By now Jamie knew that the guys were there, and she was still too shocked to move. Chris spotted her just sitting there, and so he made his way over and picked her up into a hug.
“Hey James, how are you doing?” He asked, noting that she looked wonderful, and full of life.
“I’m great Chris, how about you?” He answered her and then glanced at the bathroom door and worried aloud about Justin.
“Chris, this isn’t about me, is it?” concern crossed the young girls face, and the thought of lying crossed Chris’ mind, but he knew that she would see right through it.
“Um…let’s go outside for a bit. We’ll talk.” Jamie nodded and followed Chris outside, after saying hi to the rest of the guys.
Chris thrust his hands deep into his pockets and rocked back and fourth on his heels. Jamie had started biting at her bottom lip, anxiously awaiting Chris’ explanation.
“So, how have you been Jamie?” She was shocked by the question, because she was expecting an answer to this madness, but she decided to play along.
“I’ve been doing really well. My dad got himself a new job, and that’s why we’re in Memphis again. He makes enough so we can afford a small apartment, and he even has a car. I got myself a job at a small diner called ‘Momma’s Southern Grits.’ I also got a small gig singing at a local bar. Thing are really looking up Chris.” The man’s features softened when he heard this confession. He had known about Jamie’s situation, and how hard it had been for her and her father. He was genuinely happy to hear that they were getting along just fine.
“That’s great James. I’m truly glad to hear that.” He shuffled his feet a bit, not sure how to approach the subject, but he needn’t have worried, because Jamie took care of that for him.
“Chris, when I left Justin at the air port, I didn’t know it would tear him apart like that. I assumed that his mother had talked him into apologizing to me and that’s why he was there. I never expected to hear him confess feelings for me, and I got scared. He’s gonna be all right though, isn’t he?”
Chris cleared his throat and took a moment before he answered. He didn’t want to make his best friend sound like a psychopath, but he did want Jamie to understand Justin a little better.
“James, Justin is a very passionate person, and he rarely shows that passion on a personal level. Professionally, we see that every day. That boy has more talent and love for his music than anyone I’ve ever known. And he gladly displays it for the world to see.
“What you don’t see a lot from Justin is his personal feelings. He likes to keep it all to himself. Sometimes, though, those feelings get to be too much. I think that he had fallen for you from the moment he laid eyes on you, but he was too scared and emotionally beat up to want to do anything about it. So he sat on them. He let those feelings fester and grow until he couldn’t take it anymore. The day he realized he needed you, was the day you walked away.”
He paused too see if she was understand all of this, and when he looked into her eyes he noted the smallest trace of tears.
“I don’t think he meant to scare you Jamie, but he did, didn’t he?” She nodded slowly, looking at anything but him.
“I didn’t know what to say. I wanted to melt right there in his arms when he kissed me, but-“
“He kissed you?” Jamie wasn’t sure if it was the tone of voice or the dropped jaw that indicated that Justin had kept a few secrets about that night.
“He had asked me to stay, and when I tried to explain that I couldn’t make heads or tales of my feelings, he didn’t let me finish and he kissed me. God, it was the best kiss I have ever had.” She brought her hand up to her mouth and ran a finger lightly across her lips as she relived that moment again. Chris cleared his throat and racked his brain for something to say. Apparently Justin had fallen much harder than he had assumed.
He was about to say something when a rather muscular male came charging out the door and headed straight in their direction. He bypassed Chris and went right to Jamie and turned her around.
“James is everything OK?” He had that big brother, protective boyfriend type vibe, and Chris wondered if the situation could get any worse.
“Yeah, Luke it’s fine. Um…Chris, this is my best friend, Luke. And Luke, this is Chris Kirkpatrick from *NSYNC.” Luke reached out his hand and shook with Chris.
“All right, what’s going on here?” He glanced back and fourth between Chris and James and waited for an explanation.
“I think I better give you the Reader’s Digest version. Otherwise, we could be here for a long time.” Jamie sat down on the curb and began to describe what had gone down in Orlando, and just now in the restaurant. He watched as Luke’s face hardened as Jamie described Justin’s coldness and then the meeting at the airport. “So now he’s in the bathroom doing God knows what because he saw me here tonight.”
Before anyone could stop him, Luke stood up and headed back inside. Right away both Chris and Jamie knew where he was going, but it was too late to stop him, and to be honest, neither of them wanted to try.
Luke knocked on the bathroom door, and when there was no answer he swung the door open and looked around. He spotted Justin sitting on the floor across the small room, his back up against the wall.
Justin looked up when the door opened and when he realized it was the man he saw Jamie with, a pang of jealousy went right through his heart. He didn’t know why he felt this way, but it was there, and it wasn’t helping the mood.
Luke held his hand down and helped Justin up. He didn’t miss the redness that settled around his eyes, and he was aware that Justin had been crying.
“Who might you be?” Justin asked, splashing cold water on his face, hoping to hide the signs of distress.
“Luke Benson. I’m Jamie’s-“
“Boy friend, I know.” Justin turned quickly when he heard Luke’s laughter ring through out the room.
“Slow down there Killer. I’m not her boyfriend. Believe me, I love James and all, but she’s like my little sister and there’s no way in Hell I would ever date her.” He chuckled again, and this made Justin angry.
“Why? What’s wrong with her?” He didn’t know why he was fighting this man in a restroom in Memphis, but he was. If it had been any other time, he would laugh, but right now he wasn’t in the laughing mood.
“There’s nothing wrong with Jamie, just trust me when I tell you that nothing could ever happen between us. Man, she’s my best friend, and I would die for her, but there’s no competition here. She’s all yours.” Justin did laugh at that, but it was a bitter sound.
“I don’t think Jamie wants me…She made that very clear when she walked away from me.” Justin stared down at the floor and Luke wanted to slap him silly for being so naive.
“Can I say something?” He didn’t wait for an answer, he just continued. “Now, I don’t want to sound like a prick or anything…well, actually Yes, I do. You’re completely blind and incredibly stupid, if you ask me.” Justin’s jaw fell to the floor and he was about to stand up and argue, but Luke didn’t give him a chance.
“Humor me for a minute, will ya? Now, if you were an eighteen year old girl from a small southern town, and you have just moved to a huge city to pursue a career that you had no clue about, wouldn’t that intimidate you a little? And if you were stuck living with five guys, one of which wouldn’t give you the time of day, I can bet you’d feel a little awkward. And to top it all off, if you finally decided that you didn’t fit in there, and you had made up your mind to leave, that same guy that called you a WHORE decided to chase you down at the air port and give you one of the most passionate kisses you’ve ever had. Now if you weren’t COMPLETELY and utterly scared by that, then by God you must have nerves of steel.”
“I wasn’t trying to scare Jamie; I just didn’t want her to leave.” Justin had started pacing a few minutes ago, and Luke grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him lightly.
“Justin, you’re an idiot! If you thought that you weren’t going to confuse the Hell out of Jamie, or that she wouldn’t be the tiniest bit upset by your actions, then you must live under a damn rock! No woman likes to be mauled by Justin Tim….ok, so there may be some that would, but that’s beside the point.” He let go of Justin’s shoulders when he threw him a dirty look.
“Whatever…She never made any attempt to contact me, and she didn’t look very happy to see me here tonight.” He huffed and Luke was amazed at how much of a brat this guy was.
“Justin, you never made an attempt to stop her after your little confession and you never tried to call her. And I don’t think it was you being here that upset James, I think it was the way you were acting. She’s a smart girl and she knows her manners. Give her a little credit here.” He waited for a rebuttal and when the man was silent, Luke gave up.
“Whatever. You’re here now, and so is she…I suggest you two grow up a bit and talk to each other. Either kiss and make up or end things for good, but don’t let this thing fester because it’s getting old, REAL fast.”
Justin lay back on his hotel bed with a heavy sigh. It had been a long day and all he wanted to do was sleep, but that wasn’t going to happen any time soon. The advice that Luke had given him was now swimming through his head at an alarming rate, and he couldn’t seem to find the solution to his problems. He knew exactly what he wanted to do, and that was to go up to Jamie and confess everything that had been plaguing him for the past year. But it wasn’t that simple, not by a long shot.
He had no idea how Jamie felt about all of this, and that was the hardest part. If he knew what she was feeling, then he would know what to say. But, then again, if he knew what she had been feeling that day at the airport, this could have been avoided a long time ago.
He sat up and ran his hands over his face roughly, hoping maybe that would help, but all it accomplished was adding to his headache and his frustrations. With something that resembled a primal grunt, he threw the pillow across the room and watched as it thudded against the deep red walls. He looked around the room and wondered what he was doing in this place. This place with its expensive silk sheets, and it’s fully stocked bar. Where he really wanted to be more than anywhere in the world right now, was in an old colonial house with high ceilings and the fresh smell of peach cobbler teasing his senses.
Letting out another sigh he made his way into the bathroom and got ready for bed. Losing out on sleep wouldn’t help any in his attempt to gain Jamie’s trust, and scaring her away because he looked like a zombie wasn’t a good idea either.
Saturday, a day of rest, relaxation and cool, tall, glasses of lemonade to wet the lips and take some bite out of the sun. That was what Saturdays were made of…usually. This Saturday was different, and Jamie cursed the day Justin Timberlake walked into her life and stole her heart.
She had fought with herself for most of the night, and she felt like crap right now. After her whole struggle with falling asleep, she hadn’t come to any more of a conclusion than before. And the only thing she knew right now was that Justin Timberlake was probably the most confusing guy she had ever laid eyes on.
She was beginning to believe her previous accusation that Justin was bipolar because of the way his emotions shifted. Chris had assured her that he wasn’t, but she wasn’t so sure anymore. The one decision she had made, was that they needed to talk. As much as she hated the thought of being alone in a room with him…Aw, who was she kidding? Just the thought of being alone with him, and having his attention fully tuned on her was enough to make her tingle.
She shook her head and decided that today they needed to talk. They had put this off for long enough, and it was time that they lay it all out on the table and go from there. She sighed and plopped heavily on her bed. She had made her decision, now all she needed to do was track down the guys and get Justin alone. But that…was easier said than done. Chris snapped his cell phone shut and smiled. He glanced across the room and spotted Justin bopping his head along to the music from his headphones. He checked his watched and figured he had to keep the boy occupied for about ten more minutes. Luke had just called and said that he had Jamie and was on his way.
The two men had put their heads together and decided that the two love birds needed a little push in the right direction. He smiled again and watched Justin. Making eye contact with Lance he motioned the man over and whispered his plan.
“Dude, Luke is on his way with Jamie, so in about ten minutes you need to clear out. We’re gonna accidentally lock Justin and James in this room together until they realize that they need each other.” Lance chuckled when he head their plan.
“Don’t you think that Justin will be a little pissed? I mean, he isn’t too keen on being locked in a room for any amount of time. You figured that one out that one night on the bus when you “accidentally” locked him in the bathroom.” Chris grew an impish grin and raised an eyebrow.
“It was an accident, I swear.”
“Just like it was a coincidence that MTV was filming us on the bus that day…right?” Chris laughed evilly again and Lance shook his head and walked away. Truthfully, Chris scared him sometimes.
A few minutes later there was a knock on the door and Chris nodded to Lance. Lance casually made his way to the outside exit, and slipped out unseen. Chris opened the door to reveal Luke holding tightly onto Jamie’s hand.
“You got the goods?” Chris whispered conspiratorially. Luke nodded and Chris opened the door wider and let the two slip in.
“What is this about? Luke, I thought you were taking me out to lunch. What are we…?” Her sentence trailed off as she noticed Justin and she knew that they had been set up. She whipped around quickly and saw the retreating form of Luke slip out the door. She lunged at him but the door shut and locked with a click.
By now Justin had realized that something was going on, and he had shut off his walkman. When he realized that he and Jamie were now alone, his heart started to beat faster and he suddenly forgot everything he wanted to say.
It was quiet in the room for a moment until someone pounded on the outside of the door and yelled through the wooded barricade.
“I don’t hear any talking in there! You two aren’t going anywhere until you kiss and make up. And Justin, I want you to put that tongue of yours to good use, and really kiss and make up…if you know what I mean.” Both Jamie and Justin rolled their eyes at Chris’ comment, but the intrusion had seemed to break the tension, somewhat.
Jamie crossed the room and sat down on the couch. She stared up at Justin and waited. When he looked everywhere but at her, she cleared her throat and decided it was her turn to start.
“Justin…you scared me.” His head came up sharply, but he waited for her to finish, his bright eyes watching her very closely. “I had all but given up on trying to understand you, and just when I think I know what I want, and know what’s good for me…you come along and change all that. I wanted to leave without a scene, I wanted to leave thinking that the feelings I had for you were unjustified, and that I should just move on. I had almost made it too, but when I say you sitting there at the air port, I knew that no matter what I did, there was no way I would be able to let you go. But then, when you kissed me and told me what you were feeling, the exact same way I was… I ran.” She paused for a second and Justin felt that he had to say something. Although, the words he chose weren’t exactly the right words for the situation.
“I noticed.”
“Don’t go making me out to be the bad guy here. Both of us held feelings from the other, and I know that it scared you too Justin. So don’t go making me look like the bitch that walked away. I was so damn scared about what all this meant, and I had to get away.” She laughed bitterly and then continued. “You know, I was even stupid enough to stop in the skyway and wait for you to come running after me. But you never did. I waited, and almost missed my flight because I was foolish enough to think that you might want me as much as I wanted you.”
By now the tears had come out in full force, and although Jamie wasn’t trying to make Justin feel guilty, she was doing a damned good job of it. “Was I wrong it that assumption Justin? Was it just my imagination when you kissed me? Or were you really there?” She had stood up forcefully and now she waited for his answer.
“James, you walked away from me! How was I supposed to know that you wanted me to come running after you when you didn’t give me any sort of hint as to what you were feeling? God, you expect me to know exactly what you want, but to be completely honest, I don’t even know what I want! The only thing I know right now; is that I’m so damn confused about this whole thing, I don’t know which way is up anymore.”
It grew silent for a moment while they digested the information they had just received. After a few moments, Jamie started to laugh and Justin looked at her as if she had too heads.
“What’s so funny?” He watched as the giggle grew into a full blown belly laugh, and it confused him even more. “James?” He waited as she calmed herself down and wiped the tears of laughter from her eyes.
“Justin, we’re being so incredible stupid.” She giggled again.
“That’s the second time I’ve been called that since I got here, I’m beginning to think this is some sort of conspiracy.”
“No, look at us Justin. Look. Here we sit, arguing because we like each other. We’re yelling because we’re both being stupid.”
“At least I’m not the only one anymore.”
“Don’t you see it?” She asked, walking up toward him and standing right in front of his tense frame.
“No…I’m sorry, but I don’t see anything.”
“We’ve been arguing about the fact that we want to be together. Here we are Justin. I’m standing right in front of you; you’re in front of me. Why are we fighting when what we’ve really always wanted is right in front of us?” He studied her face for a moment and realized what she was saying was completely true. Jamie continued to babble and a small smile crept across his face.
“…I mean, it’s been here…” He placed a hand on her shoulder and then moved it up to cup her cheek.
“James…” He whispered softly, catching her off guard.
“Huh?” He smiled at her and she wanted to melt right there.
“Do me a favor and shut up.” After that was said, he dipped his head down and brushed his lips against hers. When the slight contact was mad Jamie shivered with the delight of his touch and brought her hands up to his head to deepen the pressure. When Justin felt Jamie’s hands in his hair he tilted his head and deepened the contact, slowly working his lips over hers. Without noticing they had made their way back towards the couch, Jamie sat back quickly when her knees buckled as they hit the couch. Justin pushed her forward until she was laying the length of the sofa and he was gently resting on top of her.
While this whole thing was going on, the door had slowly opened a crack and two sets of eager eyes were peaking in at the couple that was now going at it heavily on the couch. Chris glanced at Luke and they decided it was time to end the fun before it went too far. Strutting into the room, Luke went over to Justin and tapped him on the shoulder.
“Excuse me buddy, that’s my best friend you’re sexing up there.” The couple jumped apart when Luke had spoken, and both were now red with embarrassment.
“Sorry.” Justin mumbled; his face a deep crimson. Jamie looked over at Chris who was enjoying the scene very much.
“Hey Chris,” He turned at her words and waited for her comment. “You know how you told Justin to put his tongue too good use? Well…he followed orders, and VERY well I might add. You two think you might wanna leave and lock that door for a few more minutes? I don’t think we were done making up? What about you Justin?”
“You know…I still had a few more things I uh…wanted to say…yeah.” Both Chris and Luke burst out laughing and they slapped each other a high five before turning to leave the room. Chris thought better of it and grabbed Justin by the arm before pulling him up and toward the door.
“We have a sound check in two minutes, and we should get going. James, are you going to watch?” He struggled with Justin as the young man tried his best to slip out of Chris’ grasp. After a few moments of wiggling, Chris let Justin’s arm go and stared at him in mock anger. “All right boy, now we’re gonna throw down.” He shoved Justin to the floor and Jamie and Luke watch in amazement as the two went at it. Both were worried that it would get serious, but Mac, Justin’s body guard stepped in at that moment and pulled Justin off of Chris.
“All right Girls; let’s stop bickering before someone gets hurt. Chris, you know how psycho Justin is about his curls, I would hate to see what would happen if you managed to mess them up. And I guarantee I wouldn’t be the one to peel your ass off the floor if you pissed the boy off again. You remember what happened last time.” Chris straightened out his clothes and threw a dirty look at Justin.
“Technicalities.” Justin laughed at Chris’ words and headed for the door. He stopped when he realized that Jamie wasn’t with him, and he turned around.
“Are you coming with us James?” He watched and waited and his heart started to sink as she shook her head no. “Why?” Jamie looked up at him and realized that she was pulling away from him again, and she didn’t want to do that. So instead, she covered up with a smile and a smart-ass comment.
“Because, I don’t want to be seen with you and Chris, it might ruin my image.” Everyone laughed and Luke pulled her into a hug. Justin relaxed visibly and headed out the door when Mac started pulling him. Jamie followed behind them, her fingers wrapped in Luke’s hand. She needed his comfort and his best friend word’s of wisdom. She was so scared and confused right now, that the only thing she was positive about was Luke, and that was a big comfort at the moment.
Jamie sat back and tried to keep her jaw from hitting the floor. This was her first time ever hearing NSYNC. As crazy as it sounded, Jamie hadn’t heard very many of their songs. Living in a trailer with a broken tape player and an eight track don’t help much in keeping you in tune with the time. Luke came over and sat next to her. He watched her for a second; a smile perched on his face. He leaned over and handed her a tissue, also managing to startle her from her daze.
“Huh? What’s this for?” She picked up the tissue and looked at it.
“Oh…just the drool that was making its way down your face.” He chuckled slightly and Jamie punched him hard in the arm.
“You’re a jackass.” She mumbled at his laughing form. He sobered up and gave her a small pout.
“That’s no way to talk to the best friend that just hooked you up with the man of your dreams.” Jamie shook her head and tried to ignore him as best she could, but he was breathing on her neck and making it very difficult.
“WHAT?” She screamed loud enough to gain the attention of all five men on the stage, and a few assistants and crew members around the arena.
“Oh nothing…I’m just waiting for that sigh of adoration that I know is coming.” When she roller her eyes at him he tapped her shoulder lightly. “Oh come on, don’t tell me that you’re not completely in love with their harmonies. I mean, even I might get all dreamy eyed here.”
“Oh, what’d you know?” She crossed her arms over her chest and pretended to be pissed off at him, when it reality that was very hard to do. Luke had a way of making you smile.
“Plenty, I have a stunning IQ.” She laughed at his come back and leaned her head on his shoulder, letting out that sigh that he had been waiting for.
Justin’s attention had been riveted on Jamie during the whole sound check, and it was now to the point where he was pissing off his band mates. It hadn’t been too bad until Luke sat down, and it was then that the ugly green monster reared its head.
He knew that Luke and Jamie were best friends, and that they shared a deep connection and past, but it still bothered him. She looked so comfortable with Luke, and yet, when she was with him…she was a basket case. He knew that he shouldn’t read into anything, because it would all come and bite him in the ass in the end, but he couldn’t help it. He wanted Jamie to need him like she needed Luke. He wanted that look of adoration to be aimed at him, instead of the man next to her.
He was being selfish, and he knew it too. But it couldn’t be helped. He was so unsure of where things would go with Jamie, and he knew what they shared was fragile at best. Shaking his head he turned his focus back to the song he was supposed to be singing. He decided to let things run their course, and see what came of it in the end.