Bailey glanced around the bare room, her suitcases by her heels and her hands on her hips. Her thoughts of Joe's weird attitude were then interrupted by a knock at the door. She then made her way to the dull frame and pulled it open. Her eyes widening at the sight before her, she stepped out of the doorway for the trio to pass. Walking into the room with a purple, masseuse table, towels, and a duffle bag, an Asian woman entered. On her heels was her make-up/hairdresser from 'Traffic Jam', Kathy, along with a younger girl who looked just like her, except about 20 years younger.

Within moments, the massage bench was set up, the young girl had a nail kit open and ready to go, and Kathy was already unwrapping her hairdryer and plugging in her hair rollers.

"Ready to get to work?" Kathy grinned over at Bailey's expressionless face. "Oh, c'mon sweetie. This is nothing new. -Oh, Bails, this is Sue Yung, she's going to help get rid of all that tension inside of you, along with that ugly face you're giving me right now. And then this is my daughter Sami, she'll help make those things you call nails all pretty and prepped up." she finished with as much enthusiasm as she had started with. A little taken a back by everything being shot at her all at once, Bailey just stood there, eyeing the three females.

"You famous mow. You stressful. I help relieve." Sue nodded in Bailey's direction, then waved for her to lay on the bench before her. After a moment, she finally came to her senses. Bailey gave up on the mental battle she was losing herself to and approached the cushioned bench. Lifting a leg over and then pulling her body onto the purple material, Bailey peeked her head over the edge and rested her face in the circular piece. Within a few seconds, she felt Sue's hands on her shoulders, then her thumbs digging into her flesh. "Wow. You ver tense." all Bailey responded with was a simple groan as her eyes slowly began to close. "I fix."

"So, um. . ." she listened as Kathy tried to think of a conversation starter. "I brought Sami with me; she's a big fan!"

"Hey Sami." Bailey's voice was pointed downward through the headpiece of the massage table, her hand coming up to her side as she gave a little half-assed wave.

"Hi." she heard Sami reply before listening as a few nail polish bottles clinked together.

"Speaking of fans, how's your number one?" Kathy began, smiling as she brushed the back of her hand on the hair roller case to feel the heat.

"What, my mom?" Bailey questioned.

"No, no." Kathy laughed. "Joe." a tiny smile appeared on her lips as she waited the young lover's response.

"Ugh." was all she responded with, obviously not wanting to talk about him. "This feels really good." Bailey muttered, her eyes still shut as Sue continued massaging her back.

"So, does he have anything planned for tonight?" Sami questioned, causing both Sue and Kathy to glare over at her as if she had said something scared. "I-I mean, so, what are you doing tonight? For the big eighteen." she covered up.

"I have no frikkin' idea." Bailey blurted out. "-But Joe's really pissing me off."

"Oh?" Kathy questioned, even though at this point she knew everything that was going on. She expected Bailey to be a little moody and house a sour attitude, but she didn't expect this little 'plan' to get to her that much.

"It's been over a week and I've been missing him like crazy. Then, we get here and he just dumps me here with you guys, -no offense, and to be honest, all I want to do is just spend time with him wearing a pair of sweats, hair a mess, with a box of pizza in a hotel room or something. Nothing fancy."

"You hush now. Enjoy massage. Stop the whine." Sue ordered. "We prep for good night. No worry." Bailey smiled to the floor at her broken English and finally began to relax a little.

"But still. . ." she continued, her mind cranking as she thought things over once again. Taking a deep breath, she interrupted the massage and rolled over, her hand digging in the pocket of her jeans for her cell phone. "I'm calling him. I can't go without talking to him." she stated, her eyes focused down on her phone as the other three exchanged worried glances.

- - - - -

"Don't answer it." Bobby ordered as Joe pulled out his vibrating cell phone. Glancing up at the dark, spiky haired boy from across the table in a small café in Miami, he reluctantly obeyed and placed his phone on the table as Bailey's named blinked across the screen.

"You know, I'm beginning to have second thoughts about this crap." Joe spat once the phone seized all movement. All he wanted to do was see and talk to Bailey, but for the entire afternoon he was kept from doing so.

"You know, so am I." Bobby stated before Joe nodded, somewhat glad that he seemed to agree. "You're so stubborn, it's unreal. -You're just like her, you know."

"Hey!" Joe exclaimed, obviously not expecting him to take that route.

"When you asked for a favor, you said to do whatever I needed to get things to work. This little emo bullshit is keeping me from going that."

"Oh my God, you're so gay." Joe huffed in defeat, knowing that his 'queer eye' for this 'romantic' plan was going to turn out perfect, even if he had to do everything he was told.

"I know this?" Bobby questioned in confusion with an unsure chuckle. He had 'come out' only weeks after the 'Traffic Jam' premiere, breaking thousands of little girls' hearts across the US. Joe knew he was

"Well, I hate to admit it, and I don't mean to offend you. . .but, you sound like a chick, dude." Joe made a weird face after listening to his own comment.

"Yeah, well. . .shuttup, and c'mon. We've got to get going. We don't want to be running late." Bobby stated, picking up his coffee cup and his scrunched up napkin as Joe kicked out his steel chair.

- - - - -

"I feel so relaxed, it's unbelievable." Bailey sighed back into the cushioned armchair. Her hands relaxed on the arm rests as Sami applied a 2nd coat of an aqua blue to her toenails. Bringing her wet fingers to her lips, Bailey softly blew on them to quicken the drying process as Kathy primped her hair from behind.

"I thought you didn't really care for the 'curly' look?" Kathy questioned as she carefully took a large, warm roller out of Bailey's dark blonde hair.

"I don't, really. . .but Joe likes it." she replied simply, shrugging her shoulders.

"Aw." she smiled in return as a squeak echoed in the room.

"Ew, there be mice?" Sue exclaimed, utter confusion and disgust taking over her face as she looked up from the magazine she was flipping through.

"No, no." Bailey laughed from her chair. "It was my phone. New text." she nodded towards her phone that was on the end table a yard or two away from her as Sami screwed the brush back into the nail polish bottle. Not expecting Kathy to retrieve it, Bailey felt a little bad. She was beginning to feel like a Pre-Madonna, but it wasn't her fault. They insisted on making every little move for her. After flipping her cell open with her palm, her eyes scrunched in confusion. "Weird. . .it's from a restricted number." she muttered, then read the text out loud.

"go look in the bathroom.
-Private"


"Looks like you have a little stalker." Sami commented, flicking her eyebrows up and down flirtatiously before her expression changed to a startled one. "Oh my God, maybe they're watching us now." she stated quickly, then turning to the windows that were covered with a cream colored curtain.

"Uh-huh, sure. Because now people have special glasses that can see through rough, cotton/polyester crap." Bailey rolled her eyes with a chuckle as she texted back with a simple 'WTF'. Within moments, there was a response. One that made her burst out into laughter.

"asdfjkl; juSt g0 Lo0k iN thA baFfro0m!
-Private"


"Wow. You think that would've taken a little bit of time to key in." Sami laughed, obviously down with the ridiculous IM language. Instantly agreeing, Bailey then stood from the chair and stomped on her heels to the bathroom, careful not to mess up her freshly painted toes. Laying on the porcelain toilet seat was a silver envelope and a peach colored rose on top. Grabbing the two and thumping back into the open room, she held up the two items.

"How romantic." Sami cooed with a cheesy grin.

"Yeah. . .a fancy envelope and a rose. . .on a toilet seat." Bailey laughed, shaking her head and knowing who had to have put it there.

"What's it say?" Kathy questioned with a smirk, obviously in on the whole thing.

"I don't know. I can't open it." Bailey laughed, handing the envelope to Sami because of her wet fingernails.

"Ok, ok. Ahem." Sami began, holding the little card up in front of her. "You are cordially, -which is spelled wrong, by the way. - invited to have the best night of your life. Your attendance is required in the ballroom of the Hilton. 532 Tab Drive, Miami, Florida." she looked up from the text and grinned.

"Let me see!" Bailey beamed, hurrying over and retrieving the card from her. Her smile grew even more when she noticed Joe's handwriting on the sparkly paper. "-At 6 o'clock?!" she began to panic.

"Calm down and take a breather." Kathy chuckled. "You've got pretty much everything done anyway. You just have to get dressed in that little dress Sami picked out, do a little bit of make-up, strap on those heels and get going. Then, the hall is like 5 minutes down the road."

"Ballroom." Bailey corrected, the word sticking out in her mind as she picture what the set-up could possibly look like.

"Alright. One hour. We can do this!" Kathy exclaimed, then received a stern nod from Bailey who threw herself back down into the chair.

"Make me beautiful, baby."

- - - - -

"She's not going to find this place." Bobby put his hands on his hips as Joe stabbed a large post into the ground off beside the Hilton. The soil was a bit moist, sliding the 'Tab Drive' sign into it. Yanking it straight a few times, then taking a step back and analyzing it's position, Joe nodded in satisfaction. "God, you're so weird."

"Just shut up, Bobby." he snapped, glaring over at him, then flicking out his wrist and looking down at his obnoxious gold watch.

"Jeeze, spazz." Bobby huffed, crossing his arms across his chest and narrowing his eyes over at his planning partner. This was the only idea Joe really had control over, and Bobby was convinced that it was totally stupid. The only reason he gave in and let him do the ridiculous 'Tab Drive' thing was because he claimed it had a 'deep meaning' and that it'd really mean a lot to Bailey. He begged to differ, but went with it anyway.

"I'm just. . .nerve wrecked. Five minutes and it's 6pm. This needs to be perfect." he stated.

"Joseph, -" he began, stepping forward and reaching out for his tie. Straightening it out and brushing off the shoulders of his black blazer, Bobby was beginning to feel like a 'mother' releasing 'her' son to his first prom. Once that thought entered his mind, Joe shook his hands away and tugged his blazer out himself. "- you really love her, don't you? I've never seen you so nervous." he chuckled.

"More than ever." Joe breathed out, his heart picking up the pace a bit.

"Now, I'm going to go wait in the lobby for your girl so she won't get lost." Bobby stated, backing up towards the front of the Hilton.

"She won't get lost." Joe chuckled, rolling his eyes as his anticipation for her arrival grew with every second. His mind even began to drift to what she was wearing."Twenty says she won't know where to go." Bobby challenged boldly.

"You're on." he accepted the little bet, then shook his hand firmly before watching him head to the front of the hotel. Shoving his hands into the pockets of his dark, tight pants in nervousness, Joe then turned around and started down the dirt path of the unofficial 'Tab Drive'.

- - - - -

"Like I said, Miss. There's no such thing as a 'Tab Drive.'" the moody driver eyed her in the rearview mirror. "- but this is the only Hilton in the area." he sighed. Biting her lip in frustration, Bailey fought off the tears of emotion before stomping out of the limo and slamming the door. The stress that Sue Yung had rubbed out of her had returned once she rushed out of her own hotel ten after six, With her leaving the hotel late and the driver got lost as well, that made her an extra eleven minutes late. Whatever was planned for her, she hoped to God she didn't mess up.

With the screech of tires, the limo sped off, obviously equally fed up with Bailey herself. Arguing with the driver over a street that 'didn't exist' kind of put her in a sour mood, added onto the fact that she was late, she was pretty tense.

"Asshole!" she yelled at the red taillights as it turned out of the parking lot. Bailey then stomped into the lobby of the hotel, her hand gripping the thin black strap of her purse that matched her choppy, v-necked cocktail dress. Stopping in the center of the marble floor, her eyes scanned the surprisingly dead lobby. It was nearly silent as she observed the vacancy. Slowly beginning to think that she was in the wrong place, her pulse began to quicken as she approached the front desk.

"Um, where is the ballroom?" she asked, forcing a smile on her worried face. Her fake smile instantly faded as the elderly woman looked back at her in confusion for a moment.

"Over there." she pointed to a big set of doors off to the right. Nodding a 'thank you', Bailey's heels clicked on the marble as she approached the doors.

Shoving the heavy bar forward and pushing the door forward, darkness took over her. Hiding a smile and anticipating a big 'surprise'; nothing happened. Stepping in and clicking on the lights, a bare, empty hall filled her eyes. Exhaling, she clicked the lights off and turned around as her eyes began to water. She had no idea where she was supposed to go. First, she arrived late. Second, there apparently was 'no such thing' as a 'Tab Drive', and then one logical place she thought she was supposed to be at was vacant. She was not a happy camper.

Letting the ballroom doors slam behind her, Bailey then turned the heads of the few people in the lobby as her heels slapped towards the exit.

"Hey, hey. Slow down there." Bobby appeared in front of her, putting his hands out and resting them on her shoulders.

"I'm not in the fucking mood, Bobby." she snarled, completely forgetting that she hadn't seen him in weeks, and forgetting to even question why he was there in the first place.

"Tab Drive? -Go out the front doors, make a left, and there you go." he stated simply, watching the unpleasant look on her face fade to a soft, hopeful one. He couldn't help but smile back at her.

"How did you -" she began in disbelief, slowly beginning to catch on. Bobby then chuckled and waved her off.

- - - - -

"It's like déjà vu." a soft, feminine voice caused Joe to jump up from the log he was sitting on and turn around.

Staring over at Bailey who had her hands clasped together upfront of her, he lost his breath. Warmth took over his body as her shiny smile beamed over at him from a couple yards away. Bailey looked absolutely stunning; her long flowy hair, dark layered dress, strappy heels. Her soft stare was locked onto his. He could tell she was liking what she was seeing as well. Trapped in his warm, chocolate eyes, Bailey was able to pry her eyes away only for a moment. Beginning to observe his straight, dark and chunky locks that she loved, she began to feel the strap of her purse slide off her shoulder. Captivated by his presence, hint of sexual tension and confidence, she couldn't move. It was when Joe took a few steps towards her in the dimly lit opening in the center of the trees, that were too limited to call a 'forest', that her breath stopped in her lungs. Too wrapped up in the boy in front of her, she hadn't noticed what else was around her.

There were a few battery operated candles scattered around the dirt circle, that was about 8 feet in diameter, to prevent an accidental fire. Off on a large rock was a box of pizza and a few bottles of root beer; her favorite. There was a thin blanket slung over a fallen log and a little boom box set up off towards the side. It somewhat reminded her of what she did for his 18th birthday the previous year. Except the trees opened up to a little creek instead of a pond. This boy sure knew how to work things.

"Hey." Joe finally breathed out, his body stopping only inches in front of hers. He could tell that her heart was racing a mile a minute, her blue eyes glistening into his.

"Hi." she barley replied before her lips formed into a bigger smile that she didn't think was possible. Bailey then let herself forward, her arms wrapping around the back of his neck as his folded around her waist. Holding her tight, Joe lifted her a bit and swung her around, his eyes slowly closing as he inhaled her comforting perfume.

"Happy Birthday." his lips tickled her neck, his deep voice vibrating on her skin. Grinning into his shoulder, she whispered a small 'thanks' before taking another whiff of his captivating cologne and slowly pulling away. Everything felt absolutely perfect. "Oh! I have food." he grinned, grabbing her hand and leading her over to the log but the pizza box.

Dinner, if you'd like to call it, was enjoyable for the two lovers. Through more than a dozen laughs, offensive, but lovable insults and even a few sauce stains on their black attire, Bailey was loving every second of it. Not once had she ever expected something like that and not ever had things felt so right between them. The setting was romantic, the air was cool, Joe's arm around her housed her warmth. After a few oops', 'shits' and spills, the night wouldn't qualify as "storybook perfect", but it was pretty damn close.

"You know. . ." Joe began, his butt now in the dirt as his back leaned against the log. Now that they were finished eating, his arm rested around Bailey as her head leaned into his shoulder. "We're getting married." he smiled at her laugh from his blunt statement. "I'm serious girl. You're stuck with me."

"Likewise, boy." she chuckled, her fingers playing with his that were rested on his chest. "-And then we'll have a picket fence and a rose garden, right?" she asked, her smirk glowing up at him as he squeezed her side.

"Not funny." he chuckled.

"Oh, come on." Bailey laughed, then stopped abruptly. "Uh-oh." she breathed out. "We can't get married!"

"What? Why not?" Joe questioned, his eyes coming together in confusion.

"Because, I'm not your dream girl!"

"Bails, what are you talking about?" he sighed in disbelief, curious as to what she was going to say next.

"I'm not from Australia. This'll never work out." she groaned, pushing off of his chest and sitting up with her back slouched forward. Her heard was turned to it's side as her chin rested on her own shoulder while his hand made its way to the small of her back.

"Shut up." Joe finally laughed at the straight face she kept. It was only a few more seconds before she cracked into laugher herself. "-And stop with that song thing, it's stupid."

"You know you love it." she stated, her eyes smiling back at him.

"I know I love you." he responded, leaning forward himself and resting his chin on her shoulder where hers just was.

"I know you're crazy." she nodded, chuckling from his breath that was tingling on her neck. "Joe. .." she breathed out, already knowing where this was going to go, feeling his lips on her skin. She felt them sponge her for a moment before her heart began to pound inside of her chest. A strand of his hair then shifted from the angle he was on, grazing her ear and sending goosebumps throughout the rest of her body. This was what she loved. He knew exactly how to get to her.

His fingers curled around her waist from behind as his lips continued to trail along her neck.

"Maybe we should, uh. . ." Bailey breathed out, her eyes closing beyond her control.

"Get back to the hotel?" he asked softly, stealing the words from her mind and reluctantly pulling away from her body. She hummed a small 'mhm' as he grasped onto her hand and helped her up off the ground before interlacing his fingers with hers. Leading her away from the opening and back down 'Tab Drive', Bailey stopped, her heart still racing in her throat.

"What about the stuff set up back there?" she asked, her eyebrows coming together in concern.

"Why do you think Bobby was here?" Joe smirked.

- - - - -

"Give me that." Bailey muttered, slapping Joe's hand and snatching the card key from his shaky grasp.

Bumping his side and shifting him out of the way of the hotel door, she slid the card in the slot. Before it beeped, alerting them that it was unlocked, Joe's hands gripped her from behind. Shoving the door open, Joe put more pressure on her backside and lead her in. Bailey then departed from his touch as he shut and locked the door; handle and chain.

"Joe. . ." Bailey began, standing in the center of the room as he stepped towards her. Her heels were already off and kicked to the side as Joe's feet began kicking his own shoes off. "This is like. . ."

"-It." he inhaled slowly, his heart fluttering inside of him like never before. "I know."

"But -" she began softly.

"No buts. Not this time." he breathed out. "I'm done doing what's best; what's right." Joe paused, gathering all his thoughts and emotions that had bottled up inside of him since the last time things almost went too far. "Bails, I love you so much, and I know you feel the same. There's no denying this." his gaze over at her was strong, noticing the extra wetness that had formed in her eyes. He knew the only reason why she had rejected him all the times before; it was because of that ring on his finger. What she couldn't get through her hard head was that the ring had became hers a long time ago.

Watching her step forward to him, he didn't blink. It wasn't until she was a foot away from him when his hands shot up to her cheeks and his body leaned forward the rest of the way, his eyes closing as their lips met once again.

Breaking through that barrier, Bailey's eyes fluttered closed, her hands coming up and gripping the collar to his blazer that was about to leave his body. With one hard tug, he got the hint and moved his hand down and yanked it off by the cuffs. Her hand then fiddled with his tie as she took tiny steps backwards, their lips smacking every few seconds. Frustrated with the fact that she couldn't see what she was doing, she broke away from his moist lips and yanked the loop of the material. Sliding the silk out from the little knot, she then pulled it off and began to unbutton his shirt. His eyes were lowered, staring into her eyes that were locked onto the buttons; she was in complete concentration. He couldn't control the smirk that came upon his lips.

Down to the last button, her eyes finally shifted up at his, realizing he'd been staring at her the whole time. A light shade of pink accompanied her cheeks for a moment as he shook off his shirt. Seeing the lust in her eyes as she glanced down at his tanned, toned chest, his smirk faded away as his lips met hers again, keeping the momentum going.

Bailey's hands rested on his shoulders, somewhat along his neck as the straps to her dress began to slide off her own shoulders. It wasn't for a moment and a slight breeze from behind that she realized that Joe's fingers had found their way to the tiny zipper on the back of her dress. Smirking inro the kiss as their tongues wrestled, her hands stayed put as she felt him tug the zipper every few seconds, slowing down the process.

Once the zipper rested on her lower back, right above her backside, she felt his fingertips trail up the soft skin he had just revealed and to the back of her neck, his lips pressing a little harder into hers. It was now her turn to take it the rest of the way.

Instead of letting the top half of her dress to fall, her fingers lowered and began fiddling with his pants. Unbuttoning them quite easily and listening to the little zip, she felt the smile on his lips, knowing that he wanted to laugh at the distinct sound. It was then when her black material inched down her skin, her chest exposing itself just a little bit.

When Joe's pants fell to the floor, Bailey turned him around, somewhat backing him up to the bed. When the back of his knees hit, he collapsed, breaking the kiss. He then began to watch her. The purity in her eyes as she locked onto him, his body began to sweat. In the dimness of the room, her shadow cascaded off the wall behind her, making her skin appear to be a bit tanner than what it truly was.


The straps from her dress slid further down, almost past her elbows; gravity ended up pulling it down the rest of the way. Her shyness quickly slipped away once she saw the flame in his eyes; the look of pure love, and maybe even a hint of lust. This was it. Her dress was at her feet and her tiny, black Victoria Secret panties were clearly in view, along with the rest of her bare body. Confidently stepping towards him, she made her way onto his lap, her legs straddling his waist as she draped her arms around his neck.

She felt the sweat on his skin, even the thumping of his heart as his lips began pecking at hers. The sponging was slow at first. It started at her lips, then slowly down her jaw line, down her neck, and to her collarbone. In the heat of the room, those familiar goosebumps formed once again.

It was truly happening.