Doing the Video
The gods were laughing at her, Amelia decided.
If she had known she would be dancing seductively with the likes of JC Chasez, she might have skipped this gig. For this part of the video, she was supposed to straddle his thigh and grind provocatively against him. Damn! Why hadn’t she changed? Dressed in her leotard, the rough fabric of his jeans rubbed intimately between her thighs – the flimsy fabric was little barrier between them.
The scene called for them to gaze hungrily into each other’s eyes. They were supposed to both want this intimacy. When she met his hot blue eyes, Amelia wanted nothing more than to surrender to whatever JC wanted. She felt his hand at her back, pulling her near. He lowered his body a little, bringing himself closer, to rub more intimately against her.
This was her latest hell on earth!
“Great!” the director shouted to stop the scene. “Fantastic heat. Exactly what we were looking for.”
Amelia began to scoot away, but JC prevented her from going far, his hand on her arm.
“Walk in front of me,” he commanded for her ears only.
Her wide-eyed gaze dropped to the baggy jeans he wore. He was obviously aroused!
“That’s what happens when a girl humps your leg,” he growled.
“But I—“
“Save it. Just do as I say.”
Amelia did his bidding until they reached the dimly lit area of the set behind the cameras.
JC couldn’t remember being this turned on by a stranger before. He ached to grab little Amelia Parker, shove her up against any convenient wall and bury himself in her tight, hot body until they were both satisfied. She couldn’t be what ? Twenty-three? And still be as innocent as her big, dark eyes kept saying she was. Then maybe he’d find a horizontal place and do it again – only this time slow, until she begged him for release.
He watched as Amelia’s chin went up a proud notch.
How dare he blame her for him getting hot and bothered? She was the one with the damp panties and a head filled with hot fantasies that would never come true!
“JC, you ready for the group rehearsal?” the director’s voice broke into JC’s hot visual.
“Yeah. Sure.”
Justin grinned when he noticed JC had yet to make a full recovery. “So, little Amelia made a big man out of you,” he taunted when JC took his place in the group dance formation.
“Shut-up,” JC stated succinctly.
“She sure is a sweet little thing.”
“Hadn’t noticed.”
“The crotch monster did.”
“Drop it, J’.”
JC looked up to see Lance speaking with Amelia. Something the other man said encouraged her to smile – and that irritated him more than he could fathom. “Last time I looked you were in this sequence,” he called to Lance.
Lance patted Amelia’s shoulder, then came towards the others.
“Jesus, JC, don’t get mad at the world because grinding with Amelia gave you a woody,” Justin grumbled.
“What’d you say to upset Amelia?” Lance demanded as he took his spot.
“Nothing,” JC murmured.
“You must’ve—“
“He’s just mad, because he had a ‘chemical reaction’ to Amelia riding his leg,” Justin quipped.
Lance nodded, embarrassed for both JC and Amelia. “I’m afraid I would, too.”
And for some inexplicable reason that annoyed JC even more.
JC had never known anyone who drove herself harder than Amelia – except himself. Still as driven as she was, she still had time to be pleasant with everyone around her – even if they were less than polite to her. She was sensitive to the feelings of people around her.
Lance seemed to have a major crush on her. She was kind but not encouraging.
When Joey flirted with her, she merely laughed and rolled her eyes.
Amelia and Chris traded short jokes.
Justin called her ‘midget’, to which she threatened to kick him in the shins – if she could reach them! They shared this on-going comedy.
The only one she seemed not to be comfortable with was JC and that bothered him some. For such a seemingly open woman, she seemed to share nothing with him except their passion for music.
“She even writes songs,” Lance was telling the others over lunch one day. “The girl’s talents just don’t end.”
“She writes, too?” JC was impressed. The sad truth was everything about Amelia Parker impressed and drew him like a moth to a flame, but she was cool and polite to him.
“Why don’t you cut her some slack, ‘C?” Justin asked.
“What do you mean?”
“You hardly ever talk to her. She thinks you don’t like her.”
How did one talk to a goddess? “I like her fine. I thought she didn’t like me.”
Chris nodded wisely. “Which means you both like each other way too much.”
“What do you mean?” Joey asked.
“They’re scared of what they feel for each other, so they avoid each other.”
“I’m not scared of Amelia!” JC protested.
“Face it, JC, you’ve never met anyone like her. Brains. Beauty. Talent. And every inch lady to boot.”
He had to agree there. Amelia was unique.
“It’s not as if you have to fall in love with her or anything,” Lance was quick to assure his friend. “Just don’t frown at her all the time.”
“I do not!”
“You do,” Joey confirmed.
“I do?”
“Your face wouldn’t break if tried smiling at her would it?” Justin asked.
“Okay. I’ll make a conscious effort not to frown at Amelia,” JC promised.
The subject of their conversation entered the room. “Hi, fellas!”
Lance immediately pulled a chair up for her between himself and JC. Reluctantly, she took it.
“We ready to film tomorrow?” she asked. Rehearsals had been a special kind of hell for her. Grinding with a taciturn JC had not been easy. There was sexual tension a plenty. He just didn’t seem too pleased with her presence at all. She wanted to know why he disliked her so much.
“Did you get permission to change the outfit?” Lance asked, knowing Amelia had objected to the brevity of the outfit she wore when she danced with JC.
“The short skirt is now pants and we settled on a baby tee.” Riding JC’s leg in a short skirt had not been her idea a good time. Especially when he wasn’t able to hide his obvious physical condition.
“I take it you aren’t a club girl,” Joey laughed.
“No, I’m not. Never been to one.”
“You’re doing a video, playing a club girl and you’ve never been to one?” Joey said, “That’s not right.”
“I’ve never jumped off a bridge, but I’m pretty sure it would hurt when I hit the ground,” she quipped.
Lance gave her a gentle smile. “If you want to go, I could take you,” he offered.
“That’s nice of you, Lance, but I don’t think that’s my scene.”
“Ah, c’mon, Amelia,” Justin urged. “We’ll all go. It’ll be cool.”
“Yeah, why not?” Joey asked. “It’ll be like going with five brothers.”
“Five brothers?”
Only Amelia didn’t look at JC, waiting to add his encouragement.
“Five brothers,” JC muttered.
“One girl and five guys? That’s not happening,” Amelia announced.
“Why not?” JC demanded. “We wouldn’t let anything happen to you.”
Her eyes went wide with surprise. “I hadn’t thought you would,” she assured him.
“Then what’s your problem?” he challenged.
The others sat back and watched the sparks fly. JC and Amelia had never had any interaction beyond ‘good-morning’s’.
“My problem, Mr. Chasez: One – the only grinding I’ve done has been to get ready for the camera. Two – I don’t drink. Three – I prefer to go to bed at a decent hour because I respect my body and myself. And four—“
“Whoa!” JC laughed and shook his head. “I think we get the idea.”
Amelia looked a little sheepish. “I used to get called Goodie-Two Shoes.”
“Don’t drink, don’t smoke. What do you do?” Chris repeated to the old Adam Ant song.
“Nothin’ wrong with that,” JC told her quietly.
“Would you like to tell that to most the rest of the world?” she sighed. She’s lost her last serious boyfriend because of her, what he called, ‘good-girl’ attitude.
“Who do you need me to tell?”
Amelia shook her head. “Like it would make any difference now.”
JC realized someone had hurt her when she held her ground. “His loss,” he assured her.
She gave him a shy smile. “I hope he realizes it.”
“If he doesn’t, he’s an idiot.”
“Thanks.”
The others were practically staring. Chris had been right – And they wondered how long it would take JC and Amelia to realize it.
“Well, I’ve got to get to wardrobe.” Amelia rose.
Lance got to his feet. “I’ll walk with you.”
Giving him a sweet smile, she said, “Okay. Thanks.”
“He still doesn’t see it’s hopeless,” Justin muttered when the couple left the room. “He may be a perfect gentleman, but that’s not what Amelia needs.”
“It’s what she deserves,” JC remarked. He meant it, too. He really did. So why did the thought of Amelia and Lance make him feel so awful?
It was the first time he had seen her with her coffee-colored hair down. JC marveled at Amelia’s thick, nearly waist-length mane. It was silky looking. It invited a man’s hand to touch it. He had to resist the urge to bury his hands in it and let it slide through his fingers.
Amelia glanced up to catch JC staring at her again. He’s been doing that a lot lately. There was almost a possessive gleam in his hot, blue eyes. Well, that couldn’t be. He was publicly linked to someone else. He certainly couldn’t be entertaining thoughts of her!
If she were truthful, she’d admit to spinning her own fair amount of fantasies about him. He drew her like bees to honey. His drive for perfectionism. His love of the art – not to mention his beautiful, male face. His lips…She wondered what it would feel like to kiss those sculpted lips. Oh, God! Not now! She didn’t need to feel these things just before the video shoot – not when she would be riding his leg!
Amelia was heartily glad when the dance sequence with JC was shot and finished. He could cool down and so could she. She’d never experienced that kind of ‘hot’ before, not even with Nick! She realized JC had not been unaffected – and she actually felt bad for him. He couldn’t hide his reaction; it was quite visible in the front of his tight pants!
“I’m sorry, JC. I—“
“It happens.” He managed a tight smile. Damn, he wanted to lay her down, right here and now! “It’s not as if you were deliberately trying to. Besides, it happens at clubs all the time.”
“Guess it’s good I don’t go.”
“Probably so.” The very thought of her making every guy she danced with hard made him feel angry, somehow…Well, maybe not angry…Jealous. Possessive. Protective. “C’mon.” He looped an arm companionably around her shoulders. “We’ll let the others sweat a while.” He led her off to a corner behind the cameras.
Since she was so small, she had to stand in the narrow space in front of him to see the action. He could easily see over the top of her head.
JC’s eyes weren’t on the action before the cameras. He was looking down at Amelia’s hair. His hands itched to know if it was as inviting as it looked. No longer being able to resist, he lifted one hand to sift his fingers through the glorious tresses. It felt the way it looked: wonderful, silky, soft.
Amelia rounded on him in surprise, then gave him a shy smile. Before he could say a word of apology, she lifted her mouth to his. When he immediately returned the pressure, she broke away.
“Now, both of us have satisfied our curiosity,” she announced, then made to move away.
JC took her arm. “Amelia—“
“No. You’re seeing someone.”
He let her go. He was seeing someone, someone he’d believed he loved. If that were true, why had Amelia’s presence in his life put him in such turmoil? And why had one brief kiss made him want to run after her and beg for more of her sweet mouth? “Oh, God, Amelia…” he whispered after her.