****
"Come on in..." JC said, opening the door widely for Jordan to enter. She nodded nervously, avoiding his gaze as she walked into the lavish suite. Noticing April still sitting on the couch, she smiled gratefully as she walked over and sat next to her friend. April grinned at Jordan and then reached over and squeezed her hand tightly before standing up.
"Where are you going?" Jordan asked, her voice slightly panicky.
April smiled warmly at her friend. "I'm going back downstairs to finish getting my things together before I have to leave for the airport. You'll be fine...I think you'll be interested to hear what JC has to say." she concluded, before bending down to embrace her friend in a tight hug. Then, giving JC a hug as well, left the room as she pulled the door closed behind her.
"So..." JC said, sitting down opposite of Jordan on one of the sofas. "I guess you're probably wondering what happened last night. First though, I should ask what you remember, if anything."
Jordan just looked at him blankly, not offering any emotion toward him as she began. "I remember leaving the club with you...and then all I recall after that is you leaning over me as I lay in bed. You brushed my hair out of my face and leaned in toward me. That's it."
JC suddenly understood how she had questioned his motives. "And since we were...friendly at the club, and you woke up half dressed, you assumed that something happened."
"Basically yes."
"And you thought that something was sex, by force or otherwise." JC asked as he raised his eyebrow.
Jordan nodded, looking down at her hands in shame.
JC got up and moved to the edge of the large coffee table. Sitting down in front of where Jordan sat on the loveseat, he took her hands in his. She looked up with surprise into his clear blue eyes, her hazel eyes dark with confusion as he smiled at her. "I'm not going to lie to you. The thought of being with you so completely has crossed my mind. However, I care about you Jordan...in such a way that I would never take anything that you weren't willing to give to me, sober or drunk." He hung his head momentarily before he continued. "Nothing happened between us..." he began, telling her the same thing he had told April, still leaving out the tiny detail of their heated kiss. He reasoned in his mind that it was better left unremembered by her and then Justin would never have to know.
Jordan listened patiently throughout the story as JC told it through his eyes. Tears trailed down her face as he finished and when he handed the broken gold chain to her. "I'm...I'm so sorry. I can't believe I thought you would do such a thing. I'm so sorry." she said tearfully, as JC reached out and brushed away her tears with his thumb.
"It's okay." he whispered.
Jordan sat silent for a moment before looking at him questioningly. "What did you tell Justin? He called me today and said he'd talked to you..." she trailed off.
JC laughed slightly as he ran his hand over his face. "I had to call him about a song he'd been working on for Wild Orchid...that's why I'm here in NYC this weekend, I'm working on stuff for their album. It's very important that he gets the song to me by tomorrow." he explained. "And anyways, I mentioned to him that I saw you last night and that you were pretty wasted. He was a little concerned...and I just let him know that I got you back in one piece." Jordan nodded her understanding as JC continued.
"Speaking of Justin though, I'd like to talk to you about the two of you...and about us." JC replied.
"Okay.."
"I just want to apologize for everything that I've done in the past. As you probably have realized by now, I really care about you Jordan. More so than just the friendship that we had develop so quickly..." he struggled for the right words he wanted to use in order to express himself. "After everything that happened last night, I realized some things. I had a perfect opportunity to ruin everything you had with Justin in a heartbeat. Right now, I'm thanking my lucky stars that I listened to that little voice in the back of my mind telling me not to do something that I'd regret. Like I said, the thought crossed my mind several times...but each and every time, your love for Justin seemed to interrupt my thoughts. I saw how much you care for him...and I know how much he loves you. After everything that happened as a roadblock in you two getting together, including myself, I finally see that you and Justin are meant to be. I care so much for you that I want you to be happy, even if it means putting my own happiness aside...and it was wrong of me to ever think of tearing you away from the man you love so deeply. And for that, I'm so sorry." he concluded, tears forming in his own brilliant blue eyes, making them sparkle in the light of the hotel room.
Jordan leaned forward and wrapped her arms around JC's body, pulling him in tightly as she cried silently. "Thank you." she whispered into his ear as they hugged.
****
Lance walked into his hotel room and placed his black suitcase onto the bed. Laying down momentarily, he was thoughtful as he continued reasoning out what had been on his mind since the tour began. Sitting up to retrieve his cell phone from his carryon, he took a deep breath before dialing a familiar number.
"Hey this is Leigh, I'm not in right now, but if you leave your name, number, and a short message, I'll get back to you as soon as possible."
Frowning slightly, Lance began speaking in a faint drawl. "Leigh, hey it's me. I'm sorry I missed your call earlier...I'm in Los Angeles on some business but I think we need to talk. Get back to me as soon as you can. Bye."
Clicking his phone off, he laid it down beside him on the bed as he reached over and set the alarm. Then, closing his eyes, he quickly fell into a restless sleep.
****
"Justin, it's for you sweetie!" Lynn's voice rang through the house. Justin smiled as he picked it up, hearing his mother chattering away with Jordan as he held the reciever to his ear.
"I got it Mom." Justin stated happily into the telephone as he stood within the warmly lit kitchen of the Memphis home. Lynn laughed and quickly said goodbye to Jordan before hanging up and leaving Justin to converse with her in private. Hearing the click on the other end, Justin spoke. "Are you feeling better?" he asked, concern evident in his voice.
Jordan smiled when she heard Justin speak. "Yes, thanks for asking. I'm really sorry about earlier..." she said, embarassed.
Justin laughed, "It's okay, I figured maybe you had to go pray to the porcelain gods or something. It's cool. JC told me what to expect when I talked to you, so I was just kind of calling to make sure you were alright."
"Yeah, I don't think I'll be drinking like that ever again." Jordan replied dryly. "So how is everyone? Your mom wanted to know when I was coming back to see her."
"So when are ya comin to see ME? I miss you too ya know." Justin said teasingly.
"You miss me? Aww I feel so loved." Jordan said, her voice playful.
"Well if you aren't doin anything...the weekend's still young. I've finished up everything with the foundation that I needed to get done. Wanna come to Memphis?" he asked hopefully, scrunching his nose up as he grinned at his mother, who was now standing in the doorway of the kitchen.
"Actually I'd really like that..." Jordan said contentedly, happy that everything was resolved and life was back to normal.
****