Chapter 19

The smile was still plastered across JC’s face when he woke up the next morning.  He felt amazing.  He couldn’t recall a woman ever satisfying him so completely, both physically and emotionally.  He’d had great sex.  Honesty, he had had a lot of great sex.  And he had felt some very strong emotions during the course of his adult life.  But never had he felt such a strong combination of the two.  The connection he was experiencing with Ellie was better than anything he’d ever felt before.  He was in love... and it was so good it was indescribable.  

With a breathy and sappy sigh he rolled his nude body towards her side of the bed and ran his hand across the sheets where she’d been lying.  She’d rolled out quietly just a few minutes earlier, after kissing him softly and quietly on the temple.  He’d been awake enough just for the sentiment to stir him into consciousness. He’d barely opened his eyes in time to admire her curvy, naked behind before she disappeared into her adjoining bathroom.  

Rolling onto his back, he was still grinning, replaying their lovemaking in his head while staring blankly at the ceiling.  Did being in love feel this good the last time?  He didn’t think it did.  Yes, it had been awhile, but he couldn’t remember ever feeling like this.

When she reappeared, still utterly and completely nude--and gorgeous--she noticed instantly that he was awake, and watching her every move.  She grinned just as sappily as he felt and voiced a whispery, “hi.”

“Hi.”  He smiled in return, watching as she gracefully climbed back underneath the covers with him.  

“Sleep ok?” she asked.

“Better than ever,” he responded, figuring it was safe to finally voice how deeply he was feeling after all they’d shared the night before.

Her grin widened as she leaned in close, sort of hovering above him.  “Still love me?” she asked.

Bringing a hand up to the side of her face, he responded with an “oh god yes.”

She chuckled lightly and touched her lips to his cheek, and then  to the corner of his mouth before finally indulging in his lips.  “Thank you,” she said to him.

“For what?” he asked.  

“For last night... for everything.”

Smoothing his fingers to the back of her neck and into her hairline, he urged her lips to his once again.  “Sweetheart, you have nothing to thank me for.  I should be thanking you.”

With a smirk she responded, “I have a feeling we could argue about this for a long time.”

Grinning, he knew she had a point.  “You are probably right.”

Ellie was wishing she could stay in her “JC bubble” for the rest of the morning, but she hadn’t forgotten about the situation with her sister and all that had happened in regard to that the night before.  It seemed there was always something to complicate matters.  Worst part was she didn’t want to burst his bubble by bringing it up, but she knew she had to.

“What do you have on your schedule today?” she asked first.

“Studio,” he said, “but not until 2 o’clock.”

If only she could stay in bed with him until then.  

His eyes widened, as if he suddenly realized it was a weekday.  “Shit, what time does Daphne come to work?”

Ellie hadn’t even thought about that! “Uh... ten?”  She reached for her blackberry off the nightstand to realize it was it was already 9:20.  “Dammit.”

“What time is it?” he asked.

“Too early,” she said first.  “Or too late,” she added with a smirk, tilting her head to the side for added effect.

“Can I see you again tonight?” he asked.  “I know you have a lot to deal with today.”

“I can’t imagine NOT seeing you tonight with all I have to deal with today,” Ellie remarked.

He grinned sympathetically.  “I was trying not to bring that up.”

Ellie replied the look.  “I thought you had forgot.”

“Well,” he said, the back of his index finger skimming down her cheek, “there were certainly other events that happened last night that overshadowed that specific event.”

“Yes,” she agreed, “they most certainly did.  Did I say thank you?”

His brow furrowed in between his eyes and he stared at her with faux annoyance. “You did, and you have nothing to thank me for.  Trust me, everything that happened last night was absolutely my pleasure.”  She got the feeling that he couldn’t stress that quite enough.  It made her absolutely giddy from head to toe.

She wanted to tell him that she had absolutely never felt anything like the way she was feeling with him, but she wasn’t quite that brave.  Maybe thanking him wasn’t the right sentiment, but she wasn’t quite sure how to put her gratitude into words.  She felt extremely thankful at the moment.  Even with all the things  going on in her life, she felt as if her cup was running over with goodness, all thanks to what was happening with the incredible man--handsome, loving, caring, funny, sexy, tender, and kind--staring her in the face.

“Ok,” she said after a brief moment, “I’ll stop thanking you.  Do you think we can manage a quick shower together? Or is that too risky?”

His eyes lit up at the offer, as he immediately started to sit up in bed.  “We can manage,” he replied with confidence, and then hopped out of bed.  Ellie quickly followed.

JC had barely made it out of the house before Daphne showed.  LIterally, he shut his front door as Daphne was pulling up to the house.  She knew this because she had been watching him out the window.   

Ellie was barely dressed, her hair was wet and she had no make-up on when she let Daphne in through the front door.  But that was the least of her concerns.  She realized that her sister would be waking up at some point, and she needed to make her assistant aware that a guest was staying in the house.  This was a touchy subject.  She needed Daphne to be aware that Rose was not in the best state of mind, but she did not want Daphne knowing all of the details.  That trust wasn’t there yet.

Daphne came inside, dressed conservatively in jeans and a black blazer.  She didn’t seem to bash an eyelash at Ellie’s state of unreadiness.  

Ellie was explaining immediately anyway.  “I had kind of a late night.  My sister is here and her arrival was unexpected.  I need you to know that she is not in the best state of mind right now so if she makes any requests please let me know immediately--before complying.”

Daphne nodded.  “No problem,” she said.  “Should I get started?”

“Yes, please.  I’m going to finish getting dressed and then we can go over my schedule for the week.”

“Ok.”

Across the street, JC was still floating on a cloud.  So much so that he was beginning to feel a bit ridiculous.  “So I assume everything is good?” Tyler asked, popping up off the couch as JC made way into the kitchen across from the family room.  He was starving and had his mind set on leftovers from the bbq that were still in the fridge. 

“Yep,” JC answered curtly.  Things were better with his brother, but he was in nowhere ready to share what he was feeling.

“I do like her,” Tyler added.  

JC responded with a curt smile as he opened the fridge.  “Good.”

“Not that my opinion matters... obviously”

JC stopped pulling food out of the fridge at that. “Ty, you know that’s not true.  I don’t know how many times I have to apologize for what I did to you, but I am sorry.  And I am trying to change.  Believe it or not, Ellie is the first girl I’ve been with since I made that stupid promise.”

“Stupid promise?” Tyler responded, his voice raised.  “JC, you slept with a girl I had been out with more than once just to spite me, and you’re my brother!”

JC was immediately defending himself.  “You had been out with her but not seriously, Ty.  Don’t make it sound worse than it was.”

“Josh... come on.”  

Clearly this was far from resolved if Tyler was resorting to calling JC by his full first name.    He waited for more to come.

“Serious or not, it was fucked up and you know it.”

“Ok, yes it was definitely fucked up.  But how many times do we have to do this?”

Tyler shook his head, obviously annoyed and more than likely still hurt.  It was reminders of such behaviors that made JC wonder if what was happening with Ellie was too good to be true.  Did he really deserve a shot at real love after behaving so badly in the recent past?  

What made JC any better than Ellie’s ex?  Ugh.  The morning was turning into a real downer.  Dammit Ty.  Just get over it already!

“I don’t know,” Ty finally said.  “Maybe we just need to duke it out like when we were kids.”

JC smirked.  “Don’t tempt me,” he said.  “I can get us in the ring in an hour if you really want to.”  That was no lie.  Mac’s brother owned a gym and trained MMA fighters.  

All it would take is one phone call.

“Honestly?” Ty said, “I think I’d feel a lot better.”

JC found himself smirking again.  “Alright, I’ll make the call right now.  I could use a good workout.”  If his brother wanted to fight this out, then so be it.

“Rose has been sleeping since we got in early this morning.  Should I try and wake her?”  It was one in the afternoon and it had been 12 hours since JC had carried Rose into the house, over his shoulder, and she’d collapsed in the guest room.  Ellie had checked on her several times since she’d gotten up and Rose was definitely still breathing, but the girl was knocked out. 

“Let her sleep it off,” Ellie’s mom replied.  “You know that’s best.  Then we can figure out what to do.”

“I hate this,” Ellie sighed.  “Why can’t I have a normal sister?”

“I’m sorry, El.  You know I’ve tried everything to fix Rose.”

“I know, mom.  I’m sorry if it sounded like I was blaming you.”

“I’d fly out there and handle this myself if I thought it would help, but in reality it would just add to what you’ve already got going on.”

“I know,” Ellie replied.

“Keep me updated, ok?  I’ve got my phone close by.”

“Ok, mom.  I love you.”

“Love you too sweetheart.  Keep your chin up.”

Ellie sighed, hanging up the phone and staring blankly at the kitchen wall.  Things were so crazy.  Her emotions were all over the place.  She wondered what JC was up to.  She hadn’t heard from him since he’d left.  Not one text or anything, which was kind of weird.  She had thought about sending something, but didn’t want to bug him.  He was probably just busy.  She knew he had studio time scheduled at 2.  Hopefully she’d hear something before then.

Daphne stepped into the kitchen then, carrying a large manilla envelope.  “Ellie, this was just delivered for you.”

Funny, she hadn’t even heard the door.  Stretching out an arm to accept it, Daphne handed it to her and waited for instruction.

“Thank you,” Ellie told her.  “I’ll let you know if I need anything else.”

Daphne nodded and left the room.  Exhaling a deep breath, Ellie tore open the envelope.  She was surprised to find it was settlement papers from James.  She’d been waiting for more than two weeks.  How did her attorney not know this was coming in the mail?

She skimmed it over, nervous tension in her chest until she learned that it was exactly what she and James had agreed upon--50 million dollars.  Oh, this sure made life a lot less complicated!  Hallelujah!

Excitedly she called Stephen Blake’s office and explained what she’d received to his secretary.  They wanted her to come in later that afternoon to review everything.  She had no problems with that!  Next she dialed JC.  This was such great news! She wanted to share with him right away.

His phone rang five or six times and then went to voicemail.  “I have good news.  Call me!” she spoke excitedly and then hung up, ready to make the next call.

It hadn’t even registered that things weren’t that great between her and Jill until her friend answered, clearly surprised by Ellie’s call.  “El, I’m so glad you called.  I hope we’re ok.”

Shit.  Now she had to talk about it.  How could she have forgotten so quickly?!  “We will be,” Ellie said.  “To be honest, I’d sort of forgotten about it already.”

“Shit, sorry.  Again.”

Ellie pushed the visuals of Jill and JC out of her mind.  “It’s ok.  I have good news.  I got settlement papers today from James.”

“That is fantastic news!!!  So?”

“Fifty,” Ellie said simply.

“You’re getting the fifty?  Just like he said?”

“From what I can tell, of course Stephen still has to review everything, but that’s what it looks like to me.”

“Don’t get too excited until Stephen reads all the fine print, but El, that is great.  You deserve it sweetie.  I’m happy for you.”

“I just want it to be behind me,” Ellie said.  “And since I have you on the phone, you should know that Rose called last night.”

“Rose?  Is she ok?”

“She is passed out in my guest room,” Ellie revealed, instinctively looking toward the doorway.  

“Oh.  Have you called her sponsor?”

“That’s next on my list.”

“You’ve had one helluva week, haven’t you?”

Just thinking about it and Ellie was exhuasted again.  “Yeah, I have.”  She realized she wasn’t ready to have a long drawn out conversation with Jill just yet.  She was still upset.  “I’m gonna get off here.  I have more calls to make.  I’ll keep you updated as things progress.”

“Ok, babe,” Jill called her.  “Take care of yourself.”

“I will.  Thanks.”

They both said goodbye and Ellie found herself slumping into the counter.  Of all the things that could ruin her high, it was remembering what had happened between JC and Jill.  The visual of a 20 year old Jill riding JC like a cowgirl riding a bucking bull popped into Ellie’s mind.  Ugh.  Bad visual.  She almost felt nauseous over it.  How was she ever going to get past this?  She’d seen pictures of Jill at 20 and everyone had seen pictures of JC ten years prior.  This was terrible.  It was way too easy to imagine them getting it on and then some.  She gagged audibly, just before Daphne popped in the doorway again.  

“JC is here,” the girl announced, just before JC popped in behind her.  Immediately Ellie was knocked off kilter as she couldn’t help but notice he was sporting a rather gnarly looking black eye.  

“What the?” she immediately asked, rushing toward him, her sight focused in on the bruised left side of his face.  

JC was shaking his head lightly back and forth while sighing with annoyance.  “I don’t want to talk about it,” he said.

Like that was going to stop Ellie.  “Who did this to you?”  

“Ty wanted to box and I agreed.”

“What?!”  That was the last thing she expected to hear!  “Why?!”

He made a face, his nose scrunching upward, and then immediately looked sorry that he had done so as it obviously hurt.  Then he looked over at Daphne who was still in the kitchen with them.

“Oh,” the girl remarked, like she had just realized that she should probably leave the room.  And just like that she was gone.

JC visibly swallowed and brushed a hand down her arm.  “He’s still pissed off at me,” he explained quietly.  “He wanted to get in the ring and duke it out like we did when we were kids. I stupidly agreed.”

“Please tell me he looks worse,” Ellie replied automatically.

JC half smiled at that.  “Actually, he doesn’t.  I kind of let him get one good swing on me hoping he would finally be satisfied.”

“So you’re telling me you let him give you black eye?”

“Kind of... yeah.”

Ellie shook her head and slipped her arms around his waist.  “So did it work?”

“I’m hoping...”JC replied as he nuzzled in close to her shoulder.  “I need Advil.  Do you have anything?”

“Of course.  Are you still going to the studio?”

He shook his head.  “I rescheduled.”

Ellie lightly touched his face.  “Oh, baby...” she called to him softly.  “This was really necessary?”

"I am so not about resorting to violence to solve things," he sighed. "This was just stupid. I'm just so ready to be passed this stupid thing with my brother. I have apologized endlessly and he still keeps bringing it up. I'm just hoping this will finally put it to rest."

"Oh JC. All this over..."  She couldn't say it. After the visual she'd just had of him and Jill and now this fued with his brother over him sleeping with a girl his brother liked... It was just too much. 

"I screwed up," JC said.  "It's not one of my finer moments.  Are you upset? Do you want me to leave?"  He was so ready to stop reliving this specific mistake but he also knew he had to be completely honest with Ellie for that to happen. And not just honest about what had happened but also about his state of mind at the time. 

Unfortunately it was at that very moment that Rose decided to appear, looking completely dishelved and disoriented. She looked at JC with confusion and then hazily focused in on her sister. "Ellie?  JC Chasez?  How did I get here?"

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