HOW DO YOU KEEP THE
MUSIC PLAYING
©Mirandagk@aol.com
CHAPTER 6
Awakened by the sound of a lawn mower nearby, Laura slowly opened her eyes. A familiar scent came across her senses and she smiled as she looked up to see JC lying beneath her. His left arm wrapped around her back and the other arm draped behind Buddy, who was curled up in a ball next to him on the other side of the bed. Laura tried to call to mind how they ended up back at JC's but just smiled when she remembered what they had done in her office on the desk.
Laura slowly lifted her arm from the side of JC's chest and pet the dog before lightly kissing JC's chest. She looked over at the clock and saw it was 10 am and decided to go back to sleep.
"JC are you home?!"
Laura quickly opened her eyes at the sound. Was she imagining things? She looked over at Buddy for some sort of reaction to what she thought she had heard, but he was completely still. Laura decided she had been hearing things and rested her head back on JC's chest.
"JC are you back here?!" the voice drew closer.
JC and Laura immediately sat up in bed. "Oh my God! It's your mother!" Laura whispered as she jumped out of his bed running back and forth like a maniac. "Where the fuck are my clothes?!" Laura whispered to JC as he rushed to put on his boxers.
Knock, Knock. "Are you in here?" his mother said as she slowly opened the door. JC stood there stunned with his t-shirt halfway over his head. He quickly turned around to look at Laura, but she was no where in sight.
"Ummm...Hey mom...What are you doing here? JC nervously asked while still looking around the room for any sign of Laura.
"You don't know how to answer your phone?" I tried calling you late last night and all of this morning. I swear, you could sleep through a tornado if I'd let you. I came by to make sure you were okay. Laura had told me about how you stormed out of the meeting. You had us all worried when you didn't even bother to call, Joshua."
"I'm sorry, mom. I called dad. He must not have given you the message." JC said as he kissed her on the cheek.
"You were suppose to call me and let me know you were okay. Not your father. I'm a mother. I need to hear my son's voice to set my fears aside." she said as she walked around the room picking up clothes.
"Oh mom, you're overreacting as usual." JC said as he took the clothes out of her hands and walked into the closet to see if Laura had fled in there.
"What are you looking for?"
JC jumped at the sound of his mothers voice right behind him. "Nothing! My umm...sneaker...I was going to go running."
"Did you try under the bed?" his mother asked as she walked over to the bed and lifted up the blanket as she bent down.
"Noo!!...I---" JC couldn't think of the words to say to stop her.
"Oh my God!!!!" she screamed. JC quickly turned his head away from his mother's direction.
"Mom, I can explain..."
"Buddy, you scared the living daylights out of me!" she said as she stood back up with a white robe in her hand. "Explain what JC? Here's your robe...what does LC stand for? Is that a company?" she asked as she handed him the robe.
"Its ummm....I ummm....I accidentally took it from one of the hotels I had stayed at..." JC quickly explained as he threw the robe onto the bed.
"Why are you sweating? Come on and let me make you something to eat. You look so pale." she said as she took his arm and pulled him out of the room.
Buddy quickly ran past them back into the bedroom with his chew toy and crawled back under the bed. The toy went rolling across the floor and buddy scampered back out from under the bed after it. Two arms emerged from beneath the bed and Laura slowly slid out watching the door the entire time. She grabbed her robe and put it on and slowly opened the glass door that led to the pool.
"Shit. Shit. Shit." she cursed to herself as she walked back into his room and shut the door. "The kitchen faces the pool....Fuck!" she whispered to herself. Laura stood there trying to think of how she was going to get out of there without being seen.
"So where were you all day and night? I hope you at least got in touch with Laura to let her know you were okay." his mother said as she set down a plate in front of JC at the table.
"Yeah mom. I saw her last night when I got back." JC said as he brought the bagel towards his mouth and suddenly froze. JC's mom turned around to see what JC was staring at. "Oh, hey Laura...We must not have heard you come in sweetie?" she stated puzzled.
"Hi....Yeah...The side door was open so I let myself in." Laura said as she entered the kitchen wearing an oversized Nike shirt and baggy sweat pants. She had rummaged through JC's closet trying to find something to put on.
"Well don't you look....spiffy." Mrs. Chasez said as she looked her up and down and noticed she wasn't wearing any shoes. JC couldn't help but turn his head downward and laugh lowly to himself. JC's mom brushed her hand against his to make him stop.
"Its laundry day, so I'm bumming it. I was watering the plants and decided to come and see what was up with duffus here." Laura smiled as she walked behind JC and messed up his hair with her hand.
"Oh." Mrs. Chasez smiled. "I was just telling him how worried I was about him. Get yourself a plate, Hun."
"Thanks...Yeah I yelled at him last night about that." Laura said as she walked around the other side of the counter to make sure JC's mom didn't see that the pants she was wearing were about to fall down. She quickly rolled pulled at the drawstring to tighten the waist of the pants before grabbing a plate and joining them at the table.
Mrs. Chasez noticed Laura didn't have any juice and decided to get her a glass. "I have told JC over and over again to try and keep his personal life and business separate." she said as she opened the fridge to grab the juice. JC took advantage of his mom's back turned to rub his foot against Laura's under the table and make a kissy face at her. Laura smiled and rubbed back before quickly moving her foot away when his mom's attention was turned back to the both of them.
"Oh yeah?" she asked looking towards his mother.
"Yeah. I know its hard for him to be that way with Jerry, because it didn't happen all that long ago but I would think JC was man enough to put that aside when it came to his career." she said as she handed Laura the glass.
"Well, I have to admit that Jerry did provoke him yesterday, Mrs. Chasez. And Jerry knew what he was doing when he said what he said." she stated before taking a sip of the orange juice.
"Yeah. I would hope that I raised him well enough to be the better man and put their feud aside and just focus on the work. I mean just last weekend Rachel was over at the house and she and JC were outside talking for the longest time. They even shared a long hug. Didn't you kiss her before she left?" his mother asked as she turned to JC who almost choked on his food. Laura's mouth dropped open.
"Food go down the wrong pipe, sweetie?" his mother asked as she patted his back while he coughed.
JC slowly looked up straight into Laura's eyes. "It was only a quick peck good-bye."
"Yeah but it was on the lips. I think there might still be something there." she smiled to Laura. Laura shoved a piece of bagel into her mouth and quickly smiled back at his mother.
"Wow...JC never told me about that." Laura mummbled as she finished chewing the bagel.
"He didn't?" His mother asked puzzled.
"It wasn't a big deal. She was only there dropping off some of my old things." JC tried to explain.
"You should have seen his face when he opened our front door and she was standing there. She sat with us and talked for awhile and then she asked JC to walk her outside. They were out there a good 45 minutes. I was hoping that maybe they were thinking of reconciling. You remember how good they were together, Laura?"
Laura suddenly snapped out of her daze. "Yeah...They were great together...The best...But I figured that after what happened he wouldn't want to see her again." she said as she stood up to take her plate to the sink.
"That's what me and his father thought, but they were out there laughing and smiling and seemed to be getting along great. He looked happier than he has been for a long time when he was out there with her. And I love to see him when he is happy. So full of life...." JC's mom smiled as she remembered back.
"We were only talking." JC said defensively as he followed Laura to the sink. He tried to touch her but she quickly moved away. "So you think they will get back together after all that had happened?" Laura asked as she leaned against the back of the bar stool.
"Oh I hope so...They were so happy together...I think everyone deserves a second chance. Don't you?" His mother asked her.
Laura looked down at the floor. "Yes...Yes I do..."
"Mom, we're not getting back together." JC demanded.
That's not what it looked like to me and your dad." She teased.
"What time is it?" Laura quickly asked.
Its almost 11." JC said looking at her for some form of reaction.
"Oh wow...I better get going. I have a busy day." Laura said as she bent over and hugged Mrs. Chasez good-bye.
"You okay Hun?"
"Yeah I'm great. I just didn't know the time went by so fast. I have a lot to do today. I will see you guys later." Laura said as she stumbled out of the back door.
"Did I say something wrong? I didn't know you hadn't told her you saw Rachel...I thought you two told each other everything...It must be hard for her to be both your friends and not get caught in the middle"
"You didn't do anything wrong mom...She is just under a lot of stress with this new project." JC said. He and his mother watched Laura as she jogged across the yard and disappeared into her house. He wanted to go after her, but couldn't. 'How dumb can you be, Chasez' he thought to himself as he watched her disappear through the fence.
CHAPTER 7
"Do You Remember" by Phil Collins streamed through the house. Laura sat curled up on the cushions in the window as she watched the rain come pouring down.
"Girl, what are you doing in here?" a voice called out.
"Nothing...just thinking." Laura said, never turning her gaze away from the window.
"Thinking about what?"
Laura took the pillow she was holding and tossed it aside before getting up and turning down the stereo. "Nothing much, Rach. Have ideas running in my mind for some songs."
"Oh...Well how the heck have you been?" Rachel asked as she went and sat next to her in the window.
"I've been OK. It's been hard to get over there and see you lately. So much going on with work...and..." Laura paused thinking about the words that almost slipped out of her mouth about JC.
"I understand. I know you feel stuck in the middle. I also understand that you are closer to JC now. You two are neighbors. Its only expected." Rachel answered patting her friends thigh.
Laura looked out across the yard at JC's house. "Yeah...I guess you could say that. So what brings you out of your way over here?" Laura smiled at her.
"I wanted to see how my best bud was. I heard about the album deal. Congratulations!" she said as she hugged her.
"Thanks."
Rachel sat there for a moment and turned her gaze out the window. Laura could see her looking towards JC's. "He's okay...Just in case you were wondering."
"...Yeah...I know. I saw him last weekend...Didn't he tell you?"
"Nope...Didn't tell me a thing." she said sarcastically. "What happened?"
"I didn't want to bring his old things over to his house, so I decided to drop them off at his mom's. Well I didn't know he was there until I pulled into the driveway and saw his car. And I didn't want to chicken out so I took a deep breath and knocked on the door." Rachel stood up and walked over to the piano and looked at the photos that were sitting there. Photos of the three of them together. Photos of Laura next to JC and the rest of the group at different award ceremonies....Photos from family gatherings. She remember how close they had all been back then as memories came flooding back. Rachel sat back down next to her friend in the window and continued with her story. "He answered and was completely shocked to see me. And you know how his mom dotes all over me when I'm there."
Laura rolled her eyes while nodding her head in agreement as she remembered her earlier conversation with his mother. Laura tried not to be too obvious with the jealousy that was mounting inside her as Rachel continued the story.
"She didn't want me to leave but I could see JC felt awkward with me around. I asked him to walk me out to my car. We talked for awhile. I had told him that I had missed things like that. He said he missed the same things. We talked some more and to make a long story short I gave him a hug and left."
Laura felt uneasy with Rachel's avoidance. "To make a long story short? You usually give me every single detail, Rach."
"Yeah I know, but I didn't want to bore you with the particulars."
Laura looked over at her friend and laughed. "Now you know you're lying. Come on in the kitchen while I get us a drink so I can hear all about it."
Laura took deep breaths as she walked into the kitchen, trying to mentally prepare herself for what was soon to come. Part of Laura didn't want to hear anything else about their encounter, but the other part of her wanted to know everything. She couldn't stand not knowing. Rachel smiled and soon followed her into the kitchen. "Okay...Now I didn't know how to take a lot of things that he said to me...So I'm hoping you will be able to interpret since the two of you are so close now." Rachel said as she sat on the bar stool and took the lid off the jar and grabbed a brownie.
Laura poured a few extra splashes of wine in her glass so that she could deal with what she was about to hear. "Sure...Ask away." she replied slowly while taking a large gulp of her wine.
"Well he kept staring at me like he wanted to say something more to me. And when we hugged....It seemed as if we didn't want to let each other go...And the fact that he actually kissed me on the lips and not on the cheek was also something that took me by surprise...But I went for the lips too...So I..." Rachel continued to ramble on about what had happened between she and JC outside his parents house. Laura just sat there wondering how much more of it she would be able to take.
"So? What do you think?" Rachel asked, anticipating feedback.
Laura cleared her throat and began to speak, "Well...The two of you were together for 3 years. I'm sure it would be impossible for the both of you to just forget all the good times you had together. But as far as anything still being there?"
"Oh Laura...Are you trying to be the neutral party? The way he was looking at me brought back feelings of the times when the room could be filled with a crowd of people as we felt like we were the only two there..."
"Well I really don't know, Rachel. I was not there. I was only giving my opinion. If you didn't want it, then you shouldn't have asked for it!" she snapped.
"What's your problem?" Rachel replied as she placed her hand on Laura's arm.
"I'm just confused about what you expect me to tell you. Do you want me to tell you to go ahead and try to get back together with JC? Do you want me to tell you its okay and that everything you did in the past was alright? Because I'm sorry...I just can't. I can't be the one to make it better on your conscience, Rachel. You didn't have to see how he was after all that drama went down. You didn't sit up late at night with him...Consoling him....Knowing that he would be crushed if he knew the real truth. You didn't have to keep secrets from your best friend to protect his feelings. I have to live with that everyday...Not you! You are going on with your daily life and you are leaving everyone to pick up the pieces after you sweep through the area. I'm sorry but I am not going to do it anymore." Laura angrily said as she got up from the table and walked over to the sink.
Rachel watched as Laura angrily started running water in the sink. She slowly wiped the brownie crumbs from the side of her mouth and began to speak. "I'm sorry, Laura. I didn't mean to make it seem like I wanted your approval. I was just looking for my friends opinion on what he might have been thinking. I know what I did was fucked up but its in the past. There really isn't anything I can do about it now except hope that he forgives me and pray that you will also forgive me for leaving you to fix things for me."
Laura turned around and walked over to the middle island resting her palm against the granite countertop. "I'm sorry I blew up like that. I just have a lot on my mind and I am very stressed out right now."
"I understand...Well enough about me...Tell me what you have been up to! I see you have changed the house around since the last time I was here. Come show me!" Rachel said as she jumped off the stool, grabbed her friends arm and pulled her down the hall.
"Oh what's this? Your office? Whoa! What the hell happened up in here?" Rachel joked.
"Oh...Ummm..." Laura tried to think of an excuse but was soon cut off when Rachel picked up a pair of swimming trunks off the floor.
"And who do these belong to?" Rachel grinned.
"No one." Laura quickly said as she grabbed them from Rachel's hand.
"Uh huh...sure! You was fuckin' up in here...Ain't no doubt about it by the looks of the desk and papers scattered all over the place...Who's the guy?" Rachel asked as she shook her friend by the shoulders.
Laura's face turned red. "No one really. Its too early to tell if it will go anywhere, so I would rather just keep it to myself for now."
"I'll get it out of you sooner or later." Rachel laughed. Laura finished showing her the rest of the house and they both decided to go out and have dinner. Laura ran to take a quick shower and let Rachel have free reign over the television while she was gone.
"Laura!? Laura...We need to talk. Laur--...Oh, hey Rachel." JC said as he walked into the room.
"Hi. She's in the shower."
"Oh okay...Been here long?" JC said as he went and sat on the couch across from her.
"Most of the day." Rachel said as she turned off the television. "Did you need something in particular?"
JC looked at her with a puzzled look on his face then realized what she meant. "Oh...No...I just needed to talk to her about something."
"It sounded important by the way you were saying her name."
"Not really.' he lied. "I needed to talk to her about the project."
"I heard. Congratulations on that. I'm very happy for you."
"Thanks." They both sat in awkward silence for a couple minutes before Rachel spoke. "JC? Can we talk about what happened at your parents?"
~~~~~~~~~~~
Laura walked down the hallway buttoning up her shirt and as she was looking up said, "K, Rach, I'm reaaa....dddyyy."
She froze in place as she saw JC and Rachel in an embrace. She didn't know how to react. She didn't know what to say. "Should I give you a few more minutes?" she asked. JC looked up at saw her standing there. He quickly stepped back.
"No, I'm ready. JC was just leaving. I was saying good-bye." Rachel smiled as she went to get her purse.
"Oh." Laura answered as she stared at JC.
"I came by to talk to you about something and we bumped into each other." he tried to explain.
"So I noticed." Laura replied.
"I'll go start the car, Laura. We'll talk later, JC?" Rachel asked as she walked toward the front door. JC nodded his head in reply.
Laura grabbed her shoes and jacket from the closet and sat down on the bench by the door.
"It's not what you think." JC said as he followed her to the bench.
"What am I thinking?" Laura said as she scrambled to put on her shoes.
"I don't know...But the look on your face makes me think you're upset with me."
"Then I guess you are a good face reader." She said as she stood up to find her keys. JC went to grab her arm. Laura quickly yanked it away, "Don't!"
"It was only a hug, Laura..and a quick peck on the lips...Nothing more."
"You think I am upset about a hug? You think that is what has me so angry with you? I don't know whether I want to slash all your tires or punch you in the face." Laura whispered loudly as she looked towards the door to make sure Rachel was no where in sight. "You fuckin saw her last weekend!! Which was 5 days ago and you said nothing about it. So that leads me to think that if I wouldn't have found out from your mother, you would have never told me...There was something else going on in your mind about what you just called only a hug and peck on the lips."
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you, Laura...I need to explain this to you."
"Why don't you explain it to Rachel when you two talk later on." Laura snapped back.
"Please look at me..." JC said as he grabbed her at the door.
"Let go of my arm." Laura said, never turning around to look at him. She gained back her composure and took a deep breath before walking towards the car with a fake smile plastered on her face.
CHAPTER 8
"Is something wrong? You hardly touched your food."
"Just have some things on my mind, Rach. I just don't have much of an appetite right now." Laura answered as she forked around in her pasta.
"Is it about JC?"
Laura quickly looked up at her puzzled. "What do you mean?"
"I could cut the tension in the room with a knife, Laura. I know what happened the last time with you being stuck in the middle and I promise that I won't do that to you now. Especially since the two of you are working together and are even closer now then you ever have been." Rachel said as she sipped her wine. "I know it must have been a shock to see us hugging. I'm sure you got scared about things happening all over again, but believe me, its nothing like that."
"Really, it didn't bother me to see you two hugging. I was just surprised. And yes I was a bit worried about how things with the two of you would affect my working relationship with JC, but its really not a problem." Laura lied. It bothered her down to her core to see them together.
"I hope not. I don't want to jeopardize anything for you and I certainly don't want to jeopardize our friendship again. I appreciate the fact that you kept your promise to me and have never told JC what really happened."
Laura sat and remembered back and could feel her stomach churning. She was disgusted with herself. "I made a promise to you. It would do more damage than good if I were to tell him about that now. So lets just leave it in the past."
Laura and Rachel finished dinner and headed back to the house. "I'll call you next week after you get back so we can hang out!" Rachel yelled as she was backing out of the driveway."
"Okay!" Laura yelled back.
As Laura walked into the house she saw a note sitting on the table in the foyer.
Laura,
I realize you may not want to speak to me right now, but I really need to explain all this to you. Please call me when you get home.
JC
Laura balled up the note and threw it into the trash before changing into a bathing suit and going into her backyard to soak in the hot tub. Laura let her head fall back against the head cushion and gazed up at the stars. After the jets stopped running, she could hear faint laughter in the distance and recognized Rachel's voice. Laura quickly got out and slowly walked over to her tall wooden fence to hear what was going on. As she looked through the crack of the fence she could see JC and Rachel sitting outside at the table.
Laura was straining to try and hear them speaking...Any word would have been nice to help her find out what was going on. She would notice Rachel leaning over the table and placing her hand over JC's. Laura could also see that JC was not physically responding to Rachel, which temporarily set aside her fears. She soon noticed more laughter and looked through the crack and saw the two of them get up and walk inside the house.
She watched them walk through the kitchen and down the hallway. There could only be two places they could be going...The piano room or JC's bedroom. Laura's heart was pounding. When the coast was clear she quickly ran across JC's yard to the side of the house to see where they went. A light suddenly came on in JC's bedroom. Laura quickly ducked down.
"I didn't get a chance to get them back to you. They are right here in my closet. I put everything in a box for you." a male voice uttered.
Laura noticed that JC's window was open a crack and she continued to listen.
"I would have thought you would have thrown all this stuff away." Rachel said as she sat on the bed and looked through the box. "Oh my God. The diamond bracelet you bought me for my birthday?"
"Yeah."
"I thought I'd lost it."
"Buddy actually found it a little while ago. He came in the room with it stuck in his mouth."
Laura could see JC smiling as he watched Rachel continue to go through the box.
"What's in here?" Rachel said as she opened up a tiny box. "Oh, JC...I can't keep this."
"It's yours Rachel. Even though I gave it to you with the intentions of marrying you...I still gave it to you. You can do what you want with it, but as far as I'm concerned its yours." JC said as he handed the ring back to her.
Rachel held it in her hand and got up and walked over to JC. "I love you, JC. No matter what has happened in the past I never stopped loving you. I will always love you." she said as she went to hug him.
JC hugged her tightly, "I love you too. But its not the same love that I once had for you. I will always love you, there is no doubt about that Rachel, but its turned into a different type of love. Its going to take me a while to get passed all that has happened. So I need the space and time to heal."
"I understand. I just wanted you to know that." Rachel said as she ran her thumbs up his cheeks.
"I used to love when you did that to my face." JC smiled as he put his hands over hers and kissed her palms. The sprinklers suddenly came on and Laura was being sprayed with shots of cold water to her lower back. She couldn't hear what they were saying over the noises of the sprinklers. As she went to move closer her foot slid from beneath her "Ahhh.." she cried out as she went to the ground and ended up in a split position in the wet grass which was turning into mud.
Laura noticed she had yelled loudly and quickly got up to retreat back to her house. She ran through the sprinklers and slid again and fell onto her face. She quickly got up and ran to her fence quickly shutting it behind her so she wouldn't be seen.
As she reached her sliding glass doors she could see her reflection and scrunched up her face. She was covered in mud. She grabbed a towel from the lounge chair and set in on the floor in the kitchen before standing on it in her muddy flip flops and sliding across the floor to the laundry room where she took off her clothes and threw them in the washing machine.
Laura stood in the shower just letting the water run over her head while she thought about what JC and Rachel had said to one another before her snooping was cut short. All she could see was JC kissing Rachel's palms so lovingly. He seemed to look at Rachel the same way he would look at her when they were together.
When she got out of the shower Laura threw on her robe and went in the kitchen and made herself some tea. She walked down the corridor to her office and walked in the dark over to her desk to turn on the light. When the light switched on she screamed out in terror.
CHAPTER 9
"What the hell are doing? Coming up in here and sitting in the dark like that?!" she yelled as she threw her towel at him.
Me? Look who's talking." he sat motionlessly staring at her as he continued to speak. "Or should I call the cops and let them know I have a different stalker now. One who shares your name and has the same necklace with their name across it?" JC slowly leaned forward and placed the necklace on the desk.
"What are you talking about?" she asked nonchalantly.
"Oh Puh-leez." JC said. "You're actually going to stand there and act like you weren't spying an hour ago?
"I don't know what you are talking about." she replied trying not to smirk.
"You know...You could have just asked me." JC said as he stood up and walked around the desk and placed his hands on her arms and slid them down to entwine their fingers. Laura quickly backed away and started to clean up the mess they had made the night before.
"It's not that easy, JC. I am not one of your groupies that you used to play mind games with. You can't just flash a smile my way and expect me to forget shit. I'm not Rachel either...You can't just buy me a car or a few diamond rings and all is forgiven." she said as she furiously grabbed papers and pens off the floor.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa..." JC said, completely at a loss for words.
"Look, just don't come in here acting like everything between us is okay when it really isn't. Don't stand there and say I should have just asked rather than spy. Obviously you didn't feel I needed to know that bit of information about you seeing Rachel." Laura threw his swim trunks at him. "Here you go...You know the way out." She said as she turned off the light, leaving JC in the dark. She walked into the den and placed a CD in the stereo and sat down looking at sheet music. She could feel his presence in the room but did not turn around to acknowledge him.
"I didn't tell you because I was afraid."
"Afraid of what?" Laura asked never turning around.
"Afraid that I would jeopardize us...But even more afraid that I may still want her back in my life."
Laura suddenly stopped reading and looked down at the floor. "I see." she replied trying to choke back the emotions. She had never expected him to say that. She was completely thrown off guard.
JC walked further into the den and sat on the piano bench and continued to speak. "For a big part of my life, she was everything to me and more. All this other shit isn't that far in the past for me to have just thrown away all my feelings I had for her. I thought I had been doing so well...Especially when you and I were together." he said as he went to sit next to her on the couch.
Laura quickly moved away from him and motioned her arms for him to stay back. "Seeing her threw me for a loop. Up until that very moment when I saw her at the door, I thought I was fine. Then all these emotions came rushing back over me. Some good, some bad...But they were there. I didn't want to hurt you. But thoughts of her would always creep back into my mind. I tossed it away and tried not to think of it again. I thought that I was just thinking of her in retrospect...And I was right, Laura."
JC got on his knees in front of her. Swaying his body from left to right, he followed her head, trying to get her to look at him. He grabbed her hands and placed his over them. "This thing between you and me is new. In respecting your wishes not to tell anyone about us, I sometimes feel neglected. Times when I want to just grab you, kiss you, hug you, or hold you, I have to make sure it's okay first. It's very complicated for the both of us right now...I know. I guess I was just trying to remember the times when my life wasn't such a mess."
Laura sucked in her teeth at what he was saying. She could still picture him and Rachel. Rachel's hands on his face. JC kissing her palms....Laura snapped out of her trance when JC brought her hands closer to his face. "But my feelings for you have not changed. I truly believe that seeing her again has made me love you even more...If that's even possible."
Laura went to speak but JC covered her lips with his finger. "I'm very sorry that I did not tell you that I had seen Rachel. I didn't want things to get even more complicated between us. I didn't want what you are feeling right now to even exist when you are with me. I should have been honest and told you anyway and I didn't. But I promise you that from this day on, I will tell you everything...No matter what."
Laura pulled at JC's arm to get him off the floor. She turned her body to face him on the couch. "I apologize for acting like a 13 year old when I stupidly tried to spy on you and my best friend. But to be honest, you challenged my trust. And that was why I did that. To see or hear what actually happens and then to hear you tell me yourself was what I was attempting to do...Wanting to see if I could trust you with her after you kept that little bit of information from me. Especially to feel stupid in front of people that know I am the 'go-to-girl' when it comes to you. I'm sure if someone asked me how many times you piss during the day I could easily tell them 8." Laura joked.
JC smiled. Laura smiled back and slowly leaned forward and kissed his cheek. JC went to return the kiss but she moved back. "I think for right now we both shouldn't continue this relationship.
JC never saw that coming. "What?!" he asked loudly.
Laura was very calm and was still smiling. "Chill...You are still dealing with some issues with your past, present and future. Rachel is also my best friend. Its hard to hear about you from her and hear about her from you...Now I just confused myself with whatever the hell I just said. But, basically I want to take a step back and evaluate things. We have this album deal to work on together and I don't want things to fuck that up. So I think for the next 5 months we should just go back to how things were and not get sucked into being best friends and lovers.
JC started to laugh hysterically. "You really think you can physically hold off for that long?"
"Yep" Laura smiled.
"Well if that is what you want, then that is what you shall get, baby." JC said as he stood up to leave.
"That's it? No argument?"
"No. I think its a good idea...Pal." he paused said with a deep grin on his face as he patted the side of her shoulder. "Well my friend, I must be going. I have a big day tomorrow...You know how it is living the single life."
Laura stood there puzzled as he walked out of the den towards the back door to leave. The light finally went off in her head and she ran after him. "You don't think I can do it, do you?!"
JC turned around with the same deep grin and just waved. "We'll see, baby. You better snuggle up in your bed alone tonight. It's suppose to get chilly around here rather soon. Night!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next few weeks were torture. JC and Laura would be in his basement studio and every chance he got, he would make sexual remark or brush up against Laura in just the right ways that he knew would drive her insane. She would go over to his house to see him at her usual times during the day and he would always end up greeting her wearing just a towel or anything else that showed off his body. Laura just decided to focus her mind on other things...Like just how good his body would feel up against hers. She was in agony and she knew he was literally getting off at the fact that she was becoming stir crazy without his lips and arms around her.
JC knew exactly what he was doing and was enjoying every minute of it. He never agreed with the separation, but instead of fighting it, he decided to use it to his advantage. And he was happier and happier each day when he saw her squirm. Laura knew if she fought back in retaliation it would just make the sexual tension even more intense than it already was, and she would be sure to lose the battle.
She soon got a break from all of his incessant flirtations when he went away with the guys for a few radio promotions around the states. She would have a full 2 weeks to herself. She had actually survived a month without sex...Without sex with JC. Who would have thunk it?
Laura got a great deal of writing done and even got a chance to spend more time with Rachel. At one time she and Rachel were like Siamese twins...Inseparable. She had missed it. She missed being able to really bitch and moan about men and how she always needed excessive amounts of Midol, chocolate and junk food when her period came around. She couldn't sit and veg out with JC when that happened. He would get all weird around her and act as though she were a leper. Laura tried to stay neutral during the entire breakup, but it was hard. She knew the truth behind things and consoled one friend more than the other. It soon caused a rift and the balance in their friendships was altered. She was now trying to salvage the bond she once had with Rachel.
Rachel was a big art fan. Anytime a show would come into town, she would be the first to get exclusive tickets to special events and showings. Rachel had sent Laura a pair right before JC left in case they wanted to check it out one day while they were in the city working. JC was away and he had his ticket somewhere. She never stayed on the phone with him long enough to find out. They would start off by talking about their days events and JC's voice would suddenly get a little deeper and his breathing pattern would start to change and she could hear moaning in the background. Obviously a porno he had ordered in his hotel room to get through those lonely nights without her. And right when he would ask her what she was wearing, she suddenly would have to take Buddy for a walk or go to sleep. So instead of putting herself through anymore grief she decided not to waste her art pass and decided to just go alone.
She checked her watch as she ran up the cement steps and in through the revolving doors.
'Damn, why am I always late?' she mumbled to herself.
Stopping in the middle of the lobby, she looked around in awe at the high ceilings that housed skylights and stained glass. On a sunny day this place must be really magical, she thought. The weather outside was still undecided but would probably turn into a storm. The morning had brought a little blue sky and the sun had tried to show itself but it seemed that the dull gray sky had won the battle and now storm clouds were threatening to share.
Moving to the Information Desk, she patiently waited her turn. The woman behind the desk appeared to be in the wrong job for customer service. Each question that was asked was given a snippy reply; the only thing missing was her rolling her eyes and calling the person stupid. There should be a law where women who have severe PMS get to stay home from their jobs and torture only the ones who really love them. Finally she stood face to face with the woman across the counter and braced herself for her reply.
"I have a pass for the Montgomery Exhibit that was scheduled to leave at 2:00 and I was wondering where to go to meet up with the group." She smiled sweetly thinking that might help. The woman, who was wearing a name tag that said her name was Lucy, sighed and shook her head as if in total disgust. "And what time is it now?" Lucy asked in her own special way.
"Well, that big old clock behind you says it's 2:23, so that'll be my guess." She figured that sarcasm would be wasted on Lucy, but gave it a shot anyway.
"The tour left promptly at 2:00 and if you'll check your pass and read it, you'll see that they do not accept late arrivals." Lucy said, and then added, with a cruel smile on her face. "Perhaps next time we should leave the house a little earlier."
She stared at Lucy and wondered if the woman was worth her time. Actually, since she couldn't join the tour group, she did have some time on her hands but since there was a long line of people behind her just waiting for Lucy's abuse so she just smiled her best smile at Lucy and asked. "Did you used to work for the government?" and then walked away.
Laura didn't want to waste her day, so she bought herself a coffee and grabbed a pamphlet that contained a list of other exhibits at the art museum. She sat on a bench near a huge fountain and read it. After scanning the list she sighed and frowned. This was the last day that the Montgomery Exhibit could be viewed here before it moved on to the next city. She looked down at her pass and considered giving it back to Lucy in a place that wouldn't exactly be comfortable.
Crossing her legs and adjusting her skirt, she leaned back and sipped her coffee, watching the crowds of people entering and leaving. She hoped she'd bump into Rachel, but knew her friend was off shooting a fragrance commercial on the other side of town. Her eyes scanned the long lineup of people who just couldn't get enough of Lucy. She watched as the man in the front of the line listened, shook his head and then turned away from the desk, looking discouraged. He must have felt her eyes on him because he looked up and shrugged his shoulders, smiled and then headed to where she was sitting. He moved with a grace that she had always admired. It was hard to describe the movement but it projected self-confidence, something that couldn't be taught or mimicked, they just either had it or didn't. This man definitely had it.
He was a little over 6 feet tall and toned. His dark brown hair complimented his tanned face and added to his rugged good looks. She guessed him to be around 26 years old but it was hard to tell. He had dressed very casually in a pair of jeans and a button down, deep green cotton shirt.
He made a motion towards Lucy with his head, "I'm guessing she was once part of a military operation gone bad," he said in a voice that made her stomach do a flip flop.
"I guessed ex-government employee, but you're probably more accurate." she replied, flashing him a smile. He laughed and asked if he could sit with her. She would have been disappointed if he didn't and she nodded.
Leaning back against the bench he crossed his long legs and sighed. "You know, my friend gave me a free pass for the Montgomery Exhibit a month ago and I kept meaning to get here and the day that I finally get back into town and have some time to myself, I miss it! And it's the last damn day to see it too." He looked at her and smiled. "Sorry, just venting here." He held out his hand and added, "My name is Rick."
'Hmmm??' She thought quietly to herself. She was completely confused. Placing her hand in his she felt a jolt pass through her body that felt like she had just stuck her finger in an electrical outlet. Had he felt it too? "I'm Laura and I missed the exhibit by exactly 23 minutes. You can ask Lucy, she'll back me up on that one."
He laughed and said he would take her word on it. She shook his hand and looked into his eyes that were staring back into hers. They released hands, reluctantly on both sides and just took each other in, neither embarrassed by their open stares.
Finally he broke the silence. "Well Laura, this is how I see it. We could go over to that security guard that is blocking the entrance to the exhibit and bribe our way in or better yet, you could distract him with that killer smile of yours and I could slip in. Our other option is we could pick another exhibit and view it together, if you'd like."
She knew that she would follow him anywhere and suggested another exhibit because the security guard, who was probably about 90 years old, didn't really do anything for her. She handed him the list and watched him scan the other selections with much thought. He asked if she had seen anything that looked remotely interesting but she hadn't and suggested he select one.
"Okay," he said, turning his attention back to the flyer and looking very serious for a moment. "Got it!"
"And the winner is?"
"Recycled!" he replied trying to hold back a smile.
"You've got to be kidding. You want to go from Montgomery to garbage?" She laughed. "Isn't that taking a step in the wrong direction?"
"Come on," he pleaded, "you young people these days just can't seem to open your minds to new ideas. Think about it Laura, you put out your garbage once a week and have never viewed it as true art and now you have a chance."
She knew he was teasing her and decided to call his bluff, "Okay, let's go then 'Old Timer' and you can show me how my trash can be turned into cash."
"You've got to be kidding" he repeated her words, searching her face for a hint of humor. She shook her head and stood up, tossing her half-empty coffee cup into the trash can.
"Geeze, maybe I should have kept that." She tried to look serious.
He laughed and stood up beside her and looked around for the entrance to their destination. At 5"4 she had to look up at him and decided that the view from down there was just as good.
"Whew, thank God, I see it over there." He pointed to the far right. "For a moment I thought you'd have to go ask Miss
Congeniality over at the Information Desk for directions while I waited."
He touched her arm lightly and led her over to the gate and while he was purchasing two tickets, he explained that dinner that evening would be on her. The words 'on her' brought all sorts of images to her mind that involved several spreadable foods and she quickly shook those thoughts away. They passed through the gates, picking up a pamphlet about the exhibit and were suddenly surrounded by someone's personal view of the world.
The first piece was very interesting, the sign saying that it was called 'Hope'. Apparently "Hope" used to be a bicycle and a lawnmower that had been in a serious accident and it was the artist's hope that there were survivors. She walked around it and touched one of the tire tubes. He was reading the sign and looked up, "Hey watch it! The 'you break it you bought it' rule applies here."
She pulled her hand away from it quickly and laughed. They moved on to the next piece and she watched as he stood back, placing one arm across his chest while resting his other one on it and rubbing his chin. He looked like he was really pondering it. She moved in closer to get a good look at it and wondered what he found so interesting about it. Finally she asked him what he was thinking.
"Oh I was just thinking that I threw out some very valuable stuff when I cleaned out the garage a few months ago." He dropped his arms and smiled at her as he jammed his hands in his pockets.
As they moved from object to object they talked about themselves with an amazing ease for two people that had just 'met'. Outside the storm had taken over. Lightening flashed and thunder crashed. From inside you could hear the wind whistling and the rain pounding against the skylights. She looked up at the water smashing and then running down against the glass, wondering if there was a broken umbrella hidden somewhere in this exhibit that she would borrow.
They entered another room that held the artist's smaller pieces. Several were placed on stands scattered around the room, making it look like an obstacle course.
"Wow, look at this one!" he exclaimed. "I've been looking for something to put on my coffee table."
"Looks like it used to be one." she commented, leaning over to study it while he stood back and studied her butt.
The piece was valued at five hundred dollars and she told him that she would personally run over her own coffee table with her car and sell it to him for a mere two hundred. He told her she had no appreciation for true art and they moved on.
The lights started to flicker and a voice came over the speakers telling them that if the lights went out the building was equipped with emergency lights that would help them find their way safely back to the lobby. As if on cue, the lights flickered again and then went out, leaving them in total darkness.
She could feel him close beside her. Feeling the heat from his body and the familiar scent of his cologne made her head spin. Suddenly his hand took hers. "I think we are emergency light challenged back here. With the next big flash of lightning we should head over to our right where there is a bench." He squeezed her hand gently.
She mumbled 'okay' as she tried to stop her body and mind from reacting to his touch.
Seconds later there was a series of lightning flashes that lit the room enough for them to maneuver around the displays and make their way to the bench. She sat down and he sat very close to her, resting his arm on the back of the bench behind her, his fingertips lightly stroking her shoulder.
"There's nothing more romantic than a big storm, a beautiful woman and a room full of recycled garbage, I always say."
"You need to get out more" she replied and he laughed.
His touch was burning into her skin, setting it on fire. She knew what she wanted to do but wasn't quite sure how to approach the subject. Not being one to shy away but wanting to remain tactful she took a deep breath and said. "I always say, make the most out of every situation."
"Funny" he replied "that's the second thing I always say."
He moved sideways and touched her cheek, leaning in and kissed her lips softly. Her arms moved around his neck as she turned and returned his kiss, her body melting against his. Their kisses grew from gentle and soft to hard and passionate, each letting the other know that their earlier feeling about each other had been mutual. In the distance they could hear people making their way back to the lobby, chattering about the fierceness of the storm and being thankful for the emergency lights. She could think of two people that were thankful for the lack of light right now.
CHAPTER 10
His tongue moved between her lips, ran across her smooth teeth and continued to explore her mouth as her tongue stroked his. He moaned as he put his large hands on the back of her head and wove his fingers into her long brown hair, pulling her closer to him. With their chests pressed together, their hearts pounded so hard that they were both positive that the other person could feel theirs. Hands explored as their surroundings became irrelevant. The storm continued making it's strength known outside but there was an inner storm between them that would give the one outside a run for its money. He put his hands on her waist and pulled her sideways onto his lap, his fingers moving up and down her bare thighs. She mentally applauded herself for not wearing nylons.
"So...Umm..Rick...Why didn't you tell me you were in town?"
"I wanted to surprise you, baby."
"You just wanted to tease me, JC...I mean...Rick..." Laura grinned.
"Don't call me Rick anymore...I feel like we're cheating on each other. I don't know whether to be jealous of myself or mad that you would do such naughty things with a stranger in public." JC said as he paused from role playing.
"Tsk..Tsk..Tsk..We're not cheating...We're not even dating right now. So no worries, JC." Laura smiled pulling his head down, she kissed across his cheek to his ear and sucked on his earlobe before capturing it between her teeth and gently tugging on it while her tongue flicked at it.
He moaned and whispered, "If you don't stop that Missy, you'll be sorrier than I know you already are for keeping this body away from me."
This statement only made her suck and pull harder. He let out a little mock growl and pushed her thighs apart, running the palm of his hand against her inner thigh until his thumb touched her wet panties, which inspired a real growl from his throat.
Lying across him and pressed hard against his body didn't give her a lot of room to explore but the thought of shifting positions was halted by his thumb rubbing against her panties. The harder he rubbed, the more his thumb disappeared along with her panties, between her pussy lips. His lips were in her hair as she moved down a little and licked at his neck, finding a particularly sensitive spot near the base of his throat that made him grip her tighter and rub a little harder.
"That's it! God you know where to get me each time!" He growled and grabbed her around the waist and held her up until she was standing on the bench, a foot on each side of his legs. She put her hands against the wall for support as his hands moved up her legs, pushing her skirt up with them until it was around her waist. His mouth was suddenly against the top of her pussy, his warm breath seeping into her skin, causing her legs to shake. He held onto her thighs as he began to suck on her lips through the material, mixing the wetness from his lips with the moisture coming from hers. She closed her eyes and moaned when his fingers roughly pushed the crotch of her panties aside and ran his tongue up her slit. He moaned in apparent appreciation of either her shaved pussy or the taste of her, perhaps both.
Moving his head back and forth, he pushed his face in deep and latched onto her clit with his lips and began sucking on it hard, pulling it deeply into his mouth while his tongue pressed against it. His hands moved up to her ass cheeks, spreading them apart and then squeezing them back together. With shaking legs she managed to grind her pussy against his face, loving the feeling of his stiff tongue entering her for a brief second and then lapping mercilessly against her swollen clit. Holding the wall for support, she placed one foot up on the back of the bench, opening her pussy wide over JC's mouth. Her open invitation was not lost on him as he squeezed her ass cheeks, pulling her right down on his face as he fucked her with his tongue. She felt like she was going to fall and leaned her forehead against the wall, shutting her eyes tight and rocking against him. As the wave started to overtake her body, she dug her nails into the wall and scratched downward. Her legs stiffened and every muscle in her body was screaming for release.
"Oh God" she moaned and tightened her thighs against his head so hard that he couldn't move. Her body shook and she came hard against his mouth, biting her lower lip to suppress a scream. When the wave lessened her thighs released his head and he happily lapped up the cream. Leaning against the wall and breathing hard, she was startled by the lightning flashing through the room. The fact that someone could be watching them had never crossed her mind until that moment. Of course, that thought turned her on even more.
"Should we look for the lobby now?" JC asked from below. Pushing herself away from the wall, she stepped down off the bench and reached down to touch his huge hard on that was struggling to get out from his jeans.
"And waste this?" she asked in a shocked voice.
It was hard to calculate how much time they had before either the lights went on or before they were arrested for public indecency and carted off to jail. Her fingers worked quickly to undo his button and release the zipper. She pushed the flaps back and pulled his briefs down, pulling out his hard, swollen cock. She stroked it lovingly for a moment, listening to him sigh. She was about to lean over and take him in her mouth when he grabbed her hips again and pulled her back onto his lap, this time straddling his legs. Her knees were on the bench, his cock right below her pussy, waiting.
Leaning over she kissed him, tasting herself on his skin. As she kissed him she moved her hips back and forth, letting the head of his cock slide against her soaked lips. He moaned against her mouth and held her hips tightly, trying to pull her down on him. She fought him and continued to tease his cock as it became wet and started to slide between her lips.
After a month of torture, self control was no longer one of her strong points and she moved her hips forward until she could feel his cock at her opening and with one quick movement she pushed her knees out and slammed down hard on his cock. They both moaned and held still, embracing the feeling of his hard cock buried deep in her tight pussy.
Holding the back of the bench she used it to pull herself up and down, his hands on her hips doing the same. Letting go of the bench, she moved his hands to her ass cheeks and then grasped the bench again, pulling herself up and then dropping hard against him. The zipper of his jeans felt cold and rough against her thighs as she started to move faster and faster, his cock throbbing and twitching inside her as he raised his hips to meet her downward thrusts.
His hands pulled her cheeks apart again as he slid a finger between them feeling how wet her ass had become thanks to her dripping pussy. He returned the favor of her previous attack on him and just plunged his finger deep into her ass. She cried out so loud that he had to quickly move his other hand up and clamp it over her mouth as she moaned and stopped moving, her pussy tightening around his cock. He moved his finger out slowly and then plunged it back in again and she bit the palm of his hand but didn't stop moving. She varied between moving up and down and rocking back and forth. Just when he felt like he was getting the rhythm she would change it, driving him insane. This was her ultimate revenge for the month of agony he put her through. He took his hand away from her mouth and made a mental note to discuss her unfair tactics with her later.
She pushed down on his cock and then back against his finger that was furiously fucking her ass. There was no turning back when she felt her orgasm approaching. Releasing her weight off her knees, she sat hard against his cock and rocked back and forth as JC thrust his cock and finger in and out of her at the same time.
Leaning her head back, a sound came from deep inside her throat emerged from her lips causing JC's hand to cover it once again. She bit him again as she shuddered and screamed, her orgasm striking like a powerful blow. When she stopped making noise, he removed his hand and slapped her ass hard for biting him.
"Oh baby." She whispered, moving off his lap.
"Lar....Laura....get back here" he pleaded, reaching out for her and pulling her by her hips back on top of him, realizing then that she had turned around. Bending over and reaching back she placed his cock between her ass cheeks and then slowly backed down on him. She moaned loudly and there was nothing he could do to stop her. The feeling of her extremely tight ass around his cock was enough to make him lose it. He held her hips and pulled her down, driving himself into only once deeply and he couldn't hold it back any longer. She felt his forehead banging against her back as he jerked under her, his fingers digging hard into her hips and his low, deep moans were smothered against her back as he came. He leaned back and they were both still shaking when the emergency lights finally went on. As he looked down to see his cock embedded in between her creamy cheeks he wished they could just live on this bench.
She pulled herself off of him and quickly pulled down her skirt, smoothing it down her legs and then ran her fingers through her hair as she watched him stand up, shove his still semi-hard cock back into his jeans and do the zipper back up. Looking down at his crotch she broke up laughing and started to walk away. Feeling a little rejected, he looked down to see that the front of his jeans were soaked from her sitting on him. He looked up to see her standing there, a huge smirk on her face.
"Hey, why do I get the wet spot?" he said as he walked towards her.
"It's payback sweetie." she started to back up, telling him not to walk with her because she was a little more than embarrassed that he had an 'accident'. He tried his hurt look out on her and found no sympathy there so he pulled out his shirttails and asked if he was acceptable now.
Laura laughed as she wrapped her arms around him to finally properly welcome him home. "I missed you."
Hand in hand they left the exhibit rooms and walked through the lobby, Lucy's eyes following them suspiciously. As they passed the desk JC looked at Lucy "Interesting Recycled exhibit, but might I suggest getting the emergency lights fixed back there, someone could get hurt."
As they left the museum JC looked down at her and said, "While you're buying me dinner, we need to discuss how you think what we just did even remotely compares to the little things I did to you...And who broke the deal first."
"Oh no way...It was sooo you!" Laura smiled as they argued. JC quickly grabbed her hand and pulled her outside into the pouring rain.
"Just wait till we get home...I'm gonna fix your ass." Laura said as she chased him in the rain.
CHAPTER 11-15