"Thanks guys, but I'll be fine."  Kate reassured Joey and Lance before opening the door to the hotel room she shared with JC.

   She found him sitting outside on the balcony with a cloud of smoke rising above his head.  Without a word, she sat down in the seat next to him and watched as he smoked puffs of the white joint.  He handed it to her and she took a few puffs before relaxing. 

   Smoking pot was a habit that he had unwillingly gotten her into.  When she first tried it, he was so far gone that it would have been a miracle if he had stopped her.  Throughout the months after that, they got in many fights about her smoking.  He finally came to terms that he would have to stop smoking if he ever wanted her to stop.

   "I'm sorry about the whole credit card thing."  He began to explain.  "The card I gave you didn't have a huge limit on it.  I meant to give you the one that did."

   She simply nodded, accepting his apology.  She was thankful that he was high because it minimized the situation.

   The two sat in silence on the balcony for a while, smoking a few joints.

   "You wanna go in and do some shots?"  JC purposed.

   "Are you really that stressed?"  It wasn't like him to smoke and drink this early in the day.

   He shrugged.  "This tour is riding my ass."  He led them inside where he poured out the shots.  Kate was only able to stomach two shots and then had to stop JC on his fifth.

   "I don't want to have to clean up after you on my birthday again."

   "Are you ever going to let me forget that?"

   "Nope." 

   "Dance with me."  He randomly requested.

   A shocked laugh escaped her lips.  "What?  No, you're drunk."

   "I'm not drunk."  He spoke honestly.  She gave him a skeptical grin.  "Dance with me."   

   Kate accepted his outstretched hand and he led her to the middle of the living room.  Jazz music sounded through the speakers as JC began humming along with the notes.

   "Sing to me."  She whispered.

   Words of love poured out his mouth and into her ears.  When he sang to her and only her, it made her feel special.  She knew that he would always care about her, but something in the sound of his voice when he sang to her changed all the stakes.

   He cradled her body gently in his arms, swaying her back and forward.  His hands rubbed small circles across her back.  Kate felt swept away in the moment.  She knew something was different, but she didn't want to stop it in fear of the feeling going away.

   JC pulled back slightly and looked into the eyes of his best friend.  She knew him better than anyone else and stood by him through everything.  His head moved down closer to hers and suddenly his stomach began flipping, but it was too late to stop it.  His lips softly danced on hers.  His stomach settled once he realized she was kissing him back.

   Kate closed her eyes and enjoyed the moment, until JC quickly pulled back.  His body turned away from hers in embarrassment.

   "Josh..."  She reached out and softly touched his arm.

   "I'm so sorry, Kate."  He turned back around with guilt in his eyes.  "I don't know what that was about.  I'm so sorry."

   She was confused.  She thought that he was enjoying the kiss as much as she was.  "Did I do something wrong?"

   "No, no, you were...well, you were great...but," he looked at her standing in front of him and knew that things would never be the same between them.  "Oh, fuck it."

   Kate was taken off guard by the forcefulness of his kiss, but she accepted it, nonetheless.  This kiss was filled with confidence and passion.  Their lips eagerly moved against each other while Kate took the initiative and ran her hands up his shirt.

   He had felt the touch of her hand on his bare skin before, but never with this much intensity attached.  He allowed her to left his shirt over his head as he moved her to the couch.  He lay on top of her, breathing heavy from all of the excitement.

   She felt his hand brush over her breast and she knew that she had never wanted anyone as much as she wanted him right then.  He took her shirt off effortlessly, only breaking their kiss for a moment.  He took a second to view her body in this new light.

   His moist lips kissed softly along her stomach, making its way up to her plump breast.

   "Kate, are you sure you want to do this?"  A look of concern was in his eyes.

   She propped herself up on her elbows.  "I've never been more sure in my life."

   "It's going to change everything."

   "Good."

   This time when JC went in to kiss her, it was much softer and slower.  He wanted her to know how much he cared and that he wasn't like those other guys in her life who only wanted to take advantage of her.  He smiled when he noticed the goose bumps on her skin after he would touch a spot.

   He slid her strawberry red bra off and gently massaged her breasts.  He grinned in satisfaction when her back arched up toward him, pressing firmly on his own excitement.

   A loud knock sounded through the room.

   Kate sat up and stared at JC.  "Who's that?"

   He glanced at his watch.  "Shit."

   "What's going on, Josh?"  She watched him race around the room, looking for their clothes. 

   "Get dressed."  He threw her shirt and bra in her face.

   "Joshua!  What the fuck is going on?" 

   "Your birthday present.  It's the guys with your birthday present."

   Kate could tell that their little make out session left him confused with the way his words were jumbled up.  "I thought you guys already got me a present."  She laughed, trying to make light of the situation.

   "Shut up and act happy."  JC opened the door following another loud knock.

   Justin stood on the other side of the door with a questioning look.  "What took so long to answer the door?"

   "Oh, I was in the bathroom and Kate was on the deck."  He lied.

   "I heard a lot of movement."

   JC shrugged.

   "Well, are you two ready?  The guys are waiting in the car."  Justin ignored the questions in his mind.

   JC glanced behind his shoulder at Kate who sat on the back of the couch, oblivious to the fact that her hair was a mess and her make up was a bit smeared.  "Uh, give us a second."  He shut the door on Justin without thinking.

   "Go freshen up."  He pushed her to the bathroom.  "I'll be in the hall."

   Before he had a chance to turn around, Kate took hold of his arm.  "Josh, please don't freak out on me."

   "I'm not-" he quickly spat out.  "I'm not."

   She felt a bit more reassured when his second answer was calmer.  She stood on her toes and kissed his lips sweetly.  "If you're not okay with this, then I'm not okay with it."

   "I am.  I promise."  He kissed her cheek.  "I'll meet you in the hall."

   After Kate straightened up and changed outfits, she joined JC and Justin and the three of them met up with the rest of the guys.

   "JC, why do you always have to be late for things?  We told you not to be late."  Lance scolded.

   He shook his head and simply apologized.  His mind drifted back to the reason he was late and it took all his might to keep his arousal from showing. 

   He secretly watched Kate sitting in the front seat.  She was staring out the tinted window, but every once and awhile she would turn to her left and have a conversation with Lonnie.  When she spoke, she was so animated that she drew the listener into every drop of word she was saying.  He wondered, though, if this was something that he just now noticed or if it was how she always was.  He chose the later option, knowing that Kate always stuck to her true self, while he on the other hand was blind in life.

   When the car pulled into the near empty parking lot, Kate was still as confused as ever.

   "Can somebody please tell me what's going on?"  She turned to the guys in the back.  They all shook their heads no and she swiveled back around with a slight pout.

   Lonnie finally stopped the car and everyone got out.  She followed them in the building and then down a long, narrow hallway that eventually led them outside.

   She was still a bit confused as she stared at the racecar track in front of her.  But when her all time favorite driver, Jeff Gordon appeared in front of her, she was truly at a loss of words.

   "Hi Kate, I'm Jeff Gordon."  He politely extended his hand and she aimlessly shook it.

   "I-I-I..."  She let out a nervous laugh.

   Everyone snickered at her star struck ways.  They weren't used to seeing Kate like this.  "Happy birthday, Kate."  Jeff finally spoke.

   "I'm Kate."  She breathlessly nodded causing the guys to laugh even harder.  She snapped out of the state she was in and realized what was going on.  Her hand swung back to hit the nearest person, which happened to be Joey.  "Stop laughing.  It's Jeff Gordon!"

   "We know, Kate."  Justin leaned in close to her ear.  "And you'll be racing him."

   "What?"  Her eyes popped out of her head.  "You have gotta be kidding me."

   Jeff gently grabbed her arm and led her away from the guys.  "No one's kidding.  Now let's get you suited up."

   Kate prayed that the time on the track would slowly go by, but before she knew it, the time was up.  In her custom-made suite, she drove a few laps around the track, following one of the best racecar drivers.  The guys stood in the pit and cheered her on while taking pictures of this special moment.

   "That was amazing!  You guys are unbelievable!"  Kate bounced as they walked up to the hotel.  Ever since she got off the track, she had been nonstop energy.

   "We're glad you liked it."  They all laughed at her energy.

   "So, Jace, you and Kate wanna come over and watch the match?"  Justin asked when they got off the elevator.

   JC looked down at Kate and she took that as a cue to say something.  "I think I'm a bit tired, but if you wanna go, that's fine."

   He wasn't sure if he was the only one who heard the hint of sexual eagerness in her voice.  Or maybe he just wanted her so bad that he was imagining things.  "Uh, yea.  I think I'm gonna call it a night.  I need to catch up on sleep."

   "You sure?"  Justin asked.  He thought it was strange for JC to pass up a boxing match.  He was usually the first one there making bets.

   "Yea, I'll see you guys in the morning."  He waved goodbye and followed Kate into the room.

   "Thank you for making my birthday so wonderful."  Kate softly spoke as she slipped her shoes off.  "I can't wait to drive my new car.  But why did you get me a car, Josh?  Isn't that a bit much?"

   "I told you, I wanted to do something special for you because of everything that you do for me."  He explained again.

   She shook her head in confusion.  "But I've never done anything to the extent of buying you a car."

   "No...  But you are always there for me.  You put up with who I am and the baggage I tote along with me.  I know that can be frustrating and very difficult at times.  All that is worth more than a car to me."  He spoke from his heart.

   She genuinely smiled and walked up to him.  "Hey Josh..."

   "Hey Kate..."

   She leaned into him and he naturally wrapped his arms around her.  "Can we finish what we started earlier today?"

   A smile danced on his face in response to her quiet words.  He didn't want to sound too eager, so he asked, "don't you want dinner first?"

   Kate held his face and knew that he wanted the same thing she did.  "We can call room service later.  I'm not really hungry for food at the moment."

   He gave up on resisting the urge and kissed her soft lips.  "Me either."  He said in between kisses.

   JC pushed her toward the bedroom and onto the bed.  He kneeled over her and took his shirt off before going down to kiss her.  He took her lips in slowly, enjoying each taste.  His body nearly collapsed when he felt her tongue inch its way into his mouth.

   Hesitant at first, Kate reached out to run her hand along his erection through the material of his jeans.  This was all something that she had never done before with him, yet she felt comfortable with the situation.  She wasn't going to lie though, in the past, she had imagined what it would be like to be with JC, but her mind always convinced her that she was crazy.

   He moaned slightly in her ear as she rubbed harder, feeling his cock grow stronger.  She teased with the button on his jeans until it released its grip.  After unzipping his pants, he slid them off, leaving him in his boxer-briefs.

   He was thankful that her clothes would be simple to slip off as he untied her halter-top from her neck and around her back.  Once they were both stripped naked, JC gently carried her to the top of the bed.  He sucked on her jaw line and down her neck, leaving her with chills running up and down her spine.  His hand reached down to the wetness between her legs.  Never once had he been so satisfied knowing that he had gotten a girl wet.

   Kate raised her hips to press his finger deeper inside.  He felt her squeezes and only wished to feel those squeezes around his erection. 

   JC lifted his upper body off her and prepared to enter. 

   "Josh, wait."

   He threw his head down in defeat.  "Yea?"

   "I-I-I just...uh.  I-"

   "You don't want this."  He whispered.  He was trying not to get frustrated with her.

   "No, it's not that."  She ran her hand down the back of his neck.  "I'm not sure if I want things to change."

   He brought his head up and stared into her eyes, trying to read her true emotions.  "Things are going to change, Kate.  We've already crossed the line and we can't go back."

   "I know."  Although her eyes were clear, JC could hear the tears in her voice. 

   "Do you trust me?"  She nodded.  "Good.  You know how much I already care about you.  Let me show you now."