HOW DO YOU KEEP THE MUSIC PLAYING?
©Mirandagk@aol.com
CHAPTER 46
"You didn’t get a chance to explain everything to him?" Hallie asked as she pet her friends head. Laura laid on her friends lap and looked towards the window.
"No...He was trying to bolt out the door. I don't know what the hell she told him. He kept acting as if he was told that Nikolas was his son...But Rachel told me she wasn't sure."
"Speaking of the devil...Has Satin talked to you yet?"
"No. She is still in Philly on some TV & radio interviews. I guess she used the trip to her careers' advantage."
"Do you think she knows about the wedding?"
"I don't know. And at this point I could care less."
The telephone began to ring. Hallie reached over and answered the phone.
"Hello? No she isn't available right now, may I take a message?"
Laura sat up and looked at Hallie as she continued to speak. "Yes...uh huh...Okay...Yep...I'll let her know. Thanks."
"Who was it?" Laura asked as Hallie hung up the phone.
"Jerry's secretary. She was calling to let you know they need to see some of the songs you and JC have written so far. They want to get an idea of what direction the album is going in...It's for the marketing team? I'm sorry, I don't know anything about all this music shit."
Laura chuckled as she sat up and stretched her muscles. "You got it right."
"Speaking of Jerry and this whole other side that you have to think about…What are you going to do about this deal?"
Laura stopped in mid stretch and picked up a magazine. "I don’t know what I want to do just yet."
Laura grabbed the remote and turned on the stereo. "There is so much on my mind. I just can’t deal with that right now."
"You are gong to have to soon, sweetie. But tonight lets just not think about it. Let’s go out…Show me around town. I’m only here a few more days. Lets hit a movie or something…Get our minds off of things. Let's go to the bar and get fucked up!"
Laura didn’t really feel like going anywhere, but agreed.
"Good now hurry and get dressed so we can go. And take two showers…You’re my girl and all, but quite frankly…You stink." she joked.
Laura threw the magazine at her as she got up and walked out of the room to change.
Three days later Hallie had Laura drive her to the airport. She helped Hallie with her bags and gave her a long hug goodbye. Hallie handed her a note and told her not to read it till she got home. Laura agreed and thanked her. She hugged her one last time before getting in her car and heading back home. As she pulled up into her driveway she noticed a car there. As she walked up to her front door she saw JC’s mom standing outside. "Mrs. Chasez?"
JC's mom grabbed her chest in fright and yelled, "Oh good Lord, Laura! You startled me."
"My apologies." She said as she pulled out her keys. "What can I do for you?"
Laura never smiled at her. She hardly even looked at her. JC's mom found it strange but shrugged it off and continued to speak. "I came over to drop off a few books with cake ideas. I was trying to put them in your mailbox."
Laura stopped turning the lock on the front door and slowly turned around to face Mrs. Chasez. "JC didn’t tell you?"
"Tell me what, Dear?"
"We’re no longer together, Mrs. Chasez."
Karen was confused. "What?" She let her arm drop down to her side and said, "Oh Lord, I’ve been so busy lately that I haven’t talked to or seen, JC. I assumed that he was still in Philadelphia with you."
"We’ve been back for a while. I haven’t spoken to him in over a week." she said as she crossed her arms.
Mrs. Chasez wanted to ask what happened but could see that Laura didn’t look like she wanted to talk. "Laura, are you sure this just isn’t a temporary thing? JC really cares for you and I know you feel the same."
Laura rolled her eyes and said, "Well, you of all people should know why. He said you were right about him not loving me?" Tears began to fill Laura’s eyes as she turned the knob.
"Laura, I didn’t-" His mom tried to defend herself but was soon cut off.
"Mrs. Chasez, please. I have always thought of you as the type of mother that I had always wished for myself when I was younger…I don’t want to say anything to you that I will regret later on, because I still consider you to more of a mother to me than mine ever was...So if you don’t mind, I will just have to tell you to talk to you son about everything. Goodnight."
Laura slowly closed the door and let the tears stream down her face. Mrs. Chasez stood outside the door still in shock. She turned around and got into her car and headed for JC’s.
DING DONG…DING DONG…DING DONG DING DONG DING DONG
"What the fuck?!" JC yelled to himself as he kicked the covers off his body and got up to answer the door. "What do you want?!" he yelled as he opened the door. His eyes adjusted to the light and he noticed his mother standing there staring at him. "Oh…Sorry, Mom. I didn’t know it was you. I thought you were one of the guys."
She nodded at him as she adjusted her purse on her arm. "Are you going to stand in the doorway with your boxers and undershirt on and talk to me or are you going to invite me in?"
"Sorry." He said as he moved to the side to let her pass.
"You okay, Ma? You look a little pale." JC asked as he felt his mother's forehead.
She pushed his hand away. "When did you get back from Philadelphia?"
"Last week or so. Why?" he said as he walked towards the kitchen. She followed behind him. "You didn’t call me."
"I’ve been really busy…With the album and stuff." he paused.
"Oh yeah?"
"Yep. Have a deadline to make." he said as he grabbed some juice out of the fridge and asked her if she wanted any.
She shook her head and went on with her investigation. "How’s Laura doing? I wanted to give her these catering books with wedding cake ideas in them."
JC stopped pouring juice and turned around to see the books. "Oh...Well, you can leave them here if you want. I’ll give them to her."
"Well I was going to take them over there myself. I wanted to talk to her about her dress too."
"I’m sure she is probably too busy to look at it tonight mom." He said.
"Oh yeah?" she asked as she sat down at the table. JC sat across from his mother at the table. "Yeah. We're working hard on this thing."
"Right…" she nodded. "What other lies are you going to spout off at me next, Joshua? I just went over there to give them to her and she told me that you two were not together anymore."
"She did?" he asked with a puzzled look on his face.
Mrs. Chasez smacked his hand. "Yes!! When were you going to tell me? What the hell happened!?"
JC grabbed his hand and tried to rub away the pain. "Look now! She kept a very big secret from me!"
"What kind of secret?"
JC stopped rubbing his hand and looked down towards the floor. "I don't want to talk about it. Let's just say it was big enough to make me reconsider our future together. So there is no need for you to tell me that you told me so. I already know."
His mother reached over to grab his hand and squeezed it. JC sat down at the table and let his head fall into his hands. His mother walked over to him and rubbed his back gently. "You are a grown man now. I need to learn to stop meddling and let you live your life." Mrs. Chasez ruffled his hair and pushed it back gently. "Well you still never told me what happened to her mother...Is she okay?"
"Broken leg...But the woman was treacherous, Mom!" JC went on to explain the events that
occurred with Laura's mother. Mrs. Chasez sat there in silence when he was done.
"You okay, Ma?"
"Yeah...It's just something that Laura said to me before she went into the house today. I never knew she had to grow up like that. She stood there and said I was more of a mother to her than her own mother was. I didn't understand it till just now. I feel so bad." she said as tears started to form in her eyes.
"Don't."
"Well I do. I don't care what she may have done to you. She has never hurt me. What is going on between the two of you is your business." She sat there thinking about what she just said and chuckled. "I'm a complete hypocrite."
"Oh mom, if you only knew."
"Well considering the fact that you won't tell me, I will stick with what I just said." His mother leaned up and hugged him. "Whatever it is...You will get through it." she said as she rubbed his back.
JC hugged his mother tightly before walking her to the door. As he walked down the hallway back to his bedroom he glanced out the window towards Laura's backyard. Just as he was looking he could see Laura upstairs on her balcony shaking out a small rug. He watched her closely and wondered what she was thinking. As if on cue she stopped and looked down towards the part of the house JC was standing in. He quickly jumped back as she continued to look.
'That's strange. She can't see me through the tinted glass here.' he thought to himself. JC shrugged off the thought and headed to his room to sleep the rest of the afternoon away.
CHAPTER 47
A week later Jerry and Rachel finally returned from Philadelphia. Laura made an appointment to go and see him alone without JC. When she arrived at his office she noticed that Jerry seemed sad and was oddly quiet. He looked like he hadn't shaved in almost a week and didn't seem to care that his shirt didn't match his suit.
"How you doing, Jerry?" she asked as she walked over to the chair.
Jerry stood up slowly to greet her and motioned for her to take a seat as he said, "I'm doing just about as well as you are, Laura."
"What do you mean?" she asked. Laura didn't know if Jerry knew what had happened or not.
"I'm stressed out. I'm sure she has told you by now. Rachel left me. She took Nikolas with her. She told me that he wasn't my son." he said lowly as he moved papers around on his desk to keep from showing any emotion.
"I haven't spoken to her...I'm sorry, Jerry."
"It's not your fault. I'm sure if you knew, you would have never told me anyway...Seeing that you and her are like sisters."
"More like enemies now." she said under her breath as she looked down.
"What did you say?"
Laura didn't know she had said it so loudly. "Ummm...I asked what are you going to do now?"
"I'll just sit and hope that she will come to her senses and return to me before I have to get a lawyer involved."
Laura didn't want to discuss it any further. She knew that if he were to keep talking about it, she would tell him everything. "Well I hope everything works out with that, Jer."
"Well I know you didn't come in here to listen to me talk about my personal problems...What's up? Got us some music to listen to yet?"
"Yes and no."
"Huh?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Is Mr. Emerson in his office? I brought over some samples for him to listen to for the album."
"Yes, he is here, Mr. Chasez. But he's in a meeting right now. Do you mind waiting a few moments?"
"No problem." JC went and sat down on the couch and started to read a magazine. Fifteen minutes later the door opened. He lifted his eyes from a book and could see Laura walking out. She saw him and stopped in her tracks. They shared a brief glance. She opened her mouth to speak, but shook her head before turning and heading towards the elevators. JC's eyes followed her. He stared at her back until he was interrupted by a voice behind him.
"Mr. Chasez? Jerry will see you now."
JC cleared his throat and took a deep breath before entering the office. "Look Jerry, before you say anything. I know that there is a great deal going on with Rachel, the baby, and this album. We are both unknowing parties in this and I don't want it to become a vicious battle between us. Business is business and I want to be professional about this and keep the two separate. I brought over my half of the music to let you take a look at." JC stood there waiting for a response.
Jerry was very calm as he sat up in his chair and folded his hands on his desk. "There's no need, JC. Laura is walking out on the project."
"What? Why?"
"She would only tell me that it was too much for her to deal with right now. But don't worry. You're off the hook."
"Off the hook for what?" he asked.
"The lawsuit"
JC's heart started to beat faster. "Lawsuit?"
Jerry nodded and said, "Yes. The one the company is going to slap her with for breach of contract."
"Yeah, I figured you would do something like that." JC said as he brought his hands up and ran them through his hair trying to think.
"Look! It isn't me who is going to do it. The company is going to as soon as they find out. I tried everything I could to get her to stay on. She doesn't seem to care that she is going to be sued for millions of dollars."
JC sat on the edge of the couch and tapped his leg trying to come up with an idea. "There is no way to get around this?"
"Not unless she changes her mind within the next 24 hours. I have a meeting tomorrow morning at 10am about this album. She read and signed the contract. If I walk in there and tell them that she backed out, they will sue her. Plain and simple."
"Give me until tomorrow. I'll see what I can do."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Laura laid on the couch cuddled up under a blanket as she watched television. She could hear the door bell ringing, but continued to ignore it. After the 5th ring Laura was pissed off enough to want to find out who it was and tell them off. Wearing a pair of red flannel pajama bottoms and a white sports bra, she walked up to the door and opened it. She didn't see anyone there. As she stuck her head out the door she saw Buddy running towards her. She knelt down to grab the dog.
"Buddy, no!" a voice yelled.
Laura stood up with the dog in her arms and she pet him.
"I'm sorry about that." JC said as he walked up and reached his hand out for the dog. Laura handed Buddy to him.
Not happy at all to see him, she crossed her arms and asked, "What are you doing here?"
"I was walking Buddy and he kept pulling me towards your house. He wanted to see you."
"Oh." Laura stood in the doorway waiting on JC to leave. Both stood silently. "Did you need anything else, JC?"
JC was about to speak, but Laura cut him off at the pass. "That reminds me. I have to give you something." She motioned for him to come inside. He stood in the hallway and waited for her to return. She came back dragging a large box across the floor. She pushed it towards the door and stood up trying to catch her breath. "All that stuff is yours. There are CD's, clothes, sheet music, some of the Buddys' toys, audio equipement, etc. If I find anything else I will just mail it to you."
"Laura."
She looked around seeing if she had missed anything. "Yes JC?"
You don't have to do that." he stated as he followed her over to the piano where she was sifting through music.
"I don't?" she asked looking up from the open piano stool.
"No..." He paused. "You can just place them by my backdoor if you find anything else."
Laura was disappointed with his answer. "Back door...Right."
"Listen, I really came over here to talk to you about this project." he said as he walked into the living room towards her.
"Then you're wasting your time. I'm not doing it anymore." she said as she walked around the room picking up things trying to look busy.
"If you don't they will sue you and win."
"You won't be involved so what do you care?"
"Dammit, Laura!!" he yelled. She stopped and turned around in shock at his anger. He took a long sigh as he sat down on the couch "Laura...I care."
A part of Laura wanted to argue with him and another part of her just wanted him to leave her alone. She leaned against the wall on the other side of the room and watched him as he let his elbows rest on his thighs before leaning down and playing with a snow globe that was sitting on the coffee table. "Laura, what's going on between us has nothing to do with this project. I would have hoped that you would have been professional about it."
"That's what I am trying to be, JC. I can't work with you. I can't be in the same room with you and not think about us. I can't sit there and not remember the way your skin feels up against mine, the way your mouth feels on my lips, the way your touch sends me someplace I have never been before. And I also can't sit there and think about how cold your eyes were the night you walked out on me. I can't think about how you don't trust or love me anymore."
JC could see the tears forming in her eyes and could hear her emotions catching in her throat. "Look...Let's not go there right now. You can't tell me that you are just going to walk out on the deal that fast, Laura?" She pushed herself off the wall and walked towards the stereo and said, "Why not? You walked out on me that fast. Why can't I do the same?"
"Those are two totally different things, Laura, and you know it."
"Do I? I don't see how they are different. I can't do it anymore. I can't deal. I'm not going to sit there and have you in the same mess, so I did what I had to do." She grabbed her notebook and sat on the opposite couch. She pointed the remote at the stereo and threw it aside. Music began to softly play through the speakers.
"This is your dream, Laura. This is what you have wanted for a very long time. I don't care what is going on between you and I. I wouldn't let anyone stand in the way of my dreams." JC watched her as she began to write. He got up and walked over and sat next to her on the couch. Laura backed away slightly. "You shouldn't let me or anyone else make you not want to fulfill that dream. We can come up with a plan if need be, but I don't think that giving up is what you want to do."
Laura wanted to smack him, and shake him until he understood, but she knew JC would continue until he won the battle. In her heart she knew he was right.
"Think about it for a few hours. You only have until 9am tomorrow to change your mind Bab--...Before you are faced with a huge mess." He watched her on the couch as she pet Buddy. The dog continuously tried to climb up her chest to lick her face. JC sat back and watched her hugging the dog.
"He really misses you." JC said as he stared at Laura.
She looked up from the dog and locked eyes with him. "I really miss him too." she said as she tried to choke back the tears.
CHAPTER 48
The fair had been in town for a couple days and Justin decided to drag Laura out of her house to distract her thoughts for a few hours.
"So how long do the two of you have before deadline?" Justin asked as they moved up in line.
Laura looked up at him from her bag of cotton candy. "We have two months left."
"I'm surprised that you still have the strength to keep working on it."
"Well, I hate to admit it, but he is usually right when it comes to things like that." Laura mumbled between bites.
"You think you can make it?"
"I hope so. It got pushed back two more months for marketing reasons, so in their eyes it should be plenty of time for us to come up with perfection."
Justin and Laura got on the bumper cars and gave chase to one another. They both were laughing as they stepped out of the ride. When they turned around the mood suddenly changed as they spotted JC. Rachel was pushing a stroller with Buddy sitting inside. JC was walking next to her with Nikolas in his left arm and a large stuffed animal in his right. Justin could see how uncomfortable Laura was becoming. She went to turn around and go in the opposite direction, but Justin grabbed her hand and squeezed it tightly.
"Hey, Justin...Laura." He nodded towards her.
"Yo man. What's up?"
"Same as you, checking out the fair."
"Hi Laura." Rachel waved. Justin and JC continued to talk. Both were trying their best to keep up a conversation as they watched Laura and Rachel speak for the first time since everything happened. Laura snapped out of her gaze and cleared her throat slightly. "Hey, Rachel."
"I haven't seen you in a while. It's been almost two months!" Rachel leaned down and hugged Laura tightly. Laura was caught off guard by the hug and simply stood there with her arms at her side.
"I've been busy with a lot of things, since I got back from visiting my mother."
"Yeah I never see you at home these days...But I know the feeling, girl. We need to hook up one day and have lunch or something. Nikky misses his auntie." she said as she watched Laura put her finger up towards Nikolas who wrapped his small digits around it tightly and began to giggle. "We need to do some catching up."
Laura slowly pulled her hand away and waved towards the baby. "Umm...Yeah...That'd be nice. We'll have to see what our schedules are like." she replied as she looked towards JC.
Rachel pulled JC's arm down slightly so she could wipe the drool away from the baby's mouth. "Yeah I know. Me and JC have been rampant lately. It's hard for us to get a moments peace."
Laura watched the three of them and a million thoughts raced around in her head. She could feel the emotions piling up in her chest and needed to escape. She needed to be anywhere by there. Justin could see her discomfort and decided to step in. He grabbed her hand and looked down at her watch and said, "Damn Laura, is it 3:15 already? We better hurry up before we miss the tiger show."
"Yeah, we better get going too. He needs a nap." JC said. He tried to look into Laura's eyes as she was stepping away.
"We'll see you guys later!" Rachel called after them. Justin waved to her as he went to catch up with Laura who had started walking away without him. JC watched them closely and saw Justin take her hand tightly in his as they walked towards the other side of the fair. He quickly stopped and handed Laura his stuffed bear and picked her up. She was startled and wrapped her arms around his neck for support as he swung her around cradled in his arms.
"Awwww...Don't they look cute together?" she asked as she patted JC's back and leaned up and lightly kissed Nikky's cheek.
"I doubt they are together." he answered dryly.
"What are you talking about? Just look at them..." Rachel pointed out. She watched them briefly and turned around and smirked towards JC. "Then again I guess you would say something like that. You're always trying to protect her."
"...Right." he agreed as he slowly turned around and lifted Nikolas in the air and swung him around like an airplane as they walked towards the parking lot.
"Justin please put me down! I'm getting dizzy and nauseous!" Laura yelled and she tried to shut her eyes even tighter. He almost dropped her in his attempt to remove himself from the line of fire.
"Damn!" she laughed as she tried to regain her balance.
"You okay?"
"I'm okay now that you put me down."
Justin rolled his eyes and punched her lightly on the arm. "I didn't mean that. I meant with seeing them here...Together."
Laura turned around to see if there were anywhere in sight. After finally looking over at Justin, she said, "No, but I will be...Thanks for the save."
"Anytime...So she doesn't know that the two of you are---"
"No she doesn't know." Laura cut him off before he could say it.
"Have you thought about what you are going to do about that?"
"I have to go and see my lawyer this week about it. I'm hoping we can annul it so that there will never be any existence of of the fact."
"Well a lawyer can't brainwash you, Laura..." Justin immediately stopped. Laura looked back and noticed him standing there thinking. With his hand on his chin he looked over at her and said, "Wait...I take that back. For the right price they could do anything."
Laura pushed her body into his. Justin wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer to him as they made their way towards his car. He opened her door for her and walked around the other side to get in. He sat there staring straight ahead. Laura looked at him trying to figure out why he hadn't started the car yet.
"Do you want to go home or do something else?" he asked.
She thought about it for a moment and then asked, "Do you have anything to do today?"
"Nope. I'm all yours."
"Can we go back to that park you took me to that night? I just don't want to go home right now."
"Sure." he said as he started the car.
As they drove to the park, Justin wanted to know why Laura hadn't taken Rachel by her hair and pounded her face into the pavement by now. Laura wanted to but knew nothing good would come out of fighting with her friend. There'd be no point in trying to tell her and she and JC were married now…Especially since that would be a thing of the past fairly soon. Laura knew that if Rachel wanted to resort to lying to win JC back, and he was dumb enough to believe her, then they could have each other. Justin turned into the park and slowly drove down the dirt road. Laura rested her head against the window as she watched the cards passing them by. She was tired. Tired of fighting all the time. She'd been fighting all her life. Fighting for her mother's love and affection, fighting for a chance in the business, fighting for respect, people's trust, and now for love? No one should have to fight for someone else's heart. It's either theirs to have or it isn't.
Justin pulled into an empty spot and turned off the car and turned his body towards her. "You don't think he loves you?"
"I just don't know anymore." she said as she opened her door and got out. He opened the trunk and grabbed a blanket and followed her to the spot they had been to before. Once he caught up with her, he could see her huddled in a ball on the grass and shivering slightly. He wrapped the blanket around his body and extended his arm out to wrap her inside it with him. She slowly looked over at him and smiled as she let her head rest on his shoulder. "I want to believe that he loves me, Justin. But everything I see is telling me otherwise."
"And what exactly is it that you see?"
"I see a man and a woman, baby, and dog strolling through the fair like a happy family. I see how content they look and what I don't see is him attempting to have anything to do with me...I don't see anything that includes me anywhere in that picture."
Laura looked up towards the sky as she continued to speak softly. "We have it planned out so that we don't even need to see each other until the very last moment to finish this album. He does his parts alone and I do mine...Alone. Does that point to any faint interest whatsoever in me?"
"It could mean that he still loves you and is scared and confused, Laura."
"Yeah, well it could also mean that he hates me. You should have seen the look in his eyes that night in the hotel room, Justin." He could see tears forming in her eyes and did not want to upset her even more. He decided to not speak about it any longer. He was just glad to be able to spend time with her. He didn't want to ruin the rest of the evening. They sat there quietly just looking up at the sky and watching a group of kids playing baseball in a nearby field.
When it turned dark they both decided to call it a night and head back home. Once there, Justin walked Laura to her front door. As she thanked him he lightly pushed the side of Laura's head. "It was my pleasure."
She started to close the door and Justin called after her. "Do me a favor?"
"Sure. What?" she asked.
"....Quit analyzing everything. Things will work out. You just have to give it time."
Laura smiled. "I'll try, Justin."
"Just remember...Things aren't always what they seem." he said quickly as he turned and walked away.
Laura slowly closed the door and headed towards her bedroom wondering if Justin knew something that she didn't.
CHAPTER 49
"When are you going to tell your mother, JC?" Rachel yelled into the room as she was taking a bubble bath.
"When I find out if the kid is mine or not." he mumbled to himself as he sat on the bed looking through paperwork.
Rachel stopped playing in the water to hear him. "Huh?"
"Soon." he yelled back.
"Well the sooner the better don't you think? I don't want her to be too upset with you for not telling her."
JC looked towards the bathroom in shock and rolled his eyes. Rachel asked him to turn on the music so she could listen to it while she was taking a bath. JC grabbed the remote and pressed the play button. The sounds of smooth jazz could be heard throughout the bedroom. He leaned sideways and looked to see what Rachel was doing. He could see the door opened halfway and her sitting in the tub gliding a large sponge across her arms. He sat up straight and looked towards the telephone. He went to pick it up but stopped himself. He slowly ran his hands over his mouth and down his chin and finally gathered up the strength to make a call.
"Hello?"
"I didn't think you were going to be home yet."
"Me either. But I had to work on some music."
JC smiled and rested his free hand under his armpit as he continued to speak. "Oh yeah? Which one?"
"Well...It's seperate from our project." she explained.
Hurt by her secrecy JC sarcastically said, "Oookay."
Laura rolled her eyes. "What did you need, JC?"
"I uh....I just ummm...I wanted to know if we could get together and work on that song that you were writing."
"Which one?" she asked.
"The duet we had been working on a long time ago."
Laura remembered back. The last time she had worked on it was with JC in the studio of his house before they made love. "Umm...Sure. If you want to."
JC smiled as he played with the piece of string that was hanging from his boxers. "I want to."
"When?"
"About an hour...But if its too late, I'll understand."
Laura could hear a voice yelling in the background, "JC? Can you come wash my back please?"
He struggled to cover the phone with his hand, but it was too late. "Well it sounds to me like you are going to be busy tonight. Maybe some other time, JC. I really need to get back to work. I'll send over what I have later. Goodnight." Laura quickly hung up.
JC sat there with the receiver on his ear still trying to catch up with what had just happened. He soon heard a busy signal in and finally hung up the phone. He got up slowly and walked towards the bathroom. He punched and kicked at the air in frustration as he neared the doorway. He stopped and took a deep breath and plastered a smile on his face as he turned to corner to go inside.
He walked in and could see Rachel standing there naked. Foamy bubbles were running down her body. She looked over and smiled at him as she poured two glasses and outstretched the second glass to him.
Taking the glass from her he asked "What is it?"
"Godiva, it's a chocolate liqueur"
He brought the glass to his lips, inhaling then tasting it. "Interesting combination, sweet chocolate and intoxicating."
"Yes, something like you" she said.
It seemed almost in slow motion that she brought her free hand to his face, her fingertips grazing his cheekbone, skimming his lips, and tracing lightly down, over his throat, his collarbone...lower still, gently brushing over his chest through the soft fabric of his t-shirt. He could feel his excitement at being with her once again...Alone.
Stepping back, standing and staring at her for a long time, he was quiet, seemingly thinking. This shouldn't be happening. He cleared his throat, turned around, walked over to the toilet flipped down the lid and sat down. "This isn't right." he seemed to be in a trance talking to himself more than her.
He seemed to be battling within himself about what he should or shouldn't do. She walked over to him and straddled his legs as she lowered herself to his lap. No matter what he was saying, he was incredibly interested, and she could feel the proof between her thighs, pressing against her crotch. He went to push her away, but before he could, she ground herself against the bulge in his boxers. He seemed to stop breathing for a minute. His eyes were closed and he was gasping for air.
She leaned forward and whispered into his ear. "I want you so bad. I know you want the same thing. I can feel it." She slid her hand down and started rubbing it against the fabric of his boxers teasing his cock. She started nibbling on his ear as he groaned. He drew his head back a bit his bottom lip. She ground herself against him again. It felt so damn good, he couldn't possibly expect her to stop now. His hands went from pushing her away, to pulling her closer. His hand slid up to the nape of her neck. Forcing her to look at him.
"You do know that this is wrong right?"
"What makes it wrong, nothing is wrong when two people succumb to their emotions, giving in to what they are feeling."
"You are married to Jerry and I'm..."
"That can be changed." Rachel began to kiss his neck. "You're what?"
"I'm....I'm under contract with him right now."
"JC, I want you so bad right now it hurts!"
"Is that so?" His voice had a new ring to it. She couldn't quite describe it but it was different, stern yet teasing.
"How bad, Rachel?" he asked, lifting her from his lap. She saw something in those striking, blue eyes. Something...
"Extremely bad!" she insisted as she went to kiss him.
JC stepped away from her. A smirk crept across his face. "Well, baby. Tonight when you go into your room to sleep, you just keep that in mind. And think back to all those times I had wanted you, and you weren't around." JC placed his hand on his chin and looked up towards the ceiling to think. "Oh yeah that's right. You were too busy cheating on me...With Jerry."
JC threw her a towel. "The guest bathroom should be fixed by tomorrow afternoon. I don't understand why you couldn't have used the other 3 bathrooms in the house...Let's make this the last time you use mine." He quickly walked out the door and shut it behind him.
Rachel stood in the middle of the bathroom floor. A devilish grin soon formed on her face as she spoke quietly to herself. "I'll wear you down soon enough." Rachel wrapped the towel around her body and gathered up her things and headed towards the guestroom to finish scheming.
CHAPTER 50
"What!? Well, what the fuck is she doing living over there anyway?" Hallie asked.
"She left Jerry. She had no where else to go...Or so she told JC. With the whole baby situation, JC wouldn't turn his back on her if she needed a place to stay."
"Is he a fuckin moron? This bitch was sleeping with him and Jerry at the same time and he doesn't think to get a paternity test?"
"I don't know what is going on over there. I hardly speak to him, Hallie. Joey actually gave me that bit of information when he came over with Justin today." Laura stated.
"What else did Joey say?"
"He said that Nikolas had been really sick before I went to see about my mother. The doctors couldn't pin point what was wrong with him. So they took blood samples. Well Nikolas has a different blood type than Jerry and Rachel's. They are both blood type O. Nikolas is blood type B."
"Damn..."
"Exactly...You're a nurse, so you should know." she said matter-of-factly.
"Well. it's impossible for two O parents to produce a B child. If Nikolas were Jerry's he would also be an O. I'm sorry, Laura."
"Eh...It's cool. I'll live."
"Did you talk to your lawyer about the annulment?
"yeah...It's so confusing, but basically it can be granted under different circumstances like if one of us never intended to have children, or always intended to have affairs, and other stuff like that. If those apply then it's possible. It can also be dissolved if it is not consummated." she explained to Hallie.
"See now if the two of you would have passed out right after the vows, that last one might have worked...But no...You horny bastards just had to sleep together!" Hallie laughed.
Laura smiled. "Yeah well after listening to him talk about the annulment process, I think it might be better to just go ahead and get a divorce."
"Why?"
"The annulment is based solely on what our intentions were on our wedding day. It sometimes takes up to 3 or more months to resolve. I would have the burden of proof, because I am the one filing for it. And we have to go through a million different things like witness statements, testimony, our life histories, and psychological appraisals."
Hallie was confused. "Your intentions on your wedding day? What does that mean?"
Laura went on to explain. "He gave me examples. Bigamy, marriage under the age of consent, marriage by force, marriage based on fraud, marriage without disclosing sexual impotency, marriage because of a pregnancy, immaturity, lack of true marital commitment, etc. He said annulments have nothing to do with what happened after we got married. It only has to deal with why we got married."
"Well none of those apply to you...Unless you lie. Divorce might be your best bet. But then again you both were drunk when you got married. Neither of you remembered even marrying the other till the next morning right?"
"I still don't remember that shit!" Laura laughed. "But I'm going to talk to a priest about it today to know for sure if we are able to or not. I'm trying my best to stay away from the D word. Because once it gets out, it's going to be a media frenzy. With the annulment it would dissolve the marriage and treat it as if it had never happened."
"On paper only, Laura. But in your heart? It can't dissolve that part of your heart and mind, hun." Hallie said sympathetically.
Laura could hear the doorbell and got up from her bed with the cordless on her ear as she went to answer it. "I know. But I don't want any of this to hurt his career." she said as she opened the door to see who it was.
"Always worried about him, Laura. What about you? Hello?"
"Hello, Rachel." Laura said as she stared at the woman and Nikolas, who was in her arms.
"Hey. Can we come in?" she asked.
"She's there? Tell that bitch to leave!" Hallie yelled into the phone.
Laura moved aside and said, "Sure. Come on in."
Rachel carried Nikolas into the living room and sat down on the couch and waited for Laura to join them.
"Hallie, let me call you back."
"Kick that bitches ass and call me when you're done!"
Laura pressed end on the phone and held it tightly in her hands. As she walked into the living room she prayed for strength. They both sat on opposite couches. Rachel placed the baby on the floor and handed him some toys. She turned her body to face Laura and began to speak. "Is there something wrong? Ever since you went to see your mother, you've been staying away and keeping to yourself."
"I just have a lot on my plate right now, Rachel."
"I'm sorry if I caused trouble between you and JC. I went over to the hotel room that night with the intention of telling him the truth in front of you, but it didn't end up the way I planned."
"Rachel, I honestly do not want to talk about it. I don't know what the truth is anymore. One minute you are telling me that you don't know who Nikky's father is and the next minute you are telling JC that Nikolas is his son." She said as she threw her hands up in the air.
"Well he is."
"You're positive...Beyond a reasonable doubt that JC is Nikolas' father?"
Rachel looked down at her son. "I'm mostly positive." She went on to explain to Laura what Joey had told her earlier about the differing blood types.
Laura sat there and pulled gently on the tassels that were hanging off of the throw pillow. "Are you going to take a paternity test?"
"Only if JC wants one."
Laura looked up at Rachel in dismay. "He hasn't asked for one yet?"
"Nope. And we're together every night. Which brings me to the real reason why I'm here."
"Which is?" Laura asked as she stood up. She needed to brace herself for whatever was coming next.
"I know you are mad at me for telling him that you knew the baby might be his...But he asked and I didn't want to dig us in any deeper. And I am truly sorry, Laura. I don't know what made me bring you into it."
Laura walked over to the piano and started repositioning pictures. "In a way I'm glad you told him. It was eating me up inside. I should have told him a long time ago, but my loyalty to you made it impossible. Funny how things happen." she said as she stared at a picture of the three of them together.
"What do you mean?" Rachel asked as she watched her slowly turn the picture down on its face so she would not have to look at it.
"I was just about to tell him before I had to rush and get the plane tickets...Then I come back and he had found out from you. I guess it was just destined to happen that way."
"I know you probably hate me right now. I didn't know that it would cause problems for you and JC's friendship."
Laura didn't want to talk about JC with Rachel.
"I shouldn't even be asking you this right now, but I need your help." Rachel said as she grabbed her purse and began to sort through it.
"I think I am done helping you out for awhile, Rach."
"It's nothing like that Laura."
She sat down on the piano stool and asked, "Then what is it?"
"JC's been acting ackward lately."
"So?" Laura tried to act as though she were not interested.
"Anytime we are together he is always staring off into space. Like he is thinking about something...Or someone."
She desperately tried to block the thoughts of them together out of her mind but it didn't work. She could see visions of JC and Rachel in his bed making love.
"Like last night...I was in the tub and he was on the phone whispering to someone about seeing them that night. I mean when we go to bed I feel as though he is thinking about someone else. Was he dating someone before I moved back in with him?"
Laura's mind was overflowing with visions of the two of them in every sexual position imaginable. They were making love in the same bed Laura had spent so many nights with JC in? 'Why is this getting to me?' she thought to herself. 'They used to be together. This is nothing new, Laura. Get a grip!' she thought.
Not wanting to lie to Rachel, Laura said, "Well if JC had been seeing someone, I am sure he would have told you."
"Yeah, I know. I've found some woman's things in the house. I just would have thought that you would be able to give me an idea of who it might be."
"Well my friendship with JC is just like the one I have with you. Whatever is said in confidence between us stays there. No exceptions...Right?"
That wasn't the answer Rachel had wanted to hear. "You're right. I just figured since you and I have been friends since diapers you would have told me."
"It doesn't matter who I am closer to. If someone tells me something in confidence I am not going to go back and talk about it with the other person. And you know that."
"Yeah but it's disturbing to me when I am looking under the bed for my shoe and I find a shoe box that has a thong in it, a tube of lip gloss, and a pair of earrings. All of which do not belong to me." she said as she pulled the items out of her purse.
Laura sat there in shock as she looked back at her thong in Rachel's hands. She battled with herself on whether or not she would come out and tell her the truth.