"You'll like this place. I eat here every time I come home."

JC eased into a narrow parking space in front of a quaint, neighborhood sandwich shop, just as the late afternoon sun crept toward the horizon. The air was a touch cooler and the shadows were a little longer. Tables scattered the patio, covered with cloths of bright colors and the rollout canopy gave early evening diners a small amount of shade against the heat.

The bell on the door chimed, announcing our entrance. You'd never know it -- no one in the half empty restaurant looked up. I followed JC inside and browsed the menu written in chalk above the counter.   

"I can help the next person in li-heyyy!" The cashier, a short, portly young woman with a booming voice, thick glasses,  a name tag that bore the name 'Norma' hand scribbled in black sharpie, and hair the hue of a orangey-red flame gave JC the brightest smile I've ever seen.  "My God, I haven't seen you in... well, since last year when you came down! Welcome home. You want your usual?"

"Sounds good to me," JC said, smiling back at her. "I brought my girlfriend-- she's never been here before so make hers extra good." 

"It's always extra good!" She turned to me, eyebrows raised pencil ready. "What'll ya have, honey? It's all made to order and delicious."

My stomach growled loudly-I was painfully hungry and the smell of tomato soup was more than I could bear. "I will have the Three Cheese Grill," I spit out quickly. "Oh, and a cup of that tomato soup. It smells so good."

"You bet." Norma wrote up both orders and called them out to the cook behind her, who nodded without even looking up. "Go ahead and have a seat, sweetie. I'll bring it out to you."

JC reached into his back pocket for his wallet. "Ring me up. I'll go ahead and take care of it now."

"Nope. Go sit down." Her eyes narrowed as she flashed a ‘you know better' look at him. "Your money is no good here. Go. Git!"

Blushing slightly, JC slid his wallet back into his pocket and hooked his arm around my neck, guiding me a table that was partially hidden by a wall. I sat on one side; he dropped into the seat across from me.

"This is where I always sit. I can kind of hide, back here. See but not be seen. You know how it is."

I nodded, sliding the salt, pepper, ketchup and mustard to the edge of the table. "What happens if this table is taken? Do you stand? Do you hover and bother them until they leave your table?"

"I sit somewhere else. And then stare them down till they leave."

I reached across the table and laid my hands near his. His hands turned over and swallowed mine, and by habit, his thumbs rubbed my skin, soothing and electrifying all at once. I shuddered very slightly and wiggled in my seat, which made him laugh.

It was good to hear JC's laugh again, in real time, in real life. For the first time in a long time, his face was peaceful and happy. The worry and stress lines that had creased his forehead days before were gone. I loved looking at him when he looked like that.

"You know what I just noticed?" I asked, after a long moment of mutual staring. "Your eyes sometimes have little green flecks in them."

He blinked once, and nodded very slightly. "They uhm...change. Sometimes. Depends on my mood."

"Oh?  So what mood does little green flecks mean?"

A teasing smile started in the corner of his mouth and began to spread. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

He was a horrible tease who loved it when I really wanted to know something, so he could withhold his answer until I was about to explode. "Yes. Yes, I would like to know," I managed to answer, as calmly as possible.

"Uhm...." He lowered his eyes to the table for a few seconds, and then raised them again. "One of two things. Either I'm happy..."

"Or....?"

"Or... I'm..." He wiggled his brows twice and squeezed my hands in his. I caught his drift and wiggled again in my seat, pressed my lips together and sighed. Goddamn, that man was sexy.

"So, I never noticed that before. Which one is it, today?"

"Both. Very, very both." His eyebrows shot up several times and he chewed on his bottom lip. I loved that lip.

"You should have said something," I muttered, leaning in. "We could have ordered in or got something to go. We can still change it. Do you want to?"

"Nah. You were hungry and I like this place. I'm always..." He shrugged and raised our hands to his lips.  He kissed my fingers, then the back of my hands, and then turned them over and kissed my palms. I suppressed a squeal and closed my eyes as he bit lightly just above my wrist and around the edge of my palms.  "Anticipation always makes it better. Don't you think?"

"Yeah," I said, almost panting, trying to maintain control. "But you're not helping your... situation."

"I'm not trying to," he said, winking one very blue green eye at me. I melted, willing our food to come fast so we could go back to the house and finish what he was starting.

My wish was granted-two baskets appeared before us, dropped by a tall, good-looking man in a full, white apron, a polo shirt bearing the name and logo of the shop and loose khaki shorts.

"Regular for you, soup and sandwich for the lady. What's up, man?"

"Hey, it's Matt!" JC dropped my hands, almost suddenly, as he rose to hug the server. "Good to see you, man. How you been?"

"Good, business is booming, I guess. I'm just filling in today. One of the servers called out." He turned his attention to me and smiled. "So, introduce me to this woman who's way too pretty to be with you."

"This is my girlfriend, Serena. She's here with me for the holidays." JC angled his thumb at Matt, grinning widely. "This guy went to high school with Joey, and we all used to hang out together. His parents own this shop, his sister is the cashier up there."

"Nice to meet you, Matt," I said, offering a hand. He wiped his palms on his apron, took my hand in his and instead of shaking it, squeezed and held it. "We'll get together and you can tell me some embarrassing stories about JC in his youth."

"Definitely. I got a million of ‘em. This one time-"

"Yeah, okay," JC interrupted, pushing Matt backwards a few steps. "Time for you to go. But let's hang out or something. We don't leave until Sunday, driving out to LA."

The two old friends made more small talk, exchanged another brief hug and then Matt shuffled back to the kitchen.

"You just know people everywhere. Social Butterfly."

"Can't help it I'm so likeable." 

"Loveable, too." 

He glanced up from his sandwich, giving me of those looks that said so much while he said so little. "Eat. So we can go."

An eyebrow rose in defiance at his order. He was so sexy when he was bossy, it was all I could do to scoff at him and offer an argument. "I don't think we should exercise so soon after eating."

"Well, I thought we could take the boat out and catch the last of the sunset." He started to laugh, and lowered his voice. "I'm pretty romantic on the water."

"I can imagine. If I hear one pirate phrase, I'm jumping ship."

I was happy to have something distract me from thinking about the next day. I was starting to get nervous. I hadn't been, mostly because I knew Tyler would be there and he was pretty much like the court jester. He sucked all manner of formality and tension out of a room just by being there.

The more I thought about it, though, the more I was shaking at the prospect of meeting his mother and father, who would no doubt assess me to decide if I was good enough for their son. And the elusive Heather-I hadn't heard anything about her. I had no idea what she was like, and for some reason I was scared to ask about her.

"What time do we have to be at dinner, tomorrow?"

JC balled up his napkin and tossed it into the empty basket, shoving it to the edge of the table. I didn't even remember him taking a bite, and then it was gone.  "Around three or so, usually. We're eating at Heather's."

"I'm planning on being a pig. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday."

"I think Tyler and I are gonna have that covered."  He dug out his wallet and left a few bills on the table. "Let's go. I want to be alone with you."

*

"Okay, honey. Get ready for the ride of your life. Because... I drive boats like crap."

I climbed aboard the drifting vessel and settled in the seat next to JC. He started the motor and steered the craft away from the dock and into open water. A light wind brushed across my face, lifting my hair, swirling it everywhere.

"Look, it's Medusa!"

His laugh punctured the cooling air quite nicely. "Nice Greek mythology reference, honey."

JC steered the boat toward the middle of the lake, found a satisfactory spot and killed the engine. We moved to the bench seats at the back of the boat, facing the horizon.

"Now, I know you know the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, but we'll get a pretty good show, anyway."

I rolled my eyes at the elementary science lesson. "Yes, I know. This was a good idea, though. I never take the time to enjoy the sunset."

"The best ones aren't even here. Wait till you see one in Africa, or Italy, or France."

"Will we be sailing to those places?"

JC laughed and lifted his arm and I snuggled up next to him. The back and forth sway of the boat and the splishplash of the water against the hull was soothing and hypnotizing. The setting sun cast a beautiful glow over the lake, the rays bouncing off of the trees. The air was still, the entire lake quiet. It was a gorgeous night to be out.

We watched the sky turn a fiery red and then a bright orange and then grow darker and darker as the sun set. We sighed at the same time, and then laughed.

"So. Tomorrow.  Everybody's excited to meet you."

"I'm so nervous," I said, shivering. "What if your parents hate me? What if Heather hates me?"

He rubbed my arm, and then my back, pulling me closer to him. "That's ridiculous. I like you, and I'm way more picky than they are."

"You've probably told them a bunch of shit that isn't true, about me."

"Like what?"

"I don't know. You probably make me out to be like... I don't know..."

"You're cute," he said, shaking my shoulder. "What would I lie about?"

"I don't know. I don't mean lied, I guess. I mean...sometimes you act like I'm like... perfect, or something. It's a lot of pressure." 

His fingers dug into my hair at my neck and his stubble grazed my forehead as he laughed and then kissed me. "Oh, you sweet, delusional girl. I'm well aware that you're not perfect. You're stubborn for one."

I smiled, against his chest. "The word is headstrong."

"See? And it takes you a long time to trust people."

"It does not. Just people who could have an ulterior motive."

"Okay, rephrasing. It took you a long time to trust me. And you pretty much argue with every single thing I say. Even though I'm always right."

It was all true. I couldn't do anything but laugh. "None of my faults were enough to drive you away, obviously."

"Were you trying to? ‘Cause I'm just about to throw you overboard, actually."

"You wouldn't. You love me."

"I do?"

"Mmmhmm."

"How much?"

I laughed. "You must love me a lot to put up with me, so...very much, I think. You also want to kiss me, right now."

A hand snaked under my chin and tilted my head up so I was looking at him, and he was looking down at me. "You know a lot about me."       

"Mmmhmm..."

He leaned into me and my lips met his in a passionate, hungry kiss, his tongue swirling around mine in seductive, erotic rhythm. He moaned while his hands roamed, his fingertips dragging across my skin, creating tiny explosions wherever they went. I whimpered as his thumb found a familiar spot and rubbed across a taut nipple, poking out from the lace of my bra. I shuddered, amazed at how quickly I could go from comfortable to feeling like I was on fire.

"Shit, baby..."

"I told you. Romance, right here. And no pirates." My neck and shoulder were being rubbed raw by stiff stubble, while his tongue, warm and wet, licked my skin. It felt delicious.

"You did tell me. And no pirates. I'm pleasantly surprised. So, have you ever had sex on a boat?"

He lifted his head and stared down at me, speechless for a moment. He shook his head a little, started to laugh and said, "You're such a bad influence. I'm glad I didn't know you when I was younger and more daring."

A cackle of evil laughter escaped me as I stretched up to his lips. "You are so gonna regret asking me to move early."

He gazed lingered a few moments more, his face illuminated only by moonlight. "I kind of doubt that," he said, his tone soft and serious. "Actually, I think the best days of my life are right ahead of me."

He stood, adjusting himself, and made his way back to the captain's chair. "Let's go home and..." he cleared his throat, tossing a flirty look back at me.  "Uh...finish."

###

The next day, I was nothing but a big bag of nerves, which amused JC. I couldn't decide what to wear, cursed myself for not bringing anything from Atlanta, and then cursed JC for not reminding me to bring something for dinner. We couldn't just show up empty handed.

"Honey, honey, honey," he said, grabbing me by my shoulders, staring down at me, trying to be serious but obviously holding back a chuckle or two. "You need to relax. Once you meet them, you'll feel stupid for worrying about it."

Heather and her boyfriend didn't live too far from JC, so I didn't have a long time for my nerves to calm and the shakes to go away. In no time at all, we were pulling into the driveway of a modest, two story brick home, a little bit of old world and very charming. We took the cobblestone path to the front door and JC tried the knob. It turned easily and the massive door slid open to reveal gleaming wood floors and a long hallway.

The smell of Thanksgiving was pungent in the warm air of the house--turkey and gravy and potatoes and corn swirled around in the air together, making my mouth water. I heard voices and the television and dogs barking as soon as we stepped inside. JC closed the door behind us and reached for my hand, pulling me further down the hall.

"Hey, hey everybody," he called out, rounding a corner into a very casual living room.

"Hey, Serena's here!" Tyler was the first to greet me, kissing my cheek and enveloping me in a hug. I might have held onto him a little too long, because when he pulled back, he grabbed both my hands, looked me in the eye, and said, "Relax. The folks are cool."

Karen came from around the corner, her brown eyes bright, her smile wide, her arms wide open.  I loved the way JC looked at her as wrapped his arms around her, and how she closed her eyes and held on to him. Eventually he pulled back and kissed her cheek. He had the same embrace for Roy, with a few manly pats added in.

"I want you guys to meet someone," he said, pulling me from behind him, where I had been hiding. "This is Serena. Honey, these are my folks, Roy and Karen."

I felt myself blush as I instantly became the center of attention. I wanted to dip back behind JC and hide from everyone but that would just make me look crazy.

"I'm Roy... obviously." Roy was a version of Tyler, just older, with graying hair and a mustache. He stepped forward and offered a hand to shake, then said, "Well, dammit you're already family. Come here!"  I was swept into a hug and laughed, pretty much out of nervousness, while I hugged him back.

"It's great to finally meet you. I saw you at one of JC's shows, years ago. I just never had a reason to introduce myself to you, before."

"Well, it's great to meet you, finally. We've heard a lot about you," Roy said, with emphasis on a lot. I glanced back at JC, wondering what that meant. He made a face and grinned. I glared at him and turned back to Roy.

"Get out of the way, Roy. It's my turn," said a soft voice behind him. He stepped aside and Karen, giggling and grinning, stepped forward and pulled me into a hug. She patted my back and then pulled back and rubbed my arms, and then pulled me to her chest again, hugging me tight, swaying a little. I kind of felt more like she was my long lost aunt than my boyfriend's mother.

"I have been so excited to meet you, honey!"

"I... yeah, you too!" I stammered, completely losing the pre-rehearsed speech I had prepared just in case I was too nervous to just ‘go with it'. I had to make myself take a deep breath and calm down. So far, everyone was warm and comforting and welcoming. JC seemed to be right, yet again. I had no reason to be nervous.

"Sorry, things were burning!" A short brown haired streak flew out of the kitchen and into the living room, screeching to a halt in front of me. The requisite two dimple minimum was in full effect, and it occurred to me, since they were standing side by side, that Heather and Tyler looked freakishly alike.

"I'm Heather," she said, all smiles and sparkling eyes. "I'd hug you, but I'm covered in turkey shit... well, not turkey shit but..."

"Turkey shit," I said, laughing and waiving her off.  "I get it, no problem."

"Was everything okay, at the house? I made sure it was cleaned, and new sheets went on the bed. Josh said you didn't eat that frozen stuff, so I hope I got food you'll eat."

"Oh, everything was fine. Really, it was... just great." An uncomfortable lull was developing-one I felt the need to fill, for some reason. "So...did you need help? In the kitchen? You said things were burning..."

Tyler snorted. "Well that's how you know dinner's done at Heather's!"

"Shut up," she hurled at Tyler as she jogged by him, dragging me by the arm toward the kitchen.

I already felt very much at home, being directed around the small kitchen, chatting with Heather and later Karen, helping set the table. Heather's boyfriend, Ryan showed up about an hour after JC and I did, bearing rolls and wine. With his arrival, we were ready to sit down at the table and eat.

Over turkey and mashed potatoes and green beans and rolls, I watched an amazingly warm and friendly family dynamic. Everyone had their role-Tyler was the jokester, never taking anything seriously, making everything funny. Roy and Karen were doting parents, encouraging and positive and uplifting and so proud. Heather was cute and perky but tomboyish-with two brothers, she never had much chance to be girly and had the mouth to prove it. JC was the story teller. He had useless background information on everything and once a story began, it droned on and on until someone mentioned that they were getting old, going grey, or were bored to death.

JC took the ribbing in stride, waiving off their protests. "You know, someday you'll have a need for one of my stories and I won't be around to tell it."

"He acts like that would be a bad thing," Heather remarked, smirking at me as she got up from the table. "You guys clear the table, I'll get dessert ready."

As if it was routine, everyone stood and grabbed a bowl, a plate, a dish and marched into the kitchen, filing every inch of counter space and the sink to overflowing. I took over clearing the kitchen, because I couldn't imagine the nightmare of cleaning that mess.

"Josh, I like her," Heather said over her shoulder. "You should keep her. She cooks and cleans."

"She does a lot of stuff." JC came up behind me at the sink, slid his hands around my waist and buried his face in my neck. "I think I'll keep her," he said, muffled through my hair.

"None of his other girlfriends ever cooked, ever washed a pot, ever buttered a damn roll. Just sat in the living room like a fucking princess, or something." She rolled her eyes and ranted on. "I ain't serving your prissy ass. Get off the couch, bitch."

"Yeah, well..." JC pulled away and grabbed at Heather's curls.  "Serena is in a league all her own. Aren't ya honey?" He winked at me, shot me one of those cheesy two fisted thumbs up, and left the kitchen.

Heather watched him walk out, a hip jammed up against the counter, and then looked at me. "He looks really happy, right now. Happiest I've seen him in awhile."

I was glowing red, watching the blush rise from my arms and feeling it creeping up my neck and face. "Yeah, he does lately. It's good to see."

"Whatever it is you're doing for him..." she tipped her head toward the door. "Keep doing it. It's working."

With that, she went back to piling cherries on top of her homemade cheesecake, and then slicing thick pieces and laying them out on dessert plates. I made coffee and we had dessert out on the patio, around a large round table, under an umbrella shading the bright, setting sun.

"So, Serena...ready for LA?" Roy asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be, I guess. Someone decided I should come out early, so..." I looked up at JC, and he smiled down at me. "I'm all set, pretty much. I'll take December off, settle in, spend some time with JC. Then in January while he's gone I'll hit the job search again. That is, if I don't hear from someone first."

"So you sold your house, and everything?" Heather asked, flicking a cherry stem at Tyler.

I sucked in a deep breath, honestly trying not to freak out. Yeah. I sold my house. I had no home to go back to, if this LA thing should, for some reason, not work out.  JC sensed my stress and gripped the inside of my thigh, slowly rubbing his thumb in circles.

"Uhm... yeah. Yep, I decided to go ahead and sell it.  Otherwise I'd always feel like I had a fallback plan and maybe not really try to make it work. JC is nice enough to let me stay with him until I get settled and get a job, and everything."  I glanced up at him, at the moment so thankful he was right there beside me. I grabbed his hand under the table and vowed not to let go for awhile.

"Well, it sounds like you two have it all worked out. A plan is a good thing." Karen nodded her approval. "If you need some connections, I'm sure I can get some names and numbers. Just let me know."

I blinked, in shock. She didn't even know me. I could be anyone, some chick off the street, and she was offering to help me get a job. I started to see where JC's overwhelming niceness came from. And again, I was very thankful for it.

"I appreciate that, Karen. Let me see where I stand once I get there. I'll be in touch, I'm sure."

"I feel like going out," Tyler announced, banging on the armrests of his chair. "Need to let loose. Party it up."

Heather laughed, smacking him on the arm. "Before your girlfriend shows up, you mean?"

Surprised, I perked and sat up. "Allison's coming?"

"Saturday," Tyler answered, his cheeks beginning to glow. "It's ‘introduce girlfriends to the family' weekend, I guess."

"Aww...is she nervous? I was about to lose my mind this morning."

"She's crazy nervous. Shit, I'm crazy nervous. I don't introduce girls to my parents, usually."

Roy sat forward, leaning his elbows on the patio table. "What can you tell us about this Allison? Give us some dirt that Tyler won't tell us. Wasn't she a friend of yours?"

"Uhm... yeah I knew her, from one of my flights to LA. We just started talking and clicked. Honestly, Tyler knows her better than I do. She's a nice girl, though. You'll like her, she's cute." I tipped my head toward Tyler and smiled. "And she's very good for him."

Tyler seemed to sink lower in his chair, his cheeks growing redder and redder. He was being funny but if you knew Tyler really well, it was obvious he was nervous about bringing her home.

Karen stood, picking up her plate and coffee mug. "Well, anyone that could talk Ty into taking the Bar is good in my book. I'm going in. You guys enjoy the evening."

Roy stood to follow her out and then it was just us on the rapidly darkening patio. We talked until sunset, refilled coffee mugs and talked more. I didn't know how JC could stand to be away from his family. They were personable and funny, so very loving and proud of him without sucking up to him about it.

"I just kind of look at it as...'that's his job, that isn't who he is'," Heather was saying. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I love my brother to death, but he makes my life a living hell. The minute people find out I'm related to him, that's all they want to talk about. And then I feel like that's the only reason people want to know me, and... he's a great guy but I'm a great girl, you know? I don't know."

She shrugged and shook her head and sipped on the wine she had exchanged for coffee-maybe that explained her loose tongue.

"I mean, you'll find out, eventually. It's still early, but just wait. People won't want to know you for you. They'll want to know you because you know him. That's why celebrities hang out with celebrities and not... like... normal people. Normal people ruin it." Heather blinked slowly, her eyelids heavy and drooping. "It fucking sucks."

JC was contemplative, sitting backwards on a patio chair, balancing his chin on the railing. "I mean, for awhile our friends would deny knowing us, because people would want to hang around. Doorbell ringing-phone ringing-- at all hours of the night, weird mail every day. Remember that, you guys?" Heather and Tyler nodded, solemn.  "One of my best buddies back in Bowie couldn't even mention that he knew me. All of a sudden he had, like, five new best friends."

"God, high school sucked," Heather said.

"I kind of liked high school," Tyler piped in.

"You were popular, and you like attention. I had all these... girls... that wanted to know when my brother was gonna be home next."  Heather flipped her middle finger to the sky. "Fuck off, sluts!"

I was amused at Heather's candor, aided by sweet red wine, but also kind of awe-struck at hearing the back end of fame. What families go through when a member becomes a household name. I wondered how much of that I would be in for, once I was a regular fixture in LA. It wasn't like JC and I would hole up in the house all the time. We had to leave together sometime. I dreaded losing my privacy and autonomy and trying not to worry what people thought of me.

"Seems like it takes the fun out of being famous, when it affects those around you."

"For sure," JC answered, nodding. "It's like... the best and worst parts, all at the same time. You can't have one without the other. And it never stops."

Heather leaned over-more like slid over in her chair toward me. "So Josh says you're adopted, too?"

"Mmhmm."  Sometimes I almost forgot we had that in common. He quite obviously looked nothing like the rest of his family, and yet he was so much a part of them, you could almost see a resemblance. Unlike me, his daily life wasn't consumed with keeping up with two sets of parents, one of which was still in recovery.

"We had similar circumstances, with our birth mothers. Mine was a little more severe but..." I looked over at JC, who was looking at me, smiling a little. Almost proud. "My parents are great.  A lot like yours."

"Cool. Adopted kids are awesome," she said, her words slurring, her body sinking further into the chair.

Tyler grew more and more restless and finally stood and made his way toward the door. "So we goin' out, or what?"

*

"Hey, sleepy. We're home."

I awoke with a start in the passenger seat, sitting in the driveway. For a moment I forgot where I was, and then it came back to me. JC and Tyler talked me into going out with them to some dive bar with loud music and questionable clientele. We left just before last call, so it was late, so late the air was cold. I yawned and stretched, then unhooked the seatbelt and finally got out of the car.

"I wondered if you could move any slower? The sun's gonna be up in a few hours."

"Someone is so working his way out of sex tonight," I yawned. "And I was gonna... really do it up, too..."

"I wasn't getting any anyway."

"Don't tell me what you weren't getting." I yawned again and shuffled behind him to the front door.

"We are going to shower and then go to sleep. You hear me?"

I was relieved to hear that this would be the plan. After the stress of worrying about making a good impression, the long day, the heavy meal, and the single glass of wine I had, I was exhausted.

We showered and fell into bed, arms and legs intertwined and the faint glow of the beginning sunrise creeping across the room. We laid side by side, facing each other. Saying nothing, but saying everything. JC reached up to run his fingers through my hair, moving it back from my face. He smiled at the shiny gems in my ear and a look of contentment crossed his face as he closed his eyes, his hand still in my hair.

I laid awake awhile longer, watching him sleep, thinking about the year that had passed since I met him. And about how I could never go back to the woman I was before. I hardly recognized the old me-bitter and afraid and hurt and fragile. Trusting him, loving him, and welcoming his love for me had never, ever been the mistake I feared it would be. 

All he was asking-the one tiny request he made of me-- was just a little more faith that he knew what he was doing and things would be okay. As I drifted off to sleep, I thought I could probably do that.

I woke up much later to the sound of a doorbell. I rolled over to tap JC but found myself alone, nothing but the smell of coffee in the room.  The clock next to the bed read 10:30. 

I stumbled out of bed and made a beeline for the bathroom. When I finished I found JC standing in the middle of the room in a t-shirt and flannel pants.

"Who was at the door before noon?" I grumbled.

"You'll find out if you come downstairs. Did the doorbell wake you up?"

"I needed to get up anyway. I have to go to the grocery store and get a couple things for dinner tonight." I looked at myself in an old tank top and underwear. "Should I get dressed? Is someone here?"

"Nope, just us." JC had an odd, smug smile on his unshaven face. His hair was mussed and going in several different directions. I loved him like that. So normal and not all glammed up.

"You alright? You sick or something?"

"I'm fine. Good morning." I closed the space between us with a few steps and slid my arms around his waist. My head fit into the divot between his pecs so comfortably, I could stand there all day and listen to his heart beat. JC's arms circled and closed around me, pulling me closer. I let out a happy sigh and gave him a pat on the back.

"I love you. So much. And I trust you. Like, really trust you. I can't wait to get to LA."

"I love you, too," he whispered, before he kissed the top of my head, and then ran his hands down each arm, pulling me away from him. "You need to come downstairs. I have to show you something."

His grin looked a little sneaky and I wondered what he was up to. I let him lead the way out of the bedroom toward the staircase. Halfway down the steps, I saw it.

Sitting on the coffee table in the living room was a crystal vase stuffed full of lilies. There must have been two dozen beautiful blooming flowers in that vase. I stopped in my tracks, gasping and staring, completely speechless. JC had to pull me by the hand down the rest of the stairs to the table. I leaned down to breathe in the scent of one of the blooms. The room was already filling with sweet perfume.

"These are beautiful. I've never seen blooms this big. This one is the size of your head."  I giggled as I held one in my hand.

"I have a big head, then."

I looked up him and found him looking down at me, quite proud of himself. "Thank you. I thought you forgot." 

He leaned down to kiss me, and then said, "You're welcome. Melissa made sure I didn't forget."

I grinned and sat down on the couch, just staring at the giant arrangement. "Wow, it's been a year that you've been putting up with my shit. I don't know how you've made it but you have."

"It didn't kill me, so I must be stronger." He laughed and then lifted his arm and settled it around my shoulder. "Doesn't feel like a year. I haven't really been counting."

"I was just thinking last night about all we've been through. Or, all I've been through, that you've been through with me."

"Looking forward to more."

"Me too. So, for our anniversary, I'm moving to LA."

He laughed. "I figured. I just wanted you to have something pretty to look at."

I played with the hair on the back of his neck, dragging my nails up and through his scalp. He moaned a happy sound as his thumb rubbed back and forth on my thigh, the callus making waves and goose bumps.  As comfortable as I was, and as much as I hated to, we had to get on with our day.

"So..." I took a deep breath and then lifted my arms in a stretch, then laughed at him watching me-- mouth open, eyelids droopy, tongue lodged in the corner of his mouth.

"I swear, the way you look at me sometimes..."

"It turns you on when I look at you like that. You can't fool me."

I blushed, realizing I'd been caught. "Okay, yeah it does. It makes me feel sexy and... wanted. I like it a lot."

"You are sexy. And you are very..." Kiss. "Very..." Kiss. "Very wanted."  He used the bulk of his weight to push me back onto the couch and then laid on top of me, attacking my neck with kissing and sucking and licking.

"I thought we were too old for couches."

JC growled in response. I wanted to... I mean the man had flowers delivered! But the list of things I had yet to do that day began to pile up in my head, distracting me from desire.

"Honey, wait... I want nothing more than to do this right now, but I need to go to the grocery store and start cooking. Our parents will be here in a few hours."

His head lifted from where it was wedged between the couch cushion and my neck, slightly pink. He sighed and sat up, freeing me the makeshift prison he had me under.

"Fine, you owe me, though. I think I'll go with you. Shopping is so much easier in Florida. No one cares who I am, here."