“You can do this.  You are gonna make it through this.”

This was the mantra Charlie repeated quietly to herself when the flight crew announced their descent into LA.  Her eyes were closed, her hands clasped together between her thighs, her breaths drawn in and out of her lungs in a calculated manner, attempting to keep her wits about her.   

Charlie had already agreed to accompany JC to Florida for Christmas.  He had also tried to talk her into going with him to his friend Lance’s wedding.  She was able to talk her way out of that one.  There was too big a risk of coming in contact with someone from her past.  She knew one of Lance’s closest friends was married to a baseball player that played ball with her ex-husband.  She didn’t want her entire past coming out through the mouths of other.  Instead, she was flying into LA the day after the wedding.  They would spend a couple days there before heading to Florida.

Charlie and JC’s plans to meet in Phoenix had been finalized.  He was scheduled to fly into Phoenix the beginning of January.  She was being elusive with the details of the trip and what they would be doing but JC chose to trust Charlie.  She promised him that he would be back home in LA within a few days.  Once she revealed everything to him, he’d likely hightail it to the airport as quickly as possible.  At least that’s what she kept telling herself.

JC had questioned Charlie about her ability to be able to take so much time off work.  He became concerned that she may fall into a financial hardship.  She managed to talk him down and convince him she would be fine.  She had worked almost nonstop for three years.  She was owed a long vacation.  He accepted the explanation.

The truth was, Charlie had resigned from both the bar and hotel.  After JC’s last visit to Oregon, she needed a ‘come to Jesus’ and to reassess her life.  This required the need to be away from Cannon Beach for an extended period of time.

“Are you going to be okay?  Do you need the barf bag or someone to hold your hand while we land?”  Charlie’s eyes raised to the passenger seated next to her when his smooth voice sounded.  He was a handsome man.  He appeared to be a few years older than her, dressed in a business suit.  He offered her a warm smile.  His perfectly straight teeth were blindingly white.  His wavy brown hair was styled neatly and his light brown eyes smiled in the same manner as his mouth.

“Oh, yeah.  I’m good.  I’m not afraid of flying.  It’s what’s waiting for me once I land that has me nervous.  Just trying to psych myself up.  Talk myself off the ledge so to speak.”

“Is your trip business or pleasure?”  The man was leaned back casually in his seat, his hands crossed over his stomach.

“Pleasure.  Attending Christmas with my boyfriend and his family.”  This was the first time Charlie had verbalized referring to JC as her boyfriend.  She liked the sound of it but it sounded weird at the same time.  She hadn’t had a boyfriend since she was a teenager.  “What about you?”

“Oh, I’m flying back from a business trip.  I’ve been away for three weeks.  Wife’s been driving me crazy to get home in time for the holiday.  She doesn’t know I’m coming home a few days early.”

“That will be a nice surprise for her.”  Charlie glanced out the window next to her to see the LA landscaping getting closer as they were moments from touching down.  Her stomach was in her throat.

“First time meeting the boyfriend’s parents?”  Charlie turned back to her handsome travel companion.  She chuckled wryly.

“Is it that obvious?  I haven’t had the experience of meeting the parents in a long time.”  When the plane bounced on the tarmac, Charlie’s heart skipped a beat.

“You’ll be fine.  Holiday cheer and all that shit makes meeting the parents easier.”  Charlie let out a full laugh this time as they stood to exit the plane.  They were in the second row and were able to make a quick escape.  She didn’t believe his words but appreciated the stranger’s attempt to calm her fears.  “Success!  I got you to laugh.  Good luck to you.  You’ll knock ‘em dead.”  With that, the handsome stranger was gone.

Charlie blended into the mass of fellow travelers.  She powered on her cell phone to see if JC had made it to the airport to pick her up.  Since this trip would have her away from home for six days, she had to wait at baggage claim for her checked bag to arrive.  She typed a quick message to JC and milled around the bustling carousel, hoping her luggage would come out soon.

Pushing her way through a small gathering of people, Charlie managed to wrangle her large suitcase off the moving carousel when she spotted the colorful ribbon she had tied around the handle.  She secured her overstuffed carry on atop the suitcase and lumbered out to the curb.  To her dismay, JC had not responded to her text message.

Charlie seriously doubted that he had forgotten her.  Perhaps he got tied up in work but why hadn’t he sent her a message letting her know she needed to find a ride to his place.  She maneuvered her luggage to an out of the way spot to call JC.  Just before hitting the send button to dial his number, she heard a loud whistle and her name being yelled.  Her head popped up to see an unfamiliar SUV, the passenger window rolled down, with a smiling Joey Fatone in the driver seat.

Joey idled the vehicle at the curb and jumped out.  Charlie looked around at the photographers that mixed in with the travelers.  Other than the baseball cap on his head, Joey made no attempt to conceal his identity.  He smiled broadly as he approached her, hugging her briefly.

“How’s it going beautiful?  Flight okay?”  Joey took ahold of Charlie’s bags and wheeled them to the vehicle.  It was then that the paparazzi swarmed them.  The rapid fire sound of cameras clicking and questions being hurled at them roared around them.  Charlie kept her head down, allowing her hair to shield her face, while Joey answered a few of the queries being thrown out, smiling politely, while they loaded the bags in the back of the SUV.

Most of the hollered questions centered around an NSYNC reunion and Lance’s wedding.  Joey was gracious as he answered.  A few of the intrusive shutterbugs started asking about Charlie.

“Who’s the girl, Joey?  Are you guys dating?”

“She’s just a friend guys.  I’m married.”  Camera flashes popped off all around them.

“Aren’t you and Kelly separated?”

“Hey Joey, pose with your girlfriend!”  Joey guided Charlie to the passenger door, putting himself between her and the crowd pushing in around them.  He didn’t answer anymore of their obnoxious questions.  He ran to the driver side and pulled away from the curb.

“Sorry about the assholes back there.  They can get outta hand sometimes.”  Charlie nodded, waved off the comment.

“Don’t worry about it.  Thank you for picking me up.  What happened to--”

“Well that was close huh?”  Charlie yelped at the sudden voice from the back seat.  Her hand flew to her chest as she swiveled in her seat to see the bright beaming face of Chris Kirkpatrick leaning between the front seats.

“Fucking Christ!  Are you kidding me?”  Charlie thought her heart was going to pound out of her chest.

“I don’t think you’re supposed to use the Lord’s name in vain this close to Christmas.  It’s bad luck or something.”  Chris chewed the gum in his mouth loudly as he spoke.

“I’m about damn tired of having NSYNC boys dropped in my lap unexpectedly.  If Lance pops out of a cake or something, I’m gonna strangle Josh.”  Both men laughed heartily at Charlie’s flustered state.

“Ooo, he has you calling him Josh already.  I think this one is a serious one, Joe.  C’s got her calling him Josh.”

“You’ll have to forgive Chris.  I think he may have been deprived of oxygen while he was crouched in the backseat.”  Charlie looked back and forth between the two men next to her and couldn’t help but chuckle.

“I didn’t want to cause a riot.  Joey loves the attention and I didn’t want to overshadow him.”

“Fuck off, dick.”  Joey shot Chris a glare through the rearview mirror.  Their playful banter made Charlie smile.

“So how did you two get the pleasure of picking me up from the airport?”

“Who said it was a pleasure?”  Chris cocked his eyebrow playfully at her.

“Because hun, I’m freaking awesome.  You’ll learn soon enough.”  She pinched his cheek for affect.  “Seriously though, what happened to Josh?”

“Said he had to handle a few last minute things before taking off for the holiday.  Asked if I would pick you up.  Jackal in the back here tagged along.”

“Joey and Justin filled me in on the woman that’s created some kind of great change in C.  Had to meet you myself.  We tend to be a tough group to impress.  You hold your own though.  We’ll keep you.”

Charlie plastered a smile onto her face.  She wasn’t so sure they’d be singing the same tune in a couple weeks.

***

JC pulled into his garage and killed the engine on his truck.  He was excited to be home because he knew Charlie was inside.  It had only been a little more than a week since he had seen her but he was finding that each time they parted, it became a little bit harder to let go.  He was crazy about this woman and falling hard.

Since their last meeting, they had talked every evening.  This was a pleasant departure from the almost silent treatment JC received from Charlie prior.  He wondered if it had something to do with their upcoming trip to Arizona.  He had practically begged for details but she wouldn’t budge.

Now he had her for a whole week and he couldn’t wait to introduce her to his family.  He knew they were going to love her.  His parents were excited when he told them she was making it for Christmas.  He had picked up her gift the day after he landed back in LA.  It was going to be a great holiday.

Upon enter his home, JC was met with the sound of boisterous voices and loud notes being played on his piano.  Passing through the kitchen and around the corner in the living room, the scene in front of him was Chris and Charlie battling it out on the piano while Joey lounged on the couch, his face buried in his cell phone.

In much the same manner he and Charlie had once done, Chris was trying to outplay Charlie.  The notes to Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ played fast and furious through the room.  Chris stood hunched over his half of the piano keys, sweating as he tried to outdo Charlie.  Charlie sat rather comfortably, playing through as though it was second nature.  Chris missed a note and threw his hands up in frustration.

“Fucking come on!  You had to have cheated.”  Chris huffed as he sat back on the piano bench.

“How the hell could I have cheated?  You’re right fucking next to me.  Don’t be a whiney loser.”  Charlie resumed the song where they had left off but at a normal tempo.

“Call him Chrissy the Sissy.  He loves that one.”  The three occupants of the living room all turned to look at JC when his voice interrupted the space.  He was leaning against the wall between the two rooms.  His arms crossed over his chest and his legs crossed at the ankles.

Charlie smiled stupidly at the handsome man that stood before them.  Her eyes licked over JC in much the same manner he and his friends had done to her.  His head was covered in his ever present black baseball cap.  His eyes were bright and his face clean shaven.  The well fitted black polo shirt he wore contoured to his torso, the slight barrel of his chest filling it nicely.  The arms of the shirt were tightly stretched over his shapely biceps.  His dark wash jeans hung just right on his trim waist.  She swallowed the lump in her throat, her eyes averting away from him when he winked at her.

JC had seen they way Charlie was practically undressing him with her eyes.  He was enjoying watching the blush creep up her neck and reach her cheeks.  Chris and Joey had also caught the lust filled look she was giving him.  JC moved through the room until he was next to the piano.

“Oh, you want to start with the nicknames, Joshy Poo.”  Chris rose from the piano bench and gave JC a manly hug.  When he plopped back down next to Charlie, he flung his arm over her shoulder.  “Your woman here has been kicking my ass for the last hour.  Joe’s right, she’s a female you.”  JC chuckled as he pushed Chris’s arm off Charlie, pulling her up until she was standing next to him.

“I could have told you not to mess with her piano playing.”  JC placed a quick kiss on Charlie’s lips.

“So she’s beaten you on the piano too?”  JC turned back to Chris and grinned.

“Hell no but she put up a good fight.  By the way, where are your guys wives and why aren’t you pestering them rather than my girlfriend?”  Joey stretched his body from his splayed out position on the couch.

“Kelly took the girls out for a late lunch and shopping.  Karly tagged along babbling about hair accessories or some shit like that.”  Joey’s eyes were still glued to his phone.

“C, this woman of yours, she’s freaking amazing!”  Chris had his finger nearly shoved in Charlie’s face as he pointed at her.  JC smacked his hand away, moving Charlie so she was away from Chris and pressed into his body.

“You’re preaching to the choir buddy.”

“I’m serious.  Did you know this girl could rap?  She rapped an Outkast song that would give Outkast a run for their money.”  Charlie head dropped back against JC’s shoulder.

“Oh dear God.  I must have had a moment of temporary insanity.”  Charlie quickly ducked into the kitchen to hide her embarrassment.  The three men laughed at her retreating form.  JC turned back to his two friends when she was out of sight.

“Alright you two.  Out of my house.  I want some time with my girlfriend.  Thank you for picking her up for me but you gotta go.  I’ll see you guys soon.”  JC walked Chris and Joey to the door.

“He doesn’t want us around when he bends her over and makes her scream his name.”  Chris made sure to speak loudly so even Charlie heard him.  JC rolled his eyes.  “See you later, Chuck.”  Charlie responded to Chris’s new nickname for her with a resounding ‘eat shit, prick’ response that made him chuckle.

“Fuck off, dick.”  JC held the door open for them to exit.

“You’re not the first to say that to me today.  Don’t forget to wrap it up.”  Chris bounced down the driveway towards Joey’s SUV.

“And it probably won’t be the last time someone says it to him today.  See ya, C.”  Joey slapped JC on the shoulder as he exited.  JC gave them a final wave as they pulled through the front gate.  He closed the door and headed back in the direction he had left Charlie.

Rounding the corner, JC found Charlie reaching to put a couple of clean glasses back in the cabinet they belonged in.  Her slightly loose jeans sat low on her hips.  Her vintage Metallica concert tee didn’t quite reach the waist of her jeans, giving a small peek of her midsection.  As she reached to place each glass back on the shelf, her shirt rose up, giving him a nice view of her stomach.

“Rather than stand there and stare at me you could have helped.”  Charlie closed the cabinet and turned to face JC, crossing her arms over her chest is fake annoyance.  He was standing in the doorframe between the kitchen and the hallway that lead to the front door.  His arms were braced on the doorframe above his head.

“Hey, I was just returning the favor.  You were staring pretty hard just a few minutes ago.  Made me feel like I should install a few meat hooks.”  The devilish grin that Charlie had come to adore danced on JC’s lips.

“Now you know what it’s like when you and boyband cronies visually violate me.”  His head dropped in laughter.

“Cronies!?!  You wound me woman.  Come here.”  JC pushed off the doorframe in Charlie’s direction.  She moved to get away but his longer legs moved him to catch her before she was even able to round the corner of the large island closest to her.  His warm hands cradled her head as his lips tilted to meet hers.  The kiss was passionate and needy.  Her hands laid on his chest as their mouths tried to devour each other.

When she felt her ass bump the counter behind her, Charlie realized they had been moving.  Her hands went out to grip the counter’s edge to keep her balance but she doubted she would have fell the way JC had his body pushed flush against her.  This jarred their lips apart.  She locked eyes with him and saw his intense want for her at the moment.  His hands had already crept under the material of her shirt.  He dropped a few quick kisses on her lips.

“I hope Chris and Joey didn’t give you too much of a hard time.  Sometime Chris can be a handful.”  JC continued to place random kisses over Charlie’s face as his fingers grazed the skin of her hips and abdomen.

“You don’t say?”  She gave him an incredulous look.  “It’s amazing that chronologically he’s the oldest.  I held my own though.  Only made him cry once.”

“I’m sure he probably deserved it but if gets to be too much, just let me know.  I’ll reign him in.  He’s probably the hardest one in the group to impress but he seems to like you.”  Charlie pulled back slightly in shock.

“I didn’t realize I was on display to impress your friends.  I can only imagine what it’s going to be like meeting your parents in a couple days.”  JC realized quickly he misspoke.

“No, no, no.  That came out wrong.  I just meant that we’re all fiercely protective of each other and Chris is usually the toughest nut to crack in the bunch.  Lance is a marshmallow, Joey and Justin are kind of middle of the road.  You done good baby.  The only one you need to impress is me and you did that a long time ago.”

“Nice recovery there, pop star.”  Charlie playfully pulled JC’s ear.  He kissed her nose before lifting her up to sit on the kitchen island, bringing her to eye level.  He settled between her legs, pulling the hair tie holding her hair in a messy bun out so it fell down around her face.  He loved her hair down.  He slid the hair tie around his wrist.

“Your flight was okay?  I’m sorry I couldn’t be the one to pick you up.”  Her arms rested on his shoulders, crossing behind his neck.

“No worries.  Joey was at the curb when I stepped out the doors.  Had a little run in with the paps but managed to duck out pretty quickly.  They thought I was his girlfriend.  Bunch of shit stirrers.”

“That’s their typical MO.  Looking for something that’s not there.”  They fell into another slow kiss, tongues pushing and teeth biting lips.  Charlie pulled back suddenly much to JC’s dismay.

“Hey, how did your performance go last night at the wedding?  I’m bummed I wasn’t able to be there to see it.”

“It was good.  I got Joey to record it on my cell phone.  I’ll show it to you later.  I go from selling out stadiums to d-list wedding singer.”  Charlie pinched JC in the shoulder at the derogatory comment directed at himself.

“I happen to like my d-list wedding singer boyfriend so stop talking shit about him.”  She kissed the hollow of his neck, moving back up to his mouth.  She nibbled his bottom lip before slipping her tongue back into his mouth.

“I’m honored he asked me.  It was a joke, Chuck.”  Charlie rolled her eyes when JC called her that.

“Oh please, don’t feed into that nickname.  Chris’s wife may be a little upset when he starts losing digits if he keeps calling me that.  I don’t think your piano playing will improve either if you’re down a finger or two.”

“Feel free to put Christopher in his place anytime you want, by any means necessary.”  He placed a wet kiss under her ear as his hands ran up her back, pushing her shirt up with them.  She felt his smile on her neck.  “Look at you.  No bra on.”  His hands explored her back for a moment before moving between their bodies, cupping her bare breasts.

Charlie missed JC’s hands on her body like this.  In just a week’s time, she missed seeing and touching him daily.  He pinched and pulled on her nipples, watching them form into painfully pleasured tight buds.  Her head dipped to his ear where she moaned softly, tugging the lobe between her teeth.

“No bra and no panties, baby.”  JC pulled back to meet Charlie’s eyes.  He could see how much she wanted him.

“Seriously?”

“Why don’t you find out for yourself?”  Charlie leaned back, resting on her hands as she waited for JC to make the next move.  Her shirt was still pushed up to her armpits, her breasts staring at him as intently as her eyes were.  His palms flattened on the small of her back, dropping his hands down past the waistband of her jeans, not feeling any other material.  He was only met with warm flesh.

“You are so fucking hot.”  JC’s hands kneaded Charlie’s ass as he suckled one of her nipples into his mouth.  Her loud moans caused him to groan loudly, wanting her so badly at that moment.  He pulled his hat from his head, tossing it onto a nearby counter.  Her hands immediately raked through his hair, her nails gently scratching over his scalp.  A wave of electricity shot down his spine.  His hands moved to the fly of her jeans, flicking the button from the loop and dragging the zipper down slowly.

“Knock, knock.  Anyone home?  Are you decent?”  Both JC and Charlie froze at the deep male voice echoing through the house.  JC recognized it instantly; Charlie had a good idea who it was.  She glared at JC.

“Jesus Josh.  You should have mentioned you had people coming over.”  Her voice was a hushed whisper.  She hopped off the counter, pulling her shirt down her torso.  She scrambled to rebutton her jeans before she bared all to Lance Bass.

“I didn’t invite anyone over.  I figured he’d still be recovering from last night.”  JC’s voice was equally hushed.  He readjusted his unattended to erection in an attempt to make it less obvious.  Charlie grabbed her hair tie from around his wrist, quickly pulling her locks back into a messy bun on top of her head.

“C, you guys here?  The front door wasn’t locked.”

“Yeah, Lance.  In the kitchen.”  Charlie and JC stood next to each other, probably looking like two nervous teenagers who just got caught fooling around.  Moments later, two stylishly dressed men entered the kitchen.  Lance and his fiance, Michael, beamed bright smiles at the two.

“Hey guys!  Sorry to drop in but Chris text me that I needed to meet this amazing girlfriend of yours.  We had a little bit of time before dinner with our families.”  Lance’s bright green eyes met Charlie’s blue ones.  JC grabbed her hand and led her towards his two friends.

“Lance, Michael, meet Charlie.”  She sheepishly offered her hand first to Lance, which he took only to pull her into a hug.

“I’m kind of a hugger.  It’s great to finally meet you Charlie.  I keep hearing wonderful things about you.”

“Nice to meet you guys too.”  She repeated the hug with Michael.  “Congratulations on the nuptials.  Sorry I wasn’t able to make it.  Someone didn’t give me enough notice to rearrange plans.”  She motioned a thumb at JC, returning to her place by his side.  His hand rested on her hip.

“Well, you missed a great party.  C did an awesome job with the Elvis song.  Michael and I couldn’t have been more pleased.  We’re sorry you weren’t able to come.  Speaking of coming…..”  The color drained from Charlie’s face as the two in front of her stifled their laughter.  They obviously caught the sounds of part of their kitchen counter hook up.  She turned to look at JC, who was hanging his head in embarrassment.  “Sorry we interrupted.  But Justin is right, you do have a nice ass.”  Charlie covered her face.

“For the love of God, kill me now.”  She buried her covered face in JC’s neck.  His arms went around her.  He couldn’t help but laugh.  “I can’t show my face around anyone ever again.  You and your friends gossip with each other like females.”

“Charlie, honey, we know Josh isn’t some forty year old virgin.  You have nothing to be ashamed of.  As Lance said, we’ve heard great things about you.  We all see a good change in Josh and that’s all you babe.”

Charlie peeked between her fingers at Lance and Michael, who both had warm smiles of admiration on their faces.  She looked up at JC who wore the same smile.

“My closest friends playfully torture you, which is a good sign.  It’s a stamp of approval.  You’re in for life Charlie.”  JC dropped a kiss on the tip of her nose.  

She prayed his last statement was true.