"Hard Candy"
The campaign was in full swing and everyone was running around preparing for the debate between Senator Hoynes and Governor Bartlet. There was clearly a lot on the line and everyone seemed to be harried and stressed. As much as Josh would have liked to have some time alone with CJ, it seemed like weeks since they were alone together, it had only been a few days since they'd shared a brief clinch in an empty stairwell. Josh felt that somehow CJ centered him and helped him calm down a bit. He certainly needed that at the moment.
Toby, Sam, CJ and Leo were all holed up in a hotel room making mad preparations for the debate the next night. Leo was on the phone with donors. Toby was going over communications strategy and Sam and CJ were furiously trying to keep up with their notes. When Toby was in the zone no one asked him to repeat his instructions.
As was so often the case, there was bowl full of hard candy in the middle of the table. Someone had brought a bag of candy to the first strategy meeting in New Hampshire and now it was a requirement for anyone to get any work done. Once Toby finished with his instructions CJ reached for the bowl of candy and unwrapped a Blow Pop. She popped it into her mouth and took a seat in the chair by the window. She thought the gum inside was kind of disgusting, but it was sweet and satisfying for the moment. She sucked on the Blow Pop while she made sense of her notes.
Josh entered the room and talked to Leo briefly before he took a seat at the small table in the corner of the room. He glanced at a few notes that Sam passed to him and then he made the mistake of looking up and glancing at CJ. She sat staring intently at her papers while she twirled the stick of the Blow Pop gently between her fingers. She pulled the candy out of her mouth and Josh could see that it had stained her lips a faint red.
"Josh," Sam said. It seemed, from Sam's tone, that he had been trying to get his attention for a while.
"Yeah?" Josh said.
"Did you hear what I said?" Sam asked.
Josh continued to watch CJ before he turned to face Sam. "No," Josh said.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm good."
"I was telling you that Toby is having a meeting with Winnick about the line we have on gun control," Sam repeated himself.
"Why?" Josh asked, finally giving Sam his full attention.
"He has a problem with our answer," Sam said simply.
Josh sighed. "I have a problem with him," Josh said exasperated. "Why do we care what he thinks anyway?"
"He's the governor of Illinois," Sam said.
"Right," Josh said. "Toby is getting into it?"
"Yeah."
"What time are we meeting for debate prep?"
Sam looked at his watch. "Seven-thirty."
"Okay," Josh said standing up. "I'm gonna stretch my legs. I'll see you down there."
Josh thought about leaving the room, but once again his gaze fell on CJ, still sitting in the chair working her tongue over that damn lollipop. He shoved his hands into his pockets and walked over the window where CJ sat. He looked out the window for a minute with his back to her while CJ continued to study her notes.
"You need to stop that," Josh whispered to her.
She looked up at him; her glasses perched on her nose. She pulled the lollipop out of her mouth with a faint slurp and Josh felt a thrill to see her lips puckered and red. "Stop doing what?" she asked as she licked her lower lip.
"The sight of you sucking on that lollipop is borderline pornographic," he informed her.
CJ smiled at him and popped the candy back into her mouth. She made sure to suck on it slowly just to tantalize him. "It's just a Blow Pop," she countered.
Josh bit down on his lower lip. "Even the name is pornographic," he said with a smirk.
CJ smiled back and turned back to her notes, though she wanted nothing more than to visit with Josh. Of course what she had in mind was completely inappropriate for a room full of campaign staffers.
"How stressed are you right now?" she asked him as she continued to scribble a few notes on her notepad.
"On a scale of one to ten?" Josh asked. "Fifteen."
"You look it," she replied.
"Thanks," Josh replied mock offended.
"I mean you seem antsy," she said.
"I am. Aren't you?"
"Sure, but I hide it better than you," CJ said. She twirled the lollipop a few more times and Josh couldn't help but stare.
"You realize it's been a week since we…," Josh pointed out.
"I do," she replied cutting him off. Though they were being very quiet, there were still many people in the room and CJ didn't want anyone to pick up on their conversation.
"So the sight of you with that is…"
"A problem for you?"
"It is when there's absolutely nothing I can do about it."
"What are you doing in five minutes?" CJ asked still running her tongue over the lollipop.
"Wandering aimlessly before debate prep," Josh replied.
CJ shut her folder of notes and stood up. She stood very close to Josh's ear, but not close enough to attract the attention of anyone else in the room, which was now bustling with people. Their shoulders touched lightly.
"Why don't you come to my room instead?"
"We have debate prep at seven-thirty," Josh pointed out.
"I promise we won't be late," she said.
With that she walked out of the room and left Josh standing there wondering what had just happened. He watched her say something to Sam before she left the room. She made sure she turned to look at Josh and gave her lollipop a pointed turn in her mouth before she left the room.
Josh ran his hand through his hair and thought about the things that he needed to accomplish before debate prep and found that he really didn't need to worry about anything important. Why shouldn't he give himself a few minutes of bliss? Though part of him wondered how they'd accomplish this. Zoey was in town and surely she'd be in the room.
Josh turned to follow CJ when he ran smack into Toby in his haste.
"Where are you going?" Toby asked him.
"What?" Josh asked deflecting the question.
"Are you late for something? You look like you're in a hurry," Toby said.
"I need to get some notes from CJ before prep," Josh said.
"She went back to her room to get her notebook," Toby said helpfully.
"Great!" Josh said a little too enthusiastically, which result in Toby giving him a strange look. "I'm going to try to catch her before prep."
"Have fun," Toby said. Josh smirked after he turned his back on Toby to leave the room. He had no idea how good a time Josh intended to have when he visited CJ's room.
He walked down the hall and passed a few people before he turned the corner and entered the stairwell. He kept looking behind him as if he had to worry about being followed. No one would realize that Josh had other motives for stopping by CJ's room, but lately Josh's feelings for her seemed very real and he was slightly paranoid.
He finally made it to her door and knocked lightly. CJ smiled when she heard his timid knock. She hadn't intended on this little interlude, but the way Josh looked at her earlier, coupled with the fact that it had been a week since they'd had any intimate contact made her feel it was time. They both needed to clear their minds of the stress of the campaign.
She opened the door and greeted Josh with a bright smile.
"Come on in," she said.
Josh smiled at CJ and did as instructed. Her lips were still stained a slight shade of red because of the lollipop. Seeing her made him realize just how badly he wanted her, but they were on limited time and he wasn't sure he could accomplish all he wanted to in the time allotted.
The door swung shut behind him and CJ threw the chain on the door before she moved towards him wrapping her arms around his neck. She placed small kisses around his ear and began to move down his cheek. Josh backed her into the wall and reached for her leg, which she instinctively lifted to run down his leg, but Josh caught her thigh at his hip-level and began to caress her leg while lifting her skirt.
CJ felt his hand inched up her thigh and she sighed in his ear, which drove him wild. He moved his hand upward.
"Mi amour," CJ purred. He could hear the need in her voice and she moved her lips closer to his, but he pulled back.
"You don't want to kiss me?" she flirted with him.
"I do," he said nuzzling her nose with his own. Their faces were centimeters apart and they could feel their breath on each other's face as if it were a warm blanket.
"Then kiss me," she instructed him.
Instead of kissing her Josh teased her by running his lips softly over her cheek. To CJ it felt like the wind caressing her face.
"Josh," she begged.
"I want to kiss you," he explained. "I want to suck the cherry flavor of that lollipop off your lips, but I can't."
"Why?" she asked breathlessly for as Josh spoke he continued to run his hand further up her leg.
He noticed how her breath became ragged and stilted as he touched in her just the right spot. She clutched the shoulder of his jacket tightly with her fingers.
"Josh," she exhaled again.
"I don't have the time to accomplish everything I want to accomplish," he said teasing her.
"I don't care," she said.
CJ let go of his jacket and placed her hands on his cheeks, pulling him to her waiting lips. Her lips crashed into his with an intensity that neither had experienced with each other. Josh parted his lips and let his tongue probe CJ's briefly before he focused his attention on her lower lip, which he sucked on slowly.
A shiver ran down CJ's spine and she pulled herself even closer to him, though she didn't think it was possible. She started to walk backwards towards the bed and she pulled Josh along with her.
"Where's Zoey?" Josh asked in between kisses.
"Out to dinner with Liz and Ellie," she said as she pawed at his belt buckle as he kissed her again.
Josh pulled away and said, "You taste like cherries."
"It's the Blow Pop," she replied.
"I think it's just you," he said grinding his hips into hers. "I love the way you taste."
She ran her hands down his back and settled on his behind, which she gave a good squeeze.
"I love the way you kiss me," CJ countered.
"I love…this," he said. He had almost said something else, but he caught himself in time. Although the realization of what he was about to say shook him to the core. Instead of dwelling on it he kissed CJ more forcefully instead.
They collapsed on the bed with a thud and CJ straddled Josh's hips tightly. Josh let the sensation of her touch overwhelm him and he suddenly didn't feel quite as stressed anymore, though he felt a little a guilty that it wasn't more romantic. It seemed this romp only allowed both of them to blow off some steam.
Their coupling was frantic and rushed, but full of want. They both knew that they had a limited window and they were both determined to make he most of it. Luckily, they'd been together enough to know exactly how to get each other going quickly. CJ knew that applying just the right amount of pressure to the spot between Josh's hip and pelvis would cause his hips to buck. Josh knew that making a trail of kisses down CJ's collarbone would cause her to moan quietly.
It only took less than ten minutes, but that was all they needed. CJ felt her pulse race and just as suddenly as her need arose, it dissipated and she lay spent on Josh's chest, both panting frantically to catch their breath.
An alarm sounded somewhere in the room and CJ rolled over onto her back, still breathing as heavily as Josh.
"What is that?" he asked breathless.
"Perfect timing. I set the alarm so we'd have a five minute warning before debate prep," CJ explained.
"Are you kidding?" he asked chuckled.
"No," CJ said. "I promised you we wouldn't be late."
Josh rolled on his side to face her and rested his lips against CJ's forehead and gave her a light kiss.
"This was…," Josh said, struggling to find a word to sum it up. He had wanted her so badly, but now, in their haste, he felt like their dalliance was a little cheap and he certainly didn't want CJ to feel that way.
"Quick and dirty," CJ sighed contentedly.
"That's one way to put it," Josh agreed. "Is that okay with you?"
CJ looked at Josh and gave him a smile. "It was a little invigorating, don't you think?"
"Yeah, it was," Josh agreed running his hand through his hair. He observed their clothing, only slightly askew and thought that if anyone happened to walk in, they might not even know that they'd just had sex, aside from the fact that they were both flushed and out of breath.
"You feel a little less stressed?" she asked him.
"Oh, I'm feeling pleasantly numb," he replied.
"Good," CJ said turning to give him a quick peck on the lips.
She stood up and tucked in her blouse while straightening her skirt. They had been so insatiable that they hadn't even had time to remove their clothes, which in CJ's mind, made it a little sexier than usual.
Josh finally stood up from the bed and wandered into the bathroom put himself together while the alarm was still blaring a news report. Apparently CJ liked to be awoken to the sound of AM radio. Josh looked at himself in the mirror and saw how disheveled he looked. He quickly ran his fingers through his hair again and tucked in his shirt when CJ walked in the bathroom behind him. She handed him his belt and grabbed her brush from the counter and ran it through her hair a few times while Josh watched her.
"What?" CJ asked him.
"Nothing," Josh shrugged.
"Why are you staring at me?"
"Because you're a sexy woman."
"Josh," she scoffed.
"You know you are."
"Well, thank you. You're pretty sexy yourself."
"Clearly," Josh teased her with am impish grin, which CJ returned with a chuckle. "Seriously though, this was just what I needed."
"Honestly," CJ said. "I needed it too. The level of stress this past week has been a little crazy."
"I'm available anytime," Josh reminded her.
"I will keep that in mind," CJ said with a smile. She smiled as she reached out and straightened his tie. She also ran her fingers through his hair a few times to tame his mane before she sent him back out to the public. Josh leaned forward and kissed her again.
"I'll see you in Ballroom C," he said.
"You will."
Josh took a deep breath and left CJ's room glancing down the hall as he left just to be safe. CJ took a moment to compose herself. She glanced at her reflection in the mirror and thought about how content she looked. She gave Josh a bit more time to get down the hallway before she grabbed her notebook to go to debate prep.
CJ let the door to her room close lightly behind her and glanced down the hall in both directions. No one was in the hallway and she smoothed her skirt as she made her way down the stairwell. She clutched her binder in her hand and mentally shifted gears. It was getting more and more difficult to put her rendezvous with Josh to the back of her mind, but she knew that a job like hers was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and so she quickly switched gears.
No sooner had she turned the exited the stairwell than she sensed she was being followed. She glanced behind her and noticed Danny Concannon trailing her with a quickness to his step. He was obviously trying to catch up with her.
"Hey CJ," he said.
"Hi Danny," she replied. Since the governor had become an actual contender they suddenly noticed all the big name reporters who were quickly spending as much time with her as they were with Hoynes' press team. However, Danny would always have a special place with CJ because he was interested in the Bartlet campaign long before anyone else seemed to notice they were running.
"Going to debate prep?" he asked.
"I sure am," she said with a smile.
"You seem to be in a good mood," he commented.
"I am," replied. It was hard not to grin given the interlude she'd just had and she wasn't in the mood to conceal it.
"Shouldn't you be gearing up for a fight?" he asked. "I don't think Hoynes is going to go gentle into that goodnight."
CJ just grinned. She definitely had a comment for Danny, but she also didn't want it to end up on the front page of his paper the next morning.
"I think the debate will be spirited," she said. "I know the governor is excited to get to the heart of the issues."
"Seriously? That's your response?" he asked. "I thought we were better friends than that CJ."
CJ approached the door to the ballroom and turned to Danny, "I'll have plenty of comments for you after the debate."
"I don't doubt it," Danny replied. "I was just hoping for something a little more interesting beforehand."
"Bye Danny," she said with a smile.
"Bye CJ."
CJ walked into the conference room where they were going to handle debate prep and left Danny out in the hallway. Toby glanced up and saw Danny wave at CJ as she closed the door behind him.
"You're late," Toby commented.
"The governor isn't here yet Toby," she said.
She noticed Sam was over in the corner with Ed or Larry, she never really knew which, and she set her binder on the table.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"I'm great," she said and for once she truly was.
"You looked flushed," he said.
"Do I?"
"Yeah."
"I feel fine."
He was testy. He always got testy before debates. While it energized everyone else, Toby just got ornery.
"Okay," he said. "You need to be more careful."
He trailed off as if he thought better of forging ahead with what he was about to say.
"What?" she asked. For a moment she wondered if he'd seen Josh leave her room, but he wouldn't bring it up now; at least she didn't think he would.
"Danny Concannon likes to follow you around," Toby pointed out.
"He is a reporter Toby."
"It's more than reporting."
"Really?" CJ scoffed. Now that she knew that Toby wasn't making any type of reference to Josh, she found his comment amusing.
Toby gave her a hard look. "I've seen men with crushes on you before," Toby reminded her. "He's a reporter and you should be careful is what I'm saying."
"Thank you Dad," CJ replied. She gave Toby a hard time about his accusation, but she found that it was much better than him getting close to the truth. As long as Toby thought Danny was romantic problem, and not Josh, it was good news for CJ.
Josh took that moment to enter the room and the conversation. "What's going on?" he asked.
"I think Danny Concannon follows CJ around too much," Toby said openly.
Josh smirked. "Danny?" he asked. "He's a professional."
"Then why is he walking CJ to the door of debate prep and she's flushed looking like she got her hand caught in the cookie jar?" Toby countered.
"I am standing right here Toby," CJ reminded him. "You're too stressed."
"You should start running or something," Josh added. "Work off the stress."
CJ glanced over at Josh and saw that he wore a mischievous grin and she struggled not to chuckle. Josh noticed her glance and winked at her imperceptibly. CJ thought about how cute he looked just then and struggled to keep her composure. The little voice in her head wanted nothing more than to kiss his kissable lips.
"This isn't about me," Toby said. "It's about CJ getting too chummy with Danny Concannon."
"I'm not getting too chummy with him," CJ retorted.
"Danny is a good guy, Toby," Josh reminded him. "He's here to report, not hit on CJ."
"Not that I'm not a perfectly fine woman to hit on," CJ piped up.
"You're a fine woman to hit on," Josh agreed.
"That's not the point," Toby interrupted. "I'm saying that I need you to be on guard around Danny. Can you do that?"
"I can," CJ assured him.
"Thank you," Toby said finally before walking away from them.
"He thinks Danny has a crush on you?" Josh asked CJ quietly.
"Apparently," CJ replied. "I don't see why. He's friendly, but I'm not picking up any signals."
"Good," Josh said as they walked over to the conference table. A large bowl of candy was in the center of the table.
"Good?" CJ asked as she reached out for a piece of candy.
"Yeah," Josh shrugged. "Danny needs to work for it."
Josh reached out and pulled the lollipop CJ grabbed from the bowl from her hand. He unwrapped it and popped it into his mouth.
"I can't have one?" CJ asked.
"No," Josh said shaking his head.
"Why?"
"I can't properly prep the governor if my head's not in the game."
"And you're head isn't in the game if I have a lollipop?"
"Definitely not," Josh smiled.
Josh reached into the bowl and grabbed a Jolly Rancher and handed it to CJ, which she took with a smile.
"Thank you so much," she said.
"You're welcome," Josh smiled as he sucked on his lollipop.
CJ took a seat at the conference table and got ready for debate prep to begin. But, she had to admit even she was having a hard time concentrating as Josh sucked on that stupid red lollipop.
TBC