The house was quiet as Jennifer and JC proceeded down the hallway.  “You didn’t have to carry me,” Jennifer whispered in his ear.  “I can walk, you know.”

“I know,” JC whispered back, “but carrying you makes me feel manly.”

Jennifer giggled softly.  “Far be it from me to stop you from feeling manly.” She began nibbling his earlobe.

By the time they reached the bedroom door, Jennifer had begun kissing JC’s neck. JC stopped in front of the door, took a deep breath, and turned his head to take her lips on his.  As they kissed passionately, Jennifer felt JC’s hand fumbling for something.

“What’s the hold-up, honey?” she asked.

“I can’t open the door.”

“Then why don’t you put me down?”

“I don’t want to.  You feel fine right where you are.”

“Here, then, let me get it.”  Jennifer reached down, turned the knob, and pushed the door open.  “Shall I invite you in?”

JC walked inside, never taking his eyes off Jennifer, and kicked the door closed.  After making his way across the room, he gently set Jennifer down on the bed.  He stretched out next to her and gazed into her sparkling brown eyes. Placing a hand on her cheek, he said, “I don’t know how I lived before I met you.”

Jennifer, in response, leaned in to kiss him gently.  She sighed as they pulled apart.  “Our first night together in six months,” she said.  “How did I survive without you?”

“The same way I did.  We knew we were going to see each other again soon.  And here we are.”

“Yes, here we are.”

JC laid Jennifer back on the pillows and kissed her thoroughly.  She raised a hand to his chest and pushed him up slightly.  “Sweetheart, let’s get ready for bed,” she suggested.

Silently, he raised up and looked into her eyes.  He could tell she was thinking the same thing he was – they weren’t going to be sleeping for a while.  “Okay,” he agreed, helping her up.  They walked through separate doors to their dressing areas.

I can’t believe we’re finally alone, JC thought as he took off his shirt.  I’ve waited so long to be with her.  He put on a white undershirt, then changed out of his jeans into the silk pajama bottoms Jennifer had sent him for his last birthday.  He had worn them every night while on the road; it made him feel close to Jennifer, even though she was far away.  He smiled to himself.  And now we’re together.

Inside her own dressing room, Jennifer tried to control her breathing.  Relax, Jen, you’re with JC.  She smiled to herself.  I’ve waited so long to be with him.  She changed out of her blouse and jeans into a new satin nightie that she bought especially for JC.  She dreamed about this night ever since the day he left for his tour.  And now we’re together.

They walked through the doors at the same time.  Hearing each other’s door close, they slowly turned to look at each other.  Jennifer’s face lit up as she noticed JC wearing her present to him.  “You wore them,” she said, walking towards him.

JC’s breath had caught in his throat the minute he turned and looked at Jennifer.  He watched her walk toward him, not being able to say anything to her just yet.  She moved as if she were in slow motion; it seemed like forever until she stood only a foot in front of him.  Swallowing audibly, he tried to tell her his feelings, but all that came out of his mouth was, “You’re incredibly beautiful.”

She beamed at him.  “You’re not so bad yourself.”

JC grinned and took her hand.  “Come with me,” he invited.

Jennifer followed JC to the sitting area, where he sat down on a small couch, then pulled her down to sit on his lap.  She leaned on his chest as he put his arms around her.  They sat silently for a few moments, spotlighted by the moon shining brightly through the window.  Jennifer sighed and closed her eyes.  JC glanced down, then tilted her face up to his.  “What are you thinking?” he asked her.

“I was just thinking about how much I love you,” she replied.

“Are you also thinking about how much I love you, too?”

“I am now.”

They looked down at their joined hands.  Jennifer moved her hand to link her fingers tightly with his.

“I couldn’t stop thinking about you during the tour,” JC confessed.  “Every night, I wished I could be with you, holding you like this.  I dreamt about you all the time.  I dreamt we were taking a moonlit walk on the beach together.  I dreamt we were standing at the top of the Empire State Building, holding each other.  I dreamt of us having an intimate picnic in the woods, just the two of us.  You are so much a part of my life, Jennifer.  I’ve never felt as whole and alive with anyone as I feel with you.  I love you with all my heart and soul, and I never want to be away from you again.”

A tear ran down Jennifer’s cheek as she listened to JC’s declaration of love. She couldn’t say anything in response; her feelings for him were too strong to put into words.  She framed his face with her hands, pulled his face close and kissed him gently.  Her emotions poured into him, from her lips to his, and he held her tightly.  Her fingers made their way into his hair, and their kissing intensified.  He leaned her back onto the couch cushions and continued kissing her.  Her hands cradled his head as his lips moved down to under her chin. Losing herself in her own feelings, Jennifer’s eyes fluttered closed.

JC took in her scent, light and flowery, which drove him crazy.  He stretched out over her, his hands running up and down her sides.  He moved his kisses from her chin to her neck, close to her ear.  Hearing Jennifer’s soft sighing, he reached up, slid a strap down over her arm, and kissed her shoulder.

Once Jennifer felt his lips touch her shoulder, her mind suddenly cleared.  Oh, my gosh, she thought, almost panicking.  What are we doing?  She sat up quickly, taking hold on JC’s shoulders and pushing him up.  “Honey, we can’t keep doing this,” she told him.

JC’s eyes were darkened with passion.  “What?” he asked, obviously disconcerted.

“Think about this, JC,” she said.  She herself was torn between her mind, which was telling her to stop, and her body, which was telling her to continue.  “What are we doing?”

His eyes widened in realization of where their actions were leading.  “Oh…” he trailed off, not believing he had let his emotions get to him.  “I’m sorry, Jennifer…I didn’t mean…”

She cut him off.  “It’s not your fault.  I didn’t mean for it to get this far, either.”

“I just can’t believe we almost…” JC began.

“I know.”  Jennifer gave him a small smile.  “It’s a good thing we stopped before anything really happened.”

“Yeah.  We’re not ready for this.”

“Definitely.”

“So what do we do now?” he wondered.

“Well, let’s just put this behind us for now,” she suggested.  “Let’s go to sleep and talk about it in the morning.”

“Okay,” JC said with a smile, then looked downwards.  “Uh…Jennifer?”

“Yes?”

“Would you sleep with me tonight?” JC asked.  “I mean, not ‘sleep’ as in that ‘sleep,’ I mean…”

Jennifer silenced him with a kiss.  “I know what you mean,” she said after the kiss ended, “and my answer is yes.”

There was a twinkle in JC’s eye as he lifted Jennifer off the couch and over to the bed.  He set her down next to the bed, and as he made his way to the other side, she pulled the covers back.  They crawled in and moved close to cuddle under the covers.  JC pressed his lips to her hair.

“Good night, sweetie,” he whispered.  “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” she replied.  With that, they fell into a deep sleep.

**

The next morning, Justin, Lance, Joey, and Chris were sitting in the living room, watching TV.  Kathy had already left for class by the time they had woken. The four men lounged around, thinking about breakfast.

“Man, I’m hungry,” Joey stated.  “Too bad Kathy’s not here to make us anything.”

“Dude, she can’t cook for us all the time,” Lance said in defense of Kathy. “She’s not our chef, you know.  Besides, it’s not like we couldn’t make anything ourselves.”

“You’re right, Lance,” Justin agreed.  “So let’s go look for something.”

“Are you sure we can just go into the kitchen and eat whatever we find?” Chris asked.

“Yeah, it’s cool,” Justin answered.  “Kathy slipped us a note under our door this morning before she left.”  He pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Chris.  The note read:

‘Good morning, guys!

       I had to leave extra early this morning for a quick meeting.  Go ahead and have breakfast when you get up.  The refrigerator’s stocked.  Oh, and don’t worry if Jen’s not awake yet – she never gets up early.             Have a great day, and I’ll see y’all later!

             Kathy.’

“Cool,” Chris said.  “Let’s go eat.”

As they were about to go to the kitchen, a movement outside the window caught Joey’s eye.  He glanced at the figure on the sidewalk.  “Hey, look, guys, it’s Derrick,” he announced.

Justin, Lance, and Chris turned to look.  Sure enough, there was Derrick, out taking his daily morning jog.

Lance quickly opened the front door.  “Hey, Derrick!” he yelled, waving. Derrick looked over, recognized who was calling him, and waved back.

“Wanna join us for breakfast?” Lance invited.

“Sure.”  Derrick accepted and turned up the front walkway.  He entered the house and greeted the others inside.  “Morning, guys.”

“Morning, Derrick,” Justin answered for them.  “Come join us for breakfast.”

“Thanks, I will,” Derrick said.  He followed the rest of the guys into the kitchen.

**

Meanwhile, back in the master bedroom, Jennifer and JC were still sleeping. They had not moved from the position they fell asleep in the previous night – JC’s arms were still around Jennifer, and their legs were tangled beneath the sheets.

Jennifer stirred, sighed, and slowly opened her eyes.  She felt JC’s warm body next to hers and smiled.  He’s really here with me, she thought.  She lifted a hand to play with the ends of his hair.  He’s so wonderful; I’m the luckiest girl in the world.  She shifted to softly kiss his lips.

JC felt Jennifer’s mouth on his.  He pulled her even closer and deepened the kiss.  After a couple of minutes, they pulled away reluctantly.  They looked into each other’s eyes, their faces a few inches apart.

“Good morning,” Jennifer whispered.

“‘Good’ is right,” JC said.  He rolled onto his back, pulling Jennifer over him. She propped herself up on her elbows as he continued.  “What a way to start the day – being woken by a beautiful woman.”

Jennifer kissed him in response.  She then glanced at the clock.  “You know, it’s only eight-thirty,” she began.

“Oh?  And what did you have in mind to pass the time?” JC asked, slowly running his hands over Jennifer’s back.

“Just this.”  She kissed his neck.  “And this.”  She kissed his jawline.  “This, too.”  She kissed his lips, then raised up.  “Get the picture?”

“I think so,” JC said, grinning.  He held her close, then rolled both of them over so that she was on her back and he was lying over her.  “But let me see if I have this right.”

**

Back in the kitchen, Justin, Lance, Joey, Chris, and Derrick were pulling things out of the refrigerator and other places around the kitchen.  Soon, the table was loaded with food, plates, glasses, and silverware.  The five sat down around the pile and promptly dug in.

“Hey, wait,” Derrick interjected, “where’s Jen and JC?”

“They probably haven’t gotten up yet,” Chris said.  And I’ll bet it’s because they didn’t get any sleep last night, he thought to himself.  I hope my “present” was put to good use.

“Well, they should eat, too.  I think I’ll go get them.”  Derrick rose from the table.

The others just grunted in assent, their mouths too full to speak.  Derrick just chuckled and made his way towards the bedroom.

**

JC had moved from kissing Jennifer’s lips to kissing her neck.  “You are too good at this,” she murmured.

He momentarily lifted his head to look at her.  “Then I must be getting it right,” he joked.

“Just as long as I don’t hear about you practicing on anyone but me.”

“Never.”  JC lowered his head again to kiss her neck.

Jennifer sighed and turned her head to give him better access.  Her fingers ran through his hair, urging him on.  No one had ever made her feel this way.  No one was ever as tender and loving as JC was with her.  She didn’t want those feelings to stop.

Although his body was telling him different, JC’s mind was saying, Think about what you’re doing.  Remember where you are and whom you’re with.  He raised his head again.  “Jennifer?”

“Yeah?” she breathed, wanting him to keep kissing her.

“Are we doing the right thing?”

“If we weren’t, we would have stopped ages ago.”

JC raised an eyebrow at her.  She just stared back, looking directly into his eyes.  “Are you sure you’re okay with this?” he asked quietly.

“I am, if you are.”

“God, Jennifer, I don’t know if I’ve ever wanted anything more.”

She pulled him down to her.  “You really want me?”

“Yes.”

“Then show me.”

JC kissed her, almost forcefully.  Jennifer ran her hands down his back as he moved back to her neck.  She took hold of his undershirt and, feeling his arms rise, pulled it up.  He stopped kissing her long enough for her to take his shirt off, then replaced his lips on her throat as she threw his shirt to the floor.  She felt his fingers glide up her arms to slide her straps off her shoulders.  Shifting, she felt her nightie slide further down her body.  JC’s lips moved slowly downwards, and Jennifer felt his hand lingering on her upper thigh.  Arching up slightly, she felt his mouth move to her chest.  She inhaled quickly.  “JC…” she trailed off.

“Please, Jennifer, I don’t want to stop now,” he pleaded.

“No, honey, it’s not that,” she said.  “If this is going to happen, we shouldn’t take any risks.”

“You’re right,” JC replied.  “Do you have any…?”

Jennifer smiled sweetly.  “On the nightstand.”  She reached for it as JC looked at her questioningly.  “I know, I know,” she admitted, seeing his look, “I figured they might come in handy someday, and it wouldn’t help to keep them at the store, you know.”

He laughed, delighted with her, delirious for her.  “I love you so much.”

“I know.”  Jennifer’s hand was halfway to reaching the nightstand when a knock came at the door.  She was about to ask who it was, but the door opened before she could say anything.

“Hey, you two, get up, it’s…” Derrick came in, grinning.  Jennifer and JC froze, then sat up quickly, covering their bodies with the blanket, but Derrick had already noticed the couple in bed.  His grin faded quickly.  “It’s time for me to leave.”  He turned and rushed out.

Both Jennifer and JC sat in bed, speechless after what had just occurred. Slowly, they turned to face each other.  “What are we going to do?” Jennifer asked.

“We have to catch Derrick,” JC answered.  With that, they jumped out of bed and rushed to get dressed.

**

Derrick rushed back down the hallway towards the kitchen.  As much as he tried to forget it, the entire scene kept replaying in his mind.  He relived every emotion that he felt – the cheerfulness as he knocked on the door, the shock upon seeing Jennifer and JC together, half naked, in bed, the embarrassment of walking in on such a private and intimate moment, and the anger that ensued when he remembered a similar scene from Jennifer’s past.  Derrick stopped, lost in his thoughts.  Finally, he looked up and realized he was standing right outside the kitchen door.  Okay, I’m just going to pretend I didn’t see anything, he thought to himself.  There’s no need for anyone else to know about this.  He took a deep breath to regain his composure, and then entered the kitchen.

Justin, Lance, Joey, and Chris were almost done with breakfast when Derrick walked in.  They looked over at the doorway expectantly.  “So?  Where’s Jen and JC?” Lance asked.

“Uh,” Derrick paused, thinking of an appropriate answer.  “They were still sleeping, but I think they’ll be joining us in a few minutes.”  He sat back down at the table, pretending everything was normal.  The rest of the guys just shrugged their shoulders and finished the meal.

About five minutes later, everyone’s eyes shifted to the doorway as Jennifer and JC rushed into the kitchen.  Seeing them come in, holding hands, made Derrick unconsciously stiffen his body.  He lowered his gaze.  He didn’t think he could look at them the same way ever again.

Jennifer and JC had decided, before they left the bedroom, to act as if nothing had happened.  They only hoped Derrick hadn’t tipped off the others by saying or doing anything out of the ordinary.  When they entered the kitchen, they put on smiles to hide everything.

“Good morning,” they greeted everyone around the table.

Joey spoke up.  “Well, it’s about time you two got up.”

“No kidding,” Justin added.  “So glad you decided to join us for breakfast.”

“Knock it off,” JC warned.  “So we got up late.  It’s not like we had to get up early or anything.”  He glanced at Jennifer, trying to communicate with his eyes.

Jennifer looked back at him quickly, then sat down to examine the remains of “breakfast” on the table.  “Good Lord, what did you guys do?” she asked.

“We had breakfast,” Chris replied.  “Show her the note Kathy left, Justin.”

Justin handed the note to Jennifer, and she skimmed it quickly.  You had to tell them they could raid the fridge, didn’t you, Kathy? Jennifer wondered.  I should make you clean up this mess.  She handed the note back to Justin and searched the table for anything edible.  Finding a bag with something almost unidentifiable, she lifted it to peer at it closely.  She sighed.  “Honey, do you want one of these bagels?” she asked JC.

“Is that what those are?”  He had been looking at the same bag, but didn’t think they were bagels.

“I sure hope so.”

“Well…okay, then.”  JC watched as Jennifer split two bagels and placed them into the toaster oven.  Oh, Lord…Jennifer, what have we done?  We have to settle this with Derrick soon.

Oblivious to the tension in the room, Justin, Lance, Joey, and Chris got up from the table to start putting everything away.  As he carried some dirty dishes to the sink, Lance told Jennifer, “Don’t worry, we’ll clean up.”

“Thanks.”  She smiled at him.  “I was going to make you guys do it anyway.”

Lance laughed, then turned to Derrick.  “Hey, Derrick, is there anything we need to know when we go over that deal?”

“Yeah,” Derrick began, “but I need to leave for work soon.  If you want to come with me now, though, I could go over the details with you while we drive.  You have to be there around 1 anyway to be at the meeting.”

“That’s cool,” Justin nodded.  “Let’s go get ready, guys.”  Justin, Lance, Joey, and Chris finished cleaning and headed for their rooms.

“Derrick…” Jennifer began the minute the four left.

“I have to go home and get ready.  JC, please let the others know I’ll be back in 20 minutes to pick y’all up.”  Derrick didn’t look once at JC when he said this.

“But…” JC tried to get a word in, but Derrick had rushed out.  Looking tired, JC sat back down at the table.

Jennifer came over to rub his shoulders.  “We’ll get through this, JC.”

“I know we will,” he said, putting his hand over hers.  “I’m going to try to talk to Derrick later on.  Hopefully, I can catch him alone.”

“What are you going to say to him?”

“I’m not exactly sure yet.  I’ll most likely tell him we weren’t doing anything…”

“Yet,” Jennifer interjected.

“I won’t tell him that!” JC stated, grinning.  “I’ll tell him we weren’t doing anything and ask if he’ll keep it to himself.”  That is, only if he’ll talk to me.  He didn’t look too happy with me earlier.

“Do you think the others know?” Jennifer wondered aloud.

“I don’t think so.  I mean, they didn’t make any of their tasteless sexual remarks,” JC replied sarcastically.

Jennifer smiled in relief.  “True.  That’s good.  The less they know, the better.”

JC chuckled.  “Yeah, really…”

Jennifer giggled, then turned to hear muffled conversation coming from the hallway.  Justin, Lance, Joey, and Chris walked into the kitchen.  “Where’s Derrick?” Joey asked.

“He had to go home to get ready,” JC explained, “but he said he’ll be back soon to get us.”

“Okay.  So are you ready to go?”

“Pretty much.  Just have to get my wallet.”  JC stood and walked towards Jennifer’s bedroom.

Jennifer got up to clear the rest of the dishes.  “So are you guys going to spend the rest of the day working?” she asked of the four.

“We might as well,” Chris answered.  “We’ll be there anyway, so we might go over some new material we have.”

“Cool.  Kathy and I will expect you for dinner then.”

“As long as you’re not cooking, that’s cool,” Justin joked.

“If I hear that one more time…” Jennifer threatened.  Before she could finish her threat, though, the doorbell rang.  “Oh, that must be Derrick.”

“Saved by the bell!” Justin exclaimed.  Everyone laughed as they entered the living room.

Joey had gone to let Derrick in.  “Hey, man,” Joey greeted, “we’re almost ready. We’re waiting for JC to come out.”

“Okay.”  Derrick walked into the living room and sat down to wait.

Soon, JC emerged from the hallway.  “Hey, Derrick,” he said, seeing the figure on the couch.

“Hey,” he muttered, but remembering he was supposed to act as if nothing was wrong, Derrick grinned and jumped up from the couch.  “Well, if we’re ready, we better go before I’m late.”  He headed for the door.  “Bye, Jen,” he said, turning back.  “We’ll see you later.”  Derrick passed through the front door and started unlocking his car doors.

“Bye, Jen!”  “Have fun at classes!”  “Don’t work too hard!”  “See you later tonight!”  Justin, Lance, Joey, and Chris piled into Derrick’s car.

Jennifer walked to the front door, waving to her friends.  JC came up behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders.  “Are you going to be okay?” he asked.

“I’ll be fine.  Classes should take my mind off things.”

“Okay.  I’ll be back tonight.”  JC tilted Jennifer’s chin up to kiss her lips.

“Oh, look,” Chris cried out from his open window.  “It’s Ward and June Cleaver sharing a goodbye kiss.”  The sound of laughter flowed through the open window as JC pulled away from Jennifer and looked over.

Jennifer laughed and shook her head.  “Chris really knows how to ruin a moment, doesn’t he?”

JC grinned.  “Oh, well, what can you do?  Anyway, I’ll see you tonight.”  He kissed her again quickly, before anyone could comment, then ran down the front walk.  He jumped in the car, and they drove off.  Standing at the front door, Jennifer watched and waited until they were out of sight, then went back inside to clean up and prepare for class.