Chapter 11

 

                He had expected to wake up alone in bed.  After all, he had been waking that way a lot lately, and last he remembered, he had gone to bed alone.   But sure enough, there she was snuggled in his arms like she used to be every morning, like she should be every morning if you asked him.  Justin didn’t even want to breathe from fear that Sam would disappear from against him.  He wanted to reach out and touch her, more than just have her body pressed against his and his arm sprawled over her waist, but actually hold her against him, nice and tight with the impressing that she would never leave.  He was afraid that if he moved however, he would find that she had never even been there at all.

                Sam broke the moment herself and all his fears however, when her eyelids slowly parted and she looked up at him with hazy eyes.  She looked at him in sleepy confusion for a few seconds probably also wondering how she found herself to be waking next to him after so many nights apart, and then, a slow smile spread across her lips.  She lowered her head against his shoulder, and kissed the skin she could reach without having to tilt her head.

                “Good morning,” she offered.

                “Good morning,” Justin repeated, trying to decide which of his numerous questions he should ask her first.  How did she get there?  What was she doing there?  Did this mean she wasn’t mad at him anymore?  What the hell was she doing?

                “Um, Sam,” he started with absolutely no idea where the rest of that sentence was going.  She understood his confusion though, and simply saved him all the trouble by explaining their situation right away.

                “I couldn’t sleep last night, so I borrowed the spare key to your room from security.  I missed sleeping next to you Justin.”

                “I missed sleeping next to you too,” he told her as his arms now did tighten around her and he held her close to him without any intention of ever letting go.  “I thought you were mad at me though.”

                “I was,” she told him with a shrug.

                “Was?” Justin asked.  “As in you’re not anymore?”

                “I didn’t say that,” Sam told him.  She could feel the sigh he took against her body and felt bad that she couldn’t simply tell him that she had completely forgiven him, but that would have been a lie.  She still wasn’t happy about the fact that Justin and her parents didn’t get along, and while she knew he was trying to mend whatever rift was between them, she couldn’t help but wonder what exactly it was that was keeping them from being at least civil with each other.

                “So you are still mad at me?” His voice sounded lost and confused and she couldn’t blame him.  She wasn’t even sure how she felt at the moment, so his being confused wasn’t all that surprising.

                “I’m not happy that you and my parents don’t get along Ju.  But I’m trying to deal.  I know you’re trying to help and I appreciate that, but it still bothers me.  I’m just going to need a while to get over it, that’s all.”  She tilted her head to the side, trying to sink down into the mattress where she was sure she wouldn’t be having all of these problems.

                “I’m trying Sam,” Justin offered, his arms tightening around her at the idea that she might get mad at him again and leave.

                “I know,” she told him.  “We’ll just have to deal with it.”

                Justin planted a kiss on her forehead, then watched as she closed her eyes and tried to get a bit more sleep.  It was only after he was sure that she was sound asleep that he too closed his eyes for more rest.

 

                “I need your advice.”

                Joey looked around the room in confusion.  It wasn’t that no one ever went for him looking for advice, but lately JC had the look on his face he always did when he was having some kind of conflict in his relationship, and Joey was definitely the last one the guys went to for relationship advice.  Lance was even higher up on the advice later for this topic than he was, and Lance didn’t know jack all about relationships.

                “Um, sure?  What’s up?”  He gestured toward the couch where he’d been spreading out clothes to decide what he would wear for his night with Kelly, but so far nothing was popping out at him.  He swept across the couch with his arm and soon enough the whole wardrobe found itself on the floor.

                “Don’t let Sam see you do that,” JC warned as he took a seat.

                “What?  Are you turning into Justin now?  Let the boy worry about his own girlfriend, it keeps him out of trouble.”

                “Fair enough.”  JC waited until Joey was sitting on the couch next to him before he shifted his body to face him.  That’s when Joey realized just how serious this was.  “Alright, I need your advice.”

                “You said that already.  What do you need my advice for?” Joey asked.

                “It’s about Christalee,” JC mildly explained.

                “Any guy with half a brain and mild knowledge of your facial expressions could have told me that C, you’re going to have to give me more.”

                “It’s about Christalee and this,” JC said as he took out what he’d been trying to hide in his pocket from his girlfriend when she’d been straddling his lap the day before.

                “Wow, that’s . . .  well that’s what it is,” Joey said as he took the object from JC’s hands.  “Jace, are you sure about this man?”

                “Yes, so yes, more than yes and I just . . .  I don’t know how.”

                “How?  You ask her. Hey Sam, will you marry me?  That’s about all there is to it,” Joey explained as he took a closer look at the ring JC was showing him.

                “Please tell me that’s not how you proposed to Kelly, because if it is, she deserves a much better ring than the one you bought her,” JC retorted as he took back his ring and snapped the box a little too close to Joey’s fingers for Joey’s liking.

                “I was full on romantic man, you don’t have to worry about my woman.  She’s got all the romance she can get,” Joey stated, then thought about the accuracy of his statement, “when I’m around . . .  Mostly.”

                “Whatever man.  Look, you’re the only one of us that has gone through something like this before, so I would really like your advice, if you have any.  Any suggestions?” JC asked.

                “Yeah,” Joey said as he rose from his seat on the couch, “don’t lie to her.  Be honest and don’t be nervous.”

                “Easier said than done,” JC muttered to himself once Joey had left the room.

 

                Chris was about to press the send button on his cell phone when he changed his mind.  Well, actually, he didn’t change his mind, Meghan changed his mind as she barged into the room not bothering to knock and not bothering to look anything but completely frazzled and worried.

                “Have you seen Leslie?” Meghan immediately asked as she frantically looked around the room.  She opened the closet doors, one of the dresser drawers and even lifted the comforter on his bed.  Chris wondered if she really thought that her cousin could be hiding in any of these spots.

                “Have you check with Lance?” Chris asked her, then bit his bottom lip as he saw the reaction the statement got from her.

                “Why?  Why would I check with Lance?  Why would she be with Lance?  What aren’t you telling me Chris?”

                He could feel his eyes on her and it made him so nervous that he just knew he would spill and tell her everything whether he really wanted to or not. He took a deep breath and tried to think up some way of avoiding the conversation he knew was coming.

                “I just thought they said they would be hanging out together today, that’s all.  Maybe you should check with him.”  Chris told her as he looked around the room, desperate not to make direct eye contact with her.

                “Chris, it’s not even seven in the morning and her bed is perfectly made.  She did not come to our room last night,” Meghan informed him as she slowly moved closer to the bed he was sitting on.  “Besides, you’re a horrible liar so stop trying.  Just tell me what you know.”

                “Crap,” Chris mumbled to himself, ignoring the second part of her sentence and concentrating on her opening arguments, “she must have thought you were sleeping here again.”

                “Why would she think that?” Meghan asked him while reminded herself in the back of her mind not to let whatever he was about to say distract her from the line of questioning she had been on.

                “Because everyone on tour knows what a huge crush I have on you,” Chris said before he could think.  He was concentrating so hard on the fact that Meghan didn’t know what was going on between Leslie and Lance that he forgot that she also didn’t know that he was practically in love with her.

                “What?”  Meghan asked him.  Her expression wasn’t readable and Chris wondered if she was mad at him or only surprised.

                “I have liked you for the longest time Meghan,” Chris finally told her.  He was too far in now to lie, and the only thing he could think of was to tell the truth.  You shouldn’t get in trouble for telling the truth, he thought to himself.  “The only reason I haven’t told you before is because I know how you don’t want to blend your personal life with your private life and I was trying to respect that.”

                Meghan started at him for a moment in disbelief.  She had never even guessed that Chris could feel that way about her, and she had definitely not anticipated that such a confession from him would cause the tingles she was feeling at the moment in her body.  She didn’t think her cheeks would be inclined to flush and that she’d have to hold back the urge to go and hug him.  She needed to think about this and she couldn’t when she was in the same room as him.  She couldn’t escape to her room however, because she knew being there would only remind her that Leslie wasn’t and that the girl was somewhere else, unknown to her.

                “Why would Leslie be with Lance?” she finally asked.

                Chris let out a sigh but decided that if she wanted to ignore his confession instead of slapping him or yelling at him, he would be fine with that.

                “They spend a lot of time together.  They both have this little crushes on one another, though neither is ready to admit it and it’s really cute.”

                “Cute?  Chris she isn’t ready for another boyfriend.  Has what the last one did to her escaped you?”  Her voice was rising and while Chris wanted to remain calm and rational, the fact that she had first rejected him and then started questioning Lance’s motives wasn’t going over well with him.

                “Well Lance isn’t the last guy she dated, now is he?”

                “No, but he is a man.  She’s not ready for that again.”

                “How do you know?  You aren’t her Meghan!  They are fine together.”  They stared at one another, almost daring each other to speak next.

                “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me,”  Meghan finally said before she left the room, slamming the door behind her.  Chris wasn’t sure if she meant about what was going on between Lance and Leslie or about the fact that he had a crush on her.

 

                “Oh, you wore your hair down,” Sam’s mother greeted her with disappointment as she noticed the coiffe her daughter had chosen for the day.  She tried to move the hair from behind Sam’s ear, but the young girl moved away before her mother could reach the strands.  “Where were you this morning?  I tried to call you and I couldn’t find you anywhere.”

                “I, um . . . ” Sam looked around the table as she tried to decide what exactly she would say.  Her brother smiled at her from across the table and wiggled his eyebrows at her predicament, obviously guessing where she had been that she didn’t want to discuss.  It wasn’t that Sam thought her mother was so clueless that she didn’t realize her daughter was sleeping with Justin Timberlake, it was just that she didn’t exactly think the subject was breakfast table conversation topic number one.  She couldn’t, however, lie to her mother, or even think of a convincing lie at the moment.  “I was with Justin.”

                Her mother let out a sigh that suggested she was anything but pleased with her daughter’s answer.  She moved her fork so that it was neatly aligned with her plate just as it had been when she’d gotten to the table, then folded her hands in front of her.

                “Sam, I thought you were moving on from Justin,” Sam’s mother said through tight lips.

                “Why would you think that?  I never said I was moving on,” Sam had to remind herself that getting mad wouldn’t help anything.  Justin had been doing his best to make her parents see that he wasn’t as horrible as they thought he was.  She certainly wasn’t about to lose her temper and break the calm he had finally somewhat created.

                “Well, honey it’s the reasonable thing to do.  I mean, after all, he’s a rock star.  You know how those people are . . . ” her voice faded as she let her daughter finish the sentence for herself.

                “Yes, they’re my friends,” Sam said quietly.

                “While you work here, of course they are.  But when you move on from this job, you’ll get new more stable friends.”

                Sam looked over at her brother to see if he was hearing the same things she was.  Brady looked at her and slightly raised one of his eyebrows as if he were simply asking her what she was going to do about the situation.  He knew how wrong their mother was, but he wasn’t going to fight Sam’s fight for her, she’d have to defend herself.  Before his sister could say anything, however, their mother continued with her spiel.

                “I mean, who knows how many people Justin dated before you and he started dating.  God only knows what he would be doing behind your back if it weren’t for the fact that you’re on the same tour as him-”

                “Mother!” Sam interrupted her, wondering where exactly her mother came up with these ideas.

                “Well Sam, tabloids talk about him so much that you must realize that a part of them has to be somewhat true,” her mother tried to reason.

                “No, I don’t because I know Justin and I trust him.  Actually, I love him.  Justin’s not cheating on me and we’re not breaking up anytime soon so just get used to him being around.”  She left the table at that, her food barely even touched.

                “You see?” her mother asked anyone who would listen. “Do you see how rude she’s become around these people?”

                “She’s right mom,” Brady said as he also left the table.

                “Well I never!”

                “Eat your food darling,” Sam’s father said.  “They’re both right.”

                No one had noticed Justin in the corner of the room.  He’d walked in only a few steps after Sam but had hesitated before joining their table.  He was glad he had now, because for the first time in his life, he’d gotten to see someone other than him defend their relationship through obstacles that were seemingly unwavering.  Slowly he approached the table.  Sam’s father nodded at him when he saw Justin, a warmer gesture than Justin had received from the man in quite a while.  Sam’s mother didn’t notice him until he was at the table, and immediately opened her mouth to say something Justin was sure wouldn’t be complimentary.  He spoke before she could.

                “I love your daughter and while I don’t want that to come between you and her, I’m not letting her go.  I can see myself marrying her some day and I don’t want us to fight for the rest of our lives.  What do I have to do to prove that I’m not going to hurt her?”

                “You can’t,” Sam’s mother began, only to be interrupted by her husband.

                “You don’t have to.”  Both Justin and the man’s wife looked at him in shock.  He didn’t seem to notice.  “You clearly love Sam and even if you didn’t, this isn’t our choice, it’s Sam’s.  She obviously loves you and so we should just respect her decision.”

                Sam’s mother was too stunned to speak, so Justin was free to answer the man.  “Thank you sir.”

                They shook hands and Sam’s father nodded as though he knew that Justin wanted nothing more than to go find Sam after the argument he’d just seen her have with her family.  Sam’s mother still sat there, watching her husband with big, surprised eyes.

                “Eat your food dear,” he finally told her.

 

                Joey hopped on one foot.  Then he hopped on the other foot.  Then he bounced on both of them.  Lance watched him with eyes that threatened to roll to the back of his head at any moment.

                “Why am I always stuck with you guys when you’re all antsy at the airport?  Why can’t any of you be normal?” he asked no one in particular, pretty sure that Joey was too busy being nervous to pay him too much attention.

                “Because you have no life,” Joey told him as he started pacing the room.

                Lance didn’t bother answering all too aware that Joey was past the point of reasoning.  He smiled secretly as he thought of the night he’d just spent.  Leslie had come to find him in his room before he’d even turned out the lights and they watched a bit of television together before they finally turned in for the night.  He’d slept on his side facing her, one hand resting on her stomach so she would know he was there if she felt scared at any time during the night.

                She hadn’t woken, for what Lance was sure was the first time in a very long time, but sometime during the night she had shifted from her back to her side and when he woke he found her snuggled against him with her head tucked between his head and the pillow they were now sharing.  He watched her for some time, wondering when exactly she’d shifted and whether or not she knew that she was pressed against him so wonderfully.

                When she’d woken up, she’d made no apologies for the shift or for the fact that she was breathing warmly against his neck.  She’d made a small mewling sound, shifted and rubbed her nose against his shoulder, as thought trying to wake herself with his smell.  When her eyes finally popped open, she smiled up at him with a hazy look.  He’d offered her a good morning, and she’d done the same.  Then she’d leaned up and pressed a quick kiss on his lips to his great surprise.  The only bad part of the kiss was that he hadn’t been ready for it, and it was therefore over before he could really enjoy it.

                Leslie had left after that to get ready for her day, and when Lance had tried to find her following his very quick shower, he’d only found Chris who told him that Meghan had taken Leslie to breakfast because she wanted to talk to her.  Chris had then suggested that Lance might want to accompany Joey to the airport.  Lance had decided not to ask any question since Chris probably knew what was going on more than he did, and therefore simply agreed and headed off with Joey.

                “Daddy!” The young voice crashed through Lance’s daydream and he smiled as he spotted Brianna running up to her father.  So much for staying inconspicuous.  Joey didn’t seem to mind at all as he opened his arms and scooped up the little girl, throwing her in the air and quickly catching her as she fell toward him.  She giggled and threw her arms around his neck to steady herself.

                “Hey baby,” Joey greeted Kelly who was wearing a tired smile.  Flying across states with a toddler was not an easy thing to do.  She accepted the kiss that Joey grazed across her lips, but quickly looked around the airport as if she were afraid of who had seen the action.  Joey ignored the motion though it pained him to notice.  He hoisted Brianna a little higher on his hip, grabbed one of Kelly’s bags, then took hold of her hand and started his way out of the airport.

                Kelly walked slowly behind father and daughter, her hand linked with his trailing behind him.  Lance walked next to her, taking the time to grab her other bag and hoist it over his shoulder.

                “Hi Kelly,” he offered with a half hug.

                “Hi,” she answered.  Her teeth then found her bottom lip and she looked straight ahead as she worried it.  Lance didn’t know what was wrong with her, but he sure hoped Joey had a plan to make it right.

 

                He paced one side of the room, then he paced the other.  Then he found some way to combine both together.  Christalee watched him with a sly smile from the doorway as he quickly walked the floor.  She didn’t know what he was nervous about, but obviously he was nervous about something.  She couldn’t remember the last time she had seen him so worked up about something and it made her laugh more than it should.  It reminded her that he was human and gave her hope that maybe he would need her for a moment as much as she needed him.

                “What are you doing?” she asked him.

                JC jumped at her voice.  He hadn’t noticed that she was there and he feared that he’d perhaps spoken out loud or that she had been able to read his thoughts and knew that he’d been thinking of her.

                “How long have you been there?” he asked her with a shy smile.

                “Long enough to know that you’re going to wear a whole through that carpet.”

                “Ah, well,” he said as she walked over to him.  She wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned her head against his chest.  He wasn’t sure what she was doing, but the gesture was comfortable and soothed him more than he knew he needed soothing.  He lowered his head to rest his cheek on her hair and his arms wrapped around her.  He slowly swayed them to a rhythm only he was hearing.

                “What do you have to do today?” she asked him, her voice muffled by his chest.

                “Nothing until tonight.  Why?  Did you want to do anything?”

                “Yeah,” she moved her head back so she could look up at him, “calm you down.”

                She unwrapped herself from his body and grabbed his hand.  She led him to the bed and nodded her head in the direction of the pillow.  He immediately got the hint and lay down.  She lay next to him, her body a little higher on the bed than his.  Christalee let his head rest against her chest and stroked his hair, hoping the gesture would somewhat calm him.

                JC let her try to sooth him as his thoughts roamed.  He was stuck.  He wanted desperately to ask Christalee to marry him, the wedding ring he’d impulsively bought her had been burning a whole in his pocket since the day he’d touched the velvet box.  The only problem was that he didn’t know how to do it or when to do it.

                He let her touch slowly sweep him under a sleep that worry hadn’t been letting him find by himself for the past few nights.  He’d just have to be spontaneous about it, that would probably be best anyway.

 

                “Leslie, we have to talk,” Meghan said as she watched her food. 

                Leslie let out a heavy sigh.  She’d known ever since Meghan had asked her out for breakfast, even before that actually, that something big was on her mind and by the way Meghan was fidgeting about, it wasn’t something good.  Leslie had a feeling she wouldn’t be happy by the end of the conversation, but if it had to happen, she might as well get over it quickly.

                “What about?” she asked her cousin.

                “About you and Lance,” Meghan answered bluntly, deciding that skittering around the subject wouldn’t do her any good.

                Leslie froze, surprised that Meghan would even know there was kind of a her and Lance to talk about.  She decided to remain calm however, and see where Meghan was going with the conversation.  “What about me and Lance?”

                “Are you two dating?” Meghan simply asked.

                “I don’t know,” Leslie asked truthfully, not quite sure what she and Lance were.  “We might be getting there though.”

                “I think it’s a bad idea,” Meghan told her.  “You’re not ready for this Leslie.  It’s too soon for you.”

                Leslie took a few deep breaths to calm herself before she continued.  She knew that Meghan was only trying to help her, but weeks on end of Meghan telling her what was best for her and trying to sort out her life was starting to get to her and she really wished she would just be trusted to figure things out for herself.  “I don’t think it’s too early.”

                “Well, it is.  You got hurt really badly and while Lance may be a really nice guy, that doesn’t mean he’s a really nice boyfriend.”

                “Meghan, you have no right to say that about him.  Lance is a sweetheart.”

                “You aren’t ready for this Leslie, it’ll just bring back the nightmares and the memories of what happened the last time.”

                “God!  Just because you’re afraid of getting hurt in a relationship doesn’t mean I have to be!” Leslie finally yelled at her.  Meghan opened her mouth to protest, but Leslie stopped her before she could get a single word out.  “You’re in love with Chris, Meghan.  Just admit it.  And you know what?  He’s in love with you too.  But you’re too afraid to do anything, and so both of you have to suffer.  I’m not going to live like that.  Lance likes me and I like him and there’s no reason why we can’t at least see if there could be something there.”

                “It’s bad idea Leslie,” Meghan spoke lowly, trying to remain calm and not let Leslie’s words affect her.

                “He makes me feel safe Meghan,” Leslie told her.  “Maybe Chris could make you feel that too.”

                Leslie left the room at that, leaving Meghan with thoughts that she didn’t really want to have to deal with.

 

                Kelly pulled on her sleeve.  Then she tugged at the waist of her dress.  Her hand then found the necklace hanging around her neck and began to move the pendant it held up and down the chain.  Joey reached out and grabbed her hand to stop the movement.

                “What are you so nervous about?” he asked her.

                “It’s been a while since I’ve done this whole media thing, go easy on me,” she told him with a slight scowl.

                “Nobody cares about the whole media thing Kelly.  You’re here with me and that’s all that matters.”  He squeezed her hand to give her some kind of reassurance, but the gesture didn’t seem to be having any effect on her.

                “I hate this dress,” she mumbled to herself.

                “You look beautiful,” Joey contradicted, though he knew that the comment hadn’t been for his ears.

                “It makes me look fat,” Kelly replied.

                “It does not,” Joey told her, sounding mildly insulted.  He was happy to see Lance walking up to them, the perfect subject change. “Hey, there’s Lance.  How’s it going man?”

                “About the same as when I saw you two hours ago Joey,” Lance offered.  “So what’s up?  Where is everybody?”

                “Getting ready,” Joey offered with a shrug.

                “They understand that you have to look good when you go out, unlike Joey,” Kelly huffed from beside her husband.

                “Hey I look good,” Joey argued, then realised the comment wasn’t about his appearance.  “And you look good.  Don’t we look good Lance?”

                Lance bit back a chuckle as he watched Joey wrap his arm around Kelly’s shoulder and bring her closer to him.  He shook his head at the pair.  “I’m not getting involved in this one, but I will admit that Kelly looks stunning.”

                He gave her a kiss on the cheek before moving a few steps away from the couple and the mayhem that surrounded them.  Unfortunately for him, Joey wasn’t going to let him get away from them that easily.

                “So where’s your date man?” Joey asked him as he moved his arm from around Kelly’s shoulder and chose to link their hands together instead.

                “Don’t have one,” Lance answered with a shrug, trying not to notice the look on Joey’s fact that suggested he could easily have had a date if he’d simply taken the time to ask Leslie.  Any comment his band member could have offered, however, was interrupted by a voice coming down the hallway.

                “Sure you do,” the voice offered, “I’ll be your date.”

                Joey smirked as he saw Leslie pop up from behind Lance and loop her arm around his.  He noticed the way Lance blushed and mumbled some kind of acceptance that only Leslie was close enough to hear.  What Joey didn’t notice however, was the smirk of discontent on Meghan’s face as she followed her cousin, or the unhappy rumblings that came from her as she walked a little past the pair.

                “That’s a great idea,” Chris stated, surprising them all as he popped up from behind Joey.  “Then we’ll all have someone to go with.”

                “Who are you going with?” Joey asked, wondering if he was the only one out of the loop about Chris having suddenly found a date.

                “Well, if Lance is going with Leslie, I’ll keep Meghan company,” Chris stated.  Meghan opened her mouth to argue, but never being one to air her personal business during work functions, she turned whatever comment was about to come out of her mouth into a forced smile and relented to simply shooting Chris evil looks.

                “Sorry were late, we had clothes issues,” JC sputtered as he walked up to the group.  “Are we late?”

                “Not quite,” Kelly offered with a slight smile.

                “Besides, Justin and Sam still aren’t here,” Lance agreed.

                “Shocking,” JC and Christalee offered simultaneously.

                “Alright, that’s just scary,” Chris said as he wrapped his arm around Meghan’s shoulder, ignoring her elbow that she kept jabbing in his side to get him away from her.

                “So, when do you think they’ll be coming?” JC asked.

                “Well, they are almost on time.  Give them five more minutes at least,” Joey predicted.

                “Ten,” Lance countered.

                “Fifteen,” Chris argued.

                “None,” Justin called from behind them, “we’re here.”

                His hand tried to adjust his tie as Sam straightened the top half of her outfit.  The couple couldn’t exactly be called dishevelled, but their faces were flushed and Joey was sure he could spot some of Sam’s lip gloss on Justin lips.

                “Justin is that a new shade of lip gloss for you?” he asked with a smirk.

                “Yeah,” Justin told him as he bent down slightly to let Sam wipe the colour from his lips.  “You like it?”

                “Stunning,” Chris offered him in a high voice.

                “Well, if Justin’s done trying to be pretty,” one of the bodyguards surrounding them urged.

                “Hey, I am never done being pretty.  Excuse me if my job isn’t scaring people away.”

                “Don’t start with me pop star,” the bigger man teased as he pushed Justin past the doors of the elevator that had finally arrived.

 

                Meghan tried not to actually fume as she watched Leslie and Lance sway to the music.  They didn’t look any different than they did before, and if she didn’t know any better she wouldn’t suspect that they were anything but friends.  Unfortunately for her, she did know more and it was stopping her from enjoying her evening.  The other thing that was stopping her from enjoying the evening was the fact that she was sharing it with Chris.

                It wasn’t the first time that she acted as Chris’ date but this time it was different.  This time, he thought he was in love with her.  Sure, he thought he was in love with her the other times, but she hadn’t known it then, and she therefore didn’t have that knowledge hanging on her shoulders.

                She watched her “date” as he wove his way through the crowd to find them drinks.  She hated this.  She hated that he thought he loved her and that she was here with him and that he was paying so much attention to her, barely letting her out of his sight.  But most of all, she hated the fact that she liked the attention and that it was making her feel safe and fulfilled.

                Meghan shook her head before making her way out of the crowd.  She couldn’t take this. She couldn’t take everything that was happening around Leslie. She couldn’t take the way he was making her feel.  She couldn’t take what she wanted to do about the way he made her feel.  She couldn’t take any of this anymore.

                “Hey, are you trying to run away from me?” she heard from behind her.  She spun around and saw him standing there.  Damn him for looking so good in that suit, for having that charming smile and for knowing exactly what she’d want to drink without having to ask her.

                “Just thinking,” she told him.

                “You picked a nice place,” he replied, sitting down on a bench.

                She looked around.  This was a nice place. Meghan looked down at the garden.  She hadn’t even realized she was on a balcony, never mind looking over such an expensive yard.

                “What’s on your mind?” Chris asked, interrupting her thoughts.

                Meghan sat down beside him slowly. It was now or never.  “I have to quit.”

                “Why?” Chris asked, ducking his head so she wouldn’t see his reaction to the comment.

                “Because, you in love . . .  uh, I just can’t.”  There was no way she could really explain no matter how much she wanted to.

                “Nothing’s going to change Meghan.  I won’t treat you any differently and you don’t have to treat me any differently.”  He reached for her hand and she let him cling to it though she knew that wasn’t going to help the situation.

                “But I do, because you’re stupid confession just brings feelings that I didn’t even know I had, to the forefront.” She put her head between her hands as she tried to think.

                “Are you saying you lo . . .  well, want something between us?” he asked her, his breath caught in his throat.

                “No, I’m saying I should go away so that nothing happens between us,” she said, her head popping up at his suggestion.

                “Why?  God, Meghan, you and I would be amazing,” he told her catching her hand in his and gripping it closer to him.

                “I can’t,” she whispered.

                “Why not?” he asked, his other hand moving up to cup her cheek and stroke her cheekbone with his thumb.

                “It scares me.  I just . . .  you’re someone I could fall in love with and that’s, well it’s just scary,” she told him with a shaky voice.

                “I’m scared too Meghan, that’s what falling in love is all about.  But isn’t it better to be scared together?”

                “It’s better not to be scared at all,” she told him, letting her eyes meet his for the first time since his confession.

                Chris looked at her with sorrowed eyes.  What was he supposed to answer to that?  What was he supposed to do? He let go of her hand and let his palm reach up for her cheek like the other one.  Then he lightly gripped her and brought her to him to plant his lips on hers for what might be the most important kiss of his life.

                Meghan wanted to resist, she really did.  But she couldn’t, it felt too right, too nice and too promising.  She felt herself give in to him and didn’t even stop herself from opening her mouth to his tongue that swept across her teeth and played with her own tongue.  She felt herself become jelly in his arms and as much as she wanted to resist, she simply couldn’t.

                “Meghan,” Chris whispered as he held her head between his hands, “don’t run away from something that could be so good because you’re scared. Please, don’t do that to us.”

                She took a deep, shaky breath before she looked up at him with tear filled eyes.  “I’ll call around and see if I can find a replacement before I leave.”

                Then she was gone.

 

                The drive back to the hotel could most accurately be described as tense.  Kelly was wringing her hands after having spent an evening worrying about what everyone in the room was saying about her or would read about her the next day in the paper.  JC had been nervous about his plan to propose and while he told Christalee many times that nothing was wrong, she could feel his nervousness and it only made her nervous.  Lance was nervous because he could feel the tension all around, and Leslie was nervous because she knew she was causing the tension.  Meghan had left earlier, and that only made Chris tense and angry with himself.  The only people that didn’t seem effected were Sam and Justin who had been trying to flirt without looking like they weren’t flirting all night and really only managed to want to jump each others bones even more.

                When the car stopped, they all got out quietly.  There were no words in the lobby, there were no words in the elevator and there were no words as they all headed down the hall.  Kelly was finally the first to break the silence when Joey grabbed her hand and began to lead her past Jenny, one of the hairstylist’s room.

                “Joey, are you forgetting something?  Like your daughter maybe?” she asked, tugging him back toward the room where they’d dropped off Brianna before they left that night.

                “No, JC and Christalee are going to take her for the night,” Joey told her as he continued to pull her in the other direction.

                “Why? Joey, what’s going on?” Kelly asked as he closed the door to the room behind him.

                He didn’t say a word, he simply moved toward her and reached out for her.  His arms wrapped around her and his lips found hers.  She forgot her protests and melted into him.  The comfort was broken however, when Joey’s fingers reached for the thin straps of her dress and started to drag them down her arms.  Kelly tensed against him and tried to move away slightly.

                “Joey?  Why don’t we . . .  let’s maybe close the light first, okay?” she asked, already heading toward the light switch.

                Joey caught her in his arms before she could get too far and pulled her back against him, her back crashing with his chest.  His lips worked the skin of her neck and he managed to lower her top despite the fact that she was wiggling against him.

                “Joey, this is really making me uncomfortable,” Kelly insisted.

                “Shh,” Joey whispered against her ear.  “You’re beautiful Kelly.  I love your body and I haven’t gotten to see it in so long.”

                She was so busy trying to believe his words that she didn’t notice when he managed to peel the rest of her dress away from her body and let it drop to the floor.  She did notice, however, when she felt his hands on the bare skin of her body.

                “Joey, this is making me feel really uncomfortable,” she told him as her body shivered against his. “Besides, we have to go get Brianna.”

                “JC and Christalee are taking Brianna for the night.” His lips paused only long enough to give her the information before they once again went to work on her neck.  His hands took their time to feel every inch of her body, to reacquaint himself with her.  It had been a while since Joey had been home for a long period of time and longer still since Kelly hadn’t felt shy about her body, and now that he thought about it, he could barely remember the last time he really got to enjoy Kelly, and really got her to enjoy them.

                “Joey, let’s just go to bed,” Kelly dissuaded, grabbing for his hands to move him in the bed’s direction.

                “Kelly, you’re beautiful baby.  I love your body.  And I love you.  And there is no one I would rather be with doing this than you.”  Joey spun around as he spoke so he could face her and look her in the eyes as he confessed.

                “Joey, I’m not . . .  perfect, I’m . . . ” she tried to find the words to express herself but nothing was coming.

                “Neither am I Kel,” Joey told her as he started walking her backward toward the bed.  “But you’re perfect for me.”

                It all sounded a little corny to her, but it also sounded really nice and the part of her that believed the latter took over as Joey’s lips once again looked for hers.

 

                “I am going to kill Chris!” Christalee exclaimed as she watched Brianna hope on the hotel bed.

                Brianna’s “Uncle Chris” had been “kind” enough to give her some sugar filled candy before she was swept away by Christalee.  Unfortunately for the babysitters, the candy had already been eaten and was now taking effect.  As adorable as Brianna usually was, she had taken to trashing the room like a true rock star and was very deftly eluding Christalee’s grasp every time the older woman tried to get some kind of hold on her.

                JC wasn’t being any help at all.  He sat in the corner, trying to think of a way to propose to Christalee.  He wanted everything to be perfect and so far, nothing was coming to him.  He was so busy with his thoughts, that he barely registered the fact that Brianna kept bringing him random things.  So far, he’d collected a pillow, a magazine, a bottle of perfume and the remote control, all of which he’d mechanically thanked her for, then set beside him.

                “Here you go Uncle JC,” Brianna said as she gave him a new toy and ran off again before Christalee could catch her.

                “Thank you Brianna,” he called after her.  Joey and Kelly were trying to teach the kid manners, so he was doing his small part.  He looked down at his newest present.  His eyes practically popped out of his head when he realized what she’d handed him.  There in his hands was the little velvet box that held the wedding ring he was hoping to put on Christalee’s finger.  He’d left it in his overnight bag, not wanting the weight on his shoulder or the bulge in his pocket.

                JC looked up from his thoughts and couldn’t help the laugh that erupted when he noticed how harried Christalee looked and how happy Brianna was, singing as she jumped on the bed.  This was nice, this was perfect.  This was what he wanted.  He wanted this with Christalee and their own children.  This is why he was asking her to marry him.

                He laughed and walked toward her.  He took hold of her hands and moved her slightly so that she would be facing him and have her back to the chaos Brianna was causing.

                “Marry me,” he said quietly.  It was a question and a statement at the same time.

                “What?” Christalee asked, her brain unable to process what he was saying as she worried that Brianna would fall from the bed and crack her head open or something.

                “Tee,” JC said as he turned her head to look at him.  He laughed again as Brianna tried to do some kind of somersault or something on the bed. “I want this with you.  All the chaos and the craziness and those big smiles like Brianna is wearing right now.”

                Christalee still didn’t understand as she watched him standing in front of her.  Finally, something in her brain kicked in as he slowly lowered himself onto one knee and opened a ring box to her.

                “Marry me?”

                She stood there shocked.  She’d honestly had absolutely no idea that he was even thinking about marriage.  Her eyes watered and her throat clogged as she saw him there, offering the rest of his life to her.  She tried to speak, but couldn’t get anything past the frog in her throat, she breathed in deeply, sniffled and then with a very croaky voice, she spoke.

                “Yes,” she told him.

                He jumped up from his spot on the ground and wrapped his arms around her, bringing his lips to hers.  They were in the middle of the kiss when they felt little hands tugging at their clothes.  Both looked down to see Brianna extending her arms to them.

                “Me too, me too,” she asked, hoping up and down, her hands closing into little fists and opening again rapidly.

                JC reached down and picked her up.  He held her against them and Christalee wrapped one of her arms around Brianna.  The little girl in turn wrapped her arms around their necks and brought them in for a big hug.

 

                Lance stared up at the ceiling quietly.  He had no idea how it had happened, but somehow, Leslie had become his date for the night.  It wasn’t like he minded the situation, but he did feel a little tension, all right a lot of tension, coming from Meghan’s direction whenever he was near her, and he couldn’t help but wonder if she was going to get mad enough to rip his head off at any moment.

                He couldn’t remember having done anything wrong, but then again the woman hung around Chris all day every day, you couldn’t expect her to be completely logical.  Lance searched the back of his mind to find what it was that he had, or perhaps hadn’t done that could possibly piss Meghan off to this extent.  His thoughts were interrupted when the door to his room opened.  He didn’t bother to move his head, expecting however had just walked through the door to talk when they wanted to make their presence and identity known.

                Lance was wrong.  The person that had entered the room had absolutely no intention of saying anything.  Instead, they sat on the bed next to him and waited for him to shift his head.  When that didn’t happen, they moved on to plan B.

                Leslie leaned down and planted her lips on Lance.  She worked her lips against his until he got over the initial shock of the contact and joined her mouth in the activity.  Leslie let her tongue sweep against his lips quickly before she peeled away from him.

                “Hi,” Lance said hesitantly.

                “Hi,” Leslie answered with a small smile.

                “What are you doing?” Lance asked, still completely perplexed as to what was happening.

                “Something I’ve wanted to do for a while now,” she answered shyly.

                “Good,” Lance whispered.  He leaned up from his pillow and let his lips meet hers again, his tongue peeking out this time to better taste her.  He then watched as she lay down next to him on her side so she could watch his reaction. She was dressed in her pyjamas and her hair had been let down so she could sleep more comfortably.  “Are you staying for the night?”

                “Yes,” she whispered honestly as she snuggled into the pillow beneath her head.

                “Good,” he told her, wrapping his arm around her waist and bringing her closer to him.  All thoughts of Meghan being mad at him, and actually all thoughts of anything that wasn’t Leslie, quickly drifted away.

 

                “I am not scared!”

                Chris looked up from the papers he was going through.  That had been quite an entrance if he did say so himself.  The door had been flung open and Meghan had burst in without warning, simply screaming the sentence out at him.  Very nice, very dramatic, very his style.  He refused, however, to let her see how impressed he was.

                “Sure you’re not,” he answered dubiously, his head already looking back down at his papers.

                “I’m not! If I were scared, would I be here right now?”

                “I’m not saying you’re not stubborn,” Chris told her, “I’m saying you’re scared.  There’s a difference.”

                “I am not stubborn and I am not scared, I just…” she hesitated, looking at him sitting there across the room.  Slowly, she walked closer to him until she was hovering above his seated form.  She looked at him, looked at the door, looked at him again and then looked at the window as if she was searching for some kind of exit. “I just don’t know how to handle this.”

                Before Chris could answer her, before he could even realise what she’d said, Meghan placed her hands on either side of his face and brought him close enough to her so she could kiss him, good and hard.  She pressed her lips against his for some time and when she was satisfied she pulled him away from her. Chris sat there in shock for a minute, his tongue passing over his lips and tasting the remnants of Meghan as he tried to figure out what was the correct reaction to what had just happened.

                “You’re scared that I’m going to hurt you,” Chris told her as he rose from his seat, slowly as if he were hunting a skittish animal.

                “Terrified,” she admitted to him.  He was coming closer and she could see that, but for some reason she couldn’t move away from him.  Her only hope was to explain herself enough that he wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize the tightrope walking act her heart was doing at the moment. “I hate that I love you.”

                “Isn’t that an oxymoron?” Chris asked cheekily.  “You know, when a sentence isn’t really possible because-”

                “Shut up Chris,” Meghan laughed as she grabbed him again for another kiss.

                “Are you staying here tonight?” Chris asked after he’d managed to tear himself away from her lips and catch his breath. His fingers wove through her hair and he wondered how he could possibly have known her so long without feeling its texture before.

                “That depends.  Are you going to be talking all night and keeping me up?” Meghan asked, her arms around his neck and her forehead pressed against him.

                “Unless you can find something more useful for my lips to do,” Chris teased, his nose nuzzled against the skin of her neck now.

                “I’m sure I can think of something,” Meghan answered.

 

                “Our friends have the suckiest love lives,” Sam whispered to Justin in the dark as they lay with their arms around each other.

                “Oh yeah, cause you and I have the perfect relationship and all,” Justin answered sarcastically.

                “Shut up,” Sam hissed as she slapped his arm.  He moaned in pretend pain and made her giggle.  “We do have the perfect relationship.  We’re together.”

                “You’re absolutely right,” Justin agreed as he laid a kiss on her forehead, “for now.”

He groaned again when he felt another smack, but was soon practically purring contently when Sam snuggled against him and he could feel her drifting away in sleep.

 

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