28. The Beginning of Change

August

In California

"I'm getting the vanilla."

"Ok then I want chocolate." I reply smartly.

"Are you trying to imply something Justin?"

"Are you?"

"I am. Vanilla is awesome!"

"Uh huh, I bet it is. After all, you have a live version of it to enjoy." I refer to myself, grinning cockily.

"Don't be a smartass Justin!" Lilah giggles, pinching my arm.

"Ouch! Lilah!" I groan, rubbing the sore spot as I narrow my eyes at her.

"You asked for it."

"Whatever, are we almost done?" I whine, watching her pull a carton of vanilla and chocolate ice cream out of the freezer in the supermarket.

"Yes Mr. impatient. Take it easy geez." She laughs but I just glare at her with a sigh.

I don't know what possessed me to go along with this crazy scheme she had of going grocery shopping in broad daylight without Mike...just the two of us...in LA of all places. In my defense, the woman makes me do crazy things just like she drives me insane. It's a full package deal with her. It's irresponsible and unsafe, but the thrill of getting spotted is seriously the cause of the adrenaline rush I'm feeling right now as I look around us while pulling down the bill of my cap over my eyes. Lilah is completely oblivious to the glances and stares we've been receiving since we got here. She's really not used to this life. Ugh, god, on my list of stupid things I've done recently, this takes the cake.

How in the world did I make her talk me into this to the point where we drove down here to the supermarket?

"So, what do you say we head down to the supermarket and restock? We're kind of running low on supplies and I kind of feel like cooking something." Lilah suggests and I curve a brow at her in interest. "What? I do want to cook Justin. No one has to know. And we won't have to be waiting on anyone to drag this out. I know how you are about being out in public, but, we could be in and out in a flash, and then...." She pauses as her fingers run down my chest seductively. "We'll have the rest of the day to do whatever you want." I eye her suspiciously and she simply smiles. "Whatever you want Justin." She says suggestively in a faint murmur before planting her lips against mine and my eyes instantly widen in realization.

The speed I grabbed her hand and grabbed the car keys off the table after that all happened so fast, it's still a blur.

All I know is, now, I'm nervous. We need to leave this place before anyone recognizes me to the point where they can't simply ignore my presence and then does something noticeable like approach me.

"Come on woman, speed it up!" I say impatiently, glaring at the half-full shopping cart of groceries.

"Ok, ok, damn Justin. I'm done, let's go." Lilah mumbles, looking over the shopping list she prepared on our drive here.

Biting the corner of my mouth to suppress my smile, I look at her, a warm feeling building in my chest at how this is so cliché but still cute that we're out shopping together like a real couple.

Had anyone told me months ago we'd be in this exact position, I would have laughed in their face and suggested they saw a shrink.

It's funny how time changes everything.

But, after Lilah told me how she felt about me in her rambling, I have faith that we might be able to make this work.

I mean, she wouldn't have said she loved me if she didn't mean it right? Even though I had my doubts when she said it, I believe her, and I know how she feels. I'd be blind to not see it staring me in the face. But, strangely, that still doesn't set me at ease. This is going to seem horrible of me, but she's still Delilah you know? She's notorious for being hot and cold at the most unexpected times and I just hope, for the sake of my sanity and heart, that I'm not making a huge mistake with her and this whole crossing from friends into a serious relationship thing.

"Do you want to go half-half on the bill since I'll be eating up your food as well?" Lilah questions as we make our way over to one of the cashiers.

"Na, I've got it covered." I smile for her while helping her to unload the groceries to be scanned.

"Are you sure, because I don't want to feel like..."

"Delilah." I scold her, immediately cutting her off. "You're a guest in my home...not to mention my girl..." But I pause when I notice the cashier snap her head in my direction, her pale green eyes searching my blues in curiosity. She doesn't say anything. She simply looks at me before continuing her task at hand of scanning our groceries. Clearing my throat awkwardly, I sigh. "It's perfectly fine Lilah." I finally conclude.

"Ok." She relents, remaining silent as we finish removing all the groceries from the shopping cart.

Straightening my posture, I pull out my wallet and dig in it for one of my credit cards.

I look on as Lilah swiftly places the bagged groceries back in the shopping cart as I get ready to hand the cashier my card.

"So, are you and Jessica Biel still together?"

My eyes immediately cut to the young woman who accepts my credit card with a small shy smile on her face.

I notice Lilah eye her strangely, but simply ignores her for the most part as she loads the last of the bags.

"Excuse me?" I scowl at the woman.

"Well, you know, I know you're doing this reality thing at that school in New York, but there hasn't really been much out there about you except that one interview you did some time back at the school. Nowhere really says that you two have broken up officially, but, I did remember the reporter mentioning your friend's name here in the interview." The cashier explains, pointing in Lilah's direction.

Oh no. I notice the death stare Lilah shoots the young woman and I'd maybe be livid right now if I wasn't afraid of Lilah going off on her.

"How about you mind your fucking business and finish with us so we can leave?" Lilah snaps back in a low growl which I actually find kind of sexy.

The cashier's eyes widen in offence as she swipes my card and hands it back to me, ringing us up.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to...look it was just a question; I was only curious." The woman apologizes.

Snorting, Lilah huffs getting ready to leave. "Sweetie, ever heard that curiosity kills?"

Oh shit, ok we need to go. Lilah may not know this, but she needs to be super careful with what she says. This woman could easily twist her words and say Lilah threatened her life or something to cash in on us. Shit.

"Lilah." I say gently in a warning tone and she turns to give me a look before rolling her eyes and walking away, pushing the shopping cart out.

The cashier quickly hands me my receipt after I sign and I put it in my wallet before stuffing everything in my jeans pocket. "Thanks." I mutter.

"I'm sorry if I offended your girlfriend; I didn't know." The cashier apologizes. "I'm a fan and I was just wondering." She shrugs helplessly and I pause to look at her.

"She's n..." I hesitate. I don't want to say Lilah is my girlfriend and have it plastered on every tabloid magazine by tomorrow because I don't think she's ready for that kind of attention, but, I also don't want to deny it either. "Let's just forget this happened ok?" I say firmly and the young woman nods, looking ashamed.

Sighing, I quickly make my exit, surprised to see that Lilah already loaded in the grocery bags and is now in the passenger seat waiting for me.

I hop into the driver's side and she hands me the keys before I fasten my seatbelt and bring the ride to life and dig out of the parking lot.

The silence is deafening as we ride home until Lilah finally decides to speak. I sure as hell wasn't going to say anything.

"Does this happen on a regular?" She asks me and I steal a glance at her as I drive up the familiar street to my home.

"What?" I inquire.

"Random people coming up to you and talking to you like they've known you their whole life, thinking they're entitled to your personal business."

I have to laugh at that.

"Kind of yeah. Comes with the territory." I simply state and she nods.

"So, how bad does it get?" She inquires in a softer tone. My palms tighten around the steering wheel as we near my estate. "You know, just so I know what I'm dealing with."

"It can get really bad, especially with the paparazzi and a large number of screaming fans involved. It can also be dangerous hence the whole reason for bodyguards, but, I'm confident that my teen-crazy-boy-band-mauling-days are over. I still need the protection, but it was ridiculous when I was in N'sync. I think the cool thing is that my fans have matured with me over the years so, it's not as bad as it used to be. I mean, if this were years ago when I was in the group, we would have never even gotten a chance to enter that supermarket and more importantly, we would not have been without protection." I explain to her, hoping that will reassure her some.

"That sounds horrible." She laughs lightly.

"Small price to pay." I chuckle, stopping the ride to punch in the code for my gates before we head down the driveway.

The moment I park, I notice Trace and Rachel exiting the house, Rachel with a worried expression on her face and Trace with a displeased one. Uh, ok what's going on?

"Hey guys." I exit the ride as they walk up to the car, Rachel moving over to Lilah's side to help her with the grocery bags.

"Dude, we thought you were kidnapped." Trace says jokingly though he still looks kind of upset.

"We just went out to do some last minute shopping." I shrug, stuffing my keys in my pocket. "It's all good. We came back in one piece."

"You're lucky. And you picked a bad time. Mike was just here. He nearly had a fit when we told him you and Lilah went out since your car was gone."

"Well why'd you tell him that for?!" I snap at Trace and he rolls his eyes at me. Next time I see Mike, he's going to bitch. He always does when I do shit like this.

"What else was I supposed to say Justin? He was dropping off your mom after picking her up at the airport because her son forgot that was his job to do."

I can feel my neck heat up as I swallow harshly. Shit. Fuck, I completely forgot that was today. I was so caught up with Lilah and the fact that she was being all naughty and teasing me before we hightailed to the supermarket, my mom never crossed my mind. Oh my god, I'm horrible.

"Shit, I totally spaced on that man." I say apologetically.

"Don't tell me, tell your mom who's been asking where you are since she got here to which no one could give her a definite answer." Trace says, a now sympathetic smile on his face.

"Fuck." I grumble.

"Guys, a little help would be nice." I hear Rachel mutter and I turn to see her and Lilah with their hands full of bags. "Just like men to leave the women to do all the work." She adds in, sticking her tongue out at us when Trace flips her off.

"We're coming." He laughs out before switching his attention back to me.

"T..." But he cuts me off.

"Lynn is under the impression that your friend who's visiting you from that boarding school in a guy. Seriously Justin, I don't know what's going on, but you better come up with a way to fix it and fast. It took a while for me to figure out who she was talking about when she kept asking but was using the masculine terms of he and him." Trace explains.

"It's fine. It'll be fine." I lie and Trace pats my shoulder before heading over to help the women.

He offers to help Lilah, taking all the bags from her grasp before he and Rachel make their way back inside. I don't miss the look Rachel shoots my way on their journey inside and I cringe, pondering on if I'm ready to face my mom just yet.

I know this looks bad and I can only imagine what my mom will think when she realizes I've lied to her. Not to mention what Lilah would think of me. It's not my fault it's just...my mom, she may be nice and warmhearted but she's also cautious with trusting people and letting them in. If I tell her Lilah and I met at that boarding school, I can just hear the endless never-ending lecture that will follow. I love my mom, but when she scolds me like I'm some kid and I should have known better, I feel like shit. I don't like that feeling. More importantly, the last thing I want her to do is disapprove of Lilah without really knowing her, which in itself will be one hell of a task. Getting Lilah to open up to me took like half a year to accomplish. I'm not sure that my family will ever know her the way I do.

I see no win. All I see is an epic fail on all ends when my mom finds out about her. Maybe I'll be lucky and mom will be in a good mood but judging by the fact that I forgot to pick her up at the airport, I'd say my luck is slim to none.

"You coming Jus?" Lilah questions and I nod dumbly, rushing up to help her with the last of the bags as we make our way inside.

****

I think I might have actually had some luck on my side.

Granted my mother has spent the last few hours since we got in studying Lilah silently, she hasn't yet called me out on the fact that I lied to her about Lilah.

Rachel and Trace long left me to fend for myself by disappearing to some other part of the house. Wonderful how they have my back huh?

I noticed the shock on my mom's face when I introduced Lilah to her earlier, since Lilah's clearly not a guy like I led her to believe, but she quickly brushed it off and insisted that Lilah told her all about herself and Higher Heights. For anyone on the outside looking in, they'd say Lilah and my mom were really hitting it off.

I know better. My mother is still trying to get a feel for her and Lilah looks like she's just about ready to pass out by my mother's endless questions and speculation about her. She's long pulled into her shell, but my mom doesn't know that and doesn't realize she won't get much out of Lilah this way.

Still, I'm glad the distraction has prevented my mom from targeting me because at some point she will. She forgave me for the airport thing so at least I'm off the hook for that.

"Justin said the school was strict but I had no idea. After hearing your experience these past years, I can imagine. At least, it's top in academics and sports so I'm sure there'll be no problem when you're ready to start your career." My mom voices and Lilah smiles, nodding lightly.

"I'm used to it." Lilah shrugs, stealing glances at me.

I smirk, lifting my spoon of chocolate ice cream and shoving it into my mouth, cleaning the spoon off as I relish in the cold, sweet taste.

"Good. So tell me Delilah, a beautiful young lady like yourself, you must have the boys in that school going crazy over you." My mother jokes and I inhale sharply, dropping my spoon in my bowl when I begin coughing vigorously.

"Damn." I wince, trying to clear my airways since I practically inhaled the damn ice cream I was eating.

"You ok sweetie?" My mom asks out of concern and I nod, waving her off as I stand to my feet.

"I'm fine." I mutter and Lilah looks at me with pleading eyes, begging me to bail her out.

I laugh softly when my mom turns her attention back to Lilah.

"Uh mom, you must be really tired from that flight. You sure you don't want to go up and take a nap and then we can continue catching up later? Lilah and I were planning on cooking dinner. We should probably get started." I voice, eyeing my mother closely.

She gives me a disbelieving look but quickly relents when she reads my expressions. She knows what she's doing and she knows I don't like it.

"Ok, sorry." She raises her hand in defeat, standing and pulling Lilah up with her to give her a light hug. "It's nice meeting you hun. We'll talk some more later."

"Nice meeting you too Mrs. Harless." Lilah says politely and my mom nods, giving her a warm smile.

My mom walks over to me, stopping in front me, looking at me where I'm standing still eating my ice cream.

"I'll talk to you later Justin." My mom voices, curving her brows at me and I bite down on the spoon in my mouth, shaking my head in response before she pats me on the arm and excuses herself to head upstairs to her room.

When she's gone, Lilah releases a sigh of relief and I smile at her as I finish off my ice cream with a goofy grin on my face.

I gaze into Lilah's gray-browns as I slowly and thoroughly lick my spoon clean before dropping it in the bowl which causes it to make a clinging sound.

I note how she swallows hard, narrowing her eyes at me and I wink for her before heading into the kitchen.

She follows close behind then rests against the island as I drop my bowl in the sink and turn to face her.

"So that wasn't so bad right?" I question, folding my arms across my chest.

"I guess." She says softly, bowing her head and brushing some hair out of her face.

"If you don't want me to tell her about us, I won't." I voice and Lilah's head snaps up in my direction.

"But she's your mom Justin."

"Yes, but no matter what she'll always be there. With you...I know we're together but I can never tell with you if I might say or do something that will scare you away. And I don't want that, not when we're just getting the hang of things." I admit.

"I'm not going anywhere." Lilah says after a long pause.

"Yeah, maybe not now..."

"We don't know what the future holds Justin."

"True. Look, let's not worry about it ok? You still have some time left and a birthday coming up very soon. We have to make the best of the days you have left here with me." I point out.

"Oh god. My birthday." She groans and I grin like an idiot. "I had forgotten all about that."

"I get to call you old now." I chuckle and she giggles.

"You're still older." Lilah retorts and I pout playfully. "Just promise me you're not going to make a big deal out of this Justin. It's cool that I'll be spending my birthday with you this year but..."

"I don't make promises I can't keep." I reply smartly causing her to groan.

"Justin!" Lilah whines and I laugh yet again.

"Nope. Sorry babe. I will promise you though that you'll finally be getting that gift I got for you." I point out and she eyes me. "It'll be your birthday gift now." I add in and she glowers at me.

"Nice."

"Uh huh."

"So, what are we cooking?" Lilah perks up, moving over to the refrigerator.

"I don't know." I shrug, walking up behind her and wrapping my arms tightly around her waist. I lean down, resting my chin on her shoulder as I gaze into the stocked fridge with a comical smile on my face. "Ever realize when people want something to eat but don't know what, they open the refrigerator and just stand in front of it?" I chortle.

I'm met with Lilah's soft addicting giggles soon after, her entire body vibrating against mine and I inhale deeply, giving her a light squeeze as my eyes flutter shut momentarily. God I love this woman. It's freakishly scary how I've fallen for her and how deep my feelings go. I really couldn't control it. It just happened. Tilting my head to the side, I place soft kisses on her neck which makes her squirm in my hold.

"Justin..."

"You promised we'd do whatever I wanted when we got back." I whisper, smiling against her skin as my lips remain connected to the soft flesh of her neck.

I can feel her relax in my hold as she sinks back, her fingers skimming my arms around her waist.

"But your mom is here. I mean, I didn't even know she was coming. That was...I don't think now is the right time."

She's right but I can't help but groan as my eyes pop open, my blues scanning the fridge one last time before I pull away and turn Lilah around to face me.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I know how you get around people you're not comfortable with." I point out.

"It's ok." She assures, but somehow I don't believe her.

"You sure?" I question.

"Yes." She smiles.

"Ok, then seal it with a kiss." I chuckle and her smile remains as she leans up on her tiptoes to kiss me sweetly. I gladly accept the gesture, my palms cupping her cheeks as my tongue snakes out to brush against hers.

Before we can get too carried away we're interrupted by Lilah's shrilling cell phone.

Grunting, I pull away from her, my eyes traveling over her perky breasts in her blue top and down to her jeans as she digs in her pocket for the device.

Rooting the phone out, she hits the talk button and speaker button by accident and I hear what sounds like a run dmc track playing in the background.

"Lilah? Hello?"

Lilah cringes when our silent surrounding is filled with a very familiar voice.

"Shit." She groans, still keeping the phone on speaker as she glares at it.

"Lilah, I know you're there. I just heard you say ‘shit.'" The person quips.

I can't help but roll my eyes as I make some space between us, reading Lilah's expressions.

"What do you want Ethan? Why are you calling me?" She barks harshly.

"I need to talk to you." He states.

"We have nothing to talk about..." She begins but he interrupts her.

"Lilah please, what would it hurt to just listen to me for a minute or two?" He pleads and I lock eyes with her.

"Your ringtone for him is ‘Take a bow' by Rihanna?" I whisper to her so he won't hear me, a stupid grin on my face. I know damn well that's not her default ringtone.

She giggles with a shrug and I huff lightly. "I'll leave you to talk to him. When you're done, I'll be in the living room." I tell her and she nods hesitantly before I move to make my exit.

The moment I exit the kitchen and enter the living room I'm nearly knocked down by Trace.

"Dude!" I chuckle.

"Oh, I was just coming to look for you." Trace laughs. "Where's Lilah?" He asks me wearily.

"In the kitchen. Why?"

"Is she going to be in there for a while?" He inquires in a low voice.

Frowning at my best friend, I shrug. "Maybe."

"Ok; come with me." He whispers and my scowl deepens.

"Trace, what's with the stealth-like secrecy shit? What's going on man?" I laugh out as he drags me further into the living room and towards the PC.

"Just shut up and hurry. I don't want Lilah to see this and I'm sure you won't want her to see it either."

"Uh ok?"

When we make it to the computer he plops down in a chair and I stand to the side staring at the screen.

"What are we looking at?" I question.

"You remember that little grocery trip you and Lilah took earlier today? Well, check this out." Trace voices, scrolling up to the top of whatever article he was reading. When he scrolls to the top, I realize that he's on TMZ.com, the ultimate celebrity gossip website in probably the world.

Those people are...gosh, they're relentless.

Trace enjoys checking the site out because according to him it's hilarious and good entertainment.

"What is this shit?" I question, frowning when I notice an entire album of photos dedicated to me and Lilah's supermarket trip.

"This was bound to happen eventually right? But you should have been more careful Justin." Trace voices.

My eyes narrow when I read the headline in big bold black print: Justin Timberlake's New Boarding School Fling.

"This is fucking ridiculous." I mutter, folding my arms across my chest defiantly when Trace begins reading the short article to me.

"Looks like Justin Timberlake is doing more than just studying at Higher Heights boarding school. Or maybe his subject of choice isn't on the syllabus. We haven't seen much of the multi-talented superstar this year so you can bet we were thrilled to obtain these photos of JT out and about. Of course we don't care about the fact that he was grocery shopping...we all do that...whatever. What we do care about is the fact that Justin wasn't with Jessica Biel, his last reported girlfriend and Hollywood starlet, but with someone else. No one seems to know who this mystery woman is. We're led to believe though that his mystery woman is from the same school Justin got sucked into attending after the challenge was issued to him on live television late last year. Hmm, we'll definitely be looking into this further but for now we can say that pretty boy Timberlake must be charming the ladies at that boarding school, possibly having fun with those extracurricular activities..."

I place my hand on Trace's shoulder for him to stop reading. I've heard enough, and I think I just heard Lilah's voice nearby but I can't be sure. It's quiet again.

Trace turns to face me in his seat and I exhale slowly.

"Any ideas how you're going to handle this?" He asks.

"Those fuckers wasted no time." I growl angrily. "Don't worry, Johnny will deal with it when he finds out."

Seriously, not even a day has passed. I guess that's why they're the best as what they do. Fucking paparazzi. I didn't even notice them at that blasted supermarket which means they were maybe laying low to not scare me away so they could get their shots. Whenever they want to know shit, that's when they're all up in your face. Obviously, it won't take them long now to start hounding me and Lilah, I just know it.

"So..." Trace drawls but I silence him when I hear Lilah's voice again. She sounds closer this time and it sounds like she's still on the phone but coming in our general direction.

Panic sets in and I quickly lean over Trace to close the browser window before she can come in here and see what we're up to.

I eye Trace thoroughly, biting my bottom lip lightly before I say what he's probably expecting me to say since there's a knowing look on his face.

"Don't tell her." I utter. "Please."

"Right. That'll sure turn over well." He says sarcastically in response just as Lilah rounds the corner to join us in the living room while turning off her cell phone.

I watch the device in her hand, a pang of jealously taking over me and I move to take a seat on the couch then grab the remote.

"Hey guys. So, who's up for some of my mom's famous lasagna?" Lilah speaks cheerily and I eye Trace before looking at her, not saying a word.

Is there some reason why her spirit is lifted after talking to Ethan when she should be upset and pensive right now? I know I should be glad she's not upset but let's be real here. The guy's a top class jerk. I can't figure for the life of me what he could have possibly said to her to keep her in a good mood after ending that call.

When Trace sees that I have no intention of giving her a reply because I'm full out pissed off now, he sighs and stands before approaching her to cover for me.

"We could eat. Come on, I'll help you in the kitchen." He drawls, giving Lilah no time to protest as I look at her from the corner of my eyes.

She's glaring at me oddly, maybe wondering what's up with my sudden change in mood.

But, she doesn't say anything else in return. She simply caves and allows Trace to haul her away as I switch on my television and pout like a little kid because I just know my life's about to get crazy and possibly go down a road I don't want it to yet again.

This is only the beginning. This always happens to me when I have a new woman in my life. I can't have any semblance of peace or normalcy for an extended period of time. I have to wonder now if being a celebrity is worth putting up with this shit.