~~~~~~~~~~~~ Chapter 8 ~~~~~~~~~~~~
London slowly stirred from her sleep, opening her eyes slowly. There was soft light coming through the curtains, and she could feel something warm underneath her arm.
"Hey.." JC mumbled, opening his eyes. London looked up and smiled at him.
"Hey! What time is it?
"A little after 7. What time do you have to go to work?" He asked, moving up to a sitting position. London rubbed her eyes and shrugged.
"Probably not until 8. Grace said I could come in a little late," London smiled, pulling the sheets higher. JC nodded and threw his legs over.
"Well, I'll go make some breakfast." He smiled at her, then walked out of her room. London sighed and turned to the picture of Kevin beside her bed. She turned it face down, then followed JC into the kitchen. She sat down at the counter, as he walked around looking for pans and eggs.
"So, are you a good cook?"
"I'm okay...my mom taught me how. She came down for like two weeks to help me, she said I wasn't eating enough," he shrugged, turning on the stove. London nodded and yawned, jumping off the stool. She walked over to the couch and sat down, as she turned on the TV. 5 minutes later, JC walked out with two plates of toast and eggs. He placed them on the coffee table, then went off to pour some juice.
"What are you going to do today?" London asked, as he placed the cups down. He sat down across from her, picking up his utensils.
"Probably sleep some more, do some swimming, write some songs, and I might come and visit you!" He grinned, taking a bite of toast.
"Ok. Make sure you bring Lonnie. Some of your fans shop at my store. And Amanda is gonna be there!"
"That's cool. I'll come around, sometime during 4 to 5. Is that ok with you?"
"It's fine." London smiled. After eating their breakfast, and JC arguing with her to clean the dishes, he finally won and she walked off to change. After changing into a pair of black pants, and red quarter sleeve shirt, she came back out as she put up her hair.
"Do you want me to drive you there?" JC asked. London shook her head, then clipped up her hair.
"No, it's ok. I'll be done in like ten minutes, why don't you go change. Or find something else to wear," London smiled, walking back into her room. JC went off to find some clothes as London finished her makeup. 15 minutes later, they walked out her front door and she locked her door.
"I'll see you later," London smiled. She walked over to her car, and got in. JC drove up behind her and rolled down the window.
"I'll come by later! Bye," JC smiled, driving off. London followed but made a right turn at the stop light. As her cell phone rang.
"Hello?" London asked.
"Are you driving in right now?" Gracie asked.
"Yes. Do i need to get coffee?"
"No, I got everything! Amanda is here, so you don't have to worry. We are going to talk about your night with Joshua when you get here. So you better be ready," Gracie laughed.
"Yeah yeah! I'll be there in two minutes! Bye" London hung up. She walked into the store, throwing her bags on her desk. She then walked to the front and smile at her friends who were folding some clothes.
"Hey! So...tell us about your night with Joshua!" Amanda smiled, stacking the shirts up. The store was open, but customers didn't usually come in until 9 or 10.
"We didn't do anything! He just changed into some of Jason's stuff. And then he was watching TV, I asked him to come sleep with me because I was lonely. He came, and we just slept. Nothing big.." London smiled.
"Riight...well. Who's Jason?"
"My brother. He's 30, and comes down sometimes. So anyway, JC and I didn't do anything but sleep! Don't worry. Anyway, I need to do some paperwork, so I'll be in the office if you need me." London walked into the office, then closed the door. She was starting to have mixed feelings about the whole situation with JC.
The phone started to ring, bringing her out of her thoughts.
"Hello?"
"Hey. It's me!" JC smiled.
"Oh hey! What's up?" London asked, taking some papers out of a folder. She started entering sales into her computer as she listened to JC.
"I am at the moment, changing. I just took a shower, so yeah!" JC laughed.
"Riight. Look, I have to do some work. But if you wanna come by and talk, that's alright."
"Ok. I'll see you later," JC hung up. London put the phone down then turned back to her work. An hour later, she could hear the voices of some people outside, and decided to see who was here.
"Hey Kevin!" Gracie said loudly, for London to hear. London stopped at her door, putting her ear to the door.
"Hey! I haven't seen you in so long! How are you Grace?" Kevin asked, hugging her.
"Oh! Just great!" Gracie smiled. Amanda sneaked into the office, closing the door. She looked up at London and smiled.
"Your ex lover is here!" Amanda smiled.
"Yeah..I heard," London groaned. They sat by the door, listening to the conversation between Gracie and Kevin.
"So..is London here?" Kevin asked.
"Er...no. She had to go get some light bulbs," Gracie lied.
"Oh. Alright! Well tell her I said hi. I just wanted to come by and tell her I was moving to Orlando. My brother found a nice house, and there's this law firm that is offering me a job! So I'll be moving down there this weekend!" Kevin smiled.
"Oh, alright then! I'll tell her, and I good luck!" Gracie smiled, watching him walk out. She then marched back to the office and opened the door.
"He's moving!" Gracie smiled. London stood up and nodded.
"Yeah, I heard! Anyway, I need to get back to work!" London smiled, walking out. She saw Kevin getting into his car, just as JC walked into the doors.
"Hey!" She greeted.
"Hi! Where's Amanda and everyone?" He asked, taking off his sunglasses.
"In the back! So anyway, what's up?"
"I wanted to come by now, because I'm going to be busy later tonight. So hi!" JC smiled, pulling himself onto the cashier counter.
"Hey!" London smiled, walking around as she straightened some stuff. The door beeped as somce customers walked in, gasping when they saw JC sitting on the counter.
"Oh my gosh! That's JC!" The blonde girl whispered loudly.
"Wow! You think?" The brunette girl asked sarcastically.
"Shut up!" The first one replied. The third, taller one walked up to him.
"Hi! Are you JC from NSync?" The girl asked. The other two followed looking at him.
"That's me!" He grinned.
"Can we have your autograph?" The blonde asked, hanging him a pen and pad of paper. He started signing the three sheets of paper that she had ripped out.
"What are you doing here?" The brunette asked, watching as he signed her paper.
"I'm here with a friend who works here. I also live here," he grinned, handing them the papers.
"That's cool!" The girls smiled, walking away to do some shopping. Gracie and Amanda walked out, smiling at JC.
"You decided to grace us with your presense?" Amanda smirked.
"Yes. You are indeed, very lucky!"
"Oh shut it!" Gracie laughed. For another hour or so, JC hung out with the girls as he shared knock-knock jokes and teasing the girls.
"Knock Knock!" JC called out.
"Who's there?" London asked.
"Yo mama!"
"Yo mama who?"
"You don't know who your mom is? My my...you are a troubled one my dear.." JC laughed at his own joke.
"Erm...that wasn't funny," Gracie pointed out, looking at him strangely.
"Yes it was! I think it was genius!" He defended, sticking his tongue out. Gracie stuck out her tongue back, as she worked on the window display.
"Ladies, I have to go! I'll see you tomorrow!" JC smiled, sliding on his glasses. The girls all waved at him, and then got back to their various duties around the shop.
"I think JC liikes you!" Gracie smiled. It was lunch time, and the girls were sitting on the cashier counter, eating lunch.
"Wow, you think?" Amanda asked.
"Shut it!" Gracie called back, tossing a fry.
"Ok, no food fights in the store!" London yelled out.
"Ok...well. I still think so!"
"Yup..I agree!" Amanda smiled.
"I'm not ready for a relationship," London smiled.
"come on! Stop lying to yourself, you know you like him!" Gracie smiled.
"I do, I just don't want to get hurt again!"
"JC won't hurt you! Not intentionally anyway, I know him. He really likes you," Amanda nodded.
"But what if he does? I refuse to get hurt again, I am not letting that happen!" London sighed, throwing away her trash.
"Fine. Just don't make him wait too long! I know for a fact, that when you ARE ready, you'll want to be with him. Right?" Gracie asked.
"Yeah."
"Then don't make him wait too long. He might lose interest in you, alright?" Amanda asked. London nodded and smiled at a group of people who walked into the store.
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For the next few weeks, London and JC hung out more, going clubbing and talking at the store. London was getting closer to him, and could tell that sometime soon, she would finally cave into his charming smiles and his little comments that could make her laugh. JC was sitting in her apartment, and noticed that there was a hot tub on her balcony.
"Dude! You have a hot tub?" He asked, walking over to the glass door. London looked up from the magazine and nodded. She was sitting at the dining table, looking in a catalog for some furniture she might need for the shop. They had decided to redecorate a little, to have a different 'feel'.
"Yeah. I haven't used it in a while," she shrugged.
"Let's get in it!" He laughed, walking into the guest room. JC had brought over some clothes, just in case he would stay the night sometimes. He came out with his swimming trunks, a towel, and flip flops. London looked up and laughed when she saw his excited expression.
"Uh..you can get in! Let me go change," she smiled, walking into her room. JC nodded and walked out, turning the machine on. 5 minutes later, the water was steaming, and JC had already settled in the corner. London walked out, and got in, tensing a little once she got in contact with the hot water. She finally slid in once she was used to it. She leaned against the side, sighing at how good it felt.
"This feels so good!" She sighed, closing her eyes. JC slid over and sat next to her, watching as she started to relax. London opened her eyes, and smiled when she saw JC sitting next to her.
"What are you thinking about?"
"Nothing."
Don't lie to me! You were thinking about something pretty serious! Tell me!"
"Ok..fine. Well there's this girl that I really like.." he said softly.
"Uh huh.." London smiled.
"I really want to be with her, and I know she feels the same way. She was just really hurt in a past relationship, and is scared to open up and let me inside. I want to show her that I do care, but don't know how. What do I do?" He asked, a hand coming out to feel her wet hair.
"I think, that you should tell her that you would never hurt her, and that you promise to keep her safe and feel loved." London nodded. JC nodded and looked at her.
"London, I know this is probably going to make me seem like an idiot later on. But I know that I will never hurt you and that I will probably show you that not all guys are jerks. I promise," he whispered. "Tell me that you want to be with me. Just, give me a sign."
After a few breaths, London looked into his blue eyes and smiled. "JC, I want to be with you." She smiled. JC's eyes brightened, and a grin spread across his face. The hand behind her head puller her in as her arms wrapped around his neck. They're lips finally touched, turning into a loving, sweet kiss.