"What's wrong with those two?" Audrey asked.
"Long story," JC said. "We'll explain when we get back home." Inside the poolhouse, Justin and Kristina were messing around with the guys and the girls who were in there and Justin said something he shouldn't have. Kristina took it the wrong way and tried yelling at him but nothing would come out. It was another one of their useless arguments.
"Wait, where are you all going?" Audrey asked. She began to notice that everyone who was in the poolhouse was leaving the house.
"We're going to catch a movie and go to the clubs afterwards. Want to come with? The movie starts at 6:10."
"No, that's okay. I'll just tell Chris that ya'll went out." Audrey said sitting back down.
"Okay, we'll see you later tonight. We'll try not to be so noisy when we get home."
"Have fun for me! Bye." Audrey watched as the two cars slowly backed out of the driveway. Audrey waited for a good ten minutes before Chris came back. He had some videotapes in his hand.
"Get lost in the closet? Audrey asked looking at Chris' hair and noticing how messy it looked.
"Actually, I did." He laughed. He popped in one of the videotapes into the VCR and sat down with Audrey.
"What is this?" She asked. She watched the screen.
"It's from our trip to Hawaii. I ransacked Joey's room for his video camera and got the tapes together so we can watch them. Um...where are the others?" He said noticing.
"They went to see a flick and are going to go to some clubs afterwards." She said.
"Okay. Well, that just leaves you and me, babe." Chris said sitting down on the couch and wrapping his arms around her. They sat around watching the tapes for the remainder of the night. Joey had captured so many 'Kodak Memories' with his camera. Chris looked down at Audrey and loved seeing the mesmerized look on her face. She was having the greatest time watching everything that they did while in Hawaii. When Joey wasn't using his camera, Audrey would take it and get a lot of candid footage of the guys messing around in the hotels and at the beaches. There was one especially appealing to Audrey. She had grabbed Joey's camera when the guys played beach football. She sat there, wrapped in Chris' arms, laughing hysterically.
"I remember that. You guys lost when I started playing!" Audrey said making fun of Chris.
"You're just lucky that they let you play. We were doing just fine and you came in and helped them win." He said kissing the back of her neck and up towards her cheek and wrapping his arms around her tighter.
"Lucky? Yeah, to be a woman. You guys wouldn't dare tackle me, so all 3 of my touchdowns were a piece of cake." She said fully enjoying the feeling of Chris kissing her.
"Yeah, yeah. Believe what you want. If we ever have a re-match, you are going down!" Chris said whispering into her ears, making chills run down her body.
The next footage on the tape was when they taught Audrey how to jet ski. She had the hardest time getting her to start the engine. Chris laughed as he looked up and saw Audrey falling off the Jet Ski. He could see the frustration in her eyes as Joey kept zooming in and out with the camera lens. "Hey, don't laugh. That's hard to do you know!" She said. "I finally got the hang of it...two days later."
Chris laughed even harder. "Yeah, two whole days. That's pretty funny, hun."
Audrey had gotten quiet. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make fun of you."
"Yeah, you're forgiven." She said kissing him again. The tapes ended about two hours later. It was almost 9:00 and Audrey wanted to relax in the indoor Jacuzzi in the poolhouse.
"Chris, Hun, I'm going to be in the backyard." She walked upstairs to get her swimsuit on. About then minutes later she walked back downstairs and couldn't find Chris anywhere. She decided that he was somewhere else in the house doing his own thing. She got a spare towel from the linen closet and walked outside to the poolhouse. She stopped when she stepped into the Jacuzzi room.
Inside, there were numerous candles lit and flower petals scattered around the floor leading to the Jacuzzi. In the background was some romantic ballads playing on a small CD player. She looked around the room to se if Chris was anywhere in sight. She didn't see anyone.
"Chris, baby, are you in here?" She said outloud hoping he wasn't trying to scare her.
"No I'm not." He said messing around with her.
"Oh, okay just checking." She answered back with a small laugh. She entered the Jacuzzi and sighed as the hot water engulfed her body. Moments later, Chris came out decked in his swim trunks with a red rose in one hand and a small box in the other. "What are you up to, Kirkpatrick?"
"I just wanted to join you and make this as romantic as possible, you know to make up for lost time." He said handing her the rose and sitting down in the steam-filled Jacuzzi next to her.
"Well, I can go for that." She said kissing him. He set down the box behind him to save it for later; knowing that Audrey was probably dying to know what was inside that box. They sat there for the next half-hour talking. Chris sang her some of the songs that were playing in the background.
"You are the cutest 28 year old in the world." She said.
"Heh, I know. But did you have to go and preach my age to the walls?" He joked. "I'm old! I have no fans because I'm so old! I'm the old fart in the group." He said sinking down into the water.
"Chris, babe, don't say that. You have tons of fans. I just hope they are all younger than 18 because I wouldn't want to have to fight for you. Besides, if you do have less fans than you think, just picture it this way, more for me." She said.
"I'm liking the sound of that. But I still want more fans." He said pouting.
"Well, then grow your hair out, bleach it blonde, get some curls, and call yourself Justin Timberlake. I'm sure you'll get more fans that way." She joked.
"You know, I may just have to do that." He said waiting for her reaction.
"Oh you better not. I love ya just the way you are." She said splashing water on him. They splashed each other for the next five minutes spraying water everywhere. Audrey looked up through the glass panes on the ceiling and saw the stars shining ever so brightly in the January sky. She eyes sparkled. Chris found this to be the perfect opportunity to give her what was in the small box.
"Aud, I have something for you?"
"Yeah?" She said watching him grab the box from behind him.
"I got it for you while we were in Hawaii. I thought you'd like it." He handed her the box for her to open.
She flipped the top up and inside she found a gold necklace with rare Hawaiian gems on a pendant. "Oh my, Chris this is beautiful. Thank you." She said embracing him and sitting in between his legs. "No one's ever given me anything so thoughtful and lovely. Thank you, thank you, thank you." She continued rambling on about how much she loved the necklace. Chris took it from her and put it around her neck. After doing so he kissed the back of her neck up to her lips and kissed her passionately. The two shared the sweet kiss for a while. They finally broke apart for some air.
"Thanks you." She said one last time. "I don't think you can ever top this gift. I love it!" She kissed him again and leaned back on him watching the stars shine in the night sky.
"You're very welcome, Aud. I'd go to the end of the world and back to keep you happy." He said sweetly.
They got out of the Jacuzzi at about 10:30. Audrey sat on the futon with a cover up on her swimsuit. Chris dried up and sat next to her. "I don't see why you girls have those things? I mean what do they cover up? I can still see your swimsuit. It's practically sheer."
"Chris, stop complaining." She said laughing.
"Oh, I'm not complaining. I mean you look absolutely breathtaking in that swim suit." He said eyeing her body. Audrey blushed as she got up to get them some drinks. She came back with two glasses of champagne. "So, what do you want to do next?"
"I'm not sure. I don't think there is much to do here, without any of the others. Which reminds me, I have to get home at start rearranging the extra room."
"What do you mean?" Chris asked.
"Oh well Julie is moving in with us. She's not living at home anymore, so I welcomed her to live with Kris and me. It will work out just fine because I'll take the smaller room and give her the master bedroom and stick an extra bed in there. She'll just share a room with Shelley."
"Whoa, the four of you are going to live under one roof?" He asked.
"Yeah. It will work. Kris and I will have the smaller rooms and Julie and Shel will share the big master bedroom. It will work out just fine. Julie will be getting a job soon so she can help pay rent. Shel and Kris are going to help with rent because they applied to jobs and they start working after school next week. If we can afford a bigger place to live, then we'll do that. But for now, we are all pretty content with our apartment. I mean, those three girls are like my younger sisters. A lot of times they feel like my own daughters. It's funny how they all seem to have dysfunctional families. Okay that part is not funny. I mean, Julie's already out of high school so her parents want her out of the house. We all know about Krisitna. Shelley and Kristina are going to the same college next school year and so it's easier for her to move in with Kristina. They are probably going to Monroe College like I did so it's not too far from here."
"Looks like you all have it planned out." Chris said admiring Audrey. He could tell that she really cared for the girls and that she wants the best for each of them. "Sometimes I wish that I had such a normal life. I mean I love being in *NSYNC, it's one of the best things to happen to me. But there are just those times I want a normal life without having to think about impressing someone. I can probably speak for everyone in the group when I say that whenever we ware with you and the girls, we feel normal. Like a regular group of guys hanging out with their girlfriends and best friends."
"I'm glad you feel like that when we are around. The last thing we would want you to feel is as if we are treating you like super stars. I mean c'mon, you and those other nut brains. Ha. That's pretty funny." She said laughing.
"Hey, hey. Now none of that." He said tickling her. They shared another glass of champagne and talked for another half-hour before heading back inside. Audrey went upstairs to change into some comfortable clothes. Chris was pretty much already comfortable in his swim trunks. He put on a wife beater and stayed downstairs waiting for Audrey to come back downstairs. She came downstairs and made herself comfortable on his lap.
"How about tomorrow morning we all go down to your place and help you with the rooms?" He offered.
"Now that's something I can't turn down."
"Okay then it's settled. We'll leave here at about 10-ish?"
"Sounds good to me." She said. The two fell asleep in each other’s arms while watching the television. Chris had woken up an hour later noticing that it had gotten rather cold in the house. He reached over for a blanket and covered Audrey and himself. He looked down at her seeing how peaceful and angelic she slept. He leaned down and kissed her and soon was back asleep. The phone rang throughout the house. Chris and Audrey were too tired to run and pick it up. The answering machine picked up the call.
“Aud? Chris? It’s JC. Okay, well I guess you’re not up. We aren’t coming home. It’s 2am and the club we went to is around Audrey’s apartment so Kristina offered to let us stay there. So, we’ll be here if you’re looking for us. Call us when you guys wake up.” JC hung up.
*******
Audrey woke up and around 7:30. She looked over at Chris who was sleeping peacefully with his arms wrapped around her. She quietly got up and went for the kitchen. She looked down and saw the answering machine light blinking.
“Someone called?” She said yawning. She pressed the button and heard JC’s voice. It clicked when he mentioned that they’d be at her house. She went to wake Chris but when she got there, he was gone.
“Chris, hun, where are you? Okay, you did this last night. It’s too early in the morning to be playing games.” She said into the air. Chris walked up from behind her and spun her around for a morning kiss. “Mmm.” She said.
“Exactly what I’m thinking right now.” Chris said. “I took the liberty of getting us some breakfast.”
“What? You were only gone for like a couple minutes. What are you Superman?”
“No, that’s Joey. I called a friend to go pick up some breakfast for us.”
“Oh, great. As long as I don’t have to cook, I’m good. By the way, Kristina and her whole clique is over at my place.” She said. “Which reminds me, I have to call them. I’ll be right back.”
She got up and walked over to the phone. Chris sat and watched her every move. He noticed the way she would speak into the phone and how restless she gets when no one answers. Someone had finally answered over at the apartment and it got Audrey’s attention.
“Hello?” Someone one the other line said.
“Yeah…um…it’s Audrey.”
“Oh hey, it’s me JC.” He said groggily.
“I just called to see if you were all okay and to tell you we’d be over there at around 10.”
“Huh? Oh okay then. Didn’t you get the last part of the message, where we said for you to call us anyway?” He said being a bit more awake.
“No, I guess not. The machine cut off the rest of the message.”
“Oh okay. We’ll see you here at 10 then.” JC said. “Bye.”
“Bye.” Audrey said hanging up. She walked over to Chris who came back from the door with a McDonalds bag. She looked at Chris giving him a puzzled look.
“Okay, so I didn’t tell you what kind of breakfast. C’mon now.” He said setting the food on the dining table.
“That’s okay. It’s the thought that counts. Thank you.” She said kissing him, then digging into her food.
At around 8:30, the two had finished their breakfast. Chris said he’d take the shower first and went upstairs to get ready. Audrey was downstairs cleaning up a bit before she heads upstairs for her room. Ten minutes later she walked into her room. She could hear the shower running and Chris humming to the bathroom walls. She laughed as she got her things ready. She went out of the room and decided to get everyone some clean clothes so they didn’t have to drive all the way back here. Audrey finished the task about fifteen minutes later and walked back into the room. She stopped dead in her tracks at the sight she saw. Chris has just gotten out of the shower and was only had a towel wrapped around his waist. He was going through his bags finding something to wear when he saw Audrey from the corner of his eyes. Audrey turned away and walked out of the door, her eyes wide open. Chris went after her and spun her around. He saw the shocked expression in her face and had to laugh.
“What’s so surprising?” Chris asked. “I mean, it’s not like you haven’t seen me without my shirt before.”
“Um…I…Uh…” She couldn’t get her words out. He took her hand and put it on the rim of the towel and with her hand, ripped off the towel. Audrey turned around in the quickest second. Chris laughed and turned her around; he had already put on a pair of boxers.
“DON’T do that! Oh my god! I…” She said thinking about the situation. She smiled wondering what would have happened if nothing was underneath.
“I’m sorry. I was just easing up the mood.” Chris said kissing her. He picked up the towel and went into the room to get dressed. Audrey went a few minutes later to find Chris all ready to leave. He left the room to let Audrey take her shower and get ready. Chris decided to leave the house to get something for Audrey. Audrey was in her room, fifteen minutes after taking a shower and noticed that the rest of the house was pretty quiet. She got completely ready and walked downstairs with everyone’s clean clothes in a duffel bag. Audrey walked around the house looking for Chris. He came walking through the door with a dozen roses. He walked around looking for Audrey.
“Audrey, where are you babe?” He asked.
“I’m over here, where are you?” She asked following the sound of his voice. They bumped into each other in the hallway. She noticed the roses in his hand. Chris handed them over to her. “Oh, Chris, you shouldn’t have.”
“I wanted to. It’s thanks for last night. That was the best night of my life and I’m glad we got to spend the entire night together.” He said kissing her. Audrey started getting emotional and kissed him back passionately. She took the flowers with her into the car. Chris picked up the duffel bag and got into the car. They were driving along to Audrey’s apartment. Audrey was still gazing down at her roses.
“If you look at those roses again I will toss them out the window!” Chris said joking around.
“What? I’m sorry. I just love them so much. It’s so thoughtful. No one’s really done anything like this for me.” She said with a tear rolling down her cheek.
“Oh baby, don’t cry.” He said reaching over and wiping the tear away. Audrey kissed his hand and smiled. They reached the house a half-hour early. They walked out of the car and up to her apartment. Audrey pulled out her key and unlocked the door. She went to push the door open and was stopped. She managed to fit her head through and see what was blocking the door. Lance and Julie were on the floor lying down leaning on each other. Lance’s legs were blocking on the door and was keeping the door from being opened. Chris rammed the door, causing Lance to wake up. The two walked in and saw everyone sprawled out on the couch and the floor. JC and Joey were on the couch, one on each end. Shelley was lying on the table with a blanket over her. Kristina was in Justin’s arms lying on the other side of the couch.
“I could have sworn those two were fighting when they left the house last night.” Audrey said to Lance.
“Oh, well it’s a LONG story. I’ll have to explain everything from last night!” He said. He picked up Julie and carried her into one of the rooms so she’d be more comfortable. He walked back and saw that Joey, JC and Shelley had woken up. They were sitting around talking quietly so as not to wake up Justin and Kristina.
“Okay, will someone please explain to me why those two are sleeping like that. I mean they left the house yelling at each other.” Audrey said.
“Actually, I kind of want to know too. This is too strange.” Chris said.
“Well, okay, we’ll tell you but not right now. I don’t want to wake the two up.” Shelley said. Everyone agreed and ventured off about the house. Chris and Audrey sat around. Audrey had given the guys their clothes to change in. The girls already had stuff here at Audrey’s house. Chris and Audrey sat around talking about how they were going to rearrange the apartment. Joey, Lance, and a now woken, freshly bathed Julie had come out all set for the day. Audrey told them what they’d be doing today and they all groaned.
Chris laughed. “C’mon guys, I mean it’s the least we can do.” Joey and Lance nodded their heads and walked off to the kitchen with Julie. They hopped over Justin and Kristina who were still sleeping on the floor. JC and Shelley came out all prepared. Chris told them what they were going to do and got the same reaction.
“You let the leave for one day without us and already they don’t want to be with us!” Audrey said complaining.
“It’s okay babe. We’ll just have to do this ourselves and then afterwards we’ll go to the lake and cruise.” Chris said.
Joey, Lance, Julie, JC, and Shelley all pooped their heads out from the kitchen. “Did you say lake?” JC said.
“Yep.” Chris said.
“Does that mean?” Joey said.
“Yep.” Chris said again.
“Woohoo, we are helping you out.” Lance said walking back into the kitchen.
“What are you talking about, nimrod?” Julie asked. “Since when do you say, ‘Woohoo’?
“Shut up!” He said tickling her. He stopped to let JC explain.
“Oh, whenever Chris takes us to his private lake, it’s always a trip. We have so much fun there and everytime we are there, something new happens and we never get bored. You guys are going to have so much fun. Plus it’s probably warm enough as to where we can all go swimming in the indoor pool. It’s awesome you guys will have fun.” JC said.
Audrey and Chris were laughing uncontrollably. “Good job babe.” She said, kissing him sweetly.
“I know.” They sat there watching television, waiting for their day to start.
To Be Continued…