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I can't stop
She just stared at him, eyes wide and lips
parted, unable to believe what she was hearing. She just kept watching
his mouth and hearing the tone of his voice, all the while trying to comprehend
the fact that he was successfully getting her out of meeting with a very
lame excuse. And by the look on his face, JC Chasez was proud of
the fact that he had charmed his way out of something yet again.
Of course she was speechless, only nodding her head and smiling affirmatively
as JC spoke. She just couldn’t believe this. She didn’t know
what was going on. She had no clue. This had to be an alternate
reality. Then again the day hadn’t started out typical.
“We have an MTV interview?” He was all innocence. “Mm-hmm…” JC replied eyeing her before looking up at the blinking lights that were indicating the elevators descent. “JC. An MTV interview?” “Why is that so hard to believe?” He’d never seen her with such a loss of words. Well, he had. But he’d been kissing her at the time so it didn’t count. “An MTV interview?” “Mmm?” He adverted his eyes from the glowing numbers. “Well it was the truth. Sort of.” He answered vaguely before focusing his attention to her top. “Is this new?” he asked before picking at the strap. She swatted his hand still trying to understand how he had just gotten her out of the meeting. “No. What does sort of mean? I thought we didn't have to do Diary for at least three weeks." JC ran a hand through his unruly hair. “You're right. But it is the truth. I mean we'll have a meeting for Diary." Aliesa raised an eyebrow. “JC.” “Don’t JC me. You should be thanking me.” “Thanking you?” she said slowly trying to figure out if she had heard him right. “You want me to thank you for lying?” “Yeah.” He shrugged like it was common knowledge. “I rescued you from that boring meeting.” Aliesa didn’t nod or shake her head; instead she did an odd combination of both. “I didn’t need to be rescued. The meeting was almost finished. I would have survived.” “You said it was boring. If that wasn't a cry for help I don't know what is." “So let me get this straight…” Aliesa wet her lips. "You lied because I told you the meeting was boring?" “I think you owe me.” “And now I’ve gone from thanking to owing you in the span of one minute?” “Don’t worry. I’m in generous mood today. Join me for lunch and we’ll call it even,” he said as the elevator doors opened and he led the way to his awaiting car. “Let me guess. I’m paying?” Aliesa remarked as she climbed in and buckled her seatbelt. “Nah. Since I’m already in my rescue mode I’ll pay.” “How big of you.” JC's chest puffed out with pride. “Hey just doing my job." Aliesa yawned. JC looked at her analytically as he pulled out onto the road. “You tired?” Aliesa nodded. “Honestly, I could skip food and just go straight to bed.” “That could be arranged,” he remarked an evil glint in his eye. She gave him a playful tap. “Stop flirting with me.” “I wasn’t flirting. I was making an offer.” Aliesa laughed. “Hey it’s not funny. Most girls would take me up on that one.” “I’m not most girls.” “So you keep saying.” The conversation lulled to a comfortable silence. Aliesa traced the car window with her finger. “You know whatever you’re planning it’s never going to work.” “I have a plan?” “You’re trying to be charming,” she said pointedly. “You have a plan.” “What do you mean? I’m charming all the time.” “You’re only charming when it gets you what you want.” He eyed her suggestively. “What if I told you that you were what I wanted?” She pushed her hair back. “You’re going to need a better plan.” “I’ve already got one.” The car stopped then and Aliesa suddenly noticed that they were in front of a Baskin-Robbins. This she was not expecting. It caught her off guard. She unbuckled her seat belt and stepped out to stare at the building. JC walked around the car and took a place behind her. He dipped his head and whispered in her ear. “How’s this for a better plan?” Aliesa didn’t turn around, and when she spoke, her voice was barely
above a whisper.
“You think?” She didn't have to look to know that he had a self-gratifying smile on his face. She spun around to face him. “Did Shannon tell you?” JC raised a cautious eyebrow at her. “Tell me what?” She waved at the building. “My need for Peanut Butter and Chocolate ice cream.” JC’s face brightened. “No actually I figured that all on my own. I mean all those empty quarts in the trashcan just screamed obsession.” “And so you just randomly decided to take me to Baskin-Robbins?” He took one of her hands in his and swung it up and down. “Well yeah. Ice cream is lunch food.” Her face bunched up. “You’re doing it again.” “I swear I will never understand you women,” JC stated his brow crinkled in concentration. “What am I doing?” “You’re being charming.” JC looked at her seriously. “No. I don't think I am. You told me charming wasn’t working so I changed plans.” “Stop that.” “Stop what?” “You’re impossible.” “I thought you said I was charming.” Aliesa could almost swear he was pouting. “I said you were charming when you had a plan.” “But I told you I’ve already switched plans.” She didn’t know why she found their conversation amusing but she did. She couldn’t help but smile at how silly they were being. JC brought their clasped hands up to his chest. “You’re smiling.” She felt the blush creep up all the way to the ends of her cheeks. It seemed that she was always a little red these days. She’d been doing it a lot lately around JC Chasez. “Well I like to smile.” His free hand found her waist and he pulled her towards him. “I like to watch you smile”, he said, his words low and seductive, his voice oddly hoarse. The distance between their bodies remained respectable, but all of a sudden Aliesa felt like her breath was being robbed right in front of her. She calmly rested her other hand on his shoulder and remembered to breathe. “Joshua Scott Chasez are you giving me a line? Because I think that sounds like a line,” she said casually. He smiled slyly at her. “So I take it Plan B is working?” She took his hand from her waist and curled her hand until their palms touched. She chose her next words carefully, and in her opinion with great drama and resolve. “Answer this one first. Are you buying me a two scoop or a three scoop sundae?” ********************************* JC was sitting up in his bed, scouring the numerous papers in front of him. Sheet music, proposals, and random contracts to go over, even mail was thrown in the mix. Ironic. He swore the last time he checked under occupation it said musician. “Hey. Busy?” He looked up, his glasses perched on his nose, to see Aliesa in her pajamas, her hair damp, standing expectantly in the doorway. He couldn’t help but think how sexy she looked in a tank top and drawstring pants. He rationalized the options. Paperwork. Sexy woman. He tore his eyes away to look at the papers in his hands. This was an easy decision. “Nope,” he answered moving around his paperwork to make a space for her to sit on the bed. “Come on in.” Aliesa made her way over and climbed in next to him, propping her head against the headboard. He watched her bite her nail. “So what did you want to talk about?” “I don’t know.” She turned her head to look at him, and then proceeded to push herself sideways so that she completely faced him, sitting. “A lot of things.” “A lot of things?” She nodded, grabbing one of his pillows and placing it in her lap. “Well just one thing…” she began, and then stopped her address as she took a good look at him. Aliesa tilted her head. “You know I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in glasses.” “Probably because I don’t wear them as much as I’m supposed to,” JC said as he pushed them up consciously. “Why? Do they make me look bad?” She shook her head. “No. No. Actually quite the opposite…it makes you look…” “Good,” he offered. “Better than good,” she corrected him without thinking, twisting the pillow cover as she said so. His lips lifted up in a familiar smirk. “Oh so you think I’m hot.” She stopped twisting the pillow cover. “I didn’t say that.” “No. You implied it. You think I’m hot,” he pressed. “JC.” “You do.” Aliesa threw the pillow at him. “Hey watch it.” He gently tossed the pillow back in her direction. “Don’t blame me for being so attractive.” “You’re such a geek.” “Ah…But a HOT geek.” Aliesa shoved the pillow against his chest. “JC come on. I came here to have a serious discussion,” she pleaded emphasizing the word serious. He pulled her hands away, and slid the pillow down. “Okay. No need to get violent,” he joked. She regarded him with an expression that was an unlikely cross between amusement and annoyance. “You really are something else.” She left that one wide open. The sentiment alone deserved another comment and he was more than willing to share. But Aliesa was quicker. She covered his mouth with her hand before a word escaped his lips. “And don’t even think about tying that statement somehow to that whole attractive thing.” JC pulled her hand away. “I wasn’t.” “Sure you weren’t.” He crossed his arms across his chest defiantly. “I wasn’t.” Aliesa leaned forward and placed her hands against his arms. She looked at him with all sincerity. “Don’t pout. It ruins that whole look you had going for you earlier.” He uncrossed his arms and grinned. “Just so you know I’m taking that as an admittance.” “Whatever.” She sat back. “We need to talk.” “So talk.” Her gaze lowered. “You know how we’re doing Diary the day after tomorrow…or something like that?” She grabbed a piece of her hair and twirled it. “Have you thought about how we need to change things around the house?” She kept on twirling her hair like it was the most important thing in the world. “Like…” He watched her finger go round and round. “Ali,” he cut in. Her head snapped up. JC took her hand out of her hair and held it in his own. “Stop twirling your hair. It’s distracting.” “Oh. Sorry. I’m just trying to figure things out.” She sat there. He waited. She was biting her lip. “So you going to tell me what it is that has you fidgeting?” He inquired. “I think I have to move into your room,” she blurted bluntly. JC didn’t say anything at first but then he nodded. “Uh-huh.” Aliesa was confused. Why did he look so calm? He seemed like he was listening. “I don’t think you heard me right. Let me repeat that. I have to move in to YOUR room.” He didn’t seem fazed. She continued. “I’m going to have to take MY things and put them in YOUR closet.” Still he seemed to not be in the same conversation she was. “Us. YOU,” she emphasized. “ME,” she said slowly. “Same room.” “I understand that,” JC said amused at her wordplay. “And this is not bothering you in the slightest?” “Should it?” Maybe he was in shock. “JC? Were you listening to a word I said?” “It’s no big deal.” “It isn’t?” she said doubtfully. JC wasn’t even looking at her. He just stroked her fingers with
his. The motion alerted Aliesa that her hand was still enlaced with
his own. In fact both hands were. Why hadn’t she noticed?
When did that happen?
“We have self-control issues.” His fingers stopped their intertwining motions with hers and he looked up. “Self-control issues?” “You don’t have any and apparently neither do I. And I can see why. We’re hormonal. We’re lonely. We’re basically on the re-bound. And in the end it’s going to end up like a bad soap opera. And with our luck it won’t even be a good soap opera it’ll be a crappy one like Sunset Beach was. The kind with the terrible acting and the storylines that are just to unreal but you watch anyway because there is nothing on. And how sad will that be I mean I really like to believe that we’re better than a cancelled soap opera. Especially now that we’re friends and we’ve come so far and…” JC put his hands on her shoulders and looked her dead in the eye. “It’ll be fine. We’ve slept in the same room before.” “Well we didn’t kiss before.” A shadow of a smile touched his lips. It was warm, teasing, and slightly mischevious. “Oh I see.” He looked at her thoughtfully. “I forgot how I’m THAT good.” Aliesa felt the blood rush to her face. “We’ve already had this conversation remember? Besides you’re the one who couldn’t get enough if I recall.” “Oh really?” It was a challenge. Her eyes strayed to his lips. It was one that she was going to take up without having to be asked twice. In one swift motion Aliesa straddled him. Before he could react his glasses were off and her lips were brushing across his in a feather-light caress, back and forth with just the barest hint of friction before parting, allowing his tongue to tangle with hers. His hands found their way to the small of her back, pulling her closer. Kissing that started out soft and sweet became intense, and JC’s fingers found themselves touching bare skin, as his hand slid up underneath Aliesa’s top gracing her side. A shiver raced down her spine, and Aliesa couldn’t remember if she was trying to prove something or if he was as the feeling of being kissed senseless took over all train of thought. Stop. Stop. Stop. The warning lights were going off in her head. But somehow she couldn’t. JC’s fingers clutched even tighter, pressing into her skin, and his lips traveled down her throat. Her throat. This was déjà vu. Stop Aliesa. Stop. Stop. He really was a good kisser. Stop. But she was the one with self-control. Or she
had been. Her back hit the bed.
Her eyes opened to stare up at a pair of very blue eyes, attached to a very smug popstar. “I think I proved that one,” JC said self-satisfied, before flipping on his back and crossing his arms beneath his head. Aliesa leaned back further into the pillow trying to get her breathing back to a normal tempo. Her heart still beating wildly in her chest. She sighed. “We’re awful.” JC turned his head. “You mean we’re too easy.” The words were familiar, and she recovered that fast. She lifted
herself up, settling herself back on top of
Her lips grazed his ear. “Want to watch some TV?” And in one quick motion she found her hands over her head and her back
once again on the bed. She
“I get to pick,” he announced flicking the set across the room on. She gazed up at the ceiling. They really were bad. Rising up on her elbows she sat up, determined to not lose. “You picked last time,” she proclaimed as she lifted the remote from the mattress where he had dropped it and changed the channel. “Did not.” “Did too.” “Not.” Aliesa closed the gap between them, lifting his arm around her shoulder.
She settled herself against his
“Fine,” he relented as she snuggled closer to him. She looked up and gave him a knowing smile. And then she told
him something that had been going on in
“Me too.” JC’s arms clasped themselves around her. “Me too.” It was odd. It was wonderful. But it couldn’t last. Chapter
21
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