JC scrolled his phone and sighed. Sitting outside at a cafe, he was trying to take his mind off the email chain full of roadblocks and bad news he had just read.

At least he had the single. The second single. All this time later.

His first single from his second album was supposed to be the beginning. An introduction to a  sophomore effort. Instead, it had ushered in another delay. 

This song felt more personal, more heartfelt. He had exposed himself, but would it pay off?

“Need another drink, handsome?” He looked up to see the waitress smiling at him. She was cute, probably around his age, maybe a year or two older. 

“Uh...Yeah that’d be great. Thanks..” he smiled politely back at her. 

She blushed slightly and stared a little as she grabbed his empty glass “Be right back.” 

There was an extra rhythm to her step as she walked away and JC shook his head to himself, out of her view.  He was used to it, but not sure if he would ever understand it. Even grabbing a casual bite to eat, there was always at least one woman who looked at him a certain way. Eyes that burned a hole into him. A flirty tone of voice. He always tried to be nice. 

He looked down as his phone began to ring, a slightly confused look on his face. 

“Hey J…” he clicked to answer. “What’s up?”

“Hey man...Just checking in. Been awhile.”

“Uh huh. How’s the tour going?”

“Good man...Good. Got some time off before Europe…”

“Yeah? You back in town, man?”

“For a couple weeks, yeah...Wanted to see if you wanted to grab dinner or something. Catch up.”

JC sighed. “That would be great, actually.”

“You good, C…” Justin’s voice shifted to concern.

“Yeah...yeah man...So where were you thinking…”

***

Justin and JC had opted for a quiet Italian dinner catchup, sitting in a dimly lit corner at the back of a well-known Los Angeles haunt. 

“So...REALLY...No conditions or anything?” Justin sat back in his chair.

“Completely casual, man…” JC confirmed. 

“Wow...Wow…” Justin reacted. 

JC smiled “Yeah it’s been uh...It’s been fun.”

“Dark hair? Brown Eyes?” Justin teased.

JC chuckled “Am I THAT predictable?”

“Yeah,” Justin laughed back. 

JC looked down to his phone, typing something and waiting for the page to load. He pulled up a Facebook profile photo and slid his phone across the table to Justin.

“This is her?” he asked.

JC nodded.

Justin’s eyebrows shot up as a smile found his mouth “Damn, C...She’s cute.”

JC smirked “Yeah...She is.”

“Ahhhh fuck..” Justin teased.

“What?” JC asked, suspicious.

“Are you gonna actually fall for this one?”

“What? No! No, we’re just having fun - She doesn’t do the whole relationship thing…”

Justin took a sip of his beer “So you’re sleeping with the female you…?”

JC gave him a look “Ha...ha…”

“Hey man look...Happy for you..Casual, not casual..Enjoy it.” Justin raised his beer for a cheers.

“Thanks, man…” JC clinked his beer with his drink.

JC’s phone buzzed, and Justin watched him grab it quickly, smiling as he opened a text message. 

“That her…?” Justin swallowed a swig of beer quickly.

“What?” JC looked up from his phone.

“Uh - HUH…” Justin mumbled under his breath, a sly grin on his face.

JC finished his reply and hit send, a slight blush on his face. 

“Gotta go?” Justin teased.

“Huh? Nah dude...Uh. Plans for later.”

“Right,” Justin smirked “Anyway...any progress on the album?”

JC sighed “Mannn...That’s ..a mess…”

“They STILL giving you the runaround?”

“Yep.” JC pursed his lips. 

Justin shook his head as he grabbed a piece of bread “Bullshit man...bullshit…”

“Yeah, well…” JC sighed “Single is still dropping, though…”

“GOOD,” Justin replied “It needs to be heard!”

“Let’s hope other people think so, too…”

Justin looked directly at JC this time “C...Look at me..You deserve this. You do.”

JC smiled “Thanks, J...Your mouth to God’s ears…”

Justin nodded “We should order...You got places to be later…” He winked at him suggestively.

JC shook his head and laughed. “Shut up, dude…”

**

JC smiled as wrapped his arms around her. She reached behind him to close the door, stretching up to kiss him.

“Um hi..” he chuckled.

“Hi..” she grinned. 

He looked down to her. She clearly had no plans to leave her apartment. It was 11 pm, and she looked the part. White cami with a neat pair of sweatpants that hung low on her hips. She was barefoot, but he could see a fresh pedicure and pale pink toes. Her hair still held gentle curls from the day, and her makeup had either recently been done, or just held up very well from whatever she had been doing earlier. She was sexy as hell without much effort.

She wrinkled her nose up at him “You smell like food…”

The corners of his eyes crinkled into a smile “Just had dinner…”

“Oh yeah? So am I number two for the night? “ she stuck her tongue out playfully at him.

“Uh huh...Justin knows what gets me going…” he smirked.

He watched her face twitch into a controlled reaction “Oh...Justin..?”

JC nodded “Yes...Justin. Timberlake.”

Hannah smirked “Thanks for clarifying...”

Jc chuckled “So should I leave and shower first or…” he took a step back toward the door. 

Hannah moved closer to him and tugged the bottom of his shirt “Eh...This is coming off, anyway…”

“Oh yeah? You sure about that…” He teased. 

Hannah shrugged “Well you can keep it on if you want, but...might be kinda weird…”

JC chuckled as he wrapped himself around her to kiss down her neck. Her hands gripped his back as she rolled her head into his lips. She giggled as he started to kiss harder.

He started to slide the strap of her cami down as they heard the lock on the door. Hannah startled away from him as the door opened and Jade walked in.

“Oh...shit...SHIT...Sorry…” She held her hands up, keys still in hand.

Hannah stared at her as JC put his head down, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

“Early night…” Hannah stared at her pointedly.

“Uhhhh yeah...Early audition tomorrow…” Her eyes went to JC. “Hi JC…”

“Jade...” He flashed his eyes quickly up at her in acknowledgement, a bit bashful.

“UM...ANYWAY...I’m not here…” She started to walk backwards toward her room as she spoke to Hannah. “Carry on...Have a...Have a good night, guys…”

They watched her door close, JC speaking first. “You ok?”

“Yeah. Sorry. I didn’t know she’d be home so early.” She adjusted the strap of her cami.

“It’s fine,” he smiled. 

Hannah rubbed her neck where his lips had just been. The mood had clearly been broken. JC watched her amused. He hadn’t thought it was possible to embarrass this woman, but she clearly was. 

“Wine?” Hannah offered.

JC smiled softly “Sure…”

They sat quietly sipping, neither of them having said much. 

“So...Is that song still coming out soon?” Hannah broke the silence.

JC swallowed hard “Uh...what song?”

Hannah bit her lip “The single...You mentioned it...last time…”

“Oh,” JC answered, looking down at his glass “Um. Yeah. Next week…”

“...Can I hear it?” she asked cautiously.

“What, now?”

She nodded. “Yeah um...Sorry. My bad. I was...kidding”

He smiled, fishing his phone from his jeans “This is gonna be rough...phone and all…”

Hannah smiled “That’s ok…”

He sighed, pressing buttons until he found what he was looking for. “Keep an open mind, ok?”

Hannah rolled her eyes. “Like it’s gonna be bad…”

“What?”

“You have an amazing voice…”

“How do you know that?”

Hannah stared at him, laughing softly “Woman of a certain age, JC…”

He smirked, “Whatever…” He hit a button on his phone and Hannah quieted to listen to soft piano notes starting a romantic melody. He avoided eye contact as his voice started on the first verse. She said nothing as the song crescendod into the chorus. 

She was careful not to give anything away, watching him fidget ever so slightly the longer the song played.  She smiled as the the closing notes faded out. 

“That’s...absolutely gorgeous…” She looked at him with soft eyes that were greener than they had been.

JC blushed “Uh...Thanks…”

“I mean it, JC…’Heart Shaped Box’...Nirvana?” she questioned.

His eyes lit up a little and his posture changed. “Yeah…”

“Nice...I had no idea…”

JC smiled “..Cuz they aren’t pop?”

Hannah made a thoughtful face “Aren’t they, though…?”

JC grinned “Touche. That could be a whole argument/”

Hannah laughed. “Who’s it about?”

“My song?”

“No...Nirvana...YES...Your song…” Hannah answered sarcastically.

“Uhh...Someone...Something...that didn’t work out…”

Hannah nodded. “Fair enough.” She took a sip of her wine “You loved her.”

JC sighed, visibly affected. “I did...It’s a long story.”

Hannah offered a half smile “Well it made a great song…”

JC chuckled, brows raised “I guess so…” He brought his glass to his lips, considering his next question “And you?”

“What about me?” Hannah returned.

“Love. Have you ever been in love?”

Hannah looked down “Once or twice…”

“Not for you?”

She smirked “Well...I can’t write songs about it, so…”

JC nodded. He couldn’t help but smile. He understood her tone. She had been hurt. Probably pretty badly. He had been, too. There was an inherent understanding. It was new for him. She was guarded, but also a completely open book. It was magnetic.

On the other side of the couch, Hannah watched him in their pause in conversation. The lyrics in what she just heard were genuine. She had heard the honesty and emotion in his voice. She was briefly jealous of his ability to get things off his chest in musical form. Then she remembered her writing. Her own outlet, which truth be told, she was struggling to find time for lately. He was quiet and reserved, but also so full of life. The more she was around him, the more she found herself craving his energy. 

“So uh...You really like the song?”

She smiled “I really do...Can’t wait to hear it out in the world.” She took a sip of wine and then cocked her head to the side. “Hey what’s it called?”

“You Ruined Me,” he stated simply.

She drew in a sharp breath, chuckling softly. “Well damn, that’s definitely relatable…”

JC grinned “Broken hearts club?” He held up his glass in a toast.

Hannah giggled “Cheers.” She scooted closer to clink his glass and take a quick sip of hers. 

Taking a sip of his own wine and holding it in, he moved to hover above her mouth. Smiling to herself, she took his lips in hers, careful not to spill a drop of the slightly sweet liquid. He smiled against her as they set their glasses onto the coffee table and his hands went to her waist. Her hands instinctively traveled up his arms, placing one behind his head to pull him closer. 

He slid his hand up under her cami, moving to the cup of her bra to slide his fingers just inside it. Sliding his mouth to her ear he whispered “This is coming off, too…”

Hannah shifted to get comfortable as she came to. She felt the light of the morning as the last of sleep drifted away from her mind.  As she went to adjust her position, she felt warm skin on her own. Her hand felt up to JC’s arm draped casually around her waist, her lower back making contact with the top of his leg. She felt her pulse quicken. With wide eyes, she twisted herself carefully down and around to face him, realizing they were both still completely naked. 

JC slowly woke up as he felt his arm move up and down, a smile forming under ice blue eyes as his vision adjusted to see her. 

“Sorry,” she whispered. “I didn’t mean to wake you up…”

He looked down, running a hand down her hip to the top of her thigh “Mmm...Kinda glad you did…”

Hannah blushed, biting the bottom of her lip. She reached a cautious hand up his leg, resting it on the side of his hip. He stretched his leg out to twist hers into him, pressing his hips closer to her. Hannah let out a breath as she felt all of him against her. Her eyes shifted, and he could feel the twitch of her fingers as he moved.

JC softly grinned at her. “Hannah...Am I making you nervous?” It was a playful question, but a genuine one. Curiosity filled his face as he noticed her expression.

Hannah steadied herself, swallowing to calm her nerves, as she found her way to his chest, resting her head against it. She heard his inhale and felt him tense up slightly. 

Peering up at him, she answered “Am I making YOU nervous?”

JC nodded and bit the side of his lip as he considered his reply, “Very…”

Hannah’s eyes scanned his. She hadn’t been this intimate with a partner in a long time. Quietly skin to skin. Literally locked up in each other. Her heart and mind were racing, but she had no desire to run away, or to make him leave.

JC wondered if she could hear his heart beating faster, harder. He was almost dizzy with her that close. Like a panic attack he didn’t want to end. Why wasn’t he moving? 

He ran a hand in and down her hair, absentmindedly letting his fingers make twirls in her waves.

“Do you…need me to go…?” he whispered just above her head. 

Hannah shook her head against his chest, smiling into him before lifting her head to look at him again. “No...I don’t…”

He smiled, running his hand gently up and down her body once more, as he felt himself drift back to sleep.