Liz was surprised that the car window didn’t shatter from the force of JC’s anger.  As he slammed his door shut, he already had the engine running and was forcing the car into gear.  Liz sucked in a breath at the speed from which he pulled away from the curb.  With one hand, she wrestled with the seat belt, trying to fasten it quickly. 

“Josh, slow down!”  Pleadingly, she blindly reached for his shoulder, unable to take her eyes off the road that flew by.  “There could be kids around, you need to slow down.”

The seat belt locked her in place when JC slammed on the brakes and spun the wheel sharply to the left, barely pausing for the car in the other lane to pass.  Gravel in the parking lot flew as JC skidded to a stop.  Before the dust settled, JC was out of the car.  The roof received a hard fist to help relieve his anger. 

Liz watched from the car as JC took long strides to reach the top of the hill over looking one of the many lakes in the city.  He had pulled into an overlook in a park between his parents house and theirs.  There were a few parents watching over their kids in the playground some distance away, but the area close to them was deserted.  Perhaps it was the hour as the shadows were beginning to get long and the sun was just starting it’s descent into the nearby ocean. 

JC had left the key in the ignition so Liz grabbed the key, got out of the car, and used the remote to lock the car behind her as she slowly started up the path to JC trying to find the words to say. 

What did you say to your husband when you were so obviously disliked by his family?  What would his reaction be?  How much stock did he put into his families opinion of her?  Was this the end for them?  Liz’s mind raced as she made her way up the hill.  JC’s hair was standing on end from running his hands through it, now he was completely still with his hands stacked behind his head. 

Quietly, Liz stopped beside him, not yet daring to say anything, afraid to look him in the eye.  She wasn’t sure what she would see. 

JC sighed shakily and lowered his arms, letting one curve around Liz’s back as he took a step and turned so she was wrapped securely in his arms.  His other hand went to the nape of her neck to wind in the strands of her hair, tucking her head into his neck as he lowered his own head to her shoulder. 

“Liz, I’m so sorry, I never imagined that any of them would be anything but welcoming to you.  Can you ever forgive me for putting you in that situation?”  He whispered into the curve of her shoulder. 

Liz let her hands roam from his waist up his back where they tried to help soothe away the tension she could feel coiled in his muscles.  His words gave her only a small measure of relief.  His family had always been a large part of his life – there was no way that their opinions could be dismissed so easily. 

“Josh, I would never blame you for something like that.  I’m sorry that I –”  Her voice lowered until it was almost inaudible, as if she were only mouthing the words.  “Don’t measure up.”

As he pulled away, he gave her a little shake and she turned startled, wet eyes to him.  “Shut up!”  He said sternly.  “They were the ones that didn’t measure up.  Who knew that Heather would be the worst one?  She was always my shadow growing up.”  JC sniffed and turned back to the sunset, pulling Liz over to stand in front of him. 

“What are we going to do, JC?  How do we handle this?”

“I don’t know, Liz, I just don’t know.” 

Liz was glad that he couldn’t see her face as a look of pain crossed.  His words didn’t exactly inspire confidence for the future of their relationship. 

They stood together in silence as they watched the sun sink lower into the sky.  Liz could already feel a distance between them growing and she was helpless as to how to bridge the gap.  She loved JC with all her heart, but clearly their relationship was about to take a very rocky turn. 

***

Several days later

“Hey Liz, I have to –” JC quieted when he rounded the corner into the office and saw Liz on the phone.  She held a finger up to let him know she would be done in a moment then went back to twisting a strand of hair. 

“Well, I’m in Florida at the moment so – ”  She paused to listen to the other person, grabbing a pad of paper and a pen to start jotting down notes. 

JC leaned against the doorjamb and let a small smile cross his face as he observed his wife.  In the past few days, he had ignored every phone call or text from his parents and siblings.  He knew it was only a matter of time before they started stopping by the house so JC knew they had to get out of town.  He just wasn’t ready to face his family without having a plan in place for dealing with them.  Heather’s messages were becoming increasingly more hated toward Liz and JC did everything in his power to act confident while hiding the messages from Liz.    

He shook off the problem so he could tune back into Liz’s conversation. 

“If – if I agree to work, then I want it known that it is only on a part time basis and I come home every night.  I’m not willing to stay in hotels when my husband will be home waiting for me.”  Her eyes slid smoothly over to look at the man watching her.  His shoulder was propped against the opening and he had one ankle crossed over the other.  Noticing her stare, JC uncrossed his arms from where they rested against his chest and lowered them until they brushed the hem of his long sleeved t-shirt. 

Liz’s eyes widened as he drew the shirt up and off, tossing it carelessly off to the side.  She licked her lips unconsciously as she tried to focus again on the conversation coming to her ear, but her eyes constantly returned to JC’s seduction. 

“Alright, just go ahead and send me the info, I’ll do the best I can, but I’m making no promises.  You do realize that I just got married, right?  Listen, I have to get off, send me the stuff as long as you realize this is only temporary.  I’ll give you two weeks then we will talk about what happens after that.  I’ll talk to you later.”  She rushed to get off the phone before she said something she shouldn’t.  He had taken advantage of her distraction to begin to next pull off his wife beater, showing off his well-toned body as he flexed. 

Just as she was ending the call, he pulled at the drawstring of his sweat pants.  Liz knew that it wouldn’t take much encouragement to let those pants drop to the floor and her eyes greedily waited for that last final tug that would bare all. 

But he paused, his hand still on the drawstring.  “What’s this about you working the next two weeks?”

It took her a moment to realize that he was asking her a question and wouldn’t tug at the string until she answered.  Taking a deep breath, she blinked and focused her attention on his blue gaze.  “Oh, yeah, they are falling behind so I said I would help a little bit the next couple of weeks, please don’t be mad.  After that I told him that you and I would talk about what would happen next.”

Liz stood to make her way and help tug the string its final inch so gravity could take over and the promise she had seen in JC eyes could be fulfilled.  But before she made her way across the room, JC had retied his pants and placed his hands on his hips.     

Liz let a pout cross her face until she saw a frown cross JC’s.  “So you just committed to working two weeks right after we got married?  What are you thinking?”  That brought Liz up short.  But JC wasn’t finished, “I just booked our flight back to LA.”

“I know and I’m sorry, but they are really having a hard time – wait why did you book flights back to LA?  I thought we planned to stay here for a couple more weeks at least.”  Liz mimicked his pose by placing her own hands on her hips while she waited for him to answer. 

Uncomfortable, JC didn’t want to give the real reason that he had decided they should leave Florida so he went to the reason he had concocted.  Rubbing the back of his neck, he couldn’t quite meet Liz’s eyes.  “Um…Justin booked some studio time and we’ve been talking about collaborating on a new record so I told him I – we – would head out to LA.”  His hand dropped back down to his side and he timidly met her eyes.  “It’s the only time he has free from his latest film schedule.”

One eyebrow rose and her arms crossed tightly in front of her, even as her eyes narrowed.  “So...let me get this straight…you are mad at me because I said I would help some people out who are going through a tragedy close to the location where you said we would be staying for a couple more weeks and even got them to make a concession that I would be home with you every night and arrange my schedule around you…and yet – you – decided that it would be a good idea to book our flights across the country.  It’s okay for you to work during our honeymoon, but it’s not okay for me?”

A sheepish look crossed JC’s face, he knew that if he could distract her he would be home free.  So he tried to get closer.  Maybe if he could get her focused on something else, he would be home free.  But Liz was onto him, she quickly backed up so that the desk was between them.  “Go ahead, I can’t wait to hear this.”

He sighed and sank into the closest chair, running both hands through his hair before he leaned forward and propped his elbows on his knees.  “Obviously, we both need to work on our communication here.  I’m sorry that I didn’t ask you before I made these plans, but in all fairness you didn’t talk to me before making your own plans either.”  He held up a hand to stop Liz from interrupting.  “I just think it’s time to head back to LA, we can invite your parents out there to visit us.”  He tried tempting her, hoping to keep the real reason hidden.  He should have known better. 

“I can’t, Josh; I made a commitment for the next two weeks.  Can you change your studio time or move it here?”  JC was already shaking his head as Liz realized what was really going on.  “Why are you in such a rush to get back to LA?  Is this because of how your family has reacted to me?”

Lowering his head, JC took a moment to try to gather his thoughts.  Gaining confidence, JC raised his head to meet her eyes.  “I just think that now is a good time to take a step back from this whole situation, get some distance and maybe some perspective.  Let things cool down here.”

Liz bit down on her bottom lip for a moment before she made her way over to JC.  She knelt down in front of him, placing her hands on his knees and gently rubbing his thighs.  “Josh, I’m sorry that you are going through this.  Tell me how I can help.” 

 “Come with me to LA,” JC pleaded.

Her own eyes begged him to understand, “Jace, I will be there as soon as I can, but I need these next two weeks.  What aren’t you telling me?”

“I love you so much, you know that right?”  His hands cupped her face even as she nodded.  “I just think my family needs a little time to get used to the idea of us being married.  Our courtship, if you will, was so rushed that they feel a little cheated out of the whole experience.  And they weren’t there for the wedding either, so I think they are just hurt and feeling left out.”

“Is that what they are telling you in their messages and texts?”

“That’s the gist of it.”

Liz could see the hurt in his eyes and wished his family could know what they were doing to him.  “I tell you what.  Let’s take the next two weeks and get everything straightened out with work.  Then let’s go somewhere that no one can find us.  Maybe we just need to plan a wedding where our families can be a part of the celebration.”

“Hmm…two weeks without you?  I don’t know that I can manage that.”  His hands began to roam over her body, sending the sparks into a full flame. 

“Then we’d better make the next few days count.”  Liz seized up on her knees so she could reach his mouth, tongues dueling for control.  JC broke the kiss long enough to stand and gather Liz in his arms.  As he carried her to the bedroom, he pushed back the thoughts about his family.  He would let them know he would be leaving town, making it seem like Liz would be going with him.   

How could he know that going across the country and leaving Liz for two weeks could possibly be the biggest mistake he would ever make?