JC rubbed circles on her back as she trembled against him. "That was..." Breathing took precedence over speaking and he couldn't finish the sentence.

With a grunt of effort, Casey rolled off of him and onto her back next to him. "The best sex I've ever had."

He gave her a sidelong glance, smiling. "Not that I did much of the work tonight, but..." She snickered. "Really?"

She sighed deeply and closed her eyes for a moment, not responding to his question. In the next moment she scooted out of the bed. "I'm gonna hop in the shower."

Still smiling to himself he let his eyes close, listening as the sound of the shower started in the bathroom.

They had passed each other backstage, after her set was over, and she told him, with a sly smile, she'd be stopping by his room later.

He answered her knock at the door and she basically attacked him once it was shut behind them. He had never experienced her quite so...aggressive. Not that he was complaining. On the contrary, the way she took charge made him hotter than anything. After giving him a blow job and bringing him just to the brink, she got on top of him. Backward. The phrase fucked my brains out came to mind and he grinned. He didn't know if it was the absolute best sex he'd ever had, but it certainly rated in the top five.

He realized he had dozed when, in what seemed like the next instant, she came out of the bathroom.

"Where'd my panties go?" Casey bent over briefly next to the bed and straightened up, holding her sweatshirt.

"You're leaving?" He turned on his side to watch as she stopped and pulled the shirt over her head.

"Um, yeah." Her expression was one of vague embarrassment and she shrugged. She turned away and kept searching for her underwear.

JC blinked a couple of times, saying nothing, and sat up. He pointed toward the loveseat on the other side of the hotel room. "I think they're still over there."

She walked over, bent down, and stood up with her panties in hand. After slipping them back on she looked over at him, still sitting motionless. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, then walked back to the foot of the bed, propping her hands on her hips. "What, JC?"

His eyes flickered up to her face then back down. "Nothing, Casey."

"No, it's something. Because before I took a shower you were fine and now you look like--" She stopped abruptly.

"I look like what?" He raised his eyes to her face again, a challenge behind them.

She dropped her hands from her hips and gestured toward him. "You look like something's wrong."

"I just..." He raked one hand through his already disheveled hair.

He stared at her for a moment, unspeaking, wondering what was going through her head. Her eyes were guarded and she seemed somewhat anxious. In his silence she kept clasping and unclasping her fingers. He didn't want to do it, to tell her what he was really thinking. Everything in his head told him to smile, tell her goodnight, and let it go. He had enough to think about and concentrate on, and he didn't really have the time or the inclination to deal with drama.

But still she stood there, practically wringing her hands, and biting her bottom lip, and looking so damn uncomfortable and unsure of herself that he didn't know if he was annoyed or enamored.

"Am I missing something?" he asked finally.

She opened her mouth, closed it, and shook her head. "No," she said quietly.

JC scooted down the bed closer to where she stood. "If you want to leave it's fine, but what's up? I mean you normally stay."

"Does it bother you? You know, with everyone just assuming that I'm spending the night with you?" She rubbed her palms over her thighs and wouldn't look up at him.

"Is this about Genevieve and the conditioner?" He looked at her quizzically.

"No. Yes. I don't know." She sighed and let her head fall forward. "They all just assume we're together, JC. Just like it's nothing. Like she gave you that stuff for me because she just assumed I'd be with you later."

She began twisting at her thumb ring. Over the past several weeks he'd come to recognize that she did it whenever she was anxious or nervous.

"And there's Chris and Justin, and now Joey calling us boyfriend and girlfriend. I know they're just joking, but we're not. And I guess I just wonder..." She stopped and exhaled.

With a soft sigh, JC reached out for her hand. "Come here, Case." She let him pull her onto the bed next to him. "It doesn't bother me, what other people call us, or say or don't say about us. Or think about us. I don't care. But it sounds like maybe you do."

She kept looking down until he placed his fingers under her chin and lifted her face to his. "Does it bother you?" he asked gently.

"It doesn't bother me," she said, timidly meeting his eyes. "I don't need a label, OK? I don't even want one, honestly. But I just guess I want to know...what are you thinking? About us?"

He stared at her for a few moments, his expression mild and pleasant. "I like you. I like talking to you and I like hanging out with you. And since I spent the first couple months you were here avoiding you, I'm making up for lost time, I think. And," he leaned in and rested his forehead against hers, "I like having sex with you. A lot."

She laughed softly.

"So what I think about us is that we're two people who are enjoying getting to know each other better? Does that sound good?"

She made a small sound of agreement and nodded slowly. He shifted closer and kissed her. "So are you still leaving?" he asked as he pulled away.

"I should," she said quietly.

"Why?"

"Because we have an early morning."

"Is that all?"

She shook her head and put her arms around his neck. "No."

"What are you thinking right now? The unfiltered truth. About me. About this, us."

"The unfiltered truth is...I like you." She shrugged. "I wouldn't be in your room every night if I didn't, right? And I....like spending the night with you maybe more than I should."

With a small smile, he kissed her forehead. "You're pretty dramatic, Casey."

She snorted. "So I've heard."

He kissed her again on the mouth, lingering a little bit longer. "That sounds like the opposite of a problem to me."

"Hmm."

"I want you to stay, Casey. "

"OK," she whispered.

***

They were back on the road the next morning, heading to Cleveland. JC's phone rang and Justin was on the other end calling for an impromptu conference call. JC assembled himself, Lance and Joey around the table in the kitchenette.

"You're on speaker, J." JC put his cellphone down in the center of the table.

"Ok, so we're off tonight," Justin began. "Chris and I were talking and decided, since it's been awhile since we all went out, we should go out tonight. All of us. What do you think?"

Lance glanced between Joey and JC; Joey was already nodding enthusiastically. "I'm down!" he exclaimed.

"Like we didn't know that," Chris said from Justin's end.

Lance nodded. "Yeah, why not?"

"OK, 'C, that leaves you; are you in?" Justin inquired.

JC zoned out of the conversation for a moment. Going out could be fun, but he had already talked to Casey about hanging out. And the prospect of staying in with her...well, that was potentially way more fun than being out at a club. A smile came to his lips as his mind started to wander with the possibility.

"Earth to JC," Joey said with a laugh. "You coming out tonight or what?"

"Um," JC began slowly, coming out of his reverie. "I'm gonna see what Casey--"

"Of course he's gonna see what Casey is doing first," Chris interrupted.

"You're so whipped, man." Justin laughed.

Joey did a fair impression of a cracking whip, while also laughing.

With a smile, JC shook his head slightly. "It's just that we already talked about hanging out tonight and I just--"

"Are whipped," Joey said. "Completely pussy whipped."

"Ooooh," Justin sang out in a near perfect imitation of Prince. Chris joined him and they sang the next line in unison. "Pussy controool!"

JC rolled his eyes and smiled; he wasn't pussy whipped. Not precisely, anyway.

"We were gonna ask your girlfriend and her people to come out, too," Justin explained.

With a small shake of his head JC said, "Fine, yeah. I'm in. I'll call Case--"

"I'll call your girlfriend. Talk to y'all later!" With that, Justin ended the call.

***

"Hey, Justin." Casey answered the phone on the first ring.

"What up, shorty?"

"You tell me." Casey smiled; his enthusiasm was nearly palpable even over the phone.

"We're going out tonight. All of us. Seeing as how we have the night off. You're in, right? And Jazz, and Mike and Lawrence, too?" He took a breath. "And before you say it, we already asked your boyfriend and he pretty much left the decision up to you. You in?"

Her exasperated sigh was loud and long. Chris had started it a couple of weeks ago, and Justin and Joey quickly picked it up. Now her own dancers were referring to JC as her boyfriend. "Would you stop calling him my boyfriend?" she whined.

"Soon as you stop acting like boyfriend and girlfriend," he replied in the same manner. "He couldn't even decide whether to come out tonight since you two already made plans."

"Justin..." she began threateningly

"Casey..." He responded in kind. "I'm just saying, call it what it is."

"That's not what it is," she replied tersely.

"Then what is it?" he asked, obviously amused. "You and JC are practically joined at the hip, and you have been for nearly two months now. Isn't it time to stop beating around the bush?"

Considering the previous day's conversation with Jada, and the exchange she'd had with JC the night before, she found it almost laughable that Justin was choosing the present moment to discuss the nature of her relationship with JC. She rubbed her palm down her face and groaned. "I don't know what it is, OK, J?" she said finally. She was suddenly tired.

"I'm in. For tonight, I mean. I'm sure everyone else is, too, but I'll let you know later."

"Hey, Case." He spoke gently, kindly. "All jokes aside, you've seemed happier over the past couple months than you did the previous couple. Why not...capitalize on that, is all I'm saying?"

She sighed heavily. "I'll talk to you later, J. I'm gonna sleep until we get to...wherever we're going."

***

It was storming; the sky had suddenly opened and rain fell down in torrents.

"I don't think staring is gonna make it stop, J," Casey offered with a giggle.

Justin glowered at her over his shoulder from his position at the window."What are you so happy about anyway? I thought you wanted to go out, too?"

"Oh, I'm sure Casey and JC will come up with something to do since we're all stuck inside." Jasmine smirked. She was stretched out on one of the queen sized beds in between Joey and Mike.

On the other bed Casey leaned back against JC from her position between his legs and he whispered something in her ear that set off another round of giggling.

"If you two are gonna do that all night long, you may as well leave now," Chris griped, tossing a balled up piece of paper in their direction. "No one wants to watch that."

"Jealousy isn't a good look for you, Chris." Casey snickered.

He'd made it known that he planned on hooking up with someone tonight, but with their plans foiled, he was stuck inside with everyone else.

"Let's play a game," Joey suggested.

JC rolled his eyes with a goodnatured smile and rested his hands on Casey's shoulders. "The only game you ever wanna play is truth or dare, Joey."

"Not true, JC," Lance put in. "He also likes strip poker."

"I don't know how to play poker." Casey pouted.

"Strip poker it is!" Joey exclaimed decisively.

"Scootch." Justin poked JC's leg.

With a deeply put upon sigh, JC dragged himself, pulling Casey along, from the middle of the bed to make room for Justin. "We're not playing strip poker," he added in Joey's direction.

"I vote for truth or dare," Mike said from his spot next to Jasmine on the other bed.

"You're no fun ‘C," Joey muttered under his breath.

Joey had flirted with Casey in the beginning and she casually flirted back, knowing it was all harmless and mostly Joey being Joey. But, casual or not, Joey being Joey also meant that JC was sure that his friend would've been perfectly happy seeing her naked--or close to, due to a losing hand of poker.

"How 'bout 'Never Have I Ever'," Casey spoke up. "With shots."

"I'm game!" Justin nodded enthusiastically.

"Says the two who can't even drink legally," Chris muttered.

"What do you think, Lawrence; you haven't said anything." Jasmine peered over at him as he lounged across the loveseat in the corner.

He shrugged noncommittally. "'Never Have I Ever' sounds good...but with the twist."

"Ugh, not with the stupid twist, Lawrence. I hate it like that." Casey groaned.

"That's 'cause you always lose," Mike pointed out, which caused Jasmine and Lawrence to dissolve into laughter. Casey flipped him off.

"What's the twist?" Lance and Justin asked at the same time.

"If you're the only one drinking, you have to give full details," Jasmine explained. "It's Never Have I Ever with a bit of truth mixed in."

"I'm in," Joey agreed.

Chris nodded. "Me, too."

"Why not?" Lance slid off of his chair to make himself comfortable on the floor in front of the beds.

Casey swiveled slightly to peek at JC with a raised eyebrow. "Am I gonna find out things about you I don't want to know?"

"Maybe," he said with a wink.

"I'll get the alcohol," Justin offered, slipping off the bed and heading for the mini-bar.

"We'll need more," Jasmine said, getting up as well. "I'll bring the stuff from our room."

"My room's closer," Lance said. "You can help me clean out my bar."

Once everyone was reassembled in the room with drink in hand, the game began with Lawrence. "Never have I ever faked an orgasm," he said with a cheeky grin.

"Well that escalated quickly." Justin snickered.

Casey lifted her drink to her mouth and stopped, noticing that no one else was following suit. "That question fucking sucks, Lawrence!" she pouted.

"Isn't that interesting, JC?" Chris grinned at both of them.

JC's cheeks colored slightly but he said nothing.

Casey rolled her eyes as everyone else laughed. "That's not even a fair question. There's only two girls playing; guys can't fake it."

"You're stalling, Case; drink up and 'fess up." Joey laughed.

She scowled at him and tossed back a swig of vodka. "OK, for the record, Chris." She glared over at him. "I've only faked it once, and it wasn't with JC."

"TMI," Justin muttered under his breath.

"You wanted to play," JC reminded him.

"Ooh! I know this story," Jasmine said.

"Come on, Casey, out with it," Mike said.

"I just said I faked it once; isn't that enough?" Casey asked.

"No way!" Joey replied. "That's not full details."

"You know the rules, Case," Lawrence added. "Who, what, when, where, why and how long!" Everyone but Casey snickered at that.

"You're all bastards," she muttered.

"Come on, Casey, spit it out," JC said, squeezing her shoulders gently.

She groaned and leaned back against him, covering her face. Taking a deep breath she said, "OK, there was this guy. We knew some of the same people and I sang a hook for one of his tracks as a favor to a mutual friend who was producing for him.

"Long story somewhat shorter, we hooked up. Once." She made a little sound of embarrassment. "It was awful."

Laughing, Jasmine said, "You have to tell them what was so awful about it, Case!"

"Details, Casey, remember," Chris added.

She grimaced. "He severely misrepresented the size of his, uh, equipment, and you know, it could've been a case where he made up for his shortcomings with his technique, but no. Just...no.

"It was the most awkward ten minutes of my life. I faked it to make it stop. And to make matters worse, he bragged about me to anyone who would listen."

"Ooh," Justin shook his head. "That's not cool at all."

Casey snorted. "Well, I set the record straight."

"How so?" Lance asked.

"Let's just say, " Jasmine began with a chuckle, "that although his rap career didn't go anywhere, he's still known as MC Crayon D in certain circles." She wiggled her eyebrows.

Everyone dissolved into laughter at that.

"Ok, ok," Casey said. She rubbed her hands together and looked around the room. "It's my turn. Never have I ever watched porn with like, people and animals. Together."

After sharing a look, all five members of *NSYNC quickly swigged their drinks.

"Ew, JC, seriously?" Casey swiveled her head to look at him.

"We were in Germany!" Justin offered by way of defense.

"Is that a thing there?" Mike asked with a snicker.

"Man, look, Donnie got it some kind of way, I don't even know. But we all only watched it once," JC explained with a laugh.

"Some of us watched it once," Lance put in, eyeing Joey.

"It was...interesting," Joey said.

"I knew you were kinky, Joey, but that's pretty gross." Jasmine wrinkled her nose.

Casey continued to stare up at JC with a vague look of distaste. "It was one time, Casey. Just for posterity." He laughed.

"What other freaky stuff do I not know about you?" she asked.

He grinned down at her. "I guess time will tell." He snickered. "Ok, my turn. Never have I ever...said the wrong name during sex."

Joey, Chris and Lawrence drank at the same time.

"Why am I not surprised?" Casey muttered under breath.

Chris shrugged nonchalantly. "It happens."

"My turn!" Justin looked around at everyone in turn, eyes narrow. "Hmm..." he began slowly. "Never have I ever had sex in a dressing room."

"What kind of dressing room do you mean?" Mike asked. "Like in a store or--"

"Naw, man, I mean backstage before or after a show."

"That's specific," Joey supplied.

"What counts as sex?" Casey put in. "Like full on intercourse or...other stuff?" Lance raised an inquiring eyebrow in her and JC's general direction and they both pretended not to see.

"And that's even more specific," Mike said with a laugh, shaking his head.

"I mean, it's important that we're all on the same page," she mumbled.

Justin sighed heavily. "Sex, guys. Full on actual sex. In the dressing room. Come on already."

This time, only Chris and Joey drank and Casey rolled her eyes. "Again, I'm not surprised."

"We're only not drinking because of a technicality," JC whispered in her ear with a grin. "I know you haven't forgotten about Virginia."

Casey's face grew hot and she covered a smirk with her hand. The tour had taken them to Hampton, Virginia a few days before and she hadn't at all forgotten what had transpired between the two of them in her dressing room. It hadn't, as Justin specified, been full on sex but it had gotten fairly close.

Jasmine, seeing the exchange between Casey and JC, shook her head. "Ok, am I literally the only one not getting laid on the regular? Because I'm feeling really left out right now."

Lance snickered. "Here's to no sex on tour!" He raised his glass in mock salute. "I'll drink to that."

She raised her glass as well. "OK, I guess that means it's my turn. Never have I ever made a sex tape." Jasmine looked around the room.

Casey, Justin, Lance and Mike weren't drinking. Again, Casey eyed JC. "You're just full of surprises tonight, 'C," she chuckled.

"That bother you?" he asked with a leer.

Her grin widened. "I like surprises." He waggled his eyebrows at her.

"My turn," Lance drawled. "Never have I ever," he paused and looked around at everyone, "had sex with more than one person within a forty-eight hour period."

"This game is clearly just an excuse for us to expose all of our kinks," Chris stated before slamming back a shot of whiskey.

Casey and Justin were the only ones who didn't follow suit and chuckled with a shake of her head. "It's always the quiet ones," she said, tossing a glance at JC.

"I warned you," he said with a shrug.

"Y'all are into some freaky-deaky shit!" Justin laughed.

"Give it time, youngsters," Chris said, holding his glass up. "Live a little longer and there's no telling what you might get into."

Mike cleared his throat. "All right, folks. Never have I ever..."

***

"So, um...about that sex tape question..." Casey began slowly. She was curious, without a doubt, and intrigued to say the least. Recording sex had never rated high on her bucket list, but now that the thought was lodged firmly in her mind, she wanted to explore it.

They were back in JC's room, the game having ended when they ran out of interesting questions and liquor. He was dressed in a white tee and  gray sweats, lounging on the bed with a couple of pillows stacked under his head.

JC lay back with his hands behind his head and a toothy grin on his face. When it all was said and done, he'd taken quite a few shots and he had a nice buzz going on. He was feeling warm, relaxed, and thanks to the teeny tiny shorts Casey had changed into, horny.

"What about that sex tape question? And you should come over here, by the way." He watched her, the way she tried to hide the smile growing on her face.

"I'm sitting right next to you." She was on her knees on the bed next to him, with less than six inches of space between them.  

He reached a hand out to touch her thigh. "Closer."

With a smile, she closed the space between them. "How's this?"

He continued to grin and rub her leg. "Closer."

"If I get any closer I'll be on top of you." She laughed.

"That's the idea." He nodded.

She shook her head and smirked as she moved to straddle him.

He took a deep breath and grazed both of his hands up and down her thighs and around to her butt. "Much better. Now, what do you want to know?"

She rested her hands lightly on his chest. "I just...um...I don't know. Never mind." 

JC ran his fingers under the hem of her shorts. "Oh, Casey, don't pretend to be shy now." He smirked up at her, moving his fingers the slightest bit higher beneath the cotton fabric.

She was mouthy and bold and not afraid to say what was on her mind. Usually. Seeing her a little tongue-tied was a new experience. He kind of liked seeing her like that. Kind of a lot.

She grinned. "Okaaaay. I'm just, um, curious, I guess."

"Mmmhmmm," he murmured, fingertips rising higher. "What are you curious about?"

She chewed her lip and fiddled with the collar of his t-shirt. "Is it something you, um, do a lot? Tape yourself, I mean."

He smiled furtively, teasing her. "What's a lot?" She blushed and her eyes dropped from his. "Hey." He brushed his fingertips across her cheek. "I've done it a few times."

Her gaze fell on him again and she raised a skeptical eyebrow. "What's a few times, JC?"

He stared at her, the corners of his lips twitching. She was embarrassed by the conversation, even though she didn't know exactly why, and she could tell that he was aware of her discomfort. He was playing with her, she knew, albeit not in a cruel way. She was rarely embarrassed, rarely at a loss for words; he was enjoying seeing her in a different light.

He chuckled, going back to rubbing his hands up and down her thighs. "I didn't keep count, Case. It's just...I used to do it. Sometimes."

"And then what? You'd watch 'em together?" She eyed him, not judgmentally, but definitely in surprise. The past couple months had taught her that there was certainly more to him than meets the eye, and yet, she was having a hard time wrapping her mind around a JC that enjoyed making sex tapes.

"Uh," he began haltingly. "Occasionally. But it was more for, um, me. You know, for when we were apart." Color rose to his cheeks and he grew hot; now he was the one feeling embarrassed.

Realization dawned in Casey's eyes. "Oh. Um. Ok." She was quiet a moment. "So...is it something you do, like, in general? If you're with someone? Or is it like, for special occasions or...?"

His hands rose to her hips where he held on loosely. "I've only ever done it with one person and it was just whenever we felt like it."

She contemplated that for a moment. "What'd you do with them?"

"The tapes?" he asked, eyes wide, the color from cheeks having risen to his ears.

"Well, yeah," she said slowly. "Do you still watch them? Or...what?"

JC's face was nearly crimson and this time he looked away for moment. "I still have them. They're locked up at my house. In Orlando."

Casey snickered. "So I take it that means yes, you still watch them sometimes."

"I haven't recently," he said with a shrug. It wasn't a lie.

"That's because you've recently been on tour." She looked at him pointedly. "Was it with..." She trailed off for a second. "Your ex-girlfriend? The model?"

His eyes flashed up at her. He was more than a little surprised that she knew anything about who he'd been dating. "AnaBeth, yes." He watched her for a moment trying to read the expression on her face. "And yeah," he continued, "I used to watch them sometimes. Before we went on tour. But if I went home tonight, I wouldn't."

She'd been well aware of his girlfriend and even more aware of their break up. Casey looked away, focusing on a spot to the left of where his head lay on the pillow. "Why not?"

JC waited to answer until she met his gaze. "Because I am more than happy with the woman that I'm currently spending time with and there's no need for me to look backward."

Her stomach fluttered and she was quiet for a moment watching him even as he watched her.

Tony had wanted to record himself with her, had even tried a few times. Despite the poor temper it put him in, she stood firm in her refusal. In the not-so-way-back of her mind, she knew her relationship with Tony wasn't going to last much beyond the end of the tour. And the last thing she wanted was for him to be in possession of something with such damning power over her and her career. Despite his promises to destroy the evidence as soon as it was over, she knew that Tony would've held on to a sexually explicit recording no matter what. And even if he never used it against her, the idea of him capturing her that way, permanently, made her ill.

But now JC was underneath her, looking at her with his bright blue eyes open and honest. His fingers were still trailing her skin softly. And although it had only been a matter of a couple of months and they'd had no real discussion about the nature of their not-quite-relationship, she realized she trusted him implicitly.

She ran her fingers under the bottom edge of his t-shirt, allowing them to skim the smooth surface of his hard belly. "Well," she began softly, "I just figured I would put it out there that if you ever wanted to, you know, do that again...I would be OK with that. You know, just for posterity."

JC smirked up at her. "You wanna see your o-face, don't you?"

She blushed and her jaw dropped. "JC!"

He snickered. "I'm gonna take you up on that, Casey." He lifted the bottom of his shirt and, after pulling it from his body, tossed it carelessly over the side of the bed. He pulled her down so her body was flush against his. "Another night." With that, he tangled his hands in her hair and kissed her.

***

Amber Peterson bent down to untie her shoes, sweeping shoulder length blonde strands back and away from her face. Just as she had kicked off both sneakers, the phone rang. Dashing into the kitchen to grab the phone on the counter, she glanced at the clock. It was after ten, and later than she usually received phone calls. "Hello?" she called into it.

"I've got one word for you," the voice at the other end replied.  

She perked up when she figured out who the caller was.  "Joey!" she exclaimed excitedly. "What's the word?"

"Chicago," he said simply.  

Amber smiled and twisted the cord around one finger. "Yeah. I've already got tickets to the show in a couple days. Does that mean I'll get to see you again?"  

Joey laughed fiendishly.  "You'll just have to wait and see."

She protested.  "Joey, wait--" She was too late; there was nothing but a dial tone on the other end of the line. With a smile and a shake of her head, she replaced the telephone on the hook.

Casey had been on tour with *NSYNC for a couple of weeks when Amber spent a few days on the road with her. They'd gone out after a show and eventually Casey ditched her, mostly because her creepy way-too-old boyfriend had copped an attitude about something and all but dragged her back to the hotel. Amber found herself dancing with, and drinking with, Joey. He was there, he was friendly and she was having fun. They rode from the club back to the hotel together, he walked her to her room and, as cliched as it sounded, one thing led to another.

Prior to the night it happened, a hook up with him had not been anywhere on her radar. She hadn't had much of an opportunity to do much with *NSYNC but be introduced to them and say hi. But that evening she got to see that Joey was a great dancer, and super fun to talk to. And in terms of how he was in bed, well, she definitely wouldn't mind spending some more one on one time with him. He asked if they could keep in touch and she'd said yes. Amber held no illusions that they were destined for anything serious; she was honestly surprised that he had called her at all. But the truth was, she was single and not looking for anything serious with anyone. But she was looking forward to the possibility of spending some more time with him in the next couple of days.

***

JC drained the last of the water in his bottle and turned his head as Casey emerged from the bathroom. Her hair was still damp from the shower and in two large braids on either side of her head. She wore a thin tank top that clung to the curve of her breasts and the same pair of cotton shorts she'd had on before, that left just about nothing to the imagination. She was tight and toned in all the right places, soft and inviting where it counted most. She was oh so sexy and despite the fact that they'd had sex about an hour before, his body was warming up to the idea of round two. Free of makeup, fresh from the shower smelling like almonds and vanilla, she was enticing.

She slid into the bed next to him and smirked when she realized he was staring at her with the ghost of a smile on his face. "Why are you looking at me like that, Chasez?"

He gave her a smirk of his own and gently tugged on one of her braids. "Because I like looking at you, Whitaker. Gotta problem with that?"

She grinned at him and and picked up the remote. "Nah, I don't mind." She busied herself flipping through channels while JC, who had showered before her, settled himself beneath the covers.

"You mind if I turn off the light?" he asked, reaching for the wall lamp on his side of the bed.

Casey's was already off and she shook her head. "Nope. I'm going to sleep, too."

For the next fifteen minutes there was nothing but the soft illumination of the television in the room. She'd turned the volume almost completely down and, although her gaze was fixed in the general direction, she wasn't paying the slightest bit of attention to the action on screen. Instead her thoughts were back to where they'd been for the past several weeks. JC. In two days' time they'd be in her hometown, she'd be around her family and friends, and what the hell could she say, if anything at all, about what was happening with him.

"Two days until Chicago, huh?" she said quietly. JC's reply was in the form of an inarticulate grunt. She inhaled deeply and looked up at the ceiling. "Are you awake?"

He was to her right, laying on his back with one hand behind his head. He turned over onto his side so that he could look her in the face, or as much of it as could be seen in the flickering light of the television. "Sure." Truthfully, the only thing he'd been was well on his way to falling asleep.

Casey smiled, hearing the grogginess in his voice. It was nearing midnight, but with the impending trip back home, she needed to talk to him. Again. "I was kind of thinking, about Chicago and everything."

JC propped his chin in one hand and placed the other across her belly. "What about it?"

"Well, you know, it's home. For me. And so, like, my family is coming to the show. Did I tell you that?" She played with his fingers as she continued to talk. "My mom, dad, brother. And some of my friends, too. And they're coming to the after party, too. Well, not my parents and brother, but my friends and--" She laughed suddenly. "I'm totally rambling."

"Yep." JC nodded his agreement.

He sat up with a grunt and turned on the light over his side. Despite the late hour and the fact that he had been close to sleep only minutes before, his eyes were bright and clear.

Casey's head fell back against the pillow and she looked back at him. "My parents and friends don't know about us. And, um, I never said anything bad about you, but I kind of made it clear that we...pretty much avoided each other. Before."

He blinked slowly, keeping his expression neutral. "So what does that mean? Now?"

She looked down, feeling self-conscious and silly. JC waited patiently for her to respond. Finally, after a full sixty seconds, her brown eyes met his blue ones.

"I don't necessarily plan on going into detail with anyone about us, but I also don't want to lie to the people I care about."

His expression was serious as he caressed her cheek. "You want to tell people we're knockin' boots, don't you?"

She laughed in surprise and hit him lightly. "No!"

He laughed. "Whatever you want to say to your family and friends is OK with me. Can we go to sleep now?"

Casey leaned over and brushed her lips across his. "Yes."

JC turned off the light once more and she shut off the television. They both scooted down beneath the covers, and he pulled her onto her side so that her back was up against his chest. She grinned in the dark as his fingers threaded through hers across her stomach. It felt good being in his arms that way, and she didn't need a label to admit that.

"Are you excited?" His voice was low, gravelly with sleepiness, and right against her ear. She shivered from the chills it sent down her spine. "It's your first show at home since you've been with us."

Though he couldn't see her in the dark, he felt her head move from side to side against him. "I'm not sure yet. The being at home part is great. The performing at home part is another story."

He pulled her a little closer. "What do you mean? You don't like to perform at home?"

"It's weird, but I've always had this...thing about singing in front of people I know. I've always hated it. When I had recitals and such when I was a kid, I'd always want my family to sit somewhere in back where I couldn't see them.

"And being at home...it's like that, but on a larger scale, you know? It's like...different being on my home turf. Or something. It's nerve wracking." She snickered. "I'm probably making no sense."

JC laughed. "I understand, I think. I guess for me an audience is an audience. But I think it's kinda nice to look out in the crowd and see a few familiar faces."

"Yeah." She yawned. "You'd think. I'm just weird that way, I guess."

"Well, you have a couple more days to get used to the idea."

"Yeah," she echoed quietly. "You know, I am excited about seeing my little brother. I missed his tenth birthday. We were on the road. It's the first time I've ever missed his birthday, and if things keep going well for me, I'm sure it won't be the last."

"Yeah," JC sighed in agreement. "That part's shitty. All the missed milestones and stuff. It's tough."

Casey was silent long enough that he thought she may have fallen asleep. "Do you ever think of not doing it anymore?" she said softly, when she spoke again.

"Music?"

"No," she said, in the same hushed voice. "Not music exactly. I love making music. I love performing. I even love traveling. But sometimes I just feel like... Does it ever get to you? All the time away from the people you love? The interviews and the stupid questions? The fact that everything else gets put on hold? Does it ever feel like it's not really worth it?" She laughed self-consciously. "I'm sorry; it's way too late for philosophical discussions on success and the price of fame. I'm being silly."

His lips were gentle on her neck. "You're not being silly; I know exactly how you feel."

She sighed, saying nothing.

"Are you OK, Casey? Really?" His thoughts returned to his earlier conversation with Lance.  

She let out a tired sigh and squeezed his hand, still interlaced with hers. "I'm fine. Just a little more homesick than I thought, is all." She waited a beat and said, "We should probably get some sleep, huh?"

JC squeezed her lightly. "You're probably right."

She settled against him and within ten minutes her quiet, even inhalations and exhalations told him she was asleep.

Maybe Lance was right. Maybe she didn't have it as much together as he assumed. But he was pretty solid. And if that was what she needed, maybe he could be that for her. And maybe the rest of it--including the feelings he was pretty sure he had for her, that went way beyond sex, but that he was not quite ready to cop to--would work itself out in due time.