Am I hallucinating? Am I really this sleep deprived that I’m envisioning her here with me right now? She can’t be real. There’s no way she’s really here.

I stand up slowly, walking over to her. I lift my hand to her face and my breath hitches in my throat.

“Holy fuck, you’re real.” I say in amazement.

She laughs, “One hundred percent real.”

“What are you doing here?”

She shrugs, still smiling, “I was in the neighborhood and figured I’d just drop off your shirts instead of mailing them.”

“Oh.” So she’s hear just to drop off the shirts?

“Why are you in the neighborhood? LA isn’t exactly close to Miami.”

“My parents live in Malibu… It’s only about an hour away so…”

I nod slowly, “So you’re talking to your parents again?”

She shrugs disheartened, “I guess. I’m really just up here to visit my brother… It’s been two years today and I haven’t been to his grave in awhile so…”

I nod slowly, “I’m sor…”

She waves her hand, “Don’t… I’ll start crying and I’ve done enough of that lately.”

“How’d you know I was here?” I ask trying to change the subject.

“I stopped by your house first. Uh, shit… I think her name was Rachelle? I don’t remember, she was really pretty and she told me you were here so… Here I am.”

“Rachel… She’s my cousin and she works for me.” I say and see a flash of relief in her eyes. That’s always a good sign.

“Right, Rachel. I’m sorry.”

I chuckle, “No biggie… Rachelle is better than what she normally gets called so…”

“Justin? Where’d you go? Sweetie you better be buying me dinner tonight after working me this hard today.” Ciara says, walking out of the recording room.

“Hey… I’m Ciara.” she says to Madison, extending her hand out in front of her.

Madison stares at Ciara with pain filled eyes, “I‘m… Madison.” She shakes her hand quickly before turning towards me, “Oh…” She reaches in her bag pulling out three of my shirts that she had worn as night gowns. “Here.”

“I don’t want them.” They remind me too much of you.

She laughs, a little shocked, “Why?”

“Just… Keep ‘em… You looked a lot better in them than I did.” I say looking towards Ciara, who looks completely lost.

She laughs nervously, “I’m not keeping your shirts, Justin.”

“Well I don’t want them.” I snap.

She steps back, shocked by my outburst, “I’m- I-I’m sorry I b-bothered you.” she bites her bottom lip turning towards the door. She pauses turning towards Ciara, “It was nice to… meet you.” She all but runs out of the room and I’m frozen in place.

“You too!” Ciara yells after her, “Who was that?” She asks turning towards me.

“The woman I’m in love with.” I whisper.

“Oh wow…“ She pauses her eyes growing wide, “Go after her, she probably thinks we’re together or something. Oh god.” She says panicking.

I heave open the door, running towards the front doors. I pause in the parking lot looking around, realizing I have no idea what she’d be driving.

“Fuck.” I yell, grabbing my phone, dialing Trace’s number.

“Yo.” He answers.

“What’s Madison’s number?” I ask, quickly.

“Uh… Why?”

“Just give me the goddamn number Trace.” I yell.

“Fuck, chill out dude. She’ll still be in Miami when you call…” He says with a laugh.

“That’s fucking funny because she was right here a second ago and now she’s gone again. Give me the goddamn number Trace.”

“She was there?” He squeaks out.

“The number!” I yell.

I whip around when I feel a hand on my shoulder. I snap my phone shut and just stare down at her.

“You’re still here.” I whisper.

“I’m waiting for a cab.” she says quietly.

“Madison, that wasn’t what you think it was.“

“Oh don’t worry, Trace told me about her so it’s fine. I was just dropping off your shirts I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“I’m not with Ciara… I’ve never been with Ciara. We just work together. That’s all.” I explain, looking her straight in the eye.

“So there’s another woman you went on a date with?” She shakes her head, “Not that it matters.”

“It does matter. Madison, that night I was at dinner with Ciara.” I stop when I see the pain flow through her eyes, “We were out with about ten other people. It was a business dinner for her new album.”

She shrugs, “It doesn’t matter who you have dinner with Justin. It’s not like we were together or anything.”

“Then why do you look so upset?”

“Because…”

“Because why?” I ask, making her look at me.

“Because… I didn’t want you to revert back to your old ways so quickly. I figured… I don‘t know I just figured you really had changed, but I guess I was wrong.” She says with a shrug.

“I have changed.” I whisper.

“Yeah… I guess you‘ve at least moved on from short, pushover brunettes.” She shrugs it off, “Look, it doesn’t matter. I’m not upset or anything.”

“You’re not upset? That’s funny I could have sworn I’d seen a whole lot of pain in your eyes when you saw Ciara in the studio back there.”

“So we’re going to fight now? Great.” She says shaking her head, ignoring the question completely.

I tilt her head back to face me, “I’m not fighting with you, I’m trying to get you to talk to me. I’m trying to explain that I have changed. Shit I haven’t had sex in over three fucking months.”

She snorts, “Yeah right.”

“I’m serious. Ask Trace. He’s been bugging the shit out of me since we got back. He thinks I have an STD or something and I don’t dare to pass it on.”

She laughs, “He’s sick.”

I laugh, “I know…” I sigh, “Maddy, I missed you. I have yet to stop thinking about you and the last thing I want is for you to leave thinking you meant nothing to me because you did… You do.”

“Justin I said I wasn’t upset so you don’t need to explain anything to me. I knew what I was coming into after I called Trace so seeing you with her wasn‘t as big of a shock as I thought it would be. I‘m not upset that you‘ve… moved on with your life. Not that you really had anything to move on from because again it‘s not like we were a couple or anything.” She says looking everywhere but at me.

“So, your not at all upset because you have feelings for me?”

She snorts, “No.” She shakes her head, looking off into the parking lot.

I grab her head in my hands, pulling her towards me for a kiss. I intertwine my fingers in her hair, pulling her as close to me as I could. She fists my shirt in her hands, letting out a whimper.

Fireworks go off in my head. I don’t know how I got through the last three months without her.

“You’re a horrible liar.” I say against her lips.

“I know.” She whispers against mine.

I tilt her head back so I could look at her, “So tell me the truth now.”

“I have… a lot of feelings for you.” she whispers.

I grin, “Oh yeah?”

She smiles, “Yeah.”

I lean down, “I have a lot of feelings for you too.” I whisper against her lips before kissing her.