"Justin, yes I'll be back soon. I know, I miss you too. Uh huh. Yep. Okay, I know I'll have to make it up to you for missing the basketball game. Yeah, I'm sure you did have a great time at the party afterwards. And you drank too much, then passed out with ten girls in your room. No, I'm just kidding. I know. Yeah, I'll be back tomorrow. Yes. YES. I got it. I'll see you then. Okay, bye."
Liz hung up the phone then flung herself back on her bed. She had just gotten off the phone with Justin who was STILL giving her a hard time for not making their charity basketball game in New York. She had told him that she wasn't needed by his mom – HER BOSS – and really wanted to come home and talk to her parents about the changes in her life.
He didn't want her to leave but he knew that she had to face them and explain everything to her mother to make things okay for her return to Florida.
Liz had been home for five days now and had spent most of that begging for her mother to talk to her. She wasn't taking the news of Liz's new found freedom well and had completely closed up. She had come home late every night and didn't want to discuss anything with her.
Liz's father on the other hand, had been the supportive one of the group. He was so proud of what his youngest daughter was doing and the look in her eyes was wonderful to see again. He had always worried that the spark she had when she was little would never return but it had and he knew who was at the center of all that: Justin.
He wasn't thrilled when she came home and announced that they had gotten together and she accepted his mother's offer to go to school in Florida while working full-time for her. That sent her mother skyrocketing but her father was more concerned for his little girl.
Images of her running off with her much 'older' boyfriend all those years ago replayed in his head. Justin was younger in age to Liz but much more experienced with worldly things that she ever would be. He worried that Justin's fast paced lifestyle and NO private life would eventually get to her and she would be left out in the cold and hurt.
He asked her that if that ever happened, would she be okay with it. She hugged and thanked him for his concerns but said that if her and Justin ever split up, that she would probably cry for a month, eat lots of ice cream, gain forty pounds – then snap out of it and return to life.
That was something she kept in the back of her head and tried not to think about because it would only bring her grief. She had to live every day to the fullest no matter what the outcome. She trusted Justin to no avail and knew if they could only keep the lines of communication open, then they would be alright.
That was all she could ask for – but she wanted more from her family.
She sighed heavily and looked up at the ceiling of her old room. She felt a small object under her shoulder and reached back to move it. She brought it up to her site and smiled tenderly when the jingling of her keys sounded throughout her room.
She looked at the key chain that held together her keys and almost laughed. Veronica had taken a picture of her and Justin right before the guys were heading on stage and Liz had been wishing him good luck in her own little way.
Justin had gotten the picture from her and had it shrunk then found a glass key chain to put it in and given it to Liz before she left to come home. She looked at his stunned face in the picture due to the fact that Liz was whispering in his ear as her hands roamed his lower backside. She had given him a big squeeze back there so that was why he appeared shocked.
"He sure has one tight ass – along with just about everything else on that body of his." She said aloud. She started giggling to herself then was interrupted.
"You better not know about his other tight places, young lady."
She jumped up when she heard her father speak. She felt like she was twelve again and had just gotten caught with Peter Hurst when they had played doctor.
"Oh, hey daddy. What's up?" She asked, trying to calm her nerves down. The intense stare he was giving her made her shift in her shoes.
His face softened at the obvious uneasiness of his daughter and he approached her. "Honey, I was just kidding. You are a grown woman and if you and your singing boyfriend have done any of that, then I know you've been careful. I didn't raise a stupid daughter, right?" He asked, just to be sure.
She sighed then reached up to give him a hug and kiss on the cheek. "Yes, daddy I'm not stupid and no we haven't done anything like that." She said, much to her father's delight.
She was grown but to him she would always be his little girl. "Then how do you know about his tight little body?" He asked, egging her on.
She grew red in the face again and shoved him in the shoulder. "Dad, we've been swimming before, that's all." She said as she turned around to grab her keys. "And maybe a little fooling around, too." She whispered under her breath.
"What was that?" He asked her but she just waved him off.
"Nothing, so why'd you come up here?" She replied as she faced him again.
He took a deep breath and smiled warmly to her. "Well, I just wanted to invite you out on a date with your old man tonight."
Liz's eyes lit up. "Really?" She asked, excited to see the glow to his face again. Her visit hadn't been the best so far.
"Yes, really. I was thinking that we could go out to eat, maybe catch a movie or head to the mall so I could pick up a copy of the boy's album, you know: No Chords on Me, or something like that."
Liz busted out laughing at her father. "It's No Strings Attached."
"Yeah, whatever. Anyway…" He started as he pulled his daughter into his arms. "I want to hear for myself the young man who is stealing you away from me."
Liz felt a tear come to eye but simply smiled at him. "Daddy, Justin's not taking me away from you. You will always be number one in my heart. It's just that Justin is…well, he's…he's just Justin. I can't really explain it. He's absolutely amazing though and I hope you get to meet him soon." She said as she clung to her father.
He smiled at his grown daughter and kissed her cheek quickly. "Yeah, well, he better be amazing because you deserve nothing less." He saw the tear slowly run down her face and wiped it off with his hand. "Okay, enough of that sappy stuff, now what do you say to dinner?"
Liz smiled tenderly at him and knew everything would be fine. With her father on her side, she could do anything – even deal with her mother. "Dinner sounds great. Let's go."
The two started on their night's adventure. They did indeed grab a copy of 'Nsync's new CD and even played it in the car on the way to the restaurant. Liz turned up the volume and sang along to every song – much to her father's displeasure.
"This is the noise that drives the girls crazy?" He yelled over the music.
Liz just nodded her head to the beat of the song and agreed. "Yep, drives them wild."
The two continued on their night, for Liz would be returning to Orlando in the morning and starting her new job soon.
Justin woke up the next morning to the smell of something wonderful. His nose caught the scent and lifted before his body followed suit. He slid out of bed and stretched lazily as he grabbed a T-shirt, pulled it over his torso and shuffled his feet across the room towards the door.
He walked swiftly down the stairs and straight into the kitchen. He expected to see JC in there since he had stayed the night before. The two were working on some new material for their next album and it had ran late so Justin told JC to crash at his place.
But when Justin rounded the corner of the kitchen, his eyes lit up.
With her back to him, he saw Liz reaching up to grab a plate from the cabinet. His thoughts went back to the dream he had had and he shook his head at the feeling of deja vu that overcame him.
He smiled wickedly to himself and crept closer to her. He reached his arms up and wrapped them around her waist from behind. She jumped and nearly dropped the plate in her hand.
"Justin, you scared the crap out of me. That would have set you back a few hundred dollars if I had broke that plate." She said as she felt his warm breath on her neck.
He leaned in and gently kissed her neck before raising his head and whispering in her ear. "Nah, just ten. I got those at Wal-Mart."
That made her start laughing and she tried to turn around in his arms but he wouldn't let her move. "Hey, I haven't seen you all week and I want to now so let go." She said as she playfully shoved an elbow backwards and tried to get him to free her.
"Not yet." He said as he moved his mouth down and began kissing her neck once again. She leaned back against his chest and let out a slight moan as she brought one hand up behind him and attached her fingers in his curls.
"Thank you for taking those awful cornrows out of your head." She said almost in a whisper.
He lifted his head up and spoke in her ear again. "But I thought you liked them." He said as his tongue ran ever so softly against her earlobe, causing her to get weak in the knees.
"Um, oh, yeah, I did like them but…but I um, like the curls SO much better." She said, forcing the words out. He was driving her crazy at the moment so anything that came from her mouth sounded like gibberish.
He snickered at her inability to speak normal and removed his mouth from her ear. He rested his head on her shoulder and looked at the pots on the stove. "Hey, where's JC?" He asked as his nose inhaled the scent of not only what she was preparing but of her as well.
She took her hand away from his curls and returned it to the countertop. "Oh, he's on the phone I think." She said as she opened the drawer to the silverware up and pulled out the knives and forks.
Justin still clung to her but she wasn't complaining. "Are the other guys coming over?" He asked.
She shook her head at his question. "Um, no I think he's calling his roommates or something to let them know he's alright. Hey, can you hand me a towel?" She asked as he grabbed a dish towel from the side of him.
She quickly wiped her hands clean and again tried to turn around in his arms. This time he let her and she smiled brightly when she finally was able to see his beautiful face. "So, do you have any plans today?" She asked, resisting the urge to throwing him down on the kitchen table right there. Instead, she reached up behind him and rested her arms over his shoulders. She locked her hands together, tightening her hold on his neck.
He raised his eyes to the ceiling as if to think about what he wanted to do. "I was thinking that we could celebrate your new job and the fact that you'll be around here more. Anywhere you want to go, we can – well, within limits." He said as his eyes lowered to hers.
She smiled even brighter at him. "I know exactly where I want to go." She said as she leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. "You'll love it. But you need to eat right now, so let me get back to cooking." She tried to turn around but he stopped her.
"Don't tell me there's spaghetti in that pot?" He asked as he eyed the closed lid. It didn't smell like spaghetti but he had to ask.
She raised an eyebrow to him. "Um, no its chili. Joey gave me the recipe and I thought I'd give it a try and let JC take some home with him."
Justin shook his head at her. "What's up with you? Are you Suzie Homemaker or something?"
She just laughed at him. "No, I just took an earlier flight this morning and needed something to do before you got up. Besides, the question should be what's up with you and this spaghetti fetish you have going?"
He had to laugh with her on that one. "You'd never believe me. Anyway, I was just having a deja vu moment that's all."
She smiled up at him and brought her hands to his chest. She ran her fingers across the cottony material of his T-shirt and felt the hard muscles underneath. She raised on her toes to be at his eye level and leaned closer to him. "Does this like deja vu too?" She asked as her lips grazed his after almost a week apart.
He nodded his head against her lips and stepped closer to her as well. "Yeah, I does." He said as his mouth fully enclosed her own. She slid her arms around his waist and slowly moved them lower until she was able to get a hold of his boxers.
He groaned against her mouth. "Not again. I should be asking you about your butt fetish."
She tried not to laugh but couldn't stop. She broke the kiss and had to cover her mouth to keep the giggles in. "I can't help it. What are you trying to do to me, give me a heart attack?"
He stepped back a little and looked confused by that.
She just shook her head and got out of his grasp for the first time since he walked into the room. She reached for the plate and took the lid off of the skillet to fix his food. "Come off it Justin, you're running around in that tight T-shirt and your boxers. You're just asking for it aren't you?" She said, looking with her eyes to the side but keeping her head towards the food.
He chuckled to himself when realizing what he probably looked like: hair all over the place, clothes wrinkled. "Well that depends." He said as he took the plate from her hands, mouthing a quick 'thank you' before heading off to the table.
She fixed herself a plate and even one for JC then carried them over to sit next to him. "Depends on what?" She asked as she sat down and placed her fork in her food and picked up a chunk of egg.
"On whether or not you want to give it to me." He said as he chewed his own food.
She coughed at that comment and thought she would choke on her breakfast. "Ahem, *cough*, get real lover boy." She said as she wiped her mouth and took a sip of juice. "If you ever want THAT, you're gonna have to do a lot more than just walk around in your underwear." She said, raising her eyebrow at him.
He finished his bite of food then leaned closer to her ear. "Would this work?" He asked as he laid a simple kiss on her neck.
She sighed and almost melted right there. "It's a start." She replied and turned her head to get a real kiss on her lips.
"Ahem." The two of them broke apart and eyed JC standing on the other side of the kitchen. "It's too early to be going at it already. Can't you guys wait till like lunch time or something?" He asked as he crossed the room and sat down on the other side of the table from them.
He thanked Liz for the food as she smiled at him. "Sorry JC." She said but Justin grabbed her hand.
"Hey, don't tell him you're sorry. Remember HE and the others wanted us to get together so they'll have to deal with what they've created." He reminded her as he pulled her into his lap. He smiled wickedly at JC and chuckled at the gagging noises he was making. "Just ignore him. He's hard up for some good loving – but I'm not." He said as he brought his head up and kissed Liz.
She just laughed against his lips at the silliness that surrounded her at all times now.
These summer months had flown by for her and now she beyond happy. Nothing in her mind could make this moment or summer any better than it was.
She had a group of friends that she never knew she would have. She had a job that so many people would kill for. And she had a man in her life that filled her heart with so much love that she thought she would explode. She had to say prayers of thanks every night for being blessed with such a wonderful life now.
She wrapped her arms around Justin's neck, ignored the noises JC was making beside her and laid into the only man who had or would ever be able to make her melt.