*******
If she had thought the foyer was breathtaking, Margot didn�t have a breath left in her lungs by the time their little tour of the house was over. Despite JC�s lame jokes and his constant need to call her Martha, after the queen of all homemakers, Martha Stewart, she had thoroughly enjoyed discovering the place she would call home for a while. The whole house was decorated with light colors and sailing memorabilia to go along with the fantastic view that could be seen from every window in the house. In all, the place had seven bedrooms, a bit much considering only two people were living there, but wonderful all the same. A few rooms were left behind closed doors and she still wondered what was hidden behind them, but figured she would find out soon enough.
Margot jumped slightly when she felt extreme cold on her right arm. She looked up to see JC handing a tall glass of iced tea to her.
�Thanks.� She smiled.
�You�re welcome.� He smiled back while sitting across from her at the dining room table. Margot took a sip of the cool liquid and her no longer parched throat screamed in gratitude. Her eyes rolled back in pleasure at the lemony sweet taste on her tongue. The corners of her mouth turned upwards and she closed her eyes. JC thought he detected a little moan.
�Jeez, I didn�t think it was that good. It�s just Lipton�s��
�It may be Lipton�s, but it is damn tasty.�
JC smirked at her while she took another drink from her glass. When her eyes stayed closed, JC let his own eyes wander. On the plane, she had been wearing a gray cardigan and blue jeans. That day he saw her outside the hotel, she�d been wearing some khakis and a blue button down shit. Now, she wore dark corduroys and a fitting white tank top. The neckline stopped just below her collarbone, revealing a long graceful neck. Her bare arms were thin, but surprisingly athletic. The mid-day sun shone a little brighter through the open balcony doors and silver glittered in JC�s eyes. He looked closer to see a thin chain. It was simple, no fancy metalwork, and no charms at the bottom. JC found himself curious about the significance of a chain. He was about to ask about it when her voice rang through the room.
�Josh?�
�Yeah?� his eyes stayed glued to the intriguingly austere piece of jewelry.
�Stop undressing me with those eyes of yours.� His eyes darted up to meet hers. His were the only ones to widen noticeably.
�I wasn�t undre-�
�Sure-� she stood up, lifting her empty glass from the table and slowly made for the kitchen. �And the sky�s not blue either.�
He looked in wonder at her back until she disappeared around the corner.
How does she do that? Act scared and innocent one minute, happy and playful the next, quiet and somber after that and then end up acting like a� a she-devil? Justin�s mood swings don�t even compare�
She amazed him. She intrigued him. She fascinated him.
JC propped an elbow on the table and put his head in his hand.
Admit it. You are completely infatuated with her.
He heard the faucet turn on quickly followed by a high shriek. He smiled when he heard her mutter to herself, something about �damn malfunctioning taps.�
I admit it. I am. How could I not be? She�s intelligent, witty, feisty, gorgeous, caring, interesting, adorable, intense, determined, hardworking, and laid-back, innocent, wise-
JC sighed loudly.
You are hopelessly infatuated. I told you not to do this. No matter how wonderful they may seem, they�re just going to burn you in the end.
But she wouldn�t! Margot�s not like that. She�s been burned herself. She knows what it�s like and she�s too kind to even think of returning the favor to anyone else.
Even still! You can�t just go around falling for every �kind� girl you meet!
I haven�t fallen for her!�yet�
And what happens when you do?
I�ll�tell her how I feel�
�It�s easier said than done to love�� take a hint from O-Town man! She�ll just break your heart!
No she won�t! You�re crazy!
Yeah well, you�re the one arguing with yourself�
�Whatever!� JC yelled. Feeling suddenly queasy, he held his head in his hands and tried to shake the feeling off. Margot�s questioning face peeked around the doorframe.
�Uh, you alright man?�
He looked up to see the worried look splashed across her delicate features. He felt himself smiling gently. The affect she had on him, even after little more than a week of being acquaintances was overwhelming. He nodded, answering her question, but when his lunch began threatening to come back up, he frowned and shook his head. She noticed this and walked toward him, placing a hand on his warm forehead.
�Josh, maybe you better lie down. We don�t want to have to race you to the emergency room on your first day of entertaining your guest.�
He gazed into her eyes and was glad he was sitting down for his knees inevitably would have given way had he been standing. Margot was genuinely concerned for the well being of her new friend. She had just met him a few days earlier but she already felt a bond with him. A bond she hadn�t felt since her little sister-
She frowned and cleared her mind while moving her hand around his face.
�You seem to have a bit of a fever. You should rest. I don�t want to play nurse maid to you the whole time I�m in California.�
He nodded, still looking into her eyes almost longingly. Margot shook her head and pulled on his arm until he stood up. She placed his arm over her small shoulders and wrapped her own around his waist. The two started towards the stairs. Once on the second level, JC stopped and looked down at her.
�Margot�� she looked up. �Why are you doing this?� he asked seriously.
�I don�t know.� She answered honestly. The feelings she was having toward him were scaring her. Exactly what those feelings were, she couldn�t really determine just yet. JC nodded, accepting her truth for now. She pushed his bedroom door open and wobbled over to his bed. Leaving him standing oddly at the foot of the bed, she walked to the thermostat and turned up the air conditioning. The fans came on almost immediately and when she turned around, her breath caught in her chest. JC had stripped of his blue t-shirt, leaving a thin white wife beater on to cover his toned chest and stomach. She closed her eyes, lifted her eyebrows and walked next to him to pull back the comforter. Margot forced herself not to dart out of the room when she heard his zipper. Standing away from him slightly, she regarded his hairy legs covered only by dark brown boxers. She grinned at him as he crawled onto his bed.
�Ok Chewbacca, sleep well and I�ll see you in the morning.�
He managed a sly smile and pointed a finger at her.
�Don�t be smug girlie, I plan on feeling better in the morning. And you, missy, are going down.�
She pushed his hand under the blanket and tucked him in a little tighter.
�Empty threats. Goodnight Joshua.�
�Goodnight Margot.�
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