"You look great," JC said when picked her up at her hotel that evening. She was wearing the same outfit as that morning.
"You said that this morning, nothing's changed," she said. "You look good too," she blushed. She wasn't used to giving a celebrity a compliment. He wore a white button down shirt and ripped jeans. She remembered the look from an awards show the previous year.
"Are you going to introduce me to your friends," she asked as she nodded towards the two large gentlemen standing behind JC.
"Oh, how rude of me," JC replied. "Amanda, this is Lonnie and Todd. Lonnie and Todd, Amanda," he formally introduced the three. Amanda and the bodyguards exchanged pleasantries.
"Where do you want to eat tonight," JC asked as he helped her into the waiting Escalade. Todd climbed into the front passenger seat as Lonnie climbed into the driver's side.
"How about Nyla, if it's open," she suggested. It was the only restaurant she knew of in New York other than Planet Hollywood.
"Ok, Brit's been trying to get me to come there for months."
"Is it good? If it's not, we can go somewhere else," she said with concern.
"Actually," he laughed, "I've never been there. So this will be a new adventure for both of us," he finished and reached for her hand.
They soon arrived at the restaurant and entered through a side entrance. JC was recognized immediately and they were seated at a secluded booth in the back of the restaurant. Lonnie and Todd were seated nearby.
They quickly placed their order with the server. JC gave Amanda a funny look as the server walked away. "Are you sure you don't want something more adventuresome like the crawfish," he teased.
She scrunched up her nose and twisted her mouth. "Eww, no thank you Mr. Chasez, I think I'll stick with my Cajun chicken pasta, thank you very much," she replied. He laughed.
Through the meal, they talked about their families. He had her rolling with laughter as he recounted several stories of misadventures from past tours. "So, what do you and your mom have planned for the rest of the week," he asked as dessert came.
"That's the funny thing, she mysteriously got called home this afternoon citing something wrong at work," Amanda replied.
"What's so mysterious about that," as he took a bite of the ice cream sundae they were sharing.
"She owns her own business," she said. He started to say something and she interrupted. "It's run out of the house and she only 'works' on the weekends."
"How did you do that," he questioned. She had answered his question even before he could say it.
"It's a talent, I drive everyone nuts," she replied with a bit of sarcasm.
"Fine then. But you're right, that is 'mysterious'," he raised his eyebrows to accent the last word.
"So I guess I'll be heading back to Orlando tomorrow," she said as she took the last bite of ice cream.
"Oh no you're not," JC protested. "You're going to stay here with me and we're going to have a fabulous week."
"But, work…"
"You took the week off right?"
"Yes, but…," she trailed off as she thought. Then she smiled slightly. "I do need a bit of a vacation…"
"That's my girl," JC said with a grin.
After paying the bill, the group headed to a nightclub called Matrix. It had opened the week before and was packed. There was a line a block long and the bouncers were being very selective as to who would enter. JC and Amanda had no problems. When they entered, they were escorted to the VIP area. They spent several minutes mingling with the celebrities in the room. When the Nelly remix of "Girlfriend" started playing, JC couldn't resist. He grabbed Amanda's hand and headed to the dance floor.
"But JC," she said just before they got to the dance floor. "I don't know how to dance," she continued sheepishly.
"What," he looked a bit astonished.
"I'm a strait laced Southern Baptist, we don't know how to dance," she answered.
"It's easy," he said, "just follow my lead," he finished and pulled her onto the dance floor. It took several minutes and a lot of encouragement from JC, but she did loosen up, and he found her to be a natural. He also found her to be very intoxicating with the way she smiled, laughed and how light her touch could be.
For the next hour they were aware of no one but each other. They were constantly smiling and laughing and touching but were keeping everything very clean.
"I need something to drink," she said loudly in his ear. He nodded and they headed back to the VIP room. As they entered, he introduced her to other people that had arrived while they were dancing. It was quieter than the main floor and made talking easier.
"Justin," he said clearly surprised that his band mate was at the club. "What are you doing in New York?"
"Mutt Lang needs us to work on some tracks while you're here," Justin replied. Then nodded towards Amanda. JC introduced them. "I've heard a lot about you, it's nice to finally meet," Justin said as he extended his hand.
"Like wise," she replied with a smile. A very tall, athletic woman with blondish-brown hair came up behind Justin and put her arms around his neck and whispered something in his ear. Whatever she said, he like because he started grinning ear to ear. She then walked over to JC, grabbed both his hands and kissed him quickly on the cheek. JC quickly introduced her to Amanda.
"This is Gentian, she and Justin have been dating for a while now," he said.
"It's nice to meet you," Amanda said politely as she extended her hand.
"Aww girl, where I'm from we do not shake hands," Gentian said in a heavy southern drawl as she quickly gave Amanda a hug.
As the guys talked, Gentian played twenty questions with Amanda. "So, where are you from?"
"I just moved to Florida from North Carolina," Amanda replied with a smile.
"Really, you don't have much of a southern accent." It was more of an accusation than a statement.
"I never really acquired a southern accent."
"Really. In Abilene it's like a requirement to be considered a citizen," she said with a laugh. Amanda smiled at her joke. "You're not very talkative, are you?" Another accusation.
"I usually am when I'm not in an uncomfortable situation," Amanda replied and reached for JC's hand.
"Oh, I see. So, what is your job with the *Nsync organization?"
Amanda was confused. "What do you mean?"
"Well, all the girlfriends have a 'job'," Gentian started. "I'm supposed to part of wardrobe, Kelly, you know who she is…" Amanda nodded. "…is part of PR. Some have had jobs in catering or travel, stuff like that."
"Oh, so do you have a background in fashion," Amanda asked.
Gentian laughed hysterically. "No silly, they're our parts so we can travel with the group, we don't actually work," she answered still laughing.
"Oh, well, unlike some in the past, I plan on having a life that doesn't revolve around my boyfriend," Amanda replied smugly and walked to the bar. JC came and found her a few minutes later.
"What happened," he asked as he ordered a drink.
"She just got on my nerves and I let my mouth do the talking," Amanda said apologetically.
"Yeah, I can understand that. She can be a bit overbearing when she's nervous."
"A bit," Amanda raised one of her eyebrows.
"Ok, a lot, but give her time and you'll love her," JC conceded.
"Ok, we'll do some girl bonding sometime."
"How about tomorrow?"
"I'm not doing anything tomorrow. Do you want to take in a show or something," she said as she turned to face him.
He hesitated. "Well, that's the thing…," he started as he ran his hand through his hair nervously.
"Uh huh, I see how it's going to be now. You win my heart, make me fall for you, and then you leave me for work," she said jokingly.
"I would have said no if I could, but Mutt's only in town for a couple days and Justin came all the way up here…"
Amanda leaned over and kissed him gently. "I understand. Gentian and I will do lunch or something and I promise I'll play nice," she said with a smile.
"Are you sure it's ok," he asked.
"I'm positive. I wouldn't stand between you and the music I love," she answered. He smiled and gave her a brief kiss. A remix of "Boys" started to play and she grabbed his hand. "Let's go dance," she said with a smile.
They spent the next several hours dancing and mingling with JC's acquaintances in the VIP room. Around 2am, Amanda pulled JC close. "If I don't get out of these boots soon, they're going to have to amputate my feet," she said in his ear.
"Yeah, I'm tired too," he conceded. They rounded up Lonnie and Todd and left.
When they got to the hotel, JC walked Amanda to her room. They stopped outside her room.
"I had a really good time tonight," she said. "Thank you."
"I had a great time too," he said and leaned down and kissed her. It was a simple but pleasurable kiss. "I'll see you later today," he asked.
"Yeah," she said and leaned up to kiss him again.
"We need to stop before we make a scene," he said a minute later.
"You're right. Good-night," she said as she opened the door to her two-room suite.
"Night," he said after one last brief kiss.
Amanda immediately took her boots off as soon as she stepped in the room. She grabbed them and headed to the bedroom. She smiled when she saw the bed. A single red rose was on her pillow. There was a note underneath the flower.
I never thought that love could feel like this
Then you changed my world with just one kiss
Amanda smiled; the lyrics were from her favorite song by the group. She practically ran back to the door to her room. When she opened the door, she was surprised to find JC leaning against the doorjamb. She said nothing; her actions speaking louder than any words as she pulled him close and kissed him deeply.
He quickly stepped into the room and closed the door behind them. As they continued their kiss, their hands explored the other's body. Amanda worked to unbutton JC's shirt and he untied her shirt and let the ties unravel themselves as he kissed down her neck. She pushed his shirt off his shoulders and he removed his hands from her body long enough to pull his arms from the sleeves. He quickly took of the white wife beater he was wearing as well. The shirts ended up on the floor in a crumpled heap. He slowly pushed her blouse off her shoulder, kissing each inch he uncovered. She worked on his belt and the button to his jeans as he did so. Soon, the belt and her blouse ended up next to his shirt on the floor. As he worked his way back to her mouth, he unzipped her skirt and let it fall to the floor. She returned his favors by teasing his neck with her kisses. As she did, she finished unzipping his jeans. A gentle push sent them to the floor. He didn't let her work too long, he wanted this to be her night and he took control with his kisses. Soon, he stopped his kisses and looked at her.
"Are you sure," he asked.
"Yes," she said breathlessly as she captured his lips with hers. In one fluid motion, he picked her up and walked to the bed. He gently laid her on the bed and then settled on top of her. As they laid there, their kisses continued to get deeper and more intense as their hands caressed each other. He gently rolled them over to their sides and reached behind her for the clasp to her bra. She stopped.
"Do you have protection?"
He started to say something, then stopped and hung his head. "No, I don't," he said with disappointment.
"Oh," she said with equal disappointment. But there was relief hidden in her voice as well. They both laid there, catching their breaths as they looked into each other's eyes and stroked the other's face.
"I guess this just wasn't the right time," he said and then gently kissed her nose.
"I guess not," she said as he rolled off the bed and walked to the window. She grabbed the terry cloth robe at the end of the bed and put it on as she stood up. She went to the other room to collect their clothes. As she picked up his jeans, a square blue packet fell out of one of the pockets. When she picked it up, she realized it was a condom.
"JC," she said as she entered the bedroom again. He turned around. "I thought you said you didn't have protection." She held up the plastic covered disk.
"I didn't realize that was in there," he said after a pause.
"You're not a good liar," she replied.
"Come here," he said as he walked towards her. "You're right, I did lie."
"Why?" She was confused.
"Because I did not want to have sex with you…," he started.
"Why, am I not good enough for you," she said and instantly started to cry.
"No, no," he said and pulled her close. "Please do not cry. It's nothing like that," he said soothingly.
"Then why? I don't understand," she asked as she wiped a tear from her eye.
"As I was saying, I did not want to have sex with you tonight, but I do want to make love to you. And I don't want it to happen like this. I want to wine you and dine you and make it your night."
She pulled away slightly and looked up at him. "Are you sure you're not gay?"
"You decide," he said before kissing her passionately.
"Nope, most definitely not gay," she replied with a light laugh. "Why do you want to wait," she asked seriously.
"Because too many times in the past I've rushed into sex too early in a relationship. I want us to be based on us, not how good we are in bed."
"Why have you rushed in the past and not now?"
"Because this is the first time I feel like I’m falling in love," he replied softly. He searched her eyes with his as he waited for a response.
"I think I'm falling in love with you too," she said and then gently placed a kiss on his lips.
