The Beginning: 

 

Bowie, Maryland- June 1991 

 

The treehouse hadn’t been used in many years. Remnants of Mina’s childhood were strewn across it. A worn poster of Jordan Knight was tacked on the wall, a milk crate bookcase stood in the corner- troll dolls, and cabbage patch kids, and a pretty large Baby-Sitters Club book collection filled it. Mina and her best friend Josh spent all their time there as kids and even though they had both outgrown it she still liked to come here and think. 

 

Mina lay in her bean bag chair, staring out the window of the treehouse at the sky. All year she had been waiting for summer and spending every moment with her best friend Josh but this summer was going to be a lot different. She just turned 15, her braces were off and her dad finally said she could practice for her permit, they had so many things planned but now Josh was leaving. He had ruined their whole summer. 

 

“Willie?” a voice calls from the down below “C’mon Willie… talk to me” the voice continues.

 

She hated that nickname but her dad and his sense of humor thought it was a great idea to name her Wilhemina. But she suffered through it, only Josh could call her that. 

 

“Go away Josh!” she calls down to the grass below where he waits. 

 

“Not until you talk to me! C'mon Wills…” 

 

She ignores him. “Fine, I’m coming up!” Josh yells and she hears his footsteps on the ladder. 

 

He has to duck a bit to walk over to her. She was taller than him for a while but he had grown up quite a lot in the past few years. Sometimes it was hard having a boy for a best friend that all the girls loved but she tried her best to ignore it. 

 

Josh chuckles as he lays on the beanbag next to her. “Aren’t we a little big for the treehouse now Mina?” he asks, glancing over at her. 

 

“I like it. You know I come here to think” she mumbles. Mina sits up and faces him, tears stain her cheeks. Josh sits up. His bright blue eyes meet her dark brown ones. Breaking the silence she finally asks “Why? Why do you have to leave?”

 

“Willie- it's a great opportunity! I’ll be on tv! Singing, dancing, acting with a ton of other kids. This is my shot!”

 

Josh and his family live next door to Mina and her mom & dad. Even though he had younger siblings, Josh and Mina were inseparable. She always figured it was because they were both shy and trusted in each other. Last year changed everything. A friend bet Josh $20 to enter the school talent show. They used to make up funny little dances together but suddenly Josh had $20 and a talent show trophy. Now his dream was to be an entertainer. 

 

“But Florida is so far away? We had so many plans remember?” 

 

“I know... but I’ll still go to school here too when I’m not in Orlando filming. I’ll be around Mina. I promise” Josh reassures her, running a hand through his dark hair. 

 

“Just promise you won’t make a new best friend?” Mina asks, wiping her tears away

 

“I promise. It will always be the two of us. You know that” he smiles. His smile always cheered her up. She nods in agreement and wraps him up in a hug. He pulls back and grins at her again. 

 

“Let’s go! My mom made pie, your favorite!” he says excitedly, moving towards the stairs. “I’ll be right there,” she calls after him. Mina pulls her dark hair back into a ponytail and sighs. She wanted to believe him but somehow she felt like their world was going to change. 

Chapter 1: 

 

Los Angeles, California- 25 Year Later, March 2016

 

Mina takes a deep breath and glances at her reflection in her rearview mirror. She had just gotten off a flight from New York. Sure she could have gone home and taken the morning off but there was always work to be done. Sleep could wait. She reapplies her lipstick and brushes her wavy brown hair over her shoulders. 

 

“You got this!” she tells herself trying to hype herself up. Everything in New York went well, even better than she and her business partner Madison could have imagined, she should be excited but she was the opposite. She grabs her coffee and handbag and gets out of the car. 

 

The offices of Morgan Events weren’t large but just big enough for both Mina and Madison, their shared assistant Sarah and their 5 “planner minions.” 

 

“Mina you’re back? We thought…” Sarah asks as Mina walks past her to her office

 

“Any messages?” Mina questions 

 

“Only one, Mrs. Williams called about her daughter’s wedding. She was so frantic I couldn’t quite make out what she was upset about” Sarah replies

 

“Isn’t Hannah on that account?

 

“Yes but she would only talk to you or Madison and you were in New York and Madison was out”

 

“I’ll call her back. Thanks, Sarah” Mina replies. She sets her suitcase next to her desk and tosses her handbag on top. Taking her seat at her desk, she takes a long sip of coffee. Her assistant smiles and leaves her alone in her office. Mina rubs her temples and sighs. One of her least favorite things about being an event planner- mothers of the bride. No sooner had Sarah closed the door did it burst back open, revealing her partner Madison. 

 

“Well, how did it go?” Madi asks, sitting across from Mina. 

 

“MTV was a little bummed to hear we had relocated completely to LA but we got the contract!” Mina replies excitedly. 

 

“Morgan Events is on its way!” Madi shouts. The two of them met at NYU after a dorm room mixup after discovering they had the same last name and had been best friends ever since. Madison was like the sister that Mina never had. 

 

Mina nods in agreement but her smile disappears. 

 

“Why so glum? This is great for us? We can finally do more upscale events and not just weddings and birthday parties”

 

“I know but it is MTV and…” 

 

“So… what’s their plan?”

 

“They turn 35 this year and they want to do a ton of parties to celebrate throughout the year in both New York and LA. We’ve got the LA contract. Which means we’re in charge of the TRL party and a few other celebrations they have planned” Mina explains

 

“I can already see it in my head- 90s and early aughts. We should get started on this soon” 

 

“MTV did say their people would compile the guest list, they have good contacts with all the right people and then they would send it our way and we handle the rest” 

 

“That’s my girl!” Madison exclaims and notices Mina’s suitcase “Did you seriously come here straight from the airport?” she adds 

 

“Yes, and don’t start. You know we have a lot of work to do” Mina replies. Madison just shakes her head. Her friend worked too hard. The airport was closer to her townhouse in Santa Monica than it was to their office in Studio City. 

 

“You need to take some time for yourself. When was the last time you even went on a date?”

 

“Madi. I’m almost 40, if it hasn’t happened yet, it's not happening. I’m fine. Let’s just worry about this event okay?”

 

“You know I think you should handle this one. You organized all the meetings with MTV and you’ll do great” Madison answers after a long pause. 

 

“But…” Mina stammers

 

“But nothing. You’re gonna plan the best event, blow everyone away and if JC Chasez happens to be there then you put your big girl panties on and deal with it!” 

 

“Easy for you to say, he wasn’t YOUR childhood best friend! I haven’t seen him in like 20 years!” 

 

“You can’t just keep avoiding things. Would he even recognize you? I’ve seen your high school photos remember, you’ve glowed up girl” Madison states

 

“I know, I know. It was the early 90s… everyone glowed up!” Mina finally agrees, with a hint of sarcasm. “What’s the worst that can happen, right?” she adds with a fake smile. 

 

“Oh you better call Mrs. Williams back before we have a repeat of last time” Madison laughs, heading towards the door

 

“Why do we even have planner minions if they can’t handle situations?” Mina replies to her empty office. 

 

Madison was right. She could do this. She’d been in LA for 2 years already and hadn’t run into Josh or JC as he was now known to the world, at all. It had been 20 years and he had surely forgotten her, she needed to let her grudges go. If she just minded her own business as always and avoided the guests she would be fine. She took another calming breath as she dials the client’s number. 

Chapter 2: 

2 months later

 

“The place looks amazing! I told you we could do this!” Madison exclaims looking around the ballroom they had converted into an MTV-worthy event. TV screens had been set up around the room, showing clips from throughout the years. 

“It does look pretty good,” Mina agrees, trying not to look at the music artist cutouts in the corner where a group of influencers were snapping selfies. The *NSYNC one was front and center. Mina turns away so as not to have to look at it. The step and repeat was finished and guests were filling up the room. It was a night of throwbacks… she was pretty sure she saw Britney and Justin talking to Taylor Swift. Nick Jonas and Adam Levine walk in and take her breath away. 

“You look fantastic tonight too! New dress?” Madison adds glancing over at Mina. She treated herself with a new dress- an off the shoulder, sheath cocktail dress and it was purple, her favorite color. 

“You caught me. I splurged a little” 

“We deserve it! Listen, I do need another small favor?” 

“Mads I love you… but I’m gonna start writing down all these favors. You owe me!” 

“I know, I know. Sorry...last one…I promise. Just stay about half an hour later tonight for me? I’ve got a date, with that doctor I told you about” Madi explains

“A doctor? Oooh” Mina laughs

“You’re the best. You’ve got everything out here? I’m gonna check everything in the back” 

Mina nods in reply and looks back out at the crowd. The room was filled up now, everyone milling about. She spots Carson Daly at the front of the room, looking as if he was going to make a speech. 

JC felt like he’d been at this party for ages but according to his watch, it had only been 90 minutes. He normally didn’t attend these things but Justin convinced him that ever since their VMA reunion MTV wanted all the guys together again and he just had to be there. He reluctantly agreed and now here he was. He downs his scotch and orders another from a passing server. He glances around the room and something or should he say someone caught his eye. He had noticed her as soon as he had walked in earlier in the evening but there she was again. This time she was standing towards the back of the room, alone. She was tall, taller than most girls he knew at least, her long legs peeking out from the bottom of her purple cocktail dress with dark hair and curves in all the right places. JC had no idea who she was but she had to be the sexiest woman he had ever seen, and he had seen quite a few. There was something vaguely familiar about her but he couldn’t quite place what it was. 

“C.. you good?” Justin asks, walking back over to him, snapping him out of his thoughts about the mystery woman.

Mina stands towards the back of the room near the bar just waiting to make her escape. Madison had already gone and she had briefed the “planner minions” on wrapping up the end of the party so she could leave. Only half an hour to go. She shouldn’t drink on the job but a server walks past with champagne so she grabs a flute and downs it quickly. That’s when she spots him. 

He was in the middle of the room, Justin and Carson to his right. He was laughing and his eyes lit up. She could still hear his stupid laugh in her head. He was dressed up more than most at the party. Gray slacks with a black button-down, open at the neck. She couldn’t help but look him up and down. “Damn his ass looks good,” she thinks to herself. 

“White wine please?” she turns around and asks the bartender. He passes her a glass and she thanks him. 

“Fun party right?” a voice calls from her left. Mina glances over and sees one of the influencers from earlier in the night at her side. She was young, blonde, and very petite. Everything Mina had never been, seeing as how she was always taller than all the other girls. Mina has a feeling that she didn’t even grew up watching MTV but was only here to rub elbows with all the popstars. 

“Yeah fun” she agrees, her voice thick with annoyance “Sorry. I’m here working, not here for the party” Mina adds 

“Wait… Morgan Events? I love your work!” the girl exclaims with a large smile

“Guilty. Mina Morgan” she extends her hand as the girl takes it

 
“Charlotte Samuels. You did my best friend’s wedding last year!” 

“We’re working on doing more product launches and events like this,” Mina tells her, gesturing around the room. 

“I’ve been trying to convince my boyfriend to let me plan a huge party for his 40th in a few months. I’d love for you to do it!” Charlotte says. Mina nearly chokes on her wine. This girl couldn’t be more than 25, did she just say her boyfriend was 40? She chuckles silently to herself. 

“He’s around here somewhere. I’d love for you to meet him” 

JC laughs at some old story Justin was telling. He was ready to head out. Chris and Karly had just left. Joey had disappeared and Lance & Michael were on the dance floor. 

“C looks like your girl beckons” Justin jokes, pointing across the room. JC looks behind him and notices his girlfriend Charlotte talking to the mystery woman. Shit. Charlotte was gesturing towards him and he knew that meant he was needed. He starts towards them. 

“Oh, there he is!” Charlotte announces and Mina looks up. JC was walking towards her. Mina almost spits out her wine. 

“JC… this is Mina Morgan from Morgan Events. I’m thinking of having them do your birthday party” Char tells him. He had told her a million times that just cause he was turning 40 didn’t mean he needed a big party. Just a few friends and the guys were enough but Charlotte wasn’t having it. 

“Mina Morgan” the woman introduces herself. He shakes her hand and meets her eyes and that’s when he realizes. Mina. His Mina. Shit. 

“Willie… is it really you? It's been forever. You look… amazing” JC says. Mina notices his stumbling over his words. He looks shocked yet nervous. 

“It’s really me. It has been 20 years Josh” Mina replies. Charlotte stands there dumbfounded. 

“You already know each other?” she speaks up

“Char… this is my best friend Mina” 

“Childhood best friend. We haven’t seen each other in quite a while” 

JC goes to respond but Mina cuts him off. 

“Charlotte it was great meeting you but I have to get going. If you want to discuss your event, here’s my card. Give us a call. Goodbye Josh” she replies and walks away. 

JC stands there in shock. He couldn’t believe it. Little Willie had grown up. Gone was the gangly teenager he once knew. It had indeed been 20 years but he must have royally fucked up. He knew most of her moods and the look on her face said it all.

Chapter 3:

 

“I think that will work great. We should give them a call and go over the plans and maybe set up a lunch meeting next week” Madison states.

She was sitting across from Mina in Mina’s office. It had been two weeks since the JC run in and Mina had filled Madison in on all the details. They hadn’t spoken of it since. Mondays were their busiest day, getting new accounts, dealing with issues from over the weekend, and meetings. 

 

“I’ll have Sarah set it up,” Mina replies. Sarah buzzes in before Mina can buzz her desk. 

 

“Mina, there’s a Mr. Scott here to see you” 

 

Mina looks across to Madison who shrugs her shoulders. Sarah knew new accounts always went through Rachel, one of the senior employees first and then Mina and Madison would assign the account. 

 

“New accounts always go through Rachel” Mina buzzes back

“I know. They asked for you specifically” Sarah answers. Mina and Madison both look at each other confused. 

 

“Okay. Um, send them in Sarah” Mina replies just as a knock comes at the door. It opens to reveal Sarah and a man just behind her. The man removes his sunglasses and Mina’s smile fades. JC. He was dressed simply in jeans, a navy bomber jacket over a white tee and a blue ball cap. 

 

Smart move using his middle name to fool her. 

 

“There’s a Mr. Scott here to see you Mina… do you want me to get Madison or?” 

 

“Already here” Madison speaks up. Sarah shows JC in. 

 

“Can I get you anything Mr. Scott… water, coffee?” Sarah asks

 

“He won’t be staying long. Thank you Sarah” Mina replies curtly. JC laughs as Sarah leaves and shuts the door. 

 

“Madison can you excuse us?” Mina adds

“She can stay,” JC states. 

“I think it's best I head out” Madi stands up and heads to the door. “Sorry” she mouths to Mina as she heads out. 

JC takes a seat across from Mina’s desk.

“What are you doing here Jace?” 

“Jace? That’s new.”

“Well you aren’t really Josh anymore, are you? Now answer the question… why are you here?” 

“I’m here as a client. I want to hire you” 

“I thought you weren’t interested in a birthday party”

“People change their minds and I changed my mind and according to Charlotte, you’re the best for the job”

“Okay,” Mina states. 

“But I have one condition,” JC replies. Mina rolls her eyes

“And that would be?” 

“When I say I want to hire you, I mean I want to hire you specifically”

“That’s not exactly how it works Jo...JC. You meet with Rachel who’s in charge of new accounts and then Madison and I assign you to a planner. We only deal with corporate accounts. I haven’t been a planner myself for quite some time”  

“As I said, according to Char… you’re the best!” 

“Madison really is amazing… she’d do great planning your birthday. Trust me!” Mina argues

“No one knows me better than you do Willie” 

Mina sighs at the mention of her nickname. He definitely knew how to get under her skin. 

“It’s been 20 years JC… you’re different, I’m different. I doubt you still have the same taste. Listen I have a lot of work to do and I’ve got to get back to it”

JC stands up quietly and starts to make his way to the door. 

“Let me think about it and I’ll get back to you,” Mina says unexpectedly, breaking the silence. She picks up a business card off her desk and scribbles a number across it.

“This is my cell phone… text me, I’m sure you have to change your number a lot. I’ll text you my decision” she adds. JC walks back over and takes the card from her and grins. She hated that stupid grin. She glares at him and he chuckles as he leaves her alone. 

No more than 5 minutes later- her phone chimes. A number she didn’t recognize flashes across her screen. She didn’t usually answer texts from people she didn’t know. A slight smile spreads across her face as she opens it. 

“Make a decision yet?” it reads. 

“I told you I had to think about it” she types back

“I know. I gave you 5 minutes” *winky face*

He was such a pain in the ass. Mina sets her phone aside and tries to go back to her work. She could feel her phone staring back at her. She checks her desk calendar. Her week was pretty free. 

“Fine. Dinner Thursday at 7. My place. I’ll give you my decision then. Now stop texting me. I have a lot of work to do” Mina answers. 

JC quickly checks his calendar on his phone. He had a songwriting session on Thursday but it was early enough he could make dinner. 

“I’ll be there. Can’t wait” he grins even though no one is around to see him.

Chapter 4: 

 

A day full of last-minute meetings with clients and she still had tons of work left to finish. Mina leans back in her desk chair and sighs. She didn’t know where to start. 

 

“Mina- Sarah, Hannah, Rachel, and I are gonna grab dinner and drinks. Want to join us?” 

 

She looks up to see Madison and Rachel standing in her office doorway. 

 

“I’d love too but I’ve got work to finish” Mina replies. 

 

Madison knew it could wait. She glances over at Rachel. 

 

“I’ll meet you in the lobby” Rachel states. Madison smiles at her as she walks away. She enters Mina’s office and sits down across from her. 

 

“Mina you work too hard. Seriously, take a break once in a while” 

 

“You always say that. I like working, besides it makes us money”

 

“Touche” Madison laughs as Mina’s phone chimes- 6:00 Reminder: Dinner with JC at 7

 

“Shit! I’ve got to finish this floorplan for my meeting tomorrow and I forgot that I told JC I’d have dinner with him!” Mina groans

 

“Dinner with JC? You forgot to mention that…”

 

“It’s nothing! Just business but I said I’d cook and there’s not enough time to drive home and do that! Take out it is” Mina laughs

 

“Be careful” 

 

“Careful? It’s JC, Madison nothing to worry about. You know how I feel, it's just business”

 

“I know how you used to feel...”

 

“Mads! That’s old history” 

 

“Whatever, but new business is good like you always say” Madi stands up as Mina starts packing up her bag. “I’ll walk out with you!”

 

Mina struggles with her front door, trying to balance her work bag, Chinese takeout, and the wine she picked up on the way home. Finally getting it open, she heads to the kitchen and carefully places everything on the counter. The doorbell chimes. 6:55 the clock on the stove reads. He was early! She still had to chill the wine, make the takeout not look like takeout, and attempt to look less frazzled. “Mina chill out” she whispers to herself. She heads back towards the front door, stopping by the mirror in the foyer to fix her hair. Taking a deep breath, she opens it. JC stands before her.

 

“Hey Willie” he grins. He wore jeans and a simple tee again. Mina was beginning to appreciate this dressed down Josh after only seeing him red carpet ready for so long in magazines and whatnot. 

 

“Hi Jace” she replies “Come on in” 

 

“You’ve got a great place”

 

“Thanks.” Her townhouse was perfect for her. It was close to the beach with 3 bedrooms, enough room for her parents or Madison if they visited. It was the first place she ever got to call her own and she had a bit too much fun at Pottery Barn decorating. 

 

“Listen I have a confession to make… I sort of forgot about today, lots of last-minute work came through and well…” 

 

JC laughs as Mina shows him into the kitchen and he spots the takeout containers. “At least it's just me” 

 

“I got Chinese. Is it still your favorite?” Mina asks 

 

“Only if you got noodles and...” 

 

“Orange Chicken,” they both say at the same time. JC smiles at her. That smile would be the death of her. Mina turns and grabs some plates for their food. 

 

JC takes one last bite and puts his chopsticks down. “Now that you’ve bribed me with Chinese” 

 

“It wasn’t bribing” Mina states, shoving him playfully

 

“Let's talk business,” he answers sternly. Mina had never heard him use this tone before. It was kind of sexy. 

 

“No Mina” her inner self screams “Listen to Madi, don’t go there!” 

 

“Right business. Listen I thought about it and I’ve decided...I can’t plan your party” 

 

“You’re kidding, right? All this suspense… for that?!” 

 

“Josh- of course, I’m kidding! I’ll do it. Only because you’re sooo persistent” Mina grins at him. JC chuckles. “So 40 huh? Any ideas? Should I ask Charlotte? I mean wasn’t this all her idea?” she adds, clearing the table. 

 

“What did you do for your 40th?” 

 

Her birthday was last week on the 16th. She was surprised he even remembered. “Not much. Madison and some of the girls at the office took me out for dinner and drinks. We kept it small.” 

 

“That’s what I was hoping for. I know Charlotte means well but I cringe thinking of what this would look like if we asked her ideas” 

 

“Harsh much! She’s your girlfriend” Mina states, pouring them each a glass of red wine. 

 

“She’s… Charlotte. We’ve been together for about a year. She’s cool to be around and don’t get me wrong- the sex is great but sometimes she’s a bit too much to handle” JC chuckles, taking his glass and walking over to Mina’s large gray sectional. Mina really didn’t want to hear about his sex life so she was glad he left it at that. She was surprised by how easy the conversation between them was. It was like no time had passed. 

 

“Why don’t you break up if you aren’t happy?” she asks. The words slip out before she can think about it and she had only had a sip of wine. 

 

“We probably won’t be together much longer” he answers nonchalantly. 

 

“Why’s that- wait don’t tell me it’s true? You do have a 2-year rule!” 

“Where’d you hear that?” JC stammers

“A little birdie… okay fine. Tabloids, but is it true?”  

“Not necessarily a rule, but life has just worked out that way. I guess I just haven’t found my person yet, you know?” 

Mina nods in agreement and takes another long sip. 

“Anyone in your life, since you wanna judge me” he laughs

“Nope, not for a few years. Madison tries to play matchmaker a lot. Work is my life… she um worries about me because that’s all I make time for” 

“I get that. Rather be busy than not.” That was one thing they always had in common. 

“I feel bad for saying this out loud because Madi does mean well, technically Morgan Events is her baby but right now she’s sort of put it on the back burner. She’s a little bit younger than us and I think turning 40 and being single is freaking her out so she’s trying to find a man and has made it her new priority.” Mina and JC laugh at the same time. 

“I’m perfectly happy with my life the way it is,” she adds. Silence fills the air. JC wasn’t sure what to say, the conversation had been going so well. It was like he had his best friend back. Granted he had Justin, Lance, Chris, and Joey but his friendship with Mina had always been different. 

“I’m sure you know what I’ve been up to… catch me up” he speaks up, breaking the silence. Mina is taken aback. Should she bring up… Definitely not!

“Um…” she downs the rest of her win and refills her glass. “I got into NYU!” 

“You always did talk about going there”

“And I did it! That’s where I met Mads. Somehow they mixed up our dorm rooms, hers was a different cost or something, you can imagine how mad my Dad was!” 

JC laughs recalling Mr. Morgan and how his face would turn completely red like a cartoon character when he was angry. 

“Eventually they fixed it and put us in a room together. We’ve been inseparable ever since. Let’s see… we majored in marketing and we did the typical internship, pray to find a job thing. Everything fell into place. We moved into this shitty studio apartment after graduation. You know in the movies where they pull back the rug and there’s a tape outline of a body?” 

JC nods. 

“That was this place... you can just imagine how awful it was. We worked in corporate marketing and worked on our MBAs. Mads and I did that for about ten years when she decided she wanted to start her own event planning business. Morgan Events was born in our little apartment, a 2 bedroom upgrade from the dump. I stayed with the firm and helped her on the side. A few years ago she moved to LA and we were bi-coastal. I quit the firm and worked New York events while she handled the West Coast and then I moved out here about 2 years ago so Morgan Events could be West Coast full time. Sorry, that was a lot.” Mina finishes

“20 years is a long time…” 

“Of course I mean look at all you accomplished! Sorry to hear about the solo thing though” 

“No worries. I was frustrated and angry for quite a few years but it’s water under the bridge now. Justin and I are good. The guys are great. We recently bonded again” JC states. Mina recalls hearing about their small reunion on the VMAs a few years before. Huge reunion rumors had been circling ever since. 

“So I’ve heard…” 

“From your little birdie?” JC jokes. Mina chuckles.

 
“Guilty. Madison is a fan. She had posters all over that crappy apartment” 

“Oh really? Let me guess… Justin girl?” JC asks. He had met Madison briefly but she was definitely Justin’s type. 

“Wrong. Joey actually.” Mina and JC laugh. He reaches for the bottle of wine and refills his glass. 

“They’ll be at your party I assume?” Mina says, trying to switch back to business.

 
“Yes. I can’t wait for you to meet them.” 

“Let me know when you’re free and we can start planning everything out. I know you want to keep it small but I know a great club we can look at. It would make a perfect venue. They’ve got a large VIP section and separate entrance” she explains, getting up and walking towards the kitchen to get more wine. Her mood had changed. JC wasn’t sure what he had said or done.

 
“Willie… stop” 

“What?!” she snaps

“Is it something I said about the guys? Or in general? What did I do?” he asks. Mina stops at the counter. “Was that… was that when?” JC adds. 

“When what?”

“When you started hating me?”

Mina freezes. How dare he?! Of course, the years had gone by but he could still tell when she was annoyed. “I think you should go”

“Why won’t you talk about it? What did I do for you to hold a grudge this long?” he inquires

“You seriously are telling me you don’t remember?!” she snaps. JC stares at her dumbfounded. “I think you should go,” Mina says again, pointing towards the front door. She grips the counter as the front door closes. 

The tears sting her eyes but she forces them back. She immediately regrets letting JC back into her life, business, or otherwise. 

Chapter 5:

 

“How was dinner last night?” Madison asks Mina, passing her Starbucks order the next morning at the office. 

 

“Thank you. I need caffeine in an IV today!” 

 

“That bad huh?” 

 

“Too much wine, plus I barely slept. So yes, that bad” Mina replies, chugging down her latte, not caring about how hot it was. 

 

“Are you gonna talk about it?” 

 

“Talk about what?” 

 

“Min… stop playing dumb” 

 

“I’m fine Mads. Yes, I work too hard but I’m proud of that. On the business front, dinner was fine. I think that I have some ideas on where to start. On the personal front, it was a dumpster fire” 

 

Madison nearly spits out her coffee. 

 

“We talked about old times, got caught up but then he asked when I started to hate him” Mina explains. 

 

“You mean he doesn’t…?”

 

“Remember? Oh yeah? You think guys remember these things but OH NO not Mr. I’m Such Hot Shit I Was in NSYNC Chasez” 

 

“Rather long but go on” Madi stifles a laugh “Let it out” she adds. 

 

“I’m done” Mina states, sitting back down in her chair “We’re professionals. I can handle this, he’s just a client” 

 

“Proud of you” Madison raises her coffee cup in a toast

“Only because I’m feeling feisty, how about we set up a lunch with Miss Charlotte and get her ideas? He’ll hate it” Mina asks with a Cheshire Cat grin. 

Charlotte and JC were waiting for Mina and Madison at the restaurant a few days later where they arranged to meet for lunch. Mina wasn’t expecting JC to be there. 

“Thanks for meeting with us,” Madison states, pulling out her chair and sitting down. Charlotte grins excitedly while JC looks like he rather be anywhere else in the world right now. 

“Yes, thanks for meeting with us! Let’s talk ideas” Mina adds, avoiding JC’s eyes and focusing on Charlotte. 

“I have tons of ideas! There’s this new club that just opened off Hollywood Boulevard, I can’t remember the name of it though but amazing DJ from what my friends have said” Charlotte begins

“That’s a good start. I’ve also got a few venues in mind. There’s this club- the Roosevelt that is like an Old Hollywood smoking lounge. We can either have the party while the club is open to the public or they are available for private events. There’s a separate VIP entrance if we choose the first option. Do you have a theme in mind, invitations, have we thought about food?” Mina asks, firing off a million questions at once. 

“We work with a particular bakery for most events. Their cake is out of this world! Whatever you imagine, they can make it happen” Madison states. 

“Could they make it vegan? Charlotte asks

“Why? I’m not” JC suddenly chimes in. He had been sitting quietly, looking annoyed for the most part. 

“I know babe but most of my friends are” Charlotte turns away before she could see JC roll his eyes. If he was warming up to the thought of a party he didn’t plan on Charlotte inviting all her friends. Madison catches his expression and quickly changes the subject. 

“I’ve got to use the restroom. Charlotte come with?” 

Charlotte agrees and they excuse themselves leaving Mina and JC at the table together. They sit in silence. 

“Asking Char for ideas? Nice touch” JC laughs breaking the awkward tension. 

“She’s your girlfriend. Figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask. This was all her idea in the first place, remember?”

“I’m sure you’ve got better ideas. I really do just want this to be a simple event” 

“Give her a break like I said she is your girlfriend” Mina replies with a hint of snark. “Have you thought about the guest list? Will your parents be here or Tyler or Heather?” she continues

“Not sure. They might fly out. I…uh haven’t asked” 

“No problem.” Silence fills the air once again. 

“Listen Mina-” JC starts but is interrupted by the return of Madi and Charlotte. 

“You didn’t finish the plans while we were gone did you?” Charlotte giggles. 

“Just talking invites” 

“Oh! I saw this thing where someone sent recorded video invites to each guest. Babe, isn’t that a cute idea?” Charlotte suggests

“Sounds great!” JC replies dryly. 

“We can look into it,” Madison responds. Mina sighs internally. 

“I liked the video screens at the MTV party. Could we do something like that?” Charlotte asks Mina. 

“Possibly. Depends on the venue we choose but that’s a definite possibility” 

“I was thinking we could have a slideshow of pictures of JC from over the years” 

Madison glances at Mina. That was the first idea out of Charlotte’s mouth that they didn’t hate. Suddenly their lunch arrives so they take a break from planning. 

Mina was thankful when the end of lunch came. Charlotte had left a bit early, had another meeting to attend with some makeup brand or producer or something. She honestly wasn’t paying that much attention to her. 

“I’ll reach out when I get everything together,” she tells JC, awkwardly shaking his hand. He smiles in return and leaves. 

“That couldn’t have been more awkward,” Madison laughs. They were in her car on their way back to the office. 

“You’re telling me” 

“Min. I know you don’t want to talk to him about what happened but you’re going to have to. So much sexual tension during that meeting you could have cut it with a knife” 

“I know. I know… it's gonna make things even more awkward”

“Maybe, maybe not. What if he feels the same way?” 

“The same way? Madison Ryan Morgan! I am not in love with JC Chasez!” 

“Could have fooled me” 

“Let me rephrase… I’m not in love with him, anymore!” 

“Whatever you want to tell yourself Min” Madi laughs “Remember that doctor I went out with a few times?” 

“Yes… why are you changing the subject. Madi… I told you no more setups” 

“I know you did but even though it didn’t work out with us he’s got this great friend. His name is Alex, he’s a pediatric oncologist at Cedars-Sinai. I think you’d like him” Madison explains with a grin. 

“Okay okay…fine!” Mina reluctantly agrees. Madison grins the rest of the drive. 

Chapter 6: 

 

Mina sighs and tries to focus back on her laptop. Everything was slowly coming together for JC’s party which was great because they were a month out. Even better was she hadn’t had to see him in a while. He was busy so they just confirmed things over the phone. She just had to get this presentation done because he was coming by the office in the morning to see it. Mina downs the rest of her wine and pours more into her glass. “Focus Mina focus” she mutters to herself. She was contemplating taking a break when the doorbell rang. 

 

She peers at the time, it was after 9 and she wasn’t expecting anybody. Mina gets up from her spot on the floor and walks towards the door. 

 

 

“Josh! What are you doing here?” Mina asks in shock, finding JC on her doorstep. He was wearing his glasses which he didn’t do often but it made him hotter. The wine was definitely taking its effect. She leans against the door for support. 

 

“I was in the neighborhood. Thought I’d stop by” he smiles

 

“That’s bullshit. It’s Santa Monica, last I checked you lived in the hills” 

 

“Okay fine you caught me. Just thought maybe you’d want to hang out” 

 

“JC… it’s after 9, I have a lot of work to finish and…” she begins. She pauses, glancing up at him. “I guess I could use a break” she finishes, showing him in. 

 

JC takes in Mina standing before him. So she caught his bullshit lie, of course she did, he lived half an hour from her. He couldn’t just show up and say hey let’s be friends and hang out. It didn’t help anything that she opened the door wearing sweatpants that were hanging low on her hips and a long-sleeved, comfy top with her dark brown hair piled in a messy bun on top of her head. She looked beautiful. 

 

“Sorry about the mess” Mina apologizes, trying to organize the chaos on her coffee table. 

 

“It’s okay” he replies, taking a seat in the middle of her sectional. 

 

“I was finishing up the presentation for your party. I was making a few last-minute adjustments before our meeting in the morning. It's coming together really well. Did you want some wine? I only have white, hope that’s okay”  

 

JC nods and Mina carries another bottle and glass over to the couch. JC pours himself a glass and they sit drinking in silence. He glances down at the coffee table. It was entirely covered with what looked like invoices, sketches, random paperwork, two iPads, and a MacBook. She did work too hard. 

 

We used to be able to talk to each other, Mina thought. Now we just sit in silence and stare at each other. Madison’s words echo in her head. You really could cut the tension with a knife. 

 

“Were you watching something?” JC speaks up, noticing the paused screen on her tv. 

 

“Just FRIENDS, background noise. I can put on a movie or something” Mina replies

 

“FRIENDS is fine” JC replies as Mina resumes her episode. 

 

They sit in silence, sipping their wine, watching Friends. It was quiet but it was nice, just sitting together hanging out, Mina thought to herself.

A few episodes go by and they remain the same way, only breaking the silence with laughter when Chandler puts himself in a box. 

“I forgot to tell you that my family is coming into town for the party and they’re staying a few days” JC speaks up as the episode ends. 

“That’s great! I can’t wait to see them, it’s been ages” Mina smiles. She sets her glass down on the table and turns to face JC. 

“Sorry not sure why I said that. I won’t see them, it’s not like I’ll actually be at the party” she adds. 

“I thought you would be, you’re a friend after all and you’re putting everything together” he replies with a wide grin. Gosh, that smile made the butterflies in her stomach start fluttering.

Mina smiles in reply and sighs. 

“Everything okay?” JC asks

“Yes. I just think it’s time we talked” 

“About…” and then it dawns on him. The thing. “Oh,” he answers.

Mina reaches for her wine and downs her glass. She would need some extra courage for this. 

“When you left I was hurt and somewhat angry. You know I didn’t have many friends, occasionally I’d hang out with Robin and Erica but really the only friend I had was you. I know you said you’d come back to Bowie when the show wasn’t filming so I was looking forward to it. Well then you started appearing on the show a lot and of course, everyone at school watched and then you never came back. The second season you were on you had what they call a glow up” Mina laughs.

 

JC gives her a funny look and she continues

“You got hotter and all the girls wanted to be my friend even more because we were best friends. So I lied, said we talked all the time, that I was going to visit you in Florida and meet the cast but what they didn’t know was that you were too busy to answer my letters, I’d call and your mom said you were out with Nikki or playing basketball with Dale and Tony, rehearsing, the list goes on. I know we were young but you were the only close friend I had and you were gone and I felt forgotten.” 

“Wills…I didn’t realize…”

“I know you didn’t but that’s not... Remember when the show ended and you came home?”

 
“Yeah summer of 94... I think, right?” JC replies 

“I was so excited that summer. I was going to NYU but before I left for school, you were coming back to Bowie. Of course, you had lots of people to hang out with because you were practically the local celebrity but I guess I wasn’t one of those people…”

July 1994

Bowie, Maryland

Mina sat in her treehouse, staring out into the night. She wasn’t looking at anything particular, just staring into nothingness. She could see his bedroom from her spot, the light was on. 

Josh had come home. Mouse Club had ended and he was back in Bowie but he still had no time for her. Her mom had let it slip a few weeks ago that he was home. She waited like a fool, hoping he’d call or come by to hang out but nothing but silence. Mina spots her flashlight sitting on the milk crate bookcase. She was tempted to use their “signal” to get his attention but doubt it would work. She walks over to grab an old blanket that lay under the flashlight. 

She felt like such an idiot. Josh had been gone for about 3 months before she admitted it to herself and that’s why she was taking this all so hard. Mina was in love with her best friend and he didn’t even know she existed anymore. She fought back the tears. Soon she would be in New York and she’d make new friends and move on just like he had. 

“Willie?” a voice calls from outside the treehouse

Mina ignores him, fiddling with the blanket she was wrapped up in. It was cool for summer. She hears Josh’s footsteps on the ladder. 

“Hey Wills, can’t believe you still come up here” he calls from the doorway

“What do you want Josh?” 

“Your mom told me you were out here. Thought we could hang out” 

“You’ve been home for weeks and now you want to hang out with me?” 

“I know… I’m sorry… I should have…”  

“Should have what? Called me back, answered my letters? We were best friends, Josh, what happened?” Mina asks, wiping tears from her eyes. 

“I wish I could answer that but I can’t. I’m sorry Mina, things were just different in Florida. I met a great group of guys, we’re talking about heading out to California!” Josh replies excitedly. Mina ignores him once more. 

“So I hear you got into NYU, that’s pretty cool” he adds. He hunches down the best he can and comes to sit next to her. 

“Yeah… I leave in a few weeks” she mumbles

“Wills. I really am sorry. I missed you! Catch me up on everything” 

“You’re an idiot you know” she answers

“I admit it. I’m an idiot but you love me” Josh flashes his big smile. Mina wanted to be angry at him but that smile got her every time. She tries to hide a laugh. 

“I saw that! I knew you couldn’t be mad at me forever” Josh nudges her with his elbow. 

“I guess not. You’re still an idiot. You did miss quite a crazy senior year though…. Stephanie and Brittany R got into a huge fight at prom and Stephanie fell into the punch bowl!” 

JC doubles over with laughter “Those two still fighting over Kevin?” 

“Nope, this was over Brian L” Mina replies, as they laugh together “Apparently Stephanie was mad cause he asked Brittany to the dance the day after they broke up” 

“Wild!” 

“It was. I’m really glad you’re back…” Mina admits, looking over at Josh

“Me too” he answers as silence fills the air. Their eyes meet and Josh leans in, pulling Mina closer as their lips meet. 

“This can’t be happening,” Mina thought to herself. Josh is kissing me. This has to be a dream. She opens her eyes to find that it was all real. Her blanket drops off her shoulders as they fall back onto the beanbag chair behind them. 

Josh pulls back and looks down at Mina lying against the beanbag. She smiles up at him and he leans down to kiss her once more. Josh deepens the kiss, Mina’s tongue slips through his lips, her fingers reaching up to run through his floppy dark hair. Mina wasn’t sure when it happened but suddenly her shirt was gone and she was pushing Josh’s over his head. They were caught up in the moment and the next thing she knew Josh was easing inside of her. They lock eyes and she smiles up at him as she clutches his back, pulling him close to her. 

The sun shines through the window of the treehouse. Mina blinks and throws her hand in front of her face to block the light. Why was she in the treehouse? And then it all came rushing back to her. She had sex with Josh, last night, in the treehouse. She blushes remembering the touch of his lips on hers, on her neck, his fingers on her hips. Mina sits up and pulls the blanket over her, reaching for her bra. She turns to her left and finds the spot next to her empty. 

“Josh?” she calls out softly. No response. His clothes were gone and so was he. He probably just woke up and went home so his parents wouldn’t freak out that he was missing. Mina gathers her clothes and gets dressed quickly and hurries inside before her parents begin to think the same. 

After a few more hours of sleep, Mina hops in the shower. After getting dressed she heads downstairs for a quick breakfast. 

“Honey, where were you last night?” her mom asks as she enters the kitchen

“I, um, fell asleep in the treehouse by accident” 

“Mina, how many times have I told you not to do that?” 

“I know Mom! Listen gotta go. I’ll be back later” she calls, hurrying out the front door. Mina practically ran across the lawn to the Chasez’s. 

She smiles as Josh’s mom answers the door. 

“Hi, Ms. Karen… Is Josh home?” 

“Mina honey… he didn’t tell you? I thought he said he was going to stop by before he left” 

“Left?”

“He left for California this morning. He moved out there with his friends from Mouse Club. I thought you knew honey” Ms. Karen explains.

Mina vaguely remembers Josh mentioning it to her the night before but he never said when he was leaving. Did he leave because of her, because of what happened? 

She was the idiot now. 

Chapter 7: 

Santa Monica, California- July 2016

 

“That’s why you’ve hated me for 20 years?” JC asks, aghast

 

“Josh, we had sex and then you left… for California like two hours later!” 

 

“Probably not my best move” 

 

“You think! Maybe it wasn’t a very big deal to you but it was for me…”

 

“That was your first time?”

 

“Yes! Sorry, I didn’t think that needed to be advertised or the fact that I was in love with you” she blurts out. JC just stares at her. 

 

“You were in love with me?” 

 

“You forgot about me, you found new friends in Florida. What, was I supposed to call you and tell you to come back because I was a stupid teenage girl who was in love with her best friend and he moved away and forgot about me?” 

 

“Well maybe not quite but wow” JC takes a giant sip of his wine. 

 

“There’s more…”

 

“Storytime continues, okay,” he says sarcastically

 

“I was late. I didn’t figure it out until a few weeks later. I was already at NYU and I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t tell my mom, you had fallen off the face of the earth so I confided in the only person around…my roommate Madison. She took me to the drugstore, I took the test and it was positive. I was scared. I was an 18-year-old pregnant freshman in college in New York City by myself” 

 

“You’re telling me that we had sex which apparently I somehow blocked from my memory, which is not normal for me, and that I got you pregnant?” JC asks, still reeling from the news

 

“Yes” 

 

“And you didn’t tell me because? You know about my life… you should have told me!” 

 

Mina recalls JC telling her about his adoption when they were 12. 

 

“You were gone! I had no idea where you were and couldn’t exactly call your mom and tell her you knocked me up and I needed you to come back. But don’t worry there’s no baby Joshmina running around out there in the world” 

 

“You got an abortion?” he asks calmly

 

“No! I...I... lost the baby… it happened about 2 weeks after I found out. I didn’t feel right and I woke up in the middle of the night and had Madison take me to the student health center. I was starting to get used to the idea of being a mom and then… I didn’t even tell my family. I couldn’t find the words and to this day, Madison is still the only one who knows” 

 

“Mina… I’m sorry… god I feel like an ass” 

 

“Don’t. You and I both know that if I hadn’t lost the baby that you wouldn’t have given up your dreams to live in Bowie the rest of your life” 

 

“You don’t know that!”

 

“Josh be real... you would have been miserable!” Mina states. 

 

JC could picture it though… coming home from work, two little ones running around, Mina pregnant with another. A normal happy life. He smiles at the thought. 

 

“It’s water under the bridge now. I picked myself back up and got my dream job and well look at you… I called my mom one day and she told me your family was moving to Florida because California hadn’t worked out for you and you were moving back to Orlando, working with that Justin kid. Next thing I knew your face was on my roommate’s wall” Mina explains, pulling him out of his daydream. 

 

“Yeah…I uh traveled around a bit”

 

Silence fills the room once again. 

 

JC speaks up “I wish you were around in those early days. The guys and I bonded and became like brothers but having a friend would have been nice” 

 

Mina smiles “Now that you know... I don’t want this to change anything. I just figured it was the time you knew the truth” 

 

“Thanks for finally telling me,” JC replies. Mina’s phone beeps. It was almost 1 am. “I guess I better go, it’s getting late” he adds, standing up. 

 

“See you tomorrow” Mina states, walking him to the door. JC gives her a quick hug goodbye before walking out. Mina pauses and watches him walk towards his car. She felt relieved as if a huge weight had been lifted. Her secret was finally out and the awkwardness was gone and they could finally work on mending their friendship. But just how was she going to break it to him that that wasn’t the only reason she was holding a grudge. 

Chapter 8:

 

Madison rushes into the office at half-past 8- early for her. Sarah was just settling in at her desk. 

 

“Is Mina in?” Madi asks

 

Mina was an early riser, first at the office, last to leave. But this morning her office was still dark.

 

“Doesn’t look like it,” Sarah replies, sipping her coffee. Something was up. This was not like her at all. 

 

An hour later, Madison spies Mina walking into the office. 

 

“Everything alright?” she asks Mina from Mina’s office doorway. Mina startles, grabbing her chest. She sets down her bags and sits in her desk chair. Her hair was up and she wore a black blazer over a mint dress. On the outside, she was put together but she seemed disheveled. 

 

“Mad- you scared me!” 

 

“Sorry I was worried”

 

“I know, I… uh had a late-night” 

 

“Oh?” Madi replies, walking in and taking the seat across from Mina’s desk. 

 

“JC came over” 

 

“Ohhhh” Madi raises an eyebrow

 

“Nothing like that, we talked”

 

“Did you…”

 

“Yes- I told him” Mina admits

 

“Wow, how did he take it?” 

 

“A little shocked, a little upset but I told him I wouldn’t have wanted to be the thing that held him back from his dreams and he understood. I think we can finally get back to our friendship. It was nice just hanging out together” 

 

“That’s good cause he’ll be here in 15 minutes” Madison laughs

 

“Barely finished the presentation, we talked until 1 AM but I think it call came together” 

 

“That’s great!” 

 

“But 15 minutes! Plenty of time to get some caffeine in my system” Mina laughs as they walk over to their conference room. Madison busies herself setting up the video screen while Mina gets coffee to take the edge off. 

 

“You never told me, did Alex ever call to set up a date?” Madison asks when Mina returns with her drink. 

 

“He did! I know I always complain about your matchmaking but Mads he sounds nice. We’re having dinner tomorrow!”

 

“I’m excited for you. He’s the nicest guy. You have to tell me everything!” 

 

“Don’t I always?” Mina laughs. A knock at the door interrupts them. Sarah cracks the door open and peeks her head in. 

 

“Mr. Chasez is here” 

 

“Show him in” Mina answers. Sarah opens the door wider and JC enters the conference room. “Hey Josh, come on in” Mina shows him to a seat on Madison’s left, while she takes the seat on Madi’s right. 

 

He was more dressed up today, unlike the last time he was at her office. Like last night he was wearing his glasses but paired his dark jeans with a short sleeve polo, buttoned all the way up. The sleeves tight across his muscles. 

 

“Damn he makes everything look good,” Mina thinks to herself “No! You’re friends, this is business” she adds, yelling at her inner self. 

 

“Everything is all set if you’re ready,” Mina tells him as he turns in his seat to face the screen at the front of the room. Mina pulls up the presentation on her iPad. 

 

“Okay-” she starts as the venue pops up “We decided on the Roosevelt, I think the Old Hollywood smoking lounge vibe fits you”

 

“Looks cool” JC chimes in. He was unable to tour the venue because he was stuck  in the studio but trusted Mina’s opinion. 

 

“We’ve rented out the place for the night too which gives us the entire space to work with” 

 

“Unfortunately their kitchen staff couldn't work with a party of our size so we brought in an amazing caterer to help out” Madison adds with a smile.

 

“Yes. Classy finger foods, but not too over the top… I think I’m most excited for the mini pizzas, think fancy bagel bites” Mina states

 

JC laughs “You know me so well, I used to love those!” 

 

“It’s your party, we wanted to make sure you were happy” 

 

“Just wait until you see the cake!” Madison chimes in. 

 

“I designed it actually” Mina smirks

 

“Then it will be perfect,” JC replies. Mina blushes and Madison suddenly feels like a third wheel. 

 

Mina turns back to the screen to finish up the presentation. 

 

“Everything looks and sounds great,” JC tells the girls. “Even the video screens” he adds

 

“Charlotte’s idea. I wanted to incorporate something from her, she is your girlfriend after all” Mina reminds him. 

 

JC nods in understanding. 

 

“Great to see you again JC, I have another meeting so I’ll just…” Madison states, making her way to the doorway. She slips out of the room leaving JC and Mina alone. Mina knew what game she was playing, her next meeting wasn’t for another hour. She and JC remain seated at the table. 

 

“Listen about last night…” Mina begins

 

“I just feel like an idiot. I never realized…” 

 

“How I was feeling? I didn’t think you felt the same way so I never said anything” 

 

“I think we were both lost then” he replies

 

“How do you mean?” 

 

“I’ve never really told anyone this but when Mouse Club ended, I didn’t know what to do. We all knew the show wasn’t gonna last forever but I was happy. I got to perform every day with my best friends and then it was all over- none of us knew what to do. The younger ones like Justin and Ryan and Brit still had school but a few of us had just graduated. College was an option but something inside me just left like that that wasn’t for me so I decided to come home for a while. I know I didn’t call… I think I was too embarrassed, all those other people didn’t care, they didn’t know me like you did, so they didn’t catch on to how I was feeling. Tony and Dale decided they wanted to go out to LA and give acting a try. We figured we could try the music thing too and well obviously it didn’t go well. I was out there for 6 months and nothing. I needed to find myself so I got back in my Jeep and just drove. I ended up in Memphis with Justin, writing some songs and we discovered we were pretty good at it. Then Justin got the call from Chris. He was putting together a group in Florida and would he want to come down to Orlando- Justin asked me to go too and I agreed. We met Chris and clicked immediately and well you know the rest. We all thought we would just be that local Orlando vocal group, we honestly had no idea it would be what it was. All the pieces fell into place, I had found my place again. It was like having a second family. I don’t want you to think that I forgot about you- everything that was happening I wanted to share with you, you were my best friend. We got to go to Germany! You always wanted to go to Europe...but I know you were probably done with my bullshit especially after the way I left things. Little did I know what was happening in your world… I can’t forgive myself for putting you in that position but I hope you can forgive me” 

 

Mina sighs. That was a lot to process. He just poured his heart out to her. “Josh I do forgive you- you were right, we were both lost. We didn’t need to be parents but I’m glad we can be friends again. Hey! Just think you can share all those stories with me finally. I only wish I had some to tell you but I don’t” she laughs

 

“I’m sure you and Madison got into quite a few adventures in New York” 

 

“Well yeah, but nothing quite like thousands of girls screaming your name every night!” 

 

JC just smirks in reply. He pushes back his chair and approaches Mina. She stands up as he moves forward to wrap her in a hug. She was only a few inches shorter than him. She fit perfectly in his arms. “Seriously dude? Stop, she’s your friend” JC yelled at his inner self.

 

“He smells amazing,” Mina thinks to herself as she hugs him back. She doesn’t even stop to reprimand herself. She pulls back after a few moments so as not to linger too long. 

 

“I’m free tomorrow, want to hang out?” JC asks excitedly, almost like a kid making a friend for the first time. 

 

“I can’t. I have plans” 

 

“Ah”

 

“But I’ll see you at your party in a few weeks for sure!” 

 

“Sounds good. I’ll just uh- show myself out” JC jokes, pointing to the door. 

 

“Why does this have to be so hard?” Mina asks the empty room as soon as he leaves. 

Chapter 9:

The next night Mina prepares for her date with Madison consulting via Facetime.

 “You sure that’s what you want to wear?”

“What’s wrong with this?” Mina asks about her outfit. She was going for casual- it was just a first date. She had settled on dark jeans, a white lace camisole, and her emerald green blazer. Madison never mentioned how tall Alex was so to be safe she paired it with her green flats. 

“Nothing… you look great!” 

Mina brushes her hair over her shoulders and applies her lipstick. She does a twirl for her best friend. 

“How’s this?” 

“You look beautiful! Hope it goes well. Call me after!” Madi tells her with a wink. Mina sticks her tongue out in reply and waves goodbye. With one last look in the mirror, she smiles 

“Here goes nothing.” She hated first dates, especially blind dates but she somehow felt that this one would go well. 

Mina arrives 15 minutes early at the Wellesbourne, a new restaurant that resembles a 19th-century pub. She’d heard many great things about it and was excited when Alex suggested it. She was always early but even more so now cause she was nervous. With a deep breath, she gets out of her car and walks to the door. Upon entering she notices a sandy-haired guy sitting at the bar. Not her usual type but he was cute. His navy short sleeve button down clung to his upper arms. He takes a sip of his drink and turns towards the door. Their eyes meet and he smiles. Mina finds herself forgetting her date and walks towards him. 

“Hi” he states as she reaches him. 

“Hi” she answers. He smiles at her again and she gets lost in his green eyes. 

“Sorry…” he begins “I’m meeting someone here and…” 

“A little nervous?”

“Yeah, blind date” 

“Me too” she mutters, still standing there. She pauses. “Alex?” she asks on a whim

“You must be Mina” his face brightens as he looks at her again. He finishes his drink and stands up. He towered over her. “Alex Crawford” he extends his hand

“Mina Morgan” she replies, shaking his hand. Tall and extremely attractive and a doctor? She whispers a silent thank you to Madison. Alex goes to speak to the hostess about their table. He walks back over with her and she shows them to a cozy booth towards the front of the restaurant. 

“This is nice,” Mina states awkwardly. 

“First time here actually, a friend recommended it” 

“Me too, first time here that is” she smiles at him. They continue to make small talk until their server takes their drink order. Alex orders another old fashioned and Mina asks for her usual white wine. “How do you know Madison?” she asks as their server heads to the bar. 

“She dated my friend Mike for awhile. I guess things didn’t work out with them but we kept in touch, as friends of course. She mentioned her friend was single and would I be interested… and here we are” 

“Friends have been setting you up for ages too?” 

“Yes,” he laughs. It was a great laugh. “Can’t anyone just be dedicated to their work?” 

Mina almost chokes on her water. Alex was her- in guy form. “I’ve been saying that for years! Madi said you were a doctor? What do you specialize in?” 

“I’m a pediatric oncologist over at Cedars. Been there about 10 years now. I did my residency there too after graduation”

“What made you decide on oncology?” 

“I’ve always had an interest in pediatrics but I discovered at Cedars that I really want to help kids beat cancer. They’re tougher than anyone I’ve ever met” 

Mina listens as he explains more when she sees him walk in. Josh. 

“Are you kidding me?” she mumbles

“Sorry?” Alex looks at her confused. Damn, she must have said that louder than she realized. Mina watches as the hostess leads Josh and his friend to a booth towards the back of the restaurant. 

“Sorry, sorry. Not you. Just saw a friend come in. Didn’t realize he’d uh be here” she apologizes. 

Alex looks around, spying someone at the back “You know Justin Timberlake?”

Mina knew the guy with Josh looked familiar. “Friend of a friend, well everyone knows him” she plays it cool. 

“He plays in our charity golf tournament every year.” 

“Will you excuse me a moment?” she asks.

“Sure” Alex replies. She wasn’t sure what she was going to do but found herself heading towards the booth where JC and Justin sat. She stops in front of the table. 

“Mina!” JC states surprisingly as he notices her standing there. 

“The infamous Mina?” Justin speaks up, turning towards her with a grin. JC sends him a glare and he quiets. 

“Josh, what are you doing here?” 

“Can’t I hang out with a friend or do I have to run it past you first?” he answers, his tone dripping with sarcasm

“Oh shut up! You know what I mean! Here. In this restaurant- of all the ones in LA?” 

“Justin invited me out. Wait, what are you doing here?”

“I’m on a date” 

“Oooh, a date” Justin jokes. Mina and JC both send him glares. “I’ll shut up,” he says, quieting again. 

“Yes a date, which happens to be going very well” she states

“Well don’t let me stop you” JC replies with a smirk. Mina lets out a huff and storms back off to her table. 

“What was that all about?” Justin asks once she’s gone

“Beats me” JC replies, watching her from across the restaurant. How did he end up in the same place as Mina- on a date. Damn Justin and his bright ideas- let's hang out at this new place. Of all the restaurants in LA, it had to be this one that Mina was at for her date. He sighs internally as their server approaches. 

“Everything alright?” Alex asks as Mina returns

“Fine. Just had to go say hi. Oh, look- the food's here” she changes the subject as their dinner arrives. 

“And JC was there?” Madison asks the next day as Mina gives her a date recap. The rest of the night had gone perfectly. 

“Yes! Of all the fucking restaurants in LA he just shows up to that one!” Mina shouts

“Wow talk about awkward” Madi laughs

“Awkward?”

“Cause of your feelings for each other” 

“Mads. I don’t have feelings for Josh, we’ve been over this! Besides Alex is very nice, we’re seeing each other again this weekend” 

“Things are moving pretty quickly! I’m so glad. I know y’all would be perfect!” Madison’s Georgia roots tended to show when she got excited. 

“I think so too! I know I used to doubt your matchmaking Mads but this one, I think he might be a keeper. He’s a 42-year-old, never been married doctor, with no baggage that is dedicated to his job? Perfection” Mina laughs as Sarah buzzes them about their next appointment. 

 

“You know who else is dedicated to their job?” Madison asks as Mina shoots her a “don’t even go there” look from across the conference table. Alex was the perfect distraction. Mina hoped that spending time getting to know him would get Josh out of her head. She still had his party to deal with but that was weeks away. 

Chapter 10:

The night of JC’s party finally arrives. Mina and Madison get to the Roosevelt early with Rachel to coordinate set up and everything with the caterers. Once the party began they planned to turn over everything to Rachel but Mina was sure all would go well. 

Mina was kind of excited to see JC again. She hadn’t seen him since the awkward night at the restaurant but she hadn’t seen him much either. She didn’t know his schedule but vaguely remembers him mentioning having to go out of town for something. Mina sort of missed him. 

She took a look around, everything was going great. The caterers had taken over the kitchens and the audiovisual crew was hooking up the video screens and testing the slideshow. The screens look a little out of place with the old Hollywood decor but she couldn’t wait to see the old photos of JC. She silently thanks Ms. Karen for sending her so many great pics- there were even quite a few with her, which made her smile. Mina snaps out of her thoughts as Rachel walks towards her. 

“Guests should be here soon, JC should be arriving fashionably late as planned” Rachel explains. It was his party so they staged for JC to arrive awhile after the first wave of guests to “surprise him.” Mina knew he loved being cheesy so last minute she got orange balloons and confetti and a huge Happy Birthday JC banner. She even planned to have everyone yell “Happy Birthday” when he walked in. JC would appreciate her attempt at being a cheeseball like him. 

20 minutes later- most of the guests had arrived and were gathered in the main room, awaiting JC’s arrival. 

“He’s here” Mina hears someone call out and JC appears, holding Charlotte’s hand. His black leather jacket over a black tee and jeans, his glasses completing the look made Mina’s heart skip a beat. Charlotte on the other hand was wearing the smallest, silver sparkly dress Mina had ever seen but she keeps her thoughts to herself. 

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” everyone shouts, tossing confetti as balloons drop from the ceiling. JC’s face lights up while Charlotte scowls as confetti lands in her hair. She lets out a groan. 

“Ugh babe!” she cries. JC ignores her, taking the time to greet his guests. A girl, Charlotte’s friend- Mina assumes, rescues her from the confetti and drags her off in the direction of the ladies' room. She chuckles as the party officially kicks off. Mina makes her way back to the bar to find Madison. She would let JC mingle with his friends, he would find her eventually. The music starts up in the next room. They had moved couches around to create a dance space but left the main room open as a lounge area since that’s where the bar was. 

JC smiles looking down at the confetti and balloons. It had Mina’s name written all over it. Of course, Charlotte was complaining- she had been bitching about practically everything all day. She wanted JC to join her in Vancouver, where she was scheduled to start filming on some pilot for the CW. She just didn’t understand that he just wanted to spend time with his friends and his family. They had been fighting about it the entire car ride to the party. He ignores her as her friend- whose name he forgot, takes her to the ladies' room. JC glances around and frowns. He can’t find her. He knew she had to be here. Friends surround him and he gets sidetracked. He breaks free moments later as food appears and drinks start flowing. JC cranes his head over the crowd and immediately spots her over by the bar. The crowd seems to melt away as soon as he sees her face from across the room. He makes his way to her. 

“Willie! Nice touch with the confetti. I loved it!” JC exclaims, lifting Mina in a hug and swinging her around. 

“I knew you’d like it! Hopefully, Charlotte got it all out of her hair” Mina replies as he sets her back down on the floor. 

“She’ll- Char will be okay. She tends to overreact” he adds, ordering himself a drink. Mina quiets. Her eyes roam the room. She recognizes so many guests but didn’t have the nerve to walk over and introduce herself. Madison would definitely drag her over to talk to people but she was currently busy, dancing with some guy Mina didn’t know. Two guys approach the bar and start chatting with JC after exchanging hugs. Mina couldn’t make out the conversation but they were very happy to see him. 

“Willie, there’s some people here you have to meet!” JC says happily. The look of shock on the guys' faces was astonishing. “Wills, this is Dale and Tony. We did Mouse Club together!” JC exclaims. 

“This is Willie?” Dale asks as Tony lets out a low whistle

“What?” Mina asks, confused

“Josh talked about his friend Willie from back in Bowie so much but…” Dale begins

“Right on! We thought you were a guy for the longest time” Tony laughs “You can imagine our surprise” he finishes as Mina elbows JC in the stomach. 

“Wilhemina, everyone has always called me Mina, except Josh, he insists on calling me Willie” she explains with a chuckle. She may still be a little bitter but she was glad JC made such good friends in Orlando. 

Dale and JC catch up while Tony and Mina get more drinks. “You guys really got close at MMC huh?” she asks

“Yeah… we all came on during the same season so we got pretty close with each other. A few of us would go back home in the off time but a lot of us stayed behind in Orlando. We had our own little family. It was nice. Dale and JC are like brothers” 

“Aww…JC and I didn’t talk much while he was there. He sort of forgot about me” Mina tells him, the alcohol making her straightforward. 

“Forget about you? Very unlikely” Tony laughs, taking a sip of his beer. 

“I mean not completely, he talked about me a bit to you guys obviously” 

“A bit? He wrote a song about you” Tony states. Mina glances over his shoulder at JC. He was laughing at something Dale was telling him. She was at a loss for words. A song about her? 

“Tony talking your ear off?” JC asks, smiling at her. 

“Miss me?” a voice whispers in JC’s ear interrupting them. Charlotte was draped all over him. Dale and Tony take that moment to excuse themselves. 

“Hey babe, remember Mina?” JC replies

“The party lady. It looks great but it would have looked better with my ideas” she slurs. 

Drunk already? The party had only been going for half an hour, maybe 45 minutes tops. 

“Excuse us?” JC tells Mina, taking Charlotte by the hand and pulling her over to a quiet corner. Mina their argument wasn’t going to end well. 

“Trouble in paradise?” Madison asks, choosing that moment to rejoin Mina. 

 

“Looks like it,” Mina replies as Madi orders them shots. It was a party after all and they both could loosen up a little. 

How Mina Met Josh

August 2016, Santa Monica, California

 

The box of photographs lay on its side, spilling out onto the coffee table. Mina searches through them looking for one in particular. She finds it and smiles wide. A little girl and boy sit proudly in a giant pile of leaves. She remembers being so happy in her new purple coat. The little boy smiles happily, despite the gap in his teeth. They couldn’t have been more than 5 years old. Mina laughs at the memory. She remembers it like it was yesterday… the day she met Josh for the first time. 

 

October 1981, Bowie Maryland

 

Fall was Mina’s favorite time of year. Her daddy would rake all the pretty leaves together in a pile and let her jump in them. Sometimes he would even toss her in to make her laugh. Mina lived in a nice house with a big backyard with her Mommy and Daddy. She kept asking for a brother or sister but she didn’t have one but they said maybe she could have a puppy if she was really good. She didn’t have many friends- just her mommy and daddy. There was a nice young couple that lived next door. They had a little girl named Heather but she was too small to play with Mina. From her spot in the front yard, she heard a car door slam next door. The young couple was walking up their drive with a little boy she had never seen before. The three of them disappeared into the house. 

 

One day Mina was outside in the backyard with her Daddy raking leaves and jumping into piles. She heard a noise and saw the little boy standing by the fence watching her jump in the leaves. She climbs out and walks over. He had brown hair like hers but bright blue eyes instead of her deep brown ones. 

 

“Hi” Mina says 

 

“Hi” he says back softly 

 

“I’ve never seen you around before”

 

“I just moved here”

 

“Oh. I’m Wilhemina, my daddy named me that but he and my mommy call me Mina”

 

“That’s a silly name. I’m gonna call you… Willie!” the boy announces proudly. They both laugh. 

 

“Willie, that’s a funny name. What’s your name?” 

 

“I’m Joshua but my mommy and daddy call me Josh” 

 

“I’m 5 years old” 

 

“I’m 5 too!”

 

“My mommy says you have a baby sister”

 

“Her name is Heather. She’s okay” Josh explains

 

“I don’t have any brothers or sisters but my mommy says I can get a puppy if I’m good”

 

“Cool!”

 

“Do you wanna be friends?” Mina asks

 

“I’d like that” Josh answers. Mina smiles. 

 

“Best friends, just the two of us” she tells him. “You wanna come jump in leaves with me?” 

 

“Josh- lunch” the nice lady next door calls out from the back porch. 

 

“I can’t. I have to go inside now. Maybe after lunch?” 

 

“Okay! Now that we’re friends- you can play in my treehouse my daddy is gonna build me!” Mina announces happily

 

“Cool! See you after lunch Willie” Josh says waving goodbye. 

 

“Bye Josh!” 

 

A friend! Mina knew they were gonna be inseparable. 

 

Chapter 11:

 

“What the fuck Char? You’re drunk already” JC yells over the music

 

“It's a party babe. I can’t have some fun?” Charlotte demands, slurring her words a bit. 

 

“Damn it Char!” JC sighs, trying to keep his voice down so as not to draw attention to them. He wasn’t sure how much more he could take. 

 

“Cmon baby it's fine. What do you say we ditch this party and go have some fun, huh?” Charlotte mutters, trying to pull him close. “Piper can hook us up with some party favors” she adds in an attempted whisper. She laughs and points to her nose . Drugs, he should have known. 

 

“Charlotte, I can’t do this anymore” he states, gesturing between the two of them. He pushes her off him. 

 

“Are you fucking serious… you’re trying to break up with me?”

 

“I can’t fucking do this anymore” he repeats “You need to go home” JC says, looking around for his manager. He calls Eric Podwall over. 

 

“Podwall, can you grab Charlotte a cab and send her home?” 

 

“Her place or?” 

 

“Yes. Her place” 

 

“No problem” Eric replies, taking Charlotte by the arm. She tries to protest, but just succeeds in wriggling around in her drunken state. 

 

“You can’t break up with me. This isn’t fucking over” she calls as JC walks away. 

 

 

“Have you seen JC?” Madison asks Mina. It had been almost an hour since his argument with Charlotte and she hadn’t seen either of them since. 

 

“The caterers are ready to bring the cake out” 

 

“I’ll go look for him” she replies, heading to the lounge as Madi follows behind her. Mina finds him on one of the couches surrounded by 4 familiar faces. 

 

“Hey Josh, I was just looking for you… they want to bring the cake out,” she announces. 

 

“Willie! Glad you’re here. There’s more people I want you to meet!” JC answers with a smile, completing ignoring her statement. He stands up and points to the guys around him. “Justin of course you’ve met” 

 

“Well not officially… hi” she waves at Justin and he tips his fedora in her direction. 

 

“This is a great party! JC here is old like me now!” one of the other guys with dark hair jokes. 

 

“This is Chris” JC laughs “Lance,” he points to a guy perched on the couch arm “And Joey.” The last guy, sitting next to Lance, makes a funny face. “Guys, this is Mina!” he introduces her and she waves to each of them

 

“It’s nice to meet you all finally! This is my best friend and business partner, Madison” Mina gestures to her left. Madison stands there frozen. 

 

“Mina?” Chris asks

 

“Willie?” Lance adds

 

“Wilhemina?” Chris and Joey say before erupting into laughter. What was it with JC’s friends and her name?

 

“That’s me” she laughs at their silliness

 

“C talked about you all the time” Lance adds 

 

“Some of the time” Justin snickers, his eyes wandering over to where Madison stands. 

 

“Okay, okay… I may have mentioned you some of the time” JC admits, turning red. Inner Mina jumps for joy at the thought of JC talking about her so much. 

 

“It’s great meeting you guys. Madi here was a big fan!” 

 

Madison suddenly snaps out of her trance. “Hi… I’m… I’m Madison” she stammers. Justin grins. Madison catches his eye and blushes. Mina notices his flirt face. 

 

“Hey Madison” he says as she giggles like a 13 year old. 

 

“Right… So birthday cake?” Mina interjects

 

“Cake! Let’s do this!” Chris shouts, leaps up from his seat and crawls over Joey. Madi and Justin ignore the announcement, still lost in their own world. 

 

“Lets just leave them alone” JC says, following Mina and the others to the cake cutting. 

 

After he cuts his cake, JC makes a short speech and as photos are snapped, Mina gets a great idea. 

 

“Hey Josh! I have the best idea” Mina taps him on the shoulder to get his attention. “Your fans love seeing you 5 all together right? Ever since the H word?”

 

“The H word?” he chuckles

 

“Mads told me not to say it” Mina laughs, grabbing his hand “Come on!” She pulls him over to Chris and Joey “Where’s Lance? Where’s Justin?” 

 

Lance walks over with his husband Michael as Justin magically reappears, Madison by his side. 

 

“Okay now get together” Mina calls, phone in hand as they squish together. “For guys who used to do photoshoots regularly, you’re kind of terrible at this” she jokes as JC grins at her. Madison and Michael help them arrange themselves and Mina snaps a pic. “Perfect!” she announces, texting it to JC immediately. 

 

“Hey C- send that to me too!” Justin smiles, grabbing his phone from his pocket. 

 

 

“I couldn’t have asked for a more amazing birthday” JC states, leaning against the bar. The party was winding down. It was almost 2AM and Mina couldn’t remember the last time she had had so much fun. “Thank you Wills” he adds, resting his head on her shoulder. 

 

“You’re welcome. I’m honestly glad I did it. I haven’t had this much fun in forever. I wanted to bring Alex but I already promised Mads she’d be my plus one” Mina rambles

 

“Alex?” JC asks, standing back up

 

“The guy I’ve been seeing. He’s a pediatric oncologist over at Cedars. He’s nice, you’d like him.”

 

Suddenly JC feels inadequate. 

 

“I forgot to ask earlier. Is Charlotte okay” Mina adds

 

“She will be, I guess…” 

 

“Oh…I’m sorry”

 

“Not your fault” JC replies. Mina finishes her drinks and looks around the almost empty room. Lance, Michael and Justin were still hanging out plus a handful of other friends but Madison was nowhere to be seen. Mina stifles a yawn. 

 

“I think I might head out. You haven’t seen Madison around have you?”

 

“It's been 20, 30 minutes” 

 

“Weird… it’s not like her to leave and not tell me where she is going” Mina pulls out her phone and dials Madison’s number. Straight to voicemail. “Damn…she drove us” she mutters, hanging

 up.

 

“I can drive you…” JC suggests. Eric had hired him a driver for the evening. Mina pauses.

 

“Sure, that would be great” she answers after a moment. They tell the guys goodnight and JC shows her outside. They wait in their usual silence for his car to pull up. 

 

The silence continues through the first half of their drive. “Did you really talk about me that much?” Mina asks, as they ride to her house. 

 

“Not that much… occasionally” JC admits. Mina laughs as he turns a bit red again. It was cute. 

 

“Sure…” she says, playfully nudging him in the arm. “I hear you wrote a song about me though” Mina adds, a smirk spreading across her face. JC quiets and turns a brighter shade of red. 

 

“What? No I didn’t...Who told you that?” he stammers as Mina just winks. JC sighs. “I may have wrote one song… it’s no big deal” 

 

Mina chuckles, too tipsy to care. “Oh! I never saw your parents tonight. I thought you said they were coming into town?” she adds, changing the subject. 

 

“They are. Mom had a delay with work so they’re flying in on Monday” 

 

“At least they will be here for your actual birthday” 

 

“Yeah” JC grins happily

 

“That’s a nice surprise. I know you said they don’t get to visit much” 

 

“Typically I fly to see them in Florida when I can. They’re busy, I’m busy” he replies

 

“I bet. I don’t get home often either” Mina stifles another yawn as they pull up to her house. 

 

“Thanks again for an amazing party Wills”

 

“You’re welcome” she replies. The awkward silence fills the car again. 

 

“Goodnight Wills” JC says leaning close. 

 

“Josh are you trying to kiss me?” MIna jokes, the effects of the alcohol still lingering. 

 

“If I was trying to kiss you, you’d know” he replies, his face inches from hers. JC winks and reaches for her door handle, opening it for her. Mina sighs as he leans back. 

 

“Night Josh” she mutters, getting out of the car. She turns to wave as she reaches her front door. She struggles with the key but gets it open and turns once again to see JC’s car pull away. His voice echoes in her head as she shuts the door behind her.

 

“If I was trying to kiss you, you’d know.” 

Chapter 12:

A few days later in between meetings and bridezillas, Mina’s phone rings. *JOSH* flashes on the screen. 

“Hey Josh, sort of busy, what’s up?”

This was the first time he had contacted her after the other night. 

“Sorry- listen I know it’s last minute but remember I mentioned my parents coming to town?” JC states. Mina looks down at her desk calendar. It was the 8th. HIs birthday. 

“Of course, happy birthday by the way!” 

“Thanks Wills. I know it’s last minute but they’re throwing me a small barbeque at my house and I was wondering if you’d like to come?” JC asks. 

“I haven’t seen your parents in ages and I’m swamped with work and…” Mina pauses. JC checks to see if the call has dropped.

“Mina?” he asks, checking his phone one more time. His voice pulls her out of her thoughts.. 

“It’s his birthday Mina” her inner self argues “It would be a dick move to say no.”

“I’ll be there” she tells him

“Great! My place at 8:00. I’ll text you the address!”

She had almost forgotten that she had never been to his house before. What was she getting herself into. 

“I’ll let you get back to work,” JC adds, hanging up. Mina could hear the happiness in his voice. As she sets her phone down she sees movement outside her office. 

“Madi?” she calls out as Madison sneaks past her door. Madison freezes and slinks back. She pauses in Mina’s doorway. 

“Hey”

“Hey? You never called me back the other night and you just vanished on me yesterday! What’s going on?” 

“Nothing. Nothing is going on” Madison answers, avoiding Mina’s eyes. 

“Don’t lie to me Mads. You disappear at the party, leaving me to ride home with Josh and… and then you don’t show up for work yesterday!” 

“I’m fine” she grins at Mina “Promise! Got a meeting. Love you- later” Madi adds, walking off. 

Mina had known her long enough to know when Madison was lying. Her phone pings, distracting her from that situation. She heads back to her desk and picks it up. It was JC with his address “Dress Casual” he had added. Her phone pings as another message comes through. Great! A late meeting with a client. Thank goodness she kept a change of clothes at the office. 

Her meeting finishes early so around 7:30, Mina changes and gets ready to head over to JC’s. It was only a 15 minute drive, depending on the madness of LA traffic but she still didn’t want to be late. She locks her office door and notices Madison’s office is dark. Mina hoped everything with her was okay. It truly wasn’t like her to be so mysterious. She puts thoughts of Madison aside. Time to face the music- dinner with JC and his parents. 

Mina pulls onto JC’s private road in the Hollywood Hills. Thankfully the numbers were prominently placed on the outside gate of each residence. She slows to find his address. Locating it, she parks her Prius on the street behind a small SUV. Walking up to his front gate, she types in the code he had texted her. Mina glances around as she walks to the front door. His place was a bit more modern than she expected it to be but it was nice, very homey. 

“Who all would be at this dinner?” she thinks to herself as she rings the doorbell. Moments later the door opens, a smiling JC looking back at her. 

“Hey! Glad you could make it” he states, showing her inside. He was dressed very casually- plain tee, jeans, and wait… monster socks? Mina holds back a laugh.

“Oh here, I brought you this!” Mina speaks up, handing him a bottle of wine. 

“Thanks. Come on in” he replies, shutting the front door behind her. Mina follows him to the left out of the foyer. A few steps down lead to the living room, the kitchen behind it and the dining room off to the side. 

“So who else is here?” she asks, instantly hating herself for even asking. 

“Just you, my parents and me. Everyone else either couldn’t make it or had to cancel last minute” JC explains, walking into the kitchen and setting the wine on the counter. An older woman was standing next to the stove, stirring something in a pot. 

“Oh” Mina exclaims, as the woman looks over at them. 

“Mom, you remember Mina” JC states as the older woman smiles 

“Of course! Little Mina Morgan!” 

“Hi Ms. Karen” Mina blushes. Ms. Karen walks over and wraps her in a hug

“You’re all grown up!” she observes. Mina and JC laugh. “It’s so good to see you!” she adds, hugging Mina again. 

“Where’s dad?” JC asks

“Outside manning the grill” Ms. Karen states as JC chuckles.

“He likes doing it, he’s never trusted me” JC jokes as he leads Mina towards the back deck. Mr. Roy stands behind the grill, cooking steaks. Mina says hello. Being around JC and his parents suddenly makes her homesick for Bowie. She hadn’t visited her parents in forever. A feeling of nostalgia washes over her. Days of being a kid, weekend barbeques with the Chasezes, hanging out in the treehouse, playing tag with Tyler and Heather. 

“You okay?” JC asks, noticing her far off look. 

“Yeah. Sorry, was tucked in a memory. Missing the good old days in Maryland” she replies. JC smiles down at her and looks over at his dad. 

“I miss it too sometimes,” he tells her. Ms. Karen joins them outside and pulls Mina to the side. 

“Let’s leave the guys to it” she states “Have a nice glass of wine and catch up” she adds with a soft smile. She leads Mina back into the kitchen. 

Once dinner is ready, the four of them settle in at the kitchen table. The Chasezes on one side, JC at the end and Mina to his left. It was a typical family dinner, sharing stories, laughing, catching up. Mina was somewhat grateful no one else showed up and it was just the four of them. 

“How long have you been in LA?” Mr. Roy asks as JC excuses himself to get everyone drink refills. 

“Almost 3 years now. I was in New York before that” Mina explains, catching him up. 

“How are your parents?” Ms. Karen inquires

“Good! Mom calls me about once a week, or I try to call her. I’m not very good at keeping in touch, I’m a horrible child” Mina jokes “In all seriousness, they are good. Mom and Dad are both retired now, Dad wants to sell the house and drive around the country in an RV but Mom swears that it will happen over her dead body” she adds as the Chasezes laugh. 

“Are you seeing anyone?” Ms. Karen asks just as JC re-enters the room. 

“Mom!” 

“It’s fine,” Mina reassures him “I am actually. His name is Alex, he’s a pediatric oncologist. It’s still pretty casual, we’ve only been seeing each other for about a month now” she explains. JC starts to laugh. “What's so funny?” Mina demands. 

“Nothing… just remembering how I accidentally crashed your date!” JC tells her

“Joshua! You didn’t” Ms. Karen exclaims as Mina joins him in laughing. 

“He did. It was an accident though. We both just happened to be at the same place at the same time…speaking of dates. How is Charlotte?” Mina states. JC glares at her. 

“Charlotte?” 

“Didn’t Josh tell you he had a girlfriend?” 

“He doesn’t usually talk about that stuff” Mr. Roy chimes in. 

“It’s… she’s… not important. How about dessert? Mom didn’t you say you got cake?” JC changes the subject. 

After dessert Mina offers to clean up but Ms. Karen insists that she’s a guest and she and Mr. Roy would take care of it. Mina follows Josh to the living room. He pours them both another glass of wine and they drink in silence. 

“Uh sorry about what I said at dinner. I really put my foot in my mouth, huh?” Mina says

“It’s fine. The truth is… well you heard my dad, I really don’t talk to my parents about all that and well… Char and I broke up anyways” 

“What? When?” 

“Night of my party. It’s no big deal. It was going to happen at some point. All we did was argue all the time and I was just fed up with being in that situation” 

“Oh”

“She wanted me to go with her to Canada while she films some pilot for a CW series. She’s there now I think…”

“Happy Birthday!” Mina tells him, attempting to change the subject

“Thanks” he grins, running his hand through his hair. She raises her glass in a toast. The Chasezes appear in the living room. 

“We’re gonna call it a night and head back to our hotel” Mr. Roy announces

“We’ll see you in the morning honey” Ms. Karen adds, walking over to give Josh a hug goodbye. 

“You make your parents stay in a hotel?” Mina asks confused

“I don’t make them, they choose to but I cover the bill of course” Josh explains

“Seriously? That’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard”

“In case he wants to have an overnight guest” Ms. Karen chimes in. “It was good to see you again Mina. Tell your parents we say hello. We will have to stop in Bowie one day and visit them” 

“Of course” Mina agress. They hug goodbye and Mina says her farewells. JC walks them to the front door. As she hears the front door close, she falls back onto the couch laughing hysterically. JC walks back into the living room and just stares at her. 

“What?” 

“Dude, your mom basically gave you permission to have a booty call” Mina says in between chuckles. 

“Shut up,” JC tells her, sitting down next to her. He playfully knocks her backwards. She falls against the throw pillows, still laughing. Mina sits up to take a sip of her wine after her laughter finally subsides. 

“Thanks for dinner. It was really great seeing your parents. I’ll have to tell Mom and Dad next time I call”

“Thanks for being here and again for the party. I appreciate it!” 

“I should get going, work in the morning! It’s a Tuesday after all” she states, setting her wine glass back on the coffee table. 

“Stay. Hangout, watch a movie… it’s my birthday” he pleads, giving her puppy dog eyes. 

“Really Josh, with that? You haven’t used that trick on me since we were ten! Okay fine. I’ll stay and I’ll even watch Indiana Jones for the millionth time- because its your birthday.”

JC thrusts his fists into the air in excitement. “Works like a charm every time!” he grins, turning on the tv and scrolling to his movie list. 

Mina wakes up on the couch, unsure of the time or even who’s couch she was on. She looks around, Josh is asleep next to her. His head leaning on her shoulder. She tries to reach for her phone the best she can without waking him. The TV screen was black, they must have fallen asleep during the movie. *5:02AM* her phone reads. JC begins to stir next to her. 

“Hmm” he mumbles

“Josh, wake up. We fell asleep on the couch” she states, raising her voice just a little

“Wills?” JC mutters, as he opens his eyes and stretches

“Yeah…I’ve got to be at work in a few hours…” she says, leaning over to shake him awake again. Her face moves closer to his and his lips suddenly press against hers. His eyes pop open as a phone rings. Mina jumps back and up from the couch as she realizes it’s hers. 

“Hey. Oh just woke up early today, had some work to finish up. Okay, go home and get some rest and I’ll see you later tonight” Mina states, hanging up quickly. 

“Mina… uhhh....” JC stammers 

“That was Alex. He just finished his shift. I um… I’ll see you around…” she explains. She grabs her purse and hurries towards the front door. 

 

“What the fuck just happened?” she mutters to herself as soon as she gets to her car. 

Chapter 13:

Mina sips her coffee, wishing it was something stronger. Two days. It had been two days- 52 hours and about 29 minutes since she had seen or heard from Joshua Chasez. The kiss… the kiss that lasted only 5 seconds before she pulled away still lingers in her brain. Oh god and the song. He wrote a fucking song about her. He’d written dozens of songs, she didn’t even know which one. Fuck.

“Move past it Mina. You’ve got a date tonight. It’s fine. Everything is fine” she mutters to herself, feeling like Ross in The One Where Ross is Fine. She just wishes she had someone to talk to. What a week for Madison to be MIA and then Josh was Josh. 

“I need more friends” Mina mutters as the door to her office opens and Sarah peeks her head in. 

Sarah was cool and they were close but she couldn’t unload all her crazy problems on her. 

“Hey Sarah” 

“Rebecca Mills called to say that she had to cancel her dress fitting for this afternoon, something came up” 

“Okay thanks Sarah! Is Madison in yet?” 

Sarah turns to look behind her at Madison’s office. She looks back at Mina and shakes her head. 

“Thanks” Mina says softly as Sarah turns and closes the door back. 

She had hoped the fitting would take up a decent amount of her day but guess the universe had other ideas. As Mina ponders over her now suddenly open schedule her phone sings. Alex. 

“Hey” 

“Hay is for horses!” he jokes. Mina chuckles. He spends a lot of time around kids.

“Oh hush. How are the patients today?” 

“As good as they can be, considering… but no bad news today, which is good news to us”

“Good! I can’t wait to see you tonight”

“That’s actually why I called,” Alex explains as Mina’s smile fades. 

“Oh…” 

“I’m not cancelling…” 

“Oh?” she perks up

“I know we talked about dinner out but what if we just stay in tonight?” Alex suggests. After her crazy week- it sounds like perfection!

“Sounds wonderful! We can break open my new wine of the month!” 

“You’re part of the wine of the month club?” Alex laughs

“Don’t laugh. Madison got it as a birthday gift” 

Alex chuckles. 

“My place around 7? My calendar has been cleared for the rest of today so I can skip out early… a little takeout, some wine…might change into a little something comfortable…” she trails off

“Keep talking like that and I’ll be there at 5” Alex tells her. She hears a bunch of noise in the background. “They just paged me. I gotta go. See you at 7!” he adds, hanging up. 

Things with Alex were going well. They’d been seeing each other for about a month, they hadn’t had the “exclusive” talk but she wasn’t seeing anyone else and she was pretty sure he wasn’t either. They had slept together a few times already. It was decent, nothing mind blowing or life changing but it had been quite awhile since she’d gotten any at all so she was fine with it. Maybe some decent sex tonight is what she needed to get her mind off Josh. 

6:00 was early for Mina but late for everyone else. The office was dark and empty already as she closed her office door to leave. Leaving before dark? Definitely a win in her book. Traffic was horrendous as usual so it's 45 minutes before she pulls into her driveway. Alex is already waiting for her. 

“Got done early today, thought I’d meet you here” Alex states, greeting her with a kiss. She kisses him back and smiles. They walk up to the front door and she lets them both inside. 

“If you want to order the food, I will go change” Mina tells him, leaning into him for a quick kiss. She leaves him in the kitchen as she heads upstairs to get comfortable.

Mina looks through her drawers and into her closet. She didn’t want to be overly obvious with lingerie but she wanted to be comfortable yet sexy. She settles on her lounge pants that sit low on her hips and an oversize top, no bra. Mina tosses her hair into a messy bun on the top of her head. She gives herself a quick glance in the mirror before heading back downstairs, “This will work.” 

She finds Alex sitting on the sectional in the living room, flipping through Netflix. 

“Ordered the food, should be here in about 20 minutes”

“Sounds great!” Mina replies, sitting down next to him and snuggling up. They agree on a movie and click play while they wait for their food. Their food arrives and they pause to eat and refill their wine glasses before resuming their movie. Mina glances over at Alex, but then focuses back on the movie. He glances at her, then back at the movie. She wasn’t even sure who made the first move but suddenly she was in his lap, his lips on hers, hands roaming everywhere. Alex’s hands move under her shirt and he grins as he finds she’s not wearing a bra. Mina’s head rolls back as his fingers caress her nipples. Alex’s lips move to her neck as the doorbell rings. 

Mina silently curses them for interrupting. She looks down at Alex

“Were you expecting someone else?” he asks 

“No…” she answers, getting up. She adjusts her shirt the best she can and heads to the front door. She opens it slightly and gasps. 

“JOSH! Uh what are you doing here?” she asks. Leave it to him to not say anything to her for days and just turn up at her house out of the blue. He could be such an asshole sometimes. 

“I just wanted to see you,” JC says in his cheerful demeanor. He looks down at her and notices her lounge pants are turned sideways. It instantly clicks. He had been in this situation many times before. “Oh shit. I’m sorry… I didn’t realize I was interrupting anything”

Mina looks back at Alex as he just sits there waiting on the couch. She was torn. Tell Josh to go home so she and Alex could have sex or invite him in to stay? 

“I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?” Mina tells JC. He apologizes before turning and walking away. Mina closes the door, locks it and leans up against it. Alex starts to chuckle. 

“What?” she asks

“Your pants… are sideways” Alex explains. Mina looks down and sighs. Of course Josh would have seen that and had known exactly what he interrupted. Dude had perfect timing. 

“Where were we?” Mina asks, as he gets up and meets her by the stairs. “Oh right” she jumps into Alex’s arms and wraps her legs around his waist as he carries her up to the bedroom. 

In typical JC fashion, he vanishes again and it is a few weeks before Mina hears from him. It is after Labor Day when he finally calls her. Luckily she was home alone this time. 

“Did I win a prize? Is THE JC CHASEZ calling me?” Mina asks, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she answers the phone. 

“Very funny... I was with Podwall in the Hamptons, got busy” JC explains. Mina remains silent. 

“Willie, don’t give me the silent treatment. How was I supposed to know I was interrupting… things?”

“It’s called call or text beforehand Josh. You can’t just show up at my house unannounced”

“I just wanted to see my best friend. Guess I forgot to factor Alan into the equation” JC says. 

“Alex, his name is Alex, which you know that you know so stop being an ass” 

“Whatever… listen I have some news and I just wanted to share it with you, is that so wrong?” he asks jokingly. 

“Okay fine. What’s your news?” 

“Earlier this year I was in Mexico filming a movie and it’s finally being released!” JC announces

“Josh that’s awesome! I didn’t know you were acting again. I know you like to stay out of the spotlight” Mina tells him. 

“I do but this was an interesting role and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity when I heard the cast” 

“Tell me more” Mina states, settling in on her couch with her usual glass of wine. 

“It’s a comedy about the opening night of a musical, of which I’m the star. The musical is about one hit wonders and I play… ready for it? Myself” he laughs

“Playing yourself? Like you’re playing JC Chasez? What?” Mina laughs, amused but still somewhat confused

“A slightly exaggerated version of myself but still me, JC” he explains. Mina laughs once again. 

“I definitely have GOT to see this movie!” she tells Josh. 

“I’m glad you mention that. I’ve got an extra ticket to the premiere in a few weeks. You should come with me”

“Well I don’t know Josh… There’s Alex to think of and… I don’t want it to be awkward” Mina says

“It will be fine. We’re friends right? There’s nothing wrong with that” 

“But that kiss…and then there’s…”

“Wills, we’ve known each other a long time. We’ve got history but we’re friends. We will go as friends to see a movie. It’s a normal friend thing” JC explains. Mina sighs. He was right and sounded like he had already forgotten about it. It was nothing. What was she getting so worked up about?

“Fine. I’ll go” she reluctantly agrees. 

“Great!” JC states. She could hear the smile in his voice. He could always charm her into things. He’d been doing it for years. “I’ll give you the details soon. Tell Aldo I say hi” he adds. 

 

“It’s Alex!” Mina replies but only hears the dial tone. 

Chapter 14:

 

Madison was waiting for Mina in her office as Mina returned from some appointments. 

 

“Hey” Madison smiles as Mina sets down her work bag. “I’m sorry I’ve been MIA. I uh- can’t tell you what’s been going on, I know we tell each other everything but… I’ll tell you in time- promise. But look at the bright side, I’m here now!” Madi explains as Mina laughs. 

 

“Thank god!” 

 

“Another JC dilemma?” 

 

“How’d you know?” 

 

“I can see it all over your face. What’s going on?”

 

Mina launches into the whole debacle. “And now he’s invited me to some movie premiere which is cool but what do I tell Alex?” she finishes 

 

“Tell Alex what? That you’re going to a movie premiere with a friend? Alex will understand, I’m sure” 

 

“I mean I haven’t exactly told Alex all of our history… should I? Going as friends though is fine…”

 

“Min- you’re the one who keeps saying you don’t have feelings for JC. Alex doesn’t know you’re history with him right? As long as you’re just friends and nothing more then its fine, seriously stop over analyzing” 

 

“Thanks Mads. I will tell Alex eventually, just not now. You’ve always been my voice of reason!” Mina replies with a smile. 

 

Mina’s phone rings -JOSH-

 

“Hey Josh” 

 

“Hey Mina, are you still coming to the premiere?”

 

Mina glances over at Madison who just nods her head as if to say “Go on…”

 

“Of course! I can’t wait!” 

 

“Great!” he answers. She can hear the smile in his voice. 

 

“I called to verify and so I can give you all the details. It’s gonna be this Friday, Eric is arranging a car. I’ll meet you at your place or you can meet me at mine, whichever works best and then we can ride together”  JC explains. Mina looks over at Madison grinning. 

 

“We can meet at mine. Sounds great, I’ll see you Friday!” Mina answers, hanging up. 

 

“See, that was painless. Now what are you gonna wear?” Madison asks with a huge grin. They both appreciated any excuse to get dressed up. 

 

Friday comes in a flash but Mina is ready when JC rings her doorbell. Madison helped her choose an outfit. She opted to be simplish and was reusing the dress she wore earlier in the year to the MTV party. She just hoped that she wasn’t overdressed. 

 

“Hey let me grab my clutch” she greets JC. She would give Josh this, he was always on time and he cleaned up good! He wore torn white jeans with a long sleeve blue button down, with the sleeves rolled up. JC remembers her dress from the party where he first saw her again. She looked amazing then but if it was possible she looked even more incredible tonight! 

 

“You look great!” 

 

“Thanks. I feel a little overdressed” Mina explains as JC holds open her car door. 

 

“Don’t! You look fantastic!” 

 

They make small talk as they ride to the theater. 

 

“How’s Alec?” JC asks

 

“ALEX is fine. He’s in Memphis for work, some type of seminar” 

 

“Cool…”

 

“Yeah. So… are you excited?”

 

“For the premiere?” 

 

“Yeah”

 

“A little. It’s nothing major but it’s exciting” JC replies as they pull up to the theater. He helps Mina from the car and the camera flashes begin. “If you want I can walk the carpet and meet you inside? I’m sure there’s interviews I have to do and…” he adds. 

 

“It’s fine. I don’t mind” Mina smiles and takes his hand. He leads her through the craziness. She looks over at him and he looks so happy. The rest of the cast was arriving and was posing for photos. As they reach the photo backdrop, she stands off to the side to let them take photos and do interviews and takes it all in. Mina smiles to herself. She wonders if he ever misses being in the spotlight all the time. 

 

After a few interviews and more photos with the cast, JC returns to her side. Someone ushers them into the theater and shows them to their seats. 

 

“This is very exciting. I’ve never been to a movie premiere before, an after party? Yes, but this is just so cool!” Mina admits, glancing around as people fill up the theater. 

 

“Thanks for coming with me” JC replies, squeezing her hand. 

 

“No worries. Pass up the chance to see you play yourself? No way!” she chuckles. 

 

“They want to do a quick Q&A before the film?” Eric appears out of nowhere and whispers to JC. 

 

“That’s fine” JC answers “You okay here?” he asks, turning to Mina

 

“Go do you thing” she smiles. He grins back as Eric whisks him away. One of the ladies in charge of the film festival brings the cast up on stage and introduces everyone. Mina was in awe that she was in the same room as Topher Grace. She chuckles to herself as JC stands there shy and awkward. It was like 13 year old Josh had taken over his body. She claps as he speaks about the music of the film and applauds loudly after the Q&A finishes. 

 

“How’d I do?” JC asks as he returns to his seat. 

 

“Great! I didn’t realize what an ensemble cast this movie has… I love Topher” she smirks

 

“Just wait…” JC grins back as the 5 minute warning comes and the lights dim. 

 

 

The lights come up and everyone applauds. 

 

“Well…” JC asks looking over at Mina. She wipes tears from her eyes from laughing so hard. 

 

“That was… HILARIOUS! The NSYNC puns and Sex Me Gently?” she erupts into laughter 

 

“Thanks” JC smiles. 

 

“No seriously, I loved it. You did really good!” Mina explains. His face lights up. JC helps her up from her seat and takes her off to meet the rest of the cast as they mill about the room. 

 

“Ready to head out?” he asks after half an hour

 

“Sure. Lead the way” she answers as he takes her head and leads her outside. 

 

They discuss the film and JC tells her some behind the scenes stories as they ride back to her house. Madison was right, as always. They could be friends and not make this weird. It was fine. She was having a really great time. The driver pulls up to her house and she turns to JC 

 

“Are you gonna be good getting home?” 

 

“Yeah I’ll be fine. Why?”

 

She laughs. “I was just thinking about the sleepovers we used to have as kids in the treehouse” 

 

“Are you asking me to sleepover? If your mom isn’t here to make pancakes in the morning, then no deal” JC laughs 

 

“I think I can manage to make pancakes. C'mon it will be fun- we can stay up late eating too much junk food and watching movies!” 

 

“I would but I don’t have a change of clothes” JC gestures to his outfit

 

“Good point! Maybe another night. Night Josh!” she calls, climbing out of the car. She walks to her front door and turns to see him still sitting there waiting. It was sweet of him to wait until she got inside. She turns the key in the lock and decides to tell Madison everything. She was in desperate need of a girl’s night! 

 

Chapter 15:

The next day Mina was in even more desperate need of girl time! It was an odd Saturday with no events so slept in a bit before reaching out to Madison to see if she was free. 

“Girl date?” Mina texts. Her phone bings almost instantly

“Yes please! Much needed” the text from Madison reads. They make plans and Mina gets up and heads to shower. 

Madison was due over in just a few and Mina was running behind. She had gone to pick up a few snacks for their girl date. As soon as she gets in the front door and sets down her bags- the doorbell rings. Madi usually just comes inside, she did have her own key for emergencies. Mina opens the door to find a delivery guy with a large bouquet of daffodils in his hands. 

“Mina Morgan?” 

“Thats me!” 

“Sign here” she signs his electronic pad and he smiles as he hands the flowers over. Who the heck would be sending her flowers and how did they know daffodils were her favorite?

She sets them down on the coffee table and searches for a note. Locating it- she pulls it out. The card reads “In a room full of people, you’re the only one around.” Mina flips the card around twice. No name. Alex- it had to be. He was out of town and missed her obviously. A grin spreads across her face. She stands up and heads to the kitchen to prepare snacks for her and Madison. 

Two hours, many glasses of wine and two at home facials later- Madi and Mina sit on the couch, each with a pack of oreos open on their laps; 

“This was the best idea! Thanks for this” Madison says, sipping her wine

“Yes. I really needed this” 

Madison nods in agreement and glances at the coffee table. “Oh! I meant to ask earlier. Alex sent you flowers?”

“Yes! Beautiful aren’t they?” Mina grins. She reaches down and picks the note up off the table “But it came with this card… no name.” She passes it over to her best friend. Madison reads it over and almost spits out her wine in a mix of shock and laughter. 

“Madi are you alright?” Mina asks as Madison coughs

“Yeah, yeah…I’m...I’m fine” she chuckles, as her cough subsides. Madison glances at the flowers once more and suddenly a conversation from a month ago pops into her head. She hadn’t heard that song in awhile but it all made sense now. He would. 

“What’s so funny?” Mina looks at her confused

“Nothing. It’s nothing. I’m gonna get more wine” Madison replies, heading into the kitchen as Mina’s phone chimes. 

*Reminder: Wisdom Teeth- Thursday 10:15A*

“Damn” she calls out

“What’s wrong?”

“I forgot I have to get my wisdom teeth out next week. You know I hate asking people for favors but… could you drive me?” 

“Let me check my calendar” Madi answers, flopping back onto the couch next to Mina. She pulls up their shared google calendar. “I see you blocked yourself out that day- let’s see...  shit. I’ve got fittings and a new client meeting that morning. I can’t…What about Alex? Could he take you?”

 

“I think he has work. I meant to call him about the flowers…” Mina finds his number in her phone and hits call 

“Hey babe, just heading to the airport” 

 

“Hey just wanted to say thank you for the flowers.” There was a slight pause. 

“Oh… uh yeah. You’re welcome. Knew you’d love them” he replies. Who would be sending his girlfriend flowers?

“How’d you know I love daffodils?” 

“You mentioned it. Our third date I think-” 

“Oh right” Mina agrees, barely remembering. “So I know you’ve got to head to the airport but what’s your schedule on Thursday. I have to get my wisdom teeth removed and…” 

“Thursday? Possible surgery, that will take up most of the day. We’ve been monitoring this one patient. Sorry babe- listen I’m gonna get in late tonight but I’ll call you tomorrow?”

“Oh okay… bye” she hangs up with a sigh. “He can’t” 

“I’m sorry Min. I wish I could but if you’re out then I’ve… well you know” Madison reassures her. “Wait! You could ask…” she begins 

“No! No…No. I am NOT asking Josh to take me to the dentist!” 

“You said yourself you’re just friends. He’s a friend and you need a favor”

“I know but…” 

“Scared you might say something stupid under anesthesia?” 

“No!” Mina replies quickly as Madison laughs. 

“Whatever you say” she continues to chuckle as another episode of Friends starts. 

Monday morning Madison waits until Mina is out of the office in a meeting before picking up her cell phone and dialing. It rings and rings before a voice finally says “Hello?” 

“Hey JC, it’s Madison. Sorry to be calling like this, I got your number from Mina” 

“Is Mina okay?” he asks suddenly. Madison could sense the care and concern in his voice. 

“Yes, she’s fine. I’m calling cause I… well Mina needs a favor” 

“Okay…” 

“You know Mina as well as I do, right? She hates asking for help from anyone…” 

“Madison just ask” JC says with a laugh

“Mina is having her wisdom teeth taken out this Thursday and my schedule is full and…”

“What about Allen?”

“Allen is… Alex- I mean Alex has surgery” she laughs before correcting herself

“Ah”

“I was wondering if you were free Thursday to drive her to her appointment and home after?” 

Madison hears nothing but silence on the other end. 

“Sure, that’s fine” JC replies

“Great. Thanks JC. You’re a lifesaver!” Madi states as JC chuckles at her giddiness. She gives him all the details and says goodbye. Hanging up she switches to her messages and pulls up her conversation with Mina. 

“Don’t worry about Thursday. Got it all situated. You won’t have to take yourself to the dentist :)” 

 

“You’re the best” Mina replies a few moments later. Madison knew she would be slightly mad but she would thank her… eventually. 

Chapter 16:

Mina woke up restless. She hated surgery of any kind, she only ever had minor things done like a torn ACL in high school and stitches a few times and she was 40 but the thought of getting teeth pulled was freaking her out. Madison had fixed her schedule and was going to be her “nurse” for the day. Mina rolls over and checks her phone *6:17A* it reads. Normally she was an early riser but she was attempting to relax today

“So much for that” she mumbles to herself. She rolls out of bed and staggers to the bathroom. 

After a nice hot shower, she dresses as comfortable as possible and heads downstairs to enjoy a nice cup of coffee while she waits for Madison. Mina was finishing up her second cup when the doorbell rings. It was quarter past 9, Madi was a bit early, but she always just lets herself in. Mina heads to the front door. Her face falls as she opens the door to reveal JC standing before her in a pair of grey joggers and a black tee. He was wearing his glasses again- making her heart flutter. 

 

“Josh- what- uh- what are you doing here?”

“I’m here to take you to your appointment” he answers as she wanders back to the couch. He follows, closing the door behind him. 

She flops onto the sectional and just stares at JC. 

“Do you want me to leave?” he asks

“No… I just...Madison would” she mutters to herself 

“What’s that?”

“Oh nothing. I’ve gotta go finish getting ready, have a seat and I’ll be right down.”

Mina heads upstairs and immediately calls Madison. 

“Madi! What the hell?!” 

“I know, I know…you’re mad but I had to tell you a little white lie or else you would have refused to go” 

“Fine-”

“He actually was concerned when I mentioned I needed a favor for you” 

“Really?”

“Min, the guy cares about you- he’s your friend, you’re just gonna have to deal” Madison laughs “He’s taking time out of his day to drive you to the dentist” 

“Okay, okay… as always you’re right!” 

“You know I am and you love me!” 

“I do- even though I’m still a little mad at you right now” 

“I’ll stop by after work to relieve Nurse Chasez or should I say “Doctor Chasez”” Madi jokes

“I hate you” Mina replies with a laugh. She hangs up and finishes brushing her teeth.

“My appointment is at 10:30 and the dentist isn’t far but I’m ready” Mina announces as she rejoins JC downstairs. 

“You sure? You seem nervous” he chuckles

“I’m ready as I’ll ever be” she grins as they walk outside. 

Driving to the dentist takes no time at all. Mina gets herself checked in while JC sits in the waiting area, flipping through an old magazine. They never do update these in waiting rooms, he laughs to himself as Mina sits down next to him. A few moments later a hygienist comes out to take Mina to the back. 

“Are you coming back with her?” she asks JC as Mina stands up 

“I was just gonna...stay…” he begins at the same time as Mina says “You can come back.” 

The look in her eyes said please even though she didn’t say it out loud. 

“Okay… I’ll uh come with you” JC answers and follows them to the back. He waits in a recovery room while Mina has her procedure so he can be there for her when she gets done. 

45 minutes later two dental assistants lead Mina into the recovery room. 

“She’s still a little under but she should be waking up soon and take it easy in here for a while after she wakes up” one tells him as they help Mina into the chair. Once they get her settled they turn back to JC. 

“Here’s a list of do’s and don’ts of after care. She should have little to no pain but if she does have anything in the next few days here’s some pain medication to ease it just a bit” one assistant explains as she hands him a pill bottle and a pamphlet. 

“Thanks” JC replies as Mina starts to wake up. She turns her head in his direction and starts giggling. 

“I know you!” she slurs “Josh-ua!” she calls out, putting a strange emphasis on his name. It all comes out sounding like a bunch of gibberish due to the gauze in her mouth. 

“Hey Willie, how are you holding up?” JC asks as she starts laughing hysterically again. 

“Sorry, she may be a bit loopy for a few hours but once she gets home she may sleep most of it off” the second dental assistant explains. “Let me just change her gauze and give you some extras and she should be ready to head home!” she adds.

 

The hygienists switch out Mina’s gauze and give JC a few more instructions. They help her out of the chair and JC catches her as she almost falls to the ground. 

“She’s really unsteady on her feet” he laughs and he helps her into a standing position

“You smell good” Mina mutters, leaning into him. JC just shakes his head and walks with her out of the dentist office. 

15 minutes later they arrive back at Mina’s. JC struggles getting Mina out of the car but after a while he finally gets her out of the car and into the house. He gets her settled on the couch and sets about reading the information pamphlet. 

“Joshua!” Mina mumbles from the sofa. He turns to look at her and can’t help but laugh. A bit of drool dribbles out of the left corner of her mouth. 

“Are you experiencing any pain? Says here you can take this medication if you’re having any pain or just regular tylenol but I bet this would help more” he tells her, waving around the bottle the dentist gave him. Mina moves her head back and forth, in an attempt to shake her head. 

“Okay good no pain. Let me check your gauze. The lady said we should change it periodically. I know she just changed it before we left but let’s just make sure” JC states, moving towards Mina. “Open” he asks with a chuckle. Mina opens wide and JC sees that everything still looks good. Moving his finger out of her mouth, she bites down and laughs. “You bit me! Seriously?” 

Mina chuckles as JC goes to wash his hands. He returns to the living room and Mina is lying against the throw pillows. “Let's get you comfy, I brought you some water…the pamphlet says you should drink plenty but you can’t use a straw, so this should be interesting” he explains, setting the water down on the coffee table. 

“What do you want to do, watch a movie, some TV, listen to music?” JC asks, covering her with a throw blanket. Mina snuggles underneath it as JC sits down next to her. He picks up the remote waiting for her reply. She places her cheek against his arm and looks up at him with her big brown eyes. A bit of drool dribbles onto his sleeve. 

“Sing to me” she mutters. 

“What?” 

“Sing to me” she attempts to smile. 

“Okay… what do you want me to sing?” 

“The song you wrote for me” 

“The song I what?” JC stammers, sitting up a bit 

“You wrote for me” Mina repeats, pointing to herself

“You really want me to sing to you?” 

“Sing me” she mumbles again. JC pauses and glances around the room, trying to figure out if he really wanted to go down this road. He spots the daffodils on her end table and smiles. She got them. 

“Those are nice flowers” 

“Alex sent them cause he loves me” Mina states

“Of course… Aldo” 

“Aldo” Mina laughs hysterically as she leans back against a throw pillow, pulling her blanket back over herself. “I don’t love him though” she mumbles. JC looks over at her and could tell she’s getting sleepy. 

“Really? You don’t love Aldo?” JC asks, trying to get her to open up more

“No” she shakes her head

“Who do you love?” he asks as she pauses. 

“I love…Josh! Josh is my friend. He’s pretty and he smells good and he’s pretty” she exclaims, reaching over to touch JC’s face. Confusion crosses JC’s face. Didn’t she know she was talking to him? She’d been saying his name all morning. Her eyes slowly close as her head hits the throw pillow. 

“She dreams in color, but does she know that I love her?” JC sings softly, just looking at her, mostly making sure she doesn’t turn and hit the side where she just had surgery. 

 

“Joshua” she mumbles in her sleep, a slight smile spreading across her face. 

Chapter 17: 

“How’s our patient doing?” Madison asks a few hours later as she walks through Mina’s front door. 

“Still asleep” JC replies, pointing to Mina next him on the couch. She was still out. “I need to change her gauze cause its been a few hours but last time I checked it, she bit me cause she thought it was funny” 

Madison laughs, setting her stuff down in the kitchen. 

“So Alex sent her flowers huh?” JC asks randomly. Madison pauses before answering

“Josh… you and I both know that Alex didn’t send her flowers” 

“What gave it away?”

“NSYNC lyrics, really?” Madi chuckles. 

“She wouldn’t know them” 

“Good point. But yeah, she’s clueless. I didn’t have the heart to tell her the truth, probably because you should tell her yourself” 

“I can’t tell her how I feel. She’s with him and I’m not going to be the reason they break up” 

“Just give her time. She just needs to accept her feelings” Madison explains as JC nods his head in acknowledgement. 

Mina starts to stir on the couch. “Madi? You’re here?” she mumbles, sleepily. 

“Hey there sleepyhead! Feel any better?” JC asks

“Josh! You’re still here?” Mina stammers, fully waking up

“Yeah I uh.. Just got here. Josh was still playing Doctor Chasez” Madison states as JC chuckles at the nickname. 

“Oh. Thanks for looking out for me today. Sorry if I was a handful” Mina apologizes

“You were fine, even though you did bite me… but only that once” JC tells her. Mina turns red. 

“I bit you? Shit. I’m sorry” 

“It’s okay. It was kind of funny actually” JC says, standing up “Well Madison is here now um, I’ll just see myself out. Don’t forget to drink lots of water, if you’re ready to eat- soft foods only- those are in the kitchen and your pain medication is here on the coffee table” he adds. 

Mina stands up and gives him a big hug. “I know I wasn’t the most grateful this morning but thank you. I appreciate it!” she explains, walking him to the door. 

“You okay there Min?” Madi asks as they both return to the couch. 

“Yeah… I just feel like I said something stupid but I can’t remember... I think I may have asked Josh to sing to me?” she says, trying to work it out in her head

“Sing to you? Did he?” her best friend laughs

“I can’t remember… I feel like if he did, I would remember” Mina laughs with her. 

“You want me to change your gauze? Please don’t bite me” Madison chuckles, passing the clean gauze over to Mina. 

 

“Oh hush! I was drugged up... Apparently I thought it was funny. I got it. Wanna pick a movie? I’ll be right back” Mina stands up and heads to her bathroom to get herself cleaned up. 

Chapter 18: 

November rolls around before Mina knows it. 

“You’ll never believe what my mom just called and told me?” Mina calls, falling into a chair in front of Madison’s desk

“I’ll never guess… tell me” 

“Apparently her and my father have decided to go on a road trip to some national park for Thanksgiving and I have no place to go this year!”

“That’s crazy! You go home every year!” 

“I know! And I was looking forward to it this year because I had suggested they come here and give me a chance to host and my mom was considering it until she decided to spring this on me” 

“Aw sorry Min! Why don’t you still host?” 

“Who? Me and you? What fun… no offense” 

“None taken. Not what I meant though… have a friendsgiving! Invite a few people over and have a little dinner party. We haven’t done that in ages!” Madison suggests. 

“That’s actually a great idea! You, me, Alex, maybe Sarah and Rachel. It could be fun! And you could bring someone if you wanted, Sarah and Rachel as well” 

“Me.. bring someone… what do you mean?” 

“C’mon Mads… Aren’t you still seeing that mysterious someone you won’t tell me about?” 

“Maybe” Madison blushes

“Seriously Madison Ryan?” 

“Oh you’re gonna middle name me… Wilhelmina Grace! As a matter of fact, I am still seeing that person BUT they won’t be here for Thanksgiving. We already discussed our plans and well… I was just gonna hang out by myself but now that you’re having a dinner party... I have plans!” 

“Madison… why didn’t you say anything? I would have taken you home with me”

“Thanks Min! Now let’s start planning” Madison replies, pulling out a notepad to jot down ideas. 

“Should we invite Josh?” Madison asks a few days later as she helps Mina plan the Thanksgiving menu. 

“I’d like to but wouldn’t it be weird with Alex there too?” 

“Not unless he makes it weird” 

“Good point…” 

“Does that mean you’re gonna invite him?” 

“Sure! It's Friendsgiving!” Mina answers as Madison smiles at her. Madison wasn’t sure what had changed but she was happy to see Mina finally accepting her friendship with Josh. 

A few days later Mina finally manages to get a hold of JC. 

“Hey Josh!” 

“Hey Willie, what can I do for you?” 

“So formal” Mina laughs “I was actually calling because my parents bailed on me for Thanksgiving… for the first time in my 20 some years of living on my own my mom was actually going to trust me with Thanksgiving dinner but they’ve decided to go on some road trip but anyways sorry for rambling” 

“It’s okay Wills” Josh answers with a laugh

“Anyways... I’m having a little Friendsgiving dinner, just Madison, some girls we work with and I was wondering if you’d like to join us?” Mina asks. After a few moments of silence she adds “That is if you don’t already have plans or anything” 

“I don’t have any plans actually. A friend of mine is going to be in town I think and we were just going to hang out, maybe watch the game but that sounds really great!” 

“Great. Your friend is more than welcome to come as well. Madison was going to bring a date but he is going home for the holiday so he can’t make it” 

“I’ll make sure to tell him” JC replies

“Awesome! I’ll text you details closer to the day, okay? See you then!” Mina tells him before they exchange goodbyes. 

“Well?” Madison inquires, poking her head into Mina’s office. 

“He’ll be there and he’s bringing a friend along” 

“Oh? Did he uh… did he say who?” Madison asks, intrigued

“No he didn’t mention it and I may or may not have not mentioned Alex being there but I’m sure he knows” Mina explains. 

 

“Well this may turn into a very interesting Thanksgiving” Madison chuckles, walking away. 

Chapter 19:

Thanksgiving arrives and Mina stands in her kitchen freaking out. Madison shows up early to lend a hand. 

“Thank god you’re here!” Mina exclaims as Madison sets down a bottle of wine on the counter. 

“What’s wrong?” 

“Everything! I think I’m short a cornish hen and I’m almost certain I burnt the yams, the stuffing is nothing like my mother’s and I just want to cry!” Mina shouts, pacing back and forth

“Min… calm down… it’s gonna be okay. No worries. I brought a green bean casserole cause I figured we might need it… and I brought extra wine” Madison reassures her. 

“Thank you” Mina answers, taking a deep breath 

“What else do you need help with? We’ve got plenty of time before everyone starts to arrive” 

Mina explains what else needs to be done as she pours them both a glass of wine. Madison gives her a look 

“What? I’m fine” she laughs, handing Madi a glass. 

“If it helps… nothing smells burnt so everything should be fine” Madi laughs, glancing around at the food already ready “And if we have to… we can scrape off the burnt parts'' she adds, tying an apron on. 

An hour later the doorbell rings, signally that the first guests had arrived. 

“Do you want to put the rolls in the oven and I’ll grab the door?” Mina asks Madison, heading out of the kitchen. 

“Sarah, Zoe! Hey. So glad you could make it” Mina greets her coworker and her girlfriend and shows them inside. “Come on in and get comfortable. Madison is in the kitchen finishing up” she adds, putting their coats in the closet by the front door. 

The doorbell sounds again almost instantly. Mina opens it to find Rachel and Alex. 

“Hey babe! Hey Rachel, where’s Brandon?” 

“He’s sick and couldn’t make it” Rachel explains 

“I’m sorry to hear that” she replies but to herself mutters “That puts us back at an even number”

“Make yourselves comfortable, dinner should be ready soon but we’ve got drinks in the kitchen and the TV here in the living room if you want to relax a bit” Mina explains, gesturing around. She turns to Alex and places a kiss on his lips “So glad you could come” 

“You’re welcome. Everything smells amazing!” he answers with a smile and follows her into the kitchen. 

While everyone watches the game in the living room, Mina and Madison set about reorganizing the dining table. The doorbell goes again 

“That must be Josh. Usually he’s early” Mina laughs as Madison re-sets the place settings. 

Mina heads to open the front door but Alex beats her to it. 

“Josh… hey thanks for coming!” she calls from behind Alex who just stands there staring at him. “And you brought… Justin”

“Thanks for letting me tag along” Justin states with that trademark smirk “Was in town for work and wasn’t able to make it home this year”

“It’s no trouble at all. Come in, come in” she replies, pushing past Alex to let them through the front door. She sends a glare towards Alex and he backs off. She shows Josh and Justin inside. 

“This is Sarah and Rachel, they work with Madison and I. And this is Sarah’s girlfriend Zoe” Mina starts the introductions “And this… is my boyfriend Alex. I don’t think you have met yet…” 

“We haven’t had the pleasure” Alex says, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he gives JC the once over. 

“Alex this is Josh, Josh this is Alex and I’m pretty sure Justin needs no introduction” she adds with a laugh. 

Everyone exchanges hellos as JC sits down to watch the game and Justin follows Mina into the kitchen to get a drink. “Oh Justin- did you meet my best friend Madison?” she asks as they pass the dining table. Madison stops in her tracks and nearly drops a plate. 

“Justin… what are you doing here?” 

“C invited me. Couldn’t make it home for Thanksgiving after all… I… I’m glad you’re here” Justin explains. 

Mina looks back and forth between them and it hits her. 

“Madison, I uh… need help with something upstairs. Justin, excuse us.”

Madi follows Mina back through the living room 

“Where ya going babe?” Alex asks as they pass by

“Be right back” she states, kissing his cheek. 

“What the hell Madi! Justin?” Mina practically shouts as they enter her bedroom. 

“I told you, I didn’t want to jinx it. It’s Justin! I really like him, he’s sweet and nice and I like spending time with him, and the sex is great but I’m not sure how he feels and… it’s complicated” Madison explains. Mina sighs. 

 

“I understand completely. I’m just shocked I guess. Since JC’s party though… really?” 

“Yeah” Madi says with a sigh. 

“Aw Mads. You should just talk to Justin, after dinner you should pull him aside and talk to him. I”m certain he would be honest with you, he’s a great guy!” 

“Thanks Min- I’ll do that but first… food! I’m starving and I think everyone else is too” she laughs as they start to head back downstairs. 

 

Chapter 20: 

“Dinner is ready everyone!” Mina announces as she and Madi descend the stairs. She ushers everyone into the dining area. They find their place cards and take their seats. Mina sits at the head of the table, Madison across from her. Alex was to her left with Sarah and Zoe next to him and JC, Rachel and Justin sat to her right. Having JC on one side and Alex on the other made her feel instantly uncomfortable, she would thank Madison for that later. 

“How long have you known each other?” Alex asks JC after the food has been passed around. 

“Who? Willie?” he asks, pointing to Mina. “We go way back, how old were we Wills?” 

“When what?” she nearly chokes on her wine. JC holds back a laugh. “When we met? We were 5, best friends ever since” she adds

“Somewhat” Josh answers with a chuckle. Alex’s eyes narrow as his feelings are made clear. “Anyways…” JC adds, changing the subject by turning to Sarah and Zoe and asking about them. 

“It is kind of crazy being here right now” Zoe states, looking from JC to Justin and turning sort of red. 

“How so?” Justin asks, after swallowing his mouth full of stuffing. Sarah and Zoe both blush. Sarah swallows as she explains 

“This I Promise You is sort of our song” 

“Sarah had it playing when she proposed a few months ago” Zoe adds with a huge grin. 

“When’s the wedding?” JC inquires 

“Not sure yet” Sarah answers “But we know some great planners” she adds with a wink

“I’d love to perform it for you- if you want” JC tells them

“You’d really do that for them?” Mina speaks up

“Of course. Anything for friends!” 

“And if C is down- count me in!” Justin adds. Sarah and Zoe glow through the rest of dinner. 

“The game should be on soon. Mind if I watch?” Justin asks Mina as she and Alex start to clear the table. 

“Sure. Dessert won’t be for awhile” she tells him with a smile. Mina glances at Madison and gives her a nod- signalling to go talk to him. 

“Need any help clearing up?” Josh asks, picking up a few plates

“No, no. Alex and I’ve got it. Justin said he was gonna watch the game and I think there’s some board games in the living room” she replies with a smile as everyone heads back to the living room. 

Mina sets a stack of plates in the sink and grabs the edge of the counter with a sigh. 

“You okay?” Alexander asks from the other side of the island

“Am I okay? No I’m not okay. Alex, what the hell was that?” she shouts

“What?” 

“Don’t play dumb. You’re smarter than that. You were giving Josh the third degree all through dinner and you were glaring at him, I saw you” 

“Fine. I don’t like the guy. I see the way he looks at you when you aren’t looking” 

“Josh? He’s my friend! I’ve known him practically my whole life!” 

“No matter. I truly don’t appreciate the way he lusts after my girlfriend” Alex states

“He doesn’t lust after me”

“Call it whatever the fuck you want but I’ve seen the looks and he fucking sends you flowers when I’m not around! Am I supposed to be okay with that?” Alex shouts

“Flowers? Josh never sent me flowers… you… you did… didn’t you?” Mina stammers

“I didn’t and if we’re being honest, I didn’t even know you loved daffodils” Alex admits. Silence fills the air. 

“Oh” Mina mutters. She sighs and looks Alex in the eye. “I’m not gonna cut him out of my life because you don’t like him. We have too much history.” 

“I can’t force you to do anything” Alex tells her “But right now… I’d rather be anywhere besides here” he adds, walking off. 

“Alex, wait” Mina calls after him. The front door slams and JC walks into the kitchen. 

“Everything alright?” he asks, seeing Mina’s upset face. She chokes back tears. 

“I think so” she begins. She meets his eyes and smiles. “It will be,” Mina adds. “Dessert will be ready in 20 minutes, pies had to cool” she tells him

 

“Great! Sarah and Zoe have taken on Rachel and I in Catchphrase and we’re kicking ass!” JC grins. He takes Mina’s hand and pulls her towards the living room. Her fight with Alex is forgotten. 

Chapter 21: 

 

A week later things seemed to be getting back to normal. Mina hadn’t heard much from Alex but as far as she knew they were still a couple. Madison talked with Justin and it looked like they had finally DTR’d. Mina couldn’t be happier for her, Madi deserved to be happy and Justin was the greatest. She must have known Mina was thinking about her because just then Madison comes bouncing into her office. 

 

“You’re awfully happy” Mina states, finishing up her invoice and turning towards her best friend. 

 

“Justin just invited me on a ski trip. I haven’t been in ages!” 

 

Madison’s family owned a cabin in Vail and used to go every year. Mina even got to tag along one winter break in college. 

 

“That’s great! Glad to hear things are going well with you two”

 

Madi just continues beaming. “He’s invited a few friends and I think he mentioned we were going to Switzerland!” 

 

“Oh wow! That’s… well he’s Justin so I guess that’s feasible for him” Mina laughs. Her chat with Madison is suddenly interrupted by Sarah buzzing in 

 

“Mina call on line 2” 

 

“Thanks Sarah. Hang on Mads” she replies, picking up her desk phone. 

 

“Mina Morgan” 

 

“Willie! It’s Josh” 

 

“No one else calls me Willie, Josh. Why are you calling my desk line?” she laughs

 

“I’m driving and I told my phone to call you and it just picked a number” JC chuckles. Mina laughs in reply. 

 

“What’s up? You typically only call when you want something”

 

“Touche… J is putting together a ski trip” 

 

“So I’ve heard. Madison just told me about it” she adds- grinning at her. 

 

“Would you like to come with?”

 

“I don’t want to impose…”

 

“J said I could bring someone along” 

 

“Who else is going?” Mina asks

 

“Lance, Michael, and some friends of Justin’s. I’m not quite sure who” 

 

“Okay. I don’t want to be a fifth wheel or anything”

 

“You won’t be” JC says and Mina can sense the smile on his face

 

“Sure” she tells him. 

 

“Really? Great! Oh before I forget… Justin’s cabin is full so I rented one for myself… there’s only one room but I can crash on the couch” 

 

“Oh really… just us… are you trying to seduce me?” Mina teases. Madison raises an eyebrow from where she sits, eager to know the other side of the conversation. 

“Guess you’ll have to wait and find out” he teases back. Mina quiets. “I’ve got to head into a meeting. Talk later Willie” JC adds, saying goodbye. Mina hangs up and leans back in her chair. 

 

“What was that all about?” Madi inquires

 

“Looks like I’m going on the ski trip too! Switzerland huh?” 

 

“Really Min? You’re avoiding the obvious…”

 

“Oh you mean what Josh said? We’re sharing a cabin, Justin’s is full” Mina says, nonchalant. She turns back to her computer and starts on more work. 

 

“Oh really… do tell”

 

“There’s nothing to tell. Seriously. That’s all he said” 

 

“Sure…” Madison laughs, heading back to her own office. 

 

Mina opens up her calendar and assigns events to coordinators. Thankfully they had hired two new event coordinators to help out during the busy holiday season. Not the best time for them both to be gone and she should have checked the calendar before agreeing to go but she didn’t think Josh was gonna take no for an answer. Besides both her and Madison could use the time away. 

 

As the day goes on Mina gets more and more excited for the potential ski trip. It had been awhile since she’d gone anywhere and a small vacation and a snowy cabin in the Alps with Josh sounded perfect. She grins to herself as she picks up her phone and sends a quick text. 

 

“Are you free tonight? We need to talk”

 

“I’m on call but I can probably make time” Alex answers. Mina taps her nails against her desk. How did she want to do this…

 

“Okay. I’ll just call you then, around 8” 

 

“Okay” 

 

 

A little after 8 Mina rings Alex. It rings 4 times before he picks up 

 

“Hi” he says

 

“Hey… I know we haven’t talked much since our fight” 

 

“Mina…” 

 

“I know…just… just let me get this all out first” she tells him 

 

“Okay” 

 

“I know I told you there was nothing to worry about but you have every right to be jealous. Josh and I have a very complicated history and honestly… there may still be some lingering feelings there, on both our parts. I know this probably isn’t what you really wanted to hear but it took me awhile to realize it myself and I can’t keep lying to myself about it. We never officially called it quits, you & I and well.. Josh has invited me to go away with him and I just… it wouldn’t be fair to you if I went and we were still together, not knowing what could happen and all these weird feelings. You’re a really great guy and I’m sorry” Mina explains. She hears Alex sigh and then a long silence follows. 

 

“Thank you for being honest with me” he finally says “While I do really care about you… I can tell that it’s not me that you’re meant to be with” 

 

“I wish you the best. You’ll find someone perfect for you I’m sure. You’re a great catch” Mina replies. They say their goodbyes and hang up. She lets out a sigh. Madison would be proud that she finally admitted the truth to herself. Mina glances at her calendar on her desktop. Only a week until the ski trip. This would be fun. 

Chapter 22:

Mina turns her phone on speaker and sets it next to her suitcase. 

“Excited?” Madison asks

“Yes but also nervous”

“Why? Because of JC and the fact you’ll be all alone?” 

Mina laughs “Yes, no, I don’t know but also because I haven’t been skiing in years” 

“You and I both know you won’t be doing much skiing” 

“Oh hush!” Mina says as she finishes folding her shirts. She glances at the clock on her bedside table. “Shit. JC is gonna be here soon and I need to finish packing” 

“I thought you were all packed two days ago” 

“I was but then I second guessed everything I packed so I had to start over” Mina explains with a nervous chuckle

“I’m telling you Min… you’re not gonna be needing clothes” 

“Shut up Mads! I’ll see you soon” she replies, looking around for her passport

“I’ll let you go then, see you in a bit!” Madison exclaims happily. 

Mina finishes up with her suitcase and double checks her carry on to make sure she has her passport as the doorbell rings. She carries everything downstairs and opens the door to let JC inside “Hey” she says, as they give each other a quick hug. 

“Ready to go?” 

“Yup” she follows JC outside to the hired car. 

As they start driving she realizes they’re heading a different direction than she assumed. 

“Aren’t we going to LAX?” 

“Justin’s plane is at a private airport, meeting everyone there” JC explains

“Oh… okay” Mina replies. She almost forgot who they were travelling with. She really didn’t know anything about this side of the fabulous life or well anything about it really. Mina sits back and looks out the window. 

“You alright?” Josh asks, breaking the silence

“Huh? Oh yeah. Just fine” Mina smiles, trying to ignore the butterflies in her stomach. Suddenly being this close to JC… she felt 15 all over again. 

Their car pulls up the tarmac and her butterflies subside. Through the window she spies Lance and Michael chatting with Madison just inside of the hangar. The driver stops and she and JC climb out as he grabs their bags from the trunk. JC walks over to talk with Lance. Michael greets Mina with a hug as Madison walks over to say hello. 

“Where’s Justin?” Mina asks looking around

“Talking with the pilot,” Madison explains, beaming with excitement. 

“You sure you’re okay?” 

“I told you earlier. I’m fine” Mina answers as Madison pulls her aside. “Really I’m fine, just dealing with a lot of feelings right now” 

“You know how to fix that” Madi replies with a wink

“I’m not joining the mile high club”

“Nothing to it. I’m sure he has before” 

“Definitely not with all of you just nearby” Mina laughs 

“Just saying it's an idea” 

“What’s an idea?” JC asks, walking up behind Mina, startling her. 

“Nothing” Mina stammers as Madison winks at her. “Thanks Mads” she adds as Justin approaches the group. 

“Willie!” he calls spying Mina next to his girlfriend. She glares at JC. 

“All him, I didn’t give him permission” JC laughs, knowing she only allowed him to call her that. 

“Hey Justin” she smiles as he pulls her in for a hug

“Everyone ready?” he grins, leading the group to the plane. 

A few hours into the flight and drinks were pouring and the conversation was flowing. Mina laughs hysterically as Justin and Lance spill the dirt on JC from their *NSYNC days. 

“I really wish I could have been there to see that” she says between laughs

“I’m glad you weren't,” JC adds, turning a bit red as Justin laughs. 

“Why aren’t Chris and Joey here… weren’t you guys supposed to bond on this trip?” Mina asks as the guys get quiet. “Sorry… was uh I not supposed to know that?” she adds

“No worries… they had appearances they couldn’t break so 3 out of 5 is what you get” Lance explains with a smirk as everyone erupts into laughter again. 

A few more hours go by and everyone is just lounging around. Justin, Madison, Lance and Michael are playing cards while Mina sits on the couch in the back watching TV. She stifles a yawn as JC joins her. 

“What are you watching?” he asks, sitting down next to her

“I can’t even remember” she replies “Stopped paying attention” Mina adds, turning the TV off. She covers her mouth to hide a laugh 

“What’s so funny?” JC asks 

“Just remembering all those stories from earlier.” JC smiles 

“We were young, in Europe, most unchaperoned, running on no sleep… we got up to a lot of crazy things, especially when sugar was involved.” 

“I bet…”

“I wish you could have been there” 

“I know” Mina replies. “I could have been,” she adds to herself. “You know you promised to tell me more about the Mina-less years” she tells Josh

“The Mina-less years… that’s a long time” 

“Justin said we’ve got about 5 more hours, that’s a good start” Mina smirks

“Well Justin and Lance covered my finest embarrassing moments, what else do you wanna know?” JC asks 

“Everything. Start from the beginning” Mina smiles, pulling a throw blanket around herself. 

“Okay… the beginning” 

“Hey sleepyheads” a voice calls out. Mina opens her eyes to find Madison standing in front of her. She rubs her eyes and sees JC cuddled up with her on the couch. 

“Sorry, guess we fell asleep.” 

Madison just stands there grinning at them like the Cheshire Cat. “Pilot says we are landing in 15 minutes”

“Thanks Mads” Mina replies as Madi disappears into the small bedroom right behind them. Mina nudges JC awake. “Josh, we’re almost there” 

“Cool” he mumbles, stretching his arms, trying to wake up. 

 

“Guess we fell asleep while talking” Mina tells him

 “Not even sure where we left” JC adds

 

“No worries. We’ve got all weekend” Mina smiles big. 

Chapter 23: 

Once they land, everyone loads into a large black SUV to head to the ski resort. Mina sits quietly in the back with Madison as Justin sends a million texts to his personal assistant back home. 

“You sure you’re okay?” Madison whispers 

“Madi, I’m fine. If you ask me that one more time I’m gonna slap you” Mina jokes 

“You’re gonna have the whole cabin to yourselves…” 

“Trust me, I haven’t stopped thinking about that since before we left. I just… need more time” Mina eyes JC a few rows ahead of her. 

“Just do it! I’m surprised you haven’t already” 

“You know why! It’s complicated… I’ve been mad at him for so long but I have finally admitted to myself that I was wrong. We’ve spent so much time together recently and it’s so easy to see that he’s still my Josh” 

“Aww” Madison says loudly as Mina shushes her. JC turns in his seat and flashes a smile. Her heart flutters and she grins back. 

“Gina got us checked in” Justin calls to the others from his seat. 

A few moments later they pull up to the biggest “cabin” Mina had ever seen. Everyone climbs out of the SUV as a short man in a parka heads towards them. 

“Welcome, I’m Daniel, one of the hospitality managers. We are pleased to have you staying with us” he greets, shaking Justin’s hand. “The staff have prepared both your cabins for you, the refrigerators have been stocked and fires have been built in the main rooms. Would you like us to unload your luggage for you?”

“I think we can manage that, thanks” Justin answers, looking at the rest of the group. 

“Do not hesitate to let us know if you require anything further during your stay” Daniel adds. The driver had unloaded the bags from the car while Daniel welcomed them. Mina takes her suitcases from JC as he rolls them over to her. 

“Mr. Chasez staying in the secondary cabin?” Daniel asks as JC raises his hand in acknowledgement. “Wonderful, follow me…”

“Good luck” Madi mouths to Mina as she follows JC and Daniel. Off the main driveway to Justin’s cabin was a set of stairs leading down the snow covered hill. Reaching the bottom of the steps, a small wood cabin nestled within the trees came into view. 

“This is more my speed” Mina thinks to herself as they walk up the drive. 

JC speaks with Daniel as she walks through the door. Mina gasps as she looks around.A fire roared in the fireplace in the main room. A kitchenette with an island and some bar stools was off to the right. She could see why JC had picked it, it was small but cozy, the perfect size. A door to the bedroom, she assumed, stared back at her from the wall next to the fireplace. She sets her bags down and takes it all in. Wood panelling, everywhere. Very rustic but also reminded her of… 

“Meet your standards?” JC asks from behind her, pulling her from her thoughts

“It’s cute. All the wood reminds me of the...” 

“Treehouse?” he says, finishing her sentence

“Exactly” 

“I thought so too. Are you hungry or?” he asks, changing the subject rather quickly. 

“Not really” she replies, shivering a bit. JC walks over to the kitchen and starts opening cabinets. 

“There’s some cocoa… want some?” 

“Sure! I’m gonna get my suitcase…” 

“The bedroom is all yours, I’ll take the couch” JC reminds her as he pulls mugs from the cabinets. “Get settled and I’ll make us some cocoa” he adds

“Are you sure?” 

JC just grins in reply and busies himself with starting their hot chocolate. Mina wanders to the bedroom and slowly opens the door. The double sided fireplace came through from the other room, warming it. A huge bed took up the middle of the room, large white pillows and a thick plaid quilt covered it. Mina resisted the urge to run and jump on it. The ensuite bathroom was to the left, the glass stand up shower looked roomy. “Damn it Mina'' she mutters as she finds fluffy robes hanging from the door. She couldn’t wait to wrap herself up in one after a nice hot shower. Mina sets her suitcase on the trunk at the foot of the bed and unpacks her toiletries. 

As the warm water washes over her she considers all her options. Turning off the water, she dries off and wraps up in a fluffy robe and walks out to get her cocoa. Josh was sipping from a mug and watching TV on the couch as she emerged into the main room. 

“There you are, thought you got lost in there” he states 

“Had to wash off the plane” Mina replies, sitting down next to him. “This one mine?” 

“Yeah, sorry if its not hot anymore” 

“It’s okay. Room temp cocoa is fine” she laughs. 

“A shower sounds great actually. Mind if I?” he asks

“Go ahead” she answers, gesturing towards the bedroom. JC passes her the remote and heads into the bedroom. Mina hears the water turn on and thoughts of JC in the shower fill her head and she completely loses interest in whatever is on the television. She finishes her drink and takes both mugs back to the kitchen to try to distance herself. She busies herself washing their mugs and the rest of the dishes but her distraction plan only works for a few moments as the bedroom door opens. 

“Hey Willie… can you grab my bag for me” Josh calls. Mina walks back into the main room to see him standing in the doorway, towel around his waist, the water droplets from his hair falling onto his chest. 

“Uh...right your bag” Mina snaps out of it and looking around, spots the bag next to the front door. She takes the bag in question to him. 

“Thanks” he smiles and closes the door back. 

“Fuck. It’s gonna be a long weekend” she mutters, falling back onto the couch. 

Mina attempts to distract herself again with more random German television when Josh reppears clothed. She assumed he slept almost naked but it was winter… wait were those… flannel duck pajamas? Mina tries to hide a laugh. 

“Oh? These? My friend Autumn and her kids got them for me as a joke, jokes on them! They’re comfortable” JC smirks, sitting down next to her. That all too familiar silence fills the air. 

“Mina-Josh” they begin at the same time

“You go first,” he says. Ever the gentleman. 

“I was just gonna say… I’m exhausted, jet lag and all that besides lots of skiing to do tomorrow. Gotta hit the slopes early, fresh powder or whatever it is they say. I’m gonna call it a night. Do you need blankets or pillows? I think there’s some extras in this trunk in here” Mina points into the bedroom. JC nods in reply. She brings back a few spare quilts and a pillow from the bed. 

“Thanks Willie”

“Sure you’ll be alright out here?” 

“I’ll be fine. Fire might die out soon but I think I’ll be warm enough.” 

Mina nods and walks back to the bedroom as JC arranges his bed for the night. She stops and turns around. 

“What were you going to say?” 

“Nothing important. See you in the morning” JC answers, fluffing his pillow up. Mina moves further into the bedroom and stops again. 

“Josh” she calls. He turns, blanket in hand. 

“Yeah?” 

She pauses. Say something, do something, say anything. “Goodnight” Mina tells him. 

“Idiot” her inner voice yells. 

“Goodnight” he answers, getting settled. She smiles and closes the door. 

 

Hours later and Mina lies in bed awake. “Goodnight? Really? So stupid.” she scolds herself and she tries to get into a comfortable position but ends up staring at the door, looming large in the darkness. “It’s late, maybe he’s awake too… just talk to him… but what if you wake him up?” multiple thoughts flash through her mind. “Ugh it is hopeless” she flops back onto her back and stares at the ceiling. Counting sheep never worked, humming a song to herself never worked… at this point she would try anything. She starts counting bottles of beer on the wall in hopes of finally getting to sleep. 

Chapter 24: 

The smell of coffee awakes Mina the next morning. She couldn’t remember what time she finally drifted to sleep but she was thankful she got a few hours in. She was honestly surprised Josh was even awake because he loved his sleep especially when he had time off. Mina glances at her phone on the bedside table. 7:00AM? Definitely early for Josh. She stretches and sets her feet on the floor. The touch of the cold floor on her bare feet sent her jumping back. She sets them back down and hurries to her suitcase to grab the fuzziest, warmest pair of socks she could find. Wrapping herself in the robe from the night before she heads to the kitchen to face the day and JC. 

“Morning!” he calls from his place at the kitchen island, sipping a steaming mug

“You are awfully chipper this morning… and that’s saying something. Usually I’m the morning person” she laughs 

“You’re on vacation. You deserve to relax so I let you sleep in a little and figured you might want some coffee when you wake up” 

“Thanks. Any food around here or did they conveniently only stock Justin’s fridge?” Mina asks

“Good question…” 

“I could make pancakes… I did promise you some if we ever had a sleepover like old times” 

“You did promise me pancakes but your mom’s pancakes… are you up to the challenge?” JC jokes

“It’s been awhile but let’s see what we have to work with” Mina states, opening the fridge and the cabinets. “Looks like I was right… no pancake ingredients here. We may have to venture up to Justin’s for food” she laughs. “But I won’t turn down some coffee first” she adds as her ringtone sounds from her robe pocket. 

“How did last night go? Did you jump his bones?” Madison’s voice asks

“Fine and no and good morning to you too Madison” she replies and JC raises an eyebrow. “Please tell me you have breakfast over there… I am starving” 

“We do. I was going to fix some here shortly... Want to help? Then we all get ready and hit the slopes after” Madi answers

“You are amazing! Seriously… Josh’s stomach is growling” Mina jokes. “Great… see you soon!” 

“Knowing Justin… there’s a variety of cereals available for us” JC laughs, placing his mug in the sink. 

“Who knows. I’m starving so I don’t care… I’m gonna go get dressed and then head up there. I’ll change in the bathroom, you can use the bedroom” 

“Okay… not that I haven’t seen most of it before” JC winks at her. 

“Trust me… a lot has changed” Mina shoots back with a grin, grabbing her clothes and closing the bathroom door. 

Mina finds Josh in the living room looking around. “Did you lose something?” 

“I can’t find my custom Nikes…”

“You were just wearing them last night. How did you lose them?” Mina laughs as he looks underneath the couch. 

“GOT EM!” JC shouts, standing up, his Nikes in hand. He sits down on the couch to put on his shoes. His shoes didn’t match but she knew he didn’t care, he had made quite a few questionable fashion choices in his day. 

He was wearing red ski pants and a thick navy cable knit turtleneck sweater and now rainbow shoes. How did someone make a turtleneck look that good? 

“Jeez Mina, rein it in” She yells at herself. She grabs her ski jacket from the hook by the front door and looks over at him as he stands up. “Are you all set? Hopefully they’ve got food left. I’m starving!” she states with a smile 

“Me too,” Josh replies, following her out the door. 

After the short trek back up the stairs to Justin’s, they arrive at his “cabin” and walk through the front door. Mina follows the smell of bacon into the kitchen to find Justin and Michael sitting at the table while Madison and Lance move around fixing breakfast. 

“Hey! Just in time, you can help” Madi states, pulling Mina over as JC takes a seat at the table next to Justin. 

“May not come close to my mom’s pancakes but breakfast is served” Mina announces, setting the tray of pancakes in the center of the table next to the scrambled eggs and bacon. 

“I’ll be the judge of that” Josh laughs, reaching for the pancakes. 

“Ready to hit the slopes” Lance asks everyone as breakfast ends. 

“I’m gonna be honest... I’m a little nervous. I really don’t have much ski experience” Mina states 

“There’s nothing to it!” Justin chimes in from his spot by the sink, washing dishes. 

“If skiing isn’t your strong suit, I can teach you to snowboard” JC offers

Mina laughs, almost choking on her coffee “You know how to snowboard?” 

“Sure! It’s like surfing but on snow”

“YOU know how to surf?” Madi inquires from the kitchen as Mina and Justin break out into laughter. 

“Wipeout doesn’t count C” Justin adds

“Hey man… I learned the basics!” Josh defends himself

“Whatever makes you happy, you keep thinking that!” Mina says, finishing her coffee. “But I trust you… you can teach me, snowboards do seem sturdier” she adds with a grin. 

Everyone grabs their coats and gear and piles into the SUV to head down to the lodge. 

“We should go tubing… or SLEDDING!” Justin says excitedly as they near the resort. Madison just giggles and pats his arm. 

“Sure babe” she tells him and his smile grows wider, the little kid in him excited. The SUV stops and the group unloads and JC pulls Mina aside. 

“What’s up? Everyone is heading to the lifts” she says

“If we are gonna board, we need equipment. Follow me” 

“Of course” Mina mutters to herself, following Josh to the equipment rental. They find the perfect boards and head out towards the lifts. JC stops short in a spot clear of people. 

“First, we practice and then we can take to the slopes” he explains, dropping his board to the ground

“Got it” she replies, setting her board down, mimicking JC’s actions. 

“Set your feet in the holders, but don’t lock them in… place them apart just so…” he squats down and takes her leg and helps her. “Good…” Josh continues the lesson and Mina’s heart flutters. He was too close but smelled amazing. Her heart flutters. Whenever he looked away she couldn’t help but stare. 

“I think you’ve got the hang of it” Josh states, looking over at her. Mina looks away quickly and focuses on her feet, pretending like she wasn’t just staring. 

JC could feel her looking at him, she looked away quickly but it was too late. He saw her. 

“And you move back and forth like this?” 

“Yeah. Ready to give it a shot?” 

“Let’s go!” she announces as they hike over to the lifts, passing Justin and Madi sledding down a small hill, laughing and smiling at each other. Mina smiles to herself, glad her best friend was happy. 

Mina really did have the hang of it! They cruise down the mountain, the icy wind hitting her in the face. On their third time down, however, things didn’t go quite so well. 

Mina picks up speed on her board and passes JC on her way down. He gives her a thumbs up as she goes by. She turns back to look at him and loses her footing and slams to the ground. Her nerves send a shock up her back and down her legs and her butt hits the ground. Even with the snow, the impact still hurts. She slides down the rest of the hill and falls onto her back at the bottom, completely out of breath. 

She lays there, staring at the sky. She hears a whoosh and glances over to see JC coming to a stop next to her. He unbuckles his feet and rushes to her. 

“Willie, are you okay? Are you hurt? Do I need to call a medic?” he asks, looking down at her

“I’m fine. Just a little bruised… mostly my dignity” she laughs, looking up at him. The look she gives him sends JC into a fit of laughter. 

“Okay” is all he says, trying to subside his laughter. “Let me help you up” he adds, moments later. He helps her unbuckle her shoes and picks up her board. 

“I think we can safely say… that this is the end of my snowboarding career”

“The winter olympic committee is safe” Josh adds with a grin, as they walk back towards the lodge. He notices her limping slightly.  “Are you sure you’re okay? We can head back to the cabin if you like?” 

“I’m fine. I just need to walk it off” Mina replies. JC slows his pace and keeps in step with her as they make their way to return their equipment. 

They find Lance and Michael inside, relaxing and drinking coffee 

“Taking a break?” JC asks 

“Yeah, we’re gonna go back out soon. Mina, are you okay?” Michael asks, as she holds her leg

“Yeah. I fell but I’m fine” she replies, taking a seat next to him. 

“We were thinking of heading back to the cabin. No more slope adventures for us today” Josh adds “Are Justin and Madi still out there?” 

“I think so” Lance replies “We’re gonna head back out. We will see you guys for dinner later?” he adds as JC nods yes in reply. He takes Lance’s vacated seat as Lance and Michael walk back outside. 

“Do you want to sit for a while or do you want to head back to the cabin?” JC asks after a few moments of quiet. 

“Calm down Nurse Chasez” Mina laughs “Let’s just sit for a little bit and I’ll let you know” she adds, propping her leg up on the table. 

JC grabs them both a bottle of water while Mina rests. “You were doing good before you fell,” he tells her. 

“Thanks but yeah competing in the Winter Games is not in my future” she replies, taking a sip of water. “I had fun though, thanks for inviting me” 

“You’re welcome” Josh smiles at her “Should we take the car back to the cabin or leave it for the others?” he asks 

Mina pauses to think and rubs her leg. “I can walk. My leg is fine, just a little bruised that’s all. Besides, the others have all that stuff to take back. Let’s leave the car for them” 

“Are you sure? I don’t need you being mad at me for 20 years for injuring you” Josh laughs, as Mina shoots him a glare. “Sorry poorly timed humor” he adds, helping her stand up. 

The walk doesn’t take much time. 20 minutes or so later they spot Justin’s cabin and the stairs leading to theirs. 

“How’s the leg?”

“Fine. I think walking helped” Mina replies. She turns to find Josh gone and everything eerily quiet. “Josh?” she calls out, looking around 

Suddenly a snowball smacks her right in the back. She turns back around to find Josh bent over laughing. “Oh you are so gonna pay for that!” she calls out, bending down to make a snowball of her own. 

She chases after him, getting him square in the back. Josh tosses one back at her and misses. Josh stops to reload and Mina takes the opportunity to sneak up behind him and toss a snowball down his jacket. He turns quickly and knocks her down to the ground, falling on top of her. 

“I win!” he grins. 

“Okay, okay you win” Mina agrees. His face moves inches from her and that familiar silence fills the air again. 

“Josh” Mina whispers, moments later. 

“Yes…” he moves closer

“You’re on my leg” Mina states. 

Josh jumps up and reaches down to help Mina up to her feet. “Are you okay? I’m so sorry!” 

“Josh… it’s fine. Let’s just get inside where it’s warm” she smiles, brushing off what snow she could. 

He follows Mina inside their cabin and they both hang up their coats. He shakes the snow from his hair, tossing it all over the floor. 

“Do you want some cocca?” Mina asks, removing her boots

“That sounds great, I’m freezing cause someone put a snowball down my neck” 

Mina grins as she walks toward the kitchen area and Josh heads to build a fire. 

“There- that should get this place warmed up” Josh calls, walking into the kitchen minutes later. He finds Mina sitting on the countertop, a mug of steaming cocca in her hand, one next to her. 

“Oh great, they had the kind with mini marshmallows!” he exclaimed with delight. Mina laughs as he picks up his mug and leans on the counter next to her. 

“I had fun today, thanks for inviting me” 

“I had fun too! Sorry I freaked out when you fell” 

“It’s okay. Thanks for caring, at least it wasn’t worse” 

Josh sets his mug down on the counter and turns to face Mina. 

She grabs him by the shirt and pulls him towards her. Her hands grab his hair as their lips meet, first softly and then more passionately. Josh moans as her fingers lock around his neck and he closes the small gap between them to deepen the kiss. Suddenly he pulls back and looks at her. 

“Not that I’m not enjoying this… but what about Alex?” Josh asks

“Alex who?” Mina grins as JC lifts her off the counter and sets her down in front of him. He wastes no time in kissing her again with fervor. 

 

“Bedroom” she mumbles as his lips move from hers to her neck. They move as one out of the kitchen towards the door. 

Chapter 25: 

She wasn’t sure where their clothes ended up and she honestly didn’t care though they did somehow end up on the floor in front of the fire. They were covered by a quilt and a few throw pillows from the bed lay underneath their heads. She glances over at Josh to see him grinning, cheekily. 

“That was fun” he says, still grinning like the Cheshire Cat. 

Mina props herself up on her elbow and looks down at him. “Let’s do it again” she says, mimicking his wide smile. 

Mina wakes to find that she and Josh were still cuddled together under blankets in front of the fire. She looks at him and smiles. His eyes were closed and his breathing steady but she wasn’t sure if he was actually asleep or not. He definitely needed rest after earlier. A slight smile crosses her lips as a memory she had tucked away comes back and she lets out a soft chuckle. JC stirs and nuzzles her neck

“What’s so funny?” he mumbles

“Nothing, just remembering something,” she explains. His eyes open slowly and those clear blues shine bright. Those eyes had such an effect on her. 

“Tell me” he whispers with a cheeky grin

“Fine” she replies, as he rolls up on an elbow and looks down at her. 

“It was… goodness… 8 years or ago or something and Madison took me out for a girl’s night when we lived in New York…”

“Okay” 

“Well I was in dire need of one- my uh fiancé cheated on me and well that’s another story. Anyways…”

JC raises an eyebrow. She never mentioned a fiancé. Guess there was still a lot about her during those missing years he didn’t know. 

2008

New York City

Madison arrives back at their table with her hands full of shots. 

“Mads, really?”

“C’mon that asshole didn’t deserve you and you need to drink him away and maybe even take one of those hotties home for a little fun” she giggles, pointing to a group of guys a few tables over. They notice and she winks at them. 

“Fine” Mina agrees as she knocks back a shot. As she sets down another glass she notices a guy across the room staring at her. She blinks. She wasn't that drunk but he looked like… it couldn’t be…could it? She blinks again and he was gone. 

“You okay?” 

“Yeah I thought I saw…” she begins

“Hey there sweet thang” a voice mutters, close to her ear. Shit. 

Mina turns and finds a very intoxicated Josh standing before her. 

“Excuse me?” 

“I couldn’t help but notice you looking all sexy over here”

Mina just stares at him. He didn’t even know who she was. Sure he was drunk and it had been a few years since they saw each other last but he seriously didn’t even recognize her. 

“Oh really?” she replies as he moves closer to her

“You wanna get outta here mama?” he asks, his eyes moving up and down her body. He was clearly used to being told YES- because he was JC Chasez. 

“Seriously?” Madison interjects. Mina raises her hand and even surprises herself as she slaps him right across the face. She picks up her drink and walks away, leaving JC standing there stunned. As soon as they get into the ladies room, she breaks down. 

“Oh shit Mina… I’m so sorry” JC apologizes as she finishes her story. 

“You know… I was upset for so long. I was holding a grudge because you didn’t even act like you recognized me in the slightest and honestly it hurt but suddenly right now… it’s hilarious” 

“Why?” 

“Sweet thang? Mama? Really?” 

Josh’s face reddens “Good one” Mina adds with a laugh. 

“Hey… I see a sexy woman and I go for it” 

“You say that to get them into bed” 

“Only when it’s true... You’re the sexiest woman I’ve ever seen” 

“Yeah right” Mina scoffs, turning away from him

“Why would I lie about that?” he looks her dead in the eye and Mina smiles. “And you know what’s really sexy? The sound you make when I…” he begins as his hand moves down her stomach, coming to rest between her legs. Mina lets out a gasp and a slight moan. 

“Josh” she stammers

“And… the way you say my name when you…” he whispers into her ear

“Josh” she screams out

“Like that” he grins. 

 

“Josh” she says again- grabbing him and rolling him onto his back. “Shut up” Mina adds, silencing him with a kiss.