“Hey man, thanks for coming up before the show started,” JC said, opening the door for Chris. 

“Where’s Jenna?” Chris wondered. 

“I told her to go down to the pool. Hopefully it’s heated. By the looks of it it is, or else she wouldn’t be in the water.”  

“You just staring at her like a creepy stalker from your window?” Chris laughed. 

“When you put it THAT way, it sounds creepy…” JC said, heading towards the window.  Chris followed him over, looking down at the people below.

“Lucky she’s a redhead, I don’t know if I’d be able to find her otherwise. Maroon bikini?”

“That’s my girl,” JC said proudly. 

“I love Karly, but FUCK you get all the hotties!”  Chris clapped a hand on JC’s back. “Seriously, though, she’s beautiful and I’m glad you found each other. I liked Jen, but if you’re happy with Jenna, that’s what matters.”

“It’s the happiest I’ve been in years, man. I can’t explain it. Only about 6 weeks in and she’s got me wanting marriage, kids.  I’ve already proposed once, but she said it’s too soon.”

“Jesus, C.  Six weeks in and she’s got you wanting to go all in?! She have magical boobs or something?”

“She had a dream during one of her hospital stays that we had a baby boy. I’d never wanted kids until that moment, now I can’t wait to see when it actually happens.”

“Wait, are you guys trying?”

“No. I wanna wait until she’s recovered from her surgery before we get to that point. But that’s not that far away still.  Recovery is just a few months, so who knows? By the end of next year we could be pregnant if we get lucky.  We thought she was pregnant a few weeks ago, but it came out negative.  I was pretty devastated, we both were.”

“She’s changed you, C, in a good way.  I’ve always wanted you to be happy, and if this makes you happy, then go for it.”

“This trip was originally just for her, then I met her, everything happened… Now it’s for both of us to relax before her surgery in less than a week.  We’re trying really hard to keep it together, for each other’s sake. I can only imagine what is going through her mind, and I’m terrified at the thought of losing her. This could save her life, but with her seizures, I’m worried something will happen during surgery. She had a seizure just doing the biopsy, let alone surgery to fully remove the tumor…”

“We’re all here for you if you need anything,” Chris said, putting a reassuring hand on JC’s shoulder. “We’re hanging out today, maybe tomorrow?”

“Yeah, Jenna wants to sightsee in the City.  I have a surprise for her tomorrow night.”

“Yeah?” Chris asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I’m not telling you shit. You can’t keep a secret.”

“Bullshit.”

“Remember when I did that Instagram Live with you and you told me about that podcast you weren’t supposed to tell me about?”

“Yeah. That’s over, but there’s a new one, I met the girls that run it at the Baltimore show.  There’s a few others that post occasionally, but theirs is weekly.”

“I’m still not telling you what I’m surprising her with,” JC chuckled. 

“I’m glad you’re happy, man.  That’s what matters.  Everyone else has met her?”

“Technically, yes.  She met Joey last year, so he’s the only one that hasn’t met her as my girlfriend.  She was just a fan at that point.  So you’re the last as far as to actually meet, but Joey doesn’t remember her so it’ll be nice the next time he’s out to have them meet.”

“You gonna take her to meet your family, talking kids and marriage…?”

“We’ll see how she’s doing around Christmas, that would be the best time I think. I don’t wanna push it, though if she’s up for it I do wanna bring her with me to New York. I’m trying to push that out as much as I can. You know, once they have a firm opening date for the show.”

“Is any of it helping with your musical?”

“Yeah. Jenna doesn’t know, I kinda wanna surprise her with that. I guess that’s my thing, giving her little surprises. I’m working on recording some stuff for her, I came here unannounced, New York…”

“I can’t wait to get to know her better. I know you like the back of my hand with my eyes closed.  You ready to head downstairs, mingle with everyone beforehand?”

“Sure. I haven’t seen Brad in forever, it’ll be cool to see him.  Is Mark McGrath at this show?”

“Yeah, a rare appearance.”

“This will be fun,” JC smiled.

…

Jenna laid on her daybed, her legs dangling in the water.  She had ordered a chicken sandwich and fries, already enjoying a Midori sour.  

She heard people coming and going behind her, but one in particular caught her attention.

“Excuse me, but are you the host of the *NSYNC podcast?” a female voice asked. 

“Yeah, I’m Jeana…”

Jenna turned around, watching silently as the woman got up from her daybed and hugged the stranger, smiling at how their fandom made people who had never met before become instant friends.

“I love your podcast,” Jenna said.  “I really enjoyed your month of JC.  And then the month of thirst, oof…”

“Yeah, next is a month of all Chris, so it’ll be fun.  Is it just me or does it look like not a lot of people are here for the concert?  Like, I’m seeing men in business suits and people that don’t look like boyband fans.”

“Yeah, I noticed that, too.  It’s still early, maybe everyone is still on their way up.  It’s a drive from San Francisco…”

“I came from San Jose, almost 2 hours to get here, friends are coming from even farther…”

“I flew from LA to be here, in case he doesn’t come back to California for a while,” Jenna admitted, even though she knew she would see him before anyone else that was there, possibly even have him stay at the house for a night if he came alone.

“It’s great to be part of such a dedicated fandom.  And today being their anniversary, it’s perfect.”

Jenna looked, and beside Jeana’s daybed was a bright orange sign that read “happy 27th birthday *NSYNC”.  Jenna got up, deciding to interact with other fans instead of keeping to herself. No one knew she was JC’s girlfriend, so she could let her fandom out in careful amounts.

“Aren’t you freezing?” the girl asked her, in her bikini and coverup.

“A little. The pool is heated, so I guess there’s that.  I doubt I’ll really care once the show starts.  Normally I’d be too self conscious about even wearing a bikini, but my boyfriend insisted.”

“My husband would say the same thing, I’m sure.  Totally not his thing, though.  Too many people, even though it’s a smaller setup.”

“Yeah.  He’s inside, probably will just stay in the casino and lay low," Jenna said, sure that JC knew better than to be where fans could see and take focus away from Chris and the rest of the performing acts.

A cabana boy walked towards Jenna’s daybed with her food.  “I should probably eat that while it’s hot.  It was nice meeting you.  I enjoy the podcast.”

“Thanks, it’s been fun feeling like a minor celebrity, being recognized.”

Jenna smiled, knowing eventually she’d be recognized.  She wondered how those women would feel knowing they’d gotten to speak to JC’s girlfriend without even realizing who she was.

…

It was 2:30, the show was supposed to start at 2; and Jenna wondered if they were waiting for more people to come.  The group assembled was surprisingly older, most of them seeming even too old to be fans of any of the acts, the more diehard and age related fans being towards the front.  There was a group of people at the hot tub in the rear of the pool area, and people on white foldable chairs. 

The DJ on stage had been playing music, Jenna a little sad that among the other pop songs they played, there had been only one *NSYNC song.  Eventually she saw movement behind the staging area, people beginning to scream.

Chris came on stage to get the crowd pumped and greet everyone. Jenna had met him earlier, but her heart was in her throat, beating a mile a minute, her inner fangirl coming out.  He welcomed everyone, and as he started to walk offstage, she saw people walking towards the side of the stage he was leaving from. 

She kept her distance, a line beginning to form.  She smiled, watching Chris hug and take pictures with fans.  She knew JC would be the same, in some capacity.  She remembered him being at the Big Brother party, taking pictures with fans, and was excited she’d get to see him more after the concert.

Her phone buzzed.  You gonna join the line?  Pretty sure you can join us back here for acts you don’t wanna see.  You mainly came here to meet Chris, right?  Might as well take advantage and hang out with us, meet the other guys so you’re prepared for dinner and stuff.

She smiled, getting up for her lounge chair and heading to the end of the line.  It moved slowly but steadily, Chris’s eyes lighting up when he saw Jenna.  He hugged her, telling security to let her past the rope set up.  Other fans were definitely curious, but she was ushered through the double doors to where the green room area was.

“There she is,” JC smiled. Jenna was a bit starstruck, seeing Mark McGrath, Brad from LFO, and all of Otown around her.  JC walked over, pulling her into his arms.

“So you’re the reason this guy is out here, slumming it with us,” Jacob laughed.  “Nice to meet you, Jenna.  We’ve heard so much about you.”

“In what, the last half hour?” Jenna laughed.

“Well, our first response was ‘what are you doing here?’ and he hasn’t shut up about you since.”

“Brad, I think it’s great you do these shows to honor Rich and Devin.  I think the whole idea of this is great, fun.  If only we could get another group I love back together…”

“Really, gonna do this now?”JC laughed.  

“Honey, this is only the beginning.  I want unofficial credit as the reason you guys get back together, to get me to shut up about it.”

“I dunno, I’m pretty patient.  I put up with Chris for all those years, I think I can handle and ignore just about anything.”

She leaned in close.  “Things are still new with us, we haven’t lived out some of your favorite sex fantasies, I’m sure.  Maybe that would sweeten the deal…”

JC’s eyes widened, his brain trying to tell his dick not to get any ideas at the moment.  He was honestly pretty happy with their sex life as it was, though the thought was certainly tempting.

“I go with you on tour, sex in every city,” she whispered.  “Maybe that’s how Liam gets here…”

“We’ll see,” he chuckled. “Not making any promises.”

Jenna couldn’t believe this was suddenly her life.  Being backstage with JC and artists she’d listened to during her most formative years.  She had now met all of *NSYNC, feeling like a friend more than a fan, and how good it felt to achieve a dream she’d had since being a teen.  To really be that close to them, compared to someone that just met them as a fan.  He was JC’s girlfriend, the woman he saw a future with.  This soon into a relationship with anyone else would have scared her off, but with JC, it felt right.  She smiled, watching them interact until Chris had to go back out.  

“I’m gonna go back out for Mark, dance to the music, see him perform,” Jenna said.

“If that’s what you want.  You could also stay here and dance in my arms,” he offered.

“Oooh, tempt me with a good time, sir,” she smiled.  “Plus, I can kiss you back here.  I can’t see him, but I can hear the songs and that’s just as good if I can see you, be in your arms, kiss your lips…”

He pulled her into a kiss, her body wanting to melt into his.  The music faded away, as if she were back in their hotel room and not on the other side of double doors leading out to the pool and the concert.  She pulled away, looking into his bright eyes.  “Yeah, I’ll stay here.”

“Go, enjoy the concert.  If anything, I can see you from here in that bikini.  I wanna watch you dance, have fun, and not be a distraction.”

“You’re a wonderful distraction, Josh.  One last kiss, then I’ll go out there.  Good thing Chris is still out there doing banter with Mark…”  She gave him one long, lingering kiss before walking away, putting an extra swing in her hips as she walked away, JC groaning at how good she looked from behind.

Chris walked up to him as Mark began to sing.  “You are hooked, aren’t you?  I don’t think I’ve seen you like this about a girl in a long time.”

“She’s it for me, man.  I know things are scary right now, but I want her to be the one I spent the rest of my life with, even if it means the worst for her.”

“What do you mean?” Brad asked.

JC sighed.  “She’s got a brain tumor, she’s actually having surgery next week to remove it.  Not cancer, thank God, but it’s still scary.  She has epilepsy, and the tumor is making her condition worse, even with her current medication.  The best we can do right now is keep her relaxed.  She’s feeling better right now…”

“Lots of sex can do that to you,” Chris chuckled.

“But seriously, I’m doing all I can to help her relax, not be so stressed.  It still comes and goes more than it should with medication, so I’m hoping this will help mitigate a lot of those issues.”

“You know I understand the pain of that kind of thing, and I know you’ve dealt with this before.  I’ll be praying she’s ok, that she doesn’t lose that light she has in her.  I just met her, and she’s amazing, JC.  If you think she’s the one, you love her with everything you have in you," Brad encouraged.  

They looked at her, watching her dance from beside the pool, lost in the music and the moment.  It reminded him so much of the night things ended with Jen.  If he’d have been a smarter man, he would have rushed over to Jenna's, even if it was the middle of the night. He’d have realized Jen was right, without needing to get drunk and wallow in misery in front of Justin and Lance.  They all had seen something between them, why had it taken him so long?  He kicked himself for not seeing things sooner, from the second he saw her in the hospital, bruises and all, that she was what he needed in his life.  

She went back to see JC and Chris as Otown first came out, knowing she wanted to go back out for Devin and when Chris came out to sing their *NSYNC medley. She thought about talking to the other artists that were backstage, but also wanted to enjoy the music, choosing to be more in the moment of the music and dance in JC’s arms, even if it was swaying back and forth.  They would have time the rest of the day after the concert to hang out if that’s what they wanted to do.

“Would you be ok with having some food with everyone after the show? Some of them are leaving tonight, so dinner will be just us and Chris, I think.  I know I want some alone time with you after that…”

She smiled, a blush rising to her cheeks.  “Sure.”

“What’s the blushing for?” he teased. “Excited to be surrounded by pop stars?” he chuckled.

“No, the thought of the alone time we’ll have… I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that I’m your girlfriend, we’ve had sex quite a few times already, and it's still amazing.”

“Let me guess, Steve was great to start, then it just… fizzled?”

“I mean, great because there was nothing to compare it to.  I imagine your worst is still a whole other league than Steve’s best.  Even then, I’ll still probably enjoy the hell out of it.  It was one thing for us to be friends, but for this, a romantic, sexual relationship… It still feels like a dream.”

“If it is, I never want to wake up, Jenna.  I want to enjoy our time together as much as possible.”

“In case I don’t have much time,” she sighed, her thoughts turning negative.

“Hey, I will love you until one of us takes our last breath.  I hope it’s mine, many years from now.  That dream meant something, jenna.  We’ll have our happily ever after.  You’ll be my wife, we’ll have Liam…”

“And then I die, leaving you a single dad with a baby.  Josh, I can’t do this,” she said, pulling away.  He tightened his grip on her.

“Jenna, I love you, no matter what.  We can’t think like this.  Everything will be fine.  If you’re healthy enough to have a baby, you’ll be fine for a lot longer than that. Even if it does happen like that, I’ll have loved you with everything I have until then, and I’ll tell Liam amazing stories of the woman his mom was, is.  I’ll do that anyway, during middle of the night diaper changes or fussing, telling him how amazing and beautiful his mother is, and how much I love her.”

He kissed her forehead, his lips lingering against her skin.  “It looks like Brad  is about to go on. Go back out there, have a great time.  I’ll see you back here after the show.”  He quieted his voice in her ear. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.  I’ll see you in a bit.”

He watched her, especially once Chris got out there with Otown and sang *NSYNC songs. He found himself humming his harmony parts and such at one point, sighing to himself and shaking his head. You can take the boy out of the boy band, but you can’t take the boy band out of the boy, apparently. He smiled as he saw her recording with one hand, doing the dance moves with the other and the rest of her body.  He felt the urge to do the choreography, muscle memory coming back to surprise him as he ran over it in his head. She wasn’t perfect, but it was cute watching her try, considering giving her some hands-on lessons at some point. 

The concert ended, Jenna making her way back towards JC, when she was stopped by some of the girls around.

“Do you know them?  We kept seeing you go back there?  Do you know one of them?”

“Yeah, something like that.”

“You looked really friendly with Chris, he kept hugging you from what we could see.”

“I know him through a friend.  I live in LA, so…”

“Oh my God, do you see Lance?  Or Justin?  Oh God, do you see JC?”

Jenna sighed with a smile.  “Living in LA doesn’t mean you run into them at every turn.  I saw Lance at Rocco’s once, saw JC at heart a few weeks back…”

It hit her, how quickly everything had happened.  Just a few weeks ago they were friends, and now they were lovers.  Her eyes flitted to the direction she needed to go in.

“Is JC as nice as he seems?  He’s a unicorn, so you only get stories, bits and pieces…”

“He is, as far as I can tell.  Lance is a sweetheart, it was so hard not to freak out when I met him, but he made me feel like we were best friends, instantly.  If you’ll excuse me, I need to get going.”

The women let her be, JC smiling as he saw her walking towards him, no longer being bothered by other fans.  Jenna realized that would be her life, once they were out in the open with their relationship. Hopefully fans would be nice to her then, knowing how she had felt about some of their exes at the time.