“What do I wear to go swimming at Lance’s house?! Seriously, how is this my life, Kelly?”

“I don’t know, but I’ll take an invite next time.”

“Why not this time?”

“Let JC have you in a bathing suit all to himself.”

“Lance and Michael will be there, the twins…. I have that one piece…”

“You are wearing something sexy. You’re with two pop superstars. What if Lance goes live or posts pictures? You gotta be looking GOOD, girl.  Let me see what I’ve got in my room, or we’re doing a shopping run.”

“It’s September, everything is ready for Halloween or Christmas, summer is over.”

“Hang on,” Kelly said, heading to her room.  Jenna could hear her opening drawers, rifling through her things.  “AHA!” Kelly yelled triumphantly.

She came out, handing Jenna a dark maroon 2 piece. “Go try it on. Make sure you shave…”

Jenna rolled her eyes, going into the bathroom. She put on the bikini, raising her eyebrows in surprise at how good she looked. She opened the door, walking out to see Kelly’s response.

“Ooh, hot! It brings out the red of your hair, makes the blue of your eyes pop… Shows off that ass and your boobs.  JC is gonna eat you up!”

“I don’t think so. I’m sure Jen will be there, too.”

She definitely won’t be, Kelly thought to herself.  “Ok, throw on something cute over that and go have fun!”

Jenna threw on an off the shoulder shirt and frayed capris, finishing the look with her silver strappy sandals.  Her hair was in a braid that cascaded down her shoulder, but could go back when swimming.  She waited for JC to buzz for her to come down.  Soon enough she heard the buzz and went downstairs.

…

JC sat waiting in his Jeep, his eyes fixed on the front door. He saw a beautiful woman walk out, only realizing it was Jenna as she approached his car with a smile. She was stunning, very well put together.  He was speechless as she got in.

She gave him a quick hug, JC glad he was sitting down, arm over his lap, his body ready to give him away.

Jenna buckled up and JC pulled onto the street to drive to Lance and Michael’s.  “I’m so excited I get to meet the twins today.” Jenna said, leaning into JC’s shoulder. 

He had been spending a lot more time at Jenna and Kelly’s apartment lately, not that she minded. He seemed distant since that night at Heart.  She had tried to get him to talk about it, but then decided that if he wanted her to know he would tell her. She would settle for him being around and soak it all in for as long as it lasted. 

“Are you ok, JC?” she asked out of nowhere. 

He looked at her, into those beautiful, almost violet eyes of hers.  “Just a lot of stuff on my mind lately. Nothing for you to worry about.  We’ll be there soon,” he smiled, the smile that made her knees weak every time she saw it. 

Michael was waiting there at the door when they pulled up out front. He flew through the door, with a now mobile Violet not far behind her daddy.  Michael went straight for Jenna, giving her a huge bear hug while JC scooped Violet up off the ground and gave her a giant kiss and blew raspberries on her belly, until she was shrieking with laughter.

Michael and Jenna watched JC with Violet. “He’s good with her. He has had a thing for her ever since we brought them home. Not that he doesn’t love Alexander, but he has always had a deeper relationship with Violet.“

“Who am I? “ JC asked Violet as they walked into the house. 

“C!” Violet shrieked.

“Ummm, did she really answer him?” Jenna gasped.  “Wow, she’s really smart.  Like, shouldn’t be possible, smart…”

“ Uncle C!”  he smiled as he nuzzled Violet close. She reached up and grabbed his glasses off of his face triumphantly, holding them away from him as he tried to get them back. Lance saved the day and took Violet off of his hands as well, giving JC his glasses back. 

“Want a baby?” Michael asked, as he handed Alexander over to Jenna. Alex took one look at his new friend and smiled a huge toothy grin.  Michael grinned as well, “ Well it’s clear who he likes.“ 

“I’m good with kids, Michael. It comes with the territory. I see them 5 days a week in class. I love kids. “

“I know who else you love, too,“ he said, looking over at JC and Lance talking in the kitchen.

“Hey babe. You want a beer?” JC called.

“No. Water is fine,” she called back , not even thinking about what JC had just called her. 

“So, you’ve graduated up to BABE? “  Michael asked, eyes wide and an even wider smile. 

“No.  Not exactly. That’s the first time he ever called me Babe,”  she said, really thinking about what he’d said.

“Sounds like things are going well.” 

“‘Michael, we are….”

“I know, I know. You’re just friends. I got it,”  Michael said, rolling his eyes.

“We are,“ she repeated firmly.

“For now.”

“What is that supposed to mean.?”  she asked, “You know something that I don’t . What do you know about, Michael?”

“I’m not supposed to say anything,” he said, laughing nervously. 

“I’m not letting you out of my sight until I know what you do.”

“Let’s go out by the pool,” he said, taking Alexander and putting him in the play yard.

“We’re gonna go out to the pool, so I can show her the backyard,” Michael said.

“Alright, we’ll be out in a little while.” Lance said, watching them go out the back glass door.

He then turned, and said, “So, have you told her that Jen Left?”

“No. I have just been enjoying spending as much time with her as I want.”

“You really need to tell her, C.” 

“I know, I just don’t want her to think it’s her fault Jen left.” 

“Well…” 

It was at that point in their conversation that they heard Jenna shriek outside. 

They both ran out  to the back, Jenna stood there, staring at JC. She looked upset.

“We need to talk,” she said, and the boys scurried back into the house, shutting the door behind themselves. 

“Damnit, Michael told you, didn’t he?”

“What I can't figure out is why you didn’t tell me. “

“There’s not much to tell.”

“I know this complicates things, but… is it something I did?”

“What?” JC wondered.

“Michael said Jen isn’t coming to things if she knows I’m going to be there.  Is this because of what happened last week?”

“Oh,” JC sighed, knowing Michael hadn’t told her everything.  “Well, honestly… yes.  No matter how much I try to convince her, she thinks you have feelings for me.  She doesn’t want to cause any arguments or stress you out, and honestly, neither do I.”

“JC, what do we do?  I don’t want to come between you and Jen.  This isn’t how this was supposed to go.  Not that I had any kind of plan on anything…  You came in and saved my life, and I’m just trying my best to…” she stopped mid sentence, her face scrunching as tears welled up in her eyes.

“Please don’t cry, Jenna,” he said, moving closer to her. 

“JC, we can’t do this anymore.  We can’t be friends if…”

“Jen is just going to have to deal with it.  I like being around you, Jenna,” he said, pulling her into his arms.

“Don’t. Don’t say anything else. Please. Let’s go. I need to go home.”  She said, walking away from him. Then he got mad.

“Damn it Jenna, Will you listen to me? I was not finished” he said, exasperated. 

“ What, JC?  What more is there to say?  We’re just friends, we’ve made that quite clear to each other…" she countered. 

“Jenna, please.  It’s something she’ll get over, eventually.  She didn't like Autumn at first.  Do you really think she’ll get in the way of our friendship?”

“I’m more worried about being in the way of your relationship with your girlfriend.  I’m just some pitiable fan with a big enough sob story to keep you busy playing the hero…”

“Hey,” he said, pulling her back into his arms, tilting her chin up to look at him.  Their eyes met, and all he wanted to do was kiss her.  It wasn’t the moment, but he was about ready to stop giving a fuck and do what felt right.  “I care about you.  So do the rest of the guys.  Do you think Justin would have helped me get you the interview if you were some random fan I wasn’t going to care about in 6 months?”

“JC, you really see us being friends… long term?”

“ Yeah,” he smiled.  “I’d really like that, Jenna.  I’m sorry if you’ve felt less than during any of this.  Jen will get over it, she will.  Please stay, meet the twins properly, hang out.  Please?”

“Ok,” she sighed.  “But promise me that I won’t come between you and Jen.  If there’s more drama, I need to walk away.”

JC swallowed hard.  “Ok.”  He was suddenly nervous how she would take the truth, whenever it came out.  “Let’s go inside.”

They walked inside, the twins playing in their little play area.  Now that they were crawling, they were penned off to keep them from wandering and getting lost.  “They need bells around their necks if we just let them loose,” Michael joked.  They’ll be playing with one thing, you turn around for ONE SECOND, and they’re down the hall the next…”

“Oh yeah.  I teach kindergarten, but that still tracks.  We have some kids we have to separate cuz they’ve known each other since they were babies, so they’re too intense when they play together.  We try to keep them apart, but you look away for one second and they start playing together again.”

“Wanna head out to the pool and they can splash around a bit before we eat?  Lisa’s bringing food in a bit,” Lance said.

“Lance, I could have…” Jenna started.

“It’s fine, Jenna.  You don’t need to do anything.  Being around us is enough.  I take it back, putting up with this guy is enough.  You’re a saint,” he laughed, nodding toward JC.

“He makes it easy, I’ll say that,” she smiled.

They walked out to the backyard, Jenna suddenly nervous about getting into the pool.  Lance and Michael had no qualms about pulling their shirts off and getting into the pool with the twins.  She was enjoying the view, but nervous about JC seeing her with so little on.  As confident as she’d felt in it earlier, he wasn’t there to actually see it.

Her eyes caught JC pulling his shirt off, feeling her legs clench as she saw parts of him she’d only imagined after all these years.  He wasn’t cut like Lance and Michael, but he’d lost weight since the White House dinner, not that she felt he needed to.  If he was happy, that’s all that mattered.  She loved Justin’s “dad bod” look, so she was just happy being close to JC to see what she knew women all over Instagram would kill for.  There was some definition in his stomach, just enough that she could tell he’d been working out.  She suddenly looked away so he wouldn’t catch her staring at him.

“You gonna stand there Jenna, or you gonna get in?” Michael teased, having seen her look at JC.  JC gave her a reassuring smile.

She sighed, shaking off any insecurity, or at least trying to.  She was the only one not in the pool, feeling like all eyes were on her.  She felt like a brand new stripper on her first night of dancing, afraid to expose herself but knowing she needed to do it anyway.  She pulled down her capris before pulling the top over her head.

She looked at JC, who had a smile on his face.  It looked different somehow, like he liked how she looked in the bikini.  She wondered if he was looking at her the way she’d looked at him only moments earlier.  She shook off the feeling, knowing he was in love with Jen.  JC was glad he was in the water, obscuring some of what he was thinking and feeling.  Lance, of course, could read JC like a book, and smiled as he saw JC try to contain himself.

“That’s a great color on you,” JC said, trying to make conversation that didn't sound creepy.

“That’s a great cut,” Michael said, giving zero fucks.  "Damn, Jenna, you might turn me,” he teased.

“You look great,” Lance smiled, being sincere and less awkward than his husband.

JC grabbed Violet from Lance, holding her out a short distance and slowly spinning around in the pool.  Violet squealed in delight, Jenna watching and seeing how good JC was with her.  She knew he had his two nieces and the twins, but damnit he’d have made a great dad if he’d wanted that.  She sighed, knowing she’d never get that chance for herself.  The smile from her face soon faded.

“You ok, Jenna?” JC asked, snapping her back to the moment.

“Yeah, just something that popped into my head,” she shrugged.

“Wanna talk about it?” Lance asked.

“We’re great listeners…” Michael added.

“Maybe it’s different cuz you’re men, but how is it being an older parent?  Let’s be honest, you’re likely gonna be the oldest parents in the play groups and classroom.”

“I won’t lie, it was a consideration as different attempts failed.  But if it’s something you want, you go for it.”

“I just wonder if I missed my chance.  I’ve been single for so long, not that I could have done much about that, god knows I tried…”

“Life will lead you to the perfect people and moments in your life.  When God closes a window, he opens a door.  Something like that,” Michael laughed.  

“You’ll find someone that you can have that with,” JC said softly, Lance and Michael looking at him, trying to hide the confusion in their heads from showing on their faces.

Jenna got to play with both of the twins in the pool, forgetting all about her doubts and focusing on the twins, feeling more at ease around them, as well as their famous dads.  

The sliding glass door opened, Lisa walking through with a couple large bags.  “Lunch is here!”

They sat down at the table, Lisa pulling out bbq chicken, Hawaiian rolls, a pesto pasta salad, fresh fruit, roasted veggies skewers, and a 6 pack of Mike’s hard Lemonade.

“We got that instead of hard seltzers cuz you don’t do vodka,” Lance said.  “It’s a shame, though.  So many great vodka drinks.”

“You’re free to have those, I enjoy the room not spinning…” Jenna laughed.

They enjoyed the afternoon talking and eating before playing with the babies some more inside. As they afternoon wore on, Violet crawled over to Jenna, almost pulling herself up to stand.

“I think she wants you, Jenna,” Michael said.  Jenna pulled her into her arms, grabbing a couple toys and books nearby to entertain her.

JC smiled as he watched her with Violet.  He’d never thought about being a dad, but after realizing his feelings for her, and seeing how good she was with the twins, he was reconsidering, if he was being honest with himself.  

Violet was sitting in Jenna’s lap, her eyes were heavy, she had her head nuzzled on Jenna’s chest.  Michael came out of the nursery from putting Alexander down and said, “I’ll take her, Jenna.”

“Please, let me. I haven’t done this in a while.”  She smiled and got up and carried Violet into the nursery. The boys watched her on the video monitor in the living room. She sat down on the rocker and began to sing “Baby Mine” from Dumbo to Violet.  Violet was asleep in minutes, and she was quiet. It was then that Michael noticed something was different.

“ JC? What’s going on with Jenna?”