Chapter Two
"Stupid... stupid machine! Just give me my candy bar!" Dropping her head back to glance upwards, Gracie let a frustrated growl escape her lips. She wasn't sure of the time, but the hallway was quiet, leading her to believe that it was well past a decent hour. Glaring angrily at the offending machine, she drew her hand back in a fist, having every intention of letting the machine have it. However, just as she was about to strike, she felt a much bigger hand clamp onto hers. "Get outta here Chris," she groaned, trying to snatch her hand away from him.
"Didn't we just have this same conversation like, yesterday?" Her eyes widened, Gracie turned, much like she'd done the previous morning, a slight blush creeping over her cheeks when she realized that again she was wrong.
"What are you doing up?" she asked, her voice soft as she watched JC step around her, taking her place at the machine. Ramming it carefully with his shoulder, he dislodged her candy before leaning over, pulling it out of the slot, presenting it to her with a sleepy smile.
"I'm on my way to the airport. Andrea's flying in to spend a few days with me," he said, a smile on his face. Though Gracie had heard stories about Andrea, she'd never had the er... pleasure to meet her. She returned his smile, though it was interrupted with a loud yawn that escaped her lips. "Now missy, I should be asking you the same thing. What are you doing up?" He asked, fixing her with a paternal stare.
"Couldn't sleep," she responded, shrugging her shoulders as she pulled the candy bar open. She gave him one more smile before she brought her hand up to wipe her sleepy eyes. JC couldn't help but smile at how childish she looked when she was sleepy.
"Well I should get out of here, but try not to stay up too much longer, huh? Tomorrow's going to be a busy day, and you can't drag your feet," he told her, before he stepped around her once more, heading to the elevator.
"Hey Jace?" He turned at the sound of her calling his name, looking to her expectantly.
"Yes?"
"Thanks for the candy bar," she called softly, before stepping back into her room, closing the door quietly behind her.
~*~
Andrea sighed as she stepped out of the airplane terminal, giving it a quick once over, trying to determine the location of her boyfriend. The airport was nearly empty, though it was expected at such an early time. She glanced down at her watch with a sigh. It was nearly 2:30 in the morning, though he'd insisted that she catch the first available flight to Washington, DC and that was exactly what she'd done. She scanned the airport once more and groaned out loud when she saw JC. Had he not been waving wildly to her, she wouldn't have even recognized him! He was dressed down in a pair of tattered jeans, at least two sizes too big, and a shirt with paint splotches everywhere. A sun bleached baseball cap was pulled down over his unruly curls, the brim pulled down in an attempt to hide his face. Not even three feet behind him stood Mike, a gigantic black man, his arms crossed over his chest as he surveyed the airport.
She forced a fake smile on her tired face and attempted to match his enthusiasm when she waved back. When she reached him, a squeal escaped her lips when he lifted her off the ground in big bear hug. He put her down carefully and cupped her face gently with his hands as he brought her in slowly for a sweet kiss. It hadn't even been a full day since he'd last seen her, but he'd missed her terribly. He'd grown accustomed to seeing her gorgeous face several times a day while still in Florida, so even the brief time apart killed him. He had no idea how he was going to cope with her absence once she returned to Florida, leaving him to brave the tour alone.
"I missed you," he cooed gently after the kiss was broken, his hand caressing her cheek gently. He smiled when she nuzzled her face against his hand, giving him a smile, playing the part of a good girlfriend.
"I missed you too," she mumbled with a soft sigh. He smiled as he brought her closer to his body once more to kiss her soft lips before he pulled away, reaching down for her hands. He linked his fingers with hers and squeezed gently before he started leading her towards the baggage claim.
"Lets get your things and get out of here, huh?" He suggested, offering her a sweet smile. He was more than ready to get back to the hotel and lay with her in his arms as he did so often while he was still at home. She gave him a nod, but didn't offer an audible response.
Once the two of them reached the car, he got her bags loaded quickly before he slid into the back seat next to her. He draped his arm around her shoulder, giving her another smile as he pulled her close to his side. She leaned up to kiss his chin gently before pulling away to rest her tired head on his shoulder. He dropped a quick kiss to the top of her head, sighing happily. He looked down at Andrea once more, wondering to himself how he ever got lucky enough to have someone like her in his life.
~*~
Stepping into the conference room that had been set up with a buffet style breakfast, Justin heard her before he saw her. Her shrill laughter pierced his ears and made him visibly cringe. His eyes scanned the room, though he knew when he found JC, he'd find her. Sure enough, there she was, perched on his lap as she threw her head back and laughed once again. He glanced from her and then to the door, trying to determine if a quick escape was possible. However, before he even got the chance to contemplate it, Chris' voice rang out, causing everyone to turn in Justin's direction.
"Hey buddy! Glad to see you!" He called, an impish grin on his face. Justin groaned inwardly and wanted nothing more than to smack Chris right then. He forced a smile and then walked towards the buffet, grabbing a plate of food for himself. He took a seat across from Chris, glaring hatefully at him as he kicked at his shin under the table.
"I'm going to kill you," he mouthed to Chris, slouching down in his seat in a huff as he brought the bagel to his mouth, taking a big bite. He watched as Chris cast a look in Andrea's direction before he spoke.
"If I've got to suffer through this, then so do you buddy boy," he said, keeping his voice quiet so that the annoying blonde wouldn't pick up on the conversation. Out of all the other guys, Chris definitely had the biggest problem with Andrea. Being a genuinely sincere person, Chris saw through the fake act she put on and he would not hesitate in calling her on her bull shit. While no one could really stand Andrea, they all made it a point to at least try and get along with her, for JC's sake. However, the task proved to be more and more difficult every time she opened her mouth to speak.
The doors to the conference room opened one more time, catching the attention of both Justin and Chris. A very disheveled looking Gracie stepped into the room and neither Chris nor Justin could control the smiles on their faces. Her hair stood up in all directions and her clothes were wrinkled, looking as if she'd thrown them on quickly, not even bothering to check her appearance. She scowled when she saw them gawking at her and brought her hand up to brush her brown hair out of her face.
"Justin, can I speak with you for a minute?" She asked, her voice hoarse, indicating that she'd most likely just woken up. All too glad to flee the room, Justin nodded and threw his head back, muttering a silent prayer to God, thanking Him for the interruption. He pushed his chair back and stuck his tongue out childishly as he hurried over to where Gracie was. Not even bothering to ask her what the nature of their meeting was, he grabbed her arm gently, guiding her out of the room as the two of them found a quiet hallway to hold their impromptu meeting.
~*~
"So that's pretty much it," she said with a shrug as she closed her sketch pad. "If you're sure that the adjustments will be alright with you, then I'll get started on them quickly. I really wish I'd caught it before the tour started but, eh. Whatever," she said with a sigh as she pushed herself to her feet, holding her hand out for him to help him up as well.
"No, the adjustments are fine," he informed her with a smile. He quickly discovered after she pulled him from the conference room that she needed to discuss some alterations to one of his costumes. Of course he didn't care if she needed to make changes, he was just glad to have escaped the room. "You saved my life by pulling me out of there," he said, giving her a playful little wink as they headed back to the conference room. As much as he didn't want to return for fear that Andrea would still be there, he needed to finish his breakfast and he was sure that she was hungry as well. He didn't miss the frown on Gracie's face.
"Why do you say that?" She asked curiously, peering up at him, seeing the amusement in his eyes.
"I'll give you three guess, and two of 'em don't count," he told her, pushing the doors open once more, cringing and closing them immediately upon hearing the shrill laugh once more. Having heard stories about Andrea prior to her arrival and due to her meeting with JC the previous night in the hallway, she was pretty sure that he was speaking of the fact that she arrived.
"Oh come on J, she can't be that bad," she said, pushing the doors open, peeking around him, trying to get a better look at the girl in question. He snorted loudly and shook his head.
"You think so? Just you wait, Gracie. Just... you... wait."
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