Two days later, Justin hummed mindlessly on his couch, beer in hand, along with the

screen playing “Across the Universe.” Riley had never seen it. 

Nestled against him, Riley looked up at him “Are you gonna hum to every song? Because I wouldn’t mind a private concert, instead…” she smiled. 

He brushed a hair out of her face and smiled. “Maybe…” He had a far away look in his eyes.

“What’s wrong…” Riley asked, eyes wide as she prepared to have to calm him.

Rubbing her arm reassuringly he sighed “Nothing...I’m just ...gonna miss you. I mean we’re finally….here...and I have to leave again.”

“I’ll be here when you get back, Justin...I knew your schedule from the beginning…” Riley smiled.

“I know…” His eyes started dancing and she could almost see an idea forming in his head “Actually...come with me?” he asked.

“What?” Riley questioned

“Come with me...next few shows…” he smiled.

“To...work?”

Justin laughed “No! Not to work...What’s wrong with you?”

“I...I don’t know, Justin I mean…”

His face got darker, playful “...I’ll make it worth it…”

“What about Benji…?”

Justin smiled “He can come...or Katie or Emi can watch him?”

She rolled her eyes, smirking “Fine….”

“Thank you,” he smiled, leaning down to kiss her. 

****

Riley smiled, laughing a little as she wiped water out of her eyes. The showerhead was beating down on her head. 

Justin smiled against her lips, carefully spinning her around so he was in the line of fire instead.

“Better?” he asked.

She nodded. “Yeah...but I also think neither of us is getting any cleaner.”

He bent down, kissing her neck “Who cares…”

She giggled and pushed against him… “You have to get to the venue…”

“I can be a little late...You’re off duty, Marin…”

“Not so easy to turn it off…” she breathed, buckling under his touch.

“Uh huh…” he continued down to her shoulder as she gripped his back.

She felt his hand go lower.

“Fuck…” she whispered, hearing his low chuckle as she closed her eyes.

**

Riley sat backstage, questioning her outfit choice as she waited,

Maybe she shouldn’t have come tonight. There was no reason for her to be there “working.” and she wondered if anyone would figure that out. She hadn’t wanted to be too obvious, but was kicking herself for going with a simple sweater instead of her go-to blazer.

Justin had gone to get ready for the show start, and she had busied herself with looking like she had a job to do. She had run out of ideas, and opted to take a break.

Looking up from a list of scheduling she had been scribbling down to distract herself, she looked at the woman who had entered the room.

“Oh...Riley hey...Is there water in here…?”

" Hey...Uh ...yeah...fridge...” she answered.

“Great! Thank God! “ she smiled. “Didn’t know you’d be here tonight. Are you assisting on tour now?”

“Y-yeah um...Ya know..After the surgery and everything...Just as a precaution.”

Yolanda smiled “Right….Makes sense…” 

Riley internally breathed a sigh of relief. “So ...How is everything going...Ya know with your music…”

Yolanda took a sip of water “Great! Things are moving along. The single is gonna be released soon.” She gestured around “All of this has been great experience.”

“That’s awesome! I’ll make sure to listen for the song…”

Yolanda smirked “Yeah...Make sure you do…”

Getting up, Riley tried to act natural. “Well, I’d better get back to work…” she moved toward the door.

“Rley…” Yolanda stopped her.

“Hmm?” 

“Relax…”

“I’m sorry?” Riley looked at her confused.

“I think it’s great...that you’re here with him…” she gave her a knowing look.

“I...Just doing my job…” Riley shrugged.

“Uh huh...You guys are cute…” she winked.

Riley stared at her, thrown off. “Um...It was good to see you, Yolanda…”

“You too...and I’m not gonna tell anyone…” she smiled.

Riley looked down, blushing… 

“Thank you,” she smiled.

**

Riley heard the roar of the crowd as the show ended, seeing Justin hurry down the hall a few minutes later. 

She tossed a towel at him as he passed her. 

“Hey..” she smiled.

Catching it, he wiped off his face and smiled back “Thanks, Marin…” 

He kept walking, on his way to shower, as Riley stood watching him and sighed.

They had talked about this. She knew they had to keep a low profile, but she still felt a little awkward, especially remembering their own shower earlier that day. This was going to take some getting used to.

Trying to shake off her hesitation, she grabbed her phone to coordinate a car back to the hotel.

**

Riley turned the page of her book, trying to focus on the words.

The TV was on, with Justin next to her on the bed watching it.

He turned to watch her. “Riley what’s wrong?

“Nothing…” She kept her eyes on the book.

“Marin…”

Riley sighed “It’s nothing. It’s silly. “

“Is it?” Justin asked.

“It’s just ...gonna take me a little while to get used to...lying…”

“Lying?”

“Well...Yeah...I mean, I’m not here to work, right?”

“Right,” he looked at her “Riley I didn’t mean to make you feel-”

“I know…”

“Well...I do have something planned....”

“”I’m listening…” Riley answered.

“A Cabin…”

“A Cabin,” she looked confused.

“Yeah,,,In Portland. Before the show. Two days. Just us. No lying…”

Riley smiled “How did you pull that off?”

“I just ...said I needed some time alone…”

Riley shook her head. “That easy, huh?”

“That easy,” he shrugged.

“Ok. Two days. No lying…” Riley smiled.

**

Justin leaned his head back, giving in to the warmth of the hot tub as he let himself relax. 

He hid it well, but the tour was doing a number on his muscles. He wasn’t exactly 21 anymore.

This felt like heaven. 

The sliding door opening caught his attention and he lifted his head.

She walked quickly toward him, a towel wrapped around her body. 

“It’s FREEZING,” she giggled.”

“So get in…” he smiled “Feels good in here…”

Rubbing her arms a little, she unwrapped the towel, and he caught a quick glimpse of her. 

A dark purple two-piece covered what it needed to, giving away just enough to highlight her curves. The top wrapped around her ribcage once, drawing his attention. Her hair was up in a messy bun, and he watched her shoulders as she set the towel down and slowly climbed inside the tub next to him. 

Feeling the cold leave her body in a slight shiver, Riley sunk further down into the water, feeling every part of her body melt. 

“Warmer?”

“Yeah,” she smiled, biting her lip. The jets had kicked up around them, and she watched tiny droplets splash against his bare chest. 

He grinned, pulling her closer to him as he wrapped both arms around her. 

She leaned in to him, a calm breath leaving her body. They sat quietly for a few minutes, enjoying the relaxation and each other’s company. 

Kissing her shoulder, she placed her hand on his leg, a lazy encouragement. 

“Why did this take so long…?” Justin spoke softly.

“For me to get in the hot tub? Riley asked confused. 

Justin laughed “No...Why did THIS...you and me...take so long…?”

“REALLY, Justin…” she gave him a look.

“I know...I know...I’m glad it did, though. I’m glad you’re here.”

She smiled at him “Me too…”

He craned his neck slightly down to kiss her, skipping soft and moving straight to desire.

She turned into him as he rested his hand just below the side of her chin, her own hands moving to his sides. Their hands roamed as the kiss got deeper, and he pulled her into his lap. 

Adjusting herself to get comfortable, she heard a low growl come from him.

“Don’t start something you can’t finish…”

“Who says I can’t…” she grinned, purposely grinding against him this time. 

She felt him respond, smiling against his lips. “Should we move this inside?”

Grabbing her lower back, he bit her shoulder lightly. He moved to stand, lifting her with him.

She gripped her arms around his neck, squeezing her legs around him tightly.

“Justin, “ she squeaked, her eyes going wide.

“I got you…” he smirked at her,  tightening his grip. 

They moved carefully out of the hot tub toward the sliding glass door to the cabin.

Riley shivered lightly as she felt remnants of the hot tub roll off of her.

“I’m all wet…” she giggled.

He chuckled, sliding the door open with his foot and carrying her inside. “That’s the idea…”

**

Riley sat on the deck, pulling a blanket more tightly around herself in the morning dew. Her coffee was going cold, but she didn’t care. It was beautiful out here. A city girl her whole life, sometimes she forgot how much she loved being out in nature. She wished they had longer than two days, but with one day left to themselves, she planned to soak in every second. 

As promised, there had been no lying, no holding back. They hadn’t gone anywhere very exciting, but that’s exactly what both of them needed. His life was chaotic enough, and she had been along for the ride. 

Riley was letting go more than she ever had with him. For his part, Justin was showing her sides of himself she had only seen glimpses of before.

She heard footsteps behind her and turned to see Justin joining her.

“You’re up early…” he smiled, his voice still waking up.

“Couldn’t miss this view…” She gestured out to the trees in front of her, still being woken up by the sun.

He rested his hands on her shoulders. “It really is something…Aren’t you cold?” he asked, noticing the cocoon she had created around herself.

“A little, but I don’t mind…,” she looked at him, happiness in her eyes.

He sat down next to her, struck by how peaceful she looked.

“What?” she laughed a little. “There’s more coffee if you want some…”

“In a minute...Riley have I told you how cute you are…?”

She blushed, taking a sip of her lukewarm coffee. “I think I got that hint…”

He smiled “It’s nice to see you like this…”

‘Like what?”

“Relaxed...Happy…”

She smiled “Nature is my happy place. I don’t get to see it enough…Thank you for this...”

“I should be thanking YOU. You’re the reason we’re here…”

Riley sighed, grabbing his hand. “Stop being cheesy. It’s weird,” she teased.

“I’m sorry things have been...complicated…” he said sincerely.

“I mean...I get it...It is what it is, right? I’ll get used to it.”

“You shouldn’t have to…” he said.

“But I do...I know that. I’m tougher than I look, Justin,” she smirked.

“You don’t have to tell me that AT ALL…” he agreed. “Any way I can convince you to come inside for breakfast?” he asked, almost innocently.

Riley laughed, scooting closer to kiss him softly “What am I making?” 

He shook his head “Nope. I’m cooking…”

“You can cook?” Riley gave him a look.

“When I want to…” he laughed.

Riley took a bite of her toast as Justin’s phone rang. Answering it, he smiled at her, excusing himself silently as he got up from the table.

“Uhhh yeah...Did they not-...Ok. Ok. Yeah...Yeah, I’ll call her...Thanks, Johnny…”

Swallowing a bite of egg, Riley looked up at him, noticing the look on his face  “Everything ok? What did Johnny want?”

“Um. They had to make an adjustment to the stage in San Diego,” he said. “Not enough room in the venue, I guess…”

“Oh. Ok. What does that mean?” Riley asked calmly.

“I need to get there a day earlier than planned to rehearse the space."

“Okaaayyy…” she questioned him.

“Uh...He wanted to know if you can help coordinate. He’s stuck with another client.”

“Oh,” she sighed “Sure…” 

She really wasn’t expecting to work this trip, but she WAS still his assistant, after all.

The way he was looking at her told her there was more to the story, though.

“Thank you... “ he had an awkward look on his face. 

“Wait...Why didn’t he call me directly? What aren’t you telling me, Justin…”

“Riley…”

“No lying. We said no lying…” her eyes narrowed, an idea coming into her head.

“...Does he know I’m here…”

Justin sighed. “He...knows you’re in Portland. Not here. I told him I needed you on call…” 

“Justin…”

“I was...covering. I thought it would make more sense if people saw you around…”

“And you couldn’t just tell me that?”

“I didn’t want you to think this was work. It’s not…” he explained.

“Did he know I was in Canada?”

Justin looked down “Yeah…”

Riley looked away, unsure of what to think. 

She believed him. She knew he was trying to keep them safe. The way he had looked at her the past few days and the way he had touched her, she knew he meant all of it. She also knew this was harder than she thought it would be, and a little further outside her comfort zone than she could have planned for. 

“Riley, I’m sorry…” he whispered.

“It’s..fine...I’m gonna take a shower,” she smiled weakly, kissing his cheek as she walked past him. 

Her heart was in her throat. Could she handle this?