Chapter Six
<><><><><>
 

It was after midnight, when Celine heard a light knocking on her door.   She groggily stumbled to the door and looked through the peep hole.  Justin was standing there, looking exhausted.  He was dressed in red  sweats, a white t-shirt and red bandana.  She noticed that he hadn't changed from his workout clothes, as usual, as she opened the door.  She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into the house with her.  They stood in the embrace for a long time before he pulled away without saying a word.  "I see you got your car back," she said.

"Yeah, they brought it to me at the studio," he said as he fell onto the sofa, pulling her with him.  The bag he'd been carrying was tossed on the floor.  He wrapped her in his arms and closed his eyes as he stretched out under her.  "I'm so fucking tired," he said as he tried to relax.  "I think every muscle in my body is sore or tense."  He ripped the bandana off his head.  His hair was matted to his head.

Celine said, "OK, do you want to take a shower?  I think you do.  C'mon Justin...."  She stood up and waited for him to stand up.

As he did, he slid his arm around her shoulders and kissed her, mumbling, "You just wanna jump ma bones," against her mouth before sauntering into the bathroom with his bag.  A few minutes later, when he emerged, he was barefoot and had on blue jeans and a gray t-shirt.

Celine met him halfway and said, "Now, we can talk about jumping those bones."

Justin drew her to him and kissed the corners of her mouth before covering her mouth with his.  He continued by nudging her lips apart with his tongue.  Before she knew it, they were locked in a breathless kiss and her hands were clutching at the damp curls on the base of his neck.  He smelled like a million bucks which made her want him even more.  He was caressing the sensitive skin of her lower back with one hand and gripping her ass with the other.  Celine broke the kiss and pulled him down the hall by the bottom of his shirt.  She backed him up against the bed and said, "You just lay back and relax," pushing him onto the bed.  He sat and then leaned back on his hands, looking at her with his bedroom eyes, before inching up backwards to the top of the bed so he could put his head on the pillows.  She watched him collapse on the pillows.

"Awwww, this is heaven," he said, closing his eyes.

She crawled toward him slowly, licking her lips as she got closer.  His eyes were closed.  He yawned and buried his head in the pillow.  Taking advantage of this, she slid up between his legs, fighting the urge to lift his shirt and start kissing his stomach, as he had done to her the first night.  She didn't fight it for long though.  She lifted his shirt as he opened his eyes and watched, amused at her boldness.

"Go Leelee," he said, with a sexy grin on his face.  She went about making a meal of his hard stomach muscles, brushing herself up against him softly.  She could tell he was loving it.  His eyes were closed, and every once in awhile, he'd moan softly.  She took her time.  She followed the treasure trail of fine hair down to where it disappeared into his pants.  This time, she continued lower and breathed hotly on his erection through the fabric of his jeans.  This caused his eyes to open wide.  He looked at her now, his eyes full of lust.  Her hot breath was teasing him and making him squirm, but she held on tight and grinned at him.  "God, Celine!  You are wicked," he panted.

He reached down and started undoing the buttons on his jeans so she could get at him better.  She took over for him and reached down inside his pants to pull out his cock, already hard.  Once she had his pants down, he violently kicked them off and she licked him with long wet strokes.  He watched as she sucked on him and he thrust up into her mouth.  Celine loved the look he had on his face, sexy with raw pleasure.  She could tell he was loving it as she noticed his eyes rolling back in his head and his breath coming faster.  "Hold on, baby," she cooed and started taking off her clothes and tossing them on the floor.  She took his bulging cock in her mouth again and sucked the pre-cum off the velvet tip.  She licked her lips and then crawled up to slowly lower herself onto him.  She began to ride him slowly at first and he grabbed her hips, thrusting up a few times.  He sat up long enough to pull her into his arms and down with him.  His hips were still bucking into her but his lips were planting slow, wet kisses all over her face, pausing only long enough to gasp for air.  She clung to him as he rolled her over and began pumping into her with his own seductive rhythm.

She had to bite her lip to keep from screaming and he whispered, "Oh, God!  Celine...." into her ear before unloading inside her.  The feel of his abandon as he came, sent her into waves of ecstasy of her own.  He was still throbbing inside of her as he collapsed, light headed against her.

"Leelee, you fuck me like you mean it," he growled against her neck, before looking at her with those blue eyes of his.

Trying to control her breathing, she wondered how true his statement was.  She turned to look at him again and saw that he had laid his head on her shoulder and was already falling asleep.  Her legs were still tangled with his as he laid where he'd fallen.  That same old paradox sprung to her mind again.  He looked like an angel, asleep as he was on top of her but as she put her hands on his hips and rolled him onto his back, she understood his unbelievable allure.  She covered him with the quilt and wondered how often she'd think back to these three days in the future.

She turned off the light and climbed in next to him under the quilt.  It'd been so long since she'd been so close to anyone besides Rene.  She knew now what Gloria meant by playing with fire.  Justin stirred beside her as he came back into consciousness and found the once lit room completely dark.

"Celine, where are you?" he whispered and she reached out and stroked his face, bathed in the moonlight, peeking in between the curtains.

"Right here.  Go back to sleep," and she leaned in, softly kissing his lips.

"This is the last night.  Shouldn't we be making babies or something?" he murmured, kissing her back.

"I don't want to be responsible for you collapsing on stage before the tour even starts, Justin.  You have been running on empty all week.  Just sleep.  We can worry about those other things later."

He turned on his side and gathered her in his arms, before kissing her neck.  "I'm gonna miss you, Celine," he said softly and snuggled against her.  She felt him relax and heard his breath change as he fell asleep again.

His words made her want to cry.  She knew without him saying anything that he'd agreed to do this partly because he was lonely.  Being a super megastar couple wasn't easy when both he and Britney were so busy and living 3000 miles apart.  All the devoted fans in the world didn't give you warmth and love at the end of the day.  She fell asleep, dreading saying goodbye to Justin but at the same time, dreaming of beautiful, blond-haired, blue-eyed babies.

* * * * * *

The alarm went off signaling morning's arrival and the last possible moment he could lay in bed.  Justin knew that he couldn't put it off any longer.  He was facing certain death at the hands of the guys and Johnny if he didn't make it at the appointed time today.  Justin slowly sat up and smacked the alarm a few times to make it shut off.  Celine couldn't see his face but his head was hanging and his hands were in his hair.  He ran his hands slowly over his neck and stood up, walking over to his jeans that were lying where he'd thrown them the night before.  He didn't bother with the boxers.

As he was pulling his jeans on, Celine saw that the clock on the night stand registered 8 AM.  She watched as Justin searched the room for the rest of his clothes, leaving the buttons of his jeans undone as he did so.  He was such a mixture of little boy and man at that moment, with his lips pouty and his eyes downcast.  She casually reached out to him and beckoned him to her, "C'mere baby", she said.

Justin walked over to where she was sitting on the bed.  He watched her with sad eyes as she handed him his shirt that he had tossed to the end of the bed the night before.  He shrugged it on very haphazardly, willing himself not to look at her again.  He backed away from her and began looking for his shoes and socks.  She threw on her bathrobe and followed him out to the living room where she found him shoving his bare feet into his sneakers, absentmindedly holding his bag where she'd watched him throw his boxers and socks a few seconds before.  He tossed his cell phone in the bag as well and turned his eyes to her face.  He muttered to himself and turned to go back to the bedroom for something.

She jumped at the sudden loud pounding on her front door.  She threw the door open to find a very intense, angry JC Chasez.  His hands were on his hips and his eyes were snapping with anger.  "Good morning, Sunshine," he said sarcastically.  "Where is Justin, Celine?  And I'd caution you not to lie to me right now."  He walked in without an invitation and turned to face her again.  She couldn't tell what he was thinking behind his angry blue eyes.

"JC, please calm down.  I'm guessing you saw Justin's car?" she said, hoping to lighten the mood a little.

"Please go get him," he requested, no less irritated.

In the bedroom, she found him putting on his watch.  "Justin, JC is here.  Worse yet, he knows you are here," she whispered.

"Huh?  What the hell is he doing here?"  She heard him mumbling something about minding his own fucking business as he walked out of the room.  Justin poked his head into the hall, surveying the situation.  JC was standing at the end of the hallway, looking right at him.

"Man, why are you here?" Justin asked, annoyed.  He walked down the hall towards JC and followed him into the living room.

"I should ask you the same question, J.  What are you doing here at 8 o'clock in the morning?" JC said as he cocked his eyebrow at his friend.

"Please don't ask, JC," Justin said as a warning and walked around him.

"Justin, please don't tell me you spent the night here," JC whined.

"Ok, I won't," Justin said matter-of-factly.  Celine looked uncomfortably at JC.

"Are you two freakkin' married or something?  What is going on?" JC yelled.

Justin stepped up and faced JC, saying, "It really doesn't concern you, JC."  Celine could tell Justin was becoming angry too.  "How dare you check up on me like this!  You are not my father," Justin screamed in JC's face.

Celine knew they had been best friends for eight years, and she couldn't stand the tension between them.  Stepping in between them, she held her hands out toward each of them.

"Someone has to be an adult here, Justin," JC said sarcastically.

"I have something to say, and you need to listen, JC," Celine said, looking at Justin.

Justin threw up his hands as if he it was all beyond his comprehension.  He glared at JC, saying, "What made you think of coming here, JC?"

"I believed the story yesterday but then I was thinking that I hadn't seen much of you this week.  When you didn't show up for the breakfast meeting at 6:30 this morning, I just took a chance and drove by.  I didn't expect to see your car here again, Justin.  But it was."

Justin squinted at him and shook his head.  "I'll be in the other room," he said and he stalked off down the hall.

Celine began explaining, again, the situation she was in and her dreams of having a baby.  JC listened intently.  She told him about how she'd chosen the baby's father and how wonderful Rene had been.  She also pointed out that Rene was out of town until the next day.  JC said, surprised, "Wait a minute.  Are you saying what I think you are saying?"

Celine said, "That depends on what you think I said.  JC, Justin signed a contract earlier this week to assist me, if you know what I mean, in becoming pregnant."  She stopped talking to wait for his reaction.

JC stood up and yelled, "JUSTIN!!?" before he started down the hallway looking for Justin.

"What is it now, JC?" Justin asked tersely, as he came out of the bathroom.

JC grabbed him by the front of his shirt.  "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?  Why in the world would you agree to do something like this?" JC spat, as he shook Justin.  Justin shot a surprised glance at Celine before shoving JC up against the wall forcefully.

Justin screamed, "Man!  Why are you so hostile?  I didn't sign you up for this!"

"What you do has repercussions on the group, Justin!" JC screamed back.

"How do you figure that?  JC, the band isn't on the contract.  *NSYNC isn't fathering Celine's baby, I am!  Me!  Justin!"  Justin said, slapping his chest for effect.

JC asked, "Why?  Why is it you?  What about Britney?"

"What about her?" Justin replied.  "This doesn't involve Britney either."

"How can you say that?  Last time I checked, she was playing the part of 'Justin's girlfriend'.  She's all you've talked about for five years!!" JC shouted, pissed off again.

The look on Justin's face said it all.  "And where has that gotten me, JC?  She's almost always in California, or Sweden, or somewhere other than here with me.  And when we are together, all she wants to do is hold hands and cuddle!  We aren't even a real couple.  We just hook up when we're in the same town.  That isn't the point here, anyway.  It's not like I'm gonna have anything to do with this baby.  I've signed away all rights.  My lawyer approved the contract.  Celine and Rene and their lawyer approved everything.  It's a done deal."  He suddenly just walked away and left JC standing in the hall.

JC walked after him and said incredulously, "You did this because you don't get any nookie from your girlfriend?"

Justin whirled around and quickly had one finger pointed at JC.  His voice was even as he spoke.  "Back off, JC, or I'll knock you on your ass.  Do not presume to know what's going on in my head.  I did this because Celine asked me to.  This doesn't concern anyone but me, Celine and Rene.  Besides, it's done."

JC paused to calm down and looked from Celine to Justin and back to Celine again.  "Are you saying that your husband doesn't have a problem with having another man in his bed?"

Celine smiled slyly at Justin before looking at JC.  "We didn't use my and Rene's bed.  This was ultimately Rene's idea, JC.  You don't have to worry about Justin getting hurt.  He's a big boy and has been very mature about the whole thing.  I completely trust him and so does Rene."

JC wasn't through but didn't have time to argue with Justin anymore.  "Justin, we have to meet Johnny.  He's already pissed that you're late again.  I won't say anything," he said as he turned and walked out the door.

Justin called after him, "Tell them I'll be right there."

It was obvious to Celine that Justin was still upset, but not just about the argument with JC.  The tight little group of people who knew the truth had just gotten another member.  She wasn't happy about it but knew that Justin would handle it.  "Sorry about that," Justin said as he looked at her.  "I'll talk to him and swear him to secrecy, I promise.  JC can keep secrets.   Your crib is kinda like Grand Central Station in the morning, you know that?"

Celine smiled, soaking in the tone of his voice.  "You must be hungry.  I have some Captain Crunch," she said, hoping he'd stay a bit longer.

"Naw, I'm not hungry," was his reply, though she knew he was lying.  "I guess I better go, Celine," he said, looking at her with his sad, dark eyes.  He wasn't deliberately trying to look pitiful but she caught his wistful expression and couldn't let him leave without touching him again.  She felt his arms go around her waist as she clung to his shoulders.  His body molded so well to hers and they stood there for a few minutes, not moving or speaking.  He buried his face against her neck, and she could feel his warm breath tickling her ear.  "I hope it worked," he said softly into her ear.

She pulled out of the embrace to look into his eyes.  "Me too," she said as she stroked his face softly.  He leaned down and lightly kissed her lips, lingering just a little too long, which allowed her to return the kiss with more intensity than she'd planned on.  She loved kissing him.  They'd spent more time kissing than anything else over the last three days.  She still hadn't had enough of his soft lips that alternated between teasing and probing to swallowing her alive.  She buried her fingers in his curls as she ferociously kissed him one last time.  His arms had her pinned tightly against his body and she could feel herself slipping into the passion again.  It took all her willpower to quickly separate herself from him and say, "Justin..." in a voice full of desire.  "No, you have to go," was all she could say as she dropped her hands from his shoulders and stared into his eyes.

He felt like crying as he softly said, "Take care of yourself, ok?  Let me know how things turn out."  He smiled at her again but his eyes were sad.

He quickly backed out the door and walked to his car.  He climbed in and gunned the motor, spinning the tires in an effort to leave as fast as he could.  Celine leaned against the door as she watched him drive away.  She knew he wasn't in love with her, as she knew she wasn't in love with him, but she did know he was young and craved a closeness which his girlfriend couldn't even begin to deliver.