JC quietly closed Jenna's bedroom door and came out into the living room. “She’s asleep.”

“That’s good,“ Kelly said. 

"I'm gonna run to my place and get some clothes and stuff I might need for the next few days.  I'm staying here with you guys. I don't care if I have to sleep on the floor. I'm not leaving her."

"You’re in love with her,” Kelly sighed. 

“I really don’t want to talk about this right now Kelly, but yes, I am,” JC said, looking at the floor.

"Too bad, let’s talk."

"Do you really think that it is a good time right now? With everything that is going on?" he shrugged. 

“No, not the greatest. But if you don’t tell her, JC, I will. I don’t like all the lies.”

“I will tell her. Just let me do it my way, please Kelly. “ 

“She’s my best friend, JC. “

“I know that. And I love you for it,” he grinned. “I’m gonna tell her tonight. “ 

“She needs you as much as you need her. That is all you need to know right now, JC.” 

He shook his head, and said, ”I need to get going, so I can get back before she wakes up. “

“I’ll be here for a few more hours. I have a late shift tonight, so you two will have the house to yourselves…“ she grinned.

“Kelly,” JC said, rolling his eyes, and headed for the door.

“Just sayin’.  If any of *NSYNC confessed their love for me, we’d be in bed so fast it’d make their head spin…“ she smiled. 

“I’ll be back,” JC chuckled.  

…

A little over an hour later, JC returned with a black leather duffle in tow, and a couple of large boxes. Kelly laughed as he tried to balance all the stuff in his hands. She got up and went to the door and said, “Need a hand?” She took a box from him. 

He smiled and said “Thanks,” shutting the door with his foot.  He put both of the boxes on the kitchen table and said, “Leave these two out here. “ 

“Whatcha doin?”

“You let me worry about that. “ He grinned and said, “Is she still asleep?” 

“I think she’s watching PopOdyssey. She does that when she is stressed out,” Kelly said, shrugging her shoulders. 

He went to Jenna’s door and knocked. No response, so he opened it quietly and stepped into the room and set down his duffle just inside the door to the bedroom. She was watching the video intently and never even heard him come into the room.  She felt the shift of her bed as he crawled onto it with her.  He sat with his back against the headboard of the bed and she rested her head on his chest and continued to watch the video. He watched it with her, marveling at all the stuff he did when he was a much younger man.

He caught a whiff of her shampoo, the smell almost hypnotizing him.  He closed his eyes, feeling her against him.  He could feel the warmth and softness of her skin.  His hand cupped her breast, feeling the weight of it.  He hummed in satisfaction of feeling her skin, his hand tracing over her stomach before reaching towards the waistband of her pants.  His senses were on overload, imagining her scent, her taste.

“JC, are you ok?” Jenna wondered, pulling him back to reality.  His hands were behind his head, thankfully nowhere near where he’d just dreamed of touching.  “You were making weird noises…”

“I’m fine, just fell asleep for a bit.”

“I wasn’t sure if you were having a nightmare or something…”

“Not a nightmare, definitely a good dream.”

When the show slowed to them doing the ballads near the end, he knew what he needed to do for her. 

Something Like You started, Jenna sighing.  “This was supposed to be the first dance at Steve and my wedding.  Well, that’s what I’d planned, anyway.  I knew once I heard this song that I would dance to this song at my wedding, no matter what.”

JC smiled to himself, finding himself imagining the thought of that song, him all dressed up in a tux, Jenna in a beautiful white gown.  It had been a long time since he’d thought of being married.

The show continued.  As Joey read a letter from a fan she said, “I love this song. It’s one of my favorites. “ 

This was his moment, recognizing the song.  He sang along with Chris in her ear.

I don't know how

I don't know why

But girl it seems you’ve touched my life.

You’re in my dreams,

You’re in my heart

I’m by myself 

When we’re apart

Something strange has come over me

A raging wind across my seas

And girl you know that your eyes 

Are to blame.

And what am I supposed to do

If I can't get over you

And come to find that you don’t feel the same.

Cause I’m falling , falling

Girl I’m falling for you

And I pray you're falling too. 

I’ve been falling  falling 

Ever since the moment I laid eyes on you.

He stopped singing , getting choked up in the process, a single tear rolled down his cheek. 

Before she could say anything, he cleared his throat and pulled her up off the bed. 

“Come on. I want to show you something.” he said, trying to maintain his composure.

“What? I thought we were gonna hang out here tonight,” Jenna said, confused. 

“Can you just go with the flow once? Please? For me?” he asked, giving her his best sad puppy dog eyes. 

She rolled her eyes and laughed. “How can I resist?”

“You won’t be sorry,” he said, leading her out of the bedroom by the hand.

They came into the kitchen and she saw the two boxes on the table. “What’s this?”

“They’re for you. Open them,” he said, the color of his eyes brightening up. 

“Which one do I open first?” she asked, moving over to the table and eyeing the boxes.

“The flat one,” he grinned. 

She opened the box, and pulled back the tissue paper inside to find a leather bike jacket. She picked it up out of the box like it was precious and said, “ This is beautiful, JC.” 

“Not as beautiful as its owner,” he said. ”Try it on for size. I wasn’t sure what to get. We can always take it back.”

“No way. This is special. I don’t care if it’s too big.”  She put on the jacket, and it fit like a glove. 

“Guess I’m better than I thought,” he said to himself. 

“Ok, now I have to know what’s in this box,” she said, opening it, and her mouth hung open when she pulled out a pink motorcycle helmet.  It sparkled under the light in the kitchen. She looked up at him confused.

“A jacket and a helmet.”

“Do you remember the other day when you asked me about my bike?”  he asked.

“Yeah. “ 

“Want to take a ride?”

“Yes.”

“Well, you can’t ride without a helmet. And I just wanted to get the jacket because when I saw it I knew it would be perfect for you.”  He smiled that smile that would melt butter. She felt butterflies in her stomach, not sure if it was because of the idea of riding a bike with him or just him.

He led her downstairs and  outside the apartment building, and she saw a black Triumph sitting there, near the curb. 

“You brought your bike.” 

“Wanna ride?” he asked, a slow grin on his face. She looked down at the jacket she was still wearing.

“It would be a shame to waste this outfit. And, I mean, I have this kick ass helmet that someone gave me,” she smiled. 

He jumped onto the bike and put on the yellow helmet that sat on the handlebars.

He popped the visor up and said, “You coming?” 

She put her helmet on and got on the back of the bike behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. He was warm, and the bike roared to life and he pulled away from the curb.

She had never felt more free in her life, than on the back of that bike with him. He whipped through the rolling hills and up to a house.  He pressed a button on his keys, and a garage door opened.  

She was saddened a little, seeing the empty space in the garage, where Jen’s car would likely have been.  They got off the bike, JC leading her into the house.  She hadn’t known what to expect from the house, but it was beautiful and sad at the same time.  

There were spots she knew Jen’s things had been, wondering if they’d been framed pictures of the two of them.  Her absence was everywhere in the house, feeling almost like an empty shell.

He led her to his back patio, standing against the railing.  She gasped, seeing the whole valley below them. 

“This is incredible,” she whispered.  “I see why you love it up here.  Away from things, but an amazing view…  Why the bike and bringing me up here?”

“I ride when I need to think, assuming I’m home when I need to clear my head.”

“Jen…” Jenna sighed.

“She said I need to figure things out,” JC replied.  “She left right after we got back from Heart.  Well, not RIGHT after…”

“”That was over a week ago, JC…”

“Yeah.  I know.  I’ve been thinking… a LOT.  Justin, Lance, and Michael kinda had this intervention with me the morning after.  I’d gotten pretty drunk at Justin’s.”

“What happened?”

“She saw how we looked at each other, more so how I looked at you.  I didn't know what she meant, I just knew we had fun.  We got home, had sex,” he admitted, his cheeks turning pink, “then she said she was leaving.  That I need to figure out who I want to be with.  Justin came over to let me vent, and next thing I know I’m at his house, downing a bottle of scotch or whiskey, and realizing the truth.”

“The truth?”

“I like you, Jenna.”  He wanted to say something more than that, but he also didn't want to scare her with how intense his feelings were.  “Like, I want to be with you.  I was afraid to jump into something, being disrespectful of my time with Jen… but this feels so right.  I don’t think I’ve ever felt the way I do about anyone, the way I feel about you.”

“JC…” she gasped.

“Call me Josh,” he reminded her.

“Josh… you really mean this?  You really like me?”

“Probably more than that,” he smiled gently.

He pulled her into his arms, looking down at her.  Her eyes sparkled like the stars in the sky.  He closed his eyes as he lowered his lips to hers.  There was no hesitation this time.  No fear of rushing things, of moving too fast.  He needed her like he needed air in his lungs.  He deepened the kiss, pulling her somehow closer to himself.

“I needed the moment to be perfect.  You getting your news, watching that video, it told me what I needed to do.  I had planned most of this anyway, obviously, but it confirmed this was it, the moment I needed.”

“Why does this feel all very ‘Walk To Remember’ ish?  Don’t go falling in love with me, Josh.  If this is what they think it is…”

“I will be with you every step of the way, your hero.”

He kissed her again, never wanting to let her go, wishing he could freeze time at this exact moment, holding and kissing her forever.