Laurie
rested her head against JC’s shoulder as the elevator took them to their
floor. He had his around her waist and
his fingers sneaked underneath the hem of her shirt to caress the warm skin
above the waist of he jeans.
“I
wonder if this means that we finally get to spend some time alone.”
“Hopefully,”
Laurie sighed. She had never felt so
happy. “Are we going back to my room or
your room?”
“Your
room,” he replied quickly. “We won’t
get much peace in my room. And we need to order something to eat, I’m
starving.”
Laurie
looked at him incredulously. “I
honestly don’t know how you manage to eat so much and stay so thin.”
“Good
genes.” He grinned and held the elevator door open for her. He caught a glare from their team of security. “What?” JC asked with a hint of worry
marring his voice.
“Where’s
everyone else?” Dre growled.
“Down
in the bar.” JC replied. “I’ll be in
Laurie’s room, we’re going to have some dinner.”
“That’s
fine.”
As
JC and Laurie walked the short distance to her room, they heard the guards
arguing over who was going to stay upstairs and who was going to go downstairs.
“Are
they always like that?” Laurie asked and unlocked her door. She made sure the door had locked itself
before she turned back to face JC.
“Pretty
much,” he shrugged casually and grabbed the belt loops on her jeans, pulling
her towards him. When her body was
close enough that it was touching his, she spoke.
“Did
you want me over here?” She asked coyly.
“Yep.”
He replied and licked his lips. That
simple gesture nearly sent Laurie into overdrive.
“Josh,”
she whispered just before his lips crashed down onto hers.
JC
wrapped his arms tightly around her waist and started walking backwards until
the bed touched the back of his knees and he allowed himself to fall backwards,
with Laurie falling on top of him. She
smiled at him when they finally came up for air.
“I
thought you were hungry.”
“I
am,” he admitted sheepishly. “My
stomach just growled.”
Laurie
laughed. “Ok, let’s order some food.”
The
couple disentangled themselves and simultaneously ran their hands through their
hair. They laughed and Laurie lay back
on the bed while JC ordered their dinner.
He hung up the phone and lay down on his side beside Laurie, resting an
arm across her stomach. He stared at
her intently and then leaned in to kiss her cheek.
“What
was that for?” She asked softly.
“I
just feel so incredibly lucky to have you in my life again, even if it isn’t
under the best circumstances. I love
you so much and I never want this feeling to end.”
Laurie
felt her eyes fill with tears. “I feel
the same way.”
JC
lightly kissed her lips and enveloped her in a passionate hug.
“Do
you think we should call down and warn the others that sexual chocolate are on
their way down?” JC murmured.
“And
spoil the surprise?” Laurie laughed softly.
“Nah. Besides, we’re not down
there, so we’re not in trouble.”
“Mmm,”
he kissed her. “You have a point.”
“You
know if you keep kissing me like that, dinner is going to be forgotten about.”
She teased.
“Don’t
worry, my stomach won’t let me forget.”
Laurie
rolled her eyes and laughed. “You sound
like Joey.”
“Oh
thanks, I think I’ve been insulted.” JC huffed.
Laurie
couldn’t help but laugh. “You know I
love you.”
JC
sat up and crossed his arms across his chest, turning his head away from her
playfully. She rested her hands on his
shoulders, squeezing lightly.
“Josh,”
she said sweetly. “Baby, I love you and
I think you’re nothing like Joey.”
“Damn
right,” he growled and tackled her to the bed so that they were both lying down
again. He started to lift the hem of
her shirt and there was a knock on the door.
“Dammit.”
“Hey,
you’re the one who’s hungry.” She laughed and adjusted her clothes.
“Yeah,
yeah.” He got off the bed and sat on the sofa while Laurie answered the door
and signed for their meal. Laurie
wheeled the cart to where JC was sitting and sat down beside him.
“Whatever
you ordered smells really good.”
“Wait
until you see what I ordered for dessert,” JC winked at her.
“I
didn’t realize that you were on the menu.”
“That’s
a specialty item that’s only available to you.”
“Promise?”
“Always.”
**********
“Do
you want to go back upstairs?” Chris murmured into Michelle’s ear. His arms were locked around her waist and he
had her pulled up against him. “I have
something I’d like to talk to you about.”
She
looked at him curiously. “Good or bad?”
“It
depends on how you want to look at it,” he smiled secretively and kissed the
tip of her nose.
“We
can’t talk about it down here?”
“We
could,” he acknowledged. “However, I
have no idea how you’re going to react to what I have to say, so I would rather
talk upstairs.”
Even
as he spoke, he was guiding her to the elevators. Michelle was beginning to feel apprehensive.
“Chris,”
she began. “You’re making me nervous.”
“He
wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed her temple gently. “No need to be nervous, sweetheart. I promise.”
“That
doesn’t make me feel any better,” she frowned.
Chris
just laughed and unlocked the door to their room. “Come on.”
He
took her hand and guided her over to the bed and sat down beside her. He traced the lines in her palm before he
brought it to his mouth and lightly kissed it.
He didn’t let go of it when he started to speak.
“Shelle,
I’ve been thinking about this for a couple of months now and the more I think
about it, the more I want it to be true.”
“Ok,
Chris? Now you’re really freaking me
out.”
“Relax,”
he laughed and kissed her hand again and didn’t break eye contact. “I want us to have a baby.”
Michelle’s
mouth dropped open and her eyes widened in shock.
“I…
you… what?”
Chris
laughed. “I know it’s a bit sudden and
I’ve probably shocked you, but like I said, I’ve been thinking about this for a
while and its something I really want.
Michelle’s
head was spinning. She didn’t know what
to say.
“It’s
the perfect time,” Chris continued.
“The tour ends in two months, then there’s a few FuMan appearances in
New York, but other than that, there’s nothing that I really have to do that
would keep me away from your during your pregnancy.”
“That’s
even if I get pregnant right away.” She said and shook her head, amazed that
she was even considering it. “Chris,
have you been talking to your mom again?”
“Well…
maybe a little,” he admitted sheepishly.
“But that was after I started thinking about it.”
“Chris,
do you know who you are? The press will
have a field day.”
“I
know who I am and it’s none of anyone’s business what we decide to do. I’m almost thirty years old and I’m madly in
love with my girlfriend of almost three years.
It’s not like this child would be a mistake.” He paused and tried to
regain his composure. “Shelle, I want
to have a child for you. We can offer
them all the love in the world. Hell,
we can give them the world.”
“Chris,
this is something that I’m really going to need to think about. It’s a huge change for both of us and it
would change our relationship greatly.
I know it’s not a new idea to you, but it’s a new idea to me and I need
time to get used to it.”
“I
know everything will change.” He said.
“And think about it, we could create a FuMan maternity line.”
“Oh
and I’m sure the mothers of teenage girls everywhere would appreciate that,”
she told him sarcastically.
“I
meant for you to wear.”
“And
that’s another thing. Chris, have you
even though about the fans possible reactions to a revelation like this? You’ll lose fans, and someone else in the
group will become their favorite…”
“So? They can’t have me anyway.”
“And
having a child outside of marriage is still frowned upon by a lot of
people. Parents won’t be very
understanding… they won’t care if you’re almost thirty. You’re a role model for their children and
you’re supposed to set an example.”
Chris
scoffed. “Whatever happened to parents
being the one to set examples for their children?”
“Ok,
you have a point. But you’re still a
role model, whether you like it or not.”
Chris
rolled his eyes.
“Don’t
do that. All five of you are role
models, and Chris… this group is your baby.
Whatever decision we make in regards to starting a family will
ultimately affect the other guys… it’s their career too. I need you to be absolutely sure that this
is something you want – because once I get pregnant – there’s no room for
second thoughts.”
“It
is what I want,” he whispered and
started picking at his nails.
“Don’t
do that either. Listen, we’ll sleep on
it tonight and discuss it further in the morning.”
“All
right… are you hungry?”
“A
little. You can order something while I
take my make-up off.”
Chris
grabbed her wrist and prevented her from leaving for a second. “I love you… and I really want to have a
baby with you.”
Michelle
kissed him. “I know.”
**********
Joey
and Denise resumed playing pool while Justin tried to give them pointers and
Lance and Hannah looked on. After Joey
scratched for the third time, he turned to Justin.
“J,
if you don’t shut up, I’m going to break this cue stick over your head!”
“I
don’t think so.” One of the guards said from the door of the bar.
“Mike!”
Justin yelped. “Save me!”
“Save
it Timberlake.” Lonnie looked around.
“Where are the short ones?”
“Chris
and Michelle went back upstairs.”
“Fine. You can keep playing.” Mike told Joey and
Denise.
“Actually,”
Joey cleared his throat nervously. “We
were just going to go upstairs and change before hitting a few clubs.”
“We
were?” Justin asked.
“Yes
we were, Justin.” Lance threw a pointed glare in his direction.
“How
did they know we were down here?” Denise whispered.
“Sixth
sense,” Joey replied. “They’re like
vultures.”
“Oh
knock it off Joey, they’re just doing their job. They saved Justin from you.” Lance laughed.
**********
JC
was leaning back against the headboard and Laurie was nestled between his legs
as they watched Law and Order. He held
the remote with one hand while his free hand caressed Laurie’s soft, wavy
hair. When a commercial came on, he
started channel surfing, earning a light smack on the leg from Laurie.
“What?”
JC asked innocently.
“Pick
a channel and leave it there,” she shook her head. “I swear channel surfing is automatically bred into all men.”
“Do
you want me to watch TV in my own room?” He asked evilly.
It
didn’t phase Laurie. She just looked up
at him and met his eyes with a steady gaze.
“Be my guest.”
“You
don’t mean that,” he pouted.
“Maybe
I do, maybe I don’t.” She shrugged nonchalantly and fought to keep the laughter
from rising in her throat.
“Fine,”
he sighed with resignation and stood up.
He slowly began to make his way to the door and he was almost there when
Laurie panicked. She practically flew
across the room and wrapped her arms around his waist.
“Stop! I was only kidding.” She exclaimed.
JC
burst into laughter and turned to face her.
“I know.” He bent his head to kiss her.
“So am I sleeping here tonight?”
“Just
as long as you don’t channel surf,” she grinned.
“Honey,”
JC said seriously. “If I’m staying, I
don’t plan on channel surfing or sleeping.”
“Oh
really?” Laurie said innocently. “And
what do you plan on doing?”
His
eyes sparkled with passion. “Having dessert.”