The Separation
Amelia gazed moodily out over the runways. She didn’t want this, didn’t like it. While JC and the rest of the guys flew back to the States, she was staying behind. Everything was happening just as JC had predicted. She was being torn from his arms.
JC came up behind Amelia and wrapped his arms around her, feeling her willingly lean back into him. Last night, neither of them had slept much. They made love, talked and held each other. The fear and desperation was apparent in every kiss and caress. Leaving her behind would be the hardest thing he had ever done in his life. This was good-bye. When they met again, they would be changed. The dynamics of their relationship would be different.
He buried his face in her hair, nuzzling her neck. “I’m always a phone call away, Ami,” he promised softly.
She merely nodded.
“Anytime. Day or night. If I can’t pick up, I’ll call you as soon as I can.”
Another nod.
“Talk to me, baby girl.”
“And say what? Good-bye?”
Smoothing the hair back from her temple, he murmured against her flesh, “There are lots of other things to say, Ami. I love you…I’ll miss you…I’ll see you as soon as I can…”
Amelia turned in his arms, trying to bury herself against him. “I’m scared. I don’t think I can do this alone.”
And JC didn’t want her to. He wanted to pick her up and carry her home with him. “You gotta try or you’ll never know.”
“What if I can’t, Josh?”
“You know where to find me.”
“You mean that?”
“Yes, I mean it – but you’ll be fine. Maybe what you need is a break from the group, to get your confidence as a solo performer.”
The New York flight was called.
JC smoothed her hair once more, memorizing the feel of it for the lonely nights ahead. “I love you, brown-eyes. We’ll be together when we can.”
“C’mon, ‘C,” Justin called.
JC nodded.
”Good luck, midget.” Justin rumpled Amelia’s hair. “Knock ‘em dead.”
Amelia gave JC the briefest kiss, then pulled away. “Good-bye,” she said quietly, then walked into the crowd of people.
“Ami—“ It wasn’t enough! Not a little kiss and a dry-eyed ‘good-bye’. His insides were shredded and she’d walked away! He had wanted to crush her to him, imprinting her body into his flesh. He’d wanted a hungry, consuming kiss. “Ami!”
“She’s not there, ‘C,” Justin told him as he led his friend to where the rest of them readied to board.
“She just walked away.” JC was numb with disbelief.
“Maybe she didn’t want to crash and burn in front of everybody,” Lance offered.
“Hi! It’s me. Can’t take your call right now. Leave a message!”
JC was tired of leaving messages that went unanswered on Amelia’s cellphone. “Hey, baby, it’s Josh. Doin’ okay, I guess, huh? Call me. Love you.”
He’d been leaving a couple of messages a day. It’d been two weeks and he’d heard nothing back. From Johnny, JC knew that Amelia was quickly becoming Europe’s darling. They loved her. So, did he – but Europe had her – he didn’t.
Joey quickly hid the newspaper when he saw JC approach. It’d been four weeks and still no word from Amelia. The picture in the paper was not something the morose man needed to see!
“JC, did you see Amelia in the paper this morning?” Justin asked innocently enough.
Any mention of Amelia perked JC’s interest. “No, what paper?”
“Joey, had it last.”
Joey tossed a sizzling glare at Justin.
“You got it?” JC demanded.
Irritably, Joey handed the paper over to JC.
JC was hungry for any news of Amelia. Snatching the paper, he looked down at the grainy, black and white picture of Amelia with some tall, dark, distinguished-looking guy – a Lord something-or-other. The man looked entranced by her – and Amelia looked damned good. She didn’t appear haunted or lost without him.
At that moment, his cellphone chimed. He flipped it open. “JC.”
“Josh! Oh, baby, I’m so glad I caught you!” Amelia’s voice came over the connection. She sounded anxious and breathless.
All irritation at her seeming neglect melted. “Hey, Ami.”
“I’m sorry I’ve been out of touch. I lost my cell and the time difference and being so busy—“
“Calm down, baby girl,” he chuckled. Rambling had been her nervous habit.
“I’m sorry. I’ve just…”
“I miss the hell out of you, too.”
“Did you see that dreadful picture today? I’m sorry. About five minutes after that was taken, I threatened to slap the daylights out of him if he didn’t keep his mitts to himself.”
JC laughed. “I love you, too baby.”
”I do, so much, Josh…”
“Thanks for calling, Ami.”
“I was worried about that picture. I didn’t want you to think—“
“That you weren’t still mine?”
“I am. All yours.” She sighed gustily. “I wish you were here or I was there.”
“Either would suit me fine.”
“It’ll be Christmas before I get home.”
That was another month away! “I’ll be waiting for you with open arms.”
”Are you sure? What if you meet someone—“
“That’s not happening, Ami,” he assured her.
“For me either.”
“Then we have a date at my folks for Christmas.”
“I’ll be there – can’t wait!”
“Me, too, Ami. Love you.”
“Love you, too. Gotta go! Bye!”
“Bye.” But he realized she was already off the line.
JC looked to Lance. Irritating as it was, there were still things Lance knew about Amelia JC didn’t. “Lance, does Amelia have a laptop?”
“Don’t think so. She used to borrow mine.”
“She’s gonna have one now.”
Amelia laughed at the note that accompanied her new laptop computer from JC. “IM’s, email, cyber-sex – whatever it takes, Ami. Love, Josh.”
After setting the machine up, she logged on and sent a quick, brief email, since he didn’t appear to be on-line. “Name the time. Let's get it on!”
JC laughed as he read Amelia’s message. The time zones made it difficult to arrange a good time – and at that moment, she had more time constraints than he did.
“Let me know what works for you, baby – I’ll be there,” he fired back.
Blink! A message flashed up for Chazam from Tinidancer.
Tinidancer: “Hiya, baby!”
Chazam: “Hiya! How’re u?”
Tinidancer: “Tired. Lonely. I wanna come home.”
Chazam: “Soon, baby. Can’t wait.”
Tinidancer: “I mean now. I wanna come home now. RIGHT NOW!”
JC frowned at the tone – even through the anonymous IM process it was disturbing.
Chazam: “Can’t do that yet, Ami.”
A yellow smiley face with a frown and a tear flashed up on his screen.
Oh, God, this was not easy! While he tried desperately to find the words to comfort her, the message she had logged off flashed up.
“Ami!”
“How’s Amelia doing?” JC demanded of Johnny when he saw the manager the next day. He had been unable to reconnect with Amelia and he was worried.
Johnny grinned. “She’s fantastic! The crowds eat her up.”
“But how’s Amelia?”
Johnny shrugged. “She doesn’t talk much.”
That wasn’t like JC’s little Ami. If she was having a good time, she would chatter endlessly. If she was full of nervous energy, she would do the same. Whatever she was doing, it was sucking the liveliness from her – and he had shut her down. Disappointed in his lack of understanding, she had closed the connection.
Sitting at his computer, JC carefully worded a message to Amelia.