When their time with Oprah was finished, the six friends huddled together in the Green Room. Jess gave all the guys heck for tricking her, but they knew that she really loved it.
"Well, I guess we'd better get going," JC looked at Justin, Lance and Joey.
"We'll see you later!" Joey gave Jess a big hug. "You did great today, Babe. I'm real proud of you." He squeezed her tight and lifted her off the floor.
"Thanks, Joe. Now put me down!"
Justin kissed her cheek and whispered, "Chris has been bouncing off the walls for the last week!"
Jess laughed. "I'm sorry to hear that. Thanks for putting up with it." She hugged him and pulled him closer so she could whisper. "I'm so nervous. Is that crazy?"
"Don't be. You two fit. Have a great time."
Lance smiled down at her. "Hey, gorgeous, do I get a hug like that?"
"Of course!" She reached up and hugged him tight. "You know, this would be easier if you weren't so tall."
Lance scooped her into his arms. "Is that better?"
"Lansten! Put my date down! You can't go around picking up other guys dates, that's just not fair!" Chris hollered.
Jess laughed. Lance gave her a wink and a grin, then proceeded to spin her around in circles for Chris's benefit before he kissed her cheek and put her down.
Chris followed Lance out into the hall giving him a hard time about the whole thing. That left JC.
"Hey," he smiled at her.
"Hey," she replied.
"You OK?" She didn't answer, just nodded. "Wanna talk?"
"Yeah."
"OK. Tell you what, you need to go back to your hotel to change, right?"
"I don't know, do I?" she glared at him archly.
"Yeah, trust me. I'll ride with you and we can talk then. Chris will understand, don't worry."
JC made the arrangements with Chris.
"Jessamyn, can I pick you up at your hotel in about an hour?" He asked.
"Sure, Christopher, an hour would be fine. Where are we going?"
"Hmm...that's a surprise. Dress comfortably and be prepared to be outside."
"OK." She hugged him. "Thanks for giving me this time with Josh."
"No problem! I figured you would want to talk to him." Chris kissed her cheek, and Josh led her from the room.
"So, spill," Josh ordered as soon as they were alone in the car.
"Joshy, I'm scared."
JC squeezed her hand. "Sweetie, I know you are. To be honest, with everything you have been through, I'd be more surprised if you weren't. But you know what? You don't have to be afraid. Chris is a good guy, honey, and all you have to do is talk to him. Let him know where you're coming from so he can understand." JC saw the refusal in her expression and cut her off before she could express it. "I know that you don't like to talk about it, but I really think he needs to know and I think you need to tell him."
"Why, Josh? Why does he need to know? I don't like knowing. I hate that I had to tell you. I don't even want to think about it ever again." Tears filled her eyes again and threatened to spill out.
"Sweetheart, you may not want to think about it, but in focussing all your energy into not thinking about it, you're thinking about it even more. You need to just talk about it and stop denying that it happened. You need to stop letting it hold power over you like this. Yes, it was shitty and yes it should never have happened, but it happened. I know it's hard and if I could make it all go away, I would."
She patted his hand absently, "I know, Josh, I know." She sighed. "But I just want to put it all behind me and go back to normal. I wish I just wasn't so fucked up and afraid."
"What are you talking about?" JC put a hand under her chin and turned her face so that they were looking eye to eye. "You are one of the most courageous people I know. Who picked up the pieces of her life and moved to an entirely new country? Who got her shit together and got the degree that people told her she couldn't earn? Who has her dream job and is doing a damn fine job at it? It sure as hell isn't me. It's you, baby." He released her face. "You have more gumption than you realize. You have a date with a guy that you've had a crush on for what? Two years? I say, ‘go for it'! Keep on living life fully. Don't give in to that fear. You know that you have to be vulnerable; you've got to be open to the possibility of being hurt, or you can't experience all the great stuff life has to offer. Look, I know that Chris is really sincere in the way he feels about you. He smiles every time your name is mentioned. I know that he will understand how you are feeling if you talk to him about it."
"He really smiles like that?" She grinned.
JC guffawed. "You should see it! He gets this funny look on his face and he's giggly like a school girl. We've been teasing him mercilessly about it."
She laughed. "Thanks, it helps to know that. Josh, how are you with all this? I mean Chris is your friend and all, are you OK with me seeing him?"
He shrugged, "Well, I will admit that I'm jealous of all the time he spends talking to you on the phone and stuff, but I'm cool with it. I've always known that I wouldn't be your number one guy forever. Eventually you will find the right guy and be with him completely, so, it's kinda cool that the guy you're dating is my friend too. You know, the best thing about you and Chris dating is that for once you will be dating a guy who understands our relationship and won't be all panicked because your best friend is a guy."
"I never thought of that. You're right."
They arrived at the hotel. "Josh, can you come up? I have no idea what to wear, and I will pull out everything I brought with me if I'm alone."
"You bet I'll come up. I have to give your date the third degree anyway, that's part of my job."
A short time later, Josh was sitting on the bed in Jess's room. He was idly flipping channels on her television.
"Well, what do you think?"
He looked up at her and smiled. Jess was wearing what looked to be a short denim skirt, a red tank top with a long sleeved white blouse over top. "You look great! But, uh, honey, are you sure you want to wear a skirt?"
"Ah, Josh, that's the beauty of this outfit. It's not a skirt. It's called a scooter." She lifted up the skirt to reveal the shorts that were part of it.
"Oh, very nice. I thought it was odd for you to wear such a short skirt. I like it. Very sexy." He winked.
She smiled. "Thanks, Josh. I really needed your extra boost of confidence today. I wasn't expecting to be going out until Chris came home, so this has kinda thrown me for a loop."
"No worries," he replied. He pat the bed beside him. "Come sit. Relax. Chris will be a few minutes yet."
Jess tried to sit down beside him, but she was too nervous, so she got up and started pacing. JC got off the bed. He forced her to stop pacing and wrapped her in his arms.
"Jess, trust me, honey. You have no reason to be nervous. Just go out and have fun, OK?"
She nodded, "Yeah, Josh. I'll try. Thanks."
"No problem. Hey, do you mind if I crash here for a bit? I could use a break from the other guys."
"Sure. I'll leave you my key. Just leave it at the desk for me."
There was a knock at the door. Jess took a deep breath and opened the door.
"Hello," Chris smiled at her, immediately putting her at her ease.
"Hi, Chris!"
"You look great! Are you ready to go?"
"Yes, let me just get my bag."
She went into the bedroom to get her bag. JC nodded at Chris. "She's fine, just nervous."
Jess came out with her bag on her arm. "Josh, here's my key. Don't trash the place, OK?" She leaned into his hug.
"Have a great time. Call me later, OK?" He kissed her cheek and then released her so that she could take Chris's hand.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Hey there! I've been rewriting this as I'm posting each chapter, so if something seems out of place, let me know (it very well may be!). I hope you are enjoying this. I'm having fun working on it.
Story Tags: celebritysync jc chris
