Chapter 16
Almost Doesn’t Count
January 2007
Trace shook his head and let out a small laugh as he leaned against the bedroom door of Justin’s tour bus. “What the fuck did you do to her last night?”
“What the hell are you talking about…” Justin asked trailing off when he reached Trace. He let out a small chuckle when he followed Trace’s gaze toward his bed. “I don’t blame her. That’s exactly what I want to be doing.” He couldn’t hide the smile as he kept his gaze on her. She was curled into a small ball on his bed, her cheek pressed against one of his pillows.
He felt Trace elbow him. “You do realize you look like a damn idiot right now.”
Justin frowned, glancing over at him. “What?”
Trace smirked. “You were grinning like a damn fool.” he teased, shaking his head.
“Whatever.” Justin mumbled, looking back at Nicole.
Trace rolled his eyes. “Yea, whatever.” he turned on his heels, then stopped, glancing over his shoulder at Justin. “Any more of your shit left back at the hotel?”
Justin shook his head. “I brought the last of it.”
“Good. We can finally head out.”
Justin nodded. “Good. That means I can take a nap on the drive to the airport.” He stated, narrowing his eyes at Trace.
“Alright, alright. I get the hint.” Trace stated, giving him a light shove on the arm. “Fucker.” he mumbled. “Try and keep it quiet.” he joked.
Justin rolled his eyes. “Are you getting the fuck out or not?” Glancing down as his pit-bull Brennan snuck into the room, making herself comfortable at the edge of the bed. Justin narrowed his eyes down at her.
Trace turned again on his heels, but not before flipping him off as Justin shut the door behind him. Justin turned back around to Nicole, the smile returning to his face. Fuck it, he knew Trace was right. He knew he looked like a damn idiot, but for some reason he didn’t care. Not when what he wanted was right there. Looking peaceful and innocent.
Last night had been amazing. Just the both of them. Alone. No inturruptions. It was strange, but it felt as if they hadn’t been apart. It felt right. Having Nicole in his arms had felt right. But it had gone beyond the physical. They had laid in bed hours later talking, and just kissing, and touching…
He quietly made his way toward his bed, not wanting to wake her before they got to the airport. He was headed to Washington, while Nicole had to fly back to L.A. He had tried to get her to stay with him for a few extra days, but she had to get back to work.
He sat on the edge of the bed, rubbing the top of Brennan’s head as he slipped his shoes off. Brennan barked in apprecition. Justin wrinkled his nose. “Shh. Nicky is sleeping.” he whispered. Brennan lifted herself up, glancing at the bed. She barked again. Justin leaned down. “Bre.” he warned. He watched as his dog continued to eye the bed. Almost in a glare. Brennan barked again, then growled. “I’ll take you outside if you don’t be quiet.” he threaten. “Its Nicky. Not some stranger.” But Brennan didn’t seem to care. She growled again, eyeing Nicole. Justin glanced between Nicole and his dog. He chuckled. “Are you jealous of Nicky?”
“Who’s jealous?” he heard Nicole’s groggy voice ask. He looked over his shoulder at her. He smiled. He had come to the conclusion that she could never look bad, even if she tried. That moment was no exception. He couldn’t help but think she looked cute with her bed hair.
“I think Bre is.” Justin stated, rubbing on Brennan’s ears before crawling toward Nicole.
Nicole hugged the pillow next to her, and said in a sleepy voice. “Of who?”
“Of you.” Justin said, moving a strand of hair away from her face as he laid himself next to her. “She just has this look on her face that screams ‘back off.’” he said with a small laugh.
Nicole lifted her head from the bed. “Bre, I swear all I want to do is sleep.” she said to the dog. “You can have the bed as soon as I’m gone.” yawning, as she sat up, lightly tapping on the bed, and gesturing Brennan to join them on the bed. The dog obediently made her way on to the bed, wagging her tongue. Nicole gently rubbed the back of Brennan’s ear. “And you have nothing to worry about. You know you are his girl.” she said to the dog. “He’s yours.” She glanced over at Justin. “I’ve just been borrowing him for the past day or so.” grinning.
Justin only chuckled.
Nicole yawned again. “Besides’ you’re the only one that can keep him in line while I’m not around.” giggling when Brennan licked her face. “You are such a good girl.” Nicole gushed. She turned to look back at Justin. “Its moments like these when I start to miss Jinx.” glancing back at the dog as it jumped off the bed. “I hate that he is so far away.” a small pout on her lips as she laid back down, facing Justin as she hugged the pillow again.
“I don’t know why you didn’t bring him along when you moved to LA.”
Nicole closed her eyes for a second, wrinkling her nose. “Because I cant give him the attention that he deserves. At least back in Shelby he can run around. I would feel more guilty if I had him, sometimes I feel like I don’t have anytime for me. Let alone a dog.” she opened her eyes, a small smile tugging on her lips, as she caught him starring at her. “What?”
He blinked. “What, what?” he asked.
She poked his side. “You were just starring. Did you hear anything I said?”
Justin sighed then answered. “Not really.” Nicole gently smacked him on the arm. “Ow!” he exclaimed with a short laugh, quickly taking a hold of her arm, leaning into her. “Don’t you know you’re a distraction?” Planting a gently kiss on her lips. Those butterflies fluttering in his stomach.
“Shut up.” she murmured into his mouth, sliding her arms around his neck. It was moments like these when she truly got to be with him, she sometimes felt like that fifteen year old girl. That girl who had been crazy in love with him. He broke from her kiss, and nestled his face into the hollow of her neck, breathing in her soft smell. “Mmm, I don’t want to go back to work…” she moaned, gently rubbing the top of his shave head.
“Then don’t.” Justin murmured into the hollow of her neck. “You can stay with me.”
She snorted back a laugh. “Right.”
Justin lifted his head a bit and narrowed his eyes. “I’m not joking Nic.”
“I know your not.” she told him with a small smile. “But we both know I cant.” she paused. “Besides after awhile I’ll start to drive you crazy-and vise-versa.” closing her eyes once again.
“You drive me crazy now.” he joked. “But if you end up on the road with me, I’ll get laid a lot more.” planting a kiss on her forehead.
Nicole opened her eyes and glared at him. “Keep talking that way and you’ll be taking care of it yourself buddy.” she threaten. “Get off!” she exclaimed, as he nestled his face back into the hollow of her neck. Completely ignoring her demand. He loved being able to piss her off. He loved seeing the look in her eyes whenever he pissed her off. It made his time with her, more fun.
“No.” was all Justin said into the hollow of her neck. It still amazed him how easily they fell back to acting like a couple. There was no asking questions, it just happen. Every time was the same and he was okay with it.
Nicole’s dropped her arms from around his neck. “Get off me you pervert. Let me go back to sleep.” She shivered as Justin’s hot breath tickled her ear when he chuckled. “Get off.” she repeated, yet found herself shutting her eyes again. Damn, she was tired, she hadn’t realized how much until she crawled into Justin’s bed. Now all she wanted for the next 12 hours or so was sleep.
He wasn’t fully on top of her, but just enough that his chest was pressed firmly into hers. “No.” Justin murmured lifting his head, and kissing her, then kissing her again, and again, leisurely exploring her neck and collarbone before rising to meet her lips once again. Nicole moaned in appreciation, her body relaxing against the sheets. She raised her arms again, running her hands over his chest and shoulders, feeling the strength in his arms. She shivered once again when he buried his fingers in her hair.
“J…” she murmured into his mouth.
“What baby?”
“I really do hate you sometimes.” she whispered, breaking from his lips.
“No, you don’t.”
Nicole wrinkled her nose, before locking eyes with him. “Yea I do.” She felt her heart flutter when his gaze didn’t falter. “Just a little.” she admitted trying to hide her smile as he snorted in amusement. “Get off so I can go back to sleep.” she whined. Wincing a bit, feeling the ache down to her toes. She groaned. “Mmm, you know what sounds good right now?” deciding to not fight him anymore. She really didn’t have the energy for it.
Justin kissed the tip of her nose. “What?” before finally rolling off, and laying next to her.
“A nice warm bubble bath.” she stated. “Lots of bubbles…” closing her eyes again. “And candles. A lot of them.” she licked her lips.
Justin leaned back in. He couldn’t help it. She was like a magnet. He couldn’t seem to stay away from her. “Sounds nice baby.” he murmured, moving a strand of her hair away from her face. Maybe the reason he felt compelled to be so close to her was because at one point it felt as if he had lost her- not just him, but everyone that cared about her. Not once, but twice.
But thankfully that was now in the past. She was now healthy. Hopefully for good.
She looked back at him and smiled. “It does doesn’t it?”
“Yeah.” he said, giving her a peck on the lips. He couldn’t stop starring. “You should do that when you get back to LA.” he gave her a small smile. “And imagine me there with you…” he said trailing off. His eyes never leaving her face.
Nicole laughed. “Yea right. To do that I need time, and I don’t have that.“ He must have been strarring deep, because Nicole waved a hand in front of his face. “Hey, are you okay?”
Justin blinked back to reality. He hadn’t meant to stare so hard, but the events of the past couple of months had come rushing back to him. It had been months ago, but sometimes it felt like it had just happen. But at least the second time around, Nicole had been a little more prepare- or as prepare as anyone could be when finding out that there had been a relapse. “I’ve missed this Nicky.” he said, ignoring her question. It was weird, when they had found out about her relapse, he had been with Cameron, so apart of him knew he couldn’t give Nicole the attention he wanted to give her. He could have, but he knew it would not have set good with Cameron. And he couldn’t blame her.
“Don’t ignore the question. What’s wrong?”
Justin kissed her again. “Nothing.”
Nicole broke from his kiss, shaking her head. “Don’t tell me nothing Timberlake. I know you better than that.” Wrinkling her nose at him.
He stroked her cheek, swallowing. “The past couple of months sort of came rushing back…” trailing off.
Nicole did not need to ask what he was talking about. She knew. “It’s been 4 months J.” she paused. “Everything is good.” Leaning in and kissing him sweetly on the lips, tugging on his shirt.
Justin let out a long sigh. “I know….I guess-”
“You guess what? Everything is good baby. I’m still here arent I?” smiling at him, and letting go of his shirt.
He chuckled lightly. Running his fingers through her hair. “You are. And that’s all that matters…” he stated, kissing her cheek. He shut his eyes, taking in the moment. Maybe he was overdramatic, but he did not care. He knew what it was like to almost lose her-for good.
“Good.” she said smiling. He knew right there to drop the conversation. Nicole was not the type to let others feel sorry for her. She made that clear when she got diagnose. “You know what you should with me?” she asked him yawning.
“What’s that baby girl?” He hadn’t called her that in years.
She must have picked up on it because she grinned up at him and said. “You havent called me that in so long. It’s nice to hear you say it.” Justin moved closer to her and she rolled slightly, her back to him as he wrapped one arm around the slim of her waist.
Justin rested his chin on her shoulder and asked. “What do you want me to do with you?”
Nicole looked over her shoulder at him and stated. “Sleep.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2007
Two weeks later…
Justin couldn’t help but smile as he followed Nicole by stepping out of the car. Nicole glanced over her shoulder at him, with a curious look. “What are we doing here?” she asked him. Shutting the passanger seat door. “Who lives here?” she asked. Glancing back at the beautiful cottage in front of her as Justin made his way toward her.
“No one actually.” Justin replied, reaching out for her hand. “C’mon we should probably head inside. It looks like its about to start raining.”
Nicole opened her mouth to speak as she let Justin lead her to the front door of the house. She really did not know what was going on. He had surpised her by showing up at her job, even though she hadn’t been expecting him until the next morning. And now instead of heading home like he had told her, they stood in front of a house she didn’t know, but at the same time she could see herself living there. She hated him sometimes. He knew her too well. “Justin?” she said instead, watching him unlock the door. “What are you doing?”
Justin grabbed her hand again. “You ask too many questions baby.” he teased, leading her inside, and shutting the door behind him.
She wrinkled her nose. She didn’t want to burst his bubble with whatever he had plan. But she really was not in the mood for surprises. She was tired, stressed and exhausted and all she really wanted to do was crawl underneath her covers and have a good cry. She blinked and swallowed back her tears. She wasn’t going to cry, not in front of Justin. He did not need to see her crying, especially when there wasn’t a real reason. It was just one of those days Nicole couldn’t explain even if she tried. And she didn’t want to. Especially to Justin. She would look like a damn idiot.
Justin must have sense something was wrong, because he stepped closer to her. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
Nicole swallowed back the tears, shaking her head. “Nothing.” not making any eye contract. After a few moments of silence, she said for the second time. “What are we doing here?”
Justin knew something was not right. He reached out for her. “Come here.” was all he said as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a tight hug. She pressed her cheek against his chest, letting out a small sigh. She blinked back her tears for what seemed the hundred time that day. Justin didn’t say anything, as he kissed the top of her head. He knew better than to continue pushing for an answer. “Come on, lets go upstairs.” he whispered into her hair.
She sniffed lightly. “J-I really-”she protested, lifting her head to meet his gaze.
He gave her a small smile. “Just come upstairs with me.” he paused for a split second. “Trust me.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nicole let Justin drag her up the stairs of the amazing house. “Why are you doing this?” she whined when Justin opened one of the doors that led into a bedroom. “I’m sorry Justin, but maybe today was not the day for you to surprise me.” she told him honestly. Justin lead her into the large furnished room. Yep, she really hated him sometimes.
The room was everything she could ever dream about in a house. Lately she had began tinkering with the idea of buying a home of her own. But at the end, she wasn’t sure if she wanted any more stress in her life. She felt like she had enough of that right now. Yet, she couldn’t help but look around the room.The room looked like it was taken out of a homes magazine page, with the light colors and large comfortable bed and the large windows with the breathtaking view of the beach….
Justin let go of her hand and asked. “What do you think?”
“Its great J. But I don’t understand why you’ve brought me here. I mean who lives here?” she asked as he took a step closer to her, wrapping his arms around the slim of her waist. She looked up at him with a wrinkle of her nose but didn’t say a word. He pulled her close, lightly pressing his forehead against hers, locking eyes with her. She knew what he wanted. He wanted for her to tell him what was wrong. She murmured. “I’m fine.”
Justin chuckled lightly under his breath. “Okay, I’m not going to push it.” he paused for a moment. “But you know what you need?”
A good cry? She thought to herself. Instead she asked in a whiper. “What?”
A small grin appeared on his face as he replied. “A nice warm bubble bath…” moving to kiss the top of her head. “With lots and lots of bubbles right? And candles?”
Nicole felt her heart flutter. He really was too good to be true. No wonder he had every woman in the planet eating out of the palm of his hand. Yep, she hated him. But at the same time, she couldn’t see her life without him. She licked her lips. “You are too much you know that?”
He grinned widely at her. “I know.” then added. “I’ll run the bath for you.” dropping his arms from around her waist. Nicole watched as he made his way into what she assumed was the bathroom. She couldn’t help but smile. He had brought her all the way down here for a bubble bath. Yes, to some it might sound dumb or even chessy, but to her- it was the sweetest thing anyone had done for her in awhile.
Justin turned off the faucet, dropping a few of the bath beads he had bought earlier into the tub, watching them dissolve almost instantly. He then poured the bubbles. He glanced up, smiling to himself as he was met with the best view he had ever seen of the ocean out the large bay window. That had been the main reason why he had chosen this house. The view from the bathroom. He knew she would love it. He turned to turn to call her into the bathroom but found her standing in the doorway, completely naked, waiting patiently. He licked his lips as his eyes took in her naked form. He reached out his hand out to her with a warm smile, she placed her small hand into his.
He held her steady as she stepped in the tub, swallowing his groan when she moaned. She stepped in completely into the tub, sitting down, a pleased sigh escaping her lips, as her head fell back, eyelids closing. Justin’s entire body aching to join her, but he knew she needed to relax right now. He didn’t know what was wrong, but maybe this would help. He leaned down pressing his lips to her forehead.
“Mmm.” was her response. She opened her eyes, glancing out the window for a minute or two. “The view is amazing…” she whispered looking back at him, leaning in closer to give him a sweet kiss.
“It is.” he answered back, his gaze locked on her as she nuzzled her nose against his. “Do you want a glass of wine?” he murmured.
“Sure.” she said, her eyes closing again. He stood up straight, turning to walk out of the bathroom, turning the lights down for her on his way out. The bathroom completely lit by candles.
Nicole let out a shaky breath, relaxing within the bubbles. This is exactly what she needed. Today had been just one of those days….work just seemed to be getting worse and worse each day. Yes, it wasn’t a permanent job, but she would at least like to have a job that was bearable.- especially in retail. Especially in Hollywood. After awhile there was only so much someone could take. But it was a job and she needed to make money.
Then there was school….or lack of school-at least for the time being. It hadn’t been her choice, but for her to not fail her classes she had to drop them last semester. Now the new semester was about to start and she was healthy again, she had planned on going back, until the school told her she would have to wait another year because of they had somehow messed up her transcripts from back home.
So she was stuck in a job that was driving her up the wall because she didn’t agree with the way things were runned…yet she was still there. So yes, she was stressed and feeling drained because she was tired of caring for a place that did not seem to care about her or her employees. And she felt like she wasn’t going anywhere since she didn’t even have school to focus on. So for the three days or so she had been feeling alone and lost. And today at work she had broken down and ended up in the bathroom stall for over 15 minutes by herself, crying. She had planned on continuing the water works at home, but Justin had shown up.
And right at that moment she felt like a complete idiot as she blinked back the tears that threaten to spill. She didn’t want to cry. Not when Justin had gone through all the trouble to surprise her. She sniffed, trying to keep the tears inside. But it was no use, they rolled down her cheeks anyway. She opened her eyes, gazing out the window, noticing the sky getting darker, the waves getting bigger and the first drops of rain landing on the windows. She was lost in thought, she didn’t hear Justin walk back into the bathroom.
“Rach, just called wondering if I knew-” he stopped when she turned away from the window and looked up at him. He tilted his head slightly. “Why are you crying?” he asked, making his way toward her with the glass of wine in his hand.
Nicole shook her head. “I’m fine.” she lied, plastering a smile on her face.
Justin bend down. “You are?” he asked her with a raised eyebrow. She swallowed and nodded lightly. “Then why are you crying?” cupping her face with his free hand. “Hmm?”
She shook her head, chewing on her lower lip to keep the rest of the tears inside while at the same time wiping the remaining of her tears off her face with the back of her hand. “I’m just having one of those days…that’s all.” she paused. “I’m sorry. I’m not trying to ruin…” trailing off. Great, just what she didn’t want. Nicole gave him a weak smile. “Don’t worry.”
Justin furrowed his eyebrows. “You don’t have to lie to me Nic. I know you better than anyone else.”
“I just had a bad day that’s all.” she stated, cupping water into one hand and bringing it up, letting the warm water fall from her fingers.
“Do you want to talk about it?” he murmured, wiping the tears that rolled down her cheeks. She shook her head slightly no. But Justin knew her better than that. He leaned in again pressing his lips to one side of her cheek. “You cant let work get to you …” he whispered as he shut his eyes, taking in her sweet smell. “Its not worth it baby.” He heard her sniff and nod slightly. He continued. “But its not only work is it?” He felt her nod again.
He knew there was more. She had confided in him about work, but he had known there was more. Everytime he talked to her on the phone in the past two weeks, she sounded sad. And every time he would ask if she was okay, and she would answer yes, but he knew she wasn’t. But she wouldn’t tell him why. He broke his distance from her, hearing her cry softly, as she looked out the window again, sitting there silently, arms resting on the sides of the tub.
“I’m right here if you want to talk.” he said, pressing the glass of wine in her hand as he stood back up. He knew it was better to not continue pushing it, but he hated that she was so upset, and he hated that he didn’t know what was bothering her, if he knew then maybe he could try and fix it. He glanced over his shoulder at her one more time before leaving her alone in her thoughts. He went back downstairs, deciding to wait on dinner. He lounged in the living room sitting on the large couch, with the television on, the sound low, listening for sounds of her getting out of the tub. After fifteen minutes, he made his way back up the stairs to the bathroom, she was still sitting there, her head resting against the tub, the glass of wine in her hand, her eyes shut.
She must have felt his presence because her eyes slid open and she tilted her head toward him, giving him a small smile. He smiled back down at her. “Feeling better?” he asked, leaning against the doorway.
“A little.” she murmured.
“Good.” he stated. “You hungry?”
She slightly shook her head. “Not yet…” she locked eyes with him. “You could join me…” she whispered after a long pause.
Justin shook his head. “This is about you-” He did not want to empose. He had done all of this for her to enjoy. He wanted her to go back to feeling good, to relax. Even if every inch of his body ached to be in there with her. To touch her, kiss her…
“Get your ass in here.” she demanded jokingly. Justin only grinned wider at her.
“Whatever you want…” he answered back, pulling his shirt over his head, then unbuckling his belt, and letting the jeans slip down to the floor as he got completely naked, making his way toward the tub. Nicole smiled up at him as she moved a bit to let him slip in, and sit on the other end of the tub. He moaned as the warm bubbles hit his body. Letting his head fall back for a second, his muscles relaxing against the tub. “We’re screwed.” he informed her with his eyes shut.
“Why?”
“Because now we’re both going to starve to death. I’m not getting out.” he told her, lifting his head up, smiling. She only giggled. He sat up a little more, spreading his legs underneath the water. “Slide over here.” he told her. With the glass of wine still in her hand, she did what he asked, sliding over to him. Letting out a sigh, pressing her back to his bare chest, feeling the beat of his heart next to her ear.
The moment was perfect. It was just Nicole and Justin. No one else.
She shut her eyes, relaxing against him. The room was silent, except for the rain outside their window. He cupped water into both of his hands bringing it up and letting it run through his fingers as it slid down Nicole’s shoulders. “What happened?” he whispered after a long silence.
Nicole took her now almost empty glass of wine from one hand to the other, placing it on the window seal, sitting up slightly, resting her head on his chest. “It’s just been one of those days.” she told him, letting him gently pour water on her head. “I guess I just get tired of waking up every day, and doing the same thing…” trailing off for a split second. Justin continue to pour water on the top of her head, tangling his fingers into her hair as he continue to listen. “And I know I shouldn’t even complain. Not after everything that has happen.” She bit her lower lip. “But in the past couple of days I have found myself doing it every waking moment.” She brought the hand to her face to wipe the tears again. “I guess I’ve been bottling it up and it spilled over today.”
Justin massaged her scalp gently, watching her eyelids shut again as her shoulders relaxed. “So this has nothing to do with work?” he asked.
She moaned in appreciation then answered. “Its work, school, everything.” she turned her head slightly to look at him. “I’m tired of being in a place where no one seems to listen. After awhile it drives you crazy. That’s how I feel about work. And I don’t want to feel that way. I mean I know its not a place where I’m going to be forever but it would be nice to actually enjoy it while I’m there.” For the first time in days she was beginning to feel okay. Having Justin there and having him listen was just what she needed.
“You cant let work get to you this way. There’s only so much you can do.” Justin stated. “You cant let that place stress you out. You have more important things to think about.” gently placing his hands on both of her shoulders, pressing her back to his chest again.
“But I don’t Justin. At least not right now.” glancing out the window again, taking in the waves from the ocean. “ Its not just that…” she paused. “I cant even explain it J. I don’t think I can explain it.” she said in a low whisper.
He bend down kissing the top her head. “You don’t have to.” he told her sliding one arm over the top of her belly, letting it rest there as they sat in silence once again. He knew there wasn’t anything else he could say. Sometimes it was better to just listen.
“Thanks for listening.” she said, tangling her fingers with his.
He squeezed her hand tight. “I’m always here Nic. No matter what.” he nudged her with his leg underneath the water. “I hate seeing you cry.” he told her. “No more crying okay?” A light chuckle escaped her lips. “Promise.”
“You know I cant promise that. I’m a girl. Its in my DNA.” she answered jokingly.
Justin pressed his chin lightly on the top of her head. “Okay. You have a point.” chuckling. “But I’m here Nicky. You can always talk to me.” massaging her scalp again, placing her wet hair on the top of her head then reaching down to grab a handful of bubbles and placing them in her hair as well. “Okay?”
“Okay.” she repeated.
“Good.” he said. Silence hit the room again for ten minutes. Both of them enjoying moment for what it was.
Finally Justin spoke up again. “Have you decided what to wear to Golden Globes?” he asked. Hoping she had changed her mind on going with him. He had asked her to with him a week ago over the phone and she had been hesistant.
Nicole glanced up at him. “About that….” she started. “I don’t think I’ll be able to go.” Truth was, she didn’t think it was a good idea. That wasn’t her type of crowd. Plus, she had a feeling there would be a few people that would not be happy if she ended up going with him. It was better to avoid any conflict.
“Nic-”
Nicole stopped him. “I might have to work on Sunday.” she paused. “Its better this way.” At the end, it hadn’t been better. Things would have ended differently if she had gone…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2007
Golden Globe after party…..
Justin was not in a good mood. He had just gotten bitched out by his ex-girlfriend in front of a crowd at a Golden Globe after party of all places. “Who the fuck does she think she is?” he mumbled to himself, taking another gulp of his whiskey. Then there was the other woman in his life. Nicole. That only made him take the rest of his whiskey down. They had gotten into a huge fight before the award show. She had refused to go to the show. It hadn’t bother him that she refuse to go, what bothered him was not knowing the reason for her blowing him off. He thought things were going pretty good. Better than good.
Nicole was the big reason for his foul mood. He hadn’t really gotten a chance to enjoy the show because he kept running their fight over and over in his head. Not sure what he had done to piss her off. But he had because she had ended up throwing his phone at his head-almost hitting him with it. The night had began to get a little better when Trace, his mom and himself made their way to the after party and he had been introduced to Jessica. They had ended up hitting it off, talking amongst themselves. Making Justin forget about the fight with Nicole.
Then Cameron had shown up. Giving him shit about talking to another woman after only being broken up for a few weeks, blah, blah, blah. He had been so tempted to tell her he had already had sex with another woman. And not just any woman, but Nicole. Yeah, that would have been great. She probably would have thrown something at his head too.
He glanced down at his empty glass and frowned. He needed more whiskey, damn it. He was beginning to feel the affects of the liquor but he wanted more. He made his way to bar, sitting on one of the stools.
“Whiskey right?” came the low voice next to him.
Justin turned his head and was face to face with Jessica again. A smile tugged on his lips as his eyes fell on her. She really was a beautiful woman. But it was different from Nicole. “Fuck Nicole.” a voice in the back of his head seemed to tell him. She wasn’t here. She did not want to be here with him. Then fine. He didn’t want her here either. Instead he answered. “Right.”
Jessica grinned at him, before turning to the bartender. “Whiskey for the gentleman.” she said.
Justin couldn’t help but smirk. “Thanks.”
