A week later, Colleen sat in her car in West Hollywood, steeling herself for what awaited her. She was already 10 minutes late to brunch with her friends and while she was looking forward to seeing them, she wasn’t exactly excited to tell them her happy news. It was ironic, considering she always thought she’d be flaunting any inane interaction with JC like it was front page news. Now, all she wanted to do was act like it wasn’t a big deal.

After a few deep breaths, Colleen got out of her car and headed up the block to Rocco’s. Of course they chose Rocco’s. They had been there a number of times before so it wasn’t exactly unexpected but it felt like yet another ridiculous twist of fate since meeting JC. At this rate, she half expected to walk in and see Raina and Mistress Piper having Bloody Mary’s at the bar.

Colleen entered the restaurant and quickly spotted her friends out on the patio and made her way over.

“About time, bitch,” Matthew yelled excitedly at her as she approached.

“Sorry, parking around here, you know,” she casually brushed off, traveling the circumference of the table to give each of her friends a hug and a kiss before taking her own seat.

“Almost got worried you got called into work again,” Sara stated, the barest hint of annoyance in her voice. “You’ve been particularly busy lately.”

“Yeah, I have,” Colleen replied, a bit surprised by Sara’s tone, “but you know how it is with ever changing deadlines.” As a Senior Copy Editor for Penguin Random House, she knew Sara could sympathize but all she did was take a sip of her mimosa.

“What Sara is trying to say is that we’ve missed you,” Kyle responded with her ever present bright smile. A former model who always saw the positive in things, Kyle owned and operated the Pilates studio Colleen frequented, though not so much these past few months.

“What Kyle is trying to say is Bitch, where have you been?!” Matthew exclaimed. As a stylist working his way up the celebrity food chain, Colleen was almost surprised Matthew didn’t hear some rumor about her and JC already.

“I promise I have a reasonable explanation. Actually, no, it makes absolutely no sense but first, I’d love to know how you all are doing. I know I’m really out of the loop and I’m sorry.”

Sara shot Colleen a heavy side eye but caught her up on the latest drama at work and how her bid to get out of the Teen Fiction department was still dead in the water. Kyle said they got a new instructor to teach on the Reformer machines so she’s been retooling the class schedule, which always put clients in a tizzy. Matthew just got to style Matthew McConaughey for a photo shoot and was really proud he had insisted on at least one look in a suit just in case the actor did decide to run for governor of Texas.

“Alright, spill sis,” Matthew encouraged Colleen as he finished his story. “Work work, blah blah blah. Tell us about this date last week.”

“Thanks,” she directed at Sara since she obviously spilled the beans. Sara just shrugged with a smirk. Colleen took in a large breath and started. “So, I HAVE been busy at work,” she exaggerated pointedly at Sara, “but I’ve had some other stuff going on as well and I just didn’t want to tell anyone until I got it all sorted out.”

“I met this guy about 2 months ago and it’s been...it’s been good, really good. He’s a music producer and he came in my office looking to set up some contracts for some work he’s doing and one thing led to another and now we’re...dating.” Colleen and JC agreed to not tell any of their friends the true story of how they met as her friends didn’t know about her late night adventures and his would just give him shit.

“Honey, that’s great,” Kyle beamed.

“What’s so great about this guy that you’ve been blowing us off for weeks?” Sara shot back at Colleen.

“Why are you so angry at me?” Colleen asked her.

“You know, I believed you were busy at work but now you’re saying you’ve been seeing some guy this whole time? So what’s the real story, Col?

“I haven’t been blowing you off solely cuz of this guy. Look, yes, I’ll admit I haven’t been a good friend lately but even if this guy wasn’t in the picture, I only just closed this grinding deal at work like a week and a half ago. He and I have only been out on 3 actual dates because I don’t have the time.”

“Three dates in two months and you’re buying in whole hog? Must be some guy,” Matthew assessed, sitting back in his chair.

“He is,” Colleen blushed.

“So, tell us about him,” Kyle prodded excitedly.

“Well, um, like I said, he’s a music producer and he’s very sweet and super cool with my schedule cuz his is just all over the place so that’s a plus. Oh, and he’s an amazing cook!”

“Oh, so you’ve been to his place?” Matthew asked.

“Yeah, that was the date I was on last week.”

“And what time did we get home from said date?”

“3pm the next day,” Colleen admitted.

A chorus of “Ohhhh”s broke out between Matthew and Kyle and even Sara smiled at the news. She was still pissed off at how Colleen had pretty much fallen off the map the past 2 months but was happy her friend had at least gotten laid.

“So, does this guy have a name?” Sara inquired.

Colleen breathed, no turning back now. “Yeah...his name is JC.”

All three friends stared at her in shocked silence. At that exact moment, the waiter came over to their table and addressed Colleen. “Good Morning, Ma’am. Welcome to Rocco’s. Can I start you off with a drink?”

“No,” Matthew piped up, “this woman is apparently on some heavy hallucinogens and should not be consuming alcohol.”

Colleen ignored him. “A glass of the House Pinot Grigio would be great, thanks.” The waiter smiled and left as Colleen turned back to the table.

“Wow,” Kyle finally spoke, “that’s a crazy coincidence. A music producer named JC, what are the odds?”

“I’m sorry, he just happened to pick you randomly out of all the lawyers in the city?” Sara asked skeptically.

“He said his friend recommended me.” 

Silence fell over the crowd again as they all exchanged looks. “Can we just clear something up here?” Matthew questioned. “Are you trying to say that JC Chasez, a man you’ve been obsessed with since before I even met you, showed up at your office one day and now you’re fucking him?”

Colleen gave a small laugh, “Slightly more complicated than that but yes, unbelievably enough, that’s what I’m trying to say.”

Another silence filled the air until Sara abruptly got up. “You know what? This is bullshit. You don’t want to be friends with us anymore, fine. But to lie to us with such a ridiculous story is fucking demeaning.”

“Sara, what the hell?” Colleen snapped back. “When in our entire friendship have I lied to you?”

“I didn’t think you did until now but you certainly picked a whale of a tale to start off with.”

“Whale of a tale,” Matthew snickered behind his Bellini. Sara picked up a butter knife and pointed it at him aggressively. “Jesus, calm down Teresa Giudice, it was just a joke. What bug is up your ass today?”

“OK,” Kyle interrupted, raising her voice a bit to get everyone’s attention. “Obviously we have some negative emotions floating around that we should address. Why don’t we sit down, take a moment to center ourselves and order and then we can discuss rationally.”

Everyone turned their eyes to Sara. “Fine,” she said begrudgingly as she got back in her seat and abruptly pulled up her menu to shield her face from the others. Now Colleen, Matthew and Kyle were the ones to exchange looks. Colleen pulled out her cell phone and typed a quick message.

HELP

JC put down his guitar and grabbed his phone when he heard the text chime. He was on standby in case Colleen’s brunch went awry and based on the one word plea for back up, he guessed they were freaking out more than she had suspected. JC sighed, not really wanting to deal with the onslaught of questions he was sure were awaiting him but also not wanting Colleen to feel like she had to handle it on her own. He grabbed his keys for his bike and his leather jacket as he headed for the door.

I’ll be there in 20

The quadruplet placed their food order and put in for another round of drinks while they were at it, everyone feeling they were going to be needed. Once the waiter walked away, Kyle again took the reins to play peacemaker. “Ok, seems like everyone has questions and some things to say. Colleen, I’m very happy for you but I…”

“You don’t believe me,” Colleen cut her off.

“I didn’t say that,” Kyle tried to smooth over. “I think having some more information might be helpful.”

Colleen sighed. “I get it, I really do. If the situation was flipped, I wouldn’t believe it either. Christ, saying it out loud, I still don’t believe it. I’m not sure what else to tell you, honestly. We met, we exchanged information, he invited me out for sushi the next night, we stayed in touch, got drinks one late night, got closer, he invited me over for dinner and we decided to actually give it a go.”

“For God’s sake, Colleen,” Sara nearly spat. “What the fuck is this? Did some shit happen at work? Did you do ayahuasca in the desert? Cuz this, I’m sorry, there’s just no way.”

“Well I, for one, completely support this delusion,” Matthew said, raising his glass in a mock toast. “You live your best life in your head, sweetie. Just like, maybe leave JC at home every once in a while and come hang out. We can gos all about his big dick.”

Colleen put her face in her hands, praying for JC to get there soon. While she expected some skepticism, she didn’t think they’d call her an out right liar. “I don’t know what you want me to say. I’m truly sorry for not having been around but I just...I’ve been trying to wrap my brain around all of this and I…I feel like a crazy person, saying I’m dating my teenage crush.”

“And 20 something crush and 30 something…” Matthew interjected before Kyle hit his arm.

“I’ve been avoiding you all because I’ve been avoiding this exact conversation,” Colleen continued, fighting hard to keep her composure. “I’ve been trying to convince myself it was real and that’s been hard enough. I didn’t want…I didn’t want reality seeping in.” Colleen blinked a tear away and grabbed her napkin to dab her eyes. She was frustrated at them, she was frustrated at herself, she was frustrated at the whole situation. This was probably the greatest thing to happen to her, so why did it feel so shitty to tell people?

Sara reached over, her face now full of concern. “Colleen, honey, I’m sorry I was mad. I didn’t know so much was going on. Obviously work has been very stressful for you and your dealing with it in a...unique way. We just want to help.”

Colleen stared at her friend. “You think I’m having a mental breakdown, don’t you?” She looked at her other friends, who had sympathy and concern all across their faces. Colleen laughed then laughed some more. She broke into a full on fit of giggles as her friends watched. Colleen had to admit, it was probably the only option that made sense anymore.

“Honey, why don’t you take a couple days off? I know a nice place in Palm Springs we can go to relax and unwind, get your mind off work and whatever else is going on,” Kyle offered.

“And I’ll get you a new vibrator,” Matthew chimed in. “I think a different style will help you not imagine it’s JC every night. Can I interest you in the Kirkpatrick model?”

Sara tried to hide her laughter and Kyle just looked at Matthew. “Uncalled for,” she chastised him.

“What?! I thought we were workshopping ways to help?” Matthew replied.

“Let me ask you all something,” Colleen spoke up, her laughing fit having steadied out her nerves. “Let’s pretend, just for a moment, you believed me. What would you say then?”

“I’d want to know what was in the group text,” Sara instantly replied.

“I’d demand a picture with a MoonMan,” Matthew stated confidently.

“I’d just want to know what he smelled like,” Kyle said wistfully.

“WOW!” Colleen looked at them all wide eyed. “Frighteningly good to know I got one part of this conversation right in my brain.”

“Ok, you wanna keep going with this? Easy solution,” Sara reasoned. “Show us a picture of the two of you together.”

Colleen reached for her phone and as she opened her photo album, knew for certain she didn’t have any pictures of them together. She respected how private JC was so she hadn’t asked because she didn’t want him thinking she was going to post them all over Instagram.

She silently cursed at herself and looked up to confess to Sara she had no proof when she saw JC’s yellow helmet go by and breathed a sigh of relief. “I don’t have any pictures but I have something better if you give me a minute.”

“Tell me she’s going to pull out a used condom,” Matthew proclaimed.

“How...what?!” Kyle attempted to ask him. “The only thing that proves is you’re gross for even thinking that.”

“Colleen, look,” Sara turned to her. “You’ve been trying to find your in with JC for years now. I’d believe you finally met him, hell, I’d believe you fucked him, but some story about him waltzing in your office and sweeping you off your feet? This isn’t some fucking fan fic.”

“He doesn’t know I’ve been pining after him for decades and I’d appreciate it if you guys wouldn’t tell him,” Colleen pleaded.

“Jesus, Colleen, come on! When would I ever get the chance to tell him?!”

“Right now,” Colleen smiled proudly as JC made his way to their table. He rounded the corner and came up on Colleen’s right, bending down to give her a quick kiss.

“Hey Babe,” he greeted her then stood up to address her friends. “Hi, I’m...ah, ok, yeah,” he stopped upon seeing the three wided eyed individuals staring at him with their mouths agape. “I take it did not go well?”

“Not even a little,” Colleen said as JC pulled up an empty chair to sit beside her.

The silence grew until Matthew moved to stand up. “If you’ll excuse me just a moment,” he said graciously as he left the table and made his way to the exit of the restaurant. A second later, an ear piercing scream could be heard as Matthew ran down the sidewalk by the patio screaming, “Jesus is real! Jesus is real!” He was nearly out of sight when he dropped to his knees and shouted skyward, “Dear Lord, I have seen what you have done for others and ask you to guide Luke Evans to my studio whereupon I will measure his inseam as many times as he’d like.”

“Matthew’s shy,” Colleen informed JC.

“I can see that,” JC laughed. 

“I am so sorry,” Kyle finally spoke. “We are being incredibly rude. I’m Kyle,” she said, extending her hand to JC who smiled and shook it.

“I literally don’t believe it,” Sara said as she still stared at JC. “How...just...how?!”

“There’s not much to the story,” JC informed her. “I’m working on a musical and I needed to hire some singers for the demo. A friend recommended Colleen to help with the contracts and, you know, it was a one and done meeting so I didn’t see the harm in asking her out. This has worked out better than some of those singers did.”

Colleen was mentally thanking JC that they had gone over the story on her drive to the restaurant that morning. She smiled at him and squeezed his hand, knowing this had to be terribly awkward for him.

Sara leapt out of her seat and threw her arms around Colleen. “I’m so sorry I’ve been such a bitch and that I didn’t believe you. They gave Kiersten the promotion I was gunning for. Pretty blonde barely out of diapers Kiersten. I needed you and you kept saying you were busy and I got angry but honey, oh my God, I’m so happy for you.” Sara’s eyes were dripping tears as she smiled at her friend.

“Hey, it’s ok, we’re ok,” Colleen reassured her, brushing away her tear tracks. “I’m so sorry about the promotion and I’m sorry I wasn’t there when you needed me. I didn’t know but I should have asked and checked in better.”

“No, I get it. I totally get it,” Sara said, eyeballing JC once more.

“We normally aren’t this dramatic,” Kyle tried to reassure JC.

“You promise?” JC asked with a smile and a wink. Kyle giggled loudly and started playing with a long chunk of her hair as she smiled back at JC. At the same time, Matthew quietly made his way back to the table.

“Ok, has everybody got it out of their systems so we can have a nice and mildly saner meal?” Colleen asked the group. Sara and Kyle nodded but still kept their eyes on JC.

“I don’t know what these two have been doing in my absence,” Matthew stated, “but I have been a perfect gentleman the entire time I have been at this table.”

“Yep, there’s the catch,” Colleen smirked.

Matthew ignored her and turned to JC. “Oh my God, I love this nail color on you! The dark green totally works with your skin tone. Do you remember the name?”

“Hey, thanks man,” JC said, starting to relax a little. “No, it’s Essie though. I’ll look up the name when I get home and have Colleen text it to you.”

The food finally arrived and JC put in his own sandwich order so it would hopefully arrive quicker. The conversation started to mellow out but the inevitable reunion questions arose even though Colleen tried to steer them away from it best she could. JC appreciated all her efforts; he wasn’t used to this much attention anymore but he was doing his best to placate all their inquiries. It seemed the more he got the “celebrity” ones out of the way, the more they got to the actual relationship questions, which he was oddly more comfortable with.

As they were finishing up their meal, a familiar voice shouted out, “Yo, JC!” The group turned to see Lance Bass coming towards their table. JC wiped his mouth and stood to give his band mate a hug. “I didn’t know you were coming by.”

“Last minute decision,” JC informed him. “You hanging around for a bit?”

“Sadly no, just picking up take out. I got a production meeting at 2.” Lance took a look across the table. “Who are your friends?”

JC introduced Matthew, Kyle and Sara to Lance. “And this is Colleen, the woman I told you about.” Colleen stood and shook Lance’s hand.

“Oh, so it’s the whole meet the friends thing? Must be getting serious,” Lance teased. “It’s fine, it’s fine, I’m totally not offended you invited them to my restaurant and didn’t even inform me.”

“Hey man, they picked their favorite brunch place, I was just the tagalong.”

“You know, I thought y’all looked familiar,” Lance smiled. Colleen couldn’t tell if Lance really did recognize them from their previous visits or was just making them feel more welcome. Either way, it was an impressive skill. 

“Well, I hate to cut this short but I have to run,” Lance continued. “Colleen, it was lovely to finally meet you. I’ve heard only nice things, especially the one about the shower.” Lance raised his eyebrows a few times at them.

Colleen’s mouth dropped open as she turned to JC. “I didn’t tell him that!” JC protested, turning to Lance and slapping his upper arm. “I didn’t tell you that!”

“No, but it turned out to be a good guess,” Lance laughed and winked as he walked away.

JC and Colleen turned back to the table to see her friends pretend they hadn’t heard the last bit of the conversation. They sat back down as Matthew started casually humming the chorus of 100 Ways as he buttered a muffin. Colleen threw her napkin at him.

Lance stood at the bar as one of the servers got his food and whipped out his phone.

I met JC’s latest girl.

Chris: And?

L: She’s cute.

C: Of course she’s cute, JC’s fucking her. Give me something I can use.

L: They had sex in the shower.

C: That’s like saying I yawned today.

L: I don’t know. They’re at Rocco’s with some of her friends. I’m picking up food so I spotted them.

Joey: How’d you get him to admit about the shower sex?

L: I made a joke about it and the girl’s face went white. He’s so gonna kick my ass later but it was worth it.

C: When did you become the asshole? That sounds like one of my moves.

Lance glanced over at their table and could see everyone’s eyes trained on JC. JC’s back was to him but he could see JC’s arm around Colleen’s chair, flexing his fingers in and out, a tell tale sign he was getting anxious. “Shit,” Lance cursed to himself. The couple was probably getting grilled and he hadn’t meant to put either of them on the spot that bad.

The server returned with Lance’s food. “Do me a favor and get me the check for that 5 top,” he asked and the server went to retrieve their ticket.

J: So he’s meeting her friends? That’s a big move for him.

L: Yeah, they’re having an all out kiki as we speak.

J: I thought you couldn’t do that in public.

L; That’s kai kai. We’ve been over this, Joey.

J: That’s right, you kiki about the kai kai. 

C: I think you’re both cuckoo!

Justin: Who needs The 3 Stooges when I have you idiots.

J: Why I oughta?!

JT: So you met the latest selection, Lance?

L: Yeah, seems nice for the 3 seconds I spoke to her.

JT: They’re always nice to start.

C: Bets?

J: Christmas.

L: Joey, it’s September now.

J: I said what I said.

C: That sweet spot after New Years but before Valentine’s Day.

L: I’m literally watching him squirm in his seat like her friends are a firing squad. Either by the end of the day or in a year, no in between.

C: J?

JT: Spring. Every year he’s always about some “rebirth” hippy shit. That’s when the last one was cut loose so seems to be a pattern.

The check for JC’s table came and Lance signed off on it and his food order and left with a quick wave to the group.

L: Headed out but I’ll get more intel as soon as I can.

JC waved as Lance left and turned back to the table. “Ok, I have to ask. Why did no one freak out when Lance came over? It’s literally the same thing.”

“Because Lance isn’t fucking our friend,” Matthew informed him.

“Plus we’ve seen Lance a few times before, it’s our first time meeting you,” Kyle added.

“And for years Colleen has been going on and on about...OWWWW!!!!” Sara yelped as Colleen dug her nails into her friend’s leg. “That she wanted to meet a nice down to earth guy so it’s exciting it seems she has.” Sara smiled forcibly at Colleen as she retracted her nails.

The waiter came by to see if anyone needed anything further and once everyone confirmed no, he pulled out the check. “I was told specifically to give this to you,” he said, handing the bill to JC. JC laughed and shook his head as he reached for his wallet but the waiter stopped him. “You won’t be needing that.”

Confused, JC looked at the receipt. Scrawled across the print out, blue ink spelled out “Stop being so predictable with the shower sex! Brunch is on me as an apology. Let’s do dinner at my place soon so we can properly meet your new lady friend. Lance.”

“Well Ladies and Gentleman, looks like the meal is on Mr. Bass today,” JC shared with everyone.

“Oh JC, he didn’t have to do that,” Colleen said.

“Yes he did,” JC said, showing Colleen the note.

“Predictable? So that’s just your standard move then?” she teased.

“The location may be a favorite but what happened was far from standard,” JC winked as he gave Colleen a quick kiss. A cheer startled them both as they turned to see Colleen’s friends applauding.

“Next time, do it with tongue,” Matthew encouraged.

Finally finished their meal, the group got up and headed to the exit. Outside, they made their goodbyes as Kyle gave Colleen a tight hug and proceeded to do the same with JC. As she hugged JC, she looked over his shoulder at Colleen and mouthed “He smells so good!”

“Now, I’m not pressuring for a reunion, I’m just saying if it occurs, please keep me in mind,” Matthew told JC.

“I think that might depend on how often you need to be measuring inseams,” JC joked.

“JC, I am a consummate professional. That said, I got a thing for bears so Joey better watch his ass...literally,” Matthew confirmed. JC burst out in laughter as Matthew said goodbye to Colleen. “Bitch, no excuses anymore. Thirsty Thursday this week. Schedule your Uber ahead of time cuz Pornstar Martinis are on the menu.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Colleen agreed as they hugged. She then turned to Sara. “And I promise that my next date night is with you and some guys named Ben & Jerry. I definitely want to catch up on everything.”

“Absolutely,” Sara smiled. “Again, I’m sorry I was such a bitch earlier. The past few weeks have been tough.”

“And I’m sorry I wasn’t around for them but I’m really looking forward to making up for lost time,” Colleen smiled back as the friends embraced. Sara gave JC a quick hug goodbye then JC proceeded to walk Colleen down the block to her car.

“So that...went,” JC chuckled.

“God, I’m so sorry,” Colleen cried out. “I thought they’d definitely give me some shit but I wasn’t ready for them to just out and out not believe me. Then, of course, you show up and all hell breaks loose and I didn’t want you to have to deal with that. You...you are amazing to have sat through that.” Colleen grabbed JC’s hand and kissed him in gratitude.

“Hey, it’s no problem. I get it, friends are your friends but they can be dicks sometimes. I’m sorry they didn’t believe you but I don’t understand why they wouldn’t? I mean, it’s not that crazy.”

Colleen bit her lip, trying to figure out how to navigate this. “Well, honestly, it kind of is. You have to remember we are all roughly the same age so one of your friends dating a guy who’s picture used to hang on your wall is pretty mind blowing.”

“Yeah, but that’s not who I am now.”

“I know and I’m sure they know that on some level, I think it was just the surprise of it all. Trust me, if Kyle had walked in with Leonardo DiCaprio unannounced, I probably would have reacted the same…except for running down the street part. I would have at least waited until after.”

“Oh, so Leo’s the mystery teen crush?”

“Leo didn’t put out an album so no, but I do like Leos,” Colleen winked. “Look, JC, I can’t thank you enough for coming to my rescue, I’m just sorry it came down to that. I didn’t know I was going to need some proof of life situation or I would have taken a picture of us beforehand or something to avoid you having to show up.”

“Wait,” JC stopped, “we don’t have a picture together?”

“No, I haven’t thought to take one.”

“Well that needs to change immediately,” JC said, pulling out his phone. He pulled Colleen close as they smiled for a selfie. “There, our first awkward brunch officially commerated,” JC joked as he texted the picture to Colleen.

Colleen beamed down at the photo now on her phone. “Don’t worry, I won’t put it on Instagram or anything.”

JC chuckled, “You can, just be prepared for it to be found and your entire feed to be scrutinized.”

“As I said, I won’t put it on Instagram,” Colleen confirmed as they reached her car. “So, any plans for the rest of the day?”

“Hmmm, I was hoping my beautiful girlfriend could come over to spend the evening.”

“I think that can be arranged,” Colleen smiled, going in for a kiss but tugging on JC’s lower lip just to tease him. “I definitely need to thoroughly thank you for today.”

JC fought the urge to push Colleen against her car and deepen their kiss. “I’ll meet you in the shower?” JC smirked.

“How about we try the bed this time? It sounds like that’s the only place you don’t have sex in your house.”

JC laughed, “I’m gonna kill Lance. Alright, the bed it is.” JC gave Colleen a quick kiss before heading to his bike. Colleen watched him walk away and broke out in a giant smile as she hurried into her car to head to his place.