Amanda hated this flight.  No matter how many times she had done it, it didn't matter.  MKE to CHI to LAX and back.  She sighed as she rolled her suitcase into the terminal at LAX.  At least she was on the way home.  The only interesting part of flying out of LAX was the great people watching.  She always wondered if she might see anyone famous or at least see some drama.  She pulled her boarding pass out of her pocket and headed towards TSA pre-check. 

Once Amanda had breezed through security, she headed to her gate.  She had plenty of time, but it was the normal routine.  She settled into an empty chair, pulled out her laptop and noticed her phone was vibrating.

"Hello, this is Amanda.... Oh hey...  Yeah, of course.... I'll get the offer out today.  Great, thanks."

It was moments like this that she felt like she was really her best self.  She was fortunate that she got to travel for work and be independent.  With that, she dove back into her work.

Once the flight announcements had been made, Amanda packed up her belongings and headed to the restroom.  Obviously, there was a line and she dove back into her phone when something... someone brushed into her arm.  When she glanced up, it was a gorgeous looking man in a black LA hat.  Holy shit, I'd know those eyes anywhere.  Amanda tried to take in a deep breath.

"Sorry about that, honey."

Honey.  She didn't think she could breathe anymore.  So basically, JC Chasez was the stereotype she dreamed of... walking around calling ladies "honey."

"No problem at all, just was in the zone."

He shot a grin to her and kept walking.  Was that really JC?  The same JC that she had once plastered all over her room?  The same one who still made her breath hitch when she heard his songs?  Granted, it had been some time, but he was still one of the greatest in her mind.  He was possibly sexier in person than she had ever seen him before.  She tried to steady her breathing to focus on getting through this bathroom line, but those eyes were really hard to forget.  Really, really hard to forget.

Once she returned to her seat by the gate, she pulled her phone out.  She had to tell someone right?

"So you're pretty engrossed in your phone, hm?"

Jesus Christ, this was not happening.  She knew it was him.  If there was anyone she had hoped to bump into in LA, it was him.

"I'm a working girl, JC.  It's still a Thursday to me."  Amanda grinned up at him.  She had zero idea where this confidence was coming from.  It was basically a miracle that she was forming sentences at all.

"You're obviously very good at tuning out your surroundings."  JC slid into the seat next to her.

"Only sometimes... just not when I'm being run into by good looking *NSYNC members."

JC laughed.  The laugh she had heard many times before, but never in person.

"So what do you do for work?"

"Do you always talk to strangers in the airport?"

"Only the cute girls I body check."

Amanda grinned and scoffed.  They had a little chemistry and banter going there.  It was then that the boarding announcements were being made and both Amanda and JC stood up. 

"Well, I'm not leaving without formally meeting you.  I'm Amanda."  Amanda stuck out her hand and smiled.

"It's nice to meet you, Amanda."  And with that, he walked away to the boarding area.

Amanda couldn't believe this happened.  Where did she possibly get the courage to be so flirtatious and outgoing with JC?  She was feeling pretty proud of herself.  Amanda pulled up the handle of rolling suitcase, threw her bag over her shoulder, and walked towards the boarding entrance to join the rest of the passengers.  She inched forward in the line and got her boarding pass ready.  She held out her boarding pass to the gate agent and scanned it.  She proceeded forward once she heard the ding of the accepted ticket.

"Excuse me, miss?"  Amanda turned around.  "You've been upgraded to first class."  She was handed a new boarding pass.  This happened maybe once or twice before, but it was exciting nonetheless.  She flew pretty often and received a few perks here and there.  As she continued down the jet bridge, she pulled her phone out to text.

Amanda:  So it finally happened.  I'm boarding and have met someone famous.

Emma:  LAX?  Are you being serious?

Amanda:  Dead. Serious.  Literally he bumped right into me.

Emma:  He?

Amanda:  I'm FREAKING out that I was so chill with him

Emma:  ...

Amanda:  My ONLY crush

Emma:  You cannot be real right now

Amanda realized that she had reached the door of the plane and pushed her suitcase over the gap.  She glanced down at her pass again and tried to memorize her new seat number.  As she was consumed with putting her phone in her back pocket and re-positioning her bag, she realized that her suitcase was being taken from her hand.

"I can help you with that, honey."

Amanda silently screamed.  This day was totally insane.

******

Amanda buckled her seatbelt and settled in.

"So do you always upgrade girls you run into at the airport?"

"I told you - only the cute ones.  Besides, you look like you travel a lot... I'm sure it was just good luck."  JC winked at her.

Amanda laughed.  "I'm not going to believe this was good luck, but I really appreciate whatever you did.  I hate this flight."

"You don't seem nervous.  Do you not like flying?"  He asked her.

"No, I don't mind at all.  This is just a long travel day for me on top of the longer flight."

JC nodded.  "So you live in Chicago?"

This thought had not occurred to Amanda.  She knew quite a bit about him, but he knew nothing about her.  Now she was on this 4 hour flight sitting next to her biggest celebrity crush.

"Um no, I'm back and forth often, but I actually live in Milwaukee."

"Cool baseball field - Miller Park."  JC offered.

"You would know.  I saw you at that show."

"You are a serious fan then." 

Amanda smiled and took a breath.  How does one tell JC Chasez that she had loved him since the Mickey Mouse Club?  She once bought a purple denim jacket because he wore one during the PopOdyssey tour, bought a rhinestone Rock Star t-shirt because he wore it to the Teen Choice Awards.  These were embarrassing details to share right off the bat.  Amanda could feel her cheeks getting pink.

"Yeah, sure."  Amanda smiled.

"I'm not really sure what that means, but I think it's endearing that you're playing it cool."  JC said as he adjusted his hat.

"It's honestly a miracle that I'm able to form sentences." Amanda heard the words coming out and immediately regretted it.  JC laughed.

"Okay, Amanda, this is a long flight, let's make it interesting."  JC smirked at her.  Amanda felt her heart beating out of her chest.  Again, what had made this guy so interested in chatting with her?  She tried to put the thought out of her mind and enjoy it.

"What are you proposing?"

"I need to know more about you.  I know that you're into your work, you live in Milwaukee, seem to travel a lot and you're witty."

Amanda smiled to herself.  "What would you like to know?"

JC checked his watch.  "We've got at least four more hours, so might as well start from the top."

Amanda took in a deep breath.  "Well, I was born and raised in Milwaukee, it's home.  I went to college about an hour from home, just far enough away, but close enough to see my family.  I work in HR as a recruiter.  Both of my parents are retired and live a few hours away from me.  Uh... what else?"

"What did you major in?"

For some reason, Amanda sort of dreaded telling JC this.  She played with the hem of her shirt and tried to ignore his stare.  "I majored in music, actually.  I knew I had to be practical about it, so I got a degree in Music and Business.  I took courses about the music industry as well."

JC really gazed into her eyes.  Those blue eyes were definitely curious about more now.

"I have a lot of questions," JC stated.  Amanda nodded.  "So, music major... what instrument?  And you work in the industry... in Milwaukee?"

Amanda scoffed and smirked.  "I do not work in the music industry in Milwaukee.  I majored with voice, minored in piano."  She could feel his stare intensifying.  When she looked up at him, he grinned.

"So, it's fate that I bumped into you, huh?"

"What's that mean?  Like I'm about to hit you up for a recording contract?"  Amanda scoffed again, pretending to be offended.

"No, of course not," JC reassured.  "I mean, we've definitely got something in common here.  How long have you been singing?"

"Do the concerts to my stuffed animals count?" Amanda grinned.  "I can't remember a time where I didn't sing.  It was high school when I started to take it seriously.  What else do you want to know?"

"I'm stuck on this topic now," JC challenged.  "So you don't do music anymore?"

Amanda sucked in a breath.  This was sort of a complicated answer.  "I listen to music, but I don't perform anymore.  I didn't give it up, I just sort of... found something else."  She glanced out the window.

"Sounds like there is a lot to unpack there," he suggested.  "Okay, so you obviously used to perform.  The thing is, honey, I'm aware they don't let just anyone be a music major.  So, you've got to be talented and it's always a shame when someone gives up something they love."

Amanda looked around the plane.  "I'm sorry, Dr. Chasez, I didn't realize we entered a therapy session."  She grinned up at him and he smiled back at her.  "I honestly haven't ever really talked about this with anyone.  I gave so much in high school and college to music and was sort of burnt out afterwards.  I haven't really done much since."

"I can appreciate that for sure," he told her while he gently patted the top of her thigh, "But you will always have music waiting for you when you're ready."

Amanda nodded and relaxed into her seat.  He was right; maybe it was time to start exploring that part of her life again.  She gazed out the window and thought she could reach out to vocal coach again to just get her voice back in shape.  It was then that she felt JC reach for her hand and gently squeezed.  She immediately felt an electric feeling shoot through her body.

"Are you okay over there?"

Amanda glanced over and smiled weakly at him.  "Yeah, I'm good.  You're just right."  She realized that JC hadn't let go of her hand.  Was this really happening?  In the next moment, the plane entered some turbulence which caused the plane to drop.

"Shit," she said quietly. 

"I thought you weren't a nervous flyer," JC raised his eyebrow with a small grin.  He reached over and lifted the arm rest and never dropped Amanda's hand.  Amanda's hand was tingling from his touch.

"Doesn't turbulence make everyone nervous?"  She asked and squeezed his hand.  He scooted a bit closer to her.  "You must get exhausted taking care of all the girls you upgrade to first class on flights."  Amanda said with a grin.  JC scoffed.

"So you're aware, I have never done this before," he said while intensely staring into her eyes.

The smile wouldn't leave Amanda's face, but she couldn't push down the thought that he was doing all of this with her.  She had seen the list of women that JC had been with previously.  She was a dirty blond with wavy hair that she normally wore straightened, size 6 and only 5'3".  This was a far cry from the women that had been seen with JC.  She also realized that she was getting super carried away... this wasn't going anywhere.  JC seemed like a genuinely nice guy who struck up a conversation with her.  At best, this was a great story to tell her friends, but she wasn't going to stop flirting.

"So why do this for me?"  She said it before she could stop the words from coming out of her mouth.

JC removed his hand from his, draped it across her shoulders, and spoke quietly.  "I don't normally meet someone who is passionate about their work and seems so grounded and normal."

"Normal?"

"I mean that in a really good way.  You also have treated me normal, you haven't freaked out yet."  He grinned at her again.  Amanda stomach flipped every single time he did it and she grinned back.  "This is comfy, can we take a quick nap?"  He pulled her a little closer to rest her head on his shoulder.

"Is this really happening right now?  You're asking to take a nap with me?  I've known you, for what, an hour?"  Amanda rubbed her palms on her jeans and grinned a bit.

"Relax.  I can tell you don't do that easily," he quipped back.

Amanda smiled, relaxed, and sank into him and before she knew it, they were both asleep.

She woke up when she heard the beverage cart in the aisle.  She didn't move; this whole picture was too perfect to mess up.  She blinked a few times and took a deep breath.  She was definitely snuggling against JC Chasez like they had known each other for a lifetime.  As much as she hated to move, she straightened up and grabbed her phone to check the time.  She felt JC stir beside her.

"Did you have a good nap?" He asked softly while he stretched his arms.

Amanda couldn't help but smile and look back at him.  "I love sleeping on planes to pass the time, but I usually don't have a comfy nap partner.  Did you have a good nap?"

JC smirked.  "I did.  Thanks for indulging me."

If he only knew.

"So I realize now that we've been playing 20 questions, but this hasn't been a fair game."  Amanda pointed out while sliding her phone back into her bag.

"That's true," JC stated.  "What would you like to know?"

"I'm a fan, but I don't want to assume that anything I think I know is true."  That was true.  It was going to be a challenge to get to know JC on a real level, not just what she had read about him years ago.

"I'm not sure anyone has ever said that to me - that's sweet.  I know how much is out there and it can be weird when people think they know you."

That brought a smile to Amanda's face.  He was so charming and most of the time, he seemed to be unaware of it.

"We'll start easy - why are you going to Chicago?"

"Going to work with a newer artist, I've been producing a bit for them," JC answered.  "What's next?"  He grinned at her again.

"You'll see.  I'm glad you're working with some newer talent, I'm certain anyone would value your perspective on things.  You're one of the most talented people I've ever heard."

"Again, that's really sweet of you to say.  I really enjoy playing the part of being older and wiser now, it's always been my dream to write and produce."

Amanda nodded, she knew this.  "Next question.  Why aren't you working on your own music?"

"I can see why the first one was easy," JC weakly smiled back at her.  "How do you know I'm not working on anything of my own?"

"Fair enough.  Revised question then - are you working on your own music?"

JC took in a deep breath and looked down and shuffled his bag with his feet.  "I write and I don't necessarily have intention of who will end up with it."

Amanda could tell she touched a nerve and instinctively put her hand on his thigh.  "Okay, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to go that deep.  My point is I miss hearing you.  And I'm definitely not alone."

JC reached and laced his hand through hers.  "No, you're fine.  It's a complicated answer."

Amanda could feel her hand tingling again and wondered why all of this felt so natural.  "I'm sure it is complicated.  We can stop this if you want - I just had to shoot my shot."  Amanda looked down and smiled.

JC chuckled in response.  "I can't blame you," he paused, "You miss me, huh?"

"You're looking for my honest answer?"

JC nodded.

"Honestly, you have one of best voices I've ever heard.  You're effortless and everything you do seems so natural, instinctive.  I listened to so much of you because I always wanted to perform that way."  Amanda kept her head down as it was part of her embarrassing admission.

She felt JC squeeze her hand.  "Wow, that's really generous, honey."  JC used his other hand to tip her chin up to look at her and brushed his lips across her cheek.

What the fuck is happening.

******

As the plane landed, Amanda realized that she really didn't want the flight to end.  Sitting next to JC Chasez was like an actual dream, but getting to know him as a person was much better than she had ever imagined.  It was almost if she had forgotten who he was completely and just felt so comfortable getting to know the genuinely nice man beside her.  They had chatted about everything from her job, to their families, to music they were listening to.  Everything about their conversation had been effortless and it was refreshing to meet anyone who she could banter with like that.  Before she sank completely into her thoughts, she pulled her phone out of the seatback pocket and flipped it out of airplane mode.

"Can I see that for a minute?"  JC asked halting her action of starting to gaze through emails that had come in during the flight.

Amanda handed it over with a curious look.  She saw JC start tapping away.  When he was finished, he put the phone down in his lap face down.

"I'm holding this hostage so I can have these last few minutes with you without you being distracted," JC stated while indicating down to the phone.

"I wouldn't let anyone else do this," Amanda said with a smile.

"I'll take that as a compliment.  I'd also like to talk about what happens when we get off this plane."  JC said while watching Amanda tuck her hair back behind her ear.

Amanda took a deep breath.  "As much as I normally hate this flight, I sort of have hoped it wouldn't have gone so fast."

As the plane entered the gate, she could feel everyone around them starting to gather their things and press into the aisle.  She felt her heart sink as she realized she would likely get off this flight and never get to connect with JC again.

"Amanda."

She looked over to JC who was gazing directly into her eyes.  It was easy to get lost in the sea of blue.

"I'm not sure how to say this without sounding corny," JC started and Amanda nodded.  "I need to see you again."

Amanda's breath hitched.  She certainly felt a connection to him beyond anything she had before, but chalked it up to the fact that she had always idolized him.  He was one of the best looking guys she had ever laid eyes on, but she also found him to be passionate about life and music.  She thought she may have imagined their flirtation and rationalized that he was just playing a game.

"I'd like to see you again."  The words came out before she could even process it.

With that, JC handed her phone back to her and stood.  She knew that it was time to collect her bags and get back home.  Reality started setting in when she realized her dream of a day was slowly slipping away.  As she walked up the jet bridge, she realized there were several notifications on her phone about her next flight and she moaned.

"Everything okay?"  JC inquired.  Amanda didn't realize that he had made his way to her.

"My flight just got canceled to Milwaukee.  I hate when this happens."  Amanda sighed and immediately started finding the number to the rental car company that she normally used.  They had reached the gate area and she stepped off to the side to try and secure new arrangements.  JC followed her.

"Do you work tomorrow?"  JC inquired.

Amanda nodded and kept tapping at her phone to reserve a car.

"Can you stay in Chicago?"

Amanda's head snapped up.  Was she hearing JC ask her to stay with him?

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I need to go home."  Amanda felt her heart sink.  She knew that this was the logical answer, but her heart was begging her to stay in the city with JC.

"I get it.  You're sick of me now?"  JC said with a grin.

Amanda grinned back and slipped her phone into her pocket.  She didn't want to ruin whatever it was they had by giving into a one night stand.  As delicious as that would be, she knew she didn't want that to be her only memory of him.  "Definitely not.  I just have work and I don't want to ruin... this."

JC grabbed Amanda's hand and pulled her to him.  Amanda felt dizzy from his touch.  She couldn't tell why he had such power over her.

"Can I help you get home?"

Amanda smiled weakly.  "No, I've already reserved a rental.  I can promise you that you've done more for me than you ever needed to.  Thank you."

"You have my number if you change your mind."  JC wrapped his arms around her for a hug.  Amanda realized that he had saved his number in her phone when he had taken it earlier.  She breathed deeply to inhale his cologne.  She slightly shivered when she realized how close they were.  The deep attraction she felt to him scared her a bit.  Amanda pulled away first, but held JC's hand.

"I mean this - thank you so much for today."

JC squeezed her hand gently.  "Happy to get a pretty lady to sit next to me on a flight.  Will you text me when you get home?"

Amanda lit up at the thought that JC wanted to check on her.  "Of course."

JC pressed his lips to Amanda's cheek and moved his hand to the small of her back.  She felt like he was sending electricity to her core.

"I will send out a search party if I don't hear from you in a few hours."  JC winked.

"I promise that I'm capable and I promise to text the minute I get through my door."

Amanda knew that they had to part ways and knew that if she didn't do it first, she would stand there with him forever.

"I'm going to get to my car rental.  Not because I want to, but I also can't stand at this gate with you forever."  Amanda said with a sarcastic smile and rubbed her thumb over his hand before dropping it.

JC smiled back and watched her collect her luggage.

"Thank you for everything," Amanda said genuinely again.

"Stop thanking me, it was well worth it."

Amanda turned and started walking.  She had known JC for only a few hours, but couldn't help but feel like she left a piece of her heart with him.  Normally, it took her a long time to open up to anyone.  A few previous relationships had left her very guarded.  Her last relationship ended abruptly and in a mess.  Her ex had been a musician on the side and after that, it felt like all music was just a bad reminder.  She rarely discussed music with anyone after her ex.  There weren't any people in her life currently that she could go to about music.  And certainly, no one that encouraged her to go back to it besides her parents.  But JC - he immediately got her and got under her skin.  It was unbelievable that he was able to get her to talk about it again few hours and she totally expected to wake up from this dream any moment.  Amanda couldn't wait to get to her rental car and call Emma to relive the day.  She followed the signs to the exit, got on the passenger train to the terminal, and fished her phone from her pocket to review texts.  The most recent one shocked her.

JC:  I canceled your rental.  You have a driver waiting for you at the arrivals curb under Josh.

Amanda stopped in her tracks and stared in disbelief before quickly typing her own text back.

Amanda:  Please tell me that you're joking.

She pressed send and took a deep breath.  It wasn't long before she had a response.

JC:  Seriously.  Take a nap on the way home and relax.

Amanda:  I can't even believe you did that.  SO unnecessary and I'll find a way to repay you.  You're really sweet, thank you.

She slid her phone back into her pocket, exited the train, and walked towards the arrivals curb.  Amanda could only hope she wasn't setting herself up for a major disappointment.  Her heart swelled at the thought of a man caring about her enough to do something like this.  Even though she was silently freaking out, she tried to relax like JC had told her.