No matter how often I flew, I didn’t think I would ever get used to it—the sensation of the plane leaving the ground as the nose tipped up and gained altitude, the clunk-clunk of the wheels rolling up into their space under the plane, the way the plane shook randomly in the air, the way the wings of the plane sliced through the blanket of clouds, and the scary way I could see land and houses and highways and lakes from so far above them it didn’t seem real. I was a not fan of this flying thing, but if it meant I could get to see JC, I would gladly fly wherever anyone wanted me to go. In my arms, I clutched the small bear that he gave me on the last flight, occasionally sniffing in the light scent of him that lingered. It reminded me that he was waiting for me and that if I could just make it off of the plane and through my meeting, a wonderful weekend lay ahead of me.

Next to me sat a quiet, slim woman with honey-blonde hair and brown eyes. She kept to herself, listening to her mp3 player and reading books and magazines. I wished I could be so calm, enjoying music, reading, eating M&M’s casually, as if I hadn’t a care in the world. I realized, then, that I wasn’t doing all that badly. We were still in the air and I was still alive and we were not going down in a field in Iowa. I started to relax a little.

My deep, calming breaths caught her attention.  She removed her headphones and smiled warmly in my direction. “Are you okay? You seem a little tense.”

I returned her smile and said, “I’m fine, thanks. I’m kind of afraid to fly. I’m doing pretty well on this flight though. The last one I almost passed out.”

Her expression gave away her slight amusement. “Oh,” she said, eyebrows raised. “Well, I’m glad you’re okay. This has been smooth so far. I’m Allison. Do you live in LA?”

“No. Business trip.”

“Ah, I see.” She gestured at the stack of magazines in her lap. “You want something to read? They’re old, but I have plenty of magazines.”

I shook my head. “I’m okay. Thank you, though. I’m Serena, by the way. You live in LA or Atlanta?”

“My boyfriend lives--” Her face fell into a frown and her eyelids lowered. “My ex-boyfriend lives in Atlanta. We broke up, this trip. The distance, it’s just too much, I guess.”

“Really, that sucks.” I almost regretted opening my mouth. I didn’t really want to hear about distance breaking up a couple. I wanted to hear good news about how things like that just sort of worked out on their own, if two people seemed right for each other and were meant to be together.  

“It does. He was transferred out to Atlanta and then it was just one thing after another. I kind of expected him to ask me to move with him. When he didn’t, I guess I should have caught a clue.”  She flipped through her magazine, her face slightly pink, eyes glassy with unshed tears. She had to be devastated. I felt for her.

“I’m so sorry. I’m sure it’s really painful. Were you together long?”

“Thank you. Two years down the drain. This trip was a last ditch effort, and…” her voice trailed off and she shook her head. “Do you have a boyfriend?”

She tilted her head up and toward me. Not knowing what else to say, I shook my head. “Don’t get one,” she said with a sarcastic laugh. “Especially if they don’t live near you. It sucks.” She pouted, returning to her magazine.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I said quietly, then returned to gazing out of the window. I didn’t want to look and yet I couldn’t stop looking at the land below us. Every time I looked down, my heart beat out of my chest and I had to force my eyes back up toward the wings just outside the window. It was frightening, but much less frightening than the thought of things not working out with JC. It was not a thought I was even entertaining.

“So what do you do? You said you had a business meeting?”

I blinked out of a daydream, the sound of her voice jarring me. “Uhm. I’m a Product Manager for an internet phone company. Sort of sales, sort of marketing.”

“Oh, wow,” she said, her face brightening again, a pretty smile of pearly white teeth showing. “That sounds fun.”

“It can be. It can also be kind of redundant and monotonous. It pays the bills, though.”

“I bet.”

“And you? What pays the bills for you?”

“Paralegal. I work for a big firm, downtown. It’s like being a lawyer without practicing law.”

“Really,” I said twisting, so I was turned toward her and away from the window, leaning on the arm rest. “Now, that seems interesting. Never a dull moment.”

“Not ever,” she said, flashing a wry grin.

We chatted off and on during the remainder of the flight, about work, LA and Atlanta, friends, music. The conversation was a distraction and helped speed time forward. By the time the plane touched tarmac again, I felt like an old pro at flying—not that I wanted to get too relaxed or cocky about it—and I just wanted to get off of the plane.

A short time after deplaning I was at baggage claim, watching the carousel turn slowly, waiting for the baggage to come around. I retrieved my Blackberry from my shoulder bag and pressed the power button to turn it back on. Within seconds, email and messages began to roll in, filling up the screen. I shook my head at four text messages from JC.  The last one read ‘I know your flight landed. Answer me!’  

Safely tucked into a yellow taxicab navigating its way through downtown traffic, I finally answered JC’s text. ‘I’m here! I made it, I’m fine. On my way to my meeting. Wish me luck.’

Before I turned the phone off, his response came. ‘Don’t need luck. You got this, honey. Call me after. C’

###

I’d spent hours upon hours preparing and rehearsing for this moment—I’d made Melissa listen to the entire pitch twice the night before. If I had to gauge the success of the pitch by the responses of the client as I was walking out of the conference room, I would be surprised if we didn’t have a contract by the beginning of the year. This, by my calculations, would put me in LA to begin the project launch soon after, as early as February. I couldn’t wait!

Finally, I felt some things were starting to fall into place, for me. Good, meaningful things that brought growth and change. I’d been stagnant, holding on to old, comfortable things for far too long. I was ready to spread my wings and I hoped the trend would continue—the new challenges, inspiring achievements, a budding relationship with someone I cared about intensely—I wanted it, all of it, and I would fight to keep it.

As soon as the meeting broke and hands were shaken and business cards exchanged, I took the elevator back to the lobby, retrieved my suitcase from the closet where it had been stashed and made myself comfortable in the visitors lounge.  I expected a message or two from JC, but there were none when I powered up the phone again. Flipping through the screens, I found his number and dialed. The call rang to voicemail, his vague outgoing greeting asking me to leave a message and he would return the call. I left a brief message that my meeting was over and that I was waiting for him.

To make use of the time, I rolled my suitcase into the restroom and changed out of my suit into jeans and a light, long sleeved blouse and a jacket. It wasn’t cold, but I wasn’t repeating my mistake from the last trip—I wanted to be prepared for whatever JC had planned. 

I stared at myself in the mirror, seeing Regina, only younger-- it wasn’t bothering me as much as I thought it would. My therapy sessions were doing me a world of good and I was starting to let go of things that used to bother me, like my curly hair that I’d been straightening for years so that I wouldn’t look like her. I was pretty sure I was going to hear something about the loose curls and waves instead of the sleek, straight hairstyle I usually wore. I sniffed and nodded at myself, winked at my reflection and packed up to roll my luggage back out to the lobby. I was ready to get my weekend started.

If I could get JC to pick up a phone! I resisted calling him over and over- that wasn’t my style and that would annoy him. He was normally so good about calling me back when he could, but when the receptionist asked if she could call me a cab, I was a little irritated. 

I yanked the phone out of its pocket in my bag and had my thumb on the ‘send’ button when a call popped up.  “Where are you?” I whined as I picked up the call. 

There was that familiar voice in my ear, smooth, but tinged with sarcasm. “Well, hello. How was your meeting? How are you?”

Somewhere deep in my heart, there was a sigh. It was so nice to hear him, but I wanted to see him. “I’m great, the meeting went great. Really well. I’ll tell you about it later. Are you on your way?”

He hesitated. My heart sank.

“Tiny snag,” he said, his voice lowered. I could picture him rubbing the back of his neck, worried I would be upset. “I uhm… I’m kind of stuck here, in this session. I thought we would be done by now and I can’t leave. I’m sorry; I know I’m supposed to be there, right now.”

“Oh,” I said, trying to keep disappointment out of my voice. “Well, if you have to work, I’m cool. Just… what should I do? Just go to the house?”

“There’s no one at the house, you can’t get in. Actually, I have a plan.”  I closed my eyes and leaned back against the seat.  “You always have a plan,” I said, my voice monotone. “Tell me.”

“Okay, so, this is a terrible idea,” he said, with a laugh so cute I couldn’t be angry. “I’m gonna send my brother to come and get you. He’s not that far from you, right now. He’ll take you to lunch, if you want and then home and I’ll meet you guys there.”

I panicked at the thought of meeting Tyler--I hadn’t realized he would be in town. I also wasn’t sure I was ready to meet anyone in his family, yet. Meeting his friends was nerve-wracking enough.  What had he told Tyler about me? What if he didn’t like me? What was I supposed to talk to Tyler about?

I was silent for too long. “Serena… please. I would just feel better if you were with him. I know you’re nervous about meeting him but there’s nothing to it. You’ll be safe with him.” His voice was gentle and pleading, a tone I couldn’t resist if I tried.

 “Okay,” I said with a sigh. “If that’s what you want. I am pretty hungry,” I said, hoping he could hear the smile in my voice.

“Of course you are,” he said, his laugh a low chuckle, relief in his voice. “So, I’ll call him. He’ll come get you. You’ll eat and talk and have fun. I’ll see you at the house in awhile, okay? I need to go.”

“JC,” I said, before he could hang up.

“Yeah.”

I paused for a heartbeat. I wanted to make sure he was listening when I said, “I missed you.”

A few seconds of silence and then, very   quietly, “I missed you too. I can’t wait to see you. Have fun, okay? Tyler’s cool. I really need to go.”

I slid the phone back into its pocket and stood, crossing my arms and pacing in front of the floor to ceiling windows. Side street traffic crossed in front of my view and I wondered which of these cars Tyler was driving and would I know it was him? Maybe he’d changed since the last photo I saw.

A few minutes later a tan Toyota Camry pulled into the visitor parking spot and a blond, stocky man in a black, form fitting t-shirt and khakis stepped out of the car, looked up toward the marquee and then through the glass doors. I knew it was him, right away--I would recognize that ruddy complexion and those dimples anywhere. I waved as he walked through the doors, smiling shyly, his cheeks glowing their usual pink.  

“You must be Serena,” he said, offering a hand to shake. I took it, noticing his warm, strong grip.

“Yes.” Out of nervousness, I swept my hair behind my ears and tried to smile. ”You’re Tyler. Thank you for coming to get me.”

“No problem. Is this yours?” He reached for the handle of my suitcase and rolled it toward the door, stowing it in the trunk while I climbed in on the passenger side. I sat back as the automatic seat belt zipped around me, closing me in.

“Ready?” Hands on the wheel, he shot a grin at me. His face was incredibly friendly, two dimples creating deep punctures in his cheeks. I nodded, and he started the car and pulled away from the curb.  “So, Josh—JC—what do you call him?”

I played with an earring and rested an arm on the arm rest between us. “JC.  Or Chasez. He’s trying to get me to call him ‘C’ and it’s not happening. But whatever, I’ll know who you mean.”

“Yeah. Him. He said to take you to lunch and to be nice. I didn’t promise to be nice.” He winked at me as he took a turn easily and changed lanes. “Neither did I,” I said, winking back. Tyler and I were going to get along just fine.

“So you get the dishwasher lecture, too?” Tyler was beet red, laughing so hard that he wasn’t making noise.  We had a great time talking, the topic bouncing from whether or not he’d sit for the Bar Exam to his brother’s funny ways of doing things. I happened to mention the lecture on loading the dishwasher and he burst into a loud giggle.

Elbows on the table, I leaned my head against a hand. “It’s like, they’re just dishes, JC. It’s a dishwasher. It doesn’t matter. He’s like, ‘no no, really, there’s a science to it’. And the silverware—“ I had to stop and laugh.

“Tines UP! Up, Tyler! And you gotta mix ‘em around—“

“So the spoons don’t nestle together—“

“Or the food will cake and they’ll dry that way! He’s very passionate about that. Yes. You’ve heard the lecture.” Tyler plucked a napkin from the dispenser on the table and wiped his eyes.  “Wait until he has to unload the dishwasher. Just watch him do it, his process is so ridiculous.”

I laughed, not only at the idea of being entertained by JC’s kitchen prowess but Tyler’s laugh was a little cute and a lot contagious. I couldn’t help but laugh with him. “I haven’t had that pleasure but I’ll be sure to make him do it sometime this weekend, just to watch.”

“Yeah, it’s entertainment,” he said, residual giggles coursing through him. “So, uh…what do you think of the old man?” He crossed his arms and leaned onto the table, his warm brown eyes focused on mine.

I stirred my tea with my straw, thinking, watching the lemon wedge bob. “Uhm, well… I don’t really know what to say.” I shrugged a shoulder and sipped my tea. “He’s alright.”

“Well, seriously. I mean, Josh told me a little about you. Like, how you guys met. I won’t tell him what you say. I’m just wondering.”  The one thing the Chasez boys had in common was an intense stare. I felt like Tyler could see right through me, and I was afraid of saying the wrong thing. If I set off alarms he would surely let JC know his thoughts.

“Uhm. You know, he’s… it’s like someone telling you about a person, so much that you really feel like you know them, kind of, until you meet them and you realize that you have no idea who they really are. It’s unlearning everything you thought you knew, and relearning and digging deeper and getting to know them under the surface. Seeing the person that he doesn’t show to everyone else. Does that make sense? I’m trying not to sound stupid, here.”

He nodded, slowly, his eyes never leaving my face. “Makes perfect sense, to me.”

“I like what I know, though,” I added. “And I hope I get to know more and like more. He’s pretty special.”

Tyler snorted, a short laugh escaping. “In more ways than one.”  I laughed along with him, our conversation falling into a comfortable lull.  Our server set the slim folder with the check in it in front of him. He opened it, slid a few bills behind the slip of paper and closed it.

“So, the reason I asked. About Josh—about what you thought.” I lifted my eyes to him, but he was staring down at the table, his dimples prominent in both cheeks. “Uhm. You know, he’s… a very nice guy. To a fault. I’m sure you know that.” He lifted his eyes to look at me, his expression solemn. I nodded, blinking slowly. I knew where this was headed.

“Just be careful, with him. He likes you, and you seem to like him and you’re cool and everything and I don’t want to seem rude, but… don’t play with him. He’s not, you know, some fan’s dream date come true. This is his real life. And he can handle himself, I know. I just don’t want to see him hurt.”

I swallowed, hard, and felt a blush crawl up my neck to my face, my cheeks hot. I knew exactly what he was talking about. I also had a feeling this would not be my only warning about not repeating the past—his friends were no doubt waiting to give me a stern talking to. I reached across the table and laid a hand across Tyler’s arm. “I’m not trying to hurt him, Tyler. I have just as much at stake here as he does. I do understand where you’re coming from, though and I will make my best effort to not hurt him.”

“Good. Then that’s all I can ask for, right?” His face brightened and the smile returned. A loud buzzing came from his hip and he unclipped the phone from its plastic case, flipping the screen up. “HA. It’s Josh,” he said, turning the phone around so I could see the text message. ‘Where the hell are you guys?’

He returned the message, his thumbs punching hard onto the keys, an evil grin on his face.

“What’d you say?”

He slid out of his seat and stood, brushing crumbs from his pants. “I told him I was holding you ransom.”

I giggled as the phone buzzed again and he checked it. I looked over his shoulder and he laughed at the message. ‘I’ll pay your price. Bring the girl to me, NOW.’

“Let’s go, he’s probably pacing, getting restless.”

“I’m a little restless myself. I can’t wait to see him,” I said, following Tyler out of the restaurant and to the car.

Sometime later, after sitting in gridlocked traffic, he pulled into the long drive way and parked in front of the wide, massive garage door, which was sliding open. JC’s car sat in its spot and my heartbeat sped up so rapidly I was lightheaded. I couldn’t get out of the car fast enough.

“Go ahead. I’ll grab your bags. In that door, there,” he said pointing at the door leading to the house. Excited, I rushed toward the door, had my hand on the knob, when I stopped and turned to look back at Tyler. I gave him a nervous smile. He pointed, again. “I’ll give you guys a few minutes to say hi. Go on in.”

I turned the knob and stepped inside the small foyer. I climbed the first few steps and stopped. The house was so quiet.

“Hello?” I called.

“HELLO???” I heard above me. My face broke into a wide grin and I vaulted up the remaining stairs to the landing, in front of the sitting room. It was empty, the furniture sitting just as stately as it had the last time I was there.

From behind me, I felt two hands grasp my waist and a loud voice shout “HEY!” I yelped and jumped, reached back and grabbed his wrists and turned in his grasp. The laugh that bubbled from him, coupled with the sight of his face and the rich tone of his voice, in person, made me want to cry. Absence must really make the heart grow fonder—my heart was fond to bursting that moment.

He wrestled out of my grip and circled my waist, stepping close to me and lifting me into a tight hug. My arms wrapped around his neck and I held on for dear life, kissing whatever skin my lips could find while he laughed, the sound muffled against my shoulder. He set me down, sliding his hand down my arms until he was holding my hands in his.

“Hi,” I whispered, grinning like a fool staring up at him.

He laughed and stared down at me, handsome as ever. “Hi,” he said. “Where did you guys eat, Mexico?”

It was wonderful to hear his voice mere inches from me, already teasing and sassy. “We were talking about you. Time got away from us, I’m sorry. But I’m here, now.”

“You are. I am happy about that. Come here.” He released one of my hands and cupped my face, gently pulling me up and toward him, bending slightly to meet my lips. The kiss was soft and light but so slow and hypnotic that it made my body tingle, head to toe. As the kiss deepened he turned his head, a groan coming from his throat. He stepped closer, holding my head in both hands, fingers curled up into my hair. I hooked a finger in a loop of his jeans on either side and stood there, enjoying the best kiss I’d had since the last time he’d kissed me.

“Ewww, I thought I gave you guys enough time to get that out of the way!”

The kiss ended abruptly at the sounds of Tyler pounding up the stairs heavily, dragging my luggage and my laptop case, dumping them near the staircase and turning to walk into the dining room. He picked up a stack of mail, flipping through it, and tossed it back onto the counter before he left the kitchen again. JC stared at him, my gaze alternating from Tyler to JC and back.

JC cleared his throat, dropping his arms to rest on my shoulders. Tyler looked up, looked from JC to me and back to JC and blushed, his entire face matching the pink of his cheeks. “Alright, I get the message. I’m gone. See you tomorrow.”

“Hey, you’re not coming back tonight?” JC called, as he bounced back down the stairs.

“Nope, going out, I’ll crash somewhere. I’ll be back in time to eat whatever Serena is making for breakfast.”

“Alright, be safe, man.” Tyler gave one last wave as he closed the door to the garage. Moments later I felt the vibration of the door sliding down.

Suddenly alone, we didn’t know what to do with ourselves. We stared at each other for almost a full minute before I burst into nervous giggles and leaned against his chest, wrapping my arms around his waist. He laughed with me, hugging me to him, dropping a kiss on my temple as he pulled back.

“So, your flight was okay, looks like. You made it in one piece.” He took a hand and led me into the comfortable, sprawling living room, where we had played Mario Kart the last time I was at his house. A quick glance around told me JC was very much into his electronics and entertainment—if it played a movie or a song or a game, he probably had it in this room.

He dropped onto the couch, tucking a leg under him and patted the cushion next to him. I sat, assuming the same position, leaning comfortably against the plush furniture.

“My flight was great. I’m proud of myself. I didn’t even need one of those pills.” I reached for a hand resting casually on his thigh, wound my fingers between his, enjoying the feeling of just being able to hold his hand, and look into his face and have those eyes focused intently on me. It was one of the best feelings ever.

“And your meeting? You said it went well.”

I nodded, my head bobbing. “It did, really well. If we don’t have a contract by the beginning of the year, I will be very surprised. That would be really good news, for me.”

“Me too,” he said, wiggling his brows. 

I dipped my head, blushing lightly. “Yeah, you too. So, we’ll see. I’m excited. But that meeting is over and I am yours for the next three days. I know I don’t dare ask what we’re doing.”

He rubbed his face, scratching at the faint layer of stubble there. “Uhm, I didn’t make a whole lot of plans, really. I thought we would just play it by ear. You’ve already kind of done the tourist thing. Unless you want to go a bunch of places—we can do that if you want.”

“You know what I want, JC?” I rose onto my knees and leaned over, close to his face, inches from his lips where a hint of a smile was forming. “I want to be here, with you. That’s all. Outside of that,” I said, lowering my lips to his, brushing across them in the softest way possible. “I don’t really care what we do.”

His smile grew, until it was wide and sexy and megawatt bright. “I can work with that. I can definitely work with that.” With both hands he cupped my face and brought me to him, his lips meeting mine, taking his time, drawing it out. I wanted, needed to be closer to him.

I climbed over his legs and he turned so I could sit on his lap, straddling him. My arms circled his neck; his hands crept under my blouse to stroke warm skin. I shivered at the sensation, the calluses on his thumbs doing things to my toes and the small of my back. We kissed for what felt like forever, skin touching and caressing skin. I exhaled a long breath as I pulled back to look at him. He looked peaceful and happy. I couldn’t stop smiling.

“So what did you and my brother talk about? I just knew I would be a topic of conversation.”

I laughed and leaned toward him again, pecking the corner of his mouth. “I’ll never teeellll…”

He laughed, tossing his head back a little. “That means you guys were picking on me. I couldn’t even defend myself. So not fair.”

“Aw, I know. Not fair,” I said, kissing his tiny pout. “Actually, he told me that I should have you show me how to unload the dishwasher the right way. And uhm… I got my warning, which I was expecting.”

A brow lowered. “What do you mean? What warning?”

“Well, you know,” I said, with a shrug, my hands traveling across his shoulders, down his arms to his soft, strong hands and held them in mine. “Your friends and your family love you. They don’t want to see you hurt or taken advantage of by some girl who claims to be a big huge fan. I could be very opportunistic. I could take advantage of your good heart. I understand that. And I totally expected it.”

He gave me that look, from our first weekend together, the mix between ‘oh please’ and ‘that’s ridiculous’. “And Tyler warned you?”

“He asked, actually, is a better word. Asked me to be careful and to, I guess, be real with you. I think the fan thing creeps him out.” I sought out his eyes, staring into them. “I think it creeps you out, too.”

He lowered his gaze, rubbing the backs of my hands as I held his. “It doesn’t… it doesn’t creep me out. It’s not something I can change. Or would even want to. The fan thing made you cute, to me. And I don’t really want to take that away from you.”

“I feel a ‘but’ coming…”

He chuckled, and scratched an itch behind his ear, smoothed down his hair, rubbed his neck a little. “It’s not like I’ve never… hung with a fan before. It’s just. She’s usually gone by now, so….” He glanced up at me, only slightly embarrassed. “I just wanted to see where things went with you. I don’t mean to say you should feel special, or anything. It’s just… the more I talked to you, the less I thought of you as a fan. There’s more to me than what you see in interviews and pictures. You seem to know that. And there’s more that you should see, so you can know me. I want you to know me.”

A finger traced his square jaw line as I softly spoke. “I’m ready to see it, I want to see it. You. I’ve been ready to see you. Show me.”

“I will,” he said, his tone matching mine. “I plan to, this weekend. Starting now. Ask me, anything. ‘Nsync amnesty- ask me anything.”

“I think I know enough about ‘Nsync. I want to know you. And I don’t want to interview you. If I think of a question this weekend, I’ll ask you. And you have to answer it. Okay?”

“It’s a deal,” he said, nodding, resting his forehead on mine. He gave a soft pat to my thigh and rubbed the length of it, and then around to my backside and back down. He drew a shaky breath and lifted his head.

“So. What do you want do? You can’t be hungry.” I had an idea of a few things I wanted to do, but they could wait until later, when we were more relaxed and ready to end our day. Once I got started I had no intention of getting back up.

I climbed off of his lap and offered a hand to help him up. “I want to take my bags upstairs and maybe go for a drive, since we have daylight?”

JC had a few errands to run, and I rode along for company and the scenery. It was warm, so he let the top down and talked incessantly as he pointed out historical landmarks and passed along bits of information he thought I would find interesting. I listened and laughed and occasionally rolled my eyes, but inwardly I was so happy to be there with him, listening to some long drawn out story about one thing or another.  My mind drifted to the thoughts and daydreams I had of being in LA on a regular basis and being able to see him more often, and take rides with him on the spur of the moment, instead of having to plan those moments in advance. That would be nice.

Some of JC’s friends had accumulated at a local club and we stopped in to say hi. He introduced me to so many people that I would never remember their names so I didn’t try. We took up most of a corner of the club, laughing, drinking and talking. I got caught up in a conversation with two of his friends who had been to Atlanta several times, but hadn’t been back in awhile. We talked about how the city was growing and changing, what was new, what was closed and torn down. I realized a few hours into the night that I was comfortable and welcomed with open arms.  JC had funny and warm friends that welcomed me and everyone had a story of how they met and knew him.

Somehow I was separated from him, and almost in a panic, I looked around to find him. I spotted him across the room and fought the urge to run to him and attach myself to his hip. I admired him, though, having a conversation with a friend, so animated and passionate.

Everything in me was starting to love everything about him. From his casual stance when he was relaxed—his weight on one leg, the other kicked out, a hand in his pocket-- to the way he talked with his hands when he got excited, to his penchant for jewelry. More often, he was wearing the ornate crosses strung on sterling silver chains, the ones he used to wear on a daily basis. He was wearing one that night that looked like black lacquer set in pewter, the low lights in the club reflecting in the glossy shine. His hair, which was growing longer and starting to curl up, fell perfectly into place, even after a full day. Eyes piercing blue, rugged good looks, a nose almost too big for his face but so Adonis-like that if it were any different he would look strange, a day’s growth of hair on his face, his muscular build but modest attitude about it—all parts of him I found irresistible.

I felt drawn to the whole of him, though. More than what he looked like and his eclectic sense of fashion and individuality, I felt close to who he was, deep down. The ‘Him’ that he wanted me to know so badly. The sweetheart that sent me a text message every evening to say goodnight; that heard it would be raining in Atlanta so he called to remind me to take an umbrella to work the next day, or just to see how I was doing any random day of the week; that sent me emails of poems and song lyrics, some sweet, some silly, some I had to close my office door to read because I couldn’t stop laughing. I remembered meeting him and wondering if he was ever not so intense, if he ever eased up, after the wonder and awe of meeting someone new wore off. I hadn’t known him but a few months but I hoped I had my answer. He was slowly becoming part of my life and my world and I didn’t mind a bit.

His conversation ended and he turned his head, I assume looking for me. He caught me staring at him and instead of looking away and pretending I wasn’t, I held my gaze and gave him a slight smile. He looked around, and seeing no one else I could be staring at, pointed to himself as if to say ‘me?’ I nodded. He smiled, blushed a little and slowly walked across the room and stood in front of me.

He cleared his throat. I stared up at him, the same small smile on my lips.

“Hi,” he finally said.

“Hi yourself,” I answered.

“What, uhm, what were you looking at?”

I blinked slowly, and shrugged a shoulder. Nonchalant. “Just looking at you.”

He ran his tongue along his teeth, trying not to smile. “Okay. Why?”

“I just…. saw you. Across the room. I was admiring you. Do I need a reason to look at you?”

“Ogling, honey,” he said, with a know-it-all, rapid nod. “Mmhmm. You were ogling me.”

I rolled my eyes to the ceiling and back down, smirking at him. “Okay, if we want to pull out our fancy words. Ogling. What, like you’re offended?”

He stepped closer, touched a cheek to mine, his lips near my ear. The scent of him was heady and mouth watering. “Quite the opposite, actually,” he said, his breath tickling my ear. “I’m flattered. Are you ready to go?”

I had never left a bar so quickly in my life. In minutes we were in the valet line waiting for the car to arrive, discreetly holding hands, every few minutes squeezing gently and glancing over at me. His eyes were smoky, his slight smile sexy, his body language telling me I would enjoy the evening. The car arrived and he made sure I was in before walking around to his side and pulling away.

I snuggled back into my seat and enjoyed the drive, the night air cool, the city lights burning against the dark sky. His hand found a home on my knee and we rode in silence, listening to The Best of Sting. In a little over 20 minutes, JC was pulling into his spot in the empty garage. The door slid closed behind us and he turned off the engine. I stretched and breathed in, moving to get out of the car. His hand gripped my thigh, and I stopped, looking back at him.

He was leaning onto the armrest, his bottom lip caught between his teeth, the dull glow of the overhead lamp lighting the car. “Where you going?”

I sat back against the seat, again. “In. We’re not going in?”

“Not just yet. Bring your sexy self over here.” He grabbed me by the back of the head and brought me to him. His lips were wet, his breath hot and ragged, his tongue insistent, the kiss passionate. He moaned and leaned further toward me. I leaned into him, taking over the kiss and playing with his tongue, nibbling his bottom lip. I loved that lip.  

“Mmmmm… you drive me crazy,” he mumbled.

“Good,” I said, taking his lips once again. “My evil plan is working. Can we go in now? I can’t get close to you.”

“Oh, hell yes. We can definitely go in, now.”