"One more time from the top - and really focus on that last note." The singer in the sound booth - a 16-year-old Justin Bieber lookalike being scoped out by producer friend Dallas Austin - nodded as JC started the track again. He sat back in his chair, listening closely to the singer and making mental notes on what he could fix. Overall though, JC was impressed. His changing voice could cause some issues, but overall, he was a good find. As the singer wrapped the chorus, JC tinkered with the soundboard and faded the song out.

"How was that?" Morrison Stevens, the 16-year-old tweeny hopeful, asked. JC smiled encouragingly and nodded.

"Sounds good kid. I'll talk to your manager about some ideas I have for this track. You OK to come back later this week?" Morrison nodded enthusiastically as he put his headphones aside and stepped out of the booth. The duo walked to JC's front door and chatted about music until Morrison drove off with the promise to focus at music lessons and finish up his songs. JC watched him drive away and smiled sadly, remembering when he was Morrison's age and how his passion for music drove him to be the best he could. As he walked back into the house, he found Heather lying on the sofa flipping channels.

"It's like, 8:00 Jace. Shouldn't he have been in bed two hours ago?" JC rolled his eyes as he moved Heather's legs out of the way and sat down beside her. "I heard him sing though. He's good - a little rough, but good. He's got potential."

"Well thanks for that vote of confidence Ms. Music Know-It-All." Heather sat up and smacked him on the chest with a glare.

"Your sarcasm is not appreciated today. It's been a long day." He smiled sympathetically as Heather put the remote aside and grabbed her can of Coke from the nearby coffee table.

"How's work? Keeping you busy?" Heather sighed heavily as she drank some of the soda.

"Yeah. It's hard to find a balance. I mean, I love the company, but I feel overwhelmed working into their system right now. I know I've only been there a few days, but I feel like I'll never catch up." JC gave her a friendly encouraging nudge.

"You'll get it Heather. Just give it a little bit of time, OK? It's only the beginning of the second week. Do you like this job better than your last one?" Heather's slow smile and nod said it all. "OK then. Stop being Ms. Impatient and let it ride. I'm sure it'll get better sooner rather than later." Heather huffed but nodded.

"Fine. So...Grace told me about the dinner date you have with Addison tomorrow. Is something going on between you two?" JC rolled his eyes and silently cursed Grace. He was hoping to keep all this under wraps...so much for that.

"We're just catching up," JC said nonchalantly, turning his attention to some reality show on TV.

"Bullshit Jace. I've seen the way you two interact - and it's obvious there's a history there. What happened between you two?" Well, if JC had had any inkling that Heather knew about their summer romance, she'd definitely squashed that. Deciding not to talk about it all just yet, he simply shrugged.

"I'm pretty sure she has a crush on me." He knew if Addison heard him saying that, she'd call him a cocky son of a bitch. He was willing to take that risk to throw Heather off.

"And what about you? Do you think she's cute?" Another shrug came from JC.

"She's OK. I mean, she's cute, but that's about it."

"You know bro, you're not getting any younger. She's super cute and totally your type." JC gave his sister a surprised look.

"How do you know what my type is?!" It was her turn to shrug as she finished her Coke.

"I don't know. I just do. And she's your type. She's a good girl, has a good head on her shoulders, she bakes the best cupcakes in the world...can you imagine if you married her? You'd have cupcakes whenever you wanted!" JC laughed as he shook his head.

"And then I'd be fat. You remember how it was when she'd bake in college - I'd gain five pounds just by eating the batter."

"But it was the best damn batter ever, right?" JC shrugged again. "Look Josh. If there's something there, you should explore it. Or at least consider it."

"Thanks for that, but I think I can handle my relationships on my own. And don't give me that look," he added quickly as Heather gave him a "Yeah right" look.

"Whatever you saaaaaaaay..."

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"God. I look horrible."

"Shut up Addy. No you don't. I say, you go in your pajamas - he doesn't deserve to see all that," Grace chimed in, waving her hand around Addison's body to emphasize what "that" meant. Addison cracked a smile as she adjusted her little black dress - a sleeveless number that stopped mid-thigh and crisscrossed in the front so that, with the right bra, the cleavage was off the charts - and slipped into her hot red heels. She'd spent the last hour debating on how to wear her hair and had opted for down, the natural curls framing her face perfectly.

"Do you think I should wear the red - "

"God Addison, just stop already! You agreed to this dinner, and you agreed to wear that dress. We both know you're going to wear that, and we both know this dinner will go just fine. I swear, your nerves are ridiculous sometimes." Addison gave Grace a bashful smile as she stepped away from her floor-length mirror.

"Sorry. I just...I'm not sure I'm ready for this. Not yet." Grace rolled her eyes as she moved from her perch on Addison's bed and walked over to Addison's dresser, grabbing the bag of chips that were sitting on them.

"Yes Addy. You are." Grace leaned against the dresser and shoved a handful of chips in her mouth, eating them before continuing. "You've been waiting for this moment since you broke up. Take advantage and just go. Stop doubting this." Addison took one last look at herself in the mirror, forcing herself to be satisfied with the look, before she grabbed her clutch from her bed.

"Thanks for pushing me to do this Grace. I mean it." Grace waved the compliment off as she shoved more chips in her face.

"I know this is what you want - and you won't be satisfied until you do this. Now, get your sexy ass out of here before you're late - and bring me back a California Roll, kay? Thanks." Before Addison could retort, Grace turned on her heels and walked out of her room. Addison chuckled to herself and rolled her eyes as she left her room and grabbed her keys.

"Just like Grace to demand food and split," she muttered as she left the house and climbed into her car. She took in a deep breath before starting her car and starting the 20-minute drive to the sushi restaurant that was a favorite of hers. She had suggested they meet there because Addison knew it and felt comfortable. And, they had a private room that they could use for an occasion such as this.

She told herself not to have a panic attack as she hit traffic on the highway, reasoning with herself that the extra time in the car would allow her to brace herself emotionally. She didn't want to blow it by blowing up at him, but she knew what kind of person she was: an emotional one. She took things to heart, especially when it came to sensitive situations - and this was definitely a sensitive situation. The last thing she wanted was to start yelling or - worse - start crying during their conversation, but the possibility of those happening was definitely high.

Addison inhaled and exhaled deeply as she crawled her way through traffic, continuously checking the time and praying she wouldn't be too late. Her thoughts were all jumbled, and the light jazz music she had playing wasn't helping her calm down one bit. "Please let me make it through this," she whispered to herself as she came to another standstill and heard horns honking around her. "Please."

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JC checked his watch and tried not to look nervous. He and Addison had settled on meeting at a local sushi place, and he'd arrived a few minutes early for good measure. It was now 10 minutes past their agreed-upon meeting time, and JC was getting worried that she'd bailed on him. He bounced his knees up and down, then forced himself to stop - that would definitely make him look nervous.

Five more minutes went by, and JC was about to give up. He tried hard not to be angry - Addison had every right to bail - but to say he was disappointed was an understatement. He sighed heavily and pulled his phone out to try and call Addison when the door to the restaurant flung open and Addison rushed in.

"I'm so sorry!" she huffed as she put her hands on her hips and sucked in as much air as she could. Even though her face was flushed, she looked incredible in her black dress that was very low cut and gave him more than enough of a view of her sexy long legs. He struggled to keep his eyes on her face as she swept her hair out of her face and fanned her face.

"You OK?" he asked, trying not to sound amused, as they walked to the hostess stand.

"Yeah yeah - traffic was a bitch, and I couldn't get signal to call you. I'm so sorry Josh...you probably thought I had bailed."

He tried not to blush as the waitress seated them in a private room. "I kinda did, yeah. I was getting ready to call when you rushed in." Her bright smile made his heart skip a beat as the hostess handed them menus, smiled and left them alone.

"Sorry. And hi. I didn't even say hi when I walked in."

"Hi," JC responded with a smile. "You look incredible. I'm glad you came." Addison gave him a shy smile as she put her hands on top of her closed menu.

"Thanks. I know what I want - I come here all the time.”

“I do, too – how is it that I’ve never seen you here?”

“I tend to just pick up and go. And, you’re famous – I’m not. I can sit wherever I want, and you probably sit in some private spot away from the adoring public.” JC chuckled as he took a sip of water and shrugged.

“So…how have you been Addison?” JC had been thinking about this moment since they had agreed to meet for dinner. His heart was racing, but he tried to keep his nerves in check on the outside. The fact that he didn’t know how the conversation would go made him sick to his stomach.

“I’ve been…I’ve been good. Pretty good.” The conversation died temporarily as their waiter walked in with waters and a smile. He took their drink and sushi orders and stepped out quickly, leaving them in complete silence. Addison took a sip of her water as she looked down at the table, clearly not wanting to look at him. She’d barely made eye contact with him since they sat down. JC cleared his throat nervously as he wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans and tried to find direction for the conversation.

“Look Addison. I just…” She looked up at him then, her face unreadable. He hated that he couldn’t tell what she was thinking. “I just feel like we need to have an open conversation about things. Move past things. Now that Heather’s here, we’re going to be around each other a lot, and I would really like our interaction to be pleasant. Friendly.” Addison sighed as she nodded.

“I know. We’re going to be around each other a lot because of your sister. But…I don’t know. This whole move thing caught me by surprise, and I’m still adjusting to actually being around you after so long. It’s just…it’s weird for me.” JC nodded in understanding as he took a sip of his water to wet his dry throat.

“I’m sure it is. It’s a little weird for me, too. But I’m glad that you and I are…” JC paused for a second to find the proper wording.

“Getting to know each other again,” Addison finished. JC smiled slowly at her as he nodded. She still knew what he was thinking without him saying it; at least that hadn’t changed.

“I want you to talk about whatever you want to talk about. I want to get to know you again, talk to you. Where do you want to start?” Addison shook her head, looking back down at the table again before looking back up at him. God…he wished he could figure out how she was feeling.

“You don’t want me to answer that. You should decide where we start, because where I want to start probably isn’t where you want to start.” He cocked her head at her, not sure where she was going with the conversation.

“Well…where do you want to start?” Addison’s eyes darkened – they always did when her mood changed – as she sat up straight in her chair and leaned in closer.

“Why?”

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“Why…what?” Addison couldn’t believe that JC was acting so dense, but she kept her smartass remarks in check.

“Why her?” She saw him shift uneasily in his chair as he cleared his throat. Yup – definitely wasn’t where he wanted to start.

“Addison.” His voice was stern as he rubbed his forehead roughly. “Do you really want to go there? Do we have to go there right now?” She nodded her head vigorously.

“Yes. We do. Ten years ago, you walked away without much explanation whatsoever. From what I can see, I didn’t do anything wrong. And, considering you started dating Bobbi soon after we broke up, it makes me really suspicious that you were cheating on me.” She could feel her temper rise, but she fisted her hands to help her focus and control it.

Her eyes bore into JC’s as he kept quiet in his seat, clearly not sure how to answer the question. “I don’t know what you want me to say Addison. Will it really change things?” She shrugged.

“I don’t know. I don’t think so. But I thought…I thought we were good. More than good. And then one day, bam. We’re done. And the next week – bam. You’re with Bobbi. I spent so many months trying to figure out how to rationalize your decision, but I just couldn’t come up with anything and eventually just gave up thinking about it.” Addison saw him sigh as he rubbed his forehead.

“I can’t tell you why I decided to get with her Addison. We just…I thought we were getting too serious, and I didn’t want to drag you into my crazy world that I lived in at the time. And then she came along as a rebound, and I…” He faded out, his eyes shifting to the table.

“She was one hell of a rebound Josh. She was around for quite awhile for being a rebound.” He gave another shrug, which did nothing to ease Addison’s mind.

“She was there for me. She was a friend, we kinda fell together, and then we fell into a routine. Our relationship ran its course, and we’ve been done for a long time now.”

“Like that’s supposed to make me feel better, especially since you chose her.” The sarcasm was dripping in her voice, but she didn’t care. Now was her shot to get it all out, and she’d be damned if she didn’t say everything on her mind – and then some.

“God Addison. That was ten years ago. What do you want me to say? That I didn’t mean to choose her? I already told you that she wasn’t you – but I knew once I broke it off, I couldn’t get you back. So I stayed with her.” She raised her eyebrows at him.

“You honestly would’ve tried to get with me if you thought you could?” JC sighed and shrugged, slouching back in his chair.

“I’m not sure Ads. Honestly, after we broke up, I pushed you out of my mind. I felt horrible for how I handled things, and I missed you. So I just pushed us out of my mind and went on. It was the only thing I could do.” Addison didn’t feel any better with his explanation. She wanted to feel a sense of relief, but she just didn’t. His reasoning made no sense to her, at all.

“How could you just forget me like that?” She asked the question softly, but she knew he heard her. “I mean, we were good, right? Weren’t we?” JC nodded slowly, a sad smile crossing his face.

“We were Ads. We were. We were more than good. I just…I made a mistake. Guys make stupid mistakes, and that was a stupid mistake I made. I’m so, so sorry I hurt you.” It was hard for Addison to accept his lame excuse, even though she knew that would make her hypocritical. She was guilty of doing things she couldn’t really explain, so how could she knock JC for his decision?

“It just…I don’t know. It doesn’t make sense to me Josh. It’s like, you turned into this completely different person the day you left, and it broke me. I’d never been in a relationship that moved so quickly and broke me into a million pieces.” She felt silly admitting that out loud, but she felt like he needed to hear the truth about what he’d left behind. “It took me awhile to get over it, to not be bitter anymore. I think a part of me is still bitter. But…I’m past that now.” She saw a flash of sadness cross JC’s face, but she didn’t ask about it.

“I understand. And I’m almost positive I’ll never be able to say I’m sorry enough. Seriously.”  Addison eyed him suspiciously, still skeptical. She knew he was sorry – she could see it in his eyes – but his reasoning wasn’t what she expected. In all actuality, she preferred something more concrete than “I don’t know; it just happened”…at least she’d have an actual answer instead of something vague.

She sat in silence for a few moments, taking it all in. JC clearing his throat again made her look up from the table. “I understand if you want to walk away and pretend you never saw me. I deserve that. Just…before you do, consider my plea for us to be friends again. We were really close once upon a time, and I haven’t been close like that to any girl since you. You…you get me. And I miss that connection, that friendship.” She smiled a little, nodding in understanding. “So…I’m just going to ask once. Can we start over? I’m not saying forget the past Addison; I just want us to form something new. Get to know each other again.” He gave her a hopeful look as Addison sighed heavily. Could she do that? Could she honestly re-form something that didn’t involve a relationship?

Slowly, she nodded. “I think…I think I can do that. I want to do that. Start fresh and – ”

“See what happens,” they finished together. Addison felt goosebumps form as JC grinned and squeezed one of her hands with his. Her hand continued to feel warm after he let go, her heart racing and falling to the pit of her stomach at once. How the hell was she supposed to be ‘just friends’ when she clearly still had unresolved feelings? She mentally kept herself in check as she nodded.

“Yes. See what happens. So…guess we should start with me?” JC nodded, taking a sip of water and sitting back in his chair.

“Yes. I’m all ears.”

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Two hours, two bottles of sake and lots of sushi later, Addison and JC were still talking, which surprised him. He could still feel a little tension in the room, but it was nothing like what he had anticipated. Addison had been a little hesitant to talk at first, but she’d eventually opened up and caught him up on everything he’d missed. Her big decision to go to culinary school, her decision to open the shop and everything in between had been covered. JC had barely said a word, but he didn’t care – he loved listening to her talk, and he felt like he was finally getting to know her again.

“And that’s how I wound up here,” Addison finished before downing the last of her sake. “This is the last place I thought I’d wind up, but it’s been a great experience so far. Not sure we would’ve lasted in many other cities besides here.” JC shook his head in disagreement.

“Are you kidding me? People will love your cupcakes anywhere you go. Trust me – I’ve eaten a lot of cupcakes, and none compare to yours.” He noticed Addison blushed as she looked away, smiling a little.

“I appreciate that Josh. Seriously. I know you kept pushing me to go to school way back when, but I never listened.”

“Then what changed your mind?” That’s one thing she hadn’t talked about yet. Addison shrugged as she sat back in her chair, sighing.

“I just…I don’t know. Your encouragement kept ringing in my ears, even after we were done. My job started to become too demanding, and I realized I just didn’t love it anymore. But, I love baking – and I know I’ll always love baking. So, I quit my job, went back to school, and here I am.”

“And here you are,” JC ended with a smile as the waiter walked in. Addison eyed him suspiciously as he left the check on the table and walked out without so much as a word or a glance. “What’s your issue with him? You’ve been giving him the eye all night.”

Addison huffed as she sat back up in her chair. JC involuntarily eyed her up and down, still amazed that she looked the way she did – smokin’ hot. “He’s just weird Josh. He’s been way to quiet the entire night.” JC shrugged as he took a look at the receipt and took a card out of his wallet that was sitting on the edge of the table.

“He’s doing his job. And he’s probably following orders from the manager to not talk to celebrities. I appreciate the quiet, out-of-the-way service he’s given us.” Addison shrugged as she pulled her wallet out of her purse and started to reach for the receipt. JC moved it closer to his side of the table, earning him a glare.

“Josh. What are you doing? We’re splitting the bill.” He simply shook his head as he pulled cash out of his wallet and set it on the check holder.

“It’s on me. I suggested dinner; I pay. You pay next time.” His reply caused Addison to raise an eyebrow at him, a smile playing at the corners of her lips.

“Next time, eh? You think we should have dinner again?” JC wasn’t sure where she was going with this, so he treaded lightly with his response.

“Well…yeah. I think this may be the only way I can get you to talk to me, so I plan on arranging as many dinners as possible so I can hang out with you.” Addison rolled her eyes, but the small smile that crept across her lips let JC know that his suggestion was an OK one.

“Fair enough. I guess we’ll see how this goes.” JC nodded as Addison stood up and grabbed her things, checking her watch. “I don’t want to ditch and run, but I also don’t want this roll to go bad. I’d better head out.”

“Yeah…as much as Grace and I don’t get along, food poisoning isn’t something I wish on anyone.” Addison chuckled as she twirled her keys around her free hand.

“I…I had a great time tonight Josh. Thank for inviting me out.” She rocked on her heels nervously, and JC tried hard not to copy her. He had been dreading the end of the night when they had to say good-bye – mainly because he didn’t want it to be awkward like this.

“I’m glad you actually agreed to come out with me. I had a great time, too. I guess I’ll see you around?” Might as well get this over with than drag it out, JC thought to himself as he shoved his wallet into the back pocket of his jeans. Addison nodded with a smile.

“You’ve got my number now. Don’t be afraid to use it, OK?” JC mirrored her smile and nodded, feeling slightly giddy on the inside. The fact that he got permission to keep in touch with her was something he wasn’t expecting, but he’d take it.  As Addison made a step towards the door, JC reached out and grabbed her arm gently.

“Is it OK if I give you a hug?” Addison grinned as she set her bag and clutch on the ground and wrapped her arms around JC’s neck, pulling him close to her to fulfill his request. JC inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of her perfume and shampoo. He’d missed having her in his arms like this – more than he’d realized.

When he turned to nuzzle her cheek with his, she didn’t move but just hugged him tighter. When he turned even more and his lips brushed against her cheek, she turned and caught his lips with hers as if it was second nature. Their kiss sent sparks through JC, made his heart melt like it did the first time he kissed her. Before he could take the kiss deeper, Addison pulled away with a soft gasp, her fingers over her lips. JC swore he saw tears well up in her eyes before she grabbed her things and quickly rushed out of the room. It took all JC had to not rush after her and apologize; he knew he needed to give her space.

He needed the space, too. Hopefully, he could find the answer to the one question floating through his mind: why?