“You know what, fuck Jen Shah!” Matthew yelled as he stood up from his seat and proceeded to make his way to Colleen’s kitchen to pour himself another drink. “All she does is talk shit on poor Mary Cosby and bilk old people out of money. She’s like another…what’s your boyfriend’s old manager’s name?”

“Lou Pearlman,” Colleen informed him from her seat on the couch, Sara laying next to her as their Housewives binge continued.

“Yeah, she’s like that guy but with nicer clothes but probably just as bad body odor.” The ladies laughed as Matthew sat back down. “Speaking of, you have not shared enough *NSYNC tea. Tell me what plump and juicy secrets you’ve been able to find out.”

“I already told you how big JC is,” Colleen reminded him.

“I know, but tell me again…slowly,” Matthew encouraged her. Colleen moved the pillow out from behind her and threw it at him. “Girl, it’s been how many months now? You gotta have something.”

“I really don’t,” Colleen realized. “I mean, he and Lance were sharing some old stories when we had dinner over there but nothing scandalous or noteworthy to share. Just friends catching up, like we do.”

“So, his pop star status is finally fading, huh?” Sara asked.

Colleen mulled over her friend’s question. “Yes and no. I don’t really know how to describe it. When I see him, he’s just my boyfriend but then like, Chris will call and I’m like “Oh shit, Chris Kirkpatrick and JC Chasez are talking. Please God be about a reunion!” but it’s normally just checking in or something mundane.”

“That’s gotta be weird,” Sara mused.

“I think it would be weirder if he actually owned his celebrity a bit more. He truly has cut himself off from so much of it that he’s just a guy working in the industry who has some good connections.”

“Which you like as a girlfriend and hate as a fan,” Matthew chimed in.

“YES!!!!” Colleen shouted. “He seems happy enough doing what he’s doing but it’s all the little stuff I notice. He’ll sing around the house but stop as soon as I enter the room. I can tell when he’s talking or texting with one of the guys because his eyes just light up. I have no idea how to even approach the subject with him.”

“You don’t have to,” Matthew told her. “You see him naked. Just reach around and pull whatever is up his ass out and problem solved.” Matthew dodged another pillow that came flying at his head.

“I always thought of JC as this mystery I wanted to solve but it only ever went as far as sex,” Colleen continued. “Now it’s like I solved the first puzzle and a whole tomb of other ones have sprung up and I just want to know more.”

“Now there’s the dish!” Matthew said, climbing off his chair and sitting on the floor in front of the couch both women occupied. “Tell me what kind of sex freak Silver Daddy Chasez really is?”

Colleen laughed. “See, this is where it gets weird! I want to give you all every little detail because, like, I fucked JC Chasez but since we are actually in a relationship, it feels like I shouldn’t. When I imagined a one night stand, it was almost easier. Now I have all these feelings.”

“What kind of feelings?” Sara asked, sitting up.

“No feelings yet, just talk about the sex,” Matthew demanded again, sipping his drink.

Sara decided to put it bluntly. “You’re overthinking all of this, by no surprise. Just talk to us like he’s any normal guy you started dating. I’m not trying to get you to spill every little secret about the guy but, yeah, I want to know how the sex is and how you feel about him.”

“Not me. I want to know what freaky sex shit he’s into,” Matthew stated, “and don’t you dare tell me nothing because you made me listen to Schizophrenic too many times to believe that man likes anything vanilla besides his ice cream.”

“We haven’t gotten to the Digital Getdown of the sex yet,” Colleen completely lied. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, it’s GOOD sex but nothing out of the ordinary.”

“It’s still sex, with a new guy. Teen dream or not, if the sex wasn’t great, I know you well enough you’d be gone so I need details,” Matthew proceeded, refusing to relent.

Colleen knew Matthew was mostly right. Any other guy, she would have given the play by play by now. She couldn’t decide if the hang up was because he was JC or because of all the kinky things they knew about each other that she definitely didn’t want her friends to know about. Both those things made this relationship different, and frankly better, than all the previous ones she’d had.

Their kinks had only bled into the bedroom slightly. She liked to climb on top of JC and tease him. He in turn would tell her what he wanted her to do. It was a tame version, for now. Colleen still needed to meet with Raina at some point and learn the full extent of she and JC’s play time together. They still hadn’t talked about his feelings about Mistress Piper but he hadn’t dumped her immediately after so she figured they’d discuss when he was ready.

“Ok, you’re right,” Colleen finally acquiesced. She decided the story of her first night and subsequent day at JC’s house was detailed enough for her friends to stop asking questions but vague on what actually turned the both of them on.

“I love that you almost passed out both times,” Matthew cackled as Colleen finished her retelling. 

“It was a lot to handle,” Colleen protested, “both physically and mentally. I’d been anticipating it for years. I personally feel like I should get an award for not having an orgasm from the first moment he touched me.”

“You literally told that man you wanted his throbbing cock in your mouth?” Sara asked in disbelief.

“I did,” Colleen admitted, turning bright red and covering her face. “I thought it might be the last time I’d get to be with him. I always feel like each time is the last time.”

“That’s not a great outlook to have,” Sara told her.

“He’s still JC. We all know no girl sticks around that long. I want to, believe me, I want to but I’m just trying to be realistic that this relationship has some kind of shelf life I’m not aware of yet. Right now, I’m just trying to make as many memories as I can so I have some good ones to look back on when that’s all I have left.”

“You really haven’t thought long term about this yet?” Sara asked.

“I have, I’m not gonna lie, and it…it’s exciting but I’m also really trying not to get ahead of myself. We haven’t even had a fight yet and I’m desperately trying to hold it off as much as possible.”

“Is there something to fight about and you’re not addressing it or is it really going that well?” Sara continued.

“A little of Column A but mostly Column B. It’s quite possible I’m projecting but he just really gets me in a way no guy ever has before, mostly because he’s actually bothered to try. That said, yeah, any other guy I would have pressed about some things by now that I’m letting him get away with.”

“Like what?” Matthew asked eagerly, scooting closer.

“Like whatever the deal is with the ex before me. I know it did a number on him and both Lance and Michael noted he pretty much stopped talking to everyone when he was with her. I want to know not only what he’s dealing with but potentially what I’m dealing with but, yeah, I don’t want to start something.”

“Colleen, I’m gonna say this once and one time only,” Sara stated, grabbing her friend’s hand. “Do not compromise who you are for anyone, including JC Chasez. It’s fine if you want to approach things differently than you have with other guys in the past but this seems like a big red flag you are blatantly ignoring. If you actually want this relationship to work, you gotta address it on some level. You can’t tell me this isn’t bothering the hell out of you?”

“It is,” Colleen admitted, “but there’s stuff I’m keeping from him too so it feels hypocritical to call him out right now.”

“Do you really think it’s gonna be a problem to tell him you are a fan?” Matthew asked, rolling his eyes. “A friend of yours ran down the street praising Jesus upon meeting him, for Christ sake!”

“You saw that too, huh?” Colleen snickered.

“Heard about it. I was in the bathroom at the time,” Matthew brushed off. “My point is he’s gotta have some idea.”

“He knows I was a fan as a teen and I know some of his music but it’s been left at that. Michael said he’s gonna wig when he finds out and I know I need to just come clean but I just…I don’t want him to think for a second I was just using him to fulfill some deep seeded fantasy.”

“But…” Matthew started to argue.

“I know, I know,” Colleen cut him off. “Maybe at the very beginning. I mean, there was no way I wasn’t going to go out with him once I had the opportunity. If it was just about wanting to fuck him, I would have done it a lot sooner than I did but he turned out to be this absolutely amazing guy that I just want to drink wine with as we tell each other about our day and watch the sunset.”

“God, you sound like a terrible romance novel,” Matthew joked.

“You sound like you’re falling in love with him,” Sara pointed out sincerely.

“Noooo,” Colleen answered her friend while she actually thought about it. JC did make her feel better than any man before him. He was understanding and accepting of every aspect of her and never made any attempt to undermine her so she could always be one hundred percent herself. “Ohhhhh nooooo….”

Matthew clasped his hands together. “I know at least five bridal ateliers that can whip up sketches by the morning. I’m thinking corset bustier top into a mermaid silhouette. How do we feel about begonias?”

This time it was Sara to toss a pillow at Matthew’s head. “Shut up! We aren’t marrying her off just yet.”

“No no no no no,” Colleen jumped up and began pacing the room, diving into a full on tailspin. “It’s too soon, I can’t be! I…I have to be confusing it with my feelings for him before we actually met. There’s no way it could happen this fast.”

“Love doesn’t have a time frame,” Sara politely reminded her.

“Fuck,” Colleen breathed. “Do you…do you really think I am? Honestly?”

“All I can tell you is I’ve known you for nearly 10 years and this is the happiest I’ve ever seen you. Take that however you want,” Sara told her.

“Do you think I can get JC to wear spats? I feel like I could,” Matthew stated. He automatically ducked but was pleasantly surprised to discover he now had all the pillows in the room, which he now clung triumphantly to. “Seriously girl, stop freaking out and just be happy about it. Who actually has this happen? Luciana Damon, that waitress Zac Efron is fucking, and you.”

“Well, and Karly,” Sara reminded him, “and I guess technically Michael but he was a model at the time so I’m on the fence about that one.”

“Who the fuck is Karly?”

“Chris’s wife.”

“But Chris wasn’t all that famous when they meet though, right?”

“They meet after *NSYNC so, yeah, he was. By that logic, JC’s not that famous either.”

“Oh my God, stop arguing about who’s famous!” Colleen cut in. “This is a serious fucking problem!”

“Why is it a problem?” Sara questioned.

“Because…there are still too many unanswered things. What if he hates me when I tell him I’m a fan? What if he thinks he’s over his ex but he’s not? Does he want to get married? Do I?! What about kids? What if the band reunited or his show goes to Broadway? What if he travels and he meets someone else? What if he doesn’t feel the same way back? What if…”

“Hey hey hey,” Sara jumped up, grabbing Colleen’s hands to stop her pacing. “Now you really are getting ahead of yourself. Deep breaths, count to ten.” Colleen shut her eyes and concentrated on her breathing. Fortunately for her, all of Mistress Piper’s guidance helped her handle these situations better than she had before. She’d have to ask if there was a way to lessen them from happening in the first place.

When Colleen finally opened her eyes, she saw Matthew had stood up and was standing next to Sara. “You were about three seconds away from me slapping you Alexis Carrington style,” he winked, making her laugh.

“You ok?” Sara asked.

“Better, yes. Ok…not really.” The trio piled onto the couch with Colleen being comforted in the middle. “When did this become so complicated?”

“It isn’t complicated, sweetie. You’re making it complicated,” Sara told her. “I get you don’t want to rock the boat but you basically have two choices: put your shit on the line and hope for the best or continue to not face any of it because he might not like it and turn into his vapid submissive arm candy.”

“Flattered you think I’m arm candy material,” Colleen joked.

“I got this,” Matthew said, picking up one of the pillows off the floor and lightly hitting Colleen, who grabbed the pillow and held it between her arms against her chest. “Honey, you have got to get a grip. You are a bad ass bitch who KNOWS who she is and can take down any man, woman, person, child or zoo animal in one foul swoop. I have never seen you this out of sorts.”

“That’s cuz I haven’t had a life long crush on any of my clients until now, let alone started dating them,” Colleen tried to explain. “It’s so easy when we are together, so natural but when I start really thinking about it, I just still can’t wrap my brain around it.”

“Then stop thinking about it,” Sara said, causing Colleen to smirk at the unintended double entendre her friend put in her brain. “You know you are causing yourself undo stress. All those things you rattled off you just need to sit down and discuss with JC. I can’t assure you how it will turn out but I can tell you it’ll all come out in the end anyway. Control the part of it that you can.”

“Fuck,” Colleen cursed again, knowing her friends were right. “I have to suck it up and talk to him. I don’t want to, it’s been nice just kind of letting things naturally progress but…”

“I’m not saying go in guns a blazing,” Sara clarified. “I’m saying instead of changing the subject if you get close to it, just embrace it and be honest, with him and yourself.”

“And when he professes his undying love and you plan the seating chart for your wedding, put me across from Joey so I can play footsie with him,” Matthew stated matter of factly. 

“Won’t the spats get in the way?” Colleen joked.

“No, JC is wearing the spats. I will be wearing a stylish velvet loafer, I’m thinking a royal blue at present but subject to change. I need to be able to slip it off easy so I can run my foot up his…”

“Stop, oh God, no!” the girls screamed, Colleen launching the pillow once again at Matthew as they all erupted into laughter. They settled back in to resume their Housewives watch as Colleen resolved to find some delicate way to talk to JC. There was just one more thing she wanted to make sure she did first