Chapter Fifteen

After a late night at the movies and several more popcorn fights, Laurie finally crawled into bed around three in the morning, only to wake up five hours later feeling totally unsatisfied with the little amount of sleep that she had managed to get. She rolled over and look at the clock.

With a groan, she buried her face in her pillow, hoping that she could fall back to sleep. Fifteen minutes passed before she raised her head and glared at the clock. With a sigh, she reached for the phone and ordered some breakfast.

**********

JC tossed and turned most of the night, uncomfortable and unable to sleep with Alexandria being in the bed. He sat up and pushed his hands through his hair as he glared at his wife in frustration. He slid out of bed and grabbed the t-shirt that he had discarded the night before and pulled it on.

He quickly used the bathroom, then grabbed his keycard and walked into the hallway to investigate the voice he heard almost outside his door. Room service had just knocked on Laurie’s door and an idea entered JC’s head. He quickly checked to see how much cash he had on him before he approached the person delivering the food.

“Hey,” JC said to the guy. “I’ll give you twenty bucks if you let me take that in.”

“I don’t know,” the man started uncertainly. “It’s against hotel policy…”

“It’s cool, she’s with us. Come on,” JC grinned at him.

“All right.”

The man from room service said hesitantly and took the money from JC. He knocked on Laurie’s door again and unlocked it to allow JC to bring the food inside.

“Thanks man,” JC cast a quick glance down each end of the hallway and when he didn’t see anyone, he pushed the cart inside and let the door close behind him. From his position at the end of the hallway, Lance had to fight to close his mouth. What was JC doing going into Laurie’s room?

**********

“Just leave it in there,” Laurie called from the bedroom, debating on whether she wanted to get out of bed or not.

“I can’t serve you breakfast in bed?” JC asked as he walked through the bedroom door. Laurie looked up in surprise.

“Josh, what…”

“I figured you were avoiding me because Alexandria showed up yesterday, so…”

“I don’t want…”

JC ignored the rest of what she was saying. He had noticed that she was reaching for the covers to get out of bed and he practically flew across the room, landing on the bed so that he was straddling her legs, pinning them beneath the covers.

“What do you think you’re doing?” She glared at him.

“Well, since you’re so hard to get a hold of, I figured this was the only way I could keep you in one place long enough.”

She folded her arms across her chest and continued to glare at him.

“Laur,” he said softly with his eyes full of love. “What’s wrong?”

Seeing the look in his eyes weakened her defenses a little and she had to look away.

“Why didn’t you tell me that she was coming?” She asked with her voice full of hurt.

Something tugged at JC’s heart and he reached out to gently stroke the side of her face.

“Sweetheart, I honestly had no idea that she was coming.”

“She called you on Friday.”

“She did,” JC agreed. “But that was about something totally unrelated.” When she refused to look at him, he placed two fingers under her chin and tilted her head upwards. “Laurie please, you have to believe me.”

“I do,” she answered in a voice barely above a whisper.

JC moved to the side and lay down beside her, running his fingers through her long, soft hair.

“I hated spending the night in the same bed with her.”

“At least you had a warm body beside you.” She mentioned, but her voice held no anger.

“Well… I don’t know about Alexandria being warm… but I would much rather have spent the night with you, Laurie.” He moved closer to her and placed a kiss on her neck. “It’s you that I want. You’re the only one I’ve ever wanted.

“Josh…” Laurie breathed.

The next thing she knew, JC had his hand buried in her hair and was bringing her to him to kiss her. His mouth covered hers passionately, expressing the feelings that he had for her.

“She’s leaving today,” he told her after a few minutes. “Will you stay with me again tonight? Please?”

“Ok,” she smiled and kissed him.

“I love you Laur,” he sighed and rested his head on her chest and she started playing with his hair. “That feels so good.” He sighed again. “I should really head back to my own room though… I didn’t tell anyone where I was going.”

“If you must,” she kissed the top of his head. “I love you Josh.”

“I’ll come and find you as soon as she leaves, she’ll probably want to take the limo to the airport, so thankfully I don’t have to drive her… leave your door leading to my room unlocked… ok?”

“You’ve got it.”

JC groaned. “I don’t want to leave you.”

“I know. But we don’t have an option at the moment.”

“We will someday.” JC looked up at her and then closed his eyes. “I really need to go.”

“I’ll see you later,” she smiled and ran her fingers through his hair one last time.

“Love you,” he whispered and kissed her one last time before he left.

Laurie lay back on the pillows with a smile on her face and fell asleep easily, her breakfast forgotten.

**********

Lance watched with amusement as JC left Laurie’s room and went back to his own. When the door closed behind him, Lance began to walk toward his own room.

“Well, well,” he thought as he unlocked his door. He cast a quick glance back at JC’s room and grinned. “Looks like things could get interesting.”

**********

“What time are you flying out?” Chris asked. They were laying in bed and he had his head propped up on one hand and his arm draped casually across Michelle’s stomach.

“Are you trying to get rid of me?” She teased and lightly ran a finger down his chest.

“Not at all,” he bent his head to kiss her. “I was just wondering how much time we had left to spend together.”

“Actually, I was thinking about that last night. How would you like it if I came to Toronto with you guys?”

“I’d like that a lot,” he replied. “What brought this up?”

“I was just thinking that I’d like to visit my mom. I haven’t seen her since my dad died and I’d like to see her. I might also stop by and see my sister.”

“Oh, that’s right. When is she due?”

“Sometime in October.”

“Wouldn’t it be cool if she gave birth on my birthday?”

“Not if the baby turns out to be like you,” she giggled as Chris pinned her down.

“Hey, what’s wrong with me?”

“Absolutely nothing,” Michelle sighed happily and placed her hands on his cheeks. She brought him in for a kiss before she released him. “I just don’t want my niece or nephew to be like you because then you won’t be one of a kind anymore.”

“Mmm… I always knew there was a reason that you were one of my favorite people.” He kissed her.

“Yeah? Why is that?”

“Because you’re going to go downstairs and get me a coffee?” He asked hopefully with a grin on his face.

“But that would require me to get dressed. Are you sure you want coffee that badly?” She smiled evilly.

“Well when you put it that way… coffee can wait.”

**********

“Alexandria,” JC said softly as he tried to shake her awake. “Hun, you said you wanted me to wake you up at lunchtime.”

Alexandria groaned and pushed the night mask off of her face. She stared at him with contempt in her eyes and he shrank back a little.

“What?” JC asked hesitantly. “You just woke up, you can’t already be mad at me.”

“Just get out of my way,” she napped and threw the covers back. JC moved to the side and allowed her to pass. She closed and locked the bathroom door behind herself.

“I think someone has PMS,” JC muttered and went into the kitchenette. “She’s got a major attitude and she needs to change it fast.”

Alexandria emerged from the bathroom an hour and a half later and glared at JC who was working on a song in the eating area of the hotel room. He saw the look but chose to ignore it. He heard her rummaging around in the refrigerator and didn’t look up until she sat down across from him, practically slamming her glass of orange juice on the table. He automatically raised his defenses.

“What did I do? Or not do?” JC asked wearily and pressed his fingers to his temples to fight the headache he felt growing there.

“First of all, you woke me up before I was ready to wake up. Second, don’t bother trying to arrange time off to take me to the airport, because I’ve hired a limo to pick me up at two o’clock.”

“What? Dria…”

“No arguments JC. I’m taking the limo, that way I don’t need to have security with me. I always feel like they’re leering at me.”

“That’s because they hate you!” JC wanted to scream. Instead he said, “Security is there for your protection too. You’re my wife Dria, what if some jealous psycho fan decides that she wants you out of the picture?”

“Most of the fans have no idea who I am,” she yawned as if she were bored.

“Oh come on… whenever there are camera’s around, you’re never very far off. The fan’s are very well aware of who you are.”

“Fine, whatever. When do you think you’re going to be home for a while?”

“When the tour is over,” JC laughed. “Just over two months. Why? Do you miss me that much?”

“It would just be nice to have my husband around a little more.”

“Are you joking?” He asked incredulously. “I have a job to do Alexandria, unlike you. If you’re that desperate to spend more time with me, you can tour with me!”

“JC, you know I hate riding on the buses and flying everywhere. I should be able to see you without having to deal with all that shit.”

“Dria, we’ve dealt with this before, there are no other options. Either you tour with me and complain every minute about it, or you can stay home and continue doing nothing while you complain about me not being around. I can’t win either way.”

“Fine JC,” Alexandria grabbed her purse and stood up. “My car will be here soon. Are you going to walk me out or would you like to say goodbye here?”

“I’ll walk you down. Just let me grab my wallet and keycard so I can get back in. I also need to tell security where I’m going.”

Alexandria rolled her eyes. “Just make it fast.”

JC closed his eyes and prayed for patience. He walked over to the living room table and picked up the items he needed before walking to the door of the room to wait for her.

The elevator ride down to the lobby was quiet and JC couldn’t help but feel relieved that she was leaving. He didn’t want her to think that he didn’t want her around, whether it was the truth or not. He reached for her hand just as the doors opened and she jerked it away.

“Don’t.” She glared at him.

JC just shook his head and walked off the elevator. She stepped off the elevator before the doors closed and stared at him.

“You’re not going to wait for me?”

JC bit his tongue and waited for her to approach him. She pasted a fake smile onto her face and held her hand out for him to take. He set his jaw and held her hand as they walked into the lobby. He made a mental note to talk to her later about her attitude. He instinctively knew that he wouldn’t have the same problem with Laurie.

“You know that I can’t go out there with you.” JC said.

“Why not?”

“Have you seen the amount of fans out there?”

“Fine, then we’ll just say goodbye here.”

Alexandria grabbed JC’s arms and wrapped them around her waist. Then she slid her hands up his chest until they rested lightly on the hair that covered his neck. She pulled his head down and touched her lips to his, kissing him passionately. When they parted, JC unconsciously wiped his mouth.

“I’ll call you after we land,” she promised and kissed his cheek before walking out the front doors of the hotel.

JC watched with his hands in his pockets and a feeling of dismay as Alexandria glared at several fans that were trying to get her attention. He didn’t notice that the whole time he was in the lobby, Laurie had been watching him from the gift shop. He also failed to notice that she had slipped silently from the gift shop back to the elevators to return to her room.

“It wasn’t intentional,” she whispered to herself as the elevator began to ascend. “He didn’t know I was down here… they have to kiss… they’re married.” She continued to try to convince herself.

When the elevator stopped, she got out and walked to her room, briefly acknowledging Justin and his fiancée Stacy when she passed them in the hall. As the door closed behind her, she was grateful for the brief reprieve that she had before JC came to her room.

She walked over the balcony doors and looked out over the city. It was her last night in Chicago before she flew back to LA and she didn’t want to spend it alone. It wasn’t long before she heard the door that connected their rooms open and then close.

JC’s feet padded quietly across the floor and she felt his arms envelope her. He softly kissed her neck and then rested his chin on her shoulder.

“Hey,” he said quietly and gave her a little squeeze. “Did you miss me?” Laurie closed her eyes and reveled in the sensations that he was invoking in her by just holding her.

“I did.”

Chapter Sixteen