�Better Than Best� Chapter 11: A Day With *NSYNC

Justin Timberlake stepped out. He shook hands with the guys while they introduced themselves. He took my hand and kissed it.

�Uh, Justin, this is my boyfriend, Dan Miller,� I said.

�Dan, my man, I�ll have her home early,� Justin laughed. �Don�t worry, we�ll take good care of her.�

I kissed Dan one more time before I got into Justin�s limo.

�So are you ready?� Justin asked.

�Yeah, I can�t wait to meet the others,� I replied.

�Great. The song you�ll help us with is called �Something Like You,�� he said as he handed me a sheet of paper with the lyrics printed on it.

I looked it over. �It looks like a great song,� I replied.

�It�s awesome. We�ll do all the recording today. You�ll be singing the whole song, dueting with both JC and myself,� Justin pushed a button and a song came on. �This is the demo we did for the song.�

We listened to the tape in silence. When it was over I clapped. �Wow. It sounds awesome. Why do you need me?�

�We need a higher voice to reach all the notes plus we thought it�d be cool to have another voice in there,� Justin smiled at me.

I returned his smile cautiously not wanting to lead him on. His smile was so flirtatious that I feared it. Soon we were pulling up in front of the recording studio. Justin got out first and held the door open for me.

�Thank you,� I said as I got out.

I followed him through the hallway to a room at the end. A sign on the door said �*NSYNC only.� Justin opened the door for me. Inside sat the guys from *NSYNC along with what seemed to be producers and managers.

Justin cleared his throat. �Ahem. May I introduce Jenna Fairfield.�

Lance came right up to me and shook my hand. �It a pleasure to finally meet you. You have an incredible voice.�

�Thank you so much. It�s so awesome that you asked me to be here.�

The others introduced themselves. When we were through, the producer who had introduced himself as Jeff, said, �It�s time to begin. Justin and Jenna are up first. You�ll be singing together just like a duet.�

Justin and I took our places in front of the two microphones and put on our headphones. The music started and we began singing. I had to look at my lyrics often but I pulled it off. We went through the chorus before they cut the music.

�Jenna, stay in there. JC, you�re up with her now,� Jeff called out.

JC and Justin switched places. JC and I began verse two. Not long into it, we both realized that we had great chemistry and sounded awesome together. We got really into it and got a standing ovation when we were through.

�Wow,� JC said into his mic. �Jenna, you have an awesome voice.�

�So do you, JC,� I replied.

We walked out of the booth to let the others record their harmonies. We rotated through the booth until it was just right.

�You guys can go grab a late lunch while I edit the final cut,� Jeff told us.

�Great! See ya in an hour,� Joey said.

Justin, JC, Lance, Chris, Joey, and I went to the nearest fast food restaurant to get something to eat because we were all starving. We ended up in a Jack in the Box. We ordered and sat down to eat. When we had finished we sat around talking.

�So Jenna, do you have a boyfriend?� Lance got right to it.

�Yes, actually his name is Dan Miller,� I replied.

�So he�s in your group with you? That�s cool,� Joey said.

�What are the guys like? Are they cool?� Chris asked.

�They�re great. They are all so sweet and fun to be with. We have such chemistry between us. Every show we do is so hot. We work so well together,� I looked out the window thinking about Dan and the guys.

JC touched my hand. �Jenna? Thinking about them?�

�Yeah, I must have zoned out. Sorry guys,� I said.

�No prob. Let�s get going. I wanna hear the finished product,� Justin stood up.

The rest of us followed his lead and headed for the door. We went back to the studio where Jeff was waiting for us. He looked excited and hopped up when we entered the room. He popped a CD into the slot and hit play.

�I can�t believe how good it came out,� he said before the song started.

We listened in silence. After it was through, we sat in stunned silence. Finally Lance spoke up.

�Oh my. That is awesome. Jenna, how can we thank you?� he turned to me.

�You can�t,� we laughed. �Actually I�d love a copy of it.�

�Done,� Jeff took the CD out, placed it in a CD case and handed it to me.

�Too easy. What else can we do? Justin asked.

�I don�t know. This was good enough for me,� I replied.

�Well, let us at least take you back to your hotel,� JC said.

�That would be great,� I said leading them to the door. �Thanks again Jeff.�

�No problem. Any time,� Jeff replied with a wave.

The guys and I got into a limo and headed back to my hotel. �Hey Jenna?� Justin asked.

�Yeah Justin?� I replied with a smile.

�Thanks for coming today,� Justin said.

�Aw, it wasn�t anything big. I should be thanking you for inviting me.�

�No, thank you for everything. You are the best,� Joey half hugged me.

JC gave me a high five. �You�re great. You�ll have to perform with us at one of our concerts.�

�That�d be cool! Oh look there�s my hotel. Well I�m so glad that you let me do a song with you,� I hugged all the guys.

�We�ll keep in touch,� Justin said as I stepped out of the limo.

�Great. I�ll look forward to it,� I waved at their smiles as they drove away.

I turned and walked up to the room. I used my key card to get in. I put my stuff on the bed and went into the bathroom and did a quick face check before calling Dan. I punched in his cell phone number and heard it ring twice before, �Hello?�

�Hey babe. Did ya miss me?� I asked.

�Jenna? Oh baby, how�d it go? Did you show them up?� Dan replied.

�It was amazing. They loved me. They even invited me to perform with them sometime. How cool is that?�

�Major cool. Are you coming down to the studio with us? We�ll be here for the rest of the day.�

�Of course. I�ll be there in a bit. Bye babe.�

�See ya,� Dan hung up.

I gathered my stuff and went downstairs. Mike and Mike had left an SUV for me to drive for the day so I got in and took off for the studio. When I got there the girl waved me through and I found the room they were recording in. I went in to find Dan in the booth recording our new track �We Fit Together.�

I walked up to the control panel and waved at him. Dan waved back and smiled at me. I sat down between Ashley and Trevor on the couch. Jacob was sitting in a chair by the window playing his guitar.

�Hey Jenna. How�d it go?� Ashley asked.

�Great. I�ll play the CD for you later,� I replied.

Trevor sighed. �It wasn�t the same here without you today.�

�You guys seem so out of it� so tired,� I observed.

Jacob looked up from his music. �You have no idea.�

�I take it you aren�t telling me everything,� I said reluctantly.

Jacob, Ashley, and Trevor tightened. Nobody spoke. They avoided my eyes. Something was definitely up.

<<< Back | Forward >>>