Part Eight
Riley rolled her eyes when Heather started talking to Brad on the phone. She did NOT like that guy and she told her countless of times that he was wrong for her, but did she listen? Noooo! She sighed. "I'm gonna go and walk around," Riley said as she threw her book on the bed and walked out of the room.
"Hey Mike," she said with a smile.
"Hey Ri...where are you off to?"
"Going to get a coke or something," she said as she tucked her key card in her back pocket. "Can I get you something?"
"Nah, I'm fine," he said with a wink. "Thanks though."
"Sure," she said and then walked over to the elevator and headed lobby where the vending machines were. She made her way across the lobby over to the machines, popped in her quarters, pushed the Dr. Pepper button and groaned when nothing came out. "Don't you do this to me you piece of crap," she said as she kicked the machine with her foot. Bad mistake, she thought as she winced in pain and grabbed her tender foot.
"That'll teach you to kick a machine with your slippers on?"
Riley looked up and scowled at JC. "Shut up, JC, I'm not in the mood."
"Of course you are," he said with a grin. "You're always in the mood."
"Whatever," she said ignoring him and slapped the machine again. "Come ooon."
"Here, you're doing it all wrong," he said as he pushed her aside. He then fisted his hand and hit the spot right in the middle and the can popped out. "Ta-da!"
"Damn," she said as she fished it out. "Do you have to be good at EVERYTHING you do?"
He shrugged and then polished his nails on his shirt. "Well I...hate to brag but..."
She groaned and punched him in the arm before she walked away. "Hey, you said it not me," he said as he caught up to her while rubbing his arm.
"Yeah, well...I take it back...you suck at everything," she said and then hit the "up" button angrily.
He gave her a sly grin. "Well, not...EVERYTHING..... only the good stuff."
She looked at him in disgust. "You're such a pig," she said and then swatted him in the gut as the doors opened and walked in.
JC just laughed out a grunt when she slapped her and followed her in. "I may be a pig but at least I'm getting some tonight."
She gasped as the elevator doors started to close. "Who says I'm not?"
"Hold the elevator!" someone yelled before JC could speak.
Riley saw a hand decorated with fake nails swoop in and stop the door before it closed and slid it open. Riley rolled her eyes when Bobbie bounced in. "Hey," she said in her usual monotone voice as she put her sunglasses on her head.
"Hey sweetie," JC said and for the hell of it and to make Riley mad, he leaned down and gave her a quick kiss.
Bobbie gave him a quick smile, almost as if she was annoyed, Riley noticed and then glared at her. "What are YOU doing here?"
She gave her a look. "What's it to you?"
She flipped her hair and waited impatiently for the ride to end. “Nothing...you're sure not competition, that's for sure."
"Oh, Bobbie, don't even say that," JC said in disgust as he sneered at Riley. “Not in a million years."
She glared at him. "If we were the last two people on earth and the whole human race depended on us...I STILL wouldn't even think about being with you."
"You two knock it off," Bobbie sighed. "You're giving me a headache."
"Oh, and we wouldn't want that, now would we?" Riley asked as she quietly slid her soda can behind her and began to shake it.
"Shove it, Shane," JC mumbled as the elevators came to a stop.
"My pleasure," she said as she stepped closer to Bobbie, pretending to just wait for the doors to open. "Hope you like Dr. Pepper, Bobbie," she finally said and then opened the can and watched in delight as the soda spewed out of the can and splashed her in the face.
Bobbie shrieked as it hit her face and hid in JC's chest. "RILEY!" JC yelled. "I swear you're gonna pay for that."
"YOU.,. are a BITCH!" Bobbie said as she shook her arms to fling some of the liquid off.
She sighed. "Yeah... ain't it great?" she said with a grin. "You better get all that stuff out before tonight, Bobbie dear." She then blew JC a kiss and strolled off to her room humming the tune of Dream's "This is Me."
"Wow," Justin said when he saw his date for the evening step out of the hotel room. "You look great."
Riley turned around to show off her silver shimmery pants and black top that tied around her neck and showed off her belly button. Her dark brown hair. "Good enough to fill Brit's shoes for the night?"
"More than good enough," he said with a wink. Since Britney was co-hosting with Christina, Justin asked Riley to be his date for the evening. "Hey, what's going down in the lobby....all day there have been people setting up tables and chairs, and balloons and stuff."
"Just one of the VMA after parties."
"Ohh, are we going to this one?"
He chuckled. "Yeah, we are the hosts of this party."
"Oh! How fun, I didn't know that. So, where is everyone?" Riley asked as she noticed the empty hallway.
"Everyone is downstairs in the lobby," he told her. "We're just waiting on Bobbie and JC, then we can go."
"Great," she said with a roll of her eyes.
Justin just laughed. "The day that you and JC kiss and make up is when my curls go straight."
"You're telling me," she said and then smiled. "You look very nice too, I must say."
"Thank you," he said as he grinned proudly and then leaned down and gave her a friendly kiss on the lips.
"You better watch it, Justin...Brit could get jealous."
Justin and Riley turned towards the voice to see JC standing in front of his hotel room. Justin grinned. "I don't think Brit is the jealous one," he said.
JC frowned at his remark and when his eyes shifted to Riley he nearly gasped, but he quickly covered it with a cough. "Well, Shane....don't you look..." Sexy, beautiful, exotic... "Interesting," he said with a smug look on his face.
Damnit, why did he have to be so attractive! He looked gorgeous and did he HAVE to wear leather pants tonight! "Gee, thanks Chasez," she said as she linked her arm with Justin. "Don't hurt yourself with your kindness."
Before JC could think of a come back, Bobbie walked out of the room. "Are we ready?" she asked as she fluffed her hair.
"Hey Bobbie," Riley smirked. "Get out all the soda in your hair."
"Shut up, Riley," she said as she looped her arm with JC's.
"Actually she did...and I helped. Good choice, Riley, Dr. Pepper was always a favorite of mine."
Riley groaned in disgust. "Please, don't make me throw up...come on Justin."
"JC, knock it off," Bobbie said quietly as they followed them to the elevator.
"What?"
"You're making up stuff to make her jealous...and I don't like it."
JC looked at her funny. "Why? I thought you enjoyed getting under her skin just as much as I do."
"It's one thing to hold hands and kiss in front of her," she told him. "But to make up lies is going a little far. It's worrying me."
"Are you guys coming?" Riley asked annoyingly.
"Hang on...what do you mean?"
"Forget it, JC," Bobbie said as she walked towards the elevator. "If you can't figure it out for yourself, then it's not worth repeating."
JC rolled his eyes as they walked into the elevator. He didn't have a clue what she was talking about. Unless.....Unless she feels that he has feelings for Riley. He shook his head and cleared the thought of him and Riley together. That is the stupidest thing he ever heard of. Him and Riley? Not in a million years. He glanced over at Riley and to his surprise she was looking right back at him. He didn't crack a smile, and neither did she. They just stared at each other, eye to eye, blue meeting brown. JC felt his pulse begin to race as her eyes pierced into him and he almost groaned when she licked her lips nervously.
When the elevators opened, Justin walked out first, tagging Riley behind him. She kept looking at him, but finally turned around when she couldn't see him anymore. JC let out a frustrating groan and grabbed Bobbie's hand and pulled her out of the lobby. He hated himself now because he just realized that he was attracted to his brown eyed neighbor. He was attracted to Riley Shane.
Lance chuckled. "JC, you were attracted to her the day you met puberty!"
JC let out a laugh. "Yeah, that's true...but that was the night that I first admitted it to myself."
"So, what happened?" Bailey asked curiously as she leaned forward in her seat.
"What I want to know is...where were you and Riley during the after party. Ya'll were both gone for like three hours!"
JC shrugged with a grin. "We were occupied at the moment."
"I know something happened, because you guys were both quiet when you finally showed your faces." Lance shifted in his wheel chair. "So...you going to tell us?"
JC sat by himself in the corner booth as the events of the after party swam around him. They had a long, but exciting night, winning all five awards they were nominated for and by giving a kick ass performance. He was tired, drunk, and he couldn't get Riley Shane out of his mind. It was ridiculous, he thought to himself as he slipped at his fifth, no sixth, drink of the evening. He hated Riley. Well, he didn't HATE her, but he they sure weren't best friends. She's just so... annoying and... stubborn! God, was she stubborn! Ever since they were kids, she had been nothing but a stubborn little twerp. JC let out a chuckle when he remembered one day in particular...
"Hey, that's not fair!" fourteen year old Riley exclaimed when sixteen year old JC made the winning basket.
JC grinned at her and then shrugged. "Life's not fair, Shane."
"Whatever, you cheated!" she exclaimed.
"I did not," he boasted and then threw the ball at her.
She caught it and threw it back and enjoyed watching him flinch when it hit him in the stomach. "You think you are so freaking cool since your some hot shot TV star."
"Shut up, Shane, you're just jealous because you didn't make it."
She huffed out a breath. As much as she hated to admit it, she was. She wanted to be on that show so badly, but she didn't get it. But her number one enemy did and he always reminded her of that. "I am NOT jealous... you think I want to be some gay mouseketeer."
He rolled his eyes. "I have to go call Niki before we Thanksgiving dinner," he said as he walked off.
"Fine, go call your girlfriend," she said annoyingly.
JC just shook his head as he walked across the grass over to his house. “Ooof," he grunted when Riley leaped up on his back and tackled him to the ground. "Are you crazy, get off?"
"Not until you admit it," she said as she straddled his hips and pushed his head into the ground.
"You know it's going down," he said and then surprised her by flipping over and rolling her on her back.
"Hey! Stop," she said as she struggled beneath him while he pinned her arms to the ground.
"Say it," he commanded as he pinned her down with his body.
"Never!" she spitted back and continued to struggle underneath him.
"Hold still damnit," he mumbled as she thrashed beneath him. The girl obviously wasn't old enough to realize what that did to a guy.
"Let go!" she said as she continued to struggle.
"Not until you say, Uncle," he said as he grinned down at her.
"I won't!" she said and then wiggled one of her leg's loose and lifted it up violently and made contact right where she was aiming for.
JC grunted in pain as he rolled off of Riley and grabbed his sensitive area. "I can't... believe you just... did that."
Riley got up and dusted herself off. "Believe it...you might want to put some ice on it though...Happy Thanks giving, Chasez."...
JC shifted in his seat as he remembered the pain she had given him that day. Luckily, she hadn't been able to knee him in the nuts again, but with her you never know. He took a sip of his drink again and froze when he saw her in the crowd. She was talking to Howie and she looked absolutely stunning. "God, Chasez," he groaned as he looked away from her. "Get a hold of yourself."
His eyes then came across Bobbie. "That's more like it," he convinced himself as he watched her talking to Fred Durst. She was still mad at him for earlier on and he didn't have a clue why. Yeah, he may be attracted to Riley, but he wasn't going to act on that attraction. He was with Bobbie and he would never be unfaithful. He needed to convince her of that too, better yet...he needed to convince himself and he knew just how to do it.
"Hey, do you have a pen?" he asked a waiter that walked by.
"Yeah," he said as he reached in his vest pocket and pulled one out.
"Thanks. Do me a favor?" he asked as he grabbed a napkin and started writing on it.
"Yeah, sure," the waiter said as he balanced the tray of drinks on his hand.
"See that woman over there... the one with the brown hair talking to that guy," JC said as he kept writing.
The waiter turned towards her direction. "Yeah," he said when he spotted her.
"Give this to her, will you?" he said as he gave him the napkin, plus a ten dollar bill.
The waiter's eyes lit up. "Hey, sure! No problem."
JC nodded and didn't even wait for the waiter to make the delivery as he walked off to the elevator. The waiter walked through the crowd towards the brown headed woman. "Excuse me," he said to Bobbie, but only said it to get past her and walked up to Riley and tapped her on her shoulder. "Excuse me, ma'am?"
Riley turned around and smiled. "Yes?"
"JC Chasez wanted me to give you this," he said as he handed her the napkin.
She looked at him weird. "Are you sure?"
He nodded. "Positive."
"Um.., okay thanks," she said and then excused herself from Howie and walked over to the booth where it wasn't as crowded. She looked at the napkin and read:
Hey, meet me up on the roof
-JC
Riley rolled her eyes as she stuffed crumpled the napkin and threw it in the trash. 'What the hell is he up to? she wondered. She shrugged. "Well, only one way to find out," she said aloud and made her way to the elevator.
JC turned off the pool lights, so the only light that was shining down was the moon. He wanted to surprise her by making it dark enough where she couldn't see anything when she first walked in. He positioned himself behind the door and waited. He needed this. He needed this to convince her and himself that he loved her and NOT Riley.
JC closed his eyes and rested his head against the wall and made himself think about Bobbie, but no matter how hard he tried, Riley's face came into his mind. 'Damn, she looks amazing tonight', he thought as he let out a groan. He never had the pleasure of seeing her stomach before tonight and it was probably the sexiest stomach he's ever seen. She had always hid her figure, with baggy jeans and shirts while they grew up and so he never knew she had a killer body under there. Those silver pants showed off ever curve and she...
His eyes flew open when the door opened behind him and he didn't waste anytime. He saw her figure in the dark and heard her gasp when he spun her around. "Don't say anything," he whispered and Riley's face was stuck in his mind when his lips crashed against hers.
Riley moaned in shock when she felt JC's warm lips rubbing against hers. What the hell was going on? she wondered as she tried to make herself pull away, but never did. Why was JC kissing her and better yet, why was she enjoying it?? She heard him make a frustrating groan, silently telling her to relax and give in to the kiss. So she did.
As soon as he felt her relax, he reached up and cupped her face while softening the kiss. His fingers dove into her loose brown hair as he pulled away slightly only to come back for more. Funny, he thought. He could have sworn Bobbie wore her hair up tonight. She must have taken it down at some point, he imagined and pushed the thought away. He tried to push the thought of Riley away, but he couldn't do it. He imagined it was Riley who was with him. He imagined it was Riley's lips pressed against hers. He wanted to taste Riley, so he tilted his head to the side and plunged his tongue into her mouth.
Riley groaned with pleasure at the feel of his tongue rubbing against hers. She had never felt such passion in a kiss; she had never felt such heat. She wondered what brought this on JC and then she remembered they way he looked at her in the elevator. The way his eyes stayed on her, the way his jaws clenched when she had licked her lips. Just the thought of it made her groan and so she plunged her fingers in his hair as she pulled him closer to her.
JC groaned at her aggression and backed her up against the door, wanting to feel her body against hers. Did she grow? he wondered again, even though he didn't care. He knew it was wrong to think of another woman while kissing his girlfriend, but he couldn't help it. Riley had too much of an effect on him tonight and even though he could never have the real thing, this would have to do. He then tore his lips away from hers and ran them over her jaw line and down her neck.
Riley arched her head back against the door and clutched a handful of his hair with her fist. "JC," she said huskily when she felt his warm tongue on her neck.
Damn, he wanted Riley so bad Bobbie even started to sound like her. And she even smelled like her, he thought as he took in her scent. Something wasn't right he thought, although he wasn't listening and traveled his lips back up her neck. He had never felt this good when kissing Bobbie. The only time he experience a kiss like this was when he was with Maggie, only this one was even better.
He groaned a name before he captured her lips once more and froze when he realized he said the wrong name. He pulled away and closed his eyes and waited for her to yell and damn him to hell, but all he heard was heavy breathing and felt a pair of hands cupping his face. "What's wrong?" she asked breathlessly.
His eyes flung open when he recognized the voice. That was not Bobbie, he realized and squinted his eyes as he tried to adjust to the dark. "God," he breathed when he recognized the woman that had been in his arms this whole time. He reached out and flicked on the pool lights and his heart leapt to his throat when Riley stood before him. "What in the world just happened?"
"What?" she asked still in a daze, wondering why on earth he stopped.
God, it was her along, he thought. No wonder it was so easy to imagine it was Riley he was kissing. He swallowed the big lump in his throat and took a step back, so he wouldn't do anything stupid. Like kiss her. "What are you doing up here?"
Still out of breath, she looked up at him in confusion. "What are you talking about....the waiter gave me that note and..."
"He gave it to YOU?" he asked and the groaned in frustration.
"Yeah...why, was he suppose to....oh, my god," she said when it hit her. "It was meant for Bobbie?"
He let out a laugh as he ran his fingers through his hair. "Who else would it be for Riley?"
She felt her heart shatter at his words. She was an idiot. She was stupid and she just made complete fool out of herself in front of her worst enemy. "So...you thought I was Bobbie this whole time?"
He looked down at her confused and hurt face and he wanted so bad to kiss her again. "Yes, I did," he finally said. 'But I thought of you the whole time,' he said to himself.
She felt the tears start to come, but she would be damned if she cried in front of JC Chasez. "Well," she said as she stood away from the door and looked him in the eye. "I'll pass the message along to Bobbie, then."
JC sighed when he watched her turn around to open the door. He frowned when she tugged on the door, but didn't open. "What's wrong?"
She tugged it even harder, but it still didn't budge. "That's just great," Riley said and then spun around. "We're locked out! Ya know, next time you plan a little fling with the girlfriend, do some research first."
"How was I suppose to know it would lock," he exclaimed as he threw his hands up in the air. "Besides, if I was with Bobbie, I wouldn't mind."
She scowled at him. "Get out of my way," she said angrily as she pushed him and walked over to the rail and looked out at the New York skyline. She was so angry she could throw something! She had never been so humiliated in all her life. She hated herself for coming up to the roof. She hated herself for not pushing JC away when he first kissed her. And worst of all... she hated herself for wanting that kiss to happen again.
"Why didn't you say something," he said softly from behind her.
Riley gasped at his voice and spun around. "Damn, JC, don't sneak up on me like that."
"Why didn't you push me away?" he asked again. "I thought you were Bobbie, why didn't you...."
"Why did you think I was Bobbie?" she asked him suddenly to avoid having to answer his question.
"What are you talking about, I thought the waiter gave her the...."
"I meant the fact that you have been dating this girl for what... four years? And you were kissing another girl and didn't even realize it?"
He ran his fingers through his hair. "I DID notice some things but...."
"But what?"
He sighed as he walked past her and then leaned his back up against the railing so he would face her. "Like...I noticed that you were taller, but...I just figured maybe it was her heels."
She looked at him weird. "JC, I'm a foot taller than she is...what kind of high heels do you think she wore?"
"Well, I didn't know! I just ignored it... I ignored lots of things... like how your hair was down, instead of up..."
"There was your first clue Sherlock," she muttered.
Well, I figured she pulled it down on the way up here, she doesn't like having her hair up."
"JC," she sighed as she walked and next to him and leaned on the rail as she looked back out. "When you love someone, you should know exactly how they feel against you. You should know their scent, you should know their taste. And most of all, you should be able to tell the difference between kissing the one you love and kissing your enemy."
JC looked down at his feet and sighed. "That's the thing, Riley.... I could tell a difference."
She turned her head and studied his profile. His brows were frowned as he looked deep in thought. He rested his right elbow against his arm that was laying across his stomach and he pulled at his bottom lip with his fingers. "A difference how?"
He looked at her. She looked beautiful, he thought. Her hair was still tousled from his restless fingers and her lips were still swollen from his eager lips. "I knew that there was something wrong, but for some reason I didn't care." She simply nodded and then looked back out at the view. "Why didn't you stop me?" he asked after a moment of silence.
She closed her eyes at his question that she hoped he had forgot about. "I don't' know."
"I think you do," he said as he shifted until he leaned on his hip. "You didn't stop me, because you enjoyed it."
He expected her to deny it and say that was the stupidest thing she'd ever heard. But instead she did the exact opposite. "So what if I did?" she asked as she turned to face him.
Before he could say anything she turned and walked away towards the hot tub. He watched her fling off her shoes and roll up her hike up her pants up to her knees before sitting down and sticking her feet in. He scowled at her as he walked over and did the same. "We're not done yet," he said when he finally sat down and stuck his feet in. "Damn, that feels good."
She managed a laugh. "Yeah, imagine how it feels after wearing MY shoes all night."
JC smiled softly and then they were both silent as they both swung their feet back and forth in the water. "So you enjoyed it?" he finally asked.
She sighed. "JC," she whined. "Please....can we just drop this whole thing and make the best of this lock out we have going here."
He looked at her pleading eyes and then nodded in defeat. "Sure, Ri," he agreed. "But one more thing."
She groaned. "What?"
He grinned. "I enjoyed it, too," he said with a wink and smiled when her laughter rang through her ears. Maybe this wasn't such a bad thing after all.
"So THAT'S where you guys were," Lance said with a shake of his head. "Bobbie was looking for you everywhere."
JC chuckled. "And for my sake, I'm glad she didn't find me."
"So, what happened next?" Bailey asked. "Did ya'll kiss again? Fall magically in love?"
James looked at her weird. "You need to tell Gram to stop giving you whatever she's giving you."
Bailey looked up at him with a grin. "So she's your Gram now, huh?"
He grinned. "She's growing on me."
JC blushed slightly at the mentioning of Maggie. Luckily Lance was too occupied by the looks that Bailey and James were giving to notice and well... Bailey and James were to occupied in each other to notice, too. He cleared his throat. "Well, to answer your question... we talked. Put our differences aside and just talked. I found out a lot about Riley that night on the roof and she surprised me.
"Do you still like to sing?" JC asked after a moment of silence. They took Riley's advice and forgot about what happened earlier and made the best of the situation. They started small talk at first, both uncomfortable with actually having a normal conversation with each other, but it didn't take long for them to adjust. They had moved out of the hot tub after Riley had laughed that their feet were getting wrinkled and they retired over to the edge of the roof. The stuck their feet through the bar and sat on the edge of the building. Their feet were dangling over the edge and the rail was pressed against their bellies for security.
She shrugged. "I sing in the shower," she teased.
He chuckled. "EVERYONE sings in the shower," he pointed out. "Seriously, though do you? I mean, from what I remember you were pretty good."
"Not good enough to wear mouse ears," she said as she looked down at the busy streets of New York.
He looked at her sad expression and shook his head. "You were really upset about that, weren't you?",br>
She looked up at him and nodded. "Yeah, I was. Cried for three days straight."
"Man," he said with a sigh. "And me being the jerk I am I always rubbed it in your face."
"Yeah, you were a jerk," she agreed with a nod.
"Hey now, you had some bad moments yourself," he reminded her.
"Oh yeah?" she asked. "Name one."
"Ha! How bout the time you poured grape juice all over me and Francy while we were making out under the tree I didn't know you were in!"
She tried to keep a straight face at the remembrance of that day, but she failed. She busted out laughing. "Oh yeah...I forgot about that."
"Yeah, well...I remember quite clearly." He laughed. "Poor Francy's blonde hair was purple for two days!"
Riley laughed even harder. "I...I'm sorry but...I was just sitting there and... I mean, that's my favorite tree. I called it my special tree and I was mad that you two were invading what was mine, and so I had to fight for what was mine!"
JC laughed, forgetting he was mad. It was funny as hell once he thought about it. "Fran was not happy with you."
She shrugged. "We never got a long anyway."
"Riley," he said bluntly. "You've never gotten along with ANYONE that I've dated."
She chuckled. "That's true, but what about you? You couldn't stand my high school boyfriend, Cal!"
His eyes turned angry. "Oh, I hated that guy!"
"I left you two alone for 3 minutes and when came back I found you and Cal tackling each other in the grass!"
JC looked down at his lap. "And how did he say it got started?"
She looked at him funny. The humor and playfulness in his eyes were gone. "You don't remember?"
"Oh, I do. I'm just interested in what he told YOU."
"Well, he told me that you were saying bad things about me, and he was only trying to defend me."
JC let out a harsh laugh and cursed Cal. "That's not how it went."
"Oh, come on JC. That was a long time ago, I don't care. I mean, yeah it hurt my feelings then, but..."
"Riley," he said softly. "That's not how it happened. The opposite actually."
She gave him a look. "What do you mean?"
He sighed and shifted uncomfortably. "Well, it started when he warned me to stay away from you."
"What?!" she asked in shock.
"Yeah, he thought I, um, he thought I had feelings for you, which is stupid, but he wouldn't let it go."
Riley was slightly hurt by his comment, but let it slide. "What happened?"
"Well...um, no offense but I told him I would never even think about touching you..."
"None taken," she said and waited for him to go on.
"Anyway, I didn't know how it got started, but he was saying how he was just using you...."
Riley's eyes widened. "What?" she whispered.
"Ri, he started dating you as a bet," he told her. "He said that you were known for your, um, "good girl" image and he bet his friends that... that he could get you in bed in two months top."
Riley was completely blown away. "Oh my god," she breathed as she looked down at the streets. "I mean, I knew he was a jerk, that's why broke it off with him, but... wow." She then looked up at him when she realized something. "So... so you started the fight to... to defend me?"
Slightly embarrassed, JC shifted in his seat and managed to look at her. "Yes," he finally said. "Despite our differences back then, my mom taught me to treat women right and what he was doing to you, wasn't right."
He then looked away and stared straight ahead while Riley studied his profile. "You surprise me, JC," she finally said.
He looked over at her. "I do?"
She nodded. "Yeah. For so long I thought you were this self absorbed guy that didnt' care about anyone but himself.....but I was wrong. Why didn't I see it?"
He lifted a shoulder. "I don't know, Ri....we've been enemies for so long, that I guess we couldn't see the good things about one another until....."
"Until tonight," she finished for him when his voice faded.
He studied her closely. She looked beautiful dressed in moonlight, he noticed as she practically glowed. The light breeze was lifting strands of her hair as it danced around her face. "Yeah," he finally said as he looked at her lips. God, how he wanted to kiss her again. He had never experience a kiss with such heart. His own heart just leaped at the remembrance of how she felt in his arms.
"JC?" she said shakily.
He looked up at her. "Yeah?"
"Do you want to kiss me again?"
He was stunned by her forwardness, but it only made him want to kiss her more. "Yeah," he said and lifted a hand to play with her dancing brown hair.
"Then what's stopping you?"
He looked away from his hand that was buried in her hair and looked down at her. "You know why," he said.
She licked her lips nervously. "What if we made a deal?"
He lifted a brow and gave her a lopsided grin. "What kind of deal?"
"That as long as we are locked out here, the world doesn't exist. You’re not JC from NSYNC and I'm just a plain average girl. We have no ties with anyone... Bobbie doesn't exist. No one exists except for the two of us on this roof. And once the doors open and someone finds us. the world exists again."
JC knew he shouldn't agree to this "deal." They both knew it was just a way to make JC feel less guilty for wanting to kiss her. But this "deal" definitely had its perks and what he would to be just a guy enjoying the feel of woman in his arms. He couldn't pass it up. "Deal," he whispered before claiming her lips with his own.
Riley closed her eyes at the feel of his lips on hers again. She loved that feeling. He felt warm and comforting when he kissed her. It felt right. He pressed his lips harder against hers and her hand that was on the railing went up and cupped his scruffy cheek. He cupped her face and buried his fingers in her hair when he finally deepened the kiss.
JC was fully enjoying this private world that only existed on the roof. He never wanted it to end. He nipped at her lips and when he wanted to taste her, he would deepen the kiss again. He didn't care what was happening, just as long as she was in his arms and he was kissing her. He wanted her closer, so he finally pulled away.
"What are you doing?" she asked almost in frustration as she watched him stand up.
"C'mere," he said as he took her hand and helped her up. He led her over to the lawn chairs and then twirled her in front of him. "I loved the way you felt against me," he murmured against her lips as he eased her down on the cushion lawn chair. "I want feel you again."
She smiled softly and moaned against his lips when he felt his body crushing her into the cushion. "I love the way you feel too," she said to him before he attacked her lips once more. He smelt absolutely amazing, she thought as his musky scent took over her senses. Her hands roamed his broad back, enjoying the way his muscles moved beneath her hands. She boldly slipped her hands beneath his shirt and felt the heat radiating from his skin as her hands explored him.
JC gasped at her touch. "You're hands are cold," he teased and then playfully nibbled on her bottom lip.
"Sorry," she said and grinned as his lips traveled down her slender neck. "Want me to stop?"
"Don't you dare," he growled playfully in her ear.
She laughed at that, but then her laughter turned into a groan when his mouth captured her ear. "Damn, that mouth of yours can do more than just make sarcastic remarks."
"Mmm-hmm," he murmured and kissed her pulse that was beating against her neck. "And hopefully I can show you other tricks my mouth can do if someone doesn't find us."
"Please God, let us be lost all night," she groaned and JC just laughed before he kissed her again.
They didn't say a word after that, because they didn't want to waste anytime. JC didn't know how long he kissed her. It could have been two minutes or it could have been two hours. When someone finally opened the door, JC quickly stood up thinking it might be Bobbie, but he sighed in relief when one of the maids of the hotel came out. "Um... sorry to interrupt," the woman said. "I don't know if you care, but I just thought I should let you know that you can't get back in from the outside."
JC let out a nervous chuckle as he ran his fingers through his hair. "Yes, we know... we've been locked out," Riley said to her as she stood up as well.
"I see. Well, do you want me to close it and leave you two alone, or are you coming?"
JC and Riley looked at each other, silently figuring out what to do. JC wanted her to close the door and go away, but what stopped another person from coming. And that next person could be Bobbie. He sighed and made himself look away from her, because if he didn't he would kiss her again. "We're coming," he finally said and walked towards the door and didn't even look back at her.
Riley stood there shock for a minute. That's it, she thought angrily. No, "hey it was fun, now back to the real world." No, "Riley, I will never forget this night, but it's over now." Just like that, he turned his back and went back to Bobbie.
"Ma'am, are you coming?"
Riley looked over at the maid. "Yeah... yeah I'm coming," she finally said and then walked back inside.
By the time Riley returned to the party, everyone was at the table. JC was sitting next to Bobbie and when he saw her, he immediately looked down at his drink. "Ri, were have you been?" Joey asked as he put an arm around Rene.
She shrugged. "I've been around," she said and managed a smile.
Heather looked up at her. "You've been messing around with someone, haven't you?"
Riley's eyes widened and JC choked on his drink. "Sorry," JC coughed and banged his fist on his chest. "I... uh, it was a little strong."
Riley rolled her eyes. "Heather, I don't know what..."
"Don't lie," she said as she pointed a finger at her. "I know you. You had the same look on your face when you came home late after your date with Michael... and William... oh, and let's not forget Jeff."
JC mumbled into his drink as Heather listed off the names. "What was that, JC?" Riley asked annoyed.
JC looked up at her questioning look. "Ahem... I SAID... my my, someone gets around."
Riley shook her head in disbelief. He was back. The same JC... the REAL JC was back. Gone was the sweet touch. Gone was the sincere man she spent the past three hours with. And the crude and arrogant JC was back and obviously here to stay. "You're an ass, JC," she said quietly, yet forcefully. She turned to the others. "And Heather the answer to your question is yes I have been messing around. And don't even bother asking who, because he isn't even worth mentioning." She turned back to JC. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to bed."
Lance glared at JC when she left. "That was pretty low, JC."
JC pressed his palms against his eyes. "Ugh, I know, I know... I'm just... shit, maybe I should go and apologize."
"Sweetie, forget it," Bobbie said and then pushed him out of the booth. "Let's go dance."
"But Bobbie I need..."
"Since when do you care what she thinks," she said with a sigh. "Just forget about her and dance with ME... ya know, your girlfriend."
He knew he was an ass and he hated himself for treating her that way, but what else could he do? He couldn't leave now, or Bobbie will get suspicious that something happened. "You're right, I should just drop it. Let's go dance."