Callie awoke to the sound of loud knocking. Insistent, nearly pounding. JC tightened his arm around her and brushed his stubble against her back.

“They’ll go away,” he whispered.

“Callie! You in there?”

“Fuck! It’s Jason!” she whispered sitting up.

“Shhh…, " he said, a finger to his lips. "Sit here, away from the door. Just… sit here.” JC stumbled to the door, frowning against the bright hallway light.

“Jason? ‘Sup, man? What time is it?”

“Hey, man, sorry to wake you up. I’m looking for Callie. I got a last minute meeting request at Jive and I can’t find her.“

“She left the Club before me last night, man. She sent me a message that she was going to bed at like, 1. Did you call her?”

“Yeah...no answer.” Jason paced the hall, frustrated.

“Maybe she went out, down to the gym, or something? Isn’t she on some kinda workout regimen? Check down there.”

“Good idea. Thanks man. If you see her, tell her to call me.” Jason jogged down the hall toward the elevator and out of sight.

“Ok, coast is clear,” he whispered, closing the door. Callie was already pulling her pajamas back on. “You better get moving; he’ll come back up in a minute. Can you cover yourself from here?”

“Yeah I sleep really heavy sometimes; I’ll just tell him I didn’t hear him. I’ll call you later," she said, reaching for the door.

“Hey hey hey,” JC said with a smile, grabbing her arm before she could walk out. “Kiss me.”

“Oh,” Callie said with a laugh, and tipped her head up to meet his lips. “I had fun.”

“Me too. When are you leaving town?”

“Later today... afternoon. You?”

“Tomorrow. I got some studio time up here and some friends I’m supposed to meet up with today. Any... chance you can stay another night?”

“Maybe. I’ll see what I have going. I don’t even know, right now. I have to go.” She pecked his cheek, checked the hall, and ducked into her room, the door closing silently behind her.

…

“I looked all over for you and pounded on your door for ten minutes. I woke JC up. You slept through all of that?”

“But don’t I look well rested? I didn’t hear a thing. What’s this meeting about?” Callie sipped her coffee and hoped her nonchalant attitude would make him drop his questions. Either that, or shut up so she could relive the evening over and over again in her mind.

“They want to talk video. Need to pick a director, budget, think about concept, all that.”  

“Did they tell you for what song?”

“Let’s Start Over', I think”

“I hate that they don’t ASK me what song I want to release first. Maybe I don’t want to release that one first.”

“I’m sure you can lend an opinion. Just not sure they’ll listen.”

“Or care.”

“Right,” said Jason. The car pulled in front of the glassed in building and Wolfe stepped out of the front seat to open Callie’s door, then escort them into the building. He nodded at them as they walked past him, then closed the door behind them and stepped back into the car. Callie watched him through the glass as they waited for the elevator.

“I like him. He’s very efficient,” Callie said. “Is he through an agency?”

“He’s private,” Jason muttered, absentmindedly scrolling through his PDA.

“Hm. I wonder if he’s interested in a contract. Can you find out?”

Jason glanced over at her, an eyebrow raised. “Like full time security? For events and stuff like this? I’ll find out. Why, is something up?”

“I feel like some stuff is about to happen, like we’re gonna get really big and busy, soon. I think we need to meet, too, you and I. Go over some new stuff I want you to take care of. Ok?”

“We’ll meet after this,” he said with a nod, stepping off the elevator.

…

Callie and Jason sat through a short but lively meeting. The label seemed excited about the single, making sure to tell Callie the song had made the rounds and everyone was behind it. They wanted to talk about future steps and start the promotional ramp up. Before the meeting ended, they had set a budget, chosen a director, set a single release date and scheduled a photo shoot for photos to be used on the single as well as the full album. The video would likely be shot in LA, which made Callie very happy. She suddenly had a very good reason to want to be in LA.

“I think that went well, don’t you? Anything you feel like you compromised on?” Jason adjusted his designer shades as they sat down to a hearty lunch, well deserved after such a productive meeting.

“Nope, but it’s still beginning stages. Remember when we shot ‘My Street’ and that director was such a dick? I'm not in the mood for that again.”

“Yeah, but by the time you finished ripping him another asshole, I don’t think he was too into working with you again, either. So, what’d you want to talk about? What new stuff?”

Callie sat forward and set her menu aside, clasping her hands together. “Jason. Uhm. I… I need to apologize to you. Not that an apology will cover everything I’ve ever said or accused you of, but… I do apologize for how I’ve spoken to you in the past and how I’ve treated you. Like I said, I feel like some shit is about to go down and I need someone in charge of my affairs that I trust. I need to be able to trust you to do your job as it should be done.”

“Okay. Do you feel like you can’t trust me?”

Callie paused for a beat, then continued. “My contract is between me and the label. What you hear, you’re privy to because you’re my manager. It’s confidential. My mom should not be calling me to talk about things only you, I, or the label should know. Every little burp in my career, she knows about. I know you’re the link. I need for those things to stay confidential.  Zip your lip, seal the leak. From here on out, or you’re fired. Got it?”

Jason gulped and bowed his head. He muttered an apology and nodded.

“You were a business major. I know you know how to run a business, create revenue streams, keep things running. I need you to do that for me-- not just book me and order a car- MANAGE my career. Callie Phelps should be an Enterprise. Why don’t I get invitations to events? Why aren’t I pimping a perfume or shoes or a lipstick? Why am I still doing radio remote broadcasts? You say managing me is easy, all you have to do is say my name and you get what you want... then want MORE for me.”

“We need to interview and hire a personal assistant for me and work with them to maintain my schedule and make sure things are taken care of. I’m gonna be spending a lot of time in LA and I need to make sure things get taken care of, as well as someone to accompany me when I travel, that way you don’t have to go everywhere with me. Are you getting this down?”

“Oh! Yeah,” Jason mumbled, pulling out a pen and taking notes. Callie rolled her eyes, then took a breath.

“Don’t forget to ask Wolfe if he’s willing to work on a contract. I don’t just want him to be my security, I want him to be HEAD of security. If he can’t be around, I want him to recommend and hire someone who can, and will do as good a job as he does.”

“Ok.”

Callie paused. Jason wrote until he finished his thought and looked up at her. She cleared her throat and continued in a lower, softer voice.

“The reason I don’t want you on the road as much is because I want you working to book me. And because you’re not my personal assistant, you’re my manager. You’re not beneath me. You work with me, not FOR me. It’s not your job to bring me coffee and donuts when I’ve worked all night. You do it, but it’s not your job. It’s not your job to arrange car services for me, or to make sure I have shoes for an award show. That’s an assistant’s job. You should have someone to direct to take care of that stuff for me. Got it?”

“Yes,” Jason said, nodding.

“And I need you to KNOW that’s not your job and ACT like it’s not your job. Don’t let me run over you, because you know I will, and not think anything of it. All that shows me is that you’re weak and you’ll let yourself be run over for a paycheck.”

“Right. I got it. Thank you for this chance, Cal. I know I don’t deserve it, but I do actually enjoy the job, so… I’m here. I’ll do better.”

“You better. You have to. I don’t have time to train a new manager. And until you hire me an assistant, I have no one to order a salad for me so I have to have a cheeseburger for lunch.” Callie grinned and Jason laughed.

“Hey, if you want to hear Rick bitching, it’s not my problem. You do have a photo shoot coming up. It’s booked, Miss Phelps.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m back on it tomorrow. Speaking of tomorrow, do I have anything?”

Jason consulted his PDA and shook his head. “No. Clear.”

Callie concealed a smug smile. “I’m gonna stay an extra night. No security. JC got some studio time; he might want to work on some stuff.”

“I’ll take care of it.” Jason made a note, and then looked up at her over his shades. “Callie.”

“What?” she asked, lost in the menu.

“Cal.”

“What?" Callie looked up, and from Jason's expression knew that she was caught.

“Are you sleeping with him?” he asked in low tone.

“No.” It was the truth. So why was she blushing?

Jason chuckled and leaned close to her. “Callie. There’s no way you didn’t hear me banging on your door. And I smelled your perfume when JC opened his door.”

She stared at Jason for a long moment. He stared back. A smile broke and spread across Callie’s face and Jason laughed.

“Keep this QUIET. I’m NOT sleeping with him, like having sex with him. But I was with him last night and I was there, this morning. He sent you downstairs so I could go to my room.”

“I knew you were in there before he even opened the door," he said, lightly laughing.  "There’s no place else you could be. I went downstairs, walked around the fountain for a minute, then came back up and oh! Magically! Callie is wide awake and refreshed! If you really slept through all of that, you’d have looked dead to the world.” Jason was smug and Callie couldn’t help but laugh.

“Ok but still. Mum’s the word.”

“Of course. And deny, deny, deny.”

“All day, baby. All day.”

“And you’re staying an extra day because…”

“I told you.”

“Callie.”

“Jason! I’ve told you all you need to know. Just take care of my reservations, ok?”

“Ok. I’m not staying, though.”

“Good!” Callie said but smiled when she said it. “Keep me in the loop on that stuff we talked about. And don’t say a word to your dad or my mom.”

“Got it.”

…

Callie coveted time alone and put it to good use when she could get it. She shopped for awhile and dropped into a salon for a last minute cut, then toward sundown headed back to the hotel. New York held so much energy—it was a bustling city all hours of the day and Callie soaked it up and let it course through her until it tired her out. She had a text message conversation with JC in a tub of bubbles during which they decided to have dinner and relax in fuzzy socks, watching movies. She couldn’t remember when she looked forward to a boring night of dinner and a movie so much.

Dinner was delivered at 8, but no JC. 8:15, 8:30, 8:45 rolled around and still no JC. Finally, just before 9, there was a rustling in the hall and she heard a beep, then a bang against the wall. Callie giggled, thinking he must have flung the door open. A moment later a hurried knock.

“I am SO. SORRY!" he said rushing into the room. "Time got away from me, I ran for a cab, my phone was dead and the cabbie didn’t have a cell phone, and there was MAD traffic, I’m so sorry--“

Callie silenced him with a kiss, holding his face in her hands. He hugged her close to him and kissed her back. When they parted, she smiled up at him and when he started to speak, she placed a finger over his lips.

“I don’t care. You’re here. I understand. You want some cold food?”

Over lukewarm pasta and cooled garlic bread they caught up and talked about the day. JC was excited about Let’s Start Over being the first single off of the album to be released.

“I really think it sets the tone for people to expect something different this time around. Plus, it’s a hit!” He grinned at her and she rolled her eyes but laughed.

“If this song goes #1 you’re gonna be impossible.”

“It’s gonna be cool, when it does. And it will. They just have to push it.”

“They said they would. How about you? How goes the album?”

 His face fell slightly. “It goes. I’m about tired of looking at the same stuff over and over. It’s like…. I don’t have a label, but I can’t stop working on it. I don't know if it's a waste of time, or not.”

“That’s because you’re a musician. We don’t stop creating just because there’s no outlet. But I wish there was, for you. Just to get it out there. How close are you to picking a label?”

JC groaned and pushed his plate away. “Nothing really strikes me as ‘we believe in you and we want to release your music’. I think I’ve proven myself in this business… I shouldn’t have to sift through the same deals they’re offering debut artists.”

“No, you shouldn’t. Isn’t it weird for them, at Jive, to see you in and out of their offices and they screwed you over so bad?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t really care. If I can hold my head up and walk my skinny ass in there, that’s all that matters.”

“You really are way optimistic.” Callie shook her head but reached over to him and stroked his bare arm.

“It’s one of my best personality traits, honey. What movies are watching?” He pulled on a fresh pair of fuzzy socks, winked at Callie and stretched out on the bed.

“Porky’s 1 through 4. I dunno. We watched all the ones I brought the other day. What do you want to watch? Maybe there’s something on Pay Per View.” Callie reached for the remote and flipped through the menu. “Nothing’s really turning me on, here.”

“Come over here,” he said, his voice taking on a low, seductive tone.

“You don’t get to just order me around, now,” she said, trying not to smile at him.

“Calpernia Joy Phelps," he said, snapping his fingers.  "Get over here.”

“Yes sir,” she giggled, and climbed over him. As soon as she laid down he rolled over and kissed her, wildly, passionately. She threw her arms around his neck and squealed.

“Mmmm...you smell good,” he said, burying his nose in her neck.

“So do you.”

“Did you get a haircut?”

“Yeah, little bit. Was getting shaggy. You like?”

“I love,” he responded, leaning on one arm, looking down at her. “You’re so beautiful, Callie. Even the brown eye.”

Callie burst into laughter. “I’m wearing contacts. They’re both brown. “

“Nuh uh. I can tell which eye isn’t really brown. That’s ok. It’s still hot.”

“I should have never told you that. You’re such a nerd.”

“Rude. See, I know you love me.”

“Maybe. Kiss me some more.”

Later, they laid in the dark, side by side in her bed, holding hands and talking.

“So, Jason knows," she blurted out into the darkness. She felt his head turn toward her.

“What? Really? How?”

“He smelled my perfume when you opened your door. That, and he couldn’t find me and didn’t think there was anyplace else I could be.”

“He’s got loose lips though, doesn’t he? I think we should keep this quiet. If it gets out neither of us will get any peace—“

“I know, I know. I swore him to secrecy. We talked a lot today, about expanding his job and doing it better, hiring more security and an assistant for me. I think he gets that I’m serious. My business is my business or he’s fired.”

“Good for you. And about time.”

“I told him I wasn’t sleeping with you but I was in your room. And that I needed to keep it quiet and he agreed. Deny, deny, deny.”

“If we do this right, no one will know until we want them too. This is gonna take a lot of patience.”

Callie cut her eyes at him. Though he couldn’t see it, he felt her blood pressure start to rise. “You act like I’ve never dated anyone in the business before.”

“Hate to say it, honey but denying you were dating Curtis wasn’t fooling anyone.”

“See, there you go. You're being condescending. STOP IT, I'm not an idiot.”

“Okay. I’m sorry. I don’t mean that you’re an idiot. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t crawl up my ass, just stop doing that. It bugs the shit out of me.”

“Alright. I said okay.” Callie heaved a sigh but said nothing else.

‘Keep it up. He’ll dump you, too.’

“JC, I’m sorry. That was rude of me. I apologize. Okay?”

“Forgiven, ” he said, reaching over to stroke her cheek. She grasped his hand and kissed his palm.

“How do you stay so calm? Are you on downers or something? Don’t you ever get PISSED? Why didn’t you tell me ‘shut the fuck up, that’s not what I meant, you BITCH’?”

JC laughed, long and hard. “First, that’s you, not me. Second,” he laughed again, then continued. “If I talked to you like that you would kick my ass. I’m scared of you!”

“You are NOT.”

JC sighed. “Ok, but I AM scared of my mom, and just let it get back to my mom that I told a woman to ‘shut the fuck up’, and called her a bitch-- she’d beat me. I’m not like that. I wasn’t raised to be that way. Yes, I do get angry. No, it doesn’t last long. And your outbursts are… just Callie. I just deal with it.”

Callie rolled over and snuggled up next to him, nuzzling his neck. “I need whatever it is you’re smoking. I just get so worked up, especially if I think I’m being screwed over or someone’s calling me stupid. I hope I never embarrass you.”

“You’d have to do a lot to embarrass me. Be yourself, Callie. Whatever yourself is, be you. I don’t want a prim and proper Callie that holds her tongue when she gets upset. I like you feisty.”

“You said that once before.”

“Yeah, I let that slip,” he chuckled. “I thought I was caught, then. But you didn’t say anything. You didn’t say anything when you caught me staring at you either.”

“What was I gonna say? Don’t stare at me? It’s not like I hate the attention.”

“Uh huh,” he said, his hands roaming her body.

“Mmmhmmm,” she said, her hands roaming his.

“Be careful, sexy,” he whispered as her hands traveled below his waist.

“You be careful,” she whispered as his fingers found a spot that made her shudder and her breath catch.

“Remind me, again, why I can’t fuck you till you pass out?”

Callie writhed as he touched her. “Uhm. When you describe it like that, while you’re making me—“ she shuddered. “—do that… I don’t want to remember. I hope you come up with a reason because if you try, I’m gonna let you.”

“I should be a good boy then, huh?” he panted, her hand stroking him with a strong rhythm. Conversation gave way to hips thrusting and gyrating, mouths moaning and grunting, licking and sucking until they had each reached a powerful climax.

“Yeah, so,” Callie panted, falling back into the mattress. “Can we finish the album tomorrow? I’ve never wanted sex so bad in my life.”

“I know. Me too. Once we cross that line, though, it’s a whole different thing.”

“What we're already doing isn’t a whole different thing?”

“Yeah but… it’s less of a whole different thing. It’ll be worth it. I promise. Are you alright?”

Callie breathed deeply, her breath coming back to her. “Yeah. You?”

“I need a shower.”

“You are all sweaty and… gizzy.”

“Gizzy?" he said, laughing. "That’s a word I’ve never heard before. You want to join me?”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. Patience, Producer Man.”

“I’ll be right back, then. Keep this spot warm for me.” He got out of bed and put his jeans and t-shirt back on.

“Mmhmm…. “ she mumbled, turning the TV back on. “Hurry, don’t dawdle.”

“Where do you come up with these words?” He laughed and stepped out of her room. Callie flipped the TV from one program to another, settling on Jay Leno’s monologue. Before long, he was back, taptaptapping a light beat on the door.

Callie let him in and sniffed deeply, taking in the handsome spicy scent of him. “Yum, you smell good.”

“Thank you. It’s called soap,” he said, sliding between the sheets and pulling her next to him, resting his chin on her shoulder. They drifted off to sleep, the TV flickering through the late night programming.

At some point during the night, JC woke up, reached over Callie and pressed the ‘OFF’ button. With a contented sigh, he pulled Callie closer to him and sank back into sleep.

…

It wasn't long at all, really, until they were done... unless you were counting. Counting the days, the weeks, the MINUTES until the album was done, and the last track was sent to mix, and there were no more songs to touch up, and she was done, done, completely done, FINISHED. Callie was counting, counting the seconds.

JC had stayed true to his word. He wanted their relationship to remain as professional as it could remain until the end and he held up his end of the bargain, despite a lot of teasing and flirting and-- well, begging, really-- from Callie. He was absolutely not giving in, though, and while it drove her out of her mind, she knew it would make the moment that much more worth it.

It was. It was, it was, it was. She had never been cliche, not one to issue platitudes, but it was so much better than she ever thought it would be. They finished the album in LA, and the very second the album was complete, she was in a car and headed up the coast to a grand hotel overlooking the ocean. They wasted no time exploring each other, though Callie was almost timid, now that there was no stopping point.

"Do you want to stop?" he mumbled, holding her close to him, both of them naked, his hands roaming her body, his arousal apparent, caught between them.  She shuddered, not from cold, but from the electric shocks that coursed through her from his touch on her skin. She was hypersenstive, the desire in her rising to a boiling point.

"If you stop, I will throw a major Diva fit. Don't you DARE," she breathed, gasping as his tongue rasped along the length of her neck.

"Oh, well we don't want that, do we?" he whispered, lazily dragging his tongue down the other side of her neck.  Callie whimpered, not sure how much longer she could stand this slow, lazy torture he called foreplay.

"JC?"

"Hmmm?"
 

"Are you trying to seduce me for your benefit, or mine?" He chuckled and pulled back. "What?"

"I'm a sure thing. I'm horny, I'm wet, I'm ready. Can we do this already?"

"Well... let's not rush it."

"We've been not rushing it for a couple of months now. Please, baby, please!"

JC rolled his eyes, but in a playful way, and led her toward the King size bed with the frilly comforter and way-too-many-pillows. He let her climb up and he followed her to the middle of the bed and without words began to rain soft kisses on her from neck down. When she was sufficiently relaxed, he rolled onto her, hooking his hands behind her knees and wrapping her legs around him.

Callie closed her eyes as she felt a hand travel south, and lips on her skin and heard pleasurable moaning, which she wasn't all that sure wasn't coming from her. The gasp, though- she was sure that came from her. The gasp, and the arching of her back and the tossing back of the head as he slid into her-- that was all her. The groans and the moans and the rising sounds of pleasure and happiness because, finally, it was happening!-- all her. The panting and groaning and grunting, 'oh my God, yeah'-- some of that was JC. But mostly, it was her.

Callie felt a little like she'd never had sex before. Curtis had been her first, and her only. He had been greedy about sex, mostly about HIM and making sure he got off, and then rolling off and sometimes leaving her to satisfy herself. If she didn't come to the table ready, and try to hit her climax at the same time, she was out of luck because once Curtis came, he immediately fell asleep. 

This? This was different. This was slow and sensuous, and then fast and hard and then slow again. It was him asking her if she was ok, did she like this, did she feel good, asking her what he could do to help her. It was him making sure she hit the highest point of climax before he let himself take his. It was him not rolling over and falling asleep, but staying inside her, holding her, kissing her, while she came down, while her breathing returned to normal, while she realized how different it was, being with someone who genuinely cared. Callie couldn't help but giggle, the laugh coming from deep down inside her.

"What are you laughing at, Calpernia?"

"Remember when you told me that someday I'd look back on my relationship with... him... and think 'I was a dumbass for missing him'?"

"Are you feeling like a dumbass?" JC started to laugh, a sound she had grown to love tremendously, especially when his eyes disappeared and crinkled up in the corner.

"A big huge giant one. Thank you. For everything. For today, for the past 6 months, for everything."  She ran a hand through his hair as his head dipped to kiss her, long and slow.

"You're welcome. It was my pleasure," he answered, lowering his head to her shoulder. She tightned her arms around him and sighed, and tried to stop herself from smiling like a fool, but she couldn't stop it from coming.

"Mine, too."