During the next week, Jess prepared herself for her trip to Chicago to be interviewed by Oprah. She was nervous beyond belief and was losing sleep over the whole thing. All of the guys knew how she was struggling with the upcoming interview and they called her regularly to offer their suggestions and advice.
One afternoon, when JC called her, she was particularly listless.
"Jess, when did you last get some sleep?"
"Um, let me think for a minute. I don't know. I think I slept for an hour last night." She yawned.
"OK. That's it. I don't care what you are doing this afternoon. All of your plans have been officially cancelled."
"Josh! No way, I've got stuff I have to do today."
"Too bad. If you even think about going out today instead of sleeping, I'll have Bryan at your house faster than you can blink. And don't think he'll let you out."
"It's easy enough for you to say, Josh, but going to bed and actually sleeping are two entirely different things."
"Yep, they are. So, here's what you're going to do. You're going to have a nice hot shower and put on your comfy flannel pyjamas and crawl into bed. I'm going to call you back and talk to you until you fall asleep."
"Josh, you're not that boring!"
He laughed, "Well, I hope I'm not, but you need to trust me."
Jess stood in the middle of her room. She really didn't have the energy to do the errands she had planned anyway. She might as well do what Josh told her to do. It wasn't like she really had a choice.
She was just finishing buttoning up her pyjamas when the phone rang.
She answered the phone with a yawn. "Yeah, Josh."
There was a chuckle on the other end. "Ha! I told you I'd change phones and confuse you!"
"Hi Chris, what can I do for you?"
"You can get yourself into bed."
"You know, Chris, I'm not a baby. I am perfectly capable of deciding when I am ready to go to bed."
"Jess, are you trying to start a fight with me?"
"Yeah," she laughed, "Is it working?"
"Nope. Get your butt into bed or we're calling Bryan to come and baby sit you."
"Fine," she huffed.
"Are you in bed?"
"Yes." She growled.
"Good. OK, so here's the plan. I'm going to read to you. Just focus on my voice, OK? Don't let other stuff run through your head. Just listen and you'll be asleep before you know it."
"OK, I'll try it."
Chris started to read Shoeless Joe by W.P. Kinsella, and sure enough, Jess fell under his spell. There was something so soothing about his voice, but she wasn't able to give it much thought before she fell asleep.
Jess felt much better when she woke up on Monday morning. She couldn't believe that she had slept for more than fourteen hours! She finished up a couple of articles and spent the rest of the day packing.
The next morning, she would be flying to Chicago and take some time to get settled in. She was going to be interviewed by Oprah on Wednesday morning, and she planned on staying in the city through the following weekend.
Jess arrived in Chicago on a warm June afternoon. A driver was waiting for her at the airport and he collected her bags and had her checked into her hotel in record time.
Once she was alone in her room, Jess kicked off her shoes and flopped down on the bed. The phone rang almost immediately. She wasn't surprised when she answered and it was the guys. They were on the bus, and she talked to each one of them. They all sent their best wishes for tomorrow's interview.
She took herself out for dinner and returned to the hotel to get an early night.
Story Tags: celebritysync jc chris
