A Treasure Worth Seeking
By: Shellie - shelliemg at gmail.com
Chapter 12Lauren was humming as she stepped out of Caroline’s room, her daughter in her arms. They were both wearing sundresses, Caroline’s a cornflower blue trimmed in white, the color bringing out her eyes, making them glow. Her hair was caught up in two curly pigtails on either side of her head and she was watching her mom with flirty eyes. Caroline knew she was cute tonight and she was going to be a ham, Lauren could see it coming.
Lauren’s dress was a creamy white with the faintest of blue flowers scattered across the fabric. Her hair was twisted up into a knot on the back of her head and she was even wearing sandals. Usually, she went barefoot around the house but she had been nervous when she was dressing and just kept going and going until she felt way over dressed considering she was having dinner in her own home. When she spotted JC stepping onto her back porch in a pair of khaki’s and a pressed button down she was relieved. Caroline spotted him soon after.
In response to her daughters squeal, Lauren stood Carrie on the floor, watching her toddle as fast as her short little legs would carry her towards the back door wailing, "C!"
He stopped, hunching down on the opposite side of the door, and pressed his hand to Carrie’s through the screen. "Well, hello beautiful girl."
"C!"
He laughed, standing and opening the door. He reached inside and scooped Carrie into his arms, laughing when she wrapped her arms around his neck and smacked a wet kiss against his lips. He looked up, meeting Lauren’s eyes as she entered the room. He winked, walked over to drop a quick kiss on her temple, well aware of a room full of curious eyes. "You look amazing," he whispered and she blushed.
"So do you. I’ve never seen you so fancy before. Well … not in person."
He was quite handsome and very sexy in his outfit. The brisk white of his shirt open at the collar contrasted brilliantly with the tan of his skin, making his teeth and eyes glow when he smiled. He was starched and pressed and so perfectly neat, yet at the same time, the breeze on the way over had mussed his slightly damp hair just enough to give him that sexy untamed rogue air. He made her mouth water.
Someone cleared her throat and Lauren flushed, realized she’d been staring at him and completely ignoring the others in the room. "Oh, uh…Josh, this is my mother, Rose and my wicked step-sisters Anastasia and Druscilla."
"Har, har," one of her sisters commented as the other propped her hands on her hips in protest.
"Fine, this is Margo and that’s Anne."
JC laughed shifting Caroline to his other hip so he could shake their hands. His years of experience with strangers helped him remain unfazed as the three openly examined him from head to toe.
"Wait a minute, "came from Margo, the sister with the teenager. "I know who you are."
"Do you now?" he grinned, sending Lauren an amused wink.
"You are JC. I’d recognize you anywhere. I’ve seen your face more than my own husbands I swear to god. It’s plastered all over my daughter’s walls. Lauren! He’s too young for you!"
Lauren gaped at her sister with open embarrassment. "Margo!"
JC burst into laughter. "She’s not. I’m 27 years old. I’ll be 28 in just a few weeks. I really don’t think two years is that big of a deal at all."
"Thank you." Lauren smiled up at him before shooting daggers at her sister once more for good measure. "You can sit her down now. I know she must be getting heavy."
"No, she’s fine." He grinned, Caroline clinging tighter to him at the mention of him setting her down.
"Well, dinner is just about ready anyway, why don’t you strap her in her chair?" Rose asked, scooting Caroline’s high chair next to table. JC headed over and began to fasten the child into her chair while Rose gave her daughter a thumbs up over his back. Lauren laughed softly, and began to help her sisters set everything on the table. To her surprise, JC took her usual spot next to Carrie.
"You really don’t want to sit beside her, Josh."
"Sure, I do. Well do fine. You sit here." He patted the seat on his opposite side and she glanced at her mom who was watching them with an amused expression.
Dinner went well, and Lauren assumed that the conversation flowed smoothly although she wasn’t involved. She was too busy watching Josh with her child. She’d fixed Carrie’s plate and sat it on the table out of her reach. He’d promptly rolled up his sleeves, cut her food into bite size pieces, and proceeded to feed both her child and himself with an efficiency that amazed her. Even after two years of experience, her husband had never once been as successful as JC was being tonight. It was shocking, it was amusing, it was heart breaking. When she caught herself wishing that Caroline was his baby, she excused herself from the table, escaping to her room to hide her tears.
"I don’t know how you found him, but he’s a keeper, Lauren."
She looked up from where she sat on the end of he bed. She sighed, as her mother watched her from the doorway. "I don’t think he’s really available to keep. He’s in one of the most popular groups in the world, mom. He can’t haul his old lady girlfriend and her kid on tour with him." She sighed, staring at herself in the mirror. "Why did I let myself into this situation?"
"Because he’s perfect. And you’re falling in love with him."
"But I shouldn’t."
"You can’t always help who you love. You just have to do it, and live with the results."
"And the time I get to spend with him now will be worth the broken heart later."
"If it’s real."
"That’s what Ami said."
"Well, whoever Ami is, she sounds like she knows a little bit about love."
Lauren snorted, "That’s because she’s in love with his best friend."
"Come back to dinner, honey. Anne is fixing dessert."
She sighed again and stood, following her mother back into the kitchen, smiling involuntarily when he looked at her from his seat across the table. A half hour later she watched him relaxed back against his chair, one arm draped around her shoulders, the other resting on the tray of Caroline’s chair, Caroline enthralled by the sparkling gold bracelet that circled his wrist. Lauren watched her tug and play with it, her fingers still sticky from her ice cream she’d had for dessert. Lauren imagined how appalled some of Steve’s stuffy partners would be if the child even touched their expensive jewelry much less man handled it the way she was doing Josh’s now.
His fingers brushed Lauren’s neck and she glanced away from Caroline to look into his face. His blue eyes sparkled as he smiled. She couldn’t help but smile in response. He leaned toward her, his lips brushing her hair as he whispered softly, "Think we could talk someone into baby sitting again tonight?"
A tingling shiver worked its way down her spine. "I’m counting on it," she whispered in return.
He nudged her with is nose, his hot breath on her ear causing her nipples to tighten beneath her clothes. "I can’t wait."
Hours later when Lauren woke, she knew immediately that she was alone. Although darkness engulfed the room, forbidding her from seeing what surrounded her, his warmth was missing. Sitting up she rubbed her eyes, waiting for them to adjust to the night. She spotted his shirt from earlier lying across a nearby chair and scooted to the end of his bed. She reached for it, drawing the cool fabric to her nose, inhaling deeply, admiring the scent that she’d become so accustomed to as of late. The scent that was JC alone, male and warm and sensual. She slipped it over her arms and stood, buttoning two of the buttons with a lofty smile. The sleeves that he’d rolled to his forearms earlier while feeding Caroline now rested just above her wrists and the shirt’s curved hem fell well below her bottom. It occurred to her then how nice it was to have a man around. Someone bigger and stronger and masculine. Someone that made her feel like a woman again. I hope it lasts.
Silently she padded through his darkened house, stopping where the hallway met his living room. Her eyes scanned the large room spotting him reclining in a chaise in one corner, moonlight alternately hiding and defining his strong features. He was naked.
"Hey," he whispered, holding out his hand in her direction. She walked toward him, stopping at the foot of the chaise, one knee resting on the soft leather between his feet.
"Hey yourself." She brushed his toes with her fingertips and he smiled. "You’re naked."
He chuckled letting his head roll slightly to the side staring across the dimly lit room for a long moment before raising his eyes back to hers. "Well, you see, there was a beautiful, sexy, naked woman lying in my bed. And I had every intention of climbing back in bed with her very soon and waking her up. I didn’t want to get dressed and then have to get undressed again. Besides, why are you wearing clothes?"
"I don’t normally roam around strange houses in the nude."
"This isn’t a strange house. It’s my house." He slowly stroked his growing sex unconsciously as he watched her standing above him.
"Yeah, but you weren’t exactly expecting Joey’s visit. Wouldn’t want to surprise any of your other random guests that happen to wander in during the wee hours of the night."
"Come sit with me." He pulled her hand, guiding her down beside him on the chair. He wrapped one arm around her waist, holding her close while slipping the other between the folds of the shirt she’d stolen. "This looks so much better on you."
"You think?"
"Yeah, but I’m thinking it would look even better like this…" his hand appeared once more and he smiled as he unbuttoned the two buttons she’d fastened just minutes before. Spreading the cloth until one breast was revealed, he dropped his hand back down onto her smooth stomach. "There…much better." He snuggled down beside her, burying his nose in the crook of her neck, dropping soft kisses along her skin until she shivered, her nipples tightening from the sweet sensations rippling through her body. "Oh…" he sighed, noticing the effect his kisses were having on her single visible breast, "that’s nice." He lowered his head, taking the rosy peak into his warm mouth, sucking and tugging until her fingers fisted in the back of his hair, holding him to her chest. Eventually he pulled away, watching her with hooded eyes as she tortured her full bottom lip between her teeth. "You like that?" She nodded, releasing her lip from its trap and licking it. He pressed his mouth, still wet and swollen from sucking her tender flesh, to her lips. He moved his head just slightly to one side, nibbling at the corner of her mouth, "You know, I was planning to come wake you up with kisses. Make love to you again, fall asleep in your arms, wake up with our bodies all tangled together and then talk you into making me breakfast. But now that you’re here…I’m thinking we could just stay." To emphasize his suggestion, he flicked his tongue along the line of her jaw.
Breathless she whispered, "Here is good."
"You think so?"
"Uh huh."
"Come here." He pushed her forward, centering his body on the chaise as he turned her, parting her thighs until she sat straddling his hips and the chair, her toes resting on the floor. Her slick heat was pressed against him, holding his throbbing sex captive between their bodies. "You…are so beautiful to me." He pushed the shirt from her shoulders, following the once starched cloth down her arms with his fingertips. The white shirt seemed to glow against her skin, darkened from the summer sun. It was soon discarded behind her on the floor, forgotten as his hands trailed along her flesh, cupping her breasts, thumbing her nipples until she gasped, rocking her body against his intimately. "Baby…" he hissed, moving his hands to her waist, gripping and lifting her until she was standing on her toes, her palms braced on his strong shoulders. His cock lifted toward her as if it knew heaven waited just inches above. She wiggled her hips, moving until she felt the silken blunt tip of his arousal press against her entrance. Then, with her eyes locked with his, she lowered until she was once again resting on his lap.
"Fuck…" he shuddered beneath her and it sent a thrill though her body, knowing that he was as affected by her as she was by him. She flexed her muscles, gripping him within her body and his eyes slid closed, his head dropping back against the seat behind him. "Lauren…baby…please." Slowly she began to move, rocking her hips, grinding against him, raising and lowering her body on his, encouraged by the mantra of whispered words of love and sin spilling from his tender lips. His fingers curled into the muscular flesh of her hips, emboldening her pace. His back left the cushion behind him and his hands loosened their grip, spreading around the curve of her bottom while hers locked around his neck pressing his chanting, open mouth against her chest. Muscles flexed and toes curled, finger nails bit lightly into skin as teeth bit not so lightly into whatever flesh was available.
"Lauren…Lauren…fuck…" The heat of his whispered words against her skin sent shivers down her sweating body, the sensation overloading her delicate nerve endings sending her screaming into an orgasm that caused the already quickening muscles in her thighs to stop working completely. Her body dropped, resting atop his fully, quaking, clutching his thick shaft tightly within her molten center. His neck arched backward and he wept, his release pulsing into her body in a rush of red-hot heat. Helpless he fell against the chair, dragging her limp body with his. It was sometime later before he was strong enough to carry her with him to his bed.
***
"Is it noon?" she asked, curling against the warmth of his body beneath the covers.
"Not hardly. The sun hasn’t even come up yet."
"You’re kidding me? I feel like I’ve been asleep for days."
"Hmm," his hand curled around her hip possessively. "That’s because you exhausted yourself just a few hours ago in my living room."
"Oh yes… I remember now." She nipped his neck with her teeth, "Why is it that every time I wake up, you are already awake. Have you slept at all?"
"Yes, I just woke up a few moments ago. Hey…lets go watch the sun come up."
"Mmmmm, for you I will. But if anyone else asked me to do such a thing, I’d laugh in their face."
They dressed in silence, her in the pair of jeans she’d slipped on the night before when they’d left her house and the same discarded shirt that she recovered from the living room floor.
"You like that thing, huh?"
She blushed sweetly, "It smells like you."
He curled his fingers into the thick, dark hair at her nape, urging her toward the door with him. "Let’s go, sweetheart."
They stepped out onto the porch, the morning air moist, the wind balmy and welcoming. She stopped on the porch’s edge, her toes curled over the top step and leaned back against his warm chest. They stood like that for several minutes, his arms wrapped about her from behind, his hips rocking them slightly as they watched the waves crash against the shore in the pale pre-dawn light. He nudged her with his hip, "Let’s walk."
Hand and hand they strolled, quietly watching the sun present itself in all its glory over the horizon. Eventually they turned, heading back toward their homes. Lauren stared blindly at their feet, disappearing into the wet sand, the tide bubbling around their ankles.
"What are you thinking about?" he asked softly, hesitant to disturb her mediation.
Her mouth curved into a wistful smile as she raised her eyes to look across the beach in front of them. "I was remembering the first time I saw you."
"When was that?" he asked, expecting her to reference a television appearance from years before or the cover of a well-known magazine.
"Just a few days after I moved in. I couldn’t sleep and I was sitting on my porch early, like it is now. You were walking along the beach like this and you just seemed so sad. I’ve often wondered what it was that made your heart call out to mine."
He frowned slightly, looking at his feet. Slowing to a stop he pulled her around in front of him, hugging her close. "I was thinking about the group. It depresses me when I think about it, so I’ve been avoiding it lately, hiding myself in you and Caroline. I’m running out of time but I keep hoping that if I just don’t think about it, it will go away?"
She looked up at him with concerned eyes. "What are you avoiding?"
"We are meeting in three weeks, all of us, and we have to make a decision about the group. About whether or not to call it quits."
She stepped back a half step and stared at him. "You’re going to break up?"
"Probably. Things just aren’t going the same as they used to. It’s time for a new album and there’s nothing new to put on it. We’ve been so successful at going out and finding something new and interesting to add to each new album but now…there’s just nothing left. Do we stop while we are ahead or make shitty records and tread water until we sink? It’s so hard to call it quits though, ya know? I really love this. I love the guys and I can’t imagine not being a part of them."
"You’ll always be a part of them, Josh. As much as you all have been through together. You’ve become a family closer than blood. Nothing can break that apart unless you let it. Just because you aren’t performing…"
"But that’s just it. I can’t imagine not being on stage and looking over and seeing Justin smiling at me on my right, Joey laughing on my left. The fans as far as the eye can see. It’s my life. My home. But apparently they don’t feel the same."
"Why do you say that?"
"If no one had any doubts then we wouldn’t have to take this time to decide. I don’t know why I’m even bothering to worry. If we don’t unanimously agree to stay together then it’s done. There’s no way all 5 of us are going to say yes."
"What will you do if you guys don’t stay together?"
He shrugged, bending to bury his face in her silky hair. "I will still write and produce but…I just don’t know. Everyone else has something filling their time. Joey has a baby, Chris has FuMan, Lance has FreeLance and Happy Place and Justin is practically exploding to go solo. He’s only with us now out of loyalty as our friend. But I just don’t have anything."
"But think about it, Josh. You can do anything you want. No boundaries, nothing to hold you back. You have the world at your fingertips."
"I know, but…I just feel like it wouldn’t be me." He raised his head, his rye laughter floating away on the breeze. "It’s sick really, we’ve spent our careers striving to stand out as individuals. Showing the world that we are more than just NSync. We are all unique and talented in our own ways. Fighting not to be identified as just one fifth of the group, and now that we are about to break apart…I’m the one who sees myself as nothing without them. Who am I if I’m not ‘JC’?"
"You are so many, many things. You are an unbelievable writer, a musician, a producer. A friend, a son, a brother…a lover. I think you are an unbelievable man, one that I have come to admire and care a great deal about and you know what? I’ve never known you as JC. I’ve never seen you perform. I’ve never seen you as one of them. You have always been Josh to me. The sexy, handsome, haunted man that lives next door."
He sighed, nuzzling her until he made his way through her hair to touch her neck. "Where did you come from, Lauren? And why are you here now?"
"When you figure out that answer, maybe by then I’ll have answered that same question about you and we can swap."
He laughed, the sound sad and empty in her ear. "It’s a deal."
They stood, arms wrapped tightly together, their faces hidden between them, shielding each other from the wind and waves and the harsh reality of the world surrounding them. All that existed in those quiet moments was the sound of their hearts beating in rhythm, their breath heating each other’s skin, their fingers, curling into cloth.
It was JC’s stubborn stomach that eventually disturbed the peaceful moment, interrupting rudely to make itself known. It rumbled loudly and Lauren began to giggle. "I guess we better get some food in there before it comes out to get it."
JC smiled, relieved to have an excuse to think about something new. "I guess. It’s come out before and believe me, it’s not pretty."