Joey laid in bed, not ready to get up. He'd been awake for awhile but not willing to get out of bed and disturb the woman who was curled up in blankets , now laying with her body flush against his, her head resting in the space on the pillow between his neck and collar bone. How many times had they done this and it didn't seem odd, or weird. Or that Joey itched to pull her to him a little closer and wake her up with kisses to her mouth, along her jawline, trailing back to her ear and dropping down to her neck. Part of his brain told him that was wrong. He had a girlfriend. And Melissa had a boyfriend. The other part of his brain went along with his heart and said it didn't matter, that he was going to tell her sooner rather than later how he felt. A slight frown came to his face when Melissa whimpered in her sleep, her forehead creasing. “Mel,” he whispered, stroking her face gently. “It's a dream, bambina.”
“Joey...no..” Melissa said, shoving at him, as if to push him away. Her eyes never opened and she pushed against him and the blankets.
“Wake up, Melissa,” Joey said a bit louder, shaking her shoulders a little, relieved when she finally opened her eyes and looked at him, biting her lip after a moment. “It was a dream...that's all,” Joey reassured her. He studied her face and brushed her hair out of her eyes. “You okay?”
The dream had been scary. She couldn't remember what started it, just that she'd come to Joey's house and when she couldn't get him to come to the door, she unlocked it and found him shot, laying in the living room floor with blood everywhere. “I...” she teared up and looked away. “I dreamed you'd been shot..and I found you.” Melissa wrapped her arms around Joey's shoulders and snuggled into him more, wanting his warmth and protection. She could hear the thump thump of his heartbeat with her ear pressed to his chest, sighing in relief, trying to get the picture of him laying there out of her mind.
Joey ran his hands over her back, then pulled her chin up where he could look at her. “I'm here, Melly. No one's shot me,” he said softly, sucking in a breath when her lips pressed against his collarbone. It was almost his undoing when she inched up his body, pressing her lips against his neck, her fingers winding themselves in his hair. “What are you doing?” he asked, his own body responding to hers, praying she didn't roll over on him and discover the semi erection he was sporting.
Her green eyes met his brown ones and she thought for a moment. She didn't know. It just felt right. She wanted him, wanted to make sure he was breathing, that she could get rid of the image in her mind. This was her Joey, full of life. Melissa paused, kissing his jaw on his scruff growing in, letting her lips linger there before she tucked herself back like she'd been, the comfortable position they'd been in before. “I know I shouldn't..but..can I kiss you?” she asked, her voice unsure. “Just to know this is real.”
Joey turned his head to where it was even with hers. He should tell her no. This was his best friend. The panicked look on her face when she'd woken up was enough to send a shiver down his spine. “One kiss..to get you back into reality,” he said, knowing it couldn't go farther than that.
Melissa nodded slightly, brushing her lips against Joey's. It was a real kiss, and while she'd meant it to be a peck on the lips, her hands didn't cooperate, stroking Joey's face and one reached up to grab his hair. Her mouth pressed harder against his, letting out a soft moan, her eyes closing.
He was about to break it off when she changed it up and pressed her lips harder against his. Willing lips that he'd wanted to kiss again since the tour bus when he'd kissed Melissa properly. Joey's hands found themselves pulling her more into him, grunting at the tug on his hair, letting out air from his nose so that he didn't break off the kiss.
'Beep, beep, beep, beep.' The alarm clock scared them both, making them jump, breaking off the kiss. Joey reached over and slapped the snooze button, looking at the woman beside him at arms length, giving her a small smile. “Well?”
Melissa ignored the tingling in her lips as well as other places as she looked at Joey, figuring she could play off the kiss. “It was alright, Fatone. Next time we should use some tongue or something. You need some practice.” She shot him a grin before getting up.
Joey's jaw went slack and then he glared at her. “Listen, woman. I'll have you know I'm Italian. I can woo a woman and kiss her to make her putty in my hands. It's in my blood,” he told her, knowing they were back to their jokes, their safe place. He'd keep his real feelings from coming out until the time was right, which he prayed would be soon.
Going into the living room, he heard the bathroom door closed and he grabbed his phone, going through his texts and missed calls. One was from Justin with no voicemail, the other was Kristen as well the text messages. He sent off the general replies, listening to the voice mail. Joey felt guilty for kissing Melissa when he listened to his girlfriend tell him she missed him and she hoped to come see him soon and for him to call when he wasn't busy. Joey deleted it and sat there, not sure what to think. All he wanted was to be happy. And someone would have to be hurt in order for him to do that. With a sigh, Joey got up and went to the kitchen, digging out a cereal bowl and spoon, finding the Lucky Charms and pouring them. “Women,” he muttered, flipping the television over to one of the game networks, seeing The Price Is Right on.
Melissa stayed in the shower as long as she could, letting the hot water drown any bad memories of the dream and then the feelings of kissing Joey down the drain with the suds from the shampoo. She could be friends. Just friends. Travis was good to her, there was no reason to break up with him to persue Joey. Melissa kept telling herself that they were both just on edge from the tour ending and getting back into the swing of being around each other all the time. It was the lie she was going to stick with as she got out of the shower and wrapped the towel around her. “Just maintain,” she muttered, grabbing her face wash and turned on the sink. She could do this. She'd done it for a long time. The thought of Joey's lips pressed against hers dashed that thought, knowing she'd have to do a better job at not acting any different. “Besides,” she told herself, “it's not like he's told you he has feelings for you. It was a kiss. You've kissed the other guys.” It was on the cheek, but still. But none of them was Joey.
“Do you have your homework?” Joey asked, still watching the game network as Melissa gathered up her stuff, going through her book she'd put in her backpack. “Don't give me that go to hell look, Mel. I'll bend you over my knee,” he threatened, watching her flip him off. “You couldn't handle all this,” he said, flipping her back off when she rolled her eyes at him.
“Yes, I have my homework. The Force is with me, and I am going to school now and then work at three,” Melissa told Joey, shoving her book back in her bag. “You're probably going to sit here and do nothing all day.”
“As Bobby Brown would say, that's my perogative,” Joey replied, getting up and going over and hugging her. “Take my Rover,” he said, handing her the keys since her car was still at her house. “I can get it later.”
“Are you sure, it's your car you drive all the time..” she asked, getting an annoyed look that said quick worrying. “You're the best,” Melissa squished his face together and made kissy noises at him. “You'll see me later this week, I'm sure. I'll call you on my way to work.”
“Have a good day, baby!” Joey went to the door and yelled, chuckling when she groaned.
“You too, honey!” she called out before pulling out of the driveway, giving him a wave. Melissa slipped on her sunglasses and wondered if her and Joey would ever have a normal day. Part of her hoped not, loving how they were.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
Rachel woke up, sitting up and looking around Melissa's room. She'd went to bed way later then she should have, somewhere around 3 in the morning. The clock now said it was almost eleven and she knew she needed to get up and start the day. “Ugh,” she said, grabbing her brush and running it through her hair. She'd go change clothes later, in a tank top and pajama pants. She studied the pictures of her and Melissa and smiled. Their Senior class trip to New York City, where she and Mel had bought souveniers of those foam crowns from the Statue of Liberty. That picture and one of them sharing a footlong coney from a hotdog vendor were up.
Rachel wasn't being nosy, but she grabbed one of the drawing pads stacked up on the desk and flipped through it. A lot of it was from Art class but there was one she stopped at. The assignment paper was there with her grade. It had been to draw her best friend. Mel had split the paper in half and drawn both her and Joey. She'd gotten a low 'A' on the assignment only because she'd used two people instead of just one. Rachel flipped through the rest, shaking her head. She put that one down and was about to head downstairs when she saw 'Joey' written across the next one. “What the hell?” she said, getting it out. Her eyes widened as she flipped through. The date of the first was of the guys in the recording booth, all five faces visible. The rest were Joey. No pictures were paperclipped so they'd been drawn while looking at him.
Rachel took the notebook downstairs, sitting down next to Lance. “Have you seen this?” she asked him.
“No. What is it?” he asked, looking at the look on her face. “You look...emotional.” It was the only word he could think of. He wasn't sure whether she was going to cry or smile, an odd look on her face.
“It's drawings, all of Joey,” Rachel flipped to her favorite, one of Joey in the recording booth singing. Under it was 'I Thought She Knew'. “That's it,” she tapped the picture, a grin coming to her face, looking at the date. “That's when she fell in love with him.”
“How can you tell from a drawing?” Lance asked, studying the page. Joey could have jumped off the paper and been there, the detail was so clear. It was all done in pencil except for the red in Joey's hair. “Damn, she's good.”
“Just trust me. If you ask her, she'll say it was around that time.”
"You should be a detective," Lance told Rachel, chuckling.
Rachel paused as if in thought, "I would look pretty hot with a badge and gun, wouldn't I?"
The grin on Lance's face confirmed her question. He shook his head as if to say, 'you're something else' before speaking, "I was gonna come ask if you want to grab lunch somewhere. Might even call the guys."
“Awww, you miss them already,” Rachel teased him, nodding. “I'll go grab a quick shower and get ready and you can call them. She went and put the drawing pad up and sighed. She wanted her friend happy and decided she was going to tell Melissa how Travis had acted.
She grabbed her phone and pulled up her friend's number and hit send, smiling when she answered. “What's up woman?” Rachel grabbed some clothes and sat on Melissa's bed.
“I'm driving the Range Rover...If I had bazillions of dollars, I'd have one of these,” Melissa told Rachel, taking the long way to school instead of the interstate. “How are you? How was dinner?”
“Don't change the subject, you're driving Joey's Rover he won't let anyone even look at? Did you give him drugs?”
“No, he handed over the keys. He still has his Audi at home,” Melissa explained, loving the car. “So answer my questions,” she told Rachel, listening to her friend tell about her evening with Lance and then about Travis showing up. Melissa's brow furrowed as she thought about Travis, shocked he'd say something like that to Rachel, even more so that Lance punched him. “I'll call him and find out what was going on.”
“Do not go see him, Mel. I mean it...I know he's your boyfriend, but he's a lying piece of crap. Just call and tell him you want to break up with him,” Rachel told her, hoping the direct approach would be best.
“I'm not breaking up with him over the phone!” Melissa exclaimed, her voice getting louder. “I can at least do that in person if I'm going to do it. He deserves that much.”
“He doesn't deserve shit! Lance broke his nose,” Rachel argued. “He hit on me! Then turned around and called me a bitch. Please..don't be the nice person you are and call him and tell him you don't want to see him anymore.” Rachel could see the wheels in her friend's brain turning. “Tell me this, did you think of Travis at all last night while you were with Joey?” The silence made her smile. “That should tell you something. I love you, Mel. Call me later when you've gotten rid of Mister Dipshit.”
Melissa blew out a breath. “Fine. It's not like it matters. Joey's still with Kristen.” She pulled into the parking lot at school and shut off the vehicle. “I have to go to class, Rach,” Melissa heard a beep that someone was calling in. She looked and saw it was Travis. “Travis is calling, I'll talk to you later.”
Rachel heard her friend hang up and then went to get into the shower. Of the two of them, Rachel pulled no punches where Melissa was nice, not wanting to hurt anyone's feelings. She hoped her friend would stick to her guns.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*
“Hey, Trav,” Melissa said, trying to sound as normal as possible. “How are you?”
“I'm alright,” he said. “How are you? Did you have fun yesterday?”
“It was nice,” Melissa told him, grabbing her book bag and locking the doors to the Rover. “What are you doing today?”
“Not a lot. Might go out with some of the guys from the crew and hang out. Did you see I tried to call last night? And I texted.”
Melissa could tell he was annoyed, and she frowned. She wasn't going to apologize for spending time with Joey, especially since nothing happened. “I wasn't even paying attention to my phone,” she told him. “We went to dinner at Joey's parents...”
“All I'm hearing is Joey this and Joey that. Is he your boyfriend? You should want to spend time with me.”
Melissa took a deep breath, steeling her nerves. “You know what, Travis? At first this was nice and I thought you were a gentleman. But I need more than that. I want someone who's going to not be jealous, or hit on my friends or call them names. By the way, how's your nose?” she blanched at the names she was being called. “It's over, Travis. Stay away from me, my family, and the guys. Lose this number.” She hung up on him and stood there, leaning against the car, wiping tears. She opened up her phone and called her professor, letting him know she was having issues and that she'd turn in her work, but not be in class. It took her ten minutes to walk to the office, turn her work in and get the next classes work and back to Joey's car.
'Broke up w him' she texted to Rachel, sitting in the Range Rover, surprised at herself. She wasn't sure what to do, being single. Part of her was sad, and another part was glad. Melissa no longer felt guilty for not having the feelings for Travis she thought she should have. And now that she sat and thought about it, Travis hadn't acted like someone that loved her. Her phone rang and she smiled, putting it on speaker. “Hi, Lance.
“I'm proud of you,” Lance told his sister, standing in his room pulling a shirt over his head. “I'm calling management in a bit and having Travis banned from reapplying for a job with NSYNC. We don't put up with that crap...Are you okay?” he heard her sniffle. “There are lots of other fish in the sea. Even ones with red hair named Joey,” he said, listening to her laugh.
“Shut up. He has a girlfriend and doesn't feel that way about me,” Melissa told her brother, wiping more tears.
“Have you ever asked him?” Lance asked, grabbing a belt. “What if he does? I mean, you're friends, you can ask him.”
“I'd rather not know than find out different, James Lance Bass. I don't think I could take it. I like my fantasy world just fine, the one where I pretend not to have feelings for him. I'm going to call and see if I can go in early to work since I'm not going to class,” Melissa changed the subject, letting him know that part of the conversation was over.
“Alright. I also heard you drove the Rover, that's a testament of love right there. I'd have made you take the Audi,” Lance grabbed his watch. “Look, I'm not saying you have to say anything. Just let things happen. I love you, sis.”
“I love you too. Go hang out with Rachel for me. I'll have to kick your ass if you get to see her more than I do,” Melissa told him, hanging up. She called work and was told to come in as soon as she could if she was willing to work. Another deep breath had her somewhat settled and she started the car, turning the radio on and opening the sunroof.
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
Lance and Rachel pulled into Joey's driveway and honked a couple times, waving when he came out the door to his house. “You're missing a car,” Rachel said, rolling the window down as Joey came to get into the backseat of Lance's vehicle.
Joey just shrugged as he got in, “It was the first set of keys I came to,” he told them, buckling up.
“You should know, Mel's probably got the music blaring and sunroof open. She was excited to be driving it,” Lance told him. He and Rachel had agreed to let Melissa tell Joey about the break up.
“So where we eating at?” Joey asked, hoping he looked decent. He'd grabbed a pair of Levi's and a Superman shirt and some flip flops. He wasn't going to dress up unless necessary.
“Hamburger Mary's,” Lance told him as they got on the interstate. “Think Justin was meeting us there. Gonna get something for Mel and take it to her at work.”
“She's supposed to in class til one thirty,” Joey said, raising an eyebrow, looking at his watch. It was almost 12:25. He opened his phone and sent Melissa a text. He frowned when he got a quick reply back, hitting her number on his phone. “Hi baby, you playing hooky today?” he ignored Rachel's 'shit' and watched the traffic go by, his voice pausing at the voice mail. “Call me when you get this.”
Joey stayed in his state of half pissed off, half unsettled all the way through lunch. He didn't show it outwardly, but he wasn't happy. Melissa hadn't texted or called while they were out. He picked up the bag that had her food in it and grabbed her drink from the cup holder between Rachel and Lance. “Stay here, I'll take this to her,” he said, looking at the back of the mall where employees parked. Joey fired off a text message, growling at the fact she texted him back and told him she'd be right out.
Melissa bit her lip, slipping her phone back down in her pocket. She'd told her supervisor she was going on break when her lunch was here. The sun hit her eyes as she opened the door in the back, seeing Joey sitting there on the picnic table, not looking happy. “Hi,” she told him, sitting down on the bench, waving to Lance and Rachel who were getting out of the car, yelling that they were going to go in the mall for a little bit.
“You phone must be fixed now,” Joey said, hopping off the top of the table and sitting down next to her, watching her get her burger and fries out. He took her pickles when she offered them to him and ate them, waiting on Melissa to talk.
“My phone wasn't broken. I got your voice mail, but I can't answer if I'm working. You know that,” Melissa told him, taking a bite of her burger. She swallowed and then looked over at him. “I went and turned in my homework and then came to work. Between now and then I broke up with Travis.” She tried not to get emotional about it, to keep her voice even but it didn't work, having to swallow hard to get rid of the lump in her throat.
"You what?" Joey exclaimed. He stared in shock at Melissa. He opened his mouth to question her, but the words froze when he saw a tear slip down her cheek. "Hey," he said softly. Using his fingers, he tipped her chin up to look at him. Another tear followed and he tangled his hand in her hair and pulled her to his chest. He held her tight against him, his other arm anchoring her to him. "Don't cry, Mel," he whispered to her. "Don't cry."
Melissa clung to her best friend as the tears rolled down her cheeks. Her arms encircled his waist and she held him tight. She buried her face into his chest, past the point of caring that she was soaking his shirt. The tears kept flowing. The emotions of the break up coming to the surface. She had tried so hard to bury them to get through the day, but it didn't work.
"Shhh," Joey tightened his hold. "It's okay, Mel. Don't cry," he continued whispering to her. Anything that came to mind, half the time he had no idea what he was saying. He just wanted her to stop crying. His own heart twisted in pain at her tears. And he realized that he never wanted to be the one to cause her this much pain.
"I'm sorry," Melissa hiccuped as the tears somewhat subsided. She made no move to pull away, instead continued to hold and be held.
"It's okay. I don't mind." Joey rested his head atop hers. "Are you okay?"
Melissa nodded and gave a shuddering sigh. "I will be," she pulled back to meet his eyes and attempted a smile. She could feel her lips wobble and Joey's face blurred in front of her.
"Come on Melly, don't start crying again." Joey cupped her face in both of his hands, using his thumbs to brush the tears away. "You keep this up and I'm gonna start crying here with you. And let me tell you, there is something wrong for a grown man wearing a Superman t-shirt to cry."
Melissa giggled, "There's something wrong with a grown man wearing a Superman t-shirt."
"Then I guess I shouldn't tell you that I'm wearing matching boxers?" He grinned when Melissa started laughing. 'Score one for me.' He could deal with this Melissa. He ducked down to meet her eyes, a sincere smile on his face. "You want to tell me what happened or do you just want some company while you eat? If you don't want to talk about it, I understand."
“No, it's okay,” she said, turning back to her food and grabbing a fry. “I...I thought he was a good person, you know. Then he came down for a day...” she told Joey about the picnic and then the restaurant, leaving out the sex. “Then he hit on Rachel and called her names in front of Lance.” Melissa gave him a rueful smile, “I think Lance broke his nose.”
“Wow,” Joey said, looking over at her. He hated the tear tracks coming down her face, wishing that he could fix how she felt right then. The normal part of his mind told him to just wait, that it wasn't the right time. “So he's not coming back right? I mean, do you need me to stay here in case he comes to mess with you?” Joey would gladly camp out in the mall if he had to, endure screaming girls or whatever came along.
“I'm alright, Fatone, but thanks. He just..I didn't want someone who couldn't handle me having friends that were guys without being jealous. And I needed Rachel to tell me not to be such a nice person.” She made a face at him before taking a bite of her burger.
“Rachel's delusional. You're not nice to me,” Joey teased, getting another smile from her. “I am sorry, Mel. You deserve better than that,” he said. He wondered if the time came, could he give her up to another man. To step back and let her really love someone else. She missed the pained look on his face, with Joey's heart and stomach twisting up.
“Thanks, Joey. I just didn't want to talk to you right then...I was going to tell you,” Melissa finished up her burger and offered him the rest of her fries. “Maybe someday I'll find someone that can deal with all this greatness.” Melissa stood up and made a pose at him, laughing at herself. She looked at her phone and sighed. “I better get back to work. We're getting in a few more fall things, I found a shirt you need.”
Joey pulled out his wallet and handed her his AmEx card. “Don't go crazy,” he told her, shoving it in her back pocket when she refused. “Think of it as shopping therapy.” Joey got up and pulled her to him in a hug.
“It'll just be in my pocket. I don't need shopping to make me feel better.” Melissa tried to not smile, playing it off. She let her head rest on Joey's chest for another moment. “Thank you,” she said softly.
“Welcome. Anytime.” Joey let her go, watching her go back into the store after giving him a wave. He sat down on the picnic bench once again and sighed. “Where you at?” he asked Lance after dialing his friend.
“I am currently in The Buckle with my girlfriend as she looks at shirts. You coming in? How was lunch?” Lance nodded and gave Rachel a thumbs up at her as she went into the dressing room.
“You mean the first lunch where I was pissed off or the one where your sister used me as a human kleenex?” Joey asked, making his way towards the front of the mall. “I didn't mind of course, other than it made me realize I never want to piss you off. And I'd rather sell my soul to Satan than see her cry.”
“Just admit it, Fatone, you're a softy.”
Joey chuckled, making his way through the mall to the buckle. “Only with a very few people.”
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^
“You guys wanna come in for a little while?” Joey asked before Lance made it to his driveway. Joey wasn't sure he wanted to be alone right now with just his thoughts. Thoughts that seemed to be counter productive from one another.
“I don't care,” Rachel said, looking over at Lance. They'd spent an hour shopping and just wandering around the mall, enjoying the anonymity of being there in the slow part of the day.
“Sure, man. I didn't have any plans that I know of, unless Rachel made some for me,” Lance said with a smile, pulling into Joey's driveway. “It looks out of place for the Range Rover to be gone.”
“I don't see why you're making a big deal out of it,” Joey told him as they got out. “It's just a car.”
“How many people let a friend drive a seventy thousand dollar car?” Lance asked, giving him a look. “Would you let Kristen drive it?”
“Over my dead rotting corpse,” Joey told him, unlocking the door.
“Men and their machines,” Rachel muttered behind them, rolling her eyes.
Joey's house was as nice as Lance's; decorated differently that made it have a comfortable. There was a big screen and a plush oversize loveseat and couch across from the television. Dark stained wood was on the floors with it continuing in the trim around the top of the walls.
Joey threw his keys on the bar that connected the kitchen to the living room and went to the fridge. “Ya want anything?” he asked, telling them what he had to offer as far as beverages went. He took the drinks out of the fridge and sat down on the couch, with Lance in the middle and Rachel on the other end. “I vote we sit and do nothing and order pizza later,” Joey suggested, opening his Dr Pepper.
“Do you always think about food?” Rachel asked Joey as she unscrewed the cap on her bottled water. “Between you and Chris, I think you know every place to eat between here and Miami.” It always amazed her that for as long as she'd known Melissa and Lance, then the guys, that Joey and Chris always seemed to have a hollow leg when it came to food.
“No. I don't think about food all the time, I just enjoy eating. Nothing wrong with that...especially since I know how to cook. There are some people that can't,” Joey said, smiling as Lance coughed out Melissa's name.
“She made Ramen noodles once that stuck to the pan in high school in Home Ec. The teacher banned her from the cooking assignments and made her draw still lifes of the food to use as posters,” Rachel told him, smiling at the memory. “Of course we melted ex-lax and put it on a candy bar for the evil Biology teacher. Mel purposely opened it and was about to take a bite when the fatass just grabbed it and ate it. He thought if you had food, then you were sharing it with him. I was the one who made sure we had the best substitute ever. My mom came and filled in and brought one of her friends from the Air and Space Museum to talk about space and how the planets are all aligned and stuff. Best three days of school ever. Except the last week of our Senior year of course.”
The three of them sat and talked, going from school to other subjects. The tv was turned on and put on some day time show they weren't really paying attention to, other than for the noise.
Rachel's phone buzzed and she smiled and looked at Joey. “Someone obviously stepped out of character,” she showed him the picture of the passenger seat of Joey's Rover. Bags were in the seat and in the floor and she chuckled at his momentary pained look. “There's probably only one bag for her in that whole mess.”
“I hope to hell there's more than one, cause I don't want anything from Bath & Body Works or Victoria's Secret,” Joey said, then grabbed Rachel's phone and looked harder. He'd just been naming off stores when he spotted a pink bag with the 'VS' on it. “Damn it,” he muttered, wondering what she bought from a lingerie store. Even worse, with his money. The one thing Joey didn't want to think about was if he was ever going to see what was in that bag.
Rachel raised an eyebrow at Joey. “You're speaking some sort of dorkish I can't understand.”
“Why do you women have to shop at a lingerie store for therapy? Is it in a handbook?” Joey gave her phone back to her.
“She probably just bought lotion, you big sissy. They have that there..not just lacy bras and see through spanky panties and stuff,” Rachel informed Joey, closing her phone. She went and sat back down by Lance who was engrossed in a basketball replay after having grabbed the remote.
"Please," Lance groaned as he swiped the remote from the coffee table. "I do not want to think about my sister wearing spanky panties. I don't even know why y'all are having this conversation,” Lance told them both. “Just be happy she went shopping and is not balling her eyes out or back with that asshole,” a hint of a smile tugged at his lips. “Maybe she bought some stuff to get a new boyfriend with.” He was teasing Joey, laughing when the other man groaned and muttered in Italian, pinching the bridge of his nose as if he was getting a headache.
“I'm going to go order our usual,” Joey told them, moving to his bedroom to call the pizza place. He spotted Melissa's bag open over by his dresser and smiled, seeing one of his shirts halfway stuffed in there, the one she'd grabbed before she'd gotten a shower that morning since he kept it so cold. He hoped whatever she'd bought, part of it would be left here at his house. If it was left here, that meant she was coming back for it.
*^*^*^*^*^*^
“Thanks for the pizza and letting us come over,” Rachel told Joey, giving him a hug as she and Lance were going out the door to leave. “You should ask Mel what's in the Vickie's bag,” her smile was wide. Melissa had pulled up just as they had gotten up to leave.
“Shut up about the lingerie store. I don't want to see my best friend in that,” Joey said as he hugged Rachel back, watching Lance grab a few bags to help carry in. “Have fun?” he called out to Melissa, who told him yes, purposely bumping him as she went by.
Lance had grabbed the Vickie's bag and gave Joey a smirk. “Dude, it ain't lotion unless it got put into something that's soft. “My vote's on something see through,” he told Joey. “I'm teasing ya, man. She probably won't show you anyways. You know how she is about that stuff.”
Joey thought back to the bra incident when Melissa had brought him the toothpaste and nodded, grabbing the bags from Lance. “See ya prolly later this week,” he told them, feeling Melissa beside him as she waved bye to her brother and Rachel. He carried the bags into the living room and put them down with the others beside the couch. “Have fun?” Joey asked her, sitting down on the couch, watching Melissa go through bags, pulling out stuff.
“Yeah. Had more fun shopping for you,” she tossed a pair of jeans and a gray henley at him, along with a dark gray fedora. There was also a couple leather belts and a novelty t-shirt that had a 'Will sing for food'. Melissa had bought herself quite a few things, and everything she'd found had been on sale.
Joey put his clothes on the couch and gave her a look. “I want to see what you bought yourself,” he noticed she got out all the clothes from every bag but Victoria's Secret. “You not showing me that?” he asked, watching her bite her bottom lip and blush. “Rachel said it was probably lotion.”
“Rachel wasn't there with me, was she?” Melissa said, grabbing the clothes and stuffing them back into bags. She wasn't mad at Joey, just nervous about him asking about her buying underwear, something she'd never done before in that store, always thinking it was too expensive and that she didn't need that sort of thing. Until she walked in and saw the bra and panty set that matched her hair and her imagination went along with it. A cute silky slip gown in black and some lotion completed her purchase.
Joey's eyes widened at her voice changing to being defensive and he held his hands up. “You can just say no, Mel. I always thought you hated that store.”
“No,” Melissa said, picking up the pink bag and rifling through the tissue paper to pull out the lotion and showed it to him. “I love the store, just always thought it was too expensive. That I didn't need anything from there, so I never went in unless someone else wanted to go.”
Joey looked at the lotion bottle, opening the top to smell it. It smelled a little like cinnamon, not an overpowering scent and he handed it back to her. “That all?” he asked, leaning back on the couch and folding his arms over his chest.
“You don't want to see what else I got. It's girly stuff,” Melissa told him, setting the bag down on the other side of the couch.
Joey didn't say another word about the bag, the two of them watching television for a while. Melissa leaned on him and sighed, curling up more against Joey when he put his arm around her. “I guess I should go home tonight.” Melissa didn't want to go home, but she didn't think Kristen would like it if she found out Melissa had spent a few nights over at Joey's.
“Why are you running off?” Joey asked, looking down at the top of her head. “Got some hot date I don't know about?”
Melissa smiled at the way his voice changed with a hint of jealousy, shaking her head no. “I don't have to go home, I just thought maybe your girlfriend wouldn't like it if she found out I was staying with you.”
Joey didn't answer for a few minutes, playing with the ends of Melissa's hair. “Like you were with Travis, I don't exactly tell Kristen everything...” his voice trailed off and he looked at Melissa, his eyes studying her face, wondering why he couldn't just tell her how he felt. The nagging small voice inside him told him that she might not feel the same way.
“Do you tell me everything?” Melissa asked, sitting up to look at Joey. She knew what the answer would be, that she didn't even have to ask. He told her a lot, even though they both knew that there were still things they didn't know, things between him and Lance or his family or her and Rachel. There would always be those secrets, but with everything else.
“What do you think, Melly?” Joey pulled her to where she was half in his lap, his voice getting just a bit more gravelly.
“I think you tell me everything. At least everything that has to do with your life that you want me to know, that's important. Maybe not every secret, but everyone is like that. You're my best friend, so I feel pretty confident about knowing ya.” A small smile crossed her face, studying his jawline where he was letting his goatee grow in more. “You not shaving again?” she asked, using a finger to stroke his cheek.
“Shaving's fuckin' overrated,” Joey told her, letting her up when she asked. He blew out a breath when Melissa went into the kitchen to find a slice of pizza and grab them both drinks. Joey knew they couldn't keep going like this, or at least he couldn't. His resolve to keep his feelings hidden was quickly waning.
*^*^*^*^*^*
“All those girls who scream at the concerts would never believe you do this,” Melissa told Joey as they stood in the bathroom. She was brushing her teeth and he was flossing. Not just the flossing, but that Joey was one of those that was OCD with his teeth and his hair. And now his hair was wet from a shower and drops were traveling down his chest. “It's kinda cute.”
Joey rolled his eyes at her, grabbing his toothbrush. “Like I want them to know what I do at home. I mean, like this,” he nudged her and smiled, looking at her wearing the shirt she'd stolen from him with some cotton shorts. “Maybe we should let them in on what you do every day.”
“Oh yes, my life is so exciting. Please,” she said, her words garbled until she spit out the toothpaste. “They wouldn't understand normal is something you love.”
Joey nodded, watching her leave the bathroom. He heard the air conditioner kick on and the bed creaking and her getting in and flipping the tv on. Joey finished up what he was doing and came and looked at her curled up with his pillow, then at all the bags that were in his room. “Woman, you gotta leave before someone thinks I let a girl stay here and shop and share my stuff...” he joked, pulling the covers up to slide into bed.
Melissa let go of his pillow and sat up a little more, flipping through channels. She paused at MTV, grinning. “Oooo,” she said, seeing NSYNC singing “God Must Have Spent (A Little More Time On You)”.
Joey watched her and laughed, grabbing the remote and turning the television off. “Why watch that when I can sing to you?” he asked, not being able to see anything in the sudden darkness, the clock lighting up enough to barely make out his friend's face looking at him. He started softly singing the words to the song that had been on. His arms pulled her closer as he sang until she was up against him. Joey could feel her breath on his skin and he stopped singing.
“What's wrong? Joey?” Melissa asked, moving to where she could look at him. One of her hands found his cheek when he didn't answer and she bit her lip when she felt something wet on her hand. “Talk to me...please,” she said softly, her voice wavering, not sure what was going on.
Joey hadn't meant to get emotional, but it had just happened. He was sick of being like this with Melissa, being so close but at the same time trying to hide his feelings. “I'm fine, bambina,” he said after a moment, reaching up and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “And I'm tired of talking. Or not talking...” he paused momentarily before pressing his lips to hers, a featherlight kiss before he pulled away.
Melissa laid there, her heart beating faster as she thought about what he meant. She should say no. Argue with him that he had a girlfriend, that they shouldn't feel this way about each other. Instead she stared at him, one of her hands caressing his cheek and moving up to his hair. “Are you going to kiss me again?”
Joey smiled, holding her face with both of her hands as he kissed her again. As the kiss deepened, he breathed through his nose, moving his head slightly so that he could roll Melissa over to where she was lying on her back with him beside her, her face turned towards him. He low growl left his throat when he felt his hair being pulled, her fingers wound in his hair. “Bambina,” he whispered, breaking the kiss only to let his lips trace along her jawline.
“Joey,” Melissa breathed, not sure she believed what was happening. One of her hands unwound out of his hair and moved to skim her fingernails along his neck and to his shoulder, kneading it. She ran her free hand down his arm to his bicep and back up. When his tongue found her earlobe, Melissa let out a whimper.
“What's wrong, Melly?” Joey asked, nuzzling the space between her ear and her neck, nipping it gently. When she didn't answer, Joey pulled back and looked at her. “Do you want to stop?” he asked, being serious. He'd go take a cold shower and sleep on the couch. It wasn't what he wanted to do, but if she put a halt to things he would.
“No...” she said after a moment, panic coming to her voice a little, pulling him back towards her. She felt a blush creep up from her chest to her neck and her face. “I,” she licked her lips and shook her head. “I'm nervous,” she ducked her head into his chest, clinging to Joey, trying to concentrate on the feel of his hands running along her back.
Joey held her for a few minutes. It was endearing. The woman who he joked and laughed with about all sorts of sexual things was nervous about being with him. “So you're nervous,” he said, feeling her nod and hold on to him tighter. She was avoiding looking at him and Joey knew Melissa would do that until he made her un-nervous. “Would it help if I told you I'm scared to death.”
A small laugh came from her and she looked up as Joey looked down at her, their lips barely meeting. “You're full of it, Fatone.”
“Look at me, Mel,” Joey said, maneuvering her to where they were face to face, their bodies entwined as much as they could be. “I'm scared,” he took one of her hands and kissed it before placing her palm on his heart. “As much as I want you, I worry that you might regret this. That I'd have screwed up the best thing in my life. We can't go back and undo this, Melly.” Joey waited in silence, watching her eyes study him. He was praying hard she'd say something.
“I'm just nervous that I won't be as good...as..” she shrugged, not naming names. “Or that you'll wake up in the morning and wonder if I slipped you something. I'd rather not do this and just be your friend, than do this and then you'll wish you hadn't.” Melissa bit her lip when she heard Joey suck in a breath. She heard what he said after that and her mind stopped momentarily. “Say it again,” she whispered, her voice threatening to quit, her eyes brimming with tears.
“I love you,” Joey repeated softly, running his fingers through her hair with one hand while the other anchored her to him at her lower back, his fingers splayed out across the fabric of her shirt. He smiled when Melissa's mouth twitched into a smile and he sighed when she grabbed his face and pulled him in for a kiss.
Melissa knew she loved Joey, just wasn't sure if she could say the words without crying, so she did the next best thing. She brought her lips to his, kissing him hard on the mouth. The kiss was broken only when they both needed air and she laid there, trying to catch her breath. “I love you too, Joey,” she laced her fingers in with his, smiling at him.
Joey moved into a more comfortable position, chuckling at her protest to throw the covers off. “I'll keep you warm, bambina,” he said, letting one of his hands travel up under the shirt she was wearing to skim just under her breasts and back down, settling at the waist band of her pants. His fingers skimmed along Melissa's waist and hips, moving her to where she was under him, their bodies as close as they could be with clothes on.
A soft moan of pleasure came from her lips, pulling his mouth back down to meet hers. Melissa didn't care where his hands went, as long as they were touching her. Hers were doing a good job of making Joey's hair look like he'd stuck his finger in a light socket when her nails weren't dug into his back when he'd place his mouth on her neck and nip the sensitive skin on her shoulder. She sucked in another breath when his mouth found her breasts, not realizing he'd pulled her shirt up. “Oh, god...Joey,” she gasped when his tongue flicked over a nipple.
The woman telling him she loved him and saying his name every few moments was music to Joey's ears. It spurned him on to keep going, pulling the shirt off her, smiling as he started kissing her at her hairline and down her face, intending to make his way back down to where he'd been the moment before. A groan came from Joey when Melissa's hand slipped from his chest down to his stomach to the waistband of his shorts. He knew she'd felt his erection pressed up against her and his mind tried to wrap itself around the fact that they were going to do this. Joey wanted it to be right, slow and something that meant something. Not just sex. It wouldn't ever be just sex with Melissa, but he didn't even want that to cross her mind. He smiled at her hesitation. “Don't get shy on me now, Melly,” Joey rumbled against her collarbone, kissing it.
Time was lost on the two of them, and when Joey would look over later, he'd see that they were still awake a little after 1 AM. His whole body buzzed as he looked down at Melissa, nuzzling her nose with his and kissing her softly, the smile on his face threatening to stay there forever. It had been better than a fantasy, to have her hands and mouth on him, driving him crazy. Melissa had been the one to inform him of places on his body that would feel good to kiss and lick and suck, things he'd not known. Joey was sure he'd never look at the inside of his arm where it bent at the elbow the same again. “So,” Joey whispered, settling his body weight on her more, content to stay that way, “How are you?”
Melissa giggled at his question, smiling stupidly. She could smell his scent on her. “I'm fantastic, Fatoney. How are you?” Melissa asked, playing with his hair more. It looked like a trainwreck and she made a face that it was sweaty. They both were.
“I think if I wake up in the morning and find out this is a dream, I'm going to be pissed. And then I'm going to seduce you. You will come to the dark side of the Force.” Joey said in his best Darth Vader voice and finally moved, knowing they needed to get some sleep. Kissing her lips, he groaned in pleasure when he felt her tongue play at his lips. “Gimme a few minutes and then we can both get a shower,” Joey told her when he finally pulled away.
Melissa nodded, watching him grab his boxers and shorts off the floor. She stretched and smiled as muscles protested, thinking of what had happened between them. She heard her name being called and grabbed the t-shirt she'd been wearing and the panties from the Victoria's Secrets bag.
“Holy shit, Mel,” Joey exclaimed, tilting her neck when she got into the bathroom. A large hickey was there. “I'm sorry, bambina,” he said, hoping she could cover it up. The water had been turned on and was steaming up the mirror. Joey leaned down and kissed the spot. “Let's see if I marked you anywhere else,” he murmured, looking her over.
“Does that hurt?” Melissa asked, trying not to grin at the bite mark on his chest that was turning a yellow-ish purple. When he told her to bite, she had. She looked at him when he shook his head no. “So what does this make us?” she asked quickly, not sure if she wanted to know the answer.
Joey grabbed her hands and pulled her body up to his. “This makes us better than best friends.”
Melissa laughed at him, getting into the shower and waiting for him to join her, the water spraying them both. “I don't know about all this,” her voice was teasing, a smile on her face. “Being your best friend and your lover might be a full time job.”
“Oh it is, but I give damn good benefits,” Joey told her once more, pressing Melissa against the wall and kissing her hard. He'd never get tired of kissing her now that he could without worrying about it. Or telling her how he felt. It was like his heart was free and at peace. It was the best he'd felt in a long time. “I love you.”
“I love you,” Melissa told him, biting her lip and looking him over. Three years of waiting had been worth it. Now she just prayed it would only get better.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Here is Chapter 12. It ended up being a longer one. Thanks for the reads and reviews. I love hearing what y'all think of the story.
Story Tags: joey
