Ari’s eyes flutter open and she stirs slowly. She wonders what woke her for a moment before the sound of Maestro’s claws scraping on the wooden floor in a dream resounds in the room. She turns toward JC only to find his spot on the bed empty, she reaches over and touches the rumpled sheets to find them cool to the touch.
He’s been up for a while.
She glances at the clock and winces: 2:43 am.
With a shake of her head, she slides out of bed and walks over to a chair which has one of his zip-up hoodies hanging off its arm. After she pulls it on over her long t-shirt she pads her way down the stairs and toward the kitchen to find, as she was expecting, the basement door ajar and light glowing from the studio. Reflexively she glances up at the red light and sees that it isn’t on. She makes her way down the stairs and leans against the studio door.
Aw.
Her lips form into a small smile as she finds him lying on his back on the studio couch, one forearm covers his eyes while the other hangs off the edge of the couch, his fingers rest against the floor where a pen also lays. He is wearing light colored pajama pants and a grey t-shirt, a notebook rests on his chest which is rising and falling slowly with each breath. She moves closer and sits on the ground next to him, “JC?” When he doesn’t stir she takes a moment to take in his face; she admires its naturally sharp angles somehow softened in sleep, his full lips are pursed slightly and a quiet purr of breath rhythmically comes from them, “Babe? Wake up.” She says a little more loudly this time and reaches to touch his shoulder gently. JC awakes with a start, his forearm slides off his face and his eyes open quickly. The notebook resting on his chest starts to slide off before she grabs it quickly.
He looks around alarmed, “What’s wrong? Are you okay?” He asks his voice anxious and husky from sleep.
“Nothing, relax. I’m fine. It’s just that you’re going to wreck your back sleeping on this thing.”
He visibly relaxes and nods before resting back against the couch. He sighs tiredly and runs a large hand over his face.
“Was I snoring or something?” She asks with a wry smile.
He chuckles and shakes his head, “No. I just couldn’t sleep and I didn’t want to wake you up by tossing and turning.”
“Something bothering you?” She asks as she pulls her knees up to her chest and hugs them closely.
He smiles and reaches down to push some loose hair from her face, his fingers affectionately caress her cheek as he speaks, “Not really. I guess...I guess I might be a little more nervous about meeting your family than I thought I would be.”
Ari reaches up to press his hand onto her cheek and turns her head so that her lips can give its palm a soft kiss. “I understand that. I was nervous meeting your parents too. You promised it would go well and it did. I still got nervous and made enough food for sixty people though…”
He chuckles softly and nods, “That’s true. I guess song writing is my form of cooking in this case.”
She nods and shifts onto her knees so that she can lean up and kiss him softly, “I promise it won’t be scary or difficult. They are going to love you as much as I do. I know that’s true, but I understand if you’re still a little nervous.”
He nods back and reaches for her cheek once more to lean her back down toward him so he can kiss her again. His lips move slowly and affectionately over hers for a moment before he whispers, “I love you too, Ari. I’ll be fine.” With a final lingering peck he pulls away and moves to get up from the couch. As they both stand, he groans and stretches his back slowly, “Gawd I’m getting old…”
Ari laughs, “C’mon Old Man, let’s get you back to your bed so that I don’t have to push you around in a wheelchair at the airport in-“ She glances over to the large clock on the far wall, “4 hours.” Ari squeals and starts running up the stairs as he groans and starts grabbing at her while she climbs the steps in front of him.
*********************************************************
Wow.
JC takes in the sights and smells in front of him as he steps out of their rental car. His eyes which are hidden behind dark aviator sunglasses roam over the colorful trees whose orange, burgundy and gold leaves flutter in the soft breeze coming from the glistening ocean only a few hundred yards away toward the end of the lot. His eyes turn to a modest sized wooden cottage that lies in the shadow of more trees and has wild and potted flowers covering the front porch and surrounding area.
“This is home.” He hears Ari sigh contentedly and turns to find her looking wistfully at the surrounding area with a smile on her face. “Well not home, home. We have a house that’s in town, but this is where we spend our weekends, our holidays and our summers. All of my best memories are here.”
“It’s…beautiful.” He tells her quietly and slips his hand into hers, giving it a gentle squeeze.
The sound of a screen door squeaking open and then slapping back against its frame breaks the relaxing silence. He hears a high pitched female squeal and sees a tall, dark haired woman step off of the porch before she starts to run toward them. “Ari!” The girl cries before she launches herself into Ari’s open arms. The girls laugh and hug for a few moments before they pull away and Ari motions to JC, “Sami, this is Josh.”
JC smiles warmly and reaches forward to shake Sami’s hand but finds himself quickly engulfed into an enthusiastic hug.
Oof. Friendly.
Sami pulls away and flashes a large smile in his direction; he notices a slight gap between her two front teeth. Her eyes are wide and dark, her hair is long, wild and curly around her friendly face.
“You’re family now, we don’t shake hands. Plus, now I can say that I hugged JC from *NSYNC.” She grins happily and JC chuckles.
Ari roll her eyes and shake her head, “Where’s Nick?” She asks, peering around.
“He’s off with your Dad to pick up the last of the liquor for the reception and this weekend. Your Mom is inside cooking …that woman can’t be stopped.”
“Sounds like someone I know…” JC mutters only to get rewarded with a swat to his arm.
“Come on Peanut Gallery, let’s go say hi.” Ari grabs his hand and starts pulling him toward the cottage as Sami lead the way.
As his foot touches the top step of the front porch his nose is met with the mixed scents of a home: fresh bread, cookies and something else that smells like heaven but that he cannot immediately identify. His stomach rumbles in appreciation and he reaches down to rub it absently, he hadn’t had much to eat on the plane and now he is paying for it. He watches as Sami pulls the door open and Ari follows her inside. He pushes his sunglasses up onto his head and steps into the house.
Here we go.
“Pumpkin!” A bright cheery voice exclaims as the screen door slaps closed behind them. “I’m so happy you’re home!” When his eyes adjust to the dimmer light inside of the cottage, he sees a whisper of a woman making her way toward them as she wipes her hands onto her apron. She has long hair that must once have shared the same blonde hues as her daughter but is now a mix of blonde and white, she seems so delicately built that JC assumes that Ari’s height and build comes more from her father. One thing he can tell immediately as his eyes connect to hers over Ari’s shoulder while she holds her in a tight hug is that Ari definitely inherited her eyes. Eerily so.
As Ari and her mother separate from their embrace, he smiles as Ari turns toward him and motions, “Mom, this is Josh.” JC reaches forward to shake her hand but once more gets wrapped into a warm hug. “It’s great to finally meet you Mrs. Anderson.” He says quietly against her cheek as they embrace.
With a soft chuckle as they separate the woman smiles warmly and pats his arm, “Call me Annie, dear. We’re all family here.”
JC nods and smiles again, “It smells incredible in here, Annie.”
She grins and turns around to make her way back to the kitchen and indicates different things on the counter. “Not much, just some bread and some cookies. There’s seafood chowder simmering on the stove which should be ready pretty soon. Once Keith and Nick come back we’ll sit down and have dinner. I figured you’d both be hungry after the long flight?”
Ari nods as she steps behind her mother to grab a cookie from a baking sheet, “Yeah. Airplane food isn’t that great. Even in first class.”She adds as she takes a bite from a cookie and leans against the counter.
Her mother’s eyes flash and a hand flattens against her chest, “Arianna! First class tickets? That must have cost you a fortune…”
JC feels awkward as he stands in the living room watching the interaction between mother and daughter. He notices that Ari’s cheeks have turn red and her voice has gone up an octave when she speaks, “I…I didn’t buy it first class. I had just regular tickets and when we got to the airport I guess we got an upgrade…” She half stutters under her mother’s gaze.
Heh.
Or I called the airline 3 weeks ago to change the tickets.
Definitely not a free upgrade.
He was fine flying coach nowadays, long gone were the days of private jets and exclusive limo service but his name still garnered some interest at times like these. He’d wanted her to experience something new like flying first class and she had truly enjoyed it. He also knew that if she’d known he’d taken care of it that she would have felt guilty and it would have hampered her ability to enjoy it. So, he’d brushed it off as a courtesy of the airline when they’d checked in.
“Yeah, I still fly a lot during parts of the year so they often upgrade me when they have the room to do it. We got lucky this time.” He adds as he walks over to the bar stool near the small kitchen island. He catches Sami’s gaze, who had been quiet so far, on the way there and smirks to himself.
Not fooling her for a second.
Sami’s voice cuts the awkward moment, “So Ari, why don’t you show JC-I mean Josh upstairs? Whew, that’s going to take some getting used to.” She laughs before adding, “You guys can do a little unpacking until the guys get home?”
With another trip outside for their luggage and a trek up some creaky wooden stairs JC and Ari push open a door down a wide hall and step into a bedroom. It is on the small side but feels quaint with its country décor and plush queen sized bed.
“What, no posters in here?” He smirks as he sets down both suitcases onto the floor.
“Nah, not this bedroom.” She answers with a laugh as she lets herself fall back onto the bed. She sighs and closes her eyes. “It’s nice to be home though.”
He smiles and walks forward toward the bed, she makes a small noise of surprise as he quickly covers her body with his and presses his lips into the crook of her neck affectionately. “So…how soundproof are we talking about here…” His lips curve into a wry grin against her flesh.
She laughs huskily and slides her nails down over his clothed back, “I’m not sure…I’ve never tested it here.”
His lips travel from her neck to her cheek and then her lips gently, “Guess we’ll have to try it out tonight…”
Ari reddens and shakes her head slowly, “Only if my parents don’t sleep here. We’re not in a mansion here and I’m not taking any chances…” She laughs softly.
“Aw, come on Mama….” He groans softly into her ear as his hips suggestively press down onto hers.
Out of nowhere a deep, loud voice which comes from just a few feet away startles them “Mom says we can eat now. Unless you’re not done groping my sister, Asshole.”
Author's Chapter Notes:
So...do you all hate me now? I'm so sorry for the long overdue update. Things have been hectic here; I've just transferred to a new job, we've had vacations and renovations. Also, I should mention that I am now in my 3rd trimester of pregnancy...LOL. So althought you probably just want an update those are my excuses. I promise that I won't take so long to update again! Hopefully you're still interested in this story and you like this update!
Chapter End Notes:
Not much but it's something! Let me know what you think. I also still have a banner I would like to put up with this story but can't get it to work. Any tips would be great!
Story Tags: phonesex boyfriendjc showersex jc producerjc
