HOW DO YOU KEEP THE MUSIC PLAYING?
©Mirandagk@aol.com
CHAPTER 31
As they got off the elevator and headed towards their room, Laura's heart began to beat faster and faster with each step. She knew that once they were inside the room, there would be no interruptions from his question. As JC opened the door he took the sign that was hanging on the handle and placed it on the outside door knob so that they would not be disturbed. He then walked over to the phone and told the front desk to not allow any calls for the rest of the evening.
He slowly walked over to Laura who was standing in the middle of the room and he took both her hands and entwined them with his own. "Please sit down." he said.
Laura sat down on the couch and watched JC's every move as he sat down on the edge of the coffee table in front of her. "Why are your hands shaking?"
"Umm...they're not." she said and she grabbed a throw pillow and held it in her hands to stop them from trembling.
JC smiled at the fact that Laura was so nervous. "I shouldn't even have to ask you this, but it seems that now I have no choice. I've been waiting for the answer to this question for a very long time now and I think that if I do not ask you now, I will never get an answer."
"What do you need to know, JC?" Laura asked as she looked down. She was ready to confess to whatever it was he was going to inquire about.
JC pushed her chin up lightly to meet his gaze. "Do you love me?"
"Of course I do!"
"Then why don't you ever say it?" he asked.
"I do say it..." she replied as she tried to remember back.
"No you haven't. I have been waiting to hear those words for the longest time now and still have yet to hear them from your beautiful lips."
She soon realized that he was right. She couldn't remember a time when she had ever told JC she loved him. He would say it to her all the time, but there was never a time when she uttered the same words back to him.
"I'm so sorry, JC." Laura said as she stood up and walked towards the window. "I've had a hard time lately saying things that are important to those I care about."
JC hung his head down before looking up at her. "You don't have to say it if you don't mean it, Laura. And if you don't I really wish you would tell me now."
Laura rolled her eyes at him. "You know I do, JC."
"Then tell me, Laura. I feel as though you do, but I need that reassurance. Hearing it and merely assuming it are two completely different things."
Tears began to roll down her cheeks as she listened to JC. The words were there, but they just didn't seem to want to come out. She mouthed the words as she began to cry harder. JC leaned down to be at eye level with her and held her face in his hands. "I see you saying it, but I can't hear you…Please tell me. I need to hear it, Laura…Please." He begged as he gently kissed her right cheek and then her left.
"They're just 3 words that I haven't been able to say in a very long time, JC. If you knew my life before this you would understand, but I just don't even want to think about it myself." Laura could see her reflection in the window. Tears were flowing down her cheeks as she tried to gain the courage to tell him how she really felt. She could see his reflection behind her, gently kissing her shoulder as he held onto her. "I…I love you JC." She cried as she turned and wrapped her arms around his neck. Afraid to let go, she tightened her grip. She could feel JC's arms around her back and soon felt her feet leave the floor as he spun her around quickly.
"Wooooo." He yelled aloud and he let out a deep sigh.
He placed her back down onto the ground as he kissed her forehead and then the tip of her nose as he worked his way down to her lips. They both began to kiss very passionately as if they needed one another's lips to survive. "God, I love you." He said in between kisses.
Laura felt like a big weight had been lifted from her shoulders and that for that one moment everything in her life was simply perfect.
"Damn...I want to make love to you so bad." he kissed down her neck. "But I am so pumped up right now! Let's go out somewhere." he begged.
"We can't do both?" Laura chuckled.
JC grinned. "Of course...But if I don't get out of this room and let some of this energy go, I'm afraid I may wear you out."
"Mmmmm....Sounds very interesting."
"Don't worry baby. As soon as we get back, you can trust that all I am going to want to do is make love to you all night." he smiled as he kissed her deeply.
They were both so happy and relieved that they agreed to go out and see what Vegas had to offer. JC took her on a tour of the night life in Vegas. They bumped into Joey at one of the casinos and gambled a bit before leaving to go club hopping. The drinks seemed to be flowing non-stop that evening as both JC and Laura lived on the wild side. Even if it was just for that night.
CHAPTER 32
Sunlight streamed through the opening in the curtains. Laura slowly opened her eyes and placed her hand on her head in pain. It felt like her brain was about to split wide open. She could hardly remember a thing from the night before. She went to turn over and could feel that she was naked beneath the white sheets. She turned and could see JC's naked body lying next to her. She smiled and soon glanced over at the clock and realized it was almost noon. JC had to be at rehearsals at around 7 pm that night and Laura decided not to wake him up and to let him get as much rest as he could.
She took a quick shower before slowly getting changed into her work out gear. Her head was pounding and her body was aching. She wrote down a little note for JC and put it by the phone as she lightly kissed his forehead.
~~~~
Laura stood at the front desk patiently waiting on the receptionist to see if there was an open slot for a body massage session in the Oasis Spa. "Yes, Miss. There is an opening. I can reserve it for you now with a credit card. Laura felt down to her stretch pants and realized she forgot her card upstairs.
"My apologies. I'm so hung over right now that I left it upstairs in my room."
"I can bill it to your room if you like."
"Could you please? That would be great. It's room 4880." she said as she handed to woman her key card to swipe in the machine for verification.
The clerk smiled as she swiped it through the computer. Her smile soon faded as she started to speak, "Ummm..Are you sure this is your room?"
Laura had been looking around at people who were walking through the hotel and hadn't been paying attention. "Oh...Well its my friends room. I'm staying with him while he is here."
"Who is your friend?" the woman asked discourteously.
Laura looked over at her with a puzzled look. "Well what does it tell you there in your computer?" Her head started to pound even more as she started to get pissed off at the girl behind the counter.
"Well I already know who the room belongs to. Why don't you tell me so that we are both clear on who you are staying with." she snapped back as she held the car key in her hand before placing it in a nearby drawer.
"What exactly are you trying to say..." Laura looked down at her name tag before speaking, "…Kelly."
The woman went to speak but noticed someone walking towards them. Laura didn't turn around to see where her attentions was directed. She stood there with her mouth open waiting for the girl to speak. "hellooo??"
Two hands went over Laura's eyes and two lips came close to her ear and said "Guess who."
Laura recognized the voice immediately and nonchalantly answered "Hey Chris."
The clerk stood there dumbfounded and Laura as Chris exchanged hello's.
"What's up?"
"Well, Kelly here is giving me a hard time about billing a massage session to JC's room." she pointed out.
The clerk quickly pressed a few keys and printed out a voucher and placed it on the counter. "Oh no, I was just processing your request through Ma'am."
Chris looked puzzled. "One of those again, huh?" he asked Laura.
Laura chuckled and nodded her head. The clerk was curious as to what they meant but was unable to ask. Laura and Chris went to walk away before Laura ran back over to the desk. "My key, please." she said as she put out her hand and patiently waited. The receptionist slowly went in the drawer and took out the key and handed it back to her with a disappointed look on her face. "Have a good day, Kelly." Laura said as she went to walk away.
Kelly frowned as she responded, "You also, Miss."
Chris talked Laura out of reporting the woman to management. She was too hung over to keep pondering over it and told Chris she would see him later as she headed towards the Oasis Spa for her massage and body wrap session.
She soon felt 50 times better than she had earlier in the day as therapist gave her their top rated River Stone Massage. It was a combination of a muscle massage that applies light to medium pressure while the entire body is oiled and massaged with warm stones. She then went on to get the Volcanic Salt and Honey Body Wrap. It is an exotic exfoliating mixture of red volcanic salt and pure honey is lightly massaged onto the body followed by a relaxing herbal wrap. She and another woman were getting there's done at the same time. The woman kept looking over at her as if she recognized her from somewhere. She seemed to be in her mid 40's. She looked rather stunning for her age. Her body was toned nicely and she seemed to have a great deal of money to throw around. The two women talked amongst themselves as they were lying there relaxing.
"Now I remember when I know you from!" the woman exclaimed.
Laura figured she had seen her on television one night at an awards show and smiled.
"I never got a chance to tell you congratulations."
"Thanks." Laura said as she closed her eyes.
After her spa session was over, Laura felt amazingly good. She quickly got dressed to go upstairs and mention the spa to JC so he could feel as good as she did after their wild night.
She walked passed the front desk and remembered that JC had canceled all calls for the night before. She walked over to see if there were any messages. The concierge came back over with a few pieces of paper with names and numbers written down and told her there was something else. As he went into the back, Laura stood there going through all JC's messages. The older woman she had talked to at the spa had also come over to pick up messages as well. The concierge came back out front with a flat manila envelope and a small padded envelope that he made her sign for.
"You and the gentleman looked so very much in love last night. It's the same way me and my Charlie felt about each other when we first got married 20 years ago...And we still feel that way. It's an amazing feeling that we experience once in a lifetime."
Laura was curious as to where the woman had seen her the night before, but brushed it off because she and JC had been all over town the night before. She smiled at her and congratulated her on 20 years and wished her 20 more wonderful years before heading off back to her room.
"I thought that you would still be in bed." Laura said as she entered the room and saw JC had ordered them a large breakfast.
"Pancakes, eggs, bacon, waffles? What's the big occasion?" she laughed.
"I'm hungry as hell and my eyes were bigger than my stomach when I was ordering." he smiled as he kissed her on her forehead.
"You had a few messages last night and this morning." she said as she handed him the papers. "You also got some package and what looks like a document in this one."
JC was busy trying to find the channel he wanted on TV and asked her to open the package for him and to see what was inside. As she opened it, a small envelope fell out and Laura placed the package on the table as she went to pick it up. She opened it and read the note out loud to JC:
Dear Mr. Chasez,
We greatly appreciated your business at our store last night and have sent over your order as per your specific request. We got them done within 3 hours instead of the 4 that we had quoted you. Please let us know that the merchandise is to your liking. We thank you very much in advance for your purchase. We hope that Mrs. Chasez will be pleased with it also. We wish you endless years of happiness and joy.
Sincerely,
Tiffany & Co.
BELLAGIO
JC pressed the off button on the TV as he turned around to face Laura. She stood there and read the letter again to make sure it was correct.
"What are they talking about?" JC asked as he stood up to get the padded envelope. He took out two small white velvet boxes with the Tiffany insignia on them. He slowly opened them up to find an engagement ring and wedding band in one box and a larger wedding band in the second box.
Laura sat at the table stunned. "Is this some type of joke?" she asked JC.
CHAPTER 33
"If it is, I wish someone would let me in on it." he said as he frantically tried to remember what happened the night before. He looked at the receipt and sat down at the table in shock. "$556,800.00! And that's definitely my signature on the receipt." he stated as he handed her the paper.
Laura was still in a state of disbelief. 'How could I not remember that?' she thought to herself. JC opened the flat manila envelope to check his mail. He began to mumble to himself and Laura looked towards him to see what he was talking about. He didn't say a word as he handed her the document.
Laura couldn't help but laugh. "Certificate of marriage? Hillpoint Wedding Chapel? How clichéd is this, JC?"
"What's so funny?" he asked with a confused look in his face.
"The one night that I decide to let myself go and be completely free, I wake up the next morning completely hung-over, naked, and married!" she laughed. "The woman downstairs was talking to me and congratulating me and I just assumed she was talking about my music, not my marriage."
JC smiled and attempted to laugh with her.
"What's the matter?"
JC placed the marriage certificate back on the table and looked up at her. "You think being married to me is that much of a joke?"
"Of course not, JC!" she exclaimed as she walked over to him. Laura slowly sat down in his knee and wrapped her arms around his neck, "I'm trying to make lemonade out of lemons here."
JC removed her hands and went to stand up. Laura caught her balance to keep from falling to the floor. "Okay that came out completely wrong." She said as she followed him over to the couch.
"Do you remember anything that happened last night?" he asked as he grabbed the two jewelry boxes off the table and held them in his hand.
Laura sat back and looked up at the ceiling trying to recollect what they did the night before. "I remember us going out and bumping into to Joey. We hit a few clubs, and after that I remember you saying something about walking home instead of catching a cab."
"Right." He agreed. "I remember walking by a wedding chapel in just about every corner we hit and we started to make jokes about it…." JC sat back on the couch and looked towards the ceiling.
"How can a person not remember their own wedding, JC?" She asked disappointedly.
"I don't know, Hun. We did have a lot to drink last night."
"Yeah, but you would think that it would be the most important time of your life. What type of people forget something like vowing their lives to one another?"
"It's not like we can't have it annulled." He said as he closed the ring box and placed them back on the table.
Laura brought her gaze from the ceiling back down to JC who was staring at the boxes on the table. "Do you want to have it annulled?"
JC turned his head to look at her. "Do you?"
"Don't answer my question with a question, JC. Do you or not?"
There was a long moment of silence before he answered her question. "No…I know that you are the only person I want to be with for the rest of my life." he stated as he turned to face her. "I can't picture finding anyone else on this earth that knows me better than you do..." JC lightly rubbed the back of his hand across her cheek as he looked deep into her eyes. "...Who can touch me the way you do. Someone who can make my heart beat a million times a second just with a smile. But if you don't want to, I can understand."
"You are not scared about what other people will say when they find out?"
JC knew that was coming. "What the fuck do I care about anyone else, Laura!?" he yelled as he stood up and raked his hands through his hair before turning around and facing her. "You're it for me. You're the only one I am worried about when it comes to that."
Laura desperately wanted to believe him. She stood up and walked over to him. "Are you sure, JC? Are you absolutely sure this is what you want?"
"Yes. And if it's not what you want, then we can go and get it annulled today if possible." He answered as he sat down at the table and began to grab a spoonful of eggs to put on his plate.
Laura stood there for a moment and watched him as he continued to pile on the food and started to eat. She looked down at the rings and back over at JC, who never looked up at her. She walked over to the coffee table and grabbed the two boxes and slowly walked back towards the dining table. JC continued to eat as she stood there. She sat down next to him and grabbed his hand and took it in hers. She took the larger band and was about to place it on his finger when she noticed the insignia on the inside. She looked up at him as she slowly slid it onto his finger and said, "Today I marry my friend."
He leaned in and kissed her gently on the lips. He opened the second box and took out the two rings and read the insignia inside of her band aloud. "Our song is never-ending." JC slowly slid the band on her finger and then the engagement ring and entwined her hand with his. Neither of them spoke as they stared into each other's eyes. All that could be heard with the clattering of their rings pressed together.
CHAPTER 34
"Heck of a performance man!" a voice rang out through the terminal.
JC smiled and waved at the man as he, Chris and Joey rode by on an airport security cart.
"So...JC..." Joey grinned like a Cheshire before speaking. "You know I was going to eventually ask right?"
JC let out a deep sigh.
"Ask What?" Chris questioned.
"About how he and Laura were playing tonsil hockey in the lobby the other night." Joey blurted out with a smile.
Chris' mouth dropped open, "They did!?"
"In front of a bunch of fans too. Laura walked up out of no where and just started attacking JC." he exaggerated.
JC rolled his eyes and Chris went on asking more questions. "Why wasn't I informed of this juicy gossip earlier?"
"Probably because it was non or your business." JC replied.
"When did this fling between the two of you start?"
"We've been seeing each other for a little while now, so I wouldn't call it a fling," he defended. "We're trying to see where it goes before everyone on earth finds out about it."
"What do you think Rachel will say?"
JC looked away as they continued to ride through the lobby. "I don't know." He had no idea how he was going to tell them he was married...He was mostly concerned about telling Rachel and as they rode down the tarmac he could not figure out why.
~~~~~
"Why you being so quiet?" Justin asked as he leaned forward and slapped Laura's knees. She had been sitting near the gate watching the planes taxi in and out of the terminal and got lost in her own daydreams.
"Oh..no reason. Just have a bit on my mind."
"You always do."
"Yeah and lately she has a bit in her mouth too." Lance joked as he winked at Laura.
Justin was confused and looked to him for answers. Lance quickly threw his hands up, "Don't ask me. I was only a mere bystander to the events of the other day."
"What happened the other day?" Justin asked.
Laura looked at Lance and nodded her head no.
"I'm afraid to say!" he joked.
Laura knew it would get out eventually and speedily said, "I went and kissed JC in the lobby the other day."
"So? What's the big deal?"
"This wasn't just a 'hello, good buddy, how are you' kiss. This was one of those 'lets go upstairs and cover a Marvin Gaye classic' type of kiss." Lance interrupted.
Laura chucked her orange at him.
"Seriously?" he asked as he whipped his head around to look at her.
"Lance is somewhat correct in his version. I don't think the kiss was as outrageous as he described though."
Justin felt slightly hurt. "I guess I was definitely barking up the wrong tree then, huh?"
"I wasn't dating him when you took me out. Laura said as she put her hand on his thigh. "Please don't be upset with me."
"I'm not." he said nonchalantly. "I knew that there was something more there. Both of you did a helluva job talking your way out of situations." he lightly punched her in the arm.
The cart soon turned the corner and Laura could see JC, Joey and Chris coming towards them. Justin glanced at his best friend and then back over at Laura who was smiling at JC. As they sat waiting for their plane, Laura and JC whispered back and forth to one another as the rest of the guys attention was focused on the television screen. "Should we tell them now?"
"Not yet." he said.
"Maybe we should have just worn our rings and let them figure it out on their own?"
"And then if someone from the press were to have been here with a camera the entire world would have figured it out too, hun."
"I was kidding JC...Damn...You're getting worse than me." she joked.
"Whatever you say. I'm just worried that they are going to find out from someone else and not us."
JC was about to comment but his cell phone interrupted them. "Hello?"
Laura could see JC's face scrunch up. "Oh, hey mom." Laura's eyes widened. "Well Laura is actually here with us, so that's why she probably wasn't there when you called her. She flew in and surprised everyone....Huh? Yeah mom, we're actually at the airport right now waiting to board the plane." JC squeezed her hand to help calm her fears. He stood up and paced the area as he continued to talk to his mother.
Laura put her feet up on the chair and cradled them as she watched and listened to JC. "...Well how about I stop by and see them on my way home? I need to come and talk to you about something anyway." he said, looking down at Laura. "Yeah, I'm okay. I just need to tell you something...No mom...I'm great...I'll tell you later when I see you okay? I love you too."
He plopped down in the chair and let his body slide halfway out as he blew out a sound of frustration. Laura grabbed his arm and pulled him up as she slid her arm under his and brought him closer to her. "Your mother is going to kill us!" she whispered.
"Me? No...Maybe you...For corrupting her baby boy." He joked. Laura pinched him in his side.
"When are you going to tell your mom?" he asked her. Her smile soon faded. "Soon…Why?"
"I want to clear my schedule so I can come with you. I never met your family yet. I've only spoken to your mom a couple times on the phone."
"There's a reason for that. She is rude." she replied.
"I honestly doubt that, Laura."
Laura wanted to tell him how wrong he was, but decided to leave that subject for another day. As they sat on the plane, JC kept bothering Laura about setting a date to tell her family so he could take the time off. After his endless rants, she finally grabbed the telephone at her side and pulled out a calling card.
"You calling her now?"
"Yeah. This way you will stop bitchin'!" she said angrily.
JC pushed the side of her head lightly before picking up a magazine. She sat nervously as she listened to the rings. The answering machine picked up and she waited for the beep. "Hello? Mom? It's me...Laura. I just wanted to see when you would be home so I could stop by sometime this month. Please call me when you get this and let me know when you will be home so I can book a flight. Talk to you soon." Laura slowly hung up the phone and leaned back in her seat.
JC glanced over from his reading and could see Laura staring off into space. "You okay, hun?"
"Yeah...I'm fine." she answered as she turned her body towards the window and pulled the blanket up to go to sleep. JC sat there and watched her wondering what thoughts could be running through her mind. He decided to let her rest instead of interrogating her. He lightly rubbed her back and went back to reading his magazine.
CHAPTER 35
"Don't you think you should tell her first before we walk in the door with our wedding rings on JC?" Laura asked as they stood outside of his parents' house. JC rang the bell and dug into his pocket for his ring.
"No...I don't want her to think that I was trying to keep this from her if I pull them out later on." He quickly slid his ring onto his finger.
Suddenly a door opened and they both looked up and plastered smiles onto their faces. "Ahhh!!! Josh!!" A woman yelled as she grabbed JC and pulled him into the house.
The red headed, heavy set woman wrapped her arms around him and hugged JC tightly as she screamed out to everyone in the house that he was finally there. "Hey, Sophia." he said as he kissed her cheek. The woman looked outside the door and noticed Laura standing there. Laura was terrified at the older woman's behavior and also of all the people that were in the house. JC had explained to her earlier that his family was over for a reunion barbecue, but she didn't expect to see his entire family tree in the house.
"You must be the darling Rachel that we have heard so much about from aunt Karen!"
JC turned around and could see Laura was more uncomfortable than she had been before. "No, Sophia. This is Laura. Laura this is my cousin, Sophia."
"Ooohh...I'm sorry. I just assumed you were Rachel." She said as she covered her mouth.
"No, me and Rachel are no longer together." he explained.
"I have heard so much about you too, hunny. Don't just stand out there...Come on in!" The woman yelled as she grabbed Laura's hand and pulled her inside.
Laura walked around and mingled with other family members. Most of his distant relatives mistook her for Rachel while others would ask her why Rachel was not there this year for the party. She was growing tired of explaining who she was to everyone...People who were now her new family and didn't know it yet. Laura wanted to crawl into a hole until the barbecue was over.
Besides the uncomfortable moments when Rachel was brought up in conversation, Laura had a pretty good time. She was actually starting to feel more apart of the family when JC's mom would bring her around and introduce her to people and brag about Laura's song writing career and all the celebrities that she had worked with and of course their new deal with Jerry. There were also those too frequent moments when people would ask if Laura and JC were together and his mother would explain that they were only friends and that she was also best friends with his ex-love, Rachel. She knew JC's mother wasn't purposely explaining her away as if she were no one special, but Laura couldn't help but feel sad inside. She pulled her long sleeves over her hands and pretended as if she were cold to keep people from noticing the rings on her finger.
Laura helped JC's mom and his sister, Heather, in the kitchen as family members began to slowly head to their homes and hotels. JC had been trying to talk to his mother all night, but she was too busy entertaining to give him a moment of her time. She told him to wait till everyone left so they could talk about what was on his mind.
Once everyone had gone, they all retreated to the family room to have tea and relax. Laura, JC, his father, mother, sister, brother, aunt and her husband sat around talking amongst themselves. They had turned on the television and noticed that Rachel was acting on a new show that was coming out. She was again brought up in conversation. Both JC and Laura were noticeably upset as they all continued to speak. JC tried interrupting but his mother kept on talking over him.
"Yes, Laura had went to visit her when she was guest staring on General Hospital as an old friend of Carly's. Who did you say Rachel got to do a scene with?"
"Anthony Geary...The guy that plays Luke on the show."
"Luke!? Luke of Luke and Laura, Luke?"
"Yes...That's the one." JC said as he looked over at Laura and leaned his body into hers to try and cheer her up. "Hey mom, can I talk to you for a minute?"
"In a second, Dear." she said as she went back to talking.
"Its kinda urgent."
"Just let me tell your cousin about that time Rachel took me onto the set of that Robert DeNiro movie that just came out.
"It's really important, mom."
His mother was now frustrated with all the interruptions. "What, JC! What is so damn important that it can't wait?"
JC was infuriated with her attitude. Laura closed her eyes and braced herself for what he was about to do next. He grabbed Laura's hand and raised it up with his own to show off the rings. "This is what was so damn important!!" he yelled. The room suddenly grew silent as everyone starred up in shock at the wedding rings on their fingers.