[chapter sixteen]

(6pm that evening)

Caitlin drove up the JC's driveway after being buzzed through the gates at the bottom of his drive. She again marveled at his beautiful house, and giggled to herself about the 'classy' decorating inside. Seeing his house with foosball tables and torn up sofas reaffirmed that JC was struggling to be a normal guy, not someone who had a decorator come in and beautify his house for outward appearances. She respected that about him, and liked him all the more for it.

Her Blazer blaring "Orestes" from A Perfect Circle's first CD, she pulled up in front of JC's front door just as he opened it and stepped onto the front porch. He smiled at the sight of her singing along to the music, then struggling with the enormous pizza box after she turned off the car.

"Dinner is served!" Caitlin announced with a grin as she stepped onto the driveway with the pizza box in one hand and a two-liter of soda in the other. "Hope you're hungry!"

"Always!" JC said, taking the pizza from her and guiding her to the front door. After putting the pizza on the kitchen counter, he turned and took the 2-liter from Caitlin's hands. Without looking, he put the 2-liter on the counter, then wrapped his arms around Caitlin and gave her a long, deep kiss. When he finally pulled back, Caitlin's eyes fluttered open.

"Remind me to bring you food more often." She said with a smile.

"Imagine what you get if you bring me Chinese food." He said with a sexy smile.

As Caitlin turned to open a cabinet and find glasses, she muttered, "Note to self--find good Chinese restaurant."

JC laughed behind her, and then began getting plates out of the cabinets. "So how was your day?"

"Fairly uneventful. Yours? You said you had lots of meetings today?" Caitlin inquired.

"We did. Mostly business stuff, album decisions, and scheduling. Fairly mundane, but it still meant we all had to be there at 8:30 this morning. 8:30 am is NOT a good time for this particular crew." JC said.

"I can well imagine. Did you get a lot accomplished?" Caitlin asked, following JC into the family room with her pizza and drink.

"Yeah, we made some decisions and were told what our lives are going to be like for the next few months, schedule-wise. We actually are luckywe have the next several months fairly open to work on the album, before we start the publicity tour again. We have occasional appearances and photo shoots, but we can deal with those. It's just nice to come home to the same house every night, you know?" JC said, settling down on the couch.

"I'll bet. Well, kick back and relax. That's the theme for this evening, right?" Caitlin said.

"Right." JC said with a smile. "Movie preference? I'm feeling an action flick, myself."

"What are the choices?" Caitlin said.

"Fifth Element or True Lies." JC said.

"I love them both. How about Fifth Element first?" Caitlin responded.

JC popped the movie into the DVD player, and they sat watching the movie and consuming most of the pizza. After eating, Caitlin moved across the couch to where JC was sitting and settled against him comfortably. He shifted and put his arm around her shoulders so that her back was leaning against his chest, her legs stretching out along the rest of the sofa. He wrapped his arms around her collarbone and pulled her close to him.

Inhaling the smell of her shampoo, JC quickly lost any interest in the movie. He shifted his arms to gently rub Caitlin's shoulders and neck. With a deep moan, her head fell forward and she immediately relaxed.

"I'll give you a dollar if you'll keep doing that." Caitlin mumbled.

"A whole dollar, huh? You got it." JC said with a smile. He continued to massage her muscles, and after a few minutes, used one hand to lift the hair off her neck. Lowering his head, he planted several kisses on the soft skin of her neck. Caitlin moaned again, and JC smiled against her skin. "Is that a good moan, by chance?" He teased lightly.

"That's a stop-that-and-I'll-kill-you moan." Caitlin said, her head still down against her chest. JC laughed and began teasing her skin again. After several minutes, Caitlin lifted her head and turned to look JC in the eye. "Are you trying to seduce me, Mr. Chasez?" She asked with a twinkle in her eye.

"Depends...is it working?" He replied.

"Oh yeah." Caitlin said with a smile. She turned her body so that her lips could meet his, and they sank into a deep kiss. As their kiss continued, JC slowly shifted his body until he was half lying on the couch. He shifted Caitlin until she was lying on top of him; her legs nestled between his, their chests pressed against each other. Locking eyes, JC and Caitlin looked at each other for a long moment. JC was waiting to see if Caitlin was comfortable with this new position, and Caitlin was wondering if JC was being crushed. When he appeared to still be breathing normally, she relaxed slightly. Still looking into his eyes, she gave him a slow, sexy smile then lowered her lips to his again. JC took that as a good sign and responded by sliding his arms around her.

Moments turned into minutes, and yet JC and Caitlin continued to kiss as though it were going out of style. After several minutes, they broke apart and traded places (with several giggles along the way, since JC nearly fell off the couch) so that Caitlin was lying on her back, and JC was hovering above her. They looked at each other, and JC took in Caitlin's face. Her eyes were dancing, and her cheeks were flushed a bright red. Her lips were swollen from all the contact between them, and she looked stunning. "You are so beautiful." He whispered, moving a lock of hair off of her forehead. She smiled in return, and raised her head to kiss him again.

The continued exploring each other's mouths, and as their kisses intensified, so did their exploration of each other's bodies. Caitlin hesitantly placed her hands under JC's shirt so she could run her hands up and down his back. When he moaned in response, she became bolder and continued running her hands over his back, then down his arms and across his chest, while never breaking contact with his mouth. JC also cautiously ran his hands along Caitlin's body, feeling the curves and softness of her body. He shifted slightly, so that their bodies had even more contact between them. Caitlin sighed slightly at the increased contact of their bodies, and just as JC was lifting the hem of her shirt to touch her soft skin underneath, a crashing noise broke them apart.

"C? You here?" Justin's voice rang out from the front hallway. "Can Lance and I borrow a couple of movies?"

JC laid his head on Caitlin's chest in frustration. "I knew I never should have given them a key." He muttered, disentangling himself from Caitlin and standing up. He held out his hand and helped Caitlin to her feet, as they both straightened their clothes and hair.

"Hey guys, come on in." JC said grumpily as Lance and Justin walked into the family room.

"Caitlin, hi!" Justin said with a smile.

"Hey guys." Caitlin said, praying that her flushed cheeks and rumpled clothes didn't totally give them away.

"Did we come at a bad time?" Lance asked, picking up immediately on the hatred vibes JC was sending them, and the embarrassed vibes coming from Caitlin. "We just need to borrow a couple of movies, and we'll be gone." He slapped Justin on the shoulder. "Dude, grab the DVD and let's get back. Joey wants to order a pizza."

Justin nodded and jogged over to the stack of DVDs JC had sitting out. "Can we borrow 'Tomorrow Never Dies'?" He asked.

"Sure, anything." JC muttered.

After grabbing the movie, Justin rejoined Lance at the front of the room. "Sorry for the interruption. Oh Caitlin, your windows are down, and it looks like it might storm tonight." Justin said.

"Thanks Justin." Caitlin said.

"Ok, we're outta here. See you tomorrow, C." Lance said, tugging Justin towards the door. "Sorry we just busted in." He apologized.

"No problem, guys. See you tomorrow." JC said.

After the door shut, JC and Caitlin looked at each other for a long moment. Suddenly, Caitlin burst into a gale of laughter, which JC quickly found infectious. Moments later, they were both doubled over with laughter. Finally, they regained control composure.

"And I thought my roommates had the monopoly on bad timing." Caitlin said, gasping for breath.

"I'm going to change the locks, I swear." JC said with a laugh.

After a long look at JC, Caitlin sighed. "I better get going. You have to work in the morning"

"I don't want you to go." JC said, sounding like a little boy.

"I know. But I better. If not..." Caitlin trailed off.

"I know. I understand." JC said. "Let me walk you out."

After gathering her keys and wallet, Caitlin followed JC out to the driveway, and hopped into her Blazer immediately. She knew if she faced JC again, they would inevitably start kissing and never stop. Leaning out of the window, she smiled softly. "Talk to ya soon."

"I'll call you. Or you can call me anytime." JC said. He leaned over and kissed her softly. "I had a good time."

"Me too." Caitlin said. She noted JC's almost embarrassed stance, and smiled to herself. "Maybe I'm not the only one with butterflies in my stomach," she thought to herself.

"Ok, I'm going to go and try to beat this rainstorm. Goodnight, JC." Caitlin said.

"Goodnight." JC said. "Drive carefully."

With a grin, Caitlin gunned the engine slightly, and cranked the stereo. She threw JC a "devil may care" smile, and drove out of the driveway, waving before turning the corner. She smiled as she made her way across town to her own house.

chapter seventeen