They arrived at Justin’s Grandma Sadie’s a few minutes later. She could see the excitement on his face, and she wondered if it was because of tonight, or because he was getting to see his grandmother. He helped her out of the car and grabbed the bag of her shoulder, carrying it into the house. Jamie smiled when she stepped inside, it smelled like warm apples and peaches, and it cast a homey feel over her. It was the warm, country home that she had always dreamed of.
Justin smiled at the look of comfort and contentment that crossed Jamie’s face. He placed his hand on the small of her back and urged her into the kitchen.
A petit old woman was putting around in a flowery old apron. Her hair was snowy white and her hands were aged with time and the wear of many years and many children. She looked up when the two kids entered the kitchen and she smiled. It was a smile that only grandmother’s know how to give.
“Hi, Grandma.” Justin’s voice seemed childish and he stood with his head slightly bowed, but his eyes fixed on this woman. She smiled sweetly and put her hands on her hips.
“I haven’t seen my boy in months, where’s my hug?” The grin on his face grew and he crossed the kitchen to give his grandmother a huge hug. “You’re getting so big.” She said as he stood up straight. He stood almost a foot and a half taller than she, and the sight was almost comical.
Her attention was shifted from Justin when she spotted Jamie still standing in the door way.
“Don’t just stand there child…come in and say hello to Grandma Sadie.” The woman out stretched her arms and Jamie didn’t hesitate before stepping into her warm embrace. “You must be Jamie, the young lady that has stolen my Grandson’s heart. I haven’t heard him babble about a girl for a very long time.” She smiled again and then dropper her voice to a low whisper. “I think I should warm you though…Justin can be-“
“Grandma that’s enough. We just got here you don’t want to be filling Jamie’s head with bad thoughts about me.”
“Don’t sass me boy, and I’ll tell the child whatever I want. Like the time you stayed over here and thought you had gremlins under your bed.” She turned to Jamie and continued. “The boy was so frightened that he leaped into bed but he missed and landed on the floor with a thud, and right in front of the bed too. He got up screamin’ and a hollerin’ ‘cause he swore that he saw the little green creature under his bed and it tried to grab him. By this time he had wet his pants.”
Justin’s face had turned about fifty shades of red and he looked ready to crawl into a hole and die. Jamie had to put her hand up to her mouth to stop the laughter, but a slight giggle managed to escape.
“Who invited you anyway?” He asked grumpily, crossing his arms over his chest and pushing out his bottom lip.
“You did, Stud Muffin, and you love the attention.” She walked over to him and stood in front of him. She rose up on her tip toes and kissed him softly. He kissed her back and then she felt him smile under her lips. “What?” She asked as she pulled away.
“Nothing…it’s just…that was the first time you kissed me. I’m usually the one to initiate any sort of physical contact.” She smiled up at him and then kissed him again.
“You like that?” She whispered and he closed his eyes and nodded. “Well too bad!” His eyes popped open and she laughed at his shocked expression. After the shock wore off, he proceeded in chasing her around the house until they were both doubled over in laughter.
“All right, I’m going to start dinner, you go sit and relax. No peeking now…this is going to be a surprise.” She looked up at him and he noticed an evil gleam in her eyes.
“Should I order take out now? Or do you want me to wait until you actually do burn down the kitchen; either way will work for me.” He threw her a dirty look and started to walk away.
“Ha ha…very funny. But looks aren’t everything. I’m a good cook, you just wait.” He stormed into the kitchen and Jamie laughed and plopped herself down on the couch. She looked around, trying to figure out what to do. She spotted an old photo album on the shelf and she picked it up, deciding to take a trip down Justin’s memory lane.
About an hour later, Justin came into the living room to find Jamie perched on the couch, legs crossed, and she was flipping through his Grandmother’s photo album. He walked over quietly and leaned over her shoulder to see what picture she was looking at. He smiled when he noticed what it was.
“That was from my sixteenth birthday. I celebrated my birth, and our first gold album.” Jamie looked up at him and grinned.
“You were such a ham as a little boy…and you had the biggest hair.” He stuck his tongue out at her and she giggled. “I’m just teasing you Boy, calm down.”
“Well…if you’re done teasing me, dinner’s ready.” Jamie closed the book and set it on the end table. She pushed herself up from the sofa and followed Justin into the kitchen.
She drew a sharp intake of breath when she saw what he had done. The table was set with a pair of tall, white candles, and a glass vase filled with lilies.
“Hungry?” She jumped slightly when Justin’s voice was suddenly present in her ear, but she recovered quickly.
“Famished.” He placed his hand on the small of her back and led her to the chair. He pulled the chair out and helped her sit down before sitting in his own. He uncovered a dish of garlic roasted chicken and rice. Jamie was amazed at how good it looked and even more amazed at how great it tasted.
“I didn’t know you were a cook Justin.” He smiled shyly and dipped his head, shrugging.
“EH, what can I say? I can do it all.” Jamie hit him lightly with her napkin and laughed at his antics.
“No really…thank you for this Justin, this is great.” He leaned over and kissed her lightly and then winked.
“Well, save room. If you think this is good, just wait until you taste my grandmother’s cooking.” Jamie’s eyes sparkled with amusement and admiration. Justin was the only other person, besides Luke, that made her feel so comfortable. Even when they were fighting and avoiding each other in Orlando, she still felt comfortable, it just happened to be hidden underneath all the other feelings Justin managed to make her feel.
He was the first person to make Jamie feel the way he did. She couldn’t describe just what it was that he made her feel, but it was magical all the same. And even though Jamie didn’t know it, she was the first to make Justin feel this way too. He had assumed what he had before was it…that was as good as it got, but he had been wrong. It wasn’t until Jamie came along and set off so many things inside of him. She had made him realize that there was so much more out there that he hadn’t experienced, and now he had found the person he wanted to experience it with.
They had finished dinner and cleaned up after themselves and Jamie had gone upstairs to shower and change. When she came down Justin was lying down on the couch, glasses on, reading an article in a magazine. Jamie got on the couch, straddling Justin’s knees. She then leaned forward, placing her hands on either side of his hips, and continued to make her way up to his face. He lowered the magazine and watched from over the top of the paper. She smiled slightly and removed the article from his hands before throwing it onto the floor. He cocked an eyebrow in amusement and Jamie smiled.
When she had reached him, she leaned down and placed a deep kiss on his slightly parted lips. Justin was taken aback for a second, but he soon gave in. He lifted his hands and placed them on her hips, bringing her down to him. They rolled slightly, so both were on their sides.
The kiss was getting deeper, but it wasn’t desperate or even suggestive. It was slow and sensual and neither of them intended on taking it any farther. Justin pulled back a moment later and sighed.
“You smell good…like lavender and cream.” Jamie smiled and snuggled into his chest. She raised her eyes and looked at him.
“You look really good in glasses, you should wear them more often In fact; all of you should, especially JC. He looks MIGHTY fine in those specs of his.” Justin glared playfully at her.
“Hey! You’re supposed to say that about me, not one of my best friends.” Jamie laughed at his pouting lip and she leaned up to kiss him lightly.
“You look incredibly sexy in your glasses…is that better?” He grinned victoriously and laughed.
“Much better. Now just tell it to that stupid girl that said JC was better looking than me, and I’ll be happy.”
“You’re such a baby.” He laughed and pulled her into his chest.
“Yeah, but you love me for it.” She didn’t say anything. Instead she snuggled into him, and sighed. Justin carefully removed his glasses and set them on the table, giving in to the fatigue that was taking over his body. That was how Sadie found the two later, when she walked into the house. Jamie was squeezed in between Justin’s chest and the back of the couch. Her leg was tangled with his and her head was tucked beneath his chin. She smiled knowingly at the pair and removed the blanket from the back of the couch to place over them. When she had tucked them in, she kissed Justin lightly on the forehead and turned off the lamp that stood beside the couch.
Justin awoke slowly, trying to get a feel of his surroundings. He smiled slightly when he noticed Jamie resting on top of him, her head under his chin. He carefully tried to slip out from underneath her, but when he moved he realized that they were in a difficult position. When Jamie felt his movement, she stirred slightly and their position got worse. Justin cringed as her knee moved higher up between his legs, and he felt most of the air rush out of his lungs.
Jamie took a deep breath and slowly opened her eyes. She smiled at Justin but that look soon turned to concern when she noticed the pained look on his face.
“Justin, what’s wrong?” She slid up his body to get closer, but when she did he moaned in pain.
“Jamie, sweetie…I would like to have children some day, but you’re going to deprive me of that possibility if you move your knee any higher into my crotch.” Jamie’s eyes widened when she realized what he had said and she quickly straightened out her leg. Justin sighed with relief and Jamie’s face was bright with embarrassment.
“Oh God…I think you killed him.” He rolled slightly, moving his hands down to his waist and Jamie covered her face.
“I’m so sorry.” He voice was muffled from behind her hands and Justin laughed at her discomfort with the situation.
“Relax Baby… I was kidding.” He watched as she lowered her hands and when she was finally looking at him he smiled a mischievous grin. “But if you’re really worried about him…we can do some research to see if he still works properly.” Jamie’s eyes widened in shock and Justin thought they were going to pop out of her head.
“Justin Randall!” She hit him repeatedly on the shoulder as he started to laugh. “You are such an as..." He words were cut off when someone cleared their throat above them and both Jamie and Justin stopped to look up at Justin’s grandmother.
“When you two are done…breakfast is ready and waiting.” She walked away and Jamie buried her head in Justin shoulder.
“I can’t believe you just said that, in front of your grandmother no less! She’s going to think that I’m some whore.” Justin laughed again and kissed the side of her head.
“No she won’t…I don’t think she heard me anyway. Come on…let’s get up. If you thought her apple pie was good, wait until you taste breakfast.”
They slowly made their way into the kitchen and Jamie’s nostrils were filled with the smells of something wonderful. The table was set with waffles, bacon, eggs, and toast and glasses of fresh squeezed orange juice.
“Mmm, smells delicious Grams.” Justin gave his grandmother a peck on the cheek and then sat down next to Jamie.
“Eat up kids. I have some places to go today, and a few things I need to pick up at the store, so I’ll be out of your hair for most of the day.” She shuffled around the table, filling glasses and piling more food onto plates. “Justin, your parents are back from Florida this week, it would be nice if you stopped by to see them. You haven’t seen your mother in over a month…she misses you boy.” Justin smiled up at his grandmother and nodded.
“One step ahead of you Grams, I was already planning on going over and taking James with me…I’m sure she misses Aunt Lynn too.” Justin smirked at Jamie and she stuck her tongue out at him.
“Don’t be jealous that I had a closer relationship with your mother when you were a kid…Although it’s not hard to see why.” Justin’s jaw dropped when his grandmother started laughing and he glared playfully at Jamie.
“Just you wait little girl…your time will come. Just you wait.” Jamie shot him and innocent grin and Justin laughed lightly. Things had certainly opened up between them, and there was this new sense of comfort now. It was as if they had always been together.
There was also this feeling of understanding, like they knew exactly what the other was thinking and feeling…because they were feeling it themselves.
After they finished eating, Justin ran upstairs to take a shower and get dressed. Jamie sat in her chair and watched Justin’s grandmother clean up, and she felt somewhat useless at the moment.
“Is there something I can help with Mrs. Bomar?”
“Please dear, call me Grandma Sadie, everyone else does. And you don’t need to do a thing, I’m used to cleaning up after that boy and his rowdy friends…you just go and relax, you look like you could use the rest. And to be honest, I’d get as much as you could, because I think Justin has some plans for you two and when that boy gets an idea there’s no stopping him.” Jamie giggled and smiled. She really liked Sadie, she was a sweet woman that treated Justin like the grandson he was. There was no star treatment, and there was no excuse to be made. Justin was just Justin when he was here, and Jamie could see why he cherished his family so much.
The rest of the day had been a whirl of activities. Justin had taken Jamie to so many places, mostly because he had people that he wanted to visit. It had been fun, having that time together. Jamie was so glad she got to see the side of Justin that he normally didn’t let loose. She got to see the son, grandson, cousin and big brother. It was heart warming to watch his interactions with people that saw him as just Justin, and it was refreshing to see that he still acted that way. To say that she felt out of place would be a slight understatement, but Justin’s family did their best to make her feel comfortable. His mother was as sweet as ever, and both had a great time catching up.
Now they were sitting at a picnic table eating ice cream, just the two of them. Justin had decided that he had given his family the time that they deserved; now it was Jamie’s turn.
“James…I wanted to talk to you about Orlando.” Jamie raised her eyes from her cup up to Justin’s face, but she stayed silent. “I have to go back in three days; they scheduled some recording for us. Johnny’s wedding is in three weeks, and I really want you there.” She licked the ice cream off her lips and turned on the bench to face Justin.
“Justin…I know that you really want to have me there, but I don’t know. I mean, what about my father, and my job? The money I make helps him out, and I couldn’t just up and leave him. Also, last time I was in Orlando…things weren’t as wonderful as they could have been.” Justin watched as her eyes dropped to her cup again and it finally clicked.
“Is that what you’re afraid of? James, I’m not the same person I was last year. You changed me,” He lifter her chin so she could see into his eyes and continued. “Jamie, you made me realize exactly what it is that I want. I’m not going to pull away from you once we’re back down there. This means too much, YOU mean too much for me to lose that again. I let you walk away from me once, but I’m not going to make that mistake again, you don’t need to worry about that.”
She sighed heavily and closed her eyes. “I know that Justin, deep inside I know.” She opened her eyes again and caught him watching her, waiting for her answer to his actual question. “I want to go so badly, but I can’t leave my father J, I’m all he has. If there were some way for me to know that he would be OK with out me, then I would go with you in a heart beat, but even I know you can’t pull something like that off in three days.” Justin’s spoon stopped half way to his mouth as a sudden thought flashed through his brain.
Jamie was startled as Justin flung himself up from his seat and he hurried over to the trash can to throw his cup away. He paced for a few seconds and then smiled devilishly at her, giving her chills.
“If I can think of something in a week, will you move down to Orlando with me?” He held up a hand to stop her protest as the gears continued to grind in his head. “Give me one week James, and if you like what I have to say, you come down to stay with me.” He looked at her expectantly and she knew there was no resisting the pleading that was going on in his eyes. She sighed reluctantly and nodded.
“All right Justin…but you have one week, and I have to agree to EVERYTHING that you think of, ok?” His smile widened and he heaved her off of the bench, pulling her slight frame into his much bigger one. He dipped his head and kissed her deeply and fully on the lips.
“Thank you James, you’re not going to regret this.” He kissed her again and she smiled.
“I better not.”