Life as a single mother is hard. Long days working, not a lot of time for fun and not to mention the lonely nights. So, when Zenia and her friends won tickets to the Man of the Woods show that was stopping in town, she made sure she was not going to miss it. She desperately needed a night out with people her age. Add in Justin Timberlake singing and dancing, and she was sold. 


"Mom, I really appreciate you watching Grace tonight." Zenia said, hugging my mother, Tanya.



"Its no problem, Zenia. I want you to have a good time tonight. Don't worry about Gracie. She will be fine." She reassured her daughter. Zenia often longed for time to go out and have fun, but would also feel the mom guilt sometimes of leaving her daughter with her mother. 


Besides when Grace was at school, Zenia and her mother were the only other people who took care of six year old Grace. Grace's father, Michael, was never in the picture. He and Zenia dated briefly her senior year in college. When she found out she was pregnant, Michael wanted nothing to do with the baby, or Zenia anymore either. It was a hard pill to swallow, suddenly becoming single and a mother. Zenia's mother had always been there to help support her daughter, helping her finish college and raise Grace.


"I'll try, Mom." Zenia bent down to kiss Grace on the forehead. "I'll see you tomorrow, Gracie bug."


"Okay, Mommy. I love you." Grace smiled lovingly at her mother.


"I love you too."


Zenia got in her car, and waved at Grace and Tanya standing on the porch of Tanya's home, before heading back to her own apartment to get ready for the night.


--


"WE REALLY HAVE FRONT ROW SEATS TO JUSTIN FUCKIN' TIMBERLAKE!" Marie screamed as the three girls made their way to their seats. Marie was Zenia's best friend since elementary school and she was loud, energetic and a lot to handle at times. Nora was another friend of Zenia's who was more on the quiet and reserved side. Zenia was a healthy mixture of the two. 


All three girls were fans of Justin Timberlake and had tried for weeks to win tickets from the local radio station. Marie had been the lucky one who happened to call in and win the tickets. 


Zenia and Marie had started drinking prior to arriving at the arena, with Nora being the designated driver of course. Zenia had a nice buzz and felt loosened up and ready for the night. 


The lights started to dim and the opening act was announced. The girls danced along with the music even though they weren’t familiar with the artist. Marie went and bought two more drinks for herself and Zenia. 


Zenia decided she was having a good time. Her friends never failed to make sure of that. She looked down at her outfit for the night which was very atypical of what she would usually wear on an everyday basis. She wore a black sheer top with a lacy bra underneath it, accentuating her healthy breasts, a pair of high waisted light wash jeans and a pair of black strappy heels donned her manicured feet. Her shoulder length black curly hair fell to her shoulders framing her beautiful mocha face. She felt extremely confident and hoped that she would see some cute guys tonight. Surely, men came to Justin Timberlake shows too?


—


Justin Timberlake stood in his dressing room doing one final vocal warm up before he took the stage. The tour was far from over, but he was glad to be back in LA, one of his home cities. The Man of the Woods tour had been highly successful and Justin was extremely grateful that even after having five years between his last album and the current, his fans never missed a beat. 


A knock on the door halted his thoughts and vocal routine. “Come in!” He yelled towards the door, expecting either the tour manager or his bodyguard to be on the other side of the door. His bodyguard, Lonnie, poked his head in.


“J, I’m just warning you now.. there’s some fine ass ladies in the front row tonight.” Lonnie spoke up, a mischievous grin on his face.


Justin rolled his eyes at his friend/bodyguard. “Lon, I’m not looking for anything like that tonight. You know I just got out of a relationship.”


“All the more reason to look. Right?” Lonnie laughed.


“Whatever man.” Justin shook his head and took a seat on the couch situated in the corner of the room. 


“Look, man. I’m tired of seeing you sulking about that chick. How about I pick out a couple of ladies and see if they want to go out with us tonight after the show? I’ll let them hang in VIP and you can either talk to one of them or not. Your choice. At least there were will be something for you to look at.” Lonnie proposed.


Wanting to continue with his pre-show warmup, Justin decided to just pacify his friend and told him, “Okay, man, but I doubt I will be interested in any of them.”


Lonnie chuckled. “Yeah, we’ll see about that.”


— 


Zenia, Marie and Nora were having a blast. The show was amazing. Justin Timberlake sounded and looked incredible. Zenia thought she and Justin made eye contact a time or two and despite the butterflies it gave her, she convinced herself it was just his stage presence and probably something he did with all fans in the front row of his shows. 


During the second to last song, a tall, muscular man who Zenia assumed was security moved closer to her and her friends. She felt his eyes on her, but continued to watch the show until he leaned closer and spoke to her.


“Mr. Timberlake is having an after party tonight at The Sound Club. Would you and your friends like to join us in VIP?” As soon as he asked, he quickly assumed his original position observing the concert goers.


Zenia’s eyes widened and she looked over at her friends who were oblivious to what had just happened. She nudged them both getting their attention. “That security guy just asked me if we wanted to be in VIP at the after party!” She screamed.


Marie jumped up and down. “Hell yes, we do! What did you tell him?”


“I didn’t tell him anything. Should we go? Nora, what do you think?” Zenia asked her more level-headed friend.


“Sure! Let’s go. I knew I saw JT eyeing you.” Nora smiled.


Zenia guffawed. “Eyeing me? You’re crazy.” Zenia quickly dismissed the idea. 


She discreetly got Lonnie's attention and nodded her head 'yes'. He slightly nodded back and continued to observe the crowd making Zenia wonder if he even saw her. She quickly put it out of her mind for the time being, and continued to enjoy the show.


As the last song was coming to an end, Lonnie passed Zenia a small card and said "See you ladies tonight."


Zenia placed the card in her clutch, to avoid drawing attention to herself and her friends. Once the girls were safely out of the arena, Zenia pulled the card out.


It had a random code of numbers and letters. Nothing more, nothing less. Zenia began to wonder if this was even legit.


"Seriously all we have to do is show his vague card and they'll let us in? I feel like this isn't going to work." She expressed, somewhat disappointed.


"It's worth a try, right?" Marie asked. "If we don't get in VIP, at least we will be in the same club as him."


"True." Nora added. "Let's give it a try."


"Fine." Zenia agreed, still not convinced.


--


Justin sat in a booth in VIP, having just finished his first drink. There were several people milling about, drinking, chatting amongst themselves. He was beginning to regret coming out tonight. There was no one he really wanted to converse with and he frankly wasn't in the mood.


"So these are the fine ladies you were referring to?" He questioned Lonnie as he walked towards him.


"No." Lonnie chuckled. "I guess they decided not to come. Maybe they're stuck in that long ass line outside. You know what? I'm going to go check." He started towards the VIP exit.


"Whatever." Justin shrugged, waving over the bar girl for another drink.


--


"Do you think I'm an idiot? Of course, you're here for Justin Timberlake's VIP!" The bouncer at the VIP entrance yelled sarcastically at Zenia, shooing her away.


Zenia didn't even get to show him the card that Lonnie gave her before the bouncer dismissed them, looking them up and down and waving them away as if they weren't rich enough, famous enough or beautiful enough to be with the likes of those in VIP.


Zenia and her friends began to walk away dejectedly when she heard a deep voice booming behind her. "HEY! Where are you going?" Lonnie asked coming towards them quickly.


Zenia whipped her head around to see the large man coming out of the VIP area. "This guy wouldn't let us in." She pointed to the bouncer.


"Sir, she didn't have proof that she was permitted to be in this area." The bouncer quickly answered.


"ACTUALLY, this guy didn't even let us show him anything before he tossed us aside like trash!” Marie spoke up, angrily.


Lonnie looked amused at Marie’s outburst, before addressing the bouncer seriously. “These girls are with me and Mr. Timberlake. I would appreciate it if you could apologize to them for your treatment of them.”


“Yes, sir. Sorry about this misunderstanding ladies. Have a great night.” The bouncer moved aside as the three women walked past him into the VIP area. Lonnie followed close behind.


Marie made a beeline for the bar ready to order another round of drinks when she stopped dead in her tracks. Justin was standing by the bar chatting with some people.


“Oh my gosh, girls! That’s really him.” Nora said excitedly. 


Zenia shushed her, not wanting either of them to make a scene. “Did you expect him to not be at his own party?” She rolled her eyes and led them the rest of the way to the bar, feeling a pair of eyes on her she tried her best to ignore.


“Excuse me? Can I get 2 Long Island Iced Teas?” Zenia asked the bartender as they settled at the bar. 


“Sure ma’am.” The bartender winked at her. He was a tall, slender guy with short brown hair. He’s cute. Zenia thought as she looked him up and down.


“Make that three.” A soft, yet masculine voice spoke up beside her. 


Zenia looked over to see Justin standing there with a confident grin on his face.


“Um, yes sir.” The cute bartender guy scurried off to make the drinks, clearly feeling as though Justin had just stole his shine.


“Hi. I’m Justin.” He extended his hand to Zenia.


She hesitated briefly before shaking his hand, feeling a rush of butterflies run through her body.


“Zenia. I’m Zenia.”