"Do I look okay?"

"Stephanie, you look fine. What's so important?"

Stephanie nervously looked at the clock on the wall. "I'll explain later. Gotta go. Bye."

Winnie watched Stephanie run from the office to her car. Weird. It looked like she was about to cry. I'll ask her about it tonight.

She sat down at her desk and sighed. Before her sat a dilemma. Someone had misquoted Chris and a rumor that he was deeply involved with someone started. Winnie remembered when Stephanie had handed her this assignment.

***** FLASHBACK *****

"Hey, Chris, challenge you to an arm wrestling match."

"Arm wrestling? Why not?"

Chris and Justin sat on the floor on opposite sides of the coffee table. Joey, JC and Lance sat on the couch to cheer on their friends. No competition was complete without little side bets.

"I have ten on Justin."

"I'll see your bet and place ten on Chris."

"Five on each." Everyone looked at JC. "Hey, I win no matter what."

"JC, that's a wuss' bet." All eyes turned to Winnie.

"Oh, and do you want a piece of the pot?" Justin grinned at her, his blues eyes sparkling into her brown ones.

"As a matter of fact. I do."

"Okay, how much are you betting on me?"

"You? Are all those little fans getting to you? I'm betting on my man." She put her arm around Chris.

"Like I said. How much are you betting on me?"

"Justin, you heard the lady. She's mine," Chris reminded his friend. He looked up at Winnie. "So how much are you betting on me?"

"It depends on how much you are giving me."

"You mean I have to pay for your support?"

"Sorry, hun. I don't come free."

"Who needs you." Chris waved his arms in the air and looked at Justin. "Alright, Curly, lets see if turning eighteen made a man out of you."

Chris and Justin rested their elbows on the table and clasped hands. Joey acted as the referee and started the match. It was a good match. After a few minutes of struggling back and forth Justin started to have an advantage. Chris was putting up a good fight. He was starting his comeback when they were interrupted.

"Christopher Kirkpatrick, you better not have said this."

The sound of Stephanie's voice broke Chris' concentration and Justin won easily.

"What did I do wrong now?" Chris looked up at Stephanie, his eyes full of fire.

"Here. Read this." Stephanie practically threw the magazine at him.

Chris' eyes moved back and forth quickly as he scanned the article. They stopped near the end. Chris stood up.

"I didn't say this."

"Then how did it get in there?"

"I don't know. You work with these people and know how they disregard other people." Chris looked Stephanie in the eye to make sure she got the real meaning behind his words.

She did.

"I'm not like that. Now, you have no idea where they got the idea that you have a girlfriend and are in love with her?"

"No, I do not. They asked me if I've ever been in love and I said yes. When they then asked me if I had a girlfriend I said no. Writers always mix up what we say."

"So, you didn't say that you have a girlfriend?

"No."

"There's no possibility? It couldn't have slipped?"

"No," Chris held her brown eyes with his. "There is only one woman I want and she obviously doesn't want me. So, don't worry about me slipping on that topic."

They stared at each other for a moment. Chris broke away from the eyelock and faced JC.

"Hey, JC, you promised you'd take me to the dentist's." Chris stalked out the door.

JC got off the couch and started to follow Chris. "Bye, guys. See you later."

Stephanie looked at the door for a moment and went to her office.

Winnie looked at the guys questionly. She was about to speak when Stephanie called her from the other room.

"Winnie, how'd you like to do some real work?"

***** END FLASHBACK *****

Winnie was awakened from her momories by the phone.

"Hello NCT, how may I help you?"

"Well, first you can tell me why you're in Orlando instead of here with me?"

Winnie stiffened at the sound of the voice coming over the phone line.

"Chad, how'd you get this number? Or better yet. How'd you know where I was?"

"I have my ways."

"What do those ways entail?"

"You know, you should really talk to your sister about what information she gives people."

"If you touch her I'll kill you."

"But then you'd have to come here to do that."

"Chad, if you ever..."

"Oh, come on Win, you know I'd never touch Katie."

"Why are you calling me?" Winnie really was not in the mood to deal with Chad.

"I wanted to know why you left me here all alone?"

"Chad, we broke up. Remember? You wanted space and I gave it to you."

"But I didn't mean for you to go to Florida."

"I was going to come here whether we broke up or not. This is a dream job for me."

"So, no matter what you'd be there? If we were still together you would have left?"

"Exactly." The other line rang. "Can you hold on for a second another call is coming in."

"Don't be too long. This call is costing me money."

Winnie answered the other line. It was for Stephanie and she took a message.

"Alright, I'm back."

"No you're not. You're still there."

"Chad, yes, I'm here and I'll be here til the end of summer."

"Maybe my summer plans might include a road trip down there."

"Chad, please do not do that. I work with five guys that will kick your butt if you come near me."

"Why will they do that?"

"Because I'll tell them to."

Back home Chad was already planning his trip. I know if I had a chance to look her in the eye she'd fall under my power again. Chad's eyes were one of the pair of blue eyes that had caused Winnie trouble.

"Chad, you still there?"

"Yeah, maybe you'll see me maybe you won't."

"Well, if you come be prepared to meet my new boyfriend."

"New boyfriend?!?" Chad practically yelled. "You have a new boyfriend already?"

"Yup, he's a talented singer, loves basketball and he's mine."

"Does he have blue eyes?" If he does I could be in trouble.

"Yeah, just thinking about them makes me smile."

Well, this has been productive. "Give me a call when your 'boy-toy' moves onto his next conquest."

"Sure I will and I'll tell you when the flying pigs pass by."

"Bye Winnie."

"Bye Chad."

Winnie slammed the phone down. I can't believe him. He wants his freedom but as soon as I find mine he freaks. She thought about the call the rest of the day. She didn't really think about the fact that she told Chad she had a boyfriend. Nor did she think about the fact that her description fit someone she knew.

~~~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~

"Justin? Yo, little boy, where are you?"

"Little boy? I'm taller than all of you," Justin replied as he walked out of the bathroom. "Where were you guys?"

Lance decided to ignore the height comment. "We went to the gym to get you and found that you had left."

"I must have missed you on my way up. What did you want?"

"We are going to a diner in Jersey and drive along the Delaware River," Joey stated before retreating to his room to get his sunglasses. They were a must for when the guys ventured into the real world.

"Do I get a say in the matter?"

"Okay Justin. You can either come with us or stay in the room and do nothing." The ultimatum came from JC.

"I've weighed my choices and I pick the first one."

"Good choice. Now, lets go."

The guys got ready and headed outside to the van waiting for them. There were miscellaneous conversations going on, but one was quiet and deep in thought. Justin.

~~~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~

He glanced at the men laughing around him. These guys were his closest friends. They had been there for him through the ups and downs, yet he couldn't talk to them about this. They knew things about him even his mother didn't know, but they couldn't know this.

He was in love.

No matter how much he tried to deny it he couldn't get away from it, away from her. She consumed his every thought, every dream. Even when she wasn't near he could hear her voice clearly.

~~~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~

"You're all I ever wanted. You're all I ever needed. So tell me what to do now."

Winnie sang and danced around her apartment as she got ready to go out with Stephanie. She was ready to have fun. The call from Chad ruined her day.

After clearing her head of ways to kill her ex-boyfriend she worked on the Chris problem. It was 4:30 when she was satisfied with her work so she locked up the office and went home.

When Winnie had gotten home she had a message on her machine. She was afraid it was Chad and almost did not listen to it. When she heard another familiar all her stress over Chad slipped away.

Hey Winnie. It's Justin.

I know you didn't want me to call before I-we came back but I needed to hear the voice of someone sane. Wait a minute...sane? I'm calling the wrong person then.

Winnie smiled at his joke.

Well, anyway, we all miss you and can't wait to see you on Sunda...JC, don't give me that look. I will.

Sorry about that. JC's pushing me to do something and I can't right now. Ok, I've got to go. Just wanted to say hi. See you on Sunday.

**beep**

After listening to Justin's message Winnie searched her closet for something to wear to the fair. Ultimately she decided to do laundry. She barely had anything clean and what was clean did not match.

When she was done washing her clothes Winnie had just enough time to shower, get dressed and make herself something to eat because she did not trust fair food.

At 6:50 Winnie heard the doorbell. She turned off the radio and answered the door. On the other side of the door was Stephanie looking as if she had been crying all day.

"Stephanie, what's wrong?" Winnie was concerned about her friend.

Stephanie sniffled. "We have to go. I'll tell you later."

They got in Stephanie's car and she drove them to the fair. Winnie wanted to ask Stephanie what was wrong but she obeyed her friend's wishes.

They got to the fair just in time to see Stephanie's friend compete. They ran to the ring and sat in the first row. Winnie was impressed with the riding.

"She's amazing," Winnie commented.

"Yeah," Stephanie replied distractedly. "She's been riding since she was little. It's her release from reality. She's in her own world when she rides."

"We all need something to distract us."

"Yeah. Something to take us away from the real world. From all our problems." Stephanie looked off in the distance and whispered. "Away from him."

~~~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~

The guys had lunch in a small diner in New Jersey without being noticed. After eating they drove back roads along the Delaware River, stopping at various points to enjoy the view.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?"

Justin turned to see JC standing beside him.

"Yup. It is. But..." He hesitated.

"But you wish Winnie were here. Don't you?"

A light blush colored Justin's cheeks. "Yeah. She'd love it out here."

JC shook his head in agreement. "She would. Who wouldn't?"

"I don't know." Justin looked at his other groupmates. Lance was trying to get closer to a beaver he spotted, Joey was trying to find good skimming stones and Chris was perched on a rock in deep thought. "What's up with those two?" Justin pointed to Joey and Chris.

"Joey's thinking of ways to dump Kim and guess who Chris is thinking about. I'll give you three tries and the last two don't count."

"Stephanie." It was a statement, not a question.

JC shook his head.

"Why does Joey want to dump Kim? I thought they were getting along great."

"They were. I think that's the problem."

Justin gave JC a confused look. "Huh?"

"Joey's afraid that the relationship is good. He doesn't feel ready for a serious relationship."

"And he's stopping all possible relationships before they have a chance at hitting that level." Justin interrupted his friend.

"Yup. He's not taking any chances."

"And Chris just needs to talk to Stephanie. He hasn't been himself since the Ben incident."

"He won't let himself get past it." JC agreed.

"He needs to do something. Not only is he driving himself crazy, it's effecting the rest of us. They really need to talk and work things out. Both of them are miserable."

"No argument here. Those two need to talk. They could find something really amazing if they look past what happened."

JC and Justin were right. Chris was sitting on the rock thinking about Stephanie. He thought about how he felt when he first laid eyes on her. He knew she was someone who would change his life.

He closed his eyes.

Boy did she ever.

~~~~~~ ~~~~~~ ~~~~~~

"So, Winnie, what do you think of the fair?"

Stephanie and Winnie had walked to the end of a pier near the fairground and were looking over the river.

"It was fun. I'm glad we got to spend some time out of the office together."

"Me too. I never got to do this with the last intern," Stephanie stated more bitterly than she wanted.

"Shannon, right? JC's ex."

"Yeah. Shannon."

"Whatever happened between them?"

"She used him. She was only interested in him because of his public image."

"Oh, I get it. She only went out with him because he's a celebrity."

"Correct." Stephanie stole a sideways glance at the youger woman. "And it's effecting the rest of the guys. Especially Justin."

Winnie involuntarily reacted to Justin's name. Stephanie smiled.

"What's that? A reaction to Roots' name?"

Winnie blushed.

Stephanie laughed. "Don't worry the feeling's requited."

A surprised look came over Winnie's face.

"Oh, don't tell me you couldn't tell."

Winnie looked at Stephanie and knew she could trust her boss. "I hoped, but I didn't know. I don't want him to think that I'm like Shannon."

"He knows you're not interested in him because of his fame. We all do. Since he's young that thought does cross his mind with everyone but he knows you're different."

"I hope so. I do like him..."

"I feel a 'but' coming on."

"But what if we get together and it's not all it's cracked up to be? What if we ruin the friendship we have because we were to blind to see that there is nothing more than friendship?"

"Or if there really is a relationship there at all," Stephanie whispered.

Again Winnie had a surprised look on her face. "What?"

"Let's just say sometimes you don't know what you want until you can't have it anymore."

Stephanie's face was clouded by a serious look. Winnie decided to push the boundries.

"Did something like that happen between you and Chris?"

It was Stephanie's turn to look surprised. "Is it that obvious?"

"I knew something was up but I didn't know what. Do you want to talk about it?"

Stephanie straitened her back and sighed. She had never really talked to anyone about what happened between her and Chris. Something about Winnie made her trust the younger woman.

"Okay. From the moment I saw Chris there was something about him that I was drawn to. Maybe it was his unique sense of humor or his tastes."

"I'll agree with you on that one. His tastes are unique. I mean. Look at his hair and clothes."

Stephanie smiled. "Yeah, there's no one like him."

"Then what was the problem? You had a boyfriend. Didn't you?"

"Yeah. His name was Ben. We had been going out since college. I thought I loved him."

"But you didn't."

Stephanie shook her head. "Not like that, not anymore, but I didn't realize it right away. Ben proposed to me and I accepted. When I told Chris he became enraged and told me his feelings."

"Which were?"

"He had fallen in love with me."

"How did you react? By how you two act towards each other I don't believe you fell into his arms and lived happily ever after."

"How perceptive of you." Stephanie paused. "How did I react? I told him there was nothing he could do. I was engaged to Ben."

"What'd he do?"

"He kissed me."

"He kissed you?" Stephanie shook her head. "And how was it?"

"Confusing. I was engaged to Ben but Chris' kiss was unlike any I had received before and I wanted more."

"But you were engaged."

"To Ben. I told Chris I thought a lot of him, but I didn't like him like that."

"So you lied."

"Basically, but back then I didn't know I was."

"When did you figure it out?"

"Well a few weeks later while Ben and I were discussing our wedding I couldn't get rid of the feeling it was wrong. Since I let him down Chris had been distancing himself from me and that was all I thought about."

"Why Chris was avoiding you or why it bothered you so much?"

"Both. Then I figured it out. I felt the same way about him as he felt about me, but it was too late. Chris would and still will only have a professional relationship with me. There's no use crying over spilled milk. Right?"

"Is that why you were crying earlier."

Stephanie took a deep breath. "Kind of. I went on an interview."

"An interview? As in a job interview? What is it a higher paying, better job?"

Stephanie slowly shook her head.

"Then why interview for it?"

"To get away from Chris. He obviously doesn't want me around and I can't sit by and watch the man I love look at me with hatred."

Winnie felt sympathetic to the older woman. She had a feeling Chris still felt the same way about Stephanie. She decided to ask Justin when he returned. Winnie smiled as an idea formed in her head.

"Hey, Stephanie," Stephanie turned her head towards Winnie. "Do you have any plans for tomorrow morning?"

"No. Why? You want to do something?"

"Actually, I was thinking of tonight. How about a girl's night at my place? We can go to the food store, then rent movies and talk all night. How does that sound?"

Winnie was glad to see a smile form on Stephanie's face.