The day the Chasez’s had flown back to Orlando, Annie had moved into his bedroom. It hadn’t taken her long to get used to waking up in JC’s bed. The fact that they’d shared a bed for the better part of two weeks before she moved in made it easy to make the adjustment. And as much as Annie had loved the pool house and had made it her own, she loved living in the main house with JC and Emma-Claire. Her routine was the same only now she could freely enjoy breakfast in her pajamas and took her time in the morning instead of rushing to get ready. It was blissful and before JC had started to work on the band’s upcoming Korea stint, it had almost been too perfect. Waking up next to him, going to bed with him, having meals together with Emma-Claire. All of it had felt as though Annie were living in a fantasy. She’d tried her best not to dwell on the girl she’d run into at Avalon and when she’d mentioned Jade to JC, he’d been honest with her but said the same thing Lance had told him and that was comforting. Megan had told Annie not worry about it, that JC was with her, he was obviously crazy about her, and so what if he’d been around? It had made adjusting to living with him easier knowing that it was the past and to be on the arm of a minor celebrity, there were just going to be new circumstances she’d have to live with.

But bliss could only last for so long. Annie knew it was coming sooner or later because it had been too good. Ten days before he left for Korea, JC was gone by 6:00 that morning. Annie, who’d been used to waking up next to him, woke up to an empty space next to her and knew that it was just the beginning. Pretty soon, she’d wake up like this every day for a week. She’d shaken it off, rolled out of bed, and went to get breakfast ready for Emma-Claire. For most of that day, it was the same as any other day. Breakfast. Preschool drop-off. Emma-Claire’s nap. Playing Barbie’s and Candyland. Getting dinner ready. Putting Emma-Claire to bed. By ten that night, Annie was laid out on the couch watching a comedy on TBS and hoping JC would be home soon. He’d texted her randomly throughout the day letting her know he’d be home later or wanting to know how her day was going. She’d stated in one text that she missed him and he had texted her back with a wink and told her she’d better wait up for him as long as she could. Annie had hoped that meant he’d be back before midnight. At quarter til one, she gave up and went upstairs to change into her pajamas. Crawling into bed, she’d texted him to tell him she was going to sleep and she’d see him the next morning. He hadn’t responded before she fell asleep.

The next day, Annie awoke to find his spot still empty next to her and when she checked her phone, there was nothing from him. It was almost eight that morning and Annie wondered if something had happened. She threw the covers off of her and went downstairs. As she entered the kitchen, the entrance to the garage opened and JC walked in looking quite disheveled and exhausted.

“Where were you?” Annie was doing her best not to sound too demanding but he’d not ever forgotten to let her know when he was going to be late, let alone that late.

“I fell asleep at the studio,” JC muttered, walking over to her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his forehead on his shoulder. “I’m sorry, Ann. I meant to text you back and let you know but we got so caught up in a new track that I forgot.”

Annie put her hand on his arm and his hair tickled her cheek. “I’m going to bed for a few hours then I need to head back.”

Annie pulled away from him. “Back?”

“Yeah, there’s a ton of shit to do before next week, baby. We didn’t even cover half of it. They’ve got three appearances now on two different Korean affiliate stations. It’s crazy but it’s exactly the kind of thing we’ve needed,” JC smiled sleepily at her and tilted his head to kiss her.

Annie frowned. “I just thought since you were gone over 24 hours it would’ve all been done,” she said quietly.

“That’s not how it works,” JC was tired, on edge, and knew he had snapped at her. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to come across that way. I’m gonna go lie down.”

Annie watched him disappear up the stairs and wanted desperately to mask her disappointment but she knew it was too late. He’d seen the look on her face and felt her tense up when he’d reached for her and she knew it. Fine, it was one day. They’d make up for not seeing one another later, maybe that evening.

JC didn’t remember falling asleep but when he woke up the house was quiet and he knew it had to be mid-afternoon. Stretching his arms as he sat up, JC rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger, then stood to his feet. He was still in his clothes from the night before and after he saw that it was nearing two that afternoon, he knew he was due for a shower. He cracked his bedroom door and poked his head out to see if he could hear Annie or Emma-Claire, but the house remained silent. They were probably out grocery shopping or at the park. He closed the door, stripped out of his clothes and wandered into the bathroom. Stepping into the shower, he closed his eyes and reveled in the warm water running down his body. The night before had nearly claimed what energy he’d had left. The girls were beginning to get on each other’s nerves and JC knew that traveling to another continent together might make it worse. Nonetheless, they had at least three different gigs in Seoul and as long as he could keep them civil with each other, that was all that mattered. He had nine days to perfect their sound, get them ready for promotion, and at least get two of them to start being nice to one another in public. After he’d leaned against the shower wall, he finally took the soap and began to lather up, his mind still on a billion things at once or so it felt. He could tell the “old him” was easily coming out. The “old him” that cared more about work than anything else. He didn’t want to entertain it because he knew he would easily put Annie and Emma-Claire on the back burner and things were going too well for that to happen. But it was so easy to revert to his old ways of when everything was about work. Everything was about the studio and producing.

Stepping out of the shower, he quickly dried off, changed, and went downstairs. Jimmy had texted him to let him know they’d all be at the studio by five. Perfect. He’d have time to scarf down something to eat, visit with Annie and Emma-Claire, and then head out once more. But the house was still empty and there was no text from Annie. He hit speed dial while he rummaged through the refrigerator to find something to eat.

“Hello?” Annie answered on the first ring.

“Where are you?” JC pulled out different sandwich items and set them on the counter. He shut the refrigerator with his foot, the phone between his ear and his shoulder, and he balanced a loaf of bread, meat, and cheese in his arms before tossing them next to the mayonnaise, mustard, and horseradish on the counter.

“We’re leaving the grocery store. I didn’t call or text because I didn’t know if you had your phone on or not and didn’t want you to wake up,” Annie replied. “How did you sleep?”

“Good. My sleep schedule is gonna be wacked for the next few days but it’s all good. I’m just making lunch now. Are you on your way home?”

“Yeah. What time do you have to go back today?”

“Five.”

Annie was quiet for a few seconds. “Okay. I was going to make stir-fry tonight. I’ll just leave extra for you in the refrigerator.”

“Okay. I’ll see you in a few minutes then, right?”

“Yeah. We’re five minutes from home.”

“Bye,” JC hung up and put his phone down, a sigh escaping his lips. He knew she was upset that they hadn’t seen much of each other in the last 24 hours and that she had probably guessed they weren’t going to see much of each other that evening, either. The hard part was going to be when she realized that if this group took off, she’d see him even less and he didn’t want to tell her that. He knew she’d figure it out eventually. He quickly made his sandwich and went into the living room, sitting down at the grand piano that faced the front window. He plucked a few keys before going into an unknown ballad that he made up as he played. He began to hum along to the melody in his head and was so into it that he didn’t hear Annie and Emma-Claire walk in from the kitchen.

“Hi, Daddy!” Emma-Claire bolted from Annie’s side and ran to him, jumping in his lap. “I missed you yesterday. Are you gonna eat dinner with us tonight?”

JC rested his forehead on the top of his daughter’s head and kissed her. “No, baby, I don’t think I can. I’ve got a lot of work to do,” he looked up at Annie and smiled. “Hey,” he greeted her.

“Hey,” Annie sauntered over to him and Emma-Claire wiggled out of his lap and called to them as she headed for the stairs that she was going to play in her room. JC looked up at Annie and reached for her arm, pulling her into his lap. He placed his hand between her legs and Annie jumped at his touch as her lips met his. “That’s nice,” she whispered, kissing him harder on the mouth.

“Yeah?” his hand grasped the back of her neck and pulled her even closer so that she couldn’t help but straddle him. Her butt hit the piano keys and JC chuckled against her lips. “Did Emma go down for a nap yet?”

“Mmhm,” Annie moved away from him and placed both of her hands on his cheeks. She leaned in to kiss him longer and giggled when she felt him pressed against her thigh.

“Damn,” JC muttered between kisses. “So I have to wait till tonight?” His hands ran behind her, beneath her shirt and splayed across her back.

“Yep,” Annie kissed his neck, moving up to his jawline, and back to his lips. “Will that make you come back here any faster?”

“Definitely an incentive,” JC played with the clasp on her bra. “This is when it’s nice to have grandparents in town.”

“Uh huh. We were spoiled last week,” Annie bucked her hips against him.

“What the hell did you do that for?” JC groaned.

“Just to see what you’d do,” she teased him and giggled, leaning in to kiss him once more, then moved off of him. “Sorry. It was just too easy.”

JC stood up, adjusted himself and walked over to her, pulling her back to him. “I’m sorry I was gone all night,” he kissed her. “And I’m sorry I have to go again tonight.”

Annie looked down and pressed her forehead to his chest. He kissed the top of her head and held her tight. “I want to tell you that ‘it’s ok’ and that I get it and all that but this is hard, Josh.”

“I know,” JC didn’t move. “I know it is, Ann. I’m sorry. I don’t know if these next few weeks are going to get any easier. I’m gonna try to get home as soon as I can.”

Annie looked up at him, her palm resting on his cheek. “Josh, just make sure you don’t neglect Emma-Claire in all of this, okay? I’ll be fine. I mean, I’ll do what I can to tell myself that this is your job and this is what I signed up for when I decided to date you. But I don’t want Emma-Claire lost in the shuffle of all of it.”

JC shook his head. “No. No, I promise, Annie. I wouldn’t do that to her and I’m not going to do it to you, either.”

Annie only nodded and held him tighter. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe him. It was that she felt inside that things were about to unravel quickly and she’d have to do what she could to hold on to him as securely as she could.

“So I met this guy last night at a wine bar,” Megan was telling Annie over the phone. It was the day before JC was to leave for Korea and Annie was busy trying to get everything ready for their last night together. Jamie had agreed to babysit for Emma-Claire, even though it was her night off. She told Annie it was her present for JC since he’d paid for everything at Avalon the night of her birthday. Jamie had picked up Emma-Claire and taken her out to dinner at a pizza place and was going to spend the night with her in the pool house so that JC and Annie could have the main house to themselves. For her evening with JC, Annie had poured over recipe after recipe and finally decided to try her hand at Pad Thai. Candles and wine were also going to be involved.  She’d even gone out to Victoria’s Secret to get something sexy and couldn’t wait for JC to get home. Jamie had come over early so that Annie could finish getting ready.

“Oh yeah? Tell me,” Annie was looking at the directions for making the Pad Thai sauce while also looking through all of the drawers in the kitchen to find matches or a lighter.

“He works in the industry,” Megan continued, “and he does something with casting. Or maybe producing? I don’t know. I was a little tipsy when I met him. Carey was with me because we went out late after we got off and she said he was definitely into me. Anyway, I gave him my number and we’re going out tomorrow night.”

“What’s his name?” Annie found a set of matches and placed them next to the candles laid out on the island.

“Derek. He’s really cute. We’re going to some new place he heard about in Santa Ana,” Megan gushed.

“That’s great, Meg,” Annie looked over at the sauce simmering in the pan, then checked the time. “Hey, let me know how it goes. I think Josh will be back any minute and I’m still working on dinner.”

“Oh yeah, that’s right. He leaves tomorrow. It’s only for a week right?”

“Keep reminding me of that when I start getting mopey,” Annie said. “It’s only a week but we’ve barely seen each other in the last five days as it is. If they take off in Korea and this band is the next big thing, I’m going to have to get used to seeing my boyfriend once a month.”

“It won’t be that bad, Annie,” Megan was trying to reassure her, but Annie wasn’t as assured.

“I don’t know. He’s lived at that studio the last two weeks. He promised he’d be home so we could enjoy tonight together and when I told him Jamie was taking care of Emma, he swore he’d make our last night count.”

“Oh my god you’re gonna have sex in every single room or wherever you can find space. It’s going to be amazing and I’ll just have to get out my damn vibrator unless things workout with Derek tomorrow night.”

“Thanks, Megan. That’s a little TMI but I appreciate your sympathy,” Annie couldn’t help but laugh at her friend. “I’ll let you know how it goes, though, probably with not as much detail.”

“Great. I look forward to it. Bye Ann.”

Annie hung up and turned the stove down letting the Pad Thai sauce finish simmering. The glass noodles were finished and all she would need to do was mix everything together. She quickly ran upstairs and changed out of her jeans and t-shirt and slipped on the see-through lace nightie. She slipped her jeans back on and tucked the nightie into them, then threw on an oversized shirt concealing what was underneath. She scrunched her hair, put on lip gloss, and sprayed a light, clean scented perfume on her neck and wrists. Going back downstairs, Annie checked the food once more and mixed the noodles with the sauce, then put a lid on the top to keep it warm. She checked her phone and saw that JC would be home any minute. Grabbing the candles, she set them around the kitchen, the living room, and put a few on the stairs. She settled herself on the couch and waited.

“What are you still doing here?” Jimmy came out of the back of the studio to see JC sitting at the soundboard and listening to a back track. “Get home. I thought you told me Annie had planned a whole evening for you?”

JC looked up from the booth and looked at the time on his phone. He saw it was five til nine. He also saw there were five texts and two missed calls from Annie.

“Shit!” JC quickly stood to his feet, almost knocking over the chair next to him. He grabbed his phone and his keys, then looked panicked at Jimmy. “I’m leaving now. Shit. I cannot believe I did this to her!” He didn’t even bother to listen to the messages, only called her back as he unlocked his car and jumped into the driver’s seat.

“Annie!” he said into the phone before she could say anything after she picked up. “Baby, I’m so sorry. I’m on my way home right now. I completely fucked up and lost track of time.”

Annie was silent on the other end. She’d dozed on and off on the couch and had been checking her phone to see if she’d missed him. When she realized she hadn’t, she’d turned off the stove and put the food away. Still staking her spot on the couch, she had waited, getting more irritated by the minute.

“Are you coming home?” she finally spoke, her voice was shaking and JC could tell she was trying to keep a calm demeanor.

“Yeah, I’m on my way. I’m sorry, baby,” JC couldn’t apologize enough and he knew it.

“Did you already eat?” Annie stood up and went into the kitchen to retrieve the food from the refrigerator.

“No. I didn’t move from the chair I was sitting in for about five hours,” JC pulled onto the highway. He didn’t care that he was driving twenty over the speed limit. He had to get home.

“Okay,” Annie still wasn’t saying much. “Well, then, I guess I’ll see you in a few minutes.”

“Annie, please don’t be mad. I’m really sorry.”

“I’ll see you when you get home.”

JC heard her hang up and groaned as he threw the phone next to him in the passenger seat. He gripped the steering wheel tightly and was dreading pulling into his driveway for the first time in a long time.

Annie sat in the booth of the breakfast nook and played with her phone until she heard the sound of the garage door being lifted. In a minute, JC opened the door leading into the kitchen and she looked up at him, their eyes meeting.

“Annie,” he said, standing in front of her. Her eyes averted away from him and she looked down at her hands on the table. “Annie, you know I didn’t mean it. I know you made tonight special and-“

“Is this how it’s going to be, Josh?” she interrupted him, her eyes still avoiding him. “I’ve hardly seen you this week and you’re leaving tomorrow for another week. When you get back is it going to be this way? Are you going to forget that you have two people living with you who need you, too?”

JC didn’t answer her, only slid into the seat across from her and put his hands on top of hers. She still didn’t look up at him and it was quiet for a few minutes before anyone spoke again.

“I’m trying to balance all of this, Annie,” JC finally said. “I’m trying to wrap my brain around having a girlfriend and a child and a job and put it all together. I don’t know what’s gonna happen when I get back next week. I want to believe that I’ll have this all figured out and that you and me and Emma will have some kind of a rhythm and I’ll learn how to do all of it at once.”

Annie nodded and finally looked up. “Tonight was supposed to be our night.”

“It can still be our night, baby,” JC squeezed her hand with his. “I’m all yours. I don’t have to leave until tomorrow afternoon at three.”

Annie stood up and walked over to him. He edged toward the corner of the booth and she stared at him before she made her next move. Her heart had been a little bruised in the process of that night but his sincerity had made her realize that he was trying. As hard as it was, he was trying to be good to her and to Emma-Claire. She let out a breath and leaned down to kiss him, crawling into his lap and straddling him. He looked up at her, lust burning in his eyes as he took her face in his hands and kissed her. Annie pulled the oversized t-shirt over her head and JC was speechless when he saw what she had on beneath it. The sheer black lace showed off every curve and crevice of her upper half and all JC wanted to do was devour it. He’d even forgotten how hungry he’d been earlier because now Annie was in front of him and she was wearing next to nothing.

Her legs still sprawled on either side of him, Annie leaned back onto the table and unzipped her jeans, shimmying out of them. Nothing stood between JC and Annie’s body because all she was wearing was that black lacy nightie. Annie leaned up on her elbows and shook her curls. She looked breathtaking and JC wanted to taste every single ounce.

“Here?” he whispered, touching the table as he began to undress.

“Here,” Annie looked up at him, arching her back, her nipples taut and hard against the fabric. She sat up on the table and pulled him closer by the belt loop on his jeans. He looked down at her while she busied herself unzipping and pulling them down his legs. In a minute she was straddling him again, nothing between them but the soft material of JC’s boxer briefs. She looked down at his swollen member seeping through the hole in his briefs and reached down to rub her thumb over the tip. JC groaned and closed his eyes as Annie began to massage him. JC took his forefinger and rested it on her clit, gently rubbing her while she caressed him.

“Are we practicing the world’s safest sex or what?” JC laughed softly as Annie rested her body against his, her hand now wrapped firmly around him.

“It feels good,” she whispered. “Mm, Josh, keep doing that.”

“You know I feel even better inside of you,” JC mumbled. He stopped massaging her long enough to pull his underwear off. Annie lifted herself up and slid down onto him.

“You do,” Annie replied and began to rock back and forth on him. “Josh?”

“Huh?”

“Look at us,” Annie whispered. “Look at how we fit together. So, so good.”

JC looked down between them and watched himself being swallowed by her.

“That’s so sexy, Annie,” JC ran a thumb across her nipple and continued to move with her. “Watching us make love. God, you are amazing.”

“Rub my clit again, Josh,” Annie gasped, her arms wrapped around his neck. “Please, Josh.”

JC kissed her zealously as his thumb returned to the spot that he’d become quite familiar with. He watched her as she moved up and down on him and watched her face contort and twist, her teeth biting down on her lower lip.

“That’s it, Annie. Ride me. God, this feels so good, baby,” JC gasped, as he held her close.

Annie grunted and gasped and moaned and began to go faster. JC rubbed her harder and thrust himself up into her more. She wanted this to last. This time. This night. All of it. She didn’t want to think about what the next day would hold.

“I thought…for sure we’d…we’d be in my bed,” JC panted, as Annie continued to move with him.

“We can…later,” Annie gasped and cupped his face in her hands, kissing him even harder. She looked at him seductively and moved one of her hands to her breast and began to rub her nipple while he watched. “You like that, baby?”

“Shit, Annie. What the hell got into you?” JC tried to catch his breath. His girlfriend was playing with her body in front of him and he could barely handle it anymore. When he came, his hands gripped the edge of the table and his head rested on her breasts. Annie collapsed onto him once her orgasm hit her.

“I don’t want to think about tomorrow,” Annie whispered, her head resting on JC’s shoulder. They didn’t move. He was still inside of her and Annie didn’t want to let go.

“Then don’t,” JC whispered, and let out a sigh. “Then don’t.”