CHAPTER 1
 

Deb wrapped her wet hair in a towel and put on her blue bathrobe hanging on the back of the bathroom door.  She loved to start her days off with an early walk on the beach and then a nice warm shower.  Today, she had nothing planned.  She'd been working so hard at the store that she hadn't had a day off in over three weeks.  Summer was the busiest time of the year at Planet Hollywood, where she'd been working for a little over six months.  So today was her day, and she intended on doing as little as possible.  Well, maybe she'd get dressed, but that was it.

She made breakfast and ate it out on the deck, which overlooked the ocean, while she watched some kids playing on the beach.  The sea air tingled against her face as she drank her morning coffee.  She had already read most of the newspaper, except the entertainment section, so she opened it and began reading.  Nothing new to report....Carson Daly and Tara Reid were dating....the Backstreet Boys were still whining about people stealing their sound....Britney's new album would be "edgier", which Deb found funny because that's what every artist said when describing their latest album.  Deb sighed and folded the paper up, daydreaming a little about having a special guy in her life to share her morning coffee with.

The telephone broke through her romantic thoughts, and she ran into the house to answer it.  "Hello?" she said, slightly out of breath, mostly from being startled by the loud ringing.

"Hi Deb!  It's Melissa from work.  I know you're on vacation but I just wanted to let you know that the next day you work, which is the day after the day after tomorrow, we are having an in-store book signing, and Mark wants you to work.  That's all," her co-worker Melissa said quickly.  "Oh, I gotta go.  There's a line a mile long here.  Have a great day."  ::click::

Deb chuckled to herself.  Melissa was a little ditzy, so when Deb realized she hadn't said anything in that conversation except 'hello', she wasn't surprised.  She wasn't going to think about work.  She had the next few days off, and she was going to enjoy herself and just relax.  Meeting celebrities was a definite perk to her job, but dealing with the customers for 12 to 15 hours wasn't something she looked forward to.

The beach was beckoning her again, so Deb towel-dried her hair and changed into a halter top, shorts, and her sneakers and headed down to the sand.  She began walking, not really caring when she came back.  After about a mile or so, she decided to sit down, soak up some sun, and just listen to the waves.

It wasn't long before she heard loud laughter coming from behind her.  She turned her head and shielded her eyes from the sun, squinting to see where the laughter was coming from.  She saw a man and a boy chasing each other around and laughing hysterically at something.  She got up and wiped the sand from her legs and headed in the direction of the laughter.  As she got closer to one of the beach houses over the dunes, she could see that the little boy, about 7 years old, with blond curly hair and blue eyes, was trying to get away from the man, who was laughing just as loudly.  The boy had on swimming trunks and a t-shirt and was covered with sand.  In his hands, he held a huge water gun.  Deb couldn't help but smile as she watched him.

As she approached the house, the sun finally faded behind the roof, and she saw the boy squirting an older version of himself with the water gun.  Deb laughed to herself as the boy shouted, "You're all wet!  Ha ha!"

With that, the boy ran into the house and the man stopped to look at Deb for the first time.  Deb didn't need a second to recognize the familiar grin and the oh-so-famous blond curls.  She was staring at a barefoot Justin Oh-My-God Timberlake in blue jeans and a once crisp, now extremely wet, white t-shirt.

Deb could only stand there with her mouth hanging open.  This was the man she had promised her friends she would attack if she was ever so lucky to meet him, and now, here he was, standing in front of her in all his golden glory...and dripping wet to boot.

Justin ruffled his hands through his dripping hair and wiped his face off with his wet arm.  Deb knew the little boy was Justin's brother, Jonathan, but she was dying to know what they were doing in a beach house a mile from her own place.  Justin had picked up a brightly colored Barney beach towel and was drying off.  Jonathan came running back, excitedly chattering about something that was on TV.  "Justin, come on.  It's starting!" he said and took off again for the house.

Deb hadn't moved from her spot.  Justin looked at her and smiled again.  "Are you okay?!" he said loudly as he walked slowly toward her.

Deb closed her mouth and softly said, "Yes."

Justin was more beautiful in person, if that was even possible, and taller than she'd thought he'd be.  His eyes - deeper blue, his curls - more golden, his shoulders - even broader....Deb shook her head.  She knew she had to say something soon or she was in danger of making a complete fool out of herself.  However, she seemed to have lost the ability to form words.

Justin inched closer, wanting to make sure for himself that she was alright, because she wasn't screaming or acting stupid like most girls did when they saw him for the first time.  He didn't know what to make of it.  "Are you sure?  Do you want a drink or something?  Maybe you can sit over here," he said and motioned behind him to the lawn chair, as he backed toward it.

Deb nodded and followed him, taking deep breaths to calm her racing heart.  As she sat down, he said, "I'll be right back."

Deb continued her deep breathing exercises and prayed for the gift of speech before Justin came back.  A few minutes passed and he returned, carrying a glass of iced tea.  Smiling sweetly, he handed it to her.  She nodded at him and after taking a long drink, she said, "Thank you.  I'm sorry for turning mute over there.  I'm just not used to meeting famous people around here."  She wanted to say 'famous gorgeous men' but fought the urge.

"Well, at least you didn't scream," Justin said softly, watching her with his intense dark blue eyes.

"I'm really not the screaming type, but I'm not normally at a loss for words either," Deb said.

"Neither am I, but it's been known to happen," Justin said.  "Do you need anything else?"

"No, thanks.  Jonathan sure drenched you," Deb said.

Justin looked at her with surprise.  "You know my brother?  He is kinda rambunctious today," he said.

Deb replied, "That's Jonathan, right?  I have to admit that I know more than a few things about you.  I work at Planet Hollywood with a bunch of teenage girls who have pictures of you plastered all over their bedrooms; and, I have to admit that I'm also a fan.  My friends at work are going to just die when I tell them I met you."

He watched Deb laugh and couldn't help but smile.  It intrigued him that this girl was able to talk to him like a normal human being.  He also liked the way her eyes sparkled when she laughed.

"Well, Justin, before I wear out my welcome, I'm going to go.  I'm sure you have more to do than sit and talk to me.  It was nice meeting you," Deb heard herself say as she held out her hand to him.  "Oh, and my name is Deb," she added.

Justin took her hand and felt Deb squeeze his hand warmly.  'Thank God for normal women!' he thought.

"Nice meeting you, Deb.  I'd hug you but I'd get you all wet," he said, flashing that smile that always took her breath away.

Deb laughed and replied, "Oh, I'd be HAPPY to get a little wet!"

"Ok," Justin said, laughing.  He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly.  She came up to his chin and Justin noticed how nicely she fit against him as he held her.

Deb didn't care if he dripped water all over her, she wasn't leaving without the hug, and she buried her face against his neck when he wrapped himself around her.  This had to be what heaven was.  She breathed in his scent - a little bit of cologne and a lot of male.  She bit her lip to stop herself from nibbling on his neck, so achingly close to her own lips.  She moved her arms from his neck to his waist and wrapping them around him, she ran her hands over the muscles in his back, really feeling him in her arms.

When they broke apart, Justin's face had a look that made Deb's knees weaken.  "That was really nice," he said softly.

Justin had been staying at the beach house, owned by a friend of his, for a week, taking a break from his life and obligations.  He'd just gotten off *NSYNC's summer tour and now had to deal with what he'd been putting off.  While he'd been on tour, immersed in the world of pop stardom, his girlfriend of two years had broken up with him.  In the flurry of his life, he'd gone on autopilot for the last half of the tour and now, exhausted in mind and body, he had to deal with it.  He'd had a few days of peace and then offered Jonathan the chance to come stay at the beach with him for a few days.  Truth was, he'd welcomed the distraction, because the loneliness was really starting to get to him.  But Jonathan was leaving in the morning and he was going to be alone again.

Dreading being alone, and before he could stop himself, he said, "Could we go out for coffee or something sometime?"

Thinking only of getting back home before she completely freaked out, his question caught Deb by surprise and she stammered, "What?...what did you say?"

Justin laughed.  "Sometime, would it be okay if we went out for coffee?" he said, chuckling at the way Deb was looking at him.

"You're joking, aren't you?" she said, frowning at his sexy, crooked grin.

"No, I'm not.  Why don't you give me your number?  You obviously need to get out more," he said in a teasing tone.  "I'll be right back," he yelled over his shoulder as he headed into the house.  He returned a moment later with a pen and paper.

Deb wrote her number and address on the piece of paper and handed it back to him.  He accepted it, still grinning at the expression on Deb's face.  Jonathan yelled out the window, "Justin!!!  Come ON!"

Deb said, "Well, I guess I better go.  Bye Justin."

As Justin waved and disappeared into the house, Deb turned and looked at the ocean, silently going over what just happened.  Slowly, she made her way back home, but once there, she barely remembered the walk.  All she had on her mind was the sound of Justin's laughter as he played with Jonathan and joked with her.  His smile dazzled her, and she loved the way his eyes seemed to smile too.  She didn't get anything done the rest of the day.  All she accomplished was sitting around and daydreaming, but oh, the delicious dreams she had.

* * * * * * *

The next morning, all her thoughts seemed to involve Justin.  Knowing he was just down the beach drove her to take her daily morning walk in that direction again.  Normally, she would have gone the other way, but until he left, she'd be walking past his house every...single...day.  It was still relatively early so he was probably still asleep.  She didn't want to gawk but did slow down to look for....seashells, yeah, that's it, she tried to tell herself.  She was beginning to think she wasn't going to see him when she heard a little voice behind her say, "Hi!  My brother says your name is Deb.  He's making breakfast.  Wanna have some?"

She turned around to see Jonathan standing there in his pajama bottoms and a t-shirt, holding out his hand.  Deb couldn't get over how much he reminded her of Justin.  "Well, Jonathan, thanks for the invitation, but you should ask your brother first.  It wouldn't be polite for me to just show up," Deb replied, wanting desperately to let the little boy lead her inside.

"He won't care.  He told me he's lonesome, so I decided to find him some friends.  JC, Joey, Chris and Lance are all too busy to hang out with us and my brother's other friend, Trace, is out of town or something.  All his other friends are moooochers, he says.  Please?" Jonathan said with an adorable pout on his face.

Deb wanted to pinch the kid's cheeks. Just then, she heard Justin calling Jonathan.  He grabbed her hand and started running madly toward the house.  She was trying not to fall on her face, which is what she was afraid she'd do, right in front of Justin.  She managed to stay on her feet and ran into Jonathan as he came to a screeching halt in front of Justin, clad only in pajama bottoms that hung low on his hips.  Deb knew she was probably grinning like an idiot but it was all she was able to do.  Justin looked a little shy and folded his arms over his chest, which only drew Deb's attention to his muscular arms.  That just wasn't helping the situation at all, she thought to herself.

When Deb finally managed to have a coherent thought, she heard Jonathan saying, "Deb wants to come to breakfast."

"Jonathan!  Tell him the truth!" Deb said, laughing, not wanting Justin to think she'd invited herself.

"OK, I asked her to have breakfast because you're lonesome, Justin," Jonathan said sweetly.

Justin smiled shyly and shook his head, before looking at Deb.  "How can I respond to that, Deb?  Would you like to join us?" Justin said, as he grabbed Jonathan and tossed him over his shoulder.  "Follow me."

Deb followed, smiling at Jon who was grinning at her as he bounced with Justin's walk.  The beach house wasn't extravagently decorated, in fact, just seemed to be a place to sleep.  The beds, with rumpled covers, were sitting in the would-be living room, right in front of a sliding glass door.  On the balcony, there was a table laid out with a feast and three plates.  Justin tossed Jonathan on a bean bag chair nearby and looked at Deb again.

"I wondered why there were three plates on the table when I brought the food out here.  Now, I know," he said with a laugh.

Justin held out her chair and Deb sat down, thanking him.  Jonathan slid into his own chair, diving into the scrambled eggs Justin dished onto his plate.  Justin excused himself and after a few minutes, returned, wearing another t-shirt, this one baby blue.  "Dig in, gang," he said.

Deb started eating, wanting to pinch herself though, just to make sure she wasn't dreaming.  Everytime she'd look across the table at Justin, he'd be grinning at her.  This time, when she glanced at him, he started laughing.  "You are so funny, Deb!  Calm down!  Maybe I shouldn't ask but do you want some coffee?" he said.

Highly embarrassed and profusely blushing, Deb replied, "Yes, please, thank you, Justin!"

Justin went into the kitchen and returned with a cup of coffee and an handful of creamers.  Avoiding his eyes, Deb chose the mocha.  As he sat down, Deb could feel the sexual tension tingling through her body.  She didn't dare look at him, knowing he'd see what she was thinking.  Her attraction to him had to be written all over her face.  Jonathan suddenly asked if he could be excused and grabbed the banana out of the bowl in the middle of the table.  Justin nodded absently, and Jonathan ran in the house.

"He sure knows how to make an exit," Deb said, taking a chance to glance at Justin.  Justin smiled but looked a million miles away as he looked back at Deb and nodded.  "Ok, what's wrong with you this morning?" she asked.

"HA!" he said, laughing now.  "You think you know me well enough to know when there is something wrong with me?"

Deb giggled at him and said, "You just have a distant look, that's all.  Believe it or not, I have spent some time looking at you.  I know when you've gone bye bye bye."

Justin smiled again and looked down at his plate, before glancing back at her.  "You've only seen me when I'm on, Deb.  Actually, I'm quieter and more of a homebody than you'd think," he said.

"What were you thinking about then?" Deb said seriously.

"Well, actually, I was considering inviting you to come to the airport with me to put Jon on the plane.  Do you want to come?" he said, biting into a piece of toast.

"I guess I can.  I haven't got anything better to do," Deb said as she reached across the table and snatched Justin's piece of toast out of his hand.

At any other time, Deb would have been horrified at her boldness, brazenly ripping a piece of toast out of Justin Timberlake's fingers, but something inside told her it was Carpe Diem time!  She would never get this chance again.  After she took a bite of his toast, she let her eyes linger on his lips and then his eyes, which were taking in her playful move with interest.  In fact, the look she encountered caused her to stop chewing.  When she tried to swallow her bite, she almost choked because her throat had gone dry.  The expression on Justin's face made her blush hotly as he watched her chewing on his piece of toast.  Deb had a feeling that if the table wasn't between them, Justin would have been all over her in a second flat.  Just then, Jonathan came out to the deck, where Justin and Deb were staring at each other.  "What time does my flight leave, Justin?" Jonathan asked.

Justin blinked his eyes and turned to look at his brother.  "It leaves in about two hours so you better get dressed," Justin said as he glanced down at himself.  "I guess I better get ready too.  Make yourself at home, Deb."

Justin stood up slowly and tossed her a look of bewilderment as he walked into the house.  She watched him retreat and then put her hands over her face, stifling the scream she felt building inside her.  She was fairly certain that Justin wanted to kiss her, and now, absolutely nothing was going to keep her from accompanying him to the airport.  Nervous energy had her clearing off the table in no time.  She loaded the dishwasher and turned it on.  She wandered to the beds and stared down at the one that was obviously Justin's.  'He's just a guy, Deb!' she told herself.

She could hear the boys chatting as they packed and got dressed.  She decided to help round up Jonathan's belongings that were sitting around the living room.  As she did, she closed the glass door because the breeze had turned a little chilly.  Humming to herself, she didn't hear Jonathan come up behind her.  "Miss Deb?" he said as she spun around.

"Jeez, you scared me.  What can I do for you, Jonathan?" she said, handing him a few things she'd found.

He leaned close and whispered, "Will you take care of my brother?  All he does is sit around here, but I think he would really like to go do stuff with you."

Deb smiled at the sweet boy.  "You are a good brother, Jonathan.  I'll make sure he doesn't totally become a hermit, ok?" she said, praying to God she'd have the chance.  Jonathan smiled and took the things she'd given him back to his room.

She rubbed the chill from her bare arms and stared out the window, wondering about the cause of Justin's seclusion.  She made a mental note to ask him at some point.  Behind her, she heard someone breathing and turned to find Justin standing right behind her, but she wasn't about to back away.  He handed her a light blue, long sleeved t-shirt.  "Here, put this on.  You look a little chilly," Justin said as he handed it to her.

Deb pulled it over her head, saying, "Thanks!  I am cold."  They both chuckled as they noticed how big it was on her.  The sleeves completely covered her hands and the shirt was so long, she could have worn it as a short dress.  "Whoa!  It's kinda big!" she laughed.

When she looked up, Justin was reaching for her.  "Here, just do this," he said as he first pushed the sleeves up her arms and then started to tuck the shirt into the front of her shorts.

The second his hand slid between the fabric and her stomach, electricity tingled all over Deb's body causing her to gasp.  She felt her body go instantly limp with desire, and she knew that Justin must have felt it too because he acted like he'd burned himself, snapping his hand back suddenly.  Through her instant, lust-filled gaze, she saw him blush and grin shyly.

"Um...WOW, that took a lot of balls, didn't it?  Uh, sorry..." Justin was saying, as he ran his hands through his curls.  "I don't know..."

Deb's eyes locked on Justin's and she whispered, "Oh my God!  I don't think I've ever experienced anything so innocent, yet erotic in my entire life."  Deb wanted to kiss those perfect, pouty lips of his so badly.  He looked like Jonathan then, but with an edge that only Justin could mix in.

"Wow..." Justin said as he backed up and grabbed Jonathan's books off the counter.

Deb watched him disappear again and rubbed her stomach where his fingers had touched her.  The electricity that had surged through her body was still snapping along her spine as she tried to push it out of her mind, going about her task of gathering Jonathan's scattered belongings.

Ten minutes later, Justin returned carrying a suitcase and Jonathan's jacket.  "Come on, Jon.  We're late!" he yelled.

Deb handed Justin another book she'd found and Justin tucked it in Jon's bag.  Up close, she noticed his wet ringlets and could smell his soap and shampoo.  He smelled divine and looked like an angel.  He wore baggy sweatpants and a plain white t-shirt.  She adored Justin in casual clothes and thought they were much sexier than his professional wardrobe, except maybe, leather.

"Oy vey," she whispered to herself as Justin ran back toward Jonathan's room to hurry his brother along.

* * * * * * *