| JC rolled over and reached for Kelci, but she wasn't there. Slowly he forced his eyes to open and the clock read 12:15. He sighed and trudged to the bathroom, scratching as he went. He returned a moment later and pulled his jeans on then stretched back across the bed, wondering where she could be. He tried her cell phone, but only got her voice mail so he hung up. "Lookin' for me?" her cheerful voice asked from the doorway at his back and he turned to face her, standing immediately. "Yes. Where were you?" "Awe, don't pout. I had to pick up my outfit and I had a manicure. It had been a while and my nails looked like crap. Did you miss me?" "Mmmhmmm... come here you." She giggled and almost skipped to him. He hugged her tight and she nuzzled his neck, her arms around his waist. "Um...Josh?" "Yeah?" "I talked to Rachel yesterday morning and she will be joining me in NYC. Would you...do you...will...would you like to come, too? I'd love it if you did. I already have a double suite with Rock and Gina's room next to ours and Rachel and I can bunk together," she rambled on and he chuckled slightly before forcing her to look up at him. "I would love to." "Really?" "Mmmhmmm," he grinned then kissed her lips tenderly just before his cell phone rang. "Grr! Lance." She laughed and took the phone to answer it," Hello there, Mr. Handsome Bass. How can I help you?" "Um...I..." "Awe. Have I flabbergasted you?" "Who IS this?" he asked, completely surprised at the female voice answering JC's phone. "Kelci. Would you like to speak to JC?" "Yes, please." She grinned and exchanged a quick kiss with JC before handing over the little phone. "Hey, buddy." "How the HELL did you manage to get her to talk to your sorry ass? Justin called and said ya'll were datin' but I didn't believe him," Lance stated. "Haha. I called, apologized and asked her to dinner." "And you're going to her premiere tonight?" "Yes and to the one in NYC on Friday." "Ooh! Hey, see if Lance is busy on Friday. Rach would just piss her pants," Kelci giggled as she hugged him from behind. "Who is Rachel?" Lance asked. "C's best friend. You got plan on Friday?" "Now I do. I'll be flyin' to New York." "Cool," JC laughed. "He's comin'? Very cool. Should I book him a room or will you two share?" Kelci asked. "We can share, right, Lance?" "Sure. Unless you're already hittin' that tight ass." "No." "OK, OK. Don't snap at me, Darth Vador." "Sorry. Is there a point to this call or were you just wanting to harass my ass?" JC asked and Kelci took the phone. "He does have a nice ass though, Lance, so I'd understand if you were," she laughed and he chuckled. "You are crazy. So tell me about this Rachel." "She's awesome, keeps me sane. She's a Senior in college majoring in Public Relations and she's such an incredible person. Very easy to talk to and...well..I think she's beautiful." "Very cool. I can't wait to meet her. Do you know what time your land in New York?" Lance asked, his voice full of excitement. "Um...ooh! Would you do me a lil' favor?" "Sure. What do you have in mind?" She gave him her idea and he was delighted to do it. She gave him the hotel information then handed the phone back to JC. He chatted for another 10 minutes then ended the call and turned back to her. "So, what's on your agenda now?" he asked. "Lunch with you...if you have time." "Absolutely. Where to?" "Know any good Chinese places?" "As a matter of fact, I do. Shall we?" "Yes, please," she grinned and pulled his face down for a not so short smooch, but still ended it before their tongues met. **************** "The limo is here," Tyler yelled and JC came pounding down the stairs, looking quite yummy. "OK. You two ready?" "Yes, sir," Jenn playfully saluted the older man and he laughed before kissing her cheek. "She's really got to you, huh?" "Yes, she has. He's all in knots," Tyler stated then took his girlfriend's hand as they headed out. "Hey, man. Thanks for coming," JC smiled as he shook Randy's hand and both headed to the limo. "No problem. Hey, Ty and Jenn. How are you?" "We're cool." JC pulled the door open and found Kelci on the phone. "Trust me, you'll thank me...He's cute...No, he's not a serial killer...Hold on a sec," she spoke into the phone then greeted her guests. "Hello. Come in...ooh, you look fantastic. Hi, Jenn. I'm Kelci." "I know....It's nice to meet you." "You as well. Rock, this is Tyler and Jenn and this is Rock, my security teddy bear. Hi, Josh." "Hi, you. You look lovely," JC smiled before kissing her quickly then taking her phone. "Hey, Rach." "Hi...um..JC?" "Yes. Are you giving Kelci shit about your date on Friday?" "Yes," was the weak answer. "Well...you shouldn't. He could literally be the man of your dreams." "JC!" Kelci squealed and took the phone back. "Rach, I should go. Trust me. It'll be fine." "Fine, but I'm bunking with you...unless it's Sexy Lance Bass." "Well...guess you should pack a sexy nighty." "Kelci," Rachel almost whined. "Good bye, Rach. See you tomorrow," Kelci laughed as she hung up the phone then turned to JC. "I really doubt you'll have to sleep with Lance. If it goes down like I think it will, they may just disappear all together." "Maybe," JC laughed. "OK. Sorry to have been rude there. How are you?" "We're OK," Tyler smiled and kissed Jenn‘s hand. "I...I honestly can't believe that it's you...I mean..." As Jenn rambled on about how much she'd enjoyed Kelci's other movies, JC took a moment to look his girlfriend up and down. She was dressed elegantly in a lavender sleeveless top that had a goose neck, a pair of tailored black dress pants, and open toed heels with gold on the design that perfectly matched the belly chain, thin gold bracelet, and necklace she wore. Her hair was swept up with little tendrils around the edges. Her make-up was simple, but that seemed to make her almost glow and her eyes sparkled. Finally Tyler got Jenn to stop gushing over Kelci. "Justin and Brit are just ahead of us," Randy informed as he closed his phone. "OK, cool. Now, Randy would you prefer to stay with JC and Kelci or escort Tyler and Jenn inside and return?" Rock offered, doing his job. "Which ever. You decide." "I need to be with Kelci." "OK." "So what do we do while you two are doing press?" Jenn asked. "Mingle with other people. Probably mostly crew members and stuff. There's going to be a huge buffet of appetizers and drinks. Sorry, but they'll card you," Kelci informed with her fingers laced with JC's. "Are you OK with the red carpet?" "I'll be fine. Just relax." The limo began to creep and all realized they were almost there. Butterflies filled Kelci's stomach and she squeezed JC's hand in both of hers. Her face was a little pale and her eyes jumped from one thing to the next. "C, you need to chill your happy ass out," Rock stated with a soft fatherly voice. "You'll be fine." She nodded and took a couple deep breaths before it was their turn to get out. Randy was the first out followed by Tyler and Jenn then Rock. JC climbed out and offered his hand. Kelci took it and stood. Slowly he leaned down to peck her painted lips and the fans went crazy. The smile on her face was priceless and she begged Rock to cross the street with her to sign autographs. He finally agreed and directed JC to stand with Justin, Britney, Rob and Lonnie. She got another smooch then headed off with Rock. Like a good girl, Kelci took Rock's hand as they crossed the street. The fans went crazy as she signed autographs and smiled for pictures. At one point, they had completely consumed her small frame and JC looked panicked, but relaxed when Rock made them stand back a bit. Justin's friendly hand on his shoulder helped to reassure him, too. "So, it's going OK with you two?" Britney asked. "Yeah. We have fun hanging out and we both feel that we can learn a lot from each other." "How's the sex?" Justin asked and Lonnie chuckled. "None of your business," JC replied evenly and watched Kelci and Rock head back toward them. "Thanks for coming," she smiled and hugged the younger two then took JC's hand. "Ready?" "Good luck and have fun," Justin smiled as he and Brit climbed the three stairs to the platform and their names were announced. "Breathe, C," Rock whispered and led her to the stairs. "Don't leave me, either of you," she stated without moving her lips, a huge sincere smile on her face. "Please welcome one of the stars for tonight....Ms. Kelci Andrews....and her escort, JC Chasez of NSYNC." JC winked at her, both wearing genuine smiles, and they headed down the steps. People magazine was the first stop and Kelci tried to hear the questions, but the photographers were yelling, trying to get her attention. They did pose for pictures with an arm around each other and smiling into each other's face. Kelci's small purse was hooked around her left wrist just above where her fingers held JC's right hand captive. At one point, she shifted her hand and the bag handles moved over to his wrist just before she released his hand to hug Lisa Kudrow of Friends and her co-star. "Nice bag," Lisa teased as JC held the lavender purse. "Awe, thanks. I thought it went well with my eyes," JC joked. All three laughed before they split ways and Kelci immediately reached for his hand again. "Usually Rock ends up with it," Kelci smiled as she stood close to JC and looked up at him as they waited to chat with Nancy O'Dell of Access Hollywood. "Not a problem if I can drop my wallet in there. Sitting on it throws my back out of whack." "Sure. Go ahead." "OK, C," he grinned and kissed her nose, flashes nearly blinding everyone. "Can I just say that you two are the cutest couple out here...all snugly, but not over doing it," Nancy interrupted politely. "Oh...uh...thank you, but it's mostly him," Kelci smiled and shook Nancy's hand. "Joining me now is on of the starts of tonight, Kelci Andrews and her...boyfriend. You look lovely tonight." "Well, thank you. How are you?" "I'm good, but not as good as you with this handsome young man on your arm." "Honestly,...it's still very new to us, but we're enjoying being together and doing things together." "And JC...have you seen this movie yet?" "No, but I'm a huge fan of hers and I can't wait to see it." "Isn't he sweet?" Kelci smiled and squeezed his hand. "How was it working with Lisa Kudrow and Chris O' Donnell?" "They are amazing actors and fantastic people so it was incredible fun. I learned a lot. Lisa even organized a softball game for all the crew and we had a field day." "I heard and I understand you got a pretty nasty bruise on your thigh when sliding into home," Nancy smiled. "I did and it still hurts so the martial arts stretches I'm staring make it ache if I move wrong." "Maybe you should rest for a couple of days and let it heal," JC proposed, wondering why she hadn't mentioned it. "It'll heal as I work. Don't worry," Kelci smiled and rubbed the back of his hand with her thumb. "JC, I think you'll have your hands full with this lovely woman. She seems to always be working," Nancy laughed and finished the interview. They headed down the line then into the theater where people seemed to bombard them. It was different for JC. Sure, he was used to sharing the spotlight and even taking a backseat to Justin, but this was out of his league. He was almost completely background and it stunned him at first. He watched her chat politely with older film personnel showing the utmost respect, then turned to joke with another, truly making them feel special. It didn't matter if the person was a producer or a set constructor, she knew how to handle each person. "Do I have something on my face? In my teeth?" Kelci asked quietly when Lisa was telling a story. "You're staring." "No, sorry. You're just amazing. You seem to find a niche with each person. It's incredible." She blushed slightly then spoke, "Are you OK? Is this too boring for you? Should we go find Ty and everyone? Would you like a drink? Some food?" "Shh...stop. I'm fine, but a drink would be nice." "OK, good. I'll go with you." Politely they excused themselves and headed over to the bar. Both ordered a glass of wine then moved to where his friends were, all a little overwhelmed. "How are ya'll doing?" Kelci smiled and slipped her left arm around JC. "Just takin' it all in," Britney stated. "And ya'll got enough to eat? Drink? Anyone you're dyin' to meet?" "C, chill out. We're fine," Tyler stated and everyone laughed. "We're not that high maintenance," Jenn smiled. "Well...Brit and Ju are, but they are each other's responsibility," JC joked. "Should we head to our seats?" "Sure," Kelci smiled and allowed him to lead her by her hand as the others followed. |