Nicole walked into the house, tired from her day of excitement. Adrienne, who also had a fun day at the zoo with her preschool class, slept in her arms. So far today, she had played a little one-on-one with Symone, watched an extremely intense basketball game, and went to a movie with JC. She was very excited when Lance and Krysti decided just to go home and not join the older two. Nicole knew Krysti was probably a little peeved about the kiss between Symone and Lance, but in knowing her sister's best friend so well, she also knew Krys would get over it quickly. As she lay her beautiful daughter on her bed, she smiled at the thought of JC. She was not sure how she had kept her composure at first, but as she got to know a little more about him, Josh became a normal guy. He was very sweet and considerate, extremely funny and good-natured, not to mention talented and gorgeous. She had never really gotten close to a guy since Adrienne's father, Erik. Most guys were scared away by the fact that she was a mother at such a young age. So far, she had failed to mention that fact to JC. She wanted to a least have a few days with him before she sent him packing with her "pretty little secret."

After tucking her 4-year-old into her bed, Nicole maneuvered her way out to Symone's room. She wanted to tell her all about her date. The two had seen Varsity Blues, and then walked around the Botanical Gardens, one of Nicole and Symone's favorite places in the city. It was extremely beautiful, and not many people in their age group went there, so it was a great place to sit and think, or hold whispered conversations while walking the well-worn paths. The two girls often went there after fighting with their parents or each other, as well as to tell each other good news. And they only took very special people there. JC was definitely special to Nicole, even in the short period of time that she got to know him. Actually, she learned the most about him in the gardens; about his similar relationship with Tyler that she shared with Symone, and his fears and hopes for the future. She also told him a lot of things that not many people knew; her fear of not being known, her extreme love of painting and drawing, and her confession of loving his group's music, despite the stereotypes it created for her. Nicole felt extremely bad about not telling him about Adrienne. She had almost slipped a few times, and it caused raised eyebrows on JC's part, but he didn't say anything, to which Nicole was grateful. When she finally made it through the maze in the garage to the door to her sister's room, she peeked inside, only to find her sleeping. Nicole walked up to the bed, intent on waking up Symone, but stopped when she saw the stressed expression that her baby sister wore, as well as her tear-stained face.

"Something must be wrong." Nicole stated to herself in a whisper before turning around and making her way back into the house. As she entered the kitchen, the phone began to ring. She walked over to pick it up, hoping that the nose didn't wake up the two young girls asleep in the house.

"Hello." She said

"Hey, is Nicole around?"

"This is she, may I ask who is calling?" Nicole said with a smile, knowing full well that it was JC. His voice was already imprinted on her mind.

"This is Josh."

"Josh? I don't think I know a Josh." She was trying very hard not to giggle.

"Funny Nikki, very funny. This is JC." He laughed

She melted when he used the nickname he had given her that afternoon. "Hey JC, what's up?"

"Nothing much, just hanging out here, what about you?"

"Same, I guess. Everyone is sleeping, so I guess I was just gonna watch some TV or something." Nicole sighed, realizing that she wasn't going to have much to do that night. Addie would sleep for another hour or so, and then she would take her to dinner or something. Symone and Jessica both had dates, and Krysti would probably be going to a party or something. It was hard sometimes, being a single mother. She loved her daughter very much, but she sometimes felt that she missed out on a lot by having to be mommy 24/7. But, it was her decision in the first place, and all it took was one of Adrienne's killer smiles to send those thoughts to the farthest recesses of her mind.

JC heard her sigh of boredom, and smiled. "How would you like to go to dinner with me tonight?"

"Well, I would love to, but…I can't, I'm sorry." She would have no place to leave Adrienne, as her parents had left for Puerto Rico that morning.

"Why not?" JC was saddened. He really enjoyed getting to know Nikki, and he wanted to spend as much time with her as possible before the group went home to Orlando.

"Well…" Nicole wasn't sure how to answer this, without frightening him away. "Um, I have responsibilities tonight that I just can't forget about.

JC wasn't sure he accepted this. "Can we talk about this face to face?" He knew he would see in her eyes whether or not she was telling the truth.

"Sure, I guess. I have to stay here, so I guess I will give you directions. Got a pen?" she replied.

"Don't need one. Open the front door."

Nicole, very confused, placed the phone on the floor and walked to the door. She opened it, and the man she had been talking to for the past 10 minutes, and thinking about for numerous hours before that stood outside. She laughed and pulled him inside by his shirt. "You are crazy, you know that!"

JC laughed, too. "Yup, I am well aware." He stared at the beautiful lady in front of him, drinking in her dark eyes and high cheekbones and pouty lips. "Now why is it that you can't have dinner with me?"

"Um, well, I have other responsibilities." She looked into his soft blue eyes that were pleading with hers to give in. She immediately felt horrible for holding back such important information. As if on cue, wailing was heard from the back bedroom. Nicole looked up and started to walk purposefully toward the sound, leaving JC alone in the living room. He stood for about 10 minutes before Nicole came back, carrying an adorable little girl in her arms. She had the same cheekbones and eyes as Nicole, in addition to her long, wavy brown hair that was mussed from sleep.

JC spoke up first. "Aw, sweetie, what's the matter?" Both of the girls looked up at the sound of his voice. The baby's eyes grew wide as she saw who spoke.

"Dat's JC!" She giggled.

He laughed too, which caused Nicole to look up hopefully. "What's your name?" he asked. She seemed to get shy all of a sudden.

"This is Adrienne." Nicole answered for her.

"Hello Adrienne. How do you know my name?" JC asked, his face animated.

"She loves 'N Sync, don't you?" Nicole tickled the little girl in her arms, and she started to laugh, squirm and nod fervently.

"Oh really? Are you coming to the concert tomorrow?"

Adrienne, who was now standing on the floor, nodded again. "Mone and Krissy and Jessie and Mommy are takin' me." She said, finding her voice again.

JC was enamored with the little girl already. She was so sweet and cute, and looked just like her older sister. He thought about the list of names that she had rattled off. He looked at Nicole, perplexed. "I thought you said you were going, too."

"I am." Nicole sucked in her breath, preparing to tell this guy that she had barely gotten to know, and whom she wished she had the opportunity to know better the one thing that would make him run in the opposite direction, fast. But, Adrienne cut her off.

"Momma, I'm hungry." She stated, and Nicole sighed yet again. 'So much for explaining' she thought.

JC finally understood. Nicole was not Adrienne's older sister, but her mother. He was slightly angry that she didn't tell him, but he almost understood where she was coming from. He never told people what he did for a living if they didn't already know, that way, they could get to know him for who he was. It was almost the same as what Nicole had to deal with, being a young mother. People always looked at you differently after they knew.

Nicole's eyes had begun to water, and she felt the tears ready to spill over. 'One more guy down. Let's see if I can alienate the entire male population. Hey, maybe I can get into the Guinness Book. Nicole Hill, most rejections from the masculine sex.' she reasoned. JC's voice broke into her thoughts. She looked down, and he was crouched next to her daughter, talking to her yet again.

"Hey Adrienne, your mommy and I were just talking about where we wanted to go tonight. But, we said we were gonna let you pick. So, where do you want to go?"

"Umm, Boomers!" Addie replied. The two of them looked up pleadingly at Nicole, who was laughing through her tears.

"Sounds good to me!" She said. "Adrienne, go get your shoes on and get a brush so I can do your hair." The 4-year-old took of toward her room, excited by the prospect of going to Boomers. JC and Nicole were left alone again.

"You have a beautiful daughter, you know." He said breaking the silence.

"Josh, listen, you don't have to stick around if this makes you feel uncomfortable. I can just tell her that you had to go and take her myself..." JC captured her hand in one of his.

"No, you listen. Adrienne is a great kid, and you are a great mother. And I want to get to know the both of you. It may take a little getting used to on my part, but I will try to handle it maturely." Nicole smiled at the genuineness of his statement. He reached up and brushed away her tears. She shivered under his touch, which made him smile.

"You are a very rare and special person Josh Chasez."

"So are you Nicole Hill. So, tell me, what is this Boomers place?"

"It's the family fun center here. Like a big arcade and go-carts and mini-golf. All that fun stuff. Plus, awesome pizza!" She told him.

JC laughed. "So much for being mature."