JC woke Laurie about an hour after she had fallen
asleep by rubbing a strawberry back and forth over her lips. When her tongue snaked out to taste the
delectable fruit, JC teasingly pulled it away and she opened her eyes.
“Hi,” she stretched languidly. “How come you pulled the strawberry away?”
“Because I wanted you to wake up.” JC smiled and
kissed the lips she had just licked.
“You fell asleep before breakfast got here.”
“I’m sorry,” she apologized. “Are you mad?”
“Not at all,” he replied. “I just put the fruit in the mini fridge to keep it cool. The pancakes are still covered, but they
might need a minute or two in the microwave.
Are you hungry?”
“It depends,” Laurie smiled slyly. “Are you going to finish feeding me that
strawberry?”
“Only if you feed me one afterward.”
“Oh, I think I can manage that.”
JC reached over to the plate where he had set the
strawberry down out of Laurie’s reached.
He picked it up and brought it back over to Laurie and her mouth opened
expectantly.
“Do you want this?” He breathed and looked down at
her.
Laurie glared at him and grabbed his wrist with her
hand, to pull the strawberry closer to herself. However, JC was too strong and his hand stayed where it was until
he started to laugh at her dilemma.
Laurie took the opportunity to pop the strawberry into her mouth.
“Mmm,” she commented once she had eaten it. “That was good.”
The crestfallen look on his face made her
laugh. “Josh, I’m sorry. It’s just that I’m hungry and you were
teasing me.”
“Ok.” He thought for a moment. “Then why don’t we eat now and play
later? There’s not a lot you can do
with pancakes and cinnamon rolls.
Fruit, on the other hand…” His voice trailed off.
“We can always order some chocolate syrup to go
with it.”
JC grinned.
“I’m way ahead of you. It’s in
the mini-fridge with the rest of the fruit.”
“You’re so bad,” she laughed. “But I can’t wait to try it out.”
**********
(At the soundcheck)
The girls were sitting about ten rows back from the
stage while the guys ran through their set.
Denise was sitting at the end of the row with her foot elevated and her
toes taped together. Hannah was
snickering at Denise’s demise, while Laurie and Michelle were quietly chatting.
“You knew about JC and I – didn’t you?” Laurie
whispered.
“I had an idea about it,” Michelle replied
thoughtfully. “Lance isn’t the only one
who watches and I noticed a few things.
Every once in a while, Lance and I would compare notes.” She
laughed. “But I’m happy for you two.”
Laurie bit her bottom lip and played with her
wedding rings, twisting them around her finger.
“Listen,” Michelle continued. “I know you’re worried about what the others
are thinking, but I assure you, everything is cool. Umm…” She paused. “Are
you going to fly back with me to LA or stay here with JC? I won’t be offended if you stay.” She
winked.
“Maybe if JC were to ask me…” her voice trailed off
and she looked wistfully at the side of the stage where JC was standing. “I need a frappachino.”
“Mmm… that sounds good. There’s a Starbucks across the road, do you want to go?”
“Are we allowed?” Laurie asked nervously.
Michelle shrugged.
“Probably not. But now that it’s
in my head, I want one.”
“Umm…”
Michelle sighed.
“Are you coming or not?”
Laurie cast a look toward the stage again. “All right.”
“Where are you two going?” Denise asked.
“Starbucks, wanna come?”
“I can’t.” Denise frowned and glared at her
foot.
“What about you, Hannah?” Michelle turned to her.
“I think I’ll stay here, I haven’t had the
opportunity to see the soundcheck yet… but thanks.”
Laurie and Michelle walked backstage and grabbed
their purses out of the Toy Room before looking into the hallway to make sure
the coast was clear. They were giddy
from the excitement of sneaking out.
There were no fans on the North side of the venue, so they took that
exit, looking back once to make sure that they weren’t being followed by
security.
The air outside was slightly humid, as it was
nearing the end of June, though there was a light breeze and it didn’t make the
day feel as hot.
Michelle pushed the door of Starbucks open and the
cool air-conditioned café welcomed them.
“What are you getting?” Laurie asked while perusing
the menu above the counter.
“Probably a Venti Tazoberry and a snickerdoodle.” She looked at the display. “I had better bring a few cookies back for
Chris or else I won’t be able to enjoy mine.
What are you getting?”
“A Venti Mint Mocha and an oatmeal raisin cookie.”
Laurie replied and it was suddenly their turn.
As Laurie reached for her wallet, Michelle shook her head.
“Don’t worry, it’s my treat.” She said and placed their orders. “The guys won’t be finished with soundcheck
for another thirty minutes or so… we might as well stay here.”
They received their beverages and chose a table
near the window.
“Mmm,” Michelle said as she bit into her
snickerdoodle.
“Good?”
Laurie asked.
Michelle nodded her head in appreciation. Laurie was staring at something over
Michelle’s shoulder.
“I think we might have company,” Laurie whispered,
causing Michelle to turn around.
Sure enough, five or six fans were staring at them
and whispering. Michelle grinned at
them and waved them over. They
approached the table shyly.
“Hi,” one of them said. “You’re Michelle, right?”
“I am. Are
you all going to the show tonight?”
More nods.
“We won tickets off of the local radio station, we’re about twenty rows
back from the stage. Pretty close to
the catwalk, I think.”
“Those are great seats, I’m sure you’ll enjoy the
show.”
The girls looked at each other nervously and
another spoke. “Umm… we hate to bother
you, but can we get a picture with you?”
“You’re not bothering me at all,” Michelle
smiled. “Laurie, would you mind taking
the picture?”
Laurie shook her head and accepted the camera from
one of the girls. They all stood
together with Michelle while Laurie took the picture. Michelle sat down again and reached into her purse, giving each
of the girls an autographed picture.
They had just started to thank her when her cell phone rang.
Michelle check the Caller ID and looked at Laurie,
mouthing the words, ‘It’s Chris.’
“Hello?” She asked and cringed when she heard
Chris’ response.
“Where the hell are you?” He yelled. “You and Laurie just left here without a
word to anyone – and you didn’t take anyone with you.”
“On the contrary Chris, Laurie and I told Hannah
and Denise where we were going.”
The fans stopped chatting amongst themselves and
looked at Michelle with interest.
“It doesn’t matter,” Chris growled. “JC is ranting and raving that you kidnapped
Laurie.” He paused. “What are you
laughing at?”
“I didn’t kidnap Laurie,” she wiped a tear
away. “It was her idea to get a
frappachino.”
“When are you coming back?” He demanded to know.
“Probably when we’ve finished our drinks. Do you want anything while we’re here?”
“No.”
Michelle could practically hear the scowl in his
voice. “Well, we’ll be back soon, we’re
right across the road.”
“I’m sending Lonnie over.”
“That’s not necessary, everything is fine.” Michelle
argued.
“It’s not negotiable.” There was a pause and some
murmurs in the background. “We have to
go back and finish soundcheck. I’ll
talk to you when you get back.”
“Promises, promises.” She laughed and put her phone
away. The fans lost interest and went
back to their booth.
“What was that about?” Laurie asked.
“Oh, he’s irritated that I left and didn’t tell
anyone… JC thinks I kidnapped you.” She snickered.
“He… what?”
“He thinks I kidnapped you.”
Laurie burst into laughter, drawing stares from the
other patrons in the café. Michelle
glanced at her watch.
“But we should head back. Chris said he was going to send Lonnie over.”
“Yeah, because that wouldn’t be obvious.” Laurie
grinned and picked up her drink. “Shall
we?”
Laurie and Michelle returned to the venue and since
they heard the guys rehearsing ‘Bye Bye Bye’ they decided to wait for them in
the Toy Room. It wasn’t long after that
they heard laughter in the hallway and the door opened. Joey helped Denise over to the couch and
Justin immediately head for the shower.
Chris and JC approached Michelle and Laurie and stood in front of them
with their arms folded across their chest.
“See?” Michelle said to JC. “I didn’t kidnap her.”
“She’s right,” Laurie continued. “It was my idea Josh, I wanted a
frappachino.”
Chris and JC continued to glare down at them. Michelle brought out the bag that had the
cookies in it.
“I brought cookies.” She said with a small
smile. Joey’s head flew up.
“Where?”
Chris took the bag from her and looked inside. Satisfied, he spoke. “Just don’t take off like that again. Ok?”
“Ok.” She promised. JC looked at Laurie.
“You too.”
“Yes sir.” Laurie promised and chuckled.
Neither man knew that both women had their fingers
crossed and JC was muttering something about Michelle being a bad influence on
Laurie.