Meeting His Parents

“Mom, Dad. Meet Gabby. Gabby – my parents.” JC made a quick, panting introduction as he stripped out of his last costume and pulled on jeans and a tee-shirt.

“I am pleased to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Chasez,” Gabby stated politely as she shook their hands.

Karen Chasez studied the girl her son had asked to bring home. JC had never been one to bring casual acquaintances home. This one didn’t seem to be his usual type. She was lovely but in a more soft and classical way.

“So, Gabby, how did you meet, Josh?” Roy Chasez asked.

“We both love jazz music. We met at a jazz club,” Gabby told him.

“And you just decided to pick up and follow him on tour?” Karen asked.

JC stepped up, putting an arm around Gabby. “Hey, Mom, I kidnapped her, because I decided she’d be a fun playmate while I was touring,” he teased.

“Joshua,” his mother scolded.

He flicked a finger at her nose. “That’s what you get for being nosy,” he chuckled. “Let’s go home.”

Karen continued to watch JC with his mysterious new friend. It certainly was a different dynamic than she had seen before. At times he talked down to Gabby – as if she were a slow-witted child. At others, he would seem to adore everything about her. Then he would play the patient protector-father.

“She’s a quiet little thing,” Roy said of Gabby when JC joined his parents at the kitchen table after Gabby had gone to bed.

“That is so not Gabby.” JC grinned. “I don’t think there is a shy bone in her body. I think she’s scared.”

“Scared?” Karen questioned.

“I sprang this on her this afternoon. She had planned to stay at the hotel.”

“Why would she think that?” Roy asked.

“Gabby and I have a . . .” JC reached for a word. “Rather strange sort of relationship.”

“Strange how, Josh?” Karen reached over to pull JC’s fingers from his mouth. “Nervous?”

“When I first saw Gabby, I was blown away by her seemingly worldly cool; but I found out pretty quickly that’s a façade she shows the rest of the world.” JC shook his head. “It’s not an act. She’s from old money, trained in etiquette and protocol. She couldn’t even make Poptarts – never learned to do the day to day stuff we take for granted.”

She didn’t like the sound of this! Karen asked, “Then why isn’t she with her family?”

“Her father decided to marry her off to a guy she hates. So she ran–“

”Right into letting you take care of her,” Karen finished for him.

“It was kinda like that at first. All of us agreed to take her along...”

“But you took care of her.”

JC half-smiled. “She’s come a long way, but I still wouldn’t trust her with my laundry.”

“She’s another taker, Josh,” his mother warned.

“No, Mom. It might look like it, but it’s not. Gabby, in her innocent way, has given it all back. The crowds and the bodyguards and the restrictions of my life don't bother her. That’s everyday crap for her. But she isn’t into the cameras or celebrity. I swear watching a movie in our hotel room is probably her favorite way to spend an evening. And she’s a person I can really talk to. I think I could say just about anything to Gabby and she wouldn’t judge me. She didn’t have a clue who NSYNC was, so she came along as a friend.”

“She isn’t just a friend anymore,” Roy pointed out.

“No, but that came later – and she’d hardly kissed anyone before me. It was so awesome to have a clean slate – no expectations...”

“You aren’t sleeping with her here, so why bring her?”

“I tell her how great family is – and it sounds like a fairytale to her. I wanted to show her that family is love everyday.”

With that statement, Karen relented any negative feelings for the girl. “Poor child.”

“We aren’t together a whole lot. We aren’t about the sex. We care for one another. Gabby accepts me warts and all.”

Both parents knew JC, for all that he was constantly surrounded by people, he had been lonely, trapped in his celebrity. It seemed in this Gabby he had found someone who understood what that meant. The girl eased his loneliness.

Just before he went to bed, JC opened the door of the room Gabby had been given for the night. To his eyes, she looked small and alone in the bed. She was everything he had told his parents she was to him and more.

“JC?” Gabby opened her eyes and saw him in the doorway.

“Sorry if I woke you, princess. Just checking to see if you’re okay,” he told her softly.

“I am fine, mon ami. You are sweet to check.”

“Sleep tight. Night, babe.”

“Bonne nuit.” she sighed and turned over.

Her son never knew she was there, but Karen Chasez had witnessed the exchange. He had said much that night. The one word he hadn’t used was “love.” She wondered if he even realized it was the word he had been searching for to describe his feelings for his little Gabby.

Gabby crept into the bedroom where JC still lay asleep She had showered and dressed for the day before she had ventured into his room. She had left the door half-opened so no one could assume the worst of her. JC looked young, innocent and adorable in sleep. Like his young sons would look when he had children, no doubt. The tumble of curls over his forehead and the dark lashes shuttering his blue eyes were so endearing. Already the fatigue he had worn of late was fading. It must be wonderful to have family to relax you!

As if sensing her presence, JC slowly opened his eyes. Seeing her, he gave her a drowsy smile. “Morning, baby.”

“Bon jour, mon cheri.”

“What are you doing in here?”

“Waking you,” she said impishly.

“You succeeded.” Sitting up against the headboard, he swept a hand towards the bottom of the bed. “Have a seat.”

Kicking off her shoes, she sat cross-legged on the bed. “So...what are the plans for today.”

“I’ll hang here until after lunch then go to the venue.”

“What am I to do?”

“Hang with me.”

“JC, I am certain your parents are lovely people, but I do not much like being forced upon them.”

“No, Gabby, you aren’t being forced on them. They’re interested in my friends.”

“I am hardly that.”

“Yes, you are.”

“Is that a polite way to say your occasional bedmate?”

“No.” He reached out to take one of her delicate hands. “We’re more than that, princess. We care for one another.’

Gabby gave him a soft smile. “So...how do we ‘hang’ with your parents?”

“Eat breakfast, talk, take in some TV, eat lunch, then call for a car.”

“Hopefully, your mother will not press me into kitchen service.”

“Hey, you can make semi-unburnt toast now.”

She smacked his shoulder playfully. “Fiend! I can heat leftovers in one of your microwave ovens.”

“Nuking food is not cooking.”

Gabby sighed. “I am trying, mon cheri.”

“I know you are, baby. You have good instincts. You just weren’t given the opportunity to learn the basics.”

“It was difficult. Kitchen staff. Housekeeping staff. Personal maid. I was lucky I could bathe myself.”

How many times had he found her in tears not knowing how to do something simple? Her frustration level went off the scale some days. What he had first taken as spoiled behavior was the lack of knowledge in all things domestic. It still amazed him how sweet she was despite the fact she could have easily been bitter or snobby. “It takes time,” he assured her.

Gabby merely nodded. “You need to get your shower.”

“I’d drain their hot water if I took one of my regular ones. I’ll take a quick one in a bit.”

JC studied her closely. She was so dammed beautiful this morning – her silky hair flowing over the shoulders of her simple white tee shirt, her pink lips looking like warm velvet, her dove gray eyes soft and earnest. “You don’t know how much I want you at this very moment,” he announced huskily.

“Oui, I do.” Rising to her knees, she moved until she was astride his thighs. “It’s right there in your eyes.”

The way she was straddling his legs certainly didn’t help matters much! “How about a morning kiss?” he asked.

“Since when?” she mocked.

“Since you are so close I can smell your scent. I feel the wonderful heat of you. It makes me crazy.”

“We tend to get carried away,” she reminded him.

“Carry me away, baby...” JC whispered. He put his hands on the back of her neck and pulled her head close.

Gabby reached down and took a hold of a fluffy pillow. Just before their lips touched, she smacked him up side the head with the pillow and scooted away.

“Hey!” he protested. “Two can play at that game, princess!” He grabbed another pillow, bent on revenge.

A pillow fight ensued with both of them laughing and giggling like children.

“All right, you two, settle down,” Roy Chasez told them from the doorway.

Immediately, JC and Gabby dropped their pillows guiltily.

“Josh, we’re waiting breakfast on you.” His mother joined Roy in the doorway.

“Yes, ma’am,” JC answered.

“Gabby, you’re welcome to come down and get some juice while you wait.”

“Merci, Mrs. Chasez,” Gabby said.

The parents moved from the doorway.

“He’s gone over her,” Roy remarked quietly to his wife.

“I’d say it’s mutual. She seems good for him,” Karen added.

JC and Gabby fell into each other’s arms, laughing as they hit the mattress. The kiss she had avoided earlier was mutual and hungry. Their mouths clung as their tongues tasted and mated. Finally, he pulled his head back.

“I didn’t know pillow fights were an aphrodisiac,” he panted.

“Mon cheri, breathing is an aphrodisiac for you,” she teased. “Go take a cold shower while I go drink juice.” She realized Karen’s offer was more of a command.

“Mom doesn’t bite.”

“I have never done this before.”

He sat them up and smoothed her hair tenderly with his big hands. “Just don’t say anything that isn’t true. Keep it real and you’ll have no problems,” he assured her.

Gabby nodded and climbed off the bed to slip on her shoes.

“I love you” were words that nearly passed his lips. It startled him. Is that how he truly felt? “Gabby?”

She turned at the door. “Oui?”

“I....” JC found he couldn’t say the words, as he grasped for different ones. “I told Mom you aren’t exactly a domestic goddess.”

She laughed. “Are you trying to rescue yourself – or your parents?”

He grinned. “Maybe both.”

“Oh, go take your shower, you beast!” she quipped, then swept out of the room.

Karen pressed a glass of orange juice in Gabby’s hand, then set her at the table.

“It’s nice to meet Josh’s friends.” Karen announced.

“It was good of you to allow me to stay since you had as much notice as I had.”

“He told us you are estranged from your family. That must be difficult.”

“Family simply means of the same blood. It is not as this family is. I am to obey without question.”

“What will you do?”

“If I can avoid being found, I should like to attend college. I speak several languages. I could be an interpreter.”

“If they find you?”

“I would be forced to return home. My father would think nothing of having me kidnapped and held prisoner.”

“Heavens!”

“If you knew my father, you would not be shocked.”

“What about your mother?”

“I hardly remember her. She had little to do with her children. She killed herself when I was twelve.”

“Poor child!” Karen exclaimed. A tyrant for a father and no mother! “Well, if you ever need mothering, you just call me.”

“That is very generous of you, Mrs. Chasez, but I am not certain what mothering is.”

“You make Josh happy – and that is a rarity in itself. It’s my way of saying thank you.”

“Thank you for what?” JC asked when he entered the kitchen.

“For putting up with you!” Karen teased.

He chuckled. “Gee, thanks, Mom.” JC lowered his head to Gabby’s for a brief kiss. “Morning, princess.”

Gabby’s eyes shot to his mother. “JC!”

“Baby, I didn’t give you a tonsillectomy,” he chided her as he sat down. “Just a little kiss.”

Karen smiled at Gabby. “It’s all right. With two handsome sons, I’ve seen worse.”

“I–I suppose I am old fashioned in many ways,” Gabby murmured.

“I think it’s a lovely way to be. It’s respectful,” Karen said. “What would you like for breakfast?”

“Anything Gabby doesn’t make,” JC teased.

“Mister Chasez, you are about this far...” Gabby held her thumb and index finger an inch apart, “from receiving a good thrashing,” she growled.

JC grinned at his mother. “When she gets mad, she goes all European on me. It’s cute.”

“Joshua!” Gabby had really had quite enough.

His eyes snapped back to her face. She had never used his full name before. It caused a pleasant tingling in his gut. Taking her hand, he pressed her fingertips to his lips. “I wish you’d call me that more often – please,” he said softly.

Gabby was left speechless by his tender request – arrested by the plea and longing in his eyes.

“Pancakes, anyone?” Karen asked brightly to break the heavy emotion that held the couple spellbound.

JC was the first to recover. “Where’s Dad?”

“He had to go, but he should be back for lunch.”

“Pancakes sound great, Mom.”

“I have never had pancakes,” Gabby stated.

“They’re like overweight crepes,” JC explained.

“I know what they are...” Something about JC was making her irritable, so Gabby refrained from further comment. “I should like to try them, Mrs. Chasez.”

“Josh, you get out the syrup and set the table,” Karen commanded.

“Sure thing, Mom.” JC rose from the table.

“I realize I am a poor excuse for a cook, but might I help?” Gabby inquired.

“You’re a guest. Guests just sit back and relax,” Karen assured her.

“You come back for a visit any time.” JC’s father gave Gabby a brief hug as the younger couple prepared to leave.

“Merci, sir.”

Roy smiled at JC. “Can’t fault this on in the manners department.”

JC grinned at Gabby. “No, you can’t.”

“Thank you for inviting me into your home, Mrs. Chasez,” Gabby said to Karen.

“You’re welcome – and don’t be a stranger. You are welcome here with or without Josh.”

Gabby was stunned by the open invitation. “I–uh–I...Merci beaucoup.”

JC claimed her in the crook of his arm, already having said his farewells. “C’mon, baby, the driver’s gonna get impatient.”

He assisted Gabby into the limo before climbing in himself. Noticing the opaque window was up between them and the driver, he grinned at her. “C’mere. I want to taste you.” He pulled her onto his lap, then lowered his mouth hungrily over hers.

Gabby arched her body into his. She was starved for him.

“Baby, it’s been so long... We gotta get us some alone time,” he murmured against her neck. “Please, baby...”

“It won’t happen soon,” she whispered, pulling her head back.

“I need you, princess.”

“I doubt very much you need me. You may want me terribly–“

His mouth crashed down on hers as he shifted to press her back flat on the wide seat. Coming over her, he rubbed his arousal against her stomach. “That’s need, baby.”

“That is a boner,” she corrected, pushing him away to sit up. “You once accused me for wanting you for a ‘booty call’ as you so charmingly put it. That is not how it has been, has it, JC?" The sound of little girl hurt in her voice was not lost on JC.

He sat up to face her. “What did I do wrong?”

“Perhaps I am oversensitive, but you seemed to make a joke of me this morning.”

“I did? Baby, I didn’t mean to. I wouldn’t hurt you for the world!” He stroked her cheek. “If I was teasing you too much, I’m sorry, princess. I wouldn’t deliberately upset you.” He put his arms around her and cuddled her close. “You’re my little princess.”

Gabby sighed in surrender and melted against him.

“In a couple of days, we’ll have back to back shows again. Stay with me then.”

“JC–“

”Josh.” He insisted. “I like it when you use my name.”

“Josh. We truly should stop this before it goes farther.”

He shook his head stubbornly. “It can go a lot farther – and we really have no say.”

“We do. We can stop this insanity by staying apart—“

”I can’t do that, Gabs.”

“You will be hurt.”

“It’s all part of caring – didn’t you know that?”

“Non.”

“Mr. Chasez, we’re here,” the driver announced over the speaker.

JC’s security was waiting for them to get out. “We’ll discuss this later,” he told Gabby as he took her hand to exit the car.

Gabby had made herself scarce, so that after the performance, JC couldn’t locate her in the chaos backstage. Frustrated, he climbed aboard the bus he shared with Justin and Chris.

“The princess got away, eh?” Justin taunted as JC flopped down on a seat.

“She knew I wanted to talk to her.”

“It’s possible she didn’t want to talk to you,” Chris pointed out.

“Dude, my parents are even crazy about her. I’ve never brought anyone home where she got whole-hearted approval. Only Gabby.”

“Yeah, well, have you ever told her how you feel?” Chris asked.

“I don’t even know how I feel.”

“Then leave her alone until you figure it out. It’s not fair to play her along.”

“I’m not playing Gabby…” JC protested.

“C, you’ve got a monumentally shitty track record with girls,” Justin reminded him. “This one deserves better. And maybe you’re in no place to give her what she deserves.”

“I deserve Gabby.”

“Why?” Justin demanded. “Cuz you’re the first one she talked to at the club? Because you play Big Daddy to her? Or is it because you were the first guy to lay her down? Tell me, JC, which is it?”

“None of the above. Gabby and I have this connection...” Instead of trying to explain the unexplainable, JC got up and went down the passageway to his bunk.

It was the wee hours of the morning when the buses reached the hotel. JC got off immediately and went to the other bus. Brooking no argument, he went to where Gabby slept and scooped her up in his arms. He smiled when he saw she wore one of his confiscated tee shirts with the cotton pants she wore as bus pajamas.

Gabby woke slightly when he left the bus with her. “Chere, where are we?” she mumbled.

“Hotel. Go back to sleep, baby. I’ll take care of you.”

“Oui.” She closed her eyes and put her head against his shoulder.

Only moments later, he was placing her on his wide bed.

“Mmm...” she purred as she snuggled her face in the pillow.

JC kicked off his flip-flops and joined her beneath the covers. He wanted to hold her, make love to her, but they needed to talk first.

“Josh, why are you awake?” she asked drowsily.

“Too wound up.”

“Come here, mon cheri.” She held her arms out to him.

Going to her, he let her decide on the embrace. She settled his head against her soft breasts, soothingly stroking his hair, neck, and back.

“Better?” she asked.

“Yeah, baby.”

“Will you be able to sleep?”

“I should.”

“Bon, sweet dreams.”

“You too, princess.”

Gabby woke with JC resting against her. This was a switch. Usually, she was the one being sheltered in his arms. She vaguely remembered him carrying her from the bus and putting her in bed. He had been restless. She had held him to soothe him.

Perhaps JC was right. Trying to stop their relationship at this point would not avoid pain – she already loved him. She laid her cheek in his hair. He was beautiful and so precious at that very moment – she was glad he slept on. The words might slip from her lips before she could stop them. So far, she had let it seem like lust. How soon would it be before he could read it in her eyes?

Sighing inwardly, she eased JC’s head to a pillow and slipped out of bed. Lance would be awake so she could prepare for the day ahead with a shower and fresh clothes. Soundlessly, she left the room.

JC woke alone – but he hadn’t slept alone. Gabby had been with him. Her scent still clung to the pillow. His princess was running for some reason – a reason he needed to know.