Chris grabbed for his phone, dialing Marissa's latest number with some sense of satisfaction. He was extremely glad she was back in the states, and he didn't even care that she was in Colorado. That didn't mean, however, that he was going to stop trying to convince her to move out to Orlando....
"I'm sorry, the number you have dialed has been disconnected..."
He jerked the phone from his ear, staring at it in horror, and tried the number again. He got the same message. "Oh, please, no. Not again," he murmured, and dialed a very familiar number.
"Hello?"
"JC, what's Anika's number?"
"Chris, what's wrong? What do you need her number for?"
"I want to make sure I've got the right number for Marissa. I just got a message that her number was disconnected."
JC rattled the number off. "Chris, please tell me she hasn't run off again."
"She would have told me, JC. I just think I dialed wrong or something, and I want to make sure." He couldn't keep his voice from shaking.
"All right. But you call me back and give me some sort of feed back on this."
"Sure, okay." Chris hung up and dialed Anika's number, his hand shaking. He frowned at it, then turned his attention to the ringing that came over the line.
"Hello?"
His heart stopped. It couldn't be, could it?
"Hello?" she repeated.
"Marissa?"
"Hi, Chris." She sounded pleased. His heart was suddenly going way too fast.
"What... I just called your apartment, and they said your number was disconnected..."
"Oh." She chuckled nervously. "Well, this really cute guy who hides behind fur on his face told me once that my best friend needed a roommate, and she confirmed that. And the same cute guy asked me once to move to Orlando, and I said I'd think about it. And I did." He couldn't answer. "Chris?"
"Yeah?" he almost whispered.
"I... I don't want to seem like some weird, crazed fan...." Her voice was soft, still a little unsure.
It wrung a laugh from him. "I don't ask weird, crazed fans to move to Orlando, Marissa. Give me your address. I don't think I'm going to believe it until I see it with my own eyes." He reached for his shoes and headed out for his car.
"You don't know it?"
"I've been there once, and Lance was driving. Are you going to have a house party when you're moved in?"
She laughed. "Doubtful."
"Wrong answer. Where are you?"
She gave him the address; he clumsily wrote it down, trying to drive at the same time. He was almost surprised when he didn't hit anything. "How long til you get here?"
"About fifteen minutes. Doing anything tonight?"
"Yeah. Unpacking."
"How long have you been here?"
"Since yesterday, actually." She chuckled. "JC has literally had to bite his tongue."
"He knew?" His voice rose in his indignation.
She laughed. "Yeah. But he's the only one."
"Oh, and you think that's gonna save his butt? You are so sadly mistaken.... I'll be there shortly. I told JC I'd call and give him feed back."
Marissa laughed. "I'll see you when you get here."
Chris hung up and dialed furiously. "Hello?" JC answered innocently.
"You are so dead," Chris tried to growl. It was nearly impossible; a smile had covered his face and wasn't coming off.
"I told her not to tell you that!" JC protested. "I told her!"
"Yeah, well... she did. See if I let you near your girlfriend again."
"How are you going to do that?"
"Oh, believe me, now that she and Marissa live together, it's gonna be easy...." Chris paused. "You know what, I'll deal with you later. I'm here." He hung up before JC could answer, and pulled into the parking lot. Once there, he remembered somewhat vaguely how to get to the apartment, and parked his car.
It was hard to get out. He was almost afraid something was wrong, that somehow he'd misunderstood her. He moved finally, opening the car door and climbing out. The apartment was right in front of him. He walked up the stairs carefully, and reached to knock on the door. His fist no more than touched it once before the door was thrown open, and Marissa grinned up at him almost insolently. "Hi. JC's crying on the phone, something about a threat from you."
"JC's crying?" he demanded, startled.
"Not really crying," Anika said from farther in. "He's worried, though."
Chris shrugged. "So, can I come in?"
"Depends," Marissa smiled. "Did you bring a housewarming gift?"
He was worried for a second, but the sparkle in her eyes set him at ease again, and he smiled. "I think this might count," he said softly, and pulled her close for a heart stopping kiss.
Marissa melted into him, everything else fading, completely forgetting that they were standing in her doorway, forgetting everything but the nearly forgotten feel of his body against hers. Then all thought stopped as feelings took over.
She gasped in frustration when he broke the kiss. His right hand untangled itself from her hair to stroke her cheek, and he shifted a little to keep his balance. He hoped she couldn't see that he was leaning against the door frame just to stay on his feet. She seemed to be standing only because his left arm was around her waist, and her hands had gripped his shirt again. It made him smile. "Mmmm," she said softly, and forced her hands to let go. "I know you've been here, but come on in and see the mess."
"So my housewarming gift worked?" he asked as he let her go and reached for her hand.
"Oh... I'm thinking of instituting a fee every time you come over," she grinned at him.
"Only if I get to do the same thing."
She paused and gave him an appraising look. "Promise?"
He laughed. "I think I can promise that."
"Cool." She tugged him into the front room.
"Wow. So that's how you did it." He stared in some disbelief at the piles of boxes around the room.
"Yeah. Boxes are wonderful things." She chuckled slightly. "I guess you had people doing it for you?"
His eyebrows went up. "Yeah...."
She grinned. "Nice to be rich."
"I'm not," he protested.
"You are," she said softly. "It just so happens that you also have a lot of money."
He thought about that, then nodded. "Yes, I think I agree with that."
"Good. So, wanna help me unpack?"
He shrugged. "Okay. Works for me."
They were interrupted when Anika turned the light on, nearly blinding both of them. "Hello, it's dark. You guys hungry?"
"Starving," Marissa said, and Chris nodded.
"I thought so. JC's on the way with food."
"Uh... no," Chris said flatly, standing up.
"No food?" Anika asked.
"No JC."
Anika grinned. "He told me you were mad at him. But, if JC can't come over, then I'm going to him..."
"No," Chris said conversationally. "you didn't say anything either. Therefore, you share his punishment."
Marissa chuckled. "Um. Chris. They didn't say anything because I asked them not to. If you have to punish someone, it should be me."
Chris looked at her in disbelief. "I can't do that!" he protested.
"Why not?"
"Because the punishment consists of keeping people apart, and I am not into sado-masochism."
There was a knock on the door, and Anika jumped for it. Chris reached out and grabbed her arm. "Oh, let her go, Chris," Marissa grinned. "You can't win this time."
"Why is it always me against the world?" he mumbled to the ceiling, and let go. Anika darted for the door and threw it open.
"Because we love you," Marissa said, stood up, and kissed him gently.
"Love is a deep subject," he murmured softly.
"Yes. And probably one we'd argue about," she said with a grin. "But I'm so hungry I could eat JC if he didn't bring enough food."
Chris laughed. "I'm very glad you didn't say me."
"Hey. I'm not really into sado-masochism either," she told him.
"You'd better hope you brought lots," Chris said, turning to a startled JC.
"Why?" JC asked warily. Anika beckoned for Marissa to follow her, and the two retreated into the kitchen.
"Because Marissa promised to eat you if you didn't bring enough."
JC's eyebrows went up. "Oh. Well, then...." He grabbed his phone and dialed. "Hey, it's me. Yeah, you were right. Come on up." He hung up again abruptly.
Chris' eyes narrowed. "What?"
"You'll see."
Chris took a deep breath. "You know, this idea you have of keeping secrets from me, it's not good for your sanity."
JC laughed. "I don't have that great a grip on it anyway, Chris. I've been living with you for far too long."
Chris grinned. "Isn't it great?"
There was a knock on the door, and JC strode over and threw it open. Chris' eyebrows went up as Justin, Lance, Joey and Clara all wandered in, carrying more food. Clara grabbed as much as she could and vanished into the kitchen, where they could hear Marissa's exclamation of surprise.
"She's having a housewarming party," JC said with a grin. "Anika got it all set up."
Chris chuckled. "I never would have pegged her for a party girl."
"She just needs experience," Justin said. "Where's the stereo?" He moved in that direction and flipped it on, moving the dial to a radio station before turning his attention to the cd's sitting next to it.
Lance wandered into the kitchen, snagging a carrot stick before he was bodily ejected from the room. Clara turned to the other two, dusting her hands off. "If only Joey were so easy to move," she said.
"Did I hear my name?" Joey asked, standing in the doorway.
"What, super hearing, too?" she demanded, turning back to him.
"And why not?" he asked, pulling her against him and giving her a quick kiss.
"We have stuff to do, Joey," she protested. He shrugged.
"Yes, I know. One of the things to do is to kiss me." He looked at her expectantly until she complied, then let her go and left the room again. Clara just shook her head and went back to mixing the punch. Marissa grinned.
"Everything okay with you two?"
Clara laughed. "Definitely. I'm almost finished with the certification down here, and I've almost got a job for certain." Her head tilted to the side. "What about you?"
"Oh, I'm fine. I'll start a real job search on Monday, though. Thanks, by the way, for the ads." She turned to Anika. "And you, too," she added. "I've already sent a lot of resume's in, so we'll see what happens. What's going on with you and JC?"
Anika grinned. "Not much. Just... taking it slow and enjoying his company."
Marissa chuckled. "Good."
"Hey."
The three girls turned to see Chris standing in the doorway. "What?" Marissa asked.
"You're having a party in here, and you're not in here. Will you please come out of the kitchen? Joey wants his girlfriend and the food - in that order, and JC would like to see Anika as well." He grimaced. "And I want to see Marissa. We'll be out of your hair in two weeks, you can catch up then. Or when we're busy. Come on!"
With a grin, Marissa grabbed the first thing that came to hand and left the kitchen with a smile. "We're coming, hold your horses."
An hour later, Marissa glanced around her new living room from where she was cuddled next to Chris. The light from the movie someone had brought flickered over the faces of her friends, and she smiled as Anika hid her face in JC's shoulder. JC tightened his hold on her, grinning far too big. Clara and Joey were in the corner, not even paying attention to the movie, talking up a storm about something., if quietly. Justin lay across the couch, munching on popcorn, and Lance lay stretched out on the floor. He hadn't moved in a while, and she figured he'd fallen asleep.
She pulled away from Chris a little, and he turned to look at her. "Is something wrong?" he asked, and she smiled.
"No. Nothing's wrong." She leaned over and kissed him. "Everything is perfect."
Chance