Cassidy wasn't surprised to find the apartment was untidy when she finally dragged herself from her room. Johanna wasn't perfect; she left dishes in the sink and laundry in a basket by the couch until the time came she had to do something with it. It was just one of her personality quirks. And Cassidy didn't mind that because she was the same way when she was busy with work. It wasn't like the apartment was about to get raided by a group of code enforcers, ready to demolish the place over a few dirty dishes and a strange smell in the fridge.
Hugging her first cup of coffee for the day, she glanced around the small kitchen, wrinkling her nose. Okay, make that a lot of dirty dishes. But she would take care of it. Johanna had to go to work early tonight to set up the bar for some bigwig's party and Cassidy knew that when she got back from doing the grocery shopping she would undoubtedly take a nap. Besides, she was on her vacation and had nothing planned aside from watching movies and reading. Not to mention, Johanna had taken care of all the housecleaning the week before. She'd get started once she was fully awake.
Thirty minutes later she was dancing around the living room as she scooped up laundry. She didn't take the time to check if it was dirty or clean, simply stuffing it into the basket for the trip down to the laundry room. Poking her head beneath the couch she found a crumpled pair of socks - hers - and a faded FBI t-shirt - also hers. After making sure no more clothes were hiding under furniture she went into Johanna's room.
Strangely enough, this was the one room that seemed untouched by Johanna's sloppiness. The bed was unmade, yes, and pajamas were dangling haphazardly from the chair by the window, but it was a neat little room. Pictures were stuck around the frame of the mirror over the dresser and the usual clutter of a woman's hair supplies and jewelry were scattered over the top. She smiled when she saw an NSYNC CD on the bedside table, the plastic wrapper beneath it. Perhaps meeting Justin Timberlake had encouraged her to bring her music interest into the twentieth century. Plucking up the wrapper, she pushed it into the trashcan before gathering up the pajamas to wash. Then she moved to make the bed.
"What the hell?" she groaned as she shook the sheet. A dark red shirt tumbled from beneath a pillow and she leaned to catch it before it fell to the floor. Holding it up, she wrinkled her brow in confusion, not recognizing it as one of Johanna's shirts. It felt like an expensive silk, and when she turned it over she saw the Armani tag and knew it couldn't possibly be Johanna's. Her best friend wasn't pinching pennies, but she hardly had the budget for that. Was there something Johanna wasn't telling her?
Carefully folding the shirt, she was further surprised when the faint scent of a man's cologne reached her nose. Sniffing lightly, she surmised it was an expensive cologne and thanked the eight-hour seminar she'd endured in the Academy for her ability to tell the difference between expensive and cheap fragrances. Tucking it beneath the pillow she finished making the bed. Her mind raced with possible reasons for the shirt to be there, but none of them seemed plausible. Johanna wasn't the one-night stand type. Nor was she the type to steal someone's shirt--
"Cass! Come get this bag, please? It's starting to rip," Johanna called amid the banging of the door.
Leaping from the room, Cassidy caught the bag in danger before kicking the door shut. Mind buzzing with questions, she followed her friend into the kitchen and began to put away the groceries. "So…how was shopping?"
"…Not too bad," Johanna answered after a moment, obviously confused at her sudden interest. "It's never bad this time of week, remember? Which is why we do our shopping on Monday?"
Cassidy rolled her eyes at the sarcastic tone, wondering how she could steer the conversation to the item in Johanna's bed. Leaning on her tiptoes to push a box of salt into the cabinet she sent a covert glance across the room. "Nice shirt. New?"
Johanna glanced up from the fridge, where she was pushing a carton of milk onto the shelf. Taking a moment she laboriously plucked at the hem of her gray sweatshirt. "What's going on with you? I've had this for years."
"Oh. I didn't recognize it. Have you gotten any new shirts lately?" Cassidy asked. Gathering the discarded grocery bags, she began to stuff them into the drawer that they kept them in.
"Not in a while. Maybe next month I'll pick up a couple spring tops, but right now there's nothing out that I want." Johanna nudged the fridge door shut with her hip. "…Why?"
"Just wondering…" Cassidy trailed mysteriously, grateful for Apollo's presence when the cat began to make graceful turns around her ankles. Stooping she lavished affection on him until she felt Johanna's gaze turn away. "So…"
"…So?"
"Heard from Justin again?"
Johanna groaned. Loudly. Cassidy looked up to see her stacking cans in the pantry, which was really supposed to be a half bathroom. But the landlord had taken out that luxury, leaving an unused room in each apartment. Cassidy had converted it to a pantry shortly after moving in, surprised that Johanna had never thought of doing it. Picking up a bag, she headed over to help.
"Well?"
"Well what? We talked the other night for a while, big deal. He was just being nice, Cass."
"Calling you at four in the morning and talking to you for three hours is not just being nice." Cassidy shoved several boxes of macaroni onto a shelf. "Did he give you his number?"
"Yeah. But I'm not going to call--"
"Why not? He sounds like a great guy--"
"Cassidy Lane Morgan would you stop? He's just soothing some crazy conscience call he has because his friend was a jerk. For all I know his manager's forcing him to do it. No one wants pretty boy Timberlake to be thought of as insensitive!" As she said the last Johanna's hand flew up to cover her mouth; her eyes wide in feigned shock. "Woe! What will the preteen girls who have his picture all over their walls think of him if I let it spread?!"
"Johanna," Cassidy groaned with a playful shove. "Not all of his fans are twelve years old. I've met some fans online who are well into their thirties."
"Oooh," Johanna breathed. Her amber eyes sparkled with mischievousness. "How does that work, exactly? I mean what if they're married with kids? Do they just drop the kids on their husbands and say 'Baby, I'm going to salivate over a man who is entirely too young for me' and book it to a show?"
"Johanna--"
"Don't get me wrong, I admire their courage. Most men that I know would raise quite a fuss if their significant other just dumped them to drool over a teen-aged boy with more money than chest hairs." Johanna sighed dramatically, batting her eyelashes towards the ceiling. "Just imagine!" she suddenly gushed in a high-pitched voice. "If I go to a concert and shove aside teenyboppers and give Justin that look that tells him I know more about sex than they ever will, I may get a chance to meet him! And if I meet him and we have sex he may realize he loves me and then he'll whisk me away from my dreary every-day life! And then I can live in style!"
Cassidy glowered. "Johanna Marie--"
"Oh! But then he may dump me because I'm too boring, but that's okay!" Johanna spun in a circle, not hiding her giggles as she opened the fridge to retrieve a canned soda. "Because he doesn't know it yet but I'm pregnant with his twins and when he finds that out he'll welcome me back with open arms and we'll live happily ever after!"
"You're not funny," Cassidy muttered with a scowl. "I accidentally leave one fanfic up on the computer that you read and it would be some drama-filled drivel."
"Ah, so you do admit it's drivel?" Johanna asked, sitting at the table with her soda. "Seriously though, Cass. I'll probably never hear from him again."
"But… He gave you his shirt," Cassidy blurted. And immediately she regretted that when she saw Johanna's mortified expression. "Okay, I didn't mean to, but I found it. I mean, it fell out when I picked up your pillow… I was making your bed and this shirt that I knew didn't belong to you just fell out and…would you please stop gaping at me like a dead fish and say something?"
"Why did you find it necessary to make my bed?" Johanna asked softly.
"Not the something I was looking for," Cassidy groaned, collapsing into the chair opposite her friend. "I was in a cleaning mood and wanted to do some laundry… Did I tell you I got a good deal on that detergent we use? I saved three bucks--"
"Yeah, it was on sale and you had a coupon. I'll book the cruise so we can spend what you saved," Johanna muttered sarcastically. She was staring at the can in front of her. Cassidy jumped slightly when her friend jerked on the tab, sending a spray of foam onto the tabletop.
"I know that under normal circumstances you would never tell me anything," she said after a moment, watching Johanna clean the mess. Resting her chin on her hand, she smiled sweetly. "But, these aren't normal circumstances. Therefore I think I deserve a detailed explanation."
Unfortunately, Johanna didn't see it that way. Cassidy followed her through the apartment, dodging items of clothes that were flung in her direction. But she persisted, knowing from the facts that there had to be a spark of something between the two. The shirt, the bandaged arms, the phone call…the brand-new CD that Johanna was pushing into the small stereo by the bed. So she perched on the edge of the bed, still smiling as her roommate began taking out her work clothes. Obviously the woman thought she would be diverted by the loud volume, but Cassidy knew how to endure unexpected setbacks. She knew how to keep her eye on her target. She could sit here and wait--
"Jesus Christ Johanna! Do you have to do that now?!" she suddenly screeched, scrambling backwards on the bed.
Johanna glanced up, her face a mask of innocence. "My toenails need clipping, Cassidy…"
"Stop avoiding the subject. Do I have to get physical on your ass before you tell me?"
"A lady never kisses and tells," Johanna cooed sweetly.
"Wait, there was kissing?"
"I didn't say there was."
"But you're not saying there wasn't?"
"I'm not saying anything. Hence the whole 'never tells' quote."
Cassidy groaned. "You're so damned frustrating, I swear."
"And you love me."
"You're just lucky the rent in this place is too much for my salary to cover it."
"You're just lucky I agreed to live with your sorry ass." Johanna straightened and tossed her nail clippers onto the dresser. "You mind leaving so I can get naked?"
"I'm not going anywhere. For all I know you have some major hickeys going on, in which case I want to photograph them--"
"Cassidy Lane Morgan, if you don't leave this room right now I'm telling Troy that you're hot for him," Johanna threatened.
"That pig?" Cassidy scoffed in disbelief. Surely her best friend would never be so cruel. There was no way Johanna could ever do such a thing. Seeing the determined look on Johanna's face, she groaned, sliding from the bed. "You're lucky I love you, Johanna."
/*/
"Check the mirror, lookin' fly," Justin sang loudly as he bounded from his room. Pausing in the middle of the living room of the suite he quickly smoothed his curls before striking a pose. "Well?" he demanded of the other men, who were sprawled across the couches. "How do I look?"
Joey lifted his head; one eye closed and the other squinting he looked like a deranged pirate. He remained silent for a long moment, carefully assessing Justin's appearance until the younger man began to fidget. Then, finally, he sighed, "Well…"
"Well?" Justin repeated.
"Curl eight thousand nine-hundred sixty-three is sticking out. And there's a spot on your face that looks like-oh wait, it's just your nose. And wait, what's this? Little Justin is wearing a suit?" Joey cried in horror.
Lance pulled his gaze from the newspaper he was reading. "My, my, my. Will wonders ever cease? He's wearing something other than sneakers!"
"Wait, what's that smell?" Chris demanded, crawling over the back of the couch he was on so he could reach Justin. Leaning close he sniffed loudly, ignoring Justin's look of annoyance. "A-ha! He's wearing cologne!"
"He's wearing those new earrings his Momma gave him for his birthday," Joey added.
"He even shaved," Chris gasped, peering closely at Justin's chin. Yelping when a hand closed around his shoulder, he looked down. "Hey! He cleaned under his fingernails, too!"
"I'm so proud," Lance sobbed suddenly, burying his face in his hands. "Our little boy's learned how to clean up!"
"Did you wash behind your ears, too?" Joey asked.
"Guys--"
"Better check," JC announced with a chuckle. "Don't want all the ladies to be grossed out by ear funk."
"Guys--"
"Did you wash thoroughly, Justin? I mean, if you're looking to get a little action tonight, you have to make sure that you're really clean. Which means--"
"If you finish that we're going to have to look for another member," Justin threatened with a scowl. He cursed when Joey came over to inspect his face closely. "What?!"
"You've got a little spot," Joey said thoughtfully, touching the side of his own face. "Right about here. Looks like the beginnings of a zit…"
"Oh, Jesus Christ," Justin seethed as he yanked his body from their inspection so he could investigate.
Joey laughed as the door slammed shut. "What's he so antsy for?" he asked the others before collapsing onto the couch again. "You'd think he was going to meet his true love tonight or something."
/*/
"…I'm sure you know that with the caliber of clientele you'll be serving tonight that we expect you to…"
Johanna nodded automatically, barely paying attention to the scrawny man dressed in a business suit who found it necessary to coach her on how to behave around celebrities. As though none had ever set foot in the club since she started her job. Did he honestly think she would leap on the internet the moment she got home to tell people she'd never met what Nick Carter had said while waiting for his drink?
Not that he'd ever come to the club. Of course, she wasn't sure she'd recognize him even if he did show up. There was only one boyband member she knew well enough to recognize, and that one wasn't going to be coming--
"My employer told me to inform you that you have to sign a disclosure agreement," the man was saying. A paper was shoved in her face, dangerously close to poking her in the eye. Johanna took a step back from the glasses she was supposed to be polishing. The man was positively annoying. She wondered if she would be able to talk whoever his employer was into firing him. Maybe if she put extra liquor into his drinks… Snatching the paper she read over it quickly. It was a paper she had seen before. The undersigned agrees not to disclose any information about…
"Justin Timberlake?" she blurted, seeing the first name on the list. "He's going to be here tonight?"
"Of course he is. After all, it is his birthday and his party." The man's gray eyes narrowed behind his wire-framed glasses. "Is that going to be a problem?"
"Of course not," she hurriedly promised as she took his pen. Signing and dating the bottom of the statement she chewed on her bottom lip. She was wondering if he would even recognize her, if he would acknowledge her existence.
When the scrawny man was finally satisfied and left the room she continued polishing the glasses. There were several bottles of champagne chilling in ice buckets at the corner booth; whoever was in charge of the party had requested them. A bright pink box in the storage room behind the bar contained the guest of honor's birthday cake. At the preordained time Troy would go back and unpack it, light the candles and roll it in. Danny had agreed to the track list given by the person in charge. Though he'd complained about the choices she had heard him go through the tracks at a low volume.
Too soon, the lounge would be filled with partygoers and Johanna would be swamped with drink orders. Within two hours she would be dashing back and forth between waitresses and bar orders. She would no doubt be too busy for a break. For the moment it was just her and the glasses.
A ballad was playing when she heard approaching footsteps. On her knees behind the counter she was double-checking her stock of hard liquors, nodding her head in time to the beat, and paid no attention to the person in the lounge. Assuming it was Troy, she tossed her notepad onto the bar. "We should be good. I doubt the people coming tonight are hard drinkers anyway…"
"Uh-huh."
"Are they even old enough to drink? We got that order for champagne but if they're underage we're legally prohibited from serving them alcohol. I know you don't want to lose your license."
"Right…"
Johanna closed the cabinet door. The song playing was in the midst of an instrumental break and she could tell instinctively that a vocal crescendo was approaching. "God almighty I hope this song isn't repeated too much tonight. It's too beautiful and sweet to play at a jamming party like they're supposed to have."
"…You don't like it?"
Instantly she realized who was talking to her. Feeling her cheeks burn with embarrassment, she carefully pulled herself to her feet. Face to face with Justin, she stammered, "I-I didn't mean--"
"I know it's not another I Will Always Love You or anything, but we're proud of it," he informed with a lazy grin. "Especially this last part…"
Johanna listened to the final chorus, smiling when she recognized Justin's voice crooning the last. She waited until the final chord faded out before smirking. "Gee, I wonder why?"
"I take it you're not a big fan of ballads," he trailed, leaning against a barstool.
"Once in a while," she admitted as she toyed with her notepad. "But there's just something about a fast song that makes me happy. Something that gives me a little bounce, y'know?" Glancing around, she saw a large man standing near the entrance. Despite his attempts to appear inconspicuous he stood out like a sore thumb. His eyes concealed behind dark sunglasses and thick arms crossed over his chest; she would be able to pick him out as a bodyguard anywhere. "…Why did you come to your own party an hour early?"
"I just wanted to get a feel for the place and be here when everybody arrived and…and…"
"Yes?" she encouraged. She couldn't help but smirk at the hesitation in his voice. At the way he chewed on his bottom lip.
"Well, didn’t you get me anything for my birthday?"
"Today's your birthday?" she blurted in surprise. At the look on his face she wanted to slap her hand to her forehead. Obviously it was his birthday; why else would he have a party? "Of course it's your birthday. How old are you?"
"Nineteen."
She blinked. Nineteen? He was nineteen? As tall as he was, with a body like his? She had thought that surely he must be older… Not that she would admit to checking him out. Finally finding her voice, she cleared her throat. "Sorry, I didn't get you a thing. What does one get for a nineteen-year-old international pop star?"
"I think you start with saying 'happy birthday'?" he returned.
"Happy birthday, Justin," she quoted appropriately.
"And maybe later when you take a break you'll give me a dance?" he requested.
He was leaning against the bar, his eyes staring at her intensely. There was no hint of teasing in his voice, causing her to believe he was serious. "I don't know that I'll get a break tonight," she murmured apologetically. "But if I do and you don't value the feeling in your toes, then I guess I could--"
"Troy!" Justin suddenly shouted. The manager turned from his conversation with the bodyguard. "You gonna give Johanna a break tonight? So she can dance with me?"
"Justin," Johanna groaned. Her cheeks burned at the quizzical look her boss sent her.
"Sure," Troy agreed after a moment.
"I'll look for you," Justin murmured to Johanna. "Don't try any of that hiding in the bathroom shit again okay?"
"Okay," she whispered, glancing down when his hand covered hers. The same warm and gentle touch that he had used several nights before.
"Your arms are still okay?" he asked softly. Without waiting for her answer, he gently pushed the arm of her long-sleeved t-shirt upwards. She had to smile at the look that crossed his face when he saw the bandage he'd applied still on her arm.
"It's healing nicely." Why was it so warm in the room suddenly? Had Troy messed with the thermostat--
"Curly!"
Justin grinned when he heard the jovial shouts from the men bounding up the stairs. Tugging her sleeve down again, he squeezed Johanna's hand. "I'll find you on your break."
Stunned, she could only nod. She watched him go across the room to greet his friends and recognized them as some of the men who'd been at the club the week before. One looked directly at her, piercing blue eyes sending a tremor of apprehension down her spine from across the room. His lips curled into a sneer before he turned away and she was grateful that Danny chose that moment to begin the music in earnest. Sighing in relief when several more people entered the room and began to call out orders, she got to work.
"Take your break now," Troy shouted in her ear two hours later. The party was in full swing. Bodies gyrated on the dance floor to the pounding beats coming from the speakers. The storage room had a crate of empty champagne bottles; the rack of used glasses was steadily filling.
Johanna popped the top off a bottle of beer, pushing it across the bar to the man who'd ordered it. He shouted his thanks and dropped some bills into the tip jar before disappearing into the crowd. Filling Troy in on the waiting orders, Johanna removed her apron. She longed to disappear downstairs for the extent of her twenty minute break; her feet were killing her. She had made it halfway across the room, excusing herself whenever she bumped into someone or stepped on toes, when a hand gently closed around her arm.
"Johanna, right?" the owner of the hand asked when she turned. Tall, broad-shouldered and grinning, she recognized him as one of the members of NSYNC. Horrible as she was with names, she refused to pin one on him. She knew she would simply muck it all up. His brown eyes twinkled with good-natured merriment. "Of course you're Johanna. Curly usually sucks at descriptions, but I'd be able to pick you out anywhere."
"…Curly?" she repeated.
"Justin? Timberlake? Whiny pipsqueak who thinks the sun shines out of his--"
"Got it," she interrupted. "And you are?"
"Joey Fatone. C'mon, he's looking for you. Says you have his birthday present and he wants it now." Without waiting for her to reply he gently tugged her through the crowd. Once they had made it through the dancing throng he draped his arm over her shoulders to keep her close. "Y'know, whatever it is you're giving him, he doesn't deserve it. I'd be more than happy to accept his present on his behalf and keep it for my own personal use."
Johanna laughed. "Right. You don't look the type to wear tiger-print thongs, but hey--"
"Nevermind," he groaned when they reached the corner booth.
Johanna was surprised to see Justin sitting in the booth alone. Despite the crowd that milled around the room in honor or his birthday he was alone, sipping a beer. When he saw her his face lit up with a grin and before she knew it Joey's arm had left her and she was enveloped in Justin's embrace. "Good God, Justin," she choked. "I can't breathe!"
"Sorry! I thought you'd forgotten about our dance. I saw Troy and told him to give you a break because you looked so tired and when I noticed he was behind the bar and not you I sent Joey and Lance to find you."
He spoke in a rush. Some words were slurred, making her wonder how many drinks he'd had. When his grip loosened and she could finally draw a normal breath, she shook her head. "Joey said he wants me to give him your present instead."
Justin sent a look at Joey, who was leaning against the wall with a lazy grin. "You fucker--"
"She told me off, don't worry. Quite a little spitfire you've found. Better keep her close or she'll get stolen from you," Joey warned. With a giggle he shoved away from the wall. Johanna watched in amusement as he threw himself into the crowd of dancers.
"He's such an ass," Justin hissed under his breath. "C'mon, Danny's about to play our song."
"Our song," she repeated. She was about to ask which song it was when he pulled her to the edge of the dance floor. A fast-paced song still played, lights bouncing off the dancers in a hypnotic beat. Justin's arms were still around her, holding her close to him. She nervously chewed her lower lip as the rhythm playing faded into a slower tune. Johanna recognized it as the one that had played when Justin arrived. She hated the nervous flutter that flickered through her stomach when her hands rested on his chest.
"Sway," he mumbled in her ear. She realized with a tremor that he was leaning close, head tucked close to hers. She could smell the alcohol on his breath and chalked up his sudden attention to intoxication. Somehow she managed to sway to the cadence of the music.
Johanna closed her eyes as the song progressed. She likened her current situation to the first school dance she'd attended at fourteen. Insecure and exceedingly shy she had sat in one of the chairs along the wall, knowing that no one would ask her to dance. Then, remarkably, one of the more popular boys in her class had come over. She could still remember her flushed cheeks when he'd asked her to dance; could still feel the nervousness and elation as they'd danced in the quintessential teenaged slow-dance posture.
Justin was singing in her ear, literally crooning the words with more feeling than they played over the speakers. Arms linked around her waist; she was fully aware of each muscled body part that pressed against her. She both hated and loved him for insisting they dance together. She knew it would leave her wanting more than he would ever offer. But she was grateful for even four minutes of attention and warmth. Even if he was drunk.
"Can you grant me another birthday wish?" he asked during an instrumental break.
"…What is it?" she asked warily. There really was no telling with him.
"We've got a few days off before promos. Want to go out to dinner and maybe catch a movie?"
"With you?"
"No, with Joey. Yes, me. Who else would you go out with?"
Who else, indeed. "I… I'll have to see, okay? I'm babysitting my nephew later this week, and--"
"Great. You can bring him along," he decided before launching into the chorus of the song.
Shaking her head absentmindedly, she didn't resist when he tugged her closer. Her cheek rested against the breast of his dress shirt. Did he have to smell so good? So warm and masculine and comforting? And did he really find it necessary to hold her so comfortingly? She giggled when his voice raised above the music. He was beyond drunk. He had to be. No way could he dance with her, ask her out to dinner and sing so beautifully on a normal day.
"Thanks," he whispered, his breath ruffling her hair as they pulled apart.
"Anytime," she promised. Prepared to flee to the safety of the bar, she was perplexed when his hands remained on her waist. Clearing her throat, she shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "Happy birthday, Justin."
"Thanks."
"And I'll see about dinner okay? Just let me know a day and then I can… What?" He was leaning closer. Blue eyes burning with intensity. Tongue flicking over his lips.
"One more present?" he requested. His face was mere inches from hers. She had never really noticed how blue his eyes were; how his pupils seemed to be outlined with midnight blue that faded into the color of the perfect indigo sky.
"What?" she whispered nervously as he leaned closer.
"This."
Moist lips covered hers. Moist lips that were warm and unbelievably soft. Moist lips that were warm and soft and sliding over hers in a neat, skillful kiss that caused her knees to weaken. She immediately tensed, hands still on his chest. She forced herself to ignore the shivers of pleasure that coursed through her. Forced herself to remain calm when she saw that his eyes were still open, staring at her. She forced the soft cry that bubbled in her throat to remain unuttered when his tongue teased her lips apart. Even as her mind screamed at her to remain rational and pull away her body responded to him, giving in to the delicious feeling.
A body bumped into her from behind, knocking their lips apart. Justin retained his grip on her as they stumbled from the blow. His face against her cheek, she could feel him grin.
"Now that's a birthday present," he mumbled. Squeezing her as his lips brushed over her cheek.
You're telling me. Slowly she pulled her hands from his chest, drawing in several shaky breaths as his arms dropped from her waist. Then, with a flash of a grin and a hasty promise to call her, he was gone.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Yeah, took me a while, I know. But more updates are coming sooner. Again, don't own, don't sue, all that jazz. :) Special thanks again to Dana, who was my beta despite bronchitis. She rules like that.
Story Tags: love celebrityj jc justin
