"Good night Charleston!" Justin yelled out to the crowd before all five members of N'sync ran off the stage.
"Good job guys! Lots of energy out there tonight!" Johnny high fived them on there way by. "Ten minutes till the meet and greet."
JC grabbed a bottle of water from a nearby table and took a long drink. "Let's cut the meet and greet short tonight guys. I really want to get back to the hotel soon."
"Are you not feeling well Jace?" Lance asked, concerned.
"No, I'm fine, just tired. So we'll get out of here in an hour?"
"You bet." Joey agreed and followed Lance and Justin in to the hallway.
"Maybe you wouldn't be so tired if you hadn't have been out till all hours of the night." Chris said quietly to JC so Johnny wouldn't hear.
"Yeah, you're probably right Chris. I owe ya. Now let's go meet the screaming masses."
They were out of the stadium in record time. Johnny, thinking they were just tired, let them beg off from the meet and greet earlier than usual. JC was quiet on the ride back to the hotel. Joey and Chris made plans to go out to a dance club. Shae, the group's hair and make up stylist, had made plans to meet them there later. Jake said he would accompany them. Lance and Justin had agreed to watch a movie back at the hotel.
"JC, feel like watching a movie with us?" Justin interrupted JC's trance.
"Naw, I'm gonna pack it in and call it a night. Thanks anyway."
"Sure thing. If you change your mind, we'll be in Alex's room." Alex, who was the group's wardrobe co-ordinator, had been romantically involved with Justin for some time now. She had also become a very good friend to JC in the past months that she had been with them.
JC let Chris have the shower first. He was anxious for him to get out of the room and be on his way clubbing with Joey. As soon as Chris left the room JC had a quick shower and got dressed. He checked the hallway for Allistar. There he was, standing at his regular post outside their doorways. JC went back into the room to phone Alex's room.
"Yeah?" Lance answered.
"Hey Lance it's me. Listen, I need you to get Allistar out of the hallway for thirty seconds."
"What are you doing JC?"
"Shh, you don't have to let Justin know. Just ask Allistar to get you a drink from the soda machine or something."
Lance was silent for a moment.
"Please." JC added.
"Okay, but remember this."
"Thanks Lance, I knew I could count on you. I owe you one." How many times have I said that today? He hung up the phone. Pulling his ball cap down over his eyes, he opened his door a sliver. He heard Lance ask Allistar to come into Justin's room 'for a sec'. Spotting his chance, he closed the door behind him and hurried down the corridor to the stairwell. Running down 6 flights of stairs, he opened the exit door and hurried out into the night.
(*******************)
Carey drained the last bit of coffee from the bottom of her cup and sighed. One last glance out the window to check if there was a tall dark figure coming and she got up. Who are you kidding? He's not really coming back. He's just some guy who crossed your path momentarily and now he's gone. Might as well clean up and go home. She had been busy that day. Three party platters and an office lunch delivery had made her day go by faster and had kept her mind off of the night before. It took her about an hour to clean up and get out of the deli. She turned the open sign around and slipped out the door to lock it.
"Looks like I'm just in time." A warm voice said from behind her. She whirled around, eyes wide. When she saw Josh, she smiled.
"Hi!" She smiled back at him. He looked happier than he had the first time they met.
"You must have had a busy day if you are just getting out of here now."
"Yes, it was crazy. I've been on my feet all day."
"Do you want to go somewhere we can sit and talk?" He really hoped that she would say yes even though he was a lot later than he was the night before.
"Sure. There's a place called The Chocolate Bar four blocks away from here."
"Sounds good to me. After you." He held out his arm for her to take it. She slipped her hand into the crook of his arm and led him down the street.
(*******************)
"So did you really miss the junior prom because of chicken pox?" Josh's eye's twinkled at her. They had been sitting by the fireplace in the restaurant for almost three hours.
"Yes, I did." She rolled her eyes. "My mom bought me this beautiful white dress with black polka dots. It had a big bow on the back and it was strapless. I was so excited to wear it. I mean, a strapless dress! I knew for sure that it would get Tobey Bailey's attention. "
"Tobey Bailey? That sounds like a perfect name for a grade 8 crush!"
"Oh my god! I just thought he was the greatest. I got the chicken pox two days before and I was miserable. I wore my dress while I was sick in bed. I cried all night and listened to my tapes. The next week when I was able to go back to school, Tobey Bailey was dating Charlene Lidstrom, the most popular girl on the cheer squad."
"Well he sure missed out." Josh winked at her. Carey blushed and hoped he didn't notice.
"We've been talking about me for the past hour. What about you?"
"What about me? There's not much to tell." Josh did not want to lie to her. He would rather just change the subject than lie about his career.
"Oh come on! Everybody has something interesting to tell. You even know the name of my grade eight crush!"
"Okay, my grade eight crush was named Kelly Green."
"You're joking. Kelly Green? Who would name their child Kelly if their last name was Green? Some parents eh? So did you ever get to kiss her?"
"Nope, I was too shy. I never even talked to her. She ended up going out with a guy from another school. I think his name was Tobey Bailey."
"Oh shut up! That's not even funny!" Carey started to giggle.
"No, I'm serious. I talked to him once. He said there was this girl named Carey that liked him but he blew it by dating some girl on the cheer squad." Josh tried, unsuccessfully, not to smile.
Carey was laughing uncontrollably now. The waitress shot her a dirty look from behind the counter. "Maybe it's time we got out of here. I have to work early tomorrow morning."
"Can I walk you home?" Josh asked putting on his coat.
Carey eyed him carefully. She didn't know him very well but she did trust him. Still she wasn't sure if she should let him know where she lived. "Yes, I'd like that." She finally said. She would let him walk her to her building and just not let him in her apartment.
"Wow, it's a beautiful night. It was too cold out last night for July." Josh started, once they were outside.
"One July when I was 8, my Grandmother took me to the lake. At night you could see the northern lights dancing blue and green and pink. And the next day there were butterflies everywhere. Almost as if they knew it was a special day. It was amazing." Josh liked the way her eyes shone when she spoke of her grandmother. It was obvious that she meant a lot to Carey.
"Sounds like it. I'd like to see it sometime. With you." He knew he was being a little forward but he didn't have much time left in the city. He had found a new friendship. It made him feel refreshed. He was able to be just Josh for the first time in a very long time and he was enjoying it.
Carey wasn't sure what to say to that. She just left the comment alone. The rest of the walk to her house was in a comfortable silence. "Well, here we are. This is where we say goodnight. I had a good time tonight Josh. If you ever feel like talking, look me up. I'm almost always at the deli."
"Yeah, I'll do that. It was really nice to meet you Carey." He brushed the back of her hand with his lips. "Have a good night." He waited for her to unlock the door and go inside the apartment building. He then walked to the end of the block and caught a cab back to the hotel.
(*******************)
JC checked his watch. 3:30am. "Damn!" He muttered to himself. He was standing at the top of the stairs at the hotel. Allistar was still at his post in the hallway. He needed to divert his attention so that he could get back into his room without being noticed. Searching his memory for Joey's cel phone number, he dialed it up and waited for Joey to answer. Come on Joey, pick up.
"Uh Hello?" Joey had obviously been sleeping after getting back from the club.
"Joey! Ask Allistar to get you some ice."
"What? Who...JC what are you doing?"
"Just ask Allistar to get you some ice, please." I'm really gonna hear about this in the morning.
"Then can I go back to sleep?" Joey yawned.
"Yes. Just do it!." JC said a little impatiently.
"Okay, okay, I'll do it, but you have to explain this to me when I'm fully awake." Joey hung up.
JC gave Joey a minute to get Allistar out of the hallway and then ran to his room. He flipped on the lamp by the bed and started to undress. Chris shifted, then groaned in the next bed over. "Jace, I'm not even gonna ask where the hell you have been. Johnny is getting suspicious about the lame excuses I have been making to keep him out of our room."
"I'll make it up to you, Chris."
"So are you going to tell me where you have been for the last two nights?"
"You said you weren't going to ask." JC replied with a sly grin. He flipped off the lamp and crawled into his bed. Chris made a noise in complaint and then drifted back to sleep.
(*******************)
Carey awoke with a start. Fire! Her mind screamed. No wait...that's the intercom buzzer. Throwing back her comforter and donning her housecoat, she padded down the hall to the wall panel at the end.
"Hello? Who is it?" She yawned into the speaker.
"Carey, it's Josh. Can I come up?"
"Josh!" Carey's hand flew to her pajamas and then her hair. I look awful! "Josh what are you doing here?"
"Can you let me in first please? Some of your neighbor's are going to kill me. I buzzed seven other apartments before I found you."
Carey laughed and buzzed him in. She had enough time to wash her face and swish some mouthwash before Josh knocked on her door.
"Good morning!" He said too cheerfully as soon as she opened the door. Geez, I could get used to waking up to that face. Hush Girl! You'll make me blush!
"Josh, come in. This is a surprise. It's 6 o'clock in the morning."
"I know, I'm sorry I woke you up so early. I wanted to see you." He followed her into the small living room and sat down on her couch. Carey, now fully awake, waited expectantly for him to say something. Josh wasn't sure of what he wanted to say. He wasn't exactly sure of what he was doing there.
"Did you have breakfast?" She asked, finally breaking the silence.
"No, why?" He thought it was an odd question to be asking.
"Do you want a piece of cake? I just tried out this new recipe and I gotta know if it's good." At least she had started a conversation. She didn't know what to think of having a man she had just met inside her apartment.
"So I'm your guinea pig?"
"Yep!" She went into the kitchen and came out moments later with a large piece of cake on a plate. "It's banana-chocolate chip – perfect for breakfast." Josh picked up the fork and eyed the cake hesitantly.
"Are you sure it's safe?" Carey slapped him playfully on the arm. "I've worked at the deli for a year and a half and no one has died of food poisoning yet." She grabbed the fork from his grasp and cut off a big chunk. She held the fork out to him. "Now open up." Josh did as he was told. Carey watched him carefully as he chewed the humungous bite and finally swallowed. He hated having people watch him eat. With his fame, he should be used to people watching him do everything but he wasn't.
"Well...?" She asked expectantly.
"Good!" He announced. "This is really good! So can I eat the rest or are you going to feed it to me?" He smiled ruefully. Carey gave him back the fork, much to his disappointment. There was something he found unexplainably erotic about being fed by a beautiful woman.
"I'll have to send this recipe to my Grandma Josephine." Josh noticed that look on her face again when she spoke of her grandmother.
"Are you close to her?"
"Well, we didn't used to be. Granny Jo doesn't do much but cook and bake, so I phoned for her advice one day when I was working alone at the deli. The next week she sent me a few recipes in the mail. We've been exchanging them ever since. It's my way of keeping in touch, and I don't have to write long boring letters because nothing exciting ever happens in my life." Until I met you.
"That's cool. I'm not as close to my family as I wish I could be."
"How come?" Carey asked, she could see the sadness in his eyes return.
"My job takes me away too much." He didn't want to talk about how much he missed his family. This is not what he had come to talk about. "Carey, I'm leaving the city today but I'd like to see you again." He scrunched his eyes shut waiting for her to turn him down.
"Josh, I'd really like to see you again too. When will you be back in the city?"
He opened his eyes and sighed. "I don't know for sure. Can I call you?" Without replying, she reached over to the coffee table and picked up a pen and paper. Jotting down her number, she ripped off the page and gave it to him.
"Thanks." He flashed one his beautiful smiles to her. "What time do you have to be at work this morning?"
Carey glanced at the clock on the wall. "I should probably be getting ready. You can hang out here and I'll go for a shower. There's more cake in the kitchen if you want it."
"Okay, I'll wait for ya. Where's your TV remote?" Carey started to laugh. "What?" He questioned.
"Do you see a TV in here?" For the first time, Josh looked around the room. Up until that point he had been oblivious to everything else but her. That explains why she doesn't know who I am. He shook his head. "So what do you do to relax?"
"I read a lot and listen to music. I write too."
"Write? Like what?"
"Poetry. I've got volumes of it." She pointed to a shelf on the wall. It was stuffed full of notebooks, all dog eared and pages peeking out the tops. "It's my form of expression."
"Have you ever been published?"
Carey laughed again. "No. I never let anyone read it."
"Why not? What's the point in writing it then?" Josh seemed confused.
"It's very personal. I don't write for someone else to read. I write for me. My stereo is over there," she said pointing to another shelf in the room. "And my CD's are in the crate underneath. I won't be long getting ready." She padded down the hallway to her bedroom to gather clothes for after her shower. Her mind was reeling. He doesn't seem like a rapist. Am I being too trusting? What am I doing? Oh my god! I have got to call Granny Jo and tell her. This is just too amazing to be true....She pulled back the shower curtain and stepped in to the tub. Her thoughts still racing around in her head, jumbling up her concentration.
Josh discovered a keyboard on the shelf below the stereo. He pulled it out, lifted off the cover and switched it on. He plunked out a few notes of a new melody. Muttering curses under his breath, he covered it back up and placed it back on the shelf. He wondered what kinds of music she played on it. Hearing Carey turn on the water, started to flip through her CD collection. A few artists he didn't recognize, but he found something he liked and put it in the player. He closed his eyes to concentrate on the lyrics. His mind drifted back, again, to the song he had been trying to finish for some time now. I don't write for someone else...I write for me. Her words came back to him. Maybe he was going about it the wrong way. He had only been thinking about what his fans would like to hear and about what would make the song a hit on the radio. How could he have let himself slip into that habit? His writing had always been from his heart. He had always poured every emotion into it. Lately it had become thin and meaningless, case in point – This I Promise you. A light bulb went on in his head. Write for myself, write from the heart. Suddenly he was eager to get back to the hotel to find his notebook.
Carey came back into the living room, looking more alive. "Josh?" She whispered gently. He was sitting next to her stereo with his eyes closed. They popped open at the sound of her voice. She smiled. "This is one of my favorite songs. You like Enya too?"
"I'm only familiar with a few of her songs I like the songs that I've heard."
"You found my keyboard! Do you play?"
"I try." He smiled. "Will you play something for me?" He pulled it back off the shelf and turned it on.
"Sure." After thinking for a bit she nodded. "This is called Sonata in G minor." She went on to play a wonderfully expressive piece. Josh watched her with interest. She closed her eyes in the soft parts and her eyes lit up in the lively parts. She played from memory, every note was perfect. She folded her hands in her lap when she was finished.
"That was...wow!" He said.
"Thanks." She said shyly.
"I...I have to be going now Carey. I wish I could spend more time with you but I've already stayed longer than I planned." He got up and walked towards the door.
"I'll walk down with you. I should be getting to work anyway." She picked up her sweater form the back of a chair and a letter from the kitchen table. Josh seeing the letter, smiled at her.
"Another recipe for Granny Jo?"
She blushed, "Yeah, I need her advice on how to improve my pastry. It sucks!" She locked the door after they stepped into the hallway and pushed the button for the elevator. The ride down was in a comfortable silence. Each with their own thoughts about the other. Each thinking about the good bye they would have to say at the end of the elevator ride. "Well, here we are." She said ad the elevator doors opened. They walked out into the sunlight. "I'll be waiting for your call, Josh. Take care." She said, arms at her sides, facing him. He leaned forward and kissed her cheek.
"You too. We'll talk soon."
"Good-b-" He put his finger to her lips.
"No good-byes, just see ya later." He smiled that perfect, heart melting smile and turned away from her. He dashed down the street and turned the corner. Carey walked the other direction to work. Oblivious to the beautiful day in the sunshine. Her thoughts floating somewhere up near cloud nine.
JC hailed a cab as soon as he was out of her sight. Johnny was going to kill him. He told Chris he was going for a swim in the hotel pool. He'd deal with that when it came. Right now all he could think about was Carey and what their short friendship had already taught him.