After Mollie whipped up a delicious dinner for them, they retired to the couch.  Before the movie was even halfway over, Mollie had fallen asleep by JC’s side.  JC quietly switched off the television and scooped her into his arms.  They’d had a long day and would have another long one tomorrow so he just carried her up to his room.  He gently lay her down on one side of the bed, trying not to wake her up.  He grabbed an old t-shirt from his dresser and gently tugged down Mollie’s jeans.  They didn’t look too comfortable to sleep in so he figured he could slip her into the t-shirt but her eyes drifted open.

“I close my eyes for a few minutes and you’re trying to take advantage of me?”  Mollie’s voice was raspy with sleep.

“This does look bad doesn’t it,” JC said, his hands resting on either side of her now bare sides.  Her jeans were stuck between her knees now and she sat up, smiling a goofy smile at him. 

“Well, at least the first time you saw me in my panties wasn’t awkward,” she joked back.

“Hey, I was trying to be chivalrous.  They didn’t look comfortable to sleep in!” 

            He tossed her the t-shirt he was going to slip on her and took a step back.  He took his socks off, throwing them towards the general direction of his hamper.  Slipping his shirt off and sending it flying in the same direction, he moved onto his jeans.  Mollie was a little shy seeing him half naked for the first time but she tried not to stare at his perfect body.  Instead she finished slipping out of her jeans and threw her shirt on the floor.  She quickly slipped JC’s t-shirt over her head and then reached under it to unclasp her bra.  JC stepped in front of her, leaning down to kiss her.  She lay back, scooting further back on the bed as JC climbed over her. 

            He leaned his weight on one elbow, letting his free hand roam as he deepened the kiss.  Mollie shivered as his hand slid up her bare spine.  His hand pulled, making her shirt rise and slid around to her front, his thumb softly grazing over her breast.  His mouth moved down her neck towards her chest, and Mollie could sense where this was heading.  As much as she ached for more, she knew she had to tell JC something.

“Baby,” she whispered.  He didn’t hear.   “Jayce,” she managed to get out a little louder.  He grunted in reply.  “I think there’s something I should tell you.”

“Right now?  I’m a little busy,” he said, continuing his way down her chest. 

“Well, if this is heading where I think it’s heading, then yes, right now,” she said, tripping over her words as they came out of her mouth.

JC sensed the apprehension in her voice and with one last kiss, picked his head up to look in her eyes.  Her body was warm but her eyes betrayed her.  They were filled with nervousness.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong, it’s just…before this goes any further I should tell you…I mean it’s…ugh…I’m not exactly experienced in the bedroom department,” she managed to get out. 

“You’re a virgin?” JC asked, making sure he was getting what she meant.

“Yes?” Mollie said, not unsure of her answer but his response.  She was surprised to see him smile.  “Are you mad?  I know its lame and everyone’s done it but I just…”  She was cut off by a kiss on her lips. 

“It’s not lame and not everyone has done it.  I’m glad you told me,” he said, brushing a piece of hair from her forehead. 

“I’m not mad.  It doesn’t matter how good any of this feels if you’re not ready.  Trust me I want to be that first time for you,” JC said, eliciting a sexy grin from his girl.  “But I don’t want you to be nervous and I don’t want to rush you.  Sometimes I just get caught up, but the ball is in your court.  You tell me to stop, I’m stopping.” 

“Thank you,” she whispered.

He responded with a sweet kiss on the tip of her nose.  He rolled off her and in the absence of his weight, Mollie felt the weight of her decision.  He snuggled up behind her, pulling her close to him.

“Goodnight Mollie,” JC mumbled, placing a kiss on the back of her head.

“Goodnight.”

            The next morning Mollie felt a bit awkward about the situation.  She couldn’t help but feel like JC was disappointed in the revelation of her virginity.  They got dressed and were waiting by the door for the bus to pick them up when JC’s voice broke through her silence.

“What’s on your mind?” 

“Oh,” she said, snapping out of it.  “I don’t know.  Just things.”

“Like last night?” 

“Am I that obvious?”

“A little bit,” he replied, offering her a smile.  “I meant everything I said.  You have nothing to worry about.” 

“How do you know if you’re ready?”

“If you have to ask, you’re not ready.  When the time comes, you’ll know and it’ll be even better because you waited for the right time.  I know all of that sounds corny as hell but it’s true.  When you’re ready you won’t have to question whether or not you’re ready.” 

“If you say so…now kiss me, before we have to go sneaking around again,” she said, puckering her lips.

            JC obliged and just in time because the bus horn could be heard honking outside.  The pair dragged their suitcases out of the house and to the luggage hold, where the driver took over.  They climbed aboard and were surprised to find the guys and Johnny all sitting in the front lounge waiting for them, the vibe tense.  They took a seat, as directed by Johnny and as the bus pulled away, they began to find out what was up.

“So, Mollie.  I need you to sign this contract but first we have some things to talk about.  I’ve been notified that this picture is running in a tabloid this week,” Johnny began, holding up a photo of JC and Mollie kissing.  It was from the supermarket last night.  Mollie couldn’t believe it.  “This is a problem for me.  We never want the guys’ personal lives to overshadow the music.  We’ve even kept the Justin/Britney relationship pretty low key lately.”

“And what’s the problem?  They won’t know who Mollie is so they’ll get bored when no other pictures come out.  We can keep it low key,” JC explained. 

“The problem is that the standard contract we have everyone sign includes a clause that prevents this relationship from happening.”

“That’s crazy!” JC shouted.

Mollie kept quiet, taking it all in.  She wasn’t happy about what she was hearing but she wasn’t sure that she could figure out a way around it.

“The contract needs to be signed before you get on stage tonight Mollie, otherwise I’ll have to release you from the tour.”

“Guy, back me up on this?” JC asked his band mates. 

“I don’t think you should be allowed to tell us who to date,” Lance said.  Mollie was surprised that he chimed in, he was usually pretty quiet.  “I thought we fought hard enough for this in the past.”

“If none of us have a problem with it, why should it be in the contract?  Just because this is the first time any of us have pursued a relationship with a coworker it’s being forbidden?” Justin asked. 

“We do this to prevent any tension or problems that may occur should this not work out,” Johnny explained.  “If there is agreement within the group that this clause needs to be removed, we can discuss that further at a later date but for tonight and the beginning of this tour, this is the contract we have and this is the contract Mollie needs to sign.”

“What JC does in his personal life is his business.  I just don’t like the idea that there’s one aspect of our careers we’ve overlooked and essentially you’ve drafted a contract to control our personal lives,” Chris added. 

“Can I read it over?” Mollie said.  Everyone was chiming in on her life and she didn’t even know what the contract said.

“Mollie, you can’t sign this,” JC said, his anger coming to a boiling point. 

“I can read it.  I don’t like it either but I haven’t read it yet.  Also, can I have a lawyer read it over?  I’m pretty sure I should have been given this with ample time for my own lawyer to read it over.”

“You got me there,” Johnny said.  “Let’s give it a week.  If you don’t have it signed by then, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.” 

“Great,” Mollie said, grabbing a piece of paper from Johnny’s open notebook.  “I’ll just write up a little agreement that says I have a week and my pay will not be affected during this week, and I’ll get on with it.”

            JC smiled as she wrote up a quick agreement, outlining what they just talked about.  She signed, as well as Johnny, JC and the rest of the guys as witnesses.  JC and Mollie retreated to the back area of the bus, dreading the next two hours trapped in a moving vehicle with Johnny.  Plopping down on the couch, Mollie immediately began reading the contract.  Everything seemed fine until she got to the part forbidding any relationships between employer and employee.  The language used there confused her and she noted that it looked like it was hastily added at the bottom of the contract.  It didn’t quite match the thoroughness of the rest of the writing.

“What are we going to do?”  JC asked.

“I’m still in touch with the lawyer who handled my grandmother’s estate.  Maybe he can help me understand what this is…and I’m going to ask the other girls if they have a copy of what they signed.  Just to make sure everything is the same.” 

“You think Johnny changed it just because of this photo?”

“He could have.  If he thinks I’m going to be bad for you and your reputation.  I just get this feeling that we’re going to have a fight on our hands, either way,” she sighed, leaning into him.  “For now, I think we still lay low… I mean obviously the guys know now but if we can just keep it quiet and not ruffle any feathers in case I do have to sign it.” 

“Even if you do have to sign it, I’m not going to follow it,” JC said, kissing her forehead.