**
JC didn't want to pull away. Kissing James wasn't something he'd planned and yet, it felt like the most natural thing in the world. He could tell she felt the same because the kiss was reciprocated. James gently leaned away from him and they both smiled, resting their foreheads against each other.

"I'm sorry," JC whispered.

"You don't need to be sorry," James assured him. She placed her fingers on his cheek and he leaned in again, capturing her lips with his. The streets were empty now but even if they'd been full of people, James didn't care. She hadn't been kissed in so long, she was surprised she even knew what to do.

Finally, they stood and JC pulled her into his arms, kissing the top of her head. They didn't speak, just looked down Main Street towards the staging area. Cheers for Big'un Lester could still be heard, but other than that, it was as if they were they only people in downtown Grayson. Neither wanted to move. It was perfect just holding one another like they were doing. 

"James, I want to take you out again," JC said. "Would that be okay?"

He felt James nod beneath him. "Yeah," she replied, "I'd really like that."

They broke apart, and JC linked his fingers through James' and she led him to Brewster's, which had been locked up for the night. "What are we doing here?" he asked. "Did you forget something?"

"No," James shook her head. "I just thought it might be nice to have a coffee with you. Just the two of us."

JC smiled. "Yeah, that sounds great."

James unlocked the door and then locked it back once they were both inside. She went to the Mac that was locked under the cash register, turned it on, and soon the Jack Johnson station was quietly playing overhead. She made two mochas and took them over to the table by the window, where JC was sitting and sat across from him. 

They sat and talked until almost two in the morning. Sharing stories about Chad, laughing about pranks that JC had pulled on his bandmates during Nsync's heyday, awful dates that he'd been on. Occasionally, he'd reach across the table simply to peck her cheek or lips, and James would have to tell herself not to blush because a part of her still couldn't believe she was sitting here on a date with a guy she'd known for a week and that she'd spilled to him her deepest, darkest secret. It almost seemed too good to be true but it wasn't.

Finally, they left, both in separate cars but headed to the same destination. When they got to the house, James realized that they were the only ones that were home. JC followed her upstairs and to her bedroom and they immediately fell onto her bed and began kissing. Pretty soon, James realized that if she didn't stop, she might do something she'd regret. 

"I-I'm sorry, Josh. I have to stop," she gasped, as he attacked her neck. "It's not you. I just, I can't do this on the first date."

JC kissed her lips softly. "It's okay, James. I wasn't expecting any of this." He sat up and pulled his shirt back over his head. 

"Are you mad?" James bit on her lower lip and looked at him questioningly. 

"Not at all. I promise," JC squeezed her hand. Obviously, he'd wished to do a lot more in his head, but after she'd explained her past and the fact that this was the first time they'd ever been out, he knew tonight was not the night for anymore than the heated make out session that had just ensued.

 He kissed her quickly again and stood to his feet. "Breakfast tomorrow morning?"
James giggled, "It is tomorrow morning."

"Okay, then. Lunch?" He walked towards her door.

"Yeah. I'll see you then," she told him. "Goodnight."

James' head was spinning as she laid in bed. All she could picture was JC kissing her over and over again. And how much she'd wanted to sleep with him was almost too much. It didn't help that they'd be sharing a house for at least the next three weeks. It suddenly hit her that in three weeks, he might be gone. But then again, he'd said the other day he didn't really care for L.A. and that he really liked Grayson. She didn't want to fall for a man that might possibly move back across the country again. But it was too late. She had definitely fallen.

JC opened his eyes to see the clock on his phone reading 11:30am. He had slept like a baby after leaving James' room. He'd be lying if he said he hadn't wanted more last night. When she had pulled away, a part of him wanted to try and talk her into it, but he couldn't manipulate because God knew she'd been manipulated enough in the past. But it certainly made for sweet dreams of passion about her, that was for sure. He went downstairs and saw James in the kitchen pouring pancake batter onto a skillet.

"Hey," he said and sat down on a bar stool. 

James turned and smiled at him. "Hey. I hope you like pancakes,"

"Love 'em," JC yawned. He watched her finish pouring the last of the pancake batter and then taking down a green mug from the cabinet and filling it up with coffee. She went over to him and placed the coffee in front of him. Before she turned to leave, JC had playfully grabbed her and kissed her. "I like kissing you," he mumbled between kisses. "A lot. I wish I could've just taken your lips back to bed with me last night."

James giggled and broke away from him, "I like kissing you, too," she said, although part of her wanted to blurt, "That's not all you wanted," but refrained. 

JC let her go and she went to finish the pancakes. "James, I hope you don't think I was too much. I mean, I didn't go into last night expecting anything except shrimp and a walk down Main Street."

"I know, Josh. You're not that type of guy. I really knew when I told you I didn't want to do anything else last night and you respected that. A lot of guys I know wouldn't have cared what I said," James slid the pancakes off the skillet and onto a plate. 

"I was wondering if you'd wanna go out tomorrow night after you got off work?" JC asked. He wanted to make sure she knew he wasn't just after a piece of meat. He would date her properly. The kissing would just be a bonus.

James hesitated. She wanted to go, but the fact that she knew his stay here was temporary was bothering her. "Yeah, it's just, ok, let's go outside and eat by the pool and I'll tell you what I've been thinking."

JC looked a bit surprised, "Okay..." 

They settled down at the picnic table under the awning by the pool and JC waited to dig in until James had spoken. "I'm just, well, I guess I'm just a little worried. I really like you, Josh. I want to go out with you tomorrow night, I do. I just know that you're leaving eventually and I don't want to get into something that is going to leave me hurt when you fly back to California."

"That's a valid concern," JC agreed. "And I totally understand. But what if something or someone caused me to stay? I wasn't looking for you or anything like this when I came out here, but look what happened. I don't know when I'm going back but it's not going to be anytime soon or maybe ever. I can't tell you, but I do know that this-" he waved his hand between him and James - "is something I do know could have a lot of potential. So can you just trust me? Just go out with me tomorrow night again and we'll take it a day at a time."

"One day at a time," James repeated. "Yeah, okay." She could do one day at a time. But her heart and her head were still not agreeing. She was still scared of being hurt.