The Fan Ch. 01-02

Author's Note: This story is based on fiction, and all characters are 18 years of age or older. The setting for this story takes place in the early 2006 when MTV was in its prime as the source for musical information. Those of us who have ever fawned over a celebrity will appreciate a story like this, and I hope you are able to immerse yourself in the fantasy. I would like to thank the various editors who have also taken part to make this story what it is today, including 29wordsforsnow. A very special thank you goes out to my main source of inspiration, thatsbogus, for the encouragement and powerful feedback which has helped this story see the light of day. Without him, this story would have sat forever in that place of teenage fantasy. Thank you all and happy reading!

Chapter One

The Introduction

"You ready?"

Jax looked up from the production print-up he was reviewing to meet the eyes of his best friend and personal assistant Chase and winced internally. No, he was not ready.

"Are ticket sales that bad? Do I really need to do this?" he asked dryly. Chase laughed even though Jax wasn't necessarily making a joke.

"I know, man, I know. But hey, if it's any consolation one of the chicks out there waiting is smoking hot." Chase waggled his eyebrows at him and Jax pulled a face. "You've got five minutes before I pull you out of this room, though, so get your shit together and put a smile on your face for me, bud." Chase thankfully left the room to give him those five minutes in peace.

Jax rolled his eyes and pulled his shoulders together, attempting to ease the ache that had settled in the middle of his back. That ache was a physical manifestation of his apprehension. Knowing this, he attempted to calm his nerves. The 'hot' girl Chase was apparently drooling over was waiting along with two other lucky fans for a chance to sit down one-on-one with him for this crazy production thing his publicist had cooked up with MTV and the producers of TRL, or Total Request Live, America's number one show for musical artists. Apparently, it was the only way his publicist and agent could think of to boost album and ticket sales.

Over the past three months since his second solo album Love Mimic had dropped, thousands upon thousands of women eighteen years and older (and a couple hundred middle-aged men) had sent in videos. Each one claiming to be his biggest fan in an attempt to win a once in a lifetime chance to meet the very man himself, Jaxon Trentwell, and score front row seats to the first show of his US tour in San Francisco, California. After the producers and his PR group waded through all the videos, twenty-five had been selected and posted on MTV's TRL website. Voting was then opened to America. The top three fans whose videos received the most votes would then fly out to meet with Jax during a live taping of TRL in his home state of Tennessee. Afterwards, he himself would choose one of the three to attend the first US show.

Jax sighed again and ran a hand through his short brown hair that had a tendency to curl here and there. His hands stilled as he caught his gaze once again in the makeup mirror of the little prep room they occupied at the iconic Sun Studio in Memphis. Jax had insisted on doing the interviews here. Not only would he be supporting the preservation and promotion of an historic Memphis landmark, he would be able to stay home just a little while longer before his tour started.

The silver-blue eyes that gazed back at him in the mirror looked tired already. Even though he was only 26, he felt like an old man. He had been touring consistently now since he was 14 years old when he first started with his old pop boy-band, In-Time. He had been free of the boy band for five years now and was releasing his second solo album, but the touring was all the same. Only difference was that he was on his own now instead of with four other band mates. While he always looked forward to sharing his music with the world and entertaining on a stage, something he truly loved to do inside and out, he was dreading all of the preparatory press junkets and publicity stunts it required, including this one. The whole idea of it gave him the creeps and made him feel like the biggest narcissist in the whole world. If he ever found out who the genius was that came up with the idea of a contest to see who was his 'biggest fan', they were going to be fired.

"You coming? Or am I about to have a very awkward conversation with a dozen MTV execs?" Chase had popped his head back through the door, interrupting his rambling thoughts.

"I'm coming." Jax sighed and turned away from the mirror and the self-disgust found there to follow Chase out the door.

Jax settled into the comfortable leather armchair in one of Sun Studio's offices and waited as the monitor affixed to the wall on his left flickered to light. He squinted as the studio lights brought in for this occasion were adjusted and aimed in his direction along with three different cameras. He tried to ignore the ache in his back and forced himself to keep his shoulders straight. He looked to the right at the closed door where the people America deemed his biggest fans waited. He chewed his lip and rolled one shoulder before giving himself a mental shake.

His boy-band had been a near instant hit when they had first formed, so he had a plethora of experience with crazed fans, or fanatics over the years. If America was doing the choosing here, the people on the other side of that door could be either the most amazing individuals in the world, or, more likely, the most star-struck individuals in the world. The kind of fans that cut his face out of all the magazines and pasted them to paper with lip-stick kisses. Chase had informed him recently that he had received three of those in his fan mail just the other day. Normally, those types of messages of adoration didn't disturb him and he accepted them as a necessary byproduct of the fame game that allowed him to share his music with the world, but he had yet to have any kind of in-depth conversation with one of those types of fans. Thus the nervous tick to pull at his short, cropped hair and shrink into the leather of the chair. He barely caught himself with his hand raised in mid-air and balled his hand into a fist, forcing himself to shake off these feelings.

He studied the dark oak of the closed door again, squinting against the glare of the lights to bring himself back to the moment and prepare for whomever was beyond that door. Unfortunately 'prepared' wasn't the word he could necessarily apply to himself at the moment. He hadn't found the time to look at any of the contestants' videos himself, but if he was really being truthful, it wasn't so much lack of time as it was lack of motivation. As a result, he truly had no idea who was on the other side of that door. He could only offer a silent prayer that his PR people and MTV's people had done at least a modicum of due diligence and screened the three people on the other side of the door as carefully as Chase screened his fan mail for lipsticked kisses.

The monitor on the wall flicked from a blue screen to a focused image of MTV VJ Drake. "Check one, check two," Jax heard Drake's voice echo from the speakers on the wall. From what he could see, Drake was in the New York Studio in its normal set up in front of a small audience and the iconic windows viewable from Times Square. Drake was a good guy. Jax had met him a few times during the course of his career and had appeared on that same set, in front of those same windows, gazing down into a crowd of adoring fans below. He was a relatively new VJ, but genuinely liked by musicians for his candor and appreciated by fans.

"Ok, going live in 3, 2, 1..." The production assistant signaled on air and Jax watched Drake go to work.

"Drake here for MTV. Welcome to a special edition of Total Request Live. It is Thursday, October 19, 2006, and something very exciting is about to happen. As all of you know, the long-awaited Love Mimic Album from Mr. Jaxon Trentwell has been out for nearly three months, flying off the shelves and climbing the charts. During those past few months, all of you viewers at home went to MTV's website and chose the three very lucky fans that get to meet Jaxon down home in Memphis where," he smiled and paused as the crowd cheered "one lucky fan will then be chosen by Jaxon himself to join him for the kick off of his Love Mimic tour in San Francisco, California. They will get to experience what it feels like to be Jax, the interviews, the sound checks, the rehearsals and finally, the show and all of you will get to join them from their point of view via live streaming on the web. That's right, that's right.... Pretty exciting, isn't it?" Drake smiled while the audience around him in the New York studio cheered.

"Okay, in just a moment we will get live feed from Memphis. That's right, we will get to watch everything as it happens, a first in MTV history by the way. We get to watch as Jax interviews his fans and then picks the one he feels most deserving to accompany him to the opening of his tour. Okay, on the monitor now, live from Memphis, everyone give it up for Mr. Jaxon Trentwell!" The production assistant in the studio with Jax signaled that they were live on air and he sat up a bit straighter in his chair and adjusted the seam of his dark gray slacks before giving himself a mental shake and adopting his on-screen smile.

Jax smiled as the crowd on the monitor to his left continued to cheer and he waved a tired hand at the camera. "Oh stop it." The crowd just screamed louder and Jax chuckled. "Okay, keep going."

"They are lovin' you here Jaxon, lovin' you." Drake waved to the crowd of people behind him.

"Thank you, thank you..."

"So how are you doing there in Tennessee?"

"Good, good, you know."

"Good? Are you nervous at all to be meeting what MTV viewers and bloggers feel are your biggest fans?"

"Well, you know, as nervous as they are probably." Jax pressed his lips together and then smiled slowly.

"Oh, I doubt that man, I doubt that." Jax and Drake laughed. "Well, you've seen their bios but I'll reiterate for the audience at home, help me out if I get anything wrong."

"Hey, I probably know less than you, man."

"Well, first off we have Danni from New Jersey, a self-proclaimed dedicated Jaxon Trentwell fan. She's been to every concert 'including all the 'In-Time ones' as she tells us, and, believe it or not, she hired a professional filmographer to direct and film her submission video to this contest. Wow, that has to be devotion. Next we have Mica hailing from Florida who, according to his video has, and I'm quoting here, 'Been in love with everything Jaxon Trentwell since he was thirteen years old.' I'm not exactly sure what that means, but from his video he sure seems like one very loyal fan. On the other hand, there's Rowan hailing from Northern California. Now, as I understand it, she didn't submit her own tape, her best friend Diana submitted it on her behalf and Rowan didn't even know about its existence. Rowan also didn't know she had been selected for this contest until our MTV reps showed up at her door."

"You're kidding," Jax was shocked. He actually wasn't playing it up for the fans when he said that Drake probably knew more than he did. When Chase had handed him the DVDs of the videos dropped off by the production crew last month, Jax had dropped them on the desk in the office at his house in LA and hadn't thought another second about it.

"No, true story,"

"I did not know that."

"You should see the video of us arriving at her house, the look on her face was priceless. Her friend had planned everything without her knowing, even had, like, hidden cameras."

"I don't know what to think now. I'm kind of speechless."

"I know, crazy right?"

"Crazy, but in a good way."

"Yes, she's not crazy, the idea of the video is." He smiled and Jax smiled wryly.

"Right, from what I have heard about her, she's not crazy. Just want to make that clear to ya'll." Jax smiled good naturedly and the crowd in New York cheered.

"That wouldn't be good, 'cause she's not, she's not. I met her and I think you're going to like her, them all really. This decision is going to be tough."

Jax nodded his head and sighed exaggeratedly, playing up the crowd. He was a natural entertainer after all.

"Okay, now that you know a little more about them, how about you meet them. Are you ready?"

Jax breathed deeply, letting out a long breath. "Yeah, as ready as I'll ever be. Bring 'em on."

Jax got to his feet and stood to face the door to his right as a man bearing an MTV logo on the back of his black T-shirt opened the closed door of the study out of which two very different women appeared and one very diminutive young man. The first woman, a tall sturdy-looking woman with brilliant red hair and a deeply orange tan, made short work of the distance from the door to the armchair where Jax stood. She dashed around the MTV production assistant and ran pell-mell into him, wrapping her long arms and body around him. Screaming and nearly choking on his name, she mumbled her love and adoration for him while the other woman looked on in stunned silence and the effeminate youth just gasped, turned white, and clutched the doorframe to keep from falling over.

"Whoa, whoa, hold up here." Jax laughed as he gently pulled on the arms currently squeezing the breath out of him. "You gotta let me breathe, girl, come on." He managed to get the woman to release him and held her at arm's length by the shoulders. She was sobbing and visibly shaking, her whole body trembling.

"Whoa, Danni right?" She choked out a yes, barely able to nod her head. Jax felt suddenly awkward and uncomfortable, but not surprised. This was the type of fan he had been expecting in a contest like this. "It's okay. Now, there's no crying in Memphis. You're making me feel terrible."

"I'm so-o-ry; it's just, oh My God! I'm your biggest fan, I swear!" She paused and frowned, "Even though you guys haven't put out an album in, like, forever." Jax smiled tensely, anticipating what was coming. "I even got In-Time on my license plate." Yep, there it is, he thought.

"All right." He said awkwardly, gently patting her back as he led her to a large, soft brown leather sofa against the wall in front of the cameras and situated at a right angle to the armchair he had recently vacated. "Um, why don't you have a seat there?"

"Okay..." He handed her a box of tissues given to him by an assistant just out of camera sight and turned to the quiet, calm girl standing by the open door and the still gasping young man who clutched his chest in response to Jax's gaze. Jax smiled hesitantly at the nearly fainting Mica and then turned to the silent Rowan. He stopped in his tracks as he took in the beauty before him. She had softly falling light blonde hair and an attractive, appealing face. He let his eyes rove over her, taking her in.

She wasn't a tall stick figure like half of the celebrity women he was used to meeting. Instead she was petite, very rounded with the kind of full curves - generous hips and lush breasts - that made his heart pick up its pace. All at once he felt a familiar stirring in his gray slacks, and he mentally cursed at himself to not lose control despite the heat he felt spread to his cheeks. He couldn't fight or explain his body's reaction to the simple sight of her. If he had to place a name on his reaction to her, the only thing he could think of was lust, pure and simple. This woman's curves sent a throb of pure lust through him and he was uncomfortably aware of his body's instinctual and embarrassing reaction. He casually adjusted his suit jacket to hide any potential tenting.

He forced his gaze back up to her face, admiring the fact that she did not have bottled blonde hair, the brassy, too fake color that turned dark at the roots like so many blondes he had met and known in the celebrity world.

And her face... Jax licked his lips as she turned her head enough to cast her features into a bit more of the light pouring from the studio lights behind him, enough light to highlight the creamy skin, the delicate curve of her cheekbone, the fullness of her lips and the brilliant flash of her intensely green eyes.

Beautiful.

Earthy, sultry, not at all restrained. The woman was sexy in a way that women didn't seem to allow themselves to be sexy anymore or at least in a way he hadn't noticed before he met her. He watched in growing silence as she took a nervous breath at his continued stare. His mouth went dry as he watched those lush, full breasts threaten to pop the buttons on her dark rose-colored top before she saved them by exhaling slowly. He took a deep breath himself, feeling oddly nervous as he extended his hand to her.

"Hi... Hello," she stammered and he smiled at the sound of her clear, sweet voice. She placed her slightly trembling hand in his and Jax's stomach flipped at the touch of her skin and a shock wave rippled through his body. This close he could smell her, an intoxicating sweet scent that begged him to step closer and identify fully.

"And you must be Rowan." He squeezed her hand and she squeezed back slightly before letting go.

"Yep, and you are..." Rowan made Jax laugh at that. "Sorry, bad joke."

"No, no, it was good..." Jax pulled her into the room for a light hug, feeling a heady rush as he came into contact with her curves and Rowan's face flushed brilliantly. "You okay? You're not going to cry on me too are you?"

"No, believe it or not, I don't think so." His hand shook just a tad as he directed her to sit on the sofa next to Danni who was crying piteously, her eyes glued to his every move. He took a steadying breath, willing his body back under control and then turned to the barely conscious Mica who was still clutching the doorframe. As soon as he extended his hand, he wished he hadn't because all the blood drained from the poor boy's face, his eyes rolled back in his head, and he fell backwards out of the door and hit the ground with a thump. Shocked and alarmed, Jax rushed forward and patted his cheek. An MTV representative rushed to Jax and Mica's side after signaling Drake to go to break.

"Do you think he's okay?" Jax asked the MTV rep who looked grim.

"I don't know, but whether he is or not we still have to continue the show; we are live here."

"Yeah, yeah, I know, 'on with the show' and all that right?" Jax said gruffly.

"Right. I don't think that he's rousing all that quickly, I'm going to go call an ambulance, you go back to the show." Jax's brow puckered with concern and he didn't really like the lackadaisical way the rep handled the situation.

"Hey, have a little compassion for the poor kid, please."

"I understand and appreciate your concern, Mr. Trentwell, but this is live television here; we can't do it later."

"Fine, just make sure he's all right. I feel terrible." Jax rose and headed back to the couch where the two ladies were still sitting. The blonde bombshell looked as concerned as he but the big red head was still sobbing unconvincingly into the wadded mass of tissues she held pressed to her face. Rowan looked up from her sitting position, her face laced with concern.

"Is Mica all right?"

He felt touched that she should be thinking of her competition instead of playing up to him like the other woman seemed intent to do.

Jax sat in the plush leather armchair at the right end of a low table set between the couch and cameras, placing Rowan on his left-hand side. "I think he'll be alright, he seemed to be breathing just fine, so I think he just passed out. They're calling an ambulance for him right now as a precaution." Danni looked up from her tissue.

"But we're still doing the interviews, right?" She said without any trace of tears. Jax frowned slightly and bit the inside of his lip to keep from saying what he really wanted to say to this woman.

"Yes, we are continuing with the show." As soon as he said the words, an attendant signaled that they were about to go live. Jax smiled privately to himself as Danni immediately returned to her petulant and pitiful sobbing into her tissue laden hands.

All was quiet for a moment as they waited to go back on air. The only sound in the room was the muffled hiccups and tears of Danni giving Rowan and Jax a chance to catch each other's eye. The moment their eyes met, Jax took a sharp breath. Her eyes were smoldering, a naked hunger lay in their depths that mirrored the lust in his own. He felt himself stiffening again and forced himself to break their connection. The last thing he wanted was to have a raging erection on live TV. That would not only be disastrous but down right uncomfortable in these fitted slacks. He leaned forward and pulled a stack of papers he had brought with him from his dressing room into his lap hoping to hide anything he couldn't suppress from the ever-watchful eye of the cameras.

"Hey Jaxon, is everything okay out there in Memphis? When we left you, it didn't look like Mica was feeling all too well." Drake said from the television on the studio wall.

"Well, he might not be joining us just yet; I think his nerves might have gotten the better of him, but that's okay because we have these two lovely ladies to keep us company." Jax caught Rowan's eye again and she smiled a shy smile as a soft blush bloomed prettily across her cheekbones while Danni hiccupped.

"Well, then please have at it, Jaxon, and when Mica's feeling more up to it he can join you. I turn this over to your very competent hands." Drake said.

"Thanks. All right, let's see what we have here." Jax leaned back in his chair and Rowan pressed her lips together before pulling the bottom one between her teeth for a nibble. Jax stared at her for a moment, absorbed by the action, feeling that tug and pull in his groin.

"First off, I just want to thank you for coming all the way out here. I appreciate it. Okay, let's just dive right into the questions. I've got a lot to ask, but um, I think..." he looked at Danni, who, upon receiving his gaze, collapsed back into her tissue. "I think I'll ask Rowan the first one." He shuffled the papers until he found one that was handwritten.

"Some of these are unscripted meaning they come straight from me, but there are also ones MTV wanted me to ask and then ones that viewers want to ask, but I'll start with one of my own." He felt as if he were rambling and shook himself in frustration. He had never been affected by a woman this way, never. At least not since he was 13 and first figuring out what the thing between his legs liked and disliked. The instant lust, hot and thick, that had him shaken like this wasn't altogether foreign, but it wasn't all that recent either.

He caught Rowan's eyes and she smiled and nodded her head, scooting forward on her seat attentively. "First things first though, how are you liking Memphis?"

"Oh, it's beautiful, just fabulous. It's so pretty here - I don't have any frame of reference of course - but right now especially, with all the colorful leaves falling, it's wonderful." She rambled a bit herself, her words tripping over each other and he felt hope that she might just be as affected by him in the same way he was by her.

"It is, this is my favorite time of year here, it really is, I'm glad you're enjoying it. You know, Memphis is the homiest place. It's not too big, and it's not too small. I'm like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. There's no place like home." He smiled and Rowan beamed back, her full smile dazzling his senses for half a breath with the way her delicate features just lit up.

"Now for the question... uh, this one's not on here, because I just learned from Drake that you didn't actually submit your video yourself. Is that true?" Rowan's cheeks grew pink as a blush once again bloomed on her soft porcelain skin. She hooked an errant lock of wavy, light blonde hair behind her ear with a flick of her wrist and Jax admired how graceful and feminine each one of her movements were.

"Um... yeah," she sighed almost guiltily. "My crazy best friend Diana got tired, I guess, that I was always talking about you so she decided to tape me one day just so I'd see exactly how much I actually did talk about you. I really had no idea what she was doing."

"How, though? I mean, how could you not know she submitted you for the contest when it's been all over the place?"

"Actually, she wasn't... she, um... most of the video was taped before the contest was even announced, so she wasn't doing it for the show. She did it before and then submitted it plus some other stuff when MTV came up with this whole thing. I still haven't seen it, I'm a little afraid to."

"So you didn't know that she entered you at all? It's been all over the internet and MTV itself... the contest, the tour.... How'd you miss all that?"

"I didn't miss the contest, I saw the advertisements for it and everything, but I had no idea she submitted a video of me and... goodness, I don't know, honestly... I am in the process of getting my master's degree in English so I rarely watch TV or get on the computer for anything other than school so... and um... I'm not that much of a TV watcher anyway to be honest. Not that I don't like TV or anything, I just don't have the free time, you know what I mean?" Hot damn, she was cute when she was nervous, Jax mused, watching her hands flourish with emphasis as she spoke and then move up to play with her hair, swirling the strands in her delicate fingers.

"Yeah, yeah, I know how that feels, believe me. I don't get a chance to watch TV with my schedule, period."

"Exactly, so... I don't know, it just happened. I wish I knew what she was up to because I would never have allowed her to enter me into this contest, never."

"Why?" Jax asked, surprised.

"Oh, I would've been too embarrassed, I am embarrassed. Don't get me wrong, I am very pleased to meet you and of course when given this once in a lifetime opportunity to do so, I could not pass it up whatsoever because, well, you're you." She flushed again and Jax smiled, grateful for her honesty. "And I greatly admire your work, but," she gestured around to all the cameras and lights, her eyes wide attempting to take it all in before continuing. "All of this, and well, national television and all that... it's not only overwhelming, but now the entire world has seen something I haven't and lord knows what's on that tape. I wouldn't put it past my best friend to let everyone see me in a mud mask or something." Jax smiled at that, admiring her sweet humility. She smiled back, and a soft yearning silence settled between them only to be broken by Danni blowing her nose. Jax cleared his throat and dragged his gaze from Rowan. He was finding it increasingly difficult to stop himself from staring.

"Okay, Danni. How about you? Are you feeling better?"

"Jaxon, oh God..." Her face crumpled but she managed to keep tears at bay all the while trembling from head to foot. "I just wanted to tell you how much I love you... you... not just your music and all that, but you. I am your biggest fan, bigger than her or that boy, by far." Rowan smiled awkwardly and played with her hair and Jax waved his hand in the air.

"I'm sure it's just about even," he said in an attempt to detract from the confrontation in her tone.

"No, I am your biggest fan, I just want you to know that I love you, I really do."

"Okay, thank you, I'm sure you do, but uh, now...." He sighed and ran his hand through his hair, shifting in his seat. "Okay, now, you hired a professional to produce your video, what was that about, what gave you that idea?"

"I just knew that in order to meet you, my video had to be the best, the absolute best so I spared no expense 'cause I had to meet you. I spent like five grand on this video and it was worth every penny because I'm sitting here right now."

"Wow, that's... good for you." Jax said awkwardly.

"No, it's good for us. Now we'll get to know each other and then you'll fall as much in love with me as I am with you." She smiled and licked her brightly painted lips.

"All right, all right, um," Jax pointedly looked at the production assistant waiting just outside of the camera view. He took the cue and the cameras' red lights winked out, signaling that they were off air in Memphis.

"Okay, on that note we'll take a break and when we come back, more questions with Jaxon, Rowan and Danni and hopefully Mica, after the break." Drake's voice rang out from the monitor on the wall before commercials began to play.

Rowan bit her bottom lip in what Jax was beginning to realize was a nervous gesture as the much larger Danni bumped into her in an attempt to position herself closer to Jax on the sofa. Jax eyed her warily and ran a hand through his short hair again. Thankfully, the MTV rep gestured for Jax to join him in a corner of the room, so he pushed up from his chair, excusing himself to the ladies while carefully holding his jacket over the slight tent in his pants. Maybe now would be a good time to take a little bathroom break and adjust himself.

He walked away to speak with the production assistant briefly before slipping into the restroom in the opposite corner of the room. He briefly contemplated splashing cold water on his face, but decided against it as he had a light dusting of studio makeup on to combat the lights. Instead he adjusted himself quickly so that he made a less noticeable bump in his slate gray slacks and then washed his hands. He had to get control of himself. They were far from finished with this interview and he could not afford the bad publicity he'd catch if he sported a full hard-on on national television. He gave himself a little shake, still amazed at the response he had to Rowan, and made his way back to the waiting girls.

"Is everything all right?" Rowan asked, looking up from her seated position on the couch, making him catch his breath at the depth of her green eyes. Jax heard genuine concern in her voice which pleased him and he smiled softly at her.

"It doesn't look like he's going to be able to join us right now. The doctors at the hospital wanted to admit him for observation"

"Wow, poor Mica. I hope he's ok. He's a super sweet kid." Rowan looked stricken.

"I'm sure he'll be fine. He's out for right now, but if the doctors say that he's all right he's going to join us later. Uh, you two want something to drink, some water or soda while we wait? I think I need something myself." Danni nodded her head absently; never removing her eyes from Jax's every movement.

"Water would be nice, thank you." Jax moved off to the back of the room to a craft service table stocked full of treats. Rowan murmured a polite thank you as he promptly set a bottle of water into Rowan and Danni's hands before he twisted the cap of his own to take a long drink. He set the cold bottle between his thighs and hissed as the ice-cold water came in contact with his crotch. Calm the fuck down, Jaxon he thought to himself, pressing the cold water further into his crotch. Rowan bit her bottom lip and rolled it between her teeth. Sweet worry etched into her features, and Jax groaned inwardly. He was immensely grateful this was a sit-down interview.

"Poor kid," Rowan said suddenly, coming out of a light reverie. "Man, to think that someone could be so nervous to meet you that they make themselves sick over it and then to end up not getting to meet you. It's sadly ironic, you know?" Jax's eyebrows rose and he nodded his head in mute agreement. He just couldn't see what was so special about him to cause people to be sick, or pretend to be, he thought as he secretly grimaced at Danni who could hardly hold on to her water her hands were shaking so severely. Jax removed the bottle of water from between his legs which had gratefully helped settle his dick a bit and set his bottle down on the low table. He leaned forward and placed his elbows on his knees so he could look Danni in the eye.

"Look, you have to calm down, sweetheart; you're making me feel terrible. We still have a long way to go, so try to relax and enjoy yourself. You're going to break something with all that shaking."

"I know, I know, I'm sorry, I just, I can't help it; you don't know what you mean to me."

"I can tell, believe me; just take a breath so we can get through some of these questions."

"Okay, I'll try."

Jax nodded his head and Rowan turned her face away, drawing Jax's gaze. From his position leaning forward he could see down the top of her blouse and any effort the cold water had put forth at dispelling his erection was shot to hell at the sight of Rowan's creamy, plush cleavage. He jerked his gaze away, blowing out his breath as he sank back into his armchair.

The hot rush of pure lust that surged through him was both shocking and off-setting. He had a job to do. It was totally out of character for him to be unable to concentrate on business around a pretty girl and he felt out of his skin. Danni, upon catching this silent interaction between Jax and an unwitting Rowan, glared murderously at the back of her head as the PA signaled they were about to go live once more. Jax bent his left leg at the knee and placed his ankle on his right knee, turning his hips away from the camera's direction in an attempt to hide his physical reaction to Rowan.

Back in New York, Drake addressed the camera. "Hey everyone, it's Drake here and if you're just joining us on this MTV special, we are live with Jaxon Trentwell and the fans you chose to meet with him in Memphis, Tennessee. He's asking important questions to decide which fan will get to join him for the opening of his Love Mimic tour. Only two, because our third fan has experienced an unfortunate incident.' Let's all wish and hope that Mica feels better soon, but in the meantime, let's check in on how the others are doing." The camera widened to include the large screen behind him which showed the three in Memphis. "How are things going there, Jaxon?"

"It's all good, considering."

"All right then, we'll let you get back to entertaining those lovely ladies."

"Okay, so, um, I'll just get right to it then. The next question is for Rowan. Now, before the break you mentioned that you are about to graduate with your masters in English, which, by the way is amazing, I mean, really, very cool." Rowan turned her deep green eyes back to Jax and smiled up at him. He clenched his teeth and swallowed thickly. Damn she was gorgeous.

"Thank you." Rowan replied humbly.

"No really, it's got to feel good, but now I'm going to ask you a question that everybody, and I mean absolutely everybody asks me, but in a different light. If you didn't have that imminent degree and were in the entertainment industry, what would you do?"

Rowan smiled and blushed with his intense gaze and looked away with a small laugh. "Uh.... You know, I don't know. That's a really tough question. I have never really appreciated what you and others like yourself have gone through with these questions."

"Right? It's not all fun and games. Most of it, but not all of it is."

Rowan laughed and ran her hands through her hair and a wave of sweet, feminine fragrance wafted over Jax who breathed deeply, like a man intoxicated.

"Yeah, no um.... Probably something maybe behind the scenes, like PR or whatever they're called, you know promotion or production, something like that."

"You wouldn't be in front of the camera?"

"Not if I can help it. Even now, I... my face must be so red right now, knowing that, like, everyone is watching me and I'm probably making a huge fool of myself."

"Naw, you're doing all right, as far as I've seen." He smiled encouragingly at her.

Rowan laughed and managed to get, if possible, redder. "Thank you."

"And Danni, it says here on your profile that you are a massage therapist specializing in acupuncture therapy. Acupuncture, that's pretty heavy. Serious stuff I hear. How long have you been doing that?"

"Like, twelve years, yeah and I had to go to school for it too, so you've got two brainiacs on your hands there Jaxie-poo, but if I was in the entertainment industry I would be a singer 'cause then I would be able to like, hang out with you all day."

"Okay, because that's what we singers do all day, hang out with each other right?" Jax laughed and nodded his head. "That's a possibility, to be sure, uh," he laughed again, "Um, you can sing then?"

"Of course, you want to hear?"

"Why not, no better time than on live TV." Jax placed his hand over his mouth to conceal his grin as Danni rose to the occasion and immediately started belting out the chorus of one of In-Time's earliest hits, sounding for the world worse than the very worst contestant on any season of American Idol. Jax couldn't help it but began to chuckle low and soft behind his hand before waving the other to stop her singing.

"Stop, stop, that was, uh, that was great. I think you should definitely pursue that, yeah." Jax nodded his head as Danni gushed jubilantly.

"You really liked that?"

"Sure, sure, of course I did, sweetheart. It was a nice tribute." Silence hung in the air between the three of them and the production assistant behind the camera made the signal to keep going, and Jax sighed. How did you go on from that?

"So, Danni, why that song?" he asked, despite his better judgment.

"Oh, it's my absolute favorite, just my favorite." She gushed again. "In-Time was just the best musical group ever, and you were the best one."

"Well, thank you. What about you, Rowan, were you an In-Time fan?"

"Uuummmm, now don't hate me, ok? But not really."

"What?!" Danni shrieked. "How can you even say that?" Rowan's hands flew up in defense.

"Hey, just being honest."

"It's ok, you don't have to be a fan." Jax's face flamed a little as well out of embarrassment. He really did hate all this narcissistic bullshit. He did what he did for the love of music, for the craft, not for adulation and this whole plot felt like he was begging for compliments and fans, which couldn't be further than the truth.

"I mean, I love your solo stuff. You really are amazing. Not only vocally, but lyrically and melodically as well. Your writing and music is phenomenal, full of nuance. Take 'Lost in the Way' for example, one of the more obscure songs on this album that you probably won't find on the radio which is a shame because it is a brilliant piece of work. It's just you and a guitar, so it doesn't have the signature melodies and symphonic beats that your audience is accustomed to, but the guitar adds this ethereal and compelling component to your vocal register which fits in perfectly with the lyrics... I don't know if this song was autobiographical or not, but it deals with the heavy topic of addiction and its devastating effects with a plethora of figurative language that appeals to your audience's pathos. It allows people who have never experienced addiction to understand through the imagery and analogies you use, making a deeper emotional connection between listener and lyric so the song is felt on a deeper level rather than an intellectual one.

"I'm probably not going to get the quote exactly right without the album jacket in my lap, but I think it goes something like 'free-falling, lost in the clouds, subsumed with meaning, myth and mist consumes all feeling... the myth that I can breathe, that I can see, leaves me reeling...' something like that. It's just brilliant, pure and simple, and that's just two verses."

Jax's eyes widened, not expecting that kind of in-depth analysis of his actual work. She was understanding the music on a level that was so far beyond any discussion he had ever had even with his producers, complimenting what essentially was his art and it was blowing his mind.

"Thank you. That song was not autobiographical, by the way, just a narrative I came up with after watching this documentary on addiction."

"Oh wow, even more reason to be impressed if you're writing not from a place of personal experience then."

"Thank you, and coming from you, a Master of English that means a lot." This time the ensuing seconds of silence were filled with hope, but the production aid caught his eye, breaking the spell.

"But, I'm getting the signal that it is time for another break." As soon as they cut, Jax unconsciously stroked the tip of his right index finger over his bottom lip until he caught himself and forced his hand to fall away. He felt completely out of his element in this whole situation. Then Rowan had to go and act the opposite of a crazed fan with that amazing face and body and now a mind to match... he felt off balance, out of sync, just completely discombobulated in the best and worst way to the point all of his little nervous ticks were on full display.

"You liked my idea then?" Danni gushed vibrantly, pulling thick, muscular fingers through her bushy red hair.

"What idea was that, sweetheart?" Jax said after taking another long drink of water, doing everything he could to not stare at Rowan.

"For me to sing, silly." She vainly tried to flip her hair like the twenty-year old she wasn't anymore and failed miserably as it was so stiff with product. Rowan gasped for air as the hairspray fumes wafted over her.

"Sure, sure, that was, that was great, yeah." Jax drank from his water again, awkwardly avoiding Danni's perpetual gaze only to lose his battle against running his eyes over every inch of Rowan. When he brought his gaze to her face, he discovered that Rowan was fighting the terrible urge to burst into laughter. She lost her battle and let out a beautiful fluttering sound that Jax couldn't help but admire.

"What is so goddamn funny over there?" Danni whipped her head around to stare menacingly at her.

"I'm sorry, I can't help it, please..." Rowan sobered and took a breath. "It's just something that happens to me when I find myself in awkward or tense situations, please don't take it personally, either of you. I apologize if it upsets you."

"Well, in the future, I suggest you shut the fuck up." Danni spit vehemently.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, no language like that, especially when it's live here, please." All business now, Jax looked Danni in the eyes and shook his head. "That's not cool."

"Sorry, I just don't appreciate being laughed at."

"Look, for mercy's sake, I wasn't laughing at you, just the situation. When I'm nervous, I tend to giggle. I sincerely apologize if my laughter offended you." Rowan said with all seriousness, then raised her hands in surrender, a smile still playing at the corners of her mouth and Danni sulked back into the cushions, her arms crossed angrily over her less than ample chest.

After the commercial break, Drake in New York sounded once again from the screen on the wall.

"Hey this is Drake here for our MTV special. If you didn't catch that before the break you missed out. We had a little impromptu talent show there for a minute. Let's rejoin Jax and the girls, live in Memphis to see what happens next." The cameras cut to the study with Jax, Rowan and Danni.

"Um, the next question I'm going to ask is one from MTV and it is something they ask pretty much every musician, but it's good for you two because, you know, if you go to the first show, you'll be living like a musician for a day. This will get you warmed up because this is a question that we musicians get asked at least once or five million times in our careers; 'what type of music or musician do you feel has had the greatest influence on your life, on who you are as a person.' I'm curious to know your answers, but here's the thing; you can't say it's me."

"We can't say you? What if we don't listen to anyone else but you?" Danni pouted and pushed her arms together as she placed her elbows on her knees, vainly attempting to push the next to nothing that was her chest into some form of cleavage as she leaned forward.

"If you don't listen to anyone else that would be sad because there's a whole world of good music out there. What's your answer, then, Rowan?" His mouth went dry as he found her eyes with his. She smiled slowly, maintaining eye contact with him.

"Hmmm..." she began, running the tip of one french-tipped fingernail over the flesh of her bottom lip and Jax's lips parted, watching. He felt as if she were running that fingernail over the seam in his pants. He was so mesmerized by her finger playing with her lip that he almost jumped when she spoke again. "Um, that's a tough one Jax, as I'm sure you must know, but well, gosh... maybe Queen."

"Oh," his voice cracked and he cleared his throat, attempting to speak again, "Oh, they're awesome," he said a little more clearly. "I can completely relate to that and understand that answer. I know why for me, but why for you?"

Well, when I was a kid I didn't really have a lot of access to music or the media in general. I was pretty much out of the loop because I lived in a rural area, in a town of like eighty people, but one day when I was nine, the year my father's mother, my grandmother who was so dear to me died, my mom gave me a Walkman and my older sister gave me a Queen's greatest hits album for my birthday and I played it out. There were seventeen of the most amazing songs on that album; 'We Will Rock You,' and 'Champions' and my favorite, 'Bicycle Race'.... I could listen to them over and over and just escape into them, even now. But when I was younger, I could put it into my CD Walkman, put on my headphones and just lose myself in the words and melody, because they have insane melodies. It just, it really helped me through a difficult period."

"I know exactly what you mean. There are times when you need that escape that only music can give you."

"Totally, you just took the words right out of my mouth, that's exactly what I was trying to say; escape. That's a good word for it, thank you." Jax smiled and Rowan nodded, taking a drink of her water. Jax watched her plush lips part, the tip of her tongue flashing to tease the rim of the water before she tipped her head back. Her throat was so smooth, his hands twitched, mimicking the twitch in his cock, at his desire to reach over and stroke the smooth expanse of her extended neck. Danni looked between Rowan and Jaxon, observing the way he eyed her hungrily and snorted loudly in disgust.

"Yeah right."

"I'm sorry," Rowan looked toward Danni, perplexed.

"You totally made that up to impress him and you know it. Everyone knows that he likes the band Queen."

"Look, ladies, let's not do this, nobody's lying, okay? Be civil. Don't make me go to a commercial break." Jax laughed, attempting to turn the tense situation into a joke, though a lengthy commercial break might just be what he needed to bring himself under control. "Now, then, the next question, one from the viewers at home, if-"

"Wait, I haven't answered the other question. Don't I get a chance to answer too?" Danni whined piteously, the sound of her high-pitched nasal whine made Jax's ears ring.

"I apologize then, I thought you had." Jax said with all graciousness, giving himself a mental pat on the back for keeping the note of frustration out of his voice.

"I didn't, all I said was that I didn't listen to anyone else now, but before you I listened to The Cure, they were very influential and helped me make it through one of my divorces. I heard you're going to be working with them on their new album, right?"

"Yeah, a little bit. It's still in the works, but that's good. The Cure is awesome. I'm glad that you had them to help you through such a time. Um, okay then, so, a question, a question.... How about we turn the tables for a moment before I ask another question and give you two the opportunity to ask me a question. You are both big fans. There must be something that you want to ask me, though I'm going to give you fair warning that if it's just out and out crazy, I mean, don't make it too off the wall. Okay then, why don't you go first Danni?"

"Good, I'm glad you let us do this, um, a question..." She thought for a moment, ruffling long, spidery fingers through stiff hair. "Okay, here goes. When do you think you will make another In-Time album? 'Cause, you know, you're still under contract to make another one with all those guys. I'm sure there are more fans out there who want another album, not to mention the rest of the guys in In-Time, I mean, what about them?" As soon as she was done asking this question, the entire room grew quiet and the camera focused on Jax's face. He sat silent for a moment with an unreadable expression and then his eyebrows rose in a show of interest. He rubbed a hand over his mouth and chin in contemplation, attempting to hide his expression of disbelief and agitation from the world. Lord, let me have patience with this woman he thought bitterly.

"Well, I don't know... I don't know. You're never contractually obligated to do anything musically really. I think The Police have been contractually obligated to do another album for twenty years or so, but that's not happening any time soon."

"So you're saying you won't be doing another album?" Danni asked with a heartbroken whine.

"I didn't say that, I just said 'I don't know'." Jax smiled kindly before turning to Rowan who was fighting that tenacious giggle that wanted to burst forth in response to the awkward verbal play between the two.

"Okay, why don't you ask your question now?" he asked Rowan who gave him a sympathetic smile with a little shake of her head as if to nonverbally say 'Danni's nuts and I'm sorry you have to deal with the craziness.' Jax gave her a big smile back.

"Um, wow, I'm kind of unprepared for this. Hmm," she said quickly and with a little bit of playfulness to break the tension, she asked "Okay, how sick are you of being asked that question?"

"Sooooo sick of it!" Danni gasped and Jax laughed. "Just joking." He said quickly.

"I can imagine."

"Okay, now ask me a real question. That one was just for fun."

"You're going to make me think of another one? How mean." Rowan pursed her lips and ruffled her hair, thinking. Her slender fingers twirling a strand or two and Jax watched hungrily as the studio lights picked up strands of gold in her pale blonde hair. "Okay, um, I guess my question is; is there anything that you want to tell your fans out there, anything at all, completely all you. It is after all live tv... you could say anything?" Jax smiled.

"You know, you would be a crazy good journalist, because that question... I can see where you're going with it, and I can appreciate its honest and genuine nature from you. But when you ask me to say something that's all me..." he sighed and stroked his brow allowing him a space to think. He knew what he wanted to say, which was that the press, including networks like MTV, would just distort any truths he tried to say anyway, but he didn't think his PR guy would be all too happy with him vilifying press junkets right before the start of a new tour.

"How about this; 'Thank you for being a fan and can't wait to see you on the road.' There, how's that?"

"Perfect." Rowan smiled one of her brilliant smiles which mesmerized him for a few moments giving Drake in New York the perfect opportunity to cut to commercial.

"I'm sorry; I didn't realize that would be such a heavy topic for you." Rowan said once they had received the signal that they were off air.

"No, don't be sorry, and I wouldn't expect you to think about those things. You've never been in that position so you couldn't have known. Sometimes you just have to grin and bear certain things, like that GQ magazine interview I did when the album dropped..."

"I remember that one!" Danni interjected. "You said heroin was safer than cigarettes in that interview."

"What?" Rowan asked.

"No, what I said was that it was a proven fact that cigarettes are more addictive than heroin and it was during this much larger conversation about why I don't smoke or do any drugs, but they took that and manipulated it until the original conversation was completely distorted."

"Oh man, I'm starting to see the problem now." Rowan said.

"Yeah, but in the end the press has a purpose despite their inability to quote anything correctly, and as long as I can get my music out, I'll suffer through a great many things."

"Like interviewing your biggest fans?" Rowan asked, a glint in her eye.

Jax laughed with Rowan at the joke, but he felt good at the same time for speaking his mind even though he kind of felt like a whiny celebrity.

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining at all," he said hastily. "I couldn't really imagine doing anything else with my life, and it's all part and parcel of the same thing. You can't really complain about the packaging if the packaging gets you the gift... right? That probably doesn't even make sense."

"No it does, it makes sense. It's a great metaphor. You're making a valid point, Jaxon." Rowan said softly and he caught his breath when she said his name. She was so earnest and straight forward, no pandering, just honesty.

They sat sipping their water, waiting for the return from commercial break and all were silently relieved when the signal came. All three sat and watched Drake wrap up the show on the monitor connected to the studio in New York, waiting patiently until it was their turn to speak.

"What a riveting round of questions! Before sending these three off to enjoy their afternoon in Memphis, let's ask each contestant one more question. Is there anything you'd like to say to the thousands of voters who supported you?"

Danni bounced up, all tremor and tears forgotten, facing the nearest camera and shouted "I just wanna say then that even though there were probably some good videos out there they weren't good enough 'cause it's me sittin' on this couch representing Jersey. YEAH!" Danni shouted and bounced up and down on the couch, shaking her head at the camera which immediately turned its lens to Rowan on the other end.

"Nicely put, Danni. As for me, I'd like to thank all of you out there who sent me here to beautiful Memphis, you know, all of the viewers who picked me, thank you very much. And Di, Diana, I mean, you rascal, thank you too, and thank you to Jaxon for having me, and MTV for making this possible."

"In the end it all comes down to MTV, doesn't it?" Jax grinned.

"Of course, because MTV is awesome, and Drake too, he's a nice guy."

"He is a very cool guy. Thank you ladies, that was great, and thank you to everyone." Jax said to the camera before it went off air. He stood and stretched once the light blinked off.

"Thank you Mr. Trentwell." Rowan stood and offered her hand respectfully.

"Mr. Trentwell!? Nononono, it's Jaxon, or Jax. I don't want any of that Mr. Trentwell stuff." He pushed aside her hand and pulled her into his arms which trembled slightly, betraying his cool exterior. He closed his eyes for a fraction of a second as the scent of her swept over him, groaning inwardly at the press of her lush breasts against his chest. He let her go more quickly than he would have liked as her scent caused his dick to twitch and threaten to grow fully erect right there on the spot, something that he didn't want to happen live on air or not. He didn't step back though, standing close enough to enfold her in his arms if he wanted to. He was considerably taller than her, despite her spiked heels and he could see down the top of her blouse, into the crevice of her chest that beckoned to him. Her skin looked so lush, so creamy that it took everything he had to keep from crushing her back to him and dry humping her like a rutting dog. What the fuck, Trentwell! he mentally scolded himself. He honestly had no idea how or why he was reacting this way. He suddenly felt like he was back in middle school getting his first raging boner.

"Okay, Jax then. And in that case, you can call me Ro, all my friends do." Rowan said softly. Jax's breath caught as she looked up at him with those startling green eyes.

"Ok, Ro. I like that." He breathed down at her, his breath ruffling the soft waves in her hair.

Rowan's face turned bright pink when he said her name in that soft, seductive way. "Thank you." Seemingly overwhelmed by the intensity of his gaze, she stepped back and he turned to the impatient redhead standing at his shoulder. Danni immediately fell into his arms as soon as his attention turned to her. She ground her body against his and he jerked his hips away from hers.

"Thank you, Jaxon, I can't wait to go to your show with you, I can't wait." Jax pulled her out of his arms and held her at arm's length.

"I'm gonna have you two go on ahead, and uh, you'll get to go back to your hotel and do your own thing tonight before heading back here tomorrow morning for the announcement. We are going to pre-tape that, it won't be live, for airing later tomorrow night. So be ready in the lobby of the hotel by 8 am tomorrow and we'll see you then." He walked them to the door of the studio office which he opened and gestured for Danni to go through first, unable to resist stopping Rowan as she went by him for one last hug and quick word.

"Look, I'm sorry if Danni made you feel uncomfortable. Tomorrow there will be less chance for conversation that inspires her... competitiveness, for lack of a better word." He said, resting his right hand on the small of her back in a nonchalant kind of way.

"Don't sweat it; it's not your responsibility to filter what she says or how she acts. Besides, I'm a lot tougher than I look." Rowan breathed up at him.

"Ok, ok, but just so you know, I've got your back." He said softly and he couldn't resist reaching out for the luscious curve of her hip, running his hand up under her hair and to her neck, caressing the exposed skin above her jacket before he pulled her into his arms one more time. He took a deep breath of her intoxicating scent and committed the feel of her in his arms to his memory before he could even begin to entertain the thought of her walking through the door.

She responded to his invitation for one last hug, standing up on her tiptoes to drape her arms around his neck, her own soft fingers playing with the skin just above his collar, even going as far as to boldly scrape against the short hairs at the base of his scalp with the tip of her fingernails. Jax breathed deeply, inhaling her sweet vanilla-rose scent and detected a tell-tale muskiness of feminine arousal and his mouth filled with saliva. He wanted to whimper when she pressed her chest against his and then the flat of her stomach and hips against his hardening cock. She arched her back, rocking her body against his for the briefest moment and that small friction initiated by her body was enough to cause Jax to become fully erect against her, and he felt an answering wetness in his tight boxer-briefs giving evidence to the fact that he had just released a generous amount of precum. His arms clenched around her and he buried his face into her hair, grunting softly into her ear and losing hold of his senses.

"Holy shit," Jax whispered against the top of her head, embarrassed beyond belief at his lack of control over his body. "I am so sorry."

Rowan pulled back and looked up into his face, her eyes half-open with her arousal and so deep green that he felt like he was falling into an emerald pool.

"Don't be sorry," she whispered back, her voice the barest breath against his throat. She raised up on tiptoes again and pulled his ear down to her mouth to whisper the next words so that only he could hear in case any camera or ear was trained their way, "I'm turned on too... dripping wet... for you."

Jax gasped, a shiver cascading down his spine at the feel of her hot breath in his ear as well as the knowledge that they both were losing control of their bodies from the meer presence of one another. As he stood lost in a stupor of shock and arousal, Rowan pulled away, slipping out the door with one last lustful gaze behind her shoulder.

Jax shook himself, trying to clear his head as he made his way back to the armchair and the camera for the closing segment with Drake in New York where, once they were live again, he would give closing statements ending the show. He placed the pile of papers back over his lap, hiding the massive erection at the front of his slacks and what he imagined was a growing wet spot from that large dollop of precum.

"So Jaxon, one step down and one to go, how are you feeling about these two ladies?"

"You know, it's hard to say at this point, it really is." His face was burning with embarrassment but thankfully his voice was sure and steady with the years of performance experience he had.

"Is it? Honestly not from where I'm standing, or all of the world is standing, really."

"It's hard to say because what I want to say, um, I can't say or I'll ruin the surprise."

"Oh, okay." They laughed for a moment. "Well, that makes it a bit clearer. So, thank you my man for hanging out with us today and we will see you tomorrow for your decision."

"Sounds good." The screen darkened and the audience was left with Drake in the studio. Jax watched as Drake closed the show.

"Okay, so, that was day one of two, join us tomorrow where we will have special guests joining us in the studio, and Jax's decision will be revealed. Thank you for joining us, see you next time." The audience clapped as the credits rolled across the screen.

CHAPTER TWO:

The Video

As Rowan and Danni were driven away from the iconic Sun Studio in Memphis by a black SUV to the hotel they were staying in, Jax drove to his parents' house in Bartlett which was about thirty minutes away from Memphis, with Chase riding along. They didn't talk much despite Chase's attempts to engage him in conversation. Jax's head was in too much turmoil to hold a decent conversation. He was still shocked at his reaction to Rowan and was determined to get to the bottom of his primal response to her so that he could maintain control when he was again in front of cameras within her presence. He parked his truck in the garage and they made their way to the kitchen in his mother's spacious home, his two dogs Bree and Buck following at his heels.

"How did it go?" Lisa Trentwell, Jax's mother asked, offering up a plate of sugar cookies to them both. Jax took two, munching through one before answering and then offering the other to his babies slavering below.

He scratched his girl Bree absentmindedly as he contemplated his answer. "It was rough." In more ways than one, he thought to himself. "One of the contestants, the boy, fainted at practically just the sight of me."

"Oh no, dear thing. That's awful."

"Yeah, he had to be rushed to the hospital. Do you know how he's doing, Chase?" Jax asked.

"Yeah, he's doing ok now. I guess he told the doctors he was so nervous about meeting you that he didn't eat or drink anything for almost a week."

"Oh my goodness, poor child." Lisa pressed her hands to her lips.

"He'll be alright though, Mrs. T. Don't worry." Chase reassured her.

"Well I am just so glad to hear that."

"Me too," Jax said. After over ten years of fame and celebrity, the psychology of the whole celebrity/fan dynamic still somewhat baffled him. To think you could make yourself sick over meeting someone, just meeting someone, was alarming.

"Did anything like that happen with the other two? Are they ok?" Lisa asked.

"No physical problems there, but man.... The aggressive competitiveness was off the charts. Rowan wasn't aggressive really, but the tall one, what was her name?"

"Danni." Chase answered, lifting two cookies as well and seating himself next to Jax at the kitchen table.

"Oh yeah, yeah, Danni, that's right, man she is one disturbing woman."

"Why?" Lisa asked, bringing glasses of milk over to the table and then sitting down with them.

"Why? She's a crazy fanatic, the worst kind of fan." Chase answered for Jax, draining his glass.

"Were you watching, Chase?" Lisa asked, pushing a glass of milk toward her son.

"Yeah, I was in there and that woman," Chase said, making Jax grimace, "she was insane. She kept, like, interrupting the other girl and calling her names and just like, lying to Jax, and then that whole In-Time thing... She's psycho!"

"What In-Time thing?"

"Jax asked them what their favorite song of his was and the redhead said some crazy shit - sorry Mrs. T - crazy stuff about In-Time and how she's their biggest fan and how she loves all their songs or something like that, and even got in his face about not making another In-Time album."

"No, she didn't." Lisa gasped and Jax nodded.

"Yeah, it was kind of creepy how focused she was on my old boy-band." Jax ate another cookie in one bite as Lisa shook her head in disbelief.

"I can't believe that. What about the other girl, what's her name again?"

"Rowan, and she's hot." Chase waggled his eyebrows at Jax who smiled in response.

"Yes, she..." Jax shook his head, how to describe this woman in a socially acceptable way for his mother? "Um... she is... very beautiful, extremely so," he finished meekly.

"What did she ask?"

"She was so genuine, mom. She was thoughtful and well spoken, and very pretty."

"She sounds lovely when you put it like that. But other than her beauty, is she someone you'd want to spend time with? I mean, you're choosing someone that you're going to be spending some considerable time with in San Francisco, with the press junkets and sound checks... all of it."

"I know, that's why it's important to choose someone who's not crazy, like Rowan, and it doesn't hurt if she is good looking too." Chase said.

"She's also whip-smart, mom. She was talking about my music in ways that completely lost me, but in a good way." Jax added.

"Is that right?" Lisa said with a twinkle in her eye. "Go on."

"I mean, that's it. She's smart and yes," Jax shook his head at Chase who was making the hourglass shape very exaggeratedly with his hands. "She is very attractive, ok? She's beautiful, blonde hair, so long and soft looking, and her eyes," he closed his eyes and sighed in remembrance, picturing her face and missing Lisa's growing smile, "Oh mom, her eyes. Green like you've never seen, like emeralds in falling light." Jax shook himself dreamily and opened his eyes to catch his mom's smile. He quickly reined himself in. He knew that look on his mom's face. He knew she was going to get all kinds of ideas. She'd been pushing him for months to get over his ex and start dating again, and until Rowan, he hadn't felt the desire or interest for anyone.

"I agree with Jax. From where I was sitting she looked totally real, honest, and knock-down gorgeous. Sometimes I caught myself staring. All you have to do is meet her and then you'll see for yourself, Mrs. T." Chase said around a mouthful of cookie.

"Hmmm... Interesting. So all I need to do is meet her and see for myself?" Lisa said and Jax squinted at the tone in her voice.

"I know that tone, mom. What are you thinking up over there?"

"Well," she tapped a manicured nail against her chin. "What would you think of having her over for dinner this evening? I know they are in town until the final taping tomorrow. We could invite her over, get to know her and make sure she's the right one to bring on tour with you."

"I dunno, Mrs. T. MTV might have something to say about inviting just one contestant over."

"Ok, so why not both? Or," she got a light in her eyes. "Of course, that's how we convince them! We could tell them that since you didn't get a chance to meet the third contestant, we could have them all over for dinner so you could make a proper choice!" She was so proud of her idea, but Jax just shook his head.

"You would really want three super fans to be in your home, mom? Know where you live? You're kind of off the grid out here in Bartlett. You really want to advertise where you are and how to get access to you and through you, access to me? I hate to think that way, but you should probably err on the side of caution with this one."

"Nonsense. What harm or trouble could the three of them really pose to me. This house is like Fort Knox, all buttoned up. You yourself saw to that. We have gates all around with access codes I don't even remember. You made sure we had the best alarm system money could by yourself, didn't you? And you turned the basement into a panic room. There is no way they could touch us here even if they wanted to." She smiled and patted his arm reassuringly.

Jax sighed. She was right, they had stellar security that matched his home in LA, but it still made him feel anxious to invite someone like Danni into his mother's world.

"You are just too trusting, mom. Too trusting." Jax said and Chase nodded his head in agreement.

"Chase, haven't all of the contestants had background checks done to make sure they aren't dangerous? I'm pretty sure you told me they were all safe to bring around Jax. You yourself looked over the information."

"They vetted all of these contestants like they were going to be my employees?" Jax shook his head, surprised at the caution. "They didn't need to do that."

"You didn't see some of those tapes submitted to the contest, man." Chase shook his head, his eyebrows lifted to his hair line. "Trust me, it was a necessary precaution." Jax just shook his head in response. Even after all of these years of fame, it still boggled his mind how everyone else seemed to think he was so important enough to not only protect in that way but to want to harm in the first place. He was just Jax. Just a man with a guitar and a song.

"Why don't you go ask Rachel to call the MTV people and clear it with them just so we are checking all the boxes with the contract stuff and I'll go run it by your dad. I'm sure it will all work out." At his skeptical look, Lisa patted his arm.

"All right, mom. But if this all blows up...." he left the suggestion hanging in the air and with it his anxiety clear.

"Oh poo, it'll be great. I can't wait to meet them."

Chase shook his head. "It would be nice if we didn't have to invite Danni too. Honestly I can't fucking stand that woman."

"Chase," Lisa said reproachfully.

"I'm sorry for the language, Mrs. T, but I just can't. She's insane, and she'll always be trying to touch Jax. It's gross."

"Touch you?" Lisa turned to Jax with concern.

"She was all over him. He had to pull her away from him, it was funny, but it was also just way too aggressive."

"It was something all right," Jax agreed.

"How old is this girl?" Lisa asked.

"She says she's thirty-five years old, but I don't believe that at all. She has to be at least 45," Chase answered.

"How old is the other girl?" Lisa asked.

"Twenty-three," Chase answered.

"That's a nice age, only a few years younger than you Jax."

"And that would matter because...?"

Lisa just smiled, confirming Jax's suspicions that the match-making wheels in his mother's head were spinning out of control.

"Whatever you're thinking right now, just stop, mom."

"What?" She shook her head and adopted an air of innocence.

"You know what. No matter how real she might seem now, the truth is she's not." Jax said, and he wondered if he was talking to Lisa or more to himself.

"That doesn't make any sense, honey."

"She's a fan. Tomorrow evening she will be back in her world, in the real world, and I'll be getting ready for this tour. It won't matter if her 'age is perfect for me' or if she is just perfect, or whatever it is you're thinking." At the hopeful expression on his mother's face, he continued quickly, "I said 'if,' I said 'if.' I love you to the moon and back, mom, but get that look off your face, please."

"Ok, fine..." his mom said, turning away and letting the matter drop, but she smiled anyway. "Ok then, what are we going to do about dinner? It's a nice day outside, maybe you and your dad could grill."

"Maybe, but we still don't know if they can or will come." Jax said, attempting and failing to keep the sullen note from his voice.

"Chase, would you go ask Rachel to call the MTV people, please, so we can find out."

"I'm on it," Chase bounded up from the table, pulled his phone from his pocket, and made his way to the family room to call. Jax felt the tension building in his shoulders again, clinging to his muscles and traveling down his spine. While he was thrilled at the prospect of getting some one-on-one time away from the cameras with Rowan to figure out why his body had reacted to her the way it did all afternoon, he was not looking forward to the stress of dealing with Danni and her fanaticism. He absently stroked the velvet soft ears of his two labs which had their heads in his lap, lost in his anxious thoughts until Chase reappeared.

"I called the MTV people myself and the producer thinks it's a fantastic idea to have the three over for dinner. The only thing he asked is if a small camera crew could accompany them for some additional footage. I'll leave that up to you two."

"I don't know if I'd like the cameras all over my house, Chase. Tell them I politely request just the guests for dinner, no cameras, but if it's a deal breaker and they insist on recording it all, we could go out instead to dinner in Memphis."

"I'll push for no cameras," Chase turned around and headed back the way he came.

"I really don't want any more cameras, mom. Not even out in town, and I think you're forgetting who your son is. If we just show up somewhere other than BB King's, there will be a bit of pandemonium and we won't be able to have the kind of dinner you're thinking of in which you get to know these people."

"I know. It's hard, but think of all the free promotion you're getting for your tour. You haven't had to pay a dime for all this. That's got to be worth something to you."

"I guess," Jax said begrudgingly, feeling slightly panicked at the thought of being more than an hour in Rowan's presence with that strange pull, that intense attraction to her that caused such an uncontrollable reaction in his dick in front of even more cameras, ready to capture it all. He had to get to the bottom of his physical response to her before tomorrow's next session under the spotlights and metallic eyes that missed nothing. There had to be a reason. Maybe he could find a way to figure this out on his own in his old childhood bedroom, or at least explore his physical reaction with his palm.

Chase popped his head back into the room. "We are good to go, no cameras. I'm going to get Rachel to draw up some standard releases for them to sign before they get here though. What time should I tell them to be ready?"

"Well, it's about one-thirty now, how about they come over for drinks around five, five-thirty, and we eat by six?"

"Perfect," Chase disappeared once again and Jax sighed, dragging his hand over his face. Great. Just great.

"Awe, Jaxie, don't look so stricken. It'll all work out. And if the young man can come, you might find out he's the perfect one to take to your show. You never know."

"You're right, of course. I should meet him, to be fair."

"Exactly," Lisa smiled and ran a hand over Jax's cheek, pinching the flesh over his cheek bone. "I am so glad you're here, honey. You don't come home often enough and I just love you so much."

"I love you too, mom." Jax rose from the table and started to leave the kitchen until his mother called him back.

"But wait, do they have any special allergies to food or anything? Are any of them vegetarians?"

"I don't know." Jax answered.

"You should have Rachel or Chase call and find out."

"Okay, I'll have Chase call."

"Good, that's settled, I'll start on dinner preparations."

"Do you want any help?"

"No, you go unwind or something before they get here. I can tell your wound tighter than a spring. I'll be fine, and Jax," he turned at the note in his mother's voice. She leveled him with one of those looks that only mothers could give that made you feel like they were reading your mind. "Honey, you will be fine too."

"Thanks, mom. I'll go tell Chase." He closed the distance between them and gave his mom a kiss on the cheek before leaving. "Thanks for the cookies. Oh," he stopped on his way out the door. "Do we still have a copy of the contestants' videos floating around here? The one MTV sent the PR people?" he asked casually.

"Chase or Rachel would have a copy for sure." His mom answered.

"Thanks, mom."

"Love you, honey."

Jax hunted down Chase in the guest bedroom and asked him to call to check on Mica's availability and to see if Danni had any food allergies. He also had a copy of all of the candidates' videos that the MTV studio had sent over along with the candidates' personal contact information. He took all three so as not to arouse any suspicion or derision from Chase who was a couple years older than him and often teased him like an older brother teased a younger brother. He was in no mood to defend his actions at the moment, so he took all three and hurried down the hall to his bedroom.

Once safely inside with the door locked behind him, he sat down at his desk and turned on his laptop, popping in the DVD. With an eagerness he didn't have to mask alone in his room, he clicked on Rowan's face to start her video, determined to get to the bottom of this thing and get over it before he saw her again.

The screen started black and then panned to focus in on a young woman with dark brown hair and milk-chocolate brown eyes. She was fit and pretty with petite bone structure and thin lips. Jax sighed in frustration but resisted the urge to fast forward to scenes with Rowan.

"Hey everyone out there in cyberspace, my name is Diana. What you are about to see is a collection of true events. They were completely un-staged, unscripted, natural situations of my bestie Rowan. I don't need to say much because they are pretty self-explanatory. These video snippets will convince all of you that she is in fact Jaxon Trentwell's biggest and baddest fan, if not hottest, no competition.

"I've been watching the videos that have already been submitted and that's why I decided to submit these previously recorded images because Ro-Ro is so above and beyond all of that pandemonium that is all those other videos. But hey, don't take my word for it, watch this. Oh, and keep in mind that she has absolutely no idea that I recorded her or even that I submitted her for this contest. If she did she would probably throw a fit! So no one tell her, please! And MTV, you can contact me via the informational email I sent you along with this video and I'll put you in touch with her. That way it'll be a really awesome surprise. Thank you and enjoy!"

The scene faded into another with Diana close to the camera lens. This time however, her hair was tied back and she looked like she had just finished exercising. She leaned in and with a conspiratorial whisper to the camera. "Okay, Ro-Ro, I'm doing this for your own good. You have no idea how much you talk about Jaxon Trentwell. It's not like it's a bad thing, but you get insanely defensive when it comes to his talent and music and stuff and I just want you to see how you get when his name is mentioned. Again, it's not a bad thing, but I'm tired of you denying it every time I call you on it, so here's my proof!" The camera wobbled a bit as it was set off to the side.

Rowan emerged from the back of the room moments later, in full work-out attire, with tight ankle length leggings and a tight tank top with a black sports bra peeking from the low neck. At his desk, Jax's cock surged to life as she came into the frame and he paused the video with her body centered on screen. His pants grew uncomfortably tight and his balls felt full from earlier to the point where it was becoming a bit painful, so he unbuttoned his slacks and slid them down his legs. His boxer briefs, still sticky with pre-cum, came off too. Freed from the confinement of his pants and tight boxer briefs, his cock grew and hardened to its full and glorious potential, throbbing in time to his heart beat. He sighed in relief then wrapped his fingers around it, stroking it twice, finding comfort in the familiarity of the action after the upheaval of the morning. Jax pressed play on the video, mesmerized by Rowan's body and the promise of more.

He watched as she moved to the center of the room and started to stretch on the floor, breaking into flexible splits and leaning her torso over so that her face nearly touched the floor and his cock twitched in his hand. Diana was sitting on a small blue couch behind her, her legs just visible in the camera angle. On the TV in front of Rowan, Jax's video "Dreamscape" started to play loudly. The thumping beat grabbed Rowan's attention and she bounced up and out of the split and turned toward Diana, her face alight with pleasure.

"Did you put this in?" Rowan asked with delight.

"Yes, I wanted to watch his video."

"Wow, I didn't know he was releasing one today."

"You know, for a supposed fan, you sure don't know what's going on with him."

"Well, yeah, I'm a fan, but of his music. I don't follow his every move like you apparently do."

"I don't do that." Diana said a bit defensively.

"Well, how did you know his video would be on right now then?"

"Because unlike you, I watch TV now and again, and they said they would be debuting the video today on TRL. I recorded it while we were at the gym."

"I love this song, every time I hear it I can't help but move to its beat. Don't you love it? This video looks interesting though, like a little movie." She started to dance, grinding her hips and moving liquid-like to the pulsing rhythms. Jax gasped watching her while Diana laughed. She was so fucking sexy. He was nearly ready to cum just from the first five minutes of her on screen. What the fuck. Why did she have such a strong effect on him?

"It's okay I guess, but it sounds kind of funny, not like the last album. I don't like it that much actually because you can't tell it's him." Rowan, gasped in shock and spun to face her friend, her torso still rocking to the beat and her gasp ricocheted through his cock. He could easily imagine making her produce that sound with his hands, his tongue.

"How can you not like it? Never mind the spin on the vocals, think of the genius of it. How smart to have your first single be unrecognizable. I mean when it first played on the radio I didn't know it was Jaxon Trentwell, but I still listened. The beat is off the charts, the lyrics are crazy and completely original and I love the way the synthesized voice of Jaxon completely contrasts with the multi-tonal exclamations of Jay Morris in the background and then the little snippets of harmony from Jaxon. The little 'aah's' and 'ooh's' and 'go head' you know? You can't just listen to the main vocal, you have to listen to the entire piece of music, the composition of it all. I love it."

"Is it your favorite track on the album, then?" Rowan shook her head absently, still absorbed in the video. "Which one is then?" Diana asked and Rowan stopped moving to the beat, her eyes wide with serious concentration.

"Oh, wow, that is a tough question... um, shoot, I can't pick just one, it's too hard, they're all good."

"But if you had to pick one, which?"

"You don't understand, I can't pick just one. Each is good in its own little realm of musicality. You can't pick just one because, especially on this album, each song is so completely different from the last. It's basically apples and oranges."

"What?" Diana asked incredulously. "How did you get from music to fruit?"

"But it's just that, it's like comparing the two. Each track is insanely different from the next in not only the vocal style but the music, the beats, the lyrics and the complete sound... I can't pick just one because they're not even in the same category to be compared to one another. Does that make sense?"

"No, it's an album. If they didn't go together they wouldn't be on the same album."

"I'm not saying that they aren't aesthetically similar, but that they are essentially different in composition, in structure and in general musicality. I'm not trying to say that they don't complement each other, only that they should be grouped together in one lump sum by saying 'this is my favorite' or whatever."

"Okay, you've passed me up in the Jaxon talk. All I wanted to know was which song you liked the best... I give up, you win the conversation, slash debate or whatever." Diana got up from the couch, throwing up her hands. "And we just talked through that whole video, I'm going to rewind it. This time let's watch it please and leave the virtues of the harmony or strings or whatever to the virtuosos." Diana said, her tone more teasing than angry.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to argue with you." She turned back to the screen for the last bit of the video and sighed as Jax's face filled the screen. "But you can't deny that he is one sexy dish, that man."

"True story!" They both laughed and the screen cut to a darkened dance floor, with Diana's face barely visible.

"Okay, I just asked the DJ to play Jaxon's newest song to show you how you react when you hear his music 'cause you never listen to me when I tell you how excited you get, like a kid in a candy store getting free chocolate... Oh, the song's ending, here we go."

The camera shook a bit as Diana made her way back to the dance floor to find Rowan dancing with a group of what appeared to be their friends. Rowan was dressed in black tuxedo slacks which hugged her curves and a loose red banded bottom top that swirled around her breasts, hugging one moment to a plump curve and then swinging away seductively as did her loose, flowing hair softly curling and waving down her back.

The song ended and the camera lens zoomed in on Rowan to catch her reaction. The first thumping beats and jangled sound of the bell along with Jax's and Jay's resonant "Hey" of the prelude filled the dim, crowded room and Rowan's face beamed with surprise and delight. She jumped up and down in her excitement, clapping her hands and the friends dancing around her laughed at her instant joy. She said something that couldn't be heard to all of them and hit a few that were standing close on the arm before one of the guys pulled her away from the group so they could dance with more room.

Rowan gave herself over to the music, the camera lens catching the way the music seemed to flow into her body and direct its rhythm. She threw her head back, tossing her hair and closing her eyes in seeming exaltation once the sibilant strains of the main chorus began to play, her dancing partner seemingly forgotten, much to his dismay.

Jax was overwhelmed by her abandon and beauty as she gave herself over to his music. He paused the video on a closeup of her face and expression. He stroked his cock, overwhelmed by the thought that this was his voice, his music making this gorgeous woman that he was attracted to on a primal level look and feel this way. He imagined that same expression on her face as she lay beneath him, his cock thrusting into her warmth and his stroking quickened. Eager to see more of her, he pressed play.

The camera wobbled again as Diana took it away from the dance floor and out into the bar area so that she could speak into its lens once more. "See, I hate to keep saying this, but I freaking told you so!"

The image faded once more to open onto another scene, this time in a different living room with a number of guests. Diana's face filled the frame and she once again smiled into the lens.

"Here you are again, Ro-Ro, you silly girl, talking about your man Jaxon. I'll give you this though, you didn't bring him up all on your lonesome. You never do, I'll admit that, but you couldn't resist berating Chuck about calling Jaxon a 'pop' artist.... Well, he basically called him a fake, produced puppet, and you couldn't resist getting into it. Here, I'll show you."

The camera wobbled again to refocus on Rowan standing in the corner in deep discussion with the previously identified "Chuck." She was dressed in sexy denim that hugged her body nicely and a flattering black V-neck top that hung loose in the right places but tight in others. Diana inched closer with the camera until she could pick up the conversation without detection.

"... and how could you possibly think that he's a puppet of the music industry? Look at what he's accomplished, what he's still doing for not only his own art, but others as well."

"Yeah and look at In-Time, what about that?" Chuck said smugly.

"Okay, okay, I'll give you In-Time," she relented and Jax smiled, grudgingly agreeing, "but he was like what, twelve or something. I'm sure at twelve you were still wearing the clothes your mother picked out for you and playing with G. I. Joes or something. You can't judge the man for his beginnings just like I can't judge you for playing with dolls, right?" Chuck rolled his eyes. Oh if they only knew, Jax thought.

"No, listen, you brought it up so now I'm setting you straight, and I'm sick of it by the way. Absolutely fed up with constantly being antagonized because I'm a Jaxon Trentwell fan, like that is something to be ashamed of. It's not, by the way, considering what he's done since leaving the boy band. He writes his own music, plays his own music, sings, plays piano and guitar, produces his own music, dances and sings at the same time. I've been to one of the shows of his last concert, I've seen him do all of that live. He even acts, granted I've only seen clips from his movies, but you know....

"There is no limit to what that man can do and it is not only incredibly inspiring to every person in the world, with the exception of yourself of course, but it is also the mark of an incredibly talented, intelligent, and driven person. You can't do all of those things without knowing who and what you are. Look at his band mates. They had the same beginnings, exactly the same, and a few of them have become the victim of fame and celebrity. I mean, their entire careers have been manipulated by others. I don't think we've seen any of their creativity, unlike Jaxon whose work is nothing but his own, his own creativity, his own intellectual property."

"That's not true, because I heard that all of his new songs are by that guy Morris or something."

"I think Morris helped produce some stuff, but producing isn't the same as writing."

"But producing, you just said it yourself; producing means making a product, right? So wouldn't Jaxon be a product of Morris' then?"

"You've got the term producing and product mixed up. It's not the same as production, of which the end result would be a product. Producing is, by definition, look it up, to create something, the key word being create.

"Trust me, you don't want to argue semantics with an English Major, I know what I'm talking about. And besides, in music, all a producer really is, is another mind to bounce ideas off of. Now don't get me wrong, I don't know exactly how the man works or what he has written. I don't personally know him or something and I'm not saying I do. All I know is that his name is on every track of that record as the singer/songwriter, so whether he has produced the beats himself or not, it doesn't matter because he's written all of the music, the lyrics and the melodies, for his album. You can't call someone like that a puppet. You could call someone like Brian, his old band mate a puppet, but not Jaxon, no way."

"Fine, whatever, I still think he's a bit of an idiot though."

"Why, because the whole world knows who he is? Is that what defines an 'idiot,' or is it that you feel yourself so lacking in all of the abilities he possesses that you must put down his infinite talent so that you feel more like a man?"

"Whoa, okay, you win. Don't go attacking me because I don't like the guy."

"I'm not attacking you. It's completely alright if you don't like him, but don't put him down and say he's an idiot or whatever just because you can't understand what it means to be him."

"And you're saying you know what it's like to be him, you know all about him?"

"No, I am not saying that, like I said just moments ago, if you had been listening. I don't know anything about him, I've never met him. It would be ridiculous of me to assume I know one damn thing about who he is. I only know what he decides to share with the world; his music, his art, his talent, and frankly that's all I need or want."

"Yeah, right, you know you're like all the other Jaxon Trentwell freaks and buy the magazines and stalk him and shit."

"Actually I don't, but then that just shows how little you know me too." She said softly. "You just keep digging that hole for yourself, Chuck and I'll help you pile the dirt right back on top, okay?" Rowan patted him on the shoulder in a consoling sort of way and moved off into the crowded room, leaving Chuck open-mouthed with shock. He looked around and found Diana.

Jax found himself touched by her defense of his talent and suddenly felt guilty that he was masturbating to a video of her.

"What the fuck are you doing?" he asked himself, aloud this time. He released his hungry cock and sat back, rubbing his hands across his short-cropped hair in frustration. He wasn't raised this way, to debase women, to abuse himself. God, he had lost it, just lost it.

"What just happened?" The person on the screen said incredulously, drawing Jax out of his somber reverie. "And why do you have a camera?" The camera wobbled and refocused on Diana who merely gave it an "I-told-you-so" look and then turned it off.

The screen faded back into a darkened room. It looked like the same living room as the scene before, only this time it was at night and there were no guests. Diana's face filled the screen.

"Look, Miss Rowan, I am going to prove your hypocrisy once and for all! You are a fan. I agree that you aren't a fanatic, okay. You don't collect magazines that he's in and record all of his performances, watch all his movies, you just listen to his music, but that doesn't mean that you are any better than any of us that do record his videos and watch his movies and hang his pictures on the walls of our rooms. Yes, I know I'm too old for that, as you've reminded me, but you think he's hot. You are at least a little bit of a fan like I am and thousands of other people all over the world are, and I'm going to prove it to you right now. I love you to death Ro-Ro, I only want to be a fangirl over Jaxon Trentwell around you without you scolding me for disrespecting him in some imagined way."

The camera wobbled as it was set down across from the sofa which had been pulled out into a bed. Rowan emerged from the hallway all fresh and pink; her hair wet and face free of any makeup looked absolutely breathtaking in its truth. She was dressed in a tight pink cami that revealed the fact she was braless. Her full breasts pert and teardrop shaped beneath the tank bounced freely, the shape and size of her nipples clearly outlined by the thin material. She wore matching boy shorts which clung to her like a pair of panties. Her body was amazing, those curves that he had felt pressed flush against him not an hour ago on full display and Jax groaned. Fuck it, he thought, and he gave in to his need, grabbing his cock with both hands this time, stroking his turgid, burning flesh in supplication to the beauty on the screen.

Rowan bounced onto the sofa bed, grabbing a pillow. "What movie did you put in?" She asked Diana.

"I didn't. I thought we could watch Jaxon's new video first."

Rowan narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"Why have you been so obsessed with Jaxon Trentwell lately? I swear every time I see you, you're bringing him up."

"No, I'm not," Diana said defensively. "I just really want to see this. I recorded it earlier, and don't lie, you want to see it too. It's one of your favorite songs on the album, 'Come Around'."

"Oh, yes, I love that song."

"The video should be good too. I heard Kirsten Dunst is in it."

"Oh really? She is gorgeous and such a good actress." Rowan started drying her hair as Diana pressed play on her DVR. The theatrical version of the music video began to play and Rowan sat up, paying attention. Diana positioned the camera in a way that would perfectly capture each expression and Jax found himself hungering to watch this honest, unscripted reaction. Yes, he thought, Kirsten is gorgeous but she's got nothing on you, Rowan.

As his music video started to play, Jax's heart soared with every expression that flew over Rowan's face. She was genuinely consumed by the music, and often closed her eyes, giving herself over to the melody. He was awed by her.

"My god, that man is a genius," Rowan whispered fervently. The scene in which he and Kirsten were making out started to play and he studied her expression, leaning in to get closer to his laptop to see it clearly. Rowan's lips parted and she bit her lip, squirming on the bed, her face flushing a deep pink and her nipples hardening, clearly visible beneath the thin material of her top. She stopped drying her hair and lowered the towel to her lap. She gripped it, wringing it in her hands with the same motion her hips were making on the bed; small subtle circles that rubbed her thighs together, her body full of tension. Jax's hands sped up on his cock in response to her evident arousal.

"I will say one thing," Rowan breathed, her voice full and husky, that deep pink blush spreading to the top of her breasts. "That man wouldn't even have to know my name." At her lush words, Jax erupted in his hands, orgasming with such force that his cum hit the underside of his chin before splashing down the front of his shirt and frothing over his pumping hands. He grunted, riding his orgasm out, his heavy balls bunching tight, his eyes locked on Rowan's image. As he came down from his orgasmic high, the video ended, flashing Diana's contact information.

He closed his laptop with an elbow and sunk back into his chair. Holy hell, he thought. He had to have this woman. He did know her name and it was as beautiful as she was: Rowan. There was no denying that this deep attraction was evident on both sides and it was genuine, if he could believe what she and Diana had said and Rowan didn't know she was being recorded. He had to know more about her, he had to have her, capture that beautiful mouth with his own and claim her body.

Jax cleaned himself up in the bathroom, meeting his reflection in the mirror and feeling a clarity of thought he hadn't had since before he came face to face with Rowan. He realized there was one major flaw in his plan to seduce and claim her; he didn't know if she was attached to anyone or not. She didn't have a ring on today, but he couldn't be sure if there was someone else. Did he care? He asked himself. The answer was a resounding yes, he did. He wasn't a cheater and despised those that were. He had to find out.