Chapter Five

JC sat Laurie down on his couch, handing her a box of tissues. He looked cautiously at his best friend, unsure of what to do. “Laur? What happened?”

Laurie sniffled, trying to find the words, not sure of where to start. She took one look at JC’s worried blue eyes and her tears started anew.

“Oh, Laurie, don’t cry,” JC moved to her and pulled her into his arms. “It’s going to be okay. Why don’t you take a deep breath and tell me what happened?”

“Well …” Laurie drew a shaky breath. “Steve and I went out to dinner, and everything was fine. He was flirting with the hostess, but you know how Steve is, he flirts with everyone. That didn’t bother me so much. We had a great dinner, it was nice being able to just relax and not have to rush off somewhere. We had just finished dinner when this girl approached the table. I thought for a minute it was the waitress, but …” Laurie’s sobs started again as she relived the memory. JC gently rocked her back and forth, shushing her until her sobs relented before pressing her for more.

“What happened then?”

“This girl … she asked Steve if he was really Steve Fatone, and he said yes, and asked her if he could do anything for her. And … and she gave him a piece of paper with her number on it and said ‘call me and I’ll tell you what I can do for you’. She gave me the dirtiest look …” Laurie shook her head, tears streaming down her face. “JC, I can deal with the fans, but this girl was so relentless, so jealous … she scared me!”

“I can imagine. But why did you and Steve fight?” JC wondered, holding her hand.

“He looked at this girl as she walked away with this look in his eyes … I’ve seen that look before, JC. It’s the same look he’s given me a hundred times. But that he wanted this girl … he didn’t even act like I was there!” Laurie cried, the anger making her shake violently. “I’m just so tired of feeling this way, like I’m not good enough! I feel so unwanted and so ugly sometimes …”

JC tilted her chin up so that her green eyes were staring deeply into his own. “Now you listen to me, Laurie Benton - you are beautiful. I don’t ever want you to feel like you are less than you are, and don’t let anyone make you feel that way.” Laurie stared back at him, she could see the fire in his eyes, and it made her shiver.

“Thank you, Josh. You’ve always been here for me,” Laurie smiled slightly, wiping the last of her tears away.

“I’ll always be here for you, Laur. Always. I’ve known since the first time I met you when we were eight years old that you and I had something special. I’m never going to let you get away from me.” JC brushed back a lock of her golden brown hair that had fallen into her eyes. “I kind of … never mind.”

“What were you going to say?” Laurie looked at him strangely.

“Well … when we were in school, I … I had a small crush on you.” JC’s cheeks were pink with the effort of his confession. “Okay, a huge crush on you. But I never wanted to ruin the great thing we had and still have. And when I got picked for the Mickey Mouse Club and moved away, I was so afraid we’d lose the great friendship we had. But you’ve been there for me, every step of the way, every success I’ve had, you’ve been there to help me celebrate, and I love you for that.”

“I love you, too, JC. You’ll never lose my friendship,” Laurie smiled, touched by his confession. “And since it’s truth time, I’m going to have to admit something too … I had a crush on you too - the first time I saw you on the Mickey Mouse Club, something in me just came alive, and I realized at that time that I loved you. But I didn’t want to ruin our great friendship, either, so I just never said anything.”

JC’s eyes widened in surprise. All those years … he never thought that Laurie ever felt what he was feeling. And now that he knew that she had …

“Wow, that’s just … amazing.” JC looked at Laurie, and he felt the familiar tug at his heart. He moved closer to her, and a tiny voice in his head was chiming warning signals, but he ignored it. Sensing no resistance from Laurie, he placed his hand on her face, and drawing her close to him, kissed her gently.  Laurie wrapped her arms around his waist, pulling him closer, deepening the kiss. JC pulled away to look into Laurie’s eyes, amazed at what he was seeing there.

“Laurie … I …” JC breathed, unsure of what to do next.

Laurie touched his face softly, tracing his cheekbone with her fingers.  “JC, please?” she pleaded.

He brought his lips to hers again, this time with such passion it took their breath away. Their kisses became more and more desperate; JC was soon positioned above Laurie, covering her body with his. They held on to each other tightly, not wanting to let go. JC sat up and slowly pulled off his shirt, moaning when Laurie’s hands traveled over the well-defined muscles of his chest and abdomen, his flesh tingling from her touch. He reached behind her and unzipped her dress, pulling it down to reveal her soft tanned skin, breathing in her sweet scent. He covered her neck and breasts with tiny kisses, so soft they made her shiver with anticipation. Laurie stood so that she could remove her dress completely, as JC removed his pants, pulling Laurie into his arms and unclasping her bra. He pressed his bare chest against hers, enjoying the feeling of her hard nipples brushing against his flesh as he lowered them both to the couch. His hands caressed her contours, traveling to her panties, which he removed quickly, his fingers gently probing the wet recess of her inner folds, making her moan loudly. She writhed against his hand as he slipped his fingers inside of her, moving them in and out of her quickly, bringing her to orgasm. Her green eyes opened to stare into his, begging him for more. Gently, JC covered her body with his own. Laurie opened herself to him, and JC slowly entered her, each thrust generating loud moans from the both of them. They moved together slowly, relishing the new feelings they had never experienced together, their bodies moving as one. Their pace became frenzied as they came together, the force of their orgasm washing over them and leaving them breathless. JC placed gentle kisses along Laurie’s forehead, cradling her in his arms. He pulled a throw over them and held Laurie close, falling into a blissful sleep.