Jamie checked her bag one last time and made sure she had everything. Her father sat next to her in the airport and smiled encouragingly. The first boarding call was announced over the intercom and Jamie stood up. She nervously wiper her hands down her jeans and looked around. “Well Dad, this is it.” She tried to smile but it just wasn’t going to happen. Jamie was a small town girl. She grew up in the suburbs of Nashville and she had never been on a plane before. To say she was scared would be like saying Niagara Falls was a drip. She wasn’t usually the adventurous type, being the shy person she was, and the only reason she was doing this was because she’d never seen her father smile half as much as he was now.
“You’ll do great Honey, I know it. I’m sorry I can’t go with you, but Mr. Kirkpatrick will take good care of you.” He gave her a hug and dropped a kiss on her forehead. “Show ‘em what you’re made of.” He hugged her again and walked her to the gate as the last call was made.
“I’ll miss you Daddy.” Jamie sniffled as she pulled away.
“You’ll do great. Be careful, and don’t forget that right hook I taught you.” Jamie chuckled and picked up her backpack. She waved one last time and then disappeared down the hallway that led to her plane.
The guys all watched as Chris hurried around the room, getting everything ready for Jamie. He threw papers around as he searched for the songs he set aside. After making a mess of the living room and showering Joey in a mountain of documents, he found what he was looking for.
“So Chris…Tell us a little more about this hick you got coming in.” Joey teased as he uncovered himself from the papers.
“Hey! She is not a hick…” He laughed. “She’s just from Tennessee, and she’ll be here in 10 minutes, I had Tim get her at the airport.”
Justin sat in the corner, head phones covering his ears but there wasn't any sound coming out. He wanted to hear what Chris was talking about without actually being a part of the conversation. He hadn't been very social as of late.
He listened as Chris told Lance about his discovery: the musical prodigy from Tennessee with the voice of and angel. Apparently Chris had "fallen in love" with this girl and her talent and signed her to FuMan as her manager. She was coming down today to work on some rough tracks, and she should be there soon.
A few minutes later the door clicked open and Justin glanced up to see a girl about 5'7" tall, with blond hair and sparkling eyes. He felt his heart jump, breath catch and his palms started to sweat. She was beautiful. She hadn't noticed him yet, and he was just as glad because the sudden feelings surging through him now were unwelcome and it put him in a bad mood. He calmed himself and took a few deep breaths. He listened as Chris introduced her and she started to talk, her Tennessee drawl filling the room and going straight his heart.
That voice left a bitter taste in his mouth. It reminded him of the home he longed to see and everything that had just left him behind. It tortured his soul and made him realize just how human he was, a fact that had been made clear to him just days before.
He quickly got up and left out the door leading to the hallway. He didn't want to meet her and have to face everything that she represented to him: His home, his past, the heartbreak that lay fresh on his mind, and maybe even his future.
Justin's pace quickened as he heard voices and he escaped to the peace of the lake. He sat down at the water's edge and took off his shoes, letting the water lap his feet and soothe his soul. Jamie had stirred so many emotions that he had fought to suppress. That flip of his stomach when he saw her and the heavy palpitations of his heart went against the vow he had just recently made: never again would he fall in love, or even think about it.
He didn't want to feel that giddy rush of emotions she created deep within the core of his being. He wanted to forget and never have to worry about losing his heart to someone that could break it, intentional or not. That feeling of hurt and betrayal lay fresh and alive in him, and he'd had a damned hard time burying it.
He heard the group come outside as Chris gave Jamie a tour. He could hear her sweet laughter as he made a joke and anger rose in him. He was angry both at himself for being so stupid, and at her for creating these feelings inside him. She had gotten to him and she didn't even know he existed.
“I just want to thank you for helping me Chris. You have no idea how much this means.” Jamie thanked Chris as they sat outside. Chris had given her the tour and they all had lunch together, and now they were sitting outside enjoying the afternoon sun. Chris decided not to do any work today, so Jamie could get settled and familiar with everyone and everything.
“No problem. I’m just sorry you didn’t get to meet Justin. I don’t know where he disappeared to.” He scanned the grounds again, squinting against the sunlight.
“Oh that’s OK. I’m sure he’s busy, and it’s just me. I mean, I’m sure he has better things to do than wait around to meet me.” Personally Jamie didn’t mind that she hadn’t met Justin. She had met many other people today, and one more didn’t really matter either way. She sighed and sat back in her chair, soaking up the afternoon heat. Orlando had been such a beautiful place, and she had hardly seen any of it. She wondered if she would ever have the chance to get out and see the sights, but she didn’t want to ask that of Chris. He was doing so much for her as it was, she didn’t want to be a burden.
“Well, I’m getting hungry; I’m going to go see what everyone’s doing for dinner. You are more than welcome to join us if you’d like.” He stood up and wiped his hands down his pants, brushing off the grass that had collected there. Jamie stood too, not sure of what to do. She glanced around the grounds and realized that she didn’t really know anyone here, and if Chris left, she would truly be alone. She said yes to his offer, knowing that she would have to push aside her shy nature and get to know these people. She didn’t know how long she was going to be staying and being around a group of strangers that were already best friends wouldn’t be fun.
The two walked into the living room of the main house. There was a small group already gathered, the only ones not there were Lance and Justin. Chris proposed dinner to his friends and they agreed with great gusto. Joey’s “Hell yeah!” was accented by the rumbling of his stomach, causing everyone to laugh. Jamie learned that Justin and Lance had gone into the studio to play around with a track that Justin had thought up. She caught the tale end of Joey telling Chris that he thought that Justin was finally pulling himself together. Not knowing what the conversation was about, Jamie hoped that Justin wasn’t some raging lunatic and that’s why she hadn’t met him yet.
“Are you ready?” Chris broke into her thoughts and she jumped slightly.
“Huh? Oh, yes. Is it just us four?” She asked as she grabbed a sweater to ward off the slight chill settling in.
“No, I talked to Lance on his cell phone. He and Justin are meeting us there. You like steak right?”
“Honey, I’m from the south, of course I like steak.” Her sweet laughter filtered through the room with a musical phrase as she laughed. Chris chuckled slightly as they walked toward the door. A few burly bodyguards fell in step behind them as the made their way out to the car, and for the first time Jamie realized just how strange it felt to be guarded.
