:47 AM.

Someone better be dead or dying.

“Yeah?” He grumbles into the phone, slumping back against his pillow and closing his eyes.

“…JC?” A small voice hesitantly ventures.

He sits straight up in his bed, instantly awake. He pushes the covers back and swings his legs over the bed, planting his feet on the floor, startling his dog who is lying not far away.

Something is wrong.

“Ari? What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“Yeah…well no. I’m really sorry to bother you, I must have woken you up…I didn’t know who to call, Patrick is out of town and…I’m sorry to…” She rambles, her voice wobbling.

He cuts her off. “It’s fine, honey. It’s fine. What’s wrong? What happened?”

“Um…someone broke in…”

“What?! Are you hurt? Did you call the police?” He questions as he jumps up and grabs a pair of track pants off of a nearby chair. “Shhh…it’s okay boy,” he says softly to the dog on the floor reacting to the sudden movements of his master. “Ari?”

“I’m not hurt, the police are here now.”

He awkwardly pulls on his pants with one hand, switching the phone to his other ear as he grabs a hoodie as well. “Stay put. Don’t let the cops leave until I get there. I’ll be there as soon as I can, I’m on my way.”

He doesn’t even remember pulling on his hoodie or grabbing his keys. Next thing he knows he is taking the steps to her apartment two at a time and pushing open the door.“Ari?” He calls out looking around the illuminated apartment, finding her sitting on the edge of the couch, a blanket wrapped around her. Her hair is wet and she looks so small sitting next to a large police officer holding a clip board.

Oh, sweetheart.

She seems to realize that he’s standing there and instantly gets up from the couch to come forward and fit herself into his outstretched arms.

Is she limping?

He can feel her take a shaky breath against him and when he pulls back enough to look into her eyes he can see that they are brimmed with tears.

“It’s okay honey, it’s okay. I’m here now. What’s going on? Are you limping?”

She pulls back and pushes her hair behind her ears, clearing her throat and ridding it of the evidence of tears.

“I’m fine. I just twisted my ankle….”

“Ma’am? We’re done here. We’ll have a report ready for your insurance company within a few days. Are you okay for us to leave now?” The large police officer he’d seen earlier asks, eyeing him for a moment and then Ari again.

“Yes, thank you. I’m fine.” She nods, shaking his hand and waving weakly to the other officer that is waiting by the door.

Placing his hand on her shoulder gently, he guides her back over to the couch and sits next to her.

“Tell me what happened.”

“I couldn’t sleep, my legs were restless and I couldn’t shut my mind off so I decided to take a bath. I got out of bed and went into the bathroom. I was soaking in there maybe 10 minutes when I heard something like the sound of glass breaking.” She starts, picking at a thread on the blanket still wrapped around her shoulders. “I figured that it was that same cat, breaking one of my plant, you know. I didn’t really think much of it; I stayed there for another 10 minutes maybe. When I got out, I realized that I forgot my pajamas in the bedroom, so I walked out of the bathroom in my towel. When I opened the door…”

Noticing her hesitation he scoots a little closer and slides and arm around her gently,“Go on...”

“There was this guy…going through my bedroom drawers. I sort of froze for a second, he turned and looked at me….I screamed and ran back into the bathroom. I locked the door and thankfully I had my cell in there. I called the police. When they got here he was already gone.”

“Did you see his face? He didn’t hurt you did he?” He asks softly, sliding his arm back from over her shoulder to wipe a tear sliding down her cheek.

After a shake of her head, he releases a breath he didn’t even realize he was holding.

Thank God.

“How did you twist your ankle?”

“Just getting back into the bathroom, I was still a little wet and so was the floor.”

Nodding he leans forward and presses a gentle kiss to the side of her damp head.

“Grab a bag; I’m taking you back to my place.”

She seems to want to argue for a moment but he stands and shakes his head.

“Don’t argue with me. You can’t stay here, the front door is busted. I assume that was the cops coming in?” She nods. “And the fire escape window is broken. You’ll stay with me until those are fixed.”

He can tell she seems a little relieved at his decision. He helps her up and leads her to her bedroom where she grabs a bag from under her bed as well as a few things from her drawers. He watches her maker her way to the bathroom to grab a few more things and then looks around the room.

That guy could have come up on her when she was in bed. Sleeping. What could he have done?

He shakes the thought from his mind and takes the bag from her hand when she steps out of the bathroom.

“Are you going to be okay to walk?”

“Yeah, it hurts a little but not bad. Some ice should take care of it later,” she answers, looking around her bedroom for a moment before nodding.

“Ready?”

“Yeah…I’m ready to get out of here. We should still be able to use the deadbolt to shut the front door; it wasn’t on when they forced the door open. The sheet of plywood over the window should keep anyone else out at least tonight.”

“Then let’s go.” He motions, leading her out of her apartment and watching as she uses her key to slide the deadbolt. They walk down the stairs slowly; taking their time as she periodically holds onto is arm to steady herself.

On the way to his house he asks, “Did he end up getting anything?”

“Yeah, my good camera and a couple of lenses. It’ll get covered by insurance, but it’s still a piss off. It’ll be a while before I get the insurance money and in the meantime I don’t have enough to buy a new one. It took me a long time to save up to buy that one.”

Save up.

It's been a long time since he’s had to think about saving money to buy something he wanted. He knows her enough by now that she would kill him if he even suggested giving her or even loaning her the money to buy a new camera.

He’d have to figure something out.

Unlocking his front door, he let her go in ahead of him, his dog greeting them at the door with his tail wagging.

“Hey Maestro…” He hears her say softly and watches her reach down to pet the dog.

“He wanted to come too but I told him he had to hold down the fort until we came back.”

He sees her smile, but it doesn’t seem to reach her eyes. “Hey, come here.” He motions, opening his arms to her once more after dropping her bag on the ground.

She doesn’t hesitate and lets him wrap his arms around her. He rests his chin on the top of her head and makes soothing noises for a moment, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, inhaling the scent of green apples he has come to associate with her. He can feel her tremble slightly and he squeezes her tighter. “It’s okay honey, it’s over.”

“I know…I’m sorry,” she says quietly against his chest.“I’m not that type of girl you know, that can’t take care of herself or be without a man to rescue her all the time.”

He shakes his head and pulls her away for a moment looking into her eyes.“I don’t think that for a moment. I’m just glad I could be there for you.”

God, I want to kiss her. I really, really want to kiss her.

He licks his lower lip, leans forward again and presses his lips to her forehead gently.

Not tonight. Not while she’s this vulnerable.


“How about I let you dry off your hair a little and then get ready for bed? I think we both could use a little sleep.”

She nods and lets him go, looking around for a moment.

“You have a nice house.” She smiles softly.

“You’ll get the tour in the morning, now up the stairs young lady.” He smirks, motioning her up the stairs nearby.

Once at the top of the stairs he points down the hall to the left. “I sleep down there.” He then points to the right and completely down the hall. “There are three guest bedrooms down there.”

He can tell she is hesitating for a moment, her eyes have gone a little wide as she gauges the distance between the two areas.

“But you know. I’m sure you’re still a little jumpy. If you want….I have a really big bed. You could bunk with me tonight.” Seeing her seem conflicted, he smiles. “No funny business, I promise. We can even make a very special exception and let Maestro be the guard dog he thinks he is and sleep with us. Just for tonight.”

A smile spreads across her lips, this time reaching her eyes.

“Okay.”

Showing her into his bedroom, he lets her into his master bathroom to change and towel dry her hair a little more. While he hears her moving around in there, he goes around the room picking up a few things and straightening the bed.

“Hop in,” he says as she appears from the bathroom. “I sleep on the left side…so you and Maes can have the right?”

She nods and goes around the bed, pulling back the covers before sliding in.

“I’m going to go brush my teeth, I’ll be right back.”

After brushing his teeth and throwing some cold water at his face, he looks into the mirror.

Getting old Chasez?

You’ve got a beautiful woman in your bed and you’re not even going to consider sleeping with her?

He shakes his head at his own reflection and turns the light off before walking back into the bedroom. Once there he finds Ari curled up on her side with Maestro at her back, laying against her as he rests his head on her rib cage, looking at him with a satisfied look.

“You’re lucky tonight buddy, this ain’t happenin’ again.” He grins talking to his dog as he walks over to the security panel near his bed and taps a few buttons before getting into bed. Clicking off the bedside light he turns on his side facing her across the King size bed. “I didn’t even think… did you want some ice for your ankle?”

“Nah, thanks. It’s fine for tonight. I’m comfortable and I feel sleepy now.”

“Good. Well…Goodnight.” He says softly, shifting a little to get comfortable. After a few moment of silence he hears the sheets ruffling and feels and hand reach out. She searches for his hand and finds it, slipping her own into his.

“Thank you…again.” She says sleepily, squeezing his hand.

“You’re welcome, again.” He smiles in the dark.

“Good night.” She adds, although her hand does not move out of his.

They lay there for a few moments, their hands entwined until he feels her grip slacken and hears her breathing slow. He still doesn’t let go of her hand and starts falling asleep, thinking that even though he hasn't slept with her, this feels like one of the most intimate moments of his life.

Ari stirs, her eyes slowly opening and adjusting to the light coming in from a nearby window. She turns her head to look at her alarm clock only to find a night table with a small lamp and what seems like a bowl and a glass of orange juice. She blinks a few times until she remembers that she isn’t home.

Oh.

After that realization hits, she makes out the sound of soft taps on computer keys and turns around to find JC sitting up in bed, his back up against the headboard. He is wearing a loose pair of cotton pajama pants and a grey undershirt, in his lap rests a small laptop.

“Morning.” She hears him say softly, her eyes lifting to meet his behind the thick black frames of his glasses.

Gawd…I could get used to this.

Smiling shyly, she sits up and runs a hand through her tangled hair.“Morning. What time is it? Have you been up for a while?” She asks, pulling the sheets up a little closer around her. She looks around for a moment and sees that the large TV on the wall facing the bed is on and tuned to CNN but muted.

“9:37 to be exact.,’ he answers, reaching over to his night table to grab his cup of coffee. He takes a sip and continues, “Just a little while, I let Maestro out and made some coffee. I know you don’t like coffee so I brought you something else.” He motions to her night table.

“Thank you, that’s really sweet.” She smiles and grabs the tall glass of orange juice to take a sip. She sees that a bowl filled with what seems like yogurt, granola and some cut up fruit is also on the night table.

He made me breakfast.

He took the time to wash and slice an orange, some kiwi and some strawberries.

How is this man not married and spoken for already?

“I hope you like those…” She hears him cut into her thoughts as she was probably staring at her bowl for a few seconds.

“Oh yes, of course. These are great. I love all fruit. Raspberries are my favorite.” She smiles using the spoon already in the bowl to have a bite. “Do you cook much?" She asks as she picks up a piece of strawberry and takes a bite of it.

“Oh no…” He laughs, shutting the cover of his laptop and placing it beside him on the night stand. “I can’t cook much of anything. I just buy stuff that I can peel or cut up and eat without messing too much with it. I can make good pop tarts though.” He grins, looking at her.

“I’ll have to teach you sometime…would you like to learn?” She asks as she continues to eat the yogurt and fruit.

“Maybe. My mom has tried but I couldn’t be bothered when I was a kid. Couldn’t hurt to try and teach me.”

“We can just do easy stuff that doesn’t need many ingredients or much time. Stuff you could make for yourself of if you were having someone over.”

“I’d like that.” He smiles at her again. “So what’s the plan today?”

“Um, well first I should really call my landlord to see what to do about the window and the door. I should also start working on contacting my insurance company to get things rolling. What about you? I don’t want to impose on your time; I know you have things to do. I hope you didn’t feel like you had to stay in here this morning to take care of me or anything.”

He waves away her concerns and shakes his head. “Don’t worry about it. I wanted to stay around in here until you woke up in case you got confused and freaked out about where you were you know? Plus, I didn’t really have anything this morning; I just have a session at the studio with the girls in a couple of hours.”

He takes his glasses off and sets them on top of the laptop. “Actually I have to go make a few calls, why don’t you stay up here and make yourself at home? Take a shower or whatever and make your calls. Come find me downstairs when you’re done.”

She nods and smiles, watching him get up and stretch his arms up over his head. It is an absolute physical impossibility for her eyes to not wander down his chest to the band of skin that peeks between his shirt and his pants.

I should have skipped breakfast and had him instead…

A grin spreads over her lips and she bites the lower one.

“See something you like?” She hears him ask and lifts her eyes to find his amused ones. She keeps her grin but her cheeks warm and without knowing where she gets the courage to do it, she nods slowly.

He chuckles and he swipes the side of his finger against his nose and winks.“See you in a bit.”

God she wants to kiss him…for him to kiss her. All she wanted to do this morning was to crawl over the bed and replace that laptop in his lap with herself. That t-shirt would not have stayed on very long if it would have been up to her.

Not yet. He said he didn’t want to get into something right now.

If we sleep together it definitely becomes something.

Groaning, she peels the covers off of herself and walks over to her bag which is resting on the floor near the bed. Her ankle throbs slightly but it doesn’t keep her from functioning.

She was going to call her landlord and then the insurance company, but first she needs a shower.A moment later when she steps into the bathroom and figures out how to turn on the most expensive looking rain showerhead she’s ever seen, she can’t help but think about the day he’d hopefully be in there with her.

*****************************************************

“What are you watching?” She asks, walking into his living room after following the sound of the television.

“Nothing really, just some documentary about some deep sea fishing or something like that. I stopped paying attention about 20 minutes ago,” he answers as he puts his phone down and grabs the remote to turn off the television. “Did you talk to your landlord?”

She takes a seat on the corner of the couch and nods, setting her own phone on the coffee table near his. “Yeah. He said he’d get someone to look into it today but that since tomorrow is the weekend he may not be able to get another window until Monday. He also said that since he’d have to screw that plywood over the broken window until it is replaced that I can’t stay there, as legally I do not have a secondary exit in case of a fire.”

“That makes sense.” He nods, crossing one leg over the other as he watches her.

“Yeah, so I sent a text to Pat about staying at their place for a few days while they are out of town. They’re in a different time zone right now so I doubt I’ll hear back for a couple of hours. I’m sure it’ll be fine though.”

“You don’t have to do that. Why don’t you stay here? There’s plenty of room and you wouldn’t be alone. I’d be here or Maestro can keep you company when I’m not.”

Cause I’m scared of what will happen if I stay…

“JC, that’s really sweet but I really don’t want to impose. I don’t want to be in your way. And to be honest…” She bites her lip, looks away from him and tries again.“To be totally honest staying here with you, seeing you in your home setting makes me like you even more,” she finishes softly, her cheeks flaming with her admission.

Where am I getting the courage to say this stuff?

I’ve never been able to do that before…

“And that’s an issue because…” He questions as he stands up and comes to sit a little closer to her. “Hey, look at me,” he says softly.

Blue meets blue and she shrugs.“Just of what we said: we're both hesitant to start something new. I really like the friendship we’ve developed and I wouldn’t want to lose that if…we don’t work out or…” She says another few words but they come out mumbled and she breaks eye contact.

“Or what, Ari?”

She didn’t think that her cheeks could get any redder but they do.“Or…if you’re not as attracted to me as I am to you,” she repeats, this time clearly enough for him to understand her.

He lets out a dry laugh and shakes his head, reaching forward to turn her chin, making her look at him. “That’s crazy, Ari. From the moment we met and I watched you run your hand through your hair to rebraid it…I was a goner.” He chuckles.

“You were watching me?” She asks, a small smile forming over her lips at his nod. “And did you make sure you got coffee all over yourself so you’d be able to come home with me that day?” The smile now turns into a smirk.

“That was just a happy accident, but I’m glad it happened,” he answers and leans a little closer to her.

He’s going to kiss me.

He’s going to kiss me.

Unable to help herself, she licks her lower lip while glancing down at his, giving him the signal that he is waiting for. Without another moment of hesitation, his head angles and his lips press against hers gently. His lips move against hers not with passionate abandon but with soft explorative strokes, giving her time to experience the taste and texture of his lips while he does the same for hers. Before long, his lips pull away and she is left with a feeling of contentedness but also one of intrigue and desire.

If this is how he gives a first kiss…how incredible are his passionate ones going to be? If he is this attentive for a first kiss…how incredible of a lover will he be?

She can't wait to find out.

With a sigh, JC runs a hand over his face and turns to look at Jimmy who is talking to one of the girls about her next part. He absently plays with a few dials on the control board in front of him and thinks back to that morning.

He’d been looking forward to kissing Ari ever since the moment she’d first smiled at him. When she’d actually said that she was scared that he wasn’t as attracted to her as she was to him he’d almost fallen off of couch with surprise. How could she have ever thought that? Sure she wasn’t the type of girl he’d usually fallen for; the long dark hair, the exotic eyes and skin tones, the money grubbing gold diggers.

This is good.

I must be growing up and getting to appreciate different things in life other than a good time and a warm body to end the night with.

He’d been honest with her when he’d said that he had not dated in months. It's hard for him to not give his total attention to a project and let his friends, family and whatever current girlfriend he had sort of hang onto the back burner.

He never means to, but he is just a passionate person: he works hard and he falls hard whether it be for a woman or a new project. It had taken a failed second album, a slow writing and producing time period and recently the JCS cancellation to realize that these things would come and go, but the people that matter to him most are always sticking around no matter what. He really needs to cherish that and nurture that, not take it for granted as he had done so many times in the past.

Maybe, just maybe Ari would be willing to stick around for a while, long enough for him to screw up a few times and see how she would take it.

Would she cut and run? Or would she stay?

He really is willing to make an effort to balance his work life and a new relationship but after so many years of trying and failing at it, he’ll probably fall on his face a few more times before he finally figures it out.

He has a feeling that Ari would be willing to keep him to his word and help him achieve his goal. After all it really is time for him to start thinking about settling down eventually, he isn't getting any younger and in the last few years the cat and mouse games at different night clubs and resorts has been getting old. Would it be so bad to come home to a house that isn't empty and lifeless: a house that has the smells and sounds of a home?

“C?” A nearby voice shakes him out of his thoughts. “The girls are going to take 15.”

“Yeah, sure,” he answers absently as he feels his cell phone vibrate against his leg.

Is Maestro allowed into the pool?

He smiles as he sees the text from Ari. They’d decided this morning that once he was done at the studio that he’d pick her up and they’d go grab some dinner before swinging by her place to collect a few of her things since she’d be staying at least another couple of nights.

He’d given her a tour and showed her where everything was. He wanted her to feel at home in his house and mentioned to her that the only place he’d rather her not venture into was his studio where he’d rather be present if she wanted to hang out, but other than that she was free to roam.

Yes…why?

Well…you see, we were playing outside and when I threw his frisbee across the lawn instead of running around the pool he just jumped into it…

JC chuckles and shakes his head, imagining her reaction when the dog took a swan dive into the pool not knowing if he was allowed in there.

It’s fine. Just make sure he’s dried off before he goes back into the house and rolls around on my bed all wet. You know you’re allowed in there too huh? In the cabana off the pool there’s a change room and I always keep towels and different swimsuits for guests to use when I have a BBQ. Find something that fits and have fun.

He looks up as he hears a commotion coming from the studio entrance door; the girls are back with drinks and snacks, talking loudly to one another as they scatter around the room on the couches and chairs.

Maybe, thank you. I promise I won’t go roll around on your bed while all wet if I do.

He actually laughs out loud for a moment and his cheeks redden.

Another of her texts pop up a moment later.

Fuck. I didn’t mean it that way….LOL

It’s fine; I was going to make you solemnly swear that this was a promise that you were not going to keep ;)

Go back to work :P

Yes, Ma’am!

He shakes his head once more and slips his phone back into his pocket. When he looks up into the room he sees that the girls nearest to him have gone quiet and are looking at him excitedly.

“Pops has a girlfriend!” One of them grins as she takes a sip at the straw in her drink.

“Don’t call me that.” He laughs and rolls his eyes. “I don’t have a girlfriend.”

“So she’s who? A girl that’s a friend…C’mon Papa C, spill it.”

“Yes, she’s a girl that’s a friend and I’m not spilling anything, this is my business – and don’t call me that either.” He chuckles grabbing a piece of balled up paper on the corner of the control board to chuck it at them. “Now, who's turn is it now? I want to get out of here before tomorrow morning.”


*********************************************************

Who wears these things? Might as well go naked!

Ari sighs as she looks through the pile of swimsuits he’d said were there for guests to use. She could imagine what kinds of guests were wearing most of these. They all looked brand new and most of them still had tags on them so she felt safe in knowing that she would not be wearing someone’s old underwear, but come on.

After looking through the pile again, she picks out the one that seems the less scandalous; a deep purple bikini top and boy shorts. She changes out of her clothes and pulls them on.

Hmm. Not bad.

The top is made for someone with a larger bust, but it works and doesn’t look bad on her. She looks around to see if she can find any sunscreen but doesn’t. This is bad. Her skin and no sunscreen will equal lobster in about 15 minutes, so she looks around again and is rewarded with a t-shirt that she can wear over her top.

I’d rather look like this than suffer the consequences later.

Plus, he said he wouldn’t be home for at least another couple of hours, so I’ll have time to change.

As she exits the cabana, she finds Maestro resting in the shade of a tree and smiles. She walks over to him and pets his fur which is still damp. She sits in the shade of the tree for a moment and looks around.

He truly has a beautiful house. Of course he’s paid for it with hard work and dedication, but it must be nice to enjoy the spoils of your labor when you’re so young. She thinks of her parents who both work very hard but don’t get to enjoy it as much right now and won’t until they are both able to retire and not have to worry about money anymore.

Must be a different way of life.

She thinks about not having to worry about a mortgage, car payments or sending your kids to University. Her parents do well for themselves as they are not struggling in the least, but when both parents work seasonal jobs then it makes it tougher on budgets.

She’d felt the pinch of the dreaded budget when she was researching for a replacement camera earlier. They’d gone up in price since she’d bought her other one. It was going to be a while before she could afford to get another. Maybe the insurance company would give her a quick settlement and she wouldn’t have to worry about it.

Yeah, right.

Ah well, in the meantime she could use her backup camera although it required more work to use and more time to edit her pictures. She’d make due.

She gets up off of the grass and walks over to the patio table where she’d left her book: might as well enjoy the pool a little before he gets home. She grabs her book and set it on the edge of the pool before she walks back to the cabana where she’d seen one of those floaty chairs. She carries it out and sets it gently on top of the water. She dives in smoothly and swims underwater for a few moments before making her way up and toward the chair, thankful that he is not around to witness the awkwardness with which she slides onto it. With a contented sigh, she lays back comfortably and closes her eyes, letting the rays of the sun warm her wet skin.

Now this I could get used to.


************************************************

“Ari?” JC calls as he walks through the front door and drops his keys onto a table near the entrance. When he doesn’t hear her or Maestro make a sound as he walks through the living room and into the kitchen he peeks through the patio doors and sees her floating in a sun chair, her eyes closed and her hair wet. She’s wearing what seems to be a wet t-shirt over what he assumes is a swim suit.

Well isn’t this a sight for sore eyes.

He grins as he turns on his heel and heads up to his bedroom, peeling his shirt off as he goes. After taking the rest of his clothes off, he pulls on a pair of green and black swim trunks before he makes his way back downstairs and out of the house.As he walks over the patio stones in his backyard, he glances over at his dog who his watching him with pointed disinterest from a shaded spot under a tree. She doesn't seem to have heard him yet so he keeps his gait slow and his steps soft until he gets near the edge of the pool that is closest to her. Without a moment’s hesitation he cries out “Geronimoooo!” before he cannon balls into the cool blue water of the pool.

When he comes up for air, he can hear her coughing and sputtering.“You jerk!” She squeals and laughs loudly.

“What? I just got home and I was hot, so I decided to get into the pool.” He grins and shrugs a shoulder innocently as he watches her rub her eyes with her hand, catch her breath and tries to keep afloat as she is no longer seated in her chair but in the water with him.

“Yeah, I’m sure. You just had to sneak up on me and create a tsunami wave so that you could cool off.”

“My pool, my rules.” He winks, leaning back to float on his back for a moment. “This feels nice though. Have you been in here for a while?”

“No, not that long. I thought you’d be gone for a few more hours.” She answers as she swims closer to the edge of the pool and leans back against the tiled wall.

“Got done what needed to be done and they didn't need me for the rest. Why are you wearing a t-shirt?” He asks, eyeing her for a moment.

“Well first of all, I don’t think you can call most of the swimsuits in there anything else but glorified lingerie,” she says wryly and is rewarded with a smug grin which leads her to confirm that this was his total intention. “Secondly, I couldn’t find any sunscreen.”

“So?”

“You forget my dear, that where I come from.” She laughs. “We get maybe 3 months a year where the sun is hot enough to cause sunburns. Add to that being a natural blonde…” She shrugs. “You get the picture”.

He chuckles and nods.“Pretty sure I have some in my bathroom somewhere.”

“I wasn’t going to go through your drawers. What if I found something I wasn’t supposed to see?” She smirks again, eyeing him with amusement.

“I keep all of my naughty sex toys in my closet, so unless you went sneaking in there…” He smirks back, swimming closer to her.

She laughs and watches him move closer, he can tell that she’s checking him out and feels emboldened by it.

“Maybe I’ll let you sneak in there someday,” he whispers as he reaches her, sliding a dripping hand over her cheek and to the back of her head as he pulls her face closer. “Soon…”

He feels her arms slide around his neck and moves even closer to press his chest against hers before he crashes his lips onto hers. This isn’t the gentle first kiss he gave her this morning; this one is full of the promise of what is to come when they eventually become lovers. His lips move over hers roughly, his tongue probes the seam between her lips and she opens them obediently.

He groans softly as their tongues meet and play a lustful game. After a few more moments, he pulls away to catch his breath. He looks down at her lips and finds them reddened and swollen. He smiles and leans forward to gently bite her bottom lip and is rewarded with a soft moan. Soothing the bite with the tip of his tongue, his eyes meet hers.

“Never again doubt my attraction to you,” he whispers and watches her smile and shake her head slowly.

Never again doubt my attraction to you.

Licking her lips, she thinks back to a few minutes earlier when he’d whispered those words to her. They’d kept kissing for a few more minutes until Maestro decided to mimic his master’s earlier splash into the pool, totally ruining the moment at hand. With a sigh, she pulls off her wet t-shirt and swimsuit in the pool cabana and reaches for a dry towel.

As she uses it to dry off her body and hair she can’t stop replaying that moment in her mind. He is an incredible kisser and she now definitely didn’t question his attraction to her, but she still feels hesitant to take the next step. She has no idea how many women he’s been with and it isn’t really something you casually bring up over dinner.

Hey JC, how many women have you slept with approximately?

More or less than 50?

No. She couldn’t picture herself asking him that. It would be awkward as well as disrespectful. She knows that he’s had more than one long term relationship but when single he must have taken advantage of that period in his life.

I mean, listen to his songs. If You Were My Girl. One Night Stand. 100 Ways.

She shakes her head as she pulls on the clothes she’d been wearing before changing and grabs her wet ones off of the floor. As she walks out of the cabana and starts walking toward the house, the one thought that had been nagging at the back of her mind finally comes forward in a real though.

What if I’m not good enough for him?

I’m not a virgin, but I can count on one hand how many men I’ve been with.

What if…I can’t please him enough?

She wrinkles her nose at her own thoughts and pulls open the patio door that lead into the kitchen. Looking around she doesn’t see him there so she walks over to the kitchen island and sees some papers scattered over it. It’s not her intention to sneak but once she is closer, she can tell that they are different pamphlets and booklets advertising different types of cameras and camera equipment.

What is this?

“I was hoping that I’d be down here faster than you so I could explain what those are.” She hears his voice behind her as he walks into the kitchen wearing a pair of dark jeans and a black t-shirt, his hair still a little damp.

“What are they?” She asks, looking through a few of the pamphlets. “I mean, I know what they are but why do you have them?”

He takes a seat on a stool in front of the island directly across from her. “Well, I have a few friends that are also into photography and they recommended this specialty store that sells professional cameras. I went over there this morning before going to the studio to have a talk with the manager and I was able to convince him to let you pick something and let you take it home right away.”

What? Just walk out of the store without paying for it?

“No. Uh uh, JC. Please don’t tell me you paid for anything. Please,” she pleads, her eyes searching his for confirmation. She really, really did not want him to have paid for or intend to pay for something that was completely hers. She does not want to be that girl.

She watches him as he smiles and shakes his head. “I wanted to Ari, I really did. You need the camera, I’ve got more money than I know what to do with and it would have been my pleasure to do that for you. But-“ He quiets her with a raised hand as she starts to argue. “I didn’t because I could tell that you would react this way.” He chuckles at her expression.

“You’re right. As I’ve mentioned before, your money and your connections are a product of your hard work. I don’t want you to feel like you have to use any of it because we’re…friend,” she finishes, unsure of what to call their relationship at this point. 

“I considered offering you a loan so that you’d be able to pay me back when the insurance money came in but I decided against that too since I knew you wouldn’t agree either. So, if you’re willing this is how it would work: we leave here and I take you to the store, you pick a camera that you like and you sign a few papers. Basically you just confirm that you have an insurance claim in and that the money will be forthcoming.”

“And they’ll let me walk out just like that? With thousands of dollars of equipment and an IOU? I feel like there’s something missing in this story.”

She eyes him with an arched eyebrow and he chuckles. He crosses his arms over his chest and shakes his head.

“Fine. The documents will also contain my name and contact information as a…fall back.”

Her eyes widen and she’s already shaking her head when he gets up off of the stool and crosses to her. He rests his hands on her shoulders and looks her straight in the eye.

“You’re not using my money. I’m just letting you borrow my name for a few weeks. Ari, I want to do this for you. Please let me,” he says softly as he continues to watch her.

I’m not asking him for money. He’s not offering any money.

I’m going to get the insurance settlement so I won’t be owing him anything in the end.

It’s just his name.

His name that comforts the manager that they will get the money in either from me or from him.

She sighs and closes her eyes.

It would be easier to have a new camera. The old one will take forever to get used to again and her pictures won’t be the best quality she can promise a client.

“Please don’t think I’m a gold digger…” She whispers, shaking her head before looking into his eyes again. “I really don’t want to have your name in anything at all…but I think that arrangement would be acceptable. I promise you will never have to pay for anything regarding that stuff, I will get the settlement and clear everything up.”

“I’ve gone through all this trouble and anguish to figure out a way for you to accept any semblance of my money…I’m pretty sure you’re not a gold digger.”

He grins and leans forward to peck her lips softly. “Let’s go shopping?”

Might as well get it over with.

********************************************************

I’ve never had to work so hard to get a girl to take some of my money or hell, use my name.

JC smiles to himself as he runs a finger along a glass case full of different cameras. He thinks back to the times where his girlfriends would be clamoring after only a short time together for a credit card. You know, just in case of emergencies.

Yeah…cause shoes are apparently an emergency.

When he gets into a relationship he always wants a girl to feel like she belongs to him, that he can take care of her. He never had a habit of thinking twice when a girl would mention needing a little money or really liking something in a store. He had the money, why not use it? He always meant well, but they didn’t.

It’s like he's a professional at finding and falling for girls that take advantage of his giving nature and his soft heart. His Mom and the other guys would always be getting on his case about not realizing that he was being taken advantage of until it was too late. His heart would be broken and his wallet considerably lighter.

He looks around the store and finds her standing at another counter, signing some papers as the manager looks on. Once done, she reaches over and shakes the man’s hand before accepting the two large bags he hands her from behind the counter. JC rushes forward and grabs the bags from her hands with a smile.“Good to go?”

“Yeah, good to go.” She nods, turning to smile at the man behind the counter again. “Thanks again!”

He follows her out of the store and pops the trunk of his car to place the two bags into it.“Where to now? Dinner or your place first?”

“How about we go to my place first and then pick up dinner? Get some takeout and go home?” She suggests as they get into his car.

Home?

He can’t help himself but smile at her use of word. If she wants to go home, then he’ll take her home.

*****************************************************

Ari sits back on the couch and looks at the TV which is playing a rerun of The Big Bang Theory that she really isn’t paying attention to as she questions herself.

Should I show him?

Is he going to laugh?

She bites her lip and runs a hand through her hair.

“You okay?’ He asks her quietly and she feels him nudge her thigh with his.

“Yeah…I-I want to show you something.” She says as she gets up, deciding that she will show him.

He hasn’t laughed or belittled anything I’ve said or done so far.

She quickly makes her way back to her stuff which she’d left in the kitchen when they’d gotten back earlier. She pulls out a large and worn looking leather album, clutches it to her chest and walks back to the living room to take her seat next to him on the couch once more.

“Remember how I mentioned that Pat had asked me to do a small show at their gallery in a few weeks?” She asks and watches him nod. He reaches over and grabs the remote to turn off the TV, angling his body slightly so he is facing her and his eyes focus on hers. She feels a weight lift from her heart.

He’s giving me his undivided attention. He won’t make fun of me.

She takes a breath and continues, “Ever since I got into photography I’ve had a thing for taking pictures of people’s hands.”She pauses again, “I find that you can tell a lot about a person by their hands: what their day to day life is like, where they come from, what they do for work or for play. It fits my whole concept of being able to look at one thing and invite people to make up their own stories and scenarios.” She pulls the album away from her chest and places it in his lap, opening the front cover and pointing to the first picture.

“These are my father’s hands. You can see the strength in their size and their short fingers. You can see the nails are down to the quick, there are nicks and scars all over the skin. He’s a laborer and you can tell from his hands.” She turns the page and points to the next picture describing her mother’s hands and then lets him flip through the dozens of pictures, some black and white, some in color but all of them different and unique. She sits back and watches his face as he looks at them, trying to decipher what he thinks.

Does he think that it’s a waste of time? Is she the only one that sees the beauty and the stories behind the pictures?

When he finally lifts his eyes from her work she holds her breath as she waits for his reaction.

“These are…these are incredible.” He smiles as he leans forward and presses his lips to her gently. “Honey, how did you even have to think twice about having enough stuff to put on a show? This is it…this is what you should show.”

Her cheeks warm and she smiles shyly. “I don’t know,” she answers with a shrug. “I’ve never really showed anyone these other than my parents. They love them and I love them, but we are pretty partial. I didn’t know if anyone else would get it.”

“I get it.” He smiles, pulling her closer to his side and affectionately pressing his lips to the side of her neck.“I totally get it.”

“Does that mean you’ll let me take a picture of your hands?” She grins and reaches down to grab his hand. She turns it palm down into one of hers and using the other she runs the tip of a finger across the top of it, tracing the veins and fingers gently.

“Maybe,” he answers slowly. “I’d expect to be compensated accordingly though.”

“What kind of compensation are we talking about here?” She asks, a smile forming on her lips.

He grins smugly and leans forward again to press his lips against hers. “I’m sure we can work something out.”

I’m sure we can work something out.

Ari smiles as she continues to run a finger across the features of his hand. She traces each long finger before turning his hand over so it is now palm up. She traces each finger again and gently points to the pads of his thumb and forefinger, “Guitar pick?” She asks feeling the slightly rougher skin present there.

After he nods, she dips her finger in the curve between the same thumb and finger, “Microphone?” She questions again feeling the different texture of skin created by the callous present there.

Again he nods as she watches him lick his lower lip and notices that his eyes have turned a stormy blue. She feels her insides shift a little and she bites her lower lip.

He wants me.

She shivers and brings his hand up to her lips to softly kiss the tip of his fingers while keeping her eyes on his. She sees a muscle in his jaw jump as he clenches his teeth. Almost roughly, he pulls his hand from hers and reaches up to slip his fingers into her hair to grasp the back of her head in order to pull her closer to him. She feels his other hand reach forward and his fingers grab onto a belt loop of her shorts to tug her onto him. She lets him position her in his lap while she slides her palms up his chest to rest them against his neck and leans forward to capture his lips with hers. She feels the vibration of a groan against her hands as his hands move from her hips to her backside and pull her firmly against him. The sudden movement causes her to moan as his definite attraction to her can be felt against the seam of her shorts.

Their lips part, they both suck in panted breaths and she feels him kiss the side of her neck slowly as his lips makes his way to her ear. With the feel of his tongue on the shell of her ear, her eyes roll back in her head and she moans again. “Fuck Ari, you turn me on.” She hears him whisper and feels his fingers squeeze her again, pressing her against his arousal as if to prove the truth in his words.

I turn him on? I’ve never been so turned on in my life.

She slides one of her hands from his neck into his short hair, grasping its strands tightly as she angles his head back against the couch and exposes the soft skin of his neck. She leans in to press her lips against his pulse point before using the tip of her tongue to trace a line along his neck only pulling back enough to blow a little cool air on the moistened spots. “You have no idea what you do to me,” she whispers back, nipping at his ear lobe before pressing her lips to his once more. Her hands slides back down his chest to grasp the hem of his t-shirt. She starts pulling it up but is hindered by their joined mouths, she pulls away for a breath and guides the rest of his shirt up over his obediently outstretched arms.

God I’ve been wanting to do this since the first time he took his shirt off in my apartment.

After his shirt hits the ground, she turns to him again and looks down at his chest, watching it heave as he leans back against the couch. She licks her lips in appreciation and takes a moment to slide her fingers over the soft skin of his abs and up his chest, feeling the short coarse hairs that cover his pectorals. “God, you’re perfect…” She whispers, leaning forward to press her lips against his collarbone and up his neck once more.


*********************************************************

This woman really is going to be the death of me.

JC groans again as he feels her soft hands slide over his chest and her lips travel up his neck. He tries to catch his breath as his fingers move from her ass to the bottom of her tank top, feeling every inch of her sides as he slides it off. Once off, he slides his hands back down to grip her ribs gently in order to lean her back. She lets him move her and his eyes drag over the sight in front of him; her skin creamy and flushed, her chest heaving slightly causing her breasts to move in her lacy navy blue bra.

He actually licks his lips as he watches her, his left hand splays against her back while his right reaches up to grasps a firm breast. His thumb brushes over the slightly distended nub beneath the lace, forcing it to harden at his will. He hears her moan and his eyes find hers again. “You’re gorgeous.”

He feels her shiver against his hands and pulls her back down for a kiss, his lips roughly molding to hers as their tongues wage a battle of tug of war. He feels her grind down against him and he closes his eyes, arching his neck into the couch behind him.

"Arg, do that again,” he sighs and bites his lower lip as she does it again. He slides his hand from her back to the front of her shorts, pressing his hand against her, feeling her heat all the way through the fabric. Rewarded with a moan from her, he presses harder, rubbing her though her pants as they resume kissing once more.

Just do it. She’ll stop me if I’m going too far.

As he nibbles her lower lip, he slowly undoes the button of her shorts and slides down the zipper, his movements calculated and measured, leaving her time to pull back if she isn’t comfortable with their implications.

As he hears no objection or hesitation from her, he smiles against her lips and slips his fingers down her shorts to slide over the lacy texture of her underwear. He feels her gasp against his lips and he opens his eyes to find hers wide but not with fear; with arousal.

He kisses the edge of her jaw as he rubs her through her panties, feeling the heat and wetness of her core against his fingers. “This for me?” He asks huskily and is rewarded with a soft moan and a nod.


*******************************************************

Oh my god...Oh my god…

Ari licks her lips as she feels his strong fingers apply firm pressure to her throbbing flesh. She moans again as her head leans forward to rest on his bare shoulder.

“Does that feel good?” He whispers hotly into her ear and she nods quickly, grinding her hips against his hand. “Do you want me to touch you?” He adds in a raspy voice. At her nod he lifts his fingers enough to slip them slowly past the waistband of her panties and against her skin. “Tell me.”

His eyes lock on hers and she can see that they are hooded with arousal; she stares back at him and answers softly. “I want you to touch me, JC. I need you to touch me.”

Please…

As if in answer to her silent plea, she feels him slide a finger over her heated flesh then enter her slowly. She moans and grinds against his finger enjoying the slow torture that he inflicts. She feels a second finger join the first and her breath hitches in her throat. His fingers move in and out slowly in a steady rhythm, the friction causes her to moan and pant every few moments. When she feels this thumb find the most sensitive part of her she reaches forward and grasps one hand on his shoulder, squeezing it tightly.

“You like that?” He whispers, she opens her eyes and looks into his as she nods quickly. “Tell me how to touch you.”

She licks her lips and tries to speak but the words get cut off by a groan as his thumb applies pressure again. She’d never been asked to express herself in this way before and although it’s sort of embarrassing she feels freer than ever before, emboldened by his obvious attraction to her.

“Keep m-moving your fingers, go faster…” She sighs out, “Move your thumb slowly and circle-ahhh yeah…” She moans loudly, her head tipping back and her chest arches forward as he complies with her instructions.

She can hear him breathe heavily as his hand moves against her, the other one gripping her ass tightly to keep her from moving away. She turns her head from its spot on his shoulder and starts to kiss his neck again sliding one of her hands down his chest then over the now very present buldge in his pants.

She’s been so focused on herself that she hadn’t realized how uncomfortable he must be constrained in the jeans. She presses her hand down and firmly rubs his arousal through his pants. In reaction to this, his fingers still for a moment inside of her when he moans and pushes himself against her hand. He tries to resume his motions as she undoes the button of his jeans and boldly slides her hand into his underwear, grasping his hardness firmly. His moving fingers slow and lose their rhythm for the second time in minutes.

“Fuck, Ari…” He groans and leans his head back against the couch, his eyes squeezed shut. “I-I can’t focus when you touch me like that…” His eyes remain shut and he clenches his jaw repeatedly.

She smiles and leans forward to kiss him slowly. She pulls back and whispers in his ear. “Then get me off so that I take care of you…”

I can’t believe I just said that…

She bites her lip and holds her breath for a moment as she waits for his reaction. When he opens his eyes they are dangerous with arousal, his fingers resume their previous movements and he leans forward. She feels his teeth graze against the skin of her breast through the lace of her bra; she leans her head back and moans, closing her own eyes now as she feels his teeth clamp down onto a distended and sensitive nipple.

“JC….” She hisses and bucks her hips against his hand, letting herself ride the feeling of pleasure that is slowly building inside of her. “Keep going…” She pants, moving her hips in time with his movements as they create a steady rhythm again, the only sounds in the room are their labored breathing and her throaty moans as her pleasure starts increasing quickly, she feels herself near the edge of relief and digs her nails into the skin of his shoulder.“Uh…I’m-I’m gonna come…” She cries out softly, biting her lower lip.

"Come for me baby, go…” He says hotly.

With a loud moan and a few bucks of her hips Ari feels wave after wave of pleasure crash inside of her, she forgets time and place as she rides those waves. Moments or hours later, she wouldn’t know the difference, she heaves a deep breath and opens her eyes to find him watching her. His eyes are still hooded and intense but a satisfied smile tugs at his lips.

“Proud of yourself huh?” She asks, her voice now hoarse because of the panting and moaning. She giggles softly as he nods, the smile now fully present. “That was…incredible.” 

“I loved watching you," he says softly as he pulls her forward for a kiss. “Now you mentioned something about helping me out here?” He grins teasingly as she nods and stands up shakily, buttoning her pants before locking her gaze to his and sinking to her knees in front of him.


********************************************************

Oh my god…She’s actually going to…

His thoughts are interrupted as her hands slide up his thighs while parting his legs and she slides herself closer to him. He looks down at her and smiles as he reaches forward to push some hair from her face and stoke her cheek gently. She is beautiful, her cheeks are flushed and her skin glimmers slightly with perspiration. He groans softly as he feels her grasp him firmly once more and use her other hand to lower his jeans and underwear enough for him to be completely freed from their confines. His chest starts to heave as he watches her lean forward and run her tongue boldly over the underside of his hardness.

“Fuck…” He mumbles as her small hand starts to stroke the length of him and he feels the touch of her silky tongue on his pulsating head. He really wants this to last as long as possible but the combination of her current ministrations and watching her erupt in pleasure earlier already has him near the edge.

“That feel good?” He hears her ask him and he nods slowly, his eyes steady on hers as she watches him from her spot on the floor. “Tell me.” She adds with a small smile, echoing his earlier words to her.

“That feels really…really good Ari…” He complies in a hoarse voice.

“Tell me how to touch you.” She repeats his words again.

God, woman.

He heaves a breath and slides his hand from her neck to her hair where he grasps onto the long strands, wrapping them around his fist loosely.“Take me into your mouth…” He replies and tugs her closer gently. With a smile, she leans forward and wraps her lips around him, causing him to moan and arch back against the couch again. He closes his eyes and focuses on the feeling of her lips on his skin and the heat of her silky mouth. As she continues to take more and more of him in he moans, his eyes flutter open and he starts to watch her. The sight of her pleasuring him in this way is almost enough to push him over the edge but the moment he feels her nails scrape gently against the skin of his balls, he loses it. His hips jerk and he cries out, feeling himself pulse and explode with pleasure.

After a few moments, he catches his breath and his wits return to him in a hazy fashion.

You didn’t even give her a warning.

His eyes snap open and he looks down at her in time to catch her wiping the corner of her mouth with a deep blush across her cheeks.

“I’m-I’m so sorry. I just lost it and didn’t even warn you so you could-“ His words stay in his mouth as she smiles and shakes her head while getting up. She leans forward and kisses his cheek gently.

“It’s okay. It surprised me but…I dealt with it,” she answers with a sly grin and sits on the couch next to him.

For a few minutes they both sit there in silence, their breathing returning to normal and their heart rates slowing.

With a chuckle he reaches down and arranges his pants and underwear, “I feel like we’re a couple of teenagers fooling around on the couch before your parents come home.”

She laughs tiredly and nods, “I wish my teenage experiences would have been this incredible.”

He grins and turns to look at her again, “Oh honey, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.”

Click.

Ari pulls her camera away and looks down at the digital screen; she smiles as the sees the nice picture of Maestro lying in the grass under a large tree. She sighs as she leans back onto the thick grass to look up at the sky. It is a beautiful day, the sun is shining but a slightly cool breeze keeps it from getting too hot. She thinks back to the events of the night before and feels her cheeks warm at the recollection. She’d never felt so turned on before and had acted much more boldly than she ever had with anyone else.

He brings that out of her; she likes that.

After their…moment the night before, they’d settled down to watch a movie on the couch cuddling and kissing until they were both too tired to finish the movie. They’d gone upstairs where she’d slept in his bed again but this time she’d dared lie against him, resting her cheek on his bare chest.

She’d been pleased- well honestly, ecstatic- when he’d walked out of the bathroom in only his tight black boxer briefs.

Her cheeks had warmed and he’d noticed with a chuckle. “I was dying last night in those track pants and t-shirt,” he’d explained as he slipped into bed and rested his arm behind his head. “And well, you’ve pretty much seen everything now, so no point of covering up.” He’d grinned as he’d reached over and pulled her against him.

I’m really getting attached to him.

She smiles and sits up taking in a deep breath of fresh air. She is going home tomorrow. Her landlord had called her this morning to tell her that someone would be at her apartment to change the window tomorrow morning so she would be free to sleep there the same night. She was happy to go back, to be amongst her own stuff again, but she was sad to leave JC. It had only been a couple of days, but he’d done everything to make her feel at home. Their relationship and their interactions feel natural and she really likes that.

She looks down at her watch and sees that it is getting late; she has a meeting with one of her brides early this afternoon. JC had gone into the house a little earlier to go make a few calls and hadn’t come back out since. She feels her stomach grumble and figures she may as well make them a couple of sandwiches before she heads out for her meeting. She stands up and wipes her hands over the back of her jeans, grabs her camera and walks back toward the house.

She pulls the patio door open and steps into the kitchen surprised to hear another male voice that isn’t JC’s: she looks up to find JC and Justin sitting at the kitchen island.

Justin.

Justin Timberlake.

With a look of surprise evident on her face, she stops short near the table and sets her camera beside its recently opened box. “Hi.” She says softly and turns her eyes to JC’s. They both look very serious and she keeps standing there for a beat unsure of what to say or do.

You can’t just spring Justin Timberlake on a girl without advance warning.

“Justin, this is Ari. Ari, Justin.” JC motions between the two of them before he gets up off of the stool and makes his way to the fridge.

She smiles tentatively at Justin and isn’t rewarded with much more than a jerk of his head.

Guess the friendly demeanor is an act.

JC pulls two beers from the fridge and shuts the door with his hip.

“Did C buy you that?” Justin asks with a sour look on his face, he points to the camera sitting next to its box and the two white bags filled with the rest of the things she brought back from the camera store the day before.

“No,” she answers quickly with a shake of her head and crosses her arms over her chest.

“Justin, cool it.” JC says warningly."Let’s go down to the studio,” he adds, walking toward the basement door, pulling it open and handing him the beers. “I’ll meet you down there in a minute.”

Justin stands up, walks past her without a word and makes his way downstairs clutching the two beers in his hands.

“I’m sorry Ari, he’s just being an asshole; he’s fighting with Jess again.” JC says while walking toward her. He sets his hands on her shoulders and leans in to kiss her gently. “I might be down there for a while; he’s in pretty bad shape.”

She nods and moves forward to wrap her arms around his waist. “It’s okay, he’s your friend. Take care of him.” She gently kisses his cheek. “I have a meeting at 2 with the bride for next weekend’s wedding. I’ll be gone for a few hours. I can pick up a couple pizzas on the way home or something? Think he’ll still be here?”

He smiles and shrugs his shoulders. “Probably, but I’m not sure. Pizza is a good idea though.”

She nods and playfully gives his butt a swat. “Now get down there before he comes back up here and accuses me of stealing all of your time too.”

He laughs softly and kisses her lips gently once more, “He’ll get over it. He’ll be crawling on the ground apologizing later. I know him.” He grins wryly. “Have a good meeting.” With a return swat of her butt, he winks and turns around then shuts the basement door behind him as he disappears downstairs.

******************************************************

Shit.

Ari groans as she tries to balance two medium pizza boxes in one hand, her bag and a six pack of beer in the other.

Didn't think of the doorknob, dumbass.

She starts to leans down to set the six-pack and her bag on the front step when the front door opens and her eyes run up a long pair of legs, all the way to Justin’s face.“Let me help you with that,” he says softly, grabbing the pizza boxes from her hand. The sour look has left his face and he now looks sheepish.

JC was right.

He watches her walk through the door and shuts it behind her. He doesn’t move further into the house and stands there for a moment.“Listen, I’m sorry…” He starts to say slowly.

Ari smiles and shakes her head, “It’s okay, I get it.”

An unmistakable Justin smile starts to spread over his lips, “JC said you were cool.” He laughs softly, “I guess we should start again.” He wipes his free hand over his jeans and reaches forward, “Hi. I’m Justin.”

Ari returns his smile and grasps his hand, “Hi Justin, I’m Ari.”

JC comes through the living room archway and leans against it, “Are you guys going to duke it out or can I eat my pizza at least semi-warm?” He asks with a smirk.

“I think we can eat, I’m starvin’!” Justin exclaims hoisting the pizza boxes over his head triumphantly before walking past JC into the living room.

“You were right.” Ari tells JC as she sets her bag down under the entryway table.

JC shrugs and walks to her to grab the six-pack from her hand and kiss the side of her neck affectionately, “I’ve known him for a long time. Now come on, let’s eat. Knowing him for that long also teaches me that if we don’t get in there, there won’t be much left.”


*********************************************************

Later that night JC is moving around the living room, picking up empty pizza boxes, napkins and chip bags. He thinks back as he walks into the garage.They’d sat around chatting for a while before JC and Justin decided to battle it out playing video games. He always liked nights like this where it was just cheap pizza, cheap beer and video games. Although he definitely wasn’t a teenager any more these types of evenings always brought him back to a simpler time,a time when he and the guys were so close. They’d remained good friends and were always involved in each other’s lives, but it for sure was no longer like it was before. It was impossible for him to expect that they’d stay like that forever; they all had lives and different projects. Most of all they no longer shared hotel rooms and tour buses for weeks on end with only each other to distract themselves from the craziness around them. Tonight had been nice. He had been sure that Justin and Ari would like each other but he had gotten a little worried at first.

Ari.

She fits into his life so easily and with no drama. Sure, they hadn’t known each other but for a few months now but he loved the way she had just sidled herself near his heart with doing nothing more than being a decent, kind and most importantly: a real person. Those kinds of people are hard to find and when you find them; you hold on tight.

He wasn’t going to get down on one knee but he was starting to open up to the idea of identifying what they had as a relationship. Something he wanted to work on for the long haul and not just a few weeks until he got tired of her or they got into an argument and it was just easier to move on than to work it out.

It’s not like that hasn’t happened before.

JC shakes his head and lifts the trash bin cover before setting in the pizza boxes. He can feel that this is different. Their chemistry is just…there. She matches him tit for tat intellectually and their physical chemistry is…off the charts. His mind is always preparing itself for the time they’d finally sleep together. They’d only just scraped the surface of intimacy the night before and it had left him wanting more, much more. He has a feeling that she may not have been used to being so forward and open about her wants and needs, but he is hoping to change that. He doesn’t know about her past experiences and is not sure if that is something that she would be open to talking about. Of course, she may be wondering the same thing about him. Maybe she thinks he’s slept with hundreds of women and is intimidated by that.

Heh. Definitely not hundreds.

As he walks back into the house he sees her at the kitchen table, putting something away in the travel bag she’d brought the other night.“Going somewhere?” He asks, resting his palms on the top of a chair back.

She smiles and zips up a compartment, “I have to go home at some point. You’re going to start charging me rent.” She laughs softly and sets the bag on the floor. “My landlord called this morning and told me I’d be fine to go back tomorrow, the window will be fixed. You’ll be able to have your space back”.

He feels his stomach sink and his fingers tighten on the wood of the chair.

She’s leaving.

It surprises him how much that actually bothers him. It’s absolutely ridiculous since she’s only been there for a couple of days, but still. In the short time she’s been here, his house has been feeling warmer, more welcoming. He had forgotten how lonely it is to come home to an empty house day after day, night after night until there was someone else there again.

He clears his throat, “It’s fine, I was actually starting to forget that you don’t really live here.” He smiles and tries to change the look on his face to an amused one. “I think Maestro is really going to miss you.” He adds, looking at the dog that is lying at her feet below the table. He’d been following her everywhere around the house ever since she’d come over, so affectionate and excited. They say animals have a sixth sense about people, maybe there’s truth to that.

“I’m going to miss him too.” She crouches down to pet his fur for a moment, “I’m also going to miss his Master.” She smiles, walking forward to wrap her arms around his neck. He slides his arms around her waist and smiles back.

“We’ll still see each other though, you’re always welcome here and I’m sure I’ll show up at your door once in a while.”

“I hope you do.” She leans in and presses her lips to his softly. After kissing her for a few moments, he pulls back.

“Can I just say that…” He licks his bottom lip and takes a breath, “I’m-I’m not planning on seeing anyone else.”

Just tell her you want to be exclusive.

Her cheeks flush and her eyes look down for a moment in embarrassment. “Neither am I.” She says softly as her eyes find his again, “I’m not one to date more than one person at a time.”

Her eyes widen for a moment and he chuckles softly at her reaction, she’d used the word date although they had never established that they were dating.

“So basically what I’m saying is that, if you’re willing, I’d like for us to be…exclusive. And yes, that would mean that we’re dating.” He grins and leans forward to kiss the tip of her nose.

She laughs and nods, “I’m willing.” With another kiss on his lips she whispers, “And honestly, I can’t imagine finding someone else I like as much as I like you.”

We’re on the same page, baby. On the exact same page.

Ari’s fingers tremble as she fusses with a few pieces of loose hair from her updo; the side braid is perfect but she just needs to occupy her fingers for a little longer. She looks up into the full length mirror in front of her and starts picking apart her makeup and now her dress.

Will he like it?

Will he think I look pretty?

“Are you nervous, Pumpkin?” her mother asks as she comes up behind her and places her hands on her shoulders. “You look absolutely perfect. So beautiful…” Her voice falters for a moment and Ari looks up to see in the mirror that her mother’s eyes are filled with tears.

“Aw, Mom. Thank you.” She smiles and turns to hug her mother tightly. “I don’t know. Well…I’m not nervous about marrying him. I just…I just want to look perfect.”

Her mother smiles and reaches up to frame her face gently. “You do. He will love it. He loves you.”

Ari nods, smiles and then kisses her mother’s soft cheek. “Do you have grandma’s earrings?”

Annie nods and reaches for the little box she had set on the counter when she’d come into the room. “Here. Now you have something old.” She takes the drop earrings from their case and hands them to Ari who puts them in. “Your something new is your dress; your something borrowed is your bracelet…what is your something blue?”

Ari blushes and bites her lip. “Um…” She hesitates but gets cut off by a loud voice.

“Her lingerie under her dress is blue.” Sami smirks as she steps behind Ari in front of the mirror. “It’s super sexy too.”

“Samira!” Annie says in a chastising voice but then chuckles and shakes her head.

“Yeah, yeah. She’s going to be a married woman in less than an hour; she can be sexy for her husband.”

Ari rolls her eyes at her and they both laugh. “Where did you go anyway?’

“I went back to my room to get something. Close your eyes.”

Ari feels some soft tugging on her hair and soon opens her eyes at Sami’s command to find a cluster of delicate white mayflowers pinned into her hair behind her ear. She feels an overwhelming amount of emotion at the sight and looks at Samira with watery eyes. “Thank you.”

Sami smiles and leans forward to kiss Ari’s cheek. “I just thought you’d like a little bit of home here with you.”

All of them turn at the sound of shuffling near the door and see Karen and Heather walking into the room with large smiles. Heather reaches toward Ari and gives her a tight hug.

“Are you ready?”

With a smile and a deep breath, Ari nods.

“Let’s do it.”

*

JC slips past a few people on his way to the back of the reception hall trying to be as discreet as possible. He had just told Ari that he had to go use the washroom but had headed the opposite way and toward the stage set up at the back of the room. She has no idea what he has planned for her and he smiles to himself, already picturing the look on her face when she realizes what he’s up to.

It’ll probably be a face somewhat similar to what he imagines his was like when he’d watched her walk down the aisle earlier. He remembers the way she’d lifted her eyes to find his as she’d walked forward accompanied by her mother and father with an uncharacteristic shyness in her expression. He’d literally taken a step forward towards her in response, wanting to go to her and whisper in her ear how absolutely beautiful she looked, but thankfully he’d caught himself before he’d done just that. Her dress had been light and flowy, the lace overlays making it seem so feminine and delicate and he’d smiled again when he’d noticed that she was barefoot in the sand. It had seemed to take forever for her to get close to him when finally she had made it to the end of the aisle and she’d turned to kiss her mother’s cheek. When she'd turned to do the same to her father’s, he noticed the small cluster of white flowers tucked behind her ear and the fishtail braid that snaked up into her hair.

I like it when you braid your hair. It reminds me of the day we met.

His words from what seemed so long ago now had come back to him and his heart had begun to beat even harder.  

Finally. Finally he had found her.

And as her father had shaken his hand and then pressed Ari’s hand into his, he hadn’t been able to help but think that he’d do anything and everything in his power to keep her.

He’d finally found her.

He'd written an entire album about her. Only she'd had another name.

He'd finally found her.

“Here you go man, everything is set. You ready?”

Joey’s familiar voice breaks through JC’s thoughts and he returns to the present. He nods and grabs the pack and ear pieces Joey holds out to him. “Yeah, for sure. Let’s do this.”

JC grins at Joey before he turns and nods at the DJ currently playing some music as people mingle before dinner starts. When the music fades, JC hops onto the small stage and makes his way to the piano already set up there for the live band later that evening. He takes a seat at the bench and adjusts the mic as he turns toward the crowd who seems to have noticed that he’s there. It’s a small crowd, less than fifty people and he feels comfortable in front of them as it’s mostly family and close friends.

“Hey everyone.” The chatter dies down and everyone turns to look at the stage, including Ari who is watching him curiously.

“Hi.” He grins and speaks softly when the room is finally quiet. “First off I’d like to thank everyone that came out tonight to celebrate with Ari and I. I really hope everyone has a good time.”

He clears his throat and turns a little more toward the audience. “When I first started to get to know Ari, I quickly realized that one of the things that made her the happiest was to hear me sing. Whether it was me just humming a stupid theme song or rocking out like a crazy man in my car, anytime a note comes out of my mouth she gets this huge smile on her face.  So early on in our relationship, I told myself that if I could do one thing for her, I would sing to her as often as I could because seeing that smile and the pure joy and love in her eyes is worth everything to me.”

He scratches the back of his neck and continues. “As all of you know, I am a total open book when it comes to what I’m thinking and my emotions…” he trails off as people in the crowd chuckle and he smirks sarcastically. “So I think you may appreciate the title of this song.”

He takes a breath and finds Ari’s eyes in the crowd. “So earlier this evening honey, I promised that I would love, cherish and honor you for the rest of our lives. Now, in front of all these people I also promise to sing to you every day as long as we both shall live.”

He pauses and sees Ari press her hand over her heart as she smiles at him. He shifts on the bench and arranges the mic one last time before he starts playing a melody on the keys. “Starting with today.”

He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes before he starts to sing, the band that had quietly made their way on stage while he spoke chiming in with his piano.

When your legs don't work like they used to before

And I can't sweep you off of your feet

Will your mouth still remember the taste of my love?

Will your eyes still smile from your cheeks?

Maybe we found love right where we are

As the guitarist steps forward to play a solo, JC speaks softly into the microphone. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to sing to my wife,” he says as he gets up off of the bench and steps off of the stage. He reaches a hand out to beckon Ari forward and when she’s pressed against his chest, her ear near his lips he continues softly.

So, baby, now

Take me into your loving arms

Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars

Oh, darling, place your head on my beating heart

I'm thinking out loud

Maybe we found love right where we are

Oh, baby, we found love right where we are

And we found love right where we are.

*

Tonight on “Where are they Now?”

Oprah Winfrey smiles at the camera, the many different video monitors behind her flashing with images of different guests and different shows as she speaks.

“So you remember the massive boy band era when everywhere you looked there was a crew of boys dancing and singing for crowds of screaming and crying girls? Well it was 2004 when one of, if not the, biggest of those bands, *NSYNC, went on a hiatus that still continues to this day. Of course we all know what Justin Timberlake has been up to, but all of the other guys went on to do different things as well, such as a solo album, movies, Broadway and of course who can forget Lance and Joey on Dancing with the Stars? Anyway, until recently band member JC Chasez had seemed to be content working behind the scenes until a now very well known song ended up on Youtube and as they say, the rest is history. We caught up with JC at his home in Florida where he told us about the famous song and his new family. Check it out.”

The camera pans to JC sitting in front of a keyboard in a studio. He smiles a toothy grin at the camera and opens his arms to indicate the large room. “Hey! Welcome to my man cave.”

The camera scans the room showing off the high tech equipment, a very large soundboard and different instruments scattered about. It pans the walls where platinum records and awards are proudly displayed, as well as the glassed in sound booth and the sitting area complete with black leather couches and glass coffee tables.

“I love this place; it’s where I do most of my work. When I sold my house in LA and moved here to Florida, I was able to really make it my own and turn it into exactly what I wanted. It’s great for when I’m working with other artists or when I’m working on my own.”

Pictures of JC and different artists flash across the screen, showing them on red carpets and in different areas of the studio together.

“It’s been a pretty…hectic last few years to say the least. I had gotten used to my life being a little quieter and no so much in the public eye…but I guess that changes when you have a number one song for nine weeks on the charts!” He laughs self-consciously and scratches the back of his neck. “It had been a hot minute since one of my songs had been on the radio, so I wasn’t-“

He gets cut off by a noise and his eyes shift from the camera to something out of frame. He smiles widely and the camera pans to a small girl walking up to JC holding out a pair of bright pink headphones. She expertly climbs up his leg and settles into his lap without glancing at the camera. He chuckles softly and smiles again as he turns back to the audience. “This little one here is Melodie. She is…” He looks down at her and she grins up at him. “Tell them how old you are darlin’.” He points toward the audience and the little girl looks up, her bright blue eyes taking in the camera and apparently the camera man behind it. She smiles widely and proudly holds up two stubby fingers. “I three!”

He laughs and reaches down to curl up an extra finger. “We’re still working on that one. Meli just turned three last week.” He kisses the top of her blonde head and grabs the pink headphones, places them on her head and continues to talk as he plugs it into the keyboard and presses a few buttons, apparently having done this many, many times. “So yeah, I never expected the song to blow up that big. It was just supposed to be a nice song to sing for my wife at our wedding, but everyone just loved it. When someone’s shaky video of it made it to Youtube, I started getting calls about it.”

A few pictures of JC and Ari’s wedding flash across the screen; the happy couple dancing at their reception and exchanging their vows on the beach.

When they return to JC, the little girl is happily pressing the piano keys and grinning at the sounds only she can hear in the headphones. He shifts her on his lap. “So in the end, I figured if it was going to be out there, there better be a good version of it you know? So I went into the studio and recorded it-”

A loud giggle cuts him off and he looks down at Meli who has gotten a little excited and is banging on the keys with her little hands. He smiles again and places a large hand over her little excited ones in a calming manner. “Gently,” he tells her quietly before he then uses that hand to play out a quick little melody for her ears only. She giggles again and he kisses her cheek.

“Being in the studio behind the mic again felt good. Really good. So…one song turned into another and then another and well…the album was born.”

A few publicity pictures of him flash across the screen then a short video of him performing. As a picture of him proudly holding two Grammys comes on the screen he explains, “I couldn’t believe it when the Grammy nominations were announced and I’d been nominated three times.  Believed it even less when I got to go home with two. ”

When the pictures fade JC is standing in front of a glass cabinet and he points at the two golden gramophones. “Song of the Year and Record of the Year. I still can’t believe it.”

As the scene shifts to JC walking down a hallway holding his daughter and into a kitchen, Ari can be seen at the large kitchen island cutting up some strawberries on a wooden cutting board. Her blonde hair is long and loose and she smiles widely at the pair as they join her.

“And here is the reason for those two awards, my beautiful wife Arianna who inspired the song that started this whole craziness over.”

He sits the little girl t on the edge of the granite countertop and leans sideways to kiss Ari’s cheek.  “She’s an amazing wife and mom, and I couldn’t do all this without her support. My family has been great too; it’s so awesome to be back close to them. It’s nice for Meli to get to grow up with her cousins and especially since we have-” He stops and tugs Ari back gently so she is pulled away from the island to reveal her large rounded belly underneath her colorful maxi dress. “These little ones on the way relatively soon…we’re gonna need all the help we can get!” They both laugh and he gently runs his hand over her distended stomach.

“So now that I’m done with the tour for the album I’m just going to chill for a little while, you know write some songs…change a bunch of diapers and then we’ll see where we go from there. I look forward to what the future has in store for me, and for us.”

He pulls Ari close and hugs her to his side as he looks back at the camera. “Anyway, thanks for checking in on me and I’ll see you soon!” He grins down at his daughter still sitting on the kitchen island. “Say bye, Meli?”

With a large strawberry stained smile and crimson fingers the little girl waves at the camera. “Bye, Meli!”

Both JC and Ari laugh as the scene fades to black.

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