Just Around the River Bend 2
Well everyone...It's chapter two, can you believe it!! Ok, I got a complaint, I love complaints and everything else that comes in e-mail form. (Sifty214@aol.com) So anyway people like the LONG headers and footers I had in Lonely Lance and don't like the short ones like I had in the last chapter. So what do ya want, long or short. (out of the gutter)
Got a few people to thank before I begin the story. First I would like to thank Jill. Without her there would be no one to truly get on my ass. Love ya girl! She is part of my inspiration for the character Jill, the Jill in the story is a combo of her, one of my friends and my mother. I also gotta thank Mike for helping me with this story. He and Jill are my literary assistants. I also gotta say hi to Josh. While I say hi to him I am gonna say hi to his boy Matt. All I gotta say about that is that its about FLIPPIN TIME! Anywho, moving on...
Disclaimer: Yeah we already covered the whole no one knows the sexuality about `N Sync and all that (it would be nice to own them, just for an evening even... let`s just say handcuffs, a big pool of chocolate syrup and a whole lotta whipped cream...moving on) . If you aren't allowed to read this then don't. However it's not like I can stop you or anything. Just let your conscience be your guide. If you are reading this and you aren't supposed to... shame on you!
Ok, everyone, one last thing...JILL'S BITCH JUST HAD PUPPIES!!! Round of applause for Jilly everyone.
**
Just Around The River Bend
Chapter 2
**
"You're damned right, `Oh Shit'. Jill saves your cute ass again." Jill said, laughing at Jeff's rush into his bathroom to take a shower.
"Isn't it cute though?" Jeff said as he shut the shower doors and Jill sat on the counter in the bathroom.
"Actually not really. It's kinda bony. I like an ass with some meat on it." Jill said commenting on Jeff's build. At 6'1" and 145 pounds he was tall and scrawny. He was on swim team all four years of high school and all four years of college. It kept him in pretty good shape. He had deep green eyes and dirty blonde hair. He wasn't Mr. Supermodel but he wasn't ugly.
"Ya know, I really don't need to know what kind of ass you like. Hand me a towel." Jeff said as he shut the water of the shower off. Jill gave him a towel and waited in the living room for Jeff to get dressed. He came into the living room with a suitcase and his briefcase at 1:30.
"God boy, you take longer than a girl to get ready. That was an hour." Jill said as she shut the TV off and walked over to where Jeff was standing. "You look good." She said as she gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"Thank you." He said as he kissed her back on the cheek. "I am really gonna miss you."
"I am gonna miss you too Jeff." Jill said as she pulled him into a hug. They both started crying and just held eachother for a couple minutes. "Alright, enough of this." Jill said as she broke the embrace. "We are going to be late and I thought the airport was for all these mushy moments." Jeff couldn't help but giggle at his best friends comment.
"Ladies first." Jeff said as he opened the door to his apartment. Jill walked out and he shut the door after she left.
"What the hell did you do that for?" Jill asked wondering why he slammed the door on her.
"Sorry, I want to set the alarm, just in case." Jeff said as he punched in the numbers for the alarm. He opened the door, took his suitcase and briefcase with him. He shut and locked the door and they were off. It took them about a half hour to get to his office in Orlando. They parked the car and made their way up to Johnny's office. When they made it up to his office Samantha was waiting for Jeff.
"Good afternoon Mr. Cooper. Mr. Wright will be with you in a moment. He is in a meeting right now. Please have a seat." Samantha said in a kind pleasant voice.
"Thank you Samantha." Jeff said as he and Jill sat down. They made small talk for a little while and then eventually picked up magazines and read. Jeff's reading was interrupted when Samantha informed him that he had a phone call. He looked up at the clock and noticed that it was already three thirty. They had been waiting an hour and a half. He walked over to Samantha's desk.
"It's someone from the Untied Nations in New York." Samantha said and Jeff had a puzzled look on his face.
- "Hello, this is Jeffery Cooper, how may I help you?" Jeff said into the phone.
- "Don't even act like you don't know who this is you bastard." Dawn said sarcastically. It started to click into Jeff's head. Dawn worked for the United Nations.
- "HEY!! It's been so long! How are you?"
- "I'm doing alright, so what brings you to New York?" Dawn asked.
- "I got a promotion! Can you believe it?"
- "Dude, that's so awesome. So come on, what's your title?" Dawn asked in excitement.
- "Personal Assistant." Jeff said realizing that it didn't sound all that glamorous.
- "That sounds fun. I think." Dawn said kind of confused.
- "It's not the way you think. I help their Publicist and Tour Manager on top of being their Personal Assistant." Jeff said trying to explain it to Dawn.
- "Ohhh, Ok, I see now. So who are the lucky superstars?"
- "You are going to laugh."
- "Oh come on Jeffy, just tell me, I'm dying to know." She said and then started making noises like she was having a heart attack.
- "Oh God. Enough." Jeff said cracking up. "It's N Sync."
- "EWWWWW! I would have stayed in the mail room." Dawn said in disgust.
- "Yeah, Yeah, I know. The only reason I know which one is which is because of Jill."
- "Alright, so what time does your flight land?" Dawn asked.
- "9:35 tonight. So be there!" Jeff said excitedly.
- "I will, you can count on it." Dawn said. Men in suits came out of Johnny's office followed by Johnny. Johnny signaled for him to come in.
- "Hey Dawn, I hate to cut you off, but I have a meeting right now. I will see you tonight. Love ya."
- "Bye Bye, Love ya too."
- "Bye." Jeff said and hung up the phone. He walked over to Johnny.
"Sorry to keep you waiting so Long. I have to make this quick because you have to be at the airport in an hour and fifteen minutes and traffic is going to be bad. Please come in." Johnny said.
"Jill, I'll be out in a few." Jeff said to Jill.
"Alright, go, go." Jill said returning to her magazine. N Sync was on the cover so of course she would be deep into the article.
"Have a seat." Johnny said as he closed the door and sat down behind his desk. Jeff sat down and Johnny continued. "Sorry my meeting ran so long. Lawsuits are a bitch. Anyway." Johnny said as he pulled a briefcase out from under his desk and opened it. "Here is everything you will need. Airline tickets. Cell phone. Pager. Credentials. Credit Card. Five thousand dollars cash." Johnny said as he pulled out each item from the briefcase. "Do you need the briefcase?" Johnny asked a very stunned Jeff.
"Uhm, no, I have one. Thank you so much. I am in shock." Jeff said with his eyes wide open.
"Well, I think I have done everything that I have to do. You are in for the time of your life Jeff." No one realized how true those words would end up being.
"Thank you Mr. Wright." Jeff said.
"Johnny, call me Johnny." Johnny said.
"Thank you Johnny. This is so awesome." Jeff said as he opened his briefcase and put all of his presents in with the papers he received yesterday and his Discman and CD's. He kept the airline tickets out and put them in his pocket, as with his credentials.
"Now you have a good time. From now on I am no longer your boss. I am a colleague. You now work for Karen Mills. Good Luck." Johnny said as he and Jeff stood up. They shook hands and walked to the door.
"Thank you." Jeff said as he left the office. "You ready Jill?" Jeff asked.
"Yeah, let's go. It's four right now and we have an hour drive ahead of us if we are lucky." Jill said. They got on the elevator and left the building. Traffic was heavy and due to Jeff's nervousness about the flight the ride was quiet besides for the occasional "Fuck" and "asshole" and "jackass" that came from Jill's mouth regarding other wonderful drivers. They made it to the airport at 5:30. Just a little late.
"Jill, I don't think you are gonna be able to park and still make it in time. Just drop me off at the drop off spot. I am sorry. I love you." Jeff said, tears in his eyes.
"I am gonna miss you babe. I love you too." Jill said as she stopped the car at the drop off point. They briefly hugged. Jeff exited the car and shut the door. He took his suitcase out of the trunk and shut the trunk. He walked into the airport and waved at Jill. He ran to the check in and made it just in time. The final boarding call was made over the intercom as he made his way to the gate. He took his ticket out and gave it to the woman at the gate. He made his way to the seat and put his briefcase in the carry on. This is it he thought. The beginning of his new life. The Flight Attendant came to him and told him to fasten his seatbelt. He fell asleep as the plane was taxiing down the runway. He was awoken at 9:15 by the same flight attendant that told him to fasten his seatbelt.
"Hi, My name is Sandra. I am just letting you know that the fasten seat belt light is on and we are now starting to decent into New York. Thank you for flying Northwest Airlines." Sandra said.
"Thank you Sandra." Jeff said as he rubbed his eyes. He slept through the entire flight he thought. How lucky. The decent was very smooth and they landed on schedule at 9:35. He exited the plane and waiting for him outside the gate was Dawn, holding a sign that read "D-O-R-K"
"I was hoping I would get the name right." Dawn said as Jeff ran up to her and pulled her into a hug.
"I love you too." Jeff said kissing dawn on the cheek.
"Yeah, Yeah, we don't need to get all mushy." There was a pause as Dawn sniffed the air around her. "God hun, you're not supposed to bathe in cologne. Just a little goes a long way."
"It's good to see you too. So you didn't bring the man in your life?" Jeff asked as dawn gave him the look.
"Now dear, you know better than that." Dawn said as she rolled her eyes.
"Well you've dated all these men, your almost twenty three. Maybe you're a lesbian?" Jeff asked, knowing she hated it when he did that.
"At least I have dated all these men...I think you're at 2?" Dawn said in retaliation.
"Actually, three, but who's counting?" Jeff said.
"Ok, enough of this, where's the limo and all that crap?" Dawn asked.
"Well I dunno. Look for a sign with my name I guess." Jeff said gazing around the terminal.
"Cooper Pooper Scooper, that way." Dawn said pointing to a man holding a sign that read Cooper. They walked toward the man in the suit. He was older, maybe mid fifties. Kind of chubby with peppery hair. Jeff took his credentials out of his pocket and held them in his hand.
"I'm Jeff Cooper." Jeff said and gave the man his credentials. His credentials were a card that had his picture on it with his name, the N Sync logo, his signature, his picture, access level 5, a barcode, and a magnetic reader strip. It had a clip on it that could be clipped to his shirt or it could be worn on a string around his neck.
"Right this way Mr. Cooper." The man said and gave David back his credentials. "My name is Thomas and I am your driver for the evening. May I please have your baggage claim?"
"Yeah, one second." Jeff said as he dug in his cargo pocket for the ticket. "Here you go" He said as he gave Thomas his baggage claim.
"Wait here while I get your Luggage sir." Thomas said as he left to get Jeff's suitcase.
"Well aren't we Mr. Superstar." Dawn said noticing all the special treatment.
"Oh shut the hell up. You know, I am going to have to do that for our friends in a short while." Jeff said rolling his eyes.
"Oh man, I feel bad for you." Dawn said and started laughing. Jeff buried his head in his hands and shook his head back and forth.
"I haven't seen you since last summer and this is the way you treat me. I'm feeling the love." Jeff said in mock hurt.
"Oh cheer up. It's gonna be fun. All sorts of traveling. Maybe one of them are gay, you could be about to meet the love of your life and not even know it." Dawn said.
"Oh God Dawn, please, spare me. For one I wouldn't date anyone that I work for, granted I don't work for them, I work for the tour manager. Anyway, I doubt any of them are gay anyway. They can get laid by almost any girl in this country, for the exception of a few weird ones." Jeff said looking at Dawn.
"Untypical, not weird dear, untypical." Dawn said correcting Jeff.
"Yeah whatever." Jeff said. There was a pause followed by Dawn opening her big trap.
"Here comes your slave, smile." Dawn said pointing to Thomas coming their way with Jeff's luggage.
"Thanks dear." Jeff said chuckling a little at her comment.
"If you'd please follow me." Thomas said as he walked toward the exit of the terminal. The walk didn't take them too long. Thomas put the luggage in the trunk of the car and opened the door for Dawn and Jeff.
"Thank you." Jeff and Dawn said in unison. Once they were in the limo Thomas shut the door and proceeded to get in and start the car and drive away.
"So where are they putting you up at?" Dawn asked about ten minutes into the drive. It was now quarter after ten.
"Ya know what, I honestly don't know. Hold on let me ask the driver." Jeff said. Dawn laughed a little. Jeff crawled up to the window by the driver and knocked on it. It rolled down and Thomas looked back in the rearview mirror.
"Yes?" Thomas asked.
"What hotel am I staying at?" Jeff asked, feeling somewhat dumb.
"You will be staying at the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan. We should arrive in about forty five minutes." Thomas said as he watched the road.
"Thank you very much." Jeff said. He crawled back into his seat and Thomas closed the window between him and the passenger compartment.
"The Plaza huh? Someone must love you." Dawn said.
"Yeah I know, maybe one day someone will love you." Jeff said, getting back at her for all her smart ass comments.
"You ass. It's ok. So what do you think of Thomas?" Dawn asked, trying to keep a straight face.
"Well, considering were you work, if you want an older man I am sure you could get with the ambassador of some country." Jeff said calling Dawn's bluff.
"Not funny, they are gross and they smell." Dawn paused. "They kind of remind me of you."
"I love you too." Jeff said. He smiled at Dawn.
"Oh, you know I love you." Dawn said and returned Jeff's smile. "I am gonna use your arm as a pillow, I hope that's alright."
"No problem." Jeff said as Dawn laid her head on Jeff's arm. She woke up at 4:30 that morning and she immediately fell asleep. The remainder of the ride to the hotel was quiet. They made it at eleven and Dawn was sound asleep. Thomas got the luggage out of the trunk and offered to take it into the hotel. Jeff declined and tipped him and gave him Dawn's address. Before he left he wrote Dawn a note.
Dawn,
Hey sleepy head. Thanks for coming. Call me when you are free and we can get together and do something. I am in New York till Tuesday.
Love Ya Bunches,
Jeffy
(212)214-2201
The limo drove off and Jeff walked into the lobby of the hotel. Considering the time it was relatively quiet. There were a few girls camped outside of the hotel that jumped at the sight of the limo. However when they saw it wasn't an N Sync member they went back to their stalking. Jeff walked up to the one of the woman stranding at the check in desk and gave her his credentials.
"My name is Jeffery Cooper. I am supposed to have a room booked." Jeff said in a professional voice.
"One moment sir." The lady said. There was a minute of silence. "Ahh yes, Mr. Cooper. You have level five access with the group. Level five is the highest security level and you have received prior clearance. You are in room 3506. The five performers are in rooms 3501 through 3505. Miss Mills is in room 3510. You have the whole floor reserved. However due to construction those are the only rooms on that floor available for use. The rest of the tour group is on floor 30. If you have any questions feel free to ask myself or anyone on our staff. My name is Judy."
"Thank you Judy." Jeff said as he shooke hands with Judy.
"This is your room key." Judy said and gave him a credit card like room key. "This is also for the elevator. The only way the elevator will open at your floor is if you insert the card in the slot below the numbers. Just put the card in and it will go directly to your floor. I will send a Bellhop with you to take your luggage. Have an enjoyable stay here at the Plaza and enjoy your time in New York."
"Thanks." Jeff said as a bellhop came and took his suitcase and briefcase from him. It sounded like that woman had rehearsed those lines for the past hour Jeff thought. They walked into the elevator in silence and Jeff placed his room key in the slot. The doors closed and the elevator rose quickly.
"My name is Tony, Mr. Cooper. If you need anything here is my number, don't hesitate for anything." Tony said and handed Jeff a business card.
"Thank you." Jeff paused. "Do you have a gym or a pool?" Jeff asked.
"Yes we do. Open all night. Floor 4. Very nice facility if I do say so myself." Tony said.
"Thank you Tony." Jeff said as the doors opened on the thirty fifth floor. They got off and walked down the hallway towards the room. Jeff inserted the key into the slot and waited for the green light to turn on. He pushed the door open and Tony followed, turning on the lights. The room was all done up in cherry wood. It was beautiful. Jeff was in awe.
"Enjoy your stay Mr. Cooper." Tony said. Jeff tipped him and Tony left. Jeff laid down on the bed that engulfed him. Wow escaped his lips. He lay there and let the day catch up with him. It was around eleven thirty when he decided he should go work out and burn off the energy he had. He opened his suitcase and took out a bathing suit and a t-shirt. Jeff took his Discman out of his suitcase and put his Three Doors Down CD in it. He put his room key in the zipper pocket of his suit and left his room. He pushed the button at the elevator bank and took it to the fourth floor. He walked into the exercise room and it was empty except for him. He was more into aerobics and cardiovascular exercising then he was in weight lifting. There were two treadmills in the gym. After getting on one of them and putting number five on his Three Doors Down CD on repeat he began at a slow pace. When he had worked himself up to the slow pace he changed the speed to jog. Whenever he ran, he got lost in his thoughts and his music and left the world behind. That's probably why he didn't hear someone start the treadmill next to him. The batteries in his Discman died and that took him out of his trance.
"JESUS CHRIST." He screamed when he saw someone was running right next to him.
"Sorry man, isn't me, think your mistaken." The man said. Jeff noticed that he was cute. About the same height and build as him. This guy had black hair and gorgeous ice blue eyes.
"I apologize, you startled me, my batteries died and it's late and I didn't expect someone to be down here this late and, sorry I'm rambling, the name's Jeff." Jeff said as he extended his hand over to the gorgeous guy exercising next to him.
"I'm Josh." The guy said extending his hand out and shaking Jeff's hand. "Have you ever seen me before?"
"Not that I am aware of, why?" Jeff asked, a little confused.
"Sorry, never mind." Josh said brushing it off.
"Alright. Well, pleasure to meet you Josh." Jeff said, admiring the hunk beside him. He had to snap out of it. He did and just went back to being regular old Jeff.
"The pleasure is all mine." Josh said.
"So what brings you down here so late?" Jeff asked after a momentary pause.
"I had a thing tonight and I just got back about an hour ago. I had an argument with some friends and I thought this would burn off some steam, how about you?" Josh asked.
"I am sorry man. I just got in to New York About two hours ago. I slept on the plane the whole way here which was about three and a half hours. I need to burn off that extra energy so I can get some shut eye." Jeff said.
"Wait, you say your name is Jeff right?" Josh asked, as if he had figured out a great mystery.
"Yeah, that's me." Jeff said, a little confused.
"That's as long as it takes to get from Orlando to here." Josh said.
"Yup, that's where I came from." Jeff said.
"Is your last name Cooper by chance?" Josh asked.
"Uh, yeah, my last name is Cooper, how did you know that?" Jeff asked with concern and confusion in his voice.
"Oh cool, it's awesome to meet you man." Josh said, slapping Jeff on the shoulder.
"Ok, I am like totally confused man. Care to share?" Jeff asked with a puzzled look on his face.
"You don't know who I am do you?" Josh asked.
"Hmm." Jeff said looking over Josh. "Not a clue."
"I am Josh Chasez." Josh said, noticing the confused look on Jeff's face, he continued. "I am J.C. from N Sync."
"Oh." Jeff said. His face turned beet red as he realized how much an ass he made of himself. "I am so sorry. I am not a hardcore fan of N Sync."
"Hey, it's cool. It's nice to meet you. So you're the new P.A. right?" Josh asked.
"Yup, that's me. I am kinda new at this though." Jeff admitted.
"Hey, it's cool, it's cool. Karen says you are qualified for the job and that you are twenty two and that you graduated from Florida State in May." Josh said.
"Yeah, that's me, sounds like there is a book about me that I didn't know about." Jeff said trying to make some humor. Josh laughed at his bad humor, so he didn't feel as embarrassed as before.
"Well Josh, it's been nice meeting you. It's twenty after twelve and I have had enough exercise for the evening. I will see you tomorrow." Jeff said as he shut off the treadmill and started walking towards the elevator.
"Hey, wait up man. I'll go up too, I am pooped myself." Josh said as he ran to catch up with Jeff.
"Alright, that's cool." Jeff said as he pushed the button for the elevator.
"Hey I have an idea." Josh said.
"Alright, let's hear." Jeff said. He felt like he had been friends with Josh forever. Josh felt the same way. They just clicked.
"Do you want to go up and meet the guys?" Josh asked.
"Didn't you say you had an argument with them?" Jeff asked with some concern in his voice.
"Yeah, but they will drop it. They really want to meet you. It'll be cool, trust me." Josh said trying to get Jeff to go and meet them.
"Alright, I'll go, but you are going to have to point them out because I don't know which one is which." Jeff said, which was followed by a quiet laugh. "Sorry, it sounds like I am talking about puppies or something."
"Dogs man, they are dogs." Josh said and they both laughed loudly. The elevator doors opened and they went up to their floor...
TBC...
Hope you liked it. Chapter 3 coming up soon. E-Mail me PLEASE!! I love e-mails. I am pathetic, I know, But just say hi! Thanks bunches! :) Have A Great Day :)