“Come on Kim let’s go to bed.” JC moaned as he kissed his way down her neck.  For someone who had been so against everything from the start he was really coming around fast.

            “But it’s too early for bed.” Kim whined but the twinkle in his eyes told her that he hadn’t planned on doing much sleeping.  He just wanted to be with her and to feel her skin against his.  He propped himself up and just looked down at her, her soft brown hair spread across the grass.  He ran his hand along the side of her face forcing her to look at him.  There was so much going on inside her head; he could see it in her eyes, maybe right now wasn’t the best time to be trying to get her in bed with him.  JC rolled off of her and fell back against the grass; he just stared up at the sky for a minute, watching a few clouds pass by.  Kim knew that he was confused by her, maybe even frustrated.  But outwardly he appeared calm. 

            “You would tell me if something was wrong, wouldn’t you?” JC finally questioned, not moving his eyes from their upward gaze.  Kim felt her heart sink, he had so much trust in her and she wanted to tell him the truth but she couldn’t betray the others.

            “Nothing is wrong, we’re all just a little scared and confused right now.  This isn’t exactly the way we planned this.  You’ve even admitted that the whole situation is nuts.” Kim confessed, but that was all she could give him right now.  She turned to him this time, meeting his eyes as the moved from the sky to her.  “Can I ask you something?” She wondered out loud.  JC just nodded, he hoped she knew that she would ask him anything.  “If you had met me on the street, would you have even noticed me or given me a second thought?”

            JC thought for a minute but was trying not to take too long to answer her, afraid of making it seem as if he was lying.  As a celebrity he meets a lot of people every day, most he didn’t bother to commit to memory.  But she was different, of course the first time he had seem her had been when she tackled him to the ground, not exactly a great first impression.

            “I don’t know, maybe.  I mean I can’t know for sure because that’s not how we meet.  I kind of got to know you first and I saw who you really were.  But I do meet a lot of people in my line of work and I can’t recall all of them.”  JC answered honestly.  Kim nodded, looking as if it hadn’t been the answer that she was looking for.  JC sat up suddenly and looked over at her.  “Come on baby let’s not talk about what could have happened and just focus on what did happen.  I like you and I assume you like me too.” JC said, adding a smile at the end.  He knew deep down Kim couldn’t resist his charm.

            Kim smiled back at him, cursing him in her head for being so damn irresistible.  He had to know what he was doing to her and how hard he was making all of this for her.  The day light was slipping away from them and Kim knew that she was going to have to make a choice very soon as to whether or not she was staying.

            “So are you still up for that ‘nap’?” Kim teased.  If she was going to hell, she figured that she might as well enjoy the ride.  JC just smiled and got to his feet, pulling her up along with him.  He embraced her lovingly trying not to make her feel rushed.  JC wanted her to be okay with what she was doing and the choices that she was making.  They just held each other for awhile; she could hear his heart beating inside his chest which she was pressed so firmly against.  Those wash board abs of his were hidden by the thin layer of fabric but Kim could still feel them.  This time she took the lead pushing herself away from him and leading him back toward the house.  Her mind was made up she wanted to be with him while she could.  After tonight whether she stayed of left, he wouldn’t be happy with her.

            They entered the house witnessed by the only person left inside at this point, Katy, who didn’t even try to stop them.  They had the right to privacy and she was never one to judge.  That seemed to be happening a lot lately.  Katy got back to work on finishing the video.  It was nearly completion now, she was just tweaking it.  Katy wanted it to be perfect, she paused briefly to slipped some of the camera equipment back into its bag., trying to make is seem as if she was just trying to keep things together instead of packing, just in case someone was watching her.

            Some time passed before Mandy came in the back door.  The guys must have stopped outside to talk to the others because they weren’t with her any more.  Mandy started to head for the stairs when Katy stopped her.

            “I wouldn’t go up there right now.” Katy said softly.  Mandy paused and looked at her confused.  “Kim and JC went up there a little bit ago.” Katy added.  Mandy nodded, biting down on her bottom lip before heading toward Katy.  The girls sleeping with the guys made Mandy nervous but she wasn’t going to try to stop them, and it wasn’t like they would listen to her any way.

            “Are you about done?” Mandy asked, noticing that Katy minimized the window that she was working in as soon as Mandy got close enough to see anything.  The look on Mandy’s face let Katy know that she had been caught.

            “I don’t want anyone to see it until I am done, I was thinking maybe we could have a viewing party tonight with the guys and everyone one could see it for the first time together.” Katy tried to explain but Mandy wasn’t completely buying in to it.  “Hey why don’t you run to town and get us some adult beverages?” Katy suggested, trying to change the subject.

            “Why, do you think the video will look better if we are all drunk?” Mandy joked.  Katy smiled and laughed a little under her breath.  It couldn’t make it look any worse that was for sure.  But with all the stress in the air the girls could use a break and a chance to let go and unwind.

            “Of course it will!  But you are right there is more to it than that.  We need to slip out of here tonight without any issues.  I am not a huge fan of confrontation.” Katy explained, but she knew that none of the guys would be able to keep her here.  She might be small but she was determined and stealthy.  

            “So you think if they are drunk they won’t realized we’re gone?” Mandy asked.  Katy just nodded, it was something like that but she would see to it that the guys were in no position to try to stop them.  “I’ll go back out to fill the guys in on the party plans and see what they like to drink.” Mandy offered and headed back outside before Katy said anything else.  Katy waited for her to clear the doorway before bringing the window back up.  Her evil grin danced across her face, this was so going to be worth it.

            Outside Brandi was seated on the ground now, using the log behind her for support and leaning her head against Chris.  Mandy was grateful that Chris couldn’t see the look on Brandi’s face, her eyes seemed cold and distant as they stared at the ground in front of them.  Surely the other guys had noticed it as well, and might say something to him about it later but for now, no one said anything.  They just chatted among themselves about what they had been up to lately.

            “Katy wants to have a viewing party tonight for the video; I am off to buy some beer or whatever.  I just need to know what you guys like to drink.”  Mandy interrupted.  She hated to be rude but she was in a hurry to run her errand and they guys could always pick up where they left off after she was gone.

            “Is Katy done with the video yet?” Justin asked fishing something out of his pocket.

            “Almost but she won’t let anyone see it until tonight, like an unveiling or whatever.  If you ask me she is up to something.” Mandy explained.

            “Katy? Up to something?  That is highly unlikely.” Brandi joked joining the conversation.  There was no doubt in her mind that her dear friend had at least one more trick up her sleeve.  Mandy just chuckled as the guys exchanged glances.  They were still learning to understand the girls’ sense of humor.  Justin got up and slipped the hundred dollar bill that he had won from Chris the day before into Mandy’s hand.

            “What’s this for?” Mandy asked.

            “For the drinks, come on you girls shouldn’t have to pay for everything around here, at least not any more.  It’s not like I am hard up for cash or anything.  Just get whatever you want, I can drink anything.”  Justin explained.

            “Are you feeling well?  Justin Timberlake never hands out money.” Lance asked.

            “Maybe he hit his head when he fell into the pool.” Brandi blurted out before she could stop herself, realizing that the damage was already done, Brandi just tried to play it cool.  After all it was like she had tossed him into the pool on purpose. 

            “What pool?” Justin snapped.

            “Um… yeah.  What pool?” Mandy chimed in.  This was the first she had heard about the indecent with the pool.

            “It was your pool.  But don’t worry; I am pretty sure that you didn’t hit your head.  You just fell in when I shot you.  Don’t you remember walking out of your house to check on your stupid dogs?”  Brandi asked.  Her anger flared slightly as she recalled the wound on her leg that was just now starting to heal.

            “I remember that but I don’t remember going into the pool.  Are you nuts you could have killed me?” Justin fired back stepping closer to her.  It explained why Justin had smelled like chlorine when he came to, but he still wasn’t happy about it.  Without missing a beat he quickly went over to Brandi and snatched her up by her shirt.  Expression on her face turned cold and angry as the pop star laid into her about what she had done, but she tried to remain calm. 

            Chris got up but wasn’t sure what to do, he understood that Justin was angry but no one had gotten hurt in the incident.  It was a wonder how anyone of the guys had made it out unharmed so far.  Brandi glared at Justin but said nothing; instead she slipped her hand into her pocket and carefully pulled out the tiny can of mace. 

            In hind sight she shouldn’t have been so quick to act, it wasn’t like Justin was hurting her.  He was just upset and if she had taken the time to think things through she might have noticed that the sprayer was pointed the wrong way.  As soon as the mist hit her face her eyes snapped shut and she cried out as the liquid burned her eyes and throat.  Justin quickly dropped her and jumped back to avoid coming into contact with the spray. 

            Once safely away he laughed as Brandi struggled on the ground to compose herself.  She hurt too much to feel like an idiot at the moment.  Chris tried to comfort her and stifle his own laughter.  The noise must have caught Katy attention; Justin looked over when he heard her chuckle softly while propping herself against the house.  She watched Brandi for a minute before speaking up.

            “I told you to be careful with that stuff; it’s easier than you think to spray yourself.”  Katy explained, speaking as if she knew from experience.  Mandy just smiled, it sounded like something that Katy would have done.

            “Yeah well it was funnier when you were the one rolling on the ground.” Brandi whined.  Katy reached back in the kitchen and got a dry towel before heading toward Brandi.  She placed the towel over her eyes but instructed her not to rub or to use water.

            “Why were you still carrying mace?  Don’t you trust us?” Chris asked, his voice suddenly turning serious.  Why did Brandi still feel the need to arm herself around them, hadn’t they moved past this?

            “I trust you.  But there are wild animals around here.  I have already been attacked by Justin’s dogs; I don’t need any more animal bites.” Brandi explained, trying to put Chris at ease.  Chris nodded as Brandi pulled the towel away and looked up at him, at least she thought it was him, everything was kind of blurry.  But she was trying to drive her point him to him, letting her lips pout slightly.  Without thinking about it Chris found himself placing an innocent kiss on her lips, which instantly cause his lips to start burning as well from the fiery liquid.  Katy just laughed as he tried to rub it off, which just made it worse; wetting them with his tongue was also a bad idea.  Within minutes he was just as about as miserable as she was.

            “I am starting to think that you two were made for each other.” Katy teased, but for once it was nice not to be on the receiving end of the pain.  Justin watched in awe as Katy mothered Brandi just the way Brandi had tended to her so carefully when she had screwed up.