Chapter Eighteen Joey looked around his home and felt a small wave of relaxation rush over him. It felt good to be in HIS home away from the public eye. There were so many things that needed to be done, but the only thing on his mind was calling Cait. He walked further into his house and put his duffel bags down on the black leather couch that sat in the middle of the room. His eyes glanced around and settled on his phone as his heartbeat began to increase. He felt as if he were back in high school, getting ready to call a girl up and ask her out on a date for the first time. There was that mixture of fear of rejection and excitement swirling through his veins.

Taking a deep breath, he picked up the phone and dialed her number with shaking fingers. He sat down and began to drum his fingers on his leg as he awaited on her to answer. He was about ready to hang up when he heard her soft voice float through the receiver. "Cait..its Joey."

"Joey?" her voice replied almost asking him a question with her reply. "Why..why are you calling me?"

He could pick up on a harshness to her tone and it hurt him to know that she felt that way towards him. "We really need to talk about some things."

"You didn't seem ready to listen when I tried to explain everything to you, Joey. What makes you think I should give you the time to talk to me?"

"Cait, don't be stubborn," he insisted, feeling his hope fall.

"I'm not being stubborn. You were the one being stubborn when you wouldn't allow me to do my job. Not only were you being stubborn, you were being insecure and plain right selfish," she exclaimed, feeling slightly relieved to tell him exactly how she felt. "You know what else, Joe? You hurt me...I don't know what else to tell you but you honestly hurt me."

"I'm sorry for acting the way that I did, Cait. I would never intentionally hurt you, baby!" he coaxed as he felt tears burning the corners of his eyes.

"Don't use the baby line on me! I...I just need to go."

"Don't hang up on me, Cait," he hurried to respond, as he scooted closer to the edge of the couch. "Please just give me five minutes to tell you some things."

"You've got three and you better not lie to me, Joey."

"I...I miss you."

"Spare me."

"Just be quite and listen!" he said, feeling a small smile trying to emerge on his lips. "I over reacted when I went off about you just trying to do your job. I should have allowed you to do what you wanted, but I just didn't like the fact of you being with another guy alone. I wanted you to be with me, by my side and only me. Our relationship was just starting out and I screwed up."

"That's all you have to say for yourself?" she said after a long pause.

"I'm so sorry."

"Hearing you say those words helps, but I don't know what to say to you right now, Joe. I can't say everything is OK..you don't trust me..I'm still very hurt."

"Just tell me that there's still a chance for us," he asked quietly, holding his breath as he waited on her to answer. Her simple reply had the power to crush his heart, or boost it enough to give her hope."Cait you know there is something special between the two of us..please don't give up on it."

"You're asking me not to give up on it? You're the one that gave up on it!" she cried into the phone, her voice rising in anger. "You're the one that looked me dead in the eye and plainly stated that it was over. You are the one that gave up on that something, Joey..I didn't and I haven't but what makes you think you deserve a second chance?"

"I probably don't deserve a second chance," he admitted, knowing that getting her back wasn't going to be that easy. "But I do know that you're the one for me, baby...you made me feel unlike I've ever felt before."

"Spare me, Joe," she told him, her voice beginning to break due to the tears that he assumed she was beginning to cry."You want to talk about feelings? I can't feel anything besides pain right now! You..you..hurt me, Joey..so bad."

"I wish I could take back everything that I said to you," he told her, biting his lip to hold back the tears that were forming in his eyes. "But I can't, Cait. I never want to hurt you...I want you to be happy."

"I'm not so sure about anything right now, Joe. I want you back, I won't lie to you but I don't know if I can take you back..I'm too afraid you'll hurt me again in the future."

He felt pain hit his heart. She was opening up to him and all he could do was sit there and stare at the wall. "That's understandable."

"What do you think I should do? If you were me right now, what would you honestly do?"

"I don't know..."

"No, imagine yourself in my position and tell me what would be going through your head..your heart?"

"I probably would be weary about giving you another chance," he finally admitted after a minute of silence. "I would be scared that you would do something similar in the future."

"You can see the dilemma that I'm facing then...all I can tell you right now is that I'm not giving up on us, I just can't rush into anything. I need some more time to think about everything," she told him softly.

"Take care of yourself, Cait," he whispered softly into the phone before he heard the line go dead in his ear. He placed the phone on the table and laid down on the couch, feeling confused and scared. Joey began doing something he rarely did unless he was terribly scared...he began to cry.

"This is my house," Justin told Whitney as he pulled his car to a stop once they reached the top of a long hill that lead up to a big off white house. "It might be a little messy because my Mom and little brother have been here while I wasn't."

"I'm sure it will be fine, Justin."

"Well I don't want you to get the impression that I'm a slob or anything and refuse to stay with me because I leave my house in such a state of nastiness," he joked as he grabbed her suitcase and took her by the hand. A smile came to life on his face as he watched the front door open and his little brother come running out of the house calling his name. Justin gently sat the suitcase on the ground and squatted, awaiting the little boy to jump into his arms.

"Justy!!"

"Jon..you sure are getting bigger everytime I see you," Justin told the smiling little boy as he looked over at Whitney and winked. "Where's Mom?"

"Inside doing somethin," Jon said as his eyes focused in on Whitney. "Who's dat?"

Justin sat Jonathan down and motioned for Whitney to come stand beside him. "This is my very special friend, Whitney."

"Is she your girlfriend?" Jonathan asked as he turned his head when he heard the front door open again.

Justin looked from Whitney to his mother, who looked very interested in the answer to that question, and let a sly grin break across his face. "Why don't you ask her if she's my girlfriend?"

"Justin.." Whitney began, not knowing how she should answer that question. If she answered "yes", she just might embarrass herself not only in front of Justin, but his mother as well. But on the other hand, if she answered "no" she could give off the vibe to Justin that she didn't want a relationship with him.

"Answer the question, silly."

"I..I..."

"Justin," his mother interjected causing the pressure to ease off of Whitney for the time being. "Why don't you let her come inside and stop badgering the poor girl! Jon and I can't stay much longer, but I wanna hear how everything went and how you met this beautiful girl here."

Whitney could feel a small blush appear on her cheeks as she began following Justin into the house, the shy side of her taking charge. She couldn't stop her eyes from widening as she took in the decor of the home. Everything in that room looked expensive, even the picture frames that held pictures of whom she presumed were family. "Your house is beautiful."

"Mom had it decorated..as you can tell. I would have been satisfied with something simple, but she insisted that I needed to make it elegant so when people come over," Justin said before plopping down on the plush white leather couch and propping his legs up on the table. "There's no feeling like being home."

"Get your feet off that table, Justin Randall!" his mother called out playfully as she stopped to look at Whitney, who was casually standing around, not knowing what she should do or say. "Introduce me!"

"I'm Whitney," she said, sticking out her hand in an attempt to be polite.

"I'm Lynn," the older woman said before looking at her hand and shaking her head. She had to smile as the girl pulled her hand back, looking a bit shaken up from being declined. "I don't shake hands..I give hugs."

Justin chuckled as he watched his Mom enveloped Whitney in a huge. "You're going to scare her off, Mom."

"Justin, you just sit over there and be quiet."

"This is my house.."

"You should do what you're told," Whitney interjected before smiling at Lynn and taking a seat beside Justin on the couch. "She's still your mother."

"I can't win!"

"I've got to run and do a few errands..there's food in the kitchen if the two of you are hungry..and Justin, you need to straighten your room up," Lynn told the both of them as she picked up her keys and motioned for Jonathan to follow her to the door. After Jon gave Justin a hug, he followed his mother out of the house, leaving Justin and Whitney alone as an awkward silence surrounded them.

She looked over at him, knowing when his mouth began to open that he was going to ask her why she didn't answer the question outside. "You don't even have to ask the question."

"Why didn't you give them..and me an answer?" he asked, taking her hand and rubbing his thumb over the back of it.

"I didn't know what to say," she told him softly, feeling herself getting dizzy from all the thoughts that were floating through her head. "I was afraid to say anything."

"I won't lie, Whitney. I do like you..and I like you a lot but there is a friendship between us..its like we're friends with benefits and I like that. I don't know what the future holds for us and that's why I didn't answer Jon outside."

"I get what you're saying, but its not like we have to rush to put a title to what's going on between the two of us."

"I agree but there is something that I need to do.." he said as a mischievous smile broke out across his face. "Follow me."

"Justin...its too early in the day for this," she protested as she crossed her arms across her chest and looked at him with a serious expression. "It can wait until tonight."

"No...this can't wait," he said as he reached down and scooped her into his arms, watching as she kicked her legs to get down. He ignored the protests that were coming out of her mouth and continued on his way towards the sliding glass doors that were located in the kitchen. He watched her eyes widen as the large pool came into view. "Don't worry..the water is warm."

"No..Justin..please don't," she told him as she began to squirm even more in his arms. "Please don't do this.."

He shook his head before throwing her into the pool and beginning to laugh as she emerged from the water. "Welcome to my house."

"I was thinking," Emily told JC out of the blue as they made their way to a small cafe that was a few miles from his house. "If I'm going to stay with you, I'm at least going to pay you something."

"I won't accept anything," he insisted stubbornly as he looked over at her and smiled. "I don't need any money."

"It would just make me feel a lot better," she told him, her accent causing him to smile. "So name a price, if not I'll continue to stay at the hotel."

"Emily..."

"I'm being serious, JC. If you can't accept my offer, then I can't stay with you," she told him as she looked over at him, her soft eyes reflecting the appeal for him to agree with her.

"How much were you paying for that motel room a night?" he finally asked, giving into the demand that she had brought about.

"Sixty-five a night," she said softly, silently hoping that he wouldn't charge her that much.

"How does thirty a week sound?"

"I can pay more than that!" she exclaimed as she reached over and poked him in the side, smiling as he chuckled. "Forty and you've got yourself a deal."

"You're not going to agree with any amount that I say, so I guess I have to accept your offer."

"It was a pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Chasez."

"OK..you can stop being cute now," he told her with a wink. He reached over and took her hand into his and gave it a soft squeeze, just as a silent way of letting her know that he was glad she was with him. "I hope you're going to eat more than you ate the other night."

"I will," she said as she placed her free hand on her stomach that made a soft grumbling noise. "I was nervous then, but now I'm comfortable being around you. I guess it was first date gitters."

"Gitters?" he asked as a huge grin broke out across his face. "You can definitely tell that you're from the South."

"Don't make fun of me!"

"I'm not making fun of you..I just thought that was completely adorable."

"You hurt my feelings!" she said, jerking her hand away and crossing her arms over her chest in a false attempt to seem mad. "OK I suck at being an actress."

"I wasn't going to burst your bubble, but could use a few acting classes."

She reached over and lightly punched him in the shoulder as she rested her head against the seat. "You aren't supposed to agree with me."

"But aren't I supposed to speak the truth?"

"You know, JC..you're such a typical male!"

"The last time I checked..."

"Shut your mouth and drive..I'm rather hungry."

"Yes ma'am!" he said as he sat straight up and placed both hands on the steering wheel. "Anything else sergeant?"

"Stop being a smartass," she giggled as a bright smile made its way across her lips. She loved being around him. He was so carefree and treated her with respect, something she had never experienced before. She had to admit, she loved the feeling that it produced just knowing that there was a guy that cared for how she felt and wanted her to be happy. For the first time since she had matured from being a teenager, she had no worries about what people would think about her. She was openly being herself and it made her happy. It made her feel strong but most of all it made her feel independent, something she had always strove to feel. If JC was able to make her feel this way in such a short time, she couldn't wait to see how he could have her feeling if he was given a little more time.

Chapter Nineteen