[chapter three]

(Several days later)

Allison was curled up on one end of Caitlin's sofa, leafing through old photo albums and waiting for the Larry King Live interview to start. She giggled at a picture of Caitlin, her brother and her roommates standing on top of a snow bank wearing tropical clothes and holding a surfboard.

"What's so funny?" Caitlin asked as she reentered the room bearing a huge bowl of popcorn and two sodas.

"This picture of you and your roommates on a snow bank. What the heck were you guys doing?" Allison asked, looking up with a smile.

"Oh that...back in Michigan we hosted a beach party...it just happened to be January at the time." Caitlin replied, laughing. "Popcorn?" She asked, proffering the huge bowl. Allison grabbed a handful with a smile, and they set the bowl between them.

"So do you always watch the guys on TV when they are out of town?" Allison ventured to ask. She no longer felt shy around Caitlin. She had arrived several hours earlier, and the two girls had instantly bonded. They had gone to dinner, cruised around a local mall, and sat chatting for ages about old college stories, current events, the guys, and Orlando in general. Allison was comforted to know that Caitlin had only relocated to Orlando a few months prior to her, and seemed to be fitting in beautifully. In college, Allison tended to hang around the male-dominant business crowd, so it was nice to have a girl to talk to. Apparently, Caitlin felt the same wayshe had confessed to the same feeling over dinner.

"To be honest, since JC and I got together, they have been in town pretty constantly. This is the longest we've been apart since we started going out, other than when he went home for Christmas. I used to watch them on TV before I started seeing JC, so I figured why shouldn't I now?" Caitlin grinned. "And, much as I hate to admit it, I miss the boy. All of them, really."

"They do tend to fill up the office I didn't realize until they left how empty Jive feels without them running around all day." Allison agreed. "Are you going to tour with JC this summer when they go out on the road?"

"Who knows? I doubt it, since I have a job and a life and everything. But then again, when I think about being separated for so long, I get sort of...girly. Sad, clingy, you know, the whole nine yards." Caitlin sighed. "Heck, he may find another girl before the summer hits and ditch me entirely."

"I seriously doubt that. I've seen the way he looks at you. There's no changing that." Allison said. "You can always tell a man in love. And that boy is gone."

Caitlin smiled. "Thank you. How do you know so much about boys anyhow? I thought you were consumed only with being businesswoman extraordinaire and laying plans to take over the world." She teased.

"Well, I have a boyfriend back in New England." She said. Caitlin nodded her head slowly, and waited for her to continue. "I mean, we've been together for ages. We lived together in college, we talked about marriage, but now that we're so far apart, things have gotten...stalled." Allison said.

"Ah...the plot thickens." Caitlin grinned. "Has he thought of moving here to be with you?" Caitlin ventured.

"Not a chance. He keeps trying to convince me to come back to New York to be with him. But with this Jive opportunity, there is no way in hell. This is everything I worked for, and I'm not leaving just for him." Allison paused. "That sounded really bitter, didn't it? I love Michael, we just seem to be drifting apart. It's tough, you know?"

Caitlin nodded. "You don't sound bitter, just confused and a little lonely. Maybe you and Michael should cool things for a while before you decide how to spend the rest of your life. See other people, explore the world apart for a while. See what happens."

"Oh, this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship...I've been needing someone other than my dog and my mother giving me advice on my life." Allison said with a smile. "Thanks...seriously."

"Anytime. If you are in need of my advising skills, or a shoulder to cry on for the Michael situation, just give me a holler." Caitlin replied sincerely.

"Thanks, Caitlin." Allison said. "Oh, it's starting!" She said, pointing the television screen. Caitlin squealed and pushed the volume button up on the remote for the television. Both girls settled back to soak in the interview hour, and, by silent agreement, to make fun of everything about the guys and their comments.

"How did Lance become part of the group?"

"He's actually our best fan..."

"Poor Lance. They always tease him about being the last member to join. But with that voice, who could refuse him." Caitlin defended.

"I can't imagine what they would sound like with just a four part harmony." Allison agreed.

"Poor JC...he keeps trying to answer, but Larry is interrupting him!" Caitlin said.

"110 degree warehouse every day..."

"There's no denying those guys worked to get where they are." Allison said.

"I hear that." Caitlin agreed. "Not to change the subject, but can you use a PR excuse to get Joey to change back his hair?"

Allison laughed. "I'd rather get Chris to come off the braid thing again. Though the peroxide doesn't really work either..."

"We surround ourselves with great people..."

"Oh! He must be talking about you!" Caitlin squeaked at Allison.

"Get real. He's talking about the 4000 people who work for them!" Allison said with a grin.

"Guys, what about girlfriends?"

"I think she's in the army now..."

"Omigod. Chris and Dani really did break up. Poor Chris. Hell, poor Dani. They were soul mates, I swear." Caitlin said sadly.

"No wonder he's been so down the last few days." Allison agreed. "I hope they're both ok."

"What about you JC? Girlfriend? Anyone I know?"

"Yeah. No. No one, wouldn't be anyone you know. But she's great, and I love her very much."

"Lance?"

"No, I'm single."

Caitlin screamed. "Omigod! JC just admitted us on Larry King! He said he wasn't going to tell! Jive is going to kill him!"

"Don't worry, he told Johnny he was going to spill or else he wasn't going. Johnny okayed it. I'm already working on print for the web page about it." Allison reassured her.

"That brat didn't say anything about talking to Johnny!" Caitlin replied.

"Surprise." Allison grinned.

"He said he loved me on national television. Wow." Caitlin said quietly. "He's such a dork. I hope people don't figure out it's me. Alex will be pissed if teenyboppers block our driveway."

Allison laughed out loud at Caitlin. "I'm sure it'll be fine. No one knows who it is yet. I'm really excited for you thoughnow you guys are out in the open!"

"I guess so." Caitlin smiled brightly as they turned their attention to the television again.

"We had a bit of a tiff..."

"That's the understatement of the decade." Caitlin laughed in reference to their 'financial problems' with Transcon.

"Tiff. Interesting choice of words for a multimillion dollar lawsuit." Allison agreed. "JC is cool." The two girls looked at each other and laughed together.

"Kathie Lee..."

"Oh my. People thought Lance and Kathie Lee were together?" Allison asked incredulously. "I hadn't heard that one!"

"People are seriously deranged. Not that he and Kathie don't have lots in common. NOT!" Caitlin reaffirmed.

"We were sure we wouldn't get the underwear question on Larry King..."

Both girls laughed out loud. "Hey, there's a captive audience out there dying to know the underwear choices of our boys. They obviously underestimated the nosiness of their fans, even on Larry King." Caitlin said.

"Digital Getdown...I mean...it's the safest..."

"Stutter, stutter." Caitlin joked at the television screen. "What he doesn't want Larry to know is that he and a couple of horny guys looking at porn on the internet was the inspiration for that song."

"No way!" Allison shrieked. "I'd always suspected!"

"It's true. JC will deny it to the day he dies, but it's true." Caitlin beamed as she spilled the secret.

The Larry King interview wrapped up, and the girls flipped off the television and continued talking about the interview questions for a few minutes before Caitlin's phone rang.

"Excuse me one sec..." Caitlin said to Allison as she lifted the receiver. "Hello?"

Allison laughed when she heard Caitlin burst out a moment later, "Do you realize you just outted our relationship on Larry King Live? Do you realize even now teenyboppers are aligning against me? Do you realize" Caitlin paused for a moment, then cooed in the phone, "Oh baby, I love you too."

Allison laughed again to herself, then pulled herself up from the couch to take her glass and the empty popcorn bowl to the kitchen to give Caitlin a few moments of privacy. After placing her dishes in the sink, she turned and walked back to the family room. She stopped short as her cell phone rang in her bag, which had been haphazardly thrown into a chair when she and Caitlin had gotten back from dinner. Grabbing the small silver phone, she pressed the talk button. "Hello, Allison Evans."

"Allison?" A deep voice asked.

"Lance?" Allison asked incredulously. "Where are you?"

"Standing outside the studio waiting to go back to the hotel. Did you watch the interview? Did we make total asses of ourselves?" Lance asked with a grin.

"You sounded great! Seriously...great interview, Lance. Where are the other guys?" She asked.

"We're all here, and every single one of us on our cell phones. I haven't talked to you in a few days, so I thought, while I had a minute, I'd give you a buzz." Lance said.

"I'm glad you did." Allison said, genuinely. "I was just saying to Caitlin how quiet Jive is without you guys running around."

"You're with Caitlin? I can let you go..." Lance began.

"No, not at all. In fact, I'm sure if you turn and look at JC, you'll see him making kissy faces into his cell phone, since that's exactly what Caitlin is doing here." Allison grinned. There was a pause on the other end of the line, then Lance's deep laugh reverberated in her ear.

"You win." He agreed. Allison could hear faint talking in the background, and the sounds of traffic. "Listen, Allison, I gotta run, our ride is here, but I'll see you day after tomorrow, ok?"

"Ok. Talk to you then. Bye Lance." Allison said.

"Bye Al." Lance said quickly before the line went dead. Allison smiled as she hung up the phone for a second time, then turned around to see Caitlin replace the receiver on her phone as well.

"Gee was that JC?" Allison teased as she walked back into the house.

"No, it was the pizza guy." Caitlin teased back. "Who was your call?"

"Lance." Allison said. "He sounded pretty excited about the interview."

"JC was bouncing off the walls too." Caitlin said. "I'm glad it went well." She paused, then smiled. "I just wish they would get their butts back in town. I didn't think I'd miss the boy this much. Even if he did just put me on every teenybopper's hit list."

"Twu wuv. Maowage." Allison said, imitating the line from The Princess Bride. Caitlin burst out laughing, and Allison joined in her infectious laughter.

chapter four