Jennifer sighed deeply and stirred in bed.  She turned to reach for JC, but he wasn’t there.  Looking around the dimly lit room, she saw him sitting at the foot of the bed, watching her.  “Sweetie?”  She sat up a bit to look at him.  “What time is it?”

JC only shook his head and moved to sit by her waist.  “Don’t worry about that,” he said as he leaned over and stroked her hair.  “Just go back to sleep.”

“Have you gotten any sleep?”  She frowned at him, noticing circles under his eyes and his disheveled hair.

“It doesn’t matter.”  She doesn’t need to know I watched her the entire time she slept.

“But you look so tired, JC.  Come on, just lie down with me for a while.”  Jennifer pulled the covers back and patted the sheets next to her.  When he gave her one of his ‘Are-we-really-going-to-sleep?’ looks, she laughed.  “I won’t try anything.”  But God knows I want to.

“Well…okay.”  Still looking at her suspiciously, he slipped underneath the covers and slid down next to her.  He laid his cheek against her hair as they wrapped their arms around each other.  Giving one last sigh, he closed his eyes.

Jennifer waited until JC’s breathing had evened out.  She looked up at his face to make sure he was asleep, and then her lips stretched into a devilish grin.  I know I shouldn’t disturb him, she thought, but it would be so much fun.  Oh, well.  Both of them were still fully dressed from the day before, so she pushed his button-down shirt off his shoulders.

“Thanks,” he murmured, still asleep.  He rolled onto his back, one arm still around her.

“Thank me later,” she whispered back.  She quickly unbuttoned her blouse and undid the front clasp on her bra.  Then, after sliding out of her khakis and panties, she sat up next to JC.  As she pulled the blankets off him, he stirred.

“It’s cold,” he muttered.

“It’s okay, sweetie,” she answered, “I’ll warm you right up.”  She reached over to unzip his pants and push them to his knees.  After she did so, she straddled his legs and hooked her fingers under the waistband of his boxer-briefs.

JC awoke suddenly to see Jennifer slowly pulling his underwear down.  He looked up at her bare breasts and smiled wickedly.  “I thought you said you weren’t going to try anything.”

“So I lied,” she replied with a smirk.  “Sue me.”  He was already semi-erect, so she took him into her hands and began stroking him gently with her fingers.

He moaned approvingly and lifted his hands to massage her breasts.  When he began plucking at her nipples, she leaned her head back and began to breathe faster.  He watched her response to his touch and at the same time felt himself growing harder and harder as her hand slid over him.  Wanting to see her entire body, he sat up and quickly removed the few articles of clothing she still wore.

Following his lead, Jennifer moved her attention away from JC’s erection to remove his pants and underwear from his body.  Then she slowly crawled her way up to him and kissed him deeply while pulling his undershirt off.  Once she worked it up and over his head, she kissed him again and placed her body over his.

JC ran his hands up and down her back.  “I thought you were going to let me get some sleep,” he said quietly.

“Oh, come on, you knew as well as I did that you wouldn’t be sleeping the minute you got into this bed with me,” she answered with a chuckle.

“Well, yeah…but this is better than sleeping.”  He held her close and flipped them over so he lay on her.  “Much better.”

“Most definitely.”  She pulled his face down to hers to kiss him again.  She moved to allow JC to lay between her legs, and she could feel his sex bumping against hers.  “Sweetheart, you better grab a condom from the nightstand.”

“Yeah, okay.”  He reached into the nightstand table’s drawer and pulled out a foil-wrapped packet.  Kneeling between Jennifer’s thighs, JC quickly unrolled the condom over himself.  “So,” he whispered as he lay over her again, “where were we?”

“Right about here.”  She worked her hand down between them and took hold of his penis.  She moved her hips so they lined up, and he slipped the head into her wetness.

“You’re sure about this, right?” he asked.

“Damn it, JC, just do it.”  She ran her hands down to his butt and tried to pull him into her.

“Okay, you asked for it.”

He was just about to thrust into her when a knock came at the door.  “Jen?  JC?  Are you guys awake yet?”

Jennifer and JC froze when they heard Joey’s voice drift through the door.  As their eyes met, JC whispered, “Don’t say a thing.  Maybe he’ll think we’re still asleep.”

“But…”

“But, nothing.  Do you want him to come in here and see us like this?”

“Come on, JC, you have to be awake…don’t you remember our photo shoot that we’re supposed to be at today?”  Joey knocked on the door again.  “It’s already eleven-thirty, and we have to be there before one o’clock.”

“Damn,” JC said under his breath.  He rolled onto his back and called toward the door, “Okay, Joe, I’m up…we’ll be out in a few minutes.”

“Okay.”  They heard footsteps going back down the hallway.

JC sat up and looked back at Jennifer, who was still lying down.  “I swear, we need this house to ourselves for a while.”

She smiled sweetly at him and sat up as well.  “It’s okay, JC.  We’ll find some time to be alone.”  She drew the flat sheet out from under the comforter and started to wrap it around herself as she swung her legs out of the bed.

JC grabbed her arm and laid her back down on the pillows.  As he kissed her thoroughly, he placed her hand on his still-hard cock.  “That’s how much I want you right now.”

She stroked him a few more times as they kissed again.  “Honey, you don’t even know how much I wish we could just stay right here.”  She gasped as she felt two of his fingers penetrate her.  “Okay,” she managed to say, a bit out of breath, “so maybe you do know.”

He lay back down over her, their lips still fused together.  Pushing her legs apart, he was about to thrust into her again when yet another knock sounded.

“You guys,” Joey yelled through the door, “we have to go soon.  What’s up in there?”

Jennifer giggled and looked up at JC.  “Should I tell him?” she asked playfully.

“No,” he emphasized.  Then he turned to the door.  “We’ll be right out, man.”

“Well, make it quick, okay?”  Once again, they heard Joey’s footsteps fading as he walked away.

Jennifer sighed at the look of longing in JC’s eyes.  “Oh, sweetie, it’s not that bad.  There will be other times, and you know it.  But right now there are four men waiting for you to get your cute little ass out there so you can make it to your photo shoot.”

“Please, Jennifer,” he said with a hint of desperation in his voice, “just one more try.  They always say the third time’s a charm.”

At this, she laughed and pushed him up so they sat face to face.  “JC, as much as I want to, we should probably get dressed before Joey decides to come back again.”

JC kissed her once for good measure.  “Okay, but one of these days…”

She placed a hand on his cheek.  “I know, sweetie, I know.”  After gazing into his eyes for a minute, she draped the flat sheet around her, stood, and walked to her closet, leaving him sitting alone in bed.

As soon as Jennifer had disappeared, JC exhaled loudly and ran his fingers through his hair.  Damn it, he thought, looking at the door through which she had walked just a few moments earlier.  Seven people living in a house equals too many interruptions.  Resignedly, he got out of bed and went to get dressed.

**

Jennifer and JC finally entered the living room about forty-five minutes later.  As soon as they stepped into the room, everyone jumped up from the couches.

“Good Lord, you two, it took you long enough to get ready!  It’s already twelve-fifteen!” Lance exclaimed.

“Whoa, give us a break,” Jennifer said.  “We woke up late, okay?”

“No one sleeps that much,” Justin commented.

“Look who you’re talking about,” Chris joked.  “These two are like the champion sleepers, remember?  They probably get more sleep than the rest of us put together do…in five years.”

Everyone laughed except for Jennifer, who yawned.

“See?” Chris said, pointing.  “She’s still sleepy!”

“That was a coincidence!”  Jennifer defended herself then tried to change the subject.  “I thought you had to be at your photo shoot before one o’clock.”

“We do,” Joey said exasperatedly.  “I kept telling you that, but it took you forever to get ready!”

“Oh, and speaking of the photo shoot,” Lance interrupted, “we got a call from Derrick this morning.  You know, while Joey was getting Jen and JC.  He said he talked to the photographer about us bringing Jen and Kathy, and she said it was cool.”

“That’ll be fun,” Kathy said.  “Where’s the shoot at?”

“Out at the beach,” Justin answered.  “Our limo should be here any minute now.”  A movement from outside then caught his eye.  “In fact, there it is now.”

Everyone turned to look out the window.  Sure enough, a long, black limousine slowed and stopped at the curb in front of the house.  They all watched as the driver got out and walked around to stand by the car.

“Okay,” Lance said as he turned to the rest of the group, “so are we all ready to go now?”

Kathy, Justin, Joey, and Chris all turned expectant looks on Jennifer and JC.

“Oh, goodness,” Jennifer sighed.  “Yes, we’re ready, thank you very much.  Let’s just go.”  As everyone headed outside, Jennifer grabbed her keys and locked the door.  Slipping on her sunglasses, she hurried down the front walk towards the limousine.  Everyone else was already inside, so she jumped in and sat down in the middle of the seat, between JC and Justin.

As the car pulled away, Jennifer looked around at her friends.  Lance and Chris were sitting on the side near Justin, and Kathy and Joey were sitting across from them, on JC’s side.  She noticed Kathy and Lance sneaking glances at each other and smiling down at their hands in their laps.  Goodness, she thought with a smile, how cute are they?  She giggled, happy with the situation.

JC draped his arm across Jennifer’s shoulders and pulled her close.  “What are you laughing at?” he whispered into her ear.

She took his other hand and began playing with his fingers.  “Oh, nothing,” she sighed.  “I’ll tell you later.”  As she leaned her head on his shoulder, she asked the rest of the group, “So, who’s this photographer that will be taking your pictures?”

“Her name’s Janine,” Justin explained.  “Janine Corbett.”

Jennifer frowned at hearing the name and lifted her head from JC’s shoulder.  “Janine Corbett?  Hmm…” she muttered to herself, “now why does that name sound so familiar?”

“It does?” Joey asked.  “It shouldn’t.  She’s new in the business.”

“I don’t know; it’s just that when Justin said her name, something inside my head just clicked or something.  I could have sworn I’ve heard that name before.  Oh, well,” she sighed and shrugged her shoulders, “maybe I heard someone else’s name that was similar to that.”

Chris smirked at her.  “Yeah, what’s the chance of you knowing the photographer who’s going to take our pictures?”

Jennifer flashed a grin back at her friend.  “You never know, Chris.  Who knows?  We could have been friends back in high school or something.”

“Yeah, right.”

“See?  You just admitted I was right,” she joked.

“I did not,” he shot back playfully as everyone laughed.

“Oh, come on now, Christopher, you know I’m always right,” she teased.

“Okay, now,” JC spoke up, still chuckling at the pair.  “Let’s just see what happens.”

“I bet Jen really knows the photographer,” Justin said, turning to smile at Jennifer.

“Thanks, Justin.”  She smiled back and patted his hand.

“I’ll bet she doesn’t,” Joey countered.

“Ten bucks says she does,” Justin replied, sitting forward in his seat.

“You’re on!”  They shook on it, and everyone laughed again.

“Wow,” Jennifer said as the laughter died down, “now I’ve got people betting on me.”  She shook her head and leaned against JC again as the limousine sped to their destination.

**

They arrived at the beach with ten minutes to spare.  As they climbed out of the limo, Jennifer took a quick scan of the surroundings.  There weren’t a lot of people there that day, but even so, there were a few onlookers checking out the photography equipment that was set up down the beach a little ways.  “I guess that’s where you guys are supposed to go,” she said, gesturing to the center of all the activity.

Everyone turned to look.  “Hold on,” Kathy said, hanging back as the rest of the group started to move.  “Are you sure we can be here with you guys?  I mean, you guys aren’t supposed to be seen with any girls because you’ll automatically get ‘hooked up’ with them.”

Lance stepped over to her side.  “Do you have a problem with that?” he asked her earnestly.

She quickly looked up at his face.  Seeing a twinkle in his eye, she beamed at him.  “I guess not.”

“Okay, then,” Joey said, grabbing Kathy and Lance and pulling them along.  “Let’s go.”

Jennifer and JC hung back for a few seconds longer.  “JC,” she said quietly, “Kathy had a point.  I mean, yeah, we’ve been together for a while, but people are going to start putting us together, you know.”

“Yeah, I know.”  He smiled at her, not worried at all.  “Why wouldn’t I want to be ‘hooked up’ with my girlfriend?”

Jennifer sighed in relief and smiled.  “I wouldn’t know.  I shouldn’t have doubted you.”  She raised up on her toes to kiss his gently.  “I love being your girlfriend.”

“I love having you as mine.”  They linked fingers and began walking towards the growing crowd of people.

Kathy was standing a few feet away when Jennifer and JC finally reached the area roped off for the shoot.  “I’ll go stand over there with Kat,” Jennifer said.  “You go have fun.”

JC only kissed her again in response then crossed the barrier to stand with the rest of the guys.

Jennifer made her way over to Kathy, who was staring intently at Lance.  Grinning at her friend’s behavior, Jennifer turned to look at Lance as well.  “You know, Kat, the way you stare at him, people are going to think you’re together.”

Kathy jumped a bit at hearing the voice beside her.  When she realized it was Jennifer, though, she relaxed.  “Sorry, Jen.  He’s just so cute.”

Jennifer chuckled.  “I know, I know.  So, tell me,” she said as she pulled her friend over to sit down on the warm sand, “what happened on your ‘date’ Friday night?”

“Oh, my gosh!”  Kathy turned to Jennifer with excitement written all over her face.  “Jen, he kissed me!”

Jennifer’s smile stretched into a wide grin.  “Oh, my gosh!  That’s so great!”

Kathy sighed and looked over at Lance, who was posing for some solo pictures.  “It was incredible.  We had the best time.”

“Well, spill the beans, girl!  You know how nosy I get!”

The two friends laughed and began talking excitedly about Kathy’s date with Lance.

**

“So that’s what happened,” Kathy concluded.  “It was so much fun…and then having him kiss me on the roller coaster?  What a rush.”

Jennifer sighed.  “Wow.  What an awesome date.”

“Oh, come on now, my date was probably nothing compared to yours with JC,” Kathy replied.  “I told you about mine, now you tell me about yours.”

“Well…okay,” Jennifer agreed quickly with a grin.  “So we get in our limo, and as we’re driving away, I try to get JC to tell me where he’s taking me, but he won’t say, so…” She was cut off as the man being discussed plopped onto the sand next to her.

“What are you talking about?” he asked, planting a kiss on her temple.

“Oh, nothing,” Jennifer said.  She grinned at Kathy and mouthed, “Later.”

Kathy nodded as Justin, Lance, Chris, and Joey joined them on the sand.  “What’s going on now?” she asked them.

“We’ve got a short break,” Lance explained.  “About fifteen minutes.”

“Cool,” Jennifer answered.  When she noticed Chris glancing back to the lights and cameras set up a few feet away from them, she decided to speak up.  “Chris?  Why do you keep looking back at the cameras and stuff?”

JC, Justin, Joey, and Lance laughed as Chris turned back to look at Jennifer with a sheepish grin on his face.  “No reason,” Chris said under his breath.

“Chris has the hots for the photographer,” Joey teased.

Jennifer giggled quickly and then tried to hide it.  “Oh, really?” she managed to say.

“Yeah,” Justin added, nudging Chris playfully.  “He couldn’t stop staring at her.”

“Give me a break, guys,” Chris retorted, a little embarrassed.  “She was cute, that’s all.”

“Dude, you were drooling and you know it!” JC put in, making everyone laugh again.  “Sweetie,” he said as he turned to Jennifer, “if you really do know the photographer, you’re going to have to hook someone up.”

Jennifer laughed along with everyone else.  “Well, that…and Joey would owe Justin ten bucks.”

“Ha!” Joey said.  “There’s no way you’d know her.”

“You never know.”

Someone came over then and told the guys they needed to get back to the shoot.  As they stood to leave, Chris leaned in and said to Jennifer, “Hey, if you really do know her, do you think you could…”

“I make no promises,” she replied.  She then smiled at him.  “But we’ll see what happens.”

“Thanks!”  He smiled and took off running to catch up with the rest of the guys.

Jennifer laughed and sat back down on the sand next to Kathy.  “Wouldn’t that be way too funny if I really did know the photographer?”

“Well, you did know someone back in high school by the same name, didn’t you?” Kathy answered.

“Yeah, but we lost touch a long time ago.  I don’t even remember where she was supposed to go to college.  But she did like taking pictures back in high school; she was on yearbook staff and everything.”

“So maybe it is her.”

“Maybe.”  Jennifer hugged her knees to her chest.  She turned her gaze to the photographer and watched as she took pictures of the guys hamming it up for her.  The camera blocked her face, so she couldn’t see if it was familiar at all.  Janine Corbett, she thought.  I wonder if it really is her…

**

“Okay, guys, that’s a wrap.  Thanks a lot.”  The session was over, and the photography crew began taking all the equipment down.  “This was the best first assignment I’ve ever had.”

The guys laughed.  “Hey, we aim to please,” Chris said.  Damn, she’s fine…I really hope Jen knows her.

“Janine?” JC spoke up, stepping forward.  “Could I possibly ask a favor of you?”

“Sure, JC, what’s up?”

“Well, my girlfriend and I have been apart for six months, and we haven’t gotten any pictures taken of us together recently, so I was wondering…maybe you could get some candid and posed shots of us.  Would that be okay?”

Janine grinned.  “Sure, no problem.  I think that’s kind of sweet.  Where is she?”

“I’ll go get her.”  JC ran over to where Jennifer was sitting.

As he skidded to a stop in front of her, Jennifer looked up to see an eager smile on his face.  “Hi, sweetie, you look happy.  Are you finished?”

“Yeah, but I’ve got a surprise for you.”  He pulled her to her feet.  “We’re going to get our pictures taken.”

“What?  Oh, no, honey, I look awful.”

“No, you look beautiful,” he countered.  “Come on.”

“Sweetie, no, please,” she persisted, shaking her head.  “We can take pictures anytime.”

“Come on, Jen,” Kathy spoke up, grinning.  “You can’t turn him down…I think it’s sweet.”

“Don’t encourage him!” Jennifer shot back desperately.

“Come on, Jen,” JC said as he stopped pulling her.  He moved to stand in front of her and flashed a smile at her.  “This should convince you.”  He leaned down and kissed her fully on the lips.

Jennifer gasped at first, then relaxed and fell into the kiss.  They stood there, their lips matched perfectly, until she heard the click of a camera close by.  She pulled away quickly and looked over.

“Well, that’ll be a cute picture,” said the voice behind the camera.  Everyone was now standing around them as the photographer lowered the camera from her face.

Jennifer narrowed her eyes at the face being revealed.  She looks so familiar, she thought, could it really be her?

“Hi, I’m Janine Corbett, photographer extraordinaire,” she said with a wink.

“Janine?” Jennifer said under her breath.  JC released her as she turned to face the woman with the camera.

Janine’s smile faded as she took a closer look at the face staring back at her.  “No, it couldn’t be…”

“Janine Corbett,” Jennifer murmured.  “It’s really you.”

“Well, well, well,” Janine said slowly as she crossed her arms in front of her chest.  “Jennifer Dulay.  After all these years…”