IF I’M NOT THE ONE

            The ringing of the telephone jarred JC out of his sound sleep.  Groggily he turned over in his bed and grabbed the cordless phone off of the night table.  He held it to his ear and muttered some unintelligible greeting into the mouthpiece.

            “What are you still doing in bed?  It’s nearly eleven o’clock, C.”  The voice of his band mate, Justin Timberlake, snapped JC awake quickly.

            “Eleven o’clock?  It can’t be.”  He commented as he sat up in bed and glanced over at his clock.  “Damn, I can’t believe I slept so late.”

            “Late night, heh Chasez?”  A little devilish laugh came through the phone lines.

            “Shut up, Curly.  What the hell do you want?”

            “I thought we might have lunch.  I’ve got something I wanted to talk to you about, but we didn’t get a chance yesterday.”

            Wiping the sleep out of his eyes, JC glanced around the room.  He wondered if Cassandra was up yet, or if she had actually stayed all night and not run off like she did the last time.

            “You know what, J?  I really can’t meet you today.  I’ve got a lot of crap to take care of.”

            “Sounds like a problem with Suzie?”

            “Actually, no.  I haven’t even talked to her since lunch yesterday.  I don’t think I’ll even see her today.  I just have some personal stuff to take care of.”

            “Are you sure you can’t spare me half an hour?  It’s about that girl, Cassandra.”

            JC swung his legs over the side of his bed as his curiosity got the better of him.

            “What about her?”

            “Well, I was thinking about how we could help her find a job.”

            JC looked confused.  “J, why in the world would we have to help her find a job?”

            “Well, you do know that she doesn’t have one, don’t you?”

            Shaking his head, JC was confused as to how his friend would know this about Cassandra.  She had never indicated that she was job hunting.  The topic of conversation never seemed to have come up when they were together.  But, somehow his friend knew this.

            “JC?”  Justin tried to get his attention through the phone.

            “Huh?  What?”

            “You did know that, right?”

            “Um, actually we hadn’t discussed what she did.  How do you know she needs a job?”

            A chuckle escaped Justin’s mouth.  “For crying out loud, JC.  I had lunch with the girl.  Did you think we just talked about the sandwiches we ate?  I tried to get to know her.”

            JC felt a twinge of jealousy run through him.  “What the hell are you trying to get to know her for?”

            Justin sensed his friend’s attitude change.  Being a prankster, he decided to have a little fun at JC’s expense.  “Hey, man!  She’s one awesome chick.  I figured since we hit it off so well, I’d try to win her over.  I can’t believe how good we clicked!”  The smile on his face was ear to ear.

            JC’s back went rigid.  His mind was racing.  His best friend was going after the girl he was interested in.  He shook his head trying to clear it of the thoughts that were running through it.  How was this change in events possible?  Would he just sit back and let Justin go after Cassandra?  Did he care enough about Cassandra to stop Justin?  He was confused.

            “I told her that I probably had a lead on a job that could help her out.  She was so appreciative, if you know what I mean?”  Justin decided to throw in a little innuendo to add insult to injury. 

            That was enough to snap JC out of his stupor.  “What the hell does that mean, J?  I think you need to back off, man.  She’s not your type, Dude!  It wouldn’t be right for you to add her to your list of conquests, Justin.  She’s a nice girl, not some bimbo that you usually pick up in the clubs.”

            Justin could hear the anger in JC’s voice.  He knew instinctively that he had crossed the limits.  “Whoa!  Hold on there, JC.  I was only kidding.  I didn’t mean anything by it.  All we did was talk during the lunch.  She said she needed a job and I thought we might be able to help her out.  That’s all there was to it.  Seriously, nothing more than that happened.”  Justin was trying to calm his friend down, before the anger got out of control.

            Drawing a deep breath, JC ran his free hand over his face.  “You jerk!  I can’t believe you did that!”

            “Hey, man!  It was just a joke.  I thought you were tied up with Suzie.  I didn’t know you had your eye on this one too!”

            “There’s no ‘too’ about it.  Cassandra is a good friend.  I just don’t think she’s your type.  Got it?”

            “Yep.  I understand loud and clear.”

            “Good.  I’ll let you go.  I have a ton to do, and wasting my time on you isn’t on my to-do list.  Sorry, Curly, but I have to go.  See you tomorrow.”  With that said, JC hung up the phone and tried to calm his frazzled nerves.  He had to remember that he now owed Justin a practical joke of his own.

            Walking toward the kitchen, JC was all too aware of the silence in his house.  His blue eyes scanned the areas of the house, looking for any sign of Cassandra.  He heard nothing.  He saw nothing.  Having gone downstairs, he entered the kitchen and was surprised to find that she had not been in there. 

            For a moment, he felt sure that she had left him again.  Then he turned and went back into the hallway and up the stairs.  He looked toward the guest room.  The door was closed.   Hesitantly, he approached it and reached for the knob.  His mind raced with thoughts of what he would do if she were not there.  Would he dress and go to her place, trying to rescue her one more time?  Would he just resign himself to the fact that Thomas held a stronger hold on her than he was able to break?  He closed his eyes and said a silent prayer that she would be there when the door was opened all the way.

            He pushed the door back.  The room was dark.  The curtains were still pulled closed, and there was no light on.  He pushed the door further back.  The bed was a shambles.  The covers twisted into a mass of knots and lumps.  He couldn’t see if she was amid those covers.  He reached to the wall beside him and found the switch.  He flipped it on, illuminating the room in a soft glow from the overhead ceiling fan.  JC quickly looked back at the bed.  He couldn’t see Cassandra there.  It wasn’t until he entered the room and approached the bed that he noticed that she was not there. 

His shoulders slumped.  Thomas had won.  Cassandra had managed to leave the safety of JC’s house once more, only to return to the torment of her former boyfriend.  He sat down on the edge of the bed and hung his head into his hands.

            Then he heard something.  It was a soft, muted sound.  He sat upright and began to look around.  He couldn’t identify what it was.  It only took a few seconds for him to find it.  There in the corner, behind the bed, was Cassandra.  Just the way he had found her in her home, curled up on the floor with her knees drawn up and tears flowing.

            JC walked over to her and crouched down in front of her.  He felt a sense of deja- vu at the scene that was unfolding in front of him. 

            Her tear filled eyes met his blue eyes.  She looked at him for a moment and suddenly leaned forward to him and threw her arms around him.  He was at a loss for words.  He enfolded her in his arms and held her tightly.  Relief surged through him at finding her in the room, but he felt helpless to help her through this crisis she was going through.

            “Cassandra?  What happened?”  He whispered against her hair.

            Trying to calm her tears, she drew a breath and pulled back from his strong, muscular chest.  “A bad dream.”

            “Are you okay?”

            She looked up with tear stained cheeks.  “I am now.”  It was a sincere statement.  He had the feeling that she had been waiting for him to come to her. 

            “How long have you been sitting here?”

            She shook her head.  “I don’t know.  Just a little while, I guess.  I was too afraid to move.”

            “If I had known, I would have been here sooner.  I thought that maybe…”  He cut himself off before he told her what he had been afraid of.

            “I’m just glad you’re here now.  Thank you.”

            JC helped her get to her feet.  Together they straightened her bed and JC made an attempt at idle chitchat to take her mind off of the dream that had terrified her so badly.  Once the room was straightened to their satisfaction, JC suggested that they freshen up and go out for lunch.  The idea brought a smile to Cassandra’s face and she immediately agreed.

            The day turned into one of the happiest days Cassandra had spent in quite some time.  JC did everything to keep her mind occupied with things other than the problems that had been troubling her.  After having lunch at a small deli, he took her to play putt-putt golf, go-cart riding, and they even tried their hands in a batting cage.  While Cassandra had never tried the latter, she had a good time and laughed every time she missed the ball, which was nearly every single time.

            After trying their hands at those things, JC suggested they take in a movie.  As they sat on a picnic table sipping on their cold sodas, JC opened up an app on his cellphone to see what movies were playing.  There were a couple of funny movies to choose from and JC seemed enthused to see at least one of them.  After reading the selections out loud to Cassandra, he looked up only to notice that her mind seemed to be elsewhere.

            “Hey, where are you?”  JC asked as he set down his phone.

            Cassandra blinked herself back to reality.  “What?”

            “Where did you go?  I was reading off choices and I don’t think you heard one of them.”

            “I’m sorry, JC.  I guess I wasn’t listening.  Go ahead, read them to me again.”

            JC leaned forward and took her hands into his.  “What’s wrong, Cassandra?  Did I do something or say something I shouldn’t have?”

            Surprise was written on her face.  “Oh, no!  JC you haven’t done anything wrong.  I’m sorry.  I just got a little distracted.”

            “By what?”  He tried to push the issue.

            Swallowing hard, she looked into his crystal blue eyes.  “An old enemy, I guess.”

            JC looked at her, confusion showing in those blue eyes of his.  “I don’t think I understand.  What ‘old enemy’?”

            “Thomas.”  Her one word answer was whispered so that it was almost inaudible.  She dropped her gaze to the table.

            JC felt his heart sink.  Even though she had spoken it softly, he had heard the name slip through her lips.  With all the effort he had put into making this afternoon one of fun and pleasure, the ghost of someone so unpleasant loomed over the two of them.  He wished with all of his being that he could remove that name from her mind.  He wanted to remove that individual from her memory.  He loved to see her smile, relax and have fun as she had done only a short time before the talk had turned to movies.

            “You see, that was the only thing he would ever do with me, go to the movies.  I guess when you suggested that, it just reminded me of him.  I’m sorry.  I can’t help it.”

            “I’m glad you told me.  We will not go to the movies!”  JC said in a matter-of-fact tone.  “No, sir!  We will find something totally different to do.”

            He crooked his fingers under her chin and met her gaze with his own.  “You tell me.  What would you like to do?”

            “JC,”

            “No!  I want you to tell me what you want to do.  You name it and we will do it.”

            She smiled.  “Do you promise not to laugh?”

            Returning her smile, JC nodded his agreement.

            “I’d like to just go back to your place and get to know you.”

            His eyes widened in surprise. 

            “It’s just that, well, we’ve spent some time together, but I don’t really know anything about you, the person.  I know you’re a singer in a band and I know who your friends are.  I just don’t know that much about you.”

            “Man, you’re a cheap date, aren’t you?”  He laughed out loud.

            “I don’t really need a lot.”  She smiled back at him.

            “Come on.  Let’s get out of here.”  JC grabbed her hand and guided them toward his Jeep.  Once inside, he started the vehicle, aimed it in the direction of his home and gunned the engine in that direction. 

            They rode in silence as he headed home.  Without asking, Cassandra knew instinctively that that was where they were going.  She knew JC would take her there and she also knew that he would be as honest with her as he possibly could.  She was puzzled by her need to know about him.  He was strikingly handsome.  His blue eyes were like crystal and his sculpted cheekbones gave him a classic look.  The square set of his jaw made him look like he should be a model, but she knew JC would not be content to stand around all day and let people tell him how to stand, how to smile and what to wear.  He looked good in his casual clothes and she knew that designer names were not what he needed on his back to make him happy.

            JC turned the Jeep into his driveway and parked it in front of the garage.  Before he opened his car door, he turned to look at Cassandra.

            “Are you sure this is what you really want to do?”

            “Absolutely.”  Cassandra smiled as she reached for the handle and pulled on it to open her door.  She reached for her purse and climbed out of the Jeep. 

            JC came around the vehicle and met her at the front of it.  He escorted her up to the front door and unlocked it and pushed it open for her to step inside.  Once he closed the door behind them, Cassandra set her purse on the table near the door and kicked off her shoes, making herself totally at home.  A feeling of satisfaction swept over JC when she did that.  He liked knowing that she was comfortable in his place.

            “How about some iced tea?”  He offered.

            “That sounds great.  Can I help?”

            “Nope.  Go on in and sit down.  I’ll be right back and the inquisition can begin.”  Without a second thought, he bent down and kissed her forehead and turned quickly to head toward the kitchen.

            For a moment, Cassandra stood in the same spot, somewhat dumbfounded by his action.  She didn’t know why he had kissed her, but she had liked it.

            Before either of them knew what had happened, darkness fell over the house and JC had to get up to turn on the lights.  Hours had passed as the two shared stories about themselves.  They talked about their childhood, their hopes, dreams and what they wanted the future to hold for them.  They told each other about their friends, families and co-workers.  It was at the end of that conversation, the part about co-workers, that Cassandra had an idea.

            “JC, I was really hoping we might be able to see each other again.”  Cassandra felt a little awkward saying it, but she couldn’t help but say what she was feeling.

            “So was I.”  His voice was low, but sweet.

            “I have an idea, too.”

            He arched an eyebrow at her and smiled.

            Playfully she slapped his arm.  “Not THAT kind of idea.”  She laughed.  “But, I do have a friend who I am sure would just hit it off with your friend, Justin.  Is there a chance that we could set them up?  I mean, if he doesn’t have a girlfriend.”

            Girlfriend!  The word hit him like a slap in the face.  He looked at Cassandra blankly for a moment.  Justin didn’t have a girlfriend, but he did.  Her name was Suzie and he suddenly felt guilty for not having thought about her even once the entire day.  How could he tell Cassandra that he was the one who was not available to date? 

            “No, Cassandra.  Justin doesn’t have a girlfriend.”

            “That’s great!  When I get home, I’ll give Lynnette a call and we can set up a double date or something like that.  What do you think?”  Cassandra was animated in her discussion about the date.  JC felt like such an idiot.  She had no idea that Suzie was in the picture.  Justin had helped cover that fact.  The sad thing was that JC wanted to see Cassandra again.  He wanted to date with Justin and her friend, Lynette.  He was even thinking it might just be about time for a NEW girlfriend. 

            The problem was how would he tell Suzie.  She was convinced they were inseparable.  There had been several times that she had even discussed marriage with JC.  He always managed to quell those conversations, but the thought was always in the back of her mind.  In fact, her insistence was part of the reason JC had moved out of her place.

When JC had met Cassandra, he had no idea that he would be attracted to her.  But, the truth of the matter was, he was very attracted to her.  He wanted to get to know her better.  If he were honest with himself, he just wanted her.  Yet, he didn’t see that happening between them.  Currently, they were friends getting to know each other, and she had a friend that she thought would do well with Justin.  Somehow he had to keep this all in perspective.

“Sounds like a good idea to me.”  JC lightened up.  What did he have to lose?  He wanted to go out with Cassandra, Justin and Cassandra’s friend, so what was the harm.  They weren’t a couple.  It would just be four friends going out for a fun evening.  It would be something totally harmless.  JC laughed to himself.  Who was he kidding?

Realizing it was getting late, JC suggested that they turn in for the night.  When he sensed Cassandra’s reluctance to spend another night with him, he offered his reassurances.  If she’d only stay one more night, he would be sure to take her home first thing in the morning.  Things would have to return to normal with the light of day.  He knew, all too well, that she couldn’t continue to stay with him.  He loved having her in his house, but he knew it couldn’t persist.  They had only known each other for a short time.  Though she didn’t know it, JC was already involved with someone.  For his sake, she would have to leave before Suzie found out he had a woman staying with him.  Besides, he told himself, he wasn’t sure how long he could continue to think of Cassandra as just a friend.  He felt something stronger building and he was determined not to hurt either Cassandra or Suzie.  For their sake, things needed to remain status quo.

It was mid morning the next day when JC arrived at the recording studio.  His band mates were all ready to begin working on another new song for their upcoming summer release.  It only took his friends a short time to notice that JC was not performing at his peak.  He seemed easily distracted.  He couldn’t find any song that held his attention, including the new one he had written only a few weeks before.

“Man, what’s going on with you, C?”  His friend Joey asked.  “You are sure out of it.”

JC only shook his head. 

“Yeah, it’s sure not like you to keep screwing up the numbers, JC.”  His other friend Lance piped in.  “What’s on your mind?”

“Nothing, really.  I guess I’m just a little off today, guys.”  Even his demeanor was different.  Instead of being his usual go-getter self, he was very laid back and quiet.  The word ‘reserved’ even came into someone’s mind.

“Do you need a break?”  Joey asked.

“Naw, I’m fine.”

“I don’t think so, man!  You need a break.  Why don’t you go into the conference room and take five.”  Joey told him.  “We’ll work on some of the other things.”

JC hesitated, looking at the four men staring at him.

“Go, on C!  You really need to.”  Lance agreed.

Without another word, JC got up from the mixing board and headed out of the recording booth.  He headed down a long corridor and turned into the last room in it.  Finding the couch across the room, he walked over to it and dropped down on it.  He ran his hands over his eyes.  Shaking his head, he wondered silently what was wrong with him.  He felt so out of control.  Control was something that JC never relinquished easily, and the thought that he didn’t have it annoyed him.  If he could only figure out what was messing with his mind, he would be able to get himself straightened out.

“C?  Are you okay?” 

JC looked up to see his friend Justin standing in the doorway, a worried look on his face.

“Hey, J!  Don’t worry.  I’m absolutely fine.  Maybe I’m just coming down with something.  I’m not sure.”

“You don’t seem like yourself.”

“Well, I guess I don’t feel like myself either.”

“Have you got problems with Suzie?”

JC chuckled to himself.  If Justin only knew, he might not be so quick to say it.

“Nope.  I don’t have any problems with Suzie.”

Justin walked in and sat down next to his friend.  “Then what’s going on?  You seem so different.”

Again JC rubbed his hands over his face, showing his exhaustion.

“I don’t know what’s bothering me, Justin.  I just feel like I’ve lost a grip on my life.”

“You!”  Justin was amazed to hear his friend admit it.

“Hard to believe, isn’t it?”  JC chuckled again.  “But, it’s true.  I just don’t feel like I’m in control right now.  I don’t know what to do about it, either.  By the way, since we’ve got a few minutes, what did you want to talk to me about yesterday?”

“Oh, that.  I’ve got a great idea.  See what you think of this.  That friend of yours, Cassandra?”  Justin started.  “Well, she told me at lunch the other day that she was going to be looking for a job next week.  I was just thinking it would be cool if we could give her a job working for us.”

JC’s blue eyes grew large.  “What?”  His voice broke as he asked his question.

“Sure!  Why not?  She does clerical work and certainly we can find some kind of office work at the management company for her.”

“Tell me, Justin, why would we want to do that?”

“To give you time.”

JC blinked at that statement.  He looked at Justin, a million questions running through his mind.

“To give me time?  Time for what?”  JC asked.

“Time to see how you feel about her.  It’s obvious that you feel something for her, C.  You just don’t know what, yet.  If she worked for us, it would keep her nearby, in a harmless manner, and you would have a chance to get to know her and see if the two of you stand a chance at a relationship.”

For a moment JC became suspicious.  “Are you sure this idea is for me?  It seems to me I remember you having lunch with her.  Maybe it’s really you who would like to get to know her and see if YOU stand a chance?”

Justin seemed surprised by his innuendo.  He was sincere in his idea, but JC was trying to turn it around against him.  Sometimes, Justin reflected, it was better not to try to help the helpless.  He threw up his hands in defeat.

“Forget it, JC.  Just forget I said anything.  Sometimes you can’t see the writing on the wall when it’s right in front of your face.”

Justin rose to his feet and began to head toward the door to leave and return to the recording booth.

“Justin.”  JC called to his friend as he, too, rose to his feet.

“Justin, wait a second.”  JC rushed over to his friend.  “I didn’t mean anything by it.  It just seems to me that you are very concerned about someone you hardly know.”

“Just like you letting her stay at your place, huh?”

JC stopped and looked at Justin.

“I had to, J.  That ex-boyfriend was going to hurt her.  I couldn’t let that happen.”

“Tell me, JC.  Who appointed you her savior?  If that guy is still coming around, maybe it’s because they haven’t really broken up.  How do you know she’s not playing you?”

With that said, Justin left the conference room and left JC standing in silence.  Justin’s words echoed through JC’s mind.  The younger man had a good point.  How DID JC know what Cassandra’s motives were?  He knew the few things he had seen, but was there more to it than he knew?  JC ran the events of the past few days through his mind.  It wasn’t possible that he was so blind that she was, as Justin had said, ‘playing him’.  Shaking his head, JC found that hard to swallow.  She didn’t seem like that kind of girl.  He couldn’t believe that she would be leading him on, only in hopes that Thomas would come back into the picture and sweep her off her feet.

Thomas; he was another story all unto himself.  Anger ran through JC when he thought about walking into Cassandra’s house after Thomas had hit her.  He could not tolerate any man, Thomas included, hitting a woman.  JC remembered what Cassandra’s cheek looked like after Thomas had left the house.  There was the cut that was there from the first night, and the red mark under it.  Just the memory made JC shiver in anger.

He remembered how he had found her that first night, cowering in the corner of her room.  That thought triggered the memory of her in his guest room, cowering the same way.  Visibly JC shook his head.  Justin was wrong.  Cassandra was not playing JC.  These things were very real.  She had a real fear of Thomas.  At the moment, JC believed he was the only one that Cassandra trusted enough to let help her out of the mess she had somehow managed to get into.  Because of her trust, JC was going to do all he could for her.  He’d prove Justin wrong and get himself back in control at the same time.

Meanwhile at her house, Cassandra busied herself with cleaning and putting things away.  She was startled by the front door slamming shut.

“Hey, sis!  I’m home.” 

Cassandra smiled at the sound of her sister’s happy voice.

“Hey, Marissa!  How’s it going?”

Marissa stopped cold when she saw the marks under her sister’s left eye. 

“Whoa!  What happened to you, Cassandra?”

“Nothing.”  Cassandra brushed off the question.  “Just bumped into the corner of the doorway the other night.  It hurts pretty good.”

“Are you sure?”  Marissa looked doubtful.

“Do you think I don’t know how I got hurt?”

They laughed together.  The girls walked into the kitchen together and Cassandra poured them each a glass of iced tea.  They sat down and began talking about what had been going on in the past few days.  Marissa had been busy with her school friends.  They had been to a concert, done some schoolwork and Marissa had begun looking for a job.

Cassandra told her sister that she was finally feeling much better.  She mentioned her new friend, JC.  They talked about how kind he had been to her and how helpful he was.  Cassandra found herself describing his physical attributes in great detail and her sister began to laugh.

“What’s so funny, sis?”

“You are.  For this guy being just a friend, you’ve sure noticed every single little detail about him.  I’ve never described any of my friends’ eyes as ‘ice crystal blue’.  And I certainly never talk about ‘chiseled cheekbones’ or ‘square jaws’.”

Cassandra blushed momentarily as she sought out an explanation.  She knew she had gotten carried away, but she had to cover for herself.  “Now, I’m just trying to give you a nice, overall picture of this guy.  There’s nothing more to it so don’t go reading anything into it, okay?”

Marissa nodded her head and smiled.  “If you say so, sis.”

“I say so.”  Cassandra said.  She wondered if she was trying to convince herself or her sister.

“So, has Thomas been over?”  Marissa asked.

Cassandra looked at her sister wide-eyed.  “No!  Why?”

“Hey,” Marissa held up a hand.  “Don’t look at me like that.  I was just wondering.”

Rising from the table, Cassandra took her now empty glass and placed it in the sink.  Then she gripped the edge of the counter as if she needed something solid to hold her up.  Slowly she turned and faced her younger sister.

“Marissa,”  She began quietly.  “Let me just say that I don’t want to see Thomas anymore.  He’s in my past and I’d like to keep him there.”

Her sister seemed very surprised.  “I can’t believe that.  I thought you two were going to be together forever.  You know, marriage and the whole nine yards.”

Sadly, Cassandra shook her head.  “No, sis.  I’m done with him.”

“But, why?”

Marissa was being persistent. 

“Let’s just leave it that he’s not who everyone thinks he is.  Okay?”

As she blinked, trying to comprehend what the older girl was saying, Marissa nodded her head.

“So, are you with this new guy, JC, then?”

A low giggle escaped Cassandra’s lips.  There was a part of her that would have liked to answer yes, but she knew that wouldn’t be truthful.  In her heart, she knew he was just a nice guy befriending an unfortunate human being – her.

“What’s so funny?”  Marissa asked her.

“The idea of me and JC.  Marissa, I’ve only just met him.”

“You’ve spent a lot of time with him from the sounds of it.”

“No, sis.  He’s just being a really good friend.  That is all.”

“Well, does he have any brothers or buddies who want to be really good friends to your sister?”

Together the girls laughed.

The afternoon progressed slowly for Cassandra.  Her sister had left shortly after their discussion about the two men in Cassandra’s life.  Busying herself with the usual housework, she managed to clean the entire house, do a couple loads of laundry and check the local want-ads about jobs she felt qualified for.  She knew that now that she wasn’t working for Thomas, new employment was a must.  There was a mortgage to pay, utility bills waiting and groceries needed.  Somehow she needed work, and she needed it soon.

The ringing of the telephone pulled her attention away from the newspaper.  Forcing herself up from the blue plaid sofa, Cassandra walked over to the phone on the end table next to the blue recliner.

“Hello?”  She answered softly.

At first she was met by the silence of an open phone line.

“Hello?  Is someone there?”  She asked a little louder.

“Uh, Cassandra?”

She tried to recognize the voice.  Why was he acting so shy?  If it was who she thought, it certainly wasn’t like him to act shy.

“Yes?”

“It’s just me, JC.”

It was just whom she had thought.  Cassandra looked around her feeling confused.  He didn’t sound like his usual confident self.

“Hi, JC.  Is everything all right?  You sound kind of funny.”

She heard him chuckle and it brought a smile to her face.

“I’m sorry.  I guess I felt a little odd calling you.”  The truth was he had called to hear her voice, but when she had answered the phone, a fleeting vision of his girlfriend had flashed in his mind and he instantly felt guilty for calling Cassandra.

“Oh.”  She didn’t understand why he would feel that way, but she chose not to pursue the issue.  “What did you call for?”  She decided to ask him exactly what was on her mind.

He hesitated for a second.  Cassandra couldn’t help but notice how different he seemed.

“I was just sitting here, wondering if you had talked to your friend about going out with Justin.”

Actually, she had forgotten all about it.  Between talking to her sister, cleaning house and mentally preparing for what would become the ultimate show-down with Thomas, the idea of fixing up her friend, Lynette Johnson, with his friend, Justin Timberlake, had completely slipped her mind.

“Honestly, JC, I didn’t.  I haven’t spoken to her in a while, and I didn’t have a chance to today.”

“That’s okay.  I was just thinking about it.”

“Well, if that’s all, I guess…”

“Wait!”  He nearly yelled into the phone.  He was afraid she would hang up and he really wanted to talk to her.

“What?”

“So, um, I was just wondering what you did today.”

Cassandra looked around her living room dumbfounded.  “What?”  She asked incredulously.  Her mind was racing, trying to figure out where JC was going with this questioning.

“What did you do today?”

“I just did the usual stuff.  Why?”

“So tell me, what’s usual for a girl like you?”

There was no way she could understand what he was trying to find out.  His question was inane and not at all like the JC she had spent time with over the past few days.

“JC, pardon my asking this, but what’s wrong?  You seem so different.”

“Nothing.”

“Really?”

“Yes.  I was just thinking about you and thought I’d give you a call.”

“That’s really nice.  I’m going to let you go, though.  I want to finish my last item before I go to bed.  Thanks for calling.  It was great hearing from you.”

“What’s your last item, Cassandra?”

“JC.”

“Please, just tell me.  What have you got left to do?”

She was getting exasperated with his line of questioning.

“I’m going through the want-ads.  I’m going job hunting on Monday and I want to see what’s out there.  Now, may I go?”

He closed his eyes and smiled.  Justin had been right.  She needed a job.

“Maybe I can help.”

“Only if you let me get back to the paper.”

“No, I mean I may know of a job for you.  Justin told me you can do clerical work, right?”

“Yes.”

“There’s a position at WEG, that’s the company that manages my group.  I’m sure I could get you in there.”

“Well, thanks JC.  But that really isn’t necessary.  I’ll find something.”

“I’m sure you will, in time.  But will all of your bills wait until then?  Come on, Cassandra.  At least go in, meet Johnny – he’s our manager – and give it a try.  If it doesn’t work out then there are no hard feelings.  Just try it.”

Cassandra was hard pressed to find a reason not to try for the job.  There was no logical reason she couldn’t at least try it.

“All right.  I’ll go to WEG on Monday and see what they have.”

“Great.  I’ll pick you up at nine o’clock Monday morning.”

“No, JC.  That isn’t necessary.”

“I know.”  He paused briefly.  “I’ll see you at nine.  Goodnight, Cassandra.”

“Goodnight, JC.”

They hung up simultaneously and Cassandra rubbed the back of her neck.  She had the strangest feeling that she had just been run over by a bulldozer.  He was a very handsome bulldozer, but one just the same.