Black Chick, White Guy
Chapter 21
The night stretched on
forever, but eventually sleep caught up with us around three in the morning.
The phone interrupted our peaceful sleep.
“Get it,” I muttered into
Justin’s arm, which was right in front of my face.
“You get it,” he answered
back crossly, and I pushed him a little. It was his room, not mine, but he
wouldn’t budge. Normally I wouldn’t give in so easily, but we’d had a really long
night and he ended up taking some Nyquil so I knew he was tired. I leaned up on
my elbow and picked up the phone.
“Yeah?” God, was that my
voice? I sounded like a man, I swear.
“Um, can I speak to Justin?”
A girl asking for Justin. You’d think that a red flag would go off in my head
or something, but no. I’m clueless.
“Yeah, hold on ....” I
pushed the telephone against his ear.“ J ... it’s for you ...”
“‘Hello?” he said into the
receiver, his voice thick from sleeping. “Who is this? Man, I’m f*cking
sleeping!” he ripped the phone away from his ear and slammed the receiver down.
“Sh*t!”
I still didn’t get it.“ Who
was that? Why’d you just hang up on them?” Duh,
“Some girl got my room
number,” he buried his face in the pillow.“F*ck ... what f*cking time is it?”
I know I wasn’t in the best
mood in the morning, but he had me beat by a mile, which was weird.All the
other times I’d been around him, he was always up and cheerful when I finally
opened my eyes.I thought I was cranky in the morning ...
“It’s nine-thirty,” I
yawned, pulling the comforter over my head and closing my eyes.He pulled it
right back down and pulled me up so my head was on his chest.“What time do you
have to be up?” I wondered when Mike would come pounding on the door.
He coughed a little.“I dunno
... I feel like sh*t..”His voice was hoarse and he sounded horrible, but so
does everyone in the morning.I had a feeling he was making this into more of an
issue than it really was.But I babied him anyway.
“You want me to order some
tea or something?”That was pretty much the extent of my nursing, other than
sounding sympathetic and giving him some loving.
“No ...” he whined, “maybe
later.Rub my hair?”His hand took mine and placed it on top of his head and I
raked my fingers through it.We’d switched roles.Normally he was the one playing
with my hair while I whined and griped about something.I kept running my hand
through the curls and he just lay there, loving it.After a few minutes we both
fell back asleep, because the next thing I knew, Mike was knocking on the door.
“Time to get up!” he
practically shouted through the adjoining door.“Don’t make me come in
there!”See how it sucks to have an entourage?
Justin moaned and covered
his face with the pillow.“Alright,” he yelled back.“I’m up.”But he wasn’t.
Mike knew it, too.“Let me
hear the shower or I’m coming in!”
I frowned.“Is he always this
f*cking cheery in the morning?”I hate mornings and morning people.And I
already hated Mike, him being a morning person just added insult to injury.
“Yes,” Justin sounded as
annoyed as I felt.He sat up in the bed, taking half the covers with him.“I’m
UP!” he shouted louder.And now I was up, too.Damn it.
“Ohh-kaay!” Mike sang back,
then wandered off somewhere.He had some kind of internal mechanism to know
whether Justin and I were still sleeping and lying to him or if we were really
up.That man has a creepy sixth sense.
“What do you have to do this
morning?” I asked him, giving up the fight to sleep and sitting up,
too.Scooting back, I leaned against the headboard and he put his head in my lap.
“Press.Some sh*t.I don’t
know.”He sounded so pitiful that I felt bad for him.They really did have a lot
to do -- the group was always running around doing different things.Half the
time they didn’t get to sleep until three or four in the morning, only to be
right back up in a few hours.And have to look presentable, too.Here’s a hint
for you guys to tell when they’ve been out partying the night before --
sunglasses.If there’s no sun and Justin’s in sunglasses, nine times out of ten
he’s hungover and hasn’t had any sleep.
He opened his eyes and
looked at me. I knew that he’d be pulling out the Ray-Bans this morning -- his
eyes were almost crimson, they were so red.“I think I’m dying, T.”
For crying out loud, he had
like a cough and the sniffles, not pneumonia.I played into it though.“You’ll
feel better in a minute,” I crooned to him.Really, I just wanted to go back to
sleep.“Take a shower and you’ll feel great, I promise.”That’s what my mom used
to tell me and it worked most of the time.
After ten more minutes of
complaining, he got up and wandered into the bathroom, eventually getting into
the shower.I promptly fell back asleep until he shook me awake some time
later.It was a good while later, because he was dressed and ready to leave.
“Sorry,” I apologized and
tried my best to keep my eyes open.He was used to this lifestyle but it was
killing me.I was always exhausted around him, trying to keep up.“You gone?”
“Yeah, baby, I’m gone.I
won’t see you till the game,” he kissed my forehead.He’s no fool, I’m sure my
morning breath was kicking.“Mike’s gonna hook you up, I think.Someone will.”I
sat up and leaned into him, resting my head on his shoulder.
“Okay ... your mom said
something last night about us riding over together,” I told him.Wow, he smelled
really good.“So I’ll talk to her or something ...” It was hard to keep track,
what with being sleepy and him looking so awesome.“Good luck at the game.”
He winked at me, all
cocky.“I don’t need luck, babe, I kick ass.”
Please, white boy.“I can
take you,” I told him.He didn’t know that my dad made me play basketball and
golf for a million years as a kid.I probably could take him, I even won
trophies and stuff.For real.
He laughed like I’d just
said the most ludicrous thing ever.“Man, you’re bugging.Go back to sleep
baby, you’re talking nonsense.”
I hit his arm.“Oh yeah?I got
game too!”Maybe I’d have to break out my balling skills.“We’ll play, watch,” I
said confidently.Okay, maybe I couldn’t beat him but I do have skills.And I
showed him later, too.
“Whatever,” he rolled his
eyes and kissed me quickly.“I’m out ... see you later, don’t be talking crazy
sh*t when I see you,” he said over his shoulder.I threw a pillow at his back as
he left the room.Just as I was settling back down into the pillows, he ran back
in, jumped on the bed, grabbed my hand and kissed it.“Love you, T.”
Wow.I never got used to that.
“Love you, too,” I whispered
back as he ran back out the door in a rush.He was so silly.
*~*
I knocked lightly, then used
my cardkey to open the door to Jen and Sasha’s room.“You guys ready?”
Jen motioned with a nod of
her head towards the bathroom as she zipped up her denim shorts.“Ask her,”
she said angrily, which is totally uncharacteristic of her.What did I miss?
“Her?” I mimicked her
tone, flopping down into a recliner.“What’d Sasha do now?”The shower was
running so I knew Sasha was inside.
“She won’t tell me!” Jen
yelled, running a brush through her hair.“She totally disappeared last night
and just rolled in here a few minutes ago.And she won’t tell me where she
was!You think she was with Jason Kidd?”
Whoa.I’d missed out on a lot
in just one night.“Jason Kidd?What?She didn’t come back with you?What the hell
did I miss?”
Jen filled me in.While
Justin and I had been holed up having the most incredible night together, they
had gone to another party that Chris and Joey had.Jen said halfway through the
party, Sasha disappeared and she couldn’t find her anywhere.“Dani, Danielle and
I looked all over for her,
My eyes must’ve been bulging
out of my head, because I was floored.“Was she with JC?” I asked, thinking back
to how she’d acted at the concert.
Jen shook her head.“Nope, I
thought of that, too.He was with Bobbee all night.She had to be with
Jason Kidd, she isn’t interested in anybody else ... but do you know she
wouldn’t tell me where she was?She was acting cute with me!”I’d never
seen Jen so indignant before -- she was truly pissed off.I was just glad it
wasn’t directed at me.
But yeah, why wouldn’t Sasha
just tell Jen?She wasn’t secretive -- not that I knew of, but after seeing her
moon over JC when she thought no one was looking, I doubted that I knew her as
well as I thought I did.I shrugged.“Who knows why she does anything?She’s
probably acting cute because you were interested.I bet if we don’t say anything
else about it she’ll spill ... she can’t keep a secret from both of us,” I
rationalized.It made sense, we always told each other everything.There were no
secrets between us for long.Speaking of which ...
“Look at this,” I held my arm out for Jen to
examine.She looked at it blankly until I shook it,making the bracelet jingle.
“Oh my God, did Justin get you that?Girl, that’s from
Tiffany’s!” she whooped and I screamed back.
“I KNOW!” We jumped up and down, and I remembered that
I hadn’t even told her the best news yet.“Wait, read it!”I showed her the charm
so she could read what he’d gotten engraved.
She put her hand over her heart.“That is the sweetest
thing, ever.”Don’t I know it.
“Can you believe it?”I admired my bracelet some
more.“He loves me, Jen.He told me!”
Jen and I were both such romantics, we ate this kind
of crap up.Sasha, however, was totally not one and she ruined my moment by
coming out of the bathroom just then.
“Big deal,” she said, “like we didn’t know that
already.You guys are so slow.”Um, how about being happy for me?What a bitch.
“Thanks,” I replied, eyeing her.“What crawled up your
ass?”But she was already examining the bracelet.
“Hey, he got you something good!That bracelet’s at
least $350, I think,” she commented as she sat down and started putting lotion
on her legs.
“Really?” I didn’t know that.That’s a good amount, I
guess, I mean, he had plenty of money but it was the thought that counted ...
then I realized that she distracted me.I was mad at her.“Never mind ... what’s
your deal?Where the hell were you last night?”I was too curious to pretend I
wasn’t interested, and she was smart enough to catch on anyway.
She smirked.“No where ... just around.Why?”God, I
hated when she was like this.I was getting the info or I’d kill her, by God.
“Cut the bullsh*t,” Jen jumped in before I could say
anything.She was really mad, which meant that she’d been concerned.Again, I was
glad that it wasn’t me she was focusing on.“You could’ve had the common
courtesy to at least let me know you were bouncing.Now you want us to kiss your
ass to find out details?F*ck that.”As she talked she walked over to the
bathroom and slammed the door shut.
Sasha rolled her eyes at Jen’s tantrum.“Can’t a girl
have some privacy?No one was mad when you rolled out in the middle of
the concert last night.”Don’t bring me into your mess, I thought.
“That was totally different and you know it,” I
informed her.“You knew where I was, I didn’t just disappear into thin air,
Sash.She was really worried!Where the hell did you go?”I sat down next to her
on the bed, and she took my wrist to see the bracelet better.Again, I got
distracted.“Look!” I showed her the inscription.
“Aww, that’s so sweet,” she said, actually serious for
once.“So you finally said ‘I love you’?Really, girl, it’s about time.I mean,
everybody else knew it.”
“They did?”Like who?
“Yeah!”She started putting on a denim tank dress .“We
were talking about it that night when you and Chris acted like idiots and sang,
remember?”
Did I ever.
She went on, “Joey and I were saying how obvious it
was.And then after the whole thing at my party when he lost it on the telephone
... it was just obvious.I knew it was only a matter of time,” she shrugged,
walking over to the bathroom door.“You finished pouting yet?” she asked Jen,
who ignored her.
She distracted me again.“Would you stop it?You keep
changing the subject ... where were you?”But she wouldn’t answer, just kept
smirking while she put on her makeup.How f*cking annoying.
“Fine, Sasha.Whatever, keep your stupid secret.”I got
up and knocked on the bathroom door to summon Jen.We were supposed to leave for
the game soon, and they were taking forever.“Jen, we need to go meet everyone
... are you almost done?”Sometimes I felt like the mother of my little group of
friends.So many different personalities, so many conflicts -- and Justin could
be added to the list as well.
Jen emerged from the bathroom, obviously still mad at
Sasha, who was humming to herself as she put on lipstick.I sighed.This was
gonna be a long day.
“Are you both ready?”No use in trying to grill
Sasha.She’d only talk when she was ready.
“You guys are so f*ckin’ impatient!” she said
unexpectedly.“I was just waiting for both of you to be in the same place so I
wouldn’t have to tell the story twice.”She put her hands on her hips.“Do you
want to hear this or not?”
She was ready.Jen and I, anger forgotten, plopped onto
the bed and waited eagerly for her to spill all.Turns out Ms. Sasha got her
man, so to speak.The first night they met, she said she poured it on thick,
flirting with him but not being overt but just putting her interest out there,
and she said she felt some back.They danced, drank a little, and talked
some.But the second night, she went to the club dressed in practically nothing,
ready to bowl him over.It worked.After about an hour of being there, Mr. Kidd
slipped her his room key and Sasha kept it.Half an hour later, they were both
in his room.Things happened.Things she’d dreamed about for years.But guess what?
“It f*cking sucked!” she wailed, sitting down
between us on the bed.“Can you believe that sh*t?All these years, you dream and
pray and then you get nothing.Nothing!I would’ve been better off lusting after
that JC freak, for all the good it did me!”
Jason Kidd didn’t have it going on like all of us
thought he did.Can you imagine the irony?For all the sh*t she talked about
Justin, the one thing I could say was he most certainly did not suck in
bed.
Figuratively speaking, of course.
But I didn’t say that.Jen and I consoled her for the
few minutes she let us.Seems that although she was disappointed, she was still
pretty happy with herself.
“I set a goal, went after it and scored.And you guys
say I have no ambition,” is how Sasha summed it all up.
She had a point.Still, I noticed how she mentioned JC
when she was complaining about Jason Kidd.Freudian slip, perhaps?I didn’t think
so, not after how she acted at the concert.I needed to pay closer attention to
those two.And I could do that at the game, which we really needed to get to, if
Sasha was done with her dramatics.
We met up with Mike at the appointed time and got in
the vans to go to the game.
We all watched everyone warming up, especially Jason
Kidd.Normally I’d be looking at Justin, but I wanted to see if he gave Sasha
any special glances.And he did.It was fleeting, but just the one look and smile
he gave her made Jen and I look at each other knowingly.When I looked over at
Sasha, I saw her looking down and rolling her eyes in disgust.
Moving on.All the celebs were out on the court warming
up and goofing around.I watched Justin, of course, although we did take time
out to make fun of Jermaine Dupri.For obvious reasons.Then Da Brat wandered by
and we ended up talking to her for a long time about ‘N Sync fans.She assumed
we weren’t fans -- and rightfully so, since the crowd was singing along to
their songs and we didn’t know the words -- and asked us what we were doing
there.
Gee, think we looked out of place?
She and Sasha got involved in a long conversation
about all the tiny braids she wore all the time and I turned my attention back
to the court.Chris was running around acting crazy, and I could see he was
about to drive Justin insane.He kept a smile on his face so he wouldn’t look
like an ass, but he was really mad.Every time he tried to dribble during the
practice shooting, Chris would run up and steal the ball away.The crowd thought
it was hilarious and so did I, but he was about a second away from sucker
punching Chris, I swear.Chris caught on because he moved on to terrorize
Lance.Finally,
For the first time, I was really annoyed about them
cheering for Justin.It never bothered me before, like at concerts or whatever,
but today I just was feeling extra possessive.So many people liked him!I mean,
at the concerts it was always dark.I knew fans were there, of course, but I
didn’t pay much attention to them.Usually I was completely focused on the
concert but at the game, lights were blazing and it was easy to see all the
girls running around in baby blue clothing and waving signs around about him.I
didn’t like it, not one bit.
What’s so weird is that by nature I’m not a jealous
person.I’ve always been pretty secure with myself, and anyone I was dating got
my complete trust.My motto is “I don’t want to keep anyone that doesn’t want to
be kept”.Okay, that was my grandma’s motto, but I’ve borrowed it.So basically
my thoughts were that Justin wouldn’t be around me if he didn’t want to, and
I’m not gonna kill myself trying to make him want to.If he wanted someone else,
so be it.Make sense?Writing it out doesn’t have the same effect, but you get
the gist.
Anyway.There I sat, next to his mother, of all people,
trying not to show how pissed off I was getting.There were just so many girls
screaming out for him, all around me.And he was mine!Slowly I began to
get a glimmer of understanding for why Bobbee was such a bitch.She probably
felt threatened by every female that walks near JC.I hoped I would never act
like her -- and I don’t think I ever did.But I will admit that sometimes I
really, really wanted to.
Luckily,
This stuff was priceless.
There were other cute stories, like how she used to
straighten his curly hair every day for him, or how he taught himself how to
moonwalk because he worshipped Michael Jackson.But the best one was how he
entered a beauty pageant and won.A pageant with all girls.And he won.
“Oh it was so sweet,”
Oh yeah, Mama Harless was chock-full of interesting
ammunition.
“Please, please make me a copy,” I begged,
holding back my laughter.I knew he’d look adorable and I was dying to see the
footage.But I also knew he’d probably rather eat dirt than let me see it.Heh.
She promised to get one to me, and just then Justin
was called out of the game.He sat down right in front of me and Lynn, looking
absolutely gorgeous.I didn’t even care that he was sweaty.
“Told you I had game,” he leaned back and said to me
over his shoulder.Typical -- he was talking to me but didn’t take his eyes off
of the game.I’d fix that in a second.
“You also have a trophy from a beauty pageant, I
hear,” I said smugly.Sure enough, he whipped his head around to look at me in
horror.Then he looked at
“Momma ... no!”Oh yes.
“What?”
“You told her about the pageant?” He looked
mortified.It was nice to see that look on someone else’s face for a change,
since I was always the one sporting it, usually.
“Well, yeah,” she said, looking exasperated.“It was
something to be really proud of, honey!You beat all those girls, you
practically swept the whole thing!I don’t see why I can’t brag a little--”
“Okay, Momma,” he cut her off.Turning back around, he
buried his face in the towel he held.I leaned forward to talk right into his
ear.
“J ... I think it’s adorable!”But he knew I was
f*cking with him.He took the towel off and shook his head.“Justin?Are you
listening to me?”I started teasing him and he couldn’t help but laugh, making
me laugh too.
Tilting his head closer to mine, he said, “I heard
every word you said.And this subject is never to be mentioned again,
“Dream on, Teen Pop Star.”I was getting that tape from
Lynn ASAP and was already considering making T-shirts from the stills on
it.“And what’s this about you doing New Kids’ imitations?”
“Oh my God,” he moaned, still laughing.“I’m
gonna kill her.I swear.Mom, I’m killing you later!” he called out to her, and
she leaned on his opposite shoulder.
“Oh relax, Justin,” she told him.“You don’t have
anything to be embarrassed about, you were just the cutest thing in that
pageant and I don’t care who knows it.”Done telling him off, she tousled his
hair and sat back to put her focus on the game.
Then he had the nerve to try and blackmail me!“I put
up with your singing, T.You owe me!”Put up with?Owe him?How quickly
things change!
“I thought you said that my singing was music to your
ears?”Lying creep.
“I, uh ... oh sh*t!Gotta go!”And he stood back up,
ready to go back into the game.He wasn’t getting off that easy, I planned to
discuss my singing with him later.
Overall, though, I had fun.After that little talk with
Justin, I noticed more fans checking me out, which made me uncomfortable.But I
ignored them and gabbed with Lynn and my girls.
When the game was over, everyone involved took some
pictures and did press while the fans filed out.We hung down by our seats where
the bodyguards were.I hate to say it but I was really becoming paranoid about
being seen with Justin after seeing how overzealous his fans could be.That’s
why I ended up hanging around Joey on the court after it was over.All of the
guys were doing press, but Joey either wasn’t interested or was done talking,
because me and Jen ended up playing a little ball with him on the court.We were
basically playing horse, not taking it seriously, when Justin came up and stole
the ball from Jen.
He dribbled over to me.“Where’s your skills,
girl?Thought you could play?”Yeah, I could play, but not in the denim skirt I
had on.How unfair.But I tried to do a little something.I guarded him for a few
seconds, then sort of hit him in the stomach and stole the ball.I even made a
basket!
“In yo’ face!” I yelled, holding my hands up like I
was Michael Jordan or something.We were so silly.
Doubled over, he acted like I’d really hurt
him.“Owww,” he moaned.“You cheated.”I didn’t feel sorry for him at all.
Usher came up beside him and shook his head.“You let a
girl play you, man?”Everyone started clowning Justin, which isn’t a good thing
to do.He can be a real brat, and ended up leaving the court because he couldn’t
take it.
Sucker.
But it was all in good fun.I didn’t go back to where
he was, Mike had planned for us to drive back to the hotel and I knew I would
see him there.But again, I saw girls looking and whispering while we waited for
Mike to leave.
“I hate this,” I whispered to Jen and Sasha.We were
standing on the court talking to Dani, looking sort of conspicuous.The only
females on the court were relatives of the group, celebrities, or
girlfriends.We obviously weren’t family or celebrities, and I could feel eyes
looking from every direction.
Dani put her arm around me.“Don’t worry about it,” she
said sweetly.“You’ve gotta learn to just ignore that stuff,
Easy for her to say.“How?I hate being on display like
this,” I complained.Justin wasn’t even around and people were giving me funny
looks.“How do you deal with this crap?”
She shrugged.“I love Chris.So ... I just deal.He makes
all the sh*t I have to put up with worthwhile.”
She was right.I’d put up with almost anything to be
with Justin, but this was going to take some getting used to.And just when I
thought it wouldn’t get any worse, it did.
“Excuse me ... excuse me?!”We all turned to see three
girls standing on the bleachers, waving for us to come over.
Dani sighed and put on a fake smile.“I hate this,” she
told us before walking over to the girls.She talked to them for a second or two
and then turned and beckoned for me to come over as well.I looked at Sasha and
she nodded.
“Go ahead ... go see what they want.”
“I don’t want to!You come with me,” I pleaded, hating
myself for being so whiny.
She shook her head.“I’m not always gonna be around,
you need to handle it yourself.”I really hated it when she was reasonable.
“Jen?”She wouldn’t let me down.
“Uh uh.Go.”And she was supposed to be the nice one.I
sort of grunted and walked over to Dani.
“Hey, Dani, what’s up?”I smiled at the girls who were
scrutinizing me from head to toe.They looked to be in their mid-teens, and they
were cute.Sort of.
“They wanted to ask you something,” she told me.
“We asked her to call you over, can we get a picture
of you guys?” one of them asked.This had to be a joke, right?
“A picture of me?Why?”I couldn’t help asking, I really
wanted to know.Exactly why did they want a picture of me?If they wanted one so
bad, they could’ve taken it during the game.There was no reason they should
have a posed photo of me.None whatsoever.
She gave me a knowing look.“You’re
“No ...” What I really wanted to do was ask how the
f*ck they knew my name, but that was being overly rude.No, actually, it
wasn’t.“Why did you think that?”My tone had gone from pleasant to decidedly
hostile.
“Some girl told us you’re dating Justin, aren’t
you?”My God, he wasn’t lying!These people were as bad as the f*cking Secret
Service ...
“My name is Gladys,” I hastily improvised.“I don’t
even know anybody named
She hadn’t, thank God.She nodded and backed me
up.“Yeah, we don’t know a
Another girl spoke up.“But somebody saw you with him
in D.C., or some girl named
“Oh look, our friends are calling us,” she pointed to
Sasha and Jen.“It was nice meeting you, we really have to go.”Taking me by the
arm, she pulled me back over to my friends.
“You’ve really gotta get your story straight,” she
advised me once we were out of earshot from the girls.
Sasha interrupted.“Get what straight?What happened?”
I sputtered, “Those girls!They knew my name was
“We warned you about this,” Dani reminded me.“They
just know stuff, nobody knows how.Maybe they heard someone call your name, I
don’t know.But even if you lie, they’ll catch on soon.”At the rate they were
finding out information, they’d have my school records before I left
This sucked more than anything else -- lack of
privacy.Sure, the guys sign up for it -- they even ask for it almost, by making
themselves celebrities.But I was not a celebrity!I was a private citizen and
this wasn’t fair.
“What’d you tell them?” Jen inquired.“You lied?”
“I told them my name was Gladys,” I admitted, and
Sasha started cracking up.
“Good idea!That’s hilarious, girl.”She’s a big help in
times of trouble, huh?
Jen looked thoughtful.“Maybe you need to talk to
Justin about this, you know?Because Dani’s right, eventually people will figure
out who you are.I mean, Mike’s been with you almost the whole time you’ve been
here ... they know you’re somebody.”
Dani agreed.“Exactly.You need to talk to Justin and
figure out how you guys are gonna work this, like, if you’re gonna tell people
you’re together or whatever.But I can tell you from my own experience, lying is
gonna catch up with you.They’re that good.”I looked at her miserably and
she laughed.“Cheer up, girl, it’s not that bad!Just talk to Justin about it,
he’ll know what to do.I gotta go find Chris, see you later.”A quick hug later,
she was gone.
And I was still mad.Mike finally showed up to take us
back to the hotel, and I fumed the entire way, not talking to anyone.The whole
incident was just freaky, the way they knew things about me already.Was there
some kind of secret network of fans that went around solving mysteries or
something?I didn’t know how to deal with all of it, except to follow Dani’s
advice and talk to Justin.I was sure he’d had girlfriends before and would know
what we should do.So when we got back to the hotel, I went right to his room
and sat in a chair to wait for him.
He breezed in a little bit later, on top of the
world.“Hey cheater,” he said casually, tossing his bag onto the floor.He walked
over and sat on the arm of my chair.“We gotta start getting ready soon.”We were
going to another party scheduled after the game, but I wasn’t exactly in a
party mood.
“T?”He leaned over, putting his face in front of
mine.“What’s wrong now?”
I was beginning to feel like a real drag, always
looking upset.But I couldn’t help it, dating him was like being in a minefield
-- you had to tread very carefully or you’d step on a bomb and be caught
unaware.I hesitated, then told him.“Dani said I should talk to you,” I told him.
“About what?”
“Fans.”
He gestured with his hand for me to continue.“What
about them?”
“At the game, these girls were talking to Dani and
they asked her to call me over, and J, they knew my name and that I was from
D.C.!Can you believe that?I swear I’ve never even seen them before in my life,
and they knew stuff about me.So I lied.”
He didn’t look the slightest bit surprised.I
understand why now, because their fans really are like the FBI -- they know
everything.“What’d you say?” he asked calmly.
I sighed.“That my name wasn’t
He burst out laughing, almost in hysterics.“Gladys?Oh
my God, T.You’re crazy!”
I didn’t find any of this funny.“What was I supposed
to say?I wasn’t confirming anything for them!How do they know all this stuff
about me, Justin?This is creepy and I don’t like it.”
He pulled me up from the chair to stand in front of
him.“Baby ... I can’t do anything about what they find out.I don’t know how
fans get information, but they get it all the time.Maybe they heard Jen or
somebody call you
Exactly.“For you, Justin, not me.Why are they
investigating my life?I’m not famous.”Seriously, I didn’t understand why
they had any interest in me.Just because I was dating Justin?What would finding
out my personal information do, like, how exactly would it help them in their
pursuit of him.“What, are they fans of me now?Do you know they even
asked to take a picture of me?”
Again, he looked unfazed.“Well ... they’re gonna do
that.I mean, they do it to everybody’s girlfriends.Didn’t Dani tell you?”
“Why, Justin?”I was so angry.I still am not sure why,
other than the fact that this was all just ... weird.“Why do they want a
picture of me by myself?If I was with you I could sort of understand.Well, not
really -- I mean, when I was a New Kids fan, the last thing I wanted to see was
them with another girl.Much less a picture of the girl all by herself!”
“I have no idea,” he said, rubbing my back.“I’ve never
understood it either.But T, this is how it is.You don’t have to put yourself
out there and pose for pictures or anything, but they’re gonna try to find sh*t
out about you.It’s just ... this is how it works for me.I guess we should’ve
talked about it before you came here, I mean, this place is crawling with fans
from everywhere.I didn’t think about it, letting you know how things would be.”
Thanks a lot.A little warning would’ve been nice.
His face was serious now.“I don’t know what to say ...
this is how my life is.I want you to be around me, Tara.But if you are, people
are gonna try to get in our business, both of us.Mike and Eric and everybody
will make sure you’re safe, but three’s gonna be drama sometimes.Not between
you and me, I hope, because we’re gonna always be straight with each other.But
annoying sh*t’s gonna come up sometimes and I can’t do anything about it.Can
you deal with that?”
I was silent, thinking about what he said,No way was I
giving him up, but really, was I ready to have people nosing into my
business?Technically I didn’t even have any business, but just on principle ...
could I handle it?I looked at him, and he looked worried.Worried about me
wanting to be with him, I thought, and that was the last thing he should ever
worry about.
I sat down in his lap and put my arms around his
neck.“I think I can deal with anything to be with you.I just ... I don’t want
to be ... I don’t know ... like Bobbee, she’s always holding hands with JC
everywhere they go, just like throwing it in people’s faces.I don’t want to be
like that ... I mean, we know how we feel about each other and that’s enough
for me.You know?”
He relaxed some, and made a sad face -- playfully.“You
don’t want to claim me publicly?”
I pinched his cheek hard.“You idiot!No, that’s not
it.I just want to stay ... in the background.I don’t need people to know about
us, like, fans or whatever.It’s mean for one thing.”
“Mean how?”
“Mean like, if I was a fan
of yours--” I began, and he cut me off.
“If?”Geez.So
sensitive.
“You know I’m a fan, but you
know what I mean!If I was a fan and I came to meet you somewhere, I wouldn’t
want to see you hanging on somebody.It’s so extra ... when couples hang all
over each other in public.It’s either gross or makes other people feel
bad.That’s what I mean.”I hoped I was making sense.
“So what you’re basically
saying is, I can’t grab your ass in public?”One-track mind.
“Basically,” I answered,
shaking my head.“You know, let’s just stay low-key.”
His hands began to wander
over my legs.“But in private, I can do whatever I want, right?Like this ... and
this ..”He kissed my neck as his hands brushed against my thighs.I sighed,
totally content in his arms.
“Yep ... anything you
want.”Anything, anytime.
Squirming a little, he ended
up sitting in the chair, with me in his lap, my legs thrown over the side of
the chair.“I don’t think we ever did it in a chair, did we?”As he talked, he
lifted my shirt and pulled it up over my head, then began working on
unfastening my bra.
I watched him as he bit his
bottom lip, deep in concentration until the bra was on the floor.“Not that I
can recall,” I said, distracted by what his tongue was doing to my breasts.My
hands slid into his hair and I arched my back, pulling him closer to me.“Are we
gonna try now?”
“Mmm hmm,” he didn’t stop
what he was doing and I rested my cheek on the top of his head.He made me feel
so good ... I wanted to stay like that forever.But he pulled away from
me.“Stand up for a second, baby,” he directed and I followed.He undid the
button on my skirt, then pulled the zipper down.Within seconds I stood naked
before him.
“Your turn,” I pulled him up
and took off his shirt while he got rid of his shorts and shoes.Once he was
undressed, he pulled me against him and kissed me softly, running his hands up
and down my back.He moved slowly, taking his time kissing me.Everything seemed
to be moving in slow motion, which was good because I wanted it to last as long
as possible.Somehow he managed to sit back down without taking his lips away
from mine, arranging me so I was straddling him.
I felt him brushing against
me, ready to enter, and I pulled away from our kiss to look at him.Our eyes
were locked as I slowly sank down onto him.As much as I wanted to keep watching
him, I couldn’t keep my eyes from closing -- it felt that good.My head fell
forward to rest on his neck as our lower bodies connected.
Such bliss.
We didn’t move at first,
except for him wrapping his arms around me to hold me closer.
“
“Yeah?”My voice was
breathless, almost a whisper.He slid his hand up my back into my hair, lifting
my head so that we were face to face.
“I love you,” he said
softly, and began to move against me.My hips found their rhythm, and we moved
together, not speaking but saying volumes to each other with our eyes.I felt
hypnotized; I couldn’t tear my eyes away from his.Justin’s eyes are so dark, a
midnight blue color, especially when we made love.They pulled me in -- whenever
I wondered how much he loved me, all I needed to do was look into his eyes and
I could see the answer right there.
An eternity passed.Our lower
bodies moved together but for once, we didn’t kiss.My eyes never left his until
I couldn’t hold back any longer, until he pushed against me so hard, touching
just that right spot.My eyes fluttered, and I struggled to keep them open, to
keep looking at the man I loved.
“Let go, baby,” he whispered
softly, still watching me.“Let me feel you ...”And that was all it took.Myhead
fell back, my eyes closed and I let out a moan as my body contracted, squeezing
around him tightly.
“Oh yeah, Tara,” he spoke in that half-whisper that I
loved so much, then he followed right behind me, growling low in his throat.At
last our mouths met and we breathed together, unable to kiss but needing that
connection.He pushed one final time and I felt him pulsing inside of me.All
conscious thought gone, only feeling and reaction.I didn’t know where he ended
and where I began, we were one body, one quivering mass of pleasure. I lay my
head on his shoulder while my breathing slowed down and my heart stopped
racing.He sounded as affected as I did, his chest rose and fell just as rapidly
as mine.
“Wow,” was all I could
manage to say.
“Good Lord,” he responded,
still panting.“If I knew sex would get this good, I would’ve said I love you a
long time ago.”
“Justin!”I pinched his arm
hard, laughing.“Shut up!”
“I was just kidding,” he
told me, kissing my forehead.“Sex never was and never will be a problem for us,
T.”
Word up, Justin. He was so
right. I needed to get up and shower, and start getting dressed for the party
but I was too comfortable to move. Unfortunately, his cell phone started
ringing.
“Can you grab that, baby?”
He had his head thrown back on the chair, eyes closed. “I’m so f*cking tired
... I can’t move.”
Rolling my eyes, I leaned
over on the floor, dug his cell phone out of his shorts and flipped it open.
“Hello?
It was a girl. “Justin?”
After this morning, I was familiar with the drill. Another fan bugging him
I let out an annoyed sigh.
“Who’s calling?” If he didn’t recognize the name, I’d just hang up on her. But
then the girl threw a monkey wrench in my plan. And my life
“It’s Britney.”