“Oh my God,” Joey buried
his head under his pillow and groaned. “We just got back from the club and
they’re at it again. Don’t they ever take a break?”
Lance just laughed.
“Come on Joe, they don’t
get to see each other very often.” Joey groaned again. “So you’re telling me
that if Denise were here, that I wouldn’t have to go and bunk with JC or
Justin?”
Brown eyes peered at
Lance from under Joey’s pillow. Lance grinned.
“Thought so.” Lance
ducked as Joey threw the pillow at him.
“I’m just glad Stacy
isn’t here yet, then we’d be getting it from both sides.” Joey temporarily gave
up the idea of sleep and sat up, wearing nothing but a pair of boxers that were
covered in Superman symbols. “I still can’t believe she accepted Justin’s
proposal. I mean - I wish them all the best... but it’s Justin...”
“You’re just jealous
because you want to marry Justin. Come on Joe, admit it!” Lance giggled.
Joey fluttered his
eyelashes with great exaggeration, placed both hands over his heart and threw
himself backward onto his bed while exhaling dramatically.
“Oh yes Lance,” Joey
swooned. “It’s always been my dream to marry Justin Timberlake and now he’s
gone!” Joey turned onto his stomach and started pounding the bed with his fist.
“He’s gone!” He howled. “He’ll never be mine!” He declared with a huge sob and
Lance threw his pillow back at him.
“Loser.”
“Hey,” Joey sat up again,
perfectly calm and shrugged. “Ya gotta do what ya gotta do.”
“Go to sleep Joey,” Lance
said and turned off the light.
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m mourning the
loss of Justin.”
“GoodNIGHT Joey!” Lance exclaimed and Joey snickered.
**********
Chris was still asleep
the following morning when Michelle woke up. She smiled and kissed his forehead
before sliding out of bed and walking to the bathroom to take a shower. By the
time she had finished her shower and gotten dressed, Chris was awake and he has
his head propped on his hand.
“Morning sweetheart,” he
said as his gaze flicked over her body. “How come you’re awake?”
“I thought I’d go across
the hall and see if Laurie want to have breakfast with me.” She replied and sat
on the bed, resting her hand on his arm. “Wanna come with?”
“I’ll think about it,” he
grinned.
“Well think fast because
we have two hours before we have to leave for Nordstrom.”
“Yeah, yeah... you’re as
bad as Lance when it comes to schedules.”
“Oh hush,” Michelle said
and kissed him. “Meet us downstairs when you’re ready.”
“Ok, love you.”
“Love you too, baby.” She
smiled and grabbed her purse. She turned back around and looked at Chris.
“You’re going to go back to sleep, aren’t you?”
“I might,” a slow smile
crossed his face.
Michelle just shook her
head and laughed. She closed the door quietly as she left the room, so she
didn’t disturb anyone who might still be sleeping in the other rooms. She
walked the short distance down the hall to Laurie’s room and knocked lightly on
the door. When she didn’t receive a response after a few moments, she knocked
again, only harder. Again there was no answer and she frowned. Where was she?
Michelle went down to the
hotel restaurant to grab something to eat and was surprised to see Lance
sitting there.
“Hey Poofu,” she grinned
as she slid into the seat across from him. Lance glared at her for using the
affectionate nickname. “You’re up early.”
“Yeah... between you and
Chris and Joey’s snoring, I didn’t get much sleep.” He looked at her pointedly.
“Sorry.” She grinned
again.
“No you’re not.”
“You’re right, I’m not.”
She laughed and leaned back. “So what are your plans for today?”
“Just doing stuff for
FreeLance and A Happy Place... not much else. You?”
“We have the FuMan promo
this morning at the Galleria and then nothing else for the rest of the day. I’m
trying to decide if I want to go to the show tonight... Laurie might like to
see it.”
“Such a light schedule,
it must be nice.” He murmured as his breakfast arrived.
“Hey, speaking of Laurie,
have you seen her this morning?”
“Nope.” Lance replied
with his mouth full. “Why?”
“I was going to invite
her to join me for breakfast, but there was no answer when I knocked on her
door.”
“Sorry, can’t help ya.”
He took another large bite of his French Toast and smiled.
**********
Laurie woke the next
morning with a smile on her face. She couldn’t remember the last time she has
slept so well. When she thought about it, she realized that Europe was probably
the last time and she chuckled to herself. She rolled over and watched JC sleep
for a minute before she tried to wake him up.
“Josh,” Laurie whispered
and gently shook his shoulder. He grunted but gave no sign that he was awake.
“Josh, I have to get ready to go.”
This statement made him a
little more coherent. He tightened his grip on her but still said nothing.
Laurie sighed and glanced at the clock on the bedside table. She had two hours
before she was supposed to leave for the signing with Chris and Michelle. She
set her mouth determinedly and poked at him.
“Josh, come on,” she
pleaded.
He finally opened his
eyes and a grin spread slowly across his face. He pulled her as close to him as
he could and closed his eyes again, but the smile remained on his face.
“I know you’re awake,”
Laurie couldn’t help laughing. “Let me go.”
“No, I don’t want to.”
His grin widened and he looked at her mischievously.
“You have to. Someone is
going to come looking for me soon.”
“So let them.” JC sighed
happily and snuggled into her.
“Josh.”
“I know, I know,” he
frowned. “But can’t you stay a little longer?”
“I’ll tell you what,” she
kissed him. “Let me go take my shower, get dressed and touch base with Chris or
Michelle, and if I have time, I’ll come back and say goodbye.”
“Promise?” JC wrapped his
arms tightly around her and kissed her.
“I promise.” She
whispered and kissed him once more before heading back into her own room.
After she showered and
got dressed, she made sure she had her keycard in her pocket before making her
way to the room that Chris and Michelle were sharing. As she raised her hand to
knock on the door, Lonnie walking her way caught her attention.
“If you’re looking for
Michelle, she went downstairs to grab breakfast.” He said gruffly. It sounded
as if he had woken up not too long ago.
“Oh, thanks.” She said
and changed direction.
Once Laurie was
downstairs, she found Michelle easily and Lance motioned for her to join them.
“There you are,” Michelle
said. “I was looking for you this morning.”
“Y-You were?” Laurie
stuttered.
“Yeah. You
must be a pretty heavy sleeper. I was going to ask you if you wanted to join me
for breakfast.”
“Sorry,” she apologized.
“I must have been in the shower.” She added silently, “Or in Josh’s room.”
“It’s cool,” Michelle
shrugged. “You’re here now. Are you getting excited about the signing?”
“Actually, I’m kind of
nervous,” she admitted. “The thought of all those people...”
“It’s not really that
bad. The store security and Lonnie keep the line moving smoothly and the fans
generally don’t hang around that long after they receive their autograph and
use up a roll of film.”
Lance and Laurie laughed
even though they knew that Michelle wasn’t kidding.
“Chris should be down
soon,” she glanced at her watch. “He said he was going back to sleep, but I
somehow doubt it.”
“Well it isn’t like
either of you got very much sleep last night,” Lance muttered and ducked out of
Michelle’s reach while Laurie laughed.
“You guys are nuts,” she
said, still laughing.
“Well, well,” Lance said
as he looked over Laurie’s shoulder. “Look who’s out of bed before noon, it
must be a special occasion.”
“Must be JC,” Michelle
laughed but didn’t turn around.
It did, however, catch
Laurie’s attention. She turned around and caught JC’s eye as he walked toward
their table. She blushed a little as she remembered spending the previous night
in his arms. He took the seat directly beside her and gave her thigh a light
squeeze before acknowledging Lance and Michelle’s presence.
“Hey guys.”
“Hey Jace,” Lance didn’t
look up from his laptop. “Sleep well last night?”
JC cast a quick glance at
Laurie before replying.
“Best night of sleep I’ve
had in months.” Laurie couldn’t help but smile; though she tried to hide it.
Michelle had caught the
look that JC had given her and she had also noticed the smile Laurie had given
JC in return. Michelle looked over at Lance, but he was so immersed in the work
his was doing, that he seemed oblivious to what was going on. She suddenly felt
a hand touch her shoulder and she looked up into Chris’ warm brown eyes.
“Hey sweetie,” he said
and kissed her forehead before taking his place next to her.
Lance finally looked up.
“Ok, there’s three of us down here with no security. What’s wrong with this
picture?”
“Maybe no one will
notice,” Chris grinned.
“Doesn’t matter anyway,”
Michelle nodded in the direction of the elevators. “Here come Mike and Dre.”
“Is there even room for
them at the table?” Laurie asked. JC’s hand was still resting on her thigh.
“They’ll probably sit at
the next table,” JC told her. “They don’t like to intrude too much. I’m
actually kind of surprised that Lonnie didn’t come down with them, since you three
have to leave soon.”
“You spoke too soon, C.”
Lance had caught Lonnie’s large figure in his peripheral vision.
“You about ready to go?”
Lonnie stood behind Chris, Michelle and Laurie.
“I haven’t had my
breakfast yet, dude. Just let me grab something to eat.” Chris said as his eyes
darted around the table. His eyes landed on Lance’s plate of French Toast and
before Lance could protest, Chris stabbed the food with his fork and
transferred it over to his own plate. Lance raised his eyebrows and looked at
Chris. “What?” He asked innocently.
“Umm... that was my breakfast.”
“You’re right,” Chris
smiled slyly. “It was your
breakfast.”
Lance shot a glare in
Chris’ direction as he motioned for the waitress to bring him some more French
Toast.
“Come on Chris, eat your
stolen food and let’s get going. If you don’t hurry up, we’re not going to make
it back in time for soundcheck.” Michelle informed him.
“Yeah and what a shame
that would be,” he rolled his eyes.
“Don’t do that, you look
like Alexandria.” JC complained.
As if on cue, his cell
phone rang and the caller ID indicted that it was Alexandria. It was JC’s turn
to roll his eyes and he gave everyone an apologetic look as he turned away from
the table.
“I’ll umm... wait for you
guys outside.” Laurie bowed out gracefully and didn’t notice the concerned look
that JC threw her way as she left the restaurant.
She walked out the front
doors of the hotel and was grateful that there weren’t many fans around, except
for the ones who knew the approximate time Chris was leaving. They would do
anything to catch a glimpse of him. As the driver opened the back of the limo
for her, she heard several exclamations and quiet murmurs of “She’s with
*NSYNC!”
“I’m actually with FuMan,” she thought to herself, savoring the
peace and quiet of the backseat. “But you
can think what you want to think.”
She didn’t have long to
wait; Chris emerged a few minutes later holding Michelle’s hand. Lonnie wasn’t
far behind and Chris waved to the fans before climbing into the limo himself,
with Lonnie taking the front seat. A few of the fans had the gumption to jump
over the barrier and start chasing the car as it pulled out into the heavy
traffic. Laurie’s jaw dropped open in amazement.
“They’re going to get
themselves killed!” She exclaimed.
“This is normal,” Chris
told her. “It happens enough that it doesn’t surprise us anymore, but it still
concerns us. We don’t want them to get hurt.”
“Obviously,” Laurie said
and went back to looking out the window.
“Laurie, are you all
right? You left the restaurant awfully fast.” Laurie looked at Michelle. “I’m
fine, I just needed some fresh air.”
(Three hours later)
“Well that was umm...
interesting.” Laurie commented on the way back to the hotel.
“You did really well,”
Chris said encouragingly. “And in addition, there was a lot of interest
generated in the camp, so that’s a good thing. Word is definitely getting out.”
“It looks promising,”
Laurie agreed and looked out the window. Michelle turned to Chris.
“So are we dropping you
off at the venue or are you coming back to the hotel first?”
“It’s probably better if
I get dropped off at the venue.” Chris looked at his watch. “What do you two
ladies have planned for the afternoon?”
“We were talking earlier
about hitting the gym at the hotel. Other than that, it’s just rest and
relaxation until we leave for the show.”
“Sounds like fun,” Chris gave Michelle a
quick kiss. “It looks like we’re here, I’ll see you ladies later.”
“Bye babe,” Michelle
winked at him.
“Bye Chris,” Laurie said.
Once the door was closed
and the limo was moving again, Michelle spoke.
“Laurie. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
Michelle looked at her in
disbelief.
“Really, it’s just...”
Laurie paused. “I guess I’m just kind of tired, that’s all. And I kind of miss
Craig.”
Michelle was immediately
sympathetic. “Laur, that’s completely understandable. Is he going to be home
when you fly back?”
“I hope not,” she thought. “I don’t know, I haven’t heard from him
in a few days.”
“Laurie, I realize this
is none of my business and you have every right not to answer this question;
but is everything all right between you and Craig?”
“Things are ok... we just
don’t get to see each other very often.”
“Trust me, I know what
that’s like, but it’s not always a bad thing,” Michelle laughed and gave Laurie
a wink, which actually made her smile. Changing the subject, she said, “So...
you and JC seem to be getting along fairly well.”
Laurie
avoided her gaze and concentrated on peeling the label from her bottle of
water.
“What do you mean?” She
asked innocently.
“I mean just what I
said,” Michelle shrugged and smiled slyly. “It’s too bad you’re both in other
relationships... otherwise you’d be perfect for each other.”
“Really? You think so?”
Laurie asked hopefully and then cursed herself for seeming interested. “Way to keep it on the downlow, Laurie.”
“You’re probably imagining things.”
“Oh, I don’t know Laur,”
Michelle said nonchalantly. “I’ve known JC for a few years now and I really
don’t think that I am imagining things.” She finished evenly.
Laurie said nothing.