Sneaking into the movie theatre with JC and his bodyguard was probably the strangest thing Amanda had ever done.  Not that they snuck in without paying.  It was more like sneaking in through the back door and being escorted up to the balcony where no one could see them. 

Amanda rarely went to the movies in the first place – not anymore, anyway.   It was something she used to do with her mother when she was young.  In fact, many times they had gone to the very same theatre.  Although, this was her first time ever sitting in the balcony.  She had never even known how to get to it until now.

Sitting beside him in the dark brought on a combination of many feelings, mainly feelings of enjoyment and excitement with a mix of fluttering butterflies in her tummy.  The movie was a comedy, which she was thankful for because she’d never had much of a stomach for horror films and she definitely wasn’t in the mood for some depressing drama. 

The two laughed together and even shared a bag of popcorn, but the weirdest thing of all was Mike sitting just a few seats over.  Amanda had never considered their time together a date, but JC made it feel that way – only with a chaperone standing close by.  It wouldn’t have been so strange if she didn’t feel like such an imposter when Mike was around, but the vibe he gave off made her just a little uncomfortable. 

As much as she enjoyed bumping hands with JC in the popcorn bag, she was anxious for the movie to end so they could return to her comfort zone – the hotel.

The movie was nearly to its close when Mike got up to use the restroom, leaving the two briefly alone.  Amanda breathed a sigh of relief and sunk deeper into her chair.  Just when she felt a little more at ease, JC latched onto her arm causing her to nearly jump right out of her skin.  “What’s the matter?  Did I scare you?”   He leaned in close and Amanda pushed herself up straight in the chair.

She only took in another deep breath as a response. 

“We’ve got a good five minutes before he comes back.  You wanna make out?”  His tone was so devilish that Amanda knew he was trying to get a reaction out of her.  Little did he know how tempting that offer actually was.

“Are you serious?”  She asked with surprise.

“Only if you were going to say yes.”  Her eyes somewhat focused in the dark, she could see the cheesy grin across his face and it was incredibly contagious, or maybe it was just his playful nature that made her want to smile so badly.

“You’re assuming that I would say no,” she, instead, shot back.

“Pretty much, yeah.”

If that’s the way he wanted it, she thought, and turned forward to finish watching the movie.  But his stare was burning a hole through the side of her head and she was trying hard not to smile and give him that satisfaction.

“Amanda...”  Her name seemed to just roll off his tongue in a quiet, yet seductive whisper.  His lips were dangerously close to her ear and his breath was beating down her neck, causing a billion tiny goose bumps to form all over.  Not to mention the luring scent of him.  That trademark scent of clean soap and that dangerous cologne he wore, whatever brand it was.  She didn’t know, she only knew it smelled absolutely wonderful.

Taking in another deep whiff, she didn’t answer his call, only turned to gaze at him beside her.

Slowly one hand crept to touch her cheek and his face inched even closer than before.  “Don’t run away, okay?” he whispered, his fingers delicately tracing across her flushed skin.  Her eyes fell closed, knowing what was coming – she’d be a fool not too after that hint.  

But when his lips meshed softly to hers it was as if her entire being melted right out of her skin and slid to the floor in a puddle of mush.  Inside, the desire she felt swirled and swished as her heart pounded in her chest, shooting her pulse right off the charts.

With one taste of his buttery sweet lips, the yearning she had already been fighting off increased about five hundred times –if not more.

After too brief of an encounter, he pulled back just enough to catch her reaction. 

Amanda hesitated to open her eyes.  She was hoping that he’d come back for another.  No such luck.  Finally, she dared to look at him.

“You’re not running?” he said with a pleased smile.

“Should I?” 

“Mmmm, I don’t think so,” he answered just before pressing his near-perfect lips to hers for a second bout.

This time sparks flew.  Fireworks went off.   You name it, she felt it. 

Growing a little bolder, she grabbed onto his arm – a handful of bulging muscle – and the kiss deepened.  The tender touch of his tongue brushing ever-so-gently across her lips nearly sent her over the edge.  She opened up to him, gripping onto his arm even tighter, and let him venture into her world. 

It saddened her that it didn’t last nearly long enough.  He pulled away and she was left utterly speechless.

JC gave her a playful wink, traced his thumb alluringly over her still-parted lips and spoke softly.  “Close your mouth.  Mike will be back any second.”

Her heart racing incredibly fast, she turned back in her chair, faced the screen and sank even deeper into the seat. 

In less than five minutes time he had totally rocked her world.

After the theatre cleared out, JC and Amanda climbed into the back seat of their chauffeured SUV.  Amanda was still in a daze after the kisses they’d shared.  She could still taste him on her lips and if she closed her eyes really tight, she could almost relive those moments over and over again.  Never had she experienced kisses like that.  Nothing had ever felt so good.  She didn’t even dare imagine what it would feel like if things went even further.  She wondered if she’d even be able to recover from an experience like that.

Delicately JC slid his hand into hers as it rested on the seat between them.   Amanda looked over at him and he smiled genuinely.  “Tired?” he asked quietly.

“No, not really.  Are we going back to the hotel?”

“Yeah,” he answered, lightly tickling her palm with his fingertips.   “That’s okay, right?  I know you’re worried that there might be some late night crisis or something that you’re missing.”

“Ha, ha.  Very funny.”   She smirked.

“We still have to finish that conversation.  Are you ready?”

“No,” she answered honestly.

“Ah, come on.  You can talk to me,” he remarked, his voice on the verge of a whine.

“JC,” she spoke softly, “I hardly know you.”

“I keep forgetting that,” he said with a goofy grin.  “Don’t worry, that’ll change.”

He seemed so positive about that, Amanda had to wonder exactly how factual that statement actually was.

They made it safely inside the hotel, through a back entrance of course, and Mike escorted them up to JC’s suite.  Amanda wasn’t sure exactly what the plan was next, but she had forced herself not to question it.  For once in her life she was planning on just going with whatever.

Mike led the way to JC’s door and didn’t even turn when he said goodbye, he just kept walking.  JC opened his door and Amanda followed him inside.  “He doesn’t like me,” she said.

“He’s just cranky.  Ignore him.”  JC told her.   “Besides, it doesn’t matter if he likes you.  What matters is if I like you.”

“Oh… okay.”  Amanda remarked with sarcasm.

“Finally,” JC huffed, “you’re loosening up.  Thank God.”  His teasing made her smile.  It took a little while to get used to it, but she realized now that it was only a part of his playful nature, a side of him she thoroughly enjoyed. 

Casually he reached for her wrist and pulled her into his arms.  Almost automatically she sank against him, enjoying every firm contour of his fit frame.  He rested his chin on top of her head as she nuzzled her cheek against him, his inviting scent surrounding her and teasing her senses. 

“I know this probably seems really strange to you, Amanda,” he said.  “Believe it or not I’m usually not like this.  I’m actually a very private person and I’m definitely not the flirt of the group.   Well, I suppose I can be at times, but not usually.  Anyway, I just don’t want you to think that this is something I do all the time.  You hear all those stories about rock stars and stuff, and it’s really not like that with us.  We’re not like that, any of us.”

Amanda remained quiet, thoroughly enjoying the subtle movements of his body against hers.  The feeling of his chest pressing against her own with every breath and his hands lightly stroking down her back as he spoke.  With her arms curled around his waist, she could have easily stayed in that position for a very long time.

After a quiet minute, he leaned back and looked down at her face as she peered back up at him.  “It’s after midnight, I’m leaving in seven hours and I still have to pack.  Did you want to help me pack or should I walk you back to your place?” he asked.

“Do you really need help?”  She asked in reply.

“Not really,” he grinned, “but you can watch.”

“Okay.”

Stepping out of the embrace, he held on to her hand and guided her to the bedroom.  “I promise this will be just innocent packing going on in here,” he assured her.

“I’m gonna trust you on that,” she remarked with a grin. 

“Good.”  He sat her down on the bed and took a step back, looking at her curiously.  “You want a blanket?  You look a little cold.” 

Only if he would be her blanket…

Oh, there were those darned naughty thoughts again.  “No, I’m okay,” she answered.

“You sure?”

“Yeah.”

“Let me know if you change your mind.  These suites come with all that stuff, you know?  Extra blankets, extra pillows… you name it, and it’s here.”

Amanda had to chuckle because, obviously, she did know that. 

“And I’m telling you all that why?” he remarked more to himself than to her. 

“I don’t know,” she giggled.

“Don’t laugh at me,” he threatened, “you don’t even want to know what happened to the last person who laughed at me.”  There was that playful side again.  It was a side of him that she found completely irresistible.  In fact, if she’d been just a little more brave, she’d have tackled him right there, on the spot.

“Is that a threat?” she asked instead.

“Very much so,” he answered with a wink and moved to the closet where he pulled out a big black suitcase.  “Okay,” he said as he unzipped the heavy thing, “don’t look at how messy I am.  You’re probably wanting to pull your hair out at how unorganized I am, but it’s tough when you’re away from home seventy-five percent of the year, okay?”

“I wasn’t gonna say anything,” she defended.

“Just as long as we’ve got that straight,” he grinned up at her as he knelt on the floor beside his luggage.

They chatted as JC packed, mostly about him.  He explained to her things about his lifestyle and how hectic it was.  He also talked a little about the other guys and their different personalities.  In all honesty, she was thoroughly enjoying everything he was dishing out, but she knew it was only a matter of time before the subject of her would come up again.

Sure enough, as he laid out his clothing for the following morning – which was only five or six hours away – and finished packing, he asked her again why it was she let the hotel take up all of her time.  But that was a question she just couldn’t answer, no matter how hard she tried.

“I really don’t know how to answer that,” she admitted.

He looked at her with those gorgeous blue eyes and held out one hand.  “Come on,” he said, “I should walk you back.  Besides, watching you try and sit comfortably in that skirt is making me uncomfortable.”

Amanda just looked at him funny, but took his hand nevertheless.  He was ready to call it a night and even though she was disappointed, she wasn’t very surprised.  It was after one in the morning.

The ride in the elevator was quiet.  And the walk down the endless hallway to her apartment was quiet.  JC wasn’t sure what he was doing.  He knew he should be telling her goodbye, but he hadn’t done it yet and there was an enormous part of him that was dying to ask if he could hang out at her place for a little while.

He had enjoyed the time he’d been spending with her more than any time he could remember.  Not to mention the fact that he was just aching to kiss her again.  Of course, a good night kiss would be the perfect opportunity, but that would mean saying good bye and he just wasn’t ready.

As they approached her door, he threw out the most obvious hint.  “So, did I keep you up too late?  Are you ready to just collapse, or what?”

“No, not really,” she answered, “I’m actually a night owl.  I always stay up late.”

“Me too.”  But, of course, that’s just what he was used to.  He’d kill for a normal nights sleep at times. 

“So… did you wanna come in for a minute?  You probably need to get some sleep though, huh?”  Her tone gave her away.  She was feeling exactly the same as him and he could tell it had been difficult for her to ask.

“No, I’ll come in,” he agreed with a smile. 

“Oh, okay.”  She unlocked the door and JC followed her inside.  Not one light was turned on and as Amanda reached for the switch on the wall she brushed her arm against his chest.  “Oops, sorry,” she grinned shyly, as if she had hurt him in some way, the soft light illuminating her face.  But it wasn’t like she had punched him and if it had hurt it wasn’t in the way she was thinking.   Oh no, this kind of hurt was more like an ache and it sank much deeper than his chest.

He just grinned it off. 

“So, are you thirsty or anything?” 

“Actually, I’m kinda hungry.  You got anything to snack on?”  He asked.  Immediately her face lit up with delight.  He wasn’t sure if it was because he had implied he would stay for a little while or because she was hungry, too.

“Oh, I’ve got lots of stuff,” she answered and headed straight for the kitchen.  He followed, watching with wide eyes.  She opened up a cupboard and started naming stuff off.  Then she stood on her tippy-toes to open an even higher cabinet.  JC was so lost in a trance, staring at her curves, no doubt, that he nearly forgot he should have been offering to help. 

Finally he stepped in and reached up from behind her for the box of crackers she was trying so desperately to reach.  In the process, his body pressed up against her back and a fierce heat shot straight through his veins, igniting every nerve ending in his body. 

Leaning into the curve of her backside was not what he had intended, but once he was there it was difficult to move away.  She seemed to fit so perfectly against him in every way, shape and form.  And before he even realized it, he had braced one hand delicately against her slim waist.

Amanda froze when she felt him behind her.  It was a good thing he had grabbed that box because she was just about to drop it.     The warmth of his touch was sending tingly sensations up and down and all over her body.  She closed her eyes for a second, took in how wonderful it all felt and then slowly turned around.  “Thanks,” she grinned.

Taking a step back, he looked at her as if nothing remotely physical had just happened.  “No problem,” he said and set the box on the counter.  But Amanda just stared at him.  She had no words to speak, no thought other than, God, this man is absolutely gorgeous and if he touches me again I think I will either die or faint – and she had no idea what to do next, but she new she had to do something.

She leaned against the counter and thought of every move possible – grabbing, kissing, full-on attacking him? – oh, she really was at a loss for a lot of things at that moment, her sanity included.

“So, you wanna watch a movie or something?” he asked after a second.  

“Oh, okay.” 

He’d be staying?  This meant he’d be staying for another couple of hours.  Oh, that made her happier than she’d ever expected.  “I’ll bring out the snacks,” she told him.

“Sounds good,” he turned to walk out of the kitchen, took a couple of steps and then turned back around.  “Oh, no popcorn, k?  Once a night is enough for me.”

Amanda grinned in agreement.  “Me too.”

“Hey,” he spoke in a softer voice, stepping even closer to her, “aren’t you tired of wearing that?  I mean, don’t you just wanna relax?  Don’t feel like you have to stay all dressed up for me.  I’d be dying by now in that skirt.  Well, not that I’ve ever worn one, but I can imagine.”

That thought hadn’t even crossed her mind, but now that he brought it to her attention, it would be nice to sit in something a little more comfortable.  Luckily she had just bought a couple of new pairs of warm-up pants that she hadn’t even broken in at the gym yet. 

“I’m not trying to get you out of your clothes, I swear,” JC continued after Amanda failed to respond.

“Oh.  I know,” she said, “I’m just so used to dressing this way.  I didn’t even realize, but I guess you’re right.  I mean, I can change.  If you want me to, that is.”  Her words were all jumbled again.  Along with her thoughts.  Damn, she had been doing so well and now she was acting all stupid again.  If only he hadn’t pressed against her that way.  It totally shot her concentration all to hell.

“I just want you to be comfortable,” he said.  “And, since I kind of invited myself to stay – I don’t want you to – “ well, frankly, it would be just too easy to smooth his hands over her legs and who knows what else if she didn’t change her clothes.  They would be sitting on the couch together, since she only had one sofa.  And more than likely they’d end up sitting fairly close, if he had it his way.  It would just be much safer if she was wearing sweats or something, from his standpoint, anyway.

“You don’t want me to what?” she asked after he stopped mid-sentence and never bothered to finish.

“Huh?” he hadn’t even realized he forgot to finish.  Man, what was this woman doing to him all of the sudden?

“You said you don’t want me to, and you didn’t say what.  Oh, and you didn’t really invite yourself,” she added, “I asked you to come in, remember?”

Shaking his head back in to reality, he agreed, “right. “

Amanda just looked at him funny.  “I’ve got a bunch of movies in that cabinet underneath the TV if you want to pick something.”

“Okay,” he agreed, half-dazed, and went back to the living room.

Oh, what the hell has gotten into you JC? he asked himself.  The girl was rubbing off on him.  Now he was acting all goofy when before she had been the one getting tongue-tied.  Did one rub against her ass make you loose your mind, or what?

The movie idea may not have been such a good one.  Only because he found himself getting pretty sleepy and from the looks of it, so was Amanda.  Of course, her leaning into him wasn’t so bad.  Neither was his arm wrapped over her shoulder.  But his heavy eyes – now, they were bad.  He didn’t want to fall asleep.  He didn’t want to leave the next morning.  And he didn’t want to think about the chance of him never seeing her again.

Granted, that was all up to him.  If he really wanted to see her again, he could.  Unless, of course, she refused to see him, again.  Although, he couldn’t really fathom that happening.  She seemed to like him quite a bit. 

But the truth was, come tomorrow, this false reality would be over and it would be back to all things normal – mainly Jessie.  He didn’t even want to think her name while sitting so comfortably next to Amanda.  Not that he didn’t care for Jessie anymore, he just didn’t want to be with her. 

Which, of course, was part of the problem.  She had given up everything for him and he felt too guilty to break her heart because of it.  Her life had pretty much been on pause for him, so she could be there for him.

How he ever let that happen?  He had no clue.  How stupid was that?  Letting her give up everything to travel around and be with him.  Maybe that was why he resented her so much.  Maybe that’s why he didn’t even enjoy her company anymore.  Maybe that was the reason for so many things he was feeling.

But it wasn’t why he was feeling so drawn to Amanda.  That much he knew for sure.  He genuinely liked this girl.  More so than he had for anyone in a very long time. 

She nuzzled her head against his shoulder and he wondered if she was still awake.  “You asleep?” he asked her softly.

She responded with a soft “Hmmm, mmmm,” and just the sweet sound of her voice made him ache in the most needing parts of his body.

But he had to laugh quietly at her sleepiness.  Playfully he traced the side of her head with his fingertips.  “Was that a yes or a no?” he asked.

“Both.”

Cupping her chin gently with one hand, he nudged her to look up at him.  “That’s not possible,” he said.

She only peered up at him with sleepy eyes.  He smirked softly to himself and tenderly placed his lips to her forehead.   A gesture that would assume he had known her for a very long time.  One that would imply they were close and knew everything about each other.  Strange, that wasn’t the case, but he still felt the same.

“I should probably go,” he told her.

“JC?”  When she spoke his name in that soft sultry voice of hers, he knew he’d give her anything she asked for.  

“What?”  he asked in reply, speaking equally as quiet as her.

“What happens now?”

“What do you mean?”  He knew what she meant, but for some reason he wanted her to be more specific.  Maybe he just wanted to hear that she cared.

Amanda sat up straight and stretched, her legs stiffening out in front of her and her socked-toes reaching for the edge of the glass-topped coffee table.  “You know, after you leave,” she continued, looking up at him with awakening eyes.

“What do you want to happen?”  he asked quizzically.

She stared up at him, a little discouraged.  “Me?”

“Yes you,” he clarified with a grin.  As if he had been referring to someone else.  “Who else?”

“I don’t know.”  She glanced down at her feet and then once again at him.  “What do you want to happen?” 

“I asked you first,” he smiled.  For some odd reason, he loved messing with her this way.

After a second or two of her not responding, he nudged her playfully in the knee.   “Because, you know, you have gotten off pretty easy tonight.  We never did talk about you and why you spend so much time at the hotel and all that.”

Her stare drifted off to her lap or her feet once again.  Anything, it seemed, to avoid making eye contact with him.  Why was that such a difficult subject for her?  He was so curious about it, but at the same time he didn’t want to force her to talk to him in any way.  What he wanted was her to feel comfortable enough on her own to talk to him. 

“I know,” she finally said, her voice calm and a bit unsure, “and it’s not that I don’t want to talk about it.  I just don’t know what to tell you.  I mean, it’s just kind of how things have ended up for me.  It’s not really a bad thing.”

“I’m sorry if I’m being pushy,” he told her, “I just like you and I want to know more about you.”

With that she grinned.  A smile that made her whole face light up.  “I like you, too,” she agreed.

“So, you want to know if we’re ever going to see each other again, right?  Is that what you were asking?”

“Pretty much, yeah.”

“Did you want to see me again?”

She rolled her eyes, obviously realizing that he was trying his best to torment her.  “What do you think?”

“Personally, I don’t see how you could NOT want to see me again,” he responded with a cocky smile.

“Oh, please…” she smirked, having grown some sort of immunity to his sarcasm.

“Please?” he asked devilishly.

Amanda only looked at him curiously, obviously clueless to what he was about to do.   She had to have been because he hadn’t even expected it himself.  But he did it, and in a matter of one whole second his lips were crashing down against her more soft, pouty ones – and they felt incredible.

She clutched onto him, her hands reaching for his arms as if she was afraid to touch him anywhere else.  Oh, but he wanted her touch him other places – every other place to be exact. 

Gently he held onto her neck, tracing his thumb over her delicate jaw line as his mouth covered hers with hunger.  His kisses screamed something much more desirable, but he wanted her to make the next move and it just wasn’t happening.

Teasingly he trailed one finger down her neck, stopping abruptly as it hit the collar of her t-shirt.  Oh, and he had asked her to change.  Look where that had gotten him.

“Amanda…” he breathed her name in between prolonged, sensual kisses and she only moaned in response.  For some reason, he just loved to say her name.  “I’m going to call you tomorrow,” he finally spoke quietly.  Hating to brake away, but knowing it was necessary.

“Okay,” she said breathily.

“I’m gonna go now, really,” he had said it, but for some reason he found himself inching towards those tasty lips again.  They were just so damn soft… and shapely… and lusciously sweet.   Oh man, was he in trouble.

“I thought you were leaving?” she asked with a giggle as he freed her mouth just enough to let the noise slip through those soft, shapely, sweet lips.

“I am,” he answered, defying his words and kissing her again, and again, and again.

“JC,” she pressed her palms to his chest and pushed him back just enough to make him stop, but her tone was still filled with enjoyment.  She may have been telling him to stop, but it wasn’t because she hadn’t liked what was going on.

“Sorry,” he said, grinning sheepishly.  “I’ll just put my shoes on and go now.”

“It’s not that I want you to go,” Amanda made clear.  “It’s just that you’re leaving in a few hours and you should probably be in your hotel room when whoever comes to wake you up or do whatever it is they do.”

He chuckled, amused by her thinking.  “You’re right,” he agreed, although that wasn’t exactly how it worked, but close enough.

“But I will let you call me tomorrow,” she told him.  “If you want to.”

“I said I would,” he remarked as he tied his shoe laces.

It was only a minute or two later that she was walking him to the door, hugging him goodbye and kissing him one last time.  Oddly enough, he wasn’t too upset about leaving.  Actually, he felt rather good.  He was going to make it a point to see her again – and soon.  This wasn’t good bye, just a ‘see ya real soon.’  

He would make a point of it.  In fact, he already looked forward to calling her the next day.  Actually, that was about the only thing he was looking forward to.

©2001 BrandyRae