"…She said I was number two," Justin muttered. His voice held disbelief as he talked about the night before and he was staring up at the ceiling as he lay across his hotel bed. He was supposed to be packing to go home for a few days before the promo tour began in earnest. But Joey had come in to ask about his date with Johanna so packing had been diverted. He seemed grateful for the distraction.

"What the hell does it take to make number one?" Joey asked. Sprawled in the armchair by the window, he was lazily spinning a basketball between his hands. He was amused at Justin's attitude. From all appearances the date had been a success. For Justin, of course. He would have preferred a tale of how they tucked the nephew in for the night then spent hours in the bedroom but he knew his friend better than to expect that.

"Apparently you have to be a European prince or some shit," Justin grumbled.

"Oh, is that all?" Joey laughed. When he saw Justin's serious expression the laughter died on his lips. "Look, Curly, she was probably just joshing you."

"It's hard to tell with her," Justin told him with a sigh. He groaned and sat up. Idly, he tossed a stack of folded t-shirts into the open suitcase on the bed.

"…You like her a lot, huh?" Joey observed.

"Well. I… She's pretty cool. She's not all 'ohmygod you're Justin!' whenever we're talking or whatever." Justin threw his hands up before flopping back onto the bed.

"Yeah, that makes a difference," Joey murmured, pushing the basketball onto the floor. He watched it roll towards the door and was about to go after it when a sneaker-clad foot stopped it.

"Wish I could see her again before leaving," Justin said as Dana entered the room.

"Awe, sweetheart," she cooed dramatically. Brows furrowed with worry she draped her lean body over the bed, her head tucking itself neatly on Justin's shoulder. One hand splayed over her forehead. "I'll be so lonesome without you!" she cried, voice dripping with a Southern twang that had Joey laughing. "If only our love could be allowed to blossom like the magnolia tree in Daddy's yard! But alas, my darlin', we're destined to live apart! For Joshua has laid claim to me, body and soul! But never fear, for like sands through the hourglass, my love will go on!"

With a heavy groan Justin pushed her away. He cursed when she rolled off the bed, knocking his suitcase to the floor. "Deck! I spent hours folding those shirts!"

"Bullshit and you know it!" she fired back. "Your idea of folding a shirt is just smashing it together. Irons weep when they see your laundry, Timbersnake."

"At least pick them up?" he asked with a scowl as he snatched up his suitcase.

Dana mumbled under her breath as she gathered the scattered t-shirts. Wadding several between her hands she flung them towards Justin, throwing her arms up in triumph when the landed atop Justin in a heap. "I so need to be in the WNBA."

"Like they'd ever accept someone as short as you," Justin scoffed as he crammed his t-shirts back into the suitcase.

"If they let me play in heels I could be tall," she retorted. "Couldn’t I, Joey?"

"Oh, sure. You'd tower over the bench," he said with a smirk. "Tell me again how Jayce manages to kiss you?"

"He hauls me up to him," Dana informed. After tossing the rest of the t-shirts onto the bed she laid back on the floor. "Then I wrap my arms around his neck and just hold on, because--"

"Too much, too much!" Justin cried. "Leave it at that, okay? It's bad enough I have to hear you two through the wall. I don't need a visual commentary."

"Speaking of commentary… How did your date with Johanna go last night?"

"It was fine and it wasn't a date."

"Um, excuse me? You took a picnic dinner to the park. You watched the sunset, right?" When he nodded she grinned. "It was so a date."

"They took a carriage ride through the park," Joey supplied.

"Really?" Dana's eyes widened with interest.

"Just the two of them going through the park in the snow," Joey sighed romantically. "Mike even watched after her nephew so Curly could get a little action--"

"He was asleep!"

"The fact stands that you and Johanna were alone. In a carriage. In Central Park. At night. In the snow. And you kissed." Joey held up a finger for each fact he stated before looking to Dana again. "He even bought her roses."

"Joey--"

"How many?" Dana asked with interest. Leaving her spot on the floor she jumped onto the bed. "You didn't go cliché and do a dozen, did you?"

"One rose," Justin ground out. "One long-stemmed red rose. Anymore questions?"

"Was that all you gave her?"

"She mentioned that she liked a certain kind of chocolates so I picked up a box…"

"Awe, Timbersnake. That's so sweet," Dana cooed. Joey noticed that this time her tone wasn't teasing. "What else?"

"What do you mean? We rode through the park. We talked and looked at the sites. We--"

"Shared a kiss that melted all the snow within a two-mile radius," Joey supplied. "Did you know that Curly forgot he kissed her at his party? How fucking stupid was that…"

"Did you tell her that?" Dana asked Justin.

"Tell her what?" JC asked from the doorway.

"That he forgot all about that passionate kiss he gave her at his party," Dana answered immediately. "I would be so pissed if that happened to me. Imagine thinking a guy's really into you and then you find out that he had no clue it happened."

Joey wrinkled his nose. "I don't want to imagine locking lips with a guy. Thanks, Dana."

"Okay, the other way around then. Josh! Remember our first kiss?" Dana inquired, patting the mattress in invitation. When her boyfriend sat down she wrapped her arms around him from behind. "You do remember, don't you?"

"Of course I do," JC promised. "It was at the barbecue at Justin's house in Florida."

"Did you think about it a lot in the time between our kiss and the next time you saw me?"

"Dana…"

"Seriously. We're among friends, baby."

"Fine. Yes, I did."

"Wouldn't you have been mad as hell if you said something about it the next time you saw me and I looked at you like you were nuts? Because remembering the first kiss only brings more anticipation for the next one. And if you realize that the other person has no recollection it's like a major blow to your self-esteem."

"Thank you, Dr. Ruth," Justin snorted. "Johanna was cool about it, though."

"You kissed her again?" JC asked.

Joey glanced up when he heard the derision in JC's voice. He vaguely recalled Justin mentioning the fact that JC had been less than polite to Johanna but had chalked it up to over exaggeration. Noting the sour expression on JC's face he cleared his throat. He didn't want the moments of relaxation ruined by attitude.

"Stop being a sourpuss," Dana muttered. "Are you grouchy 'cause you didn't get your full ten hours of sleep last night?"

"I'm not grouchy. We all know that this chick isn't the right type for Justin."

/*/

"What the fuck is your problem?" Dana asked as soon as she and JC entered their hotel room. She waited until he had shut the door before turning to face him. Hands on her hips she glared at him. She knew when she saw the look on his face that her question would not be answered in an acceptable manner. "How do you know that this girl isn't the right type for JuJu?"

"Dana, baby, I've met her."

"Once, for all of thirty seconds. So in the time it takes you to piss you figured out that she wasn't Justin's type? Fucking please," she spat. "It took you less time than that to ask me for a lap dance--"

"Would you listen?" he interrupted. He scowled as he pushed an open suitcase aside with his foot. It occurred to Dana that they really should start packing; they were going to be in the city one more day before flying down to visit his family for a week.

But for now she only wanted answers. Never before had she seen her boyfriend act so unlike the man she'd fallen in love with. Sitting primly on the bed, she folded her arms across her chest. "I'm listening."

"Think back on the girls he's shown interest in over the past year," JC started. Dana watched him pick up the suitcase and set it on the bed. With a huff of a sigh she shrugged. Glancing up when there was a soft knock on the door she watched JC step back to open it.

"Jayce, what's--"

"Hold on, Joe. He's explaining something to me," Dana interrupted. She tapped one foot against the floor in agitation. "Go on, baby."

"Fine. Darlene."

"Ugh, that bimbo with more tits than brains," Dana grunted.

"Samantha."

"The girl whose bleached hair weighed more than the rest of her body…"

"Chantal."

"That whore? I still want to castrate Joey for introducing him to her!"

Joey sputtered. "Me?! You're the one who introduced her to me!"

"That's different!" Dana fired back. She hadn't realized that introducing what she perceived to be the perfect one-night stand to Joey would backfire. How was she to know that Chantal would prefer Justin's company?

JC cleared his throat, bringing her attention back to their conversation. "Britney."

"The biggest airhead in the world who couldn't pour piss out of a boot with directions printed on the heel…" Dana groaned, finally catching his reasoning. "Josh…"

"You didn't see her, Dana. I don't know what he thinks is going to happen, but there's no way that they could actually become a couple."

"Enlighten me. Please. What does Johanna look like?"

"She's hot," Joey supplied as he flopped onto the bed. "She's a little short like you, Dana. But damn does she have some curves--"

"You're not helping, Joe," JC muttered.

"What? If Curly wasn't showing such an interest in her I definitely would!"

"Dana," JC sighed. "I know I can't explain it in a way that you'd understand. But trust me when I say that Justin would be making a big mistake if he seriously tries to start something with her."

"I just can't believe that the sweet loveable guy I'm dating is so superficial," Dana snorted. "Are you dissing her because she's not some perfect size six? Jesus, I'm not even a size six!"

"You're different--"

"Bullshit! If I'd been a big girl when we met, would you have asked me out? Wait, let me correct that. Would you have pushed a wad of cash down my bra and asked me for a lap dance if I'd been big?"

"That question isn't relevant and you know it," JC answered. "You were never as big as--"

"Stop. Stop right there. I was big, Joshua Scott. And you know that. You know it took me a long time and hard work to get rid of the fat girl persona. I still have it some days."

"Dana…" JC practically whined her name. "Can we not get into this now?"

"Why? Afraid I won't give you sex?" Dana dug an elbow into Joey's side when he laughed. "Afraid I won't want to just fall to my knees praising God for your massive dick after hearing that you only asked me out because I was skinny?"

"Baby--"

"Don't 'baby' me. As far as I'm concerned you can take that baby and shove it up your ass," she hissed, afraid to raise her voice above a whisper for fear of him hearing the hurt. "Joe, wanna go catch a movie?"

"…What?"

"A movie? Big screen in a dark room? They show pictures that move?" she explained.

"Sure, but…"

"Let's go." Hopping to her feet Dana snatched up her purse. "Call me when the asshole that's taken over my boyfriend is gone, Josh."

/*/

"…Got our tee time reserved for tomorrow. Really lookin' forward to trying out my new clubs 'cause…"

Justin nodded mechanically as he dropped the basket of clean laundry on the floor by his bed. Pushing it aside with one foot he moved to pull the suitcase from the center of his bed. He no longer had the motivation for packing. He looked to his computer and thought of checking his email. But he'd already done that and not even ten minutes ago; no way there was anything waiting in his inbox. So he flopped across the bed and reached for the remote, motioning for Trace to get out of the way.

Trace rolled his eyes before dropping into a beanbag chair. "So there I was. Hand up her skirt and my pants dropping to my knees when she decided to just go down and--"

"What?" Justin blurted. Forgetting the TV, he whipped his head up to stare at his friend. "Wait, back up!"

"I'm just fucking kidding," Trace said with a chuckle. "What's with you? You've been out of it all damn day."

"Just tired from New York," Justin answered. He shrugged as he turned the TV on and began channel surfing. "I'm not looking forward to the promo tour," he admitted with a groan. He only had another day at home before he would be back on the road. Then, what, a week between promos and the album launch. Then the tour. With an involuntary shudder he continued his channel surfing. "You're still going, right?"

"Unless you decide to boot my ass off it, yeah, I am." Trace grabbed the remote from his hands and backed up several channels. He stopped on a basketball game they had both seen already. Without thinking Justin's gaze moved to the computer once again. "…Y'know, looking at the screen won't make her email you any quicker, J."

"I know-What?"

"You've been moping around like a puppy all damn day," Trace told him. "Why don't you just call her and get it over with?"

"…Call who?"

"The chick that's got you so fucking bummed out."

"I'm not bummed out," Justin defended. "I just haven't heard from her in two days."

"Call her. She's probably sitting by the phone waiting for you to call anyway," Trace decided with a shrug. "Go ahead, make her day."

"She's definitely not sitting by the phone," Justin argued, chuckling. "Not Johanna."

"Ah, she has a name," Trace sighed. "So, tell me all about her."

"Why do you want to know?" Justin asked warily.

"Because… I'm your best friend and you tell me everything?"

Good enough, Justin decided. "You remember at the club when I told you I went to the bathroom because of bad seafood? I wasn't in the bathroom. I was with a bartender."

"…Did you score some good liquor?"

"No… It wasn't about that. Jayce and I saw her at the DJ booth and he was an ass to her so I went to apologize and… Ended up in the staff bathroom with her--"

"You fucking got laid?!" Trace blurted. His features softened with pure awe.

"No!"

"Then what were you doing with her in the bathroom?!"

Groaning loudly Justin pulled a pillow over his head. Quickly he told everything to his friend. He conveniently left out the drunken kiss on his birthday because he knew Trace would never let him live it down. When he finished, he waited for the inevitable.

"So…you've known her… About two weeks?"

"Ten days…" Justin trailed uncomfortably, head still beneath the pillow.

"And all you've done is slip her the tongue?"

"Yes," Justin replied, dragging the word out.

"What is she, a fucking dog?"

"No! She's… She's different, okay?"

"J's got himself a virgin," Trace cackled.

"I do--" Justin cut off abruptly as he set up, letting the pillow fall to the floor. As far as he knew, Johanna wasn't a virgin. But it wasn't as though he actually had proof… Besides, she was older. Surely she wasn't a virgin. Right? "It's not that. She's just not the type for a quick fuck in the hotel and a goodbye the next morning."

"Oh… She got a nice rack?" Trace asked after a moment.

Justin's lips slid into a wicked grin. "Amazing."

He was just starting to describe his good-night kiss - given with Mike watching and holding Andrew while Johanna fumbled with her keys - when he heard his mother's voice calling his name from downstairs. He motioned for Trace to mute the TV before hollering, "Yeah, Ma? We're up here!"

Moments later Lynn Harless was stepping into the room. She paid no attention to the mounds of laundry that were scattered about; she merely stepped over them before sitting on the edge of the bed. "Is there something you forgot to tell me about your trip to New York?"

"…No?" Justin asked meekly. Wondering if she'd heard from Johnny about his hangover, he was about to defend his actions when he saw the tabloid in her hands. "What?"

Lynn opened the paper without a word. Folding it in half she placed it in Justin's outstretched hand. Justin's gaze fell to the page of grainy photos. His mouth gaped when he recognized himself pushing Andrew on the swing. Jerking the paper closer to his face he stared at the image, remembering each detail of that particular moment. He could still feel the biting wind and hear Andrew's squeals of laughter. He could still picture Johanna's smiling face when he'd glanced back to see her watching.

Moving to the next picture he felt the weight of the small boy as he carried him to the blanket for hot chocolate. He could see her hair whipping in the breeze. Could taste the hot chocolate… Clearing his throat he went to the next picture, cursing under his breath when he saw himself and Johanna in the carriage. Their hands clasped, the red rose in her lap. Then, finally, a blown-up picture that took half the page and showed in grainy detail his and Johanna's kiss. They'd even drawn a block around his necklace for comparison with another picture of him from months before. But his focus was on himself and Johanna. Her hand on his neck, his fingers were in her hair. Despite the anger that was boiling within him at someone having the gall to take pictures of a private moment, he could still feel her lips beneath his.

"…Fuck," he finally breathed.