“Welcome to my loft,” Samantha said with a soft smile as she keyed her code in the foyer. She led JC into the neutral-colored living room, carefully moving around the furniture as to not to damage her wings.
“Oh wow,” he murmured, following her inside. Typically, he didn’t follow women back to their apartments under the guise of 2AM breakfast. Usually, the transition to an apartment or hotel room was accompanied by the tugging of clothes, heated kisses... frantic sexual desire. But tonight, that hadn’t happened. He hadn’t felt the overwhelming desire to devour her. He certainly was intrigued and... compelled, but for some reason, everything just felt very comfortable. He didn’t know how to put his finger on it, but for the first time in his life, he wasn’t sure he NEEDED to.
“First things first,” she spun around to face him, backing through the narrow hall into the first open archway, “ the kitchen. I was thinking of waffles. And mimosas. It’s 2AM after all.” Her giggle was light and melodic. It brought a smile to his face.
“Waffles. Yes.” JC laughed softly and rested his hand on the granite countertop to balance himself. Her kitchen was cozy and open, as he glanced around quickly he saw little bits and pieces into her life. A framed picture of what looked like some friends on the counter, candles, and other little feminine touches. He wasn’t sure why he was so fascinated by taking all of this in, but he found himself enjoying trying to piece every little bit together that he could.
“I need to go and change. I’m not really in the mood to be cooking in this outfit,” she smirked.
“I wouldn’t complain,” he laughed, “But I also wouldn’t make you, as sexy as it would be.”
“Can you help me take my wings off?” she asked, looking up at him with a smile. “I had a whole glam squad that helped me get dressed.”
“Of course,” he nodded, motioning with his finger for her to turn around. She followed his command and he stepped up to her back, pulling at the hook and eye closures and elastic that kept the shimmery wings attached to her costume. She shimmied her shoulders and moved along with his tugs and movements and before he knew it, he was holding a handful of feathers and glitter and it made him laugh.
“Thanks JC,” she smiled, wiggling her shoulders when they were free of the weight of the wings. Two bright red elastic marks lined her back, sticking out against her tanned and lightly freckled skin.
“You’re all red,” he murmured, letting his free hand rub against the red skin. Her skin was soft and warm. There were remnants of glitter and feather pieces stuck. There was something intimate about this gesture, and it made him look down at his feet momentarily.
“It’ll go away,” she said softly, peeking back at him over her shoulder to see his gaze down on the ground momentarily. She smiled gently. “I’m going to go get changed,” she began, “The waffle mix is in the pantry next to the fridge. There’s also some strawberries to be cut up if you’d like to.” With that, she took the wings from his arms and turned to walk into her bedroom.
“The fuck have you gotten into Chasez?” he let out a huffy sigh, surprised and even a little frustrated with himself, and before he knew it, he was shuffling through her kitchen and making noise as he grabbed bowls and the waffle mix. He began measuring and pouring, only looking up as the sound of the radio filled the room.
Shortly following the startling sound of the radio, Samantha walked in, wearing a pair of plaid pajama pants and a faded grey Washington Redskins t-shirt, scrubbed of all of her makeup, topped off with a big messy bun on top of her head. He did a double take. There was something strangely sexy and familiar about this look… he shook his head ever so slightly. What was getting into him? He knew he was probably staring longer than he should be, but somehow he didn’t mind and he hoped she didn’t either.
His eyes were steady on her, causing her to blink. She looked down at her shirt to see if it was on backwards or she had missed a giant hole. She was fully dressed right now, but felt more exposed than she had in her angel costume. She tried to shake the uneasy feeling she felt and pulled the strawberries out of the fridge.
A few silent moments passed before JC looked over at her with a little grin as he mixed the waffle batter. “I added some melted butter,” he said, “I actually read the directions.”
Sam laughed lightly, leaning over to turn up the music on her kitchen Bose system. Her uneasy feeling was slowly lifting as the tense atmosphere that hung above them grew more comfortable.
“This is Late Night Love,” the smooth female voice announced, “Bringing you into dawn with some slow jams for you and your lover. Up next is Bobby Valentino’s Slow Down. Whoever you’re with tonight, I hope you’re taking it nice and slow.”
JC let out a soft chuckle. The music speaks again. “Why don’t I cut the strawberries, You take over waffle duty.”
“Don’t cut your finger,” she replied in a cute but chiding tone, leaving the knife and strawberries on the counter and plugging in her waffle maker.
“Don’t burn your finger now,” he smirked,taking her place in front of the cutting board and strawberries. He began humming along with the radio before he burst into song. “Slow down, I just wanna get to know ya....”
Her head snapped up and she couldn’t help but grin. That voice. She GOT what made so many people drawn to it. She let herself be completely present in the moment and enjoy the beautiful sound as she rolled her hips in time with the music.
He looked over at her and grinned. “Don’t turn around... Cause that pretty round thing looks good to me!” He waved his knife around in the air before bringing it up toward his lips, mimicking a microphone, “Now tuuuurn around and bless me with your beauty.”
The waffle mix was poured onto the hot iron and it sizzled as she began to laugh. How ridiculous this all was to her; she was back in her loft with a stranger. Not just any stranger, a boyband stranger. The lead singer of a multi million record selling boy band stranger.
“So um,” he grinned, as he watched her watching the waffle maker. “Didn’t know you liked football.”
“Huh?” she glanced down at her shirt and laughed. “Oh. Right. Yes. The Skins are my team. Dad and Mom grew up in Virginia. Just outside of DC. Kind of just grew up as a fan.”
“Oh yeah?” he licked his lips, popping a strawberry in his mouth. “How do you keep getting better? Keep talking.”
The first waffle beeped, and she opened the waffle iron to plate it before pouring the next cup of batter inside. “I mean, I try to get to a game when I can. I’ll take the train to DC or catch them when they’re in Jersey.”
“Same!” he grinned, reaching for the shaker of powdered sugar. “Except I catch them in San Diego or LA when I can.”
The second waffle finished, andmoments later their two plates were sitting side by side. “You up for just sitting in the kitchen?” Samantha asked, “We can go to the table if you’d rather.”
He nodded, hopping up onto the counter with a smile. “Pour those mimosas, little lady. Let’s do this.”
After the mimosas were poured, both JC and Samantha sat next to each other on the counter, balancing a plate with one strawberry topped waffle on their laps. They each ate quietly, occasionally stealing a glance at the other with a soft smile between bites and sips. The clock hanging on the wall read 2:45AM, but time seemed to be lazily crawling on in the comfortable sort of way it does when things feel just right.
“How long are you in New York?” she asked, taking a sip of her mimosa.
“Two more days,” he replied, taking a big bite of strawberry and waffle. He leaned over to sprinkle a little extra powdered sugar on the remaining pieces of waffle. A faint trail of powdered sugar fell along his short red shorts.
“What’s next on your schedule?” she tilted her head to watch him eat his breakfast. She wouldn’t have pegged a man in tight red Baywatch shorts would be ending his night sitting on her counter eating waffles, but here they were.
“Back to Orlando for a few meetings on the new album we’re planning,” he answered, “I’ve been writing some tunes. A&R at the label wants to do over some specs. Planning and stuff. We’ll be back in New York in a few weeks. There’s always things to do in New York, especially around the holidays.“
“Ah,” she smiled, nibbling on a strawberry. “Do you get the holidays off?”
He nodded, looking over at her. “Yes. That’s one non-negotiable we’ve made for the band since the beginning. Thanksgiving we break and Christmas we break. This year I’m heading to Chicago to see my folks.”
“Nice! Sounds like you’ve got it all planned out.” She was impressed at his intelligence and calm demeanor. She wasn’t sure what she expected out of a boy band member but this wasn’t it.
“I’ve always kind of considered myself the kind of guy who has it figured out, yes.” He grinned. “Thank you for the amazing breakfast, Samantha.”
“It was my pleasure Josh. You did a lot of the dirty work. Thank you for being so hands on.”
He hopped off of the counter and took their empty plates and walked it to the sink.
“I’ll throw them in the dishwasher in the morning,” she said, putting her hand up. “I’ve got this.”
“You sure?” he asked, walking back over to his mimosa and taking a sip.
“Totally sure, you’ve done enough already. You’re a guest, remember?” she grinned.
“If you insist.” He licked his lips and offered her a grin in return. For some reason, each little glance that he stole, he kept wanting two more. He just couldn’t figure it out. “Hey, Samantha?”
“Hey Josh?” she replied, her eyebrow lifting at the soft tone his voice had taken on.
“Thanks.” He wasn’t sure where this was coming from, and he didn’t know how to stop it.
“Thanks for what?”
“Thanks for this. I haven’t had a night where I’ve felt so damn normal in ages. There’s nothing pretentious about this. You’re not pretending to be anyone but yourself… I like that.” his voice continued to stay soft and had taken on an almost vulnerable quality that she suddenly found herself so attracted to. Nothing like the confident man in the tight red shorts she had met at the party only a few short hours ago.
“You’re welcome, Josh. I’m glad you suggested breakfast.” She couldn’t hide the smile in her voice.
He looked down at the white tiled floor of her kitchen. “I should probably, uh, get going... back to my hotel. We have a pretty early call time for an interview with SiriusXM tomorrow.”
“Oh. Yeah, of course.” She wasn’t sure why she suddenly felt… was it a feeling of disappointment? She slid off of the counter. “Let me walk you to the door.”
They made the silent walk to her front door, neither willing to make the first move to say goodbye, or willing to make eye contact for a few long moments.
“I guess I should…” he began.
“Thanks for stopping by….” her voice started then trailed off when he began to talk at the same time.
They both started laughing and looked up at each other. When she smiled, his heart skipped a beat and he felt the kind of smile take over that made his whole face smile… right down to his eyes that closed slightly with contentment.
“Have a great night, Samantha Bentley.” his voice was warm and low. It made a little tingle start from the base of her neck and travel down her spine. How did he do that with his voice?
“You too, Josh or JC or whatever. Will you let me know when you get back to your hotel safely?”
He smirked. “Isn’t that the man’s job to check up on the lady?” He licked his lips and looked down at her sparkling eyes.
“You’re the one traveling at your request, remember?” She let her hand travel to his chest and let it rest gently against the vinyl BAYWATCH across the muscle tee.
He took a deep breath and swallowed the lump that formed in his throat. He was stalling and he didn’t care. His hand crept up slowly and loosely cupped just to the side of her chin.He leaned in slowly, letting his lips head toward their intended target but at the very last moment, settled for letting them brush against her cheek softly, leaving a gentle kiss and a whisper. “I’ll let you know.”
Her eyes closed, feeling her knees buckle ever so slightly. Control it, she thought to herself, standing firmly on the ground so he didn’t know just what a kiss on the cheek would do to her. Her chin lifted up slightly with his guidance and she in turn leaned in and let her lips brush against his cheek. “Goodnight Josh.”
Slowly, he pulled away with a smile on his face. “Goodnight Samantha.” He let his hand drop and a soft sigh escaped from his lips. “Thanks again.” His hand went to the metal door knob and he slipped it open. “I appreciate everything.”
She nodded, not letting her gaze break from his as he began to back out of the door. “Goodnight Josh,” she repeated with a soft smile, her eyes still locked on him.
“Goodnight Samantha,” he said yet again, walking backwards in the foyer towards the elevator. With every step backward he took, his body wanted to take 3 forward back into her apartment. Damnit JC, he thought to himself. Why aren’t you staying?
She continued to watch him, leaning in the doorway with that soft smile he had grown to appreciate. When JC collected his brain from the floor, he pushed the down button of the elevator, and he was gone. Samantha sighed and closed and locked the door to her loft. She immediately turned the lights off and shuffled into her bedroom, where she pulled the sheets down and crawled into her bed. Her mind was racing and she knew there was no way she’d be falling asleep easily. She plugged in her phone next to her nightstand, and she grabbed her laptop, aimlessly scrolling through her usual nightly stops.
Meanwhile, JC sat in a taxi staring at the lights of New York City as the cab driver brought him uptown to the Waldorf Astoria. He pulled his phone out with a little smile and went to open up his text messages. He scrolled to the “To:” portion of the text and began to type S-A-M. He looked down and let out a long groan. In all the conversation that happened, he had never thought to get her phone number. Stupid, he grunted.
As the cab dropped him off at his hotel, he hurriedly made his way up to his room and ran to get his laptop. “Hmmm,” he said in a mumble, sitting on the bed in his lifeguard costume. “Joey said Myspace,” he continued, opening up his Internet to find MySpace. “Samantha… Bentley…” he said as he began to type. Her profile popped up and he grinned. Yep, this was the right one, 350,000 followers. He scrolled through her featured photos and grinned. Why hadn’t anyone told him plus sized models existed… let alone THIS one who was so fine? He laughed to himself and shook his head. “Chasez,” he mumbled, “You’re ridiculous.”
He clicked over to the “message” button as he began to type.
You asked me to check in, so consider yourself checked in. Back to the hotel. And feeling like a moron because I never got your number. (Sorry!) Thanks again. ~Josh
Before he could reread it and second guess himself, he clicked send. He smiled when a few minutes later a message popped up, with a page follow request. He let out a sigh of relief. She had made the first move to follow.
Forgiven. Have a great rest of your night/morning. :) xo Samantha
PS- 212-555-8687
He laughed softly and pulled out his phone from his pocket. He quickly put her number in and shot off a text message.
JC: Next time the Skins play the Giants, the game’s on me. Goodnight, Samantha.
One simple ding followed a minute later.
Samantha: You’re on. Goodnight Josh.
He placed his phone down on the nightstand and fell backwards against the pillows.
“You’re in for it Chasez,” he mumbled, staring up at the ceiling, fighting the smile that was threatening to take over his entire face.
