Chapter 22

Remnants of the night before floated in and out of Amanda's head during her plane ride home. Her head leaning back against the seat and her eyes tightly closed, she only half slept. The other half of her brain was stuck in a world of JC. With all the clutter and noise around her tuned out, she lost herself in thoughts and memories. Wonderful memories. She was in love. Truly, deeply, madly in love.

It had only taken a heartfelt goodbye to realize it. Not two minutes after she left, she knew. She was in love, and practically floating on a cloud.

So this was how it felt? She'd often wondered if she'd know when the time came that it was actually happening. In fact, one of her greatest fears was that she wouldn't realize until it was too late. That she'd look back and say, I loved him but I never knew until it was too late.

Thank God that's not how it really worked. She was positive about it, and as soon as she figured out the right way to tell him, she would.

Maybe...

She'd never actually confessed her love to a man before. What if he didn't feel the same?

But that was silly, right? Obviously he felt something towards her. He was awfully affectionate with her and he did promise to come visit her as soon as he was done with his benefit show. That had to mean something, right?

She sure as hell hoped so.

When the plane finally landed late that morning, a smile was glued across her face. The entire ride in the taxi, a smile was glued to her face. Then, as she finally made way inside the hotel, that same smile swept from one ear to the other. She'd never been so incredibly happy in her whole entire life. Even with all the chaos, it just didn't seem to matter. Amanda was in love and nothing could ruin her day. Nothing.
Except for maybe the stack of papers on her desk and the fifty-plus voice mails that were on her machine. Oh lord, she didn't even want to think about going through all of that.

But still, somehow, she managed to keep that smile.

Of course, the warm welcome back she received didn't hurt. All of the staff seemed genuinely thrilled to see her. Which made her feel good because she had missed them too in some weird sort of way. She couldn't even express how thankful she was to find everything still in one piece when she returned. Finally that vision of returning to a hotel in shambles faded. Of course, she realized now she should've had more faith in them than that. Everyone knew what they were doing and knew how to do their jobs very well.

Sifting through her mail, her mind had a tendency to wander from time to time. She couldn't put a finger on which memory she enjoyed the most. Was it that last night with their steamy shower and that comforting feeling of just kicking back together and relaxing. Or maybe it was the night before with the way he'd seductively taken her in the living room.

That brought an instant grin to her face.

There were so many wonderful memories, and just the thought of each little detail made her completely giddy. She'd never been so thankful for having a person in her life. Never.

Well, except for her mother, but she supposed that was different. She wasn't so thankful for the time spent with her mother until it was too late. She was thankful for JC right when she was supposed to be, now.

By the time she finished with her mail it was three in the afternoon and since her inner clock was so screwy, thanks to the time change, she was pooped. Her voice mail could wait till tomorrow. She was calling it a day. Tomorrow she would get a fresh start on all the calls she'd need to return.

One more thing she dreaded to think about.

Amanda had barely stepped out of her office and locked the door when she heard the pat of footsteps scurrying towards her. Instinctively she looked up to find a relieved but overly-antsy Marcy. The woman looked liked she'd aged five years in the last week. Perhaps she cared more about Amanda than Amanda had realized. Or maybe her father's situation had just put stress on everyone, which was very likely.

Turning to her friend, Amanda had just begun to open her mouth to say hello when Marcy's actions threw her into a stupor. Marcy hadn't said a word. Instead she curled her arms around Amanda in a thankful hug and gasped. "Are you okay? Why are you working? You should be resting."

"Why do I need to be resting?" Amanda asked curiously, "Things are a mess around here. I need to get back to work."

Marcy took a step back and curiously studied Amanda's eyes. The bounce in the older woman's blond blocks stilled as she failed to move her head one inch. "No, they're not. You've had one helluva week. I know, because I've had one, too. I can only imagine what yours has been like."

Actually, Amanda thought, minus the crap with her father her week had been pretty damn good. But Marcy was right, she had been through way too much stress over the last two days alone. Which is probably why she felt so exhausted. That and the screwy clock in her head.

"And I wanna hear all about it. I really do," Amanda sighed, "but right now I just want to go upstairs and take a nice hot bath."

"I don't blame you. I wasn't coming here to report on things while you were gone. I just wanted to make sure you were okay." Marcy clarified.

"I'm okay, thanks." Amanda grinned at her friend, thinking of ending the conversation quick so she could get home. When her phone buzzed in her pocket a couple seconds later, she'd forgotten it was in there and it nearly scared the crap out of her. "Ooh," she sounded with a tiny jump as she reached into the pocket of her suit coat.

Marcy only stood there, watching.

Amanda knew who it was before she even answered. It was six o'clock in New York. JC was finished with rehearsal and back at his hotel, missing her. How nice did that sound? He missed her. God, she was giddy.

"Hello?" She answered.

"Hey, sweetheart. How are you holding up without me?" The sound of his words and the sweet tone of his voice must have immediately sent a sparkle to her eyes because Marcy gave her this all-knowing grin and waved goodbye. Just like that, she turned on her heels and left Amanda alone.

"I'm hanging in there," Amanda responded as she slowly began to stroll down the hall. "I'm actually just leaving my office."

"You just now finished working?" Amanda could hear him gasp through the phone, his disapproval floating through the air and sinking right into her head. "You're gonna work yourself to death."

"No I'm not," Amanda argued. "I've been gone for a week. I've got a lot of work to do."

"I'm sure you do, but it can wait till tomorrow. You don't need to be working this late."

"It's not that late here."

"Yeah, but you're still stuck on Eastern Time," he debated. "You know what I mean."

As Amanda unlocked her front door, the phone still pressed to her ear as their conversation continued. She wished nothing more than to be opening the door to find him waiting on the other side. This was going to be harder than she'd imagined. She'd never felt so attached before. Sleeping was going to be rather difficult - and lonely.

IT MUST HAVE BEEN two a.m. when she twisted in her blankets, reaching across the emptiness of her bed. Her condo seemed quite a bit colder than it normally did. Or maybe she'd just grown accustomed to the heat that had slept beside her for the past three nights.

With a heavy sigh, she sat up and rubbed her eyes tiredly. She'd tossed and turned all night. All in all, she'd probably only got a good hour or two of sleep.

Noticing the red digits of the alarm clock, her intuition had served her right. It was just after two. Looking down at her hands she counted on her fingers, even though it was an unnecessary action. It was two a.m., which meant it was five a.m., JC time. He was still sleeping. There was no way she could call and wake him up.

But oh, how she'd just kill to hear his voice. She'd never imagined being apart from someone could be so difficult. How could she have grown so used to him being there already?

Wearily she slipped her legs over the side of the bed and stood up. She was cold and another blanket might just do the trick. Although she had a feeling it wouldn't. Really, all she wanted was to get some sleep.

Tomorrow would be a busy day and she needed to be fully alert and awake. It would drag on forever if she was tired.

After pulling her warmest, thickest blanket out of the closet and throwing it neatly over the top of her bed, she crawled back under the covers and pretended that JC was sleeping beside her. She thought of his strong arm curled over her side and the warmth of his stomach pressed against her back. She wasn't sure how, but finally she managed to drift off to sleep.

When the obnoxious ring of the phone jerked her out of a deep sleep sometime later, she was positive it was JC. Groggily reaching for the receiver, she mentally noted that no one else on earth would be calling her at a quarter till four in the morning.

"Hello?" she answered, immediately clearing her throat and repeating it after hearing the crackly sound that came out the first time.

"I'm sorry to wake you, sweetheart, but I just had to hear your voice before I left for rehearsal."

With her eyes still closed, she hugged the phone to the side of her face.

"I miss you, too," she said softly.

"I won't keep you up, I just wanted to tell you that I hope you have a great day and not to work too hard."

"Okay," she replied. For a few seconds, all she could hear was the sound of him breathing on the other end of the line. She realized that even the sound of his breath made her feel better.

"Call me later, okay?"

"I will," Amanda agreed.

"Go back to sleep," he told her softly.

"Okay."

"Bye sweetheart."

"Bye." Amanda waited until she heard him hang up and then fumbled to place the phone back on the nightstand. Luckily, she was tired enough to fall right back to sleep. It seemed that hearing his voice may have been just what she needed.

THE NEXT DAY was busy to say the least. But when she finally got around to checking all of her messages that morning, she was tickled to find at least a half dozen of them were from JC. In all of which he sounded just a little desperate. Here she'd thought the entire time he'd just totally blown her off when actually he'd called more than a few times, making a very good effort. Although, she had sort of known that already since he did end up finding her. Thank God.

Her life would be completely different if he hadn't. She'd hate to imagine all the chaos without his support.

It was almost lunch time when her assistant brought by a package that had just been delivered. As soon as Amanda took it into her possession she had to smile because it was from Terra. Even though she had absolutely no idea what her cousin would be sending to her already.

Retreating back to the privacy of her office, she sat the brown, rectangular box on her desk and opened it carefully. On top laid a piece of paper folded neatly in half. As soon as Amanda picked it up the rest of the box's contents were revealed. Or rather, the nature of the contents. The first thing her eyes caught sight of was an *NSYNC Live from Madison Square Garden DVD. Just the thought sent Amanda into an immediate fit of giggles.

She loved her cousin. Why did Terra have to live so far away? Who else would be so kind to send every *NSYNC video and CD to her?

Chuckling, she opened up the note and read her cousin's message.

My Dear Cousin Amanda,

You can't date such a huge pop star like JC and not know anything about his group. I took the liberty of stopping by my local Tower Records and picking you up the necessities. Make sure you do your homework before he comes to visit you. I'm sure he'll just love it when their new song comes on the radio and you know all the words.

But seriously, take care of yourself and call me soon. I miss you and I love you and I'm thinking about you always.

Love,
Terra

Replacing all of the items neatly back into the box, Amanda decided she'd run it upstairs before meeting Marcy for lunch at noon. She was looking forward to her homework already. It might not be as good as the real thing, but it was better than nothing.

Of course, as she was getting on the elevator, Marcy was getting off.

"It's only a quarter till," Amanda said, "I thought we were gonna meet in the restaurant."

"We were but Jenny came in early and I thought I'd meet you at your office. What's in the box?"

"Oh," Amanda smiled, "just a little homework that my cousin sent me."

"Your cousin? In New York? Homework?" Marcy asked with a confused squint as Amanda stepped into the elevator beside her.

Amanda only chuckled softly and handed her friend the box. Shuffling through it, Marcy immediately understood. "Ohhh," she sounded, looking up at Amanda with an all-knowing smile.

"I was just gonna drop it off before we met for lunch," Amanda informed.

"Homework, huh? Is that what you call watching your boyfriend's videos nowadays?"

With a smirk Amanda rolled her eyes inconspicuously. "He's not really my boyfriend."

"Well, whatever."

"I mean, I guess. Sort of." Honestly, Amanda wasn't sure what she was supposed to call him. She had told her father he was her boyfriend, but what else was she supposed to say? She couldn't tell her dad it was just some guy she was sleeping with. That would have gone over real well.

Besides the sex part had been pretty obvious since he'd been in his pajamas and it was like two in the morning at the time. What else would he have been doing there?

Marcy laughed quietly to herself as she punched the button to Amanda's floor. "You don't have to try and explain to me, really."

"Yeah, I know. It's just, you know - complicated."

"I'm sure it is."

The elevator grew quiet after that, just the sound of the voiceless music playing softly through the speaker.

"As long as you're happy with the situation," Marcy finally added right before the bell sounded for the eighteenth floor.

"Of course I am. What do you mean by that?" Amanda asked, almost defensively, as the two women walked fast-paced towards Amanda's door.

"Just what I said," Marcy answered.

"He's not like stringing me along or anything. He broke up with HER."

"I know, I know. Don't get all defensive on me, now. I was just making a comment, that's all."

Amanda fidgeted with her keys before unlocking her apartment door.

"Why would you make a comment like that, though?" She asked.

Frankly, Marcy's sudden change in attitude about the whole thing surprised the heck out of her. "I mean, you were the one urging me to go for it."

"Yes, and I still am. I just want -"

"What?" Amanda asked as she opened her door and dropped the package just inside on the table.

"Never mind. Just forget I even said anything," Marcy urged, waving the thought away with her hand.

"How can I forget now?" Amanda asked, shutting her door and locking it tight.

"It's just obvious that you're head over heels in love with the guy and I don't want you to get hurt," Marcy finally blurted out as the two headed back towards the elevator.

Amanda stopped dead in her tracks, turning to her friend with the most concentrating look across her face. "Is it... uh, really that obvious?" she asked quietly after a minute.

"Yes," answered Marcy with confidence.

"Oh." Amanda didn't have much of a response to that, so she returned her attention back to the end of the hall and headed on her way, Marcy following beside her.

Amanda knew how she felt, but she had no idea that it was so obvious everyone else did, as well. So did that mean that JC knew, too, and how come she felt a little embarrassed about that? This was all so new to her. Amanda was clueless.

"It's alright," Marcy told her reassuringly after they'd spent too long of a quiet moment in the elevator. "I'm pretty sure he's nuts about you, too."

After too long of a work day, Amanda was finally able to retreat to the comfort of her apartment and watch her new videos. She was more than a little excited just to see his face, even if it was only on TV.

Of course, within the first minute of watching the old video she was fighting back laughter. Mainly because the guys looked so incredibly different. Especially Justin with his bleached blond hair and Chris with those weird looking braids. What the heck had he been thinking?

When JC's call came through right in the middle of "For The Girl Who Eats Everything", Amanda had a really hard time holding back her amusement. Not just because he was a complete goof, but because she was completely smitten by the whole thing.

"What are you doin'?" he asked curiously after her giggly hello.

"Funny you should ask," Amanda remarked with a chuckle, "Terra sent me a little care package today."

"Okay."

"You never told me you played the piano," Amanda remarked while pausing the video, his face staring at her through the TV.

"Oh yeah, I can play," he answered cheerfully, "but not as good as you, though."

"Right." Amanda didn't believe that one for a second. "But really, you'll have to play for me sometime. Maybe, for the girl who eats everything?" she asked with a giggle.

She could practically hear him choking on his laughter. "So, what exactly did your cousin send you?" he asked curiously after a minute.

"Oh, just all your videos and CD's," she answered casually.

"Because you didn't have them already."

"Yes, because I didn't have them already, and I have to say, this is very entertaining." Amanda teased.

"That's really old, you know."

"I kinda figured that."

"We were just a little dorky," he remarked.

"But very cute," Amanda added. If only he could see the big grin on her face through the telephone.

"That was definitely the look we were going for," he remarked sarcastically. "Cute."

"Especially you," Amanda added, ignoring his little comment.

She was beginning to realize just how much she missed him as she spoke. His voice was nice and his picture may have been staring her in the face, but neither came close to having him there beside her. She'd figured time would make it easier but it seemed it was just making it worse. She missed him. A lot.

"Was I cute?" he questioned her. Amanda could just imagine the smile across his perfectly kissable lips. What she wouldn't give to have them in front of her at that very moment.

"Yeah, you were."

"I'm not now?"

"Nope," she answered, pausing for a brief moment before continuing. "I can think of much better descriptive words for you now."

"Oh, like what?" he asked with intrigue.

"Um, I can't tell you."

"Why?" he asked, his voice turning up a notch as he spoke.

"Because, that way I can torture you the way you're torturing me."

"How am I torturing you?" he asked.

"'Cause you act all cute in these videos and it makes me miss you even more," she admitted, trying her best not to whine as she spoke.

"You don't have to watch them."

"I know, but it wasn't so bad until you called," she explained.

"Oh, so did you want me to let you go?"

"No!" she answered a little too desperately. "No, I don't want you to let me go," she repeated, this time much more calmly.

JC chuckled softly. "Good, because I wasn't going to let you go anyway."

Amanda took in a deep breath, closed her eyes and let her head fall against the back of the sofa. "JC," she sighed.

"What sweetheart?" he asked sincerely.

"I never realized it was possible to miss someone so much."

"If it makes you feel any better, I miss you a lot, too."

"It's not gonna get any easier, is it?" she asked with little hope.

"Probably not," he answered truthfully. "Unfortunately, my life is pretty crazy . Not exactly the ideal circumstances for a relationship. You think you can handle it?"

Could she handle it? She'd have to. "I'm sure as hell gonna try." Because she already loved him too much to let him go.

OVER THE NEXT few days Amanda got settled back into her routine at the hotel, but as she found herself submerged in her once normal duties, she realized how boring it all was.

The days were long and for once she began to feel a little overwhelmed by it all. Not that the work was any more difficult than it had been before. In fact, that couldn't have been more far from the truth. It just wasn't fulfilling to her anymore. She was tired of eating, sleeping and breathing that hotel.

Maybe JC had been right. This wasn't how she wanted to spend the rest of her life. Giving up the hotel didn't mean giving up her mother. Her mom would've wanted Amanda to move on, not confine herself to a lifestyle that made her unhappy. Now she'd just have to figure out what it was that would make her happy.

The night before JC's arrival, Amanda was so restless that she couldn't sit still. It was almost midnight when she decided to get dressed and do the one thing that had always brought her peace of mind. Go down to the bar and play the piano.

WHEN JC PULLED UP to the front of the hotel just after one in the morning, he was so anxious he could hardly sit still. The hotel was practically deserted at such an hour, which was just fine by him.

Amanda didn't have a clue he'd be there already. He'd managed to get an early flight out so he could surprise her. He'd missed her a whole lot more than he'd expected and, frankly, his own feelings had surprised him just a little.

He loved Amanda and he was ready to tell her. He couldn't hold it in any longer.

His head was in a cloud as he headed straight for the elevator and up to her condo. There were so many things on his mind, he wouldn't even know where to begin when he finally got there. He did feel just a tiny bit guilty for barging in on her at such a late hour, but he knew she wouldn't be upset. In fact, he was pretty damn sure that she'd be so happy she'd probably tackle him. At least that was the reaction he was hoping for.

Standing in front of her door, he took in a deep breath and knocked loudly. He could only imagine the thoughts that would run through her head when she realized someone was banging on her door at one in the morning. It would all be worth it when she realized it was him, though. That he was sure of.

After a minute of no response, he knocked again. He didn't remember her being that heavy of a sleeper. Of course, he had never slept with her in her own bed, either, and that was always a little different than being in a hotel.

With a frustrated sigh, he raised his fist to knock once more when a voice stopped him from the down the hall. "She's not there."

JC turned as the older gentlemen headed his way. From the looks of his uniform, he was some sort of security.

"Oh."

"She's downstairs in the bar," the older man continued. "I can take care of your bag for you if you'd like."

"If you're sure you don't mind," JC remarked. He was still just a little bit confused.

"No, I don't mind at all," the aged man smiled, "I'm Ron, head of security around here. But I've known Amanda since she was about ten years old."

"Nice to meet you, Ron. I'm JC."

"I know who ya are," Ron smiled as he accepted the hand JC had extended towards him. "You remember where the bar is?"

"I think I can find it, yeah."

"Then what are you waiting for? Go on, now."

"Thanks," JC smiled at the man and headed towards the elevator in a hurry. Did he remember where the bar was? Did he ever. That was the first place he'd laid eyes on Amanda. How could he forget?

The elevator didn't seem to travel fast enough. He watched as the numbers in the display got smaller and smaller until finally he was back in the lobby. Slowly he turned down the hall and headed for that quaint little piano bar, his heart pounding inside his chest. He was suddenly nervous for some reason and he wasn't exactly sure why.

Two steps away from the entrance, he could hear her playing. It wasn't anything soft like he had heard before. This melody was much more aggressive. He couldn't quite place the tune, although he knew it was something classical, perhaps Beethoven or Chopin. He wasn't quite sure. One thing he did know, he didn't want her to stop and once she realized he was there, she would. So instead, he waited just outside the door, hidden from her sight, and listened intently as she played.

Amanda didn't play one wrong note or hit one wrong key. She played absolutely beautiful.

Finally the song ended and he slowly moved through the door, stopping briefly for a moment just to stare. The bar was completely empty and except for the lights around her, it was pretty dark. Like a breath of fresh air, he took in her beauty. Amanda stared down at the keys, as if she was trying to decide what she wanted to play next. Her hair pulled back at the nape of her neck, only a few strands framed the sides of her face. The olive green sweater she wore set the perfect background to her golden-brown locks, even in the dim lighting of the club. With that look of gentle concentration across her face, he almost hated to disturb her, but at the same time he couldn't wait another second.

Clearing his throat just loud enough for her to hear, he slowly moved towards her. "You play very well Ms. Ballard. You took lessons, I assume?"

"Yes, for about ten years. It's been awhile though, but thank you." He noticed the flash of excitement in her eyes as she realized it was him, but she quickly shoved it aside to play along.

"I play a little myself," he remarked, only a step or two away from the shiny black baby grand.

"So I've heard," she grinned something terribly sexy, although he figured it wasn't done purposely on her part. Her eyes caught sight of his and a dazzling twinkle of green stared up at him. "So what brings you here at such a late hour, Mr. Chasez?" she asked with a thin smile.

"Actually," he remarked as he leaned both elbows against the smooth surface of the piano top. "I'm meeting someone."

"Oh really?"

"Yes, my girlfriend."

"Oh."

He realized what a difficult time she was having keeping that straight look on her face. All of her features were struggling just to hang on to that little bit of composure. "I was told I could find her here, in the bar," he continued, closing in on her space and reaching to brush a stray strand of hair from her face.

Secretly Amanda was dying inside. First his sudden surprise of just being there, then the sweet little game he had started, now... just his touch had sent her heart racing off the charts. He was incredible in every sense of the word and he made her feel incredible, too. It took everything in her being to keep it together. Really all she wanted to do was attack him because she had missed him so much.

"Maybe." She finally managed to sputter. All the while, a grin crawling from one corner of his mouth to the other. He completely had her under his spell and he knew it, but she didn't mind. "She might be around," Amanda finished.

"She is," he stated confidently as he closed the distance between them and brushed the back of his knuckles softly across her cheek. "She's right here." He said it so quietly she almost didn't hear. If it hadn't been for the touch of his breath across her lips she might not have known he was speaking. But thankfully she had heard him and the words sank right into her heart.

Closing her eyes, she felt the touch of his lips brush against her own, a billion tingly sparks shooting through her body as it was probably the most sensual yet heartfelt kiss she had ever experienced. It was filled with love and he didn't even have to say it, because she already knew. He loved her and she loved him, too, and there was no doubt in her mind that she was supposed to be with him.

Slowly he backed away and brushed his thumb across the center of her swollen lips. "You're early," she began to say, but he stopped her with his finger pressed to her lips.

"Shhh," he said quietly, "I know."

Grabbing her gently by the hand, he pulled her up from the piano bench and straight into his arms.

"Don't say a word," he whispered lightly, the warmth of his breath tickling her neck. "I missed you so much, Amanda. You can't even imagine how much."

She wanted to tell him she did. That she could imagine because she had missed him just as much, but as soon as she got a word out he stopped her.

"Shhh, remember?"

She didn't answer, but figured her silence would be an acceptable response.

"I love you." The words almost didn't register, thankfully he said it again. "I love you, Amanda. In fact, I think I'm pretty much falling completely head over heels in love with you. And I hope to God that you feel the same."

Her heart bursting with love and joy, she tried to respond. "I -"

"No," he said, "not yet."

It took all of her willpower not to chuckle at his effort to keep her quiet. With his hands laced around her back and his lips barely a breath away from her ear, he had complete control and he was using it to the fullest.
"I think I fell in love with you the first day we met. I just didn't know it at the time. I don't know if I believed in such a thing before, but I do now."

"JC?" she attempted to speak and surprisingly this time he let her.

"What sweetheart?"

Amanda pulled back just enough to look into his eyes. His stare was calm and knowing. She wanted to tell him how she was madly in love with him too, but first she had to kiss him. She just had to.

Rising to the tip of her toes, she pressed her mouth to his with ease, tasting his lips and his tongue and realizing that she was so hungry for him at that moment she'd probably never make it up to her condo.

"I love you, too," she said, breaking away from their kiss only long enough to speak. She indulged in him briefly before continuing, "And I wanted to say it first but you beat me to it... brat."

Immediately JC began to laugh, pulling away from their engaging embrace to look her straight in the eye. "Ha, ha," he chuckled and winked devilishly.

"Now... I think we better go upstairs before I throw you down on the piano," she smirked.

"Ooh, that doesn't sound bad. Maybe we should stay here?"
That boyish gleam in his eye made the offer tempting, but the risk of being caught by her own staff was too scary. "Maybe in somebody's else's piano bar, but not in mine," she remarked.

"Wimp," he called her as she grabbed onto his arm and began pulling him toward the exit.

"Yeah, so?"

"Have I mentioned that I have a piano very similar to this one at home?" he asked with playful smile. The two of them moved into the empty hallway and JC pulled her hand off his arm, instead lacing her fingers between his own. "You know, you've never even see where I live Amanda. Don't you think it's time for a visit? How can you be with someone when you don't even know where they live?"

She looked up at him with a smug grin. "Shhh," she sounded assertively.

"You're bossing me around now?" he asked, obviously amused and looking completely irresistible at the same time.

"Yes."

"Good, ‘cause I like it."

But as soon as they stepped into an empty elevator, JC swept his arms around her and lifted her right off her feet. "I love you Amanda Ballard and I'm gonna tell you so much you're gonna get sick of hearing it."

"I doubt that," she giggled as he spun her around. He dropped her back to her feet and she was immediately dizzy, "whoa."

"Dizzy?" he asked with a grin.

"Just a little."

The doors opened and he took her hand before guiding her down the hall. "I have that effect on women," he remarked with a cocky smile.

"You have that effect on ME."

"Do I?" he asked, one eyebrow raised slightly higher than the other.

"Very much so."

"You know," he casually remarked as they strolled down the hall, "I don't even know what kind of car you drive? What kind of car do you drive, Amanda?"

"A Mercedes."

"That figures," he replied. She looked up at him just in time to catch the playful role of his eyes and teasing smile lingering across his lips.

"Yeah, so what do you drive?"

"Depends on what day it is," he answered with a smile.

"That figures."

He chuckled and Amanda instantly realized how happy she was. In a mere ten minutes she had gone from anxious to completely utterly satisfied and it was all thanks to him.

Unlocking her door, she glanced up at him from the corner of her eye and smiled. Something about him standing so close suddenly made her weak in the knees.

"What?" he asked smugly, obviously noticing as she looked him up and down.

"Oh, nothing."

"You love me," he remarked with a swaggering grin. The door opened and she let him inside, shutting it quickly behind him.

She did love him and maybe now she'd be able to get enough of him to last her for a little while because in a few days he'd be gone again.

Huh, she doubted it. She'd never get enough. Maybe the only way she'd ever be satisfied is if she went with him. Amanda knew things wouldn't all be easy, but she didn't care. Suddenly he made it all worth it. Every bit. And she'd do whatever it took just so they could be together.

Whatever. Whenever. Wherever.

Falling for him was the best thing that had ever happened to her, she could only thank God that she realized it in time.

©2001 BrandyRae