Whitney smoothed out the wrinkles of her long midnight blue skirt, and adjusted the matching V-shaped top to where it exposed a small thing of skin above her belly button. After making sure she was presentable, she slipped on the new bracelet that Justin had bought her in hopes of having her cheer up, and finished off her look for the night. After glancing one more time in the large mirror that occupied a space in the spaceous bedroom, she walked slowly down the stairs and stopped in her tracks when she saw Justin standing there in a pair of black dress pants and a white dress shirt. She could see a black leather jacket that would be topping off the look, and she knew he was going to look good.
After regaining her composure, she walked the rest of the way down and let out a low whistle to get out his attention. "My man is gonna be the hottest one there tonight," she said, reaching up to adjust the colar on his shirt.
His eyes sparkled as he looked at her and smiled in appreciation. "God, baby you look good."
"You don't look to bad yourself, as I've already told you," she said, kissing his lips quickly and pulling away before he had the chance to mess up her appearance.
He grabbed his jacket and slipped it on before offering her his hand. "Shall we get going, girl?"
"I think its time to knock these people off their feet," she joked, before following him out to the limo that was waiting. They were going to pick up the rest of the guys and then head over to where they were being held. After all the guys and their dates were picked up, they talked until they reached the spot of the awards. Whitney and Justin were sitting fartherst left, so they were the last ones to exit. As soon as they stepped out, flashes went off around them, and people started yelling for Jusitn to look over at them.
She looked through the crowds of people and her smile grew bright when she saw the guys of Otown talking to a reporter. This was going to be a night of catching up, and she had a feeling in the pit of her stomach that something good was going to come out of the night.
Jacob elbowed Ashley in the ribs, and smiled. "She looks hella good tonight," he whispered.
"You and your speech, Jake," Ashley said, before turning away from the two and turning his full attention to the reporter that was in front of them.
"I know this is not the time to go into this, but were the rumors about you and Whitney Littleton, Justin's Timberlake's girlfriend, true?"
Ashley shook his head. "We are friends and nothing more," he said, before following the guys into the huge amphitheater. Ashley ended up sitting next to Cait, who was stary-eyed sitting next to Dan. This was their first time out in the public eye and she was loving every minute of it.
"I hope we take home an award," Trevor said, who happened to be sitting on the otherside of Ashley. Trevor and Ashley were the only two not to bring dates, and atleast Trevor had a reason for it. He had thought he would have a better chance at the after parties if he went dateless, while Ashley on the other hand hadn't even bothered with finding someone. He had been talking to Denise lately, but she wasn't anything more than a friend to him.
The guys of Nsync were three rows in front of them, and he sighed as he watched Whitney lay her head over on Justin's shoulder. He was about to say something to Trevor but the lights went out, so he just pushed his comment into the back of his head and let the show provide a momentary distaction.
"And now, I'd like to announce the winner of artists of the year," Britney Spears said into the microphone, before unfolding the envelope. "And the winner is..NSYNC!" she giggled into the microphone. Everyone stood up and exchanged hugs, before walking up there to accept the award. Whitney rolled her eyes as she watched Britney kiss Justin's cheek, that girl just wouldn't give up.
"First off, we'd like to thank all the fans that have supported us through hard times," Chris began. "I'd like to send a personal thanks to my wonderful girlfriend, Dani..I love you baby!"
Next to speak was Lance. "I want to say thank you to our families for supporting us even though times are crazy! Thank you so much!"
Joey made his way to the mic and gave a bright smile. "This one is dedicated to all our friends out there. Even though we're stars, we won't ever forget all of you."
"To our managment, we thank you for taking your time and helping us along the way. Bobbie, thank you for giving me advice!"
Last to speak was Justin. No one cared that they were taking so long because Nsync was the hottest group out right now, and everyone wanted to see them. "I want to thank my friends, family and the rest of the guys, but the majority of my thanks and gratitude goes to my wonderful girlfriend..Whitney you're my inspiration and always will be. Thank you again to all the fans, we love you!" Justin said, lifting the moonman trophy up and blowing a kiss in Whitney's direction.
That was the first time that Justin had ever personally thanked her in a speech and she was numb to the tears that were rolling down her face. She loved that man so much, and it meant so much to her to have him stand up there and thank her over many people that actually deserved the thanks. When the guys came back to their seats, she reached over and kissed him deeply, letting him know that what he had just done meant so much to her. He wiped away her tears, before turning his attention to Creed, who was now in the process of performing.
Meanwhile, Ashley sighed as he continued to watch the show. They guys had been lucky enough to take home hottest new group, but he was nothing but depressed. In the week that she had been gone, he had been able to somewhat clear his thoughts of her, but seeing her now just brough back all the feelings that he was trying so hard to push out.
The show was over not to long after Nsync won their third award, and everyone left, heading to the after parties. Once Whitney and Justin arrived, she immediately began to look around for Ashley. "Do you see Otown," she asked Justin, who was holding her hand tightly in an attempt not to lose her in the crowd.
He shook his head as his eyes took in the party before him. "I haven't saw them since they won their award..."
Her eyes looked around and they locked on Trevor who was in the middle of the floor dancing. "They're here because I see Trevor. I'm going to go find them and I'll meet up with you later..behave!" she warned.
He pulled her to him and kissed her deeply, wanting anyone and everyone to see. "That's a will do," he said when he pulled away from her and walked away.
After she had regained her composure, she turned around and smacked into someone. "Nice to see you again, Whitney," Erik said, winking at her as he steadied her.
"ERIK!" she shrieked and linked her arms around him to give him a hug. "How are things going?"
"The tour is really boring..Ashley and the rest of us miss you...we want you back! Lou tried to say that you left because you didn't like being around us and we called him on his lies.."
"Speaking of Ash..where is he?"
"He would be right behind you," Ashley's voice said.
She turned around and threw herself in his arms. "I've missed you!"
He laughed as his eyes shinned with excitement. "I've missed you too..tell Justin congradulations on their three awards."
"You guys didn't do so bad yourself," she told him, noticing that Erik had left. She watched him as he rocked back and forth on his heels and touched his shoulder lightly, causing him to immediately stop. "You wanna dance?" she asked him.
He nodded his head and the two of them made their way out onto the packed dance floor. The song that was playing was fast, but Ashley withheld himself from the way he would normally dance with a girl. He knew without a doubt that people were looking at the two of them, and one of those people happened to be Justin. It was only natural for a guy to keep an eye on "his" girl.
As the song ended, Ashley reluctantly released her and smiled brightly. "I bet you wanna go find Justin, so I'll talk to you before you leave," he said, already turning to walk away.
"Save me a dance," her voice called out to him, causing him to turn around and smile at her. She gave him a wink before setting off in search of Justin. It wasn't hard to find him, considering that he was surrounded by a group of girls. She pushed her way through and stood in front of him, noting the whispers that were around them. "You wanna dance, baby?" she whispered to him. He nodded his head, and the two of them pushed through the crowd. Once they found a suitable spot on the floor, Justin pulled her close to him and rested his head on top of hers. "How many times have I told you that you're beautiful?"
"Tonight or in general?" she asked him, closing her eyes and swaying to the music.
He chuckled softly and kissed her forehead. "Tonight."
"Only about twenty times..but I never get tired of hearing you say it. Say it as much as you like.."
"You're beautiful," he said, pulling back to look into her brown eyes that were sparkling at him.
"I love this song," she said as her hands played with the curls.
"Hmmm..I do too," he said listening to the words as the piano entrance ended.
When the rain is blowing in your face
And the whole world is on your case
I could offer you a warm embrace
To make you feel my love
When evening shadows and the stars appear
And there is no one to dry your tears
I could hold you for a million years
To make you fell my love
I know you haven't made your mind up yet
And I would never do you wrong
I've known it from the moment that we met
There's not doubt in my mind where you belong
I'd go hungry, I'd go black and blue
I'd go crawling down the advenue
There ain't nothing that I wouldn't do
To make you feel my love
The storms are raging on a rolling sea
And on the highway of regret
The winds of change are blowing wild and free
You ain't seen nothin' like me yet
There and nothin' that I wouldn't do
Go to the ends of the earth for you
Make you happy make your dreams come true
To make you feel my love
Make you feel my love, by Garth Brooks from the motion picture Hope Floats
As the song ended, the two of them continued to sway, not caring that they were recieving weird looks. They were in love, and when two people were in love, that love could over come any look or comment thrown in their direction.
He nodded his head as he studied the two. "Ashley is just so infautuated...I wish he'd find someone, but for now he won't be able to find someone to amount to what she is in his eyes."
"You know..I happen to think we make a cute couple," she said winking at him.
"I didn't say we didn't..hell we are the hottest couple here!"
She laughed and shook her head. "I wouldn't go that far, but we are by far one of the cutest."
"Ok..I still happen to think we're the hottest. You look wonderful, by the way," he told her, kissing her lips quickly.
She blushed slightly, still not use to his public display of affection. She was slowly coming around to accept it and feel comfortable about it, but she still had a little ways to go. "When do you guys go to the next date?"
"We have two days off to stay here in Florida and then we have to head to Texas...which means for the next to days, you have all my attention."
"Is that a promise?" she asked linking her arms around his neck. He nodded his head and diped her dramatically. "This I promise you!" he sung out drawing attention to the two of them.
Once she was on her feet, she giggled and playfully hit his chest. "Don't do that..I don't want people to think I'm dating a weirdo."
His face lost its smile and he put his hands on his hips playfully. "Well I'd hate to embarass you," he said,stomping his foot to gain extra attention. She knew that her face was beginning to turn red and she quickly drug him off the floor. "Dan..calm down before they kick us out!"
"This is a party, Cait. Why the hell would they kick us out..my thoughts exactly," he said, dragging her back out onto the dance floor. She sighed against him, giving up the fight of arguing with him.
"I'm sorry that it took me so long to get to that dance I requested, but I had to occupy Justin for a while."
"Its ok," Ashley said, waiting to make sure that she was really going to dance with him. The DJ started playing a slow song, and he felt his pulse quicken as she made her way to the dance floor. He followed her and wrapped his arms around her thin frame. "You look really pretty tonight," he whispered to her as he felt her head rest on his shoulder.
"Thank you," she mumbled before closing her eyes. To Ashley, the song that they were dancing to ended all to quickly and he didn't want to pull away. But he saw Justin watching the two of them intently, so he pulled back and gave her a quick hug. "Justin looks ready to go. Keep in touch, Whit," he said as he watched her walk away from him. Once she was gone, he found a taxi and headed back to the hotel where they were staying.
As the guys came off the stage for the last time, each one of them felt relief that it was over. The stress that went along with a tour, was no gone, and they were free to concentrate on other things for a short period of time. As Trevor collapsed on the couch of the bus, he wiped away fake tears. "Our first tour is over..and let me say it was definately odd."
"I have to agree with you there," Erik said taking a long drink from the water bottle that he had gotten.
As everyone discussed some of their favorite memories of the tour, Ashley slipped back to his bunk and laid down, wanting to get home as soon as possible. Whitney had called him a couple of times to check in and see how things were going, and just talking to her kept the hope alive within him. He wouldn't cut off her friendship just to get rid of the attraction because then he would miss just having her there to talk to.
The longer he laid there, the heavier his eyes became, and in no time he was in a sleep that helped ease his mind. Sleep was his best friend at the moment, and the only thing that he welcomed into his life. He was making progress in getting over her, the dreams about her had subsided to where they weren't every night, but ocassionally, she was in them. "Whitney," he mumbled, before sleep took him fully.
Cait stopped when she heard him mumble Whitney's name, and she shook her head in disbelief. Ashley had swore up and down to her that he was over Whitney, but now she knew it was just a lie. She didn't know what else to do to help him more on, because she had done all that she knew how. She had pushed at him, talked to him, even introduced him to a few girls, but nothing was seeming to help. She was walking away as an idea came to her and she hit her forehead lightly when she realized that it would work perfectly. He was going to move on with his life, she was going to make sure of that.
"Whitney and you are good friends and I can't believe you're standing here complaing about having to help me out with her birthday! I'm ashamed of you JC," Justin said, as he tapped up the last corner on his side.
"You know I'd do anything for the girl, but I can think of better ways to be spending my time..you know she hates surprises and she's going to tackle your ass for doing this..ok from that smile on your face, I'd say that's the reaction you're wanting."
"She takes out her anger on me in bed..and let me say JC..any chance I get to make her angry, I take that opportunity."
"Did anyone ever tell you that you are a horn dog?" JC said as he took a drink of his water. "I don't know why she puts up with you...all you want from her is sex..."
Justin rolled his eyes. "Just because I talk about sex and her doesn't mean that we do it all the time..its not like it has no meaning behind it, JC. You know me, and you know how much I love that girl."
JC nodded his head. "I was just kidding, Justin. I didn't think you'd flip out and go all serious on me...what's next on the agenda?" he asked changing the subject.
"Start blowing up balloons..I'm going to go get some wrapping paper and wrap up one of her gifts," he said starting to leave the room but JC's voice stopped him. "WAIT! I have to blow up these evil balloons while you get to wrap a present! I don't see that this is fair..in fact, I quit on my job. Get Joey over here to blow the damn things up, because I sure as hell dont' want to do it!"
Justin threw his hands up in the air and continued on his way into the kitchen. "Fine! Leave..I can do this by myself..just I'll give you absolutely NO credit in making her 20th birthday special..."
JC sighed, knowing that he was going to give in and stay. "Fine..I'm not blowing up many of them though..and as soon as you get down wrapping your scrawny ass is sitting down in the floor and helping me blow. You have plenty of air to spare," he said picking up a yellow balloon and starting to blow.
Justin laughed. "I promise, you whinning baby, that I will help you as soon as I wrap..now shut up and get to work."
JC threw his middle finger up in the air before continuing to blow the latex balloon up. Justin chuckled as he retrieved the supplies he would need and started getting to work. He was determined to make this night as special to her as he could make it, and if he said so himself, he was off to a damn good start.
Dan sighed. "I dont' know anything anymore..all my assumptions seem to be wrong."
"Aww..dont' beat yourself down..I still love you," she said kissing him deeply on the lips. His hands tightened around her waist, pulling her closer to him.
She chuckled against his lips before mumbling,"We can't do this babe, we have to go to her party."
He pushed her back, causing her to fall on the bed. "No we don't..we can call and tell Justin to tell her that we've had a change of plans and that we had to stay in," he said as his lips made a trail of feather light kisses down her neck.
She pushed against his chest and he reluctantly rolled away, groaning as she got up. "We can do this later..get ready we have a party to go to."