Smiling in excitement, Beth thanked the driver as he dropped her off at the front of the hotel.  She ducked her head to try to avoid recognition as she walked through the front doors and up to the elevator.  The driver had given her her husband’s room number and she was on her way up to surprise him.  He had been in New York for the past two weeks doing some promo work for his new album and she had been unable to get away to go with him. 

But now with their three-year wedding anniversary in two days, she decided to fly up to New York and give him the surprise of his life.  Pushing the 15th floor button on the elevator wall, she silently watched the numbers go by.  With a quiet ding, the doors slid open on his floor.  There was no one around as she passed by room after room to get to his suite. 

With a final glance in the hallway mirror, she checked her appearance.  She was wearing his favorite deep blue dress that he said brought out the color of her eyes.  Her hair was down around her shoulders, face it, if she had put it up on her head, he would have it down in about 2 seconds.  Her husband loved to feel the silky softness of her hair all over his body as they made love. 

Setting her suitcase up, she released the handle and knocked on the hotel room door, waiting impatiently for him to answer.  She knocked a little louder the second time, the driver had said he would be here having just dropped him off before picking up Beth. 

As she heard footsteps move closer to the door, Beth smiled, eagerly anticipating their reunion.  But when the door swung open, she was startled at who was on the other side. 

Leah, one of JC’s backup dancers, was standing there in just a bra and panties. 

“Um, can I help you?”  Leah asked, pretending not to recognize JC’s wife. 

“Where’s JC?”  Beth demanded.

“Why do you want to know?”

“Where – is – my – husband?”  She said through gritted teeth. 

“He’s in the shower – and you’re interrupting, what can I do for you?”

Beth was not about to believe this woman who was blocking the door to what she thought was her husband’s room, but as she opened her mouth to again demand to know where her husband was – she heard JC’s voice singing in the shower. 

A slow grin spread over Leah’s face at the shocked look Beth displayed. 

“Maybe you should leave.” 

Spinning on her heel, Beth stalked back toward the elevator, digging her cell phone out of her purse.  Angrily punching the button, she heard the distant click of the door shutting down the hallway.  Pressing a speed dial button on her phone, she lifted it to her ear as she listened to it ring. 

“Hello?”  Leah’s voice answered. 

In shock, Beth ended the call as quickly as possible and slumped back against the rear of the elevator.  Something wasn’t right about the whole situation and she needed to talk to JC.  Right now, she needed to think of a game plan. 

***

A knocking on the door the next morning woke JC from a sound sleep.  Groaning he rolled out of bed to answer it.  An intern stood outside with a clipboard, warning JC that he needed to be ready to go in half an hour for his next interview.  Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, he closed the door and stumbled back to his bed.  Noting the time, he picked up his phone and started to dial a number from memory, then thought better of it. 

He’d call from the car, right now he needed to shower and dress for the day. 

Exactly twenty-nine minutes later as JC was stepping into his shoes, another knock sounded on his door.  Grabbing his wallet and phone, he placed them in pockets before stepping out to head to the waiting car. 

Greeting the people that awaited him, they headed en masse to the elevator.  JC was given a run down on how his day looked.  Horribly busy as always.  Only a couple of fans were waiting in the lobby and as always, JC stopped for a moment for pictures and autographs. 

Finally, he was rushed to the car waiting just outside.  Ducking into the backseat with his assistant, the driver sped off.  Before JC could get too comfortable, the driver posed a question that had JC sitting up. 

“Where’s your beautiful wife this morning?  I figured she would be with you.”  The driver looked into his rearview mirror at JC.

“Beth?  She’s probably at home sleeping in.  I was going to call her earlier but decided it was too early.”

Looking out the window, JC missed the look of confusion on the driver’s face.  “What do you mean?  I dropped her off at the hotel last night.  She flew in to surprise you.”

“What?!  What time was this?”

“Ummm…around 11 last night I would say.”

He lifted his hips to grab the phone from his rear pocket, dialing frantically, wondering what had happened to his wife. 

“Hello.”  Beth answered shortly. 

“I miss you, baby, where are you?  They said you were here.”  JC remarked tenderly. 

“Really?”

“What’s wrong?”

“Are you alone?”

“No, not right now, why?”

“Because I think this is a conversation you will need to have in private.”

JC moved the phone from his mouth as he asked the driver to pull over at the park they were driving past.  It looked deserted currently and the interview could wait for a few minutes. 

Jumping out, he called back he wouldn’t be long.  Jogging a few feet away, out of earshot, he told Beth he was now alone.

“What is going on?”

“Why don’t you tell me, JC?  How long has this been going on?”

“How long has what been going on?”

“Don’t play me JC, I can’t believe you.  Did you think I would never find out?”

JC was beginning to get angry now.  Why wouldn’t she tell him what this was about?  One thing they had in common was stubbornness.  Neither would willingly give in without a fight if they thought their way was best.  However, they were usually not fighting with each other. 

“Look, I can’t even address anything until you tell me what the hell’s going on!”  He screamed into the phone. 

“I flew in yesterday to surprise you for our anniversary and what did I find – YOU entertaining a dancer wearing just a bra and panties.  Care to explain that?”  Her voice was full of ice.

“I shouldn’t have to explain anything to you – you are my wife.  Why do we keep having this same argument?  So what if she was in my room in her underwear?  I’m sick and tired of you not trusting me!”

“Then stop giving me reasons not to!”  She screamed back.

“What do you want me to say?”

“The truth would be a good place to start.”  Her voice had lowered to a dangerous level. 

“Which truth would you like to hear?  The fact that she’s better than you have ever been?”  JC froze as words he never meant to say escaped his lips. 

Gasping on a sob, Beth hung up on his next words.  “Beth, no, I didn’t  - damn it.”  He threw his cell phone and it shattered as it hit a cement barrier. 

Running his hands through his hair, he headed back to the car, deciding to give her some time to calm down.  He was conveniently leaving out the areas that he was at fault. 

“She’ll come around, she trusts me, soon she’ll be calling me and begging me to come home.”  He pushed the matter aside as only he could and climbed back in, barking out orders to his assistant, demanding a new cell phone be purchased as soon as possible.  His assistant took it all in stride – it was far from the first time one had been destroyed in a fit of his temper.