****
JC walked into the private gym on their floor of the hotel the next morning. He was surprised to see Chris sitting on one of the weight machines and headed towards him taking a seat on the bench next to him.
“So what are you doing down here?” JC asked.
“Watching her,” Chris answered pointing towards Dani who was across the room jogging on a treadmill. She was wearing headphones but realized that Chris must have been explaining his purpose to JC. JC smiled and shook his head as Dani shrugged her shoulders and went about her workout.
“If you’re just here to watch her then why are you dressed like that?”
Chris was now reclining on the equipment; his feet propped up on the leg lifts. He was wearing a maroon Fuman Skeeto shirt, black mesh shorts, and matching black wristbands and finishing the look was the black headband resting on his forehead. “You gotta dress for the occasion,” he shrugged. “You did too.”
“Yes I did but I’m actually going to working out,” JC said as he slipped off the zippered athletic shirt. He was wearing matching navy wind pants and a white tank along with a white pair of tennis shoes as he began his exercises.
“Are you okay?” Chris questioned a few minutes later. “You have that far off, ‘I’m deep in thought’ look on your face.”
“I was thinking about Jen actually.”
“Yeah? How’s that going?” JC was silent. “Ooh, not so good eh?” Chris teased.
“Just the opposite. It’s great,” he sighed, pausing his workout as he reached for his towel to wipe the sweat from his face.
“Well then what’s wrong?” Chris prodded.
“I think I’m ready for it to be more than just a casual thing,” the blue eyed man confessed.
“Okay, so again I’ll ask, what’s wrong?”
JC rolled his eyes at Chris as he took a drink of water. “I’m not sure Jen is interested in changing the nature of the relationship.”
“Whatever dude, she’s a girl remember?” Chris quipped. “All of them eventually want the whole kit and caboodle no matter what they say in the beginning.”
“See, it does no good to compare her to other girls because she’s like no one I ever known before, that’s WHY I like her so much,” he explained. “I think she likes the arrangement we have now, the sneaking around and everything.”
“But its not just sex right? You guys do other things too, don’t you?”
“Yes, it’s not like every time we get together that’s our whole purpose is having sex,” JC said. “I mean its not like we can go out or anything but we talk, watch TV together, normal boring stuff.”
“That’s what I thought,” Chris said nodding his head. “It sounds to me like you two already have a relationship, you just haven’t put the definition with it.”
“Exactly, and I’m afraid if I bring it up and it’s not something she wants, then I’ll screw everything up,” he said standing up. “I think I’m just gonna leave it alone for now. Why mess with a good thing right?” JC shrugged.
“To make it an even better thing?” Chris countered. “Are you leaving already? That was one heck of a short workout.”
“Yeah, I have something else I’d much rather be spending my time doing,” JC answered with a grin as he headed for the door.
“I bet you do, a more exciting way to get your blood flowing,” Chris laughed. “But thanks for the idea,” he said skipping over to pester Dani.
****
“So what did you do last night?” Mel asked as she relaxed in the large comfy chair in Jen and Sam’s apartment in Orlando.
“You will be pleased to know that I went out with Steve and came home alone,” Joey said into the phone from his hotel room in Philadelphia.
“You finally lost Steve! Woo hoo!” she cheered jokingly.
“No I meant I didn’t have any company of the female persuasion. I was a good boy.”
“You’re trying to tell me that you went out last night, for the first time in quite I while I might add, after a huge weight had been lifted off of your shoulders no less, and you were a perfect little Catholic boy? Yeah right,” she scoffed.
“How do you do that?” he whined. “How is it possible that you can know me so well after such a short time?”
“I have a knack for it I suppose. Now stop trying to change the subject,” Mel said sternly. “What really happened last night?”
“Alright, alright, there was a girl and some kissing but that was it. I swear.”
“Oh Joey, what am I gonna do with you?” she sighed.
“I can’t help it. When you have a talent you have to practice it or else you lose your touch,” Joey laughed.
“Oh don’t give me that crap,” Mel instructed. “But I guess it’s a start.”
“Everybody’s gotta start somewhere,” Joey agreed as he stood to answer his door. “Sam’s here,” he said to Mel as he motioned for the short brunette to enter.
“Tell her I said hello.”
“Are you sure? If I do that then she’ll know that you’ve been associating with me,” Joey kidded with her as Sam looked at him with a puzzled look on her face.
“Good point. It would ruin my reputation if word got out that you were my friend,” Mel mocked.
“Mel says hi,” Joey said to Sam. “That’s what you get for picking on me,” he said giggling into the phone.
“EEK! Now our secret rendezvous will have to be explained to the clueless Sam,” she said.
“Oh don’t worry, I’ll tell her ALL about us,” Joey said with a mischievous tone.
“Joseph you better tell her the truth!” Mel ordered as Joey said goodbye and ended the call.
“When did you and Mel start talking?” Sam asked.
“We met when JC and I went home over the break and she said that if I ever needed to talk to give her call. So when I went back a couple of days ago to settle things, I really needed an objective ear and I knew I could count on her,” Joey explained.
“That’s why I’m here actually, I wanted to see how you were doing. I mean, the whole baby thing,” Sam said timidly.
Joey explained to her how the situation had unfolded.
“So that’s it. No baby, no girl,” he shrugged.
“I’m sorry Joey,” Sam said sincerely.
“It’s okay. I was sad, still am a little, but everything happens for a reason. It just wasn’t meant to be,” he said cheerfully.
“So have you told the guys yet?”
“No not yet. I’m not sure I’m going to actually,” he answered. “I’ve apologized to everyone for the way I’ve been acting though and I’ll probably tell them someday, it’s just not something I wanna have a group meeting about, ya know?”
“Yes, I understand perfectly,” Sam replied.
“I figured you would, with everything that happened with you and Lance these past few days. I’m glad to see you two are back on track, or back to “disgustingly happy” as Mel put it,” Joey chuckled.
“She said that?” Sam asked crinkling her nose. “Are we really that bad?”
“Sometimes. But I think it’s great,” he said throwing his arm around her shoulder. “We all do. Oh and by the way, I’m very upset with you that you never told me that you girls were fans.”
“Who told you?” Sam questioned with wide eyes.
“Mel. It just came out in one of our conversations.”
“Exactly how many conversations have you two had?”
“Actually, I spent the whole day with her in your apartment,” Joey confided. “I didn’t want to go home because I knew that my family would know something was wrong, so I crashed at your place with Mel and we stayed up most the night talking actually.”
“But you told Jen you were at home,” Sam reminded.
“That’s because I didn’t want everyone to get the wrong idea, but nothing happened we just talked,” he stressed.
“Oh, I believe you. I know Mel remember?” she laughed.
“She let me sleep in Jen’s bed, said something about it being a good place for sinners lately anyway. I didn’t quite get that,” Joey said furrowing his brow. “I figured it must have just been her way of giving me a hard time.”
“You’re probably right,” Sam agreed, she couldn’t think of any other reasoning behind it. “Well now that you know our dirty little secret of admiration, Chris is the only one left. We should probably just tell him too.”
“Nah, it’ll be more fun for him to figure it out on his own,” Joey decided. “More fun for the rest of us anyway,” he chuckled.
****
JC slid the card key into the slot and walked through the door quietly. Luckily she had the television on and was standing with her back to the entrance talking on the phone. He made his way quickly to her, sitting his jacket on the back of the chair before grabbing her by her waist and lifting her off the ground, playfully nibbling her neck.
“OH MY GOD! WHAT THE HELL!” Jen screamed as he set her back down and she turned around to see the satisfied smile on his face.
“Jen, what’s going on? Are you okay?” Johnny asked on the other end of the line.
“Yes, I’m fine, I just saw a big ugly spider in my room that’s all,” she said making a face at JC.
“Well you go take care of that and get back to me with those numbers later okay?” her boss instructed before ending the conversation.
“How did you get in here?”
“What, no hello?” JC pouted.
“Hello. How did you get in here?” Jen asked again.
“I went to the desk clerk and told her that my friend was locked out of her room and that she would’ve come got the key herself but she was wearing only a towel.”
“And she believed you?”
“Come on, look at this face. Would it lie?” JC asked smiling innocently.
Jen rolled her eyes. “So is this my punishment for last night?”
“Ah yes, about last night.”
“What about it?”
“Don’t you think it’s a little obvious you picking on me so much, somebody’s bound to pick up on that eventually,” JC explained.
“I don’t think so. I pick on everybody, that’s me,” Jen smiled. “I was just concentrating on you last night because you asked for it. And at least I was humorous about it, I could’ve just been mean.”
“Oh so last night, that wasn’t you being mean?” JC teased.
“Nope, that was nothing. Why, did I hurt your feelings?” she mocked, sticking out her bottom lip.
“Not at all, but I’m still trying to think of a suitable punishment for you.”
“Oh yeah?” Jen asked pushing him down onto the couch. “How’s that working out for ya?” she said with a questioning eyebrow as she straddled his legs.
“It depends on how you look at it,” he answered, running his hands along her thighs. “I could stand my ground, make my point by walking out right now, or I could just give in, forget about the whole thing and kiss you, squandering all dignity I have left.”
“So what are you gonna do?” Jen asked, her hazel eyes smiling.
“What do you think?” JC replied as he lifted her from his lap and with one graceful motion placed her on her back on the couch as he slid up the length of her body, his face inches from hers.
“I think you made the right decision,” she beamed as their lips met in an impassioned kiss.
A few moments later there was a knock on the door. Both of their heads popped up over the back of the sofa as they stared at the door.
“Who is it?” Jen called.
“It’s Sam, open up.”
“Shit,” Jen mumbled. “Go hide in the bedroom,” she said pushing JC.
“But…”
“Just go,” she insisted. “NO! Don’t shut the door.”
“Why not?” he asked confused.
“Because the door would only be shut if someone were in there, just go in the bathroom,” she whispered loudly.
“What if she has to use the bathroom?” JC asked amused.
“Then I’ll make her use the other one, now go,” she asserted widening her eyes at him as she went to answer the door.
“What took you so long?” Sam asked walking inside the room.
“I was finishing up a phone call. What’s up?” Jen asked, her tone a little frazzled.
“I was wondering if you maybe wanted to go get some lunch, just the two of us.”
“Sure, that’d be cool. Can you give me like a half hour to get showered and ready though?”
“Yeah that’s fine. I have a few things I need to finish up first anyway. Isn’t this JC’s?” Sam asked picking up the navy shirt draped over the chair next to her.
“Um…yes it is,” Jen answered slowly. “He must have left it here earlier when he came to check on some arrangements for New York,” she recovered as JC snickered to himself in the other room.
“Oh, well I’ll drop it off to him on the way back to my room.”
“He’s not in his room,” Jen blurted out, still trying to think of her next cover. “He’s working out.”
“Okay, then I’ll see you in a half hour then?” Sam asked.
“It’s a date,” Jen said before Sam let herself out.
“Is it safe to come out now?” JC said standing in the doorway of the bedroom.
“You think that was funny don’t ya? Thank you very much for leaving your shirt you dork,” she said playfully smacking his arm.
“I forgot it was there,” he shrugged. “But I have a question. If you told Sam that I stopped by earlier and that was okay, then why did I have to hide now?” he quizzed raising an eyebrow at her.
“I panicked,” she laughed. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
“I tried to but you interrupted me.”
“Speaking of interruptions,” Jen said throwing her arms around his neck. “Where were we?” JC leaned down and kissed her as he pulled her backward towards the bathroom. “What are you doing?”
“You told Sam that you were getting in the shower. I wouldn’t want you to lie to her,” he said grinning widely.
****
Jen and Sam were returning from a long leisurely lunch. Sam had finally gotten a chance to tell her friend everything that had happened when she told Lance the details of her past. They were now walking through the lobby of the hotel.
"So what about you? Is there anything new going on that I should know about?" Sam asked.
"No not really. Just working," Jen answered. She felt a little guilty about keeping her relationship with JC secret from Sam but it just wasn't something she was ready to share yet. "So what did you and Lance do up there besides kiss and make up?"
"We pretty much just hung around town, saw the sights," Sam shrugged. "Oh! I can't believe I almost forgot about this. We met this really cool girl and I am quasi-famous," she laughed. "Wait till you hear this."
"Are you Samantha?" a girl interrupted walking up beside the two friends.
"Yes I am. Do I know you?"
"Nope. Do you have a life? I mean come on, I know some of the other girlfriends have traveled with the guys before but they at least go away for a few days, but you, you're always around. How does Lance put up with that?" she grilled. "And you're not even pretty," she said staring at Sam. "I just don't get what he sees in you."
"I'm always around because I'm his personal assistant," Sam explained trying to maintain her cool.
"Oh so now they have the whores on the payroll. Nice," the girl said coolly.
Jen lost all self-control she had at that point. "Now why would they pay for whores when they have so many like you waiting around?"
"Who the hell are you?" she asked Jen. "Oh wait, you must be Jen, the friend she weaseled into the crew."
"You shouldn't be worrying about WHO I am, you should however worry about WHAT I'm going to do if you don't get out of my face," Jen said as she moved closer to her.
"Come on Jen, let's just go," Sam said pulling her away.
"That's right, go run and cry to your sugar daddy," the girl shouted as they walked to the elevators.
"I'll be sure to mention the part about you being such a respectful fan," Jen hollered back.
The girls were silent in the ride up to their floor. Jen followed Sam to her room to make sure she was okay. Sam walked in, surprised to see the rest of the group along with Lance waiting for the two of them.
"We were just wondering if you were gonna make it back in time," he kidded. "How was lunch?" Sam said nothing, instead she just stepped towards him circled her arms around his waist. "Whoa, that good huh? "What's wrong?"
"I don't want to talk about it," Sam said snuggling her face into his chest as he returned her embrace.
"We just had a run in with a wonderful fan," Jen said sarcastically. "It wasn't very pleasant."
"She was mean," Sam mumbled into Lance's chest.
"I'm sorry," he said kissing the top of her head.
"It's not your fault."
"But it's my lifestyle that put you in that situation," he argued.
"And I knew that going into this relationship," Sam countered looking up at him.
"Still, that doesn't make it fair that you have to put up with…"
Sam placed a silencing hand on his mouth. "This is exactly why I didn't want to talk about it, I knew you'd feel responsible and you're not. Stop arguing with me."
"Okay," Lance gave in.
"You can't let them get to you Sam," Dani spoke up. "That's what they want. Don't give them that satisfaction."
"I know, it's just that this was the first bad one," she sighed.
"They won't all be like that," JC said.
"That's right. I know for a fact that we have a least a few really cool fans," Justin said winking at her.
"Exactly," Jen chimed in. "Weren't you just about to tell me about one that you met a few days ago?"
"Oh yeah," Sam said turning towards the room of friends and pulling Lance's arms around her waist. "We met this girl, she was nice to us, told us she was happy for us, blah blah blah."
"Oh come on," Lance said nudging her. "Tell them all of it."
Sam sighed. "She said she'd seen pictures of me on the internet and that there were a bunch of rumors going around about who I was and she said that she was really happy for us and she was proud that Lance was dating a Michigan girl." Sam's face brightened as she began to remember more details of the incident. "Did I mention that Lance introduced me to her as his girlfriend?" she beamed as she glanced back at him.
The room erupted into a chorus of mocking "awws" as Jen spoke.
"Not to diminish the moment or anything but if you guys plan to be open about your relationship someone should warn Johnny."
"I'll tell him," Lance agreed. "He'll be joining us again in Foxboro and I'll let him know then. So tell them the rest of the story," he said to Sam.
"That's it."
"No it's not," he said shaking his head in disagreement. "Either you tell them or I will."
"Fine," she huffed. "She asked for my autograph and picture too."
"Tell them why," Lance giggled.
"Because Lance told her I was a singer and that I was gonna be famous someday," Sam answered rolling her eyes. "Like that's ever gonna happen."
"Ya never know, it could," Justin said.
"It's not going to," Sam repeated.
"It did for us," Joey mentioned. "Why couldn't it for you?"
"Because I'm not a singer, I like to sing, there's a difference," Sam protested. "Aren't you going to help me Jen?"
"Like I'm going to disagree with something that I've been trying to get through to you forever," she scoffed.
"I told you," Lance said. "You are gonna be a star, I can see it now."
"Stop it!" Sam shouted, trying not to smile.
"That girl was pretty smart getting your autograph and stuff, because now when you do blow up, she can sell on it eBay and make a mint," Chris joked.
"You are gonna make me a fortune as your manager," Lance taunted.
"The buses are ready guys," Lonnie shouted through the door.
"Saved by the bell," Sam muttered as the group began filtering out of the room.