Justin pulled up to the hotel and looked around for the computer store girl. She wasn’t there; did he tell the cabby the right hotel? Sometimes they traveled so much that he didn’t know where he was. He sighed and went up to his suite. All of the guys were there. Justin walked in and flopped down in the couch.
“What’s the matter, Curly?” Joey asked
“Nothing, just that I think I sent some poor girl I met at the computer store to a random hotel.”
“What? On purpose?” Chris asked.
“No! I wanted to talk to her more and she wanted to take a taxi so I told the cabby to send her here so that I could see her again. But she’s not here so I don’t know if I sent her to the right hotel.”
“Wait, wait, wait,” Chris said. “ You mean there is some poor girl at some random hotel in Vegas stranded? I don’t think she’ll want to see you any time soon man. Good going Einstein.” Chris said laughing.
“Yeah laugh it up, real funny. I feel just terrible.” Justin said putting a hand over his eyes.
“Well if this girl is smart enough not to get in a car alone with you I think she’s smart enough to get back to her hotel just fine.” Joey said joining in Chris’s laughter.
“It’s not funny you guys, now I won’t see her again.” Justin sulked.
“Geez what’s so special about this girl.” Lance asked.
“I don’t know.” Justin responded. “She acted normal towards me like she didn’t know me and all I know is that I want to see her again, just to talk to her.”
“I know what you mean, there was this absolutely gorgeous girl at the gym this morning, but at least I know that she’s staying at this hotel. Where, I don’t know, but at least I have it narrowed down farther than all of Las Vegas.” Joey said.
“Good for you, but that doesn’t help me, now does it.” Justin said almost yelling at Joey.
“You guys, chill, don’t get into a fight over this.” JC said getting up from the living room to get something to drink. He looked at the clock, it was 6:00pm. Just thinking about the dinner with Emma made the butterflies start going again in his stomach. He couldn’t believe he was this nervous over a date, but then again for some reason Emma was different.
“Hello-o, JC, come to earth, JC.” Chris was standing there waving a hand in front of JC’s face.
“Huh? What?” He said dropping out of his thoughts. He pushed Chris’s hand out of the way. “What do you want?”
“Dude, get your head out of the clouds and join us.” JC rolled his eyes at Chris and went back to the group. Lance was talking about some girl he had met in the elevator today.
“She was so nice and sweet, it was such a change from the usual screaming fans.”
“Here, here.” Joey said raising his glass to Lance. “Don’t get me wrong I love our fans and everything but it’s just nice to meet someone who doesn’t scream when you meet them.”
“Yeah, I met this girl in the lobby who I thought was a huge bitch,” Chris said. “But she turned out to be really funny and nice. Trust me she is one girl who I wouldn’t mind screaming at me, because she looks damn good when she screams.” They all laughed.
“But Lance you already have a girlfriend.” Justin said.
“I know, but it doesn’t mean I can’t make a new friend.” He answered.
“Oh whatever!” Joey exclaimed.
“Hey are you saying that I can’t be friends with a girl just because I have a girlfriend?” Lance asked.
“Not that kind of friend.” Joey answered. “ I’d think your girlfriend would get a little pissed.” Lance looked at him with a puzzled face and then it dawned on him.
“I didn’t mean that! I meant as an actual friend. Jeez, I’m not as horny as you are Joey.” He said as he threw a pillow at him.
Joey ducked as he said,
“Well that because you already have a girlfriend and you get action on a regular basis.”
“And you don’t?” Chris retorted teasing Joey about his flirtatious attitude. Joey started to wrestle with Chris. Justin jumped in on it and Lance who tried to stay out of it got pulled in anyways. JC just stood back and laughed at the guys. Once they were done they watched TV for a while until JC noticed the time.
“Oh my god! It’s 7:30! I have to get ready!” He ran into his room and frantically began stripping to take a shower.
“Ready for what? You got a hot date or something?” Chris screamed from the living room. JC ran out passed them in just a towel. Justin whistled.
“Yeah, I’m having dinner with that girl met, Emma, at 8.” He ran into the shower and took the quickest shower possible. He ran back passed the guys to get dressed.
“I think this is the fastest I’ve ever seen him move.” Justin commented. From inside the room JC yelled,
“Can one of you guys get someone to get flowers for me? No, wait, forget it, I don’t have time for that.” Thank god he had picked out the outfit he was going to wear. He threw on boxers and his gray pants, then a blue dress shirt leaving it untucked and the top button undone. Joey walked in while he was frantically trying to get ready.
“So when do we get to meet this girl?” JC quickly did his hair and looked in his bag for his black coat.
“Well, if this date goes the way I hope, then I’ll introduce you.”
“And if it doesn’t?” Joey asked.
“Let’s not think about that, okay?” JC pulled out his coat and shook it out. ‘Good no wrinkles.’ He thought to himself. He slipped it on, sat down and put on his black shoes and slapped in some cologne, he stood before Joey.
“Okay, how do I look?” Joey smiled,
“Like a pimp.” JC rolled his eyes and laughed.
“Really, how do I look?”
“You look great, JC. Hell you look so good, if you don’t get lucky tonight with Emma, maybe when you get back, you and I…” Joey said laughing. JC punched him in the arm.
“Sicko.” He smiled at Joey.
“Good luck tonight.” Joey said.
“Thanks” JC looked at his watch,
“It’s almost 8, I should go and pick her up.” They walked out into the living room. A whistle came from the couch. It was Chris,
“Looking good, Spanky!”
“Aow, Aoow.” Came from Justin and Lance.
“Do you want me to call up the limo for you so you’re not as late picking her up?” Joey asked.
“Yeah, call up the limo. I’m picking her up right now and I want the limo waiting for us.”
“Huh? She lives in this hotel?” Joey asked picking up the phone.
“Yeah she lives right down the hall actually.” The boys looked at him; JC left and quickly walked to Emma’s door. The butterflies were madly flying in his stomach. He wasn’t this nervous even before shows. He knocked on her door. The boys were peeking around the wall that separated their hallways. Emma opened her door and smiled.
“Hi.” She stepped out into the hallway, all of the guys’ jaws dropped.
“That’s my elevator girl!” Lance said.
“That’s my gym girl!” Joey said.
“That’s my computer store girl!” Justin said.
“That’s my lobby girl!” Chris said. They looked at each other with puzzled looks.
“You mean-.”
“Your girl is-.” They all said to each other in a big jumble, they were all flabbergasted that they all had met the same girl.
“You look stunning.” JC managed to get out, not being able to take his eyes off of her. Emma was wearing a fuchsia, ruffled edged, diagonally cut skirt that flitted about her knees. Her top was a black, sleeveless shell made of a flowing fabric and hung loosely around her neck. Emma spotted the quartet behind the wall starting at them. She recognized all of them immediately; she waved and winked with a smile on her face. JC looked embarrassed.
“Those are my friends.”
“They’re cute, but they don’t look as good as you do.” JC blushed.
“Thanks.”
“So where are we going tonight, Mr. Chasez?” Emma asked as she took his arm. He smiled at her and walked with her to the elevator where the bodyguards were waiting.
“Well first I thought we stop at McDonald’s and-” she laughed and pushed him.
“Jerk, really.” He smiled mischievously.
“It’s a surprise.” She smiled back.
“Good, I like surprises.” The guards escorted them into their limo.
“JC?”
“Yeah, Emma?” She whispered into his ear.
“Are these guys gonna be with us all night?” Referring to the bodyguards. JC whispered back.
“Not with us, with us, they’ll be around but you won’t notice them, don’t worry.”
JC took her to a small Italian restaurant; they had a table in the corner away from the hustle and bustle of the main floor.
“So this is your idea of McDonald’s, interesting.” JC smiled at her,
“Do you like Italian food?”
“Mmm, I love it. It’s probably my favorite. But then again I love most types of food.”
“Great than I made a good choice.” He held out the chair for her to sit in. Once they were seated a waiter came over with menus and a wine list.
“Would you like some wine?” JC asked her.
“Yes, please. I love wine, white especially.” JC just stared at her; she had to be the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her eyes were mesmerizing, he loved the way they sparkled ever time she became excited over something.
“Great.” He ordered a bottle and then ordered their food. While they waited for their food JC asked about Emma family.
“So do you have a big family?” he asked.
“No, my family is kind of small, just me and my two brothers.”
“What about your parent’s?” He asked. Emma looked down into her lap.
“They died when I was fifteen.” She said quietly. It was still hard for her to talk about her parent’s death. She was always very close to them and talking about them just made her miss them that much more.
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.”
“It’s okay.”
“What about aunt’s, uncle’s, grandparent’s?”
“Oh, well I have grandfather who lives in West Chester, NY. An uncle who lives in New York City, and one of my uncle’s disappeared when I was nineteen.”
“He disappeared? On his own?”
“No one really knows. One day he up and left. He was there in the morning and when I got home that night he was gone. No note, none of his things were missing, nothing.”
“Wow, and the police couldn’t find him?”
“I had a feeling that he didn’t want to be found. So I never tried.” Emma shrugged her shoulders. “I hear from him every now and then, through e-mail, a voice-mail, a package in the mail.”
“Wow.” JC said. Emma became very quiet and looked around the restaurant. A waiter broke the awkward silence when he brought over the bottle of wine. The waiter poured both of them glasses and then left the bottle. JC lifted his glass.
“Let’s have a toast.” Emma raised her glass to his.
“Okay, to what?” She asked.
“To meeting wonderful new people.” He said.
“To meeting wonderful new people.” She toasted back. At that point their food arrived.
“Hmm, I’m starving. I haven’t eaten all day.” Emma said digging in.
“Mmm, me too. I was too nervous about tonight to eat.” JC agreed. Emma smiled quietly.
“So was I.” Their eyes met across the table.
“But, I’m not nervous now.” She finished.
“Neither am I.” JC agreed. There was a quiet silence between them. Emma quickly found a subject to talk about.
“So what is it that you do, Mr. Chasez? I’ve been dying to know.” JC looked at her, she really didn’t know who he was. He was amazed; it wasn’t everyday that you found someone who didn’t recognize him or his band mates.
“I’m a singer. My friends and I are in a group called *NSYNC. We’re on tour right now, but we had a few days vacation to relax.” He said.
“Really? That’s so neat, tell me more about it.” JC chatted on about the tour and their new album that they were working on. Emma just stared at him, barely listening to a word he said, lost in his eyes. He was right she didn’t even know that the bodyguards were there. One conversation led to another and before they knew it the restaurant was closing. JC looked at his watch,
“Oh gosh it’s 2 am! The time really flew!” Emma smiled back,
“Yes, it really did. But you know what? I’m not really tired yet and I don’t want to go home yet. How about you?”
“Not a bit. Would you like to go for a walk?”
“That sounds lovely.” Emma took his arm that he held out for her. They walked about the main strip of Las Vegas; ever so often girls who wanted to get an autograph from JC would stop them.
“Oh my god, I can’t believe it’s you!” A young girl screamed. Emma whispered in JC’s ear, “Follow my lead.”
“Honey,” Emma said to the young girl, “What are you talking about, why are you so excited to see my husband?” The girl gave her a strange look, JC gave and equally strange look at Emma.
“I didn’t know you were married.” She looked disappointed. Emma turned and looked at JC with a smile.
“Are you doing something that I don’t know about, Mr. Jones?” The light bulb went on in JC’s head.
“Why of course not Mrs. Jones. I don’t know what the girl is talking about.” He shrugged his shoulders. The girl was now more confused than ever.
“But aren’t you, you have to be, are you? You’re JC from Nsync right?” Emma and JC burst out in laughter.
“That’s a new one honey. I don’t think you have ever been mistaken for a pop star.” The young girl was embarrassed.
“I’m so sorry, I was just so sure that you were JC from Nsync.” JC smiled at the young girl.
“Don’t worry about it. In fact you’ve made my night!” The young girl smiled back.
“Okay, well, bye!” She ran off into the crowd.
“Bye!” Emma and JC waved back and laughed to themselves and then kept up calling each other Mr. and Mrs. Jones for a while. JC wanted to get closer to her, but he felt a resistance from Emma. They walked past a flower stand where JC went and bought a beautiful rose for Emma. The bottom of the bloom was a bright yellow and it turned into a deep fuchsia at the ends of the petals.
“Oh, It’s so beautiful, thank you JC. I’ve never seen anything like it!” She smelled the rose and smiled at JC.
“I’m glad you like it.” JC reached to hold her hand, but she quickly slid her hand up to his elbow and strung her arm around his. JC couldn’t figure Emma out. It was like there was an imaginary line that he couldn’t cross no matter what he did. He liked Emma so much. She was everything he had ever wanted in a woman. Emma was sweet, kind, down to earth, she had the greatest sense of humor, and honest. He felt like he could tell her anything and she wouldn’t judge him. Emma noticed JC’s faraway stare.
“What are you thinking about?” She asked him. He glanced down at her and smiled, she was so gorgeous.
“I’m thinking about how much I’m enjoying tonight.” Emma shyly smiled back.
“Me too.”
JC spied a photo booth and dragged Emma over, “Hey let’s get our pictures taken!!” Emma ran right along, they had fun making funny faces for the camera and then they made fun of themselves in the pictures. Emma was having the night of her life; they acted like little kids in a candy store. They were running from casino to casino winning money here and losing it just as fast. Time flew by and soon it was five am. JC looked at his watch and slapped his forehead.
“Oh my god! It’s five am!!”
“Really?” Emma asked excitably. “Great we’ll be just in time!” JC looked quizzically at her. She pulled his arm and he followed. They went back to their hotel and now JC was really confused, but Emma urged him on.
“C’mon, Josh, trust me.” Her sparkling, emerald eyes won him over and he followed like a little puppy. They took the elevator to the floor right beneath theirs and then took the stairs to the roof. Emma ran out onto the roof and spun around with her arms stretched out and said,
“Isn’t it beautiful, you feel like you are on top of the world!” JC looked around and agreed, she was right, you could see the entire city form this point and it was completely amazing. Emma came over to him,
“But you haven’t seen the show in Vegas yet.” She led him to a small metal platform that was shaped like a bench. It made a seat perfect for two.
“Here, sit, and watch.” Emma pointed off the side of the building. JC looked in the direction of her hand. The sun was just beginning to rise, setting its rays over the city making it sparkle like nothing he had ever seen before. They both sat and watched it rise.
“Wow,” JC said quietly.
“I know.” Emma whispered back, “It’s amazing, isn’t it?”
“You were right.” JC said.
“Huh?” Emma replied.
“It is the best show in Vegas.” They sat there for a while in silence just looking out into the city.
“What are you thinking about?” JC asked.
“Oh nothing. Just how beautiful the world is.” She answered back with a sigh.
“I know what you mean.” JC said staring at her. Emma looked at her watch.
“Oh, it’s 6:30 am!” JC shook out of his trance.
“You’re kidding.” JC said looking at his watch. “I guess time flies when you’re having a great time.”
“I guess so.” Emma replied as she got up from the platform.
“C’mon you should get some sleep. You probably have some big show to put on, Rock Star.” JC laughed at her comment.
“No, actually, I don’t, I have it off. But I have a show tomorrow night.” He thought for a minute and then said.
“Hey would you like to go? I kind of have an in with the group. I can get you great seats, front row.” He wiggled his eyebrows at her. She laughed.
“What, no backstage passes?” She asked sarcastically.
“I’ll have to see, but no promises.” He joked back. They walked down to their suites and stopped in front of Emma’s door.
“Thanks for the great night.” She said.
“Yeah, well, thanks for the great morning.” He replied. Emma smiled,
“You’re welcome.”
“So…” JC started looking into her eyes unable to tear himself away. Their faces were less than five inches away.
“So…” Emma said as JC leaned in a bit closer. Alarms went off in Emma’s head and she pulled back quickly and said,
“So, maybe I’ll see you around, okay?” JC looked disappointed.
“Yeah, well, if me and the guys are doing something later you wanna come along?” JC asked hopefully.
“I’d like that. Well,” Emma said as she opened her door, “Good night, Mr. Jones.” JC laughed and took her hand and kissed it.
“Good Morning, Mrs. Jones.”
“Bye.” Emma said as she waved and closed the door. Emma couldn’t wipe the grin off her face. Her heart was pounding and she floated all the way to her bed where she fell fast asleep.
JC floated all the way back to his suite. It was nearly 7 am, he bet they guys were still sleeping, especially Justin. If he could just slip into his room unnoticed-
“Hey! Mr. Chasez! Do you know what time it is?” Chris yelled. All four of the boys were sitting on the couch with their arms folded in front of them. JC stuttered,
“Um, Well, I…” Joey stood up with a stern look on his face.
“Hmm, let’s see, he’s wearing the same clothes that he was last night so I assume you didn’t get up early for breakfast, so I think…” Suddenly Justin jumped up and started dancing,
“JC got some booty. JC got some booty. JC got some boo-ty!” JC chucked a pillow at him.
“Shut up. I didn’t get any ‘booty’.” He went into the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water and began to drink it.
“Then why didn’t you come home last night? Where were you?” Joey asked. JC turned with a smile on his face,
“Out on a date, remember?” They couldn’t believe his nerve. Joey tried again.
“So, I’m guessing that it went well then, right?” JC smile widened,
“Yeah, you can say that.” And without another word he into his room and shut the door.