Chapter Fourteen: Daddy C
Lisa had tried unsuccessfully to dissuade JC from taking them all to Miami for Challenge for the Children. It didn’t seem like a good idea for him to arrive with four children and their blind mother. She had to wonder if he secretly wanted people to discover his change of marital status. He’d already warned her if someone asked him a direct ‘yes’ or ‘no’ question he wasn’t going to lie. Her arguments fell on deaf ears. His family was going and that was it. Once he enlisted the children’s vote – majority ruled.
JC had said his goodnight’s to the children. He knew he needed to be going to the kick-off party, but he just didn’t want to leave. He laughed at himself. JC Chasez, man-about-town didn’t want to drink and party. He wanted to curl up with his wife, talk, listen to music, anything with her. The last few weeks with Lisa had been magical. With the exception of no sex, she had truly become his wife; it was a role she was born to own. She had learned her way around his house and organized it so she could navigate without help. The planned expansion had begun and it was slowly becoming a home for children. He’d added more bedrooms than they currently needed in hopes of another child by his wife.
“JC, don’t you need to be going?” Lisa asked him when JC hung around after the children were put to bed.
“I know…”
“We’ll be fine. I’ll go to bed myself soon so I can get up with them in the morning. We’ll try not to disturb you.”
“It’s not that, Lisa.”
“Then what?”
Taking her hands, he pulled her close. “I don’t want to leave you, Mrs. Chasez,” he murmured before he kissed her lingeringly. To his way of thinking, they were still on their honeymoon.
“Only this year, JC. Next year we’ll bring sitters.”
“Promise?”
“I promise.” Lisa felt his wedding band. “Weren’t you supposed to take your ring off?”
JC signed heavily. He didn’t want to take it off. She had removed Greg’s rings from her right hand for the weekend, so all that remained was JC’s rings on her left. As a widow, that would be reasonable. She’d done it for him…
Lisa put out her hand. “Give it up, mister.”
Reluctantly he twisted the band from his finger and placed it in her palm.
“I’ll give it back to you when we get home.”
“Lisa—“
“Go.”
There was a loud knock at the door. “JC, we gotta go!” Lonnie Jones, JC’s bodyguard called.
With one more kiss JC relented.
“You gonna nurse that all night?” Lance Bass asked JC when he noticed the same Corona had been in his hand for some time.
JC shot a sheepish glance at the blonde bass singer. He had informed his fellow *NSYNCers of his marriage, asking them to say nothing of his new martial status. “I don’t want to climb into bed with Lisa smelling like a brewery.”
“She put a ring through your nose already?” his friend joked.
“Naugh. It’s not like that. Lisa never said anything about it.” JC shrugged. “I know I don’t want to trip in wasted, not for Lisa, not for the kids.”
“Yeah, kids change everything,” Joey stated as he joined them. Being the only other dad in the group, he could relate. “So does a wife.”
JC nodded. “And I mean I don’t mind. I wanna do it for them. Fuck, dude, Lisa had to practically kick me out the door tonight.”
“I can’t imagine becoming an instant dad to four. One was plenty enough to start with,” Joey said.
“It was sorta overwhelming at first, scary, but now I couldn’t do without ‘em.”
“How has Lisa adjusted to blindness?” Lance vaguely remembered the brown-eyed girl from JC’s past.
“Like a pro. Most of the time it’s not a problem for us. I just hafta remember not to move stuff or leave things in the middle of the floor.”
“How does that work with kids? I mean toys and shit,” Joey asked.
JC chuckled. “I probably got the neatest kids in the world. Rooms are clean. Toys picked up. Clothes in the hamper.”
"Since you’re anal about that shit too…” Joey trailed off.
JC took a one last swig of his beer and set it on the table. “Let’s go grab the other two and get the pictures taken. I wanna get back to Lisa.”
JC crept into the hotel room and went immediately to the bathroom. He smelled like smoke and booze and he was not joining Lisa in bed like that. After a quick shower and brushing his teeth, he pulled on his pajama pants and headed for bed.
“JC?” Lisa asked groggily. She reached for her clock and pushed the button. It announced the time. It was still fairly early – just past midnight.
“Yeah, baby,” he murmured as he lay down in the middle of the bed and pulled her to him.
“I didn’t expect you’d be back this early.”
“You took the party animal outta me,” he told her as he kissed her temple lightly.
“I’m sorry.”
“I’m not.”
“You showered?”
“Mmm-hmm…”
“Is there a problem?”
“No problem. I didn’t want a late night. Tomorrow night’ll be bad enough.” With the scavenger hunt, he’d be lucky if he fell into bed before four in the morning. For once, it was not something he was looking forward to. “Go back to sleep, Lisa.” He adjust their bodies to the position they usually slept, spooning her back to his front, her sweet little butt against his crotch.
He’d made several pleasant discoveries about his new wife. One – she was not embarrassed or appalled by his morning erections, which was a very good thing since he couldn’t prevent it. Two – she didn’t mind if he didn’t shave twice a day or even daily. The roughness of his beard on her skin wasn’t an issue and he suspected she might even like it. Three – he didn’t have to wear a shirt to bed if he chose not to and sometimes he preferred no shirt. Four – he could tell her he loved her and it no longer sent her into a panic of guilt. It was good to know he hadn’t married a ball-buster. The very thought made him chuckle.
“What?” she asked sleepily.
JC snuggled his face against her neck. “You aren’t a ball-buster.”
Lisa giggled. “Did you think I was?”
“You could have been. But you’re cool with most shit – especially guy shit.”
“I’m glad you think so.” She felt his lips beneath her ear in a sweet caress. “Good night, JC.”
JC smiled. Yep, love was good. “Night, Lisa.”
Lisa had her misgivings about having the children at the beach for the skills challenge – or more specifically Digger. She could trust Scott and Krista to do as they were asked. Bess wouldn’t venture from her mother if JC wasn’t around. But Digger with his impulsive, inquisitive personality was a worry. JC couldn’t be expected to watch the boy and participate in the various events. It wasn’t fair to expect the older children to be responsible for their troublesome little brother. Short of putting a leash on the boy, Lisa didn’t know how she was going to manage.
“Don’t worry about it, Lisa,” JC told her as they arrived at the tent where the skills challenge people would get out of the sun. With a twin on each hip, it had been Scott and Krista assisting their mother’s navigation of the beach. “There’s Lonnie and the guys and staff. All the kids have their ID passes—“
“This is Digger we’re talking about here,” Lisa reminded him. “He can take off and be gone in three seconds flat.”
Digger nodded and smiled. “I fast.”
JC set the twins to their feet and stooped in front of Digger. “Little dude, there are a lotta people here today. And I know you’re gonna wanna look at stuff, but you hafta promise to stay with Mommy, me or Lonnie, okay?”
Digger tried to look very serious. “Otay. Stay wif you.”
“And if you are not with me?”
“Wif Mommy.” Digger glanced at JC’s bodyguard. “O wif Lonnie.”
“That’s right. Don’t forget it, buddy. This is real important.” Straightening, he looked at the two older children. “And you guys know not to take off, right?”
“Sure, Dad C,” Scott said. “And I’ll keep an eye out for Digger.”
“If he takes off let me or Lonnie know.”
“Okay.”
JC ruffled the boy’s hair then looked to Krista. “You okay, princess?”
Krista gave him a rather worried smile. “There are a lotta people.”
JC swung the girl into his arms. “You’re here to watch the Dad and have fun, honey.” He hugged her and felt her thin arms go about his neck. “You’re my little girl, too,” he whispered for her ears only. “And it’s okay to be my little girl.”
The girl hugged his neck before he set her to her feet.
“Daddy?” Bess tugged on the leg of JC’s shorts.
“Yeah, baby doll?" He bent to see what she wanted.
“I be good,” Bess promised.
JC gave her a big smile and a kiss. “I know you will.”
Straightening once more, his eyes landed on Lisa. He wanted to kiss the worry from her face, but they had decided against any overt shows of affection in public for the weekend. The fewer people who knew their relationship the fewer people who could expose them. “It’ll be fine, Lise. I promise.”
JC set his family up on a blanket at the foot of the bleachers where they could see the action. It would be where he sat when he wasn’t with the team, that way he could keep half an eye on Digger. He coated everyone with sunscreen, cautioned them to mind Lisa, and then went to join his team.
“I always suspected,” Joey murmured as he and JC stood on the sidelines.
“Suspected what?” JC asked.
“That Scott was yours.”
“What’re you talking about?”
“I ran into Greg and Lisa about three years ago. I guess she was pregnant with the twins. When I saw Scott…Well, he looked more like you than Greg or Lisa…and he was the right age…”
“Joey—“
“You gonna deny it?”
JC kept his voice low. “Yeah, Scott’s mine. We haven’t told him yet, so keep it on the down low.”
As it was, JC took to keeping Digger with him most of the time, passing him to Lonnie when he participated. It seemed to be the only way to calm Lisa’s fears. Many people were curious about JC’s personal rooting section, his miniature entourage. They were especially interested when they referred to him as Daddy or Dad C. One woman even tried to get Digger to tell her about it. She was scanned by big blue eyes and then given a big smile.
“He Daddy C,” Digger explained appearing as if this was already public knowledge and she was asking him a silly question. “He stay wen Daddy go wif angels.”
At that point, Krista spotted him. She retrieved the boy, scolding him for talking to strangers.
“I good,” Digger told his sister as she shooed him back to JC and Lonnie.
Krista took his hand and said with a very big sisterly sigh. “You’re trying.”
Other females were taken with the pint-sized charmer – and it was hard for others not to notice.
“Digger is a babe magnet. I’m gonna borrow him,” Chris said to JC as he retrieved Digger from Lonnie.
JC laughed. “It’s not like borrowing a dog. He’s a little boy. Besides Lisa would have a cow.”
“Girls do seem to think he is adorable,” Lance said. He’d heard enough ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs” over the curls and big blue eyes.
Chris chucked the little boy under the chin. “Wanna come cruisin’ for chicks with me, Digger?”
To Digger, chicks were baby chickens and he had no idea what the man was talking about. Still JC had mentioned a dog and a cow…”We go to O Mic Donols Fahm?”
JC laughed at Chris quizzical expression. “Digger, what sound does a chick make?”
“Peep peep!” the little boy said proudly.
Lance laughed and rumpled the boy’s curls.
JC felt a tug on his pant leg and glanced down. Bess was holding her arms up. He passed Digger to Lance with a warning not to take off with him then lifted Bess.
“Tie-ode, Daddy,” Bess mumbled, laying her head on his shoulder. “Seepy.”
“We’ll go back to the hotel soon, baby doll.” He patted her back gently. “A nap sounds good to me too.” After crawling into bed with Lisa a little after three in the morning, he’d been greeted by wide awake children at seven-thirty. Lisa had shooed them back into their room for breakfast. Missing her beside him, he joined them by eight. “Too bad Mom and Dad couldn’t come,” he mused. “Digger is a complete angel for Mom and Bess is totally in love with Dad.” He felt Bess’s little hand creep into his hair. She had not been happy when he chose to cut his longer locks – they had been her security blanket of sorts. He looked over to where Lisa sat with Krista. Yeah, he wanted to get back to the hotel and maybe kiss on his wife until they fell asleep.
Lisa giggled when JC pulled her back to him the moment the connecting door was closed between them and the children’s room. He buried his bristly face against her neck. Who knew the scent of sweat and sun screen could be so enticing? It reminded her of sex on the beach – which was where they had often made love.
“Hey, baby, got time for a quick game of tonsil hockey and maybe some gropeage?” he asked teasingly.
Because of the silly way he’d said it; it was impossible to take offense. “I thought you were tired.”
“Well…I got to thinkin’ I haven’t stuck my tongue in your mouth since I grabbed you in the bathroom this morning. I think it’s been too fucking long.”
“Well, since you put it so romantically…” she taunted, turning to face him.
“Bed,” he murmured just before he lifted her and laid across the bed with her. “Lisa…” His mouth covered hers, instigating a long, slow-building kiss that had steam rolling off of him. Since she’d worn shorts that afternoon and he had worn board shorts, he got to feel her silky legs against his.
Lisa felt him harden swiftly. It no longer upset her. He had proven he could enjoy kissing her intimately and touch her without expecting more. He wanted her – and on some level, she found his desire comforting. She was also well aware that some day soon the line would be crossed and there would be no turning back.
JC’s hand crept beneath the leg of her shorts and slipped passed the elastic of her panties to find her satiny bottom. His fingers stroked her flesh lightly, causing her to quiver. “I told you I’d romance your socks off,” he told her huskily.
“And once again I am not wearing socks,” she reminded him.
“Damn, woman! How’s a guy to know when you’re ready for the big nasty?”
“I’ll be wearing socks.”
JC left the party with taunts that being ‘Daddy C’ had neutered him ringing in his ears. They had intimated that it was ‘Mommy C’ was really whom he wanted to get back to – and get horizontal with. Dammit, they got horizontal every night and it didn’t mean a fucking thing, he grumbled inwardly. The steady diet of ‘getting some’ as his friends had so charmingly put it just wasn’t happening – and he wasn’t about to tell them he shared a platonic bed with his new wife. Well, it was platonic with groping privileges. He wanted to get back to just to hold Lisa. They’d laugh their asses off if they knew that was all he was getting from his beautiful wife.
He was rather disappointed when he arrived back at the hotel to find his bed had been invaded. Scott lay cross-wise on the bed, reading a book. Bess worked on a large-piece puzzle. Krista was coloring. Digger was playing with one of his plastic trucks. Lisa sat calmly among the chaos.
“A little past bedtime, isn’t it?” JC demanded to announce himself. In fact, he had put them to bed before he’d left.
“Late nap. Remember?” Lisa reminded him. “Extra energy.”
This did not bode well for the reason he’d escaped the party.
“What time is it?” she asked.
“Eleven-twenty.”
“You’re early.”
“I told you I wasn’t a party animal since I married you,” he said with a smile. “You took it right outta me.” He joined the family on the bed. Lisa’s lap made a wonderful pillow.
“You animal?” Digger inquired as he ran his truck over JC’s stomach.
JC snatched up the boy. “Yep, I’m big bad Daddy Bear.” He growled as he pretended to eat the giggling child, tickling his ribs. Digger squealed happily. Once JC released to him, he went calmly back to his truck.
JC gazed up at Lisa’s serene face. He wondered if she even realized she was combing her fingers through his hair. I was seemingly an unconscious gesture on her part. “They’re making jokes about me for being ‘tamed’ by you. But I’m not hung-over or dragging my as—rear end from lack of sleep this year.”
She smiled. “Then it is a good thing?”
“Yeah, the best.”
“I’m glad.”
“This married dad thing rocks my socks.” Before she could ask, he said, “And, yeah, I’m wearing socks.” Her soft laughter was music to his ears. He wanted to be alone with her so she could sexually frustrate him some more. “Hey, guys, if I buy a round of ice cream sundaes can I get you to go to bed?” Their enthusiastic affirmatives had him reaching for the room service phone.