"Looks like someone had a good weekend." Amie remarked in a singsong voice Monday morning.

Kristen looked over at her friend above the rim of her Caffe Mocha as she walked down the hall towards her office.  She couldn't help the grin that spread across her face.  "If by ‘someone' you mean me," Kristen said as Amie followed her into her office.  "Then, yes." She nodded, her grin widening, as she set her coffee and purse down on her desk.  "Someone had a great weekend!"

Amie gave an excited noise as she made herself comfortable on the corner of Kristen's desk.  "Details, girl!" She exclaimed.  "Who? What? When? Where?"

"Hmmm..." Kristen tried to force a straight face as she sat down in her chair.  She reached for her coffee and took several sips, closing her eyes to savor the flavor. 

"Arg!  You're killing me, Kris!" Amie growled as she reached out, pushing at Kristen's chair with her foot. 

Kristen giggled.  "That's what Chris said Saturday night." She said as she opened her eyes to look at Amie.  Amie gasped, her eyes widening in excitement.  "And last night." She continued, a full-fledge grin returning to her face.

"Chris?" Amie asked.  "As in...Chris?"  She questioned.  Kristen nodded.  "All weekend?"

"Basically." Kristen replied with a shrug as she leaned back in her chair with a smile and a dreamy sigh. 

Amie laughed.  "That good, huh?" She questioned.

"Oh." Kristen replied.  "You have no idea."  She giggled--the last two days with Chris replaying in her mind.  "He's..." she trailed off, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth.  She closed her eyes and shook her head.  "He's...amazing." She finally stated.  "I had no idea what I was missing out on being with Kevin."

"Details, Kris!" Amie exclaimed with a frustrated laugh.  "Details!" Kristen leaned her head back as she twirled around in her chair.  "You've answered the who and the when." Amie stated.  "Pretty sure I can figure out the what." Amie continued making Kristen giggle again.  "How about....how many--" Amie was cut off as Kristen held up all five fingers of one hand and two fingers on the other.  Amie made a sound like she was choking and Kristen sat up, looking at her friend.  "And you're able to walk right now because...." Amie trailed off with a teasing glint in her eyes. 

Kristen laughed.  "Mr. SexyBack, Justin Timberlake, ain't got nothin on the one and only Chris Kirkpatrick." She stated confidently and Amie giggled.  Kristen's phone beeped from her purse and she reached for the bag.  Opening it, she pulled out her cell phone and read the text message she'd received.

You left without saying goodbye :(

Kristen smiled. 

"Is that Chris?" Amie asked.  Kristen nodded as she hit the button to reply.  "Then I'll leave you alone." She said, standing.

"‘Kay." Kristen replied, distractedly as she typed out her response.

Had to leave early to get home and get ready for work and I didn't want to wake you.  Figured you could use the rest...you looked pretty worn out after last night ;)

Amie chuckled.  "Wanna do lunch today?" She asked.

"Yeah.  Sure, whatever.  Sounds good." Kristen replied, waving her hand at her friend as her phone beeped again with an incoming message. 

Worn out? Are you saying I'm old?

Amie laughed again as she left Kristen's office.  "I'll see you later."

"Yeah..." Kristen replied as she typed her reply.  "Later..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

You said it, not me, old man :p

Chris chuckled as he read Kristen's text.  He held his phone up above him as he lay in bed, typing out his reply.

Old man? Old man?!  I didn't hear you say anything about my age yesterday when we were getting freaky, Vanilla. Or the night before.  Do I need to remind you how many times I've made you scream out my name over the last couple days? And all without any Viagra...

He grinned as he sent the text. 

Tossing the phone next to him on the bed, Chris sat up--throwing back the covers and swinging his legs over the side of the bed.  He puffed his chest out, a smug sense of arrogance filling him as his mind wandered back to the events of yesterday.  From the day they had spent together talking and laughing and walking around the mall, to Kristen's pole dancing, to the lap dance she had given him, to the floor, to his bedroom...the last two days had been great and he knew he'd been good.  Kristen had been amazing and he was disappointed he had woken up without her this morning-but he was glad she wasn't here to see him gloating.  He chuckled as he turned and looked over his shoulder at the bed; his eyes taking in the place Kristen had fit into so comfortably and easily last night.  He was learning there were many sides to the woman and each one intrigued him more than the other, yet he suspected that each and every side of Kristen Miller would tear him down if she could see the smug look on his face at the moment.

His phone vibrated on the bed.  Chris twisted as he leaned over and reached for it where he'd tossed it a moment ago.

Cocky much?

He laughed as he read Kristen's text, proving his earlier thoughts correct.  Chris quickly typed out a response and sent it to her.

If you want cocky, Vanilla, I can give you cocky. I know how you like it...

Chris set the phone down on his bedside table then stood.  Scrubbing his hands over his face he let out a groan as he stretched his arms above his head.  He grinned as his phone vibrated again. He picked it up, laughing as he read her text.

Dirty old man.

With a simple smiley face sent as a reply, Chris left his phone on the nightstand and walked into the bathroom.  He stopped in the doorway as he was hit by a sudden bolt of inspiration.  He could hear the beginnings of a melody in his head as some lyrics began coming to him.  He grinned as he rubbed his hands together.  There was nothing quite like the rush he got from creating music-being with Kristen was a rush all its own, but creating a song was an entirely different and incredible experience.

This is gonna be good.  He thought.  I wonder what Mike's doing today...

~~~~~~~~~~

"Michael?" Kristen asked as she knocked on his office door later that afternoon.  The man looked up from his desk and motioned her into the room.

"What can I do for you?" He asked as he set his pen down and folded his hand atop the papers spread out in front of him.

"I, uh..." Kristen stalled as she sat down across from him.  "I want to talk to you about a fundraising idea that a friend and I have discussed and come up with recently."

"What kind of idea?" He asked.

"Well, it's a, uh..." she rubbed her hands nervously over her thighs.  "Do you remember about seven or eight years ago the music group N SYNC that was really popular?" She asked.  Michael gave her a blank stare.  Of course not.  Kristen thought.  Why would you know about N SYNC?  "Anyway, they used to hold an annual charity basketball game." Kristen went on.  "Then they went on hiatus and they stopped holding the games.  I'm friends with one of the guys that was in the group and he mentioned to me last week that he was thinking about getting the rest of the group together and starting them back up again.  He knows that I work for the hospital here and he was asking if we wanted to help in promoting it and getting some of our sponsors and donors on board with it and we would get some of the proceeds from the game.  I told him I would talk to you about it and see what you thought."

Michael sat, regarding her silently for a moment and Kristen wasn't sure if it was a good silence or a bad silence.  With Michael you never could tell until he opened his mouth and began to talk. 

"It has the potential of being huge." Kristen continued.  "The guys have a fantastic fan-base that supports them one hundred and ten percent in anything they do.  When they did their basketball games back in the day it was a huge event and people came from all over to watch and participate."  She paused, watching Michael for any sign as to whether or not he was liking the idea or not.  "Chris--that's the guy I'm friends with--has a charity foundation of his own, and some of the proceeds would go there as well.  It'll be good publicity for the hospital and he's willing to offer his contacts to us to get this all set up and going.  So what do you think?" She asked, her heart fluttering nervously in her chest.  She really wanted him to say yes.  She knew this was going to be a great opportunity for the hospital and an amazing event to be a part of.  She mentally crossed her fingers as Michael opened his mouth.

"I..." he paused as he leaned back in his chair-his hands crossing over his wide girth now, instead of the papers on his desk. 

"I like your sweater." Kristen commented, surreptitiously--hoping to win herself some brownie points, even though the black and yellow monstrosity made him look like a huge bumble bee. 

"I...like it." He finally nodded. 

"Yeah?" Kristen asked, excitedly.

"Yeah." He nodded.  "I'd like to speak to Chris about it--did he have a hand in planning any of the games in the past?" He asked.

"I don't know." Kristen shook her head.  "But I can find out." 

Michael nodded as he leaned forward in his chair.  "Set up a time when he can come in and we can all talk about it." He told her. "Get some of the logistics ironed out."

"Okay." Kristen smiled.  "Thank you!"

"How's the benefit concert coming?" He asked. 

"Well," She swallowed.  "We haven't been very successful in signing artists up, but we're still trying.  Amie and I--"

"Why don't you talk to Chris about that." Michael stated as he picked up his pen and began looking over the papers in front of him.  "He's got to have a lot of connections in the music world if his group was as big as you say it was."

"I don't want to use him for his connections." Kristen replied, her brow furrowing slightly. 

"Of course not." Michael answered as he looked up at her.  "But you just told me he was willing to help by offering the contacts he's got.  Let's dig into that a little further, okay?" He asked. 

"O-okay." Kristen replied, though she suddenly felt funny about this whole situation and wondered if it had been a good idea to talk to Michael and bring Chris into the mix. 

"That's all." Michael said as he bent over his paper work again--dismissing her as if he had been the one to call her to his office instead of her coming by herself.  Kristen looked at him in confusion for a moment.  What the hell?  She wondered as she stood. 

Walking out of his office she paused in the hallway and looked over her shoulder-wondering what had just happened and how Chris was going to feel about Michael wanting her to "dig into" his list of contacts.  With a sigh she continued walking down the hall towards her office.  She wasn't going to worry about that right now.  She had done what she'd promised Chris she would do: talked to Michael about the basketball game.  Michael liked the idea and Kristen smiled as she thought about what this opportunity would mean for her and for the hospital.  This had the potential of being huge, as she'd expressed to Michael, and--aside from being able to work closely with Chris over an extended period of time--helping to put together this event was only going to add to her resume and make her even more valuable asset to the hospital.

Kristen pulled up short when she stepped through the door of her office, her eyes immediately spotting the foreign object waiting for her on her desk.  She smiled as she walked towards the desk, her fingers reaching out to brush over the petals of the bouquet of daisies that were sitting in a bright yellow vase.  She regarded the blossoms for a moment, wondering who they were from until she saw the card that had been delivered along with them.  Her smile grew as she read the short message. 

Just wanted to let you know I was thinking about you and missing you.

She sat down in her chair as she continued staring at the flowers--the small note pressed against her chest.  How did he know?  Kristen wondered in awe.  How in the world did he know daisies are my favorite?  Or that I love the color yellow?  She and Chris had talked about a lot of things over the last couple weeks, but they hadn't moved into the territory of favorite flowers in any of their conversations.  It was either an amazing coincidence that he had happened to pick out her favorite flowers and have them sent over in a vase that was her favorite color, or it was a huge sign that she needed to take notice of.

Kristen didn't believe in coincidences.

Reaching for her cell phone that she'd left laying on her desk when she'd gone to speak to Michael, Kristen leaned back in her chair as she dialed his number and waited-counting the rings until she heard his sexy voice come over the line.

~~~~~~~~~~~

She likes to party and she never comes home.

Wherever she may go she never ends the night alone.

I must confess, she's irresponsible.

She knows she's beautiful.

That's why she gets away with it all

I gotta tell you, she's a handful all the time.

But she's my baby.

She's a crazy girl.

She's a crazy girl.

She's not a stripper but you'd never know.

The way she works the pole, you'd throw your dollars on the floor.

She may get into the occasional fight, at the end of the night

Because she likes to put on a show.

I gotta tell you, she's a handful all the time.

But she's my baby.

She's a crazy girl.

She's a crazy girl.

Mike leaned over, holding his hand up towards Chris.  Chris responded-slapping his hand against the other guy's.  "You're a genius!" Mike proclaimed as he listened to the rough track they had laid down.  "These lyrics..." he trailed off as he read over again the words Chris had scribbled down and brought over to the studio today.  His eyes slid back over to Chris.  "What's the story behind ‘em?"

Chris felt a broad smile take over his face.  "What else, man?" He asked with a shrug and a shake of his head.  "A crazy girl I met." And whom I'm becoming obsessed with.  He added silently.  He chuckled to himself as he leaned back in the chair he was sitting in and stared at the ceiling, his thoughts once again returning to the events of the past weekend.  He had taken some artistic liberties in creating this musical interpretation of Kristen, but from what little he knew about her--combined with the sense he got from being around her--he was certain he'd been able to perfectly capture the essence of her personality.  Though he'd only been given a small taste of it Saturday evening, she was a handful when she chose to be. 

She was a crazy girl. 

She was his crazy girl.

His phone vibrated and he sat up as he pulled it from his pocket.  Speak of the devil.  He thought as he saw Kristen's name flash across the screen.  "Hi." He said, answering the call.  He pushed his chair back from the soundboard and stood, walking out of the studio.

"You are incredible." Kristen stated.

"Yes, that's what you kept saying last night." He teased, and she laughed. 

"Thank you." She said.

"For last night?  You're welcome." He replied.  She laughed again and he smiled as he leaned back against the wall beside the studio door.  He loved the sound of her laugh.  Kristen had the cutest and most contagious laugh he'd ever heard and it never failed to make him smile and laugh along with her. 

"So I was wondering," she began.  "If...if you're not sick of spending time with me after this weekend, do you want to maybe go to dinner tonight?" She asked.

"Yes." He quickly agreed.  "And by the way, I'm not sick of spending time with you."  He heard what sounded like a quiet sigh of relief coming from her and smiled.  "Where do you want to go?" He asked. 

"Do you like The Cheesecake Factory?" She asked.

"Who doesn't?" He replied.

"Awesome!" Kristen exclaimed.  "Wanna meet there at six?" She asked.

"How about I pick you up?" Chris asked.

"You don't have to pick me up." She insisted.  "It's out of your way to come get me. We can just meet there."

"It's not out of my way." He lied.  "I'm picking you up." He stated firmly.  He wanted to see her again as quickly as possible and this was the way to do it.

"Okay."  She agreed.  There was silence on the line for a moment until she spoke up again.  "I talked to Michael about the basketball game idea." She informed him.

Chris straightened slightly in interest.  "And?" He asked.

"He liked the idea." She replied.  "He said he wanted to set up a time for you to come in and the three of us talk about everything."

"That's great!" Chris exclaimed. 

"Have you talked to Justin about it yet?" Kristen asked.

"No." Chris answered honestly.  "I've been a little preoccupied lately." He admitted.

Kristen chuckled.  "That seems to be a favorite excuse of yours." She teased.

"I can't help it that a beautiful woman one day appeared out of nowhere and took me completely by surprise." He replied.  Kristen chuckled again.  "I'm a guy.  We're easily distracted by beautiful women." He stated.  Kristen went silent on the other end of the line and Chris could feel the mood between them change instantly.  He was confused as to why for a moment until what he had just said registered.  Damn it, Chris! He chastised himself, as he lifted one hand and smacked it against his forehead.  Way to stick your foot in it.  "Kristen, I...I didn't mean to...I..."  he groaned as he closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall.  "I'm sorry." He apologized. 

"It's okay." She replied, all earlier evidence of her laughter and happiness completely gone.  Chris felt about two inches high and wanted to kick himself for being so thoughtless and insensitive.  How could he just carelessly throw that statement out there--completely forgetting the reason she was in the middle of a messy divorce was because her husband had been easily distracted by other women?

"No it's not." He told her.  "I wasn't thinking.  I'm sorry.  We're not all easily distracted like that.  I promise.  That was a stupid thing to say, I shouldn't have said it.  I--" 

"It's okay, Chris." She insisted, cutting him off, though he could still sense she had pulled away from him slightly with that verbal reminder of the pain and betrayal she had gone through, and was still going through. 

"How ‘bout I try and make it up to you by taking you to dinner tonight?" He asked.  "Cheesecake Factory?  I'll pick you up about six?" He left the invitation out there, hoping he hadn't blown it and she still wanted to see him tonight.

She was quiet for a moment then, "Okay." She agreed and he could hear the hint of a smile returning to her voice which made his heart skip hopefully in his chest.  "But you may have to buy me two pieces of cheesecake." She warned.

"I'll buy you whatever the hell you want." He replied and she chuckled. 

"I'm going to hold you to that." Kristen stated.

"Good." He nodded.

"Okay then.  So I'll see you later?" She questioned.

"I'll be there." He promised.  They said their good-byes and Chris ended the call.  Once more shaking his head at the faux pas he'd committed.  With all the years he'd spent in the spotlight, and all the media training he'd had, he would have thought he would have learned to think before speaking.  A lot of good all that training did.  He mused as he pushed off from the wall.  He was going to have to be more careful at what he let slip out.  He liked Kristen--he liked her a lot--and he didn't want to do or say anything that would risk whatever it was they had going on between them.  Pacing down the hallway and back up, Chris looked down at his phone as he scrolled through his list of contacts.  Finding the name he was searching for, he hit a button to call the long distance number and lifted the phone to his ear.  A familiar voice answered on the second ring and he smiled.

"Aubrey, my love!" He exclaimed, making the younger woman chuckle.  "I'm so glad you answered.  You're just the woman I need to talk to.  I need your help..."

~~~~~~~~~

"Dinner was great." Kristen said as Chris held his hand out to her, helping her out of the car.  He squeezed her hand.  "Do you...want to come up and," she lifted the bag in her hand, "share this second piece of cheesecake with me?" She asked, with a grin and a lift of one eyebrow.

Chris kept a hold of her hand as he pulled her against him, pressing his lips against hers.  "Where do you put it all?" He asked, narrowing his eyes slightly as he pulled back to look at her.

"What?" Kristen asked with a chuckle as she lifted her arms and put them around his neck. 

"All the junk food." Chris explained as his arms went around her waist.  "I'm impressed that you're not the typical girl obsessed with what you're eating all the time and so concerned with counting calories and carbs that you miss out on all the great food life has to offer but..." he drawled.

"But?" Kristen asked her fingers twirling the hair at the nape of his neck, her lips lifting at the teasing sparkle in his brown eyes. 

"But how come you don't weigh like three hundred pounds?" He laughed.

Kristen laughed.  "That's the benefit of having a high metabolism." She replied.  "I can enjoy life without constantly worrying about what I'm eating but don't get me wrong," he continued as she leaned forward slightly--kissing him.  "I run so I don't have to worry about what I eat."  Chris bent his head as his mouth covered hers and Kristen willingly let him lead her in a heated exchange--completely forgetting the fact they were standing in the parking lot in front of her apartment building.  "Mmmm..." Kristen moaned when he pulled back a moment later, her tongue darting out to lick her lips-the taste of Chris Kirkpatrick still heavy upon them.  "So?" She asked as she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. 

"So?" He echoed.

Kristen smiled.  "You coming up, or not?"

Chris kissed her once more before stepping back.  Kristen dropped her arms from around his neck.  Chris put his arm around her shoulder as they turned and began walking towards her building.  He lifted the key ring in his other hand, pointed it over his shoulder and pressed a button--setting the alarm on his Escalade. 

"You should consider yourself very lucky." Kristen commented as they continued walking. 

"And why is that?" Chris asked with a chuckle.

"Because I don't share my cheesecake with anyone." Kristen replied as she looked at him. 

Chris laughed as he hooked his arm around her neck, pulling her closer as he bent over and kissed her. Chris dropped his arm from her neck.  He took her hand as he followed her up the stairs--bumping into her when she stopped suddenly at the top.  "What--"

"Kevin?" Kristen asked, the bag in her other hand dropping to the ground as the man that was standing at her door turned to look at them.  "What the hell are you doing here?"