Misunderstood Hearts
Spring woke with a start, disoriented for a second. Spotting Sammy using JC as a lounger as he played the little hand-held game, she could scarcely believe she had fallen asleep, leaving her son in the man’s care. JC was little more than a stranger, albeit an intimate stranger... “Oh, my! JC, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have drifted off...” she apologized, flustered and embarrassed.
“Why not? You looked exhausted,” JC said.
“Sammy isn’t your responsibility—”
JC’s eyes told her what words had not. Sammy was his son thus his responsibility.
Something akin to panic shuttered in Spring’s chest. JC had money. What if he decided to sue for custody? After all, she had knowingly kept the knowledge of the child from his father for more than seven years. He could make it look like a vengeful plot...
JC reached out to stroke Spring’s silky, chin-length hair. “Relax, honey. You’re wasting a lot of worry and energy for nothing.” He had seen the mental acrobatics her mind was doing in her expressive eyes.
Sammy interrupted his mother’s anxiety attack. “Mom, I’m tired,” he announced, rubbing his eyes.
Relinquishing her blanket, she made a lumpy mattress of their luggage. “Climb aboard. Bring your pillow and blanket and get some rest, sweetie.”
Without argument, Sammy did just that, letting his mother tuck the blanket around him snuggly.
“Sleep tight,” she whispered.
“And don’t let the bed bugs bite,” Sammy responded on a yawn.
For a long moment, Spring watched her little boy, making certain he’d found peaceful sleep.
“You’ve done a beautiful job,” JC remarked quietly, drawing her attention to him once more.
She managed a small smile. “The credit goes to Sammy. He’s never any trouble.”
“He got that from you then. I was a handful.”
She turned to see his rueful expression. “I remember you saying something to that effect once.”
“Most things I said I only said once,” he reminded her. “I planned on a lot more.”
This surprised her. “You never asked me to stay.”
“You never gave me the chance. I woke up and you were gone.”
“You were going to Pennsylvania—”
“And had every intention of taking you with me.”
Shaking her head, she murmured, “Guess I was too young and inexperienced to know.”
He was willing to shoulder his share of the blame. “I was too young and busy to realize you needed the words.”
“I didn’t want to be a groupie, following you, being a convenient body.”
“I’m sorry if you felt that's what I expected.”
“We were only twenty-three...”
Easing an arm around her, he wrapped her in his blanket, tucking her against his side. “So tell me about Samuel Joshua Tanner.”
“He’s a first grader. He does well in school. His favorite subjects are reading and music. He sings like an angel.” What she hadn’t added was that blood did tell. In so many ways Sammy was more a child of his father than his mother.
“He seems like a good kid.”
“He is.”
Taking a deep breath, JC committed himself to the future. “Spring, I want a chance to know Sammy.”
The mother started, jerking away in fear.
“Easy, honey,” JC soothed. “I’m not saying I’m gonna take him. You’re his mother; you’re who he knows. I’m asking for time with him. I want to be his father, but only after he knows me.”
“Joint custody?” she asked suspiciously.
“I’m not even thinking that far ahead. I have no intention of taking him from you, if that’s what you’re afraid of. Sammy belongs with you. I just wanna be a part of his life, too.”
In her heart of hearts, Spring knew this would be her son’s wish, too. He wanted a father – No, Sammy longed for a father, a family. But could she bear to have JC around and not let him see how much she still cared for him? No matter how brief their time together all those years ago, she had fallen in love with JC. She had loved him, still loved him. Bearing his child had tied her heart to JC Chasez forever.
* * *
JC came off the stage whipping off the over-shirt of his silver costume. He accepted the towel thrown his way and wiped his face, neck, and arms. Playfully he tossed it at the camera attempting to follow him. He actually didn’t want anyone filming Spring, much less catching him backing her into a dark corner for a long kiss.
“You’re all sweaty and hot!” she complained jokingly, giggling as he pressed his face against her neck, wrapping her in his tight embrace.
He laughed, wiggling his eyebrows at her in an attempt to look wicked, which he did not pull off well to her way of thinking. “Hot and sweaty happens to be our theme for the night.”
She gave him a look of confusion, of false ignorance. “Okay, I thought that meant naked, horizontal and alone with no audience.” She shrugged and grabbed the hem of her shirt. “But I’m adaptable.”
“Spring!” JC protested, pushing her hands away. Grinning, he pulled her hips to his, letting her feel his arousal. “I did mean a tango for two, honey. You, me and that big ole bed.” His voice dropped to a husky, seductive octave. “Slow, sweet, all night long.”
“I like the sound of that.” She nuzzled his throat. Virgin or no she couldn’t think of anywhere she’d rather be, anyone she’d rather be with, than making love with JC all night.
Their kiss was soft, full of promise.
“Geeze, rent a room,” Joey taunted as he went by. “Oh, that’s right! You got a room. Go to your room!”
“Next time, she is not standing where you can see her,” Chris stated. “You had a woody the whole freakin’ time. You aren’t doin’ that in front of my people!”
“You own PA?” JC responded.
”No, but my relatives will be there. Kids will be there!”
Spring thought Chris had a point. With every costume change she noticed JC’s—um—endowment. She didn’t know a lot about men, with the exception of the Space Cowboy pants, all the pants had been fairly loose, and JC was literally up front. The Just Got Paid and Space Cowboy pants he had been obviously showing. During Bye Bye Bye she feared he was going to lose them. Though he’d made the adjust and pull maneuver look like a dance move... The winks, smiles and little waves they’d exchanged evidently made JC happy. She didn’t want to blurt out that JC hadn’t invited her to their next destination, so he had no worries. Wisely she kept quiet.
“You can’t blame that on Spring,” JC protested.
“I’m not. I’m blaming it on your suddenly teenage hormones,” Chris groused as he walked away.
Spring giggled.
“What’re you laughin’ at?” JC demanded. “It ain’t easy to dancing with a hard-on.”
Not knowing whether he was seriously irritated or not, she lifted on her toes to kiss him. “Take me to your room and I’ll make it up to you,” she whispered.
“Oh, yeah...”
It was hard for him to keep reminding himself Spring was a virgin. She answered his kisses with an answering fervor. The instant the door closed to his room, they were on each other, hands and mouths reaching and seeking. He was glad she wasn’t a timid little thing, but, damn, a little reticence on her part would go a long way in slowing him down.
“God, baby, this is going way too fast,” he panted as she stripped him of his black wife-beater.
“You don’t want me?” Spring asked as he tugged her tee-shirt over her head, dropping it to the floor.
“Not want you?” He waved at the front of his jeans. The zipper was ready to split. “I can’t remember ever being this hard!” He sounded frustrated at his uncomfortable situation. The fact her soft hands were all over his chest and ribs were not helping matters.
“I want you, too,” she assured him.
“I promised you slow and sweet. If we keep at it like this, I can’t keep that promise,” he told her.
The answer seemed apparent to her. “We can do the slow way next time.”
A growl rumbled in his throat. Was she really that obtuse? “You’re a virgin, dammit!” He ripped open his jeans. Kicking off his shoes, he shoved the jean, shorts and socks off in one efficient move. “This,” he muttered pointing to his very prominent, heavy erection, “is big. You,” he pointed to her thighs, “are small. It’s gonna hurt. If I just slam into you, it’s gonna really hurt.”
It took everything she had not to laugh at his serious expression. He sounded like a stern adult telling her the mechanics of sex like she’d never heard it before. She was forced to bite her lips together to keep the laughter from bubbling out. If she hadn’t loved him before, she did now. Quietly she said, “I have a fairly good grasp of the situation, darling. But I’ve waited a long time for you, too. I don’t want to wait any longer.”
Her confession had JC reeling. She loved him. It was there in her eyes. A slow, tender smile took over his face as he gently brought her against him. “Spring,” he whispered, “was this our first fight?”
First fight? Since when was he thinking beyond tomorrow? “I don’t want to fight. I want us to make love.”
“Then come on.” Sweeping her up, he carried her to the bed, placing her carefully on the mattress before he followed her down.
“One of us is over dressed – and I’m pretty sure it’s me.”
“We’ll get there, honey.” He dropped soft kisses over her face and throat. Despite the fact she buried her hands in his hair, trying to urge his lips to hers, he refused to be rushed.
“JC...”
Love mattered. Initiating the one you loved was a gift. A solemn trust. Spring was only going to have one lover in her life – and her lover wanted the first time to be one of joy and bliss, not painful, sweaty tangle.