Wildfire...The First Chapter

WILDFIRE
By Aysia Anderson (a.k.a. Nikki)

Chapter Ten: Tying Loose Ends

Camille tried her best to calm her racing nerves as she poured a cup of coffee for her guest and placed it down before him on a saucer. Originally she had wanted to tell him to leave the premises immediately and never return but then she thought otherwise. What was the harm in sitting down to have a conversation without involving the feelings from the past? She was sure that from their unhappy greeting at the door he understood fully that there was no chance of them ever reconciling in a romantic arena.

"Still adding coffee to your sugar and creamer, eh?" David smiled, sipping from his coffee mug with a smile.

"If you don’t like it I can make you another one with nothing in it." she waited for him to shake his head before sitting down across the table from him. "So besides the obvious reason why did you really come here today?"

"I honestly wanted to make sure that you were okay." He explained. "It’s been hard to find out with you locked away in seclusion up here and no one in your family wanting to give up any privileged information."

"Stalking my family members now?"

"Only on the weekends."

Camille smiled warmly at his joke and tucked her hair behind her ears. "It’s hard right now. It’s very hard."

David nodded that he understood. "He told you face to face?"

"Yes and no. He didn’t tell me the whole story upfront and if there’s anything that we both agreed on going into this marriage thing was that we had to have honesty."

"Maybe he only withheld some of the story as not to hurt you?"

"Whatever." Camille took a deep breath, her index finger smoothing a circle onto the glass surface of the kitchen table. "This is exactly what I didn’t want to happen. I didn’t want to have one of those Hollywood marriages that only lasts two years."

"You said that you weren’t planning on divorcing him." David stared at her intently.

"I don’t know what I’m going to do anymore. Justin changed the rules of the game so maybe I’m going to change them a little bit myself."

"You don’t still see this relationship thing as a game, Camille?"

"He’s treating it like a game!"

"No, the guy made a mistake. From the little that I do know about him he doesn’t seem the type to court you, marry you, and then screw the nation."

"I need a drink." Camille shook her head and stood from the table.

"You don’t drink."

"You don’t know what I do anymore."

"I know that drinking yourself into misery is not going to help the situation. You used to tell me shit like that."

"Yeah, I told him that too." she stopped in front of one of the cabinets and reached up high for the bottle tucked away from her daughter’s line of vision.

"Camille, don’t lose sight of who you are because of this. It’s a horrible situation to be in but it isn’t unfixable. Have you even tried to sit down with him and talk things through or did you do your usual ‘get the fuck out of my face and leave me alone’ routine?"

"What do you think I did?"

"I think you did what I just said." he diverted his attention out of the sliding glass doors leading to the veranda and lifted the porcelain mug back to his lips.

Camille stared at the bottle that she now held in her hands. David was right. Boozing was not the answer to her problems no matter how horrible she felt at the moment. She had never used alcohol as an out before and she had prime examples of reasons not to. The night that Justin had done what he had done was influenced by alcohol and after she had kicked him out of the house he had spent all night in a bar playing pool and drinking himself into a stupor. Trace had called her to let her know he was flying him out to Orlando for a few weeks until he could get his head straight. Alcohol solved nothing.

David watched as Camille took a few steps over to the sink and opened the bottle of half drunken liquor. Without hesitation she tilted the head of the bottle and let the golden hued liquid disappear down the drain. Once the bottle was empty she opened the cabinet door beneath the sink and dropped it into the small trash can within.

"Was that so bad?" he asked.

"No, I don’t drink." she made a face at him before making her way back over to the table and reclaiming her seat. "I don’t know what I’m supposed to say to him when he gets here."

"Is he coming today?"

"Unfortunately." she drawled.

"You want him to be here. I can read it in every action that you make."

"He’s my husband. I’m supposed to want him here."

"You love him and that’s why you want him here. If he was just your boyfriend you would still want him here for that very reason."

Camille analyzed this man sitting in her kitchen as he drank her coffee as if he had all of the answers in the world. He still looked the same, sounded the same, but he was different. She didn’t have any idea what experiences he had had after they had gone their separate ways but whatever it was seemingly gave him an up on her.

"So who was she? What was she like?" she inquired, taking a napkin from it’s holder in the middle of the table and folding it to give herself something to do other than to focus on the man before her.

"Her name was Janise." David nodded to himself. "I met her in a cab actually, if you can believe that. We were both on our way to the airport and during the ride we got to talking. It was this instant connection almost like the one that you and I had but it was different, you know?"

"You wanted to marry her then?"

"No, no. It wasn’t one of those things but I did see something in her. She had this cute little gap between her front two teeth and these barely-there freckles on her upper cheek."

"Freckles and a gap?" Camille lifted an eyebrow. "How attractive is that?"

"She was beautiful." David narrowed his eyes at the young woman before him who quickly apologized for her statement. "She was of Irish and Spanish decent, just absolutely beautiful. Her voice was really low and sultry and whenever she moved you couldn’t help but to watch her."

"Wish I could have met this woman."

"I wish you could have met her too. We got married after two years of dating but once we were married we figured out that Janise couldn’t have children and that really strained the relationship because we both really wanted kids. We considered adoption but that never panned out. Then one night she just woke up and said that she didn’t want to do it anymore. She didn’t want to be married, not just to me, but to anyone and she wanted out."

"So you gave her the divorce?"

"What else could I have done?"

"You could have fought for her." Camille said seriously, leaning back in her chair.

"If there is anything that I’ve learned in my life its that you can’t make someone love you that doesn’t love you." David answered to her remark, staring her down.

"Is that supposed to mean something?"

"Take it how you want to take it."

"I’m not going to have this conversation with you for the millionth time because it was you that walked away from the relationship. It wasn’t me." Camille meant to add more but decided against it once spotting her daughter hopping down the stairs and up the hallway toward them.

"Mommy, when will daddy be here?" Nicole asked, climbing up into her mother’s lap and playing with the diamond wedding ring on her left hand.

"He’ll be here very soon, baby." Camille replied with a smile and kissed her on the cheek. "He’ll be here as soon as he can."

/*/*/…////

"If there was anything that Camille didn’t like it was having Justin upset with her. It didn’t happen often but when it did it really destroyed her." Lynn Harless explained as the cameras continued to roll. "In the public she’s seen as this very strong and very independent young woman and for the most part she is but just as Justin is very emotional she can be as well. She hated getting into arguments or fighting with him because she knew that she had a mouth on her and would say something that she didn’t mean. She’d either end up saying something that would really hurt him or pushing him to the point of saying something that would really hurt her. Their first little dispute isn’t something that could have been considered a fight really but because he was upset with her she was very upset. He was going to go out and see her so they could settle everything but I kind of intervened there."

"How did you do that?" Gary asked.

"I asked for him to have her come over to my house since he was already there because I wanted to have a talk with them both and with her alone." Lynn answered. "I thought that she could use a little advice from someone that knew Justin maybe better than she did and I didn’t want him to say anything that would mess up something that could be really good in the long run."

"So you stepped in with the mommy talk?" the older man smiled slightly.

"Yes, I had to step in and play referee for a moment. I didn’t want either of them to continue on the paths that they were choosing especially so early into their relationship."

////

Camille took a deep breath as she sat inside of her car in front of Paul and Lynn Harless’ home. She hadn’t wanted to come to their house to have this discussion with Justin but there was nothing that she could really say about it. Lynn telling her to come over was like a demand from her own mother herself. She wasn’t going to tell Justin’s mother to fuck off and mind her own business. Justin and his affairs were her business. Besides, she was older and had more insight into the pitfalls of a serious relationship. She just hoped that she wouldn’t walk into the doors and hear her say that she thought she and Justin should see other people.

Taking one last minute to get herself centered Camille opened the door of her Jaguar and stepped out into the driveway. Closing the door behind herself she quickly made her way toward the front door to avoid the drizzle that had began five minutes earlier. She rang the doorbell once and waited patiently for someone to answer it. A moment later the door opened and was replaced with the tall frame of Justin.

"You got the part?" he asked, smoothing his hand over the back of his neck, the other hand barely visible from the too long sleeve of his khaki colored knit sweater.

"Yeah, I told you that over the phone." she answered, unable to look up and into his eyes.

"Then you should be happy right now. You look like you’re about to cry."

Camille closed her eyes and cocked her head slightly to the side. She didn’t want the tears to start falling but him acting so indifferent about the situation was hurtful. She wanted to say ’no shit, Sherlock, I want to die right now’, but wasn’t that brave. He knew that he was making her feel bad but obviously he didn’t care at the moment.

"Are you going to come in or what? You’re going to get soaked."

Without another word Camille moved passed him and into the house. She didn’t wait for him to close the door before making her way to the den where his mother sat patiently waiting for her arrival. Seeing the distraught state that was about to take over Camille Lynn stood up and met her in the center of the room taking her into her arms. Justin entered the room a moment later and shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Sweetheart, don’t cry. You should be so happy right now." Lynn whispered into the younger woman’s ear as she smoothed her hands over her back soothingly.

"Babe?" Justin’s voice sounded from behind Camille and she felt his hands on her shoulders. "Don’t be upset, okay? I’m sorry."

"Hey, hey." Lynn took a step back and tilted the younger woman’s face up so that she could get a better look at her. "Don’t go ruining that pretty face of yours with tears. There’s nothing to cry about. Justin was being a jerk and he knows it." she smoothed away the streaks of solution on her face with the pads of her thumbs.

"Honey, come here, please?" Justin asked, directing her around to face him so that he could draw her into his arms. "I’m sorry okay? Don’t cry."

Camille’s hands cupped around his shoulders as she cried into his chest. Cautiously he lead her over to the couch and sat down with her in the middle of him and his mother. Lynn held on to her left hand, smoothing it with her own hands in her lap, while Justin rubbed a hand over her side and held the top of her head close to his own with the other while kissing her temple.

"Your agent called you and told you that you got the role?" he asked, his voice near a whisper.

"No, George called himself." she answered, sniffling. "I can’t believe I’m crying right now."

"Sometimes the strong are in for a bit of a cry, sweetheart. You’re not infallible." Lynn responded. "Sometimes it’s the little things that hurt the most. If it makes you feel any better Justin cried too."

"Mom!" he glared at her as she smiled.

"He’s just a big old baby." she continued. "If there is anything about him that you need to know it’s that he’ll take things completely overboard. A lot of the time you may have to bring him back down to earth with situations."

"Nice of you to say that, mom."

"So, Cam?" Lynn asked and smiled warmly when she finally looked up to face her. "I’m going to let the two of you talk for a little while alone but I want you to come and talk to me before you leave, okay?"

"Okay."

"Keep smiling." she kissed her on the cheek and stood up to leave the room.

"I’m sorry I came over here like this." Camille apologized and Lynn shook her head in protest as if there were no reason for her to say she was sorry. Silently she watched the classic older woman disappear from the room and listened to her footsteps trail up the stairs to her bedroom.

"I didn’t know I made you this upset." Justin brought her back down to the situation and smoothed away the remnants of her tears with his thumb as she turned back to him. "I blew the whole situation completely out of proportion and wasn’t trying to hear what you were trying to say."

"You and Johnny were just trying to help me out."

"Johnny and I were being selfish, okay? Johnny was thinking of our relationship as a possible investment while I was thinking about nothing but spending more time with you."

"There is nothing wrong with you wanting to spend more time with me. I like having you around."

"I understand that but I also understand that right now, at this point in your career, things can easily shift from you being a talented young singer to just my girl, and there will be no telling if you’re career is viable or people are paying attention just because of who you’re seeing privately."

"I don’t care what people think about our relationship. They were already talking about the possibility of us being a couple after the Grammy performance."

"Then we’ll just continue to let them talk and speculate." he looked over the gentle features of her face. "So even though you and Johnny decided that I should be in the video I think I’m going to decline from the offer and tell him to call up Will Smith’s agent."

"Why would you do that?"

"Because then the media can speculate that you’re trying to break up Will and Jada’s relationship and they won’t be focused in on what’s really going on." he smirked.

"Ha, ha." Camille shook her head at him, "You’re in the video, Justin."

"No, seriously. I don’t think I should do it anymore."

"It’s my video and I want you to be in it. You have no say in this decision."

"Camille, don’t do this because it started a fight, alright? I’m fine with not doing it."

"Justin?"

"What?"

"Shut the fuck up, you’re doing my video."

He kissed her full lips gently and smiled against them. "Damn, was the swearing necessary?"

"It was to get my point across." she sniffed. "Don’t make me cry anymore, okay?"

"I can’t promise anything." he answered truthfully. "I’ll definitely try not to though."

"I’ll try not to make you cry anymore as well."

"I can’t believe she told you that!"

"Aw, baby, you do care!" Camille joked with him and wrapped her arms around his middle.

"You know I care." he smoothed his cheek over her hair. "Two stubborn people in a relationship. How is this going to work out?"

"Why don’t we wait and see?"

"Sounds like a plan."

"I hope you’re packed."

"For what?"

"The video shoot! We have to be out of here Friday night!"

"Babe, that’s like four days away!"

"Don’t call me to pack your stuff last minute, J." Camille detached herself from him and stood up from the couch to exit the room.

"Where are you going?"

"To go talk to your mother like she asked me to."

"You’re just going to do everything that my mother asks you to do?"

"Pretty much." she nodded, holding on to the doorframe. "I trust her a lot more than I trust you."

"If you love her so much why don’t you marry her?" he stuck his tongue out at his girlfriend.

"Because she doesn’t have the equipment that you do so take that, baldy!" Camille shot back at him and darted down the hallway. Soon she was jogging up the stairs and was knocking on the bedroom door. "Mom?"

"Oh, come on in, sweetheart!" Lynn called from within and Camille turned the brass knob and stepped inside. "So are you excited about the movie?"

"Yeah," Camille came to sit down with her on the bed and smiled sheepishly.

"In the whole year that I’ve known you, Cam, I have never seen you cry."

"Oh, trust me that I put in my time when it comes to crying like a big old baby." she kicked off her shoes and drew her legs up into the bed at her side. "I cried a lot when David and I broke up."

"You never cried when you had arguments or disputes though." Lynn pointed out.

"I know."

"This is different isn’t it?"

Camille looked at the curly haired woman strangely. "What do you mean?"

"This relationship with my son is far different than the relationships that you have had in the past? It feels different?"

"Well, sort of, yes."

"I can tell." Lynn inhaled deeply. "It’s different for him as well."

"How is that?"

"The two of you have something very deep and very real. It’s rare to find something like it as young as you are but I think that you’ve found it."

"We’ve found…it?"

Lynn smiled gently at her son’s girlfriend whom looked as if she were about to spew all over the place and run for the hills. "Sweetheart, I know that you’re in love with him. It’s strange but I can read you just as clearly as I can read him. It’s as if I gave birth to you myself!"

Camille began to fidget with her fingers unsure of quite what to say. "I don’t know if I’m in love with him, Lynn."

"No," she shook her head, cocking it to the side to analyze the young woman’s features. "You are but you don’t know how to accept it or vocalize it yet."

"It’s only been a month."

"It’s been a year." she corrected. "You’ve had these feelings from the start just as he has."

"He’s been in love with me from the beginning?"

"You were with David and then you were with Usher, honey. He wasn’t about to step over the boundaries."

Camille’s eyes shifted to the floor. "Does he know…?"

"He doesn’t have any idea why I wanted to talk to you alone and I’m not going to tell him. I just want you to think about these things and think about how you really feel on the inside. The sooner that you stop suppressing them the better things will be for you. Not just with your relationship with Justin but with everything else as well. You’re holding back."

Once again she was at a loss for words.

"I see you holding yourself back in so many different avenues, Camille." Lynn continued. "You’re afraid to give it your all in anything because it may leave you vulnerable and you’re terrified of getting hurt. I’ve listened to your voice, it’s beautiful, but I know that you’re holding back. When you go in there to record your next album just let go. When you’re doing this movie with George Clooney and DreamWorks just let go…and when you’re loving Justin just let go. He’s not like all of those other guys that you’ve been with. He won’t let you down. He won’t hurt you."

Camille leaned forward and locked her arms around her boyfriend’s mother. She was saying the same things that her own mother had told her but her wording was far better. The tone of her voice and the carefully selected words brought so much more strength to the point that she was trying to get across. She never wanted to let her go. She was like her guardian angel.

////

"Do you think that your heart to heart with Camille could have played into the success of her sophomore album?" Gary questioned the heaven sent woman sitting strongly before him.

"I don’t concern myself with things like that. Camille’s album was going to be astounding no matter what was said to her. I’d like to think that I am a person that she can come to when she can’t find her way out of the darkness and that offer will be forever standing even if she and my son can’t sort out their problems. I’ve taken her and my grandchild into my life as if they had never not been a part of it. I love her to death."

"Now, shortly after this point Justin began to publicize his new album, Camille was getting ready to shoot her new video…"

"Yes, they were both going to be leaving out that Friday night to go to The Bahamas to shoot her video for Can’t Be Your Friend which as I think about it now was an appropriate song for the two of them!"

Gary agreed completely. "It epitomized how a lot of people feel when things transition from friendship into more."

"Exactly. A lot of people want to say that she wrote the song about him while she was with David but that wasn’t true. She had already recorded her first album before she had even met Justin. It sounded like it was about them but it wasn’t."

"With Justin’s second effort, which had been put on hold for a while with his filming of Edison and an NSYNC album, there were a lot of songs that did refer to their relationship, correct?"

Lynn nodded once again, "The writing process for both Camille and Justin is a reflection of their lives and the lives around them or the idea of this ‘what if’ scenario. At the time he was beginning a new relationship, he had been keeping in his feelings for nearly a year, and a lot of things just overflowed. I remember when he was doing the photo shoot for the album cover. I wasn’t there but he had told me about it. The crew was asking him a lot of questions and it was so difficult for him not to just tell the world."

////

"A lot of dirty old women are going to run out to the stores and buy this album because of this shoot!" Justin joked as he stood in front of the cameras shirtless feeling overly conscious. "I like the idea of clothes, man!"

"We won’t use this as the cover shot if it makes you feel any better. We’ll put it on the inside." Santiago Fuerres, the head photographer for the album assured him as he altered the controls on his camera.

"Tell me why I don’t believe you, man." Justin countered. "The only thing I understand about this is the possible shot of the tattoo on my back."

"You want the album to consist of where all of your tattoos are?" Johnny chuckled, sitting in a director’s chair off on the sidelines with a thermos in hand.

"Ah, ha! You’ve got jokes!"

"I do!"

"See if I baby sit for you again, Johnny. Just you wait." Justin moved around trying to keep himself warm as the music in the studio blasted the music that he requested.

"So, Timberlake? Word is that there’s a certain young woman in your life now." Santiago began to make small talk while his assistants worked around him setting out the prints that were already completed and loading his collection of cameras with more film.

"Oh, is that what the word is?"

"You’re always dating some sexy siren, kid. Who is it this time?"

"None of your business." his eyes moved to Johnny who was oblivious to the conversation, talking on his cell phone about one business deal or another.

"You’re among friends here, Timberlake. Who is she this time? People have seen you out a lot with that rapper, Nastassia J." Santiago caught his clandestine smile and smirked "She is a very nice looking young lady, that Nastassia. I have worked with her before."

"Have you?"

"I did a shoot with her for Allure."

"Hmm," he nodded, "Nastassia is a very beautiful girl. I like that she keeps her style feminine and classy unlike a lot of the other female MC’s out there."

"That what made you attracted to her in the first place?"

"I’m not dating her, man."

"If not her what about that Jessica Alba or Camille Henderson? Two very astoundingly beautiful young women. I hear Camille is set to do a film with DreamWorks. You are friends, no?"

"Something like that." Justin accepted a terry cloth robe from one of the assistants on the set and trumped over to the photographer.

"I think you and Camille would make a great item. I know after the Grammy’s people speculated but I know she was with Usher. Now that they have gone separate ways you should take her out. She may be good for you."

"She went out with Usher?" Justin pretended to be clueless and continued to let the photographer share his bit of gossip.

"Oh, yes. It was everywhere. For a while they threw people off with seeing other people around town and then having you do the performance for The Grammy’s…us insiders new it was all a ploy."

"Guess they couldn’t fool everyone."

"No, sir." Santiago agreed, patting Justin on the back. "So tell me about this woman that has you glowing from within?"

"Well, she’s beautiful, I assure you, but with this girl next door type of quality. When she smiles it’s like God is shining his light on you and when she kisses me…I shouldn’t even be telling you this." Justin shook his head and started to walk away when Santiago beckoned him to come back.

"I will tell no one."

"Alright." Justin sat down on the stool next to him as he continued working on his camera. "She’s this tiny little thing, really short, but she has this big personality. I don’t know. I just love her to death."

"What does she do?"

"Oh! She’s a…" he paused realizing that he couldn’t say that she was a singer or a performer, "she’s a painter."

"Painter?"

"Yes! She’s a painter and a writer."

"Have I heard of her? I know painters."

"I don’t think so. She’s relatively new on the scene and is trying to get her foot in the door. You know, get her own gallery and get her books into stores." he lied.

"I know people, Timberlake. What is her name? I could help her to get into that field." Santiago’s eyes glimmered with excitement at the prospect of assisting in someone else’s rise to fame.

"No, I’m not telling you that." Justin laughed and stood up from his seat. "You almost done with that camera?"

"Yes, I’m finished." Santiago dropped his hands down heavily at his sides. "You should let me help this mystery woman of yours."

"Look, man. Give me your card and I’ll have her call you to do some business."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Justin held out his hand as Santiago dug in his back pocket for a business card. He shouldn’t have lied to the man but then again there was no way that he was going to tell him the truth. "I’ll tell her to give you a call by the end of the week."

/*/*/

"Excuse me," Camille apologized as the phone began to ring. She quickly moved her daughter from her lap and up into her arms as she headed toward the phone hanging on the wall. "Hello?"

"Cam, it’s me, Stassia." the voice on the other end informed.

"Oh, hey, hey. How did the interview with VH1 go?"

"Decent so far. It’s not over yet. I told them that I had to go to the studio to work with Dre."

"You cancelled with Dre." Camille pointed out.

"You and I know that but they don’t. It just got a little too emotional in there. I needed to take a break." Nastassia explained her motives.

"So where are you now?"

"On my way to your house to see my niece and check up on her spastic mother."

"I’m not spastic!"

"But you’re touched mentally. I should be there in like ten to fifteen minutes."

"Okay."

"You want me to bring anything? Pizza? Ice Cream?"

"Um," Camille paused to think. "Maybe you could pick me up a large Oreo blizzard and Nicole a strawberry dilly bar from Dairy Queen? I’ll pay you back when you get here."

"Don’t worry about it, girl, I’ve got it. So I’ll see you in more like twenty to thirty minutes with their service." she joked, "Later, mama."

"Bye." Camille hung up the phone and carried her child with her back over to her chair. "My friend Stassia." she announced before David could ask who it was.

"Nastassia Johnson? You two are still close?"

"Yeah, she’s Nicole’s ‘aunt’."

"Not godmother?" he chuckled.

"She didn’t want the responsibility at the time so Nikki’s godmother is my old college roommate, Amanda."

"I see. So do you want me to get out of here before she gets here?"

"You don’t have to if you don’t want to. I have nothing to hide."

/*/*/

"How was your photo shoot?" Camille asked while stirring the pot full of angel hair pasta on the stove before her while Justin stood behind her pinning her hair up into a large butterfly clip for her to keep it out of the way.

"Interesting." He replied and moved to continue frying the jumbo shrimp in the skillet to her left. "Did you start the Alfredo sauce without me?" he checked the small pot on the back left eye of the stove.

"No, you said you wanted to do it so I didn’t do that. The garlic bread is in the oven though."

"Sweet," he kissed her on the cheek and went to the kitchen to begin collecting the ingredients of his mother’s homemade Alfredo sauce.

"So what was so interesting about the shoot?"

"I got questioned about you."

"Really?" she paused in her stirring.

"Yes. For personal references you’re both a writer and a painter trying to get recognition in your field and Santiago Fuerrera, the photographer, wants to help you get into the door."

"Oh, a painter and a writer?" she smiled, continuing her cooking. "How talented am I?"

"I’m still counting." he grinned and watched as she removed a single noodle from the boiling pot with her oversized cooking spoon, pinched it between her fingertips, and then tossed it up onto the ceiling. "What are you doing?"

"That’s the ready test." she explained, turning off the eye under the boiling pot. "I had this friend freshman year of high school that was teaching me how to cook and she told me that you know that you’re pasta is done when it sticks to the ceiling. Hence, your pasta is done, babe." she pointed to the lone string of pasta attached to the ceiling above their heads.

"I’m not getting that down." he announced, continuing his secret preparation.

"Wasn’t going to ask you to. So are you ready for this promo tour in England?"

"I’m always ready." Justin laughed. "No, I’m not too worried about it. The first few shows are going to be very laid back with just me and the band so all I have to do is come at it natural."

Camille nodded, taking the pot over to the sink and draining it of its water. "So when are you going to let me listen to the album? I let you listen to the tracks I organized with my producers."

"I’m not ready for you to hear it yet."

"Did you write about me or something?"

"Yeah, actually I did." he moved his concoction to the stove and began mixing it over heat.

"Good stuff?" Camille transported the pasta from the pot into a large porcelain bowl and set it down on the kitchen’s island before leaning against it to watch him work.

"You have to decide that on your own."

"Then let me hear it! I know you have an advanced copy."

"I’ll let you listen to it later tonight after dinner. I brought it for you."

"Good. I didn’t want to sucker punch your ass to get my hands on it. Move your butt." she bumped him with her hip and opened the oven to remove the garlic bread from within. "The shrimp is done." she pointed out and he turned them off quickly, moving them to the other side of the stove top.

"Did Stassia tell you that Nelly had her watching his kids yesterday?" Justin asked as his sauce neared completion.

"Stassia babysat?"

"I guess so. Nelly said he came back to get them and they were all knocked on in the living room on the couch sleeping right up under her."

"Sounds like the Grinch finally grew a normal sized heart." Camille giggled, taking the shrimp one by one from the skillet and removing their tails as Justin took the pot of sauce from the heat and went to set up the table outside on the veranda. He had insisted on eating dinner out under the stars and them cooking together. He had said something about it was relaxing and romantic all at once. She was going to have to agree that watching him assist in the whole process added him a few more notches on the sexy scale.

"I got it. Go wash your hands." Justin returned from the veranda and stopped her as she began to make the plates. He kissed her innocently and she smiled before he scooted her out of the way to finish up the job.

"You got champagne?" Camille asked as she came out onto the veranda a few minutes later to see her boyfriend pouring them two glasses of the rose hued liquor.

"Yeah, I figured I’d get you strung out on the finer things instead of the booze." he cracked, pulling out her chair for her next to his, and sat down at her side once she was seated. "See, now this is cool." he held his glass in his hand and pointed up at the sky with his index finger. "It’s a clear night."

"It’s beautiful."

"It is." Justin’s eyes moved over her face as she looked up at the scenery oblivious to the fact that he was referring to her.

Camille tilted her glass to her lips feeling his eyes on her but kept her focus on the sky. "You didn’t pack your bags for tomorrow, did you?"

"Don’t make me lie to you." he smiled and turned his attention back up to the stars with her. "I have but one simple request."

"What’s that?"

"Don’t sleep with George Clooney. You don’t want old bones."

"Don’t sleep with your groupies. You don’t want to be branded a pedophile." Camille retorted and smiled when Justin slipped an arm around her. "Don’t worry about it."

Why not?

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