Michael opens the door and smiles at the woman standing behind it. She is freshed faced with her long dark hair in a messy bun and is wearing a flowy, colorfully patterned maxi dress. Her hazel eyes are as bright as the smile she flashes back at him.

“Hey Jax. Come on in,” he says as he steps aside and motions her in.

“Thanks, I wasn’t sure if I should knock…there’s a bunch of cars here. Am I interrupting something? I know you said to come by today but-”

“Don’t worry,” he smiles. “We’re just having a little BBQ in the backyard with a few friends. I know your schedule is pretty packed so since you were free today I figured it would still work.”

She leans down to untie a pair of strappy wedge sandals but he stops her with a wave of his hand. “Don’t take them off, just come on in. I just have to finish something real quick before the big reveal. Why don’t you pop into the kitchen; Lance is there.”

“Sounds good,” she says as she smiles and turns toward the kitchen and living room area, seeing the wide patio doors open to the bright California sunshine.

“Hey there, Stranger!”  She hears Lance call out from his spot at the kitchen counter cutting up lemon and lime wedges into a bowl. “Happy you could make it! Think you can stay for a while and hang out or do you have to go back to the cave?”

She chuckles as she walks up to the counter and hops up on one of the bar stools. “I’m not really dressed for a party...I was just coming over to finally see what Michael was able to come up with for me.”

“You’re going to love it,” he says as he reaches down the counter for a fancy glass and starts scooping ice into it. “It’s just a BBQ, Jax, nothing fancy. Here have some lemonade.” He pours some lemonade into the glass and drops a few wedges of lime and lemon into it.

She sighs dramatically and shakes her head. “Twist my rubber arm I guess,” she says as she takes a sip. “Mmm, this is good. So how are you?”

He nods and smiles as he starts to wipe the counter. “I’m good. Been busy but we’re taking a little time off so that helps.”

She nods again as she takes another sip of her lemonade and her eyes roam over the living room. “I really like the new decor, you guys did a great job. I should get you to come help with my-”

“Hey, Lance,” A man’s voice cuts in. “The sausages are ready, what do you want us to put them- Oh. Hi Jax, nice to see you again.”

Jax looks up to see JC Chasez stepping through the patio doors, smiling at her. She swallows thickly as she takes in his distressed grey jeans and tight black polo shirt. His eyes crinkle at the corners behind his glasses as he comes closer to the counter.

“I, uh… Hi.” She stutters and cringes inwardly. “Hi JC, nice to see you again too. We seem to keep bumping into each other here.” She looks up at Lance with a pointed look but he now seems to be very interested in deciding which serving platter to use for the sausages.

JC sets his beer on the counter with a click against the stone and rests his palms onto the edge. “Still recording or are you done?”

She licks her lips and curses herself for not wearing makeup today. “All done actually, we finished and sent everything off to the head honchos two days ago. I’ve been sleeping for about a day and a half…” She laughs softly and takes another sip of her drink soothing her suddenly parched throat.

Why the hell did she always stutter around him? She was confident around just about anyone else but ever since he’d left her speechless that day after her interview on Dirty Pop it was like she couldn’t get out of that funk.

“Well I think it’s awesome that you came by, I was hoping I’d get to see you again someday and apologize for making you uncomfortable last time we-”

She giggles and shakes her head. “No need. I was just taken aback and then I had to run back to the studio before Beats got pissed at me.”

He laughs softly and takes a sip of his beer. “OK, good.” He glances back at the backyard and adds, “I better get back to the grill with something for the sausages before Keagan burns them and I get blamed for it…”

Lance hands him a large platter but keeps hold of it as he speaks, “Remember you are allowed to put the food on the platters but you are not allowed to cook anything.”

JC rolls his eyes and tugs the platter from Lance’s hands. “I am not a child and I know my limitations. You know like I can’t cook and you can’t dance…” He smirks at Lance and winks at Jax before he turns tail and walks back outside.

Jax stands from her stool as she hears Michael call out to her from the hallway. She tries to tries to catch Lance’s gaze though he seems to be trying to avoid hers. “You know I hate you, right Bass?”

At that he grins unabashedly and chuckles as he winks at her.

God he was infuriating.

*

“So what do you think?” Michael asks tentatively as Jax stands in his art room with her eyes wide and her mouth hanging open.

“Oh. My. God.” She takes a breath and closes her eyes for a moment before she opens them again. Her eyes take in the two extra large painting each resting on heavy duty easels with colors and patterns that are so bright and vivid that she doesn’t know what to focus on first.

“I went off a little bit on what we had discussed but I thought you’d like this bet-”

“They’re the best thing I’ve ever seen. I can’t even process it. Oh my god,” she says again and turns to give him a tight hug. “I can’t even put it into words right now. Just...thanks.”

Michael grins widely. “I’m so glad that you like them. We can set up delivery in the next couple of days.”

She nods. “That sounds good.” Her stomach grumbles audibly in the quiet room and she blushes as she rubs it self consciously. “Sorry, guess I should have eaten today.”

He laughs and grabs her arm pulling her out of the room and back into the hallway. “C’mon, I’m sure there’s some food ready. Unless JC got his hands on anything that was on the grill…”

She rolls her eyes and follows him through the kitchen toward the patio doors. “Oh yeah, the guy that coincidentally seems to show up everytime I come around…”

“Blame my husband.”

“Oh, I do.”

*

Jax scribbles furiously onto a paper plate. Her writing is large and loopy so when she starts running out of room she absently turns to look for something else to write on when another plate gets outstretched toward her. She looks with surprise to find JC smirking at her good naturedly and she blinks a few times.

“Thanks… Sorry, have you been there long? I didn’t even notice.”

He laughs softly and shakes his head. “Nah, not long. I didn’t want to interrupt your train of thought. I know what it’s like to have to write something down right away on anything available or else you lose it.”

She takes the outstretched plate and holds it with the other one. “I usually never go anywhere without my bag which always has a notebook and a few pens, but I wasn’t expecting to stay and I’ve been trying to take a break from writing.”

He nods. “I get it. You just can’t help it sometimes though, right?”

She nods and her eyes return to the scene she’d been observing from afar moments ago. A young couple was walking as they held hands along the sandy beach a few properties over. She’d first noticed them when she’d walked down to the beach attached to Lance’s backyard wanting to go dip her feet into the water. She’d noticed the couple and something had popped into her head and she’d needed to write it down immediately. She’d run back to the tables still scattered with food and various drinks and had grabbed the first things she could write with which had ended up being a sharpie and a paper plate. She’d hurried back and had started writing what was going through her head until she’d run out of room.

“You see those two?” she asks as she nods over to the couple that is no longer walking along the beach but that were now sitting on the sand holding each other. He nods quietly and she continues. “They’ve only met a few weeks ago but they’re really in love, you know young summer love. She’s hoping that he’s not going to hurt her and he’s head over heels. They are probably going their separate ways after today…” She trails off and writes down a few more words.

He stays quiet next to her as they both take in the scene before them. “Do you know them or you’re just..thinking?”

She laughs softly. “If you're asking if I’m a stalker, no. I just...it came to me.”

He smiles and leans over, his eyes looking down at her scribbles on the plate. “You have really bad handwriting...I’ve been trying to sneak a peak since I sat down but I can’t make out more than a few words.”

She blushes and pushes some hair behind her ear. She rarely shares her writings with anyone else but Beats, especially not hurried first drafts. She looks up and when their eyes connect somehow she feels like her thoughts could be safe with him.

“Um, well. I guess...um, here…” She trails off and flips the plate over to the side where she’d started writing and uses her finger to drag under the words as she sings quietly. “I was made for loving you, even though we may be hopeless hearts just passing through, every bone screaming I don’t know what we should do, all I know is, darling, I was made for loving you…”

He says nothing for what seems like a long time and she bites her lip as she ventures to look up at him. “It’s not much, I still have-”

“I think it’s beautiful.” He cuts in quietly and looks into her eyes once more. “Absolutely beautiful.”

*

“Welcome,” Jax exclaims with a grin as she spreads her arms wide. “To my humble abode.”

Michael laughs as he slides his sunglasses up onto his head. “Humble, my ass,” he says as he steps inside, his shoes tapping on the wide planked bamboo floors. He looks around and whistles under his breath. “This place is gorgeous.”

She grins and looks around herself, feeling pretty proud. “It really is, isn’t it? I love it. Thank God for interior designers right?” She chuckles and motions him inside. “Come in, come in. Let me show you where your work will go. Is Lance with you?”

He nods as he follows behind her while they walk from the entranceway into a large open concept kitchen and living room. From the striking white of the furniture, the earthiness of the bamboo flooring to the pops of colour ranging from aquamarine to lemon yellow found in throw pillows and accessories, the space is impressive. What’s most impressive though is the floor to ceiling windows that cover the entire far wall facing the crystal clear Pacific ocean that glimmers in the bright California sunshine.

“Yeah, he’s here. He’s just directing the moving truck to the door. I wanted to come in to make sure everything would be able to fit where you want it.”

She grins and indicates the wall above a large white marble fireplace. “That’s where the first one will go. I had someone measure and install the hooks and fasteners for it already.”

He nods. “That will looks great, it’ll work really well with the room. The other one is for your bedroom right?”

She nods and motions for him to follow her once more. “Yeah, this way. It’s going to go at the head of my bead, the wall is all set up there as well.”

“Sounds great. I’ll actually go tell them we’re ready to go. I um…” He hesitates and stops walking behind her as they pass by the entrance once more on their way to the other side of the house.

He glances at the front door somewhat guiltily and adds,“So, um...Lance sort of mentioned to JC that we were coming here today.”

She raises a brow for him to continue. “So um, he sort of offered his help to bring your pieces.”

She scratches the back of her neck uncomfortably and laughs softly. “I uh, I didn’t realise they hung out so much anymore.”

It’s Michael’s turn to laugh uncomfortably. “They really don’t…”

“Oh,” she says with a pause then adds with a slanted smile, “Well, I guess I wouldn’t kick him out of bed for eating crackers, so I certainly won’t kick him out of my house if he’s willing to do some manual labor.”

They both crack up at her comment only to get interrupted by JC’s now familiar voice saying “This is kinda heavy ladies, can we get a heads up as to where it’s going? Mmmk, thanks.”

Both Jax and Michael turn to see Lance and JC each carrying one side of a large canvas covered in paper.

Jax grins and motions them toward her living area as she teases them. “Who would have thought, once mega millionaire boy banders, now manual laborers sweating the day away. Oh how far have they fallen…”

*

JC sits back against a rather comfortable white leather easy chair in Jax’s living room. After delivering her canvases earlier in the evening she’d convinced them to stay for dinner, so now with a belly full of delivered sushi and a few glasses of sake he feels warm and cozy as he observes her.

She’s sitting in a matching easy chair diagonally across from him while Lance and Michael occupy the couch. Lance is telling another of his extravagant stories complete with exaggerated hand movement and she’s laughing but he can tell that something isn’t right.

Her large, expressive hazel eyes seem to have clouded over with thoughts ever since she’d excused herself earlier to take a call. After she’d returned to the living room and rejoined them, she’d been quiet; only listening to everyone else talk, smiling and laughing at the right times but to him she seems somewhat detached.

Of course he doesn’t really know her. Really, he isn’t even a good friend of hers so he doesn’t know if she’d be comfortable with him asking her if she’s okay. So he keeps watching her out of the corner of his eye.

He’ll admit that he thinks she’s beautiful. Absolutely gorgeous actually, but what had piqued his curiosity at first was when he’d heard her first single on the radio over a year ago.

It’s rare nowadays that something on the radio will catch his attention enough for him to pause and turn the volume up. He remembers that the first time he’d heard one of her songs he’d been stuck in traffic and that within the first few bars, he’d quickly reached over and turned the dial of his radio up as high as it went.

He’d sat there and listened to the entire song with so much interest that he’d only been brought back to reality when the car behind him honked for him to move forward. When he’d finally gotten home and logged onto his computer, he’d typed her name into the browser and clicked the first link that the search engine had brought up. Instantly he’d been rewarded with a current picture and a brief synopsis of her life and career.

Thank you, Wikipedia.

He’d learned that she is a California native and that she’d been a singer-songwriter since her late teens. Four years ago she’d caught the attention of a producer when she’d unknowingly performed one of his songs acoustically during a showcase and their partnership had bloomed: they’d paired up and within two years she’d been signed to a label and released her first album a year later.

He’d bought that album and had followed her career ever since, seeing each one of her singles rise up on the charts as her star seemed to shine brighter and brighter.

She’s a regular on talk shows, always up for a good time and a good laugh. She comes off as very friendly and approachable, which seems to work in her favor since everyone in the industry seems to only have nice things to say about her.

A few weeks ago he’d gotten a random text from Lance asking if he’d watched Fallon the night before. He’d wondered why he was asking, not having heard that any of the guys (including Justin) were scheduled to be on. He’d checked his PVR recordings since he kept a timer on the show and watched the ones he was interested in when he had time to. When he’d pulled up the previous night’s show and seen that she was a guest, he’d smiled and pressed play. He hadn’t remembered telling Lance that he was a fan but nonetheless, he was interested in watching.

“So, if you could date anyone in Hollywood who would it be?” Jimmy asks Jax as she sits in the chair next to his desk. She looks incredible: her long hair falls in beachy waves on her right shoulder, her knee length tailored navy blue dress clings tastefully to her curves while her sky high copper colored heels accent the similarly colored metallic necklace she’s wearing around her slender neck.

It’s apparent that she’s surprised by the question and her back visibly straightened. “Uh.You know, Jimmy,” she laughs nervously. “I’m not sure I want to answer that…”

At her reaction Jimmy’s face lights up like a kid in a candy store: he’s excited that he’s struck a nerve and starts teasing her, telling her that he certainly won’t tell anyone.

She shakes her head and waves her hand, still embarrassed by the idea as she explains to Jimmy that she’s terrified that she’ll run into him somewhere and look like a fool while she fan-girls.

JC remembers the interview well and had felt badly for her because Jimmy had kept pressing her until she’d finally admitted that her crush was a musician, and that now he primarily worked behind the scenes.

He’d thought it was a cute interview and had texted Lance back saying so, but had asked why Lance had wanted him to watch it. The text he’d gotten back hadn’t really explained anything other than asking him if he could stop by the next day when Dirty Pop was done.

Since JC had had no specific plans the next day and had figured he hadn’t seen Lance in a while, he’d consented and gone over to Lance’s house in late afternoon. Not pleased with the answer, or rather lack of one, he’d received the day before, JC had pressed Lance further until he’d come right out and said it: Lance was certain that the musician Jax had been talking about on Fallon was him.

As in him; JC.

He’d laughed it off and shaken his head not taking him seriously. After all, there was an almost ten year age gap between them and he doubted that she meant him of all people. He was a C-list celebrity, at best, and she was on the top end of A. There really was no way.

Lance had shrugged with that self satisfied little smirk of his and had asked JC to follow him downstairs which he had. Just as they’d come down the stairs and turned the corner toward Lance’s studio space a figure had stepped out of the room and suddenly he’d been face to face with Jax.

He’d groaned inwardly at Lance and his machinations (he should have known!) and had taken in her shocked face at seeing him.

Nervously, he thought he’d try to make the situation comical by saying the only thing that he could think of at the moment. “So, it’s totally me right?’

It hadn't worked and he’d felt stupid the moment he'd said it.

He could tell that he’d taken her off guard even more and had tried to laugh his way out of it when her phone beeped notifications three times in quick succession.

She’d still seemed tongue tied for another moment but then she’d reached out to shake his hand. “I, um. You’re JC Chasez.”

Unable to do anything but laugh again, he then nodded, beyond flattered that she of all people seemed to be starstruck by him. “Yeah, and you’re Jax.”

She’d nodded and blushed as her phone beeped several times again and she’d sighed. “I-uh, I have to go. It’s nice to meet you though.”

“Yeah, same.” He’d nodded as he’d watched her almost run up the basement stairs on her way out.

“You okay?”  JC hears Michael ask Jax in a concerned voice when Lance finishes his story. JC turns to look at her as well, brought back to the present by the question.

She shrugs and shifts in her chair slightly absently biting on one of her colorful nails. “I dunno,” she answers before she sighs and runs a hand through her long hair, flipping it onto her other shoulder.

“You don’t have to tell us-” Michael starts and she shakes her head.

“No, it’s okay. I just...I got a call from my manager.” She shifts again as if her thoughts are physically making her uncomfortable. “The execs listened to the new songs.”

From the look on her face it isn’t good news so they wait for her to continue.

“They want to me try to work with another producer.”

Lance sits up and sets his wine glass onto the coffee table in front of him. “Other than Beats you mean?”

She nods and takes a sip of her wine, her eyes fixed on a spot on the floor. “Yeah. They think it would help make the album feel more...diverse. They say that what we have is fine, but they feel like I’m settling into a bit of a rut, so they want me to try something else.”

JC sits forward and rests his forearms on his knees. He’d be lying if he said he doesn’t feel a bit of excitement at the idea. “And how do you feel about that?” He asks tentatively.

She shrugs again and purses her lip. “I um, I’m not sure honestly. I’ve always worked with Beats. We just get each other, you know? We know how to work together and it’s worked well for both of us so far.” She shifts once more and now pulls her legs to her chest to hug them closely as she rests her chin on her knees. “I’d be lying if I said I haven’t thought about it before. I love Beats…”

She trails off and Lance asks, “What does Beats say?”

She winces and bites her lip before she answers. “They haven’t told him. They wanted to talk to me first.”

JC nods and leans back against the chair. He picks at thread on his jeans and asks, “Do they already have producers lined up for you or?

She slides her knees down and sets her feet on the floor as she clutches her empty wine glass and stands. “They have suggestions yes, but they said I could also pick. Anyway.” She shakes her head signalling the end of the conversation and motions to the kitchen. “You guys don’t need to worry about that stuff, more wine?”

Lance shakes his head and Michael says, “We actually should be going.”

Lance nods. “I’m sorry, Jax, but we promised some friends we’d stop by tonight at one of their parties. But we'll stay if you need us to.”

Michael nods quickly agreeing with Lance’s words. JC can tell that she seems to have momentarily deflated at the thought of them leaving but then she smiles and shakes her head. “It’s fine.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Michael asks in a concerned voice.

Jax nods quickly. “Yeah, I’m fine guys. Go ahead, have fun.”

“I’ll stay a while if you want.”

The words come out of his mouth before he really thinks them through and now as everyone turns to look at him he wonders if he should’ve kept his mouth shut.

“That’s a great idea!” Lance exclaims as he stands from the couch and hands his keys to Michael who’d been the one to abstain from drinking. “He’s a really good listener, Jax.”

JC looks down into his wine glass and takes a sip, avoiding her gaze but looks up when he hears her say, “I’d welcome the company.”

He smiles at her and stands to say goodbye to Lance and Michael. Jax hands over her glass to JC and asks him if he wouldn’t mind refilling both of their glasses while she escorts them to the door.

A few minutes later as he’s loading the last of the dirty plates that had been left on the kitchen island from dinner into the dishwasher, she comes back into the room with a soft laugh.

“House trained and everything huh?”

He looks up and laughs, closing the dishwasher door. “You had us over for dinner, least I can do is help clean up.”

“You’re sweet,” she says as she hops onto a stool and pulls her now refilled wine glass closer.

She seems lost in her thoughts again until he ventures quietly, “You know, I was in the same situation when I was working on my second album.”

She looks up from her glass and raises it to her lips for a sip.  “Yeah. I sort of know that.”

He chuckles as he leans back against the kitchen counter, crossing his arms loosely against his chest. “I guess it’s not a very well kept secret huh?”

She shakes her head and smiles sadly. “It’s a shame that it never got released.”

He shrugs and waves a hand dismissively. “I’ve moved on. I had to. I’m happy doing what I do now.”

She nods and rubs her hands over her arms, suddenly feeling cold. “I just don’t know how I’ll tell Beats honestly. He can be, um...” She seems to think about the words she wants to use and then tips her head to the side. “Difficult to deal with sometimes.”

JC raises his eyebrows in surprise. “Really? He seems like a really chill guy. Or at least that’s the vibe I got from him when I met him once.”

Jax nods quickly and raises her hands. “Oh no, don’t take me wrong. He is a chill guy and I love working with him. He’s like my big brother and I owe a lot to him. It’s just...sometimes he can get a little dramatic and I don’t know how he’ll react to it.”

JC nods. “Yeah, I can see why that would bother you. And I can see why it would bother him. Where is he now anyway?”

“Away,” she says, resting her elbows on the island. “Since we were done with the album he took current girlfriend off on some super yatch in the Caribbean. Just to decompress from everything we’ve been doing to get the album ready. I just know I’ll really have to measure how I tell him about this or he’ll be really hurt. And to be honest I don’t want to do it right now, I don’t want to wreck his vacation.”

They stay quiet for a few more minutes and she finally sighs. “I mean there’s no harm in trying something new right? I could meet with a producer and work on a song, see where it goes...at least just to appease the record company.”

She straightens again and crosses her arms, looking down at the white marble counter as she continues. “Like how do I even work with a new producer? I’ve never worked with anyone else. Plus on top of that, I have to worry about keeping it quiet so that Beats doesn’t find out right away. Just my luck someone will blab and  I’m terrified it will get back to him before I can explain.”

JC’s phone beeps and he pulls it out of his pocket. Damn it, he was going to have to leave after all.

May as well take a shot in the dark.

“Listen Jax, I know this is tough for you. But I know a producer that knows how to keep things quiet and that would be more than interested in working with you. Even if it’s just to listen to what you already have and to give it a second opinion.”

She straightens and smiles. “You do?”

He chuckles and nods. “Yeah. You’re looking at him.”

At the look on her face his chuckle turns into a laugh and he add, “Plus you already paid him in sake and sushi which is as good as his usual going rate.”

“You’re shitting me right?” She still looks shocked and he’d be lying if he said that it didn’t make him feel pretty good about himself .

He shakes his head, still smiling. “Nah. I’d love to. I’m just throwing it out there.”

She pushes off the counter and before he knows it, he’s wrapped in a tight hug which he doesn’t hesitate to return.

He hears his phone beep again and knows that it’s a text indicating to him that his Uber has arrived so he pulls away and smiles again. “Just um, shoot me a text when you're ready and we’ll set something up.”

She nods adamantly and they make their way back to the front door where she thanks him again. As he steps outside and makes his way toward his ride, damn it if he doesn’t feel like a million bucks.

Jax sits down at one of the glamorously decorated tables surrounding the packed dance floor with a sigh.

Her. Feet. Hurt.

She wiggles her toes in the way too tall and slightly too small shoes and winces. She has a pair of slip on flats in her clutch but she hasn’t put them on yet because one, her dress is already too long and she’d step all over it even more than she actually is now, and two because the ‘stylish’ talons her nail technician had affixed that afternoon keeps her from doing anything that requires fine motor skills. First world problems right?

She takes a breath and looks around the crowded room filled with finely dressed people and flashing lights. It’s the place to be in LA tonight and it’s been fun, but she’s looking forward to slipping out of the party relatively soon. She can't wait to take her outfit off and replace it with something comfortable and probably most of all, sink her teeth into something that has grease, cheese and carbs. Since green salads and lean turkey have been on the menu for the last week to make sure she could fit into her designer dress for tonight, she feels that now more than ever is time for a cheeseburger.

She feels her phone vibrate inside her clutch and pops it open to see her caller ID identifying Beats as the caller. She smiles and answers as she presses a finger in her other ear to block out some of the crowd and music noise around her. “Hey! Let me get somewhere more quiet,” she says loudly into the phone as she stands up, to the dismay of her poor feet and shimmies through the crowd to get to the hallway outside of the venue. She finds a quiet corner and leans against the wall. “ Sorry. How are you?”

“Good, Baby Girl, good. You looked beautiful tonight and you deserved to win.”

She smiles into the phone. “Thank you Beats, I couldn’t have done it without you. It’s our song that won.”

“I know but I’m proud of you nonetheless. Are you out having fun?”

“Yeah, but I’m about ready to go. How are you doing?”

“I’m good. Enjoying the vacation but looking forward to going home soon; I think Tia is about to rip my head off,” he chuckles.

“What’d you do?” She laughs and shifts in her shoes looking around for a seat or a bench somewhere in the hallway.

He groans and tells her in a mock wounded voice that he’s hurt that she automatically assumes that he’s the one that did something wrong. “C’mon, I thought you’d be on my side.”

She laughs again as she quickly makes her way to a vacated seat across from her spot in the hallway. “Well, it depends. I know how you can get, especially when you get bored.”

“Fuck you,” he says but she can tell by the tone of his voice that he’s teasing her and that he’s smiling.

“Fuck you too,” she says with a matching smile and tone.

“Anyway, she’s sending me back to work pretty soon. I’ve got some great ideas that have been running through my head and I want to try something when I get back.”

Her smile fades and she feels the return of the burning in her chest, the same one she’d felt the day before when she’d sent a link to JC so he could access her album on her drive.

“Oh yeah? That should be fun,” she says hoping that he can’t hear the fakery in her voice.

“Yeah. Talking about that, I got a call from the execs saying that they wanted to talk to me when I got back? Did you get that call too?”

She bites her lip and arranges the layers of her dress nervously. “Oh, um yeah. I did, they just said they wanted to talk about the songs. I don’t know. I guess we’ll find out then.”

He takes a while to answer and she’s certain that he’s caught her in her lie but then he says, “I’m sure it’s fine, Baby Girl. Anyway, I have to run. We’ll talk soon. Have fun tonight but don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

She laughs and replies that she’ll try before disconnecting and stuffing her phone back into her clutch. The smiles dies down on her face pretty quickly though as she feels the return of that burn in her chest. She runs her fingers absently through her hair and sighs as she leans back against her seat.

What was she going to tell him? Was he going to freak out? Feel betrayed? Disrespected? She owes him a lot: He’d been the one to search her out in the crowd after her performance at open mic night; he’d been the one had helped her mold and finish the songs and melodies she’d created in her mind but hadn’t been able complete with her hands and voice; he’d been the one to set up the meetings and create the connections she’d needed to finally break through.

She doesn’t want to hurt him. The love and respect she has for him is greater than what she has for most people in her life, including her own family and if working with another producer is in any way going to make him question that, she isn’t sure if it’s worth it.

But at the same time the prospect of working with someone else, especially JC, is enticing to her. Being able to see how he works, how he interacts with his artists, how he’d want to push her vocally, lyrically, musically.

And after all it had only been a matter of time right? No artist can stay in the same lane album after album without needing some tweaking or some new ideas to keep them from descending into the unknown in the ever changing music scene today.

She feels her stomach growl and she pats it self-consciously. She looks around at the people starting to leave the party and pulls out her phone again. She glances at the time before she opens her text messages again and sends one before really thinking about it: she’ll blame the buzz she has going on now if he doesn’t reply until morning.

She barely has the time to start regretting sending it out that her phone vibrates in her hand again with his reply. She can’t help the smile that spreads across her lips as she responds and stands. She quickly sends another text to her driver before she goes back into the party to say her goodbyes, the burning in her chest and her feet replaced by a feeling of excitement.

*

“Can I have another please?” JC says loudly to the bartender and motions his empty highball glass to him as he stands at the crowded bar. The bartender nods and starts making his drink while JC leans against the bar and looks around; it’s a pretty crowded after party with loud music and loads of dancing bodies. He figures that after this drink he may head home as the thought of his sweats and binge watching The Walking Dead is sounding better and better compared to the increasing base of the music and his current monkey suit.

It’s been a bit of a long day for him as he’d spent several hours doing a favour for a friend of a friend by attending a recording session for a new artist.  They’d asked him to listen in and to give his opinion; which he had and now he figures they might not like him very much. He’d been blunt about it: She’s a pretty girl with an okay voice, dolled up in booty shorts and hair extensions that could probably sell a few records with the right song and the right image, but it’s wasn't going to last and he’d told them that.

It’s the same old recipe that record producers and executives have been using forever and they’d probably been hoping that he would think that even though she needed a little vocal training and a little help from autotune that he’d vet her and agree that those things could all be taken care of. After all he used to be in a boyband right? How much more manufactured can you get than that?

“You wanna get out of here?” He turns to see a tall woman with long, vivid red hair and bright blue eyes eyeing him suggestively.

Speaking of manufactured….

He accepts his drink from the bartender and smiles back at her. “Not yet,” he says and they start walking back to the cluster of couches where they’d been talking earlier. So maybe sweats and Netflix won’t be the most enticing choice tonight; he’s getting old but he’s not dead yet.

He sits down on one of the couches and takes a sip of his drink just as he feels her bounce down next to him. She’s sitting quite close and to be honest he doesn’t mind, they’d been able to have somewhat of a normal conversation for the last little while even though they had to basically yell at each other as they spoke.

He isn't sure what else they can talk about just now when thankfully someone asks her a question nearby and she leans forward to answer while her hand stays firmly on his thigh. He doesn’t mind, it’s been awhile since he’s picked someone up at a party and to be plain about it, it feels sort of good that he can still do it.

He takes another sip of his drink and feels his cell phone vibrate in his pocket. He pulls it out to see that he has a new text message, he opens it and smiles seeing who it's from. He’d spoken to Jax earlier in the day when he’d gotten out of the studio and had returned a missed call from her on his way home.

“Hey JC,” she’d said in a friendly voice before he’d heard some shuffling in the background.

“Hey Jax, I’m sorry I missed your call earlier. I was busy and couldn’t answer.” He’d heard more shuffling and then the distinct sound of something ripping loudly. He’d narrowed his eyes as he’d heard her gasp and barely cover up a swear word with what he’d assumed was her hand over the mic of her phone. “Everything okay there?”

“Yeah, sure. Break a leg!”

He’d even seen her earlier that night as they’d actually crossed paths on the red carpet. He’d been able to walk the carpet much faster than she had, not needing to stop and talk to every reporter asking who he was wearing and how he was feeling about being nominated. She’d looked absolutely stunning in a very elegant, flowing dress of red, white and black with her hair in her trademark long beachy waves.

As he’d walked up the carpet toward the general area where she’d been standing speaking to a reporter, her eyes had found his and damn if he hadn’t felt great when her face had broken into an even wider smile. She obviously was trying to be respectful to the reporter and not make it very obvious that she was happy to see him so he’d kept walking. When he’d gotten close enough to her while she was in transition between reporters and pictures he’d brushed past her and quickly slipped his hand into hers to give it a gentle, encouraging squeeze. She’d turned her head to smile at him again as he’d kept walking by and camera flashes kept going off as she posed for yet another picture.

He’d been happy for her when she’d won one of the two awards she’d been nominated for. And though as she’d implied, the competition in those categories had been fierce, she’d come out looking like a grateful winner and a graceful loser.

She must have gone to another after party because he hasn’t seen her tonight. Not that he’d been expressly looking for her, well okay sort of, but he figures she would have stood out at some point if she’d been here. He’s come to start thinking of her more as a friend than an acquaintance since their last meet up, especially now that she is letting him into her very private music world, but he still thinks that she’s a strange mix of confident and vulnerable. He’d noticed that when she’s all done up and in her performer persona she seems to exude such confidence and self-assuredness but then take all that away and she didn’t seem as sure of herself. And the thing is, he’s not sure why because her natural beauty and talent is enough to make her get an ego the size of her Malibu mansion but she doesn’t, and he finds that very attractive about her.

There’s a lot he finds attractive about her, but if he’s truly honest about it, he’s not sure how or if those things are romantically linked.  He hopes she at least feels a pull toward him because of their similar work ethic and creative personalities, but he isn’t kidding himself into thinking that it could be anything other than that. And though at times his thoughts still wander back to the conversation he’d had with Lance and his machinations of her ‘crush’ on him, he hasn’t really seen any overt signs that this is the truth. And he’d never brought it up, not wanting to embarrass her or maybe more importantly himself.

Anyway, he likes her. And he knows that her relationship with Beats has been one of the great influences in her career so he understands how nervous she is about messing that up. Though he’s not been hired officially or being paid for offering his opinion on their work at this point, the idea that she might create something new with him and not Beats still has him feeling both excited and slightly nervous. It has been speculated widely in the media that their relationship as producer and artist is much deeper than the usual one and that it’s possibly a cover up for something else, so he’s a little worried about how Beats will react to him once he finds out that Jax has been working with him essentially behind his back.

He texts her back that yes, he’s still up and out. Her next text makes him chuckle and he sits up a bit. Iris, he thinks that’s what her name is, flashes a big smile at him. “Ready?”

He smiles back and shakes his head. “Sorry, Honey but I have to go, something came up...but I’ll call you,” he says as he waves at her and starts making his way through the crowd toward the exit not stopping even when he realises that he hadn’t gotten Iris’ number.

*

“Does it ever get less freaky?” Jax asks quietly as she absently runs her fingertip along the rim of her wine glass. She considers going to get another bottle in the kitchen but she’s comfortable and feeling rather warm and fuzzy on her couch wrapped in a thick blanket.

Her fancy Alexander McQueen dress is hanging in her closet and her feet are now comfortably stuffed into a pair of slippers. Her stomach is full of fast food burger and now wine and though her mind feels a little blurry she’s still aware of what’s going on. Probably because it’s mostly stress and exhaustion instead of just drunk.

“Um, yeah. After a while it sort of falls by the wayside. You get used to having security everywhere you go, you get used to not really every being truly alone. Doesn’t mean it’s fun or you’ll like it, but you’ll eventually learn to deal with it,” JC answers his socked feet set on the glass coffee table in front of him where he sits in the same leather arm chair as last time.

He’d just questioned her about the sudden change in security procedures since he’s come with Lance a few weeks ago. When they’d arrived at her gate this time it had been shut requiring the driver to press a button to open it, then they’d been stopped by a guard that had been sitting in a parked car near the entrance. After being checked out only then had they been allowed to pull up to the entrance to her home.

She’d told him that her management had expressed concerns about her safety after some of the online chatter had recently turned slightly worrisome. They’d told her it was nothing to really be worried about but that they would rather be safe than sorry so they’d added extra security to her home, including changing her locks and adding a guard at her gate.

“It’s starting to feel a little bit like a prison in here,” she admits as she sets her empty wine glass on the table with a sigh. “Anyway, do you want more wine? Something else?”

He shakes his head. “No thanks, I’ve had enough. I know you brought me here to discuss your album and I know I need a relatively clear mind to do that.” He chuckles and sits up, setting his own empty glass near hers on the table.

He looks handsome with his white dress shirt unbuttoned at the neck and the sleeves rolled up on his forearms. His suit jacket is draped off the arm of the couch closest to him and his bow tie hangs loosely around his collar. He takes off his glasses and rubs his eyes as he starts to talk about his first impressions of the music,  telling her that there is nothing on the album that is bad, not even close, especially since there are a couple of stand outs that would clearly be great singles. His overall opinion is that some of the filler sounds like filler, but other than that he’s not really sure why the record execs are so adamant that she work with someone else.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’ll jump at the chance to do something with you. It’s just I’m surprised as there are three, maybe four songs that are definitely ready for radio play….I mean I can already see the video for California Lovers; LA Boardwalk, sunny day, short shorts.” He laughs as she rolls her eyes and he shrugs. “Hey, I’m just sayin’”.

She laughs. “Yeah, I Iike that one too. It’s fun. Plus Beats actually has a little solo in that one.”

JC nods. “Yeah, I thought that was him,” he pauses and sits up a little as he straightens his pants. “Have you told him yet?”

Jax shakes her head and pulls the blanket tighter around herself. “Not yet. I spoke to him earlier tonight, he’ll be back in a few days. I’ll talk to him then.”

He nods and picks at his pants avoiding her gaze. She nibbles on her lip for a moment then says, “When that whole Mystery Crush thing blew up in the media a few months ago he told me then that he hoped I wouldn't go running to the first producer that batted his eyes at me because we had something good going on. I promised I wouldn't, and now…” She shakes her head again. “I owe him a lot you know, and I don’t want to make him feel betrayed. Even if I get to work with someone I’ve always dreamed of working with.”

He smiles wryly and lifts his eyes at her comically. “So you might as well make it worth it right? Why didn’t you ask for that mystery producer crush to work with you?”

She laughs. “I did.”

She can tell by the look on his face that he doesn’t get what she’s saying. He seems slightly hurt, though he quickly recovers and hides it. “Oh, did you submit other producers to your execs already?”

She narrows her eyes and watches him closely. He’s kidding right? Lance must have told him. He had right? That’s why he’s been hanging around. Right?

Suddenly she feels blood rush to her head and she is flooded with embarrassment. “Oh god. I thought-”

He speaks at the same time, probably noticing her reaction. “I didn’t realise-”

Both of them motion for the other to speak then both decline to finish. After several more moments of tense embarrassment she runs her hands over her face then finally speak. “Well now that I’ve embarrassed both of us sufficiently, maybe you’d like to see a few things I’ve written?”

He straightens his shirt and then nods quickly as if jumping at an awaiting life line and watches as she practically runs out of the room to go get her notebook.

*

Jax jerks awake and looks around disoriented. Her mind feels fuzzy and she can feel the beginning of a headache starting to build behind her eyes. She groans and sits up; the blanket that had been wrapped around her falls to the floor and she doesn’t bother picking it back up. She wonders what awoke her when suddenly she hears a hard knock at her front door followed by the doorbell.

“Expecting someone?” Jax turns quickly to see JC rubbing sleep from his eyes as he straightens his back and groans. He’s still dressed the same as the night before and as she looks down at herself she sees that so is she. A flash of disappointment strangely tinged with a significant amount of relief runs through her as she realises that they must have both fallen asleep last night, well early this morning, after talking and sharing another bottle of wine.

“I-uh,” she starts and clears her throat. “I didn’t think I was...until much later anyway.” She leans forward to grab her phone off the coffee table and sees that she has fourteen missed emails, six missed texts and four missed calls. She groans.

Wake up, the real world it waiting.

The banging resumes and the doorbell rings twice more. Jax growls and quickly gets up from the couch. “I’m coming!” She yells, frustrated now as she makes her way to her front door and uses her index finger to pull back the corner of a sheer curtain on the door’s side panel.

“Oh my gosh!” She exclaims and quickly unlocks the door. To her surprise there stands Beats on her front step carrying a tray with what she hopes is hot, black coffee. A paper bag is clutched in his other hand along with his keys. He doesn’t look very happy.

“What’s up with the locks?”

Taken aback at his abrupt question she sputters to answer. “They uh, they had my locks changed when they got the guard for the gate. I have a spare set of keys for you inside, you were away so…”

He nods and then his face changes to a smile. “No matter. Surprised to see me?”

She nods and is pleased to see that he doesn’t seem angry anymore. “Yes! Especially if that coffee is hot and black.”

He chuckles and steps forward to kiss her cheek. “It absolutely is. Just like me, Baby Girl.”

She laughs and grabs the tray from him and motions him inside. As he is shutting the door she says, “I thought you wouldn’t be back for another few days?”

He shuts the door and pockets his keys. “I thought I’d surprise you. I was on a layover in the airport when we spoke yesterday. I thought we should get things squared away with the execs sooner rather than later so we can move on.”

At that Jax suddenly remembers who is currently in her living room and she panics. Will Beats automatically assume the worst? Probably not, but how was she going to explain JC’s presence this early in-

“I think I’m going to head out,” JC’s voice breaks through her panicked thoughts and she turns to see him walk toward them, his suit jacket hanging over his shoulder, his bow tie still loose around his collar. The hair at the back of his head sticks up a little where he probably had been leaning back against the chair.

Her eyes flit back to Beats whose eyes glance from JC to her, his eyebrows raising in an unspoken question. She doesn’t know what to say, so she doesn’t say anything. She must look like a deer caught in headlights because it seems that JC reads her in an instant, because in no time he’s covering the few steps to where she’s standing and places his hand on her hip in a way that communicates way more intimacy than their relationship has ever had. She feels the gentle pressure of his lips in the crook of her neck before he says in a husky voice, “Text me sometime.”

She’s too shocked to react or even speak before he’s walking away from her and Beats toward the front door. “Nice to see you again, Beats,” he shoots over his shoulder before the door closes behind him.

*

Minutes later Jax is sipping her hot coffee while sitting at the kitchen island across from Beats who is eyeing her with amusement. She hasn’t spoken since JC left and she’s not sure what to say, honestly.

“So…” Beats starts as he takes a sip of his coffee and raises his eyebrows at her again over the plastic cover of his cup.

She clears her throat. “So?”

Beats chuckles and shrugs. “I don’t know. You look like you got caught with your hand in the cookie jar.”

She blushes and looks down at the marble countertop. “Something like that,” she admits.

“Out of all the guys that keep requesting your time and company, you choose him?” He chuckles again and this lights her up.

She looks up defensively. “So? What’s that have to do with anything? He’s a really nice guy.”

Beats shrugs again, his wide shoulders moving in a nonchalant way. “I’m sure he is. I’m just sayin’.”

Jax shakes her head and moodily grabs the paper bag he’d set on the island near their coffees. She pulls out a heavy muffin that smells divine but barely has the time to look at it before it gets snatched out of her hands.

“Nope. Not for you. No carbs remember? You have a photoshoot tomorrow,” Beats says before he sets the muffin in front of him and then pulls out a clear plastic cup from the bag filled with fresh fruit. “This is yours.”

She grumbles something unintelligible and snatches the fruit cup from him. Beats laughs and shakes his head. “You’d think getting laid would get you into a better mood.”

Jax rolls her eyes and pries open the fruit cup before popping a red grape into her mouth. She avoids his gaze for a few moments before she looks back up at him. “I didn’t sleep with him. He was here-”

Beats’ cell phone rings and he motions for her to wait a moment as he takes the call. She keeps quietly picking at the fruit in the cup as she listens to his side of the conversation. It doesn't take long for her to figure out that it’s someone from the record company, and then he’s telling whoever is on the line that yes, she’s there with him.

And then his face changes.

She swallows the fruit that was in her mouth and it seems to travel all the way down to her toes.

No.

She was supposed to be the one to talk to him. She was supposed to be the one that told him about what the record executives had told her.

Damn it.

Her heart squeezes tightly in her chest when he gets up from the counter and walks away from her, continuing his conversation in the hall out of earshot. She can feel the anxiety start radiating from herself as she taps a manicured nail on the countertop rhythmically.

She’s done nothing wrong here. Right? It’s just a delicate situation because of her relationship with Beats. And she’s not stupid. She’s heard the rumors. They’ve never really been made into a big deal at this point...but she knows the whispers seem to have been growing louder lately. The longer she waits to step out into the press with someone, the stronger the speculation grows that all may not be what it seems between her and Beats. That she may be “the other woman” in a marriage with a small child. It’s an absolutely ridiculous rumour, but even if it was true she wouldn’t even go down that rabbit hole of talking about her personal life in the media.

So, she’d just figured that her management would continue to downplay the rumours until the next news cycle but then something JC said to her the night before sort of clicks in her head: why were the executives having her work with other producers when what they had already presented worked just fine?

Are the grumblings getting so hard to control that they want her to work with other people to help settle things back down? Are they so scared that she’ll lose her sweetheart appeal if the rumour mill keeps spinning? After all just last month they tried to set her up with an up and coming actor that was much younger than her, asking her to have a ‘working’ lunch with him at a paparazzi ridden restaurant in the LA area. She’d declined, but what Beats said about so many men requesting the pleasure of her company is true. The requests come in all the time, and she refuses them all the time. After all, what could you expect from a relationship that gets set up by managers and image consultants sprinkled with so called candid paparazzi shots? Ask Taylor Swift; not much.

“So I guess we need to talk, Baby Girl.”

Beats’ voice brings her back and she looks up at him from her spot on at the island. He doesn’t sit back down on his previously vacated stool.

She sighs. “Yeah. I wanted to tell you...but you were away and I didn’t... I didn’t know what to say honestly.”

He nods but remains stoic in his stance, his muscled arms crossed over his chest. “I get it.”

She looks up in surprise. “You do?”

He shrugs his shoulders but his arms remain crossed. “Yeah, well I get that you would have been uncomfortable with the idea. I just really wish you would have told me right away. Even if I wasn’t around.”

Jax nods and feels a slight amount of relief start trickling through her. He doesn’t seem overly angry. More disappointed at this point. She slides off her stool and walks forward to him. She apologizes and is taken into his embrace.

”I guess I’d just hoped that what we have would have meant more to you than it apparently does.”

At those words spoken against her hair she feels the previous trickle of relief leave her body in an instant. He’s hurt. She’s not sure yet if he’s more hurt that he is essentially being asked to step aside or because she’d kept the information from him...or both. She’s willing to bet on the latter.

She pulls away. “You know that’s not true, Beats. They put me in a really tough spot and I wasn’t sure how to deal with it.” She walks aways and crosses her arms over her chest as she leans against the island. “I know what they’re doing though; the rumours are starting up again and they just want to quiet them by having me collaborate with someone else. JC says that our album is good so-”

“How would he know that our album is good?” It’s as if his hackles stand up on end and his shoulders widen suddenly. “Wait.” He seems to be at a loss for words. “Wait. Is that why he was here?”

Jax puts her hands out in front of her and tries to calm him. “Beats. Hold on. I was going to tell you.”

Beats shakes his head and makes a sound of derision out of the side of his mouth. “Why? You seem to have this all figured out already. You don’t need me anymore, you’ve got a shit ton of other producers lined up at the door begging to work with you right? Fucking ex-boy band members just waiting to grab onto you so they can get their own shot at another fifteen? And you’re just willing to put out for them, just like that? Fucking disgusting.”

His last words are said with so much disdain that she actually recoils. She’d known he’d be disappointed even a bit angry at her, but she’d figured that he’d be more angry at the execs and their machinations. She’d never dreamed that he’d flip on her so easily and so quickly.

She’s still reeling from his last words when he turns tail and starts heading toward the door without another word. She follows behind him trying to get him to stop and let her explain but before she can get more than a few words out her front door is slamming and he’s already gone.

Jax shivers and cinches her terry cloth robe tighter. She takes a sip of the hot coffee clutched in her hand, closes her eyes and rests her head against the chair she is sitting in. She’s exhausted; absolutely spent physically and emotionally. No one ever said things would be easy, but she’d never imagined that everything would become so hard. She loves making music and loves performing it for her fans. There really isn't anything quite like watching a crowd of people sing back words that have poured out of your soul to you because they feel a connection to them, to you.

It’s incredible. But it can be taxing.

Especially this day and age with all of the social media and everyone having cameras as essentially an extension of their hands, it’s hard for artist to just be. She never gets to turn off. There's always an interview or a tweet to be sent. A Facebook share or a Tumblr post. Everyone needs to know where she is at all times and what she's doing. Because she owes that to them right? She decided to step into public life after all and people have absolutely no pity for her wanting some private time. It's the name of the game nowadays and the only way to stay relevant.

But there are days where it sucks. Even her house which she’d once found calming, relaxing and welcoming is starting to feel like a prison with security panels in every room and guards waiting at her door. Paparazzi are always waiting for her to step out or catch her doing something unbecoming. They certainly aren't on her team; they're looking to make money. Which is why it's so important for her to be able to trust her real team especially her closest ally, but today she feels alone.

Jax shivers again takes another sip of her coffee, clutching the cardboard cup for dear life hoping to leach all of the warmth from it. Though her current state of dress, or undress really, probably has something to do with her low body temperature, it’s as if she hasn’t been able to feel warm for days. As if the cold knot inside her chest is leeching ice into her veins. She knows what’s causing it: Beats hasn’t spoken to her in days and it’s really starting to bother her.

It’s not the first time, nor will it be the last that the two of them get into a little tiff over something. They don’t always agree on everything and since both of them have such creative personalities, they sometimes end up clashing. But nothing like this. Never anything like this. And nothing like the things he’d said in anger that morning. That hurt. That really hurt and this is new territory for her. She’s navigating uncharted waters at this point and isn’t really sure what to do. She is angry and hurt at his blatant disrespect for her. His words were unacceptable, even in anger and it was going to sting for a long time. And though she essentially went behind his back and then caught him off guard, she didn't deserved it.

“Here. Management sent me this earlier and I was able to get it printed,” Anaïs, her current personal assistant, says as she suddenly appears in front of Jax holding a thick envelope. “I figured you may want a paper copy to review and present to him, although I have already sent you an electronic version and can forward same to him and his lawyers if need be.”

Jax narrows her eyes as she accepts the envelope and opens it to pull out a thick stack of papers which are obviously legal in nature. She doesn’t have time to ask any questions before Anaïs if off again saying something about her looking cold and going to ask them to turn down the fan and turn up the heat for her next set of shots. She really isn’t listening because it doesn’t take long for her to figure out that what she’s holding is a very detailed non-disclosure agreement. With JC’s name on it.

Jax feels a pang of hurt course through her as she flips a few pages and reads a few lines. Apparently Beats went around her and directly to legal as well as management about her sharing her music with JC. And he hadn’t even given her a heads up.

Of course in her head, in her business mind, she realises that this is probably necessary but it just feels wrong. As if somehow it’s a sort of betrayal of her growing friendship with JC. He’s just being a nice guy by offering his help on the down-low and now he’s going to have to be roped into her hectic world whether he’d realised, or even wanted to, or not. To be plain, she hadn’t even actually thought of the repercussions of sharing her music with him, even unofficially. Guess she’s still a little green when it comes to the business side of the industry or possibly she’d still been a little star struck. Honestly, it’s probably a little from column A, a little from column B.

It’s no secret that she’s attracted to him, has been ever since his days on TV and with NSYNC, but that had been to his public persona: the persona that he shows on stage and on television. She was serious when she told Jimmy Fallon that she’d rather he stay like he was in her head. Too many times in the industry she would meet someone that she liked only to find out that they were completely fake or not very nice at all. It happens to everyone, to essentially fall in love with the hunky actor or seductive actress from their favorite rom-com or swoon over the smooth lines of a crooner and automatically attribute him or her with the qualities and personalities of the characters they play. But most of the time that’s what they are: characters. And if she’s figured anything out in the last few years, it’s that Hollywood is just a big stage show with recurring characters dropping in and out as time goes by, but you never really realise that you’re one of them until you’re already on the cast list.

But JC is different, or at least he seems different so far. He comes off quiet and looks like he keeps to himself for the most part. He doesn’t take part in the circus and she really likes that. Everytime she spends time with him she feels like she’s able to detach from the fast pace of everything going on around her and that’s nice. What’s even nicer is that the JC she’d imagined in her head doesn’t seem to be that different from the one she’s gotten to know recently and that makes her feel good. Makes her feel like not everyone is out to get something from her. That he isn’t out to hitch up on her star, isn’t out for her money or out to just make her another notch on his bedpost. So far, he really comes off as an earnest friend using his past experiences and current knowledge to help her out and get to know her. And she’s okay with that. So now the idea of presenting him with this document hurts her head and her heart. But she knows it has to be done.

“Back up in 2, Jax!” She nods her understanding as she sets her coffee onto the desk in front of her and grabs her phone. With a few quick taps she sends JC a text asking if he could take time to meet with her soon.

*

JC shuts the fridge door with his foot and carefully starts removing his sandwich building items from his arms, placing them on the large island in front of him. He’s starving. Hasn’t eaten anything since he woke up this morning and had his morning coffee. Since then he’d been in meetings but now he has a couple of hours of downtime before an artist he’s working with is supposed to drop by to work in the studio for a while. He was planning on making something to eat and then to just veg out for the few hours but then he’d gotten a text from Jax asking to meet as soon as he was available. Instantly he’d felt some anxiety at the thought. He hasn’t spoken with her since the other morning when he’d pulled another stupid little stunt around her without thinking first. It was like the whole “It’s totally me, right?” incident all over again, where he acted before he thought around her and then regretted it afterwards.

What is it about her that makes him react this way? He likes her, sure. He’s attracted to her, sure. But again, is there potential for anything else there? Possibly, but probably not. All she’s looking for right now is another ear to listen and another head to brainstorm. He likes their friendly relationship and he feels humbled by the idea that she values his opinion so highly. He doesn’t want to hurt that. All he’s hoping at this point is that she still wants to talk to him and that she doesn’t feel like he stepped out of bounds with his little display of affection in front of Beats. He saw how she reacted to seeing him standing there in front of Beats with no explanation to offer without laying everything out in the open before she was willing or able to. He knew it would be a difficult conversation for her to have and since none of it was any of his business, he figured the easiest way to get out of it would be make it appear as it they just hooked up after the awards. What was one more fictitious one night stand attributed to him anyway? No one would find out; it was just a front until Beats got up to speed and then it would be forgotten. No harm, no foul.

He hopes.

He hears his doorbell ring and glances down at his watch. Right on time. He makes his way to his front door and opens it to find Jax standing on his stoop waving off an idling SUV behind her. She looks fashionable wearing a tailored white jumpsuit with some sky high strappy stilettos, her arms and neck glittering with layers of long necklaces and rows of bangles and bracelets. Her hair is gathered into a high pile at the top of her head but what is most striking is her eyes. Almost every time he was around her, her face was void of makeup and even then she was stunning, but this time they are heavily made up, the smokey eyeshadow making her unusual eye colour even more striking She smiles at him but he can tell that something is bothering her; she seems tired. Or maybe more like weary.

He greets her with a tentative smile and motions for her to come in and she nods, letting him move around her to shut the door again behind her after she walks in.

“I hope you don’t mind if they park out there? They wouldn’t let me come alone,” she says as she hitches the strap of a large bag higher up on her shoulder. She seems uncomfortable and he feels terrible. He did this.

He shakes his head and slips his hands into his jean pockets. “It’s fine. Listen, I think I owe you an apology.”

She seems taken aback. “For what?”

He licks his lips and hikes his shoulders. “I well, I hope you don’t feel like I disrespected you the other morning. I just sort of acted without thinking first again and-”

She gasps and shakes her head quickly, reaching up to place a hand on her chest as her golden bangles shake with the movement. “Gosh no. I’m the one who’s sorry that you had to be in that situation. And it was nice... I mean, it was nice of you to do that.” She looks down at her feet as if she’s embarrassed. “Though it wasn’t fair to you, making yourself look like a simple one night stand.”

He chuckles and scratches the back of his neck. “I’ve been called worse.”

She looks up and frowns. “And from what I can tell, you don’t deserve it. Which is why…” She trails off and sighs. “Can we sit?”

JC remembers himself and straightens his back. “Of course, I’m sorry. Come in, come in.” He motions for her to follow him down the short hallway and into his brightly lit, modern kitchen. He motions for her to sit at one of the stool at the island and takes the one next to hers. “Do you want a sandwich? I was just making one for myself.”

She turns so she’s facing him and shakes her head. “No thanks. Carbs,” she says as if that explains everything and he lets it slide. He’s been around Hollywood women long enough to not ask.

He watches as she sets her large bag on the island next to her and then pulls out a thick envelope from within it. She sets it down onto the counter and rests a hand on top of it as if she is trying to gather her thoughts.

“So um, I’m not really sure how to approach this but,” she starts and he can clearly tell that she’s uncomfortable. “I feel terrible but after Beats figured out what we were doing together and that you’d already heard our album, he went around me and contacted our lawyers and management.”

He nods for her to continue, this doesn’t surprise him in the least. What surprises him is how much this seems to be bothering her. There has to be more.

“They’re asking that you sign this,” she continues as she pulls out the stack of papers from the envelope and hands it to him. It feels quite heavy in his hand but this isn’t his first rodeo so he isn’t deterred. He starts to flip through the agreement, quickly glancing at the different articles. It seems to be a standard non-disclosure agreement but then she reaches forward to make him flip to the last two pages.

“This is what bothers me more than anything. I noticed this on the way here and I’m embarrassed to present this to you.” He narrows his eyes and starts reading the indicated section. “It seems to be a clause that says that if our relationship were to become romantic or sexual in nature that the agreement would also include any and all facets of that as well.”

He can’t help but he chuckle a little bit and she seems to be taken aback by this as well. He reaches forward and covers her hands which she’d clutched nervously in her lap after pointing out the passage with his own. “Relax. Don’t worry about it, I get it.”

She seems to exhale with relief and her body relaxes slightly. “Really? I mean, I’m sure this isn’t a first for you...but it is for me. And to be completely honest I find it sexist.”

He laughs and squeezes her hands. “Welcome to the business.” He takes the agreement and sets it back on top of the envelope before he adds. “I assume it’s okay that I take a few days with this? I need to present it to my lawyers as well.”

She nods quickly and grabs her vibrating phone from her bag. She looks down at the screen and then tosses it back into the catacombs.

“Beats?”

She scoffs and shakes her head. “Nope. He hasn’t spoken to me since that morning.”

JC frowns. “I’m sorry. I know that must be difficult for you. I know you guys are really...close.” He doesn’t know why he sort of stumbles on that but she picks up on it quickly.

“You think I’m sleeping with him too right?” She shakes her head and seems disappointed. She starts to stand up but he reaches forward to stop her.

“I don’t. I really don’t. And even if you were, it's nobody’s business. Plus, I try to make it a point to never assume anything when it comes to other peoples’ relationships, especially when it’s not my own.”

She sighs and sits back down. “No matter. I wouldn’t blame you really, everyone else thinks I am. I think it’s honestly why they’re asking me to work with other producers...maybe the rumours are getting too loud to to control, I don’t know.”

He nods. “I can see that.” He crosses his arms over his chest and leans against the countertop. “So I guess the conversation with him didn’t go that well then?”

She pushes a strand of flyaway hair behind her ear and shakes her head. “Nope.” She looks away from him and seems to be suddenly very interested in what he was making his sandwich with earlier. “He basically called me a slut for producers so…”

JC winces and shakes his head. The comment that bubbles up his throat gets sidelined by his brain so he simply says, “I’m sorry.”

She shrugs and shakes her head. “I don’t really want to talk about it.”

He nods and stands. He doesn’t want to push it so he decides to start to build his sandwich again. Just as he’s setting the finished product onto a plate she reaches over to grab a slice of deli turkey from its plastic container. “You know what? I took my clothes off for the photoshoot this morning, I can have a damn sandwich.” She seems to be convincing herself more than anything but he laughs and pushes the bread bag toward her.

He tries to get her mind off of things by making small talk, asking about the photoshoot and other things going on since they’d last spoken. As they tuck into their quick meal she tells him about the her new personal assistant and some of the things she’s got coming up soon. Just as they are finishing up her phone vibrates again and she looks at it. She turns the screen toward him and he almost chokes on his last bite.

It’s obviously a raw version of a professional photoshoot but she looks striking, even in black and white: She’s sitting up with her knees up to her chest, he can tell that she’s wearing a pair of leather pants. Her dark hair is wild and hangs down her shoulders covering part of her chest which is bare but for a lacy black bra. It’s tasteful but sexy as hell and he’s not too sure what to say. He assumes his face must be conveying that because she laughs softly and asks, “What do you think?”

With his eyes still on the image on her phone all he can say is, “Yep.”

She laughs again. “That good?”

Again. “Yep.”

“You’re not going to say anything else?”

“Nope.”

He looks up at her with what he assumes is a ridiculous grin and she breaks out laughing again. And for a few moments the weary look in her eyes seems to disappear and to him, that’s all that matters.

*

JC clicks out of the browser on his laptop and leans back in his chair. He can’t help the grin that’s been on his face for the last ten minutes as he’d been watching Jax’s episode of Carpool Karaoke with James Corden off of Youtube. He’d heard that she’d done a great job and now that he's seen it, he wholeheartedly agrees. There had been some truly funny moments where he’d actually laughed out loud and she’d looked great, sounded even better. If he didn't know her personally or hadn’t spent quite a bit of time with her in the last two weeks, he would compliment her PR team or whoever was guiding her media wise, because she always does such a great job. She always comes off as honest, funny and totally relatable. But thankfully he does know her personally and he can honestly say that the way she acts on camera is the way she is in person. Having been in Hollywood for a long time, he finds that refreshing.

He reaches for his coffee, the throaty laugh he’s come to associate with her still resonating in his mind when the door to the studio flies open and she walks in amidst a whirlwind of clinking bangles and her now familiar perfume.

“I’m so sorry, I know I’m a shitty person,” she says as soon as the door shuts behind her and before he can speak. “My meeting went long and then Beats wanted to talk to me privately..and then this whole Mission Impossible shit is getting old…” She trails off with a huff as she drops her cavernous bag onto the floor before she unceremoniously drops to a sitting position on the couch.

When she finally looks up and catches his eye, he chuckles. “You done?”

She rolls her eyes and laughs. He loves that laugh. He’s going to miss hearing it almost every day. “Yeah, I’m done. Sorry, just having a moment.”

He chuckles again and leans back against the chair comfortably. ‘It happens. Did you have to lose the paparazzi again?” He asks as he watches her take her extremely large black hoodie off as well as the dark beanie on her head before she tosses both beside her on the couch.

He remembers those days and feels badly for her. Especially since they’d agreed to meet at a more neutral studio space, so as not to risk her being glimpsed going in and out of his house or him having to use her usual space which belonged to Beats, she’d had to bear the brunt of making their meet-ups secret. These days paparazzi follow her around like gnats and she often has to disguise herself and/or take several detours before she’s able to get out of her car without being noticed. And for him,well...that's not such an issue nowadays.

She sighs and nods before running her colorfully painted fingers through her long dark hair. She quickly ties her hair up into a hurried ponytail and adds,“Yeah. It’s ridiculous. I wish we could work somewhere else...but whatever. I’m here now.” She seems to shake the frustration out of her face and body, then she looks up at him again with clear eyes and a now familiar smile.

“That you are,” he answers with a matching smile.

They smile at each other for a few beats until she laughs again and lifts a perfectly shaped eyebrow. “What’s with you? You look like you’re up to something.”

He point to his chest in an mock offended ‘Who me?’ manner then laughs and shakes his head. “Nah,I just finished watching your carpool karaoke. It was pretty funny. You sounded great, by the way.”

“Oh,” she chuckles and grins. “That was a lot of fun. He already asked me to come back when the second album comes out. I look forward to it; he’s hilarious.”

Her phone starts ringing and she apologizes quickly as she reaches into her bag and fishes around in it for a few seconds before finding it. “One sec,” she says as she looks up at him and answers as he nods.

He turns back toward the soundboard and then starts opening a few programs on his laptop, trying to give her some semblance of privacy while she takes her call. And though he tries to block out her conversation, he deduces quite quickly that she’s talking to Beats and that he’s asking where she is.

Even though he knows that Beats is now well aware of his and Jax’s working relationship, he still feels uncomfortable at the fact that Beats seems to have so much influence over Jax. He gets the whole Master and Protegé thing but he sometimes wonders if she’s letting him have a lot more say in her personal matters than he probably should. Whatever, it really isn’t any of his business anyway. But ever since he’d seen how disrespectfully Beats had acted toward her when he’d found out about him hearing their music, he’d lost a lot of respect for the man.

For now though he tells himself that he’ll keep being the nice guy, but if Beats ever oversteps in front of him, he’s not sure he’ll be able to keep himself from saying anything. He doesn’t owe Beats shit and he’s come to care for Jax: she still has stars in her eyes and the industry hasn’t broken her yet. The protective instinct that has slowly started to rear itself inside of him when it comes to her would be ready to roar anytime if provoked.

“JC?” He turns back to face her and raises his brows in question. “Would you, um. Would you mind if we met with Beats around lunch time? You and me, I mean?”

He frowns in thought for a moment then lifts a shoulder. “Yeah, sure. What does he want?”

She shrugs her narrow shoulders once and shifts her hold on the mic of her large Iphone. “I think he might want to make amends?” Her sentence ends in a tone that sounds more like a hopeful question instead of an answer.

He scratches the back of his neck quickly. “Uh, yeah. Okay, whatever.”

He sees the flash of straight, white teeth as she captures her glossed lower lip between them for a quick moment before she returns the phone to her ear. “Yeah, sure. We’ll be there. I’ll call Ana to have her...yeah,” she pauses as he seems to finish the sentence for her. “We’ll see you.”

He clears his throat and absently tugs the sleeves of his shirt up onto his forearms as he hears her sigh and then make another call. She gives him a grimace and then rolls her eyes as she holds up a finger as if asking him to hold on only one more moment. She connects with someone and starts telling them about changing plans and needing to order lunch to be delivered at Beats’ studio. She pulls her mouth away from the phone and speaks to him again. “What do you want me to order you for lunch? You probably don’t want what I’m having,” she chuckles and he licks his lips.

“I uh, I don’t care. Not picky really...just nothing that’s mainly tofu or whatever,” he stutters out, sort of taken off guard.

She grins and returns to the phone. “Just get him the same at Beats. Yeah, the usual.” She nods and then seems to receive a few more instructions. “Yeah, I’ll still be able to make it for that. Can you have someone be there to fix my nails? I broke two this morning. Yeah, thanks.” She looks about to hang up but then sits up straighter. “Oh crap, you’re right. Wait a sec,” she says then lowers the phone again. “Did you drive here yourself?”

He nods. “Yeah, why?’

She bites her lip again and then returns to her phone. “I’ll text you when we figure out what we’re doing okay?” She nods, thanks whoever is on the line and hangs up.

“What’s up?” He questions as he grabs his coffee and takes a sip.

“Just logistics of getting me from point A to point B,” she says and shakes her head as if it’s a waste of time. “Did you want to get in with me or drive yourself?”

After she explains where Beats’ home and studio is located he pulls out his own phone and double checks his agenda for the day. “Actually, I think it would be easier if I got in with you and then got a ride back here to pick up my car. I’d have to double back to go all the way the other direction if I take my car and I won’t have much time to spare as it is if it takes a long time at Beats’.”

She nods and smiles, then taps a few things into her phone before she tosses it back into her bag. “Should we get to it? We only have a little more than two hours left now.”

“Get at it, Mama.” He grins as he motions her toward the sound booth where he’d already set her up with everything she’d need when he’d come in earlier.

He watches with a private smile as she pulls a notebook and a handful of pens from her bag before she heads in. When she gets to the lectern where she usually sets down her things she lets out a laugh that he can’t hear, but he can certainly imagine, when he knows she’s seeing the tiny, ugly troll with bright pink hair he’d placed there.  He flicks the mic switch just in time to catch her calling him a very inappropriate name, still laughing though, before she places the headphones on her head and flips her middle finger up at him from the other side of the glass.

*

Jax smirks to herself as he slides her hands into the pocket of her hoodie and her fingers touch the tiny figurine she’d slipped in there right before she’d left the studio. She remembers telling him off the cuff while they were working one day that she hated hitting a certain note when singing because she’d seen a video of herself doing it once, and she’d had what she could only call her ‘troll face’. He’d thought that was hilarious and had teased her for the rest of the day about it, but she thought he’d forgotten about all of that. Apparently not.

She smiles and shifts down the slippery leather of the bench seat as he pulls himself up into the Escalade next to her. When he shuts the door and settles in, she takes a moment to privately take in the now familiar musky scent of his cologne. They’ve been working together quite a bit for the last two weeks and the added time together definitely hasn’t changed the way she’d perceived him when they’d first met. It had only added to the personality she’d guessed and observed beforehand because he’s actually even more than she’d ever imagined. He has this sort of self deprecating type of humour that he lets slip when he’s relaxed around someone, and it becomes even more obvious that he doesn’t take himself all that seriously. And she likes that; she likes him. But she knows she’s walking along a slippery slope there, so she tries her best not to think about him too much..which gets harder to do every time he does something silly like he’d done this morning. Or when he barks out a loud laugh and his eyes light up and crinkle at the corners like they had this morning.

“You know what, I think we’re pretty much done with that song now,” he says softly taking her out of her thoughts.

She turns to him and even though there’s a few inches between them and he’s leaning back casually against the seat while scrolling through his phone, it feels much closer. “Yeah, you’re right. I like what we did. I can’t wait to see what everyone else thinks.”

He looks up from his phone and smirks. “Yeah, me too. We’ll see when it gets to the chopping block.”

She laughs softly and shakes her head. “I doubt very much that it won’t be what they’re looking for. And even if it isn’t, I will fight for it because I love it.”

This time his lips form into a smile and she returns it. The mood shifts slightly to being uncomfortable and they both seem to feel it and return their eyes to the phones in their hands.  

Most of the ride to Beats’ place stays quiet until she slides a little closer to him to show him some pictures on her phone. She’d been meaning to show him some of the options for the album cover but hadn’t had a chance to yet. He makes a few comments about some of the pictures until she slides her finger across the screen and then he goes quiet again. She’s seen this reaction before so she turns her head to look at him and is taken aback at how close they actually are to each other. Again, the scent of his cologne floods her senses and she’s close enough to see the very short stubble that has started to darken his chin and the area above his lips. His lips. The smile that had been adorning them a moment ago has vanished and she physically feels herself force her eyes upwards to meet his. But he’s noticed and she can’t stop herself from looking again just in time to see the tip of his tongue peeking out to moisten them quickly. Unknowingly, she mirrors his action and slowly, so slowly his head tips slightly to the side and she leans forward just a little bit-

Flash!

Jax moves away quickly, blinded by the sudden torrent of camera flashes assaulting her eyes as she tries to shield them.

“What the fuck?” She hears JC mutter as he looks around and she does the same, seeing paparazzi on both sides of the vehicle and in the front windshield trying to get a picture of her.She looks around wildly seeing that they are at Beats’ gate and she yells for the driver to get her through the gate. Just get her through the gate.

Goddamn it!