They entered Justin’s house with the take-out.
“Aren’t you sick of me yet?” Natalia asked, following him into the kitchen.
“Nuh uh.” His head disappeared into the fridge, searching for something to drink.
She huffed and planted herself in a chair.
He turned back to her with two cans of coke, kicking the door shut with his foot. “Do you want me to be sick of you or something?” he asked, confused, walking towards her.
“Justin, this is still weird for me. You wanting to me with be with someone like me.”
“Someone like you?”
“Yeah. Us ordinary people.” She began taking the food out of the bag.
Justin raised his eyebrow. “Believe me, you are far from ordinary.”
She grabbed a wrapped burger and threw it at his head.
“Hey!” Justin cried as the burger bounced off his forehead.
She chuckled to herself. “Guess you don’t think fast.”
Justin sat down opposite her. “I thought we were past all this,” he sighed.
“Past what?”
“You thinking of me as Justin - the pop star from *NSYNC.”
“Justin, I haven’t seen you as Justin of *NSYNC yet. You’ve just been this pain in the ass that follows me around,” she smiled.
Justin snorted. “Nice to know what you think of me.”
“Oh come on, you know I’m joking.” She sighed. “In all seriousness, I’m just not used to having someone around me all the time…especially when they’ve only known me a few weeks.”
“We’ve had this conversation before Natalia, and all I have to say about it, is get used to it. Now shut up and eat! And no more throwing food around, this ain’t feeding time at the zoo.”
She stuck her tongue out at him.
“Oh that’s mature.” He grinned before shoving a burger in her mouth.
“Justin, you really are disgusting,” she remarked, from where she stood at the kitchen sink. She held a plate up and scrunched her nose up at the look of it. “Oh gross, this thing has mould on it!” With her mind on other things that morning she had failed to notice the health hazard in Justin’s kitchen.
Justin walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her away from the dishes. “Come sit down.”
“Justin, those dishes aren’t going to clean themselves.”
“I’ve got a dishwasher you know, you don’t need to do them.”
“Then why in God’s name didn’t you just put them in there in the first place? It might have saved you a visit from the health department!”
He rolled his eyes. “Stop exaggerating.” He dragged her out of the room.
“I’m sure your mother would agree with me,” she grumbled.
She was probably right. When he’d moved out of home he’d assured his mom he could look after himself, but like all men, he was proof that he needed a woman picking up after him, or at least nagging him to do it himself. He had been taking full advantage of this bachelor lifestyle, but he had to admit, he enjoyed having a woman in his house, one in particular at that.
He dragged her into the family room. “Now sit,” he demanded, pushing her down onto the sofa. “I didn’t bring you here to clear up after me. I want you to relax.”
There was no point fighting him. Once he got something into his head there was no stopping him, kind of like her but even more stubborn and pigheaded, so she settled back into what she thought must have been the most comfortable sofa ever. When she sat right back on it, only below her knees hung over the edge. She sank right into the cushions and they seemed to fit around her. She kicked her shoes off and curled her legs up next to her. Without even thinking, she let her head tip to the side to rest on Justin’s shoulder.
The room was decorated in warm colours – dark reds, terracotta, orange – along with a hint of cream here and there. It was the cosiest room in his house by far, some of the others being quite contemporary. A lot of his home was like your typical rock star pad, but even Justin needed somewhere to relax, somewhere that felt like home.
Natalia couldn’t prevent the yawn that escaped her.
“You tired?”
She shook her head. Justin raised an eyebrow and looked at her in disbelief. “I’m fine,” she insisted.
Justin grabbed the remote, turning the television on. “What do you want to watch?”
“I don’t care.”
“Okay.” He switched to one of the sports channels.
“Okay, I do care.” She grabbed the remote from him, switching to a movie instead.
He chuckled. “Aww, baby, you spoil all my fun.” He didn’t complain though, instead, settling down with her to watch the film.
Not even 10 minutes into the movie, he could see her eyelids getting heavy. Every now and then her head would roll forward from its place on his shoulder as she drifted off, before it jerked back up as she fought to stay awake. The battle didn’t last long though. Soon enough her breathing changed, regulating as she drifted deeper and deeper. He shifted a little to get into a more comfortable position. She only snuggled into him further. He smiled. “Oh well, guess you’ll have to stay the night again,” he whispered.
He grabbed the remote off the arm of the sofa, shutting the television off and plunging the room into darkness. Carefully he moved them both so that they could lie down. He grabbed the blanket from the back of the sofa and covered them.
He closed his eyes with one clear thought in his head. He could get used to this.
It was four days since she’d woken up in Justin’s arms. Sometime during the night the blanket had been thrown to the floor but the heat emanating from Justin’s body had been enough to keep her warm.
She’d complained to him that he shouldn’t have let her fall asleep, that she should have gone home, but in all honesty it had been clear to the both of them that it was a half-hearted protest.
“Why am I still here, Justin?” she asked, as she looked up at him through sleep-filled eyes.
“Because I wanted you to be,” he answered simply, not even opening his eyes.
“I can’t keep staying here,” she argued, as he rested his head on her shoulder. She almost groaned. He looked too adorable in the morning. His sleepy state left him looking innocent somehow, though she didn’t know how, he was far from innocent.
“Yes you can.” He nuzzled his nose against her neck.
She sighed. “Justin.”
He sighed dramatically, his breath against her neck causing her to shudder. “Natalia,” he mocked. He grinned when he saw…or rather, felt, her reaction to him though. “Just go to sleep. An hour more and I’ll take you home, I promise.” He sealed the deal with a soft kiss, taking her breath away once again.
She took a deep breath, trying to get herself back together. “O-okay.”
His small chuckle confirmed her suspicions - he knew the affect he was having on her.
“You’re getting weak Nat. Weak!” she said to herself in recollection, as she stopped at a red light, on her way to work.
Justin was gone now – in New York. He’d left two days before, the schedule having been pushed forward, disappointing them both, and in her new vow to be honest with herself, she admitted that she did miss him.
He’d called her last night. It had been a quick call, as he rode in the van between his hotel and wherever they were headed. It hadn’t offered a lot of privacy for him, with the others in the van, so it had just been a “Hi, how are you? Just checking in.”, kind of call.
It would have to do, she supposed. He’d said he’d ring again that night.
It had been a busy few days. Her mom was out of hospital, and apart from her fretting over every little thing, things were starting to return to normal.
The appearance of Lena, an old friend of her mother’s, had been a blessing. Having heard about what had happened, she had visited a few times. It had taken a lot of the strain off Natalia. Lena, having known the family history, had immediately become someone she could talk to. Lena had made her realise that she couldn’t keep fussing over her mom so much - what would happen, would happen.
She’d just sat down at her desk when he appeared. “And where have you been?” Bryan enquired.
She took a deep breath. She wasn’t going to let him get to her today. “Family emergency. I called in.”
“Really. Anything to do with your father?”
Natalia looked up and saw the smugness on his face. What she wouldn’t give to wipe that look away. “No,” she snapped.
“No need to get testy, Nat.”
“My name is Natalia,” she said firmly.
He sauntered over to her desk, placing his palms flat on the surface, before leaning forward until his face was only inches from hers. “Come on now, we know each other better than that.”
She pushed against the desk and her chair rolled back, effectively increasing the space between them.
Bryan stood up and straightened his tie. “I need you to work late tonight.”
“But-”
“Natalia, do you not need this job?”
Her shoulders slumped.
“That’s what I thought. I’ll see you later.” He threw a handful of files in front of her before leaving the room.
She looked from the empty doorway to the files scattered across her desk and immediately had the urge to either cry or scream. Neither were appropriate in the office unfortunately.
How dare he, was her only thought. He shouldn’t have been able to control her like that, it wasn’t right! Her mom had been out of hospital only two days and her place should have been home with her, not running around after some rich boy who always got what he wanted. There was no way that Bryan could ever understand what her family meant to her. It may have been small, only her, her mom and Alexei, but it was all she had.
She glanced at the clock. Justin would be starting that radio interview any minute. As much as she would have liked to have him around, he had a job to do, just as she did, and she had to understand that.
She picked up the phone and dialled home.
“Hello?”
“Mom, are you okay?” she asked worriedly.
Natalia heard her mother sigh on the other end. “I’m fine! I’m sitting here, watching television. Lena is coming to visit in an hour and your brother is coming home at lunch.”
“I just worry.”
“I’m your mother, I should be worrying about you,” Eva said sadly.
“Mom, don’t think like that. I’m all grown up now, you don’t need to worry about me.”
“No, you’re right, Justin seems to be doing a good job of looking after you,” she said, more than happy with the idea.
Natalia groaned. Justin was the topic of the day – make that the week – in her house. He seemed to be able to do no wrong. He seemed to be able to work his way into every female’s affections. She didn’t know how he did it. Actually, she had a good idea; it probably had something to with that killer watt smile and his charm.
“Mother, don’t start with that!” she warned, although a smile played on her lips. She liked the idea of her mom and Justin getting along in actuality.
“I have to work late tonight,” she said reluctantly, getting back to the point of the phone call.
“You do what you have to, I’ll be fine.”
“I can try and get out of it.” She knew she wouldn’t be able to, not if she wanted to have a job to come back to, so she didn’t know why she was even offering.
“No need.”
“Okay,” she sighed. “You’ve got the number if you need anything?”
“On speed dial.”
Natalia knew she was acting worse than a mother leaving her child with a babysitter for the first time. “Okay, I’ll stop bugging you. Love you mom,” she said softly.
“Love you too. Bye.”
“Bye.” They’d got into the habit of saying their ‘I love yous’ after the accident. It was funny how traumatic experiences had a family, that were once quite guarded with their feelings, suddenly expressing their love for each other. While they were now open with each other, it was harder to do be like that with others. Justin was a real breakthrough and the fact that he would not give up easily impressed her even more.
“You okay?”
Natalia looked up and saw Shannon standing in the doorway. “I’m fine, really,” she reassured her, with a smile.
“I heard about your mom, is she okay?”
“Who told you about that?” she asked suspiciously. Natalia was very private about her personal life, and although Shannon knew vague details, she knew nowhere near as much as Justin. It was funny how she’d been able to tell someone who’d she’d only known weeks about her life, but Shannon, who she’d known for a couple of years now, knew hardly anything.
“Tina on reception told me you had a family emergency, and then I ran into your brother in the store last night,” she explained.
“Oh.” Shannon looked genuinely concerned and Natalia felt bad for not just telling her outright. “Yeah she’s gonna be fine, she just gave us a scare.”
“If you ever need anything, you know where I am.”
Natalia nodded. “Yeah…thanks.” That’s what everyone had said last time, but where were they now?
She settled down to her desk-load of work. There was a backlog even after only a couple of days away. Hopefully the more she got done now; the quicker she’d be out of there that night. One thing was for sure; she didn’t want to be anywhere alone with Bryan.
Chapter 20
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