Chapter Seven

Michelle kept her gaze focused on Chris, but knew immediately who Laurie was talking about.

"Not unless she’s spending JC’s money," she commented bitterly. "When they first started dating, they were so lovey dovey it was disgusting. She treated him well for the most part, but once that ring was on her finger, she changed BIG TIME. She’s really protective of him now...she hates it if he spends any time with the fans at all. It’s almost like she feels they’re a threat to her."

"You’re not protective of Chris?"

"I’m protective of Chris because I love him. But I would never dream of interfering with his time with the fans, because it means so much to them. And I know Chris loves me so that keeps me from feeling threatened."

"That’s so sweet." Laurie smiled. "You and Chris must really be secure."

"That," Michelle laughed. "And we never see each other. I live and work in Manhattan Beach to oversee the FuMan operation. I join him on tour whenever I can, but with the fall line being distributed soon, there’s a lot of last minute details to take care of. That’s another reason why the guys decided to shoot ‘Pop’ out here. It’s going to be great having you on the team."

"I honestly can’t wait to start working with everyone." Laurie felt herself start to relax.

"CUT!" Wayne yelled and looked over in Alexandria’s direction. "What the hell is going on over there?"

Amidst their conversation, Laurie and Michelle had failed to notice that Alexandria had gotten out of her seat and had walked over to where JC was supposed to film his next scene. There were dozens of women surrounding him and Michelle knew from what Chris had explained that the women were supposed to reach out and touch JC as he walked by them.

"It’s all right Wayne," JC sighed. "Just let me talk to her for a minute."

JC placed his hands on Alexandria’s shoulders and guided her over to a quieter part of the studio where they were less likely to be interrupted. She was glaring at him as he began to speak in a quiet, calm voice.

"Alexandria. You know that if you continue to act like you just did that I’m going to have to ask you to leave. Your attitude was completely uncalled for and was not appreciated by anyone here."

"I don’t like those women touching you."

JC leaned his head back on the wall and closed his eyes. "Dria...that’s what they’re here for. It’s part of the video." To himself he added, "And I like them touching me...I just wish it were Laurie instead."

"Fine. Whatever." She turned to leave and JC grabbed her arm.

"You were the one who said you didn’t want to be here in the first place." He hissed. "I believe your exact words were ‘I have no interest in watching you and your little friends shoot a dumb video’. Am I right?"

Alexandria said nothing, but inwardly cursed JC’s accurate memory.

"That’s what I thought." He gave her a little push in the direction of the studio. "Now go sit down and watch quietly or go home. It’s your decision."

Alexandria just glared at him and walked back to the seat she had previously vacated.

"Hey Alex," Michelle whispered maliciously as the younger woman walked by. Alexandria glared at her. "Suck it up."

Michelle started to laugh and a smile even surfaced on Laurie’s face. What did JC see in her?

**********

It was almost seven o’clock in the morning by the time the guys had finished shooting. After Michelle’s comment, Alexandria left in a huff, making the video easier to finish without further interruption. Justin stretched and yawned.

"I’m outta here guys. I have things to do before tonight...and one of them is to get some sleep."

"Is tonight the big night?" Joey asked as he pulled off the shirt he was currently wearing and changed into a warmer one. "I hope everything goes well for ya," Lance clapped him on the shoulder. "And I am so out of here."

"Dude, give me a ride, I’m too tired to drive." Joey whined. Lance just laughed and motioned for Joey to follow him.

JC watched as the guys joked around with each as they walked out the door with their respective bodyguard. Chris was saying something to Michelle and JC tapped her on the shoulder.

"Sorry for interrupting," he apologized. "But where’s Laurie?"

"Oh, she was really tired so I took her into the dressing room to sleep. She’s probably still there." She replied and Chris wrapped an arm around her waist.

"C’mon Shelle, I want to grab some breakfast before going home to get some sleep." He yawned.

"Are you awake enough to eat?" She teased. "Do you want me to drive?"

"Yes please," he yawned again and rested his head on her shoulder.

"Don’t fall asleep on me," she told him sternly and poked his side. "I refuse to carry you out to the Cruiser and I don’t think JC will do it either."

"You’re right, I won’t." He laughed. "You two old farts get going and I’m going to go find Laurie."

Michelle’s mouth dropped open in shock and she looked at Chris. "Did you hear what he just called me?"

"Yeah, that’s what he calls me all the time. It’s just because young’uns like him have no respect for their elders."

JC laughed. "I just called Michelle that because I don’t get to see her enough to tease her. Go home and get some sleep Kirkpatrick. I’ll see you both later."

"Well that’s gonna change, because I’m going to be around quite a bit on this tour." Michelle grinned. "And don’t think I won’t get you back."

"Promises, promises." He watched as Chris and Michelle left and immediately made a beeline for the dressing room. He opened the door quietly, stood in the doorway and watched her sleep for a moment. After a minute he crossed the room, knelt down in front of her and kissed her forehead. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked at him.

"Hey," she smiled and struggled to sit up. "What time is it? Where is everyone?"

"It’s just after seven," JC replied quietly and sat down beside her. "And everyone has gone home. Did you sleep well?"

"I slept ok. It was actually remarkably quiet in here… are you guys all done?"

"Yep."

"How’s Joey’s leg?"

"Sore...swollen...I think he wanted to go home and overdose on painkillers," he joked. "But he’ll be all right. Do you need a ride home?"

"No, I drove here last night, remember?" She grinned. "I like it when you’re the first thing I see when I open my eyes."

"It’s nice," he agreed. "We need to get going anyway. Do you want to catch some breakfast with me before we go home?"

"Great idea, I’m starving."

JC got to his feet and helped her stand up. He held her hands in his for a moment and stared deep into her eyes before releasing them. Without warning, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her as close as he could before his lips crashed down on hers. His tongue snaked out and ran along her lower lip, requesting access to her mouth. When it was granted, he groaned inwardly and held her more tightly.

They stayed like that for a few more minutes and when they broke apart, JC rested his forehead against hers.

"Damn I needed that," he gasped.

"Wow," Laurie breathed. "I don’t remember the last time someone kissed me like that."

"I want you to remember that for a long time," he told her.

"I’ll remember it forever," she replied softly.

JC gave her a light kiss. "Come on, we need to leave before we get kicked out."

Laurie nodded and grabbed her purse before following him out the door. Before they climbed into their vehicles, they made arrangements to meet at the Denny’s in the plaza by their houses for a light breakfast before going home to get some sleep.

After a short drive, JC and Laurie parked their cars and walked in. They chose a corner booth away from everyone else and placed their order with the waitress. When they were alone again, JC spoke.

"I don’t know how long Alexandria intends on staying out here. She always complains that the air drys out her skin, among a million other things. She may be gone when I get home, she may be sleeping. I didn’t even realize that she had left until the second break." He ran a hand through his already unkempt hair. "Do you have any idea why she left?"

"Well actually," Laurie ducked her head to hide her smile. "I think it might have something to do with what Michelle said to her when she walked by us after talking to you."

"What did she say?"

A bubble of giggles built up in Laurie’s throat and she fought to swallow them down. "Michelle told her to ‘Suck it up.’"

To Laurie’s great surprise, JC started to laugh. "Michelle has never liked Alexandria. She thinks she’s evil."

"Umm..." Laurie was at a loss for words and she was still trying not to laugh. She silently thanked the waitress as their food arrived. A thought came to Laurie that sobered her up immediately. "Josh."

"Hmm?" He replied, his mouth full of food.

"We can’t keep doing this."

"What?"

"That kiss..." she briefly closed her eyes as she remembered it. "We just let it happen. As if we were both single. And we’re not."

JC laid down his knife and fork. "Oh."

"I’m not saying I didn’t like it. God knows I loved it. But we’re not being fair to our spouses, even if we are unhappy with them."

"I know," he conceded. "But what can we do about it?"

"Well...the way I see it, we have three options. We can tell Craig and Alexandria that we’ve met someone else and start dating each other and hope that it works out. Two, we can stop seeing each other completely..." her voice trailed off.

"What’s the third option?" JC asked anxiously.

"We can keep feeling guilty and keep seeing each other."

"Laur...I don’t want to stop seeing you – I love having you in my life again. Yet I don’t really feel like I can tell Alexandria that I’ve met someone else because there would be serious ramifications on both ends if we were to follow that scenario..."

"Then I guess..."

"Laurie," he said quietly. "I don’t want you to feel like you have to sneak around to see me. I just never thought that a month into my marriage that I would find myself wanting to be with another woman. This is obviously bothering you quite a bit and I’m going to leave the decision completely up to you."

"I want to keep seeing you Josh." She sighed. "We’ll just have to act like everything is normal when we’re around Craig and Alexandria."

JC reached across the table and gave Laurie’s hand a reassuring squeeze. She looked down at her hand inside his.

"You know what the weird thing is?" She mused.

"What’s that?" He asked quietly.

"Whenever I’m...with Craig...I’m going to feel like I’m being unfaithful to you."

"And that’s something we’re going to have to deal with...but if I lose you again..." his voice trailed off and he shuddered at the thought.

They were interrupted as the waitress brought the check. JC quickly signed it and the waitress left again. They finished eating their meal in a companionable silence, occasionally sharing a smile.

"It’s getting close to nine o’clock," JC glanced at his watch. "We should really get going. When are you supposed to start working at Chris’ company?"

"Monday morning. I have five days until I officially start earning a paycheck." She smiled. "And it’s thanks to you."

"Aww," he blushed. "I didn’t do anything. I just suggested the best person for the job."

"And you have no idea how much I appreciate it." Laurie responded seriously. "Having a job gives me a sense of identity that I don’t have when I’m not working."

"I feel the same way when I write...I’m glad I could help. It also gives me an excuse to see you...I can just say I dropped by to talk to Chris."

"I have a feeling that I’m really going to like working there. But you’re right, we should get going, I’m exhausted. Thank you for breakfast. I’ll pay next time."

"If I let you," he teased.

They gathered their things and walked outside into the bright morning sunshine. JC glanced up and squinted.

"It’s going to be hot today," he commented. "I can feel it already."

"That’s just you," Laurie laughed. "But I think you’re right...I’m glad I have air conditioning."

"Me too." JC paused. "Umm...I guess I’ll give you a call later?"

"Ok. I’m probably only going to sleep for a couple of hours just so I’m able to sleep tonight." She dropped her voice to a whisper. "You have no idea how badly I want to kiss you goodbye."

"I bet I have a pretty good idea," he said. "Because I want to kiss you goodbye too." He opted for winking at her instead. "I’ll call you later sweetie."

"Ok Josh," she smiled and lowered her head a bit. She looked at him before getting into her car and driving home. "I think I’m falling in love with him all over again," she sighed.

She parked her car in front of the garage door when she got home and had her house key out and ready to unlock the front door. As she reached for the handle, it turned and the door opened. A very angry Craig was standing in front of her.

"Where the hell have you been all night?"

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