It was Thanksgiving Day and I was at work with a small caseload of patients. Thankfully, it was a slow day so it made it a little easier being at work on a holiday. Plus, I was getting paid double time so that was another good thing.

It had been two days since JC left for Florida. The morning after he stayed with me, I woke up in his arms, our bodies flush against each other, still naked from the night before. The thought of it now still makes my knees go weak. We had finally allowed our relationship go to the next level and now I really couldn't get JC off of my brain.

I was in one of my patient's rooms, preparing her evening medication and gathering supplies to change a dressing on her abdomen from her hernia surgery she had the day before. We had chatted some throughout the day when I would make my hourly rounds and she was a sweet lady who reminded me a lot of my mother.

"So, who are you spending your Thanksgiving with, young lady?" Miss Alice had asked me as I was placing several pills in a small cup.

I felt a small tinge of sadness but looked up at her and smiled. "Just me. My family is from Ohio."

"Oh, really? Do you visit them often?"

"Not too often. It's a long and expensive trip to take often. I saw your family came to visit you earlier." I handed her the cup of pills and a cup of water to swallow them.

She took them in one swift movement and gulped them down with a sip of water. "Yes, my son, his wife and their two sons, my grandsons, came to bring me a plate from their Thanksgiving dinner. It was lovely considering I am stuck here in this hospital."

I smiled at her. She was incredibly optimistic for someone who was spending their holiday recovering from surgery. "That's nice, Alice. Did ya get some pumpkin pie?'

"Yes, homemade! My daughter-in-law makes the best pumpkin pie in town!" She gushed.

I carefully pulled the old dressing from her abdomen and tossed it in a nearby trash can. I inspected her incision mentally noting that it looked healthy, cleaned it and applied a new dressing.

"You don't have a special person you're spending this day with? You're way too pretty and smart to be alone."

"Thank you, Alice. I actually have a boyfriend, but he is in Florida with his family for Thanksgiving." I discarded my gloves and walked over to the sink to wash my hands.

"Why didn't you go with him?" She inquired. Wow, what's with the 21 questions, lady?!

I walked back to the hospital bed and pulled her blanket back over her. "I had to work."

"I see. Well, I am glad you are here with me because you're a great nurse. My late husband used to love the holidays. It makes me a bit sad when this time of the year rolls around, because I don't get to spend it with him anymore. If I learned anything darling, it was that jobs are important, but they are not your life. Spend your time wisely and with the people that make you happy."

I nodded at her sympathetically and headed towards the door. "Thank you, Alice. I will remember that. Happy Thanksgiving."

I finished the rest of my shift with Alice's words still on my mind. I was beginning to regret not going with JC to Florida. I knew that once I got home, I would be reminded that I was spending my Thanksgiving alone while my boyfriend and family were thousands of miles away.

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I returned home from work and took a nice, long shower, changing into some comfy pajamas and putting my robe on. I decided on not texting JC to allow him to spend uninterrupted time with his family. I settled on the couch ready to really begin my pity party. I flipped through the channels and found The Notebook was just starting. Great, another thing to make me even more sad. .

I heard a tap, tap on the door and wondered who it could be. JC was in Florida. I wasn't expecting anyone else.

As if they read my thoughts, the voice on the other side of the door said, "Layla, it's B! Open up!"

I shuffled over to the door and opened it to see Bianca standing there with a several plates of food wrapped in aluminum foil. "I brought you some food!"

She stepped in and walked to the kitchen with me following behind. She set the plates on the counter and began unwrapping them revealing turkey, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, rolls and of course, pumpkin pie. My heart literally swelled at the thoughtful gesture.

"Wow. Thank you. You didn't have to do this.."

Bianca looked at me and raised an eyebrow. "Did you really think I was going to let you spend Thanksgiving alone? Hell no. Eat up, girl!"

I swear I love her. I began to dig in, savoring the amazing food, surprised that was still warm.

"My mother made all of this food. She's an amazing cook. You could've come over for dinner. You know you're always welcome."

"Thank you, B. You're the best."

I ate until I was literally stuffed and placed the remaining food in the fridge.

"Looks like I crashed your little pity party here." Bianca joked.

"Basically. I should've just went with JC." I sighed.

"Told you so! Just think, you could be with him now having sex in his parent's house." She laughed.

I gasped and hit her playfully. "I would do no such thing!"

"Girl, don't act like you guys haven't been having sex. You spend almost every night with him." She rolled her eyes.

"We've only done it once, actually. The night before he left was our first time." I confessed, my cheeks blushing as images of that night popped up in my head.

"WHAT?! OK, SPILL. How is sex with THE JC Chasez?"

"Fucking amazing." I smiled as I began to tell her all of the juicy details of our first time.
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I yawned and climbed into bed around 11:30. Bianca had stayed to watch The Notebook with me and we had a glass of wine as I filled her in on the latest with myself and JC. She had just left and I realized just how tired I was from my long day.

I decided to phone JC before I went to sleep to see how his day was going. It rang twice before I heard "Hey, baby girl. I've  been waiting for you to call."

I smiled and sank back into my pillow. "Sorry. After work Bianca came by with food from her family dinner. Then we watched a movie and had a drink. I'm just now getting in bed."

"I see. That was nice of her to bring you some food. I'm glad she made sure you weren't alone too. She's a good friend."

"She is. I'm lucky to have her."

"So, how was your day?" He asked.

"It was ok. Work was slow.."

"I wish you were here with me. I've told my family all about you and they can't wait to meet you. In fact, they have insisted that you come back with me for Christmas and I am not taking no for an answer this time."

"Well I guess I don't have a choice then, huh?" I giggled.

"Nope. I can't stand being away from you this long." He said softly. "I miss that smile, those beautiful brown eyes, your lips, your soft skin... THAT ASS!" He continued and laughed at himself.

"JOSHUA SCOTT CHASEZ!" I gasped into the phone.

He tried his best to contain his laughter and all I could do was roll my eyes. "Joshua, huh? I must be in trouble."

"Oh, yeah. Tons."

"Well, I guess I just have to make it up to you when I get back." He said low and seductively.

My breath hitched and my body was suddenly very warm. "Can't wait, baby."

"I know." He said cockily.

I heard a male voice in the background yelling at him to hurry up. "Sorry, that's my brother Tyler. He's yelling for me to come back in the living room to finish our game. I'll call you tomorrow, ok? Goodnight honey."

Boys and their videos games.. I laughed to myself.

"Goodnight Jace." I ended the call and placed my phone on the nightstand. I rolled over and hugged my pillow. It still smelled like JC, a woodsy scent of patchouli and cool eucalyptus.

I couldn't wait until he was back home.