"Thank you, Dad. I miss you all and love you.", said Georgia, the next morning as she spoke with her parents over the phone, filling them in with the details about the night before and the lunch date with Justin, while having breakfast at their suite.
"Do you have something fancy to wear?", her best friend Jovie asked while she was still in her robe, fresh from the shower and rummaging through her luggage.
Looking through the array of clothes in their suite's cabinet, Georgia mumbled, "I don't. Tsk, tsk,"
Trying and changing from one outfit to another almost drained Georgia's energy for the day. She ended up wearing a white bomber jacket with blue linings on the wrist, on top of the blue fitted shirt and pants, pairing it up with white high Chuck Taylor shoes. She let her hair down per usual. Staring at her reflection in the mirror, she hoped she looked good. I don't look like I'm going out on a date with a celebrity, she concluded. But, this will do. The less the attention, the better.
"Ready?" Justin asked with a radiant smile that made his face more charming, as he greeted her at their suite's entrance. He was wearing a Brown leather jacket on top of a black shirt and black pants, his curls loose and not tamed by a bandana that day. "You look gorgeous," he whispered as he offered his one arm for Georgia to hold on to after he gave her flowers.
"Thanks" Georgia answered as she smelled the bouquet of red roses. They bade goodbye to Georgia's friends and headed out of the hotel, one bodyguard walking ahead of them. A shiny black limousine was waiting for them at the hotel's front entrance. "Where are we going?" she asked Justin
"I made some reservations" Justin answered as they rode inside the spacious limousine.
"Hmmm, I have other plans."
"I'm all ears."
"Can we go eat at food trucks?" Georgia asked
"Food Truck?" Justin asked, bewildered. "You sure?"
"Yup. You said you missed eating at those, so I figured why not eat there with me?" Georgia explained. "But if people see you, it might be a problem, we can go for the reservation if you want."
"Just tell me that 's what you really want, I don't care about people seeing us." Justin stared at her with such admiration, that Georgia's heart started to race again.
"It is. But as I've said--"
"Shhhhh" Justin interrupted her, placing one finger over her mouth. "No Buts. It's okay. We will eat there, let's not mind the people, if it goes out of hand, we can always go."
Georgia's heart melted when she heard his words. Oh God, is this what it's like? , she pondered. Having no experience with boys or boyfriends romantically, Justin for sure is setting the bar high for Georgia. They rode for another 15 minutes going to Wall Street looking for a food truck that was decent enough and not so crowded for them to eat.
They were lucky to spot a large food truck at one end of Hanover Square with very few people. Justin ordered Chicken wings, fries, Chili Hot dogs, Bacon Wrapped Hot dogs, and sodas for the four of them including his bodyguard and the driver.
"This is so good," mumbled Justin as he was having a bite of his Bacon Wrapped Hot dog. "I missed this," he said while looking at Georgia who was chewing her own Chili Dog and now grew conscious because of Justin's stares. "Try this," he said while putting one chicken wing dipped in ranch sauce in Georgia's mouth, which Georgia obeyed and took a bite of.
"Hmm.. yeah it's good" To her surprise, Justin leaned and reached for the side of her mouth, wiping it with his finger.
"You had sauce," he said nonchalantly., all the while Georgia was nearing to explode.
They went from one food truck to another. After the Hot dogs, they went to have Pretzels and Churros. Both seemingly had a good and memorable time. They were on their third food truck having ice cream when a group of girls started to notice Justin and led a number of people to want to take pictures and ask for autographs, which Justin willingly gave in to. After a few more encounters, they were able to sneak out from the crowd.
"Sorry about that," Justin said as they stepped inside a studio store after having to brisk walk and run a few streets away from the crowd.
"That's fine. I need some good exercise after all those carbs we ate." Georgia joked breathlessly.
"Come."Justin led her to an aisle of R&B songs and to her surprise, pulled out a classic R&B Al Green disc from the rack and played it on the player.
It played the song "Let's Stay Together", a hit by Al Green back in the 1970s.
"Wow. I never knew you were into this kind of music." Georgia smiled upon her new discovery.
Justin shrugged and smiled. "Surprise? I always get that from people whenever they find out that I love classic R&B just 'cause we sing and play mostly Pop or teen Pop."
"It's surprising, yeah. And I love it." Georgia responded, beaming at Justin.
"And you?"
Georgia was cornered by his question, okay, how would she explain that she doesn't have a specific genre, as long as it is sung by them or none other than him? "Hmmm, it depends on my mood. R&B, pop, love songs, or classics. I don't have specifics on music, really", putting her hands in her jeans' pocket, she added, "Bet you and my Dad will have a blast listening to classics, though." and they both chuckled.
"Then, I'm pretty sure he has good taste!"
After half an hour, the driver was able to locate them. "I'll get you after the concert later, let's have a late dinner," Justin stated as they slid back inside the limousine.
Georgia looked at him and grinned. "Hmmmm.." she pretended to be indecisive.
Justin's shoulder dropped and he looked at her begging, "Oh, come on. Last night was supposed to be our dinner date and you bailed."
"Hey, I said I was sorry." Georgia smiled sheepishly when she saw the hurt registered on Justin's handsome face.
"Forgiven. But, come with me, please? I wanna eat someplace with you." his eyes shining.
Dressed in an Ivory cream dress, Georgia sat alone in the passenger seat of the same limousine she had ridden with Justin a few hours ago. Justin had his driver pick her up for their late dinner date. Georgia felt a little intimidated as she stepped and looked around inside the elegant rustic Gramercy Tavern situated at 20th Street. She was led by a waiter to a corner table where Justin, dressed in a suit and tie was already seated.
Justin immediately stood up as he saw Georgia approaching, kissed her on the cheeks, and pulled a chair for her to sit down. "I know I've been saying this a lot today but, you really looked stunning." Justin complimented her as they both sat down.
Beaming, Georgia replied, "Thanks. You looked dishy, too."
"Dishy, huh?" they both chuckled as Justin repeated her informal slang.
"How was tonight's concert?" She asked.
"It was good, tiring though. But it feels really satisfying to see the audience having fun."
"It amazes me how you looked so good and freshened up after you just had a very energy-draining concert."
"Energy-draining?" Justin once again giggled.
"Yeah. You guys really rock on stage with all those live singing and dancing non-stop. Not just dancing, but you guys are all hyped up every time, those jumps and grooves." Georgia further explained while the waiter poured them wine and served their steaks.
"I think we got used to it already. All those rehearsals and the years on tour made us resilient from the body pains and sores." Justin said half-jokingly. He leaned in from across the table and murmured, "Hey, just to give you a heads up, shutterbug had pictures of us this afternoon".
Georgia looked at him puzzled, "Shutterbug??"
"Paparazzo"
True enough about the paparazzi, flashes of cameras from every direction greeted them as they exited The Gramercy and strode towards the limousine. Some were even yelling Justin's name and asking questions. "Hey, Justin!"
"Justin, who is she??"
"Is she your girlfriend?"
"Was she the same girl you brought to the stage at your concert?"
"Is she a fan??"
It was obvious Georgia was uptight when they were finally ensconced inside the car. It was the first time she experienced being surrounded by paparazzi taking her pictures and she felt uncomfortable.
Justin reached out for her hands and held them with his. Looking at her, "Georgie, your hands are cold. Don't fret, I am here. Paparazzis have their way of infiltrating private lives, I'm so sorry I got you tangled in this, I know you're new to this."
"I'm okay, Justin. Just a little shock. I couldn't imagine you dealing with this almost all the time." Georgia uttered with so much concern as she looked at Justin's worried expression.
Justin reached out for her and placed his arms around Georgia's back so Georgia could rest her head on his shoulder. Looking at each other, he whispered, "I am accustomed to this. It is you I'm worried about. Will you get used to this?"
Georgia felt her heart melt, just by looking at his face, his blue eyes, and his sincere expression, she knew she could ride the waves with him. "I can and I will," she said, touching Justin's nose tip with her fingertips.
Justin looked at her with the admiration she had been receiving for days from him, and whispered, "Thank you" as he kissed her on her forehead.
Oh my God, to be this close to him. Justin Timberlake cuddling and kissing me, to be resting on his shoulders, and hearing his heart beats, I'd give everything., Georgia sighed as she mulled over the cons of dating the boyband's heartthrob.
