The girls had ordered the basic tea menu, both of them still dealing with sticker shock.  They’d done tea before, but this was the Plaza, so they figured the ambiance for the experience is what made it more expensive than back home.  

“I was here for breakfast, now I’m back for afternoon tea. It’s incredible,"Jenna sighed.

Kelly looked around.  “So,” she started quietly, “how was YOUR night last night?”

“Seriously, how does it get better every time?” Jenna laughed lightly.  “I can’t even put words to it… This would be great and romantic if any other guy had done what he did with my accident, and we fell in love, but the fact that it’s him, it all feels magnified somehow.  I guess I’m still shocked that he wants me out of every other woman in the world.”

“I knew he loved you before he did.  As jealous as I sometimes feel that this happened to you, it hasn’t changed you.  Yeah, he’s exposing you to this other side of his life, but you also know this isn’t his everyday.  You’re friends with the rest of his fucking band, but you haven’t gotten a big head about it.  You don’t feel you deserve it, but you do.  You deserve all of this, Jenna.  The fact that the man practically worships you, who he is, I’m glad you’re getting this.”

“Kelly, he could take me to all the fancy parties he wants, and you’d still be my plus one.  I could meet all the other wives and such and you’re still my first choice for maid of honor, when the time comes.”

“God, I know you’re living together, but imagine being his wife!  When do you think he’ll propose?”

“I don’t know.  Probably at Christmas with his family, make it special.  It’ll definitely be special, the way he talks about everything he has planned.  I doubt it would be on Christmas, maybe Christmas Eve, or some random day we’re there so that it’s special in its own way.”

“Imagine the ring he’ll get you… You’ll blind everyone and it’ll be so big you develop muscles on one arm from the weight of it.”

“I don’t think so.  He’d probably design it himself with a jeweler, something simple.  He knows I don’t need anything over the top, I’m not that girl.”

“But it’s an engagement ring, it’s supposed to be over the top…”

“That’s not either of us, Kelly, and you know it.  I’d say yes if he had a plain silver band and said we had an appointment at the courthouse that afternoon.  As long as it’s the two of us together, that’s all that matters.”

“What if he proposes tonight?” Kelly gasped.

“He won’t.  He’s not nervous enough.  This is the kind of thing men freak out over, worrying they’ll mess something up. I remember Steve rushing us to the castle first thing, I had no idea why until it happened.  He may be a performer, but he’s still a man.  Nothing makes a guy more nervous than preparing to propose.”

“Even when they know the answer is yes?”

“Yes, because he’ll want to make sure it’s perfect.”

“You’ll say yes even if it isn’t, we both know that.”

“He’ll still be nervous.  He’d been on a cable TV show performing in front of audiences, and he still threw up one of the first times they performed as *NSYNC.  He’ll be nervous, even if he tries to hide it.  I’ve seen him in a lot of different situations the last few months, I think I know my boyfriend well enough.”

“Speaking of seeing him in different situations,” Kelly smirked.

“Ugh, really?” Jenna groaned.

“I told you about last night.  Well, not in as much detail as I’d have liked, given your boyfriend was there.”

“I don’t need to vicariously live through your sex life anymore.”

“So let me live through yours.  Last night was a rare exception.”

“I’d rather we not.”

“Come on, you told me all about Steve.  Celebrity or not, it shouldn’t matter.”

Jenna pulled out her phone.  Do you, or did you in the beginning, tell your friends about sex stuff with your husband?  Like, did you tell your best friend everything?

“What was that?” Kelly wondered.

“Nothing, just tell me about your night.  What happened in the bathroom?  Speak quietly, I doubt this is an appropriate conversation for afternoon tea…”

“Let’s start off with what happened at the club.  I thought he’d pull me into the bathroom, but he knew about a spare coat room that gave us a little more privacy and no one needing to get inside.  He had me up against the door, his hands were all over me…”

Jena’s phone lit up as replies came in on the group text.

Definitely. Especially after the first time.  We don’t really talk about it amongst ourselves, recognizing the names in this thread, but with my friends?  I definitely have, to varying degrees.  

Same.  I mean, I’m happy to tell you about stuff if you wanna hear about it.  I think it’s different for us being with them, we might not want the details, but think if it were your friend with him, would you wanna know?

Jenna knew the answer to that question.  I just want to respect his privacy, our privacy.

So say what you’re comfortable with.  If you’d tell more because it’s some random guy, it makes sense to hide those kinds of things sometimes.  If he gives you the best you’ve ever had and you want to hire a skywriter to tell everyone, you might as well tell your best friend.

“Ok, good to know your phone gets more attention than me,” Kelly snarked, seeing that Jenna wasn’t paying attention.

“Sorry.  I’m listening now, I swear.”

“I know it’s been a while, since before your accident, but I’ve never had a guy this good. Like, I can still feel him, phantom dick.”

Jenna almost choked on her sip of tea. “I know the feeling. Not our first time, but shortly thereafter.  It’s dangerous having sexy flashbacks while working with children.”

“I messed up, didn’t I? I didn’t want to seem too needy and clingy, but he feels so good, he was attentive, then from talking to him he’s a really sweet guy. He has a brother that’s a widower, so he helps take care of his little niece.”

“What does he do for work?”

“Communications or something. He was here for a convention I think.”

“He sounds incredible. I hate to say it, but yeah, you missed out.”

“You think he might still be at the hotel? Or that they might be able to give me information?”

“Was he checking out today?”

“I don’t know. We both just decided this was a one night thing, so…”

“Ok. This might sound crazy, but…”

“Wait, Jenna Pollard is coming up with a crazy idea??” Kelly laughed. 

“Try asking if the person staying in his room checked out or not. Not sure if they’ll tell you, but it’s worth a shot. Either that or you just wait in the hotel lobby all night until you see him or they kick you out.”

“Are you legit telling me to stalk him?”

“Kinda.  Maybe it’ll sound better if you tell him you made a mistake, put yourself out there and say you want to see if there’s something more. If he doesn’t feel the same way, at least you tried and have no regrets.”

“Did they take out part of your brain with the tumor? This is a crazy plan… but I love it.”

Jenna shrugged her shoulders, taking a bite of her food. They finished lunch, charging it to the room per JC’s instructions.  They walked into the spa, checking in for their appointment. 

“We’re aware of the situation,” Jenna taking that to mean her pregnancy, “so we recommend you look at our various facial treatments and see which you’d like.”

They looked at a laminated menu going over the different options. “It’s your birthday, I think you should do the royal honey one to feel like a queen,” Kelly suggested. 

“Sounds interesting,” Jenna agreed. 

“So she’ll do that, I’ll do the signature facial.  Is there a way we can be in a room together? I get it if we can’t, but…”

“Not a problem, miss,” the woman at the desk replied. “If you’ll please follow me, I’ll show you to your room.”

They were walked to a room with two massage tables, quiet music, and the calming scent of lavender. They were told to wash any makeup off before lying down on the tables. 

“You’re gonna look incredible, Jenna.  You are beautiful now, but you’re gonna look radiant, have that pregnancy glow…”

“Stop.  If word gets out to anyone, it will cause a tidal wave in the fandom.”

“It will not,” Kelly scoffed.

“Everyone still thinks he’s with Jen.  Eventually people are going to wonder, and once I’m showing, that’s it.  You can’t deny a baby bump after a certain point.”

“However, he’s never wanted kids before, so for him to be with someone else, having a baby… We’d expect him to do what he’s doing.  He proposed once, so at some point you guys will get married, be a family.  If he didn’t want this, he’d hide it or help you get rid of it, or have you sign an NDA and hide the fact that it’s his.  But someday he’ll be photographed holding Liam while you guys are out somewhere.  The fans will need to get used to this being his choice and respect it.  If they can’t, then fuck them.  Seriously, they can fuck right off.  They aren’t you, so they get zero say in your relationship.  I know it all happened very quickly, but…”

“What if he changes his mind, Kel?  What if we get to that point, where I can’t hide it, and he doesn’t want this anymore?  He’s all in right now, but what if he decides months from now that it’s too much for him, bad for his image?  I’ll be heartbroken.”

“Jenna, stop.  That’s not going to happen.  He loves you with everything he has in him.  You know he’s not that kind of guy.  If he were, he wouldn’t have been hurt when the tests came up negative, and wouldn’t have been over the moon when you guys found out you were pregnant.  You changed him, without meaning to, opened him to something neither of you thought would happen.  You never thought you’d have kids, he never thought he’d want them.  This is incredible, Jenna.  He’d never hurt you on purpose, not now, not ever.”

There was a knock at the door, the girls quieting to focus and begin relaxing.  The women giving their facials were fairly quiet, Jenna almost falling asleep again in the process of her treatment.   They finished with having Jenna and Kelly go onto their stomachs, giving a 5 minute neck and shoulder massage, leaving them feeling refreshed, renewed, and invigorated.  

They walked back up to the room, Jenna using her key to get into their room.  They stopped as they saw JC asleep on top of the bed.  “Ok, I’m witnessing a miracle.  Seeing a wild JC in his natural habitat, sleep,” Kelly quietly laughed.

Jenna looked at him, quietly shushing Kelly.  “You’ll wake him up,” she whispered.  She saw his eyes slowly flutter open, her heart sinking a bit.  “Sorry we woke you.”

“No,” he yawned, “it’s fine.  I need to get up anyway.  How was lunch?  You ladies look fabulous, by the way.”

“Thank you,” Jenna blushed. “I don’t even have makeup on.”

“You don’t need it, but that’s my opinion. Is there any decision on what to do about Brian?”

“Your girlfriend convinced me to go stalker mode and go back to his hotel, see if he’s still there or wait in the lobby for him.  Crazy, I know. Think it would work, or just freak him out?”

“Only one way to find out, I guess.  If it were ME, and it was someone I’d already met, vibed with, I’d be more into it than a random fan stalking the hotel.  I hope it works out.”

“Thanks. I’m gonna go change and hope for the best,” Kelly sighed. 

“Do you need to freshen up or anything?” JC asked.  “Our next thing is at 5.”

“How many more things are we doing tonight?”

JC had to pause.  “Five.”

“Josh, how are we fitting five more things into tonight?  You’re crazy…”

“All for you, birthday girl.”

“I haven’t been a girl in years,” she laughed.

“The term isn’t birthday woman, woman friend.  That implies something else, though also fairly accurate I suppose.  I guess if you don’t want to be my girlfriend, you could be my partner.  I like the sound of that, a little less juvenile then boyfriend and girlfriend…”

“I’m fine with whatever you want to call me.”

He pulled her into his arms, his eyes looking intently into hers.  “You’re mine.  That’s all I care about. Mine to love, care for, mine to raise Liam with, mine to go through life with.  Mine.”

“Only you can make such a possessive word turn into something so romantic.”  She smiled, a pink tint rising to her cheeks. He ran his thumb over her cheek before pulling her neck to close the distance between them, kissing her tenderly.  “I like being yours, and you’re mine.”

“I’m all yours, Jenna.”  He kissed her again, a content sigh filling his lungs.

“We should get going if we have our next thing soon.  Should I put some makeup on?”

“That’s up to you. I love you without it, but you might look back at pictures and wish you had, for whatever crazy reason.”

“I’ll just do my eyes.  It’s getting dark, no one will see my face but you, but I want to make my eyes catch yours as much as possible.”

“Some of that perfume I bought you?  And you aren’t in that purple getup yet, are you?”

“My crotchless lingerie?  I’ll go put it on right now,” she smirked slyly.

“Can I cancel my plans for the rest of the night?” he joked, though other parts of him were seriously considering the matter.

“If your plans include dinner, no.  We need to eat.”

‘We’ll order room service, I can feed you, eat some off you…” he said, nuzzling the hollow of her neck.

“If you got me cake or something, we can do that later,” she smiled.  

“Note to self, buy you something on the way back here tonight,” he chuckled.

She did a quick silvery eye, nothing overly dramatic but enough that it was an accent to her black dress and silver accessories.  She put on her boots, grabbed her jacket, and was ready to go.

JC led her downstairs, the last bits of daylight fading as they stepped out of the hotel.  The darkness would afford him a little more privacy while also allowing him to do what he’d planned.  They went to a crosswalk, crossing towards Central Park.

Jenna gasped, seeing one of the carriages in front of her.  “Oh, these are so beautiful.  I’ve always wanted to ride in one.”

“Good thing it’s your birthday.  This one is for us,” JC answered.

“Really?”  A huge smile spread across her face as he nodded.

“Your carriage awaits, miss,” the driver greeted.  JC confirmed his reservation, a one hour guided tour of the park.  Jenna was giddy with joy at crossing off a bucket list item.  They got comfortable in the open carriage before the horse trotted off.  

Jenna took everything in with wide eyes, taking pictures as they went to never forget this moment.  The tour included stops for photographs of them together in front of various New York City locales within and surrounding the park.  It felt like a dream come true, and seemed very fitting that JC was the one to execute such a thing.  

The carriage slowed to a stop.  “Final destination,” the driver smiled, helping Jenna out of the carriage.  “It has been my pleasure to show you around.  Enjoy dinner and the rest of your evening.”

“Dinner?” Jenna asked.

JC turned her to face Tavern on the Green, the soft lights continuing to make each moment of their night magical.

They were seated outside, at a table with a view of the meadow.  They perused the menu, Jenna unsure of what to pick.

“Have the ravioli, you’ll love it,” JC suggested.

“I’m considering the roast chicken, but I don’t know what haricots verts are…”

JC chuckled.  “It’s French for green beans.  If you really want some, you can get a side of it.”

“I think I will. And the charred broccoli.  Should get some veggies in there somehow.”

“The ravioli is in tomato sauce,” JC laughed lightly.

“Not the same thing and you know it.”

They ordered their food, Jenna feeling dumb asking for virgin mocktails or Shirley Temples.  Once the baby bump was out in force, it would be obvious as to why she wasn’t drinking.  For now, it could be any number of reasons, some of them suggesting things she’d hate the press to print as truth. 

“Has it been a great birthday so far?” JC wondered.

“It has.  The tea was wonderful, even if Kely and I talked about sex the whole time…”

“I wish I’d joined,” he laughed.

“Seeing as none of it was about you, I suppose you could have.  Well, not about sex with you anyway.”

“What did you talk about?”

“Well, Kelly started off by asking how our night was last night, and all I said was that things just get better between us, and how blessed I am to have that with any man, let alone you.  Then we talked about when you’ll propose, what kind of ring you’d get.  She said something big and gaudy, I said something meaningful and small.  She said you’re gonna propose tonight, then I told her my theory.”

“What’s your theory?”

“You’re not nervous enough.  It’ll be when we’re in Florida for Christmas.  I know we’re going for Thanksgiving, too, but I fully support holidays away from my mother for a bit.  With the extra lights, all the Christmas trees, maybe even after a little “Under My Tree” action,” she giggled.

“What?  We’re not doing it under the tree.”

“You sang about it.  The fandom is quite sad that you didn't write a song about having sex under a Christmas tree, wishing Santa could watch.  Sounds right up your alley.”

“I deserve that, I suppose,” he chuckled.  “I don’t want anyone else watching us, they’ll just want you as badly as I do, and I don’t share.”

“Really?  I’m afraid to do this, but you wrote Carrie…”

“Ok, I don’t share NOW.  At least not without copious amounts of alcohol for all people involved.”

“Like how Brian suggested with him and Kelly?”

“Fair point.  Doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

“You said I was taken, so nothing more happened.  I wouldn’t have wanted to, anyway.  He’s not my type.  I’m not a one night kinda girl anyway.  I prefer the long game.”

“I hope he sees her, that they at least exchange information this time…”

“If not have sex three more times before morning.  Then twice once they wake up.”

“They’re sounding like us,” he chuckled.

“Is that a bad thing?”

“Absolutely not.”

The food was incredible, the conversation moving towards things she wanted to do in Florida, giving JC ideas to work with that, in her head, could lead into a proposal.  There was something about the magic of Christmas that felt romantic to her.  She knew it was silly to ask, but she wanted to go to Disney World.  She didn’t need to do the big rides, especially being pregnant, but just to feel the Disney magic at Christmas.  In her mind, that was the ideal proposal.  All the romantic, magical possibilities rolled into one.  

They finished dinner, a black sedan waiting for them.  JC opened the rear door, helping Jenna get in first.

“Where are we going?” she wondered.

“You’ll find out soon enough.”

“You still have your business thing, right?  Are we going to that?”

“Yes, but you wouldn't know it.  It won’t be boring, far from it.”

She looked out the window as they wove through the streets. Her eyes widened as she saw the bright lights. “Are we where I think we are?”

He nodded. “Welcome to Broadway.”