"Come on... Pick up... Pick UP... PICK UP! SVARA!" Jo yelled into the ringing phone, thinking if she said the words in both english and swedish, Lina would answer faster. There hadn't been that many signals, but Jo was desperate. He'd kissed her. Andy had kissed her, and for a brief moment she'd been trapped in his familiar scent and taste. For a brief moment she'd kissed him back, and if only for a second she'd longed to go home. Then Alex had popped back into her head, full force. This wasn't any better. She was in love with him. SHIT! This wasn't supposed to happen. Lina answered her phone.
"Jo? Anything wrong? It's late."
"Yes, something's wrong. I called you an hour ago, but you didn't answer."
Lina took the phone from her ear, checking the display. Yup, one missed call. But at that time she'd been talking to Andy. And Nick had probably been too pissed to answer her phone. "Sorry, babe. I was... out."
"So Andy called you, huh? And you talked to him? You've never been a good liar."
"Well... Yes."
"Good, or... Whatever. He told you what happened? "
"Yeah."
"Nice, then I don't have to. I kissed him back for a moment. And I'm in LOVE with him!"
"Are you in love with Andy?" Lina hissed, breathless, while pushing away Nick, who was, again, looking furious and trying to get a hold of her phone.
"NO! God no! Alex. I'm in love with fucking Alexander James McLean, of the Backstreet Boys. I'm so pathetic. I hid from him when I came home. Snuck up into my room as some fourteen-year-old getting home past curfew."
"Oh, not that age all over again. We were such a pain in the ass to everyone around us." Lina laughed. "But that's great, hun. Feels like you should be telling him that though, not me."
"Don't you get it? He's..."
"Fucking AJ McLean of the Backstreet Boys, yeah, I know. What difference does it make? Fact is, I'm in love with one of them myself."
"I know. You've been in love with Brian since we were kids. Thought You'd given that up though... Oh. Oh." The penny dropped for Jo, and she finally realized what Lina was telling her.
"Not Brian you moron!" At this, Nick's head bounced off the pillow and his eyebrows went all the way up to his hairline.
"You're in love with him? That's great. Not for me, though. Not for me. He's not for me. Or, more correctly, I'm not for him."
"Would you please shut up, and let him decide that? I need my beauty sleep. Goodnight, Jo, go bug Alex instead."
"But..." Jo said, but it was useless. Lina had already hung up. "SHIT!" She banged her phone down on the nightstand, pulled the covers over her head and tried to get some sleep.
The next morning she was pale, her hair tousled, and the make-up from last night had moved from her eyes down to her cheeks. She changed from the black dress she'd worn last night into a pair of blue and white striped flannel-pants, that had once been a part of a pj-set, and one of her simple white tank-tops. She tried to wash most of the make-up off her face, the went out into the kitchen to prepare breakfast, before waking Baylee. She put a pot of coffee to brew, got out some milk and a carton of Bay's favourite cereal, a pile of bowls and some spoons, then went back upstairs.
Dressing Baylee and getting him ready for the day took half an hour, and when they came into the kitchen, Alex sat at the table, eating cereal, him too very pale.
"You ok, babe?" Jo asked sitting Bay down in his chair and helping him to some breakfast.
"Haven't been sleeping. Waited up for you. How about you?"
"Well, I came back and everything was dark, so I figured you were sleeping." Calmly she saved Bay's bowl from ending up at the floor. He was in a stage where he liked to throw things to the floor, just to see what would happen. "I'm sorry I kept you up."
He nodded, put his bowl in the dishwasher and left the kitchen without another word. "Uh-oh" Jo thought. He's mad at me. Guilt rushed through her, made her sick to her stomach. She sat next to Baylee, a cup of coffee in her hand, when Brian entered the kitchen.
"Morning! Sleep late today?" she greeted him.
"Nah, got some work done in the office. Then I felt the smell of that wonderful coffee you make, and decided it was breakfast time."
She smiled at him. He was such a nice man, and he was so cute to, with his hair messy and his face un-shaved, in a pair of jeans and a plain, blue t-shirt. That was one of the things she loved about this family, their commonality. Nothing fancy about them when they showed up to breakfast, or when they were just lounging around the house, playing with their child.
"Leigh called, by the way. She's on her way back home as we speak, and she said she had some news."
"Oh."
"Yeah, I'm so curious I could die. Maybe her part in the movie was expanded or something. That would be great."
"Yeah, it would."
"Look, Jo. I'll take the morning off today, to be with Bay. We'll go pick Leigh up at the airport at one, so if you would have lunch ready at two it'd be great. Spend the day with Alex. He needs you right now."
"You sure?"
"Go now, before he wears the floor in his room out."
"Thanks!"
Jo ran up the stairs, towards Alex's room. He was playing music, loud music on his stereo. She took a deep breath, then knocked his door. He opened it at once, as if he'd been waiting for her.
"Can I talk to you?" she asked.
"Sure" he stepped to the side to let her in, then turned the stereo down as he sat on the couch.
She sat down next to him, taking his hand. "He proposed to me again, last night. Same ring, another speech. Well, actually, when I think about it, it was kinda the same too. I turned him down again. I don't love him anymore, and I told him that. I told him about you. That we are... seeing each other. Then I tried to leave. But he grabbed me, and kissed me..."
"HE DID WHAT?" Alex got to his feet, mad with jealousy.
"He kissed me. I just thought he wanted a farewell-hug, so I hugged him, and he kissed me."
"I'm going to kill him. He touched you."
"I had no idea what was coming. But I let him. For a second."
"You let him? YOU FUCKING LET HIM KISS YOU?"
Devastated, she nodded, watched him pace back and forth, unable to stand still. "It just confirmed what I already knew. There's nothing left of my feelings for him. He's a good guy, we've spent seven years together, and I love him for that. But the real love, that part of the heart that beats for one reason alone, to be next to that One, it isn't his anymore. It's yours now. I think I love you. No, I know I love you. I've fallen for you, and I didn't even want to."
He stopped, stood absolutely still, and just looked at her. For several minutes, he stared at her. Then he fell to his knees in front of her, pulled her close and kissed her, almost violently.
"I'm going to erase every trace of him on you. Kiss you so that you forget his lips ever touched yours. I don't want you to remember anything but me." he whispered, his voice hoarse.
She moaned into the kiss, unable to do anything else. Her fingers ran down his back, clasped her fingers around his t-shirt and impatiently pulled it off him. He kissed her neck, her face and shoulders, pulling down the straps to her tank-top, pulling it down to her waist and exposing her breasts. He buried his face inbetween them, mumbling her name, caressing them with his hands. She got to her feet, took his hands and pulled him up with her. Smiling, she stepped out of her pants, pushing the tank top down with them, leaving her in a couple of minimal laced panties. He smiled back at her, then kissed her when her hands grabbed his belt and started to unbuckle it. His jeans came off, and he lead her towards the bed, gently pushed her backwards down on it.
He remained standing, bent over and kissed her stomach, touching her everywhere his hands could reach, then pulled her panties off and shed his own boxers. She opened her eyes when she heard a drawer open, and watched him put on a condom. He crawled over to her, laid on top of her and gently pushed himself inside her. She looked him in the eyes.
"You ok, baby?" he asked. She nodded, and he started moving, never letting his eyes slip away from hers, even as they kissed. It didn't take long before they both climaxed, she just a heartbeat before him. He stayed inside her, supporting his weight on his elbow, smiling down at her, his other hand cupping her cheek, gently stroking it with his thumb.
"I love you too, Joanna. I can't agree with everything you said, though. I fell for you the first time I saw you, so I wanted it all along. And now you love me. And I love you. I love you."
"I love you, Alexander. I really do. You're all I could have ever wished for."
Author's Chapter Notes:
Yeah... I KNOW... It's sappy and so over the top, but I like it anyways... :)
