"Alright people, let's get this show on the road. Justin and I will be captain and I get to choose first." Chris declared as he tossed the football from one hand to the other

"I'm gonna wipe the floor with you Grandpa!" Justin's heckling was met with laughter

"Just for that I choose Jessica for my team, asswipe!"

Laughing, Jessica made her way over to Chris, waving cheekily at Justin who just glared at Chris.

"Well, I can't really choose your woman since you ain't got one! I'll take Tum cuz she's mean as hell and she told me she didn't like you all that much."

Tum walked over to Justin's side, jumping up and down and sending mock glares at the opposite team.

By the end of the picks Pepper, Noree, Tommy and Chad had joined Christ and Jessica on one side of the scrimmage line with Justin, Tummy, JC, Joey, Bruno and Selina on the other. Kelly was happily seated under the canopy, keeping score and serving as referee.

"How come I got saddled with Joey? He can't play worth shit!" Justin said it louder than necessary, earning an elbow in the ribs from the man himself

"Afraid you'll lose? We'll see how you like it when I kick your ass even with Pepper "Butterfingers" on my side."

"Keep my name out of your retarded diatribes gents; I am but an innocent bystander." Pepper's voice was laced with an affected British accent that earned him groans from all around him

"The man does one play in community theatre and he thinks he's fucking Shakespeare!" Tummy's words earned her a death glare from Pepper

"What I want to know is whether or not we need to explain the rules to Miss Canada over there. Wouldn't want you getting confused there girl." Justin's smirk was just cocky enough to bring a smile to Noree's face

"I think I can manage not to do a touchdown in the wrong end zone."

Already enjoying herself, Noree took her position behind Tommy who was serving as quarterback to Chris' center. She looked to her left and right where Jessica and Pepper were taking on the role of wide receivers with Chad assuming the tight end position.

JC looked towards Noree from his spot as linebacker. He was happy to see she was enjoying herself. He'd spent most of the first half of the day anticipating her arrival and the other half trying to find ways to be with her. He knew he was being ridiculous and a large part of him was ashamed at his behavior. He was spending his time fantasizing about one woman while ignoring the one he was supposed to be with. His guilt was so much that he ignored Sasha's constant need for attention throughout the day.

He'd been disregarding her as of late and he wanted to avoid an argument as much as possible. But he couldn't help but feel resentful that he'd barely gotten to spend any time with Noree.

-Wow Chasez, talk about skewed priorities!-

He was snapped back to attention when he heard Chris' shout and saw his team mates rushing towards the opposing team. His eyes registered the football's trajectory from Chris' hands to Tommy's, who feigned right and then left before throwing the ball to a running Jessica.

From the corner of his eye he could see Noree running through the defense line, bolting straight for their end zone. She avoided a collision with Bruno by vaulting over his crouched form and veering to the left. Joey swooped in and barely missed his attempt to tackle Chad to the ground as he was about to take the ball from Jessica.

Jessica's eyes scanned around, looking for someone to pass the ball to as Justin was heading straight for her, an evil gleam in his eyes. Just as they collided she threw the ball in Noree's direction. Working on auto-pilot, JC rushed straight to her. Just as Noree was catching the ball, JC was wrapping his arms around her, bringing her to the ground. In a last minute attempt to keep her from hitting the ground, JC rotated and landed on his back, the air rushing out of his lungs at the force of the impact.

To JC it was as if the world was moving in slow motion. He could hear a commotion in the distance and guessed that someone from his team or Noree's had picked up the fumbled ball. His eyes slowly settled on Noree's close by face, bringing it into focus. They were merely inches apart, her hair falling forward the soft curls blanketing him. The citrus smell of her shampoo seeped through his senses. He could see each and every freckle that dusted her pert nose, the shape of her mouth as it parted as she took in a hitched breath and he could see her eyes widen as they clashed with his.

Perhaps unconsciously, his hands tightened around her, bringing the length of her body, already plastered against his, a fraction closer. JC could feel her full breasts heaving with every breath, the nipples pebble hard against his own chest and he had no doubt Noree could feel his arousal pressing against her center. A voice was screaming in his head, telling him to get up and run but his fingers just tightened on her hips, sinking into the soft skin revealed by her top.

Noree couldn't breathe. JC's tackle had surprised her but the close contact was making her dizzy. She was a grown woman and she believed that even though she'd been single for some time now, she had a healthy sexual appetite. At this very moment, she wanted nothing more than to grab JC's face in her hands and kiss him as thoroughly as possible. She wanted to press herself against him and his hands on her.

Her eyes took in the short stubble on his chin and jaw, the full bottom lip, the strong nose and the piercing blue eyes. He was looking at her, staring at her, into her. She simply needed to lean forward a few inches to satisfy her curiosity. If only she closed the gap between them, she could taste his lips and feel his tongue against hers.

A shiver ran up her body as she felt his right hand shift slightly to slide beneath the hem of her top, his callused fingers grazing her skin. The movement brought her back to reality with a jolt. What was she doing? The man was involved with someone else. She was, for all instance and purposes, on that woman's territory, seriously considering poaching on claimed goods. She was not that kind of woman.

Taking a stilted breath, Noree gathered up her willpower.

"Nice tackle, think you could let me up now?" She said the words in what she hoped was a light, teasing tone

JC blinked rapidly, trying to clear his mind. He removed his hands rapidly, bringing them to his sides.

"Guess I was a little to into it huh?"

"Yeah..."

Her body stiff and uncoordinated, Noree stood and watched with a weary eye as JC did the same. They avoided each other's eyes and both made a show of dusting themselves off.

"I think I should get going; I've got a lot of things to do and I shouldn't have stayed this long anyway." Noree's voice was casual, something she wasn't feeling at all like at the moment

"Oh... well if you have other plans..." JC wanted to ask her to stay, find a way for them to actually sit down and have an actual conversation, away from distractions but he knew when he was being brushed off

"It was very nice of you to invite me; I had a great time. Will you give my best to Sasha?"

JC simply nodded silently. He saw her head back towards the group of people that was in the midst of an argument over the validity of the touchdown. He watched her say good bye to each one and hurry towards the house, gabbing her bag on the way, before she disappeared inside.

-Nice job Chasez! Now she won't be able to look you in the eyes anymore.-

Furious at himself for letting his emotions take over, JC ran a rough hand through his hair and jogged towards the group.

*Later that night*

"Thanks for coming guys; it was really great to see y'all." JC's words were slightly slurred as he hugged each of his friends as they slowly left his house

They just shook their heads and laughed at him, patting him on the back. As they all filtered out the front door, Tummy stayed behind.

"You alright there buddy?" Tummy asked, chuckling when she saw JC concentrate to sit down on one of the kitchen stools

"No worries Tum, I'm not drunk." His grin was wide and reminded her of the first time she'd met him

He'd been younger, around 22, when she saw him for the first time. She'd been performing with her dance troupe and JC and his friends had dropped by to see the show. He'd been shy then, more so than now. After a few drinks together after the show she'd known they would be great friends, nothing more. Now more than 10 years later, she loved him like a brother.

She'd seen his rise to fame, his ups and downs, witnessed his bad relationships, his good ones and all his fashion disasters. She could even admit she'd been responsible for some of them. Now, she was a little sad to see him stay in what she considered one of his bad relationships. He wouldn't admit it but she knew he was only with Sasha because he was lonely but didn't believe in any sort of permanency. It hurt her to see him get hurt repeatedly by his own beliefs.

"I wasn't talking about that. How's everything?"

JC's eyes focused on hers and he sighed.

"Tum, not now. Spare me one of your therapy sessions please."

"Don't avoid the question hon."

JC let out a frustrated sigh.

"What do you want me to say Tum? Huh? Do you want me to say that I'm miserable, unhappy, unfulfilled? Well fine, I am. My career is going nowhere, I barely ever see my friends anymore, I'm treating my own girlfriend like shit and I'm pretty sure I'm developing an unrealistic obsession with an employee. As you can see, my life is a bit of a mess right now." The words had been spoken in a quiet voice, his tone never rising about a whisper

Tum marched over to her friend and settled her hands on his shoulders, forcing him to look at her.

"Your career is in your control; if you want to be a singer, do it! If you want to be an actor, do it! If what you want is to judge ABDC for however many seasons it lasts then do that! No one but you can decide for you.

Your friends will always be there and it's your job to make time to see them. Your girlfriend is a spoiled brat moonlighting as a major pain in the ass. Don't try to deny it; you know it as well as the rest of us do. You're only with her because she's there. She offers some temporary sense of normalcy you're clinging to for some reason. I won't say you deserve better because I'd be wasting my breath.

As far as Noree goes maybe your fascination with her isn't so unrealistic. I only met her today but I like her and she seems really nice. Have you considered she might like you too?"

JC shook his head and Tummy could see he wouldn't listen to her, not tonight.

"I appreciate your help honey. Don't worry about me, alright?"

"You know I can't do that, what would I do with myself all day?"

"Get a new hobby? I hear pottery's making a huge comeback."

With a sad smile on her face Tummy leaned forward and placed a friendly kiss on JC's forehead.

"I love you, you idiot. Now get a shower, go to bed and don't call Sasha, please."

With no other word spoken between them, Tum leaves JC behind, still sitting on the kitchen stool.

As much as he wanted to believe Tummy, JC was sure he was right. She had a point about his career; he was in charge of it and with no label pressuring him he had all the artistic freedom he'd ever craved. But where Noree and Sasha were concerned, he knew he had it right. He would just have to keep his contact with Noree to a minimum and spend more time with Sasha. They hadn't gone out together in a while; maybe they could take a small vacation together, get out of town for a while.

Sasha's role in his life didn't have to be temporary, he could make it work.

JC stood up and on sturdier legs, made his way around the first level of his house, shutting off lights. When he made it upstairs to his room he debated simply falling face down on his bed and giving in to sleep. A sniff at his clothes changed his mind and he headed to the bathroom.

The brightly lit room boasted a glass shower and a separate spa tub he'd splurged on. He hadn't used it a lot since moving in but Sasha had sung its praises more than once. Peeling articles of clothing away and throwing them towards the bin across the room, he stepped inside the shower, turning on the multiple heads to pound water on his tired body. He let his head drop forward, the overhead spray massaging his neck. For a moment he just let the water wash over him, in no hurry to grab the soap. Unbidden, an image flashed in his head. He visualized Noree in her own shower, her body naked under the spray of water, her bronzed skin glistening with water.

He'd nearly died yesterday, waiting for her to finish her shower while he'd been in her office. It had taken all his self-restraint not to take a peek inside the room.

Opening his eyes, JC let out a frustrated whimper as he looked down at himself. The thought of Noree made him hard automatically. He'd been like this for more than a week and he had it down to a routine. This was the part when he turned off the hot water and let the cold water cool his senses.

He reached a shaky right hand towards the knob, prepared to repeat the action like he had done so many times in the past few days, but he stopped. He was alone with no one in the house to interrupt or overhear him. He was in the privacy of his own home and no one would know.

He used his right hand to brace himself against the wall, the water from the overhead spray hitting down his neck and back and the lateral sprays aimed at his sides. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. In his mind he could see Noree, standing naked beneath the shower, her body fully exposed to him as she looked at him with desire burning in her eyes. Her dark hair was smoothed against her back, her heavy breasts rising with each labored breath. His eyes traveled down, past her flat stomach, to her center. His breath hitched as he imagined her hand sliding down in between her thighs, her fingers disappearing. His own left hand slowly traveled down his toned stomach, sending shivers along his sensitized skin.

He could see Noree's features twist in pleasure as her own fingers worked her to a frenzy, caressing her center slowly as her other hand caressed her own breasts.

JC's hand closed over the base of his length, his dick so hard the purplish head was curved towards his stomach. With a firm hand, he stroked himself from base to tip, a groan wrenched from his throat. He could feel his skin flush, the heat radiating around him.

In his mind Noree's hand sped up, two fingers working their way inside her. Her other hand was busy squeezing and pulling at her hardening nipples, soft cries of pleasure escaping her parted lips as water cascaded down her heated body.

JC's movements hastened to match Noree's, his fingers closing over his swollen tip at each stroke. He could feel himself nearing his breaking point, his hips following the motion of his hand.

He imagined Noree's cries getting louder as she pumped her fingers faster, his name escaping her lips repeatedly in low sobbing moans. He saw her throw her head back as she screamed his name, her orgasm taking over her body.

With a deep moan of his own, JC tightened his grip, his hand moving faster and harder over his member. As he felt himself climb higher towards his imminent orgasm, he used his other hand to tug down at his heavy sacks. The sensation pushed him over the edge.

"Oh God, Noree!" His deep groan resonated inside the glass shower as his body jerked, his release powerful and draining

His lungs burned from the strain and he leaned forward, his hands braced against the wall as he let the water wash over his skin. His legs felt weak but he remained upright, trying to get himself under control. When he finally blinked his eyes open, the inside of the shower was hazy around him and the water cooling. He washed himself off, perfunctorily soaping his skin and rinsing off.

He stepped out of the shower, wrapped a towel around his waist and sighed as he looked disgustingly at his reflection in the fogged up mirror.

"Congrats Chasez, you're a sick fuck."