At least that’s what he had insisted to her. Not that he wasn’t looking for his friends, either. J.C. was enjoying her company and wasn’t in too much of a rush to get back to his friends. She on the other hand…well, there had to be a reason as to why she seemed to be trying to keep their conversation short and to the point.

He wasn’t used to it. And it’s what made him more interested in trying to figure her out. Screaming, crying, the odd article of clothing flung at his head, that was something he was used to. He was used to the noise and the hustle and bustle of tour life, the calm and quiet, while it was something he could thrive in (or at least sleep in), it was still different. Kind of jarring in a way.

“What made you decide to become a teacher?” he asked, shifting in his little bed of hay. He swiped at the back of his neck, brushing away the hay that was tickling his skin. His skin itched and the hay poked him everywhere they could reach him in gaps between his clothes.

J.C. watched as Montana shifted her gaze from the star filled sky, over to him. She lounged lazily against a stack of hay, her legs—her long, smooth legs—stretched out in front of her arms crossed over her chest. She didn’t answer for a moment, the creaking sound being joined by the whistling of the older man driving the horses forward.

“I don’t know,” she replied with a shrug. “I was just always good with them. Like you said.”

“You are,” J.C. insisted. “I think my brother and sister are a handful. I don’t know how you do it.”

“It’s not that bad,” Montana replied, waving her hand in the air. “You just have to show them whose boss, that’s all.”

“Oh—ACHOO!” The sneeze came up on J.C. suddenly and he felt himself jerk forward, hay flying through the air as he blasted it off his chest.

Montana chuckled, shifting closer towards him, reaching into her purse for a pack of tissues. “I’m not going to wipe your nose,” she said, miming that she was going to toss it at him. J.C. lifted his hand and snatched the tissues out of the air. “I mean, I know people never really stop being big kids but…”

“Ha, ha.” J.C. gave a fake laugh as he pulled open the packet. “That was not my intention, I promise you.” He sniffed loudly. “My mom stopped wiping my nose when I was four.”

“Really?” Montana asked, her thin eyebrows arching upwards. “Figured someone like you would’ve had people to do it for you.”

J.C. felt his eyebrows lower just slightly. Judging by her half smile, it wasn’t a jab at him. But, there was something in that comment know t that seemed off. No, in a lot of her comments. Kind of like a double meaning or something. He shook his head. You’re just over thinking it, J.C. There’s nothing going on here.

Nothing.

That was a problem. There was something about her that instantly captured and held his attention. The second he had set eyes on her, he wanted to know more about her. But she was doing a pretty good job at keeping to herself.

“Did I do something?” J.C. asked, repeating his question from earlier. “Did I offend you or something?”

“I don’t understand what you mean, hon,” Montana replied.

There was that word. He didn’t know how long it’s been since he heard anyone, a girlfriend or his own mom call him that. It was comforting and instantly brought a sense of longing into the pit of his stomach. It almost felt like he had stepped off the edge of the cart without looking and he was falling.

Maybe he was falling. He hadn’t felt like he had to try so hard to get to know someone, but he wasn’t complaining. She certainly was interesting…what little he knew about her, anyway. She certainly wasn’t like a lot of girls he had met outside of the ten second, or maybe even five minute meet and greet. And she definitely wasn’t like anyone in the industry.

On the one hand, dating someone in the industry worked out for the most part because they understood the busy schedules, changing of events at the last minute, the long distances, all of it. It took a real special person to understand and be able to work around his schedule with no complaints and so much understanding. He hadn’t found anyone that really fit his lifestyle like that.

But maybe…

Don’t get ahead of yourself, J.C. You just met her. You don’t know anything about her. J.C. pressed his lips together. “You seem to not…like me.”

“I don’t know you,” Montana replied.

J.C. snorted. “You don’t know J.C. Chasez?” he asked. He wasn’t an egotistical person by trade. Serious? Sure. Funny? Yes. Proud of his work? No doubt about it. But, he wasn’t egotistical. It was just, admittedly, hard to find anyone that didn’t know who he was or what he did. Even then, the people that really knew who the real J.C. was, was his friends and family.

“I don’t care that you’re some big musician you know,” Montana commented, her eyes narrowing.

“I know you don’t,” J.C. replied. He held back a laugh. The first time he had even met her, she had confused him for a concert worker when she was backstage at their show in Biloxi, looking for Lance. She was embarrassed, but for some odd reason, it had flattered him in a way. It seemed that, for once in his life, apart from his friends and family, someone out there saw him as a normal person. “So why don’t you like me?”

A pained expression crossed her face before she bit down on her lower lip. “It’s not you,” she replied. “I just don’t…do musicians.”

J.C. couldn’t hold his laughter back. Chalk it up to him being a male, or just being around Chris and Joey’s dirty mouths for so long, he couldn’t help but have his mind pick up on the double entendre. Montana scowled at him, but the harder he laughed, the less severe her look was. Then she was giggling along with him.

“You know what I mean,” she said, blushing, brushing her hair behind her ears. “I’ve just dated too many musicians. That’s all.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not too many musicians,” J.C. replied, lifting his eyebrow. He didn’t know her story but, in a way, he got it. Dating a musician was hard. He knew not everyone was able to reach what he was doing, and he wasn’t trying to toot his own horn, but it was a tough profession to be a part of. “So…”

“It’s not fair, I know,” Montana replied. She got to her feet, balancing herself by grabbing the side of the cart. She used her free hand to brush the hay free from the seat of her pants before she carefully made her way closer to him. Montana tucked her legs beneath her as she lowered herself down into the hay. She brushed her hand down her legs, ridding them of little bits of hay kicked up from her shoes. “And I’m sorry, sweetie.”

“I’m sorry, too,” J.C. replied. He tilted his head to the side. “You’ve really been working with kids for a long time, haven’t you?”

“What makes you say that?” Montana asked.

“You keep calling me ‘honey’ and ‘sweetie’,” J.C. replied. Montana stared at him for a moment before she bowed her head, her lips parting into a small smile.

“Yeah, that’s a…bad habit,” she said, running the palm of her hand over her hair, smoothing down the loose strands of hair. “You spend six hours a day with them and they feel like your own for just a little while. I don’t even realize I do it.”

“That’s ok,” J.C. replied, waving his hand in the air. He crossed is arms over his chest, watching her as they continued along the path. She hummed to herself as she took in the sights of the families taking part in the festival. A beam of moonlight hit her just right, illuminating the sparkle in her eyes and making her blond hair look more of a fiery gold. There really was something mysterious about her hat he couldn’t put his finger on. “So, I must be some musician, then.”

“Huh?” Montana asked, her nose wrinkling as she gave him a confused look.

“I guess I should be lucky I haven’t been thrown out of the cart yet,” J.C. replied.

Montana grinned, shrugging her shoulders. “The ride ain’t over yet, hon” she replied. A hand flew up to cover her mouth. “Sorry. I mean, J.C.”

No, it certainly was not.

“Is there anything I can do to get you to change your mind about musicians?” J.C. asked.

“Y’all have been doing that every time I see you again,” Montana replied, waving her hand in the air. “You’re some of the most down to earth men I know. It’s refreshing to see.”

“Those other guys must’ve been jerks to make you want to just write us all off,” J.C. commented.

“Well…” Montana trailed off. J.C. watched as her facial features shifted from thoughtful, to annoyance, to curious, to admission. “Yeahhhh.” J.C. snorted and Montana let out a short, breathy laugh. “That sounds bad.”

“It’s how you feel,” J.C. replied with a shrug. “But, I don’t think you should write off all musicians just because of a couple—“

“Three,” Montana corrected him.

“Three guys,” J.C.  replied. “Ohhhh.” That made sense. Whether it was due to musicians or just guys in general, adding that in with her work, it was no wonder she didn’t want to open herself up to someone. Or maybe she wasn’t ready.

What was he doing, anyway? He was only in town for a little bit of time. Even if something could happen between the two of them, he couldn’t just turn around and ask her to wait. It was something he thought he could get used to, but there was a lot he had missed out on growing up on stage and in the spotlight. Maybe this was something he should take a chance on. He hadn’t totally given up on girls but…it certainly was hard to find the right one.

Joey and Chris didn’t seem to have a problem enjoying their single lives while out on the road. Justin certainly knew how to keep his relationship with Britney (yes, the Britney) going despite the long distance and her own success with her music. Lance was too busy with his own production company and their music to really take some time out of his life to focus on girls. So, what was stopping him? It’s not like he had given up on girls.

It was just as hard to be the chaser as it was hard to wait for the right girl to find him. Either way, he didn’t know if anyone he was interested in was interested in him only because of his job.

“Yeah.” Montana sniffed. “Besides, I don’t have time for dating right now anyway.”

“How about just having some fun?” J.C. asked, tilting his head just slightly. He lifted his shoulders, holding out his hands in a curious look. “You’re not in charge of the kids for the rest of the night are you?” His body shifted as the cart driver pulled on the reigns the horses, pulling them to a stop. The cart wheels gave one last creak before they came to a stop.

“We’re at our stop, ladies and gents, everybody off,” the man said in a heavy accent.

“Well?” J.C. got to his feet, brushing his hands over his clothes and his hair. Bits of hay sprinkled out of his hair and floated down to the covered floor of the cart. As he shifted his weight, the cart shifted and he stumbled back just slightly into the stack of hay lining the cart.

“Nooo,” Montana replied, holding out the word.

“Good.” His lips pulled back into a mischievous smile and he quickly grabbed a handful of hay, throwing it at her.

“Ahh!” A shriek slipped out of Montana’s mouth as she turned her head, trying to block her face from the direct hit. JC laughed, clapping his hands together to get the little remnants of hay off. “Jerk!” Montana threw some back at him, but he was ready for her with another handful.

Hay went flying through the air, floating around their heads, pieces getting in their hair and landing on their clothes as they laughed. “See.” JC said as he suddenly stopped to brush the hay out of his hair and off his clothes. “Having some fun isn’t a big deal.”

He got to his feet and held his hand out to the smaller girl. Montana sighed, taking his hand. Her slender fingers slid over his palm, sending a shock up J.C.’s arm. His fingers enclosed around hers and he shifted his weight backwards, pulling her up.

Then it happened.

His nose twitched. His throat tickled. His eyes slammed shut, his head tilted back and swung forward as he let out a loud, “AHH-CHOOO-OW!” His sneeze turned into a groan of pain as his forehead slammed down on top of her skull.

“Ohhhhh!” Montana groaned, her hands flying up to the top of her head. Her forward momentum from his tug sent her falling forward into him. J.C. grunted as he wrapped his arms around her, stumbling backwards into a bale of hay. His knees buckled and he dropped into a seated position on top with Montana sitting half on and half off his lap.

“Everythin’ alright, back there?”

“Yes!” Montana squeaked out, jumping to her feet. “We’re fine. We’re getting’ off, now.” She looked at J.C. out of the corner of her eye, spotting the smirk that slid onto her face. “Ya know what I meant.”

He chuckled.