The jokes started immediately once everyone knew he and Casey were back together, but JC didn't mind. Lance made a comment about them being attached at the hip, which resulted in Joey explaining--in the crassest way possible--that it wasn't their hips that were attached. JC took it all in stride. It was true; he and Casey were spending just about every available moment together and that was just fine with him.

There were multiple reasons why he liked having her around. Some of it was the fact that the tour was coming to an end. Sure, they'd be going to Europe to do the whole thing over there, but that was still a few months away and there was no telling how often they'd get to see each other during the time off.

There was also the simple fact that he liked being physically close to her, as much as possible. And having her on the bus night after night meant that he got that, in large supply.  

But the biggest reason he wanted her nearby, the reason he couldn't explain to his friends or to Casey, was that he wanted to keep an eye on her. She was nervous about the stupid, fucking book and she'd had a couple of mini freak-outs about it. He hated to see her that way, but he appreciated the fact that she was no longer keeping it from him. He hoped that took at least some of the pressure off of her.

It had been a little over a week since she'd told him about everything, and in that time there was no new news on the book. He hoped Tony would drop it completely and slither out of sight forever, but even as he reassured Casey that everything would turn out OK, JC wondered if the guy was just waiting to drop it when it would do the most damage. She was going to be recording her second album as soon as the tour ended; his tell-all being released at the same time as her new album would mean maximum impact, and was probably exactly what Tony was waiting for. JC could only pray he'd be wrong.

There were other things on his mind anyway. They hadn't yet had a conversation about how public they would be with their relationship moving forward, and after what she'd told him he was feeling more or less OK with keeping things quiet for the time being. He was planning on letting her take the lead, and was pleasantly surprised when she did in a really unexpected way. A few days after they'd made up, they were waiting in line to buy tickets to a movie. They were both wearing baseball caps and hoodies, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible. But a couple of teenage girls noticed them as they stood holding hands, and quickly went from excited whispering to approaching them to ask for autographs.

He'd expected her to react the way she had in the past, to drop his hand and step away from him as quickly as possible. But she didn't. She didn't let go of him until she needed to sign her name, and as soon as she was done she grabbed him again. And when the girls asked if they were dating she only smiled coyly, glanced up at him, and winked as she told them to enjoy their movie.

He thought of it as a big moment for her, and for both of them. He also thought of it as a sort of solidifying moment; he needed to tell her that he was in love with her. Although he wasn't necessarily given to grand gestures, he wanted to do it in a way that was meaningful and special. And as far away from the hustle and insanity of a tour as possible.

"She's never been to Hawaii," JC said. He and Lance were sitting on folding chairs near the back of a large suite that was currently filled with bodyguards as well as the other three members of *NSYNC. An impromptu NBA 2K1 tournament was taking place with all of the requisite whooping and hollering and shit-talking. He glanced up, grinning slightly as a particularly raucous yell went through the men crowded around the television, before returning his attention to his friend. "I'm hoping I can get her away for a solid week."

Lance nodded. "If you’re going for big romance you can't beat Hawaii. Which island are you thinking?"

JC shrugged as he chewed on a fingernail. "Haven't gotten that far yet. I just know that wherever it is, I want it to be quiet and private. It would be great to walk outside with her without having to stop to sign an autograph or take a picture every fifth step." As thankful as he was for every fan *NSYNC had, he was also hoping to enjoy some downtime with his girlfriend without their celebrity status hovering over them.

"Hmm." Lance drummed his fingers against his thigh, his face screwed up into a look of deep concentration. "There’s a place on Maui…"

JC grunted. "Isn't Maui like tourist central?"

“Hear me out,” Lance said with a shake of his head. “Last year my parents went to this place in East Maui for their anniversary. I can’t remember the name of it, but it’s beautiful, secluded, and about as private as you can get; there’s less than a hundred units on the whole property.”

“That sounds...almost too good to be true. What’s the catch?” JC stared at his friend, one eyebrow raised skeptically.

Lance chuckled. “The catch is, there’s no direct beach access. The view of the ocean is amazing, but it’s also about ten or fifteen minutes away by car.”

JC considered that for a moment. One of the best parts about the Hawaiian Islands were the beaches, but ten minutes away by car wasn’t necessarily a deal breaker. “What else do you know about it?”

“It’s quiet--no TVs or radios in any of the rooms. My parents said the accommodations, from room service to the full spa, was spectacular. And the surrounding area, because of where it is on the island, is almost like being in the rainforest. They stayed in a room, but they said next time they’d do one of the private bungalows. They absolutely loved it.”

The more JC thought about it, the more the place sounded like exactly what he was looking for. A week away with Casey, with no televisions, no radios, and no people interrupting them sounded like paradise. “Next time you talk to your folks, can you ask them what the name of this place is?”

Lance smiled. “I’ll have the information for you tomorrow.”

***

Casey ended the call and tossed her phone to the floor. “Amber says hi,” she said with a drawn out yawn.

Hi, Amber,” Justin mumbled in response from his spot on the floor.

It was just after ten in the morning and they were on the road to the next city. While everyone else slept, she, JC, and Justin were awake and watching movies in the back lounge. She curled herself around JC, and he wrapped an arm around her. Justin was on the floor in front of the couch, fiddling with the batteries in the remote.

“I’m glad you two made up.” JC nuzzled his nose against her neck, eliciting a giggle from her.

“Me too,” she agreed. “She’s back to planning on coming to the Orlando show and spending the weekend and I’m back to looking forward to it.”

“Finally!” Justin exclaimed. “It’s working again.”

“It probably would’ve been working a long time ago if you’d put in new batteries,” JC mumbled.

Casey shifted slightly, so she could comfortably rest her head against his chest. There was another topic she’d been waiting to bring up, waiting until they’d have ample time with limited interruption. “Hey,” she began slowly. “Did you know I’m going to TRL with you guys? Next week?”

JC adjusted slightly, pulling her a little bit closer to him. “Yeah, I know.”

She frowned. “How come you haven’t mentioned it?”

JC gave her a distracted smile. “Mostly because I didn’t know if it was actually happening. We suggested it, but, you know...just because we asked didn’t mean it was a done deal. I figured you’d let me know if and when you found out.” He kissed her cheek.

“Oh.” She took a deep breath and said, “Well, I was kinda thinking--”

“Dude.” Justin threw an annoyed glare from his spot on the floor in front of them. “You two cannot talk through the whole movie.”

She picked a piece of popcorn out of the bowl on the cushion next to her and threw it right at his hair, where it stuck. “It hasn’t even started yet. Calm down.”

He continued to glower at her as he picked the piece of food out of his curls.

Ignoring Justin, JC shook her lightly. “You were thinking what?”

“I was thinking...maybe we could, you know, set the record straight. About us?”

JC looked down at her, his expression a mixture of surprise and amusement. “You want to talk about us on TRL?”

“No! I didn’t mean…” She made a face, suddenly feeling embarrassed. “Never mind, I was just--”

“Guys!” Justin stared harshly at them both. “Could y’all do this later?”

JC rolled his eyes at Justin and kissed her. “We’ll talk about it later, OK?” he said gently.

She settled back against him. “Sure,” she mumbled, not feeling sure in the slightest.

***

Later didn’t come until the next evening; another show was over and they were laying in their hotel bed talking. JC had waited to see if Casey would bring up TRL again on her own, but so far she hadn’t.

“So...” He bunched his pillow up behind him, tucking one arm under his head. “Let’s talk about this TRL thing.”

Casey groaned, turning onto her side and covering her face. “I was hoping you’d forgotten about that.”

“Nope.” He poked her with his free hand. “Talk to me, baby.”

She flopped onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. “I was thinking about how I’ve been for the entire time we’ve been together. How afraid I’ve been of anyone finding out, and how I’ve made you feel in the process. And when Dara mentioned TRL, I just started thinking it would be a good way to like...make up for all of that.

“You don’t even like stuff like that, though.” With a deep sigh, she turned her head so she could look at him. “It was a stupid idea.”

“No, it wasn’t.” JC angled his body toward hers, resting his hand on her hip. “Johnny asked me about it yesterday.” Her eyes widened in surprise and he chuckled. “We talked about the pros and cons, but ultimately the decision is up to me.”

“There’s still the book, ‘C. That’s the biggest con of all and Johnny doesn’t know anything about that.” Casey groaned and turned so her back was toward him. “Like I said, it was a stupid idea that I didn’t fully think through.”

“Casey.” When she didn’t respond he closed the distance between them, and pulled her so that her back was up against the front of his body. “The book doesn’t change anything about us; we agreed on that, right?”

She nodded wordlessly.

“OK, then. TRL is a perfect place to...what did you call it...set the record straight about us.”

She grunted. “Did I really say that? Because it sounds stupid.”

He grinned and kissed her shoulder. “Yes you did, and no it doesn’t.”

She threaded her fingers through his, holding his hand over her midsection. “So...how do we do it? I mean, without making it a big deal.”

“It’ll be easy,” he whispered in her ear. “You’ll be out there with us and Carson can ask the question and we can answer it. Simple.” He went back to kissing her shoulder.

Casey was quiet for a moment before snickering. “JC.”

“Hmm,” he hummed, wrapping his arm around her more tightly.

“You have a hard on,” she giggled.

“And you,” he said slowly, grinding into her, “have an amazing ass. We should be naked right now.” He rolled over on top of her and his fingers began slowly traveling her body.

She tossed her head back laughing and his lips found her neck immediately. “Mmm,” she murmured, running her fingers through his hair. “I thought you said you were tired and you were going straight to sleep after getting out of the shower?”

He moved down her body until he was hovering around her abdomen. “Did I? I don’t remember.” He waggled his eyebrows at her and winked.

JC pushed Casey’s shirt up, reveling in the feel of her skin beneath his fingertips. She was soft and pliable, and even though he wasn’t doing much yet, she was already making the sounds he loved to hear from her. Little gasps. Tiny whimpers. Just enough to let him know that she was loving everything he was doing. He kissed and nipped around her ribcage, following a path down to her bellybutton. She dragged her fingers through his hair, tugging gently and setting off tiny sparks on his body. Together they removed her shirt and he tossed it behind him.

With the fabric discarded, he went back to moving his lips and tongue across the plane of her belly, occasionally using his teeth to bite at her gently. Her hands went back to his hair, and she tugged at him softly. He knew she was trying to bring him upward and he smirked against her; he had other plans for the moment. He brushed his fingers over her nipples, pleased to feel them peaked and waiting for him. He squeezed gently, rolling them as she moaned her approval. He changed his direction and lifted himself up, replacing his fingers with his mouth. His lips, warm and wet, closed over one peak, he flicked his tongue back and forth across it as Casey’s back arched toward him almost involuntarily. She pushed herself against him, as if offering more of herself, and her hips rolled steadily against his.

She groaned when he released her, quickly moving further down her body. He kneeled between her bent legs, his hands resting on her knees. His lips and teeth trailed up the sensitive skin of her inner thigh and she shivered. He fleetingly wondered if it was his touch, or his proximity to the apex between her legs.

She panted when he blew very softly on her. “Don’t tease me, baby.”

JC grinned, hearing the plaintive whine that had entered her voice. He wasn’t going to tease her too much, but it was too much fun not to do it just a little. He watched her tremble as his fingertip traced her through her panties.

“Baby,” she panted. Her moan turned to a gasp when he exerted more pressure against her sensitive bud.

With no hesitation, he pulled her underwear down her legs and tossed it to the side. With the fabric out of the way he wasted no time sliding two fingers into her. He bit his lip, loving how wet and so very hot she was. Like a sexy little oven, he thought. One he couldn’t wait to slide more than his fingers into. Although as much as he was looking forward to that, he loved watching her when he was making her feel good. It made him feel good to know how well he knew her body.

Her eyes closed and her head rolled from side to side as she rocked against his fingers.

He turned his wrist slightly so that his fingers could caress the front wall of her slickness and his thumb set to work rubbing frantic circles around her. He found the sweet spot inside of her, and as his pressure increased her breathing hitched.

“That’s it, baby. You like that, don’t you?” Her response was less than understandable, but it was still clear to him that she liked what he was doing very much.

JC’d had every intention of taking his time with her, of bringing her over the edge as many times as possible, but right as he was sure that she was close to the edge, she grasped his wrist.

“Baby, stop. Please. Come here.”  She pushed at his arm, somewhat roughly, and tried to wriggle away from him.

He smirked down at her, thinking maybe she had plans of her own. “I thought you liked that,” he whispered, before bringing his mouth to the sensitive skin of her lower belly. He licked his way from her breasts, to her neck and up, until his lips and tongue connected with hers.

“I love that,” she agreed against his mouth. “And you’re really good at it, but I want to feel you right now. All of you.” Her fingers wound through his hair and as she pressed her hips tighter to his, her fierce heat set off micro-fires across his skin even through the cotton of his boxers.  

He didn’t normally go for quickies, preferring to take his time. But with the way she was aggressively moving against him and simultaneously pushing at his underwear, maybe she wasn’t in the mood to play.

“...want you,” Casey gasped between wet kisses. “...now.”

He groaned into her mouth; as hard as he was, he had no desire to argue. It was funny, JC thought, how she made him feel every single time. How quickly he went from casually thinking about wanting her, to being so hot and so hard it almost hurt how bad he ached for her. She had these moments where, even though he was thinking of nothing else but how good he could make her feel, all the foreplay she needed seemed to be a little kissing, a little touching, and she was practically begging him to be inside her.  

Not that he was complaining in the slightest. It was flattering that, with him, she always seemed just about ready to go. He wondered if she knew that it was the same for him, with her.

JC felt a little light-headed with the way Casey kissed him, like he was oxygen and she was breathing him in. Her legs wrapped around his waist, her hands tangled in his hair, and they grinded against each other, friction and heat building deliciously between them. The silky heat between her legs was almost scorching him in the best way and he grunted every time she rocked up against his erection.

Her hands began frantically pushing at the waistband of his underwear and he snickered. “You’re so--”

“Impatient. I know,” she interrupted, finishing his sentence. “Hurry up.” She let him finish undressing, helping him with both his t-shirt and his boxers, before quickly tugging him back toward her. “Want me on top?” she moaned as he settled between her legs.

“Later,” he mumbled, already slipping into her.

He held himself up on his forearms, his weight on either side of her, and pushed all the way inside of her with no resistance. He groaned deeply, delighting in the feeling of being completely cocooned inside her silken, throbbing heat. She was always so hot and so soft. And so damn wet. And being inside her had become one of his most favorite things.

JC moved in his usual way. Slide out, glide back in, slowly, slowly, slowly. And he smiled, seeing her eyes clamped shut, and said all of his usual things. Telling her how good she felt, and how much he loved how wet she was. And telling her there was no way he could last that long. And Casey grunted her approval, gently scratching her nails up and down his back. He kissed her, biting her lip ever so slightly, and her eyelids fluttered open before closing again. And when her thighs tightened around his waist, and her back arched, and she gasped in that way, he knew he was hitting it. That spot.

He loved that spot maybe more than she did, because as soon as he found it he knew that was pretty much it for her. But the fun part was that, after that first time, she was always ready to do it again. Twice. At some point, probably when the tour was over, he planned on spending an entire evening doing nothing but getting her off as many times, in as many ways, as possible.

He was no longer pulling out of her, instead focusing his motion in that same spot. He rocked up against her, and her breath started coming in ragged gasps and grunts and his heartbeat raced because she was so there and it turned him on so fucking much. And then she was tightening around him rhythmically, and moaning his name. He kept his rhythm steady, loving everything about the way she sounded and felt as she came. Loving the way she was struggling to catch her breath. Loving her, with his body, even if he couldn’t yet say the words.

He slipped his hands through hers and pinned them above her head, pulling back just enough to go back to moving in and out of her. And he stared down at her, a self-contained little smile on his face, waiting for her to open her eyes again.

His slide was maddeningly slow, and took almost more control than he had to maintain. Especially with her whimpering, begging him to go faster. Almost crying for more. And with a wicked gleam in his eyes he leaned in so that his mouth was right against her ear. “You have to look at me, baby.”

The way she looked at him was the sexiest thing. She always told him, after, how hard it was to keep her eyes open when he was inside her like that, and he could see all of that frustration and concentration on her face.

“Come on, baby, open your eyes.”

Casey’s eyelids lifted, and her mouth fell open in that sexy, sexy way she had where it was like she was about to say something, but she couldn’t formulate the words, and in the same instant he was slowly pushing back inside of her, as deep as he could go. And he was almost awestruck with the intensity of her eyes locked on his, and the struggle to maintain his control and not slam into her the way he really wanted to.

“More,” she panted. “B-baby, more.”

He smirked, knowing that meant she wanted it harder and faster. And he did as she asked, motivated by her rising cries. She started doing that thing he loved, where she tried to say his name but all that came out was j-j-j-j, and then his control was gone.  

“Coming, baby...come with me,” Casey gasped.

Her nails scraped his back, none too gently, and JC responded by pumping into her, also not so gently, and within seconds he felt that familiar tightening and tingling and he was coming. And yep, she was too.

They lay there for a few minutes, heartbeats slowing and breath regulating, before Casey pushed at him a little. “Hey.” She sat up to look at him when he rolled off of her. “Are you absolutely sure about TRL? You’re not exactly a ‘let me announce my girlfriend on national TV’ kind of guy.”

JC chuckled and took hold of one of her hands, clutching it to his chest. “No, I’m not. But I know Carson, and it won’t be like that. I promise. I’m sure, OK?”

Casey nodded and leaned over so her mouth was close to his. “OK.” She placed a kiss at the corner of his mouth and settled back down next to him.