"Good afternoon." The girl behind the counter smiled at him as he walked towards her.

"Hi." He said, taking off his sunglasses and smiling at her.  She stopped working on whatever it was she had been doing on her computer as he tucked his glasses in the collar of his shirt and leaned against the top of the desk.  She was a cute girl-her light brown hair hung straight around her shoulders, her blue eyes were friendly-but he'd be surprised if she were any older than eighteen.

"What can I help you with?" She asked cheerfully.

"Is Rachel Kline in?" He asked.

The girl's brows furrowed as her eyes moved back to her computer screen and she clicked her mouse a few times.  "She's not back from lunch yet, but let me just make sure she doesn't have an afternoon appointment out somewhere." 

"Thanks." He said.

The girl smiled at him. "Well, she doesn't have anything on her calendar.  Did you have an appointment with her?"

"No." JC said.  "I just have some paperwork I need to give her."

"If you want, I can just take it and give it to her." She held a hand out to him.

He held the papers back from her.  "I was actually hoping to talk to her." JC said.  "Is she going to be back soon do you think?"

"She should be back any minute."

"Do you mind if I just wait for her?" He asked, gesturing to the chairs grouped by the front doors.

"Not at all." She smiled.

"Thanks." He said as he turned and walked away from the desk.  Sitting down in a chair facing the door JC placed the papers he held in his lap and, putting one elbow up on an armrest, rested his chin in his hand.  He watched as traffic passed by on the street and waited.  As he waited, his mind wandered-the conversation he'd had with his mom yesterday replaying in his head.

"We are not having this conversation again, Mom." JC sighed as he plopped down on the couch. 

"Don't take that tone with me, Joshua." Karen Chasez said sternly over the phone.  "You may not be a child anymore, but I'm still your mother."

"Yes, ma'am." He replied, contritely. 

His mother sighed.  "I just worry about you, honey."

JC rolled his eyes.  "You don't have to worry about me, Mom.  I'm an adult.  I can take care of myself.  I'm fine."

"Are you?" She asked sincerely.

He was quiet for a moment.  He was tempted to answer her the way he answered everyone who asked him that question: ‘Yeah, life is good right now.  I'm happy.' But he couldn't lie to his mother.

"I didn't think so." She said in response to his silence.  He cursed her ability to read him.  Even separated by an entire continent she could still read between the lines and pick up on what he wasn't telling her.  "What's going on, Josh?" She asked concerned.

"Nothing's going on." He reassured her.  "I'm just..." He paused.  How was he supposed to explain what had been going on the past couple weeks without her jumping to conclusions and blowing things out of proportion?  "I've just been a bit preoccupied and...frustrated lately."

"Why are you frustrated?" She asked.

"This remodel for one." He answered, listening to the chaos going on in the front room.

"How's that going?"

"Good, I guess.  I've never really done this before so I have nothing to compare it to.  You guys'll have to come out and see it when it's done."

"How's the designer?" She asked.  "I've heard they can sometimes be a pain to work with."

"Rachel's great." He answered, a smile coming to his face.  Even though the last time they'd talked she been upset, he had found himself trying to come up with an excuse to get her back out to the house sooner than she was planning on.  Maybe if he acted like he was upset over what Tony was doing...

"Rachel, huh?" His mom asked.  He could hear the smile in her voice and could picture the interested look on her face.  He rolled his eyes.

"Stop." He said with a chuckle.

"Stop what?" She asked innocently.

"Stop whatever crazy thoughts are going through your head right now."

"I don't know what you're talking about." She answered.

"Please!" He exclaimed with a laugh.  "Every time I mention a girl, you get these crazy ideas about me getting married."

"I just think it's time for you to find a nice girl to settle down with, Joshua." Karen answered.

JC sighed.  He turned and began picking at the fabric on the armrest next to him.  "It's kind of hard for someone like me to find someone to ‘settle down with'." He replied.

"No it's not." She answered.  "Celebrities get married everyday."

Yeah, but how many of them stay married? He wanted to ask her.  That was the problem, though he'd never admit it out loud.  He was the kind of guy that once he was committed-really committed-to a relationship, that was it.  Once he finally gave his heart to someone he didn't want it back.  But he'd gotten it back more times than he'd care to admit; each time making him more and more grateful that he hadn't taken the relationship as far as maybe he'd wanted to.  How did you find someone you knew you would be with forever? It was obvious that he had no idea; all the girls he'd been with in the past had done nothing but use him and leave him.

"You just need to open yourself up more." His mother continued.

JC laughed bitterly. "And how has opening myself up helped in the past?"

"You have to go through heartbreak so you can recognize true love when it shows up." She answered.

"True love." He mused.  "Is it even real?" 

"I'm sorry." She said.

"For what?"

"For everything."

"What are you talking about?" He asked, confused.

"If I hadn't suggested you try out for Disney all those years ago, maybe you'd have already found a nice girl and settled down in a normal life."

"Yeah, and maybe not." He said.  "Mom, I don't regret anything I've done in my life and you shouldn't either.  I've had some amazing experiences and been able to do things that most people only dream about."

"I know." She sighed.  "But you don't have anyone to share it with."

"I've got you guys." He said. 

"It's not the same, honey." She replied. "You'll know it when it comes." She said.  "One day you'll meet someone and she'll make you forget everyone that's hurt you in the past.  When that happens, take a chance and open your heart.  I think you'll be surprised at the results."

JC squinted as the glare from a grey sedan pulling into the parking lot outside blinded him and pulled him from his thoughts.  He sat up straighter when he recognized Rachel behind the wheel, his lips lifting in a smile as he imagined her response to seeing him when she walked in.  He watched as she maneuvered her car into a spot she appeared to be talking to someone.  Since he couldn't see anyone in the car with her he assumed she was talking on the phone. 

"Take a chance and open your heart."  His mother's words echoed in his head and he tried to push them away.  Open his heart to Rachel?  He would have laughed out loud if the girl behind the front desk wouldn't have thought he was insane.  Sure she was confident, beautiful and sexy and he was insanely attracted to her, but how was she any different than any of the other girls he'd been with?  What made her different?  What was it about her that caused this nervous excitement to fill him as he sat anxiously waiting for her to get out of her car?  This is ridiculous. He scolded himself.  We're going to be working together for the next couple months.  I don't want to make things awkward.  Besides, she hasn't given any indication she remembers the time we spent together last year.  He sat, watching as she remained in her car talking on the phone gesturing with her hands-indicating she was having a very animated conversation.    

Make her remember. His heart argued back. 

He lifted an interested brow.  Could he do it?  Could he make her remember without making things too awkward?  The sudden challenge was tempting, but how?  And what happened when she did remember?  Would they just go on with their lives, or would they want to see if the chemistry was still there?  He placed both elbows on the armrests and steepled his fingers, resting them against his lips as he began formulating a plan. 

 ~~~~~

"Do you remember that whole conversation we had a couple days ago about boys being dumb?" Megan asked, sounding irritated.

"Uh-oh." Rachel replied as she drove.  "What did he do?"

The girls normally didn't talk during the middle of the day because of the time difference between them, but since Megan had taken the afternoon off to go to a doctor's appointment, she had called Rachel, catching her at the end of her lunch hour.

"He told me I was childish and wanted to know when I was going to grow up."

"What?" Rachel replied in shock.  "Wait.  Who are we talking about?"

"Jackson." Megan practically growled the name out.

"Jackson?" Rachel asked, finding it hard to believe what Megan had just said.  "Sweet, charming, so completely in love with you it's ridiculous, Jackson?"

"You mean stupid, idiotic, pain in my ass, Jackson?" Megan asked. 

"What happened?" Rachel asked as she pulled into her office parking lot.  Finding a free spot she parked, rolled her windows down and turned the car off.  The mid-September afternoon was warm, but not uncomfortably so.  Rachel unbuckled her seatbelt and sat, listening to Megan.

"He went out after work with a couple buddies and came home kind of drunk."

"Kind of?" Rachel asked.  "Being drunk isn't a ‘kind of' thing.  You either are or you're not."

"Okay." Megan sighed in exasperation.  "So, he was drunk.  Anyway-I was cleaning the kitchen last night-scrubbing the oven, cleaning out the fridge-when he got home.  I had N SYNC  playing and was singing and dancing along.  But, when I went to give him a kiss he rolled his eyes and walked away from me."

"What!?" Rachel exclaimed.  "I don't believe you."

"I didn't believe it either!" Megan replied.  "I stood there in shock for a second and then was all like, ‘Excuse me?  What's your problem?'"

"And what did he say?" Rachel asked, pulling her lipgloss from her purse and reapplying it using her rearview mirror.

"He said he was sick of feeling like he was competing for my attention with a washed up former boy band member."

"Nu-uh!" Rachel gasped.  "Are you serious!?" Jackson had known about Megan's obsession with N SYNC when they'd been dating but he'd never let on that he had a problem with it.  In fact, he'd gotten a copy of one of the guys' concerts for Megan their first Valentine's Day together and had even invited JC to their wedding (albeit mostly for Rachel's benefit, and because he worked for the guy, but Megan had been ecstatic).

"Yeah." Megan said.  "He said I was being ridiculous and I needed to grow up.  He said their music was childish and immature and he was embarrassed sometimes to be in the car with me when I played their music and the windows are down." Rachel could tell that Megan was still fuming over the exchange.  "Alcohol really loosens people up, huh?" She chuckled bitterly.  "And you wonder why I never drink."

"What did you do?" Rachel asked, concerned about Megan's stress level.  It couldn't be good for the baby for her to still be this upset over something that had happened almost eighteen hours ago.  Good thing she's on her way to the doctor right now. Rachel thought.

"I told him he wasn't competing with anyone for my attention, that the fact that I was pregnant with his baby should give him a clue as to who I was really in love with and that he better apologize or he'd be sleeping out on the couch." Megan stated matter of factly. 

"And did he?" Rachel asked as she glanced at her watch.  She grimaced.  Her lunch hour was up, but she could tell Megan was going to need to talk for a while.  Grabbing her purse Rachel got out of her car.

"Nope." Megan answered.

"You didn't really make him sleep on the couch last night did you?" She asked in shock.

"Yes." Megan replied.  "I did."

"Megan!" Rachel exclaimed.

"What?" Megan asked impatiently.  "He totally deserved it!  Not only did he come home drunk, but he had the audacity to take out whatever stress he has going on right now with work on me.  And he insulted JC!  Who, P.S. is not washed up.  He's just taking a break right now."

"You're preaching to the choir, honey." Rachel laughed.  "Remember how I'm just as in love with JC as you are?"

"Who cares what kind of music I listen to?" Megan said, continuing as if she hadn't heard Rachel.  "Who cares that I still sometimes act like I'm sixteen?  That shouldn't matter.  What should matter is the fact that I married him, that I put up with him on a daily basis and that I'm having his baby."

Rachel heard Megan take a couple deep breaths and rolled her eyes at her friend's dramatics as she walked towards the front door of her building.  Megan had always been prone to being moody, but since becoming pregnant Rachel had noticed a definite increase in her friend's mood swings.  When she needed to vent, which was often, it was best to just let her get it all out.

"Maybe he--" Rachel started, but Megan cut her off.

"Don't you dare pity him." Megan responded curtly.  "You're my best friend.  Besides," she grumbled, "He didn't even stay out there all night."

"What do you mean?" Rachel asked glancing at her reflection in the front windows.  The brown and cream polka dot dress she was wearing swished around her knees.  The fabric was soft and the color matched her eyes.  She had pulled her hair back in a ponytail which helped showcase the pearl necklace around her neck, while the cream ribbon tied at the empire waist helped accentuate her slender waist.  With the brown heels she was wearing the whole outfit was reminiscent of a 1950's magazine ad.  All she needed was to be sitting in an old Chevy or to be standing next to a turquoise oven and she'd be able to sell just about anything.    

"He crawled into bed with me around three." Megan said, bringing Rachel back to the conversation she was having.  "He said he was sorry and tried to get a little frisky, thinking he could make it up to me."

"Dare I ask what you did?" Rachel asked, slightly worried.  Megan may be her best friend, but she had developed a friendship with Jackson as well over the last few years and felt sorry for what the guy was being put through with Megan being pregnant.  I bet it'll be a while before he's ready to have another one. Rachel thought wryly.

"I pushed him away and told him, nice try, but I wasn't interested in anything he had to offer."

"Ouch!" Rachel laughed as she opened the front door and walked into the lobby.  "Don't you think that was a little harsh, Megs?" She asked, dropping her keys into her purse.

"No, I don't think so."  Megan said.  Rachel caught Aubrey's eye as she walked past the reception desk and smiled at the girl.  Aubrey pointed quickly behind Rachel.  "He was mean," Megan continued as Rachel looked over her shoulder then stopped and turned around completely.  Her jaw dropped and her eye's widened in surprise.  "If he thinks he can just--"

Rachel lowered her phone and flipped it closed as her eyes connected with a pair of very familiar, very sexy, very blue eyes.  Her phone started ringing as he stood and gave her the once over.  Rachel quickly silenced the ringer and dropped the phone into her purse.  The sparkle in his eyes and the amused grin on his face made her cheeks warm.  Once again she had acted like an idiot in front of him.  How could she walk right past him and not see him?  And you profess to be in love with the guy. She thought.  Something must be wrong with your JC radar. 

"What are you doing here?" She asked, finally gaining control of herself.  She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from groaning out loud at the absolutely gorgeous smile on his face.  Damn!  She thought.  How is it possible for him to look better every time I see him?  He had on a pair of jeans, a white T-shirt and a black hoodie zipped half way.  The sleeves of the hoodie were pushed up his forearms and a pair of sunglasses were tucked and hanging on the collar of his shirt.  He had a wide silver watch on his left wrist and the black Hudson style hat he was wearing made Rachel's knees feel a bit weak. 

"I was hoping you weren't busy right now and we could talk about a couple things." He said, walking towards her.  He stopped in front of her and Rachel feared she was going to pass out as she caught a whiff of his cologne.  The familiar spiciness of it made her mouth water.  He smells as good as he looks.  I wonder if he still tastes as good...  "Do you have a minute?" He asked as his sparkling blue eyes quickly ran down her body again and reconnected with her own. 

For you? She thought.  Honey, I've got all the time in the world.  She mentally slapped herself.  Snap out of it! 

"Uh," she looked at her watch again, trying hard to compose herself.  "Sure." She smiled.  "Follow me." She said, turning and leading him back towards her desk.  Rachel closed her eyes for a second as she walked and quickly pinched herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming.  JC-the gorgeous, sexy, incredible, JC Chasez-had come to her office and wanted to talk.  To her!  Had been waiting to talk to her, in fact.  Rachel fought against the excited squeal that wanted to break out as she stepped into her cubicle and turned to look at JC.  She felt her cell phone vibrate in her purse again but ignored it.  She knew it was Megan and she was more than likely mad about being cut off so abruptly and with no excuse, or worried that Rachel had suddenly died, but she'd just have to deal with it. 

"Have a seat." Rachel said, pointing to the extra chair sitting beside her desk.  He remained standing as she placed her purse under her desk.  Rachel couldn't help smiling when she watched him sit-but only after she had done so.  "What do you need?" She asked, moving a stack of papers out of the way.

"I need you to sign something." He said, placing a couple pieces of paper in front of her.

"What is this?" She asked her brows furrowing slightly as she picked up the papers.  She glanced at them quickly but looked back at him.  After all, he was much nicer to look at than a boring legal document.  JC put his left elbow up on the desk and leaned towards her. 

"It's a Non-Disclosure Agreement." He said, his eyes holding hers steadily.

"Non-Disclosure?" She asked, slightly taken back.  Did he not trust her? 

"It's not for me." He said, as if reading her thoughts.  "It's for MTV." He reached out with his other hand and pointed at the top of the first page.  "See?"

Rachel tore her eyes away from him and scanned the page quickly.

"They want you and whoever may be working with you to sign it."  He said.  "I had Tony and his guys sign one this morning when they were at the house.  The producers don't want anything leaking out before the show airs." He explained.

Rachel watched him as he leaned back in the chair and stretched his legs out in front of him, his eyes wandering around her work space.  Make yourself comfortable. She thought, raising one brow and smiling at the picture he made.  She quickly turned her eyes back to the paper however, when he suddenly turned his attention back to her and their eyes connected again.  She couldn't stay away from him for long though, and before she knew it she was once more looking into his eyes.  

As crazy as it sounded, Rachel felt herself being pulled in by his eyes.  There was something different about him today.  Something different in the way he was looking at her and it made her heart skip a few beats.  There was a warmth in his eyes that hadn't been there before and Rachel found herself mesmerized.  He was looking at her as if...as if...as if he remembered her. 

Rachel tore her eyes away from him and cleared her throat.  That's ridiculous. She told herself.  Stop being so sappy.  He doesn't remember who you are.  "Do you mind if I read through this quickly before I sign it?" She asked.

"Take your time." He shrugged one shoulder as he smiled at her.

Rachel turned her attention to the papers in her hands, fighting to focus on the words she was reading, instead of the man sitting not two feet from her.  But she found she was very much aware of him and couldn't concentrate.  The way he smelled, the sound of him breathing, the purely masculine essence he exuded was wreaking havoc on her senses.  As she got to the bottom of the first page and realized she hadn't comprehended a word of what she'd read, Rachel forced herself to begin again.  This is going to take forever. She thought as she started to reread the document from the beginning:

It is understood and agreed that, to ensure the protection of confidential information, the parties agree to the following: 

• 1. Recipient shall limit disclosure of confidential information within its own organization to its directors, officers, partners...

~~~~~

JC watched as Rachel's eyes moved over the page in front of her.  His lips lifted in a slight smile as he watched her lift one elbow up onto her desk and idly twirl a strand of her hair around her finger.  As she finally flipped the first page over she glanced over at him.  Seeing him watching her she smiled, her cheeks warming slightly, and she turned back to the document-reading the second page.  She lifted one leg and crossed it over the other and his eyes followed the movement.  His mouth suddenly felt dry and his palms sweaty as his eyes moved from the brown heels she wore, over the length of exposed skin below the hem of her dress, up over the brown and cream material, to her long hair that was pulled back in a simple ponytail.  He rubbed his hands on his legs and forced himself to look anywhere but back at her incredible legs.  Up until she'd walked in and breezed past him in the lobby a few minutes ago, JC had only seen her in pants since the day she'd shown up at his front door.  He'd forgotten what great legs she had.

His eyes wandered around her small office space, taking in the sketches tacked to the walls, the open catalogues with fabric samples laid over the pages and notes scribbled in the margins.  Actually, he realized as he looked around, there were notes scribbled everywhere.  He smiled as he wondered how she kept everything straight.  She had notes written on little scraps of paper, a few miscellaneous napkins, the planner that lay open next to her computer and a myriad of post-it notes in almost every color and shape imaginable spread around her desk.  She needs an assistant. He thought to himself. 

He examined a couple of pictures she had set on a shelf above her desk.  The first one was of Rachel with her arms around a cute brunette that looked familiar to him in a white and red trimmed wedding dress.  Rachel was wearing the incredible red dress she'd been wearing the first time they'd met and her hair was the dark brown he had remembered.  JC closed his eyes for a second and tried to recall what her friend's name was.  What's Jackson's wife's name? He thought as he went through his mental files.  Maitlyn...Miranda...Megan! He smiled as he got it. 

JC's looked at Rachel as she continued reading then looked back up at the pictures.  The second one was another one of Rachel and Megan.  Rachel, her hair streaked with bright blue this time, was holding a drink in her hand as both girls laughed at the camera.  The extreme hair style she was sporting in the photo intrigued him.  His eyes moved from the picture, back to the woman sitting a foot away from him.  Beneath the professional exterior she had a wild, uninhibited side and he suddenly found himself wanting to explore that side of her personality more.  He'd observed her at the club last weekend and he'd gotten a sample of it the night of Jackson and Megan's wedding, but they'd been interrupted and JC found himself wanting a rematch with her.

As he continued his perusal his eyes stopped on a couple of all too familiar photos and he raised an interested brow as something she'd said last year came to mind.  "I'm a big fan."  She'd confessed to him. 

He rested his elbow on her desk as he covered his smirk with his hand.  Tacked on the wall above her was a black and white copy of a photo that he and the guys had had taken years ago.  They were all sitting on the floor and someone, probably Joey, had cracked a joke which Justin had found absolutely hysterical for some reason.  The photographer had snapped the picture while they had all been laughing.  Surprisingly, it was the best picture to come from that particular shoot and was the one that had been released.  Next to the old group photo was a more recent one of himself that had been taken at an awards show last year.      

"This seems pretty standard." Rachel said, looking at him.  JC moved his eyes from the photos to the girl sitting in front of him. 

"Yeah, it's a pretty basic one." He replied, lowering his hand and trying to figure her out.  She walked around pretending she had no idea he was a celebrity, when it was now obvious she knew who he was.  One would be tempted to think she had put those pictures up after she started working for him, but the fact that they were both partially covered with other notes and pictures led him to believe they'd been up on her wall for a while.  His earlier plan of making her remember him now seemed pointless.  She knew who he was-she hadn't been that drunk when they'd made out.  She was hiding it.  Why, he didn't know, but he gave her props for being a good actress.  He'd just have to change his strategy now he decided.  It's time to play dirty. He thought.

He watched as Rachel grabbed a pen from a red mug by her computer that was jammed full of various pens, pencils and a pair of black handled scissors.  She quickly signed the second page, and then held the papers out to him.

"Was that it?" She asked.

He sat looking at her for a few moments before he replied.  "No." He pushed the document she'd signed to the side.  Rachel watched him expectantly as he shifted in the chair and pulled something from his back pocket.  "I don't know how you expect me to choose between four colors that are exactly the same." He said raising one brow.  He set the paint sample cards she'd left at his house Monday morning on the desk, one by one, between them.

Rachel chuckled as she uncrossed her legs and scooted her chair closer to him.  "They're not all the same." She replied, resting her chin in her hand.  "If they were, they'd all have the same name." He watched as her lips twitched, giving away the fact that she wanted to smile.  Smart Ass.  He thought as he narrowed his eyes slightly.  "Do you see how this one has a little more yellow in it," she pointed to the sample of Koi Pond.  "Whereas this one," Tropical Foliage this time he noted, "Has more blue in it?"

He looked up at her in disbelief.  "I see no difference between them." He admitted.

She looked at him for a moment, biting her bottom lip then gathered up the samples and stood.  "Come with me." She said.

JC stood and followed as she led him towards the back of the building, a sense of déjà vu filling him.  He smiled, recalling the last time she'd led him down a hallway.  They walked past several other cubicles and a large open area were a few people were working at two large tables--scraps and bolts of different colored material spread all over them.  She led him down another hallway and opened a door at the end.  Flipping on the light she revealed a large room with even more bolts of fabric stacked from floor to ceiling on multiple rows of shelves.  JC raised his eyebrows in surprise and followed as she walked past several rows until stopping before one in particular and disappearing around the corner.

"This." She said, pulling one bolt of green patterned fabric out slightly as he stepped around the same corner.  "And this." She said pulling out a second bolt of green fabric with a different pattern on it.  "Are the two fabrics I'm deciding between for the front room."  She placed the two paint samples up against the first bolt she'd pulled out.  "Do you see the difference now?" She asked looking at him over her shoulder with a smile. 

JC stepped closer to her and looked at the paint samples as she held them against the fabric.  "A little." He admitted.  "But they still seem pretty similar."  He looked at her.  "Does it really matter what color I choose?"

"Probably not." She said.  "If this is the fabric we go with.  But look at them both against this one."

He shifted slightly behind her and looked over her other shoulder as she held the cards up against the second bolt of fabric.  The difference between the samples was now startling.  "Wow." He said.  "I like this fabric." He said in reference to the one they were now looking at.  "But this color," he pointed at Koi Pond, "Looks terrible with it."

"See." She smiled at him over her other shoulder.  "I told you they were different."  The enchanting sparkle in her eyes made him smile in return.  As he stood looking at her, their close proximity suddenly registered and his smile slowly left as she continued looking into his eyes.  He swallowed.  He was in trouble.  He knew he should step away from her, but he couldn't seem to convey that message to his legs.  He searched her eyes, for any break in her resistance before his eyes lowered slightly to her mouth and he found himself contemplating kissing her. 

She must have sensed his intentions, because she turned back to the fabric in front of them and he heard her breathing pick up pace.  JC stood looking at the back of her head; his eyes running over the skin of her neck, his mouth suddenly recalling how that soft skin had felt and tasted.  He leaned towards her, closing his eyes as the scent of her perfume hit him.  The light, clean fragrance drifted around him and his mouth began to water.

~~~~~

Rachel was afraid she was going to pass out.  I'm going to die.  She thought.  Right now.  Right here in the storeroom.  My heart is going to stop and I'm going to die any second.  Between the serious and intense looks he'd been giving her seconds ago, to the way he was practically pressed against her back, and now to the way she could feel his warm breath on her neck...she shivered slightly.  She was going to pass out.  If not from the adrenaline coursing through her body then probably from the shock of having him kiss her again.  She could feel the warmth of his body behind her and she tried desperately to distract herself.  There was no way he was going to kiss her.  She was just over exaggerating every thing-blowing things out of proportion as she was apt to do. They were in the storeroom for crying out loud!  Oh, I'm in so much trouble.  What is it with me and JC in back rooms? She thought. 

"I like this fabric too." She told him, touching her fingers to the second sample he had said he liked.  "But I like this one as well." She said in reference to the first sample, proud of herself for being able to form a complete (albeit not quite coherent) sentence.

"Mmmm." He murmured behind her.  "Can we use it in one of the other rooms?" He asked.

"Uh" She raised one hand and played with her necklace.  "If...if we d-do that we'll be in the same position we were in before."  She turned around and looked at him, surprised at just how close he was. 

He placed one hand on the shelf behind her and leaned even closer.  "What's wrong with the position we were in?" He asked, his eyes boring into hers and Rachel couldn't help smiling even as she found herself wondering if they were talking about the same thing.

"It was boring." She replied softly, looking up at him through her lashes.  "Everything was beige.  Now you want to make everything green?  Be bold, JC." She swallowed as he brought one hand up and flicked her ponytail, which had been hanging over her shoulder, behind her back.  "Take a chance." She whispered as his hand came up to touch her face.  "Step outside your comfort zone." 

What the hell am I saying? Rachel thought at the words coming from her mouth.  What the hell am I doing? She thought as she leaned into his hand.  Sure, on a superficial level they were talking about paint colors and fabric choices, but in reality it went far deeper than that.  Somehow they'd moved from discussing his front room to her begging him to kiss her-all but saying the actual words to him.  She closed her eyes as he dipped his head, closing the small space between them.

"Rachel, please call the front desk." Aubrey's voice came over the office intercom and Rachel jumped, hitting the back of her head against the shelving unit behind her, her heart pounding.  "Rachel, please call the front desk."

JC dropped his hand and stepped away from her and Rachel turned back to the shelf.  She closed her eyes.  What am I doing?  I almost kissed him.  Again!  He doesn't remember me and I almost kissed him!  What is wrong with me?! 

"I like the second fabric." JC said behind her.  "So, let's go with the color that matches it." 

Rachel straightened and turned.  She smoothed her hands down the front of her dress, missing the way his eyes watched the action hungrily.  "Alright." She said, moving away from him and walking towards the door, purposefully avoiding any eye contact with him.  "I'll call the painters and let them know."  She turned the lights off as JC walked passed her out of the room.  Rachel closed her eyes as his cologne hit her again she groaned softly as she shut the door.  "Tony called me this morning and said they were going to be done tomorrow." She said, trying to distract herself.

"Yeah." JC said as he followed her back up to the lobby.  "It's looking good." He said with a smile.  "I like it."

"Good." Rachel smiled, finally looking at him.  He watched her intently, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly as he winked at her.  Her smile widened and she felt her cheeks warm.  "Like I said," she said.  "I'll give the painters a call and they should be able to come out on Friday.  Do...um...do you want to get together on Monday?" She asked.  "We can go over some of the furniture pieces I've found and get a start on the next room?"

"Sure." He said, nodding. 

"What time do you want to meet?"

"How about eleven?"  He asked.  "Does that work?"

"Yeah." She said, nodding as they walked up by the front desk.  "I'll see you on Monday, then."

"Yeah." He smiled at her, then turned and left.

Rachel turned and leaned against Aubrey's desk, as JC walked out the front doors.  She watched as he put his sunglasses on and disappeared around the building.  Rachel turned to look at Aubrey and sighed.

Aubrey giggled.  "He's gorgeous."

Rachel chuckled.  "Yeah." She nodded at the girl, aware of the sappy smile on her face.  "Yeah, he is.  Whew." She blew out a breath, making Aubrey laugh.   "What did you need?" Rachel asked.

"Lucy's called a couple times in a tizzy." Aubrey said, handing Rachel a yellow post-it note she'd scribbled on.  "Something about the new centerpieces clashing with the bridesmaid dresses?"

"Argh!" Rachel groaned the high she'd been on moments ago plummeting.  "I..." She put a hand over her mouth and took a deep breath.  "I can't handle her anymore.  She is the most ridiculous person I've ever met." Rachel threw her hands up in the air in frustration.

"Sorry." Aubrey looked at her in sympathy.

Rachel rolled her eyes as she straightened.  "Thanks." She said as she headed back to her desk.  Plopping down in her chair, Rachel's eyes went to the pictures above her computer and she groaned.  "Perfect." She said in reference to the pictures she had tacked up and which she was sure he had seen.  How could he miss them?  Rachel put her arm on her desk and laid her head down as she realized what he must think of her now that her secret was out.  "Stupid, stupid, stupid." She said to herself.  "What are you, crazy?"

"No."

Rachel gasped and her head shot up at JC's voice behind her.  "What?" She asked swiveling around in her chair.

"I was answering your question." He said, tipping his sunglasses down and looking at her from above the rims.  "I'm not crazy." He smiled as he took his sunglasses off.

"What are you doing here?" She asked him for the second time today.  She watched as he grabbed some papers from her desk.

"I forgot this." He said, holding up the disclosure agreement she'd signed.

"Oh." She just sat there looking up at him.

"So, Monday?" He asked, lifting the arm of his glasses to his lips.

"Yes!" She looked over at the planner laying open on her desk.  She flipped to the next page and picked up a pen.  "Eleven, right?"

"Yeah." He said.  She looked up at him.  "Bye, Rachel." He winked as he put his sunglasses back on, then turned and left. 

"Bye." She called out weakly.  No more talking out loud.  She mentally kicked herself.  Rachel heard her cell phone vibrate and reached to pull it from her purse.  1 missed call.  2 texts.  Rachel flipped her phone open and, as expected, Megan's was the call she'd missed right after she'd realized JC was waiting for her.  Megan was also the one who had sent her the two texts.

What the hell??

She'd asked.  Followed closely by:

Did you die?

Call me...or not.

Whatever.

Rachel sighed at her friend's attitude.  I'm sure going to be glad when those pregnancy hormones level out.  Rachel opened up a new message and began typing.

How are you holding up?

Rachel selected Jackson's number from her phonebook and sent the text, then began typing another message which she sent to Megan.

I didn't die.

JC showed up.  Ahhh!!!

I'll call you later :)

Her desk phone rang and Rachel grabbed the receiver, answering it automatically, "Adams & Richards Designs, this is Rachel Kline."

"Rachel!" Lucy's frantic voice came over the line.  "Thank God you're there!  Listen..."

Rachel groaned and turned in her chair, pulling open her desk drawer.  She pulled out a bottle of Tylenol and shook out two white pills as Lucy continued ranting about how everything had to be redone because she'd just found the absolutely perfect dress for her maid of honor.  Popping the pain relievers in her mouth and taking a swig from the water bottle she had sitting on her desk Rachel just let the girl go, ‘Hmmm-ing' and say ‘yes' whenever appropriate.  What was the point in listening to anything Lucy said when she was just going to call again tomorrow and change everything again.

Rachel turned and grabbed the furniture catalogue she'd been looking in this morning and started flipping through the pages, looking for pieces that might look good in JC's front room.  Now that they had picked out a color for the walls and she knew what fabric the couches were going to be recovered in, Rachel could really let her imagination take flight.  She turned a page and was caught off guard by an advertisement that had a couple snuggling on a chaise overlooking a gorgeous sunset.  She normally wouldn't have thought twice about the ad however, the guy in the photo had dark hair and the woman was blonde.  The couple had their back to the camera which allowed Rachel to picture herself and JC as the couple.  She ran her fingers down the page and closed her eyes, trying to relive the moments she's spent in the storeroom with the man of her dreams.  A delicious tingle ran down her spine as she recalled the way he'd looked at her and the feel of his hand on her face. 

I am in so much trouble. She thought for the second time as she ripped the advertisement out and tacked it up on the wall next to the photo she had up of the man she had almost kissed not twenty minutes ago.  Rachel was beginning to realize that, as much as she professed to be a player, and as much as she may have played other guys in the past, she was a pansy when it came to JC Chasez.  The man was dangerous and he knew it.  He could do whatever he wanted to her and she knew she was going to be powerless to stop him.