Chapter Ten
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Breana glanced at Britney and then back at Justin.  A look of utter shock and anger was suddenly written all over his face as he stared out her picture window.  She looked back at Britney then, whose mouth had dropped open as she stared out the window too.  Breana turned around and saw what was drawing their attention.

There was a local news helicopter hovering outside with a photographer pointing a camera towards them.  They were shining a spotlight in the window and Justin was bathed in it.  The anger in Justin's face had completely taken over and he was looking around the perimeter of the window.  "Doesn't this window have a shade or something?" he growled as he continued to stare at the helicopter.

"No, it's a picture window.  I've never needed shades.  I don't usually have helicopters hovering outside," Breana said, standing up, gawking at the helicopter along with Justin and Britney.

Britney had come around the desk to stand beside Justin.  She grabbed his hand to try to pull him to the side, away from the glare of the spotlight and cameras.  He slipped out of her clutches and moved closer to the window, looking into the street four floors below.

"Oh my God!  There must be like 10 reporters down at the door.  How did they find us?" he whined as he saw them flashing more pictures of him as he looked down at them.

Britney again took Justin's hand and tried to pull him aside.  "Justin, come on.  Get out of the window, please?"

Justin wasn't reacting.  He wouldn't budge.  Breana decided she should take some action.  She suddenly remembered the small conference room just off her office and said, "Follow me."

She grabbed Justin's arm and helped Britney drag him from the window, where he was still staring.  His body was tense, he was clenching his teeth and fists.  Breana could see the anger consuming him.  Once in the conference room, she turned on the light and left for a moment to turn off the lights in the office.  She hoped that would indicate there was no more show for the snoopy helicopter.

While she was gone, Justin snapped out of his reverie angrily and looked at Britney.  "Can you believe this, Brit?  What do they want from me?  From us?  Now everyone in world will know that I'm talking to a shrink.  In fact, they'll think we both are.  What do you think the story will be?  We're secretly married and going to counseling!  Or, hey, let's go for something really juicy.  Maybe the golden couple is having sexual difficulties?!" he yelled in frustration.

He was smiling but his eyes were still snapping with anger.  Britney didn't know what to say and tried to touch his arm.  He flinched and backed away.  Justin noticed that Breana had caught his outburst and he shook his head, saying, "I'm sorry."

"There is no need to apologize, Justin.  You can't control the media," Breana said.  "Britney, would you mind if I spoke to Justin alone for a little while?  There's an office across the hall with some chairs and a couch, if you'd like to go there."

Breana noticed them look at each other.  Justin nodded at Britney and said, "I'm ok, babe," as if trying to convince himself too.  Britney nodded back at him and went through the other door in the room, which lead to another hallway.

Justin sat down, elbows on the table, and his head in his hands.  "This isn't happening," he said quietly.

"Oh, yeah, it is, Justin," Breana said, sitting down to face him.  "I'd think you'd be used to this by now."

"No, I never get used to it," he hissed at her.  "It pisses me off to know that they think this is news.  I feel like a damn freak!  I can't even have a nervous breakdown without a media circus."

"You aren't having a nervous breakdown, Justin.  You've made enormous strides even since I saw you last night," Breana said, smiling.

"All I know is that I really want to punch something right now," he snapped.

"You're reacting normally.  People who live their lives in this kind of spotlight, feel the same anger and frustration.  You don't have to tell the media anything.  Just say 'no comment' and move on," she said, watching Justin carefully.

He just stared at the table, saying nothing.  Breana asked, "Why did you flinch when Britney tried to touch your arm?"

Justin looked at her, saying, "What do you mean?"

"Before Britney went out of the room, she tried to touch you and you flinched and backed away.  Why?" she asked.

"I'm feeling pressure.  I'm feeling forced into something.  I'm feeling claustrophobic, kind of like I did on the bus in Rio.  I guess it's kind of like panic.  I have no control.  I just don't want to be touched," he said, finally calming down.  He looked tired again, much like he did the night before.

"I understand.  Do you trust Britney?" she asked.

Justin nodded his head and said, "Yes, she's one of the few."

"Fear breeds isolation and loneliness.  They, in turn, bring distrust and more loneliness.  It's a vicious cycle," Breana commented.  "You said you had a nightmare again last night?"

He nodded, "Yes.  Always.  No matter what I do.  Even with Britney here.  I thought I was dreaming that she had crawled in bed with me, until the honeysuckles broke through and I realized she was actually there.  I am usually pretty calm when she's around."

Breana asked, "Do you trust your security team, Justin?"

"I have to," he said.  "I'm closer with them than my friends back home in Tennessee.  Day in and day out, Mike, Lonnie, Dre and the others are there.  Like Johnny said, they've never given me a reason to not trust them.  I've never been touched except when I ditch them and get myself in trouble."

Breana said, "There are probably only a few people who you do trust, right?"

"It's just hard to trust people's motives," he said.

"You wouldn't believe how many famous people say that very same thing," Breana said.  "It makes it easy to insulate yourself with people who have earned your trust, right?"

Justin agreed but said, "What's this have to do with my nightmares and the knots I get in my stomach when I'm crowded?"

"The nightmares are a reaction to the feelings stirred up while you were in Rio in January, I think.  We can talk more about this next time.  I have noticed that you are very guarded, more so last night, than today, though.  I hope you can feel comfortable enough with me to give me some of that trust," she said as she glanced at her watch.  "Oh, dear!  Poor Britney.  Should we call it a night and go look for her?"

Justin rose from his chair.  "Thanks, Doc," he said.  "Sorry for the visitor.  Now we have to find a way out of here."

They walked into the hallway and found Britney lying on the floor, next to the door, fast asleep.  Justin had a huge smile on his face as he crouched down beside her.  "Damn....she's so cute," he said in a soft voice as he stroked the hair out of her face.

Breana replied, "Sleeping outside our door, on the floor.  Now, that's devotion."

Justin bent down and whispered something in Britney's ear that Breana couldn't hear.  Britney stirred and mumbled, "Mmmm, please do."

Britney opened her eyes then and said to Breana, "Oh hi!  Oops, I fell asleep.  Are you guys done?"

Justin helped her to her feet.  He had one arm around her and hugged her to him.

"Yeah.  Do you have the cell phone so we can call Mike?" he said.

"I think I left my purse in the other room," she said.  Breana went around the corner to get it.

"Is everything ok, J?" Britney said with concern, wrapping her arms around his waist, holding him close against her.

Justin eyes roamed over her face and he leaned in to kiss her.  The second their lips touched, Breana walked around the corner.  "Oh, sorry!  Excuse me!" she said as she handed Britney her purse.

Britney smiled, and as she dug the cell phone out of her purse, said, "Oh, it's ok.  Thanks!"

She handed the phone to Justin who dialed a number and said, "Mike?  It's me.  Brit and I need some escort.  There are about 10 reporters outside and a helicopter with some camera jerk dangling out taking pictures.  The address is 12546 Harris Boulevard.  It's a 4-story office building.  Could you grab some guys and come rescue us?"

Breana whispered, "There is a door at the back for him to use, if that's easier."

"Just come to the back door.  We'll be down there.  OK?" Justin said.  "Ok, see you in a little bit."

"Our knights in shining armor are on their way," Justin said as he handed the phone back to Britney and shook his head, rolling his eyes.

They all walked to the elevator and Breana pushed the down button.  They got off on the ground floor and sat down at the office desks.

"Mildred would be thrilled," Breana said.  "THE Justin Timberlake is sitting in her chair!"

"Mildred?  That's an odd name for one of our fans," Justin said, amused. "How old is she?"

Breana laughed at his expression.  "She's around 55, I think, but she reads all those magazines and watches Entertainment Tonight and Access Hollywood all the time.  She loves pop music.  'This I Promise You' is her favorite song of the moment."

Britney giggled at that and said, "See, J, I told you.  You guys are BIG with moms.  It's not JUST Joey!"

It was about 10 minutes later when Breana checked out the back door and found Mike pulling into the alley.  She let him into the building and he walked over to where Justin and Britney were sitting and talking quietly.

"Justin?  Do you want me to say it?  Or should I give you a chance to admit it first?" Mike said, smugly.

Justin stood up and sheepishly held out his hand to Mike, saying, "You were right, Mike, as always.  I should have listened to you.  I'm sorry."

Mike ignored Justin's hand and gave the kid a giant bear hug, saying, "That's what I like to hear!  Let's go!"

To get his attention, Breana touched Justin's arm and said, "Come back in a few days, ok?  We'll talk some more, if you feel like it."

Justin nodded and waved before clutching Britney's hand.

Mike had gone out and started Justin's car as inconspicuously as possible and then drove it up next to the back door and knocked.  Justin poked his head out of the door and saw Lonnie in the passenger seat.  Justin quietly walked to the car where Mike was standing.  He disappeared into the back seat, with Britney following close behind.  Mike got in the driver's seat and waved at Dre, in the other car, as both cars slid off into the night, leaving the reporters wandering around the front of the building for another 1/2 hour.  Breana finally gave them the bad news, a few minutes later, as she left for the night.

* * * * * *

Justin was silent as he and Britney walked into his darkened house.  It had been a long day, and Justin had a lot to think about.  The talk with Johnny was weighing heavy on his thoughts as he turned on the tv, hoping to check some of the sports scores.  He took off his boots and fell onto the sofa, stretching his long legs lazily.  Britney took off her coat and watched Justin getting comfortable, before she said, "What about me?"

Justin glanced at her, grinning.  He drawled, "C'mere baby."

He backed up closer to the back of the sofa and turned to throw the extra cushions onto the floor.  He patted the sofa in front of him and held his arm out, saying, "Right here."

Britney lay down, using his left arm as a pillow.  He wrapped his other arm around her waist and hugged her tightly.  Britney sighed and said, "We haven't done this in ages.  I'd love to stay cuddling with you here forever."

Justin merely nodded against her neck as he glanced at the TV again. The commercial ended and what he saw next made his blood boil.  There was the helicopter shooting footage of him in the window of Breana's office.  "Where's the remote?" Justin said.

Britney grabbed it off the coffee table and turned the TV up.  The reporter was saying, "This was earlier tonight from a location here in Orlando.  Our News 12 correspondent, Jim James, made the following report."

Justin watched as the reporter talked about the office building and who had offices there, followed by the footage taken by the helicopter of Justin, looking angry, standing in Breana's window.  The reporter then said, "Ms. Spears was with Mr. Timberlake in the office of Dr. Breana Gallagher tonight.  Everyone is wondering why they are talking to a doctor.  Our research tells us that Dr. Gallagher is a doctor of psychiatry and specializes in panic and anxiety.  The question is...is it Justin or Britney who is seeing her....or both?"

The reporter started going into regular background stuff about *NSYNC, Justin, Britney, and their relationship.  Britney quickly shut the TV off and turned to look at Justin over her shoulder.  Their eyes met and Justin sighed.  "Un-fucking-believable," was all he said as he looked at her.  "What do I tell these people?"

Britney turned to face Justin and wrapped her arms around him.  "I don't know," was all she said.

The telephone rang, interrupting the silence.  Justin started to crawl off the sofa and trying to disentangle himself from Britney.  This proved a tougher task than he'd anticipated and they both started giggling from the sheer ridiculousness of it.  By the time he made it to the phone, he could barely talk.

"Hello, Justin?" the voice said as he tried to stand up and compose himself.

"Yeah, that's me," Justin said, still snickering at Britney, looking embarrassed on the sofa.

"Well, this isn't exactly what I thought I'd hear when I dialed your number," Breana said into his ear.

"Breana?  We just saw the report on TV.  I guess you saw it too?" Justin said, more serious now that he had turned his back to Britney.

Breana said, "Why are you laughing?"

Justin replied, "It's better than crying?"

"Come on, I'm asking a serious question," Breana said.

Justin just shook his head and turned around to look at Britney again.  "I'm not so sure it wasn't a serious answer, Doc.  Now I have to come up with some kind of response that will make everyone happy."

"What's wrong with 'no comment'?" she asked.

Justin said, "It never works that way because they keep dinging at you about it until you break down or until they uncover it for themselves.  It's just better to be on the offensive with the media, I've found.  Once I came clean about Britney and I, the stupid questions stopped.  The glare didn't dim, and the questions changed.  I had enough control to change that."

Breana paused for a moment and then said, "OK, well, I just wanted to check on you after I saw the news.  You will figure it out, I'm confident in that.  Call me if you need to talk, ok?"

Justin said, "Thanks for calling, Doc."

After he hung up, and began to walk toward Britney, the phone rang again.  He turned on his heel and trudged back to pick it up again.  "Yes?" was all he said.

"What happened tonight?" JC asked, excitedly.

"Well, I take it you watched the news tonight too?" Justin said, smiling at Britney as she yawned and lay down on the sofa again.

"How did they know where you were?" JC asked.  "They must have followed you when you left the compound."

Justin nodded, "Yeah, that's all I can think of.  I didn't see anyone following us though."

"J, you are never aware of your surroundings when Brit is around, so it doesn't surprise me at all," JC said, laughing.

Justin just sighed and closed his eyes.  "Is that what you think, C?  I'm just a stupid, clueless, kid?"

JC said, "No, that isn't what I said.  It's just that you and Brit get kinda wrapped up in each other when you're together, that's all."

JC heard Justin chuckle.  "Oh, if you'd seen us a few minutes ago..." Justin said as he eyed Britney's comfortable form on the sofa.  "I'll talk to you tomorrow, ok?"

"Ok, g'night," JC said and hung up.

Justin hung up and turned off all the lamps except one.  He walked quietly over to the sofa where Britney was laying with her eyes closed.  He sat on the sofa beside her and she opened her eyes again, smiling sweetly and reaching up to rub his soft short hair.  He leaned in and lay down beside her.  He lightly touched his lips to hers, before making a purring sound and sighing.  "Damn, keep rubbing, Brit, that turns me on."

They lay together, just listening to the rain beating on the windows and letting the stress seep from their bodies.  Neither of them felt the need to talk, they just enjoyed being together, listening to the rain and each other breathing.

Awhile later, against her neck, Britney could hear Justin's even breath and she knew without looking that he had fallen asleep.  She was laying on her back and his head was resting on her shoulder, with his body cuddled flush up against her side, with one arm around her and one of his legs thrown over and tangled with hers.  She turned her head to look at him and her gaze fell upon the sweetest face she'd ever seen.  Sure, he had cut the glorious curls, which were his trademark, but what was left was just as glorious.

As she studied his face, she traced his jaw line with her finger before resting her gaze on his lips.  She loved the way he pouted, even when he was trying his hardest not to.  She lightly stroked his bottom lip with her thumb and marveled at it's soft, natural pinkness.  His lips parted a tiny bit as if responding to her caresses.  Britney shifted just a little in order to reach up and rest her lips on Justin's, gently kissing him.  His reaction to her lips was equally soft but achingly sexy, as he parted his lips a little more, allowing her to run her tongue along his lips.  His body stirred beside her and he pulled her mouth into his with the help of one hand on the back of her neck.  Their tongues tangled together, slow and lazy at first, becoming more frenzied as he pressed his body harder against her.  She slipped her hands under his shirt, and felt an erotic ache within as she ran her hands over the tight muscles in his stomach.  This only heightened his arousal to have her stroking and grabbing at him like she was.  He broke the kiss by leaning back, and her brown eyes fluttered open to roam over his face.  She had never seen him look so alive as he did at that moment.  His eyes were pools of liquid lust and his lips, swollen from her kisses.  He could barely contain his need for her; she was witnessing it as he licked his lips and leaned in for more.

He wanted her.  He'd wanted Britney desperately since before they started dating.  Her kisses were intoxicating; her body was like a drug.  He wanted more.  He wanted all of her.  He didn't want to wait anymore.  These thoughts were slipping around his brain in a frenzy, almost physically pushing him to put the pressure on.  Deep in his heart, he knew she wasn't ready.  She returned his kisses, as fervently as he gave them, but she always held back a little piece of herself.  But when she allowed her body to respond to him like she was, right then, he didn't want to think anymore.  He just wanted to have her, in every way.  The months of anxiety, confusion and loneliness only made him ache for her more than ever, and here she was in his arms, finally.

He gazed into her eyes, and as he did so, he rubbed his lips along her jaw line, and up to claim her mouth.  Her eyes fluttered closed and she let her tongue meet his again.  This time, the simple fluid contact caused his body to explode in sensations and he leaned into her mouth deeper and hotter than before.  He was unconsciously grinding his hips against her as he sucked on her lips and explored her mouth with his persistent, lazy tongue.

Britney's head was spinning.  Justin's kisses were leaving her breathless and wanting more.  The stubble on his face was rubbing her face and neck as he nibbled his way to her collarbone, licking and kissing her until she heard the growl low in his throat.  His eyes opened again, and they were darker than ever.

One of her own hands, which had been stroking his back and waist, slid a little lower, before she could think clearly enough to know that she was playing with fire.  Justin's shallow breath caught in his throat as he felt her fingers probing into his jeans.  Britney's eyes were closed and she was biting her bottom lip as she closed her hand around his throbbing erection.  She was trembling, but her lips had parted and a small smile played on her mouth as she opened her eyes.  Justin was looking at her again, hotly, questioning as if waiting for a sign.  She unconsciously squeezed him harder and closed her eyes again.  This was further than they'd ever gone.  In his fevered state, the only thing pounding in his mind was the thought of him pounding into her.

He lost it and with another growl of frustration, he buried his face in her neck and began to kiss down to the first button of her tank.  He wanted to rip the shirt from her body with his teeth.  Her back arched as his strong fingers took over, as he quickly unbuttoned and opened her shirt, and her bra, taking in her beautiful, soft, full, breasts with hooded eyes.  Her dark nipples were already puckered erotically.  He didn't hear Britney say anything as he leaned in to kiss one then the other of her aroused buds.  They were hard and firm against his lips as he placed his mouth fully on her and sucked gently, kissing her fevered skin insistently.  His ears weren't registering anything Britney was saying because his blood was roaring in his ears.

Next thing he knew, he was on the floor, staring up at the ceiling and Britney was stepping over him, clutching her shirt closed and walking in the direction of the stairs.  His whole body ached from hitting the floor so hard; his crotch ached from the hard-on she'd caused when she touched him.  His mind was fuzzy, and he shook his head, struggling to stand up.  Fearing what he'd done, he followed the path she'd taken and hoped they could just go to bed and forget about it.  But somehow, he didn't think that was likely.  She looked pissed.