Love isn't always enough A Jordan Knight/ Joey McIntyre fanfic

Chapter 28: New York, New York

Joey pulled up at 9:58 the next morning; he jumped out just as she opened the front door. He smiled, thinking she was watching for him. 

She was his friend's girl, but that same friend had messed up and lost her. Is it bad that the crush he has had for twenty years is still there and stronger than ever?

He ran to the door and grabbed her bag, he hugged her, and she locked the door and walked to the passenger side. Joey smiled at her as he climbed into the driver's side. 

"Are you ready to have some fun, Steph?"

"I am Joe, I needed this. New York City, here we come."

They listened to the radio and sang along to songs as they made the drive. She told Joe where her apartment was, and he smiled.

"Upper East side, girl. Look at that; you bought it on your own. I'm proud of you, Steph. I really am. That says a lot that you wanted to do something for yourself rather than Jordan giving it to you. I told him he shouldn't have said that when we were on tour."

"I think that's what hurt the most was he didn't even want to hear about the job. You don't need to work, sweetie, I will take care of you."  

"Yea, Donnie told him that was an idiotic response. He said she just went to school to earn her degree, and you just threw it to the side like it was nothing. I told him then you deserved better, you deserved someone who would be proud of your accomplishments, and that would push you to reach all your goals and dreams. He responded with I am proud of her. She got her college degree, but I want to take care of her; she doesn't need to work. I told him that maybe you didn't want to be taken care of, maybe you wanted to earn something on your own."

"He said that. I mean, don't get me wrong, it was nice being taken care of before I graduated, but you understood exactly what I needed. It's nice to know you guys understood and didn't have any hard feelings toward me when I left him as I did. I mean, it was a very cowardly thing to do, but it was the only way I knew I could. If I had told him to his face, I wouldn't have been able to walk away. At least not back then, this time tho I had the strength I waited for him, and I told him to his face."

"Well, this is your apartment, you earned it, and your bank account, the money you saved, you earned that as well. On your own, and from what I heard, a lot of long, stressful hours."

"Thanks, Joe, I mean that sincerely; it means the world to me to hear you say that."

He smiled at her, and they drove to her apartment; he parked in the garage. He jumped out and helped her out; he unloaded their bags and carried them inside. She opened the door, and he looked around. 

"It's nice, Steph, real nice. Gorgeous view of Central Park, I heard you got a great deal since you worked there. I also have a townhouse in the city, but it's in Tribeca."

They relaxed and unpacked. Steph had a few things she left here for when she visits with the girls. Joey was sitting on the couch when she came back into the living room. He smiled at her.

"So, what are we going to do tonight? Dinner and a club sound good?"

"Yea, that sounds great." They got ready and headed out later that afternoon. They ate dinner and then went to a club down the block. They danced for hours and had a lot of fun. They returned to her apartment and were both laughing so hard at a joke Joe had said.  

Two days later: 

It's Valentine's day they are meeting her friends and their husbands downtown, The upstairs at 66. They enjoyed dinner, which Joe paid for. Everyone else went home for their romantic evenings while Joe and Steph went to a club called Pyramid Club, which was an 80s dance club. 

They were having a few drinks and dancing when the server brought them another round of drinks. This is from the couple at the bar. They smiled and waved, both thinking it was because they recognized Joey from the band. 

Stephanie's head felt like it weighed fifty pounds when she tried to open her eyes. She didn't remember anything after that third drink they were given. Her eyes were blurry as she tried to look around. 

"Joe," He cried out as he tried to wake up.

"What happened last night? I don't remember anything else after that third drink?" He blinked, trying to figure out where they were. It was a motel, and he was so confused."

"I don't know, but we aren't in my apartment; it looks like a motel room. Um, Joe, what is that on your finger?"

He held it up and saw the wedding band, Steph held hers up and saw the wedding band.

"Steph, you have one just like it. What the hell happened last night?"

"I have no idea. Joe, are you wearing any clothes? I'm not, I am a little sore, and I have hickeys all over my chest."

"No, I'm not, and so do I." He stood up and was off balance as he grabbed a plastic advertisement off the table. "We are in Niagra Falls, Steph. I think we got married, and by the looks of it, we even consummated the marriage but have no memory of it. What the hell was in that drink?"

"Holy shit, Jordan is going to kill us. How did this happen, and what are we going to do?"

"Well, first of all, we are going to let our heads settle and stop pounding like I'm a punching bag. Then, we will figure out what happened and what we are going to do about it. I think we may need to sleep off whatever we were given."

"I think you are right. Let's try to sleep it off so we can find a solution."

"Come here, sweetie." He pulled her into his arms and held her. "We are married, and from the looks of it, we had an amazing night that neither of us remembers; we can cuddle. I promise we figure this out when our heads are clear." He kissed the top of her head as they both drifted off to sleep. 

She had her hand laid on his chest, it felt good to be held again; it had been so long since she had been held. They slept for a few more hours, and Joe slowly opened his eyes, realizing what had happened.  

Jordan was going to kill him; he had married and slept with his ex-wife. The band was going to break up before they even got started.